Hooved steps along a common trodden road were not often loud unless they ran or carried a weight above them. But these ones weren’t loud. They were in fact soft, and softer still as they slowed to a sudden halt.
Caramel cast his head to the sky and stared up at it, scanning it lightly in all its features. It was blue, like it always was. Blue and white, as clouds drifted about, slowly hastening their drift. He stood still and watched as they moved, wondering where the pegasi were supposed to be hiding inside the cotton sky fluff. Moving clouds only really meant one thing. He reached up and extended a hoof to the sky in curiosity, just to make sure. He’d stopped not because he’d noticed them moving, but because he’d felt a drop slip down his mane. Was it a stray forgotten one or just foreshadowing of the rest of the family coming into town.
He watched the answer unfold. First the growing of the clouds as they meshed together. They looked innocent like that. Then he felt another drop, splashing against his back. And then another, and then another and again. The beige pony blinked up at the sky, watching his crystal clear view slowly fill with tiny lined fragments of drops, the air filling with soft pitter patter against solid ground to no true tune and bringing with it a sense of subtle chill that was not there a moment ago.
So sudden, Caramel thought, but not terribly unpleasant as it came and washed down as far as Caramel could see. Still he stood there on the path, hoof held out testing for rain when it dripped everywhere else onto his frame. He was staring at his hoof now, watching the little drops scatter and splash against his fur, without really knowing why. The sight was suddenly pretty to him, enough to warrant viewing at least.
Caramel wasn’t sure why he was so calm. He normally didn’t like the rain much at all. It always rained often when he had to travel with packages and it made the work more cumbersome. But something today, something about the spring shower made him ignore the light chill seeping into his fur. That is, until he felt his mane stick damply to his neck and he shook himself from his dream state and jokingly berated himself with a few taps to the head. He looked around at his surroundings with slow scanning eyes, still in no real hurry.
To his right; just wilderness. Trees of varying densities scattered the landscape with plentiful natural life. All the other animals were scurrying out of the rain, smaller rodents carrying leaves over their heads and birds diving into trees for cover. All the foliage was no doubt grateful for the drink of water it was getting, various flowers making their own grounded rainbow as their leaves and petals bobbed under the weight of each raindrop given. It stretched on outward, one way becoming less abundant as it headed towards town and tamed itself. The other side densified dramatically as it flowed and started to form the start of the Everfree forest, where the canopy of thick trees hid the light, both destinations rather far off in distance from Caramel were he to take a turn towards them.
To his left, fields. Long almost bare fields neatly and carefully prepared for life to be injected and grown to feed pony stomachs. In the distance past the fields you could see the famous orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, standing tall and not even turning an eye, or branch, to the rain pouring down upon it. The apples were probably glistening wet now, if they were out at all. Caramel would admit he sometimes forgot exactly what time they started to grow and ripen. One would think being the coltfriend of a farm pony and working on the farm would have him remember, but the apple family rarely asked for help when bucking apples. It was just their thing. Caramel had only really helped once or twice, and even then it was just when he was visiting and decided to pitch in. Sitting on the porch watching others working wasn’t his idea of a grand time.
Caramel’s head swiveled a bit, eyes looking from town, to the soon to be sowed fields. The rain has posed a decision to him that hadn’t been there before a moment ago when he had been dead tired and trotting home for a soak. The decision didn’t even make sense from a logical point of view, if you looked at it that way. There probably wasn’t that much of a difference between the two places of shelter distance wise. Still…The farm was probably a bit closer. It felt closer with the fields’ right beside him, and the town so far off in the landscape, anything specific indistinguishable through the blurry rainy vision and his mane sagging down a bit over his forehead.
He found his hoof still in the air, still questioning the heavens. He promptly lowered it and dragged it a bit across the wet ground, making a little hoof smudge in the dirt. He stamped in it gently, making tiny splashes and still watching it all the same. To him it seemed to hold something special in those silly simple moments. He smiled and snorted amused at himself, gently knocked his head with his other hoof with a joking berate at his own pointless silly antics. Something about the rain seemed to just make him feel weird, calm and sentimental.
He took one last look at Ponyville and the path that lead to it, saying some sort of apology to it, then spun on his heels and made his way back were he had come from….
…
It was probably the stone talking to him…
-
It hadn’t taken him long to reach the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. His initial trot had quickly turned into a steady gallop as the cold of the rain started to seep past his fur and chill his skin. The field has passed him by at his side, but it was the same view over and over if you bothered to look, just ploughed fields for days of effort and future work to be done for the life of Equestria. Rainy wet ploughed fields, so Caramel had just looked forward all the way down, listening to the splashes he made as he ran.
He stood under the small canopy outside of the farmhouse and gently shook himself, trying to get the drip off him before he make a mess on the floors. He knocked on the door and waited, the cold becoming more and more imminent as he very lightly hopped from hoof to hoof to warm himself as he waited. He hadn’t felt it that much, but that was probably because he’d been galloping. The door opened to reveal confused and surprised Applejack staring at him.
“Caramel? What in blazes are you doing here. Ain’t you still off on a job?”
Caramel mustered a smile, huffing a bit at all the extra exercise the downpour had brought upon him “Looks like I ran a little faster than they expected me to. You were closer than town.”
Applejack nodded at him and moved out of the doorway, the hospitable side kicking in “Well don’t just stand there like a moored boat.”
“Thanks” Caramel trotted inside, hopped a little bit more on the large worn doormat, and made his way down a hallway which had the washroom in it. Applejack closed out the cold rain and made her way back to the kitchen without second thought of her guest’s antics. She had a soup to tend to. Granny Smith always liked a warm bowl of soup when it rained to pepper herself up, and it was just early enough in the day for it.
Nothing else in the house stirred for a while, until Caramel heard his name being yelled.
“Yes!?” he hollered back, standing outside the washroom with a fragrant towel, fiercely patting himself down before he leaked anymore and tugged his mane near the bottom to strain it out. He knew where they were by now. He knew were most things of use in the Apple family home were by now.
“Call Applebloom down for me will ya!?” came the returning holler.
“Ok!” Caramel made his way further down the hallway, to the stairs. “Applebloom! Your sisters calling you!”
There was a brief pause as Applebloom spent a few seconds trying to recognized who’s voice was calling here, before she replied “Coming Uncle Caramel!”
The beige stallion shook his head a little at the name and turned back down the hallway. The walls were pleasantly decorated with little photos of the varying apple family members, little memories they could always be reminded of, each one becoming more colorful as and more abundant as the timeline continued, each plastered against the orange-brown walls with all the little apples cutely painted and decorating the top frames. The living room was more of the same, just with furniture. Caramel liked to look about the house sometimes to see if anything ever changed, but it never really did. The house itself was set in its own ways, sporting old fashioned knick knacks along the various cupboards and shelves. He liked to imagine that if he asked about one of them Granny Smith would launch into a tale about how she got that cracked plate during the annual pie eating contest down at Dodge Junction, and how Aunt Applebottom had dropped it and became the laughing stock of the Apple family for years, and has still been trying to live it down among her sisters.
Despite all the proverbial clutter, the room still looked wide, open, hugging and ready to serve company if it was the last thing it did. The couches were indeed old, but still looked plush and comfortable; the paint wasn’t cracking so someone was definitely keeping an eye on it. There were plenty of windows styled in green to allow sunlight to sweep in, when there was any about, and let you glance out to see the vast natural majesty of the farm. The dinner table was in the room next to this, but the food cooking in the kitchen was reason enough to stay for a spell if you caught a whiff. And you’d be welcomed, no, ushered to a spot.
Caramel stood near the door frame, still idly toweling his mane dry, as his eyes just wandered about the house. Things he had seen so many times, things he’s come to know about the apples all spoke to him from their home. It was like a real home. A home that wanted you to come back. And he’d come back, all the time. He couldn’t say it was just the home calling him, but it sure helped.
…It was like his second home…the home that had a family in it.
“Food’ll be done in a jiffy Caramel” came a voice from the kitchen. Applejack had always been so nice to him. His regular visits to her homestead she’d done all but taken it into a normal stride of things. She didn’t even bother questioning things he did anymore, it was usually something that would mean no harm. Though she still never asked him to do anything specific. Many a times Caramel wondered what she really thought of him. One never knows how the siblings of your involvement truly view you, an invader to the family they once knew. “Mac’s just still in the fields. Fool got caught in this rain. I told him to check before he went” you could hear the motherly annoyance in her tone.
“…It’s still ploughing days?” Caramel replied after hearing the last bit, eyes casting up at the kitchen door where her voice was coming from.
“Mhm. We found an extra bit of land so it’s taken us a smidge longer this year. Knowing him he’s not coming in till he’s done. Though heaven help me if he gets sick.” Her voice carried out the door, but Caramel could see her face scrunching at the stubbornness all the apples had at just about anything.
Caramel didn’t respond. He held the wet towel in both hooves and looked out a window. The rain was still coming down. It was no storm, but it was falling true and blue. He walked closer and leaned against it. He was on the wrong viewing side, where he was looking had ploughed fields, but just on the edges he could see a section that had no tracks in the soil where it sure looked like there should be.
His lips pursed slowly as he looked back down at the towel, clicked his tongue in resolved decision and backed away from the mirror slowly.
Applebloom poked her head into the kitchen “Soup day?”
“Soup day. Be a dear and finish up those carrots Applebloom. We can’t be late today.”
Applebloom sighed at the chore but took up her station on the other end of the kitchen “Is Uncle Caramel still here?”
Applejack blinked and turned her head a tad “You didn’t see him? He was in the living room a second ago.”
“Uh-uh. There was just a towel on the couch, but I didn’t see him. He can’t be in Mac’s room either, I woulda seen him coming up the stairs.” Applejack was about the put her apron down and take a look, but stopped half way through the entire fuss. Instead she quickly peeked out the door.
No Caramel, just the neatly folded towel sitting on the chair. She shook her head with a little smile and returned to her pot with a little mumble “That boy’s got a heart any Apple would be after…”
“Mmm? Where is he? Did he go home?” Applebloom had chanced a peek to see too, in case she’d miss the clue.
“He’ll be back Applebloom. Just running an errand like he always does.” She stirred the soup and sniffed it. Needed more salt “Salt applebloom”
Applebloom grumbled a little and searched for salt. She hoped AJ was telling the truth. Her sister was less bothersome when Caramel was around. Though she still wondered what’d make him go back out into the rain…
-
Big Macintosh really didn’t mind the rain all too much. It was just a really fancy natural shower with a set temperature as far as he was concerned. Mane didn’t get a proper wash but that’s fine, his wasn’t much for looking stylish. Cooled down the muscles a few notches too while you worked too. It gave the earth that nice pleasant smell as well, like it was washing it all new and fresh with sunlight as soap. Wasn’t even storming, just a drizzle, so his work wouldn’t be messed up either. If anything it helped him when the soil turned soft and loamy beneath his large hooves.
“Mmm…probably another half hour or more…” Macintosh wagered with himself, very briefly glancing up at the rest of the field before casting his eyes back in front of him. Wasn’t able to see much of the work if took a good look anyway, just rain drops either way he looked. His mane had plastered to his forehead and neck so the little straw stands were in his vision now too to join the plain view of field and rain drops, not much of a sight as a whole but it was his reality. The tugging sensation around his neck had gone by now as he’d adjusted to the working day and complained only a little bit on his neck, but he’d had much worse days, even if the wetness was making just a bit more uncomfortable. His legs moved like an automation one after another in tireless effort to get a task done, strong and thick as they struck the earth in repeating strides.
His mind wandered and drifted about, wondering and musing on things it held important and things it didn’t. Some of the things mattered a great deal, some of them plain didn’t and the rain wasn’t one of them that did. Probably only meant there was going to be soup at the supper table and Mac could probably go for some…been a while. Did it matter how long he was gonna take to finish up? Probably not. It’d get done one way or another. Though maybe he should try and finish up the rest early next morning and get some proper rest. A warm blanket and bath to boot would set him right for work real proper. But naw…naw, that’s lazy talk, Mac mused to himself. Job’d get done today. He could rest when he was down in the ground.
A hum started to tickle around in Big Mac’s throat. It’s presence made Mac a little curious about himself. He never really had a song in his heart when he worked the field. He saved that for when he sang. Could just be the rain casting a mood on him. The hum had no tune of a song he knew; it was just there buzzling gently in his maw. He didn’t mind it, wherever it’d come from. Might even be fit for time passing.
Mac stopped at the end of the field and looked back to his left, surveying every other completed troth. He clicked his tongue and looked to the other side “One more down, twe-” the scarlet coated stallion peered down and out at the trails edged into the ground to his right, where he had first though unfinished. “Two...left?” he murmured in confusion. Ten whole line stood staring back at him, out of the blue. Ain’t no rain that could do that.
Macintosh craned his head behind him and peered backward with squinting eyes, trying to make sense through the gentle rain. Far, far on the other side of the field, a figure was definitely there, sticking out against all the green and brown of the earth. That silvery glint behind it was probably a plough. Eyes and focus never leaving the dot of a figure, Macintosh turned round and start a new line…the last line by the looks of things, if whatever it was had anything to say about it.
Was it Applejack? Macintosh’s pace didn’t bother to change. Rushing to find who was helping on the farm wasn’t really necessary. He watched the dot quickly take form as he approached, it having somewhat more urgency than him. The stallion’s face changed in phases, from curious squinting, to wider eyed surprise, to a slight head tilt of confusion and finally a smile that dripped warmth and rain. He heard a humming drift by, set to the patter of rain. Macintosh wondered how that was the only thing he’d managed to catch off the scenario. It was cheerful, but not terribly full of energy. A working man’s hum.
Big mac closed in on his companion, their paths nearly crossing. As they crossed side by side Macintosh stopped and reached up, holding his hoof out. Caramel’s cheek collided neatly into it, coming to a quiet halt.
“Evening Mel…”
“Evening…” Caramel replied gently, turning his face towards the other. Big Macintosh could both feel and see the other smaller stallion heave gently with fatigue, the breath warm and just a bit ragged against his cold wet hoof.
“Cha doing out here in the rain?”
“Ploughing…” Caramel replied, giving the hoof a gentle nuzzle with his cheek.
Mac eyed his coltfriend with a tender look of appreciation, his eyes glazed as they took in the sight of his coltfriend wet, tired and messy face. He glanced somewhat over the face, over the fields Caramel had managed to get through. If he knew his Caramel well enough, he’d wager those lines were done at running pace to get the job done.
“Sloppy lines you’ve got there.”
“You’re sloppy”
“Reckon so?” Mac’s hoof caressed that damp furred face “ Why’s that Mel?”
“You coulda been done ages ago. Instead you know full well I’ll drag myself out here to stop you from getting a cold.” The veil of annoyance was so thin it might as well not even be there. Caramel didn’t move, the light ache over his body starting to sink in now that he’d stopped moving.
Big Mac shook his head gently with closed eyes “Ya give me too much credit Mel…” his neck craned over and his muzzle leaned in, cradling the one cheek as he kissed the other. It let off sparks of electricity surging through the damp air, every one starved of contact as Mac took back the familiar scent of his coltfriend he hadn’t smelt for days. Their craving sparks were limited, as Caramel only planted his own kiss to match, under the jaw where he could reach easy. The red stallion felt the other’s lips shiver against his fur, and resolve to work filled him. He couldn’t torment the other with aches and chills anymore.
He released his mate and looked forward again “Race you to the house?” He offered
Caramel just smiled and nodded, both stallion making a mad splashing dash for the end of their lanes. It wasn’t much of a race. The ploughs were discarded and they met again at the beginning of the field when the chore was done, side by side as they made for their rest.
“Hope you’re staying in town long enough for the seed sowing too…” Mac murmured when they got to the back door.
Caramel wiped some of the mane out of his eyes “Free of charge”
“Applejack won’t have it”
“Applejack won’t have an argument when I tell her how I want to be paid.”
Mac nudged the back door open with a smirk “More trouble than it’s worth, trust me…”
-
Applebloom perked her ear as she heard the backdoor open and shut. The wordless chatter came next from the other side of the house. Her little work station was near enough to the doorway, so she peeked outside and peered down the hallway. Applejack hadn’t noticed. She would have mentioned something immediately about snooping if she had.
She’d been told to leave two towels for them when they got back inside. Applebloom didn’t know what would possess Caramel to go out into the rain and go plough. It’s not like the field was going anywhere and especially just to help her brother. He could do it just fine.
She could only see Caramel fully, drenched and shivering but smiling. He was the one in the hallway. The pair of red hooves just outside of view was enough to tell for her brother. There was what sounded like a little squabble before a towel appeared in view and cascaded over Caramel’s head, toweling down his mane. Caramel put up a weak playful struggle but then resided to stillness, letting the towel slowly drape and dry at him. From head to hooves it took a while of silent standing, but Mac got it done. The towel was discarded out of view as Caramel picked his own one up and pressed it forward out of view, frantically scrubbing and drying with a smirking face.
Applebloom noticed they dried different ways as she watched Caramel move further out of view. Big mac had treated Caramel like a trinket or an apple that needed a polish or a shine, big wiping strides from one part to the other till whatever it was shone with pride. Caramel had a much fussier, quicker and erratic way of toweling down; like he was washing a window quickly to make sure the job got done in time. It was more like a scrub than a dry. Granny said opposites make good couples, so she figured they were a good pair already.
She noticed something else too. A shimmer, a sparkle, a glint of something. Something that was way too small for her to see. She’d only seen in for a second, but she knew it was something on Caramel. She peered at them for a while longer in curiosity but ducked her away quickly when she noticed them finish and walk back into the home. Quickly she pretended to be peeling potatoes, even though the soup was already done and Applejack was busy getting out some carrots to serve with it. Applejack regarded her sister’s antics “Applebloom stop acting like a goose and clean up. Sooner you do it, sooner we can eat.
“Don’t pretend you don’t listen too” the filly whined back as he dropped her current potato and started bundling up the waste in front of her.
“And what is that supposed to be mean” a suspicious brow raising to challenge her sibling, her hooves doing other things, currently wiping the counter clean.\
“You always watch them when they’re together. I caught you doing it more n once.” Applebloom piped up, dumping rubbish and walking closer to her sister “Don’t’ you ever wonder what he’s saying?”
“Who, Macintosh?”
“Yeah. Uncle Caramel always looks happy when he talks. I can never hear what he’s sayin but it can’t be all too great. It’s Big Mac after all.”
Applejack rolled her eyes “Probably a whole bunch of nonsense and hooey. Caramel’s just the kind of polite pony who doesn’t pay too much attention to words you pick. He likes doing stuff instead. Sometimes the things you do together are more important than the things you tell.”
Back outside the kitchen, the sound of crockery sliding onto a wooden table echoed. A weak sounding protest from Granny Smith not to trouble himself with the effort was heard and taken as a friendly suggestion rather than an actual objection, if the continuous plate stacking sound had anything to say for it.
“He tries real hard sometimes. Always doing everything …” Applejack took off her apron and looked for some gloves for the hot pot “But at least he’s doing something. Seeing Caramel with him, I can’t really picture Mac happy with some filly who sat inside with Granny talkin about knittin and sowing.” She lifted the soup pot carefully and made her way inside, her sister in tow.
A room across, Caramel was still busy laying the table. His mane was more unkempt after two downpours and his fur still looked a bit on the soggy side, but he wasn’t dripping, which was good enough for him. Granny Smith was in her rocking chair in the corner near a newly lit fire, plea ignored but she didn’t seem all too bothered by it. The spoons were being set now, carefully beside each plate like Caramel had been laying tables his entire life. In another corner, Mac was closing the cutlery cupboard door and turned round, heading for his spot at the table. Applejack’s appearance at the doorway was a good a dinner bell as any.
“Honestly Caramel. It’s bad enough you have to go charging through our fields to save us some time. You can at least act like a guest when you come inside.”
Caramel turned to face her and watched her set the food on the table, Applebloom with the smaller dishes “It’s not a bother really. I kinda needed the stretch after the train ride.” He lied, and everypony in that room knew it. The lie made him conscious of all his actions that day. Fleeing from the rain in the wrong direction, scurrying back out into the rain to complete a task no one asked help for, setting tables and leaving a spot for him even though he’d never even had the time to announce or even ask if he may stay. He looked around awkwardly, catching a glimpse of the window.
Still raining…
“Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the helping hoof. Just makes me feel like a bad host is all.” He said, giving a genuine smile of gratitude “Well, we best tuck in then before it’s all gone.”
Caramel slid into his seat before he had any other thoughts and let the wafting smell of food greet him. He hadn’t had much to eat at all with the train and the traveling, his hunger suddenly apparent to him. They all took turns dishing out what they preferred on the table and when all was set, they ate as one with the crunch of carrot and bread. The beige pony dug into his soup, bread crumbs matted in with the little dough dumplings Big Mac liked and felt its warmth spread through his body like a lighthouse on the horizon. He felt at home again, as idle chatter about the day began among the family about the day, about the sudden rain they hadn’t been informed about, the playful bicker as to why anyone hadn’t checked, which relative had sent a letter of greeting this week, the next shipment due. Any second now Applebloom would be asking him how his trip to Fillydelfia was, when she was done with her corn.
He turned expecting it, to find her staring at his him oddly and intently. Not so much him, but something on the table near him. Her food was barely touched.
“Applebloom? Need something?”
“…What’s that?” She asked gingerly and pointed to his left hoof. There it was. The Thing. The thing she’d seen earlier. The thing that had glinted after getting a polish from her brother.
Caramel looked at his hoof absentminded. He saw what she saw, and regarded his hoof with a fond little smile. He twisted it towards her and held it up properly in the light for the filly to see “What does it look like Applebloom?”
It only took Applebloom one good split second look to see the thing. Her eyes lit up like crystal fair lights as he continued to stare at the stallion’s hoof, sitting up in her chair. Neatly woven into it, was a horse shoe. Not that this was uncommon, but this one looked a bit old and was thinner than any shoe of actual use. It had been polished to give it a glassy shine and right in the middle of the arc, sat a gem. A diamond, to be exact, encrusted into the metal so tightly it was hiding from view. Small painstakingly carved patterns pointed towards and away from it, jutting out from either side of its nest and tapering off long before the end of each curve.
“Is that…a wedding ring?” she asked giddily.
Applejack’s head snapped forward and faced towards the two, dropping her carrot and leaned over the table with a squinting eye “Come again? A what?”
Caramel hadn’t turned his hoof at the attention, but Applebloom took it upon herself to turn the hoof in Applejack’s view “It is isn’t it? Aren’t wedding rings the one with diamonds?”
Applejack leaned off the table in surprise “My stars it is!” she gasped.
Caramel shook his head calmly, having scooped some soup into his maw before replying “It’s not a wedding ring Applebloom.” Every part of Applebloom deflated in an instant, bow first, as the disappointed clouded the wonder in her eyes.
“Like hell it ain’t. Did Mac give it to you?”
Applejack’s tone took a serious turn Caramel hadn’t really expected. It was a serious misunderstanding, that was for certain. He looked over at the other stallion at the table, who was calmly eating some corn and hiding a grin behind the ears. “He did.”
“Well if it ain’t a wedding band, then what is it?”
“It’s just a normal horse shoe, with a diamond in it. It’s more of a memento really Applejack. We got it a few months ago when we were at the crystal empire fair.” Caramel stated and tried to follow Mac’s example of serene eating, making sure a dumpling filled his cheeks lest he was called to speak again.
Applejack regarded her guest and deemed him innocent then. Her attention swerved across the table towards her brother, hovering over the peas dauntingly “You gave the boy a ring and didn’t ask him to marry you?”
Macintosh looked back at his sister lazily and lowered the corn, any family challenge ignored “Can’t I give my coltfriend something nice when I choose to?”
“Ya give flowers to somepony you like, not a blooming diamond antique looking horse shoe” Applejack glanced at the hoof in question again. It was so plain looking, so easy to mistake for a normal horse shoe until you stared at the middle. She swore they were doing it on purpose just to tease her “How much did it cost anyway?”
“We both chipped in to get it” Caramel had swallow his dumping but was readily getting more soup in his mouth. Applejack’s fluttered state both puzzled and scared him. His presence as a guest and not a family member loomed over him.
“Ya made him pay for it it too? What in tarnation is wrong with you Mac?” Applejack looked about ready to leap over the table and shake her brother for his apparent insolence and neglect of proper gift giving protocol. The kind only mares seemed entirely aware of and knew off by heart.
“Would ya have liked it better if I paid for it and it was a wedding ring then?” Mac asked, hints of annoyance starting to lace his words.
“Whether I want you to get married or not ain’t important. You can’t just take advantage of the poor boy like that.”
“Advantage? How’s that fair then?” Mac’s brows finally furrowed. He’d be damned if his sister was going to bad mouth his relationship in front of everyone. “He saw something he liked, and we got it together. I didn’t make him pay, he didn’t want me to pay by maself. Told me he’d feel bad. All I did was listen.”
Applejack squinted at her brother “You know everyone who sees it is gonna think the same thing we did, especially at the functions.”
“Oh hush up and eat your supper Applejack. The dinner table’s no place for marriage talk until someone gets on their knees.” said Granny Smith, watching Caramel shift in his seat. Caramel’s haze was down turned, avoiding eye contact with anyone as he ate his soup. Applejack looked at the nervous stallion and bit her tongue softly. She didn’t let that stop her from keeping a stubborn face as she ate. Cutlery clanged against crockery for a short while. The rain made soft radio static along the roof as the silence filled the room.
“...My mom told me that relationships are all about sharing and doing things together” Caramel eventually said, everypony glancing up from their food, half of them glad for the voice “I’m just sad I couldn’t get Mac anything. We didn’t have any more bits left for anything he wanted at the fair. The second it caught my eye he wouldn’t have anything besides that. He said I worked so hard I deserved something for myself for once. He’s never seen me buy anything for myself really, and I don’ really have the folks nearby anymore to give me presents. They never gave me anything flashy or expensive either…Dad always said it was better to earn something useful with your bits.” The stallion paused, not looking up at all. Part of him waited for a response, but none came “…Now I’m the one with a fancy gift…and all Mac got for his troubles was me…”
Caramel looked at his hoof again. Part of him wished he never got it since some ponies started to notice and ask, but the rest of him was always glad to see it there, set to his hoof in an upside-down smile for the right side up one on his lips. “…And I can be the best gift I can to make up. I can do that at least, every day of my life...”
Applebloom’s eyes were on Caramel as the statement made the little girl inside her squeal. It was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard any stallion say about anyone. Granted she hadn’t heard much of anything romantic. She had really wished the ring was a wedding ring.
Applejack on the other hoof was staring at her brother, who was gazing at Caramel. He was smiling, always the same little smile. Her brother smiled most of the time, but this one was special. This one had eyes, half lidded but intense, clear green eyes that only really saw Caramel in them. They didn’t shine for you to see but they were unwavering, quiet pride and adoration for what they saw. The edges of his lips were just a smidge higher than usual, like they were trying not to break out into a toothy grin instead.
“This shoe’ll break or rust someday anyway, with all the running around I do…but I won’t stop running just because it breaks…” Caramel looked up a little at the dinner table. His hoof stirred a circle pattern into the table cloth bashfully. He felt better saying it out loud now. At least it was out there “So….”
There was another few seconds of silence, before Applebloom tugged on Caramel’s leg. He looked down at her as she spoke “It’s a very pretty horse ring Uncle Caramel.”
“Thank you Applebloom. I like it too” He chuckled shyly and held it out for her to see again. She traced it with hers and asked what it was like to wear.
Not an Apple doubted his word. And that fact expunged the mood that had hung about the table, running as quickly as it had come. Not a moment too soon.
-
Big mac reached out and turned off his lamp, plunging his room into near darkness if not for the gentle moonlight through the single window. He made for his bed and slithered beneath the covers with a creek, feeling around for his coltfriend. The bed was more than big enough for the both of them. Everything Mac owned was big enough for the both of them.
He found cold coat fur against his hoof and snuggled up against it, pressing his tummy up against what he could feel was Caramel’s back. His legs wrapped and snuck around the other’s frame, resting along the other smaller stallion’s front. He stroked the fur softly and felt the coat brush against his hoof, an attempt to warm it up some. The he could feel the tail tapering off against his bottom hooves, limp. His head found the other’s nape and nuzzled it, breathing warm air onto it. He heard a little mumble of approval.
“Mac?”
“Mmm?”
“Your sister apologised for what she said at dinner, just now.”
“She better have…”
…
Shuffle….shuffle…shift…shift…snort…creek…
“You tired?”
“So…so tired…that train ride took it out of me”
“Train ride huh…not the rain ploughing?”
“Uh-uh…wasn’t the rain ploughing.”
…
…
…
“The apples sure care a lot about marriage…”
“Suppose they do.”
…
“Do you?”
“I need more than one day a year to love you Mel…”
…shuffleshuffleshuffle
Caramel arched his head backward best he could and kissed the other stallion’s nose. A strong hoof trailed up over his chest and stroked his cheek; craning it just enough as Mac leaned over the nape. Their lips touched closed mouthed, every spark from before charging and surging in the air till they burst into flickering wisps, the rain not there to put them out. Mac’s grip tightened around his coltfriend, cuddling him fierce as their lips opened to taste one another. His arm clutched around one of Caramel’s while the other kept its ground on the belly, each spot receiving a dedicated petting and stroking. He couldn’t see, but he never needed to. He only wanted to feel Caramel. Or hear him. Hear the little moan roll of his tongue as they kissed deeper till only he could hear it.
The beige pony rolled a bit onto his back, letting Mac lean over him more easily as their lips slurped against one another, tugging and coiling with each other in tired wrestling. Mac’s tongue suckled around inside his mate’s mouth as Caramel chewed fondly on the other’s lips. Soft whinnying lip smacks echoed around the room back at them, their intimacy not leaving the four walls, cradling each other’s necks to keep it close. Their actions simmered one another, but their fatigued bodies complained too loudly for rest. The sheet and bedding seemed like clouds all too quick. The fires didn’t spread, but they held aloft in the air at a reassuring glow. After a few moments, Big Macintosh could feel his mate’s coat was warm against him, free of the day’s chills. He hugged it to him as they parted lips and buried his face into the other’s mane.
“…We could always try for a foal and see how your sister acts then.”
Macintosh just grinned as he stifled a laugh with a snort, getting comfortable again “You’d think you would take by now…”
Caramel reached over to his chest and hugged the arm closer to him, pressing the ringed hoof to the other stallions and giggled a little, closing his eyes with a yawn. “So tired…”
“Mmmmyep…”
Whenever the stone talked, he listened. Every step Caramel took had a jingle, not of metal but of flesh as heartstrings strummed in time. It was a melody that he’d allowed to take a definite lead in the frantic dance of life, with him the eager partner to its grace. Even now it whispered through his body, clear as the sky had been earlier that day …
…
No…it wasn’t a whisper….more just Mac sleepily chewing on his ear.
-Fin-
