//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Macintosh // by TotalOverflow //------------------------------// Macintosh By TotalOverflow, '11 Chapter 6 Father walked back and forth.  He took off his hat.  He put it on again.  Took it off, put it on.  He nibbled on it a little. I never saw him like this before. A white pony walked in.         “You can come now,” she said.         “C’mon son,” said father. We walked for a bit.  I heard crying. I followed father to a room.  Mother was in the room, in the bed.  She looked very sleepy. She was holding something.  Something that was crying.         “Look, honey,” mother said.         “She’s beautiful!  Macintosh, come look!” I walked over so I could see. It was a pony.  A tiny pony.  It was crying.         “Ah want ya ta meet yer little sister, Macintosh.” The small pony opened its eyes.  They were green.         “Say hello to Applejack.” ***         Big Macintosh’s desire to sleep and his internal alarm clock didn’t get along the next morning.  He was worn out from yesterday, but his body was trained to get up just before the sunrise, and try as he might he simply couldn’t fall asleep again.  As he buried his head under his covers, last night’s events replayed in his mind.  He had let himself quietly inside the house, and found Applejack and Granny Smith talking in the living room.  They asked him about the party, but there wasn’t much to say.  When they asked if he had a good time, he had to think on it for a moment before responding: yes, he did have a good time.         A few rays of sunlight seeped into Mac’s room and clean through his covers, destroying any possibility of further sleep.  Reluctantly he stood up, wiped his eyes and put on his harness.  Wednesday morning, he thought bitterly, you and I have never got along.  Just as he was about to leave his room he stopped, and looked down to his old pulling collar, its stitching a little torn in places but still hanging together.  He was going to town again today, did he need to wear it?  He found himself torn between the desire to bring it and to leave it.  To wear it felt comfortable and made him feel secure, but he wasn’t going to be working, at least not for the morning, so why bring it along?  Finally, he hoisted it off his neck and replaced it on the bedpost.  As he did, his eye caught sight of the small picture frame upon his desk.  The desk was nearly bare save for the photograph, but to him it was a valuable enough item to deserve the space.  Stepping over, he took a look at it, something he hadn’t done for a few weeks.         It was a picture of his family, just after Apple Bloom was born and after Granny Smith had moved in.  His mother was holding the newborn and his father was standing tall and proud above his other two children, who were smiling happily.  He remembered that it was a good day: the family spent it in town, visiting the bakery and playing in the park to celebrate Apple Bloom’s birth.  She was too small to do anything other than cry and murmur and look around, but it was still a lot of fun for them all.  Granny Smith always had difficulty using the camera, but she was able to take a great picture.  Sunlight had slightly faded the colors in the photograph, but Mac could still make out his mother’s pink bow in her mane.  She always wore that bow, just as father always wore his hat and harness.  It took a while for Big Mac to properly grow into it, but that harness was built so well he never had the need to replace it.  It served him well, and he briefly wondered what his father would think if he saw it hanging sadly on the bedpost.  It’s only for the morning, thought Macintosh, I promise I’ll work extra hard this afternoon.  So he left it there and walked out of his room.         “Mornin’ Big Macintosh,” Applejack said as her brother strolled into the kitchen.  She was chewing on an apple and looking over a long piece of parchment sprawled out across the table.  “Yer up late t’day.  Where’s yer harness?”         “Ah was tired out from last night,” he yawned, grabbing an apple for himself.  Once seated, he saw the parchment was a long list of duties and appointments for the day.  “An’ Ah won’t be needin’ mah harness this mornin’.”         “But there’s a lot o’ work ta do t’day, and we’d better get started,” she said, rolling up her list and swallowing the rest of her breakfast, “shouldn’t y’all get yer pullin’ collar?”         “Uh, actually, AJ,” Macintosh chewed his lip for a moment, “Ah’ve got some appointments of mah own this mornin’.”         His sister eyed him suspiciously.  “Ya do?”         “Eeyup.”         She glared at him for a few seconds.  Macintosh recognized that look: she was trying to gauge his honesty.  It was one of those ‘you’d better not be lying to me or else’ looks that she had perfected over the years.  He remembered how she’d giddily told him a year ago how she’d been chosen as the Spirit of the Element of Honesty, and he never doubted that.  She somehow had the ability to see right through anypony’s lies like they were glass.  He’d seen her use that look on Caramel (a hired hoof for Winter Wrap Up) when he tried to cover up losing the grass seeds the first time, but Macintosh was surprised she’d try it on her own brother.  Eyes unwavering and locked upon hers he steadily met her gaze, and after she was satisfied he was telling the truth she looked away.         “All right,” she finally said, “I s’pose ya should keep yer appointments, but I’ll need yer help this afternoon.  We’ll hafta work double time ta finish in time t’day.  Ah was hopin' y'all could organize the woodshed in the northern field t'day."         “Y’all know Ah’d never lie ta ya AJ,” Mac said slowly as he finished his apple, “b’sides, Ah’m a terrible liar.”         “I know, but it’s jes' so unusual fer ya.  Ya’ve never missed a mornin’ o’ work b’fore.  Still, I guess if y’all are finally gettin’ out there an’ meetin’ folk it’s a good thing.”  She adjusted her hat and trotted to the front door.  Turning back she smiled at him.  “I’m glad yer finally makin’ somethin' out of yerself.”  She closed the door behind her quietly, not wanting to wake the other two members of the family.           I suppose I am finally doing something, Mac reflected, something other than apple farming.  His sister was an extremely hard worker, sometimes at her own detriment, so he knew she could handle the workload alone, but he still felt bad for not fulfilling his duties to the farm.  I promised I’d meet those ponies today, and a member of the Apple Family always keeps their promises.  But didn’t he also promise to always take care of the farm and his family?  Wasn’t this breaking one promise to keep another?  Which was more important?  I’ll be working extra hard this afternoon to make up for it.  Besides, this is what my family wants, right?         He stepped out onto his front porch.  The morning light shone brightly across the world, the sun only barely resting above the horizon.  The Princess Celestia rose it every day to give warmth and light to ponies across Equestria, sustenance to their crops and harvests which in turn sustained them.  Without the sun...Macintosh silently thanked the Princess again for her brilliant gift.  Swaying gently in the breeze were a few stalks of hay poking out amongst the damp grass; he plucked one for himself to chew on the way as he did almost every morning, out of habit more than anything.  He shifted it between his teeth, his mind still turning over promises he’d made.  Being an honest sort, breaking a promise was an alien concept to him.  An Apple always kept his word.  But what if keeping a promise meant breaking another, or what if only afterwards you learned that keeping the promise could hurt someone else?  What if by breaking a promise you opened a window for a great opportunity?  These thoughts drifted around his mind, but no clear answers presented themselves.  He did settle on one truth, however: that breaking a promise would always hurt the one that you made the promise to.  Hooves treading the hard dirt, he set the idea to rest, satisfied with his conclusion.         By now he had entered town, the streets just barely coming to life.  While yesterday he felt uneasy and nervous, today he felt a sort of welcoming, as though the town was glad to see his return.  He sauntered his way through the cool roads, easily remembering the way to Fluttershy’s home.  As he turned the last corner the cottage came into view, and outside tending to her chickens was the pegasus, her golden coat glistening in the early light.  Smiling, he cantered over, softly treading the grass still moist with morning dew.         “Good mornin’ Fluttershy,” he said cheerfully.  As seemed to be the norm for her, she jumped slightly at his voice.         “Oh, hello Big Macintosh,” she smiled, recovering, “how...how are you this morning?”         “Ah’m doin’ jes’ dandy,” grinned the stallion, “an’ yerself?”         “I’m well.  I’m just collecting the eggs right now, please, go ahead inside.  I’ll join you in a moment...If you’re okay with that.”           “Would y’all like any help?”         “Oh...No, thank you.  The chickens are scared easily by others,” she popped her head inside the coop, from which came soft clucking, “Elisabeak, you need to let me have them!”  Mac heard scuffling and loud clucking, and eventually Fluttershy returned with a few more eggs in her basket.  “I’ll be finished soon.  Please, go ahead and make yourself at home...If you want.”         Macintosh smiled and did as he was very politely suggested, stepping inside her cottage.  The inside of her home stunned the red pony: dozens of little critters played or scampered about the floor, gophers and birds squeaked to each other, a family of mice danced around the table legs and the white bunny from last night was snarfing down a large slice of carrot cake.  Said bunny eyed him warily as he stepped into the house, and kept an eye focused on Mac as he made his way to the couch.  A few hedgehogs were curled up between its pillows, so he carefully sat on the opposite side.  Many of the smaller animals scurried away at his large presence, but none of them seemed particularly afraid of him.  He gave them their space, and they in turn were friendly.         After a few minutes Fluttershy returned carrying a basket full of eggs which she placed on the table.  “Sorry about making you wait,” she said demurely, “would you like some tea?”         “No, thanks,” he grimaced, remembering his last encounter with a teacup, “Ah’m fine.”         “Oh...Okay then,” she said softly as she attended briefly to a couple of squirrels, dividing a pile of nuts evenly between the pair.         “Y’all are really great with animals,” Macintosh marveled as she moved on to help a little bird to its food.         “Oh, thank you,” she smiled, trotting over to a cushioned chair and sitting, “It really is what I love to do.  I love helping all animals, although there’s a special place in my heart for butterflies.”  As if on cue, a large, blue butterfly glided through an open window, fluttering about the room.  “They were the very first creatures I encountered on the ground, and they even became my cutie mark.”  As the butterfly rested in her mane she looked down contentedly at her cutie mark, a trio of pink butterflies.  “I noticed your cutie mark is an apple...Not that I was looking, or anything...”         “Eeyup, everypony on mah pa’s side o’ the family has an apple fer a cutie mark,” he said slowly, “Ah guess we ain’t called the Apple Family fer nuthin’.”         “So I suppose your special talent must be working with apples, just like Applejack?”         “Yeah, Ah s’pose,” he answered bluntly.  His eyes darted around the room, barely managing to take in the sight of so many animals at once.  The bunny named Angel was starting on his second slice of cake, still keeping a disdainful eye on the red stallion.  Fluttershy played absentmindedly with a mouse that had scurried over.  Grateful for the sounds of the animals filling in the awkward silence, Macintosh took a deep breath.  “Ah guess we’re avoidin’ the elephant in the room.”         “What!?  Where!?” she shrieked, curling into a ball and shuddering.  The butterfly took to the air a moment before it alighted again on her head.         “Um, Ah jes’ meant we’re beatin’ around the bush.”         “Oh no!  The poor little quails live in the bushes!”         “No, Ah meant that we’re not discussin’ the obvious topic.”         “Oh, right...” she calmed down, sighing deeply.  “My wings.”  She thoughtfully looked around the room, clearly gathering her thoughts.  Macintosh sat and waited patiently; out of the corner of his eye he saw Angel shaking his head in annoyance.         “Well...” Fluttershy said, a little shakily, “I suppose I should start at the beginning...I was born in Cloudsdale.  I was born with abnormally large wings,” her wings fluttered slightly, still pressed against her sides.  “The doctors said it shouldn’t be a problem, but my wings kept growing larger than anypony else’s.  By the time I was mid-way through grade school my wings were already fully grown.  I couldn’t fly well at all because they were so large and hard to control, but I also didn’t get much practice.  I tried to keep my wings hidden as much as I could.”         “Why’s that?” asked Mac.         “All the young fillies in my school compared wings, and the one with the longest wings became the most popular.  Of course, my wings were much longer than any of their’s, but I didn’t want that kind of attention,” she sighed as she let a lock of pink hair fall across her face, “I hate being the center of attention.  And I certainly didn’t want all the colts to follow me around like they would with the other fillies.  I just wanted to be left alone.         “So, I never opened my wings in public.  My parents told me to be proud of my wings...but I didn’t want them.  I still don’t want them.  Because of these long things I can hardly fly at all.”  She sat in silence for a bit, her eyes unfocused, peering back into her distant memories.  The blue butterfly in her hair shifted a little.  “By the time I was old enough to go to Summer Flight Camp, my wings were already longer than a grown pegasus’ wings, but I was still terrible at flying.  I didn’t have my cutie mark yet either, so I was teased a lot.  I really didn’t want to go to camp, but my parents had to leave Cloudsdale for a while and there wasn’t anyone else I could stay with.         “The first day the camp leaders gathered us all up and wanted us to show them how well we could fly.  Of course, they just had to pick me first.  As I was preparing to fly I was praying to Celestia that nopony would notice my wings.  I started crying, and I felt my wings tingle a little.  When I opened them and looked back, they were half as long as normal!  I flew even worse with them so short, and I was made fun of for that, but at least nopony saw my long wings.”         “Wait,” Big Mac interrupted, “Ah dun’ understand.  Why were yer wings short all of a sudden?  How did that happen?”         She smiled.  “Like this.”  She unfurled her wings to their full length.  Incredible and shining, they nearly reached the ceiling.  Long, golden feathers lined the slender frame; even seated across from him, if she wanted she could easily touch Macintosh with them.  His jaw suddenly hanging slack he saw a faint blue glow surrounding her wings for just an instant (it was so faint that if you weren’t watching, you wouldn’t have even noticed), and they began folding upon themselves, their tips now pressed against her sides.  Looking closely, Macintosh could see the crease in her wings where they squeezed together, but to anypony else they would just look like normal pegasus wings.  Macintosh could only watch in wide-eyed wonder.         “I’m able to extend them half-way and hide them,” she did her best to conceal her amusement at his shock, her cheeks blushing slightly.         “But...” Big Mac finally managed to breathe again, “don’t that hurt?”         “Yes, it does hurt a little to keep them like this, and it’s very uncomfortable to fly, but I’ve gotten used to it.  It’s worth it to avoid the attention.”         “But!” Mac sputtered, “But!  How!?”         “I’m not really sure, but I have an idea...” she said as she pressed her wings against her sides again.  The butterfly fluttered through the air a moment, resting on her ear.  “My grandmother was a unicorn.  She passed away before I was born, but my parents told me how unicorn magic can sometimes skip a generation.  Somehow, some of my grandmother’s magic was passed on to me.  Using it, I can hide my wings so well.”         “Um,” Macintosh was trying to wrap his head around this sudden influx of new information and possibilities, “did ya get any other magical abilities?”         “I believe so,” she said softly, “I think the magic is partly responsible for my ability to communicate with animals so well.  I also have a bit of power in my eyes, but I try not to use it that often...” she locked eyes with him and he found himself lost in their deep aqua sea.  He felt compelled to do whatever she might ask, but she quickly removed her gaze.  “My father didn’t have any magical powers at all, so my parents were very surprised when they saw what I could do.         “Near the end of Summer Flight Camp I met Rainbow Dash.  She saw me practicing and wanted to help teach me how to fly with my wings half-extended.”         “So, Rainbow knows about yer wings too?”         “Yes...You and her are the only ones.  Besides my parents, of course.  Rainbow Dash didn’t really know how to teach me to fly, but she stayed loyal to me and tried anyway.  She helped me out and gave me lots of ideas of my own.  She still gives me some advice every now and then, even if she can get a bit frustrated sometimes.”  She smiled at the memories, brushing her hair aside and causing the blue butterfly to fly away.  “After a lot of experimenting and practicing, I was finally able to fly with only half-length wings.”  She allowed her ‘normal length’ wings to flap a bit.  “I was able to use some of those ideas to help my little bird friends learn to fly as well.”   She whistled softly, and in response a little orange bird flew over to her, resting upon her hoof.  “This little one was born with a tiny wing,” she held out the bird’s wings (it made no attempt to get away; rather, it seemed to enjoy it) to reveal that one wing was only about a third the length of the other.  “Thanks to my difficulties with my own wings, I was able to find a way to teach him how to fly with such a bad wing.  Thank you, Nemo,” she smiled as the bird chirped and flew off to a little bird house in the corner.  She gasped, and looked at Macintosh with large eyes, as though she was suddenly struck with inspiration.         “You know,” she said, “now that I think about it, if it weren’t for my bad wings I wouldn’t have been able to help little Nemo.  In fact, I would never have come to the ground at all, and never would have found my cutie mark!  I suppose...I suppose I am thankful for these wings after all.”  A warm smile spread across her face as she extended her wings to full length again, filling the room with their golden brilliance.  They sat in silence for a moment, basking in the glow of the morning sun reflecting off her tremendous wings.           “Um...” she said after a moment, “I wanted to say...Thank you, for listening.  I’m usually the one that others talk to, so...I don’t talk much.  I...It felt good to finally tell somepony else.  And thank you for helping me realize that my wings aren’t so bad after all.”         Macintosh smiled, but he hardly heard what she said.  His mind was connecting the dots one by one until the next course of action became obvious.         “Y’all can help ones with small wings ta fly, right?” he said, a grin spreading across his face.         “Um...That’s right,” she said, tucking her wings to her sides again.         This is great!  Why, with Fluttershy’s help I bet little Scootaloo will learn to fly in no time!  When Rainbow Dash hears about....         Wait.         He felt his heart fall into his stomach.  I made a promise.  I promised that I wouldn’t tell anyone about Scootaloo’s wings.          “Why do you ask?” Fluttershy asked earnestly.         “Oh, um...” he stuttered, “no reason, it’s jes’ really amazin’, is all...”         She smiled and nestled into her chair, blushing slightly.  I can’t break a promise.  I swore to keep it a secret.  But it could really help Scootaloo!  She could finally learn to fly!  The warring voices in his head were giving him a splitting headache.  What could he do?  Well, I suppose I could just tell Rainbow Dash.  Yeah!  Then she could talk to Fluttershy and-         “Oh...um...” Fluttershy began, “please don’t tell Rainbow Dash I told you.”         Well, horse apples.         “I mean, if that’s okay...” the pegasus continued, “She feels badly that she wasn’t really able to teach me to fly.  Even though without her help I never would have learned, she still feels that she failed...And she hates failing.  Oh...Please don’t tell her I said that.”         “Uhh...” Macintosh muttered, licking his dry lips, “Ah promise...”         “Thank you,” said the mare.  Off in the distance, Mac could hear the faint strike of the clock tower.  “Oh, goodness,” Fluttershy hopped to her hooves, “I need to go check on the badgers!”  She trotted to the door, holding it open for the stallion who rose and made his way for the exit, feeling a little lightheaded.  “Thank you again for listening...And for promising to keep it between us.”         “Eh...Yeah, no problem,” he chuckled nervously as they stepped outside.  The sun was still low in the sky but it had already brightened up the valley before them considerably.  In this light he could see the river run through the forest and between some hills where dozens of small animals played along its banks.  He could see it if he was paying attention, that is, but his head was entirely racked with uncertainty and confusion.  What happens now?         “I need to go, so let’s talk again later?” Fluttershy smiled as she cantered through the grass towards a small hill.  Macintosh could only raise his hoof to wave goodbye.         He had managed to find himself in the middle of a most interesting situation. ***         “Macintosh!  Pay attention!”         “Huh?” Father smacked me lightly on the head.  It hurt anyway.         “Y’all need ta pay attention!  This is important stuff here!”         “But I dun’ wanna...”         “Son, if y’all are gonna run the farm someday, y’all need ta know this stuff!”         “But I dun’ wanna run the farm!” He hit me again.         “No buts!” He sighed.           “Look out there, son.” He pointed outside.  I could see Mother and Applejack kicking trees.  Applejack was so small, but apples still fell for her.  Father touched his hat.         “Even li’l Applejack can buck trees.  She’ll grow into a fine mare someday, but y’all are gonna be the head o’ this family someday, son!  It’ll be yer responsibility ta keep the farm runnin’.”         “But...”         “Listen, son.  Ah love ya.  Ah hope ya know that.  An’ Ah love yer mother an' yer sister too.  Because Ah love ‘em, Ah work the farm ta support ‘em, and you.  It’s Apple Family tradition ta run the farm, an’ Ah want ya ta promise me that y’all will always take care of the family an’ the farm, all right?” An apple fell on Sister’s head. Father sighed again.  He fixed his harness.         “Someday Ah won’t be around no more.  Ah need ta know that y’all will protect them, okay?” I looked up into his eyes. They were also green.         “Okay, Pa.  Ah promise.” ***         “Gangway!”         “Coming through!”         Two young unicorn colts were racing through the roads, shouting warnings to anyone in their way, their eyes wide with panic.  Macintosh barely got out of their path as they barreled past, slowing and huddling behind a nearby bush, panting for air.  Now that they had stopped, Big Mac could get a look at them.  One was very short and stout, his coat an odd blue color and his ruffly mane orange.  The other was almost a complete opposite, being tall and lanky and his colors reversed, although more subdued.  Macintosh recognized them from yesterday, but they had no insects with them this time.           “Snails!” the blue one panted, his voice nasally, “what do we do!?”         “Um,” the other replied in a slow voice, “keep running?”         “They’re gonna find us eventually!  Augh, I told you putting slugs in their bags was a bad idea!”         “But Snips, that was your idea!”         “Oh yeah.”         “Aw crud!  They’re coming!”         The ‘they’ the two colts spoke of were non other than Apple Bloom and her two friends, who at present were racing through the streets, eyes grim and focused.  If Macintosh weren’t as large as he was he would have been very nervous about their next course of action.         “THERE THEY ARE!!” shrieked the small, white unicorn member of the team.  In response the two colts flew to their hooves and, sounding not unlike a pair of banshees, blazed down the road with a velocity that would have even turned Rainbow Dash green with envy.  Rearing up, the three fillies charged after them and past Big Mac, shouting their latest mission objective:         “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PEST EXTERMINATORS!!”         Although it was impressive the way the pair of colts were able to jump and climb over a nearby flower stand in the following chase, considerably less impressed were the three mares who ran the now toppled flower stand, its contents spread unceremoniously across the street.  Macintosh ran over, Rose, Daisy and Lily all stared dumbstruck at the upset flower cart.         “The horror!” bemoaned Rose, “the horror!”         “That was awful!” Lily weeped.         “This is a disaster!” cried Daisy.         Cantering over, Big Macintosh quickly set to work uprighting the stand, although the flowers it once held had begun flittering away in the breeze, their petals snapping off.  On its feet again, Big Mac saw a few boards splintered and a wheel bent slightly, but it had survived the incident.         “Oh no!” Rose wailed, rummaging through what little inventory had survived the encounter, “we’ve lost almost all the daffodils!”         “What will we do?” Lily asked, hyperventilating a little.         “Um, can Ah help at all?” Macintosh scratched his chin, eyeing the damage.           “Yes!” Daisy said suddenly, “you and Roseluck stay here and fix up the cart and watch the stand, and Lily and I’ll go get some more daffodils!” not waiting for an answer the two of them sped off, leaving the stallion and the filly to straighten up the stand.         “Thank you so much for helping!” Rose smiled weakly, grouping the remaining flowers together, “this is just awful!  Those little brats!  This would never have happened if we still had the store!”         “Oh?” Macintosh asked, adjusting the roof of the cart, “y’all used ta have a store?”         “Um, yeah, we did...” she sighed, “but we couldn’t keep it...we just weren’t...um...and...yeah.”         “Uh, okay.”  They resumed their work in silence, Rose looking particularly upset.  “Well, Ah think yer flower stand is nice.”         “Yeah, but with such a little stand we can’t have as much stuff with us at a time, and we sell out really quickly.  Well...” she sighed again and looked him in the eyes, “I wish we could have kept the store.  It was so much nicer than this dumb old cart,” she kicked it in disgust, “maybe someday I can run a shop again...”         “Oh, well, Ah’m sure that y’all can-”         “Ohmygosh!” she yelped, “I almost forgot about the special order for Carousel Boutique!”  She dove her head into the stand and returned with a large bouquet, “I need to go!  Um, can you stay and run the stand?”  Mac nodded, and she glanced around the roads eagerly, “but we need somepony else to help watch the stand with you!”         Mac looked around as well and caught sight of a purple unicorn bobbing through the crowd.  “Hey, Twilight!” he called.  She stopped, smiled and sauntered over.         “Hello Big Macintosh!  Hello Rose!” she chirped, unaware of the duty about to befall her.         “Perfect!  I’ll be back in a flash!” Rose shouted as she blazed away.  Twilight looked back to the stallion, baffled.         “Wait, be back where?  What’s going on?”         “She needs us ta watch the stand fer her,” Mac chuckled nervously, “I was goin’ ta ask ya ta help but Ah guess it’s too late ta ask now.”         “Ooh, running a shop?” she grinned, “I’ve always wanted to try selling something!  Now let’s see...” she rummaged around in one of her saddlebags for a book, and returned with a thick tome, “Aha!  Here it is!  My ‘Shopkeepers Guide to Shopkeeping!”         But...Why would you carry...         “All right!” she smiled, hopping to the side of the stand, “let’s do this!”           Ten minutes passed without any sales.  The two just stood in silence, receiving confused looks from passersby.  Macintosh would occasionally smile and wave to ponies, and they would smile back, but they didn’t seem very interested in buying flowers from a large red pony and a unicorn with her head buried in a book.  Finally, a stallion cantered up to them.         “Hey!” he said, “I’d like to buy some flowers for my wife!”         “Oh, excellent!” Twilight grinned, setting aside her book, “come sample our fine wares!” she recited, leading him to the meager array of flowers.  He rooted through them a bit before surfacing with a decent sized bouquet.         “What’s the damage on these?” he asked.           Twilight blinked.  “Um, they’re in pretty good shape...”         “No, I mean how much do they cost.”         “Oh!  Oh.  Um,” she looked over to Mac.         “Uh, ten bits?” he said, shrugging.  The colt chewed his lip for a moment, appearing disinterested.         “Hmm, I wouldn’t say more than five.”         “Ooh, bartering!” Twilight beamed, clearing her throat, “nine bits!”         “Six.”         “Eight!”         “Seven.”         “Six!  And that’s my final offer!” Twilight grinned.  The colt did too and quickly passed her the coins.         “Pleasure doing business with you!” he winked as he galloped away.         “Thank you for your patronization!” Twilight called after him.  She turned back to Big Macintosh, her eyes shining and her smile stretched from ear to ear.  “Look!  Look!  I made my first sale!” she giggled, passing the coins to Macintosh who tried to smile and ended up grimacing.         “Er, yeah, looky there,” he said.  Oh, well, it’s a learning experience.  Turning to the stand again he tried to find the bit-box.  Eventually he found it behind a little door, and opening it held witness to the small pile of money within.  Although all bit-boxes have little slots and alcoves for separating and locking coins into place, the bits in this box were just tossed in at random, completely unorganized with small scraps of paper poking out amongst the coins.  As Twilight started trying to make another sale, Macintosh began separating the coins into their correct slots (which proved difficult for the large pony; his box at home was much bigger), and once they were all organized he took a look at one of the pieces of paper.  On it were scribbled random numbers and equations, clearly attempts at adding up the days costs and income.  Many wrong answers were crossed out, and some were torn and crumpled.  It must take them forever to count up all of their income every day when it’s so unorganized, he mused, they would certainly have trouble balancing their finances and making ends meet if they have this much trouble simply keeping their money organized...         “Look, look!” Twilight squealed; Mac hurriedly replaced the papers, “I made another sale!  Ten bits!  I didn’t get to barter, though.”  She passed him the bits which he slid into place.  I can’t help but wonder if this is why she lost the shop.  If none of them are good at math, then it would be too difficult to operate a store and cover all the expenses.  Hmm...         “Oh!  Thank you!” Rose had returned, sweating and gasping for air, “did you have any trouble?”         “Nope!” Mac grinned, passing the bit-box to Rose, “even made a couple sales.”         “Really?  That’s great!” she said, “thank you both for helping!”         “My pleasure!” said Twilight, stuffing her book back into her bag, “I had fun!  Well, I should get back to the library; see you!”         “Bye!” Rose and Macintosh waved goodbye as the unicorn left.  Rose fumbled with the coin box until she got it open and gasped at its neatness.  “Did...did you do this?”         “Eeyup, Ah saw how unorganized it was, so Ah figured Ah’d straighten it up.  It makes it a mite easier ta count it all up at the end o’ the day, Ah tell you what.”         “Oh, yeah, I guess it would, wouldn’t it?” she said, as if the concept had never even occurred to her.           Macintosh took advantage of the opportunity.  “When countin’ yer income it’s a lot easier ta deal with each coin value separately an’ deduct the costs fer the day from those, then add all those up after.  If ya get any negative numbers ya can just treat ‘em as a subtraction.”         “...Negative numbers?” she stared blankly at him.         “Would y’all like me ta show ya?”         “Um, okay.  I’m not very good at math, but, sure!”         Macintosh didn’t have to do much, really.  She was lying when she said she wasn’t good at math; she was very good at it, she just had an unusual way of processing numbers in her head.  Until now she tried to do it the way she was taught in school, and that usually ended in disaster.  Macintosh found that they had a similar thought process when it came to dealing with numbers, so with a little direction she was able to quickly and easily do addition and subtraction in her head.  Multiplication was a little trickier, but he knew she could figure it out with a little practice.           Every now and again some ponies would interrupt to buy some flowers, and using her new skills she was able to count up change quickly and efficiently, separating the bits into their proper slots and all.  She was still far from being able to handle complex accounting and ordering like what Macintosh did back home, but he felt that with a little more tutoring she could pick it up.  At one point the same blue unicorn colt with the safety pin cutie mark stopped by, and Rose asked how ‘The Big Night’ went.  Not so well, apparently, as the mare he was going to propose to turned out to be the daughter of the CEO of a balloon company, and there was a rather...well, unfortunate turn of events.  He had stopped by today to purchase an apology bouquet.         Not much later Daisy and Lily returned, their baskets full of the daffodils they set out for.  They thanked Mac for his help, and the sound of the clock tower striking ten times served as a reminder for him to meet Lightning Bolt soon.  So, gleefully given a complementary daffodil by Lily, he set off into town, rounding the corner away from his new friends, ready for anything that would come his way next.         Well, anything except for a certain blue colt who hadn’t been paying attention as he turned a corner at top speed.