Close Bonds: Eleventh Chapter

This is how you like your Sundays to be. Relaxed, lazy, and absolutely nothing to do but sit on the couch reading a book with a pretty mare on your lap.

You flip a page, proceeding to the last set of words. Rainbow suggested this book from the Daring Do series. She seems to be a big fan.

You snap the book shut and set it on the table. Rainbow immediately awakens from her nap and looks up at you.

"Finished it," you announce.

Her eyes widen in excitement. "So? Was it as superly-awesome as I said it was?"

"Hm... Well, it was quite good, I have to admit."

She makes a victory hoof. "Yes!"

"...Not the best I've read, but I'd be willing to try the next in the series."

"Oh, believe me, you should." She's sitting up on your lap to talk face-to-face with you, "If you thought that was good, you should try the third book: Daring Do and the Crystal Hoof!" Her lips move a mile a minute, and her tail practically wags as she speaks to you.

You smile. Never change, Dash.

"Mayybe... that would be a nice birthday present. Hint hint."

You swear you see a lightbulb go up over Rainbow's head. Getting her coltfriend into her favorite book series seems to be a monumental event in her life. You also start to wonder if it's possible to kill a pony with excitement.

You may be getting close. "Ohmygosh! Your birthday's in two days right? I wonder how much money I can scrounge up in two days. Oh! Wait! Since it's your birthday doesn't that also mean-"

"Shh." You place a finger over Dash's lips. "Slow down before you have a heart attack."

She smacks your hand away. "I'm not gonna get a heart attack!"

You take your palm and place it on her chest. Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-

"I-I didn't even feel that before," Rainbow watches your hand on her chest with the same wide eyes.

"Isn't this your target heart range?" you ask, still feeling her.

"I think so. Wait, how would you know?" She raises an eyebrow at you.

"Remember that one barfight you got into that didn't turn out so well? When I had to carry you home?"

She rolls her eyes. "There were lots of times when you had to carry me home from the bar, Ivan..."

"Well, this time in particular. Your adrenaline was pretty high, so I was literally able to feel your heartbeat through my clothes."

At this, she gives you an inquisitive look. "Tell me you normally can't feel it through your clothes anyways."

You do as she says. "I normally can't feel it through my clothes anyways."

"I'll bet'cha can."

"Well, you can't actually bet with me since you have no bits..."

She chuckles. "Actually, I do. I did save some of what I had."

You frown. "I thought you spent it all on cider?"

"No. I spent your money on cider." She pokes you in the chest. You groan. "Big difference, Ivvy."

"Alright. So are we betting on this thing?"

"Twenty bits!" she says, then wraps you in a hug. You wait a second, then two.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

She breaks the hug. "I win! You owe me twenty!"

A devilish smirk comes across your face. "Good. That's twenty bits off the five-hundred that you owe me."

Her jaw, along with her expression, drops. "W-what..."

"Kidding. I'll get it to you next time I have my wallet. Hey, what's wrong?"

The way she hangs her head, she looks a bit sullen. "You just reminded me that I spent five-hundred of your bits."

You place a hand on her back, and begin rubbing up and down. "So?"

"So I spent your money, and I'm never gonna feel better 'bout it 'till I pay you back."

"Aw, come on. Twilight already did that for you, so it's fine." You pull her into a hug. "If it makes you feel better, and I've said this before, but she sent more than you spent, so I actually gained about fifteen-hundred from the whole thing."

"Great." She doesn't sound any better. "Now I feel like I'm mooching off Twilight."

"You're just grumpy today, aren't you?" You ease her off of you, holding her by the shoulders. She does not look amused. "I think you need a belly rub."

She looks away. "No, Ivan..."

"I think someone's hiding a smile..." a slight change in what you can see of her face confirms this. "Come on. Just a little? I really like your belly."

She giggles, then turns back to you, but not looking you straight in the face. "Alright."

"Good. Now, lie on your back for me." You let her shift atop your lap until she's in a position to lie down. "Let's lean back..."

She does so. You smile at her, and she does the same for you. "Okay, now let's get this hair out of your eyes," you brush away a stray bit of mane that's fallen over her face, and do the some for some that's found its way onto her neck. Your fingers gently brush the sides of her neck, and just to be thorough, you do the same around her collarbone. You can't prove it, but you know for a fact she's enjoying this.

"Alright, now I'm going to take your hoof with one hand," you grab the forehoof closet to you, "and I'm going to rub your beautiful belly with the other. Sound good?"

It's a question that needn't be answered. You take your right hand, and gently begin to rub circles around her navel.

"Ah," she sighs, little jolts of electricity running up and down her spine, "I-I can never get over this feeling..."

"And what feeling are you talking about?"

She bites her lip. "It feels good."

"Elaborate description," you joke while she sticks her tongue out at you.

Suddenly, you both hear a rather loud knock knock knock at the door. You move to stand, but feel a hoof on your chest pushing you back.

"Stay here," the hoof's owner pleas with you.

You're a bit hesitant about this. "The way they were knocking, it sounded kind of urgent."

She flips over on her stomach. "Come on, you haven't done my back yet."

You groan in mock annoyance, but crack your fingers and wiggle them in preparation for the back rub. Her mane, which has fallen across her neck, is brushed aside as you ready to begin your work.

Just as you're about to touch her shoulders, the infernal knocking returns, this time much louder.

"Dammit, who the hell..." you mutter, sliding out from underneath Rainbow and jumping to your feet. You open the door, which really isn't too far from the couch.

It's Applebloom. A stick with a red white-dotted bag is slung over her shoulder.

Aw, how cute.

"Hey, Applebloom. What're you doin' here?"

She smirks and tosses her head confidently. "Ah'm runnin' away. Can Ah stay here?"

Your voice catches in your throat, as you have no idea how to respond. You look back to Rainbow to see if she heard.

By the looks of it, she did.

"Okay, so tell me, Applebloom. Why are you running away?"

Applebloom sits on one end of the couch, Rainbow sits on the other end, and you lean on the armrest next to the runaway apple farmer.

"Well," she begins, "me an' mah sister, we been arguin' a lot lately. She yells at me over the stupidest things. Like this mornin', when Ah was helpin' Granny Smith bake pies, Ah accidentally used salt instead a' sugar in the apple one."

"Oh?" you question, trying to hold back a smirk.

"Yeah. So when they were done, we put all the other pies on the shelves, and as is tradition, started on the apple one first."

As is tradition. Of course. "So what happened after that?"

Applebloom smiled. "Well, Granny Smith thought it was actually pretty funny. Big Mac did too, after he washed his mouth out in the sink. Applejack though... well, she started yellin' at me."

You frown. "What did she say?"

"Said, 'This family's already low enough on bits as it is!'" She imitates Applejack in a witchy-sounding voice. "'Ah can't have you goin' an' wastin' food and...' yada yada yada."

Rainbow pipes up. "So, you ran away because of that?"

Applebloom's face reddens slightly. "No! I wasn't finished! Ah was gonna say that she kept following me when I was tryin' ta get away from her, and yellin' at me! I went into mah room and shut the door, and she jus' barged in an' got in my face!"

You and Rainbow glance at each other. "Okay," Rainbow concedes, "but still, couldn't you have just talked to Appleja- oh wait, scratch that."

"Yeah," says Applebloom, "she doesn't listen very well."

You think about this. "Well, I know she's a bit hardheaded, but it doesn't seem like her to be... unreasonable."

"Psshh," Rainbow scoffs.

You ignore her. "Something I do know about her, though, is that she tends to take out her frustrations on others. 'Others' used to mean me, but since I'm gone... You think something's bothering her?"

"Hmm..." Applebloom puts her chin on her hoof, "Not that Ah know of. An' like Ah said, she don't like to talk about her problems."

You all sit in silence for a moment. Then, the most innocent yet direct question imaginable: "Can Ah stay with you guys for awhile?"

Again, you and Rainbow glance at each other. "Uh," you start, but Applebloom cuts you off.

"Don't worry, Ah'll make sure Applejack doesn't find out ye're harborin' me."

"I- I-" you stutter for a second. "Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask. I dunno, what do you think, Rainbow?"

She shrugs. "How long you stayin' here, shrimp?"

She seems slightly perturbed by the name. "Two nights, at most."

"Nights?" the pegasus questions.

"Ah'll probably be out an' about during the day. Ah just need somewhere to lodge, ya know. Even brought mah own bits fer food."

You point at the sack with the cliché design. "Is that what's in there?"

She opens it up, revealing a few books and a smaller brown sack. "That, and mah school books."

Rainbow puts an arm around Applebloom. "Well, meals come with the house here, squirt. I don't mind of you stay, long as it's okay with Ivan."

"I really don't care. Where are you going to sleep, though?"

Rainbow leans back, appearing completely sure of herself. "She can sleep in my bed. The only time I ever sleep in there is when you're gone-ohhh, snap."

Mentally, you facepalm. She blushes a bit and turns her head the other way, realizing what she just said. Applebloom sits there silently, the gears in her head turning as she processes the implications of Rainbow's words.

"Wait a minute... Why only if Ivan's not-" Her mouth hangs open as she comes to a conclusion.

You scuff your feet on the rug, looking around the room awkwardly. Rainbow Dash fiddles with her hooves, obviously quite flustered at letting the cat out of the bag in such a way.

Applebloom stutters for a moment, before smiling. "Wow! Ah really had no idea! This is so sweet!"

Both you and Rainbow whip your heads around to meet her. "Sweet?" Rainbow manages to say before you do.

"Well, yeah! Ah've always thought you two would make such a cute couple, and everypony else agrees!" She practically squeals with delight. "Ah can't wait to tell the girls!"

"Heheh, you see, that's the thing, Applebloom." You place a hand on her shoulder before she goes any further. "We're, uh... kind of keeping this secret for now."

"Just for two more days," Rainbow adds.

Applebloom looks at your hand, then up at you with a confused kind of look on her face. "But... why would'ja wanna keep it secret?"

Those cute, innocent eyes make it difficult for you to come up with an answer that doesn't involve incriminating Rainbow. "It's just... a private thing. I promise, I'll tell you everything once it's all over."

"'Once it's all over'?" Applebloom mulls over out loud. "How long have ya been keepin' this under wraps?"

Another glance between you and the blue pegasus. "Two..."

The apple farmer frowns. "Two what? Two days?"

Upon seeing the shaking of your head, she takes another guess. "Two weeks?"

You shake your head again. Her eyes widen. "Two... months?"

You give her the silent reply. This is enough for her.

"Two months? Ya mean to say that both of ya'll have been keepin' this secret for two months? Why, two months ago could'a been during the-"

Another jaw-drop. "-the beach trip. Of course, it all makes sense now!"

You rub the back of your neck. "Yeah, I suppose it does, with us 'bunking' in the same room and whatnot..." You notice Rainbow rubbing her foreleg nervously. You continue, "So, uh, since we're giving you a place to stay, you think you can make this our little secret for now?"

She finishes basking in her revelations to consider your request. "Well... Ah suppose Ah should, seein' as how you're doin' me a favor an' all..." She glares up at you, giving you a stern look that reminds you of her sister. "But you'd better explain yerself good once all this is over."

"I plan to," you nod. Rainbow exhales deeply, making you unsure of whether she's relieved or even more worried.

For a bit, you all sit in place, reviewing and taking in all of what just happened. Finally, something comes to mind.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

Applebloom perks up in response to your question. "Whadd'ya mean?"

"Well, it's about noon on a Sunday. You have at least seven hours 'till nightfall, and right now you're incognito. What are you gonna do?"

"Same as any other Sunday, Ah suppose." She ponders this a moment before elaborating on her answer. "All Applejack saw was me stormin' off. Ah don't think she even knows Ah'm runnin' away right now, so if we did see each other, it's unlikely that she'd try to catch me or somethin'."

"True." One more question comes to mind. "So, this whole running away business. Why are you doing it in the first place?"

"Teachin' mah sister a lesson. She doesn't appreciate me like she should."

She sees your arched eyebrow and, realizing how that sounded, quickly tries to rephrase her words. "Ah didn't mean it that way. Ah just meant that, I feel as if she doesn't love me as much anymore. And Ah know how corny that sounds, but-"

"I know. I get it." You smile, "I always wanted to do the same thing when I was your age, younger even. I suppose it's never too late," you shoot Rainbow a quick smirk. Her lips curve up slightly, but not by much.

"Alright. Thanks fer understandin'." Applebloom shakes your formerly supplanted hand, then hops off the couch towards the front door. "Ah'm gonna go tell the other Crusaders about mah plan. Ah'll be back before it gets dark!"

With that, she slams the door behind her. As soon as Applebloom's out the door, Rainbow lets out a loud groan and sprawls out across the couch.

"Damn, that was tense," she mutters, burying her head in her hooves.

"No doubt about that." You plop down beside her. "Y'know, I think it would do us both some good if I gave you a massage right now."

As you walk through the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, the familiar sights, sounds and smells put you through a fair amount of nostalgia.

You look off to the side at a marked-up oak tree. You chuckle as a certain memory comes back to you.

"Ah," you sigh, sitting down under the oak tree. You pull out an apple that you've been saving in your pocket, and take a good-sized bite.

This past week has possibly been the hardest you've ever worked in your life. But, you had to get a job eventually, and this is the only one available. You can't mooch off of Twilight forever; at least not without a guilty conscience.

You inhale, then exhale slowly. The smell of grass and dirt hits your nose, reminding you of the yard back home. When are you going to go back? Twilight said she's close to a solution, but that was weeks ago.

The poor unicorn's been working her butt off for you. You kind of feel bad, almost to the point of asking her to discontinue her work. But, it's either that, or be stuck here forever.

You take another whiff of the air. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. It's nice here, really. But, home is home, and you're getting homesick.

A crunch sounds as you dig your teeth deep into the apple's crunchy flesh. Juice runs over your chin, but you're too tired to wipe it off.

Another crunch. But this one's noticeably different, and you weren't even chewing when you heard it.

As you set to wondering about the new sound, a blur of yellow falls out of the tree and hits the ground in front of you. You yelp and jump to your feet.

"Ow..." A little red-maned filly rubs her head.

As your heart rate drops back to normal, you begin to assess the situation.

This girl... Applebloom, if you remember correctly. Applejack's sister, right? Or cousin? The orange-coated farmer introduced the two of you, but you haven't really spoken after that.

You decide to make first contact. "Hey, uh... Applebloom?"

The little pony immediately stands and begins backing away. "Uh, s-sorry Ah was spyin' on you, mister..."

She's really kind of cute. Not that you would admit that to anybody.

"It's fine." You stick out a hand. "Name's Ivan."

She shrinks away from your greeting at first. You smile, making sure to keep your lips shut so as not to expose your canine teeth. After a few moments, the little girl steps forward to tepidly shake your hand.

"M-mah name's Applebloom," she musters up the courage to say. She draws her hoof back, seemingly amazed that it's still attached to her body.

You decide not to mention that you had just called her by her name before your hand-to-hoof shake. "That's a very pretty name."

The edges of her lips curve up slightly as she blushes. "If ya don't mind me sayin'..." She seems hesitant to continue. "You have a kinda... weird name. No offense," she quickly adds again.

"Hm," you raise an eyebrow, trying to hold back a smirk, "I suppose that all depends on perspective. I mean, your name's strange to me."

She frowns. "Ah thought you said mah name was pretty."

"Well, strange isn't always bad now, is it?" You pause a moment to let this sink in for her. "Just because something is different, doesn't mean you can't like it. Strange can be a good thing."

She puts a hoof to her chin in thought. "Alright. I think I get what ye're sayin'." Suddenly, something seems to dawn on her. "Y'know, Ah don't think we got off on the right hoof. What do you think?"

"Uh..."

"Ah wanna start over." She holds out her hoof for you. "Hi, mah name's Applebloom, and Ah think ye're really strange."

Applebloom... You wouldn't say she was your first friend, as 'friend' can be defined in many different ways, and at the time could include Twilight and most of the Elements. But, you do believe that she was the first pony that you truly bonded to in this world. You understood each other, for some reason.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't mah favorite twig-legged little alien!"

Oh, and Applebloom's grandma, AKA 'Granny Smith'. The first person, pony or otherwise, to make you piss yourself from laughing.

"Oh, hey Granny Smith. How goes the farm?"

She waves her hoof at you from her spot in the porch rocking chair. "Oh, hell, you know how it is! Come over here an' sit down, you handsome bastard!"

She's also quite vulgar and a bit weird, especially when not in the proximity of the acute eyes and ears of a younger pony.

You chuckle, sitting on the steps that lead up to the porch. "Handsome? You got somethin' on your mind, granny?"

"Well, Ah heard you got especially good with the mares since Ah last saw ya." She winks. "Ya have a marefriend? Two, maybe?"

It doesn't surprise you that she's asking this. Seeing as how none of her grandchildren have much of a romantic life, she compensates by digging into yours. "A lot less since I've been here last, actually. 'Course, I think you would know."

"Ah, come on," she jabs you with her cane, "Ah heard ya hooked up with that Rainbow gal. The Wonderbolt one?"

You shake your head. "Nah, not a Wonderbolt. She just lives with me."

She squints her eyes, rubbing her chin. "Hmm, Ah dunno about that. You ain't tellin' me that you, bein' a stallion, didn't take advantage of a situation like that, especially with such a cute little button like herself?"

Oh, the irony. "I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm lookin' for Applejack right now. It's pretty important."

She sighs. "Ah know ye're avoidin' the question, but Ah'll bite. She's out somewhere, probably at the stand. Stormed off after she got inta a fight with her sister." The old green mare leans back, then adds, "Ah tell ya, she's been in a bad mood. Ah would say she's havin' her 'lady time', but that was a few weeks ago."

"Thanks, Granny. Needed to know that." You step off the porch, and begin your journey down the rows of apple trees.

"If ya find Applejack, tell 'er Winona shat in the house again!" she calls out after you. You shake your head, wondering how any of her offspring turned out as respectable as they are.

Author's Note

My break is officially over.

So, how do you guys like the new coverart? :3

Mah proofreader: hwrogers