John Sampson's Story

When the alarm went off, AJ ‘kept up with us’ with little effort. Can ‘til can’t is a common farm schedule. I wanted her with us because I wanted to expose her to the family life of the Guard. If she joined us, she would be joining the Guard too.

Wanna guess who was waiting for us when we got to the cafeteria? “AJ, this Colonel Steel Will, my boss. Colonel, this is Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres.”

The Colonel stood and gestured, “Have a seat Ma’am. I must confess that I am here to meet you. Your family has been supplying us with apples since I was a raw recruit and we’ve never seen anything but the best. Thank you very much for that.”

“Are ya trying ta flatter me, Colonel?”

“Call me ‘Steel’. And only as much as you deserve.

“Major, why don’t you and the Captain go get the food while I entertain the Lady.”

I looked at AJ, “Any preferences?”

“Can I get a fruit salad with lots of apples?”

“Of course. We’ll be right back.”

I got three eggs with toast and apple slices in addition to AJ’s order. When we returned AJ was looking very serious.

“John, Steel has made me a very interesting offer. I won’t consider it unless both of you approve but I think we need to take a good look at it.”

Steel stepped in, “John, the Guard will do almost anything to accommodate a union between you and Applejack. You both deserve it and the Guard desperately needs more ponies like you. The first thing that comes to mind is building a facility in Ponyville for you to work out of and be able to go home to the farm at night. All of your foals will have Guard funded full scholarships waiting for them.”

“Steel, it’s not a done deal yet. We still have to go spend some time with her family. And we have to finalize some legal issues. But it looks more like fate every time I turn around.”

“Legal issues, John? The Guard has some very smart lawyers.”

“It’s not that level of problem. When you own a farm like AJ’s, you can’t let it fall into conventional patterns of inheritance. If you do, four generations later it will degenerate into a hundred zero point two percent undivided interests and be sold off to strangers. Nor can we simply disinherit foals. So we have to structure a system of trusts to own the assets of the family and protect everyone.”

A very satisfied looking Steel said, “It sounds to me like you are taking care of business in a proper and timely manner. Please notify me of the date of the ceremony. Miss Applejack, please allow me to extend all possible courtesy to you during your stay with the Guard today and in the future.”

As Steel walked out the door to his own day, AJ remarked, “Ah like him.”

We ate quietly and when we were done I laid out what AJ would see, “This is a piece of my magic and it is more than likely that any foal I sire will inherit it.”

AJ sat calmly and watched while I went through my usual routine with weights. Swift sat with her for most of the time. When we were done and showered I suggested, “I think it would be a good idea to visit Twilight next. We have been studying this and have some ideas.”

AJ was somber, “John, Ah knew you were ‘unusual’ but this is a little more than Ah expected. Could Ah have a foal that could literally hug my head off?”

“In a word, NO. The reason for the whole honeymoon debacle was that even though Swift and I were thoroughly married and much in lust, we didn’t until we had been in a lab with Twilight and Doctor Red. I had to be convinced that I wouldn’t accidentally hurt Swift. This is what Twilight will explain to you in detail. My kind of magic has a built in safety factor. I can’t hurt anypony without a full formulation of an intent to hurt.”

“Is she expecting us?”

“Yes. And AJ, be kind to her. She has a terrible case of parapraxis whenever this band is brought up.”

The doorpony let us right in. Twilight was seated downstairs this time looking quite scholarly and serious. “Hello, AJ, Swift, John. Since we are all here, can I assume that we are moving forward?”

I stepped up, “We’ve all been given a lot to think about this morning. Please forego all privacy considerations and give AJ as thorough and exact a truth about me as you can.”

Twilight looked to AJ, “What do you want to know?”

AJ thought a moment, “How dangerous is he, really.”

“To you? Not at all. In fact, you’re far safer with him than without him. I really wouldn’t want to be anypony caught trying to harm you or Swift, though.”

“What about his foals. Will they be as strong as he is?”

“Probably. A Unicorn foal might grow up to be as strong as Celestia.”

“And knowing all that ya know, if ya were me, would ya go through with it?”

“Yes I would, absolutely and unequivocally. By accident or by design, he is the best stallion in Equestria right now and you are at least a top ten mare.”

“Thank you, Twilight. He still has ta spend some time with the family but Granny is ready ta marry him herself after what he taught me about using trusts ta keep the farm intact and Big Mac liked him from day one. We’ll probably have the ceremony on the farm on the day the family officially approves.”

“Are you going to heartbond like Swift?”

“Yes. Do ya have any advice on a three way?”

“I don’t see any way to do it wrong. It’s basically a good cuddle with a special kind of oath and we all know how good he is with Oaths. Just focus on your love for each other and let ‘er rip.”

We sent AJ home on the noon train and hunkered down to wait for the lawyers to justify their fees. I had time to learn a lot about Equestria and Swift networked like a fool. It was a pleasant time with nights toggling between mad passion and sweet grooming.

Then ‘The Letter’ came. The papers were ready to sign. When could we be in Ponyville?

We rushed through PT the next morning and headed for the Clerks office. I was about halfway through filing out the leave request form when Colonel Steel opened the door and said, “Effective immediately, Major John and Captain Swift are granted one week leave for the express purpose of visiting Ponyville. Any additional time requested will be granted on a week by week basis.”

And we headed home to pack.