//------------------------------// // 6. Macintosh of Arabia // Story: At Home on the Range // by chief maximus //------------------------------// Chapter 6-Macintosh of Arabia Unpredictability wasn't exactly Macintosh's strong suit, and he struggled to figure out how he could even apply such a vague word to his situation. Still, perhaps he had been a bit closed minded when he started the drive. His preconceived notions of her being a loudmouth, rude athlete with an unhealthy competitive streak seemed to be spot on. Yet he felt compelled, if only to say he had tried, to give Dash a chance to prove she wasn't just what she outwardly appeared to be. After all, Rainbow was one of his sister's best friends! Surely she's got some redeeming qualities inside that tiny frame of hers? he thought, the pain in his leg reminding him that she had saved his life...though he had saved her first, and still had not gotten so much as a 'thanks'. Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't have even been bitten by a snake in the first place if she had just held her footing in the river. The pain in his leg began to fade, to the point that Macintosh was able to block it out, as he had been able to do in the past. In fact, he had once plowed an entire field on a twisted ankle, showing no signs of injury or pain. Where other pony species had birth given special abilities, earth ponies were, well, plain by comparison. When he was a colt, he had asked his father why he wasn't born with wings or a magic horn like some of his friends had been. He carried the answer with him always, as he did most of his father's advice. An earth pony's natural talent is strength, and none had more talent that Big Mac. His thoughts shifted to the journey ahead, and the hazards of the wasteland they'd have to endure in order to get the cows to auction. Crossing the inhospitable terrain with Applejack was hard enough, but now he'd have to do it with an injury, look after the cattle, and make sure Rainbow Dash didn't kill herself. Or him, for that matter. A nagging flutter in his chest shifted his thoughts toward his airborne companion. He glanced upward, and his gaze locked on the slaloming back and forth above him. Physically, she was similar to Fluttershy, but he supposed all pegasi were naturally thin or athletic, as he had yet to see a fat one. Must come with havin' wings. he thought, still staring at Dash while she hung in the air, oblivious to his attention. In all honesty, had he no knowledge of Rainbow's attitude before hand, he might have even thought of her the same way he thought of Fluttershy. On the outside, Dash was actually pretty attractive. She kept herself in shape, and was apparently some kind of higher up on the weather team, if his sister was to be believed. His thoughts trailed off as he became acutely aware that he was staring for much longer than he should have been. In the moment it took for him to tear his eyes away, Rainbow’s eyes locked onto his, catching his stare. He could have sworn her expression was one of concern. Macintosh looked away quickly, a slight blush warming his cheeks. How long had Ah been staring? he thought to himself, noticing Rainbow beginning to descend in a circle around him until she hovered beside him. "Something wrong?" she asked. Macintosh breathed a sigh of relief. At least she didn't catch me checking her out- No! Mac you were not checking her out! "Nothin'," he answered quickly. "My bandage is coming loose, may need ta stop and wrap it again." It was a boldfaced lie, but in all honesty, the sloppy wrapping job could have used another attempt from the start. Dash nodded and streaked ahead, eventually bringing the herd to a halt. Mac glanced to the herd as they rested. The area of the wasteland they'd be crossing wasn't very long, and if they ran the cattle the whole way, they could probably make the journey in a day. Unfortunately, the extreme conditions made walking the only viable option, as the cattle would need to conserve as much energy as possible to make it to Prairieville, and still look healthy enough to be bought. At a walking pace, they'd spend two nights in the desert before arriving. Rainbow hovered beside him after stopping the cattle, ready to try her new attitude out on Applejack's brother. Mac slid the saddlebags from his shoulders and sat on his flanks, releasing a sigh of relief to be off his aching hind leg. Dash was already digging through the medical bag by the time he looked up from his injury. A fresh roll of bandage linens in her mouth, she trotted over in a somewhat lighter mood that Mac had noticed before. Perhaps he still had some snake venom rattling around in his brain. Why is she happy all of the sudden? he wondered as she began slowly unwrapping the previous bandage, the clean whiteness of the wrap growing more and more crimson with each layer removed. Mac watched as she came to the last layer, the bandage stuck to his leg and now completely red with blood. "Aw, I thought the bleeding stopped last night," Dash sighed, discarding the old wrap and examining the wound a bit closer. "Th' walkin' must've opened it up again," Macintosh answered, joining her in looking at the now swollen and somewhat discolored ankle. He frowned. "Grab what's left of the white lightning for me, would you please?" Rainbow smiled. Maybe there was something to this 'try to be helpful' thing after all. "Sure, but I don't think drinking is a good idea in your condition," she said, searching the bags for the jar of fiery intoxicant. Mac couldn't help but return her grin, "It ain't for drinkin'. It's for sterilizin'." Rainbow set the jar beside him while giving him a curious look. "Huh?" "Just pour a little bit over it." Rainbow cringed at the idea. The stuff burned enough to drink. She could barely imagine what it would be like on an open wound. Still, her newfound outlook demanded she comply as she carefully began to tip the jar over his bite. As a few splashes landed on the injury, Mac hissed in pain, gritting his teeth. After a few gasps, and a few stomps, the intense burning subsided. Dash carefully laid the bandage over his ankle and began wrapping with a bit more care than she had the first time around. "You know, your bath in the river didn't really do much for ya," she complained, wrinkling her nose but continuing her nursing duties. Macintosh raised an eyebrow. Perhaps her attitude hadn't changed that much. "Well by my count, you're about two days out from a proper bath yourself." Rainbow applied slight pressure to his wound with her foreleg as she continued wrapping, eliciting a sharp inhale and hiss from her guide. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part, you want to repeat that?" Dash asked, her passive aggressiveness erasing Mac's smile. "Never mind." he grunted as she put the finishing touches on his bandage. Mac examined the newly wrapped leg. She had actually done a pretty good job, considering her last attempt. Satisfied with her work, Dash took his hind leg in her hooves and began massaging her knee into his aching calf muscles. Mac's cheek lit a blazing red as he pulled his leg back, only to be insistently tugged on by Rainbow. "Uhm...what are you doin'?" "Helping you loosen up," she explained, massaging softly the sore muscles in his injured hind leg, "You think I didn't see you limping back there?" "Well Ah... ya see—" "Hush and let me do this," she insisted, "I help the recruits with wing cramps when they've been flying for too long all the time." "Ah don't think wings and legs are the same—" "I thought I told you to hush?" Dash interjected. Mac immediately fell silent, reluctant to upset the pony holding a very sore appendage in her hooves. Rainbow drove deeper into the tissue, and sure enough, his leg began to feel better. As a matter of fact, he could feel all of his muscles begin to relax. Before he knew it, he was spread eagled on his back, feeling more comfortable than he had ever felt on the range in his entire life. It was like her hooves were magic, the tension and pain in his calf melted away like butter on hot apple flapjacks. “If I had a bit for every time a recruit looked the way you do right now,” Rainbow remarked, standing over him. Macinosh suddenly realized she had stopped massaging his calf five minutes ago. As she stood looking down at him, something happened the both of them were not ready to admit. As their eyes met, both waited for the other to break the stare, but neither did. They just kept on looking into each others eyes, Mac noticing a slight blush come over Rainbow's cheeks as he felt a fire rise under his own red coat. Something about the way those magenta eyes stood out from her cyan coat transfixed his stare, leaving him powerless to free himself from its grip. "W-We should probably get movin'," Big Macintosh stammered awkwardly, snapping both of them out of their trance as he donned his gear. "Right," Dash agreed, quickly resuming her position above the herd. Once they started moving again, the signs of the wasteland began to appear in the terrain. The hard, parched dirt cracked endlessly toward the seemingly infinitely flat horizon. The mountains to the west still remained, though their high peaks kept any wandering clouds at bay, partially responsible for the arid conditions in the first place. Ahead of them, the mountain range continued, though hundreds of miles in the distance, the mountains looking like small hoof-hills from their perspective. The plant life was few and far between: mostly the saguaro cacti standing like guarded sentries sprinkled throughout the desert. A token tumbleweed rolled across their path as the few wiry shrubs that dared call this environment home peppered the landscape. The dust the cattle kicked up began to rise skyward, forcing Rainbow to creep ahead of the herd if she wanted to keep it out of her eyes. As she flew, she noticed Mac's pace had quickened, and his limp seemed to almost vanish; only a small hitch in his step gave his injury away. Big Macintosh raced ahead of the herd, and began slowing them down in a manner similar to how Rainbow had done earlier. Knowing they had only gone a mile or two, Dash descended next to him as he shrugged off the saddle bags and began digging through an as of yet untouched bag. The cattle now slowed to a walk, Macintosh had time to don what he referred to as his 'desert apparel'. Mac removed his trademark yoke and stuffed it into the bag from which he'd produced the garment. Rainbow held her curious tongue as she watched him wrestle with the white garment over his head and stuff his forelegs into the sleeves, now wearing what appeared to be a full length white cotton robe of some kind. Dash couldn't help but make a simple observation. "Nice dress," she chuckled, holding back more laughter with a hoof. Now I really wish I had a camera! "It ain't a dress," Macintosh responded indignantly, "It's a kandura," he added, walking over to her and removing his sister's hat. "Can Ah trust you to keep this safe?" he asked, Rainbow realizing what a leap of faith he was taking by allowing her to even touch AJ's most beloved and only article of everyday clothing. She snatched it up quickly and put it on, fixing it just right before looking to him. "How do I look?" Mac smirked, "Ya want th' rude truth or a polite lie?" Rainbow inhaled sharply, "Was that a joke?" she asked sarcastically, returning his small grin, "From mister all work and no play? I must be dreaming." Mac let out a snort before donning what seemed to be a white cotton rag held in place by two black ropes resting on his head. "So what's the dress for exactly?" "Keeps the heat off," he answered turning back to walk with the herd, "I'd have brought one for you, if Applejack had told me you were comin' a bit sooner." "Thanks but no thanks," she scoffed, "I like my dignity." She returned to her usual hover, but not before receiving a canteen from Mac. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she'd be drenched in sweat, but figured it best to let her find out on her own. And find out she did. Not half a mile into the desert, Rainbow lost awareness of everything save the oppressive heat. It was as though Celestia had slowly brought the sun closer to the planet, inch by inch, seeming to get hotter the farther into the wasteland they trekked. Dash felt sweat begin to form beneath her coat, her wings slowly beginning to droop. After a few miles, she slowly fluttered to the ground, her normally strong wings unable to carry her further under the scorching sun. She had only been flying, and at a relatively slow pace, but the heat's effect on her body was far greater than she could have expected. I can't believe it's this hot! she thought, trotting along beside Macintosh, attempting to take a swig of her canteen, only to find it bone dry. She had tried to ration her water, but the arid heat of the desert made her mouth about as parched as the earth they walked across. By her count, it was the afternoon, but she wasn't sure what time. The sun was beginning it's descent, but was still an hour or two away from setting. She caught up with Mac, walking beside him and surrendering her empty canteen. "Out already?" he asked, slinging it around his shoulders by the strap, "You were supposed ta ration it." "I did ration it!" she spat defensively, the heat beginning to drive her helpful attitude away, "It's hotter than heck out here!" "Ah told ya, ya fry during th' day," he added, turning towards her. Rainbow immediately noticed something she thought rather unfair. He didn't appear to be sweating at all! "Hey, what gives?" she said striding in front of him and skidding to a halt, forcing him to stop. "Why aren't you all sweaty?" "Ah told ya, the white of the cotton reflects most of th' heat," he explained, giving her another canteen from their stash. "Try ta make this one last till we get ta th' oasis. We should be there by sundown," he said walking around her to rejoin the herd. Rainbow took a little bit of water and splashed it over her face. It felt amazing, to say the least as she took a few small sips. She caught up with Macintosh and walked beside him, deciding to only drink when he did. Apparently, Big Mac was also part camel, because after about another hour of walking, she found herself completely abandoning her previous plan. Dash nudged the canteen as it dangled around her neck. It felt about a third of the way full, though the good news was the sun was beginning to set, the unrelenting heat finally breaking into a cool twilight. The setting sun would have been quite beautiful, if it hadn't been the bane of her existence for the past ten hours. "There it is!" Mac pointed with a hoof to a small groove of palm trees sprouting out of the otherwise dead landscape in the distance. A spring about ten feet by ten feet greeted the tired cattle and their protectors as Dash nearly created another sonic rainboom flying ahead of the herd and straight into the water, despite Mac's call for her to wait. He picked up his sisters hat that had flown off during Rainbow's dash and gently placed it in an unoccupied saddlebag. Rainbow threw herself into the cool waters, allowing them to wash away the sweat she had built up on the way over. As the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon, Big Macintosh finally joined her with the rest of the herd. "Ah thought you would have learned not ta go jumpin' into strange water sources by now," he said from the shore, filling up the empty canteens while the cattle drank thirstily from the spring. "Nice try Big," she said standing in the shallow water, shaking her mane and tail off, wetting Macintosh again. "I know there's no gross cow pee in this water." "That ain't what you should be concerned about," he added as the sun finally slipped below the horizon. Almost immediately, what had once been an oven, had now become a freezer. The temperature change was so drastic it nearly sent shivers down Rainbow's spine as she stepped out of the water. "You're gonna get pneumonia if you stay wet," Mac sighed. Dash began to shiver as the night set in. With no clouds to trap the warmth, or plants to absorb it, the brutal heat of the day escaped into space, leaving the desert extremely cold. "Then give me something to dry off with!" she insisted, pulling her wings around her and folding her forelegs for warmth. Mac began digging into the saddle bags and produced a heavy blanket. Dash snatched it from his hooves and wrapped it around herself, sighing as the water soaked into the heavy cloth. Big Macintosh built another fire, as the cattle huddled together in tight formation to conserve warmth. Rainbow leaned as close to the flames as possible without actually catching fire. Once dry, she noticed Macintosh bedding down for the night, draping another blanket over himself before realizing they had a problem. "Where's mine?" Rainbow asked expectantly. Macintosh pointed a hoof toward the still wet blanket she had dried off with. "Had you not jumped in the water, you'd have a dry blanket," he explained, "But since you did, you can either freeze to death, or you can share this one with me." He lifted the blanket, allowing her to enter. She didn't have to think about it for more than a second, as it was only going to get colder, and a wet blanket would soon become a frozen blanket in this weather. "Okay, but this never leaves the camp." she backed herself in, facing away from him as he moved his forelegs to let her in, draping the blanket over both of them. "Y'know, if Ah didn't know any better, I'd say you got your blanket wet on purpose, just so you could share mine." "Keep dreaming, Romeo!" she laughed, though she appreciated his body heat more than she would ever admit. Macintosh felt her back press against his chest beneath the heavy, multi-layered wool blanket. Her wings ruffled against him as she tucked them neatly by her sides, careful to avoid any unintentional 'happenings' while they slept. With nowhere else to put it, Mac stretched his left foreleg across her, expecting a reprisal, but instead getting a gentle tug from her hoof as she pulled it around her tighter. What in Celestia's name is she doin'? he thought, his heart rate beginning to rise and a flush coming over his cheeks. Rainbow pushed her neck back into his as he caught the surprisingly sweet scent of her mane. His head was still above her own, though she continued to shift, rubbing the top of her head against his chin as she got settled in. Is she... naw, she couldn't be... his train of thought was interrupted by a soft whisper. "Hey Big... I never thanked you for saving me from drowning yesterday, so... thanks." "Oh, uh, no problem, you'd have done the same for me." Rainbow snorted, "Yeah right. There's no way I could have pulled you out of that river. I could barely get you across the river after your little accident." She tugged on the blanket to wrap herself a little more, and backed her rump right into a… rather sensitive area for stallions. Her gentle adjustments in an attempt to get comfortable testing the very limits of Macintosh's control over certain physical aspects of his anatomy. The toned muscles of her flank softly rubbing against his groin flushing even more redness to his cheeks. He was certainly grateful she was facing away from him. Easy Macintosh... that don't mean a thing, he thought, assuring himself these were just innocent movements, and nothing more. "Ah've been wondering how you got me across the river," he whispered back to her. "I used one of the cattle. I couldn't lift you with two of me," she answered softly, a smile breaking across her lips. Mac let out a brief laugh before settling back in, Rainbow still insistent his hoof stay around her for warmth, though he couldn't argue. The fire was helping, but soon it would die, and all they'd have is their body heat to last them throughout the night. "So really, how did you get AJ to give you her hat?" "Ah told ya, it was my hat," he responded, "Before Ah was old enough to work on th' farm, my Pa gave me that hat. Once I was strong enough to pull a plow, he gave me mah yoke, and Ah passed the hat down ta Applejack." A tinge of sadness in his voice led Rainbow to a conclusion she had always suspected about the parents of her best buddy AJ. "Your folks aren't around anymore, are they?" she asked, a gentility in her voice that sounded alien, even to her. A pregnant pause caused her to turn her head to look at Mac as he answered. "Naw, they aren't." he whispered back. "I'm sorry, Mac." she nuzzled him, but softly enough that it could be mistaken for another adjustment. "Nothin' for you ta be sorry about. They're at peace now," he answered stoically. After another moment of silence, Rainbow spoke up again, the heat beneath the blanket now more than enough to keep her warm, but finding herself secretly enjoying the security the strong forelegs currently embracing her provided. "Why do you do it Mac?" "Why do Ah do what?" "This cattle drive thing. Couldn't you just load them on a train or something?" "Ah suppose," he added thoughtfully, "Ever since Ah was little, Ah've always loved the freedom of being out where nopony else is. My Pa would always say Ah had 'the wanderin' in me. He'd find me at all hours of th' night when I was a tiny colt out in the apple fields, just walkin'." Rainbow had a hard time imagining Mac ever being tiny, but kept on listening, though her eyelids grew heavy. "After the first few times he found me out there, he decided ta take me on a cattle drive with him. After that first time, Ah was hooked." he grinned, recalling how happy he had been when his father told him he would be taking him on the range for the first time. He loved the time he spent with his father while he was alive, it was one of his most cherished memories. "In a way, Ah guess Ah do it ta keep his memory alive. It's the way he taught me ta do it, and it's the way Ah get it done." After he heard no response, he nudged Dash awake. "Don't go to sleep now, we gotta take turns sleeping so we can keep an eye on the cattle." "Why?" Rainbow groaned, hating being deprived of sleep more than anything, especially after a day like today. "We don't want anypony to rustle them." Rainbow propped herself up on her elbows and faced him with an annoyed glare. "Seriously Mac? Rustlers? When was the last time you ever heard of cattle rustlers even existing?" "Ah... well..." in truth, he had never seen or heard of any cattle being rustled, but his father had always made him keep vigilant watch for them anyway. "Exactly. Nopony's gonna steal the cattle, now let's get some sleep," Dash insisted, snuggling up close to her heat source, and pulling his foreleg and the blanket around her tightly, with a content smile she was glad Mac couldn't see. He saw no reason to argue, and was soon adrift in an easy slumber as well.