Caramel's new job

A young Applejack awoke in a grass field filled with buttercups and dandelions. She frolicked around the tall grasses, when she heard her name being called.

"Applejack, Applejack!" the voice called.

"Yes, who's there?" Applejack said, looking all around for some pony, when she spotted a little colt running towards her.

As he got closer, she saw it was...

"Caramel!" She squealed running to meet him.

They began to play the games they use to. Applejack felt so happy, to be laugh with her old friend. Everything was perfect, then Applejack heard a familiar song being sung.

Mama?" Applejack said, turning to see the figure of her long dead mother in the distance, her hair and apron fluttering in the wind.

Applejack watched her and listened, the old lullaby luring into a feeling of warmth and safety she hadn't felt in years. She didn't notice the tornado coming behind her mother until it was to late to tell her to run...

"Mama! Mama! Caramel, go get my Paw-Caramel!" Applejack screech, when she realized Caramel was being swept up by the tornado too…

"Ah!" Applejack squealed as she shot out of bed and the rooster crowed.

Applejack had that dream since the untimely death of her parents. She'd play with Caramel in the imaginary field, then her mother, her father, or both would show up, singing the old lullaby they'd sung to her since she was a foal. She found when it was both it was harder to shake, but she'd never had Caramel taken away...it was unsettling, but she had work to do and she couldn't let a silly dream get in her way.

She dashed her face with water, donned her hat and headed downstairs for breakfast before starting work.

"Mornin' everypo-" Applejack stopped short at the sight before her.

Granny Smith was making pancakes, Apple bloom was eating her morning oats, and Caramel was...brushing her hair and putting it in a bow?

"Mornin' Applejack!" Caramel said cheerfully as he finished his work.

"...um Mornin' Caramel..." Applejack said slowly, looking at him incredulously.

"All finished Apple bloom," Caramel said, not noticing Applejack's stare.

Apple bloom hopped down and walked to the nearby mirror on the wall to assess his work.

"You did a good job Caramel, and it didn't take half as long as when Aj does it!" Apple bloom beamed at him.

"Well thank you, Apple bloom...Is everything alright Applejack?" Caramel asked when he noticed the odd look he was being given.

"Huh? Oh it's nothing," Applejack said with a laugh, as she sat and got some pancakes.

Who knew Caramel knew how to style a little filly's mane?

Caramel shrugged, got a plate himself, and sat down across from her.

"Your eye looks better," Aj said, glancing at him before going back to her food.

"Yeah, the ice really helped. I'd probably be hurt a lot worse if you hadn't come around...thanks Aj," Caramel said shyly, staring at her intently.

"No thanks necessary Caramel..." Aj said blushing.

"Oh well ain't that sweet! I swear when I heard that bumpin' around last night, I thought it was Macintosh gettin' in late again. Imagine my surprise this mornin' when Caramel came tipin' down stairs like a cat tryin' to get out of a cleaning. I was plum confused as to why Mac would bring Caramel home, but then I remember that a certain little filly wasn't so little any more..." Granny said with a knowing smile.

"...I don't know what you're talkin' about Granny," Applejack said nonchalantly.

"Now I believe I had that talk with you a while back, but if you need to be refreshed...when a mare and a stallion...well sometimes it's a mare and a mare or a stallion and a stallion, but anyway...when two ponies who love-well now sometimes it ain't really love, sometimes it's just great passion and lust...if fact that's how I met your grand pappy-"

"Granny!" Applejack squealed in embarrassment.

"Hey, where is Mac anyway?" Caramel said quickly, trying to change the subject.

Just as Caramel wondered, Macintosh came in the front door.

"Mornin' everypony," Macintosh yawned, his eyes half open.

"And just where have you been?" Applejack yelled, running up to him.

"Granny!" Mac said pleadingly.

"Aj you leave your brother alone, after all, you had your own company last night," Granny told her, smiling.

"Company?" Mac said puzzled, when he spotted Caramel.

"Hey Macintosh," Caramel said sheepishly.

"...Howdy...uh Caramel?" Mac said, eyes open a little wider.

"Uh-huh?"

"You and Aj rolled in the hay last night?" Mac said amusement clear in his voice.

"No! We did no such thing! I found Caramel hurt in the bushes, and I couldn't rightly leave there. He ain't had no place to go, so he had to sleep here-and he slept in a separate bed away from me, and-and...ugh!" Aj huffed, storming out into the fields.

"Haha, that got'er," Mac said getting some pancakes with a satisfied smile.

Caramel, being a concerned friend, went after the upset Applejack. He looked through the orchard, then the fields, and finally in the barn where he found Applejack looking uncharacteristically somber. If Caramel didn't know any better, he'd say she'd been crying...

A small whimper came out of her and with out thinking, Caramel went up to her and wrapped her in a warm embrace.

"Caramel! W-what are you doing?" Applejack said startled, scrambling out of his forearms quickly.

"Huh? Oh I-I'm sorry, it's just you looked sad and I didn't really know what to do...sorry," Caramel said backing away.

"It's alright Caramel, I...just didn't expect it was all," Aj said solemnly, regretful of pushing away the warm hug.

They stood there in awkward silence for a while, not sure what to do next.

"Well, I guess I should get on with my chores…" Applejack said, walking around Caramel.

"You still go to market on Thursday?" Carmel said, following her.

"Yeah, I got to buck a few more apples for the cart then I'm headed out."

"Can I help?"

"Mm, don't you need to be headed to work? Or is there something you forgot to tell me last night?" Applejack said as she approached a tree and reared back into a strong buck against the tree, sending half of the apple off the tree and into pre-placed buckets.

"No, but did I ever tell you how I got that job?" Caramel said, hoisting a bucket onto his back and dumping it in the nearby cart.

"No I don't think so," Applejack said, picking up a bucket herself.

"Well I had been dating Windy for a while, and so naturally I met her parents. I think her mom liked me, but her Dad hated my guts and still does…but anyway, I didn't have a job at the time and he's the post master…" Caramel let her fill in the blanks.

"So to keep is daughter from dating a deadbeat he gave you a job?" Applejack said, very amused.

"Pretty much."

"…So now that you're not with her anymore…"

"My ass is fired."

Applejack stopped and thought this over a minute as Caramel went to retrieve the last bucket.

"Hey Caramel…" Applejack said, face still scrunched in thought.

"Yeah?" Caramel said coming back to the cart.

"How would you like to work here again? We can't pay you too much, but you can sleep and eat here 'til you get back on your hooves," Applejack said as he dumped the contents of the bucket into the cart.

"Seriously?" Caramel said, disbelieving.

"Do I ever lie?" Aj said with a smile.

"Woohoo! Oh Applejack, I promise I be the best work horse on the farm!" Caramel yelled with glee.

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