Orange Crush gets a Crush

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five

Chapter One

Welcome to Ponyville!

“We have arrived in Ponyville. Please gather all belongings before exiting the train,” an overhead speaker announced. I jutted out of my seat, wiping excess drool from my face and ran a hand through my thick orange hair, making sure I was presentable. I’d been on the train for hours and it felt like heaven to be getting up and moving around again. That, and spending the night on a train is not something I would classify as luxurious.

As I exited the train I took in my surroundings and though it had been a while since my last visit, I noticed that Ponyville had changed little: The shops on various corners, the library, Sugarcube Corner, it was all the same. However, this was going to be the first time that I stay longer than a week. So I decided to do a little looking around, maybe find a hotel or something.

I groaned inwardly as I walked about. My ass had been in that seat since last night. I would have taken the train earlier, but, as fate would have it, I missed my train and had to wait four hours for a new one. I ended up taking the train with the most stops and it took me until earlier this morning to get here. I knew that sooner or later I would have to scout for a job. I chose later.

Looking for a hotel was pointless now, as I was too tired to keep searching. Just as I was about to take a load off on the sidewalk, I was taken to the ground by another method.

“Hello!” said the strange, squeaky voice that took me completely by surprise. “I’ve never seen you before!–Where are you from?–Do you live nearby?–What’s your name?”.

“Um, Orange Crush. Hi.” I waved awkwardly, while my gut was in some seriously distracting agony. “Did I.. uh... do something to deserve an elbow in my ribs?” I asked, breathlessly. Other than being rude, intrusive and having no sense for personal space, she was actually quite adorable. She had beautiful pink hair that bounced down onto her shoulders, and brushed ever so slightly across my face as she was basically straddling me at that point. I would have paid more attention to what she was wearing if I weren't so captivated by the great blue orbs she used to stare at me with. She looked me over closely with a confused look on her face. Looking down, she noticed the appendage stabbing me with a cute “Eep!” and removed her elbow from my stomach, while still staying on top of me. Obviously she wasn’t too afraid to invade my personal space.

“Well, I don’t think so. Do you wanna be friends?” She smiled, ear to ear. Wow this girl didn’t play around; I mean she hasn’t known me for more than a minute.

“Friends? Uh, sure?” I blushed, not quite sure what else to say. “But could you get off of me please?”

“Oops! Sorry! Here’s my home address, phone number, email, work phone, work address, and the date for tonight’s party!” she spewed out. Tonight’s party? That’s kind of weird to invite someone you don’t know. “See ya there!” she said, bouncing off to who knows where.

Huh, that was odd, I thought to myself. I mean, it’s been what, twenty minutes since I got here and I’ve already got plans for tonight. And judging from that girl, it’s gonna be a crazy party… Aaand I just realized that she didn't even ask if I wanted to go and I don’t even know where this party is.

After spending what seemed like days searching for a place to stay, I stumbled across a nice, big apple farm kept by some nice folks known as the Apples. Heh, that’s pretty funny, I tell myself. They were nice enough to tell me that there weren’t any hotels in Ponyville, but offered me a job so I might be able to pay for an apartment. I really should have planned this trip better, I inwardly cursed myself.

“Alright, I was looking for a job anyways, so this is perfect!” I told one of the farmers, who just so happened to be one of the biggest, bulkiest, most monstrous guys I’d ever met. The only things containing his muscular figure were a tee shirt and a pair of overalls.

“Eeyup,” he said.

“So when do I start?” I asked, “Because I’ve got a party to go to later tonight, and a super hot pinkette asked me to go, so I don’t wanna mess that up,” I blurted out, just before realizing how much of a snob I sounded like. “I mean if that’s ok, cuz I’ll work whenever you guys ask me to!” I said, trying to preserve whatever part of me was still likeable.

“That’s alright,” he said in a laid back tone, just before a sinister smile cracked its way up his face, “She invited us too,” he said before walking away. At first I was a little hurt that my invite wasn’t special, but then it hit me that this was kind of a good thing. Kinda.

“Well, she didn’t really tell me where it is… so do you think you could point me in the right direction?” I ask him. It felt kind of weird to ask, but I figured it was the only way to find the place.

“Why don’t you just come with us? I don’t mind.” He stopped, turning around and offering me his hand. “The name’s Mac, by the way,”

“Nice to meet you, Mac,” I said, taking his hand in my own and gripping it tightly. He talked so rarely that only at that moment did I realize that he spoke with a southern accent.

After Big Mac had so kindly offered me dinner and to meet his family, his red headed little sister decided to throw a hissy fit as it was made evident to me that she had not been invited to Pinkie’s shindig.

“But, Applejack, I wanna go to the party too!” she whined, sporting a pouty face as she did so.

“Now, Applebloom, I told you a hundred times that this here party is NOT for youngins’!” Applejack told her adorable little sis with as strict a tone as she could muster. As much as I did enjoy the Apple family’s hospitality, I really wish I wasn’t there at that particular moment. It kinda felt awkward to sit there and twiddle my thumbs together in my lap as the two continued to argue for the better part of an hour.

Finally, after having to sit through their little family squabble, Applebloom had conceded to her elder sister and went off to bed, much to my comfort. I kind of assumed that this was going to be a fun party, but by the way Applejack made it sound, this was a grown up party. That part struck me as odd. I mean why couldn’t Applebloom come? A party not for youngins, as Applejack put it, but I decided not to dwell on it. After all, I was going to get to see that looker of a party girl again!

Chapter Two

Party Time!

After eating, Mac, Applejack and I left early for Pinkie’s party. I felt bad for Applebloom, having to miss out on the fun while the grown-ups go party, but it couldn’t be helped. I also couldn’t help but notice how Ponyville went from small town nowhere to gorgeous moonlit paradise when the sun went down. Of course, paradise might have been overselling it a bit, but it did add a sort of spice to the night that had failed to appear to me during the day. The shops on various street corners, the library, and town hall weren’t the same as I had remembered. At that particular moment, I truly understood that Ponyville was an architectural gem, one of a kind.

“Wow, Ponyville, you sure do clean up nice,” I said, trying to ease the tension built up in me after that awkward dinner.

“It’s not half bad, huh?” Applejack said, pulling me into a response.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” I said to the strikingly attractive blonde. I’m surprised that I didn’t notice how much of a looker she was. It seemed that every girl I had met in that town was superbly attractive. “I, uh, don’t get much of this where I come from,” I managed to finish the sentence, peeling my eyes away from her slender, yet surprisingly built figure.

“Really? Around here it’s nothing fancy during the daytime,” she sighed, “But by the time night rolls around, that’s when things start to get real interesting,” she ended with a smirk, punching me playfully in the shoulder. I laughed it off, even though she punched me a lot harder than she thought she did.

We ended up making good time, arriving a solid thirty minutes before we should have. I wasn’t very surprised though, considering how small of town Ponyville really was.

Big Mac tapped lightly on the door to alert the fast paced party girl of our arrival. While waiting for Pinkie to answer the door, I couldn’t help but notice that this was Sugarcube Corner. When I was younger, I came to this place all the time. Weird how things work out, I thought. The place was still as bright and colorful as I remembered.

My train of thought ran out of track once I locked eyes with the girl who was all smiles at all times.

“Hey, Orangie, you made it!” She said, a little too loudly.

“Oh, hey how’s it goin’?” I said, while simultaneously trying to hide the obvious blush working its way up my face. I could only hope the night would hide my humiliation.

After a painful reintroduction, she allowed us access into the party. That’s a whole lotta pink, I pointed out to myself. There were streamers, cakes, pies and copious amounts of alcohol scattered along the counters. The place was covered from ceiling to floor almost exclusively in pink party themed items, while the walls of the store were a pale pink in comparison to her choice of clothing, which mostly consisted of hot pink accessories, save for her black shorts and white knee-high socks.

After being absorbed in globs of pink, I was forced to mingle amongst Pinkie’s various friends, which led me to realize that she had quite a reputation amongst the majority of her friends. Supposedly, she was some super party planner, and basically threw parties every other day of the week. I would say that I was shocked, or maybe even surprised, but from the moment I first met her, I assumed that she would be as outgoing as her friends said she was.

“Her sister works with… rocks?” I asked, gaining interest in what Pinkie’s pal, Rainbow Dash, had to say.

“I know, right? It’s super weird and even though I love pinkie to death, it was really hard to get along with Maud,” she finished before taking another sip of her alcoholic beverage.

“Sounds like you guys had a rocky relationship,” I teased, getting to know the prism-haired girl. Her hair was short (a bit shorter than mine), but it complemented her nicely, along with her piercing magenta-colored eyes. She wore a light blue, sleeveless hoodie over a plain black tee, along with a pair of tattered navy blue jeans.

After giving me what looked dangerously close to a grimace, she sat her drink down on the countertop and took a small step closer to me.

“Wow, that was super lame.” She pointed her finger into my chest, while her other hand lay on her hip. “How long did you stay up thinking of that one?” she teased back, smirking slightly.

“Well, longer than I should’ve,” I said as we began to hit it off.

Later on that night, after getting to know a small portion of Pinkie’s friend group, I thought it would be a wise investment to find somewhere to crash. After all, people were beginning to leave, and I still didn’t have a place to stay. I thought about asking someone if I could stay the night, but the only people I could think to ask were people that I had known for less than a few hours. Maybe asking Big Mac if I could stay with him and his family would be a good idea, I said to myself, but I knew that that would be imposing on their already generous offer.

I sat on the couch, lingering from the dying population. A frustrated scowl slowly found itself planted on my face as I tried to solve my current conundrum. I must have been in that spot longer that I had thought, because after what seemed to be only a couple minutes of pondering, everyone had already left the party. Other than the host, of course.

“How come you’re still here?” Pinkie asked, sitting down next to me looking a bit confused. I relaxed myself a bit when she sat down, not noticing how much I had tensed up from thinking too hard. “You seem stressed,” she added, laying a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, no, I was just thinking,” I laughed. “I tend to look mad when I think too much.”

“Oh, ok,” she said removing her hand, looking pleased with my answer. Placing her hands in her lap, as they intertwined with each other, she gave me another look of confusion. Wow, she looks cute when she’s thinking, I smiled to myself, until noticing how strange that sounded when replaying the thought in my head a couple times.

“Don’t you need to go home, or something?” she asked. At first I thought she was trying to push me out of her home, putting a surprisingly sour taste in my mouth, until I noticed the clear look of concern on her face and realized that she genuinely wanted to know.

“Actually, I’m kinda homeless at the moment,” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head, sheepishly.

“Well, if you want, there’s a guest bedroom upstairs with your name on it!” She beamed at me with a big goofy grin, being as forward as possible. “And I promise I won’t go axe murderer on you in your sleep!” She added, as if trying to make me feel better about staying with someone I had just met. It didn’t.

Chapter Three

Dream of Pink

Pinkie’s living quarters had a much different feel to them after the party had ended and everyone had left. Cups and various alcoholic beverages stained the area where the life of the party ceased to be. Sitting on the pink, fluffy couch in the center of the once crowded room, I pondered the question Pinkie Pie had just asked me.

“Uh,” Orange started, “I’m not quite sure if I should be staying with you, I mean, we just met.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about me! I won’t do anything to bother you, we’re friends after all!” she said. Holding both of her hands in her lap, looked up to me for a response. from the way she was positioned on the couch, It felt like she was only a few inches away from my face. The thought of this brought a deep red shade over me, making it very hard to continue a conversation.

“I guess I could, maybe, stay just for the night?” I said in a questioning tone, avoiding eye contact as much as I could. She must have been able to read my mind, because even before I could finish crafting the end of the sentence, a bright smile found itself firmly attached to her face.

“Great! I have the perfect room upstairs for you! It’s super comfortable, you’ll love it!” she said, running up the stairs so fast I couldn’t even respond.

The room I was staying in was, just as the rest of the place, a preppy pink color, matching Pinkie Pie’s hair color perfectly. In the center of each wall rested a painting of different sweets and delicious delights so realistic I wanted to eat them right then and there. The bed was probably one of the most comfortable things I've ever set my eyes upon. It looked so inviting, it made my eyeballs comfy just from looking at it. In front of the bed, there was an extra large bean bag chair that was surprisingly not pink, but a light shade of purple perfectly in front of an ancient television that looked like it has seen better days.

“Cute, right?” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, this is nice,” I started, “Definitely better than sleeping on the streets,”

“Oh yeah this is, like, the most super comfy bed in the world!” she squeaked.

She started to really grow on me as the day went on, and letting a complete stranger stay the night when they've no place to go makes them either a great human being, or a crazy person in my book. Although, in this particular case, I’d say it was a bit of both.

We both stood still in the room not making a sound, rubbing our necks or arms sheepishly and just waited for the awkwardness to fade, which didn’t seem to be working. So I cut the silence short in order to preserve some much needed sleep time.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” I shifted toward the bed.

“Cool, See you then,” she scurried out, getting to the end of the room in a jiffy, “Goodnight!”

Shortly after she left, I wasted no time getting some rest. I wanted as much good sleep as possible before I had to leave. However, my excessively vivid dreams left me very restless.

I walked along a path that I had never seen before toward a bright building. I walked up to the door, opened it without knocking, and strolled straight up the stairs until I reached Pinkie Pie’s room. My heart raced fast, quickening every few moments. I knew exactly what was about to happen, and I was ready to act upon impulse.

I slowly turned the knob, sweat building in my palms and on my forehead. I opened the door with more force than I thought was needed, and everything seemed to slow down. I felt very heavy, like gravity was working against me, making it very hard to do even the most simple of movements. I entered the room, and there she was, In the center, watching. The door disappeared. The only thing in my vision was Pinkie Pie.

She smiled kindly at me, a different kind of smile than I was used to. It was nearly seductive, luring me in instantly. I walked very slowly toward her, until I was so close I could have sworn she could hear my thoughts. My head was pounding, my heart rate increased dramatically, my palms clammed up and there stood one of the most beautiful girls I’d ever met, inches from me. She looked into me with half-lidded eyes, breathing onto my face, nearly knocking me out from the sheer attraction I felt toward her. Pinkie grasped the back of my neck, gently, pulling me in closely. Her lips puckered ever so slightly, preparing for the intimacy that was to follow. I felt her grip on my neck instantly tighten, bordering on painful. What is she doing? The shock of it tossed me out of slumber and I noticed I was no longer in bed. As very distracting pain was still in my neck, I reached back to ease the discomfort. I can still feel her grip...

The smell of breakfast lured me, causing me to seek out the source. I approached the kitchen where Pinkie was busy making the most important meal of the day. She noticed me in her peripherals, and smiled almost like in my dream, making me a slight shade darker.

“Hey, good morning!” she greeted kindly, taking her attention away from the pancakes. I noticed her hair was especially unkempt, allowing me to assume that she had only recently awoken. “Sleep good?”

I had been reminded of my slightly erotic dream for the second time in ten seconds, making me even more red than before.

“I-I slept, uh, good. Great actually.” I lied. Sort of. I mean, that dream was pretty hot...

“Fantastical!” She shouted.

“I’m sorry?” I asked, a bit confused. Is ‘fantastical’ even a word?

“Fantastical, you know? It’s like fantastic, and radical? Although I guess you wouldn't know that, since I just made it up. Well all you need to know is it’s a good thing.” She rambled.

“Cool,” I said, conjuring a topic to distract my jumbled and flustered mind. “So, what’re you making?”

She gave me as big a goofball smile as humanly possible and said, “Orange pancakes!”

“I had to say something, didn’t I?” I complained with a sarcastic tone. Even if my hair is orange I actually hate the color, although the fruit doesn't bother me so much.

“You brought it uuup~” she said in a sing-song voice, focusing completely on the meal in front of her.

I grabbed a chair, and sat down at the dining room table, feeling a pit of awkwardness building in my stomach. My vision kept resting on her, and I almost felt like she knew somehow. That thought alone was something that would continue to bother me for the rest of the day.

“I suppose I did,” I said. “I hope some of those are for me as well?”

“Well of course, silly willy, breakfast alone is no fun at all!” She said, bringing over two plates stacked with the delicious treats.

Pinkie pulled up a chair and sat adjacent to me, pouring an exceptional amount of syrup onto her pancakes. We both sat quietly together and enjoyed each others company, as well as the tasty breakfast laid out before us.

Chapter Four

So it's a Date

After having a nice, semi-awkward breakfast with Pinkie, I unfortunately had a job to get to. Today was my first day of work, and as much as I would have liked to skip, I had to go. I really needed to clear my head, or the events of last night would eat away at my mind all day long.

Apple Acres looked considerably different from the worker’s perspective. At first sight. one might think of how beautiful the apples’ shade of red looked when contrasted with the green leaves of the apple trees. I, on the other hand, thought that I was way too tired to be doing such a large amount of work when the sun was hardly up. However, I was just exhausted from both the party and the erotic dream from last night. I thought that getting out of Pinkie’s as quick as I could might’ve helped relieve my nerves, but ever since I’d left, It’s been my every waking thought. Luckily for me, I was nearly done and could go get some well deserved rest.

I was pretty sure I had followed the trail that Applejack told me to, but now I wasn’t sure where I was. Where the heck did I wander off to? I began to search for the trail, digging deeper into the orchard, peeking through the gaps in between the trees but to no avail. I figured that if I just kept walking in a straight line, sooner or later I would come out at the end of the treeline but before I knew it, the orchard had quickly turned into a forest. There were no longer any apple trees, but instead were thin, wiry strings attached to the lifeless forms of once great and mighty thickets. As I went even deeper into the unchanging scene, I hoped for an exit to make itself known as soon as possible. But, going even deeper into the wooded area, I found myself to be even more lost than I was before. Damn, it’s getting dark. If I don’t get outta here soon, I’ll be screwed…

After walking through the wilderness for another thirty minutes, the day slowly sinking, I discovered a sliver of light forking it’s way through the trees. I immediately found my way to it, ready to taste freedom. However, when I arrived, I found that not only was I still not free but that I was no longer alone. leaning against the tree, a blanket spread out before her was the girl that had every color of the rainbow on her head. Rainbow Dash was her name, really no difficulty to recall. It really was a sight to behold, her sitting there in the golden light of the dying fire, completely tranquil and unaware of my presence. That was when I began think, Wait, what is she sleeping? Is she stupid? I hesitated to get her attention, she looked so peaceful in her slumber.

“Rainbow,” I whispered. I didn’t want to startle her, fearing she might flee. “ Rainbow, wake up.”

She shifted a bit, turning her back to me. It became obvious that I’d have to try a bit harder to wake her.

“Rainbow, wake up!” I whisper-yelled.

“What?” She slowly turned back around to face me, her eyes heavy with sleep. She didn’t seem very surprised to see me, which was a bit odd.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“Well, I was taking a nap…” she smiled, stretching her arms.

“ Yeah, I gathered that much, but what are you doing taking a nap in the middle of nowhere?”

She shot me a quick look that said ‘are you stupid,’ and started to readjust her position against the tree.

“In the middle of nowhere? We’re literally ten minutes from civilization.”

“O-oh, really?” I said. Well this is a bit embarrassing. I thought we were both lost or something, but then why would she be sleeping in the forest if she were lost? Ok, I’m stupid.

“Ok, you’re stupid,” she said. Hey, you read my mind.

“Well, what are you doing out here?” I asked. She stretched her arms out and gradually laid them behind her head.

“Whenever I feel overworked or have a tough day, this is where I go. So, what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?” she said, providing air quotes.

“I, uh, kinda got lost…” I hung my head, embarrassed.

“How? Which way did you come from?”

I told her all about how I had been picking apples for the Apples’ and how I got lost trying to find my way back. Rainbow seemed to be somewhat sympathetic with me, as I’d been having a series of unfortunate events unfolding one after the other all day.

“That sucks, Crush, but do you wanna hear something that’ll make it even worse?” she asked. Rainbow Dash waited for my answer, cringing slightly.

No, I thought, but part of me was curious.

“Shoot,” I said.

“Apple Acres was in the opposite direction.” she smiled, apologetically. I groaned, exhausted by my futile efforts. My sense of direction had not only led me astray, but made me look ridiculous in front of a cute girl.

I sighed, I was ready to give up on today. “Can you give me a ride home?”

* * *

Rainbow Dash was described to me as rash, irresponsible, a bit insensitive, and most importantly, loyal. Applejack told me they were best friends, and that no matter what, Rainbow would always have her back. After a short car ride home thanks to Rainbow, I began to see why Applejack’s friend was so well respected around here. Everyone I’ve met here has been nothing but kind, I kind of wish there was some way I could repay them.

“Thanks for the lift,” I said, struggling to find the handle.

“No problem. It’s, uh, near the bottom of the door,” she pointed to the handle.

“Oh, thanks, and thank you for the ride, again. Did I say thank you yet?”

“Get out of my car,” she teased.

“Alright, I’ll see you around” I started to get out, when I thought about why Rainbow was in the forest. What did she tell me, something about going there on bad days? Maybe if that’s true, I can help her out. It’s the least that I could do. “Hey, how come you were out there tonight?”

She laughed and said, “I told you already, sometimes I go out there to clear my mind.”

“Yeah, but you also told me you go there when you’ve had a rough day. Sorry, I know it’s none of my business, but,” I began. I started to regret my decision, as it was really none of my business. “Did something happen, or am I just worrying over nothing?”

She gave me a reassuring smile before saying “Don’t worry, I was just taking a nap, nothing more. Thanks though, It’s nice to know when people care.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” I blushed. I got out of her blue corvette, waved her goodbye, and watched her drive away until she crossed the horizon and left my sight.

I walked up to the front door of the barn house, ready for the barrage of questions that would fall upon me, but instead, when I walked in, it seemed that no one had noticed I’d been gone.

“Howdy there, Orange Crush, are you just now gettin’ done?” Applejack asked. I figured I should just stay away from telling Applejack what really happened, that would only provide her with embarrassment fuel.

“Uh, yeah, I’ve got the apples right-” I began, when I remembered I left the stupid apples in the stupid forest, when stupid me got lost. Stupid, stupid, stupid! “and I accidentally left them in the orchard.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get em’ tomorrow.” she said.

I decided to skip dinner, and thought going straight to bed would help ease my aching body. Walking up each individual step seemed to provide a challenge, making my knees feel like another few steps and they’d snap. After eventually reaching the top of the staircase, I drifted straight into my bed. Tomorrow was going to be hell if I didn’t get my rest. Who thought that picking apples would be so physically exhausting? That does explain, however, how Applejack got those rock hard abs of hers.

* * *

The sound of the doorbell could be heard from every room in the house. I got out of bed slowly and looked through the tiny circular window in the room which was home to quite the large amount of dust, and nearly coughed up a lung. Not only from the dusty window, but from who was downstairs. Pinkie was standing right below me. I treaded lightly down the flight of stairs to get to the door, eager to see her. I opened the front door just as she was about to ring the doorbell a second time. “Hiya, Orangie!” She said. I blushed a bit at her nickname for me, trying to keep my cool.

“Hey, what’s-” She silenced me with her index finger and began to fiddle around in the inside of her purse, looking for something. Her face was a bit perplexed after skimming for about twenty seconds, but quickly replaced it with relief guaranteeing she’d found what she was searching for.

“I found your phone in my couch earlier!” She said. I nearly collapsed to the floor with relief. I couldn’t have been more glad to have my phone.

“Thank you so much, Pinkie, I thought I lost the darn thing!” I beamed.

“No problem, anything for a friend!” she said, sporting her signature Pinkie smile. “I’m just glad you enjoyed your party yesterday!”

“What do mean?” I asked.

“Well, I planned the party for you, of course!” she stated like it was common knowledge.

“What? Why?”

She nearly wore grimace in response to my question.

“Are you upset? I was only trying to introduce you to everyone. When I saw you at the square, I knew you were new so I thought I’d do something nice. Did I mess up?” She spewed out. She really was just an innocent girl, trying to make me welcome in a new place. My heart swelled, and I smiled the widest grin I’ve had in a long time.

“Are you kidding me? That’s so cool!” I said. She sighed and wiped sweat of her forehead with the back of her hand.

“Oh good, I thought that you didn’t like that I did that.”

“No, no, that’s awesome. I can’t think of anyone who’d be that nice to someone they just met!”

Pinkie smiled, sweetly, and gave a timid goodbye before making her tread back home. I closed the front door a few minutes after she left, thinking about how kind she’s been to me lately. I really like the people in Ponyville, but Pinkie’s just so… different. I thought about her for the rest of that night, and it was only during the next morning that I would decide. I think I’m gonna ask her out on a date.

Chapter Five

I Want to Live My Way

My vision fizzled when I first opened my eyes. A harsh light blinded me, hindering my senses, and caused me to question my location. I immediately wiped some bothersome perspiration off of my face. Running another hand through my coarse, orange hair, I felt moisture build up in between each finger. I took a quick glance at my sweaty hands, but turned away, sour-faced.

As the blinding flash continued to fade away, I took in the surrounding area. Dusty furniture, cobwebs and the dull, grey bed were my entire world. Lying partially still, I turned my head to the right and looked into the corner of the ceiling; the color was faded and the walls peeled at every corner. An uncomfortable, itchy feeling suddenly overtook my attention. I tried tossing the scratchy sheets off of my bed, but failed, forcing me to sit up and kick them away in a futile effort to preserve my laziness.

After successfully ridding my overheated body of the uncomfortable cloth, I threw my head back into my hot sponge of a pillow and began counting the bumps in the ceiling. I can’t wait to see Pinkie again, I thought. But my excited day-dream, or morning-dream, went as soon as it came. I remembered that Applejack needed me to work some extra hours in the orchard. I needed some time to make up for the apples I had lost the day before.

I craned my head up until I could see outside from my little, circular window. The sky was a deep purple and I could hardly make out the clouds or their shape. I reached up for the windowsill to get a better view, but jerked my hand back immediately. I touched my index finger with my thumb and disconnected them several times, finding an exceptionally annoying stickiness between them. Fantastic, just what I wanted at five o’clock in the morning…

I placed an elbow into the hard mattress and perched myself up. I swiftly rubbed my sticky hand on the blanket to remove the substance from my skin. With eyes half lidded, I looked out into the orchard again. This time I could see the sun begin to slowly creep up over the horizon and light up parts of the room.

* * *

Today’s work is going to be the hardest to date; my legs are still sore and my arms ache from yesterday. I’d never been hired for any kind of physical labor before my job at Apple Acres, my body wasn’t fully prepared for that kind of work-out. Aw, man, today is gonna suck, I can’t handle any more abuse.

“Hey, Orange, time for breakfast!” Applejack called. I looked over to my left to where her voice came from and I noticed some clothes on an old wooden chair. I stretched across the bed over to the clothing, and I grabbed a pair of tattered jeans and a button up, red flannel shirt. I stumbled out of bed and tried to put on the clothes, but something seemed off to me when both of my legs could fit through one hole.

“What the—” was all I could muster before I fell face first into the door. It opened upon impact, and I proceeded to flail my arms in an attempt to get balance. Unfortunately, all I managed to do was make my fall even more embarrassing, flying all the way downstairs and landing on the bottom floor. The sound of my head hitting the hard ground did not fall upon deaf ears, however, as all members of the Apple family had their eyes firmly placed on me.

I imagine seeing me with no shirt, both legs in one pant leg and a fairly noticeable nosebleed would’ve been quite the sight, but I wouldn’t have understood the feeling, considering I’d been unconscious far before hitting the bottom of the steps.

* * *

While I was knocked out, apparently Big Mac had to carry me outside and sit me in his grandmother’s rocking chair. When I came to, it felt a lot like when I woke up that same morning; a bothersome light and the scratchy feeling of uncomfortable fabric, only this time I was outside and bothered by a throbbing headache. I touched my scalp with my fingertips gently, resulting in shocking pain that made me tear my hand away. I looked at the tip of my fingers and saw specks of blood, which alarmed me greatly.

“Relax, you’ll be okay” said a strong yet careful voice. I turned my head over to find the source and was surprised when all I saw was a grown man’s midriff. Jerking my upper body away slightly, I looked farther up past his enormous overalls and caught sight of his face underneath the shade of the house.

“Mac?” I asked, a bit confused. I wiped away the small amount of dust on my jeans and noticed I had clothes on that actually fit me. I was wearing a grey flannel shirt, dark blue jeans and some fancy cowboy boots. “Um, whats with the, uh-”

“Sis’s clothes.” He chuckled. I grimaced in response and began to grow increasingly red. Does that mean Mac… dressed me? I turned my head away from Mac, while he finished bandaging my head, and saw Applejack and her sister walk up toward me.

“Oh good, more company,” I sarcastically remarked. I don’t suppose there’s any chance I get zero crap from this, is there?

After Mac patched me up, he and his sister decided on giving me the day off, all the while Applebloom was having a giggle fit at my expense. Nope.

“Glad to hear you care about my well-being, Applebloom,” I said.

“Well what do you expect, you fell down the stairs!” she said, still laughing heartily. “—with no pants on!”

“I-I had pants on, just n-not all the way…” I tried to defend.

“Orange, just give up,” Applejack said. She was right, too; I wasn’t doing myself any favors with my pitiful performance. I sighed, I was both

embarrassed from my injuries, and from being nursed back to health by Big Mac.

“Thanks.” I got up out of the chair and took small, awkward steps toward the barn house. The building was tattered from years of wear-down, and the grey, elderly wood was probably in worse shape than Granny Apple’s hip. The Apples always did barn raisings, which makes you wonder why they wouldn’t just raise a new home? Maybe the house had some sort of sentiment to it that I just didn’t see at the time?

I walked up the old staircase, noting the destruction I had caused. It felt like each step creaked louder and rung longer than the last. With the pressure building up in both of my feet, I stepped deep into the wood; it was surprisingly soft. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the staircase was about to collapse beneath me. Fortunately, I reached the top before any incidents occurred. I wiped the sweat from my forehead anxiously. Man, with today’s luck I thought those stairs were— and without noticing, I caught the rug at the tip of my foot and fell flat on my face for the second time that day.

“Oooow…” I grumbled. My nose felt heavy and I could feel the blood rush to my head. I placed both hands on the rough surface of the floor to make the room stop spinning. I could feel a warmth spread through my sinuses and slowly seep up my nostrils.

“Dang it, not again.” I whispered nasally. My blood began to drip frantically onto the floor, working in-between each of the wooden boards. I quickly placed a hand over my bloodied nose and slowly reached for the wall, gaining some stability.

I drifted into the bathroom downstairs and leaned directly over the sink. I turned the knob a bit too far at first, causing the water to splatter on my clothes and sprinkle my eyes, but after some quick adjustment, I gained a steady stream and gave the blood somewhere to go.

Through the mirror of the medicine cabinet, I saw a trio of towels on a rack next to what seemed like a rotted old tub and a hose. Granted, it was a bit difficult to grab onto every detail with my nose running almost as steadily as the faucet.

After I cleaned myself up for what seemed like the third time that day, I crept up to the attic as slowly and carefully as possible. In the first few seconds of entering the room, I unbuttoned my shirt and threw it onto the rickety splinter of a chair where had I found the giant pair of jeans from earlier. Now that I think about it, those were probably Big Mac’s.

I looked over to my bed and skimmed for any sign of my phone. I looked under the blanket on the floor, but only found a used napkin. Ew, gross! I tossed the napkin away. I then proceeded to retract my phone from the nether-regions of the bed, digging deep between the mattress and the wall.

Every inch my hand went through was slimy and disgusting, like someone had poured some old milk in there, while the mattress soaked it all up like an old, stale sponge. However, I really wanted my phone, so digging through some grimy old mattress and some pointy springs wasn’t going to stop me.

Eventually I reached the bottom of the dank pit. I felt around the slush for something hard and slim, or any major difference from what I was currently feeling. My thumb struck something with a consistent texture, identical to the item I’d been scanning for. I wrapped my fingers around my phone and released myself from the horrible concoction of liquids. Who lived here before me? I wondered. Probably some slob.

I shoved my phone deep into my pocket and began to rummage through my bag for a shirt. The button-up Mac gave me was fine, but I didn’t want to wear nothing underneath it, that would’ve been really weird!

I found a plain white shirt which was a bit crinkled up, but a functioning top nonetheless. I put my nose into the fabric and inspected it’s scent, making sure it wasn’t harmful to others. After taking only a light whiff, I began to gag repeatedly. I’d have thrown up my liver if I had smelled any longer.

Nope, I deduced. I took the source of the offensive odor and tossed it to the corner of the room, just to the right of the door. I found another shirt in my bag, this one much more satisfactory in comparison to the other. It was my old Black Colts Two tee-shirt I had when I was

younger. Why haven’t I thrown this out yet? Meh, who cares, it’s a shirt.

While I struggled to put it on, it stuck very tightly to the light perspiration on my skin, though I assume it would have stuck even if I hadn’t been sweating. This shirt was at least an entire size smaller than I was, but since I was gonna wear something over it anyways, I doubted anyone would notice. I grabbed the red flannel from earlier off of the chair next to my mattress and buttoned all but the two near my collarbone. I

really don’t want to wear Applejack’s shirt, who knows what people might say?

Looking in the reflection of the circular window, I noted how poorly the red matched up with my distractingly orange hair. To be honest, it made me feel pretty sick. I sat on the old moldy chair near the bed and pouted slightly.

Why did I have to be born with such a ridiculous hair color? I try not to think about these kinds of things too often, but sometimes I just can’t… I shook my head quickly to ditch my depressing thoughts. Come on, Orange, don’t start being pathetic right now, there are people out there who've got it way worse than me.

I pushed myself upright, catching my foot on the chair absently. The wood beneath my feet creaked with every step I took toward the door. My hand ascended to the rusted, metal doorknob and made me feel a slight discomfort. I pushed the old door open without turning the doorknob. The tumblers were useless long before I got to Sweet Apple Acres. Each step I took down the stairs was placed as gently as possible. I fell down the stairs pretty hard earlier today, and I didn’t feel like taking another plunge. Once reached the bottom, I worked around the kitchen table, and entered the carpeted floor of the living room.

Outside, I caught a glimpse of Granny Smith snoring the day away in her chair, while her three diligent grandchildren worked their butts off, providing themselves with what I would call an intense workout. I silently walked up next to Granny and gave her a couple taps on the shoulder. This rewarded me with no response; I gave her arm a gentle nudge, and I took note of how muscular she felt, even for an old woman. I could tell just from that that she and Applejack must’ve been very similar when Granny was young.

This time she stirred awake with discontent in her eyes.

“What’re ya doin’ there, youngin, I was havin’ a good dream...’” she grumbled.

“Granny Smith, can you do me a favor?” I asked.

“What is it, dearie?”

“Tell those two I’m gonna work extra hard tomorrow,” I began. “but until then, I’m gonna go find a better place to stay. I know I haven’t caused any real trouble yet, but I don’t want to impose further on your hospitality.”

“If you really need to, I’m not stopping you, dear,” her focus lingered on her grandkids. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

I smiled at Granny Smith, as she turned and met me with a kind gaze.

I turned on my heels, and returned to the attic in a swift motion. I ran up the rickety stairs and pushed through the door in less than a couple of seconds. Rainbow Dash would have been proud, I must have broken the world record for running up stairs.

I packed my things as quick as possible, I wanted to make for the train station before noon.

During this internal panic, many people would have wondered what I was thinking. Why the sudden revelation, why ruin a good thing and leave the farm? To be frank, I didn’t have a good reason. At the time, all I remember was thinking about how stupid my hair was, and how I inexplicitly had so much affection toward Pinkie. I would have seemed insane if I told someone my reasoning. The reason for getting out of Apple Acres, the reason for liking Pinkie, and the reason why I felt the need to make something of myself. That must have been it, the sudden realisation of what my life was heading toward. I saw my future, stuck in the attic of someone else’s house working the same job for the rest of my days, while I continued to do nothing but dream about the girl I liked.

But what made me attracted to her, exactly? Was it because she was beautiful, funny, or simply because she came across as a friendly person? At the time, there was no way for me to know for certain, but I think it was because she was living her life the way she planned, the exact way I wanted to live. I still want to live that way, of my own accord and no one else’s.