//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Penny for your thoughts // Story: Macintosh and Dolphin - The Switch // by Electuroo //------------------------------// Macintosh and Dolphin – The Switch Chapter 8: Penny for your Thoughts... Wayne sighed in relief with the hot steaming water against his red fur, he didn't care how strange it felt it just glad to had figure out how to use to stuff in the bathroom all by himself even using the toilet which was something of a odd experience for him being what he was now being all hoofed at such. The tub he was in was easily big enough and easy enough to get in and out of but surprising to find such something like that in a farm like Applejack and the others lived in, but he could guess why they modernised it for Granny Smith easy access seeing she was around when Ponyville was created which reminded him of home... Resting his forelegs on the sides clop the right front hoof on the side, the sound he gotten use to since being in this body was strange but he was thinking about why there was no locks on the door, he did tell Applejack he was having a bath so they know he was in there and his guess was the lack of a lock since they all ponies and particle worn nothing at all for the most part. 'Finally got some alone time... maybe now I could be a bit more of myself and not Macintosh...' Wayne lift his right hind leg up out of the water staring at it with Macintosh's green eyes “Almost myself” he whispered putting the hind leg back in the water. Staring at the steamed up mirror he could make out Macintosh's eyes staring back at him, those most of the time gentle green eyes and the stallion face with those three freckles under each eye and when he gave a smirk he saw the same smirk in the cartoons. “Creeepppy...” he whispered watching his mouth move when saying it and laughed softly turning his head resting it against the side of the tub. “Eeyup... this is going to be taking some getting use to, just need to keep cool and not make any bloody mistakes” he whispered keeping it low so none of the apple family even walking by the door could hear him speak, he need to clear the air and speak his own mind... Wayne sunk deeper into the water placing the front hooves into the water letting all his worries just sink for now just wanting to relax with closed eyes he let out a deep sigh of relaxation and wondered if Big Macintosh ever felt this way when having a bath after a long days work at Sweet Apple Acres. One thing that nagged his mind is that way things work in his world, Big Mac most likely sitting in the bath trying to think of what he be doing since it would most likely be the case that work would give quite some time off before getting him back behind a till and such... 'I think he going to be bored out of his mind over there... I would be gaming, drawing or writing a story... aw crap... how am I going to do my stories? Maybe I can do it on the free times I can get... yeah I could do that...' Macintosh... Morning had came for him already and staring at the items in the house, he wasn't sure what to do with himself, the computers and TVs was just a bit too weird for him, he would be working hard at Sweet Apple Acres by now by he knew Wayne would be doing that since Applejack would still believe he is him and would get him back into the swing of the farm... Big Macintosh step out into the garden seeing how untidy it was, it was small but he knew a few things with plants since he grew up on a farm so he did what came natural to him and started to work on cutting back some plants and pulling out weeds after finding some tools, he had to admit the human hands had their advantages and using the thick gloves he found the thrones didn't bug him much. Michelle just finished ironing the clothing from the washing machine when she saw Big Mac working in the garden and was amazed how effortless he was doing it, she hated fixing up the garden but she guess it was some of the child hood gardening clubs he took was coming back to him. She decided to leave him to it and carried on with her house hold chores as Hazel and Nigel was both at work and she was keeping a eye on her son even it was a pony inside the human body of her son. He did take note that Michelle wasn't bothered by him doing a bit of gardening in the back garden of the house. 'Ah'm wonder if Wayne had some experience with farming or to do with plants...' he continued to work with many things on his mind “Penny for your thoughts?” “What?” Big Mac look to see Michelle standing over him with a hot cup of tea “I can see your a bit restless but you don't need to work on the garden Wayne” she put the cup down by him “It still good to see that you remember those lessons you had when you was a kid, you sure loved the gardening clubs at school. Not many did” He took a little drink of the tea “I'm just finding the TVs and Computers a little weird... I just felt more comfortable doing something then sitting around...” “Yeah I know, restlessness right?” he nods and she put a hand on his shoulder “Well keep up the good work, you really got the gardening down.” she stood against the wall. “I bet you got that apple orchard on your mind” “Yep” Michelle thought about it “Well after you finished up here, how about we take a bike ride there?” “Bike ride?” he looked puzzled Wayne... Wayne pulled the plug and dried himself off with the towel that he found to have Big Macintosh's cutie mark on it easy to tell whose towel is, he was surprised how smoothly it went to dry himself off with it even with the hooves but he didn't bother question how this world worked anymore, he just had to do what he had to do for Macintosh... Wayne put the towel over the rail to dry off, he step out into the corridor looking to the stairs he could easily smell the sweet scent of dinner then a twitch of the ears he heard the call “Big Mac get ya flank down here, dinner ready!” Applejack yelled up “Eeyup” he chuckled lightly making his way down to the dining room to join the apple family for dinner. Wayne sat with them as they started to eat, he was still thinking about what happened and wonder what could of attacked Twilight's machine, he knew something must behind the magical orbs and whatever the princess did stopped the magic from working for only about a minute or so... “How was it Big Mac?” Applebloom spoke snapping the red stallion out of his stray thoughts. “With Applejack working beside me it went well, made a few mistakes but ah'm starting to get a hang of it again” he replied and ate some of his oats which tasted good but guess he had Macintosh's taste buds... Applejack put her mug down “He sure did, but he stuck to his hooves and proud of ya big brother” “Thank ya Applejack that means alot” Wayne smiled and took a whisk of some of the apple cider and put it down with the girls trying not to laugh “Wat?” he looked down and realised seeing some of the foam, he took a cloth with both hooves wiping it off, laughing a little with them. Granny Smith felt happy seeing them having a good evening “This is what ah'm like to see, mah family having a good evening putting all worries to side” “Eeyup” Applejack, Applebloom and Wayne said together with a grin at each other. Unknown... “Consensuses has been made” “The lifeform named Sparkle, Twilight royalty Princess almost ended the experiment of test orb seven” “The term of the field of magic and individual thoughts is still being studied, test seven of soul switch is different to the last six...” “Action 3982 was taken to divert their attention from what they discovered blinding the humans and the ponies with the terms 'surprise' and 'misleading', the chance of experiment ending at set date is 98.7% likely” “Consensuses has been made... keep diverting the truth and watching test subjects for signs of misleading, data shows human Dolphin Wayne made a message to Pony Stallion Macintosh Big... consensuses has not been made on how they seem to be able to create this set of events...” “First results to show level of sanity as human and pony adapting and analysing, they are aware of the orb's influence, test subjects are failures, results are inconclusive... terminating the life forms should be made...” “Negative there is no consensuses, the test will continue” “Consensuses has been made continue to obverse events including the blockage of the words 'Wayne' in kingdom marked at Equestria and the confusion created by the words 'Mac and Macintosh' with humans, studies and analysing has picked up some unique results...” “Macintosh Big has arrived at New Town Apple Orchard Day Five, data shows 97% gardening home took longer then predicted... risk of detection has dropped by 19%” “Confirmed, there is consensuses... observing day five morning New Town Earth... Orchard Apple...” New Town Apple Orchard... The New Town Apple Orchard a once proud owned site on the southern tip of the Twiosmistar Forest now sits long empty of activity since the credit crunch forced it closure, since then the trees grown a bit wild with the barn and house falling into disrepair, the dirt road leading up to the house even had better days, it been over twelve years since anyone step foot on the land with fences up saying 'private property, Keep out' and 'For Sale' with a phone number under it. Big Macintosh arrived on Wayne's bike which he managed to get a hang of in one go, it was all down to balance and pushing the pedals at the right time with breaks and such, he thanked the farm work for that and the Cake's cake too that he carried on his back, that was all to balance even though his sister and friends helped at the end. “Here we are” Michelle got off the bike putting it against the fence “New Town Apple Orchard or what left of the place, over twelve years ago this place was a business that sold apples to quite the number of super markets but with the credit crunch came the rise in cost, stock markets crashing and all the other political bull crap... I use to work here” Michelle sighed “Guess that why your so interested in this place for my own sake... but Wayne you need to just let bye gone be bye gones...” “What did you do here? Mum” he paused for a second before calling her mum. Michelle put her back against the fence with arms crossed “Nothing special, I helped with the apple picking and making sure they went to the right places once loaded, ladders and picking. Since they closed I been living off benefits unable to find a job, don't really want to go back to the capital working in the Underground.” she sighed “this was a peaceful job compared to the city life but nothing could be done so I just live my life as it is now and pay the bills and such, getting by day to day living it as it comes”. Big Macintosh looked through the fence seeing the size of the apple farm, it was about three quarters the size of their farm maybe less but this place had been abandon and almost forgotten since he learned the credit crunch as they called it put so many old businesses out of business for good. “Underground?” “Oh right sorry... forgetting the amnesia... it a network of trains that move around mostly under the city it self, it called the London Underground” “Hoovdon Underground” he whispered “Hmm?” “Nothing...” Big Mac lied feeling a bit uncomfortable saying that but he felt strange that some of the places had similar names to that of places he knew... “How much would it cost to buy this land?” Michelle sighed again rubbing her forehead “Wayne... son we been through this a dozen times already” she turn to view of the orchard “Since you don't remember it will cost close to almost half million pounds to buy the land from the council... that kind of money doesn't grow on trees” “On this Euromillions it does right?” “Only if your that lucky son” she push off the fence “Other then that it highly unlikely to happen and we got to keep the roof we have over our heads. Why don't we go to Mcd's and see about getting you back to work?” “Yep” he decided to just go with it and they got back on their bikes, he took one last glance at the orchard, he could see a lot of apples ready for picking as well many others that rotting away on the ground, if he did win this cash it would mean a lot of cleaning up to get this orchard back into tip top shape which got his mind whirling with a fair number of ideas, he will do what Wayne had gave him to go by and keep to pretence... including in working in such a place that cooked meat that gave him a cold shiver that made him feel very sick to the stomach and thought come to mind 'ah might not like the idea of what these humans do to animals but and the end this is their world and not mine... ah sure miss home... mah sisters and Granny...' tears fell from Macintosh which Michelle noticed but she believed it was just girth from the last few days of stress he was under as they left the orchard heading to the town. Strange enough when Wayne sat at the window looking at the Luna Moon of a clear night sky he felt sick to the stomach of the stallion he was in when thinking about what he ate for most of his life and sitting here in Sweet Apple Acres and the room of Big Macintosh hit home how much life was better here in this world compared to his... 'Home is where you make it... when I return to my own body meat is for sure off the menu for good... and got to hoof it to you Big Macintosh, yep hoof it for sure' he put his front legs on the window side putting his head against them looking out to the night sky watching a few streaks of light shot across the sky... 'I sure miss home... even it been a stressful living... I just wish I could go home... my mum, brother and sister... I miss them so much...' tears fell from his eyes feeling the pain of home sick