Sometimes They Call Me Super

by KorenCZ11

Persona XII: Love

Applejack

---

About a second passed after Persona disappeared before Ah was just about blinded by a flash of golden light.

“Oh, good goddess, what in the world did you do to yourself!? Twilight? Twilight, speak to me!” Sounded the voice of a frantic mother. Ah turned quick enough ta see the big white alicorn grab a much smaller orange pegasus at her side and more or less press her to the violet alicorn in her hooves. “I don’t care what you have to do, you have to fix this!” Celestia practically yelled in her ears. “Twilight honey, mommy is here. Please wake up…” she whispered to the unconscious body as she stroked her daughter’s mane. Another flash, this time in blue, and then somepony Ah’d never seen arrived.

“What are you doing!? Do you know if his cameras are still on? What if he is watching us right now? Change your appearance this instant! If the world finds out that you are involved in this…” This dark blue unicorn mare, whom Ah assume is Luna, berated Celestia. The frantic white alicorn, turned angry white alicorn whipped her head around and just about pressed her nose against disguised Luna.

“This would never have happened if you hadn’t gone behind my back and started testing her powers! When did you teach her that spell? When did I teach you that spell? Do I even know how to perform that spell? How did she even perform it? It was well beyond her capabilities right now, there’s no way… why did this happen?” She complained until she started ta break down inta tears. Luna, Scootaloo and Ah looked from her ta each other and then backed away slowly.

“Uh… we should probably give her some space. Ah think the pieces are still around, ya think ya could fix her horn?” Ah asked, tryin’ ta stay calm. Scootaloo nodded quietly and then started ta look for a piece of Twilight’s horn ta start from. “So, what exactly happened here? Ah kinda passed out after the big explosion.” Ah asked over the very loud, ugly sobbing that was coming from Celestia.

“That… is a very good question. Previous to yesterday, I thought the kind of magic she just produced was well beyond her capabilities too, but that was not so, apparently. The first thing that happened was the dome of light she spawned to protect you all from what I assume was Ramiel’s maximum fire power. It was not quite the blast that created Caballo crater, but it would have marred the face of the planet had it not been stopped.

We had planned to intervene at that point, but then Twilight started to recite a spell which made Celestia stop in her tracks. I do not know if you are privy to this, but Equestrian magic is not verbally spoken. It has always been a very mathematical, scientific approach to things where as alicorn magic is what relies on emotion and word spoken into power. This is why we believe things in our home realm went so… poorly in the first place. Simply being ‘angry’ could empower one to perform more dangerous magic. Hate spreads violence, violence spreads hate, and that kind of cycle consumes a world.

I do not know what exactly it was that she just performed, but it certainly was not any kind of magic from this realm. That aside, what she returned to Ramiel was well more than beyond what I thought she was capable of for the next few centuries. I do not know how she did it, but that blast could have made a second Caballo crater, and I am only thankful that the moon was not in its path.” Luna answered. Ah frowned. Foreign magic? And magic powerful enough ta put a hole in the planet too… What in the world?

“Ugh, what happened?” Blur groaned as she got up from the ground. She turned toward the source of the constant loud sobbing and then backed away slowly toward us. “Are we dead? Or are we soon to be dead? I don’t know about you, but I think what I’m seeing here is probably more dangerous than the fight we just had. Also, who is this?” Blur whispered.

“That’s Luna, and maybe. Uh, try and wake up Goose, and once that’s done take what’s left of those spears back ta the castle. You’re not banged up too bad are ya?” Ah asked. She shook her head.

“Nah. You… and Twilight apparently, did most of the work honestly, I’m just a little burned here and there. Oh wow, is her horn missing! What happened?” Blur asked. Celestia stopped cryin’ fer a second, turned ta us, looked back down a her daughter’s head, and then went back ta cryin’. “Uh, you know what? Never mind. I’ll go… do that thing you said.” And then she started ta try and wake up Goose.

“I found it! But uh… something weird happened.” Scootaloo said. The three of us looked up ta her, and she was carryin’ Twilight’s horn in her hooves. Or most of it, anyways. There were some pieces missin’ in a few places, and even stranger, it didn’t reform back ta Twilight like lost feathers would ta a wing.

“Oh no… Please, just… just see if you can’t put it back to her head…” Celestia might as well moaned.

“I mean… I’ll try, but no promises that it’ll work. If this was anything like normal, It would’ve already reformed so…” Ah never realized how big Celestia’s eyes were beforehoof, but the face she made coulda put a puppy ta shame. “Well, maybe horns are just different and it’ll just go back… with extra effort…” Scootaloo offered. She realigned the sorta malformed, pieces-missin’ bone back ta the broken segment it used ta be attached ta on Twilight’s head and then pressed her hooves ta it. After she’d used her powers, the horn itself definitely reattached, but still looked beat up and ‘broken’ ta some degree.

“Oh, thank the goddess, at least it’s reattached! Scootaloo, what you’ve done here today will never be forgotten.” Faster than anypony coulda reacted ta, Celestia brought Scootaloo in and kissed her on the mouth, then went back ta coddlin’ her daughter. “The royal family will forever be indebted to you and the generations that come from you. My poor baby, everything will be fine in time… everything will be fine in time…” The big white alicorn mother sat there and rocked her unconscious daughter, and Scootaloo just kinda stood there with a dead, blank look on her face. If Ah had ta guess, I can only imagine the words, ‘How did my life come ta this point?’ were runnin’ through her head. Luna-not-luna trotted over ta Scootaloo, tried ta get her attention by callin’ her name and wavin’ a hoof in front of her face, but nothin’ seemed ta do it.

“We… may need to look into therapy for Scootaloo.” Luna-not-luna said. Her horn lit up, and Scootaloo started zombie walkin’ over ta the other members of Harmony and pressin’ her hooves on ‘em. One by one they started ta wake up, and after she was done, she went back ta starin’ off inta the distance.

“I… don’t know what I just woke up to, but whatever it is, I am extremely uncomfortable with it.” The Crow said.

“I-I second that.” Target added.

“Me three.” The Black Knight followed.

“Oh, that isn’t good.” Diamond finished. They each kinda rubbed off the sleep and stretched themselves, but all stopped as soon as they saw Celestia kinda rockin’ in place with Twilight’s unconscious body in her lap and speakin’ softly ta the body with tear stained, wild eyes.

“Um… Well, I believe this might just be the second time I have ever seen my sister experience a mental break down, but, um… Actually, now that you are awake, could you transport us back to the base? This… display does not need to be seen by the world, and most certainly does not need to be seen by the country in the event Persona is still recording.” Luna-not-luna said ta the group. Blur had followed my instructions and was in the process of tryin ta move the spears as quick as she could, and the others were just real confused. Scootaloo had not yet recovered. The four looked ta each other, then ta me, then ta the princess, then ta Luna-not-luna, then ta Scootaloo, and quickly back ta me. Ah just shook my head.

“Just… don’t worry about it. Let’s go home.” Ah said. They all shook their heads and gathered around the rockin’ princess. Luna-not Luna collected Scootaloo on her back, and once everypony was in place, The Black Knight took us home.

---

“I am deeply sorry.” Luna apologized as she bowed to the teen orange pegasus.

“It was my first kiss…” She replied aimlessly.

“I am so, so very sorry.” Luna said again, pushin’ her horn even closer ta the ground.

“I’m not even in to mares. How did my life come to this?” She continued, staring off into space. The rest of us had gathered at the living room table, while Celestia had retreated with Twilight ta Twilight’s room and had not been seen since. We had heard moans and sobbing coming from in there, but none of us were brave enough ta go check on ‘em. The rest of us were still half in costume, but we’d all taken our masks and head pieces off.

“So uh… can you come tell us what the fuck is going on? Squirt, you just need to get over it. I mean. I can’t say I know what she’s going through, but Celestia is kinda crazy right now and she probably didn’t even realize what she was doing, yeah? Come have a seat. Or better yet, take care of Applejack’s hooves already!” Rainbow yelled at Scootaloo. Scootaloo lost her staring contest with the ceiling and gained a bit of life in her eyes ta yell back.

“It was my first kiss, Rainbow! My first one, and I didn’t even want it! You can’t even call me ‘Squirt’ anymore, I’m taller than you now! Ugh, my life is ruined!” She flipped her mane and rolled her eyes and stomped her way over ta me ta fix my hooves. Cool relief washed over my forelegs as the skin went from black and bubbly in places ta pink and soft where it needed ta be, followed by some weird, history channel style, time-lapse like coat growth akin ta grass. As soon as my legs looked normal, Scootaloo just kinda dropped ta the ground.

“I can’t believe she kissed me! I’m so tired I can’t even stand, but I don’t even care! I’ll never get it back! What if… what if somepony saw it? I’ll be branded a faggot for the… rest of my life. Oh my goddess, if Sweetie and… Applebloom find out, I’ll never… hear the end of it. My life is… over…” She continued ta complain through yawns until finally, she passed out.

“Speaking of things I’ll never hear the end of…” Rainbow said as she got up and collected Scootaloo with her blood. “I’m gonna go take her to her room. Somepony better be ready to tell me why Celestia is… doing what she’s doing, and how we’re still alive right now when I get back.” Rainbow demanded, then started walking away to the bedroom halls. As Rainbow left, Blur returned still in costume with the last mangled spear strapped ta her back. She was goin’ ‘slow’ fer her, but it didn’t look like she was real worn out either. She was the only one aside from me ta wake up on her own after all.

“Okay… this is the last… one.” She said through pants. She dropped the spear on the ground with a loud gong-like clang, then unzipped as much of her suit as possible before keelin’ over. “Guys, those things weigh a ton.” she said through heavy breathin’.

“Well, Celestia did say she didn’t think anypony but Applejack and Goose could fire them to begin with. I’m just more surprised that there was a whole race that could lift those… terrible things.” Rarity commented.

“Sure, but those ‘terrible things’ just saved our lives… I think? I’m still at a loss for what happened back there. The last thing I remember…” Goose started, then his eyes drifted over ta me. His face turned flush and he immediately went ta lookin’ at his hooves under the table. “… was a whole lot of light.” He finished. It took me a moment ta realize what he was talkin’ about, but as soon as it hit me, Ah more or less mimicked his motions.

“M-me too.” Ah commented quietly.

“I-I… I’ll just ignore that one. W-what happened to Twilight? S-she looked like she was in t-terrible shape… beneath all the feathers.” Fluttershy asked. Ah shook my head, then Luna appeared and took Twilight’s seat. Funny, Ah don’t even remember her leavin’.

“To be perfectly honest with you all, I do not know.” Luna started.

“Hey, don’t start without me!” Rainbow yelled as she came runnin’ in from the hall ta her foldin’ chair between me and Goose. Once she was situated, Luna’s horn lit up and screens of blue light flashed up in front of the seven of us.

“This would be the footage from when I assume most of you passed out.” She said. The blue turned white, then a familiar scene started ta play out. The two tone explosion knocks all of us but Twilight down, and a few of us hit our heads real hard. She however, had thrown up a barrier right at that moment and protected herself from the knockback. In the corner of the screen, Ah saw my head turn and watched my own lips mouth words Ah hadn’t used in over a decade. Were Ah Sweetie, Ah doubt my whole body wouldn’t have lit up like a torch. My attention was taken when Ah started ta hear muffled words come from Twilight.

“… soul… defend! … sky… twilight! AEGIS!” In a flash of bright white light, her whole body lit up like a neon light. The colors in her coat and mane glowin’ as bright as a star and a dome of light that looked almost like a mix of fog and fire started ta spew from her horn coverin’ us all. A bolt of violet lightnin’ shot from the middle and formed the shape of her cutiemark just as a lesser bright light collided with the shield. Like a waterfall, the light from above splashed out all around in glowin’ sea foam and continued fer what felt like a whole minute. As soon as the light from above stopped, the dome retreated inta Twilight’s head, and the glow on her body became much, much more intense. Almost like a supernova, the light comin’ from Twilight shot directly up in a beam even larger than the one that struck her shield. The clouds all around the sky cleared as the camera moved with the attack. It came in contact with what looked like the last of Ramiel and disintegrated him as it passed through and continued off inta space.

When all was said and done, she started pukin’ blood and stumblin’ around on her legs like a newborn. Bright light started ta emit from inside her horn, and then sure enough, it exploded off the top of her head. Her body went limp, and she fell ta the floor. A few minutes passed, and then Ah got up. Ah had my conversation with Persona. He gave his spiteful speech about that mystery mare, and the moment he finished the word ‘heroes’ the screen went dark.

“With this video, we learned two things: one, Twilight is far more powerful than we ever anticipated, and where she gets this power, we do not know. And two, Persona’s cameras, where ever they may be, have limited audio capturing capabilities, so you must be careful with the things you say out loud even more so than before. Thankfully, the video cuts just before Celestia rushes head first to care for Twilight, but goddess knows that could have been a disaster.” Luna finished. Good goddess… who knew she had that in her. Ah figured she was capable of well more than she used at the moment, but that… if Ah didn’t know any better, Ah might guess she was Celestia under that armor…

“Uh, holy shit. I… I don’t even have the words. The shield didn’t even budge under Ramiel’s final attack, and even then, she put out more than he shot at us in the first place, didn’t she?” Rainbow more or less spoke fer the group. Half of ‘em were still slack jawed. Luna nodded in affirmation.

“That is correct. To reiterate for those of you who were not awake at the time, the blast Ramiel fired would have likely been enough to wipe out most of the sewer systems in Manehattan, obviously destroying everything within several miles of the city. What Twilight returned however… had that hit the ground, this would be the site of the second Equestrian crater.” Luna affirmed with a darkened tone. Ah shivered at the thought. Like mother, like daughter…

“Uh, holy shit, again.” Rainbow added.

“While I’m not one to use such language, I second that notion. Did… did anypony know she could’ve done that?” Rarity continued. Luna shook her head.

“Even Celestia was unaware. Apparently she wasn’t sure she could even perform the spell Twilight cast, so evidently she knew what it was, but had never used such a spell herself. How Twilight learned it, we may never know.” She finished. We all sat in silence till Pinkie leaned forward, puttin' her elbows on the table and holdin' her hooves ta her mouth.

“So, how Twilight saved us is interesting and all, but honestly, that’s not super important right now. I think… we should focus on who this ‘she’ Persona mentioned is.” She said, givin’ us all a pretty serious look. It was… kinda weird since she’s not really the type ta put thin’s on track like that.

“Y-you make a good point, P-pinkie. I-I mean, not to point hooves or a-anything, but you and Celestia are the o-only ponies who come to mind that would c-care about ‘slaughtering a city f-full of ponies.’ D-do you know something we don’t?” Fluttershy asked. Ah couldn’t help but think there was a hint of a smile on her face when she said that, which gives me a few bad feelin’s about this. Luna shrugged and shook her head.

“We know many things you do not know, and there are many things we are not going to tell you as well. It is possible that sister or I may be the pony Persona is referring to, but who he is and why exactly he is doing this depends on the pony behind the mask. Until we know that, it could be any number of our enemies, and any number of reasons behind it.” She stated, cold and stone like.

“Yeah, but in that case, why doesn’t Rainbow just spill the beans? You know who it is don’t you?” Goose said. We all turned ta stare at her, and she just huffed and shook her head.

“I… look, I was told very explicitly by my partner not to fuck this up for them. I don’t have any control over the princesses, and I’m still not entirely sure that they won’t just go have a hit put on Persona and fuck this up for everypony. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather deal with one big monster than a country full of potentially millions of smaller ones. I’ll talk to my partner about this, but I’m gonna need something in some kinda covenant level agreement that says you won’t just go try to kill Persona once you have their name.” Luna scowled.

“Please, as if we are idiotic enough to just go kill somepony who stated he was willing and able to slaughter our own citizens in droves! What kind of fool do you take me for?” She scoffed. Rainbow tilted her head and raised her chin.

“Yeah, sure. But I want you to know that I’ve heard the stories you won't share with your people, and I know that you two aren't as prefect as you try to make yourselves look. The name The Radiant-” Rainbow began, but Luna reared up and slammed her hooves on the table, making a deafening clang that rang throughout the crystal halls. A dark violet fire erupted from Rainbow’s mouth, and she ceased up and started clawin’ at her tongue.

“You will hold you tongue! Never speak that name again, or you will join your former comrades in hell, do you understand me!?” She boomed. Muffled screams choked out of Rainbow’s throat til the veins in Luna’s neck became less visible, and she calmed down. Once the princess was seated, the fire died and Rainbow passed out on the table. “You will not ask, you will not even think about uttering those words, all of you. Am I clear?” She demanded. The rest of us had been just about stunned by the event that happened, and we quickly nodded in accord.

“Good. I… have some things I need to attend to now. Let me know when Celestia returns to her senses. Take this time as your leisure, there is still much work for you to accomplish in the coming days. Repairs to the city are thankfully minimal this time around, so I will at least congratulate you for that. I will return here tomorrow to collect my sister, lest she come home before then. You have until Wednesday to rest. Any further matters will wait until then.” Luna said. She sighed and shook her head, then turned away from Twilight’s chair and flashed away in blue magic. As soon as she was gone, Fluttershy rushed over ta Rainbow’s side ta check on her tongue.

“O-Oh my goddess, are you okay?” She asked, kinda frantic. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen her show so much concern fer anypony, so it was a bit of a shock fer me… and everypony else fer that matter. Rainbow started ta stir back up and she shook herself awake. She quickly opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, blowin' as much air on it as possible ta try and cool it off.

“Uh… It still hurts, but it’s not like… searing anymore…” Rainbow noted quietly. Without any warnin’, Fluttershy grabbed Rainbow’s tongue. From inside her coat’s pocket, she grabbed a vial of pale pastel green gel and dumped it over the burns that formed the brand. Rainbow’s tongue started to sizzle, but it didn’t look like she was in any pain. “hat za ell?” She managed ta get out with her tongue stuck ta Fluttershy’s hoof.

“J-just deal for a minute, okay? T-that is going to hurt tomorrow, and it will hurt w-worse if you don’t let the gel take e-effect.” She said, as if she knew better.

“Has… has this happened before?” Goose asked. She nodded.

“I-I… have made some comments and had the b-brand used on me before for… good reason. M-more than once. Y-you can trigger it yourself, b-but when a princess uses it, s-she can make it hurt without s-searing off the tongue completely. I-I had this requested after the s-second time in the event I or s-somepony else needed it.” She explained. She let go of Rainbow’s tongue and visibly relaxed under her clothes, her gun shiftin’ on her back.

“Bleh, you have ash all over your hooves.” Rainbow spat. “How in the hell did you get that used on you more than once? Who did you piss off?” she asked. Fluttershy shook her head.

“D-don’t worry about it. T-that’s been over and done with for a while… I-I think I’m going to go take a shower and a nap. I-it’s been a long day.” Fluttershy said, then just kinda walked off and disappeared behind her bedroom door.

“You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I think I’ll do that before I head out myself. It would be nice to feel something other than the horrid pounding on my head at the moment.” And just like that, Rarity had left too.

“Anypony else really concerned about Fluttershy now? I know I haven’t known her all that long, but if not Luna, who used the brand on her? Twilight and Celestia don’t seem like the type to use it, so if they did, then… what in the world did she say to piss them off?” Pinkie asked. Ah just shook my head.

“Ah… ya know, there’s just more goin’ on in that head of hers than we really know.” Ah said. It’d be one thin’ if Ah could tell which one is her and which one is the beast, but sometimes Ah’m just not sure who Ah’m lookin’ at.

“I guess. I’m almost kinda shocked that she went to help you out like that. She’s never… I don’t know, it’s almost like she’s always sitting behind a sheet of frosted glass. You know that there’s somepony there, but there’s only so many details you can make out when you look at her. Lately, it’s as if that glass has cleared up. Well, at least for me. She’s been a different pony since you showed up, honestly.” Pinkie said. Of course, Ah knew better, but as ta why she’s been so… alive lately, Ah couldn’t say. Rainbow scratched at the scar under her eye and kinda looked away from everypony.

“Well… you… you know about the beast right? It’s not just… something that hides inside of her, it’s… it’s its own creature. She thinks for herself, it’s like there are two ponies in her head at any one point and time, and sometimes… they blend together. She gets unstable when they mix. I haven’t seen her in nearly seven years, so she’s been that long without my blood in her system, keeping her separated. This is… probably what normal, closer to adult Fluttershy would be like if there wasn’t another... thing lurking in her head.” Rainbow said reluctantly.

“That would explain a few things. Do you… do you think we should just keep an eye on her? I’ve read a lot of her manga lately, and the more I do, the more I kind of understand some of the things she does. But at the same time… the heroes in half the manga she owns all end up leading tragic lives, or out right dying in the end. It… makes me nervous. This kind of behavior reminds me the characters who are preparing to die in those stories, and I… I don’t want to lose another sister.” Pinkie said in a tone of remorse. The room went completely silent. Speakin’ of ponies actin’ strange…

“Do you… want to talk about it? I don’t really know any of you as well as I think I should, save maybe Applejack, and you being worried like this over my crazy friend speaks a lot, ya know?” Rainbow said. Slowly, Pinkie nodded.

“Y-yeah… yeah, that would be nice.” She agreed. The two got up and started headin’ ta Rainbow’s room as they discussed Fluttershy. And then… there were two. Ah stared at him, he stared at me. We broke eye contact, then made it again, just ta lose it before either of us could say anythin’.

“S-should we uh…” he started.

“Y-yeah… we um…” Ah continued.

“M-my place… uh, my dad’s old place anyways…” he offered.

“T-that sounds great! Er… Ah uh… Ah think.” Ah finished, maybe a bit too nervous, maybe a bit too eager. In unison, we got out of our chairs and stood in front of each other. He held out a hoof ta me and Ah took it in mine. He took a breath and then the world wiped away.

---

“So… I just want to make sure that I heard what I think I did earlier. You… you said that right? That wasn’t just my imagination, I’m not going crazy, right?” Goose asked. He’d taken me ta his dad’s house, which Ah deducted by all the records and framed pictures everywhere. The walls were covered in a thick coat of dust, as was everythin’ else, save fer a table that looked like it had somethin’ big and square on it not too long ago, but that had been moved since. The walls were all painted a dark violet, and the carpet that covered the floors was a black and white patterned thin’ that Ah could only assume was custom made. He’d removed a tarp that he had over a big couch that was bright white with golden accents all along it. In a way, it was like we’d gone back in time. This place looked like it came from almost thirty years ago, as if nothin’ had ever changed since then. Ah scratched at the back of my head. Ah could feel my face was flushed and Ah couldn’t quite look him in the eyes fer very long.

“Well… Ah mean… yeah. It’s… it’s not like Ah… it’s not like Ah coulda said that ta anypony else…” Ah managed ta get out without stutterin’. Of course, Ah was also prepared ta die and Ah didn’t want ta do that without tellin’ ya the truth, but Ah wasn’t prepared fer what happens if Ah survived, so… here we are. He swallowed and more or less couldn’t look me in the eye either.

“… A-and… you m-meant it, right? L-like, you didn’t just say it because… because you thought we were gonna die… right?” he asked.

“Well, Ah mean, yeah Ah… Ah said it because Ah thought we were gonna die, but… but that doesn’t mean Ah… Ah didn’t mean it or anythin’…” Ah retorted. He brought his hooves ta his face and tried ta mute his own laughter. “What’s so funny!?” Ah just about yelled at him, which only made him laugh more.

“I… I’m sorry, you’re just… you’re just so cute, I can’t…” He quit laughin’ after a bit, then blindsided me. “I love you too.” He said as he leaned in and kissed me. Ah had ta check and see if Rarity was anywhere near after the fact, because right then, it was like time itself stopped. Every single sensation ran through my brain almost like each feelin’ processed individually. The warmth of his lips, how soft they were, how sweet they tasted. Ah’d never felt anythin’ like it before, and when he pulled away, Ah didn’t want it ta end. Without really thinkin’ about it, Ah kinda tackled him ta the couch and kissed him back. This one lasted longer, soon enough Ah felt my tongue snake its way in his mouth and they started ta dance with each other as we wrapped ourselves around one another in an embrace Ah’d long wanted ta feel but didn’t have the courage ta admit ta myself or anypony else. After what felt like an eternity, Ah realized that Ah needed ta breathe and pushed myself off him. We both gasped fer air and sat on the couch fer a few minutes just ta breathe.

“Is that… Is that what it feels like all the time?” Ah asked, finally catchin’ my breath. Even now, Ah wanted ta get back at it, but thought Ah was gonna die if Ah didn’t have an oxygen tank on or somethin’. My heart was poundin’, my head was racin’, and Ah was havin’ trouble just not actin’ on every impulse that Ah was feelin’ at the moment.

“No… at least not… not in my experience. It’s never been… that good.” He said through a heavy breath after he wiped his mouth off. Ah suddenly felt the need ta do it myself, and sure enough, mine was glazed in saliva. Who it belonged to? Ah couldn’t say. “You… you’re dangerous. Have you really never… kissed anypony before?” He asked between breaths. Ah shook my head.

“Ah mean… no and… definitely not like… not like that. That was… somethin’ else entirely. Do ya… do ya wanna go again?” Ah asked. My head wasn’t super clear at the moment, but more than anythin’ else, Ah wanted ta be pressed up against him right now, and it was takin’ all the willpower in the world ta not just tackle him again. He finally caught his breath and then relaxed sittin’ up on the couch.

“Well, the hormone driven answer is yes, but… I’m not so sure that’s a great idea.” He said. Not really words Ah wanted ta hear, but Ah doubt it would take much convincin’ ta change his mind.

“Well… why is that? Ah don’t know about you, but Ah feel fantastic right now… and especially since Ah’m with you.” Ah said as Ah scooted over on the couch till our flanks were pressed together. Ah made every attempt ta catch his eyes, and he made every attempt ta keep his eyes off me.

“It’s just… you know… what if… what if we… you know… I just… I just don’t wanna go too far. You’re… very aggressive, and if things… got out of hoof, I don’t think I could stop either of us. I mean... if you didn't get off like you did... I don't know that I would've stopped just now.” Ah rolled my eyes and leaned a little harder on him till he was starin’ me in the eyes.

“And if Ah just… decided that Ah want ta go too far, what would ya do then?” Ah said. Hold on a minute. What are ya doin’? My own voice in my head started ta break through the fog.

“Well… that’s just not fair. Why uh… how about this? I know that I’m still hopped up on hormones and adrenaline, and you probably are too, so why don’t we just… hang out for a while? If you still feel this way later, then I’m yours. I… I love you, and if or when we go that far, I don’t want you to regret it later, okay?” Goose said as he took my hooves and finally looked me in the eyes. Sweet and sincere, that sunset orange just like Manehattan bay at dusk. Ah sighed.

“Fine, deal. Ah love you too.” Ah said with a quick peck on the lips. Ah leaned up against him and we both leaned back on the couch. He put his foreleg over my shoulder, then Ah grabbed his hoof, and there we sat. Come on. Ah’m really in the mood fer this, can’t ya just… let me have it? My own voice came back inta my head and started beratin’ me.

There are consequences fer doin’ shit like this!

But what does it matter if Ah don’t live that long?

Ya thought ya were gonna die not but a few hours ago, yet here we are! Calm down and think, ya horny bitch!

Fuck you, Ah am calm! Ah’m done thinkin’ about it! All my life, Ah’ve spent worryin’ about what happens next, and whether or not Ah’ll see tomorrow, and ya know what? Ah’m tired of it! Ah missed out on so much because Ah was too busy worryin' about tomorrow! When Ah stop worryin’, when Ah stop frettin’ over how this’ll hurt me in the future if somethin’ goes wrong, Ah can get shit done! So what if somethin’ happens? What if Ah die in the next three weeks? Then I’ll never get ta be with him, and Ah’ll never get ta experience any of the same shit that half the ponies in the world do! If this is love, then Ah want ta get all Ah can out of it before Ah lose it!

Fine. Do somethin’ dumb, get pregnant, ruin yer whole damn life just because ya think it’s gonna end. How are ya gonna raise a kid? Ya don’t know the first damn thing about foals, let alone havin’ one yerself. Why not just wing it? It’s not like that’ll cause any problems down the line. Hey, maybe ya can end up just like yer mother, die in childbirth and leave a baby in a broken family!

Damn it, this is exactly why Ah shut myself off from others in the first place! Don’t y’all come talk ta me about who ruins what when most of my life has been nothin’ but tragedy and poverty!

And you’re gonna force that same life on yer own kids just because you’re too dumb and horny ta think straight? Ya woulda done this last week if ya weren’t so afraid ta admit the truth, and now that it’s out there, ya just got a fire burnin’ between yer legs! A wise old stallion once said ‘biology doesn’t care.’ Who do ya think that was directed ta? Applebloom is smarter than you, and yer brother’s already been around the rodeo more than a few times!

… Son of a bitch.

That’s what Ah thought. Can’t ya just enjoy this? You’re here, he’s here, you’re together, and ya both know that ya love each other. Isn’t this enough fer now?

After losin’ an argument with myself and finally gettin’ the time ta calm down, Ah admitted he was right, and Ah wasn’t thinkin’ straight. Or at all really. Ah’m more than sure Ah’m the mare in this relationship, but he acts more like a mare than Ah do more than half the time. Even so… there’s nopony else Ah’d rather be with. If this is what love is like… then Ah don’t really mind stayin’ like this forever.

Comments

[Will]

It's good that Goose's got a cool head on his shoulders. Getting pregnant now would be a pretty big blunder, and not just for the future of their prospective kid. Fluctuating hormones and emotional instability on the battlefield... probably not the ideal situation.

[KorenCZ11]

8848683
Oh hey, you're alive! It's been a while man. As the story's gone, Applejack has good and bad moments of judgment, and more often than not she falls prey to her own emotions. Add in the fact that she doesn't really understand what all she's feeling right now, she might be more willing to go through with poor decisions than she normally would, if only because she doesn't realize how terrible some of her decisions are.

Goose on the other hoof is used to dealing with the high strung intensity of being surrounded by mares, and thanks to his previous life of essentially taking care of just under a couple hundred orphans and runaways in the form of a gang, he kinda has to be calm in situations like this. Ironically enough, if he didn't love her, he probably would've fucked her.

[Will]

8848931
On the topic of Goose, I gotta say: I've really grown to like the guy. It seems like he's the one who's constantly more positive than everyone around him, and the scene tends to get noticeably lighter whenever the text mentions him. Overall, pretty nice beacon of hope in what would otherwise be a horrible city overseen by some pretty screwed up individuals. Even the apparent sleaze and womanizing that's initially present makes sense, given the life he had to lead. Congrats on what I'd call a well-written, engaging character. Well, a whole cast of them at this point, but, you know.

[KorenCZ11]

8849434
Aww man, you are just going to enjoy the next couple chapters then. My goal is to have everybody fully fleshed out by the end of the next ~4 or so chapters. Glad you liked Goose after all this time. I remember some opposition when he was first introduced, so it's good to know somebody likes him.