//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Macintosh // by TotalOverflow //------------------------------// Macintosh By TotalOverflow, '11 Chapter 15 I saw her.  She was far away, but I saw her coming. I ran inside and told Grandmother.  She ran outside. I ran upstairs and told Grandfather.  He smiled, but couldn't leave his bed. I even ran and told Apple Bloom.  She burped. I ran back outside.  Grandmother was already there, at the gate, watching her come. She was running back.  She was running to meet us.         "Applejack!"         "AJ!"         "Gramma!  Big Macintosh!" She ran up to us.  She pressed herself into us. She was happy, but she cried a little. Something sparkled.  I looked down. There.  Right there on her flank. Three red apples. Sister's cutie mark.         "I'm so sorry," she said, "I should never have left!"         "It's all right; yer back, safe'n sound now." Grandmother was so happy.  She started crying too. I was happy. So happy.         "Ah love ya, Applejack." I cried a little too. ***         Saturday morning came bright and early for Big Macintosh.  Although his chest, neck and legs were still sore, he felt better than ever.  It seemed to be around eight in the morning, so he crawled out of bed, combed his scraggly orange mane and trotted downstairs and into the kitchen.  Applejack was already there, chewing on her breakfast and looking over a checklist.         "Mornin' AJ," Mac yawned as he scooped an apple from the basket on the table.         "Howdy Mac," she grinned, "how're ya feelin'?"         "Whole lot better.  Y'all?"         "Good, jes' busy.  I'm goin' ta have ta haul all them apples into town t'day an' help out with gettin' them ready fer t'night."         "Do ya need-"         "No I don't!" she laughed, "y'all shouldn't do any heavy pullin' anyhow.  Jes' rest up fer t'night."         "Whatever ya say," he chuckled, taking a seat.           "Oh, hey, by the way," the orange pony began, "I saw the suit Rarity made ya.  It's pretty swanky, I gotta admit!  That pony sure knows her way around a sewin' machine!  Do y'all need any help gettin' into it?"         "Ah reckon Ah will."         "All right, I'll swing by in the afternoon ta help ya out.  'Till then, dun' do anythin' too heavy duty!"  She tipped her hat to her brother as she strolled out of the kitchen.           Macintosh reclined in his chair.  Tonight was going to be a busy night: the eve of the 'Summer Sun Celebration.'  It's traditional to stay up all night partying until dawn, when the Princess raises the sun for the longest day of the year.  Last year he had to turn in before the party began.  The celebration may be a holiday, but there's no such thing as holidays for a farm.  It unnerved him greatly therefore when the sun never rose the next morning at last year's celebration.  He had hurried into town to find it in complete chaos: ponies were panicking in the streets and the mayor was doing all she could to calm everypony down, with little effect.  Macintosh was able to find and comfort Apple Bloom, but Applejack had disappeared without a trace.  Some ponies said they saw her head in the direction of the EverFree Forest, so he ran as fast as his huge hooves could carry him and, hunkering down behind a nearby tree, just caught sight of his sister leading a motley crew of ponies into the dreaded woods, for some reason discussing candy apples.  He let them go; although he only recognized a couple of them, he knew that they'd be safe.  Applejack wouldn't let anything happen to them.  A few hours later there was the sound of an explosion and a huge flash of light from the direction of the forest, and, faster than he'd ever seen it rise before, the sun graced the sky with its presence.  The following celebration and triumphant return of the Princesses and the six embodiments of the Elements of Harmony was spectacular.  Little old Ponyville suddenly found itself on every map of Equestria after that.         Macintosh sighed.  Hopefully nothing so outrageous would happen tonight.  He wasn't one for parties at the best of times.  I'll just stay to see the start of the celebration, he decided, I'll eat supper at home and get to bed early.  Let everypony else enjoy the party and day off.  I've got work to do here, after all.         He stepped out onto his front porch and stretched.  I guess I'd better go and find Fluttershy.  Those bunnies aren't going to count themselves.  As Macintosh approached town he could practically feel the energy radiating from it.  He could just barely see the tip of the town hall poke above the buildings and saw a few pegasus ponies hanging decorations from it.  The town was too hectic to walk through, he decided, so he instead walked around it until he arrived at Fluttershy's cottage.  He knocked three times on the door, and the yellow pegasus opened it for him to enter.         "Good morning, Macintosh!" she smiled, "are you feeling any better?  I visited you while you were in the hospital, but you probably don't remember.  I'm sorry I couldn't visit you yesterday, but I was so busy."         "S'all right," he replied, stepping inside.  The place was filled with just as many animals as before, and he spotted Angel relaxing on a pillow in the sunlight.  Fluttershy picked up some papers from a desk and handed them to Macintosh.         "These are all the forms," she said, "there's a lot of them, but don't worry, it's not difficult.  You just need to do some counting."         "Sounds good ta me," he smiled.  Together they returned outside.         "The census is going to be in the field over there," she pointed, "and I've already got the pen set up.  All we need to do is just round up all the bunnies and herd them into it.  Come on, I'll show you."  They trotted down the hill towards the large kennel.         "So, how're all yer li'l critters doin'?" asked Big Mac.         "Oh, they're all doing well, thank you.  The beavers had a bit of an accident yesterday, but they'll recover nicely."         "That's good.  How's li'l Nemo?"         She looked at him.  "Nemo?  Um, he's fine.  Actually, he's getting even better at flying now.  I'm so proud of him!"         "Well, Ah guess he had a good teacher."         Fluttershy flapped her wings a little.  "Thanks."         They walked in silence for a bit.         "Actually," she said after a minute, "that reminds me...I had an idea the other day, after we talked."         "Oh?"         "You kind of gave it to me, actually."         "Ah did?" Mac asked, bemused.         "Well, sort of...I mean, I hadn't really thought about my wings in a long time before you came by.  Um, I kind of forgot about them, I guess, but...talking about them, how Rainbow Dash helped me fly and how I helped Nemo to fly with his bad wing got me to thinking."         Macintosh swallowed.  "All right," he said.         "Well, I thought, maybe there are other pegasus foals with problems like mine.  Ones who can't fly properly or have bad wings, or something."         "That's..." Macintosh stuttered.         "Um, and I was thinking...that...well, maybe I could help them out too.  Maybe do a sort of junior flight training or something to help ponies who have trouble flying."         Macintosh smiled.  "Ah see."         "Oh, um," Fluttershy cowered, "I guess...it's probably a silly idea...after all, most pegasi foals learn to fly from their parents or at summer flight camp and I've never met another one who had a problem like me and..."         "Fluttershy?" Mac interrupted.  She looked at him with large, doe-like eyes.  "Ah think that's a great idea."         "You...you do?"         "Eeyup.  Ah'm sure there are plenty o' ponies right here in Ponyville who'd love ta get the help.  An' ya dun' even have ta ever mention yer own wings.  Jes' tell 'em y'all got experience with the birds an' whatnot."         Fluttershy chuckled.  "Oh, thank you.  I'm still not sure if I should do it, I mean, I don't know if I'd even have the time, but...If you think it's a good idea, then I guess I should try."         "Eeyup," Macintosh sighed.  It was a good idea.  Scootaloo could definitely benefit, but even if she didn't attend there were probably still other ponies who could, like Cotton Cloudy.  "Ah think y'all should go fer it."         "Thank you," she smiled.  "Oh, here we are," they stopped in front of the pen.  A few rabbits were hopping around the field near it.  It was a wooden circular fence about two feet tall, and had an open doorway for the bunnies to get in and out.  Fluttershy pulled out a map and set her forms down in front of the pair.  "Okay.  So, I just need you to sign here...and here...and here...here...here...initial here...and there...and sign here...and once more here...and right there.  Perfect.  Um, I've marked down all the warrens and dens the bunnies live in on this map, but there are probably a lot of them just running around and playing, so you'll need to round up those ones too.  If that's okay.  Just direct them into the pen, and they'll stay inside.  They're very well behaved.  Uh, If you don't mind, could you cover this half of the field, near Ponyville?  I'll search the other half."         "All righty, sounds like a plan."         Macintosh set out about his task slowly and carefully.  The bunnies were shocked at his large presence, but once he lowered himself down, calmly talked to them and directed them towards the center of the field, they followed his command with little trouble.  A few of the critters decided they wanted to play hide-and-seek or tag, so after a little back and forth he was able to nudge them in the direction of the pen as well.  One bunny escaped from the small herd and ran off towards town.  Macintosh followed it, and found it chewing on a rose bush.  As he bent down to shoo it away he heard voices from the other side.  He poked his snout around the bush so he could see.           It was Blues and Daisy.  They were on the edge of town so they could talk in private.  He couldn't make out what they were saying, but they both seemed rather intense about it.  I shouldn't eavesdrop anyway, he thought to himself, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.  He saw the bunny get bored and head back to the kennel, but Macintosh stayed and watched the ponies.  At one point, Daisy shook her head and started trotting away.  Blues stepped after her.         "Flower Wishes-" he called, but was cut off as Daisy spun to glare at him.         "Don't call me that!" she yelled, "It's over!  She made sure of that!"         "No, Daisy!" Blues shouted back, "It wasn't her fault, okay?  I hurt you!  It was my fault!"  Daisy stopped.  "I shouldn't have dumped you like that.  And, if it makes you feel any better..." he brought his voice down again as he stepped closer to the filly.  They talked for a little more, finally hugged and trotted back into town.         Macintosh smiled as he snuck away.  There were bunnies to be counted.         While he was herding a particularly grumpy group of the critters towards the pen he spotted Twilight cantering up the path to town from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.  When she saw him she changed direction to come talk to him.         "Macintosh!" she said, eyeing his bandages, "You weren't at the farm!  I was so worried when I heard about what happened!  How are you feeling?"         "Feelin' better," he smiled.         "Oh, that's good," she sighed, "I'm sorry I couldn't come and visit sooner, but I've been really busy lately!"         "Those little foals got ya readin' them another book?" Mac laughed.         "Heh heh, no, actually.  Some of their parents came by to thank me for getting them out of their manes and giving them something to do.  A few of their parents even took out a few books of their own!"  She chuckled and brushed the purple mane around her horn.  "Some of them even apologized for thinking I was keeping the library private.  It's finally becoming a public library again!" she squealed, "it's so cool!"         "Glad ta hear it's workin' out," Mac smiled.         "Oh, but, hey, I wanted to thank you for something else, too," she grinned.         "An' what's that?"         "Well, because the 'Summer Sun Celebration' is here in town, the Princess will be coming too, of course!  Whenever I've gone to it in the past it's always been in places like Hoofington or Canterlot, and she's always held up with other royals and politicians and such, and I never get any time to spend with her.  But here in Ponyville, we should have lots of time to catch up!  She even requested that I announce the rising of the sun!" her smile stretched from ear to ear and she trotted in place a little, "this is going to be so much better than the Grand Galloping Gala was!"         "Heh, y'all really like spendin' time with her, eh?" Mac chuckled.         "She's my mentor, and we used to spend so much time together when I lived in Canterlot, but I haven't really had the chance since I moved here.  So thank you, Macintosh!"         "Me?"         "For bringing the celebration here!  Ooh, it's going to be so awesome!" she bounded along the road towards town, "I'll see you tonight!"         "All right, goodbah," he shouted after her.         "Oh!  Right!" Twilight turned on a dime and walked back to Macintosh, smiling widely.  Once she stood before him her smile faded a little.  "Macintosh, I...Um, I wanted to say that...that I enjoyed the time we spent together.  Studying!  The time we spent together studying!" she coughed nervously and flushed bright pink, "um, and anyway, I'd...Well, I'd like to see you come by again sometime.  When you're feeling better."         Macintosh grinned.  "Ah'd love ta."         Twilight smiled and waved, turning again to head back to town.  Macintosh trotted back to the field.  "That mare, Ah tell ya," he laughed, resuming his work.           Finally, after an hour or two of gently herding the baby bunnies, counting them all up and filling out a lot of forms, the two ponies finished their work and let all the little rabbits run free again.  Macintosh and Fluttershy sat on the grass near the pen, looking out at the rolling hills and forests in the distance and the majestic purple mountains that loomed beyond.         "Thank you so much for your help, Macintosh," the yellow filly smiled, "it all went so smoothly and quickly with you here.  You seem to get along well with animals."         "Eeyup," he replied, "Ah give 'em their space.  Seems ta work pretty well."         Fluttershy sighed as a butterfly flew near.  She held out her hoof for the small creature as it alighted and flapped its wings delicately.  After it left she dug around in her satchel and pulled out two apples.  "I brought a little something to eat for lunch.  Would you like one?"         "Why, thank ya kindly," Mac said, taking the green fruit in his hooves.         "Oh, um, I hope you don't mind...I guess I should have brought something else...I mean, you probably have apples all the time...You're probably sick of them...I'm sorry..."         "S'all right, Fluttershy," he cooed, "it's fine."  They ate their apples in silence, although he occasionally caught the pegasus looking at his cutie mark.         "Um," she started after a few minutes, "if you don't mind me asking...when did you get your cutie mark?"         Macintosh looked at her, surprised.         "Oh!  Um, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to...I shouldn't have asked..."         "No," he sighed, "it's okay."  He took a few deep breaths and looked out into the distance, gathering his thoughts.  "Well, Ah was older'n most ponies.  Ah actually was held back a few classes, an' Ah was the last one in mah class ta get it, not that any o' them ever knew."  He found himself suddenly growing angry and tried to calm his voice.  "There was a big storm.  One o' the worst in Ponyville history.  Mah parents lost their lives holdin' back the flood that came after, an' Ah sort of inherited the farm.  That's when it showed up."  He kept his gaze ahead.  He knew what his cutie mark looked like, he didn't need to look to know that it was still burned onto his side.  He sighed deeply, and after a few seconds turned to the pegasus.  "How 'bout y'all?"         Fluttershy stared at his cutie mark for a moment, eyes cloudy.  "Huh?  Oh, my cutie mark?  Well..." she shuffled in the grass, "remember I told you how I was at Summer Flight Camp?  Well, it was after I met Rainbow Dash and she had already given me tips on flying.  I was practicing when some mean colts made fun of me, and Rainbow Dash challenged them to a race.  As the race began I was knocked off a cloud and I fell to the ground, but just before I landed I was caught by a flock of butterflies."         "How could..." Mac puzzled, "how could butterflies...?"         "Like I said, pegasus ponies are very light," she blushed a little.  "Well, I spent a little time in the field and saw so many wonderful creatures!  Bunnies and birds and squirrels...it was wonderful.  I had never seen such beautiful animals!  But then Rainbow Dash did her Sonic Rainboom, and-"         "A-!" Mac shouted, "Rainbow did a Sonic Rainboom!?"         "Eep!"           "Er, sorry.  Ah thought they were jes' old mare's tales!"         "Oh, no, they're very real.  Didn't Applejack tell you about the Sonic Rainboom Rainbow did at the Best Young Flyer's Competition?"         "Well, Ah think she mentioned somethin’ ‘bout it, but...Well, Ah wasn't sure AJ was quite right in the head, goin' on 'bout walking on clouds an' such...Wait.  You mean Rainbow did two Sonic Rainbooms!?"         "Well, yes.  She did."         "That's..." Mac stammered, "that's amazin'!  Ah knew she was a good flyer but...shoot, that's somethin' else right there."         Fluttershy giggled.  "Well, it's thanks to that Rainboom that I got my cutie mark.  All the animals were so afraid of the sound that they all ran and hid.  Somehow, I was able to communicate with them on a different level to calm them down, and then my cutie mark appeared."  She looked down at it happily.         Mac sighed.  "That's really somethin'."         "I'll never forget that day.  Actually, something else interesting happened that day too..."         "More interestin' than a Sonic Rainboom an' gettin' yer cutie mark?" Mac chuckled.         "Sort of," she replied, dead serious, "after I got my mark, I walked around the field, just enjoying the world below the clouds.  As I was wondering how I'd get back up to the camp I heard a sound.  I flew up so I could see where it was coming from, and found the source.  Just laying in the middle of the field crying his eyes out was a young...red...colt...!!!"           The two ponies leapt to their hooves and faced each other, their eyes wide with shock and their bodies tense.         "B-but, the-then," Mac stuttered, his hooves spread wide, "it-it-it was-!"         "A-a-and!" Fluttershy blubbered, her wings outstretched, "I-I found-!"         The two stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity.  Finally, Macintosh felt himself break into a great smile and he relaxed.         "Ah...Ah can't..." he choked, sitting down on the grass again, "Ah...Ah thought you looked familiar!"         "And you..." she blushed, stepping over and sitting down next to him, "you seemed so familiar too.  I can't believe I didn't realize it before."         "Ah..." Mac whispered, tearing up a little, "Ah never did...never did say thanks."         "Hey," she said softly, placing a wing around him, "it's what I'm good at."         Macintosh sniffled and lay his head on the grass.  Under her warm, golden wing he just felt so...safe.  Like nothing could hurt him.  Big Macintosh didn't cry very often, but he could feel his eyes become watery.  Fluttershy...if it weren't for you...         "Macintosh," she said quietly, "I'm so glad you went back."  Macintosh looked up into her beautiful azure eyes.  "You love your family so much...You became a good stallion."         Macintosh smiled.  "Thank you..."                  In the distance they heard the clock tower bells chime.  It was noon, and they both needed to get home to prepare for the celebration.           "Fluttershy, Ah..." Mac began, his smile stretched so wide it almost hurt, "y'all really helped me out back there.  Yer the kindest mare Ah've ever met."         She blushed.  "Well...I try.  I'll see you at the celebration?"         "Eeyup."         She spread her wings to fly but stopped and suddenly looked directly at Big Mac.         "You know," she said, "that day when I met you, that was the first time...You were the first earth pony I ever met."         Macintosh laughed lightly.  "Figures," he grinned, "y'all were the first pegasus pony Ah ever met.  Ah think...well, Ah'm glad ya were the first."  She blushed and waved as she lifted off the ground, flying off towards her cottage.  Even when only half extended her golden wings still glistened in the sunlight.  Macintosh wiped his green eye dry and turned, plodding up the path for home.         When he arrived he found Applejack's door ajar, the orange filly within struggling to brush the back of her mane by herself.         "Granny Smith's still asleep, eh?" Mac said, leaning against her doorframe.         "Mind givin' me a hoof?" she asked, trying not to smile.  Mac chuckled and took the brush, gently brushing her blonde mane; a few twigs and leaves fell out.         "How's the work comin'?" he asked.         "Fine an' dandy," replied the filly, "Ah got all 'em apples delivered ta the bakery a couple hours ago, an' Pinkie Pie's been busier than a...than a...Mac, what sort o' things are busy?"         "Uh, bees?"         "Ya mean when they collect that pollen stuff?  From flowers?"         "Yeah.  Maybe it's at a flower stand or somethin'."         "'Busier than a bee at a flower stand.'"  Applejack looked up, deep in thought.  "Nah, Ah dun' like it.  We'll hafta think up somethin' better'n that."         Mac laughed.  "Applejack, yer such a silly pony."         "Hey now, them's fightin' words!"         "So Pinkie's workin' on all them Apple Crumbles, eh?" Mac resumed.         "Yeah.  She may be a few apples short of a bushel, but when she hunkers down ta do some work she really gets into it."         "That pink filly," Mac chuckled, "she seems ta always go a hundred miles an hour, eh?"         "Um..." Applejack began, "does...are you an' her...y'know, did y'all make up?"         "Eeyup," smiled Mac, "shoulda done it a long time ago."         "That's good.  I know she can be a bit annoyin' at times but-Ow!  Hey, watch it there!"  AJ smacked Mac as he forced her brush through a particularly tough tangle.         "Ah swear, AJ, y'all should consider brushin' more'n once a year."         "I'll brush mah mane however I dangwell please!"         Once Macintosh finished getting all the knots and tangles out of his sister's hair they rooted through her small wardrobe to find a nice gown for the evening.  Tonight was going to be much more formal than last year, and Macintosh insisted that his sister dress up too if he was going to wear a suit.         "Well, there's this.  Didn't y'all wear this fer the last family reunion?"         "Only fer the picture; I hate that thing!"         "Aunt Betty made it fer ya, right?"         "No surprise there.  Not hard ta see she's colorblind."         "Well, let's see here...What in tarnation..."         "What?"         "AJ, what in Equestria is this?"         "It's...Rarity made it fer me."         "The same Rarity that made yer Gala gown and mah suit?  'Cause it looks like somethin' a one eyed mule would throw t'gether."         "Hey now!  I put a lot o' thought into that!"         "..."         "Uh, well, anyways, *ahem* maybe I should jes' go in mah outfit fer the Gala."         "Eeyup, Ah'd say that'd probably be best."         "All right, then that's settled.  We've got a whole afternoon ta kill b'fore the party, what should we do?"         "Well, were ya goin' ta set up an apple stand at the festival t'night?"         "Ah hadn't thought about it, but...that ain't a bad idea."         "Ah'll help ya get it ready."         "All right, thanks Big Brother!"         "Eeyup.  ...Does Rarity know ya kept that thing?"         "What Rarity don't know won't hurt her!"         It took them a few hours to get Applejack's stand ready for the evening: they had to pick some apples from the apple cellar and prepare them, making caramel apples, apple fritters, pies and whatever else came to mind.  Applejack made an especially large pie for Lily and an extra one for themselves to eat before the celebration, as the banquet was going to be quite late in the evening.   Around four or five in the afternoon Apple Bloom returned home, and the whole family played some board games, listened to a few of Granny Smith's stories and ate a small dinner until it finally came time to get ready to leave.  Applejack helped Macintosh into his suit (which was incredibly comfortable, he noted) and he couldn't help but admire himself in the mirror.  The deep blue fabric highlighted his red coat perfectly, and the white bandages he wore poked out beneath the collar, creating a sort of faux tuxedo look.  Against his sister's and grandmother's protests he slid on his cleaned up harness overtop, creating what he (and his family) had to admit was a stylish look.  His sisters and grandmother then pushed him out of the house and down the road to Ponyville, saying they'd get changed and catch up later.   Macintosh slipped a stalk of hay into his mouth for the trip and leisurely cantered down the road to the busy town.  The sun was just barely beginning its descent, and in the distance Big Macintosh could see the city, practically glowing with energy and teeming with excitement.         "T'night's gun' be a busy night," he drawled.  "Eeyup."