"Ahhhh!" Valley fell back in her chair and patted her belly with a hoof. "Applejack, that was delicious! You are such a great cook."
"Why, thank you. I appreciate it. You up fer' seconds?" Applejack smiled and offered a slice of apple pie to Valley.
"No, I couldn't. But thank you." Valley flapped her wings and rose from her seat. "Stryker said he would show me around Ponyville today, and I don't want to disappoint him." She opened the door and turned back to Boxing and Applejack. "But you guys have fun." She vanished in a blur of grey.
Applejack darted a gaze to her lover. "So... Bumble Bee?" Boxing's faced went bright red with embarrassment.
"It's a nickname. You know cause...Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Boxing gave shy smile, Applejack smiled, she loved it when he gave that innocent look. "Come on, don't look at me like that." He spoke up.
"Sorry, I jus' love when you give me that look." Applejack leaned in a planted a kiss on his lips, Boxing returned the action and parted his lips darting his tongue across her lips. As she invited it in, she moaned lightly, she was loving the familiar taste of salt and honey. After a moment Applejack pulled back and stared into his eyes.
"Y'all wanna roll around in th' hay?" Applejack kissed his cheek.
"Are you sure, I don't want to hurt th-"
"Will ya' quit worrying. It's a foal, not a balloon, ya' won't pop it. Now come here." Before her knew it, Applejack led him upstairs to her bedroom, he knew how to get to it himself, he just loved playing along. Her door opened and Applejack pushed him inside with some force, he launched onto her bed, a familiar place to him. He gave her a sultry look and she walked up to join him.
Climbing into the bed and under the covers was an easy task for her, she was instantly greeted by wandering hooves and a deep loving kiss. She moaned as he pressed into it, one quick maneuver as she pulled back and she was on top of him, straddling with one leg on each side of him and her front hooves placed on his chest.
"APPLEJACK?" Shouted a small filly's voice from the doorway. Applejack roughly turned her whole body around to see who was there and in the process nearly crushed Boxing's fully erect member. OUCH!
"Apple Bloom?!" Applejack lifted the quilt to cover herself up to her neck, as if to cover up her shame. "Ain't you never heard of knockin'?" She shouted.
"The door was open!" Little Apple Bloom protested. OUCH!
"Well. Shut the door Ah'm busy."
"Applejack maybe you could- Ow!" Boxing winced in pain.
"Oh! Ah'm so sorry Box." She lifted herself off of him and sat beside him." She looked back to Apple Bloom. "Now, go on and play with yer' friends or sumthin'."
"But Big Mac says he needs Boxing's help real quick like."
"Well tell Big Macintosh that it's gonna have to wait."
"AJ, maybe I should go see what he needs." Boxing sat up and spoke again, Applejack pushed him back to the bed with a hoof.
"No, Y'all are gonna stay here and rut me." She turned back to her younger sister. "Apple Bloom you tell ya' big lug brother that Boxin' is gonna be a half hour."
"Ok, sis." Apple Bloom started to close the door and leave.
"Apple Bloom, wait." Boxing called out, she stopped and turned back. "Make that forty five minuets."
"Ok, Boxing, Ah'll tell him." She closed the door and galloped off, Applejack looked at Boxing and he gave her a wink.
***
Boxing walked out of the Apple Family house with a wide smile on his face, more than forty five minuets passed while he was... occupied. And that made Big Macintosh furious. Boxing saw the red farm pony walk slowly towards him.
"Hey Big Mac? Apple Bloom said you needed me for something?" Macintosh just ignored him and continued walking passed him, "Uh, Mac?" Boxing followed him.
"It don't matter now Box."
"What do you mean?"
Big Macintosh stopped and craned his head back to Boxing. "You had one job Box! One!" The rest of his body turned to face him. "Ah' sent Apple Bloom to get y'all attention cause I had to herd up the pigs that escaped from the drove. I don't want to know what you were doin' fer' two hours, but if you want to continue workin' on this here farm, I need you to listen to everything I say in future." Macintosh's face was a dead serious look that almost scared Boxing.
Two hours? Really?
"Mac, I'm sorry." Boxing apologized.
"Don't worry none, we'll call it a day. If you need me Ah'll be in the smoke house. Ah' need a good soak after chasin' all them pigs around." And with that he trotted off.
"What'd Big Mac want?" Applejack voice cooed from the front porch step.
"He really needed my help herding the pigs, but we were busy." Boxing trotted up to her.
"Oh!" she caught on.
"Yeah."
"Well, what about Winona? She's a great herder." Applejack said the first excuse she could think of.
"AJ, you know he's not one for words. He didn't say much."
"You're right." Applejack leaned in and pressed her lips to his, she let out a soft moan as the taste of salt and honey assaulted her tongue. She pulled back before sinking any further into euphoria. "Mmm, ya' taste like honey."
"You taste like apples... as always." He pecked her on the cheek.
It suddenly dawned on Applejack, she had the best idea she had ever had in a while. "I got it!" She proclaimed.
"Got what?" Boxing raised an eyebrow.
"A name fer' the foal." She paused. "Honey Apple."
Honey Apple?
"Well, I can't say I like it. But, it far better than what I wanted to call her. I was going with Apple Punch. Get it? Cause..." He stepped back and reared into his hind legs and threw some quick jabs into the air. Applejack looked at him with a blank stare on her face, Boxing's jabs slowed as he saw her expressionless face. "What? I thought it was a great name."
"Macintosh hit you in the head? This is a child's name, not a pun you can make jokes about."
"Alright, Honey Apple it is.
***
The next day.
"Applejack! Applejack! Wake up! Today's the day!" Applejack heard the familiar voice of a small filly, at first she thought it was an earthquake. When she pried open her eyes, she saw Apple Bloom on her bed, bouncing up and down in excited glee. "Hnnngg." Applejack groaned. "Apple Bloom what're you doin'?" A sleeping Boxing shifted under the sheets uncomfortably.
"Today's the day Applejack. The rodeo!" Applejack pulled the blanket over herself in an attempt to block out the noise and return to the land of sleep. "Just think about it! All the food! All the games! All the different kinds of animals!" Apple Bloom crossed them off her mental list as she imagined them in her mind.
Applejack peaked out from her darkness, her bedside clock read 8:43. "Ung... Apple Bloom, why ain't you left fer' school yet?"
"Ah'm leavin' sis, I just wanted you know about tonight." Apple Bloom smiled.
"Well now Ah' know, leave me t' mah' sleep." She rolled up into a ball, taking comfort in the soft warm blanket.
"Sweet dreams sis." Applejack grunted as Apple Bloom quietly closed the door as she left the room.
"You know she loves you." Boxing stirred from his sleep.
"Ah' know." She wrapped her arms around Boxing and attempted to sleep once more.
***
That evening, at the rodeo.
Every pony walked side by side, Applejack and her siblings, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh. Boxing walked beside Applejack and beside him was his brother Stryker, and Rarity. Sweetie Belle, who had taken a fondness to Valley Wind, was perched on her back. Riding her like a common pet, but having a blast at the same time. Valley had a camera hung around her neck which she used every so often to take photographs.
"Wow! This is fantastic." Applejack exclaimed. "It seems every year they manage to out-do themselves."
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself Applejack." Boxing smiled, he turned to see Stryker and Rarity who had fallen behind them. "Uh, Stryker?" He saw Stryker standing next to his lover, Rarity was freaking out over the amount of mud around the area. Small cries for help escape her mouth, Stryker looked back to his brother and put his hoof to his face, sighing in embarrassment.
"Eew! Disgusting! Get it away! Away!" The white mare cried.
"We'll catch up." Stryker said. "Rarity! Will you please calm down? It's only a bit of mud."
"Only a bit? ONLY A BIT?!"
"Sweetheart please." Stryker smiled nervously, Rarity face was starting to glow with rage. The rest of the group ignored it and walked off, leaving Rarity and Stryker to their arguing.
"Anyway... So Applejack? What would you like to do first?" Boxing asked her.
"Well, Ah' reckon we shoul-"
"Applejack! Applejack! Can me an' Sweetie Belle go pet the animals?" Apple Bloom interrupted.
"Go on, have fun! Don't get into any trouble." Applejack answered.
"We promise." They said in unison as they vanished instantly in a puff of dust.
"Alright, bucking contest it is!" Applejack cheered.
"Applejack! Remember what I said about you and Rarity?" Boxing spoke.
"A lady never spits?" She answered.
"No! Not that. You can't ride. Not in your condition, remember?"
"Ah' remembered. What Ah' mean to say is; we can still watch, I wanna' see Big Macintosh take on th' champion title. Not many in th' Apple Family have champion titles." Applejack said.
Really?
"Uh... Applejack. You hold a champion title. Remember Manehatten? And I don't want to toot my own horn but," Boxing buffed up his chest and knocked his hoof on it as if knocking on a heavy door. "middle weight boxing champion of Equestria for six years. Well... Until I quit anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Big Mac?! You up to it." She turned to her older brother.
"Eeyup."
I just got an idea!
"Big Mac? Can I talk to you for a moment?"
The red workhorse looked back to the rest of the group. "Excuse us." He walked to a nearby bush where Boxing started talking. "I have a great idea. Tonight is the night." Boxing whispered. "I'm entering the rodeo."
"Y'all are you sure 'bout this? Have you ever done this before?" Big Macintosh whispered back.
"Well... No, but how hard could it be?" Boxing smiled.
"Alright, if'n you wanna' do this, Ah' won't stop you. But here's a tip; Don't let go of the rope. And don't lean too far forward or too far backwards. You'll throw yer' balance off. Counter it by leaning the opposite direction." Big Macintosh took his leave and returned to the group.
"Was he hitting on you? Cause I can have a chat with him." Valley Wind hovered over to Big Macintosh.
"Nothing you need ta' worry yourself about. Just a talk, stallion to stallion." Big Macintosh replied. The group continued walking to the spectator stands, Big Macintosh stopped and cleared his throat. "Me and Box are gonna' go register. Have fun."
"Wait! Box?!" Stryker shouted. "Are you really going to enter this rubbish-er... competition."
"Yeah, why not. It'll be fun."
"Hypocrite." Applejacks voice boasted.
"AJ, Sweetheart, you're pregnant. I however, am perfectly healthy." Boxing flexed in an attempt to rub it in. "Who knows, maybe by some miracle I might get first place?" Applejack laughed. "Don't make me laugh Box." She wiped her face with a hoof.
Wow, what a confidence killer.
"Let's go sign up Box." Big Macintosh spoke.
***
Boxing Glove and Big Macintosh stood in line, waiting to register. There were four others waiting with them, "Amazin', more ponies signin' up than last year." Big Macintosh said.
"What? How many usually sign up?" Boxing asked.
"Well last year it was five. Although Ah' can't say Ah' recognise any of 'em this year." Big Macintosh said after identifying the other competitors one by one.
"MAKE WAY FOR THE CHAMP!" Yelled a raspy voice.
"Oh Celestia..." Big Macintosh sighed to himself. Behind him a cyan pegasus with a vibrant rainbow mane floated. "Rainbow, for the love of apples, don't embarrass me."
"Well, get used to it! When I whoop your flank at this rodeo, you'll go home with nothing but embarrassment." Rainbow flexed her wings and kissed her biceps.
Well... this is going to be interesting.
Some time later, all the contestants had signed up and were waiting to be called up to take their turn. Before he knew it, Boxing was called up. "Come on! I don't have all day."
"Oh... Right, sorry." Boxing approached the bull and looked at his bare back. "Uh... Where's the saddle."
"You must be new at this. Just get on! It ain't sexual, let's just get this over with." The bull grunted.
"Alright." Boxing draped one leg over the bulls back and adjusted himself, he gripped the rope in his front hooves. "I'm ready." This was it, the moment where he either embarrassed himself or by some miracle survived and made an impression on everypony.
The bull bucked and made it's way into the centre of the dirt circle, the area was decorated with puddles of mud, which splattered around. Boxing gripped the rope tighter, in reality, only a few seconds passed, but in his mind it felt like minuets of fear-filled bull riding. Twisting his body left, the bull bucked again, hard. Boxing lost balance but quickly regained it. Big Mac was right after all. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his stomach.
"Ha-ha!" Boxing laughed.
"Hey kid, don't laugh, this ain't -Hruh!- no amusement ride." He bucked again to the right. Usually by this point most first timers would have lost grip or fallen off due to poor balance. Every time he felt like letting go, he just gripped tighter, when he leaned too far forward or too far back, he countered it by leaning the other way.
This is SO much fun!
"Hahaha! Wooo!" Boxing howled, it was clear to the on-lookers he was loving this.
"Lookit 'im go!" Applejack shouted from where she sat, Valley looked to her. "It's like he's riding a roller coaster, he loving it!"
Boxing continued to ride the bull as it continued bucking harshly in every direction, he heard a loud bell that signified he had beaten the current place holder for lasting the longest without falling off. Woooo! This is so much FUN! The bull bucked harder than ever before, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his forehead. Boxing felt himself starting to lose grip, he clenched his hooves tighter.
The bull bucked again, and again, and again. Finally he could feel the gaps of time where his riders grip loosened, the bull was close to throwing him off and he knew it.
"AJ!" Boxing called out, she could barely hear him but she replied regardless.
"What?!"
"Throw me your hat!" He shouted back.
"Mah' hat?!" She was confused, why would boxing ask such a strange task of her at a time like this.
"Yes! Throw it to me!"w
Applejack took off her iconic hat and gripped it in her teeth. Craning her neck, she threw the hat. As luck would have it she managed to throw it perfectly, Boxing released one of his hooves from the rope and caught the hat. "Whoa!" Boxing felt himself lose balance. "I got you now kid!" The bull bucked again, almost causing Boxing to lose his grip completely.
"Val! Take a photo!" Boxing shouted. "Quick!"
"Are you mad?!" She yelled back.
"Just do it, I'm-Oof!" Another strong buck caused him to lose balance again, Boxing countered and leaned forward. "I'm starting to loose grip!"
"Ug, fine." Valley reached for the camera hung around her neck with booth hooves and held it up to her eye, she aligned the shot. "Say honey!"
"JUST TAKE THE DAMN PHOTO, QUICK!" Boxing shouted back as he lost grip of one hoof and waved it in the air.
A bright white flash was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.
To Be Continued...