>Afternoon at the Sparkle residence slash library.
>"Anon, this CAN'T be healthy."
>You just mumbled incoherently at Twilight, munching on some carrots and apple slices.
>You were getting so very, very tired of apples, and for good reason.
>Today marked the end of day number ten at the Apple Family farm, with you pulling twelve hour shifts.
>There had been a twenty-four hour shift or two in there too, which in turn lead to another twelve hour day, for a grand total of thirty-six hours straight without 'you' time.
>Or sleep.
>Those two nights you just hadn't come home, and Twilight had been worried sick.
>The second shift like that had been just last night/this morning.
>You had started at three yesterday morning, and it was currently three thirty in the afternoon.
>You were losing track of time.
>They needed apples for cider (Nightmare Night and Hearth's Warming were coming), and Big Mac got himself hurt again.
>This time it was a pile of tools that fell on his head, the tool shed itself just collapsing entirely from age.
>The stallion was lucky to get away with just a sprained neck muscle, but he'd still be down for at least four more days.
>The doctor was sure to stress the words "at least", which in turn likely meant another week and a half of this.
>AJ had learned her lesson from last time, enlisting your help because you were too dumb to say 'no'.
>You would have asked for additional help if you weren't as stubborn as the blonde earth pony.
>The only good thing about all of this is that AJ promised to pay you extremely well for your effort, double your usual rate.
>Twilight always made sure you had something to eat when you got home, even if she was already asleep herself.
>There was usually a note saying "Go to bed, mister. I love you!" or something to that effect.
>Sound plan, if it wasn't for this thing you had: You couldn't just fall asleep.
>You had to unwind first, either through writing or watching TV, something.
>Seeing as ponies lacked television (they had only just gotten the hang of movies), you had two options: Write or read.
>Writing took effort and think-muscle capacity, both of which were painfully low at the end of the day.
>Reading was much the same.
>So most nights lately you'd come home, lay in bed with Twilight (who was usually already asleep), and just...stare at the ceiling until you passed out.
>"I know humans have this whole 'endurance' thing going for them, but this is getting out of hoof." The mare continued with a concerned frown.
>You didn't respond, suddenly finding the salad Twilight had made very...interesting.
"I'm fine, Twi." You replied, before a massive yawn made a liar out of you.
>"No, you're not."
"I'm doing better than Big Mac is at the moment, I'll live."
>She gave a frustrated sigh.
>"What is it about you always pushing yourself much too hard!? You're falling apart at the seams, Anon!"
>You didn't reply, picking at your food.
>"Anon, eat, please. You haven't eaten right in over a week."
"I'm still in 'work mode', Twi. Can't eat much, it'll make my stomach upset."
>"Good! Maybe it'll convince you to take it easy!"
"Or I'll puke all over a batch of apples, costing them fifty or so bits."
>You stood, leaning heavily on the mallet...before falling over.
>Dizziness plagued you, and it was a fight just to get your bearings.
>"Anon!"
>Twilight was on you in under five seconds.
>"Can you hear me? Are you alright?!"
"Yes, Twilight. I can hear just fine." You answered from your spot on the floor. "Just waiting for the world to stop spinning."
>"That's it, I'm telling AJ she needs to find somepony else tomorrow." Twilight sighed.
>"Meanwhile." She poked you with her horn. "You. Bed. Now."
>She put a hoof on your back, and in a bright flash, she teleported you upstairs to your shared bed.
>"I'll be back soon." The mare started, before you could *feel* an intense glare on your back. "You move off of this bed, and you're gonna be in BIG trouble with me."
"Alright, alright, geez."
>You heard the familiar sound of teleportation, and the weight on your back was gone.
===
>You felt horrible.
>You had expected Anon to stop after five days of this.
>Tartarus, you knew that you would have.
>Most ponies, barring the Apple family themselves, would have.
>It was supposed to be a mostly harmless experiment, and AJ agreed to keep it quiet.
>The plan was simple enough: Big Mac fakes an injury, Applejack pushes Anon to work extremely hard.
>The catch was that she would pay him more than usual. How much more was up to her.
>An experiment in human endurance, just to see how far humans could go when given ample stimulus.
>To make it enough work for him, Applejack would 'pretend' to work.
>The Apple siblings working together could have the entire field cleared in a day, after all.
>Big Mac himself was taking a small vacation with Cheerilee.
>At worst, Anon was supposed to be slightly more tired and irritable than usual, you were prepared for that.
>You hadn't anticipated Anon to just...not stop until he literally couldn't stand anymore.
>Plenty of data on how bucking STUBBORN he could be.
>You teleported to Sweet Apple Acres, the orange Earth Pony looking expectantly at the gate.
>"Howdy Twilight! What's goin' on?"
"I'm calling it off, Applejack." You said with a sigh.
>"Really?" The blonde pony said with a bit of shock. "What happened?"
"He collapsed, said his vision was spinning. He has all of the typical signs of severe exhaustion and sleep deprivation. I have him in bed now, where he BETTER be when I get back."
>"Didja get what ya needed?"
"I think I've gotten more than I bargained for, yes. Thanks, Applejack." You replied quietly, voice filled with shame.
>"He'll get better, sugarcube. Ah did, and Mac's worked himself like this before too."
"I hope he does."
===
>It couldn't have been more than five minutes before Twilight was back, teleporting into the bedroom.
>"Good to know you listen, finally." The mare muttered dryly.
>She put her body weight on your back again, her hooves kneading your spine.
>The mare sighed.
>"I'm worried about you, Anon. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"I dunno." You answered lamely.
>"Don't tell me 'I dunno'." She snapped. "You know why, you just don't feel like saying."
>You felt like you were five years old again.
"What do you want me to say?"
>"The truth."
"Fine."
>You went to roll over and sat up, which forced Twilight off of you.
"When I was growing up, I was always told that a lady comes first, and that a real man provides for her to the best of his ability. My father rubbed off on me in the best way, I think."
>You sighed.
"Therein comes the problem when you don't NEED me to help you. I feel...useless."
>"Anon..."
"Useless not only because of the stipend you get, which is more than I make in three months, mind; but because you can do things that I just flat out CAN'T."
>You flopped back into the pillows.
"I work my ass off because if I don't, I feel worthless. It's why I pay for everything for you that I can, and why I point-blank refuse to just sit here and coast off of you."
>Hooves wrapped around your torso, and Twilight began to laugh musically as she nuzzled your neck.
"What's so funny?"
>"Rarity would kill for a stallion like you."
>She then sighed, like she was debating on telling you something.
>"Anon, I've got something I need to...confess."
>Oh great, here it comes.
"What, have you been cheating on me?"
>"What?! No, nothing like that!"
"Then what is it?"
>"This whole thing, with Big Mac getting hurt and Applejack pushing you to the breaking point..it's been an experiment."
>What.
"You're...kidding me, right?"
>It was strange. You figured you'd be angrier than this.
>Instead, it just felt like you had been physically wounded.
>"No, Anon. I wanted to test human endurance, see just how much you would put up with before calling it quits."
>She huffed.
>"Of course, that implies that you actually would CHOOSE to stop before your body FORCED you to."
>You looked away from her.
>"I've got plenty of data on that subject now, but..."
>The amethyst mare sniffled, ears flat and eyes looking anywhere but at you.
>"I feel like trash for doing this to you. I should have told you after day one, but that would have spoiled the results..."
>Yeah, now you were mad.
>You slid out of bed and stood up, wobbling slightly.
>"Anon, where...?"
"Out."
>You stumbled down the steps and out the door, heading towards the park.
===
>Now you've messed up, Sparkle.
>You should have kept quiet, or at the very least waited until he was well rested.
>He probably would have laughed it off if he felt better.
>You KNEW the human was frustrated, and this made it worse.
>He had every right to be angry at you.
>This was your fault, you had to make it up to him somehow.
>Only thing was: you had no idea where he was going.
>And you had no idea how to make it up to him.
>Usually sex would work, but...you had the sneaking suspicion he wasn't in the mood for once.
>You had spent the last half an hour wandering all over Ponyville, looking for Anon.
"Anon? Where are you?" You called.
>You'd think a being twice the height of a pony would be easy to find.
>Lyra helpfully pointed you towards the park after an hour of searching.
>"Lucky..." You heard her mutter as you walked away.
>He was indeed there, napping on a bench.
>Silently, you hopped into the bench and maneuvered yourself into his lap.
>His hand automatically placed itself on your back, and he snorted in his sleep before going back to snoring.
>You'd wait here for him to wake up, you'd think of something by then.
>Hopefully.
===
>You had felt the mare snuggle herself into your lap, which woke you up.
>The calming fountain and resulting nap had actually done wonders for your mood, but you were still somewhat irritated.
>You kept pretending to sleep, unsure of what to say.
>A huge part of you wanted to forgive her.
>Twilight was only doing what came natural to her, after all.
>A small part of you was still very upset at the secret-keeping, however.
>She could have just told you, but...
>You knew of scientific methods from back home, when scientists would study human behavior themselves.
>If the subject knew they were being watched or otherwise observed, the results would be useless, or at the very least tainted.
>Twilight was nothing if not a scientist at heart.
>You placed your hand on her back, stroking the mare softly.
>"I'm sorry, Anon...I'll do anything to make it up to you"
"Finishing that massage is a start." You replied after a moment, and you felt the mare jump in shock.
>"O-of course! Your place or mine?" She playfully teased, batting her eyelids at you.
>You rolled your eyes.
>"I can make this an experiment on human pressure points..."
>You made your point known by a light flick to the horn, the mare hissing in discomfort.
>"Okay, okay! I get it!"