Manehatten All Work and No Play Makes Applejack a Dull Pony (Applejack/Valen Orange)

[Hippo]

Applejack let go of Valen, allowing him to breathe more comfortably. However, the discomfort Applejack gave Valen was not over. Through embaressment, Applejack pulled out of Valen what he seemed to be unable to perform himself without motivation. She always valued the will of a pony to do what was right and necessary at the time that it is right and necessary. But Valen needed to be squeezed like an empty toothpaste tube in order for him to come clean. Why? Did he not trust Applejack? Was he truly that afraid of what she might think? Thoughts swarmed Applejack about Valen's lack of faith in her, her feelings of her relationship with Valen a bit falsified. And though Valen wasn't as close to her as her sister Apple Bloom, she still felt the family bond with him enough to expect the transparency from him you get with ponies that are close to you. Applejack always loved Valen and felt close to him, even though they only see each other a few times a calendar year. But now that she sees what Valen has been hiding, his second life and immersive hobby, she feels like she knows him much less than she can remember.

"But why lie? I thought you knew you could be honest with me about anythang. Did you really expect me to shun you er somethin'?" Applejack's eyes sloped away like a lonely foothill in the middle of nowhere. "To tell you the truth, it kinda hurts me to think that you felt that you had to keep it from me in order for me to accept you as my cousin. And how many other ponies don't know this? I imagine if I only found out now, there must be plenty of ponies close to you that don't know. Does Babs know? Do any of your classmates know? Do your parents know?"

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[SteelEagle]

 

Valen was allowed a moment or two of peace and serenity with his breathing allowed to go on unmolested by the torrential rains of her physical kinship in verdant display. It felt good to get secrets off of your chest, the words that lit you up in all of the worst ways and started fires that only your internal defenses could hope to contain before they consumed you being put out by the waters of friendship and family. Nothing was better than getting that off of your chest, nothing better than feeling that expansion of your chest as the tightness and worry that defined you preceding moment faltered in the swift assault of love and understanding that came from Applejack. For a moment, he felt like the storm had passed.

But she was unhappy. She spoke but he didn't need to hear her to know she was upset. It played on her face with all the clarity and bright, puffy failure that he believed could ever be placed on her beatific features. She was hurt that he wasn't honest with her. Hurt and confused, all of which played into the backdrop of a certain misty sense of where they stood. That struck him deep. He didn't mean to hurt anypony, but what else was he to do? There were so many factors in play that he sometimes felt as if he barely understood the rules of the game. Business reasons were important of course, and they involved the livelihoods of many others. Personal reasons were...there, and for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Either way he had to respond and put Applejack at ease.

“Applejack, I trust you more than I trust just about anypony else. I didn't tell you not because I feared that you would shun me or hate me or do anything quite so drastic. I never feared that you wouldn't accept me. I didn't tell you nor have I some others because I feared that this would change how you thought of me. Nothing would sting me worse than being thought of as abnormal or unusual in a negative way by my very own cousin. Celestia knows I get that from my parents, as loving and supportive as they are,” Valen sighed and rolled his eyes, “so yes, they know. At least the majority of it. I've done some shows for Miss Rarity that they didn't know about since the shows were spur of the moment. Babs knows- she is the only pony who can get my mane just right for the shows. As for my classmates- oh Celestia no! They're a nest of vipers. I get teased enough for not having my cutie mark and as much as not having it doesn't bother me, the teasing does,” Valen ended it, sighing heavily, “besides, if they knew they'd just tell everyone and that would ruin Miss Rarity's shows. That would be terrible, wouldn’t it?”

[Hippo]

Valen explained his fears. Not necessarily his fear from rejection from her, but fear from being rejected as a young foal. Sometimes, Applejack forgot how young Valen still is. Even though he is only slightly older than Apple Bloom, she sees him as much older that others his age. Applejack was used to living the adult life early on, and seeing her cousin grow up fast as well made her see a lot of herself in him. She had watched Apple Bloom grow up, and in many ways she will always be her baby sister. But Valen was on his way to stallionhood, and Applejack was very proud of how mature her cousin really was. She talked frankly with him because of this. He was like a small adult pony.

Applejack rested a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sure you understand most ponies don't see your lifestyle as normal. In fact, I'll admit it's downright discomforting at first. However, ah never felt that way about you because I know you. I can see how hard you worked to get this far. I know you have good intentions and want to make good friends and treat those friends with high respect. And that's all that matters. Ah'm famous because of the apple farm, but when I was young, ponies who didn't know me thought I was just a country pony who didn't know very much. They made fun of the way I talked, the way I acted, and the way I ate. It was all I knew, but I felt I needed to hide it from others because it made be embarrassed everytahm somepony made a joke about livin' on a farm. And that's why I came to Manehatten when I was little. I felt that if I could hide away from the things that ponies made fun of me for, than I wouldn't have to worry about being rejected. But I just found myself... not being myself.

"I think you're on the right track. But I want you to remember, after this 'being young' thing expires, you will find that older ponies are much less interested in pointing hooves at others and they start looking at themselves. In the meantime, just be sure to try and be the best pony you can be to others with respect. Because there is always value in being honest and respectful, and it never dies. What do you think?"

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[SteelEagle]

 

 Valen listened to his cousin speak, his lip bitten as she laid it on thick and true as were her ways. He couldn't fault her but it didn't make the start any rougher. The truth was out there. She did think it was weird. Ipso facto, he was weird. That was a hard pill to swallow and it left a taste in his mouth that he was decidedly unhappy with. But he continued to listen, even as his face appeared crestfallen immediately after that statement. There were bigger messages hidden in what she said. Better ones. He wasn't ignorant of the basics of her story, anyway. But her telling him in depth was another matter entirely. She had wanted what he wanted- acceptance. Love. Understanding. At first she didn't get that, or so she thought, and went somewhere to find it. But she didn't find it because it wasn't where you went to find it, but how comfortable you were with yourself that mattered. Be who you are. Love and respect friends and family. Be the best you can be, and nothing else.

It was a good message, and one well received by a mostly relieved little colt who hugged his cousin tight for a few seconds before letting go. "I think what you've said makes a lot of sense, cousin. I've only ever wanted to do well by others, to treat others with all of the respect I've been given. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I am loved and respected by ponies I care about- by ponies like you. And that love and respect means that even if ponies may find something I do or something about me that they think is odd or unusual, they'll respect me enough to not think less of me. Or at least, the ponies worth MY love and worth MY respect. And I promise that I'll always do that, no matter what I'm doing,” Valen said, giving his cousin another deep hug.

This had turned out to be one eventful day. He was tired- emotionally drained, but in a good way. All thanks to the good works of his cousin Applejack. Speaking of- “What do we do now, Applejack?”
 

[Hippo]

Valen's response to Applejack's lecture was a bit underwhelmed, but at the end was heartfelt and honest. We don't always hear what we want to hear, but when dealing with family, Applejack always means well. At the heart of every tough conversation is the idea that we're in this together. Applejack would hope that all ponies of all families would be like this, but for now, she can rely on it just being a family thing at the least. Her love for her city cousin Valen was no exception to the love the apple family reaches from Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack dropped the book out of her hat. "How about we take this book back. I bet the library will close soon." Applejack winked at Valen, not forgetting the excuse she had to get out of the apartment.

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[SteelEagle]

 

Ah yes, the book. Her cause to leave the house and start this little adventure of theirs. It had always been a simple excuse to leave the warm and static surroundings of the house for the hustle and bustle of an Equestrian city which, try as she might, Applejack could neither learn to hate or deign to love. A mare out of place and yet comfortable with herself, no doubt ready to go anywhere or do anything, not at all in love with the static reinforcement of a foreign bed. She needed to get out of the house just as badly as Valen needed to get out of his comfort zone, and together they were equally comfortable with each other in the busoms of Manehattan. Which is to say, both were uniquely uncomfortable- Applejack with crowd, Valen the slight tick of paranoia. And all because of that book. Well, some things must be done in their turn.

“Might as well knock this one off, right?” Valen said, taking the book and giving it a good once over. He flipped around and got to the back, where under the plastic he had placed a small little note. He took the note off and folded it, placing it behind his ear for safekeeping. “There we go. Now we're ready to return it. There are simply so many libraries in Manehattan, very much unlike Ponyville, but I always have loved this one. Smaller than the rest, yet it has an eclectic collection. Come, it isn't that far away- well, for Manehattan anyway. Maybe a little Ponyville like yourself will have some troubles...” Valen trailed off purposefully, following it up with a gentle trot and a whistle away.
 

[Hippo]

Applejack watched as Valen agreed, but did something peculiar. A little note that was shoved in the book he took out, and put behind his ear for safe keeping. Applejack was immediately very curious about it. But she didn't want to ask about it, as it didn't seem to be much of anything Valen cared to hide from; he would have looked a lot more suspicious about it if he did. Applejack respected her little cousin enough to let him to his own thing. Not every mannerism needed to be magnified and questioned, and if so, then Applejack would be required to hold a press conference of her own to talk about her own country-isms. The comfort between herself and Valen was currently sublime, and Applejack wouldn't want to change that for anything. In fact, she would attempt to make it last longer. "Heh heh, tell ya what. Let's take the scenic route." Applejack said as she gave a soft jab to Valen. She walked in tandem with Valen's shorter stride, as the two strolled through the downtown abyss to the library in which the book belonged.

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