Keeping Secrets

by Stunt Monkey

Boxings Nightmare Question.

The bright white flash of Valley's camera was the last thing Boxing could remember before he woke up in the familiar black void that he had visited on many occasions during his dreams, he was lying on his back when he noticed his surroundings. With a grunt of pain he rolled over and stood on all four hooves, he wasn't standing on anything in particular, it was like seeing darkness all around himself but somehow still have a shadow.

"Celestia damn it!" He started walking in one direction hoping that it would take him somewhere more familiar, as it had done in past dreams. "Another dream hallucination. I have to give up the salt cubes." He continued walking.

"Come on brain," He knocked on his head like a door to a house. "take me to Hoofington." At the mention of Hoofington the black void around him wavered a blurred into bright vibrant colours. Just say the name I guess? He thought to himself. In a short amount of time the world came to a still, all the colours had formed the shapes of buildings, trees, and other things like fountains and chairs. scattered throughout the false world was blobs of grey goo, that wavered and started to take on the shape of various ponies.

"Good job brain. Now bring Sunny to me, like you always do in these weird dreams." And like a genie granting a wish, a nearby grey blob took on the form of Sunshine Glory the pegasus, Sunshine galloped towards Boxing.

"Boxy! Come quick, you're going to miss The Great and Poweful-"

"Let me stop you right there Sunny." Boxing interrupted him and put up a hoof to Sunshine's muzzle. "I don't care about your stupid unicorn magic show, I don't know how long I'm going to be here." Boxing removed his hoof.

"What do you mean? Are you going somewhere?" Sunshine asked.

"Not really, I'm staying here for now."

"Well great, let's get back to the magic show." Sunshine pulled at Boxing's hoof, Boxing recoiled his hoof in protest. "No Sunny, I need to tell you something very important." Boxing walked over to the same fountain he had seen many times before, he sat down on the edge.

"What is it?" Sunshine approached and sat beside him.

"I'm in love." Boxing said.

"So am I." Sunshine replied, pushing his body up against Boxing's.

"No, Sunny. It isn't you, it's a mare."

"You love a mare?" Sunshine started up at him with his jaw hung open. "When did this happen?"

"About six years from now." Boxing took a hold of Sunshine's hoof.

"What? I'm confused..." Sunshine gave a strange look.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me." Boxing confessed.

"B-but, this is so sudden. Don't you love me any more?" Tears formed at the corners of Sunshine's eyes. Boxing reached an arm around him and pulled him in tight, he have Sunshine a small kiss on his forehead. "I do, Sunny. With all my heart. But where I'm from, you are dead. If I could bring you back I would."

"Even if you had to go to the hellish depths of Tatarus and back?"

"I would do anything." Boxing closed his eyes and pressed his muzzle to Sunshine's, he could feel a strange sensation course through his body, a similar feeling to what sky-diving would feel like to an earth pony. Boxing pulled back and opened his eyes, the world around him started to waver again, just like it had when he arrived. This is it, time to return to Ponyville.

"Goodbye Sunny. Never forget, I always love you." Boxing embraced the fake pegasus and shut his eyes tight, when he next opened them he saw bright white flashes passing him by. He could feel the softness on his back, Why am I lying down? Where am I? This isn't the rodeo. Boxing thought to himself as the ceiling continued to rush by.

***

Beep

Boxing saw darkness, a soft steady beep echoed in the room every so often. What is that beeping? He asked himself as he shuffled uncomfortably in the soft bed he laid in. Another sound filled his ears, the familiar voice of sweet Applejack. The mare of his life.

"Sugarcube, please wake up. Can ya' hear me?" Her sweet voice said.

Beep

Boxing forced his eyes open, everything is blurry and groggy, but eventually focused into perfect vision. He sat up in the bed, to his right sitting in the chair is Applejack, wearing her iconic hat as always. She got her hat back? Good, good for her. "Oh thank Celestia yer' awake."

"Applejack? -cough- Where am I?" He looked around and saw white walls, he was lying down in a bed with a flimsy metal frame on wheels. Across the room was where the source of the annoying beep, a stallion pegasus who had bandages wrapped on all four hooves and wires hooked up to him. "Am I in a hospital?" He panicked. "Why am I in a hospital?"

"Keep your head on, your not hurt. It's just, when you got thrown off th' bull, an' you didn't get up. Box, you were knocked unconscious, so Valley flew you right over here quicker than a hog in a truffle harvest."

"Val flew me? Where is she then?" Boxing asked.

"Everypony is outside waitin', they all agreed to leave you alone until you woke up, if you woke up."

"Oh, well I'm awake now, get 'em in here. Oi! Bozo's! Get in here."

The door clicked open and one by one everypony walked in and stood around Boxing's bed. Valley Wind, Stryker Malt-House, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Big Macintosh, Rainbow Dash and even little Apple Bloom too.

"Hey gang. How's it goin'?" Boxing asked blankly, the group stared back at him. "What is there something on my face?"

"Not at all Boxing, darling. Everything is fine, but we were all deeply worried for you, the nurse said you might not wake up from that bump on the head." Rarity spoke up first.

"She said that? How long have I been out?"

"Only a few hours." Valley answered.

"Really? She made that decision in such a small gap of time? doesn't seem very professional." He glanced down his own body, as if by some miracle, there were no bruises or cuts. "AJ you said I'm not hurt, why are we still here? Let's go back to the farm, I'm so hungry I could eat a wagon full of apples."

Boxing flipped his legs off the side of the bed and landed on his hooves. "Wait Boxing!" Shouted Stryker. "Can you tell us what you saw?"

"What I saw? What do you mean." Boxing stared back with a confused look on his face.

"Well, I noticed you were fidgeting in your sleep, like you were having some sort of nightmare." Stryker said, Big Macintosh nodded too.

"That wasn't a nightmare, I just- I don't know how to explain it, let's just all head back to the farm and I will explain there over dinner, I'm really hungry." Boxing said.

"Alright, but you promise to tell us."

"Trust me, you won't want to miss this." He winked to his brother.

***

A short time later every pony from the group plus Granny Smith sat around a long wooden table, many plates of food were placed along it. Boxing had agreed to share what he saw in his nowhere-near-death experience, unfortunately, he also agreed to let Rainbow Dash tell a story of her own too.

"And then, in ten seconds flat, I flew to the speed of light right to the centre and KABLAM!" She shouted as she tossed her hooves up in the air, at the same time almost giving Granny Smith a heart attack. "A Sonic Rainboom!" She waved her hoof up and down from left to right.

"Alright champ! Your turn to tell your story." Rainbow sat down.

"Champ?" Boxing asked.

Everypony looked at Applejack, "You didn't tell him?" Rainbow said.

"Gimmie' a break, Ah forgot." She retorted.

"Tell me what sweetheart?" Boxing turned to Applejack.

"Do you remember the rodeo?" Applejack asked.

"Hmm," Boxing tapped his chin with a hoof. "You'll have to be more specific. Hey, ouch!"

"Ya' numbskull, you know what Ah mean." Applejack punched him playfully in the arm. "You won, you got the highest time during yer' heat on th' bull."

"Only by default!" Rainbow protested. "If me and Mac hadn't been fooling- er. What I mean is, if we weren't disqualified, then I would have totally kicked your flank." She darted a hoof at him.

"I won?" Boxing was speechless. I can't believe it. I WON!

"Yeah, isn't it great? Now, enough chit chat. Tell your story!" Demanded Stryker.

"Ok, then buckle up." Boxing said.

Alright, this is it, it's now or never.

"It started like it always does, a dark place, much like the night sky except with only one star. When it fades into colour, I find myself in Hoofington, like I always do. The beautiful fountain where I first met Sunny-"

"Who's Sunny?" Apple Bloom interrupted.

"He was a colt I loved a very long time ago." Boxing answered.

"Aww, how romantic." Sweetie Belle added.

"Anyway," Boxing continued. " I walk over to the fountain, and Sunny comes running up to me. Every time he is so excited, he wants me to go see a magic show with him, some sort of Great and Powerful mare. But, I just- I ignore him and tell him that I'm not interested." Boxing shifted in his seat and turned to Applejack.

"I feel bad, even when I know it's just a dream. We sit down together on the fountain, sometimes we just hug until I wake up." Boxing blushed as his cheeks went red. "Sometimes we would make-out for a bit, but It's not always the same, I remember once, I killed him." Rarity and Valley gasped loudly in unison.

"Yep sometimes I would just get sick of it, it was only a dream after all." Boxing took Applejack's hooves into his. "But, just this evening I saw him again, and I told him I loved a mare." Applejack smiled sweetly. "And I told him that I was going to ask that mare a very important question." He paused and cleared his throat. "Applejack. I know that today has been really crazy, I didn't want tonight to go like this but now is as good as ever. Applejack you are the most trustworthy and honourable mare I have ever met, just having you with me makes me happy. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Applejack? Will you marry me?" Silence filled the room. Boxing didn't really need an answer, the fact that Applejack launched onto him and almost suffocated him was the best answer he could hope for.

***

Epilogue.

"Hurry up Honey, y'all are gonna' be late for school!" A voice called up the stairs as Honeycrisp Apple frantically styled her mane.

"Just a minute, Mother!" Honey called back. "I want to look good on my first day of school!"

"Not much you can do to help that!" Jested her father from the lower level of the farm house. "Hey, ouch! What was that for?" Boxing complained. "You ain't helpin' ya' bonehead!" Applejack blasted back, Honey rolled her eyes and giggled as she made way for the staircase.

"So? How do I look?" Honey Apple asked her parents from the top of the staircase. They both stared back with awe. Honeycrisp Apple was an earth pony like her parents, sharing the same orange coat colour with her mother. Her golden mane was tied up with a red bow, it was given to her as a gift from Apple Bloom, who was also waiting at the front door.

"Beautiful sugarcube, No get goin' or you'll be late fer' school." Honey made her way down the staircase and stopped in front of her parents. "Here, take your bag sweetheart." Boxing gripped her saddlebag in his teeth and placed in on his daughters back.

"Thanks dad! Is school fun?" Honey smiled

"-Pfft-No." Boxing felt a firm elbow jab into his ribs, causing him to let out a whine. "I mean, yes. Yes it is. Lot's of fun!" Boxing added.

"Don't worry sugarcube, your cousins Zap and Emerald are in your class also. Just remember to do what Miss Cheerilee says an' you should be fine." Applejack said as she kissed her daughter's forehead. Honey Apple gave her father a warm hug and walked through the door.

"Bye." Honey said as she trotted up to Apple Bloom and walked by her side.

Applejack turned to Boxing, "She's growin' up so fast." she said as the two of them watched from the front porch.

"So... want to fool around?" Boxing asked.

"Did you even need ta' ask." Applejack practically tackled him onto the porch and pressed her muzzle up against his.

The End.

Author's Note:

Wow, there's an "Authors Note" section? I never knew. Good for them. Well I better make use of it. Here go's.
Hypothetically, what if Sunshine Glory came back to life? I'm thinking of ideas for a third and final sequel. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for my new fiction "The Dragon Extinction." ETA: No idea.

Comments

[epicbrony1]

yay! Another sequel. Lets just call it a triquel.