Arc turns to Applejack as the credits begin to roll.
“How was that?”
Applejack smiles and nods. “Great movie!”
“Glad you liked it.”
“So what happened after that?”
Arc shrugs. “No idea.”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “That was it?”
“Well… they did make a sequel a number of years ago. But I never saw it.”
“Can we watch that next time?”
“Sure.”
He moves to stand up, but his date doesn’t.
“Are you alright, Applejack?”
“Never better. Why do you ask?”
“You’re still clinging to me.”
Applejack sighs and smiles contentedly. “Yeah. I’m doing it because this just feels right.
“I do like holding you.”
“And I like being held by you.”
They sit there for a time just holding one another. Eventually Applejack breaks the silence.
“Arc?”
“Yes?”
“I… um… I just… wanted to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“Um… th-thanks.”
“What for?”
“Being there when I need you.”
“That’s what people whom care about one another do though.”
“You kept me safe from those punks back there. Even risking your own safety to do so.”
“I suppose I did. But at the same time I believe you could have taken them on.”
Applejack grins. “Maybe. However it just felt good to know someone would go that far for me.”
Arc smiles. “And you’re worth fighting for, Applejack.”
Leaning down, he kisses her tenderly on top of her head. Smiling, Applejack closes her eyes and grins.
“That’s what I was hoping you’d do.”
Arc chuckles as he strokes her hair. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now actually.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I… guess I was just waiting for the right time.”
Applejack smiles. “That’s sweet, Arc.”
Arc looks away nervously. “Really? I thought it was more along the lines of ‘pathetic’.”
Applejack shakes her head. “It isn’t, no. Quite the opposite really.”
“How so?”
“Because you were thinking of my feelings above your own.”
Arc sighs. “And it kept me from doing it for so long.”
“Believe me, Arc. Any number of stallions would have just rushed in at the chance. But not you. I knew you’d do something like that when the time was right.”
Stroking her cheek, Arc continues to hold her as the credits roll on. As they finish he sighs and looks down at her.
“Time to go.”
“Do we have to?”
Arc nods. “The movie’s done and there might be someone else waiting for this room.”
Applejack groans as she sits up. “I suppose that’s true.”
Looking at the tray, Arc picks up the candy boxes one by one as he puts them in his ring. Applejack puts the empty popcorn tub and drinks into the trashcan. Extending his arm to her, Applejack takes it as they leave the room and walk down the corridor together. Passing the spot where they were attacked Arc looks at the floor.
“Looks like those guys did a pretty good job cleaning up that mess.”
“Either that or some of the staff finished it up.”
Arc shrugs. “In any case, I hope they’ll think twice before trying something like that again.”
“Right.”
Leaving the building together, they head for the Jeep. Applejack holds onto his arm happily.
“That was a date and a half!”
“Yeah. I had a lot of fun with you, Applejack.”
“Think we could go out again sometime?”
Arc nods as they get into the vehicle. “Definitely.”
Returning the way they came the pair pull into the driveway sometime later. Arc parks in the garage and gets out with Applejack. However just as they step out the side door into the backyard a torrential rain hits them. Laughing, they make a run for the door together. Pulling out his keys Arc unlocks it and lets Applejack go in first. Following her inside he slams the door shut behind them as they stand there dripping on the kitchen floor. Chuckling, Arc looks down at himself.
“Well… that’s one way to end a date.”
Applejack grins as she turns to him. “Never a dull moment with you around, Arc.”
“Yes, well… why don’t we get some sleep?”
Applejack nods. “Good idea. After all, tomorrow’s another day.”
“Indeed. Not sure what we’re going to do, but…”
Applejack interrupts him. “How about heading to Shelly’s Kitchen for breakfast?”
“Hungry already?”
“I’d… kinda like to try a cheeseburger. That is, if you think I’m ready.”
Arc nods. “Sure thing.”
Applejack winks. “It’s a date then.”
Arc motions for her to follow him. “Yup.”
Heading upstairs, they part ways at the top. Applejack turns to Arc.
“Hey.”
Arc turns around. “Yes, Applejack?”
“I… uh… guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah. Good night.”
Applejack sighs as she heads to her room. “Night.”
Closing the door behind him, Arc looks down at himself.
“Sure hope this thing doesn’t shrink.”
Taking off his suit, Arc hangs it neatly over a chair to dry. Grabbing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from a drawer he quickly puts them on and turns out the lights. Climbing into bed, Arc pulls the covers up to his chin as he lays down contentedly. Staring up at the ceiling for only a few moments he quickly falls asleep. A short time later however a low rumble rings out as the rain intensifies. A massive flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder that shakes the house rings out. Less than a minute later there is a frantic pounding on Arc’s bedroom door. Opening his eyes, he looks around.
“What the…?”
Turning to flip on the reading lamp next to his bed he finds it inoperable.
“Must’ve lost power.”
Sitting up and casting a Light Spell he calls out.
“Come in!”
Applejack hurries inside wearing nothing but a towel holds loosely in front of her chest. She runs over to him, clearly terrified.
“Woah! Applejack?!”
Applejack breathes heavily as she speaks. “I couldn’t sleep with this storm, so I decided to take a shower!”
“That explains the towel.”
“But just as I finished drying off, the lights went out!”
“The storm must’ve knocked out the power lines somewhere.”
Applejack looks to him pleadingly. “Can… can I sleep here with you?!”
“I… suppose so. But don’t you want to get dressed first?”
As Applejack opens her mouth to speak another crash of thunder rings out. Screaming, she dives under the covers towel and all. Keeping under the blanket Arc pats her head lovingly as he speaks.
“Well, I suppose you’re in here now. Might as well stay.”
“Th-thanks. Sorry for acting like a filly about this.”
“It’s okay. Everyone has their fears, after all.”
She snuggles up to him, but also stays completely under the covers. Arc reaches out with his magic and opens the closet across the room with a Telekinesis Spell. Squinting, he spies an electric lantern on a shelf. Pulling it to himself he flicks a switch before setting it on the nightstand and looking back down at Applejack.
“Is that better?”
Applejack nods. “A bit, yes. But being under these covers with you is still a lot better.”
Arc gently strokes her hair as they lie there together. He feels her body tense with every peel of thunder however.
“Arc?”
“Hm?”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Like I said before, everyone has their fears.”
Applejack shakes her head. “No, no. I mean sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night.”
“It’s fine. After all, a good boyfriend is there when his girlfriend needs them. Not just when it’s convenient.”
“Boyfriend?”
“It’s what humans call someone their dating.”
“I get that. After all, back in Equestria I’d refer to you as my ‘stallionfriend’. But this is the second time you’ve called me your girlfriend.”
“Does that bother you?”
Applejack shakes her head. “Not at all. Quite the opposite actually.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“Yeah. But I do have to ask one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you really view me as someone that you could potentially spend the rest of your life with?”
“Absolutely. But what about me?”
“Huh?”
“Could you see you and I getting married?”
Applejack nods. “I can, yes.”
She sighs before continuing.
“But I can’t imagine why you’d want to though.”
“Oh really?”
“I mean, come on. I’m a total coward when it comes to thunder.”
“Well I think you have quite a few redeeming qualities.”
“Thanks for saying so. But this whole thing is something I’ve been struggling with pretty much my whole life.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really, no.”
Arc nods. “Then we don’t have to…”
Applejack interrupts him. “But I need to.”
“Applejack?”
“Like you said before. We’re going to be sharing both the good times and the bad if we get married.”
She takes a deep breath before continuing.
“Do you remember how I told you about the last time I saw my mother?”
“Yes. You said she was being taken to the hospital.”
“That… was only half of it.”
“Oh?”
“The other part was what happened after that. You see, there was a really big thunderstorm that kept me awake most of the night.”
Applejack struggles to compose herself before continuing.
“And when I woke up the next morning… Granny Smith told me… she said… that my mother had died late that night!”
She begins to cry. Arc puts his arms around her in an effort to console Applejack as she does her best to speak.
“After that… I figured that it was the storm that took my mother’s life. While I know that isn’t true now that I’m all grown up, thunder still haunts me to this day.”
Applejack sighs as she pokes her head out and looks into Arc’s face.
“You must think I’m just a stupid little coward now.”
Arc shakes his head. “Not at all. Losing a parent is a very hard thing for anyone to process. Especially a child. And I should know.”
“You lost your mom too, right?”
Arc grimaces. “Yeah. Liver failure.”
“How’d you move past it?”
“A lot of therapy at the orphanage.”
“Did it help?”
Arc nods. “A lot, yes. That and my friends helped too.”
“Shelly and Lily?”
“And Frank too.”
“Did you tell them?”
“Yeah. It’s something orphans just kinda do for each other. Talking about the circumstances that brought them to the orphanage.”
Applejack sighs. “I… didn’t really have anyone my age to talk to. Everyone was either way too young or too old to understand what I was going though.”
“That’s a shame. It really helped me back then.”
“No one else knows besides you though. And… I’d like it to stay that way please.”
Arc smiles down at her. “Sure. While I suggest talking to the others, or Emerald Dream, I’ll leave the timing completely up to you.”
Applejack appears relieved. “Thanks. It means a lot knowing there’s someone I can trust enough to talk about stuff like this.”
Another crack of thunder crashes overhead. Applejack again buries her face in Arc’s chest fearfully as he does his best to console her. Eventually she looks up again.
“Sorry for bursting in here like this.”
“I don’t mind being woken up for something as important as this though.”
“There’s that, yes. But I meant jumping in your bed without clothes on. I know how you feel about human modesty.”
Arc blushes slightly. “That’s okay. After all, there were certainly… extenuating circumstances that prevented you from getting dressed first.”
They are silent for a time as Arc does his best to comfort Applejack. Eventually she breaks it.
“Arc, I… I need to say something.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve actually been trying to say it for a couple days now.”
“So why haven’t you?”
“Because it’s… not easy for me. This baggage I’ve been carrying of the night my mom died along with my current family responsibilities make it pretty much impossible to have relationships.”
She reaches up and touches his face before continuing.
“But not with you though.”
“I’m happy to be of help.”
“And you are. However with you I just feel so… unguarded. So… so exposed. Like you can see right through me at times.”
“Yes, well… I do believe you and I have chemistry.”
“So do I. That’s why I need to tell you this.”
Taking a deep breath, Applejack looks Arc in the eyes and speaks.
“Arc… I… I just wanted to say that I… I… um… you know…”
She groans before speaking again.
“Even now I just can’t say it!”
Arc smiles at her. “Can I tell you something then?”
“Um… okay.”
He reaches down at puts his hands on her cheeks before continuing.
“Applejack. I just wanted to tell you… that I… I love you.”
Applejack gasps. “You… you do?!”
Arc nods. “Yes.”
“But… but how?! I mean…!”
Arc interrupts her. “Believe me when I say that you’re perfect, Applejack.”
“I’m not good enough for…!”
Putting a finger to her lips, Arc speaks.
“You’re honest, hard-working, caring, nurturing, and also extremely beautiful.”
Applejack looks away sadly. “Not as much as Rarity is though.”
“Both of you are in your own way. But there’s more to your comment than that, isn’t there?”
“Is it that obvious?”
Arc smiles. “Yes.”
“I just… I always wanted to be like her. Beautiful, strong, independent, and… and… have my life together.”
“Believe me when I say that she had to work very hard to get to that point. Both with her business and with Sweetie Belle.”
“But they’re so close!”
“Just like you are with Apple Bloom.”
“We’re... not as tight as you think.”
“Then we’ll have to work on that.”
“We will?”
“Right. After all she and I will be related after the wedding.”
Applejack grins hugely. “You… you mean…?”
Arc nods. “Yes, I want you and Rarity in the herd for sure. That is… if you still want to.”
“Arc… are you…?!”
Arc puts a hand on her face. “Applejack… I’d like it very much... if you’d do me the honor of marrying me one day along with Rarity.”
Applejack squeals happily. “YESYESYESYESYESYES!!!”
Arc chuckles. “I think we’d be really happy together.”
“But… what about the others?”
“I still need to see if we’re really compatible. After all, I don’t want someone making a commitment if they’re not fully sure this is really what they want.”
“So… it might still be just you, me, and Rarity?”
“Maybe. Are you okay with that?”
“Oh, yes. Rarity and I are actually really close. And it’d be great to be married to someone like her. You! You! I meant YOU!”
Arc chuckles. “Kinda right both ways.”
“And you’re okay with this too, right?”
“Completely.”
“Good. After all, we also don’t want you getting into something you don’t want either. And I’ll do my best to get over my past.”
“Woah there, Applejack. The past isn’t something you can just ‘get over’.”
“Why not? You did?”
“I didn’t get over it. I just learned to accept what happened.”
“That sounds like something I’d like for myself too. After all, you and Rarity were able to do it.”
“We’ll all help you through this, Applejack. That is, if you’ll let us.”
“I will, yes. But… there’s something I want to do to try and help the process for both of us right now.”
“What’s that?”
“You have quite the past, Arc. So many scars both mental and physical.”
“What about it?”
“Would you please show me your torso, Arc? I’d like to see them for myself. The physical ones anyway.”
Nodding, Arc pulls his shirt off and tosses it aside. Applejack peeks out from under the covers and looks him over. Tracing the marks with a finger she sighs.
“There’s so much here.”
“Lots of injuries… and battle scars.”
“You shouldn’t have had to go through all of that.”
Arc sighs. “Well, they’re permanent now.”
“I suppose that’s true. The best we can do is to help you deal with what’s happened and hope you can move past it one day.”
“You have an idea?”
Applejack nods. “I do. But first I need to know two things.”
“Oh?”
“First, do you love me?”
“Yes, Applejack.”
“Second… how much do you trust me?”
“With everything.”
“Completely then?”
“Yes.”
“And I trust you fully as well.”
“What are you getting at, Applejack?”
“We both need to heal, Arc. Inside and out. Your trauma… my trauma… we can help each other with the healing process. And I’d like to start right now.”
“Um… okay.”
Sitting up, Applejack looks down at Arc as a flash of lighting and thunder crashes outside. Flinching, she squeezes her eyes shut and turns away for a moment before composing herself, opening her eyes, and fixing her gaze on Arc’s face again. Without a word, Applejack pulls away the towel to expose her naked body. Tossing the towel onto the floor nearby the young woman smiles at him as she slowly lays down on Arc’s chest.
“Please hold me.”
Nodding, Arc wraps his arms around Applejack. She does the same to his neck as Arc pulls the covers over them both. Sighing contentedly she calls out.
“This just feels… right somehow.”
“How do you feel?”
“Still scared, of course. But for the first time since my mom died, I feel… safe from the storm. Like… if it did try to take me away that you’d punch that storm in the face and make it let me go.”
Arc grins. “I would too.”
“Right. Because we love each other.”
Arc nods as he nuzzles the top of Applejack’s head before kissing it. “That we do.”
“I know this won’t take away your scars, Arc. But I do hope it will help you to come to terms with things.”
“It… is, yes.”
“Skin on skin… this just feels right… you know.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you… okay with this?”
Arc puts a finger under her chin and turns it to look at him. “Very.”
Pulling her face to his, Arc and Applejack’s noses touch as the look each other in the eye. They stay like that for a long moment before Arc leans in and presses his lips to Applejack’s. She moans happily as they share a passionate kiss. A full minute later they draw back, still smiling.
“I love you, Arc. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Arc smiles as he puts his hands on Applejack’s cheeks.
“And I love and want the same.”
Pulling her in close, Arc goes for another kiss with Applejack as the storm rages on. However, even as it intensifies, the young woman never takes her eyes off of the man before her.