But First!! Here are Some Doubts....

Chapter 7

Ok guys! Got some time to work on this so here we go

                 Applejack sighed as she stirred the whiskey in her cider mug. It was a well known fact on the farm that Applejack did not approve of drinking, but the bottle practically sang to her from it's resting place above the refrigerator. And yet it did little besides sit heavily in her stomach for a couple of minutes.

                 The day had passed in a blur since Spike and Rarity had left. She had bucked apples until Macintosh came back, Applebloom in tow. Then she listened for about an hour about "cutie marks" and "itsnotfair!" and "I'd be a good baby deliverer". Soon the crusader tuckered herself out and she promised not to visit the hospital anytime soon, much to the relief of Macintosh. The entire fight, however, Applejack barely said anything more than "no way,  no how."

              The rest of the day passed on, the routine as normal as ever. And yet not once did Applejack's mind rest. Not once did she not see those eyes watering. Not once did she not wonder what she had let Spike walk right back into when he left with Rarity that day. And not once did she not wonder why she didn't put Rarity in a headlock.

              The mare sighed as she pushed her stetson off her head and onto the table. Locks of blonde hair fell across her face, now unrestrained by the old beloved hat. She blew the stray hairs out of her eyes as she cast a look out at the setting sun over the orchard. Was that "stallion" at the Boutique right now? Was Spike being forced to hear them...fool around?

             She slammed her mug down on the table, anger filling her stomach with more heat than the whiskey could produce. That damn snob and her princes and fancy-smancy celebrity boyfriends! The nerve of that unicorn to not even try to cushion the blow to the poor dragon's heart!

             Applejack snatched her hat up off of the table and yanked it firmly back into place atop her head. She then downed the rest of her mug in one last chug, then casually flung it into the sink where it shattered in the basin. The orange mare had made it nearly to the end of the porch before a deep voice and a wide chest stopped her in her tracks.

          "Jes what's gotten inta you?"

          The orange mare rubbed her snout where she had collided with the stallion before her.

          "Git outta my way Macintosh"

          The orange mare tried to march past the large stallion, but was stopped by a casual lean. Not even bothering to look Macintosh in the eye, she attempted to push by the other way but to no avail. The quiet stallion simply stood there, an impassable wall between her and the Carousel Boutique.

        "Didja not hear me? I said git outta the way," she yelled, looking at Macintosh's face finally.

         "Nope. Yer off to do somethin' silly ain't ya?"

          "T'ain't none o' your business,"

          "It is if'n I'm gonna have to dig inta the savin's to bail you outta jail,"

            "It would be worth it this time, now I'm warnin' you Macintosh Apple-- if I gotta buck your jaw outta socket I will! Now move!"

            Still the red stallion sat unmoving, his eyes calm and unblinking. He simply shifted his wheat stalk in his lips and gave a sigh.

      "Will ya at least tell me what you're 'bout to do?"

         Applejack sat down hard on the porch boards, her hooves crossed and her eyes locked with Macintosh.

          "That hussy Rarity done fooled around for the last time. She's knows good n' well that little feller Spike's got eyes for her, and she ain't got 'nymore respect for him that a spit bin."

          "Ain't she always been like that though?" Macintosh questioned, his brow raised.

          "It's different this time," the mare yelled back and she slammed into Macintosh again, trying to edge her way past him down the porch steps.

         Macintosh, seemingly not noticing Applejack's shoving, simply asked "How so?."

            Applejack stopped struggling and let out a huff of frustration, her hat sagged down past her eyes. She looked away from Macintosh as she adjusted it back it place, taking her time so as to plan her words carefully. However, once her Stetson sat firmly affixed in place no proper words had formed in her head. So with a heavy sigh she sat back on her rump and looked up at Macintosh's face.

         "She's got some new coltfriend an' done told Spike all about him."

          "So she can't have no colts around sides' Spike?" Macintosh returned, unfazed.

         "That's her choice, but she don't know how bad she just hurt  em'. I'm gonna go an' bring him back to the farm, he don't need to be around when this colt comes lookin' for a good time."

          "How hurt could he be? Ms. Rarity ain't ever started nothing with him, did she?"

            "How's leading him on for ya? The poor feller bawled his eyes out right on our kitchen floor for Celestia's kitchen!" Applejack threw back, but Macintosh followed with the obvious argument.

         "But AJ, they ain't even the same species or age now-"

            Applejack pushed her face into Macintosh's as far as it would go and locked eyes with him.

             "That ain't got nothin' to do with nothin'. He knows darn well what he feels, and that's enough to make it right!"

            Ferocity practically pored from the mare's mouth as she said her final piece. She stared into Macintosh's eyes as hard as she could, intent on drilling holes into his very souls. And oddly enough, it seemed to work--a flicker of sympathy passed over Macintosh's features as he moved off to the side of the staircase, allowing Applejack to pass by. She fixed him with another stern glare as she trotted past him, her steps eventually turning into a gallop and then to a full on sprint.

             Macintosh watched as Applejack disappeared into the night, the breeze playing with the wheat stalk sticking out of his frowning mouth. There were a number of things that Applejack did that Big Macintosh simply couldn't agree with. The mare also had many opinions her older brother did not think were wise, and made no attempt to hide them. But that night, Applejack's last words made him question his place as the "mature" one.

           The red stallion silently ran a hoof through his mane and down his neck. He kept his eyes on the ground as he crept quietly into the house, hoping not to wake Applebloom or Granny if Applejack had not already.

***Kind of short, but I felt this was a bit important. As always, if something is weird or inconsistent let me know! I might have missed something when I was copying the text from my iPad.