A meandering line of chattering, nattering ponies snaked through the sun-dappled morning streets of Ponyville. Onward trudged Applejack Apple, the harness of her apple cart barely hiding her from the endless glances, glares, and stares of the gathering crowd. As usual, the glut of pony traffic and the plodding farmer headed to the same spot. A rough lot of packed earth and nighttime litter awaited them all. Finally she arrived at her familiar home-away-from-home and unpacked her stall, the crowding audience unleashing a chorus of “Oooohs” and “Aaahhhs” as the orange mare unloaded crate after crate of Sweet Apple Acres’ finest wares. This was her routine, morning in and evening out, and more often than not every hour in between. Long minutes of avoiding the press of ponies ended as she opened her stall for business.
She prepared for this moment every day, the long trot from her farm allowing precious few minutes to review the same spiel, the same lines, the same boilerplate greetings and good-byes, the same drudgery that made her every waking second a dreary chore. “Cain’t put it off no longer,” she muttered under her weatherworn hat, “so Ah guess Ah better get this over with. Another day, another couple o’ bits…” Tipping her hat back and forcing a tired too-wide grin, she began this day the same way she began every other.
“Howdy, Carrot Top! Here’s your usual batch o’ fritters. No, Ah ain’t goin’ out with you.”
“No, Lyra, Ah ain’t gonna make you an’ Bon-Bon mah personal herd. Enjoy the pie.”
“Fine weather we’re havin’, Mayor! Now you an’ Ah both know there ain’t no such thing as a Love Tax, an’ if’n there was, Ah’d be evadin’ it something fierce. Twelve bits fer the bushel.”
“Raindrops, Cloudkicker, Dizzy, how y’all doin? Nope, Ah still don’t need a harem. Try the strudel, it’s delicious!”
“Roseluck, don’t y’all have a stall o’ your own to watch? No, Ah ain’t gonna ‘watch yer stall’ for you, and Ah’m not runnin’ your store, either.”
“Zecora! Ah’m glad ya’ll came, now it’s time ya’ll depart. This here’ll keep your belly full, but Ah ain’t gonna fill yer heart.”
One by one the mares of Ponyville came, and one by one they left with scrumptious fresh apples but without that one most prized and delectable of Apples. Then she saw it - no, she saw him! Applejack’s banter became hollow background noise and tunnel vision overtook her as she lost sight of all but that beautiful hunk of stunning stallionhood patiently awaiting his turn. Her heart fluttered in her throat as he neared the counter, its low wooden walls thankfully hiding her shaking knees. He smiled and her cheeks flushed, he winked and her tail twitched, he waved and her troubles melted away. Finally he stood before her, chestnut mane perfectly coiffed, azure eyes shining like the endless sky.
She stammered out what few words her parched tongue could manage. “H.. Howdy, Caramel. C… Can Ah interest a fine stallion like yourself in some… some…”
“Applejack Apple, I came here for one thing only,” he purred, his voice firm and smooth like polished walnut, “I came here for you.”
Gulping and trembling, she set aside her hat and tossed off her hairband, loose strands of cornsilk-blonde mane blowing gently in the breeze. “Fer me? Ah… Ah don’t rightly know what to say, Caramel, Ah…”
His hooves touched hers as hers as he leaned across the stall, hot breath and tension mingling in the narrowing space between their muzzles. “There’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask you, AJ, but I never could make myself. The time’s come, though. I can’t put it off, I can’t resist a day longer. I need to know, AJ.”
Anticipation welled like tears behind her fluttering eyelids. “Anything, Caramel. Ask me anything!”
“Applejack - is Big Mac seeing anyone? I really want to ask him out, but every time I see that gorgeous green-appled flank, it’s like my mouth dries up and I can’t think of a thing to say, so I was hoping…”
~~~~~
“GAH!” Applejack shot up in bed, sheets flying across the room like panicked ghosts. Passing minutes felt like hours as she gasped for air, quaking and shivering.
A gentle hoof began to stroke her tousled mane. The alabaster unicorn put her head on the earth mare’s shaking shoulder and sleepily mumbled, “AJ, you poor darling! Same nightmare again?”
Panting and exhausted, the farmer turned suddenly and threw her arms around the snow-furred mare in her bed, burying her muzzle in a silken violet mane. “Yeah. Yeah it was, sugarcube. Same dang nightmare as always.”
Rarity sighed into her marefriend’s qivering ear. “The one where you’re straight?”
“Yeah, that there’s the one. Tarnation, Ah wish Ah could shake this dadgum thing. In th’ dream, it’s… it’s like Ah ain’t mahself, you know?”
“I can assure you from great personal experience, dearest Applejack, that it is in fact a dream. Nothing more. Now, come back to bed, darling. You’ve got a long day at the market stall tomorrow.”