Brotime - Chapter 10

>The warmth of the sun rests on your arm

>You open your eyes, not woken up by the sun, but woken up by the realization that today you have a meeting with Princess Celestia

>An urgent meeting

>And you have no idea what it's about

>You continue to reassure yourself it's probably just a progress report

>But no matter how many times you tell yourself that you can't shake the doubt

>You sigh and get out of bed

>You shower, get dressed and sling your backpack over your shoulder

>Looking outside your window you see a few p0nies going about their day

>Roseluck is tending to her garden

>Derpy flies by and notices you in the window. She waves and you wave back

>Applejack is...oh shit

>She's walking up to your house

>Maybe she's just walking in the general direction of the place?

>That thought is blasted out of existence once she disappears below your window

>You hear a knock downstairs

>You drop your backpack and rush down the staircase

 

>The knocking woke Spike. He's about to answer the door when you swipe him up, covering his mouth

"Shhhh!"

>He nods and you set him down

>"Who's out there, Anon?"

"Applejack."

>"What's she doing here?"

"I don't know, and I don't plan on finding out. Listen, go out back and head to the library. I'll join you shortly."

>"What're you gonna do?"

"I gotta figure out why she's here."

>He nods and heads to the kitchen

>You hear the door open and shut

>You look outside the window next to your door, not making any sudden movements as to not let Applejack notice you

>She's just standing there, waiting for you to answer

>She doesn't look mad

>Or sad

>She just has a blank expression with a half-lidded look in her eyes

>She knocks again

>You keep still

>She waits there for a minute or two before sighing and pulling a note from underneath her stetson

>She then turns around and slowly walks off

>Before she's completely out of earshot, you open the door and scan the note

 

Anon,

I wanted to say sorry for everything.

I want to be friends again.

-AJ

 

"Applejack, wait!"

>She turns around

"I...I don't know if I can forgive you."

>She looks down and approaches you slowly

>"Ah know, an' ah don't blame ya fer that..."

"But...I -suppose- we can try friendship again."

>She looks up at you and smiles with a tear in her eye

>"That's all ah want right now, Anon."

>Yeah, that's all she wants -right now-

>Ah fuck it, she's apologized

>It still means something even if it was through a note

>You curse yourself for your caring nature

>And for the hug you give Applejack

>Her eyes widen in surprise

>"Ah was right!"

"Huh?"

>You release her from the hug. She's smiling at you

>"Ah knew you'd come around eventually. You kissin' mah cheek yesterday along with that hug there proves it! And ah know just how to make up things between us."

>She pushes you inside, making you trip and land on your ass

>She climbs on top of you and attempts to kiss you

>You place your palm on her forehead and push her away. You then get up

"Applejack...ugh. Just forget it. You'll never understand. I'm dating Pinkie Pie. I don't like you in that way. Get the fucking point?"

>She looks somewhat hurt, but regains her smug disposition rather quickly

>"Ah get it. With Pinkie around ya all the time, you got no way of gettin' ta know other p0nies. Ah know how ta fix that.."

>That sounded somewhat like a threat

>You don't like threats

>Especially to those close to you

>You grab Applejack by the p0nytail in her mane nearly lifting her front hooves off the ground

"Listen you hick fuck, I need to go to Canterlot today and if I come back to get news about anything, any little thing happening to Pinkie Pie, it's your ass. Get it?"

>You release Applejack

>She glares at you before turning around and leaving, defeated

>You punch the wall in anger...

>You then sigh and run upstairs to grab your backpack before leaving

 

>Before you can open the door, Twilight rushes out of the library with Spike in tow

>She's wearing her saddlebag and... she still looks somewhat exhausted

>"Oh! Anon. Good, you're here. The train's leaving soon so we need to hurry."

>You nod

>The three of you walk to the train station

 

>"ALL ABOARD!"

>The earth p0ny ticket taker yelled as the train's whistle blew once

>Twilight's horn glowed and her saddlebag opened. Three train tickets floated from the bag to the ticket-taker, who took them in a hoof and produced a hole-cutter

>With great speed he took the hole-cutter in his mouth and cut an 'X' in the middle of each ticket

>He then dropped them in Twilight's saddlebag, tipping his hat to the three of you afterwards

>Little things like this always seemed to put you in a good mood

>Or at least raise you from a bad one

>You follow Twilight into one of the cars

>She leads you and Spike to a compartment

>You close the door behind you and drop your backpack on a seat, laying down next to it

>Spike sits on the other end of the seat while Twilight sits opposite the two of you

>"I sort of stayed up working on more reports last night so I'm going to get some rest."

"Alright, we'll try to keep quiet."

>"Thanks."

>Twilight sets her head down and passes out

>Spike climbs on your chest and leans back against the seat cushion

>"So whaddya think Celestia wants to see you for?

"I'm not sure, bro, but I hope it's just another progress report."

>"You look really down, Anon. What's the matter?"

>You turn your head to the side

"I just can't shake this feeling something's wrong."

>"Aw, there's nothing to worry about. I bet it -is- just a progress report."

>Your bro's reassurance helps you feel somewhat better

>You turn your head back to see him

"Yeah, you're right. I got nothin' to worry about."

>"Yep!"

>You yawn

>Laying down seems to be making you tired

>Eh, a nap wouldn't hurt

>It'd make this trip go by faster

>You close your eyes and slowly drift off

 

>"Hey Anon...Anon, we're here!"

>Spike shakes your head to no avail

>He jumps on your chest

"Oof!"

>"Hey, we're here."

>You rub your head and look over to Twilight as Spike jumps off your chest

>She's still sound asleep

>You can hear the train whistle blow twice

>Getting up you feel the train stop completely

>You can see a large cloud of smoke flying past the window

>It's dark outside

>You walk to Twilight and shake her lightly

"Hey, Twilight. We're in Canterlot."

>Her eyes slowly open and she blinks a few times

>She's obviously incredibly tired

>You sigh and pick her up on your back before leaving the compartment

>Twilight yawns, "There should be a chariot waiting for us..."

>She rests her head on your shoulder

>Like she said, a chariot with two armored pegasi waited below the platform

>You and Spike walk down the steps and step in the chariot

>Almost immediately the pegasi take off, flying high in the sky

>The view of Equestria from here is breathtaking to say the least

>You can see P0nyville from this position

>The dark-green forest of the Everfree, along with Dragon Mountain and it's foreboding black cloud, were in view once your eyes adjusted to the dark setting

>The moonlight helped in that sense

>The chariot was coming up on Canterlot Castle

 

>The chariot landed and you and Spike stepped off

>The two armored pegasi then took to the skies once more

>You watched for a moment as they left, a bit envious of their ability to fly

>You turn around to see the large castle doors opening, revealing a long hallway with two equally large doors at the end

>You trudge down the hallway, Spike in tow, admiring the architechture and designs in the stained-glass windows

>When you reach the doors they're opened by two armored unicorns

>You step inside, taking in the intricate designs in this giant chamber

>Princess Celestia stands at the top of her staircase, her sister, Luna, beside her

>She spreads her wings and floats down, landing at the bottom of the staircase

>You approach her, still carrying Twilight

>"Good Evening, Anon, Twilight, Spike."

>In respect, you bow slightly

>Spike does the same

>"I see my faithful student is fatigued from the journey."

"Actually she told me she stayed up doing some report last night."

>Celestia's facial movements betray her thoughts, as she grimaces slightly at that sentence

>She quickly recovers her smile and looks to you

>"Well she can rest comfortably now. Luna?"

>Celestia turns around

>"Yes, sister?"

>"Could you please take Twilight and Spike to a guest room?"

>"Of course."

>"Wait, do I have to go, too?" Spike cuts in

>Celestia looks down to him, still wearing her smile

>"I'm sorry, Spike. This is a private matter for Anon. You understand, don't you?"

>You, still carrying Twilight, crouch down next to him

"Don't worry, bro. I'll see you in a little bit."

>He nods

>Seconds later him and Twilight are teleported by Princess Luna

>Leaving you and Celestia in the throne room

 

>"Anon, how has life been in P0nyville lately?"

"Well...since our last meeting things have been going pretty okay. A few things have gone amiss but other than that things have been fine."

>"I see. I've heard you've been dealing with two certain p0nies a lot recently..."

>She couldn't mean

>"The Elements of Kindness and Honesty?"

>Fluttershy and Applejack

"Uh...I-...yeah. I've been having some run-ins with them."

>"Please, tell me about it."

>You recall to her the troubles you'd been having since starting work at Sweet Apple Acres

>You pretty much recall everything you said to Twilight, Pinkie and Spike Sunday morning

>It wasn't easy to recall it then, it's not easy to recall it now, especially in front of Celestia

>But you manage to make it through to the end, finishing with Applejack leaving the note this morning

>Now that you think about it, Fluttershy wasn't really a huge problem. Applejack is the one who became the danger to your health

 

>"That's quite unfortunate, to say the least."

>You nod

>"And what would you say brought on this behavior?"

"I-"

>You remember your encounter with Applejack Sunday morning

>She said it was because she was afraid she pushed you away

>She knew her chances were lost so she went for the next, not so best, thing

"It-..It was because she liked me. She liked me but she tried to get my attention in strange ways. Then I started dating Pinkie Pie and I guess Applejack knew she had failed. Now I'm afraid she's going to do something to Pinkie while I'm gone."

>"I see. That's all I needed to hear."

"What do you mean, Princess?"

>"Anon, I'm sorry but for the safety of the Elements of Harmony and yourself, I must ask you to end your relationship with Pinkie Pie."

>She can't be serious

>The stern look in her eyes tells you otherwise