ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE GAY HORSEY GOODNESS
 
Applejack
 
From the moment Applejack could be apart from her mother, she was an absolute daddy’s girl. She would cling to him like a shadow, just a few steps behind him at all times. AJ would do her very best to help out Bright Mac, dragging single apples towards the produce bins while he bucked in the orchard.
 
As a filly, Applejack did everything she could to be a strong worker like her parents. Pear Butter and Bright Mac appreciated her work ethic and tried to give her tasks for her age, but she wanted to do the hard stuff. AJ and Big Mac even started to form a playful rivalry to see who could do the most in one day. Usually, the two ended up falling asleep under a tree in the orchard in the afternoon before the job was done.
 
Being so in love with the farm and her family traditions, Applejack regularly shirked her schoolwork and focused on her chores. Once Pear Butter and Bright Mac realized how their daughter was just barely passing in class, they helped her understand that school was just as important as work at the farm. Her grades started to rise and parents were sure to reward her each time she brought back positive reports from school.
 
Applejack got her cutie mark from doing what always came naturally to her, but it only appeared once her body was strong enough to match her determined attitude. Her cutie mark represents her ability to buck trees completely in minimal hits, but also shows her family-oriented personality.
 
As one would expect, Applejack was absolutely devastated when her parents passed away and threw herself into work at the farm to avoid her feelings. Knowing that sooner or later she would have to be emotionally honest, Granny Smith forced AJ to have a talk about what had happened. The two had a long chat filled with tears and hugs, and eventually did the same with Big Mac when he suddenly burst into tears after a long period of not reacting at all.
 
Bright Mac’s hat was recovered shortly after his death and Applejack hasn’t been without it since. She’s kept it in good condition, considering all of the things it’s gone through, but occasionally enlists Rarity to repair it whenever the damage is excessive.
 
Because Bright Mac and Pear Butter died when Applebloom was just a baby, Applejack had a big part in raising her younger sister. It wasn’t uncommon to see little AJ carrying Applebloom around in a baby sling across her chest while she helped Granny cook dinner or did her homework.
 
As Applejack got older, her chores on the farm made her continue to get stronger. Everyone marveled at her strength and size even before she was an adult, and the only response she has was “wait ‘til you see my brother”.
 
Aside from working the farm, Applejack and her brother are responsible for protecting their livestock from wild animals in the woods behind their property. Both Applejack and Big Mac sport many scars from fighting off timber wolves, which have long since faded but are still rather prominent with their darker coat color.
 
While no one would call Applejack a worry wart, she seems to always be concerned about whether or not all the work on the farm can be completed on time. Fortunately, she’s learned that with the willing help of her friends, Sweet Apple Acres is more bountiful and on schedule that it has ever been.
 
With working at the School of Friendship part-time, Applejack needed to time both of her jobs very carefully. Fortunately, knowing her friends had lives outside of their teaching roles, Twilight made ridiculously detailed calendars and itineraries for each of the Mane 6, which included times that they could all help the other with whatever tasks they may have for the week. AJ might not admit it, but it’s times like those that make her appreciate Twilight’s obsessive schedule planning.
 
Around the time Big Mac’s first foals were born, Applejack pushed herself too far and injured herself. And with her feeling like she wasn’t able to take time off, her injury had no time to heal and instead turned into a chronic back condition. While she is still able to use her back legs, she now has a wheelchair to minimize pain and assist her in moving.
 
With the small Apple herd growing at the farm, Applejack had plenty of hooves willing to help her with farm work, even if she didn’t ask for it. All of Big Mac’s kids, especially the three oldest, seemed to flock to their Auntie AJ and wanted nothing but her attention and praise.
 
 
Autumn Blaze
 
Growing up, the Kirin Village was all Autumn Blaze ever knew. They rarely traveled beyond their forest and lived happily with the others in their community. Everyone seemed to know each other, which led to a rather close-knit group in the town. Autumn grew up carefree and outgoing, more than happy to chat with anyone who approached her.
 
Like most kirin, Autumn Blaze is participates in some kind of creative activity, with her favorite being singing and performing. She always tells others that the kirin loved her stand-up comedy or short plays that she performed. While she has tried a number of arts, including painting, pottery-making, and jewelry-making, her interests always seemed to lie in the more vocal arts.
 
Everything seemed to be perfectly peaceful in the village, until a strings of arguments and disagreements broke out among the kirins. Some led to violence and others led to harsh words, but there was a breaking point that started turning the kirins into their destructive counterparts. The niriks ran wild, tearing apart their homes and burning everything to the ground. Fortunately, their leader Rain Shine and the remaining kirins managed to round up the niriks to the Stream of Silence, with everyone walking through it to be cleansed of their speech.
 
After giving away their voices, the kirin became a solemn lot. Autumn Blaze, however, could barely help from going mad without being able to speak. She tried everything to entertain and distract herself, but it was no use. Being able to speak and suddenly having her voice disappear, it was more than enough to make her mind unsteady.
 
During a walk, Autumn stumbled upon her salvation, the Foal’s Breath flower. And willing to try anything to speak again, she took plenty home and fooled around with it, not knowing what to do until she tried to use the flower in a tea. Her voice was immediately restored and like a dam bursting from holding too much water, Autumn Blaze couldn’t help but say anything that came to her mind. It was as if by losing her voice for so many years, they had stored up and sat in her head until she was cured.
 
The village quickly learned of her success at finding a cure. After all, they could hardly ignore the one kirin who could speak again. She resumed her life as they had lived before (but maybe a bit more batty), telling jokes and socializing as much as possible. She ended up driving a good portion of her friends away, who were all interested in avoiding conflict and staying silent. Autumn couldn’t understand how anyone could live without being able to talk and she did all she could to try and convince the villagers that having their voices back would be worth potential fights.
 
Seeing that Autumn Blaze was trying to undo the spell of the Stream of Silence, the leader of the village gave her an ultimatum, telling her that she could live with them if she became silent again or leave the village as an outcast in exile. Not wanting to lose her power of speech again, Autumn Blaze left the village with as many of her possessions as she could get out of her home and wandered into the forest to live alone.
 
Autumn Blaze lived in exile for almost a year before Applejack and Fluttershy were sent to the village to repair relationships between the kirin and had seemed to lose more of her sanity, now speaking to inanimate objects as if they would respond. Even when she was allowed to return to the village, the batty behavior calmed but didn’t completely stop. While her whole community speaks again and she is living back in the village, it’s not too uncommon to see Autumn Blaze talking to a gourd or a tree, or simply chatting with herself.
 
 
And here’s a little sneak peek into their relationship:
 
Autumn Blaze decided to travel to Ponyville a few months after the village’s problem had been solved, wanting to visit her friends outside of the kirin community. Even though she had been welcomed back into the village, she thought the others looked at her differently. So she made the trip to Ponyville, with no warning or way to expect her.
 
When Autumn did arrive in town, she ended up staying at Sweet Apple Acres. She knew Applejack the best and she marveled over the farm, so AJ felt inclined to let her stay there during her visit. Big Mac could hardly handle Autumn Blaze’s bigger-than-life personality and Granny Smith considered the kirin an odd duck, but Applebloom absolutely adored her. Either way, the Apple family accepted Autumn with open arms.
 
Applejack put it upon herself to show Autumn Blaze Ponyville and introduce her to the rest of the Mane 6. Twilight had a field day, asking Autumn more than enough questions about kirins. Pinkie Pie and Autumn Blaze seemed to get together very well, almost too well. Applejack worried that with more than one of those personalities in the room, something would explode. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy simply let Autumn Blaze talk their ear off, only getting a few words out at a time. And Rarity completely adored Autumn…until she started talking to the sewing equipment.
 
Autumn only stayed for about a week but boarded the train with enough souvenirs and presents for everyone in her village and with a crowd from Ponyville to see her off. After that, Autumn Blaze would randomly show up in town to visit her pony friends and learn more about them. She was used as inspiration for a line of outfits for Rarity, volunteered at Fluttershy’s sanctuary, watched Wonderbolt rehearsals, baked with Pinkie and the Cakes, and was a guest speaker at Twilight’s school. Autumn also helped the Apples on the farm, learning the ins and outs of life at Sweet Apple Acres. She had no problem having her mane mussed up or getting dirty, and gave her all into working. It wasn’t uncommon to see her start speaking to the trees in the orchard or chatting with the plow, but Autumn Blaze could do so without worry of how people would look at her.
 
With the Apples’ permission, Autumn started visiting more often and stayed longer. The guest room became her home away from home and Ponyville got used to the kirin’s presence. Applejack admired her spirit and her work ethic, even if Autumn Blaze was a bit batty. And it didn’t take long before Autumn blurted out how much she admired Applejack and her family, and how much she loved the farm and loved being with her. By then, AJ was plenty used to Autumn’s straight-forward way of saying things and found it charming and silly.
 
The two never really put a label on their relationship as it moved forward and while some questioned the two when they ended up getting together, no one said one word. It was clear that Applejack felt very strongly for the neurodivergent kirin, and the feeling was mutual on Autumn’s end. Autumn didn’t want to be far from AJ after a certain point and ended up moving to Ponyville, to no one’s surprise. She earned her way through working on the farm, and it seemed that there was no better place for her.
 
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Sorry it took so long to get these notes to y’all! I’m so glad I finally finished ’em ^^