I said goodbye to Fluttershy as I headed for Sweet Apple Acres to spend my day with Applejack. The whole way there, I couldn’t get my conversation with Luna the previous night out of my head.
Why did she seem so sad? I thought, in fact, I wonder why it was her who visited me, and not Celestia? The midnight-blue alicorn had been one of my favorite characters from the show back on Earth, so I was genuinely worried about her when she seemed so distant in the crystal world.

These thoughts stayed in my head until I arrived at the massive wooden archway at the entrance to the farm. Applejack was standing there waiting for me, a big smile on her face.
“Well, howdy, Allen! Yer just in time!” she called as I approached.
I looked at her in confusion. “In time for what?”
“Well, we’re about to start the apple buckin, and I was wonderin if you could help us out,” she said hopefully. I smiled and shrugged.
“I probably won’t be much help, but I'll do my best,” I said, following the orange mare to the orchard.

Note to self: humans can’t buck apples. Like, at all.

I started by trying to kick the trees, like the apple family was doing, but that fared about as well as trying to stab a rock with a feather. After that method flopped, I tried grabbing the trees and shaking the apples loose, but they were a lot sturdier than they looked on the show. After several other failed attempts, I finally decided to just climb the tree and pick them off myself, one by one. It wasn’t as fast as the ponies’ method, and I probably looked foolish up in a tree like that, but at least I felt useful. I saw Applebloom trotting up to me at one point, a curious look on her face.

“Hey, mister, what're ya doin up there?” she asked, giggling. I couldn’t help but grin; fillies are so adorable.
“I can’t buck apples like you ponies can, so I’ve gotta climb up here and take them down on my own,” I explained to the small, red-maned pony.

She suddenly looked like she had an idea. “Hey, could you maybe climb up somewhere and get something for me?” she asked excitedly, and I thought about this for a moment. Unfortunately, I must have taken a moment too long, because she suddenly got the super-huge, tear-filled filly eyes; kryptonite for any brony.
I quickly jumped down .“Hey, hey, I’ll get it, don’t worry,” I said reassuringly, “can you show me where it is?”

“Oh. Crap,” I said to myself as Applebloom pointed up at the weather vane on top of the barn.
“My Cutie Mark Crusaders cape slipped off a couple of days ago, and the wind blew it up there! Nopony has been able to get it down,” she said sadly, activating those deadly sad-face eyes. I quickly dashed off and started to scale the barn, making sure to not look down; I was pretty decent at climbing, but I didn’t like extreme heights. At last, I walked out to the weather vane, arms spread like a tightrope walker, and retrieved the cape from its fixture.

“I got it, Applebloom!” I cried, waving my prize in the air slightly, and the little filly almost exploded with happiness. I smiled and glanced off into the distance, when something caught my eye.
At the very edge of the orchard, I could see some of the trees rustling around, as if something were pushing them aside. I narrowed my eyes, straining to see what it was, when some of the ponies ran out of the orchard hastily, and among their nearly-incoherent cries, I could just barely make out the words “crystal monsters”.
Sentinels, I thought, panicking as I quickly descended from the roof of the barn.

“Applebloom, get inside!” I cried after I got down to ground level and handed her the cape. She looked confused, but ran off to the house regardless. I pulled the white crystal that Celestia had given me out of my pocket, and in a flash of light it took on its bladed form. I held it out defensively as a Sentinel approached from the treeline.
“Back off, you 14-karat freak!” I shouted as I charged, dodging a swipe of the Sentinel’s bladed arm, and returned with a blow of my own that tore the whole thing clean off. It regarded me with its flat, blue eyes as I took an upward slice between its legs, tearing it in half. “Woah,” I breathed, amazed by the sword’s strength, just as six more Sentinels emerged from the trees. I twirled the blade expertly in my hands, and ran for my next target.

The rest of the Sentinels were a lot tougher than the first one, mainly because they all worked together as a unit, backing each other up and tagging out to rest. It was a relief when I finally took down another, but seeing five more still eager to take a hit at me made me sink a little.
I may be better equipped, I thought, breathing hard, but I’m not in as good of shape as them.

My thoughts were interrupted by a battle cry from the farm; Applejack and several other members of the Apple family came charging towards my multi-faceted foes and tackled them, knocking all but one of them over. I took advantage of this, running at the lone confused Sentinel, and drove my sword right into the center of its body, then tore it out through the side, pulling its heart crystal out with it as the rest turned to crystal dust. I looked around to see the other Sentinels pulling the ponies that covered them off, and toss them away. They raised their blades into the air as more approached, and I realized in horror: they aren’t just trying to kill me; they’ll kill anything that tries to stop them!

I saw one of them marching towards Applejack, who lay stunned on the ground after being thrown into a tree. I called out, “Big Mac! Boost!” and the large, red stallion suddenly ran out right between myself and Applejack’s attacker. I ran out, screaming, and leaped into the air, stepping on Big Macintosh for an extra boost, and drove my sword right into the center of the Sentinel’s head, riding it like a bucking bull. Eventually, its erratic movements slowed, and the creature fell, turning to dust before it hit the ground.

After about a half an hour later, the Apple family and I had finally defeated the last of the Sentinels, and we joined in a huge group hug, overjoyed that nopony had been killed or seriously hurt. Applebloom ran up to me, her eyes huge.
“Wow, mister, where’d you learn to fight like that?” she asked, staring in wonder at the crystal blade as it shrunk down to its original size.
“Oh, you know... practice?” I lied. I didn’t want to have to explain what a video game was, which was where most of my experience with swords and fighting came from. Then again, almost any kid that found a stick pretended it was a sword at some point in their life, so I was sort of telling the truth.

Applejack galloped up to me and gave me a quick once-over, making sure I wasn’t hurt. “You alright, Sugarcube? Those things sure put up a fight, but we took ‘em down!” she cried, and the rest of the family let out a loud whoop.
I frowned, confused. “Aren’t you upset that I drew those things here? They came for me, after all.”
Applejack shook her head, smiling. “Are you kidding? Yer practically one of the family, and we always stick up for our own!”
Her words made me think of my family. We weren’t as tight knit as the Apples, but we did keep an eye on each other. I looked down, lost in thought, until Applejack poked me in the side.

“Hey, are you feelin' okay?” she asked, chuckling. I nodded.
“Yeah, I was just… thinking about my family back home,” I said, sighing.
Applejack widened her eyes. “What’s yer family like?” she asked eagerly, sitting down beside me. I looked around and saw most of the Apple family had gone back inside, so I sat down as well.
“I live with my little sister and mother. My father ditched us when I was really little, but it doesn’t bother me, since I never knew him. My mom can be kind of strict sometimes, but I could never imagine meeting a more kind and loving person. My little sister drives me nuts, but I love her with all my heart.” I sighed sadly as I said this.

Applejack smiled comfortingly. “I bet they miss you right now,” she said.
I snorted. “They probably think I bailed on them,” I said dejectedly. Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“Why would they think that?” she asked.
“Well, because I’m here,” I said slowly. The look she gave me told me she knew I was hiding something.
“How did you find that portal that brought you here?” she asked me cautiously. I kept dodging the point she was trying to reach, but seeing as she was the Element of Honesty, I knew she’d get there eventually. I persisted nonetheless.
“I was walking through the woods near my hometown and just happened upon it.”
“What were you doing in the woods?”
“Like I said, walking.”
“Allen, don’t lie to me; I can tell you had something on yer mind other than a nice walk.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “I tried to kill myself, okay?” I suddenly snapped. The orange mare jumped back in surprise as I went on, “I had no friends, I lived in a world filled with cruelty and disharmony, and I just couldn’t deal with it anymore! So I took some rope, tied it to a tree, and tried to hang myself," I said, starting to sob, "the only reason I’m in Equestria right now is because the branch snapped off before any serious damage was done,” I buried my head in my arms and just let go of myself. I never had a chance to really let out the pain that little event had caused, but it’s better late than never, I guess.

I felt Applejack wrap a comforting foreleg around my shoulder as she shushed me gently. “There, there, Allen,” she said softly, “It’s alright; you’ve been through a lot, and you deserve a chance to just let all yer pain go.”
We sat there for what felt like years, me sitting there bawling like a little baby, and Applejack wrapping me in a warm pony embrace, lightly patting my back every once in a while. Eventually, I calmed down a little bit, and wiped my eyes.
“Thanks, AJ; I needed that,” I said gratefully.
She blushed and nodded. “It was no problem,” she said modestly, “how about we go get something to eat? You must be starved after that fight earlier,” she said, motioning to the farmhouse. I stood up and jogged a few feet behind her as we headed off, the smell of apples growing stronger as we got closer.

I had no idea there were so many foods you could make from apples. The entire meal that night consisted of more apple-related dishes than you could count, and every one of them delicious. The Apples asked me all sorts of questions about life on Earth, and I answered them as honestly as I could without breaking my promise to Celestia. I laughed when Granny Smith asked “Do you got any apples back where you come from?”
“Yes, Granny Smith,” I said, “we have tons of apples back on Earth.” This resulted in a resounding cheer from around the room.

I decided to sleep outside that night, much to the protest of the Apples, but I insisted that I get a lot of fresh air after the battle with the Sentinels. They all wished me a goodnight and hugged me one by one as I headed out, making the trip outside end up taking nearly half an hour. I chuckled to myself as I closed the front door behind me, and headed out to the field. I lay myself down on the ground and stared up at the sky, particularly at the moon, and remembered Luna’s reasoning for abandoning her responsibilities and becoming Nightmare Moon: that citizens of Equestria didn’t appreciate the nighttime that she brought at the end of each day.
I love your night, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up in the crystal world once again to see Luna standing over me. “Why, hello there, Allen,” she said, giggling, “do you mind if I join you?”
I nodded, and she sat down next to me. “I don’t mean to offend you, but just out of curiosity, where is Celestia?” I asked.
“She decided to leave the job of visiting you to me. After all, the night is my domain,” she replied, and then sighed softly as she looked up at the sky. “Absolutely beautiful,” she said to herself.

I nodded. “I always loved the nighttime and how quiet and pretty it was. One of the good points of moving to a smaller town was I got to go out later at night, so I would just walk around by myself,” I said quietly.
Luna gave me a surprised look. “You like the night too?” she asked slowly.
I grinned, shrugging. “Yeah, what’s not to like? Darkness shows us for who we truly are. When it’s nighttime, I feel like I can really be me, and no one will judge me.”

She blushed and nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. Anyways, how was your day with the Apple family?”
I looked back up at the sky, the lack of clouds allowing me to see the true beauty it held. “Well, some more Sentinels showed up, but that sword and the Apples helped me hold them off. After that we had a big meal, and they asked me all kinds of questions about Earth. They seemed really concerned about the amount of apples we have there,” I added, chuckling quietly.

Luna sounded concerned. “Sentinels attacked the farm? What happened?”
I sat up slowly as I answered. “There were seven of them. I ran out to take them on, and when the Apples saw I was starting to lose it, they rushed to help me. When they did, though, the Sentinels started attacking them, too. I was relieved when I found out none of them were hurt too badly.”

I suddenly remembered what Applejack had told me earlier. “AJ told me I was like part of the family, and that was why they helped me so eagerly,” I said, laughing, but stopped when I saw the serious look Luna was giving me.
“Friendship can be a powerful bond,” she said quietly, “sometimes even stronger than family.”
I remembered all my friends from the city, and how they had so quickly forgotten me. “I sure wouldn’t know that,” I said sadly. Luna suddenly drew closer, so her side was pressed up against my arm.

“You just need to find the right friends that truly care about you; only then will you understand the true power that friendship can hold,” she said, smiling at me, and then did something that caught me by surprise: she leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the cheek. My eyes shot open as she stood up, blushing. “Goodnight, Allen,” she said quietly as she walked off, slowly disappearing.
I sat there, processing what had just happened. I got my first kiss from a girl! I thought happily, and from Princess Luna, no less!

I laid back down and closed my eyes, not at all negatively affected by the fact that I had been kissed by a pony.