Author's Note

Sorry, this is short; ever since I got my promotion, finding the time to write has been hard.

Simple times returning

Jack pov

“Hold it steady, Button.”

“Right.”

I sawed off the end of the wood and smiled as I looked at Applejack and Cream as they painted the outside of the house. “Wind!” Wind stuck his head out the window a minute later and looked down at us.

“Ya?”

I smiled as I waved for him to come down. He nodded, then pulled his head back into the house. “Ok, Button, you can take a break for a little while.”

“YA!”

He ran back into the house, and I walked around the house. I saw Wind in the window, bow in hand. I looked down the road and noticed these two colts. They were trying to hit him behind corners or trash cans. I knew what they were trying to do and huffed, annoyed. ‘So they want to try this game. Well, game on, you little fuckers.’ I was about to start walking when a hand grabbed my shirt.

“Come on, tough guy. We need to go and pick up Applebloom from school. Plus, you need to talk with Miss Cheerilee.”

I looked up at Wind, and he nodded down to me. I saw him slipping his knife and stone-throwing ax onto his side. We walked onto the street, and I hummed as I turned, and Applejack grabbed hold of my hand. She quickly dragged me down the street. “Hun, please slow down; my revolvers are trying to fall out.” Applejack looked back and laughed as she came to a stop.

“Sorry, I just realized that it was later than I thought. And I promised Bloom we’d all go to Rarity and get her some new clothes. She was so glad not to have to wear my old hand-me-downs.”

I laughed and nodded as we started to walk again. I smiled as we walked down the street and noticed a new mare in the market. She was a unicorn with a black mane and with a purple coat. She was wearing a dress close to the one Luna wore to the farm once. She was looking at the veggies, and I stopped as I looked at her. Something about her wasn’t right; she even looked a little like Luna. “Applejack, look at that mare.” She did, and she looked surprised.

“She looks a little like Luna.”

I nodded, and we started to walk again. “Crazy how some ponies can look like that mare.”

“Ya.”

I huffed and nodded as I looked, and we started to walk.

Luna pov four hours ago

I smiled as I looked at myself in the mirror at the unicorn transformation I used to use back before I was named the princess of the night.

“Luna, why are you Stargazer again?”

I looked back at my door and saw my sister standing there. I smiled as I looked back at the mirror and fluffed up my mane. “I was thinking of using Stargazer as a way to study how Jack lives. I was thinking that if I learned more about him then maybe we could get his goodside.” I smiled as I looked at myself and stood up to start working on fluffing my tail.

“Do you really think you can do that? Jack has proven to hate us.”

“No, he hated our actions. I have spoken with him every so often in his dreams, and he’s willing to be friendly with me. But, it never hurts to know more about how he lives to see what he’s like.” I smiled at myself as I looked in the mirror one last time before I stood up. “I’ve already got a home rented and items moved in. I’m hoping to get to know him and maybe feel out if he’s willing to form a herd or if he’s a one mare stallion as rare as that is it a chance.” I grabbed a purse off my bed and looked at my sister again. “Celestia, I will see you in a week. "

Jack's POV two hours later

I hummed a tune as I sat at the Apple’s Applestall, working away on one of my carvings.

"Jack, what are you working on now? I don't mean to pry but you don't look like your usual work."

"Working on a custom order, some stallion called Filthy came by. Asked if I could do some work on a chair. But, he told me one of the legs is busted so I had to make a new one. "

"All right then should you but be careful around that Stallion. He's a real varmint, trust me on that.”

I nodded, then set the left down and stood from the chair. I stretched out my arms as I looked down at my leg. I grabbed the photo the mare gave me off of the stall disk. I had a rough shape. 'Okay, I can sand the rest down. The shapes groves will be a little rough but doable.'

“I know that look, what are you thinking about?”

I looked over at my mare and smiled. “Those two sisters.” Applejack hummed as she looked at Jack. Seeing that she wanted answers, Jack set his knife and wood down.

“I went to the castle at night and shot Celestia in the left and killed those that were armed with guns. They were going to kill or capture me.”

“WHAT!?”

Applejack's yell caught the ponies' attention, but I waved them off. They returned to what they were doing as I looked back at Applejack.

“Applejack, I understand that it may be shocking, but I’ve lived a long life, and I’ve taken more than one life in that time. But now I’m in the position where if I kill the two, the whole country could collapse and fall the infighting. Or other countries could attack us to take over the lands and harm the ponies. I also figured out why they are acting like this.”

Applejack was shocked at how much I was talking and how I was talking. ‘I guess by that look, this maybe too much, but she needs to know.’

“J-jack, do you know what you're saying?”

I nodded as I took the knife back up, then grabbed the wooden leg and gave it a once over.

“I’m not defending their actions. Nothing else to say there. I should have finished this the first time. But, before, I had nothing or anyone to lose or to care about. I can also see why they started doing what they did. I know they’ve lived quite a long time as well and have watched everything they loved and cared for die around them. Now, they saw a chance to have someone. Who could stay with them only to see that person to have him not want anything to do with them.”

Jack watched and saw Applejack understood but hated it and wouldn’t admit it anytime soon. I sighed, then set the items down and wrapped my arm around Applejack, and she leaned into my hold. I could tell that how I had talked about it may have hurt her, but I needed to get that off my chest.

Next day, Applejack pov

I sighed as I watched Jack and Mac as they started to close up the apple barrels for shipping. It was always a lot of work shipping to the other cities and stores they sold their apples to. Standing up from the hay pale I was sitting on, I walked out of the barn. What Jack said yesterday was still on my mind. I knew that Jack had made good points and was right about them. Celestia and Luna were desperate to have something that they could hold onto for more the a normal life span.

“Sis, is something wrong?”

Applejack blinked, then looked over at her sister as she walked off of the front porch. Applejack put on a smile as She watched Applebloom rush up to me. I smiled, seeing her new shirt and shorts. Getting on a knee, I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, and I smiled as I heard her laughing. I was so glad to see her smiling after everything that has happened.