"Are you serious?" Applejack dropped the basket she'd been carrying and looked at her brother, annoyed. "Again?"
"Eeyup."
His sister stared at him, exasperated, then finally snorted and stamped a hoof. "Fine, then. Grab the shoppin' list off the fridge before ya head in, then, and I'll see ya later today."
"Eeyup," Mac replied, trying to act casual as he went back to the farmhouse for the list.
It was definitely getting harder to come up with believable excuses to head into Ponyville, rather than staying and working on the farm. Still, he was able to make it down every other day or so, if only for an hour or two at a time. He'd see Sunflower from afar occasionally, usually in her unflattering but still adorably-oversized purple Fet-Ex coat, her saddlebags stuffed full as she made her deliveries.
The times he was able to talk with her were both wonderful and, in a way, terrifying. Sometimes, she'd be walking around with Lucky, though it wasn't very often. Mac made himself scarce during those times. Usually, though, she'd be on her own, and she'd often take a minute or two to stop and talk to him, smiling sweetly while telling him about her day, or asking him about his.
And, surprising even himself, Macintosh would tell her. Though he often felt embarrassed to talk about himself, Sunflower always seemed so overjoyed by each individual morsel of information she was able to extract from him, and her enthusiasm only made him want to talk even more.
He trotted into town with a song in his heart, enjoying the smell of the autumn air and the cool breeze that came with it. Ponyville itself was pretty busy at the moment, the market full to bursting with ponies hawking their wares, something that the Apple family usually partook in when it wasn't this close to the end of the apple season. For now, the family was concentrating on ramping up for cider season before storing their produce for the winter months, to make sure they'd have plenty of apples to sell until the first harvest in the spring.
Slowing to a walk, Macintosh looked eagerly around the market plaza, feeling slightly let down when he didn't spot the light brown mare right away. Still, he wasn't too upset. Sunflower was a moving target, after all, working busily all day to deliver packages. Odds were good he'd at least see her sometime today.
Deciding that it made sense to get the shopping out of the way as fast as possible, he took the list out of his saddlebag to give it the once-over. Written in Applejack's careful scrawl, with the occasional addition from Apple Bloom or Mac himself, were listed various toiletries and sundries, things that they needed on the farm but weren't able to grow or make themselves.
Applejack had listed things like cleaning supplies, needles and thread for clothing repairs, nails and screws, as well as a few skeins of yarn for Granny's knitting over the winter, and various other small items. Apple Bloom had listed various sweets, more often then not to have it crossed off by Applejack. The supplies were important, with winter coming on soon. With the snows came time for the Apple family to catch up on all the maintenance and repair that had piled up over the busy summer and fall months.
With luck, he'd be able to get most of these things in one stop, at the general store. It was with that thought in mind that he turned and started forward, almost tripping over Sunflower as she was stalking up behind him. He barely managed to strangle a startled yelp at the sight of her, and instead stared in confusion at the disappointed expression on her face.
"Aww, I was going to surprise you," she said, pouting slightly.
"Y-you were?" he asked, heart hammering.
"Yeah, I was going to sneak up and go 'boo!' in your ear," she said with a giggle.
"Well, I s'pose I can turn around an' pretend I don't see you," he said, and she laughed again. She started walking and Mac started walking alongside her. It would have felt almost like a natural thing to do, if it weren't for the sudden weakness in his legs.
"What are you in town for? Shopping?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Eeyup. Gotta pick up some supplies before winter comes in."
"Um. That's still a ways away, isn't it?" she asked.
"Eeyup. But it's better to stock up sooner rather'n later," he said.
"Oh. That makes sense."
They walked together for a little while, with Mac wracking his brain, trying to think of anything to say that would keep her with him for as long as possible. When she took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something, possibly to say she had to get back to her deliveries, he blurted out the first thing he could think of in a near-panic.
"So, what's it like, bein' a delivery pony?"
"It's actually pretty fun!" she replied with her infectious grin. "I get to meet lots of ponies. And, thanks to my job, I know the town really well, now. It's so amazing here!"
Macintosh blinked and looked around. It was the same old Ponyville, nothing too amazing that he could see. Then he remembered something AJ had told him.
"Oh, that's right. AJ mentioned your village is kinda different from ours."
The smile fell from the mare's face instantly, replaced with a guarded and wary look. Mac felt his chest tighten. Idiot! he scolded himself. AJ also said she ain't happy talking about it!
"Um..." he began, but Sunflower put a slightly less genuine smile on her face and said, "You could say that."
"You don't want to talk about it?" He cursed himself for not being able to stop himself from asking. Why couldn't he shut up?
"Not really," Sunflower said, and they walked in silence together for a while. Mac glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was frowning and looking at the ground, and in his heart, he knew he'd blown his chance.
As if life itself wanted to prove him wrong, Sunflower suddenly broke once again into a very genuine smile and ran ahead, bursting with excitement.
"See this?" she said, pointing at a statue, and Macintosh suddenly realized that they had actually wandered into the park, side by side.
Just like a date... his traitor brain observed, and he blushed deeply.
"This statue is of one of the founders of Ponyville, way back in the day. She's credited with the discovery of zap apples, which really put Ponyville on the map."
"Eeyup," Mac said, nodding. "That's Granny Smith. They called her Green Apple back in the day, before she married Grandpa."
Sunflower stopped mid-lecture, her outstretched hoof dropping slowly as she stared wide-eyed back at him. "Seriously?" she squeaked.
"Eeyup." Macintosh smiled at her. "You ever had a zap apple?"
Sunflower shook her head 'no'.
"I'll make sure you get one, next time we harvest 'em." Mac promised. "They're somethin' else."
"Thanks," she said, sounding distracted. She tilted her head slightly as she regarded the statue, a mannerism Mac had noticed and been smitten with days ago. She often did that little head-tilt when she was trying to figure things out, or when she saw something that took her fancy.
"I should stop by the farm and say hi to your Granny," she said after a minute. "I'm sure she's got some great stories."
Mac's grin could be seen a mile away at the thought of Sunflower visiting the farm again. "I'm sure she'd like that," he said. And it was true that she would, but nowhere near as much as he would.
Just then, the town's clock rang out, striking one in the afternoon, causing Sunflower to gasp with dismay. "Oh, no! I lost track of time! Sorry, Macintosh, I've got to get back on my route, I'm behind schedule!"
"Thanks for walking with me, Sunflower," he replied, feeling mildly guilty about taking up her time during a workday.
"I'll see you later, Macintosh! It was fun!"
She ran off with an impressive burst of speed, and Mac grinned goofily after her. She always called him 'Macintosh', he'd noticed. Not 'Mac' or 'Big Mac', just his full name. He loved the sound of his name when she said it.
~~*~~
"Hi!" a voice exploded in his ear.
"Bahhaaah!" Macintosh replied, jumping two feet in the air. An impressive feat, considering he had nearly half his own body weight in apples loaded in baskets on his back. Even more impressive was that none of the apples spilled.
"Wow," Pinkie said, her eyes wide as she emerged fully from the bush she'd been hiding in. "I actually got you? I never get you!"
"What is it, Pinkie?" he said with a sigh. The pink mare blinked in confusion, then shook herself.
"Oh, yeah! Party! At Sugarcube Corner!"
"I got a lot of work-"
"It's the 'Chase the scary monster away/Save the Cutie Mark Crusaders' party!" Pinkie started bouncing in a circle around him, forcing Mac to turn slowly to keep her in front of him.
"Uh... wha-"
"Your sister is a hero!"
"Pinkie, wh-"
"And Dashie, too! And Rarity, and Twilight, and ooh! Fluttershy! Especially Fluttershy!"
"What ha-"
"Sunflower, too! She was there!"
"Sunflower? What hap-"
"They stopped a chimera from eating Apple Bloom and her friends! It was-"
"Pinkie!" Macintosh barked, alarmed. The mare stopped and blinked at him. "What happened to Apple Bloom?"
"Oh, she's fine! Everypony is fine." Pinkie started bouncing in place as she talked, words spilling out of her muzzle almost too rapidly for him to catch. "The Crusaders were out exploring and then a chimera stumbled across them and was going to eat them, but everypony showed up in time to save them and then the monster got chased off, and both Apple Bloom and Applejack are just fine, though the chimera was kind of scary, but that's okay because we stopped it before it hurt anypony. Well, everypony else stopped it, I pretty much just ate some popcorn. But it was really cool, and now we're having a party!"
"Pinkie, you need to explain-"
"No time!" Pinkie said, finally stopping her bouncing. "I got lots and lots of invitations to give out, and then I have to get the party ready! See you there!"
Pinkie dived into a nearby shrub. Still a bit stunned by recent events, Mac hesitantly parted the branches and saw no sign of the pony. Shaking his head at the randomness of it all, he began his walk back to the apple cellar. Then he went into the house and showered up. Normally, he wouldn't take the time for a party, but this sounded like a pretty big deal. He had to find out what happened, and see for himself if his sisters were all right. And, after all, the apples would still be there the next day.
~~*~~
Sunflower couldn't dance, he was surprised to see. Not even a little bit. That confused Mac somewhat, as he was under the impression that most mares were at least a little good at dancing. Sunflower, though, seemed to have no idea where to put her hooves.
She blushed prettily as she stumbled around the makeshift dance floor just outside of Sugarcube Corner, but she was also laughing at her own awkwardness. It was almost enough to encourage Mac to start dancing as well, even though he was pretty sure he'd just embarrass himself.
Rainbow Dash trotted up next to Sunflower, making a snide comment about her friend's clumsiness, and Mac felt a surge of protectiveness start to grow before Sunflower laughed back. The pegasus then began showcasing her 'moves', and Sunflower started copying them, picking them up surprisingly quickly.
He'd finally gotten the full story, once he'd cornered Apple Bloom and made sure she wasn't hurt in any way. The filly had been more excited than anything, telling the tale of her exciting rescue. Twilight Sparkle had been the one to actually save his sister and her friends, but the others all had their part in taking down the chimera and driving it away.
Sunflower, he'd heard, had led the monster away from the fillies, buying the time needed for the others to arrive and subdue the beast. Mac was amazed and touched that a mare who barely knew his family would risk so much to save something so precious to him.
"So!" a voice by his ear chirped, making him jump slightly. He turned and frowned at the pink earth pony next to him. "Didn't I tell you that this would be a great party?" Pinkie asked with a grin.
"Eeyup. And it's for a good reason, too." Macintosh replied, smiling.
"I have to wonder, though... " Pinkie trailed off, looking at him.
Mac stared back at her for a few seconds, waiting for her to continue. "What about?" he said finally.
"Oh. I have to wonder why you're not out there dancing with her."
Mac's heart skipped a beat, and he blinked at Pinkie in surprise. "Her? Who?" he asked warily.
"Sunflower, silly. You've been making googly-eyes at her all night!"
"Have not!" he blurted, remembering too late that Apples make horrible liars.
"Yuh-huh." Pinkie rolled her eyes, then smiled kindly at him. "You'd better get out there before some other stallion goes out and claims her."
"Huh," he replied, shuffling his hooves while his face burned even redder than usual. "When did you become a matchmaker, Miss Pie?"
"Hmm." she replied with an odd smile. "I wonder?"
She regarded him for a long moment, still smiling in that strange, slightly melancholy way that looked so out of place on her pink face. Then she grinned.
"Well, gotta bounce!" she said. "Enjoy the party. And for goodness sake, cut loose! Go talk to her, ya big goof!"
There was some wisdom in that, Mac reflected, as Pinkie bounced away to talk to a small cluster of ponies by the punch bowl. He looked back out on the dance floor and saw Sunflower, her mane tussled and her eyes sparkling as she moved, and he screwed up his courage and stepped out on the floor just in time for the song to end.
"Whew, that was fun!" he heard Sunflower say as she trotted by. "I'm going to go get some punch. Want any, Dash?"
"Yeah, please," the pegasus said, after which she flapped on over to where Applejack and Twilight were talking quietly.
Macintosh stopped cold as she walked away, both slightly disappointed and incredibly relieved he wouldn't have to actually dance. He noticed with mild frustration that Sunflower chose to forsake the dance floor and almost immediately surrounded herself with an intimidating wall of mare friends, which proved to be too large of an obstacle for the bashful stallion to overcome.
There'll be another chance, he assured himself.
~~*~~
"We need another barrel!" Apple Bloom called back from the stand, and Mac grunted in acknowledgement. The sweat stung his eyes as he went back to the stack, and he took a moment to wipe his face with a kerchief, which he stuck back into his collar once done.
He was about to kick another barrel up on his back when a familiar set of voices froze him in his tracks. Throwing a panicked look over his shoulder, he saw Applejack talking to a newly-arrived Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Sunflower, all lined up and waiting for their cider.
One quick and frantic self-assessment later, he realized that he was covered in sweat, his mane and tail were a mess, and a smear of mud coated his left hind leg from where he'd slipped earlier that morning.
Muttering to himself, he took out the kerchief once again and managed to wipe off the worst of the sweat. He was wondering what to do with his mane when AJ's voice rang out impatiently from the stand.
"We're needin' that barrel sooner rather than later, Big Mac!"
Grumbling with frustration, Mac manuevered a barrel onto his back. With any luck, she'd see his state as evidence of a rugged, hard-working stallion, instead of some kind of slob. The only thing he could do, he realized, was to act casual, as if being sweaty and dirty weren't anything to be embarrassed about. Mares liked confidence, after all. According to some of Applejack's magazines he'd "accidentally" read, at least.
With that in mind, Mac walked with a firm stride and a pleasant smile on his face towards the stand. Feigning surprise at seeing AJ's friends, he grinned and said, "Well, howdy, y'all. Here for some Apple Family cid-eerraaaaoh!"
His attempt at a cool and collected stride came to a humiliating end as his left front hoof caught in a small divot in the ground, causing him to stumble. His desperate attempt to avoid dumping the now-wobbling cider barrel off of his back had him flailing maniacally towards the cider stand and the wide-eyed ponies gathered around it. His efforts only delayed the inevitable, however, and he finally crashed down onto his chest with a loud "oof!", the cider barrel rolling across his shoulders, over his head and pushing his muzzle into the dirt, before slowing to a halt by Applejack's right front leg.
His sister, trying her best to suppress her grin of amusement and failing miserably, said, "Well, now, that's one way to deliver a cider barrel."
He raised his muzzle off of the ground to see that Rainbow Dash, less considerate than his sister, was braying with laughter, lying on her back with all four legs kicking into the air. Apple Bloom was snickering behind her hoof, and Twilight Sparkle was simply gaping at him, dumbfounded.
"Oh, wow, that was one heck of a fall," Sunflower said. "Are you all right, Macintosh?"
Forcing a chuckle as he stood, Mac shook his head wryly. "Ain't nothin' wounded but my pride, Miss Sunflower. Well, I better get back to work."
Mustering up as much dignity as he could, he beat a hasty retreat.
~~*~~
The day of the Ironpony competition dawned clear and slightly chilly, with not a cloud in the sky thanks to Ponyville's weather team. The Apple Family had spent the last few days baking, cooking and preparing for the competition, as well as setting up the stands and the courses for each individual event.
Apple Bloom worked on ticket sales, while Macintosh helped move the different equipment around. He was just setting up the last of the hay bales for the obstacle course when several familiar voices hit his ears, bringing his head up as he looked around.
There was Sunflower, along with his sister and Rainbow Dash, chatting and joking around about the competition. Mac allowed himself a smile as the three walked past him.
"Good luck," he said to the three of them, who grinned and waved at him.
"I don't need luck," Rainbow Dash boasted. "So, I'll just give my share of that to these two. They'll need it."
Sunflower laughed while Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Now, come on, Rainbow," his sister said, "You're talkin' like it's gonna be easy, when you can't even say for sure you'll win."
"Hmm, well, I remember who won last year," the pegasus replied smugly. The two friends started bickering, and Sunflower sighed and stepped back.
"They sure like to argue," she noted to a suddenly thrilled Macintosh, who nodded.
"Eeyup," he replied. "Always been that way, with those two."
"Well, this all looks great," she said, looking around the field at all the different courses. "Did you do all this yourself?"
"Nnope," Macintosh replied. "Applejack and Apple Bloom helped the last couple of days. But I'll be doin' all the set up for when we switch out the events today."
"You're not competing?" Sunflower asked, with that head-tilt that so melted his heart.
"Nah, seems like it's mostly mares that signed up, which kept the stallions away."
"I wonder why that is."
"Well, if'n I had to guess, I'd say there ain't no stallion in Ponyville that can beat those two, an' they know it. Better to keep your pride intact, I reckon."
"Stallions around here don't like losing to mares?" Sunflower asked. Mac hesitated in his response. She sounded disapproving, but that twinkle in her eye suggested that she was just kidding around. He wasn't sure which it was, but he decided to go for the latter.
"Male pride's a delicate thing," he said with a chuckle.
"Almost as delicate as female pride," Sunflower said, grinning at her two friends, who were still arguing. Macintosh laughed as well, feeling a warm glow in his chest as he stood next to the mare.
She's so... tiny, he thought, as he looked down at her. Smaller than AJ, though still slightly bigger than Rainbow Dash. But she could keep up with Applejack and Dash, which meant that she was tougher than she looked. And, according to what he'd heard around town, she was a hard worker. Fet-Ex was glad to have her, and those who'd recently started receiving their orders in a timely manner were just as glad.
"Gooooood morning, ladies and gentlecolts!" Pinkie's voice came over the P.A. "We'll be starting in ten minutes! If everypony could find their seats, I'd be super appreciative!"
"Well, I suppose I'd better get going," Sunflower said. She flashed another warm smile his way, and said, "Keep up the good work, Macintosh. We're all counting on you."
"You bet," he replied, feeling almost giddy. "And, good luck. Again."
"Thanks. Again." She waved, then trotted off to meet her friends.
~~*~~
The competition was nothing if not surprising. He'd known that Sunflower could run fast, but he wasn't expecting her to stay nearly neck-and-neck with Rainbow Dash and Applejack the whole time. While family pride kept him rooting for his sister, he still managed to sneak in the occasional cheer for the auburn-maned Sunflower as she competed.
He'd just cleared away the last of the barrels from the Barrel Weave and was about to start setting up the hurdles for the next event when the current event underway grabbed his attention. His sister and Sunflower were about to go head to head in the hoof-wrestling competition. Deciding that he had to see this, Mac took a quick break and trotted over, watching from the sideline.
Like most of the ponies in the audience, he could only watch in stunned amazement as the hoof-wrestle between Sunflower and Applejack went on for what seemed to be forever. It all seemed to be going AJ's way when Sunflower broke his sister's concentration by making a goofy face and sticking her tongue out. Mac exploded with laughter along with half the stands, as a chuckling Applejack congratulated the victor.
It was then that Pinkie called the intermission, and Macintosh glanced up at the sun in surprise. It was already meal time, a fact that had slipped his notice in all the excitement. Stomach rumbling, he dropped the last hurdle in place and walked over to the lunch table.
He saw Sunflower out of the corner of his eye, talking to an exhausted-looking Twilight Sparkle. Concern was on the earth pony's face as Twilight said something to her, and then the two of them walked off to find some place to talk privately. Macintosh stared after them, wondering if he should offer to help.
Ain't none of my business, Mac reminded himself with a shrug, then left to find some food.
~~*~~
If Sunflower's mood seemed to take a dive after she'd talked to Twilight, her performance was still far above what he'd originally expected. In the end, Applejack led by a mere point over both Rainbow Dash and Sunflower, who'd tied for second. The last part of the competition, and the winner, would be decided the next day during the Running of the Leaves.
"So long, y'all," Mac said to several ponies as they left the stands. He was harnessed up to one of the farm's carts and was walking around the bales of hay, taking them in his teeth and flipping them deftly one on top of another in the bed of the cart.
The trip to the barn didn't take long, and Macintosh stacked the rectangular bales one on top of the other inside. On his return, his wandering thoughts were interrupted by the odd sight of one of the Royal Carriages, pulled by a couple of Royal Guards, zipping off into the sky, with the familiar prismatic streak of Rainbow Dash keeping pace with it.
"What the hay?" he muttered, picking up his pace.
On his return to the Ironpony competition grounds, the attitude had completely changed. Before he'd left, ponies were talking and laughing, enjoying the waning sunlight and chattering about the competition. Now the few ponies remaining were clumped together in groups, whispering and muttering to each other. He felt a chill as he realized that something had gone horribly wrong, somewhere. Detaching himself from the cart, Mac trotted forward, looking for his sister..
"Macintosh!" a familiar voice rang out, and he turned to see Nurse Redheart running up to him. "Oh, thank goodness! It's terrible!"
"What happened?" Mac asked, the chill from before spreading through his body.
"Something unbelievable. One of the competitors was possessed somehow by some... I don't know. Evil smoke monster, or something. Applejack tried to stop her running off and some thing flew out of the sky and knocked her down."
The fear must have been plain on his face, because Redheart hurried to reassure him.
"Applejack will be fine. She's just got a bump. Twilight Sparkle showed up in a Royal Carriage just a few minutes ago, and she and your sister went off to find the poor mare."
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief to hear that, though frustration was also bubbling up. Trust Applejack to go put herself in danger just after being clobbered. Granted, she and her friends were going up against horrific monsters all the time and he knew she could handle it, but that didn't make him any happier when she put herself at risk like that.
"D'ya know who the mare was who was taken?" he asked.
"I don't know her, sorry. But I've seen her around. She's the new delivery mare at Fet-Ex, I think."
Macintosh's blood turned to ice water as she said that.
"Earth pony? Brown, with a sunflower cutie mark?" he asked, and Redheart flinched away from the expression on the face of the stallion who was suddenly standing directly in front of her.
"Y-yes," she replied, eying him warily. "Do you know her?"
"Which way?"
She indicated with a nod of her head. "That way, towards the Everfree Forest. Macintosh, are you all right?"
He was moving before he realized it, walking steadily but with increasing speed towards the forest, until a small and unsteady voice brought him up short.
"Big brother?"
He stopped and looked down. Apple Bloom's eyes were wide and scared, and she looked like she was set to cry any minute now.
"Is Applejack going to be okay?"
He hesitated, looking away from his sister and towards the forest. If he was going to be honest with himself, he knew that there was nothing he could do to help. He didn't even know where in the Everfree to look. He had to trust AJ.
"Eeyup," he said, forcing a smile and patting his sister on the head. "Ain't nothing your big sister can't handle, 'specially if she's with her friends."
Apple Bloom smiled faintly up at him, and he knew he couldn't leave. He'd have to leave it to Applejack and her friends.
Come home safe, sis, he thought, returning his eye to the forest. And bring her back safe, too.