Sweetie Belle drifted slowly and silently to the sleep. Big Macintosh, who had been on the brink of sleep as he lay beside her to warm her in the cold night, noticed this and stood up. He never stopped checking back on her to make sure she was comfortable and still asleep. She laid there, in her own little world, no fear, no cares. Big Mac loved the expression on her face. He loved her. As he began to turn around, he saw her move and sigh as a smile spread across her smooth face. He turned around and grabbed a large pile of hay and pushed it over to her.

“That outta keep her warm for the rest of the night.” He nodded as he adjusted the hay to make a sort of manger for his love. He stood and stared at her for what seemed like hours, though most likely only a few seconds, and he grinned. As he finished setting up the hay bed for his lover, he leaned down to her and stroked her mane as he kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I love you Sweetie”

As he began to walk out of the barn, he heard her rustle around, then believed he heard a slight mumble: “Love…too…Mac” He smiled, somehow relieved at this obvious fact that she loved him. She was the one to come to him, and yet he was the one who needed her. He couldn’t tell if things were going good or bad, but he loved everything about it.

He crept out of the barn and closed the gigantic door quietly. As he carefully maneuvered through the yard, he realized that tomorrow was a new day and maybe then he would reveal his forbidden love to everypony in Equestria. He set this though aside, however, as right now he didn’t want to be caught sneaking in from the barn. They would ask questions, and questions required answers. Answers would inevitably lead to revelations; revelations he wasn't ready to let go of.

He approached the back door to the Apple Family abode. The door seemed heavier than usual, and the floor creakier. Nevertheless, he stealthily snuck trough the home, trying to avoid making too much noise. However, he was stopped in his tracks halfway across the living room they had all met together earlier in the day. “Where do ya think ya goin?”

“Apple Bloom! Didn’t see ya there. I was just gonna go upstairs and go to bed. Mighty tired.” He looked up the stairs and began to trot his way up them, but Apple Bloom began again, causing him to halt in place.

“Where were ya all night? I saw ya go in tha barn there, but ya never came out. I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I thought I’d wait here.”

“I was in there feedin tha cows, but I must have fell asleep. That hay out there can be mighty comfortable sometimes.” He looked down, aware at how pitiful his half-lie was.

“Mac, there was another pony there with ya…a mare. She was white, and had purple and pink hair. Mac, what are you hiding? Please, lemme know! I have a feeling I already know, but I wanna here ya say it!”

Big Mac looked down again, and then looked back at Apple Bloom in her eyes. This was the moment he had been dreading, yet he was more ready than ever. “Sweetie Belle.” He continued to look her strait in her orange eyes. “Sweetie Belle was the pony you saw, and she’s still out there, sleeping. We were out there together. She didn’t want to leave me, so I stayed out there to keep her warm. We love each other, and that’s final. Say what you will Bloom, but I love her and she loves me. She’s funny, smart, fancy, but she fits in well with us. There are plenty of things to hate bout our being together, but I’ll let you pick which one you want to throw on me. I love Sweetie Belle, and she loves me.”

“YA DARN RIGHT THERES PLENTY OF THINGS TO HATE!!! First off, she’s gotta be about ten years younger than you, second, she’s my best friend. Big Mac, what the hay were you thinking!?”

“She came to me!”

“Ya couldn’t tell her no!? Mac, she’s TEN…YEARS…YOUNGER THAN YOU! This is gonna get you both killed! I’m not…too mad at either of you, I’m just disappointed and worried bout ya’ll! This is really bad! Really, really bad! This could get you both killed, or worse! Mac, I can’t believe you did this. Wait till I tell AJ.”

“NO!” He ran up and was so close that he could see his own reflection in her eyes. “You will NOT tell anypony. Me and Sweetie were gonna tell some ponies tomorrow, at our own pace, but you can’t do it. Please Bloom. Do it for me? Do it for Sweetie? Please. I love you sis.”

“Ugh fine. Whatever. I won’t tell anypony about you two. Just stay on my good side. I swear to Celestia if I find a reason to rat ya out to all of Equestria, I will. You know I will too." She gave him an evil stare. Blackmail wasn't usually her thing, but this was a different story. This was blackmail to possibly save Sweetie, Big Mac, even the entire Apple family name.
"Fine. But I will NOT run around to do stupid errands that you can do easily. This will not be an excuse for you to lay around and not lift a finger like I know your plannin to do. I got plenty of work to do here, and you do too. So, dont think for a second I'm gonna do both. I'll try to get her to help around a little, but you can’t just have her go straight to work. She's a city pony, not a farm horse like you and me. Though, she'll be happy enough thata she won’t have to hide from you.
Where is AJ anyway? She's usually home by now."

"She's over at the hospital. I don't know why, but it sounded bad. You know me though. Didn't wanna scare the kids and all, so I stayed here and saw 'em to bed. Goldie asked where she was too, told 'er she must've stayed over at Twilight's for a while. She passed right plum out.”

“AJ is gonna be fine. She can handle it. She’s a big girl after all.”

“Yea. I guess you’re right.” She sat down in her chair and began reading a book.

Big Mac began up the stairs and stopped in mid step. “Bloom?”

“What?” Her voice still showed anger, which she had every right to have.

“Thanks. He turned around with a small grin. “Thanks for not going around and telling everypony about me and Sweetie.”

“Ya. Whatever. Just remember what I said. Don’t give me a reason to tell them.” She continued reading her book.

Big Mac continued up the stairs slowly as he thought about all that had happened today. He had found his once unknown love of his life, and realized that she was all he needed. He had fallen in love, and now it was falling apart. This only made his love for Sweetie burn stronger. As he walked by the children’s room, he peeked in. Inside he saw both children in their own beds, and smiled. “No worries. No cares. Just here to live life. I reckon ya’ll got Apple Bloom to thank just as much as ya got youth.” He closed the door silently and trotted down the hall towards his room. As he lay in his bed for the night, he thought about Sweetie. He thought about her soft, tender face, her beautiful mane, and her deep, light green eyes. He thought about the passionate kisses they had, and looked forward to being able to feel her warm face again as he drifted quietly and gently into sleep, just as Sweetie had just a few hours before.

---

The night was dark, cold, and foggy, and through the dense, choking fog, you could faintly see an old gray pegasus mare with a black mane walking quickly through the night. Behind her, you could hardly see a small brown colt with a chocolate brown mane of about four or five years old failing to keep up with the gray mare. “Where are we going mommy?”

The gray pegasus continued to walk, almost to a gallop, down the side walk. Then, she ducked into an even foggier alleyway between a playhouse and apartment complex without warning, leaving the small colt behind. “Mommy?!” The brown colt flapped his wings as hard as possible, wearing himself out to the point of exhaustion. He fell to the ground again and again, unable to even hover for more than a few seconds. Eventually, his still developing wings gave out under the punishment, and he fell again. This time, however, he had managed to move over a few inches, and upon falling, the colt struck his head on a crate and had passed out. The last sight he saw before going completely black was the hard ground rushing towards his face.

The colt awoke in a warm bed, covered up and bandaged. At first, he wondered if it had all been a dream, but the bandages were real, as was the pain. He sat up, and it was accompanied burst of pain through his head. As he slowly looked around the room, he saw a bookshelf, a small window covered with thin curtains, a few potted plants, and a chair. Inside the chair was a lavender colored pony reading a book.

“Who…ouch…who are you?” He held his head and squinted his eyes in order to see her better. She was very pretty, with her very dark purple, strait cut mane, and a lighter purple highlight accompanied by a pink highlight.

The lavender pony jerked her head up with gigantic eyes and a gaped mouth. “Caramel, dear! He’s awake!” She got up and slowly walked over to the bed. “Oh thank Celestia you’re awake. I’m Twilight, Twilight Sparkle in full. My husband, Caramel Apple, will be up here any second. I’m sure your awfully confused.

A caramel colored stallion with hair the color of the colt’s walked up the stairs. Although it hurt to think, even the colt could assume that this was Caramel Apple. “Howdy. Nice to meet ya. Must’ve been a nasty fall ya took. Ya got quite a lump up there on ya head. I’m Caramel Apple, butcha can call me Caramel. You already met my wife, Twilight. Now, son. Can I ask ya watcha think happened? We found ya layin half-dead in an alleyway. We were leavin’ a play, and herd a thud, then we saw ya layin there.”

“Yes. As Caramel went to pick you up, I stayed behind. I heard wings flap, and saw a…fairly large pegasus flying away. It seemed like she was flying away. Anyway, we grabbed you and brought you here, to my library here in Ponyville. I live here. You have been knocked out since about when we found you, until now. We were beginning to worry about you.”

“Thank…you…I’m…I’m…” In the fall he had forgotten his own name. After a few seconds of thinking, he recovered it. “I’m Skylite.”

“Well Skylite, we let all of Equestria know that you are here with us. If nopony comes soon, we’ll just take you in with us. Does that sound ok? Would you like to stay with us?” She got down to his level as he laid in the bed.

“Ye…yes…that’d be great!”

Within four years, he had forgotten that Twilight and Caramel were not his real parents. He had grown accustomed to the fact that they were all of a different breed: Caramel being a Earth Pony, Twilight being a unicorn, and himself being a pegasus. He eventually never realized that he was any different than them and simply knew how to use his wings. He grew larger, and was eventually allowed to work on the farm with his “father”, Caramel. His newfound “mother” Twilight, however, attempted to keep him nearby to work on his studies.

Another six years later, he sat crying in the waiting room as his hero was dragged away to the mental ward. The scar on the side of his head, which he had completely forgotten about, was pounding with pain as he sat in the chair sobbing with Applejack attempting to comfort him. “AJ, I love you like a sister, but I just realized something.”

“What’s that Sugarcube?” She looked him in the eyes and stared at him as she asked the question.

“Why didn’t anypony tell me about the concussion? My mother leaving me? Twilight and Caramel finding me half-dead in an alley? Why was all of this kept a secret? Maybe to soften the blow, but now it’s hitting harder because I had to find out myself this late in my life. Why did nopony love me enough to tell me the truth? WHY?” An angry expression spread across his face.

“Sky, how did you find that out?” She was completely confused.

“I don’t know. I just suddenly got this throbbing in my head, and then I kinda blacked out for a few seconds. Next thing I know, I had all these memories clogging my brain, and they’re about me growing up.”

“Ugh. I don’t know exactly what happened, but from what I’ve heard, your mother apparently left you in a dark ally and you somehow knocked yourself out. Twi, and Caramel adopted you, and you forgot everything. I guess cause of the concussion, and cause of the young age you were too. I don’t know why nopony told you, but they had their reasons.”

“But what was the reason!?” he looked away and growled. “Fine. I don’t wanna be here anymore. I’m leaving, follow if you have to.” He stormed out the door, leaving no trail for Applejack to follow.

“I reckon he’s gonna go back to the library.” She reared back, and ran full speed towards Twilight’s home.

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