Applejack stepped off the train that night, sighing in relief. The night was already half over, and she had a bunch of chores to do in the morning, but a smile still found its way onto her lips. “Ponyville never looked so good.”
“Did they change something about it?” Sketchy asked at her side. “It looks the same as ever to me.”
Applejack chuckled. “That’s a figure of speech. It means I’m glad to be home.”
“Oh,” Sketchy said. “In that case, I agree that Ponyville never looked so good.”
She chuckled more.
Sketchy looked up at the stars overhead. “So … what happens now?”
“We figure things out,” Applejack said. She put a hoof around his shoulders and hugged him. “Should we focus on selling pictures here in Ponyville, or export them to Canterlot? How should we handle all those commissions from nobles? What do we do with that apartment in Canterlot?”
“Actually,” Sketchy said, “I meant where should I sleep tonight? I’m not renting an apartment in town anymore.”
“Oh.” Applejack blushed a little. “Sorry, guess I just got excited thinking about the future.”
Sketchy smiled. It was a faint thing, but sincere as could be. “I’m excited by the future as well, though you still haven’t answered my question.”
Applejack hesitated for a moment. “Well, I guess you can sleep on our couch tonight.” She started walking toward Sweet Apple Acres. “Just don’t get the wrong idea after all that smooching, okay?”
Sketchy frowned and tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Never mind.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence, with no noise except for their own hoofsteps and a gentle night breeze.
When they reached Applejack’s home, she paused. The lights were on downstairs. “Huh, guess somepony stayed up late waiting for us.” She opened the door and stepped inside.
Granny sat in the front room, resting in her favorite chair, with Big Mac on the couch. “There you are,” Granny said. “I was starting to get worried about you.” Her eyes lit up when Sketchy came into view. “And I see you got your coltfriend back too.”
Applejack smiled in spite of herself. “Yeah, I suppose I did.”
“For which I’m grateful,” Sketchy said. He put his hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, and she leaned into it.
“Sketchy,” Big Mac said, ears pressed back, “sorry for getting angry.”
“I need to apologize too,” Granny said. “We all thought you’d taken advantage of our Applejack, and we said and did some things we ain’t proud of as a result. I hope you’ll be able to forgive us.”
Sketchy looked at them, his expression unreadable. “So you didn’t actually want me to look for Applejack in the Crystal Empire?”
Big Mac blinked. “What?” He shook his head. “Nope. That was …”
“Sarcasm?” Sketchy asked.
He nodded.
“I’m not very good at knowing when somepony is being sarcastic,” Sketchy said, looking down at his hooves.
“Oh.” Big Mac wilted. “So you really-”
“Went all the way up there looking for me?” Applejack said. “Eeyup.”
It was mighty impressive how much Big Mac could shrink down into the couch. “Sorry,” he said quietly.
Sketchy seemed to think about that for a moment, then he smiled. “I forgive you. I would be angry too if somepony took advantage of Applejack.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Granny said. “Both parts, actually.”
Big Mac nodded.
“Glad we could get that worked out,” Applejack said, “but it’s plenty late. We should be getting to bed.”
“Of course, of course,” Granny said. “Here, you’ll be needing this.” She reached down behind her chair and brought up a shovel.
“Granny!” Applejack shouted.
“What? I still wanna see another generation of Apples before I kick the bucket.”
Sketchy blinked. “Should I assume this is one of those things you’d rather not explain to me?”
“Yes,” Applejack said, struggling to ignore the shovel. “Forget it and go to bed- couch! Go to couch. I mean,” she jabbed her hoof at Big Mac, “you, go to your bed.”
Big Mac stood up with a smile and hugged Applejack before heading up the stairs.
Next she pointed at Sketchy. “You, go to the couch.”
“Okay.” Sketchy walked over to the couch and lay down. “Good night.”
Applejack ignored her grandmother, who was mumbling something about being a spoilsport. “Good night, Sketchy.” Then she walked upstairs as well and went to bed. Still, she couldn’t help but look toward where she knew Sketchy was resting. Here. In her house. Like a part of the family.
She fell asleep with a smile on her lips.
( | )
Sugarcube Corner was nice and calm the next day, just busy enough for a steady hum of conversation to fill the air. Also, Pinkie wasn’t working the counter. Applejack was grateful for that. She didn’t want to imagine the ruckus her friend would cause once she realized Sketchy was back to stay.
“I missed this place,” Sketchy said. “Allow me to pay for whatever you order. What’s the phrase? My treat?”
“Fine,” Applejack said, “but I’ll pay for your food next time.”
“That sounds fair.”
They each ordered a sandwich and sat down at their usual booth. “We should visit the copier after this.” Sketchy said. “I still have the originals of most of my drawings. We could start selling copies in the marketplace again.”
“Right,” Applejack said. “We’ll add that to the list right after we figure out how to handle all those angry nobles in Canterlot who’re upset because you missed their appointment.”
“Perhaps schedule them all for one day of the week,” Sketchy said. “I have that apartment now, so we could go up the night before, spend the whole day at appointments, and come back the next morning.”
“And spend two nights alone together?” Applejack asked with a smirk, because she already knew he didn’t mean anything dirty by it.
“Yes,” Sketchy said. “Spending time with you would be a nice perk.”
Applejack smiled and bit into her sandwich. Sprout, tomato, and lettuce; nice and crunchy.
Dash walked in just then, and a huge smile lit up her face. “Hey, you two.” She walked over to their booth. “When did you get back?”
“Last night,” Applejack said.
“Nice.” Dash turned to Sketchy. “So, you staying in Ponyville for good?”
“For as long as Applejack wants me to stay, yes.”
Even Dash had to grin at that. “Dang, I guess you two are official now. Wait until Rarity hears. You two, stay right there!” She was out the door before Applejack could say a word.
Applejack grumbled. “There ain’t no way this will end well.”
“Why?” Sketchy asked.
“Because I know my friends,” Applejack said. “Rarity will tell Twilight, and Twilight will tell everypony else, and then all five of them will come rushin’ in here to congratulate us and make a big hullabaloo.”
Sketchy tilted his head to the side. “So making a big deal of a friend’s happiness is bad?”
“More like embarrassing.” Applejack took a deep breath and smiled. “Oh well, at least I’m pretty sure I can survive it.”
They didn’t have long to wait for Applejack’s predicted swarm of friends. The group of them burst into Sugarcube Corner less than ten minutes later, all asking questions, and offering congratulations, and speaking over each other in their enthusiasm.
Rarity practically jumped into Applejack’s lap. “You did it! You went and brought back your one true love!” She swooned. “Oh, it’s so romantic!”
Applejack rolled her eyes, fighting down a smile. “Good to see you again too, Rares.”
Eventually the group quieted down enough that Twilight could ask, “What will you two do now?”
“We’re working on that,” Applejack said. “Though I guess there ain’t no hurry.” She looked at Sketchy and smiled. “We have plenty of time to figure things out.”
Rarity got a sly smile. “So have you two officially become an item, then?”
Sketchy gave her a confused look. “What kind of item?”
Twilight cleared her throat. “I think she meant to ask if you two have hooked up.”
“I don’t understand,” Sketchy said. “Hooked up to what?”
Dash groaned. “Are you two banging, or aren’t you?”
“You mean like hitting things?” Sketchy asked. “Neither of us has punched anything lately.”
All five of Applejack’s friends facehoofed.
Applejack leaned back against Sketchy with a contented smile. “Sketchy?”
He put a hoof around her, holding her tight. “Yes?”
“Never change.”
The End