//------------------------------// // Making Amends // Story: Apple of Another Color // by MrTyreste //------------------------------// It didn't hurt as much after I had woken up, despite the fact that Twilight is most certainly not a doctor. To the best of her knowledge, I had a broken arm and a few broken ribs, as well as a cracked sternum. My heart was also in pretty decent condition now, even though I did still have a lot of chest pain. Though that was the least of my worries as I gazed out the window of the lavender unicorn's library, staring off onto the horizon. "I can't believe I punched her." I whispered to myself. "Excuse me?" Twilight chimed in, coming upstairs levitating a plate of food. A small salad and a glass of soda. While it's not my favorite dish, it's not really in me to turn down food when it's given to me. Southern culture, I guess. "Me and Applejack, we kinda got into it, and..." "Hold on! YOU'RE the human she was talking about?" Twilight exclaimed as she ran back downstairs and tossed a few books around looking for the right one. "I wondered when I would meet you, not many humans visit Equestria." She pulled out a book titled, "Worlds Among Us, an Insight Into the Planets Beyond." "Wait, others have been here?" I asked. "Oh yeah, but only a fair few. Mostly male, but we do get the occasional human female tumbling into our world. Usually it's the same, a fourth wall, Pinkie Pie does something, magic spell, falling, yada yada..." She trailed off as she mumbled into the book, then looked up at me again with an embarressed expression. "Oops, got distracted. So can I ask how you got here, Mister..." "Johnny, and it's none of those things." I chuckled. "I actually fell asleep in a barn in my world and wound up here." "Really?" Twilight's eyes grew wide as she flipped through the book as if looking for something. "That sounds...very strange. I mean most have been completely coincidental based on the alignments of our worlds, but this..." She flipped through the book until she came across an illustration of what looked like a portal that connected two areas. She gasped as she levitated the book and slammed it in front of my face. "Oh my gosh! You actually-" She was so excited she dropped the book for a second when she lost concentration. "Sorry." She picked it back up. "You actually came across a doorway!" "What are you talkin' about?" I asked her. It sounded like something too good to be true. "Most humans have come here through circumstances involving planetary alignment, just random events in the patterns of our worlds. This, however, is slightly different. According to this book it's possible for a doorway between worlds to exist and, under the correct circumstances, can be utilized almost freely. In layman's terms, you could essentially return here anytime you wanted." She grinned as she closed the book and placed it back onto the shelf. "The storm...so that's how I got in her barn! Those two places must be connected somehow." I realized. "Correct! You ended up here because of an electrical surge, which in a way is its own kind of magic. I believe if you slept in that barn again, you could return here. I assume it would work the same going back as well." Twilight explained. I had to admit, it was kinda interesting listening to Twilight explain things. But then I remembered that, in a way, she was responsible for what happened to me. "Why did you do it?" I asked her coldy. "Do what?" "You told Applejack horrible things about humans, that we take advantage of them sexually and that we don't think they have any value." Her eyes grew wide as she heard what I had said. "I didn't say that! Well, it did come up, but she left right after that. I told her the base facts, about how you are omnivorous, how you build cities and towns, it was all going well up until I got the subject of the rule 34 business and, what did you call it again? Oh right, clopping." She looked down at her hooves and back up at me. "I swear I didn't know she would act like this, or hurt you. I guess she just assumed-" "She assumed I was like them." I said softly. Wow, I felt like such a jackass. I had judged her this whole time because of how she acted, and now I was being judged because of the circumstances she had found me last night. It actually kinda hurt, the way it was ironic. I felt cold and heartless, like some of the things she thought about me...we true. That I didn't feel like she had any value. And honestly, part of me did feel that way at first. I hated myself for it. "Twilight, can you come with me back to Sweet Apple Acres?" I asked her. "Why, if I may ask?" "I want to apologize to her. I feel like I've really hurt Applejack." I said, remembering how I'd punched her and been a real jerk. She had just been protecting her family, and I had no right to act the way I did. "She may not be happy to see you by yourself, so of course I will." Twilight smiled as she lifted a saddlebag onto her back and opened the door. "Spike! We're going out for a while, hold down the fort til we get back!" She yelled upstairs, answered by a "will do" from the balcony. And we were off. --- "So Twilight, how many humans have shown up here anyway?" I asked her as we walked down the country road leading to the farm. "Oh, a fair few. Mostly guys though, it's very rare to see a female human pop into Equestria. They usually either turn into ponies themselves for a while or they stay human." "What do they do?" I asked, wondering if any of them have had any adventures besides me, who had been working on a farm with Applejack. "Mostly just hang out, either with me, Rainbow Dash, or Pinkie. I've seen a few with Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Lyra or Vinyl. I think some have visited Canterlot, too." She explained. "Wait, has Applejack ever seen a human before?" "Well, no. I mean, she has a few times, but none of them have ever gotten to know her I suppose. She usually just catches them in passing or talks a bit before going back to work. I think you're one of the few who have ever spent this much time with her." "Really?" I wondered. "I guess it's no surprise, they'd rather hang with you all." "I know, but I guess in a way Applejack is scared or jealous. You know she's never had a coltfriend, right?" "Wouldn't surprise me, she's always working." I chuckled. "It's true, never been on a date, never had sex, never even thought about it. She's never even kissed anypony." Twilight said. "Oh wow." I thought aloud. I had never even had a date til I was 18, I can imagine how AJ must feel about everything. Her friends have done so much while she's been so close to home. "I know! You two should go on a date!" Twilight squealed as she jumped up. "Whoa what?" That completely came out of nowhere. "It's the perfect way to make amends. Even if you don't exactly make it to the bedroom, it's the perfect way to talk things out and get to know each other professionally." Twilight tried explaining it to me. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, I don't exactly go on many dates. Yeah, a night with Applejack might actually be fun! "What in the hay is that thing doin' here?" An orange mare with a bandage on her jaw met us outside the gate. Oh crap.