//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Lazy Days Off // Story: Give me Wings to Fly // by Shrapmo //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash was bored. She lazily kicked her leg back and forth as she floated atop a stray cloud, wishing that something exciting would happen already. “Aren't days off supposed to be awesome? Why can’t anything cool happen when I’m NOT at work?” Rainbow griped to nobody. Cloud kicking was looking more fun by the minute. Although perceived to be lazy most of the time, Rainbow Dash was quite the hard worker. In fact, she was such a hard worker that she had accumulated an awful amount of unused vacation days. Pony Relations had thrown a fit when they saw that Rainbow had not taken a single day off from the Weather Patrol in over a year, and subsequently forced her to take a week long vacation. At first, Rainbow was beside herself with glee. Not having to do any work, getting to nap anytime she wanted and training for the Wonderbolts for a whole week sounded fantastic! “Who thought a bunch of suit wearing eggheads could be so cool?” Rainbow cheered when her boss had first told her. Little did she know that to much free time could get very dull very quick. She had spent the entire first day switching between naps, training over Sweet Apple acres and reading an excessive amount of Daring Do books. At the end of the day, she was exhausted and happy. “A great start to a great vacation!” She mused as she settled in for the night. Yet here she was on the second day of the most awesome vacation ever, and she had nothing to do. She ran out of books quickly and there was only so much napping a pony could do before they weren't tired anymore, “I guess the only reason why I like to nap so much is because I do so much work,” thought Rainbow absently. Which lead her to her current location, floating near Sweet Apple Acres, without a single thing to occupy her time. She had initially come here to train, yet after 2 hours of brainstorming she couldn't think of a single new trick to perfect. Sighing in acceptance of her plight, Rainbow looked down at the vast expanse that was the pride and joy of the Apple family. It really was beautiful when she took the time to look at it, not that Rainbow would ever tell Applejack that to her face. She had an image to keep ya know? Rainbow was just about to hop off the cloud to continue the horrible repetitiveness of practicing already perfected stunts when she spotted a slowly moving red figure in the far field out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw that Applejack’s brother Big Macintosh was doing his usual, working the fields. “Jeeze, does that guy ever take a break?” Rainbow smirked as she sat back down in her cloud and peeked over the edge. As she lazily drifted closer to the apple farmer’s location, Rainbow allowed her eyes to wander up and down Mac’s toned legs and flank. “Yup, still a looker” she spoke to herself as she let her mind wander. Rainbow Dash had always had sort of a thing for Big Macintosh, to put it lightly. He possessed all of the qualities she looked for in a stallion: honesty, loyalty, dedication, and not to mention a killer flank to boot. In Rainbow’s opinion, he was one of the coolest, if not coolest, stallions in Ponyville. There was one problem with Big Macintosh though, one very large and inescapable problem that Dash just could not get around. Applejack would absolutely flip the hay out if she ever tried to ask the large earth pony out. The pegasus mare rolled her eyes in exasperation just thinking about how her best friend would react if she so much as talked to Big Mac. Dash was by no means afraid of Applejack, not in the slightest mind you. Yet she claimed the title 'Element of Loyalty,' which meant being respectful of her friend’s wishes… even if it annoyed her to no end. Rainbow sighed and collapsed onto her back with a ‘poof.’ She had accepted long ago that she couldn't have her heart’s desire, even dating other stallions to try and forget about him. Yet there was always something off about the ones she dated. In the end she figured that the other stallions just couldn't measure up to Big Mac, none of them were half as good looking or as cool as him, but it was more than that, FAR more. This time it was her loyalty towards the crimson stallion himself, “Why does it always come back to loyalty?” Dash groaned as she sunk further into her fluffy companion. The thing was, she had spent so much time over the years thinking about Mac, fantasizing over him or just simply wondering what he was up to, that he had earned a prominent place in her heart. It was to the point that if she even looked at another stallion, she would feel like she was betraying him. “Ahhh, why can’t AJ just let me talk to him?” The pegasus flailed her limbs in frustration. This day had just gone from boring and dull, to depressing and hopeless in the flap of a wing. Just seeing Big Mac had turned her head into a whirlwind of confusing and conflicting emotions. “Why did I even have to see him today?” Rainbow groaned for the umpteenth time. She sure was saying the word ‘why’ a lot when it came to the crimson workhorse. She scowled and looked back down at Big Mac, who was much further away as he finished plowing the field. “You just HAD to be the perfect stallion for me didn't you, ya big lug?” Rainbow directed her glare at the now resting workhorse. The stunt flyer looked up at the sun, guessing that it must be Mac’s lunchtime. Her stomach conveniently growled at that thought, and she decided that she could go for a good stack of hayfries right about now. “Maybe food will take my mind off Big Mac,” Rainbow concluded. Just as she was turning to leave, she noticed that Mac wasn't headed for the farmhouse, but instead to the barn. “Why would he go there for lunch? Unless he wants to eat old stale hay,” Dash cringed at the thought. She knew Macintosh was a rugged pony, but did not expect him to eat something so unappealing when he didn't have too. Before she could let her mind wander on the subject, she noticed the workhorse exiting the barn with an odd black case slung around his back. “What in the hay ya got there Mac?” Rainbow couldn't help but be curious about this change in events. As Rainbow continued to watch the stallion walk away, she took note that he was headed in the opposite direction of the farmhouse, toward the orchard. Now her interest was entirely piqued. The cyan pegasus looked all around her “No sign of Applejack… perfect,” she said with a smirk. Rainbow Dash ducked down into her cloud once more, as she descended lower in the sky and took chase of Big Macintosh. The once dull and boring day had definitely taken a turn for the better. Besides, having an excuse to spy on Big Mac was always a plus. “Just you wait big guy, I’m going to get you yet.” Dash grinned as she followed the workhorse into the orchard, hoping to witness just what it was Mac did when he was alone.