I felt absolutely terrible looking for Applejack after that ill-fated dinner with the Oranges. All I wanted was for her to be happy, and anything less meant total sadness for me. I felt partly responsible, too, because disasters like this one were to be expected when a human loves an Earth pony, since the rest of the family has to get over it. The only thing on my mind as I ran back to Sweet Apple Acres was finding my bride and comforting her as best I could.

The gorgeous blue sky and puffy clouds were quickly being replaced with dark storm clouds as I ran back to Sweet Apple Acres; a scheduled storm was about to take place that would last all night. I expected to run in the house and find Applejack in our room or on the porch, but when I opened the front door and called for her, there was no answer. Oh no. Please be in the bedroom. She wasn’t there, either, and I was getting scared as I bolted out the back door into the north field. I ran through the rows of trees as the sky turned completely black and the winds whipped the leaves from the trees all around me, as if to mock me that I couldn’t find her.

“APPLEJACK?” I yelled as I sprinted up the hill that overlooked the whole orchard. I thought if I went to the top, I could spot her laying under a tree or something, wherever she was. I looked through the trees with desperation over the entire orchard as a crack of thunder shook the land. The smell of rain, which I typically loved when I wasn’t crazily concerned about the well-being and safety of the one I loved, was now overpowering. I pulled my hands through my hair and started sucking in air for breath. Oh, gosh. What if she’s out there by herself with no one to comfort her? What if she’s in danger? Ok, calm down, calm down. She’s probably just at Twilight’s house or something, she'll be fine. A sliver of hope and relief came over me as I noticed something big, red, and white back towards the house; the barn. I wasted no time sprinting back down the hill and through the trees all the way to the barn, in desperate hope of finding Applejack there.

I opened the barn door and shut it behind me as the rain came down in buckets from the clouds. Just as I was about to look around for her, I remembered something. I opened the barn door and stuck my head out, letting the rain thoroughly soak my head and then shutting the door inside the barn again. I looked around the dark room, which only consisted of a hay-covered floor, and saw nothing. Before I could flip out with fear and anxiety, I noticed what appeared to be light from a candle coming from the loft. I took a deep breath and walked over to the ladder that leads to the higher part of the barn. I peered over the top, and I took a sigh of relief that didn’t last long. There she was, lying facedown in the hay with her tailed wrapped around so it was up toward her head. Her hat was a few feet away from her, and her front legs were covering her face. My heart cried out in agony as I saw that she was crying, and I could hear her sniffles and sobs from my spot on the ladder. I did this. I walked up and sat down right beside her and spoke softly.

“Hey, Applejack. … See what I did?” I said, smiling and pointing to my hair, which was dripping wet. She had always thought it was cute when my hair was wet, and I know it sounds stupid, but I loved doing the little things for her. She poked her sad face up from her front legs and managed a smile as she wiped away her tears.

“Awww, shoot, yer such a sweetheart,” she said, her sweet voice choking with sadness despite being very affectionate. She sat up and looked at me in a manner that indicated she was in desperate need of a hug, which happened to be what I desperately needed too. I just wanted my happy, friendly Applejack back.

“Applejack… I’m so sorry about that,” I said, covering my eyes with my hand. I felt responsible for the whole thing, for all of Applejack’s sadness, and I was on the verge of tearing up myself. Applejack quickly came to my defense, almost offended that I brought that up and desperately trying to let me know that she didn’t blame me at all.

“Oh, honey, that wasn’t yer fault! Besides, he ain’t the thing that's got me upset, he jus’ pushed me over the edge,” she said, closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder.

“What? That’s not what you’re upset about? What’s bothering you, Applejack?” I said. Applejack pulled her head off my shoulder and closed her eyes, once again wiping tears. She paused for a few seconds, as I waited desperately for her to tell me what was bothering her. It was making me so sad to her like this I couldn’t take it. Please, for the love of Celestia, stop crying. She opened her eyes and looked down at the ground. She was truly depressed about something.

“Today at the rodeo… after ah’ won the high jump event… Bon Bon mentioned to me that ah’… she said, ‘yer nothin’ special, Applejack.’ She said ah’ was everypony’s least favorite of the elements of harmony. She said ah’ was a useless pony, and that all ah’ll am to everyone, even mah' friends, is just a mare on a farm.”

I could not believe what I just heard. How could someone say that about you? She took a deep breath and shut her eyes again again, with more tears falling. I felt a tear running down my cheek as well, as she really took this comment personally. How did she hide this all day? It was worse then that. Apparently, she had felt that way about herself since before I even met her.

“Fluttershy’s the nice one… Rarity’s the glamorous one… Rainbow Dash is the cool, awesome one… Pinkie’s the funny one… Twilight’s the smart one… an ah’… ah’m just the one who works with apples,” she said, her voice trembling and choking on her own tears.  

I looked at her for a moment with incomprehensible sadness. How? How could anyone say that about my beloved Applejack? Suddenly, I felt my blood boiling up inside me, and I clinched my fists with rage. How dare that selfish, preening mule say that about her! I stood up and snarled.

“Why, I oughta…”

All of my rage inside me left when I looked down at her and saw her face. She was still sitting on the ground, looking up at me with the saddest, most desperate, most heart-wrenching look I have ever seen in my entire life. My wrath turned to sadness as I looked deeply into her big, beautiful, teary green eyes. Rage is not gonna make her feel any better. I just couldn’t believe that she was told that, and that she seemed to feel that way. It was just the polar opposite of everything I thought about her. She was like everything I strived for put into one pony, and for someone to think that or say those things was an insult to me as much as it was to her, not to mention I couldn’t stand to see her upset, and would let myself be tortured to make her happy. Pity and compassion were flowing freely through my heart as I sat back down and looked her in the eye.

“Applejack… do you remember way back… when I came to Sweet Apple Acres to see you after being a way for a while, and you and me had the best day I had ever had in my entire my life?”

“Of course ah’ remember. Ah’ll never forget it, it was the best day of mah’ life too.”

“Do you wanna know why I went back to see you?”

“Why?”

Since we shared the element of honesty, she knew that I couldn’t lie to her, even though she also knew I wouldn’t.

“Because every single day I was gone, I thought about you,” I whispered. Her eyes lit up with affection, even though the tears were still flowing. “You have the purest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. It shines like gold, you’ve never so much as said a single bad word in your life. I look at you… and I see… the most beautiful creature in the entire world, but so much more then that, I see the friendliest, sweetest, most humble pony in all the land, one that I couldn't disrespect in any way if I tried,” I said, and she seemed to be taking in all of my words as she stared at me with an open mouth, and much deeper, stronger feelings in her eyes. She was finally starting to smile amidst all the sadness and crying. “I admire hard labor more then anything else in the world, and you work so hard and so passionately because you love your family… You’re my role model, my hero, my best friend…”

Before I could finish talking, she gave me a big hug that caused me to fall right back into the hay. It was the exact same way as when we jumped off the train; I was on my back, and she was laying on top of me so that her belly was on mine. I could feel magic and love gushing out of my heart as I smiled up at her.

“So are you feeling better now?” I said, but she wasn’t smiling, she was just staring as deeply and intensely as she ever has into my eyes. The smile faded on my face too, as I began to lose myself in her wonderful green eyes. This continued for a while, but then she closed her eyes and lowered her head slowly. Her mouth landed on mine softly, and for as long as a minute, I forgot that she was a pony and I was a human as I closed my eyes and kissed her back just as gently. She raised her head and smiled as wide as a mile, and all the sorrow and sadness in her eyes was gone, replaced with peace and happiness. There’s my Applejack.

“Ah’ love you so much, sugarcube. You make me feel so special! Yer the kindest, sweetest, cutest, pure-hearted husband a mare could ask for, and I wouldn’t trade nothin’ for ya,” she said, the sweet friendliness of her voice back and music to my ears. To hear her speak so highly of me was strange, because from my perspective I was so far from her and what she deserved, but it was also divine.

“I love you. Always have. Looks like we're stuck in here all night with that storm going on outside,” I said, laughing and smiling, staring into those eyes deeply yet again. The disaster dinner that took place just before seemed like ages ago; I was now so happy it wasn’t even funny, simply because she was. That was all I ever wanted, was for her to be happy. She tucked her legs in by my side so I couldn’t move, just like before, and even though she was heavier then me, it was still the most comfortable feeling in the world having her lay on top of me like that. She smiled and lowered her head again so that her eyes were only a few inches from mine.

“Yer stuck, but ah'm not,” she said, laughing and blushing. She closed her eyes and lowered her lips until they were locked with mine once again, except this time, I reached my arms around her neck and embraced her tightly as my heart spluttered.