10: That Sibling 'Love'
Applejack normally woke up about an hour before the sun rose, but today she was up even earlier. The clock on her wall showed it was just mere minutes past 3 AM, far too early for her to be up, especially since she didn't get to sleep until well past midnight. But she couldn't sleep any longer, and she bounded out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
She prepared a light breakfast for herself and as she slowly ate she kept on glancing out the window and to the entrance to the farm. After returning to the farm and convincing Apple Bloom that she had done nothing wrong, she had sent her sister and her friends off to play as she busied herself with her chores until Big Mac returned. However, the minutes turned in to hours, and once night fell Applejack began to become concerned. She wasn't afraid that Big Mac was in trouble or anything like that; not even the average timberwolf could stand up to her big brother. What she was afraid of was that slutty pegasus corrupting her brother and tearing their family apart. Just the thought of that day when she had stumbled upon her brother and that pegasus slut fucking in the orchard almost caused her blood to boil, and it took almost all of her willpower to stop from smashing the nearest object into tiny pieces.
By the time she finished her food and had cleaned up the kitchen it was 3:30. With over two and a half hours left before she could start her day working in the orchard, she decided to head to the barn and reorganize some of the tools that she had repaired last week. She left her house and made her way to the large red barn, pausing momentarily at the front gate and sighing as there was still no sign of Big Mac. She muttered a few words about Starshadow that would make even Thunderlane blush under her breath and continued over to the barn.
Reaching the side door she saw that there was the faint glow of a lantern peeking out from under the door, and she made a mental note to have a talk with Apple Bloom about making sure every lantern was put out before she left the barn. As she approached the barn to turn out the lantern herself however she heard somepony inside the barn. She smiled as she recognized the voice as Big Mac's, figuring from the sound of his heavy grunting that her brother had returned home and had gone straight to work on the cart that had broken earlier that week. However, when she poked her head in from the side entrance alcove her smile quickly turned into an angry scowl.
Big Mac was indeed in the barn, but he was not alone. The pegasus mare from before was with him, and Applejack grew red with anger as she saw that they were once again becoming intimate with each other. She gritted her teeth as she saw her brother on his back on a pile of hay and moaning as Starshadow sucked on his cock. It was clear that the two ponies had been busy in the barn for quite some time as Applejack could see small trickles of cum slipping down Starshadow's leg and onto the ground. Despite hating the show Applejack couldn't force herself to look away. As Big Mac finally reached his climax Starshadow let his cock slide free from between her lips and opened her mouth. As his dick erupted his cum shot all over her face, some of it making it into her mouth but the majority of his seed wound up covering her face and muzzle. She quickly lapped up the small amounts of jizz left on his cock before wiping most of the white fluid off of her face and licking it off of her hoof. Finished cleaning herself up as best she could, Starshadow cuddled up next to Big Mac and rested her head on his brawny chest.
"I love you." Big Mac told her, kissing the pegasus on her forehead. Applejack's heart twisted painfully when she heard him say that to her, but her pain grew worse as she heard them continue talking. "Ya sure you don't wanna move in here?"
Starshadow sighed. "I want to, I really do. But I promised Vinyl that I would stay at her house and keep it tidy for her. Besides, I don't think Applejack would allow me to stay here with you."
"Don' worry about her." Big Mac told her. "She just tends to be a bit protective of her family, that's all. Once she gets to know ya it'll all be okay."
Starshadow looked unsure about his optimism. "I don't know, I think she hates me." she said.
Big Mac laughed. "I don' think she's capable of hatin' anypony. She even forgave these two twin brother unicorns that had tried to run us outta business when they came by last cider season to buy a barrel for themselves."
"If you say so." Starshadow said, still a little hesitant to believe him.
Big Mac noticed her worry and kissed her again. "Really, don't worry. She'll warm up to ya soon enough. 'Sides, she don't have a say when I choose my special somepony." he reassured her, looking into her eyes.
Starshadow smiled. "I'm... your special somepony?" she asked as her heart seemed to flutter.
"Eeyup."
The two ponies once again moved closer to each other to share a passionate kiss, but their intimate moment was interrupted as they heard one of the barn doors slam shut. It wasn't the large barn doors at the front, it was the smaller side door. Big Mac got up and quickly trotted over to the door and opened it just in time to see Applejack running into the orchard. He turned back to Starshadow with an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, I..."
Starshadow nodded to him. "It's okay, go." she said. "I'll clean up here while you're gone."
"I'll meet ya back here." Big Mac said before dashing off after Applejack. Starshadow remained lying on the pile of hay, her body a little sore from the long night of rutting. She rolled over to the spot that Big Mac had occupied and smiled as she felt his lingering warmth. Closing her eyes, Starshadow let sleep finally overcome her, hoping that Big Mac could catch up to his sister and help set things right.
The loud slam of a door woke Starshadow up from her short sleep. As she slowly opened her eyes she saw the silhouette of somepony standing by the doors, but it wasn't Big Mac. A loud THUMP sounded as the pony kicked over a large wooden beam, and Starshadow's eyes snapped all the way open just in time to see the wooden beam fall across two brackets on each door, locking the doors shut. She looked over to see who was now locked in the barn with her, and she gulped as she saw an angry orange earth pony wearing a familiar stetson hat. Starshadow glanced over at the side door that Big Mac had left through, but Applejack had already thought of that. "Ain't no use tryin' that there door, ah already locked it." she growled.
Starshadow gulped as Applejack walked towards her with a scowl on her face. "Applejack, I..." she tried to say.
Applejack slammed her powerful hind legs into a nearby barrel, shattering the wooden barrel like it was made of glass. "Shut yer yapper! Ya'll are here ta listen to me!" she yelled out.
Starshadow shrunk back in fear as Applejack approached her and threw her hat aside. "Listen here ya hussy, ah don' know watcha want with mah big brother, but ya can't have him. He ain't interested in ya or whatever it is ya'll are tellin' him to trick him. So why dontcha pack up and leave? It'll be best for ya both if ya do."
Starshadow defiantly shook her head no, but as Applejack growled in disapproval she quickly rethought her decision to try to stand up to the angry mare. "W-why don't you want me to be with him? What did I do?" Starshadow asked meekly.
"Wha' in tarnation do ya think?" Applejack yelled at her. "Ya think ya can jes' come in here an' try ta move in and split mah family apart! Ya think ya'll are better than us and can take Big Mac away from us? Ah ain't gonna let ya do that!"
"I'm not trying to do any of that! I'm not trying to split up your family, I pomise!" Starshadow pleaded to her as she continued to back away, eventually finding herself in the corner of the barn.
"Shut up, jus' shut up! Ah've had enough of your excuses and lies!" Applejack shouted. "Ya got two choices. Either ya leave righ' now and never come near mah brother again or ya fight me righ' here, righ' now!"
Starshadow didn't want to give up Big Mac, despite her confusing emotions. But pegasi weren't well known for their physical strength and she knew that she wasn't a strong pony by any stretch of the imagination; there was absolutely no way she could survive, much less win a fight against the frighteningly powerful earth pony. "Please, Applejack, don't..." she begged.
Applejack thrust her hoof forward threateningly, stopping just short of Starshadow's muzzle. "Choose." she growled angrily, not giving her any other options.
Cornered and helpless, Starshadow cowered as far as she could away from Applejack; she didn't understand what the other mare was accusing her about, trying to break up her family or any of that, but she was sure that the farm pony meant to kill her if she tried to fight back... Tears quickly came to her eyes as she gave her answer. "I'll... I'll leave." she said solemnly, not daring to meet the other mare's glare.
Applejack was slightly surprised by Starshadow's immediate submission but was more than happy with the answer. "Good. Now git." she said. Applejack went over to the main doors and seemingly effortlessly lifted the wooden beam back up to its original position, unlocking the doors. She swung one of the doors open and pointed her hoof towards Ponyville. What she didn't see in her haste to be done with the confrontation was that somepony was standing in the doorway with an extremely angry expression on their face.
"Ah don' ever wanna see ya agin, ya skank! Understand? Ah don'... oh." Applejack began to yell before she finally noticed who was standing mere inches away from the door. Applejack gulped as she knew that she was in big, big trouble, and she had been caught red-hoofed.
Granny Smith entered the barn and slowly made her way to where Starshadow sat crying on the ground. The elderly pony wiped away the small pony's tears and offered her a compassionate hug. "There, there, young'un, no need fer them tears. Ya'll have been through enough here. Go on inside, Apple Bloom'll take yer up to Big Mac's room an' ya can wait fer him there. I need to have a lil talk with AJ here." she said.
Nodding in understanding, Starshadow stood and slowly followed Granny Smith out of the barn where she saw Apple Bloom waving her to her by the house. Granny Smith watched as the two entered the house before she turned her attention to her granddaughter.
Applejack's face was that of worry now. "Granny, ah can explain." she said.
"Oh, can yer? This outta be good." Granny Smith said, eyeing Applejack suspiciously.
"W-well... there's, um..." Applejack stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse as to why the pegasus should not see Big Mac, but no valid reasons came to mind.
Granny Smith shook her head sadly. "Applejack, ah thought we had left this all in the past. Ya can't keep on chasin' away every mare that Big Mac hangs out with."
"W-what are ya talkin about? Ah'm over that, that ain't what ah'm tryin ta do!" Applejack said defensively, but both ponies knew that her words were all lies.
Granny Smith walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "AJ, ya gotta letcher big brother find love. If he wants ter have her as his special somepony, it ain't your place to keep 'em apart."
A wave of emotions flashed across Applejack's features at this. The proud mare tried to keep herself together, but her grandmother's kind, sympathetic hoof finally broke her will. Her legs gave out under her and she collapsed onto the ground crying. "It... it ain't fair! Why does she get 'ter be happy with him? He's mah brother! He was mine first! She can't jus' move in an' take him from me!"
Granny Smith couldn't do anything but wait for Applejack to calm down. She sighed, depressed that her granddaughter wasn't over the incident that occurred many years ago. She had tried everything she knew how to help Applejack but it clearly wasn't enough. Maybe now was the time to finally tell Big Mac and get him involved in this issue. Well, more involved...
Far over in Canterlot, one of the large mansions next door to Celestia's castle was beginning to come to life. The servants began their daily routines, getting everything ready for the two ponies that they served. As the mare of the house came out of her room and walked through the house she greeted each of the servants and made small talk with them. But when her husband made his presence known, the air became cold and silence fell around him. Each servant bowed to him as he passed and those actively serving his needs kept absolutely silent, even when carrying out his commands. Even his wife kept silent around him, but for somewhat different reasons.
After breakfast, the intimidating stallion made his way to his study. As he walked into his private sanctuary he cast a glance at the stained glass window that dominated the wall behind his desk. The window was mostly a combination of red, green, and blue, and a white four pointed star dominated the middle of the glass. The design of the first three colors decorated the stallion's flank, but instead of a star on his flank, he had twin crossed swords as his cutie mark.
Settling in at his desk, he looked down at the paperwork he had to complete today. He liked the other part of his job better; training Celestia's Royal Guards in the art of sword mastery. Framing the doorway were the two custom made swords he used to fight, but his fighting style used a total of three. His technique was one that never failed him; he would wear down his opponent with a sustained attack with the two physical swords, and once he had the upper hoof he would conjure a third sword made of pure magical energy to overwhelm their defenses and strike down his opponents. Despite never being a guard himself, his prowess was known all over Equestria, and Princess Celestia had personally picked him, Polaris, to lead the training of the ponies responsible for protecting her and her lands.
A knock at his study door sounded, and without looking up from his work he commanded whoever had knocked to enter. A pony clad in a black cloak entered his study, walking in front of Polaris and bowing. Polaris glanced up momentarily before returning to his papers. "Report your findings, Darkstalker." he said without looking back up.
The pony removed his hood, exposing his dark red mane and coat and dull gray eyes. His cutie mark was hidden by his cloak, though even if he didn't have his cloak on his cutie mark was all but impossible to see due to the thick ink he and all of Polaris's agents used to conceal their true colors. "The apartment in Cloudsdale is now vacant." he reported. "The landlord says she moved out a few days ago, but he didn't know where she went to."
Polaris was furious, but his face and body didn't betray even a hint of his mood. "I see. Very well, you know your standing orders; rendezvous with the rest of your team and continue your investigation. Report back when you find out more information." he demanded.
Darkstalker nodded and put his hood back on before leaving the room. Once the door was shut Polaris left his desk and walked to the far side of the room where the sacred family tome lay behind glass. He stared down at the priceless family heirloom and gritted his teeth angrily. "You will not rob this family of its rightful place and destiny." he said. "I will find you, and you will make this family immortal!"
Starshadow felt a chill run down her spine as she waited in Big Mac's room. She wasn't sure why, and thankfully the feeling of dread disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Besides, she had enough to worry about right now. Apple Bloom had led her to Big Mac's room, and on the way upstairs the small earth pony apologized to her for causing her to become so upset. Apple Bloom's apology made Starshadow feel horrible for yelling at the young filly and her friends, and before Apple Bloom ran off to go get ready for school she too apologized. Both ponies shared a hug to show their mutual feelings of regret for the events that occurred in the past and promised each other that they would start over starting now. Starshadow was happy that she had made amends with one of Big Mac's sisters but wished she could befriend Applejack, or at least that the mare would stop trying to attack her.
She sat alone in Big Mac's room, waiting for the red stallion to come back. It took over an hour, but he finally returned, running upstairs and embracing Starshadow as soon as he saw her. "Sorry 'bout the wait. Had to talk to Granny Smith downstairs."
Starshadow looked at Big Mac with uncertainty. "She hates me, doesn't she?" she asked him.
Big Mac sat down on his bed and beckoned Starshadow to sit with him. "There's something ya need to know. It's why Applejack is actin' the way she is. It's... kinda mah fault." Starshadow slowly took the offered place at his side, her eyes reflecting the fear and confusion in her mind; the stallion sighed deeply, his own thoughts clouded with fear. He had no idea how she would react to what he was about to share with her. It certainly wasn't something he himself wanted to think about, especially now, having heard the whole story from Granny Smith, and part of him worried that when she knew she would reject him and his family. Still, she had been brave for him just the day before when she told him about her scared cutie marks; at the very least he owed her the same. He would tell her straight, no matter what came of it...
Big Mac took a deep breath before he finally began. "Back a few years, Applejack an' I were here alone for a week or so while Granny Smith an' Apple Bloom were visitin' our relatives in the city. It was that time fer her to go in heat, though she an' I didn' know it until it was too late. She was desperate for release but I couldn' go all the way with my sis, so I started with just helpin' her get off with my hoof. Soon it wasn't enough for her, so I had to resort to using my mouth." A blush crept into his features as he recalled the events of that week, but he stoically pressed on with his story. "She wanted to go all tha way but I couldn't allow her to. Thankfully her heat wore off an' Granny Smith an' Apple Bloom came home 'fore it got that far, but the next few weeks Granny Smith caught Applejack sneakin' around an' followin' me around town. She supposedly was chasin' off mares who wanted to talk ta me an' was plannin' on jumpin' me, but luckily Granny Smith was able to sit her down an' talk some sense into her. She thought Applejack was fine after that, but I guess not."
Silence followed for a while as Big Mac's story sunk into Starshadow's head. A lot of questions finally made sense; why Applejack had chased off Vinyl and herself so ferociously and why Applejack didn't have any issue with her before when she was coming to talk to Big Mac about cider. "So, she doesn't hate me because I'm not an earth pony?" she asked him.
"Course not. Some of her best friends are pegasi and unicorns." Big Mac confirmed. "It makes sense to me, 'splains why no mares have been talkin' to me at all 'sides business."
A few more moments of silence followed. "So, what do we do now?" Starshadow asked. "I don't want your sister to hate me forever. Well, unless you don't want me with you since I'm a problem."
Big Mac once again wrapped his hooves around her body. "Course I want you here with me," he said, kissing her softly. "You're my special somepony. Ain't nopony gonna take you away from me. Granny Smith gave her a strong tongue lashin' out in the barn, an' when you're ready AJ is gonna apologize to ya."
Starshadow was happy that Applejack's interference was likely coming to an end but she was still uneasy with the thought of talking to the powerful, hostile mare, let alone just being around her. "D-do we have to? Can't I talk to her later?" she pleaded.
"I think we settle this as soon as possible. If you're ready to go we can go down now." Big Mac said. When Starshadow didn't move, he gave her a gentle nudge. "C'mon now. I'm gonna be right there with ya so you don' need to worry."
Starshadow sighed and hung her head. "Yes, Master." she said meekly as she turned and headed towards the door.
Big Mac followed her, somewhat puzzled by her reactions to everything that had just happened. That she seemed to have problem with his previous incestuous relations with his sister was a huge relief, but her reaction just now was bothering him... He thought back to the first night he spent with her, and the next day in the orchard. She had called him 'Master' back then, just as she had just now. He wanted to stop her and ask her why she was calling him that, but he held his tongue, deciding that she had a big enough problem to deal with right now. Settling her dispute with Applejack came first, he could wait until later to ask her about her pet name for him.