Morning comes for the Apple family household, and the middle sibling slowly awakens to the sensation of multiple dull points pressing into her chest.
"What the..." she says softly, opening her eyes.
She can feel a large, warm body against her back, and can barely make out some feathers from the wing draped over her side in the light of the moon.
As the celestial bodies are being switched, she snorts and grumbles. "Flick, again? You pull this one more time and I'll tie ya to yer bed."
He just snuggles closer, rubbing her belly as he gets comfortable once more. “...more... Jackie...”
"... yer lucky yer comfortable. Just watch yerself." She sighs and settles in, figuring she'll give him fifteen more minutes.
The next fifteen minutes are spent in a comfortable silence, the sound of his claws rubbing her fur filling the room due to a lack of any other noise. She doesn't say anything, but she does have a small smile.
He then nips her shoulder.
Flick sits at a bowl of pancake batter, his eyes closed. He struggles to focus on stirring the goop, a claw straying from his task to tenderly touch the lump on his head.
Applejack offers him an ice pack. "Sorry."
He gingerly takes it and places it on his head like a fez. “It wasn’t your fault... at least I know now that you don’t like love bites...”
"Just kind of spooked me." She says, rubbing her head. "Didn't think when Ah pushed ya off."
He raises an eyebrow and turns to her, eyes still closed. “Does that mean I can give you one later without risk?”
"Eat." She says simply, placing a hoof on his head softly.
He blindly reaches out for an apple he’d set by the bowl. He grips it and bites into the tart green fruit as he returns to stirring the batter. “When do they wake up?” he mumbles with his mouth half-full.
"Soon. We all end up with internal alarm clocks." She says.
His chewing slows for a moment, and he points right at her, wagging the apple in that claw. “Next time, I’m going to massage you in your room. That way you’re more limber, and no one is awake to walk in.” He swallows his morsel, then gives her a smile. “That, and you can make those adorable expressions without judgement from your family.”
"...long as ya don't make me make embarrassing sounds."
“I can only promise what I have control over,” he points out, stuffing the apple in his beak and gently kneading her shoulder.
Her tail flicks agitatedly as she rolls her shoulders. "How come Ah haven't seen you go into yer job to do this?"
“Because you’re never there when I am,” he says, “and most ponies are wary of me since Gilda came to town.”
"Well now that's a shame." She huffs. "Then again, ah swear this town is as easily spooked as a Fluttershy sometimes."
“Yeah, I noticed.” He chuckles quietly, moving along her spine to see if he can work out a kink or two as they cook. “I’d bet they’d freak out over a bunch of bunnies, if you’d let them.”
She laughs at that. "That'd be a sight."
He peeks open an eye, having found a knot just above her tail. Closing it, he starts to press into the mass of strained tissue, nodding at Applejack’s words. “It would be, but I don’t know if widespread panic would be good for Ponyville.”
Her breath hitches a bit. "Watch yerself..."
“I promise not to make widespread panic. I’m not a rude griffon like Gilda.” He presses down harder. “Geez, how often do you lift your back legs? This feels like a rock... maybe it’s due to your strength?”
"Ah mean, it's less lifting and more bucking." She says in a grunt.
He lets go of the whisk to guide her into laying down, his tail moving in circles to keep it stirring. “I need both claws for this one.” He narrows his eyes and bears down on it, slowly but surely easing it out of her muscles.
"Okay... this is going a bit far, Flick." Applejack protests. "The others will be up soon."
“It’s fine... almost...” He just manages to work out the knot before his claws slip and he lands on her back, claws by her forelegs and his legs sprawled out behind them.
There's a moment of silence before she sits up to slide him off. "Alright, that's about of that."
He slides down her back, and she can feel his heart hammering through his feathers.
"Right.... back to cooking." She says, still sitting.
He carefully gets up, pecks her on the cheek, and gets back to manually stirring the batter. “So when do we start baking this?”
"Just gotta put it in the pan, then the oven." She says, standing and shaking herself a bit.
He nods and does as instructed, now properly awake as he ruminates over what has happened in the last few minutes. “...do you at least feel better?” he manages to ask, avoiding her gaze.
"Yeah, feel more limber now, thanks." She smiles at him.
He relaxes, looking to her with a warm smile. “It’s the least I can do. Though next time...” He quietly eyes a couple marbles on the ground. “...I’m thinking somewhere a little less messy.”
"Yeah... pony could get hurt from something like that." She grabs a broom and starts sweeping them up.
“If I may be so bold,” he starts, closing the oven door, “maybe we could even go to the spa, next time?”
“Next time ya what?” Apple Bloom pops up between them, startling the griffon such that he slips on another marble.
Applejack lets him fall against her, standing steady.
Flick takes his time in recovering, partially due to embarrassment, but mostly due to the contact with the farmer. “...the next time she needs relaxation. I work there and can give it to her on the house.”
The filly tilts her head to the side. “Ain’t that bad fer business?”
"She has a point." Applejack says.
He glances at her, frowning as he considers. “...seventy-five percent off?”
"Look, we'll see. Ya still gotta convince me to go there." She points out.
He narrows his eyes and leans over, whispering into her ear. “Private massage rooms. Soundproof walls. Slip proof floors.”
"... ya make a strong argument."
He grins and gently kisses her cheek, turning back to the oven. “How much longer?”
"Ten minutes."
His stomach growls. “...I’m not sure how long I can last.”
“Why don’t ya hug Applejack?” Bloom says. At his look, she points at him. “Yesterday Rainbow Dash said ya heal and energeticize with hugs. What’s t’ say it can’t feed ya, too?”
He places his face in his palm. “...she actually said kisses... and you shouldn’t spy on ponies.”
"Ah don't know how she hears half of what she does." AJ muses.
“Ah was in the library readin’,” the filly says.
"Huh... good fer you." She nods.
Flick’s eyes narrow at the filly. “One sec... what book was it?”
Bloom glances back and forth between them before sighing. “Gettin’ Yer Friends t’ Confess.”
"Do Ah need to worry?" Applejack asks her.
“Only if ya don’t plan on confessin’ before the end of the harvest.” She nods and starts heading out of the room, towards the dining room table.
Applejack just blinks.
“...confessing what, exactly?” Flick asks, nudging her with his good wing.
"Ah'm not sure... but Ah was trying to think of if this is something I should correct or not."
He quietly nods and checks the oven. “Did you come to a decision?”
"Yeah... I'll give it a shot sometime."
“Great!” He gives her a beatific smile and hugs her. “We can set up a specific date later. I promise I won’t disappoint you!”
She smiles and pats his back. "Goof to know, sugarcube."
Apple Bloom watches from the table, eyeing the claws rubbing her sister’s back and wondering what that would feel like. “...sis, it’s been ten minutes.”
Her ear flicks as the timer goes off. "Yep." She grabs a mitt and opens the oven, taking the pan out and setting it on top to cool.
Her eyes narrow and she calls to Flick. “Hey, what happens if ya scratch behind her ear?”
He looks at her, then the orange pony, tilting his head slightly as he scratches the spot indicated. “I don’t know.”
Applejack's eyes go wide as a shiver goes down her spine. "Brr..."
The other two blink in confusion. “...do it again.”
"Now hold on there... don't ya wanna eat?" Applejack says, back away.
“Sure. But Ah also wanna know what that noise was.”
Flick, however, just walks to the icebox to grab them drinks.
"What noise?" The mare says, cutting the breakfast casserole.
“You made some kind of high-pitched sound...” She frowns, tapping her head. “How did it go?”
“Brr...”
“Yeah, that!” She pauses, realizing she was pointing at Flick. “...wait, how did you make that noise?”
Applejack looks surprised as well. "You part mockingbird or something?"
“...yeah, you could say that.” He nods, then kisses the spot he’d scratched earlier. Without another word, he takes a plate of food and sits in his spot next to Applejack’s chair.
She shifts her mouth into a few different emotions before snorting and shaking her head.
He smiles and pats the spot beside him. “You coming?”
"Yeah, yeah, just doing one last thing..." She grabs a small metal rod in her mouth and approaches a hanging triangle.
Apple Bloom immediately covers her ears, much to Flick’s confusion.
The farm mare clangs the tool between the rungs of the triangle noisily as she yells to the house. "Soup's on!"
Flick trembles, claws slowly reaching up to his head to rub it. He has no reaction when Big Mac drowsily walks past him.
"There we go." Applejack nods, going to her seat.
He turns to look at her, a bit confused. “What?” he says, voice a bit louder than usual.
She tilts her head at him. "Guess ya aint used to that." She pats his head.
“You should kiss ‘im. It’ll help him heal!” Apple Bloom grins, ignoring her brother’s disapproving stare.
"Applebloom, ya need to calm down with talk like that." The sister says. "And eat."
“But granny said-“ She stops when she realizes what she said, and immediately stuffs her mouth with casserole.
"Granny said what?" Applejack pauses.
Flick glances at the empty chair in the room. “Say, where’s Granny Smith?” He sneaks in a nuzzle with Applejack when her brother turns to look.
"She takes a bit more time to get downstairs." She explains.
“...huh. I guess I never noticed.”
“She norm’ly helps cook,” Apple Bloom points out, her mouth now half-full. “So she’s norm’ly down first.”
"She can sleep late if she wants, but if she's not down in a couple minutes we'll go check on her." Applejack replies.
He nods, tracing an arc in the air with a talon. Only Applejack notices the timer on the kitchen counter move to two minutes.
She looks a little curious at this, but goes soon back to scarfing down her food.
She then feels a gentle scratching behind her ear, even though she can clearly see both his claws occupied by his breakfast. She picks up her head enough to turn around. She can’t see anyone else close enough, but the scratching continues. She also notices his good wing twitching slightly.
She smiles at him, getting back to eating.
“Yer blushin’, sis,” Big Mac mutters between bites.
"Eh?" She touches her cheek before shrugging and eating once more.
“Well I think it’s adorable,” Flick says, quiet enough that only Applejack can hear. His head turns to look past her as the eldest Apple makes her way into the room.
"Morning Granny!" Applejack says as she clings to the new subject.
“Morning, Granny Smith,” Flick says, bowing to her as the others echo their sister.
"Eh, good morning all a' ya...." She says, walking over to the table and sniffing. "Good job, Applejack."
She smiles. Flick smiles and hugs her with his wing, which allows him to eat normally.
The scratching stops.
She looks at his wing curiously as Granny continues.
"I heard bumping from your room this morning, so good job there, too."
His chewing stops as his face turns red, a claw slamming against his chest to dislodge a lodged morsel.
"G-granny!" Applejacks exclaims as the older mare cackles.
Apple Bloom looks between the three of them, not quite following the conversation.
"Long as you keep it down." She summarizes.
"I-it's not that!"
The griffon, no longer choking, looks thoughtful. “I’d be up for it if she is, but not before.”
Now it’s Big Mac’s turn to choke.
Applejack grumbles to herself, cheeks red.
He smiles warmly and nuzzles her cheek. “For now, I’ll be happy with the contact she allows me.”
She gives him a quick nuzzle.
“...ya better wait ‘til yer married,” Big Mac says, swigging his apple juice. “Assumin’ this lasts that long.”
Applejack glares at him. "And what do ya mean by that?"
He gives her a flat stare, then goes right back to eating.
Flick, however, looks curiously to her. “Jackie? You alright?”
She snorts. "Yeah... thanks." She gives him a peck on the cheek before aggressively going back to her food.
She barely notices him touching his cheek, blushing such that he matched her brother’s coat.
“...so it’s a bit more likely than I thought,” Big Mac concedes.
Her answer is merely a crunch of the harder part of the crust.
The rest of breakfast continues quietly, though Flick’s eyes wander over everyone else there, as though trying to gauge their reactions.
He notices Apple Bloom doing the same, and wonders her reasons for it.
Applejack finishes her food, chugging the last bit of her drink. "Alright, time fer work." She stands up with her dishes.
Flick gets up as well, taking both their empty dishes as he sidles past the stallion to get to the sink.
"Oh, well, thanks." Applejack smiles at him. "I'll go get the cart ready, meet me in the barn."
He nods, bowing to her with all the respect that he is known for, even with his playful teasing.
She rubs his head fondly. "Alright, hurry up now." She heads out.
He places them in the sink and hurries out as they start to scrub themselves.
"Huh..." Granny scratches her head. "Well, he's useful around the house."
“Eeyup.”
Flick catches up with Applejack soon enough, hooking up to the wagon so that she won’t have to deal with its burden. Though the fact that he scooped her on to his back would turn a few heads, had anypony else been there.
"Do you eve nknow where we're going?" She asks him.
“You can pull on the reins to direct me,” he responds, handing her the leads as he places a bit in his mouth.
"Umm... these ain't ours..." She says slowly, looking at the items.
He stops at the doorway, glancing back at her a moment before weakly laughing. “Of course they are. They... they were hanging off the back of the door...”
"Ah've never seen em before..." She frowns. "Are they new?"
He pulls the bit out of his mouth, staring down at it. “...come to think of it, it wasn’t here, yesterday...”
"Is this some sort of joke?"
“...unless it’s you pulling it, I don’t think so.” He tosses it onto a work table, but attaches the reins to his harness. “I think we can still use this, though.”
"Right... okay..." She still looks confused, but nods.
He makes sure the leads are secure around her hooves before he rushes out the barn, fast enough to make the wind whip past them. Yet, no matter how harsh it gets, it also feels as though it’ll never be enough for him to lose her, her body not budging an inch.
Though strange, she appreciates it, giving him nudges in the right direction.
After a while, he starts to slow down, his good wing unfolding a little. His head is tilted, as if he heard something behind them.
"Something up?" She asks.
He says nothing, taking a couple more steps before suddenly flaring out his wing, which results in a loud thump and a bodily shake from him at the same moment. Rainbow promptly crashes into the ground, a bucket of grape juice on her head that starts trickling down her neck.
"Well that was a might harsh... but she has been going pretty hard on pranks lately." Applejack muses. "You alright, Dash?"
“...help me prank him,” the blue pony says, her voice echoing in the container.
"Is that all you've been trying to do?" The farm mare asks.
She nods, the bucket falling off and clattering to the dirt, revealing her messy appearance. “I don’t know how, but he keeps foiling my pranks!”
“I’m right here, you know,” he says, waving a claw in her direction.
“I need to get him at least once!” She pays him no heed.
"Ya set yourself up to be a challenge." Applejack warns him.
He looks at her incredulously. “I don’t want to be pranked. Why does that make me a target?”
“Then let me get you once!” She pulls a pie out of a pink-haired bush and flings it at him, only for it to fly around his head and smack Rainbow in the face.
"Is that really the way you want to win?" Applejack says to the pegasus with a smirk.
“...Pinkie said it would work.”
“I guess she’s that desperate.” He shrugs and continues walking, looking back at Applejack. “Are we almost there?”
"Yeah we are." She calls back to Dash. "Since when do you take wins given to you?"
“Since shut up.”
Flick chuckles, shaking his head. “Can’t deny she’s spirited. Wonder if she’d try to challenge one of you for the lead mare title.”
"Probably." She answers reflexively.
“Of course, I already have a good idea who I’d like as lead mare, should things work out,” he says, pointing at a row of trees inquisitively.
She pats his head. "Good to know."
He taps his beak, humming thoughtfully. “Now, I have to wonder if my southern saint would accept... but I suppose I can ask her another time.” He shrugs and looks around, very much lost.
An orange hoof comes forward and points.
“Thank you.” He glances back at her with a smile before he continues their journey.
She guides them to the proper grove soon enough.
Once there, he lets her off so he can set everything up for her under the trees.
About six hours later, Flick stretches, having just brought back an empty cart. “Well... I think that’s lunch. I’ll see if I can come back after I help with Silk, okay?”
"Sure thing sugarcube, thank you." She smiles at him, giving him another kiss on the cheek.
His whole face is awash with his blush, and he bows to her before he moves to head off. He almost seems to be pronking like Pinkie, humming a happy tune.
She shakes her head at this, heading back to the orchard. "Wait... did he mean me earlier?"
“Yup!” An upturned basket beside her says.