> Fools and Foolers
>  by TechnoViking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crisp and cool autumn’s night air washed over Big Mac as walked through the orchard, being careful not to trip over any roots as he kept ever vigilant for anything amiss. For the past week Applejack and himself had been taking turns patrolling the grounds, somepony had been stealing apples and it started to become a problem. Now the Apples didn’t care about somepony taking an apple every now and then, but as of late it was starting to become something to be concerned about.

This was his family’s lively hood and now whole trees had begun to be stripped of their fruit and Big Mac wasn’t about to let that slide. Part of him still hoped that it was just some pest eating their crops and not one of the Ponyville residents, but the rate at which the apples were disappearing made that seem unlikely. If this persisted they would be forced to bring in the local law enforcement and that was something the Apples really did not want to do. Ideally, they would catch whoever was doing this, put a little scare in them and that would be the end of it and no one would end up with a criminal record.

He let out a long sigh, his breath creating a long vapor stream in the cold air. He looked up at the moon that was beginning to fall lower in the sky. It was late and seemed less and less likely he was going to catch anyone.

He was already at the far end of the north orchard where most of the apples had been pilfered and he had not seen hide nor hair of anypony else. With a sigh of defeat he decided it was time to call it a night and he turned to head back to the farmhouse, but halted when he heard a small shuffling nearby.

Mac’s sense of defeat was replaced by one of determination. He moved deftly towards the source of the noise, his ears perked up trying to zero in on what tree held the trespasser. His movements were surprisingly quiet for a pony of his size. Soon he had found his quarry. Looking up through the branches he could just barely make out the shape of a pony hiding in the upper branches. It was too dark make out anything in detail, but in the end it did not really what they looked like.

“Ah got ya now,” he muttered to himself as he backed up to the tree and delivered a powerful buck to the trunk. The moment his hooves met the trunk the whole tree shook violently and he heard a feminine--although raspy--cry of surprise as a cyan blur highlighted by rainbow streaks plummeted through the leaves and crashed into the ground with a resounding thud.

“What the hay!” a slightly stunned and irritated Rainbow Dash hissed.

“Miss Dash are ya okay!?” Big Mac cried in surprise as he rushed over to help his sister’s best friend from the ground.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine don’t worry about it.” She said dismissively pushing his helping hoof away before beginning to rub her hide leg gingerly.

“What in Celestia’s name were you doing up there at such an unreasonable hour?” he inquired, just as concerned as he was confused.

“Nothing, I was just… taking a nap and I guess I just slept longer than I expected to.” Her voice sounded unsure and she came off as almost defensive. Mac didn’t believe that for a second, it didn’t really make sense, she clearly had not been asleep and her voice sounded strained like she was trying to keep it in check.

“Miss Dash…” he prodded, earning him a glare he could just barely make out.

“I told you, I just overslept,” Her voice was now clearly defensive and he could just make out a small hitch in her voice as she finished.

“Miss Dash…” was all he said staring her dead in the eye, which he now noticed seemed puffy and he could just barely see the streaks that ran down her cheeks. “Have you been crying?” he asked in an almost stunned voice. She was not one known for letting her emotions get the better of her very often.

“What!? Pffft. Yeah right. I just got something in my eye when you bucked me out of the tree… Thanks for that by the way!” she shouted back at the large stallion as she audibly sniffed and wiped her eyes. Mac knew she was deflecting now.

“Do you... wanna talk about it?” he offered her somewhat awkwardly. He admittedly did not know her all that well, but it was his duty as a gentlecolt to offer his help to any mare in need. 

“I said I wasn’t crying, so could you just drop it!” Her voice was now cracking as her façade began to give way. At this Mac simply sat down in front of her and stared at her expectedly, he was clearly not going to let this go.

“It doesn’t matter… you wouldn’t understand anyway,” she mumbled the last part more to herself than to him, so she was quite surprised when he answered her.

“Try me.” he said simply, to which Rainbow snorted but answered regardless.

“Fine, let me ask you something. What would do if just found out that everypony you knew; including all your best friends, thought you were something you weren’t. Now imagine those friends let everypony else think the same thing about you, and now everypony from here to Canterlot now thought the same thing and no matter what you say, ponies don’t believe you. Now imagine your so called friends never disputed it and never even asked you if it was true, that they just accepted idle rumors as fact because of things you couldn’t control! Huh what would you do!?” she finished her rant, voice elevated and eyes threatening to spill forth tears once more. Mac sat in silence for a moment before answering in a soft tone.

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” he offered, more than willing to lead a sympathetic ear.

“No… it’s stupid anyway, I shouldn’t even have gotten mad about it. I just overreacted.” She said trying to dismiss the whole situation and to get Big Mac to drop the subject, Rainbow really did not feel like discussing it and she was starting to feel foolish about how she reacted. Since when did she care what others thought about her? But despite these thoughts she found she was still rather upset.

“It can’t be stupid if you got this upset about it, and besides talking about it might help,” Mac proposed causing Rainbow Dash to let out a sigh of defeat.

“You’re not gonna let this go are you?”

“Nope.” He answered simply.

Taking in a deep breath Rainbow reluctantly launched into the events of early that day.


Rainbow Dash stood stock still upon a pedestal as Rarity worked on her latest design.

“I can’t thank you enough for modeling for my latest line of high end athletic wear, Rainbow. I had no mannequins with the proper build, and you are a life saver.” Rarity spoke gleefully as she the final touches.

“Don’t worry about it, Rarity. But I can’t say I understand why you would spend so much time making fancy sports wear; it’s just going to get trashed.”

“Well think about it, Rainbow, if I can craft an elegant yet functional sports suit I could expand my clientele to equestrian sports teams, perhaps even The Wonderbolts. Imagine my designs dominating all of Equestrian fashion and not just high society.” She finished enthusiastically and almost manically causing Rainbow Dash to raise a confused eyebrow.

“Well… I don’t know about all that, but I like the part about The Wonderbolts.” She responded as Rarity removed the finished garment from her friend. “Speaking of expanding, how did things go with your visit to your Canterlot boutique?” Rainbow asked knowing Rarity had just returned from checking in with her manager at her second shop.

“Oh it went marvelously, business is thriving and I was even asked out to the opera by the most charming stallion. We had such a wonderful time,” she answered with a small giggle causing Rainbow to role her eyes at her friend’s antics.

“Yeah, doesn’t really sound like my cup of tea. I’m glad you had a good time, though.” She responded as she stretched her legs trying work out the stiffness that had settled in them while she had been standing still.

“No I can’t say it would be, not really the type of pony I’d image you’d go out with.” She finished with a small laugh as she transferred the outfit to a wire frame for the time being. This piqued Rainbow’s interest slightly and she quirked her eyebrow.

“How do you figure?” she asked wondering what exactly Rarity was talking about.

“Oh, come now Rainbow… you know.” She said sending a friendly smile Rainbowdash's way, serving only to further confuse the mare.

“I really don’t.”

“It’s not exactly a secret you, darling.”

“What’s not a secret?” Rainbow asked growing more puzzled.

“Now, Rainbow. Everypony knows that you don’t exactly prefer the company of stallions.” She said tactfully. That’s when it struck Rainbow.

“Whoa, Rarity, I’m not like that!” she stammered at her friend as her face flushed.

“Come now dear, everypony knows and none of us think any less of you, all of us have our own tastes.” She said cheerily as she began to clean up her work area.

“Everypony?” Rainbow mummbled more to herself than to Rarity.

“Well it’s more or less common knowledge sweetie. I even had some very pretty mares ask me about you while I was in Canterlot. I could set you up if you’re interested,” she said turning to her friend and sending her a quick wink and not noticing the look of shock on Rainbow's face as she returned to tidying her workplace. 

“All the girls think this too?” Rainbow asked, almost fearing the response.

“Why of course dear, you’re not exactly subtle,” she answered with a small chuckle. Did she really find this whole situation funny?

“How so?” She inquired, she was trying hard not to lash out as began to become agitated.

“Now deary, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Why I’m not ashamed to admit I had some sorted encounters with a few mares in my younger days,” she finished with a giggle.

“Okay I really didn’t need to know that, Rarity, but what exactly 'gave me away'," she asked, the irritation beginning to show through.

“Well there’s your mane, your attitude, the way you talk, the whole way you carry yourself, and the fact you have shown absolutely no interest in any stallions. Like I said before, it’s really not a big deal.”

Suddenly the anger Rainbow had been feeling gave way to something worse. “Well I think I should get heading out.” Rainbow said turning towards the exit and just barely managing to hide the tremble in her voice.

“Oh, are you sure you don’t want to stay? I was just getting ready to prepare some tea.”

“No thanks, I’ll see you later, Rarity.” And with that Rainbow was out the door and in the sky.

She flew swiftly as she began to process what she had discovered. Why was she so upset? It’s not like this was the first time she had faced accusations, but this time it was different.

Her friends should have known better. She thought they knew her better than that. She couldn’t help the color of her mane or the sound of her voice. Sure she was something of a tomcolt, but since when did that mean anything?

As she slowed down she spotted a tree to land in on the far side of Sweet Apple Acres where no one would find her. She let out a deep shuttering breath. Rainbow was no stranger to idle rumors about her, no that wasn’t why she was upset. It was the fact that those she considered closest to her had accepted these idle rumors as fact and had made such massive false assumptions about her.

“I guess we’re not as close as I thought,” she groaned to herself as the sun began to set.


As Rainbow recounted her story Mac silently stared blankly back at her, his expression never changing once during her tale and she was beginning to feel more and more foolish about how she had reacted.

“Look, I know it’s stupid to get upset over something like this but…”  Mac never let her finish.

“It ain’t stupid, words and rumors can hurt just as much as anything else, believe me, ah know.” As he finished Rainbow raised her eyebrow in mild confusion. “Ah’m just 'the simpleton brother' of Applejack, after all.” He said, clearly voicing some of the rumors that had been circled around about him.

“Oh…” was all Rainbow said, not quite sure how to respond.

“Look, ah ain’t gonna sit here and say that ah completely understand how you felt; my family always knew the truth and that helped, but it still hurt to know that’s what ponies thought of me. But at the end of the day all that matters is that you know the truth about yourself, once you realize that everything else don’t matter.” He finished, his tone never losing its calm tone.

There was silence between them for a few moments as Rainbow processed what Big Mac had just told her.

“That’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk,” she joked earning her a small chuckle from the stallion. She was still upset about what had happened, but what Mac had said helped. 

“So… ya feeling any better?”

“Yeah, it still sucks, but you’re right. I know who I am and it doesn’t matter what other ponies think.” She said confidently causing Mac to smile at her recovered confidence, as she raised herself off the ground.

“Eeyup," he stated.

“Yeah, thanks for that I-ahh” Rainbow cut herself off with a gasp as she stood lifting up her hind leg.

“Are ya okay, Miss Dash?” Mac asked concern lacing his voice.

“Yeah, yeah I think I just messed my leg up when I hit the ground.”

This caused Mac to cringe slightly, granted he had thought she was a thief at the time he had bucked the tree but that did little to alleviate his guilt.

“Sorry about that," he said lamely.

“Don’t sweat it big guy, I’ve had worse. I’ll just get some heat on it when I get home,” she answered trying to brush off the incident.

“Are you going to be able to make it home alright?” Mac asked, the concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah, I can't walk well, but I can just fly-” Rainbow's speech was cut off as she spread her wings and a sharp pain shot through her right wing causing her to take in a sharp breath.

“Something else wrong?”

“Nope, I’m fine I just need to-ahhh.”  She tried to once again spread her wing but it clear she wouldn’t be flying anywhere.

“Geez, I’m sorry Miss Dash… Are you gonna be able to make it home?” Mac worried, his guilt about the whole situation obvious in his voice.

“Probably not… I’ll just bunk at Fluttershy’s, I’m sure she won’t-ahh! Hey!” Rainbow shouted as she was cut off by Big Mac gently scooping her up onto his neck and carefully resituating her to a comfortable position on his back. 

“Nope, Ah got ya hurt you’ll be staying with us tonight.” His tone left little room for argument as he began to make his way back to the Apple family home stead.

“Oh… well thanks I guess, but do you really have to carry me?” She asked, her pride taking a small hit the way Mac was treating her.

“It's a long way to the house, Miss Dash,” he stressed, there was truth to what he was saying.

“Okay fair enough, but could you please stop with the whole 'Miss Dash' thing.” She responded with a huff.

“Whatever you say… Miss Dash," he teased earning him a light smack from Rainbow’s hoof causing him to chuckle.

There was silence between them as Mac continued at a comfortable pace so as not aggravate Rainbow’s injuries. This continued for a few moments before Rainbow decided to break the silence. 

“Hey Mac?”

“Eyup,” he answered monotonously.

“Before tonight, had you… had you ever… well… you know, heard that rumor about me?” She asked hesitantly, not quite sure she wanted to hear the answer. If he said yes that would confirm that her best friend had not only believed the gossip but also had a hoof in spreading it.

“Applejack may have said something in passing a time or two, but she never spoke on the subject much."

“Well… did you ever believe it was true?”

“Nope.” He answered without a moment of hesitation.

“But if everypony believed it, why didn’t you?” She asked with confusion lacing her voice.

“Ah don’t place much stock in rumors. Ah never saw anything that would suggest it was true so Ah never made any assumptions. It could have true, it might not have been, a pony's business is their own. It’s not my place to judge.” 

“So if you never believed it, why did Applejack? Weren’t you both raised the same?”

“Ya’ll have to ask her yerself.”

“Not really looking forward to that conversation,” she mumbled to herself.

“You can cross that bridge when you get to it,” he said as the approached the farmhouse.

Moving surprisingly quickly and quietly, Mac opened the door to his home and entered before moving through the house. Rainbow was surprised when Mac walked right passed the living room and the couch where she thought she would be sleeping on and he headed upstairs. He moved silently passed his sisters' rooms before opening the door to his own.

“Ya can have my bed tonight.” He said simply as she gently slipped Rainbow off his back and onto his bed.

“Oh no, Mac, I can’t do that.”

“Don't you fret, it's my fault  you're hurt, Ah can do without a bed for one night,” he said feeling guilty. He kindly pulled a blanket over her.

“Well if you're sure…”

“It's no trouble, have a goodnight,” he said turning to leave. As he reached the door Rainbow spoke up.

“Hey Mac.” He stopped in the doorway and turned to face her. “Thanks… You helped me out a lot tonight.”

A small smile spread across his face "Any time Rainbow."

“Goodnight, Mac.” And with that he was gone.

Rainbow made herself comfortable with her aches and as she drifted off to sleep she was surrounded by the sweet scent of apples.
	

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack woke up just before daybreak as she did every morning. Stretching out as she stood from her bed she heard a series of pops from her back cracking. She glanced out her bedroom window and could see the faint glow of the sun just over the horizon. Taking a deep breath, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she made her way to the door to make her way downstairs to help Granny and Big Mac prepare breakfast.

There was once a time when Applejack would try to get up before her older brother, but try as she might she could never wake up before him. Today, however, seemed to be different. As Applejack made to turn and head down the hallway she noticed that the door of her brother's room was still closed. Thinking maybe Big Mac had just closed his door behind himself, she approached his room and could hear the telltale sound of somepony snoring.

Applejack cracked open the door and peered inside and could just make the form of a pony under a blanket. She could see the slow rise and fall of the blanket clearly indicating somepony in a deep sleep.

Grinning to herself Applejack quietly opened the door further and crept towards her sleeping brother. Making sure to make no noise, she reared back and took a deep breath.

“RISE AND SHINE LAZY BONES!” she shouted before slamming her hooves down on the bed to scare her brother. But much to her surprise she was greeted by the sight of a flash of blue instead of red as the once sleeping pony let out a cry and tumbled out of the bed.

“What the heck AJ?” Rainbow hissed trying to catch her breath as the shock passed.

Applejack’s face flushed as she stammered out a response. “Rainbow? What were you... I thought you were Big Mac.”

“How the hay did you make that mistake? I'm half his size,” she responded in an irritated tone.

“Why were you sleeping in his bed?” 

“Miss Dash had an accident last night and couldn't make it home, so I offered her my bed for the night,” a voice said from behind Applejack. She turned around to find her brother; who was very much awake, standing in the doorway.

“I'm gonna go help Granny with breakfast,” she mumbled as she quickly pressed past her brother and headed downstairs, her face still red with embarrassment.

Mac chuckled as she went before he went to help Rainbow back into bed. 

“What was that all about?” Rainbow asked as she laid back.

“Ever since Applejack was big enough to help out on the farm she's been trying  to get up before me, I suppose she thought she actually had me for once,” he said with a chuckle.

“Her hopes were raised and dashed in an instant...she has hope lash,” Rainbow joked earning a slight snort of laughter from Big Mac. 

“I reckon so,” he said with a smile before shifting the conversation. “I'm sorry about the rude awakening, feel free to get a few more hours sleep I'll make sure we save you some breakfast for when you get up.”

“Thanks Mac, I owe ya.” she said tiredly, her brief adrenaline burst from Applejack’s wake-up call wearing off.

“Don’t you worry…” Big Mac never finished his sentence as he was cut off by the sound Rainbow’s snoring. Upon hearing it he could begin to understand how Applejack could have mistaken her snoring for his own. Chuckling lightly he left and let her sleep.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later Rainbow felt the warm rays of the sun on her face as the haze of sleep disappeared. Sitting up in bed she stretched her wings and yawned. She let out a light groan at the pain in her wing, it was still sore but she should be able to manage to get home now.

Standing from Big Mac's bed, she began to stretch her legs. Her leg was still bothering her as well  but overall she was feeling better. 

Making her way downstairs, she found a plate set aside for her. She felt her stomach growl as she realized she had not eaten since before her encounter with Rarity the day before. She made quick work of the food before making her way outside. Walking down the porch steps, she spotted the pony she was looking for.

“Hey Mac!” she called out to the large stallion pulling a cart full of barrels across the yard.

“Morning Miss Dash, did you sleep well?” he asked smirking as Rainbow huffed in irritation at his constant use of “Miss” when addressing her.

“Seriously Mac, you better knock off this whole ‘Miss Dash’ thing or you're gonna earn yourself a pop in the chops,” she threatened him shaking her hoof at him, but her threat clearly did little to dissuade him.

“How are you doing today? Are you feeling any better?” he asked, completely ignoring her previous comment.

“Better, my wing and leg are still a little sore but I can manage,” she answered stretching her injured limbs as a testament.

“Well I'm happy to hear that, but that ain't exactly what I was talking about,” he said evenly.

“Oh...that, I think I'm over it”

“Really?” he asked skeptically.

“Well...for the most part anyway. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me, but I'll be fine.”

“So...Are you gonna talk to them about it?” he asked slightly hesitantly.

“Yeah eventually, it's just gonna be sooooo awwwwkward,” she groaned out in an overly  dramatic tone.

“True enough, but I wouldn't put it off if I were you.” 

“I know this isn't  gonna get any better on its own,” she lamented.

“I could talk to Applejack about it, if that would help,” Mac said offering what little assistance he could given the situation.

“Thanks Mac, but this something I have to do myself and it wouldn't be fair for me to ask you to do that,” she said clearly wishing she could have accepted his offer.

“Figured I'd ask, I still feel a tad guilty for bucking you out of the tree last night,” he responded bashfully rubbing the back of his neck.

“Don't sweat it big guy, but I am a little curious as to why your immediate response was to knock me out of the tree,” she half joked with him, granted she was slightly curious as to why he was out so late.

“We've been having trouble with thieves stealing our apples lately, we've been trying to catch them in the act, I thought I'd finally caught the culprit,” he said the irritation and disappointment clear in his voice.

“Couldn't it just be some pests, parasprites or something?”

“That's  what we thought at first, but we're losing too many apples and now they're disappearing whole trees at a time while trees next to them are completely untouched. Plus the fact we haven't found any scraps or apple cores around, pests don't tend to tidy up after themselves.”

“So essentially somepony has been stealing from you.”  

“That's about the long and the short of it.”

“Well...that sucks,” Rainbow said simply.

“You put it so eloquently,” Mac dead panned back at her.

“Haha, but seriously what kind of punk would steal from you guys? Nopony in town is that bad off to actually need to take food from you.”

“That's part of the problem, it could be just about anypony,” Mac said with an exasperated sigh.

“There might be some really obvious farmer reason I'm missing, but why not just call the police?” 

“I don't want to get anypony in any real trouble, I just want to put a little scare in them and send them on their way.” 

“So how long have you and AJ been at this?”

“It's been an issue for about three weeks. Me an Applejack alternate patrolling.”

“Why not go out together? Wouldn't it be easier to catch somepony if there were two of you?”

“I wish we could, but with just me and Applejack doing all the farm work we can't afford to have both of us being up all hours of the night,” Mac responded with a yawn. At this Rainbow noticed the heavy bags under Big Mac’s eyes.

“Well...maybe I could lend a hoof, you know, be your eyes in the sky,” Rainbow offered with her usual air of confidence.

“Thanks Dash, but I can't ask you to burden yourself with my family's problems.”

“Pfft, don't worry about it, what are friends for? Besides I've got a few days off and catching some thieves and bustin’ some heads sounds like a fun way to fill up the time,” she said grinning.

“We wouldn't be ‘bustin’ heads’, it's probably just teens acting stupid.”

“It's a figure of speech big guy.”

“I really don't see how.”

“Keep up with that attitude and I will not want to help,” she said in fake serious tone.

“Fine if you really want to help just get yourself checked out at the doctor’s, after your spill last night I don't want you to make anything worse,” he told her sternly causing her to snort.

“You seriously want me to get a doctor's note?” she asked through a laugh, Mac’s unchanging expression answered her question for her. “Fine.”

“Good, let me know how it turns out, maybe with your help we can finally catch these punks.”

“You can count on it...well I might as well go and get my doctors note, Mr. Apple,” she said in a playfully mocking tone.

“Then I'll see you later ,Miss Dash,” he teased back causing Rainbow to stick her tongue out at him.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, Rainbow was making her way back to the farm. Her doctor had given her a skeptical look when she had asked for a written note explaining when she could fly safely again. Normally she would just ignore his suggestion and fly when she felt ready.

But she had gotten what she needed and was now looking for her large red target. Before long she spotted him putting his tools and cart away.

“Hey Mac!” she shouted to get his attention.

“Howdy Rainbow, how'd you make out at the doctors?” he asked turning to face her only to find a written note shoved in his face.

“BOOM! Doctor’s note, I'm cleared to fly tomorrow,” she said cockily. Mac was silent for a moment as he read the note.

“Alright, everything seems good, and it looks like you'll be able to put off that uncomfortable talk with AJ for a few more days,” he said calmly as Rainbow frowned.

She hadn't even thought about the fact that Mac and Applejack were alternating nights for patrol. She had almost inadvertently force herself into a situation she was not quite ready to address.

“Yeah...well, how about that…” she mumbled awkwardly.

“Don't worry I wasn't gonna hold you to it if you didn't feel like spending the whole night alone with Applejack,” he said with a kind smile.

“Thanks, I'll talk to her soon, it's just…”

“She's going to be the hardest to talk to?” Mac half stated half asked.

“Yeah, I mean, AJ is my best friend, and she's usually so good as reading people and knowing the truth. I just know she's going to feel the worst about this. Not that I think any of them are going to be feeling particularly happy with themselves afterwards,” she finished with a slight grumble, her dread of the coming talks growing. As guilty as she knew all her friends would feel, she also knew this would have to be addressed if she wanted the idle rumors to stop.

“AJ’s a big girl, she'll be fine. Try not to worry too much about it for now, things will work out,” he said removing his yoke and storing it in the barn.

“You think so?”

“They always seem to with you girls,” he said with a grin, placing a lock on the barn.

“They do, don't they huh,” she responded returning the smile.

Big Mac cracked his neck and let out a sigh of relief as he turned to face Rainbow.

“It's a little early to call it a day don't you think?” Rainbow said eager to change the subject and taking note that it was still quite early in the day. But Mac only smiled as he turned to respond.

“Not much to do this time of year, we're coming up on our biggest harvest of the year, but until then it's all about prep. We don't do too much until the harvest but it’s still tough with just me and AJ,” he finished with a yawn.

“That's rough, but at least you have the rest of day off and you don't have to stay out patrolling tonight,” she said almost lamely causing Mac to chuckle.

“True enough.”

“Hey Mac, did you have any plans tonight?” she asked curiously.

“Not anything in particular, why do you ask?”

“Well, since you have the night off, I figured I'd offer to take you out for a drink tonight. You know I still owe you for your help last night, and for letting sleep in your bed and for of course feeding me,” she said with a laugh.

“Well...that's mighty kind of you but…” he  trailed off.

“Come on Mac, I know you don't exactly set the woods on fire but you need to cut loss every once in awhile,  even Applejack goes out from time to time,” she said trying to coax him into the night out.

“I don't know, it's not really my type of…” Mac started but Rainbow cut him off.

“Don't be a killjoy, I'm offering you free drinks and fun night out with a friend. There's more to life than work you know,” she finished almost smugly.

“Alright...alright, I guess a few drinks couldn't hurt. By the way ‘set the woods on fire?’ he finished with a chuckle causing Rainbow to blush in embarrassment.

“I heard it in a country song once, isn't that a term country ponies use to describe a night on the town?” she mumbled.

“Haha maybe in my Pa’s day, but I don't know anypony who still does,” he continued to laugh at Rainbow face which could now give Mac's natural color a run for it's money. 

“Keep it up big guy and I'll make you pay,” Rainbow said, only half joking.

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mac wasn't all that comfortable sitting at the bar. It was loud, it was crowded, and it was far cry from the open air of his farm but Rainbow had insisted that he give it a try and here he was. He sat on his stool nursing his hard cider as Rainbow slugged back what  Mac was certain was at least her fourth drink in little more than an hour.

“Come on Mac drink up, you're falling behind!” she shouted over the crowd as she ordered another round. She could hold her alcohol well enough but she was clearly starting to get tipsy.

Mac couldn't help but chuckle at this and did as she had bayed him to do and drank more deeply from his mug. As it emptied he found he no longer minded the noise or the crowd quite as much.

“Happy now?” he half joked, he received his answer in the form another mug being slammed down in front of him.

“ You're five drinks behind farm boy!” she taunted as she drained yet another drink “Now you're six behind,”

“You're going to make yourself sick...Miss Dash,” he teased as he took another drink.

“I told you not to call me that,” she glowered at him and gave him a shove that only served to knock herself off balance almost causing her to tumble from her stool. 

“Well, I sincerely apologize if ah offended ya...Miss Dash,” he said grinning into his drink as she glared at him.

“Mac...just shut up and drink,” she almost growled as she took another swig from her mug.

Letting a small chuckle escaped Mac drained his second mug. He had to admit that maybe this bar wasn't so bad, the ponies were loud but friendly and the music was good. Maybe it was the alcohol or just Rainbow’s personality, but he was actually starting to find himself having a good time. That is until he was startled by a sudden loud thump on the floor next to him followed by the barely stifled laughs of Rainbow Dash. Turning around he found his drinking companion laying flat on her back trying extremely hard not to burst out laughing.

“Hehe…I fell,” she said through a fit of laughter.

“Yeah no kiddin`, yer gonna get yourself hurt again,” almost laughed as he helped her back to her hooves.

“Pffft, I can handle my booze don't you worry about me,” she said, starting to slur, as she climbed back onto her stool.

“That may very well be, but ah’d hate to see you get yourself hurt doing something foolish,” it was half a joke, but Mac had also seen drunk ponies nearly get themselves killed by their carelessness while in a drunken stupor.

“Foolish huh? You mean like bucking your sister's best friend out of a tree in the middle of the night without checking to see who it was first?” she responded smirking up at him.

“Hehe, okay fair enough, but you should really slow down,”

“Or maybe you could try and keep up...unless your afraid this little filly can drink you under the table,” she responded very confidently.

“Rainbow ah can tell ya right now, that is not a road you want to go down.”

“Hey from where I'm sittin’ your have trouble keeping pace with me, if you're scared just say so, I promise I'll only think a little less of you,” she teased.

Normally Mac would not have given into what was obviously Rainbow trying; with all the subtlety of using a stick of dynamite to open a jar, to bait him into what would be rather ill-advised contest. But with a few drinks already in him Mac found the competitive nature of his family was beginning to come to the surface and he was considering putting Rainbow in her place. His sheer body mass alone would give him an edge in a drinking contest. But what Rainbow Dash didn't know was, while they were by no means a heavy drinkers, he, Applejack and even Granny Smith drank home brewed stuff would just about knock out any other pony out cold.

“I'm tellin’ ya Dash, this is will not end well for you,” he chuckled, but he realized too late that he had probably not said the right thing to avert the situation.

He heard Dash shout for the bartender and before long he found several drink placed in front of him and Rainbow a smirking smugly over at him.

“I can out drink any pony in town, your sister and Pinkie Pie included, catch up and then we're going head to head,”

“And if I say no?”

“Then you'll hurt my feelings for refusing to drink with me and thinking I'm no fun,” she said with a fake pout that she was unable to keep on her face as she began to snicker “Oh and you'll forever be a coward too I guess,”

“Well, what choice do I have then, I certainly wouldn't want to hurt your feelings,” and with that he deftly and quickly drained the drinks in front of him. When he looked over at Rainbow Dash he saw that her once smug look had given way to one more of shock.

“Well...shit,” she mumbled as it finally sunk what she had gotten herself into.

____________________________________________________________________________

Some time later the pair stumbled out of the bar. Mac had to admit Rainbow could hold quite a bit of alcohol for a mare so small, but in the end she had admitted defeat. 

“I gotta admit, ya’ll did better than I thought you would, you weren't kiddin’ when you said you could compete with Applejack,” Mac said drunkenly.

This was the most he had drunk in quite some time but it was far from the drunkest he had ever been, and could still walk in a relatively straight line. Rainbow on the other hoof was drunkenly weaving back and forth as she tried to hover next to Mac.

“I SAID I COULD BEAT APPLEJACK!” see yelled in an unnecessarily loud voice “AND I'LL BEST YOU NEXT TIME!” she shouted poking Mac in the chest.

“Any pony ever tell you yer a loud drunk?” Mac asked through a smirk.

“Shhhhh, you'll wake up all of Ponyville,” she responded placing her hoof over his mouth, her voice still altogether much too loud to be shushing him, but all he could do is laugh.

“Whatever you say Dash...” but he was cut off before he keep talking as a pair of hooves grabbed either side of his face a little too forcefully smooshing his cheeks as he was pulled down to eye level with Rainbow Dash.

“Mac, mac, mac…” she drunkenly rambled as she stared intently into his eyes, determination etched on her every feature.

“Yes Miss Dash?” he asked now utterly confused by her behavior.

“ We need to find...we need to find…” but she never finished telling Big Mac what they needed to find as she was cut off by a very foul smelling burp that escaped her lips and her intensely determined look gave way to a slightly confused one as her eyes unfocused “We need to find a bush,” she finished removing her hooves from Mac’s face and covering her mouth as she rushed to the nearest bush and began retching.

Mac trooped over to his companion and began to rub her back before moving to hold her mane out of her face. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, it may have been Rainbow’s idea but he had let himself get talked into it.

“That's it, just get it all out,” she said as soothingly as he could over Rainbow’s retching and gagging. After this went on for a few minutes the sounds of sickness finally subsided and replaced by the somewhat heavy breathing of Rainbow.

Taking in a few deep breaths Rainbow straightened herself the best she as she grimaced the the pile of sick she had left behind the bush.

“Thanks Mac...that was not my proudest moment.”

“Don't worry about, I'm sure you'd have done the same for me.”

“Don't count on it, I probably would have been laughing my ass off,” she said with a smirk.

The pair laughed with one another at this for a moment before Rainbow let another belch escape and she froze for a second fearing another round of vomiting, when she didn't feel the bile rise she let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, tonight was fun Rainbow but ah think it's time we call it a night, ah already know I'm going to regret drinking so much in the morning.”

“Yeah, probably a good call, I'll see you tomorrow,” she said giving him a light punch before turning to fly home. She managed to get a few feet off the ground before losing her sense of equilibrium and promptly flying right into a nearby tree before falling to the ground and finding herself on her back for the second time that night.

Rainbow found herself giggling once again as she lay on the cool earth staring up at the start sky.

“Pffft, I'm so blitzed,” she said through a laugh as Big Mac walked over to her and stared down at her, his gazed meet with her own unfocused eyes as he gave her a quizzical look.

“Are ya gonna be able to make it home?” he asked slightly concerned.

“Has anypony ever told you that you have really pretty eyes?” she responded randomly.

“Ah’ll take that as a no,” Mac answered, secretly quite pleased with the drunken complement he had been given and wondered if Rainbow would remember it in the morning.

“That's a big ten four Mackie,” she slurred given him a clumsy salute from her back.

“Well, you're welcome to stay the night with us at the farm again,” he offered.

“Carry me,” she said opening her forelegs reaching for him like a little filly wanting to lifted up by her father.

“Seriously?” he asked, not quite sure if she was joking.

“I’m druuuuunk,” she whined like a child who was complaining about be too tired to walk.

Mac let out a small sigh as went over to pick up the drunken mare. He did have to admit it was almost cute watching her act this way, and with a small smile on his lips he hefted her up and put her on his back like he had done the night he had bucked her out of the tree. With her forelegs wrapped tightly around his neck he began to set off for his family homestead.

“Two nights in a row, I hope your not getting used this,” Mac joked, but all he got in response was a small grunt of a not quite fully conscious Rainbow Dash. The next few minutes passed in silence before Rainbow finally spoke.

“Mac, I think I drank too much,” she mumbled groggily into his back.

“You don't say,” he answered slightly amused.

“Why did you let me do that?”

“Me!” he cried out incredulously.

“Yeah, you, I mean you know my reputation, what did you think was going to happen?”

“Ah...well…” he stammered for a moment, knowing that there was least some small truth to what she said, even if it was completely ridiculous.

“Oh calm down, I'm just messing with you, I'm a big girl and I made choices...not matter how bad they might have been,” she mumbled the last part as she suppressed another burp. 

“Well don't you fret we’re almost back and you can sleep it off,”

“Good,” she muttered quietly as she buried her face in his mane.

After a short period of time Big Macintosh found himself on the porch of his family's home, glancing around the Orchard he could just make the light of Applejack’s lantern moving slowly and steadily. It seemed as though she had not had any luck either, hopefully he and Rainbow would have better luck the next night. But those concerns could wait until tomorrow, right now sleep was thing his mind. Making his way upstairs to unload his drunken charge.

Mac started up the stairs, a task he found much harder than he had anticipated in his inebriated state, but he made it up without falling down. He made his way as quietly as could towards his room trying his hardest to wake up Applebloom or Granny. After bumbling a table and knocking a lamp down, he finally made it to his destination without making too much noise. Entering his room the sight of his bed was incredibly tempting but he was going to do what was proper  and let Rainbow have it for the night.

“Alright Rainbow time to hit the hay,” there was no movement “Rainbow?” still no response until a soft snort turned into a snore. Of course she had fallen asleep, which wouldn't have been an issue if she hadn't been clinging to his neck.

Letting out a sigh he made his way to his bed as he tried to figure out how to negotiate this. He really didn't want to wake her up, but if push came to shove he would.

With a little bit of maneuvering he was able to gingerly slide her from his back onto the bed top without waking her. Now all he had to do was try and pry her from his neck. ‘How the heck is she still holding on’ was all thought as he tried to pull away. He would give it to her, she was much stronger than she looked.

Mac tried to pull back one last time before he resulted to waking her up, he was drunk  and he was tired. He just wanted to get downstairs and pass out on the couch. But a sudden tug ended that thought and he found himself pulled tightly against  the sleeping form of Rainbow as she snored loudly into his ear.

Part of him wanted to just accept the situation, climb into bed and just fall asleep right now and just deal with what problems would inevitably arise in the morning, but that was not the kind of stallion he was.

“Rainbow....Rainbow,” he whispered quietly his voice muffled by the pressure Rainbow was applying to his face as she was crushing it against her. She gave no reply and just continued to snore. He gave her a quick nudge in hopes of waking her.

“Just let me sleep,” she grumbled out without opening her eyes.

“Ah’d love to but you have to let go of me first,” he mumbled back.

Her eyes slowly opened, her eyes unfocused, and stared at the stallion half in his own bed and half on the floor.

“Just climb on up, I won't bite,” she joked softly closing her eyes again.

“As much as ah'd like to spend the night with a pretty mare, it just ain't proper.”

Rainbow’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly and she let her hold on Mac loosening. Her eyes opened once more and her gaze met his, her cheek were flushed with color that had nothing to do the alcohol.

“You think I'm pretty?” she mumbled softly to herself, certain he hadn't heard her. He placed his hooves gently on her head and pulled his blanket over.

“Get some sleep Rainbow, I'll see you in the morning,” he said kindly as he turned to leave.

She was asleep before made it to the door, a small smile on her face. Tonight had been a strange, but all in all it had been a good night.








> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misery, pure unadulterated misery, those were the only words that could describe how Rainbow felt right now. She felt nauseous and as though somebody had tried to split her head open with an ax. She wrapped her pillow around her head in vain as she attempted to block out the thrumming and pounding she was hearing inside her own head.

Letting out a groan she rolled over and let her eyes crack open just a sliver, a decision she immediately regretted once the sunlight hit them. “I’m never drinking again,” she grumbled to herself squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as she could.

“That don’t sound like such a bad idea,” a calm deep voice said softly off to her side.

“Please don’t shout Mac, I’m hungover as a son of…” she started but Mac cut her off.

“Language young lady,” he teased lightly as Rainbow reluctantly let her eyes open once more.

Mac looked better than she felt, granted that wasn’t exactly saying too much. His mane disheveled, and there were bags under his eyes, but at least he seemed to be functioning.

“Please not now  Mac, I feel awful,’ she groaned as she buried herself once more in his pillow and sheets.

“Well Ah got something that should help with that,” he said as he set down a tray.

Her curiosity piqued as Rainbow fought the urge to keep her eyes shut tight and looked to see what Mac was doing. Much to her horror she saw him concocting some foul home remedy which appeared to be orange juice with several other unidentified ingredients be thrown in.

“Just add a dash of tabasco and one large egg and we have a good old fashion fixer-upper,” He said cheerily pushing it towards her

“I don’t think so, my mouth already tastes like vomit and I don’t want to add…whatever that is on top of it,”

“Trust me, it’ll help.”

Rainbow eyed him skeptically but renewed pain piercing her head forced her to reconsidered.

“Well…I can hardly feel any worse than I do now,” she admitted defeatedly.

Taking the glass, she stared at the odd mixture. It looked as thick as syrup and about as appetizing as eating cow pies. Making a gulping noise she looked up at Mac who gave her a silent nod. Letting out a sigh Rainbow held her breath and chugged the concoction down as quickly as she possibly could.

Making a face and almost gagging she stared up at Mac, “That was terrible,” she said sticking her tongue out.

“It made you forget about your hangover didn’t it,” he said smirking.

Rainbow gave him incredulous look, had he just pranked her? She was about to start shouting at him when she realized that her hangover did, in fact, feel better. It was by no means gone, but the pain in her head had been reduced to mild ache and her sensitivity to sunlight had diminished.

“Told you it would help,” he said a little too smugly for Rainbow’s liking.

“Yeah, well…it was still gross.”

“Ah never said it would taste good, Ah just said it would help,” he chuckled as he took her empty glass and turned to head downstairs. “We saved you some breakfast if you feel up to eating, just come on down when you're all set,” he finished as he turned and left.

Making her way slowly out of Mac’s bed she began to take full stock of her condition now that she was no longer bemoaning her hungover state. Beyond the normal headache and light sensitivity; she found herself sore in several spots, her stomach growling, and there was a rather noticeable lump on her forehead. She must have had an interesting night but she would be damned if she could recall too much after she had made the poor choice to engage in a contest of drink with Big Mac.

“I’ll have to ask Mac about that,” she mumbled to herself as she felt the lump gingerly.

Standing up straight Rainbow went through her normal morning stretching routine. There were the normal pops and clicks in her joints and wings but nothing that seemed serious or out of the ordinary. Her stomach growled audibly as she moved to make her way downstairs to get some breakfast.

Rainbow found Mac still in the kitchen pouring himself a mug of coffee.

“You know, Ah would have thought would have wanted a bit more sleep…coffee?” he offered raising the pot.

“Sure,” she replied pulling a plate of apple pancakes towards her and dousing them in butter and syrup before tucking into them with vigor.

“Ah have no idea how you can eat like that and stay so fit,” Mac said placing the mug of coffee next to Rainbow’s plate.

“Easy, I’m awesome,” she said confidently in between bites. Any attempt to seem awesome, however, was ruined by a rather noticeable dribble of syrup running down her chin.

“Well, you didn’t look so awesome last night when you were leaving your dinner in the bushes,” he said chuckling lightly.

“Well that answers why I’m so hungry, say Mac…I uhhh…didn’t do anything too stupid last night did I?” she asked almost nervously. Rainbow had blacked out a few times in the past and she had done and said some rather foolish things.

“You don’t remember?” he asked and she replied by simply shaking her head. “Well, do you remember falling off your stool?”

“Yeeees,” she drew out the word, the memory was fuzzy but she did remember hitting the floor of the bar. 

“Okay, do you remember a certain Rainbow maned mare making the very bad decision to goad me into a drinking contest?” he asked smirking, earning him a steeling glare from Rainbow.

“Har…har” she deadpanned.

“Alright, alright, what was the last thing you remember?”

Rainbow racked her brain as she tried to recall last night's events. The whole night was hazy after she had tried to go tit for tat with Mac at the bar, and then those foggy memories gave way to pure darkness.

“Not a thing after I tried to out drink you, so I can’t be held responsible for anything I said or did after that point,” she said matter of factly as she shoveled more pancakes into her mouth.

“Awww, does that mean you don’t really think I have pretty eyes?” Mac teased her over his mug of coffee.

Rainbow Dash stopped eating mid-chew her cheeks; bulging with pancakes and smeared with syrup, turned red as she stared at Mac.

“I…I didn’t really say that…did I?” she stammered out, hoping very much that he was screwing with her. She didn’t get her answer as Applejack walked in at that moment.

“You know, we may have to start charging you rent if this is going to making it a habit of staying here every night and eating our food,” she joked as she went to get her own cup of coffee. 

“Hey, if you keep feeding food like this I don’t have a problem with that,” Rainbow replied a little peeved that Applejack had interrupted Mac’s answer, but at the same, a little grateful the subject had been changed.

“Anyhow I’ve finished up with my chores for the day so Ah’ll be heading into town,” Applejack told her brother who simply nodded in response.

“Wow... you Apples sure have a lot more free time than I would have thought,” Rainbow joked earning her a look from both siblings. “Oh lighten up I’m just messing with you, I know you’re in your off season,” she said jamming more pancakes into her mouth.

“Well at any rate make sure you take it easy today Mac, you gotta make sure you have enough energy to catch those apple stealing varmints,” Applejack half joked but the seriousness was still evident in her voice.

“Well, Miss Dash here will be helping me tonight, so hopefully we’ll have some better luck,” he told her matter of factly and Applejack gave him a curious look “Did Ah not tell you that yesterday?”

“No, this is the first Ah’m hearing, but we’re glad to have the help,” she said her confusion still evident. “Ah’ll be back later, see you,” she finished as she turned to leave. After they heard the sound of the closing door Rainbow turned to Mac.

“Is it just me, or was that just a little…off?”

“Ah think she just a mite confused that you offered to help me and not her.”

“Yeah well, you know the reason,” she replied finishing the food on her plate.

“Let me ask you something Miss Dash,” she glared at him, “Sorry. Rainbow can Ah ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“What is your plan with this whole…misunderstanding,” he finished not quite sure how to word it.

“Uuuuugh, I really don’t want to talk about this,” she groaned.

“Like it or not this ain’t going to get any better on its own,” he said kindly but firmly.

“Well…what would you do?” she asked.

“Honesty is the best policy, just talk to them and tell them the truth,” he stated simply.

“That's what I thought you’d say, I think I’d rather just stay on the farm and hide,” she mumbled in a defeated tone.

Big Mac just chuckled a bit, “Well, if you want to stay here you have to earn your keep,” he said throwing on his yoke “You can lend me a hoof with what’s left to do today,”

Rainbow just stared at him almost incredulously as he turned to leave the farmhouse. Letting out a sigh she made to follow him. At least she would be able to put off any awkward conversations for at least another day.

Several hours later the work was done and Rainbow was dripping with sweat. The farm work was not at all what she was used to when it came to physical labor. She was all about speed and conditioning, not heavy lifting. She drifted down from the sky towards the farmhouse, she landed and collapsed on the ground staring up at the sky. It was just before twilight and the air was beginning to chill and she felt herself begin to shiver.

“Are you alright?” Mac asked as he stood over her.

“I can’t believe that was considered light work,” she responded with an exasperated sigh.

“You should see what it’s like when it’s time to harvest, or in spring when we plant,” he said grinning.

“No thank you, you can do all the heavy lifting you want, I’ll stick to skies if you don’t mind,”

“Hehe, fair enough,” he laughed as he turned to head for his family's homestead. “Well, come on inside and get something to eat and rest, we are going to have a long night ahead of us,”

The meal Big Mac made for them was simple but surprisingly good. Rainbow had always thought; well, that was not strictly true, she had never really given much thought at all to the matter. She would have figured that the cooking skills in the family would have been with Applejack and Granny Smith. At the very least that is the reputation around Ponyville.

After they finished eating they retired to the living room where Mac took a seat in a well worn, but comfortable looking chair and let out a sigh as he relaxed into a comfortable position. Rainbow mimicked him on the couch, where she assumed Big Mac had been sleeping the past two night.

“So what time do we head out?” she asked stretching out and lying down.

“Me and AJ, usually head out a few hours after dusk, so we have a few hours to kill,” he said as he let himself fully relax.

“Awesome, I’m gonna take a nap,” she responded making herself comfortable on the couch and closing her eyes.

“Ah’ll wake you when it’s time,” was the last thing she heard before she drifted off surprisingly quickly.

Rainbow found herself shaken awake a few hours later by the surprising gentle nudges of a large hoof. She groaned and rolled over pulling her blanket closer to her. Wait, had she had a blanket when had fallen asleep? She didn’t dwell on it however as a soft spoke but deep voice said her name.

“Rainbow, it’s time to get up,”

“Alright, alright give me a minute,” she grumbled as she rolled over again. Waking up was always an issue for, but once she got on her hooves she was usually fine.

After a moment or two she finally made her way up and was able to fully open her eyes. It was pitch black outside and glancing around the room she noticed that Mac was no longer present. Assuming he had already made his way outside Rainbow walked out onto the porch and was struck by how cold it had gotten out. Her teeth chattered for a moment before she heard a deep chuckle.

“Here, Ah wouldn’t want you catching a cold,” Mac said providing Rainbow with a scarf and hat.

“Thanks, I always forget how fast it gets cold this time of year,” she said quickly donning the provided garments.

“Weren’t you a weather pony before you joined the Wonderbolts?” Mac asked both confused and a little amused.

“Yeah, what’s your point?” she responded, there  not a single trace of snark or sass in her voice.

“Well Ah would have figured…” he started but stopped himself when he saw her quirk an eyebrow in mild confusion and all he could was chuckle,“You know what, it’s not really important, come on let’s get to work,” he said turning away from the slightly bewildered Rainbow Dash and heading to the barn.

“Okay...so what’s our plan?” she asked trotting after him as he pulled a set of lantern from the barn.

“Remember where Ah found you the other night?”

“Oh you mean the tree you bucked me out of?” she joked.

“That’s the place,” he responded his tone unchanging, but Rainbow could just barely see a small grin on his face in the light of lantern. “That’s the part of the orchard that we’ve been having the issue with, so that’s where we’re going to be focusing,” he finished, handing her a lantern.

Rainbow took the lantern in her teeth and the two of them began to make their way towards the location where this whole strange companionship had begun. Once they made if a fair way into the orchard Rainbow turned to Mac.

“I’ll let you know if I see anything,” she said simply before taking to the sky as Big Mac gave her a nod.

As she climbed higher, Rainbow felt a thrill run through her. There is a certain level of danger involved in flying at night, especially around the Apple Family farm with no lights below to guide her. But that was part of the excitement, the pitch black sky, the gusts of cool air without knowing exactly where you were in relation to the ground, she loved it. She allowed herself a moment to indulge in the rush as she spun and looped through the night sky before reminding herself she had a job to do.

Righting herself she began to glide lower over the orchard being sure to stay a fair distance from the light of Mac’s lantern trying to make sure the pair of them were able to cover as much ground as they possibly could.

After a few hours of thrill flying and looking for criminals, the excitement had long since worn off as she was simply coasting just above the treetops. She was starting to think nopony would be around  tonight, granted, was always a possibility but that didn’t help to alleviate the sense of boredom that was beginning to build.

At this point, Rainbow had a fairly good idea of the height of the trees and decided to extinguish her lantern for the time being just to keep herself on edge and reintroduce some of thrill of flying in the dark. However, after a few minutes of flying in the dark, Rainbow found her eyes adjusting to the lack of light and noticed something that barely caught her attention.

A small bit of movement ahead of her near the edge of the orchard. She stopped beating her wings and entered a glide. Maneuvering quickly and quietly through the branches and set down noiselessly on one of the sturdier branches of the trees. Peering through the leaves, she found herself just able to make out the outlines of three ponies, whom were bigger than Scootaloo, but definitely smaller than herself. They were talking in hushed whispers and were moving nervously but quickly.

Rainbow had to fight the urge to jump out and give them a scare right then and there, but she had promised Mac she’d come and get him if she found anything. As gingerly as she could,Rainbow took off and started to make haste towards the light of Mac’s lantern. 
 
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac was irritated, another long night and again there was no progress in the matter at hoof. He knew it wasn't dire, not yet at any rate, but their family's yearly profits were relatively small and each year it seemed more and more on the farm needed to be repaired. It was the nature of the beast he supposed but at this point any missing produce could make a world of difference. Not the mention the principle of the matter, who in Ponyville would want to steal from them?

At this he shook his head to try and clear his mind of these negative thoughts. He had a habit of overthinking on these nightly treks and all it did was serve to irritate him and that didn't do anyone any good. But, as was often the case, just as he had cleared his mind he could feel those irritating thoughts start to worm their way back to the forefront of his brain. Letting out a small snort of frustration he never noticed the small pegasus glide down next to him.

“Hey Mac,” Rainbow whispered in a hushed voice causing Big Mac to jump and his heart began to race.

“Geez Rainbow, ya gave me a fright, did you find any…” he began but Rainbow immediately cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah there's some ponies over on the other end of the orchard, if we hurry we can catch ‘em,” she said eagerly pointing on the direction she had come from.

Mac felt his heart began to pound once again, this time however, it was out of a mixture of excitement and anger. They had finally caught them. As he made to run Rainbow caught him and he gave her a look.

“Gotta put out your lantern, they'll see ya comin’ ” she said quickly as she blew the flame out.

“Good in theory...but how am ah gonna see? Ah know this orchard like the back of my hoof, but ah can't make it all the way across in the pitch black all that quick,” he inquired and he could almost hear Rainbow smirk.

“Just stick close to me, pegasus can see pretty well in the dark,” she responded with a bit of a cocky tone.

“Umm...okay,” he responded as he stood close to her not entirely sure how she planned to lead him. He hadn't brought anything they could use as a lead line. But he received his answer when he felt Rainbow’s wing drape over him.

“Just keep pace with me,” Rainbow responded and this time Mac knew he could hear her smirking before she took off at a brisk trot.

The duo made good time as they traveled towards their destination. Rainbow was grinning as they made their way closer and closer. She was looking forward to scaring the wits out of these little thieves. Before too long they had come upon the area where the three young ponies and they could just make out the sound of rustling leaves and hush whispers of “Hurry up!” and “Calm down they haven't caught us yet,”

“Yet being the keyword...so what's the plan Mac?” Rainbow whispered to her companion. 

“I'll circle around them, give me a few minutes then light yer lantern and let them know you're here, then follow my lead,” Mac whispered back.

“Roger that,” she whispered back as Mac disappeared into the night with a stealth and silence one would not have thought possible for a pony his size.

Rainbow waited a minute, then two and after she was certain Mac had been able to make his way around she took the darkened lantern and lite it before jumping out into the small clearing where the three had been gathered.

The shocked faces of the young teen colts stared up at her before turning and trying to flee into the night. But the trio stopped dead in their tracks at the towering sight of a very angry Big Macintosh.

“So...you're the ones who've been stealing from my family?” he said in cold and hard tone Rainbow Dash did not think was possible for the gentle giant to make.The trio began to tremble and whither under his angry gaze and did not respond.

Rainbow had to admit that it was a rather imposing sight. The low angle of her lantern casting long shadows over his face making his displeased expression look fierce, this coupled with his immense size and baritone voice cast the normally soft spoken pony in an entirely new light.

“Answer me!” Mac bellowed unexpectedly causing all of them, including Rainbow, to jump back in surprise.

“Yyyyy...yes,” one of them stammered quietly looking fearfully into the larger ponies face before averting his gaze.

“And why, may ah ask, did ya'll feel the need to steal my family's livelihood?” Mac asked in a stone cold voice. When they didn't answer he took a step closer “Ah’m waiting,”

“It...it was...it was just some fun,” one of them answered lamely.

“Some fun? Ya'll think stealing is just some fun? Takin’ what ma family needs to survive is just some fun huh?” he finished with a dark mirthless chuckle that sounded more like a snort of displeasure. Again he didn't receive an immediate answer so he continued. “Well...we have ways of dealing with thieves,” he said coolly as he reached into his saddlebag.

The trio of young ponies as well as Rainbow looked confused at this and all looked on in horror as the lantern light caught the shine of metal of what Mac pulled from the bag. Now standing before them was a large pony holding an ax between his teeth.

“Ah’ll let ya'll chose which hoof ah take,” Mac said through gritted teeth “Now who's first?”

Rainbow stood there in utter shock as the three colts began to stammer and whimper before Big Macintosh who simply glared down at them.

“Come on let's get this over with, Rainbow hold this one still,” he told her coolly as he made his was closer to the colt nearest Rainbow.

At this the three screamed and took off light a bolts of lightning, tripping and shoving one another as they tried desperately to get away from the ax wielding maniac. 

After a few moments Rainbow could hear Mac let out a small chuckle.

“That should put the fear of Celestia in em’,” he snickered looking down at Rainbow stared up at him in shock.

“Geez Mac, that was...that was insane! Don't you think that was bit much?” she stammered out both shocked and a little impressed.

Mac scratched his chin for a moment before responding. “Hmmm...maybe, but it's what my pa did when he had a similar problem, at least that's what he told me when ah was a little fella,” he told her sounding a little ashamed of who he'd done.

“Well what happens when they tell their parents?” she asked a little concerned and at this Mac only chuckled lightly.

“And tell them what exactly? They were stealing from Sweet Apple Acres and Big Macintosh, of all ponies, threatened to cut their hooves off? How likely does that sound to you?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well...ahhh, well that's a pretty good point,” Rainbow said with small laugh. She had to admit that if she hadn't just witnessed what she had, she would have never believed it in a million years, and it was just crazy enough that if they did tell it simply sound like kids making up far fetched stories to try and get out of trouble.

The pair chuckled lightly as they slowly turned and made their way back to the farm house.

“First night out and I solve the problem, what would Apples do without me?” Rainbow said with a cocky tone.

“Well we'd probably have ta sell the farm and move away, we owe you our lives Miss Dash,” Mac teased back.

“Watch it big red,” Rainbow huffed as Mac chortled.

“Sorry, but in all seriousness we really do owe ya. It may not seem like a whole lot but those few trees we lost the fruit from...well like I said it may not seem like much but it can make a pretty big difference,” he said a little somberly.

“Really? Are...are you guys gonna be alright?,” Rainbow asked her voice laced with concern.

“Oh we’ll be fine, what we lost wasn't great but it's a manageable loss, we caught them before it got too bad,” he reassured her.

“Well...that's good,” Rainbow responded her anxiety for the family having been eased, if only slightly.

“Eeyup,” Mac responded simply as conversation between the two ebbed away to a comfortable silence. The excitement had since faded and the pair was starting to feel the call of the sandstallion. 

As they reached the barn they extinguished their lanterns and began to put away their equipment.

“Thanks again Rainbow, if ya need anything you just let us know,” Mac said trying to suppress a yawn.

“Yeah let me sleep here tonight I'm bushed,” Rainbow responded not even trying to keep herself from yawning.

“Hehe, alright, but ponies are gonna start talkin’ if ya keep stayin’ here,” he said through a chuckle.

“Well maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing,” she grumbled bitterly under her breath.

Mac stopped laughing immediately have realized he may have inadvertently touched on the sensitive subject in a rather insensitive manner.

“Ah’m sorry Dash ah didn't mean...I wasn't thinking about…” he started but Rainbow cut him off.

“Don't sweat it Mac, you didn't do anything it's just...aaauuugggghhhh!” she groaned as she plopped down on the ground putting her hooves over her face. 

Mac watched her for a moment before he trotted over and sat down next her. Leaning over he gave her a soft bump with his shoulder, causing her to look up at.

“Hey, buck up, it'll get better. I mean things might awkward for a spell but things will work out,” he told her reassuringly.

“ I know, I know but I really, really don't want to deal with this,” she mumbled to herself.

“Well...better to deal with it sooner rather than later,” Mac told her.

“You're starting to sound like a broken record,” she deadpanned looking up at him. “But I know you're right...maybe I'll talk to Rarity tomorrow,” Rainbow muttered to herself as she twiddle her hoof in the dirt.

“Well, ah could, if ya want, ah could go with ya offer some support. Don't know how much good it'd do but uhh...yeah,” Mac finished oddly, he realized halfway through the offer it may not be the best thing to say, that he might be imposing on a very personal situation.

“Thanks Mac, I'd actually really appreciate that, maybe we'll make a day of it hehe,” she joked, although there was no cheer or any sense of her cocksure self.

Tentatively, slowly, and awkwardly Mac extended his foreleg and gently placed it around Rainbow and pulled her into soft but strong side hug.

“Don't fret too much, you'll be just fine,” Mac said soothingly before releasing her.

Rainbow felt her face burn red and was silently thankful for the dark of the night. But despite her mild embarrassment she felt an incalculable amount of gratitude towards Mac. She had received kind words and encouragement from her friends but this felt different somehow and she wasn't sure why.

“Thanks Mac, you've been...well you've done a lot for me lately and...well, I don't know what I'm trying to say here but…” she rambled before she was cut off.

“You don't need to say anything, I think I get it,” he said with small chuckle.

“Right, well I think it's time for bed,” she chuckled back.

“Right you are...Miss Da...oof,” the air was knocked out of Mac’s lungs as Rainbow’s hoof struck his stomach.

“Sorry, but I did warn you,” Rainbow said with a grin to which Mac could only grin back.

“That you did, Miss Dash,” a second blow didn't come.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One breath, deep and determined, was followed by a series of short shallow gasps. They weren't loud and didn't draw any attention from those who didn't know what to look for but they were there. She wasn't scared, Rainbow Dash would never be scared by the prospect of confronting a friend, but she was just a tad nervous. It was sure to be awkward and extremely uncomfortable, but it was something that needed to be done and Rarity was as good a place to start as any. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the stalwart visage of Mac, who simply nodded to her, and she let a breath go she wasn't aware she was holding out and opened the door to the boutique.

It seemed like years ago that she had been in the Apple Family kitchen bragging to Applejack about her success the night prior and eating hot and fluffy apple pancakes. The thought of her upcoming conversation was so far from her mind as she laughed, Mac snickered, and Applejack had grumbled halfheartedly at her own lack of success but smiled all the same at the culprits being dealt with. Granny Smith had been pleased enough to have offered Rainbow free meals whenever she wanted and first drafts of every batch of cider from then on. She wished desperately now to be back in that kitchen right now instead of where she was.

“Oh, hello Rainbow, what brings you in today?” Rarity asked cheerily breaking Rainbow’s train of thought.

“Oh, hey Rares, I um, I wanted to talk to you,” Rainbow said rather unenthusiastically.

“But of course, that’s no trouble at all. I have a moment to spare, let me put on a pot of tea,” she responded happily as she exited the room to put the kettle on.

“Great,” Rainbow grumbled as she followed, she didn't mind having tea with Rarity per se, but she really wanted to get the whole thing over with.

“Would you care from some cakes?” she asked as she busied herself with the kettle.

“Um sure, I guess,” Rainbow wasn't particularly hungry. In fact, she was stuffed to the gills from breakfast but it seemed rude to say no.

Humming to herself Rarity came trotting in a took a seat across from Rainbow as the tray of tea and cakes levitated down to the table between them.

“Now let's chat, what was it you wanted to discuss?” Rarity said happily as she took a sip of her tea.

“Well, uh, it's kind of about the other day?”

“Oh? What in particular?”

“Well the whole…it’s well…” Rainbow began before trailing off and shoving a tea cake into her mouth as she cast her eyes away from Rarity.

“Rainbow, dear, is something the matter?” Rarity asked, her voice soft and laced with concern. She had clearly be started to pick up on Rainbow's discomfort.

"No...no...it’s just… the sportswear idea,” she stammered suddenly losing her nerve, and grabbing onto the first idea that came to mind “Do you think I could test one of those flight suits out when you're done with them?” Rainbow lied. To her own ears, it sounded forced, unbelievable, and a ludicrous statement. But to Rarity, ecstatic at the idea of Rainbow wanting to take an active role in her fashion, seemed not to pick up on any of that.

“Oh of course, of course, dear. You know I was hoping you would ask, I need a real athlete to test them out. You know…”

It was here Rainbow had stopped listening, her friend's voice becoming a distant hum as she started to talk and expound her plans. As Rarity tittered away about her fashion Rainbow began to chew on another cake despite her full stomach and mentally berated herself. ‘I'll get to it eventually’ she thought to herself, and she meant it, but later always seemed so much better.
_______________________________

Mac waited outside the boutique for the ending of what was sure to be an obscenely uncomfortable conversation.

He had no doubt that the mare's friendship would weather and withstand this misunderstanding. Those six girls had literally been to Tartarus and back, a situation such as this would not tarnish what they had. But he also knew that a strong connection did not preclude fights and hurt feelings and so here he stood as a pillar of support for a new friend he would have never thought he would have made. Regardless, he couldn't help but feel happy about this new relationship. As odd as it was, it did feel solid and reliable, and that meant a lot to Mac. His thoughts were interrupted however when Rainbow excited the shop and his attention shifted towards his new friend.

As Rainbow Dash excited Rarity’s boutique and the pair were in much higher spirits than he would have expected. This confused Mac to a degree,  but he'd remain silent for the moment.

 The pair was laughing and joking and this seemed highly inappropriate for the conversation that should have just taken place. It didn’t take Mac all that long to figure out what had transpired, and while he didn't , he did know it wouldn't help the situation.As Rainbow approached him and Rarity returned to her shop all Mac did was stare at Rainbow.

“What?” she asked in an entirely unconvincing tone of confusion. “I wasn't ready, okay...I’ll do it next week after…” she started to say but trailed off when she saw him giving her a stern look. Mac wasn’t about to force her to do this, but he wasn’t going to let her just leave it be either.

“It ain’t…” he began but she cut him off.

“I know, I know, it’s not gonna get any better by waiting,” she whined in an exasperated tone before looking up at him pleadingly, begging for just a bit of a reprieve, but his steely eyes told her there was none to be had.

“Do you want me to go in with ya?” he asked in a tone much kinder than his previous demeanor would have suggested.

On that Rainbow had to think. The answer was, of course, that she would love to have some support right there with her. But, at the same time, it was also no, she wanted to do this on her own. Apparently, her indecision was written all over her face as it seemed Mac was about to make her decision for her as he headed to the shop’s door.

“Mac...what are you doing?” she asked in trepidation and terror9th as the stallion made his way to the door.

“Nothing, just thought I’d ask Miss Rarity a question or two about...well you don’t need to fret about it,” he said with the tiniest smirk plastered across his lips as he continued his approach.

“Mac...don’t,” Rainbow warned, her voice stressed and frantic. When he didn’t stop she ran in front of him and propped her hooves against him to try and halt him but when she felt her hind hooves cutting into the dirt as he pushed her back it was abundantly clear that this wasn't going to work.” Mac…please,” she pleaded in a whisper, almost whimpering, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“I was only funin’ with ya...I would never force ya ta…Im sorry,” he finished with a concerned and regretful tone that bordered on fear that he may have pushed just a bit too hard.

“I know...it’s just...I...well,” Rainbow Dash found she couldn't quite finish her thought process before she let out a long sigh.

“If ya ain’t ready it can wait, maybe next week we can-” Mac began but he was stopped short when Rainbow just shook her head vehemently. The duo was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

 “Would you mind coming in with me?” she asked abashedly, almost bordering on meek. Much to her relief he nodded but did not speak, his words may have broken her resolve and she had no idea why.

Letting out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding Rainbow began her approach. Even though it hadn't even been more than twenty minutes the whole experience felt entirely different than what she had done previously with Mac at her side. With a small tittering of a bell, the door swung open and Rarity turned around looking friendly although confused.

“Oh, hello again Rainbow, oh hello to you as well Big Mac, what brings you in?” she asked, sounding utterly befuddled, yet still sounding utterly pleasant and professional.

Rainbow quickly turned to face Mac. Her face was laced with trepidation but a calm look from Mac and a slow nod seemed to steel her resolve.

“Hey, again…So Rares...about what I said earlier about the other day ...well it...it wasn't exactly true,” she said her voice on the verge of sounding shaken but it remained even.

“Oh?” Rarity said in a confused tone, seeming to be utterly befuddled about the situation.

“Yeah...it was...well...it was...I mean…” Rainbow began but her words seemed to fail her. If it was awkward for her, it was going to be just as bad for Rarity, perhaps worse, and the implications for their friendship were staggering.

“It’s okay Rainbow, you can speak your mind. I promise it won’t offend me, unless of course you're uncomfortable with the…the atmosphere,” Rarity said in what was very nearly an overtly kind and professional tone, but then shifting of her eyes towards Mac on her final words. This minute action seems to fortify Rainbow's stance and determination.  But her voice still seemed to falter, despite he determination.

Casting her eyes to the floor of Rarity's shop Rainbow Dash mumbled out an incoherent string of words.

“I’m sorry dear, what was that?”

“I said... hmmrpphh,” Rainbow muttered again.

“Sorry, you'll have to speak up,” Rarity said with a near chuckle in her own voice, but her trepidation was still present.

Sucking in a gasp of air through her teeth, Rainbow blurted out “I’M NOT GAY,” in a volume that might have been considered just the slightest bit too loud. Rarity just looked at her, the expression on her face reading as absolutely thunderstruck.

“Pardon me?” she asked, looking shocked with her voice seeming to be on the verge of trembling.

“I don’t like girls, not in that way, and the fact that you assumed that I did...well…I didn't…I…” she trailed off not meeting her friend's eyes.

The room was dead silent for a minute, then two, then another. Unable to deal with the lack of reaction any longer Rainbow Dash did decide to look up at her friend and was surprised to find what she saw. Rarity's hoof was raised up over her mouth and her eyes seemed to be shining.

“Oh...Rainbow...I...we...the girls...oh no,” she stammered as the tears that had been threatening to fall began to flow. “We just thought, we never thought or judged, oh Rainbow I’m so sorry,” before pulling her into a hug.

Rainbow was stunned for a moment before she reached around and gently patted her on the back. “Hey...it’s alright,” she said awkwardly before turning her head to look at Mac who gave her a kind look.

“No it’s not,” she cried as she pulled away and wiped her eyes. “We never meant to...oh I don’t even know what to say, I just feel so awful, and the girls...they’re all going to...” she began to ramble out as she started to fidget in a frantic manner.

“Don’t...don’t worry about it,” Rainbow muttered, sounding almost abashed as she cast her eyes away.

“BUT IT’S NOT ALRIGHT!” Rarity practically screamed, her tone intense and visceral but still somehow remaining contained enough not to spread outside the walls of her shop.

Rainbow was a bit taken a back by this visceral and emotional response. While it was true she had taken the assumption about her sexuality in a rather rough manner, she hadn’t expected others to react so emotionally..Yet here Rarity was on the brink of tears and utterly devastated by the assumption.

“Rares…it’s alright, it’s not-” Rainbow began but Rarity cut her off.

“NO, It’s not alright, I assumed and made…I…oh dear Celestia…” she trailed off, looking utterly mortified and distressed to a degree Rainbow Dash had never seen.

Rainbow looked frantically back at Mac, who looked uncomfortable but remained silent.

“Rares-” Rainbow began again, but she found herself cut off.

“What can I do to make this right?!” she asked, her tone bordering on desperate, nearly frantic and manic. Rainbow just stared at her for a moment before responding.

“Nothing,” she said simply, almost coldly, but not quite. 

“...what?” Rarity muttered, seemingly confused and hurt.

“You can’t make this right,” Rainbow said simply and that only seemed to draw more grief from Rarity.

“But I didn’t mean…I-” she began to stammer, her voice quivering, but Rainbow still cut her off, needing, or more wanting, to clarify.

“We’re good Rares. I don’t like what you thought and said, but I get it, it wasn’t gossip or malice, you just had…bad intel?” Rainbow finished in a questioning and awkward tone, not sure if she had chosen the correct words.

“But I-” Rarity began, but this time Rainbow cut her off with a hug instead of words. She pulled her friend close and hugged her tightly.

“I appreciate that Rares, I really do. But you aren’t the problem, this is something I need…something I want to deal with in my own way,” Rainbow offered in an uncharacteristically warm voice. This seemed to calm the distraught unicorn, at least in mild sense. They stood there holding one another for a moment as their emotions calmed, and they finally separated.

“Well…if say so, but I just feel so awful I-” Rarity began, her voice cracking before she trailed off.

Rainbow Dash found herself feeling as though she had done something wrong even though she knew on an intellectual level she hadn’t. Emotionally she felt at fault, or even responsible for how Rarity felt, even though she knew that wasn’t the case.

“It’s okay Rares, it really is, I just…well I wanted you to know,” Rainbow finished in what she thought was a lame or weak tone.

“Thank you, Rainbow, but it’s not okay,” Rarity reiterated for what felt like the thousandth time, with a small sniffle as she wiped a glinting tear from her eyes. “I assumed something and it was wrong, and I hurt you,” Rarity said quietly, her tone soft and dejected.

“Well…thanks,” Rainbow said weakly, not sure how to respond.

The atmosphere became thick with tension and an awkward miasma. Neither Rarity or Rainbow Dash knew quite what to say. The two mares sat in silence for quite some time before Mac decided to break the silence.

"Well, I think I'm about ready to head out," Mac said simply  as he turned to leave the shop. He intentionally left any sort of reference to the situation out of his comment, hoping by simply speaking he'd get them moving again.

The two mares seemed somewhat startled by this sudden introduction of another voice but both seemed to adapt quickly. Rarity looked at her friend apologetically and worried. Rainbow looked back with understanding and, perhaps surprisingly, reconciliation. 

Rainbow reached out and pulled her friend into a tight and warm hug and simply held her there for a moment. 

Rarity, for her part, seemed stiff and worried, but only for an instant. Then, after an awkward moment, she wrapped her forelegs around her friend and held her right, seeming to seek some comfort.

"We're good Rares, I know you'd never try to hurt me," Rainbow whispered to her friend before breaking the embrace and turning away, her eyes just a bit overbright.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" Rarity asked softly, almost in a whisper. Rainbow just looked at her before giving a somewhat forced, but still convincing, confident grin.

" I got this Rares, don't worry," she said with a confidence she didn't really feel. But it seemed to ease Rarity’s worries.

"Well…whatever happens, well, just let me know if you need anything," Rarity said awkwardly but her boice maintained a warm tone as she wiped her eyes before reaching out and hugging her friend once more.

"Sure thing…thanks Rares," Rainbow muttered into her friend's mane as she wrapped her forelimbs around her. They stayed like that for a moment before they broke apart and Rainbow turned to follow Mac out, giving her friend one last reassuring smile before exiting.
________________________________________________________________________

Mac thought Rainbow had done rather well and maintained her composure without much issue. He had thought she’d done rather well, that is until the door closed behind her and she let out an almost aggressive sigh that almost sounded like boiling water.

Mac turned to look at his companion and saw her cool exterior had broken down. Rainbow, for all the composure she had just shown, now seemed to be fairly rattled.

"Miss Dash…you alright?" Mac asked, his concern abundantly apparent.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm good…I'm cool…" she stammered before trailing off.

 "Well, ah think ya did alright, the best thing to do is be direct, things went okay, all things considered," Mac offered, hoping he was helping. She looked up at him, almost looking shocked to see him there.

“Yeah…sorry, but that was ruff, and I know it’s only going to get rougher,” Rainbow said in a dejected tone, her eyes looking almost morosely at the ground.

“It’ll be alright Miss Dash, we’ll deal with this one step at a time,” Mac said in a soft and kind tone, gently placing his hoof on her shoulder. She looked up at him, almost shocked, but she smiled all the same.

“Thanks, Mac that…” she began to speak cheerily but trailed off, and Mac didn’t press the issue.

“I think ya earned a meal, come on I’ll go fix you up some lunch,” Mac said in a minorly joking tone, regardless Rainbow did seem to lighten up.

"Honestly…that sounds pretty good to me right now," Rainbow responded with what sounded like a forced laugh. Her playful bumping against Mac's hips seemed to be a genuine expression of mirth and playfulness.

"Well, you know no one does it better than Apples," Mac said back playfully as he bumped her back.

" Don't tempt me with a good time," Rainbow teased back, earning her a small blush from Mac.

"Just hush up for a bit," Mac muttered, not quite meaning it, the mirth in his voice evidence.

"You love it," Rainbow said back her voice playful but still suggestive as she smirked and giggled, bumping his back.

So the pair walked back to Sweet Apple Acres  laughing and joking, all other events forgotten and seeming unimportant in the moment.