Pillow Talk

"Whew... You good?" is all she asks. Simple and to the point. Earth mare through and through. She rolls over and goes to sleep when you nod your head, and you can't help but to beam. Some ponies might call that a lazy thing to say at the end of the night, but not you. You love that mare like nothing else and that was one of the most romantic things you've ever heard her say.

See, Applejack isn't big on romance. She's not big on words of affection or tokens of sentimental value. If somepony were to surprise her with a rose while she was working the fields, she'd smile. She'd nod her head and say 'Thank ya' kindly." She would appreciate it, but to her it would not be romantic. It would be a wasted effort. A pointless deed. That was not the way to Applejack's heart. Applejack cared about her friends, and her family, and the hard work that it took to maintain those things. Applejack was about hard work and efficiency. You didn't need to caress her to show her you cared about her, or whisper softly into her ear. All that would simply do, is keep her up at night. No, you spend all day with her. You didn't need to tell her you loved her. You were up at four am next to her this morning, bucking apples. You were next to her slopping the pigs all afternoon, and you were next to her fighting off those timber wolves that dared cross into the orchards from the forest in the evening.

Those precious hours spent by her side, were worth all the "I love yous" in the world to her. So at the end of the day, when all you want to do is sleep and you know she desperately wants to do the same and you summon that last amount of energy for a roll in the hay for her, She knows it means something. And when she says yes, because to her- you're worth that last amount of energy. Those last extra minutes of consciousness when your body is waving every flag for you to get to sleep. You don't take time with small talk or whispering gentle things; you rut each other good and hard, fast and strong and efficiently. All you have left is the energy for that one last show of affection, and then you collapse next to each other, barely conscious, barely awake hanging onto that last shred of being alert and functional. You know Applejack feels that same tired, deep in her core, and the last words out of her mouth were: You good?

"You good?" It's almost shocking to think that she would hang on, even that much longer if you said 'no'. That she was willing to force herself to stay awake, just to make sure you understood what you really mean to her. There is no pull like the pull towards sleep, (Known to the millions of students everywhere) and to think she would willingly put herself through that, just for you. She's the reason you can do this every day. You work for her, and she works for you, and every inch of effort, every single day, is just another way to say "I love you." And you will never stop loving this mare.

You look over at her one final time before you slip into the dreams Luna has in store for you tonight. Smiling softly, you kiss her on the nose. "Goodnight Applejack," you whisper.