//------------------------------// // Finding Common Ground // Story: Big Mac's Dream Journal // by Trevosta //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash had managed to persuade Twilight to let her borrow the balloon. It wasn’t too hard to convince her, she just had to promise to not pull it excessively fast. She never promised anything about pushing it. Thinking back on the exchange with an evil grin, Rainbow continued to assist Fluttershy with her little critters; something changed slightly when Twilight caused the whole ‘cutie mark fiasco’ and now Rainbow enjoyed helping Fluttershy with the cutsie animals. Rainbow hoisted a bag of birdseed up to the cluster of feeders and began to distribute the seeds among the feeders, while trying to strike up a conversation with the butter-yellow pegasus on the ground. “So, this mystery stallion…” A minuscule squeak came from Fluttershy, as she tried to make herself smaller and less noticeable. “You said he was a Royal Guard…” Rainbow continued, thinking back upon the conversations from the slumber party. “How on earth did you meet him?” “Oh, um… D-do you remember when Princess Celestia came to visit?” Fluttershy asked, barely glancing to her oldest friend. “Which time?” Rainbow had her clarify, recalling numerous times that the Princess had visited the small town. “The, um…” Fluttershy trailed off, uncomfortable with the next part of the story. “The time that I, uh, well, I … kidnapped her bird...” “Oh…” Rainbow responded, knowing that her timid friend was pretty shaken up after that. “Yeah, I remember that.” “Well, he was part of her entourage, who guarded the door.” She described, drawing up an image of the two stallions that Rainbow had attempted to get to laugh or break character in any way. “He came by my cottage after the whole disaster was over, to apologize for startling me earlier.” Rainbow could almost hear the blush on Fluttershy’s face as she told the story. “He was so nice, I had him in for some tea, and he offered to write to me, so we’ve been writing back and forth ever since...” She trailed off, mumbling something that Rainbow couldn’t hear very well. “What was that?” Rainbow said, getting closer to her timid friend, not about to leave that mumbling alone. “He’s, um, actually going to take me out to eat soon…” Rainbow Dash was simply shocked by that revelation, “So, wait, that was what, like 2 years ago?” Fluttershy nodded. “And he’s just now taking you out on a date?” “Well, we were just friends for the most part,” She began to defend her significant other, “And we’ve seen each other a couple times between then and now, and he just said that he wanted to take me out for a date recently.” Rainbow recoiled slightly from the fierceness in her soft-spoken friend’s voice, then she remembered something that was fairly relevant. “Ok, so if you have been involved with this Guard, why did you go out with Mac?” Fluttershy tried desperately to shrink down and disappear behind her mane. “Oh, uh, well, um, you see, uh, Applejack mentioned it, saying that Big Mac liked me, and I didn’t want to disappoint her, plus Mac was really nice, but I don’t think that we would have worked out.” “Yeah, I heard that you got kicked out of the restaurant.” Rainbow said, causing Fluttershy to flinch. “Oh, sorry.” “No, it’s alright.” She took a breath. “It’s what happened” “Well, thank you for letting me help you here, Fluttershy, I need to do a few things, I’m taking Mac to meet my parents tonight.” “Any time Rainbow! I always love having help around here with the critters.” I awoke far earlier than I had hoped for, rolling unceremoniously out of my hammock and tumbling out onto the deck. A quick glance out of my window revealed the dim glow of the pre-sunrise morning. Rainbow cringed at the very thought of waking up that early. I decided to take slightly better care of myself this morning. I washed the sweat out of my mane and beard, the scrubbing soothing out some stress. I trimmed my wild hair and beard, throwing the coarse remnants out of my window and into sea. I put on my hat, my cape, and went to don my belt, when I recognized a serious problem. My sword was missing. Thinking back, I remembered throwing it at that disturbing deep-sea beast, and now that I thought about it, I realized that it was a poor idea. I sighed, strapping the belt around my waist, pistol resting peacefully in it’s holster, and the empty scabbard flapping limply by my side. I pushed open the door to my quarters, stepping out on the deck of the ship and taking in the early morning sights and sounds. The sea was almost motionless in the windless morning. The cool air drifted lightly around my legs as I walked to the bow of the ship. I looked down into the deep, clear water beneath me, dark without the sun. Except it wasn’t dark. In the sea beneath me, I saw a green glow, cool and inviting, like the lights of a firefly. A swarm of these lights drifted lazily along with the inward flow of the tide, congregating among the currents as though telling me to follow it. Rainbow couldn’t help but imagine laying in the grass with Big Mac, looking out at a swarm of fireflies drifting through the warm summer breeze. The transfixing display was disrupted as a school of fish swam through, scattering the lights to the mercy of the tides. I turned away, deciding to check on the disabled crew members. As I trotted carefully down the steps, making as little noise as possible, I could hear the sounds of a sleeping crew, heavy breathing and snores filling the lower decks of the ship. I carefully slipped past a number of crew quarters, and into the deeper bowels of the ship, where the infirmary was located. I pushed the door open slightly and nosed into the room quietly, finding the disabled crew sleeping fitfully. I walked in, stepping lightly to avoid waking them up and starting another screaming match. I began walking over towards the closest cot, where Lumber Mill was resting. I looked at his face, it was pale, dry, his lips had cracked with dehydration, and he shivered with a chill. His coat, mane, and blanket were still damp from sweat, and the liquid let in the cool night air. I turned to look at the cot beside him and made a mistake in doing so. I wasn’t paying close attention to where my false leg was going, and it went straight for the leg of the cot that Lumber Mill was laying on. The sudden wood-on-wood collision caused a hollow thunk to ring out in the storage room. I froze, hoping desperately that none of them would up and start screaming. I heard Lumber Mill adjust in his cot and I immediately folded my ears back, preparing for the inevitable. “Cap-” I heard Lumber Mill croak out, before he started to cough. I looked back at him, finding he was looking at me with squinted, bloodshot eyes. He had doubtless hurt his throat from the screaming, so I searched the infirmary for any drinkable liquid, I found that Cookie had left a pail of water with some mugs in the corner. “Oh, they’re finally better.” Rainbow sighed. I brought a cup of the soothing liquid over to the ailing sailor, who accepted it graciously. “How ya feelin’?” I asked him after he had downed a few swallows. “Uhh…” He rasped, “Confused.” He looked around the infirmary, taking in the sight of all the other patients. “What happened?” I took the next few minutes explaining the situation to him. I described Chance’s mistake in drinking the water, and how he had convinced much of the rest of the crew to join him in his revelry. He cringed, noting the lump on his head, as I recounted the sudden lapse in consciousness of all who had drank the water. I told him of the suspenseful trip through the coral maze, and the collective screams of the unwell passengers. “Actually,” he spoke up, “I remember having nightmares, they were horrible, but I don’t remember what they were about or why they were scary, but I do remember light, blinding, searing, burning, horrible light…” He punctuated his recollection with a shudder. “Ah’ll git ya some more water, jus’ try ta git better.” I cantered off to the stores, where I found a large barrel full of water. As I carried the barrel back into the infirmary, I noticed various other crewmen waking up, and hurried to get water to the ship’s surgeon. “Th-th-thank y-you Captain.” Stitch stuttered, after taking a deep drought of the cool liquid. “Anythin’ Ah can do ta help y’all get back on yer hooves?” I asked. “Lemons.” "Lemons?" “Lemons?” “Yeah, l-l-lemons sh-should help the sore throats.” She began to test her strength, leaning on Lumber Mill, who had already regained much of his strength, for support. “Other than that, I-I-I think that we sh-sh-should be g-g-good.” I then turned to Lumber Mill with a question that had been bugging me. “So… Ah think we lost the rudder… do ya think ya can do anythin’?” “Lost the…” He looked at me with shock, obviously in shock over the impressive feat, then he shook his head and tried to overlook it. “Uh, well, I think that maybe, if we have enough lumber, I might be able to improvise something to last for a few days.” “That’s all we need.” I informed him, knowing how close we were to the uncharted island. I could hear the sound of hooves above me, as the crew began to wake up and move about their cabin. I took my leave, walking up the stairs to see those who were rejoining the land of the waking. After Cookie had delivered lemons to the sore-throated sailors, and the rest of us ate breakfast, we began to go about a full maintenance mission. Fraying ropes were replaced, ripped sails stitched together, and strained boards of the hull repaired, all while Lumber Mill used what wood we had stored away, to construct a temporary rudder. I thought back on the required maintenance and turned to Sea Dog, asking, “Is she seaworthy?” He screwed up his muzzle, obviously unsure, “That be a strong way to put it.” He scratched at his ears, “She won’t hold well in rough seas, or full-sail.” I nodded, before turning over the deck, shouting, “Up anchor! Sails, half-mast!” the crew rushed to follow my orders, scurrying around, back at full capacity. The sails billowed as they filled with the wind at our back. Timbers creaked as the battered ship limped forward. The swells were minimal and winds were good, but still the broken vessel strained. Sailing was uneventful and slow for a few hours, as we slowly sailed in the direction of the still unseen island. “Land!” came a jovial call from the crow’s nest, as Spotter peered through his spyglass. A collective cheer rang out as the crew grasped what he meant. As though mistrusting or desperate to see for themselves, Vince and Gilda took to the sky, looking in the direction of Spotter’s spyglass. Upon seeing the dark spot rising from the horizon, the two embraced and dropped to the deck, where they confirmed the news to everyone. “Finally!” Rainbow said, falling back into her pillow. “He’s been at sea for long enough.” “Well, Big Mac,” Daring Doo began as she walked over to me. “It sounds like you did it.” I returned the cocky look she was giving me, and kissed her. “Oooh…” The crew had a renewed vigor as they went about their duties. The prospect of stable, dry, land was almost overwhelming to the sailors. Only a few minutes passed before the ship was quaking with the passionate liveliness of a sea-shanty, and I couldn’t help but join in with them. As we approached the island it became more visible, and far less appealing. There appeared to be a dormant volcano growing from the center of the small refuge, the stones an inky black. The foliage was a dark green, and the whole land just seemed hostile. I called Sea Dog over and asked, “Thoughts?” “Looks a bit…” He drifted off, trying to find the right words. “Eeyup.” He didn’t need to go any further. “So, should we find a place ta beach her? Or do we anchor out here an’ send small boats in?” “Ugh,” he scratched behind his ear. “Beach ‘er, an’ keep some muscle ‘bout, jus in case.” “Eeyup.” The crew stowed sails as we approached the land, and as we got really close, some leapt overboard, grabbed ropes and pulled. After many weeks at sea, the pale, fine, hot sand felt great beneath my hooves, and many others were enjoying themselves as well. Things were not perfect, though. The tree line ahead of us loomed menacingly, daring us to enter, and it definitely didn’t feel completely natural. “Mac?” Daring Doo said, getting close to me. “Do you feel like you’re being watched?” “Eeyup.” Macintosh braced himself into the basket of Twilight Sparkle’s balloon, as his marefriend pushed harsher than he felt comfortable with. He looked straight down, and realized that the basket was swinging back far enough to allow him to look over the edge as he did so. “Rainbow!” He shouted, hoping that she would listen this time. “...and sometime I’ll have to take you to the Cloudisseum! Maybe we can see the Wonderbolts!” “Rainbow!” “Huh?” “Slow Down!” She simply rolled her eyes and slowed down a little bit. “Is that better, Pansy?” “A bit…” Then she looked down and her heart nearly stopped. Mac was holding tightly to a rope, as he swung underneath the basket, having fallen out during a turn too sharp for the balloon shortly before he called out the last time. “Some help?” She jumped in the basket and began to hoist her coltfriend back into the relative safety of the balloon’s basket. He crested the wall and collapsed onto the floor, where he panted, trying to catch his breath. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, I promise I won’t do it again! Please don’t hate me, I didn’t mean-” She was cut off as Mac hugged her. She sat there, shocked for a moment, before hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry.” “Ah’m alright, but Ah think we should slow down, jus’ a bit.” “I promise.” They slowed down to a reasonable speed, with Rainbow directly behind the basket pushing and giving Mac a tour. They passed over several housing districts on the edge of Cloudsdale, with the beautiful city ahead. Mac was in awe of the sculpting that took place, without ground restricting, the city was able to be built in many different ways. It all just seemed so impossible. Rainbow Dash pointed out the weather factory, the Cloudisseum, and several of her favorite places to go after a good flight about Cloudsdale, and Mac couldn’t have been happier. Eventually, they approached a medium-sized cloud house in a development on the edge of the city, where Rainbow flew down and tied the balloon off. Mac took his first step off of the balloon and onto a cloud for the first time. It was weird. The structure of the material beneath his hooves was strange, it gave way much like a marshmallow, but had a deeper strength like a mattress. “Hmmm…” Rainbow said, drawing him out of his musings, “I don’t think I have ever seen somepony sink in that much. I’ll just keep you off of the thinner clouds.” Macintosh tried to ignore that worrying thought, when some new voices joined them. “Rainbow? Is that you, sweetie?” Came a confident older female voice. “How’s my little filly?” A raspy male voice joined the other. “Mom! Daddy!” Rainbow shouted and took off, reaching the door where two pegasi were standing in less time than Mac could register. Rainbow stood hugging the two pegasi who were obviously her parents. Her father had a faded purple coat and the same mane as his daughter, he was built lean, with large, powerful wings. His cutie mark was a meteor with a rainbow trail. Her mother was a sky-blue mare, with a curly, white mane and tail; her build was notably lighter and more graceful than her husband and daughter. The graceful mare’s cutie mark was a sun peeking out from behind a small cloud. “I’ve missed you two so much!” Rainbow Dash said into her parents’ shoulders. “We’ve missed you too!” they responded, holding their only daughter tight. After a few moments, Rainbow pulled away and stepped back. “It’s so great to see you guys! Oh!” she exclaimed, remembering Mac. “Mom, Dad, this is Macintosh Apple; Mac, these are my Mom and Dad, Sunny Skies and Sky Strike.” She announced proudly. “Howdy.” Big Mac said through his incredibly dry throat. “It’s an honor ta finally git ta meet y’all.” “Ooooh!” Sunny Skies exclaimed, finally getting a good look at the visiting stallion. “Good choice, Sweetie!” Mac began to blush furiously, as his sweating became intense. “Mom!” Rainbow Dash complained. “I’m only joking; now, come inside! I’ve got dinner waiting!” She announced and turned to return to the house with Rainbow following closely behind. This left Mac on the front porch with only a rather stern stallion standing between him and the doorway. Sky Strike glared at Mac for a moment, before he gestured through the door, allowing Mac to enter. Sky Strike’s steely gaze was rather worrying to Mac, who found himself swallowing hard as he passed through the door and into the surprisingly cosy home. “Oh, Mom, your eggplant parmesan is the best!” Rainbow Dash said as she reclined back from her empty plate. The meal had passed with plenty of catching up between Rainbow and her parents, leaving Mac to follow along rather quietly. “Thank you, Rainbow, I know it’s your favorite.” Sunny Skies then looked over to Mac, seeing that his plate was empty as well. “It seems like Macintosh, over here, enjoyed himself as well.” “It was perfect Ma’am.” Big Mac said with enough respect to make his pappy proud. “Such a gentlecolt.” Rainbow’s mother remarked, then added, “But, if the two of you eat like that all the time…” She faded off, allowing her lighthearted remark to hang in the air. “Oh, Mac doesn’t have to worry about that!” Dash said, finally sensing a way to transition the conversation to her coltfriend. “He is a farmer, after all.” “A farmer?” Sunny Skies asked, not displeased but surprised. “Really? Tell me more.” “Well,” Mac started, glancing towards his glass to assure that it was full, his dry throat was going to need it. “Ah run Sweet Apple Acres with mah sister.” “Oh, yeah! We love your cider!” Sunny Skies told him. “Wait… Dash, I thought you said that your friend Applejack…” Suddenly, a sly smile grew across Sunny Skies’ face. “No, Mom, it wasn’t like that, I promise.” Rainbow backpedaled. “Sure, sure, I believe you.” The conversation continued to revolve around Mac and Dash for a while as Sunny Skies asked questions and Sky Strike continued to evaluate Macintosh. A sudden buzzing from the kitchen drew everyone’s attention from the conversation to the kitchen. “Oh! The brownies!” Sunny Skies said, jumping up. “Rainbow, could you help me dish out dessert?” “Oh, uh, well…” Rainbow tried to come up with a decent excuse to stay with Mac. “Dashie.” Sky Strike said softly, drawing her attention, “Could you please go help your mother?” Rainbow had always been a daddy’s girl, and found herself saying, “Sure, I’m coming, Mom.” Mac was left alone, in the dining room, with a stallion possessing the single hardest gaze in the world. Mac gulped. Mac took a deep breath, and hoped that the right words would come to him as he started. “Sir-” “Marry my daughter.” That was not the response that Mac had expected. “P-pardon?” Sky Strike’s gaze had softened into a look of genuine assurance, and maybe a little bit of desperation. “Please, marry Rainbow. I have never met a stallion that I have approved of nearly as much as you. You’re so respectful, you have a stable job, you really seem to love Dashie, and better yet, you’re an Earth Pony!” That last one really threw Mac off. The farmer really had no response to that. Apparently, Sky Strike had realized his verbal error, “Oh, that came out poorly.” He then decided to elaborate a bit further. “When I was her age, I was trying to upstage and show up every pegasus that I met. It was because of this, that I was never able to hold a steady relationship. It wan’t until I met Sunny, and tried to beat her at her own game, that I learned to slow down. She’s a ballerina, and no matter how hard I tried, I was never anywhere near as good at dancing as she was,” He added with a chuckle, “but the real defining moment was when she refused to race me, she knew that I was going to be faster, and I finally slowed down to appreciate her.” The older stallion sighed and looked down, “I’m just glad she learned to slow down before I did.” “Mom, I don’t like leaving Mac and Dad alone in there.” Rainbow said as she placed a few piping hot brownies on a cooling rack. Sunny Skies just laughed, “Your father was going to act that towards anypony who tried to take you away from him.” “Well, yeah, but I’m still worried.” “Oh, believe me sweetie.” Sunny Skies said as she pulled four bowls out of a cabinet. “Macintosh seems to be a perfect gentlecolt, and your father will approve of him more than you think.” “Do you really think so?” Rainbow asked as she tried to listen into the conversation in the adjacent room. “Of course,” The elder of the two mares pulled ice cream out of the freezer. “He might threaten him a little, but if I know your father, he will be pulling out your baby pictures any moment.” Rainbow’s heart sank a little bit at that. “Uh oh, I hope not.” “Sweetie, you know it has to happen.” Her mother said, looking over at her with a sly, half-lidded glance, and happened to notice the chocolate crumbs covering her daughter’s mouth. “Really, Dash? Don’t you think you’re a little bit old for sneaking brownies?” “No way, Mom!” Rainbow defended herself, “Your brownies are the best!” After Dash had cleaned her face and ice cream and brownies had been loaded into each bowl, Rainbow Dash braced herself for whatever she would find upon reentering the dining room. “It was the most precious thing that I have ever seen!” Sky Strike exclaimed, apparently finishing up a story. “Aww!” Mac drawled, “That does sound adorable!” they then turned to face the two entering mares with smiles across both of their faces. “Dash! Yer Pa was jus’ tellin’ me ‘bout yer first flight show.” “Dad!” Dash groaned, immediately recognizing the story. “You really had to tell that story?” “Of course, Dashie,” He explained himself. “It’s my job.” “Ugh…” Another hour passed, with pleasant conversation, story telling, and a much more relaxed atmosphere. Eventually, it was time for Rainbow and Mac to leave. Sky Strike and Sunny Skies found themselves on the porch, waving to the balloon as it drifted off below the clouds. “So…” Sunny began, “Strikey, what do you think?” “He’s perfect.” The confidence that her husband used to call their daughter’s coltfriend perfect shocked her. “Perfect?” He sighed, hanging his head, “Yes… and I’m disappointed that I don’t want to talk her out of it.” “Ha!” his wife laughed, wrapping a wing around him. “Come on, let’s get some baby pictures together, we’re going to need to visit soon.”