//------------------------------// // Two Days to Remember // Story: Apple of Twi's Eye // by Willow Arqueiro //------------------------------// Day one, Macintosh awoke before the predawn light and yawned rather loudly. He settled down again trying to go back to sleep before his eyes snapped open. Oh, right. I have quite a few things to do today. He walked the short distance and wrote the quick letter he had planned last night. He placed the letter in a small bag along with massive red apple he had grabbed earlier. He made sure to grab the best apple possible; perfectly crisp, perfect ripeness, juicy, and a deep red color that matched his pelt. A sharp rap rang out from his window, walking quietly over to it; Macintosh heaved it open to allow Owlicious in. With not much for the Owl to do, he mostly hung around apple acres for the abundance in small game to hunt. He would also stop by Macintosh's window in the morning to deliver the occasional letter to his mare. He fed the owl a few seeds from the stash he kept for just that reason. Soon after handing the bag to the bird, which soon took off, he opened his small closet. He threw his saddlebags over his back and loaded his items, a hefty bag of bits and a decent size box. He purposely ignored his heavy yoke and headed out of his room. He walked down the stairs and headed into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. Macintosh opened the fridge and shifted his gaze through it. He nearly jumped through the ceiling when a voice spoke behind him. "Ya headed out, Big Mac?" asked Applejack. "Eeyup," he said. "Whatcha going tah do today?" "Ah was gonna stop by Celtic Slew first and then hang out with some other ponies," he said, grabbing some apple cider from the fridge. "Is this 'some other ponies' a mare?" she asked sharply. He froze on his way to the counter. No point in lying. "Eeyup," he said. Applejack heaved a massive sigh, "Go ahead an take tomorrow off as well." "Thanks AJ," he poured some apple cider in a canteen before throwing it in his saddlebags. He grabbed a few more apples to put in them before setting out the door. Macintosh began the walk to Ponyville to talk and hopefully pick up his special order from the Scottish blacksmith, Celtic Slew. __________________________________________ On the other side of Ponyville, Twilight awoke late in the morning after a late night of pouring over pregnancy books. Luna had left last night to deal with some 'Official Business' last night, and hadn't gotten back yet. After several failed attempts to wake Rarity, from her fainting incident, Rainbow Dash carried her back to her house before going home. She walked down the stairs to the main floor and was surprised to see Owlicious there. He silently stood on her desk next to a small bag. She levitated it toward and peered inside, she smiled to herself as her gaze landed on the hoof written letter and big apple. Twilight took the letter out and smelled it, catching the slight musk of Macintosh. She opened it and silently read it. To the Mare of my Dreams I have a few surprises for you today, one rather big. So, please take the rest of the day off and I will pick you up after your lunch date with Applejack. With my everlasting love, Your Stallion P.S. I already gave Owlicious some treats. Twilight snapped her head in time to see the Owl plunge his head into her stash off seeds for him. With a wry smile, she picked up the hefty apple. Gazing into the beautiful red apple, she really didn't want to eat it. She bit into it and nearly fell over with glee. It tasted perfect. Her teeth made a satisfying *crisp* sound. Her nose was flooded with the fresh scent of apple. Juice dribbled down her chin and she rubbed her hoof across it to catch it. Ah, nothing like a Sweet Apple Acres apple. She placed the apple down, What time was Applejack supposed to come over? she questioned herself. A mighty knock sounded from her door. I guess now then. ___________________________________________ Macintosh finally found his way to Ponyville's sole smithery. Stepping inside into the continuously warm building, Macintosh immediately felt himself relax in the surrounding warmth. 'Clang!' a sharp retort of metal on metal rang out. 'Clang! Clang! Clang!'. Macintosh made his way to the back of the shop to the metal working area. A massive oven of red-hot embers sat at one side of the room, huge bellows ready to provide air to it. Various tools and projects hung on the walls and littered the work desk against another wall. In the center of the room stood the stallion in question. Celtic Slew stood bipedal, standing by an anvil. One hoof held a tool of some sort as the other hoof brought a heavy hammer down repeatedly. The blacksmith turned around with the tool in hand, eyes obscured by work goggles to protect them from flying debris. Celtic paused slightly upon seeing Macintosh, but continued moving and placed the tool back in the embers to warm up again. "Ach, ma wee Aiple. Are ye here for yer special ordah?" asked the blacksmith as he pulled the goggles off his eyes. Celtic Slew was the biggest stallion in Equestria; Macintosh’s shoulder came to the smith's armpit. The smith was Scottish in blood and practice and was also a talented smith. Celtic Slew wore a thick leather apron over his chest to protect his dark brown body. "So, Ah take it you're here for 'em?" Celtic said in his very Scottish accent. Macintosh nodded, "Eeyup." "Ah must say Ah'm honored ya came tah mah for somethin' so delicate. A lot of ponies only come for tools an' such," Celtic said as he turned to his work desk. Rummaging through the mess, he soon turned back with a small box. "You're very welcome, are they ready?" Macintosh asked. "Yes, who's the lucky bonnie?" asked Celtic. Macintosh looked at him in fear of being found out, "Whit? Did ye really think I'm that much of a dunderheid to not notice?" "Not, really," he admitted, "Ah just hoped you'd skip over that fact." "She better not be a Bide-in," he threatened. Macintosh shook his head vigorously. "Is it the quiet lassie?" "Nope, my mare is strong, independent, smart, kind, funny, cute..." He blushed as he realized he was trailing on. "Gloamin? Ah won't tell any pony," he said quickly. "Aboot time ye found a serious mare for ye." Macintosh nodded his thanks, "How much?" he asked. "Ye asked for Platnium, right?" Macintosh nodded. "58 bits." Macintosh pulled out his bag 'o bits and dealt out the required amount. He added a healthy 'tip' for Celtic's favor. Celtic handed him the small package and he gingerly placed it in his saddlebags. "Thank you," Macintosh said. Macintosh turned to leave as Celtic called out, "Anyt’ing for a fellow Scotsman!" "I'll keep that in mind!" he called back. Next stop, he thought,Train Station. ___________________________________________ Applejack led the way to the simple café where both mares planned on eating for lunch. She had arrived about three minutes after Twilight got Big Mac’s note; Applejack had found the mare sitting at her desk reading a piece of parchment over and over again, smiling all the while. Applejack had pretended not to notice and went back outside to knock on the door. Now, she decided would be a good time to inquire as to what twilight was doing. "It's a great day out, what were you doing indoors?" asked the farm mare. Twilight blushed and said, "Oh, you know. Just some studying." "On a day like this?" asked Applejack. "You're crazy tah waste a day that is, as would Rarity put it,” Applejack started animating her arms and put on her proper accent, “as wonderful and extravagant as one could hope for!” Twilight giggled and nodded her agreement, gazing skyward. It was a beautiful summer day, comfortably warm but no harsh glares from the sun. Her eyes caught the cyan speck that had been circling her for the past hour. After a little bit of walking, they arrived at the small café called Mare-Do-Well’s, a popular tourist food stop in Ponyville. Twilight and Applejack entered the café and were greeted by Salad Hooves, the owner/cook/waiter of the establishment. “Hello my favorite phillies, what’ll it be today?” He already knew the answer, but he grinned like he expected a surprise. “We’ll have the usual tulip and rose bud sandwiches, Salad,” Twilight grinned. The cook was about to head off when Applejack spoke up. “Hold on there, Ah’m feelin’ like a roasted mare burger and a juniper shake ‘ll do me good.” As Hooves went to fix their orders, Twilight looked uneasily at her friend. ‘Applejack almost never orders fast food,’ Twilight thought. ‘When she does, that means something’s on her mind. I guess I’d better wait on her to open up before I say anything.’ The two friends found a table, and Applejack initiated the conversation. “Twilight, Ah’m worried somethin’ awful for Big Mac,” the farm mare looked at her friend with a fittingly worried expression. She fidgeted as she continued. “He’s been acting all strange, like comin’ home late every other night and leavin’ early in tha mornin’ before tha family wakes up. And,” Applejack’s tone turned into a mix between grave and disgusted, “Ah’ve heard strange cloppin’ and gruntin’ noises comin’ from his bedroom after dinner.” Both ponies shuddered at what that could mean, though Twilight wasn’t disgusted as much as intrigued by the news. Her mind started to wander off, recreating the sounds coming from the room, the only difference being that it was two different voices making the pleasurable vocalizations echoing off the walls. The memory made her blush, which she tried to hide from Applejack. The farm mare didn’t notice and continued voicing her inner concerns. “Ah don’t know what ta do Twilight. It’s hard to speak ta him when he’s gone most of the day, and ya know how quiet he gets when he wants ta hide somethin’ from somepony.” Applejack sighed and looked down at the table. “Sorry if Ah’m ruinin’ our lunch date, Twi. Ah just don’t know what ta do and Ah really needed somepony ta talk to that would listen.” Twilight smiled nervously and reached across the table to grasp her friend’s hoof. “Applejack, I’m sure whatever Big Mac is doing isn’t anything to worry about. You just have to be patient with some colts.” Applejack nodded in agreement as Twilight shivered in excitement. Applejack was about to ask if she was all right when said mare interrupted her as she continued speaking. “Big, strong, healthy, handsome colts whose sweat smells of apples and hard work and makes their bodies shine in the afternoon sun, whose eyes make you want to give yourself in to his glory and swim in the green ocean surrounding his irises, wishing he would mount you and make you his queen for eternity…” Applejack was taken aback by her friend’s words. She also noticed how her friend’s eyes, seemingly gazing into her own, were actually focusing on nothing in particular. ‘Well buck,’ thought Applejack. ‘Ah’ve seen mare’s in heat, but this takes the bushel,’ She waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face, the mare still caught in her dream-like trance. “Hey, Twilight, ya in there?” Applejack started giggling. “Hellooooo, Equestria to Twi!” Twilight broke out of her trance, remembering where she was. At the café with Applejack. Waiting on their food to arrive. Talking about Big Mac and Applejack’s concern about his activities outside (and inside) of the house. Feeling guilty as she thought about his muscular body, his sweaty neck, the passion and fire playing along his eyes and lips as they came in to close proximity of her own… Twilight’s brain made a snapping noise, making her hair messy and dirty looking, her eyes twitching and her smile lopsided. “Applejack, I’m not feeling very well so I’m going to go home and rest and you shouldn’t worry about me so you can go home and not have to worry and don’t worry about paying because it’s all on me and we should do this again in about fifty-years or so and that’ll be so much fun and I’ll see you around Ponyville so you don’t have to come to the library to visit anytime soon and I’ll see you around BYE!” Twilight practically ran over Applejack as she dashed out of the restaurant towards her tree house, screaming friendly greetings to anypony that was in her way. Applejack stared in obvious shock as she tried to think of what could have made Twilight so distraught and insane, and she nearly jumped out of her seat when Salad Hooves came to the table with a tray full of food. She didn’t seem to notice since she was staring after the crazed pony. He looked at Applejack after a few minutes, not saying a word. Both ponies knew what the other was thinking; there was just no need to say it aloud. “What the buck?” A/N Special Thanks to Lunar-tic for this chapter, this chapter would quite literally not be here without him. Ten points if you can guess what song this is from; For freedom we rise Learn to fly, reach the sky Legend will carry you thousands of miles Take a stand, hold the land Make sure that everyone’s ready to win Find the speed, all you need Team up for battle we fly Fly