Overcast…
Small puddles of cloud shadows cast themselves around in calm drifts in the sky over Ponyville. All seemed to be in order for once. One might ask when the next tyrant was going to appear out of nowhere and threaten to steal all of Equestria’s cheese for him or herself.
At least, that’s what Applebloom wondered, as her mind dulled from the classroom and only to be awoken by the words “Alright children, class dismissed” by her bright eyed teacher.
She scurried out of her desk, packed her books and exchanged chatter with her classmates as she trotted out the door. They were already planning what feat of cutiedom they would try next. Bee keeping hadn’t worked out so well, nor had water skiing or trophy polishing. Somehow each one ended with a mess they had to clean up.
The school yard once empty broke out into factions of foals making their way home, some still lingering for their parents and others playing in the playground still, dodging the shadows of the clouds as one of the newer games. Cherilee waved at the door and snuck back inside, to do who knows what teacher things a child would assume “I reckon we could try juggling again…or maybe trapeze artists”
“Oooh, ooh! What about cake baking” Sweetie bell piped up. She was just hungry.
“Naw, that’s wussy stuff. We’re meant for greatness girl, greatness” Scootaloo lifted her hair in the air, trying to look much more triumphant than she was “Greatness” she echoed, paws out to the sky for a blessing.
“Ha!”
Every single cutie mark crusader ‘s face melted into a pursing scowl of varying degrees of annoyance in seemingly no time at all, as they looked across at Diamond Tiara and Silver spoon coming up along side them, budging their way infront of the schoolyard gate.
“You three wouldn’t know greatness if it flew up and kicked you in the flank.”
“Maybe you’d get your cutie marks then, being the butt of everyone’s jokes.” Silver spoon continued the routine torment the receiving three fillies were almost hardened against now. Almost. The laughter still made you want to push them into a puddle or something else possibly degrading.
“What, like you guys know anything about it?” Scootaloo retorted, quick as ever.
“Of course we do. My daddy’s rich. We get to see all sorts of great things.” Diamond tiara turned her head to the side in haughty pride “What do you get to do, run around and kick hay around on the farm?”
“Yeah well!” Scootaloo started. But that was always a clincher when you were small. If your parents had stuff, there wasn’t a thing you could do about it.
Applebloom searched for a rebuttal desperately. She couldn’t bring up twilight again. One more strike like that and they’re be even worse off to getting their cutie marks. “We still have something you guys don’t”
“Oh yeah? What?” the pink spoilt filly challenged the other head on, eyes determined to bully.
“Applebloom?”
Five filly heads raised and looked behind and above them, as a beige pony made a slow trot along his way into view along the path of the school gate. He stood at a halt, facing the two other groups and making a triangle “Uncle Caramel!”
Applebloom bounced up towards the older stallion with lively eyes. She practically almost forgot two rotten fillies were there. The adult looked a bit ruffled than he normally did. He had his satchels with him on either side and they bounced just a bit when he walk. She hadn’t seen him for a few days so either he’d just go home from a trip or he was running errands again…or both.
“Hey uncle Caramel, what are you doing here?”
Caramel smiled gently at the other and gestured to where he’d come from with a little nod “You’re family’s busy making treats for a delivery. They asked me to fetch you.”
“Why?” Applebloom tilted her head in confusion “I been walking home by maself for years now.”
Caramel shrugged his shoulders “Who knows what your sis is thinking now. Maybe she wants to chase me away from your brother though to keep him working.”
Applebloom giggled, her peers looked on bewildered at the statement had no gravity to their lives “That’s crazy talk Uncle Caramel. Big Macintosh works harder when your around.”
“Tell her that.” Caramel mumbled as he dipped his head into one of his saddle bags and fished something out. “Plus while I’m here I figure I might as well bring you your present.”
“Present?” a chorus of ponies sounded out together.
“Mhm. Applosa n your cousin sends their regards.” out came an orange silk ribbon, with varying decretive designs on it. It looked brand new. “You keep wearing this one every day so I bought you a new one.”
Applebloom scooted over and held her head out expectedly with a smile. She would have liked a new doll maybe but it was just as well. It was a pretty looking ribbon after all. Her head tucked as the stallion pulled out her old one, and weaved the new one right in tight. She felt something else on her head and looked up to investigate. A gold pin had found its way in as well, but she hadn’t noticed it in Caramel’s hoof. “Ah love it Uncle Caramel. Thanks!” he wiggled her head to give the bow it’s normal lopsided charm. She looked back at her peers with a little childlike smile, almost to answer there previous question. Diamond Tiara was busy brushing the situation off with her eyes.
Caramel petted the other’s head fondly “Don’t go dirtying it up now.” And seemed to notice the rest of them as well “Afternoon girls”
“Good afternoon Uncle Caramel” Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell chimed out in sing song.
Caramel rubbed a hoof through his mane and dug in his other satchel “Oh don’t you two start calling me that too. Here” he fished out a sack of gumballs and held them out “I’ll trade you one each if you just call me Caramel .”
Neither of them were in much place to argue. They each nabbed one and pacified themselves on the sweet.
“Diamond tiara? Silver spoon? Are you having one too?”
The two mentioned were struck with being addressed at all. They both took one regardless. Never miss a change to get free things. “Thank you mister” Diamond tiara eventually said “How do you know our names?”
“Oh your father talks fondly of you Diamond. His little pride and joy.” Caramel said, putting all of his parcels away in his sack as he talked, trying not to forget anything on the ground.
“You know my dad?”
“Your dad’s a business pony Diamond Tiara. He talks to all sorts of ponies all over Equestria. Applebloom’s family sells him apples every season too. Very friendly guy. You should make as much friends as he has too you know. You never know when you’ll need someone like Applebloom here to make money like your daddy does.”
Diamond tiara stared up at Caramel’s cheery face, and blew a popping bubble in response. This was a good enough response as any as far as her peers were concerned.
"Caramel? Is that you?" Cheerilee's voice run out from across the school yard. She made her way out as she walked out and towards them in stride "I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to take the children out on a field trip for a day to the crystal empire carnival. It means so much to me to see others pitching in to the school effort to help educate the little ones and it'd be great to have someone who's been in the area to know a few things we can show the kids. Those Crystal empire guides aren't cheap."
"You never told me about a field trip!" Applebloom piped up from underneath Caramel. None of them had. the news buzzed in their ears with excitement non the less.
Caramel just smiled down at the others "I'm just lending a hand like i always do Applebloom. Cheerilee's still your teacher and in charge." He looked up and nodded a polite greeting to the teacher pony and then saddled himself upright “We best be off Applebloom, say goodbye to your friends” Caramel turned on his heels in waiting.
The cutie mark crusaders exchanged glances with each other briefly “Actually” Applebloom began. Caramel had gotten so used to hearing this alternative in one way or another when given a command, he just perked an ear in attention “We were wondering Uncle Caramel.”
Caramel began walking, and the three followed. Their tormentors were forgotten; whatever they thought of hem at the time didn’t really seem to matter anymore now that they had gum in their mouths.
“Uncle Caramel, you’re always making trips to places and working for people” Applebloom began, he friends in tow as to show that she was currently in charge of talking for the group “We were wondering, what did you get your cutie mark fer?”
“Mine?” Caramel looked absentmindedly at his flank, three gleaming silver hooves in a sea of rich caramel fur “I had to do a lot of odd jobs as a foal. Lotta work to be done around the place…guess I just liked doing it is all” he smirked “It showed up one morning while I was carrying something from one town to the next on a errand.”
Scootaloo looked at Sweetie bell sceptically “So your cutie mark is for…working?”
“I like to think it’s helping people. Wherever it is they are” Caramel replied “Gotta have steel shoes to run that extra mile for people sometime. It just happens to pay as well, and traveling lets you see and meet lotsa things and ponies along the way. That’s why I like it.”
Caramel snuck a glance backward at his three little companions. They looked somewhat disappointed. He wondered what answer they had hoped to hear. “Have you tried doing things you like to do?”
“Yeah, but you can’t get a cutie mark for playing hop scotch” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Well, think of something you always find yourself doing, when no pony tells you to do it. It’s normally that thing. No pony told me that I needed to do odd jobs and help out. I just did them it made me feel good and I was helping other ponies.”
The three looked among one another again, and then back at the ground and then at the air in serious thought of what they did that no pony told them to do. Caramel let the trio pow it out as he set his eyes back on the road as the farmhouse was getting into sight. He broke into a run “Race you to the front door”
“You’re on!” Scootaloo took up the challenge without hesitation as all four of them scurried onto the Apple property, shadows casting along their bodies.
-
“Hey Mac?”
“Mmm?” The scarlet stallion turned his head a slight tad
“What’s your cutie mark stand for?” Caramel enquired as he walked, as the realisation dawned on him that he’d never asked before. The Sun had set already. The cloud cover was still there but none hid the radiant light of the moon as it cast a dark blue glaze over the world below. The air had gotten chillier without the sunlight, but there was no breeze to shake the body.
Caramel had stayed to help out with dipping the apples in toffee and sticking sticks through them. He’d stayed for dinner as well, as it seemed to become custom in the apple family home whenever Caramel came home from a trip. The obvious humour that Caramel was spending time making caramel apples with the apples only mentioned itself a couple of times before AJ simmered it into work again. He’d washed up some too, but his fur still stuck out here and there from the stickiness.
He was supposed to be walking Caramel home, but they had long since passed the spot where you had to turn to head more into town. Their stroll prolonged along the beaten paths around Ponyville at a slow comfy trot. They hadn’t set a destination truthfully, because the journey was more important. It was a nice night after all. The soft little thuds of hoof against ground played a little tune with nature's music of the night that they enjoyed together.
“Mine?” Big Mac looked back at his. Caramel saw a mirror action as he had done earlier that day, staring at a pretty mark on his flank. The green cut open apple stuck out clean as day against the straight red velvet fur. “…Being a big apple, Ah’suppose”
Caramel looked back at his own for a moment, then at Mac’s face “Do you like being a big apple?”
“Reckon so. How come?”
“I was just talking to the kids today is all” Caramel’s gaze shifted a bit to his rump again. He’d always wanted it to a look a bit less plain. Three horse shoes could mean anything under the sun. Other ponies had smiles or flowers or sparkles. Then again most of those ponies were pegasi or unicorns. Earth ponies had a lot of things that weren’t particularly spectacular as cutie marks most times. Or maybe it was just the earth ponies he met. “They keep trying to do big fancy things to find their cutie marks. Who am I to tell them they don’t have a big fancy talent though.”
“You’re caramel”
Caramel blew some of his mane out of his face as part of his scoff “Yep, I’m Caramel”
“Do you like being Caramel?”
“Sure I do”
“Then I think being Caramel is real great and fancy all the same.”
Caramel glanced at his coltfriend and flicked his ear. He didn’t have a response yet, but was looking for one. Cracks of a hidden smile jutted on his face as he searched. “I think being Big Macintosh is being real great and fancy too”
“How you figure?”
Caramel hung his head a little bit as he mumbled out his answer “Big ol body with a big ol heart with big ol muscles for little ol me to rub and get hugged by when I’m bored and feeling lonesome.”
“Eeyep” Mac replied with a snorting laugh “Big apple, in a big tree with a bee hive stuck on it. Them bees travel far ta work but they always come right home…”
“So I’m scary bees in a bee hive now?”
“You’re a sweet little cutie who worries too much, is what you are” Big mac leaned over and nibbled playfully on an ear. He tugged gently on it and Caramel batted back at the other bigger, thicker stallion as they walked on. The lips drifted after a while, parting over the ears and nuzzling into chocolate mane, sniffing it contently. It smelt of hard work and sugar.
Caramel couldn’t nor did he want to count the minutes or hours mac spend with his head nestled above his own when they rested, just because he was the smaller of the two and it was just more convenient that way. That big heavy huffing snout would stay there without hassle that sometimes Caramel wondered what it was about his mane that was so comfy. It didn’t feel comfy, then again he hadn’t rested in it before.
“Think the family’ll mind if I stay over?”
“They might.”
“Thought so.” Mac murmured, as he proceeded to not take heed of his own comment and continue further away from his own home. Caramel just smirked and cast his eyes upwards. He could just barely make out the bottom of Mac’s scruff as he nuzzled himself against the neck of the other. The straw blond mane was unmanaged and partially caked with sweat still from setting up next seasons sowing trenches. It wasn’t soft, but it was comfy and still managed to somewhat intoxicate Caramel just a tad. Just the wafting thought of Mac working hard did it alone. He didn’t reach out to stroke any part of the other’s defined body. There was time enough for that later from the sounds of things. They’d finally begun walking him home too. Only a few ponies were still about, none of them had time to care as two stallions made their way through the streets
“My little worrying cutie lips are down here Mac” Caramel murmured after a little while longer, his home in sight with a snort.
Big Macintosh gave the other a cheeky smile “Where are mine then?”
Caramel unlocked his front door and pushed it open “I don’t feel em”
But he felt them then, as they dipped down from his neck, pressing against his cheek, then to his nose, then to his lips. They were single, teasing presses that wouldn’t let him feel them the sensation for long enough. Mac then reached his head back, and bit gently into a scruff of Caramel’s tail “How about now?” he mumbled through the mane hair.
Caramel smiled as he looked back as his tail stuck in Mac’s mouth. He swayed it a bit in silenced and watched Mac’s face move from side to side as he did, a calm look in those eyes. He felt a nibble of little teething scratches into the strains, and walked inside slowly, coltfriend in tow.
“I do…” he replied, as he felt the tail loosen, lips pressing to his cutie mark for a little longer than he felt the other kisses and resigning back to his tail to be dragged along happily.
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