//------------------------------// // Apple of Another Color // Story: Apple of Another Color // by MrTyreste //------------------------------// Walking along the edge of the Everfree forest, I had waited for the hour to end and went looking for Applejack. The orange mare was pretty hard to find, but eventually I happened across her with a large saddlebag on her back. "Ready to get goin'? Ah'm ready when ya'll are." She said as she tightened the rope around her. I simply smiled and nodded as I tugged on the bag Big Macintosh had lent me for the day. "Where are we headed?" I asked as she began to march forward, barely giving me time to tag along. "We're headin' to a place ah've been goin' to ever since ah was a little filly. It was a special place for me and mah folks a long time ago." She said with her eyes straight forward. We began our march into the Everfree forest, passing rows and rows of long trees, and even the place where I fell into the river. "Your folks, huh?" "Yeah, but thing is ah don't see 'em anymore." She said with a sigh. I didn't want to pry, so I dropped the subject and immediately changed it. "So, is this your first date?" I asked with a sheepish smile. "Well, yeah." She chuckled. "Ah gotta say, Ah've never in mah life been alone with a colt like this, or whatever ya'll are." She said. "Don't take it the wrong way, sugarcube, ah meant what ah said before." "What did you say?" "Forget it already? Ah told ya that ah found ya pretty cute." She grinned, slightly blushing. "Cute how, exactly?" I asked her. Here it comes, the part where she says I'm like a friend, or even worse. A pet. Yes, I am totally the equivalent of Winonna. "Well, how could ah put this? Umm..." She searched for the right words, thinking hard about how to best describe what could only be compared to a long, hairy baby dragon in their world. "Ah guess ah could say you're just an apple of another color." She finally said. "Do what now?" I asked her, wondering where she could have gotten that analogy from. "It's kinda like somethin' Twi said, once. How different species can think alike and even talk or act alike. KInda how cows, mules, and even griffons have the same language 'round here. Even you talk just like us. Ah think the point was that even though we look different, we share so much of the same things that we might as well be like apples on an apple tree. Just different colors ah guess." Oh wow, cue Applejack's wisdom of the day. "That actually sounds pretty interesting." I said, astonished at the way she explained this all to me. I really owed her an apology. We continued our walk through the forest until we reached a small pool of water at the beginning of the river just under a small waterfall below a cliff face. The pool was relatively shallow, with a visable gravel surface that looked almost perfect. "Well, here we are." She smiled as she set her saddlebag down and took off her hat. I took that as my cue to start getting my jacket off. "Hold on there, partner. Don't go naked in there. Pretty sure ya'll look a little too unique under all them duds." She giggled. "How bout ya just leave the pants on and jump in like that." She said with a smile as she readied to charge into the pool. "Geronimo!" She made a huge splash in the deeper end that soaked me to the point where I didn't even feel like I needed to get in anymore. But I did anyway. "Banzai!" I followed her into the pool and managed to splash her with my entry. She laughed and brushed it off before she took the bandage off her jaw. We spent a good ten minutes playing around in the water. Playing tag, seeing who could hold their breath longest, and even a splash competition. Needless to say, Applejack loved a challenge. "Hey, doesn't that hurt?" I said, pointing to the still slightly bruised jaw. "Oh it ain't no thang. Ah'm feelin much better after Twilight healed me a bit with her magic." "Well I'm still sorry." I said again. "Sugarcube, ah told you it's-" "No, I mean..." I sighed. "When I arrived here, I thought you were just a stereotypical hillbilly like in my world. Poor, uneducated, close-minded. And, after a while, I realized that there is so much more to you than I thought. You're smart, you're dedicated, you're loyal, you're beautiful, you're-" I stopped myself as I saw her eyes widen and her cheeks begin to blush slightly. "I guess I misjudged you as well, and I'm really sorry." I said as a faint smile crept across her face. The water around her seemed to glow in the sunlight as we were bathed in the rays of sun as it shone through the trees. "Nopony's...ever called me that before." She said, still smiling. "Why not?" I asked her. "Ever word is true, you know." "Ah've never considered myself worthy of any colt's time. Not only that, ah've been taught to save myself for marriage, ya know? Ah gotta be honest, not many stallions in Ponyville are interested in waitin' that long. Needless to say, not many wanna even get to know me cause they only seem to want one thing outta this mare, and they know they can't have it." She said. "But ya'll are doin much better, since it's been a good twenty minutes and the word sex hasn't even crossed ya'll's lips." She said proudly. "Well," I can't believe we're having this conversation. "I've kinda beenr raised the same way, but instead of strictly marriage, I'm just waiting on the right one. Personally, why wait if you truely love the person, or pony. If it happens, great. If not, oh well, no big deal." I explained. "You're not gonna ask me, are ya?" She raised an eyebrow. "To have sex with me? No." I said sternly. "I don't do it on the first date." "Good." Applejack smiled a really large smile. "But if a certain pony would perhaps want a kiss, maybe..." I said, trying to be as silly as possible with this. I really didn't expect a kiss, I mean she was a pony. I doubted she would have the slightest interest in me. Though, despite that, something about her just called to me. A kind of emotion, like a crush or a slight attraction, that really wouldn't mind just a small kiss from her. "Well..." she began to blush. "Ah-ah really don't know how ta...ya know?" She stuttered, seeming very nervous with the entire thing. "I could teach you." I offered, to which she must have been interested in because the next thing I knew the orange mare darted through the water to get closer to me. "Yeehaw! Ah'm ready when you are." She grinned as she floated beside me. I spent a few minutes trying to help her get it down. From puckering her lips to just slightly parting them, but I left out anything involving the tongue for obvious reasons. She seemed to be pretty good, though for the first few attempts she looked like she was trying to imitate a duck's bill. "Am ah doin dis right?" She said with her lips still together, pushed out. "A little more like this." I showed her, which she noticed and imitated the way my lips were just slightly apart. "Hey, ah got it." She exclaimed as she did a small flip under the water. "Take it easy, AJ." I laughed. I was having so much fun. It went from working on a farm, to being public enemy number one, to being on a date with the pony I used to despise, but have gained so much respect for. So much liking for. Gah! What am I saying? "Hey, Johnny. Can ya'll close your eyes for a second? Ah gotta do somethin." She smiled nervously. "Umm, ok." I said before I closed my eyes. I expected her to go use the bathroom somewhere or go grab something out of one of her saddlebags. What I didn't expect was to feel a pair of lips press softly against mine. My eyes darted open as I saw Applejack closer to me than ever, kissing me softly with her lovely green eyes closed. I expected it to be strange, but it honestly was no different than kissing a human girl. While the lips were a different size and shape, the basic feeling was the same, and the taste wasn't bad either. In fact, it was good. The taste and smell of apples and cider filled my nose and rested on my lips as I returned the kiss, closing my eyes again. I didn't want it to end. But all good things must come to an end as her lips left mine. Breathless and blushing like crazy, she floated in front of me in the water, trying to form words without babbling. "Th-thth that...was..." She stuttered happily. "Dear sweet Celestia, why did ah wait so long?" "I assume you liked it?" I smiled, blushing a little myself. She didn't say anything, only nodded furiously and came at me again, this time pushing me up against the wall of the pond. Her lips met mine as we darted back, kissing for nearly a minute before we finally broke contact to catch our breath. "Sorry, Johnny. Ah really like kissin' you." She blushed madly as she held her forelegs around me. I couldn't lie, I enjoyed it too.