"Oh, goodness, you handsome rogue!" Rarity said as Trailblazer showed up. She massaged him for a little bit, and noticed that almost his entire body was rock solid. "You carry an incredible amount of tension all over you! Don't you ever stop to calm down?"
Rarity brought Trailblazer to her home to show her gratitude for saving Sweetie Belle. What she wanted to do was still unknown to Trailblazer.
"I guess it's just, there's been so much going on at once," said Trailblazer. "Being the lead guitarist for the musical part of the Wunderbolt's performance next week, saving the Cutie Mark Crusaders..."
"Oh, I understand very much so, but you still mustn't forget that you can't think straight if you're focused on too many things at once," reasoned Rarity. "Come now, I've got just the thing to get you to settle down."
"Uh, I dunno..."
"Oh, I insist, dear!" She had Trailblazer follow her to a room in her hallway near the end of it on the left, which brought him to a bubbling hot tub, which Trailblazer was still in doubt about.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Do you ever try to relax... At all?"
"No, not really."
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Trailblazer, no wonder you're so stiff!" Rarity nudged him. "Come along now, I guarantee that you'll feel better as soon as you hop in."
"...Well, here goes nothing..." He placed a hoof into the water and quickly retracted it, testing to see how hot it was. He put it back in, and then slowly got the rest if his body in the water.
"HSSSSSS!" he hissed as he got in. But then, it started to feel better. "Oh...?" He then let out a relaxing sigh and sat back.
"Feeling better?"
"Actually, yeah," Trailblazer said.
"Oh, I knew it was just the right thing for you!"
Trailblazer sat back as his head was sticking out of the hot bubbling water. He laid there for 15 minutes until finally deciding that he's been in there long enough. As he got out, Rarity gave him a towel and he dried himself off.
"So, did you find everything okay?" Rarity asked once more.
"I feel better now, so, yes, I did."
"Splendid! Oh, and as a memento for saving Sweetie Belle the other day, I'd like you to have this."
Using her unicorn magic, she pulled out an emerald badge that looked exactly like his cutie mark and placed it on his chest.
"Whoa! How did you make this?"
"It's an emerald badge that looks just like your cutie mark! I usually don't make these often but you... Well, you could say that it's a gift for saving my Sweetie Belle, from me."
"Wow... I don't know what to say, but... I really grateful that you went this far to show your own gratitude to me. Thank you, very much."
Rarity beamed. "Run along now. You have that concert to practice for!"
Trailblazer nodded and left.
After a long practice session with Vinyl Scratch, Trailblazer walked back to his home at twilight. He saw a note on his door, which must've been placed on while he was gone. He took it off and went inside as he read it.
Dear Trailblazer,
I want to thank you for rescuing Applebloom yesterday. I was hoping we could spend some time together at the farm tonight. I'll be waiting for you like a rooster staying up to call for dawn.
Yours truly,
AppleJack
After reading the note, he packed his guitar away and headed out to AppleJack's home.
It was nighttime with clear skies when Trailblazer got to AppleJack's farm. He went inside the barn to find her, but when Trailblazer called her name, she didn't respond. The rest of the apple family wasn't around either. This was puzzling, for even Applebloom or Granny Smith would be around inside. He looked around the place himself, but there were still no signs of any of them around. He walked back outside and decided to look around the orchard. But he stopped. AppleJack had no reason to be bucking apples at this hour. So he tried looking in the areas with less trees around. But he still didn't see her at all. He started to think that someone was pulling a prank on him, placing a fake letter on his door to trick him into thinking that AppleJack would be around when all four of them were out somewhere else.
Then, sitting down on a high hill in a corner of the orchard clear of any trees, was a lone mare looking up intently at the stars.
AppleJack.
He slowly walked up to her, wondering why she would be out here in the first place. Maybe that'd be something he'd ask her when he caught up to her.
"AppleJack?" Trailblazer wondered as he approached her.
"Go ahead, sugarcube," she answered. "Come sit with me."
Trailblazer did so, still unsure why she wanted to be out here with him, or what she wanted to do as well. Although he had a good idea for both reasons.
"Ain't the moon pretty out there?" said AppleJack.
"It sure is," said Trailblazer, hiding his lack of interest in it. He was only interested in AppleJack right now.
"Ah've always wondered... Trailblazer, Ah always seem to be the happiest when Ah'm around you. Actually..." AppleJack paused and blushed, leaning on his side."Ah think Ah love ya, sugar."
"You do??"
"Heck yes. Think about it. You appreciate my work, you and Ah have a lot in common, you've taken my place when Ah couldn't work, and you even saved my little sister from that forest fire. Is it just in your nature to help others out at all times, or is it that you like me back as well?"
"...It's both, really," Trailblazer spoke.
AppleJack's smile got bigger. "How so?"
"Well, when I first saw you at my welcome party, I instantly wanted to know more about you. And you know how we talked and laughed together and everything. After that, I started to care about you, which is why I wanted to work with you and told you that I didn't like to see you exhaust yourself. And saving the Cutie Mark Crusaders... Well, I did that both to do the right thing, and to save Applebloom for you."
AppleJack looked at him with some awe. "Now, those are just some of the reasons why Ah love you."
Trailblazer simply smiled at her.
"Do you... love me back?"
"Well, umm..." He bit his lip, looking off to the side with a worried look.
"Yes?"
"I think... I just..." He still found it difficult to spit out.
"Are... Are you trying to say, that you DO love me back??" she asked anticipating the answer.
Trailblazer saw that she already knew the answer. "...Yes. I do... I love you, AppleJack."
AppleJack stared at him, and her ears drooped. "Aw, Trailblazer..." Then, she blushed again. "You've just made me the happiest cowpony ever!" She wrapped her two front legs around him and gave him a big hug. Like last time after the rescue, Trailblazer stood still when she did this, but then he decided to hug her back. Both of their eyes were closed as they they started to nuzzle each other, all the while thinking of how much they cared and loved each other. They continued to hug each other, trying to think of what the other one was thinking about right now. Even with the cool breeze that night, Trailblazer felt a warmth that he hever felt before. Either it was just having his body pressed against AppleJack's, or it was his imagination. Maybe it was the feeling that he finally found another pony who accepted him and how he accepted her. Still, he tried not to think about it and focused on AppleJack. He even tried to kiss her. AppleJack felt that and allowed it. Both lips were pressed together as well, showing to each other that they were almost meant for each other.
Then, Trailblazer felt something wet on his face. He opened his eyes with a confused look on his face and looked at AppleJack. Her eyes were still closed, but he saw that tears were streaming from her eyes. He did not know why, but he didn't want to ruin their moment. He waited for a couple more minutes to let the moment pass.
"AppleJack? Are you crying?" he asked.
"Ah'm just so happy right now to be with you," she said.
"But why are you crying?"
"Oh, sugar. These are tears of joy. Ah'm SO happy that it's brought me to tears."
"...I don't get it..."
AppleJack stopped. "What don't you get, Trailblazer?"
"Why would you cry over a happy occasion?"
"Oh, you can't tell me that you've never cried before."
Trailblazer looked down and bit his lip with a guilty look.
"You HAVEN'T?"
"I'm think not."
"Why, sugar, why is that?"
"Back from where I grew up, crying was a sign of weakness and should only be done when mourning."
"Now, why would that be?"
"Well, in my hometown, we were all trained to be strong and to help out others in need. Crying over anything other than mourning was like asking for exile."
"Oh, now that's horrible! Why would they do such a thing?"
"I honestly don't know, but I didn't do it and wasn't considered an outcast."
"Now that there's just plain mean!" AppleJack leaned over to him again. "You need more love, that's what you need."
From a distance hiding in some apple trees, was Rainbow Dash. She looked at AppleJack and Trailblazer hugging and nuzzling each other again. It then grew into soft nudging, and then to some playful chasing, tackling, and tickling. Happy laughter came from both of them as they did so. There was no doubt in Rainbow Dash's mind anymore about the two.
"They really ARE now more than just friends..." she said under her breath. Then she felt really guilty for eavesdropping on them, and snuck away. But as she was getting out of the farm, she saw a hooded pony with a black tail staring at AppleJack and Trailblazer too. That pony's hiding spot was in some nearby shrubs. Rainbow Dash tried to see who it was, but the other onlooker saw her and instantly fled into the bushes. Rainbow Dash tried to chase it, but the other pony was gone. She looked in surprise. How did it disappear so quickly?? she thought. Then, some more thoughts flooded into her head. This kind of pony never showed up here before. The only time it did was when Zecora showed up to Ponyville for some ingredients for her various brews. And she turned out to not be threatening after all. But here, something was definitely wrong. There was a reason why he didn't want to be seen. Rainbow Dash thought all about this. She turned to walk to Trailblazer and AppleJack, who were now back to cuddling each other, but she hesitated. If she walked over to them, they'd get angry at her for eavesdropping. No, she thought. A possible threat was more important. Rash as he was, she walked up to them.
"AppleJack...?" she started.
Both of them jumped back from each other and turned to look at Dash.
"Rainbow Dash!" scolded AppleJack.
"What the hell!" added Trailblazer.
"Were you watchin' us the whole time!?"
"No!" Rainbow Dash yelped.
AppleJack cocked her head to her right and lowered it. "Were you? Be honest."
Rainbow already got the hint that she was caught lying. "...Yes."
"Okay, a couple things..." started Trailblazer. "One, why were you eavesdropping on us, and two, what made you ultimately blow your cover by walking up to us?"
"Because I saw another pony watching you guys," reasoned Rainbow Dash.
"What, ya got some other pony spyin' us too?" AppleJack asked in contempt.
AppleJack began to walk towards Rainbow Dash to get in her face and tell her something else, but Trailblazer rose one of his front legs and placed it on AppleJack's chest, stopping her.
"Hang on a minute, I think I need to know this," he said. Then he looked at Rainbow Dash. "D-Did you happen to get a good look at him or her?"
It became apparent to AppleJack that Trailblazer was worried about it. She too became curious about this.
"Well, we made eye contact, and all I saw was this gray hood hiding his face. His coat was also gray and his tail was black, but that's all I saw of him," said Rainbow Dash.
"What?? Oh, no, that must be one of the spies!" Trailblazer ran into the bushes himself to search for him.
"Now he sounds all serious 'bout this..." AppleJack muttered. "How do ya know 'bout this pony, sugarcube?"
"I'll explain later. Right now, I have to flush him out." Trailblazer responded as he continued to sift through the foliage. He looked around to see if there was any rustling around to locate him. There was no luck for a little bit, but he stepped too close to the pony's hiding spot. The other eavesdropper rustled the grass, seeing how his cover got blown. Trailblazer noticed it and pinned it. He then got down and kept him in place.
"Gotcha!" he yelled. Trailblazer popped back out from the bushes with a hooded pony in a headlock. He dragged him into the open, threw him down, and pinned him at his side again.
"You've got some explaining to do," mentioned Trailblazer.
"I'm not telling you anything. Not even a novice is as stupid to just blurt out our plan," the spy hissed back.
Trailblazer pressed down harder on his side, hurting him even more. "We can do this all night if we have to."
"I won't tell you a thing!" he snapped.
Trailblazer glared at the spy. He punched him in the head and knocked him unconscious. "AppleJack, do you have anything I can tie him with?"
"Oh, Ah do have some rope you can use." She ran to the barn and grabbed some rope. She galloped back to them and gave it to Trailblazer, who used it to tie his legs together and pin them to his body.
"This spy has intelligence about the Shadow Rulers..." He turned to face Rainbow Dash. "Thank you for telling about him. If you didn't and let him get away... He'd let Silver Soul know and turn Ponyville into ruins, possibly killing us as well."
Rainbow Dash was a bit frightened at the thought. "But what about you? What do they have against you?"
"I'll explain some other time," he answered. "But for now, we need to know what Silver Soul planned on doing."
Trailblazer grabbed the tied up spy and walked away to his home. AppleJack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.
"Do you find it strange that Trailblazer knows about them?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Ah don't like the sound of these Shadow Rulers one bit. But we need to know what my little sugarcube knows about them," the cowpony replied.
"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Rainbow Dash. "But I have a feeling that there's some undercover buisiness going on between the two..." She flew away back go her home as AppleJack walked back to her barn to rest easy for the night