20. Brother-Teacher Conference
Chapter 20- Brother-Teacher Conference
Mac's next stop rose in the distance as he crested a hill he recalled walking many times since he was a colt. The schoolhouse drew nearer, Mac's heavy hooves kicking up bits of dust as he trotted down the well-worn dirt road. Many times he remembered nervously taking this route on his way to a test or the occasional teasing from his classmates. Although Mac was easily the top stallion in town in terms of strength, he hadn't always been that way.
In school, he had been one of the first colts to get one of many growth spurts that come with the transformation into an adult stallion. Back then, he more resembled Snails than himself. Long, lanky legs, seemingly large ears and freckles to boot. He was often the subject of bullying, and him being naturally quiet didn't help his case. He very nearly ended up hating school, if not for the one day he'd finally decided he'd had enough.
He didn't remember the day too well, even though it was one that changed his life for the better. He hardly even remembered his bully's name. Something having to do with hammers or construction if he remembered right. Anyway, one day he'd come to school, and his usual round of teasing had begun. As usual, he ignored him. He was good at that. In fact, had he not already gotten his cutie mark, he was almost certain ignoring assholes would be his special talent—though he wasn't really sure what that cutie mark might look like.
Mac recalled what set him off. He had just taken a science test he was fairly certain he hadn't done well on, and overall was just having a miserable day. At lunch, he normally sat with Cheerilee, the only mare in his class who actually seemed like she wanted to talk to him. Looking back on it, he was pretty blind not to see her crush, but he was just a naïve colt back then.
His mother had made him his favorite lunch, as she always did whenever he had a big test. Even if he didn't do so hot on the test, he at least had something to look forward to. And on that day, this was the only bright spot. He reached his normal picnic table, glad to see that Cheerilee was waiting for him with her lunch. She smiled, and he returned a rare grin as he trotted over.
He sat next to her and retrieved his lunch from his saddlebag, setting it out and idly discussing how he thought he did on the test. Before he'd even taken a bite of his sandwich, his bully's voice caught his attention. He was standing right beside him, demanding his lunch. The odd thing was, he was smaller than Mac. Stockier, certainly, but not nearly as tall.
Mac replied with a softspoken 'no' as he usually did, but this did not deter his tormentor. As Mac raised his food to his mouth, the bully snatched it out of his hoof, and took a bite. After chewing it briefly, he spat it back out and threw it to the ground, going on to insult his mother's cooking ability. Cheerilee placed a hoof on young Mac's shoulder, though he quickly swatted it away.
Before Mac even realized what he was doing, he'd leapt from the table, slamming his bully into the ground. With careful precision, he lifted a hoof high and slammed it into the colt’s face. And again. And again. After the third hit or so, a tooth (or two) went flying out of his opponent's mouth.
Had he not been pulled off by his teacher's magic, he'd surely be sitting in prison right now. The other colt ended up being hospitalized and Mac got in serious trouble.
Truth was, he didn't care about what the school administrators did to him. He'd been more afraid of what his father had in store. He wasn't afraid of giving out a good whipping, which usually kept Mac from getting out of line. The rest of the day was a blur, but the walk home with his father had stuck with him to this day. He'd asked if his father was mad at him after he'd explained the circumstances.
Much to his surprise, he hadn't been. In fact, he'd been proud of him. He'd stood up for himself and that lesson was one his father couldn't simply teach him: it had to be done on his own. That day, his father even took him out for ice cream, though his mother was less than happy when he explained it to her. It didn't matter, however; his father was in his corner. Although being suspended the rest of the year did delay his graduation, his mother eventually got over it.
The other colt never showed his face at school again. Mac never learned what happened to him. In fact, he felt guilty for what he'd done, but that was just his nature. As he would learn later, most bullies simply took out whatever pain they felt at home on others. Perhaps his bully's father made fun of him the way he made fun of Mac? Maybe his mother had left them both, or worse? It took the rest of the year for his remorse to subside, but his memory of that event would stick with him for the rest of his life. He didn't like to fight, but when a line of his is crossed, there could only be one outcome. Mac told himself he'd never fight again, and for the most part, he'd kept that promise.
Before he knew it, he'd reached the schoolhouse. Rousing himself from his thoughts, he knocked on the door, hoping to catch Ms. Cheerilee before she left for the day. In a moment, the magenta mare he was looking for answered the door.
"Hello, Macintosh! What brings you by?"
"Well, Ah just came by hopin' to talk about Apple Bloom."
Cheerilee smiled. "Of course! I need to take a break from grading essays anyway," she sighed, stepping inside and allowing him in.
Mac followed her to the classroom where the simple wooden desks he remembered so well sat empty, along with the cubbyholes in the back of the room. Cheerilee's desk was a mess of papers and pencils, ink jars and writing quills. "Sorry there isn't a lot of seating besides the desks in here," she said, flopping down in the chair behind her desk.
"That's alright, Ah can stand."
"Apple Bloom's a very bright young mare,” Cheerilee remarked. “You should be proud of her. However, I think she could definitely spend a bit more time studying than trying to get her cutie mark." She looked down, rifling through a drawer for the filly’s test papers.
"Ah know that's the truth, but Ah'm not here to talk about her grades," he said as she straightened up in her seat. "Ah'm here because another filly seems ta be givin' her and her friends a hard time."
Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. To her knowledge, all her pupils got along fine. She was very careful to ensure a positive learning environment, and was very strict about any put-downs or bullying. "Really?"
"That's the thing, she doesn't want to be a 'tattletale'," he explained.
Cheerilee sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. "That's one thing I'll never understand. How is somepony supposed to correct a problem if the problem is never reported?"
"Couldn't tell ya. Ah just know that she's got the same temper my sister and Ah have, and Ah'd hate ta see her get in trouble because of it."
She leaned forward on her desk. "So would I. So, who is it?" Her inquisitor's stare all but assured him she would deal with this problem personally.
"Seems t'be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," he admitted. "They like ta tease her and her friends because they ain't got their cutie marks yet."
Cheerilee sat back in her chair. "Diamond Tiara? Isn't her family friends with yours?"
"Yeah, Granny can remember foal-sitting Diamond's Paw when he was little."
After a brief silence, Cheerilee rubbed her eyes. "I guess I've got one more conference before today is over," she moaned. "This is my punishment for coming to work on a Saturday..."
Mac couldn't help but smile. "Don't work yourself too hard now. If ya ever want a nip or two of cider, c'mon by the farm."
Cheerilee returned his grin. "I'll need it after today. Anything else you wanted to tell me?"
Mac shook his head. "That was it. Have a good one."
"You too, Macintosh."
Mac took his leave, knowing that his next stop involved paying a visit to a certain filly. After all, the day of the Wonderbolts show would also be their six month anniversary, and he'd make sure it would be one she would remember.
As Rainbow flew home, she thought about the routine she was assigned. It was one move: a sonic rainboom at the end of the show. It was almost too predictable, but it was all she was going to get until she had this foal. Her flight home was plagued with thoughts of herself watching the other Wonderbolts perform her dream while she just waited on a cloud to perform the one thing everypony in the kingdom knew she could already do.
A heavy sigh left her lips as she glided onto her porch; the rainbow waterfall and high cloud columns that had impressed many visitors barely fazed her anymore. However, she wouldn't trade her house for the anything. She'd practically made it herself. Most pegasi outside the wealthy had to create their homes almost from scratch, and she was no different. Either that, or rent one, but there was no pride in renting a cloud house. As she thought more about it, she realized that, eventually, she and Mac would have to live together. He couldn't very well leave the farm to fend for itself, but there was no way he could expect her to just leave her house behind.
She opened her door and went straight for the couch, stretching out contently and ready to take a nap right then and there before her stomach decided to remind her that something was siphoning off half her food. With a groan, she forced herself off the couch and into the kitchen. Scanning her cabinets and refrigerator, she found she wasn't hungry for anything she had, even though she had just stocked up on anything she (or the foal) could have wanted.
"Screw it, I'll just go get a pizza," she said to herself, leaving the kitchen. Foals like pizza, right? Well, mine sure will, she thought to herself as she flew through her ceiling and into town.
"... so anyway, Rainbow is pregnant with Mac's foal."
Rarity squealed with joy upon hearing the news. "That is simply wonderful! Oh, of all of us, who would have thought that Rainbow 'I've-never-done-anything-remotely-feminine-or-ladylike' Dash would be the first of us to settle down!"
Twilight nodded. "It is pretty unexpected, but I'm happy for her, and she seems happy too."
Rarity trotted gleefully to her supply closet, gathering a multitude of fabric sheets and clothing accessories. "I'll have to design a maternity line for her. She'll be the most fashionable mare in Ponyville by the time I'm finished!" she sang. "Well, besides myself, of course."
"Well, try not to go overboard, you know how she feels about fashion and... things like that," Twilight cautioned.
"Not to worry, Twilight, she won't have to stand for a single measurement," Rarity said confidently "I've saved all of your measurements from the first time we all went to the gala." After spreading out fabric and sketches on her bed, she slid a large rack out of her closet. "Now, am I to assume the wedding will be coming up?"
Twilight examined the rack, noting each wedding dress had a tag with each of her friend's names on them. Including Sweetie Belle and her friends—in both mare and filly sizes!
"Uh, why are our names on all these dresses?"
Rarity laughed. "Because I've made them for when you all find your soulmate, of course!"
Twilight took a step back, smiling at Rarity. "Oh, of course! How silly of me..."
"Now then, I'll need Rainbow to come in as soon as possible so we can start planning the wedding. When do you think she'll be available?"
"Uh... I'm not sure. She said she'd be pretty busy with the Wonderbolts for a while."
Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "Say no more, I'll make some preliminary decisions and show them to her when she's got the time. Oh! I almost forgot, we simply must throw her a foal shower!"
Twilight blinked. She had little knowledge of foal showers, but was somewhat sure they were thrown closer to the due date. "Isn't it a little early for something like that?"
Rarity laughed off her concern. "It's never too early to start planning, my dear!"
"Actually, Pinkie may have already started on that one. As soon as I mentioned it, she grabbed her party canon and disappeared."
"Ah, well, no matter. I'm sure we can work out the details later," said Rarity as she continued comparing patterns and colors of fabric.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. I've still got to inform Fluttershy," Twilight replied, politely bidding her friend goodbye and stepping outside before teleporting so as to not leave scorch marks on Rarity's carpet. Again.
She appeared a few yards away from Fluttershy's cottage, though the owner was nowhere to be found. Usually, Fluttershy could be found tending to her animals in the yard or collecting berries and vegetation for herself and Angel. Speaking of the devil rabbit, Twilight spotted him sitting outside the door of the cottage with a pile of carrots next to him. He was content to munch on them, though seeing him without Fluttershy around was a bit worrisome.
"Angel? What are you doing out here?" Twilight asked. With his trademark deadpan stare, the rabbit gestured, making a circle with his fingers and inserting his other index finger into the circle.
Twilight, not familiar with Angel's methods of communication, simply nodded before taking a peek through a wood knot hole in Fluttershy's door. As she rose onto her hind legs, she heard a muffled stallion's voice from inside the cottage. Her ears flattened as she hesitated. The voice seemed to have a country twang to it, followed by a flurry of soft giggles that could only have been Fluttershy's.
Twilight steeled herself as her ears pointed forward. She peered inside her house, only to gasp in shock. Quickly, she withdrew with blush on her face to rival the apples of her friend's orchard. Beside her, Angel folded his arms and shot her an 'I-told-you-so' look. Before she had time to process what she'd just witnessed, she heard hoofsteps coming closer to the door.
She'd been spotted!
Rainbow returned home with her pizza. It was a battle of will not to simply eat the whole thing the moment she'd picked it up. Once she returned home, she realized her next issue of Stunt Flyers Monthly had arrived. She picked it up and nearly dropped the pizza box through the floor of her house. The header read: First Look at Newest Wonderbolts. Dash could hardly believe her eyes as candid photos of herself with Mac at the cemetery were plastered all over the front page, sharing the spread with shots of Firefly outside what appeared to be a ramshackle apartment complex. Beneath the header, smaller print read: Personal tragedies, interracial romance and humble beginnings as new Wonderbolts deal with newfound fame.
Rainbow was furious. Was she being stalked by cameraponies twenty-four seven? How did they even have the right to print her picture without her permission? Rainbow checked all her windows, making sure no hovering paparazzi were snapping pictures of her outrage. Dash set her pizza on her kitchen table and grabbed a slice, though now she was eating out of anger, not hunger. After opening the magazine, her morbid curiosity wouldn't let her rest until she'd read what was written about her. After finding the article, she began scanning it, keen to spot any embellishments or outright lies.
To her relief, most of the article seemed to be pure speculation, and there was no mention of her and Firefly's training accident, or of herself being pregnant. "Bucking vultures," she said with her mouth full, glaring down at the rest of the article concerning her Wingpony Firefly.
After she'd eaten her fill, she began to wonder what the future held for her and her new family. After all, if they were able to get pictures of her during one of her most vulnerable moments, how long until they found out she was pregnant? How long until a picture of her foal would be sold to the highest bidder? The very thought infuriated her to no end. She closed the pizza box and flew straight to Cloudsdale, intent on grilling Spitfire on how any of this was even legal.
She burst through the Wonderbolt's administrative building, the magazine clutched beneath her wing. She hoped she'd be able to catch Spitfire while she was still at work.
"Come in," Spitfire called in response to Dash's knocking. Lifting her head from her paperwork, she sat back in her chair.
"Something wrong, Rook?"
"You bet your flank there's something wrong!" Rainbow slapped the magazine down on her desk. Spitfire smiled, covering her mouth with a hoof. "What the hell is this about?!"
"Looks like you made the cover," she replied dryly.
"No shit! How can they put me on the cover of a magazine without asking me?!" Rainbow snapped. Spitfire chuckled. This happened to every rookie.
"Because you're a public figure now. You have to play by different rules."
"Like what? Never having privacy again?"
Spitfire raised both eyebrows before leaning forward to look at the cover. "It's not a bad shot. I've certainly seen worse."
Rainbow could hardly believe what she was hearing. How could Spitfire be so nonchalant about all of this?
"They took this at my father's grave! How is this even legal?!" she demanded.
Spitfire reclined in her chair. "Because, as long as it's used as part of a 'news' story, they can use whatever picture their photographers can get."
"How is any of this news?" she asked, slamming her hoof on the cover.
Spitfire smiled. "That's a great question. Tell you what, I'm tired of paperwork, how 'bout we get a drink? I'll explain a few things about being a celebrity so you won't have to find out the hard way."
Spitfire led Rainbow to an exclusive restaurant, with a cover price simply to get in the door. It was expensive, sure, but it also kept the gawkers and paparazzi at bay. They sat in a booth as Spitfire ordered her favorite wine, while Rainbow was content with a soda.
"So, now can you tell me why Mac being my coltfriend is considered 'news' to these ponies?" Rainbow asked impatiently.
"For the same reason my divorce with Soarin was news," she replied bitterly, taking a swig of her drink. "Ponies live vicariously through celebrities. They want to know that we're just like them, whether that's actually the case or not."
Rainbow sat back, still not satisfied with that answer, though she suspected it was the truth. "So, you're saying I'll never have a moment to myself again?"
"No, you will. You'll just appreciate them a lot more." Spitfire sighed, staring longingly into her wine glass. "This job... it's great and all, but if you aren't careful, it'll eat you alive."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Spitfire scoffed. Sometimes rookies just had a thick head. "It means, don't lose sight of why you wanted this in the first place. Now then," she said, shifting gears. "You hungry? The quiche here is amazing."
Rainbow paused. "Well, I just had some pizza... but I guess I could go for a snack."
"A foal'll do that to ya." Spitfire grinned gently.
"You're buyin', right?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah, but next time it's on you."
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Scene with Fluttershy... I think it is Braeburn!
Ah the life of a celebrity. The buzzing of the paparazzi 24/7.
Fluttershy has a Special Somepony?
2.bp.blogspot.com/-WJmWIyZudl8/T3zUrYB84EI/AAAAAAAACdg/T6vRPfVuPi4/s1600/Scandalous.jpg
Fluttershy?
I require MOAR! Who is this mystery stallion?! I must know!
EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!
Oh Celestia, that scene with Fluttershy. Twilight, you just got more than you were ready for. Unless the author is just leading us on for laughs, which I could totally see happening. Either way, it was great.
But I'm not opposed to more foals on the way.
And we've already seen the picture of your foal, Rainbow.
Yeah, and it's cute.
We're from the future, or something.
Fluttershy has a special somepony? Country twang? Hmmm.... This could be interesting. Proceed.
I have a feeling that if someone messed with Rainbow Dash and Mac found out, they'd lose a lot more than a tooth (or two).
Great chapter, by the way. Now I only wonder what was going on with Fluttershy. If that was Mac in there, then maybe he was... showing her the ring?
I'm trying to decode Angel's gesture, and it has to be something to do with the engagement ring. There's no way it was... that.
"She'll be the most fashionable mare in Ponyville by the time I'm finished!"
Because RD always dresses in style, of course!
Also, preemptively having wedding dresses for everypony, including the CMC is totally something that the overly-enthusiastic-to-the-point-of-creepy Rarity would do.
Why doesn't RD just move her house over the farm and attach them or something? Anchor it to the roof of the house, and it can be the Apple mansion.
Finally, Twilight's really needs to get Wile. E Coyote signs before that little faux pas happens again...
1926876
Close, but not quite.
For some reason, with Mac's knowledge of Fluttershy's crush on him (my memory is terrible thanks to reading so much, so right now I don't know if in this story he is aware of her crush... or if there's a crush to be speaking of
) I doubt he'd show her the ring so quickly.
Maybe at a later stage, but not immediately.
But hey, your story, unless you're too obvious then we'll never know.
Now, off to wait for moar!
No...nonono...nonononono...
Twilight better not have seen what I think she saw...or else!! Bad things. Like making me cry. Can't decide if you're really going to be that mean or if you have something far more entertaining in mind. I'd say can't wait, but if it is what I think it is take all the time you need...
1926266 Actually, I believe that yes, he was doing EXACTLY what we think he was doing.
"muffled stallions voice"... "muffled"...
Oh My Goodness! Fluttershy was giggling as she was strangling somepony!!!
Hail Lord Smooze!
Good chapter. Glad to see you are throwing in the paparazzi ball at RD. I wish more writers did that.
Its big mac talkin to flutters aint it?
That might just be a ShyBurn there XD
awesome story. keep it going!
My guess for the Fluttershy scene is Braeburn, considering that Big Mac actually has a pretty solid reason not to betray Rainbow like that. Would'nt surprise me if Twilight didn't take it that way though, Mac actually can be in the cottage considering that we don't exactly know when he was heading to see this 'filly' that we read about. With even Twilight saying "filly" to express the age of one of her friends in the show, it's entirely possible that Mac was where Twilight might eventually say he was.
Of course, there actually is the fact that Fluttershy would know not to cross the line with Rainbow. The two have been friends longer than any other pair of ponies in the main six, so why would she go against her long time friend now? It also helps that Fluttershy technically has met Braeburn previously, during the events of 'Over the Barrel'. Perhaps a relationship started between them after Big Mac confessed to Fluttershy that he was seeing Rainbow, but we have no indication to that. Of course, I could be way off on all the possibilities that I have listed and it could be just some random stallion like Blueblood. Rarity will destroy him if that's the case though.
1926914 *Alondro looks guilty* I-I have been cheating on Twilight (Best Pony) with Fluttershy.
Twilight is FURIOUS!!
And suddenly Alondro is an orange.
*reads RD's flight routine... and GASPS in horror!* No! NO!! She must NOT perform a Sonic Rainboom while carrying such an undeveloped foal! The Sonic Radiation could cause HORRIBLY UNPREDICTABLE MUTATIONS!!!
It could be transformed into a blue hedgehog! A speed racer! Or even... *shudder* A host of "Top Gear"...
1930065 Then it's settled. She'll have a baby Stig.
Holy bananas... This was an awesome chapter. I specially love RD reaction to the "news.." And fluttershy
what are you doing??? ;)
1926266
Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Just showing her the ring.
Unless it's a DIFFERENT Apple stallion. //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Rainbow_Dash.png
1930304
Breaburn. //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Fluttershy_lolface.png
(Probably not. Probably.)
1926914 Oh, Applejack had a Gender Reassignment Magisurgery then? Good for Him! Good thing his name is Fairly Masculine already
/Diliberately missing the point
No. Nooo. Stupid brain giving me weird thoughts about Fluttershy and her guest.
Angels gesture was not "that"... or maybe it was?
Personaly I don't buy that ring theory. Why? It's an EARring Angels gesture can therefore not have ment that.
However mac maybe was showing her something else for wedding planning ...Twi:She peered inside her house, only to gasp in shock. Quickly, she withdrew with blush on her face to rival the apples of her friend's orchard.
Goddammit twilight why did you ruin my theory by blushing and being afraid of being spotted!
Braeburn would work... I eagerly await the next chapter.
what will happen next I wonder
Approval!
1930075 The horror... the horror...
My theory is mac and fluttershy were talking, Twi takes the wrong way, gossip and drama ahoy
Big Mac is NOT the kind of stallion to do that to Rainbow. If anything, it's Braeburn. I say this as if I'm confident. WHEN IM NOT. PleasbeBraeburnpleasebeBraeburnpleasebeBraeburnpleasebeBraeburn…
Grr, I can't believe I fell asleep reading. I'm glad, this time round I was able to read it, filled with energy. Another great chapter!
1926266
Yes, because Big Macintosh is the only stallion in the entire world who has a country accent. It's not like we saw an entire town of them back in season one OH WAIT.
1944509
FlutterBurn?
I have honestly never seen that ship before...
I hope that's the case!
1944595
What? Uh, no... I wasn't saying Braeburn... necessarily. However, my point was that there are other ponies than Mac who have southern/country/whatever accents... And then there's Sherrif Silver Star, and a few other males we saw in the background. However, given that I haven't seen Silver Star in anything ever on FIMfiction, and that fans tend to react to "Random Background Pony Becomes Friend Of Mane Six," as "OH MY GOD AUTHOR HAS INSERTED MARY SUE KILL IT WITH FIRE," yeah, Braeburn is probably losing a "Staring Contest," if you catch my drift.
1945758
If by "staring contest" you mean "sex" and by "losing" you mean "having" then I think we're on the same page.
Though you have an odd way of wording it...
1945818
No, you sick, sick pervert, I meant that as a farmer, Braeburn is clearly teaching Fluttershy about various soil types in order to help her provide better for her animals.
(Secretly, I actually mean sex).
1946049
So what you were referring to was, Braeburn teaching Fluttershy how to sow seeds in the right field?
1958500
... Well Played.
Dammit, Rarity.