After an all too brief moment, Applejack pulled herself away from Deep Note and took a breath. That had escalated quicker than she could have anticipated and she suddenly had her main issue thrust into her face so hard that it would have broken her muzzle if it wasn't metaphorical. Did she mean to have taken things as far as she had just then? If yes, then the implication was that she had answered her question on who she cared for more. If not, then she had probably taken a few hoofsteps backward and made things incredibly awkward. If she was lucky. Speculating wouldn't do much good though, she needed to figure out the answer.
"Well, ah, g-glad that went well, and that it helped," Deep said, blushing a little more. "Sorry if I came on a little strong."
"No worries. Just a little sudden is all," Applejack replied as she sat back down. "An' I'm mighty flattered that ya feel this way about me."
"But, you don't exactly feel the same way?" Deep's ears folded back and he took a nervous breath.
She realised that she had put herself on the spot. She had to give an answer now to avoid making things worse. Romance was one of the most fragile topics imaginable and honesty might hurt him a lot. Then again, the sting of the truth would probably hurt a lot less then having to outright reject him when she'd made him think he had a chance down the line.
"Ah'm not sure. I mean you're a swell guy, but I've never really given much thought toward finding a partner until recently. Ah just need to get my thoughts in order before I say yes or no."
"...Of course. That's fair. I did just dump all this on you to get it off my chest while I could." Deep said as he stepped round to the other side of the table again and finished his drink.
"Come on now, it's not like ah'm saying no outright. I just need to figure out what I want to do. An' we're still gonna have our letters when you're not rocking out in Manehatten."
"Heh, true..." He chuckled softly as he started putting his things back on. "If nothing else, I really appreciate you letting me get all this out while I could. For now though, I have a few things to finish up before I have to head home. Thank you for everything these past few weeks, Applejack."
"Yer welcome, an' thank you for giving me the chance to meet such a good friend at last," Applejack replied as he got his jacket, goggles and beanie back on. "Say, what times' yer train? I'd like to come see you off."
"Oh, err, four forty." Deep said, though he sounded distracted as he made his goodbyes and left.
Applejack sighed softly to herself and took her mug of cider, staring into what was left of the drink. She knew she could have handled that a lot better, but the pressure of the moment had thrown her off. Her eyes glanced up at the clock and she paused on seeing it was three thirty-five already. There was still work to finish around the farm and though she was sure Big Mac wouldn't mind her taking off for a little while, she wasn't going to leave her tasks undone. She finished the cider and shook herself in preparation for heading back into the cold. Normally the weight of her muscles shifting with her body as she did so felt strange to her, but now, after talking to Deep Note, it didn't bother her quite so much.
She smiled a little more at that realisation before heading back outside to finish up with that fence.
By the time Applejack had finished up with her tasks and made her way into Ponyville, it was half past four and the sun was starting to finish its decent below the horizon. The cold wasn't too bad in town as the weather team had set up a cloud cover to trap what heat there was and a lot of houses had set up candle lanterns outside. The atmosphere was surprisingly upbeat as well. Plenty of ponies were out and about this evening and a good number of them gave greetings to Applejack as she passed them. Returning their greetings in kind was almost enough to distract her from the cold tension. Or it would, if it was there. She was only noticing it now but ever since Deep Note had shown up earlier, that feeling had dissipated completely and not returned.
It almost felt strange, to be able to walk around with other ponies, just being another figure about town without any overbearing concerns, just like the old days when she had been a young adult and a straightforward life. No saving the world every few months, no constantly having to juggle far reaching reputations, no concerns for if her future would be faced alone. The respite was brief but very welcome. Then she reached the train station and she had to face one of those concerns again.
Her focus was momentarily taken by the sight of Little Hayseed heading out of the station and trotting past her, a happy skip in her walk and a piece of paper clutched in her mouth. Applejack glanced back at her but didn't get any explanation. She put the thought aside and headed into the station. A small part of her was amazed that Ponyville managed with only two train platforms despite being a central position in Equestria. The rail network was generally efficient enough that they could get away with it though. She headed through the main building and out to the southbound platform, stopping as she saw a small wall of waiting ponies on the opposite platform. That made sense, the next train in was the first to Canterlot in days so ponies would be grasping for the chance to travel north again.
Fewer ponies were waiting on her side of the platform, Deep Note among them in his Windhover disguise. Applejack made her way over, figuring that trying to be inconspicuous would be pointless.
"You came." Deep said, before pausing and chuckling at how silly it was to question her say-so.
"Said ah would." Applejack said simply. She would have said more but as Deep adjusted his goggles, she got a glimpse of his eyes behind them. They looked red and damp.
The sight stung at her heart again, though she didn't change on the outside.
Neither of them said much in the minutes afterward. Their talk in the farmhouse had made things clear, for now they could simply enjoy each other's presence. After a few minutes the tell-tale whistle of an incoming train drew their attention, both knowing it was his.
"It's your turn to write a letter." Deep said as he turned to Applejack, though he was smiling again as he said it.
"Soon as ah get home," She replied. "It's gonna be weird not seeing you around."
"Not as weird as going back to the rocker life after my time here. I can see why ponies like it here so much," Deep shrugged slightly and raised a hoof. "Thank you for everything, Applejack."
"An' thank you, Windhover." She winked as she said it, noticing he blushed slightly and flashed an appreciative smile at her words.
As the train finished pulling into the station, they shared one last hug before Deep reluctantly let it go and went to get on board. As she watched him finding a seat in the carriage in front of her, Applejack felt something different. Longing, like she didn't want him to leave. Still, right now all she could do was watch him take a seat nearby and wave to her as the train began to pull off. She smiled and waved back, making a mental note to ask if he would like to meet up again someday. She kept waving until the train was out of sight before sighing to herself. From the looks of things on the opposite platform the Canterlot train would be there any minute and decided to hang on and see if she could spot Bounty among the crowd.
Part of her was glad she wasn't in there. Crowds like this always made her nervous, possibly due to her time in Manehatten as a filly. Just the thought made her shiver slightly. The thought passed just as quickly as it came when she spotted a familiar green mane a short way down the platform. Bounty didn't look like he'd seen her and was adjusting his saddlebags at the moment. Even if she wasn't sure about how she felt anymore, Applejack couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He looked so...Relaxed, happy again.
A minute later her view was blocked by the northbound train's arrival. She waited for a minute to see if she could spot him once he was on board, considering it only fair to see him off as well. It was a long shot but one she was willing to take. A quick scan of the carriage windows seemed to come up blank, but on a second check she spotted him by one of the windows on her side, watching her in surprise. She relaxed and gave him a friendly wave, one that was met with a knowing smile and wave back. It still sent a small spark through her, though one not as strong as the ones she used to felt.
It still meant she had to think about what she wanted to do next though.
Applejack stayed waving until Bounty's train had left, leaving her alone on the platform. She normally didn't make the comparison, but it matched how she felt. Isolated, cold, wishing she had either of them for company. Still, she still had friends here and aside from the fact Arboreal was finishing up at the farm alone, she'd probably like to hear about what was going on. With that settled she turned and started to head for home.
"So, Bounty's gone for a while?"
Though she just nodded, Applejack couldn't help but noticed Arboreal's voice sounded cheerier than usual as she closed up the barn and turned back to face her.
"Sorry if I'm not torn up over that," She added, flicking her braid onto her back. "Though if he's in Canterlot, I can focus on getting things done again."
"Huh, half expected that you'd be taking off after what happened between you two."
"What can I say?" She relaxed slightly and allowed herself to smile a little as she looked over what little of the farm she could see in the dark. "This place has it's charms. Speaking of which..."
Arboreal nodded toward the pathway back to the entry gates, Applejack turning to see Little Hayseed running up to the two of them, looking just as starstruck as she had earlier.
"AJ! Arby! You are not gonna believe this!" Hayseed managed to say, speaking quickly despite sounding out of breath. "I actually managed to get the autograph of none other than Deep Note today! You know how hard that is to get?"
"Wait, he was in town?" Arboreal asked, while Applejack simply gave a knowing smile.
"Of course, he's been in town for weeks. You didn't know? He's been standing next to you half the time," Hayseed chuckled as she saw the dawning recognition on her friend's face. "I figured we could go and do a little celebrating, Mac's in and soon as I find Switcher we can-"
"Switcher?" Applejack asked.
"Bounty. The nickname just came to me, like a light switch. So you girls in?"
"Why not, beats trying not to be cold on my own." Arboreal shrugged and started on the path back toward Ponyville.
"Ya know what?" Applejack shook her leg slightly to get some tension out of it. That was the only tension in her at the moment, a detail she was glad to feel. After dealing with her emerging feelings so poorly, a night with her friends just being silly and having fun was just what she needed to properly unwind.
"Yeah, that sounds good."