A cockerel greeting the sun disturbed William’s gentle sleep. He looked at the small clock beside him and groaned when he saw how early he had awoken. Obviously, he was going to take some time getting used to a more rural setting.

Climbing out of bed, William went into the bathroom to have a shower before getting dressed. He was about to walk out of his room before he passed the mirror. His eyes stared at his sleeves before he finally undone the buttons and rolled his sleeves past his elbows.

Satisfied that he looked more suited on a farm he removed a small brown wallet from his suitcase and tucked it into his pocket.

William left his room and headed downstairs. The hotel owner informed him that his chef was ill so breakfast was not an option, but he handed William a small menu for a café across town. William thanked the hotel owner before stepping out onto the streets. He did a quick stretch to get comfortable in his waistcoat before walking down the road.

A few people walked about as the town slowly began to awaken. William's quiet stroll was broken as a rabbit shot between his legs, followed by a pink haired girl in a yellow scarf that bumped into him.

“Oh no, I’m sorry,” The girl hid behind her scarf. “I should have been looking where I was going.” She avoided looking at William as she walked around him.

William smiled but the girl didn’t see his emotion, “No I should have heard you running.” William looked around and realized he was completely lost. He sighed as he looked back at the girl “Excuse me, can you help me?”

The timid girl grabbed her fluffy and strangely angry looking rabbit. She made small circles with her foot. “Oh I don’t think I can help you with anything, I’m not very good at a lot of things,” She nervously inched away.

“I am sure that isn’t true,” William said reassuringly. “But all I need are directions to the café, I’m sure you could help with that.” He stood in an awkward silence as the girl hugged her restless bunny.

“Umm… just down that road,” The girl pointed with a free hand before snatching it close to her chest again. William nodded before heading down the road.

“Thank you,” He waved gently. “Sorry I bumped into you,” He called again before making his way to the café. His travel did not take long as the small café suddenly appeared behind a building, a few tables were being set up as William went inside and bought a light breakfast.

William handed over his money before leaving with an egg sandwich, the warm bread helped William enjoy his breakfast on the move. He ate with some greediness as he began the long task of walking to Sweet Apple Acres.

As he walked, William looked up at the rising sun and inhaled a large breath of countryside air. His face scrunched up as he inhaled a large amount of smell coming from the farm animals but he rolled his eyes as he spotted Applejack standing by a fence, a large yawn across her face.

“Morning Applejack,” William called as he walked towards the girl, she tipped her hat in response. “So how is Granny Smith?” He rested his arms on the fence as the girl turned to look at him.

“She is sleeping at the moment,” Applejack smirked as William yawned as well. “Ya tired there sugarcube?”

William smiled at the nickname, “Just getting used to living in a countryside town rather than the small city I used to live in.” He sighed as he looked at his hands, “Is there anything I can do until Granny Smith wakes up?”

Applejack tapped her cheek in thought, “Unless ya want to help me move some barrels out of the barn ready to fill with cider.” She smiled as William nodded and followed her into the barn.

Applejack picked up the first barrel with ease and waited for William to struggle with his but, to her surprise, William managed to lift the large wooden barrel with little difficulty. His smile faded as he caught her staring.

“Are you alright Applejack?” William put down his barrel as he held Applejack’s face, “You look a little flushed, did you have breakfast?” His soft hands pulled back as Applejack tore her head away.

“I’m fine, now bring that barrel over here,” Applejack growled as she tried to focus on the task at hand. She felt her face grow hot again as she made brief eye contact with William again.

William rushed to catch up with Applejack, “If you aren’t feeling well then at least take a minute to sit down, I can deal with these barrels.” He stopped as Applejack let out a loud sigh.

“I suppose another minute to wake up would do me some good,” The stubborn farmer reluctantly left the barn to sit on the fence outside. She held her face in her hands before she found herself watching William work.

William would disappear into the barn and would reappear with a barrel over his shoulder. Applejack couldn’t help but wonder how William was so versatile, his strength easily matched hers but his soft hands rivalled the care of Fluttershy.

Applejack smiled as William wiped some sweat from his brow but continued to work, pushing himself to work faster. After a few more journeys into the barn, William stopped and joined Applejack by the fence.

“Done,” He panted before taking a few deep breaths to return his breathing to normal. During his short recovery, William failed to notice Applejack’s confused face.

She counted the barrels and discovered that William had indeed moved all the barrels himself, a job that must have taken at least seven minutes. Was she really staring for that long?

William looked up at Applejack, expecting to see an impressed smile but instead saw another red face. “Are you sure that you are feeling alright?” William stood upright as he studied Applejack’s features, her freckles barely noticeable against her red face.

“I-I don’t know,” Applejack hopped off the fence. “I suppose when I start working I’ll be fine,” She froze as William placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You can’t go to work if you can barely think,” William removed his hand from Applejack’s shoulder. “Just come inside and sit down for a while, some food and drink will help.”

Applejack reluctantly followed William into her house and sat down on the sofa, her face instantly buried into her hands again. William went into the kitchen and returned with a cup of apple juice.

“Did you have breakfast?” William sat down next to Applejack as he passed her the drink.

“Of course I did!” Applejack took the juice and quickly gulped it down. “I will be as right as rain in a minute, don’t ya worry.” Her reassurance was broken as she failed to suppress a cough.

William instantly got to his feet and prevented Applejack from standing up, “You aren’t well, lay down and I will see if I can find some medicine.” He turned but slowly looked back at Applejack “Where do you keep your medicine?”

“The only medicine in the house is for Granny Smith,” Applejack stood and pushed past William, stopping at the front door. “We members of the Apple family don’t need medicine!”

“Are ya being stubborn again?” Granny Smith sighed as she slowly made her way down the stairs, a small grin on her face, “I’m sure Will is just worried about you.”

Applejack helped Granny Smith to her chair before sitting down, her eyes avoided the other two people in the room. William went into the kitchen to start making breakfast for Granny Smith whilst she smiled at her granddaughter.

“So what’s the matter Applejack?” Granny Smith leaned a little closer to the red-faced girl, “Ya don’t normally get ill.” She glanced at the kitchen door before her voice became quiet, “Is it because of a certain guest?”

Applejack’s face burned redder as she folded her arms, “I ain’t ill and it ain’t because of… him.” She whispered angrily to her elderly relative until William returned with some porridge. Applejack’s eyes swerved away from him so she was looking out the window.

William’s concern grew as Applejack continued to remain silent, “If you aren’t feeling well, I could work on the farm whilst you look after Granny Smith.” His reassuring smile was shot down as Applejack shook her head.

“You haven’t worked on our farm before,” Applejack protested. “Ya wouldn’t know where to start or what to do!” The farm girl stood up but was silenced as Granny Smith managed to whistle loud enough to cut her off.

The old lady cleared her throat before patting William on the arm, “I’m sure William here can do a good job.” She pushed William towards the front door as she smiled at Applejack. “Cider season is still a few weeks away so there ain’t much for him ta do.”

Applejack opened her mouth to protest but she knew that Granny Smith would find a way to defeat her. Reluctantly Applejack sat down again and allowed Granny Smith to explain what William needed to do.

To Applejack’s surprise, William didn’t hate the idea of feeding the pigs, milking the cows or collecting enough apples to be sold at the market later. Applejack was slightly shocked that William didn’t behave how a person from his appearance should act. She expected him to be like Rarity, their manners and appearances both matched each other but Rarity would never dream of getting dirty.

As William made his way out onto the farm, he started with some of the easier jobs such as seeing to the pigs. Granny Smith sat back in her chair and smiled as she caught Applejack staring out the window at William.

“Well I never thought I would see the day when my granddaughter would be totally in love with a city fella,” Granny Smith smiled as she tucked into her breakfast, Applejack sending her a glare.

“I ain’t in love with anyone!” She spat before she turned her angry eyes to the boy outside. “Big Mac will be back in a few days and William can leave,” She scowled before turning to her grandmother. “And don’t try to make us get closer because I ain’t interested in some fancy city boy!”

Applejack returned to sitting in silence, her eyes occasionally moved to watch William work before shooting Granny Smith another glare. The elderly woman merely smiled at the annoyed girl as she started to knit or have occasional naps.

For a couple of hours William worked on the farm, he milked the cows and done most of the other jobs that Granny Smith told him about. As he got to his final job William was beginning to feel the full heat of the sun, his head began to sweat as he started to collect apples in a large basket.

William finally gave in to the heat of the day and removed his waistcoat and shirt, the wind helped cool his exposed body and made his job easier. He left his clothes on the fence at the edge of the apple tree orchard before continuing with his simple collection task.

During the time William was inside the orchard, Applejack snuck out of her house to check that that William had done a good enough job with his other tasks. To Applejack’s annoyance, William had done all the chores almost as well as she could have.

As the frustrated and emotionally confused Applejack began to stomp back to her house, she was stopped by a familiar voice calling out to her.

“Yoo Hoo!” Rarity called as she walked over, her delicate frame wrapped in another white dress but this one was slightly shorter so it kept clear of the dirty ground. “Applejack darling, how have you been?”

“Uh Rarity… what are ya doing here?” She positioned herself so that Rarity had her back to the orchard, reducing the change that she would spot William. “Granny Smith ain’t well so I think that we should keep this conversation short.”

Rarity’s eyes quickly became sympathetic and full of concern, “Oh dear, is Granny Smith going to be ok?”

“Yeah it’s just a small thing but the doctor told us to be careful until she got better,” Applejack sighed. “I would love to talk but somebody has got to look after her,” She shrugged before inching her way back to the safety of her home. “Maybe some other time.”

“Well why don’t you get your new helper to look after Granny Smith?” She laughed quietly to herself as Applejack’s face turned white. “Oh come now dear, Fluttershy bumped into him earlier and told me about him during our daily spa meeting.”

Applejack managed to smile but held back her anger, hoping that she could convince Rarity to leave before she saw William. She was already getting annoyed with William being nice and Granny Smith attempting to insinuate things.

“Well I would like to introduce you to him but he ain’t here,” She lied as she put on her best poker face. This too was quickly smashed as Rarity pointed to a waistcoat and white shirt that was hung over the fence.

“So who do they belong to?” Rarity questioned as she glanced over the clothes. “They seem too fancy to belong to a member of your family, no offence dear.” She smiled innocently before inspecting a label inside the waistcoat, “Oh my! You never told me that this helper came from Trottingham!”

Applejack shrugged, “Is it that important? Besides, I thought Canterlot was what really caught your attention.” She crossed her arms as Rarity gasped.

“Canterlot is the peak of perfection but other areas do contain key features,” Rarity stroked her hair as she pondered. “Trottingham has the demeanor and attitude of Canterlot but it lacks the modern flair and style.” Rarity shook her head slightly as she looked back to Applejack, “A bit old fashioned.”

“Well I don’t think of myself as a boring old man just yet,” William chuckled as he put down his basket full of apples down. He removed a handkerchief from his waistcoat and used it to wipe his hands and most of the sweat from his face.

Rarity turned to look at the handsome bachelor and her eyes widened. “Well when I heard from Twilight that Applejack had someone helping her with Granny Smith I assumed it would be someone… different.”

William chuckled nervously as Rarity’s eyes scanned his body, “Well I assume that I am better than the mental image you assume when you hear about people helping old ladies.” His eyes darted to Applejack before looking back at the sophisticated girl in front of him.

“First appearances, yes,” Rarity turned back to her friend as she used a hand to hide her mouth. “Well I can see why you would have wanted to keep him to yourself.” She winked before turning back to William.

Applejack looked between her friend and the boy that had been stuck in her mind since she first met him. She found herself clenching her fists as Rarity easily started a conversation with William, a task that Applejack was having trouble even thinking about.

As the gentleman and the lady talked, the farm girl found herself watching from her house, her eyes fixed on the pair. A few ideas bounced around her mind as she planned to get herself out of her predicament.

Granny Smith nervously watched her granddaughter, “I don’t like that look ya got, last time ya had a look like that you got yourself hurt.”

“I’ll be fine Granny,” Applejack sighed as she began to hatch a plan on how to get William out of her mind. “I won’t get let down again.”