> The Day I Became A Millionaire
>  by Ribe_FireRain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Day I Became A Millionaire (extension)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Day I Became A Millionaire



By BurningMockingJay


The Day Before,

I, like most people have dreamed of becoming a millionaire. There are many things that can allow you to be a millionaire, and sometimes that is in the way of fame, allowing more fortune whatever your dream may be. Jobs such as film industry can make you a millionaire, but because I aren't that kind of person, I tried my hand at buying a couple lottery tickets.

I didn't really expect much or anything from it. I knew there wasn't that much of a probability of winning at lottery, but it was worth a shot. I remember sitting there, waiting for the lottery to start, and when it did, I could feel my body tense up with anticipation. I kept my eyes locked onto the ticket, checking the numbers as I heard them be read out by the announcer. It was kinda like bingo, apart from there was big money in it. Tonight's draw was ten-million pounds. 

10, 34, 67, 45, 21, 73

The announcer read on the TV. I checked my ticket numbers, eager for the truth of winning. First ticket was a downer, not even a single number that was read out. Second ticket and my heart froze. All the numbers were exactly correct! I have just won ten-million quid just from a row of random numbers! 

I pretty much bounced around the room in excitement as joy coursed through my body. Maybe now my dreams can be a reality! I knew just where to start, too.

Tomorrow, 

It felt great to finally of achieved something that wasn't so easy to get, and where it lead me was crazy but seriously something of my liking. With the newly added weight in my wallet, I decided to buy the one things I've wanted since I was younger. A Ford Mustang. Yes, that's right, a Mustang. I've driven cars like it but the only difference was that they weren't as sleek or as expensive as the Mustang. 

Even I couldn't explain why I liked them so much. I could of said it was the looks, but it seems more than just the bodily structure of the beast it is. I was at the dealership and only spent a small fraction of the money I had won the day before. Luckily, the Mustang with the 'sale' sign was the same colour I wanted it to be - a shiny, dark red. The insurance needed for it wasn't cheap, either, but it really didn't matter to me because at the moment I was loaded.

I thought the car looked great with my new black suit jacket and slate jeans. I was all set to take the car home, feeling as joyous as I was when I won the lottery. With the excitement going on in my head, I decided I would go and give the car a test run around the roads just outside of town.

I found the car goes quite fast even before I left the city. I was going at around fifty miles per hour on the roads, luckily not being spotted by any cops. Finally getting outside, though, was more fun. The surrounding areas had roads that twisted and turned at sharp angles and I couldn't think of a better way to try out the new car. I knew how to turn sharply in wet or dry conditions without flipping the car over, so I wasn't exactly that worried about anything. Other than damaging the car, of course.

I drove fast, the speedometer going over seventy as I went straight along, just before a turn to the left. Adrenaline passed through my veins as I felt the wind hit my face from the open window next to me. I pulled the handbrake, swiveling ever so slightly before I slammed my foot on the pedal, and I could of sworn I felt a vibration from the pistons in the engine. Because of the Mustang being a V8, you could really feel the vibration if you press the pedal hard enough.

The feeling was unbelievablely intense! All there was was me, the car and road full of bends and turns. I drove like a man possessed for like half an hour before I came to a straight road that appeared to go on for ages - a perfect chance to see how fast the car could go without turning. There was barely any traffic on the road, so now was a good a time as any. I put the clutch into action, the wheels scraping on the asphalt, kicking it up behind the car before I released the brake, sending the car leaping forward as it began to pick up speed. The force made me get pushed slightly back in my seat as it began to build up past one hundred MPH, the sound of the wind now intensifying as I felt it brush the side from my head from the open window, making my hair dance rapidly.

All of a sudden, when the getting was good, a bright, white light made it impossible for me to see where I was going, instinctively making me shield my eyes with my arm. I would of slammed my foot on the brake pedal, but my mind was tight in panic mode. Surely, if I crashed at this speed, I would be dead in an instant. I felt the car come off of the ground as it plummeted into a blunt object, presumably a tree, and I immediately felt an intense pain in one of my arms and the calf on my leg before I blacked out.

To Be A Millionaire For A Day (In An Alternate World),

When I awoke, I found that I was laying on top of the hood of my car. My leg hurt and so did my arm, but that compared nothing to how much my head ached. I placed my hand to my brow and quickly retracted it upon feeling a searing pain run through it, and that's when I found quite a fair amount of blood covering the palm of my hand.

In front of me, I saw that the Mustang had indeed hit a tree, the whole front smashed and dented inwards. I really hoped it wasn't destroyed completely, or undriveable. I noticed that I was surrounded by snapped and fallen branches and leaves, some big but not thick ones just next to me. Surely they won't support my weight. I'd be lucky if I didn't end up on my face if I tried to walk without one.

Forcing myself forward, I gripped the side of the car with one hand and one of the branches in another. Taking in a deep breath, I placed the stick on the ground and slowly pushed myself off of the car, and like I thought, landed directly on my face as the branch snapped in two with little effort, making me scream out loud in pain as my leg hit the floor with more force than I'd of wanted.

Great, now what? 

I tried to turn, but could barely even move my whole body from the stiffness around my waist from the position I've been in while I was knocked out. Using my good hand, I tried to clumsily grab the side of the now dented car to pull myself up. Thankfully, I grabbed it with enough force that I could allow myself to stand up. Using my good leg, I got myself off of the ground and kept my balance by holding the car.

In the time, I realized something. I could of sworn I was dead. The surroundings were nothing like back on the roads I was driving on; in fact, there were no roads. Not even one single trace of one. This place seemed more colourful and cheerier than where I was before. I didn't really believe in heaven or hell, but if they were real, I'd imagine it to be like this.

''Hey! You alright?'' A sweet, southern-sounding feminine voice called out from behind me. I turned my head to see behind me, and I froze up, my heart starting to pound softly in my chest. I didn't see a human, but more or less an animal. She had a pretty, cherry-ish red hair with a pink ribbon tied into it and soft yellow fur and orange eyes. 

I couldn't respond. All I could do was stare. She had worry in her eyes and I could also tell she was just as scared as I may of been, but she didn't show it. ''Can you talk?'' She asked, her worry rising as she kept her orange eyes locked onto my brown ones. I just mumbled, struggling to find my voice. I felt as if I had no vocal chords, but if I did, I sure as hell couldn't feel them. She reached out a limb to me, a hoof, and reached towards me, only to make me fall forward onto my face again, this time knocking me out for the second time in a day.


***  ***  ***


When I woke up (again) I could feel something wet on my forehead, and looking up, I could see those same orange eyes from before, looking down at me. I didn't know who she was, but I'm sure she wasn't going to kill me or leave me for dead. She was dabbing a cloth onto my head, clearing the blood trail that had made a faint mark down my cheek and past my ear. It hurt, but I didn't have the strength to retaliate. 

I wasn't complaining that I couldn't feel my leg, either. Wait, WHAT?! I raised my head, immediately regretting doing so as I felt pain surge through my skull, making me drop it back down on whatever I was laying on.

''Whoa, careful there. You're pretty battered up, jus' take it easy. Don't wanna hurt nuthin' else, do we?'' She said, her voice surprisingly calm. She placed a hoof on my shoulder, and this time I didn't move. Her touch was soft and her coat looked silky and soft. For the first time, I could really see her. She didn't look that old either. Because she was an animal, I couldn't really estimate an age, but she didn't look like she was past twenty, just like me.  What I did find odd was the tattoo on her thighs - an artists brush and pallet with different coloured paints on it.

I could tell that from that curious look she was giving me, she was also looking me over. I couldn't tell if she was curious or just scared. She walked over to my legs and looked them over. I cringed softly as she touched my injured one with a hoof. 

''Ow! Hey, that hurt! A lot!'' I said through clenched teeth, making her jump back a bit. Her eyes were smaller now, and she had them fixed on me, allowing me to know just how scared she was.

''You talk?!'' She exclaimed.

''Of course I do. I'm not stupid, you know.'' I sighed, still looking at her. ''Sorry, it's just...I aren't used to being knocked out cold twice in a day.'' I smiled softly, trying to not make her uneasy in my presence. She slowly came up next to me and gave me a serious look.

''Not like Ah mean you any harm, but please don't do that again. Not jus' for mah sake, but for yours. You're hurt pretty bad. If mah family finds that Ah took you in from the fields and brought ya into the barn, I'll get into trouble. Who knows what'd happen to ya if Ah left ya'll out there.'' She smiled at me, followed by a small frown.  I couldn't help but smile back.

''Was I really worth the trouble? I mean, you don't know me and I don't know you, but you seem decent enough to of taken me in after you found me. I just don't wanna be a bother.'' I said, looking into her still worry-filled eyes.

''As long as ya ain't no trouble, we'll get along jus' fine.'' She said to me, a warm smile upon her lips. ''By the way, I'm Apple Bloom and this is Sweet Apple Acres.'' 

''Ha, I like that,'' I chuckled softly, ''I'm Matt. Nice to meet you, Apple Bloom.'' I shook her hoof, a small but noticeable blush upon her cheeks. She kept silent as she continued to look over my wounds. She had already patched my head up, using a small white bandage and antiseptic. When she looked at my leg, I could tell she knew it was bad. I clenched my teeth and tried to ignore the burning pain as she applied antiseptic to the gash in the side of my calf. From the feeling, it was pretty deep and I knew I wouldn't be walking for quite some time.

My arm didn't feel bad but I knew something was either broken or just bruised pretty badly. As time passed, the silence was getting kinda awkward. I tried to find something to occupy my mind by looking around the barn. It wasn't anything from your average barn, but it was tidier and more organized than any I've seen in the past. It didn't smell of anything but hay and straw. Hay bales were stacked in one side of the barn at the back and it continued to the other side, like brick work.

Pitchforks and various farm tools and equipment were hung up and arranged on the walls along with a few lassos. On tables in front of the tools and equipment were other things in bottles and tubs, presumably disinfectant and a few medical supplies if there were an accident. Given the circumstances, it was a lucky thing there was some medicine in the barn. Much like Apple Bloom's hair colour, the barn's interior was a hue of red with white lines in certain areas. For a while, nothing was said between us. As I admired the scenery around us, Apple Bloom came back to my side and rested a hoof on my shoulder.

''Alrighty, then, Ah've done what I can, but I doubt ya'll be walkin' anytime soon. I guess you'll need to stay put for now.'' She smiled again, this time a little softer. ''Just promise me ya won't make too much noise. If mah sis finds out about this, Ah'm gonna be in trouble.''

''I promise. I can barely even move, but there is still a slight issue. You see, when you found me, I crashed my car into that tree. I'm gonna have to hide it someplace before a fuss is started.''

''Huh? What's a car? Ya know what, nevermind. It wasn't too far from the orchard, but ya lucky it was in the west orchard. Hardly nopony goes there anymore.'' She removed her hoof, turning for the barn doors. Before she could reach the door, I called out to her.

''Hey, Apple Bloom? Thanks. You know, for saving me while I was out there. I owe you one.'' She gave me a grateful smile and nodded her head.

''T'aint  nothin'. Ya don't owe me one. You were hurt so Ah helped ya. I'll see ya soon.'' 

And then she left, leaving me alone on this hay bale that was going to serve as a bed for as long as I was going to be laid up. She may of only been an acquaintance, but I could tell we were gonna get along just fine. With nothing to do, I laid my aching head down on the hay, staring up at the red ceiling of the barn, lost in my thoughts.

If there was one thing that I wanted to know, it was how did I get here? More importantly, what is this place? Apple Bloom said that this was Sweet Apple Acres, and from what I could of guessed, the ''apple'' and ''acres'' must of meant that it was a type of apple farm. My thoughts, however, seemed to trace to the crash, from when I was down the road, driving like a maniac and then crashing into a tree after...huh...I couldn't recall. Oh, well, it could wait. Right now, I wanted to get some well-needed sleep. Today's events have really taken it out of me.


***  ***  ***


''Mornin', sleepy-head. Feelin' better?'' Apple Bloom grinned as she came into the barn, awakening me from my slumber. I felt a little groggy as I looked over to her, seeing that soft and sweet smile that seemed ever so inviting. I didn't know how long I slept, but the window near the top of the barn gave me the telling that the time was around twelveish. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get them to focus properly. ''Celestia, you're out like a light bulb when ya'll are tired. I came back shortly after Ah left, and ya'll were dead to the world.'' She chuckled softly, to which I just scratched my head awkwardly.

''You did, huh? Well, what's up?'' I asked her, now feeling myself to wake.

''Nothin's up with me, that is what Ah should be askin' you.'' She motioned to my wounds with a hoof. 

''Oh, right. Well, I feel better, thanks to you. If you didn't find me when you did, I would of probably hurt myself even more or got caught by something or someone.'' This time I smiled, a soft blush appearing on her cheeks. ''Another thing, though, remember me saying I needed to move my car? I kinda need to get along with that. I should be able to walk. Doesn't feel like a fracture.''

''No way, no how I'm eva gonna let ya go out with that leg, Matt. You're right about not breaking it, but you did damage your calf pretty bad.'' She frowned at me, those orange eyes like garnets. 

''Please, Apple Bloom? I can't just lay here. I really need to make sure that I can still walk, ligament damage or not. Please?''

''No, I can't. I don't want ya to be gettin' even more hurt than you are. Besides, Macintosh and Applejack are in the fields today, if they spot you, I dunno what'll happen.'' Apple Bloom explained, still looking at my injured leg. I sat myself upright so I could face her properly. Looking at her from the side seemed to make my neck ache. She tried to stop me by getting in front of me, but I carried on, anyway. I slowly put pressure on my left leg, feeling a little amount of pain before I felt it intensify, causing me to drop into Apple Bloom's side. Surprisingly, she managed to keep me up. She was stronger than she looked. Wrapping a hoof around me, she carefully set me back down on the hay bale.

''Now, I told ya not to try an' walk! Jus' do yaself a favor and don't try that one again. Please?'' She scowled with a serious glare in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel bad at trying to do something I was told not to. I didn't bother laying down, either. I figured that sitting up would help my blood flow return to normal. My head was already feeling a little better.

''I'm sorry, Apple Bloom.'' I said apologetically, trying to ignore the pain that was still present in my leg.

''I'll check in on ya later, Matt, I gotta go help Applejack and Big Mac in the orchard. Jus'...don't do nuthin' stupid, okay?'' She said, to which I nodded slowly before she smiled in approval and headed back out of the barn and into the orchards. I gotta admit, she was a strong one. Even though I knew I said I wouldn't cause trouble, I also knew that I needed to get to my car and get it someplace safe. Maybe I could bring it back here? There was enough space, but what if one of the other family members of Apple Bloom's family comes in here and sees it? I don't want to get her in trouble, she deserves more than that, especially after what she did for me. 

Sitting here was boring enough and just made me want to do something. Anything. I wanted to prove that I could walk, but I didn't see anything like a crutch that I could of used. All the tools were on the other side of the barn, and I could barely even move a nano-meter without falling or hurting myself even more than I'd like. Steeling my nerves, I held a support beam not too far out of reach and gripped onto it as I pulled myself to my feet, keeping my left one up as to avoid making contact with the ground and risk falling over with no way to get back up. 

As carefully as I could, I hoped my way over to the other side of the room, thankfully without much difficulty. I may of stumbled and nearly fell once or twice, but I managed to keep myself upright. I held myself up with my weight by supported by the table with medicines on it and took a gander at the tools, seeing what I could use. A pitchfork? No, if I fell on that, it would be the end of me. A cane? No, too flimsy. A hoe? Perfect! A hoe was enough like a walking stick and would be just what I needed! Taking it from the wall, I placed it in my good hand, the sturdiness of the tool holding me upright. Smiling, I began to hop my way out of the barn.


***  ***  ***


When I was outside of the barn, I tried to stay cautious of my surroundings, should I run into trouble. I limped across the sides of the fields, trying to find my car. Apple Bloom said that it was in the west orchard, but I don't really know which direction is which. That being the case, I just wandered around aimlessly. I just had to remember to get back before it was too late. If my car still worked, I could get back in an instant, but my only concern was that the crash may of loosened a few things or damaged the clutch.

I have no telling or knowledge of the area or which general direction I was going in, but it must of been the right way because I could see something red in the distance, not so far away. My Mustang. Happy to see it again, I quickened my pace. Finally getting up to it, I sat in the driver's seat, stroking the leather seat before I looked underneath the steering wheel. The keys were still there, but would it safely activate the ignition in the engine?

Without thinking, I turned the keys, and the engine began to sputter as if it was choking on something solid. I tried again, getting the same result. Confused, I pulled the latch for the hood next to the steering wheel and limped towards the engine block. Opening the hood, I immediately saw that a branch was stuck inside the fan, having gone straight through the grille on the front. I pulled it out with little effort, checking the other parts of the engine to make sure they were all in good condition. The actual engine was the best thing about the car. The chrome-coloured finish on it was what I liked the most. Because this Mustang was a GT, it was more powerful and had more of a rumble whenever it was turned on.

Closing the hood with an audible clicking sound, I sat back in the driver's seat and turned the key for the third time, but still got nothing. Was this thing actually busted? I really hoped not. I paid a lot for this vehicle, and if it was going to break within the hour or so I had it, I truly had no place for it in my life. Getting another idea, I took hold of the gear stick and put in in reverse before I released the handbrake. I doubted that I would be able to move the car in my current state, but it was worth the shot.

Getting out of the driver's seat, I used the hoe for support while I used my good arm to puck on the frame, the car only moving back slightly before hitting against the tree again. Now I was starting to get frustrated. Out of all the times I could of been injured, it had to be know that it happened. I needed to move the car, but I couldn't. I tried and tried and tried, but trying to shift it backwards wasn't going to help. I moved to the side, pushing against the engine block to try and push it to the left, eventually succeeding. Smiling to myself, I went back behind the steering wheel and turned it left. Because of the level of the terrain, the car began to move downhill.

This time I was scared to be behind the wheel. I knew how easy it would be to flip the car in a situation like this, should I apply the handbrake.
The speedometer obviously didn't work, but from a logical guess, judging from the sound of the wind, I was maybe going at thirty miles per hour. I could already see the barn, as well as Apple Bloom and whom I guessed to be her brother and sister working in the fields, harvesting apples. I really hoped she didn't see this, but she'll clearly know that I went to go get the car once she comes back to the barn.

Getting closer and closer by the second, I pulled the handbrake and heard the break disks screeching as they were tightly pressed against by the pistons, kicking up grass and soil, eventually bringing the car to a stop just outside of the barn on the sandy-coloured asphalt covered ground. I got out and opened the barn doors as quickly as I could, moving back to the car so I could push it inside, putting it into first gear before doing so. It wasn't as hard as it was while I was uphill, so I managed to get it inside with little effort.

I sat there for a while, looking at the insides of the car, just seeing how damaged it was. The windscreen had a hole in it about the size of my body width and had cracks running aimlessly around it. The strange thing is that I don't remember getting thrown out of my seat and through the windscreen, although I guess it explains why I was in the hood of my car when I woke up. The front of the car had multiple indentations on it and the symbol of the running horse on the centre of the grill was just lucky enough to of not lost it's head when I crashed. I still couldn't explain why the car wouldn't start, but I would of though a collision such as what the car took may of knocked out or damaged a few connections or fuses. Either that or I was out of petrol, and that would be a problem seeing as I had no clue where I could find some.

Perhaps I could find and use some tools in the barn to help me fix it, but I'd need Apple Bloom's permission first, if none of her family know I'm here, that is. As if on cue, Apple Bloom came charging through the barn doors, quickly closing them, her hooves moving feverishly. She stopped and glared at me with angry eyes, those orange iris's burning like fire.

''Are ya'll crazy?! I told ya not to do nuthin' stupid! Just what where ya thinkin'?!'' She breathed heavily, etching closer to me, making me cower backwards, falling on the driver seat of the Mustang. ''Do you have any idea what mah family would do or say if they knew about this?! I thought you promised me you wouldn't do this!''

Wow, I guess I did annoy her quite a lot. I didn't know her as good, but I could tell she wasn't the mad type. ''Bloom, I'm sorry, I did promise you that I wouldn't do anything stupid. I just wanted to prove that I could walk, I-'' 

And then she slapped me. Right in the cheek.

''I don't care 'bout that, Matt! First off, you could've been hurt or killed and second, my family could of seen it and who knows what they'd do to ya'll after they find out what you are!'' She continued to glare at me, those eyes reading nothing but plain anger. Or sadness. I honestly and seriously didn't think that she would react like this or that I could of hurt her. I knew I already cared about her, but now I was feeling nothing but guilt over what I've done to her.

''Apple Bloom,'' I said, rubbing my semi-sore cheek with a hand. ''if I knew you'd react like this, I wouldn't of even bothered trying to get my car back. I'm truly sorry if I hurt you, I mean it.'' I reached a hand to her shoulder, but she swatted it away.

''You just don't get it, do you? I could of lost you! How would I explain it if my big sister or brother found out?!'' She had a bit of a sad emotion building up in her eyes, the small tears becoming noticeable. She backed away and ran through the doors, the sniffles being audible just before before she left. 

What have I done?


***  ***  ***


Apple Bloom barged through the door of the farm house, not even bothering to stop and talk with Granny nor Applejack or Big Macintosh as she ran upstairs into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her before she flopped onto her bed and started crying heavily into her pillow. 
Her thoughts only lingered on Matt as she cried, the pillow becoming drenched in a matter of seconds. She barely had a moment to herself before she heard a knock at her door, followed by a voice that could only be described as Applejack's.

''Bloom? You alright?'' Applejack asked softly from the other side of her door.

''Go...g-go away!'' Applebloom shouted back from behind her pillow, only imagining how loud her sobs were from behind the door to her bedroom. Applejack, not being able to watch another family member be sad and cry gently pulled on the latch to her sister's room, seeing her on the bed, her eyes now filled with worry. She gently trotted over to her bedside and sat next to Apple Bloom placing a hoof to her shoulder, only for it to be knocked away by her hoof. ''I said go away! Leave me alone!'' Apple Bloom continued to cry, concerning her sister even more.

''What's wrong, Bloom? What's got ya'll upset? Come on, ya can tell me.'' Applejack smiled as she put a hoof around Apple Bloom's barrel, pulling her close to her chest. 

''I-I-I can't tell ya, AJ, Ah just can't!'' Bloom cried, gently pushing herself off of Applejack's chest, her sad expression was more than worrying. In fact, Applejack can't remember ever seeing Apple Bloom as sad as she was now. It was one of the few sights that made her heart ache. Whenever a family member was upset about something, no matter how big or small, Applejack would always be determined to find out the reason as to why they are upset. 

''Why not, sis? Is it those young, rich fillies again?'' Applejack asked with a slightly raised brow, knowing the history between the two.

''N-No. It has nothin' to do with Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. AJ, Ah'd really rather not talk 'bout it. Can ya just leave me alone for a while?''

''Apple Bloom, you know I'm here for you, but if that's how you feel, I can't stop you from feelin' that way. Jus' know I'm here if you need to talk.'' Applejack said before hugging her little sister and leaving her alone.

Downstairs, Granny and Big Mac watched Applejack's every step as she descended down the stairs and made her way towards the couch, seating herself besides Big Macintosh. They all just listened in silence for a short while, listening to the cries of Apple Bloom from above, the choked sobs echoing down the corridor and through the ceiling.

''What's up with her?'' Macintosh asked Applejack, still listening to the cries from above, to which Applejack sighed before looking him in the eyes.

''I dunno, Big Macintosh. She won't tell me. Seems like somethin' has really upset her, though.'' 

''Eeyup.'' Macintosh replied in his usual, deep voice.

''Won't she talk, AJ?'' Granny asked, also still listening to her crying granddaughter. ''T'aint like Bloom to run upstairs in a mess.''

''Ah know, Granny,'' Applejack sighed again. ''but Ah'm determined to find out. Ah can't just leave her like that.''


***  ***  ***


I sat inside my car as I mindlessly played with the keys. My mind was elsewhere as I could only think of Apple Bloom. I just can't believe I didn't listen to her, after she warned me many times. I only understood her concerns after I did what I did. I have hurt her. I didn't even intend on it.
Right now, she was probably someplace crying her eyes out. When she told me how she felt if something could of gone wrong, I didn't know what to think. True, I do like her, but I guess that was the common emotion when somebody or somepony saves your life after a near-fatal accident.

I consider Apple Bloom as a friend, or maybe even more than that, but right now I needed to work on an apology. With my mind rolling in frustration, I feverishly forced the keys in their slot, making the engine sputter rapidly and eventually jump to life, startling me as it roared and the smell of petrol filled my nostrils. The dashboard beeped a few times as the HUD came on, highlighted in a blue glow, followed by a soft red needle for the speedometer. I gently pushed the accelerator, the engine buzzing loudly as the exhaust let out a small puff of smoke. The car vibrated and purred like a kitten as the engine hummed. 

I laughed softly out of relief before I turned the engine off, just realizing how loud it was in the silence of the upcoming night. I really hoped nothing living heard that. I returned to being bored, playing with my necklace; a small, silver gothic cross that used to belong to my grandmother before she passed it onto me, due to her dying of old age. Around twenty minutes passed before the barn doors opened again, causing me to cower in my seat behind the steering wheel over fear of thinking it was one of Apple Bloom's family.

''Matt? Matt, ya'll in here?'' I heard Apple Bloom's voice whisper. I looked up, seeing her look right back at me from the barn's entrance.
She didn't smile this time, but instead trotted slowly towards me, her hooves barely making a sound on the hay-covered floor. She stared at me for a short time before she latched herself onto my chest, hugging me tightly. ''Matt, I'm so, so sorry for hurtin' you earlier! I shouldn't of hurt ya, I swear I didn't mean to but-''

I placed a hand over her mouth, stopping her from talking, her eyes looking back into mine. ''Apple Bloom, you're not the one to be sorry, I am. I disobeyed you and didn't think straight, even after you took me in and helped me after I crashed my car into that tree. I hurt you. I'm the one who should be sorry. You wouldn't of been as sad as you were if I'd of just listened to you and stayed put.'' Saying nothing, I hugged her, feeling her warm body heat up my cold figure. We stayed in that position for what seemed like an eternity, and I have gotta say that it was the nicest moment I have ever experienced. I never even realized just how much I could care for someone until I met her. While I was embracing her, I could smell the scent in her mane - milk and honey. It just added pure bliss to the moment. And then I noticed her sniffling again.

''What's wrong?'' I said as I gently pushed her from my body, looking into her eyes, that were surprisingly glazed with tears. She didn't respond but instead held back onto me, nuzzling my neck.

''I-I jus' feel so bad for hitting you...'' She muttered softly, nearly sounding like a whisper.

''Don't feel bad, Bloom. If anything, I deserved it.'' I chuckled lightly, brightening her mood a little. ''Hey, Apple Bloom?''

''Hmm?'' She hummed as she closed her eyes, still holding onto me, cuddling my neck.

''You comfortable?'' I asked, a noticeable blush appearing on Apple Bloom's cheeks, brighter this time, like a rose candle. Her only response was her snuggling deeper into my neck, her mane tickling my chin as it teased my nose with the scent of her shampoo. I picked myself off of the driver's seat and lay myself down on a hay bale I had earlier placed next to my car, Apple Bloom on top of me. If she was already asleep, she was surely the quietest I've seen. I wrapped an arm around her barrel as I began to drift off into a deep sleep, my other hand resting on the back of her silky-soft red mane behind her neck.


***  ***  ***


''Apple Bloom? You in here?'' A feminine voice called out from the entrance of the barn, causing me to startle myself awake and make Apple Bloom jump, a soft gasp escaping her mouth as she struggled to get onto her hooves, only forcing her weight onto my chest, knocking half of the wind outta me.

''Sorry, sorry!'' She apologized in a whisper, her eyes going small upon hearing her sister's voice. ''Oh, pony feathers! It's Applejack! What do we do?!'' 

''Calm down, Bloom, just go out and tell her that you're here, I can get underneath the car. Now, go on, I'll be fine.'' Nodding, Apple Bloom quickly got off of me and went towards her sister, giving me time to crawl underneath the car.

''There ya'll are, Apple Bloom.'' Applejack said, relief in her voice. ''Why're you sleeping in the barn, missy? Me and Macintosh have been lookin' all over for ya! You had us worried when we couldn't find ya in ya room! Mind telling me what this is all about?''

''Applejack...I...I can't tell ya'll why...I'm sorry...'' Apple Bloom whimpered softly under her sister's glare.

''Don't give me ''sorry'', young lady. You've got an awful lot of explainin' to do. Mind tellin' me what this thing is?'' Applejack motioned over with her hoof to my Ford Mustang, her eyes full of wonder yet still held all that anger.

''No, I can't. Applejack, I can't...''

''Both of you stop.'' I called out, grabbing both of their attention, shocking Apple Bloom. ''No need to start a fuss. Nothing was Apple Bloom's fault. It was mine. I'm coming out.'' I pulled myself from underneath the car, brushing hay off of my jacket as I looked at them both, Apple Bloom's eyes holding shock and horror while Applejack's held only the horror, probably thinking I'm some kind of monster waiting or wanting to kill her.

''W-What are you? Who are you?'' Applejack asked, shivering a bit.

''I'm Matt. You must be Applejack, Apple Bloom's big sister? Look, I really don't want you to panic or be mad at Apple Bloom. None of this was her fault, Applejack. She saved me from death.'' Applejack looked at Apple Bloom, seeing her smile. I smiled too. 

''Bloom, you mean to tell me that you saved this creature's life before he could of died?'' Apple Bloom nodded slowly, wondering what Applejack's reaction would be. ''Well, I think you did a good deed for him, Bloom, a very good deed. That still doesn't explain...that, though.'' She pointed at my car.

''Oh, that? That's my car. A Ford Mustang. I crashed it into one of your trees in the west orchard a few days ago. Ever since then, Apple Bloom's been taking care of me. If you're gonna blame anybody, you should blame me. I'm the one who crashed the car, not Bloom.'' I smiled to her, seeing a warm smile upon her own lips. 

''Am Ah missing something out, here? Something you both ain't tellin' me?'' She cast quizzical looks to both me and Apple Bloom, blushes burning our cheeks like candles.

''Uh...no, not really. I'm just entirely grateful for all she's done for me.'' I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, looking anywhere but Applejack or Apple Bloom. ''I...I don't know what else to say...'' I admitted, seeing the look on Apple Bloom's face transform into that of a weak smile.

''Why don't ya work on it while me and AJ get brunch started? That way, you'll get a chance to meet mah family!'' Her smile brightened, and when she turned to Applejack, she smiled, too. She looked into my eyes, still holding that expression.

''I think that's a swell idea, Apple Bloom! I jus' gotta go and tell Big Mac and Granny, first. Don't want Macintosh to knock him into ground without an explanation.'' She chuckled softly, looking back to her sister. I didn't really see Macintosh as good when I first saw him, but from the way Applejack said it, I couldn't help but think of a bull running me over, which is probably what she meant. I would rather crash the car again than be hit with a bull while it charges at full speed, honestly. Applejack then walked out of the barn, leaving me and Apple Bloom behind. She smiled again, yet her eyes had that tint in them that was worry. She sat down on the hay-strewn floor and looked right at me.

''Matt? About mah family...like AJ said, you should be careful around mah brother. Bic Mac can be a little over protective sometimes. Would ya be okay with it? You know, meetin' 'em?'' I knelt down beside her, holding her shoulder as I looked into those orange gems of hers.

''Of course I am, Apple Bloom. I don't really know what else to say other than...thank you.''  


***  ***  ***


I accompanied Apple Bloom to the farm house and when I was brought into the home, I felt an inviting warmth. The house looked pretty old, but it sure looked cozy. The flooring was that of simple, oak wood planks and the walls were painted a soft, cream colour with the same wooden planks lining the bottom half of each wall. The living room had a small table in front of a couple sofas and there was also a rocking chair in the far corner of the room. Anyone with a brain who saw the exterior or interior of the house could guess right away that it has been here for a very long time, and admittedly, I already liked it.

Apple Bloom smiled when she saw me admiring the scenery of the house. I was taking it all in that slowly that I barely even noticed a red face staring down at me and into my eyes. When I came to, I realized that the look in his eye was one of untold anger, all aimed at me, each and every bit of it. He was more or less an angry, red giant. His eyes were green and his mane was a shade of orange, and on his thigh was a tattoo, this one of a green apple half, showing a few pip seeds. He was also one big bulk of a pony, probably the strongest I've seen so far. It was clear that this was Bic Macintosh.

''So, you're this Matt I've been hearing about?'' His voice was deep, even more than mine. He seemed to etch closer to me, stopping just a few centimeters away from my nose, and I could already feel the fear building up just by his stare. I didn't even want to know what he'd do if I wronged him. He could possibly kill me with his bare hooves. All I could do was nod as a response, the fear freezing my vocal chords. ''Just before ya'll start getting all friendly-like or too close with mah lil' sister, I'm gonna warn you once and only once that if you ever wrong her, Ah'm gonna come after ya. That clear?'' He continued to glare at me, and at that threat, I seemed to freeze up all together. 

Before it could go on any further, Apple Bloom placed herself between us, holding Macintosh back with her hooves pressed to his chest. I could also see that small blush upon her cheeks again. 

''Bic Mac! Cut it out, will ya? It ain't like that, I jus' saved his life! That's all, we're just friends!'' She defended me, Big Mac eventually backing off, taking one final glare at me before walking off to what I presumed was the kitchen. ''You alright?'' Bloom asked as she turned to me.

''Y-Yeah. Fine, thanks.'' I managed, right before she nudged me towards the kitchen, where I saw Applejack and who I presumed was Granny Smith. She looked pretty old, her legs appearing as though they could barely support her weight, but she did look good for her age. Her coat was a light shade of green and her mane was a bleach-white colour, and like Apple Bloom, had eyes that were orange. Around her neck, she wore a yellow and orange checkered scarf. Her 'mark' on her thighs was an apple pie.

''Hey, Granny? This is Matt.'' Apple Bloom said, motioning a hoof to me, causing the old mare to turn from whatever she was occupied with and faced me, her face surprisingly adorned with a smile. I was actually expecting a bit of hostility from her, let alone Big Macintosh. She shakily trotted over to me and grabbed my hand with a wrinkled hoof, shaking it with fast pace, a speed of which I wouldn't of ever though an old being to have.

''Well howdy, Matt! Mah lil' Apple Bloom has told me a lot about ya'll! Gotta say, its nice to see another friendly face on our land that isn't a timber wolf.'' 

''What's a timber wolf?'' I asked, utterly confused. Bloom tapped my shoulder.

''Trust me, ya'll don't wanna know.'' She shivered a bit, as did Applejack. After me and Granny Smith were acquainted, she went back to doing whatever she was doing before and left me and Apple Bloom together. Because of the kitchen area being fully occupied with Bic Mac helping out, we both found a seat together on the sofa in the living room. In her hooves, she held a worn, old book, about the size of a photo album. She decided to show me some of the old pictures of the family, including her as a filly. I thought she looked pretty cute as a kid. When I chuckled softly at one of the pictures of her and Applejack together, hugging close, she playfully punched me in the arm, only prompting me to laugh harder.

A few photos of her and the others together, she ended up with a picture that displayed what I guessed to be the entire Apple Family. Along the front of the picture were some of the kids, including Apple Bloom, and in front of them was Applejack, laid on her side with a hoof in the air and a massive grin on her face. Granny smith and all the other adults were all together on the back couple rows, smiling for the camera.

''Wow, that's one big family.'' I said, wondering what it must of been like to have that many members in just one family. From what I counted, there was over thirty! An average family would only have around two or three kids, but that many? Unbelievable.

''Yeah, I know. Family's grown even more than that in the past, as Ah found out when the next family reunion came up. Couldn't barely move since there was quite a few of us.'' She closed the photo album, placing it beside her.

''Family reunion? As in everyone in the family gets together? In one place?'' 

''Yep. Sweet Apple Acres is big, but what the family's like now? Not a chance.'' She chuckled.

''Alright, you two, brunch is ready! Move ya caboose!'' Granny called from the kitchen, Apple Bloom dragging me from the seat I was sat on and getting me to my feet. In the kitchen, the other Apple's were seated at the table, plates with apple pancakes and apple fritters neatly placed on them. I took a seat, Apple Bloom taking the one beside me. In front of me was Applejack and beside her was Bic Macintosh while Granny Smith occupied the table's end.

''Looks pretty good, Granny Smith.'' I complemented, earning a smile from the elderly pony.

''Thank ya kindly. When ya've been 'round the stove for as long as Ah have, you learn right quick how to cook. Course, Applejack helps me when Ah need her.'' She nodded to her granddaughter whom tilted her hat to her in return. Minutes passed and we had all dug into our plates. Gotta hand it to them both, it tasted great! Probably the greatest I've ever tasted. I noticed Applejack watching me for a brief second.

''Something on your mind?'' She asked me, sensing my thoughts. I looked up, meeting eyes with her.

''Huh? N-No, not really. Just thinking.'' I said pretty bluntly. By now, she probably knew that it was a lie. 

''It don't look like ya'll are jus' thinkin'. I know it ain't mah business, but I can't help but notice you look troubled. Something wrong?''

Wow, really? That was a quick guess...I didn't think it was that obvious. 

''Okay, yes, I do have something on my mind, but I'd really rather not talk about it.'' I said as I placed down my fork and sat up straight in my chair.

''Hey, Matt? What's that?'' Apple Bloom pointed to my neck with a hoof, right at my silver necklace.

''It's a pendant. It was passed onto me from my grandmother when she died when I was seventeen.'' I picked it out of my white shirt, showing her the pendant's silver structure. It was a gothic cross, though I never knew why my grandmother would own such a thing. I didn't really seem like her type of thing. It had fancy marking around the edges, each one done with care, displaying lines that looked like waves in a posh font. 

''It's pretty.'' Apple Bloom said, smiling as she looked into my eyes again. ''I'm sorry to hear about your granny, Matt.'' She leaned forward slightly and wiped a couple tears from my face, ones I didn't even feel. Up until now, I only just realized how homesick I really was. I missed my parents. They're probably worried about me, but I knew that was all they can do because they would probably never see me again, and neither would I. 

''You okay?'' Applejack asked across from me, seeing my expression.

''Yeah, yeah, fine. I just...can't stop thinking of home.'' I sighed through my nostrils. ''Come to think of it, I dunno how I got here. One minute, I'm crashing my car into a tree, and next I wake up with my car smashed into a tree in one of your orchards only for Apple Bloom to find me. I swear, I don't know how I even survived it. I was lucky to not break my neck in that crash, let alone damage my leg and arm.''

''So, that's what happened?'' Granny asked from the end of the table. ''Bloom said you crashed, but from what we heard, it wasn't like that. T'was a good thing mah Apple Bloom found ya.'' She leaned over and gently ruffled Apple Bloom's mane. She took one look at me, and leaned next to my ear.

''Meet me upstairs in five minutes. Second door on the right.'' She whispered, making sure nopony at the table heard it, especially Big Macintosh. Getting up, I took our plates to the sink and after a quick wash-up, I made my way upstairs and found myself on a corridor, decorated the same way as the downstairs of the house, only with a few gas lanterns hanging from the walls. The corridor itself house five rooms, three on the left and two on the right. Like Apple Bloom said, I went up to the last door on the right and sighed softly before knocking gently against the old wooden door with my knuckles, the sound echoing quietly before disappearing into nothingness. I stood there for a few seconds before hearing Apple Bloom's voice on the other side, muffled by the thickness of the door.

Upon entering on command, I found her sitting on the edge of her bed, looking right at me. Her room wasn't really that much different than the downstairs, but it was tidy and houses a couple nightstands a wardrobe and a dresser. Despite her size, her bed was queen sized. From a random guess, I was thinking you could maybe fit twenty or so Apple Bloom's in it. She motioned for me to sit beside her, and sit beside her I did.

''So...howcome you asked me up here?'' I asked, feeling a little awkward. Apple Bloom only ruffled the sheets of her bed in an ever weirder fashion, making it clear that she did want to ask something.

''Matt, Ah...Ah um...wanted to talk about somethin'. Or more or less ask something. You see, I dunno what it's like where ya'll originally come from, but apparently, the weather team around here has scheduled a storm for tonight. It only jus' occurred to me that ya'll are still stayin' in the barn.'' 

Okay, now I was confused. What was her point? ''What're you getting at?'' I inquired, brow slightly raised.

''Ah...Ah wanted to see if ya would stay in here with me. Y'all know, as in mah room. I mean, mah bed's big enough for the two of us, and I barely even cover half by myself-''

''Whoa, whoa, what? Slow down, Apple Bloom.'' I stopped her, now seeing her appear uneasy. I couldn't even begin to think why she'd suggest such a thing. I mean, barns are meant to be strong enough to withstand harsh weather, and I didn't even notice any signs of age or weakening while I was laid up inside of the barn. And somehow, I doubt that the other family members, especially Big Mac would agree to such a thing as this. ''Apple Bloom...while I know what you mean, I just don't think that your family would agree to that. I mean, I have my car in the barn, I could just sleep in that.'' 

Apple Bloom shook her head. ''Nah, you can't. That barn was put up by me and Applejack a few years ago, and that is how I got my cutie mark,'' she pointed to the paint brush and pallet on her thighs. Oh, so that's what they're called. ''even though I built it to last, it has gotten weaker and weaker in the past after other storms were scheduled. I doubt it'd survive this one, so Ah don't think ya should go in there.''

So that's what it is. She doesn't want to risk anything over me dying. I had no idea. 

''Is that why you're protective of me? You're afraid of me risking my own life?'' I asked her, to which she blushed softly and nodded slowly a few times. For once I was flattered. I pulled her close to me, embracing her in a hug as I gently stroked her very silky and vanilla-scented mane.

''Does this mean ya'll stay?'' She asked with a sweet smile on her lips. I nodded again before I returned the smile. 


***  ***  ***


The floorboards of the ancient farm house creaked beneath my feet as I walked towards the front door. Apple Bloom was right about there being a storm, and the first signs of it had already began to show. Outside it was dark and gloomy, rain pattering against the windows like a ghost knocking for entry. I saw the trees blow in the wind, telling me it was strong and probably going to become stronger as time progresses.

I buttoned my suit jacket and looked to the staircase where I listened against the wind for the sound of steps against the wood. Hearing nothing, I placed a hand on the front door's handle and opened it, nearly being pushed off of my feet by the gust that greeted me. Leaves and branches flew everywhere like explosions, some even swatting me on the cheek. The air was cold, but luckily for me, the barn was just a couple miles to the right of the farm house.

Pushing myself against the wind, I made haste towards the barn. I know I told Apple Bloom that I'd stay with her, but I really needed to get my car out of there. I didn't really intend on paying as much as I did for it just for it to get crushed against gale forces and chunks and slabs of wood. By time I was half way there, the sky had gotten darker, the rain becoming heavier and heaving by the minute. 

Finally getting inside the barn, I pushed open the doors, feeling glad to know my car was still safe. Planning to get this done as quickly as I could, preferably before Apple Bloom finds out, I got inside the car and closed the door, about to turn the keys when I heard a voice. 

''Matt?! Matt?!'' 

Apple Bloom!

I got out of the car in a hurry, running to the doors of the barn and saw her not far from me, just coming down the path. She looked as though she was struggling against the wind and could barely keep herself straight. Her mane blew everywhere, partially blinding her. Before I could call out to her, I saw her legs give and she got blown clean off of her feet, like her legs were tied to a horse with a lasso. I watched her get dragged by the wind towards the orchard as thunder began to sound.

''APPLE BLOOM!'' I yelled, my mind going into panic. Acting fast, I rushed back into the car and turned the keys, the engine sputtering. No,no,no! Not now! I continued, eventually getting the engine to go. I pushed down on the pedal, and as I drove out of the barn in a hurry, I realized that it was dark and that my lights had smashed from the tree collision.

I saw Apple Bloom get rammed forcefully into a fence, going through it like it was nothing. It only urged me to go faster. I pushed the pedal harder, the engine forcing more power into the wheels. The car struggled against the wind, but there was no way in hell I was going to leave Apple Bloom out here without bringing her back. I drove through the orchard, going through a fence that lead into the deeper parts of the apple orchard. 

''Apple Bloom! APPLE BLOOM!? Can you hear me?!'' I shouted as loud as I could, my voice being drowned out by the bangs of thunder. I listened as hard as I could, hearing nothing but howls of wind and the thunder in the sky, followed by the now even heavier rain.

''Matt! Over here!'' I could barely hear her voice, but I knew it meant she was near here.

''Hang on, I'm coming!'' I pushed down the pedal again, this time the engine began to sputter. Looking to the petrol meter, it was just above empty. I screamed in frustration as I slammed my fist into the dashboard, denting the black leather. I got out, slamming the door shut with a metallic clang and looked around me, searching for Apple Bloom.

I pushed myself harder against the wind, just wanting to find her. I eventually did. She was leaning against a tree, her back turned to it as she lay in the mud on her side. I felt tears as I approached her as fast as I could. I placed my hand to her body and gently shook her. I couldn't feel any heat, and I was really hoping it was to do with the cold weather freezing my nerves and not what I hoped it wasn't. I undid my suit jacket and draped it over her body, picking her up in my arms. I held her close to my chest as I made for the farm house.

I just ran and ran, and even though my legs got tired from the force of the winds, I carried on. Forcing myself as hard as I could, I held her tighter, her muzzle resting on my neck and then I charged past the trees, seeing the farm house in the distance. When I reached the front door, I wasted no time in barging through the door and falling to my side, Apple Bloom's cold figure landing beside me. Despite having the wind taken out of me, I turned to her, eager to know if she was alright.

I placed my hand to her shoulder, shaking her, but she didn't respond. I was getting worried now. I pulled her closer, laying her on her back as I placed an ear to her chest, listening for a heart beat. I heard none. I now had tears going down my face as I placed both hands on her chest and began pushing, trying to bring her back. 

I pushed on her chest for a short while, trying to restart her heart but failed. I sealed her nostrils with my fingers and placed my lips on hers, sharing oxygen with her body to the best of my ability, occasionally pumping her chest, hoping to bring her back. At that same time, Applejack and Big Macintosh and Granny Smith came downstairs, presumably trying to find what all the noise was.

''What's all the-''

''COME ON!'' I yelled, stopping Applejack from talking as I kept pumping Apple Bloom's chest. I shared oxygen again and again, barely having any luck.

''Apple Bloom!'' Applejack cried, her eyes tearing up as she ran to her little sister's side. ''Apple Bloom?! Can ya'll hear me?! Apple Bloom!?''
She began to cry as she held her hoof. Soon enough, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were joining her upon seeing what was going on. 
I breathed into Apple Bloom's mouth again and again, still getting no response. It had been around five minutes and she hasn't shown any signs of life. 

''Matt?! You can't give up!'' Applejack sobbed as she still clung onto her sister's hoof. She looked me in the eye, trying to sense the hope that we all wanted, but if she were still alive, she would be awake right now.

''I've done all I can do, AJ. There's nothing else that can be done.'' I was crying heavily now. I held Apple Bloom's cheeks as I sat beside her, looking upon her sleeping face. ''This is my fault...'' I whispered as I choked back a sob, my eyes burning.

''Sis?'' Macintosh called softly as he himself was crying. He nudged her forehead with his muzzle, feeling the coldness of her body from the simple touch. ''Bloom?'' He planted a kiss to her forehead as he too began to weep. After a few moments, I picked her up, her body still in my jacket, and carried her upstairs while the others wept. 

I carried her back to her bedroom, pulling her sheets to one side before I placed her into it and tucked it to her chin, her face still emotionless.
I just sat there on the bedside, stroking her cheek, warming it from my temperature. I hugged her softly, kissing her on the lips as I pulled away. 

''I'm sorry, Apple Bloom. I'm so sorry.'' I wiped my hand over my eyes, taking away my tears. I turned to leave the room, taking a glance over my shoulder and when I got to the door frame, I heard something. Like a gasp, then shallow breathing. 

It can't be...

Apple Bloom had her head turned to me, her eyes looking into mine as a weak smile was spread on her lips. 

''Apple Bloom...?'' I whispered. I must be seeing things...

''M-M-Matt...'' She could only manage a whisper, weaker than a ghost's. I felt more tears run down my face, not ones of sadness, but of joy. I ran up to her side and hugged her, holding her tight, crying into her mane. I stroked her mane lovingly before I broke from the embrace. I ran to the door again and shouted down the hall, calling the others to tell them that she was alive. Within moments, the family came through the door and rushing to Apple Bloom's side, hugging her but also being careful not to take the wind from her. 

I just smiled at the scene. I sat in the corner just next to the door as the tears still ran down my cheeks. I couldn't believe it! Apple Bloom was alive! She was still here, living and breathing! Yet, though I should be supremely happy, which I was, I still couldn't help but feel guilty. I should of just told her that I needed to go outside and move my car someplace safer. 

Applejack came towards me, leaning to my level and wrapped her hooves around me, hugging me closely. Breaking from the embrace, she looked me in the eyes with her tear-stained emeralds with a smile upon her lips.

''T-T-Thank you, Matt! You saved mah sister! She's alive because of you! A-A-Ah can't thank ya'll enough!'' She hugged me again. The other Apple's looked at me, smiling grateful smiles. I looked towards Apple Bloom, seeing a weak smile. Despite her current state, I thought she was beautiful. I got up from the floor and walked over to her side, sitting on the bed. 

I leaned down, placing a kiss to her forehead before I hugged her closely. When I pulled away, I saw that she was blushing, her cheeks like a pair of rosey candles. I chuckled softly at the sight. Tomorrow, I had a lot of explaining to do. She nearly died because of me, and I planned to make it up to her. It was the least I could do for her.

For now, the Apple Family keeps an Apple they thought they'd lost.
> All's Well That Blooms Well
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last's night storm may of left me exhausted from the events that transpired shortly after the start of it, but I found myself outside of the farmhouse, helping Big Macintosh clear the remnants of the wind-torn barn. It was early in the morning and the sun wasn't fully up yet, leaving the sky a little gloomy and slightly dark. Big Mac hauled the chunks of broken, splintery wood away with a cart, dumping them a short ways away from the orchard onto the pile that had been made in the previous hour or so.

He didn't talk much, but from that expression his face always held now that Apple Bloom was alive told me that he was grateful. At first, when I saw her there, not moving and hurt, I didn't know what to think of it. In the farmhouse was no different, either. I could feel my heart begin to shatter when she didn't come around, no matter how many times I tried to revive her. I still don't know how she came around, but I honestly didn't care. What I did care about was that she was alive and well, if not with a broken hoof. When Macintosh came back, it was like he could sense my thoughts. He smiled as he looked me in the eye.

''She's awful grateful for you saving her life. We all are, thank ya. And, Matt? About when Ah met ya'll, I'm sorry for bein' so hostile. Ya just can't trust everypony.'' He gave solemn look with a sheepish smile. I could only chuckle. He was indeed lucky to of kept his sister after she nearly died. 

''It's alright, Macintosh. I'm just glad you didn't decide to kill me first. It's not everyday that you see something like me.'' I smiled, to which he laughed a short laugh. A voice made me turn around, Applejack's voice. She waved over to me from the entrance of the farmhouse and motioned for me to come over. 

''Applejack? Everything alright?'' 

''Apple Bloom wants to see ya.'' Applejack said with a half smile. Leading me upstairs, she stopped at the open door to her sister's bedroom where Apple Bloom was laying in bed, a bandage covering most of her left forehoof. As I walked in, Applejack closed the door behind me with a small click. I smiled as Apple Bloom watched me. Saying nothing, I sat beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

''Hey.'' She said, her voice still sounding weak. ''How ya doin'?'' She smiled back at me. 

''Hey, Apple Bloom. How'd you feel? Still feel weak?'' I asked in a soft voice.

''Yeah, jus' a little. My hoof hurts, though.'' She gently raised her bandaged hoof, cringing slightly. I leaned down and hugged her,resting my chin on her head. 

''I'm just glad you're alright, Bloom. I dunno what I would of done if I'd of lost you.'' I said as I pulled away, gently rubbing her mane with my hand, still feeling that same, inviting softness from before. She blushed brightly as I said those words. This time, she sat up in bed and hugged me, gladly returning the embrace.

''Matt?'' She began softly. ''D-D-Do you...like me?'' She asked hesitantly, the question making my body go slightly numb as it froze in place. Something told me that she already knew the answer. 

''Apple Bloom...I...yes. I do like you. I consider you a friend. Maybe even more than that.'' I admitted as I still had my face into her neck. When she broke away, she stopped just inches away from my nose, looking into my eyes. ''You saved me, nursed me back to health and looked out for me, and you saved my life, just as I saved yours. You really scared me, though. Howcome you followed me outside during the storm?'' Her face now held a frown, a guilty look within her eyes.

''Ah...Ah wondered where you was when Ah didn't see ya next to me when Ah woke up. I heard ya'll go outside and I followed ya. I didn't want you risking your life, even for your car. I knew had bad it would be, but I didn't expect ya would actually go out in that kinda weather.''

''Bloom, I can handle a little weather, you know that. You nearly died when you came after me. You got thrown through a fence and into a tree! Do you even know how much that scared me? I thought it killed you! I couldn't even restart your heart! You've got no idea how fortunate you are to be alive. I'm just glad you came around.'' I held her hooves gently in my hands and placed my forehead upon hers. ''I was afraid that I'd lost you. I don't ever want to see that happen.'' My cheeks ignited with intense heat as I closed the gap between us, planting a passionate kiss on Apple Bloom's lips. Her lips were smooth and warm, tasting a little bit like apples. She blushed brightly, matching my colour. When I broke from the kiss, I looked back into her eyes, seeing them glisten. ''I love you, Apple Bloom.'' I told her, seeing her cheeks darken in colour. 

Apple Bloom didn't say anything back for a moment. She just sat there, lost in my eyes. I noticed a single tear run down her cheek before she returned the kiss, the touch of her lips against mine feeling smooth and sweet. When she released, she pulled me into a hug. I could feel her warm breath on my neck as she relaxed in my arms. We held each other for a while, enjoying each other's embrace. It may of been true that I have liked Apple Bloom in this kind of way since I met her, not even sure why I felt that way for her until the night she almost died. I realized how much of an important part in my life she was, despite not being family or knowing her that long.

In my eyes, I thought she was pretty. We were or may be the same age, but that didn't change much. All that did matter was that I loved her. I honestly didn't care about being rich anymore. Having Apple Bloom in my life was the best jackpot I could of asked for. I smiled at her as I pulled away, getting a smile in return, one of sweetness. I placed my hands behind my neck, undoing the clip to my pendant and clipped it around Apple Bloom's neck. She looked at it as she picked it up in her hoof, looking at the fancy designs and curves marked into it. I placed a hand to her cheek as I placed a small kiss to her lips.

''I want you to take it.'' Is all I said, right before she kissed me.

''So...what does this make us?'' She asked with uncertainty in her voice. I haven't really thought of that...

''I guess...together? However you wanna put it is fine by me, Bloom.'' I said with a smile, earning one back.

''Together.'' She grinned, hugging me again.

''Together.'' I confirmed, holding her close. I could only wonder what the family would think. We saved each other's lives and made the debt even, but I don't think it ends there. Whatever comes in future, we'll get by it. But right now, I was gonna stay with her. It was the least I can do after what she's been through. We'll have to talk it through with the Apple's, but I'm hoping they'll understand.

Whatever tomorrow brings, I hope it'll be another heavenly chapter in our lives, this time together, hopefully for good.





 
> Applejack Of My Eye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Hey, Matt!'' I heard Applejack's voice call from the entrance of the farmhouse, causing me to look up from my car. I had spent a few hours outside trying to fix the engine, but the damage was too severe beyond my knowledge on how to fix it. The grille had been torn in a few places and the symbol of the running horse had been taken off from the metalwork. 

Applejack came next to me after a short run from the porch and to the orchard in which I was working in, a soft smile on her lips. ''I just wanted to ask ya somethin'.'' She said, still smiling as she met my eyes, her own shining like emeralds.

''Sure. What's on your mind?'' I asked, sitting on the driver's seat of the car, still making eye contact. For the first time, she seemed to be smiling with pure sincerity. Ever since I saved Apple Bloom, she seemed to have a whole new perspective on me, seeing me as more of a family member than the stranger I was when we first met each other.

''Ah'm jus' off inta town to get a few things, was wondering if ya would join me?'' 

''Yeah, sure. We off now?'' I asked, Applejack giving an affirmative 'Mmm-Hmm'. ''Okay, then. Guess we should get a move on?''


***   ***   ***


The walk into town seemed to be doing my leg a world of good since the car crash. It may of still ached a tiny bit when I moved it, but it also felt great. The scenery was just gorgeous and colourful. The chirping of birds could be heard from miles around and the wind was gentle, like a rose petal touching the skin.

The town may of not been that big, but it was nice to say the least. The houses were constructed out of various materials, such as hay for the roofs and dark and white wood for the main structure, contrasting nicely with the surroundings. I stayed close to Applejack, noticing that a few ponies were hiding or running away after taking a glance at me. 

The strange thing is that I thought they would be screaming and running like they were being chased by zombies, but I guess if they noticed I was with Applejack and not doing anything horrid, it was evident enough I wasn't going to try anything. I even noticed a strange look in Applejack's eyes, something I haven't noticed up until now. I've got to remember to talk to her at some point. When we were in the middle of town, Applejack took a list from her saddlebags, unfurling it and reading it. 

''Alright, Matt, we've gotta get these things and get back to Sweet Apple Acres. The first thing we need ta get is more wood to rebuild the barn...then some more lanterns for the house.'' She rolled up the scroll and placed it back in her bags before turning to look at me. ''Stay close ta me, okay? Some ponies in town are kinda...dramatic.''

I only nodded before continuing to walk with her. I didn't really think that there was a lumber shop in town, but after a quick walk around with AJ, we found it. We didn't really spend that long in the shop, but I couldn't help but think of all of the wood needed to rebuild the barn. I mean, it was big, had a few supports that looked quite heavy and I think if we had more wood, a foundation could be made to make it more stable during storms. I was thinking that the farmhouse could of been fixed up too, but for some reason, I didn't think that the Apple's would agree to it. Even I was surprised that the rickety, old house had stayed up during the storm.

Since there was a lot of timber to buy to rebuild the barn, Applejack had to reserve most of the stock in order to get what her family needed, so with that done, we moved on. It wasn't even a moment too soon that as soon as we stepped outside, a pink blur knocked AJ off of her hooves, throwing her to the floor as whatever landed on her laid on top of her barrel.

''What the...!? Pinkie? What're ya'll doin'?'' Applejack wheezed slightly as she tried to catch her breath. Pinkie seemed to just grin at her friend, despite her situation. She practically bounced off of her chest and pulled AJ back to her feet, still grinning madly. 

''Hiya, Applejack! Whatcha doin'?! Who's this?'' She pointed a pink hoof at me. Her voice was pretty cheery and chirpy, probably the happiest I have ever heard and like her body, her mane was pink, only a darker shade and her eyes were baby blue while her cutie mark was of three balloons, two yellow, one blue. Applejack looked over to Pinkie before glancing at me and then back to Pinkie again.

''Well...uh...this is Matt. He's been stayin' on the farm with mah family for a few days.'' Applejack explained briefly, Pinkie seeming to be immediately interested. 

''Oh, oh! Where did you come from? How'd you get here?'' She asked in a hyperactive manner. To be honest, I didn't really understand her, but it was pretty obvious what she was going to ask. I didn't have time to answer before Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth, stopping her from asking anything else.

''Pinkie, stop. I don't think Matt really does wanna take any questions. We kinda gotta get back ta work. Supplies don't buy themselves, ya know.'' She said firmly, but Pinkie seemed to ignore her. That is until yet another blur came out of nowhere and collided with my chest, knocking me to the ground at high force. The only thing I felt other than the newly-added weight on my chest was pain running up my back. That is probably going to ache for a while. 

A blue feather landed on my nose moments later after being blown gently in the wind, making me sneeze. I felt the weight be pulled off my chest before I heard Applejack's voice, clearly mad at whatever hit me.

''Rainbow! What the hay do ya think you're doin'?!''

''Jeez, sorry AJ, it was an accident. You know, stunts and whatnot.'' A raspy voice said, a little bit fuzzy to my ears. When I sat upright, I saw a cyan pony with wings and a rainbow mane and beautiful magenta eyes. Her cutie mark was a cloud and a rainbow thunderbolt. It was the first time I've seen a pony with wings. Back on Earth, it was only something you'd hear in a fairy tale, almost always including a unicorn or winged horse.

''Ya'll alright, Matt? Still in one piece?'' Applejack asked with concern as I got myself back on my feet. I only nodded as I clicked my back, instantly regretting it as I felt pain run down my spine. I haven't really been smashed into the ground before, but I'd really rather not have it done to me again. I might as well have my car get drove into me.  

''Hehe, sorry about that, whatever you are.'' Rainbow said as she looked into my eyes. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was a pony with an attitude. Unlike the other ponies I met, I didn't see any signs of a real apology coming on. It was also clear that the 'sorry about that' part wasn't as sincere as it could of been.

''Yeah, yeah,'' I groaned, holding a hand to my aching back. ''thanks for giving me a reason to see a chiropractor.'' I heard pinkie giggle softly, trying to hide it with a hoof over her mouth. Honestly, was there anything that wasn't laughable to her?

''Hey, I said I was sorry! I didn't do it on purpose! I spun out while I was flying, it happens!'' Rainbow protested, clearly annoyed over something she didn't want blame for. Accident or not, it still bloody hurt!

''Yeah, fine. Nice to meet you, too, Rainbow. Call me Matt.'' I tried to say without sounding too blunt.

She just started laughing.

Rainbow rolled on the floor laughing as she clenched her chest with her hooves.

''Bahahahahaha! Oh my...! Haha, you're funny! 'Call me Matt'! Bahahaha!'' 

''What? No, really, my name is Matt.'' 

It only made her burst into more laughter. She spent like a good five minutes rolling on the floor before she could get back onto her hooves, wiping a few tears from her eyes. ''You know what, you were a Matt for a moment, there!'' 

''Whatever.'' I rolled my eyes, turning back to Applejack who wasn't even there. Confused, I looked around me, checking all my bearings but found no trace of her. ''Applejack?'' I asked, receiving no response. 

''Right here, Matt.'' Applejack's voice called from behind me. She had a few lanterns hanging out of her saddlebags when she came towards us. ''I think that'd do for now, we can jus' get the other things later.'' 

''Right, let's head back to the farm.'' 

''Talk to ya soon, girls.'' Applejack waved goodbye to her friends before we made haste for Sweet Apple Acres.

We were about halfway back when I noticed that odd look in Applejack's eyes again. Even though my mind was mainly focused on the pain still evident in my back, I couldn't help but think of why it was there. In the short amount of time I've known Applejack, it didn't take long to notice that her thing was honesty, but that sparkle in her eye was different. It didn't belong. 

''Hey, Applejack?'' I said as we kept walking, causing her to look up at me with slight curiosity. ''I-Is...something on your mind?''

''Um...what do ya mean?'' She asked with a raised brow.

''You seem a bit...off. I just didn't say anything before because it seemed kinda awkward.'' I admitted, this time causing Applejack to stop.

''Okay, fine, ya got me. Remember that night when you brought Apple Bloom back and she was hurt badly?'' I nodded, prompting her to continue. ''She was gonna die, and because of the storm, we couldn't make it to the hospital, so you tried to save her, and you did. It wasn't until later that I knew the truth.'' I cocked my head slightly, wondering what she meant. She seemed to take the hint. ''I heard you talking.''

Now I froze, my body gone slightly numb. I didn't think she actually heard anything...

''Applejack...I...what did you hear, exactly?'' I asked cautiously.

''That Apple Bloom was grateful for you saving her life - like we all are - and that you...um...love her.'' She looked down for a moment before she brought herself to meet my eyes. I could feel a blush on my cheeks.

''I-I...I didn't...oh, hell. Applejack...it isn't...'' I stammered, feeling like an idiot for not being able to speak straight. Applejack only seemed to smile.

''Matt, I know ya like her, but she's mah sister. Apple Bloom is still pretty young to be in any of this romanc-y stuff, Matt. She's only nineteen.''

Oh, so she is the same age as me!

''Applejack, I'm nineteen. I seriously didn't know how old Apple Bloom was, but after that night when she nearly died, I realized just how much I truly did like her. Not just because she saved my life, but because I...fell for her. She is the sweetest girl I've met, AJ. I owe her no less than my life after what she did.'' 

Applejack looked down at the floor, not looking up at me. She sat on her haunches, letting the saddlebags fall from her back as she let out a loud sigh through her nostrils before looking back up to me.

''Ah...Ah dunno what else ta say...''

''You don't have to say anything, AJ. Apple Bloom is still your sister and always will be, so anything you say, I'd understand. Just please don't be mad at either of us. Nothing was her fault, she was just worried about me. All I want is for you to understand what she did for me. Because of her, I'm alive, and because of me, she's alive.''

''Ah suppose so...it's just gonna take some time to settle in with me, Matt. Its just not how I pictured it - Bloom growing up so fast that I barely get to see it, getting her cutie mark, taking over the fields and then ending up with a creature such as yourself, no offense.''

''None taken. Also, I'm a human.'' I told her, kneeling to her level. ''Just don't be mad. Please?'' 

She seemed to be considering everything I had said to her before and after a few moments, Applejack got up from her haunches and stared me directly in the eyes.

''No, Ah-Ah can't...Ah jus' can't accept it. Ah'm sorry.'' She wiped her eyes with her hoof before she turned and galloped off as fast as she could, leaving me behind on my knees, just staring at the direction she had ran off in.


***   ***   ***


It had been raining for a short while, maybe an hour or two and I just stayed there, not moving as I still faced the direction that Applejack had left in hours ago. My knees were aching and the pain of small stones digging into my kneecaps were beyond distracting. It didn't make me get up, though. All I could think of was what had been said by Applejack.

I know I said that I would understand anything she said to me about me and Apple Bloom, but quite clearly, I didn't. My heart felt like I had been shot with an arrow and my eyes were glistening with tears. It had gotten dark and the temperature was pretty uncomfortable after a while, almost like a wintery breeze.

I didn't know what to think. I did like Apple Bloom. I loved her. I clearly had no idea about her being the same age as me and after I found out, I guess I was glad, because I knew I wasn't overstepping my boundaries. I could of been with her but after Applejack denied it, I just felt dead inside. I never knew I could care for someone like I do for Apple Bloom, and if Applejack says no, will the rest of the family? My guess is that they will. I fell on my back as I began to cry, holding the palm of my hand across my eyes.

I just laid there and cried, my tears being unnoticeable in the now heavy rain. I heard a rumble from above, meaning that the rain was probably going to get heavier. At this point I really didn't know what to do. Go find a big tree to camp under? No, that would be stupid. Walk around aimlessly until I think of something? No! How will that help? Go back to the farm? Maybe. It was the only place that I had left to go to. The only reason I stopped myself from getting up and going in the direction it was in is because I wondered if Apple Bloom knew about the talk me and Applejack had. I knew she meant well, but what she said had destroyed my already pained heart.
The first heartache was nearly dying, just realizing how scary it is to be in a near-deathly collision and ending up in Equestria, unable to return home, the second heartache was knowing that I probably wouldn't see my parents or other family members again and the third heartache was that talk with AJ, being denied a first chance of love. I just hoped Apple Bloom was taking it better than I was.


***   ***   ***


Apple Bloom sat in front of her bedroom window, watching as the rain came into contact with the ancient glass, creating soft tapping noises that echoed around the room. It had been raining for a while now and thunder rumbled in the sky, the clouds that grey they looked almost black. It was certainly going to be raining heavy pretty soon.

She slouched slightly as she placed her uninjured hoof to her cheek, staring at the sky, thinking about Matt. It was the only thing that lingered in her mind and what worried her most was that he hadn't come back. Or if he had, she hasn't seen him. He would usually be upstairs with her, but because he wasn't, she got the feeling that something was wrong. It surely felt that way, too.

The only thing that seemed to lighten her mood was the fact that she could walk again, thankfully with no pain being felt in the movement of her bandaged limb. A soft knocking was heard at her door and moments later, her sister Applejack walked in, a slightly distressed look on her face. She didn't say anything as she approached her younger sister, taking a seat next to her. Apple Bloom didn't either bother to look up at her, she just kept staring out of the window, staying quiet. The silence of the room - excluding the sound of the tapping of rain - made Applejack feel uncomfortable.

''Apple Bloom?'' She said, her voice soft and almost at a whisper as she placed a hoof to her sister's back, still not getting a response from Apple Bloom. ''Bloom? We need ta talk.'' Apple Bloom turned her head this time, her sadness clear as Applejack noticed the tears in her eyes. They may of been light, but Applejack knew she was worried, and probably was going to hate her after she tells her about Matt.

''Applejack...where's Matt? Didn't he go with you earlier to go into town?'' Her voice was slightly louder than Applejack's, her desperation to know about Matt starting to grow. Applejack could only hang her head slightly as she exhaled through her nostrils slowly and quietly before looking her sister in the eyes. She had an idea of the outcome, but she also knew that her sister was going to hate her for it.

''Bloom, I really need ya'll to understand me, okay? I don't want you to be mad about it.''

''Mad about what, AJ? What's going on?'' Bloom asked with obvious curiosity and caution, seeming to etch back slightly from Applejack's hoof.
''Bloom, I just wanted you to understand something. You're still a young mare, ya need to be careful about what ya do in life. You're only nineteen, Apple Bloom. I'm not sure ya'll are ready for it, sugarcube.''

''What are ya talking about, AJ? Not ready for what?''

Applejack sighed loudly. ''Love, Apple Bloom. I think you're too young.'' At that, Apple Bloom's eyes shrunk slightly, a now semi-scared look upon her face. She could already tell where this was going.

''What?! Too young?! Applejack, Ah'm nineteen!  Ah think Ah'm old enough to make my own decisions!'' Apple Bloom nearly screamed as the tears in her eyes began to trickle down her cheeks.

''Simmer down now, I know ya'll are old enough to decide for yourself, Ah'm jus' worried about you sometimes. ''

''Worried about me?!'' Now Apple Bloom was standing, glaring at her older sister who seemed to crawl backwards at the stare she was receiving. In all her years of knowing Apple Bloom as a sister, she has never seen that glare before, and it scared her, yet she knew that she was only upset. ''How can ya be worried about me?! Don't you care about my happiness, Applejack?! Why can't you understand that I love Matt?! I love him and Ah wanna be with him!''

''Apple Bloom-''

''Don't ''Apple Bloom'' me, Applejack! Ah wanna know why you don't want me to be with him!''
Applejack slouched to that. She was going to have to tell her the exact same thing she told Matt. After a short explanation, Apple Bloom was visibly crying, heavier than before upon hearing what her sister had just admitted. She never left when she brought Matt up to her room so they could talk. She just listened on the conversation, learning about their love. ''Y-Y-You...you spied on us? W-Why...?'' Apple Bloom asked, clearly hurt, backing away towards the door of her bedroom.

''A-A-Ah...Ah just wanted to make sure that you two were alright. It wasn't anythin' personal, Bloom, Ah just wanted to make sure he was actually on our side. Ah didn't trust him, but after ya saved each other's lives, Ah began to trust him. Ah am sorry, Bloom.'' Applejack said, just knowing what Apple Bloom's reaction would be. She sniffled and then began to break. Her tears fell more freely and then she ran out of the bedroom door crying, going as fast as she could on her broken hoof.  It wasn't long until Applejack heard the front door slam after being opened.

Looking out of the window and into the now heavier rain, she saw Apple Bloom running towards the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres and going towards Ponyville. She just sat there and stared, watching her go, knowing that she had probably just lost her little sister.
> Finding A Way
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rain had picked up its pace as the day turned into night, the sky now a hue of soft indigo while the sun was nearly out of sight, lowering behind the mountains on the other side of town.
My thoughts were the only things occupying my mind and keeping me distracted as I recollected all of the things Applejack had said to me about her sister. 

My heart was pained with what had been said to me and my eyes still leaked tears, so here I am, slumped against the trunk of a tree with my only cover of rain being the thick leaves that hung from the branches of said tree.

How Applejack told me that Apple Bloom was 'too young' for any of this stuff and that she denied any sort of relationship such as a romantic one between us. 
I wondered if her family agreed to it. Probably. I guess it didn't matter, anyway. Her family would maybe agree with her either way.
Ever since I met her, I have grown more to like her, even think she was cute. I know she saved my life and patched me up and I returned the deed, but for some reason, I still felt like I owed it.
It may sound crazy seeing as we are now even, but I can't help but feel I owe her more than I should. I just couldn't explain it, wheather it was to do with how I felt towards her, I have no clue.

I stared at the sky,trying to find something else to focus my mind on. The stars were already out, faint but there, twinkling like small fireworks in the night sky.
It made me smile softly. I couldn't remember the last time I saw something as nice. 

The air was light and brushed at my hair softly and was cold but pleasent against my skin. I could of been warmer than I was, but I had left my jacket at the farm. I didn't even care. This was nice.

I couldn't help but think it would be nicer if I could share this moment with Apple Bloom. Or my family. 

At the thought, I could feel a tear run down my cheek.I knew I would never see my parents or family again, let alone Apple Bloom. AB was someone (or rather somepony) that I liked and loved and was the first thing that I saw in this world that I soon came to realize I cared about after all she has done for me.
As for my family, I may not of been all that close to them, but they were still family! Loving and caring people, beings that I loved no matter what or whatever our differences must be. I'd give anything to see them again.
I just wish there was some way of returning home. Any way. I didn't care how or what the cost, I just needed to see them, tell them that I didn't die in that crash, tell them that I was all in one piece and alive.

My thoughts were halted however when I heard something in the bushes about a few yards to my left. With caution and curiosity, I turned my head to look in the direction of the sound of rustling leaves.
I watched for ages, waiting to see what it may be, and, after a few more moments, I saw a red mane poke out from the bushes, covered in small pockets of sap and a few small twigs sticking to it, followed by glistening orange eyes that I could only describe and recognize as Apple Bloom's.
When the rest of the figure came out, I saw that it was indeed Apple Bloom. Her expression was that of a relieved one and she had a weak smile on her lips, but she looked like she had been crying, despite the rain that had drenched her coat.

She came over to me and I returned the smile, getting up and hugging her, getting the full feel of just how wet she was. From just that simple embrace, my upper chest was wet. I wondered what she was doing out here, although I guess the answer was obvious.
I held her there in my arms, not wanting to let go. I could tell she didn't either. I stroked the back of her mane with my hand as I slowly worked it up and down, the touch of her manewet and cold but still soothing.

''Oh, Matt...Ah found you.'' She whispered, pulling me slightly closer so that her cheek was pressed against mine as she tightened her grip around my neck and back.

''Apple Bloom.'' I said softly, also keeping my grip on her. I was greatful for her company, glad that she was here. I haven't enjoyed being this close to someone I had feelings for for a long time, and I liked it.
Very gently, she released herself from me and looked me in the eyes, seeing my tears past the rain, as were I. ''Hey, are you okay? Why are you crying?''

She sniffled before a tear fell from her cheek. ''Applejack doesn't want ya to be with me, Matt, that's what's wrong. She thinks t-t-that Ah'm too young f-for love...''

It soon hit me that Applejack had been talking to her about the conversation we had just hours ago. Just from her miserable look, I could tell she didn't take it well.
I just placed my arms back around her and pulled her into a hug, now only wanting to comfort her. I knew what she felt and it probably hurt as much as my heart when I saw her like this.

I could only hold her, hugging her. I sat with her underneath the tree, my cheek pressed against hers and her mane hanging just over the bridge of my nose, close enough for me to get a hint of her usual scent - milk and honey.
Times like this made me wonder what the future would be like.

''Hey, Apple Bloom? AJ talked to me, too.'' At that, she broke away from my arms again, looking me in the eyes with a wonderous expression.

''W-What did she say?'' She asked slowly as she wiped her eyes with a hoof before sniffling. I looked down before I slumped slightly, taking a couple moments before I looked back into her eyes.

''S-She heard everything, Apple Bloom. About us.'' 

Apple Bloom slumped. ''She told me about that, Matt. Ah just got so mad at her for it. Ah ran away.''

''Is that why you're here? You ran away?'' Her only response was a 'Mmmm-hmmm' before she briefly hugged me. It suddenly dawned on me that we were having the same problem. AB's family doesn't think we should be together and resulted in our heartache. 
Not for my sake but for Apple Bloom's, I have to try and make things right between us again. I didn't like seeing her upset and I didn't want to rush things either, no matter how much I may of loved her. I think it would just be best if we stayed friends.
Apple Bloom seemed to take hint of my mood and she was watching me again, those eyes of her burning like a calm fire in the moonlight. 

''Matt?''

''Hmm?'' 

''What's on your mind? Ya seem ditracted. Everything alright?'' 

I looked away again, knowing that I had to be truthful about this. I didn't want to lie to her, but what would she think? I knew I was going to have to talk to her about it sooner rather than later, but I didn't think either of us were ready for it.

''Y-yeah,'' I replied a little shakily. ''all is fine.'' I had to lie. I didn't have to like it, but it was all I could think of to do. Apple Bloom was silent for a while, inspecting me as if I was hiding something. Those eyes of her never left me once, they just scanned me up and down. I knew what she was going to say, much to my surprise and disappointment.

''You're not being truthful, are ya? You jus' don't wanna talk about it, do ya?'' She finally said, her voice quiet and seeming a little hurt at the small lie.

''No, I don't. As much as you know I don't want to have to lie to you about it, I'm gonna need to sometimes. I'm just not ready to talk about it.'' I said pretty bluntly, feeling sadness enter my voice and mood, making me feel like crying. Apple Bloom seemed to take notice.

''Is this about ya family?''

''Y-yes. Yes, it is about my family. Can we please not go into this? I...I...'' And then I felt the tears come, running down my face within seconds as my eyes began to burn softly. All my emotions were realeased as the thoughts of my family back at home entered my mind. I bet they were just so worried and heartbroken over what had happened the day I crashed my car. They thought I was dead, gone. But I wasn't. I was alive and someplace else where I didn't even know existed and because of that, I didn't know how to get home to tell them that I was alright, that I was still alive and breathing, but I couldn't because I was stuck here!
For how long, I don't know, but from my guess or anyone's for that matter, it is probably for good! The only thing I felt other than the tears was Apple Bloom's hooves being wrapped around my neck as she pulled me into a hug, holding me close as I cried uncontrolably.
It helped to calm me down a little, just knowing she was there. At least somebody still cared. ''I'm sorry, Apple Bloom...''

She raised a brow slightly, a curious expression upon her face. ''Sorry? For what? You ain't got nothin' to be ashamed or sorry about, Matt.'' I sniffled as I looked up into her eyes.

''I-I'm sorry you have to s-see me like t-this.'' I whimpered. ''Everything has just happened so fast...I-I don't know w-w-what to do now that I'm gone from home! I d-don't know i-if I can go on without my family!''
From Apple Bloom's shocked and saddened expression, I could tell that it just hit her what I was feeling like. Here, she had family that she loved dearly and knew that they cared about her, but as for mine, because to them I was presumed dead, the feeling was undescribeable.

Apple Bloom couldn't imagine what it was like to have no family, and that look alone that she was giving me said it all. She had an idea what it felt like and she didn't want to think about it.

I may of loved my family like they loved me and with all that has happened, the feeling that they feel other than love is heartbreak. I haven't had my share of heartbreak for a long time, and feeling it now, it made me feel like that part of my life was missing - having and experiencing the joys of having a family. I just wanted to go home...

''Oh, Matt,'' Apple Bloom said as I saw a small tear run down her cheek. ''Ah'm sorry. Ah had no idea...''

''I just wish that there was some way I could see them again. I just want to be with them.'' I sniffled. ''But I know it won't ever happen.''

''Now, ya'll don't know that, Matt. There has be some way to get you home to your parents.'' Apple Bloom tried to reassure me, but it didn't have a positive effect on my mood. Something just told me that there wasn't a way. Even if there was, would it work? Would it be risky?
Maybe I'll find out some day. I leaned into Apple Bloom again, her mane brushing lightly against my ear. I looked at the sap in her mane and with my hands, I tried to pull the sticky substance out, pulling the twigs along with it. I managed to remove most of it without pulling most of her hair out, but at least it was now sap-free and back to the way I liked it. We both just sat there for a long time, holding each other in each other's arms. Over the horizon, the sun had begun to appear and the moon had gone, a faint orange colouring the sky, setting a calm and beautiful scene. 

We watched it rise for a while, enjoying each other's company. I walked over with her to a nearby pond, asking her to stay still while I scooped up water with my hand and cleaned her sappy mane. Nothing was said between us for a while and Apple Bloom just let me clean her hair in silence, the only sound being the sound of the water that I was using. When I had finished, Apple Bloom turned to me with a smile and hugged me softly before thanking me. I also saw that blush upon her cheeks again. I smiled softly at the sight.

I offered her my hand to help her up, and when I got her back on her hooves, I walked with her, on course back to the farm. I had some thinking to do.


***  ***  ***


When we arrived back at the farm, I separated from Apple Bloom so I could go over to my car and get a few things out of the glove box. When I got there, I noticed the car had barely moved since the night of the storm, only suffering small damage from random bits and pieces that managed to get near enough to scratch the paintwork of the car.

I sat in the passenger seat and opened up the glove box, looking at the contents inside. First was my wallet, that felt slightly heavier than the last time I used it, my phone and then my shades that I bought not so long ago. They were aviators with silver rims and almost jet-black glass.
I took them and placed them in my pockets, apart from the sunglasses that I placed on the collar of my shirt.

With all that I needed, I proceeded towards the farmhouse. After the talk I had with Applejack, I felt pretty uncomfortable being back on the farm. When I got to the porch and to the front door, I froze up, finding myself unable to continue. I raised my hand a few times to knock, but lowered it due to ringing nerves, making me feel nervous about it. When I was about to knock, I heard a voice I recognized as Applejack's shouting from behind me.

''Matt! Hey, Matt!'' I turned, seeing Applejack running up from the orchard. At first, I thought she was going to tackle me and punch me or do something along the lines of that, but instead she stopped in front of me and took off her hat, placing it aside and looked into my eyes with a soft emotion. ''Matt, I need to talk to you.''

''About what? We already talked about something and I heard you loud and clear.'' I said not as politely as I would of liked, but the hurt from before took over. I didn't know what she wanted to talk about, but I'm guessing something relating to me and Apple Bloom.

''Matt, please! Ah just wanted to apologize for that. Ah shouldn't of accused you of anything, so if Ah insulted ya, Ah'm sorry! Can't ya forgive me? Please? Ah promise I meant no offense! Ah-'' I raised my hand to calmly ask her to stop, and when she did, I spoke up.

''Applejack. I do forgive you, although not one hundred percent. You didn't only hurt me, but you hurt your sister, too. Apple Bloom came running after me in the rain and she told me that you two had been talking.'' At that, Applejack's face held a guilty expression and her eyes dropped downwards. ''I can only put this behind us when Apple Bloom forgives you, too. Until then, I guess I can't.'' 

Applejack sighed. ''Matt...Ah...Yes, alright, you got a deal.'' 	I smiled. 


***  ***  ***


In the farmhouse, I sat upstairs with Apple Bloom on her bed, holding her hooves gently in my hands. We had been like this for a short while, just staring into each other's eyes. Applejack had talked to Apple Bloom and she had forgiven her. I wanted to use this moment we had together to express my feelings. 

As I tried to think of where to begin, Apple Bloom leaned forward and hugged me as she rested her chin on my shoulder. I could feel her snuggling into my cheek. Strangely, I felt a little uncomfortable. I hope she didn't notice. Before I pulled away, I kissed her on the cheek and she looked into my eyes again.

I felt awkward, not knowing what to say. I knew it was going to be hard, but what else could I do to say it? I loved her, but if it wasn't going to be alright with her family, even after an apology was given, I couldn't. It just didn't seem or feel right. I knew that when someone knows you love them dearly and you say you just want to be friends, it will just end up in tears and heartache. I think we have both had enough of it.

As awkward as I felt, I got to my feet and walked out the door. I didn't even think before I walked out of the door of the house. I walked towards the orchard and sat in the driver's seat of my car and tried to think. All of a sudden, life seemed to be harder than I would of liked. I haven't been on a different planet before and now that I am, things were slowly going downhill. 

I never asked for any of this and ever since I met Apple Bloom, things went the opposite way to which I would of preferred. I did like her, love her even, but I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship with anything. I didn't plan on wronging her or anything like that. I just couldn't.
Out of frustration, I slammed my fist into the dashboard, creating a small dent and then an even bigger indentation the second time.

I'm gonna have to find a way to tell her how I feel, preferably without hurting her in any way. 

There has to be something I could do, but what? 





> Find A Way
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked around town with my thoughts being the only thing to accompany me. For some reason, the only thing that crossed my mind was the night at the farm when the storm hit. The sound of the wind and rain overlapping each other and Apple Bloom nearly losing her life.
All I could do was blame myself. I promised her I'd stay and not attempt to save my car, but I pretty much lied and went against that and just as it couldn't of gotten any more worse than it was, she followed me outside and nearly to her death.

All of that was my fault.

It was mostly the reason I was in town, I knew I had to make things right, even though my life debt had been repayed to her. I just simply couldn't live knowing that she could of died because of me and I couldn't just leave that alone like it never happened, so here I am, thinking about that and how I can make it up to her.

I know I may of risked my life over the car but I seriously didn't care about the car anymore. What was fifty grand to me now, anyway?
On my walk around town with my thoughts, I passed near a bakery called Sugarcube Corner, where I knew the bubbly mare Pinkie Pie worked and lived. Not having anything else to do, I entered the shop and found that it was mostly empty, the only occupant being the mare at the counter that was Pinkie Pie.

Approaching the till, I gently placed my hands on the counter, awaiting her to notice my presence. Eventually, she looked up and it became evident that she was pretty bored. Well, I guess I couldn't blame her, working on a Saturday does suck.

''Pinkie?'' I started, looking into her ice-blue eyes. ''Everything alright?''

''Oh, hey, Matt.'' She greeted me, her voice sounding kinda tired. ''How's it going?''

''Not too good, but how about you? You seem bored. Everything good with you?''

She straightened herself and regained her normal composure before looking me back in the eye. ''Yeah, working is usually my favourite thing to do because I get to bake for everyone and all my friends but today's just been kinda slow, so I barely have anything to do.'' She frowned at me, her eyes looking down briefly before she looked back up at me. ''So, what's up with you? You said it's not going too good?''

''Oh, yeah. I've been staying at Sweet Apple Acres and you remember that storm a few nights back?'' Pinkie nodded, allowing me to continue. ''Well, I tried to go outside to get my car some place safe in the middle of it after promising Apple Bloom that I wouldn't try it and she tried to stop me but the storm nearly killed her!'' I said, feeling guilt surge back through my body.

At my story, Pinkie shrunk back a bit, her frown now slightly deepened. ''Wait, what? Apple Bloom was nearly killed? Howcome Applejack hasn't said anything about it? Also, what's a car?''

''Yes, she nearly died. Luckily, I was able to save her and she only broke her hoof. As for a car, its something that you can drive. Mine's a Ford Mustang GT, a pretty expensive one. To tell you the truth, until I met Apple Bloom and after she saved my life, I don't care about the car anymore. What I really care about is her. Pinkie, I think I may need you to help me.''

''Help you with what, exactly?'' Her ear twitched slightly and she cocked her head.

''When I first came here, I crashed my car into a tree and got myself hurt to the point where I couldn't even walk and Apple Bloom saved my life and I repayed the debt by saving her during the storm but I know I've lied to her about it and I haven't exactly made it up to her. I just wanna find a way in which I could make it up to her.'' 

Unexpectedly and much to my surprise, Pinkie threw her hooves around me and pulled me into such a tight hug that I thought my eyes were going to launch out of my skull.

''Ohhhh, Matty, sounds to me like you have yourself a crush on Apple Bloom! Does she know you like her? Oh, maybe I could throw some kind of party, or...''

''P-Pinkie, please! Let go, I-I can hardly breathe!'' I managed to say through my strangled windpipe and to my relief, I was released from the deadly grip of the exciteable pink mare. Now able to think straight again. ''Pinkie, of course she knows, I told her. Look, just please promise me you'll keep this quiet. I'd really rather keep it on the down-low.'' 

''Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.'' She said, sticking a real cupcake in her eye as she said the last part, recoiling back at the pain that followed.

''Thanks, Pinkie.'' I smiled as I hugged her. ''Hey, Pinkie, do you think you can help me out? You know, with this whole situation with Apple Bloom?''

Her beaming grin said it all. ''I'd be delighted to help out a friend, Matt! C'mon, follow me to my room and tell Auntie Pinkie Pie all about it.''


***  ***  ***


At Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom remained in her bedroom, absentmindedly staring out of the window and watching the rain come down over the farm. She had been doing so ever since Matt took his leave without another word and left her on her own. All she wanted to know is if he was alright or not.

All the time she was watching the rain that overlooked the entrance to the farm, she hoped she would see Matt making his way back, hopefully in one piece. 

Then, after a few more moments of silent rain-watching, Applejack came into the room, looking briefly at her younger sister with sympathetic eyes. She knew how much she cared for Matt and that she shared that same amount of care for his wellbeing, but what upset Applejack was that because of Matt, her sister was having a hard time, a period that most ponies would go through, but somepony as young as Apple Bloom and to have it happening to her made her heart itch. 

She knew that Apple Bloom should be left on her own to clear her mind but Applejack knew she should also be there to talk to her about it and to comfort her. And that's what she was going to do.
Entering the room, she came up beside Apple Bloom and gently placed her hoof on her back, causing her sister to lift her downcast head to meet her older sister's gaze.

''You still upset, Bloom? You've been up here for hours jus' cryin'.'' Applejack said in a motherly tone, seeing just how upset her sister was.
''Ah just don't understan' why he left, AJ. Ah'm upset that he didn't say anythin' or tell me where he was goin'.'' She shrunk down and sat on her bed, slouching slightly. ''Ah feel like such an idiot. Maybe this was jus' a bad idea in the first place.'' She wiped her eyes as she said the last part, sniffling softly.

''Hey, hey, ya'll aren't an idiot, Bloom. Why would you even think that you are? Nothin's your fault.'' Applejack smiled at her but Apple Bloom didn't smile back.

''No, Applejack, Ah know he saved mah life after Ah I saved his, but even after everything, Ah feel as though we aren't friends, like he has somethin' against me.'' She slouched down further onto her bed covers.

''Oh, Apple Bloom, Ah'm sure he has nothin' against ya. Maybe ya'll are otherthinkin' about this. Ah'm sure he still likes ya as a friend and all. Ah mean, he couldn't possibly have a reason to hate ya.'' Her eyes narrowed slightly and she cocked her head as a thought entered her mind. ''Does he?''

Apple Bloom sighed. ''No, I hope not.''


***  ***  ***


''...And that's pretty much everything that happened.'' I finally finished my whole story about my deal with Apple Bloom after around about three to four hours of detailed describing all that had happened between us since I met her and temporarily lived on the farm with the Apple Family.

Pinkie wiped her eye with a hoof, taking off a single tear. ''Oh, that's a beautiful story! Sounds to me like you have yourself a case of love sickness, Matty!'' She giggled childishly before she grabbed me on my shoulders and pulled me close to her face. ''Are you gonna marry her?''

Taken greatly aback I pushed her off me by force and I couldn't deny if I tried that I felt a burn on my cheeks. ''What? No! You know, you're meant to be helpful and supportive about all this, not childish and immature.'' I said with a frown, although in the time I've spent with her, I could tell randomness was an element that made up the pink mare.

Just as soon as I pushed her away with my objection, she pushed her head towards mine with a sort-of flashy look in her eyes and spoke in a slow, flirty-voice. ''Are you suuuuure?'' My blush only deepened.

''Yes, I'm sure! Look, Pinkie, we're just friends, that is all! I only told you this so you could help me out with this whole situation I'm in! Can't you please just help me?'' 

Pinkie giggled some more, much to my annoyance. ''Oh, Matt, sure I can help you. You know, normally Rarity would be the kind of pony to talk about lovey-dovey stuff about, but I guess I could help you with Apple Bloom. It's about time little Bloomy found a special someone!''

''Pinkie, I already told you that I don't have a crush on her! She's just my friend! Why do you keep insisting that we have something together?''

''Because you do have something together, you just don't know it yet!'' She gripped me by the shoulders again, shaking me.

''No, I don't know it yet, because we don't have something together!'' I gently gripped both her hooves in my hands to stop her shaking me before I allowed a heavy sigh to escape my nostrils. ''Please, just stop insisting on it. Either you can help me or you can't, just please let me know what your response is, otherwise I'm going to have to find some other way to sort things out.''

For once, I detected a sense of sympathy in the pink mare through those icy, blue eyes of hers. 
''Alright, Matt, I'm sorry about that. If it means that much to you, I'll help you. It sounds to me like you've gotten into a bit of a snag. Matty, if I were you, I'd try making it up to her slowly whatever your deal may be.''

''What exactly do you mean by slowly, Pinkie?'' I asked cautiously, knowing what the response may be.

''Well, for one, you could maybe take an interest in her interests? I mean, it's just a suggestion and it's normally what I do with some of my friends, so I guess it couldn't hurt to try.''

Okay, maybe not what I thought

I took note of that, already thinking that it could be my best option. ''Pinkie, you may just be right about this. Thank you.'' I pulled her into a hug before I left. ''Oh, and Pinkie? Please stop calling me 'Matty', I'd rather you just call me Matt.''

''Oh, sorry Matty, I-I-I mean, sorry Matt.'' She blushed softly and tried to hide a giggle. ''G-Good luck with Apple Bloom!''

''Yeah, I hope so, too.'' I whispered before I left, hoping this would be the right step.

> A Solution To Your Troubles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That long talk I had with Pinkie Pie had got me thinking about getting through this problem of mine and during my walk towards the farm and just entering the dirt path towards the homestead, something I had completely forgotten about: I was a millionaire. 

Upon remembering that and feeling kinda stupid for forgetting such a thing, I remembered that I also had my wallet with me, including the fact that before I took the Mustang for a drive and crashed it, I put half of the money in my wallet and half in the bank, meaning that what I had on me was like five million dollars, excluding the fifty grand I paid for the Mustang.

With that money I had in mind, I turned my thoughts onto the barn that got destroyed during the storm. That time when Apple Bloom brought me into the house for the first time to introduce me to the family, she showed me the family album and in some of those pictures of the barn, giving me hint enough of how important the structure was to the whole Apple Family. That gave me an idea, the whole reason why I was heading back to the house to see Applejack about it to see if she would hear me out.

When I entered the house, I called Applejack's name to see if she was home but I didn't get a response until after a few moments, calling me into the kitchen where I found her sat at the table with her head in her hooves with a worried look on her face while she stared at some papers on the desk with what looked to be sums for working out costs.

''Applejack?'' I said, a little concerned by that look on her face. I took a seat next to her and sat so I was hanging on the edge of the seat so I was facing her. ''What's wrong? You look kinda tired.''

She sighed through her nostrils before turning to face me, the look in her emerald eyes saying it all. ''Ah'm trying to figure out how Ah'm going to pay for that barn. The market ain't been good lately, so Ah got no clue what Ah'm going to do.'' She frowned before planting her face into the table with a dull thud.

I placed my hand to her shoulder. ''Actually, AJ, you can stop worrying about that. There's something I want to talk to you about that may help you.'' Her ear twitched and she looked up at me in confusion, her brow raised. I smiled softly before reaching into my pocket and taking out my wallet, placing it on the table top, getting an even more confused look from Applejack.

''A wallet? Ah don't understand.'' 

''Applejack, I think it's about time I come clean. Where I came from, a day before I ended up here, I became a millionaire and that's how I bought that car. The Mustang cost me fifty grand to buy and was something I always wanted. I was only able to buy that because I won something millions of people play called the Lottery and when I did, I got ten million dollars.'' I let out a sigh, remembering how happy I was when I won, all that joy and pure happiness. It was the happiest I ever was in my entire life. ''Well, what I'm trying to say is that I just came back from Ponyville after talking with Pinkie after she gave me some advice. I had an idea and since I won't really be needing most of it...I wanna give it to your family.''

Applejack didn't say anything for a long while, just staring at me blankly, looking as though she didn't know what to say. Honestly, I didn't know how she would react at all when I decided I would tell her about this.

''Matt, A-A-Ah don't know what to say. Ah mean, honestly, Ah have no idea what you're saying and even if Ah did hear that right, Ah couldn't accept it, no matter how appreciative Ah am.'' She smiled before letting out a small yawn. ''Ah don't understand why.''

''Because,'' I began, smiling slightly wider. ''You and your family took me in and looked after me after Apple Bloom saved me from death just like I did for her and ever since then you all treated me like family, and for that I am forever greatful. That's why I want to give you the money for the barn. After all you and your family have done for me, I want to make it up to you by returning the favor.'' 

She sighed again, turning her full body towards me by sitting on the edge of the seat like I was. Instead of seeing a smile upon her lips, I saw a frown. ''Matt, Ah know you mean well and all, but Ah can't accept this. It's a mighty generous offer, but Ah can't do it. It doesn't feel right ta me.''

This time I frowned. I knew that she would probably turn down the kind of money I offered to her, like most people would do. Regardless, I couldn't just stand by and watch Applejack tire and stress herself out like this. If it needed to come down to Honesty to Honesty, then so be it.

''Applejack.'' I said firmly, catching her a little off guard at the tone. ''As much as I respect your feelings towards all of this, I think we should seriously talk this one out, Honesty to Honesty.'' I took in a deep breath before I placed both my hands to her shoulders and locked my eyes with Applejack's own, looking into her soul. ''Applejack, as hard as I know it is to accept such a thing that I'm offering you and your family, I feel as though honesty is the best thing right now. I know that honesty is your thing and you are more than likely to be a terrible liar, but I'm sensing that even though you look tired and may claim that you haven't stayed up more than a night figuring out your finances, you aren't being honest. I know your thing is honesty, Applejack, and I know that you are no liar. So, why do this to yourself? What you're doing isn't good for you, and I know you know it isn't either, so, why?''

Applejack shrank back, scooching herself further back in her seat as she pulled free from my loose grasp on her shoulders. For once, she looked as though I had finally gotten through to her. 

''A-Ah'm doin' this because Ah need to! That barn has been in this family for generations and Ah'll be damned if Ah'm gonna allow it to stay destroyed!'' She said back to me in an angry, frustrated tone, making me cringe internally. ''Most of all, Ah'm gonna do this if it kills me, Matt! I have to! Ah'm known as being the most dependable of ponies, and Ah plan to live up to that title, not just for myself but also for my family and especially Apple Bloom! We were the two who built that thing in the first place!''

''I can't stop you, I know that, but all I want is for you to listen to me.'' I gave her my most serious glare, looking into that green fire in her eyes. ''As a friend to another, please, please, please don't kill yourself trying to sort this out and let me help you, or if not, don't do anything you'll regret. You won't be able to do this on your own.'' I told her, seeing her calm a little before I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her before I got up from the chair and took my leave, taking my wallet as I went on my way out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Upon entering the living room, I was surprised when I my eyes met a pair of bright orange eyes that resembled calm fires. I stumbled back a bit in shock upon seeing her there before regaining my composure. Her face was adorned with a small frown and her eyes only displayed worry and uncertainty. It was clear that something was bothering her.

''A-Apple Bloom?'' I managed to say, not sure what to say in her presence, not so prepared for this. ''Are-Are you okay? Did you hear any of that just now?'' It was a stupid question. Of course it was a stupid question! She looked miserable and upset! And of course she probably heard me talking to Applejack.

''Why?'' Is all she said, her voice a tired whisper. ''Why did you leave without saying anything, Matt?'' Christ, she sounded like she was going to break and cry. It wouldn't really surprise me if she did. Afterall, I did hurt her, but probably not as much as I would when I tell her something I really need to get off of my chest, for both our and her family's sakes.

All I could respond with was ''It's complicated.'' before I knelt down and hugged her. All I wanted to do was to tell her that I was sorry but I knew that a simple apology wasn't going to cut it. ''Apple Bloom, I think it's time we have a little talk. I think we should go to your room.'' She pulled away and gave me a single nod before heading up to her bedroom where I planned to tell her everything, including something that I know will hurt no matter what happens between us.


***  ***  ***


''...So that's why I think it would be best if we just stay as friends.'' I finished explaining myself to her, seeing tears fall from her eyes. She held her hooves to her eyes as she slumped down on her bed, crying heavily. We had spent at least a few hours in her bedroom together discussing this whole thing about us two being together and what the family thought about it.

It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and it wouldn't have to of come down to this if only the family was alright with me and Apple Bloom being together. In this situation, all I could do was pull her into a hug, holding her close to me and stroking her mane. ''I'm so sorry about all of this, Apple Bloom. You know that I'll never love another mare.'' I told her as I held her. She lifted her head up and removed her hooves from her eyes to look into my eyes that were too glazed with tears. For the first time in a long time, I saw a smile creep onto her lips.

''T-Thanks for that, Matt. Ya'll are such a loyal friend to me and for that, Ah'm greatful. Ah jus' wish that it didn't have to come ta this.''

''I hoped so, too, but we didn't realy have a choice, and I'd really rather not start a war with your family.'' I released a sigh, as did Apple Bloom. Something told me that even before any of this started, she knew that it would end up this way. True, I did love her and she loved me, but out of respect for her family, I told her I thought it would be best if we just remianed as friends. As hard as it is to say it, it's all probably for the best. (Especially if Big Macintosh found out that we were both envolved romantically with each other, I was as good as dead.)

''Hey, Matt? What exactly were ya talking to AJ about? Ah heard ya mention something about the barn but that's pretty much it.'' 

I blinked. ''You heard that, huh?'' I said. ''Well, since you asked, I'll tell you the same as I told Applejack. Apple Bloom, you saved me from death after I crashed my car into a tree and I saved yours after I was let into your home. You all treated me like family and are pretty much all I have in this world and for all you've done for me, I wanted to return the favor. Your barn that you and Applejack put up got destroyed during the storm and I offered to help you all pay for the repairs to rebuild it. You see, nothing really matters to me anymore because I have more money than I know what to do with and under the circumstances, I'll be willing to give you what you need for all you've done for me so we can all be even.''

Apple Bloom raised her brow. ''Wait...how much, if you don't mind me askin'?'' 

''Five million. Way more than enough for rebuilding a barn. I honestly don't mind. I mean, what use is it to me now? The only amount I ever spent of it was fifty grand for the Mustang, and look what happened - it got destroyed and I have no petrol for it. Not to mention that I normally had ten million, and that is in the bank back home and I have no way of getting it back, so I'm going to do the right thing and give your family what I have left. It's the least I can do after all you have done for me.'' I smiled to her, getting a smile back, the kind that made my heart melt.

''You're a good guy, Matt, Ah'll give you that. But what did Applejack say?''

''As thankful as she was for my offer, she turned it down. She said that it isn't the honest way and that she wouldn't feel right about it if she did take me up on it. So for now, I guess I'm out of ideas for how to help her. Did you even know that she has been staying up late, night by night trying to work out how to pay for the barn?''

Apple Bloom blinked, clearly a little taken aback. ''W-What? Really? Well, Ah guess Ah can't be that surprised by this. It ain't the first stubborn thing she's done. Ya should of seen her during Applebuck Season, she tried to harvest all the trees by herself! She pretty much nearly worked her way into the ground!''

Okay, I've seen the size of the whole orchard compared to Applejack herself as a pony and that just didn't add up... 

''You're serious about that? I didn't think she could possibly be that stubborn.'' We both shared a laugh together for a few moments before Apple Bloom suddenly gave a gasp and for some reason, she was grinning at me.

''Matt, Ah just got a brilliant idea!'' She chimed that smile on her face growing wider by the second. ''If Applejack can't help herself, us two and Big Macintosh will help her!''

''How do you propose we do that?''

''Here at Sweet Apple Acres, we bake our apple pies and we use carts to deliver them to places far away to earn some extra money on the side! I was thinking that maybe we could use your car to get them delivered faster and then we'll have enough money for a new barn in no time!'' Her grin was now at the point where it looked like her jaw would break if it got any wider. 

''That's a great idea, Apple Bloom!'' I smiled as I hugged her before I deflated a little upon realising something. ''But...it won't work. My car is destroyed and out of petrol and I have not the slightest idea of how to repair the engine.'' 

Her smile fell down to a non-toothy level but didn't fade completely, still full of hope. ''Maybe not, but...'' she pointed to her cutie mark of the artist's brush and pallet. ''...Ah could fix it! After all, it is my special talent and even though Ah know more about woodwork and drawin' and stuff, Ah could figure out how to fix it. What's to lose? It's worth the shot.''

''Bloom, believe me, cars are not toys and you at least need to know about electronics and what each and every component does. But like you said, what's to lose? I guess we could give it a try and see what happens.''


***  ***  ***


Outside, both me and Apple Bloom walked outside into the orchard and towards where I last left the car just after I found Apple Bloom when she got thrown into one of the trees. To say the least about the state of the car, it was a complete mess. 

The red paint was scratched and scuffed in numerous areas, more specifically on the front where most damage was present and the driver's seat door was open, also covered in scratches, as well as small bits of twigs and some leaves. The windscreen still had that hole in it on the driver's side where I was launched out when I first crashed it and thankfully, both of the headlights were still intact.

I went beside the driver's seat and reached underneath the steering wheel for the latch to release the catch on the bonnet of the car and upon pulling it after eventually finding it and hearing a soft 'clunk' I went back to the front of the car and raised the bonnet so that the whole engine block was exposed. 

Just looking at that thing made us both realize that we had our work cut out for us. I could only spot a few parts that I could fix on my own, but there was one problem - how the hell am I going to get the engine out to look it over? I have no idea what is damaged and what isn't. 
Apple Bloom looked the components over and looked somewhat amazed by all the technology. 

''Apple Bloom, are you sure you're up to this? This isn't going to be easy and I have not the slightest clue of how long this may take us. But first, we have to move this thing someplace where we can actually work on it.'' I closed the bonnet and sat in the driver's seat and took the car keys from my pocket and inserted them into the ignition slot and turned them, causing the car to sputter and cough, giving me a good idea of how much work is going to be needed to fix the engine and that I was low on petrol. I turned them again and the engine jumped to life, letting out a loud growl that made Apple Bloom jump back in fright.

''It's alright, Apple Bloom. C'mon, we need to find someplace safe for this thing so we can work on it.'' I motioned to the passenger seat and slowly, she opened the door and climbed in. I gave a little smirk at her before I released the handbrake and pushed my foot down on the pedal, causing the car to launch from it's stationary position with a roar from the engine and making Apple Bloom give a small scream of surprise as we headed down the orchard and towards the farmhouse
.
As I drove, the engine kept creating a 'thunk'ing noise and the stench of petrol was more than my nose could take, making me feel like I wanted to sneeze. I momentarily looked over to Apple Bloom, seeing how scared she looked, prompting me to lower the speed down to a bearable level for a pony who is having their first time riding in a car with a speed-freak such as myself.

''D-Don't d-do that again, M-Matt! Ah swear, Ah've had enough crazy things happen ta me today!'' She scowled at me, to which I let out a short laugh before giving her a soft, apologetic smile. 

Just outside of the farmhouse, I drove around the side of it and found that the flattened ground was good enough for us to work on, so I pressed my foot down on the brake and pulled up the handbrake once the car was stationary again.

We both got out and for the first few moments, AB gave me an angry glare, only causing me to snicker. Unlocking the bonnet again, I raised it up to reveal the engine block. I also realized I had no tools to work with, but that could wait, seeing as I didn't know exactly what needed fixing. 

I looked at the grille where the symbol of the galloping horse once was and then I looked over to Apple Bloom whom was looking right back at me and then I found yet another grin creep onto my face. Without saying anything, I charged back into the farmhouse and opened a draw in the stand beside the couch and took out the Apple Family's Album and I swiped through the pages until I found the picture of Apple Bloom as a filly that I saw earlier when she first showed me the album. 

Smiling to myself, I took the picture from its holder and put it into my pocket, an idea sparking in my brain.


***  ***  ***


I found myself in the basement of the farmhouse with the picture of the filly Apple Bloom and my idea couldn't be any better. I thought that if my Mustang is going to be repaired to do runs for the family, it needs to represent the family and with nothing on the grille to indicate that the car is indeed a production of Ford, I decided I'd make my own symbol to take the place of the galloping horse.

And so I used some metal and various cutting equipment I found to cut out and create a galloping Apple Bloom with reference to the picture. It was around the same size and length of the galloping horse and I tried to keep as much reference to it as the actual Apple Bloom by including the details to her mane and bodily features and to emphasize that, I added in the iconic pink bow that AB is known for.

I smiled at my work. It may of been small, but it was something. After what seemed like the longest time ever that I've spent in a basement (which it was) I left the basement and appoached the front of my car where I placed the galloping Apple Bloom piece I made and surprisingly, it fit quite nicely. 

With that over, I drew my attention back to all of the damaged parts on the body of the car and I needed to think of how to fix all of those scrapes and dents that were scattered all around the front of the car. 

And then...

''Matt?'' I heard a voice say from behind me and when I turned, I saw Apple Bloom watching me with those gorgeous eyes of hers.  ''What are ya doin'?''

''Oh, hey, Bloom. I was just doing...something.'' I mumbled, feeling kind of awkward. She took notice of my strange look and craned her head around so she looked past my side and at the grille of my car where the newest addition was placed.

''Oh, it's just that Ah found this.'' She pulled something out of her mane and showed it to me and my body froze a little. It was the picture of her as a filly that I took from the Family Album. ''Mind explainin'?'' 

''I-I-I, um, uh...surprise?'' I ended lamely, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. Without word, Apple Bloom threw her hooves around me and pulled me into a bone-crunching hug. Yeah, surprise indeed.

She smiled softly at me. ''Ah think that ya'll did a good job with that. Next time, though, at least tell me you took a picture from the Album.'' She said as she hugged me warmly.

''N-No problem, Bloom. The idea just came to me, and after all, I think you look kinda cute as a filly.'' I smiled at her, to which she blushed a dark rosey colour. And for the sake of torment, I knelt down to her level and gave her a peck on the cheek, intensifying her blush. I couldn't help but chuckle at the look on her face.

''Yeah, yeah, Ah love ya too, Matt.'' She replied with a soft chuckle of her own.


***  ***  ***
Four Weeks later...
***  ***  ***


Apple Bloom came bursting into the farmhouse with probably the hugest grin I've ever seen her wear and in her hoof she held a letter sealed in a blue envelope. 

''Oh mah gosh, oh mah gosh, oh mah gosh! They're comin' back to town! Ah can't believe it!'' She chimed, bouncing all over the room in shear excitement. From the couch I stared at her blankly, clearly not having the slightest clue what she was saying or what she meant.

Getting up, I held her shoulders to stop her bouncing, and when she did, she still held that beaming grin of hers. ''Whoa, whoa, calm it down, Bloom. Who's coming to town?'' I asked, clearly confused.

''Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!'' She chimed once more, resuming her hopping, knocking me down as she ran over me. ''They're mah two bestest friends ever! They said that they're comin' to town on the next train! It's been forever since we've seen one another! This is gonna be so awesome!'' She shouted as she let out the loudest squee I've ever heard.

Recovering from the forceful blow from the soft, cream coloured lightning bolt, I climbed my way back to my feet and turned to face her. ''That's great, Bloom.'' I smiled to her. ''So, when's the next train?''

At the question, she paused and her eyes snapped to look at the clock that hung on the wall, seeing that it read twelve-twenty five. She gasped and launched herself out of the door, blasting down the road after saying something in a hyperactive sentence that sounded like, ''Oh my gosh, Ah'm gonna be late to meet them! Gotta go, bye!''

I blinked, seeing her vanish over the horizon shortly afterwards.


***  ***  ***


With Apple Bloom gone and nothing to do, I found myself outside, working on my car. In the past couple weeks, me and Apple Bloom have finally managed to fix the engine and the fan and numerous other components that are vital for the functioning of the engine to work safely and normally.

Oh, and thanks to some connections that the Apple Family have with some pony called Filthy Rich who they do most of their marketing with, they were able to set a deal so that I could get some petrol to go into the tank of the Mustang, so now it was a whole lot more possible than before to do some pie delivery runs.

With a few tweaks here and there along with a satisfied smile, I closed the bonnet with a click that told me that it locked in place. To test it, I sat in the driver's seat with the door open and turned the keys in the ignition slot, causing the car to roar to life and vibrate from the power that the engine created, along with a pocket of exhaust fumes from the back.

It felt so good to have the car back to it's former glory. It may not of been new, but at least it worked like it should. Hell, even the electronic dials and screens worked properly. The only problem was that I couldn't get a windscreen, simply because they are designed specifically for each car and that makes replacing them a royal pain in the ass, and because my Mustang is the only one in this world, it was impossible to find a replacement.

Satisfied that my work was done for the time being, I turned off the engine and got out of the car, looking over it to see if I missed anything. As I looked it over, another fantastic idea entered my mind. My car was red, right? The signature colour of the Apple Family. Well, if it's already red and represents the Apple Family, why not paint some apples on it? Just a red car and a symbol of Apple Bloom as a filly with the bow won't say 'I represent the Apple Family'.

Applejack's cutie mark in mind, I was wondering how it would look on the car's front doors. Three, perfectly red apples with green leaves on their tops. I smiled again and remembered that I saw some red and green paint in the basement that would be perfect for the job.


***  ***  ***


Around a few hours later after repainting the scratched parts on the car's front and adding the symbol of the three apple that matched Applejack's, the paint job was complete. 

Standing back to admire my work I nodded my head in approval at how it appeared now that it has been fixed and completely restored. I just hoped that Applejack and Apple Bloom approve of this as much as I do.

Speaking of Applejack, I wonder how she's doing. I haven't seen her for at least a couple days. Going to see how she was holding up after our last talk, I entered the farmhouse and checked the living room and kitchen but found no trace of her. Next, I checked the upstairs part of the house and I didn't know where her room was since I haven't exactly had chance to find out.

Although by a logical guess, it would probably be on the left-hand side of the hallway. Shrugging to myself, I tried the door at the very end, seeing a room decorated the same way as Apple Bloom's with around the same amount of furniture and decoration.

On the bed that was positioned on the wall nearest to the door I spotted her, laying on the bed on her chest with her hat on the floor beside it. Her mane was raggled and uneven and her lovely, normally well-kept and smooth coat was no different. In front of her muzzle were some papers that I assumed were the same ones that I saw her working on to figure out the costs for the barn.

Seeing her in the state that she was got me worried. Quietly, I sat next to her. ''Applejack?'' I said softly, nudging her shoulder, to which she groaned before slowly raising her head to reveal a tired pair of pale emerald eyes that looked back into mine. ''Are you alright? You look terrible.''

She blinked at me, trying to get rid of the tiredness that lingered within them before a loud yawn escaped her. ''Oh, hey there, Matt.'' She managed a weak smile. ''Ah'm just trying to clear my head about this problem with have with the barn.''

''Really? AJ, I haven't seen you for two days straight and I'm worried about you. You've been driving yourself into the ground trying to work out how to pay for that barn, and I don't want to see that happen.'' I told her with my most sincere tone. ''Besides, you can stop worrying now.''

Her ear twitched. ''Huh? Whaddaya mean?'' 

''I'm saying that I've got a solution. I was talking to Apple Bloom and she told me that you do pie deliveries? Well, from what she told me about it, you, her and Big Macintosh use carts to bring them to where they're needed. To me, that sounds like it takes forever.''

She sighed. ''What's your point, Matt?''

''I'm saying that I've found you a much faster way to get them delivered - my car. AB and me have been fixing it up and now that it's finally completely restored and repainted, I can give you a use for it.''

''A-Are ya suggesting that we use it to deliver our pies?'' She asked me, sitting upright and facing me, seemingly more awake than she was minutes ago.

''Yes, that's the idea. Come on, AJ, all me and AB want to do is help you. If you do it the way you always have, you won't have much of a chance in getting that barn rebuilt any time soon. You need the money, so if you take me up on my idea and use my car to make your deliveries, you'll get more money twice as fast and you will get the barn rebuilt a whole lot faster.''

''Ah dunno, Matt. Ah appreciate what you're doin', but Ah just ain't all that sure about that. What Ah'm sayin' is how do you plan to use it to take pies along?''

I brightened. ''Easy. Most cars come with hitches, and mine has one, so you'd be able to connect some to that and put some in the boot of the car, as well as in the back seats.'' I held her shoulder. ''I can tell that you're unsure, but all me and AB want to do is help you. At least consider it. I've got the car all ready if you change your mind and I won't have much a problem taking care of the deliveries for you. Hell, I'd even help you bake the pies. I do have some experience in catering from my grandmother.''

Applejack looked down for a moment before letting out another sigh from her nostrils in defeat and looking back into my eyes, letting a smile creep onto her lips. ''Alright, Matt. If it means that much to you, I'll take you up on it.'' 

I looked to the floor for a moment, picking up her hat and placing it atop her ruffled, blonde mane before hugging her. ''Thank you. I promise, I won't let you down.'' 

''Ah should be thankin' you. Ah don't know what I would of done if ya'll didn't put some sense into me.'' 

This time, I blushed softly as I broke away from the friendly embrace. ''I'm just glad to be of help, Applejack. It's the least I could do after all the stuff your family has done for me. Look on the bright side, though. Now you can finally get some sleep and get your deliveries made twice as fast.'' I saw a bright smile upon her lips, my own smile mirroring it. ''Now, I think you should try to get some sleep. We're gonna need you wide awake if we're gonna be baking tomorrow.''

''Yeah, I hear you.'' She gave me a tired smile. ''Again, thank you.'' I returned the smile before I exited the room and went back downstairs where I found myself staring into the calm, life-filled eyes of Apple Bloom and two other ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, whom I guessed were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. 

''Hey, Matt. This is Scootaloo,'' She ponted a hoof to the pegasus with an orange coat that was a little lighter than Applejack's and her mane was a scruff of purple, matching her eye colour. Her cutie mark was of a tire trailed by fire. ''and Sweetie Belle.'' She pointed to the unicorn. Sweetie had a pearl white coat and a two-tone soft pink and violet mane that was curled neatly at the front and back and her eyes were a soft sea-foam green colour. Her cutie mark was of a pink heart surrounded by musical notes of the same colour.

''Nice to meet you both.'' I greeted them both with a friendly smile before Scootaloo asked me, ''Why are you covered in red paint?''

I blinked before looking to my chest where I saw splotches of red paint covering my shirt. How did I not notice that? This is the only shirt I had! 
''Huh, didn't realize that.'' I scratched at the back of my head. ''Anyway, to answer your question, I've been painting.'' At that, Apple Bloom gave me a curious expression. ''Come on, I'll show you.'' I said before heading out of the front door of the house and around the side of the house to the back where I left the car in the sun so the paint would dry. By now, it should be dry.

The three of them looked over the body of the new fixed up Mustang with mixed expressions, both of Scootaloo's and Sweetie's expressions curious but unsure at what they were seeing. As for Apple Bloom's expression, I could read what she was thinking by that gleam in her eyes.
''You like it?'' I asked her. She walked up to the door of the car and lightly touched a hoof to the now dried red pain for a brief moment before turning back to me with a smile.

''It's perfect.'' She said with a nod, pulling me into a small hug before releasing me.

''Oh, another thing. Applejack agreed to let us use it to deliver the pies.'' 

''She did?! That's wonderful! So, we get to bake tomorrow or today?'' Bloom asked me with a hopeful look in her eyes.

''We bake tomorrow. We're all set for now, so we can do whatever we want for the rest of the day.'' 

Apple Bloom looked over to her friends with a smile. ''Oh, great! You three can get to know each other! Ah can tell already that ya'll all be good friends!'' Scootaloo and Sweetie smiled to me.

''Yeah, sure. Any friend of Apple Bloom is a friend of ours.'' Scootaloo said with a friendly smile. ''So, Apple Bloom, have you told him about the clubhouse?''

''Oh, yeah, good idea!''

''Huh? What clubhouse?'' I asked them with a raised brow. My response was one of her hooves gripping around my hand and hauling me off in a direction towards the treeline just on the outskirts of the farm where the three of them brought me inside of the treeline a short ways away and showed me some kind of treehouse built into the side of a tree trunk.

From it's appearance, I could tell that it hasn't been used or maintained for a good long while and it had at least two or three windows with shutter that hung off by their hinges and the paintwork was faded but was noticeably once a soft yellow and blue colour. As for the entrance to the treehouse, a single, short ramp with faded blue paint on it hung from the side, lowered down to the floor.

''So...what is this? Some kind of treehouse?'' I asked, clearly confused.

''The Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse!'' The three of them shouted in unison. ''This is where we used to hang out when we were all fillies!'' Apple Bloom explained. ''Ever since we all became best friends, the three of us decided to create the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a club devoted to helping blank-flanks get their cutie marks!'' 

''Yeah, and it was the bestest time of our lives!'' Scootaloo said with a smile, reminiscing.

''Yeah, those were the days...'' Sweetie said a little dreamily. ''Anyway, why don't you let us show you around?'' She said, turning to me, to which I simply shrugged.

''Sure, why not?'' 

Led by the three of them up the old but surprisingly stable ramp, Scootaloo opened the faded, rose-coloured door to the clubhouse in a cloud of dust, causing the trio to cough momentarily, as did I.

The inside wasn't much different than the outside and there were some things still left in it. There was an old box with a dusty gas lamp sitting atop it and in the far right corner, I could make out a round, red and white painted section of flooring with a small, cracked bulb hanging above it by a single wire and directly at the back in the centre, placed just a few inches from touching the wall, stood a wooden podium with a faded blue shield on the front with what looked like a white, rearing filly in a cape that fluttered lightly in the air.

I could see the three of them smiling as they looked around the place. It was very obvious to me that this clubhouse played a very important part of their childhood together and housed many good memories.

''It's been forever since we've seen this place.'' Sweetie said, taking in what the years of no cleaning and maintenance had done to the place. ''I can't believe we let this place go. We've had so many good times here. Why'd it have to end?''

''Because we got our cutie marks, duh.'' Scootaloo rolled her eyes at her. ''Besides, how can we be a Cutie Mark Crusader when we already have our cutie marks? You gotta grow up some time.'' She said.

''Yeah, I guess so.'' Sweetie replied with a sad look, looking down at the floor.

''Aw, come on, girls,'' Apple Bloom said to them. ''we had a good run with this place. This place is still ours and all it needs is a little clean, but first I think we should show Matt what we do.'' She turned her attention towards me momentarily with a smile before looking over to her two friends before nodding to them.

Taking the hint of what she was saying, Sweetie sat where the red and white painted circle was whilst Scootaloo said, ''This is where we come up with ideas,'' before she tapped the light bulb, presumably trying to flick it on but all that happened was that it fell out of its place and smashed on top of Sweetie's head with a loud shatter.

Sweetie rubbed her head, wincing in pain before letting out a soft 'ow'. Next, Scootaloo sat at the box, using it as a table as she mimed eating something whilst Sweetie said, ''And this is where we have our lunch,'' Scootaloo made a soft gulping noise and then Apple Bloom held an old purple coloured crayon in her mouth and motioned to a map on the wall with what I guessed was a drawing of Ponyville that one of them made as a filly.

''And this is where we cross our map.'' Apple Bloom said through the crayon around her mouth before spitting it out and she giggled to herself, as did the other two. ''Hehe, I missed doing that.''

''Well, that was...something.'' I said, impressed that this is what they did for a living as fillies, having the tenacity to keep at it to get what they wanted, no matter what the world threw at them. 

In the corner of the clubhouse, I heard a gasp and when I looked over along with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, we all saw Sweetie levitating something out of an old trunk with a soft green glow that matched her eye colour.

''They're still here!'' She said with happiness coating her voice. When she turned to face us, I heard the other two gasp as well. In her magic was some kind of dark red cloak with a glittering, golden underlining with the same blue shield and white, rearing filly I saw on the podium. 
The other two went up to the trunk as a wave of happiness washed over them as they picked two other cloaks of the same size and colour as the one Sweetie had.

''Ah forgot all about these!'' Apple Bloom said, hugging hers close to her chest, as was Scootaloo.

I watched them all have their moments as they recollected their old but happy memories. That gave me yet another idea. Just from this small experience, I could tell that these three close and best-of-friends had a special place in their hearts for this clubhouse. 
Not just a month ago, I overheard Applejack say that Apple Bloom's twentieth birthday was coming up sometime in the next week from now.
I already did something for her family, but haven't made it up to her for what I caused. This time, I was going to do it right and make it up to her once and for all, to show her just how much I really did care about her.
It was time to get the brush and paint out!


***  ***  ***
Three Days Later
***  ***  ***


Covered in a mixture of red, blue and yellow paint, I stood just outside of the CMC Clubhouse and admired my work. 
The old and faded, peeling paint has been replaced by a fresh layer of the colour it once was and it looked like it had been revived from the dead, back into the light and the world of living.

I even took the time to dust the place off to the way I presumed it once looked. The shutters on the windows were also repainted a rose-pink colour like they used to be and they were screwed back on to their hindges securely. The door on the other hand was painted so that it matched the shutters and also screwed back into the frame securely.

For once, I could say that all that experience with DIY came in handy. I was proud of my work. I knew that AB and her friends would love this, too. I only hoped that they didn't come back until her birthday when I could reveal it to them.

In the meantime, I looked like hell. I seriously needed a shower to get this paint off of me. There was some also in my hair, covering my natural black-brown a combination of the red, blue and yellow in small pockets. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I used their shower.


***  ***  ***


A quick wash here and there, my body and hair was cleansed of any traces of paint and back to their former glory. After a quick dry, I headed downstairs where I saw Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sat together in a circle in the middle of the living room, giggling and sharing a few laughs.

They didn't seem to notice my presence as I came down the stairs and headed next to the front door of the framhouse where my jacket was hung up by the rack on the wall. The black material that made the jacket was still soft to the touch and looked as new as the day I bought it. Despite the storm that threw rampaging wind, rain and sticks and leaves its way, it still managed to stay intact, apart from one or two small specks of mud that were lining the bottom of it at the front and partially at the back from when I used it to wrap around Apple Bloom when she...ooookay, not thinking about it...

I shook my head, wiping my hand across my eyes as memories of that night surfed through my mind. Trying to take my mind off of it, I took my jacket from the rack and put it on, flicking off a couple traces of grime with my hand.

''Oh, hey, Matt.'' I heard the soft, scratchy voice of Scootaloo say from behind me, causing me to turn around to face the trio of friends. She must of caught on my expression because her lips transformed into a frown and she looked on at me with worrysome eyes. ''What's up? Why do you look so glum?''

''I-It's nothing, Scootaloo.'' I lied. ''Just kinda tired.'' Trying to hide my glum expression to avoid thinking about that night of the storm, I turned to avoid eye contact and made for the front door. ''I uh...I'm just gonna go out for a while.'' And with that, I left without another word to avoid further conversation.

''What do you think that was about?'' Scootaloo asked with a raised brow as she turned towards her two friends.

''Ah dunno, girls. He ain't been acting like normal these past few days. He's been looking tired and kinda sad for a while now.'' Apple Bloom said in a concerned tone.

''Any idea why?'' Sweetie asked, to which Apple Bloom simply shook her head.

''Actually, no. Although, I guess I have an idea why. Ah haven't had that much of chance to tell you yet, girls, but Matt ain't exactly from here. Ah don't have a clue how, but Ah found him on top of his car in one of the orchards, all smashed and beaten up. It's a wonder he's alive at all. Ever since then, he's been stayin' with us.'' Apple Bloom explained. ''Ah think that after all that's happened, he misses his family. Ah don't even think that he can get back home.''

Sweetie gave a sympathetic smile. ''Well, I think you're sweet to of taken him in and look out for him. He seemes like a really nice guy.'' 

Scootaloo shared her smile. ''Yeah, you two seem to get along quite well.'' She said, to which AB let out a dreamy sigh.

''Yeah, we do. He's been so sweet and kind towards me and he saved mah life during that storm about four or so weeks ago.'' She frowned, looking to the floor with a saddened look in her eyes. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gasped softly, shocked to hear what their friend had just said.

''W-W-What happened?'' Sweetie asked. Apple Bloom looked back up, meeting her now watery eyes with Sweetie and Scootaloo's own.

''W-When the storm was at it's worst that night, A-Ah followed Matt outside and Ah...and Ah...'' She choked back a bit before forcing herself to continue. ''...Ah got thrown into a tree and Ah nearly d-died. Ah was jus' lucky enough that Matt was able to restart mah heart in time.'' She was crying now, bell-bottomed tears dripping down her cheeks and plopping onto the wooden floor.

Her friends too were crying and pulled their life-long friend into a hug, holding her tight and close. 

''I-I'm sorry, Bloom. We had no idea!'' Scootaloo said as she wrapped her hooves around Apple Bloom.

''Y-You've got nothin' to be sorry for, girls. In a way, Ah guess it was also mah fault that it happened.'' AB said with a sniffle before she pulled away from the embrace, looking into her friend's eyes. ''Gosh, look at me. You two ain't even been here that long and Ah'm already telling you all of this.'' She let out an awkward laugh. ''We haven't even caught up, yet.''

Scootaloo only smiled to her friend. ''That doesn't matter, Bloom. We're just glad that you're still in one piece and alive.'' She pulled her back into a hug and nuzzled her cheek. ''All that matters is that you're alright, Apple Bloom.''

Sweetie joined in the hug. ''Yeah, that's all that matters.'' She said as she held her friend in her hooves and settled into the embrace.

AB Smiled to them. ''Ah'm so glad that you two are mah friends. Ah dunno what Ah'd do without you.'' 

''By the way, we haven't been all that honest, Apple Bloom.'' Scootaloo said. ''Now that we're back in Ponyville, we're staying for good, or at least until we get called away again. You know, until at least something comes up.'' 

''Oh, that's great!'' AB brightened up, wiping her eyes as she found her smile. ''So we can hang out like we used to? Just like the good old days?'' Her friends gave a soft 'Mmm Hmm' and she wiped away the remaining tears, finding her joyful mood once again. ''You girls are the best! Maybe now we can get the CMC up and runnin' again!'' 

They both gasped. ''That's a great idea, Bloom!'' Scootaloo said, raising her hoof in the air, followed by Sweetie and finally Apple Bloom before lowering them down until they touched before clonking them together and then they shot them into the air as they shouted in unison, ''Cutie Mark Crusaders are go!''


***  ***  ***


A new morning dawned upon Sweet Apple Acres and already awake in the early morning was the three friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They were all running together towards the old CMC Clubhouse, giggling and smiling as if they were fillies again.

Heading towards the treeline and getting inside to where the clubhouse was located, Scootaloo, who was first to get there stopped dead in her tracks with her mouth hanging agape as she stared at the sight in front of her in a mixture of shock and disbelief at what she was seeing.
Seeing that their friend had stopped, the other two were about to ask what was wrong and when they looked to where she was looking, they too froze.

In front of them, what was once a deserted, abandoned old clubhouse was now a newly-painted, dusted off and newly fixed up version of what it used to be. Just like they all remembered, the main body was done in the same, vibrant yellow that it has always been, along with the ramp and base of the clubhouse that was a touch of soft mixture of blue-green whilst the shutters and front door were done in a rose-pink.
Speechless, they blinked and rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't just seeing things. Realizing that they weren't seeing things, Scootaloo came forward and touched the ramp softly with a hoof and getting nothing on it, could tell that whoever did this did it just hours ago.

''It's...it's dry.'' Scootaloo said, turning back to her friends as the faintest of smiles appeared on her lips, still taking in the reality of seeing their childhood clubhouse being restored.

''B-But who did this?'' Sweetie said, her voice quiet.

Apple Bloom looked it over, walking up to the ramp and placing a testing hoof onto it before placing her whole body wait onto it, expecting to hear a creak, but heard none. Much to her surprise, it was as if they never left it. It was just the way they remembered it. She would be lying right now if she said she didn't feel a tingle in her amber eyes.

''Ah don't believe it. It's like it always have been!'' She wiped a stray tear from her eye, as did her two companions. She walked up the non-creaking ramp with her two friends and gently pressed her hoof against the front door to the clubhouse, pushing it inwards to reveal a just-as-restored interior as the exterior.

The interior was completely dusted off and spotless, to the point where it actually shined. In the back, the podium with the CMC logo attached to it had been cleaned and polished and looked as good as new, along with everything else in the room. The white and red Thinking Circle in the far right corner had been repainted and the lightbulb hanging above it by its wire had also been replaced by a new bulb whilst the lantern on the box at the far back wall was also fixed up and dusted off.

Though slightly yellowed and aged, the map on the wall looked somewhat new on its place on the wall. 
Sweetie looked to where the trunk was in the corner, and when she opened it, her gasp prompted Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to come over, also gasping at what they were seeing inside. 

The small, red and golden-lined red cloaks that the three wore as fillies, one appearing to be torn at the end that was recognized as Scootaloo's, were still in their same place but next to them was three more of the same material but in a size big enough for an adult pony.

Levitating it in her magic, Sweetie lifted it up and inspected it. I was indeed the same materials as the original cloaks and the patch of the rearing white filly was in the same place it always has been, only slightly bigger. However, one small change that she could see was that along the front on the breast of the cloak was something written in a brighter red fabric. It read 'Apple Bloom'.

Gasping softly, she pulled the other two out and on them was the same kind of fabric in the same place. One read 'Scootaloo' in purple and the other read 'Sweetie Belle' in a soft green fabric.

Finding her smile, Sweetie draped her friend's cloaks over her friend's backs and tied them in place, as did she. They were soft and snug on the inside and the outside, dark red-maroon colour was just as smooth and soft as the inside.

AB touched her hoof to her name in the fabric, running it along it. She smiled to herself, as were her friends. They were all simply at a loss for words. Looking closely at the cloak, Apple Bloom thought that the work looked all too similar to Rarity's, but why would she make them? Surely she wasn't the one who did this?

''Sweetie Belle? Doesn't this look an awful lot like Rarity's work?'' Apple Bloom asked her with a suspicious tone. Blinking, Sweetie looked closer at her own cloak, getting the same look in her eyes that Apple Bloom had.

''Now that you mention it...'' She held it partly in her hooves. ''...yes. Only Rarity could get something this precise. Not to mention that she knows only what the materials are and the golden material was especially made by her.'' She looked into Apple Bloom's eyes. ''Girls, I think we should see if she knows anything about this.''


***  ***  ***


''Stop moving so much, darling!'' Rarity ordered as she pulled a bow tighter in place here and there. ''How do you expect me to make you look absolutely dashing when you keep moving so fast?'' 

''Ugh, how much longer? I'm sooooo bored!'' Rainbow Dash moaned, trying to flap her aching wings that were tucked tightly beneath the silk gown that was strapped tightly against her skin.

''Just hold still while I readjust some of my measurements and it'll all be over soon, darling.'' Rarity reassured her, an annoyed tone in her voice. Rainbow rolled her eyes and pouted as she let out a sigh of frustration. 

The gown was made completely of silk and was a vibrant, royal blue with yellow stitching and matching straps and it made her feel claustrophobic and insecure and it felt itchy. Times like this made her wonder how she got dragged into these situations. 

Whilst she stood there on aching legs in irritation, Rarity mumbled to herself as she readjusted her glasses and undid some of the straps that were located on the back of the gown, taking some of the pressure off of Rainbow's back that seemed to calm her a little.

She groaned as she spotted that some of the stitching on the back had come out of place and threatened to completely ruin the garment. Grabbing her needle and thread, she was about to redo it until the door to the boutique shot open and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom came through, wearing the CMC cloaks, cutting off her concentration.

''Oh my! Must you barge through the door like that? I'm right in the middle of my work! I-'' Rarity said in annoyance before stopping at the appearance of her little sister. ''Sweetie Belle! You're back!'' Rarity said, any annoyance forgotten as she wrapped her hooves around her sister and pulled her into a hug.

''Hi, Rarity. Rainbow.'' She greeted her sister and friend. ''Are you busy? We kind of need to talk to you.''

''Oh, Sweetie, I need to finish this gown for a client. Can't it wait?''

Sweetie frowned. ''No, not really. Our clubhouse has been completely restored and we found these cloaks inside.'' She took off her own cloak and levitated it up to her sister in a green glow before it was taken over by Rarity's royal blue magic and she closely inspected it. ''Do you know anything about this? They weren't there the day before.''

Rarity didn't respond for a short while as she looked over the material. Just like the first cloaks the girls wore as fillies, the material was exactly the same, CMC patch and all. Looking underneath the gown to the internal material, she went silent. She looked into Sweetie's eyes and she asked again,

''Do you know anything about this?''

She didn't say anything for a while. All she could do was sigh. ''Sweetie's, yes, I do know something about this.'' She smiled softly at them. ''I made them for you. A friend came in and asked me to make them. It was at a request for how much he saw you loved them and what they meant to you.'' She confessed, smiling to them but they didn't smile back. Instead, the three of them had knowing looks on their faces.
The only person they ever showed the CMC Clubhouse to was Matt and he was also the only one that saw those cloaks.

''Matt!'' They all said in unison. It all made sense to them now! The reason for his tiredness and why he wasn't around much must of been something to do with the CMC Clubhouse!

''Hey! Hello! Restrained pegasus in a silk prison over here!'' Rainbow shouted, getting an annoyed look from Rarity.

''Oh, hush now, Rainbow! I'll get you sorted out in a second!'' She said to her cyan friend, causing her to moan with great irritation.

''Argh! I can't take this any longer!'' Rainbow gritted her teeth and forced her wings to open before quickly undoing the straps and forcefully shaking the gown off, causing it to tear and fall apart before bolting through the door in a rainbow-coloured flash.

''Rainbow, you ruined the gown!'' Rarity yelled after her in shock with a shriek. With a quick glance to her sister, she levitated the gown back to her and tied it back on. ''Terribly sorry to cut this short, girls, but I've got a pegasus to kill!'' And then Rarity ran after her friend, ready for her revenge, leaving the three friends alone.

They all blinked at each other before they all erupted in laughter.

''They haven't changed a bit!'' Scootaloo said through her laughs.

''Yep, that's my sister!'' Sweetie wiped a tear from her eye and calmed her laughing before stopping completely.

''Alright, girls, that's enough. We need to find Matt.'' Apple Bloom said, wiping her own tears away, getting a look from Scootaloo and Sweetie.

''But, Apple Bloom, how would we know where to look for him? We have no idea where he would go.'' Sweetie said.

''Yeah, besides, Ponyville isn't as small as it used to be. you know. He could be anywhere.'' Scootaloo said.

''Ah suppose so, but we still need to find him.'' Apple Bloom told them. ''Now, come on, a Cutie Mark Crusader never gives up! And what better place to start at other than Sugarcube Corner! Maybe Pinkie would know where he is!''


***  ***  ***


Sugarcube Corner wasn't as packed at this time of day and when the trio of friends arrived, they were thankful for that. They knew that Pinkie Pie, the bestest party-planner in all of Equestria, knew everyone in the area and was even quite close to them so they hoped that she also knew where Matt was.

Not even a second through the door, Apple Bloom was swiped straight off of her hooves without any time to react and she found herself being held by the hyper-energetic pink mare in a bone-breaking hug.

''Oh, Apple Bloom, it's so good to see you! After Matt told me what happened to you, I was so super-duper worried about you and it's so good to see you're okay!'' Pinkie said in a single, fast sentence, nearly being completely not understandable.

''What the?!'' Apple Bloom yelled out of shock before she released Pinkie was the blur that hit her. ''P-Pinkie, A-A-Ah can't breathe!'' She struggled to say but she didn't go heard by the pink mare whom was now crying a little.

Coming to her aid, it took both of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to pry the hooves from her friend that were suffocating her. After some effort of prying the hooves off of Apple Bloom, she tried to regain her composure and Pinkie's eyes were watering up.

''I'm sorry, Apple Bloom! I'm just so glad you're alright!'' Pinkie wailed.

''Pinkie, that was like four weeks ago! How did ya'll even know about it?'' Apple Bloom inquired to which Pinkie wiped her eyes and mustered a weak smile.

''Matt told me, of course, you silly filly.'' She said simply. Blowing her nose with a tissue with a sound like a clown horn and a shower of confetti, she went back behind the cashier's counter and leaned on it, facing the three. ''And I have to say, it sounds to me like he has the hots for you, Bloomy.'' She hid a giggle with her hoof before she realized that she had just broken a Pinkie-Promise and said that out loud enough that any pony could hear. ''Oops...''

Apple Bloom flushed brightly and her eyes reduced in size. Behind her, she could hear Scootaloo and Sweetie stifling their own round of giggles. Turning to them, she gave them a serious glare, scowling at them.

''Don't you two start! It's bad enough that Pinkie knows, nevermind anypony!'' Apple Bloom said, but unfortunately for her, at least a few of the customers in the shop heard it, causing her blush to deepen into a rosey-candle colour. She turned to Pinkie. ''Thanks a lot!'' She scowled.

Pinkie cowered back, her mouth sealed with a hoof, almost as if she was in disbelief that she broke one of her own promises. ''I'm sorry! I just couldn't hold it in! I mean, you two do make a cute couple, and-'' Apple Bloom shoved her hoof in her mouth, shutting her up.

''Pinkie!'' She shouted, her outburst catching the attention of everyone present in the shop. ''Mind keepin' it down?'' 

Pinkie blushed in embarrassment. ''S-Sorry.''

''Now,'' Apple Bloom began, regaining her calm composure. ''do ya know where Matt is or went? We're lookin' for him and we have no idea where he is.''

Pinkie scratched her chin. ''He was by here earlier and mentioned going to Rarity's for something and after that, he just left, so I have no idea where he went. Isn't he back at Sweet Apple Acres?''

''No, that's mainly the reason we're here.'' Sweetie said.

''He can't be far girls. And hello, I'm a pegasus, I could just fly up and scout around for him. I'll be back in a second!'' She said before she shot through the door, nearly taking the whole thing off in the process.

They waited for around ten or so seconds until she returned to the shop with a cocky smirk on her face.

''I saw him in the park. Come on, let's go already!'' She said, dragging her friends with her.


***  ***  ***


I sat in the park on one of the many benches that were scattered all around. The reason I came to this place of any was because it was quiet. The scenery was beautiful and the landscape set a mood of calmness and tranquility. 

There were some ponds and lakes in various areas that housed some aquatic life such as fish and there was also some duck families that roamed around and swam in them.

My thoughts were still troubled by all that happened with Apple Bloom and that experience with death she had four weeks ago. Being here in the park of Ponyville helped to calm my racing mind and troubles, despite all that had happened. It was just the thought of losing a very dear friend such as Apple Bloom that scared me.

It was my fault that me and her family nearly lost her and with what I did for her and her friends, I hoped to put that to rest. I still couldn't believe that Rarity agreed to make those cloaks for me free of charge! With all of my plans set and in place, the only fear I could have in the circumstance of the surprise going wrong was if they found out about the cloaks and that I restored the CMC Clubhouse. 

Whilst I was at Rarity's boutique, I was amazed by the many different variations of dresses and suits and garments that she designed, enough that I asked her if she could make me some to replace the paint-covered ones I had before, to which she happily agreed, also free of charge, despite my offers of payment.

The clothes that I now wore were some of her personal designs from the collection she calls the 'Rarity collection'.  They were a custom tailored black button-shirt and matching everyday jacket with pockets and buttons in a fancy style with custom-font 'R''s on their centres in a diamond blue colour. 

As for my trousers, they were also designed to match the quality and characteristic of the jacket, with a highly comfortable fit around my waist with a grey-black silk lining for increased comfort whilst down the sides of the legs were lines also made from a silk of the same colour that ran from my waistline down to the ends of the trouser legs.

To say the least about them, I absolutely loved her work and she got the measurements just right. I sighed to myself as I relaxed and I pulled my aviators from my button-shirt's collar and placed them over my eyes before I closed them with a smile. Not a moment later did I hear the voice of the mare in my thoughts.

''Matt!'' I sat upright, seeing Apple Bloom and her friends running towards me, wearing the cloaks that Rarity made. Wait, WHAT?! My heart froze and she stopped in front of me with that gorgeous smile of hers, locking those just as beautiful amber-fire eyes of hers with my own. ''We found you!''

''Yeah, we looked all over for you. Good thing I found you from above!'' Scootaloo said, smiling to herself. 

''Huh?'' I asked in confusion as I took my shades off and put them on the top of my head. As a response, Scootaloo unfurled her wings and shook them at me with an expression like the answer was obvious.

''Wings, duh. I'm a pegasus. As in, I can fly.'' She stated matter of factly.

''Oh, right.'' I rubbed my cheek. Looking at the three in the eye, I asked, ''Please tell me you didn't get them from where I think you got them.'' The response I got was a group tackle that threw me off the seat of the bench and over the back of it to the floor with the trio on my chest, hugging me tight and close as they bombarded me with a shower of 'thank you''s.

To my mercy, they got off of me and unexpectedly, Apple Bloom pulled me closer as she got back onto her hooves and kissed me on the lips for a brief moment, leaving an apple-like taste on my lips before she pulled away, igniting a blush on both our cheeks. I missed that feeling... 

That was all I needed to find my smile. I don't even remember the last time we shared a kiss. I smiled down at her and pulled her into a hug of my own for a moment before releasing and looking back into her eyes, just as well as her friend's too.

''It was meant to be a surprise, you know. For tomorrow.'' I said, getting a surprised look from Apple Bloom.

''H-How...how did ya'll know?'' She blinked at me.

''I overheard Applejack.'' I admitted. ''Happy early twentieth birthday, Apple Bloom.'' I said, pulling her into a hug again, placing a small peck upon her cheek.

Sweetie let out a soft 'Aw' whilst Scootaloo made a gagging noise, making me chuckle. When me and Apple Bloom broke from the embrace, she smiled brightly at me and I returned it with one of my own, both of us gazing into each other's eyes. I loved her so, so much, more than she could ever know. 

''Hey, Matt?'' Sweetie asked. ''How did you even do all of that with the clubhouse in such a short amount of time?''

''A good magician never reveals his secrets.'' I laughed momentarily. ''Actually, it only took me like a few days. I always was good at DIY and decorating.'' With thanks to my father. DIY related things was also Apple Bloom's special talent! That's one thing we have in common, that and our friend slash family loyalty.

''Well, it's still pretty impressive.'' She said, hugging me along with Scootaloo. For a second, she looked at my figure, examining my newly tailored clothes. ''Rarity's work?'' She asked, to which I nodded. ''Me likey.'' She said, a little childishly.

Placing my shades back into the collar of my button-shirt, I sat on the grass with them and from there, the day transformed into night as we swapped some stories. Throughout that time we spent sat there, me and Apple Bloom stayed close, my arm around her shoulder and her cheek pressed snug against my side.

It was getting increasingly late and we should probably be heading back to the farm now. As for Sweetie and Scootaloo, they both headed back to Carousel Boutique to spend the night there and in her tired state, Apple Bloom was already half-asleep. Not to mention that she looked adorable like this. I picked her up in my arms, one supporting her legs while the other supported her head.

Arriving back home at the farmhouse, I brought her upstairs to her room as quietly as I could and gently placed her beneath the covers of her bed after removing the CMC cloak from her body and placed it on her bedside desk. 

Quietly, I took off my new shoes and jacket and pulled myself beneath the covers with her, feeling a yawn coming on moments later. The softness of her bed was inviting but not as much as her company was.

I was about to turn to the opposite side from her, but in her sleep, she turned towards me and sleepily put her hooves around me as a warm smile appeared on her lips. She scooched over to me to the point she was physically touching me and cracked an eye open at me.
''Night, Matt.'' She said before she kissed me on the lips. ''Ah love you.'' She closed her eye and snuggled her head with mine, soon drifting off into sleep.

I smiled to myself and placed my own arm around her so that I was holding her like she was holding me and I returned the kiss. ''I love you, too, Apple Bloom.'' I said in a whisper before I closed my eyes and drifted off into the world of dreams.
> Birthday (And Some Negatives)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



In the evening during the day in which AB's birthday was taking place, her family had organized a surprise party on the farm in the newly-built barn that the Mustang paid for with the pie deliveries that we made in the past week.

We had arranged for Apple Bloom to be out with Sweetie and Scootaloo for a while to give us time to set it up and who else to plan the party other than that crazy, pink party pony, Pinkie Pie?

She and her friends, including Twilight and Fluttershy who I have met in the past few days but haven't had much chance to get to know came along. However, I planned to get to know everyone as best as I can when the party was underway.

On the inside of the barn, it was built exactly as it was before it got demolished in the storm. Amongst the railings on the second level of the barn were streamers hanging down in a mixture of bright reds, blues, greens and oranges. Scattered around the main level of the barn were balloons in matching colours.

Both inside and outside of the barn were white tables and matching chairs, complete with drinking glasses. As for the hooch, Applejack carried in around a dozen or so barrels of both cider and hard cider with Big Macintosh's help and placed them in the back along with some mugs crafted from wood and metal for it to be poured into.

With all the help that has been poured into getting the job done of setting up, we were ready to roll. But before anything else, the cake was set in place at the back of the room. It wasn't much different than the classic, square cakes at home that were coated in a generous amount of pure-white icing, apart from this one was a specially designed cake with a light cream colour that matched the colour of Apple Bloom's coat and the lining around the border of the cake around both top and bottom was a fancy-styled shade of red icing that also matched the colour of Apple Bloom's mane.

In the centre of the cake was a picture of her and her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as fillies all hugging each other in a friendly embrace with huge grins on their faces as they all sat at a table in Sugarcube Corner with party hats that corresponded with the colours of their coats and manes in a twisting pattern.

The caption both above and below the picture read 'Happy Birthday' at the top and 'Apple Bloom' at the bottom in the same shade of red as the icing.

We waited for a couple hours for everyone to show up and when they did, we all hid ourselves away in the barn, armed with twizzlers and party-horns before turning the lights out upon knowing that it was only a matter of minutes before AB and her friends showed up.
Not a moment too soon of us all being in place did the barn doors open with a soft creak and from my position at the back of the barn along with Applejack I could see AB and her friends standing in the doorway, peering in at the darkness.

And then...

''SURPRISE!'' We all shouted in unison as the lights were brought back to life in a flash of blinding white. The look on Apple Bloom's face was one of being startled. She looked all around her at the different ponies she knew from around town such as her old teacher, Cheerilee and her old friend, Twist. Then she looked over to her friends and family with a twinkle in her eye and her bottom lip quivered as she finally looked over at me.

Applejack came up to her and with a smile, pulled her into a hug before pulling away. ''Happy Twentieth Birthday, Apple Bloom.'' She said to her sister, seeing her wipe away a tear.

''T-Thank you, Applejack. Thank you, everypony!'' She said with a smile as Pinkie came up to her and picked her up in her hooves in a bone crunching crush.

''Your welcome, Bloomy! Everypony helped, even Matt!'' She pointed to me with a hoof and I smiled to her and she returned it. ''As of today, you are twenty years old and you know what that means...'' 

''A-Actually, Ah haven't the slightest idea.'' Apple Bloom said as Pinkie set her down. 

''...It means that the first cider is yours, birthday girl!'' Pinkie said as she handed over a frothy mug of cider to Apple Bloom who took it in her own before taking a sip, a soft smile on her lips as the taste washed over her tongue. ''Okay now, everypony, let's paaaaarrrrty!'' Pinkie announced loudly and the crowd all gave cheers before the party was officially underway.

In the next passing hour or so, the party was well underway and conversations were flying around. I myself was in a conversation with both Twilight and Fluttershy, talking about what they do for a living and finding out about them in general. Oddly enough, I found that Twilight was more intersted in where I was from than me asking her about herself. 

As for Fluttershy, she didn't really talk as much and wasn't as open as most ponies I've met, and I respected that. Not everyone is an open book and interested in sharing stories as others are.

We spent a fair bit of the party talking to each other and some of their other friends such as Rarity and Rainbow Dash also joined in. Surprisingly, from the first encounter both me and Dash had together, she gave me a proper apology. As for Rarity, she sat back with the others and allowed me to tell them my story.

It amazed me to see how interested they were. After I told them about life back on Earth and how I got here, I could tell Twilight was intrigued and even quite curious about the part where I crashed my car in under an hour of buying it and the white flash that I suspected was how I got here.

Moving on to a few other groups, we swapped a couple stories and got to know each other. I recognized quite a few from town, such as a pony called Roseluck who sold flowers with another earth pony associate called Daisy. The other group consisted of two other ponies called Snips and Snails who, like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, have been friends for life.

They didn't really prefer to socialize but they did prefer to joke around and act less than their age. The last group I came to was of none other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Approaching them, I saw them look up to me with warm smiles.
I hugged them all in a friendly embrace when I finally reached them. They were all holding mugs of cider and from the look on Scootaloo's face, I was guessing that she has had at least a few mugs.

For the occasion, Apple Bloom was wearing the gothic cross I gave her when she was laid up in bed. I still cringed at the thought of that night. Scootaloo and the others caught on.

''Something wrong?'' Sweetie asked.

''Yeah, come on, Matt, ya've had that look in ya eye for a while now. It's obvious somethin's up.'' Apple Bloom said with a small, worried frown.

I sighed. ''I was just think about the storm again.'' I said quietly, wanting to just end it there. Saying that, Bloom's brow raised and she looked me dead in the eye.

''Wait, again? What do ya mean 'again'?'' 

What, seriously? I saw her nearly get killed right in front of me and I have to explain it? In fact, no, she did get killed! Her heart wasn't even pumping! Even I couldn't restart it! I didn't believe in luck, but it was lucky that it started pumping again so she could live!

''Do you really want me to explain?'' I asked her, frowning myself. She only nodded as a response and when I was about to tell her, even if it was obvious why, Scootaloo laughed drunkenly.

''Ha, come on, Apple Bloom, it's obvious, isn't it?'' She finished laughing and looked from Apple Bloom to me. ''It's because you love her!'' 
Scootaloo said out loud and even over the music, it was audible to the other ponies. I knew that because they were all looking over to us with shocked stares.

Apple Bloom's face turned a rosey red and and her eyes shrank in shock at what one of her closest friends had just said out loud so that a whole crowd could hear. Wheather it was the cider talking or not, it was still uncalled for. 

Sweetie put her hoof around AB's shoulder as she covered her eyes with a free hoof. Sweetie shot Scootaloo a glare of anger and disapproval. Scootaloo's eyes shrank and realized what she had just said in her drunken state.

''Apple Bloom, I-'' Scootaloo started but didn't have time to finish as Apple Bloom ran out of the barn crying, being followed by Sweetie Belle, Applejack and myself.

As for Scootaloo, she could only stand there feeling ashamed of what she said and that she hurt one of her closest friends by saying it. All around the barn, many disapproving stares pierced her and within moments, she herself ran out of the barn in tears.


***  ***  ***


''Apple Bloom, stop!'' Applejack shouted after her sister as she ran past the farmhouse and into the treeling in one of the orchards. Behind her, Sweetie Belle and me tried to keep up with her pace, falling slowly behind. ''Apple Bloom!''

In the distance, we could only just see the red of Apple Bloom's tail disappearing past the trees. Forcing ourselves, me and Sweetie pushed our legs to work faster, allowing us to run at Applejack's speed.

Upon getting inside the tree line, we spent a while looking around but found no trace of her. Applejack went looking in some other direction whilst me and Sweetie stayed together and walked ahead.

All the while, Sweetie had a strange look in her eye as kept looking at me momentarily, thinking I didn't see her doing so. Eventually, she spoke up as we still walked in search of our friend.

''Hey, Matt, can I ask you something?'' She asked me in that sweet, soft voice of hers.

''I guess as long as it isn't embarrassing or humiliating.'' I deadpanned.

''A-Actually, no. I was just wondering...why do you love Apple Bloom?'' She said with an innocent smile on her lips. For once, I looked down into her soft green eyes and actually allowed a faint smile to creep on my lips.

''Sweetie, to tell you the truth, I-I-I don't exactly know w-why. I guess it's just that I like who she is and I a-adore her as a friend.'' I looked away from her eyes and looked ahead as I walked while I sighed through my nostrils. ''She saved my life, Sweetie. I saved hers after I lied to her and I've felt so guilty about it ever since. Do you even know what that feels like?'' I said, feeling a tear stroke my cheek.

Sweetie looked guilty of asking me the question for a moment. ''I-I'm sorry, Matt. I d-didn't know you felt s-so strongly about it.'' She frowned at me and I looked back into her eyes for a brief second.

''Well, of course I do! I love her, Sweetie! She was there for me when no one else was! She's one of the few family I have left and I'd give my life for all she's done for me!'' I said, feeling a few tears escape as my self blame and hate for what I caused was released from my veins.

And then what sounded like crying caught both of our ears and we both looked over to where it was coming from. Lead by Sweetie Belle, we ran deeper into the trees and came up to the CMC Clubhouse where we wasted no time in running up the ramp and tried the door, but it wouldn't open.

Sweetie went up to the window where she looked inside the clubhouse and to the door where she saw a distraught and embarrassed looking Apple Bloom sat on the floor and leaning against the door with her hooves covering her eyes.

''Apple Bloom!'' Sweetie shouted, but Apple Bloom didn't acknowledge her. ''Apple Bloom, I know you can hear me! Come on, move away from the door!'' 

From my position on the outside of the door, I could hear her sniffle.

''L-Leave me a-alone, Sweetie. A-A-Ah just wanna be alone right now.'' Apple Bloom cried from inside, her voice broken.

''AB, please,'' I said, hoping that if she heard my voice, it would get through to her. ''I know you're embarrassed about what happened, but trust me, everything's alright.'' From inside I heard another sniffle.

''N-No it's not, Matt! Everypony knows now!'' 

''That doesn't matter, Apple Bloom. Whether everypony knows or not isn't all that of a big deal.'' 

''It is to me!'' She shouted from the inside and I could hear her stand up. ''Ah swear, Ah'm gonna kill Scootaloo when Ah see her again!'' As if on cue, the mare in question came running towards the clubhouse with a few tears of her own matting her cheeks.

''Apple Bloom, I'm sorry about what I said!'' Scootaloo said as she came to the door of the clubhouse, causing me to back away a bit. ''AB? Please, answer me!'' 

The door to the clubhouse opened and unexpectedly, Apple Bloom launched herself at Scootaloo, taking her by surprise and throwing her through the railing of the clubhouse with a loud snapping noise in a shower of splinters as she took her straight to the floor, back-first. 

Shocked, both me and Sweetie ran down the ramp to see Apple Bloom on top of Scootaloo, pinning her down as she gripped her hooves tightly around her throat, cutting off her oxygen supply. 

Scootaloo sputtered and gagged with eyes as small as pinpricks as she tried to throw her friend off of her with her hooves pressed against AB's chest. 

Hearing all the chaos, Applejack entered the scene and seeing her sister choking one of her own closest friends caused her to let out a surprised gasp before she ran over and began doing her best to pry her sister from Scootaloo.

''Apple Bloom, stop! Let go of her!'' Applejack seethed as she clamped her hooves around AB's barrel and began to pull. Me and Sweetie joined in and after around a minute of prying, Apple Bloom's hooves eventually let go of Scootaloo's throat, pulling us back with her as she landed on top of us in a heap.

Free of the deathly grip of AB's hooves, Scootaloo coughed heavily as she regained her breath, laying on the floor, her eyes returning to normal size and her eyes still dripping. The fur beneath her eyes were matted down.

Applejack held onto Apple Bloom as her anger was still present and Sweetie helped Scootaloo to her hooves as she cried from the assault, wincing a bit in pain as she put a hoof on her back, rubbing it. If it was me, I couldn't tell what would hurt worse: pure embarrassment from a drunk friend in front of a massive crowd or being assaulted by one of my closest and bestest friends whom I've known all my life. The look on Scootaloo's face was one of pure terror of what just happened.

''A-Apple Bloom, you mind tellin' me what that was all about?!'' AJ scowled at her sister who still showed traces of anger in those now blazing amber eyes that were normally so patient and calm. 

''Jeez, Apple Bloom, I didn't think you'd actually try and kill her!'' Sweetie gasped out of shock. ''Scootaloo is your friend!'' AB didn't respond. All she could do was stare into the pain-filled, petrified, purple eyes of her friend.

''A-A-Ah...Ah...'' Apple Bloom stammered, trying to find her voice as if she didn't realize she had just assaulted one of her friends. ''S-Scoots, Ah...'' She trailed off again, at a loss for words. Applejack kept a hold of her to make sure she didn't do or try anything else.

Scootaloo looked into AB's eyes with tears falling free. ''Apple Bloom, I-I'm sorry f-for what I said! I-I swear I wouldn't ever s-say anything like that on purpose!''

Apple Bloom snorted in annoyance. ''Ah know you wouldn't do it on purpose.'' She said, turning away from her friend's pleading eyes. ''The damage is done and there is no reversing it, so Ah suppose now Ah have to live with it.'' She turned back to face her, growling. ''Ah don't know if Ah can ever forgive ya for this.'' She narrowed her eyes at her. ''Next time, Ah promise ya'll won't be walkin' away so easy!'' 

Scootaloo flinched in shock and fear.

''I'm gonna take her to the hospital.'' Sweetie said before aiding her injured friend by placing her on her back and running off back towards Ponyville.

On our own, me and AJ both gave AB a shocked expression. Neither of us knew that Apple Bloom would go all crazy other something like that or at least not enough to make her actually try and physically choke one of her closest friends, never mind threatening them!

''You've got some explainin' to do, Apple Bloom! Ah thought we all raised ya'll better than that. How could ya'll assault one of your friends like that?'' Applejack said, a serious glare within those emerald fires that made her eyes.

As a response, AB shook herself from Applejack's grip and got back onto her hooves, staring right back with a glare on her own. ''Explain what, AJ? She embarrassed me in front of mah family and mah friends! For all Ah know, Ah won't hear the end of it from the town's ponies!''

AJ's scowl deepened. ''That's not exactly what Ah meant, Bloom, Ah'm talking about you assaultin' one of your best friends! What in the hay's gotten into you? Ya'll ain't ever done nothin' like that before!''

AB looked down. ''Ah know. Ah was just so angry and upset that Ah lashed at her without thinkin'.'' She frowned deeply. I came next to her and knelt to her level, hugging her.

''It's alright, Bloom. Everything will be fine.'' I told her as I held her, doing my best to comfort her, even if it did sound lame that I said it was fine to strangle your own friend.

She pushed me away with her hooves. ''No, it's not alright, Matt! Ah just strangled my own friend and possibly broke her back by shovin' her off of the balcony! How could that possibly be alright?'' She yelled at me in her own anger.

''What's done is done, AB. You can't do anything about that, but just as Scoots did, you can apologize to her. We can go to the hospital right now and see how she is.''

She sighed deeply, looking from Applejack who smiled and nodded and then to me before she herself gave a little nod. 


***  ***  ***


After a short walk to the Ponyville hospital, we were told to be seated in the waiting room while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were being seen to by one of the doctors.

We only spent around five to ten minutes before a doctor came through holding a clipboard in his magic. Like Sweetie's, it was a pale green colour, only a little bit darker, matching his eyes. His coat was yellow and his mane was brown. 

''Miss Apple Bloom?'' He said, to which Apple Bloom got up from her seat and came forward. 

''Is Scootaloo alright? She ain't hurt is she, doc?'' She asked with worry in her eyes, hoping to hear positive news.

''Yes, she'll be fine, Miss Apple Bloom. She only suffered a couple minor breaks in her back and she'll make a full recovery within a week or two. However, she didn't exactly say what caused the break.'' 

At that, AB sighed in relief through her notrils yet was worried that she had shaken her friend up enough that she was scared to even talk about it, let alone speak to her.

''Can we see her?'' She asked and the doctor nodded.

''She'll be out in a minute or so, after the nurses are done with her physio.'' And not a moment too soon, Sweetie could be seen with Scootaloo at her side, coming down the hallway.
Applejack was first to come over to meet them and pulled them both into a gentle hug, careful not to hurt Scootaloo's back.

''Ah'm glad you're alright, Scootaloo. So how do ya feel?'' She said as she pulled away. Scootaloo looked down at the floor before looking into Sweetie's eyes for a brief moment and looked back into Applejack's.

''It hurts.'' Scootaloo said softly, Looking past AJ's shoulder over to Apple Bloom who met her eyes before looking away in embarrassment. Frowning, she shakily came in front of her friend and slowly placed her hooves around her back and neck, pulling her into a hug that she hesitantly settled down into, placing her own hooves over her injured friend's back.
Neither of them said a thing for a moment as they held each other, but eventually Scootaloo broke the silence.

''I-I'm sorry, Apple Bloom.'' She said as she rubbed her cheek into AB's own. ''P-Please forgive me.'' 

Apple Bloom sighed. ''Ya are a real jerk when ya'll are drunk, ya know that?'' She said as she gently let go of Scootaloo's back and neck, looking into her purple eyes, still seeing traces of fear lingering there. ''Scoots, ya'll are one of mah best friends and Ah couldn't believe that ya'll would do something like that.'' She wiped her eye, still feeling the pure embarrassment from earlier.

This time, Scootaloo sighed. ''I know, and I'm so sorry about that. I'd rather take back what I said and still be your friend!'' She pleaded as she put her hoof around Apple Bloom's shoulder, only to have it gently pushed back down, getting an even more saddened look from her life-long friend.

''No. Ah can't. Ah'm sorry.'' Is all AB said before she turned around and walked slowly out of the hospital with her head hanging slightly down, leaving everyone else behind with sad expressions at witnessing a life-long friendship being ended.

Scootaloo sat down and covered her eyes as she began to cry. Applejack went outside with her little sister and I followed her, feeling it was best to leave Sweetie and Scootaloo alone for a while.

Sweetie held her as Scootaloo cried on her shoulder, holding her close.


***  ***  ***
A Day Later
***  ***  ***


I stood there, looking at the sight before me in pure disbelief. I was staring at a tree on the same road I remembered that I crashed on.

In front of that tree, my red Mustang was crumpled in a mess of metal, branches and glass with me on top of the bonnet, caked in my own blood and unmoving.

It was clear that I was dead.

From where I was stood on a nearby hill, I could see a gash in my head where most of my blood was gushing out at an alarming rate and coating my already red car a deeper red whilst many other cuts and lacerations covered the rest of my body and I had a large gash down the side of one of my legs running from my knee cap down to above my ankle along the side of my leg.

I wanted to walk towards it to touch it and make sure I wasn't just seeing things. All of the wounds I could see were in the exact same places they were before Apple Bloom fixed me up.

I couldn't.

My legs wouldn't move. I couldn't move. I was as frozen as a statue. I couldn't even manage a single chord from my voice box. 
Continuing to look on at the wreck of my car plowed into the tree, I saw something spark from between the gap in the bonnet and in an instant, the car erupted in flames, scorching my body's clothes as the flames licked at my corpse and ignited me, covering me and the entire front of the car in a blaze of bright orange flames that glowed in the darkness.

It wasn't long before the fire spread and hit the petrol tank, causing the whole car to explode in a firework of metal and pieces of the engine compartment, raining down on the earth in a symphony of 'thud's and 'clang's as they hit the surface of the earth.

My vocal chords seemed to finally allow me to have my voice back and I screamed as my whole body became unstuck, sticking my hand out as if I was going to grab the car, like I could touch it. 

Out of the sky, something fell like a meteor and landed directly in front of me. Looking down, I saw it was the burned, charred remains of my corpse.

The majority of the clothes were burned black from their original black-grey colour and my hair was completely burned to the point it was gone. The strange thing about it was that my head was turned to face me and the eyes, although dead and lifeless, seemed to pierce my eyes.

Once again I screamed and everything began to turn white like it did before the crash and everything disappeared.


***  ***  ***


I awoke with a jolt, screaming. Looking around, I found that I wasn't on a hill overlooking my own demise on a hunk of fifty-grand worth of metal but rather in Apple Bloom's bed in her room during the middle of the night.

She was sat next to me under the covers, looking at me with startled eyes that held concern. It became quickly apparent that my little night terror had awoken her. ''Are you okay? Ya look kinda pale, there.'' She said quietly, rubbing my back with a hoof. I didn't even answer her. I just put my arms around her and pulled her into a hug, trying to rid myself of the fright from the dream I just witnessed. ''M-Matt?''

I still didn't answer her. I rubbed my cheek into her own and stroked her mane with a hand to calm myself. It wasn't a moment later that I felt myself begin to shake and my eyes started to become wet and faint tears dripped down my cheeks.

''Matt?'' She asked again, this time gently pushing me away with her hooves on my chest, looking into my tearful eyes and at my slightly shaking body.

''A-A-Ap-Apple B-Bloom...'' I managed to say brokenly. ''W-W-Wha-What am I?'' At my question, she was quite surprised and clearly taken aback.

''Wha-What do ya'll mean? Ya'll are Matt. Just like Ah'm Apple Bloom.'' She said like the answer to my question wasn't something that really needed to be said, and then she held my hand with a hoof. ''Are ya alright, Matt? I heard you mumblin' in ya sleep.''

There was just no hiding it anymore, I had to get it out! I just had to! I missed my family and they think that I'm dead and gone but I'm here and alive, so how does anything make sense anymore?!

Clamping my arms around her barrel, and taking her largely aback, I began to bawl. ''I miss my family! This just isn't fair, it's not, it's not, it's not!'' I shouted, holding her close to me and never wanting to let her go. ''I-I-I don't even k-know wha-what's real a-anymore!'' I released my grip on Apple Bloom and stared into her eyes, as did she.

''I have no idea if I s-survived t-tha-that crash or if I d-died, but how does that make any s-sense if I'm here a-and my f-family think I'm d-dead!?'' 

''Matt, calm it down, will ya? Ya'll don't know that! Besides, how does that make a lick of sense? Of course ya'll are alive!'' She gripped on both my shoulders, raising her voice from quiet to almost shouting-level. For some reason, I didn't believe that I was actually alive. That dream felt all too real. Or was it...a vision? No, no, that sounds so uncanny. 

But that flash...it happened again. I had no idea what it was, but I had a hunch that if I found the answer to what it was, I'll know why all of this happened to me.

''Apple Bloom.'' I said firmly, now holding her shoulders. ''Is it worth it? Please, for the love of all, is it worth it?'' She gave me a confused look.

''I-Is what w-worth it?'' She asked slowly with a raised brow.

''Everything. Life. Death. Love. Hate. Regret. Is it worth it?'' Now she looked absolutely confused and uncertain of why I was asking this.

''Well, Ah...'' Her voice trailed off and she looked down for a moment before looking back up into my eyes and her ears plopped down on her head. ''Matt, why...why are ya askin' me this? Do you feel alright?'' 

No. No, I didn't feel alright. Most things that have happened in the life of Apple Bloom have changed dramatically ever since she saved me. From losing her life-long close and best friend Scootaloo to argueing with her big sister Applejack which is something she would never do, and finally, the top of the cake, nearly dying. Because of me being thoughtless and selfish, putting my car before a promise because I was too blind to see what was really there. For fuck's sake, I loved this mare! 

''I'm asking you this because I want to know. Second, no, I don't. That is partially why I'm asking you.''

''Ah don't feel comfortable with this, Matt. Ah know that ya'll are upset about what happened to you, but-'' I stopped her by holding her shoulder.

''Apple Bloom, I'm upset by what happened to you just as well as myself. Remember the party?'' She nodded, cringing slightly, presumably at the thought of what she did to her friend. ''You hurt Scootaloo after what she said. You two are friends and you've known each other for like forever. Was that worth it? Ending a life-long relationship?''

She scratched the back of her neck and whispered. ''N-N-No.''

''See? That's what I'm talking about. Is any of this worth it? Both of our families being worried, this relationship or even ending life-long, close friendships?'' I must of gotten through to her on some levels because her eyes were tearing up.

''A-Are ya'll sayin' you think t-this relationship is a-a-a mistake?'' She asked, hoping the answer wasn't a 'yes'.

''No, I'm not. Your family doesn't trust it, but that isn't reason enough to call this off. I love you, Apple Bloom. You saved my life and I saved yours and with both our lives back, I'd rather spend what I can of it with you.'' I hugged her. ''I wouldn't ever leave you.'' When I broke away, I placed a small kiss to her lips. ''Never.''

''Ah love ya too, Matt.'' She kissed me back and hugged me for a moment before breaking away. ''Ah just don't get it, though. Why do ya think that mah family won't want us together?''

I sighed softly. ''Well, look at you and look at me. A pony and a human. How would that even work as a relationship? Besides, most ponies know that we're together now, anyway. What if they treat you differently?''

''They won't. Ah know most ponies around town and Ah'm certain they'll treat me all the same like they always have.'' She said with a confident smile. I hugged her again.

''I hope you're right, I really do. But other than that, what do I do? What about my family? Can't anypony around here help me?''

Apple Bloom hugged me tight, snuggling with me. ''Matt, Ah don't know exactly how to help ya out but Ah suggest speakin' to Twilight. She knows all kinds of magic and could maybe help ya out if ya talk to her about it.'' 

''Alright. If it'll get me a step closer to find out what happened that night, I'll talk to her.'' I said, finding my smile. ''Thanks, Apple Bloom.'' I broke away from the hug and held her shoulders like she held mine as we both gazed into each other's eyes.

''Ah should be thankin' you, really.'' At my confused look, she continued. ''For fixin' up mah clubhouse. It normally takes me a while longer than it took you.'' She smiled again. ''Also for the cloaks. How'd ya even get Rarity to make them on such short notice?''

I chuckled softly. ''Like I said before, a magician never reveals his secrets. '' We both shared a laugh before we both settled in each other's arms, snuggling in bed. Tomorrow could wait. Right now I just wanted to be with this beautiful mare. 

We both laid close together, holding each other before we closed our eyes and let sleep take us. 
> Friendship Is Hard...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday found me at Twilight's library in Ponyville. I was sat on the couch with her beside me with a quill and some parchment paper, writing down some things I told her.

I have already explained some things to her during Apple Bloom's party in the barn along with her friends and that saved me a whole lot of time. From her parchment, she looked up at me with a slightly raised brow.

''So...is that everything? Every last detail?'' She asked me, to which I nodded. Even still, she seemed so intriqued and interested by me. Nodding silently, she looked back through her notes and after a few moments, looked back to me and placed her parchment and quill aside. 

''Well, Twilight? Can you help me?'' She smiled at me and nodded once more with a 'Mmm Hmm'. 

''Matt, from everything you've told me, what you experienced was probably some form of magic, teleportation magic, to be precise.'' She looked back to the notes. ''The only problem is that I don't know who could of done such a spell. A teleportation spell that creates a path from an alternate dimention to another dimention takes a whole lot of skill and practice to master. There are only a few ponies I know that could of done that, but those would be alicorn princesses.'' At my confused expression, she continued. ''Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. A unicorn like me,'' She pointed to her horn. ''wings of a pegasus.'' She pointed to her sides.

''Oh, right, right.'' I looked down for a moment. ''But, why me? It makes no sense. I crashed my car into a tree and a white flash came and the next thing I know, Apple Bloom finds me on her family's farm plowed into a tree with me on top of my car.''

''Some things are better shown than explained.'' Twilight said and her horn glowed a dim purple aura and in moments, it glowed brighter in colour and it engulfed me, taking me by surprise. Out of shock, I tried to move, but found I couldn't. Eventually, Twilight's horn glowed to the point where it was almost white and everything went white.

For a moment or two, I was blind and when I regained my vision, I found myself standing in Twilight's bedroom just on the next floor from where I used to be standing. 
Still shaking the shock from my mind, I looked down at her with my mouth slightly agape and she looked up at me with a smile. 

''H-H-How did you do that?'' I asked, baffled.

She chuckled softly. ''Ha, magic.'' She stated simply before teleporting herself in a bright flash and appearing next to me. ''I thought it was odd when I first learned it, too, but you soon get used to the feeling.'' She smiled. ''In your case, though, it sounded to me like it was a much higher grade of teleportation magic. Mine is just simple magic that is taught to younger unicorns.''

''But how does it work? Doesn't it hurt?'' I asked, finding myself to be quite intriqued.

''It's pretty easy, really. You focus your mind on an object,'' She looked over to a nearby book that was laying on a bedside desk next to her bed and flared up her horn. ''and think of anywhere in your mind that you can channel your magic to and then,'' Her horn sparked and became white before flashing and where the book once was, it wasn't anymore. Now it was held in Twilight's hooves. ''you can do what you want with it!'' She displayed the book to me in her hooves before teleporting it back to the bedside desk. ''With magic, you need to be careful how much you use it to avoid burning out your horn.''

''Burnout?'' I asked, lost yet again.

''Mmm-hmm. That's when you reach your limit on how much magic you can do before you eventually burn out your magic, so you can't do any for weeks, but all of that really depends on the level of magic you are doing.'' 

''Right, so anyway, what you were saying before about dimentional teleportation, you are telling me only high level unicorns or alicorns can perform such magic?'' I asked, hoping to shift the conversation and lesson two-in-one to a conversation where I could get an answer.

''Yes. I can do teleportation magic in the short and medium range and carry objects and even ponies with me at the same time, but bringing something or someone from an alternate universe, no.'' She frowned and sat down on her bed, motioning for me to take a seat next to her. 

Sitting down on her surprisingly soft bed spread, I felt uncomfortable for some reason. I turned to her and I found her looking deeply into my eyes with a sparkle visible to my eyes as I could see my reflection in her huge pupils. 
For a while she just stared into my eyes and then she looked away with a soft blush appearing on her cheeks in a rosey glow.

''I-I'm s-sorry.'' She mumbled as she continued to avert her gaze from mine. 

Okay, now I was so completely uncomfortable.

''T-Twilight, I think it would be b-best if I just go. Thanks for all the help.'' I said awkwardly, about to get up but was stopped by a hoof being placed around my arm.

''N-No, wait!'' Twilight said, causing me to turn back to face her. ''I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable but please don't leave! There's so much more I'd like to know!'' Her pleading only made me all the more nervous and my nerves began to twitch, telling me I best get out of here before something happens.

Backing away, I began to run for the front door and was about to pull the handle upon reaching it only for it to be engulfed in the purple glow of Twilight's magic, holding it shut. Okay, now my heart was racing!

In fright, I turned to see the purple unicorn with scared eyes. I had no idea what was going through that mare's head, but I knew it wasn't going to be good. 

Panicking, I looked around for any exit that I could get to without getting stopped by the slowly approaching unicorn.
Feverishly looking around, I spotted a nearby window just to my right and with nothing to lose (save for maybe my dignity), I made for it, charging with all my will power and jumped straight for it, going directly though the glass head-first before landing in a sheet of glass on the outside of the library with a crowd of ponies looking at me in a mixture of shock and surprise.

My head hurt and burned slightly with pain, telling me that it was cut. Brushing the glass shards off of me and forcing myself to my feet, I ran off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres before anything else could transpire.


***  ***  ***


Back at the farm, I was looking at my own reflection in the mirror in the upstairs bathroom whilst Apple Bloom patched up the small gash from the glass from earlier. I watched her apply some kind of antibacterial cream into the wound, making me wince in pain. 

Neither of us said a thing for a while and the silence was getting awkward. The only sound that could be hear was that of both of our breathing. In the mirror, I kept looking over into her eyes when she thought I wasn't looking and I could see that her eyes held traces of sadness. Hating to see her upset, I broke the silence.

''Apple Bloom? Are you alright?'' I asked, my voice quieter than usual. She didn't respond for a moment as she continued to clean the gash before placing the cream aside and placing a small, white bandage over it before looking into my eyes, allowing me to see those fires in her eyes.

''Nothin's alright no more, Matt.'' She said bluntly. It was now incredibly obvious that something was up. ''In case ya'll don't reckon back, Ah hurt my friend. Not just that, mah own sister's so disappointed in me she won't even look me in the eye!'' She sighed heavily, regaining her composure. ''A-Ah'm sorry, Matt. Ah've just been so frustrated 'bout Scootaloo. Ah ain't seen her since what happened, nor Sweetie.''

At that I frowned. ''Bloom, how come you acted the way you did?'' I asked her innocently yet curiously. She gave me a look I haven't seen since the day I first met her, just like when she first met me. 

''C-Can we n-not do this? Ah really ain't in the mood, Matt.'' She said slowly, looking down. However she wanted to try and avoid this conversation, I wanted an answer.

''Why? I saw the whole thing. The pony I saw assault Scoots wasn't you, AB. You wouldn't just attack her, I know you wouldn't. I actually think there's more to this than you want to tell me.'' I gently put two fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head up so that we made eye contact. It was clear that she was uncomfortable. 

With her hoof, she pushed my hand back down and glared at me softly. ''Ah said Ah don't wanna talk 'bout it.'' She stated simply in a soft, angry tone. It only made it more obvious that she took it more to heart than I thought she would have.

''Apple Bloom-'' 

''Don't 'Apple Bloom' me, Matt!'' She snapped at me, causing me to stop talking as she continued to glare harder at me. ''Ah'm dropping this conversation and Ah wanna keep it dropped!'' And with that, she left, slamming the rickety old door shut and leaving me alone in the bathroom staring at where she had just been standing.

I honestly didn't expect her to be that upset. I didn't mean to press too hard on the matter, but sometimes you have no other option to get a straight answer. If anything was going to make this right, I knew exactly what it was. 

It involved a certain orange pegasus named Scootaloo.

If only I could get both her and AB in the same room together, they might be able to talk it out.













> Apple-ogy Accepted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this took a turn for the most unexpected. 

I stood within Sugarcube Corner with all three of the crusaders (I brought Sweetie along so she could prove to AB that she still likes Scootaloo) and currently, after a talk between AB and Scoots - after a short squabble here and there - have finally come to an agreement, leaving Scootaloo's face contorted in heavy uncomfortableness and shock, Sweetie's face holding the same expression as they both sat there staring at Apple Bloom who held a calm expression as she kept her eyes locked on the two, mostly Scootaloo.

I too was a little surprised at the inquiry that AB made.

''Ya'll heard me.'' Apple Bloom smiled softly at the orange pegasus. ''So, are ya gonna do it?'' She asked, her voice calm and soft in tone. Scootaloo's expression transformed into a skeptical one, hoping that she wasn't serious.

''B-B-But, why?'' She asked, sounding like a whining filly. ''You seriously can't be serious! A-Are you?'' She asked that last part worriedly and slowly. AB gave an affirmative 'Mmm-Hmm', eliciting a groan from the pegasus.

''There ain't no backin' out of this one, Scoots. If ya'll do this to apologize, Ah'll also apologize. Deal?'' She asked with a smirk, holding her hoof out over the table to her.

Scootaloo's frown deepened at the pure dread of what she was agreeing to do and ever so slowly, she too reached her hoof over and lightly touched it against Apple Bloom's.

That smirk on Apple Bloom's face deepened.


***  ***  ***


Outside on the streets of Ponyville, just outside of Town Hall, both me and Sweetie Belle stood beside each other whilst we waited for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo make their appearance.

However, that wait was short lived as we saw both of them come around the corner and made their way towards us. AB looked like she has already been laughing hard and heavily and Scootaloo looked...funny.

She was wearing a fluffy white chicken costume (courtesy of Pinkie Pie), complete with red gizzards under the beak and on top of her head. Her wings were encased in the constume that clearly wasn't designed for use by a pegasus and the only visible part of her was her orange face and purple eyes that held traces of embarrassment and uncomfort that I could tell already was going to be increased in time.

''Ah present to ya'll, Scoota-Chicken!'' Apple Bloom announced with a huge grin on her face as she motioned with both hooves to the massively embarrassed Scootaloo.
Sweetie burst out laughing and I myself started to laugh uncontrollably at how daft Scoots looked in that costume.

''I am not a chicken!'' Scoots yelled in annoyance that the costume only seemed to increase greatly. We only burst into more laughter, including Apple Bloom.

We spent a good five minutes rolling around in laughter before we decided that we've had our fun in playing a part in Scootaloo's torment. Getting back onto our legs, we wiped the tears from our eyes before we faced the infuriated, orange mare.

''Alright, you've had your fun.'' Scootaloo began, frowning deeply at us. ''Let's just get this over with. What do you want from me?'' She asked impatiently. Apple Bloom came up to her.

''Ya'll embarrassed me in front of everypony back at the farm, Scoots, now it's your turn.'' She went up behind Scoots and positioned herself into a rearing position before pulling her legs towards her and delivering a powerful buck that launched her friend into the crowd of ponies in the market that was taking place nearby. ''Now get out there an' act like a chicken!''

Scootaloo went flying for a short moment before she plumeted into the ground directly in the middle of the crowd of ponies who had their gazes locked onto her both out of shock of her sudden appearance and the costume she was wearing.

From our position, we looked to her and she nervously looked back. Looking to Apple Bloom, she saw her miming a chicken pecking at the ground whilst clucking. Scootaloo took hint, mentally kissing her dignity goodbye as she began to act like a pony-sized chicken.

She pecked at the floor like a chicken and began clucking. Ponies in the crowd of the market stopped their shopping and began to stare awkardly at her whilst others looked at her as if she was insane, however, some just laughed at the strange piece of entertainment.

She spent roughly a few minutes pecking and clucking before she eventually broke up into a chicken-dance, continuing to cluck as she moved as best she could in the restraints of the costume to form some kind a weird dance.

Both me and Sweetie laughed along with everyone else as we held each other and as for Apple Bloom, she stared on at her friend, clearly not expecting this to happen. None the less, it was still quite entertaining.

Momentarily turning to face me and Sweetie, still laughing and holding each other, her eyes shrank a bit and she yelled to us, ''Hey! Get a room, why don't ya?'' Her tone sounded jealous.

We both blinked, staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment before looking down, seeing that our arms and hooves were wrapped around each other. In an instant, we were off each other, mad blushes upon our cheeks as we rubbed the back of our necks awkwardly.

Laughter was still roaring from where the market was taking place and Scootaloo was still doing her awkward clucking and dancing that only lasted for around twenty minutes at the most and by that time, around half or more of the town of Ponyville were witnessing and laughing at the embarrassing but entertaining act.

Feeling that her embarrassment was over, Apple Bloom went over to get her from the humongous crowd of ponies. Upon returning, Scoots took off the chicken suit costume in a flash, revealing a large, rosey coloured blush engulfing her cheeks. Apple Bloom laughed at her in torment.

''Yeah, yeah,'' Scoots lightly punched her in the shoulder. ''are you satisfied? Because I sure as Celestia am that I lost my dignity!'' She said, only making Apple Bloom laugh harder at her friend.

''Y-Y-Yeah, yeah, A-Ah'm satisfied.'' Apple Bloom wiped a tear from her eye. ''Ah believe that ya'll have fulfilled your part, Scoots, so Ah forgive ya.'' She smiled to her friend who smiled weakly back. In moments, they both found themselves in a tight, friendly embrace, nuzzling each other's cheeks. 

''Friends?'' Scootaloo asked hopefully, both of them breaking from the hug and looking into the calm, amber-orange eyes of Apple Bloom.

''Friends.'' Apple Bloom said before she and Scootaloo shared a hoof bump. Sweetie gave a soft 'aw' and I stood with a smile on my lips, just 
happy that they were back to being friends. ''And Ah'm so sorry Ah broke yer back, Scoots. Ah was just so mad that Ah-'' She was stopped by Scootaloo placing a hoof on her mouth.

''You don't need to apologize for that, Apple Bloom.'' She removed her hoof and placed it onto her friend's shoulder. ''I deserved it for what I said. I'm only glad that we managed to work things out.'' She smiled along with Apple Bloom.

''Well, I'm glad you two managed to make things right.'' Sweetie Belle said with a smile of her own, happy for the two of them. ''Best friends are meant to stay best friends, and we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We're meant to be together forever!''

''Hey, girls, I have an idea.'' I piped up, catching all three's attention. ''Since you two are back to being friends, why don't you all have a sleep over at Sweet Apple Acres?'' I suggested, and their faces immediately brightened up in excitement.

''That's a great idea, Matt! But will you be joining us?'' Scootaloo asked me, to which I simply shrugged. 

''Yeah, sure, why not? It'll be fun.''


***  ***  ***


Night had fallen over the farm a few hours earlier and all four of us were sat together in the living room of the farmhouse, arranged in a small circle. I sat next to Apple Bloom who sat beside Scootaloo who sat next to Sweetie Belle. 

They all were sat snug in their sleeping bags, all the same colours as their manes and as for me, I didn't feel the need for one as my clothes insulated me just fine. The rest of the family allowed us to all stay over and they had long since turned in for the night.

As we sat, we were all talking about cutie marks, a conversation brought up out of my curiousity. Apple Bloom's cutie mark of the artist's brush and pallet I knew was for creativity and craftsmanship, Sweetie Belle's I found was for having a beautiful, unique singing voice (not surprisingly, I also learned she was a singer) and Scootaloo's of the tire trailed by a blaze of fire was for setting the land speed record on her scooter.

Apple Bloom was curious about where both of them have been and how they've been doing for the time they were away from town and both of their answers were said with a hearty smile.

Scootaloo told of us the time she was away with a few other scooter enfusiasts in a few races and even a stunt show around Equestria and it was then that during a race in which she won, she earned her cutie mark. 

As for Sweetie, she started to take lessons in singing surprisingly from the last person I would of thought would know about singing - Fluttershy. She then went on to tell us that from what she learned from Fluttershy, she then went on to study musical theory with the help of some books on the topic that she got from Twilight's library and from there, she went on to teaching herself until the point she thought she was ready to perform in front of a live audience, where she earned her cutie mark after wowing the audience with her extraudinary voice.

As the night progressed into its later hours, we continued to talk about our lives and learned more about each other, including sharing some funny stories. Scootaloo told us about the time she was part of a small stunt-pony group and when she was performing a loop in the air, she misdirected her timing and speed and ended up landing hard from a long fall, luckily walking away but with a broken wing and a small fracture to her front left hoof from her scooter that fell on top of her. Shortly afterwards, she was back in the show.

Sweetie told us of the time she got to do a duet with Equestrian singing legend, Sapphire Shores and how they spent the day together. Of course, when she told her sister Rarity about it, she got incredibly jealous, on account of her being a huge fan of her music and that she occaisionally designs pieces of clothing for her and her crew to wear on stage.

When Apple Bloom's turn came up to tell a story, she went on about telling them about the barn that she and Applejack built shortly after they left town and even earned a laugh or two from them. 

And then she turned the conversation to the day she found me.

Sweetie and Scootaloo sat listening intently to her story and I barely even noticed that she scooched closer to me, nearly touching my side. She told about how she fixed me up and when Applejack first found her with me in the barn with my car.

We all seemed to of lost track of time as she told the story as if it only happened yesterday and like Sweetie and Scootaloo, I too felt a tear stroke my cheek. By the time Apple Bloom finished the story, we were all in tears and she was now sat that close to me she was physically touching me and I she was holding my hand gingerly in her hoof.

I leaned down and hugged her, kissing her forehead. ''I never would have survived without you, Apple Bloom.'' I told her as I broke from the hug. She smiled sweetly at me.

''Ah'm just happy that Ah could save you so ya could be in mah life, Matt.'' She said as she kissed my cheek. Sweetie and Scoots looked on at us with smiles of their own.

''Gosh, Apple Bloom, why didn't you tell us sooner?'' Scoots asked, wiping her eye, as was Sweetie.  

''Well, Ah was busy with seeing you two again after bein' gone for years. We were catchin' up, remember?'' 

''Oh, yeah. I suppose so.'' Scootaloo scratched the back of her neck.

''For one, I think you two are pretty good for each other.'' Sweetie chimed in. ''I think its pretty sweet of you two of looked out for each other.'' She smiled sweetly at us. Looking to Apple Bloom, I saw her smile to me before she wrapped her hooves around me. 

Leaning down, I hugged her back, resting my chin atop her head. ''She looked out for me mostly.'' I said, looking to Sweetie. ''It isn't everyday you meet a pony like her, and to be the human that did meet her, I wouldn't have it any other way. We've known each other for a while now, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love her. To me, she's family.''

''Ah love ya, too, Matt.'' Apple Bloom said as she continued to hug me close. 

''Hey, Matt?'' Scootaloo asked me with a soft but hopeful smirk on her lips. ''How fast do you think that car of yours can go?'' At that, I blinked, confused at where she was getting at.

''Uh...maybe around a hundred and fifty miles per hour? Depends where you're going with this.'' Her smirk grew.

''I was thinking - I have the land speed record for highest speed on a scooter in all of Equestria. Out of curiousity, I was wondering if you would consider racing me in your car. Y'know, if you think you're up to it.'' That smirk was beaming at me, now, challenging me. I matched her smirk.

''You really think I'm going to back out of this? If you think you can take me on, by all means, lets.'' I said with high confidence. I haven't met a challenge yet that I backed out of.

Scootaloo smiled cooly. ''Sweet.''

> Race
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, just as the sun was rising to its place in the sky, Scootaloo and me stood at the entrance of Ponyville with both our vehicles side by side. Scootaloo's scooter didn't look like much apart from a simple board with handle bars on it to allow for steering, but if she says that it earned her the fastest land speed record on a scooter, now would be the time to really prove that.

I was currently looking over the engine compartment of my car, showing it to Scootaloo for the first time and she seemed pretty impressed but still determined at not losing the race. 

Even though it was still the early hours of day, some other ponies were out and upon seeing us and out of their curiousity, formed a small crowd around us. For this one lap race, we were both amazed at the crowds that formed in the upcoming minutes before the race was underway. 

Sweetie and Apple Bloom stood at either end of the dirt road that ran through the streets of Ponyville with white and black checkered flags in their mouths. 

Scootaloo stood atop her scooter wearing a scratched and beaten up purple helmet that matched her mane colour with white stripes running from the far back of the helmet to the front. On the side was her name in white characters, also a little scratched up. Clearly her helmet has seen better days.

I got into my car, strapping my seatbelt around me. Unlike Scootaloo, I chose not to wear a helmet. When things are dangerous, it makes it all the more fun. Turning to face her, I saw her staring back right at me with a daring gleam in her eyes along with a cocky grin on her lips.

I smirked to her in return as I turned my keys in the ignition slot and the car roared to life, taking her aback and scaring the crowd at the ear-splitting volume of the engine as I revved it with the accelerator, blasting plumes of engine exhaust out of the back in clouds of thick grey. I smirked wider to her as I saw her grin suddenly fade. (Ah, the smell of petrol was truly astonishing for any petrol-head to smell...)

All of a sudden, it appeared that the odds were higher for me than for her to win. 

The race was simple - a single lap around Ponyville, starting from here to around the town square, around the town hall, past Sugarcube Corner, through the Everfree Forest and then back to the start line. 

We nodded once to each other to signal that we were ready and turned towards Sweetie and Apple Bloom, nodding once more before they nodded back and began to wave the flags in their mouth before moving out of the way.

In an instant, Scootaloo was off in a cloud of dust, momentarily looking over her shoulder at me with a smirk. I sighed cooly, pushing down the hand brake and pushing down on the accelerator, launching the car forward with an even bigger cloud of smoke than what the microscopic, red wheels on Scootaloo's scooter kicked up.

Not even thirty seconds in, I was already directly behind her, honking my horn once before I waved out of the window to her in a taunting way. She gasped in shock of how quickly I caught up and before she could get any further away, I came up beside her and gave a quick salute before pressing down on the clutch and changing up into third gear before pushing down on the accelerator again, putting me in the lead.

I looked into the rear view mirror for a moment, seeing that smirk on her lips again. She flared out her wings and began pushing with them to generate more speed out of her scooter. She flapped her wings harder and harder and her scooter gradually sped up before, like a rocket, she bolted past me, taking me by surprise.

Passing through the town square and scaring a few ponies in the process, Scootaloo maneuvered to the right and blasted up a wooden ramp, going airborne and showing off a few flips and tricks before landing smoothly back down again.

I pouted, kicking up the gears into fourth and with all my determination and strength, pushed hard on the accelerator, boosting my MPH up to a hundred and thirty-five and once again coming up beside her.

Town hall came into view and coming up on the right of it, I switched down the gear into second and pushed lightly onto the accelerator for a moment before I did a hand brake turn and swiftly and smoothly curved my way around the town hall in a spray of dust and small pebbles from the dirt path.

Righting myself and putting it into third gear, I pushed myself past Scootaloo and around Sugarcube Corner where I surprised Pinkie Pie whom was standing at the front door of the bakery with a gasp on her face at my sudden appearance.

Following shortly after me was Scootaloo who took time to wave friendlily to the bubbly pink mare before giving a quick ''Hi, Pinkie!'' before bolting after me and past the bakery, leaving the mare speechless.

Coming up was the Everfree Forest but before any of that was some roads with a whole bunch of sharp turns in them. Unfortunately, I had to execute them all perfectly to avoid rolling myself into the ditch below that had no safety rail to stop that from happening.

For Scootaloo, it wasn't a problem because of her sleek, lightweight scooter but for me in a big, angry-red, bulky car, it wasn't. 

For once, I felt a surge of fear pass through my veins, remembering what happened the last time I drove like a maniac on a road just like this.
Coming up to it, I managed to get around two corners with little problem, despite the poor grip on my tires, but when the third one came up, that was one it got bad.

I accidentally pushed down a little too hard on the accelerator and misdirected my car with some over-steer in the mix and I found myself rolling down the hill in my car. 

My car clunked and thumped heavily from the forceful blows to its exterior plating and the windscreen smashed in front of my face, causing me to instinctively shield my eyes from the small shards of glass.

Thankfully, the car righted itself upon nearing the bottom to the ditch yet it was short lived as I could see a tree coming up directly in front of me. Eyes wide, I pulled on the hand brake in hopes of slowing me down, but unfortunately, all it did was cause me to skid and descend faster into it.

Nothing else I could do but scream, and scream I did before I plumeted into the tree with a deathly hard impact and a shower of bark.

My ribs hurt and my body burned in pain. My head collided harshly with the dashboard and blood started to ooze out of the gash it created in my forehead and dribbled down my face and onto my shirt and jacket. 

My arm throbbed and there was no doubt that I had broken it. I coughed and blood sputtered from my throat and out of my mouth, splattering onto the steering wheel and dashboard in red polka dots.

It wasn't a second later that my vision turned black and I felt my body go weak and numb before my head dropped down and I passed out.


***  ***  ***


At the finish line of the one lap race through Ponyville, the crowd cheered as Scootaloo came through with a victorious smile on her face before she skidded to a halt and got off of her scooter, taking off her helmet and giving her mane a brush with a hoof.

Sweetie and Apple Bloom and a few others came up to her and gave her a congratulatory hug. From behind her, they all looked expectantly for Matt to appear in his car but that never happened.

Slightly worried, Apple Bloom turned to Scootaloo. ''Uh...Scoots, where's Matt?'' The orange pegasus gave a shrug.

''I-I dunno, he was behind me not that long ago.'' She said, also sounding worried for her friend. Sweetie came next to them, looking to both of them.

''He can't be that far, I'm sure he'll be alright.'' Sweetie said reassuringly but her eyes shrank as she looked up, her mouth slightly agape. Taking notice of her friend's sudden change in mood, both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked to where their friend was looking, gasps escaping their mouths.

A cloud of thick, grey smoke was flowing up past the top of the trees, visible to every eye in the now worried crowd.

''Oh, no...'' Apple Bloom said weakly and softly before she began to gallop off to the where the smoke was coming from, hoping that nothing too bad has happened and that Matt was unharmed.


***  ***  ***


Beep...Beep...Beep...

''I think hes wakin' up!'' I heard a voice say, too muffled by my ears to recognize it. My head hurt all over, but that compared nothing to how much my body ached.

Mustering all my strength (or what I could at least), I forced myself to open my eyes and found that my vision was blurred. All I could make out was multiple fuzzy blobs of colour. One a cream colour, one orange, another red and the last an apple-green colour.

Turning my head to face my right, I saw more of the fuzzy blobs, five, if I counted correctly. One purple, another a light blue then a soft yellow then a pink and a white.

Blinking, the blurriness subsided and I found that the fuzzy blobs were those of the Apple Family and Applejack's friends. All of them wore worried expressions and one or two looked as though they have been crying.

Not a moment later did I feel sharp pain strike through my body as I tried to move. I would of screamed but my lungs felt deflated. 

A pair of soft hooves pressed gently against my chest and pushed me back down. Looking up, I could see the gentle smile of Applejack.
''Easy there, sugarcube. Ya'll are hurt pretty bad.'' She said, still smiling. I looked down to my body, seeing that I was laid up in a bed with slightly itchy, light green covers that were pulled around halfway up my body that was covered all the way to my neck in bandages.
As for my left arm, I saw that it too was covered in some bandages and a small, white cast. My breathing slowed slightly.

''W-W-What happened?'' I asked, feeling groggy. 

''Ya crashed your car, Matt. Ya'll are lucky to be alive.'' At that, I sighed and frowned.

''Lucky? I don't think so.'' I managed, getting a confused look from Applejack

''Whaddaya mean, sugarcube? Ya could've died in that race with Scootaloo. Thankfully, the docs here managed to save your life. Can't say the same for your car, though.'' She frowned sympathetically. At the mention of Scoot's name, worry immediately ran through me.

''S-Scootaloo? Where is she? Is she alright?'' 

''She's fine, Matt. Her an' Sweetie should be along shortly.'' As if on cue, the two young mares entered the room, looking just as worried as the rest of them were. Applejack stepped away to allow them room to my bedside.

''Thank Celestia you're okay, Matt.'' Scootaloo hugged me softly, careful not too push too hard on my heavily battered body. ''We were so worried about you.'' I managed a smile and looked over her shoulder to see Apple Bloom look back at me with sad eyes.

''C-Can you give us a minute?'' I asked softly and everypony in the room nodded silently in understanding before they made their way out of the room, leaving just me and Apple Bloom as the room's only occupants. For a short moment or two, she looked me in the eyes and I noticed a tear or two stroke her cheek. ''Apple Bloom?'' I asked, concerned by that look in her eye.

She came up next to me and hugged me close, rubbing her cheek into mine. Her bodily warmth heated up my cold figure. Quietly, I gently placed my unbroken arm over her back and stroked her coat lovingly in an attempt to calm her. In my embrace, she cried lightly.
''H-Hey, are you alright?'' I asked her, causing her to weakly raise her head to look me in the eyes. The pain in those gorgeous amber windows of hers bit at my heart. 

''Matt, Ah...Ah was so worried that ya wouldn't wake up! When Ah found ya crashed into that tree, A-A-Ah th-though the w-worst!'' She sniffled heavily. ''Ah thought ya'll were dead!'' She whimpered.

''Don't cry, Apple Bloom. I'm here now and that's all that matters. Besides, it isn't the first time.'' I smiled to her but she didn't smile back. And then, I had an idea. If nothing could cheer her up, maybe this would.

Looking beside me to my bloodied jacket on a hook on the wall next to my bed, I limply leaned over and placed my hand into the left pocket, taking out a small, black box lined with soft red fabric. It wasn't that much bigger than your average ring box, but the item inside was a whole lot more valuable.

Curiously, she watched me open the box. I motioned for her to closer, and when she did, I presented the item to her. Her eyes widened slightly as she eyed the item within. 

It was a small diamond broach in the shape and colour of a glistening red apple and around the apple were blooming, pink flowers. Taking it out of the box, I pinned it to her pink bow. It looked perfect. Not bad for a few hundred bits. (I bought it some point during the time when I was fixing up the clubhouse.)

She smiled greatfully and hugged me warmly. ''Cheer up, AB.'' I told her, kissing her cheek. She blushed brightly, earning a chuckle out of me. ''So...how long was I out for?''

She pulled away and touched a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. ''About...three or so days? Ya'll were hurt pretty bad, afterall.'' I noticed her cringe.

''Well, I guess I can't say I'm surprised. I don't actually remember anything.'' I admitted. ''And since I doubt I need them anymore,'' I reached into my jacket pocket again and pulled out my car keys. ''I want you to get rid of them. Me and cars don't really seem to like each other anymore.'' I smiled jokingly, but she didn't smile back.

''No, keep them, Matt. Ya may need them. Ah managed to fix up your car, so what if ya need it? Ya'll know, for pie deliveries an' such?'' She said as she pushed the keys back to me. Truthfully, I seriously didn't want to drive anymore. It nearly killed me twice and one of these days, probably will. If my car is still in fully working order, perhaps I can teach somepony to drive? 

That in mind, I looked to Apple Bloom with a smile. She looked at me confusedly for a moment and asked me why I was smiling. I only smiled a little wider.

I had the perfect candidate!

''Hey, Apple Bloom? How would you like to learn to drive?''
> Learn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Now, remember, slowly release your hoof from the clutch and bring it up a quarter-inch.'' I instructed from the passenger seat of my Mustang and listening intently to my commands, Apple Bloom complied and gently brought up her hoof from the clutch with care, the sound of the engine purring slightly louder the further the clutch was brought up.

''You're doing great so far.'' I commented, seeing her smile whilst concentrating on the clutch. ''Remember to never fully take your hoof off of the clutch at a fast pace, otherwise it will jolt and the engine will stall. Once the clutch is all the way up, you can place your hoof on the accelerator.'' 

While I took the time to teach her how to operate a vehicle such as this, I will admit that being back in the car did make me slightly nervous. It wasn't that I didn't trust Apple Bloom driving the car, but for a beginner, this clearly wasn't the most appropriate car for the job. Heck, when it was me as the learner, I was driving a Fiesta at the time. 
This one had more than twice the power of that and the advance in technology of this vehicle dominates the Fiesta by miles. 

Seeing as I wasn't confident about doing this on the streets of Ponyville or in other public areas, I chose the farm to do the lessons at. After all, the wide and open areas of the fields did provide us with more than enough space to do tests in and to give her a chance to know the basics of driving.

I slowly watched as she brought up the clutch all the way and the car began to move forward, rolling across the ground due to the constant changes in terrain of the farmland. Ever so slowly, she took her hoof from the clutch and placed it onto the accelerator, applying pressure to it and causing the engine to rev, taking in air and the pistons pumping and causing the car to rattle a bit.

As foreign as operating such a vehicle may be to a pony, she was already impressing me with what she understood and what she was capable of. 

''Alright, that was good. Keep your left hoof on the clutch and your right hoof on the accelerator and brake.'' She nodded wordlessly and gently pressed the brake pedal, the calipers squeezing the brake pads against the wheels to bring the car to a halt, screeching softly.

I smiled to her and pulled up the hand brake, locking the axles firmly in place. ''Hey, not bad.'' I said to her with a smile and she returned it. ''You're not that bad for a beginner.'' She blushed softly at that. 

''Ya really think so?'' She asked. I nodded.

''Of course I do, Bloom. It's not easy to learn to drive when you first start, but that was certainly something.'' I said. ''Once we work on the gears a little in future, I'm sure you'll ace it. Luckily for you, unlike back on Earth, I won't have to bother teaching you how to learn overtaking or doing a theory test.'' 

''Honestly, Ah don't mind, Matt. If ya'll are gonna show me how to do this, wouldn't it also be best to learn as much as I can?'' She asked with a raised brow. I shrugged.

''You know it doesn't really matter here because those rules are not applicable seeing as you don't have cars in Equestria, but if you really want to, I guess I can give you a rundown of the basics.'' I replied, feeling a little unsure about the whole thing. The only upside of this is being able to show what I knew to Apple Bloom and passing on my knowledge of the topic.

''Well sure, but only if it's alright with you, of course.'' I shrugged again with a left-sided smile.

''Like I said before, it's up to you.'' She gave an affirmative 'Mmm-hmm'. ''Alright then. So, want me to show you how to have fun in a car like this?'' I asked with a mischievous grin. She gave me an unsure look.

''Depends on what you're definition of 'fun' is.'' She said cautiously. My grin grew a little further.

''Let's switch seats and I'll show you.'' 


***  ***  ***


''Waaahhh!'' 

VROOM, VROOM!

I pressed down on the accelerator like a maniac and watched the speedometer climb up towards and past one-hundred miles and hour on the outskirts of the western apple orchard.

I could only just hear the terrified scream of Apple Bloom over the roar of the engine and I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was clutching herself tightly to her seat with every ounce of strength she could muster. 

Driving at high speed beside the treeline and coming up to the last tree in view, I swerved the car around in a u-turn and drifted closely around the tree before pressing down on the brake at the last moment and bringing the car to a stop, the force throwing us both up off of our seats for the briefest moment before we landed back down on them.

I had my feet pressed against the brake and clutch and when I brought up the hand brake and released them, I turned off the engine and looked towards Apple Bloom, seeing that her eyes were full of fear and her cheeks held a tint of green to them over her yellow-ish fur. 
She wasted no time in opening the door to the car and emptying the contents of her stomach onto the grassy floor. 

I think that I just officially scarred her for life.

Spitting to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth before bringing herself back into the car and closing the door, she gave me a soft yet angry glare before saying firmly, ''N-Nev-Never do t-that again...''




> Approval of One Apple
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Youngun,'' Granny Smith's voice called to me from the living room on her rocking chair as I entered the farmhouse. She gave me a gentle smile and her old yet bright maple eyes motioned for me to come forward. ''Come 'ere, Ah wanna talk wit'cha.''

Nodding, I obliged and entered the living room, Granny motioning for me to take a seat on the sofa across from her. ''What's up?'' I asked, to which she continued to smile and her eyes gained a much more serious look.

''Ah know we don't git much chance to talk things out like this, with your schedule and whatnot, youngun, but Ah wanted to talk to ya about something. About Applejack and Apple Bloom.'' My heart sank and I thought I could feel it drop into my stomach. 

''Y-You erm, you heard about that, did you?'' I asked slowly and she nodded. ''Oh, Granny, I didn't mean any offense or anything! It was just a misunderstanding at first and then-'' 

''Calm yourself, Matt. It's alright.'' Granny stopped me, cutting me off from my rant. ''AJ already explained everything ta me. Ah jus' wanted to let ya'll know that Ah approve of your feelings towards mah granddaughter and Ah know what she means to you.'' Her smile was warm and I felt my heart freeze along with my nerves in surprise.

She...approved? Even though we were completely different species?

''I...I don't know what to say, Granny.'' I managed, finding myself at a loss for words at what the elderly pony said me to me. Truthfully, I thought that she would have the same thoughts as Applejack. As for Big Mac? I'm not sure if I even want to know. ''I only wish that AJ felt the same. I mean, I know what AB means to her as a sister, but I don't know if I'll ever feel better after she told me 'No.'.'' Granny gave me an understanding and sympathetic look.

''Mmm-hmm. Applejack can be like that sometimes. Gets it from her father. He was a little stubborn to accept change, too, rest his soul.'' Granny wiped her eye. I immediately got the impression that it was a topic the family has a sore-spot for. Come to think of it, neither of the three siblings never brought up one word about their parents. I guess it's understandable.

''Is she alright?'' I asked, wondering. 

''Can't rightly say these days. She hasn't said nuthin' to nopony lately. Matter of fact, Ah haven't seen her mahself.'' She admitted, her voice taking on a hint of concern for her eldest granddaughter. ''No need to worry yourself, Matt, she always comes around in the end. Ah'm sure she's fine.'' 

''I sure hope so.'' 

The sound of something hitting against something solid caught our attention and caused us to turn out heads towards the window facing the orchard. It sounded again and again, almost rhythmically. Getting up from my seat and peering out of the window to scout out the source of the noise, I saw an orange figure with a blonde mane and tail and cowpony hat standing in front of a tree with wooden baskets beneath it.

Although she was a fair distance away from the farmhouse, my sharp eyes could tell that she had something troubling her. I've seen her working the fields before and she didn't use nearly this amount of strength to harvest the apples. The bark of the tree where she kicked it developed small craters in the shape of her hooves from where she bucked it!

Through the thin glass panes, I could hear her grunt and groan when she released every powerful buck. 

''Something tells me that she isn't quite that over it, Granny.'' I said in a deflated tone. 

''That's what she does when she's troubled by somethin'. May be best to leave her to get it outta her system.''

''What if she doesn't? I think we need to have a little talk to work things out.'' Granny sighed.

''Are ya sure? Ah mean maybe this ain't the best of times to be provoking her.'' Granny's words made me deflate inside but I knew that if I left her out there to do her thing, she wouldn't ever get the feeling out of her system. Even I knew that the best kind of way to resolve something was to talk it out and come to a conclusion.

It didn't feel right to just leave her be and let her get by it alone, but that went even more so when it was me that caused all of this and because of that, it was my responsibility to resolve it. Turning to Granny, I put on a stern face and said firmly,

''I'm gonna go talk to her.'' And then I made for the front door, ready to go and sort this one out once and for all. (Or perhaps get my arse bucked off of the map.).

Watching the window all the while, Granny Smith sighed heavily through her nostrils and watched as I approached Applejack in the orchards, a gentle and hopeful smile on her lips.

''You can do this, Matt.''
> Applejack's View
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''AJ!'' I called to the orange mare who was in the middle of harvesting apples from another tree. She glanced over at me and I could have sworn I heard her let out a low growl at my presence. 

THWACK! 

Apple after apple, the red delectable fruits fell free from their branches, landing neatly in the baskets arranged below the trunk of the tree. I winced at the hoof marks that her strong buck left behind in the bark. 

Applejack tipped her hat back on her head into its usual position and wiped away a droplet of sweat from her brow, her eyes now focusing on me and for the first time and up close, I could see what I knew to be anger behind her eyes, making her natural green colour burn like flames.

''What do ya want, Matt?'' She asked bluntly, clearly not in the mood for conversation. Her anger was emphasized even more so when she didn't bother stopping her apple bucking to face me.

''I wanna talk to you. I think you know about what.'' I said and she grunted as she delivered yet another powerful buck to the tree. I could have sworn I felt the ground shake. ''Also to see how you're holding up.'' She chuckled at that.

''Oh, really? Ah thought you'd rather be with mah sister.'' She deadpanned, now facing me with a stone-cold glare. ''And don't think Ah don't know about the two of ya in the west orchard.'' She frowned at me and snorted. My heart slowed at that.

''You saw that, huh?'' I asked and she nodded. 

''The whole thing.'' She stated simply. ''Ah'm only gonna say this once, and Ah mean only once - Matt, Ah don't want ya doin' that kinda dangerous stuff with mah sister! Ah've seen what happens when you crash, an' you nearly died! What if ya'll crashed with AB in that car? Huh? Ya couldda killed her!'' She said, stepping closer to me, prodding my arm with her hoof with some force.

She had me there. Yes, driving is dangerous when you're around hundreds of thousands of trees, and I did crash twice and nearly died in the process. At the time, I guess I never really took in any consideration for AB's safety, never mind my own. I knew how much she meant to Applejack and the rest of her family, but I wouldn't let it happen if it wasn't going to be safe!

''It's not just about Apple Bloom, is it? I'm not blind, Applejack. Something else is on your mind, and you can't hide it from me. All I want to do is help, so does Granny Smith.'' She huffed at that.

''Well, tell her not ta worry none about me. As for my troubles, they have no concern to you, so why do ya think Ah would tell ya?'' She said, planting her rump down onto the floor. I knelt down in front of her and gently placed my hand to her shoulder.

''Because I care about you.'' I said with a gentle smile. As I said those words, I could feel her tense muscles ease up and the angered look behind her eyes softened ever so slightly. ''You and your family looked out for me when Apple Bloom found me and the least I can do is return the favor. What kind of person would I be if I at least didn't offer that much?'' 

Applejack finally gave in and sighed, her lips transforming into a small smile. ''You're a sweet guy, Matt, Ah'll give ya that. But like Ah said before, ya don't owe us nothin'. We wasn't brought up that way. What kind of ponies would we be if that was the way we did things? The Apple Family don't hold debts in turn for deeds.'' She said. 

''So, do you want to tell me what's been going on? You know, as in why you're out here and going crazy on the apple trees?'' I said, motioning towards the indentations now visible in the bark from her hooves. She winced and bit her lower lip.

''A-A-Ah...It's b-because Ah'm upset. About Apple Bloom.'' She hung her head down, averting her eyes away from mine and keeping them on the ground.

''Howcome? What's gotten you so torn up about her?'' Applejack didn't respond for a moment or two and when she eventually looked up and looked me back in the eyes, I saw them glisten with tears, slowly leaking from the corners of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. ''Ap-Applejack?''

She didn't say anything. All she did was put her hooves around me and hugged me close and tight. I was surprised to say the least, both at the sudden change in her attitude and seeing her cry. I didn't think a mare as strong as Applejack was even capable of crying. None the less, I placed my own arms around her and rubbed her back, attempting to comfort her and get her to calm down.

We spent around a full two minutes or so in that position and by then, her crying had reduced itself into quiet sniffling. She wiped off her eyes and I held her close to me with my arm around her shoulders. 

''Feel better?'' 

''Y-Yeah, very. Thank ya.'' She sniffled once more, smiling gratefully to me. ''Sugarcube, Ah'm sorry that ya had to see me like this. Ah'm even more sorry that Ah yelled at ya.'' 

''Don't worry about it, AJ. So, you mind telling me what's going on?'' 

''Matt, by now, you know how much my little sister means to me. Ah'm upset 'cause we used to do everthin' when she was a filly, an' now look at her - all grown up and pretty and smart. Now that she's all grown up and such, Ah figured she'd move on with her life an' possibly move out of the farm to get her own place. All Ah wanted was ta spend more time with her, but Ah missed most of that when she finally earned her cutie mark and Ah was always stuck here, doing chores and working the orchards.'' She sniffled again and I could hear her heart beating. 

I never knew how strongly it effected her until now. If I had a sister that I never got to spend time with because I was either working all the time or busy doing other stuff, I would be mad too. I couldn't blame Applejack for feeling the way she does, nor will I ever.

''Hey, don't be like that, Applejack,'' I pulled her into a hug, massaging her back. ''she's still around and she absolutely adores you. You've still got all the time in the world to get things back on track and hang out. Besides, I doubt she ever would move out of her home. All of her family is here and no matter what, you will always have each other. And hey, I'm sorry that I scared the two of you with my crazy driving in the west orchard. If it makes you feel any better, I promise that I won't do anything like that again.''

Her smile was warm and her eyes were glassy, now. She pulled me into a hug and I gladly accepted the embrace, holding her securely. ''Oh, Matt, Ah can't thank ya enough for telling me that. Ya'll are an amazing friend to me and my family. As far as I'm concerned, ya can consider yourself an Apple. Blood or not, you're welcome anytime.'' 

''I'm glad to have you as a friend, too. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for your family.'' I said, picking myself from the ground and back onto my feet, offering AJ my hand to help her up. Placing her hoof in my hand, I pulled her up and she nodded to me once in thanks.

''Ya'll don't need to thank us for helping ya that day when AB found ya. To us, you're family an' family look out for each other, no matter what.''