Apples'n'Wrenches

Apples N’ Wrenches

By The Write Bros.

Chapter 8: Hat Trick

Ficksitup and Applejack soon arrived at the Fall Harvest Festival, the smell of food and various livestock penetrated the air. The ground was already worn in and ponies were kicking up a storm of dust as they approach the entrance.

It was soon Ficksitup and Applejack’s turn to approach the ticket stand that guarded the entrance. The mare in the stand looked at them with the most pleading eyes, as if she had seen nary a sale that night and asked in a tone more reminiscent of a demand or a sincere plea., “Would you like to buy some tickets for the games and rides?”

“Um, sure, twenty bits worth, please.” Ficksitup replied as he dug out twenty bits. He wasn’t sure if it had more to do with wanting to show Applejack or a good time or if he wanted to just make the ticket-mare look a little less anxiety ridden that night. She tore off a strip of tickets and passed them over. With a soft smile, Ficksitup accepted the strip of tickets and the two ponies made their way past the entrance and into the festival itself.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, like he was floating on a raft in an ocean. Even so, something about it felt right, the feeling of Applejack’s hoof in his own as they approached the festival. He wasn’t sure what it was, pride or confidence, but simply holding her hoof swelled whichever feeling it was. He looked over at her, still enthralled by how she looked today. He was surprised at how good she looked in a shirt like that, and how much it stood out from her coat. But then again, he wasn’t surprised at all. He was convinced she would look great no matter what. He couldn’t help but look at her loose mane, untangled and flowing in the light breeze. Constantly, that drew his eye and reminded him of the first time he saw that, once again recalling his first kiss.

“Ficks?” She said with a light smile, looking back at him.

“Uh, sorry. Just um... Did I mention you look great?” He said with a cheeky grin. Applejack chuckled and replied, “Yes. I think you did Sugarcube.”

Ficksitup was taken breathlessly by her green eyes, feeling as though he was seeing them again for the first time. He could only guess that now that something was official, maybe those eyes held something more behind him than his quaking heart could have ever hoped for, in equal measure joy and fear. Love, if this was how it felt, was all together beautiful and terrifying. It rendered him mute, and yet again, there was a slight moment of silence between them. The urge to wrap his arms around her, hold her close, and kiss her was nagging at his mind, but he knew that now was not the right time.

“Well, come on. We’ve got a bunch to do and only so much time to do it. After all, I gotta’ take you home before your bedtime, right?” Ficksitup said with a particularly sly smile. Applejack chuckled and gave him a light shove in return.

The festival was bustling with life. Ficksitup was surprised at just how much was going on, the sights, sounds, smells, it was all rather new to him. He couldn’t quite pin the age range, since he could see a clutch of foals tearing across the ground one minute only to be slowed by two chatty elderly mares. His confusion was palpable and instead of being called out on another of his slow moments, he took the initiative in declaring his social ineptitude. He had to score points for that, at least.

“Y’know, ‘Jack... I ain’t ever been to a festival like this before.” He said, still curious as to what was going on around him.

“You’re jokin’..! Never?” She said, baffled.

“Nope.”

“Well then you ought’a try some cotton candy! Ain’t a festival without some’a that, or maybe a funnel cake or somethin’..!” Applejack said, taking the lead, surprising Ficksitup in the process as she drug him along by the hoof.

As he followed, he continued to look around at the sights. Spinning wheels, a roller coaster, various games, a ferris wheel...

“Here we are. Hey, can we get a coupla’ things of cotton candy?” She asked in a raised tone. The stallion behind the counter nodded. “That’ll be four bits.”

“Alright I-”

“I’ll pay.” Ficksitup said, getting the amount of bits out of his shirt. “Sugarcube, ya’ don’t have to pay for both of us.” She said with a smile.

“I insist, ‘Jack.” Ficksitup said, placing four bits on the counter as the stallion hoofed him two things of Cotton Candy. Ficksitup gave one to Applejack, and gave his own a curious look.

“...Thanks, Ficks. You didn’t have to do that y’know.” Applejack said, grabbing her cotton candy. It was mighty kind of him, but for an independent mare, it set off some small sense of wounded pride. She wasn’t Rarity, darnit, and she didn’t want to be made to feel like she was. She smiled at her own overblown sense of concern and the two exchanged soft smiles, Ficksitup, looking at his cotton candy with a somewhat befuddled look on his face.

“So... How d’ya eat this stuff?” Ficksitup asked, glancing at Applejack in an attempt to see how she was pulling it off.

“LIKE THIS!” a high pitched voice said, bursting out from behind Ficksitup, and eating his entire bunch of cotton candy in one fell swoop. It was a veritable extinction level event if you were cotton candy, and it happened so quickly.

“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack said angrily, brow furrowing at Pinkie. Ficksitup simply watched Pinkie Pie devour his cotton candy in horror, contemplating how in the world she even pulled that off. He was utterly baffled at both her ability to utterly destroy the confection, and her ability to all but appear out of thin air.

“Uh, Hi Pi-”

“Oh-hey-you’re-both-here-at-the-festival-and-there’s-still-plenty-to-do-and-you-two-look-awfully-nicely-dressed-to-come-to-the-festival-hey-wait-are-you-two-” Pinkie said with a massive gasp, all but springing into the air as she did so.

“Are you two on a date?” The pink pony asked with the utmost suspicion in her voice.

“I uh...” Ficksitup stammered, looking at Applejack. He sighed, grabbed her hoof in his own yet again, and spoke. Subconsciously, Applejack squeezed it and this seemingly jolted the answer from him.

“Yes.”

Pinkie Pie started giggling abruptly, and began bouncing around, rambling about all sorts of things. “Oh-my-gosh-this’ll-be-so-much-fun-we-can-go to the roller coaster or the spinny thingamajiggy or the karts or maybe throw hoops or horseshoes or-” Pinkie rambled, finally cut off by Applejack placing a hoof in her mouth.

“...Pinkie, we’re on a date. For just the two of us?” Applejack said, reminding Pinkie of the circumstances.

“Oh. Right, well maybe you can go on the-whrily-thing-or-maybe-you-two-can-go-take-a-ride-on-the-duck-things-and-the-river-or-maybe-go-on-the-ferris-wheel-or-” Pinkie said, suddenly stopping in her tracks.

“Twitcha twitcha twitchy twitch...” She said, staring at nothing in particular and suddenly zooming off, as though she had never been there in the first place.

‘Um... Applejack?” Ficksitup asked with an estranged look.

“Yeah?”

“...What in the hay just happened?”

“Oh. That just her Pinkie sense’a tinglin’.” She replied in a rather frank manner.

“Her... Her what?” Ficksitup asked, completely baffled.

“Long story, don’t you worry ‘bout it Sugarcube... Sorry ‘bout your cotton candy, by the way.”

“Ain’t your fau-”

“Wanna’ share?” Applejack asked, moving it slightly closer to Ficksitup.

Ficksitup glanced at Applejack who had a quick smile on her face, for a brief moment, his brain sputtered and all he could squeak out was “Sure.” Ficksitup nervously moved closer to Applejack and started nibbling on the cotton candy. Applejack nibbled on the other side. It was more awkward than it was romantic.

Before Ficksitup could get lost in the moment, as decidedly odd a moment to be romantic it was, “We better get a move on if we want t’see the festival before they close.” Applejack suggested. Ficksitup looked at her again, “Um, sure, why don’t you lead the way?”

The two ponies began to walk around stopping at a booth or two to check out the merchandises or games, taking bites out of the cotton candy as they went along. It wasn’t long before they heard the voice of Rainbow Dash arguing with a game operator. It could be hard to tell sometimes if it was arguing or whining, though Rarity had given them pointers on the finer points of both of those. She was also contemplating writing a book about complaining, though she had to explain to Fluttershy it was a joke. Kind of. Sort of.

“C’mon, I threw that ring right onto that peg! That Wonderbolt action figure is as good as mine!” Rainbow Dash argued, hovering off the ground with her right front leg extended towards the sky and the left front leg on her hips.

“And I keep telling you that you missed! Now get outta here or play again!” A cream colored unicorn with a brown handlebar mustache and long flowing brown mane with a straw barber shop hat on top said rather festively, unable to entirely lose the tone used to attract ponies to play his game. Very much like a siren.

Applejack and Ficksitup traded confused looks before walking over to Rainbow Dash to see what all the commotion was about.

“Rainbow Dash, what in the hay is goin’ on here?” Applejack asked as she approached Rainbow Dash’s side.

“This clown is running a rigged game! I threw three consecutive rings onto that peg that has a special edition Stormchaser the Wonderbolt action figure on it, and he won’t give it to me!” Rainbow half moaned and half yelled her case, her voice breaking as she looked at the pristine action figure of the newest Wonderbolt.

Ficksitup looked up at the peg, “Um, Rainbow Dash... I don’t see any rings on there.”

The Pegasus scowled at the Earth pony, and if looks could kill, Ficksitup would have died many deaths. Luckily, her anger was still pointed at the proprietor of all corruption in Equestria, a random carnival pony and his allegedly rigged ring toss game.

“Well that’s because he butters up the pegs! It’s impossible for the rings to stay put if the pegs are buttered up!”

“And I keep telling you, that those pegs are not buttered up!” Shouted the unicorn.

Applejack hoofed the cotton candy over to Ficksitup and placed her hoof on Dash’s shoulder before speaking to the opreator. “I’m mighty sorry for my friend here, she can be a bit stubborn when it comes to winnin’.”

Rainbow Dash snorted air out of her nose and rolled her eyes, “Oh, you’re one to talk!”

Applejack shot Dash a glare. “Would you mind givin’ her ‘nother chance?” She asked, tearing off a ticket and hoofing it over to the unicorn. The operator eyed the trio suspiciously, “Well alright then, but this is your last chance!” He proceeded to give Dash five more rings.

Dash’s eyes narrowed and a cocky smile came across her face, “It...is....on.” She picked up the first ring and concentrating hard on the peg, she tossed it into the air. The ring circled around the peg before flying off. Dash let’s out a frustrated groan. She picked up the second ring and tossed it with the same result. In fact, every ring she tossed ended with the same result and with Dash growing increasingly frustrated after each toss.

After the final ring almost made it onto the peg before flying off again, Dash lets out a frustrated scream, “This game is rigged!”

“Now c’mon Rainbow Dash, you had your chance.” Ficksitup replied, hoping that Dash wouldn’t turn her frustration onto him.

“That’s right Rainbow Dash, you had your chance.” The unicorn sneered, he placed his two front hooves onto the counter at the front of the booth and let out a taunting laugh, just then a stick of butter fell out of his shirt pocket. Applejack and Ficksitup and the unicorn looked at the butter in shock. Rainbow Dash looked both victorious and terribly angry, an unusual and somewhat disquieting visage.

“AH-HA!” victoriously shouted Dash, “I knew it was rigged!”

“Hey hey, easy there filly, keep your voice down!” the unicorn replied in a hushed voice. “If they knew I was buttering up my pegs, they’d throw me out of here!”

“They should throw you out of the festival, you cheat!” She replied in haste, her eyes settling on the Stormchaser Wonderbolt figure. “Now, why shouldn’t I get you kicked out of here?” Dash asked, eyeing him up like she was figuring out whether to fit her mantle for his head or for a new action figure.

“Tell you what, you keep quiet about this, and....and I’ll give you that action figure you want so badly. How’s that sound?” The unicorn obliged with a cheesy grin, knowing both the score and his lack of options.

“Sounds like a deal to me!” Dash squealed excitedly. The unicorn quickly floated the action figure down from it’s peg and over to Rainbow’s hooves.

“Now just hold on one cotton pickin’ minute!” Applejack protested, but before she could speak, Rainbow Dash took off into the air with the action figure in her hooves. All Applejack could do was let out an annoyed sigh. Rainbow Dash had her victory for the night and knew that it could only be downhill from there and besides- she had an action figure to play with. Who needed to fill up a water balloon with a squirt gun when you already had the only prize worth winning?

Applejack walked back over to Ficksitup, “Sorry ‘bout that Sugarcube.”

“It’s ok, you had to help out a friend, I understand.” Ficksitup replied with a smile on his face, Applejack couldn’t help but smile back. Applejack never realized it until now, but Ficksitup was a very understanding pony, always willing to listen to her and be very forgiving when she gets distracted by her friends, or by her business. It was at times frustrating to see him so passive, she wanted to just beat his face in until he started to be less willing to bend over for others. Of course, maybe beating somepony’s face until they became more assertive was a foolhardy tactic.

Applejack walked closer to Ficksitup, her deep emerald eyes meeting his stone gray eyes. “You know Sugarcube...”

“GANG WAY! LOOK OUT!” Scootaloo shouted as she zipped right between them on her Scooter, knocking Applejack off balance like the demon of ill-timing herself. Ficksitup was able to grab onto her hoof at the last minute to stabilize her. Applejack blushed after she regained her balance, due less to physical contact and more because she had been caught off guard.

However, before the couple could resume their walk a timid voice spoke., “Um...excuse me...” Behind them was Fluttershy with Angel riding on her back.

“Well hey there Fluttershy, how can we help you?” Applejack replied with a friendly smile. She knew how meek Fluttershy tends to be around new ponies, and Ficksitup was still somewhat new to Fluttershy.

“Well...if it’s not too much trouble, have you seen Scootaloo come by here?” Fluttershy continued.

“She actually just zoomed right pass us.” Ficksitup replied, giving Fluttershy his own friendly smile.

“So umm...what are you two doing, if you don’t mind me asking?” Fluttershy quietly probed.

“Well, Ficks and I are on a date, truth be told.” Before Applejack could speak another word, Fluttershy’s eyes brightened up and she put her hooves together and an excited squeal escaped her. “A....a...a...date!? Oh, that’s just wonderful! Oh this must be so exciting for you two! You’ll have to tell me all about it!”

“Umm, maybe later Fluttershy, a date generally only includes two ponies in it.” Applejack explained as she tried to calm down her excited friend.

“But it’s just so wonderful and magical, I must hear all about it!” Fluttershy pleaded.

“Later Fluttershy.” Applejack replied, adding some firmness in her voice. Just then Angel rapidly thumped Fluttershy’s head, “Oh...well....um... we need to be going anyways.” Fluttershy hovered away while quietly yelling for the three fillies to come to her in an orderly fashion.

“That rabbit is a bit of a jerk, isn’t he?” Ficksitup asked as the two ponies began to walk again.

“Yeah, wish I could make rabbit stew out of him.” Applejack replied with a hint of malicious in her voice.

Ficksitup looked at Applejack in a shock and horrified manner, Applejack chuckled, “Oh it’s just a joke, relax, I’d never do anything to hurt a friend and you know it.”

“So, now that we’re done with untimely interruptions by your friends...” Ficksitup stated, a mixture of bluntness, jovial tidings and frustration playing out across both his face and tone. Applejack saw through that veil.

“Yeah, let’s get goin’, this festival ain’t gonna’ last forever.” She replied, taking him in hoof as the two trotted deeper into the festival, hoping to somehow elude the agent of annoyance that somehow managed to follow them and disrupt any semblance of privacy. Of course, maybe it was foolish to expect privacy but it didn’t stop a pony from trying to find a little space to take in invited company. With that in mind, Ficksitup spotted a dark corner between a couple of booths that weren’t exactly getting much attention. He tugged in that direction, getting an estranged look from Applejack, who went along with whatever he was doing. They slipped into the area, and found that they were in fact alone.

And ever since Ficksitup had arrived in Ponyville, they hadn’t too much time alone without the risk of someone bugging them. Ficksitup took off his hat as they sat behind the booth, and shot a stare at Applejack, finally able to be around her with nopony else around.
“What?” She asked, smiling at him with curiosity.

Before she knew it, Ficksitup had leaned in, and placed his lips to hers. She jumped slightly, with a sharp inhale through the nose, eyes widened that he could see as he closed his eyes. He could feel any tension she had suddenly release as she placed a hoof on his side, accepting his sudden romantic gesture. After a short time, he pulled back, only to see a somewhat dazed Applejack.

“That’s what... Still owed you from the other night, ‘Jack.” He said with a sly grin.

She hadn’t expected that. It was sudden, without warning. Abrupt. It was unlike him to be so spontaneous, so impulsive. She figured he’d kiss her at some point, she expected it to be later and not so soon. Even so, she didn’t hate Ficksitup being so spontaneous.

In fact she rather liked it. It was definitely a change of pace. Even so, she was still slightly taken aback by the whole thing. Looked back at him, she wanted to return the favor, maybe even take it a step further than he had. But something held her back from doing so, something she couldn’t quite place her hoof on, and it bugged her. Confusion wasn’t too unfamiliar to her, but not knowing what she was feeling was starting to grate on her nerves. Every impulse said to kiss him back, but something was stopping her.

“...’Jack?” Ficksitup asked, genuinely concerned about how long she had been in such a state. “You alright?”

“Uh, yeah I’m... Fine, I just didn’t expect that is all.”

“Oh, well... S-” Ficksitup said, suddenly stopped by an orange hoof.

“Sugarcube it’s fine!...You didn’t do nothin’ wrong.” Applejack said barely above a whisper.

The two ponies stood there, unsure what to do next. Ficksitup had many ideas running through his head, but most of them seem too brash or bold to act on this soon in the first date. Well, he had acted on at least one impulse that had been somewhat well received, though he imagined the other ideas trotting around his skull were less suitable. He wanted nothing more than to just pull Applejack close to him and from there do whatever felt right in the moment, whatever that was and wherever it took them.

Applejack made the next move, though it wasn’t to return the romantic gesture. She seemed to regain her composure and tugged him towards the swarming crowds of ponies enjoying the festival.

“We still have a date here, Ficks.” She said with that same smile that had been plastered on since the start of the night still shining, broken only a few times by the events that had transpired. It wasn’t a facade nor did she feel a strain from the muscles, almost as if something was dulling her to any imperfection of soul or flesh.

The air wasn’t thick, but the tension was certainly high, and they could both feel it.

“So...” Applejack started, in an attempt to break the existing tension a bit. Ficksitup looked at her with a raised eyebrow, expecting more.

“How’s Nuttanbolt?”

“Huh? Oh, Nut’s fine. Heard he’s been gettin’ to know the class a little better. Even made a couple’a friends.” Ficksitup said, surprised by her line of questioning. “How’s Applebloom? She seemed like she was in a pretty good mood today.”

“She’s doin’ pretty good. Probably wouldn’t expect it from an Apple Family member, but she’s got some’a the best grades in her class.” Applejack said in a somewhat proud manner. Ficksitup cocked his head in response to this.

“Wouldn’t expect it? Why not?” He asked, genuinely confused.

“Come on, Sugarcube. The Apple family’s a bunch’a farm ponies. Applebloom bein’ bright? Ain’t nopony who expe-”

“Applejack! Don’t say that... Y’all are more than ‘just’ Farm ponies.”

“That’s real sweet’a you Fi-”

“I mean it! It takes a lot of smarts to keep all that harvest information together and all. You gotta know...uhh, lots of stuff, I’m sure. Well, I know that you need to keep everything in order, make sure that you keep a tight timetable to make sure the harvest don’t fail and all, right? That takes brains! Your family ain’t dumb at all.” Ficksitup replied on a bit of a tangent, needlessly defensive.

Applejack chuckled.

“Well, ya’ got a point there sugarcube, but most’a that is just experience’n all. Truth is, I never did half as well as Applebloom is, Big Mac’s the same, and I don’t even think Granny attended no school.”

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit ‘Jack.” He said with a slight smirk.

“Not really, Ficks. I read’n write just as well as anypony else, but my teacher was always fussin’ ‘bout me, ‘talkin’ right’. Felt... What’s the word? Deprecatin’?” She asked with an inquisitive look.

“Sounds about right.”

“Worst of all? Math. Hated it, just not any good at it. Never made that much sense to me.”

“That makes two of us.” Ficksitup said with a slight chuckle.

“Huh. Had you figured for good at that type’a thing. I just don’t get it, ya know? Past a certain point an’ all, I mean. It was just such a chore and then ya star’ getting into all of these dif’rent equations and all that and...tarnation, it still makes my head spin.”

Ficksitup blushed, “Nah, the best I could ever do with math is my adding and subtractin’, used to frustrate my dad to no end that I didn’t show the same aptitude for math that he did. Truth be told, the only class I found interesting was shop class. I would always stay an extra few minutes after the class has ended to finish up a project. Heh, teacher always got mad at me for leavin’ it behind... But I did get extra credit.”

“Well, you are a mighty fine mechanic Ficks, the way I’ve seen you handle your tools, it’s like you’re workin’ your own magic. Are you sure you’re not a unicorn?” Applejack asked winking at Ficksitup and nudging him with her elbow.

“Aw shucks, ‘Jack... Yer makin’ me blush.” He said with an honest chuckle.

“Well glad it’s gone the other way ‘round for once... But enough horsin’ ‘round Sugarcube... We’ve got a festival, plenty’a things to do... and all night to be here. What’cha wanna’ do?” She asked, putting a hoof around him, all but dangling off of him in a somewhat playful manner. Ficksitup smiled, and looked around the area. Something did indeed strike his fancy.

“...’Jack?”

“Yeah?”

“You wanna’ make tonight special? Don’t get me wrong, it already is... But I think I just found a way to make this even more memorable.”

“How?”

“Come on”. Ficksitup said, taking the lead. He took her over to a seat in front of an older stallion with an easel, and art supplies.

“Hey, how much for a sketch, sir?” Ficksitup asked in a frank manner.

“Sugarcube..!” She said with a nudge.

The Stallion turned to look at them, with a face that spoke interest. “...Ten bits. Take a seat over there, when you’re ready.” He said. Ficksitup nodded, and led Applejack to the seat.

“What exactly are ya’ doin’ Ficks?” She asked in a very curious manner.

“...It’s our first date ‘Jack. One way or another we’ll always remember it... I just figure that a reminder couldn’t hurt.” He said with an earnest smile as they took a seat. Getting his supplies ready, the Older stallion took a curious look at them.

“Well what are you two, strangers? Get a little closer.”

Applejack gave Ficksitup an uncertain look with a smile, as though she was trying to figure out just what he was doing. He wrapped a hoof around her, and pulled her closer to him.

She expected it to be awkward, and tense. Uncomfortable even. But for whatever reason, it was just the opposite.

“Alright, that’s good... Now hold still a bit, would you? Gotta’ get this right.” The artist said, head disappearing behind the easel, only re appearing to take a peek back to them from time to time.

Applejack’s tension all but disappeared with a relieved sigh as she slid a hoof behind Ficksitup, pulling herself slightly closer. She leaned on him fully, head on his shoulder, just as they had been about a week ago at the party. But this moment was softer, more comfortable. He was somepony she could lean on, for once. So often had others relied and leaned on her, when she was looking for support herself. And now she was fairly certain she’d found it.

Simply being that close to her brought him comfort. The sights and sounds of his surroundings seemed to dull. To him, she was all that existed at the moment. The feeling of her arm around him, her warmth so close to him was relaxing. The sound and feel of her breathing, the slight adjustment of her arm around him, the gentle nudge as she leaned into him further, were all welcome. Ficksitup was more certain than ever about how he felt, and still curious if she'd felt quite the same. But it didn’t matter, simply holding her there brought him comfort, peace even. To have nothing else on his mind but her was something he embraced.

For both of them, it was nice to be with someone they knew genuinely cared about them. As with other soft moments between them, they were unsure how long the sketch took. Even so, it hardly mattered. They had both spent plenty of time alone. Plenty of time supporting others and not having someone else to lean on. In the few minutes that they spent holding each other in silence, that changed.

Uncertainty was becoming less of a feeling either one of them were experiencing. At this moment, they felt nothing but comfort, being next to the other. Even so, neither knew how to say it out loud. Though they hardly felt they needed to.

“Alright... Done.” The artist said, flipping the easel to face them.

A look of curiosity, awe and shock grew on their faces. The artist was quite skilled indeed, having captured every detail with ease, and finesse. It was a simple sketch, no color to it. Simply lines on paper, and yet it looked so convincing, that it had indeed captured a moment in time that no photo could ever hope to.
“Huh... So... That’s how we look?” Ficksitup asked, bewildered at the piece.

“Together?” Applejack added.

“...Yes.” The artist replied in a rather frank manner.

“Hold on ‘Jack...” Ficksitup said as he got up from the seat. Applejack sat there to soak in everything that had just happened.

“You said ten bits, ri-”

“No.” The artist said, packing his art supplies up, and getting his things together. Ficksitup was stunned.

“...N...No?” He asked, completely befuddled.

“You heard me... They say that true works of art are priceless...and that’s easily my best work in a while.” He said, shifting his eyes to the artwork. Ficksitup nodded, and removed the art from the easel. With little delay, the artist was gone, nary a trace of him being there in the first place. Troubled are the thoughts of an artist who saw something special and felt inadequate to capture it.

“That’s a pretty piece’a work there Sugarcube...” Applejack said as she examined the art.

“I didn’t know you were so vain, ‘Jack.” Ficksitup said with a smirk.

“Oh, you!” Applejack said with a chuckle and nudge. Once again, there was a moment of silence.

“Alright well enough’a the mushy stuff Sugarcube. We’ve got a festival to mess around in, c’mon!” She said, taking his hoof and lead, once again.

Today the sun seemed to set quicker than usual. Ficksitup wasn’t sure if it was just him, or if it really was doing so. It didn’t matter though. Applejack was right. There’d be time to be sappy and sentimental about everything later. Tonight, the goal was just to enjoy the other’s company, which thus far, had certainly been achieved.

As it got darker, finally, the lights turned on. Ficksitup hadn’t seen lights at night quite like this since his days in Manehattan, which was some time ago, now that he thought about it. He found the sights and sounds quite distracting.

“Sugarcube? Ficks?” Applejack asked the bewildered Ficksitup, who snapped to attention.

“Huh? Oh, uh, sorry.” He said, blushing in embarrassment.

“It’s fine. Still remember my first time at the festival. Ever played Skee ball?” She asked in a rather cheery manner.

‘Skee what?’ He thought, befuddled at the strange nomenclature. “Uh, no. What’s Skee Ball?”

Applejack looked at him in shock. “You don’t know what Skee Ball is? Yer’ kiddin’ me!”

“No..?”

“Shucks, I thought even a city boy like you would’a known what that was! Here, lemme’ teach ya’ how to play it.” Applejack said, dragging him over to, what to him, looked like very peculiarly designed things.

‘City b-... well, okay.’ Ficksitup thought, at first taken aback by the comment. She was right though, even with his dialect and penchant for his hat, he wasn’t exactly from a small town.

“Speakin’a which Sugarcube... Why do ya’ talk like me?” She asked, earnest curiosity visible on her face.

He honestly had to think about that for a moment. Putting a hoof to his chin, eyes drifting in thought, he couldn’t think of anything for a short while. Then it hit him.

‘She’s gonna’ hate this.’ He thought.

“Honestly ‘Jack? For one, picked it up ‘round you... And I hadn’t quite thought of it ‘til now, but... I guess it reminded me’a you. Same with the hat, I guess.” He said with a shrug.

Applejack’s mouth fell agape at his response, blushing ever slightly. “Sugarcube you are full of it today aren’t you?” She said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I guess... So, how do ya’ play this... Thing?” Ficksitup said as he gave the object a curious look.

“Alright, what’cha do here...” Applejack said as she picked up one of the balls, and placed it in Ficksitup’s hoof. “Ya’ get a good amount a leverage, roll it, and try ’ta hit the hole at the top. Lower ya’ go, less points. Higher ya’ go, more points. Give it a try..!” She said, letting go.

Ficksitup looked at the ball in his hoof, pulled his arm back, and swung it forward. He watched as it rolled upwards, which to him seemed to defy all logic what so ever. It hit the ramp, and landed directly in the top hole Ficksitup felt both inexplicable glee and excitement at the event, and he had absolutely no clue why.

“Okay, stop pullin’ my leg Sugarcube you’ve done this before.” Applejack said in disbelief.

“No, seriously, I haven’t! I don’t even get how that happened, I m-”

“Then it’s beginners luck..! Keep goin’ til you hit two fifty! Ready to play?” She asked with a cocky grin.

“Yes.” Ficksitup said, suddenly looking forward to this.”

The two proceeded to play the game that Ficksitup still found somewhat peculiar. With each toss, the score flipped, and somehow, he kept a consistent lead.

And even though he was lucky with the game tonight, she’d kept a pretty even score with him. Applejack tossed the ball down the upwards alley, and landed square in the middle, evening her score with his. They both had managed to hit 230. He looked over to her, and he could see the sweat on her brow. Enjoying herself as she was, she wasn’t about to lose. He waited for her to sling the ball up the ramp to throw it himself.

And while doing so, he slipped up on purpose. Applejack had managed to hit 20, as he hit 10.

Applejack looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. “You let me win didn’t you?”

“What naah, I was tryin’ my best. You’re better than me is all.” Ficksitup said with a sly grin.

“Oh fess up would’ja Sugarcube? I know ya’ did..!” She said, playfully nudging him as she led him away from Skeeball.

“My hoof slipped, honest!”

“Aw, doesn’t matter Sugarcube... I’m just happy to be here with ya’.” She said, pulling him closer to her as they walked on. Ficksitup thought about that for a moment, and responded. She let him go and playfully bounced into the night, liberated of the need to be wound up with someone she could, quite literally, let her mane down for.

She bounced ahead and Ficks trailed behind, his eyes soaking in the scenery. He never thought he’d be here, with her, never in a million years. The full lifespan of Celestia could have come and gone before his heart would have accepted his reality. Yet, here it was, and it was here in all of it’s plaid-wearing, mane loosened, coat shinin’, tail flowing freely in front of... ‘Oh dang...’ Ficks thought, lost.

“Yeah... So am I.” he responded absentmindedly and distracted. Applejack caught on and peeked back to see him caught up in her loose tail. She gave a playful, almost hungry smile.

“Yer lookin’?” She accused more than asked, though her tone was flirtatious and more than a bit excited. All he could do was sheepishly smile and nod, against which she chuckled and fell back towards.

“C’mon, Sugarcube.”

The night went on. They’d lost track of time, and other things around them. Ficksitup hadn’t enjoyed himself like this in...

Ever. Even when he was but a Colt, he never had fun like this. The festival had been a massive new experience for him. Games...

“Yes!” Ficksitup shouted as he knocked down all of the standing cups with the last throw. He picked a large stuffed bear, and gave it to Applejack, with a tip of his hat. She squealed in delight. Something he’d never expected to see.

The games were something else. Such a strange bunch of things he’d never seen or done before, but each one he enjoyed rather thoroughly. Couldn’t beat her on the high-striker though. She just about bucked that thing into orbit. Among other things, rides...

“Oh no...” Ficksitup said as his trolley neared the top.

“It’ll be fine Sugarcube, just hold on..!” She said, laughing at his cowardice. He tried to put on a stong-man show about it, but as he had been told several times before, he’s an awful liar.

“Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“In case anything happens-”

“We’ll be fine!”

“I l-aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Ficksitup shouted as the roller coaster finally began to fall, and raced down into a series of twists and turns.

Fear. Fear was the only thing Ficksitup could feel right now. He was still shouting at the top of his lungs. Even so, he felt his hat fly off, as he was far too concerned with what he figured was self preservation, by holding onto the bars in front of him. Before he knew it, the ride was over as soon as it had started.

‘NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN OH SWEET CELESTIA ON A ROCKING HORSE NEVER AGAIN.’ He thought, stumbling out of the cart. He began to feel his head. Just hair, no hat. His eyes began to race around.

“‘Jack I lost my ha-”

“Ficks, it’s fine!”

“Bu-”

“Not buts, Ficks... We can find it later alright? It’s no big deal.” She said in a calm manner, hoof on his shoulder as she attempted to calm him down.

Her calmness struck Ficksitup as odd. Applejack would be worried about the hat as well, as this was more than just a hat; it once belonged to her grandfather. It was wracking Ficksitup’s mind right now that she was so calm about it suddenly being gone. After all, she gave it to Ficksitup when they were simply children, and the thought of it going missing would normally have made her leap away to go catch it. However, at this moment, in this place, she was held still by more powerful concerns.

She was right. He had after all said that it reminded him of her. But now that he was back with her, he didn’t need the reminder.

“You’re right... Yeah, we’ll find it later, but isn’t it important to ya’ ‘Cause it’s your grandfather’s?” He asked.

“Well sure, yeah it was Grand daddy’s hat but it ain’t like we’re gonna’ lose it forever. We’ll find it later... Let’s just focus on us.” She said, putting a hoof on his face as she comforted him.

“...Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.”

Ficksitup learned that he hated roller coasters from that, and as such refused to go on any more, “High octane” rides present. Still enjoyed a carnival game or two though. The sun had fully set by now, and only the lights of the festival and Ponyville illuminated the area now.

“Hey.” Applejack said as they walked along.

“Yeah?”

“...Thanks. Tonight’s been great Ficks... It’s gettin’ late though. Wanna’ call it a night?” She asked.

“Nah, not yet... Got one more thing I wanna’ do ‘Jack.” Ficksitup said, taking the lead.

“Oh? What might that be Ficks?”

Ficksitup had been eyeballing a particular structure all night. The Ferris Wheel. It was one of the slowest, and highest rides in the festival.

“I wanna’ go up there’.” Ficksitup said as the approached the wheel, his eyes eating the ride up. The line was short, and he figured he’d be able to get in pretty soon.

“Y’know, I’ve never gone up there now that I think about it... Alright.”

After some waiting, the two finally managed to get into an empty trolley. It rose slowly, but surely. Applejack leaned into him, and rested her head on his shoulder once again. ‘Heh, I guess that’s our thing...’ Ficksitup thought as the cart slowly rose.

“Excuse me, sir?” An achingly feminine voice cooed from behind the stallion in charge of the ride.He turned and was confronted by a stunning mare flippantly playing with her mane in such a fashion as to be sultry.

“Would you be a dear and stop that particular cart at the top?” She said, pointing to the cart Applejack and Ficksitup had just gotten into. “Two very dear friends of mine just got in there and it's their first date. I’d hate for them to miss out on something...special.” She said, batting her eyelashes. The stallion giggled vapidly. “Okay...” He said, facing the control panel. Rarity then snuck away, as though she had never been there in the first place.

Ficksitup was surprised at the sights. It was all so bright from up here. Applejack was still leaning on him, moving her hoof further along his back.

She said. “I ain’t ever been this high up ‘fore, y’know?”

“Yeah?”

“Nah, not here anyway. Been to Cloudsdale, but never seen Ponyville up high at night.”

“Wait, you went to Cloudsdale..?”

“Yeah, long story. Remind me to tell ya’ sometime...”

“Heh, alright...”

They had reached the top finally, and suddenly the Ferris wheel abruptly stopped. The two looked at each other, befuddled at the occurrence.

‘This is just way too perfect to be coincidence...’ Ficksitup thought, with a suspicion that he knew who was behind it.

“We stopped didn’t we?” Applejack asked.

“Looks like...” He said, looking out at Ponyville below. The town was gorgeous, dark streets illuminated by the street lights and glowing windows of homes.

“Wow...” Applejack said, looking out to the town. “It’s so pretty...” She said, all but entranced by the town’s appearance.

“Yeah... I can think of a few things that are prettier though...” Ficksitup said, sitting back and looking at Applejack.

“Like what?”

“I dunno’... You’ve been to Manehattan right? Ever seen the skyline at sunset? The city at night? Just about the only thing ‘bout that place I miss.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that and it was pretty. What else?” Applejack asked, now more interested in what he had to say.

“I bet you can vouch for this, but Cloudsdale seems awfully pretty. What, with all those rainbows and clouds up in the sky.”

Applejack laughed. “Yeah, it is a might pretty but if you ain’t a pegasus ya’ gotta’ watch your step.”

“I bet... Maybe those mountains way over there, I bet you can see everything from way up high.” Ficksitup said, pointing a hoof to a particularly high peak.

“Actually went up there to save the town from a dragon with my friends once!”

“You’re jokin’! Really?”

“Yeah. Can’t take the credit for that one though, Fluttershy saved the day there... But you’re right. It’s a hay of a sight. Anything else?”

“...Yeah, I can think’a somethin’ else.” Ficksitup stated, Applejack still looking at him, wondering what he’d say next.

“Such as?”

‘Here we go...’ He thought, thinking this was it.

“...You.” Ficksitup said, taking her hoof in both of his. Applejack blushed heavily, and her eyes raced around.

“Sugarcube..! I... Aw, quit pullin’ my leg Ficksitup, I’m just a farm filly, ain’t nothin’ pretty ‘bout me.”

“You’re more than just some farm filly, ‘Jack.” Ficksitup said with the utmost sincerity. Applejack continued to blush, mouth agape, unsure of what to say.

“...Ficks I... I don’t know what to say... I...” She said, silenced by a hoof.

“I’ve been meanin’ to say this for a little while... And... I...” He said, looking into her emerald eyes. He was reminded of a few nights ago at the party, under such similar circumstances. Her all but glowing golden streaks of hair loose in the moonlight, the warmth of her beside him, the sincerity that her eyes spoke to him with but a look. It gave him pause. She removed his hoof from her mouth, and continued to stare into his eyes.

“...Applejack, I think I love you.” He said, finally admitting how he felt to her. Her face showed a slight expression of shock, uncertainty even.

“Ficks, I-”

“...Stop talkin’ ‘Jack...” Ficksitup said as he placed his lips to hers. She was taken ever so slightly by surprise, yet at the same time she almost expected it. She wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him closer intensifying the moment by just enough. Ficksitup replied to her gesture by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. ‘This is it...’ He thought, lost in the kiss. Everything faded out around them. The noise of the town below, any of the sights and sounds, all gone in a dimming flare until it was non-existent.

Just them.

More to his surprise, he felt her mouth move agape, not confused, but surprised by what seemed like an invitation. Loosening his jaw ever slightly, he too responded with an open mouthed kiss. It became more heated by the moment, as he ran his hooves through her loose mane, and she did the same. Every second that passed, the kiss, this moment, became more intense. More sincere. Each brush of a hoof against one’s neck, each quiet moan of delight, every moment meant something more. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a tongue brushed his lips. He was surprised she was willing to take it so far, and responded in kind, meeting her tongue with his, tied with the response of an intensified grip, as though both of them were completely unwilling to let go. It was all so unfamiliar to either of them.

It was ecstasy. The warmth, the proximity, the taste, the overall feeling of kissing her in such a manner was almost too much to bear. Each moment of it was absolutely intoxicating, a drug of choice that he never wished to end. It was an absolutely timeless moment, where everything else was forgotten. After enough time, their lips parted, and eyes re-opened, looking each other directly into the eyes. They said more with that moment, that kiss, then they ever could have aloud.

“...Well, that was quite the, uhh, display.”

Both of their heads snapped back from each other, realizing only now that the world had not, in fact, been able to ignore them as well as they had been able to ignore it. They had reached the bottom of the wheel and found themselves relatively face to face with Twilight, who looked equal measures uncomfortable and giddy, as well as the cutie mark crusaders and a somewhat struck Fluttershy further away.

“Um... Hi.” Ficksitup said, climbing out of the cart, Applejack’s hoof in his own as he helped her out of it.

‘Dangit, just can’t do these things without somepony noticin’ can we?’ He thought.

“Uh, hey Twilight.” Applejack said, eyes racing around as she blushed in embarrassment.

“I’d ask if you two were on a date but...the answer seems rather obvious.” She said, suppressing a giggle with her hoof, though the cutie mark crusaders several paces behind her couldn’t manage to tie down their mixture of giggles and joyous cooing. Fluttershy stood there as stiff as a tree.

“This might be an..awkward...time to bring this up, but have either of you seen Spike tonight?” Twilight asked, her eyes betraying the fact that it was a question once considered vital that had importance only because she had coherent thoughts to go along with it. Behind her, Fluttershy fell down, giving out a near noiseless eep as she did so. Applejack almost felt like calling out timber.

“No, Twilight, I-I can’t say I have.” Applejack replied slowly, her eyes still wide with a mix of shock and embarrassment as the two ponies were gently let off of the wheel. Ficksitup cautioned a gaze up and saw several ponies had taken notice of their kiss and were waiting to come down and catch a better glimpse of the couple that had rather publicly unleashed themselves on one another.

“Oh, shoot. Can’t imagine where he could have gone off too, already checked Rarity’s house... And yard. And the tree. No sign of him there... Wait, where’s your hat?” Twilight asked, leaning in on the top of Ficksitup’s head to examine it. She really had no concept of personal space it seemed when science, research, or investigation gave her cause to discard, causing Ficksitup to reel back.

“Lost it on the roller coaster, ‘Jack convinced me we’d look for it later...” He said, as a thought burst into Applejack’s mind.

“You know Twi, I’m sure Spike has already gone home. He probably just went out to find some more gems to eat.” Applejack replied, trying to reassure her friend. Ficks started to notice that her eyes started to lose some of their vibrancy, as if her color was starting to drain.

Twilight eyes were still worried, but she always trusted Applejack’s words. She was the Element of Honesty afterall. “You’re probably right Applejack.” Her eyes almost blew up as a thought crossed her mind.

“Maybe you two could use some tea after such a...well, I guess the night couldn’t have been cold for you two, since there is steam rising from your heads...uhh, I mean, I just got this new recipe from Zecora and I’ve been waiting to try it! Oh, and Ficksitup, before I forget I have a book for your uncle, I’m sure he’ll love it!” Twilight eyes sparkled as she talked.

“Great....” Ficksitup said in an annoyed tone, he didn’t need to be reminded of his uncle flirting with Twilight.

“Well Twilight, that sounds dandy! I’m sure little Spike is all safe an’ cozy in his bed by now. Better make sure he’s fine, we don’t want you castin’ another spell on the entire town like last time.” Applejack replied, ribbing at her friend as her thoughts turned away from the kiss. Still, hard to miss the lack of extra punch normally behind her words, like she was operating at an increasingly weaker pace.

Twilight lowered her head and furrowed her brow at Applejack’s comment. “Well at least I didn’t overwork myself to the point I couldn’t save the town from a stampede of bunnies.”

“What..?” Ficksitup asked.

“Long story Sugarcube.”

“...How many of those do you have?” Ficksitup said as he fell behind Twilight with Applejack close by, though she tended to drift. She gave him a knowing smile, and then retreated as if in mistake.

“I have about forty-seven stories.” Fluttershy said as she slowly pulled herself up from the ground, only now coming back around from her shock induced collapse. The cutie mark crusaders had found something new and noisy to play with and before Fluttershy could go further, she was whisked away. The three ponies gave her a look for a second before Twilight smiled and started trotting towards the exit.

The two started to walk at a slower pace than Twilight, no longer holding hooves, but Ficksitup now had an arm on her back, keeping her as close as he could at the time. Twilight started yammering about how the various constellations in the sky were especially visible tonight, but eventually for words faded into indiscernible noise. Whatever she was saying didn’t matter to them.

“If somepony’d told me that in the time of a little over a week, an old friend would come back home, take me out on my first date, and tell me that he loves me, I’da said that they were readin’ too many romance novels and needed to go outside...” Applejack said, her tone somewhat odd. It was a mixture of disbelief and...as Ficks was hearing it, a slight tinge of horror, if he wanted to be completely honest about what he was hearing. Mares...?

“...Antila can be so beautiful this time of year!” the unicorn continued, oblivious to the two behind her.

“If somepony had told me that I was gonna’ fall head over hooves for a childhood friend, take her on our first date and told her how I felt, I’da just turned around in disbelief...” Ficks said with a wide smile, squeezing her gently and softly. She gave a half-hearted chuckle and turned to the ground.

“And Circinus? So hard to see behind Alpha Centauri, but if you can, it is breathtaking! Reminds me of you, Applejack, since that was the constellation I spotted right after I helped you take care of applebucking season.” The unicorn continued her astronomy lesson, this time turning back and seeing that the two were both far away and entirely invested in each other.

“Funny thing, innit Sugarcube..?”

“Yeah.”

“So, I heard Big Mac and Cheerilee are pretty serious, wedding bells and all that.” Twilight said as a test. Neither responded.

Applejack looked at him with with curious, almost panicked eyes. “So... what you said back there, on the Ferris wheel... You meant it?”

“I heard she’s expecting triplets!” Twilight said with a fake gasp.

“Applejack... When I say somethin’ to you, I mean it.” He said, stopping her in her tracks. “I love you. I mean that.”

“I’m on fire.” Twilight near muttered, not making out what the two were saying but starting to feel like her constant need for someone to listen to a lecture was ill placed here. She continued trotting, silent now, her ears perked.

Applejack looked at Ficksitup with a mixed bag of happiness and what he could only place as the beginning stage of a full-blown panic attack, and gave him a firm hug. It wasn’t quite what Ficksitup was expecting, but he held her in return. She was breathing heavily and out of pace. Ficks was worried, and with cause good enough to give it word.

“Are ya’ okay, ‘Jack?” He asked, looking into her eyes and knowing that whatever she was about to say, she wasn’t. Her pupils were doing stunts and her eyes seemed devoid of any dampness. Time slowed down for Applejack and she was soon in her own head.

‘Are ya’ okay, ‘Jack?’ Applejack honestly didn’t know how to answer that. Three simple words caused a hurricane of emotions that Applejack didn’t know how to decipher. Three little words that figuratively knocked Applejack onto her flank. The confusion that she felt at home earlier that very night only intensified with the introduction of those three little words. She was saved momentarily by Twilight’s immaturity in these affairs.

All Twilight could do was feel both a little uncomfortable at the display as she stopped and turned at her door, feeling like the invited third wheel. She couldn’t stop a rather loud and somewhat immature giggle this time.

Ficksitup parted his head from the embrace, and gave Twilight a very unimpressed look, letting Applejack go. She got away from him and almost lost her footing.

“Sorry, Ficksitup it’s just not something I’m used to. Believe me, I’m happy for you two, it’s cute. Now, come on inside,” Twilight said as she opened the door. “I’ll get the Tea ready, my- BY CELESTIA!” Twilight exclaimed, rushing into the house. Ficksitup gave Applejack a somewhat concerned and worried look.

“We should probably check that out..” Ficksitup said, parting from Applejack. She simply nodded, and followed him inside the house. As they entered, they bore witness to Spike bearing a black hat, tossing it at the fireplace. A purple aura enveloped the hat, and stopped it mere centimeters from the flickering embers of the blaze. Twilight floated it swiftly onto Ficksitup’s head, and gave Spike a very intense stare as she advanced on him.

“Spike, what in the hay are you doing throwing that hat into the fire!? What in the world has gotten into you!? First you go missing all night and then I come home to find you throwing a friend’s hat into the fireplace!?” She exclaimed wildly, befitting a mother shocked at the action of an only child.

“What the hay Spike? What’d I do to you?” Ficksitup asked, completely distraught. He could never catch a break; have a great date, get involved in a yelling match.

“It’s not what you did to me, it’s what you’re doing to my friends!” Spike said, rage evident in his voice.

“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, her tone raised as her mind reeled from the confusion.

“I’ve been following this liar all night while he took Applejack around the festival, lying to her the whole time!” He shouted.

“...Liar? Spike, what the hay’s gotten into you? Ficks is terrible at lyin’! He’d never get away with it anyway if he was lyin’.” Applejack started in an enquiring tone before it became hardset and defensive.

“Oh really? Well you’re right about one thing! He’s not getting away with this little white lie. Or should I say, Rarity!?” Spike shouted, pointing an accusatory claw at Ficksitup.

“Wait, what?” Ficksitup asked, absolutely taken aback by both Spike’s accusation, and clever use of relating Rarity to a white lie, so much so that he could only repeat what Twilight had said.

“Yeah! The other day, I saw him over at Rarity’s place getting all close with her and stuff, like he was with Applejack today!” Spike shouted and from somewhere deep inside Applejack’s brain, furious work began.

“First of all, why were you hanging around Rarity’s hou-... You know what, I don’t want to know. Second, how do we know you’re not just making this all up?” Twilight asked.

“Elementary, Twilight! I have the answer right in Ficksitup’s hat!” Spike said, pointing at it.

Applejack shot a look at Ficksitup’s hat, and taking a chance, she took it off of his head to examine it.

“Hey!” Ficksitup said, smarting from the rough gesture.

“As you can see, there’s more than one stray whit of purple hair! Proof that Ficksitup got a little closer to Rarity than he should be getting, and proof that it was frequent! I should know, I was there each time! He was getting all lovey dovey on Rarity, holding hooves, giving each other all romantic looks and all that crud.” Spike said, still pointing a claw at Ficksitup.

Applejack rolled her eyes at Spike and gave a nervous chuckle as she looked at the ground. “Spike, you could’a put that hair there. Celestia knows you’ve gotten close enough to Rarity more than once to get a stray hair from her.”

“First, that’s creepy. Second, I didn’t plant it.” Spike said in a somewhat defensive manner.

“Spike, this is a load of manure. Yeah I was at Rarity’s but I wasn’t doin’ any’a what you said.” Ficksitup said in a defensive tone, only realizing he just made things that much worse.

“Wait, what?” Applejack replied, making her the third pony in twenty-five seconds to say it. Conclusions started to coalesce in a fevered, terrified mind, and now all that could happen would be further incrimination of the innocent.

“Wait, Ficksitup... What were you doing at Rarity’s?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, what were you doing? Oh wait, I know exactly what you were doing! You were getting all personal with Rarity behind Applejack’s back!”

“I was not! I was just there practi-”

“You were what?” Applejack asked, suddenly shocked that Ficksitup was even admitting anything like that. her snout flared once mightily, the gavel hammered down.

“Wow Applejack you’re right, he really is a bad liar.” Spike said, scoffing at Ficksitup. Twilight shot a glare at him, and looked back at Ficksitup.

“Oh like you’re one to talk, Spike. You know, I thought we made up the other day!” Ficksitup shouted.

“Oh, we did until Rarity walked in, got all up in your face and took you home, and you willingly went with her behind Applejack’s back!”

“Is that what this is all about? I was only goin’ there ‘cause I needed to get ready for tonight’s date is all I was doin’! I was just there as a friend anyway!”

“Like hay you were, you tool!”

“Overgrown, mutant, fire breathin’ skink!” Ficksitup shouted at Spike.

“Hey! Don’t call him that, he’s just a baby dragon!” Twilight defended Spike, head shooting in between the two.

“Besides, she ain’t yours anyway!” Ficksitup shouted.

“Oh, well then who’s is she!?” Spike shouted back with a glare.

There was a silence after that. Twilight gave Applejack and Ficksitup a concerned look.

“...’Jack? We ought’a leave.. Twilight?” Ficksitup said, tipping his hat as he began to walk out the door. He was stopped by a hoof on his back, pressed in a rather firm manner.

“Ficksitup.”

“What?” Ficksitup asked, still angry about current events.

“...Tell me honestly, Ficks...What is Rarity to you?” She asked with an extremely concerned expression. Something inside was boiling, and the evenness, calmness, of her voice was perhaps more terrifying than any scream could be.

“Wait, what? I... What? What do you mean?”

“...I mean, is she somethin’ more to ya’? Was Spike tellin’ the truth? Were you really gettin’ all personal with her and such?” The conviction in her voice was more than a little telling. Her mind had been made up, now she was waiting for the pot to boil over. High emotion has a way of playing tricks on somepony and the more powerful they are, the greater the degree of reaction. Applejack had felt something powerful tonight, and the fires of the blowback were stoked until she was consumed.

“Rarity’s a great friend, ‘Jack. She’s been plenty nice to me and you in helpin’ us out, and yeah we get along fine and have had plenty’a good conversations and whatnot but that doesn’t mean anything. I’d never go behind your back, ‘Jack. I love you, and you know that. I was just there to get ready for tonight’s date and yeah things got a little heavy here and there but it didn’t mean nothin’... I lo-”

“Shut it...” Was Applejack’s quick, terse reply. Her eyes were glossed, her form heaving with heavy, deep breaths, her snout flaring of no conscious accord. Judgment.

“You’re a liar, Ficks. You...you ain’t nothin’ but a good for nothin’ LIAR!” She roared, stomping her front hooves onto the floor with such ferocity that several books fell off their shelves. She could either believe that her dear friends were liars or he was, and the evidence could no longer be denied. Her heart was more than broken, it was in pain, screaming such bloody murder that her very soul ached in pain. No, there would no justification for this.

“You ain’t just a liar, but you can’t STOP IT. Why ya’ play these games, you good for nothin’ piece’a manure?! You wanna be with Rarity?! BE WITH HER! Don’t yo- NO! You can’t have her either! You ain’t good enough for her, you ain’t good enough for me! You ain’t good enough for any’a my friends, you rootbuckin’ crud bucket! Y- You LIED to me! You USED me! What-” She said, her body quaking with fierce, near uncontrolled energy as she approached him, pushing him up against the wall. Her eyes were wild, back right leg tapping against the floor.

“WHY?”

“I...” Ficksitup struggled to say something, anything, but he was paralyzed. He’d never seen Applejack this angry, this furious. It honestly scared him. Not just for himself, but for her. For them. He didn’t know what would happen.

“NO! I don’t want to hear more of YOUR LIES! SWEET CELESTIA HOW COULD I BE SO DUMB! You must’ve been having one big ‘ol laugh in your lyin’ head when you were calling me smart, I bet. ‘Look at the silly farm pony, I’ll get what I want from her and from her cute friend on the side, too!’ I-” She turned away from him, wanting with every fiber to just buck him through the tree itself and then keep on doing it until she reached a mountain and he was just a pile of jelly. She was kept still only by the image of Twilight and Spike, almost shaking with fear as they backed away from her. She took a deep breath and turned around, avoiding eye contact as she snatched the hat away from him with her teeth.

She didn’t trot towards the door, nor canter or gallop. She walked in silence, her own mind abuzz with the greatest of confusion, her very conscious being wracked by near-endless depths of sheer and unadulterated... unknown.

Nopony could take such abuse and not say something. Ficks felt naked and somewhat defenestrated by the loss of the hat, and being the object of abuse from two creatures at the same time had to invoke some sort of response.

“Y’know I find it kinda’ funny that one minute you ain’t worried about the hat flyin’ off’a my head, sayin’ that it doesn’t matter, and the next minutre you’re snatchin’ itn offa’ my head for no good reason!” Ficks spat out assertively, voice quivering from a shock-induced defensiveness and sheer panic.

She didn’t even bother looking at him, staring out the door as her voice evened out.

“You ain’t good enough for it.” She whispered before she placed it atop her own hat.

“Don’t come near me. Or my friends. Or my family. If you do, Big Mac’ll be the least a’ your worries.” This piece of manure wasn’t worth her granddaddy’s legacy in any way, and that was the honest truth. She walked out of the door and within moments, a fierce, powerful trot began, each step an attack on the Earth as her pent-up rage was being taken out on poor, innocent paved walkways and not the proper target, Ficksitup’s face.

Watching her leave him there, helpless, shook him to the core. He just sat there on the doorstep of the library. Twilight and Spike were both giving him a concerned look.

“...Ficks? Are... Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“...This what you wanted lizard?” Ficksitup said, turning his head to Spike. “This what you wanted!?”

“Wait, w-what? N-no I-I-” Spike began, making him the final member of the foursome to have said it, though he would receive no congratulations for this feat other than justified fury.

“Don’t you tell me this ain’t exactly what you were aimin’ for ya’ little overgrown gecko, don’t you dare tell me otherwise! This is exactly the manure you wanted! I got half a mind to beat you into non existence but you ain’t hardly worth it ya’ dang runt! I ought to buck you straight to whatever little nest you came from, but you ain’t wort-” Ficksitup roared at the increasingly terrified little dragon. Suddenly, he found himself floating in mid-air, unable to move. Twilight’s horn glowed vibrantly, her face hard-set and stern.

“Ficksitup, out. I know you’re upset, but I’m not going to let you threaten Spike. Get out and stay out until you can act like a stallion and not like some enraged colt!” Twilight nearly screamed, her own heart racing as her maternal instincts kicked in. Within a few moments, Ficksitup was out on his flank, the door shut tight and locked as the lights dimmed. As the waves of his rage subsided, he could hear what sounded like small sobs from Spike, the little baby dragon never having witnessed such a raging storm of emotion as he had just seen- and been the cause of.

And now, Ficksitup was alone in the middle of the night, completely without anything but his thoughts. He sat there, helpless to do anything about what had just happened. Not only had he messed up with Applejack, he just messed up with what might have been the only pony present that might have even been willing to help him.

All he could do was walk. Just... Walk away from tonight. ‘Maybe it’s all just a really bad dream and I gotta’ wake up...’ He thought, suddenly in denial. He got up, and started towards his house.

The Ponyville lights started to turn off as he walked by, Ponies finally tired and going to bed. He found it all very ironic, as he continued on. In minutes, the brick red house stuck between a couple others was visible. It didn’t seem right, though. The ground floor’s lights were on. They shouldn’t be on this time of night.

Ficksitup was shocked at the fact that he wasn’t sobbing up a storm, or something. Though he felt hardly strong enough to even muster up a tear. He opened the gate to his house, closed it, and proceeded through the front door.

“...So then I told the guy, ‘No, that won’t work, you just don’t have enou-’” A familiar voice said, interrupted by Nuttanbolt’s shouting.

“Ficksitup! You’re home, did you have a good night? Was it fun?” Nuttanbolt asked in a cheery manner as he grasped Ficksitup leg, completely unaware of the events that had transpired. Nuttanbolt’s smile faded as he looked at his older brother’s face. He knew that look, and it wasn’t a good one.

“Hey there, Ficks. How’d your date go, you look like a wreck. She must’a been-”

“Plank. Shut up.” Ficksitup said in a blank tone. Hammerplank’s face almost grew angry, but knowing Ficksitup, a blank tone wasn’t a good thing. The kitchen light was dimmed by a shadow of a stallion that Ficksitup couldn’t quite make out.

But he knew who it was.

The stallion drew closer, his features becoming more visible. His coat was a rather deep blue, his eyes grey, his hair as black as Ficksitup’s albeit with a few grey streaks, and his mark a calculator with 3.14 on the screen.

“...Hello son. It’s been awhile.”

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