“Since Rarity was generous enough to watch Faith, I think we should head on over to the farm,” Applejack says as she and Anon walk toward Sweet apple acres. “I think I still got Applebloom’s old crib. Ya can have it if ya want.”
“Thank you, Applejack. I’m really grateful for all the help.”
“Well, don’t expect me to hand everything over to you so easily.” She looks at Anon with a smile. “We got lots of apples to buck. I expect you to work as hard as I do.”
Anon nods in determination. Applejack returns her gaze to the road. Anon has to say that he finds it a little odd how much more pep Applejack seems to have in her step. It’s almost as if seeing his daughter lit a flame inside of her. Maybe it’s got something to do with a herd mentality? Anon still finds these ponies odd when it comes to their personality traits, or at least, the more primal ones.
“So what time do we start working?”
“Five in the morning till lunch,” Applejack replies.
“That’s good. I usually work at Sugarcube Corner around lunch time.”
“Well, seeing as I was pulled from the farm, we’re gonna have to work extra hard tomorrow.”
Anon nods in understanding.
“I get it.”
They make it over to Sweet apple acres without much else going on. Applejack shows Anon to one of the barns and lets him inside. She walks over to something in the corner that is covered up. With a quick pull of the large blanket, Applejack reveals what’s underneath. Anon feels his eyes widen. It’s a crib, but the reason it has him shocked is the fact that it’s in flawless condition.
“There she is,” Applejack says with pride.
“That was Applebloom’s?” Anon walks over to inspect it.
Not a single nick, scratch or dent. There wasn’t even a speck of dust on it either.
“Sure was. I’ve been keeping it here in case another Apple came along, but that never happened.” Anon notices a certain sorrow in her tone, but before he can say anything, she speaks again. “So I know that you’ll get some use out of it.”
Anon looks over to see Applejack has her back turned to him. He gets a weird feeling inside of him, but decides to ignore it.
“So how do we move this?” he asks.
“I’ll go get the cart,” she says quickly as she runs out of the barn.
Anon looks to the spot where Applejack was standing. A small damp spot is there. He looks back to the barn door. Was Applejack crying? It’s not really his business, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit to being worried, seeing as Applejack is being rather generous. He’s also aware of how stubborn she can be, so perhaps putting it on the backburner is a better option.
Applejack is quick to return and she doesn’t look any different than how she looked this morning.
“Well, let’s get this over to your place,” Applejack brings Anon from thought.
He nods. “Yeah, it shouldn’t take long once we get it there.”
The two of them get the crib all tied down in the cart and they’re off to Anon’s place.
“Ya got a room to put this in?” Applejack tries to fill the silence.
Anon thinks it over. The kid’s still a baby, so putting her into a room won’t work out that well. That’s if he actually did have a spare room to put her in. His place is decently sized, but it lacks any room for a child. His mind starts to think over the idea of getting a new place. That’s pointless right now, seeing as she’s still so young. Well, the answer is obvious.
“I was thinking of having her in my room. That should make it easier, right?”
Applejack nods sagely. “It does save time when she starts to holler.”
“Do you have any advice?”
“Don’t expect a full night's rest.”
Anon kinda understands what AJ is trying to say. He’s spent some time with Pinkie while she was taking care of the twins one day. They tend to cry a lot. He can only imagine what the Cakes have to deal with when they’re supposed to be asleep. Well, no one said it would be easy.
“How long does that last?” Anon asks hoping to hear some good news.
“The first few months are the hardest. I’d reckon that around six months they tend to calm down a bit more. I suggest getting used to it, though. It’ll be a few years until she’s proper grown. Then again, with her being part human, I rightly don’t know how it’ll work with her.”
Applejack does have a point. Because of her unique species, she’ll probably have a mix in her mentality. Anon should still be filled with fear over everything, but being around Applejack is calming his nerves considerably. Her calm attitude and knowledge on this subject is keeping his mind from being overwhelmed.
“I really appreciate this.”
“Ya already said that.” Applejack give Anon a smile. “I’m glad that I can help ya.”
“Still, I think without you, I’d be freaking out a lot more. I don’t know anything about babies. The fact that you have some knowledge is helping me.”
AJ chuckles. “I understand. I’m grateful I had Granny when Apple Bloom came around. She definitely pointed me in the right direction.”
They finally get to Anon’s place. Anon gets the door open while Applejack gets the crib ready. The both of them carefully work the crib into Anon’s room. Once it’s there they both let out exhausted sighs. It was a bit of a struggle to get everything set.
“Well, there it is.” AJ wipes her brow.
“Yeah, that was a bit of a workout.” Anon looks over to his clock. “Better head on back to Rarity’s.”
Applejack nods. “I gotta get this cart back to the farm. I’ll see you tomorrow, Anon.”
Anon locks his door as AJ and him go their separate ways. Anon really needs to find a way to repay AJ. In fact, he needs to find a way to repay all of them for their help.
Anon doesn’t hesitate as he walks into Carousel Boutique. However, he finds his next step inside stops mid-stride. Before him is Rarity and his daughter sitting on one of her couches, but the thing that caused him pause was the fact that his daughter is in a dress. Rarity looks up and notices Anon standing at her store front.
“Oh, Anon! Your timing is perfect.” Rarity levitated Anon’s child in front of him. “So, what do you think?”
“Um, she looks good.”
Faith is just examining her hands, not really paying attention to much.
“I’m glad you like it! I must say that Faith is a perfect lady. She hasn’t given me any trouble at all.”
Anon is still stuck on the dress. It looks really… expensive.
“Uh, Rarity?”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t the dress a bit much? I’m not too sure about pony foals, but human babies tend to grow out of their clothes rather fast.”
“Foals are no different, Anon.”
“So, don’t you think making a dress is a bit of a waste?”
Rarity looks alarmed.
“My word, Anon! A lady must always have a dress, regardless if they grow out of it or not!”
Anon holds up his hands to try and placate Rarity.
“No offense, Rarity. I just don’t want you to waste your materials.”
“I felt the need to make her something. Plus, I tend to have bits and pieces of extra fabric lying about that I can’t use for adult ponies, but now I finally have a use for those leftovers.”
Anon nods his head. It makes sense.
“Ok, just as long as you’re not losing too much.”
Rarity waves it off. “Let me worry about myself, Anon. You have a daughter to think of now.”
“You’re right about that.” Anon scratches the back of his head. “Man, this is so weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“Just, everything. Everyone’s support and the fact I have a daughter.”
“Have we been so cruel that you’d think we wouldn’t support you?” Rarity says with some offense.
“No!” Anon calms down a bit. “It’s just… it's just weird. Humans are just different when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“How so?”
“Well... It’s hard to explain. I just get the feeling that friends wouldn’t go to the lengths that you girls are going to help me.”
“I’m glad that you’re here with us, then. Taking care of a foal is a lot of work and you’ll need as much help as you can get. I may not have as much experience as Applejack, but I do take care of my sister on occasion.”
“I don’t know how to repay everyone.”
“Think nothing of it, Anon.” Rarity looks at Faith. “There’s just something magical when you’re around a child. They’re so fragile and yet so curious. They can grow up to be anything.” She looks back at Anon with a small sparkle in her eyes. “Don’t you find that amazing?”
Anon looks at his child as she uses her hands to examine her dress some. There’s this curious look in her eyes as she tries to understand what she’s wearing. Something innocent, something human.
“Yeah...” Anon walks over and takes a seat beside his daughter. “It’s amazing.” Anon lets out a sigh. “I gotta head onto Sugarcube Corner. Do you mind watching her for a little while longer?”
Rarity’s smile grows. “I have no problem with that, Anon.” She looks back at Faith. “I do want to make a few more things for her. It’s going to get cold soon.”
Anon chuckles. “You sure you’re not going to spend most of the time dressing her up?”
Rarity playfully slaps Anon’s leg. “Well, I would be lying if I denied that, Darling.”
Anon shakes his head at that. Classic Rarity. She can’t pass up the chance to dress up something.
“I’ll be back soon, Rarity.”
Anon gets up and walks towards the front door.
“See you later!” Rarity calls out.
Anon turns around and sees Rarity is holding Faith toward him and using her magic to help Faith wave goodbye. Anon gives a small wave just before leaving. The smile on his face hasn’t left. With friends like his, he’s happy to know that he’s not alone.