Applejack let out a relieved sigh as she opened the door to the Sweet Apple Titan Family Household, her entire body drenched with sweat. Behind her, Big Macintosh, Bright Mac, and Buttercup all followed suit, their postures, and expressions matching her own. It was apparent that they had a particularly rough day in town if the way they carried themselves was any indication. Once they were inside the kitchen, Applejack proceeded to let herself collapse into one of the dining room chairs, her hat nearly falling off of her head as she leaned back on the wooden seat.

“Land sakes, that took forever!” The tangerine earth pony grunted, wiping at her forehead. “Ah did not think that bein’ in th’ market would take that long. Ah really thought we’d be able t’ breeze through it like we did last time.”

“So did Ah sweetie… that was a lot longer than Ah would’ve liked.” Buttercup nodded, brushing her limp orange mane from her eyes. “Not to mention th’ heat from today. It really sapped me full o’ mah strength.”

Bright Mac nodded. “Ah honestly thought that Ah could take it. Ah’ve worked in the apple field since Ah was a colt on the hottest of days and Ah did jus’ fine. Today though…” He shook his head, his hat shadowing his eyes as he lowered it. “…it was not what Ah was expectin’ it t’ be.”

“Eeyup.” Came Big Mac’s low and deep reply.

“Seems like y’all had a rough day.” Granny Smith’s old and frail, yet gentle and wise voice said as the group of four walked into the kitchen. They all looked up to see the physically young-looking elderly mare at the stove, cooking some fritters. “Y’all look more tired than a couple o’ bulls in heat fightin’ fer a pretty lookin’ cow.”

“Understatement o’ th’ century Granny.” Applejack snorted as she walked over to the table. “Th’ sellin’ we did at th’ market was nothin’ short of o’ pain in th’ ass. Ah don’t know of th’ ponies the were not wantin’ our apples or if they were wantin’ t’ slow our progress, but either way, it was not fun.”

“Harvestin’ an’ sellin’ fruit isn’t always fun AJ.” Buttercup said gently, rubbing her eldest daughter’s back soothingly. “There’s gonna be some instances where not everypony is goin’ t’ be interested in our products, an’ we have t’ work a lil’ harder to get ‘em t’ take ‘em. It ain’t always gonna be smooth sailin’ but… it is what it is.”

Applejack sighed, setting her hat onto the table. “Ah know, Ma, Ah know. It doesn’t make me any less happy ‘bout it.”

“We’re not happy about it neither hon’.” Bright sighed, rubbing at his muzzle. “But, the important thing is, we got it done. And now we can sit back an’ relax an’ have some family time together~.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded before his ears perked. “Speakin’ o’ which… Granny, do you know if Apple Bloom is back yet from her playdate with her friends?”

“Actually, yeah, he is. They all are in fact,” Granny replied, pausing a bit in her cooking. “ Nocturnus an' Scootaloo had actually come t' me while Ah was takin’ a nap an’ told me that they had a little incident down at the Titan Creek.”

“An incident?” Buttercup asked, immediately growing worried. “What happened? Did one of them get hurt?”

“No, nothin’ like that,” Granny replied, walking over to the table as she set her plate down. “They had apparently gotten a lil’ too carried away with their ball came an’…well…” She sighed as she slowly forced the words out. “…lil’ Apple Bloom, she…kind of accidentally had a lip lock with Sheton.”

A pregnant pause washed over the table as Applejack and Big Macintosh stared wide-eyed at their grandmother. Bright’s jaw dropped in disbelief while Buttercup covered her mouth with her forehooves.

“W…what did you say, Granny?” Applejack asked, rubbing at her ears. “Ah…A-Ah could’ve sworn ya said…”

“Ah did,” Granny said simply. “Apple Bloom gave Sheton an unintentional kiss while they were playin’ with Scootaloo in the creek.”

“Oh…oh my goodness…” Buttercup said, blushing a bit as she took in the news. “That…t-that really happened?”

“Eeyup, it sure did. Ah could see it in them youngin’s eyes, they had embarrassment and guilt written all over them.” Granny replied as she sat at the table. “They went up to have a talk with lil’ Apple Bloom and Ah haven’t heard from them since. Ah was took much int’ mah nap t’ really pay attention t’ what was goin’ on upstairs, but somethin’ tells me that they had made up by now.”

“Oh, well that’s good,” Bright said with a relieved sigh. “Ah’d hate t’ have t’ have AB an’ her friends git upset over somethin’ like that. ‘Specially if it was on accident ‘cause they got too caught up in whatever game they were havin’.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded, one of his hooves moving in to grab at his apple fritter. Just as he did, he paused and looked up again at Granny Smith. “So… how long have the youngin's been upstairs?”

“Hm?” Granny Smith stopped in her chewing. “What was that?”

“The crusaders Granny.” Applejack replied. “How long have Apple Bloom, Scootaloo an' Nocturnus been upstairs?”

Gulping down her bite-sized portion of food, Granny Smith coughed in her hoof before she spoke up. “Well… after they had come in, Ah had gone back t’ nappin’ before Ah woke up again. So, Ah’d say fer… about a couple of hours. Maybe another half.” She glanced away as she mentally added. ‘To which they spent ruttin’ each other till th' sun started t’ go down. Ah swear youngin’s these days…’

“Two an' a half hours?” Applejack asked, raising a brow. That was the same amount of time her family spent at the market back in town. “They’ve been up in AB’s room fer two hours and they didn’t come t’ you fer anythin’?”

“…Not that Ah’m aware of.” Granny Smith said, doing her best to sound and look casual. “Like Ah said Ah was asleep, so Ah didn’t really hear nothin’ from upstairs.”

“Huh… that’s weird.” Applejack murmured, looking down at her plate. “Ah wonder what they could’ve been doin’ that’d keep them cooped up fer two hours.”

As if to quell her confusion, Applejack was suddenly hit with the smell of something she didn’t expect to smell. Something that could only be produced by some ponies doing something very physical with one another. It hit her like the spray of a skunk, causing her nostrils to flare as she used a hoof to cover her nose.

“Land sakes, does anypony else smell that?” Applejack asked, fanning her nose with her hat. “Ma, Pa, Big Mac?”

The scarlet stallion nodded slowly. “Eeyup, Ah smell it too. An’ whatever it is, it is strong. Like, really strong?” He sniffed the air a few times, before snorting loudly. “Granny, do ya know where it’s comin’ from?”

Granny, who had picked up on the smell as well, froze for just a moment, before quickly regaining her composure. “Eenope, Ah don’t… Ah haven’t smelled anythin’ all day.”

Bright Mac’s eyes narrowed, catching up on his mother’s lie immediately. “Granny, what’s goin’ on?”

“What do ya mean?” Granny asked back. “Nothin’s goin’ on. Why would there be anythin’ goin’ on?”

“Because it looks like yer hidin’ somethin’.” Bright replied bluntly, his brows furrowing. “Ah can tell you are. Yer not lookin’ me in th’ eye, an’ yer shiftin’ all funny like. That’s not somethin’ you’d do if ya weren’t hidin’ somethin’.” He took a step forward, the posture not in any way threatening or menacing. “Now what is it yer hidin’?”

The mint green mare cursed mentally, nearly kicking herself for letting herself be given away so easily. Or rather, letting her sharp-minded youngest son read her so easily. ‘Dammit Bright Mac! Damn you an’ that smart head o’ yers!’

“Granny…” Big Mac asked in confusion. “What’s Pa talkin’ bout.”

“Well, um…” Granny Smith was starting to sweat now. “…Y-ya see sugarcube, uh…”

“Wait, hold one everypony, quiet fer a second.” Buttercup said, holding a hoof up. “Do y’all smell that?”

Applejack looked at her mother, growing more confused by the minute. “Smell what Ma?”

“That smell we caught earlier.” Buttercup replied as she too took a whiff of the air. The rest of them followed suit, going quite just enough to get another nose full of the smell. “What th’…is that…?”

“Musk’… Ah actually smell musk comin’ from upstairs.” Bright said, his face scrunching up in perplexion. “But… that can’t be right, can it?”

“No, it doesn’t. The only thing that can mean is if-” Applejack stopped abruptly her eyes widening as realization slowly wormed into her mind. Slowly, she turned back to her grandmother, her own face paling. “Granny, ya said that Apple Bloom an’ her friends were up in her room for the last two an’ a half hours, right? An’ not once have they come down t’ ask you fer somethin’?”

“Um, n-no…?” Granny asked, her voice letting out the slightest stammer, giving her a smile that was just a bit too wide. “Why do ya ask?”

Applejack stared at her grandmother for a moment, taking in her nervous posture and scared eyes and sweating face. She looked back at her brother who was now sharing the same expression as her, both sharing the same thought. Without warning, they shot past their parents, making a beeline up the stairs like somepony had lit their tails on fire. Bright Mac and Buttercup watched them go, taken aback by their sudden behavior.

“Applejack, Big Mac! Wait!” Granny shrieked, chasing after them. “Git back down here right now!”

“M-ma, hold on a sec!” Bright Mac followed after his mother, with Buttercup following close behind. “What in th’ hell is goin’ on?!”

Granny Smith ignored her son, too focused on trying to stop her grandson and granddaughter from barging onto her youngest granddaughter’s room. To stop them from seeing what they were about to see that would lead to what she feared would happen. The inevitable beatdown that Nocturnus would surely be given by Applejack and Big Macintosh. Although she knew there’d be no way she’d be able to stop them alone, she could at least count on the help of her son and daughter-in-law. That is if they didn’t fly into a homicidal rage by what they were potentially going to find out.

As she ran down the hall to Apple Bloom’s bedroom, her heart plummeted to her chest when she saw them standing in front of Apple Bloom’s doorway. Her open doorway where she could now fully smell the musky scent that was currently coming from her room. Skidding to a halt, she reached out with her forehooves to pull them out of the entrance, only to freeze in place.

“Granny, Big Mac, Applejack, what’s the matter? Why did y’all-” Buttercups worried voice turned into a gasp as she too looked inside. “Oh…mah goodness…!”

“Ma, can ya tell me what-Mother Gaia Almighty!” Bright Mac asked, his question turning into a yell as he flinched. His jaw dropped as like a treasure chest being opened form the bottom as they all stared in disbelief at the sight in front of them. Of the foals currently cuddled with one another in a mess of fur, manes, fluff, and wings. The sight honestly would have been adorable to them had it not been for the sexual musk and the cum staining the foals and the bed.

“Oh no…! No no no no no!” Granny murmured, holding her head. “ Not now! Not fuckin’ now!”

“Oh goodness…” Buttercup muttered, gulping a bit. “I-it looks like Apple Bloom an’ her friends were doin’ more than jus’ playin’…”

Bright Mac nodded. “E…E-Eeyup.”

At that moment, Apple Bloom shifted in her position on her bed, stretching her hindlegs out as one of her hooves came to rub at her eyes. As she blinked them open, she saw the blurry images of her family in front of her. Thinking she was just seeing things, she rubbed at her eyes again to clear her vision and looked again. When she saw that it wasn’t just a smeared image, she reacted in the way any filly in her predicament would. And that was to start screaming like a banshee and jump into the air, before falling back down onto the bed.

“Whoa! What the-?! What’s going on?!” Nocturnus shouted, Apple Bloom’s scream waking him up along with Scootaloo. As he looked around, he saw her parents, siblings, and grandmother staring at them wide-eyed, and he felt his fur turn a lighter shade of grey. “Oh…oh shit…”

Scootaloo started to shake from head to hoof, feeling an instinctual urge to hide behind her coltfriend. “Oh… my…”

“A-Ah, uh… Ah can… A-Ah can…” Apple Bloom sputtered, giving her family her widest grin as she shrunk into her bed. “T-this, uuuuh… isn’t… what it… l-looks like?”

For the longest moment, neither side saic anything as they stared at each other, not able to properly take in what either side was seeing. Apple Bloom’s family seeing her and her friends in a cum-soaked state, and the foals themselves at being caught. It was like that for a full minute, neither side doing or saying anything as they waited for one side to react before the other. And react one side did.

Applejack was the first to snap out of it, her face of shock contorting into one of rage. An uncontrollable rage that was slowly building and coursing through her veins and traveling up to her head. Her face turned redder than the apples on her flank or her brother’s fur, who was looking to be just as, if not more enraged than she was. Veins pulsed in their heads, smoke flew from their flared nostrils, and their irises gleamed brightly as they filled with absolute murder. A look that was thrown directly at the cowering bat pony colt in front of them.

Despite it only being directed at one, all three foals shrunk away from the glares Applejack and Big Mac sent their way, feeling every part of their bodies freeze in fear. They wanted to run. They wanted to hide. They wanted to go under Apple Bloom’s covers and shield themselves. But none of them were able to, for they were too frozen with terror by the looks the two farmers were giving them. They looked at Buttercup, Bright, and Granny Smith, their big wide eyes pleading for them to help her, and they did. Doing so with one single word.

“Run.”

And they both did, faster than the very wind itself.

Without any hesitation, Nocturnus and Scootaloo leaped from the bed and straight for the window, caring not that it was closed. Faster than Apple Bloom could blink, they crashed through the window, taking off so fast they were like two Peregrine Falcons instead of ponies. As glass shards fell through the air like confetti from a party cannon, Buttercup and Bright held their children back, with Applejack screaming from inside the house.

"NOCTURNUS!!!"

Author's Note

Well...I finally did it. I managed to get this next chapter out before the very next day...though probably not as early as I would've liked. Again, I enjoyed writing this chapter a whole lot, along with the ending, even if it wasn't as comical as I had hoped for it to be. As I said before, I wanted to give you guys one last Christmas Present before the 26th and it looks like I was able to do that...if not just barely, but I still managed to do that anyway. I hope you guys got a good laugh out of this, along with sweet and tender moment at the first half of this final chapter! Because I can tell you that in the next one, things will be even more tender and sweet with a certain melodious unicorn filly!