Farmhand

"Fahn, ah guess. But yer not makin no fortune." Applejack looked at him through narrowed eyes, obviously not fully agreeing with this at all. But, as Apple Bloom had pointed out, help with the many chores of the farm was never a bad thing.

"You screw up even one time, colt, and yer gone. Ya hear?" Applejack looked at him, then to Apple Bloom as the younger pony started to speak.

"Applejack, why don't ya like him? Ah mean, ya seem ta downright hate him. Why?" Apple Bloom didn't sound accusatory or anything, just curious. Applejack blinked slowly and straightened up.

"Ah don't hate him, little sis." Apple Bloom was right, though, Applejack had a genuine dislike for Quill, though he hadn't really done anything to inflame her.

"Well, ya don't like him, to say the least. He hasn't done anythin to ya." Apple Bloom stepped a bit closer to him protectively, eyes starting to narrow irritably. Before things could escalate, Quill stepped forward and spoke.

"Money is no object to worry about, I have more than en-well I have enough to live off." Applebloom's eyes widened, and she practically shot into the air.

"Applejack!!! Ya gotta like him now!!! This is Quill Fletch!! You know you love his book, so don't even lie!!!!" Off to the side, Big Mac's eyes narrowed. That fact seemed like bad news to him, not good. Applejack's eyes, however, widened, and she took an involuntary step back in surprise.

"Apple Bloom! Yer kiddin meh!! Ah thought ya were an adult, and yer barely more than a colt. Hmm...yer kiddin meh Apple Bloom?" She looked from Quill to her sister uncertainly. Quill blushed and looked down, Applebloom just smiled excitedly.

"Nope!!!" She exclaimed as Quill adjusted his mostly empty bags, and looked over at her.

"Wait wait wait, how do ah know that's true?" Applejack narrowed her eyes and stared at him. "Kin ya prove it?" Quill blinked in surprise, and so did Apple Bloom. Neither of them had expected this, but after a moment Apple Bloom looked at him furtively.

"Well...there's this, I guess..." Quill pulled the battered leather book from his bags, which looked rather old. Applejack and Apple Bloom both stared at it dumbly for a moment. Applejack caught on first, and her eyes widened. Apple Bloom saw her sister's face and came to the same conclusion as her sister.

"ANOTHER ONE!!??!!" Big Mac's face darkened more, and he stood abruptly, leaving the room. This went unnoticed by the three across the room.

"Um...yeah, a sequel, actually." Applejack bounced so high that her hat actually brushed the ceiling, and Applebloom leaned against a chair for support. Quill blushed darker, smiling.

"Quill, ya blush an awful lot." Applebloom commented, still mostly focused on the book."

"Sorry. Anyway," He opened the book at random and passed it to them, "that should prove I'm me." Applejack snatched the book and sat down hard next to Apple Bloom, bending over the book. Apple Bloom joined her, and Quill let them read for several moments before gently taking the book and returning it to his bags.

"Don't want to spoil the story, but it's ready to be sent in to the publishers, so you shouldn't have to wait to long. Can we stop talking about it now?" Quill smiled sheepishly, scratching his head.

"Yeah, sure sugarcube. Stay as long as ya like!!" Applejack smiled widely, shaking his hoof vigorously. Apple Bloom returned to his side, without thinking about it.

"How about" Quill began, "I don't pay to stay here, but I help with the chores for free? That could be my payment?" He raised an eyebrow, curious. Applejack nodded, still beaming.

"Sounds good ta meh!!"

"Don't treat me special, though.  Please. I'm a regular pony, just like you." He smiled, and Applejack's smile stayed, though she nodded emphatically.

"Well, ah gotta finish up the chores. Ya kin start helping tomorrow. Apple Bloom, why don't you get Quill settled in?" Apple Bloom nodded, and Applejack passed through the door.

"Come on, Quill, ya remember the way to the guest room?" Quill nodded, and together they headed up to the room. It was clean, the bed made, ready for the next guest who came along.

"Guess that's me..." Quill muttered under his breath, to soft for Apple Bloom to hear. He set his bags on the bed and looked around. A finely crafted desk rested in one corner of the room, a bed in another. A bare bookcase rested in the third, and the door in the fourth. Another door rested in the same corner as the one to get in but on another wall, which led to an empty closet.

"Not the biggest, not the best." Apple Bloom suddenly remembered she wanted to know more about him and walked across the room, sitting on the large bed.

"So, Quill, kin ya tell me a bit about yourself? Since we'll be staying under the same roof for a while, an all."

"Well...I guess I could tell you some." He walked over to sit with her and looked at her. "But fillies first."

"Well, there isn't much to know about me. I used to obsess over finding out what my cutie mark was, with my two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. We were aiming to get our cutie marks together, so that we could get jobs together and spend...well the rest of our lives together. We loved each other like sisters, ya know?" She watched him for a moment before continuing.

"A few years back, when we were thirteen, actually just a few weeks after we had gotten our cutie marks, Scoots moved up to Cloudsdale, with the plan of starting middle school and taking disabled fliers lessons. Her wings were half the size of a normal wing, see, and she never actually got her grown-pony wings. I feel bad for her...anyway, Sweetie and I sort of spaced out a bit after that. The three of us did get almost identical cutie marks but...Scoots was gone. I won't pretend that wasn't a blow." She looked down at her lap now, and Quill wrapped a wing around her.

"That's who you saw in the library with me today, Sweetie Belle. She and I are still friends, but things just haven't been the same since Scoots left. We may still be friends, but we aren't as close as we once were. I haven't gotten close like that with anypony since then, because I'm always worried they'll disappear like she did. It takes a toll, not trusting, but ah just...can't help it." He turned her to face him, squeezing gently.

"Anyway, since we got our cutie marks, we've been doing the things ponies our age usually do. Reading romance novels and fantasy adventures and other dramatic books, " She looked at him pointedly as she continued, "Talking about colts, suffering crushes and heartache, spacing out a bit from our families only to grow unfathomably close again later, and ya know...it all sounds kind of dumb when I say it. Ah feel like ah could be doing something more and I'm just not, but... ah dunno what." Quill was silent for a long moment before he answered her.

"Well..." He rubbed his eyes before looking at her. Though his eyes were dry, a tear track had left a slight indentation on the fur on one cheek. "I'm sure, Apple Bloom, that whatever you are meant to do, you'll find it. What did you get your cutie mark in?"

"I've never been totally sure. They appeared when my friends and I stopped being selfish and worrying about ourselves, immediately after helping somepony else get realize what her true talent was. Being compassionate, maybe? Helping others?"

"You seem plenty compassionate, more than that really, since I've met you. What was her special talent in the end?"

"Well," Apple Bloom chuckled softly, and continued; "Her cutie mark was a diamond tiara. That's her name, too. She thought she had to be perfect as a diamond. Really, though, her special talent was being as beautiful as a diamond inside as well as out. Since she realized that, she's been loads happier."

"Helping others. By being compassionate. Seems maybe your mark is for helping others be happy. But I believe I owe you a few answers..." Apple Bloom smiled a tiny smile, and he smiled unwillingly in return. It was worth it, making her laugh. For a brief moment he thought that smile could light up all of Ponyville, but he dismissed the thought.

"Yes ya do, Mr. Quill." She pushed him down playfully, and he just curled up, head on his hooves, looking up at her somberly. She curled up in front of him, and though their tails hung over the edge of the bed, they fit together perfectly. Several moments passed, and she began to think he had decided against speaking at all.

"I was born in Manehattan...that's where I lived until I was thirteen years old. Living in Manehattan wasn't...safe. Sooo I ran towards Appleoosa, where I stayed for a few years. Somepony uh...found me. So, I decided to flee to Ponyville. See, I wanted to go a way that I wouldn't be followed, if she followed. So I made a stupid choice and headed through the Everfree forest. I made it almost all the way without incident, but...a few hundred yards from the treeline I was ambushed by a pack of Timber Wolves, and...well, I barely made it to the farm. You saw what I was like when I got here a few nights ago. That pony...she found me anyway. Quickly, too. So I've decided not to run this time. She wants answers about something that happened, and she really does deserve to know, but...I don't like talking about my past." He fell silent, scowling, looking down at the blanket now.

"Quill...there's a lot you aren't telling meh..." She looked at him uncertainly, not sure but thinking she wouldn't get any more out of him just now. She'd made a start, anyway.

"Yeah. Yeah...there is a lot I'm not telling." He nodded, saying it casually.

"Quill...ya just told me way more than yer comfortable with...didn't ya..." Not really a question.

"Again, yeah..." He was still looking down at the blanket. Apple Bloom bumped his forehead with her muzzle, nuzzling him softly.

"Quill, ya did good. Ahm glad ya told meh what ya did." She pulled her face away, and he slowly lifted his face to look at her.

"That...wasn't easy...but it felt good to say." He chuckled softly, stretching slightly."

"Don't ya think it would feel good ta tell meh even more?" She narrowed her eyes playfully, asking him. He laughed in response and bumped his nose with hers gently, looking at her.

"Maybe...maybe another time." He stood slowly, and she stood with him, both climbing off the bed.

"Ahm here for ya, Quill. Don't forget." She wrapped her forelegs around him in a hug. He almost pulled away, but he relaxed and returned the hug after a moment.

"Quill...ah promise, ya don't have ta be scared. Not with me anyway." She nuzzled against him before pulling away. For a moment they stood there, looking at each other awkwardly. Quill started to look away, but Apple Bloom pulled his face back towards her and looked at him, unsure of herself. She seemed to be internally debating something. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly, and backed up slowly, apparently deciding against whatever it was.

They stayed for a moment, and thankfully hoof steps coming up the stairs saved them from having to break the silence themselves.

"Apple Bloom? Quill? Ah got dinner waitin...hope yer hungry, Quill..." Applejack walked down the hall and poked her head into the room, looking from Apple Bloom to Quill and back.

"I am. Thank you, Applejack." Quill smiled vaguely, and Apple Bloom smiled too, walking forward. Quill followed her downstairs and took a seat next to her at the table. Big Mac sat across from Apple Bloom, Applejack from him, and Granny Smith, as Applejack introduced her, at the head of the table and to Apple Bloom's left.

"So, Quill, why don't ya tell us a bit about yerself?" Applejack looked at him interestedly, and he hesitated. Apple Bloom saved him, however.

"He grew up in Manehattan, stayed in Appleoosa for a few years, and came here after. Life was pretty boring for him." She winked at him playfully, faking the insult so they wouldn't ask any more questions. He smiled at her gratefully. Turning back to his food, Quill finished in the space of a few minutes. Big Mac was also done, but the other three were still eating.

"Colts." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, not really meaning it, and Applejack smiled unwillingly. After that nopony really knew what to say, so they finished in silence.

Later, Quill crawled into bed, pulling the blanket over himself with a yawn. He felt like he could sleep for years, stomach full and eyelids heavy. Apple Bloom poked her head in, looking at him.

"Need anythin Quill?" He shook his head, flashing a smile uncertainly. Apple Bloom nodded.

"If ya do, my room is first on the right upstairs." She drew away, shutting the door, and her hoof steps receded down the hall. Sighing contentedly to himself, he fell asleep slowly.

A/N-Her room actually is upstairs and first on the right. You'll know if you saw the Cutie Pox episode. Pleeeeeeeeeease drop a comment I really wanna know how I did if that's okay, because this is my first real chapter story. Thanks for reading!!

So you know, this story is copy/pasted over from my wattpad. That's why the author notes are part of the chapter instead of in da special box.