Gold sighed, gathering the loose apples that had fallen around the cart. He placed them gently on top of the pile and was getting ready to hook the cart up when he heard a soft sound coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like... somepony was crying.  
Gold walked up the short incline and peered over the top of the hill. A little ways down he could see a small pegasus mare sitting under an apple tree. Her face was streaked with tears. Gold tilted his head to the side. What was she doing there? 
The farmer began to approach the mare, being careful not to be loud. She seemed very distraught, and he didn't want to scare her.  

"Hey... are ya' okay?" Gold said softly. 

The pegasus gasped and jolted up. Upon seeing Gold, a look of panic crossed her face. "Oh... No... I'm sorry, I didn't... I... I should go," she stammered nervously. 

"No, no... It's okay," Gold said, reaching out a hoof. "What's wrong? Are ya' alright?" 

The mare shifted, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm... fine... I need to go." She got up from her sitting place and started to walk away. 

"Hey, stay," Gold said. "Please, I want to make sure you're alright." 

The mare glanced back. "You... You don't even know me." 

"Alright then. I'm Autumn Gold.  What's your name?" 

"I'm... I'm Aerial." 

"Nice to meet you Aerial," Gold said with a smile. "There, now we know each other." 

There was a long silence. Gold was waiting for Aerial to do or say something, but she must have been doing the same thing because no one acted.  

"Look, you ain't gotta tell me anything if you don't want to. Like you said, we barely know each other. It's just my mama taught be how to be kind, and I try to keep that in mind wherever I go," Gold said quietly. 

Aerial sighed. "No, it's alright. Well, if you really want to hear my story, here it goes..."