Strange Yet Wonderful

by Bionic Slime

Ch. 19 Home Is Where The Heart Is

“Applejack, what in the wide world of Equestria are ya doin’ out here?” the country mare mused to herself.

It had been several hours since she first departed from Ponyville, venturing off to an unknown field she had never laid eyes on before. Three days had passed since she and Hopeful had gotten into that terrible fight; crushing the poor colt’s heart and tossing him out like yesterday’s trash. Hopeful had not graced Applejack with his charming presence since.

She sighed heavily. Ah can’t believe Ah said those rotten things to poor Hopeful. Sure Ah was plenty tickled off he went and made those arrangements without me, but still, Ah didn’t even give him a chance to explain and Ah sure as Heck didn’t have to bite his head off like that. The southern mare felt her heart ache every time she looked at the crumpled red letter Hopeful had left on her kitchen floor, there were still stains on it from the mess he made that day. He deserves better. Ah hate to barge in and ruin his family reunion like this, but it’s the only place Ah know for darn tootin’ sure he’s gonna be and Ah have got to apologize to him in person.

Ever since Hopeful stopped coming around the farm, Applejack had been getting the silent treatment from her family regarding the fight. They weren’t refusing to speak to her, they were just doing exactly what she wanted: not saying a word about her relationship with Hopeful. Truth is; she needed their help more than ever now. Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Big Mac all had different things to say, but they ended up spelling out the same answer: apologize to Hopeful in person.

The orange mare continued to follow her map towards the address on the letter. It was difficult to read with all the creases and crusted stains smudging the writing, but she’s made it this far and her conscience would never forgive her if she left things the way they are now.

It’s sad really. After hearin’ so many wonderful stories about Hopeful’s kin, Ah’ve been excited to meet em. Ah just wish it was under better circumstances. Soon as they find out Ah crushed their son’s heart like an apple core, they’ll boot me out faster than you can say Zap Apple Jam.

She took a deep breath, reaching deep within her core to summon the strength to move forward. There was a large gathering of ponies near some picnic tables and blankets approaching her view. A beautiful, old fashioned white house with a dark grey roof stood in the center of the gathered ponies and tents. She knew this had to be the place.

But just like when the Flim Flam brothers tricked me into sellin’ their useless tonic, Ah got to face the music and make amends for mah mistakes; no matter how sour things get.

The Earth pony stood there for several moments before mustering the courage to meet Hopeful’s family for the first, and most likely, last time. She walked towards the gathering.

“Let’s get this over with,” she said with a heavy heart.

As soon as she reached the Heart family’s reunion, Applejack was surprised to see Hopeful wasn’t kidding about his family’s diversity. Every couple or family was mixed, a jumbled collection of Pegasai, unicorns and Earth Pony’s without any pairing being comprised of one race. Even stranger, there appeared to be couples comprised of ponies dating other creatures. The southern mare spotted a Minotaur next to an Earth pony mare, a colt snuggling with a female Yak from Yak-Yakistan, there was even a Pegasus holding hooves with a Griffin. Applejack could barely begin to process what she was seeing. Never in her life has she seen so many different creatures and ponies mingling in romantic pairs. It was like she had fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in a world of opposites; turning every tradition she held dear about courtship completely on its head.

“Well pick mah corn and butter mah biscuits,” she slowly removed her hat, “Ah never thought Ah would see the day…”

“Ahem!”

A male voice quickly jarred AJ out of her daze. She looked to her right and found herself eye to eye with a dark red unicorn, blood red one might say. His hair was short, black as night and slicked back with a glimmering sheen across the top. The same sheen and shade could be noticed on the thin moustache he displayed sharply. The colt wore a shadowy gray pinstripe suit, beneath his neck was a Sateen white dress shirt collar; complete with a cigar brown bow-tie. AJ felt uneasy being stared down with those golden colored eyes of his. The unicorn’s cutie mark was that of a pastel white rose with the tip and base of a fencing sword piercing through the center of the bud.

“I believe mademoiselle has a very good reason for just standing; leering at moi?” the colt said curtly.

“Oh uh right, sorry bout that,” she rubbed the back of her head. The orange mare didn’t know why she was just staring at this pony like that, she felt awfully foolish just spacing out at him like that. “Ah didn’t mean to interrupt your festivities or anythin’ like that,” she resumed wearing her hat, “Ah was just lookin’ for someone and-”

“Of course, of course, say no more. Let’s not waste any more time then, shall we?” he said; his tone had a twinge of impatience to it.

Applejack wasn’t exactly sure what this pony was talking about. She assumed Hopeful told every pony she wasn’t coming, it’s possible one of his relatives decided to confront her before she got a chance to talk to Hopeful; protecting him from her. Before she had a chance to speak, the unicorn approached her and got close; uncomfortably close.

“W-w-what in tar nation are you-”

“Please,” he quickly raised his hoof; shushing her. “I need to concentrate, I must have ABSOLUTE silence!”

The pony’s sudden tone change caught AJ off guard. She nodded nervously and chose to be quiet for the time being. His muzzle was mere inches away from Applejack’s curvaceous body, she felt his eyes hungrily devouring every curve of her flanks and strand of hair on her head. It was like he was a doctor carefully examining her for a physical; noting every scar and shape in those piercing golden eyes of his. Applejack grew increasingly red in the face, she felt more and more nervous as this pony sized her up like some piece of meat.

What in the heck is he doin? Is he tryin’ to find a second cutie mark or somethin? This guy can’t be related to Hopeful, he’s too creepy and weird.

“Hmmmm, strong legs, firm, healthy, a good pair of strong genes and quality exercise regiments have served you well,” he mumbled to himself. The unicorn stared right into AJ’s eyes, looking at her emerald hues inquisitively. “Colorful and bright, no sign of deterioration, that will certainly save you in optometrist bills” he stated.

“Look here, Ah’ve got some business here to take care of,” he ignored her and started lifting up her hooves. AJ blushed brighter and groaned audibly. This pervert weirdo was pushing her last nerves! “And Ah don’t know what yer doin’ but if ya’ll kindly take your peepin’ peepers off mah body, Ah can-”

“Please don’t rush me, I’ve been waiting to do this all day!” he said feverishly.

“WHAT did you just say?!?” she blurted out.

Applejack had finally had enough. She was sick of this creep looking at her the same way Spike looks at jewels and she wasn’t going to take it any longer. The irritated mare raised her back leg up; preparing to buck this slime right back to the rock he oozed out from under. Before she could deliver the bone shattering blow, the colt did something that caused AJ to nearly black out in anger.

“AH HA, just as I expected,” the colt happily exclaimed. He magically lifted AJ’s tail up and prominently inspected her rump cheeks. “Perfection, absolute perfection! That lucky dog, he should have told me about this sooner,” the colt laughed as he released AJ’s tail.

No words could truly begin to describe the depths of Applejack’s volcanic anger; billowing up to the surface within seconds of her flanks being idolized. The mare’s freckled cheeks turned the same shade of red as the colt’s fur. She had no idea what this perverted groper was talking about, nor did she care to find out, her mind had been consumed by a voracious need to unleash her fury on this perverted pony. The colt’s eyes widened at the death glare drilling into his gaze.

ACK!

Applejack grabbed the colt by his shoulders and jerked his hooves off the ground, she stood on her hind legs and raised him up even higher. The unicorn tried to speak but was quickly cut off by Applejack’s violent outburst.

“That is the last cotton pickin’ straw! Ah don’t know who you are but no pony, and Ah mean NO PONY TOUCHES ME LIKE THAT,” she fiercely shouted. “Ya’ll start better explainin’ yerself, or Ah swear, Ahm gonna-”

“Valentino!” a female voice shouted from behind, it startled Applejack and the red unicorn. Approaching them was a cream colored female Pegasus. Her hair was chocolate brown in color and medium in length; decorated stylishly with a multicolored bow in the back. One side of the bow was hot pink and the other was neon purple. The Pegasus had a cross look in her baby blue eyes; targeted squarely on the red unicorn in Applejack’s grip. As she stepped closer to her, Applejack could see the Pegasus’s cutie mark resembled a pair of cherry red hearts being simultaneously pierced by a neon purple arrow. “Just WHAT do you think you’re doing to my husband young lady?” the mare snapped. AJ flinched in response. She gently placed the unicorn known as Valentino back onto the ground.

“Mon Cherie, so good of you to join us,” Valentino exclaimed.

“Don’t you Mon Cherie me buster! One minute I’m pulling out a sheet of freshly baked cookies for everyone, next thing I know, you’re up on this hill being strangled by this mare” she snapped.

The Pegasus looked towards the mare in question, eyes squinting into a fiercer; more penetrating glare than the one she gave Valentino.

“So, what do you have to say about all this?” Applejack was about to speak but the Pegasus raised a hoof and quickly silenced her before she began. “And no lies, I want to know exactly what he was doing.”

Valentino looked to the orange mare with a weak smile; shrugging casually. Applejack had little to zero interest in saving this unicorn from winding up in the doghouse. Even if she did however, the last thing she was going to do was to lie about such despicable behavior.

“The truth is, he started feelin’ me up and lookin’ me all over like Ah was catch of the day or somethin’,” she said with a shudder. The Pegasus looked to her husband; growing increasingly more annoyed with his behavior. “Ah told him to stop but he just wasn’t listenin’ and nothin’ he said made any sense to me.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” the Pegasus said calmly. Valentino tried to speak but his wife shot him a death glare that silenced his voice instantaneously. She slowly approached Applejack, a comforting and forgiving smile on her lips. “My name’s Sweetheart and I do apologize for my husband’s behavior,” she raised an eyebrow at her husband; turning back to AJ shortly after, “he knows better than to try and pull something like this.”

Applejack sighed in relief. Thank Celestia this mare seemed to have a good head on her shoulders; rational and sound of mind.

“If I’ve told him once I’ve told him a thousand times, inspecting the girlfriend is something we BOTH do together,” the Pegasus happily beamed.

“SAY WHAT?” Applejack shrieked in disbelief.

Before Applejack could protest any further, Sweetheart turned to her husband and gave him an all-knowing wink. Valentino magically lifted Applejack off the ground and turned her upside down. AJ frantically swung her hooves in the air; trying to resist but looking more like she was swimming in midair. She didn’t know what was going on or who these crazy ponies are. One thing was for certain; she didn’t like any of this! Valentino and Sweetheart both had the same disturbing, mischievous smile on their faces.

“Now then let’s see what we have to work with here,” Sweetheart said analytically. The chocolate haired mare examined Applejack like a bug in a jar. She grabbed AJ’s muzzle and pried it open, she then examined her teeth inside and closed the jaws back up. “Mmm good jawline, teeth aren’t as clean as I hoped but our family has always had good teeth anyway.” Sweetheart ran her nose along AJ’s stomach; inadvertently tickling the Earth pony and causing her to wiggle wildly. “The freckles are a nice touch,” the Pegasus tapped her chin; pondering intensely as she combed her eyes over every inch of the upside down mare. “Good chest muscles, she definitely works out, hair’s a bit frayed though.” She paused and chuckled, waving her hoof dismissively, “but hey, if it looks that good after all that farm work then something’s gotta be working for you!”

“Dearest darling, don’t forget to take notice the most important part of all” Valentino said slyly, wiggling his eyebrows.

Applejack didn’t know what to do or what to say. Resisting their inspection was about as effective as trying to talk some sense into them. She remained silent and just let them do whatever it is that they’re doing, hoping it’ll end soon and she can get some kind of answers.

Valentino flipped AJ right side up but this time, turned her rear towards the two ponies and pointed AJ’s muzzle back towards the direction she came from. Applejack immediately turned beat red once more.

“Ooooooh look honey, she has perfect BIRTHING hips,” Sweetheart crooned, “there so wide and roomy and shapely; I almost can’t believe it!”

“Indeed my dearly beloved, we could have not asked for a better mare,” Valentino boomed joyously. The magic aura surrounding Applejack vanished and she dropped with a sudden thump. Valentino and Sweetheart were prancing around the fallen mare in a circle, jauntily and joyfully praising the heavens for being delivered such a fine equine beauty.

“This calls for a celebration my sweet! We must summon the finest florists, raise more banners, and prepare the finest fireworks to scorch the skies. Our family has been blessed once again and the world MUST know of it!” he announced.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long Valentino. It’s like our prayers have been answered. I swear, I think my butterflies have butterflies, Squee!” she cheered in agreement.

“WHAT IN TAR NATION IS GOING ON HERE?!?” Applejack screamed demandingly.

“Hey, what’s all the yelling all about? Is there some other party I should…Wha…F-f-fair maiden, you’re here?” a familiar voice said.

Applejack immediately recognized that charming male voice, it seems her shrieking demand for answers had drawn the attention of a certain red Pegasus away from the party. Valentino, Sweetheart and Applejack simultaneously froze in place and turned to see Hopeful Romantic; standing there with a slightly stunned look.

“Thank Celestia, ah have been lookin’ all over for you Sugar,” Applejack’s words only caused Hopeful to become even more confused. She tossed her head back and motioned towards the crazed ponies behind her. “Ah don’t know which side of yer family tree these two are from, but they’re nuttier than Pinkie Pie’s triple peanut butter decker fruitcake!”

Valentino and Sweetheart suddenly rushed Hopeful before he could answer the mare of his dreams. The crazed couple swarmed over him like pair of boa constrictors; squeezing and snuggling into him.

“HA, HA, thought you could pull the wool over our eyes; eh you charming charlatan? That’s dirty pool old boy! Telling us you’re precious fair maiden wasn’t coming and then having her show up here to bless our family gathering with her bedazzling beauty? What an arousing surprise; spettacolare,” Valentino proudly cheered. His enthusiasm and aggressive application of noogies seemed to be making Hopeful quite uncomfortable; literally and figuratively.

“I agree Hopeful, this is quite the surprise but don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of food to go around. I’m just so glad you FINALLY brought her to see us. We’ve been waiting to meet her ever since we got your return invitation,” Sweetheart beamed; chatting away at ridiculous speeds. Hopeful groaned as the Pegasus mare rubbed her cheek adoringly against his own; unable to escape her suffocating affection. “I already checked her out. She’s healthy, strong and has a real go-getter attitude. And, if you don’t mind me saying so, she’s quite the hot piece of ass!”

“Ugh, Mom! Dad! Would you please cut that out?” Hopeful grunted; shoving his parents overbearing hugs off his body. “I swear you do this every time. You can’t just go around feeling up any pony I bring home, it’s really embarrassing.”

Applejack was at a loss for words. Her eyes widened to the size of jade boulders at the startling revelation Hopeful had uttered: these crazy, perverted ponies were, in fact, Hopeful’s parents.

“M-m-m-m-m-mm-mom…D-d-d-d-d-dad…Are you tellin’ me-are ya’ll seriously tellin’ me that THESE TWO ARE YOUR PARENTS?” she shouted alarmingly.

“Ugh…Yeah…I’m afraid so,” Hopeful hung his head in shame, “Applejack meet Valentino; my father and Sweetheart; my mother.”

“The pleasure is ours” the happy couple jubilantly exclaimed.

The orange mare felt like her brain had floated away from her body.

Are you buckin’ KIDDIN’ ME?!? These two gropin’ nut cases are Hopeful’s ma and pa? How in the heck does that make any sense?

“Ah think Ah need to sit down,” she said breathlessly.

Valentino and Sweetheart looked at each other strangely.

“But dear…you already are sitting down,” Sweetheart said.

Applejack looked at her rump; noticing it seated firmly in the grass. She looked back at the couple, still sporting that colorless, blank look on her mortified face.

“Oh…Ah see…That was fast,” she said lifelessly.

What in the world have Ah gotten myself into?

After recovering from the jarring realization that Hopeful’s parents were getting fresh with her a few minutes ago, Applejack was invited to join the family reunion and personally meet every member of the Heart clan. Hopeful, Valentino and Sweetheart were all too happy to show her around. Unfortunately, Applejack and Hopeful hadn’t had a chance to speak about their fight; too busy being roped into meeting every uncle, aunt, cousin and sibling in Hopeful’s family. They knew they had to talk and Applejack had attempted to apologize a number of times, but something or someone always seemed to interrupt her or distract her focus.

“So, Ah hate to rain on this happy parade but Ah have to ask…Does any pony know what happened between us?” she asked hesitantly.

“Actually dear,” Sweetheart said; politely interrupting Hopeful before he could answer, “Hopeful only told me and his father all the details. We told the rest of the family that something came up last minute and you couldn’t make it, which technically was the truth.”

“My parents and I both agreed telling my family we broke up would only ruin the festivities. So when you showed up, they were just as surprised as I was,” Hopeful explained.

Hopeful continued to avoid eye contact with the southern mare; painfully keeping his distance. It was agonizing seeing the red colt look so crippled by his misery. Applejack hated that she had treated him so horribly and wanted nothing more than to explain herself and make it up to him.

“Oh Sugar, that’s what Ah want to talk to you about,” she said; sweetly extending her hoof towards his. Hopeful’s name was being called by another relative near a picnic table. Feeling cornered, Hopeful backed away from Applejack’s hoof and attempted to answer the one calling to him. The orange mare pleaded desperately for him to stay. “Please…don’t go…Ah think we really need to clear this up. It’s about this whole ‘broken up’ thing. All those awful things Ah said to you, Ah just…Ah didn’t mean em Ah was just tryin’ to-”

“Fair maiden, we don’t have to do this now. This is a time for celebration and getting together with old family members. Even if things are still raw between us, I’m glad you’re here and I want you to have a good time. We can always talk later.”

“But Hopeful-”

Sweetheart squeaked as she suddenly felt someone grabbing her rump with a firm hoof. The shriek startled Applejack and broke her train of thought. The Pegasus’s cheeks flashed bright pink, she felt her body tingle all over at the familiar hoof caressing her shapely figure. Valentino had snuck up on her from behind.

“Oh my…Someone’s awfully snuggly,” she cooed softly.

“You slippery minx; thank Celestia I found you. I don’t think I could have stood another second without you,” Valentino purred.

“Honey, please,” she giggled playfully, “I only left your side for 2 minutes.”

“BAH! Two minutes, two years, it all feels the same to me my love. I just don’t feel like myself if you’re not gracing me with your heavenly body and your intoxicating scent.”

“Well thank you for that dear but it’s really not necessary.”

“Of course it is. Only the simplest of fools would dare let a ravishing beauty out of their sight; my Cara mia.”

“Actually, I was referring to the fact that you’re grabbing my ass in front of our son and his date.”

Valentino shuddered and buried his muzzle into his wife’s neck, she crooned and moaned softly in return. He kissed her fur and stared adoringly at her face; burning passion sparkled in his eyes.

“Oooooooh Eres divina, I love it when you curse! Every word you speak just makes me want to do unspeakable things to you,” he said.

Applejack and Hopeful watched uncomfortably as the couple continued to become more intimate with each other. The ponies’ cheeks turned every shade of red.

“You scorch my soul with celestial fire. You, my immortal beloved are everything to me: the thunder in my heart, the surging blood in my veins. You clutch my heart with the paralyzing touch of death and warm me with the heavenly glow of a thousand angles; singing music too beautiful and exquisite for mortal ears to behold,” he said fondly.

“Mmmm mmm the way you talk buster…” she purred in reply.

The married couple embraced one another in a salacious, enveloping make out session that blurred their lips together in a sea of red and white. Valentino and Sweetheart were lost in their own eyes and lips; dancing with their legs and tongues. Hopeful and Applejack remained uncomfortably front and center for this intense display of affection. It seems his parents had completely forgotten they were there watching them…or they simply didn’t care.

“To live without you, only that would be torture” he said longingly.

“A day alone, only that would be death” she replied, speaking as if reciting a poem to her beloved husband.

“Your folks uh…They sure are eh…Well they sure as Heck aren’t shy about this stuff,” Applejack said.

“Ugh…You have no idea,” Hopeful drearily replied.

 SWIPE!

Hopeful gasped as a large, burly teal colored arm latched around his neck in a headlock. The arm belonged to a large, beefy sized male unicorn wearing a ripped jean vest with a puffy white collar. The unicorn had light blue eyes, short, dark grey hair and a band aid over his right cheek. He laughed jauntily as he noogied Hopeful’s carefully combed hair. His cutie mark resembled that of a wooden heart, split down the middle but patched together with multiple dark nails down the center.

“Ha, didn’t think you could get away from a noogie make over now did ya buddy? It’s a family tradition,” the unicorn boasted.

“ACK! Uncle Crush, do you really have to do that now? You’re embarrassing me,” Hopeful whined.

“Oh come on squirt, you’ve never made that big of a deal out of this. What’s got you so…Oh…I see,” Uncle Crush said; his voice laced with suggestive tones.

Applejack blushed sheepishly; clearly the cause behind Uncle Crush’s sudden silence and sensual tone. Hopeful was desperate not to look weak in front of Applejack. He tried to distract his uncle so they could talk in private, but the bulky unicorn was already making his way to the orange Earth pony.

“And here I thought you weren’t coming to our little shindig. I gotta say…?” he asked curiously.

“Applejack, call me AJ for short sir,” she kindly said.

“Right, right. Well AJ, I am pleasantly surprised to see you could make it. I’ve been mighty curious to see what kind of lady was lucky enough to land my nephew as arm candy. Name’s Big Crush, Valentino’s older brother and proud uncle of Romeo junior here,” he said smiling broadly.

Applejack smiled at the sweet sentiment. She extended her hoof to the burly teal unicorn, Crush stared as if he was confused and didn’t know what to do with it. He gently pushed her hoof down and shook his head. The Southern mare was worried she might have offended him somehow.

“Nuh uh, sorry but that doesn’t mix with me,” he grunted.

“Um beg pardon? Ahm afraid Ah don’t understand,” she said.

“There are two things you gotta know about me. Number 1: none of this sir silliness. If Hopeful invited you here, that means your special aka that means your family. You can call me Uncle Crush, Big Crush, or Big C if you want but that’s it,” he explained.

“All right and what’s the other thing?”

Uncle Crush displayed a playful, almost devious smile as he approached the blond mare. The fact that he was a unicorn and fairly close to Big Mac in size and shape further confused Applejack. His tree trunk thick arms swung open and embraced Applejack in a bone crushing bear hug, she could feel her spine and ribs cracking under the colossal force. Applejack’s face contorted and twisted; looking as if she was having the life literally crushed out of her.

“I DON’T SHAKE, I’M A HUGGER SO BRING IT IN HERE AJ!” he boasted loudly.

“Ugh yer a lot stronger than Ah thought…Can’t…Feel…Mah legs,” Applejack weakly whispered.

Before Uncle Crush could apologize, Applejack displayed her own muscular might and gave him an equally paralyzing, back-breaking hug. Crush gasped in surprise.

“OW! Heh could say the same thing about you blondie,” Crush grunted in reply.

The two powerful ponies released each other and breathed heavily. Hopeful was pleased to see them getting along so naturally, however, he was visibly concerned to see his uncle showing off his strength so casually. The red colt had often felt inadequate because his arm strength was severely lacking compared to Applejack’s. Despite their relationship status remaining in limbo, Hopeful still wanted to appear strong, and hopefully, erase the disastrous memory of his bumbling farm work from her mind.

“Hey, Uncle Crush, how about a game of arm wrestling”, Hopeful tugged his uncle’s arm eagerly, “just you and me, right now?”

“Huh? What’s rattling on in that head of yours? You hate arm wrestling, you kept telling me you didn’t want to play,” Crush stated; quite confused and curious at his nephew’s odd behavior.

“Well THAT was then and this is NOW,” Hopeful said with a bit more force.

The red colt flashed his eyes towards his clueless uncle; even nudging his head towards the observing mare. Uncle Crush slowly pieced together the puzzle and decided to play along. He smiled broadly and levitated a table and two chairs for their little game. Hopeful waved to Applejack, desperately seeking her attention but trying to play it off casually. She smiled with much amusement at his obvious attention grabbing ploy and waved back.

“Nice guy, real nice actually. Gotta admit though, Ahm awfully surprised to see a unicorn rely more on physical strength than magic,” she mused to herself.

“Yeah, Big Crush is what you call…A unique stallion,” a voice from behind said.

Applejack was slightly surprised by the new voice speaking beside her. She turned and saw an average sized Earth pony female; watching the arm wrestling match as well. Her coat was neon yellow, hair was red like a bell pepper; twisted with frizzy curls that looked like a heaping pile of ruby red spaghetti was resting on her head. Her eyes were light brown, eyebrows were even lighter and thinner, she wore a pair of dangling earrings that resembled hot pink cursive M’s. The yellow mare’s cutie mark was a pair of two white playing cards, one displaying red hearts and the other; black hearts. The pony’s tail looked just as red and frizzy and curly as her hair, the tail was shorter in length and poofed out like a narrowly cut bouquet of flowers.

“That’s a word you’re gonna here frequently around here: unique. Hi, the name’s Match Maker, Crush’s wife. You can just call me Aunt Mattie though, everyone else does,” she said.

“Pleased as punch to meet ya Aunt Mattie, Ahm Applejack,” the orange mare happily introduced herself.

“Ah, so you’re the one Hopeful couldn’t stop yakking about. I swear, ever since he started writing us letters it’s been Applejack this, Applejack that. I almost started hating you just because I was sick of hearing about you so much,” she joked endearingly.

“Heh well that’s one Heck of a compliment ma’am and Ah thank ya kindly for it. Truth be told, Hopeful’s the talk of the farm back round mah parts,” she said blushing faintly.

“Yeah, he’s a real sweetie isn’t he? I’m so glad he finally found someone. I’ve spent months trying to find that boy the perfect date but he wanted nothing to do with any girl I paired him up with, so eventually, I just stopped mixing my business with family business,” she said.

Applejack had momentarily been distracted by the loud grunting and groaning coming from Hopeful. He was growling like he was trying to lift a building up over his head; still struggling agonizingly to pin his uncle’s bulging arm down. She apologized to Mattie and curiously inquired what she meant about business.

“Oh I’m sorry; I forgot to tell you, I’m an actual match maker for ponies. I get a sort of vibe about certain ponies, like, getting a sense of what they like and what they’re searching for in a date. Then, I compare and contrast all their likes, dislikes, best and worst qualities and bring them together. It’s always my hope sparks will fly on their first date, but these things take time.”

“Yeah, Ah admittedly have been taking mah sweet time when it comes to Hopeful. Maybe a little too much time now that Ah think bout it.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have been my first choice but you definitely seem to be Hopeful’s. He turned down every girl I sent his way. I ‘vibed’ with every possible mare that was even remotely close to his interests and tastes, and despite the fact you have the least in common with him compared to all those other girls, you two still ended up bumping rumps.”

Applejack blushed sheepishly at that crude analogy. It was sweet, in a way, but still not the most pleasant ways to describe a relationship. A loud thump snapped Applejack out of her daze, the thunderous sound came from Uncle Crush pinning Hopeful’s hoof down.

“Hey no fair, you totally cheated that time!” Hopeful protested.

“Oh come off it Romeo, you know I never use magic for something like this,” Crush said dismissively.

“All right fine, best two out of three,” the Pegasus said.

Crush chuckled at that challenge. He rolled his eyes and humored his nephew; locking hooves for another round. Hopeful wanted Applejack to see him victorious and he wasn’t going to give up until he was. As powerfully muscled as his uncle is, Hopeful would not let that or even Celestia herself stop him from proving to his fair maiden that he could protect her body as well as her heart. Even if their relationship only lasted until the moon rises, he had to do this.

“Hope you don’t mind me askin’ Mattie, but how come yer husband uses more muscle than magic?” she asked; curiosity getting the best of her.

Not only did the question not bother Mattie, in fact, it made her smile warmly towards the southern Earth pony. She seemed all too happy to answer her.

“Crush is a physical kind of guy, always has been and always will be; even when he was growing up with his little brother,” she said fondly. “He thinks most unicorns rely too much on magic for everyday things and they lose that important connection when you physically interact with something. Sure, he uses magic for hard labor and things that are out of reach, but when it comes to being physically affectionate, no one does it better than my lovable big lug.”

WHAM!

“Boo-yah, that’s one for me,” Hopeful proudly exclaimed.

Applejack and Aunt Mattie were whistling and cheering Hopeful on. Uncle Crush turned red with embarrassment; especially since his wife was rooting for his downfall too. He quickly insisted they finish the contest and break the tie. The proud unicorn loved his nephew dearly, but he was also a prideful pony and had zero intentions of going easy in front of such an audience.

“Kids, come over here, daddy’s about to lose to your cousin Hopeful,” Mattie shouted, playfully smirking. Her grin widened upon seeing the shocked look on her husband’s face. “What’s wrong hun? You just love putting on a show for the kids; they wouldn’t want to miss this!”

A pair of young ponies eagerly ran towards the voice of their mother. One of them was a dark blue colt. He was the oldest and flashed a glittering pair of gold eyes, his hair was silver but the tips were frosted neon green. His cutie mark was a dark red heart with a light blue pulse wave across the center, a pair of headphones surrounded the heart on both sides.

The other pony was a hot pink unicorn mare. She was much younger than her brother and spoke only in giggles and coos. Her eyes were a rich shade of ocean blue, they sparkled radiantly above small brown freckles on her perky smiling cheeks. The little mare’s hair was done up in pigtails; strongly resembling a pair of cheerleader pom-poms. Her hair was a swirling sea of gold, orange and violet colors. She wore a shimmering crystal blue fairy princess like dress; stopping just above her noticeably blank flank.

“Awe shucks, aren’t ya’ll just the cutest little tykes Ah ever did see,” Applejack gushed.

The blue colt’s cheeks turned bright red. The younger mare simply giggled and laughed; both adorably enjoying the flattery.

“This is my son, Heartbeat, and his sister; Little Cupid,” Mattie said proudly.

Applejack happily introduced herself to the children. Their happy smiles and enthusiastic energy warmed the mare’s heart tremendously, they both reminded her of her sweet little sister and her Crusader friends.

“Heartbeat just loves music, pretty much every kind there is,” she explained, “he wants to start his own record label where he brings bands and artists of all different genres to work together and make new kinds of hybrid styled music.”

“Y-y-y-y-y-yeah but right now, all I know how to do is DJ…B-b-b-but I’m working on getting better,” Heartbeat said. “I’m learning how to play every kind of instrument, I figure it will help me understand music better. Being a DJ helps me work on different sounds even without instruments.”

“That’s mighty impressive there little guy,” Heartbeat sheepishly bit his lip at such wondrous praise. “Ah actually know a very successful and talented DJ pony by the name of Vinyl Scratch. Ah think you know her better though as DJ-PON3.”

“No way, you actually know her?!?” he said; unable to contain his excitement.

“Does a rooster crow at sunrise? You bet your flank Ah do kiddo, in fact, if you ever step hoof into Ponyville Ah bet she could give ya a few pointers. Plus, mah good friend Pinkie Pie is a master at playing multiple instruments at once. She’d be pleased as punch to help ya out too,” Applejack said.

“Whoa! Thank you, thank you! That would be beyond awesome,” Heartbeat cheerfully replied. He lunged at Applejack and tightly hugged her. She chuckled in response. It was a sweet gesture, surprising and unnecessary but still terribly sweet. “I j-j-j-just wish there was some way I could repay you. Even if they’re just giving me a few notes, it would be a huge help. I’ve got to do something to say thanks,” he said insistently.

“Naw, no thanks is needed sugar cube,” she said; shaking her head.

Heartbeat opened his mouth to speak but stopped once an idea came to mind, he scratched his chin and hummed loudly; pondering. His golden eyes flashed as he thought of the perfect reward.

“Miss Applejack, what’s your favorite type of music?” he wagged his tail in anticipation.

“Um well Ah guess Ah’d have to say country music but why-”

“Perfect! That’s all I need to know, come on Cupid, we’ve got work to do,” he said definitively.

The pink mare giggled innocently, drooling a little and laughing with a whimsical, harmonious voice. Heartbeat scooped up his younger sister and quickly dashed off to prepare the special surprise he just thought of. Applejack told him once more no thanks or gifts were needed, but the young colt was already gone and dead set on fulfilling his promise. The orange mare shrugged and returned her attention back to the arm wrestling challenge.

WHAM!

Hopeful’s hoof successfully slammed his uncle’s down onto the small table. A look of pure elation and joy lit up his face like fireworks, he soared to the sky and trembled the heavens with his celebratory screams.

“WHOOOO I did it, I did it!” Hopeful started dancing in the air, his wings and limbs waving in every direction. He backwards moon walked through some clouds; saying “all right-all right” as if he was singing.

Uncle Crush grumbled sheepishly under his breath. Mattie chuckled at her husband’s childish pouting, she nuzzled against him and comforted him with a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“Hey fair maiden, did you see me finally pin my uncle?” he cheerfully asked.

“Sure did Sugar. That was some mighty fine arm wrasslin’ you did there, but Ah think you could use a worthier opponent,” she said.

“Really? Um a-a-are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked; ripe with uncertainty.

“Don’t sweat it lover boy, we can talk everythin’ over while were wrasslin’. It’s our best chance at gettin’ some privacy before yer relative’s swarm over me,” she assured him.

She spat into her hooves and rubbed them together; raising her eyebrow in a challenging and inviting manner. The red Pegasus felt nervous at first, but after considering his recent victory over his uncle and Applejack’s promise to talk things over, he felt a new surge of confidence lifting his hopes and calming his heart. Hopeful started to glide back down to the Earth and to the lovely pony that was calling him. Before Applejack and Hopeful could even make it to the wrestling table, Valentino popped out of nowhere; catching Applejack off guard. He wrapped his arm across her side.

“SHAMEFUL! Hiding such a beautiful flower only for your own private enjoyment son, shameful indeed! She is a goddess of flesh and fur that must no longer be kept secret. She must…MINGLE; grace our kith and kin with her charming company and sensational southern wit,” Valentino boldly announced.

“But actually, we were just-”

“Nonsense my dear, my son will be here waiting to ravage you once you are finished. Come now, the rest of the Heart family is waiting…And where the Heart goes…We must follow,” he said; dramatically.

Applejack vanished in a supersonic blur of orange and dark red dust particles. Hopeful landed on the arm wrestling table; staring vacantly at the spot where his maiden and father once were. He was stunned.

“Oh COME ON DAD!” Hopeful groaned.

Much to their disappointment, Hopeful and Applejack wouldn’t be left alone anytime soon so they made the best of it and went along with Valentino’s introductory tour. Applejack met many ponies of many races, including Hopeful’s grandfather; Pacemaker, on his father’s side. She was currently being introduced to Sweetheart’s two older sisters: Eve Harmony and Christie Mingle.

“Greetings Miss Applejack. I’m Eve Harmony, a lover of love and there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing my nephew share his wonderful heart with someone who will truly appreciate it as we all have,” Eve Harmony cooed gracefully. “I can tell you two will be very happy together.”

She was tall, sparkling mint green in color and had the most heavenly orange colored eyes; AJ thought they looked like two glimmering sunsets. Eve had medium length light brown hair, it fell nicely alongside her thin-yet-long wings. Applejack could detect hints of rose petals and jasmine in those faint brown locks. Eve’s cutie mark was a wreath of golden oak leaves encircling two wedding gold bands side by side; merging together.

“Glorious day to you Applejack, may Celestia always shine down upon you and dear, blessed Hopeful,” Christie said; preaching the word of the sun goddess.

Though the eldest sibling, Christie Mingle was a tad shorter than Eve Harmony. Her fur was silvery and glamorous; glittering as if every strand of fur was coated with diamond dust. The religious Pegasus had long, flowing whispery blue and pink colored hair. The long, luxurious locks reminded the country mare of Celestia’s waterfall like mane. Every strand was neatly concealed under a religious headdress, the base was black and the trim was golden bronze. Each side of the headdress featured Celestia’s cutie mark prominently. Christie had a slightly longer neck and shorter muzzle then her sisters, her eye color was the same shade of dark blue as Princess Luna’s fur. Her cutie mark was an orange sun fitted with two long white wings on each side. The wings were nearly identical to Celestia’s actual wings.

Applejack introduced herself to each mare, she delighted the Pegasus sisters with her wild adventures across Equestria and her even wilder stories of how she and Hopeful ended up dating. Eve and Christie took an immediate liking to Applejack. Though their views were sometimes a bit overbearing and excessive, AJ could tell they loved Hopeful deeply. She sensed they, like Sweetheart, had given her relationship with Hopeful a seal of approval and it meant the world to the orange mare.

“And lastly, but certainly not least,” Sweetheart chimed, “our one and only brother: Star Crossed.”

Star Crossed was, like his 3 sisters, also a Pegasus. His fur was dark jungle green in color, it had an almost slick, grungy look to it despite the fact his coat was well groomed and styled. His hair was reddish brown and his eyes were dark topaz. The colt’s cutie mark displayed a shadowy ocean blue planet with a sizzling star shooting over its base; leaving behind a colorful trail of orange, yellow and red bursts.

Charmed as she was to meet Star Crossed, it was the figure standing next to him that truly absorbed her attention.

“Hey, don’t be shy now, come on and show off that lovely bump of yours,” he said to his apprehensive wife.

Star Crossed’s wife happened to be a griffin. Hopeful had informed Applejack his uncle on his mother’s side was married to a griffin, but still, it was a truly stunning sight to experience it in person.

Her name is Wind Song. The nervous Griffin stepped forward on her eagle talons. There was a twinge of uncertainty in her moon yellow eyes; they had spots on them that reminded Applejack of craters. Her Eagle head fur was the faintest shade of purple, it matched beautifully with the metallic blue circles surrounding her eyes; similar to the ones Gilda has. The rest of her body was burgundy with bits of black feathers mixed into the underside of each of her wings. As Star Crossed had so proudly pointed out, Wind Song was sporting quite the baby bump.

“So good to see you all again,” Wind Song smiled as she looked to Applejack, her stunned expression made the Griffin chuckle some. “So which is freaking you out more: the fact that I’m a Griffin or the fact that I’m having a baby with a pony?”

For a moment, the orange mare didn’t know what to say or how to form words. Her blank staring certainly wasn’t making her look any more open minded to these ponies’ traditions. “Er um sorry about that…Ah guess…Both to be honest,” Applejack sheepishly answered.

“No big thing freckles, I get it all the time. Every one wonders what a fine flying fox like me is doing with a dork like him,” Wind Song joked, lightly elbowing her husband in his sides. “Sure, there were plenty of beefcake griffins in Griffinstone, but they were all greedy jerks and cared more about collecting bits than showing a gal a good time.”

“When I saw Wind Song flying over one day, I knew that I just had to meet her and find out her name,” Star Crossed said, “needless to say she sure didn’t make things easy for me.” The Pegasus and Griffin laughed fondly.

“I thought he was just another sex starved hot shot who wanted to bed someone a little more exotic than the usual pony fare. But no matter how nasty I was, no matter how many times I shoved him away and told him to buzz off…he never gave up on me. He finally annoyed me to the point I caved and spilled some junk about myself,” she explained. Wind Song turned her head to the side. She felt ashamed of her brash, obnoxious attitude and how she treated Star Crossed. Things were better now but it was still a large source of shame for her.

“And I was hooked,” the colt lovingly added. The Pegasus melted away that look of guilt on his wife’s face, her smile grew like a blooming flower. He reached out and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. She breathed deeply and felt a surge of happiness flowing through her; renewing her desire to continue the story. “I never really thought of ponies in that way, but Star Crossed was just so excited and interested in what I had to say. I never met a Griffin who cared enough about my thoughts and my opinions. It was refreshing to find someone who put my needs first without asking for anything in return. One date turned into many more, and eventually, I stopped seeing how different he was…and started seeing how similar our feelings were for each other.”

“It was a challenge, socially and emotionally but as you can clearly see, it was all worth it,” Star Crossed said happily. He leaned down and nuzzled the baby bump alongside his cheek. The sight caused all 3 of his sisters, and Applejack, to collectively coo and awe with delight.

Applejack’s glowing smile briefly vanished when she noticed Hopeful was absent. A quick glance around revealed he was arguing with a pale blue unicorn mare with dark hair.

“This seems like a good a time as any” she thought to herself.

“Beggin’ yer pardon Wind Song, Star Crossed, but there’s somethin’ Ah need yer help with,” the happy couple looked to each other curiously, “Ah think you may be the only ones who will understand this particular problem.”

“All right then, fire away,” Star Crossed said, wrapping his arm over his bride’s side; ruffling her feathers playfully.

“Ah have a friend…A close friend and she’s possibly courtin’ another friend of mine…Who isn’t a pony,” Applejack felt a lump form in her throat, “and there’s some that are not on board with it.” The southern mare was very careful not to lead her prejudice show. She hoped this conversation could help alleviate some of her concerns about Spike and Rarity. “How do ya do it? How do ya face such impossible odds with everyone lookin’ at ya funny, constantly questionin’ yer relationship and seein’ it as somethin’ wrong or just plum loco? Do you ever wonder if what yer doin’ is wrong, if it’s worth all the bad times that come with it?”

Star Crossed and Wind Song laughed softly. Their laughter was slightly confusing. Applejack didn’t know how the couple would interpret her question or if they had inferred she was the main pony ‘not on board’ as she put it.

“We get asked that question ALL the time freckles,” Wind Song said teasingly, “and the short answer is yes…it is absolutely worth it. Every relationship has problems, everyone has bad times, but we don’t give up on the ponies-”

“Or Griffins” Star Crossed added.

“Yes, or the Griffins because of it, that’s not how love works and it’s not like we’re trying to make some big political statement. We’re not marching to any revolutionary flag or expecting anyone to follow along, we just want to be happy with each other as we are and not as what everyone else thinks we should be,” she said confidently.

Star Crossed kissed her cheek sweetly; smiling at her adorable blush. He looked to Applejack and yearned to comfort the conflict brewing in those emerald eyes of hers. “Personally speaking, I have no need to prove our love to anyone who assumes we are not together because the idea of a Griffin and a Pegasus being in love is beyond their reality,” he explained calmly. “Happiness isn’t some definitive black and white term that applies to everyone universally, love is what we make of it and certainly not by following someone else’s standards. Your friends need to care about what makes them happy, not everyone else. It’s their lives, their time and their hearts; only they have the right to say who they can love.”

“But what if the whole world sees it as wrong, what if it’s somethin’ they just can’t get used to?” Applejack asked desperately.

“Then buck em, buck every last one of those turd brained old goats,” Wind Song bluntly stated. Christie Mingle gasped. She angrily chastised Wind Song for using such harsh language, the Griffin rolled her eyes at the scolding.

“What my girlfriend is trying to respectfully say is it’s not about what the world wants, it’s not even about what you want Applejack,” her eyes widened slightly, “It’s about what they want.” Star Crossed smiled at her reaction, his eyes shined with an all-knowing glimmer.

Applejack felt her world turn upside down and inside out. Everything was so clear, right there in front of her face, and yet, it felt like an alien concept she was learning for the first time. Wind Song and Star Crossed seemed so happy, despite all the hard ships they no doubt experienced. Definitions of right and wrong, normal and abnormal were blurring in a tornado of grey. Everyone was happy and content with each other, everyone was loved and cared for in this diverse family. Could something that looks and feels so right truly be considered wrong? She had always thought that upholding traditions was something worth being proud of. But as she looked upon these happy, smiling faces and saw how love was uniting ponies and creatures from all walks of life, she realized…no tradition that divides others is worth upholding.

“Ah get it now, Ah think Ah finally understand,” she said proudly.

The argument between Hopeful and the unicorn had grown too volatile to remain unnoticed. Sweetheart sighed in annoyance, it appeared those two squabbling was a common site around here. The blue unicorn approached Applejack; despite Hopeful’s attempt to convince her otherwise.

“I’m telling you sis, don’t go asking her weird questions. I really like this one and I don’t need you freaking her out,” Hopeful nagged.

“Whatever. Just leave me alone, okay? I’ll ask her whatever I want. You don’t get to tell me what to say, you’re NOT mom!” she snapped angrily.

Sweetheart glared at both ponies. Her baby blue eyes had transformed into lethal blades; threatening and silencing her children almost instantly. Hopeful and his sister rubbed each other the wrong way. Each one seemed to annoy the other just by speaking, it was a radically different relationship compared to the one she had with Apple Bloom.

“Fair maiden, allow me to introduce you to Lovelorn…Ugh…My older sister,” he said with a groan.

Lovelorn was a tad short for Hopeful’s older sister. He cleared her height by quite a bit, a fact that had become the source for many of arguments between the two. She was pale blue, her eyes were yellow green and one eye was partially blocked by the long, black hair that came down just above her hooves. Her horn was partially covered by the slumping locks. The hairstyle was strikingly similar to how Marble Pie had her hair styled. Lovelorn’s dark hair was split across her face, giving her occasionally blocked eye some visibility. Her eyes appeared baggy and worn, as if she had been up late at night or staring at the sun too long. The mare’s lips seemed permanently frozen in a pessimistic scowl. Lovelorn’s tail was ratty, matted and scrunched up; it looked like someone had been using it as a chew toy. Her cutie mark was a heart inside of a glass of water; partially submerged. The top half of the heart was colorful and glistening, the lower submerged half was shriveled and resembled a rotten raisin.

“So, you’re the chick who has a big family like ours huh? Got lots of brothers, sisters and cousins and all that?” she bluntly asked.

“Well Ah reckon there’s far too many cousins of mine to count at the moment. But as fer siblings, Ah got an older brother-”

Lovelorn levitated Applejack off her hooves and dragged her body closer. The unicorn jammed her face uncomfortably close with the orange mare’s. Her eyes widened with billowing desperation.

“Does he have a girlfriend? What’s his name? What’s his favorite food? Tell me and I’ll cook 10 tons of whatever it is! What kind of girls does he like, on the thick side or skin and bones? Why didn’t you bring him? What kind of hair does he like on girls? I’LL GO BALD FOR HIM IF I HAVE TO,” Lovelorn babbled frantically.

Applejack was frozen in panic. She didn’t dare say a word or move a muscle for fear of making things worse somehow. Hopeful shoved his way between the two mares, he pried his beloved maiden free from his twisted sister’s magical grip. Lovelorn grunted disappointingly at AJ’s silence.

“Apologies fair maiden, but as you can CLEARLY SEE,” he glared scathingly at Lovelorn, “my sister is a bit…Overzealous when it comes to finding a date.”

She rolled her eyes bitterly. The unicorn felt demeaned and insulted by her brother’s casual dismissal of her quest for love. She practically snarled at the red colt.

“Oh spare me the nice spin you’re putting on here,” she griped. “Call it like it is: I’m DESPERATE! And you know what? I don’t care. I’ve gone through guy after guy and not one of them bothered to stick around long enough to warrant any bragging rights. At this point, I’ll suck faces with every drunk in a bar if it means I get to score some serious arm candy.”

Applejack gulped audibly; visibly nervous by this pony’s unhealthy obsession with finding a date. And she thought Rarity was boy crazy! This one’s just straight up crazy.

“Um…Afraid mah brother is already taken,” Applejack explained, “he’s all cozy and cuddly with a school teacher. Ahm afraid the only other male friend Ah know already has his heart set on a female friend of mine. All the rest of mah friends are girls so-”

“That doesn’t matter,” she replied lustfully. She batted her crazed eyes at AJ seductively, as if trying to flirt with her.

Applejack was rendered speechless once more.

“Boys, girls, they’re all good in my book, which is wide open I might add. Life’s too short to be picky so if you could drop me a few names and detailed descriptions of your friends…”

“SO YEAH, NOW YOU’VE MET MY WHOLE FAMILY,” Hopeful loudly shouted. The red colt was all too eager to disrupt this very uncomfortable and awkward moment from going any longer.

Applejack sighed in relief; thanking the Pegasus for his much needed distraction.

Valentino, Uncle Crush, Pacemaker along with the rest of the Heart family converged towards the southern mare. She curiously looked out across all of these warm and friendly faces that had been so generous to involve her in their family gathering. Upon recalling each and every pony introduced to her, she found herself realizing that something was a tad…off. It was the name of the pony Hopeful had mentioned while he was under Moonstruck’s fear spell. Based on the pony’s name, she naturally assumed he or she was a part of the Heart family and not a friend.

If that’s the case, then where is this mysterious pony? She thought to herself.

“Actually, Ah think there’s one pony still missin’. But since everyone is all here, that means someone is bound to know where he or she is,” Applejack said, “So could some pony kindly point me in the direction of Wild Heart?”

A dark silence suddenly fell on the happy crowd. Every smile had withered and vanished. Sweetheart started to sob, Valentino snuggled her close for comfort. Completely unaware of what she said or did wrong, Applejack looked to everyone with much confusion.

“D-d-d-d-did Ah just say somethin’ Ah shouldn’t have?” she asked nervously.

Hopeful’s face twisted with anguish. Aside from Sweetheart, no pony else had looked as distraught and mortified as AJ’s winged date. Tears started to fall down his cheeks and splash on the grass.

“Fair maiden…I’m so sorry…I should have told you…” he whimpered.

Hopeful couldn’t stand it anymore. He flew off with his weeping eyes buried in his arm. Lovelorn tried to call him back but Uncle Crush and Aunt Mattie told her to leave him be. Applejack had never seen Hopeful look so devastated before, so inconceivably miserable. It broke her heart in two.

“What did Ah do? Whatever Ah did Ahm so sorry, Ah j-j-j-just wanted to know who-”

“Wild Heart is our baby brother, he was a Pegasus like Hopeful,” Lovelorn said drearily.

“Was?” Applejack asked; dreading the answer but needing to hear it all the same.

“He died 5 years ago,” the unicorn said mournfully. “We just assumed Hopeful told you.”

The family could clearly see that was not the case however. While everyone had been dealing with the death of Wild Heart for years, the pain Applejack was experiencing was fresh and unavoidable. Sweetheart ran off; crying uncontrollably. The poor Pegasus couldn’t keep herself together in front of everyone any longer.

“Applejack, please, do not worry about my son,” Valentino said comfortingly. “I will speak to him and then you may talk to him. I know you weren’t aware of what happened to our youngest and for that, I am truly sorry. Hopeful has his reasons I’m sure. For the time being, could I possibly trouble you to help calm my wife down? This is a pain she cannot face alone and she always finds comfort in speaking to a fellow mare when it comes to this particular issue.”

“Of course” she quickly replied.

Applejack searched all over the party for Sweetheart, everyone had seen her run off but none seemed to know where exactly she ran off to. She eventually learned Sweetheart had isolated herself inside the house. Applejack ventured inside. As she trotted along in search of the weeping mare, she came across a hallway that leads to the kitchen. She noticed several familiar faces populating most of the photographs hanging on the walls: Lovelorn, Valentino, Sweetheart and Hopeful.

“Ah guess this is Hopeful’s home” she thought to herself.

Perhaps the most interesting thing the orange mare noticed was a single picture missing from the collage. Her tiny ears peeked, there was a clanging and banging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen. Applejack quietly walked towards the kitchen; she didn’t want to spook an already anxious mare. Her blond hair and Stetson slowly poked from the side as she peered inside.

“Um…Mrs. Heart…Is that you in there?” she timidly asked.

Sweetheart was indeed discovered. She was stirring a large wooden spoon into a mixing bowl. Her chocolate brown locks had specks of flour in it, and there were bits of butter on her elbows. The kitchen was bursting with culinary life. Every counter, every inch of each table was covered with food, however, something was a bit off about them. There were homemade chocolate eclairs with cookie moose antlers, corn on the cob with brown spots and horns; similar to a giraffe, curly Q fries with red snake fork tongues and chocolate chip pancakes shaped like bats. The heavenly aroma of several different kinds of pies could be smelled baking in the oven. After seeing the extravagant spread prepared on the tables outside, this assortment seemed absurdly unnecessary. There was enough food in here to feed an entire army and still have leftovers for the next day.

“Um beggin’ yer pardon ma’am but what’s-”

“With all the cooking? Well when I’m nervous I tend to cook…Food that’s shaped like animals…I know it’s weird. Usually, the more I bake the more relaxed I am,” she said sheepishly.

“With all the food ya got in here, you should be cooler than a cucumber with frostbite,” Applejack said.

“Yeah…You would think so,” she answered; trailing off. Her sad whimpers didn’t seem to improve no matter how many times she stirred the bowl. “I’m terribly sorry you had to hear all that dear. I thought Hopeful would have told you, but I see now that it’s just as hard for him to talk about it as it is for me.”

“Ah can’t even begin to imagine what yer goin’ through Mrs. Heart,” Applejack said mournfully. She removed her Stetson and clutched it over her chest.

“No…No you can’t and I hope you never do,” she sniffled softly, “no parent should ever outlive their children.” Sweetheart stopped stirring for a moment, she turned to Applejack and smiled softly at the polite mare. Applejack put her hat back on. “And please, call me Momma Heart; I insist.”

Applejack smiled in return and nodded at the weeping mother’s request.

“It’s been 5 years since my baby boy has passed, but still, from time to time I keep imagining he’s going to fly through that front door any second and ask me ‘what’s for dinner mom?’” she chuckled softly. “Our family reunions were never this big, but after what happened to my son, more and more relatives started coming out and more often than usual too. I know it’s a pain for everyone to come out here just to comfort me. I never asked any pony to do this for me, but I’m eternally grateful that they did and now it looks like every reunion is always gonna be this big.”

“You got some good kin there Momma heart,” Applejack said sweetly.

Sweetheart nodded happily to that notion. DING! The oven timer buzzed; signaling the pies were ready to come out. The motherly Pegasus motioned for Applejack to help her with them. The ponies both slipped on oven mitts and pulled the pies out, they crooned in delight at the delicious aromas.

“This may be hard for you to believe, but Hopeful used to be quite the ladies’ man before he met you,” she said. Applejack had a brief look of surprise on her cute little muzzle. Sweetheart giggled softly. “Oh yes, he had no trouble getting girls. He always knew the right thing to say, the right moves to pull. My boy was never the cheating type mind you; he always dedicated himself to one mare at a time. Hopeful just has a special talent for getting in touch with women’s hearts.”

“Ah can surely believe that. That colt’s got a firecracker of a mouth. Every time he talks, he sets me on fire with that sizzlin’ tongue of his,” Applejack said fondly. It took her all of 10 seconds to realize how that must have sounded in front of Hopeful’s mother. The orange mare turned beat red. “Uh…Forget Ah said that last part.”

Sweetheart failed miserably to contain her laughter.

“It’s okay, he always did have that effect on ladies so if anything, I take it as a compliment on my son’s charms,” she said proudly.

Sweetheart’s smile slowly faded. The brief speck of joy she felt discussing her son was once again replaced by sadness. “All of that changed though after his brother died. After that, Hopeful was never the same. He lost his confidence and second guessed every decision he made. It was like the part inside of him that allowed him to connect with other ponies was broken. Valentino and I didn’t know what to do. Of course, I wasn’t much help. By the time I managed to pull myself back together into a functioning mom, the damage to Hopeful had already been done. I was so lost in my own pain I ended up ignoring his.”

“Hey now, don’t beat yerself up like that,” Applejack said comfortingly. “You were in all kinds of misery. There was no way you could have helped Hopeful with his grief until ya got a good grip on yers.” She placed a hoof on Sweetheart’s shoulder. “Ya did the best you could Momma Heart.”

The Pegasus smiled at Applejack but her words did little to change the sadness behind that smile. “That’s kind of you to say, but it’s not true,” she gently brushed Applejack’s hoof from her shoulder. “My son needed me, he needed me and I wasn’t there for him, and as a parent that is not okay,” Sweetheart said solemnly.

Her words cut through AJ’s resolve easily. She understood what Sweetheart meant perfectly, knowing all too well how important it is for a parent to be there for their child. Applejack didn’t have the heart to tell the whimpering Pegasus how much this was wounding her own heart. All this talk of death and loss stirred up thoughts about her parent’s deaths. But she swallowed it down and reminded herself she was here to comfort Hopeful’s mother first and foremost.

“It didn’t help that I was always overprotective of my children. I eased up on them as they got older; wanted to give them their space and let em grow. After Wild Heart died, I became obsessively protective of my kids. I knew it wasn’t healthy and it caused Lovelorn and Hopeful all kinds of stress. The thing is, when you’re a mother hen who’s lost one of her baby eggs, you tend to clutch those remaining eggs just a little bit tighter than normal, you may crack them a bit…but at least you know they’re safe and loved,” Sweetheart said.

“Well Ah rightly do apologize for any pain Ah may have caused yer son. Celestia knows Ah ain’t the easiest mare to saddle up with,” Applejack admitted.

Sweetheart sprinkled bits of sugar onto a pair of polar bear cut grilled cheese sandwiches. She placed them off to the side; next to the vegetable kabobs she made to look like Cockatrices.

“Applejack, do you mind if ask you something personal?”

“Go right ahead Momma Heart,” she answered.

“Not that I don’t enjoy you being here, but, if you broke up with my Hopeful then why did you come to our family reunion?” she asked sincerely.

“Um w-w-w-well that’s uh k-k-kind of a complicated answer, really” she stuttered wildly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to pry into anything you don’t want me to,” Sweetheart said casually. “Every pony has a right to keep some things private.”

“Wait, if you really believe that then why did you and yer husband get all frisky foxy with me?” Applejack asked. “If ya knew Ah was no longer with Hopeful then there was no point in checkin’ me out like that.”

“Oh that,” Sweetheart chuckled mischievously, “We wanted to give you a little payback for breaking our son’s heart.” The Pegasus spoke of the incident as one would speak of pulling a prank rather than a legitimate act of vengeance. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

The Pegasus quickly burst into a roaring sea of laughter; Applejack joined shortly after. Both mares enjoyed the absurdity of their bizarre form of “eye for an eye” and just revealed in the silliness of the moment.

“Hot diggity, ya’ll got me good. For a minute there, Ah thought you were doin’ all that creepy weird stuff to me because you were tryin’ to see if Ah was good enough to date yer son,” Applejack chuckled.

“Don’t be ridiculous dear. We do that for every one of Hopeful’s dates,” she said calmly.

Applejack’s eyes twitched nervously.

“I was serious when I told my husband he can’t start without me. I didn’t want to miss out on any of the fun” she said; winking to the stunned silent Earth pony.

“Ya’ll are some kind of crazy…You know that right?” Applejack muttered uneasily.

“No other way I’d rather have it. Here, have a cinnamon snail roll,” she said in a motherly tone. Sweetheart placed the roll into AJ’s mouth before she could reply. Her lips widened into a delighted smile as she munched on the scrumptious snail shaped pastry.

“Thank ye kindly Momma heart,” she said; swallowing down the last chunks of the roll. “Ya’ll have been so kind and welcomin’ to me ever since Ah got here. If Hopeful told you everythin’ about me, then Ah reckon he also told you about my strong opinions on ponies datin’ outside their race.”

“He did,” she said with her back turned. Sweetheart was busying chopping carrots on the counter.

“Then how come yer bein’ so nice to someone who thinks so radically differently than you AND who also broke yer son’s heart?”

“I saw the look on your face when you met my brother and Wind Song. You didn’t pull back, raise an eyebrow or show any kind of disgust at them,” she replied calmly. “You’ve seen how happy ponies can be marrying someone outside of their species. Our way may seem crazy at first, but I’m betting that being around Hopeful has made you think twice about certain viewpoints.”

Applejack slowly nodded in agreement.

Sweetheart momentarily stopped chopping and looked back at the orange Earth pony. “And while it is true you broke Hopeful’s heart,” she paused; her lips gradually forming into the sweetest of smiles, “you also came all this way and put your ass on the line just to patch things up with him. You’re special Applejack. In all my years of raising Hopeful, I’ve never seen him act this way around a girl before. He’s happy with you; happier than he’s ever been, even before Wild Heart passed.”

“Well that sure did blow the roof off the old barn there now,” Applejack said; visibly shocked by Sweetheart’s words. “Ah…Ah don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll stick with him dear, please? He may be nervous, indecisive, kind of bumbling and a lousy cook…But he’s worth it,” she said lovingly.

“Yeah…Yeah he is,” Applejack happily replied.

Suddenly, everything became clear and serene. Applejack felt like she finally understood everything Hopeful has been trying to tell her all this time. It was as if her mind was being choked by storm clouds and the bright light of truth had finally cleared them all away.

“Ah think it’s high time Ah tell Hopeful the truth about everythin’ and set things right,” she said firmly. “Thanks for everythin’ Momma heart. You really set me straight.”

The orange mare hugged Sweetheart. She was a bit taken aback by the sudden boldness of the embrace, but Sweetheart happily melted into the hug and returned it. Her wings patted AJ’s back in a motherly fashion. Sweetheart returned to her cooking, grabbing a large cleaver and a head of lettuce. Applejack was about to head off to find Hopeful when the Pegasus called out to her.

“Before you go Applejack, I almost forgot there’s something I wanted to tell you,” Sweetheart said.

“What’s that Momma Heart?”

SHINK!

Sweetheart violently slammed the cleaver into the lettuce; cutting it completely in half with one slash. The southern mare flinched in shock at the sudden action. The mother grabbed the blade and pointed it alarmingly close to Applejack’s throat.

“If you hurt my son I’m going to roast you alive and serve you to every carnivore within 100 miles,” she said murderously.

Applejack felt all the color drain from her face. She didn’t know how to even begin processing this radical and downright psychotic change Sweetheart just went through. It was if she was a completely different pony; switching sides like night and day.

“Heh…Hehe…That’s a good one there Momma Heart, ya’ll are real clever with the jokes there,” she said uneasily. Applejack tried to laugh it off and play it as what she hoped it was: another joke.

“I’m quite serious dear…Deadly serious,” Sweetheart leaned in and inched the knife closer. The sociopathic smile and stare on her face never changing. “And this is the knife I’m going to use.”

Applejack’s voice felt hollow and dry, fear had simultaneously silenced and paralyzed her. She truly believed Sweetheart would indeed make good on her threat. The Southern mare had faced off against chaos gods, monstrous dragons and savage beasts, but none of them scared her as much as Sweetheart.

“W-w-w-well then, isn’t that n-n-n-nice? Ah think Ahm gonna just go now…And uh yeah” Applejack stammered anxiously. She bolted out of the kitchen desperately and went to find Hopeful.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to track down Hopeful. She found him sitting on top of the same hill she arrived on. Valentino was talking to him. The young Pegasus was sitting down, staring at something in his hooves. He looked peaceful and miserable at the same time. She almost hated to bother him after all the grief she put him through.

“Ah can’t just leave him like this. Come on now Applejack, be a big girl, swallow yer pride and apologize for actin’ like a horse’s ass,” she thought to herself. “Ya know he deserves it.”

The Earth pony sighed heavily in agreement. She slowly made her way up the hill, her eyes never left that sad, loveable little red shape as he grew closer and closer. Hopeful turned to see who was approaching him.

“Oh…It’s you fair maiden,” he sniffled sadly.

“I’ll give you two some time to talk. Now remember Gran Corazon, think carefully on what I told you. Trust in my advice and it will serve you well,” Valentino said sagely.

“It always has father, it always has” he said.

The two red colts shared a brief but touching hug, Applejack felt truly moved. Valentino turned to leave but stopped once he walked past Applejack’s side. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear, AJ’s eyes widened in response. Valentino smiled knowingly and assured her it was legit. She smiled and nodded; watching him leave with an equally heartfelt grin.

“So then,” she turned her attention to Hopeful, “what’s Gran Corazon mean?”

“It means big heart in Spanish,” he smiled and shrugged.

“Nice name, it suits ya,” she replied; smiling warmly.

“So then, what did my dad say to you?”

“Ah think we got bigger apples to buck first, don’t ya think?” she asked.

A simple nod was all Hopeful could muster. His gloomy frown slightly improved once Applejack sat next to him. Despite the sad state of their relationship, just having her near was already having a positive effect on him.

“Before we start talkin’ about the pony in that photograph yer clutchin’, Ah think we need to talk about what happened at the farm” she said firmly.

Hopeful blinked curiously. He was surprised to learn that she already seemed to know it was a picture of Wild Heart.

“Oh don’t look so shocked Sugar. It was the only photo missin’ on the wall and since Ah already know what you and the rest of yer family looks like, it had to be him,” she explained.

“Oh…Right…Yeah that’s a good point,” he admitted.

The two ponies sat quietly together. The silence was uncomfortable, but knowing what they inevitably had to discuss only increased their apprehension.

“Ahm sorry Hopeful…Sorry for all those rotten things Ah said and did to you,” she confessed mournfully. “Ah was nastier than a rattlesnake with its tail in a knot and you didn’t deserve a lick of that…Ah…Ah have no excuse.” She hung her head shamefully; setting her hat next to her tail.

“Look, you weren’t entirely wrong, it was presumptuous of me to just spring the reunion on you like that,” Hopeful said.

“But that still ain’t no reason for me to bite yer head off like that. That’s not how Ah treat mah friends…And certainly not how Ah treat someone Ah truly care about,” she said softly. Her voice had a twinge of sorrow to it.

“But if you really do care about me the way I care about you, then why did you end things with me?” he asked pleadingly.

For a moment, Applejack couldn’t find the words. Her throat trembled as her lips quivered. An overwhelming sadness was crippling her; freezing her body with guilt. Hopeful gasped as he saw tears slowly roll down Applejack’s orange cheeks.

“Because Ah was scared”

“Scared? Scared of what?” he asked.

“Ah was scared of this becoming real. Ah was worried that things would get serious between us and we’d date and be happy and all that,” she said. Her voice was slowly breaking apart. The floodgates had opened, her emotions and inner most fears came spilling out in a woeful sob. “But then the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing would wear off and you’d leave me. Ah was afraid you’d wake up one day, find a Pegasus to be with and leave me all alone. Ah thought Ah was sparin’ myself somethin’ awful, but the truth is, all Ah did was make everythin’ worse; all because Ahm afraid to change.”

“Fair Maiden…I would never-”

“AH KNOW THAT!” she shouted hysterically. Hopeful had never seen this side of AJ, he felt like he opened a door that she had always kept locked around him. Tears continue to drop past her freckles. “That’s what’s killin’ me though…the fact that you wouldn’t. Ah couldn’t be more different than you. Yer family showed me how happy everyone is together, and all Ah kept thinkin’ was, what in tar nation is a kind, understandin’ and big hearted stallion doin’ with a stubborn old mule like me?”

Hopeful hated hearing her say such degrading things about her character, but for now, she needed to get this out and he wasn’t going to stop her to correct her. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes with her hoof.

“No stallion has ever made me feel as loved as you do, not ever,” she whimpered. “Ah kept worryin’ and waitin’ for the day you’d ‘wake up’, for the day when you decide you wouldn’t love me again, like somepony would call you and you’d come runnin’ and leave me behind because Ah don’t belong with you. Because that’s what happens to the ponies Ah love…they always leave me…They leave me behind.”

The red Pegasus knew all too well AJ was referring to her parents. She had rarely spoken of them, but she said enough for him to know they were no longer among the living. He could only imagine how hard it must have been for her to meet his parents and be reminded of what she lost; what she missed out on for years. As often as she spoke of their differences, Applejack didn’t realize how similar they were.

“Wild Heart was a Pegasus, like me, but other than that we couldn’t have been more different,” he said. “He was a thrill seeker. The kind of guy who does something crazy and stupid and makes it out in one piece; laughing. He’d be covered in cuts and bruises and even bloodied up a few times, but he always came out laughing in the end. My mom hated all the crazy things he did. Now, looking back, the stories he left her are actually keeping her together. It’s like my mom can still introduce people to Wild Heart by reliving the events that made him who he was.”

Hopeful handed Applejack the photo he’d been clutching. It prominently featured a dark orange Pegasus with light brown eyes, black spiky hair with bits of dark blue dye on the hair tips. He was standing on top of their family home, covered in dirt, muddied up fur and clutching a hoof full of Eagle feathers. His cutie mark was of a bald Eagle being tackled by some invisible force; as if frozen in a mid-action snap shot.

“He got his cutie mark when he challenged a bald Eagle to a race. They flew through this tight, dangerous chasm that’s about 10 miles from where we live” he said. “Wild Heart beat the Eagle and won the race, only the Eagle turned out to be a sore loser. They got into a brawl. The two of them slugged it out like crazy until finally, Wild Heart tackled him to the ground and pinned him. The Eagle admitted defeat and Wild Heart got his cutie mark to remember it by.” The Pegasus chuckled fondly at the memory.

“He sounds like he was just as crazy as yer mom” she said incredulously.

“Nah, our mom’s not that nutty,” he said dismissively. Hopeful smiled as Applejack gave him the photo back, he stared at it for a few seconds before setting it down. “She’s always been overprotective though. It can be annoying sometimes but she means well.” He rolled his eyes and chuckled, “you just don’t want to end up on her bad side; trust me on that.”

Applejack felt a shiver run up her spine. She turned her head and peered down the hill towards the family gathering. There, at the very bottom of the hill, staring right towards the cozy couple was Sweetheart. She still had that unnerving, eerie smile on her face AND the knife! Sweetheart raised the knife to her neck and glided it across her neck in a threatening manner. The orange mare instantly looked away.

“Y-y-yeah Ah n-n-n-noticed,” she gulped nervously. She looked to Hopeful longingly. There were still many things she wanted to discuss, many questions she sought answers to, but the one that was nagging her most was the most difficult one to discuss. “Ah hate to ask this Sugar. Ah know it’s a sensitive subject and all and Ah would have asked yer mum, but the right time never came up.”

“You want to know how Wild Heart died.”

Applejack nodded in reply. He wasn’t surprised in the least, it was after all the last mystery that surrounded his dearly departed sibling.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with Cloudsdale using Pegasai to create tornados to suck up water into the clouds to produce rainstorms, right?” he said assumingly. She nodded; remembering Rainbow Dash telling how she and Fluttershy did it for Ponyville. “Five years ago it was my hometown’s turn to whip up a tornado. I was out of town for the weekend with the girl I was seeing at the time. Wild Heart and I had been growing further apart” he said sorrowfully. “We were doing our own things and didn’t have much time for each other. Wild Heart was naturally recruited to help build the tornado. He contacted me; asking me to come down and help. I declined. I knew he was really into doing it because it’s fast and kind of dangerous, so of course he’d be eager to do it. But I was too busy focusing on myself…I was too busy…To care.”

The red Pegasus paused. His voice started to tremble, the sound of sobs being choked down became louder and more prevalent. Hopeful looked as fragile as glass, like he might break into a million pieces if Applejack touched him.

“There was a Pegasus proctor operating an anemometer with a wing power gauge. He calculated the specific amount of wing power they needed to generate the tornado. Wild Heart didn’t think twice about the wing power amount, he trusted it, just like every pony else did,” he said timidly. Hopeful sounded increasingly depressed with every following word. It was as if telling this story was tearing a hole in his heart. “Once the Pegasai formed the tornado more than half way, they started to notice something was wrong. The tornado was too strong and too difficult to control. Turns out the proctor overshot the wing power amount, way above safety regulations.” Applejack gasped in horror. Hopeful slowly started crying; forcing himself to continue, “The tornado’s wind speeds were so intense, Pegasai were being blasted out of the cyclone. Wild Heart tried to hold on as best he could, but he was thrown out like everyone else. Only when he hit the ground he…He d-d-d-did….He didn’t get back up.”

Applejack quickly embraced the red colt before he could choke out another heartbreaking word. He unleashed all his misery, all his tears and bottled sadness into her. The orange mare silently held him close, allowing him to cry into her as long as he needed.

“Shhhh it’s all right, Ah got you Sugar,” she whispered sweetly into his ear.

Thanks to her angelic touch and a few heavy deep breaths, Hopeful finally calmed down enough to finish his story.

“When I found out, it took me 3 hours to get to where he was…3…Hours,” he said achingly. “Everyone wanted to know how this horrible tragedy happened. Initially, the proctor was blamed by every Pegasai at the meet up…Even I thought he should pay for whay happened. It was later concluded that the anemometer was defective and even though the proctor did put in the wrong gauge number, it was bound to happen this way no matter what. So in truth, there was really no one to blame, no party to be held responsible for my brother’s death. If only I had come like he asked…Maybe…Then maybe I could have-”

“NOW HOLD ON DAG NABBIT!” Applejack shouted violently. Her shrill tone jarred Hopeful out of his dreary stupor, his eyes bulging in surprise. “You listen to me and you listen damn good lover boy. This is NOT, Ah repeat NOT yer fault! There was nothin’ ya could’ve done so Ah better not hear one buckin’ word outta you about blamin’ yerself for yer brother’s death,” she boldly enforced. “It happened Hopeful, it happened because that’s how life trips ya sometimes. This ain’t on you partner and it never will be.”

The muscles in Hopeful’s body visibly relaxed. His face showed a look of unexpected delight rather than morbid defeat. Applejack had cleansed him. Not with magic, not with potions, but with words; words that put everything into place. Hopeful finally felt at peace.

“Applejack, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said intensely. Applejack nodded; stiffening slightly at his sudden mood change. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for some time now. The main reason I didn’t say anything before was because of the very same fear you just mentioned: being left behind.” His eyes stared endlessly into her emerald orbs, the ponies found themselves easily getting lost in the other’s eyes. Applejack waited breathlessly for him to finish. “After I tell you this, I swear on my life that you will never feel left behind again.”

“A-a-a-all right partner…Ahm listenin’” she softly replied.

“Ana Behibak.”

The orange mare shook her head in disbelief. Those were certainly not the words she expected to hear. In fact, she wasn’t even sure what Hopeful said was actually real words.

“Ummm can you repeat that again partner? Didn’t quite catch that,” she asked nervously.

“Soro Lahn Nhee Ah.”

His words continued to confuse her, each statement sounding more alien than the last. Every time she asked him to explain, he continued to spout gibberish.

“Ti Amo, Aishiteru, Se Agapo, Szeretlek.”

Applejack couldn’t take it anymore. She tossed her head side to side; clutching her hooves and screeching her frustration.

“AH DON’T KNOW WHAT ANY OF THAT MEANS!” she cried out.

Hopeful leaned forward and kissed her passionately on the lips. Almost instantaneously, Applejack’s frustration melted away. Her bulging eyes slowly closed as she happily eased into the wondrous kiss. She felt her heart skip a beat, the powerful warmth she felt inside exploded in her like a supernova. This was real she thought, this was happening…this was heaven.

Regretfully, their lips separated. Hopeful broke the kiss and leaned back to look back into those radiant green eyes once again. Both Applejack and Hopeful were blushing furiously.

“They all mean the same thing Fair Maiden…I love you,” he said charmingly.

“Oh Sugar…Ah…Ah love you too!”

They embraced each other in another heavenly kiss; basking in the loving warmth of their newfound happiness. All the arguing, the confusion, the grief they were dealing with, everything seemed silent and far away compared to the love they discovered. Applejack didn’t care how different Hopeful was from her, all she cared about was staying with him in this moment…forever.

The pony’s lips softly broke. They stared at each other, eyes teaming with love and cheeks hot with rose red blushes. Hopeful giggled childishly at the blushing blond mare. She tilted her head in confusion, wondering what he was thinking at this moment.

“As much as I hate to disrupt this lovely moment Fair maiden,” he bit his lip softly, “there’s something I have to know. What was it that my dad whispered to you? It’s been killing me.”

Now it was her turn to laugh. Applejack’s nose twisted up in a wrinkled lump, her soft laughter rapidly grew into a pig like snort.

“Oh that” the mare replied coyly. She inched herself closer to Hopeful. Without warning, she plopped her hind legs across Hopeful’s lap. “Ya see…The thing is…Yer pa told me that you got a thing for girls that have two very specific features,” she said seductively. The orange pony leaned in even closer to Hopeful. Her lips were inches away from his ear, she licked it softly and purred temptingly, “Long legs and a southern accent. So Sugar…How do Ah measure up?”

Hopeful shuddered rousingly. His face grew several shades darker red, every inch of him felt like it was on fire the instant her tongue graced his sensitive earlobe. He swallowed loudly; staring lustfully at Applejack.

“P-p-p-p-p-pretty good” he squeaked nervously. The red colt sounded like a teenager going through puberty all over again, a fact that Applejack found most endearing and amusing. “Good grief…I just ruined the moment, didn’t I?” he asked glumly.

“Does this answer yer question?” she asked; licking her lips hungrily at his.

Applejack lunged at the red Pegasus, passionately locking lips and twirling tongues with the colt that she so proudly confessed her love to. Blurring flashes of red and orange fur and black and blond hair meshed between the two ponies. The blond Earth pony finally understood what Spike had been going through for all these years. If this was indeed the same kind of love that he felt towards Rarity, then Applejack had nothing but support for his romantic aspirations.

Down below the hill, Sweetheart lowered her binoculars. A warm, peaceful smiled decorated her lovely lips. Though she had her doubts initially, the passionate look in Hopeful’s eyes was all the proof she needed to know that Applejack was indeed; the one. Valentino cozied up to his wife’s side; also swelling with pride over his son’s chosen mate. They looked lovingly at each other, shared a tender kiss and then returned to the family gathering. They left their son and his new girlfriend to enjoy their rekindled feelings in peace.

To be continued…