//------------------------------// // Date // Story: Big Mac's Dream Journal // by Trevosta //------------------------------// “Wow, Mac.” Applejack commented, “Yer really goin’ ta town today.” She noted her brother’s enthusiasm for his work. He stopped pulling the plow, wiped his brow, and looked at his sister with a smile. “Ah jus’ wanna get this done.” “Any reason in particular?” She asked him, while dropping the buckets that she had been carrying and placing them under the apple-laden branches of a nearby tree. “Ah got plans fer tonight.” He responded vaguely as he prepared the next row to be plowed. “With who?” Applejack asked after kicking the tree and relieving it of its payload. “A friend.” “A friend?” “Eeyup.” “Care ta tell me more?” “Nnope.” Applejack sighed, “Well, Ah’m sure Ah’ll find out, but fer now Ah’m glad yer gettin; yer chores done.” He smiled, and looked up to the sky, “Eeyup.” Rainbow Dash felt lighter than the clouds she was flying over. She had a date later with, quite possibly, the greatest stallion in Ponyville. She did a quick, giddy, little loop and continued her soar over to the farm. As she arrived she dove sharply, cutting through the air and aiming for the window that she came to recognize as Mac’s. She flared her wings, causing the water vapor in the air to condense in swirling trails coming from her wingtips. Finally, through the strain, she managed to slow to a stop. She lifted his windowsill and found the book right where he left it, and with a small slip of paper sticking out from a page. She disregarded that for the moment, and took off, after closing the window. She climbed with a powerful vigor, as she realized that reading Mac’s book was alright with him now. She burst through a small cloud, her slipstream drawing the vaporous mass behind her. An unfamiliar flapping drew her attention and she looked down at the book. There, she noticed the small slip of paper sticking out from the pages of the book. She had to consciously stop herself from opening the book to look. The loose leaf would surely be lost in the wind from her aerobatics. Instead, she managed to make a mental note to check that before she began to read. Which surely wouldn’t be long, because she could see her sky-based mansion on the horizon. She alighted in her living room, where she dove for her couch and ripped open the book, noticing that the paper was serving as a bookmark at the beginning of the next chapter. It also contained a short note. Rainbow Dash, Thank you for giving me this chance. I cannot wait for our date tonight. While I’m thinking of the date, I don’t want you to worry too much about it. I will be wearing a collar and tie, and will be under your front porch at 6:30 tonight. Macintosh Apple Despite the slightly creepy “under your front porch” statement, Rainbow appreciated the sentiment and the fact that he seemed to think that he was the lucky one. She folded the paper and set it on her coffee table as a reminder. “Captain?” Daring questioned, as I chewed on the leaves of a gumbo tree, something that I had been assured acted as a natural painkiller and remedy for headaches. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you sailing to next?” “Well,” I began, now getting to a sitting position. “Ah was informed of somethin’ important on an uncharted island a few days southeast of here.” “Oh, well, I am too.” My ears perked up and she leaned in to whisper to me. “You see, there’s this island with a temple that is said to be the birthplace of the bat ponies.” I looked at her and raised an eyebrow to her. “What now?” “No! I’m serious!” She began to defend. “Legends surround this place. It is said that, before Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, some pegasi pledged their loyalty to her and, with the fallen princess’ help, developed a device that can harness the power of the moon and thus transformed the followers into the threstrals that we see guarding her now. They were twisted, and when Nightmare Moon was around, were endlessly powerful.” “Huh.” Rainbow pondered aloud. “I never really thought about them… I wonder what the real story behind the bat ponies is.” She told the entire story with the fire of adventure burning in her eyes. I; however, could not see the benefit. “So, why are ya lookin’ for it now? Do you want to be a night pegasus too?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, then I added, “Not that there’s anythin’ wrong with ‘em, but yer jus’ fine the way ya are.” Her frustration and look of annoyance were counteracted by the cute blush on her face. “No, you see Princess Luna wants this device back; because, there are endless applications for it now that she isn’t fallen and, like, evil and stuff.” “Wow. Deep.” “Shut up.” In Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle was going through some ancient alicorn history lessons. “So… Princess Luna, could I ask where the night pegasi came from?” “Twilight, didn’t you know? They are merely a varying breed of pegasus pony. There is nothing freakish about them. They are simply more inclined to the night, and the genes that bring them around are far more recessive than most.” “Oh, okay, I had just heard a bunch of different stories and couldn’t find anything for certain.” "Oh, that’s alright, I kind of enjoy hearing the rumors about them, one of my favorite is about a temple on an uncharted island, but that is a story for another time. For now, we must return to the story of the Great King, Apocalypse. You see...” I laughed, even as she shoved me playfully into a wall. “Alright, alright, let’s go look at the map, and see if Ah can git ya there.” We trotted out onto the deck, where dogs, ponies, and now griffons were beginning to tend to the duties of the early morning and preparing to shove off. We entered my room and stepped over to the cartography table and bent over the map that was sprawled across it. “So, do ya have coordinates?” I asked, more out of politeness than anything, for without coordinates, attempting to find the island would be useless. “Of course,” She began to dig through the pockets of her shirt, and I began to see the usefulness of such a garment. “Here they are.” She said as she pulled a small slip of paper out and passed it to me. I unfolded the card and absorbed the information scrawled on it. There was something awfully fishy going on here, and it was extremely confusing. “The island’s right here.” I told her as I pointed to a distinct point on the map “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so good with maps.” She admitted. “Ah ain’t.” The quizzical look on her face told me that I was confusing her. “These are the exact coordinates of mah goal.” “...of course they are…” “You’re looking for it too?” “What? No.” I shook my head. “Ah’m lookin fer some old pirate’s treasure an’ more importantly, his ship.” I finished in a conspiratorial whisper. Her eyes became huge. “I KNEW IT!!!” She screamed. “You ARE a pirate!” “No, Ah ain’t.” She realized that during her outburst, she had unfurled her wings, and sheepishly tucked them back at her sides. “Ah ain’t done no piracy this whole time, have Ah?” I challenged her, “An’ before ya say it, Captain Swiftwing was a no-good, low-down varmint, who needed put in his place.” She nodded at my assertion. “Ah was simply told some information, and Ah plan ta use it.” I then started to make some connections in my mind. Unless the ship had been dry-docked, it would have water damage and terrible barnacles, and even if it had been dry-docked, it would have rot and termite damage. So, if I wanted to use The Flying Crab, then I would need to get some materials to make her seaworthy again. I would need some high-quality lumber, some pitch to seal the hull, and certainly a large amount of canvas and ropes for new sails and riggings. I sighed, “We’re gonna need ta do more shoppin’.” Daring Doo and I were making our way across town, scouring the seaport for the best deals on the equipment that we needed. “Oh, Mac!” Daring called to me from ahead. “I remember seeing some great deals on rope in the East side of town!” She drug me through the hustle and bustle of ponies, toward the trading post where she saw the deals. The crowd was getting thicker and thicker as we pushed through. There was apparently some commotion up ahead, and everypony wanted to see what was going on. “I wonder what’s happening.” Daring pondered aloud. Certain voices in the crowd rang out louder than others. “I can’t believe they’re here!” “Oh My Gosh! Do you think they would sign my newspaper?” “Wait. Where’s the colorful one?” “Oh come ON!” Rainbow Dash began to gesture wildly to herself, “The COLORFUL ONE?!?!? You gotta know my name! Even if you are some weird bystander in Big Mac’s subconscious!” She though about her conversation the night before. “Heck! Especially if you’re part of Big Mac’s subconscious!” I began to piece things together as we became closer to the source of the commotion. Suddenly it was too late to turn back. “Do any of you ponies know where we can find Rainbow Dash?” I heard an extremely educated voice call out to the crowd. “Oh my gosh, Big Mac! It’s them!” Daring Doo announced in a loud whisper, while trying out the new nickname. “I wonder if she would really be that excited to meet us…” I looked through the gaps in the crowd and located the five mares that were causing the disturbance. There was the violet alicorn standing at the front of the group, who was the owner of the voice that I had heard earlier, and the Element of Magic, as well as the newest princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. The alabaster unicorn with the well-kept purple mane who was standing beside her, and taking in all of the attention that she could get, was the premier fashionista of my home town, and Element of Generosity, Rarity. There was a blur of bubblegum pink attempting to meet everypony in the crowd, its overly-cheery demeanor was slightly unnerving to those unacquainted with the excitable mare, who bore the title of the Element of Laughter, and the name Pinkie Pie. At the back of the group was a timid pile of shivering pony, obviously the poor pegasus mare was scared out of her mind by all of the unwanted attention, and as such, the gentle Element of Kindness was showing the sweetness that made Fluttershy one of the most beloved ponies in the country. I saw a very familiar hat resting on the head of the pony that was comforting the fearful mare, the hat used to belong to my father, but now perpetually covered the head of my younger sister, and the Element of Honesty, Applejack. I ducked down to avoid being noticed by the five mares garnering everypony’s attention. My companion noted my wariness, and decided to settle for craning her neck to see the heroes. A few gasps from the crowd caused everyone to look up, myself included, to see the vibrant rainbow contrail of the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, as she streaked for the clearing made for her friends. Ponies started to back up warily, as it seemed that she wouldn’t stop, but at the last moment, she flared her wings and slowed to a graceful stop. “Hey, gals, I’ve been looking for you all morning.” Rainbow shrugged, “Yeah, that’s probably how I would do that.” “Wherever have you been, Rainbow darling?” Rarity asked her full-spectrum friend. “You disappeared yesterday when you decided to follow your old griffon friend, and then you never returned to the hotel.” Rainbow Dash chuckled uneasily, “Yeah, funny story, I followed her back to a ship. Then I dozed off in the crow’s nest.” Then she jumped up, having remembered something important. “Oh, yeah! I also met the captain, and you’re never going to believe who it was!” “Who was it, Rainbow?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “It was Applejack’s brother, Big Macintosh!” She announced, allowing the shock to sink in for a second before she finished. “And he might be dating Daring Doo, but I’m not entirely sure about that.” My companion lowered her head, and removed the trademark helmet that always adorned it. “We probably should go now.” She quietly read my mind. We then began to make our way through the crowd, attempting not to call attention to ourselves. I could still make out the conversation, though. “A-are ya sure it was mah b-brother?” My sister asked with a shaky voice. “Absolutely, and he told me to give this to you.” I figured that she passed over the letter that I gave her, and I wondered how long it would take for her to realize that- “He gave me money?” Apparently not long at all. “Dear sis, Ah’m sorry about everythin, but Ah felt so useless on the farm. Doin’ this’s allowed me ta feel like a pony again. Ah also know that ya might ‘preciate a few extra bits, so Ah put in what Ah could afford, Ah know it ain’t much, but it’s what Ah got. Give Applebloom a hug an’ a kiss fer me. Big Mac.” I could hear the tears in her voice as she finished up the page, even though, with the gaining distance, her voice was becoming faint. “Come on Mac! Don’t leave!” Dash shouted at the book. “She’s your sister! And she’s right there! And she wants to see you!” Finally, we emerged from the crowd, the overall mood of which had dropped considerably with the reading of my letter, and we began a swift trek back to the docks, deciding that the supplies we had set out for were not vitally important at the moment anyway. We did cross in front of some hardware shops, many of which were heavily geared toward nautical pursuits. The timber was of a very high quality, and the pitch was decent, but there was a lot, so we had them assist us in transporting the materials. “Sooo…” Daring Doo began, as we made our way back to the dock. “Applebloom?” I sighed, having figured that this was coming. “Eeyup, she’s… Mah baby sister…” “So, you just ditched your two younger sisters? Just... left?” I sighed, remorse finally beginning to catch up to me. “Eeyup.” “Wow… I, uh, guess that I can’t really say much though… I left my sister to go adventuring… I need to write…” She mused. “She really needed someone and I just… left…” The pain in her voice was obvious. So I did what I could, and walked beside her, allowing her to lean against me. “Ye’ll see her again. Don’t worry.” Then I craned my head down so I could look into her eyes. “And Ah promise ta introduce ya ta mah family sometime.” She smiled and nuzzled my neck slightly. “Thanks.” We continued the walk in relative silence, both of us lost in thoughts of our family. Finally, we arrived at the ship, our entourage of lumber-hauling ponies following us aboard and to the open cargo hold. After unloading the mass amounts of lumber and pitch, much to the confusion of most of my crew, we shoved off. As we rejoined our journey, Lumber Mill trotted up to me. “Captain?” He started, “What’s with the wood?” I looked off to the horizon, to where the island lay. “Ye’ll find out soon… Ye’ll find out.” “Hmm… Decent.” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. Then she looked over to her coffee table, to see the note that Mac had left for her, and she let out a girly squeal, completely unashamed of the embarrassing noise, since she was alone. She glanced at the clock, and decided to give herself some time to prepare herself for the date. She flew up to her room, and began to make herself pretty. She showered, brushed her teeth, put on some makeup, and slightly curled her mane and tail. As she opened her closet to pick out something to wear, she came to a realization. “I really don’t have anything to wear…” It wasn’t like Rarity’s “nothing to wear” where she really had a pile of clothes, but she didn’t want to wear any of them; because, she had worn them all already. There were three outfits in her closet. The gown that she had worn for the Gala and the royal wedding, “Nah, too dressy…” There was her first attempt at assisting Rarity with designing a dress for the Gala, “No, too… uh… Weird…” And the last was a swimsuit, “Why on earth do I even have that?” Eventually, she decided to just put on some of her similarly limited collection of jewelry. Big Mac was sweaty. He was stressing, this was his first (consensual) date after all. He was desperately hoping that he wasn’t too pushy, or vague, with his note, and that she wouldn’t turn him down. He arrived at the base of the hill that Rainbow Dash’s house was anchored to, and sat down, taking a deep breath and loosening his tie just a little. “Hey!” A call from overhead startled him. “You’re early.” His date for the evening fluttered down from her house, and he took in everything about her. She had done her mane and tail differently, the usually windswept, wild, and rough style, had been tamed with some large gentle curls. She had a pair of simple silver earrings, and a matching necklace draped over her shoulders. To top it all off, she had applied some light eyeshadow, lipstick, and a little bit of blush, which was intensified by the natural blush forming on her face. “Sooo… Mac, what do you think?” She tried to keep the tough attitude, but her nervousness shone through. “...wow…” his cheeks became a much deeper shade of red, as his date giggled cutely. “Ah, uh, don’t know what ta say… wow…” “Alright, just come on,” She said, gesturing for him to lead the way, “If we spend the rest of the right, with you staring at me, we’ll miss the date.” “Oh, right, sorry.” He cleared his throat, and began to lead the way. “So, uh, did ya get mah note?” She leaned into him slightly, “Yeah, I did. And even though, it was a little creepy, and blunt, it was a sweet thought.” “Creepy?” “Yeah, I mean, ‘I will be under your front porch.’ That would be really weird if my house wasn’t floating.” “Oh, right, Ah, uh…” He stumbled, attempting to fix his mistake. Rainbow laughed, a girly little giggle that would have normally embarrassed her to no end. “It’s alright, like I said, I thought it was sweet that you thought to leave me a note.” “Thanks.” “So where are you taking me?” She asked with a flutter of her eyelashes. “Oh, uh, Ah got reservations at ‘The Meadows.’ Is that alright?” “Sounds perfect!” A few minutes of walking later, and they were at the restaurant. It was a classy place, but not excessively fancy. Basically, it was one of Rarity’s favorite places to go for lunch; because, she didn’t need to make a completely new dress just to go there. “Wow… This is… really exciting!” Rainbow gushed to her companion, as he escorted her in the door. “Ah agree.” Mac concurred with a large grin, then he turned to the attendant, “Table fer, ‘Macintosh’.” The host scanned the list of reservations for the night and located the name, then smiled and led the two ponies of a booth at the far wall. They chatted, and laughed, and simply enjoyed being with each other until their food came. When their food did come, things got a little weird. Dash was scarfing down a good portion of her pasta, when she let out a monstrous belch. They both stopped eating, and stared at each other, blushes staining their faces, until Mac smiled slightly, and belched back. Rainbow giggled and it slowly grew into a full, rolling laughter that Big Mac had to join in on. At around nine o’clock, They left the restaurant, much to the content of the owners, waiters, and the other guests, all of whom had been significantly annoyed by the antics of the two lovestruck ponies that were leaning strongly against each other simply out of affection.