> Love Interruption
>  by Closer-To-The-Sun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch.1 Rotten Apples
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Rotten Apples

It was a warm and pleasant day at Sweet Apple Acres. On the farm, there was an orange mare working hard amongst the grove of trees. She seemed to not be performing at her peak. It was if something was bothering her, and yet she didn't seem to know what it was. With a sigh, she continued and got lost in her work.

Her attention was turned from her work when a friend of hers trotted by on the nearby path.

"Hello there, Applejack!" a cheerful voice called out.

"Oh, howdy, Twilight. An' same ta ya, Spike," Applejack replied, looking up to the purple unicorn and the purple dragon that was riding on her back, "what brings ya'll to this neck of the woods?"

Twilight answered, "I need to pick a few apples for later."

"Alright. Well, Big Mac should be up at the farm ta help ya out," the orange pony stated, trying to force a smile.

"Can I stay here with Applejack?" Spike asked.

"Well, as long as she's fine with it. Just don't distract her too much," the unicorn was unsure.

"It's fine, Twi, ah don't mind."

Twilight shrugged as Spike hopped down from her back, "Just don't give her too much of a hassle, Spike." She then continued down the pathway towards the barn.

Spike, on the other hoof, made his way over towards Applejack. As he got closer, he noticed that the pony seemed off.

"Hey Applejack, ya alright?" the dragon asked with concern.

The earth pony honestly didn't want to reply, but not wanting to be rude to the dragon, she lied, "Yeah, ah'm fine, just worried about not gettin' the applebuckin' done by mahself today." After speaking, Applejack realized the statement was partially true.

"Oh, is that it? I can help you then!" Spike spoke cheerfully.

"Huh?" Applejack wasn't expecting such a reply from Spike, "Uh, Spike, ya really don't need ta do anythin' like that. Ah can handle this."

"But you were just saying there's a lot to do," the dragon pointed out.

"Well, ah guess ya can help if ya really want ta," Applejack gave in. From there, she gave instructions to Spike of what to do to help her with the bucking of the trees.

To the surprise of them both, Applejack and Spike finished their applebucking in what seemed to be record time.
> Ch. 2 Blue Sky
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Chapter 2: Blue Sky

After completing the applebucking, Applejack and Spike were lying down on the grass. The orange mare and purple dragon were close as they looked up to the partly cloudy sky. A gently breeze was slowly pushing the clouds across the blue atmosphere, causing the two to point out the shapes.

"Hey Applejack, that one looks like a top hat!" Spike pointed up to the sky.

"Yer right, it kinda does. That one there looks like some kinda animal, like a rodent or somethin'," Applejack pointed to a different cloud.

Spike had trouble seeing what the pony saw, "I guess it kinda does. Maybe if it's super fat or something like that!" he then laughed at his own comment.

Applejack couldn't help but smile, "There's a few there that look like a bunch of apples."

Spike laughed again, "Of course you'd notice that, Applejack!"

"Haha, well what did ya expect, sugarcube? Ah am Applejack after all!" the orange pony gave a relaxed laugh.

Spike laughed as well before continuing his cloud watching, "Oh! There's some over there that look like a few gems!"

"Huh? Where at, Spike?" Applejack seemed to not find the particular clouds the dragon was talking about.

The dragon scooted closer to the orange mare and raised his claw up in the air to point, "Right over there! It looks like an emerald gem!"

Applejack finally noticed the cloud Spike was talking about, however, her thoughts were focused on the dragon scales touching her coat. The scales felt alien on her coat. They felt rough and bumpy at the immediate touch, but to Applejack it was wonderful. She had no idea why but she liked it, a lot.

"Did ya see it?"

"A-Ah beg yer pardon?" the earth pony's face was slightly pink.

Spike turned his head slightly to Applejack, "The clouds, did ya see them?"

"Oh, right, ah saw them gem clouds," Applejack replied.

Spike gave a small laugh to himself, "They are actually kinda making me hungry."

"Oh, if ya want, Spike, ya can get an apple ta eat," the orange pony stated, trying to brush off the pink tint to her face.

Spike stood up on his bottom claws and quickly made his way to grab an apple from a bucket. The dragon grabbed a yellow apple and returned to where he and the earth pony were lying on the ground. Sitting on the ground, Spike then laid back down with his head resting on the side of the mare's torso.

Taking a bite of the apple, Spike spoke, "You don't mind this, do ya?"

Applejack was uneasy despite her reply, "Not at all, Spike. Make yerself comfortable."

"Thanks."

Applejack and Spike continued their cloud watching as the wind brought in new clouds from other places of Equestria and in different shapes. With Spike's head resting on her body, Applejack was flustered. She never had anypony, or anything for that matter, be so comfortable around her. To her, it was completely weird and foreign. But to her, it felt right.

"Alright, I think I should head back to the library now. Twilight might get worried if I stay longer," Spike said, standing up and stretching his arms out.

"Oh, alright then. Thank ya very much fer yer help, Spike. It was much appreciated," Applejack sat up from her position on the ground, keeping her eyes on the purple dragon.

Spike turned back to the pony and warmly smiled, "It was no big deal, I had fun!"

"Heh, fun isn't what applebuckin' is about, sugarcube, but still thanks fer all yer hard work," Applejack smiled back.

"Of course. If ya need anymore help, just let me know!"

Applejack paused before continuing, "Actually, ah will need some help tomorra in the afternoon if yer okay with it. Ya don't hafta if ya don't wanna."

Spike gave a smirk, "Consider me there!"

A pleasant expression appeared on the pony's face as she joked, "Yer spoilin' me, Spike. Ah think Twilight might get jealous."

Spike laughed before turning to leave, "Nah, don't worry about her. I'll see ya tomorrow!"

"See ya," Applejack watched the dragon walk out of her sight. When he was gone, the mare laid right back down on the grass, looking back up at the blue sky, watching the clouds roll by.
> Ch. 3 Tangled Up In Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Tangled Up In Blue

Applejack continued to watch the clouds roll by in the sky. With a heavy sigh, the orange pony's stare into the blue sky was accompanied with thoughts about Spike. She couldn't help but think about him.

'Why am ah so caught up with Spike? He's just a little dragon. Granted, quite cute, but he's jus' a little guy,' Applejack closed her eyes before continuing in her thoughts, 'It's jus' plain weird though. With Spike bein' so chummy and comfortable with me, it felt really nice.'

"Maybe ah'm jus' out of it right now," Applejack spoke aloud to herself, keeping her eyes closed.

"Well, of course you are, Applejack, your frown isn't upside down!" a cheery voice blurted out.

The startled orange mare opened her eyes quickly to see the upside down head of Pinkie Pie a few inches from her own. "Wah! Uh….Pinkie?"

"Hiya!" the pink pony smiled, retreating her face back to the rest of her body.

Applejack sat up, "What are ya doin'?"

"I was playing hide-and-seek with the Cake twins, but I can't find them anywhere!" Pinkie stated to her fellow earth pony before calling out, "Come out, come out! Olly olly oxen free!"

"Uh, ah don't think they'd be out here on the farm," the orange mare was puzzled with her friend.

"You're right. So why are you so down?" Pinkie Pie tilted her head to the side.

Applejack laid back down on her back, "Ya want me ta be honest?"

"Aren't you the element of honesty?" Pinkie asked

Applejack slightly smiled, "Guess ya gotta point. Ah guess ah feel like there's somethin' missin'. Like when Spike was here earlier, we were just starin' up at the clouds, and….it was quite amazin'."

"It was?"

The cheeks on Applejack's face were pink, "Y-Yeah, it was really enjoyable….just bein' right next ta the little guy."

"Oh, Applejack, that's wonderful!" Pinkie picked up Applejack, giving her a tight hug.

The orange pony was confused, "It is?"

"Yes, it is!" Pinkie chimed in, "You figured out what you're missing in record time! It's Spike!"

"Uh….ah'm not sure about that…." Applejack was skeptical despite being almost certain Pinkie's hunch was correct.

"Sure you're sure!" Pinkie's optimism answered.

"Hmm…." the orange pony looked back up to the sky, noticing it was getting darker.

Pinkie looked up to the blue sky as well. "Now I see why you two were doing cloud watching, there are some fun shapes!"

A smile returned to Applejack's face, "It sure was fun."

The skygazing was interrupted by the twitching of Pinkie Pie's entire body. "Oh, twitch-a-twitch! Twitch-a-twitch! I know where Pound and Pumpkin Cake are! There are about to get to my super-secret-sugar-stash! I got to stop them!"

"Haha, alright, you go on ahead. Ah'll see ya around then, Pinkie,"

Pinkie Pie dashed off, "Bye-bye!"

Applejack raised a hoof to wave goodbye to her friend. Taking a deep breath, the orange mare softly gave a small smile, "Ya sure hit the nail on the head with that, Pinkie. Ah guess ah am missin' Spike."
> Ch. 4 Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

Celestia's sun was just beginning the go down in the east after another day of work at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was slightly troubled with her work during the day. This due to her recent revelation. Almost 24 hours beforehoof, the orange mare came to the conclusion that she was fond of Spike the dragon. Despite her persistent mind thinking about the dragon, Applejack continued with her chores, including the barreling in the barn that she was doing when the purple dragon stopped by.

"Hey Applejack! I'm really sorry that I'm late! I had to help Twilight and I totally lost track of time!" Spike rushed through the open doors.

Applejack was a bit caught of guard by his sudden appearance, "Huh?! Oh, howdy there, Spike. No need to fret. Just figured ah'd get started before ya got here."

"Well, seems ya didn't need me all that much," Spike commented, noticing that the pony was close to finishing her barreling.

The orange mare didn't turn to reply to Spike this time, "Ah guess, but ya can stick around if ya like." Her voice was meek, almost uncharacteristic for her.

Spike hopped up on top a barrel and began jumping from one to another until he got closer to Applejack, "Sure, why not? I like hanging around the farm." After enough hopping, he sat down on one of the barrels.

On her face, Applejack looked worried. She continued her barreling of the apples and tried to force herself to make small talk with Spike. The dragon seemed more than happy to oblige, talking about his day at the library. He in returned asked Applejack about how she was feeling. It was this question that caused her to fall silent.

"Everything alright, AJ?" Spike asked with a puzzled look after a few moments of stillness.

"Truth be told, ah'm not exactly sure," Applejack admitted.

Spike gave a concerned look, "What seems to be the problem?"

Taking a deep breath, Applejack turned to Spike and answered, "Spike, ah think ah'm keen on ya."

The dragon paused before replying, "Come again?"

"Ah mean it, ah really like ya."

The content and happy-go-lucky atmosphere around Spike vanished. What was left was a very nervous and bashful little dragon. With pink on his cheeks, Spike replied, "Oh….uh….well….I really like you too, Applejack….you are a great friend and what not…."

Seeing the timid and blushing Spike caused Applejack to warmly smile and caused her own nervousness to vanish. Trotting closer to him, Applejack spoke, "Ah'm sorry if that sounded all sudden and weird fer ya. Didn't mean ta make things strange or nothin'. It's jus' after a lotta thinkin', ah really like ya….well, maybe more than just likin' somepony…."

"For real?" Spike asked, his face blushing a bold pink.

"Really real, sugarcube," Applejack's smile seemed to rub off onto the dragon.

"Well," looking away and rubbing one of his arms with the opposite claw, Spike began to state his mind, "I have to admit this is really sudden and stuff….but I would be lying if I said I didn't think you were pretty cool, Applejack. And I have always liked helping you out with stuff on the farm because….well, you wouldn't treat me like a some sort of baby." Spike's face not only had a smile, but was also blushing fiercely. Finally, with a nervous smile, Spike turned back to face Applejack.

The dragon's innocent and tense expression was enough to make Applejack softly chuckle. With a smile, she planted a light peck on Spike's forehead. "Do ya know that yer mighty adorable, sugarcube?"

Spike couldn't help but give a small laugh at Applejack's comment, causing his face to grow an even bolder shade of red.

While the two laughed at their own awkward moment of admitting their feelings, an idea entered the mare's mind, "Say Spike, hop on mah back, will ya?"

Spike agreed to do so, and Applejack took the two of them to the barn's ladder that would go up to the second floor rafters. Being careful with her steps, Applejack carried Spike to the front wooden wall, where just below was the entrance that Spike entered not too long ago. Applejack signaled for Spike to dismount from her, to which he did so. The dragon looked at the wall that Applejack seemed to be fiddling around with. Suddenly, with a grunt from Applejack as she pushed the wall, it opened, revealing that it was the second floor door which is normally used for getting items to the second floor of the barn for storage. Both the pony and dragon looked out from the second floor door to see the setting sun in the distance, accompanied by a breathtaking landscape. As Celestia's sun was setting, it painted the sky multiple colors.

With a smirk, Applejack looked at Spike who seemed to be at a loss for words, "What'cha think, sugarcube?"

"Whoa…." was all Spike could utter. The beauty of the scenery left the dragon astonished.

Applejack laid on her stomach on top of a nearby bushel of hay, "This little getaway spot is kinda a secret of mine. Ah always liked comin' up here alone after a hard day's work, but ah don't mind sharin' it with a special dragon."

Spike smiled at Applejack's words as he sat down to lean back against Applejack's body, "I would be honored to."

Applejack gave a warm laugh before she kissed Spike's check lovingly. The two continued watched the sunset from the top of the barn.

Inside, Applejack finally felt that the void that was previously present was completely gone. It had been filled by her love of a small purple dragon.

END