//------------------------------// // Mighty Sorry // Story: Applejacking Him Around // by TheTalentlessPony //------------------------------// "Caramel? I haven't seen him. Sorry..." Ugh. That's the eighteenth pony ah've asked... Applejack lowered her head as she continued her search for the amber stallion. Guilt was weighing heavy on her heart, and she wanted so badly to apologize; even if it'd be a little harder than she'd like. "'Scuse me!" she called out to a pony at random. ...Though, her jaw admittedly dropped a little as she realized who she had called out to. "O-oh! Uh... sis!" Her big brother walked up to her awkwardly, blushing pink and being followed by Fluttershy, who shared his embarrassed expression. "Big Macintosh? Ah thought-" After pausing for a moment, the mare shook her head. "N-nevermind. That ain't important right now," she insisted. "Somethin' wrong?" the crimson stallion asked, eyes suddenly full of concern; Applejack rarely looked so upset. "Have ya seen 'Mel anywhere?" she questioned. "Nnnope. Not at all," Big Macintosh replied, shaking his head with a frown. "...Oh...ah see." Lowering her head again, Applejack turned to walk off. She was ready to give up... "..." But... "...'M-Mel? You mean...Caramel?" The orange mare's ears perked as she turned towards Fluttershy, who timidly looked over to her with a tilted head. "Y-yeah! That's him!" Applejack said quickly, staring hopefully at the yellow pegasus. "W-well...u-um...a little while ago, I saw an amber earth pony with a brown mane go..." Fluttershy paused to familiarize herself with her surroundings, then lifted a hoof up to point. "...that way, I think," she finished. Applejack turned her head towards the given direction, then frowned. So he went... there? "Thanks Fluttershy." the orange mare said before galloping off. "Y-you're welcome! A-and good luck!" ... ...Alright. Here we are... Applejack stared down at the soil in front of her with a sad expression. The place where we planted the seeds on Winter Wrap Up... The orange mare sighed a bit as she lightly patted one of the plants. But... why would he come here? Lifting her head and looking around, Applejack managed to spot her target sitting a few yards away from her. "...'Mel..." she muttered, though not really meaning to. Despite her quiet tone, it seemed to be enough to get the Caramel's attention. His ears perked as he turned his head to her, but upon seeing her, he quickly winced and looked away, seeming to be both sad and frustrated. "What?" he spat, having a very mixed tone. Feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Applejack slowly and quietly made her way towards him, promptly sitting down only a few inches away from the amber stallion. "..." "..." ...Here goes nothin'... Taking a breath, the orange mare readied her apology. "...I'm sorry." Applejack paused. Those words hadn't come from her mouth. "...'Mel?" The amber stallion looked over at her apologetically, though his frustration was rather clear. "I-I'm sorry. I... I never should've come to work for you, okay? All I wanted was to-" "Ah know," the orange mare interrupted. Caramel froze and quickly blushed pink. "H-huh? You... you what?" "Granny Smith told me everything after... after ah went and yelled at ya," Applejack explained. "..." "And ah'm the one who should be sorry," she added. "You? Why? You never-" "-Ah had no right to yell at ya like that. Ah was outta line." The orange mare took a moment to sigh, tilting her hat downwards as she let the guilt soak in. "But I-" "Geez 'Mel! Why can't ya just let me take the blame here?" Applejack interrupted, jabbing at the stallion's front leg. The two suddenly went silent for a few seconds, then gave out soft chuckles. "Don't tell me that we're really arguing about who gets the blame here," Caramel told her. "Seems like it," the orange mare said softly, tilting her hat back up as the awkward tension died down a bit. "...How about this?" Applejack turned her head as the amber stallion took a bit of soil from the ground in front of them, then separated it into two sections. "We both messed up, alright? We'll take equal blame," he explained. "Sounds fair to me," the orange mare agreed. The two earth ponies then nodded to each other and stared out at the field in front of them. "..." "...Ya know...ah'm surprised at ya," Applejack said, cutting through the silence. "Why's that?" "Ah thought ya'd be mighty upset with me," the orange mare admitted, suddenly looking a bit sad again. "Ah did snap at ya pretty hard back there after all..." "Eheh..." Caramel laughed softly, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I-I guess I just can't stay mad at you," he said nervously. "..." "Because...well..." "..." "...you know." Applejack was quiet for a moment, then simply nodded. "Y-yeah..." the orange mare went silent again before turning to the amber stallion. "...so...why'd you come here anyway 'Mel?" "Huh? Well, I was just kinda... upset, and I-" "No. Ah mean... why here?" The amber stallion took a second to think about Applejack's question, then chuckled softly. "Eheh... actually, I come here often." "Ya do?" the orange mare questioned, raising a brow. "I know we still finished Winter Wrap Up on time, but I couldn't help feeling real guilty over what happened," Caramel explained. "...'M-Mel-" "No, no. It's okay," the amber stallion insisted. "That's... how I got caught by Sassaflash anyway. She got suspicious when I accidentally skipped out on a date to come here." "...Ya forgot, didn't ya?" Caramel smirked a bit. "A little..." "So ya come here all the time 'cause ya felt guilty about me?" Applejack asked. "...Kinda." "Kinda?" The amber stallion nodded. "I come here to... think about you too," he began. "I know we weren't on friend-to-friend terms, but... when we met, I really wanted to be." "...R-really?" "Ahuh. You had such a... drive. Such determination." Looking over at her, he smiled a bit, making Applejack feel warm for a split second. "You were really cool, ya know?" The orange mare suddenly felt heat rush to her face, but she merely ignored it and pushed on. "S-so... that's when ya broke up with Sassaflash?" she asked, doing her best to keep cool. "Yeah, that's right," Caramel replied. "I just... couldn't stay with her when all I thought about... was you," he added as his cheeks flushed red. Applejack was quiet again, then placed a hoof on his and smiled. "Tell ya what...let's go back to the farm and talk more about this," she said, shifting positions and standing up. "Ah'll even make ya a 'Sorry-for-ruining-your-first-day' apple pie." The amber stallion stared at the orange mare in confusion for a moment, then smiled wide and stood up too. "How can I say no to that?" Applejack smiled back at him, then turned away and began to walk. "O-oh! And... Applejack?" Caramel asked as he followed closely behind. "Hm? What is it?" the orange mare asked. "...If you can call me 'Mel..." the amber stallion began. "...Can I call you 'Jack?" "Pft! Ya better not!" The two then laughed and raced each other to the farm; that warm feeling never quite going away.