//------------------------------//
// One of the Family 
// Story: A Tale of Blue and Red 
// by Stratocaster 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6: One of the Family


Blueblood awoke with a sore neck. He wondered why he was waking up to some discomfort and found himself on an unfamiliar surface. But then he remembered the events of last night. Rarity had kissed him, he tried to cover it up in front of Applejack, and it only made her lose trust in him. But after Rarity came clean, Applejack allowed him to sleep over while she contemplated. Blueblood sat up on the small couch and rubbed his face. He no longer cared about his soar neck or his bed-head. All he could wonder was if Applejack had forgiven him.

Then, his mood shifted when a pleasing aroma approached his nose. Eggs. Immediately he heard the sound of a sizzling skillet from the kitchen. Curious, and a bit peckish, he entered the kitchen to see Applejack; but not in the way he had expected.

"Mornin'!" Applejack greeted him cheerily, as she stood at the stove cooking breakfast. "Why don't ya have a seat? I'm makin' mah famous omelettes with peppers and salsa."

Blueblood blinked. But without questioning, he sat down at the table, seeing a slice of toast and a mug of coffee already on the table. He wondered how she managed to get breakfast started without waking him up.

Applejack finished the omelette and served it to him on a plate. "How'd ya sleep?" she asked.

Blueblood paused to choose his answer carefully. "Well, the cushions were nice and firm. Thank you for breakfast."

"No problem." She sat down. "I didn't exactly get much sleep either. I guess we were both busy thinkin'."

Blueblood couldn't bring himself to eat his omelette. He felt like he didn't deserve the hospitality. "You know, you didn't have to let me stay overnight." He said.

"No, I wanted to." Applejack sighed. "Look, Blueblood, I believe that you would never betray me. In fact, I never really doubted that. I guess I just went a little haywire last night."

"No, it's not that at all." Blueblood insisted. "You had every right to be suspicious."

"Well, still, there's somethin' I just want you to know. You shoulda just told me what happened. Even if ya did some big mistake, I still would've forgiven you, as long as you told the truth. I should know; honesty is kinda my business."

"You're absolutely right." Blueblood nodded. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I suppose I just panicked in the heat of the moment. I thought you would be furious if I told you what happened."

"It takes a lot to make me that mad, Bluey, and I can get over stuff mighty quickly." Applejack continued. "But one thing I hate more than anything is bein' lied to. So just promise me one thing, Blueblood," she placed her hoof on his. "From now on, always tell me the truth."

With a smile, Blueblood grasped her hoof. "I promise, Applejack."

She returned his smile. "Thanks, dummy."

"As long as we're telling the truth," he said. "That couch was terribly uncomfortable."

"Well, consider that your punishment." She joked. "Now are you gonna eat that omelette I worked hard to make before it gets cold, or are ya just gonna keep starin' at me with those big blue eyes?"

Courteously, Blueblood took a bit of the spicy omelette. It was one of the best he had ever tasted. "Better than castle food."

Applejack winked, flattered. "You know, speakin' of sleepin' arrangements, ya didn't have to stay at Rarity's since yer movin' here."

Blueblood looked up with a mouth full of egg. "...What?"

"I was hopin' you'd want to move in with me, silly!"

"Oh! I thought it would be moving too fast if I moved in with you."

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe I like it fast."

Blueblood blushed, hoping he was just flattered. "Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"That depends, do ya want more omelettes?"

"Yes."

"Then welcome to Casa del Apple!" Applejack leaned over and kissed him on the nose.

Blueblood wrapped his hoof around her and smiled into her eyes. "Thanks for forgiving me, Applejack." He said sincerely. "I'd be honored to live with you."

Applejack grabbed the back of his head. "I love ya, sugarcube." They leaned in and kissed a relieving kiss. Applejack pulled away after many seconds. "By the way, you movin' in will be perfect timin'."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Because we're havin' the Apple Family Reunion tomorrow!"

Blueblood was taken aback. "Oh...I see...Were you going to mention that?"

"Nope! I wanted it to be a surprise." She smiled. "Oh I can't wait for you to meet everypony! They're gonna love ya to death!"

Blueblood suddenly felt nervous with the thought of meeting more of his marefriend's family. He had already managed to earn the trust of Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh. "Out of curiosity, how big is your family, Applejack? Will it just be a few cousins? Aunts? Uncles?"

Applejack paused with a blank expression. Then she suddenly burst out in laughter, knowing he had no idea what he was getting into.

...

The smell of cooked and baked goods wafted through the air, as the sound of jaunty bluegrass music resonated in the farm. The extended Apple Family had arrived by the droves, and quickly Sweet Apple Acres became party central. All across the farm, Applejack's relatives, from her cousins, to her second cousins, to her third cousins twice removed, reunited and mingled among each other. The little ones played and wrestled each other in the grass, while the elderly ones sat on the front porch reflecting on days gone by. The family band played nearby with banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass and washboard. Even ponies who weren't in the bloodline were welcomed to join the festivities. It just as good as every yearly reunion.

"Cousin AJ!" came the voice of a relative.

"Babs!" Applejack walked over to her little cousin from Manehattan. "Long time no see, squirt!"

"Who you callin' squirt?!" sassed Babs Seed. "I'm gettin' bigger by the day!"

"It's true!" said Apple Bloom, next to her. "We measured each other by a tree. But I'm still gonna beat you at gettin' mah cutie mark first!"

"Bring it on, cuz!" replied Babs.

"Now now, girls." Applejack then saw Blueblood walk over. "Oh yeah! Babs, I'd like ya to meet mah coltfriend Blueblood. Bluey, this is mah little cousin, and Cutie Mark Crusader, Babs Seed."

"So you're the big smooth prince who's been makin' sweet eyes at my big cousin?" smirked Babs. "Dang! A hunk like you goin' after this crazy broad?"

"...Thank you?" replied Blueblood, widely confused.

"Babs, really!" glowered Applejack. "Who taught you to talk like that?!"

"You did?"

"Damn right! But not around mah stallion! He's too sweet for sour talk."

"Yuck!" gagged Apple Bloom. "Come on, Babs. Let's go play with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and leave these two love birds to be gross with each other."

"You got it!" Babs ran off with her. "Nice meetin' ya, Blueblood! Try not to let her tell ya what to do!"

"Watch that smart mouth o' yers, Babs Seed!" called Applejack

"Wow," said Blueblood. "I thought your family were all country."

"Some o' them are from Manehattan." Applejack replied. "I guess we're bigger than ya though, huh? We're everywhere! How ya holdin' up, by the way?"

"Well, I'm still kind of nervous, to be honest." He said. "I'm used to large crowds, but..."

"Never ya mind, honey bunch. Why don't you try gettin' along with some other guys?" She then waved to another relative. "Ey! Braeburn! Come on over here!"

"Well well! Cousin Applejack!" The wily cousin from Appleloosa walked over and gave her a hug. "I keep thinkin' yer still knee high!"

"Well maybe yer just gettin' shorter, ya big brick head!" she busted his chops. "Braeburn, why don't ya get to know Blueblood here?" She turned to give her man a kiss then left. "I'll be over with Aunt and Uncle Orange. Make nice-nice you two!"

Blueblood found himself standing with yet another relative he did not know, who simply stared back at him with a plain smile. He tried to strike up conversation. "Uh...so...you...uh..." Suddenly he was swept up.

"Well how does it, pardner?!" Braeburn grabbed him in a vise-grip one-hoof hug. "You must be one heck of a guy to fall in love with mah crazy cousin!"

"Oh, well uh, I guess she's the kind of crazy I like. Heh heh." Blueblood gave an awkward reply, as he tried to get his circulation back after that hug.

"So you came all the way from Canterlot, huh?" continued Braeburn. "I reckon you're used to all that high end life, and fancy foods with funny names."

"Well actually, I've been trying to get away from that life." Blueblood explained. "That's why I've decided to move to Ponyville."

"Well welcome home, pardner!" smiled Braeburn. "You should come on by to Appleloosa sometime! Get some of that big country air into yer lungs."

"Ah yes, Appleloosa," replied Blueblood, not sure what to say. "I like their boots."

Braeburn looked off to the crowd. "Uh oh. Everypony's gettin' rowdy. Looks like it's time for the tug-o-war! Come on, yer on mah team!"

"Really? Uh, how does one 'tug-o-war'?"

"What's there to understand? Ya get in a war, and ya tug! Come on, city boy!"

As planned, members of the Apple Family formed two teams and lined up on both sides of a pool of mud. Blueblood looked at the rope on the ground as he stood between Braeburn and Apple Bloom. "What happens if we win?" he asked.

"The other team gets the mud!" answered Braeburn.

"And if we lose?"

"Then we get the mud, silly!" replied Apple Bloom.

Blueblood looked across the mud to see the other team. He gawked when he noticed who the leader of the their team was.

"Ready to get drenched, your highness?" Applejack called to him.

The thought of pulling his own marefriend into the dirt made Blueblood cringe. "Uh, I don't know about this!"

"Oh I get it! Yer goin' easy on me?" sassed Applejack. "I knew you were soft!"

"Ready...set...TUG!"

Immediately, the two teams began pulling on the thick rope with their strong teeth. After realizing what was happening, Blueblood joined them and grabbed the rope in his mouth. But the fact that Applejack was on the other end of that rope made his hesitate and weaken his grip on it. His slack caused his own team to slide closer and closer to the mud pool.

"Come on, Bluey!" shouted Applejack through gritted teeth. "Put some back into it!"

Blueblood couldn't bring himself to beat his love. He looked to see his hooves scuffing the ground inches away from the mud. Apple Bloom hung on the rope, her little legs dangling over the pit of doom.

"Come on, city boy!" called Braeburn. "You're lettin' us down!"

"Yeah, I thought you were a man!" teased Applejack.

Closing his eyes regretfully, Blueblood finally put his strength into his teeth and yanked hard on the rope. Instantly, the tug shifted to his side and they quickly gained the advantage. At last, the other team tumbled into the mud one by one like dominoes. The crowd watching from the side gasped into a sudden silence. Blueblood's team stared at him as he tried to comprehend what he had just done. Applejack poked her head out of the mud, her body completely soaked. She finally broke the silence.

"YEEHAW! Thatta boy, Bluey!"

Everypony, even the losing team, laughed and cheered and slung mud at each other. Blueblood smiled. He suddenly felt like he was at last part of the crowd. But he was also proud of himself being the one to dunk Applejack in the mud for once.

Throughout the night, Blueblood partook in the merriment of the family reunion. After getting revenge on his beloved with a face full of mud, he ran in the six-legged race, with Granny Smith as his partner. Although Granny ran much faster than him and dragged him along, they still won the race, and received more praise from the others. Then, he entered the pie eating contest against Big Macintosh and several others. He came in second due to Big Mac's endless stomach. After all the games, Blueblood joined his marefriend who taught him how to square dance to the music of the family band. The night didn't seem to end, and he didn't want to end.

Finally, Blueblood sat with the entire family at an extremely long outdoor table, where the big barbecue dinner was served. Platters of grilled corn and artichoke, stuffed peppers, sunflower heads, green and baked beans, coleslaw, etc, watered the family's appetites with the taste of a sweet full mug of cider.

At the end of the table, Granny Smith stood from her seat and tapped her plate for attention. "I'd like to say somethin'! It warms my kidneys to see everypony back again." She paused while Big Mac spoke in her ear. "Uh, I mean mah 'heart'! An' every year, it seems like our little family gets a little bit bigger. Even dear friends I gladly consider part of this tribe, even if they're not related. An' so, fer winning mah little AJ's heart, I'm happy to welcome ol' Blueblood here as one of the family!"

The family applauded and cheered as Blueblood looked around in surprise. "Do I really deserve this?" he turned to Applejack.

"I told ya they would love ya." She winked and kissed him.

Blueblood smiled warmly. He had tasted something just as good as the food before him. When he first came to Ponyville, he had made it his mission to become one of the ordinary folk. Now he saw that there was nothing ordinary about it.

"Now let's get tah eatin' already!" cheered Granny. "Where'r mah darn teeth? Big Mac, have ya seen mah teeth?"

"Nnope."

"Oh butternuts! If anypony finds somethin' crunchy in the baked beans, please let me know!"

...

The party was a huge success. Blueblood had gotten to know Applejack's family, and had become an honorary member of them. Now all the relatives had packed up, hugged goodbye and went on home, and the farm was now quiet again. Up in Applejack's room, Blueblood cuddled with his beloved in her bed, bushed from the energy of the day.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" said Applejack, as they lay in the dark.

"I haven't had that much fun in a long time." Blueblood replied. "I reckon it beats mingling with rich ponies again."

"Did you just say 'reckon'?" she raised her head.

He thought for a second. "Oh yes, I did. I suppose you're rubbing off on me."

She gave him a knowing look. "Not yet."

"...What?"

Applejack nuzzled against his chest. She began kissing around his neck, making heat rush to his face. "It's been a while. Why don't we end the night with a little fun of our own?"

Blueblood perked up. "Are you sure? You're not tired?"

Applejack climbed on top of him and untied her ponytail. "I never get tired of you." She kissed his lips sensually and stroked his chest.

Blueblood wrapped his hooves around her waist and looked into her eyes. "Your cousins were right," he smiled suavely. "You really are a crazy one."

"I'll take that as an 'I love you'." Applejack pulled the blanket over them, as celebrated finally being alone together.

...

Late that next morning, Blueblood awoke feeling refreshed and alive. Something in the big comfortable bed was hard to escape; perhaps it was the feeling of his lover's presence on it. Normally he would get up for a hearty breakfast. But seeing as he could smell none yet, he decided to sleep in for a while. Then, he heard the toilet flush in the bathroom across the hall. He realized that Applejack wasn't in the bed next to him, when he saw her enter from the bathroom. She looked a tad squeamish, and sort of lumbered in.

"Ugh, I didn't feel so good wakin' up." She groaned.

"Really?" replied Blueblood. "I feel quite great."

"Well good for you." She sighed. "Well, I guess I better get breakfast started. I got a heck of cravin' all of a sudden."

Blueblood sat up. He could tell something was amiss. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Applejack sat on the side of the bed, and clutched her stomach. "Blueblood, this is a weird question, but...is it normal to feel heavier in the gut after makin' love?"

Blueblood gulped hard. The shocking idea hit him in an instant, and he suddenly didn't feel much like sleeping in.