//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20: Intermission II 
// Story: Time Lord: The Story of North Star 
// by Thrawn1800 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 20



North laid curled up on his bed. Big Macintosh had left once he’d fallen asleep, but he was awake now. His sleep had been full of all his most terrible memories, all torturesome to him. He didn’t move at all, just staring into the fur of his chest and stomach. A terrible sadness washed over him, untempered and raging in its intensity. He felt so alone, and so tired. Only one small argument was keeping him from losing control. 

It had to be done, he said to himself. I had to go, to keep them safe. Tenebrous and others cannot track them anymore.

He grabbed one of his pillows, and pulled it against his chest. He pushed his nose deep into it’s fluffiness. Restraining a sob, he curled his tail around one of his legs. For a long time, he laid there alone, wrapped in the cool sheets.

“North?”

He lifted his head. Over in the doorway, Applebloom was looking in at him.

“Applejacks says breakfast’s ready, ‘n you should come down.”

North ignored her, tucking his head back between his forelegs and the pillow. She hesitated for a moment, then walked up to the bed.

“North, are you okay?” When he gave no answer, she poked his back gently. “North?”

When he didn’t even seem to notice, she went back into the hallway, then downstairs. Applejack looked in from the kitchen.

“Where’s North?” she asked.

“Still in bed.” said Applebloom. “He wouldn’t answer me.”

Applejack sighed. “Ah’ll go’n get ‘im. You set the table.”

“Okay.”

Applebloom went into the kitchen, and Applejack went upstairs. She found North exactly as Applebloom had left him. She shook his shoulder, perhaps a bit rougher than was necessary. North flinched away from her touch.

“Rise’n shine.” she said. “We ain’t gonna wait fer ya.”

North shrugged. Applejack was about to flip out, but she didn’t get the chance.

“Leave ’im be, AJ.” said Mac, looking in through the door.

“But he’s-”

“C’mon.” Applejack grumbled, but she left. Mac came over to the bed, and touched his shoulder. “Come down when yer ready, ‘kay?”

North nodded, and Mac left.

When North came down, it was time for lunch. He sat quietly, and didn’t talk to anyone. Mac glanced over at him from his own seat. He was expressionless, which made it harder for Mac to figure out what was going on with him.

After they’d eaten, North followed Mac and Applejack outside. The harvest season was in full swing now, and they were in a race against time. They had to finish quickly enough that the apples didn’t get overripe. North and Applejack began going from tree to tree, giving them a solid thwack with their hind legs, and then gathering the apples that didn’t make it into the baskets below the trees.

They worked steadily for several hours. Above them, and to the west, they could see a rain cloud under construction. Eventually, Applejack went to do some of the other chores, leaving the two stallions to continue alone. They didn’t talk, which was probably best. Mac didn’t usually talk much, but words seemed to spill out around North. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, and upset North further.

Meanwhile, North didn’t want to talk to anyone. His mind was a jumbled mess, and he was just glad that applebucking was an ingrained process. As he was collecting the baskets around one of the trees, he heard Mac clear his throat behind him.

“Er, North?”

North looked over at him. He couldn’t bring himself to answer, which made Mac feel a little awkward.

“Ah… Ah know yer not feelin’ too good right now.” he said. “Ah just want ya ta know, ya can always talk t’me.”

North nodded silently, then turned back to the baskets he was picking up. Taking one on his back, he walked over to the wagon they’d brought out with them. Mac watched for a few seconds, then looked away. He felt a little embarrassed by his short speech, so he went back to bucking the trees.

Once it was full, they took the wagon back to the storage barn, and started unloading the baskets into the cellar. They they’d started in the back, so the distance was less than it had been a few days earlier. Applejack rejoined them halfway through, so they were done with that wagonload and back in the orchard sooner.

They followed their normal routine, until it was time for dinner. They put all the equipment they’d used that day back where it belonged, and went inside. Granny Smith had managed to improve Applebloom’s cookings skills, and together they’d prepared a delicious dinner for the family. While it began to rain outside, they set the table.

When they sat down, Mac was glad to see that North seemed to have perked up a little. It was only just noticeable, but he was sitting a little straighter than before. As the rest of them ate and talked, North stayed quiet. Nopony but Applejack and Big Macintosh seemed to notice, and neither of them made an attempt to draw him out of his shell at the present. Both were aware of what had occurred, having been told by an exhausted Twilight. She’d spent half of the night cleaning up the mess that had been caused by Tenebrous. They knew he needed time.

North went to bed, after having spent a long time in the shower trying his best to clean his useless wings. He’d gotten so frustrated, he’d almost snapped the faucet off the wall when he turned off the water. He was afraid to fall asleep again, after the previous night. But of course he did anyway.

___________________________________________

Big Macintosh was woken by a shout. He pushed himself upright, blinking blearily. He heard it again, and pushed himself off the bed. In the hallway, he wasn’t entirely surprised to find that the panicked sounds were coming from North’s room.

He walked down to it, and pushed the door open. North was shaking, panting wildly.

“No!” he moaned, raw throated. “No! No, please!”

Mac touched North’s shoulder hesitantly, and when there were no dire consequences, he tried to hold the shivering North still. North continued to fight against him, before he gasped loudly, and his eyes opened.

“M-Mac?” he said, staring at Mac in surprise. “I-I…”

“Nightmares?” asked Mac, letting North lean against him. He felt North nod into his red shoulder. For a minute, they listened to the sound of to the rain quietly pattering on the roof and window.

“T-They…” North gave a choking sob. “They were horrible.”

“Ah’m here now.” whispered Mac. “Yer fine, ah promise.”

North nodded again, and Mac felt him nuzzle into his shoulder. He rubbed North’s back as he began to cry silently. Mac sat quietly, willing to be there as long as he needed to be. When he thought North had fallen back asleep, he laid him down. But as he made to leave, North spoke quietly.

“Please…” he said. “Don’t… don’t go. I don’t want to be alone…”

Mac hesitated. If his sister found him in here, with North, in bed, she’d flip out. But he knew that North considered him a brother, and he felt the same way. So he laid down next to North, who curled up against his chest. He hugged North and whispered into his ear:

“I’ll stay.”

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When I woke up in the morning, Mac was still with me. He’d kept his promise, and stayed all night. I’d slept, if just barely. I let myself enjoy the warmth coming off of the larger stallion for a while. When I determined that it was time to get up, I tapped his side with a hoof. Mac sighed, and rubbed his closed eyes.

“Time already?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Mac heaved himself off of my bed, standing up and stretching out his legs. I got up too, wishing I could relieve some of the tension in my back. With my wings stuck in one place, and unresponsive for so long, the muscles responsible for their control were starting to protest their imprisonment. I was surprised they hadn’t started complaining before now, considering how long I’d had them.

“Thank you for staying.” I said, stepping out into the hallway after Mac.

“Yer welcome North.” he said. Unexpectedly, he wrapped me in a hug. When he let me go, I saw he was smiling. “Just try ta be a bit friendlier ta AJ, okay? She’s freakin’ out over the whole thing.”

“Okay.” 

I followed him downstairs, where we joined the others for breakfast. I tried to be more aware than I had been for the past couple days, when I’d been avoiding or ignoring almost everyone.

“Are ya feelin’ better?” asked Applebloom, looking up at me with those big eyes of hers.

“A bit.” I said.

“That’s good.” said Applejack, coming in from the living room. “We need ya more’n ever right now.”

I nodded, and went over to the stove. I ladled some porridge into a bowl, and handed it to Applebloom. She ran over to the table, and put it down. After we’d served everyone, we sat down.

___________________________________________

Dear Braeburn,

How are you? How’re your orchards doing? Is Bloomburg settling in fine?

Anyway, I’m writing to ask, could you come and help out this year? I know that you have responsibilities in Appleoosa, but there’ll be trouble if we can’t get all of the apples harvested this year. Even with North’s help, we don’t have enough help.

Speaking of North, I think you would do him some good. He’s been very depressed lately, since he and Thunderlane have split up. He didn’t talk for two days, and even after that, he’s barely speaking.

Your cousin,
Applejack