Younganon day 8 pt 1

>…
>Ah, that feel when you wake up and you aren’t a shivering mess of itchiness.
>It’s more than a feeling…
>More than I could feeeeel!
>Breakfasts usually aren’t super sweet or sugary, but it seems that once a week, that’s what it is.
>According to the calendar, this was Sunday. Not important in P0ny culture, aside from being pancake day and the day before school again.
>You weren’t about to complain about not going to church or anything.
>The stuff they talked about in there went over your head like the doorframe itself.
>So instead of wasting an hour of your time listening to an old man talk about THA LOVE A JESUS CHRAST you enjoyed pancakes with the Apple family.
>”Well now, Big Mac, didja remember ta tell junior why the dentis’ is so sweet on ya?”
>Big Mac nearly spits out the bit he takes, instead swallowing it whole.
>”Awww, shoot. Ah knew ah forgot something.”
“Forgot what? She was all up in our faces.”
>”More Big Mac’s than yers, if’n ahm guessin right!”
>Granny lets out a whooping laugh, and little Applebloom giggles gleefully.
>"Ah don' get it. Big Mac, Granny, what do y'all mean?"
>Yeah, fill us in on the details Granny!
>”Well here’s the skinny: Once a year all us mares what ain’t old lahk me, or too young lahk Applejack an Applebloom here  go a little crazy. Now, it’s nothing too serious, but what with Estrus season coming up ah don’t think yer teacher will be in the best of spirits ta do her job. Now yer just a colt, junior, so you don’t much transmit or pick up the ferr-moans lahk Big Mac will be.”
>Big Macintosh blushes, his red becoming an odd shade of pink.
>”So all tha stallions in P0nyville who ain’t married yet band tagether and ride out tha ‘Storm o Mares” as they call it. All the younguns get a week off from school titled Spring Break, on account of how it sounds so much better than Etrus Fever Week.”
>You don’t get it.
>Applejack looks to, she’s blushing herself a shade of Big Macintosh.
“So…what’s estrus?”
>”Ah, right, ah fergot. Well Estrus Season is kahnd o lahk matin’ season.”
>”Granny!”
>AJ and Big Mac shout simultaneously.
>Ignoring them and smiling, Granny Smith continues:
>”P0ny folk only get to the down n dirty about once a year to make foals. Estrus week is a diffrnt tahm dependin on where y’are, but it’s always in tha Spring. We mares of P0nyville aren’t sex-crazy, but when ah was a single mare, we weren’t never to give up until our stallion gave in! Whay ah remember…”
>She trails off.
>…what is “sex”?
>Seeing your confusion, Big Macintosh whispers in your ear.
>”It’s lahk the birds an the bees.”
“I thought the stork brought in children.”
>He rolls his eyes.
>”Oh come on, ah ain’t got tahm to teach you tha diffrnce atween fairy tales now! We gotta get a move on!”
“We?”
>”Yes, as in: tha both of us.”
”But Granny Smith said I get a week off!”
>”An’ you’ll have it, but we gotta go, afore-”
>”Biiig Maaaa~aac!”
>You both turn slowly to face the voice of Colgate, who is standing on her hind legs, face pressed against the glass, drooling and giggling.
>”Oh land’s sakes.”
“What you said.”
>”Heeeere’s COLGATE!”
>She pulls out a toothbrush and a couple of dental picks, jamming and twisting at the lock on the window, until you hear a click.
>”RUN!”
>Big Macintosh lifts you onto his back, and you “rescue” a plate full of pancakes as he does, carrying them along for the ride as he gallops out the back door.
>You nearly reach it as Colgate throws open the window and leaps through.
>”Morning, Applejack, Granny Smith! Taking care of those pearly whites?”
> AJ and Granny smile widely, Granny’s dentures falling onto her pancakes.
>”Oh…and who is this little foal…well, time for introductions is later!”
>She puts on a Texas accent.
>”Ah’ve got mahself a stallyin ta catch! YEEEHAWW!”
>Big Macintosh is at a full gallop out of the door that you had to open for him.
>He was fumbling at the handle so hard, he forgot you were there and you frightened him again.
>”Sakes alive! Alraght Anon, you hold on to tha pancakes, and I’ll giver er a few laps.”
>As you ride Brokintosh around a racing track, followed intensely by Colgate yelling something about smooches and cuddles, you decide to pick up conversation.
“Soo…are all mares lahk that?”
>”No, acourse not, jus’ her!”
”So what is sex?”
>Big Macintosh puts the brakes on faster than Colgate can respond.
>She runs a little ahead of the two of you, before realizing you stopped, and turns around with an evil grin.
>”Can we not have this conversation right now? If ah don’ get away, yer gonna have a crash course!”
>With that, he spins on his hooves and runs back the other way.
>You simply take another bite of pancake and ask something else.
”Wellf –smak- maybeh if ya told me why ah had to –gulp- come too, ah wouldn’t have to ask ya.”
>”Well ah told mahself ah’d never abandon another stallion or colt to the Storm of Mares again, an ah meant it! IT doesn’t matter that she’s only after me, who knows what she’ll do to ya! You’re tall enough to be a stallion, but ah know how old y’are an ah ain’t of good conscience to leave ya alone with er.”
“So ah DIDN’T have to go on this silly escape with you?”
>”But think of it this way: we’re bonding lahk brothers should!”
“I’m not your brother.”
>You don’t say it with malice, but the words cut him deep.
>His pace slows down to a trot, and he turns to you with a face that jut screams: Why would you say such a thing?
>Colgate, picking up on the family tension now that she’s worn herself out mumbles an “Oh look at the time, gottagobye.” And excuses herself.
>Big Macintosh lets you down off his back the fast way: sitting on his haunches.
>You slide off, still holding the remaining pancakes.
>He opens his mouth to speak, but just closes his eyes and walks into the orchard.
>You done goofed, Anonymous.
>But what did I do, brain?
>Think about it, he was awful quick to call you his brother when you met him, wasn’t he?
>Yeah.
>And he hangs out with you almost all of your free time, in a family that is pretty much all mares.
>Uh huh…
>So he thinks of you as his younger brother! It’s obvious he’s always wanted a brother!
>But we aren’t even related!
>YOU SELFISH, IGNORANT JERK! JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK GRANNY SMITH MIGHT HAVE MEANT YESTERDAY?
>Always keep the bottle at 45 degrees when feeding Applebloom?
>The other thing, nitwit.
>Family is more than blood?
>YES! YES, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YES! You have been here for a FULL WEEK, minus a few hours give or take! These ponies took you into their home, clothed you, fed you, and called you their family. How is this not your home now? Huh? HOW ARE THEY NOT YOUR FAMILY AT THIS POINT!?
>Criminy, calm down there brain. No need to go critical and explode.
>But the more you thought about it, the more like a jerk you were.
>Really, you hadn’t counted this place as home yet.
>In some way, you were always thinking it would be over soon, and your adventure in Equestria would end with you going back home after a few days. But it had already been a few days, and you had already forgotten that Princess Celestia herself, the most magically powerful being around could not gt you home.
>This understanding did not do wonders for your self esteem, your attitude, or otherwise.
>So you did what all children do when they have a moment of self-realization do.
>Act your age.
>Sniffling, you pick yourself up, and bring the pancakes with you back into the house.
>Applejack and Granny had already finished and were doing the dishes.
>”Well hey there Anon! Colgate catch ‘im?”
>You put the plate on the counter and head up the stairs sullenly.
“No.”
>AJ and Granny share a look of worry.
>”You go fahnd Big Mac an ask ‘im what’s wrong. Ah’ll deal with junior.”
>Applejack nods, placing her hat on her head and gallops off into the orchards.
>You walk up and lock yourself in the bathroom, as it is the only room with a lock aside from the windows.
>A faint clip clop and knock alert you to a visitor.
>You rub your eyes and wipe away a few tears.
“What.”
>Your voice is so quiet and miserable, you actually manage to make yourself feel WORSE.
>”Junior? What happened atween you an Big Mac? Did Colgate show you what sex was?”
“N-no. I was…I’m…”
>…trapped.
>You choke back a sob and the rest of your sentence.
>”Anon, ah know you ain’t ok. You’ve gone back into that city slickin accent a yours again. Open up and get yourself to yours and Big Mac’s room, ah’d lahk to talk to you, get this mess sorted out.”
>You can almost feel how sad she is from the other side of the door.
>Since you haven’t made a habit of denying the ancient green mare yet, you do as she says.
>She isn’t outside the door waiting for you, but when you walk into Big Mac’s room…
>See? You can’t even think of it as yours, or as “your brother’s” room.
>Not helping brain.
>Just making a point, kid.
>…Granny Smith is sitting on the bottom bunk with a note in her hand.
>”Take a seat there, junior. Let’s get this all out in tha open.”
>You nod.
>As you take a seat, Granny Smith tries to read your face.
>You cringe under her gaze, and avoid meeting her eyes, filled with worry as they are.
>”Ah guess you an Big Mac had a fallin out o some kahnd.”
>You nod.
>”He prolly didn’t say a word, did he?”
>You nod.
>Granny sighs a long breath and moves closer to you, wrapping a hoof around your shoulders.
>”Anonymous, ah know we ain’t the most normal family out here in Equestria, most families don’t have related cutie marks and occupations or names. But we do, an it ain’t because it’s the prerequisite to becoming part of our family.”
>She pauses, as if waiting for you to say something.
>”Big Macintosh…when his parents first dropped ‘im off here, he was real lonely. Years later, when ah told him he’d have a new sibling, he was ecstatic, started talkin about all the possibilities he an his brother would manage. When he saw his new sibling was a girl…he didn’t speak for a week.”
>Granny Smith wipes a tear off her face.
>”Now, eventually he came around, but he never got acquainted with any makes his own age, an always felt left out. He an AJ were as close as can be, an then yer father appeared. The personal friend of the princess came to live in P0nyville! Can you believe that? Almost immediately, Anon senior took a shine ta us Apples, and we got along rather well. He used ta live in tha library, but moved in with us not long after.”
>She smiles, then has a quivering lip and watery eyes as she continues.
>”Then came the disease. Anon…he was a fighter, an kept us in the loop. We were his family here. Ah trusted him an he trusted me. When he passed, ah lost more than just a friend, ah lost family.”
>She wraps you into a tight hug, and wipes away tears from your face you didn’t notice were there.
>”An you’re his son, which means yer family too. When he left, he gave me this. It’s the account number to his bank. Everything he owned he left in there. He gave it to us, his dyin will. Ah won’t say ah never touched it. The farm comes into its share of trouble occasionally, but it sure is pullin its weight with you.”
>She holds the note to you, and you read it aloud.
“Hello, Granny. I know that if you’re reading this you finally accepted some financial help from beyond the grave. WooooOOOooo!”
>You and she both chuckle.
“I know my chicken scratch isn’t worth much, but use the bits any way you see fit. I love you guys more than you know. You are like family to me, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Make sure you keep AJ honest for me, won’t you? Sincerely, and goodbye, Anonymous.”
>You sniffle and hand her back the note.
>”You see? Family means more than just blood.”
>You were sort of tired of hearing that over and over, whether it was from your own mind or your family…
>Family.
>Family!
>By jove, I think you’ve got it!
>Not that it solves all your problems, but you think you’re ready to talk about your problems now.
“Well Big Macintosh was telling me how us escaping from Colgate was a brother’s binding experience, but I wasn’t his brother so I said so and now we’re family and we’re brothers and I’m an idiot and I’m sorry and I just wanted to go home and I forgot and the princess said I can’t ever go home and I miss my mom and sister and video games –hic- and tv and –hic- my friends and school and –hic- storybooks and I’m sorryyyy-yyy-hic-yyyyy!”
>You know how those hiccups just decide to interrupt you when you’re doing something normal?
>It is at least a thousand times worse when you cry, swear to God. Hurts like the dickens too.
>Granny Smith holds you in a hug for a couple of minute as you let it all out.
>After a time, Big Macintosh and Applejack come into the room.
>Big Mac stands there, stoically. His face betraying no emotion as he avoids looking at you.
>”Go on now, junior. Tell im.”
>You look forlornly at her, like she told you to go jump off a cliff and goomba a puppy.
>She shoos you over to him.
>You get up, and walk face to face with Big Macintosh.
“I-“
>”Ah have nothing to say to you, Anonymous.”
>No, be strong, say it anyway!
>Your red face should be all the proof he needs of how you feel over it, but he doesn’t even look at it.
“I’m sorry Big Mac. I’m sorry I was stupid. I was a useless idiot, and I wasted your time all yesterday.”
>Now you have his attention. For as much of an act as he puts on, his face betrays his emotions.
>He realizes he lost, so he drops the act whole-sale.
>”Anon, every minute ah spent with ya’ll yesterday an every day before that has NOT been a waste of any tahm, mahn or yours. And from all the talkin we do, ah know fer a fact, you’re no idjit and you have uses.”
>Now he sees your face.
>Your tear filled face.
“You’re mah…you’re mah b-”
>He nods, and urges you to continue, tears welling up in his eyes now.
>CRYING PARTY!
>Lord, shut up brain!
“You’re mah brother!”
>You wrap your arms around him tightly, and he returns the gesture in an old timey good-feel Hallmark movie ending kind of way.
>The hug leads to a group hug, involving Applejack and Granny Smith as they embrace the newest member of their family: you.
>That is, until Applebloom cries and Applejack goes to bring her in on the action.
>”F-famree. Famiry!”
>She squeals in delight and wraps her hooves around your neck.
>”Mah stars, her first word!”
>Absolutely. Adorable.