Sunflower - Side Projects

by Hoopy McGee

Red Apples, part 3

The bits from the competition were locked into a safe, a huge iron monster of a box that would take a team of ponies to even move. It was enough money to see them through the winter, especially with the profits from this year's cider season. The Ironpony competition would obviously be a great event for the Apple family's fortune in the future, seeing them safely through the sparse winter months. Provided, of course, that the three top contenders ever came back.

Mac's nerves had been eating at him all night. It hadn't helped any that Celestia herself had appeared in a flash of magic with another carriage shortly after he'd returned to the grounds. The Princess had scooped up Pinkie Pie from the announcer's booth and flashed away again. The only thing he could do was to continue cleaning up the Ironpony grounds while trying to keep Apple Bloom's spirits up.

Cleaning the grounds had at least kept him busy, making it easier to keep his mind off of things. When they'd finished, the two siblings went home together, and he'd gotten a jump on the next day's chores. When he had finished all of his that he could do, he went and did some of Applejack's, because the thought of just sitting still right now seemed ridiculous.

After the sun had set, the three of them sat down for a dinner of leftovers from the competition. Even though he'd had no appetite, he still sat down with Apple Bloom and Granny, the three of them eating quietly around the ancient, battered table in the kitchen. Afterwards, they washed up the dishes, and Bloom had helped Granny up to her room while Mac tidied up the kitchen and the table.

He was very careful to avoid talking about Applejack, and whether she might be coming home soon. Such talk could lead to too many what-if's and what-about's, something that he wanted Apple Bloom to avoid thinking about. Instead, he concentrated on keeping his youngest sister occupied and distracted.

It hadn't worked all that well, but Apple Bloom pretended that she wasn't worried for her brother's sake. The two of them eventually settled into a routine, of sorts. Mac paced, slow but steady, while Bloom leafed through book after book, barely noting the pictures and definitely not bothering to read the stories. They were just keeping busy, waiting on any news.

It was hours after the competition when a gentle knock came at the front door, and Macintosh nearly bowled over Apple Bloom in his eagerness to answer it. He yanked the door open, startling the unfamiliar, bone-white mare standing in the doorway.

"Oh!" the middle-aged mare exclaimed, blinking her bright pink eyes in surprise. "Um. Hello, I'm Professor Moonlight Glimmer. You would be, at a guess, Macintosh Apple?"

"Eeyup," Mac replied, trying to hide his confusion and regain his composure.

"May I come in?"

"Eeyup," he said again, standing aside, noting as he did so the Royal Carriage and two large pegasi in the yard. The guards remained outside, though one of them nodded to him. He nodded back and shut the door behind the professor.

The mare came in, smiled at the wide-eyed Apple Bloom, and said simply, "Your sister Applejack asked me to stop by once I got to Ponyville and let you know that she's okay, and that she'll be staying in Canterlot for the time being."

"And Sunflower?" he asked urgently.

The pale mare seemed uncomfortable, for some reason, but answered soon enough. "She's... Well, we're sure she'll be fine. Celestia has brought her back to the palace to keep an eye on her. She's sleeping now."

The tension drained out of Macintosh so quickly that he felt a little woozy. "What happened to her? I only heard somethin' about a monster made of smoke takin' her away?"

"It was... Wow, this is hard to explain. I'll try to keep it simple. Centuries ago, Equestria was invaded by something called fae sprites. They used to be able to take over creatures and control them like puppets."

She looked down at Apple Bloom's sharp intake of breath, smiling comfortingly at the little filly.

"There aren't any more left, sweetheart," she said. "Celestia ordered the Royal Guard to wipe them out. It seems, though, that there was one swarm left under the control of something or someone called Malachite. That's what took over Sunflower. It was trying to use her to free itself from its prison."

Mac's heart felt like it was seizing up, but he managed to blurt out, "But she's okay, ain't she?"

"The Elements of Harmony were used, and the Princess is taking good care of her, so I'm sure she'll be fine..." Professor Glimmer trailed off, looking at him oddly. "Do you know her very well?"

"Oh, I... I talked to her a few times, is all. She seems to be a nice mare."

"Real pretty, too," Apple Bloom said, grinning. "Ain't that right, big brother?"

And here he'd thought she'd forgotten about that. "Ain't it your bed time yet?"

"Nope!"

"Ah, I see," Professor Glimmer said, as Mac blushed. "There's... no, I'm sorry. Never mind."

"What? Is somethin' wrong?"

"Ah, well... I couldn't say, but I'm certain she'll be fine. Canterlot has the best medical staff in Equestria. Look, don't worry, okay? Everypony is safe. Your sister, her friends, all of them. They're just going to stay at Canterlot for a while, that's all."

"When're they comin' home?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I really can't say, dear," the mare replied. "That's up to them. And the Princesses, of course."

They chatted for a while longer, Mac replying with automatic pleasantries as the professor talked about her need to return to town to write up a report. Meanwhile, his mind worked over what it could be that the professor wasn't telling them. Eventually, the albino pony took her leave, and Mac watched as the carriage shot off into the sky, heading back to town.

For the most part, the tension from earlier was gone, leaving him feeling tired and worn down. But in its place was a small, relentless thread of disquiet and apprehension.

If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was that whatever it was that Moonlight Glimmer hadn't told them was very important.

~~*~~

"I can only stay a couple of hours," Applejack said from her bedroom, packing a bag while her brother and sister stood out in the hallway. It had been a week since they’d last seen her. "I gotta catch the train back to Canterlot. Princess wants us all back there tonight, ‘cuz somethin' mighty big is happenin'."

"What's goin' on, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Sorry, can't say. Princess wants us to keep it mum 'til she can make an announcement. Nothin' dangerous, though, I promise y'all that."

Once she had her bag packed, the Apple family retired downstairs to have one last family meal before AJ had to leave to catch her train. Mac desperately wanted to ask after Sunflower but was forced to wait while Apple Bloom filled her sister in on the Crusader's latest hijinks.

AJ responded to the tales of her sister's exploits with a fond but somewhat strained smile. Finally, the filly took a breath, and Macintosh took the opportunity to break in.

"I heard that Sunflower fell unconscious after y'all caught up with her. Is she okay?"

Applejack looked away. “She’s… fine, Mac. She’s awake, and talkin’, and walkin' around. Shouldn’t be any long-term problems from what happened to her, is what the docs say.”

Mac frowned. He knew AJ wasn’t lying, but it was also pretty obvious that she was holding something back. But before he could pursue the matter further, Apple Bloom cut in once again, asking question after question about what had happened in the forest, and what it was like staying in Canterlot. He listened with both concern and pride as AJ related the story of chasing down the possessed mare and freeing her from danger with the Elements of Harmony.

Granny Smith surprised them all by relating some old stories about the fae sprites, though they’d last been seen in Equestria long before even her grandparents had been born. Still, she was able to fill in some of the gaps from Moonlight Glimmer’s explanation, including the loss of the village of Heartstone Ridge.

“Ain’t nopony ever built nothin’ there ever again,” Granny said. “Both outta respect for those lost, an’ because… well, a whole village disappears an' everypony dies off. Gotta be bad luck, there. Prob'ly haunted.”

AJ snorted while Apple Bloom shivered in delighted horror.

“I gotta tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle about this!” the younger sister said. “It’s the best ghost story, ever!”

“Better’n the Headless Horse?” Applejack asked, ruffling her sister’s mane with a hoof.

“Yeah!”

The Apple family sat around their old, scuffed family table for another hour, just talking and catching up. Finally, it was time for Applejack to go. Granny gave her granddaughter a hug goodbye, and Apple Bloom bounced excitedly out the door with her sister. Mac considered for a moment, then got up and followed her out.

“I’ll walk with ya, sis,” he said.

“Glad for the company,” AJ said, smiling.

"Apple Bloom, you stay here with Granny, in case she needs anything."

"What?!" the filly shrieked, indignant. "I wanna go with Applejack!"

"An' I want you to stay here," Mac said firmly. "You got it?"

Bloom just stared at him, her jaw working noiselessly for a while. It wasn't that often that the soft-spoken stallion put his hoof down, but the filly could see that arguing wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Fine," she said with poor grace, stomping back inside and slumping down with a pout next to where Granny sat in her rocker. The elderly mare ruffled her granddaughter's mane.

"Let's go," Mac said to Applejack, shutting the door behind him as Apple Bloom listened with a scowl as her granny started rattling off some story about long-dead relatives. AJ adjusted her hat and stared at him curiously. She opened her mouth as if to ask him a question, then shook her head and moved on down the road. Mac walked along with her, and after a few minutes he looked out of the corner of his eye at his sister. She was chewing on her bottom lip, obviously lost in thought.

“AJ,” he said quietly, and she looked up at him in surprise, broken out of her reverie. “How about tellin’ me what’s really goin’ on?”

“’Bout what, big brother?” she asked, looking a little shifty. “Ain’t nothin’ goin' on, 'least that you need to worry about."

Macintosh sighed. “Ain’t a one of us Apples can lie worth anythin’, AJ. You know that.” His sister had the good grace to at least look embarrassed. “Now, somethin’ big is goin’ on. And, ‘less I miss my guess, it’s got somethin’ to do with Sunflower. How about you just tell me?”

“Can’t do it,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “I reckon’ the Princess don’t want me to tell nopony.”

“She make you promise?”

“Well… no, not exactly.”

Mac nodded. If AJ had promised, then he’d have had to drop it. Practically nothing would get her to give up a secret she’d promised to keep.

“Then, tell me,” he said.

“Mac, I can’t.”

“Listen, AJ…” he trailed off, then sighed. “Look, don’t laugh at me, okay? But I care about her. I… I really like her, alright? A whole lot.”

Applejack looked up at her bother’s redder-than-normal face with wide eyes.

“When did this start?” she asked.

“When I first met her.”

“Thought you had your eye on a different mare?”

“Did. Thought better of it. Sunflower is… well, she’s somethin’ special, AJ.”

“Yeah, she’s different, all right,” AJ muttered. They walked together in silence for a while, then Applejack shook her head. “All right, look. I’ll tell ya, because you're my brother. But you gotta promise you’re gonna keep it close. You can’t tell nopony, all right? At least not until the Princess makes her announcement.”

Wary and concerned, Mac promised. Applejack sighed.

“All right. For this to make sense, I gotta give you the long version, all right?" When Mac nodded, she continued talking. "Professor Glimmer was here for a special reason, which is that the Princesses found out that some other world, an alien world, was bumpin’ up against ours. I don’t rightly know how it all works, but from what Twilight tells me, there are a whole bunch of worlds out there, more’n we can count, side by side. She explained it like, if you think of Equestria like a paintin’, with all of us living on the surface of it, then think of other worlds as other paintin’s, all stacked one on top of each other. That ain’t quite right, she said, but it’s close enough.”

“AJ, what does this have to do with anythin’?”

“Gettin’ there, big brother. All right, so all these other worlds are stacked on top of ours at the same time, and sometimes the… stuff, I forget what Twi called it, but it’s what keeps our worlds apart… well, that stuff thins out. And our world touches another world. Well, the Princesses could feel that another world was touchin’ ours a whole lot, so they sent the Professor out here to check it out. Because, sometimes somethin’ can come through, from one world to another.”

The ponies who knew Mac casually would often assume that, because he talked slow, he also thought slow. That wasn’t the case. His eyes widened in shock before Applejack had even finished talking.

“You’re sayin’ that Sunflower is from some other world. Is that right?”

“I’m sayin’ that, yup."

Mac felt his knees turn a little watery, and he shook his head in an effort to clear out the sudden buzzing sensation in his head. Applejack stayed quiet while they walked, letting her brother absorb what he'd just heard. Finally, he felt able to talk again.

"Did she know?" he asked. "I mean... if her own world is like ours, I reckon maybe she didn't know she was in a different world."

"Oh, she knew, all right. Ain't no nice way to say this, so I'll just say it plain. She came here on purpose, to learn about us all."

To Mac, the feeling that he was experiencing right now was akin to something precious breaking. In a slightly cracked voice, he said, "AJ, you're sayin' Sunflower... nice, friendly Sunflower... she's a spy?"

"That, she is. I'm so sorry, Mac. She had a reason, and it's a good one, but that's what she was here for." Mac was about to ask what that could possibly be, but AJ wasn't done talking yet. "And, I’m sorry about this, I really am, but she ain’t even really a pony.”

Macintosh stopped walking and stared in disbelief at his younger sister. “Ain’t a pony? What is she?”

“Somethin’ called a ‘human’. They used some fancy techno-magical nano-somethin-or-other to make her look like a pony and come over here.”

"That's a lie. That's got to be a lie, AJ."

A look of annoyance flashed across Applejack's face, then softened. "You know it ain't," she said sadly.

The whole situation was starting to feel indistinct and unreal, as if he were dreaming the whole conversation. It was crazy, wasn't it? That a mare he knew wasn't really a mare, but some kind of alien. That kind of stuff only happened in the comics he used to read as a colt. Eventually, he managed to find his voice again.

"Why? Why would she..." He trailed off, unable to think of anything to say.

"All right, this is the big secret, Mac. Okay? This is the real thing you can't talk about, least 'til it's public knowledge."

"All right," he said, feeling numb. What else could there be? What could be more shocking than that? Applejack started walking again, talking low, and Mac moved to get next to her.

"The humans, their home is dyin' out. They got some powerful thing eatin' up their world. They call it the Black Tide, an' it's coverin' everything up, killin' everything it touches. They're looking for a new world to move to, an' it's goin' to be our world. The Princesses already decided."

They walked along in silence for a few minutes while Macintosh mulled that over in his head. He was confused, he was shocked, but more than that, he felt hurt. And betrayed. A spark of anger lit and began to grow.

"So, she came to see what we're like," Macintosh said finally, harshly biting off each word. "To spy on us."

"To get information," Applejack said. Mac snorted in response.

"Gussy it up how you like, sis. She came over to spy on us. We'd have helped them out in any case. Us ponies won't let nobody die off, if'n we can help it. She didn't have to do that."

"You're right. She didn't. But she didn't know that until she came over to see for herself." Applejack sighed and stopped walking, turning to face her scowling older brother. "Look, she knows it's a bad thing she'd done, an' she feels right awful about it, too. She started makin' amends as soon as she could, an' she did that by tellin' us everything about humans we could ever wanna know. The humans... well, I don't like that they spied on us, either, but I reckon' I can understand why they did."

Mac grumbled and looked away, only for AJ to reach out a hoof and turn his face back towards her. "They only get the one chance to get off their world, big brother. They had to make sure nothin' went wrong, and that means that they had to get lots of info on us ponies."

"I reckon so," Mac conceded. It still hadn't really sunk in. It was like AJ had told him some silly story that had no basis in reality. If it had been anyone other than Applejack who'd told him this, he would have rejected it out of hoof.

They started walking again while Mac tried to sort out how he felt about things. He was no closer to an answer twenty minutes later, when a waving Applejack got on the train to Canterlot, and he still had no idea how he felt hours later, when he lay down to try and get some sleep, his thoughts still whirling through his head.

He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, completely unable to sleep. The hours ticked away, but one thought kept circling around. Only one thought that started to gain focus, the others still tumbling through his mind. Finally, unable to deny it any longer, he gave voice to the thought.

"It just ain't gonna work, is it?" he whispered into the dark.

~~*~~

"That's enough of that, Apple Bloom," Mac said sternly. The filly stared at him, fork raised but forgotten halfway up to her mouth. "It's all anypony is talkin' about, human this and human that, ever since the announcement. I'm mighty tired of hearin' about it, an' I don't want to start my day with it."

"Okay," Apple Bloom said meekly. "Sorry, big brother."

Granny 'tsk'ed at him, and Macintosh focused on eating his eggs, trying to ignore the guilt welling up in him. It wasn't Apple Bloom's fault, he knew. But he was mighty sick of hearing about it. He took a deep breath and was about to apologize to his littlest sister when he heard the front door open unexpectedly.

"Howdy, Apple family!" the familiar voice shouted throughout the Apple family home. "I'm home!"

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom shouted, jumping away from the breakfast table to tackle her sister in a big hug. Mac got up from the table himself, though at a slower pace, and draped a foreleg around his sister's back in a welcoming hug of his own.

"Welcome back, little sis," he said.

"Thanks, big brother," AJ said. "Whoo, I gotta tell ya, that early-mornin' red eye from Canterlot is somethin' else. And I am famished. Is that breakfast?"

A few minutes later, the entire Apple family was seated around the table, the kitchen full of happy chatter between the three females. Applejack related tale after tale of dealing with life in Canterlot, and how the Princesses and a bunch of unicorns had helped the humans open up a gateway in the Canterlot gardens.

"Tell me about the humans, Applejack! What are they like?" Apple Bloom asked. Before the middle sister could answer, Mac abruptly slid his chair back and took his plate over to the sink.

"Gonna leave this here," he said tersely. "You doin' dishes, AJ?"

"Uh, sure I guess," she replied, giving her brother a wary look. "You headin' out?"

"Not all of us can sit 'round Canterlot for days on end," he said. "Some of us got chores to do."

The door slammed harder than he'd intended it to when he left, and he made his way around the back of the barn where the firewood was stacked. He took the maul out of the shed and tested it on a hoof for sharpness, and then began splitting wood on the big, scarred old stump used for that purpose. He wasn't able to get much of a rhythm going, though, before Applejack stopped by.

"All right," she said evenly, "just what in the hay was all that about?"

"Nothin'," Mac said, matching her tone. "Just need to get some work done."

"Don't you 'nothin'' me, Macintosh Apple," AJ said, trotting around in front of him. "Apple Bloom said you ain't nothin' but surly these days, practically bitin' ponies' heads off every chance you get. That ain't the big brother I know."

"Yeah, well, the big brother you know has been stuck here on the farm doin' two ponies' worth of work for the last couple weeks while you traipse around Canterlot with humans, havin' a grand old time." Another log upright on the stump, and the maul came down, splitting it neatly.

"I had to go, Mac. You know that. And don't you dare try an' make your bad mood my fault!"

He snorted and split another log, leaving the maul in the stump in order to start stacking the split pieces. Applejack stared at him for a while, then sighed.

"This is about Sunflower, ain't it?"

"This ain't got nothin' to do with her," he said flatly, making his way back to the stump. "I'm just sick of hearin' about humans all the time."

"We should talk about it, Macintosh. I got to know her a lot better, and the humans better. They're a lot like us, when you get down to it."

"That's nice, AJ. Don't change that I got work to do."

AJ just watched him while he split more firewood. When he went to start stacking again, she spoke.

"Did she promise you anything?"

"Who?" he said, then grunted as his sister walked over and jabbed a hoof in his ribs.

"Knock it off an' talk to me, all right? Did she promise you anything?"

"No. She didn't."

"She never said she was interested in a special somepony?"

He felt like the answer was being dragged out of him, but he finally admitted, "No, she didn't."

"She was nice to you. Ain't that right? She talked to you and smiled at you, and was just all friendly-like."

"I s'pose. AJ, Look, I need to finish-"

"You need to talk to your sister, you lug," AJ snapped. "What you got here is a case of broken heart over somepony that never led you on, and was never your special somepony to begin with." He snorted and walked back to the stump, with AJ right behind him. "That's fine an' all, an' I can understand you bein' hurt, especially after the way she lied. I was hurt, too! But you ain't got no call takin' out your hurt on other ponies. 'Specially not on your family."

Mac brought the maul down, embedding it deeply into the stump. He stared at the handle, resentful and angry, for nearly a minute while his sister stood next to him, waiting. Finally, he felt something snap and let loose. He let out a pent-up breath in a sigh.

"You're right, AJ. It ain't your fault, and it ain't Apple Bloom's, neither. And, I'm sorry. I'll apologize to Bloom, too, when I see her next."

AJ came around and pressed a shoulder into his side in a sisterly hug. "You feelin' any better?"

"Nnope. Not yet. Thanks, though."

"Of course, big brother. I'll leave you to it." Applejack started walking away, calling back over her shoulder, "If'n you want to talk about it some more, or you need me to knock more sense into that thick skull o' yours, I'll be 'round for a while. Just find me, all right?"

"Reckon so," he said, then AJ was gone.

The stump before him blurred, then doubled. He shook his head and wiped his leg across his eyes, and the stump returned to normal. With a sigh, he picked up another log, then took the maul in his teeth once again, splitting it evenly down the middle.

Comments

[Shire Folk]

Aww...poor Big Mac. It had to happen, though, Erin/Sunflower wasn't really interested at the time. There was also crazy Dr. V buzzing in her ear and injecting her with drugs to deal with.

May the Grace of the Valar Protect You

Shire Folk

[Alondro]

Let this be a lesson to you all! Never fall in love! You never know when the one you desire will turn out to be a transformed alien from another dimension sent to spy on your world!

*dashes back to his basement and puts on his foil hat* They're all around us...

[djthomp]

Aww man, poor poor Macintosh.

[Dogman15]

You should add Big Macintosh to the characters tags in this story, since he's a pretty big focus of "Red Apples" and (I assume) "Down on the Farm".

[blazikenking]

When Apple Bloom said "Nope!", I imagined something like nope.avi with her bow.

1864603 You're right. In fact, you're the only one left...

[metallusionsismagic]

It was like AJ had told her some silly story that had no basis in reality.

Twilight used the Rule 63 Ray again.

[vinylsketch]

1864603
Yes we are...

[coandco]

But in it's place was a small, relentless thread of disquiet and apprehension.

"It's" here should be "its", since expanding it to "it is" doesn't make any sense.

"I reckon so," Mac conceded. It still hadn't really sunk in. It was like AJ had told her some silly story that had no basis in reality.

"Told her some silly story" should probably be "told him some silly story", given that Big Mac is the one who's being told and he's the least female character on the show...

[Kiro0613]

While I was reading this I got a small tub of Carmex. It wouldn't open. I got frustrated and threw it at the carpet, and then it opend (). Later, I started thinking about my great-great-great-grandfather Christopher Columbus. He wasn't really Chris Columbus, but Columbus was his middle name. Then I started making this comment in my head which I totally scrapped. I then thought about how excellent the punctuation is. Now I'm thinking about my favorite punctuation. I can't decide between ;, :, or ". It's weird what you think about while reading a story.

[dafiltafish]

damn slice of life stuff, making me feel guilty.

mighty fine though.

[Magical Trevor]

; ;

fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/258/1/d/crying_big_macintosh_by_keanno-d49w9a3.gif

[Pinklestia]

Well, to be fair, she was indeed never interested in him.

[North]

1866583
You could go into stand-up comedy. Really.

[swyrl]

Y u do dis 2 me?

[Nyerguds]

Ahh, ain't nuttin' but tragic 'bout this here tale

[Compu]

1864603 if it's a pony spy I would still love him/her

[Ether Echoes]

I'm glad Applejack is talking sense into him - and that it's being addressed in the story. It doesn't do to dwell over someone who never expressed interest.

"AJ, you're sayin' Sunflower... nice, friendly Sunflower... she's a spy?"

I want to quibble with the overuse of "spy".

Other words or phrases would jump to mind, like "shape shifter", "scout", "she was observing us?", or "alien".