//------------------------------//
// Standing outside the Fire 
// Story: J and AJ, Learning to Live Again 
// by Ron Jeremy Pony 
//------------------------------//

J and AJ, Learning to live again

Chapter 2 ‘Standing outside the Fire’

(Sweet Apple Acres – Back Forty – The following morning)

Jack grunted as he kicked the tree behind him.  He focused on the work, and unlike the hard cider the work did drive the memories back into the recesses of his mind.  He turned around and grabbed the tub of apples, lifted it, and carried it to the cart.  He dumped the apples into it and then stopped. The stub of his right leg was throbbing again.  

“Mac, we’re going to get some rain,” he said.

“Eeeyup,” Big Mac replied.

The red stallion looked at the off yellow one standing near him.  He already considered Jack to be a brother, and it didn’t bother him that he was going to be marrying Applejack.  In all truth he felt that the two of them would be good together.  Jack was a hard worker, a decent stallion, and while he was a little different it was obvious how much he cared for Applejack.  Still, right now he could tell something was bothering his brother – in – law to be.  He wasn’t sure what it could be, but he could tell it was something that was eating him up inside.  Not being a stallion of many words he walked toward Jack and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Jack, Ya alright?” he asked.

Jack nodded.  He moved his right leg a little and finally he lifted it.  He reached down and unsnapped the clip for the harness with his teeth and let the artificial limb work loose from what was left of his own leg.  After a moment the magically engineered limb slowly came off and Jack lifted his leg up to see where it was a small piece of the denim inside of the leg was wearing thin.  He shook his head and looked at it.  Without a word he worked his leg back into the artificial one, hooked back up the harness, and then faced Big Macintosh.

“I’ll be fine Mac,” he said.

“Ya don’t look fine Jack.  Ya look like something’s been eating away at ya.  Ah want you to know that ya can talk to me if ya want to,” he replied.

Jack looked at the red stallion and thought about it.  A few years ago he would have talked to…  The thought stopped there.  He couldn’t talk to David about anything again.  He couldn’t call his Mom, Mikey, Gramps, or Grams.  He was here, in this world, and although he had friends here he was what was left of where he came from.  He hung his head down and kept his feelings in check.

There are few basic rules that all guys followed.  The first was you didn’t cry in front of another guy.  Crying in front of your girlfriend was one thing.  If beer or whiskey was involved it could be waved off as a bad night of drinking and nothing else.  But it didn’t matter if you drank an entire delivery truck of Jack Daniels followed by a Jim Bean chaser you didn’t cry in front of another guy.

He forced himself to suck it back in.  To keep from losing what composure he had.  He had come out here to work, to get away from feeling so fucked up.  He started to move when he felt the hoof touch him again.

“Jack, if’n this is gonna mess with yer relationship with my sister I want ya to talk about it,” Mac said.

He looked at the red stallion and breathed out a defeated sigh.  That was what Granny Smith and Big Macintosh used when they wanted to talk to him about anything he didn’t want to talk about.  They would tell him that if it was going to mess with Applejack he needed to get it out.  It irritated him how most of the time they were right.

“Mac, have you ever felt like there was something you did that really fucked things up?  I mean something bad.  Like you had a chance to make sure that your sisters were fine, and while you checked on them, and they were, something came along.  Something big and it lay waste to everything.  And when you went back you looked at what happened.  You knew in your heart that there really wasn’t anything else you could have done.  I mean, really, there was nothing else to be done, but it didn’t matter because there are a dozen things that might have worked if you could have somehow done them.  Things that when you stop to think about it would have been impossible for you to do, but it doesn’t matter because you would have tried anyway,” Jack said.

Mac looked at him and his normal easy going attitude and face changed.  He took a seat on his haunches and indicated that Jack do the same.  Once Jack was sitting Mac looked at him and then pointed his head toward the Everfree Forest.

“Ma Pa and Mama were bringing me, Applejack, and our baby ‘baby’ sister Applebloom back from a neighboring farm’s barn dance through the forest.  It was night, and Pa was trying to make good time.  Ah was jest a few years older than Applebloom is now, and ah wasn’t as strong.  We heard growling and Pa tried to run with the wagon connected.  He wanted to get us out of danger…  It didn’t work though.  Several Timberwolves started showing up.  He had mama take us out of the forest.  We were nearly out when ah heard him scream out.  Mama told us to keep running, get some help, and then she ran back to Pa,” he turned to Jack looking misty eyed, “Ah used to think to maself how ah should’a ran back to help ‘em.  Maybe ah could’a saved ‘em, but ah know better.  Ah was just a young colt.  ‘Em wolves would’a killed me.  Ma Pa and Mama saved me, Applejack, and Applebloom.  If ah could change it ah would, but ah can’t.  So, ah just try to live a life ah think they’d be proud of.”

There wasn’t much Jack could say to that.  While it was a little different Mac knew exactly what he was going through, and somehow the farmer had learned to accept it.  He looked toward Mac and nodded.

“Thanks Mac,” Jack said.

Big Macintosh nodded and stood.  He held out a hoof to Jack who accepted the help and stood himself.  The both of them walked back to the trees and started Applebucking again.  As they worked inside Applejack was helping Granny Smith.

“Granny, Ah aughta be out there helping them with the Applebuckin’!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Not right now yer not gonna ta.  Ya got a bun in yer oven, and that means taking things a little easier,” Granny Smith said.

“Ah can still work,” Applejack said.

“Ah know ya can, but doing a lot of that heavy liftin’ and buckin’ might not be the best thing fer ya right now.  Besides, I could always use the help cooking up meals,” she replied.

Applejack rolled her eyes and went about making the corn bread for the beans they had put on earlier in the day.  She mixed up the fresh cornmeal, flour, milk, salt, sugar, the one egg, and oil into a bowl.  As she mixed she felt a slight flutter of movement.  She stopped and let her hoof touch where the foal was inside of her.  Granny Smith saw her and walked toward her.  She gently touched the area Applejack was.

“Ya felt ‘em eh?” Granny Smith asked.

She nodded.

“Ah thought ah wouldn’t be at only five months,” she said.

Granny Smith shook her head and smiled.

“No such luck.  Yer git to feel ‘em, and in the next few months that foal is going to enjoy kicking yer insides,” Granny Smith said.

Applejack’s ears laid back as she heard that.

“What?” she asked.

“Sure, ya did with yer mama, and yer daddy with me.  It’s just something all foals do,” she said.

Applejack looked disheartened as she started working on the cornbread again.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

“Some days it ain’t too bad, but there are days that yer kidneys hurt so bad because that littleun can’t stay still,” Granny Smith answered.

Applejack felt the bulge she was carrying around.  It was kind of odd to be one of the few mares who didn’t start showing early.  Twilight had been the exact opposite.  About her third month in she was showing that she was pregnant.  It didn’t help that her friend was still grieving over the death of her husband.  She felt her heart sink thinking about poor Twilight.  She was going to haveta raise that foal on her own.

She remained quiet as she dipped the cornbread batter into the muffin pans.  Granny Smith raised an eyebrow at how she was fixing the cornbread, but didn’t say a word.  Instead the old mare smiled. It was something Applejack’s own mother had done when she was carrying Big Macintosh, then her, and finally Applebloom.  She was fixin’ the food so a little foal would eat it better thinking it was a sweet rather than plain cornbread.

“Sis!  Diamond Tiera said that yer baby is gonna be a son or daughter of a tail lifter!” Applebloom shouted as she ran toward the kitchen.

Applejack stopped what she doing and looked at her little sister.

“She said what?!” Applejack shouted.

“She said that since ya and Jack weren’t married that ya was a tail lifter, and that yer foal was gonna be a son or daughter of a tail lifter!” Applebloom said nearly in tears.

“Ah’m a gonna march right over there and give her parents a piece of ma mind!” Applejack shouted.

“No you ain’t Applejack.  Yer gonna sit down, and listen ta me,” Granny Smith said.

Applejack turned toward her and Granny Smith cleared her throat.

“Yer mama got called a tail lifter when she was pregnant with Big Macintosh.  She got called one because she and yer daddy weren’t married yet.  It hurt her feeling awful bad.  It didn’t stop once they got married either.  Folks thought that yer Daddy married her because he had to.  That it was because she was carrying his foal.  That wasn’t the case, and it was hard on ‘em.  Yer Mama nearly left because of some of the folks.  But, some of yer Daddy’s friends spoke up fer yer Mama.  Filthy Rich was one of ‘em.  He told everypony he knew that there wasn’t a mare alive yer Daddy loved more than yer Mama.  Over time the talk stopped, and by the time ya came around t’wasn’t nopony sayin’ a word ‘bout it,” she said.

“How did Mama handle it?” she asked.

Granny Smith smiled at her and gave her a small hug.

“She had a good family, and the love of a good stallion.  Ah’d hear them sometimes,” she looked at Applebloom, “Being real friendly with each other.”

Applebloom looked confused at her and then at Applejack.

“Eeenope, Ah ain’t gonna be the one to explain that one.  It’s Big Macintosh’s turn,” Applejack said as she started peeling the potatoes.

“Explain what?  What in tarnation are ya talkin’ ‘bout?” Applebloom asked.

“Go ask yer older brother,” Applejack said.

Applebloom rolled her eyes and started to walk out of the kitchen before Granny Smith stopped her.

“Uh huh, Ah need yer help.  Grab ‘em green beans and git to splittin’ ‘em and washin’ ‘em,” Granny Smith said.

“Awww… Granny…” she said.

“Go on now,” Granny Smith said.

“Yes ma’am,” Applebloom said as she went to work.

“Applejack, in about fifteen minutes call those two in for lunch,” Granny Smith said.

Applejack nodded and went back to working with the potatoes.  It wasn’t long before she had a mess of them fried up and when she was finished Granny Smith nodded.  She turned and walked out the front door.  She began ringing the trinangle on the front porch.

“Big Mac, Jack it’s lunch time!” she shouted.

A few minutes later both stallions came walking up toward the house.  She watched as they came inside and headed toward the bathroom.  Before Jack started to climb the stairs he turned around and caught her in a kiss.  Her eyes widened, but then she found herself kissing him back.  He pulled back and smiled at her.  She smiled and nuzzled against him.

“Ah love ya Jack,” she said.

“I love you too Applejack,” he replied.

He started to walk upstairs and stopped.  He could see her looking a little sad.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Some folks are trying ta call me a tail lifter,” she said.

“A what now?” he asked.

She shook her head and reminded herself that Jack wasn’t always a pony.

“A tail lifter is… It’s a mare that doesn’t which stallion, or if he’s married, that she sleeps with,” she said.

“Oh hell no.  No, they are not going to say that about you.  Who said it?  Which sorry son of a bitch is going to get to eat their teeth?” he seethed.