>There is an adorable little filly riding on your shoulders
>The two of you chat about whatever comes to mind as you walk, any troubles the two of you have pushed from your minds for this fleeting moment of serenity
>"Anon, how come you never treated Mommy and me the way everypony else does?:
>You look up and she looks down, the combined effort producing an awkward bit of eye contact
"I like you guys."
>Dinky waits a moment, expecting more
>"That's it?"
"That's it."
>You hear an adorable little scoff from above
>"Well what about Mommy's eyes? Nopony had ever ignored Mommy's eyes for as long as you have."
>Her tone is that of the cat looming over the mouse, albeit a bit more playful
"Honestly I don't really notice anymore. At first I did, but it was just cute in my opinion."
>She doesn't say anything for a few moments, the only sound the soft crunch of your shoes on the dirt
>"You're not going to make a new baby with Mommy, are you?"
>You have to admit, that one catches you off guard
"Well..."
>You stop walking as you really think about it for the first time
"Assuming we even could, which I don't think we can, it would be a while before anything like that happened."
>The little filly nudges your neck with her hooves and you resume walking
"Besides, as long as we have you who would need any other pony?"
>You look up and she looks down again, both of you grinning
>The brief moment of eye contact almost costs both of you a bruise or two as you nearly lose your footing, windmilling your arms and stumbling all over the small road before finally regaining your balance
>You sigh in relief as giggles cascade from above
>"Again, Anon, again!"
>Her little hooves nudge into your neck and shoulders and, laughing, you jog the rest of the way to the schoolhouse
 
>Applebloom trots quietly by your side, looking rather deflated this morning.
>You can't blame her, she was taking Anon's moving out pretty hard and on top of that she seemed to be having some kind of issue with Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo
"Ah reckon we're almost there, sugar cube."
>She simply nods and keeps walking, leaving you to try to find something to say
"Aw, sugar cube are ya still upset with me for disappearin'?"
>She shakes her head and the two of you walk on in silence for a time
>"He didn't even say goodbye."
>You look down at her and see that her mood seems to have sunk even further
>Or maybe she's just incapable of keeping her brave face on any longer
"Applebloom, ya know Anon is upset with me, not you, right?"
>"Yeah, ah know, but it still hurts. Ah mean, why was he so quick to just walk out on us? Sure the two of ya'll were fightin' but that's no reason to up and move out! Families fight all the time!"
>The look of pain on her face breaks your heart in a way that Anon never could
"Ah know, sugar cube, ah know..."
>You can't think of anything to say and an awkward silence settles between the two of you.
>"Ya reckon Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell will still be mad at me?"
>She's looking up at you again and you think you can see tears starting to well up in her eyes
"Ah reckon not. Ya'll three are closer than any other fillies ah know."
>She looks at least somewhat hopeful, but responds with only a sigh
>The schoolhouse is in sight now
"Well, Applebloom, Ah reckon ah-"
>You're cut off by the sound of Anon's voice, rather distant but unmistakable
>You and Applbloom both stop and look on in wonder as Anon runs up the street from the opposite direction, his arms stretched out to the sides as makeshift wings.
>"Ground control to Thunderfalcon, come in thunderfalcon! You're approaching your destination!"
>He's shouting as he runs, winding from one side of the road to the other as the little filly on his shoulders squeals and giggles with delight
 
 
>You skid to a stop in front of the schoolhouse, dropping onto a knee so that Dinky can hop off
>She beams up at you and throws a hug around you, which you happily return
>You give her a warm, reassuring smile
"Just remember, sweetheart, your Mommy and I will always be there for you no matter what. No one can ever change that."
>You plant a kiss on her forehead and let her run off, Miss Cheerilee waving to you from the door
>You wave back and turn around, coming face to face with the ponies you'd almost been hoping to avoid for a little longer
>"Uh.. Hey, Anon."
>Applejack adjusts her hat nervously, looking down at her hooves
>Applebloom on the other hand looks like she might explode any second
"Hey. I uh, I think we need to talk."
>With that Applebloom stomps forward, anger in her eyes
>"And just WHY did ya up and move out? Ah know yer mad at Applejack but that's no reason to just leave!"
>The pain in her voice makes you wince
>"Family is supposed to stick together no matter what! Not just break up and move away when somepony-"
>You cut her off by scooping her up into a tight hug
"You know I still love you guys. Without you ponies I would've probably died in the Everfree Forest."
>Applebloom seems to have lost her thunder in the face of this hug of hugs
"No matter how far I go, I'll always consider the Apples a part of my family here in Equestria."
>You hug her even tighter and after a moment she returns the hug, having been given few other options.
>Satisfied, you set her down
"I know it's hard but it's for the best. I was never cut out for farm work anyways."
>Applejack scoffs, smirking a little as she finally chimes in
>"Aint that the truth? Ah reckon I could buck a thousand apples before ya'll even got twenty."
>You laugh and flick AJ's hat off the back of her head, something she always pretended to be annoyed by but her smile gave her away every time
 
>After a bit of friendly banter Applebloom had agreed to settle for breakfast with you, Derpy and Dinky whenever she wanted and disappeared into the schoolhouse
>You and AJ were now walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, a tense and awkward silence settled in around you
"So..."
>You break the silence without thinking and realize you don't know what to say
>Luckily AJ interrupts, stepping in front of you and stamping one hoof for emphasis
>"Ah'm so sorry anon!"
>You're a bit taken aback by this
>Your confusion must have been painted across your face because she almost immediately steps aside and begins explaining
>"Ah...Ah was upset when I saw you and that mailpony together, ah'll admit. But there's more to it than that, honest!"
>You have to walk faster to keep pace with her, but you don't mind.
"Applejack... What you said the other night was..."
>You're struggling to find the right words and falling pathetically short
"It was...Bad."
>Well done
>"Ah know it was, sugar cube, and ah really don't feel like there's anything wrong with Derpy. It's just... Ah..."
>She suddenly bolts, shouting back over her shoulder
>"Race ya to the orchard!"
>The two of you would race each other all the time when you lived at Sweet Apple Acres and you hadn't realized how much you'd missed it
"You're on!"
>You shout after her as you build up to a sprint, unsure if she heard you or not
 
 
>You hand over the last letter for the day, giving the recipient a warm smile before turning to leave
>Just as you're about to take off into the sky you overhear a couple of ponies gossiping not very far from where you stand
>"Yeah, I mean I knew she was retarded but apparently she's a freak too."
>A second pony inhales rather sharply
>"You don't say?"
>"Yes! She's been rutting with that human creature for the past couple of days. It's disgusting!"
>You feel like you've just been kicked in the heart
>"Oh, I know! And can you imagine what her poor filly must be going through?"
>What does she-
>"Oh, she's probably too retarded to even notice her mother's debauchery, the poor thing."
>The voice is filled with feigned concern and it fills you with a dark, hot emotion you're not familiar with
 
>You reach up and pluck a perfectly ripe apple as you walk through the orchard with Applejack
"I really did miss you guys, y'know."
>She smiles and you pluck another perfect apple for snacks once you reach the spot
"Did I mention I was sorry for getting so angry?"
>She bumps you with her shoulder as you walk side by side, smirking
>"Yeah, about thirty times now ah reckon."
"Well, it's true."
>"Ah know, sugar cube, and ah hope you know that ah'm sorry too."
>The two of you stop in a small clearing at the top of a hill near the outer edge of Sweet Apple Acres
>You try to think of some way to just forgive her, but you can't. Your heart aches for the friendship you may be losing
>"Anon? Ah keep apologizing and every darn time you just get real quiet! Ah'm not sayin' you need to forgive me, but ah at least want you to acknowledge me!"
"Why can't you see that she's just like anyone else?"
>"Ah told ya, ah really don't think she's a bad pony... Ah just..."
>With an exasperated sigh you plop down and lean against a tree, taking a big bite out of one of the apples and offering her the other.
"So why'd you say those things?"
>Applejack plops down on the ground next to you, adopting a defeatist demeanor
>"Ah... Ah don't rightly know, sugar cube, but ah swear-"
"Applejack don't lie to me. I understand if you feel like you can't accept her but if that's the case we'll never be able to be like we were. You know that."
>She hangs her head and mumbles
>"Ah said those things... Ah said 'em because ah didn't want ya to leave me for her.."
>You stare blankly at her, unsure of what she means
"Applejack what do you-"
>"Ah think ah love ya, Anon! Ah thought ah was just bein' silly at first but these feelings just won't go away!"
>She's pinned you to the tree by your shoulders, your faces mere inches away
>You stare into her big, gorgeous emerald eyes and feel like you're really seeing them for the first time
>Her lower lip is quivering, tears beginning to well up in her eyes
 
>"Well, ah think ah deserve a response this time, don't you?"
>Her voice catches in her throat more than once, the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks now.
"Applejack..."
>You don't know what to say
>You don't know what to think
>All you can do is stare into those big, beautiful jade pools
>Images of your time together on Sweet Apple Acres race through your head, and some of them make a lot more sense now
>Your heart screams for you to lean in just a little bit, insisting that you can take all of her pain away with just a little kiss
>You start to lean forward ever so slowly, still staring into those eyes so full of desire
>The memory of your first night in Derpy's cottage flash through your mind
>You clench your teeth and summon all of your willpower
>You inwardly curse yourself and pull AJ into a tight hug, coincidentally pulling her onto your lap
"I'm so sorry, Applejack..."
>She sobs softly into your shoulder, fully understanding the implications
>"Ah know, Anon..."
>Your heart breaks for a love you never really got to experience and you hate yourself for doing this to your friend, whether it's your fault or not
>The two of you stay like this for a while, just holding each other beneath the trees her family had cultivated for generations
 
>You're flying home as fast as your wings will carry you, tears streaming from your eyes
>You still can't believe how cruel those fillies had been
>You never cared much about what people said about you, you had gotten used to it over time, but when you heard the things they were saying about Dinky because of you
>And the things they'd said about Anon...
>You slow slightly as you approach your cottage, preforming a surprisingly graceful running landing
>You throw open the door to your home, expecting to find Anon waiting with hugs and a smile
>Instead you find an empty house
>You consider giving up and just crying into your pillow like you did before you had Dinky
"No."
>Determined, you close the door and head out to find Anon, knowing he'll be able to make this day better
 
>You've been sitting here holding Applejack while she slept for a while now.
>You can't bring yourself to wake her
"Christ, Anon..."
>You look down at her as you whisper to yourself, the small smile on her face lending nothing to the 'wake her up' plan
>You sigh and stroke her mane gently, looking up at the sky to try and guess what time it is by the position of the sun
>You mumble nonsense to yourself and determine that you've got probably another hour or two to let her sleep before you need to go meet Dinky and Applebloom at the schoolhouse
>With a happy sigh you relax back against the tree and enjoy this little fantasy while it lasts
 
>You've been flying around Ponyville for a while now
>You've managed to stop crying but you're still hurt and the looks and whispers from everypony are threatening your control of your tear ducts
>You stop at Sugar Cube Corner, looking in through the front window to see that Anon isn't there
>Pinkie Pie waves excitedly to you before rushing over and making silly faces against the other side of the glass
>Normally you'd make faces with Pinkie but you're in a rush so you just tap gently on the glass with your hoof to get her attention
"Pinkie! Do you know where I can find Anon?"
>She stares blankly for a moment before pressing her ear to the glass
"WHERE CAN I FIND ANON?"
>You get even more looks than normal as you shout to Pinkie, but at least she hears you this time.
>She starts gesturing and talking really fast but you can't hear any of it
>You press your ear to the glass and still can't hear
"PINKIE! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
>Pinkie blinks confusedly before shaking her head and rushing over to the door
>"Try Sweet Apple Acres, he used to hang out over there all the time!"
"Thanks!"
>You rocket off as fast as you can before she can respond, but she does anyway
>"YOU'RE WELCOME, DERPY!"
>Now the ponies shoot Pinkie a few judgmental looks
 
 
>A sudden crash snaps you out of the sweet dream you'd been having.
>Groggily, you look down to find Applejack waking as well
>Your eyes meet and you hesitate a moment before pulling away and standing up as she does the same
>You crack your back and stretch, your eyes finally adjusting to the light enough to investigate the noise that'd interrupted your dream
>"Oh... Um.. I'm sorry, Anon... I was just trying to... Um, nevermind."
>With that Derpy takes off through the trees, snapping a number of twigs that rain down alongside an apple or two
"Derpy?"
>"Derpy?"
>You and Applejack are both bewildered and simply stand there looking at each other for a moment before it finally clicks in your brain
>Her eyes were slightly red as though she'd been crying
>One of her wings looked pretty badly ruffled and you're sure it's painful to fly on
>She found you sleeping with Applejack in your arms
>You know she loves you as deeply as you do her, regardless of how little time had passed. You knew that you could stay with her forever and she thought she could always depend on you
>You also know that a lifetime of abuse has made her incredibly fragile to those close to her.
"DERPY!"
>You sprint after her, knowing she'll be going home