Applelove And Respect

Once the alarm clock gone off, Applejack awoke in the nick of time and stopped it. Afterwards, she made her way downstairs to meet with her folks, but neither Big Mac or Applebloom were anywhere. Indeed, it was her first day in Appleloosa, but it wasn't expected to be like that for her.

“Big Mac? Applebloom?” She called. There was no answer. It wasn't long before she came across a piece a paper on the refrigerator. She walked up to the paper and begins to read,

“Dear Applejack,

Me and Applebloom headed for the grocery store, and we'll probably going to be away for awhile to gather more supplies for our family reunion. I know how much you want to meet your parents, but we'll be back as soon as possible.

To your brother and sister,
Big Mac & Applebloom”

“Well, looks like I have time to meet more of my cousins.” She said to herself, feeling a bit lucky. She also remembered the time she met Pumpkin Sweet yesterday. As she put her boots on, she opened the door and walked down the front yard.

“I really wanna make Pumpkin feel happy in Appleloosa. I should show him who I really am just to show him I’m not into boys.” Applejack thought to herself. It was then she came across Pumpkin Sweet walking on the sidewalk.

“Hey Pumpkin!” She waved.

Pumpkin stopped in shocked after hearing his name called. He did had a crush on her, but he didn’t wanted to hang out with her just in an instant.

“H… h… h… Hiiii…” he stuttered. “Look I know…. You told me we can hang out today but… but…”

He still stuttered in fear right in front of Applejack, but she started to explain her new plans for today. Him being stared by her pretty much put him at a stumble for words.

“Here’s the thing: I was supposed to have some family time with my brother and sister, but they went shopping, and my grandma said to me that she was gonna meet her old friends - She always does this when she leaves the house. So, I think that maybe we should hang out together and pass the time.”

Pumpkin was more nervous than ever. However, he refused to leave because a once in a lifetime opportunity with his crush was at hand. Applejack noticed the pressure in his face, and decided to stay friendly.

“So… do you wanna hang out with me?” She asked.

“Yes!” He shouted abruptly, but paused, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Applejack reacted to it, but giggled.

“Great! How ‘bout we go and meet my cousin Braeburn? He really needs help with his farm and stuff.”

“Sure. I mean, if that's not a problem at all...” He accepted. Pumpkin was relieved that he was hanging out with Applejack without all that pressure, but he didn't realize that Applejack was only being friendly, and nothing more.

Moments later, they made their way to Braeburn’s farm. Applejack sought him from afar, doing some heavy farm work.

“Howdy, Braeburn!” She called.

“Well howdy, Applejack.” he greeted back. “Who’s with ya?”

Applejack introduced Pumpkin to her cousin. “My family is away for today, so I decided to hang out with him right now. Do you need any help?”

Breaburn nodded. “Why not?”

Afterwards, he turned to his cousin. “Is Pumpkin your boyfriend?”

Applejack retorted, despite Pumpkin’s blushing heavily in shock. “He ain't my boyfriend!”

“Oh it’s okay. Tell ya what, why don’t you and him do some of our work?” he replied. Applejack decided to be serious and have a personal talk with him.

Braeburn turned to Pumpkin. “Can you come with me in my house? Pumpkin Sweet, it will be very sweet if you do all the chores for me, startin’ with some of those dishes in the kitchen.”

“Oh, I can take care of everything.” Pumpkin responded and headed for the kitchen. While he was setting up and washing, Applejack and Braeburn then headed out to the field and started their conversation in soft voices.

“Look, I’m not just messin’ around him at all. I only wanted him to feel happy with me.”

“Seriously?” Braeburn raised an eyebrow. “I think it would've been great to have met somebody like him. I mean, you never had a boyfriend in your life.”

Applejack lightly argued. “I’m not like that, okay? I just came here just to enjoy my time here with the folks. ’Sides, I don’t think he’s really that good enough to impress. For one, he bumped into me, so he probably must’ve had eye problems, and second, he looked a little jumpy when he was close to me.”

Braeburn shrugged. “Boys like him always feel that way. And, I don't think he has eye problems. It's just that he wants to make sure he’s not embarrassed in front of you. Some people think that glasses don’t get girls their attention on them these days.”

“Nevermind. Anyway, you still think I have a crush on him?”

“Maybe. Like I said, It would’ve been nice.” he answered.

“I’m sorry, but sooner or later I’m going to tell him that I don’t love him like that.”

By the time she came back inside of the house, she was shocked that Pumpkin did all of Braeburn’s house chores.

“Oh... hey, Applejack! I did all the chores so you don’t have to do anything.” He panted. Applejack started to feel nervous, thinking he’s trying too hard to impress her.

“What am I going to say to him?” She sighed to herself.

For the next four hours, Pumpkin Sweet tried his best to impress Applejack, who felt absolutely bored. He once paid for everything instead of letting her do it when they were in town, and he even cleaned the dirt off of the bottom of her boots after riding on some of the animals. Now, they were at an apple cider store. Apparently, Applejack decided to not wait anymore and tell him the truth about her feelings towards him. It was then they received two apple ciders from the waiter, who then billed them four dollars. Unfortunately, Pumpkin realized that he spent all that money until he was broke.

“Oh wait... I don’t have any money left.” he checked his empty pockets.

“That’s okay. I can take care of that.” Applejack insisted. She then took four dollars out of her wallet and was about to pay up, but Pumpkin paused her.

“Actually... I have a better idea! Is it okay that I can take a job here?” he asked. Applejack and the waiter stared at him in a awkward look.

“Do you really need to work here just for four dollars?”

“Of course.” he answered. But, Applejack said otherwise.

“No no no. Just accept my four dollars.” She handed the waiter her four dollars assertively before turning to Pumpkin. “We need to have a serious talk.”

“Okay.” he nodded as the two drink their cider. After walking out to the dusk, Applejack led him to an alleyway filled with Apple boxes. She then placed her hand onto his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

“Pumpkin, today was as boring than I expected. I get your trying to be nice, but when you thought about getting a job at that store for just four dollars, that's just way over the limit!”

“...oh…” Pumpkin lowered his head until she lifted it up back to her eyes.

Applejack had to know something out of him. “Pumpkin, I really need to know this: Do you have a crush on me?”

Pumpkin’s body vibrated lightly, gaining blush before answering. “Yeee…. Yeeeeee……. YES!”

“That explains…” she sighed before continuing to talk to him, being kind as she could.

“I appreciated that you did everything for me today but…. I still don’t have a crush on you like that. I’m not saying this to hurt your feelings, but I’m saying this because I’m always honest. I mean, I’m really never had a boyfriend in my life because I’m not into boys. I found them trying, but at the same time annoying. Do you have any idea how many boys give me chocolate at Valentine's day to impress me last month?”

Pumpkin felt a little heart broken after hearing Applejack’s words, but speechless as she continued her story. He shook his head, having no idea.

“A lot! So much that I don’t think it could get any tedious for me. Now, I get your a nice person, and this day wasn’t bad, but it’s still boring for me. Do you really think I like getting this type of respect? I rather could’ve gone to meet my old friends and do what I love.”

Pumpkin lowered his head in light tears after listening to her. He couldn't say anything else because of Applejack’s words of honesty. “Applejack… I'm sorry. It just that... I’ve always wanted to have a girlfriend...”

Applejack tried to cheer him up, but couldn't help seeing him feel empty. “Why can’t you move on? Love isn’t always something that can make your life better all the time...”

It was then Braeburn shouted as he ran as fast as he could until he saw his cousin. “APPLEJACK! Your family has been kidnapped!”

“WHAT?” Applejack screeched.