> Caramel Apple Acres
>  by NightFirethePegasus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first rays of Celestia's sun filtered in through the window in Big Macintosh's room at Sweet Apple Acres. As the red stallion gazed down at the Caramel colored pony asleep in his forelegs a smile crept onto his lips. It was moments like this, Mac thought to himself how glad he was that he was a farmpony, as this meant that his internal clock was set for him to wake up a good hour before Caramel. He loved nothing more in the morning before work than to cuddle his fast asleep coltfriend, nothing except, 

"Mmmh good morning Mac..." 

Caramel said softly as he awoke causing Mac's smile to grow wider, to anypony else that voice would have sounded like anypony else but not to Mac, to Mac it was the sweetest thing his ears had ever heard, to Mac the voice was as sweet as the candy the pony's name represented. Leaning in Mac placed his lips over Caramel's and gave him a kiss, Caramel's senses were flooded, the scent and taste of apples filling his body with warmth as Mac kissed him, but just as quickly as the sensation came it had retreated as Mac broke the kiss, Caramel sighed dreamily, 

"Well... that's a real sweet way to say good morning." 

He said with a yawn, still a tad sleepy. Caramel wasn't an early morning pony like the members of apple family were. 

"Breakfast is up, you two get yer flanks down'ere 'fore it get's cold!" 

Applejack's voice came from downstairs, 

"That... not so much.." 

Caramel grumbled as his ears rang. Big Mac chuckled as he and Caramel rolled out of bed, wincing when he heard a thud, 

"Ya'll alrigh' sugarcube?" 

He asked turning his head ta see Caramel getting up after falling on his face trying to get out of bed the caramel colored stallion simply nodded walking to be at Mac's side as the larger stallion slipped his yoke around his neck, 

"Eeeyup well, Ah've learned tha' despite bein' a farmpony A.j. ain't the best mornin' mare, so ah learned mighty fast tha' when she calls fer breakfast t'is best not ta keep'er waitin' less ya'll wanna end up two apples short o' an apple pie if'n ya'll catch mah drift."  

Mac said, chuckling as caramel crossed his hind legs and gulped in utter fear, 

"W-w-well what're we waiting for then let's eat!" 

With that Caramel took off at top speed down the stairs. Mac shook his head as he thought to himself,  

'An accident prone stallion, running top speed down a flight o' stairs.' 

"This ain't gonna end well."  

He mumbled aloud to himself before following Caramel to breakfast.

Applejack turned to inspect a loud Crash that sounded from the bottom of the stairs only to find a certain tan pony laying dazed, upside down at the foot of the stairs, 

"What in tarnation, Caramel what in the hay happened?" 

She questioned Caramel as he got to his feet. 

"I-I'm sorry A.j. I didn't mean to be late to breakfast..." 

Caramel stuttered out apologetically. A.j. looked puzzled at Caramel, 'Caramel can be apologetic.' She thought to herself, 'But he seems outright terrified o' me righ' now.... an'.... is he... shakin'?' 

"Caramel yer actin' mighty strange what's gotten inta ya?" 

Big Mac approached his sister whispering in her ear explaining what he told to Caramel, this however only earned him one of her hooves to the back of his head and a glare, 

"What did ya'll go an' tell'im tha' fer?!" 

She turned apologetically to Caramel, 

"Mah brother was jus' pullin' yer hoof ta get ya'll outta bed." 

She turned back to Mac who still seemed to be hiding traces of snickering, 

"Well, ah already finished breakfast so ah'm gonna get ta work, Mac ya'll have a half day today jus' clear a row o' apple trees an' take the rest o' the day off." 

With that the orange mare grabbed an apple to munch on and went out the door. The two stallions both served themselves up a bowl of oatmeal and sat at the table, 

"Mornin uncle Caramel." 

Applebloom called from across the table where she was doing some last minute homework, Caramel wasn't really her uncle she just took to calling him that and he never seemed to mind Applebloom loved her uncle Caramel, 

"Good morning Applebloom how's the crusading going?" 

Caramel asked the little yellow filly, taking another bite of his oatmeal, he loved the apple family's oatmeal it had just the right amount of apple and cinnamon flavor in it he had asked Granny Smith for the recipe once, she had told him that it was an apple family secret if he wanted it he'd have to become an apple. 

"Well today we are meeting Miss Octavia at her house after school to try fer our music cutie marks before she leaves fer her business trip, hey uncle Caramel can ah ask ya somethin'?" 

She turned a tad red as she asked. Caramel's attention was now completely on the filly's as was Mac's, 

"Sure A.B. what's up?" 

"Well ah was wonderin' when are you an' mah brother gonna get married?" 

Caramel's jaw went slack. While Mac nearly choked on his oatmeal, 

"Well, uh A.B., I don't know but when we do I promise you'll be my bestmare now get to school." 

Caramel said finally recovering from shock, and regaining his speaking ability as he shooed the filly out the door, while Mac put the dishes in the sink. Mac cleared his throat, 

"Well..., let's get ta work, the sooner we finish, the more time we have to ourselves."  

He said as the two went out to the orchard for work. 

(There we go ch.1 is done how was it comments? Complaints?  

see ya next time, 

N.B.)
> chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The base of the apple tree shook as the force of Big Mac's hind legs striking the tree caused all the apples to fall into the basket with a rewarding thud. Caramel sat watching his coltfriend working his muscles as he harvested apples; Caramel had been sitting there since he made the excuse that he was too exhausted to keep going, this wasn't a lie though as he wasn't as hardy as Mac was; As where it took Mac one buck to knock the apples off the trees it took him about three decent bucks to a tree to clear it. The thud the apples made when they landed in the basket jolted Caramel from his thoughts,

"Well... tha's the last o' 'em fer today.."

Mac huffed wiping some sweat from his brow as he and Mel looked back at their day's work before he glanced up at Celestia's sun,

"Ah reckon it's 'bout noon what ya'll say we go get lunch?"

Just as Caramel was about to respond his stomach replies for him with a hungry growl and he looked up at Mac with an awkward smile accompanied by a chuckle.

The two stallions were making their way around the back of the central barn as a shortcut back to the house, when Mac peeled off heading inside the barn,

"Where are you running off to Mac?"

Caramel called after him but just as his words left his mouth Mac re-emerged with a picnic basket in his teeth. The couple sat themselves under a nearby tree and Mac began unloading the contents of the basket, 

two freshly made daisy salads, a pitcher of apple cider 

and two glasses, and lastly two slices of apple pie for dessert; They sat and enjoyed their meal simply talking and enjoying eachother's company. All that was left was some cider and Mac spoke up,

"Hey Mel, ya know Applebloom's question got me thinking..."

Caramel's face grew concerned and he looked up at Mac,

"Yes? What is it sweetheart?"

"Well Ah was thinkin' mabye t'is time we settle down, Ah mean we've 

been together now fer 6 years, and Ah know fer certain t'aint anypony 

else tha' ah'd rather spend mah life with so... Caramel Sabot will 

you marry me and make me the happiest Stallion in ponyville?"

For the second time in one day Caramel felt his jaw go slack in shock, and awe at what he was hearing;  

Mac on the other end was preparing for rejection, 

but wasn't prepared for what came out of the caramel colored 

pony next, 

"Well.... It's about bucking time Mac I've only been dreaming of this moment for months now, ofcourse I'll marry you Big Macintosh Apple, 

but this brings up something else I wanna discuss..."

He replied taking another sip of his cider as Mac gave him a confused look,

"An' wha' is tha' sugarcube?" 

Caramel began fiddling with his hooves in anxiety,

"Well I overheard granny and A.j. talking, and seeing as how you and I can't exactly continue the family tree, but A.j. still can Granny is considering making her the heir to the farm instead of you..."

Mac nodded with a sigh,

"Eeeyup ah knew tha' already but what's this got ta do with-..."

"I wanna adopt a foal..."

Caramel said effectively cutting Mac off and stunning the bigger stallion into silence,

"Mel... are ya serious?"

Mac asked finally finding his voice,

"Yes I mean you've got experience helping granny raise A.j. when she was a filly and I'm great with A.B., I would love nothing more than to raise a family with you Mac."

"Okay Mel since yer sure we'll go see 'bout it tomorrow."

"Uhm 'scuse me big brother but cousin Braeburn an' Soarin are here, and they wanted ta say hi."

Mac turned to see A.j. hiding most of her face with the shadow cast from her cowpony hat. He could tell she was crying, or atleast had been,

"How much did ya hear?"

He questioned,

"Nuff ta know ya'll are probably gonna abandon the farm..."

Applejack growled,

"We'll discuss this later A.j."

Mac replied hollowly, none to happy with her accusations. As he and Mel made their way down the hill Mac thought to himself, 'Ah love sweet apple acres t'is mah home, but Ah made a commitment ta Mel an' our future family, an', if leavin' the farm is for their best.... 

then, so be it...'.
> chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the buck Soar! We dun have time ta stay'n chat we have a train ta catch!"

The yellow earth pony yelled at the pale-blue pegasus, his anger fading to fear as the pegasus began holding back a laugh. The yellow stallion's expession went like

'Aw buck.'

and he spoke fear evident in his tone,

"Aw buck me, he's righ' behind me ain't he?"  

"Well Ah'm glad ta see ya too cuz'."

Braeburn turned nervously as his face met Big Mac's which was sporting it's usual indecipherable pokerface expression as the red steed chewed his trademark haystem.  

"Ah'm sorry Cousin Macintosh t'aint that Ah dun wanna spend time with ya'll, but, our train ta Appleloosa leaves in fifteen minutes and tomorrow is our 8th anniversary."  

He gestured to Soarin before continuing,  

"And so if we dun catch the train now we won't be home in time ta celebrate."

"W-well, how about just spending the night?" Caramel stuttered before continuing after he got everypony's attention,  

"I-I mean, well does it really matter WHERE you spend your anniversary as long as you're together?" 

He finished, blushing a bit as Mac absentmindedly ran a hoof through his mane, leaning into the touch he began grinning like an idiot.

Soarin put on his best puppy look and flashed it at Braeburn,  

"Yeah honey, please... I don't feel like sitting on a train right now just to possibly have some anti-coltcuddler settlerpony give us a hard time." 

Braeburn sighed in defeat,  

"Gosh darnnit Soar Ah need ta learn how ta say no ta ya sometimes, but, you and Caramel make valid points so, we'll stay. Ah'll go make dinner." 

As Braeburn left Caramel approached Soarin,  

"Hey Soarin nice to see you again." 

Soarin smiled at Caramel before addressing Mac,  

"So, big red, your coltfriend here always this jittery?" 

Mac shook his head,  

"Eeeeennnope, he's usually more talkative. Ain't ya Mel?" 

Upon hearing his fiance's voice Caramel regained his confidence,  

"Mac's right that was unlike me so uh, what're you two doing in ponyville anyway?"

"Well Caramel, Brae had some stuff to pick up and I made up an excuse to come along, but I'm really here because I have a suprise for Brae. Can you keep a secret?"

Caramel nodded excitedly, he loved surprises nearly as much as Pinkie Pie loves parties.

"Well, tonight, I'm gonna ask Braeburn to marry me."

As he said this Soarin looked about as giddy as a Foal in a candy store. Caramel's excitement grew, as was evident by the widening grin on his face,

"What a coincidence, Big Mac proposed to me today aswell at lunch."

"Aaaaand?..."

Soarin nudged Caramel egging him to spill the details,

"Ofcourse I said yes, I'd be an idiot to turn him down... So uhm... How shall we pass the time until Braeburn finish making dinner for you guys?"

Soarin placed a hoof to his chin in thought for a second,

"I got it!"

He exclaimed, taking off towards the sky.

Braeburn trotted back as the first star's began dotting the evening sky. Spotting Soarin in the air doing all sorts of aerial stunts and tricks while Mac and Caramel laid and watched he decided to call out and make his presence known,

"Soar what're ya'll doin' up there?"

He called out, startling all three stallions and causing Soarin to lose focus and nearly crash into a nearby tree. Performing an emergency landing Soarin landed infront of Braeburn,

"Oh hiya Brae-brae, I was just giving Caramel and your cousin an impromptu solo aerial show to pass the time."

He said, stretching the kinks in his wings out before folding them back to his sides as he trotted over to peck a kiss to Braeburn's cheek. Braeburn chuckled at his coltfriend being such a show-off,

"Well dinner's ready so we should head inside..."

He said as a sly grin played on his lips before continuing,

"Oh an' Ah made somethin' real special fer dessert."

He added. Soarin's eyes grew wide with excitement as his mind put two and two together,

"PIE!!!"

He hollered as he bolted for the house.

"Well I guess we will leave you two to your evening. Besides me and Mac have plans of our own, first we're heading to Sugarcube Corner to get a bite to eat before we head to Vinyl's house, she's throwing a party while her roommate Octavia is out on a business trip."

Braeburn tipped his hat,  

"Well we'll see ya'll in the mornin' then, have fun ya two."

He replied, turning to follow his pie crazed coltfriend back to the house before turning a suggestive smirk towards Mac,

"But not TOO much fun, okay cuz'?"

He said as he departed, leaving Caramel giggling, and Mac thankful for his red coat to help him hide the burning blush creeping up on his face not realizing that his freckles were now blending in with the rest of his face.

"Well let's go sweeheart."

Caramel said, walking past Mac swishing his tail, gliding it across Mac's face. At a loss for words at Caramel's sudden change in demeanor and frisky behavior Big Mac settled nodding and following him to Sugarcube Corner.
> chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door to Caramel's house was flung open as Big Macintosh entered the quaint little home,followed by Caramel. As Caramel walked in he kicked the door shut and went to sit next to Mac on the sofa.

"Guh! Mel, mah ears are still ringin'!"

Mac shouted, unaware of how loud he was due to the ringing in his eardrums.

"Well you probably shouldn't have sat so close to the speakers then."

Caramel chuckled at his fiance's lack of party experience.

'Oh dear Celestia it feels so amazing to call him that!'

Caramel thought to himself as he nuzzled the party illiterate cowpony beside him.



Mac seemed to be recovered since he now spoke at his normal volume and his face grew more serious than usual,

"Well ah think we should sit an' discuss this whole adoption thing 'fore  we just jump blindly into it."

He said hopping off the couch and going into the kitchen to sit at the dining room table. Caramel sat across from Mac before replying,

"You're right Mac we need to thoroughly discuss the idea of raising a foal as much as I want to raise a family with you, we need to be sure we are capable of it right now."

The tan stallion agreed, reaching across the table Caramel grasped Mac's hooves in his own and locking his deep blue eyes with Mac's emerald green ones,

"But, I promise you that if we go through with this I'll be right there with you every step of the way. Until my dying breath I will never leave your side."

He added, the sheer loving devotion showing clear withing every word. Big Mac smiled warmly, and with a gentle nod he continued to speak once more,

"Okay well the first question we already answered at lunch today, we already know we have experience caring fer foals so that's not much o' a problem..."

Caramel nodded partly in agreement and partly for him to continue.

"Then there 's the problem o' if we can financially support ourselves an' the 
foal. Ah have been thinkin' an'... Ah'm gonna break off from Sweet Apple Acres an' start mah own farm with ya."

Big Mac made a face that told Caramel that the older stallion had given this a lot of thought and consideration before making his choice, but Caramel wasn't any happier about it. Caramel couldn't feel right about his fiance giving up everything he'd ever known for him and his selfish thoughts he hadn't really thought about how this would effect Mac's life at the farm.

"That's not fair Mac you shouldn't have to give up your life for me!"

Caramel blurted out the words before he even thought about what to say. The words were ones of anger but the tone of Caramel's voice and the look upon his face told Mac the truth behind the words,

'Caramel, mah sweet Mel, feels guilty. guilty for my decision to give up the farm, he thinks the farm is the most important thing to me...'

Mac shook his head,

Mel... ya'll dun understand do ya? yer mah future husband an' this foal is gonna be our son... Ya'll two are mah life from now on an' ah need ta look out fer mah own family A.J. can have Sweet Apple Acres an' we'll start our own where Ah won't be sharin' none of the profit with my siblings so that Ah can better support the three of us." 

He said, taking Caramel's face in his hooves he pulled the tan stallion to him from across the table and gave him a kiss. After they broke the kiss they rested their foreheads against eachother's. They stayed like that for a couple minutes in silence just staring into eachother's eyes lost in their love for eachother before Caramel broke the silence as he pulled back to yawn, but all the while never breaking eye contact with Mac,

"Well, we should probably head off to bed Mac. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. afterall tomorrow is our first step towards our new life as a family."

He said stepping out of the dining room and heading towards the stairs. Mac responded from behind him with a lazy "eeeyup..." before the couple trotted off up the stairs to bed.
> chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mac had lost count of how many nervous laps Caramel had paced around
the waiting room of the, Ponyville Adoption Agency. Mac though he hid
it better, was just as nervous as Caramel, subtly tapping his hoof on
the floor in rhythm with the ticking of the clock, which he glared
impatiently at every minute or so. Finally a mare opened the door,

"Miss Rosilee will see you now."

She said in a cheery voice that sounded like she had to feign
enthusiasm at some points. The mare's voice caused Caramel and Mac to
jump as they were jolted from their nerve induced methodical trance
like pattern. Mac gave Caramel a look that asked 

'are you sure about this?' 

Caramel's response was a nod,

"ready when you are Mac.."
He verbally replied. Taking this as a cue Mac went through the door
following the mare leading them through the winding hallways of the
seemingly endless facility, Caramel following close behind
occasionally looking down at his hooves as if to make sure he doesn't
fall from tripping over himself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The mare stopped at a door at the very end of the hallway and motioned
for the two stallions to enter the room. Once inside Mac was left
dumbfounded. He had heard that Miss Rosilee was Cheerilee's cousin,
but he had no idea how identical they really were. Rosilee was the
spitting image of her cousin with a couple differences, Rosilee was
rose red with a more mute reddish mane and tail, and her cutiemark was
three red roses.

"Ah there you two are, come in please take a seat, I was wondering
when you two would be showing up here."

Caramel tilted his head to the side in mild confusion,

'What could she mean by that?'
Caramel wondered to himself

"You have?"

was all he could manage get out.

"Why of course! I mean as soon the news went around that you and Mac
got together I knew it was to be only a matter of time."

Miss Rosilee giggled like a school filly as the two stallions before
her blushed like crazy.

"So Mac, I can safely assume you and Mac have  properly discussed
whether or not you two are prepared for raising a foal and caring for
one in a safe home environment."

Caramel tightened his grip on Mac's hoof. Mac looked to Caramel
briefly to smile wide at him reassuringly, Mac turned back to Rosilee,

"Eeyup miss, Ah discussed it thoroughly with Mel last night. We both
know what would be required of us and we are prepared to do so.."

Rosilee smiled warmly she was pleased to see Mac speaking more than one word,

"As I would only come to expect from such a highly respected pony as
yourself Mac."

As she said this a knock sounded at the door.

"come in."

Rosilee chimed. As the door opened a chocolate brown colt looking to
be around 15 years old if Caramel had to guess walked into the room.

"Ah Rocky I'd like you to meet-"
"Mister Macintosh!, oh....my...goodness it is so great to meet you!!!"

Mac smiled at the colt's enthusiasm as he reached out a hoof to ruffle
Rocky's short, spiky, caramel-nougat colored mane.

"Pleasure's all mine Rocky."

Rocky then turns his attention to Caramel,

"And you must be Caramel."

Caramel was utterly shocked that Rocky knew who he was right off the bat.

"That is correct but how did you guess? are you psychic or something?"

he asked with a puzzled look on his face. Rocky bursts into an
uncontrollable fit of laughter. This however only causes both Caramel
and Mac to grow increasingly confused. Rocky realizes he has yet to
answer Caramel's question and manages to stop laughing,

"I wish, that would be so totally awesome, but nah the fillies here
are big gossipponies and when I heard them bring up Mac's nameI
decided to listen in."

Caramel and Mac smile knowingly at eachother and nod before turning
their attemtion back to Rocky.

"So Rocky, how would you like to come live with us?"

Caramel asked as a comfortable warmth began to fill his body. Rocky
looked to be in utter shock,

"You mean, you wanna adopt me?!"

"eeeyup!"

Mac replied in his signature one word fashion but with way more
enthusiasm in his voice than usual.

"Yes!"

Rocky looked to be ready to bounce off of the walls with excitement
and joy. Miss Rosilee pulled out a paper from inside her desk and
placed it on the table with a pen.

"Just sign here please."

Caramel and Mac both took turns signing their names to the paper and
Rosilee then put it in a folder and put it on the shelf behind her.

"Great, we will bring Rocky over in two days to start the trial week."

"Thank ya kindly miss."

Mac said before leaving the office.

"see you soon Rocky."

Caramel stated smiling at their soon to be son. Rocky nodded excitedly
in agreement, and with that Caramel rejoined Mac as they made their
way back home to prepare for Rocky's arrival.

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------- Caramel Apple Acres Ch.6 -----------------

Caramel stood in the living room of the house at his and Mac's farm, Caramel Apple Acres. He looked over at a picture frame resting atop the fireplace. Caramel took the frame in his hooves and studied it. The photo inside had Caramel on the left with his head nestled in the crook of Mac's neck, both he and Mac had content smiles playing on their faces, Mac with his trademark hay stem in his mouth, and Rocky stood between them with his usual enthusiastic smile with both his parent's forelegs around him. Caramel's face formed a faint smile as he thought about his life and his wonderful son. Just then Rocky came through the door.

"Hey dad!" He exclaimed cheerfully, dropping his saddlebags with his school books in them before trotting over to Caramel who immediately embraced his son with a hug.

"Hey Rocky, how was school?" Caramel questioned, smiling at Rocky. Rocky looked up at Caramel
nervously fiddling with his hooves,

"W-well uhm... The school dance is coming up..."

Caramel gave a puzzled look when he saw how nervous Rocky seemed to be about the dance. Caramel's fatherly instincts told him to press further but he chose to do so cautiously.

"Do you have a date for the dance?"

Rocky blushed and looked toward the floor.

"Y-yeah..."

Caramel couldn't help the smile that flashed across his face. His son going on a date, sure it was in the form of a school dance, but he was proud of his little colt.

“Who is it? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?"

By this point Rocky was just a few inches away from shrinking himself into a ball.

"No... No it... It's Rumble..."

Caramel didn't know why but this answer upset him. Did his son feel he was obligated to be a coltcuddler just because his parents were?

"Rocky, why are you going to the dance with another colt? You aren't a coltcuddler just because me and your pa are!"



He replied in a much louder, more furious tone than he meant to use. Caramel immediately wanted to take it back as soon as the words left his lips, but the damage was done. Caramel saw the anger rise in his beloved son as quickly as the tears welled up in his chocolate brown eyes. Then without another word Rocky fled hurriedly to his room and shut the door behind him. Rocky was the type of pony to never cry, or at least he never let anypony else see him cry.

All Rocky could wonder was why? Why his father thought he was being a coltcuddler because he thought he had to. No, Rocky wasn't that naive, he had given this decision serious thought. Rocky had expected that of all ponies his father would be the most understanding. But he hadn't reacted at all as Rocky had hoped.

A knock sounded at Rocky's bedroom door. Now Rocky was if, nothing else, always respectful of his parents and always minded his manners with them. As much as he didn't wanna speak to his father at the present moment, he spoke up.

"Come in..." He sniffled out.

The door creaked open as Caramel slowly made his way through the doorway and climbed up onto the bed to lay next to Rocky on the colt's bed. He placed a gentle hoof around his son's body, holding him close while placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

"Listen... Rocky I'm sorry... I overreacted..."



He began, but before he could continue Rocky interjected,

" I just thought you of all ponies would understand and accept it... I wasn't doing it because I felt I had to, or because it was expected of me... I truly do have feelings for Rumble..."



Rocky replied, turning to Caramel with tear stained eyes. Caramel reached a hoof out to wipe the tears from his son's face before cupping Rocky's chin in his hoof.


"I know dear... I jumped to conclusions I just didn't want you to have to face the harassment that I went through growing up because of my choices. I just couldn't bear to watch you hurt by other ponies' words... But that is part of growing up... And as much as I hate it I can't always be looking out for you every second of your life, so I have to let you pick your battles, and I can't tell you that you are or aren't a coltcuddler, that is up to you to decide... But, no matter what you can rest easy knowing me and your pa will always have your back and support you..."

"Eeeyup..."

Caramel and Rocky turned to see Mac standing in the doorway. He had heard the whole thing and was grinning from ear to ear as he approached the bed and climbed up behind Caramel and Rocky, laying down and pulling them both close to him,

"Yer father's right Rock. We can't be there all the time ta make certain tha' yer safe 'n' sound, so we have ta allow ya ta make yer own decisions an' follow through with 'em... Within reason of course..."

Mac chuckled as he added that last bit in as an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Thanks pa, you're right and don't worry I promise I won't get mixed in with the wrong crowd."

Caramel smiled to himself as his little family was together again, he was content staying like this, however a sound erupted from his stomach and he remembered he had not had anything to eat since breakfast.

"Say, who's up for a little snack binge at Sugarcube Corner?"

Upon hearing this, Rocky's face lit up with excitement and Mac licked his lips in anticipation of enjoying some sweet delights. The trio quickly left the bed and went downstairs to the front door. Caramel grabbed his saddlebags and the family departed for their destination.
> chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAA CH.7
-------------------------------------


Rocky stood in front of the mirror in the living room trying to fix
his tie. It's the night of the school dance and Rumble was due to
arrive at the house at any minute, and Rocky was jittery and being a
bit of a perfectionist. Caramel approaches behind his frantic son with
a chuckle,



"Oh Rocky would you stop worrying so much... You look absolutely
handsome but we both know that Rumble doesn't care about how you look,
he only cares that you're there."



He said as he walked around to the front of Rocky to straighten out his tie.



"I know dad, I know, but I can't stop worrying. This is mine and
Rumble's first real outting as a couple and I just wanna make it
perfect for him! And I just don't wanna make a fool outta myself,
and-"



Rocky was cut off by a knock at the door and his nerves kicked into overdrive,



"Oh dear Celestia that’s him! I'm not ready!"



He exclaims as he makes a mad dash for the bathroom. Mac, ignoring his
son's nervous mental breakdown goes and opens the door,



"Evening Mr. Apple-Sabot."



Rumble greets as he walks through the door. Mac turns slightly red in
embarrassment and nervously chuckles,



"Rumble please, ya'll can call me Mac, no need ta be formal jus' cuz
ya'll are datin' mah son... "



Rumble nods and smiles,



"Okay sure thing Mac, now, speaking of Rocky where is my sweetheart of a date?"



Just as Rumble asks Caramel pushes Rocky, who has his hooves dug into
the floor in protest, to greet him,



"Here he is."



Caramel grins triumphantly.



"Thanks Cara-"


Rumble begins to say as he turns to look at Rocky but is quickly
stunned into silence,



"Oh my Celestia you look amazing Rocky! Now I feel underdressed..."


Rocky blushes as he approaches Rumble and gently nuzzles his cheek,



"Heh you're just saying that... besides you look great as always...
you never needed to dress up or do anything fancy with your mane to
get my attention."



Rumble nuzzles his coltfriend back before draping a wing over him gently,



"Shall we depart my dear?"



He says as he begins to lead Rocky toward the door, only to be stopped
by Caramel,



"Hold up you two. You guys didn't honestly think you were gonna leave
without letting me and Mac take a picture of our son and his first
coltfriend before their school dance did you?"



"DAAAaaad..."



Rocky groaned impatiently. Rumble grinned widely,



"Great idea Caramel!”

He agreed, partly because he enjoyed teasing Rocky like this now and
then, and partly because he really did love the idea. Rumble and Rocky
got positioned and set up, Rocky sat down on his hindlegs with Rumble
doing the same on his left and draping his wing to encircle the two of
them while Rocky placed his head against Rumble's neck. Caramel and
Mac got the camera set up and took a couple shots.



"Okay, you two are free to go, but don't stay out too late..... And behave!"



Caramel said as the two colts departed to the dance.

(I know this chapter is short but I decided to keep the actual dance as it's own seperate chapter plus I feel shorter chapters are easier for people to read who don't have a lot of time to read long chapte

> chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rocky and Rumble arrived at the dance and were immediately greeted by a familiar face.

"Oh, hi guys!"

Spike greeted as he spotted the couple and approached them. The purple dragon was extra flashy at the dance wearing that big red bowtie with gemstones on it.

" Hey Spike, what brings you to our school dance?"

"err, somepony asked me to go with them,"

And before either Rocky or Rumble could ask Spike who this somepony was he left back into the crowd.

"Is he always this strange?"

Rumble asked raising an eyebrow to Rocky. Rocky looked puzzled as he turned to respond.


"Spike, he's definitely whacky at times, but no this is strange even for him."

With that the two colts simply shrugged it off and dove into the crowd to find some space to spend by themselves. Rocky recognized the DJ right away just by hearing the music that was playing,

"Haha yeah! Now thats what I'm talking about, the school got Vinyl Scratch to DJ this party!"

Rocky didn't have long to wait to see that his suspiscions were correct, there on the stage was Vinyl Scratch, better known as DJ Pon-3, but there was a second pony out there with her. Upon closer observation Rocky recognized the other pony as Vinyl's classical roomate, Octavia. The two had created a perfect balance between Vynil's techno style music, and Octavia's classical strings.

'these two should play together more often they sound even better together!'

Rocky thought as he made a mental note to mention it next time he saw them. 


The two colts began dancing and soon lost all awareness of the world outside of eachother and the music, Rumble doing a few nice tricks and flips using his wings.

"Nice moves flyboy but that's cheating if you're trying to show off against your earthpony date!"

Rocky teased as he began to use his creative apple bucking skills for some fancy foot work with rythmic steps, kicks and handstands. Rocky and Rumble danced like this four about twenty minutes before they heard an annoying and all too familiar voice.

"Oh why hello there Rumble fancy seeing you here..."

Diamond Tiara said, her usual low undertones of acid dripped from her tongue, a sure sign that the mean girl of the school was itching to start a fight. Rumble and Rocky stopped dancing and turned to look at the source of the voice.


"I DO go to this school you know, therefore it shouldn't be a surprise to see me he Diamond Tiara..."

Rumble said dryly. Diamond Tiara grinned maliciously as she had gotten what she wanted. Now that she got their attention she could have fun riling them up, and she knew just who to target and how to do it.

"So Rumble, your date, where is she, I am dying to know what lucky filly got you to go with them..."

Rumble was getting ready to reply and stop the impending fight before it started but just as he opened his mouth he shut it when he heard Rocky speak up.

"Right here Diamond Tiara!"

Rocky said. 


Diamond Tiara smirked to herself, 

'Yes! Rocky took the bait now to put the finishing touches on this...'

"Where is she Rocky, I don't see her is she behind you, or mabye she is invisible, because all I see is you, and Rumble wouldn't DARE come to the dance with another colt."

That had done it. Diamond Tiara sneered when she saw Rocky get really angry. she got what she asked for but she quickly realized it wasn't what she wanted the first and last thing she saw was Rocky's hoof flying into her, knocking her to the ground.

"Let's go home Rock."

Rrumble said, holding his now crying coltfriend close to him, Rocky nodded and they made their way home. 


As they walked through the front door Caramel and Mac turned to look at them from their spot on the living room couch. Caramel was the first to react,

"Rocky, Rumble, why, we weren't expecting you two home so early, did the dance end early?"

Before their eyes Rocky broke down and did something that Mac had never actually seen him do and Caramel had only seen faint traces of it, he dropped to the floor and sobbed. Rocky let out all of the emotion he was holding in for the sake of keeping face infront of everyone at the school dance. Within seconds Caramel was off the couch and holding his son close to him.

"shh shh Rocky what's wrong, what happened?..."

Rocky sniffled as he tried to regain his voice to answer his father's question.


"Diamond tiara.... She.... She approached us and asked Rumble where his fillyfriend for the dance was.... And then when I spoke up she said that.... that either his fillyfriend was behind me or invisible because there was no way that.... Rumble would go to the dance with a.... a colt......"

Rocky finishes as he goes back to crying a bit.

"But, thats not why I'm crying, well, it's part of the reason but, I also let my anger get the best of me and I punched her..."

Caramel and Mac shared a look that only showed sympathy for their son. They both knew that Diamond Tiara deserved what she got, mabye worse if you count all the times she has pulled her various stunts, and Rocky didn't know what else to do and he was in his mind defending Rumble. So Caramel knew he couldn't blame Rocky but he had to give him some reprecussions for resorting to violence.

"It's okay Rocky, me and your Pa aren't mad at you, you did what you thought you had to, she was not only insulting you, but she was insulting Rumble, and thats what really set you off wasn't it her jabs at you weren't what made you blow... We understand but the day after next we're going to her house and you're gonna apologize to her father it's the right thing to do, no matter how much she deserved it..."

Just as he said that there was a knock at the door.

Mac went to the door and opened it to have Diamond Tiara's father, Filthy Rich walk in he immediately approached Rocky, Rumble, and Caramel.

"Rocky.."

He began. Rocky uncurled from Caramel's grasp and looked at his father who nodded with a smile, Rocky turned to face Rich.

"Sir I just wanna apologize, for hitting your daughter, I let my anger get the best of me when she insulted my coltfriend Rumble."

Rich chuckled a bit before smiling at Rocky.

"why, that's really mature of you my boy, but no apology necassary I heard what happened by one of the ponies that witnessed the incident. I heard the exchange word for word, and. To be honest I would like to thank you for doing it for me."

All four other ponies in the room suddenly got really puzzled,

"come again?"

Rocky inquired, confused. 

"You see, I know she does these types of awful things, and I am glad one of you kids finally got enough courage to finally put my spoiled brat of a daughter in her place, now before your parents suggest it, I'm not condoning violence I am simply saying that I applaud you for sticking up for yourself and Rumble against my daughter, and rest assured her views on you are not reflecting of the views from the rest of her family, if you ever need something don't be shy to ask it's the least I could do to apologize for my daughter."

Rocky nods graciously.

"thanks Mr. Rich."

"Think nothing of it my dear boy, well I should take my leave back home for a long talk with my daughter about pony preferences ta-ta."

With that Rich took his leave, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, that went betta then Ah expected..."

Mac finally spoke up.

"Eeeyup."

The other three said in unison doing their best to imitate Mac's voice and before long everyone was having a good well deserved theraputic laugh. Rumble was the first to quit laughing when he heard his stomache growl.


"hey uh, does anyone mind if I stay for dinner thanks to Tiara me and Rocky didn't get a chance to eat anything since lunch."

Rocky's stomache grumbled when dinner was mentioned and he chuckled sheepishly.

"sure, me and Mac already ate but Rocky could get you guys something to eat."

Caramel said. The two colts upon hearing this raced to the kitchen as if the world was ending. Rocky ripped the fridge door open and found two slices of some Caramel apple pie a signature treat thats a family twist on the classic apple pie. Rocky took the two pieces out and placed them in the oven, turned it on and set the timer.


" So, I just wanted to say thanks..."

Rumble said as he and Rocky sat at the dining room table while waiting for their pie to reheat.

"For what?"

Rocky puzzled and Rumble grabbed his coltfriend's hooves,

"for defending me tonight, I, like Caramel, know that it was the real reason you punched Diamond Tiara, I know this is wrong and we shouldn't find it funny, but did you see the look on her and Spoon's face when you knocked her lights out? That was so not what Diamond Tiara planned to have happen when she decided to pick a fight."

The two colts laughed remembering the shocked faces on Diamond Tiara and her cohort, Silver Spoon. The timer on the oven went off and Rocky went and got the Pies out. He put them in there just enough to get them warm, not hot. Rocky got two plates out placed the slices of pie on them and walked them back to the table and placed them down. 

The two colts sat and enoyed their impromptu meal with some light small talk inbetween bites but it was a mainly quiet dinner as they were so focused on getting some food. 


By the time they finished Rumble looked at the clock,

"aw hay!.... Its almost midnight!"

"Don't worry you can spend the night, can't he dad?"

Caramel looked unsure as Rocky asked him.

"Well I suppose but you two will have to be up very early tomorrow to get ready we have Soarin an Braeburn's wedding to attend tomorrow at eleven in the morning..."

"We will won't we Rumble!?"

Rumble asked his coltfriend excited to have his first sleepover with him. Rumble nodded affirmingly.

"yep, I love weddings plus it may give me a few ideas should my future go as I plan it to."

He said as he nuzzled Rocky lovingly causing the other to giggle. Caramel decided now would be a good time to lay down the embarrassing ground rules for the sleep over.


"okay you two, I realize you two are getting to be young adults soon, but Rocky you are still my son and I expect you two to behave tonight I don't wanna have to ban you two from sleeping in close proximity... If you catch my drift."

Rocky and Rumble made faces that looked between disgusted an mortified that Caramel had brought up them and sex in the same sentence.

"Dad... We know to be careful alright, the worst you could possibly find us doing is cuddling or... Celestia forbid, making out!"

At that last part Rumble began to crack up. Not at the idea of doing what Rocky mentioned but at the way he mentioned it. Caramel rolled his eyes at his son's little rant, he knew they wouldn't do anything Rumble is a good colt he knows how far is too far this far into a relationship but he just wanted to see their faces when he brought it up.

"Okay you two off to bed we have a big day tomorrow."

Caramel said shooing the couple up to Rocky's room where they got settled.


"Night Rumble."

Rocky Said as he laid down and pulled up the covers.

"Hey, I hope you weren't joking with that cuddling thing..."

Rumble grumbled pretending to seem annoyed as he turned Rocky over to face him and pull him into a hug nestling his head comfortably against Rocky's and he drifted off to sleep. Rocky placed a hoof across Rumbles side and fell to sleep with a content smile.

"well that was an eventful evening..."

Caramel said as he got in bed and waited for Mac to cimb in.

"eeyup, our little Rocky sure has grown up, he reminds me so much o' ya when we were his age."

he said taking off his trademark yoke and climbing into bed. Caramel smirked slyly,

"you know you definitely look much sexier with the yoke off, of course I love you any which way."

Mac blushed as he heard Caramel call him sexy before brushing it off,

"Mel, we have companeh, plus we have ta be up early tomorrow."

Caramel chuckled,

"I know sweetheart I was just messing with you it's fun to tease you, your freckles begin to blend in with your face."

Carmel plants a quick kiss on Mac's lips before turning over in bed.

"goodnight Mac."

He says as he turns off the bedside lamp.

"Night Mel."

And with that everypony in the Apple-Sabot household was fast asleep.