Farmhand

He did, just as promised. He woke back up, warm and cozy, even if a bit sore, in the Apple's guest room.

When he blacked out, Applebloom managed to fight down her panic. She knew, in her heart of hearts, that he would do as he had promised, he would wake up. The wounds weren't anywhere where they might somehow disable him, and though she was no doctor, she guessed he would make a full recovery.Though she didn't know for sure, she was right.

She finished cleaning him. The wounds stopped bleeding at some point, and his breathing was shallow but steady. He had good reason to be glad he was unconscious as she scrubbed the slowly-congealing blood away, tugging at his fur though she tried to be gentle. He groaned softly in his slumber, and she silently shut the bathroom door with a back hoof, thankful she hadn't woke anypony. Yet, anyway. There was still the matter of getting him to the guest room, though.

Gently easing him out of the tub a moment or two after letting the water run dry, she laid him on the clean bathroom tile and reached up to pull the first air kit from the medicine cabinet. She had learned basic first air at summer camp a few years prior, before she had gotten her cutie mark. Working fast, she rubbed antibiotic ointment around the edges of the cuts, flipping him onto his back, then smeared it across the center of the wounds. After this, she bandaged his torso, covering all the cuts, and turned to his wing, seeing a deep cut under the ruffled feathers.

Now, something Rumble had once taught her should she ever marry a pegasus, was how to preen. In truth the preening aroused him and he had a thing for Applebloom at the time, so having her preen him was something that he liked very much. Anyway, he used wanting to teach her as an excuse. She let him, to humor him, although the attraction was far from mutual.

So, with the thought of him waking up comfortable and safe firmly in mind, she cleaned the cut and gently preened the wing, using her tongue to sort out the loose feathers and the old ones, until his wing had a glossy sheen and was bandaged. Carefully preening the other wing so they were even, she admired her work for only a moment before gently putting him on her back. He didn't weigh much, and she was able to quietly carry him to the guest bedroom and lay him down.

After that, it was a simple matter of tucking him in. She watched him for a moment, the light seeping from the doorway into the dark room illuminating one side of his muzzle with a golden glow. One side of his face was bathed in deep shadow, the other in the gentle light. For an absurd moment, she thought that his now relaxed features were rather attractive, then she shook her head and left the room, silently shutting the door behind her.

Through the next day he slept, each of the eight times Applebloom checked on him, he was sound asleep.

"He can't stay!! We don't even know the colt!!" Applejack had initially exclaimed.

"Come on, sis, he's hurt!! He should at least stay until he's well enough to travel!!" Applebloom had countered. Big Mac was watching silently, apparently now wanting to share his thoughts.

"Ah said no!" Applejack was arguing, but Applebloom could tell the mare's heart wasn't all in it.

"Applejack!! Imagine if this was me!! Wouldn't you want somepony to take me in and keep me safe!?"

"Ah'd want your flank at home!!! Then something like this couldn'ta happened!!"

"But what if it did! Would you want them to send me away, leave me ta die?" She wanted to scream, but she knew how to fight her sister. Now was when she needed to stay dead calm, and so her question was, quiet, calm, but insisting.

"Fine. Fine, Applebloom. He can stay, but only until he can travel."

"Thanks, sis!! Yer the best!!!" Applebloom hugged her tightly, and went upstairs to check on him, since she hadn't in a while.

He woke to the sound of hooves in the hallway, and slowly opened his eyes, yawning, stretching his forelegs over his head. He was a bit sore, but other then that he was comfortable. Warm, too. He remembered when he thought he might never be warm. When he was slowly bleeding out-

He shook his head. He obviously wasn't dying now. That young mare with the fiery mane must have saved him...or taken him to someone could help. Probably she had saved him herself, since she was walking through the door now.

"I'm glad you're awake," she murmured quietly, perfectly aware he might have a headache. He didn't, though. She walked forward until she was standing beside the bed, looking down at him. Feeling self conscious, he sat up,the blanket up to his lower stomach now, and looked back at her. She didn't say anything, so he decided to break the silence.

"What's your name?" It was the first thing that came to mind.

"My name is...Applebloom. What's yours?" She tilted her head ever so slightly, the movement was barely noticeable.

"That's a beautiful name." He murmured, avoiding her question altogether. "I take it you saved me?"

"That ah did. I couldn't let ya stay out there, ya wouldn't have lasted much longer. I could save ya," She sat on the edge of the bed. "I couldn't not save ya, so..." He smiled at her, knowingly, though he didn't understand at all. She made it sound like she actually cared. She couldn't though, after all, she had only just met him. Not that she would care about him even if she had known him...

"Anyway, ya said timber wolves attacked ya?"

"Yeah, they did. Wish I hadn't said so..."

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion, what he had said didn't quite make sense to her. Why hide what had happened to him?

"Don't want you to waste attention on me." She realized from his expressions and that statement that he didn't have the highest self esteem. He figured her saving him was a waste of her time, probably wondered why she did it.

"It isn't a waste, ya hear?" He shook his head softly.

"You don't have to be nic-"

"Stop." She told him sternly. "Saving you was worth it, and ah don't want ya to say otherwise."

"Why?" He didn't propose the question challengingly, just as a simple question. All the same, she couldn't find an answer immediately. Saving him was the right thing to do, she hadn't thought of why specifically. He mistook her silence for an answer in and of itself, however, and smiled sadly. She had delivered the silence unintentionally, but it was what he had expected nonetheless.

"Because yer a pony just like me. It wouldn't ta been right to leave ya out there. If that isn't an answer, then I don't know what is." He nodded, but the damage had been done when she failed to answer quickly.

Grunting, he slowly pushed the blanket down and stood, leaning against her for a moment as he righted himself. She planted her hooves and pushed up, raising him, and he nodded in thanks.

"Hey, ya still didn't tell me your name!" She realized aloud.

"My name doesn't matter." He told her indifferently. He hadn't been nice, far from it, since waking up, but he hadn't been mean either. She was already getting a grasp of his personality.

Which is if she wanted an answer, she had to;

He blinked in surprise as she embraced him softly, not holding him  tightly, her arms barely around him. She didn't mean anything by it, she only wanted an answer. Even though he recognized the attempt to manipulate him, he found himself unable to stop it.

"It matters to me. Please tell me your name?" She had drawn back before the hug lasted longer then was appropriate, but the effect had started immediately, and he was more open to suggestion now.

"My name...my name is Quill."

"That's an interesting name." She said without preference to any particular liking or dislike. Curious, she peeked at his flank. The sight that greeted her was a beautiful black quill laying across a roll of parchment, the feather of the quill sleek and downy.

"That is a beautiful cutie mark..." She breathed, admiring the feather's detail; "What's your special talent?"

"I'm an author." He said, without going into specifics.

"That's amazing...what do you write?"  At this his face seemed to tighten slightly, he was retreating back into a shell and she was powerless to stop it.

"All sorts of things." Then, to change the subject; "I'm guessing I won't be allowed to stay?"

"Oh, you'll be able to stay. Your not yet well enough to travel. When you are, my older brother and sister want you to go..."

"Hmm...I suppose I can't do anything about that."

"Are you saying you want to stay longer then that?" She tilted her head curiously again.

"I'm safe here. That's more then I can say of my home."

"And where is that?" She asked, referring to his home. He simply smirked and told her;

"That's enough questions for now." She laughed in spite of herself.

"Why don't ya come downstairs and have a bite to eat. Can you walk?"

"Yes, my legs aren't hurt." He answered. This meant that he was, actually, well enough to travel, and he vaguely wondered why Applebloom was making excuses for him to stay longer.

"Okay, then, let's go!" She held the door for him, and then they slowly headed downstairs, Quill absolutely ravenous, Applebloom willing to eat.