I'm just outside my home, I opened the gate that leads to my back yard, and I let Winona off her leash into the yard, I then closed the gate and made my way to the front door. Once I made there, I heard the sound of what seemed like muffled singing, are the girls doing a little sing-song? Maybe. So I went and placed my ear against the door, to get a better hearing of what's being sung. It sounded like a birthday song, but it's only been one month since Toffee was born. Wait. One month? Happy and cheery singing in the form of a birthday song? There's only one pony I know who does that, and that pony is Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie.
I opened the front door and the singing became much more clear, Pinkie was entertaining my happy daughter by hopping around and singing,
"Oh, little Toffee Apple, you're one month old today,
And it's months before your birthday, but I'll still say hooray..."
I entered the living room, where Applejack was standing beside the door watching Pinkie effortlessly make my daughter extremely happy, I tapped Applejacks's shoulder, to get her attention,
"Oh, hi sugarcube" She greeted and gave me a kiss.
"Hey, AJ. When did Pinkie arrive?" I asked.
"Bout five minutes ago" She told me.
"Huh, guess we really should've saw this coming, eh?" I asked.
"Haha, yeah. After a month Pinkie usually comes ta visit somepony's child" Applejack chuckled.
"I still owe her for the party she threw in celebration of Toffee's birth" I told me.
"Oh, she told me it's all fine, ya don't owe 'er anything, she says" Applejack told me.
"Really?" I asked, "Can I double check with her?"
"Sure ya can, sweetie. But she'll probably say the same things she said ta me" My wife replied.
"OK" I said, "So when's she going to finish singing?"
"Give it time, she's been at it for two and a half minutes, give it another thirty seconds" Applejack said.
"Fine" I replied.
"...and that's because you are one month old today!"
Me and Applejack gave Pinkie a round of applause by stomping our hooves, Pinkie stood on her hind legs and took a bow,
"Thanks guys" Pinkie smiled.
"Yer welcome, Pink" Applejack said to her.
"That was really good, Pinkie" I complimented her.
"Thank you, Caramel" Pinkie said to me, "I haven't seen you since the party, Caramel. How have you been?"
"I've been good, Pinkie" I replied, "How have you been?"
"I've beeeen....GREAT!" She jumped happily and excitedly.
"Pinkie, can I ask you something about the party, please?" I asked my hyperactive friend.
"Of course, Caramel" She replied.
"Do I owe you anything, for the party at all?" I asked.
"Nope, it's all OK. You don't owe me anything, Caramel" She told me.
"See? Ah told ya so, hon" Applejack told me.
"Yes, you did, babe" I replied to Applejack.
"Aww, you two are soooo cute together" Pinkie said, "It's like you to were made for each other"
"Ya really think so, Pinkie?" Applejack asked her.
"Yep" Pinkie said.
Strangely enough, I would have never met Applejack if it weren't for Pinkie. Because when I first arrived in Ponyville along with Lucky, we were instantly approached by our extremely hyper pink friend, she was really nice to me and welcomed both me and Lucky to Ponyville, she later asked us if we wanted to hang out with her, and we accepted her nice offer, and we were slowly introduced to her best friends.
First was Rarity, a very pretty pony who me and Lucky became neighbors with, and though I can be somewhat annoyed by her mostly consistent prissiness, she is a good and generous and holds her own, honestly, she is a pretty aggressive fighter.
Next was Fluttershy, a pony who is Rarity's best friend and Rainbow Dash's best friend, and I can see why, she's a very kind pony, but she's always so quiet, when me and her first started to speak to each other, she always spoke so quiet, that I didn't even think she was saying anything half the time and just mouthing the words, but since she's gotten to know me a bit more, she speaks a lot more normal.
Thirdly, was Rainbow Dash, probably the most ego-eccentric of Pinkie's friends, and my wife is true about her in some way, she can get caught up in her "awesomeness" that she can't see the problem that's right in front of her.
Fourthly is when I met Applejack, she was just as beautiful then as she is now, she was the most relatable of Pinkie's friends, it took us a while before me and her went on our first dates, but before we went out, we grew closer to one another, learning more about each other, the similarities me and her have, it was all good.
And last but not least, Twilight Sparkle, Twilight came to Ponyville about a year after Lucky and I arrived, she was really un-optimistic about arriving, and until the entire Nightmare Moon, she finally bonded with everypony I mentioned above and she decided to stay, Twilight is an interesting pony so to speak, she is intelligent and well-spoken, but she has let her OCD and anxiety get the better of her at times.
But anyways, back to what's important. Me, Applejack and Pinkie continued our conversation in the kitchen with Toffee in there with us, in her high chair. I was sitting beside her and Applejack and Pinkie were standing up,
"So Pinkie, you got any plans for yourself today?" I asked.
Pinkie nodded, "I do, I'm meeting somepony later on today"
"Oh, who ya meeting?" Applejack asked.
"Just meeting Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Spike, you know, the usual" Pinkie told her.
"Oh, cool" Applejack said.
"You should come along, it'll be like old times" Pinkie offered.
"Pinkie, ah'd love too, seriously, ah would. But ah have ta stay hear and look after Toffee, y'know, motherly duties" Applejack explained to her.
"Babe, you don't need to stay here every night, go ahead and see your friends if you want to" I said.
"Really? Ya sure?" Applejack asked me.
"Of course, hon. Go ahead and catch up with your friends tonight, I'll look after the baby" I replied.
Applejack looked awfully excited to hear that, she hasn't really spoken to her friends properly in a month, aside from brief visits and the party that Pinkie threw. She came to me and gave a tight hug, strangely enough, the hug was comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time, the comfort came from Applejack's soft blonde mane against me, but the most uncomfortable part was that she was hugging me too tightly, Applejack is extremely strong, and though she might have the physique of all of her friends, she is really, absurdly, unnaturally strong, probably second strongest aside from Rarity.
Right now, I was being suffocated in my wife's own arms, my face was red, and I was desperately trying to get her to stop, but she's far too strong,
"Honey?" I choked.
"Yes, 'Mel?" She asked.
"Y...you're suf...suffocating me" I struggled.
"Oh, gosh, sorry babe" She apologized as she released me.
I gasped for air, and rapidly inhaled and exhaled, until I was breathing at my normal standard. Toffee, for some reason, was laughing at the entire thing, maybe she was laughing at my facial expressions, but either way, I now know my baby daughter has a dark sense of humor, she seems to laugh every time when ponies hurt themselves,
"I'm so sorry about that, Caramel" Applejack apologized again.
"AJ, it's fine" I said, "You just have an extremely tight grip"
Pinkie laughed, "Ha! That's what he said"
"Aw, gross, Pinkie. Not in front of my kid" I told her.
"Caramel, she's a month old, ah doubt she'll know even half tha words we're speakin'" Applejack said to me.
"Still, babe, it's inappropriate" I replied.
Applejack started to chuckle, her chuckle then erupted into a laugh, a laugh that started to sound suspicious, and then it started to sound evil,
"Em....Applejack, what're you laughing at, you're starting to creep me out now, hon" I said.
Applejack chuckled, "Sweetie, ah was laughing at the fact, that we used to do things that were inappropriate, so ta speak"
"Don't I know it" I smirked.
"Ah mean, remember our first couple of dates, and our wedding for that matter?" She asked.
"I remember most of our dates, and I definitely remember our wedding, I remember everything" I replied.
"OH Caramel! Do you remember our quartet along with Fluttershy and Twilight at the wedding reception?" Pinkie abruptly asked me.
"Oh god, Pinkie. Don't bring that up, I looked like a total ass up there" I jokingly replied.
The wedding reception. My god, the wedding reception, never have I had such an amazing experience, it was fun, really fun. Most of us, except from the minors, got drunk, super drunk, I was drunk, Applejack was drunk, hell, even Fluttershy was drunk, and she hardly ever drinks. One of the most popular moments that happened that night, was me going on stage with Twilight, Pinkie and a very drunk Fluttershy and we all sang "Love is in Bloom", all the girls were all good at the singing, but I was singing with a very slurred voice, due to all the alcohol I consumed. The more I look back on the event, the more I see that it was the worst moment of my life, ironically, taking place on the best day of my life. What happened was, everypony was taking pictures of the entire thing, and I passed out for about five minutes after singing around the girls, then after I woke up, I went back on stage, by myself, and sung a love song about me and Applejack. God damn, I saw the pictures about three days after the wedding, when me and AJ where just about to go on our honeymoon, and all I could say to myself was,
"I hope those pictures get destroyed"
But sadly, they weren't, instead, copies of a lot of the photos went to parts of the Apple family all across Equestria, from Appleloosa to Baltimare, it was embarrassing, but there was nothing I could do about, so that wasn't too good, but the rest of the wedding reception was brilliant, it was just a good time,
Applejack chuckled, "Well, yer ma total ass"
"Oh my god, babe" I laughed, "I thought your ass was behind you?"
"It is. Ah just have another one in the form of you" She explained.
"May I remind you, your ass is a sexy one" I slyly replied.
"That makes both of 'em" She smiled.
"Eh-hem" A gruff voice called from the kitchen door.
Everypony except from Toffee (who was looking at her hooves) looked over to the kitchen door to see a big, red, gruff-voiced stallion. It was my big brother-in-law, Big MacIntosh,
"Oh, um.....hi, Mac!" I awkwardly greeted, "How....how are you?"
"Can it, 'Mel, ah heard everything" He spoke.
I looked away from Applejack's intimidating older brother. He went over to the fridge and opened it for something to eat, I looked at Applejack and I twitched my head in Big Mac's direction, indicating I want her to say something to him. Good thing, she knew what I was doing,
"So....was yer sleep good, Big Brother?" She asked him.
"Eeyup" He replied.
"Hi Macky!" Pinkie greeted.
"Oh, mornin' Pinkie, how ya been?" He politely asked her.
"I've been great! What about yourself?" She replied.
"I've been alright. I've been a little tired, the l'il one over there has kept me up a little bit, due to the crying at night" He explained.
"I know what you mean. The baby Cakes used to do that when they were little" Pinkie said.
"Not so little now, are they, Pink?" Applejack asked.
"Nope, six years old now" Pinkie told us.
"Wow" Applejack replied.
"I know, right?" Pinkie said.
"Who the hell touched ma peanut butter?" Big MacIntosh interrupted.
We turned over to look at Big MacIntosh, who was looking at his peanut butter jar and then at us, then back at the jar, then back at us, expecting answer,
I shrugged, "I don't know who touched your peanut butter, Mac. I didn't even know you had Peanut Butter in there" I calmly told him.
I then snapped my head to face Applejack, I winked at her, with the eye that was on the side of my face Mac couldn't see, which was pretty my way of saying, "your turn, hon". Me and Applejack have our form of communicating, were we use small facial expressions and movements to tell each other something, it's like a little sign language we made up during our first two years of dating, so right now, in this case, a wink means, that I'm passing something on to her, where as in another situation, for example, if Applejack was getting in trouble, I would take the blame for her and then wink at her as if I was saying, "I gotcha covered, babe",
"Yeah, ah didn't touch yer PB, Big MacIntosh" Applejack said.
"OOH, Peanut Butter? I love peanut butter!" Pinkie cheered.
"Same here, Pinkie" Big MacIntosh said.
"Well, come to think of it, Mac. I did see Granny Smith come in here yesterday and I think she took a jar out of the fridge, I didn't get a clear look on what it was though" I lied.
"Ah can't really get annoyed at Granny, especially at the age she's at, she's the kind of pony who can't remember what she had for dinner yesterday, so asking about it would really seem pointless" He said.
"I know what you mean" I replied.
"Oh, do any of you have the time?" Pinkie asked.
"When ah was coming down the stairs, ah saw on the clock that it was 8:45" Big MacIntosh replied.
"Oh, I better get going, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are going out to a convention for about five hours and I need to babysit the kids" Pinkie told us.
"OK, Pink. Ah'll see ya tonight, yeah?" Applejack wanted to make sure.
Pinkie nodded, "Yeah, I'll see you tonight, Applejack. See ya later, everypony. And happy one month birthday, Toffee"
Toffee just stared at Pinkie in confusion, then drooled, then giggled at her. Pinkie giggled back at her, then Applejack escorted Pinkie to the front door, wished her goodbye and says that she is looking forward to hanging out tonight, Pinkie said the same and left.
Applejack came back into the kitchen and started to sort out another bottle for Toffee, and Big MacIntosh sorted out a peanut butter sandwich for himself, and not really caring about the entire peanut butter incident anymore, He took his sandwich out with him to the living room, leaving me yet again, in the kitchen, with my wife and daughter. Applejack, whilst sorting out milk for Toffee, said to me,
"Ya talked yerself out of almost getting killed by ma brother again"
"Why? You impressed?" I asked.
"Very. Ma total ass may not be such an ass after all" She replied.
"Ooh, you want to continue that conversation, hon?" I asked as I got off my seat and went closer to her.
"Ah might do" Applejack implied.
"Well, considering you did call me sexy, I just wanna see where the convo goes from there" I said as I hugged Applejack from behind.
"Well, ya still are sexy, yer just as good-looking now as ya were seven years ago" Applejack said.
"Thanks, babe. You're still hot as well" I replied.
I leaned more over her towards her ear,
"The hat makes you look cuter" I whispered.
Applejack giggled and blushed, "Ya really think so?"
"Hell yeah" I replied.
"This hat was my Ma's" She told me.
"No way! Really?" I asked.
Applejack nodded, as she lightly pushed me off of her and took the bottle of milk over to Toffee,
"After Ma and Pa died, I was given this by Granny Smith, she said it was my Ma's hat, and she was going to pass it on to me, but she died before she could've done it herself" She sighed depressingly as she fed Toffee the milk.
"You think we should pass over to Toffee once she's old enough?" I asked.
"That would be a good idea" Applejack replied, feeling a little better.
"Let's see what she'll look like with it on, it'll be funny" I said.
Applejack chuckled, "OK"
Applejack took off her hat and put it on our child, who was holding her bottle of milk, the hat didn't fit her and it covered her eyes, due to it being too big, Toffee pushed up the hat up revealing her eyes, while still drinking her milk.
The look of Toffee wearing Applejack's hat, was funny, but when I looked at Applejack's expression, she was smiling, but she was upset, something was bothering her. She was smiling with joy at the sight of Toffee looking silly in her hat, but at the same time it looked as if a tear was going to fall from her eye. So I gently tapped Applejack, and then, out of absolute nowhere, she tightly hugged once more, but the hug wasn't as tight as the last one, at least this time, I'm able to breath well. Applejack, who was now cuddling me, nuzzled her face into my shoulder, and then started to cry, she broke down. I was still shocked when she just abruptly hugged me, so I didn't wrapped my arms around her just as soon as she hugged me, but after about thirty seconds, I gave in and decided to cozy up my wife,
"What's wrong, Applejack?" I asked.
I didn't get an answer, she was still sobbing on my shoulder. I decided to then release myself from her hug, and since she wasn't crying on my shoulder, she was looking at the floor, still upset.
I placed my hoof underneath her chin, and I raised her chin up so she was facing me instead of the floor,
"Baby, I can't help you if you don't tell what's bothering you" I told her.
"Ah know, sugarcube. It's just.." She paused, "It's just.."
"It's just what, hon?" I asked.
"It's just, ah thought about ma parents again" Applejack sighed, "It just got ta me, y'know? Ah'm sorry about all that, 'Mel" She apologized.
"Baby. It's OK. I completely understand" I replied, "You don't have to apologize"
Applejack nodded, "Ah ain't broken down like that, since ah was ten"
"Usually it helps if you talk about more, get it all of it out your system. Do you want to?" I offered.
"No thanks, Caramel" She replied, "Y'know, yer always here for me when ah need ya"
"It's my job, I'm your husband" I chuckled slightly, "If I weren't here for you, I'd be a bit of ass"
Applejack smiled at me, "Do ya wanna know the reason ah fell in love with ya and married ya?" She asked.
"I actually don't know why, so yes please tell me" I replied.
"Ah fell in love with ya because yer heart is always in the right place" She told me.
"Wanna know why I fell in love with you?" I asked her.
"Please" She replied.
"I fell in love with because you're honest, loyal, kind, generous..." I was saying.
"Honey, those are the Elements of Harmony" Applejack interrupted.
"Oh" I just realized as I was coincidentally listing off her traits and the elements.
"Don't stop, ah wanna hear the end, babe" She told me.
"You're also really loving and caring, and you're the most beautiful pony I've ever seen in my life" I told her.
Applejack blushed, "Ya always make me feel special"
"You are, baby" I smiled.
Our little conversation was interrupted by Toffee, she had finished her drink of milk, and interrupted us with a slightly loud burp, a little too loud for a baby burp,
"Oh, some little baby needs her burpin'" Applejack spoke out.
"Aww, but our talk" I said.
Applejack placed her hoof gently on my cheek and said,
"We'll continue it later" She told me, "But right now, we need ta burp Toffee"
"OK, hon"