Chapter 11

Dave hit the ground hard and clutched his chest

“Ow” He removed his arms to see two bright, red hoof prints “huh not that bad” Dave poked the marks and felt his ribs move freely “Oh ok its bad”

The front door slammed open and an angry Big Mac and Applejack came running out one behind the other

“Now what the hay did ya do that for?” Applejack quickly dived between the boys “Ya ain’t goin anywhere near Dave again”

“Applejack it’s fine” Dave weakly whispered “Trust me I’ll be fine in AWW GOD!” He grabbed his chest as a loud crack rang out, signalling that his ribs had forced themselves back together “See good as new” Dave chuckled as the marks faded

“Move Applejack” Big Mac ordered his sister but she refused to step aside

“Not until ya tell me why” She met her brother’s angry stare

“I’m looking after ya”

“By killing the one fella I’ve had feelings for?”

Dave stood up and wiped some glass from his back “now listen if we could all just calm down a little”

“Shut it you!” Big Mac commanded Dave before looking back to his sister “what do ya mean?”

“I mean that we like each other”

“He was gonna mate with ya” pointed angry hoof at Dave

“WE were going to make LOVE!” Applejack yelled and both Big Mac and Dave took on looks of shock

“WHAT?” the guys said in unison ‘holy shit! oh please tell me she didn’t just say that’

Applejack walked beside Dave, pulled him to his knees and wrapped her hooves around him “I feel a connection with him, somethin greater than ever felt before and nopony and I mean NOPONY is going to take that away from me”

“But…” Macintosh started to protest but was cut off

“No buts, I’m happy with him” Applejack stared sadly at her big brother “Why can’t ya be happy for me?”

Big Mac shuffled his hooves before looking between Dave and Applejack “Fine, I’m sorry Dave, but I don’t want anything going on, not while Applebloom and her friend are here”

“Fine we will both stay in the barn” Applejack started to nudge Dave towards the barn but he resisted

“Applejack I think it would be best if I just went” Dave unwrapped her hooves “you and your brother need to work things out”

“No Dave if anypony should be going it should be that idiot” Applejack indicated to her brother “besides where will ya go?”

“Well I um…” Dave pondered for a moment ‘crap where can I go? Twilight and Rarity would both try something with me, I have no idea where the others live and it is night time so I can hardly find a nice cave’ Dave had no options, but gave Applejack a reassuring smile “I’ll be fine”

“But I-I…” Applejack tried to find the right words but Dave had already stood up and stated to walk away

“I’ll see you tomorrow sometime” Dave walked past the front door to see the young fillies rushing out

“What happened? We heard noises” Scootaloo and Applebloom stopped at the doorway

“Nothing just an accident… shouldn’t you both be asleep?” Dave hurried them back inside the house and up the stairs into Applebloom’s room.

Dave tucked them both into bed “Dave why did ya come here?” Applebloom asked looking up at him

“To be honest I wasn’t given a choice, one moment I’m heading home and the next I’m here”

“When are you going back?” Scootaloo watched as Dave sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor

“I don’t know” he replied sadly

“Ya mean ya could be here forever?”

“Could be…” Dave didn’t look at them but continued to stare at the floor

Both the fillies looked at each other before Scootaloo spoke up “Don’t you want to stay?”

The question took Dave by surprise “Well I… do a little bit, but I can’t stay, it would cause too many problems”

“Like what?”

“If only I could tell you” he gave the girls a hug “now go to sleep”

“I would like ya to stay” Applebloom whispered as she pulled the covers up to her neck

The fillies both shut their eyes as Dave walked out shutting the door gently behind him. As he turned around he saw Big Mac standing there watching him “Listen Dave I’m sorry for earlier”

“So am I” Dave avoided looking at him

“Why are ya sorry?” Big Mac frowned out of confusion

“For trying it with Applejack… well not putting up a fight I mean”

“Listen ya can stay in the barn” the red stallion whispered

Dave held his hand out “no I can’t knowing you’re uncomfortable with it”

“I’ll feel bad knowing I made ma sister sad… what kind of brother does that make me?”

“It makes you a good one for protecting your sister, and besides a brother does what IS right, not what is easy or what him or his family thinks is right” Dave walked past Big Mac to leave him but was stopped by one of his large hooves

“I think stopping ya earlier was right, but mah sister thinks letting both of ya carry on was right”

“What do you think would have been THE right thing to do?” Dave waited for the response

“Well I…” Big Mac paused to think “I should have let ya both know what ya were going to do, what could of happened and… let ya both decide for yerselves, not make the choice for ya”

“Really? I would have stopped it, just without the kicking” Dave and Big Mac both laughed “but seriously, if you do what is right, you may not be thanked strait away but eventually everypony will see why you did it”

“Thanks Dave, I see why mah sister likes ya” He turned for his bedroom “I think leaving the barn open is the right choice”

“Are you sure?” Dave started to walk downstairs

“Eeyup!” Big Mac called out before closing his door

Dave walked outside, closing the door behind him and as he stated to turn for the path to the barn, he noticed Applejack sitting near the entrance to the barn, looking up at the moon ‘Dammit I’ll go over to her, see what’s wrong’

As he walked closer to her Applejack looked briefly at Dave before looking back at the moon “Hey Dave”

“Hey… you alright?” Dave sat down next to her

“Yeah I’m fine, I thought you would have gone to Ponyville by now”

“I just put the girls to bed and had a chat with your brother”

Applejack looked over to Dave “And?”

“And he said I could stay in the barn” Dave gave her a warming smile “he is a good brother you know”

“He said ya could stay in the barn?” Dave nodded “that’s great I’ll go get some blankets for ya” Applejack got up and quickly charged for the store cupboard upstairs in her house

As Applejack reached the top of the stairs she opened the first door on her right to reveal piles of blankets and other various cloths, some for cleaning and some for decorating. As she pulled out some blankets large enough for two she heard a quiet voice from down the hall.

“Keep it down ya hear” Big Mac poked his head out of his door “I don’t want to be woken up”

Applejack smiled happily at her big brother “thank ya brother and I’ll try”

Meanwhile…

Dave walked inside the barn and moved some hay around to make a suitable bed for himself ‘what if Applejack want’s to stay?’

“Oh crap not this again” Dave slapped his forehead “ok just stop arguing with yourself, you are perfectly fine”

‘Just saying’

“Go away” Dave shook his head in frustration

‘Look at the facts, Applejack wants you, Big Mac said it’s ok and you are in a barn’

“Point being?”

‘Let’s hope you don’t have a problem with bestiality’ Dave’s mind joked

“Technically they aren’t like the ponies back home”

‘Trying to justify yourself?’

“Oh shut up and leave me alone” Dave noticed that he accidentally placed enough hay down for him and Applejack

‘Oh isn’t that convenient because here she comes’ Dave’s mind went quiet as Applejack walked in with two large blankets laid across her back

“Here ya are” Applejack passed the blankets to Dave, who quickly unfolded them and laid them both across the hay

“Thanks I appreciate you letting me stay” Dave climbed between the two blankets and moved around, so he was nice and comfortable

Applejack looked at him and slowly walked over to the edge of the blanket “mind if I join ya?”

“Umm… sure, I guess” Dave moved the top blanket so Applejack could climb in and she shuffled close to Dave

“So ya put Applebloom and Scootaloo to bed?”

“Yeah they were fine, just asked a few questions” Dave looked over at Applejack who slowly made her way closer to him

“What did they ask about?” Applejack looked back at him

“Just about when I’m going back to my world and that kinda stuff” Dave turned his head away from Applejack, to stare at the ceiling

“How did ya get here again?”

“One moment I’m walking home across a field, I tripped and started to fall, then…” Dave shrugged “I just appeared here”

“Ya tripped?” Applejack raised an eyebrow “no magic or anything?”

“I know it wasn’t the most exciting thing ever” Dave chuckled “when I woke up I saw you and your friends looking for me”

“So what did ya say to the little ones? About when you are going home?” Applejack placed a hoof on Dave’s arm

“I just said to them, that I didn’t know” Dave watched a moth fly around the lantern attached to the ceiling

Applejack tapped him so his attention was brought back to her “I’m sure Twilight and Princess Celestia are trying their best to find a way back for ya” She gave him a quick reassuring smile before it faded from her face “but I was wondering if…” she trailed off

“Wondered what?” Dave saw her sadly looking back at him

Applejack shook her head “no I shouldn’t even think about it”

“Think about what?” Dave asked concerned

“It’s jus’ that I was wondering that when they find a way back for you” Applejack took a deep breath “if you would consider… staying”

“Well to be honest Applejack, I’ve thought about staying”

Applejack’s eyes widened “really? That’s great, ya could work here on the farm or something else in town, we can move some stuff around in mah room so ya could stay here with me” Applejack leapt onto Dave and gave him a hug so tight he could hardly breathe

“Applejack?” Dave gasped

“Yes sugarcube?” Applejack happily sighed into Dave’s ear

“I need… air”

“Oops heh sorry” Applejack released Dave from her tight grip

“Besides I’ve said I have thought about it” Dave pushed Applejack so she was sat in the same position she was in earlier before Big Mac interrupted them “that doesn’t mean I can”

Applejack smiled at him “Well of course ya can, I’ll be happy knowing you’re with me”

Dave rubbed his eyes ‘why does everypony keep forgetting that I am not a pony?’

“We will have a swell time together” Applejack placed her hooves on either side of Dave’s head, as he moved his hands away from his face

“I didn’t mean it like that, I meant that I HAVE to leave” Dave looked up at the now confused pony “If I stay and you keep acting like this then… you’re throwing so much away”

“Like what?”

“Well… your future, say you met a stallion that you loved and wanted to have children with him, you couldn’t because I would be here and you would be thinking about me rather than yourself”

Applejack gave Dave a smile which almost made his heart break “Well I don’t want any of that stuff, I want ya more than anything”

Dave felt a guilt vice being wrapped around his chest as he tried to resist looking at Applejack but found his gaze continuously draw to her green eyes “but what about your friends? What will they do if they found out?”

“Well I won’t tell them because I think Rarity may like ya a bit” Applejack hummed as she thought if any of her other friends liked Dave as well

‘A BIT?!’

Applejack placed a hoof on Dave’s mouth as he opened it to talk “Now I don’t want to hear anymore about our relationship tonight unless ya gonna make it good and not bad”

‘RELATIONSHIP?! Oh Applejack not you too’ Dave knew Twilight and Rarity were expecting the same thing, but the others were still a mystery to him

“So… my brother is ok with us being in here, so long as we try and keep it quiet” Applejack removed her hoof from Dave’s lips “So what are we gonna do now?”

Meanwhile…

Princess Luna took some of the clutter away from her desk, it was mainly some of the small tools she used to repair Dave’s watch, but now that she gave it back these tools were no longer required

“He seemed to like his gift” she mumbled to herself as she placed all the tools in a small draw

A small knock came from her door “Enter” Luna called out

One of her dark armoured guards stepped in saluting “Your majesty, it is time for you to raise the moon”

“Thank you, tell my sister I am on my way” She quickly made sure everything was neat before leaving her room

As she walked towards the large balcony behind the throne room the orange sun shone through the various glass windows, creating a variety of different colours that bathed the grand room

“Ah Luna” Celestia happily smiled at her sister “how was your sleep?”

“I slept… reasonably well after you sent our guests away this morning” Luna walked beside her sister “I’m ready”

Both sisters gently flapped their large wings and flew a short distance off the ground, both facing the sun. Celestia’s horn glowed a bright, golden yellow and the sun finally pushed it’s way beneath the horizon, once it disappeared Luna’s horn glowed a powerful, dark purple and the dim light of the moon began to rise from where the sun had set.

Once both princesses were satisfied that their role was complete they gently landed back onto the marble floor.

“Luna I have to ask you” Celestia looked away from the sky and towards her younger sister “Why this sudden infatuation with Dave?”

Luna looked at her hooves that rested within royal attire “He treats me differently”

“How so?” Celestia sat down next to Luna

“He… treats me like a true friend and not like the princess that I am” She tapped the crown that rested on her head “He looked through all this and only saw the good that I do with my moon”

“You have friends with Twilight Sparkle and the other elements” Celestia tried to reassure but Luna shook her head

“This was different, Dave talked with me, not about me, my duties or me being a princess” She rested her head on her big sister “I could feel him happy just being near me”

Celestia rested her head on top of Luna’s “Did that make you happy?”

“Yes, very much so” Luna smiled as she remembered first seeing Dave sitting under her tree

Celestia gently bit her bottom lip “Did you kiss him?”

Luna nodded even though her sister already knew

“What was it like?”

Luna pulled her head away in shock “Tia! Why would you want to know such a thing?”

Celestia gently rubbed her cheek “I apologise, I was just curious” she nervously replied

Luna moved around uncomfortably “well it felt… good… great even” she remembered that night almost every day “I’m ashamed to say that I kissed him first, but the way he accepted me sent a rush down my body and I felt myself wanting to be there forever”

Celestia nodded slightly “So that’s when you went your separate ways for the night?”

“Yes, I believe you remember the rest” Luna relaxed once her short description was done

“Yes I remember” Celestia gave Luna a hug before they both departed for their separate tasks, Luna to go attend her duties and Celestia walked to her bedroom.

As Celestia walked into her bedroom she removed her gold crown, necklace and shoes and placed them on her dresser “why did I have to ask?” the white alicorn muttered under her breath in shame

Celestia already knew what Luna liked about Dave but she wanted to hear it for herself. Celestia remembered when Dave gave her a hug out of sheer happiness of her doing her duty, not to mention the feeling the kiss had left on her. Nopony had treated her like that.

Everypony called her princess or talked to her with nothing but deep respect in their voices, Twilight still treated her like this on the odd occasion but that had taken years to get this far.

Celestia climbed into her bed and rested a hoof on her cheek again “Treated like a true friend?” She reflected on her sister’s words but the final description still gnawed at the back of her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning…

Celestia and Luna landed on the floor to the balcony again, the rising sun shone light down upon Canterlot and the magnificence of the castle itself.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything more to eat?” Celestia asked “you hardly ate any lunch today”

“I’m fine sister” Luna smiled at her “I was just thinking about what we talked about last night”

Celestia followed Luna back inside and walked with her back up to Luna’s room “How so?”

“Well I know I can’t be with anypony because of… time but Dave makes me happy so I was wondering if he could visit some point in the future” Luna stepped into her room and turned to look at her sister

Celestia smiled warmly “Of course he can, I would enjoy meeting him again, last time I didn’t talk to him much directly”

“That is good to hear” Luna began to close her door “Good morning Tia”

“Good morning Luna, sleep well” Celestia turned and walked the short trip upstairs to her room

As she stepped in she saw her desk piled with work, she had been taking on some of Luna’s work to distract herself from Dave, but before she could sit down to begin her mountain of paperwork a knock came from her door

“You may enter” she called out turning to face Strong Shield who stepped in saluting

“Your highness, the report made yesterday about the strange cave has been reported to have a new addition to the mysterious activities that are distressing the nearby town” Strong Shield passed a letter to her

“What has happened now?” The princess opened the letter

Dear Princess Celestia

I regret to inform that the cave that has been causing a disturbance for a nearby town has had another issue occur.

As well as the violent shaking ground and the loud noises coming from the entrance, it appears the cave is now releasing a large amount of hot gases which prevents us getting close to the opening

We shall stay near the cave and report any further developments

Celestia closed the letter and added it to the pile on her desk “this needs to be resolved soon” she said irritably

Strong Shield saluted again “if I may make a suggestion”

“Proceed” Celestia always wanted to hear another pony’s input

“Send a small team into the cave to investigate inside the cave, equipped with appropriate equipment”

“No, I shall not risk anypony who may be harmed, the reports state unpredictable behaviour” She looked at her guard “what if a situation occurs that your men aren’t equipped for?”

“They will have to be careful your majesty” Strong Shield knew the risks but always thought his men could handle anything

“My decision is still no” she looked at the letter again before replacing it at the top of the pile

“So what do you suggest?”

Celestia rummaged her brain for any ideas ‘the smaller the group going in the better, they need to be able to adapt to any problems which may arise and make it back out’ An idea popped into her mind “No I can’t” She tried to dismiss the idea but the more she tried the more it made sense

“I have to report to my other duties, forgive me your majesty” Strong Shield saluted again and departed closing the door behind him

Celestia sighed and levitated a clean parchment and quill over to her “I hope I am right” she began to write a letter and stopped occasionally to try and think of an alternate option. After a few minutes of writing she sent the letter away using her magic.

Meanwhile…

Dave fell to his back drenched in sweat and panting heavily as Applejack laid down onto his chest giggling slightly between deep breaths

“Aww one more time… please Dave” Applejack looked up at Dave who rolled his eyes before getting to his feet again

“Fine… last time though” Dave picked Applejack up by her waist and held her close to his face “ready?”

Dave’s grip tightened as Applejack let a grin spread across her face “ready”

Dave kneeled down slightly to get the right amount of power he wanted into his push

His arms extended and his grip loosened as he pushed Applejack upwards over the roof of the barn. She twirled in midair and tapped the roof with her hooves before beginning her decent on the other side. Dave meanwhile had quickly dashed to the other side and waited for Applejack, who came falling back into Dave’s waiting arms.

“alright I’m done now” Dave sighed as he sat down allowing Applejack to stand on her own again “after the first hundred throws I began to get tired”

“Alright sugarcube ya can rest now” Applejack gave him a quick kiss “I bet I can find something ya can’t throw over mah barn”

“It’s a challenge I am willing do” Dave smiled as she gave him another kiss ‘how did I manage to get out of that situation? Thank god she is the competitive type’

Applejack watched as the sun began to steadily rise “Do ya reckon there is still time for some time inside the barn?” She gazed into Dave’s eyes longingly

“Mornin” Big Mac called happily as he stepped out to greet the two of them

“Guess not” Applejack mumbled to herself before looking at the intruder to her moment, then a sly grin intensified as and idea came to her mind “Hey Dave?”

“Yes Applejack?” Dave replied

“Do ya reckon ya could throw Big Mac?”

“Throw me where?” Big Mac asked regretting leaving the safety of his bed

“Jus’ come here a sec” Applejack was going to make her brother pay for ruining the moment