Applejack and I entered the barn doors and observed the sea of colorful ponies that stood in front of us. Nearly everypony was grinning and talking with one another, and atop the wooden stage we set up on the opposite end of the barn, Fiddlesticks and Kazooie were tuning up their instruments. Shivers went down my spine as I saw how many ponies I would be playing a song in front of later in the evening, as I ran through the cords in my head and air-played my notes with my left on hand. This is gonna be one wild night. . The atmosphere and the general vibe coming from everypony in the barn was enchanting. I was in farmer heaven. A night of nonstop country music and dancing?  And of course, the best feeling of all was standing next to Applejack and feeling all of the adorable joy and excitement that came from her sweet and humble country heart.

"Ah'm gonna give everypony a quick welcome up on stage; wait right here, sugarcube. Unless o'course you wanna up come with me?" she said, turning to me with a tender smile. Standing in front of everypony is not my favorite activity, but I could see she wanted me up there with her, which in and of itself is so moving from the bottom my heart that I could probably push mountains if she asked me to. I happily obliged and the two of us walked side by side right through everypony to the stage. When we reached the top, Applejack faced the crowd as I folded my arms and stood there with a confident beam.

"Howdy everypony! How ya'll doin' this fine evening?" she called out, to which the crowd responded in enthusiastic union.

"Great!"

"Ya'll ready for a darn-tootin' good time?"

"Yes!"

"First off, the family an' ah' would like to thank Granny Smith for bein' the best granny two ponies ever had and for lettin' us have this hoedown out here in the barn, thank ya Granny!" she cheered, pointing a hoof down to her embarrassed grandmother, as the crowd cheered her. "Ah'd also like to thank  mah' cousins Fiddlesticks n' Kazooie for comin' up here and playin' for all us, " she said, before reaching around me and pulling me into her neck, which, for me, coupled with her words, was enjoyable beyond belief, "and o' course ah'd like to thank mah' beloved and adorable hubby AJ who later on is gonna play a song with Big Macintosh," she said, releasing me as I smiled red as a rose and gave the crowd a wave. At the mention of me, some ponies in the crowd whistled their approval, which I can't deny was kind of exciting.

"Hey! Don't forget about my song!" cried the voice of Pinkie from somewhere in the crowd.

"And Pinkie Pie is gonna play a lil' somethin' too, so get yer dancin' legs ready," replied Applejack. "The hay with everything else, let's get this plow a movin'!" she said, throwing up her hoof, to which the crowd rallied with cheers.

Applejack and I stepped off the stage back into the crowd, and we turned around and observed Fiddlesticks motion something to Kazooie, who had traded his banjo with Big Mac's guitar for the opener. She faced the crowd with her fiddle under her chin and a confident beam, standing as still as the night with her bow in place. She closed her eyes and breathed gently as the crowd whispered in anticipation.

"Get ready, sugarcube," whispered Applejack.  

When the crowd was so silent you could hear a pin drop, and Applejack and I held each other in excited anticipation, she opened her eyes and began sawing away as the crowd let out a cheer.

The smile on my face was brightening to the level of absurdity as my ears absorbed the melodious sounds coming from Fiddlestick's violin. Immediately the bodies of every pony in the barn began to sway as I looked down and saw my own feet beginning to move. She could play that thing, and let me tell you.

"Yeehaw!" cried Applejack, standing on her hind legs and connecting her front leg to my arm as we began square dancing instinctively.  

This was like, aside from the music that came from the voice of Applejack, the best music I've ever heard. Ponies were dancing and cheering and as far as I could see there was a smile on the face of everypony in the barn. Among the most jubilant dancers in the crowd were all members of the Apple family, from Hayseed Turnip Truck to little Apple Bloom, and of course Applejack and I. Having a special love for this kind of music is in our blood, and the blood of all farmers.

In the ecstatic state the two of us were in enjoying the music, I found it impossible not to adore the company of Applejack, who was so cutely enjoying herself with me. As we danced and played without seemingly a care in the world, I fed on the love and light pouring out from her twinkling emerald eyes and let my heart sing to her laughter. And a peculiar thought occurred to me right then; moments like these will always be in store for me here on this farm with her, and they will continue forever as they do now. In Ponyville. On this farm. With this family. With the most beautiful heart of Applejack united so closely and so intimately to my own unworthy heart. For the rest of my life. I grabbed Applejack's right hoof in mid air, and she twirled me around so fast that spun around, bounced off Big Macintosh, and fell back on the floor.

"You ok?" said Applejack, bent over and lifting me up, smiling but concerned. I found it terribly fun.

"Are you kidding? That was amazing," I remarked, delirious but rapturous.

"AJ! Applejack!" cried Rainbow Dash over the crowd and the fiddle from behind us. Standing next to her right was Twilight, and just to her right was Rarity, all three of them beamingly encouraging us to come join their circle. Having the rest of the night to continue what we were doing, Applejack and I walked over to them, dodging some dancing ponies along the way. I tipped my hat once again in acknowledgment, despite having done the same thing only a few minutes before. It somewhat pained me to be pulled away from the dance floor, but I could certainly spare some time with my wife's best friends, who were mine too.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull you two away from dancing," said Twilight.

"Don't sweat it, Twi. Me and mah' sugarcube got all night to dance. Ain't no one stoppin' a moment 'tween the girls! And this feller, o' course. You don't mind, right sugarcube?" she said, wrapping her arm around me yet again.

"Oh no! I don't mind at all. Nope. Especially since I fit in this group so well," I teased, to which Twilight and Rarity laughed. Rainbow is a little harder to crack.

"Yea, it's just country music," remarked Rainbow, to which Applejack and I raised an eyebrow at each other, unintimidated. We didn't need to say anything, though, as a unexpected defender (if you would call it a "defense") came to our aid in the form of an eloquent, regal mare.

"I say, Rainbow Dash, even this rustic folk instrumental is superior to that... rock and roll you listen to," she said, putting a negative expression on the end of the sentence.

"Oh please, it's better than that high society classic stuff," remarked the tough mare, to which Rarity snorted.

"Jeez, girls. I thought we were the elements of friendship and harmony," said Twilight, to which Rarity and Rainbow laughed.

"Oh, we are, darling, we are. We just... disagree on some things, is all," said Rarity, smiling smugly at Rainbow.

"Well, I gotta admit... that mare can play," she said, looking with awe up at the stage where Fiddlesticks and Kazooie were playing.

"How are things in Ponyville, guys? Not you, Rainbow, I just spent the whole day with you," said an enthusiastically curious Twilight. Uh... great. Beyond great. I'm married to Applejack! Just as my wife began to speak up, Rarity chimed in.

"Forget us, what about you, Twilight? How is life for the high and mighty?" she continued.

"Oh, you know... stressful. But it's worth it. I was at the Crystal Empire a few days ago where I got to actually interact with the some of the ponies on the street," she said. I always wondered what her kind of daily work would include as a lower level princess.

"So, any need for the elements of harmony in the near future?" said Rainbow with grit in her eyes. Immediately I recalled my first experience as co-element of honesty with my wife Applejack (that's what happens when two hearts become one!), as I'm sure the other four did as well. Twilight sighed happily.

"Nope, I don't think so," she said, to which Rainbow, being the adventurer, looked indifferent. "Although, you never really know with you-know-who, who is back fresh from his mission that was assigned to him from Princess Celestia."

"You know who?" I said. Twilight raised her eyebrows.

"Discord."

"Discord?" I repeated out loud. Discord is someone I've never seen- only heard about. Of the many mixed feelings I have toward him, all of which are directly influenced by my deepest love, respect, and affection for Applejack, they are not something I wish to describe at the moment. He manipulated (temporarily) Applejack and the rest of her friends into becoming the opposite of what their element is. Yes, that means Applejack was a liar. This is something I do not wish to go into further detail about, as it is very displeasing for me to think about, and my protective side tends to come out and speak for me exclusively. He is, apparently, a serpentine creature with multiple physical attributes; head of a pony, body of... well, everything, practically. A bat wing, a bearclaw, etc. However, here's the kicker; Discord was, before my arrival,  "reformed." Applejack, who is appropriately called "Applejack most merciful" has forgiven him. And from the bottom of my heart, even the protective side of me finds that enchanting about her. I don't expect there's many ponies who can forgive as sincerely as she can. But she doesn't trust him entirely, and so neither do I.

"Yea, Discord. A calamity waiting to happen," snorted Rainbow. Great, now we're getting into really irrelevant stuff.  I sighed and tried to listen to the music, and placed my arm around Applejack's shoulder for extra comfort as I thought about her and my song with Big Mac.

"I wouldn't say that around Fluttershy," remarked Twilight.

"Who cares? She's not even here yet," continued Rainbow. "If you ask me, he's too powerful to take a chance with. I mean, if you think Trixie was powerful, AJ, you don't want to know this dude."

Now that I did hear, and I glanced over at Applejack with concern, and she returned it with care in her gaze. Following the events in Manehattan, an adventure, perilous as it was, that Applejack and I triumphed, we told no one outside of Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom. So, naturally, a few days later, the two of us were town legends. But Discord being more powerful then Trixie? I recalled how helpless the two of us were when she unleashed her magic against us, being the humble creatures we are, unable to wield magic or do spells or any of that. . The thought of a former villain being much more powerful then her was not comforting.

"Rainbow Dash!" replied an irritated Rarity.

"Well what?? Everyone knows what happened." Applejack and I blushed together at the mention of what we experienced together. Oh come on... That night had a wonderful ending. But let's think about enjoying ourselves here right now.

"But... please, Rainbow, don't mention it here. I feel so awful," Rarity replied sadly, and Applejack quickly came to her aid. Rarity still feels (irrationally on her part) responsible for the things that happened to us there. She did, after all, convince us to go to Manehattan in the first place. But it's not like she knew what was in store for us once we got there.

"Oh, Rarity, fer Pete's sake, it wasn't yer fault. Ya didn't know what was gonna happen. Besides," she said, staring with intense affection at me that I returned with all of my heart and more, "That whole shenanigan turned out to be a wonderful blessing." It sure was. Against all odds, our love conquered. And we discovered just how deep our love really is.

Upon hearing this, Rarity drew her head back and turned it away with disgust.

"Honestly, there's a name for Trixie, but a true lady would never use such a word... outside of a kennel." Applejack looked shocked.

"Rarity! How dare ya put mah' Winona in the same bucket as Trixie," she said. I thought about it for a moment, and when I realized what Rarity had meant,  I chuckled a little bit to myself, which is exactly what Rainbow and Twilight were doing, the former falling to the ground and gasping for breath between laughs. At first, Rarity and Applejack were staring confusedly at the two of them, but eventually, even they started to laugh. When the three of us regained ourselves, Applejack decided to take initiative, which was fine by me.

"Well, we got some dancin' to do, ain't that right honey?" she said, rubbing my hair. Twilight smiled.

"I think I need to start getting into the spirit of this hoedown myself. How about you girls?" she said, turning to Rainbow and Rarity. Rainbow tuned in to the music and actually started tapping her hoof.

"Yea, I'm gonna get some food first though. You girls want anything?" she said, as Applejack and I waved at them and departed back towards the stage. We took a few steps, and before we got into the really crowded part of the floor, she turned to me with a bright smile.

"You don't mind, do ya?" she chuckled. I laughed; it was as if she knew exactly what I wanted.

"Thank you," I said, smiling brightly into her, before the smile faded as I suddenly felt bad, and even selfish.  "You know I find your friendships with them to be gorgeous. I don't mean to pull you away from them," I said. My heart can get heavy quickly when it comes to not being a good husband for her. But she only smiled with care and tenderness, not unhappy with me at all, quite the opposite. She scooted in closer to me and stirred the magic from within me with her cheeriness.

"Hey... ah' can bond with them all night after this here hoedown. It ain't every night that ah' get to dance with mah' most  special sweetheart to the most darn-tootin' good music we ever did hear," she said. She never fails to lift me up and place me in heaven. I looked into her and just absorbed all of what she said, and appreciated her with every ounce of my heart and mind.

"That's my girl," I said, and we laughed. Suddenly her gaze caught something else, something right behind me and below. She paused for a moment, but then smiled with amusement and pointed her hoof.

"Looks like ya got a visitor, sugarcube," she giggled. I turned around, and standing there looking up at me with wide eyes and holding a cup of something was none other than Dinky Doo, a terribly cute young filly with a yellow mane and bluish/purple coat. She has always been fascinated with me, but normally she's too shy to say anything to me, so instead she just stares at me with wide, curious, innocent eyes. Like her mother, she's not the brightest... but she sure is an adorable little pony. I consider it a blessing to be able to interact with fillies like her and Apple Bloom.

"Well hello! Whatcha got there, Dinky?" I said cheerfully, reaching down and accepting her present for me. I accepted it with glee, flattered if not a little embarrassed, waiting for a reply from her, but no words came out. She just giving kept her big and bright smile. I looked at Applejack and the two of us chuckled with d'aws at her innocence.

"That looks like a hay-shake," said Applejack, ready to crack up with laughter as I held it curiously up to my mouth.

Applejack knows all too well that I don't care for hay, aside from chewing it. That's mostly a pony thing. I looked with fear down at Dinky, who, with her looks, was dying for me to drink some of it. I went from her to Applejack, who was trying her best not to laugh and looking on adoringly, and then back to the cup. I knew full well that Dinky is completely unaware that I don't enjoy hay. She just wanted me to take a sip and for me enjoy her gift to me. Ohhh... Why couldn't she have grabbed some apple cider? Ugh, it's worth it for Dinky and Applejack...

I reluctantly raised the glass to my lips and took a sip, as Applejack was losing it, covering her mouth with her hoof and letting out slips of laughter. Immediately the bland, bitter taste was all over my tongue, as I pulled the cup away violently.

"Mmm," I faked, unable to swallow the hay drink. "Mhmm!" I said, shaking my head up and down. Suddenly, my mouth almost spit it out, but I put my hand there quick enough and forced it down. I shook my head violently for a second, then smiled at the little filly. She grinned with glee at me, then trotted away blissfully. Happy that I was able to cheer her up, I turned to Applejack, who was watching with tender eyes.

"Awwww, that was so sweet, sugarcube," she said. At first I was going to tease her for having watched me do it with giggles, but at that remark, my heart was more than warm, so I just smiled gently back at her. "Ya know Apple Bloom loves ya too," she added, to which I shrugged. But of course, I was in fact truly and sincerely flattered.

"You wanna go dance now?" I said, stepping toward the stage and holding out my hand. I was expecting her to trot up to me happily, but as I motioned for her to come with me, the smile began to fade on my face as I noticed much deeper feelings swimming in her eyes.

The music and other noises from the crowd began to fade as I slipped into a trance, and the only thing I could see was the glowing, beautiful face of my wife. The amount of yearning and tenderness she was looking at me with was some of the deepest I'd ever seen. Something was stirring inside her, although serious it was, it was born out of love, and there was intense affection coming from deep within her. I could feel it's strength, since my heart was connected in a special way with hers since marriage. I could hear the faint sounds of the hoedown, not as strong as the sound of my own heart beat.

She stepped forward and came closer than ever, as I was overcome with awe and complete submission to her. I was not expecting a moment like this here. But it was happening. The two of us were in a deep, romantic trance with one another. Suddenly our lives together was flashing before me, and my heart was pouring out feelings that I never expected myself to have for anyone. Not even a human. Yet here they were, yet they were and ever are gushing out for this humble Earth pony, who was born and raised on this apple farm in this little town of Equestria.

She was longing to tell me something. She moved in, almost touching my nose with her snout, me embracing her feelings and preparing myself for whatever was coming.

"A-.... Applejack?" I whispered.

I heard my the faint but distinct call of my name, but it was not from her.

"AJ!"

The voice of Twilight sounded off in my head as I came back to full awareness of my surroundings.

"Huh?" The music had gone silent, and for the most part, so had the crowd. Everypony was staring friendlily at me, as if waiting for something. I looked all around and saw Fiddlesticks smiling down at me, holding her fiddle in playing position, yet she was not playing. What did I miss?

"Gimme a song, honey," she said from atop the stage, eyeing me with zest.

"You want me to choose?" I said, as it started to make more sense. It appeared whatever it was Applejack was going to tell me would have to wait until later. I looked over at her, who was now back to reality as well, and she was smiling sweetly at me, also now waiting for me. Well ok then!

"Oh, jeez. Ok, let's see," I said, as I held my hand to my chin and started thinking of charming songs. I've always liked Turkey in the Straw... "Hm, do you know - ? Oh wait, I learned that before I moved to Equestria," I muttered out loud to myself.

"How's it go?" she said with interest and an unfazed beam.

"You wouldn't know it, it's from my homeland," I replied. She only smiled even more confidently and smugly.

"Honey, like I said... how's it go?"

I looked at her in shock, before turning to Applejack for answers. There's no way. There's no way she can do that! Applejack only shrugged. I looked back at Fiddlesticks and began laughing confusedly.

"You can play a song after- ?" I said, dumbfounded but now extremely excited. She nodded, so without any more questioning, I shrugged and complied; I curled my lips and began whistling the tune out loud. I whistled quickly a few times through, as the ponies in the barn seemed to react positively to it, even tapping their hooves in a beat with it. When I had finished the second time through, Fiddlesticks smiled and closed her eyes, and in a moment she was bowing on her violin the exact tune I had just whistled.

The ponies in the barn all let out a cheer, and I could not believe my ears. She played it down to the note, and it sounded so wonderful that almost immediately everypony in the barn was moving their legs and bodies again. Suddenly, I had a fierce desire to dance with my beloved pony wife, and just like that, the two of us were back to being carefree and living in the moment as a happy country couple. I turned to Applejack and smiled in disbelief at her, who was now laughing heartily again. I jumped at her and the two of us grabbed arms once again and began square dancing.

"Havin' fun yet?" she called as I bounced all around with glee, unable to do anything else. I danced to the music and reached up my hand to her hoof once more, letting her twirl me around and around (this time I maintained my balance). I noticed Big Macintosh cooly spinning Cheerilee just beside us, and on the other side, Half-baked Apple, another Apple family member, was dancing merrily with an energetic Granny Smith.

As the Apples and the residents of Ponyville all danced happily and in complete harmony with one another, Fiddlesticks' bow finally cooled off and the song came to an end, with everypony panting and smiling with delight. An excited Hayseed appeared right in front of me, his face full of innocent and simple triumph.

"He's a real Apple, ain't he?" he said to Applejack, referring to me. I laughed blushingly and tried to shrug it off as Applejack gave my hair another whip with her hoof; no doubt about it, this was perhaps the greatest compliment I could possibly receive from somepony outside Applejack.

"He's one humdinger of a dancer, he is!" cried Granny Smith.

"Well, you know... it's kinda easy with two feet," I said, embarrassed by all this attention. The truth was I was never really much of a dancer; I was just responding to the music.

"Big Mac? When are you gonna do your song with him?" I heard Cheerilee's voice say. Applejack picked up on it.

"Well, why don't the two of ya go up there now?" she said.

"Big Mac and AJ!" yelled a high, raspy voice from behind, to which the mass agreed. I turned my head and Rainbow was smiling mischievously, having practically announced it to everypony. Big Macintosh, who is himself red, somehow turned even redder at all the attention. As ponies began cheering for us two to go up, I felt my heart rate increasing rapidly. The positive attitude of everypony was encouraging me, however.

"How 'bout it Fiddlesticks, Kazooie? Mind lettin' them take a run?" cried the voice of Apple Bloom from somewhere in the crowd. Fiddlesticks respectfully bowed and took her leave as Kazooie laid his banjo off to the side and stepped off as well. My heart sank.

"You'll do fine, sugarcube," whispered Applejack, as though sensing my nervousness. "Hey," she said, as I went to step forward, "Just have fun, honey! That's what these things 'er for. An' do me a favor," she added.

"What's that?"

"Knock 'em dead!" she said with a bright, encouraging smile. She is my ultimate strength, and upon hearing her words I was breathing with new confidence in me. I looked over to Big Mac, who was looking rather calm for someone kind of shy.

"Ready?"

"Eeyup."

The two of us walked up on stage together, with me picking up the family banjo and Big Mac going for his guitar. Since ponies rarely use seats, I had practiced standing up, which is how I was gonna play it tonight. Big Mac placed his guitar in his lap and rested his flank on the stage floor, ready to play. I strapped the banjo over my shoulder and faced the now completely silent crowd as they waited in anticipation for us. I knew full well every eye in the barn was now on us two.

Let me just give you a brief summary of this song; I heard it once when I was really little at a country restaurant back where I was born, in the land of humans. I never really caught the name, but I remember hearing a farmer play it on the banjo as I ate with my family, and oh my goodness, I loved it. It was so happy and light-hearted, just like Applejack. I wanted to ask him the name of it, but my family dragged me away before I could. From that day on I whistled that song until the cows came home, and I've been whistling it ever since.

Now since I've lived here on Sweet Apple Acres, I never really played the banjo much outside of a few easy songs. But about two months ago, I taught myself this song in one night. I've been playing it at least twenty minutes every day since then, getting faster and faster and adding some extra chords. About a month ago, Big Macintosh heard me playing it, and decided to add in a guitar with it. Oh by the way, as you can imagine, plucking strings is rather difficult for someone with hooves; so when ponies like Kazooie or Big Macintosh play instruments like these, they put a little picking tool on their plucking hoof. Well, we've been practicing every day for about twenty minutes together in the last month. And what we were about to play was the fruit of our labor.

I faced the crowd awkwardly and silently for a moment, as they all eyed me to death. I looked for Applejack's face in the crowd, and sure enough, it was right there in front, brighter and prettier than any other face in the barn- or the world, for that matter. She smiled at me, and I felt my heart lighten up. I looked over at Big Macintosh and nodded my head. Ok... here we go... remember, fun, AJ... fun...

I counted to three, and all nearly of my fingers took flight, four on my note-playing left hand and two to three on my plucking right hand. I barely heard the roar of the crowd as we played the first few verses; I was focused hard on my fingers and making sure I stayed in rhythm with Big Mac. In the corner of my eye, I could see waves of ponies dancing wildly and cheering at our playing. At first, I ignored it, not breaking a smile as I frantically moved my fingers up and down. But when I hadn't heard a sour note in the whole song, and we approached the end, I looked over at Big Macintosh, who was grinning broadly at me; we were nailing it!

I looked back out in the sea of ponies as I continued playing, and they were all completely enthralled. Every pony had a silly smile on their face, dancing with the spirit of the song in their hearts. They love it! Which means Applejack is being well-represented!  I laughed with delight as I turned back down to the banjo and hit every note.

I had never been in a spot like this before. As Big Macintosh and I started the final run through, I walked toward the stage floor and put even more passion into my playing, absorbing the energy and life of the crowd and playing with ardent fervor, which they only returned. I didn't dream of having this much fun at this hoedown.

Big Mac and I ended it with a bang, and the roar of the crowd nearly blew the roof off the barn. Everypony stomped their hooves and cried with cheers of delight, and as I stood up there and observed it all amongst the whole barn, I could not believe the positive attention that we were receiving. After a few moments, I waved to the crowd and gave Big Mac a thumbs up, and went to step off stage to return to the arms of my wife, who deserved all of the attention- not me.

"Encore! Encore!" cried all the ponies. I searched for Applejack and found her jovial face shining up at me like the sun at the bottom of the stage, adoring her husband who loved her with all his heart, mind, and strength. The consistent cries of the ponies for an encore persisted, however. Not sure what to do, I looked at Big Macintosh, who shrugged. So I put my fingers back in place and gave Big Mac the "one, two, three" and we began playing through it again.  

By the time we finished again, I exhaustedly took off the banjo and jumped off the stage into the arms of Applejack and buried my head atop her mane, who snuggled tightly back. As good as it felt to be cheered on by everypony, it was nothing compared to returning to Applejack's caring arms.

"Daggone you play a mean banjo!" cried the voice of an unseen stallion. There were other things like that pouring in from every direction as I tightly squeezed Applejack, most of them begging for more, others expressing their delight with that song. It was comical for me to be receiving such comments when I couldn't even read music; I just mastered one song, and that was it. After a few moments, I removed my head but kept my arms around her and addressed everypony with a bright face.  

"Actually, that's the only song I know," I replied sheepishly. As multiple voices rose up again all around us, to which I had no idea how to respond to all at once, the high, loud voice of one familiar pony exalted itself above the rest and demanded recognition.

"Hey! When can we play our song?" cried Pinkie Pie, who bounced up and down near us, seemingly out of nowhere. The way everypony was riled up, certainly this was an appropriate time for a song from the super-hyper pink pony and her multiple instruments. It was perfect for me, who although happy and excited, preferred to defer the attention to somepony else.

"Get up there, Pinkie! Get up there 'fore they lose their energy," said Applejack from my arms. Pinkie smiled with maniacal excitement and took off in a flash to gather the ponies who were gonna play with her. In what seemed like three seconds, she had everypony she needed on stage. Lyra Heartstrings, a green unicorn mare with a whitish mane, Junebug, a yellow mare with an orangish mane, Roseluck, a light-colored mare with a scarlet mane, and Red Gala, a cousin of Applejack's with a pink coat and green mane.

We didn't know what to expect; she had some odd-looking instruments up there, and as ponies began calming down and noticing her up there, they turned and waited silently and eagerly for her to begin. Applejack and I looked at each other with amusement as we released each other and gave ourselves some space. As quickly as things had changed, Pinkie Pie was just following the pattern of the night; fast, fun, and unpredictable. Pinkie readied her trombone, and the other ponies prepared their "instruments" as well. Pinkie smiled at her compadres, who not nearly as enthusiastic looking as she was, and faced the crowd.

"Ok everypony!  A ONE, A TWO, A ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"

Pinkie's song started, and at first all the ponies, as well as myself, stood silently and listened with fascination. It was different, but it was catchy and charming! It didn't take long before we were all dancing yet again with fervor, and this time Applejack and I made up our own thing. Instead of square dancing, I slid under face first through her legs, where she leaned forward and reached towards me with her front hoof and pulled me back up and twirled me around. I don't think I've ever had so much raw fun in my entire life.

As Applejack and I leaned in for a much needed kiss, ponies all around us began dancing so wildly that there was now pushing and shoving, and before we knew it, ponies were clumsily falling over all across the dance floor. Uh oh... Pinkie's song was so much fun and the ponies were so reved up that legs began tripping, ponies began flying, and even some friendly pushes and shoves let to full blown mayhem among the center crowd. Applejack looked around with concern at the quickly-faltering stability of the crowd.

"Head for the hay!" she cried, as she pointed to a pile of hay off to the side of the front barn doors which no pony was occupying. Pinkie and her gang were completely oblivious to the rowdy droves of ponies that were hurling each other in every direction and kept on playing their happy song, and to the tune, Applejack and I dodged our way to the hay. I ran forward breathlessly and stopped on a dime to avoid a toppling Caramel (caramel-coated stallion) as Applejack swung left of a flailing Lily Valley (pink-colored mare). The two of us smiled at each other's triumph as we pranced alongside each other safely to the pile of hay near the front of the barn. I dived into the hay face first, and felt my pony wife lay down gently beside me.

"Holy cow, would ya look at that?" I heard her say as I closed my eyes in the soft bed of hay. But by that point in the night, I was so spent that I could barely reopen my eyes, and my body demanded me to stay put. I was half-asleep in two shakes of a sheep's tale laying on that hay. I involuntarily began to enter into complete slumber, but I managed one final thought as I felt the warm, snuggly body of Applejack on my side. First Ponyville Hoedown: success.