The Farm Girl and the Drake

Fluttershy awoke in the hospital several days later. The head of her bed was raised at a forty-five-degree angle. High enough for her to look out the window.

It was also high enough for her to see that her right leg was also raised... and in a cast. Spike and Applejack were there, standing close, and the doctor showed them the X-ray he had taken.

Fluttershy had broken her leg, but she would be all right.

“You’re lucky your friends got you here so quickly,” he told her. “You’ll have to rest here for a few more days. And I recommend not running in front of wagons or carriages ever again.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, at least as best she could with her head resting on the pillow.

The doctor left and Spike pulled a chair from against the wall and placed it next to the bed. He offered it to Applejack, but she shook her head. Spike nodded and sat down on it.

Aside from the cast on her leg, Fluttershy looked relatively the same as when Spike first met her. Her hair was brushed, her skin was pale, and her green hospital gown matched the drapes.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“My leg hurts,” she said.

Her voice was quiet, but also weak and slow.

“The doctor said I was in an accident,”

Fluttershy closed her eyes. Tears welled out of them. Spike took her hand in his and she opened them again.

“You saved my life, Fluttershy,” he said. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead right now. Thank you.”

“I would give my life for you,” replied the proud girl.

Nurse Kindheart came in and kindly shooed Spike and Applejack out, and Fluttershy watched them until the door closed behind them. Then she leaned back in her bed, in silence.

Spike followed Applejack down the long bright corridor to the elevator.

They reached the elevator bay and Spike hit the button.

The elevator bell rang and a group of two doctors and four nurses shuffled off and Spike and Applejack stepped on.

After the doors closed, Applejack turned to Spike and stared at him.

She wanted to ask him something that had been troubling her since her day in the lock-up.

“Tell me what happened between you and Rarity,” she spoke quietly.

At first, Spike said nothing.

“I need to know,” she said.

Spike forced himself to look at her.

“She was my girlfriend,” he said. “Before I met you.”

“How far did it go?”

He knew what she meant. And he was prepared to give her his most honest answer.

“We were friends. We were in a relationship. We told each other everything. We had a good thing going. Three great months. She was a nice person. And she still is. We were close. Just two lonely people looking for companionship... But I never slept with her. I never slept with any of them. Not Rarity, not Trixie, not Moondancer, and certainly not Twilight,”

As Applejack looked into his eyes, she knew that he wasn’t lying.

“That’s all I needed to know,” she said. “Thank you.”

The elevator opened into the lobby on the ground floor and they walked side by side toward the exit. Applejack’s family was waiting in the wagon outside.

As they left the hospital, Applejack asked him another question.

“Tell me something else, Spike,” said Applejack. “What did Pinkie mean when she said I’m your bella fidanzata? Does that mean girlfriend?”

Spike looked at AJ and grinned.

“You’ve got a good memory,” he complimented her. “And no. It means ‘beautiful fiancée.’ And you are, aren’t you?”

Her entire family was surprised by this. They didn’t know what to think.

Granny pulled Applejack aside.

“You really like this tough guy, don’t you?” she asked.

“I do,” AJ said. “He may not be perfect, but I love him!”

“Well, why don’t we invite him to live with us,”

And so, Spike and Applejack became engaged and were soon married. It took some getting used to, but Spike grew to love being part of a family. And Bright Mac, Pear Butter and Big Macintosh grew to love him, too.

After Spike and Applejack were wed, Twilight wrote a letter to Princess Celestia. After hearing how much trouble her "underage" law had caused, she abolished it without hesitation.

Hearth’s Warming Eve came again. But this time there was not one, not two, but three new faces under the tree!

In addition to Granny Smith, Bright Mac, Pear Butter, Big Macintosh and Applejack, there was Apple Bloom, Spike, and Big Macintosh’s new girlfriend, Sugar Belle. A full house and then some.

They posed for a family photo with Granny and Pear Butter sitting in the center, with Apple Bloom sitting on her mother's lap. Then clockwise from the left was Big Macintosh, who was on one knee, with Sugar Belle sitting on his thigh, Bright Mac standing behind his wife and mother, and Spike and Applejack standing to the right.

After the picture was taken, Bright Mac looked out the window.

“Buttercup, we have visitors,” he said.

They all looked out the window and saw Rainbow Dash and her adopted sister Scootaloo leading a group of people with Twilight Sparkle close behind. After Twilight were Rarity and her baby sister Sweetie Belle being escorted by Rover, Spot and Fido (who looked more like they were fighting each other over who got to escort them). After them was Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, arm in arm. Then Discord, who was sporting a new brown suit, and Sunset Shimmer, who was wearing a different black leather jacket, boots, and blue jeans with a matching top. And Fluttershy, her leg still in a cast, and walking on crutches, but otherwise fine, limped up to the door.

“Careful, Fluttershy,” Discord said. “Careful.”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Bright Mac said as he opened the door to them. “Come in, come in. If you’ll just step into the parlor, I’ll see about refreshments.”

He and Pear Butter ducked into the kitchen while Spike and Applejack helped their friends remove their coats.

After they all congratulated the happy couple, Discord helped Fluttershy into the living room and she took a seat on the couch.

“No doubt about it,” Fluttershy said, looking over at Apple Bloom. “She looks just like her papa.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“But there’s a little bit of her mother in her, too,” Twilight added. “It’s nice to see you’ve finally settled down,” she told Spike.

Spike nodded. Then he leaned in and kissed Applejack under the mistletoe.

As they looked back at Bright Mac and Pear Butter, Spike and Applejack could see the love and pride in their eyes.

Spike and AJ joined their friends in the parlor as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all sat at Fluttershy’s feet.

“There’ll be no living with her from now on,” Rainbow Dash told the others.

“As Dr. Fauna used to say, uh... I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned Dr. Fauna before, have I?” Fluttershy asked the children.

“No, you haven’t, Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in unison.

“I haven’t?” Fluttershy gasped. “Well, as Dr. Fauna used to say, she’d say, uh... She’d say... Uh... Doggone! You know, I clean forgot what it was she used to say!”

Spike looked around the room and smiled as everyone laughed, and he knew how lucky he was to have a nice home and such wonderful friends and family to share it with.

The End