Raj sprinted through the rows of apple trees, fitfully glancing to his sides. His breath came in rough puffs and his feet slammed the path heavily. He tried to pick out shapes from among the worn trunks and dangling branches that crowded him, but any clue as to his pursuers location was lost to the dense cover.
A pitched whine brought his attention back to the front and he saw a small shape leap out from behind a stacked tower of buckets. It landed and pounced with a high shriek, reaching hooves towards him.
Raj grunted and sprung to the side, planting a foot on a tree trunk and kicked off, carrying himself well out his attacker's reach. She twisted her neck around and groped for him but caught nothing but air, landing on her shoulder roughly.
He hit the ground running and craned his neck around to watch his attacker stagger up and shake her head. He grinned madly and turned his attention back just in time to see another small shape dangling from a tree branch, arms held wide to grab at his face.
Raj let out a decidedly unmanly sound and leaned back, his feet going out from underneath him as he went into a slide. The little figure hanging from the branch groaned and reached, her little arms flailing as she lost her grip and went tumbling to the ground.
He slid along his butt for some distance before digging his heel into the ground and levering up to his feet. He patted dust off of himself while looking back at his pursuers and shouting “You're gonna have to do better than that!” He grinned wide and turned back to see a green-eyed blur slam him right in the chest, knocking him clear off his feet.
A snowy-white filly stood upright on his chest and shouted directly into his face “Ha! Got you Rajrishi!”
Scootaloo pulled herself up from where she'd fallen from the tree and yelled “It worked, AppleBloom it worked!”
“Yeah, ah knew it would!” cried the little Earth Pony while she pulled twigs from her mane further up the path.
Raj rolled his head back and let out a sigh of mock-exasperation while Sweetie Belle did a short victory jig on his chest. “We did it Rajrishi, we finally got you.”
“Yeah you did, good job Sweetie, but...” a wicked smirk crawled across his face “now I've got you!” Be bolted up and grabbed the little pony, swinging her up high as she screamed in surprise and fell into helpless giggles.
Scootaloo saw this and broke into a run “Don't worry Sweetie Belle, I'll save you!” She jumped at him, legs held out straight to hit his abdomen.
Raj sidestepped and scooped out a hand, smoothly wrapping it around her barrel and swung her around in a high arc. He grinned and chided “Not today kid.” as held her high overhead.
“Oh no,” shouted Sweetie Belle from her hold at his side “Applebloom, you're our only hope!” she said to her approaching friend, her voice turning hopeful.
Raj turned on the last free filly as she came pounding at his legs, trying to ram into his shins to knock him off balance. Raj hopped and sidestepped as he landed, his arms going into pinwheels that sent the girls in hands into howls of excitement and startled whoas.
He found his balance again and squared at Applebloom while she lowered her front-half menacingly, eyes narrow and snout flaring. Raj was still grinning wide as he stared at the overly-serious pony. He taunted “You give up yet 'Bloom?”
“Never!” she shouted and reared up. She hit the ground and blasted forward screaming “Charge!” at such a volume it threatened Raj's hearing.
Raj stepped back and watched her, measuring her approach. As she neared, Raj did something none of them were expecting. He flicked the arm holding Scootaloo straight up, launching the Pegasus into the air, and stepped forward and low with his arm extended. His hand slid under her chest and he catapulted her up, much to her audible surprise. She was quickly followed by Sweetie Belle and then Scootaloo again.
Raj wasn't particularly sure how their game of 'Catch Rajrishi' had turned into a round of 'Children Juggling', nor was he sure how the idea to even do such a thing even found its way into his head. The giggling and shrieking fillies he was tossing overhead did not seem to mind, in fact they were having a grand old time.
He smiled at their laughter and jeered “They said I was crazy...” as he launched Sweetie Belle up “...they said it couldn't be done. Look at me now.” he took a wider stance to get more lateral motion to them. “I told you this wasn't your day girls, what do you have to say for yourselves?”
“Higher!” they all cried in unison as they spun and squirmed in midair “Go higher!”
Raj obliged, getting them a good yard over his head with each arc. The fillies screamed in appreciation and egged him on even more.
He kept up the ridiculous game for a good few minutes before parent instincts kicked in and he realized how incredibly dangerous this whole thing was. He gave two of them a good toss and set the third, Scootaloo, on her own unsteady hooves. She was quickly joined by her two friends, both equally dizzy and breathless.
They smiled deliriously and gave huffing breaths before collapsing to the ground, dazed and giggling wildly. Scootaloo rolled faceup and pointed a wobbly hoof skyward as she shouted “Let's go again, let's go again!”
Raj threw his head back and barked out a laugh and dropped to the ground, sitting with his legs crossed. He stuttered out “M-maybe later girls.”
“Alright, not really sure my stomach could handle that again anyways.” slurred Applebloom with a hoof laid across her belly and a queasy look on her face.
Scootaloo huffed “Yeah, that's okay then. Can you play with us again tomorrow?”
Raj shook his head “No can do kid, busy.” All three girls drooped their heads and let out synchronized groans of disappointment. Raj rolled his eyes “Don't give me that. You have school, you won't even notice I'm gone.”
“We might, you don't know.” shot back Scootaloo.
Raj raised his hands, surrendering “Next day I take off from the Everfree, I promise. Whatever you girls want to do, I'm all yours, okay?” After a few seconds of conferring looks he was met with a chorus of vigorous head-bobs. He smiled and said “Good, now let's get back. Sun's going down.”
The fillies unsteadily rose to their hooves and started trotting down the road, swerving drunkenly and pitching from residual dizziness. Applebloom listed so bad to the side she veered off the path and crashed into a stack of apple baskets, one of them cupped over her head.
Once Raj was done laughing he went over and lifted the basket off the dizzy filly. “Still out of sorts kid?”
“Maybe a little bit.” she admitted while she tried to get both her eyes to line up with the other.
“You want me to carry you?”
“Nuh-uh, I can do it.” She stood up and started cantering toward the farm, a little bit of sway to her step still.
“Wait, you'd carry us?” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “If we were tired or something?”
Raj shrugged “Sure, why not?”
Sweetie's eyes gleamed and she bonelessly flopped to the ground, grinning slyly. She moaned “Oh Rajrishi, I'm still dizzy from the game and it's just too hard for me to- whoa!” She cried as Raj scooped her up off the ground.
He tucked her against his torso and said “You don't have to be dramatic Sweetie, its fine.” She only gave a happy 'hmm' and buried her face against his chest.
They made the long walk back to the farmhouse slowly, stopping to laugh at some childish joke or observation one of them would make. The sun was well intent on setting by the time they came to the old farmhouse.
“Well there ya are.” noticed Applejack when she looked up from under the wagon she was working on. “Where ya been all day?”
“Playin' with Rajrishi.” chirped Applebloom
“The whole day?” asked Applejack.
“Yeah, he's real good at playing chase, and he can juggle.” added Scootaloo.
Applejack slid out from under the cart with the broken axle clutched in her hooves. “Sounds like a whole heap o' fun, but it's time to get washed up for supper Applebloom, and you two should get on home 'fore it gets dark.”
“Okay Applejack.” said all three in high-pitched unison. Applebloom retreated inside and Scootaloo buzzed away on her scooter, Sweetie Belle trailing behind in her attached wagon and waving goodbye.
Raj returned it and watched them go until they were a smudge of color passing through the distant fence.
Applejack smiled and said through a length of tape in her mouth as she worked to fix the axle “Ya really spent the whole day with them girls?”
“Not the whole day, just since lunch.” he answered. He looked over at her “They're little hellions, aren't they?”
She looked up from her work sharply “Rajrishi! That ain't a nice thing to say at all.”
He shrugged “Its true though?”
“Well, yeah, but it still ain't a nice thing to say.” she replied, a touch of laughter in her tone. “Ah'm happy to see ya'll getting along. Them girls seem real taken with you.”
“I guess. I've always been pretty good with kids. Helps that they like to play kinda rough. I have experience with that.” He grinned and brushed a layer of dust off his previously-clean shirt. He glanced around the yard and asked “Hey, have you seen Banjo around?”
“He's on the porch with Winona.” She let out a slight chuckle and muttered “They're getting along real well too.”
Raj cocked an eyebrow oddly and scanned the front of the house for the animals. When he saw them his eyes shot wide and he shouted “Banjo! Bad dog!” and broke into a run towards the animals.
Applejack's voice went smoky and she said to herself “Getting along real well.” before breaking into a peal of laughter.
Raj shoved Winona inside the house and closed the door while Banjo scratched and whined at it. Raj whapped his dog across the snout and scolded him harshly, eliciting whimpers and flat-tailed submission from the animal.
When Raj made his way back to Applejack she was still doubled over her ruined axle, laughing helplessly. Raj glanced away out of embarrassment and shifted uncomfortably. He muttered “I am so sorry Applejack. I swear he's never done that before.”
Applejack laughed a bit more before she regained her composure, hiccuping and letting out long breaths “Oh, ah wouldn't say that Rajrishi.”
Raj replied flatly “What?”
“Oh yeah, Banjo and Winona been going at it all over the place. In the barn, behind the shed, in the orchards...” She rattled off.
“Oh my god.” Raj pressed his face into his hands.
“...by the water pump, in the hay loft, in your bed...”
“OH MY GOD!” Raj shouted, looking at her with wild eyes.
Applejack burst into laughter again, leaning back and slapping her knee with a hoof. “Whoa nelly, ah hope that never gets old.”
Raj's shoulders sunk and he shot a salty look her way. “You are a terrible pony, the absolute worst.”
His insult only brought more good-natured laughter from her. “Aww, come on Rajrishi, ah'm just having some fun with ya.” she lightly punched his side.
“The absolute worst, bar none.” he gave an exaggerated pout before drifting into a smile and returning the shove with a light chuckle. “Guess I had that coming. Should have been keeping a closer eye on him.”
“Don't feel bad Rajrishi. Banjo's a good pooch. He'll be a fine daddy.”
For the second time that evening, Rajrishi replied with a flat “What?”
“Winona's getting to be about that age and ah know a few folks that'd be partial to a puppy. Just didn't know who to get to take care of the studdin' business. Yer boy seems fine takin' care of that though.”
“Ah, okay. Well good luck with that. Banjo's fixed.”
Applejack cocked an eyebrow “Fixed? Whaddya mean?”
“Y'know, like, um...” Raj held up two of his fingers and scissored them together “...fixed.”
She gave him a confused look. “What, was he broken or something? What's wrong with him?”
“Nothing, nothing's wrong with him. We just had him... neutered.”
Applejack continued to stare at him uncomprehending. “What's 'neutered' mean. Is that some sort of sickness or something?”
Raj tilted his head back and crooned in realization “Ohhh, that's not a thing in Equestria.”
“What's not a thing? What in tarnation are you talking about?” she replied, her tone confused and a little annoyed.
Raj held up his hands “Nothing! Nothing at all. Forget I said anything. Hey, let's talk about something other than our dogs, alright?” he pointed at the taped up shaft in her hooves. “Like that, what's going on with that? What are you doing?”
“This? This here's a wagon-axle. Came out earlier and the dang thing was broke. Mac musta been loading it too heavy again.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Nah, got it all taped up now. Just need to put it back in.” She stood up and hoofed over the the wagon.
“Tape? You sure tape's a good idea on something like that?”
She looked back at him “Ah only need it to hold for a bit. Ah'll manage a proper fix tomorrow.” She craned her neck around, searching the ground for something. “Now where'd I leave that jack? Ah know ah had when ah left the barn.”
Raj smirked and moved to the rear of the wagon. He grabbed the bumper and hauled up, lifting the thing to his eye level easily. “Who needs a jack?”
“Rajrishi!” Applejack scolded “Yer still mendin'. Yah shouldn't be exertin' yerself.”
“Oh, trust me Applejack. I'm not.” To illustrate his point he let go with one of his black hands, holding up the entire wagon with only his left arm and he pumped it a bit, creaking the wagon dangerously.
She gave him a lopsided smirk and drawled “Ah'm guessing that yer feelin' a bit better now?”
“Two weeks of no Everfree will do that to a guy. That and a diet of apples, all the apples. So many apples I can smell them in my sweat.” he paused for a second before adding “I've eaten a lot of apples, is what I'm getting at here.”
Applejack debated lecturing him for the sass, but decided to let it slide. She hooked the axle up to the undercarriage and slid the wheels back on. Raj gently lowered it back to the ground and gave it some experimental bounces. The whole thing didn't collapse, so Raj counted it as a successful repair job.
“That should do 'er. Thanks partner.” Applejack nudged against him before slipping herself into the harness on the front.
“Not a problem. Why you getting this thing fixed up now anyway? Didn't you say dinner's soon anyway?”
“Ah got a delivery to make.” she said as she started trotting towards the barn.
“What, now?” Raj glanced at the rapidly vanishing sun on the horizon. “You've got maybe twenty minutes of daylight left.”
“Ah know that. This is a... special customer.” Her face crinkled a bit and she looked away.
“Okay.” he replied, put off a bit by her unfamiliar body language. “You want some help? I could go with, carry some to make sure the wagon isn't overloaded.”
She sighed “No, it's better if yah don't. This is something ah hafta do.”
“You don't sound excited.”
“Ah'm not.” She slumped out of her harness and scooped a basket of apples stacked near the barn onto her back. “But it's something that needs to be done, and Macintosh did it last time.”
Raj frowned “Sorry.”
“Not yer fault, but thanks.” she slid the third basket into the back of the wagon and closed the hitch. “No doing complaining 'bout it though. Better to just get to it. Ah should be back in a little over an hour. Tell Mac 'n Granny where ah am, wouldja?”
“Sure thing.” Applejack nodded and trotted off, her rickety wagon dragging behind.
Raj waved after as she disappeared into the fading light.
* * *
Raj was most of the way to sleep when he heard the heavy thump of something rolling down the stairs.
He sat up and blearily rubbed his eyes, muttering wordlessly to himself. He waited a moment, seeing if the noise would repeat itself or if he would hear stirrings from the rest of the house. Nothing was forthcoming so he laid his head back down on his pillow and stayed like that for all of ten seconds before he realized that his brain wouldn't let him get anywhere near sleep unless he checked.
Cursing colorfully, he swung his legs off the small bed and lit the small hand lamp on his nightstand. He pulled on a pair of Mac's old shorts and strode out into the hall. He padded quietly to the top of the stairs and froze when he heard a groan echo up from the bottom.
“Applejack?” he whispered, lightly tiptoeing down the stairs. “Applejack is that you?” He started down the stairs, eventually seeing the orange pony sprawled out at the bottom.
“Oh god, Applejack.” Raj rushed to her and laid a hand on her. She groaned and recoiled from it a bit. “Applejack, can you hear me?” She murmured something inaudible and tried to stand up. She made it about halfway before collapsing. Raj caught her and set her down. He said “Okay, stay here. I'm getting Granny Smith.”
Her eyes shot open and she grabbed at his arm. She hissed “No, yah can't. Don't get Granny, don't get anyone.”
Raj shook his head “But-”
“Just get me to the sofa.” She ordered and winced, clutching her belly.
He complied, lifting her up by her middle and swiftly carrying her to the couch. He clicked the switch on the base of a table-side lamp and finally got a good look at Applejack.
Even in the bad light Raj could tell she was in rough shape. A purple shadow clouded over her left eye and she was clutching at her leg, curling it up like she didn't want it disturbed. Her mane and tail ties had been somehow lost and they were in wild disarray, sticking up at odd angles and matted down with something brown and gritty. Her coat was darkened in spots, heavy bruises shining through, and along the left side of her ribs a trio of wide gouges scraped from her shoulder to her hip.
“Someone did this to you.” It wasn't a question.
She looked up at him and muttered “Rajrishi, calm down. Ah'm fine, okay, ah'm fine.”
“That's good, but I need to know who.” he asked, a hard edge creeping through the control he tried to keep on his tone.
“Rajrishi!” She almost shouted, reaching up to him and coming up short. “You cool yer jets, alright? Ah don't want nopony, 'specially you, going off and hurtin' somepony else fer something that was mah own danged fault. Now calm down!”
“I'm calm.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out between clenched teeth. “I'm calm Applejack.”
She seemed to accept that and settled into her space on the couch. “Good, that's good.”
“Great. Now what happened?”
“Ah fell comin' up the stairs. Is all.” She said, her face screwing up when she said it.
Raj blinked. “Really?”
“Celestia's honest.”
“And I suppose the stairs are what clawed your side like that?” He asked tonelessly.
Applejack shifter in her spot, trying fruitlessly to cover up the gash. “That's, um, that's nothing. Don't you worry about it.”
“I'm getting Granny.” He started to walk away.
She bolted up and grabbed his hand in her hooves. “No, yah can't. Please.”
“Fine, then I'll get Macintosh.”
“Ya can't get him neither, ya can't get nopony, alright?” She shook her head imploringly “Nopony else can know about this.”
“Why?” He yanked his hand out her grip. “Why the hell are you covering like this for someone who hurt you?”
She sat up on the couch, looking at him imploringly. “Cause ah need to, alright? Them knowing 'bout this won't change nothing 'cept putting the fear of Celestia in mah family. It's not gonna happen again and they don't need to know it happened at all.”
“But what did happen?” Raj asked.
Applejack bit her lip and looked away, her eyes going wild for a second. “Ah, ah can't tell you neither.”
“Oh come on.” he groaned.
“Shush! Do you want to wake up everypony in the house?”
“If your going to ask me to lie for you, then I'll need to know what I'm lying about.”
She pondered for a second and offered“Ah was doing something mah job needs me to do, ah screwed it up, and ah hurt mahself. Mah family don't even know that it's dangerous, but it's something that has to happen 'n nopony else can do it.”
Raj was quiet for a moment, lost in thought before saying. “Okay.”
Applejack sputtered “W-what?”
“Okay. I won't tell anyone, and if they ask I'll lie.”
Applejack's gaped and her eyes went wide. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” Raj nodded. “Are you going to be okay, or do you need to see a doctor?”
“Oh, right, that. Ah'll be fine. Ah'm an Earthpony, so I'll be all mended up in a few days. Worst of it'll be taken care of by mornin'.”
“Good. If any of the other Apples notice I'll tell them you fell down the stairs.”
Applejack smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head “Well, um, thanks but uh...” she trailed off “ah thought this would be harder.”
“I have experience holding back the whole truth to make people feel better Applejack. A lot of it. Are you going to be good getting to bed?”
“Yeah, ah should be.” She rolled off the sofa and settled on shaky hooves. Raj started to head for the stairs before Applejack called after him. “Thanks again Rajrishi, ah don't normally ask folk for this sort of-”
Raj cut in “It's fine Applejack. Like I said, I get it.” His brow furrowed and his voice hardened “But if this happens again, ever, I am going to find whoever did this to you.”
Applejack chuckled a bit, thinking he was joking.