Earning Freedom

by Daxisle

Dissolute Reconcile

Dissolute Reconcile

With dinner done eaten and the startling revelation along with it, Soarin's family thanked the Apples for the meal and excused themselves from the property. Considering the embarassing subject matter, Applejack didn't push for them to stay, still in her own shock from the matter.

Macintosh, for his part, was in a shock all his own. Annebelle didn't seem all that bother by the prospect of her brother dating the apple stallion's sister.

'Well no crap, you and she aren't really in a relationship. So what is there to feel awkward about on her part? Or yours for that matter? She was a mare you danced with and kissed one night. It's not like your married.

Too bad Applejack didn't feel the same.

"Ah can't believe this!" His sister fumed, pacing in the living-room. Mac sitting with a contemplative look on the couch while Granny Smith stared with an amused smile at her granddaughter's dilemma. She herself saw nothing wrong with the situation, personally. It wasn't like she'd never heard of a two brothers dating two sisters before.

Now marraige on the other hand would have been a slippery slope, along with children of course. But her comment at dinner was all in good fun. Young people these days take things way too seriously.

"Ah can't believe it either, chil'." The marshmallow green mare agreed. "Ah swear, y'all young folk git worked up ovah the smallest things. Makin such a show at supper, n' all."

AJ whipped her head around and gave her elder a look, holding it for a few seconds before shaking her head and turning her attention to her brother. "Why didn'ja tell me ya were seein' Soarin's sister?"

"Cause Ah ain't seein' her." Mac replied bluntly. It was true, he hadn't seen her in months. He was actually closer to "seeing" Luna than Annabelle. Much to his chargin. He still had to sort his feelings out on that matter.

Applejack sighed, unable to deny the truth of the matter. "Ah, guess. It's just weird, ya know? Datin' a pony who's sister had a thing with mah brother."

Mac pressed his lips in thought. This might be able to work in his advantage, if he thought about it. He didn't like Soarin, and if he were to be with Annabelle than that would make the relationship between he and his sister awkward. Too awkward for her to continue.

'You get with Annabelle, AJ breaks up with Soarin. Win, win. But, do you think it would work?'

What do you mean?

'Pft, don't give me that, you know exactly what I mean.' The voice waited but sighed with Mac's lack of an internal response. 'Sweet Celestia, you're dense. You don't think this could be seen as you using Annabelle to your own ends?'

Mac scrunched his brow in thought.

Well, I mean I suppose that it could be seen like that, but wouldn't the fact we had feelings before show that my interest isn't just in separating AJ and Soarin?

The voice paused. 'A good point, but would it be good enough to use if the argument came up? Mac's frown deepened. 'Let's be honest here, do you really think Soarin dating your sister is really because he has an interest in her? I'd be willing to say the answer is no. He's just trying to get back at you for beating his flank back during the Spike incident.

Emerald green eyes shot wide as the revelation dawned on him.

Yea, surprised you didn't figure that one out yourself.

"Are ya even listenin' ta me?"

Mac's attention was drawn from his introspection, he hadn't heard what his sister was saying, but the look on her face made it apparent that he was supposed to. The groan and eye roll after also apparent that she knew he wasn't.

Lasting for only a split second, Mac's eye and mouth contorted themselves into a sneer. He hated eye rolling, always did. It was a sign of both dismissal and disrespect. The only reason he'd tolerate it now was the fact that he knew his sister was just as confused as he was, just much worse at hiding it.

"Chil' yer gettin' all worked up over nothin'." Granny called as rocked back and forth on her favorite chair. "Yer datin' the colt, Mac's not datin' his sister. You got nothin' t' worry 'bout."

In her sagely wisdom, AJ couldn't argue. It was true, she was making a big deal over nothing. Just allowing her emotions and events of the past to hype up an issue that didn't matter. She took another breath and chuckled at her own silliness before offering Macintosh an apology for her overreaction.

Accepting, the stallion decided that he'd had enough for one day and retired for the evening.

Though the mix of guilt, excitement and confusion in his stomach halted sleep from warping him in it's sweet and blissful embrace.

So there he sat, his eyes focused on a particularly interesting part of his celing while his mind raged over the events that had transpired from the time he left Ponyville to just a few hours ago. The nights he and Luna had spent together, Applejack and the way his family had treated him, Annabelle, the night he spent dancing with her and of course, the kiss they shared.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he'd betrayed the mare he'd met that night. Yea, they had never really commited to each other, but to say that he didn't have any feelings of connection to her would be a lie.

'Why?'

The voice caused him to cringe, as if he hadn't just explained it in his thoughts.

'I'm just saying it's a little stupid that you feel committed to her all of a sudden is all. I mean, all you did was share a kiss and a dance with her. Not like you went through much of a bonding experience.'

You think I don't know that? You think I'm not confused over all of this? Are you simple?

Woah, calm down there, dutch.'

NO! No, I'm tired of you continually condescending me all the time! Here I am, bucking acknowledging it doesn't make any sense, and you come out pointing out the bucking obvious and down talking my feelings as if I hadn't done it enough. For all the criticizing you've done of my family for the way they treat me, you're really not that much different.

His thoughts hung in the air for a few seconds, than a minute. Mac waited for his inner critic to reply, but still nothing came. After a few minutes of quiet breathing, the voice finally gave its reply.

'You cut me, Mac. You cut me real deep right there.'

Mac gave a small smirk. You saying I'm wrong?

...

Thought so.

'Alright, fine.' The voice replied, taking a breath of its own. 'I'll admit that I've been rather critical of you-

Rather critical?

Alright, really critical. But can you blame me? You're not a dumb pony, Mac. Everything you act like is some big revolation to you after I say it is just a facade. If I know something it's because you already knew it, you just didn't want to admit it.

Mac couldn't argue that, though most of it was true. He didn't want to be too judgmental or rash so he held off on making such acknowledgments for what they were until he was sure about them. Not to mention that he'd been sheltered on the farm and caring for his younger siblings most of his life. Subjects such as romance weren't really a topic his mind had time to wonder to. Who could blame him for being so confused on the matter.

'Because you're not as confused as you think you are.'

Oh yea? And what makes you think that, huh? You think I'm not as confused as I feel? Well I'll be the first to tell ya that you're wrong! I have no idea what to make of these feelings I have. Guilt, fear, remorse, excitement, I don't know what to make of all of them. I've never been exposed to them before or, or had anypony explain them to me. You don't understand them any better than I do, and you know it.

Again, the voice was quiet. Mac knew when his inner critic was right and when it was wrong. A deep gut feeling compelled him to agree when it was, that gut feeling wasn't present for this conversation.

Funny enough was that not a few days ago, the same critique was telling him to abandon his family and chase after Annabelle, now here it was getting on his back for the very same feelings.

Having silenced the critic, Mac closed his eyes once more. Sleep wouldn't be easy or restful, but it was better than laying in bed with his thoughts...

"That went well." Annabelle chirped happily.

She couldn't believe it, she'd never thought she'd run into the red farm pony again, and his sister is dating her brother no less! Maybe she'd get to see him again! She wouldn't mind visiting, they had a very lovely farm.

"Well? You think that went well?!" Soarin barked as he rubbed his temples, looking over a piece of parchment, bearing the Wonderbolt insignia. The parchment required the flier to report to Luna tomorrow night for a detailed report on the second dragon incident. The first report was directly to Princess Celestia and the day court. He wasn't sure why the lunar princess wanted a personal interview on the matter but he just chalked it up to the universe making his already bad night even worse.

"Coulda gone better." His father agreed. Shuffle looked over some paperwork he'd gotten from Mayor Mare earlier that day. The parchment laid across the small wooden table of the in they stayed held detail on the proper permits and such for setting up another show in the small town... as well as the costs.

"Gotta say, though. I'm kinda disappointed, Soarin. I thought you'd have had the sense to go after Spitfire, at least someone in the Wonderbolts. Not some backwater hick filly."

The light blue pegasus gave his father a look. "Yea, because relations with your boss worked out so well for you, didn't it?"

Shuffle's head snapped to attention so fast that Annabelle was surprised he hadn't snapped his neck. Talking about their mother was a taboo topic among the family and was a quick way to turn any discussion into a brawl. But before the elder stallion could speak, his son continued on with a dismissive wave of his hoof. "Besides, I'm not really interested in dating Applejack seriously."

Annabelle gave a confused look.

"This whole thing is just so I can get back at her brother for humiliating me in front of my team mates."

The expressions between his sister and father were in pure opposition. The former's face contorted into a look of shock and disgust, while the latter had a slight smirk of approval.

"Going after the lad through his family, eh? Not bad." Shuffle complimented.

"Are you bucking kidding me?" The butter milk mare cried. "Yer really gonna mess with a mare's mind like that? Just ta get back at her brother?!" It was one of the most despicable and disgusting things she'd ever heard in her life. She may not have always seen eye to eye with the rest of her family, but this was the first time since birth that she really wished she'd never been related to the two.

Shuffle rolled his eyes. "Oh give it a rest, Anna. This is all because that meathead colt and her interfered in official Equestrian business. They should both be grateful that the worst punishment they receive is a little manipulation instead of jail time like anypony else would have got."

Unable to continue listening to this, Annabelle excused herself from the inn room and slammed the door behind her. She slowly made way out of the building and the town proper, her path leading straight to Sweet Apple Acers.

---

"You're not gonna stop her?" Shuffle asked, eyeing his son over the parchment he was currently reading.

"No." Soarin replied dismissively. "Mac already knows why I'm doing it, and Applejack won't believe her."

"Ain't she one of them Elements of Harmony used to stop Discord a year or two ago?"

"The element of Honesty," Soarin nodded.

The greying pony quirked a brow. "And you don't think that said element might make her inclined to see that Anna's telling the truth?"

Soarin's eyes drifted to his father, a confident smirk growing across his muzzle. "The love potion I had made up for her already tricked her into thinking my feelings were real, didn't it?"

Shuffle pressed his lips and nodded his head to concede. While he did acknowledge what his son was doing was wrong, what her brother and her had done to him was more than enough for him not to care.

The crown may not have punished them for their acts of assault against his son but that didn't mean that punishment wasn't deserved. And Shuffle would be damned before he became the one to stop it.

Author's Note:

To all of those who care: No, when I started this story I had no direction in mind to take it. I made it up as I went along and had fun with it however I pleased. For the last few years, I've had absolutely no motivation to continue it.

I've got... kind of an idea where I want it to go from this point on, though. For Sin at least. Spike's got his big thing out of the way, Mac's and Sins will soon be too come?

Not sure, don't have a plan on when or if I'll update anytime soon. Well, defiantly not in the next 5 weeks, since I'll be in North Dakota for that time. Stuck so I can get my CDL on my off week. But who knows? Maybe I'll start writing on my phone or something.

Comments

[DARKPHANTOM13]

Oh boy, Soarin is in for a world of hurt once that love potion wears off or Applejacks gets some sense knocked into him.

[RadicalDishonesty]

Well then... I didn't think it would be quite so blatant from Soarin.

Here's to hoping Annabelle is more clever than Mac is about it.

And what's this crap about "The crown may not have punished them for their acts of assault against his son but that didn't mean that punishment wasn't deserved." ? Soarin was doing his best to, because of his wounded pride, execute Mac's friend. Mac defending his friend from Soarin's petty shit doesn't mean that he "deserves" to be punished for it.

[Godiswithus3]

I take back what I said earlier. Now I know that the Cowpony's mistake was not her own.