Roman Numeral felt his heart drop when he noticed that he and his date were reaching their final destination of the night: her house. He smiled at Applejack, whose green eyes seemed to flash with sadness before smiling back at him. They'd met a couple weeks ago, at one of her cider sales. He'd been in Ponyville for less than a month and had heard all about how delicious the Apple Family cider was. That day, he'd shown up early so that he'd be guaranteed a cup of it, but there were still a good number of ponies standing in his way. When he'd finally reached the stand, he'd been awe-struck. Not by the taste, or the beauty of the orchard, but by the beauteous mare behind the small wooden counter. Her smile had stricken him dumbfounded and her accent had left his head filled with bliss. After getting his cider, he couldn't chase the mare away from his kind. After running running into her on a few more occasions and holding his tongue, he'd finally asked her out.
Now there they were, walking back to her house after their third date. Applejack cleared her throat. "So, why'd ya'll decide to ask me out anyhow?" She looked almost abashed as she said it, but stood firm in nonetheless.
Various answers flew to the night-colored stallion's mind. Your enchanting accent, your luminous eyes, your refreshing personality... All of these perfect answers flew through his mind but instead what tumbled out of his mouth was "I thought you'd be nice to get to know." He mentally slapped himself. That was the best he could come up with?
Applejack chuckled and didn't seem to mind the uneducated answer. They'd reached the porch. Roman wanted to say something, anything, but his mouth felt full of cotton. Applejack seemed to be waiting for him to say something, her emerald gaze unwavering. Roman opened his mouth several times to speak, but nothing would come out as much as he willed them to. With a s disappointed narrow of her eyes, she turned to her door. She pressed against him for a brief second before opening the door. "I'll see ya tomorrow, 'kay?" Without waiting for an answer, she stepped inside and closed it behind her.
When the door clicker, Roman still stood glued to the spot; his mouth was still agape with unformed words. Feeling infuriated with himself, he walked slowly down the steps and down the winding dirt path from the farm house. He kicked at a few stray pebbles and hung his head. Yet another missed opportunity.
Applejack stood in her living room, listening to Roman's hoofsteps as they faded away. She closed her eyes and stood there a few moments longer before making her way to the couch, where she leaned over and shifted the curtain. She saw his cream and navy body trotting along the path. She moved away with a sigh and closed her eyes again. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked no one in particular. She'd thought she'd done everything right. Three dates was the right time, right? Why didn't he kiss her? She opened her eyes and frowned. She really fancied him, that much she knew. He treated her with more respect than she thought she deserved. He laughed at her jokes, his eyes lit up when he talked. His voice reminded her of water: deep, cool, and mysterious. She smiled just thinking about him and rested her head on her foreleg. Her smiled vanished almost as soon as it had appeared and she covered her eyes. A whole other night wondering if he liked her back was ahead of her. She lifted her head and peeked out the window again. Roman had stopped walking and was now paused at the gate.
Roman stood with his hoof on the gate that lead into the Acres. His blue eyes looked behind him to see that the living room light in the farmhouse was still on and he thought he saw a tiny flash of orange in the window. He shrugged it off and opened the gate, the squeaking making him wince. He didn't step forward, he thought of Applejack. Her personality was just as beautiful as she was. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled and they put the sun to shame the way they lit up. Honesty and care dripped off of every word she spoke and Roman often found himself drowning in the depths of her wisdom. Her body wasn't bad either. She had the curves of a true hardworking mare who got the job done. Her hips were wide and shapely and her legs were long and muscled. Her blonde mane was hypnotizing the way it swung around and framed her face.
He grimaced at himself. She was so amazing, too good to lose. So why hadn't he kissed her? He pictured Applejack and himself on the porch, their lips locked. There were no tongues or moaning. Just a simple sweet kiss. He had her pushed gently against the wall, their eyes closed and heads tilted.
Then he pictured her pushing him away, asking why he hadn't done it earlier. She was questioning his feelings for her, her eyes brimming with tears. Roman snapped back to reality and found he was almost to tears as well. He made up his mind. He turned and reared up onto his hind legs before galloping back towards her house and veering off of the path so he could get back to her sooner.
Applejack was about to head upstairs when she decided to take another peek out her window. She walked softly to the couch and squinted her eyes. They flew wide open in shock when she realized that he was running back tot he house. Back to her. She flung herself at the door and tried to turn the knob, forgetting that she'd locked it. She heard his steps at the door and with a hiss of annoyance, turned the lock and stepped out. Roman was there, his left hoof raised as he were about to knock. She swallowed and closed the door behind her. Green eyes met blue as they both raised up, wrapping each other in a tight embrace and pressing their lips together. Applejack's back hit the door and she felt the stallion's hooves resting on her hips. She moved her own hooves to his neck and held him close, tilting her head to the side. Their tongues never touched and they just wrapped themselves in the warmth of each other's lips.
After what could of been a second or a thousand years, they pulled apart, both out of breath after their passionate kiss. They stood on their hind legs, leaned against the door of the house. Applejack smiled at Roman, who felt exhilarated from his ears to his tail. Her eyes darted away before coming right back and she took a deep breath. "Roman, I ain't gonna lie. I like you. A lot."
Roman chuckled and reached a hoof up to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah, I can tell." He smiled and rested his hoof back on the orange mare's hips, which prompted her to shiver slightly. "I like you too." Celestia, he was bad at this.
But again, Applejack didn't seem to mind the lack of thought in his answer. "Does this make us official?"
Roman shook his head and Applejack looked down. "Oh, well, i-if you don't... I mean, we..."
Roman placed a hoof over her rambling lips and smiled as her voice faded. "We're not official until I ask properly," He leaned in close and kissed her on the forehead before pressing his own against her. "Applejack, will you be my marefriend?"
Applejack smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into him until their chests touched. "Absolutely."
Roman gave her a quick peck on the lips before releasing her and they both fell back onto all fours. Applejack grinned and turned back to the door, opening it with a turn of the knob and small push. "G'night."
"Goodnight, Applejack." He answered as the door shut. He stepped off the porch in a refined fashion, but took off in a gallop at the last step, bellowing out his happiness for all of Equestria to hear, as he made his way to the gate.