//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Apple Time. 
// Story: How I ended up living with six pony girls? 
// by DanishDash 
//------------------------------//

I don't know if you have have ever tried being so comfy, so relaxed and sleepy you are in the perfect stage between asleep and awake. The times when you are aware that your sleeping, but you're still sleeping, resting. That was how I felt this morning, a perfect balance between warm and cold, a perfectly balanced mind that rested, and yet could appreciate the smooth sheets on my bed.

This was life, sleeping in on a Saturday, simply enjoying the comforts of my own bed. I knew I would probably wake up soon, because I became more and more aware of the bed, my warm blanket, and my soft pillow. I playfully started to move my hand up and down the sheets, enjoying the smooth feeling of it's fur, it's alluring warm figure that pressed against me, smelling sweetly of cotton candy....Cotton Candy...? Fur..? That's not right..? I let my hand move up and down a little again, making sure if I really felt what I just felt.

"Mmmh~"

A moan? Mattresses and sheets didn't moan, unless my petting was just that good? Shocked, I opened my eyes, only to be met by two half open blue eyes looking back at me. "P-Pinkie!?" I yelled out, instinctively jumping away as I found my hand firmly planted on her flank. 

I might have jumped a bit to much, as I felt myself with no bed under me, and soon enough fell to the floor. "Oooww..." I groaned in pain, my body sore and my mind confused.

Pinkie yawned, then giggled as she sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking down at me. "What are you doing down there, Daniel? Is it a human game?"

I blushed. "What the hell were you doing in my bed, Pinkie?!"

"Sleeping silly!"

"Yea, thanks, got the memo on that one.." Erugh, I was to tired to have this conversation, not that I was really that annoyed, I was just shocked and a bit embarrassed. "Why were you sleeping in my bed?" I asked, calming down a bit as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Oh! Your bed is so big, and it looks so comfy, so I figured we could share!"

She said that like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Wait, why were you in my room in the first place?"

"I was bored!"

I groaned, there was no figuring out this pony. It seemed neither logic or the laws of physics had anything on her, which was my cue to leave. "Now that I am up, I might as well take a shower.." I stood up and was about to go to the bathroom, when Pinkie suddenly gasped. "What?"

"Oh, did my flank really make you that happy?" She asked, blushing, holding a hoof to her lips as she stared downwards.

"What are you-OH MY GOD, GET OUT OF MY ROOM PINKIE!!" The next thing I knew was Pinkie Pie was outside, giggling. I groaned again, flopping onto my bed, burying my face into the mattress. "Cheap fucking anime cliche..." I said, my voice muffled by the mattress below me. It smelled of Pinkie Pie, and the feeling of her flank returned to my hand, which, didn't really help with my morning, uhm... Wood..

If I still livied alone, I would have screamed out in frustration. This was my life now, not a bad one mind you, but things like this did tend to happen once in a while. Even though Pinkie sneaking into my bed was a first. I had lived with the girls for over a week now, it had taken some getting used to, but I think we all settled into our new lives pretty nicely.

As I had predicted, things had gotten more lively around here, but more importantly, the girls had settled in and made this their home. It was nice to greet them all in the morning, to work together around the house and the farm, then relaxing together during our evening.

Rainbow had gotten into video games, oh, she was still flying, obviously, but whenever she needed to let off some extra steam, she played on my PS4, and 2, and even 1. Racing games was her favorite, but she also liked fighting games, and even taken a secret liking to RPG's. Sometimes we would spend a lot of time playing in the living room, and it was always fun when Applejack was involved, those two girls really did compete in EVERYTHING.

Twilight worked, as one might guess. My grandfather's study had become her study, the many books fascinated her, and when she was not working on the portal, she devoted her free time in studying the human world. To help her out, I introduced her to something called documentaries. She absolutely loved it, she liked the visual aid, the narrator and the interviews, she told me it helped her understanding of us a lot, and she always had a bunch of questions after.

Pinkie, besides being mischievous, had become the chief of the kitchen. Not that she was in total control, but she loved to spend time in there, learning about the pastries from our world, and of course spend her time experimenting, well, at least when she was not looking at funny cat videos on YouTube. 

Fluttershy had become the official caretaker of the animals around the farm. It started out with just the bunnies, but now every bird, squirrel or deer she came in contact with, she befriends. It was amazing to see her interact with them, they become so much more alive around her. Of course they didn't suddenly grew big brains and started to talk, but, she did have a connection with them, that much was clear

Rarity, well, she seemed to take pride in making sure everypony did their part around the house. Despite Twilight being a skillful organizer, she managed to take care of everything related to the house. She knew how much we needed to pay for heat, water and electricity. She made sure all our chores were organized, the house looked spotless and the shopping list was in order. She seriously impressed me, even helped me spot some errors in my budget. She had also found the joy in television, watching a lot of romantic movies and shows, even enjoyed a wide selection of magazines.

Applejack, surprise surprise, she became the hardest worker when it came to things outside. She seemed to enjoy taking care of the garden as it was springing to life. I had a few apple trees, nothing like an orchard, but they were good and healthy, and Applejack took some pride in taking care of them. I never did much work outside, but with Applejack here there was a lot we could do to fix up the place. I think she was surprised that I could keep up with her, but to be fair, it was kind of hard. I certainly got a good workout when working with her, and each time I always felt sore all over. I don't know how she kept finding work, but she did, and they were gonna be fixed. She also seemed to like poker, and me and her started to play once in a while, having a blast. Sometimes the others would join in, but the main competition were still between me and her.

So at any rate, things did seem to come together little by little. It did not mean that they didn't get sad on occasion, of course they did, I would be too if I was gone from my family and friends. They took it with their heads held high however, and with the hope that Twilight could work something out, or maybe princess Celestia.

At any rate, I should probably start getting up from this position before I run out of air...


* *  * *


After the shower, and a quick change of clothes, I made my way downstairs. There I was greeted by the girls, all sitting around the kitchen table, enjoying a nice breakfast Pinkie was making for them.

"Morning." I said, trying to avoid looking at Pinkie's flank. I wasn't a pervert, but I had grabbed it this morning, and I didn't want her to give the impression I liked it, or was going to do it again... Right? They all greeted me, and as usual the one still missing from the table was Applejack. 

I didn't need to ask where she was, I knew. Like always, she was the first one up in the morning to check on the farm, as she called it. I didn't buy it, it was not like this was an active farm, and it was certainly not as busy as her own back in their world. No, I think it was her way of, dealing, with all of this.

Applejack was by no means a weak mare, not at all, but she was worried about her family. Fluttershy had told me that her family always worked hard in order to keep the farm going, they were not poor, but they didn't have a lot of money to spare. Having a farm was expensive, and investing in so much land with so few hooves to handle it, well, they would not be able to turn a profit if they couldn't get their apples out there, and right now, they were missing Applejack.

Working took her mind off things, letting her focus on something else. I was worried, but I knew it was only natural, and considering everything, I'd say they all handled this pretty well. I'm sure they all had their ways of dealing with their worries.

"I'll get her, she'll miss breakfast." Before I went, I was tempted to ask Twilight how her work with the portal went, maybe having some news to bring to Applejack would help. But, seeing the big bags under her eyes told me things were not progressing with the speed she had hoped for.


* *  * *


It didn't take me long to find her, I went to the first place I figured she would be spending her time, the apple trees. There was not many, only about three of them, quite close together, which was awesome when there was fresh apples ready to be picked.

I quickly spotted her, sitting near the three trees, looking up at them. As I got closer, I could hear her speaking, to the trees? Yes, the closer I got, the more I could hear of her conversation. I did not want to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but feel curious about what she was saying.

"Well, seems like I'll be stuck here for a while.. But you take care things while I'm gone, you hear me Big Mac?"

I stopped in my tracks, was she speaking to the trees? No, it wasn't that simple, but the trees did mean something to her. Three apple trees, three family members out of her reach. I knew the name by heart now, Applejack had talked about them a lot. There was the oldest of the apple clan, Granny Smith. Then there was the oldest sibling, Big Macintosh, or simply Big Mac. Lastly, but certainly not least, was the youngest of the apple family, Apple Bloom.

"And keep an eye on Apple Bloom, ah know you always do, but, well you know, keep two eyes on her for me will ya? And Granny, Ah know ya probably gonna tan my hide when ah finally show up.. But, ah hope ya know I am behaving as ya would want me to behave.. A miss y'all an awful lot, and ah can't wait to come home..." 

She let out a sigh, seeming to finish with her conversation. She reminded me of myself whenever I would go to my parents grave, I talked to them at times, made me feel closer to them even though they were gone. Guess she felt the same way, even though she was not with them, she still felt the connection.

Once she turned around, presumably heading back to the house, she stopped as she spotted me. "D-Daniel?" She blushed, a little, embarrassed to see me. "What are you doing out here?"

I couldn't help but smirk a little. "What am I doing out here? Last time I checked this was my home." I chuckled. "But, I came looking for you, Pinkie has made breakfast. You should come grab some before we start work."

She frowned. "We? I thought you wanted to relax today?"

I shrugged. "No point in relaxing if you're working."


* *  * *



Applejack's POV.


No point if I was working? I felt my cheeks warm slightly more than before, he was being silly again. Compared to back home, this farm was nothing but relaxing! So why wouldn't he just take the day off? Not that it bothered me too much, I liked working with him.

Daniel had been nothing but a gentlecolt the entire time we had been here. He had opened his house to us, given us all a place to rest easy, instead of wandering around this world, taking our chances, hiding. He was also able to keep up with me whenever we worked on something, he was a hard worker, and even though I could tell his body was not used to all of the work, he never once complained or asked if we should take a break...

That impressed me.. If he was a pony, and we were back home, I would have hired him in an instant. I don't normally consider such things, but he would be an excellent addition to the Apple fami-wait, wha? I could feel my cheeks heat up, where did that come from?

"Applejack? Are you alright there?"

"Huh? What?"

He gave me one of his warm smiles, it reminded me of Big Mac in some ways. Calm and collected, confidence emanating from him. He wasn't arrogant, at least not any that I had seen, but he made me feel calm, and safe being here. Maybe that's why Rainbow let her guard down around him, opened up as quickly as she did.

"I asked if you were alright."

"Oh, yes ah am fine, don't you worry about it sugarcube."

He had green eyes, not sure why I noticed that right now, but, I noticed, and I could tell he didn't believe me. I didn't want him to ask about the trees, I knew he had heard me, and I didn't feel like talking about it, at least, not right now.

"Ya really don't have to work if ya don't feel like it today.."

Again, he smiled.

"No, it's not fun relaxing if I know you're out here doing all the work. Besides, I just slack off, then you can kick my butt and get me back to work."

I couldn't help but to giggle at that. He was so goofy, and always tried to make us smile, well, it worked.

"Alright alright, if ya really gonna make such a big fuss about it, I'll only work on cleaning the workshop fer today then."

"Mighty kind of you." 

He made me smile, again..


* *  * *



Back to Daniel.


We made our way back to the house, enjoyed a nice breakfast with freshly baked bread. I had to give it to Pinkie Pie, she did make amazingly tasty bread, and I thought the only thing she could bake was cakes. Apparently, I was wrong, and I am so glad I was. Fresh baked bread, morning coffee and some cheese, yes, nothing could ruin this breakfast.

"So Daniel like my flanks." 

Pinkie suddenly said during breakfast, and I nearly spat out the coffee I was drinking, almost getting a heart attack. The other simply stopped in mid motion and conversation, like if time itself had stopped. The only clue to it hadn't, was their eyes were all looking at Pinkie, then, at me...

Rarity cleared her throat. "Excuse me, darling, but, could you repeat that?"

I wanted to speak before Pinkie had a chance, but like always, whenever you gave Pinkie her cue, she fired off like a gun. "Well I was sleeping with Daniel this morning, and he got very handsy, grabbed my flank, ran it up and down, then when we talked he became very happy that-"

"It's not like that!" I exclaimed, about as red in the face as the five ponies were. "That's not how it happened, stop making it sound like we had se.." I stopped, this conversation was turning dangerous.

Pinkie however simply tilted her head and looked at me. "Like we had, what?"

I really couldn't tell if she was messing with me, or if she really was that naive. By the looks of the others, I could tell they were not sure either. I only had one option, a tactical retreat! Standing up, I reached for Applejack, and put her under my arm.

"Huh?! What in tarnation?!"

She wiggled a little, confused, but I was too strong in that moment, mostly because of the embarrassment. "Well, me and Applejack have a lot of work to do, we'll see you all at lunch, byyyee~." And with that, we were gone, leaving the others with wide, confused eyes.


* *  * *


I managed to run to the barn, panting a little, confused and a little scared what the others might think. It was only when Applejack started to yell at me that I remembered I still had her under my arm. 

"PUT ME DOWN!!!"

"Oh!" I quickly did as she demanded before she would buck me into next week. "S-sorry Applejack, just had to get out of there before she made it worse.."

She looked at me sternly. "And what was she talking about anyhow? Ya grabbed her flank?"

I sighed. "No, I mean yes, I did, but it was not like that."

"Like, what?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Like, it was not a sexual thing. Look, I didn't even know she was in my bed before I woke up!" She looked me over, mostly in my eyes, it was like she was gazing upon my very soul and heart, judging if I spoke the truth. Then, after a few seconds, she nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Alright, ah believe ya." She said with a firm nod.

"Thank god.." I sighed. "But now that we're out here, we might as well get to work.."

"And avoid Pinkie's flanks for a bit." She added with a small smirk.

"Stop it.."


* *  * *



Applejack's POV.


Me and Daniel cleaned the workshop, it was nothing much, but it needed to be done. Afterwards, I had originally said we could take the rest of the day off, but to my surprise, Daniel asked me to join him for a walk around the farm. I agreed, not minding a relaxing walk.

We didn't speak much at first, only a few words, noting things around us. The sky was clear, and the scent of spring was in the air. Everything was turning green, and being all the way out here reminded me of home. It was strange, even though we were in big trouble, away from everything, it was still nice to get a break from all the adventures we somehow always found ourselves in back home.

No villains, no fuzz.

It was not like I didn't want to help, or that it ruined anything, it was just nice to do simple things again. Then again, we were trapped in a new world, Twilight working very hard to get us all home, but frankly, I had grown tired of magic. It was magic that had sent us here, I was sure of it! How else would we have reached this place?

Being a villain, a spell gone wrong, or something else, I didn't know, and I didn't care, it was magic, that much I am certain of. Humans didn't rely on magic, Daniel had told me as much, even told me in their world, there was no magic. Even I found that a little disturbing, but, they had to rely on their own hooves, well, hands. 

They build a lot of fancy machines, sure, but they still worked all of this out themselves. They were kind of like earth ponies in that regard, although even earth ponies did possess some degree of magic, though not as powerful and flashy like what unicorns could do.

I mentally scolded myself, it was not fair, it was not the unicorns fault, they did what felt natural, it helped them in their day to day life. It was just, what they could do with magic they could do without, well, at least normal things like brushing their teeth, build houses and... This was frustrating... It was useless debating this now, I would get no more answers, the only thing I could do was to wait for Twilight.

We made our way down one of the paths between two fields, no human came this way as it was on Daniel's property, so it was nice feeling somewhat free. The grass was mostly dry by now, but still a little wet at some places, but soon enough the sun would banish the last of it, making the grass nice and dry all over the place.

I glanced up at Daniel, wondering what he was thinking. He seemed really flustered about this morning, not that I wasn't kind of flustered myself. But, after looking into his deep green eyes, I knew he hadn't taken advantage of Pinkie, or that something had happened.

Even so, I couldn't help but wonder, did he like it? It was not like I was unfamiliar with the desires of stallions, heck, whenever I was in heat I locked myself away. I wasn't ignorant of the stares I got too, I knew stallions were looking at my flanks whenever I went to town. I wasn't offended, in fact, it felt kind of good to be looked at as a mare, and not some scary workpony that was to hard to reach...

I wasn't like that of course! It was not like I went about, swaying my flank around for all to see! No! Of course not! But it did feel good to know you were being desired, that you were being seen as an attractive mare.

That did made me wonder though, did Daniel like our, flanks? I felt my cheeks burning, not knowing why I would even be thinking about such a thing! interspecies relationships did happen back in Equestria, it wasn't taboo. Rare, sure, but it wasn't frowned upon or dangerous.

Daniel wasn't exactly a bad match either. He was nice, quite handsome. He worked hard, even when he was tired and wanted a break, he didn't complain either, which was refreshing. He was also patient, evident by how he handled Rainbow and Pinkie Pie's antics.

I wonder how he would look if he was a stallion....


* *  * *



Back to Daniel.


As we walked around, I suddenly noticed Applejack looking at me, when I looked back, she quickly moved her gaze straight forward, blushing furiously. Was she thinking I brought her out here to touch her rear or something?? Maybe a conversation would ease her worries a bit, besides, I did want to make sure she really was alright. I know I had asked that before, but I knew she was trying to put on a brave face, not just for me, but for her friends.

"Do you like living here?" I asked, calmly, looking forward again. 

"Huh?" She looked up at me, but I didn't look at her. "Well, of course I do. You have a very nice home, and ya been mighty nice to let us stay-"

"No, I mean, are you okay being here?" Now I looked at her. "It must be hard, being away from your family and all."

She looked at me for what seemed like a minute, then she looked back forward. "It's been, hard.. Ah do like it here, but.."

"No, I get it.. Rarity sometimes watched over her sister, but besides that, you're the only one living closely with your family.." I looked back forward too, knowing full well how hard it could be. "I'm sure they miss you as much as you miss them.."

Applejack sighed. "Eeyup... Ah'm sure they do.." She then turned to me. "Do you have any siblings?"

I stopped near the fence, leaning on it. "Nope, wish I did, but that was not meant to be.."

She moved next to me, stood on her hind legs and rested her front hooves on the fence, looking over the field. "Ah have never really been away from my family for very long... Ah don't know what they would think if ah didn't turn up soon.."

"Hm.. I'm sure your princess will try to find a way for you to return, with Twilight working here, and with your friends working back home, i'm sure you will be home sooner than you think." I knew there was a chance, but I also knew there was the chance that, no one knew what had happened, or maybe they were busy with some villain... It was hard to say.

Applejack started to tear up a bit. "What if they think ah'm dead?" I had no idea how to respond to that, what the fuck could I say? "What if they think ah'm lost forever, what will Granny think? How will Apple Bloom handle it?" A few tears started to stream down her face, and I could tell she wanted to smash something out of frustration. "What if Big Mac can't handle it on his own, what if the farm closes down, all because of some stupid magic!" More tears came out as she vented her fears and frustration. "They've already dealt with the loss of our parents, what if they think they've lost me as well?!"

I had nothing, the only thing I could do was reminding her that she was not alone. I moved forward, grabbed her, then pulled her into a tight hug. Just like with Rainbow Dash, she was tense, confused, and she even punched me a little, protesting her being hold up in my arms.

I didn't care however. "It's okay Applejack, just let it out..."

She was still for a moment, then suddenly she started to hammer her hooves into me. The way I held her only made it possible for her to hit my back and lower torso. With my strong grip around her, it was limited how much force she could deliver, but her I could feel her muscles flexing, she was strong for sure, and if I didn't hold her like this, i'm pretty sure she could break my bones.

She did get her workout however, trying to get loose, punching me, sobbing. Then finally, she surrendered, hugging me back, buried her face into my chest as she cried. Sometimes she would let a hoof punch my chest, but it was so weak by now I barely felt them.

Applejack was strong, not just physically, but emotionally too. I think it is easy to forget when you're around her that, she is closest with her family, she lives with them, works with them, share the same dreams and life goals. I think, out of all of them, Applejack was the one that this effected the most.

After some time, I loosened my grip, petting her mane as I sat down with her on my lap. I don't know how long we stayed like this for, but it must have been a while since I thought for a moment she had cried herself to sleep. However, right before I could check, she moved, wiping her eyes.

"Ah'm, ah'm sorry about that Daniel..." She said, not looking at me.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about that, how are you holding up? Feeling better?"

She nodded. "Yea, I'm gonna be alright... Thank you, for being here, with me.."

"I didn't want you to go around alone, feeling you had no one to talk to.. You have me, and your friends."

"Ah know.. Thank you for reminding me.." She smiled a bit, looking into my eyes, then blushed, looking away. At first I was not sure what she was so embarrassed about, then I felt her wiggle her rear a little, not to tease me, but as if, I don't know, maybe to test out if she was really sitting where she thought.

We were both blushing now, starting to look around nervously. "Well we better.." She started.

"Yea, head back and.." I continued.

"Before the others.."

"Get worried.."

We both stumbled to our feet, blushing more than before. "S-so, shall we?" I asked, and she nodded. We both started to walk back towards the house, too embarrassed to talk. Even so, I could feel we were both more at ease, both feeling much closer to each other than we did before. Despite her blushing, I could see she was smiling a bit, so was I.

Now I was just looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend...


* *  * *


"Daniel... Daniel, please, wake up.."

Someone was speaking my name, no, I was too comfy, and my bed was so warm. I didn't want to get up now, it was Sunday...

"Daniel, wake up." 

The voice spoke a little louder, and now a felt a pair of hooves shaking me. I soon recognized the voice to be Twilight's, and if she really wanted me up, then it was probably important, but I swear to god, if this was another question about something she read, I was gonna tie her up in her room and leave her there until morning.

"Mmmm, Twilight.. What time is it..?" I asked, trying to get my eyes to open.

"It's 05:34, please Daniel, you have to wake up.."

"Twilight.." I started to open my eyes. "This better be-WHAT THE FUCK?!" My eyes opened wide as I stumbled back. "Twilight, you're, you're... You're walking on two legs?!"