>you are applejack
>the five of you are waiting at the hospital to see if anon is going to be okay
>while you wait you pull applebloom aside
>you had something you’ve been waiting to tell her
“Hey… applebloom…”
>applebloom tilts her head 
>”yeah, what’s up AJ?”
>here goes nothing
“I wanna apologize…”
“When i got back from the crystal empire, i freaked out at you and it wasn’t right”
“You didn’t do nothin’ wrong and I was so worried about anon and big mac”
“And when i yelled at you again when you finally got to see anon…”
“But there ain’t any excuse for how i treated you… i’m really sorry for yelling at you like that…”
>applebloom looks at you in confusion
>she talks very softly
>”aj, we’ve both had a rough few weeks”
>”I was just as scared when anon and big mac were missing as you were”
>”and i don’t blame you one bit”
>she hugs you tightly
>”I’m just so glad things can go back to normal soon”
>she hugs you even tighter
>she starts to cry
>”I, I just really missed you all so much…”
>the two of you hold your embrace 
“Applebloom, once anons all better how about we have a big ol’ picnic by the lake?”
>applebloom looks up at you
>”I would really like that…”
…

>after another hour of waiting the doctor came back with some news
>”although we don’t fully understand this illness, judging by his condition now compared to what he told us happened before it’s likely he’s already been through the worst of it”
>”we expect a speedy recovery, he should be home by tomorrow”
>home by tomorrow…
>this is the best news you’ve heard for a while
>you can hardly contain your excitement
>but before you can say anything the doctor had one more thing to say
>”shining, can i talk to you for a moment?”
>shining armour nods and walks off with him

>by the time you came back you were itching to ask the doctor if you could see anon
>he gave you a smile and gestured you to go in
>you, big mac, and applebloom made your way inside
>you gently open the door to see anon in the dark room on the hospital bed
>he’s awake but you can tell he’s quite tired
>you keep your voice low as you speak

>https://youtu.be/FgjA9EuxIlY (reunited)

“Anon… you feelin’ okay?”
>he gave you a smile but hardly moved
>”aj? Big mac? Applebloom?”
>his voice was soft
>you could tell he was recovering from everything that had happened
>”I can’t tell you how happy i am to see you all again…”
>the room felt warm
>you nudged applebloom, signalling her to finally give anon the hug she meant to when she first saw him again
>she jumped up on his hospital bed and rolled on top of him only to stop when she laid on her back 
>she looked at anon upside down and asked him
>”so what happened while you were gone?”
>at first you felt the question to be too much for right now
>but the way anon went about describing it was more like a beautiful story of adventure than the truly terrifying one it was
>he described everything that had happened seemingly leaving out his involvement
>he described king sombras fall as something that just happened take place rather than telling of his exploits
>the scenes he would build with his words were wonderful
>he told his story as if he were nothing more than a witness to it all
>he talked about what the crystal empire was like without the ponies there
>he told us that even the princess of the crystal empire kept our zap apple jam stocked up in their kitchen
>it was amazing how anon could turn the story of his struggles into a seemingly innocent story
>by the time he finished the doctor came in to quietly let us know the hospital would be closing soon
>as you said your goodbyes the three of you made your way to the door
>but as big mac and applebloom went through you found it difficult to push yourself through the doorway
“You go on now, i’ve got to talk with anon alone for a moment…”
>big mac lead applebloom out while you shut the door behind them
>you turned to anon
>the both of you were silent
>you looked at each other wordlessly for a moment
>you broke eye contact as you made your way up on to his hospital bed
>once you were up on it, you looked into his eyes as you stood above him

>https://youtu.be/BaGC3ljJ0Yg (I’ve missed you…)

>you lay down on top of him and close your eyes
>neither of you speak as you relish in the feeling of being with him again
>you could feel his heartbeat with you being so close to his chest
>every breathe you push out grazes his neck 
>you’ve missed this feeling so much
>your front hooves are slumped over his shoulders
>it feels like your finally holding him again
>you can feel his chest rise and fall as he breathes 
>the rhythm is comforting
>you remember the doctor telling you the hospital would close soon
>but you couldn’t even try to pull yourself off of him
>you wanted to stay too much
>it felt as if you were glued to him
>with the silence between you two, it seemed he fell asleep
>a part of you hopes it was you who helped him relax into his rest
>you have so much to talk to him about tomorrow 

>you are anon
>the next morning you and applejack were woken up by the doctor coming in
>”applejack? How did you get in here? I thought you had left last night?”
>she twists her head to face him before realizing what happened
>she accidentally fell asleep on you last night 
>there was no way for her to properly explain why she was there so she just mumbled and stuttered while looking off to the side
>it was adorable
>”you’re lucky visting hours just started, otherwise i would have to escort you out…”
>and with that the doctor left
>you and applejack turn to face each other
>you were silent as you looked in each others eyes for a while
“It’s so nice to finally see you again aj…”
>your words were quiet but they felt heavy
>she started sniffling and tearing up
>”i’ve missed you so much more than you can possibly know anon…”
>she shuts her eyes tightly and hugs you
>she presses her face into your neck and caressed you with her muzzle
>you felt like you were in heaven
>to finally feel her embrace again
>but while she embraced you she said something that pulled you out of the comforting feeling
>in between sniffles she spoke
>”cadence told me everything…”
>she held onto you tighter
>”anon… when you were chased by those timberwolves and pinkie told me what happened i was so worried”
>”I wanted you to feel safe…”
>”i did have good intentions when i asked you to move into my room i promise”
>”but when you were there it felt different…”
>”I really wanted you to need me”
>”i really wish you needed me”
>”i enjoyed having you closer to me”
>”when you cried on my shoulder i felt like i could be worth something to you”
>”i hated that i could never tell you how i felt, that i had to wait until something bad had happened to you for me to express it without you knowing”
>”i wish i had the courage to tell you how i felt”
>”anon… i assumed you would never see me in that kind of way”
>”it hurt so bad to think about it”
>her speech felt bitter-sweet
>her words felt as if your feelings for her were mutual
>but the pain it brought her to hold them back were similar to your own
>you were so happy to hear how she felt about you
>but the last part felt heart wrenching to hear
>”and when cadence told me everything that you did all on your own…”
>”i felt like you would never need me again…”
>you were both desperate for each other and never even realized it
>before she could break down in tears you pulled her up closer to you

>https://youtu.be/OtLcqr3RQJY (Surrender to each other)

>your lips press against hers
>it felt as if all those pent up feelings for her were being washed away the longer your lips were connected
>she immediately began to reciprocate
>she bobbed her head up and down very slightly as she pressed deeper into the kiss, only to back off the tiniest bit to relish in pressing against you once more
>both of you expressed your desperation for each other in it
>the feeling was so serene it made you feel weak
>she could feel your embrace loosen as the her passion for you over powered your ability to match it 
>she eased off a moment and whispered lovingly to you
>”relax…”
>”let me spoil you sweet heart…”
>her words only added to your love induced weakness
>you let yourself sink into the bed as she positioned herself above you
>she presses her face back against yours leaving her to do all of the work
>as her lips have their way with yours she makes small motions similar to before
>the pressure against your face eased every trouble you’ve ever had
>you let yourself lie motionless as she continued to show her love for you 
>every part of your body felt blissful
>the wet noise her lips made against yours was a pleasant sound
…
>after what felt like hours of her servicing you she releases herself from your lips
>when you open your eyes to look at her she gives a small smile but looks to the side
>”does this mean you still need me?”
>her words were gentle
“Aj, i know how you felt when you heard what cadence said”
“But cadence doesn’t know the full story”
>she looked back at you
“Every step of the way i was thinking about you aj…”
“I couldn’t wait to get home and sleep in the same bed as you again”
“I missed you so much”
“Aj, i’ll always need you…”
>her eyes fill with tears
>”oh anon…”
>she starts rubbing her face against yours
>”I promise i’m going to always going to be right there with you alright?”
>”i’ll take such good care of you ya hear”
>after a moment of embrace you both let go
>applejack makes her way off the hospital bed 
>before applejack can say anything the door opens 
>the doctor and shining armour enter the room
>the doctor turns to her
>”I need to check on anon before we can discharge him…”
>the look on his face implied he needed to be alone for it
>applejack took the hint and left 

>the doctor closed the door behind her before nodding to shining armour
>something about this felt off
>”anon, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for equestria”
>you personally didn’t feel like you did much for equestria
>the compliment felt like an over statement
“Well, you’re welcome, i guess…”
>shining armour looked to be contemplating something
>what the hell is going on 
>this didn’t feel like a check up
>”anon, i want to talk about the changelings for a moment…”
>hearing him say that reminded you of what you did back in canterlot
>it seemed serious
>the way he looked at you made it feel as if you did something wrong
>was it the way you handled it?
>cadence had you shoot at the swarm before landing in canterlot
>he’s not going to tell you what you did was a war crime right?
>”that invasion was the worst one canterlot has ever seen by them”
>”changeling tactics are meant to demoralize when they’re on the defensive”
>”anon, i know exactly what happened when you left canterlot”
>”the changelings… they got to you didn’t they…”
>he came closer to you
>”listen to me closely anon, those changeling soldiers, they never felt fear…”
>”they do this to manipulate their attackers”
>”I promise you, you did nothing wrong in the slightest, they were attacking innocent civilians”
>”trust me when i say this anon, they were trying to manipulate you into stopping you”
>”I’ve dealt with changelings plenty of times before i can promise you what i am saying is true”
>a wave of relief washes over you
>your guilt about what happened in canterlot vanishes 
“Thank you, i really needed to hear that, uh, who are you exactly?”
>”I’m shining armour, prince of the crystal empire, I’m sure you remember cadence right?”
“Of course”
>”I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done, cadence has filled me in on everything that happened”
“So, when do you think i can head back home?”
>shining looks to the ground and takes a deep breath
>”I don’t think you’re going home for a while…”
>you were confused
“But, the doctor said-”
>”it’s not about your illness”
>”you’re cured, the illness wasn’t even compatible with you anyways, you’ve already done most of your healing before you even got here”
“Then what the hell am i still doing here”
>”anon, i know you’re not going to like this, but I need your help…”