Bright sunshine streamed through the windows of Ponyville General, aiding the overhead lights in illuminating the small, bare recovery room Jaze waited in. He rested in one of the chairs, his foot tapping quickly against the floor. The bed had been made, everything had been tidied up, and no one had thought to leave a book or anything to make the wait bearable. There was no clock on the wall, no way to judge how long he had been sitting there, doing nothing.

Today was the day; he was finally being let out of the room that had been his world ever since he had been moved down to the planet a couple weeks ago. Most of the pain was gone, and only a bit of stiffness remained to remind him of his injuries. Between all the sleeping and tests he had gone through during the first few days, they were a blur. But time dragged on, seemingly leaving him behind. Everyone had been too busy over the last few days to visit much, and the doctors and nurses were hardly any sort of company. But now, the only thing left was one final check from a doctor, and then he would be free.

Jaze stood and stretched, finally unable to stand sitting any more. Casting one last, disgusted look around the tiny room, he moved to the only window, across from the door. From his second story vantage point, he could just see the activity from the human camp in the distance. Dropships were constantly touching down and lifting off, kicking up dust all the while. Overhead, just visible between the clouds, was a huge human carrier directing the flocks of smaller ships fluttering around it.

The ship, and others like it, had been appearing and disappearing in the sky ever since yesterday morning. They would hover just outside the planet’s atmosphere while the dropships ferried up whatever cargo had been chosen for that particular vessel. Some had been filled with the recovered wreckage from the Cye, others with human equipment. He had been learned that this particular ship was taking on the Marines wounded or killed over the last few days.

A knock at the door made him jump. Without turning around, he yelled, “Come in!” The door opened and softly clicked shut behind him. He began to turn, the grimace on his face morphing into an outright glare, “It’s about time you showed up, let’s get this check up…”

His voice faltered and his eyes widened. Trixie, with Zephyr at her side, stood grinning by the door. The little filly in particular was a mess; her long, brown mane was tangled beyond recognition, and the childish spark her eyes usually held was gone. Trixie was only a little better, having taken the time to run a quick comb through her mane. She had her saddle bags thrown across her back and bulged oddly from something uneven concealed within.

Before he could say anything, a small, gray blur launched itself across the room into his abdomen. The air exploded from his body as a pair of tiny forelegs wrapped as far around his waist as they could reach. Tears soaked the thin material of the hospital gown as the filly buried her face into his stomach.

Jaze gently ruffled the little pony’s mane, putting on a wide smile as he asked “Come on now, what’re those tears about huh?”

Zephyr wailed harder at his words, and her voiced hitched with sobs, “B-because th-th-the doc’ers said you was hurted, an’ I couwdn’t go see you because you was too sick, an’ dey did’nit know if you was gonna get better an’ I did’nit want you to go away wif Mama and Dada…”

She looked up from his stomach, tears still streaming down her cheeks, “Please don’ go ‘way! I don’ wan’ Jazer to go ‘way!”

Trixie glided across the tile floor and wrapped the tiny filly in a tight hug from behind, gently nuzzling against the young pony’s neck. “Don’t worry Zephyr; Jaze isn’t going away for a little while.”

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere just yet.” he crowed with a wink.

The gray pegasus looked from his face to Trixie’s, and the tears slowly began to peter out. He gave the child as honest a smile as he could manage. Bright, sea-blue eyes regarded him carefully; he could practically see the wheels turning in her young mind.

Her sobs finally ceased entirely, and Zephyr whispered, “Weally? Jazer’s not gonna go ‘way?”

“Not for a little while sweetie.” Jaze assured the sepia-haired pony as he knelt to her level. His arms wrapped around the young one, and he gave a tight hug as he added, “Do you really think I could leave something as adorable as you behind?”

Zephyr couldn’t help a watery giggle, and a smile began to spread across her tiny face. She buried her face into his chest, and murmured “Dat’s good. I don’ wanna be awone.”

“Alone?” asked Jaze, one eyebrow rising, “Don’t you have aunts or uncles? Maybe some grandparents?”

The youngster shook her head, tears again filling her eyes, “I don’ hab anypony else buh Mama and Dada.”

“Don’t worry about it Jaze.” Trixie cut in, “I’ve already spoken with the officials about taking her in; they said that since she seems to have bonded with us so quickly that she should stay with us.”

The words struck Jaze like a bullet. He tried to keep the smile on his face, but couldn’t stop it from shrinking a bit. “Yeah, with… us.”

The words came out dead and hollow, despite his attempts to make them otherwise. Immediately, Trixie’s eyebrow rose with a pointed glare in his direction. He could easily see the suspicion in her gaze; those wide, lavender pools couldn’t conceal anything at all. The stare was impossible to look directly at, and he was forced to turn his eyes down towards the bright bundle of happiness contained in his arms.

At least Zephyr didn’t seem to notice anything amiss; her smile never faltered. “I’m going to stay with Jazer and Twixie!”

“You sure are.” Jaze agreed, but he still couldn’t put any enthusiasm into his words.

“Hey Zephyr, why don’t you wait outside for a bit?” suggested the azure mare as she stood.

“Ah-kay!” chirped the young filly.

She bounced to the door with a wide grin on her face. Even with the tearstains still fresh on her face, her brightness had returned full-fledged. The pure, innocent gleam in her young eyes had rekindled, and she seemed to be her usual bright, cheery self again. The sight was enough to bring a genuine smile back to Jaze’s face, a smile that quickly fell with one look at Trixie’s glaring visage.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind the gray pegasus, Trixie straightened to her full three foot height. She seemed to fill the room, and the rage in her eye didn’t help. Jaze turned away; he was still unable to look directly at her. A short snort sounded, and a hoof whipped under his chin to bring his eyes back around.

“What is wrong with you?” hissed the unicorn, acid in her glower.

“Trixie, we’ve talked about this…” he began, but a hoof to his lips silenced him.

Neither of them moved save for their breathing. The mare studied his face, the intensity of her gaze never wavering. It stopped his heart from pumping, and his entire chest tightened. The unicorn’s beautiful eyes studied his face, slowly roving over every inch of his features. He knew what she must be thinking, and her stare kept him riveted to the spot.

The silence wore on, deafening in the tiny room. If he focused, he could hear the rest of the hospital going about their day. He imagined he could even hear the dropships taking off in the distance. Everyone was busy running around trying to do whatever task had been assigned them.

But inside that little room, time was standing still. Not even the dust seemed to be moving in the air. It almost felt like he didn’t need to breathe. His lungs would go for what felt like hours without drawing in a breath, until his body suddenly remembered how to take in air in one sudden gulp. Kneeling was starting to get painful, but still the lovely mare’s eyes refused to release their hold on him.

“Jaze, I need you to be honest.” the pony finally said, her face completely blank, “Is it really necessary you leave? Is there no other way? You say you are friends with Gaston, maybe you could…”

He snatched the hoof still at his lips, cutting the azure pony off. The air felt thick against his lips as he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The words stuck in his throat; he didn’t want to say them, but knew that he had to. Still, they refused to leave the safety of his mouth, as if not saying it aloud would somehow change the world.

“Trixie…” he croaked, “I’ve already got desertion on my record; it’s only Gaston that kept me from being hanged on the spot when they found me. As much as I would like to otherwise, I have to go where they tell me to.”

“Who ‘they’?” she fired back, “Maybe we could talk to them; surely they wouldn’t want to split up…”

As much as he would have liked otherwise, Jaze couldn’t suppress a snicker. “The Earth Coalition government has absolutely no qualms about splitting up friends and family, if they feel it serves a purpose.”

Trixie’s face contorted into a scowl and her voice into an almost feral growl, “What purpose does it serve?”

“Gaston says that there’s still plenty of worlds seiged or taken, not least of all Earth.”His voice was surprisingly dead, even to him. “Not to mention the petty squabbles, rebellions, and crime that will spawn in the wake of the war. We need every soldier we can get now, and that includes me.”

“But what difference does one soldier make?” she fired back, “Does it really matter to them so much that just one person is not fighting? They have millions more! Why can’t you just stay here?”

“Because if they let one soldier walk away they couldn’t stop anyone else. Everyone will have that same excuse, right down to the last person throwing down their gun and walking away from the battlefield.”

Trixie stared at him, and he could see the desperation behind those wide, lavender orbs as she fumbled for another argument. “But…We could… You could…”

“No.” His voice rang in the small room. The word felt final even as he spoke. He stood and fixed the pony with a steady gaze, adding, “I can’t disregard orders, or try to fight them. Not when I’m already in enough trouble over disappearing for months.”

Trixie froze, staring at him with eyes wider than normal. Tears swam in the mare’s eyes, and her lips refused to let her make words. It sent a bolt of pain through his chest to see her looking so shaken, but he couldn’t give her false hope. The pain only worsened as her tears began to flow accompanied by heart-wrenching sobs.

She suddenly dove at him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. Sobs reverberated through his chest as Trixie finally broke down. His arms encircled her, trying to give some small measure of comfort. Blurriness took hold of his sight, and he felt wetness kiss his cheeks.

“H-hey,” he managed to choke out, “it’s not like it’s forever. Soon we’ll have freed all the human worlds, and then I…”

She suddenly shoved him away, hard enough that he stumbled back against the wall. Tingles of pain spread across his back, and confusion knitted his brow. Trixie turned away and her voice came out a bitter hiss, “And then you will be off on some other mission, something else that’s too important to get away from. And then another, and another, and so on.”

“No, I’ll be back after we’ve fought back the Cye, I swear!” he called. Stepping forward, he bent over and put a hand on her shoulder, “It won’t take too long, they’ve been falling back all over the galaxy. I’ll only have to be gone a few months, tops.”

The pony shrugged off his hand and refused to turn around, but at least her voice lost some of its hostility. “And what can happen in a few months Jaze? You can get just as dead that your stupid little war is ending as you could when it was still getting worse. What will I tell Zephyr? You remember, the young filly you just promised you weren’t leaving? What will happen if you never come back? Tell me, since you have all the answers.”

His breath hitched; that was something he had never thought about. “Then… Then you’ll find someone better than me. Someone that will actually give you what you need, and deserve, instead of leaving when they’re needed most. But I can’t just walk away from my duty; there’s too many people counting on me.”

Still, she refused to look at him. Her voice wavered, but never broke as she stated, “I don’t want anypony ‘better’; you are what I deserve, what I want. Go then; do your duty that you care so much about. Hopefully you will be able to make it back, and that I will be here when you return.”

Tears flowed freely at last, each one that left leaving him feeling a bit more drained than the one before. He couldn’t think, or form any sort of argument. All he could do was watch as the unicorn strode towards the door. The soft clop of her hooves against the tile floor was deafening, every hollow thud echoing around the small room. He tried to step forward, hoping to stop her, but the air must have turned to concrete when he wasn’t looking.

She paused for a moment when she reached the door, and stated in a deadpan voice as floated her saddle bags to the bed with a flick of power from her horn, “I brought you some clothes, thought you might like to change out of those hospital rags.” The pony yanked open the door with her magic, bouncing it off the wall.

“Trixie, wait.” Jaze called, “Please don’t leave it like this; I’m not going away forever, I promise.

The sound of a soft sigh reached his ears, and a shiver passed through the unicorn’s form. For the briefest moment, she looked ready to turn around. Instead, she simply tossed her head and hissed acidly, “I see where your promises lead Jaze.”

Her words froze him, burying a hot knife into his chest. His jaw locked, and a lump formed in his throat. His voice turned into a raw croak, almost inaudible, “Trixie, please…”

“Goodbye Jaze, and farewell.”

She disappeared through the door, slamming it shut behind her. A dull pain shot through his chest, and his eyes were scratchy and raw. The aches and pains from before suddenly returned. His arms had become leaden and dead, unable to raise more than a few inches before falling back to his sides. Standing was an impossible task; his legs were wobbly to the point they wouldn’t hold him. He sank into a chair and rested his head in his hands.

The tears dried on his cheeks, leaving only a salty crust behind. His breath came in short, shuddering gulps. All over his body felt cold. Even his heart felt like it had been replaced by a ball of ice. There was no feeling left.

Several things he should have said bored into his mind, along with a mocking voice for not having used them. He needed to go after her, to explain things better. Everything would be so easy to fix, if he could just get up and move. But try as he might, his legs refused to work anymore. It was like her words had turned him to stone, her anger rooting him to the spot.

And she had every right to be angry. Things were going to be difficult, and he was running away. Abandoning her. If it were him, he would be nothing but angry with the person leaving. But he couldn’t just leave his duties as a soldier; there would never be any peace for someone wanted for treason. She just couldn’t understand that.

“Agh, why can’t things be easy?” Jaze asked the floor beneath his feet.

“Because nothing worth doing is?” a voice answered.

His head shot up, and he was greeted by the sight of a green-maned, cream-colored earth pony mare wearing a nurse’s uniform. A small, black bag was slung across her back, and she looked to have been awake for days. She gave him a quick smile, and added, “I’m sorry, but I did knock. When no one answered, I got a little worried.”

Jaze let his head fall back down to his hands, his strength quickly leaving. Silence took hold of the room, and he could hear the nurse shift slightly by the door. He tried to ignore the pony, instead studying the tiles below. Maybe if he waited long enough, something would become clear. She stepped further into the room, each hoofstep echoing around the room like the unicorn’s before.

“Soooo,” she asked hesitantly, “I guess that young mare that just, er, left was a friend of yours?” The only answer he could muster was a brief grunt. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, except the one being least likely to speak with him right now. It would have been too much to raise his head.

But unfortunately, the nurse couldn’t take the hint. She took a few steps closer, and tried again, “Look, I know that it looks bad now, but I think your friend just needs a bit to cool off. Then you two can talk. I see it all the time with those that were seriously wounded.”

The words sent a bright shard of hope through his cold body, and he brought his eyes up to stare at the mare. “You think so, huh?”

The nurse winked, “Sure. Just give it time.”

She moved around the bed to stand beside him, and added, “Now stand up; let’s get you tested so you can leave.”

The late morning sun burned hot and bright directly overhead. Dust rose as a dropship touched down, filling the air with the roar of engines. Sunlight gleamed off the polished sides of the ship, seemingly beaming right into his eyes. An acrid, metallic tasted coated his tongue, and the smell of ozone burned in his nostrils.

Dmitri limped towards the dropship that had just landed. Ponies milled around the landing area. Some waved in his direction with bright smiles, receiving a quick wave and a smile in return. A group of Marines strode past him without a second glance, each one loaded down with packs of equipment. A similar pack was slung across his back, and his gray uniform was sticking to his back from sweat. His leg was still stiff and sore, making walking a challenge. He grimaced at the wounded limb, wishing that it would finish healing already.

Dmitri glanced around again, and spotted a flash of orange forcing its way to the front of the massed crowd. As he watched, a bright-orange mare broke through the crush of ponies. She glanced around, and her face lit up the moment she spotted him hobbling along. Her wave nearly shook the hat from her head as she bounced on her hind-legs. He couldn’t help a small smile from taking hold of his lips, and his feet changed course without input from his mind.

As he neared, a spot on his left cheek began to smolder. He suddenly remembered the brief touch of her lips against his skin. The tips of his ears began to burn, the heat slowly spreading across the rest of his face. It wasn’t too hard to imagine how red his face was, and he could only hope that someone looking would attribute it to the heat.

Before he knew it, the earth pony mare stood before him. Applejack gave him a bright smile, “Hey, there ya are. Was worried ya’d already left.”

Dmitri returned the smile, though he couldn’t help a twinge of sadness going through him. “Nope, still here. But this is the last shuttle home, so I do need to make it.”

“Oh.” The mare’s smile dropped from her features as her gaze fell to the ground. She scuffed a hoof against the dirt, and muttered, “Ah knew that. Ah jus’ wan’ed to say thanks fer everythin’.”

“Anytime.” His leg twitched, forcing him to add with a light-hearted smirk, “But can we try not to have to do it again, like, ever?”

The ghost of a smile played across her features, “Yeah, that’d be nice. Especially if we could just get together without any sorta fightin’ t’ gettin’ in the way.”

“That’s not too far off, I think. Maybe in a few months, we’ll have everything locked back down.”

Applejack nodded, a serious cast on her face, “But ‘til then, ya better stay safe, a’ight?”

He glared down at his leg and said in a bitter undertone, “With this damned thing, I doubt I’ll actually be doing much. Probably just a lot of sitting on my butt.”

The earth pony stood and threw a foreleg across his shoulders, giving him a sideways smile. Dmitri felt his cheeks warming even more than before. The left side of his face in particular felt like someone had laid a hot coal against it. The crooked grin grew a hair wider, and Applejack dug her free hoof into his side. “Issat so bad? Least ya won’ hafta worry about gettin’ shot. Again.”

“Yeah, yeah I guess so.” Dmitri felt his face redden further at the crack in his voice, and he silently prayed that the mare wouldn’t notice.

Applejack, still grinning, fell back to her hooves, “Ah suppose ya should be gettin’ on to yer ride.” Her eyes sparkled, and her voice turned hesitant, “Unless… ya wanna stay.”

He let his gaze fall. “I wish I could, but I’d be in more trouble than I could deal with.”

“Ah know.” assured the young mare, even as her smile slipped away. “Don’t mean we can’t dream.”

“But I promise to come visit at my first chance.”

“Ya’d better, Ah do still owe ya.”

He stood there, searching for something else to say. The bright sun was beautiful, and a stark contrast to the gleaming gray of the ship behind him. The smell of the dirt under his boots, of the wind, and of the plants swaying in the gentle breeze rooted him to the dirt. Not to mention the rodeo-pony watching him.

The memory of her brief kiss kept forcing itself to the fore of his mind. Butterflies filled his stomach, which got worse anytime he looked into the sparkling, bright-green orbs staring up at him. He toyed with the idea of confronting her, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. It was probably just more common in pony culture to show appreciation like that.

Finally, he couldn’t stand looking down into her upturned eyes anymore. “I’m sorry, but I need to go.”

Applejack’s gaze fell to the ground, finally allowing him to be free of its spell. “Righ’, be seein’ ya Dmitri.” Her voice was low, a barely audible whisper. She turned away and pushed back through the crowd of ponies, and soon he couldn’t see her anymore.

Dmitri let out a long, tired sigh as he turned back to the dropship. The butterflies had stilled at the sight of the starship hunkered to the dirt. Its gray hull beckoned to him; an irresistible call that tugged him towards it. His heart had sunk to replace the flutters; he felt oddly empty. He trudged toward the ship and tried to force away the disappointed look he had seen on the earth-pony’s features.

The unasked questions still jingled around in his mind. One in particular kept cropping up, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the kiss had to have meant something. Even if he had just saved her sister, there had to be something special about the contact right?

His feet dragged along the ground, begging him to go find out. Looking at the ground, he continued towards the starcraft. He knew he had missed his chance; there was no time to track Applejack down before he had to leave. His heart grew heavy as he drew level with gleaming metal; it was something that would just have to wait. Maybe he could ask if he ever returned.

Moving around to the back of the ship, he found the boxy craft’s ramp down. The dim interior lights left him in a blind darkness while he blinked rapidly. His eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, and he could begin to see faces staring at him. Usually being watched would have bothered him, but at that moment he couldn’t care less.

Most of the seats were still empty, but one person sitting at the fore of the craft caught his eye. Jaze stared at the wall, supporting his head with a hand to his cheek. The seats around the Colonel all sat empty. Dmitri strode towards the scarred assassin, ignoring the strange looks being thrown his way. His sore leg was screaming at him to sit down and he was happy to oblige. He took the seat directly across from Jaze.

The Colonel continued to stare at the wall. Dmitri seemed to have gone unnoticed by the other. He stashed his rucksack underneath the seat and tried his best to relax against the hard plastic. Already, the lack of cushions had his back grumbling with soreness, not to mention his backside. But at least his leg was a little less painful.

Dmitri glanced around at the assorted Marines around him. Most seemed to have forgotten about him, and were instead doing their best to get comfortable against the rigid chairs. One just a few seats away had managed to fall asleep, with her head drooping against her chest. Dmitri yawned, but his brain was buzzing too much to allow a nap. His thoughts wouldn’t turn away from the young mare.

He leaned forward in his seat and cleared his throat. “Good morning Jaze. How’s it going?”

The scarred assassin jumped and turned. His silvery eyes were bloodshot with deep purple bags under them. The Colonel blinked several times; his brow furrowed deeply as he studied the man across from him. Giving his head a sudden, quick shake, he finally responded. “Oh, hello Dmitri. Everything’s good, just fine really.” Jaze straightened in his seat and yawned, giving a quick stretch.

Dmitri let one eyebrow slowly rise, “You don’t look it. Is there a problem? Did you learn something we should know?”

“No, nothing. Everything is fine.”

“There’s something bothering you.”

“It’s nothing to worry about; just a stupid mistake I made that may have cost me something important.”

“I think I know what you mean.” Dmitri remarked as his gaze fell. The young mare’s face floated behind his eyes once again. Try as he might, the visage just wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Something wrong?” asked Jaze.

Dmitri’s head snapped up to see the Colonel staring at him with a look of concern. He gave his head a quick shake and mumbled, “No, I’m fine. Just… just thinking.”

“About?”

“About a question I wanted to ask someone, and didn’t.”

The scarred soldier’s lips twisted into a small smile. “I see. Let me tell you something Sands; don’t wait to ask a question. It can end up as too late in an instant.”

For a moment, all thought left his mind. Dmitri stared at the man across from him, taking in the knowing smile. Without understanding why, he gave a quick look around the dropship’s interior. It was still mostly empty, and there had to be several more Marines that would be making their way here. A fervor began to take hold in his stomach; a need to move and act that made his hands jitter with anticipation. He needed to do something, and just what that was began to take shape in his mind. And in that moment, he knew he couldn’t leave the planet without talking to Applejack one last time.

Jaze’s smile grew by a few teeth, “Is it too late now?”

“I… don’t know.” For a moment, the heat died back. His heart felt like it stopped for a split second; how did he even know where she was? It could take hours to find her again. Unless she was staying nearby to watch his ship leave, which it would with or without him. “I don’t want to be left…”

“Did you forget who I am?” mocked the assassin. He put a finger on the gleaming emblem pinned on his shoulder, “These aren’t for show you know. They actually give me a bit of power. Go do what you need to; I’ll stall the take-off.”

“Are you sure?” Dmitri fired back, feeling his pulse thudding in his head.

“I’m not going to sit by and watch you throw something away for a stupid reason. No excuse now; get going.”

Dmitri let his gaze fall to the floor again. There was no reason to keep from going. She couldn’t have gotten too far, and someone was sure to have seen her. And Jaze said he would keep the ship from leaving. But still, he couldn’t get himself to stand up. Doubts nagged at his mind, bringing out everything that could go wrong. What if he couldn’t find her, or what if he didn’t like the answer? His hands balled into white-knuckled fists on his knees. It didn’t matter what happened; he had to at least try. He just couldn’t leave things as they were.

He stood up in a rush. “Hold the ship, I’ll be back.” The words flew from his lips, and he was striding towards the ramp even as he spoke. If Jaze had said something, it was lost in the mess of thoughts burning through his mind.

The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment as he left the ship, and his hands flew over his eyes. He blinked as he scanned the crowd of ponies staying just inside the safe area around the ship, but he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She was nowhere in sight, but he didn’t let that get to him as he stepped off the ramp and took off in a jog where he had seen the earth mare disappear to.

The soreness in his leg seemed to fade away as he ran into the crowd of ponies. Most jumped out of his way, many throwing stern glares his way. The few who were too slow he simply dodged around. As he dashed through the crowd, he kept twisting his head to spot any sign of the orange mare. He saw every color of the rainbow and more, but not even a hint of the pony he sought.

He broke through the crowd and slid to a stop. His heart battered his ribs and he took in great pulls of air. He turned in a full circle, but still Applejack was nowhere. His heart sank along with his shoulders. There was no way to make it all the way across town to her home, and he wasn’t even sure she’d be there. She could be anywhere; it was impossible. And besides, he still had no idea what he would even say.

He gave a last glance around, and spotted a dark brown hat just over the tops of the crowd. The farmpony’s signature hat was near one of the prefab buildings left behind as an outpost. Hope rekindled in his heart as he pushed through the crowd, until he finally saw his target leaning against the plain gray building. His lungs heaved to try and bring in air after his run, and he felt the material of his uniform sticking to his back.

He called out and waved, “Applejack!”

The farmer turned towards him with a start. As she looked at him, her eyes widened and a brief grin flickered across her features. She waved back excitedly, beckoning him over with a hoof. Somehow he managed to dodge around the ponies still milled about the ship and slid to a stop next to the farmpony.

“Dmitri,” she asked in a tone to match her face, “what’re ya doin’ here? Ah thought ya needed to git onboard th’ ship?

“H-hey…” he forced out between breaths, “I… needed… to talk… to you…”

Applejack rolled her eyes and smiled. “Hang on there pardner, catch yer breath firs’.”

He nodded and put his hands on his knees. For several moments, he took in ragged gulps of air while the pony patiently waited. His face was flushed and hot, and a stitch had developed along his side during his run. Sweat rolled off his nose to fall into the dirt road. When he had finally recovered enough to speak, he stood and glanced around. More than a few curious eyes peeked at them, though their owners quickly looked away as soon he saw them.

He put a hand on Applejack’s shoulder and guided her towards the shade behind the building. She frowned, but followed without question. They entered the dim alley; the houses nearly blocked out the sun above. A cool breeze tugged at them, and Dmitri couldn’t help a sigh of relief at the sweet, cool air. Applejack stood close to him with a confused tilt to her head. She was closer than he would have been comfortable with, but this time it just seemed right.

As he looked down at the farmpony, his mind locked; it was almost like he couldn’t remember why he had tracked down the mare next to him in the first place. The frown on her face deepened and her eyebrow slowly rose, but still he couldn’t think of a polite way to approach the subject.

She started to ask, “Didja need sumthin’, or…”

“In the base, was there really nothing more to that kiss?”

He blurted the words, almost so fast as to blur together. Applejack froze in midsentence, her mouth hanging open in shock. Redness touched his cheeks, and his eyes went up to the sky. He would have looked down, but Applejack was in the way. He hadn’t meant the words to come out like that; he must have blown it. He couldn’t bring his eyes back down to look at her, to see the rage that was surely building on her features. Several agonizingly long moments passed in awkward silence. With a deep sigh, he finally brought his gaze down. Best to get this out of the way.

But when he looked down, he saw a face just as red as his must have been. Applejack stared at a patch of grass under her hooves with her ears flattened against her head. She rubbed one forehoof against the opposite leg, and replied, “Ah… Ah really don’ know sugercube. It jus’ kinda… happened, ya know? Ah don’ know what got intah me back there.”

An idea crossed his mind as he stared down at the pony. It was crazy, and might earn him a slap. But he had nothing better. His hand reached out and snagged her chin, bringing her head and gaze up. Bending at the waist, his lips touched hers in a short kiss. Applejack froze, but the expected blow never arrived. Instead, she seemed content to stand there. The short, velvet soft fur of her lips sent a tingle running from his head down to his toes and back, leaving him feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

The contact was brief, only a fraction of a second. He could feel his heart pounding in his head, accompanied by a powerful heat across his cheeks as he broke the kiss. If she were going to slap him, now would be the perfect time. But she just stood there, staring at him with wide, confused eyes. The blush on her features had deepened, somehow making her eyes seem to sparkle.

“If you ever figure out, let me know.” His voice was smooth, far more so than he felt. Inside, he could feel everywhere quivering at once. Like a cause of battle jitters, but much more pleasant. He sidled past the pony and back out into the bright sunlight. She stayed rooted to the spot as he jogged back towards the camp, and his waiting ride. The burn was still going strong on his cheeks, and he silently offered a prayer that everyone would assume it was from the run.