For the Love of an Earth Pony

by AJ

Chapters

Sweet Apple Acres
More than Friendship
Peas and Carrots
The Element of Honesty
Under the Stars
The Day Of
The Secret Wedding
Blown Cover
The Heart of a Dragon
Celestia's Decision
Telling the Apple Family
No Greater Adventure
Truly Tested
When Dreams Come True
Settling in/Making Friends
Princess Celestia

Sweet Apple Acres

I set my alarm for just before sunrise to give me enough time to get to Applejack’s farm when it rose. I put on some old work clothes and was out the door lickety split. The sky was a deep purple, with a more orange hue in the east. I walked through the town of Ponyville and right over to Applejack’s farm. I passed under a wooden sign that read "Sweet Apple Acres" and sure enough, standing outside was Applejack herself and a big, strong-looking red stallion. Applejack saw me and waved.

“Howdy and good mornin’! Glad to have ya helpin’ us! This here is Big Macintosh, my big brother. My lil’ sis Apple Bloom is still asleep. Ya’ll ready to buck some apples? We’re in the north field today,” she said.

“Buck?” I said. I was vaguely familiar with the term, but I didn’t think a biped like me could “buck” something. Applejack chuckled, and Big Mac just looked on and smiled.

“Hehe, that’s right, you can’t really buck, can ya, standin’ on two legs an all. No matter, jus’ follow me and I’ll get ya a ladder. You can pick em’ with your, uh… “ Applejack looked at her hooves, and I could tell she was struggling to remember what they called hooves on my kind.

“Hands?” I said, smiling.

“That’s it,” she said. She trotted over to the barn and came out with a ten-foot ladder on her tail. I followed her over to a line of apple trees in the north field.

“There’s a bucket under each tree. Jus’ pick em’ off an throw em’ in. ‘Cept the bruised o’course. We’ll take care of them after. Go down this line, and I’ll meet ya in the middle,” said Applejack. I climbed up my ladder and started picking apples as quick as I could, trying to gain her approval.

“How’s this?” I said, moving my hands and picking off apples and throwing them into the bucket as fast as I could. Applejack looked and smiled, which made me smile.

“That’ll be jus’ fine,” she said. At that, she walked over to the first tree in her line and kicked the trunk with her hind legs, causing all of the apples to fall right down into the buckets. My mouth dropped open. I had never seen anything like it. Applejack saw me and blushed.

“Hehe, that’s how we do it here on Sweet Apple Acres. Don’t worry sugarcube, you jus’ work with what ya got,” she said, and trotted off to the next tree. How am I supposed to compete with that? She just emptied a whole tree with one buck, and I’m up here stuck with my lame two hands that had never failed me up to that point in my life.

I don’t know what it was about her, but for some reason, I wanted to impress her. So what did I do? I picked apples from the tree as quick as I could, and when I finished, I just moved right on to the next tree. About an hour and a half later, I was just about to the middle of my tree line. She met me there, just like she said she would, which meant she had done a line and a half to my half line. When we met, I bowed my head in shame.

“I’m sorry, Applejack. I promise I’ll go faster,” I said, disappointed in myself. Applejack looked embarrassed herself, yet she was smiling.

“Oh my, sugarcube, don’ feel bad. Ah' been doin’ this fer years. Plus, ah’ got two hind legs that were made for apple buckin’. You jus’ keep workin’ as fast as you can, you still saved me a lot of time. Besides, your sweatin’ a good deal, which means ya’ll must be workin’ hard, right?” she said. It was enough to make me feel better, and I raised my head with a little smile.

As Applejack trotted off to the next tree line, I picked up my ladder and headed over to the line parallel to hers. When I reached the third tree in the line, I noticed Applejack through the leaves of a branch. I moved the branch out of the way to get a better glimpse of her. There she was, looking at her harvest of apples under a tree, with the sun shining down on her like an angel and the wind flowing through her golden mane. This was the first time I ever really thought about in-depth what a beautiful creature she was. She was the kind of beauty that demanded your respect. As I looked on at her through the branches, I thought about how pretty her blonde mane was, how adorable her white freckles were, and how cute she looked in her cowpony hat. She kicked up an apple to herself and then got back to bucking. She was so swift and determined in her work that you couldn’t help but admire her hard work ethic. You might say this was a “simple job” since it didn’t require a lot of thinking, but it was really tough. I greatly admired how Applejack came out here everyday to do this and work just as hard day in and day out.

At about three o’clock, I was picking apples from a tree when Applejack came and found me. She yelled up to me from the ground.

“Ah’ worked you enough for one day, AJ,” she said. I slid down the ladder and she kicked me an apple.

“Woo, that’s a mighty fine day of work right there. Not too easy on the farm, is it? Ah’m proud of you though, ya’ll worked real hard!” she said, hitting me on the shoulder with her hoof. It felt great when she complimented me.

“I worked hard? You do this every day! I wish I could be as hard working as you,” I said, truthfully. Applejack blushed and shook a hoof at me. Just as she did that, a small filly with yellow skin and a red mane with a ribbon in it walked up to us.

“Howdy sis!” she said. She had the most innocently adorable voice, and to make it even better, she had a strong country accent like her sister. She was smiling at first, but as soon as she saw me, the smile faded and she just stared at me. She had to be the cutest little thing I’d ever seen.

“Apple Bloom! You know better then to stare. This here’s AJ, he’s from far away,” said Applejack.

“Are you one of them human thingys?” said Apple Bloom, turning her head.

“Sure am. I was just helping your sister. She’s a hard worker,” I said, and Applejack blushed again.

“Ah' know she is. She’s the best sister ever!” said Apple Bloom, running around Applejack. Applejack put her hoof out so that she ran into it, and Applejack pulled her in and started rubbing her mane playfully. That's the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Where I was from, older siblings treating their little siblings well was hard to come by. Seeing Applejack being so good to her sister was a breath of fresh air for me.

“You wanna play a game?” said Apple Bloom. This was a dumb question, as I love games.

“Are you kidding? I love games,” I said enthusiastically. Apple Bloom walked over and picked up an empty bucket with her head, and Applejack started kicking the bruised apples in her direction while Apple Bloom tried to catch them.

“We can’t sell the bruised apples, so we collect them like this. Makes it more fun!” said Applejack, whipping apples to her sister with her tail. It did look like fun.

“Here. Now you try,” said Applejack, and she kicked an apple over to me with her back leg. I caught it with one hand and tossed it over to Apple Bloom, who jumped up and caught it with the bucket.

“Nice one, AJ!” they said. I smiled and clenched my fist with excitement, just as Applejack kicked me three more apples. I caught the first two with each of my hands, but the third one hit me square in the nose. Instead of just bouncing off, the bruised apple was soft, and it actually stayed on my nose like a clown. Applejack, her sister, and I started breaking out in laughter. We were laughing so hard we fell to the ground. It was the most fun I’d had since I could remember.

More than Friendship

As I worked on the farm for a solid month, I started growing closer to Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and of course, Applejack. Everyday was just as hard as the last; ten full hours of hard labor, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world. I often worked in the same area as Applejack, which allowed us to do a lot of conversing and playing together while we worked. Turns out that Applejack, not Pinkie Pie, was the best cook in all the land, so much that the Princess wanted her to cook for the Royal Wedding between her niece and Twilight’s brother. One day she invited me to eat dinner with her family, and I found out why she had the title. I had always loved apple treats back home, but when I bit into one of Applejack’s apple fritters, it was though as I was eating goodness itself. Not only was she a determined worker, she was a great cook. The best of Applejack’s qualities, however, was here love for her friends and family. She went above and beyond her responsibilities to them, and it was her pleasure.

But after the first few weeks, Pinkie Pie came by and asked Applejack if I could help down at Sugarcube Corner, since they were having intense business and could use an extra. Applejack of course agreed, and so I was sent to work at Sugarcube Corner to help them deliver food and take orders. Pinkie Pie was a delight to work with; she always running in and out, almost inconceivably fast at times. She was so fun and easy going that you couldn’t help but laugh at everything she did. But there was something about Sweet Apple Acres that made me miss it while I was working there. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it; maybe it was the gorgeous countryside, or the sight of the puffy white clouds in the blue sky. I thought about Applejack a lot when I was away. I thought about her country charm, her work ethic, her lovable friendliness. I definitely did miss her, even though I enjoyed working with Pinkie Pie. As a matter of fact, I missed her a lot.

One thing was certain; I wanted to at least see Applejack. I got my chance one day when the Cake’s foals had an evening doctor’s appointment leading to an early closing. I walked over to Sweet Apple Acres at around three, hoping she would be done with work. I walked up and saw Granny Smith doing some minor work on the fence around the farm. I tipped my invisible hat to her.

“Hello there, Granny Smith, how are you today? I was wondering if I might have a word with your granddaughter?” I said, trying to be as polite as possible. She looked at me for a moment as if she was confused, then she put her hoof on her chin and looked up as though in thought, then looked back down at me.

“Right. Now, eh, what did you wanna have a word with her about?” she said. Applejack walked up behind her with that big smile that she almost always had, I figured she must’ve seen me from the barn.

“Applejack! I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me on this fine afternoon?” I said. To my great delight, my friend ran forward in excitement, her smiling face answering for her.

“Wait now, eh, Applejack, do you have any more chores to do?” called Granny Smith to her granddaughter.

“They're all done, Granny Smith!” said Applejack over her shoulder, as we both took off running.

We playfully ran through the streets of Ponyville, waving at everypony in town, going all the way past Fluttershy’s house. Fluttershy was outside tending to her animals and saw us and smiled. We waved at her, and continued running even into the Everfree Forest. Instead of me being the guide, Applejack signaled me to follow her. It’s not like I had a plan for our time together at that moment anyway, I just wanted to see her. So we just kept on running, laughing and playing all the way, like two little children... er, foals, I guess. Either way, it was delightful running alongside her, and I wasn’t sure where she was taking me.

After running through the trees for a while, she took me to a stunning scene. In the middle of the forest was a beautiful waterfall that emptied into the clearest pool of water I had ever seen. The pool’s bank was decorated all around with beautiful flowers. To my delight, the blue sky and puffy white clouds were visible over the pool. We were both breathing heavily, and Applejack caught her breath and spoke.

“Ah’ found this here a while back with Big Mac. Ah’ ain’t told no one about it or been here ever since, but ah’ been wantin’ to come back. Whatcha think?” she said.

“I think it’s absolutely gorgeous!” I said, inhaling between words because I was so winded. Applejack walked up right beside me while I was bent over gasping for air, and looked down at me.

“Ya wanna know what ah’ want to do now that we’re here?” she said. I looked up at her, eager for her answer. Instead of talking, she swung around her flank and booted me right into the pool, soaking me from head to toe. She looked down at me and laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. I wasn’t about to let her off the hook though.

“Apple Bloom, what are you doing here?” I said, looking in the direction that Applejack was. She spun around to see where her sister was, who of course was not there, and I leaped up and grabbed her two legs and pulled them as hard as I could. Her body slid right on top of me and we slid into the pool together. She thrashed her head out of the water, her hat and mane both soaked.

“Take that you whipper snapper!” she said, splashing water at me with her hooves. We both started splashing and each other, laughing and swimming all across the pool and even sticking our heads under the falls. I was having so much fun I could hardly stand it.

When the sun started to set, we made our way up to the top of the waterfall. We could see Ponyville, Canterlot, and much of the Everfree Forest. The sun setting allowed for a beautiful purple/pink/orange sky. Truthfully, it was the prettiest landscape I had ever seen, and happened to have the most majestic sunset to go along with it. Applejack and I sat down right next to each other (I was sitting, she was laying on her stomach) on the side of the cliff overlooking the land, with the little stream falling down into the pool just to our right. Applejack let out a happy sigh, looking out over the country. Instead of looking at the country, I found myself looking at her. She was so cute the way she was laying and smiling, the setting sun shining brightly off her blonde mane. She had this wonderful orange glossy coat as well, and a smile friendly enough to hammer sorrow into oblivion.

“What a wonderful way to end a wonderful day. Ain’t that beautiful?” she said, looking out at the magnificent country. Not nearly as beautiful as you.

“How ya’ll like workin’ with Pinkie? We miss ya on the farm.” I leaned back on my hands and continued staring at her, pondering her question. I was rather delighted that they missed me there.

“You know Pinkie Pie better then me. She’s a bundle of fun,” I said, switching my focus to the country. “But to be honest, think I prefer working at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe it’s the labor; maybe it’s being outside and just seeing your orchard. Or maybe it’s something else. I don’t know, but I love it,” I said, turning my head back to her and smiling. I suddenly had a good idea. “Pinkie Pie and the Cakes said that my whistling attracts customers because it’s so good, but I just don’t see it,” I said, slightly off-topic. I knew darn well that I was a great whistler, but I preferred not to show it. Applejack turned her head and faced me eagerly.

“You can whistle? Can ah’ hear some?” she said. I turned a little bit red in the cheeks and turned my head toward the setting sun. I curled my lips and began to whistle one of my favorites tunes I had learned from my homeland; a fast, happy tune that was more like a jig. To my surprise, I was nervous when I was whistling for Applejack. It was as if I were whistling for Princess Celestia herself. Despite this, I nailed every note with great vibrato, and at the end of the song, I turned my head back at Applejack, who was watching me with awe. When I finished, she looked at me as though I was some kind of celebrity musician. I won’t lie; this was making my heart explode having her look at me like that.

“Ah’ had no idea you had such a knack for music!” she said.

“So are you impressed yet?” I said jokingly with a grin. She hesitated, smiling and looking at me from head to toe.

“Do that standing on yer head and ah’ll be impressed.” I looked down at myself and shrugged.

“Well, my clothes will fly down, but I’ll try,” I said, laughing. She let out a playful, harmless squeal of disgust.

“An' Rarity says ah’m bad mannered!” she said, giggling.

“Oh, believe me, my own kind’s manners are far worse than mine," I said in a much more serious tone, and the smile faded on Applejack's face as she looked interested. " They don’t care what you are on the inside, only what you look like for their purposes with you.” Applejack pulled her head back in shock.

“Yer kiddin’. Ah’ don’t know what that is, but it sure as sugar ain’t love or friendship. Real friends don’t care what yer cover is. You jus’ love bein’ with em’, and ya care about em’ more then yerself. Do anything to help em’ even if it ain’t gonna help you. That’s love in mah’ opinion.”

That was the most beautiful definition of love and friendship I've ever heard. This is why I came here, because of ponies like her! What a great friend to have. Heart-warmed by her simple yet gorgeous answer, I turned and faced her, looking into her big, beautiful green eyes. I wasn't exactly planning on saying what came to my mind next, nor was I fully expecting it to be there in the first place.

“They’re not like you. You’re so pure, and innocent, and kind. Even though you are quite pretty... um, I-I mean, for a pony that is. You know what I meant,” I said, laughing nervously at the end of my sentence in an attempt to cover up my words. Applejack blushed deeply. Wait... did I really just say that? There's nothing wrong with complimenting your friends, and her and me were seemingly becoming great friends rather quickly. But that may have been a little stronger then I thought (or intended), and I didn't even realize that until after I said it.

“Aww shucks sugarcube," she said with a rather adorable smile if I must say so myself. Apparently she was deeply flattered and thankfully not taken back by my unexpectedly upfront remark. Oh thank goodness! It felt great for me to make her feel good. "Ya'll are super nice yerself, honey! Yer a darn tootin' good time to be around, ya know that? Oh by the way, ya’ll got a real cute mane yerself,” she said, giving my thick, dark hair a little rub with her hoof that suddenly made me blush just as deeply as she had a few moments ago. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to get a compliment like that from her. Is this what pony friendship feels like? This was the warmest feeling of overwhelming delight I'd ever experienced, and I didn't even realize it. Who knew friendship with a pony could be this nice? I just sat there and started giggling to myself. Deeply but delightedly embarrassed, I smiled and looked from the ground back up at her, and when she saw me smiling, she smiled back, and the feeling got even warmer.

By the time we made it back to Ponyville, night had overtaken the land, and the stars were twinkling overhead. I walked Applejack all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. I tried to walk slower, because I didn’t want the night with her to end. When we arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, and she turned to say goodbye at the bottom steps of her porch. I was very disappointed that the day was over, it was so much fun, with so many wonderful moments to it. It was all because of her; she was already the best friend I'd ever had, and I really, really liked her as a friend. More so then I had ever liked anyone in my entire life.

"Um... so! I will see you, this week maybe?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck and smiling at her. She gave me a very friendly smile and hesitated before speaking.

"Ah' hope so! Ah' had a wonderful day today, sugarcube." I hesitated, as a gentle smile came over me and I found myself laughing with strong delight as I stared right at her with bright eyes.

"Are you kidding? That was like... the best day ever," I said, enthusiastically, and she seemed really flattered by remark yet again, and suddenly the same warm feeling of making this sweet, strong, admirable farm mare feel good was making me turn red.

The conversation ended right there. I should've, or rather I would expect myself to smile and head home following her last remark. But something else happened instead. The smiles on our faces faded as we continued staring at each other, right in the eyes. A really deep stare. More then that, I was actually losing myself in them. It was a feeling I'd never felt before, looking into the eyes of this Earth pony. I saw so much love and friendliness underneath, on a level that I've never known before.

I don't know what she was thinking; I couldn't even tell you exactly what I was thinking. All I can say is that I was suddenly finding the warmest solace and strongest comfort looking into her pretty green eyes that seemed to reflect her loving personality. The eyes themselves were radiantly beautiful, with so much honesty and strength in them. This staring continued for almost a whole minute, with no words in between. Suddenly, we heard Apple Bloom’s voice from inside the house.

"Huh? What?" said Applejack as she flipped around startled. When she realized that Apple Bloom was not outside or anything and it was only her voice, she let out a strong sigh of relief, and turned her head back to me and gave me a really big smile, that I couldn't help but return.

“See ya later, sugarcube,” she said sweetly. Then she trotted inside with joy and grace, and the day with her was officially over. I stood there for a second, smiling like an idiot at her as she galloped inside. Then I walked backwards slowly, not losing my smile and still staring at their front door before turning around and breaking into a run.

That was like... the best... day... ever. Walking home, my mind was swimming in heavenly bliss as I relived the whole day we just spent. I could hear her sweet voice in my head. Aww shucks... ya'll are super nice, honey! ... and ya'll got a real cute mane. Rethinking when Applejack had rubbed my hair was overwhelmingly delightful to me; I blushed again and laughed out loud. It was embarrassing, but it felt so good at the same time. And then there was that whole moment at the end... those are some of the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. What an adorable pony she is. I don't think there was the smallest speck of selfishness in those eyes. I was already going over in my mind when I'd be seeing her again. Truth was, I was quite sad that I was parted from her. I wanted to walk back to her farm and spend more time with her.

As my happiness was elevating to heights I've never known, I turned the corner onto my street, and I pictured Applejack in a wedding veil, looking at me with that friendly, loving smile. I stopped where I was, my mouth gaping open, and staring intently into space. I couldn't believe what I just thought. I shook my head violently. Ok, hold on: did I really just picture Applejack - the Earth pony- in a wedding veil? I slapped myself across the face and started laughing to myself despite not being amused in the slightest. I came to Ponyville to surround myself with the best friends in the land; ponies. I never had romantic feelings for anyone before, and I certainly didn't intend on developing any. Besides... Marrying Applejack?!? The Earth pony?? I laughed out loud yet again, but it wasn't really a real laugh. I kind of forced it. Maybe that it was an attempt to make up for such a ridiculous thought.

But then I started thinking about how Applejack compared to all the girls (humans, nonetheless) back where I was raised. There was no denying spending time with Applejack was a blessing and a wonder. There was never any girl my age back home I would ever think of marrying, goodness no. None of them compare to Applejack; she has a heart purer than gold. I could spend the rest of my life with her. This was an especially alarming thought. Another violent shake of the head. Alright, slow down, I'm not honestly thinking this right now am I? Oh come on, it'll pass! I'll be laughing about before I go to bed. Ha!

Either way, it was the best day I ever had in my entire life, and I was perfectly fine with admitting that to myself as I walked up to my front door, where I entered my house and went straight to bed. Putting aside the fight I just had with myself, I closed my eyes, and there was Applejack's smiling face again in my imagination. She's just so nice and so much fun to be around, not to mention adorable in everything she did, from working to talking in her country accent. I thought about when she pushed me into the pool and started laughing so hard that my bed began to shake. Applejack... you are amazing. Thank you for that day. I opened my eyes and turned over in my bed so I was staring up at the ceiling. I wish everyday could be like that, Applejack. The sweetest, most charming creature I've ever met, with the cutest country draw. Applejack... I .... Suddenly, fear overtook me, my heart started beating off the chart, and my eyes went wide with a terrible realization. Oh no. The feelings were only intensifying. I had never felt feelings like this before, so it was difficult for me to realize just what kind of feelings they were until now. And now that I realized what kind of feelings they were, they shocked me.

I involuntarily pictured her in the wedding veil again, looking at me like she had just a few moments ago. I sat up in my bed and looked in front of me with horror. I took deep breath after deep breath, beginning to fight with myself, but there was no point. I knew exactly what was going on, as I thought about just how much I liked Applejack. I bit my thumb. Applejack.... I don't like you... I love you.

Peas and Carrots

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Caramel, a (you guessed it) caramel-colored Earth pony, knocking on my door. I met Caramel first at Pinkie’s party, but we became friends when I saw him shooting basketballs at his house and joined in. Caramel and I clicked as fellow sports lovers. Anyway, I got out of bed, threw some clothes on, and walked over to let him in. I opened the door and he trotted inside, making his way to over to my fridge. He poured himself a glass of root beer with his mouth.

“Feel free to have yourself a drink,” I said sarcastically. He pretended like he didn’t hear my teasing and took a big gulp of root beer.

“Me and some of the colts are gonna go play a game of football. You wanna join?” he said. I chuckled in amusement.

“Football? No thanks. I may have had my way with you in basketball, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in football. I’m not about to embarrass myself trying to tackle one of you. Besides, I, uh, had other plans for today,” I said. I wanted to see Applejack, but I wouldn’t dare tell him that.

“Oh, come on! I thought you had guts when it came to sports. What other plans do you have, anyway?” he said, raising an eyebrow. I started to walk away and began rearranging some things in the fridge so I didn’t have to look him in the eye.

“Well, I had other things in mind, that’s all,” I said, pouring myself a glass of root beer.

“I bet you’re going over to Sweet Apple Acres. I’ve seen you and Applejack lately, you guys are like peas and carrots,” he said. I smiled and chuckled embarrassingly hearing Applejack and I spoken of as peas and carrots. I really liked the fact that he said that, but at the same time, I resented. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him with a smug look on his face, so I wiped the smile off my face and turned away from him completely. He spoke as I lifted my glass.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she could be your very special somepony,” he said. I spit out the root beer I was drinking as these words screeched through my head, and I turned and faced him.

“Oh shut up, Caramel. She’s a really good friend of mine, and that’s it. Besides, even if I did lo-… you know … she’s a pony. And I’m… “ I lowered my head and let out a sigh of crippling disappointment. I sat up straight and shrugged to try to cover up my real emotions. If Caramel, or anypony else for that matter, found out about my newly discovered feelings for Applejack, I was as good as dead. So I put on a fake smile and faced him.

“I’ll tell you what, I got some things to do around here first, but I’ll think about it if you let me play quarterback and nothing else,” I said.

“Alright!” he said, kicking up his front legs. I walked over to the door and opened it for him. He bolted out and I shut the door, wiping the sweat off of my forehead. That was a close one. I took a deep breath and sat down on the ground with the door on my back. Oh for goodness sake. How did I ever find myself in this position? Truth is, I was so completely new to the whole romance/deep feelings for someone (or in my bizarre case, somepony) that I didn't even realize it at first. When she goodbye the night before, I felt a kind of love for her I had never felt about anyone in my entire life. I love everything about her. I very much want to spend the rest of my life with her. Oh for the love of - how does she feel about me? I'm not that lovable, am I? I mean, she said I had a cute mane, and I was quote on quote real fun to be around, and super nice. The way she stared at me last night, maybe she... Oh my gosh, this is pathetic.

There was no denying that being around her made me as wonderfully happy as I ever been, each minute I spent with her was suddenly like a foal opening presents on Hearth's Warming Eve. But then the most unfortunate fact popped back into my head. She's an Earth pony, and it will be really hard to marry her. I mean, for Pete's sake- is that even allowed in Equestria, for a pony to marry a non-pony? Maybe I could just live the rest of my life like this. I could go back and fourth between jobs and continue to see her a lot. That farm has been in her family for generations, she’s not about to leave. We could be like peas and carrots for the rest of our lives, just the best of friends and nothing more. That doesn’t sound so bad.

It didn’t sound so bad at all. But at the same time, Applejack was the element of honesty, and for me to feel this way about her and not have the courtesy to at tell her at some point seemed like a major disservice to her. I’d walk over hot coals or eat a sword before I showed her any disrespect. I took another deep breath and covered my face with my hand. Alright, I’ll tell her at some point. Doesn’t have to be now, or even soon. But at some point, I will confess what I truly think of her, man to mare. My mind was made up, or so I thought. I just wanted to see her and continue to know her and play with her. She had to at least know at this point that I loved her as a friend, right? Maybe that was good enough.

A long night of little sleep and a meeting with Caramel and I was eager to see my favorite playmate, regardless of my new burden. I walked out my door and headed over to Sweet Apple Acres. As usual, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. I entered through the gate to the house and barn, and cute little Apple Bloom was outside playing with Winona, the family dog. She saw me and greeted me with a friendly smile.

“Howdy!”

“Hi there, Apple Bloom! Is your sister here, by chance?” I said, equally as friendly and overly enthusiastic.

“Oh yea, she’s testin’ some of the apples in the west field. You’ll see her,” said the little filly. I thanked her and made my way over to the west field. As I walked through the orchard, the sweet smell of apples began to fill my nose as the trees glittered with green beauty. In the row of trees left of the one I was walking down, I spotted Applejack. Before I walked over to her, I looked at her from where I was standing. Her blonde mane flowed through the breeze with grace, and her pretty sherbet coat glimmered in the sun. I gazed into those beautiful eyes that I had drowned in the night before, and saw that she was smiling. It was as if she was smiling at the fact that she was alive, or just that the day itself was beautiful. My heart leapt for joy at the sight of her, and I smiled and walked forward. She saw me, and her face lit up in excitement.

“Hi there, sugarcube! Whatcha doin’?” said sweetest voice in the wide world.

“I just came by to see what you were doing, and if I could join you,” I said, deeply blushing.

“Why, ah’m just walkin’ down this here field and seein’ how the apples are comin’. Ah'd love fer you to walk with me,” she said with a friendly smile. I let out a deep breath and smiled with comfort. As she turned and started walking to the next tree, she spoke again, this time walking away from me as she spoke. "Sugarcube, ah' gotta tell ya something." My heart started beating really fast. This sounded kind of serious! Was she somehow aware of how I felt about her? I didn't know, but when she turned around with a smile on her face and the sun at her back, almost giving her a halo, I couldn't help but relax with all of my soul. "Ah' had so much fun with you yesterday. Ah' ain't had that good of a time in an awfully long time," she said, her eyes getting bigger. All of the nervousness in me left at an instant. I even managed to forget why I was nervous in the first place. Wonderfully surprised and extraordinarily happy, and a big smile came over me.

"Oh, it's nothing, Applejack," I said, smiling blushingly and looking down at the ground. "You have no idea how much fun I had."

"Yea, ah' could tell," she said, laughing. Suddenly my own heart melted and I drifted into a dream at the sound of her laughter. She already had the sweetest voice, and now her laugh was the like most exhilaratingly charming music I'd ever heard, and as happy inside as it made me, it was taunting me. It was as if my own feelings for her were mocking me. And to think, I feel this way about an Earth pony.

We continued on down the row of trees together, testing the apples and talking casually and friendlily as we had done since she pulled me out of the bucket at Pinkie’s party. We talked about things from the day before, Apple Bloom and her cutie mark, even apples. But just before we reached the end of the field, she did it. She asked me that one question that I couldn't answer without either lying or telling her just how I felt about her.

“So, do ya’ll wanna live in Ponyville for a while? How do ya like it here? What's yer long term plan?” she said. She even hesitated before she said it, as though as she was choosing the right words. It was very curious. But the smile faded on my face and I turned red as I looked down at the ground, scared. Oh no. She did it. She asked me what my long term plan is, and how do I like it here in Ponyville. What do I tell her? The truth is... I... I wanna marry you.. I took a deep breath and looked up to the blue sky for an answer. I knew I wasn’t going to get one, so I looked down at the ground again. I just didn't know how to respond. I felt something inside telling me to be honest with her, even though that would probably end it all. No, I'm not doing that. Just lie. I know it feels terrible, but I have to.

“Well, I came to Equestria to get a job and Celestia-willing, to make friends. I never wanted to get married or anything like that." I took a another deep sigh and smiled sheepishly down at the ground. I didn't have hardly any control over what came out next. "That was… until… until I... until I met you.”

No. You didn't. I couldn't believe what I just said. I told her the honest truth. I covered my face with my hands and lowered my head. “Oh Applejack," I said with desperation. "I've never met anyone like you, I-I love... everything about you! You are such a sweet pony, you're so admirable the way you come out here, the way you love your family. Every time you laugh, every single time you smile at me, I-... I know I’m not a pony, but... well, I think... I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” I said, turning up to her more utterly desperate then I've ever been in my entire life. You fool! Idiot! Imbecile! Why would you do that? My heart choked as I looked at Applejack, whose mouth and eyes were wide open in shock. In utter disappointment, I lowered my head and sighed.

“Applejack, I’m… I’m so sorry. I should never have…”

Before I could finish, perhaps the most unexpected thing that's ever happened to me happened. I went to turn my head up, and suddenly, her mouth was directly on mine! I opened my eyes in shock, and found that Applejack had moved in and begun kissing me ever so gently. I blushed deeper and more embarrassed then I ever have in my entire life. My own conscience was fighting with itself for kissing a pony. But after a few seconds, I couldn't help but relax. I even began kissing her back. She opened her eyes and began staring into my eyes I placed my hand on her golden mane, which had the touch of angel. We kissed ever so slowly, ever so gently, and even with all of my guilt and mixed emotions, it was the most wonderful thing ever. I had never kissed anyone before in my life, human or pony. But when she kissed me, it felt as though all was right in the world, and the romantic feelings I had for her were only strengthened. She pulled back, and I looked back at the ground awkwardly, then flipped my head up with a small smile.

“So... I take that as a yes then?”

"Eeyup," she said, giving me another loving smile of triumph.

I couldn't believe it. Applejack actually loves me too? It was a dream come true. The greatest dream I've ever had, born in the moments I spent with her. The love of the Earth pony called Applejack.

The Element of Honesty

It's funny how people do things and then instantly regret them. I do recall instantly regretting telling Applejack the one-hundred-percent truth. It ended up not hurting me at all, since I discovered Applejack had felt the same way about me as evidenced by her next move. But I am sure that it had something to do with the fact that being around her, and especially looking into her green eyes, demanded the best of me.

“So was it yer plan to be that upfront with me from the beginning?” said Applejack as we walked side by side along the edge of the Everfree Forest. I realized it was playful jab at me, and I laughed hard before I got a chance to reply.

“I know it’s a bit sudden, but actually that was not my intent at all. After I took you home last night, I just couldn’t stop thinking what a wonderful day I had just spent with you, and I just…. I wanted to live everyday like that one, with you at my side. Truth is, I didn’t want to tell you right away, if ever. But when you asked me what my long-term plan was, I looked into those eyes of yours and I just…” I paused, and once again turned with a smile into the into the same eyes that had cast a spell of honesty on me a few moments before. “I looked into your eyes, and I couldn’t tell you anything but the truth.”

“Ya know ah’m the element the honesty, right?” she said, playfully pushing me with her hoof.

“Well, maybe you did some honesty voodoo on me, or something,” I said, laughing. Applejack chuckled and looked ahead to the setting sun, which was once again allowing for a romantic setting. The smile faded on her face as she seemed to be thinking much deeper.

“Ah' knew how ya felt last night, when ya looked at me when ya said goodbye. I had a wonderful day yesterday too, sugarcube, and truth is, as ah’ went to bed last night, ah’... ah' ain't never met no one like you, sugarcube. Ah' love you too. Yer such a cutie on the inside and outside... Ah’ want... ah' want everyday to be like the ones we jus’ had.” I probably smiled as wide as I ever have in my life. It was all happening so fast. This is just too good to be true.

Applejack made her way over to a patch of grass and laid down. She turned and faced me, smiled, and signaled for me to come lay beside her. I was filled with the utmost delight at her request, and I walked up and sat down right next to her. As we stared into the far green country, an unexpected sadness and despair came over me. I remembered an important fact, and let out a sigh and lowered my head.

“Applejack, do you think the Princess will allow this? How will your family react? Won’t they be disappointed that I’m not a pony? How will everypony else react? Our friends? I must be the rarest of all creatures in this land, and here we are, talking of love and marriage as if it won’t be a problem,” I said, looking into the ground and closing my eyes in despair.

Not long after I bowed my head in sorrow, I felt her mane on the side of my head, and I opened my eyes, and there she was, resting her head against mine. At that moment, the sadness in my soul ceased, and was replaced with the most comforting sense of reassuring joy I have ever felt as I rested my head right back against hers. A small tear trickled down my face as I smiled and closed my eyes. After the shortest few minutes of my life, she spoke in the softest whisper.

“It don’t matter to me that you ain’t a pony, I told you ah’ thought you were a cutie anyway. Ah don’t think it’ll matter to them neither. If we have to do it in secret, we will. Ah know ma’h friend Cadence will have no objection to it, and she has the power to do it as well. We’ll tell ma’h family and our friends when the time is right.”

I didn’t know what to say. Did I have to say anything? I didn’t think it was possible for her to comfort me anymore then she already had, but these words of hers, spoken in her gentle, soothing voice, somehow managed to do it. I didn’t need to speak. So I just continued to rest my head on hers, and we watched the sunset together, as we had the night before.

When we arrived back at Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh were outside on the porch. I walked with Applejack right up to the side of the porch. At the bottom of the steps, she turned to me, smiled, and said goodbye, and walked up into her house, smiling at her family as she went in. I smiled and nodded at Big Mac and Granny Smith, but before I turned to walk away, Granny Smith spoke to me.

“Sonny, our Applejack has always been a happy filly since she been here. Ever since you started workin’ and comin’ here, she been even happier,” she said, not managing a smile. Nervously, I looked at her and then at Big Mac, trying to remain calm. Oh no. There's no way they suspect anything. Not already, just like that!There's just no way.

“Oh, she’s a good lass, ma’am. You’re very lucky to have her in your family, she's a wonderful friend of mine.” Granny Smith and Big Mac looked at each other, and to my unbelievable relief, they managed a smile.

“We know she seems to like you as a friend, and for that, we just wanna say thanks. The rest of this family enjoys seeing you around here too,” she said.

“Eeyup,” said Big Mactintosh. This day just couldn't get any better. I smiled brightly in disbelief.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. The friendliness around here keeps bringing me back. It's a beautiful orhcard,” I said. Big Mac and Granny Smith nodded in acknowledgement, so I nodded my head as well and turned around and started walking back home. Time would tell if they were only ok with me and Applejack being just friends, but I didn’t care all that much. I loved Applejack and she loved me, and it didn’t matter that I rushed in telling her the truth. Walking home that night, I spent every minute thinking of my beloved Applejack. I was ready (or so I thought) for all of the obstacles that could stand in the way of keeping me the and the country Earth pony that lassoed my heart from being together.

Under the Stars

The sun had been down for a good hour and the stars were brightly shining when I secretly made my way over Sweet Apple Acres. I walked over to the side of the house where Applejack’s bedroom was and stood outside her window for a second. When I realized she wasn’t in the window, I cupped my hands around my mouth and started to call for her. I was whispering and yelling at the same time because I didn’t want to chance waking up one of her family members. Still, there was no sign of her, so I bent over, picked up a small stone, and tossed it at her window. It was a direct hit, so I waited a second for her to appear. I picked up another small stone and tossed it just as she opened the window.

“Ow!” she said, the stone hitting her right between the eyes. “Ah’m comin, ah’m comin,’” she assured, and shut the window. I ran over to a tree and sat behind it and eagerly awaited her to join me. I was excited and nervous at the same time; nervous because we were doing this in secret, excited because it was Applejack, and every single minute I spent with her was like spending a lifetime in heaven.

Just as I looked over the side of the tree to see where she was, she plopped down beside me on the side I wasn’t looking, causing me to jump up in fear. We both came close to cracking up in laughter that might risk waking up her family, but she placed her hoof on my mouth to prevent me from laughing and I placed my hand on hers to do likewise.

“Come on!” she whispered, and we took off running into the orchard. I burst ahead of her competitively and smiled with triumph, but just after I ran ahead, I felt my arms come in tight against my body, and before I knew it, I was lassoed on the ground. Applejack chuckled as she ran by.

“Trussed up like a turkey!” she yelled to me. It took me a second to realize what just happened, but when I did, I laughed and pulled the rope off of me and ran after her. I was already having so much fun.

We exited the orchard and stopped right in the middle of a meadow where we could lay down in the grass and gaze up at the stars. Applejack laid down in the grass and tilted her head toward the skies, and with her eyes closed, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. She opened her eyes wide and looked at me, as happy as ever. It really hit me at that moment what Granny Smith had said about her, and how she had always been a happy filly, but when I came into her life, she was somehow even happier and brighter. I smiled right back at her and laid down beside her.

“I wonder what kind of dreams our friends are having right now,” I said, gazing up at the night sky.

“Ah’ reckon Rainbow is the captain of the Wonderbolts right now,” she said.

“I bet Fluttershy is in the Canterlot garden surrounded by a bunch of animals. Rarity is making outfits for the Princess in Canterlot,” I said, and we both started to chuckle.

“Twilight is in a library surrounded by a bunch of magic books n’ that sort,” said Applejack.

“Pinkie is… hmmm… what do you suppose Pinkie dreams of?” I said. Applejack raised her hoof to her chin in thought.

“Pinkie? Hmmm, ah’ bet she dreams of… oh horseapples, ah’ don’t have a clue what Pinkie dreams of,” she said, and I just broke up in laughter that caused her to do the same. When we finished, I took a deep breath.

“When I was a young kid, I used to dream of a better life then the one I had. A life where I could experience true friendship, and maybe even true love if I was capable of it. That’s why being out here with you right now… well… it’s like a dream come true,” I said, turning towards her. Applejack lowered her head from the sky and looked at me like she never had before. She smiled, but tears were forming in her eyes. The look itself was enough to make my heart melt a thousand times over again. She closed her eyes and rested her head on mine.

“Saturday night,” she said, pulling her head back.

“What?” I said, confused. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

“Saturday night, sugarcube,” she said again. Her eyebrows were now down in a way that she had this devious smile on her face, as though she knew some dirty little secret. I looked at her again, except now I was smiling in bewilderment.

“What are you talking about?” I said again, my hands in the air.

“I talked with mah friend, Princess Cadence, the alicorn. You and me at the waterfall in the Everfree Forest, we’re gettin’ married on Saturday night, sugarcube,” she said, her eyebrows going up.

I looked at her with wide-open eyes for but a second, and then I threw my arms around her and hugged her as tight as I could, tears streaming down my face. Words simply could not describe how I was feeling. It was not a dream come true; it was more than that. When I came to Ponyville, I had no plans of falling in love outside of the love you see in friendship. Then Applejack happened.

The next thing I remember is getting up and yelling “yee haw!” at the moon like some kind of crazy cowboy. I danced a jig while Applejack laughed at me in amusement. I finally settled down and gently sat down beside her. I stared into those beautiful green eyes and raised my hand to her cheek.

“Thank you,” I whispered. Applejack lost herself in my eyes, and finally I rested my head on her belly. Snuggling with Applejack so innocently, that’s what I dream of, I thought as I drifted away on the warmest, softest pillow a creature could ask for. Applejack lowered her head to the grass, and together we drifted away, unaware of what lay ahead.

The Day Of

In the middle of the afternoon on the day before Saturday night, I made my way over to Twilight’s house. It was an Apple Family tradition for the bride to not to see the groom the day of the wedding, and I hadn’t got a chance to hang out with Twilight in a while. I thought this would be a good way to relax and stop thinking about what was secretly scheduled later that night. She opened the front door with a smile, and I walked in.

“Hi there! Come on in, I’m just doing some knitting with Spike,” she said, trotting back to the library section where Spike was. I walked in and saw that Spike was like a large pincushion for Twilight, which looked incredibly painful. I was not as close with Spike as I was with Twilight and the rest of her and Applejack’s friends, but he did seem to be a nice dragon, and I had always wanted to hang out with him more.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” I said, picturing a bunch of needles in my skin.

“Dude, you don’t know what pain is until you’ve capped one of Twilight’s cooking fires… WITH YOUR TONGUE!” he said, sticking out a blackened forked tongue, which caused me to jump back in repulsion.

“There’s only been one cooking fire, thank you very much,” said Twilight, clearly not amused by Spike’s comment.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything cooked by you before, Twilight. You wanna make something right now? I know plenty of recipes working at Sugarcube Corner. I can see you being a good cook, given how good of cooks your friends are,” I said. Spike looked at me and made a disgusted face, pointing his finger at his tongue. Twilight caught it out of the corner of her eye and kicked him over with her hind leg.

“Well, it appears my cooking is rather unappreciated around here,” she said, rolling her eyes at Spike.

There was an awkward silence, and I could see Spike was fighting laughing with all of his might. An awkward smile formed on my face as I also was now trying to hold in laughter. When Twilight looked back at Spike, we both lost it, and it wasn’t long before Twilight was laughing too. When we finally caught our breath, I got up and hugged Twilight.

“It’s wonderful to see you guys,” I said with a big smile. I noticed two books over her shoulder by where she and Spike were knitting. The first one was titled “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide” the next one was titled “The History of Dark Magic.” I pointed to Twilight’s books, trying to strike up a conversation on her reading material.

“So, whatcha reading there?” I said. Twilight let out a sigh that seemed to indicate stress.

“Oh, the first book is just a guide to the Elements of Harmony and how they work. The other one is about some ancient dark magic wielders that the Royal Sisters disposed of long ago,” she said.

Just as she said that, the front door flung open, and in came in Rarity, with a frivolous yellow hat that had flowers on top. Something curious caught my eye when she entered; Spike’s mouth and eyes dropped open, and he started looking at himself nervously, as if checking his appearance. I squinted my eyes at him and then looked back at Rarity, and I smiled; I knew right away what I saw. It takes one to know one. A new appreciation for Spike was set aflame inside me, and I have never been fonder of Spike then I was at that moment. We shared something in common, except I felt that way about Applejack.

“I’m heeerrreee!” said Rarity, posing with her hat.

“Wow Rarity, that hat looks amazing on you!” said Spike.

“Thank you, Spikey Wikey! I’m glad someone appreciates my effort. Hmph, I saw Lyra on my way here and asked her about my hat, and she just turned her head away,” said Rarity in disgust.

“Why don’t you come in and join us? We’re going to make something to eat… I think,” said Twilight, putting her hoof on her chin.

“Actually, I’m going down to the spa and wanted to see if you could join me,” said Rarity. Spike jumped forward in excitement.

“I’ll go!” said the little dragon.

“No, Spike. I need you here in case I get another letter from Princess Celestia,” said Twilight rather seriously. I didn’t think much of what she could be talking about at the time, but Spike was bitterly disappointed, which made me a little sad for him. “Sorry Rarity,” said the purple unicorn. Rarity smiled at Spike.

“It’s ok Spikey Wikey, we’ll go together another time, just you and me,” said Rarity. Spike’s eyes filled with delight, and he seemed to drift away into a dream. I know that feel, bro.

Rarity exited, and Twilight and I started to get things out to make a batch of cupcakes while Spike hung out in the back. It was a lot of fun, and Twilight seemed to be enjoying herself, except when she would glance into one of the books she was reading earlier. I wasn’t able to not think about later that night, I was way too excited. Right after we finished eating, Twilight brought up Applejack in a way that made me a little nervous.

“You and Applejack seem to be really good friends, I’m so glad that you two have gotten so close since you’ve moved here,” she said. She didn’t say it in a way that made her sound suspicious, and I think blushing a little bit was inevitable for me, but I managed to not sound too nervous.

“Oh, she’s a great friend. I love hanging out with her,” I said. Spike saved me by walking in us and addressing Twilight.

“We just got another letter,” he said. Twilight’s eyes lit up, and I realized this was a good time for me to get out of there and get ready for the night.

“Well it sounds like you guys got enough to do, so I’ll leave you guys to your things. Thanks for hanging out with me! See you soon,” I said, walking over to the door. Twilight smiled and walked me to the door, and I started off on home.

It was a great relief to be able to go home and get ready, even though I had fun and relaxed a little bit at Twilight’s. I also found out that I wasn’t the only one with a love for somepony. I thought about Spike and Rarity for a moment, but then Applejack quickly consumed all of my thoughts. I had never been more excited in my life for what was going to happen that night.

The Secret Wedding

I have never been more nervous in my life then when I made my through the Everfree Forest that night. My heart pumped fast and my muscles twitched, but none of it had to do with the fact that the Everfree Forest was scary at night or that I could feel the eyes of strange creatures watching me as I walked through the forest. Nope. I was on my way to do something I had completely renounced with all certainty not one year earlier. On top of that, it wasn’t even with one of my own kind. Still, I knew what was in my heart, and I was going to remain honest to myself and to the one who took it.

I trekked through the forest until I heard the sound of gentle rushing water from nearby, and I pushed aside the branches and saw the familiar beautiful waterfall that Applejack and I had played at together. The stars and the moon twinkled in the sky and in the reflection of the pool, and it was quite the setting. I looked around for Applejack, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I was about to call for her when a regal pink alicorn with a multicolored mane emerged from the trees and walked towards me with a very friendly smile. I was a little scared, and I recall instinctively getting on my knees as she walked up to me. I bowed my head towards the ground before I heard her soft voice speak to me.

“You must be AJ,” she said, and I lifted my head.

“You must be Princess Cadence.”

“It’s so nice to meet you! I’ve been great friends with Applejack since she cooked for my wedding six months ago. She’s a wonderful mare. I trust her completely, and so I trust you completely,” she said, in a very kind and respective manner. Still, I felt somewhat weird around her; I had never even met her, and here she was doing this incredibly unorthodox thing for me. I desperately wanted Applejack to be at my side.

“Where’s Applejack?” I said, moving my left foot around in anxiousness.

“She’s almost ready,” she said, with a compassionate smile.

My heart was pumping so fast I thought it was going to jump right out my chest. I was having trouble looking Cadence in the eye since I was so nervous, even though I wanted to say something to her so badly. She’s a friend of Applejack’s. What more do I need to trust her? She’s doing us a wonderful thing that for all I know could potentially get her in trouble, and here I am being too awkward to even say anything. I straightened myself up and forced myself to look in her in the eye. The words I was looking for finally came out of my mouth.

“Princess, I –I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing. I-I just… I just have one question. Why?” Princess Cadence looked at me as though I were a small foal.

“Applejack is one of the kindest, purest ponies I know. I’m not going to deny the powerful love between you two because you are different creatures. We are all beautiful creatures on the outside, but true beauty is on the inside,” said the princess. I smiled for the first time that night at her words of consolation. I realized that Cadence must’ve been just a really, really nice pony, and she was doing this because she loved Applejack.

The end of Cadence’s horn lit up with magic, and I felt the bow tie on my tuxedo being slightly adjusted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement from the trees. My heart stopped beating and time seemed to slow down as I saw half of Applejack’s smiling, veiled face, the other half behind a tree as she moved out ever so slowly. She had a crown of white roses that matched a gorgeous white wedding dress that covered her entire body. Her mane was done in beautiful curls that flowed freely down the right side her neck. She walked forward slowly as I stood there, looking on in breathless awe. The sight of her alone was enough to drive my anxiety away in an instant, causing my heart to burst with affection.

She walked up to me and I gazed right through the veil into those green eyes, and she stared right back into mine. The words that I heard from deep within my heart were as true as the night. You are the light of my life, Applejack. I would live forever only if I could be with you. Our moment of eyes ended with a cough from Cadence.

“Shall we begin?” she said.

“We shall,” said Applejack, turning with me toward our host.

“We are gathered here today to witness the union of two hearts, Applejack and AJ. Their hearts are overflowing with love for the other, and the strength of their commitment is clear,” said the Princess, now turning to Applejack. “Applejack, do you take AJ to be your most chaste spouse?” Applejack turned me with the familiar look of love, but it was somehow even happier.

“Ah’ do.”

“AJ, do you take Applejack to be your most chaste spouse?” It was too good to be true. I smiled brightly at Applejack and picked up her right hoof off the ground, setting my other hand on top.

“I do.”

“May I have the items to be blessed?” said Cadence.

When an Earth pony gets married, instead of using rings, the pony’s spouse brings an item, usually a trinket or a piece of special clothing, that the alicorn “blesses” and gives to the Earth pony to keep at all times. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my item, placing it in Applejack’s hoof and covering it with my hand. When I took off my hand, it revealed a red, apple-shaped locket that had a picture of Applejack and I playing together in her front yard, with the words “You Lasso My Heart” inscribed in a fancy cursive at the bottom.

Applejack teared up smiling, and held it against her chest before she reached behind her and pulled out a white cloth neatly folded, and placed into my hands. I unfolded the embroidered cloth, and brilliantly stitched in was a silhouette of Applejack and me facing each other, with apple trees and a setting sun around us. At the top were green vines with red apples, and at the bottom was an apple in the shape of a heart. The middle of the heart read “AJ + AJ” with an arrow going through the apple. It was truthfully the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life except for what made it. Beautiful enough to get me to start shedding tears.

Princess Cadence held out her hoof for us to place the items. She bent her head forward, and two small pink hearts shot out of her horn and into our items, causing them to temporarily glow. Cadence used her magic to return her items to us, smiled broadly and spread her wings elegantly.

“Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you mare and… husband,” she said, pausing midsentence. She had to think of something, because "mare and colt" didn't work. It was more funny than awkward, as we both laughed.

And following that, Applejack turned towards me, and once we again looked into each other’s eyes so deeply, so gently, and happily. We finally leaned in and gave the world’s most gentle kiss. When our lips met so delicately, rays of magic began pouring out of our hearts and meeting each other in midair between us. Rays of magic from Applejack’s heart made their way into mine, and rays from my heart made their way into hers. My heart had been joined with the nicest, purest, most-hardworking, most beautiful creature I had ever met. It was the happiest moment of my life.

Blown Cover

The week following the wedding was quite smooth for Applejack and me, despite the fact that we both worked late. Everyday of the week except Friday night I went over to Sweet Apple Acres after sunset and snuck out with her, and we would laugh and play under the stars like two little foals until we tired ourselves out. As I worked at Sugarcube Corner by day, I was always thinking of how much fun I had with her the night before, what we would do later that night, and of course, how much I loved her. Just when I thought I couldn’t love her anymore than I already did, she did something or said something that caused more love to pour out of my heart. Yep, the week following the wedding was almost perfect, and I was more content with my life then I ever dreamed of being.

The Saturday one week after the wedding was gorgeous, and the streets of Ponyville were crowded with ponies that were out enjoying the day. In the market section of town, Applejack was walking through the market, looking for some peaches for the Apple family. Unbeknownst to her, from the other side of the street I walked along with her, adoring her like a puppy as I looked at her through the crowd. I had big eyes and a gentle step as I weaved through the ponies to get a good look at my wife whom I ever so love.

It was in slow motion for me, seeing her walking so gracefully through the market, smiling and greeting ponies as they walked by. The ponies that passed in front of her were like blurs, while she stood out like a star in the darkness. Her sherbet coat shined and her mane glistened, and she seemed to be walking with such joy in her emotions. Slowly, step by step, I stayed with her as she walked along, thinking about how lucky I was and how wonderful she is. She may not have been the most popular of her group of friends, but she was most special to me. My beloved apple farmer, most admirable and most adorable. You are such a sweetheart.

Almost as if she could sense where I was, she turned her head in my direction and caught a glimpse of me through the crowd of ponies, and my heart ignited as I blushed with loving smile and slowly turned my head away from her, keeping my eyes on her. Aw, you caught me. Her eyes lit up in excitement. She smiled like an angel through the crowd at me. I felt rays of magic and joy springing out of my heart yet again as we shared the special moment.

At that moment, I knew what exactly what I was; a creature who fell head over heels for an Earth pony. A human. Not only was I in love with her, I was crazy in love with her. The fact that we separated by species was almost non-existant on one end in regards with how I felt about her, but on the other end, it forced us to be like this in secret. But the fact that we had to keep this romance a secret had become like a wonderful adventure that only seemed to make our love stronger. Seeing her happy was my greatest joy; an unfathomable experience of the heart. I couldn't wait to sneak out with her that night, and every moment we shared together would be like a heaven of heavens.

She went up to the stand selling the peaches, and I saw three colts looking at her as they walked by. I recognized one of them; Billy, a pegasus from Cloudsdale with a dark brown coat, a cream-colored mane, and dumbbells as a cutie mark. I had never met him; ponies had told me that he was nice at times, but other times he was rather arrogant and self-centered. Billy whispered something to his two friends, and then the three of them stood behind Applejack as she handed the money to the stand owner and threw the peaches into her saddle bag. She once told me that she thought he (Billy) had a crush on her, and that made me a little uneasy to say the least.

“Hey there, Applejack. Whatcha doing later? You wanna go to the lake or something?” said Billy. Applejack talked and began walking back in the direction she came with her newly purchased peaches saddled over her back.

“Howdy there, Billy! Ah’m afraid ah’ got some other plans fer tonight, ah’m gonna help Granny Smith make our family peach recipe. Thanks fer the offer though!” said Applejack friendlily. It appeared Billy was disappointed with her response, even though he tried to cover it up.

“Oh, well that’s no problem. How’d you like to do something next week?” he said.

“Oh, uh, yea maybe, ah’ll see what ah’ got planned, and maybe we can work somethin’ out,” she said, smiling a little uncomfortably. She turned into an alley between two houses that cut over to another street; a short cut on the way back to her farm. Billy walked ahead of her and looked at the ground before he spoke again.

“You know, Applejack, I’ve seen you and that human hanging out a lot, and I know that you must be longing to spend your time with a stallion instead,” said Billy. Applejack stopped where she was, and her eyebrows lowered in anger.

“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” she said coldly.

“I’m just saying that a beautiful mare like you deserves the best stallion around, and I think I might be able to help you in that regard,” he said. Applejack looked at him in disgust.

“No, thank you,” she said sternly, trotting ahead quickly. Billy stuck his hoof out and pushed her back, much to Applejack’s dislike. He stepped in front of her as if to block her from going on any further. The two of his friends positioned themselves behind her so she couldn’t back up.

“Applejack, if you just gave me a little kiss, I’m sure you would change your mind,” he said, not trying to sound friendly anymore. Applejack was appalled.

“Ya’ll must be a few apples short of a bushel if you think ah’ would do anything like that with you!” she yelled. Billy looked up and nodded to his two friends, and he started to walk towards Applejack with a cold look. Suddenly, she bucked one of his friends right in the face, knocking him out cold. Billy’s other friend got a nasty shot at her back before she could take care of both of them, and she fell down in pain as Billy continued towards her.

“Just a little kiss,” he said.

I had been watching all of this unfold from a distance. HOW DARE THAT-. When I saw Billy’s two friends go behind Applejack, I picked up a stone and broke off a large limb from a nearby tree. I was well beyond any fury or hatred I had ever experienced before when I saw her get hit, and I thundered forward like a buffalo to defend her. I launched the stone from my hand and pegged Billy’s conscious friend in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. Billy looked up in shock and fear as I swung the limb in rage, breaking it across his face mercilessly. He fell back on the ground lackadaisically, and I reached down and picked up Applejack. I felt terrible for her. Even though I saved her from a forced kiss from a jerk, she was still shaken up, despite being a strong mare with a stronger heart. I felt her pain, and I loved her so much as I helped her up off the ground. All I wanted to do was give her as much comfort as I could.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s alright, it’s alright, shhhh, shhh,” I whispered, holding her head against my chest. I felt her bury her face into me, and we started walking back out into the open streets of Ponyville in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. "It's alright, it's alright, I'll take you home." I think she was crying a little bit as she continued to press her face into me, and although I felt terrible, I felt an incredible love for her as she drew her consolation from me. With my arms around her neck and her head safely against my chest, we moved our legs and walked along as I whispered more words of comfort into her ear.

It didn't take long before I looked up and I saw ponies looking at us awkwardly, and some of them began whispering to each other in a way that was most unpleasant. A growing group of them started following behind us, watching us as though we were some kind of freaks. I wanted to continue snuggling with Applejack, but I knew we were blowing our cover in front of everyone. I stopped walking and gently lifted her head off of my chest, keeping my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

“We have to get out of here, we’re blowing our cover. Can you run?” I said.

Applejack nodded her head uneasily, the look in her eyes telling me she didn’t want me to leave. It was the last thing I wanted, but we had to stop holding each other like a couple in the middle of Ponyville. I looked up and I saw ponies watching us from every direction; some of them looking disgusted, some of them looking confused, and still others looking at us with fascination. Pinkie Pie emerged and looked at us with kind of a sad-confused look, almost as if she knew what was going on and she pitied us. I turned back to Applejack and whispered in her ear.

“Meet me at the waterfall,” I assured, looking into her eyes deeply again. She looked uneasy, but she nodded. She gave me a look of comfort and hope but for a moment, then took off towards the crowd of ponies, which moved out of the way for her as she ran through. The ponies all looked back at me, and a very awkward feel came over me as I felt all of the ponies’ eyes. I made eye contact with Pinkie Pie, who upon which bolted off to Celestia-knows-where. Oh no! What if Pinkie Pie knew now? What would that mean for us? I had no idea, and the thought of anything bad happening to Applejack seemed to choke my heart. I nervously ran right through the crowd in the opposite direction, facing all of their uncomfortable stares as I pushed through.

I made my way through the backside of town so I wasn’t taking the same direction as Applejack to the waterfall. I came to the Everfree Forest and made sure no one was following me. I sprinted through the trees, with my mind brainstorming ideas for what we were going to do. Maybe they’ll forget what happened. Maybe we just have to be more careful now. Either way, we absolutely have to tell tell Pinkie and all of her best friends asap. It gave me great solace that I would soon get to snuggle with and comfort Applejack, and we could figure something out in private, without having to worry about any interruptions from ponies. In all of my sorrow, one thing I was certain of was that I needed the mare who lassoed my heart more than ever. I needed her in my arms, comforted by only her love, which was a greater treasure than life.

I sprinted through the forest until I heard the sound of falling water. I leapt through the branches leading to the pool and looked around for her, taking many hard and heavy breaths.

“Applejack?” I called, but there was no answer. “APPLEJACK?”

The Heart of a Dragon

My hands over my face, I sat on my knees alone in the middle of Twilight’s house, crying like a little filly. Princess Celestia knew about Applejack and me, and she certainly didn’t seem to like it. What if she says no? What if I get banished and I never see her again? Much worse then that, what if Applejack is shunned and put to shame? Terrible and perhaps irrational what-if stories of all sorts were forming in my mind. I was under a lot stress thinking about my beloved and what would become of us. I needed her in my arms at that moment, but instead I was left with nothing but a sliver of hope that the Princess would decide favorably for us when they returned the next day. The only one who could nourish my pain, the one I so longed to spend the rest of my days with, was off on a perilous adventure doing Celestia-knows-what, having to deal with the awkwardness of being around her friends whom just witnessed all the drama. The only nourishment until I heard a soft, young, friendly, sympathetic, and familiar voice coming from behind a doorway to the next room.

“You can stay here with me tonight if you want.” I looked up, and slowly walking out from behind the doorway where he apparently heard the whole thing was Spike, the little purple dragon, looking at me with great sympathy and empathy. I didn’t think there was a single friend in the world I could’ve turned to at that moment other than Applejack. Yet here was Spike, Twilight’s assistant and afterthought to the rest of the Equestria, offering me his consolation. I was deeply moved, and I nodded my head. The sun was setting, and I certainly didn’t want to sleep alone that night. I didn’t want to do another walk through town getting all kinds of weird looks from ponies who saw Applejack and I. Oh gosh, I hope somepony doesn’t tell the Apple family what they saw. I loved the rest of the Apple family, but I dreaded the day Applejack and I told them about us. Still, it would be even worse if they found out like that, from some random pony looking for gossip. And besides, the only ones who know that Applejack and I are married are not even here, except for Spike. I highly doubt he’s gonna run over there and tell them.

I let out a deep gasp and wiped my eyes. Spike walked towards me and looked at the ground. It appeared as though as he was getting ready to speak, but he wanted to choose his words carefully and truthfully. He put his claw on the back of his neck and looked up.

“I know what it’s like to be like you. Truth is, I… I love Rarity the same way you love Applejack,” said Spike. Even though I already knew that, I was still touched by his confession. We truly had an uncanny connection. We lived with ponies. We acted like ponies. We had special someponies. But we ourselves weren’t ponies. I never thought I’d relate so closely on the subject of love with a baby dragon. I was, however, really happy to be with him at that moment. I smiled at him, and we both knew what the other was thinking. It's hard to explain, but we somehow didn't need to speak to know that that we appreciated each other in our hearts.

After, the moment of silence, he looked around the room for a second, then put his claw on his chin in thought.

“You can sleep in Twilight’s bed if you want,” said Spike. I smiled and managed a chuckle.

“I don’t mind sleeping in Twilight’s bed, but I think she would. I just spent the last hour running around like a fool, and so I don’t think she’d appreciate me getting her bed all sweaty,” I said. Spike smiled back.

“Oh. Well, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her I guess, right?” he shrugged, and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit harder. It was like sibling rivalry between him and Twilight. When we finally got ahold of ourselves, I grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Spike, I think we were meant to be friends; we need to start hanging out more. I mean come on, the mares that we love are both best friends,” I said, and upon hearing that, Spike looked up at me rather affectionately. It occurred to me that maybe he needed a big brother of some kind. He was surrounded by pretty much nothing but fillies all his life, and he probably wanted someone to talk about Rarity with, because Celestia knows that wasn’t Twilight.

Spike went up to his and Twilight’s room and grabbed me a blanket. We said goodnight, and he went back up and got in his “bed” next to Twilight’s. I took my blanket and laid down on the rug in the middle of the library. I wasn’t there long before I reached into my pocket and pulled out the white cloth that Applejack had made me. I put my fingers on the silhouette of her, and ran it down over the apple-shaped heart that read “AJ + AJ” with an arrow going through it. I squeezed it tight and held it against my chest. All I could do at this point was literally hope to Celestia that I would be allowed to be with her. I started to wonder what she was doing at that moment. She’s saving Equestria right now, and she’s doing it like the strong, humble, dependable friend she’s always been.

I found myself lost in the Everfree Forest that night. I could hardly see anything in front of me, and I was bumping into trees and falling on my back. As I desperately scrambled around looking for an exit to this endless abyss, I could hear the voice of Princess Celestia taunting me; "You can’t love her! I forbid it!” I covered my ears as I ran through the forest, trying to drown out her voice, but it was only getting louder. Suddenly, I looked through the trees and saw a dark figure hooded and cloaked walking slowly right at me. I stood there paralyzed, my heart thumping and my head sweating as the creature approached. I tried to run, but I couldn’t move. I looked on with complete terror until it stood right in front of me and threw off it’s hood and cloak. It was Applejack, shining like the sun and smiling at me with her most adorable face, holding her hat over her heart. The landscape around me changed to the most beautiful part of her orchard at Sweet Apple Acres, and red delicious apples glistened all around her. I stared into her eyes and felt the terror driven out, replaced with the most peaceful happiness.

“I’m dreaming,” I said, falling to my knees and looking at her with awe.

“Yes, you are. And you must wake now,” she said in her sweet, soft country accent. I pleaded with her.

“I don’t want to wake. I want to stay here with you.”

“And ah’ with you, sugarcube. But ya gotta get up now. Wake up, AJ, wake up.”

My eyes opened and I was back in Twilight’s library, lying on the rug as I had been. The earliest light of the sun crept through the window, and I looked up and stared face to face with an owl that was perched on the bookshelf. It called “who, who!” before it spread it wings and flew out the window. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, looking around for Spike or anyone else. Suddenly, I heard the sound of hooves approaching Twilight’s door. I could hear my heartbeat increasing and I held my cloth from Applejack tightly against my chest. Oh my gosh, they’re back. Here it is, the moment of truth.

Celestia's Decision

I stood there with my mouth open in the middle of Twilight's library as I waited for the door to open, breathing heavily. This was the moment of truth. I was going to find out if the Princess would allow Applejack and I to be together or not. I felt so helpless as the sound of hooves approached the door, like someone who waits in hope for good news on his ill friend from the doctor approaching him. The door glowed and swung open, and a jewel-encrusted chest hovered in by magic before anypony else entered. Princess Celestia followed it in and faced me, but instead of being joined by the others, she shut the door. Oh no. My heart sank; before they had left last night, Princess Celestia's expressions had been very serious and assuring, but the look on her face now seemed sad and worn out. I started breathing even heavier, and I took a gulp.

Princess Celestia stood there silently but for a moment, then she started to walk towards me. What is she doing? Where is my beloved? It occurred to me that maybe she was outside.

"Um, Princess? Where's Apple-" before I could finish, Princess Celestia lowered her head until her horn was touching my chest right over my heart. I had no idea what she was doing, and I was too shocked to say anything. The tip of her horn lit up with magic, and suddenly I felt rays of magic flowing from it into my heart, and the magic spread all throughout my entire body. There was a flash of blinding light, and suddenly I was reliving all of my magical moments with Applejack. I saw her pulling me from the bucket of water at Pinkie's party, the first time we met. I saw her and I working together at Sweet Apple Acres, playing and becoming great friends. I saw our special first trip to the waterfall, and the magic moment we shared as we said goodbye that night. I saw us playing and snuggling under the stars together, and getting married in secret at the waterfall with Princess Cadence.

There was another blinding flash of light, and I was back in Twilight's library. Princess Celestia gasped and fell back. She saw everything. I stood there, still trying to wrap my mind around what just happened, and looked down at her. Tears were coming to her eyes as she got up and looked down at me.

"You truly do love her, don't you?" she said, her motherly voice trembling and choking with sadness.

I loved Applejack with all of my heart. I loved everything about her. The way she worked so hard for her family every day and the love she had for them, her kind and happy friendliness to everyone she knew, her adorable face and freckles, her beautiful mane and coat. The trademark cowpony hat, her pure, childlike heart that was so strong and humble. The way she looked at me with her breathtakingly beautiful green eyes and gorgeous smile. Even her voice and country accent was like the softest, most soothing music I had ever heard, and whenever she spoke, my heart rested peacefully and the troubles and pains of my life were nothing. It was getting to the point where I deeply missed her every minute I spent away from her. I wanted nothing more then for her to be happy for the rest of her life. I must be some kind of freak, I actually am in love with an Earth pony. The things my family would say if they knew. I decided I didn't care. Why should I deny my own heart?

"I can't live without her."

The pony princess closed her eyes and lowered her head, taking in a deep breath.

"Then I, Princess Celestia, decree that the union between your hearts may never be parted, and your marriage shall be blessed for all of your days together."

That was supposed to be the end of our problems. Applejack was supposed to run in and we were to have the most joyous, hugfilled reunion that two creatures could ever have, with me burying my weary head into her mane. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and I even though I leapt for joy at the Princess' decree, I knew something was not right based on her hapless expression, and it kept me from being as happy as I would've been otherwise. The Princess once again closed her eyes and looked at the floor before she spoke.

"This is extremely important. I need you to tell me everything about the courtship of you and Applejack," said the Princess. Wait, what? But you just declared us! Why do I have to tell you more about our love? And where the hay is Applejack? I need her in my arms right now. Once again, my heart started beating fast and I started getting nervous and fearful.

"Where's Applejack?" I said.

"The elements of harmony... they d-didn't work," she stuttered. All of the happiness I had from the Princess' decree left at that moment.

"What?" I whispered.

"I took Applejack and her friends to the place where our enemy resides, Blackcolt Castle, to defeat him once and for all. Everything went as planned. They assembled and tried to use the elements... but they didn't work! It was as if they were missing an element. But that shouldn't be possible, they were all there! I recovered the elements, but the evil one has taken your wife and her friends captive," she said.

My heart was pierced with seven lances at her words. It mattered not that the Princess decided for us favorably, Applejack and the rest of her friends were now being held as prisoners by some evil guy that I knew literally nothing about. I could see Applejack in some dark, miserable dungeon crying out in fear for me to save her, and I fell on my knees as my eyes teared up. I was broken hearted.

"You have to listen to me. If we are going to save her and her friends, I need you to tell me everything about your courtship with her. What happened when you discovered that you loved her?" said Princess Celestia with great urgency. It was a lot to bite off all at once for me, and I really wasn't in the best state of mind to tell the great Princess Celestia just how I had come to court Applejack. I had no idea how this was going to help us save them, and I was hesitant to talk to her, not to mention unbearably sad. Try to cooperate with her, sugarcube. She's jus' tryin' to help. The familiar voice in my head gave me the strength the speak.

"I went to work at Sugarcube Corner after working at Sweet Apple Acres for a while, and I really missed her. So one day I got the chance to go over there and see her when I was done working, and we took off running together. We came to this gorgeous waterfall in the Everfree Forest and we had the time of our lives there. When I took her home, I got lost in her eyes as we said goodbye. I fought with myself all night, and I finally admitted to myself I loved her, and I wanted to spend the rest of my days of with her," I said, walking away from her and burying my face into my hands again.

"What did you do the next day? When did you tell her?" she pressed.

"I went over there to see her again, and we talked for a while. She asked me what my long term plan was, and..." I took another deep breath and paused. "I told her the truth. I told her I loved her, and it turned out she felt the same way about me. I should've just lied. It would've been better for everypony."

"So why didn't you?"

"Because, I decided to be honest."

"Can you honestly expect me to accept that kind of an answer?" I looked back at her in distraught and sighed with irritation.

"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" She stepped forward and looked at me very seriously.

"Because I need to know."

"Oh for the love of Pete! I was a fool! I was weak! I wouldn't - " she cut me off mid sentence.

"Wouldn't?"

"It all happened so quick! I just! - I couldn't- "

Before I lost it, I turned away and took a deep breath, walking over to fire place and trying to get ahold of myself. I was too anxious and too sad to think, it felt like. I was silent for a long moment and stared into the empty fireplace with my right hand raised above my head on the wall. I thought, and knowing that Applejack and the rest of her friends' well being rested on me calming down, I took a deep breath, and spoke softly.

"I wouldn't lie to her, because I looked at her, and she was just... something from the depths of my heart, something deep inside me... it wouldn't let me to lie to her. I was compelled to be completely honest, my love for her was too strong to deny her the truth," I said. Princess Celestia raised her head and eased her expression.

"How was your wedding? I saw the kiss in your recollection," she said. I blushed; I was surprised and embarrassed to hear this. Of course she sees that and then asks me about it. I thought back to the wonderful moment when Cadence pronounced us and we leaned in and kissed. Once again, I took a deep breath and felt a flicker of happiness as I recalled the best moment of my life, even if it was weird to have to tell it to the Princess. I walked over to the window and looked out at the twilight of dawn, and pictured Applejack in her beautiful wedding dress.

"When we kissed, there were these rays of magic came out of our hearts and went into the other. It was the best moment of my life, as part of her heart became part of mine," I said, looking back at her. Princess Celestia looked up in thought, and then I saw a lightbulb go off in her head.

"AJ, the elements of harmony didn't work because they were in fact incomplete," she said.

"What? They worked before just fine," I said, my finger on my head in thought. Princess Celestia smiled for the first time since I had ever seen her.

"The spirit of the element of honesty made it's way into your heart when your love for her became so strong. When you kissed the element of honesty at your wedding, your hearts became one, and the spirit of the element of honesty became one with you and Applejack."

My mouth dropped and my eyes widened. It all made sense! Something came over me at that moment that made me happy. I was even more connected with the Earth pony I adored than I thought. But that still left the problem that she and her friends were locked up in an ancient castle by some jerk who was apparently plotting against the rest of Equestria. Princess Celestia got serious again.

"Applejack needs you right now. I say we take the elements of harmony back to Blackcolt and try again," she said.

Yes. YES. A fire ignited in my heart, aching to rescue my wife and our friends. If I was to die trying, then so be it; I would gladly lay my life down for my love. I nodded my head, right as a familiar voice came from behind the door once again.

"I'm coming too! You'll have to banish me to the moon to stop me. If Rarity is in danger, I'm gonna save her!" said Spike, running out to us. The Princess let out an irritated sigh and looked at Spike with a kind of ferocity you see in mothers when their children disobey them. I put my hand on his shoulder, encouraging her to let him come with us. I wanted him to go with us.

"Oh, alright," she said, rolling her eyes. Spike eye's lit up with excitement and looked back at me triumphantly. "If we're gonna do this, we need to go now," she continued.

"Wait. I need to make one little stop before we go," I said.

"Where's that?"

"Sweet Apple Acres."

Telling the Apple Family

I stood at the entry to Sweet Apple Acres with Princess Celestia and Spike. I looked at them fearfully as I parted from them. My heart was now beating faster now then it ever had before. Not at the wedding, not when Celestia approached the door at the crack of dawn, not when I told Applejack the truth about how I felt about her. Nope. I was more scared to tell the Apple family the truth then I had ever been in my entire life. The truth is, whenever I thought about this, I suppressed it. I replaced it with something else in my mind so I wouldn't have to think about it. It was made worse by the fact that I loved Applejack's family, and I didn't want to hurt them in anyway, nor did I want them to hate me. On top of that, I feared Big Macintosh - the kind, humble, hardworking labor horse of few words- more then the villain I was about to go confront.

I walked up to the front gate, stopped, and looked back at the Princess and Spike. Deep breaths, AJ, come on, you can do this. This family has always liked you, and they love Applejack more then life itself, just like you do. They're just fine with us being best friends, they won't be upset with her no matter what she decides. I was far away from my family, which was my own decision, but I knew that if I was telling this to them, they would never speak to me again. Her family is not my family. They will be more upset by the fact she's in danger and in need of saving then the fact that she married someone like me. I had suppressed more then just this event; I never fully addressed the pesky fact that she was a pony and I was not; now I had to swallow it and take it head on with the Apple family. Applejack was so innocent, loving, and friendly she didn't seem to care about the difference in species, so I didn't either. I had been so unbelievably lucky since I moved to Equestria, but now I was on my own. I walked under the sign and took deep breath after deep breath. Applejack and I are like two little foals the way we love other each other. What's wrong with that? We just... made it official by... getting married in secret? Ok, that is NOT something two little foals do. Oh, gosh; this is gonna be harder then I thought.

I saw all three of them sitting out on the porch as I walked up, no doubt waiting for Applejack. I walked up to them and tipped my invisible hat to all of them. They didn't even know where she was, she never returned home when she went to get the peaches. They saw me and their faces lit up eager for answers.

"AJ! You seen mah' sister? She never made it home yesterday," said Apple Bloom, jumping up from where she had been lying down in front of her brother. First I had to tell them where she was. That was the easy part. Still, I suddenly found it incredibly difficult to deliver them the bad news. I looked down at the ground and back up, without any kind of smile or happiness in my expression, only fear and sadness.

"Applejack and her f-friends w-were called on a mission to save Equestria yesterday. She's... she's in trouble. The Princess and I are going to go save them right now. I beg you; place your trust in me and the Princess, I swear to you all we will bring her back safe and sound."

Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom's expressions all changed into complete shock and sadness. They all looked at each other with tears and began to hug each other, which was terrible torture to me. I had shed a lot of tears in the last twenty-four hours, but I was not going to cry this time. I had to look down at the ground to make sure this didn't happen. Applejack and I are not only the best of friends, we're married. We were going to tell you soon. I thought it, but I didn't speak it. I can't do this. I just... can't. I turned away to start to walk back the Princess and Spike, but my feet were planted to the porch floor. I just couldn't manage to speak the words that needed to be said.

I slowly turned around to face them again. They all looked up at me, still crying from the bad news of their beloved family member, and realized there was something more going on. I looked into their eyes, and my vision went blurry as tears started streaming down my face. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cloth that Applejack had made for me for our wedding. I knew they'd recognize it was her creation. I ran my hand over the silhouette of Applejack and me in the setting sun, and saw the heart and arrow at the bottom that read "AJ + AJ." Crying softly, I calmly handed it to Big Macintosh as I deeply inhaled and exhaled. I can't tell you what his expression was because I did not have the heart to look him in the eye. I fell to my knees and bowed my head.

I looked back up, and Granny Smith and Apple Bloom stood behind Big Mac, looking at the cloth. They looked at me with wide open mouths of complete shock. The tears were coming even harder. They knew. They knew about Applejack and me. They knew, and there was no going back. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom had tears of sadness, but Big Mac... he had tears of rage. His eyes were filled with fury, and he looked at me and raised his hoof as if to hit me. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, ready for the hardest hit of my life.

I waited for it, and finally, after many hitless seconds, something huge crashed on top of me to the floor, where I laid there motionless. I opened my eyes, and Big Macintosh had hugged me into the porch floor. The rage in his eyes was gone, but the tears remained. He buried his head into me, and I embraced him with all of my might as I sobbed into his shoulder. "Just bring her back to us," he whispered. Apple Bloom, and yes, even Granny Smith joined in on the most dramatic family hug that ever was.

No Greater Adventure

I made my way back to Princess Celestia and Spike outside of the gate at Sweet Apple Acres feeling much better after getting the heavy burden of telling the Apple family about Applejack and me. The hard part was over, now I just needed to rescue my wife and her friends from a villain all the while saving Equestria. Spike was on the Princess' back when I returned, holding the chest that contained the elements of harmony, and it occurred to me that the Princess was going to be our mode of transportation. My relieved feeling didn't last long, as I had a terrible fear of heights, but that wasn't about to stop me. She lowered her back for me to hop on, and Spike moved back so I could hold on to her neck.

"Um, Princess? I think we would be better off if you told me a thing or two about this guy," I said, climbing on her back.

"I'll tell you after we make up some time. Hold on," she said without looking back, standing up and spreading her great wings. Saving Equestria and her subjects was the only thing on her mind at that moment, and given how serious she was, I was kind of surprised she let me do what I just did with the Apple family. I gulped and grabbed ahold of her neck; I had next to no time to prepare myself to go soaring through the skies; she wasn't about to waste anytime. I felt Spike grab on to me very tight from behind, and I could tell he was nervous too. This was nothing new to the Princess, but Spike and I had not experienced the thrill of flying. What better time to do it then right now?

"Um, AJ? How do you feel about hei- WHOOOOOAAAA!" before Spike could finish, Princess Celestia very suddenly and swiftly propelled herself off the ground with her legs and wings, beating against the air and soaring almost directly upward into the skies at incredible speeds. The sheer force of her takeoff into the sky left me and Spike screaming with terror, with me holding on for dear life to the Princess' neck and Spike digging his claws into my side. I saw nothing but blue sky, and puffy white clouds were passing right through my face as the Princess leveled off her flight direction thousands of feet above Equestria. I barely had to time to look around me at the beautiful country of Equestria before she rapidly changed direction and bolted down and eastward, spreading her wings in a way that caught all of the air and propelled us forward at blinding speed. It was all happening so fast I barely had time to think, and all I remember was the rush of adrenaline and constant screams from me and Spike. I reached around the Princess' neck with my arms until my head was against it, and I shut my eyes and pictured Applejack. I'm coming, Applejack!

After a while, she finally began slow down. I opened my eyes, and we were much lower to the ground now, probably only a few hundred feet or so. We were flying over a forest, and up in the distance I saw what appeared to be the castle that the mysterious enemy occupied. There was a very large thundercloud over it that made it look very menacing, and as we approached, the light from the sun faded. Princess Celestia lowered us into the trees until we were flying only a few feet above the forest floor. She finally touched the ground and came to a complete halt in a part of the forest where it was very dark, and the castle was obviously very close given the center of the thundercloud could be seen right over the trees.

The Princess lowered her back and Spike and I climbed off rather dizzily, and she turned and faced us.

"Ok, so what are we dealing with?" I said, trying to regain my balance. The Princess looked down and took a deep breath, indicating she had a lot to say.

"This is the ancient castle of Blackcolt. Long ago, I had a very promising pupil, a young unicorn stallion. Unlike my most trusted and most beloved student, Twilight Sparkle, this unicorn never let the magic of friendship into his heart. As a result, I dismissed him from my teachings, but he kept studying magic on his own in different parts of Equestria. He began devoting his time to different kinds of dark magic. He became very powerful, and devised a plan to use dark magic to control all of the evil creatures guarded by Cerberus in Tartarus and declare himself King of Equestria. This was back when my sister and I were still connected to the elements, and we used them to ironically banish him to Tartarus to be guarded by Cerberus himself, and he was unable to complete his ritual," she said, and I tried to wrap my mind around it.

"If he's been trapped there for all this time, how did he suddenly manage to escape?" I said.

"Not six months ago, just before you arrived in Ponyville, Cerberus briefly left the gates of Tartarus and the evil one escaped," she said. I scratched my head and pondered how it took her until now to realize this.

"Wait, so you haven't discovered him until now? What has he been doing for the last six months?" I said. The Princess rolled her eyes.

"He realized that in order to complete his ritual, he would have to do it in complete secret and away from the elements of harmony, or else he would be revealed and defeated again. He has spent this time looking for the perfect place to complete his ritual, and he chose here. I detected his presence in Equestria about a month ago and had Twilight help me locate him, but we couldn't find him. Finally yesterday, I discovered that he was here and as you know took action. Listen carefully; this is where our advantage comes in. He thinks that because the elements of harmony didn't work on him last night that he is now more powerful then them. In his mind, nothing can stop him from completing his ritual and taking control of the evil creatures in Tartarus and ruling Equestria. What he doesn't know is that when your heart joined with Applejack's, the element of honesty became one with both of you, and because you were not here, it didn't work."

Some of it was actually starting to make sense, and I finally had an idea of what we were dealing with. The problem was, where did we go from there?

"So, what's the plan?" said Spike. She lowered her head in disappointment.

"You and Spike take the elements of harmony and go in and free Twilight, Applejack, and the rest of them. Then you use their power to defeat the evil one. I'm sorry to tell you this, but if I enter that castle, he will feel my presence and your cover will be blown. You have the element of surprise on your side, and you must use it now. The secrecy of your mission is everything. You two are humble creatures and he will not detect you unless you reveal yourselves to him," she said sadly. You have got to be kidding me!

"With respect, Princess, do you think it's wise to leave the fate of Equestria in the hands of a teenage human and baby dragon? You are the most powerful being in this land!" I said, trying to hold back my frustration. The Princess looked up at me and hardened her expression.

"The fate of Equestria is in the hands of the elements of harmony, as it always has been. I am no longer connected to them, so my power is not as great as the evil one's. You must do this without me. Never doubt the power of your love," she said.

Spike and I looked at each other uneasily. I always wanted to go on an adventure, but not like this. As if the responsibility of rescuing my true love wasn't enough, now I was responsible for saving every last creature in Equestria from miserable life under a tyrant, and the only one to help me was a baby dragon. The Princess was right about one thing, however; our plan was fairly simple, and the "evil one" apparently had no idea that anything could stop him now, so his guard would be down. All we had to do was sneak in, free Applejack and her friends, and use the elements of harmony again. That doesn't sound that hard.

Spike and I walked through the trees a few feet until we came to the ancient castle. The presence of dark magic and evil was apparent on the outside of it, as not a single ray of light shone through the clouds on it. My love of Applejack was really coming to life inside me. I hadn't seen her since our sorrowful parting the night before, and I really missed her. It was tearing me apart that she was trapped in this wretched place with this horrible monster. This was my chance to stand beside her in the face of danger and stop at nothing to save her. How I longed to spend the rest of my days with her, working and playing together as the best of friends. I didn't need anything in this world that I didn't have in Applejack. I wouldn't care if I lost all of my belongings, my house, my friends, etc. as long as I had her. I was so scared, but she alone gave all the strength and courage to continue on. If this adventure was to be the price of making our dreams come true, then so be it.

I looked at Spike and saw the same fear in his eyes as he looked on at the castle. I grabbed his claw with my hand.

"Hey bud, glad to have you with me. Be strong brother, be strong for Rarity and all of our friends," I said. Spike looked at me and some of the fear left his eyes, replaced with compassion. I wasn't good at motivational speeches, but maybe that was enough to encourage him.

We walked through the trees right into the open and up to the castle doors. It seemed so huge as we stood at the doorway, which must've been four times taller then me. We both looked up in fear and awe as we slowly opened the great door. I held on the elements of harmony with one hand and slowly and (more importantly) quietly opened the door with the other. Spike and I walked in and shut the door behind us. We stood in a huge dark room held up by great pillars, with torches that lit the path in front of us. There were decaying statues of ponies on both sides of the room and huge stain-glass windows. It was deathly silent, and when we heard the squeak of a bat, we both jumped in fear.

"Alright, Spike. We're looking for the dungeon, that's where our friends are. We also need to be extremely careful not to make any noise. We don't know where this jerk is, he could be anywhere. We have to move slow," I whispered, and Spike nodded. I grabbed a torch off one of the pillars and we inched forward, slowly and quietly. We had no idea where the "evil one" was, and we were terrified that he might see us. We walked forward until we got to the other side of the great hall, and came to a set of dark, winding stairs that went both up and down.

"Dungeons are typically on the low part of castles, right?" whispered Spike.

It made sense to me, so we started to walk down the winding staircase. The only light was from my torch and a few torches that lined the narrow stone walls on the side of the stairs. We walked down until we came to the end of the stairs and saw another great stone hallway, lit by only a few torches, except this one had what appeared to be prison bars on the side of it. Spike and I hid behind the wall at the end of the staircase and took a good look through the prison bars. My heart jumped; sure enough, Applejack and all of her friends were on the other side of the bars. Tears came to my eyes as I saw Applejack; she was lying on the ground, sobbing and looking miserably sad at something. I put my hand on my mouth when I realized that she was staring hopelessly at the locket I had given her at our wedding.

"My heart will always belong to you," I whispered out loud.

I went to run out to her, but Spike held me back and kept me behind the wall. There was an eery but soft howling noise, and the presence of evil was getting much stronger. At the other side of the room was another stairway leading upstairs, but more importantly was that something was happening at the base of the staircase. There was a noise like rushing wind, and black smoke was forming at the bottom of the staircase. Applejack stood up with the rest of her friends. The black smoke thickened, and fire balls began bursting forth from the base of the staircase. The noises of howling and rushing wind became loud until there was a flash of fiery light, and emerging from the cloud of black smoke was what appeared to be a large unicorn, draped in black robes and wearing a black hood. It was quite an epic entry. I could only see the outline of his face in his hood given the extremely poor lighting, but he had the most intimidating eyes. They were very small, but they were glowing red. You could feel the evil in his presence, the dark magic that consumed his heart. The only love he knew was love of himself.

Very slowly he walked over to the prisoners, who were huddled together in fear (even Rainbow Dash) until he was standing but a few feet from the bars. His slow movement was menacing. He went to speak to them, except when he spoke, he spoke very slowly, drawing out each and every word in his extremely low, coarse voice. His words seemed to be dripping with evil.

"Oh, yes. Yes, my prisoners. Soon my ritual will be complete. I shall have dominion over all life in Equestria," he said, turning his body in our direction so that Spike and I had to hide completely behind the wall. He was seemingly exciting himself and his speech got louder. "Yes, oh yes! Then you will worship ME! Me."

He turned back and looked right at Applejack and saw the locket she had in her hoof.

"You're married! My, he is a lucky one to have a mare as beautiful as you. Tell me, what kind of stallion is he? I could use a strong stallion in my collection of personal slaves," he said. The end of his horn lit up, and he forcefully started pulling the locket towards him as Applejack cried out, begging him to give it back. He opened it up and looked at it, and was silent for a second. A deadly laughter echoed throughout the room. "I am so disappointed," he said, flinging the locket back at Applejack, who grabbed it and embraced it against her heart as she sobbed.

An inconceivable hatred was building inside me. I did not want to send this monster back to Tartarus, I wanted him dead. He had just taunted my beloved. If this was to be my end, then I was going to make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance. I had never wished bad on anyone in my entire life, even those who hurt me. But this was different. I didn't care how powerful he was, I was going to get my shot at this demon.

"Leave her alone! You let me out of here and I'll show you who to worship!" said Rainbow Dash, flying right up to the edge of the bars. Her bravery was most admirable, but the evil one just laughed. Something shot out of his horn that began shocking her in pain and she fell to the floor. He scoffed and began to walk slowly back to the staircase where he came from, and was gone.

After waiting a minute until it was completely silent, Spike and I ran out to the opposite side of the prison bars. They were all shocked to see us, and they ran up to give the edge so that only the bars separated us. Applejack saw me and her weary face lit up with happiness that I ever so longed to give her. She ran right up to the bars and we reached our arms through the other side and gave each other the tightest hug. I went to rest my head on hers, only to be denied by the prison bar. I placed my hand on her face as we deeply and affectionately stared into each other's eyes. Looking into those heavenly green eyes was the thing I missed the most in our time apart.

"You didn't think I was gonna leave you, the fountain of happiness in my life, did you?" I whispered.

"Ah' love you so much," she whispered, as we hugged again. Twilight walked up to us and looked at me confused.

"How did you get here?" she said.

"Princess Celestia. She flew us," I said. Twilight looked up in hope at her mention.

"What is her plan?" she said excitedly, and Applejack and the rest of their friends looked at me eagerly.

"We brought the elements of harmony," I said, and they all looked bitterly disappointed.

"They're not powerful enough to stop him!" said Twilight. A smile came over my face.

"Yes they are. They didn't work because they weren't complete," I said. Twilight looked even more bewildered.

"What do you mean? There's not a seventh element!" she said. I smiled and looked at Applejack.

"There are six elements of harmony. When Applejack and I got married, our hearts became one, and the element of honesty became one with us! Applejack was so special in my heart that the spirit of honesty inside her transfered into me! The both of us now complete the element!" I said.

Every one of them looked shocked but for a moment, and then a combination of deeply touched and deeply inspired. Hope had been resurrected inside all of them. Pinkie Pie started bouncing around in excitement and Twilight had to remind her to be quiet. Applejack stared at me as happily and deeply as she ever has, her eyes filled with tears, and my soul erupted with unfathomable joy. Our hearts could feel the other's burning love for the other, and we once again tightly embraced each other. If it weren't for this stupid bar.

"Um, how are we gonna get outa here?" said Rainbow Dash. Spike laughed.

"Hello! I am a dragon, you know," said Spike, pulling out a diamond.

Truly Tested

"Spikey Wikey! I knew you'd have a plan to get us out of here!" squealed Rarity, causing Spike to turn a deep red color.

"What the - where did that come from?" I said, referring to the diamond in his hand.

"Oh, this? I was just sucking on this one, but I brought a few more," he said casually, kicking open the chest containing the elements of harmony where there were three more gems shining along with the elements. I was terribly confused.

"Um, am I missing something here, or is it just me?" I said.

"Gems and diamonds are to dragons what a fresh apple pie is to us," said Applejack. Spike was about to start shredding away at the metal bars with the gem, but he stopped and looked up at Twilight.

"Wait, why don't you just teleport all of you guys out of there with your magic?"

"You really think if it was that simple I wouldn't have done it already?" she said, facehoofing herself. "The dark magic in this place is so strong I can hardly manage a spark of my own magic!" she said, and Spike shrugged.

As Spike started shredding away at the bar with the diamond, I noticed the elements of harmony in the chest. Each one of them had their own gold necklace with a shiny gem in the shape of their cutie mark, except for Twilight, who had a crown instead of a necklace. It occurred to me that I had neither a cutie mark nor a necklace to put on around my neck when we used them.

"Wait, how is this going to work if I don't have a necklace of my own?" I said.

"None of us had our necklaces, or crown thingy in my case, when we used them for the first time. They appeared on us after the elements channeled through us and defeated Nightmare Moon. I'm guessing you just need to stand with Applejack when we use the elements of harmony and you will get a necklace of your own when they unleash the power of friendship on the evil one," said Twilight.

Just as she finished her sentence, Spike successfully shredded through one part of the bar, and Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie squeaked in happiness.

"Shhhh, you guys are gonna blow our escape!" whispered Rainbow Dash as Spike started shredding away at the top part of the bar. I thought for a second about what our plan was as soon as we busted them out, then turned and faced Twilight again.

"Wait, so am I to understand that we're just gonna walk right up to this guy and use the elements of harmony? Doesn't that seem too easy? Won't he at least try to put up a fight and prevent us from using them?" I said.

"Honey, you gotta remember how sure-fired cocky he is. In his mind, ain't no one gonna stop him from doin' anythin'," said Applejack. It was so nice to hear her voice again.

"Applejack is right, this guy's pride blinds him. Sure, he's powerful, but he's nothing the elements can't handle! We just need to bait him somehow," said Rainbow Dash.

Spike shredded off the top part of the bar and pulled it off. It appeared he was going to throw it on the ground which would make a lot of noise, but thankfully he caught himself and set it down gently. Rarity tried to squeeze her head through the gap, but she was just barely not able to fit through. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash all tried to fit through, but they were all just barely too big as well. Realizing one more bar would have to come off, Spike grabbed a new gem out of the chest and began sawing away at it. It was now somewhat quiet as we waited for Spike to break them out, and I realized this was a good time to talk to Applejack in private. I pulled her over just a few feet from the action and once again rested my hand and on her mane, and I smiled at her.

"Hey, how you holding up?" I whispered, resting my hand on her face.

"Ah'm so happy to see you! When the elements of harmony didn't work and we were imprisoned here... ah' thought... ah' thought ah'd never see you again! Ah' didn't think there was any hope!" she said, resting her face against my hand.

"Hey, guess what! The Princess decreed our marriage. You and I can be like peas and carrots without having to keep it a secret anymore!" I said. Applejack's face brightened, and her heavenly eyes were peaceful again for a moment.

"We just need to tell mah' family when we get back. I jus' hope they ain't disappointed," she said looking burdened.

"I told them already. They're fine with it, even Big Mac. They love you so much and they're so worried about you, they just want me to bring you home safe and sound," I said smiling again.

Applejack looked surprised at first, but then she slowly started to smile in a way that you might expect from an angelic being, not an Earth pony. She looked at me as though I had just opened the gates of heaven for her.

"Aww, sugarcube! Yer gonna kill me from makin' me so happy!" she said.

We heard another cutting noise, and Spike had successfully cut through both parts of the second bar. He if off; Pinkie Pie came out first, followed by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, and finally Applejack. She ran over to me and we joyfully and fully embraced, resting our heads against each other.

"Come on, you two! Save the sappy stuff for later, we've got to save Equestria first!" said Rainbow Dash. My heart sank as I was reminded of the fact that we still hadn't taken care of that yet. Rage started building up in me as I remembered what the evil one did to Applejack before I ran out to them. He had to pay for what he did. I do not deny that I still feared him a great deal, but my rage was keeping the fear lower then it would've been otherwise.

Spike hopped up on Twilight's back after they all had the elements of harmony ready to go on their necks (head in Twilight's case), and all eight of us took off up the winding stairs, which like the last ones were very dark and very narrow lighted only by a few torches on the stone walls. Pinkie Pie was giggling about something to which I heard Rainbow whisper "shut up!" and it wasn't too long before we came to ground level again. There was another great hall like the one Spike and I walked through before, and a staircase leading going upward. Twilight stopped and looked back at us very nervously, and she took a deep gulp.

"Ok, this is the north tower, the place where he is performing his ritual," she said, her voice trembling with fear. "We go up there, we use the elements of harmony and they do their thing on him, and that's it, right?" she said, looking to us for encouragement. We were all afraid, even Rainbow Dash, the brave one. To tell you the truth, I was rather shocked that Fluttershy was even here much less ready to face him with us, given how fragile she was in much less frightening conditions back in Ponyville. It seemed as though when her friends were on the line, she found the courage in herself to do what needed to be done, and I greatly admired that. Rainbow flew to the front of the pack and took a gulp.

"Ok guys, I think we can all agree that this is the scariest guy we've ever dealt with. Just remember, no matter how bad it looks, there's always a way through. It didn't look good when Discord turned us into jerks, but our friendship still won out in the end. It didn't look good when we lost to this guy last night, but here we are. Never lose hope!" she whispered.

"Ok everypony, let's go," said Twilight, starting up the stairs as we followed.

"That won't be necessary," said a low, coarse, evil voice from behind us.

We turned around, and who do you think we saw? The evil one was standing right there in front of us, except now I could see his hideous face. It was dark green and almost skeletal looking; his mouth had no lips, only sharp teeth. His small, glowing red eyes pierced my soul as he looked directly at me as I held Applejack's hoof. His words were slow and drawn out, as before.

"I am surprised that Celestia would allow such a thing. Even I didn't think she was capable of stooping so low. All of that beauty wasted," he said looking at Applejack. As a sign of loyalty to her and disrespect to him, I grabbed her and held her tightly against me. Pinkie Pie stepped forward and laughed. Yes I tell you! She actually laughed.

"You don't like it, that's too bad! You don't stand a chance against the elements of harmony, and they're going to live happily ever after," she said. The evil one, confident in himself, smiled wickedly.

"Ah, the element of laughter. Let's see how much laughing you do after you've been tortured to insanity," he said, and he began shooting rays of dark magic out from his horn and into Pinkie Pie, who was now on the ground screaming with pain.

My next move was bold and maybe a little bit stupid to say the least. I looked around for anything I could to throw at him, so I picked up a torch from the wall and without hesitating, I threw it at his head in rage. He noticed it too late, and it smashed right into him, with the embers scattering all over his face. He cried out in pain, and all of this was now happening so fast; I nodded to Applejack, and she ran out to him and bucked him as hard as she could. He clumsily flew back into one of the decaying statues and crashed into it, causing it to collapse on him in a huge cloud of dust in which he disappeared.

We looked on in silence and shock as the cloud of dust began clearing. He laid there motionless for a second, then slowly lifted himself up and faced us, full of hatred and wrath. That may not have been the best idea. He had just been greatly humbled by a scrawny human and an Earth pony, and now he was going to give us his rebuttal. He raised his horn and pointed it right at Applejack, and I saw her look at him with despair. Lay down your life for her! I took the words in my heart literally, and I jumped in front of her as the evil rays erupted from his horn.

The most unendurable, unimaginable, incomprehensible pain surged throughout my entire body. As I fell to the floor in agony and the fire and electricity scorched me on the inside and out, I could feel the life inside of me leaving simply from the shear pain. My hearing, my seeing, and my thinking was getting weak, but even as he pumped all of those horrible tortures into me, I could see Applejack smiling and working at Sweet Apple Acres under a beautiful blue sky. I looked into those beautiful green eyes of hers and saw all that she was; loving, pure of heart, modest, adorable, hard-working. Her golden mane and tail flowed gracefully in the wind and her sherbet coat glistening in the sun. Amidst all the pain, I saw her, I loved her, and I rejoiced. I rejoiced as he tortured me to the point of death, because I knew that I had spared the Earth pony I loved with all of my heart the pain I was enduring. I took it all for her, and that alone was worth it.

When he finally finished, I was so weak that I could only faintly hear Applejack's sobbing and the cries of her friends. I barely saw the blurry dark figure of the evil one standing in front of me, and I heard a voice from deep inside reminding me what we had discussed earlier. Pride. This guy's weakness is his pride.

I opened my mouth as I laid on the ground deliriously and barely found the strength to speak. I didn't speak clearly, but I spoke to where he could understand me.

"If you're so powerful, then why not let us pathetic friends try to use the elements of harmony on you? They failed before. If you don't let us try, then I say you are a coward."

I heard the evil one laugh and seemingly agree to my terms, and I felt Applejack kneeling beside me, so I blindly grabbed her mane with my hand and she helped me up. I stood there in line with the rest of the elements of harmony and kept my balance by leaning against Applejack.

Suddenly, I felt rays of magic and love coming to life inside me and stirring around in my heart. They were like a flame, and they grew and grew. As they grew inside me, I could think clearly again. I could see and hear clearly, too. Applejack and I were next to each other in midair, and the rest of her friends were in lined up to our right, with Twilight in the middle. I saw Spike watching from a corner, and I looked down and saw the evil one looking up at us in fear. The rays of magic were now flowing connectedly through Applejack and me, and I felt our hearts joined together as one. The element of honesty channeled through us, taking the form of a beam of light that met with the other elements above us. The beams joined together and made a rainbow that shot down at the evil one. The rainbow engulfed him, and suddenly, there was a sound like rushing wind, and all of the dark magic in the castle began flowing into him, as the elements formed a forcefield between us and the him. Twilight opened her eyes that were now completely white, and the elements strengthened the force of the dark magic that was now flowing into the evil one and consuming him.

"CURSE YOU! NO! NOOOOOO! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHGGGGGG!" I lost consciousness as everything went white and the triumph of the elements of harmony drowned out the screams from the evil one.

When Dreams Come True

Ow, my head. I was lying on my back, and it was all starting to come back to me as I heard familiar voices. I heard Fluttershy's soft voice first say "Oh, Applejack, it's so beautiful!" followed by Rarity "It's so... shiny!" I took a deep, conscious breath, and my eyes started to flicker open. I raised my hand and rubbed eyes a little, and I opened my eyes to see Applejack's smiling face looking down at me from just a few feet above, with her friends looking from behind. The light from the sun was now shining brilliantly through the stain-glass windows in the hall of the castle, indicating that the thundercloud and the dark magic were completely gone.

"Did we... did we win?" I said. Applejack looked as though she was hyped up on sugar, and she held out her hoof and helped me up.

"We sure as sugar did! Ah'm so proud of you! Ain't no one done anything like that for me before!" she said, running around me adorably in excitement. Rarity walked up and smiled at me.

"You haven't noticed it yet," she said, looking me in the eye and then seemingly looking right under my chin. I looked down, and around my neck was a pure gold necklace, but my heart fluttered when I saw what was in the middle of it; there was a beautiful gem in the shape of Applejack, with apple cutie marks and everything. I looked up at her, and she stopped running and stood a few feet in front of me, smiling like an angel. She started to walk towards me with a look of deep affection, and it looked as though she was going to kiss me.

"Um, Applejack? Are you sure you wanna do that in front of your fr-" before I could finish, she closed her eyes and her ears went down, and she lifted her right arm and grabbed me from behind me so I was unable to move. She put her lips right on mine and kissed me long, causing my eyes to go wide open and my cheeks to turn bright red. My heart relaxed and I peacefully enjoyed it before long. We hadn't kissed since our wedding, and it felt like my first one with her. All of her friends were smiling, even Rainbow Dash. Spike even looked at Rarity with a look that said "hey, me next, right?" When she finished, she stepped back smiling and put her hat on me.

"I guess they could get used to it," I shrugged. I didn't intend for that line to be funny, but Pinkie Pie thought it was hilarious and she fell on her back giggling and laughing while shaking her legs around in the air. I took a deep, disappointed gasp, and Applejack hit on me on the shoulder with her hoof.

"What's wrong, sugarcube?" she said. I looked down and rubbed the back of my head with my hand.

"It's nothing. I was just foolishly hoping that maybe I might, you know, come back as a pony or something." Applejack looked surprised to hear me say that, and then she placed her head on my chest.

"Mr., what did ah' tell you our first time at the waterfall?" she said, and I squinted my eyes and thought back to that particular moment. "Ah' told you it didn't matter how ya looked. Ah'm glad you ain't a pony, this is who you are and ah' love you," she said.

I was so deeply touched by her words that I felt bad for failing to show her anything but happiness. How can you be disappointed when you've got someone as great as Applejack? I lifted her head back and stared right into her eyes.

"Applejack. You are amazing." I brought her head back into my chest and rested my head on top of her mane. I had forgotten how soft it was, and I shut my eyes in content, ready to fall asleep. I like to think I gave her a pretty great gift by stepping in front of her and taking all of the torture from the evil one. At that moment, she gave me a better one.

"Bring out the pie, Granny Smith!" said Apple Bloom. We had just finished dinner at the table when Granny Smith got up to get to get the pie out of the oven. Applejack and I were sitting right next to each other, and Big Mac and Apple Bloom were directly across from us, and Granny Smith's seat which was temporarily empty was at the head of the table, as it had always been. We all waited eagerly as she set the pie down in the center of the table. Eyes watering, Apple Bloom reached in for the first piece, but not before Granny Smith slapped her back with her hoof.

"Be patient now, youngin! Ah' need to, uh, divide it equally!" said Granny Smith.

"Well hurry up, ah'm huh-ngry," said Apple Bloom, her voice cracking.

"Why er' you so hungry? You hardly worked none today!" laughed Applejack.

"Eenope," said Big Macintosh, playfully pushing his little sister. Apple Bloom started desperately thinking of something she did that day.

"Well, ah', uh... ah' helped AJ! Ah' brought him some water!" she said, and everyone at the table starting laughing. Granny Smith placed a peace of pie in front of me, and I smiled at Applejack whilst she got her peace. Earth ponies didn't use silverwear, so naturally, they didn't have any. No problem, I just used my hands. Applejack looked at me and went to pick up her piece with her hooves to try to replicate me.

"There's nothin' to this, uh, eatin' with yer hooves thing," she said, and dropped a piece of pie right on her belly and the floor. I put my hand on my mouth to stop me from laughing.

"Oh for pete's sake. Winona!" she yelled, and the collie came running in and started eating the piece she dropped. Applejack looked up at me, who was still ready to laugh, and smiled.

"Hehe, ah' see, you think it's funny! We'll how 'bout you try eatin' with yer face for a change!" she said, and she put her hoof behind my head and pushed me right into my peace of pie on the table. Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom all sat silently waiting for my reaction, while Applejack laughed. I pretended to look mad at first, then smiled and playfully shoved some of my pie in Applejack's face.

"Food fight!" yelled Apple Bloom, and with that, food started flying in both directions from every which way. Granny Smith dodged some, only to be hit right in the face after that. Having the time of my life, I dodged food and threw it as quickly as I could, with me and Applejack teaming up on Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom.

The laughs and the fun were nonstop until everything settled down. Applejack and I offered to clean everything up, since we started it. When we finished, Applejack wiped the sweat of her forehead and put her hoof on my shoulder.

"Whew! Ah' think that's enough games fer one day," she said. We looked at each other and could tell that we weren't ready to call it a day quite just yet.

"Race you to the meadow," I said, pulling off her hat and putting it on my head. She lowered her eyebrows and smiled.

"Oh, yer on!"

Being much faster then me, she beat me to the door and took off outside through the orchard laughing all the way, with me not far behind. I picked up a rope that was on the ground and lassoed her successfully for the first time, revenge from when she did it to me.

"Trussed up like a turkey!" I laughed as I ran by. We ran out through the orchard off the property and into the grass meadow, where she collapsed from fun and exhaustion. She rolled over on her back and looked up the stars as I lay beside her.

"Oh mah', those stars sure are beautiful," she said, panting.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," I whispered, resting my head on her belly. My head went gently up and down as she breathed softly, and I opened one of my eyes and smiled as she looked at me adoringly. Then I drifted away under the stars on the warmest, softest pillow in all the land.

The End

This story is dedicated to Applejack and anyone who has a special place in their heart for her. I hope you enjoyed it, as that was it's only purpose. Thanks for reading.

AJ.

*There is now a sequel available to any who are interested.* Thanks again.

Settling in/Making Friends

As I unpacked my things in my new home in Ponyville, I started to reflect on the weeklong journey I had made to the Kingdom of Equestria, which was mostly by train. When they train entered the great Kingdom, the landscape was suddenly so much more beautiful, so many vibrant colors, all things that life in my previous home lacked. When the train finally arrived in Ponyville, the land itself – the far green country, the puffy white clouds, the beautiful blue sky – made it feel like I was in paradise already.

The further along the train went, the less I saw of my kind, and the more ponies. By the time I got to Equestria, I was the only one on the train who was not a pony. Most of them seem surprised to see me and would often have long looks at me, as I’m guessing I was the first they’d seen of my kind. To my great delight, some of them would even talk to me, and they seemed to like me. They told me they I was hardly different from a pony, except in appearance. This is exactly what I hoped for. I left my hometown because there was no real friendship there anymore. People were more concerned about themselves then their friends. But I had heard of a place far far away, where friendship and love was as abundant as the air you breathed. This is what I longed for, what I wanted to live for. I didn’t want to marry; only to be surrounded by real friends.

I was very young (nineteen years old), and to leave my home and start new life in a far away land seemed like a bad idea to everyone but me. Throw in the fact that my race was exceptionally rare in this land called Equestria, and almost everyone thought I was downright crazy. But I wanted what I wanted, and if the ponies in the land of Equestria were as friendly as I heard, I wanted to try to fit it. So I packed my things and set off.

A knock on the door interrupted my unpacking. Could that be my new pony neighbor coming to befriend me? I thought. I eagerly ran over to the door to see who it was. I opened the door, and standing before me was a brilliantly pink pony. She had party balloons on her flank, big light-blue eyes, and a bushy pink mane. She looked surprised at first to see someone of my kind, and stared at me for a few seconds with an open mouth and wide eyes. She smiled after getting a good long look at me.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. What’s your name? Are you the one moving in here?” said the positively pink pony.

“Hello there. My name’s AJ, and yes, I am moving in here,” I said, moving my foot around and avoiding her gaze. I had never had many friends, even though I wanted them.

“I’ve never seen a real human before! I’ve seen pictures of them in books before, but never in person! Well, I have seen a minotaur who is half human and half bull, but he was kind of a monster. You're not a monster are you? Oh wait, of course you're not a monster. How silly of me! Do you have any friends here? Will you be my friend?” she said, bouncing around. I found the fast talking and bouncing quite adorable.

“No, I don’t have any friends here in Ponyville, I’m from a very far away land. And yes, I’d love to be your friend,” I said. Pinkie Pie smiled like I’ve ever seen anyone smile before. It made me wonder if she was like this with everypony. I couldn’t help but smile back; it was contagious.

“YIPPIE! I’m your first friend in Ponyville! You know what you need? A party! I’ll introduce you to my best friends and everypony else in town! Won’t that be fun?” said Pinkie Pie, going on and bouncing around my doorstep.

“Gosh, Pinkie, thanks! I don’t know what to say,” I said. Pinkie Pie laughed.

“It’s no trouble at all! Just come to the top of Sugarcube Corner tonight at eight, right over there. And be ready to have a lot of fun!” said Pinkie, and she bounced back into town. It really was the best thing I could ask for. I wanted to make friends, and now this cute, energetic pony was offering to throw me a party to help me make them. I unpacked my things with much greater delight now. This is exactly how I wanted to start off my life here in Ponyville. I looked at my watch, and eight o’clock couldn’t get here soon enough.

At around seven thirty, I started having a clothes dilemma. Ponies didn’t usually wear clothes, but that wouldn’t work with me for obvious reasons. I couldn’t decide if I should wear something casual or something formidable. I wanted to look nice since I was not something that many, if not all of them, had ever seen in person before. I went ahead and put on my tuxedo. I combed my long, dark hair and shaved off my scruff. The women where I was from often told me how handsome I was, but that was the problem; they were only interested in me for my looks. I came to the land of Equestria and the town of Ponyville to make friends that didn’t care about what my cover was. However, I wanted to come off as a formidable creature to them, so I tidied myself up as best I could.

I set off for Sugarcube Corner at around five till eight. I arrived at the shop and nervously made my way upstairs, eager to make a good impression on everypony. It sure sounded like fun. I could hear music playing, hooves tapping, ponies having a good time, etc. I reached the door to the loft where the party was, took a big gulp, and pushed it open.

I pushed open the door and walked in, and everypony stopped what they were doing and looked at me with open mouths. Even the music stopped playing. I just stood there and blushed, embarrassed as ever.

“So that’s what humans look like! I’ve never seen one in person, have you?” said unseen voices from the back. Many ponies were now looking at me and whispering amongst themselves, which left me turning the color of a red bell pepper. Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie sped up to me with a big smile and broke the awkward silence.

“Everypony, this AJ! He’s a human! He’s new to the town of Ponyville, so let’s all honor him and welcome him as our friend!” said Pinkie Pie. At least now the music started up again and ponies continued their fun and games, so it wasn't as embarrassing anymore. For the first time, I noticed the streamers and balloons that decorated the loft, and the wonderful different colors and mane styles on the different ponies. I looked in front of me, and a beautiful white unicorn with blue royal curls and big blue eyes walked up to me, smiling and looking impressed with my outfit.

“Darling, that tuxedo is absolutely adorable. Clearly you have a great sense of fashion,” she said. I was just blush city at this party so far.

“Me? Look at you! Those curls are beautiful,” I said, smiling. The unicorn raised her hoof to curls, padding them in agreement.

“This is one of my best friends Rarity! Fashion is her passion! If you ever need a dress –er, wait – suit made, she’s the one to go to!” said Pinkie Pie. Before I could respond, a purple unicorn chimed in from my right.

“Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie told me you came here to make friends? You couldn’t have come to a better place. I was sent to this town by the Princess to learn about friendship, and I have found that there’s no greater adventure, no greater thrill, no greater power then a good friendship!” said the purple unicorn.

“You know the Princess?” I said, looking interested. And I was.

“Oh yes, I’m her favorite student. I- oh, hi Fluttershy! AJ, this is Fluttershy. She’s a little… shy,” said Twilight, catching somepony in her sight. I spun around and saw an absolutely adorable pegasus shying up to us. She had bright yellow skin, a light pink mane, and a delicate face that said “Hey! Have a cuteness overload.” I smiled at her and tried to make her more comfortable.

“Hi Fluttershy! There’s no need to be nervous; I’m kind of shy myself. I just wanna be your friend,” I said, and Fluttershy stood up taller and smiled. When she spoke, she spoke with the softest, kindest voice I had ever heard.

“Oh, why thank you. Feel free to stop by house sometime for some tea,” she said. I smiled wide at her kind offer; not only did I love tea, but I loved the fact that she and everypony else was being so kind to me. Suddenly, there was a flash of rainbow, and a light blue pegasis with an awesome rainbow mane.

“Wow,” I said in admiration of this pony’s awesomeness.

“Ha, feel free to admire! Name’s Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you, AJ,” said light blue pegasus.

“Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash. You look like an athlete,” I said. Rainbow blushed; she seemed to appreciate this comment.

“I don’t like to strut, but that is kinda my game,” she said.

“Say, where’s Applejack?” said Pinkie Pie, handing me a cupcake. I thanked her and took a bite, but suddenly it felt as though my mouth was on fire. I started to sweat and my face cringed.

“You alright, darling?” said Rarity.

“Yea, you don’t look so good,” added Twilight. I couldn’t hold it any longer. I looked around for some water and saw a bucket being used to bob for apples and sprinted there. Pinkie’s friends looked at her with annoyance, realizing she’d given me a cupcake with hot sauce.

“What? They’re good,” said Pinkie in rebuttal.

I ran to the bucket and threw my face into the water, sucking in as much water as I could to put out the fire in my mouth. Something grabbed from behind and pulled me out. I looked up, and holding me by her hoof was an Earth pony, with sherbet orange skin and a flowing blonde mane, country style. She had the cutest white freckles on her face, and cowpony hat. But the thing I noticed above all else were her eyes; she had the most beautiful, gentle eyes I have ever stared into. She smiled and let out a laugh.

“You alright, sugarcube? Ah’ve never met no one who was as enthusiastic about apple bobbin’ as you,” said the country pony in a country accent. I had to catch my breath before I spoke, plus I was amazed at how nice her voice sounded.

“Oh, yes, I was just, uh, Pinkie Pie gave me something awful spicy, so I just needed a drink of water,” I said.

“Oh Pinkie, she’s a keeper alright. Mah’ name’s Applejack, or AJ jus’ like yerself!” she said, tipping her hat in a most respectful manner. I smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Applejack!” I said energetically, holding out my hand for her to shake. She shook my hand real fast, then flipped up an apple from the bucket to me.

“Here, try one a’ these, ther’ fresh picked from my apple farm,” she said. I took a bite, expecting it to be just like the apples I had back home, which I liked, but I was very wrong. What I bit into was the sweetest, best tasting apple I had ever tried. I chewed and chewed, not wanting to swallow it, amazed at its goodness. It was almost as if it were a different fruit from what my perception of apples had been.

“Applejack, this is the sweetest apple I’ve ever eaten. You grow these?” I said, looking at her eagerly. She blushed, which almost made say “d’aaww” outloud. It was obvious she appreciated the compliment.

“Aww, thank you, sugarcube! Mah’ family’s been doin’ it for generations, ah’m just carryin’ on the tradition,” she said. I was about to reply to her, but not before Twilight and Pinkie Pie walked back over to us.

“Sorry about that. Pinkie doesn’t realize that she’s only the one who likes hot sauce on cupcakes. Don’t feel bad, she did it to me my first day here, too,” said Twilight, rolling her eyes.

“Sorry about that, AJ. I forgot that not everypony – er, everybody likes the same things as me,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, that’s quite alright. It wasn’t that bad, I guess,” I said, lying through my teeth, but at least I had the divine-tasting apple to make up for it.

“So are you looking for a job of some sort, AJ? I’m sure there’s plenty of ponies in town who could use you,” said Twilight.

“Oh yes, I’ll take a job anywhere. I just wanna work, even for a small amount of bits,” I said.

“Well I’d love to have you work here at Sugarcube Corner, but I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Cake need any help at the moment, even with their two foals. What about you, Twilight? You need any help at the library?” said Pinkie Pie.

“Oh no, Spike handles the work around the library quite well. The last time I had someone –er, my pet owl help him, he ended up getting jealous. That’s the last thing AJ needs right now. Oh yes, Spike! Spike is my little dragon, but don’t worry; he’s not like other dragons, he’s nice. You’ll meet him soon enough I’m sure,” she said. Before I could get disappointed, Applejack spoke up, in her adorable country voice.

“We could always use some help over at the farm. I hope ya don’t mind workin’ hard though, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I can tell yer a hard worker,” she said. I let out a cheer.

“Are you serious? I would love to work on a farm. Gosh, Applejack, thanks! Where do I show up?” I said eagerly. That’s perfect! I thought. I had always wanted to work on a farm, but that was impossible in my homeland, where everything was being industrialized. I loved being outdoors and seeing the sun, the clouds, the sky, and the landscape, and now it looks like I could. Plus, Applejack was a beautiful pony and seemed really nice.

“My pleasure. Ah’m always excited to make new friends. Jus’ come on over to farm on the other side a’ town tomorrow, bright n’ early. Sound good, sugarcube?” she said, with her seemingly permanent smile.

“That’s perfect. Thanks, Applejack,” I said, and Applejack nodded.

After the party, I was exhausted out after all the fun games we played, not to mention all the cake and ice cream I had eaten. I knew they might be weary of me at first because I was the rarest of all creatures in the land of Equestria, but to my great relief, the ponies seemed to be much more comfortable with me by the end of the night, and most of them introduced themselves to me. I was very impressed with their friendliness.

I made my way back to my house, undoing my bowtie and unbuttoning my shirt. It wasn’t pleasant thinking I’d have to get up early seeing as how tired I was, but I was excited and thrilled that Applejack gave me this opportunity. I went opened the door, threw of my tuxedo, and hit the hay. I wasn’t in bed long before I fell asleep, but just before I did fall asleep, I couldn’t stop thinking about how happy I was to be here. I had made the decision to make the grueling journey here for the sole purpose of making friends, and it seemed as though things were going great. And now I got to work on a farm with delicious apples and a nice pony. I can’t imagine it would take anyone long to fall asleep with things like those to think about.

Princess Celestia

There was no sign of Applejack anywhere around the waterfall. I looked around the edge for any hoof-prints that would’ve indicated if she had been there, but I saw nothing. There’s no way I beat her here, she’s much faster then me and I took the long way here. Fear and despair started to take hold of me. Something or someone had prevented her from meeting me, and perhaps she needed me. I wasn’t about to stick around while the love of my life could’ve been in danger, so I took off running into the Everfree Forest again. Terrible scenarios started forming in my mind as I dashed through the trees. What if she was followed and then kidnapped? What if she was banished? It would be all my fault!

I could see her face in my mind begging for my help as I ran through the forest, which caused me to run so fast the trees were blurry and the wind was loud on my ear. It did not take long for me to get to the edge of the forest, where I leapt into the open field and looked around, but there was still no sign of her. I made my way right into the outskirts of town, and sitting on a bench under a tall oak tree was Lyra Heartstrings, a green unicorn. I ran up to her in desperation.

“Have you seen Applejack?” I panted. She looked at me uncomfortably.

“Last I saw she was headed for Twilight’s,” she said.

Before I got the chance to say thank you, I took off towards Twilight’s. I was relieved to hear she was there, but that also meant that she was likely being confronted about her and me, so I desperately wanted to be there with her. If it weren’t the fierce love I had for that apple-bucking farm mare, I would’ve collapsed from exhaustion long ago. Still, I pressed on, adrenaline pumping through my body. Don’t worry Applejack, I’m coming.

I burst through the front door, and what I saw caused my heart to sink all the way into my stomach. Applejack was on her knees pleading before a regal white alicorn with the sun on her flank and a flowing multicolored mane. I didn’t need to see her golden crown to realize that this was none other than Princess Celestia. Hiding behind the princess were Applejack’s five best friends, otherwise known as the elements of harmony. The looks on her friends' faces were sad, while Princess Celestia looked quite serious.

When the door swung open, Applejack swung around. She got up and ran towards me as I thundered towards her. We met in the middle of the room with a joyous hug. I closed my eyes and rested my head on shoulders, and I felt my heart go back to the gentle, relaxed way it always was when I was with her. That was until Princess Celestia cleared her throat rather loudly.

“Applejack, you were saying?” she said, looking rather untouched. It hit me at that moment just exactly who we were standing before. This was the absolute ruler of all Equestria, the law itself in pony form. Behind her, Applejack’s friends were shocked to see us like this, but at the same time, I saw pity and compassion in their eyes that gave me hope that they might understand. Applejack turned her head but kept her hooves on me while she spoke.

“Ah’ve never met no one like him before, Princess! The way he looks into mah’ eyes, the way he cares, ah’… ah’ jus’…” pleaded Applejack, with tears welling up in her eyes. To hear Applejack speak this way was making me cry, too. I would’ve spoken up, but I didn’t know what all had been said at this point, and I had no idea what to say. Princess Celestia lowered her eyebrows and raised her snout.

“You know the law, Applejack. I am the bringer of harmony in these lands, and I expect my subjects to follow the laws I lay out for them. I would’ve expected somepony of your stature to understand that,” said the princess.

My heart was pierced with a lance at these words. I was trying to pick up as much as I could, but those words did not sound good, and they hit me like a truck. Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold her tongue anymore, and she sprung forward.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she said, looking sadly confused at the situation.

“Cause we didn’t know how ya’ll would react! Ah didn’t wanna disappoint you guys if ah’ married a non-pony! Ah jus’… ah can’t help it!” said Applejack, crying into my chest. I placed my hand on the back of her head. It hurt me so much to see her like this, and I fought hard to keep my tears at bay and remain civil in front of the princess. Twilight stepped forward started to defend her friend.

“Applejack, we’re your friends! We would never be disappointed! We think he’s a great friend, and if you feel the wa-“ before Twilight could finish, Princess Celestia cut her off.

“I don’t have time for this. You’ve known for a week, Twilight, about what is happening in the east. I came here to summon you all to use the elements of harmony to defeat a great evil that threatens this land, and instead I find this foolishness.” What? You want to take my Applejack away from me to battle something I know nothing about? It suddenly hit me like a brick and some of it actually did make sense. Twilight’s reading material when I went over to her house the day before the wedding. Her nervous tone when I asked her about it, and the way she anxiously awaited the princess’ letters. I was too focused on the wedding and on the country pony that consumed all of my thoughts and dreams to put it together.

Either way, this was out of my control. What was in my control was how I dealt with Applejack and I.

“I am… so sorry, Princess. Just… please… take this out on me. This is all my fault, just, whatever you do, don’t punish Applejack,” I said, beseeching the alicorn.

“Oh no you don’t! This here is every bit mah’ fault as yers! Whatever she does to you, she’s doin’ it to me too, sugarcube,” said Applejack, holding me tightly.

“Well, AJ is like a pony on the inside, so in a way, it’s like she’s marrying a pony, right?” said Pinkie Pie. I couldn’t have been happier with the support we were getting from her friends. Princess Celestia raised her eyebrows and spoke in a slightly softer tone.

“I will make a decision on whether I will allow this marriage or not when we return. Meanwhile, we have an old foe of mine to vanquish, and his power grows, so we must not waste any more time. Let’s go now, girls. Look to our coming at dawn,” she said sternly, walking to the door.

None of the girls followed the princess to the door. They all were all looking on with tears at Applejack and me, who were on our knees tightly hugging each other. I rested my head against hers and closed my eyes. Here was my wife, if she was to remain my wife, being pulled away from me when I needed her most to go on a perilous mission to once again save Equestria. From the bottom of my soul, not only did I fear that I might not be able to be with the one to whom my heart truly belonged, but I now worried about her safety and well-being.

“Come now,” said Princess Celestia with a no-nonsense look. Applejack hugged me even tighter, while her friends made their way over to Princess Celestia. Pinkie Pie was now crying a fountain of tears as she watched us.

“Ah’ll be back tomorrow now, ya hear? She’ll come ‘round, ah’ promise. She’ll allow it. Don’t you worry,” she said strongly, putting her hoof on my chest. I wiped the tears from my eyes and nodded my head, and she embraced me one more time before getting up to join the princess and her friends. My hand on my mouth, I watched her from my knees as she made her way to the door, desperately looking at me all the way out. When the door closed, I couldn't hold it in anymore; I covered my face and fell to the floor sobbing.