//------------------------------//
// Chapter VIII: Don't Care Anymore 
// Story: Regret 
// by I Am The Night 
//------------------------------//


Chapter VIII: Don't Care Anymore



It was one o'clock by the time you and the others had left the hotel. Rarity apparently had planned a good couple of hours of the day ahead before you even left town.

Go to the mall, buy whatever, then head over to the nearby cafe for lunch.

It seemed like not a lot of things to do, despite you doing this for a few hours, but when Rarity shops, it's best to rest up first.

You were lucky you had that soda when you did.

Luckily, the mall wasn't very far from the hotel, but goddess, was it big. So many stores to choose from, so little time. For you, you found interest in the music stores and candy shops. Regardless of how rude ponies in the big city can be, they always had some amazing treats to present, not to mention that there was nothing wrong in enjoying a bit of classical music every now and again.

Upon first arriving at the mall, Rarity instructed to all of you to go and do what you wished, but be back at this very spot, the main plaza, by two-thirty. With the way she said it, she sounded like she was talking to a bunch of children.

And only technically was it true. Pinkie was here, after all.

As you expected, you knew exactly where the group would go:

Applejack headed towards an apple-related store, gathering seeds and trying out a few caramel apples. Rainbow was headed towards the store that mostly had Wonderbolt or Daring-Do related merchandise. Twilight Sparkle went to a book-store. Pinkie went to a dessert shop. Fluttershy went to---no surprise---an animal shop. Rarity, you assumed, was heading to a jewelry store or a clothing shop that held what must have been the fanciest dresses in the city.

You were hoping Spike would hang out with you, but to no surprise to anypony, he followed Rarity, seemingly floating in the air.

So that left you all alone, by yourself, and you found yourself wondering what you wanted to do. It was a giant mall, with what must have been hundreds of stores to choose from.

As you found enjoyable, you decided to first check out one of the many music stores. While many of them had hardcore rock or death-metal---which was quite surprising to find in such a posh city---a few of them had nothing but classical music. While electric guitars got you in the mood for tearing things up, though not literally, something about the violins and cellos of a symphony always brought you at ease.

The first music store that you could think of was Heaven of Class. It was a mass franchise of stores, scattered all about Equestria and even some parts of the Gryphon Kingdom. The franchise was most commonly known for their classical music, seeing as how it was all they sold. Each store had different artists, as well as different...er...genres of the---genre.

By that, meaning---there were upbeat songs performed by those who mostly made gentle and peaceful songs. Beethooven, for example, made a few songs that were rather a mixture of happy, calm, sad, and dramatic. That alone was why he was your favorite classical artist.

It did take a few minutes by looking around, but you finally manage to find the HoC store. Inside, the place looked almost the same as the one back in Baltimare. The interior was the same structural design, but a few minor differences---music-wise, of course.

The pony at the front desk, a mare here, greeted you with a kind smile, to which you smiled back as you began to search for music.

A couple of rows had music that you've already listened to or owned back home. You wanted rare music, music that only a hoofful of ponies have heard. But what music could possibly be that-...

Ah, right here! you think as you find yourself face to face with a rather large CD, a picture of Beethooven on it, with bold captions that read:


Beethooven, The Unknown Symphony


From what you knew, in the last year of his life, Beethooven wanted his legacy to go out with a bang. So he spent the next year composing what few had called "some of the most intricate and out-of-this-worldly music you will hear in your lifetime."

It was called The Unknown Symphony because of the fact that Beethooven died before he could properly name it. All previous names of the symphony were destroyed the following month after his death.

You can recall visiting his grave at one point on a high-school trip to Germaney, and all you could think was, "I'm standing at the grave of one of the most important ponies in Equestrian history."

It was always mind-blowing to you to think of the most important ponies of hundreds of years ago, then stand in front of their graves. It was chilling, but so interesting.

Taking the CD, making sure it was secure in its case, you take a look at the price of it: 20ß, or twenty bits. You were surprised that it was so cheap for such a rare piece of historical music, but were you really going to complain?

Walking up to the mare at the front, you put the case on the desk and give her the money. She checks it out as 'sold', then hoofs it back to you. Putting it snuggly in your satchel, you wave the mare goodbye as you walk out, to which she replies in a somewhat strong Germane accent, "Come again!"

You had a smile on your face, simply from the kindness of the mare, as you walk out the store, back into the mall.

You were glad not all city ponies were jerks.

"Hey, let go of me, jerk!"

Or so you thought.

Turning a corner to see what the commotion was about, you find yourself looking at two ponies having a bit of a scuffle. For a moment, you assumed it was a couple having a bit of a domestic dispute---and in public, too.

But as you listen to the conversation further, it made you realize...

This mare's being robbed.

"Give me the bag, and you won't get hurt!" The stallion's voice rang into the air with a thick Hooflyn accent.

For the few seconds you saw him, he had what must have been a dark brown fur coat, a dark blue mane and tail, and...red eyes?

It was rare to come across anypony with red eyes before.

Suddenly, the stallion pushes the mare back, causing her to fall on her back and lose her grip on the bag. Once the stallion had it in his hooves, he made a dash in the other direction.

"Stop him," the mare yelled, "he stole my bag!"

For a split second, you take a look at the ponies around the mare. Some were looking at her, others were casually walking past her like it was nothing. Some ponies were even laughing at her situation!

You couldn't believe it!

So doing what no others would do, and out of courageous stupidity, you emerge from the corner and begin to chase after the stallion.

For a good couple of seconds, he didn't turn around to see you, so it was a clean chase.

But ten seconds in, he turns his head around, and the moment he spots you, you see a look of shock in his face, along with anger. Almost immediately, he turns his head back around and begins to knock anything in front of him over: Ponies, objects, glass vases, suitcases, full bags, anything he could to slow you down.

It wasn't very hard getting past most of the things he threw about, but he wasn't getting any closer towards you.

Suddenly, he jumps and climbs a pillar. Almost with ease, he makes his way to the second floor railing and climbs over.

For a second, you were wondering how you were going to get up there, seeing as you had no immediate skills in parkour.

But then you realized, and for a while felt stupid for forgetting that lifelong fact about you.

You were a goddess-damn pegasus.

Once this realization came to you, you immediately unfurled your wings and began to fly upward, until the second floor was visible to you. 

The amount of ponies on this floor were very low, so it didn't take long for you to spot the guy, who once more didn't seem to notice you, even having a smile on his face, a false hope of his that he got away.

Time to crash his party.

With a burst of force, you fling yourself towards the stallion, everything speeding by you.

The bastard never saw you coming.

Like a cop on steroids, you tackle the thief to the ground, the bag flying a couple of hooves away, out of his reach.

With all the strength you could muster, you keep the stallion pinned to the ground as he tried hopelessly to free himself from your grasp.

"Get off me, you son of a bitch!" he yells.

For only a few seconds, you keep him pinned to the floor. As security officers came to the scene, they asked what was going on. But once their eyes laid upon the stallion you held down, one of them sighed in frustration, while the others chuckled silently.

"Well, well, well," one of them says. "If it isn't Swift Shadow. Out of prison again, I see?"

"Heh, doesn't look so swift to me," another says, laughing a bit louder than the others.

The stallion known as Swift Shadow doesn't respond to their questions or their insults, nor does he squirm beneath you. He just lies there and looks at the guards with a cold stare.

While most of the guards there shrugged off his stare, you looked closer and notice that a couple of them looked...well, afraid.

That must have said something, but you thought nothing of it.

The guards took care of business, keeping Swift Shadow restrained until a police wagon arrived. You didn't think they would be able to fit a wagon in those doors, but that's always what the skylights are for, right?

Within a couple of minutes, a few pegasi open up the skylights on the ceiling, several floors up, and four pegasi hover down with a small wagon, striped white and black, primarily to show it was a prison wagon.

The pegasi opened up the back doors of the wagon and the guards carried Swift and seemingly threw him in there without care. Quoting 'again', he was probably used to it by now.

Once they closed the doors and locked it, Swift looked through the barred window to the outside world.

But he wasn't looking at the outside world.

He was looking at you. Not the guards next to you, not the ponies walking around you. Just you, and only you.

And the way he looked at you... it was as if he was examining everything about you. Your face, your body, your... you.

Then just before the wagon took off, his eyes met yours, his stare cold, long and hating.

"... You better hope I don't get outta here."

And as the wagon began to fly up into the air, he looked down to you, never seeming to take his eyes off you, even when the wagon disappeared from sight.

For a moment, you actually gulped.

But then a guard patted your back like you were his long-time pal. "Relax, kid. Swift's a rookie when it comes to that kinda crap. He's been in jail dozens of times, threatened countless ponies like you, and not once did he ever harm them. Well, mostly because they're always gone by the time he gets out, so you got nothin' to worry about."

While the nervousness in your stomach didn't go away, you felt at least a bit better compared to a moment ago, and decided not to worry much about it.

If guards and cops never lie, then they never lie.

The guards thanked you and bid you farewell. Not forgetting, you grab the hoofbag and make your way back to the mare on the first floor. With there being more ponies on the first, it takes a bit longer to find her than you would on the second.

However, with simple searching, you manage to find her, sitting and pouting with sadness on a bench. Flying down to her, you gently nudge her and show her the bag.

With a gasp of delight, she goes, "My bag! You got it back!"

You smile at her response as she grabs her bag, but find yourself surprised when she begins to hug you.

"Ooh, thank you! Thank you! Really! I didn't think I was ever gonna see this again!"

"It was the least I could do, seeing as how nopony else did anything."

"Well, it's what you get for living in Manehattan, I guess," she says, chuckling at her response, to which you chuckle along too.

After a couple of moments, she asks for your name. Shaking her hoof, you introduce yourself, to which she introduces herself by the name of Aqua Lilly. As you very easily noticed, she was an earth pony, hence why she didn't chase him, but you didn't blame her, really.

Unfortunately, she only had time to introduce herself before she realized that she had to leave. But before she does this, she quickly grabs out a piece of paper and a pencil and writes down something. She then hoofs you the paper and puts the pencil away.

"Maybe we can see each other again sometime," she says, smiling at you.

Seeing as how she was quite kind to you, the second kindest person in this city, who were you to reject her offer?

"Sure," you say with a smile, "I can do that."

"Awesome," she says before turning in the opposite direction and taking off, yelling, "See you later!" as she fades away.

When she disappears from your sight, you take this moment to take a look at the piece of paper in your hoof.

It wasn't words that she wrote down.

It was numbers.

And you smile.







The remainder of your time at the mall mostly consisted of you looking for some more music or sitting down and watching ponies walk by. It seemed, to some, like a boring thing to do---and sometimes, it was---but every once in a good while, you'd like to just watch life go by instead of being a part of it.

Eventually, two-thirty ticked on by, and you decided it was time to head back to the front of the mall. Sure enough, when you got there, there were the others, all satchels full of what must have been good findings.

Leaving the mall, you were hoping you would have caught a glimpse of the mare you saw before. But she was nowhere to be found. It wasn't all that much of a surprise; she did have somewhere to go.

Walking a couple of blocks from the mall---at this point, you were in between the mall and the hotel---you and the others arrive at the nearby cafe, Sunny Side.

It may have just been you, but most of the names of areas about the city, and even Equestria, seemed quite cheesy. But no matter how cheesy, it was always worth it, so you never complained.

Vocally, that is.

Sitting down at a table for eight, you take a look at the menu in front of you and look at the choices of food. Each menu had a list of day and evening meals, along with a little dessert section. It was almost like a restaurant menu, except for the absence of the dinner section. But technically, Sunny Side is a restaurant, but for some odd reason, it's most commonly referred to as a cafe. You didn't bother taking a complaint of it.

Looking at the menu, you observe each section of foods.





SUNNY SIDE FOOD MENU



Breakfast

Pancakes (w/ butter on the side): 2.50ß

Prench Toast: 1.00ß

Prench Toast Sticks: 1.00ß

Bagels (w/ cream cheese): 2.00ß

Cinnamon Rolls: 1.50ß

Oatmeal: 0.50ß


Lunch

Grilled Cheese Sandwich(es): 1.00ß - 2.00ß

Hay Salad: 2.00ß

Cheese Quesadilla(s): 1.50ß - 2.50ß

Daffodil Sandwich (w/ choice of extra): 1.00ß

Egg Salad Sandwich(es): 1.50ß

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich(es): 1.00ß - 2.00ß

Tomato Soup: 3.00ß



You were expecting to see the dinner section, but you were a bit surprised to notice that there wasn't a dinner section. But then again, this wasn't really an evening restaurant, nor did it fit the look, so it only made sense...somewhat.

It didn't take very long for you and the others to place your meals. For you, a grilled cheese Sandwich with some Jizzy Fizzy as a beverage. Screw the name, you wanted it.

After the orders were delivered, it took at least ten minutes for the food to arrive. While a couple of the foods were cold---as they were intended to be---your sandwiches were hot and gooey, just as you liked it.

Taking a piece of grilled cheese into your hooves, you take a bite, and almost immediately, your taste buds are flooded with the taste of gooey, melted cheese, and you find yourself in heaven once again.

It had been years since you last had grilled cheese. You used to have it nearly every day in college, but for some reason, you stopped having it. You never knew why, but you were always wanting to have some again. You never understood why you didn't just make some at home.

But nevertheless, you were having some, and it was some of the best grilled cheese you had in a long time.



By the time you and the others had finished your meals, it was already three o'clock, and the sun was still shining high in the sky. It would be at least another five or six hours before night-fall.

All shopped out and full on cheese, you suggested that the group should take a break and have some fun. With Rarity asking what exactly you had in mind, you pondered for a second on it. But when you came to a thought, you smiled.

"How about we go swimming?"

"Ooh! I can do that!" Pinkie yells with an enthusiastic smile.

So without much of a second opinion, the eight of you head back to the hotel and gather your swimming essentials. For you, since you didn't have any swimming trunks, you just decided to grab a towel. Besides, swimming shorts would have slowed you down anyway.

Once everything was gathered, you and the others head down to the bottom floor of the hotel. After taking a few twists and turns throughout the floor, you eventually make it to the swimming area, a massive pool several hooves wide, long, and many hooves deep. It had to be at least the deepness of four ponies stacked on top of each other. Of course, that was a guess, but a close one.

The room, however, was massive, almost as large as the pool itself. You were a bit surprised to see that nopony else but the eight of you were in here, but then you remembered the 'VIP POOL AREA' sign on the door coming in. That was a bit of luck for you.

So now you didn't have to worry about foals peeing in the water. Gross.

Once you took in the sights, you were getting ready and sure for a swim. To no surprise, Pinkie was the first one to jump into the pool, going, "Cannonball!" as she touched down on the water, making quite the splash and nearly soaking you and the others in the process.

Of course, that was the point, wasn't it? To get wet?

Without all that much hesitation, Rainbow and Applejack jumped in and began to swim from one side of the pool to the other, possibly racing each other to see who was faster. Even if there was a grudge from Applejack against Rainbow's behavior, it was somewhat good to know they were still competing for first place.

It did take a couple of minutes for you to get into the pool. While the room was somewhat warm, the water was cool. It didn't bother you on the legs much, but when it came to the body, that was a whole different story.

Luckily, Pinkie's flamboyant splashing about got you wet enough to become used to the temperature, and once you were, you slid right in, and almost instantly, you were relaxed, the stress of today seeming to fade away.

But then that stallion, Swift, and his words came back to you in a memory. For a second, that slight worry returned, but only for a few moments. A part of you wanted to worry a bit about his choice of words, but another part of you wanted to not worry about it. Seeing as how he hasn't committed a single bodily crime, at least as far as the officer's words could throw, there was no such reason to be stressed about it. Sure, he might steal a few bits, but they're easy to get back.

Your thoughts of Swift died down when Pinkie splashed your face with intent on getting your attention. It brought a smile to your face, and you had no other choice but to splash back. Pinkie took this as a sign of a water-fight, and right there, you two were splashing each other back and forth like children, giggling and having fits of laughter and joy.

Even though you were still quite young, you felt like a kid again. And it felt nice being one with a pony with more experience than you ever would have.



So you played around with Pinkie and some of the others, excluding Rainbow, as she mostly avoided you, for a good half-hour, and by then, the fun was beginning to die down, but nopony was ready to leave just yet.

You, however, were tuckered out from the fun and just wanted to relax. So after grabbing your music player, you find an inflatable mattress and blow it up. Once it was fully blown, you gently place it into the pool. Carefully, once you hover your way onto it, you make sure you were comfortable enough. Comfortable, you grab the player and shuffle your way through songs, trying to find a good, calming song to listen to.

Eventually, you find a grand modern favorite of yours. Placing the player next to you, you close your eyes and lay yourself back, listening to the song play in your head as you feel the gentle movement of the mattress on the water.

You never knew it why exactly, but to you, this song seemed to relate to you in a way. It may have just been the lyrics making you think that way, it may have just been the past week, but something made you love this song even more than before. It seemed so fitting.

For the first duration of the song, you laid back and had your eyes closed and slowly moved back and forth not only to the rhythm of the song, but to the mattress as the water moves around.

Eventually, the song comes to an end, to which it repeats; at this point, you open your eyes to prevent falling asleep, and find yourself staring up at the ceiling, slowly moving about in all directions: left, right, up and down.

During this duration of the song, you think back through the past week, and you take into account everything that has happened, and as you do, you wonder how the outcome could have been different, had you not tripped in the first place. 

In all fair honesty, the true reason you were in this city to begin with was the fact that you locked yourself in your house for nearly five days straight. How would things have been if you took Rainbow's outburst in a different direction, in a much more... positive manner?

Or better yet, what would she have done if you didn't trip and she ended up seeing the gifts you had gotten for her? Would she have thanked you? Hugged you? Go on a romantic dinner with you and kiss you to end it all?

Or would nothing be better, just you and her "friends"?

Once the second duration of the song comes to an end, it repeats for a third time, but only midway through the song, you feel a tug on your right foreleg. Taking out your headphones, you turn your head to the right, and you find Applejack looking at you with somewhat concerned eyes.

"You alright, sugar-cube?" she asks.

With a little smile, you nod, letting her know you were okay. It was only a little lie, but it was more truth than lie.

Taking a quick look around, you notice that the others are gone, and you wonder for how long.

"They've been gone ten minutes," she adds, "Ah just decided to stick around so nothin' bad happened."

With an eyebrow raised, you ask, "Like what?"

"Well... fallin' asleep and fallin' into water ain't so much a good combination..."

Fair point.

"Ah'll be here in case ya need anything. Okay?"

Though her words and smile were considerate, you were wondering why you would need her for anything. It wasn't a rude thought, it's just that there was nothing you could really ask for. But nonetheless, you gave her a firm nod.

Her smile grows slightly just before she dives back into the water, seeming to swim around you and beneath you, making sure not to bump against you. You weren't surprised that she was an experience swimmer. However, this was really the only time since you met her that you saw her swimming. You assume she must have swam when you weren't visiting her, but you never asked her. You thought it would be strange to ask that randomly, but that was just your opinion.

Smiling a bit at her swimming skills, you lay your head back onto the pillow of the mattress and put your headphones back in. At this point, the song is nearly over, but you listen to it the rest of the way. Once it finishes, it loops again.

However, this time, you didn't seem to be thinking really much about the past week or Rainbow, for that matter.

You were thinking about Applejack.

And no, it was not a romantic type of thinking. You were just thinking about her when she first met you, and when you met her. Thinking hard, you tried to remember how she acted around you, talked around you, thought around you upon first meeting.

As common as it is, she didn't seem to show any signs of having a crush on you upon first meeting, nor did she ever blush when she looked or talked around you. She just saw you, or so you think, as an ordinary friend.

But you never really talked to her about it. Of course, months after you had first arrived, as little as eight months, you did have somewhat of an assumption that she had something for you, but you never thought anything more of it. And thinking back to it now, you felt absolutely terrible about not saying a thing. She probably felt terrible too for not saying anything about it, either. It must have been hard having feelings for somepony you cared about and never having the guts or strength to come out and tell them.

Even you waited a while before you told Rainbow how you felt for her, and she actually let you down easy, but for some reason, you couldn't just stop trying to win her. She drove you completely nuts, over the top, that it made you keep going, keep trying, and it made you hope, just hope, that she would one day love you too.

And you felt that was the main reason, the clumsiness being a backdrop to it, that she began to feel annoyed of you. Thinking of it now, you feel stupid and wished you weren't so over-determined.

But there was one thing that you never really told anyone, or even admitted to yourself.

You loved Applejack too.

It was a blunt thought, a minor one in your mind that was shrouded in the thought of Rainbow, but some part of you felt attached to Applejack in the same way she was to you. The vast majority of you thought nothing more of her but as a friend, as you felt that trying to create a crush-triangle---similar to a love-triangle, only Rainbow didn't exactly love you back---would cripple the dwindling friendship you had with Rainbow, or destroy whatever feelings Applejack had for you.

So being the idiot that you were, you focused yourself more on Rainbow, but you didn't just flat out forget about Applejack. You felt guilty, like a monster, you wanted to hit yourself for being so hurtful and dishonest.

You wouldn't blame her if the things she said with Rainbow, even if she was playing along, were true. You probably would have said the same thing about yourself. You were even willing to now.

As the song you were listening to was beginning to come to a close, a single stray thought, more of a question, came to your mind.

Did Applejack still feel that way for you?

And honestly, you did have your assumptions. She was the only pony out of the group who had hung around you the most since that time at Sugarcube Corner, and you couldn't believe you didn't think of it sooner.

She visited your house. She came to you at the end of the train. She comforted you when you sobbed that same night. And here, right now, she was the one volunteering to watch over you while the others were Celestia-knows-where, when anypony else, even Spike, could have watched over you, but no, Applejack was the only one.

And then there was that moment you thought of, back on the train, all the way at the end. Just before you fell asleep, you smelled, and you remembered the scent... apples.

You didn't, and you never thought about it until now, but you had your assumptions.

Was that Applejack?

Was it... Was she aroused?

Those questions somewhat rang in your head like a bell, over and over again, and as you thought those questions, that mental puzzle in your head connected and completed itself.

And as it did, you mentally slapped yourself in the brain, feeling stupid for not realizing it sooner.

Applejack was still in love with you.

Many---many times over, she proved it, but you were too dim and shrouded by Rainbow to notice anything of it.

However, a part of you still wasn't sure of it. That part of you had thoughts that maybe your mind had been playing tricks. Maybe Applejack was being caring and making up for the time she wasted 'making fun' of you.

Or maybe she was still in love with you and you were so blind to not realize it. That part of you was never quite sure of it.

But that part of you wanted to find out.

As the song came to an end once more, you shut off your MP3 player and took your headphones out of your ears. For the first time in ten minutes, you lifted your head from the pillow and took a quick look around, trying to Find Applejack. For a moment, you thought she maybe had decided to go back, or that she had to do her business.

But after a couple of seconds, and by surprise, Applejack sprung out of the water in front of you, causing quite the up-splash, though it didn't manage to soak you. You kind of wonder how long she had been under there for.

She takes in deep breaths, gathering as much oxygen as she could before breathing out. She did this for a few seconds, and after those few seconds came and went, she was able to breathe normally.

After a moment, she noticed you looking at her and gave you a little wave and a smile. "Hey, partner. Had a good nap?"

You couldn't help but smile back and nod assuringly. 

But after a couple of seconds, your smile slowly faded away, and at that moment, you wanted to ask her the question, but for some odd reason, you weren't able to word it properly in your mind, and all that followed was an awkward silence.

Applejack took this in a negative way, and her face began to show concern for the first time in a short while.

"Are... you okay, sugar-cube?" she asks, her voice even showing concern.

You smile again, this time more faintly, and you gently nod.

And it was at this point that you didn't exactly render what you were doing. It was as if you were watching yourself move, rather than you moving yourself. Gently, you jumped off the mattress and fell back into the water, but this time, the coldness of the water didn't faze you, nor give you shivers. You didn't seem to mind it at all.

Now in the water, able to walk about standing on your hind hooves, you slowly begin to make your way towards Applejack. For a moment, she was confused at what you were doing, and even asked so.

But as you got closer towards her, she slowly backed up, but she only backed up a couple of hooves before bumping into the edge of the pool. But she didn't object you or tell you to stop. She just seemed to watch you intently as you got closer and closer to her.

You were wondering if this was too much, if you were scaring her. But she didn't seem to show any signs of fear, only confusion and curiosity. So you just decided to keep on walking towards her.

With each slow step, due to the water's force against you, you were one step closer to Applejack, who did nothing but look at you. Step after step, closer and closer, the color of her eyes were more clear to you.

Emerald green.

Then finally, you stop yourself dead in the water. Your faces were close together, closer than they ever have been in the times you have known each other.

And in that little moment, your eyes connected with hers. Those emerald green eyes pierced your own eyes like daggers, seeming to ask questions to you. 

What is this? What is happening?

Why now?

For a good few seconds, it was relatively silent, despite the sound of the water slowly swishing about, and the sound of Applejack breathing a bit more raggedly than before.

"... Do you still love me?"

Applejack didn't react right away to the question. She continued looking back and forth into each of your eyes. Left, then right, and repeat. Her mouth was slightly open, but no words came out for a short period. Her eyes blinked fast and every now and again.

Another wave of silence fell beneath the two of you, but it was short. She wasted no time to say.

"... Yes."

You performed the same technique on her, your eyes darting from one of her eyes to the other, repeating again and again. Your mouth was slightly open, like hers, but nothing came from it but your breath.

For what must have been twenty seconds passing, you and Applejack stood there, in the water at the edge of the pool, staring into each other's eyes for what must have felt like an eternity, seeming to know everything about the other pony just by looking through their eyes, like they were a book. Water dripped from your mane, as did hers, each drop making a little splash on the water below.

Your bodies at this point were touching beneath the surface, your chests barely. Very slowly, you found one of your hooves making contact with her own. With proper care, you held her hoof in yours, and you took in the feeling of it. The fur, the warmth, the flesh of it, how real it felt. But never did you take your eyes off hers. Like glue, they were stuck together, looking at each other endlessly.

Then slowly, as if it was your primal instinct, your lips touched hers, closing that short gap in between. Almost immediately, the taste of apples filled your taste-buds. It was a bit of a surprise; you didn't expect somepony like Applejack to wear lipstick. But honestly, it was hardly noticeable.

As your lips touched and slid with hers, Applejack gently and carefully lifted her forelegs and wrapped them with care around you, seeming to pull you in closer, wanting more of you, wanting to hold you tightly and never let you go.

In your head, it was nothing but cheesy thoughts, but put into action, it was a different story. 

Your lips within moments were sloppily pressing against hers in a lazy fashion, but she didn't seem to mind it much. Her grip on you became weak, possibly from pleasure, and she quickly resorted to rubbing her hooves in all directions, like a lazy massage, which honestly felt quite pleasurable. Your chests were pressed tightly together, but it caused no trouble to breathe.

For a good minute, you kissed---and halfway, Applejack held your hoof again with her own, gripping it tighter than before, while the other one was trying to regain its grip around your body. At this point, you were as close to Applejack as you, or anypony else, could possibly be.

Soon enough, your tongue found its way into her mouth, and hers into yours, and this seemed to drive her wild, causing her to moan with somewhat pleasure. It was the first time in your life you heard her moan, and you honestly liked-... no... you loved it.

Half a minute finds your tongue dancing with Applejack's tongue, twisting and twirling about, and it brought pleasure in your and the poor mare. You had no idea that the tongue could be this sensitive, but you couldn't complain.

Who would?

Applejack leaned her torso backward a bit, and this made you go forward, so your moment of inner dancing would not end now. Her hoof on your body went lower, and with the will she had, she pulled you closer to her.

With a moan from the both of you, you felt a warmth beneath the cool water.

And with that moan came a growl from the country mare, and for a moment, you pulled your lips away from hers, to your sadness, and when you looked at her, she pulled you right back to her, your face once more against hers.

With the strength you had to muster, you lifted Applejack into your arms and laid her upon the blowup mattress, careful not to knock her into the water. With a boost of your wings, you hovered over the mattress for just a moment, then fell onto her body. Her legs gripped you in place.

She wanted you. And at that same moment, you really wanted her too.

Who were you to say no?







An hour passed, and by the end of it, the two of you were exhausted, laying on the dirtied mattress and trying not to fall asleep. Holding each other, you find yourselves looking up at the ceiling, slowly rotating and moving about as the mattress flowed with the water.

The two of you wanted this to last forever.

But sadly, it wasn't to be the case. The others were going to come looking for you, and neither of you wanted them to find out what in Equestria you just did.

...Well..not just yet, of course.

Or never. Maybe...never.

The two of you only laid on the mattress for ten minutes before you both decided it was time to head back. Getting in the water to rinse yourself off, you deflated the mattress, grabbed your player and placed it on the poolside. Rinsing the mattress off in the water, you properly fold it back up and return it to the pool closet.

The next couple of minutes consisted of the two of you drying off with some towels and making yourselves look proper, seeming to act as if what you had just done never happened to begin with.

Eventually, the silence was becoming awkward, leading to Applejack beginning some small talk.

"Well... it's a good thing this pool's got a filtration system, right?"

She seemed to chuckle at her own question, and so did you. You were lucky the water would filter itself. The last thing you would want is for the others, or anypony, to end up swimming in your own essence.

Gross.

A few more seconds of silence passed, and before you knew it, Applejack was asking another question.

"So, Ah hear there's a fashion show comin' up tomorrow at the mall."

You take a look towards Applejack with a face of confusion, but her own face was showing that, seeming to ask herself, "Why in the heck did I just say that?"

Drying off your mane, you say, "That sounds more like a Rarity thing than a you thing."

"... Ah know."

You didn't deny it; it was very awkward right now.

Within a couple of minutes, the two of you were clean and dry. Putting the dirty towels in the poolside hamper, you begin to make your way to the door, somewhat in a hurry as to get out of this room, hopefully to put the awkwardness behind you for now.

But before you reached the door handle, Applejack stopped you, and you had no choice but to turn around. She held that familiar look of concern on her face.





"Hey... uh... about... what we did..."

For a moment or two, she looked down towards the ground, but then she turned her eyes back up to stare once more into yours.

However, you decided to answer for her. Mimicking closing your mouth as a zipper, you spoke, "Not a word," smiling with assurance.

"No, that ain't... what Ah meant."

Rather than correct her or try to stop her---that would just be rude---you let her go on.

"What about... Y'know...? Rainbow Dash?"

You don't know why, but you had completely forgotten about her, at some point, even forgot she was on this trip. However, you were somewhat unsure what she meant, so you asked by it.

"Ah mean... do you... do you still love... her?"

The question shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, but it did nevertheless, and you were afraid to even answer. You didn't want to hurt Applejack's feelings or make her feel negative towards you.

However, she put a hoof on your shoulder and said, "It's okay, sugar-cube. Ah won't get angry if you do."

It did give you some relief, but you were still somewhat wary about answering the question.

Eventually, you did find the right words.

"... No."

Applejack recoiled, taking a step back, though she didn't seem to realize it. She was expecting you to say yes—and honestly, a part of you wanted to say it.

But why?

"I'd been after her for so long, I... I guess I just wanted to believe something would happen if I waited... if I was patient and just did whatever was right in her eyes." You found yourself looking back at the pool. "Then her birthday happened. And between the gossiping and the stigma... I was thinking about it."

You sucked in the air in your cheek, eyeing Applejack once more. You sighed through your nose.

"You were right. What you said before we left. About her looking out for herself. She's not gonna change for me, and it's pretty clear I can't change enough for her. Why bother chasing something that doesn't want to be chased?"

You hadn't realized until she moved that you had rested a hoof on her shoulder. Her muscles were tense, yet calm all the same. Her eyes, looking up at you, reflected your own thoughts and emotions, and at the same time, didn't fail to give her own.

She wanted to be happy for you, but...

"Ah'm sorry, sugar-cube," Applejack broke the silence. "Ah know it ain't easy having to give up."

You returned a sad smile to AJ. But you kicked yourself all the same. The feelings were out now, no doubt, but it only took this long to notice them.

You hated it, this feeling, but it was more than too late to take it back.

"I always knew. About you. At least somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew."

"... Really?"

You nodded. "I know that I never admitted it back then, but I... I always felt something for you too. Even if it was small, I felt it. I just couldn't say anything because... I... couldn't be sure."

Applejack dipped her head, disappointed not in you, but in herself, and at the same time, it was like looking in a mirror. Both of you wanted to say something, and yet, both of you were to scared to tell the other. It wasn't an uncommon happening, but it was never a good one. How many opportunities were lost because you didn't speak up? Because she didn't speak up?

"So... what now?" Applejack questioned. "What do you want now?"

You hadn't thought about it as much as you wished you had.

"I mean... do you want to... ? I mean, are you okay with... us?"

Even if you didn't know how to process the question, Applejack knew what you meant by it.

"Ah guess Ah still need some time to think. Ah do love you, but... but Ah don't wanna rush us into anything if one of us isn't okay with it. And Ah don't wanna push anything onto you just because you feel the same way, either. Ah hope you understand, sugar-cube."

Her eyes were sad. She wanted to say something different, something more, but she knew deep down that it was what she believed. You rested a hoof on her cheek and kissed the other. She moved her head with yours, but refrained from making the kiss anything more than compassionate.

"I do. We both need time to think. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Applejack smiled in kind. The two of you said nothing to each other, only looking into the other's eyes for a moment. You couldn't help but laugh silently in embarassment soon after, to which she giggled with you. She sniffled and tried to wipe the tears off her face, but never did she take her eyes off yours.

"C'mon," Applejack motioned, "before they get too worried."

You made sure the two of you looked as decent as could be, before finally making your way back, and leaving the past behind you.

For now, at least. You weren't looking forward to the day it'd creep back up on you.