Chapter 2: This Charming Man
Later that evening, the entire Apple family gathered around the table for supper. Applejack took her seat next to her older brother as her sister Applebloom took her seat next to Granny Smith. As the entire family began to eat, Applejack seemed a bit distant. Her mind was occupied about the colt she encountered earlier that day. The tan coat and chocolate colored mane, he seemed familiar to the orange mare, and yet she could not place her hoof on it anywhere.
"Somethin' wrong, Applejack?" Big Mac asked as he saw that Applejack was slumped over.
"Wha-huh?" Applejack was snapped back into reality by her family.
"Yes dear, you have more of a blank stare than an owl," Granny Smith commented.
"Ah, sorry about that, guess ah'm havin' a bit of trouble rememberin' somepony ah met today," the orange mare admitted.
"Well, what do they look like?" the red stallion asked before taking a bite of one of his apples.
Applejack began to recall, "Well, ah remember him havin' a tan coat with a dark colored mane. And he had three horseshoes for a cutie mark."
"Oh, that's Caramel!" Applebloom cheerfully answered.
"Caramel?" the orange pony raised an eyebrow.
"Eeyup, Caramel. He helps out on the farm quite a bit." Big Mac added.
"He does? Then why the hay haven't ah seen him around these parts?" Applejack was in disbelief that he had always been around the farm.
"Because you often run off on adventures with Miss Twilight, remember?" her brother answered.
"Oh, heh heh, right. Well, what can ya tell me about him?" Applejack was a bit curious.
Big Mac paused, "Well, he came from Manehatten a few months ago, said he was lookin' for work. He admitted he never had such a job before, but he seemed to have his heart in the right place, so I let him work. He does have some trouble with a few tasks, but he still is a big help."
"An' he plays with me sometimes!" Applebloom added with a few pieces of food flying out of her mouth, "He's really fun to have around!"
"Alright, well ah should thank him for helpin' me out earlier today."
The rest of the suppertime discussion was of Applebloom and her adventures with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, trying to get their marks by digging through garbage to find treasure. Granny Smith then pulled her aside to give her a bath, interrupting her story.
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The next day on the farm, Applejack kept a sharp eye out for the pony she now knew was named Caramel. She began her applebucking for the day, and tried not to let her mind wander too much that she would lose track of her work. Keeping the thought in the back of her mind, she continued with her work.
It wasn't long, however, until she spotted Caramel from a far. She stopped her work momentarily to observe him. She saw that he was repairing the fence, but she noted he was having some issues. Although she could not hear him, she could tell he was in pain as he accidently hit his head upon the fence when bending down to pick up the hammer or when he stepped on a nail or two. Looking at him, the orange mare could tell that he was determined to try his hardest and do his best, something that she respected in him. However, it seemed he had some very bad luck. She resumed working, keeping an eye on the colt from a far as he was finished repairing the fence. Seeing he was done, Applejack went over to Caramel, who was cleaning up area where he was working.
"Uh, howdy Caramel," Applejack said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Caramel looked up to see the orange mare he had helped the other day, "Oh, hello Applejack! Don't mind me as I finish gathering all of the tools up. Just finished repairing the fence."
"No problem at all," Applejack replied. She looked at Caramel gather the items. She noticed that he was bleeding slightly from a few spots on his limbs and on his body. She saw a few splinters on him as well, something she personally didn't like herself. Despite all of the injuries and what not, she noted that Caramel was still persevering and smiling.
Caramel finished placing the tools in the basket he had brought them out in and then turned to Applejack with a smile, "Whew, alright, sorry about that, anyway, what can I help you with?"
"Uh, Caramel, it seems yer bleeding a bit," she pointed to his limbs.
Caramel looked at his forelimbs and commented, "Huh, well, I guess I'll be stopping by Nurse Redheart on the way back to my place later today." His voice made it seem like this was a normal occurrence to the tan colt.
"Well, you can go now if ya want, ah don't want ya ta get an infection or somethin' like that," Applejack insisted.
"Oh, it's nothing. No need to worry."
"Well, alright then. But don't think ya have to stay even though yer hurt."
"Please, I've had much worse," the colt laughed a bit, "Anyway, what's up?"
Applejack froze, almost forgetting why she came over in the first place, "Oh, ah wanted to thank ya personally fer helpin' me out yesterday. We got quite a lot done, makin' it easier for Big Mac."
Caramel smiled warmly, "Not a problem, I'm just glad to help!"
Applejack smiled back, blushing slightly, "Well, ya certainly were, sugarcube."
The colt blushed slightly at Applejack's words, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I need to help Big Mac with tilling the fields. Hope to chat with you later!"
"Yeah, hope to talk with ya later!"
As Caramel trotted off, Applejack felt something inside her burn. Applejack paused as she felt it grow as she looked at Caramel trot away. She wasn't sure what to do about these feelings. She tried to ignore them through the rest of her work. As time went on, her work was becoming sloppy and careless. She decided to take a rest underneath one of the many trees. She looked upwards into the canopy of the trees, looking at the sunlight pierce through the branches toward the ground.
Taking a deep breath, she asked a question quietly to herself, "Did ya just fall for that charming colt?"