Chapter Seven

The past few days had been heaven to Laron. While his wounds healed, he got to spend all his time lounging around on the couch, being waited on by the Apple family. It was a delightful shift of lifestyle from the one he had known. He was almost appreciative of his injuries, as they let him enjoy a lifestyle he believed not to be too different from the Princesses'. His thoughts would constantly be interrupted however, by the reminder that once he got better, it was back to working on the farm. A shame, really. He had really been enjoying such comfortable living.

Applebloom had been spending a lot of time with him while he recovered. He certainly didn't mind it. Having his own little nurse obeying his every command, who could object to that? Besides, she is kind of cute. I guess. He didn't shy away those thoughts anymore. He would often just sit there staring at Applebloom as she would re-wrap his bandages, until she looked back at him, and they would both blush and look away. It was an adorable sight, really.

Applebloom certainly didn't mind either. She really liked spending time around him, even if they weren't saying anything. She didn't know why she became so taken with the pegasus, but she didn't care. The warm feeling she got around him was nice. Applejack didn't seem to share Applebloom's enthusiasm towards Laron, though. She took notice of the little filly's infatuation with their house guest, and kept trying to lecture her younger sister.

"Ah'm just sayin' you should be careful with that one. He ain't as innocent as he looks." Applejack hated having to repeat this to her sister. She never listened, so why did she even bother trying to get through to her anymore?

"C'mon sis, how can ya be so mean? He's hurt, and all ah'm tryin' ta do is help him, so why're ya so worried 'bout it?" Applebloom hated having to repeat this to her sister. She never listened, so why did she even bother trying to get through to her anymore?

"Ah've seen the way ya look at one 'nother. All ah'm tryin' ta do is look out fer ya. There's some things ya don't 'bout him, and I don't want to see mah little sister get hurt." Applejack's tone had shifted from stern to concerned. It wasn't so much that she didn't trust Laron, but rather all the bad luck that seemed to follow the little colt. She didn't want Applebloom getting involved in any of it.

"I can look out fer mahself!"

Applejack was shocked at the sudden anger in her sister's voice, and the dead cold stare she was giving her. Applejack sighed.

"Ah know, ah know. Just... Promise me you won't go rushin' into nothin', alright?" Applejack bent down and hugged the yellow filly. "Ah don't want to have ya gettin' hurt too", Applejack whispered in her ear. The two separated their hug, and Applebloom looked up to her sister with a smile.

"Ah promise." Applebloom once again trotted off to go check on her patient again.

Nearing the door, however, she heard someponies inside, talking. One voice was clearly Laron's, but she couldn't make out the other voice very clearly. Applebloom motioned to push the door open, but found the door being suddenly being pushed towards her. Quickly backing away, the door reveled Rainbow Dash.

"What the hay are ya doin' here, Dash? Here to see Applejack?" Applebloom had more questions, like what she was talking to Laron about, but she decided she shouldn't be too nosy.

"What? Oh- um, no. But I guess I should talk to her too. Excuse me." Rainbow walked past Applebloom, not bothering to look at her once.

Applebloom trotted over to Laron, laying on his side on the couch, the same position he had been in the past few days. He opened his eyes to see Applebloom's gleaming smile boring into him.

"So what were ya talkin' to Dash about?"

---

Laron laid on the couch, resting peacefully, letting the sun's rays beat down on his coat, the warmth relaxing him further. Until of course, a tapping noise arose from a nearby window. He slowly brought open his eyes, letting out a long yawn. He was far too comfortable to be in any hurry to find out the source of the noise. He lazily shifted his head towards the window, seeing a certain rainbow maned pegasus floating outside the other side of the window.

He peeled himself off the side of the couch, wincing with each muscle movement; he was still a little sore. Laron pushed the window open, and Rainbow Dash wasted no time in flying into the room.

"Hey." She said flatly.

"Hey." His voice mirrored her own.

The two stared at each other for a moment, as though waiting for the other to start the conversation.

"I'm sorry." Dash's voice wasn't very audible, but he heard it nonetheless.

"What for? You didn't do this." He looked down at his tightly wound bandages.

"No, I mean- I didn't mean to walk out on you like that. That wasn't cool of me." The pegasus mare had a solemn expression on her face. She really feels bad for me? He was surprised.

"Uh... Don't worry about it. I would've done the same thing." In actuality, he wouldn't have, but he wasn't about to get mad. She was apologizing; that was good enough for him.

"So... We're cool, then?"

He chuckled a little as he spoke. "Yeah, we're cool." Rainbow's expression immediately picked up into a beaming grin.

"Awesome! So... I was gonna go practice later. You wanna come watch?"

Laron's head dropped. "I would like to, but..." he glanced down at his bandages again. "I don't think I'll be able to."

The pegasus mare's face suddenly turned red at the sudden realization. "Oh, right. Sorry. So what happened to you anyways? Applejack just told me you were hurt."

Laron made his slow, painful walk back to the couch. Rainbow Dash joined him, sitting next to him while he told his tale. After he finished, the cyan pegasus sat there for a minute, seemingly staring at the wall.

"So... Want me to beat him up for you?" The sudden return to conversation caught Laron off guard. He looked up at Dash with a quizzical expression. She was chuckling at the thought.

"Uh, no, that's okay. I would rather just leave this alone. Thanks." He didn't really mean that, of course. He would have loved to see Baritone get what's coming to him. But, he expected that would just lead Baritone to do something worse. He really didn't want to make things any worse than they already were.

"Alright, if you say so. Well, I gotta get going. See you around?" Rainbow glanced back at him as she trotted off towards the door.

"Yeah, see ya."

---

As much as he loved lazing around all day, it felt nice to be able to comfortably stretch his legs without a shock of pain shooting through his body. All of a sudden, running around the farm seemed like a lot of fun. But, this also meant he had to get back to work. Lucky for him, Applejack had already explained Laron's situation to the rest of her family. She had to leave out certain bits when she spoke to Applebloom, though.

It was a real load off his mind, though. They all welcomed him in with open arms, whereas he was expected them give him nothing but dirty looks and harsh language. It was like he was part of a happy family again, and he was loving every minute of it.

Today, Applejack wanted Laron's help bucking apples. This didn't make a lot of sense to him, though. How in Equestria was he supposed to help? She doesn't really think I can buck trees, does she? Lucky for him, he wasn't actually going to be doing any work today. Applejack just needed to talk to him, and this was the best way to ensure they had some privacy.

"So uh, how exactly am I supposed to help?" Laron really had no idea. Am I just picking them up after they fall? That hardly seems like a job that requires two ponies.

"Ah don't really need yer help, ah just needed tah talk ta ya." The farm pony's voice wavered when she spoke. She sounded almost... nervous?

"Oh. Alright, so what did you need to talk to me about?" Instantly a multitude of horrible scenarios played out in his head. She's kicking me out isn't she! No, she's going lock me up in the apple cellar! No, wait! She's gonna-

"It's 'bout Applebloom."

Oh. "Oh... What about her?" Alright, you can calm down now. What were you thinking? You need to relax, Applejack isn't going to-

"As family, she's real important ta me. An' I don't wanna see her gettin' hurt."

Oh Celestia this pony is going to kill me.

Applejack sighed. "Ah never could stop 'er once she gets an idea in her lil' head, but I like ta see her happy." Applejack leaned in close to Laron, to the point where he could feel her hot breath on his face. "An' that means you like to see her happy. Do we got an understandin'?"

Yep. She's definitely going to kill me at some point. No doubt about it. "Yes, ma'am." He nodded his head furiously up and down. Sweat that had been collecting on his face flew off in every direction.

"Good ta hear." Applejack's tone lightened up again, and she wore a faint smile again. "Now since you can't really help me none, an' everypony thinks yer helpin' me, I s'pose ya can just wander 'round town if ya like."

Laron jumped with excitement at the prospect of another lazy afternoon. Then he remembered his last stroll through town. He wasn't very likely to survive another encounter with Baritone.

"Actually, I think I might just go help Applebloom. Where is she?" The dark blue pegasus put on his most sincere smile as he looked into Applejack's eyes.

Applejack chuckled a little. "Uh, she's at school. Remember? Just cuz you ain't gotta be stuck there, don't mean anypony else gets the luxury."

The words stung a bit. He never did get to know what school was like. He knew the orange mare meant the comment as nothing more than a joke, but it didn't make it bother him any less.

"Oh, uh, right. Silly me."

Maybe I will go into town today after all...

---

Laron didn't know how much time he had spent pacing, mulling over the decision of whether or not to chance the trek into town, for fear of running into Baritone. Eventually, his nerves got the best of him, and so he opted to stay home, waiting eagerly for Applebloom to return.

When the front door opened, Laron instinctively jumped from the couch to his hooves, trotting off towards the little yellow filly he had been waiting to arrive. He was met however, with a sour scowl. Applebloom did not acknowledge his existence, but instead angrily stomped up the wooden staircase, the boards creaking with each thud of her hooves, muttering to herself. He was befuddled; Not really knowing how to react to what had just happened, he sat there, letting his mind process the next course of action.

He chose to go talk to Applebloom. Surely she wasn't mad about anything he had done, so he had nothing to lose in asking her about it, right? He made his way up the staircase, and slowly pushed open the door to Applebloom's bedroom, revealing the site of the little filly, curled up on her bed, face buried deep in a pillow.

"Can I... Come in?" Laron asked nervously. His swelling confidence had been completely drained by the dead silence of the room. Applebloom grumbled something incomprehensible, and Laron took it as a good of a sign as he was going to get that it was okay to enter the room. He trotted over to her and brought himself up onto the bed.

"I'm guessing something bad happened at school?" His heart pounded in his chest waiting for a response. It didn't help that the farm filly wasn't giving him one, either. Just before he decided to ask the question again, Applebloom slowly nodded her head, which was still stuck between the folds of her pillow.

"Would you- I mean, I don't mean to pry, but- Well, would you mind telling me what happened?" Stop being so bucking nervous! It's not like she's yelling at you... Yet.

Slowly, the yellow filly brought her head up from the pillow, and turned her gaze to meet his. Her face was a bright red. Not from tears, though. No, she looked angry. She must be really upset with somepony. Well, as long as it's not me...

"Silver Spoon." Applebloom said flatly, before crashing her head back down into her pillow, and letting out a muffled scream.

Silver Spoon? Alright. I think I know how I can fix this. I'm sure she'll be real proud of me after this!

Laron left the room without a word, and set off out the front door, heading towards town. He spent all day lazing about on the farm, but now he had a mission.