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The World Is Gonna End Tonight (closed)


Dusty

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Tempest has dealt with a lot in her life. A life that in the grand scheme of things has not been that long and yet… Felt like a dozen lifetimes. From long lonely years as a filly exploring a world far bigger than she knew. The lifetime packed into her years as a young mare… And what felt like a dozen life times away in the Storm King's army. She’s seen more of this world than most ever will. Vast seas, endless sand dunes and the bitter bite of the north's cold. She’s seen battles and wars. Seen a lone camp fire with the only pony around for countless miles being her self. She’s lived a dozen lives crushed together into one mess of a mare that hardly held herself together underneath a shell of discipline and order. But it gave her wisdom, strength and willpower. She felt as if nothing could truly keep her down. Nothing she can’t overcome alone. Until one visit with a doctor. A checkup mandatory from her work as a ranger up north for health and fitness. She passed it every time. She passed it this time as well. But the unicorn found something… Something Tempest was not ready for. She’d never be ready for this. How can she? She never wanted this. 

 

And as the days clicked past that one checkup made her life crash and roll down a hill. She really didn't know what to do. She was scared, more scared than she’s ever been. She wanted to scream, drink and smoke. Every last vice she had to fill the pit she was free falling into. Yet she didn't. She can’t. She’d hurt… Them. Them. As if they were not fully real. She needed help. But where can she get it? Where can she go and hide all of this? She didn't know. Not at first. But as she laid in bed in the war-zone that was her apartment a name bucked its way into her thick skull. A mare that had the know how and first hoof experience to help her. A mare that told her if she ever, ever, needed help… Too just come knocking. And much as she hated to say it. She needed help. Badly. And so next morning she packed a bag and by mid-day was hidden away underneath the wagon of a train. Old habits die hard and train tickets are a scam.

 

 

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A day later and late in the evening the train reached its stop. Slipping away and off the tracks she made her way to the road and got walking. She watched the sun setting, painting the sky as red as her worries. It helped her relaxe. Just being out here. Why she loved being a ranger so much. Just herself and the wild land. The countryside of ponyville was not bad, she did consider settling down here for a time. But well, ponyville is ponyville. She had her fill of it already and how nosy some ponies were… She hoped the pink demon never learns of this of this visit or what she did come down here. 

 

It was dark by the time she walked down the dirt path leading up too the old farm home. But she saw the windows lit, the family inside still awake for now. She wondered how they were doing. How was Ambrosia? Outside of being around when that apple was born she never kept up with that. Can AJ even have the time for this? Her problems? Was it wrong to be here? It made her hooves root in place. She felt so tired. Stressed… She wanted to drink. She really wanted to drink. It was alarming how bad she wanted too in fact. Maybe she did have a problem… Ok she had a lot of problems. And she was about to dump them all on this poor mare. Can she do that? Truly? Maybe it was better if she just dug a hole and… No, bad. It was hard to not think that way but she had to remember there was more than her worthless life on the line here. And so she pushed on, one step at a time until she reached the door and held a hoof up. It stayed like that, frozen in place as she looked at the door. She didn't want to do this. But she knew she needed to. She had to do this. She can’t fail again. And with a force of will she slammed her hoof into the door. Less of a knock and more of a venting of anger, fear and so much raw feelings it made the door vibrate as if she was close to knocking it off the hinges. And then she did it again… And again. Her hoof marked the door with the impacts, scuffing it and chipping some paint as she took out so much fear and range on the poor object until some pony opened the darn thing. 

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Applejack had long ago lost the comfort that she once had in her own home. It was nopony's fault and nothing about her home had changed. It was her. ever since her massive spinal and leg injuries, she couldn't sleep in her own bed. She needed to sleep on the coach which, for some reason, helped her back feel better. Or at least not as in much pain. It was just one of a thousand other inconveniences and changes that had compounded themselves since that awful day (or more, she couldn't remember) but it had certain benefits. If she wanted a bite to eat and had the energy to get it, she could do so without waking anypony up. She knew it wasn't smart- and her waistline reflected that- but she was comfortable with that decision. She tried her best to put other thoughts out of her mind as she tried to sleep, the rest of the house having quieted down for her.

 

She used her alone time to read by a small lamp, the day's work in the fields having been recorded. She couldn't do much of anything anymore, least until she was healed up something more, but she could at least follow along. There was a lot she could still have a word in as long as she was leapt up on the work, after all. She shuffled in the couch some, the makeshift bed it had become over the weeks and months warm with the effort, her new, small pair of reading glasses draped over the end of her snout as she read as much as she could be bothered to before her neck started screaming in pain and she laid her head down.

 

It was while she lay there contemplating what she should do next, the sound of her kids playing far off in the distance and the soft murmurings of others keeping her lonely heart company until she heard a knock on the door. Then another. More and more. Heavy ones, too. Whoever it was wanted Applejack and wanted her now. Applejack swung her back legs down to the ground, making sure to put Kicks McGee in the walking boot it still needed to be in when she went out and about. "Ah'm a comin'," Applejack said. She thought, well, she thought it was loud. Apparently she was mistaken because whoever it was didn't stop. She could hear the door starting to buckle from a mix of overuse and now being beaten half to death. As it continued, Applejack's own dander started to rise.

 

"Ah'm comin', relax."
"Stop it,"
"FOR LAND'S SAKES AH'M COMIN'!"

 

That last one she screamed, a husky, croaky bellow that sent the whole house quiet. Then she took a few pained steps, the sound of her boot thumping the only real sign, until she swung the door open. "What in tarnat-" she came out angry before seeing it was Tempest. Her gaze softened, but only a little. "Why tha hay are ya tryin' ta break my dang door right off tha hinges, ponygirl? Ponyfeathers," she said before nodding her head back inside and starting to walk back in, the door open. Applejack would cut a less impressive figure than normal. Her pelt around her spine and most of her legs were cleaned and shaved short, with the various surgeries leaving marks that were clearly visible. She was thinner and far less muscular, while the pelt in other areas was overgrown by a few inches. Her mane flowed wild and unrestrained, unkempt. "What brings you here?"

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The scream did put a spot to the ‘nocking’ if one can call it that. Tempest just held her hoof in place, eyes staring at the door with a thousand mile stare as she struggled to convince herself this was needed. She can still run away. Hide in the woods. Fall off the face of this land and face her problems alone. Again. But she… She can’t. If not for herself, for others that didn't deserve that fate. And her hooves held her in place as she heard the hoof-steps approaching and a door swung open. And the mare standing on the other side… Well it took a moment for tempest to register that it was Applejack. What in the name of the gods happened to this mare? AJ looked as bad as Herself in some ways. Mare looked like she went to war with a hidra and won a pyrrhic victory against the best. From the way AJ walked she knew… Something bad happened to her legs or back. And the mare just looked… messy. 

 

Not that Tempest was looking much better. Her mane was not even in a mohawk and flowed freely down one side of her face, dirty and wild from train hitchhiking down here. She only has two saddle bags packed with food and water and a few odds and ends. Eyes were glossy and unfocused from too much… Feelings. but most easy for AJ to notice was the fact a mare as lean as Tempest was much wider in the barrel, pushed out to her sides were two noticeable bumps as if she swallowed a pair of watermelons. She in fact had to cut a hole out in her jumpsuit for her barrel just to get it on. Some part of her knew trying to keep wearing that jumpsuit was silly. But she needed it more than ever. The snugness gave her some comfort. Even if she had to cut a hole in it to make room for… Well. 

 

She followed AJ into the home, not speaking one word yet. She needed too but found her muzzle unwilling to speak. She just followed silently watching the stiff walk of AJ, ears flicking as she picked up soft sounds and hoof steps upstairs. The long silence was getting uncomfortable and she knew it. So after a moment she took in a deep breath as they made it to the living room and she took a seat in a rather cozy chair. “AJ, just. Look at me.” She says, aiming a hoof down at her wide barrel. “I made… A mistake.” She flinched saying it like that. How can it be a mistake when it was all her fault? This was all her doing. Start to end. She rubbed her front hooves into her muzzle and took in another deep breath. She was mostly holding herself together. Mostly. Her voice wavered, the cold uncaring tone breaking up like ice in spring to unleash the truth underneath. 

 

She was feeling… A lot of stuff. And she can’t keep it all packed away underneath some uncaring coldness. “Two. Twins.” She added, knowing AJ will ask. Not like it was hard too notice she looked bigger than if it was just one. “I’m…” She looked over at AJ and felt.. Guilty. Here she was just worrying about herself when AJ looked like fell out of a blasted airship. “Sorry. Hello Applejack, sorry for not keeping in touch. Things have been messy for me and it looks the same for you.” She looked over at the mare, feeling even more guilty as she eyed up the coach. It looked a lot like her ‘bed’ back when she lived in los-peguses. So she knew it was being used as such by AJ. What happened to this mare? “Not going to push open doors you don’t want, don’t gotta tell me what’s going on in your life. But can I spend a few days here? Can sleep out in the barn, will even do some work around here. I just need to air my head out and get some advice from… From a mother I trust. You have dealt with more shiii-” She cut herself off, ears flicking as she looked up for a moment. No cussing, not here. “You have dealt with a lot of hardships and came out… Well, you. A mother I wish I had growing up. I’m going to do this. Going to give them… Give them something I never had. But I don’t know how or if I even can. I’m… I’m Tempest and all that brings. But I want to learn.” 

 

She knew she could leave them at a shelter. She can pass this burden on as soon as they are born. But she found herself sick by that. Abandoned. Like she was. Alone to face this cruel uncaring world. Just like she had to do. Unloved. Unwanted. She can’t do that to them. It didn't matter how they came to be and if it was a mistake. They didn't ask for this and she can’t toss them into the unknown by her own doing. She was going to be better than her own mother in every single way. She’d be there for them. Look after them. LOVE them. Love. Something she hardly knew but wanted so bad. How can she give something she never had? She didn't know but by the gods she was going too try.

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The effort to get up, walk to the door, and come back took a lot out of Applejack. She could feel her back screaming and the tips of her legs going numb, not to mention the slight shortness of breath. She felt pathetic, and here was this strong, pregnant mare grousing about being a strong, pregnant mare. Applejack could tell the mare was pregnant long before she gave any voice to problems or mistakes or anything of the like. Hell, you could smell it on a mare, really. Or at least Applejack could. They said Earth ponies were the most fertile of the tribes and had a way of knowing the status of others. The carnal minded said it allowed them to know when others were ready. Applejack preferred to think it was so they knew to protect one another, an instinctual herd protection mechanic. Applejack also didn't know, and she didn't care.

 

All she knew was that it was kind of annoying that Tempest was losing her mind over having twins. This was the happiest moment of a mare's life and she couldn't get over her emotional bullshit to just be happy! Gahh! Applejack wanted to light into the mare but held back and in doing so allowed herself to cool down. The pain, the lack of sleep, the stress, it was infecting her mind. She needed to relax and allow the mare to feel. Tempest was many things but somepony who could handle changes? Looked like she couldn't. And Applejack knew that few ponies could help the mare like Applejack could, for all the reasons Tempest put out there and more.

She allowed Tempest to finish, settling into her couch for some relief.


"Relax," she said with a smile, which was only slightly forced as her eyes sparkled in equal parts pain and joy at the news of new life. "This is great news. Yer not gonna be perfect, never, but yer gonna be the perfect mom for them two lil' fillies an' fellas," she said as she leaned back. "Tha water here is clean, stay away from tha hooch. Follow yer appetite but Ah have a soup recipe, handed down from mah Granny Smith, that'll set you right and proper for yer foals," she said as one of her eyebrows shot up. "You weren't knocked up by a Diamond Dog, were you? I sent Apple Bloom out there into tha world and she came back pregnant with twins of her own," Applejack laughed, "she has tha carrot house at tha moment. Not so sure where y'all can stay on tha farm but we'll figure somethin' out. Maybe you can room with her."

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Tempest was honestly, genuinely and completely confused by just about every word that left AJ’s muzzle. She was so lost for words and where to even start she found herself just kinda staring at the other as if AJ had gone and grown two heads before her eyes. Where did she even start with… All of that? Where can she? What did AJ mean Bloom was knocked up? How did… Oh. She knew how. And when. By the all-father that trip was a disaster and even worse than she knew it seemed… At least AJ did not blame her for that uh… Event… She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and just placed her face into her front hooves. She was not about too cry. She was fine. Everything is fine. She has a place to stay and work. That was… Easy. Way easier than she planned. She was ready for yelling, arguing and worse. She was so used to everything being against her she never knew what to do when it didn't go that way. And worst of all it's been like this for years! Help, help, help! And she still didn't believe others would help her until they did. And then she’d do this! Break down! 

 

What was wrong with her? Why did she want things to go bad? To just prove her worldview? Too make her feel justified for everything she’s done and her hatred? She didn't know. She just knew she’d keep running after her own tail in some endless spirling disaster if she was left alone. That is why she was here. She needed a pony like AJ to just say it how it was. Blunt as a hammer and to the point. She let out a breath and pulled in another. Deep breaths. Slow and steady. Relaxe.  Deep breaths. Slow and steady. Relaxe. She felt her body loosen up and heart rate slow. Everything was going to be ok. She was ready to talk again. “Ok… Going to take this one part at a time. It’s not great news. I’m… I have to be honest with myself with this statement. I’m an alcoholic. Part of why I’m here. I don’t trust myself to not ‘get into the hooch’ as you put it. I had to toss everything out and… It's hard. Don’t even start me on smoking as well. Vice and vice, just to shut my brain up and make me feel remotely ok. Cutting both all at once has not been easy… But I have not touched it for… A few weeks.” She felt a spark of shame, she was well past a ‘few weeks’ into being pregnant. She already bucked this all up for… Them. 

 

Not ‘them’ Tempest. Her foals. Caves? Well best she opened up about that part. If Bloom got knocked up by… Mutts… How did that even work? No wonder a caribou put calves in her if a darn mutt can do the same to a pony! UGH! “Caves, caribou, caribou dad.” She sputters out with all the grace of a fish flopping on land. “I don’t know him.” She added. She decided early on to tell no one the truth about that. She knew the father. Very well in fact… Too well it seemed with where that ended up going. “Doc says they will be reindeer thanks to that. Honestly the naming is lost on me but that’s what happens when a caribou bull knocks up a pony or something. The funny thing is, that is the one part I feel no shame in.” And she didn't. He was everything she’d want in a partner if she was truthful. Strong, fit and holding power. 

 

“My appetite, speaking of that, has been… Strange. It's good I'm no stranger to eating whatever I need for survival as I have felt some insane need to eat some very odd things. Moss. lichens… Even fish. Few days ago I stuffed a fish with lichens and devoured it like my life was going to end otherwise. Honestly I can’t tell if that’s strange or not. At the moment it seemed like I had to eat that but after it… Why?” She shakes her head, was she rambling? Did AJ even want to hear all of this? She needed to talk about things that matter. Like the rooming. “You can put me wherever it works. Bloom is a good mare, I’d be fine crashing in some room with her as long as she doesn't mind.” She did wonder what the ‘carrot house’ was… That was an odd name. But a house is a house. She’s slept in literal holes in the ground and behind dumpsters. So she really can’t fuss about a carrot themed home… As that is what her gut told her it was going to be. 

 

She looked back at AJ and just how worn out the mare looked. She felt guilty again. The mare needed rest. Maybe next morning she can ask about what happened to the poor mare. “I know it's late. I'm honestly tired too. Maybe we can both just head to bed and crash and talk about this all in the morning? I will just sleep somewhere and we can work out the rooming with bloom later. I don’t want to wake her up… Unless the young mare is still up. Then I can go and tell her what’s going on, knowing her, she will take me in just as openly as you did without much fuss.” The more she talked about going someplace to rest the more welcoming it sounded. At this rate even the floor looked nice. When was the last time she even got some sleep? She didn't sleep much before leaving to jump on a train. Did not sleep once the full ride down here. So she was working on about two, two and a half days with maybe four hours of sleep? That didn't seem right. But she felt as tired as AJ looked now that she let herself think about it. She did want to say more. She wanted to talk and talk. Talk more than she’s ever talked. Yet the words kept bogging down in her brain. So maybe she did need rest.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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"Caribou?" Applejack pondered that bit for a second. She didn't know why anypony would venture north of their own free will but if anypony did do that for any purpose whatsoever, it would be Tempest. That was a mare who embraced her poor decisions and intentions with the eagerness of a first love and seemingly detested the idea of her own self-worth. It wasn't that big a shock then that she would find herself up north- or even attracted to those *fine fellows*. "I'd like to say that comes as a shock, but Ah know how you warrior types get attracted ta warrior types. An' caribou are a heck of a warrior people, ain't they?" she said as started to get up, grimacing briefly before getting up. 


"That and alcohol will make a mare do anything, Ah suppose. Ain't gonna judge you a bit on that, but ain't reindeer only flyin'?" She asked, her eyes furrowed in thought. She'd only heard of reindeer pulling the longships in the sky, but it didn't take much for her to realize it was probably just her own lack of knowledge being betrayed. Pinkie said she ran into some magical versions in the far north, and if there were fliers and there were magic users she reckoned it made sense for there to be other types too. "Ah dunno. Maybe Ah'm just bein' ignorant. Ah only know one tried ta kill me once, so Ah should just shut my mouth on it."

 

She walked her way to the door and opened it. "Come, Ah'll take ya ta tha carrot house."

Wasn't a very long walk, though it felt like it and took about ten times as long as it normally would for her. The carrot house was just to the left of the main barn on teh raised hill, with its own gate and everything. Around it were fields of fruit and veggies, mostly carrots, being grown. "Used ta be sublet by tha Carrot family. On tha snout, Ah know," she said as she started up teh ramp. In time she made it to the unlocked front door, opening it into the dimly lit house.
"Three floors. Lil' entrance room and then on this floor ya have a big room that works as a kitchen, dining room, livin' room. Downstairs is tha storage room. Big, yer gonna like that. Top floor is tha bedroom. Apple Bloom should be asleep," Applejack said as she she kept her ears perked up. "Ah guess being pregnant with...diamond dogs, Ah suppose...is pretty tirin' for her," Applejack said as she kept the door open, despite a growing and gnawing pain, until Tempest entered.
"Rest up and relax. You ain't in any danger and you don't have cause ta fret no more. See ya in the morn', sugarcube."

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  • 2 weeks later...

“Caribou.” Tempest says back. Somehow talking about this was making her feel a little better. She didn't understand why. Maybe she just needed to keep talking. “They are warriors. Some of the best.. After me. Fearless. Strong. I… Found there land a palace I can let lose. Maybe to lose it seemed.” She added with a shake of her head. “As for reindeer stuff, I don’t know. Going to learn soon regardless… If they can fly, may the all father help me as that is going to be a pain. May have too ask Dash for help on that front… If I’m still around of course.” She didn't really know how this would go. She didn't even understand how this all worked out. You’d think Caribou will make Caribou… But somehow they make Reindeer. What is the same thing but not? None of the books she found was helpful and no pony was better. So she’d just have to learn this first hoof and work it out as she goes. Whatever they were they’d be… Hers. And perfect. How can they not be? 

 

She followed AJ out the door and walked with her. Looking around the farm and the land lit up by the moon. She honestly liked the place. Honest work and some peace from the outside world. She wanted to start her own but ended up just being a ranger… She liked that work as well. She got to spend days or weeks out in the woods. She’d miss that deeply and already wanted to go back to such a life… She hoped her foals… Caves? They’d like the outdoors as much as she did. She hoped they'd understand the same freedom she felt when truly out in the wilderness. To see land untouched and lay underneath a sky untainted by cities light pollution. She hoped they were warriors as well. Strong. Brave. But most of all she hoped she’d do this well. Give them the love she never had. Give them a mother that CARES about them. That tells them ‘wow, good job!’ when they did something. Hug them. Look at them… Just notice them at all. She’d be everything her mother was not. She may not know how a mother needs to be but she knew what a mother was not. 

 

Reaching the home she looked up and let out a huff. “Wow. It really was built to look like this huh? Maybe I need to sleep in the barn after all.” She says but did walk inside and looked around as AJ talked. From the sound of it Bloom was sleeping as it was silent in here. “Going to have to talk to her about them pups… Seems we both got a little to lose and free.” She let chuckled for just a moment then looked back at AJ and walked back to look AJ in the face. “Thank you.” And with that she pulled one leg up and ‘hugged’ the mare. As much as one can call a hug from Tempest. It lasted just a moment and was over swiftly as she backed up a few steps. “Sleep well. I’m going to raid the fridge and pass out somewhere… See you in the morning.”

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Applejack endeavored at that very moment to never be hugged by Tempest ever again unless it was two hooves, because her one-legged hug was as comforting as a cactus. Still, it caught her off-guard enough that all she could do was lean into it, her own hooves too weary to really get into it. "Yer welcome. Jus' don't eat too many condiments, they'll do a number on you," she allowed that to settle a second before adding more. "Trust me. The temptation'll be there," she said as she started walking out the door. In just a few moments it would be closed and she would start the slow walk back home.

Tempest would be left alone the rest of the night. Apple Bloom was curled up in her bed, sleeping smoothly and silently- she was a mare who was taking to pregnancy well. And so the night would pass peaceably, and Tempest would be allowed to get her rest-


HOURS LATER


"Howdy Tempest!" Bellowed the young mare as she bent over Tempest.
Apple Bloom woke up first and was more than a little shocked to have found her former captain in the carrot house. She had a lot of questions and more than a little energy to back it up. She was also very, very pregnant, and was halfway to falling over in Tempest herself. "Can't say Ah expected ta see you in these here parts! What brings ya here?"

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It took some time for Tempest to sit down and sleep. She wandered around the home and inspected it in the dark. Raided the fridge and ate some odds and ends. Then she was back outside sitting on the porch watching the moon and stars. A song came to her at that moment. A song she heard so long ago by a traveling companion with a name lost to time. “The wolf is howling in the forest of night, he wants to, but cannot sleep. The hunger tears his wolven stomach and it's cold in his burrow.” She was not singing the words, she just spoke them in tone. Looking down she gently tapped a hoof at her barrel. “Wolf, wolf, don't you come here. I will never let you take my child…” How young was she when that song was told? Where was she? Someware… North. But not too far north. A mare and mother sang it for her. Wondering as aimlessly as she was with her foals. What became of that mare? Tempest did not know. But she felt drained and ready to sleep now. 

 

She found a spot that worked. Pulling some cushions to a corner of the living room  she made a ‘bed’ of sorts. Removing her saddle bags she removed one fur blanket and laid down on the cushions and tossed the fur plet over her back. She was too tired to think about how funny this was. All shoved up in some corner sleeping like a dog. But it just was how she wes. She may have slept more easily outside honestly. But she was tired. So tired… And sleep won its war as darkness took her.

 

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Tempest woke up unleashing a truly amazing tirade of cursing and swearing as her horn sparked to life, ready to blast whatever sneaked up on her into ash. But bloom got off without so much as one singed strand of fur. The wall didn't get off so lucky, but they’d deal with that later. After Tempest was done with her mini panic attack she gave bloom a smack on the shoulder. “DON'T DO THAT!” She fussed, flopping down on her side with a grunt. “Almost blew your head off!” She huffed and rubbed her face. By the gods she still felt tired. How much sleep did she even get? Oh well. No way she’d get more with that young mare almost laying on top of her and bouncing around… And wow Bloom was… Bigger. How many puppies were in her? 

 

She grunted again and pushed herself up and stretched like some old dog just waking up. “Howdy Bloom. And to be fair I didn't think I’d be here as well until a few days ago.” She spoke more freely around Bloom. She can’t nail down why but the mare was a friend in her eyes. Maybe it was how outgoing she was. Or how hard she worked. But she dealt with Tempest better than most and Tempest dealt with her. “But I think we are going to be housemates for a few weeks. If you don’t mind.” She yawned again and shook her head then looked down at the other mare's barrel… Then looked down at her own and aimed a hoof at it. “Take a ******* shot in the dark. Can you believe this ****? And you!” She aimed the hoof at blooms very big belly. “How the **** did BOTH of us end up like this?” she fussed, then blinked. “And how did a D-dog even… Later, tell me later. Coffee. Now."

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Apple Bloom was not intimidated or concerned about the way that Tempest conducted herself. She had spent long enough around the mare to get used to it, and to know how to react. For example, she ducked out of the way of the horn blast and when it was passed her popped back into position without any loss of curiosity or positivity. "Correction. You could have, but I'm way too fast," she winked as she pulled back to give Tempest her space. If there was one thing a pregnant mare needed it was her space. Well, that was probably not in the top fifty but it fit the moment and that was enough for her.

 

She also didn't give much mind to the cursing. If her Granny was still around she was sure there would be a bar of soap coming in from any direction at any second, but that wasn't happening. Didn't mean she had much of mind to follow it, however. She didn't much like a bunch of cursing with or without the ever present threat of an elderly lecture. Not that Tempest was that far off. "Well, Ah guess we're two peas in a pod, right? You'll be fine here. Ah'm assumin' ya didn't just sneak yer way in, got Applejack's approval?" She asked as she made her way into the kitchen with great energy and median speed. She didn't do high speed anymore.

 

Low speed, hig drag was the way to go. "Ah wouldn't go ahead and drink coffee. It won't be good for 'em and it'll make you feel all jittery," she said as she dug out of the fridge some nice chilled water. She poured herself a bowl and drank some, but also swam her hoof around in it. "Helps me cool off. So, what happened with you? Last time Ah saw you, we were takin' yer ship back ta Equestria and y'all was headin' off ta tha North. Meet a nice Stalliongrad stallion?" She said, waggling her brows and ignoring her own story.

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Tempest let out a long and very dramatic grunting huff as she fell down on her side again. “No smoking. No drinking. And no coffee? I’m going too ******* die.” She fussed, rubbing her face with both her front hooves. “How am I going too survive Bloom? Next you are going to say I have to smile more and give out hugs. That may kill me even faster than quitting all three vices at the same time.” She added rolling onto her back and watching Bloom pull out a bowl of cold water. That… Well, it looked nice. She can go for some water. So with a grunt she rolled off her makeshift bed and got up to trot over to get some water of her own. “And ya, I talked to AJ. Maybe a little on the late side… I think she was this-” She held up two hooves holding them about an inch apart. “-Close to killing me if I knock one more time on the door. Bad leg or not, don’t think I’d have won that duel. But she put me up in here long as you are fine with me being a housemate for a few weeks. I really have nowhere to go for help other than her on… This so… I’d be thankful if you’d let me stay.” 

 

As Tempest talked she pulled out another bowl and filled it up with some water from the tap. One big thing she loved about AJ’s farm. Well water. City water was awful. It tasted as bad as the air smelled. How ponies willingly drank that stuff was unknown to her. But with the bowl of water done she put it down next to Bloom and unceremoniously lapped it up as if she was drinking from some river out in the wildes. This did for a moment, make her wonder why Bloom was drinking from a bowl and not as glass. But she was not about to make a point out of the act. She enjoyed the odd unspoken solidarity going on here with drinking water from bowls. “Not too wrong on that shot.” Tempest says, looking up from the water at Bloom. “But further north. Like you, not trainspotting ponies. Got two calves in me. Caribou dad. ****** hunk of a buck. Huge head to hooves and everything in between.” She says, chuckling some. “I made the mistake of thinking we can’t cross breed. Apparently I did not get the memo that we mares can in fact… And it seems even with mutts. If I knew that I’d been a hint more ****** careful. But it's not that bad. Not the ‘settle down and marry’ type of mare. And I think Caribou calves are more my speed as stands… Think how big they are going to be. My tall flank and a giant bull? I will bet bits on them being taller than me growing up.” 

 

She was somewhat shocked by how much she was talking. If you knew her, you knew she hardly talked. Yet she found herself just yapping away with Bloom. Not the first time she’s done so around the young mare. Even back on the ship more than once Bloom got her chatting. Maybe Tempest saw some of herself in that mare. A better self. But that was a line of thinking she was not comfortable with taking much deeper. “So ya. Oh, and maybe leaving out some details… Like some kick **** outfit that changes me into a Caribou. Magic and what not. Don’t tell AJ about that. Or much about this Bull. I want too keep it on the low. I can trust you to keep this between you and me. Can’t I?” 

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Apple Bloom was about to say that she needed to relax and maybe show some affection sooner rather than later, because otherwise she was going to freak out with her calves and be one of those obnoxious moms who hovered around her kids all day long, but she allowed the thought to die before words could form. She didn't want Tempest to die, did she? "I mean, 'course ya can stay. Ah mean if Applejack allowed you in ain't like Ah could say no. She owns tha property now full-up," Apple Bloom started before her thoughts grew darker, sadder. She wasn't here when Applejack got injured, but she sure as hay could see it wasn't the same Applejack as before. "Not gonna lie Tempest, Ah don't think Applejack could be whoopin' much of anythin' at tha moment, let alone you," she chuckled nervously before trying to wipe the topic from her mind. 

 

She continued to drink the water and then dip her hooves in it. Seemed like her four hooves were on fire lately and some nice, cool water helped soothe her. You couldn't do that with a cup, hence the bowl, and best to do it now before her hooves got all grimy with the day. She watched Tempest lap hers up and allowed her mind to wander. "So, a caribou? Ah reckon that makes  a bit of sense for ya. Didn't think you somepony who'd go for a nice office colt or somesuch. 'Course Ah didn't expect y'all to shack up with some caribou warrior, but love finds a way," she said, drawing out the word love to allow the hidden meanings to be laid bare. "They should be pretty big. Ah think caribou can get a mite bigger than most stallions, so hopefully y'all can handle 'em. What's tha father like?" Apple Bloom asked as she finished with her water.

 

She dried off her hooves and worked her flank off to pick up a basket, her pregnancy nearly scraping the floor. She then pulled a bandana from a coat rack near the door and started tying it around her mane, a nice substitute for her bow. As she did this, she tried to understand why a mare would need a costume like that. Of course, it didn't take that long for Apple Bloom to put two plus two together. "Oh...wait, y'all were dressed up like a caribou- one of Masquerade's costumes?" Apple Bloom shivered, "they give me the creeps, but Ah guess yer testimonial means they work super good. That'll help me sleep easier, haha. Ah'll not tell anypony. Won't be tha first thing, nor tha last, so locked up and sealed it'll be. Wanna help me with some apple buckin'?"

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  • 2 weeks later...

“Huge, strong and with the willpower to slay a god if he wanted too that.” Tempest says, remarking on what the Sire was like. “Not going to lie… Part of me wanted to give in and become a caribou and just join his army. That way of life sings to my heart but I knew he was working out the truth and if I was found out… Well, I was not about to be walked over. He’d not have liked the truth even if he did respect me. In his own way at least.” She shakes her head, looking down at the water. She wanted to tell the full truth but knew better. Bloom can know a good part of it but not all of it. She can’t bring herself to trust even Bloom fully. The young mare will not understand. No pony will. She flicked her ears, then looked back at the young mare. 

 

“Bucking trees sounds like a charming way to wake up. But you have to join me on my morning joge… Or, well, maybe morning walk for you.” She says with a nod of her head and the last slurp of water from the bowl. With the drink done she placed her bowl on top of Blooms and picked up both in her muzzle and plopped them in the sink for later washing. She did not know how Bloom did her dishwashing. But Tempest was an ‘all at once’ at the end of the day mare. With that done she stomped her hooves and trotted for the door. “La oss kreve dagen! That’s caribou, which means ‘let's claim the day!’ I think its meaning is self-explaining. And speaking of explaining you have yet to tell me about the sire of your pups. Don’t have to give me the gritty, but I told you some of mine only fair you tell me some of yours. Big? Small? Good kisser? Heard the mutts are fantastic at that if you like it sloppy.” She says looking back at Bloom, stopping at the doorway.

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Apple Bloom found herself completely unsurprised by her description of the caribou father. She hadn't taken Tempest for a mare that would settle in kind with some manner of weaker specimen of any species. This here was a mare that worshipped strength, even if she often didn't see the many ways it was shaded over the ways and means of Equestria. 'Course it wasn't that hard to piece together there was a bit of something behind her words.  If he was that impressive, and Tempest so enamored with that way of life, why return? Even if she had to hide from him, if she liked it so much why not stay in that area? That was why she didn't like those costumes. Weird things happened when ponies were presented with weird choices. At least her foolin' had to do with something respectable, like drinking too much.

 

"Sorry it didn't work out tha way you'da liked it. For what it's worth, Ah'm happy ta have yer flank back here 'mongst us civilized folk. Don't reckon you'd be doin' yerself any good, cavorting up there while carryin' some calves about yerself. An' that's even before tha deception. Don't think they'd be takin' too kindly ta that, like ya said. That and I could use yer muscles around here," she said as she opened the door to the bright, crisp morning, with the warm sun only starting to heat up the cool earth in fits and starts. Perfect time to get your work started.

 

The subject switched, after Tempest went and used some fancy caribou words that Apple Bloom caught well, to how and why she was carrying pups. The younger mare blushed as she led Tempest into the orchard. "Ah wish Ah knew," she started barely above a whisper. "Truth be told Ah don't remember anything about him. I was beyond drunk. Super drunk. It was right after we saved a town from a tornado, when yer ship was off on patrol an you were away," she continued as the sound of weak, faint bucking and the occasional grunt was heard. Apple Bloom's ears twitched and she followed. 


"Turned out there were some diamond dogs there too. Whole dang place was buying me drinks. It isn't tha first time Ah've had somethin' ta drink an' Ah'm from good Apple breed- we can handle our liquor, Ah'm told- but nopony's ready for that much that quickly and for so long. Ah don't remember that night much. Woke up...a total mess. Knew it was a Diamond Dog 'cause of tha...err, bite marks, heh. An' tha bartender, but he was new ta tha area and didn't know tha fella," she said as she picked up the pace, trying to locate the sound of bucking as it grew closer. "An later on found out Ah had a bun in tha oven. Buns in tha oven, as it were," she said with a smile, thgough it started to bleed out into a frown when she saw what was making the sound.

 

Applejack was trying her best to buck a tree but could barely stand on two legs, let alone three, and when she made contact it was with fillyish strength at most.
"Ah, that's a croc...Applejack, ya ain't supposed ta be doing that. For lands sake," Apple Bloom said as she trotted over to her sister, making a move to take her basket.

Applejack tried waving her off like a fly but it was no use. The younger mare was too fast. Her mood seemed sour. "Shut yer trap an' give me mah dang-. Oh, Tempest. Good," she smiled warmly, her attitude taking a turn for the better. "Yer coming with me. Let Apple Bloom consider her stinkin' mouth. Ah should wash it out with soap, ya hear?" Applejack said as she stared daggers at her younger sister.

 

Apple Bloom returned it with a roll of the eyes. "Ugh. Just watch her, okay?" She said as she leaned in to Tempest, allowing her worry to seep through, "she ain't in tha right mind, okay?" She ended before taking all the baskets, leaving the two older mares there.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Tempest trotted out after Bloom, stopping for a moment too stretch out like a cat before she picked her pace up into a fast trot doing small laps around Bloom as they walked. Tired as she was in truth she still found the movement to help wake herself up better. “May be around the civilized, yet we both know I’m nothing more than a wolf kept as some pet by the civilized world. My heart is wild.” She says back, not touching too much deeper on the topic and the underlying problems  Bloom seemed to have picked up on with her tone. Tempest was no fool, they’d not taken too kindly to her. A shame… As her heart did yearn for that life… And maybe she still can have it. Some day. Not today. Not in some years… But a tree starts with just a seed. And that seed was planted. 

 

But such thinking was distracted as Bloom spoke up about the events. Tempest had a good hunch about it and it seemed most of that was founded in truth. “Far-Port? Or was it Dagger Bay? If it was Dagger Bay I may know the pack that put some pupps in you. Not many packs down south that way so… My bits are on it being the Trash Pack or the Bone Eaters. Shame you don’t remember him at all, help narrow it down. Unless he was a pack-less hound then you truly are ***** ever learning that truth.” She says, not judging Bloom at all for how this came to be. How can she? She got drunk and got railed by the most hated bull in Equestria. A pack-less hound may as well be a noble compared to that. Not that Tempest gave a rat's arse. Equestria can go down in flames for all she cares about it. 

 

“Well, at least we both have a friend to fuss about such things with ‘eh?” She added, looking over at Bloom before stopping her laps around the walking mare to look at the source of the thumping sound both mares heard. It was no shock to see AJ out trying to work… Mare was more like Tempest than she’d be willing to say. Both mares never were willing to admit defeat even if their own body was failing. Tempest let out a snort. “Her stinking mouth? You better get ear plunges than before the stench of my muzzle reaches you. May knock the fur off you.” She huffed making her way over to AJ and looking back at Bloom with a nod of her head. She’d look after AJ. “Well, give me the list. If you are letting me live here may as well put my back into it. Takes more than two bulls in my Barrel to slow me down. Just don’t ask me to go leaping fences.”

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Applejack responded quickly to the vulgarity allowance. "Yeah, but yer not an Apple. No offense, but we expect a bit of higher conduct outta our youngins, and her little sailor mouth has gotten a bit out of hand for show. Talks mostly normal when she is here but out in town its like she is showing it off," she snorted, "plus, yer a real adult. She went off once on her own and look what happened. Still too dang impulsive to be makin' all these heady decisions and actin' like she's some grizzled adventurer," she sighed. "Ah know Ah'm bein' unfair. Still can't help the way Ah feel, though," Applejack said as she walked slowly, all four of her legs walking in what could only be called a constrained rhythm with small steps inside the frame of her base. And even that seemed a tall order for her, as her chest heaved with effort from time to time as she fought down any further visible sign of distress.
The farm itself was abuzz with activity. The family were all out and about doing their duty, but a few extra cracks against trees and voices could be heard. Farmhooves that had been hired to pick up the slack- something more to eat at Applejack. It was a comfort that it took eight farmhooves to pick up her slack, but it was a cold one.

 

"So, here's tha rub," she said as she approached a copse of trees that were untouched. Buckets were situated next to all of them and a cart sat in the middle, arched towards a road. "By Doctor's Orders, Ah'm not supposed ta be doin' much of anythin'. Ain't listening like Ah should, but nonetheless Ah know what Ah sure as rain could use help with," she said as she found a place to sit and did so, wincing briefly before making herself comfortable, "yer gonna be buckin' an' collectin' apples. Buck 'em off tha tree, collect them in buckets, and then fill tha cart with buckets an' take them back ta tha barn next ta tha house. It's a light harvest so yer gonna be doin' this only a few times 'till Ah'll be needin' yer help with something else, but Ah reckon this'll take you a while," she said as she tried to make herself more uncomfortable. "when you buck, start conservative and then ramp up until you're gettin' it good. Ah'll be here with ya for a while. Better here than anywhere else, right?"

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  • 2 months later...

Tempest felt a small stab of guilt. Bloom went off once on her own with Tempest, she was in charge of looking after the young mare. And now she’s trotting about slam full of puppies. Something that was still hard to wrap her head around. But then she was luging about two caves in her barrel… So she had little room to speak. And she felt that what Bloom did was her own doing, she was a young adult now. Still, she felt a hint of guilt over all of this. But maybe she can make up for it and other wrongs living here. Words held no meaning compared too acts. And she planned to be no burden at all, no she will help however she can. AJ and the rest earned that. “It may be unfair in some ways. But I can’t judge such things… But when I have my own foals… Caves running about, well, I am going too learn rather fast I think.” She says, walking alongside AJ but not trying to hold up the mare. She’d not want the help so she was willing to bet AJ did not want it unless she asked.

 

As they approached the rows of trees she paid mind to what was told, noting her duty and what was asked of her. “Hrm, sounds easy enough.” She says walking too a tree then eyeing it up and down before turning about and lining her hunch up with it. She gave a soft kick first, just to line it up. Then after getting her aim she bucked. It was nothing hard and the tree only rattled. She then bucked again with more force… And on the next buck the apples came tumbling down around her, not one landing on her. She placed herself well. “There we go.” She looked over her back and inspected the tree, she did not damage the bark all too much. That was her worry, she wanted to only use as much force as needed. They were AJ’s life line after all. Next she picked them up, one by one she scooped up apples with her muzzle and dropped them in the baskets, few landed in them off the tree. But she hoped with some work she can place them better and need less pick up work. Soon the first tree was done and it did not take too long. Looking down the row she did some fast math… Well, AJ was not wrong. She’d be at this most the day. 

 

“Well, I best get working then?” She says looking back at AJ. “But I don’t mind you staying. May do us both some good to keep talking and and are minds working.” She bit down on the first basket and dragged it to the next tree, then repeated the act for the rest and got to work bucking the next tree. “So. Um. By the gods how to even ask this… What is it like? Being a mother. Is this a bad time to even ask? I just… You saw me at that door. The sleep did help. But still…” She shakes her head, kicking again as the first apples come falling down. “I feel strange. As if my world is coming to an end and I can’t tell if it's good or bad… But.” She stopped and shook her head, looking at all the apples on the ground. “I’m tired of running from life. I feel numb and very tired. All this running for… What? Power? Some hope to fix my horn? I had no plan. I just ran. Ran into the woods and never stopped running. I want to stop running yet I’m so scared to do that. Scared if I stop, the darkness will swallow me up.” 

 

She leaned down and picked up an apple, then placed it into the basket with some care. “I’m sorry if this is heavy. I know you did not ask for this. But I have to say it now or never. I’m not ok. I have not been ok for a long time. But I want to try. Scared as I am… I want too try and be better. At least workable for their sake. I will not leave them. Even if some voice tells me to do such. Begging me to do that. I had nothing. I can not do that to another. No foal, calf, puppy or whatever. None of them need to talk in my hoof steps. It was horrible. I was so alone. Scard. Helpless. I still struggle to sleep. I still wake up fearing I will just be a filly again. Cold. Alone. So many things others just do, I struggle with. I can’t condemn another soul to it.” She finly looked back at AJ, her cold unbroken gaze fluttering and failing to hold up even as she worked. “I know you can’t fix me, not asking you to do so. Just to tell me how to be a good mother to them, as you're the mother I wish I had.”

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  • 3 weeks later...

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Tempest was strong, even if she lacked any natural talent for bucking and her lack of Earth Pony magic was clear as day. The magic came into play with how readily and easily the crop would yield itself fully in good health and grace. Tended to by most others, the crop would yield an unnatural amount, much like the Everfree. When tended by Earth Ponies however, the rate of bad apples or ruined crops would prove to be tremendously diminished. Bucking was an important and final part of this process, as the point of contact allowed Earth Pony magic to rejuvenate the tree and branches alike. Tempest would never have that- or the talent that allowed Applejack to get the vast majority of the apples in the basket with a solid buck- but she had the strength and the willingness to work. She'd do just fine.

 

What she would do less fine with was her own personal demons. How many years had it been since she had turned away from her old life? How much had she done to try and make herself better? Really, the only obstacle was her own consistently mismantled sense of sorrow at her actions against Equestria and others. Truth was, they gave Discord a second chance (and a third, then a fourth) and her actions paled in comparison to his. She could list them all - Starlight Glimmer ring a bell?- but fact was, it wasn't the world's reaction to Tempest that was making her hesitant and regretting her past, it was her own developing and developed awareness of what she had done. 

Combined with her own deep desire to make sure her calves had a better life than she had, which was the most maternal of all the maternal instincts given far more heady ambitions when you considered the nature of Tempest's own early life. She was worried that her life had disqualified her from doing what she felt was necessary to give them the life that she knew was necessary. And she was telling Applejack, who herself was near-paralyzed and in horrible pain and needed to relax.  Luckily for the unicorn, Applejack knew that an apple a day kept the doctor visit and surgical follow-up away.

 

"Well...yer not wrong. Yer old world is gone, an' gone for good. An' if you still kept up any stupid, foolish notion of runnin' on-off again ta fulfil some dark spot in yer soul, that's over, too. But really Tempest, that world died years ago for you," she said as she watched her tail flick of its own according around an apple that rolled towards the cart. She still couldn't feel her tail much, but it really did want to pick up that apple. "An' you've just been caught too long tryin' ta deny it somewhat. Runnin' off here, there, everywhere," she said with lazy moves of a front hoof over and about, "-just so you can run away from here," she said, tapping her chest. It took a few seconds to catch her breath. 

 

"It don't matter what you were running around for or what you were thinking before, yer a ma now. An' that little voice that you think is trying ta tell you to leave'm be? That ain't you. That's some sorta spectre of tha past, an' it don't hold a lick of power you don't give it, any influence you don't surrender ta it. An' you know all it does is lead you down the same damn road like it always does, with the same sorrows and heartaches and that same aching feeling of loss. An' you know that too, so yer not gonna listen to it, but you're gonna sit here and fret 'bout it 'cause you're still actin' like you ain't worth redeemin'," Applejack said as she slowly pulled herself off the cart and allowed her tail to corral an apple and throw it up on the cart. She then turned to it and with a grunt got her top half back on the cart, got the apple, and ate it in one big bite.

 

She licked her lips and belched. "Oooh wee- excuse me there. But, uhh," she regained her composure. "You *are* worth redeemin', you *are* worth living a good life, and you *are* worth being able to tackle motherhood like any respectable mare. An' part of that is being scared from land to tail about whether or not yer ready ta be a momma. Ah can tell you that when Ah was pregnant with Zap Apple Ah was convinced Ah'd be tha absolute worst ma a lil' colt could ask for. An' that was only a little bit improved with Ambrosia. Yer always gonna worry that you ain't good enough, because you already love them and want to do the best you can. An' that worry will translate into you doin' yer best, and between that and a love that I can't even explain, yer gonna do wonders for them."

Applejack finished and looked over Tempest's work. It wasn't as fast as she would have liked because of all the jabbering, but it was a solid first go and a great effort. "Yer doin' great. Ready ta move on ta tha next phase? An' Ah don't mean an age spell ta make me yer mama or nothing, Ah meant in tha field."

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