//------------------------------// // A place to stay // Story: Applejack's Love Bug // by Applefai //------------------------------//      Applejack brings in the last bit of freshly bucked apples as rain starts coming down in buckets soaking her from head to toe as she enters the barn. She takes off her hat and hangs it to let it dry as water droplets trickle off it and onto the hay-covered barn floor. She starts stacking the baskets filled with apples one on top of the other, gently so as to not bruise them as water trickles off her hair. Once she's done she grabs her Stetson hat from where it hung and heads into the house, unknowingly leaving the barn door slightly ajar.      The orange earth pony sat down with her family to eat a dinner of mashed taters with brown gravy, fried taters, with a side of cheddar cheese broccoli and potato soup. The steam from the banquet wafted up from the plates and bowls, carrying the smell to their nostrils. After all of them had eaten and stored away the leftovers they retired to bed for the night setting their alarms to wake them up early in the morning to get to work.      As they slept, the rain continued to pour down as a figure who appeared to be lost and running slipped into the barn, fully closing the door that had been ajar behind him before laying down in an empty stall. He curled into a ball thinking about how he ran away and how he never wanted to go back, he smelled something to the point of discovering the pyramid of apples the farm pony had just stacked and goes to grab one, on his way he accidentally trips and knocks over a hoe that falls and hits a bucket making a clashing sound, as he goes back into hiding hoping he wouldn't be caught.      In the house, Applejack was asleep in her bed with Winona laying on top of her blanket. The dog suddenly perked her ears up and began to bark in the direction of her owner's window, the middle apple sibling wakes up rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she wonders what's going on. "Huh, what's wrong, Winona?" She asked as she looked out the window, "there's nothing out there, come on girl let's get back to bed." The earth pony said as went to go back to bed, but Winona kept barking, this time moving to the door and scratching at the base gently while whining. Applejack saw this and got up to let her out as she left her room and let Winona outside where she went to the barn and started barking, whining, and scratching at the door trying to get in. "Huh, Winona, there's nothing in there. Come on, do your business and let's get back inside." The apple farmer goes to leave the barn, but Winona grabs her tail and pulls her whining more. "Alright girl, I'll check." Applejack says now not even sure if it was nothing or not as she starts to open the door.      The figure shivered and freaked out as a flash of green appeared before his eyes. The mare glanced around after entering and noticed the hoe and bucket beneath her hooves. Winona starts sniffing as she comes to the stall with the person hiding and starts barking. Applejack, a little nervous grabs her lasso before walking closer, "h-hello, who's there?" She asked as she saw a hoof emerge.      "H-hello, I hope you don't mind, I just needed a place to stay, I don't have any place to go." A voice said not coming out of his place.       Applejack was still a bit nervous, "come out so I can see yer face." She backed up a bit knowing how her cousins have been robbed before and trying to get as much distance as she can to defend herself, the pony came out, he had a blonde mane and tail, orange coat, a hoe cutie mark, and blue eyes. Applejack looked at him noticing the scars and bruises on him.      "I'm sorry miss, I was just looking for shelter from the storm."  He said as he looked down winching in pain as some of the scars and bruises were fresh.      "Who are you?" Applejack said letting her guard down a bit, but still holding her rope ready to hogtie him, but has a look of concern when she sees the scars.      "My name is Pix Sprite, miss. And you don't have to worry, I'm not here to hurt anyone or steal anything." His stomach started to growl as he said that, he hasn't had a good meal in a while and was desperately starving, Applejack noticed the indention in the hay and noticed he was eyeing the apple pyramid and raised an eyebrow at him.      With a sigh, Applejack hung her rope back up and turned to Pix Sprite, "come on, follow me. I'll give ya something more filling than an apple." Applejack said as she whistled for Winona.       "How did ya know?" Pix Sprite asked, surprised she knew he was about to steal an apple.      "I saw the indention in the hay, don't worry I know ya must be hungry, now come on." Applejack said as she trotted out Pix Sprite following behind her.      Pix Sprite followed her into the house where she offered him a seat at the kitchen table, "please, have a seat, I'll get you some food." She said as Pix Sprite sat down. Applejack went to the fridge and took out her plate and bowl of leftovers from dinner and unwrapped the plastic covering them and placed them each in the microwave for two minutes. Once they finished heating up Applejack took them out and served them to Pix Sprite with a glass of sweet tea, "here ya go sugarcube, I'd like you to have my leftovers from tonight's meal, I'm sorry it's not fresh, it would've been better." But Pix Sprite didn't care, before Applejack could finish he started eating, wolfing it down as if someone was going to take it away from him.      "Woah there, sugarcube, you can slow down, no one's gonna take that from ya." Applejack said, taking her seat before asking, "Now why were ya hidin' in my family's barn specifically?"       Pix Sprite slowing down some swallowed what he had in his mouth before answering, "I just needed a place to hide, I-I was running away from home." This answer surprised Applejack as she couldn't dream of running away. Pix Sprite continued to eat, "this is really good miss, thank you." Pix Sprite said, savoring each bite on the verge of crying.       "Why would ya want to run away from yer home, I'm sure your mother must be worried sick about you." Applejack mentioned while Pix Sprite trembled a bit at the mention of the word mother specifically when she brung up the subject of his mother.      "Oh, sorry. Ya don't have to answer that if ya don't want to." Applejack said as she placed a hoof on his shoulder.       Pix Sprite started to act a little scared and flinched at seeing the movement before she gently touched him before he tried to explain, "no no, it's ok, I just had to get away, they didn't agree with my views if I stepped out if line, I was beaten, tortured, or even denied food. As for my mother, I don't know who she was, I was taken from her before I hatched.  Applejack began to bear a look of confusion "hatched?"  Pix Sprite realizing his slip quickly corrected himself "Oh, um. I mean before I was one, anyway, only two were nice to me and they helped me escape." Pix Sprite said as he finished eating and put the plate and bowl in the sink and started to wash them.     "Oh sugarcube, ya don't have to do that." Applejack said surprised at this. I'll get it later.     "I know I don't have to do this miss, but I want to, as a thank you for the food, it's the least I can do before I go." Pix Sprite said as he made sure to get all the suds off before drying it off and putting it in the cupboard.     "Well, thank you." Applejack said as she hugged Pix Sprite with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, is that how you got those scars?"      Pic Sprite flinched when Applejack- wrapped her hooves around him before blushing. "Y-yes, but it's fine, they'll heal." Pix Sprite said surprised at this much affection.      "But you don't have to go, it's rainin' cats and dogs out there." Applejack said, trying to get him to stay.     "I appreciate the offer miss, but I wouldn't want to be a burden, I don't have anywhere else to go or means of payment." Pix Sprite said not wanting to be a burden.     "Ah, pony feathers, ya won't be a burden, please stay, I can't let you live on the streets, tell you what, if you stay, I'll heal you up and you can help us out on the farm as compensation for food and board. Deal?". Applejack said, reaching out her hoof to seal the deal.      Pix Sprite thought about it for a second before grabbing Applejack's hoof she extended for a hoof shake "deal, thank you miss."       Applejack smirked and let out a small laugh before speaking, please, enough of the formalities, ya can call me Applejack."