and most Earth-Ponies having an opposition through outright abhorrence of magic being mixed with nature, the prior two were the only real option for most.

Wut?

Literally everything we've seen in canon shows the exact opposite. They love using magic and other such things to determine natural things, such as time, weather, seasons, etc. Heck, they have an enormous fear of the Everfree Forest because it's completely natural. You'll remember that, when telling the reasons why the place was so feared, the first things they mentioned was how the weather, plants, feeding of animals, etc., all were uncontrolled.

The thing mentioned above makes absolutely no sense. This is really why I wish stories like this wouldn't use things like heat or other such ridiculous things as an excuse, because they never make sense. Just have Applejack want to date him because, surprise, she is interested in him and wants to try. Using some all controlling thing like "heat" just makes it overly complicated and makes it harder to suspend disbelief.

Clyde is just one big doubter, ain't he?

I like it so far and can't wait to see more.