> She was there all along > by Thunder Light > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****A Year Earlier**** “So this is it.” “I guess so,” you were standing with a girl, holding hands at the airport gate as passengers are began lining up behind the counter to be boarding the plane. You knew what was coming, your girlfriend, Katie, who you have known for a while was about to leave you forever as the final boarding call was made for the remaining passengers. As long as there’s people waiting to have their boarding pass scan, the two of you took the opportunity to spend the last moment as possible. Everything you have done with Katie was about to become memories for good but you hope one day you will see her again. After all the things you did together was soon to be no longer possible as your girlfriend decided to move back to her hometown in another state which you could have convinced her to stay, but you instead support her decision for her to go. “I miss you,” she said in a charming way. “Me too,” you said. “Final Boarding Call for Flight EQ 234, please make your way to gate 23 immediately.” “Well, I suppose this is goodbye then,” you said in a sad tone as you knew that she has to go regardless. “I text you when I get there.” There wasn’t much time left as you give your girlfriend one last hug that last for a moment. Before she breaks the hug and waves you goodbye as she goes to the desk and the flight attendant scan her boarding pass and continues walking to board the plane. Luckily the gate was mostly made out of glass so you were able to see her making her way to the gate. The two continue to wave to each other as she boards the plane and out of sight. ****Present Time**** BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP *Clicks* You turn off the alarm as you give your arms a stretch and you hop out of bed and walk down the stairs after finishing your morning routine. Your living room was more open spaced out with a blue fabric couch by the large window, a glass coffee table in front and a TV between the wooden shelves on the holding your books, music and all kinds of stuff. A stone fireplace on one side between the couch and the TV and wooden floors so give it a comforting look. You’re currently living on your own instead of attending boarding school thanks to the money you saved up from working on various tasks but you still currently attending high school. But however it's enough to keep you afloat for now, but the downside is that you couldn’t afford a car due to the cost of maintaining it and you cannot afford, but as long as you got the things you need, you don't need to worry about financial problem. Because of that, you have to either walk or catch a bus to school almost everyday. Since it's the Summer Break, you decide work on finishing your model aircraft carrier you built since spring break. There were already a lot of planes in place, but you didn't glue them on as you try to put the bomb truck in place carefully without knocking the bridge over. Just then the phone alarm went off so loud that you accidentally move your hand and end up knocking the whole model down to the floor with planes and the bridge parts end up flying like fragments from a grenade. “Oh come on I spend a whole two month working on that!” you spoke in annoyances. You go and pick up your phone from the coffee table and shut the alarm off and read what it said. “At least I'm not in the bomb squad otherwise I wouldn't be here” you mumbled. June 31st Surprise Katie by visiting her unexpectedly But nonetheless, there’s two problems, one you don't have a car and two, there's no airport nearby where she lives that has any flights at all for the public. You go back and pick up all the mess you made accidentally and you go back on your phone and read some random articles on the internet about planes instead of planning. But your phone rings as you just exited the app in which at least you weren't doing anything that require total concentration. “Hey, what's up AJ.” “Nothing much, but I was wondering if you wanna hang out today since already finished collecting apples for now.” “Well, there's nothing much we can do for now, but do you have any ideas?” “Applejack, can you do the rest of the fields for Big Mac, he will do the whole field tomorrow if you do it?” another voice is heard in the background. “All well, I can come over and help if you want, I got nothing today.” “Thanks sugarcube, I'm glad to have a friend like you.” “Did you just called me sugarcube?” “Well…? “Applejack can you do this for me please?” another voice said. “Let's talk later, I see you there.” Applejack has been one of your best friends since high school, you both first met in homeroom as you were doing a group activity in class. Since then, you hang out with her, but however, you started to hang out with your current girlfriend after she asks you out months after meeting Applejack. You would a help Applejack out at the farm with the harvest and you would study together, but however your girlfriend didn’t mind you hanging out with your best friend at the same time. Luckily, the Apple Farm isn't too far from where you lived so you decide it's a nice day to ride your dirt bike out (not the motor type) as it’s fast enough to handle off and on road type of condition. You head into your garage, which is pretty open space without a car and nothing else except tools and gears for travelling or to fix your house. You grab your bike sitting lonely on a bike rack wall and strap on your helmet and you open the garage door manually and then close it as it didn’t have the automatic systems installed when you moved in. You head out and onto the road toward the bike path that lead to the outskirt of the city. ************ “Took you long enough,” Applejack yelled as you placed your bike on the ground by the fence and walk towards while catching your breath from riding too fast than usual. “Well, I still don’t have a car yet you know.” “So you're gonna help me or just stand there watching after you came all this way?” said Applejack. “Alright, which ones I’m doing?” “I already started the first quarter of the field so can you help do the other side of the field I’m at?” “All well, more walking for me,” you sigh as you walk to the far end and start to pick apple using the nearby ladder. ************* The two of you are at the final row and at your final tree as Applejack is harvesting the one opposite to you. “Got any plans for the holidays?” Applejack said. “Well, I'm planning to visit my girlfriend, but I have no way of getting there as the only way is by car,” you spoke while picking and placing them in your apple bag. “How far?” “Let say she lived so far, enough from any city that you can't get there close enough by plane or even any other transport apart from driving all the way there.” “Then why she left at the airport last year, there's no point in travelling by plane if she lives that far and travel by car again?” “Honestly, I have no clue why?” you finish the last group of apple and you climb down the ladder to place them in the apple tub. You take a break as you grab a water bottle you always place on your bike before leaving. “Are we gonna do this again this summer?” “Depends, we got some people coming in to help us harvest, so maybe not the same amount of workload as you did today, despite that suddenly no one is showing up to work except me and Big Mac.” You sit by the fence looking toward the sky and wait for Applejack to finish her work while you come up with a plan on getting to the place you planned to go soon as you think of something. Applejack then later sits next to you after finishing her work and you both sit in silence until Applejack spoke again. “So got anything to do other than travelling?” “Nope, you?” “Got nothing, except going back to work while I can since Big Mac and I are the only one in the family who can keep us afloat.” “Mind I come along with you?” Applejack looks at you with hope, but your thought for moment, it could be a good idea to some company plus it great to have someone there for you. “Well, I can see why not, since you know the way there right?” “I do know part of the way to be honest up to where my cousin live though what about you?” You had to think of something quick as you were still struggling to either ask a friend or rent a car while having to give up buying takeaway for awhile. But then you had to choose avoiding asking for help but however you had to be honest as your best friend can detect a single lie you make. “I don’t know exactly, but maybe renting a car and getting there,” you respond nervously, but however Applejack gives you a suspicious look and you can already tell that she knows you're hiding something but at least you weren’t sweating otherwise it would give it away. “I can tell you're avoiding asking for help, you know you have friends that can help you plus, renting a car is really expensive and you wouldn’t be able to handle the cost.” Applejack was right, renting a car was too expensive for you to handle in the long run as you also need to make sure the fuel tank is full when you give it back. “You're really good at this aren’t you?” “Yep, there’s no way you can get out of this one, but perhaps I can help.” “By using your car to get there.” “Yep, otherwise how are we getting there,” Applejack and you laugh lightly. You both sit in silent once again as the sun slowly begin to set in the horizon and you knew that you need to get back home before it’s get too dark to ride home. “Well, I better get going, it’s getting pretty late.” “So when we’re going?” Applejack asks as she is getting up and you do the same. “Tomorrow, since you do have a day off, but we’re not gonna make it in one day though” “I think I’m allowed to have a few more days off, but sure since I got nothing to do tomorrow, plus my other friends are currently busy on something.” “Cool, what time should we go?” “How long is this trip?” “Over 13 hours plus back for another 13 hours” Applejack then suddenly froze for a bit, but then got brought back to reality from you waving your hand in front of her as this was what she wasn’t expecting to be that long, but however it would take 3 days to get there and back with breaks along the way. “Are you ok?” “Yes, I’m fine, how about early as possible, about 6am.” “No problem, I guess.” “Yep, I come by tomorrow, see you then.” “Yeah, I see you.” Unfortunately, to wake up early is to go to sleep early so that you can be awake in the morning without the sleep problem to worry later on. You grab your bike and head home as the sky slowly to get darker, but there’s enough light for you to see as you turn into your driveway. You unlock the house door after placing the bike back to and you make your own dinner early before heading straight to bed. As you were about to sleep, you couldn't help but to think about Applejack and the way she was today, was she willing to go with you or is she just doing what would best friends do? And then later you thought about your girlfriend about the past, “Is she truly the one or there’s something missing between us?” you question yourself until you fell to sleep. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You were packing some spare clothes, tools and some gears with a map and a torch in your camping backpack as this wasn’t meant to be a holiday in the first place. You also brought some extra battery and water bottle in case of emergency, especially travelling very far. Already you were sitting on your couch waiting for your best friend to arrive as the clock shows its 5:50am on your phone. To past the time, you decide to watch the early morning news as there wasn’t anything else interesting to watch at this hour. “Breaking news, a wanted fugitive has recently been on the run from police for shooting a police car and he has been mugging unsuspecting victims. He also manages to steal someone Lamborghini from a person's garage.” You fixed to the screen as the person wanted was actually the same age as you and was doing crimes you wouldn't expect a teen would do something and you question yourself on how would he steal a Lamborghini in someone's garage. BEEP BEEP You jumped as the horn was louder than you thought, you turn off the TV not knowing the name of the person and you grab your backpack and head outside as you lock your home door. The car you were going in was the one the 4x4 off-roader that's mainly used for camping trips or especially farm work, you can already tell that it has been recently used a lot due to the dirt and mud marks left all over the place. “Isn’t this Big Mac car?” you ask curiously. “Nope, he allowed me to use it unless he uses mine instead.” You open the trunk and start placing your belonging inside beside Applejack’s then closing it and you sit beside Applejack as she was busy looking at the map to notice you coming in. “Ok, let’s go.” “Hold on, I need to plan first before we’re gonna get lost a few times” you wait patiently as you lean back in your seat. Until you notice something odd in the rear view mirror, there's a man wearing a black hoodie with his hands inside his pockets oddly walking towards your direction. “Applejack you might wanna look behind you,” she looks at her rear mirror and see the man as well, but however he's starting to run towards the car. You start to see him fiddling about in his pockets for something. “Shoot, better go quick, I think he wants my car!” Without warning the man started running with a gun out pointing at you as Applejack put her foot to the metal and the car end up speeding off dangerously as the man fires shots at the car rears and even nearly hitting one of the tires. You were holding onto your seat as Applejack drove as fast as she can and makes a sudden right towards the freeway as quick as possible, ignoring the road rules as you feel your life was a danger as your heart was beating at a really high rate. The man was now out of sight, but Applejack continues to speed up until slowing down after making a turn on a ramp into the traffic on the freeway as it was the beginning of morning rush hour. “Who was that guy?” you ask while still be shaken by the event that had occurred in seconds. “I have no clue who he was but why would he shoot at me, but I think it could be related to job unless...he” You can already tell what she was about to say as you know there weren't any other farmers at the time which you start to get more nervous thinking about it. “I think I know,” you look a Applejack as she turns her head at you but still keep an eye on the road. “Should we warn your family?” “They know already and he’s not after the farm workers or my family,” Applejack starts to look down. ******** After a few moments of silence and some chats along the way discussing on all sorts of thing you and Applejack did together. You and Applejack arrives in a small town just an hour outside the city and Applejack decided to drive into a gas station and park next to the café which was unusually next to a place you wouldn’t wanna be. There weren’t many people around except cars being filled up nearby and the place was quieter than you expect. “I go check the damages to our car while you can go in and get some breakfast for us both.” “Sure, any request on what you want.” “Just some pancakes would be enough” You walk off and go into the café which the interior was completely wild west theme with wooden chairs and tables laying in on a straight line. You see almost everything in here is made out of wood and the lighting was barely around, only a few classic light bulbs were on but enough for you to see around. You see, no one around except a waitress who just came out of the kitchen after she notice you standing there oddly looking at the place. “Can I help you?” You walk towards the counter and look at the menu place on another wooden board and you scan down looking for pancakes until you see the price was reasonable but not too expensive as you expect. “Yeah, I would like to order two stacks of pancakes please,” she takes your order and you sit down by one of the tables nearby. “It will be a moment,” the waitress goes back in the kitchen. Applejack walks in a few moments later and sits opposite you as you were admiring the view outside. “No tires blown and nothing to worry about, but at least we're on our way there now.” “So we're gonna take a break at the next town and refuel the car and have lunch and keep going then?” “Yeah, but I’m not gonna drive the whole way as it is a very long trip, you know,” said Applejack. Luckily you already had a driver license for a while, even you had no car, but it doesn’t mean you don’t learn to drive in case something like this happen to come up. “What about that man again, should we contact the police already,” you spoke as the thought of the man comes up in your head. “I already have and they will be keeping an eye out for him.” Just a few moments later, pancakes start to arrive in stacks of 3 with maple syrup and butter block place on top as it's dripping down the stacks. You both start eating peacefully as you both enjoy the moment of the quietness and the taste of the pancakes. “These pancakes are really good,” you say as you finish the second pancake. “Quite amazing, well we better get going we got another 12 hours to go,” Applejack said. After finishing your last pancake, you and Applejack hop back in your car and the two of you were off again back on the interstate freeway. You decide to turn on the radio as boredom hits you again, as you tune slowly for some good music Applejack spoke. “I know a good channel to listen to,” you move your hand as Applejack turn the knob to her favourite radio channel playing country music which sound really nice to listen especially while driving. “Now that’s one of my favourites,” Applejack spoke in a cheerful tone. Then soon later Applejack starts to sing along to the music that was coming out of the radio and soon later you join in even not knowing the song you were listening to. You both continue to sing as you admire the view outside as the car continue to travel along the road pasting by farms and rolling hills goes by with the scene being beautiful to admire as the mountain you can see in the background was pretty as it was on the pictures you seen before when you're in photography class. “So... why did you want to come along?” you ask “Well, I just wanna repay you after you help me back at the farm plus you don’t much ways of getting there as you don’t have a car, so I’m repaying you the favour by coming along to help you get to your girlfriend's place.” “It’s gonna be a long trip you know,” you smirked “All well, let’s hope it's worth it after all this travelling,” Applejack chuckles. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Applejack was busy filling up the car at a local gas station, you were busy texting on your phone to notice a brown ute coming with young boys wearing country clothing in different coloured checkers such as red, brown, blue, green and maroon. All of them are wearing a brown hat that matches their brown vest and you also notice that they’re about the same age as you and Applejack. You were still busy texting as Applejack goes inside to pay for the gas and buy some more supplies for the trip, you were paying attention to the chatter to the ute next to you as your window was all the way down. “Hey, you there,” one of them shouted and you turn and face the ute. “Yes?” “Your Applejack’s best friend right?” “Yes, how did you know?” you replied. “We both met at her cousin's farm one time during the family reunion while I was working at the farm. And she has been talking about you lately, or I could say a lot about you while we're both harvesting last year.” Really, but I have a girlfriend already,” you spoke. “What you're not a couple, I thought that you two would be great together.” “Yeah, but we're just best friends for now but wow, I didn't know she would talk about me so much.” A silence fell between you apart from the other farmers chatting in the back of the trucks until you spoke again. “By the way, you know my name, but what's yours?” “The name, Decko and the boys at the back are my co-workers, which they’re always, or most of the times, making me do all the work while they just lodge around.” “Why would you do all their work?” Decko look behind to see if they're still talking before leaning over his window to speak softly, “These guys are part of a notorious gang around here and you wouldn't wanna mess with so I suggest you better not talk about it for now.” You nod as you look at the “gang” still chatting and messing about on the truck to notice you two talking until suddenly they all gone silent and look at you with a serious look on their face until for a few moments they're all laughing and you were relieved that it was just a joke to knock you off. “Got ya, you think I was serious, aren't I?” Decko laughs and the other farmers laugh until you join in. “Compare what happen today, I think I rather take a break from all this,” you lean back in your seat to see Applejack walking out the store with a bag of goods. “I see that you met my friend there,” she smirked. “They're nice, but seriously though,” Decko return to his serious look again, “A gang of farmers recently came to town and what I heard aren't pretty.” “A gang of farmers?” Applejack said. “Yeah, what I heard they're like big bullies who just show up and beats up a random victim, especially if they're weaker or look very different to them,” Decko said. “Can't this trip get any more dangerous and exciting at the same time,” you groan being frustrating at hearing the news. “What does he mean?” Decko asked. “Some guy this morning tried to jack our car while we're inside,” Applejack respond. “Hmm, well you might have to turn around and go the other way unless you wanna face the new ‘gang’ in town,” Decko spoke. “Do they have a name though, instead of the word gang, seriously, who wants a gang of farmers running around without a name to make it cooler and making them look tougher?” you asked. “You shouldn't question that unless you wanna mess with them, plus I don’t know who they are but you see.” Decko said. “I think there's not a problem about it, I'm sure we can handle it ourselves if we see these guys,” Applejack spoke with confidence as she leans against the petrol stand. “Alright, suit yourself, but give us a call if you need anything,” suddenly all the other farmers turn and looks at Decko with a serious look on their faces. “You can't be serious Decko, remember what happen to that other guy, he wrecks us if we mess with them,” said the boy wearing a blue checkered shirt with a brown vest. “I remember he ended up face down in mud when they came here,” said the one with the green vest. You became puzzled to what you heard today and you're already thinking that it was a really bad idea to pick the day when so many shenanigans going on. Could this get any worse, like one of those action movies you have seen as a kid, or will it goes more smoothly as you hope in the first place? You got here this far with Applejack and she may wouldn't be happy about turning back after travelling all this way. “Yeah, don’t worry, we can take them,” Decko they whisper to you, “Try to avoid them, please, we don’t wanna have any injured farmers this year.” You took the warning as being serious, but you kept your cool and remain calm as Applejack hops in and start the engine. “Take care Decko, you wouldn’t want the same thing as last year,” Applejack teased. “Don’t mention about it as I had enough of thinking about it,” Decko gives her a look of annoyance. The two of you wave goodbye to Decko as he continues to wait for his comrade fill the out. But silence returns until you then got curious about what Applejack said about the “thing” last year as you watch the scenery outside. “What was about the thing you're talking about?” you ask curiously. “Hmm, what, oh yeah that thing was back at the farm was just an embarrassing thing he did on accident, but he doesn’t like anyone talking about it as he want to keep it cool, for now.” “What did he do?” you asked. “I might wouldn’t wanna talk about it as he would get mad about it and then he would go in “rage” mode, which is pretty crazy but don’t worry he doesn’t do that to his friends. Also we got another about 2 more hours till the next small town unless you wanna stop by the town nearby and mess with those guys.” “I can wait, but remember to not go to that place Decko told us when we get back.” “Well, then enjoy the long ride,” she chuckled. 2 Hours Later During the trip, more silence came by and go as you and Applejack continue talking about school and her family related things. As Applebloom continue to help other kids with the problems with her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and Big Mac finally found his special someone back at home. “So you weren’t really there?” “Yeah, I was at home sick, but how do you two get along after all this?” You didn’t know about winning the sporting carnival and even winning a few first place prizes despite always competing with Rainbow Dash, despite some tough competition, but unfortunately Katie comes out on top against two of your best friends combined strength and agility. But in the end, you always know that they’re both great friends regardless of who will win or lose as they both compete for fun. “We’re both best friends and it doesn’t matter anyway as we’re just doing for the fun, plus I did manage to win some ribbons, especially against Rainbow Dash but boy, it was that close as she was right next me but she and I almost trip that time on the last few laps of the running event. But didn’t win a couple of events as well, sadly but at least Rainbow and I did have fun and we manage to grab a few ribbons, but you should have seen Katie. One time we both got beaten by Katie like she was really mad about winning and she somehow manage to beat the both of us.” “Wow is Katie that tough to beat?” you we’re surprised at the things happening while you were at home missing out the action happening on the day. “She is a tough one as we couldn’t believe she has the strength of Rainbow and I together, but she didn’t even compete in the first year like she was really confident of winning.” You also talked about more of your personal life and more about Katie on how you two met and then started hanging out more often and the dates the two of you have been on. At least the two of you finally made it to a small country town off the highway, but however the two of you had to travel another half an hour to get there making the trip more stressful and tiring. “Here we are,” Applejack spoke. As you look around you can see the town being at its peaceful moment as there weren’t much movement except cars travelling about. And there’s only one street with stores and houses while there's are farms and open fields surrounds the town giving the place a nice place to relax and enjoy the scenery. “Hmm, pretty quiet around here,” you spoke. “This is a really rather small town, but it's the only one for miles.” “All well, at least we can take a break and stretch our legs while we're here,” you lean back on your seat. “It’s gonna get late soon so we better book a hotel here as I can go on any much further unless you want to drive the next few hours into the night.” “Yeah, great idea, but wanna get something to eat again?” “Sure.” “At least we get there by tomorrow, right?” “Sorry, but the hotel is closing down due to low numbers of customers,” the man behind the counter said. “All well, guess we go camping then,” you replied “There’s a camping site, but it's pretty fair about an hour here,” he said. “Well, guess I will have to drive us there,” you looked at Applejack and she turns to look at you. The two of you leave the hotel and walk back to your car, and you were disappointed that you two had to take another hour of driving to get to the nearest campsite despite that there’s a lot of farms nearby taking up the spot and there was a small gap on the map which shows the campsite sitting on a field with overlooking views. “Seem like a good place to camp out but I’m gonna take the passenger seat this time as I already driven us this far,” Applejack said. “At least I had my driver licence in case of this happen even though I don’t have a car but it doesn’t mean that I can’t learn to drive.” “You brought a tent right?” Applejack spoke. “Yeah but you didn’t bring one?” you spoke in a surprise tone as you look at Applejack. “Who knew that we’re gonna be camping on this trip but don’t worry, I already have a tent in the car in case of an emergency especially when I’m travelling to different farms.” You hop into the driver seat and you were adjusting the seat and mirrors to fit your condition to drive comfortably as Applejack gets on her seat and looks at you worriedly. “You have driven before recently right?” “Nope, not since I had my license,” you turn on the car keys and you switch the gear into reverse as you look behind to check for anything behind of you. Until you heard a pop sound and the car suddenly stop and lean to one side slowly and you look at Applejack giving her your nervous smile and she looks at you unimpressed and she shakes her head slowly crossed arms. Until she points you to the gear that was meant for parking. “Whoops.” At least it can’t be bad for you right? > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well bad news buddy, this will take a few days to fix as I don't have all the parts for this one," the mechanic continue to inspect your best friend's car as Applejack continue to look at you unimpressed of the mess you have created for her. "What are we supposed to do by then?" you ask. "Since you have no way of getting anyway, I guess you could either stay at a nearby camp til the car is fixed or buy another car in town. I know a friend of mine is selling his after he got a brand new 4x4 during the holiday. I don't know why would he buy one of those expensive one out there, but at least you can buy his car if you want to get to where ya need to be," he put his tools down before sliding back out to give you his friend car ad. "I know it's similar to your friend's car here, but you can still buy it and then sell it later when you're done with it. Also, since you're just a student, I can give you a discount on the repair but it's gonna be pricey." "How much exactly?" Applejack asks as she leaned against a nearby wall. The mechanic handed you the bill and you just look away instantly after seeing the consequences of not taking extra driving lessons. It was bad enough to not want to look at it, but luckily you didn’t break too many expensive parts. “Also include the shipping cost, but hey, how bad can this be?” he chuckled and you rolled your eyes as you really don’t have much of a choice as if there was going to be more than one mechanic in this town. "Well, I guess we buy a new car for you then,” Applejack smirked. You sigh at the idea and you grab out your phone to call the number on the ad. The two of you later arrived at the address given to you as you stand in front of a brown unpainted barn. As you continue to stare at the door blankly, a farmer with blue jacket and blue matching jeans and a cream colored hat with a brown band walks towards you. “I’m guessing you're here to buy my car?” he greets you with a hat tip while you wave back. “Yes, we have, do you still have it?” you asked. “Yeah, it's behind this door you're looking at right now.” he walks over and pull out both doors to reveal a 4x4 maroon SUV sitting in the barn with a shining bull bar in good condition. The two of you look at the car in front, but the mechanic weren’t kidding, it’s almost the exact same model but it's one of the older models. The only difference is that it has a lot of scratches, paints being peeled off the front bonnet, a minor dent in the front driver door and having some mud stain on the car as it has been used for farming for years by the looks of it. The interior still remained in good condition as the seating remains clean and you were surprised that the floor wasn’t messy as you expect with just a few stains here and there. The rear view mirror, but it has a minor crack in it, but not big enough to screw the view. The engine was a 3.0L with 6 transmission manual, but the gearbox seems to be too worn out after heavy uses and really need a replacement as you can tell it’s starting to show some rust. Not much feature as there was only a radio and climate control included which was a little disappointing. The overall price of the car is pretty cheap for you as the car's value has been dropping despite all the negatives rather than the positive, but it will have to do for the time being as you could use it until you get a new car. “Well, looks like it will do for the time being,” you spoke. “I hope you aren’t gonna break this one or we're gonna be stuck in the middle of who knows what,” Applejack spoke in a serious tone. You filled out the paperwork the farmer gives to you which includes the handover of registration as you were lucky enough to have a month of registration left enough for the time being. “How long until I can drive this?” you asked. “By tomorrow, I need to hand this into the authority to get it updated in their database, otherwise my name would still be on your car now, and I wouldn’t want ya to be in any more trouble, don’t we?” he spoke with a country accent. “I guess we go camping in the meantime,” you spoke as you look at Applejack but you then start to realise how beautiful she is as the sun touches her golden hair as she sway back and forth. You shook off the thought as you knew you had to avoid getting distracted by the time you see Kate. You and Applejack grab your things and travelled on foot for another half an hour to the campsite with barely any light remaining, but the sight continues to remain beautiful as it is with the sunlight touching the grass giving it golden glows as the wind makes them sway through back and forth. “Sorry about the car, if I told you about my driving test we wouldn’t have to walk this far,” you said after a moment of silence. “Well it's alright, as long as it's fixed, then there's nothing wrong about it. We all make mistakes from time to time. But I’m curious how did you even passed the driving test,” she looks at you. “You wouldn’t wanna know the whole thing, but I somehow keep making one mistake each time until I was lucky enough to past barely and yes the parking brake was one of them while I was doing the driving test. Even though my skills are perfect for driving, I only just past because of remembering everything and done it perfectly despite I keep forgetting to do one thing each time, ” you look back at Applejack. “Well, as Twilight always says, practice makes perfect, you just have to keep doing and doing it again until eventually you get the hang of it,” Applejack smiles at you but then looks away. A moment of silence return for a moment as the two of you keep walking as the campsite slowly appears into view, but you can’t help but notice that Applejack was looking at you for a bit then turns back with a concerned look on her face. Eventually, you two arrived at your destination. This campsite was oddly quiet today with barely anyone around except a  tent with 2 small one nearby with a campfire that was already being used earlier. While no one else was around, you see a nice looking spot by a tree on top of a nice smooth hill with a view of and a flat dirt area designed to be a camp zone. Small rocks surround its boundary and trees provide the area with some nice shades to accompany the peaceful site as the sunlight shines through the branches and leaves with barely any wind to disturb its moment. Wanna camp over there?” you pointed towards the area. “Yeah, sure, I guess,” Applejack spoke, but however not being her happy self for some reason. ****** After finally setting yours and Applejack's tent “correctly” despite failing a few or so times, you look to see Applejack sitting all alone by the tree looking out into the distance. You  walk over to her despite your tent began to slowly sink until its collapse almost completely again for the fourth time. But you didn’t care no less as you wanted to find out what  bothering her since the walk. You walk through the tunnel of trees along the dirt path right out to a small clearing of trees where Applejack was sitting and admiring the view. The view from where the two of you were amazing just like one of the paintings you made when you did art class. Mountains line up behind a barn house as it sits on a lonely hill, green fresh grass surrounds the background with rolling hills and fields of different kinds stands out. A small town can be seen from before in front of the line of mountains. Lights start to appear as the sun set slowly behind the mountain, but continue to shine bright giving a golden glow. You sit beside Applejack and doesn’t seem to notice you for a moment until you broke the silence. “Hey.” Applejack turn to look at you before a moment before letting out a sigh. “Hey” Applejack responds to you. “You seem to be down lately after all the drama we had with the car, is there something going on?” “It’s just something but I can’t tell you until...well, maybe it’s probably not that important." “Come on, it can’t be that bad isn’t it, but I’m guessing it's about school right?” you spoke. “Well, it’s just that..” you look at her and she looks at you and you can see the look on her face being more worried. “It’s just what?” She continues to look at you in the eye until she finally confess to you as she can no longer keep it to herself. “I like someone ok,” she then looks away from you. “Hmm, that’s ok, there’s nothing wrong about liking someone, but is he already taken?” you relax and lean against the tree next to Applejack. “Yes, I was hoping to tell him how I felt last year, but he was already taken by some girl who is popular. I never liked her anyway, after what she did to everyone else. She just talks about this boy a little too much like she just does it for popularity at school and I’m getting pretty sick looking at it. And I always admire him from afar, but I don’t think there would be any chance that he and I would get together,” Applejack looks down but then leans back next to you. “But hey, there’s plenty of guys out there right?” “Yeah, there’s plenty of guys out there, but who are you looking for?” you put down a hat to cover part of your face. “Well, someone like you but…” Applejack then sit up and walks away while she winks at you. Then suddenly the hat you manage to took was gone and you look down to see that you are tied up and you can’t move at all as all your limbs are stuck in a bundle of ropes as you shake and wiggle around attempting to get out of your best friends sneaky move she done before. “That's what ya get for stealing my hat,” she chuckles as she continue to walk back to the campsite. “Someday I get her for that,” you mumbled. ******** You were lucky enough to get yourself out after many twists and turn along with many attempts and ideas you used, you had finally made it back to the campsite with the rope in your hand and you can see is that Applejack is busy making a fireplace and you see your tent all fixed up instead of a leaning pile of mess. You set the rope by her bag and come sit with her on a nearby log as she sees you out and gives you an innocent smile while you just shake your head and rolling your eyes as you done this before. “Can’t believe you managed to tie me up like that and leaving me alone in the woods,” you sit next to Applejack. “Well, next time don’t try to get sneaky with me,” Applejack laugh as you just continue to do the same thing. “Anyway, why you like someone like me before,” you ask and Applejack finally calms down after hearing your question and returns to her normal self. “Well you have good character and you always nice to people and being a great friend to hang out and you always have, always cared for me when I’m in trouble and…” you interrupted her. “Wait, a great friend?” you look at her puzzled. “... Nothing," she looks away for a moment, " but anyway, what’s for dinner?” “I suppose to make pumpkin soup, but thanks to you, I don’t think we have it until a little later.” “Hehe, sorry,” “That’s alright, I was only meant to cheer you up, but what I did was a little over the top,”  you then go back in your tent and unpack your camping gear. “I go get some more firewood,” she yelled. “Alright then,” you shouted back. While Applejack is busy collecting fire woods, you start setting up and you follow a book on basic camping since you weren’t good at surviving in the woods alone despite living in the city for most of your time before moving. You try to start a fire with a match, but it fails to create a flame until you read the label on the back, “Not design for outdoor use,” which make you annoyed a little and you refer back to the book. After having a little trouble starting a fire, you set a small pot over the fire and you start cutting up the pumpkins along with onion and garlic on your tray that you brought along just in case of this situation. You added your ingredients into the already hot water pot and you let it slowly cook as Applejack shows up with more firewoods. “May I ask, is Katie a bully?” she asked. “I don’t know and I wouldn’t even believe it as when she's near me, she always acts nice to other people and being more friendly,” you said. “Yeah, but have you heard any rumors at all about it?” “Nope, even if I heard all those rumors I wouldn’t even believe them until I see the truth,” you carefully watch the pot. Applejack sits next to you as the soup continues to slowly cook the mix and you stir the pot. Just then, your phone suddenly starts to ring from the tent. “I be right back,” you said as you rush to your tent and opening your backpack to find your phone ringing with a number on it. “Hello” “Hello, this is a call from the Littlewood police department, I would like to confirm about your registration of your new car after we receive it earlier today. Had you officially signed this document that was given to us?” You continue to talk on the phone while Applejack stares at you curiously until your reaction became a more worrying one. “Okay, your car is now officially yours, but I also got some bad news kid. The incident earlier was the guy who broke into your house last summer. Right now he’s currently the wanted man we have been the one we're looking for a while, unfortunately he got hold of your personal details and your best friend too as we just heard.” “So should I move back with my family or do something about it?” “It’s not that you got to worry about, it's your best friend Applejack you gotta worry about, he has your friend details and he somehow manages to hack your school's database. Is Applejack with you at the moment, sir?” You walk out the tent and you handed the phone to Applejack after briefly explaining the news. You then walk back and sit back and watch the soup simmers but you look back and see Applejack being more worried and walking back to her tent. Then your soup is ready to be served as you grab two bowls and you pour the soup into each of them as the smell of freshly made soup enters your nose and you enjoy every moment of it. But then, Applejack walks back towards you, but she then looks at you with the same expression you're having. “It’s someone from our school,” she said. “WHAT!” you exclaimed. “Apparently is that guy again, he just couldn’t get over the fact that I don’t like him in the first place and I’m not interested at all.” “So this guy who was shooting at us was…” “Yes, it was the same guy who had a crush on me since last year,” she sits down next to you and you pass the bowl of soup to her but she continues to look down at her bowl. “Can’t believe it was that guy from the news this morning,” you spoke as you eat your soup. “What did he do?” “Apparently he stole someone's car earlier, which was one of those fancy looking one that cost a fortune,” you said. “Way to handle a car and let someone easily stole it,” she said, “Also nice soup, I never had anything this good before made by someone else.” “Well it a simple recipe, nothing too hard to deal,” you speak confidently as you finish the last amount left. “So when was the last time you saw him?” “That guy,” she places her empty bowl down, “He came to me while I was hanging out with my best friends while you weren’t around.” “What did he do?” ***** “I didn’t know,” you thought about it, but couldn’t come up with a way to say it. “Yeah, he wasn’t a nice guy, but the other people I know are really friendly and nice to each other, but this guy, he just seems to be too interested or just doing was just to impress me,” Applejack explained. “And he just really just annoys me too much and I haven’t even liked him in the first place. “That must have been, awful for you to go through this,” you said. “Yeah, but I heard he has a new girlfriend now, but I don’t know who, only heard rumours about it. But he hadn’t been at school lately,” Applejack said, “Well, at least he’s gone and at least I can take a break from him for now.” “By the way, have you even consider asking him out yet?” you look at Applejack and you notice a faint shade of pink starting to appear and she looks away from you. “Well... I haven’t yet, but I will soon hopefully someday.” “You know, despite all this drama today, I kinda enjoy what happens today apart from the start,” you chuckled. “Really?” “Yeah, if I went alone, it would have been really boring and not much interesting and I’m glad that you came along,” you said and Applejack smiles from what you said. You both then look at each other, but you don’t pull away and neither does Applejack for a few moments but then you feel that you needed to get to sleep early. “Well, I’m gonna knock off for the night,” you stand up and walk towards your tent. “Alright, goodnight,” she said. “Goodnight Applejack,” you said as you close your tent. You grab your sleeping bag being in a black and neon orange, you roll your bag on top of your mat and you wriggle yourself in before you set your alarm then falling asleep peacefully. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *****(3 months earlier)***** Canterlot High was bustling with students as many recently finished class and many would to the cafeteria while some stay behind to grab things from their lockers. The line began to slowly get bigger and bigger as more and more students start pouring in while some are already finished grabbing their lunch and were waiting for their friends to arrive. Applejack was sitting at a table, alone as she already had finished lunch. Moments later, a teenage boy who has a very athletic and toned body, walks up to Applejack’s table and then suddenly sits next to her without even asking for permission, then he puts one arm around her neck making Applejack being more uncomfortable but she doesn’t look at him. “So what you're doing here all alone Applejack?” “Back off Zach,” she put his arm off her shoulder, but Zach continues to invade her personal space. “You like me don't you, I’m guessing you couldn’t resist my strength and the looks,” he shakes his hair dude to make it sway and start showing off his muscles while Applejack move away. Just then a rainbow haired girl approaches the table. “Back off Zach, don’t you have something better to do?” Zach looks at her and give her a grin before he stood up and moves away. Zach has been one of the elite sports team that compete in multiple events since the beginning. You would always try your best to avoid this person as much as possible and people wouldn’t even mess with him as he was one of the popular guys than are suppose to be nice and friendly. But Zach was different, he would always show off whatever he has to impress people. “You do know that there's isn't another guy handsome and rich as me,” he walks off to his band of jocks. “Thanks Rainbow,” Applejack said. “No problem, he wouldn't stand up against me after what happen yesterday,” Rainbow chuckled. “He hasn't given up on you,” she sits opposite Applejack. “Yeah, but I'm getting tired of him just doing it while I'm all alone,” said Applejack. “So that's why you want one of us to come along when he's around?” “Yeah, cause he just keeps giving me the look every time I'm alone or just being close  to me wherever I go,” Applejack said. “So…” she takes a bite out of her sandwich, “you got the six of us to help you out.” “How's he doing?” Rainbow asked. “Who?” “You know what I'm talking about Applejack,” Rainbow said “He’s still with Kate at the moment, I really don’t think I have any chances of asking him for now,” Applejack looks down. “Cheer up, there's still some hope, you just have to wait it out. Beside I know that they both aren’t gonna be together for long.” “How can you tell?” “Just you wait,” she smirked “Anyway, I gotta get my books before my next class,” Applejack stands up. “Alright then I see you later,” Applejack walks out the cafeteria and headed to her locker upstairs while the last of the remaining students are leaving theirs lockers to grab some lunch. There was no sound apart from her footstep as she arrives at her locker while the corridor being now quite empty. She turns the lock multiple time going left twice than to the right until at the right combination, the lock clicks open and she opens her locker. On the door is a picture of you and Applejack when you both first met. Pinkie Pie really wanted to take a picture of you two being together despite your objection, but you let it pass kindly as you really weren’t the type around cameras back then, but you then got over it after getting used to having a lot of photos taken from school related events.. Another photo that was next to the first was you and Applejack has a picnic during the summer holiday after finishing harvesting the last season. Stickers of Apples and patterns of all kinds can be seen decorating around the lockers. And books lined up the top shelf along with her spare boots placed at the bottom neatly. Just then, Applejack stops to hear the noise of footstep coming from the stairs nearby and she then starts to hurry things up. She closes her locker door as suddenly, Zach appears leaning on the nearby lockers and gives Applejack a flirting look while Applejack just ignores but then he stands in front of her blocking her way. “Where you're going?” Zach said. “Going to class don’t you have practice right now?” “Nope,” “Then what you're going to do?” “Nothing,” then he notices something poking out of Applejack backpack. “What’s that?” “My homework, I’m supposed to do as a group that I’m with. Why do you need to know?” Applejack said. Zach launches forward and grab the piece of paper from her back and he looks over it but despite the subject is agriculture, he still continues to read over it. While Applejack looks at him annoyed and moves forward and retrieve the piece of paper. “Are you into agriculture, because you know you can just sign up for that class?” “Yeah, because I know everything about farming and I even got a certificate in mastering my skills,” he shows off. “You know, I think you look really nice,” he start to move his tongue around likes he’s seeing a meal in front of him. Applejack moves back further and further, but was trapped in the corner with the lockers blocking her way out as Zach put his arms out and leans on the lockers like he’s peering into the window. Applejack wasn’t afraid of Zach, but this was taking things too far and the only way out is to actually push him out or to kick him in the groin. Applejack was looking for a way out until she spots a way out. She makes a break for it and she ducks as Zach moves in with his eyes close and Applejack manage to squeeze through the gap between the lockers and his legs and she makes a run for it. She grabs her backpack and she rushes off as Zach doesn’t appear from the lockers, but she takes cover and take a peek. Rainbow Dash was walking up the stairs and sees that her best friend is taking cover and she runs over with a look of confusion. She runs around the corner just in case and hides behind alongside with Applejack. “Why you're hiding?” “Zach tried to kiss me while trapping me between the lockers!” Applejack spoke. “WHHHHAAAATTT!!!” Rainbow exclaimed as footstep can be heard. Zach appears out of the corner, but looks around to see no one was nearby. “Yes, he took a step too far this time and I’m not impressed about what he has done to me,” Applejack speaks softly. “Oh boy, I think he’s coming right this way,” Rainbow Dash notices Zach was coming in towards their direction. “I go talk to him, you just head to class,” she smirked and Applejack runs off to class as the bell rings. “Rainbow where did Applejack go?” he asked. “I haven’t seen her, but I think she went somewhere,” she acts cool. “I’m sure she was here…. Somewhere,” He walks off to his class and Rainbow Dash heads back to the cafeteria in a hurry to get to class. > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your alarm went off more loudly than expected making you toss and turn before you move your hand blindly towards the direction of the sound. You start to tap randomly on your phone till you end up tapping on the stop button and the noise stops. You slide out of your sleeping bag,  switch off your phone to save battery and start to clear out your tent. You double check to see if everything is in order, then you begin to carry your stuff outside your tent. As you step outside, you notices that Applejack's tent was already packed up and was neatly placed next to her belongings but you don't see her. You shrug it off and you start to dismantle your tent piece by piece. You pulled out the base structure and taking off the cover, before  you eventually finish the last piece and placed them neatly in a bag. Just then, a 4x4 start to approach you as you placed down your bag to in surprise to see your car being driven by Applejack so early in the morning before you could do it. “I see you're up early,” you spoke. “Well, it's better to leave early, I already collected your car early so that we both don't have to carry our stuff back,” Applejack smirked. You both worked together to put all the gears in the back while placing them neatly as possible and in the same position as it was in Applejack's car. You set the last bag down and head to the driver seat while Applejack close the truck and goes to the passenger seat beside you. This time, the gearbox has  changed to be automatic rather than manual as you didn't want to break another car. You also wanted to get back into the habit of driving first until you're confident enough to switch back. Thankfully the mechanic allowed to switch the transmission box for free in exchange and a discount for the manual parts  in order to fix the other car you broke earlier. “Why’s the gearbox is different than before?” Applejack asked. You instead look at her rather than saying anything until she realised what you meant about the changes. “Well, better not break this one,” she spoke. “When are we getting your car back,” you asked. “By the time we get back the car should be done fixing by now. But are you keeping yours?” she looks at you as you start to think about it. “Probably not because I don’t wanna have to drive home alone and having to pay for petrol as well,” you said as a moment of silence returns. You didn't make any mistakes so far which was something you were hoping for. But you now have a challenge of driving continuously for hours while having to be on alert if anything was to happen. “One more stop till we’re there,” you spoke. “At least you finally get to see her again,” Applejack replied calmly. “Yep,” you spoke back as another moment of silences comes back. It's very difficult to keep a conversion going for hours unless you had any ideas. ----- While Applejack stares off into the distance, admiring the view, you finally thought of something as the two of you are only half an hour away from the nearest stop. “This next town should be more interesting than the one before,” you said. “What it's like?” “Well, it's more bigger than the last but this town is pretty popular for travelling tourist to come by.” “How would you know that?” “I read up on the internet once while researching the difference between sport events happening in the countryside and our school.” “You meant the athletics event just like the one we had at school?” Applejack said. “Yes like that, but only with more of physical strength involved and more tougher events,” you spoke as you drove passed the overhead sign telling you that the next town is getting closer while the endpoint is further away for a few more hours. “We’re almost there,” you said. “That’s the last one,” Applejack said. As the two of you exited the highway, you took extra care to put your foot on the brake more gently to allow the car to glide to a steady halt at the junction before turning left with the town coming into view. You drove slowly below the speed limit as trucks fly past you on the opposite lane carrying it’s heavy load while entering a number of tight bends as you make a steady turn through each blind corner. You try to stay close to the edge as possible while making sure you didn’t run off as more trucks comes speeding through as their loads lean close to you. While on the bends,  another truck comes way too close to your driver side window giving you a glimpse of a truck that looks to drop its load on you making you end up flinching even though your window is up. “Oh my, that was close, how can you drive through this?” you said. “It’s not that hard, you just need to pay attention to what you're doing,” she said. As you reach closer to town, you did whatever you can not mess up as you successfully passed 4 curves with the final bend coming up in sight. You make the final turn around a corner before you finally enter town successfully despite getting a few nervous fright from passing convoys of trucks as you sigh in relief. “That’s some nice driving there,” she nudges you as you chuckled. However, you went too fast on the straight to notice some obstacles lying on the road causing the car to jump violently a few times before realising that you were going over a few speed bumps. Some objects in the back jump up briefly and end up moving  in different position, making some content fall over. Thankfully the car has some good suspension making the bump not as hard as you thought, but could have been if not driving a 4x4. Applejack looks at you seriously as you could only try to make a fake smile. The bump causes your speed dropped down dramatically to a safer pace as you approach a roundabout within a hundred metres. Having to decide where to park your car, you look carefully on each side with no cars coming up from behind to rush you. On your left was a red large building, looking identical to the one ahead, leads to some residential areas. The right was a cream warehouse with a repair service being advertised above, leads towards the town commercial district. Ahead was a historic schoolhouse, but there's some parking  on both sides with barely any cars nearby, making it an obvious choice. You drove straight past the roundabout before turning left, and park right in front of a local store. You pulled the parking brake up, set to the gear forward to park before you start turning the key, causing the sound of a rumbling engine goes off smoothly to a calm silence. You look at Applejack before the two of you hop out of the car at the same time. “Time to get some good rest,” you start to stretch out your arms and legs while Applejack takes a deep breath and enjoy the sights the town has to offer. “Yep, this place is really amazing,” she spoke and look at you as you finish. “Well, let’s go and get something to eat, I’m getting hungry from all that driving,” you spoke and she nod as the two of you head below the shade of the hotel balcony and walks towards the main junction. Moments later Applejack spot a nice small white building by the edge of a steep hill. It was another cafe, but it was much smaller than what you had in mind. You can tell that it was originally converted from a house as the front windows still holds some plant baskets with flowers blooming along with a normal house door that hasn't changed at all. You nod in agreement before suddenly Applejack grabs your hand while you both run across the road. By the time the two of you reached the cafe, you look at Applejack with a raised eyebrow before she lets go and looks away from you. “Oh right sorry,” she said. You both enter and head to the counter on the left. You ring the bell while scrolling through the menu above as the waitress comes out of the kitchen to take your order. There was a wall cut out on the right that leads to the balcony along with a huge glass pane that separate the area allowing to see the scenery from the inside. You admired the environment outside while you wait for Applejack to finish before the two of you walk out outside and sit at one of the tables closest to the edge. “You know, everywhere we go there’s always a spectacular view,” you said. “It is really amazing to see new places. And come to think of it, we really have gone this far,” she said. “Yeah,” “Wanna do something soon?” she asked. “I don’t have much on my mind, but there’s an event today we can watch.” “Isn’t it the carnival event?” “Yes, it is today, but you can compete in it?” “I’m good, I’m taking a break from a few I already compete, plus I already earned enough ribbons for this month,” Applejack said. “Why not it’s a greater challenge you can take,” you said “Hmm, I think about it, but I don’t think we have time for it,” Applejack said and you agree that she was right as the waitress comes out with your meal and you turned to thank the lady before beginning to enjoy your meal. “So why do you live alone?” Applejack asked as you placed your sandwich on the plate. “It's just that my family lives in another region and they tend to travel around a lot because of work and I decided that I rather stay and be able to continue my studies rather than dealing with a lot of moving. But sadly though I don’t get to see my family often in real life as they continue to move about, but at the same time, I don’t wanna leave as well cause I don’t want to put up with missing everyone I know and having to repeat again,” you spoke as you continue eating. “It must have been hard for you,” Applejack said. “Yeah,” you start to look down on your plate. “Going really well, Applebloom has been  camping with her friends recently at the beach, Big Mac has been helping out with the harvest and Granny Smith and Pinkie Pie are busy creating pies for the farmers market that’s coming up soon. I can tell that the pie taste really good with the way they made them.” “What’s so special about them?” “Can’t tell ya, it’s a secret,” she wink at you. “We better get going,” as you looked at the time as it shows midday. You finish off your sandwich quickly before you both paid for your meals and head back to your car. But you remember that you both need to gather extra supplies for your trip and you also need to grab some spare things for your car in case something goes wrong. “Hold on, before we get moving I need to get a few things,” you said. “We already have enough fuel and food, but what else do we need?” “Gotta get some tools in case our car breakdown. It’s better to be prepared than nothing,” you said. “Alright, good thing you parked your car right where the store is.” "Also Applejack, we need some more water bottles, we ran out since the last trip," you said. "Alright, we meet back here," she said. "Yep," you said. ----- Applejacks later return with a few large bottles  of water as she unlocks the trunk with the spare keys you gave earlier. But when she opens the trunk, the place was a big mess of untidiness as multiple bags fell after going over a few speed bumps earlier. This causes many items to end up mixing with the other items where they suppose to belong. Applejack sigh in annoyance as she tidies up the back, sorting out the items to the correct backpack between you and her. You were still inside the shop as you busily look at the different products that was available. But you couldn’t find any gears that would be useful to you and Applejack, as you only found some spare clothing and some more food, but no trolley jack or wheel spanner which is needed to change tires in an emergency as your car does not have much equipment to deal with emergencies. “Can I help you?” the store clerk asked. “Do you sell any tools for changing the tires?” you replied. “It’s over at the back,” he pointed towards the small hallway leading into another area which you presumed that it was a garage, “we don’t repair cars often anymore but there should something you can use there.” You thank the man and head into the garage through the short hallway. The garage was quiet abandon as the area, didn't had any activity going on for awhile. The main sliding door was rusted and worn out from heavy uses, cobweb can be seen from every corner of the building, cracks on the concrete floor, bricks getting chipped off and the roof was made using the same material as being in a warehouse to allow the sunlight to pass through. There's only a small broken light that still dangle from the ceiling as the light continue to flash on occasion as you look around the area. There were all sorts of car parts laying around from truck bumper, to spark plugs and from new to used. Some would still have oil stains that were around for months or even years. All sorts of tools were arranged into different categories on the concrete floor based on the different usage and needs as most tools was still in top notch condition which was a positive thing to see. As you start browsing from the left, you slowly walk past one by one looking at each and one of them till you eventually find a wheel spanner laying down on the floor next to a toolbox. You pick it up and look over it to see if it’s still useable. One side was already worn out from heavy use as the plastic part being loose with stains still remain along with marks and scratches all over the tool. Although the price was only half of the original, which were still a bit pricey but it would have to do for now as you continue to look out for the trolley jack. As you look past the corner, you found a few located just hidden below a few shelves along the wall. Three of them were worn out and rusted as you bend your knee in order to see closer and deciding the best two to compare. You compare both and do your best to pick out the best one out till you notice out of the corner of your eye, you see a blue trolley jack still looking newer than the rest hiding in the corner, you went over and have a look, but you see that one of the parts being loose and missing a bolt which made you a little disappointed as you later found a tag saying that it was one of the defect that they found earlier. But you decide to buy it anyway as you grab some bolts from the shelves despite you had a talent of being able to repair since learning engineer back at school. After that you grab everything you need, you head out to the counter and start paying your goods. Meanwhile, Applejack finishes off tidying the mess and notices you coming out as she leaves the trunk open for you while she head back to her seat. You quickly fix the trolley jack before neatly placing it next to your backpack before placing the wheel spanner in a hidden compartment by the spare wheel.  As you close the trunk, you notice something in the window reflection being so close to you that  you immediately turn to only see a girl who's about the same age as you, is standing right in front of you. She was wearing a checkered green jacket and has a hat similar to Applejack’s but darker brown, matching brown boots and blue jeans. “Hi,” she said softly. “Hey there, can I help you?” you said. “Yes, I was wondering if you could help fix my truck over there?” she asked and you look over to the small truck having a flat tire. “Sure,” you replied as you open up the trunk again and grab out the gears you just brought before closing it. “Awesome, follow me,” she looks at you before the two of you head to the truck parked on the other side. You placed the trolley jack under the car and you start to use the lever to slowly lift the car into place before beginning to examine the tire for any damages done to the left rear tire as the girl goes up the back to grab a spare. You rub your fingers along the trends to check for holes while observing the tire until you found the main cause of the deflection. A bunch of nails was sticking into the tire, making a puncture through the trend as the air is still slowly coming out through the gap. But at the same time, you also found a few holes nearby that needs to be patched up. You carefully remove all the nuts and bolts attached to the wheel before dropping everything next to you before you slipped off the punctured tire and start to patch up the tire with the repair kit you always bring along as you always do to prepare for cases like this. The girl comes back with the spare before you both swap the tires as you repeat the process till you finally finished changing in after a few minutes. “Thank you so much,” she said as she placed the fixed puncture tire at the back of the truck. “Not a problem,” you said. You then grab both the spanner and the trolley jack, but then she asks you something. “By the way I didn’t get to know your name,” she asked and you gave her your name. “Please to meet you,” you do the same, “I’m Jessica, are you new around here?” “Yes, but I don’t live around here,” you walk back to your car before she stops you. “Do you wanna maybe, hang out sometime?” she asks you. “Thanks, but I got a girlfriend already and I need to get going anyway,” you said as you open the trunk and placing them back the way they were before. “Oh, ok” she looks disappointed, but she follows you to the driver seat as Applejack is finishing up her phone call. Jessica then looks at Applejack suspiciously before you spoke. “Well, it's been nice to meet you,” she nods and waves you goodbye as you turn on the engine and slowly back out while Jessica watches on as she lean against a car as you switch gears and drove away. “So what have you been doing?” Applejack asked. “Well, I was helping a girl out with a flat tire,” you spoke. “So that’s why you're weren’t here for awhile,” she said. “Yep,” Applejack nods and looks towards the fields ahead while you pay attention to the bends and speed bumps you're going through. > Chapter 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a few hours of driving, occasional discussion and listening to the local radio, you slowly start to feel tired after driving for hours on end without taking any short breaks as the road is mostly consisted of light turns and occasional mountain climb. But with no cruise control on board, you had to maintain the same speed manually. Unfortunately, this took a major toll on your foot as it slowly becomes more and more sore while making you feel more uncomfortable as if you were sitting in an awkward position while trying to keep still as possible. “You seem to be a little tired,” Applejack says. “Yeah, it’s not that easy than I thought, I knew it easy to drive, but continuously for hours without getting bored isn’t what I had in mind,” you replied. You make a left on a junction after exiting the highway and onto a rural road leading towards the town which is not for another hundred kilometers. “We only have about an hour left before we arrive, are you sure you can handle it,” she asks while looking at you with concern. “I should be alright, it’s just that, driving for hours without doing anything much makes me feel more bored than I ever was,” you say. “By the way, why are we travelling along this road?” she asked while looking at your map. “Kate lives by the coast near a small town which it’s pretty far from any nearby cities that I know of. There aren’t many towns around here so we have to make use of our supplies carefully, but we’re gonna past a lot of farms and nature reserves along the way.” “Strange, why would Kate moves all the way from any cities. She didn't tell anyone either for some reason, do you have any ideas?” “Nope, she just told me that she would be moving and that's it,” you say as another moment of calmness return while Applejack changes the radio channel before she leans back on her seat and enjoys the scenery. You were busily paying attention to the sound of your phone giving direction, as you drive through the countryside. The car continues to roll along the smooth open highway with little disturbance. With the humming and the sound of tires, you look ahead see the vast amounts of open fields that would stretch for miles on ends with no buildings nor trees around on sight as the road continues into the distance towards a small patch of dark green beyond the hill. “Continue going straight for another 20 kilometers” your phone spoke. “Well, this is gonna be fun,” you say while being sarcastic. “Keep it up ya almost there,” Applejack gives some encouragement as you drive pass a sign indicating that the next rest stop is not for awhile which make you groan while Applejack laughs to your struggle. But then all of the sudden, the engine starts to rumble and cough as the car shakes back and forth, causing your car to travel more slowly as if it was running on empty. A warning light appears above your speedometer as smoke starts to slowly appear in front of you. You check your mirrors for any cars nearby before you quickly switch gears to neutral, allowing the car to glide safely. You slowly pull over  while applying the brake gently till the car slowly come to a halt. The clutter of the engine begins to slowly go silent as you turn the key to have the engine is shut off immediately. “Here we go again,” Applejack sighed as Applejack hops out of your car while you pull a switch to unlock the car's hood. “At least I didn’t do anything this time,” you say as you hop out. Applejack lifts up the hood while locking the support rod into place before you both inspect the damages done to your car. “Well, doesn’t seem too serious this time. Might have been the battery or the engine this time,” Applejack says. “Want me to take care of it?” you asked. “I think you deserve a break this time. I’ll fix ya car up in no time,” Applejack says. “Alright,” you say as you head back to your seat, while Applejack heads around back to grab her tools that she always carry around. You then adjusted your seat to lean more into a reclined position before you leaned back and look toward the sky before your mind begins to wonder. ----- It was a nice summer day at Canterlot High, and with final exams coming up, you did whatever you can to prepare as much as possible on the remaining subjects you got left. Even though you already blitz through the harder ones earlier, you still have one last test to worry about, advanced mechanical engineering. Unfortunately, you were one of the last group of students to have their last test at the end of the day as many have already done theirs earlier in the day as most would probably be hanging out with their friends by now, or would be finishing off assignments. You manage to write down most of the key notes in time as the library was about to close for the day as people have already begun making their way out the door. You see Applejack walked in just as you finished up writing the final part of your notes before closing up all the books left open and stacking them back in place in order for shelving. “How did you go?” you asked as she comes towards you. “It wasn’t that hard, I have been studying well before the test came,” she smirked while looking at you with confidence. “At least you're done while I have another one to go,” you chuckled and Applejack gave you nudge on your shoulder while you carry your belonging along with the books you already borrowed earlier. “Aren’t the test about engineering?” she asked as you both walked out towards your locker. “Yep, it’s not gonna be easy this time, not many I heard have pass this one, but I’m ready for it,” you said. The two of you walked towards the main foyer before heading up the stairs when you feel someone grab you from behind. “Hiya sugar,”  you turned around to find the source until you spot your girlfriend as she let go of you. “How is it going Kate?” you asked as Applejack turns around to see what was going on before she leaves the two of you alone. “Not so much... but I got something to tell you,” she said. “What is it?” you asked as she looks behind to see if Applejack has left out of sight. “I’m moving away in a few weeks,” she stop and looks at you as your mind went puzzled to the sudden news. “Wait, what….why?” you said before she holds your hands you weren’t hoping for something bad to happen, but you already start to get the feeling that it would make you struggle through your final exam. “I have to, but I can’t tell you why,” she said while still looking you in the eye as you admired her beautiful light blue eyes. “But why not, you can tell me anything?” she starts to get uncomfortable as her tone is turning more into sadness. “I just can’t say….it’s something really important that I have to do and I can’t let you know about what I’m doing,” she said before looking away from you. “Will I see you again?” you asked with hope. “Maybe not for a long time, but I’m afraid I won’t see you at all.” she looks back at you, “I won’t be at school for the rest of the year.” “Kate it’s time to go” you hear a voice nearby, but you felt like you know this person before. “I gotta go, I text you when I get back home,” she lets go of you before she runs down the stair as you watched her heading towards the front entrance before she stops by the door and make eye contact with you before disappearing out the door. You stood there frozen like a statue as your mind is still trying gather some information as you continue to stare off into the distance. “Why...why is this happening. She would never take off like that till….”  A sudden noise disturbs you from your thoughts and your mind was placed back into reality. “Now where’s Kate going?” you turn to see Applejack leaning on the railing, looking at you as you continue climbing up and head towards your lockers. “I don’t know,” you say as you look back outside before continuing to your locker. Applejack later followed you once you manage to climb up without dropping a single book. Although your locker was given at random on your first day, you somehow manage to get one right next to Applejack’s. You never expected in at first until you felt pretty lucky later on as the chances of getting something like that is rare. You arrived at your locker while Applejack goes beside you to unlock hers. You turn the lock to the right combination while balancing a bunch of books on one arm before you quickly open the door and placed all your belongings neatly. Applejack’s opened hers while giggling to your struggle which you find it rather cute despite the times you both spent together. “What do you like about her?” she asked as she grabs her books. “I don’t know, I just felt like we had a connection since she ask me out for the first time,” you stop to think about it more before saying, “she does have nice brown hair and her hand were soft when you touch them and she…. well uh....” you were running out of ideas until Applejack spoke. “Really,” she looks at you with a raised eyebrow, “it’s that all you could think of her?” “How can I even describe her,” you shrugged while smiling nervously as Applejack gives you a serious look before the bell starts to ring loudly as students start to head to class. “Well, I hope you do well in your test,” she closes her locker and you do the same as you before you both head to class through the mass crowd of students before you suddenly hear a voice in your head... ------------- “Hello, anybody in there,” Applejack say your name while waving her hand in front of you before you were brought back to reality and  giving yourself a little shake to get your mind right back to normal state. “Sorry I was having a flashback,” you pull the lever to set your seat back into an upright position. “Ya sure did,” she chuckles and you only react with rolling eyes as you insert the car keys into the slot before giving it a turn. “The car should be back up and running. I also made some adjustment to the engine to help ease out the noise it has been making since we brought it,” she says as the engine comes on. The car started off as expected, but it has now gone quieter than you gotten used to. The engine now continues to hum its tune more smoothly like a normal sedan and no longer make any truck like noises anymore. “Wow, I’m impressed, you really are amazing,” you say as you see a faint shade of pink forming on Applejack cheeks. “Nah, it was a simple job,” she says while looking away. “That wasn’t a simple job Applejack, seriously, I read a lot of books about mechanics and you just pulled off something I couldn’t do in a day, you're truly amazing Applejack” you say as she looks back at you while making eye-contact. “You really think so,” Applejack says as she blush even harder and you feel some heat forming on your cheeks. “Yes,” you say. Applejack continues to smile while you admire her bright emerald eyes as you both continue to stare at each other before Applejack start to slowly lean towards you as you remain still in your seat. “Uhhh Applejack,” you say as she stops as she begin to realize what she was doing. “Oh, sorry,” she moves away quickly to her side and looks away, which made both of you blush even harder. You realise that you had left the engine on for too long and the sun was already starting to set over the horizon, you pull your seatbelts over and Applejack do the same before looking back out the window. You look over at Applejack but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by you as you switch your gear to drive and turning off the parking brake, before you slowly start driving again. You start to question yourself over the recent event. You felt like something was going on between the two of you, you wouldn't believe it at first, but it was something special that you didn't know all along. You never felt anything like this before, even though you had been with Kate for only a year, you still never had any strong connection or feelings for her. Yet you said yes way back then cause you thought she would be the one for you, but you still haven’t found anything so far. You start to question yourself even further, “Could Applejack be having feelings for me, is Kate truly the one I should be falling in love?” you think as you continue to drive along the highway. “No, it can’t be possible could it, how could my best friend would have feelings for me?” You pass a sign showing that you're only about 10 mins from your destination as you begin to drive through the winding roads of the countryside. “I might wait and see,” you say in your thought.