Surprises aren’t entirely my thing. There are times where I would find them pleasant or enjoyable, but if the surprise is something I do not like, then I don’t have the greatest reaction. I could very well do something foolish if such a thing came to pass.

And it has.

The surprise came that morning, the morning after I spent the night at Sweet Apple Acres, where I shared a bed with whom I consider to be my best friend in this crazy world, Applejack. What could I say about her, that I haven’t already said in the previous pages before? She doesn’t have the aerial acrobatics of Rainbow Dash, the magical abilities of Twilight or Rarity, the talent of swaying animals like Fluttershy, or…whatever Pinkie Pie does. What she does have is strength, determination, loyalty, and love for her friends and family. I admire everything about her…

And I just found out that I am in love with her…and that scares me.

Lyra, in all her strange and rapey ways, had a point. She asked me what I would do when the day came, when I would find myself attracted to a pony. I didn’t give her an answer, hiding behind my excuse of having the transformation being done, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it. Now, here I was, faced with that same question. The truth is…I had no idea. I told myself that Applejack would never know about my feelings, until I am one of them. She had shown me great kindness up to this point, and I would’ve hated to screw things up now.

The best thing I could have done was to ignore it, and keep on moving with life. The worst thing I could have done, was to keep it in my mind at all times, and avoid contact with the one I cared for, possibly giving her mixed signals.

Guess which one I picked?

The second week of applebuck season began, and I arrived early, like I did last week. I had a hearty breakfast before leaving the house, so I waited outside for Big Mac and Applejack to arrive. Once they did, I was all business. Loading up the barrels by the trees, filling up buckets of water for them to drink, and did my job with great efficiency. I didn’t get into any accidents, mishaps, or misfortunes that would have injured me, or at the very least, given me a slight bruise.

“Wow!” Big Mac said, impressed, “Yer really steppin’ it up today, Matt!”

“Yeah, yer doing a fine job.” Applejack approached me, ready to give me a tap on the stomach. I backed away from her, now afraid of her touch. She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Thanks.” was all I said, before taking the wagon off to be emptied of its contents.

For the first half of the week, I tried to keep this calm and collected attitude around them; trying to put on a serious and professional look, that would scream ‘no crap workaholic’. They looked at me like I was a different person now, my personality has changed completely, and they did not know why. Sure, my work ethic had improved exponentially, but I was no longer the good-natured, accident prone man that they knew. They would offer me chances to have dinner with them, like I did that stormy night, but I refused, choosing to walk back home almost immediately after the day’s work was done.

I felt like crap every time the day ended, pushing them…specifically her…away from me, but my brain was telling me that it was the right thing to do. Just a couple more months, and I can end this charade, and go back to who I really am.

Wednesday hit, and I was being my serious self, as usual. Like a good worker, I began to pull the wagon back to the farm for emptying. Unfortunately, somepony was following me. Applejack was following me.

“Hey, do you have time ta talk?” she asked. I said nothing. “Okay…um…can ya nod or somethin’?” I still say nothing. Every fiber of my being wants to talk to her, but I was afraid I was going to say or do something stupid. “I just wanna say what a great job you been doin’. We couldn’t have done it without ya.”

I take a small glance at her, seeing her smiling face. “Thanks.” was what I said.

“The thing is…how do ah put this...you’ve been rather…distant lately. Is everythin’ okay?”

“I’m fine.” I say coldly.

“Really? It doesn’t look okay. Are you sure…”

“I said I’m fine.” I snap back. I can see her flinch off the corner of my eye. Every second I spend with her is making me increasingly nervous.

“Did…did I so something’ wrong? Cause if I did…”

“Look!” I yelled, “Don’t you have a job to do?! I’m trying to do mine!”

She backs away, head leaned back, in complete shock at my outburst. My heart sank as I saw the tears forming in her eyes. She tries to fight them, as she slowly walks backwards, away from me.

“Alright…I’ll…I’ll leave ya to it then. Sorry to have bothered you.” She turns and gallops away, scared and saddened by me. I almost cried right then and there, pissed off at myself for what I did.

“You’re such an asshole, Matt!” I thought to myself, “You can’t keep doing this! She’s going to hate you!” The other side of my mind fires back, “But…I have to. She can’t know how I feel. Just keep on going.” I continue to pull the cart away.

The next day came. Applejack was nowhere to be found. It was just myself and Big Mac. He continued to do his job, and I continued to do mine. There was silence amongst each other, until I decided to talk.

“Where’s Applejack?” I asked him.

“She’s in Ponyville. Doin’ mare stuff.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a hoedown goin’ on at the farm, and she went into town to look for a date. Quite unlike her to be doin’ that, if ya ask me.”

“Why is that unlike her?”

“Normally, when we had events like this, she was content just to go by herself, and hang with her friends. I suppose somepony sparked her interest.”

As we continued to work, we heard galloping approaching the farm. Running past the entrance, was Applejack. However, something was wrong…she was in tears. On instinct, I ran away from Big Mac, and followed behind her.

“AJ!” She starts to slow down, and I began my approach. “AJ, what’s….”

She turned to me in a sudden movement, tears pouring from her eyes, yet seething with hatred and rage.

“Now ya want to talk to me?!”

“Why are you…”

“What do you care?! The whole week, all ya been doin’ is givin’ me the cold shoulder, and not talkin’ to me!” She shouts at me. “Yer acting like a complete jerk, you know that?!”

“AJ…”

“Don’t call me that! Only mah friends call me that! Yer not actin’ like a friend, right now! What did ah do wrong?! What did ah do to make you so mad at me?! Tell me right now!”

“I….” I sigh, “I can’t….”

She shakes her head in disapproval at me, and runs away, sobbing loudly as she gets farther and farther from my sight. I was mad…mad at myself for being this way. This wasn’t me. I was only doing this to protect her, and now I got her thinking that I was a world class jerk. In frustration, I ran to a tree, and kicked it as hard as I could.

Every apple from that tree fell on to me. That hurt. I guess a career in applebucking isn’t completely out of the question.

I emerged from that pile with all the sense I had lost knocked right back into me. I ran after her.

Following the trail of hoof prints on the ground, it only led to one thing…the dock. I ran with all my might, surprised that she ran so fast away from me. In a matter of minutes, I was there. Looking at the dock, I see her sitting at the end of it. From where I stood, I could hear the sniffles coming from her. I walk down the path, and step onto the dock.

“Applejack!” I call out to her. She turns, wiping away her tears.

“What do you want?” she glares, “Can’t ya see I don’t wanna talk to ya! Go away!”

“No. I’m staying right here!”

“You take one more step, and yer gonna regret it!” She yells back.

“If you want me gone, you’re just going to have to come over here, and hit me.” I see the cogs in her head in motion, as I prepare myself for the biggest punch of the century. I wasn’t really thinking things through.

“Yer not worth it!” she shouts, “Just leave me alone!”

“I want to talk to you!”

She stands up forcefully, the dock creaks a worrisome sound.

“Go away, and never come ba…”

CRACK! The dock breaks underneath her! Any human would have grabbed onto the wood, and climbed up, but she wasn’t human. She slipped, and fell from the incline, falling to the water below. Before she could, her head smacked against the wood pillar, knocking her out cold as she hit the water, sinking down below.

“APPLEJACK!” I screamed, watching her vanish from my sight.

Without any hesitation, I ran across the dock at near supersonic speeds, and dove in after her. I wasn’t much of a swimmer, when it came to swimming under water, but there’s a first time for everything. I could see the blur of her sinking to the bottom, not waking from that blow to the head. Every second I’m not there, is every second that she is drowning. With all of my strength, I swam after her. I swam and I swam, and I swam, until eventually, I reached her. I grabbed onto her, and kicked my way back to the surface. The water was cold. Colder than it was when we had our first swim together.

I burst from the water, Applejack unconscious in my arms, and I ran to the shore, and set her down on the ground. Quickly, I checked her breathing. She wasn’t breathing. I began to administer CPR.

“Please…” I tell her, breathing into her mouth, “Breathe AJ…just breathe!” I pump her chest, “Don’t do this to me!” I continue with my attempts to revive her, “You’re stronger than this! Don’t die because of me!” I breathe into her once more. Tears form in my eyes, as I lose hope. “No! You can’t! You just can’t!” I keep trying, “Applejack, I love you!”

In an instant, she coughs up the largest amount of water that I ever saw a living thing cough up, making me jump back in surprise. She struggled to breathe, gasping for whatever air she could get.

“Yes!” I go back to her, caressing her cheek softly, “Just breathe AJ…you’re almost there!”

Eventually, the air came back into her lungs. She looked up, and looked into my watering eyes.

“Hey…” she smiled.

“Hey…welcome back.” A tear runs down my cheek.

“Matt…” she said, “You’re wearing my hat again.”

I glanced up, and saw that I was. I place all my attention back on her, and picked her up for a large embrace. I hold her tightly, as if my life depended on it, as tears flow from my eyes.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, AJ! I was an idiot! I’ll never hurt you again! I promise!”

As I held on to her, I started to think. Did she hear what I said? Did she hear my confession? She never said anything about it, perhaps she didn’t hear it. Or, maybe she did, and didn’t want to tell me, or wasn’t sure what to make of it. All she responded with was returning my embrace with one of her own.

Sometime later, we sat together on the less dangerous side of the dock, looking out at the beautiful lake.

“So…why were you crying?” I asked her, “I know it was partially because of me, but…”

“Yer probably going to think I’m being silly.”

“Sillier than I was being?” I smirk. She chuckles.

“There’s a dance comin’ up. Down at the farm.”

“Right, Big Mac mentioned that this morning.”

“It’s one of the few times me and the other members of our family get together, and have some good old fashioned fun. Well…the thing was…I wanted to bring a date with me. So that’s why I went into town, to look for a date. I asked this one stallion if he wanted to go. He seemed nice. He was a member of the Wonderbolts. I gave him a pie once, when I went to the Grand Gallopin’ Gala.”

“But, he said no?” She shakes her head. “What did he say?”

“He…laughed at me.”

“What?” I was shocked, “Why would he do that?”

“He told me that I…I…” she struggled to say the words, “That I was too plain lookin’ to go on a date with.” I was stunned in silence from what she said. “He asked what stallion would want to go out with me, since I was just a plain ol’ farm pony.” She looked back at me, I was still silent. “What?”

“I…” now I’m the one that’s struggling, “I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true! That’s what he said!”

“I know, and I believe you, but I just don’t…believe he said that to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Applejack…” I put a hand on her shoulder, “You’re many things, but plain looking is not one of them. You’re beau…” I pause. She looks to my caring hand on her shoulder, then back at me. “I-I mean, you deserve better than that guy.” I bring my hand back to my side.

“But he’s right. I’m just an unattractive farm pony.”

“No you’re not!” I yell, jumping to her defense, “Believe me, If I was a stallion, I’d go out with you with no hesitation!”

“Why don’t ya?” she quickly says. I stop, mouth open, unsure of what to say next.

“Why don’t I what?” I pretend not to understand the question. Inside my chest, however, my heart pumps wildly at the thought of going out with her.

“Be my date.” she smiles.

“But…I’m not a stallion.”

“So? We’re friends. Who’s to say friends can’t go out with each other?”

“We’re friends? After all the crap I did?”

“Well, you have a lot to make up for. This is just the start of your punishment.” she laughs, I return the emotion. “Saturday night, eight o’clock, in the barn. And…uh…wear somthin’ more…festive. A fancy jacket and tie ain’t gonna cut it where you’re goin’.” She gets up, takes the hat off my head, and putting it onto hers. She starts her walks back to the path. “Thanks for savin’ my rump, by the way. I’m gonna have to think of something to repay you. You like apple pie, right?”

“Of course. I love it.”

“Good to know. See ya Saturday.”

“See you tomorrow, actually. We still have to do some applebucking.” I chortle.

“Oh, right. Almost forgot. See ya tomorrow then.” She walks out of my sight. The moment I don’t see her anymore, I lie down on the dock, letting out all the breath I was holding. Never in my wildest dreams, did I think I would ever end a day with saving the life of somepony that I cared about. But I did, and it felt simultaneously exhilarating, and terrifying. However, as long as she was safe, and still breathing, that’s all I need to get through the day.

As I lay there, my mind went somewhere I didn’t think it would.

“Apple pie…was that a double entendre?” I raise an eyebrow, “Did I really just think that?”

The last couple of days went by at a fast pace. I was back to being my friendly self, and me and Applejack continued on with our friendly banter, and none was the wiser. She didn’t tell anypony about her brush with death, and my heroic actions, I suppose she didn’t want to worry anypony. When Friday ended, applebuck season was officially over. We went down to the lake, where Big Mac and the others were surprised to see the broken dock. Mac said that the thing always was rickety, and will fix it up, as soon as he could. Applejack and I just looked at one another, and winked.

Saturday came, and I had no outfit to wear for the dance. Twilight was going too, and was surprised when I told her that Applejack was going to be my date for the evening.

“Is it like a real date? Or one of those fake dates, like with Rarity?”

“It’s real, Twilight.” I said, “Is that okay?”

“Yeah…” she sounds rather quiet, “Yeah it’s fine…” she changed the subject rather hastily. “So, what are you going to wear?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I have any clothes to fit this occasion. You think Rarity can help out?”

“Not sure. You can ask her.”

So I do. When I told Rarity my plans for the night, her eyes beamed, almost frighteningly so. She sat me down, and ran into her work station. In a half hour, maybe less, she came bursting out with a rather nice ensemble.

“There you are! One southern outfit, made just for you!”

A checkered red shirt, some dark brown slacks, boots, and most important of all, a cowboy hat. I looked back and forth at her and the outfit, unsure if she made this in the short amount of time, or that she had it stashed away, in case I would need something like that.

“Woah…thanks…but…”

Before I could even remotely question the origins of the clothes, she pushed me out with a great amount of ease.

“No more talk, darling! Go out there, and sweep her off her hooves!”

“What…”

She slams the door shut. That was rather odd, if I did say so myself.

The sun went down, and I trekked over to Sweet Apple Acres. I could see many other farmy ponies, and some from ponyville, making their way down the path with me, going all the way to the farm. It was only then I realized just how big that red barn was. It could fit a small town in there, if it wanted to. I saw the lights inside, the country music playing, and there was already some dancing going on, before the set time even!

I looked at my appearance, making sure that I looked presentable for the night. Like with Rarity, I took extra care that I would look and smell my best, though considering the event, I felt that I might have overdone it just a little bit.

I walk inside the barn, to see that everything was already in progress. I even saw Twilight, talking it up with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. No Rarity though, I wasn’t surprised. Didn’t seem like her kind of thing. A band was the source of the catchy tunes being belted out through the barn. A real genuine hoedown, if I ever saw one.

A tap on my back catches my attention. I turn to see her. Applejack, wearing an appropriately southern style dress, complete with green boots, and a saddle, that was attached to the skirt. Her tail and mane were loose, not tied into a braid, as it used to be. And, who could forget, her signature cowpony hat. Seeing her made my jaw drop on sight. She chuckles at my reaction.

“What do you think?” she asked. As if she needed more than my open mouth to judge how she looked.

“Wow…” I said, “You look…great.”

“You clean up nicely yourself.” she puts a booted hoof on my shirt, feeling the cloth. “Rarity’s work, I assume?”

“You assume correctly.” I gesture to the dance floor, “Shall we?”

“Can you dance?”

“No, but I can sure as hell try.” We both laugh, as we get onto the dance floor.

Running around, carrying barrels of apples, and pulling wagons was child’s play, compared to the art of the dance. The music was catchy, yet frenzied, with the ponies doing a variety of dances, that I have never seen before. But of course I’ve never seen them before, since they’re ponies, naturally. Anytime I try to get into a good rhythm, the style of music changes, making me try to find my groove once again.

Applejack had no such trouble. She owned the dance floor. Her dancing was energetic, almost hypnotic, and just plain fun to look at. She grabbed me further to her, and tried to get me to dance to her pace.

“Just follow my lead.” she said.

She stomped on the floor with a variety of quick draw moves. I try the same, only slower. She does it again, and I do it faster. She moves on to the next set, and then the next, and then the next. Soon, I was dancing like her, and we were both laughing, and having the time of our lives, as we boogied like our lives depended on it. The song then came to a sudden climax, and the ponies applauded the song, as me and Applejack looked at one another, sweating profusely, yet with the widest of smiles.

A more romantic song comes on, and the ponies get close to one another, and have their slow dance. Applejack blushes, turning to leave to the tables.

“This I can’t do.” she says.

On instinct, I place a hand on her shoulder. She turns back to me.

“Just follow my lead.” I said. She smiles and gets closer. Now, I was the teacher.

“I don’t know how to do this. Especially with…you.”

“Relax.” I assure her, “Just let me take these boots off.” I slowly take the boots off her forelegs, “Now, you’re going stand on your two hooves. Can you do that?” She nods nervously. She stands. In this position, she is almost as tall as me. She looks uncomfortable in this position. I understand.

“Good.” I say, “Now, you place a hoof…here.” I put her left hoof on my shoulder, “And I put my hand…here.” I place my right hand on her hip, bringing her in closer. “Then, we take our free hands…” I hold her right hoof, “And we swayyyy….” We do so.

I look around at the other ponies…looking at us, like what we are doing is completely foreign to them. I look back at Applejack. She is struggling with the dance. I go even slower, to a pace where she can get comfortable. Eventually, she gets into it, just as the second slow song begins to play. She rests her head on my chest.

“You’re heart…” she says, “It sounds like it’s gonna burst.”

“That’s because it is.” I joke.

“Do I make you nervous?”

“…Terrified.” I stammer, “B-but in a good way.”

“You know, you never told me why you were being such a jerk to me.”

“Oh, right. That.”

“Was it something I did?”

“No, it was something I did.”

“What do you mean?”

I sigh. It was time for a confession.

“When I spent the night in your room. You…grabbed on to me.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You wrapped your arms around me tighter than the tightest knots in the world. I think you were scared by the thunder.”

“That doesn’t explain what you did.”

“I…I kept it going. I mean, I first wanted to push you off, as a reflex. But as I looked at you…I just couldn’t. I held on to you, I held you close to me, like you are now. And that…”

I stop holding her hoof, and place the free hand on her shoulder. She uses her free hoof to caress my back.

“That scared me. More than you know. There’s something…”

“Matt?" she interrupts, "Can I ask you a serious question?”

“Yeah. You can ask me anything, AJ.”

“You think I’m attractive. Don’t you?” I freeze in place. I look at her, and she looks at me. “You can tell me. I won’t be mad.”

“I…” I gulp, “I do. I think you’re beautiful.” I look away in embarrassment, expecting her to laugh at me. A laugh that never comes.

“Beautiful? As much as Twilight…or Rarity?”

“No.” I look back in her eyes, “Better.”

“Better, huh?” Now she chuckles, “Yer just spouting with that hyperbowl.”

“I think you mean hyperbole.” I correct her. She shakes her head in amusement.

“So tell me. What is it about me, that makes me attractive, to a human like you?”

“What doesn’t?”

“Then, tell me what you like most about me.”

“Truth?” I ask. She nods. “Your eyes.” I put a hand on her cheek, as we look into the depths of each other’s’ soul. “I don’t know what it is, but your eyes are just…perfect.”

“Perfect?” she moves her head closer to me.

“Yeah.” I lean in, “When I look at them…” We are ever so close to locking lips. “I feel…like…”

The song ends. The moment is over. We separate from one another, both with red faces. She puts her boots back on, brushing her hair back, looking around, trying to find something else to talk about.

“I’m going to…get a drink.” she says, heading for the table stacked with barrels of hard cider.

The night continued on like this. Everytime I try to talk to her, to continue to tell her how I feel. She shushes me, and downs another cup of the alcoholic drink. She offers me some, but I decline. While I would like a taste every now and again, I felt that then wasn’t a good time to start drinking. She gets into drinking contests with other ponies, winning each and every one of them. I don’t know where that alcohol is going, but I was surprised that she hadn’t passed out yet. Normal humans in my world would have been out like a light, before the halfway point of her drinking.

She got progressively drunker, more unpredictable, until she became an absolute mess. The beautiful mare that I saw when the evening started, was now an uncontrollable creature.

“Hey everypony!” she shouted, “I have something to say!” Some turn their gaze towards her. “This human…” she points at me, “…finds me…attractive!” she bursts out laughing, “Can ya'll believe it! No stallion wants me! But this MAN would do anything for me! All ah can say is…YOUR LOSS LOSERS!” she takes a big swig out of the cup, "THE APPLE TRAIN HAS LEFT THE STATION!" She tries to take another swig, but she's all out. “Aw…no more cider…”

“Applejack.” I go to her, catching her when she stumbles. “I think you’ve had enough.”

“You want to kiss me, don’t ya human?” I open my mouth to answer. “Well too bad! Because I’m gonna vomit!”

“Okay. We’re going outside.”

I rush her outside, where she almost immediately vomits all over the grass. I think everything she drank, poured out of her mouth in one extended barf. Before it could become comically overlong, she stops, breathing heavily at what she just did.

“That…was a lot…” she said.

“No kidding. I think I saw a boot come out.” I chuckled.

“You’re…so sweet…” she puts a hoof on my chest, “You’ll never let anythin’ bad happen to me. Ya saved my life! You deserve a reward…”

“You need to rest.” I said, picking her up.

“Take me to bed, human. I’m gonna make you really super happy.” Despite the pile of vomit saying otherwise, her drunkenness hadn’t subsided.

“I’ll take you to bed. But what you’re going to do is take a nice long nap.”

I carry her back to her house. As I walk up the stairs, I see her looking at me with sultry eyes. I do what I can to ignore them. I wasn’t going to let the evening end with what she had planned in the inebriated mind of hers. I bring her to her room, and set her down on the bed, putting the hat on a rack, and placing the covers on her body, caressing her forehead.

“Okay. You’re going to have a really bad hangover tomorrow, but just know that I had a really nice time…apart from this.”

“You love me…don’t you? Don’t lie to me.” she smiles, “You can’t lie to the Element of Honesty.”

“Goodnight, Applejack. I’ll check up on you tomorrow.” I turn for the door.

“No!” she grabs my arm, “Don’t go! Stay with me.”

“Applejack…” I shake my head, “You’re drunk. If I stay…”

“No! We don’t have to do that! I don’t want to do that!”

“But…you were saying…”

“Please! Just stay with me. I…I don’t want to be alone tonight. Just stay…please?”

I sigh. Every part of me wants to say no and leave. But, I look into those eyes. Those perfect eyes, and see some shred of honesty, even within that stupor that she was in. I walk to my side of the bed, and get in. I put the covers over me, and turn off the light.

“That’s better.” she said, moving to me, and grabbing me for an embrace.

“AJ!” I said sternly.

“Relax. I just want to hold you.” she puts her head against my chest, “Hold me.” Reluctantly, I do so, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “There we go.” she relaxes, sighing in relief, “Ah like you, Matt. You want know why I like you?”

“Shoot.” I say.

“Because you’re so nice to me.”

“The others are nice to you too.”

“Not like you…” she yawns, “You…make me…” Her eyes go heavy. “..feel….speciallll….” She trails off, as she falls right to sleep.

I stroke her mane, as I watch her sleep peacefully. Her smile never leaving her face, as she presses her ear against my chest, my heartbeat thumping to the beat of her breaths. I lean down, and kiss the top of her head, and hold her tight against me.

“You are special.” I whisper, in the hopes that she hears me, “Always have been. Always will be.”

I fall asleep.