Night time in Equestria, to say the least, was a beautiful sight to behold. Each and every night brought with it the full majesty of the cosmos. On some nights, it was as if all the stars, constellations, galaxies, and other beautiful heavenly bodies were all on display as part of a grand masterpiece. A masterpiece that some divine artist had put on display so that all creatures inclined enough to look up would be able to enjoy it.

In any other settings though, such simile would perhaps be nothing more than that, a figure of speech used by a writer to fill some space. But, on a setting like Equestria, the sky at night was indeed a grand masterpiece, and the artist responsible for it was Princess Luna.

And her work had been a constant source of pleasure and fascination for you to gaze upon.

Yes, ever since your arrival to Equestria, you had constantly been fascinated by how detailed and beautiful the night sky was. The fascination with it though, had only doubled when you found out it was the work of a princess, let alone a demigod. The story behind each of the governing celestial sisters had been one of your first lessons once things had settled down after your arrival and your own panic had subsided.

That landmark had been marked mainly by the point in time when you didn’t yelp like a stepped on Chihuahua when something levitated around you.

Human adaptability and ability to cope, as Twilight had pointed out, was a wonderful thing to observe and study.

Seeing actual magic had been freaky at first, but that had quickly been replaced by fascination and curiosity. And, as stressful as those first days with Twilight had been, you often thought back to them as having been a welcomed learning experience for you both.

Now though, as you sat reclined against a log you had dragged into a cave, looking at the campfire that burned in front of you inside its makeshift pit, you couldn’t help but feel that you were learning about something rather important, a tad bit too late.

“So this happens every year? For about eighteen or twenty days?” You asked as you still tried to wrap your mind around everything Big Macintosh had just told you.

“Eeyup…” Big Macintosh replied as he lay on the floor with his legs folded underneath him.

After you both had made your way out of Ponyville and were sure that you were far enough to avoid detection for the time being, you started to look for a safe place to spend the night. Luck had been on your side, and in what little dwindling light remained from the day, you were able to find a cave with some trees covering the entrance from wondering eyes in the sky. To anypony flying up high, it would have simply looked like the trees where hugging the mountain side.

“So that’s why everypony got 3 days off from work, to flee somewhere safe?” You continued to ask as you reached down and finished off the contents of your leaf turned makeshift plate, popping the last bits into your mouth.

“Eeyup…” Big Macintosh replied as he finished off his own meal.

You had also been lucky enough to find a fresh water stream nearby, and were able to replenish some fluids, as well as catch a fish. Big Macintosh had found a nice patch of daisies and grass for himself. Out of respect to him though, and to your own chagrin, you cooked and pulled apart your fish till it didn’t resemble an animal, and joined him inside the cave to eat.

He had insisted you didn’t have to do that.

You had insisted he didn’t need to see that.

As you both ate, he had been resting on the other side of the campfire, across from you as he gave you a lesson on the heat that had overtaken Ponyville and most of Equestria. It was a good thing you had been able to remove the blinders, saddles, and straps off of him. If not, the conversation you had just had would have been harder to take seriously.

“So…” You began as you threw your empty leaf into the fire and watched it burn. “Applebloom and everypony not old enough, are off at a sort of summer camp run by mares, like Granny Smith, that are no longer affected by the heat?”

“Eeyup...”

“And every stallion is off somewhere secluded to try and stay safe?”

“Eeyup, ah reckon so… some might even be out here in these very woods, though perhaps a bit too close to town still.”

“Great… And how are you and I supposed to survive this again?”

“Well, like ah said… Earth ponies will run ya ragged till ya can’t run anymore, and that goes double if they catch you. So try’n and out maneuver them or keep up high.”

You nodded your head, letting him know to continue.

“Pegasus’ll swoop down from above and can be very agile and flexible, and trust me… they’ll make you pull something, if not all of ya somethings if they catch you. For them, best to keep to cover’n try’n jump out of the way t’last minute of their dive.”

You nodded your head again, realizing now how lucky you had been with Fluttershy and that you had been inside the shed where it limited her movement.

“And for unicorns, well, they’ve got their magic. Ain’t hear of many non-unicorn stallions being able to escape them, but ah’ve heard of the aftermath… things can get pretty intense if you get caught by one of them. Best thing for them is t’keep your wits about you… remember their magic’s specialized to their talent so that there is their strong point. Don’t let them catch you in it.”

You immediately groaned again, no matter how often he had told you this, you had spent enough time around unicorns to know there was a flaw in that plan.

“Yeah, but, even if I know the special talent of every unicorn I come across. Many, if not all, have basic spells like levitation.”

“Pretty much… just remember not all of’em might be good at it, or strong. Ya might get lucky.”

“Greeeat…” You replied dryly as you turned to look at the flames in front of you.

There was a long pause as you continued to look at the fire and digested all this. The parallel to your own world in this respect was so skewed, you couldn’t help but wonder just how different your world would be if this was the norm there. In fact, you were pretty sure that if the male to female ratio was as bad as it was here, death by snu-snu would had been at the top of the list for cause of death.

Hehe, good’ol Futurama… You thought as you let out a small chuckle. Big Macintosh though, simple raised an eyebrow as he looked at you, and you shook your head and waved your hand at him as a sign to not worry. That however sparked an interesting question on your part.

“Hey, wait one apple picking minute… if it’s so dangerous, then why was Caramel still in town?”

The reaction that followed surprised you, a chuckle from Big Macintosh was not what you had expected, and your faced managed to show as much. The stallion though, quieted down after a few lighter chuckles, and used a hoof to wipe his eye.

“That idjet and Thunderlane make ah bet each year t’see who survives the longest.”

“Oookay?...” You prompted him to continue, one raised eyebrow as you tried to figure out why it had been so funny. Big Macintosh caught on though, and continued.

“Thing is, a few of us had a pool going. Caramel was the favorite for this year…”

Realization at his words dawned on you quickly and you were barely able to force out a reply.

“Oh… I, see… buck…”

“Eeyup… ya cost a few stallions ah lot of bits. I reckon they’all won’t be too happy about that...”

“Right, well, after the mares are done with me, tell them to get in line so they can pick at my corpse in an orderly fashion.” You said in a mock humor tone as you stopped looking at the flame and instead looked at the ceiling of the cave.

“Well, ah don’t know if ah’ll rightly have time for that seeing as Sweet Apple Acres needs a lot of fixing and you just won me quite a few bits to do it with…”

Your head gyrated down to look at Big Macintosh. You could clearly hear the smirk hidden in his voice.

“Will admit won’t be the same without ya, but ah’ll make sure to say a nice eulogy for ya.”

The chuckle you both let loose slowly grew in crescendo as it turned into laughter. The echo emanating from the cave thanks to the both of you could clearly be heard outside, but neither of you cared. It had been one heck of a day and it felt good to unwind a bit. You were glad you had a friend like him to suffer along with you.

After a bit though, the laughter died down, and you both remained silent as you looked at each other from across the campfire. You knew what was coming next, it had been gnawing at you since you left the shed near the lake, and you were pretty sure Big Macintosh saw it coming to. If there was a time to do it, that time was now. You pushed off the log and sat up.

“Listen, Big Mac, what happened with Flutter-”

“Nnope!”

Big Macintosh’s voice rang clear as he cut you off and raised a hoof at you. His face had returned to that stoic state it always seemed to find itself in.

“Ya don’t need t’explain. Ah understand why ya did it… and ah thank you for it…”

Your mouth opened to say something, but you found your words were lacking. It was understandable though. He had just thanked you for making out with his wife.

A few pregnant seconds passed before you remembered how to use your mouth. The obvious question was already at the tip of your tongue, and it only needed a small push.

“Why?”

Big Macintosh just stared at you as he chewed on his straw thoughtfully, before passing it from one side of his mouth to the other side. After a few more moments of silence, he looked away and instead looked out the cave entrance, towards the night sky. Through some of the tree foliage, you could clearly make out some of the stars and a bit of the moon.

“Ah’ve heard of stallions getting overrun by mares. They panic, fight back. T’ain’t pretty… They neva win though, but as ya can imagine a mare or two can get hurt.”

He turned to look back at you as you kept looking at him, processing the information for a bit. He was obviously waiting for it to sink in. After what you had seen and heard throughout the day, you could understand why and how it could happen.

Big Macintosh simply let out a heavy sigh, perhaps content that your face showed some acknowledgement to what he had said, and turned back to look out at the sky again.

“In a situation like you and ah were in… many stallions would have gone and given up. Ah did, thought you did too… but you didn’t.”

You watched him as he paused again, perhaps choosing his words. His face had remained unchanged. Slowly, your eyes traveled from him, to the flames of the fire in front of you. You threw in another piece of wood and didn’t look up when you heard him continue.

“Yah instead found ah way to get out if it and you didn’t hurt her. Made her angry, yes… but ah’m sure she’ll be a might embarrassed once this all settles down.”

The wood you threw in finally caught a flame, and you watched as the light emanating from it grew brighter. Big Macintosh’s features became more detailed as the light contrasted against the shadows of the cave. He was smiling, relieved, looking at you again.

“Thank you for not hurting mah Fluttershy…”

He punctuated the end of that sentence with your name, and you couldn’t help but smile and nod as you leaned back against your log.

“You are welcomed Big Mac…”

Big Macintosh nodded and turned once again to look out at the sky. After what he said, it didn’t take a genius to know what, or rather whom he hoped to see out there. It was a rather odd thing, seeing as you both had spent most of the day running like mad, and at one point even riding like mad to escape.

Love sure is a complicated thing…

Your thoughts rang out as you failed to suppress a slight laugh, your own convoluted love story coming into the forefront of your mind. You knew what you wanted as well. Or rather, whom you wanted to be with… if you hadn’t destroyed your chances of being with her yet that was.

You let out a sigh as you sat forward again and joined Big Macintosh in looking out the cave entrance, your own mind traveling far beyond the confines of the cave like his was. The remnants of that morning’s dream were still strongly present in your mind’s eye, no longer faded like before. However, there was a new Applejack related dream joining in, or rather, fantasy. What you had dreamt, or hallucinated, or perhaps both thanks to your head being bashed into a tree, was slowly bleeding into your thoughts, and you found yourself getting lost in it.

You weren’t sure for how long you were out, but a word managed to bleed through your thoughts.

“… Applejack?”

Your head snapped towards the source of the voice with your eyes wide in shock and surprise. Big Macintosh was staring at you as he repeated his question.

“Were ya thinking about Applejack?”

Damn mind reading horse… Your mind tried to make sense of it as you blinked at him a few time. Your mouth though, jumped ahead and put out the obvious question that seemed to elude your higher functions.

“How did you…?” You asked, a bit of shame and hesitation coming through your voice as clear as a bell.

Big Macintosh just kept silent as he chewed on his straw and his eyes began to scrutinize you. It was as if he was looking at you for the first time, like he had when you had offered to help him plow the field almost a year ago. He was sizing you up.

The silence eventually broke as he finally spoke, his stoic stare unbroken from your own.

“So Fluttershy was right… Ya had that same look on your face as ya did in the shed.”

You immediately felt your face flush. If he was a mind reading horse, you really hoped he didn’t venture a guess at what you had thought about doing with Applejack. About what you had done with her in your fantasy.

“Were ya really thinking of doing it with mah sister?”

… Oh crud.

That was the only thing that echoed through your mind as you realized what was going on. His voice had take on a slight edge that made your blood run cold, and your mind raced to find an answer that would not result in your immediate beating. You had spent so much time thinking about what Applejack might think about the matter… the thought of what her family might think about it hadn’t even crossed your mind.

Everything had turned. Whatever bonding moment you had shared with the giant red work stallion had come and gone. This now involved his little sister, Applejack. Not his heat crazed wife, Fluttershy.

“Ah asked you ah question…”

You blinked at the sound of your named being called our right next to your ear, and turned to your right. Big Macintosh had managed to sneak up on you again, snapping you out of your thoughts. His face looked stern and his brows were furrowed as he sat next to you.

There was a slight pause as you took in the sight. For some reason, contrary to what your survival instincts told you, seeing his face like that turned the lump you didn’t even realized had formed in your throat into something else. You suddenly felt yourself relax.

“Yes…”

His eyes narrowed and bore into you as his head lowered and met yours.

“Why?”

“Because I love her…”

Your eyes locked with his, and your voice remained unchanged. You knew what that something else was. Determination... Determination to stop running.

“Yah ain’t a pony.”

Running from your doubts…

“If what I’ve heard so far is true, then she doesn’t care about that, and neither do I…”

“Really now? And what can you offer her?”

Running from your insecurities…

“Nothing… but my love, my whole self, and a promise that every day I will do what I can to make her happy and help her and her family out no matter how many times I fail…”

“And if ah let ya see her again, what are ya gonna do?”

And now, above all, you were done letting your hesitation hinder you in what you felt for her…

“If I survive this, I’ll explain why I ran and beg forgiveness. And, if she’ll have me, well then, whatever happens afterwards will be between her, me, and Nun-ya…”

“Nun-ya?”

“Nun-ya business…”

The cave had grown silent, the only fading sound being that of his words and yours as they echoed in the cave. The giant red work horse had remained staring at you the whole time, as had you. Neither had broken contact. His expression had remained the same, unchanged. You could feel yours had held up as well.

Without warning, his right hoof raised and he placed it on your shoulder. You tried not to flinch and succeeded in not having let your shoulder tip to the side as the new weight being put on you settled more and more. It felt like a beam of steel had been left on your shoulder. His eyes though, had only continued to narrow as he looked at you.

“Ah see then…”

Your mind was at peace though. Whatever happened next, you knew you had at least done something right.

“Tell Applejack I love her…”

Big Macintosh simply nodded.

Within a second, it was over. To his merit, he was rather quick for such a huge pony.

“Tell her ya’self, Ha!”

“…What?”

It had not turned out how you expected it to. His hoof had hooked around your neck and pulled you into a hug so fast you were sure you had whiplash. His other hoof had then wrapped around you and he had begun to sway you from side to side in an extremely tight bear hug. You knew something was about to break as every bone in your ribcage popped in protest. You started finding it hard to breath as you heard and felt him laugh.

“Haha, took ya long enuff ya idjet!”

“…Wh-at? Loosen GASP grip!”

Big Macintosh immediately let you go and you fell on the ground. You sucked wind like if it were your last chance to do so before you were thrown out an air lock.

“Sorry…”

Hearing him say your name though, made you look up at him. He was smiling.

“No… GASP… it’s okay, it just GASP that was not the reaction I-I was expecting.”

“Eeyup… ah didn’t’ expect that from ya either.”

There was a slight moment of silence, only every now and then interrupted by your gasping.

“Wait, what ya mean it wasn’t the reaction ya was expecting?”

“I-I thought you were going to… you know what?... GASP… it won’t work unless you know who Bane is and saw the last Batman movie…”

“… This one of’em odd things you say, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, I’ll save you GASP the trouble…”

There was a long moment of silence as you continued to recover from the hug. You were pretty sure something had bruised inside your ribcage, or your neck for that matter. But given the alternative of how that little interaction could have gone, you were pretty sure you preferred this one. Eventually though, after a few more seconds, you had finally managed to work yourself into a sitting position once more in front of Big Macintosh, and asked the obvious question.

“Why are you so okay with this?”

Big Macintosh just tilted his head and shifted his straw to the other side of his mouth. Eventually though, he just smiled and shook his head in disbelief as he patted you on the shoulder. His hoof remained there as he spoke.

“Cause even if Applejack don’t confide in me for all them mare things like she does with Fluttershy and her friends, ah ain’t blind. Ah’ve seen how she looks at ya, and how ya look at her when neither of ya think the other’s looking…”

You opened your mouth to speak, but his voice easily blocked yours out as he continued.

“Now, ah had mah doubts about ya. And ah’ll admit, when you first came to our apple orchard, ah honestly didn’t know what to think about such ah strange creature as you…”

Your face deadpanned at that comment but you didn’t interrupt. There was no point in it, you were pretty sure he’d just easily talk over you. It was best to just let him finish.

“And, as ah big brother to them fellies, not knowing meant I kept my eye on you. And over time, I learned one important thing about you…”

There was a long pregnant pause as you waited for the giant red work horse to finish what he wanted to say. He seemed to be enjoying himself while making you wait, but you just found it slightly annoying. Eventually though, he had his fill and spoke again as he cleared his throat.

“Ah learned that ya are determined. Whatever ya set your mind to, ya work hard towards it, and you reach it no matter how hard it is. So when ya say ya’ll do everything in your power to take care of Applejack, ah believe ya’ll do just that… Ah’d be honored t’have ya as part of mah family.”

Big Macintosh’s giant red hoof lifted as he said those words, and then settled back down as he patted you again on the shoulder. It was solid, and you felt a sense of respect emanating from that one gesture.

“Thank you Big Macintosh… I just hope Applejack still feels the same way about me, even after I ran out on her at the barn.” You managed to say before the silence in the cave grew again as it had before. Big Macintosh though, simply patted you again in a reassuring matter. You couldn’t really understand why you had been worried at the beginning.

After another long pause, and figuring everything had been said and sorted, Big Macintosh nodded as he stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the campfire before he lay down with his hooves underneath him and his head to the ground. A subtle way of saying that it was enough talking for one night, and that it was time to sleep. You couldn’t agree more with him than that as you felt whatever small surge of energy you had left leave you. It was certainly time to hit the hay, and given everything you had learned and experienced, you were all too glad to copy him and lay back as you rested your head on your log.

The day had been way too long and chaotic, but you couldn’t help but feel that that had been a rather adequate note to end on.

Well, with the exception of one thing…

“If she felt the same way, then why didn’t she say anything till today? Before things got so out of control?... I doubt a pony like Applejack would have needed that big of a push to speak her mind.”

You didn’t bother to get up or made any attempt to, suddenly having found yourself too comfortable to do so. Big Macintosh must have felt the say way as he didn’t bother to look up from his resting position.

“Well, ah reckon she didn’t rightly know how to approach ya about it. Pretty sure she even asked her friends for advice…”

That did explain how Fluttershy came to know about it. But that just made things more difficult, and the events from the shed more complicated. Knowing her friends, if they had seen what Big Macintosh had, then she would have received nothing but kind words, advice, and encouragement from them. Perhaps they would have even done something to help it along.

“Ah think though…” Big Macintosh continued after you didn’t say anything. “How she felt didn’t really hit home till ya told us ya were getting your own place after Heart’s Warming Eve. She seemed pretty thoughtful about something for a while too… Was pretty sure she was gonna tell ya how she felt then.”

At this, you tried to think back to those days of winter, but your thoughts were too laden with sleep to come clearly. Nothing really stood out that would have indicated as such. At least nothing definite as far as you could remember.

“No, she never did…”

“Well, ah wouldn’t worry too much about it right now. Not much ya can do from out in this here cave.”

You didn’t reply immediately, your eyelids suddenly having become heavier than you remembered. You did manage to put on a slight grin as you thought of your reply though.

“Easy for you to say… you already have the mare of your dreams.”

“Eeyup…”

Big Macintosh’s reply came out heavy, and laden with sleep. It was hard to phantom just how tired he was after what he had been through, even if he had not shown it.

“Goodnight Big Mac.”

“G’night… try and not dream about mah sister. Ah don’t want to wake up to that sight.”

You barely chuckled as you nodded your head once or twice and you allowed sleep to take you with one final thought.

Yeah, try and stop me…

__________

Your first Hearts Warming Eve in Equestria had been a really enjoyable experience for you. Even though it held a strong similarity to a certain holiday back home, you couldn’t help but feel like a small child experiencing it for the first time.

Everything had been new to you. The food, the carols, the traditions, the food, the decorations, the seasonal foods… You admittedly probably gained a pound or five during the days leading up to the event, but it had all been worth it for one simple reason.

It marked the end of a long road for you...

It had taken months, well over half a year. Months of studying with Twilight Sparkle at the library. Months of learning to fit in among your pony neighbors. Months of small sacrifices such forgoing all red meat and only eating fish when you had to. And months of only having one simple focus, and one simple goal to aim towards…

Establishing yourself as a member of the Ponyville community.

Many, if not most ponies, were no longer afraid of you and accepted you with open hooves. Parties at Town Hall, celebratory gatherings along the way to mark the progress of the year seasons, and even a newspaper article or two.

All had been indicators that your hard work to fit in was paying off.

So why shouldn’t you have enjoyed the food along the way?

Being able to attend the Heart’s Warming Eve pageant in Canterlot, and being able to celebrate it along with the ponies of Equestria had been a sort of graduation for you.

“I always knew you were a Smart Cookie…”

A graduation that let you know you would be okay in your new home.

“Ah already told ya to stop saying that sugahcube!”

And a reminded that, no matter what the family that took you in, would always be a part of your new life.

“I know you did, but I can’t help it if you were the best actress on stage… Secretary Smart Cookie.” You waggled your eyebrows in an exaggerated matter at Applejack as you spoke, carrying a blanket under one arm.

“You know sugahcube, that was funny and cute the first time… kiiiind of lost its charm on the train ride back.” Applejack replied with a groan as she hid her face under her hat and did a great job at hiding her blush from you.

The train ride to and from Canterlot had been spent with you, Applejack, and her friends talking about various things. For the most part, Applejack had been content to just sit next to you and watch you talk. The others though, had been more interested in asking you about your impressions on what you had experienced, mainly in regards to the pageant.

Some of them though, like Rarity, had been more content in asking you about your impressions of Applejack while on stage. More than once, you had caught Applejack blushing, and had thought it strange. You had thought she had been incredible on stage, even rather cute.

Now though, as you both walked alongside each other through the orchard on one of the snow covered paths, you couldn’t help but notice that she seemed more relaxed. You wondered if perhaps she just didn’t like talking too much about her own performance on stage, not wanting to be the center of attention.

After a few more minutes of light conversation and walking on crunching snow, you eventually reached your destination, and you began to set down the blanket underneath the branches of a tree. Applejack though, didn’t waste any time, and sat down in the middle of it, forcing you to sit off to one of the sides of the blankets as you leaned back against the tree.

For some reason, Applejack looked slightly disappointed at this, and moved a bit closer to you once you had settled into your spot. You had noticed a bit of hesitation as she moved, and thought the whole thing strange. She knew you didn’t mind. Yet, she didn’t say anything about it, so neither did you.

Both of you remained like that for a long time, and a semi-comfortable silence lingered between the two of you as you turned up to look at the tree.

That tree had become a regular spot for you to take in the setting sun from time to time after work. As you and Applejack became better acquainted though, she had started joining you from time to time, and it eventually became a regular, if not nightly routine for the both of you to enjoy as friends.

Friends…

That word rang out in your mind as you began to let your mind wonder. In recent weeks, that simple word had given rise to an issue that had begun to eat at you. That issue being that you wanted to be more than just friends. There were obvious reasons for which you couldn’t though.

“Do you really want to move out sugahcube?”

Your thoughts left you as soon as you heard her speak and your head automatically turned to face her. She was looking up at you, expectantly. She had sat so close to you now that you could easily feel her warmth radiating through your jacket into your side. It was rather comforting.

“Well, yeah… I doubt you want me to mooch off you forever.” You said with a chuckle.

Applejack though simply looked at you for a bit longer, and then let out a sigh as she looked away. Her Stetson hat came into your field of view as it hid her face. You tilted your head to one side, confused, but then became aware of her leaning into you a bit more. You felt a slight shudder from her.

“You know, you ponies may have your coats, but if you’re cold you can borrow my jacket Applejack.”

No reply came from Applejack though, and you couldn’t really tell what was going on since her face was hidden from you. Curiosity was getting the better of you, and after a second or two, you leaned over to try and take a peek under her hat.

Her hoof suddenly stopped you as it moved to push against your chest.

“N-nah, it’s okay sugahcube…” You heard Applejack finally reply, and her hoof moved away from you. “Besides, you ain’t got a natural coat like me, I don’t’ want you getting sick and then using that as an excuse to miss out on Winter Wrap-Up.”

Your curiosity immediately dispersed and you smiled at that comment. You still kind of thought it was a joke, even after all you had seen. Ponies cleaning up winter though? You guessed anything was possible by that point, but that was still something you wanted to see with your own eyes.

“I wouldn’t worry Applejack. That’s something I really want to see. Besides, Rarity threw in two free sweaters when I bought the jacket…” You said as you rubbed your jacket to emphasize.

Applejack just lifted her head a bit again, and looked at you. This time, you only caught a slight glimmer of her emerald green eyes from underneath her hat. Something was off about them.

“Did she now?”

“Yeah, I’m wearing one on them now too. I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted they were a marvelous ensemble and that it’d be a shame to separate them.”

Applejack simply kept quiet as she kept looking at you from underneath her hat. Something was definitely off, and you were now determined to fix it.

“Will admit though, it’s much more stylish then what we have back home… I look simply fabulous!” You feigned bouncing a curl like a certain white unicorn as you said this. You were very grateful to Rarity for helping you make sure your wardrobe consisted of more than just your pajamas. But sometime a small joke was the means to an end.

Applejack chuckled a bit as she leaned into you a bit more and looked up at you again, this time with a grin on her face.

Your end had been met.

“Come on now sugahcube, that’s not a nice thing to do.”

“I know, but you laughed… And I’d rather see you happy and smiling, you look much prettier like that.”

The pregnant pause that over took you both and the surrounding area came quick and sudden. Applejack had pushed away and was still looking up at you. You could tell something was working behind the scenes as her eyes scanned your face. Your eyes began to do the same, and you could feel something trying to force itself out of your throat. Time seemed to slow down as your jaw muscles began to move on their own.

“Applejack I…”

She looked away from you, and instead began to look at her own hooves on the blanket. Time suddenly sped up again. You Noticed she was still trembling.

“…come on Applejack, like you practiced or you’re gonna lose him…”

“I’m sorry Applejack, what did you just say?” You asked as you tried to make out the whisper you had just heard.

“I-I said I’ll take you up on that offer to lend me your jacket…”

“Oh! Okay, give me a second.”

Whatever was running through your mind in regards to that whisper, suddenly went somewhere else as you began to pull the buttons loose on the front of your jacket to open. Once you got the last one undone, you opened it up to take it off, but froze as something unexpected happened.

No sooner had you opened up your jacket, that Applejack had pushed herself into your chest. Her head had nestled into your neck while one of her forelegs pressed against your chest and the other wrapped itself around the side of your waist. Her trembling had stopped.

“That really is a warm jacket sugahcube…”

No words came out of you as your arms moved of their own accord, and you closed the jacket around you both. It didn’t close all the way, but your arms wrapped around her were enough to keep it snug.

You both stayed like that for so long, you could definitely tell it was starting to get colder as the sun sank further off into the horizon. Neither of you had said anything. The only clear sound emanating from the both of you had been the sound of your breathing. Both oddly relaxed, even though your thoughts were doing a mile a minute.

“… Ah can’t do anything right.”

“Hmm?...” Your mind managed to blurt out as you slowly broke free of its thoughtful stride.

“Applejack? What’s wro-”

“How do you do it?...”

By the sound of her voice, it had been obvious hers had been doing the same.

“Do what, Applejack?”

You felt the mare in your arms push off your chest, and you looked down to meet her gaze. Her eyes looked... like she had been crying?

“This…” Her hoof pushed against your chest again as she spoke, as if trying to squeeze something out of you. “Become ah part of all our lives… become an important part of mine…”

Something in your thoughts tripped and you suddenly found it extremely hard to think as she kept her hoof on your chest, over your heart. You could see her eyes scanning your face, looking for something, for some kind of sign that you understood her question. That you understood what she was trying to say.

Unfortunately though, your mind hadn’t processed everything properly before it had decided to take a leave of absence… and you blurted out the first thing that even showed a glimmer of being a possible answer.

“Applejack, I’m just moving out. I’ll still be working here at the orchard… I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

Nothing happened for a while. Applejack just stayed as she had been, pushed away from you on one hoof as she gazed upon your face. Slowly, her green emeralds eyes had been disappearing underneath her Stetson hat as she lowered her head, and her whole body trembled.

“Applejack? I just don’t get why it’d be so bad for me to mov-”

“No… just… don’t say anything you idjet.”

You couldn’t see her face anymore, just her trembling. So without saying anything, you pulled her back into your chest and wrapped your jacket around her like you had before. She didn’t resist or anything.

Both of you stayed like that till the sun finished setting. After that, you walked her home, and then you spent the night in the barn, for the last time at Sweet Apple Acres.

__________

Oh son of a...

You suddenly woke up with a startle as your hand flew to your forehead and gave off a resounding smack as it contacted. It stung, a lot, but after a second or two you opened up your eyes and looked around. The filtering light of the morning sun through the cave entrance greeted you. The camp fire was already lit, and on the opposite side of it was Big Macintosh with a raised eyebrow and confusion clearly on his face as he looked at you.

“Is that how ya always wake up in the mornings?”

You simply looked at him and shook your head as you realized what the dream had been about.

Applejack had tried to tell you how she felt back then, right before you finished moving out into your own place. You had completely missed the meaning of her actions and words, and had ended up saying the most idiotic thing you could have come up with.

“No… no… only when I realize I’m an idiot.”

“Ah… so then ya do wake up like that every morning.”

A nod of your head was the only reply Big Macintosh got in return. After that little revealing dream, you didn’t really feel like arguing, or coming up with a comeback for that matter.

Big Macintosh seemed oddly disappointed at that as he chewed his straw in thought. But none the less, there were more important things to take care of first.

“So, what ya’ll reckon we should have for breakfast?”

“I don’t know Big Mac… maybe we can find some fruit?”

“OH! OH! How’s about some cupcakes!?”

“Well ah don’t reckon we’ll find cupcakes growing on ah bush out here.”

“OH! OH! Then how’s about some birthday cake?”

“I think that’s the same problem Big…Mac…”

Your eyes widened as you stared at Big Macintosh across the campfire. You were certain that your expression was an exact copy of his horrified one, if only in human form. In unison, you both looked off to the side, towards the back of the cave.

“WEEEEE!”

“KYAAA-OOF!”

It all happened so fast…

“OHMYGOSH!I’VEBEENLOOKINGEVERYWHEREFORYOU!IEVENWENTDOWNTOSWEETAPPLEACRESTOSEEIFYOU-”

All you were able to register was a pink blur, laced with the smell of sweets and confectioneries…

“SOTHENIWENTTOASKBERRYPUNCHBUTSHESAIDSHESAWYOUINTHEMORNINGSOTHENISTEPPEDOVERCARAMELASINCEHEWASSTILLTWITCHINGONTHEFLOORAND-“

And now, all you could register was a stream of words as you noticed that a certain pink earth pony was currently pinning you the ground, her face inches from yours.

“RUN BIG MAC! SAVE YOURSE-“

You had managed to look away from Pinkie Pie long enough to shout a warning… only to realize that Big Macintosh wasn’t in the cave anymore. He was easily now about thirty yards away from the cave, running at a full gallop.

“TRAITOR!!”

“EEYUUUPPPPP!”

“LOVE ME!!”

It all happened so fast… again. A butter yellow comet with a pink mane had shot down from the sky as soon as Big Macintosh had broken out from underneath the cover of the trees. He was gone in the blink of an eye, tackled into some bushes and out of sight by his heat crazed wife.

You felt your heart slightly sink with grief at the sudden lost of your friend.

“NNOPE FLUTTERSHY! BANANA! BANA-GYAAA!”

Only slightly sink with grief though. He had just abandoned you to a fate worse than death. And speaking of which…

You turned your face to look back at Pinkie Pie, and your nose bumped against hers.

“OH MY GOSH! You and I are going to have sooooo much fun back at Sugarcube Corner, I can’t wait for you to see the party going on in my room!”

Oh crud…

Author's Note

Would like to apologize for the blank update. Apparently when you're tired, Edit and Publish look extremely alike. Especially if they're right next to each other. This chapter was written while sick, so i may come back to fix a few things. Not sure how it'll hold up with my other updates.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.