//------------------------------// // Supper's a spoilin' with no man in sight. // Story: Rodeo Rumble // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// The afternoon went by without any issues as Applejack went shopping. Despite many ponies and visiting creatures roaming through town, she managed to buy everything she needed. She was happy to have found an outfit fit for a country mare, along with country perfume called “Honest Honeysuckle.” It smelled beautiful and much better than Arizona’s Desert Rose perfume. Applejack even went through the trouble of finding a Griffon Food Dealer. While meat was frowned upon in Equestria for food, it wasn’t illegal. Plenty of omnivores lived in Equestria, enough that it was necessary to make meat consumption legal. That more or less left it up to market forces to decide prices and demand. The exception is that meat sold must not be from a talking, fully sapient living being. This meant only chicken, fish, and other seafood were legal. Applejack would have bought fish as it was the least socially frowned upon meat, but Appleloosa’s location made it impossible. Nevertheless, Applejack learned how to cook chicken after a brief lesson from the Griffon seller. He even threw in seasonings and a recipe for free because he was amused that a pony bought meat from him. Once the meat was purchased, along with vegetables and baking ingredients, Applejack was satisfied and returned home. She spent hours in the kitchen making Clyde the best chicken meal possible, along with mashed potatoes, seasoned green beans, and biscuits. She even purchased craft beer from the Salt Block along the way home. She would have given the man some Apple family liquor from home, but Braeburn was out. He apologized for not making some and said he was too busy with the Rodeo. It was typical of the entire Apple Family across Equestria to have either Apple liquor or a fruit-based liquor of some variety. Even Aunt and Uncle Orange had their homemade liquor with oranges as the key ingredient. Applejack had briefly visited them in Manehatten last year to see how they were doing and had partaken in some of their orange-based brandy. City folk or not, they still had their roots in fruit farming, and their liquor was just as good as any Apple Family liquor. While dinner for Clyde was more or less done, she made food for Braeburn, Strongheart, and herself, seeing how they couldn’t eat meat. She made a seasoned hay loaf, along with the mashed food the Buffalo tribe ate, albeit with some seasoning enhancements. Satisfied the food was all done, Applejack quickly prepared the table and showered. Once her shower was done, she prepared her mane and tail in the same pattern she used during the Grand Galloping Gala. After putting on some makeup and perfume and getting dressed in her country evening outfit, Applejack was happy at her work. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and said, “Dang, Ah look good! Feels nice to get prettied up! He’s gonna love what Ah have to offer.” With her spirits high, the country mare walked downstairs and looked at the clock. It was 20 minutes until 7 pm, and Clyde would arrive soon. With Braeburn and Strongheart cleaned up, who Applejack no doubt had “fun” together earlier, Applejack started bringing the food to the table. The stallion and the buffalo were surprised to see how far Applejack was willing to go for Clyde. The country mare spotted her cousin and his fiancée exchanging amused looks and holding back laughter. Applejack lightly blushed as she realized how obvious her crush on Clyde was. Some of her wondered if Braeburn knew Clyde would catch her fancy and that the practice was a cover to nudge her in the right direction. ” Should Ah ask him if he’s setting me up? Might as well Ah suppose.” The dressed-up country mare set the biscuits on the table before turning to her cousin and asked, “Braeburn, Ah see you and Strongheart making faces over there. Ah suppose it’s obvious what Ah’m doing.” Braeburn smiled and nodded before answering, “Eeyup. It’s as obvious as the sun in the sky. Since Clyde came into town a while back, shortly after the humans were found, he’s been pretty much a model country guy. Since Granny Smith sent me a letter asking me to find you a hubby, Ah knew he’d be perfect for you, even if he ain’t a pony. And with the International Rodeo going on, Ah figured your competitive spirit would jump at the chance to bring in more fame and Bits for Sweet Apple Acres. T’was the perfect opportunity to get you out here.” Strongheart nuzzled Braeburn, adding, “It was a great idea, my love. She did exactly as you said she would.” Applejack blushed but smiled, knowing her family was looking for her happiness. For many years, she had lost a lot of opportunities to find a hubby. With Granny Smith aging every year and her brother taking care of his own family, a disproportionate amount of responsibilities were placed on her back. While helpful on the farm, Apple Bloom was busy with Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship as a teacher. The school had expanded over the recent years, and more students were added with the discovery of humans. Another reason Applejack was open to dating a human was that Lyra Heartstrings, the local human fan filly and eccentric mare extraordinaire, was happily married to a man. The man not only fulfilled her human fantasies but was a genuinely decent guy that calmed her down. While still her best friend, Bon Bon was happy that the mare had moved out and calmed down considerably. And an even greater surprise was that humans and ponies could have offspring, provided they got a medical screening and a cross-breeding potion. She had a human son and a filly daughter, both inheriting traits from both parents. The possibility of having Clyde’s foals existed, and adoption was still an option if it wasn’t possible for some reason. Applejack sighed and admitted, “And you’re right. Ah fancy that man; he drives me crazy, and Ah can’t stop thinking about him. Ah figured a good meal and honest talking to would be a good way to let him know how Ah feel. Ah’m not sure if he’ll give me a chance, but Ah gotta try either way.” Braeburn took a glass of lemonade and raised the glass. Strongheart did the same as Braeburn said, “And may he be smart enough to see what’s in front of him. And if not, go rope ’em and git’er done!” The stallion and the buffalo used their rear legs to stomp the floor in a hoof clapping to cheer Applejack. The mare raised a glass in return as all three took a sip of lemonade. The clock was now chiming as it struck 7 pm, alerting the two ponies and buffalo. Applejack said, “Shoot! He’s gonna be here any minute now. Alright, wish me luck!” After giving Applejack a round of good luck wishes, the three sat at the table, waiting for Clyde to knock on the door. What were 5 minutes turned into 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, time flew by and turned into an hour, with the three eating their food. After one hour and 20 minutes, Clyde’s food was cold, and Applejack began sobbing. Even the apple pie she baked went cold and sat on the kitchen countertop. She had apparently been stood up, with her confidence crushed, efforts wasted, and nothing but sadness to show. Braeburn told Applejack not to worry about the dishes and began to put away Clyde’s food. Strongheart consoled Applejack as best as she could before helping Braeburn clean the dishes. Just as Applejack stopped sobbing, her sadness was replaced with anger. ” That bucking plothole better have a damn good reason why he stood me up! Ah’m gonna give him a piece of my mind!” Applejack grabbed her lasso, just in case she needed it and walked to the front door. His hooves were stomping the floorboard angrily as she shouted, “Braeburn, Ah’ll be back in a little while. Ah, got a damn plothead to kick where the sun don’t shine!” As she slammed the door, both Braeburn and Strongheart stopped what they were doing. Both had worried looks on their faces before turning to one another. Strongheart asked, “Should we follow her? I’m worried she’ll do something rash.” Braeburn nodded his head and grabbed his spare lasso. The last thing he needed was to get his cousin out of jail for disorderly conduct and assault. He was going to bring her back home by force if needed. Afterward, he would have a stallion to stallion talk with the man. It was very uncharacteristic for Clyde not to carry out his word, and the country stallion knew in his gut that something was very wrong. In any event, he would be there to support his family member, even if she was overreacting. Once he was ready, he told his fiancée, “Ah’m going after her, you can come if you want, but if Ah tell you to leave or get the Sheriff, do it.” With a determined look, the buffalo girl nodded, and out the door, the two went. They could only hope Applejack would not have done any permanent damage, whether to her reputation or Clyde’s body. “C’mon Daisy-Jo! Push!” yelled Clyde as he reached inwards to find the baby calf’s head. “AAAAAAAHHHHHH!” screamed Daisy-Jo. Clyde and Arizona had been trying their best to help her Aunt for the past hour. Dakota stayed by her side and gave her moral support while hoofing over anything Clyde needed. The baby was stuck and they were racing against the clock to get the poor baby out. To make matters worse, the Doctor still had not arrived yet, and the poor mother had to give birth without painkillers or potions. And it scared Arizona in many ways. Before her was a glimpse of what real motherhood entailed, and it gave her newfound respect for the process of giving life. While she wanted to be a mother one day, it was no easy feat. It was hard work and a painful one with struggles to boot. There was no way she was going to be able to tackle the work without the support of a loving husband. She could see the worry but love coming from her Uncle Dakota. He was staying by her side for better or worse; while it was worsening, Arizona could only hope it would improve. Grabbing another towel, Arizona set it on the floor and made bedding for the baby when it came out. And just went she was worried the baby might be lost, Clyde shouted, “I see a head! Keep pushing Daisy-Jo!” “You hear that, honey? Our calf is almost here! You got this!” With another loud scream, more bodily water fluid came out, with a calf head protruding. Clyde’s shirt was splashed with a decent amount, along with some blood. Arizona was worried the baby was hurt, but Clyde noticed Arizona’s reaction and said, “That’s normal, don’t worry about that blood.” “Okay...good. Well, not good, but still.” As Arizona refocused, the man said, “Okay, Arizona, Ah’m gonna need you to wrap up the baby in a minute. Three more pushes, Daisy-Jo. Now git’er done!” In less than a minute, the cow did as told by the man and gave three powerful pushes. Each push, while painful, further removed the baby from her body. The man slid a couple of fingers and pushed her vaginal walls apart to get a better grip on the baby. The calf’s head soon turned into a head with a torso and legs with the umbilical cord attached. Securely grabbing the baby, Arizona wrapped it up in a clean towel. Clyde handed sharp scissors to Dakota and said, “Mister, you have the honors.” As Daisy-Jo breathed a sigh of relief, the new father bull took the hoof-friendly scissors and made a clean cut. Arizona was shocked by the entire sight and couldn’t believe what had happened. The man of her desires took charge and helped deliver her Aunt’s baby when the Doctor was absent. Because of the man, Daisy-Jo had her baby without permanent harm. Minnesota quickly removed fluid and gray meconium remnants from her sister’s baby. Minnesota then took a quick peak and said, “Sis, Dakota...Congratulations! You have a baby girl!” “A girl! My cousin is a baby heifer! Oh, my lucky stars, I have a cousin!” Her Aunt and Uncle teared up as Clyde handed over the wrapped-up baby calf. The new parents both teared up as the baby began to cry. The entire room was emotional, with tears of joy as the parents nuzzled their newborn baby. The door suddenly opened, and the Equestrian Doctor and Texas followed behind. The stallion Doctor started apologizing, “I’m very sorry for the delay! Two stallions got in a fight on the other side of town. I came as soon as I could, and...Oh, I missed the birth, it seems.” Taking his bag off his back, the Doctor immediately began to examine the mother and the baby. While this was happening, Texas walked over and asked, “So, everything went okay? As far as births go?” Minnesota nuzzled her husband and said, “It sure did. Clyde and Arizona helped out ol’ Daisy-Jo. We got ourselves a niece.” The large bull’s jaw dropped as he looked at the crying, healthy-looking baby cow. Sure enough, it was a light brown coated, Holstein-patterned baby heifer with light blue eyes and black horns. Texas couldn’t believe that all went well, despite a Doctor not being around to help. While Texas and Minnesota were watching the newborn baby, the Doctor said, “Good news, everyone! The baby is perfectly healthy. I detect a strong heartbeat and no issues. I imagine the mother would like some pain relievers, if I’m not mistaken.” The tired Daisy-Jo looked at the Doctor and said, “Give me those pain pills. I’ve been through enough, dontcha know?” The Doctor nodded, administered a quick syringe of pain medicine, and hoofed over a few pain pills. The Doctor then pulled out a birth certificate application and said, “I need the father to help fill out these forms. I’m going to need a name too. Have you both a name for the little lady?” With Daisy-Jo’s pain subsiding and Dakota taking the forms with a pen in his mouth, the two parents looked at each other. Dakota winked at his wife, giving her a verbal nod to name the baby how she wished. After a few seconds, Daisy-Jo said, “Her name is Kansas. Kansas Dallas Jo.” As her husband began to fill the birth certificate form out, Clyde stopped cleaning up the mess. He couldn’t believe what he had heard and neither could Arizona. “They’re giving her his middle name? Wow, what an honor!” “Pardon me, but did you say Kansas Dallas-Jo? You’re giving her mah middle name?” asked the man. The parents nodded as Daisy-Jo said, “Clyde, you’ve helped my husband and me so many times, and you helped us when we needed help. I can’t imagine what might have happened if you weren’t here. We owe you a debt of gratitude, and so does our little Kansas. It would be our honor if she took your middle name.” The man held back a tear before saying, “That’s mighty generous of you, Ma’am. Ah certainly appreciate it.” As the two parents looked at each other, they smiled before Dakota asked, “Would you like to hold her for a minute? You did help her, after all. Why not say hello?” The man looked at everyone in the room, unsure what to say. Arizona giggled before saying, “Go on. Go say hello to my little cousin.” The young cow began gently nudging the shy man, who walked forward and carefully took the baby cow. The baby had stopped crying and carefully opened her eyes. The baby’s attention was now focused on the man intently. All Clyde did was simply talk to her as if she could understand. “Hello there little youngin’, and welcome to the world. My name’s Clyde, but you won’t remember that. Just know you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, but it won’t always be easy. Just remember to make the most of it and listen to your parents. They’re gonna have your best interests at heart. Give them proper respect, and they’ll guide you till it’s time for you to make your own mark on this world. Kansas Dallas-Jo, welcome to life. Ah, pray you’ll have a good one.” The entire room smiled, seeing Clyde holding the baby and the words he spoke to the little baby heifer. Time froze in place for Arizona as she stared at Clyde with her baby cousin in his arms. If there was anything more powerful than the feeling of butterflies in her tummy, it was the fire burning in her heart. Arizona knew right then and there that she had to win Clyde’s heart at nearly any cost. Before anyone could say anything, the baby sneezed at Clyde. A mist of small nasal discharge hit the man’s already stained shirt. In a playful reply, the man said, “Or you could just sneeze on me. It’s all good.” The room erupted into laughter at the silly scene before Clyde handed Kansas back over to her mother. As the Doctor talked with the parents, Clyde said, “Well, Ah’m late for mah appointment. Ah gotta get going; glad to help y’all. And thanks for the dessert Arizona.” The still-dressed-up heifer snapped out of her love trance and looked toward her parents, who waved her off. Texas gave his daughter a look of approval while Minnesota mouthed a silent, “Go get ’em.” Arizona nodded and asked Clyde, “Mind if I talk with you for a minute? Outside” As the man gathered up his desert after having tried to clean himself up, he said, “Sure thing Arizona, but Ah really need to get going, so you got a minute, Ah’m afraid.” “You asked him once before your cousin interrupted you. You got this girl! Go get your man!” As the man and the heifer walked outside to the street, Arizona checked herself once more. Satisfied she still looked nice, the two reach the street, standing in front of her Aunt and Uncle’s house. The man turned around and said, “Dang, now this is what Ah called a crazy night. At least Ah got to hold a baby and get a dessert from a pretty lady.” Arizona blushed and smiled at the compliment before saying, “Well, it was worth it, right?” Clyde smiled and nodded, “It sure was Arizona. It sure was. Now, what was it that you wanted to ask me? Ah think you said something about dinner, but Ah can’t remember.” Taking another deep breath, Arizona looked into his eyes and asked, “Clyde, that was amazing and wonderful what you did for my Aunt. I don’t think I can really show you how grateful I am. With that said, would you like to join my family and me for dinner tomorrow? I want to cook you a family recipe I think you’ll love.” The man’s eyes lit up, and a grin formed on his face. Before he could reply, a new voice shouted across the street. “CLYDE DALLAS FORD! YOU GOT SOME S’PLAINING TO DO!!!” Both Clyde and Arizona turned to see a dressed-up Applejack with a lasso in her mouth. The angry country mare was galloping toward Clyde with fire in her eyes. Before Clyde could do anything, Arizona took a fighting stance between him and Applejack. She had no idea what was going on, but no one, not even Applejack, was going to lay a hoof on her man. “Bring it on, whorse!” thought Arizona. And just like that, the night continued to carry on without a moment to spare.