>You and AJ ride back to Ponyville on the same train, but in different compartments. The ride seems to take forever, and you try to think, but you can't seem to find a solution in your head. Instead, your mind is consumed with dread, that there was just one more conversation between you and being single. Horrifyingly, your life wouldn't fall apart. She'd let you stay on the farm until you sorted things out, got your own place. She'd be the bigger person, probably offer to pay you for your work while you stayed.
>That's what you were about to lose, someone that selfless and kind.
"Well, if anyone asks me, I'll tell them it was Discord's fault."
>Better than the truth.
>You don't see her at the station when you get off the train, but you both arrive at the gate to Sweet Apple Acres at about the same time.
>You try to think of something to say, something that would help, but you're not sure what you even want.
>After a moment you both just turn down the road and start walking towards the house.
>There'd be no avoiding it then.
>You get to the door and open it for her.
>"AJ, Anon! Oh I'm so glad you're home!"
>You're not even inside the house when Apple Bloom wraps the pair of you in a tearful hug. As soon as she has you both in an embrace, she breaks down into even further crying.
>You cast AJ a confused glance over Apple Bloom's head, and she just shrugs. Your fight could wait.
"What's wrong, Apple Bloom?"
>"Ah never should have trusted Wensley!" Apple Bloom replies with venom in her voice.
>Wensley was a member of the Apple Family, distantly related to the Ponyville Apples. His part of the family all lived on old, established farms near Canterlot, and were perhaps as posh as Apples came, preferring to work in the fancier and more specialized trades, like vintners, cheesemakers, and candymakers.
>"What did that stuffed shirt do?" Applejack demands.
>"Well, you know how we was turning his parcel into a herb farm, right? He hadn't lifted a hoof on it in years, and ah worked, and worked, and pulled stumps, and broke rocks, plowed the whole darn thing, and all the while he says he's out rustling up buyers, signing contracts, making deals. Well we just harvested a whole mess of lavender and ginseng, and I ain't gonna see a single bit of it!"
>The three of you move over to the long, red couch in the living room.
>"Now just a second, he did what?" AJ demands.
>"He set up a buyer in the first week, then he went out and drank and partied, and he owes bits to near on every pony in Canterlot. So they came along and seized the whole parcel!"
"They took the land, but what about the harvest?"
>"They say that since it's still on the farm, they own that too," Apple Bloom explains.
>You both comfort Apple Bloom, swearing to talk to Rarity, Twilight, try to get legal opinions, etc. After a few hours of crying Apple Bloom is asleep, her head in your lap, her tail wrapped around AJ. You're absentmindedly stroking Apple Bloom's mane when something hits you.
"You raised a pretty good pony," you whisper.
>AJ turns to you and smiles, then, as if realizing what she was doing, the smile fades.
"I know it's not quite the same, but whatever else happens, you've been a really good mother to at least one pony."
>She looks down at her little sister, who was snoring away between you, a little less than ladylike.
>"I sure didn't want to be," she says, barely audible.
>You raise an eyebrow.
>"When Ma and Pa died, she was still in diapers. And I knew it, I knew it right then that if I stayed, it would fall to me to bring her up. So I ran off to Manehatten. I ran away from her. And I didn't come back for her. I came back for me."
>You never really put together the timing of her childhood trip to Manehatten, but it all fit together.
>"You didn't marry a saint, Anon. I've never felt like a saint, not for one day of my life."
"But you did come back, and you did raise her. That counts for a lot."
>She waves it away with a hoof.
>"And then, when a pony goes and tells me something I already knew, I got mad. I got mad at you, like I was getting mad at a chicken for not giving milk."
"You're making me sound kinda blameless here-"
>"No, you're pretty terrible, and you were a fool to do what you did."
>You shut back up.
>Apple Bloom shifts in her sleep, rolling on to her back, pinning your arm to the couch. You silently begin squirming in pain.
>AJ chuckles, and shakes Apple Bloom awake.
>"Come on, you best get to bed."
>You get up and walk around the room a bit, getting blood back into your limbs. You step out onto the porch to get a breath of fresh air.
>Outside, the farm is quiet and dark, with a slight breeze rustling the groves of apple trees.
>A few minutes later, AJ walks out to join you, and you both stare out at the farm for a few minutes.
"You're not a saint because you've never made a mistake, you're a saint because of what you do after."
>"That's right flattering, but, it doesn't make me feel a whole lot better."
"Well, essentially, it means you totally might have cheated on me, but you would have just owned up to it afterwards."
>You turn, and even in the dark you know her face is twisted with displeasure.
"I'm sorry for doubting you. But in joke form."
>After a moment she playfully pushes you, and you fall off the porch.
>"Do I look pink? I think you think you married a different pony."
"I bet Pinkie wouldn't have given me a concussion."
>"I'm 'bout to give you a concussion."
"Another one?"
>AJ steps over you and looks down.
"I made a mistake," you start. "But, now, I want to make it right. Even though, I'm not really sure how."
>Applejack tilts her head, thinking.
>"Well, either I'll think of something you can do to make it up to me, or I'll just stop caring," she replies.
"That is the most romantic thing you could have said."