=Father of the Night 17=

>"And so these two city slickers thought they could just roll into town and thought their fancy machine could replace the old fashioned way me and mine had goin' for years." AJ finishes.
>You sip your drink.
"Well damn...I hope you guys got rid of them."
>AJ smirks. "Wouldn'ta had a farm for you to work on when you got here if that weren't the case."
>You chuckle. [spoiler][/spoiler] "Got me there."
>Bruce perks up from the other side of the table. "I do hope that those two did not color your opinion on us "city slickers" too negatively, Miss Applejack."
>AJ smiles and ruffles Bruce's mane, or at least tries to through the cowl. You think you actually see a smile underneath there.
>"Can't let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch, Bruce."
>This had been how the entire day was since Bruce showed you guys his new cave and his suit.
>Twilight had gone home a few hours ago muttering something about a vital friendship report and the three of you knew better than to stand in her way when she was like THAT.
>Out of the window, you see the sun take its final jump down over the horizon, sending the kingdom into twilight. At the same time, the clock nearby strikes seven and fills the house with its hollow bongs.
>You can see Bruce's smile fade and his face visibly harden. "I have to go." he says as he jumps out of his chair and makes for the pantry door.
"Bruce, wait."
>Bruce pauses momentarily at the pantry door and looks back at you.
>You walk over and kneel down to his level.
"Look, don't push it too hard tonight, alright? Be careful and don't let yourself get any -more- hurt."
>AJ chimes in behind you. "Anonymous's right, Bruce. Don't go endin' up like Big Macintosh and get yourself laid out for weeks because ya keep pushing yourself."
>Bruce's eyes dart between the two of you. "I...will. Thank you for the...concern."
>He then faces forward again and heads down the stairs.

>You sit in the stairwell as Bruce quickly moves through his little grotto and collects his gear.
>Within moments he's out the back door and into the night, leaving you along in the eerily empty cavern.
"Better be careful out there, boy..."
>You get up off the step and return upstairs. When you do, you find AJ standing on a chair peeking out the window facing the town.
"Heh...Catch sight of him?"
>AJ yelps and practically falls off the chair before catching herself on the kitchen counter. "Just...watchin' out for 'im."
>You walk over and help AJ off the chair. [spoiler][/spoiler] "Thanks. We appreciate it."
>AJ looks up at you with concern. "Y'all worried about him?"
>What the hell kind of question is that?
"Of course I'm worried. I'm always worried when he does...this stuff. I just try not to let anyone see it."
>AJ cocks an eyebrow. "That can't be good for ya, how come?"
>You sigh.
"Because he's out there most nights risking life and limb for people he doesn't know. So when he comes home, he needs people who -believe- in him, 100%.
>AJ nods. "Easier to do what ya do if you're sure that those ya care about think you can do it, huh?"
>You wordlessly nod.
>"Well...do ya think he can do it? Can he do what he does and still be safe?"
>You sigh again.
"Bruce is...very talented."
>The room stays uncomfortably silent for a bit.
>"I'll ah...leave ya to it then, Anon." AJ says hopping out of her seat.
"You don't have to go." you say.
>Huh?
>"Huh?" AJ says.
>You clear your throat.
>What in-
"You could...yeah, stay, I guess."
>AJ looks around the spacious house. "Uh...what'd we do?"
>You shrug for lack of any better ideas.
"TV?"

-Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmKNbnd2VPQ-
>AJ and you watch the images on the screen.
>"I just cannot understand why these boys are so intent on gettin' themselves hurt like this."
>You watch as one stallion falls off an outhouse that he had been standing on while his friends drive model airplanes into him.
"I really don't know but...I find myself hypnotized by it."
>AJ tilts her head to the side and watches the spectacle of idiocy. "Me...too. That's just the darndest thing."
"I know, right?"
>"They have television like this back where you came from, Anon?" she asks.
>You stroke your chin and think back to all the TV you watched before you came here.
"There...may be some parallels."
>She snags a chip from the bag and plops it in the dip you cooked up. "Y'all do this with Bruce?"
>You sigh and lean back against the couch. 
"No...Bruce is usually too off in his own little world for stuff like this."
>It...worried you a bit, to be so distant from the boy you're supposed to be taking care of.
>"Well shoot, that won't do. How come the two of ya don't?"
>You meet Applejack's gaze with your own tired one. This was a question you asked yourself a few times.
"I'm there when he needs me, AJ. But...whenever I try to do something like that with Bruce, I'm always afraid that I'm, like, wasting his time. Either that or that he just flat out won't let me in."
>AJ chuckles through her full mouth. "Reminds me of me when I was a little filly."
>You cock an eyebrow.
"Oh? The mare who cares so much about her friends and family not letting people in?"
>She socks you in the shoulder with those strong hooves of hers and laughs. "Now it aint like that! I was just...well..."
"Well what?" you ask rubbing your now throbbing shoulder.
>AJ sighs. "Maybe it's easier if I just 'splain it all from the start."

>You flick off the TV and give AJ your full attention.
>"Now, see, I wasn't the most, how should we say, "social" filly with my kin. When Ma and Pa passed on I was out in those fields every day from dawn till dusk."
"So absolutely nothing's changed, is what you're saying."
>AJ socks you in the shoulder again and gets you laughing, luckily you see a smirk on her face. "Now c'mon! I'm tryin' ta spin a tale here!"
>You hold up your hands. 
"Okay, okay, keep going."
>AJ settles in again, eyeing you with a grin. "Anyway. I wanted ta prove my worth to the family, show that I could help Big Macintosh and Granny Smith pick up the slack, ya know?"
>You nod.
"Big Brother'd try to help me, but I remember I'd always tell him I could do it M'self. Hooo boy, you shoulda heard how I'd hoot and hollar."
"I can imagine, you never were very lady like."
>"Dern straight. One day, I remember, I was out working this one tree for what felt like FOREVER and not makin' a lick of progress. But...well, Big Macintosh came along and helped me get all the apples outa that tree, then helped me get the rest down."
>You sip your water.
"A riveting tale of supply and demand, AJ."
>She rolls her eyes at you. "What I'm gettin' at here Anon, is that ya don't have to try and be a part of what Bruce does fer fun if ya don't know what it is, just be there for him when he has trouble with somethin and it'll all work out."
>It was your turn to roll your eyes.
"Alright, just gotta find something he has trouble with..."
>Whatever that might be.

>Time passes and you and AJ partake in more television about the mentally impaired.
>the hours melt away under the onslaught of hilarious bone crushing injuries that you just can't look away from.
>After a while, you brought up that AJ had spent the entire night here.
>"Well it'd be rude a' me to just eat your food and then leave, Anon." was her joking response.
>After the show ended, the two of you find yourself embroiled in another debate.
>"So, wait, run that by me again." AJ says.
"Alright, so an astronaut is basically a person who was specially trained to ride a rocket ship into space and walk around and do science and stuff."
>"They got any magic?"
"No."
>"Okay, and what was the other one?"
"Well, cavemen were basically pre-evolved versions of humans. They were big and dumb and had to hunt like animals."
>AJ mulls it over in her head a bit. "I'd say the caveman would win. If'n he had to hunt for his whole life he'd be more adept ta fightin' than the astrowhatever."
>You nod and sip your drink.
"Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there."
>AJ's eyes drift up to the clock on the wall and expand. "Ah shoot! Is that the time? I gotta get back to the farm and get some shut eye or else I'm gonna be powerful tired tomorrow.
>You nod and rise from your seat. [spoiler][/spoiler] "Yeah, gotcha."
>You still remembered a bit of your farmhand days.
>AJ steps out onto the front porch and turns around. "Thanks for lettin' me stay, Anon! Had a great time."
"You too, AJ. Have a good one."
>She doesn't say anything, but she waves to you on her way down the path.
>You close the door and sit down at your favorite spot on the couch.
>Now...what did superheroes need help with?