(As with the last chapter feel free to inform me of any mistakes I might have made)
Your alarm blares, rousing you from your dreams. You pound the clock with a hoof, and then you prop yourself up, looking at the clock. It reads five in the morning. You heave a deep sigh, and you slowly make your way out of bed. You head to the bathroom quickly, and then you head downstairs and grab your training weights. After putting them on you head outside, and begin your morning run.
You stick to your usual route, and before long you’ve got a good pace going, and you begin to think about the letter from yesterday.
It’s been a couple years since you left home, and not once had she sent you anything. Not a letter, a postcard, anything. To be fair, you thought that she was dead, but all the more reason for her to have sent you something to let you know. And now she wanted to come to live with you. To get away from the lifestyle that she has grown into, as she phrased it.
You knew better than to say yes, though. She’d become so involved with that life that she’d never be able to sever all ties. If she was to come here trouble would follow, and soon enough you’d have to leave here to get away from her. But you know that you wouldn’t actually leave here. You’ve grown attached to this little town, and a good number of the residents. Sure, some of them barely knew you, but they knew of you, and that was enough.
She’d try to send another letter, probably. One trying to appeal to your relationship with her as a brother. But you couldn’t let that sway you. She had done so much to hurt not only you, but Scootaloo as well. Scootaloo…
You need to tell her. But how to tell her is a difficult question. One you can’t hope to answer on your own. And just how much can you afford to tell her? What will her foster parents say? Should you ask them before you tell their adopted daughter the truth? Do they even know?
You shift your attention away from your troubles for a moment, to see where you were along your route when you suddenly realize that you were in a sprint, and not even on your route. You slow to a stop, and your fatigue catches up with you. It takes you a moment to realize where you were, and you look around for a moment, and realization hits you. You had wound up in front of Scootaloo’s home. It was far too early to head up there and talk to them, but you knew that you would have to come back here as soon as you could. It’d be bad if Scootaloo found out about her parentage from anypony that wasn’t you.
With a degree of reluctance you turned away from the house, and you resumed your run. Unfortunately you couldn’t quite get into it, and so you ended up focusing on the running, rather than your thoughts as you usually did. Sooner than you’d like, you get back to your home, and you head inside before dropping off the weights. A quick glance at the clock told you that you were on schedule, and so you began the walk to Sweet Apple Acres.
With the Summer Sun Celebration rapidly approaching the farm was going to be busy for these next few days, and you welcomed the challenge. From what you had heard the Summer Sun Celebration had taken on special meaning to most of the ponies of Ponyville a few years ago, when Nightmare Moon had returned. You had only heard most of that second, or third hand, back in Manehattan. But, when you arrived in town, you had learned more about it than you really wanted to know.
You spotted Big Mac emerging from the farmhouse right on cue, and so you settled down in your regular spot. Big Mac sat next to you, and you waited for Applejack to arrive, as was routine. The usual amount of time passed, but there was no sign of Applejack. You waited just a bit longer before you turned to look at the farmhouse, and yet there was no sign of Applejack to be found. You glanced at Big Mac, and he only shrugged. You raised a hoof to begin walking towards the farmhouse when Applejack emerged.
Were it not for the fact that you knew her face so well you’d never have picked up on the fact that it was slightly haggard. It was just the tiniest bit of droop to her eyelids. As soon as she saw you looking, though, she perked up, and the usual spring was returned to her step. You offered a small smile, and then you turned back around, ready to receive your orders in the usual fashion. You counted the steps, as you always did, and soon enough she was standing next to you, and she laid out the plan for the day.
Eight hours later, and you were sprawled out on the porch of the farmhouse, your amazing stamina all but worn through. Big Mac and Applejack had both been worn out almost an hour ago, but you had told them you would finish off the last few rows of trees on your own. It was a stupid decision, but it was helpful to the farm, since they would be able to keep to their schedule now. You felt something blissfully cold splash onto your chest, and you cracked open an eye to behold Applejack standing next to you, a large mug in her mouth, and another balanced precariously on top of her head.
You weakly raise a hoof, to grab the mug from atop Applejack’s head, but you can’t manage to reach it. Applejack pours the contents of the mug in her mouth onto you, and the cascade of cool water acts as a balm to soothe your body. A content sigh escapes your lips, and Applejack gives you a warm smile. With more grace than you could ever hope to muster Applejack grabs the mug from atop her head, and she places it next to you. You grab it, and bring it to your lips, eager to drink the contents.
The cool liquid makes its way down your throat, and you feel even more refreshed than you did mere moments ago. Halfway through the mug you slow down, and stop. You felt cooler, and your body was more relaxed, but you were still too stiff to think about getting up. Applejack sits down next to you, and she simply looks out at the farm. Unable to move much, you decide to follow suit, and so the both of you are just enjoying the scenery. A light breeze plays across your body, and the chilling effect it has on you is more than welcome.
Several minutes pass in silence before you hear the heavy hooffalls that you can only assume belong to Big Mac. You manage to move your head to the side, and you see Big Mac looking down at you with a smile slightly larger than his normal one. When he notices that you’re looking at him, he gives a nod, and you feel a sense of satisfaction pass through you.
“Looks like that renowned endurance of yours has limits after all.”
“Yeah, but I managed to kick your flank Big Mac.” A short groan escapes you as you shift position slightly. “You owe me a dozen cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner.”
“Eeyup.” He sits down next to you, but not as close as Applejack did. You don’t keep track of time, and eventually Big Mac stands, and heads inside. A bit more time passes, and you hear Big Mac calling Applejack inside. She stands, and heads in, leaving you to your own devices outside.
You try to stand a few times, but the stiffness of the muscles prevents you from rising. Determined not to be beaten by your own body you try several more times before you finally succeed in rising into a standing position. Your legs complain bitterly at this treatment, but you manage to push the pain from your mind. You force yourself to take a few steps to stretch out the muscles, and hopefully work on easing up the cramping. You take a few tentative steps follow your first ones, and soon enough you are limping at a fairly decent pace. And by that you meant that Granny Smith could outpace you.
Still, you were moving, and that was good enough for the time being. You were about to step off the porch, to continue your stretches when you heard the sound of the door opening. You turned to look, and you saw Applejack at the door. She motioned for you to follow, and so you went over, and followed her inside. She led you to the dining room, and you took your seat. The Apple family quickly set out all the food that Granny Smith had prepared, and then they all took their seats.
The meal passed quickly, but the taste wasn’t diminished by the haste with which you ate. The family quickly cleared everything away, and they all staunchly refused your offered aid. When they finished with the table Big Mac left to go pick Apple Bloom up from the Carousel Boutique. Granny Smith took a seat in her favorite, and only, rocking chair and promptly fell asleep. Applejack beckoned for you to follow once more, and you did. She led you up to her bedroom, and you hesitated for only a moment before following.
She opened the door and walked right in, but you hesitated. This was strange new territory for you, and you wanted to treasure the moment. You entered the room, and the first thing you noticed was the abundance of trophies littering the room. They weren’t just tossed about, but they were organized by event. It took you a full minute just to read all the different categories in which Applejack had excelled.
After taking in the trophies you realized that there was little else in the room. Applejack was sitting on her bed, looking at you expectantly, and you realized that you had taken a step into the room before simply stopping and gawking. You put all the spring into your step that you could, not much, and you approached the bed. Applejack patted the bed to her right, and you climbed up. She leaned into you for a moment, and you simply enjoyed the sensation.
“I wanted to thank you for helping out so much today. It means a lot to us.”
“Well I’d hate to let you fall behind. We’ve got tons still to go, though, and if I have to be this sore everyday, well… I guess I’ll just have to push through.”
“Well you’ll have help. And I’ll do what I can to help out your muscles. Now lie down so I can return the favor from yesterday.” You raise an eyebrow, but you say nothing. You roll onto your belly, and then you spread your protesting legs out.
“I haven’t really done this kind of thing before, so if you could…”
“Don’t worry, AJ. I’ll give you some pointers.” A soft chuckle escapes you as she gets started, and soon enough she’s rubbing out some of the tension. You give her some advice as she goes, and before long she’s doing a great job, and you don’t have to help her out any further. She takes extra time on the really stiff muscles, and your groans of satisfaction let Applejack know just how well she’s doing.
It takes almost an hour for her to get your entire body, and by the time she’s done you’re feeling significantly better than you were before you even started today’s work. As she finishes with your neck you brace one leg on the bed, and you expertly roll yourself over, along with Applejack, resulting in you lying on top of her. A blush appears on her cheeks immediately, and you can feel one on your face as well.
“I, uh. Well, I wanted to thank you for the massage.”
“Oh? And how, exactly, did you mean to do that?”
“I had a few ideas…” Your voice trails off, and you suddenly feel self conscious. Applejack just looks at you expectantly, and the twinkle of her eyes draws you in. You move forward slowly, feeling her warm breath on the end of your muzzle. You get closer and closer to her, and you close your eyes.
You feel the lightest of contact, when a gasping noise sounds behind you. You turn your head around as far as it will go, and standing in the doorway is Big Mac, and Apple Bloom. You just look at them for almost a full minute, without a single word being spoken, or a single move being made. With nearly agonizing slowness Big Mac reaches out a hoof for the door, and he slowly closes it, never breaking eye contact with you. As you hear the door latch you turn your head back around, to look at Applejack once again.
Her expression is far different from what you had expected, and you cock your head at her, trying to figure out just why she was looking at you that way. Your answer comes a moment later when she bursts into laughter. You follow suit a moment later, realizing just how absurd that situation really was.
“You should’ve seen the look on your face when you realized that it was Big Mac! Priceless!”
Despite your embarrassment you still try to recover what you can. “Well I’d have been a bit calmer if it weren’t for the fact that Big Mac could beat me to a pulp with three hooves tied behind his back!”
Applejack just looks at you for a moment, the look on her face changing once again. She quickly kisses you, before she lowers herself back down. “I wouldn’t let him lay a hoof on you.”
You feel your mind shutting down due to the kiss, and you manage to shift yourself to land next to Applejack, rather than on top of her. You simply stare at the ceiling for a few minutes before you find yourself staring into a pair of emerald green eyes once again. “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We’re not quite at ‘that’ stage of the relationship yet.”
You slowly process her words, and when the meaning finally sinks in you can’t help the blush that rushes to your cheeks once again. “I wouldn’t have even thought to ask, AJ. I’m a fairly patient stallion, so I can wait.”
“That’s good, because I don’t want to rush this. Now get home, and get some sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Before I go… I was wondering…”
Applejack sighs, but you can tell that she’s not actually upset. She gives you another kiss, and you feel your heart soar. “Good night, AJ. I’ll see you tomorrow morning…” You turn to leave the room, and you can’t keep the spring out of your step, and Applejack notices, as her final comment makes all too clear.
“Get home safe, lovercolt. I’d hate to have to come rescue you out there.”
(Oh, and for those interested, check out my latest blog post. I sometimes get lonely while writing, and some people to chat with would be nice.)