Howdy! Applejack here. Ya'll are used to us switchin' around by now I reckon. But ya'll ain't never had nothin' against that, either I suppose; at least that's what I hear. You just hold your horses, I ain't gonna stall none gettin' into the story seein' as how there ain't a whole lot I need to fill you in on. However, on account of I ain't written nothin' in a while, I figured you might wanna know how I've been doing, .

Mostly I been fine and dandy since I last wrote for ya'll. I'm sure that it's mighty easy to get a good idea of how I am, what I'm feeling, and things of that sort when you read my hubby, but he's been reckoning for a good while now that ponies love to hear my side too. To that I say... aw, shucks! That's awful kind of you to say, however embarrassing it may be. I hope this little chapter doesn't disappoint ya'll too much.

Speaking of disappointment, there sure hadn't been a whole lot of that in my life. I would right hope that by now you know that between lookin' after my sugarcube, my little sis, Granny Smith, and soon an Apple of my own, plus havin' my brother Big Macintosh helping out on the farm, there ain't much room for rest, yet a day with each other makes it sweeter than apple pie. I reckon the image of me trottin' through the apple trees with my hubby on my side and a bright eyed smile comes to mind for most ponies. Well golly, that's what I sure the only way I'd have it, throw in a little one of our own. That's because bein' with my family and lookin' after 'em is all this mare could ever want. But that ain't the only thing on my mind. The truth is, I'm mighty scared about bein' a mother. And that in no way means I don't wanna be a mother or nothin' like that, it's just... I'm silly excited. Mostly because I love the father with all of my heart, and I just don't know what lie ahead. But one thing certain is that he's my own. Just like my foal will be. But that's not the only thing that worries me...

Why don't we just go to straight to the sleepover then? Shoot, me and the girls was having a blast over at Twilight's house, havin' pillow fights, playin' truth or dare and all sorts of games, singing, telling ghost stories, even some girly stuff that Rarity brought over like makeup and that sort, though I steered clear of that for the most part of course- you know me, I ain't in to that dress up stuff. Naw, I reckon it was mighty great for us to spend the day and night together having fun, even if I did miss AJ. I guess I can kind of understand the girls wantin' it to be like old times just for a night.

Just before bed, we all calmed down for a nice little girl talk session. See now we was all sleeping in the library in sleeping bags, so Twilight turned the lights off except for a lantern we put in the middle. Pinkie Pie wasn't quite ready to hit the hay just yet.

"Twilight, do you have an alarm clock? I wanna be up by eight so I practice my new moves for that competition the boys challenged me to," said Rainbow Dash.

"Ugh! My one day this week to sleep in and it's ruined by... outdoor sports," snorted Rarity, before Pinkie's fast chatterin' quickly chimed in.

"You having trouble waking up Rarity? 'Cause if you are, you can always just take packets of sugar when you wake up."

"What??" replied nearly every pony.

"Ah' heard 'o sugarcubes, but... sugar what now?" I said, raisin' an eyebrow. I love Pinkie, but she sure is a strange one. And Pinkie and sugar... well, they go to together a little too well. Pinkie is one fast talker if ya'll ain't noticed.

"Sugar packets! Mr. and Mrs. Cake have some down at sugarcube corner for ponies to put in their tea. They're like sugarcubes except they're less expensive which really doesn't make sense because you'd think they'd cost more than just making sugar into a cube but what do I know? They're really good! I even brought some in my basket. See?"

Before we knew it, she was reaching into her basket that sittin' next to her sleeping blanket, when she raised it up over her open mouth and closed her eyes. Suddenly there was a gasp from everypony.

"She'll keep us up all night!" squeaked Fluttershy.

As she almost downed an entire packet lickety split, thank goodness Dash is an even faster flier; in a flash of colors, Rainbow had safely, uh... "confiscated" the sugar from Pinkie, to which the rest of us let out a sigh of relief.

"Pinkie," chuckled Twilight, as the puzzlin' pink pony stared on innocently, while the rest of us started giggling.

"What? You all eat sugarcubes. What's wrong with sugar packets?" she replied.

"Not right before bed, darling!" chirped Rarity.

"We don't eat them by the pound," remarked Rainbow, settling down back on her sleeping bag. As for me, I was laughing; I thought it was all kinda cute. That puzzlin' pink pony smiled with red cheeks.

"Well, I guess I can get carried away sometimes," she giggled.

"Yeah. We noticed," said Dash, rolling her eyes.

"It's fine, Pinkie. We all get carried away with some stuff ah' suppose." I said, as she shot me an appreciative smile, which I in turn appreciated. Keep in mind that whole room was dark, save the lantern in the middle that lit up our faces. We was lyin' on our bellies facing each other for the most part.

"So Rarity, how is the dress business going?" said Twilight. Rarity blushed; we all know she has dreams of taking her business to Canterlot and working for Princess Celestia.

"Marvelous! I just hope this new client of mine is 'the one' with her Canterlot connections and all... I know the high city requires experience, and I'm young, but I'm not that young am I? I'm not a day under twenty two! Oh! I hope it comes," she said, with her twinkling eyes tilted upward. She may be a little bit of a showmare sometimes, but she's a good gal, and she's been a mighty great friend to AJ and me. All them have been. Ah' hope ya get there one day, friend.

"Psh," teased Rainbow Dash, and Twilight shot her a glare that coulda curdled milk from ol' Bessie.

"No, it's not that! I think that's an awesome dream, and I hope you get there Rarity. It's just... fashion? That's just not me," she said.

"What's your dream?" said Pinkie to Dash. We knew it wasn't the Wonderbolts no more.

"Me?"

"No, Fluttershy's, dear," said Rarity, to which the rest of us giggled.

"Well why not ask her? She's just sitting over there not saying anything," Dash protested, pointing a hoof over at the shy one.

"I have a dream," she whispered with a smile, "that we all stay friends forever."

"Aw," replied everypony with a smile save Dash.

"Try sappy," she remarked with one of them tough-guy smiles of hers. Don't ya'll worry, I had her tail.

"Ah' suppose it was a bowl of onions then that one time in the desert then, huh Rainbow?" I said, givin' my friends a wink. This one time Fluttershy said something real nice after I'd been actin' like a darn foal , and it got her goin' pretty good. They all thought it was funny, 'cept for Rainbow of course, who threw her hoof out me.

"Please, Applejack. You went from a rugged farmer to like the most romantic pony ever. Overnight, I might add!"

I knew he'd be brought up sooner or later. That's fine with me! I love talkin' about me and him. She's right after all. I'm a farmer all right, rough and gutsy. I'm also a proud wife and soon even more than that.

"Yer darn right, girl! Ah' got nothin' to hide, heck ah' embrace it!" I said, smiling proudly as she rolled her eyes in defeat. She wants to go there, let her. Come think of it, ah' wonder how he's doin' right now. Holdin' up ok, sugarcube?

"How is he doing, Applejack?" said Twilight kindly. I blushed.

"Oh, ah' think he's just doin' fine. Better as ever, matter of fact," I said, chuckling. I knew something they didn't. I couldn't tell 'em nothing without him there with me, even if we had pushed it back. Just didn't seem proper. For once, I was with Rarity on the subject (she bein' the most "proper" pony you ever did meet).

"How are he and Apple Bloom doing?" said the princess.

"Aw shucks Twi," I said, with another darn blush as I pictured the two of them together, "they're closer than two catfish in a skillet." It's always a special joy to see that, I mean the bond between those two, not only for my hubby, but my most beloved little sis. That poor filly, with ma and pa and all...

"He seems to be really good with kids," whispered Fluttershy. "I wouldn't expect anything else though." Her, Twi, and Rarity were all smiling at me, and I felt right warm at that moment. Aw shoot, ah' can't wait to tell 'em. If only ya could hear 'em right now talkin' bout you, sugarcube. Of course right then, Rainbow snorted.

"What was that?" I said, glaring over at her. She sat back and crossed her front legs.

"He doesn't seem very tough," she said, as  I saw Twilight facehoof herself and Rarity roll her eyes in the corner of my eye. Don't mind Rainbow, she's a good gal. That's just Rainbow bein' Rainbow.  

"Dash... did ya'll see him at the castle that one time?" I said, not too kindly. That's a reference to the first story of course; I knew AJ's love was the real deal before that day. But I couldn't bear it none when he stepped in front of that awful magic just to stop it from hittin' me.

"I bet I could take him in a fight," she said, sitting up and throwing her hooves out like some kinda boxer.

"He may be a sweetie, but he's tough when he needs to be," I said.

"Don't worry about her, Applejack, she's clearly a little jealous," said Twilight.

"I am not! I'm just saying that if he's such a dreamboat, why not put him to the test!" cried Rainbow.

"Don't worry darling, you have your whole life in front of you, if you want a boyfriend you'll surely get one sooner or later," said Rarity teasingly, to which Dash grunted.

"Yeah. I'm a daredevil, not a dater. I'm not into that mushy stuff," she said.

"Who knows, you could end up like Applejack and change 'overnight'!" said Twi, and the four of us started laughing. "What do you think Pinkie?" she continued, but we all laughed when we realized the only thing comin' from the pink party pony who was dead on her back was a snore loud enough to wake Big Macintosh back at the farm.

"I think it's time we joined her," said Twilight, stretching out her legs and yawning. We was definitely in the same barn, as I felt a yawn comin' on myself.

So with that, we blew out the lantern and said our goodnights as the thunder and lightning kept rumblin' outside. It may have been bad out there, but I was all good and warm on the inside as I laid to rest on my sleeping bag, thinking of the day I just spent with my friends and my sugarcube, sleeping back at the farm. Ah' hope yer not too scared of the thunder, sugarcube. Goodnight sweetie! Ah'll be back in the morning.  With that I brought my head to my pillow, and that was it for my bein' awake.

I was at the middle of a green meadow, and AJ stood but a few feet in front of me, with his bright blue eyes twinkling at me with the tenderest love you ever saw. My heart's content, I stood there and smiled back.

"Howdy cutie."

His thoughtful expression broke out into a sweet little chuckle, and it tickled me awfully.

"I hope I've been a good husband.  That's all I've ever wanted to be since I've met you. The best husband, like you deserve. I hope I can be a good father," he said.

I was ready to hug him till the chickens came home to roost.

"Sugarcube... you have been the most wonderful husband anypony ever had. An' you er' gonna make the best pa there ever was." I walked towards him, ready to smother him as that gentle smile began to spread over his face. Yer so adorable, sweetheart.

AJ's smile faded into something frightened and he looked up in the sky, which was suddenly not so blue. Suddenly everything disappeared from sight, and I felt my body shivering in my sleeping bag and heard snoring and faint rumbles of thunder in the background. I was awake enough to realize I was dreaming, but I was still asleep enough so that I wasn't really awake either. I guess you could say I was half asleep. That's when I heard AJ's voice again. It was filled with helpless fright and pleading. I heard it, but I couldn't see him. Just saw darkness.

"What did you expect me to say? Setting aside the fact that I just met you for the first time like 20 minutes ago. No, I didn't say- I just said there's o-other options we can consider..."

My body turned over and my breathing got heavier. So did my heart. My body was trying to do something about this, but it couldn't really do nothin' seein' as I was still basically sleeping.

"You're not about to- this isn't you! ... Please, don't do this... I just wanna live with Applejack in peace so we can raise our... Please... just don't hurt her!" he pleaded, with a desperation enough to make me whimper and wail. He was practically sobbing. No! Don't cry, it's gonna be alright sugarcube! Ah'm right here! "Applejack, help me!" Suddenly he cried out like he was in terrible agonizing pain, and with his screams I felt my heart crushing like a grape.

My eyes shot open and I sat up faster than you can say zap apple. I wasn't asleep at all no more. My heart was still pounding something terrible, but as I looked around at all my snoozin' friends, and a flash of lightning lit up the night sky outside the window, I did feel a slight if only slight feeling of relief.

"Just a dream," I whispered. I clutched my heart and closed my eyes, and let myself fall back down to the floor. "Deep breaths, Applejack," I said to myself again. But somethin' didn't feel right. My heart was in pain, worse pain that it should be even from waking up from a nightmare. Nightmares are anything but fun, but once you wake up and realize it wasn't real, you should be able to relax a bit.

Well I wasn't nearly relaxed enough. I hadn't felt this bad since Manehattan Moon Mingle when AJ's heart cried out to mine that it needed me. I hadn't felt this way since... well since Trixie put him under that spell that made him think I was better off without him.

"Sugarcube?" I whined.

My gears were turning in my head now. I had a fierce desire to go check on him and make sure he was ok. He should be asleep back at the farm... But what if he ain't alright? I knew one thing was certain; I wasn't gonna sleep none till I knew he was safe and sound. And when I did know he was safe and sound, I was gonna spend the rest of the night snugglin' up beside him.  

I slowly stood up out of my sleeping bag and looked around at the girls. I don't wanna wake 'em up. It's probably not nothin' but a bad dream. The worst dream ah' ever had. It was the worst dream I ever had, no doubt about it. Well, I decided against waking up the girls, so without further adew I quietly tiptoed my way through the floor and down the stairs until I went through the front door with my head down.  

The night was darker then ever, and immediately as I started my gallop back down the road towards the farm I felt soft rain on my face. It looked as though there had been a short break in the storms we'd been getting. Another storm was comin' in fast, and I could feel the winds picking up. I could barely see, but thankfully I knew the way home like I knew the farm, and a flash of lightning from the incoming storm would light the way.

Ah'm comin', sugarcube. I galloped and galloped, and on the last bit of road before the farm, the rain came down like cats and dogs, and the trees danced in the wild howling of the wind. I trotted right up to the porch and let myself in, giving myself a quick shake to get some of the water off me. Winona was lying down at the foot of the door.

"What 'er you doin' down here girl?"

She sat up quick as whip and was about to bark but kept herself from doing so as to not wake anybody up. Something wasn't right. If I knew my little puppydog- and you better believe I do- she'd be up in bed with AJ. I trotted a good clip up the stairs as quietly as I could, and my heart pounded in anxious patience to see what was or wasn't in our bedroom. With Winona at my hooves, I reached the doorway into our bedroom and poked my head around.

"AJ?"

A lightning flash lit up the room and showed an empty bed. I covered my mouth with my hoof to prevent myself from screaming as my soul crippled and my heart cried out with fear. I ran down the stairs and out the door, Winona with me, running out into the rain and breathing harder than an apple in a worm on cider-making day.

"No, no, no, no," I muttered amidst the storm as the rude wind sprayed buckets of water of me. Even my hat was soaked. "AJ where are you?" I cried. Suddenly I had a thought; Winona!

"Girl can you pick him up?" I yelled, but she was two steps ahead of me. With her nose to the ground, she efficiently sniffed the grounds and ignored all the weather around her. Please... please don't let this water throw off his scent!

She sniffed and sniffed as she walked in circles around the bottom of the porch. Suddenly her pace jumped and she started walking in a straight line.

"Good doggy! That's mah' girl!" I said, as I galloped behind her. Now I just begged with all my heart that we found him and he was ok. And she didn't take long; after what seemed like only a few moments she stopped on a bit on pointed straight forward with her nose. I looked up and saw the barn.

"Stay here girl!" I said, as she whined to come in with me. "You've done wonderfully puppy. Go back to the porch where yer safe from the storm till ah' come back!"

I kicked open the barn door and ran in, shuttin' it behind me so Winona couldn't get in just in case it wasn't safe. The barn was dark and only lit up with the lightning, and sound of rain hitting the roof and the sides made for a different noise I'd heard all night.

"AJ?" I called with great desire. There was no answer. "AJ??"

There was noise, but it was a lot quieter in the barn then you might think; it wasn't loud to where I couldn't hear nothin' in there. There was another flash of lightning that lit up the barn, and I tried to use it as best and look around as fast as I could to catch any sign of something. I called for him again. But there wasn't nothin'. My heart sunk into my stomach and I nearly started to cry. Why aren't you answerin' me? Am ah' too late? Ah' never shoulda left him. This is all mah fault... I coulda never lived with myself if somethin' happened to him 'cause I had left him. I felt so terrible beyond all my wildest dreams, and it was all happening so fast. I looked around and my heart cried out for the one I so desperately loved with all my mind and soul. The father of my foal.

"Please... Just someone let me know he's ok," I whimpered as I fell to the ground and covered my eyes as they teared up.

Suddenly, there was a sound of movement from the back of the barn as though it heard me.

"AJ?" I whispered, as I stuck my head up towards the sound.

I looked and stared toward the direction I heard it, and waited for a lightning flash to help me. I didn't know what was going on; I didn't know if it was AJ or something else. I was terrified, but I hoped with all my heart and soul that it was AJ, even though all indications pointed towards somethin' bein' wrong.

The noise had came from the darkest corner of the barn, where farm tools and the shadow of the barn loft hang over head. Without light, I couldn't see hardly nothin' at all. I stared intently nonetheless, and crept my hooves slowly towards that direction. Another flash of lightning and I saw what appeared to be a dark outline of something, but I couldn't tell what or who or anything about it.

"AJ?" I whispered again, but it didn't move or make a sound. I stared and stared and I saw what appeared to be almost a kind of... Is that... blue, ah' see? It was very close to the color of his eyes but it was more of a neon blue and it just a speck. Neon blue? We don't keep nothin' like that in the barn... It appeared to be on or right next to the dark outline.

I made my way forward yet more slowly, even though I just got more and more scared. I started to cry as I walked forward, because I was so frightened and ignorant of what was going on and whether or not this was AJ I was looking at, but most of all I cried because feared for AJ.

There was a flash of lightning, and what little it seemed to show, it seemed to reveal something black with specks of neon blue. Whatever or whoever it was, it seemed to be lyin' in a pile of hay.

I was startin' to come mighty close to it now when another flash of lightning revealed something unmistakenly black. Not only that, but I could make out very small movement. It almost looked like somethin' was... breathing? I got  closer at a crawling speed. My curiosity was like a haystack on fire. As I got within a few feet, I could hear what sounded like... it sounds like... crying!

I inhaled a deep breath for the moment of truth and closed my eyes for a moment as I came within touching distance of this black thing. It almost looked like a blanket or something of some sort... Against all instincts I reached my hoof out where I saw a small crease. I reached my hoof out and slowly pushed the black leathery material to the side.

I slowly and softly pushed it to the side and looked in. What I saw, down in what I had just pushed aside, were neon blue stripes on top of what looked like some kinda jet black hyde. In the middle staring up at me was a pair of great big intelligent eyes. They were two of the saddest but most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen. They stared at me like they were ashamed. But the only time I felt loved as much as I felt looking into those eyes were the eyes of...

"AJ?"