A colt working on the farm has caught the eye of Applejack. She takes note that he has a streak of bad luck, but still a determined worker. On the downside, she can't remember his name.
“Heart skipped a beat./And when I caught it you were out of reach.” – The xx, ‘Heart Skipped A Beat’
A colt working on the farm seemed to have caught Applejack's eye. She noticed how he's a strong worker, despite things not always going in his favor and how he keeps screwing up. Now, if only she could remember his name.
Image created by DespisedAndBeloved on deviantArt.
It was a warm afternoon at Sweet Apple Acres. While most of the ponies on the farm finished their work up in the early afternoon, there was one orange mare that was still pulling more than her fair share of work on the farm. Applejack knew that she had already did more than enough work on the farm for one day, but she figured that she should start on the next day's work since she was already in her working groove.
As the mare worked in sun, she found that she bit off more of the apple than she could chew. It wasn't the first time, and anypony would bet that it wouldn't be the last. She still had one last grove of trees that needed to be bucked and barreled, but she noticed that her body was losing the vigor that she had when she started her project.
"Whew, maybe ah should think things through next time," Applejack said to her self as she trotted into the groove with the cart for the apples behind her, "but ah gotta finished what ah started, that's what Granny Smith always said."
As she began bucking, she thought of anypony who could help her. While she was a bit proud and not one to ask for help from anypony, she knew that if she didn't ask for help and she would be working until the early evening or later.
'Lemme see here,' she began to think, 'Rainbow Dash is busy with her day with the Wonderbolt, Rarity isn't really the kind of pony for this work, I rather not bother Fluttershy with this, Pinkie Pie is….well, Pinkie. And Twi is working with Big Mac on his learnin'. And ah'm sure no pony is left here on the far-'
Applejack was cut off by the slightly nervous voice of a stallion, "Applejack?"
The mare turned her head to see a tan pony with a chocolate colored mane and tail. Upon his flank, there were three horseshoes and on his back was a saddlebag.
"Oh, hey there," Applejack replied. She recognized the pony, he worked on the farm along with a few others to help the Apple family. For the life of her, however, she could not remember his name.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked tilting his head to one side.
"Ah, well, ah figured ah should get started on tomorra's work since Big Mac is goin' to Twilight's to do some learinin'," Applejack tried to brush off the entire issue as nothing, "Not a problem here."
The stallion looked at the mare and knew that while she was trying to make her work seem like nothing, she was having some trouble, "Well, it seems like you could use an extra set of hooves, would you like some help?" he offered.
"Oh, well, ya really don't have ta do that," Applejack felt a little weird when he asked if she needed help. Normally it was the other way around.
"Nonsense, I'll be glad to help you out," the colt gave a warm smile to Applejack as he took his saddlebags off to place it down by a tree. He trotted over to the mare, "if you do the bucking of the trees, I can do the gathering and we'll get done in no time."
Applejack's cheeks gave off a very slight pink tint, "Well, if ya really wanna, partner. Ya sure though, ah mean, it is mah work in all," Applejack unhooked the cart that was behind her from her body.
The tan colt smiled, "It's not a problem! Just as long as I don't buck the trees, it's one of the many things I'm not that great at," he gave a small laugh at himself as he got the cart attached to him.
Time flew quickly for the mare and the colt as they bucked all the ripe apples in the grove and placed them in the cart. The two managed to finish bucking the orchid by the time that Celestia's sun was setting in the west. The two took the cart back to the barn.
"Thanks very much, sugarcube, ya made things a whole lot easier for this mare," Applejack admitted, "Ah can take it from here with the barrelin'."
The colt nodded, "It wasn't a problem, Applejack! I was more than happy to help you," he carefully parked the cart inside and unhooked himself.
"Well, it certainly was nice ta work with ya," Applejack admitting, trying to hide the pink tint that appeared again on her cheeks.
"Same to you Applejack. Well, I should head home," the colt said as he dug his saddlebag out of the cart and placed it upon his back, "I'll see you tomorrow!"
Applejack waved good-bye to the tan colt, "See ya'll tomorra!" she informally said.
As he walked away, she trotted to get a barrel to get started working on the easier part of her task. "Well, that was really nice of him ta do fer me," Applejack quietly said to herself as she began to carefully place apples in the barrel, "He sure was a gentlecolt to help me out like that." She thought about it for a bit as she continued her work until she froze and then said aloud, "Wait an apple-picking minute, ah don't even know his name!"
Later that evening, the entire Apple family gathered around the table for supper. Applejack took her seat next to her older brother as her sister Applebloom took her seat next to Granny Smith. As the entire family began to eat, Applejack seemed a bit distant. Her mind was occupied about the colt she encountered earlier that day. The tan coat and chocolate colored mane, he seemed familiar to the orange mare, and yet she could not place her hoof on it anywhere.
"Somethin' wrong, Applejack?" Big Mac asked as he saw that Applejack was slumped over.
"Wha-huh?" Applejack was snapped back into reality by her family.
"Yes dear, you have more of a blank stare than an owl," Granny Smith commented.
"Ah, sorry about that, guess ah'm havin' a bit of trouble rememberin' somepony ah met today," the orange mare admitted.
"Well, what do they look like?" the red stallion asked before taking a bite of one of his apples.
Applejack began to recall, "Well, ah remember him havin' a tan coat with a dark colored mane. And he had three horseshoes for a cutie mark."
"Eeyup, Caramel. He helps out on the farm quite a bit." Big Mac added.
"He does? Then why the hay haven't ah seen him around these parts?" Applejack was in disbelief that he had always been around the farm.
"Because you often run off on adventures with Miss Twilight, remember?" her brother answered.
"Oh, heh heh, right. Well, what can ya tell me about him?" Applejack was a bit curious.
Big Mac paused, "Well, he came from Manehatten a few months ago, said he was lookin' for work. He admitted he never had such a job before, but he seemed to have his heart in the right place, so I let him work. He does have some trouble with a few tasks, but he still is a big help."
"An' he plays with me sometimes!" Applebloom added with a few pieces of food flying out of her mouth, "He's really fun to have around!"
"Alright, well ah should thank him for helpin' me out earlier today."
The rest of the suppertime discussion was of Applebloom and her adventures with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, trying to get their marks by digging through garbage to find treasure. Granny Smith then pulled her aside to give her a bath, interrupting her story.
************
The next day on the farm, Applejack kept a sharp eye out for the pony she now knew was named Caramel. She began her applebucking for the day, and tried not to let her mind wander too much that she would lose track of her work. Keeping the thought in the back of her mind, she continued with her work.
It wasn't long, however, until she spotted Caramel from a far. She stopped her work momentarily to observe him. She saw that he was repairing the fence, but she noted he was having some issues. Although she could not hear him, she could tell he was in pain as he accidently hit his head upon the fence when bending down to pick up the hammer or when he stepped on a nail or two. Looking at him, the orange mare could tell that he was determined to try his hardest and do his best, something that she respected in him. However, it seemed he had some very bad luck. She resumed working, keeping an eye on the colt from a far as he was finished repairing the fence. Seeing he was done, Applejack went over to Caramel, who was cleaning up area where he was working.
"Uh, howdy Caramel," Applejack said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Caramel looked up to see the orange mare he had helped the other day, "Oh, hello Applejack! Don't mind me as I finish gathering all of the tools up. Just finished repairing the fence."
"No problem at all," Applejack replied. She looked at Caramel gather the items. She noticed that he was bleeding slightly from a few spots on his limbs and on his body. She saw a few splinters on him as well, something she personally didn't like herself. Despite all of the injuries and what not, she noted that Caramel was still persevering and smiling.
Caramel finished placing the tools in the basket he had brought them out in and then turned to Applejack with a smile, "Whew, alright, sorry about that, anyway, what can I help you with?"
"Uh, Caramel, it seems yer bleeding a bit," she pointed to his limbs.
Caramel looked at his forelimbs and commented, "Huh, well, I guess I'll be stopping by Nurse Redheart on the way back to my place later today." His voice made it seem like this was a normal occurrence to the tan colt.
"Well, you can go now if ya want, ah don't want ya ta get an infection or somethin' like that," Applejack insisted.
"Oh, it's nothing. No need to worry."
"Well, alright then. But don't think ya have to stay even though yer hurt."
"Please, I've had much worse," the colt laughed a bit, "Anyway, what's up?"
Applejack froze, almost forgetting why she came over in the first place, "Oh, ah wanted to thank ya personally fer helpin' me out yesterday. We got quite a lot done, makin' it easier for Big Mac."
Caramel smiled warmly, "Not a problem, I'm just glad to help!"
Applejack smiled back, blushing slightly, "Well, ya certainly were, sugarcube."
The colt blushed slightly at Applejack's words, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I need to help Big Mac with tilling the fields. Hope to chat with you later!"
"Yeah, hope to talk with ya later!"
As Caramel trotted off, Applejack felt something inside her burn. Applejack paused as she felt it grow as she looked at Caramel trot away. She wasn't sure what to do about these feelings. She tried to ignore them through the rest of her work. As time went on, her work was becoming sloppy and careless. She decided to take a rest underneath one of the many trees. She looked upwards into the canopy of the trees, looking at the sunlight pierce through the branches toward the ground.
Taking a deep breath, she asked a question quietly to herself, "Did ya just fall for that charming colt?"
After the Celestia's sun had set for the day and all the work on the farm was completed for the day, a certain orange mare with a blonde mane and tail walked to Ponyville. The lighted square was filled with different ponies going about their lives. Applejack watched these ponies as she trotted along. She noticed how happy everypony seemed. From the green unicorn and the cream earth pony sitting on a bench together chatting to a small red maned filly with purple glasses joyfully laughing with a yellow male unicorn with a green mane. Applejack kept moving along to her destination, which started to come into view, the Ponyville Library.
Applejack knocked on the door, and was welcomed by a small purple dragon, "Oh hey, Applejack."
"Howdy, Spike. Is Twilight here?" the pony's eyes scanned the library behind Spike.
"Yeah, I'll go get her. Come on in," Spike held the door open for Applejack.
Applejack walked in, "Thank ya kindly," she thanked the dragon that quickly moved his way up the stairs to get Twilight who was on the balcony, beginning her stargazing for the evening. Moments later, the purple unicorn descended the staircase.
"Oh, hello Applejack, what brings you over here?" Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friend as she trotted up to her.
Applejack was nervous about speaking about the subject, "Well, it's kinda of a personal nature and ah'm a bit nervous talkin' 'bout it."
"Don't worry, Spike is upstairs and won't be able to hear," Twilight said reassuringly.
Applejack was comforted knowing the baby dragon wouldn't hear, "Alright. Well, the thing is, ah think ah might be keen on somepony."
Twilight wasn't expecting her to say that, "Really? May I ask who?"
Applejack looked away from Twilight, "Ah rather not say. Ah mean ah trust ya and all, but ah don't know what ta do about these feeling fer him. And that's why ah came here, yer one of mah closest friends and thought ya might be able ta help me out."
The unicorn was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Well, in all honesty, I'm not sure what you should do either. To be honest, I have never had a relationship with anypony," Applejack seemed to be surprised at Twilight's comment, "But I'm sure there is a book about the subject somewhere here."
"A….book?" Applejack seemed less than thrilled about reading a book on the subject of love.
Twilight walked over to one of the many bookshelves, "Yeah, I'm sure there is something in here about the topic. I remember reading one in school that tried to explain the emotion with a series of mathematical equations about why ponies fall in love in the first place," using her magic to look through the books, the purple pony was quickly losing the attention of the orange mare.
"Uh….no offense Twi, but there are two things in this world that ah don't understand right now, and those are love and mathematics. And ah don't want to two to be mashed up to make my head spin anymore," anypony could tell just by looking at Applejack that she loathed the idea of math and love becoming one.
Upon hearing what her friend had said, Twilight giggled and placed the books back on the shelf, "None taken. I guess I don't have much to help with on the issue, AJ."
A bit crestfallen, Applejack replied, "It's quite alright, ah do appreciate ya listening to my nonsense," the orange pony started toward the door.
"Of course, that's what friends are for," this got Applejack to smile which caused Twilight to smile as well as they walked outside, "I do hope things work out for the best between you and whomever it is."
"Caramel," Applejack said, turning to Twilight, smiling as her lips spoke his name, "his name is Caramel."
Twilight smiled back, "Then I hope things work very well for you and Caramel, Applejack."
"Thank ya, Twi."
"Of course, Good night."
"Night."
Taking a deep breath of the now cold air, Applejack started to head back to Sweet Apple Acres. A bit sad, but a little happy she was able to talk to somepony about the issue, she walked across the now vacant market square. The lights lit up the pathways throughout Ponyville, but hardly anypony was out. She hung her head low, just thinking about what Twilight said about that one book. Was love really that complex, like the math she hated doing in school? Before she could think about it in her head, she heard a familiar voice.
"Applejack? What in Equestria are you doing out at this hour?"
Applejack looked up to see her other unicorn friend, Rarity, with saddlebags on her back, "Oh, howdy Rarity. Ah was just headin' back home to the farm. Went to talk to Twi about some things."
The purple mane unicorn tilted her head to one side, "You seem a bit off, dahling."
Applejack sighed as she began to trot with Rarity to the Carousel Boutique, "Ah guess that's one way of puttin' it."
"What's gotten you down, dear?"
"Truth be told, a colt. Ah think ah've fallen fer him."
"That's wonderful!" Rarity said with joy, since she personally thought Applejack was too stubborn to fallen for anypony and admit.
"No, it ain't!"
"Well, what seems to be the issue with it?"
"It's just, ah don't know what to make of these feelin's. Never felt like this before and….ah actually scared to be honest."
"I understand, dahling."
"No, ya don't!" Applejack was getting defensive.
Rarity kept her calm, "I understand more than you think, dear. I'll spare you the details, but sometimes you have to listen to what your heart says before you can act upon anything."
"But ah have been listenin'!"
"And what does it say?"
"It's tellin' me to just go forward and tell him. But…." the orange mare trailed off.
"You're afraid, aren't you?"
Applejack didn't respond, only looked away from Rarity.
"Dear, there is no need to be ashamed of being afraid of love and what might happen. But if you don't take the chance and let him know how you feel, you might never get another chance and you will never know. That alone will eat at your conscience."
"Ah guess you got a point there, Rarity."
The two ponies arrived at the Carousel Boutique. Rarity went up the steps and to the door, "Would you like to come in, Applejack? I could fix us some tea, I'm sure that it will help calm you down."
Applejack smiled as she shook her head, "Thanks but no thanks, Rarity. Ah'm halfway home anyway. Ah got plenty to think about on my way back anyway. Thanks for yer help, and sorry about yellin' at ya. Guess I'm really stressed with all of this."
Rarity smiled to her friend, "It's completely fine, dear. I do hope it all works out for you, Applejack."
"Thanks. G'night Rarity."
"Same to you, dahling."
Rarity entered her home and Applejack started back to Sweet Apple Acres. Inside her head, many things were going through her head. However, talking with Rarity had given her some insight. She felt like her confident again and thought to herself, 'That's it. Tomorra, ah gotta tell Caramel how ah feel.'
Celestia's sun was up in the sky and all the ponies at Sweet Apple Acres were pulling their fair share of the work around the farm. One orange pony, however, was absentminded during her work. She would buck a tree to allow apples to fall, only to realize that the tree had already been bucked. She shook her head, her blonde mane flying as she did so.
'Come on, Applejack, snap outta yer funk. You'll be able ta ask Caramel later, but right now, ya got some buckin' ta do.' the earth pony said to herself as she moved to a tree she knew had apples.
Applejack continued her work, keeping an eye out for the tan colt that gave her feelings she never felt before. As the day moved on, she was able to focus more on her work around the farm. The day went smoothly for the mare, allowing her to relax and even forget about Caramel and the what she wanted to say to him.
By mid-afternoon, the rest of the ponies who worked on the farm were leaving and Applejack was in the barn, taking inventory. She was deep in thought when she heard a small, yellow filly's voice.
"Hey Applejack," Applebloom called out as she and Spike the dragon entered the barn, "Spike an' ah were wonderin', is it possible t' get a cutie mark fer spyin' on somepony?"
Applejack turned to see the two youths, "Well, ah'm not sure about that. Why don't ya two go an' find out? Ah'm curious to what it would look like myself." Applejack entertained the idea of the two youngsters.
"Alright! Come on, Spike!" Applebloom shouted excitedly as she rushed out the barn.
"Hey, wait for me!" the purple dragon ran to try to catch up with the yellow filly.
"Oh, hiya Caramel!" Applebloom said, which caught the ear of Applejack.
"Hello there, Applebloom, good luck finding your cutie mark!" the familiar voice of the tan colt said before he entered into the barn, "Hello, Applejack."
Applejack turned, visibly nervous yet she tried to mask in with her speech, "A-Ah, Caramel! How are ya doing, partner?"
"I'm doing alright," the colt said in a calm tone, quite the contrast to Applejack's voice, "Are you okay? You seem a bit….stirred up."
"Ah, i-it's nothin', ya just startled me is all. Ah though all the other ponies had left quite some time ago," Applejack admitted.
"Well, I just came by to see if ya needed any help is all."
Applejack thought for a bit, "Hmm, ah actually think ah got it all today, but ah do thank ya for offerin' to help me out again. Mighty kind of ya to offer."
"Oh, alright then," Caramel's voice dropped slightly to a crestfallen state.
Applejack noticed this and then thought to herself, 'Come on, gal, ya can do this. Jus' tell this colt how ya feel about him and be done with it! Remember what Rarity said, just let him know so ya don't haveta think what it'd be like if neva told him!' Applejack was having a small battle with herself and her fear of rejection in her head. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face Caramel.
"Hey, Caramel, ah got something ah would like ta say if ya don't mind…." Applejack's voice trained off.
Caramel interrupted, "Actually, let me go first. Applejack….I think I'm in love with you." Caramel's eyes were closed and his face a bright red.
The colt's words caused Applejack's heart to skip a beat.
"A-Ah beg yer pardon?" Applejack asked, hoping she wasn't imagining what she thought the tan colt said.
"I-I mean it, Applejack. I-I really feel like I….l-love you….I have for a while now…." Caramel's face was a deep red.
Applejack was at a loss for words. She wanted to say something to the colt in front of her, yet she felt as if her mouth was sealed. Her cheeks were flushed just as much as Caramel's was.
Caramel sighed, "Well, I just felt I should tell you that. I mean, I do feel a lot better getting it off my chest. I understand if you aren't interested at all, it's just….I've wanted to tell you for quite some time. You are a pretty awesome mare," turning around, Caramel started to walk out the barn with his head lowered.
"Caramel, wait!" Applejack finally managed to say something. Though she stopped the colt, she had no idea what she was going to say to him, "Ah'm not sure really how ta say somethin' like this….but ah think ah love ya too," the orange mare was shyly looking anywhere but at Caramel, she couldn't even dare herself to.
"R-Really? W-Why though? It's not like I'm the best colt in the world, far from it even," Caramel was in disbelief that the mare of his dreams felt the same about him.
"W-Well, fer starters yer a hard worker. Ah've noticed that even if things just don't go right fer ya with somethin', ya keep givin' it yer all. Yer very dedicated and all. Also, ya always seem ta be willin' ta help anypony with whatever they got goin' on. Yer really just quite an amazing colt and….well….ah think ah love ya…." Applejack trailed off as she raised her head up to look at Caramel, blushing and smiling to him.
Caramel was speechless, "Y-You really mean that?"
Applejack smiled, "Sure as sugar, sugarcube," she slowly trotted up to Caramel and lightly pressed her lips to his.
The two both closed their eyes as they engaged in their first kiss. Though it lasted a few seconds at most, for the two, it felt like a wonderful eternity where their hearts were soaring high from great heights above Equestria. Finally breaking the kiss, Applejack looked to Caramel, who was visibly shaken from Applejack's forwardness.
"Heh, sorry about that, sugarcube. Guess ah got ahead of myself there," the orange mare laughed and blushed a deep red.
"N-No, it's fine. I guess I was the one who wasn't prepared," Caramel returned the laugh as his face matched the shade of a red delicious apple, "I'm sure I'll get better at that with time."
"Oh, ya best get better at it," Applejack said with a sly smile, "'cause ah'm makin' that a requirement fer ya as my coltfriend."
This statement made Caramel feel both delight and concern.
