Applejack… well, didn’t honestly plan for her day to go the way it did. Then again, who could have foreseen it? The day started out normally enough, she supposed. The harvest season had started up again, and this season as it turned out was a particularly good one. The trees themselves seemed to be providing especially well this year. Applejack made a mental note to thank Rainbow and the other pegasi for the weather they’d provided this year, allowing the trees to provide a boom in apples. The Rich family would be getting more than their fair share of course, and in return would be able to provide quite a bit of much-needed cash to the Apple Clan. Maybe now they could fix up the barn, and if they were lucky do the whole music festival again. Goodness knows Applejack was hankering to see Coloratura again this year, hopefully without all the drama that came last time.
And well, if there were any speculations about exactly why Applejack wanted to see Coloratura again, then well Applejack would let mouths gossip as they always did. Wasn’t exactly none of their business now was it, but she couldn’t exactly stop them. Besides, this was all a moot point anyway as of right now, as if she didn’t get the apples bucked from the trees there would be no money flowing in.
So, help was required. Whoa nelly, and was help required this year. Now, of course, the easiest thing to do was call in Starlight or Twilight, and just have them teleport the apples into one large pile or something. But Applejack, she was a stickler for tradition. Plus, she loved the two, she did but she couldn’t honestly say the apples wouldn’t get smushed up during transport. It had been known to happen really.
So, it was going to require doing things the old fashioned way, and that meant either bucking the apples from the trees themselves, or picking them out by hoof. Or by hand, as it turned out. Spike, as it seemed, was all too happy to help. Now, of course, there had been a bit of pushing and shoving back and forth between the two, Applejack saying that Spike had been more than enough help that one particular year. However, Spike in his own way was just as stubborn as the farm mare. He would not give in to her.
So, that was how Spike found himself flying from tree to tree putting his new wings to some very good use. Now, with the speeds he could fly, he could definitely make his way around the orchard well enough. It was like having Rainbow Dash as your assistant for apple picking. If, of course, Rainbow Dash could be bothered to help for anything apple related aside from cider.
Applejack smiled, quite impressed by the way the dragon was managing to handle himself. He didn’t have to do this, and yet he did for what? No reward was in for him, and here he was out in the blazing hot sun just helping in one admittedly tedious task. “Well, land’s sakes! Now, I can’t just let him outdo me here! I’m supposed to be the one collecting the apples, not just sittin’ back and lettin’ the drake do all the work here! Oh, if Rainbow were here, I’m sure she’d be laughin’ her durn flank off…”
Applejack then turned her eyes to the tree behind her and gave it a good solid kick. Apples tumbled and fell into a tub beneath the tree. “Yep, between me, Bloom, Mac and Spike, we should have this finished in a week or so!”
Spike for just a brief moment had stopped his picking and just watched Applejack set to work. She went to one tree, and then another. He smiled to himself, she carried herself with such an outstanding confidence. It was amazing really. Wiping the beads of sweat off of his face, he continued on with his work.
He didn’t really know himself why exactly he’d decided to help out Applejack. Maybe he didn’t want to repeat that first harvest season a few years back when he was still new to Ponyville and Big Mac had injured himself. Celestia knew that Applejack was a stubborn mare, and had a tendency to work herself near to death unless someone gave her a good… well, he wouldn’t know if ‘smack to the head’ was perhaps the right term really. But it made a certain amount of sense, even if he wouldn’t exactly phrase it that way. She did, at times, need someone to step in and tell her when enough was enough. The way he saw it, Applejack just needed that sort of extra help at times.
Was it a crush? Maybe. He wasn’t sure. In any case, this was a job that required more than just three ponies, and with dear old Granny Smith getting up there in years Applejack would probably require an extra hand -or claw as it were- now and then. The dragon sighed to himself, he hated thinking on Granny Smith’s ever-advancing age really. The mare seemed like a constant in the Ponyville life since forever. Tartarus, she’d seen the founding of Ponyville, and how much it had changed over the years.
Spike shook his head, enough of those thoughts. No need to start feeling down if there was no reason for it just yet. Best not to think of such things, he had a job to do and he intended on seeing it through to the end. Plus, he had a bet with Rainbow going on that he could pick more apples in a day than she could drink bottles of cider. He laughed to himself, that was such a sucker’s bet on her part really. One should never underestimate Sir Spike the Brave and Glorious!
“Jeez, egotistical much?” the purple dragon thought to himself. “You could really give Rainbow a run for her money. I know patting yourself on the back is a thing but seriously? That is-”
A voice cut through the air. “Spike, quit your lollygagging! We’ve got work to do, and only so many hours in a day here! So get moving, or I’ll be leavin’ your butt behind in the dust!”
“Oh, so this is a competition now is it?” Spike called back to the orange mare as he began grabbing as many apples as he could carry. “Now that’s something I wasn’t aware of!”
“It’s only a competition if you make it, sugarcube!” Applejack called back, giving another tree a good solid buck. It was like poetry in motion, really. She kicked, and apples fell. Rinse, wash and then repeat. It was honestly astounding how she could get so much done, and never actually seem tired.
“So, ya looking forward to later this month?” Applejack asked. “The usual fall festival and whatnot? Because I swear by Celestia’s flank, I will make sure it is the best festival we’ve ever put on!”
“You say that every year, and you always deliver,” Spike said in return. “I don’t know how you do it, but you always manage to keep topping yourself!”
“Glad to see you think so,” Applejack smiled. “If all goes well, I should… no, we should see Rara coming back just to play! Can you imagine that?”
“Well, you do have a way with ponies…” Spike said with a small smile. “She should come back if only to see you!”
“Aww, shucks Spike,” Applejack said in return face flushing slightly from the praise, even as she delivered yet another buck to yet another tree. “Ya really know how to flatter a gal, you know that right?”
“It’s what I do,” Spike said before blushing. “Not...Not that I’m actually trying to… um, flatter you any more so than usual…”
Applejack just burst out laughing. “Oh Spike, you need to give yourself some more credit. I mean, let’s be honest here. You are a charmer, and give it a few more years and you’ll have the mares eating out of the palm of your hand!”
“You… you really think so?” Spike asked with a small flush. “I… I mean, it’s not exactly something I’ve been thinking as of late but…”
“Wait, seriously? You haven’t actually been thinking about dating anyone? Not even Rares?” Applejack asked her eyes widening in surprise.
“Well, let’s be honest… Rarity? She’s totally out of my league as it is,” Spike said. “Not sure what I was thinking really with her. Puppy love? Maybe, yeah…”
“...Oh, I see. Bit of a shame really… I was sorta rooting for you really.” Applejack admitted. Truth be told, she sorta knew that thing between Spike and Rarity would probably never go anywhere. She was sorta out of his age, and at times Applejack had noticed Rarity did sorta use Spike for her own agendas. She loved her friend, she really did, but there were times when she wanted to give Rarity a good smack to the head. Okay, in all fairness Spike did let himself be used as her personal servant and he seemed happy enough so Applejack shouldn’t have been so upset about it.
But in any case, she knew that as Spike got older he would probably be quite a catch. She had no obvious interest in him, but she wasn’t stupid. Spike, given his credentials as Twilight’s brother and therefore sorta royalty in his own way -not to mention his own natural charm- would be quite attractive to a mare. Or a stallion, Spike could have swung that way too for all she knew. Hey, even Colton John had a cover wife after all. She wasn’t going to be the one to judge. Actually, she sorta felt really sorry for Rarity when she realized what she had been missing.
Personally, she suspected Spike would find his happiness with that one dragon student at Twilight’s school. Smolder, was that her name? They’d make a cute enough couple, and they certainly had enough to relate to.
“Goodness gracious Applejack, you’re starting to sound like one of those frilly frou-frou mares in those dang romance novels Rares loves so much. What has become of you?” the mare thought to herself. “I know you want Spike to be happy, but mentally pairing him off with anyone and everyone? Consarn it, quit getting distracted and get back to work. These apples won’t buck themselves you know…”
“...You were?” Spike spoke. “Huh, never expected that. Not in a million years...” he muttered to himself.
“...Possibly, yeah… So, what caused this change of pace, really…?” Applejack asked.
“Well… Uh… Starlight may have taken me aside at one point or the other and asked me a few hard questions about where I saw myself with Rarity in the next few years or so,” the now eighteen-year-old dragon admitted. “Really opened my eyes actually.”
“Opened my eyes in more ways than one…” Spike thought to himself even as he plucked a few more apples out of the trees. “Because let’s be honest here, there are plenty of fish in the sea here…”
He eyed Applejack, she definitely was a unique mare in certain respects. Hardworking, and at times, her stubbornness was fairly charming in its own right. Meant she never gave in or backed down from a challenge. Rainbow Dash and their Iron Pony competitions could attest to that! He blushed when he realized he had caught himself staring at Applejack, even as her hips moved in unison with her legs, bringing more apples tumbling down. It was clear to see years of working the orchards had built up some muscle to the mare and meant she was sorta easy on the eyes.
“Let’s get real here,” Spike said to himself. “You didn’t have a chance with Rarity, so what makes you think you have a chance with Applejack?”
Well, in his mind he supposed she was certainly more relatable. More down to earth at any rate. He sighed to himself. Chance or no, he could certainly fantasize at any rate right? First things first, work. Goodness knows he didn’t want Applejack on his case for slacking off.
Evening fell, and eventually, Applejack found herself returning back to the house. Giving herself a sniff, she winced. Working in the orchards always managed to make her work up a sweat. Wasn’t even that charming rustic sweat, it was just plain sweat and stink. And boy did she stink! Yeah, a nice hot bath would do her some good, she imagined. Nothing like a good soak after a long day’s work.
“Speaking of work… Spike certainly put in his all today,” the farmer thought as she entered the shed to put up the tools. She had to dig a few holes for new saplings, aside from bucking the older trees today. That was exhausting. “I really have to compliment Twilight. Certainly raised him right. That she did…”
Her ears perked up in the mostly silent barn, hearing a soft grunting sound coming from somewhere nearby. That was strange. Not a sound she expected to hear in the barn. Grabbing a shovel, she carefully peeked around a corner. Could have been one of the local animals. What she saw made her drop her shovel in shock with a loud clang.
“...Oh, Applejack…” Spike grunted out before his eyes widened in shock as he realized what had happened. “Applejack!”
“...Er… Um… sorry Spike,” Applejack whispered face now a bright shade of red. Covering her face with her hat, she quickly averted her eyes as Spike let out a little squeak of shock. “I… Uh, didn’t mean to interrupt your… private time.”
It wasn’t just the fact that she’d walked in on Spike doing… well, that! It was more so the fact that he was doing that and apparently she of all ponies was the subject. Well, this certainly explained a lot at any rate!
Spike and Applejack stared at each other, neither really saying a word. Applejack’s thoughts ran wild. A mix of infuriation, untold embarrassment and flattery were currently going through her head. So this is what Spike thought of her? Part of her, the mare was definitely pleased someone thought that way of her, that she was attractive. The more prudish side was infuriated that Spike thought to do this about her! Waves of sympathy, embarrassment, schadenfreude, and mortification came.
Sweet Celestia above, this was so embarrassing. Then the prudish side gave way to sympathy, empathy. Spike, after all, was a young drake and a young drake did have his needs. And while she was understandably infuriated, that could be saved for later. The last thing Spike needed right now was her blowing up in his face about this. She had been trained to be offended at such an uncouth thing, but she had to put that aside for now. In this current situation, sincere empathy and understanding would have to be needed. “Poor kid…” she thought.
“I’ll…. I’ll be taking my leave now I guess…” Spike stammered out, his face about as red as the object of his fantasies. “...I… I’ll understand if you don’t want me around after this…”
“Now now, we’ll have none of that!” Applejack demanded, perhaps a bit harsher than she actually had any intention of doing. “Now I’m not going to lie to you. Am I angry? Yes. But… Look, I get it. I get it.”
“You… You do?” Spike asked his eyes widening in surprise.
“Now I’m going to tell you a story. ...Goddess above, this is so awkward. I was your age once, and I had my own… desires. There was this pegasus once, now I wanted a piece of that flank. Like really wanted it, you understand?” Applejack asked, Spike slowly nodding. “So I stole away a few private moments myself. Now, nothing ever came of this you understand, our personalities were way too different. But uh… that’s not the point. Goodness knows Granny may have… er, walked in on me once or twice shall we say.”
Spike winced. Being caught by your crush was one thing, but being caught by your own grandmother was another. Mind you, he could relate. It was a big castle, really. Easy enough to get lost in. Spike thought he had managed to find a few private spots to do his business -didn’t matter who it was about- but on occasion, both his mother and his sister figure had managed to find him. Now, he always said he was just “scratching an itch” and nothing more was said. But he doubted he was fooling either of them.
“Now, you can sorta understand or at least guess my mortification about being caught by my own granny,” Applejack went on. “It was something I’d rather forget about really. Like, I’d heard all the old mares tales, about how too much of this would make you go blind and such. Granny told me these were nonsense, and simply explained to me that I was growing up, and that all of this… perfectly natural.”
“I… I see…” Spike murmured. Then it hit Applejack, and she slowly raised an eyebrow.
“Wait, are you honestly telling me Twilight’s never actually talked to you about this?”
“Well, she may have,” Spike admitted as he slowly began to relax. Everything was fine, everything was okay. This was Applejack, and while she may have been the subject of his personal fantasies she was also one of the most understanding ponies around. “But all of it sounded like it was being taken from a textbook or something, very cold and very clinical. To be fair, I think she was just as embarrassed about the whole thing as I was. She wanted to help, like she really wanted to but this was so awkward to her really. Plus uh… between you and me I think she’s sorta demisexual meaning uh…”
“Yeah, I know. Nothing really gets her going except for one pony in particular she feels really strongly about,” Applejack said and Spike stared at her. “What, don’t give me that look. I read. ...Let’s just say lately I’ve been needing a few books like that to help me… uh, through a few things okay?”
“I… I see…” Spike answered deciding it best if he didn’t pry into that.
“...Twilight, I love ya girl, I do but being all cold and clinical was not what you needed to do here,” Applejack muttered. “Granted, I can sorta understand your embarrassment here, Celestia help me…”
That didn’t do much for Spike’s confidence really.
“Sorry,” Applejack swiftly apologized upon seeing Spike’s falling expression. “Anyways, the point is, this all of this is just a natural part of growing up. Your body has its own desires, and you know it’s okay to fantasize here. ...Actually, truth be told I’m… somewhat flattered about all of this.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Spike stared. “I… I mean, I was jacking off to… well, you know.”
“Well, as a mare it does make me feel… happy. Like I’m seen as ‘pretty’. I mean, forgive me here, but I have wanted to be noticed at times. Like I’m something more than just ‘one of the guys’,” Applejack said her voice shaking. “...Wow, when I was Applejewel ponies finally took notice…”
“Oh Applejack…” Spike thought bringing her in for a hug. Was that really what she thought about herself? Applejack, at least to him anyways, was one of the prettiest mares around. She had this sort of natural, earthy beauty. At least how that was Spike was going to describe it, biased as he was. Rarity and even Starlight and Pinkie had to work for it. But Applejack? No, she was different.
“...Do you really think that?” Spike asked. “That’s just… No, I’m sorry, but you are beautiful Applejack, you don’t need anything like makeup or your mane done to show that…”
“Thanks Spike, like really,” Applejack replied. “But… It’s just compared to the rest of the gals… well, I sorta feel like I’m left in the dust really… Goddess, how did this discussion become all about me?” she wondered with a small bitter laugh.
“Hey, it’s okay Applejack,” Spike said. “You’re beautiful in your own right. Granted, I may be biased, but that’s what I think anyway. Seriously, whoever told you that you weren’t… Well, if you want I can go after them…”
Applejack chuckled. “You’re something else, you know that Spike? You’re really something else. See, this is why I said it before and I’ll say it again now. Any mare would be lucky to have you,” Applejack said. She quickly let out a sigh before continuing. “So, this is what you really think about me huh? When did you… uh, first… uh, start having… well, you know?” she asked face flushing slightly.
“...about five weeks ago, to be honest. Right after my talk with Starlight,” Spike admitted. “She wanted me to look for some mare who I could see myself more realistically with. I don’t know, guess my mind started wandering to… well, you. I mean, you’re the most down to earth, practical mare I know aside from mom, and well… I suppose the heart wants what the… uh, the heart wants.”
“Ah, I see,” Applejack said with a nod of understanding. She really wasn’t so surprised really, now that she thought about it. She could understand. Wanting someone who was practical, sensible was a perfectly reasonable enough desire she supposed. “I see. I understand. I… Uh, apologize for this Spike, I really do. But… uh, my barn door doesn’t swing that way really…”
“Rara?” Spike asked almost at once. Yeah, he felt his heart breaking but he knew Applejack didn’t mean anything by it. She wasn’t intentionally trying to stomp on his feelings. “It’s sorta obvious when I think about it. We’ve all heard you talking up a storm about how you’d love to see your childhood friend again…”
“Yeah… uh,” Applejack blushed running a hoof through her mane. “...I… I guess I sorta did make it a mite obvious at times didn’t I…? Listen Spike, for what it’s worth… I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt you none.”
“Yeah, I know…” Spike murmured.
“That hurt?” Applejack asked. “Hold it tight, it’ll go away in time. Not completely, but it will. ...Oh Celestia, this is difficult to do. How would Rares do it…?”
“Probably with lots of ‘darlings’ and ‘dearies’,” Spike said wiping away a small tear and Applejack hugged him even as she let out a bark of laughter.
“...Yeah, that sounds about right. That hurt? It’ll fade. Not completely of course, but it’ll fade. And look at it this way, if you forgive a mare for being poetic. When one door closes, another opens. Love’s the greatest feeling in the world, and never forget those you’ve loved and those you’ve lost. That’s what mama always said. Love is like the wind, she said. You can’t see it, but you can feel it. I know you’ll feel it when the right girl comes along,” she said placing a firm hoof on Spike’s shoulder.
“...When did you get so insightful?” Spike asked.
“Guess I’ve been around the block a few times by this point,” Applejack admitted with a soft smile. “Southern wisdom? Maybe. I’m in the dark about this as much as you are. You going to be okay Spike?”
Spike sniffled, before wiping away another tear. “Yeah, I think I will be,” he said. “Thank you Applejack… Like, really… Thank you.”
Applejack brought him in for another hug. “It’s what I’m here for, sugarcube. If you ever need somepony, just somepony to talk to about whatever’s bothering you… Just feel free to come talk to me okay?”
“Yeah… Yeah, I get you,” Spike admitted before he took a sniff of the air, his nose wrinkling. “I… I don’t know how to say this, but uh…” he trailed off not quite sure how to put things.
“I stink?” Applejack asked with another snort of laughter with Spike soon to follow. “Yeah, I know.”
Author's Note
Okay... So. Yeah. I think a few of us have been Spike through this entire story, maybe not with the crush thing, but what I wanted to do was present a story most of us can relate to. Something heartwarming, wholesome really, even if the end result was somewhat bittersweet.
Now, why Applejack? One, I haven't used her in a while for anything, and two I thought she could present a unique form of insight that Starlight or Twilight couldn't be able to. Plus, Starlight and Twilight are sorta the obvious choices really. Now, apologies about not even trying with her accent, but I generally manage to mangle it so I decided not to bother here.
Now, as ever, your comments and critique are welcomed here. What did I do right, what did I do wrong? Please do tell me.
