Macintosh looked up at the sky. Some pegasi were busy blowing and pushing at the clouds. An order must have come in for clear skies for the market.
Surprising…
Usually it went on deaf ears and they gave whatever they saw fit for the sake of whatever schedule they had. Atleast it never rained…or hardly. Still, he wasn’t one to sound begrudging, or bitter. A little weather to brave added to character in ways and gloomy evenings to the next. All part of life, as it was.
He looked back at the stall. It was already mostly set up. Applejack was just getting some of the fritters out from the wagon while Applebloom skid about trying to be useful. Bless her heart, all she needed now was blessed hooves to fit the bill and she’d be a right use to everything she touched.
“I’m gonna take a gander about. Mind?”
“Nun” Came his sister’s reply. She liked to do all the selling on her own. Not that Mac thought himself more persuasive than her. He left her to it and went on his way.
The market looked a bit busier that day, Mac realised as he started a slow trot, and most of the customers hadn’t come yet. There were a few new faces in stalls here and there, new sales ponies who probably moved to Ponyville in hopes of a more honest, or cheating, life. Though Macintosh did remind himself he hadn’t been to the market much for a short while. Perhaps he was the new one. Ponyville was the place a lot of people settled, either way. It must have look quant to busy city folk, a nice little village full of decent mannered ponies instead of ones concerned with status and bits. Mac liked that idea and thought of Ponyville just as fondly.
The little quant home he hoped he would never need to leave, with its green grass, pleasant weather and warm company to boot.
“Oi!”
Big Macintosh turned his head to the side slowly where the sound had come from. The sky had looked so bright and pleasant too. It mixed with his mood perfectly as he started reminiscing about something that was still there. He was almost upset to be broken from it.
A burly looking stallion was busy unpacking a box of cherries in front of his stand. He gave Mac a handsome smile “Ey Mac, over here.”
Mac smiled back and made his way over at pace “Mornin’ Pit”
Pit Ship was an average joe. More average than Donut Joe, and not as fat. His mane a dusty blond and his coat an earthy brown , the thick chiselled and stubbed featured showed to what kind of stallion he had grown up to be. It was some something like big Macintosh, but much more unrefined. If Mac was a recently dug up ruby, Pit Ship was quartz still wedged somewhere underground and took extraneous amounts of effort to dig up. Atleast, that’s how it looked. His cap was sitting on his head glaring down like a guardpony’s judging eyes as he patrolled.
“Ain’t see you round the market these past few times. Where you been at stranger?” Pit was still busy taking the last of the cherries out, the other fruits already out, putting them on his stand with what one would only assume was repetitive practice in efficiently.
“About”
“About with somepony?” The last word rolled of Pit’s tongue as his brow hiked up past his hat. For someone who looked so rugged at first glance, Pit sure pulled out the interest of a gossiping house wife when it suited him.
Mac stifled an amused grin back between his ear of wheat as he chewed on it absentmindedly “Possibly.”
“Aw come off it Mac” Pit was already leaning over the counter, inspecting the scarlet stallion with great interest “You know stuff like this doesn’t go unheard. Who is he?”
“Caramel”
“Caramel?”
“Caramel”
“You mean the traveling colt fella?”
“Sounds about right”
Pit lowered the one brow, only to lift the other as he leaned on a hoof “All of Equestria at your hooftips and you got him?”
“Eeyep”
Pit chuckled and shook his head, his mane static in position. “I suppose it figures” he said “Leave it to you to pick someone plain”
Macintosh gave him a questioning glance. He didn’t phrase it but the look was enough.
Pit looked to the side, taking out the bigger more expensive cherries and he carried on polishing a few “Farm stallion like yourself probably wouldn’t want some sparkle colt fresh from the dances, or some big guy from the tracks. You’d want a nice safe colt to settle with.”
“Caramel’s not plain”
“Of course you’d say that.” Pit went on. He found it amusing how Mac wasn’t really bothered by his teasing. If it was then it wasn’t showing at all. “You’re with him after all. How longs it been?”
“A year and a bit”
“A ye-” Pit’s head had snapped so rapidly to face Mac’s that his cherries had promptly and untidily fell onto the counter in a little mess. Some ponies noticed, but none investigated. If anyone of them had wanted something from the stall they had promptly decided now was not a good time when they saw the seller’s face “A year and a bit? What do you mean a year and a bit! I thought it was recent.”
“Nope…” Mac was properly amused now, the edges of his chewing muzzle bore curves of a smile. It almost looked prideful “Was…the fall before last I think, I asked him.”
“Tell…”
Mac looked about “Ain’t you got customers?”
“Horsefeathers to them, I gotta hear this” Pit’s deep masculine voice held the thrills of a young girl who discovered her friend had a crush on someone in their class. His hooves were still idly fixing up the stand, but his eyes were fixed hopefully to Mac in wait for explanations. He was such a sucker for a good piece of story, though not everyone knew.
“S’not much to tell really…” Mac started up, rubbing the back of his mane in serious thought. It had been such a trivial decision for him at the time. He hadn’t thought it romantic or in any way majorly life changing, let alone news worthy. “He’d gotten back from a trip to Filiydefia I think. He liked to pop in over at our place every once in a while to make sure there wasn’t a job he was missing out on.”
“So he stalked you out”
“Naw…” Mac interjected “Mel’s like that on all his jobs. He doesn’t like it much when he gets emergency calls, especially if he has to travel for em. Likes knowing about em so he can plan his budget some.”
There was a brief pause, till Pit made a gesture with his hoof as he contemplated putting out the little ‘busy’ sign for the stall even though it wasn’t really open to begin with. Still he saw customers and he was in no mood to grumpily shoo them away “…well?”
“Well what?”
“Go on…”
“Aw shucks Pit, I dunno what you want me ta tell ya. He got home, I asked him and he said yes.”
“You guys been foolin round before that?”
“Nun.” Mac answered truthfully
“No nothing before it? Just be my coltfriend and wham?” A sharp clap of hooves again drew the attention of a few eyes, but the sales stallion looked almost livid in his disbelief.
“Mel’s always been a good friend of the family, and to me. Ain’t never come around for anything else but to work n be hospitable. He dun start flirtin with me like all the mares or start passes at me like the stallions. I could tell him anythin and he wouldn’t breath a word. He’d always be tryin hard round the fields too, always havin a nice little story for me sometimes when he felt like talkin from them far out places he goes ta.”
“Mmhmm…” Pit was nodding his head, cupped in his hooves as he leaned, becoming progressively more sassy “You sure sound deep in it that’s for sure.”
“…Mel’s my special somepony Pit” Macintosh had a firm stance in the ground. He felt good saying it. He didn’t need to say it. He didn’t need to boast. He didn’t need to tell anyone and no one needed to hear it, but he felt good saying it for himself. “Sweetest little colt you ever did meet.”
“Where is he anyway?” The absence of the sweetest little colt suddenly dawned on Pit. If he was so wonderful why wasn’t he around?
“He was getting the second cart of the apples down here. Probably with Applejack n the rest of them by now. “ Mac looked up market path. Their stall was too far off in the distance, so he couldn’t be sure. Caramel would have gotten there by now though, he was fast enough.
The brawnier and now clearly more social stallion leaned off the counter, pursing his lips somewhat in idle though “So he’s in town eh…Will have to keep an eye out. Don’t really remember what he looks like...”
“Morning Pit”
Macintosh and Pit looked the other side of where they had been looking off in the distance. Caramel was standing there, a curious look on his face, as he looked at them both expectantly “How’re the cherries this week?”
Pit spared a glance at Mac. He saw the way Mac’s lips curved up immediately at the sight. It was Macintosh’s equivalent of lighting up “Same old…I’m guessing your Caramel then.”
“Uh, yeah, I am…Oh right, we never met personally before right? Sorry” Caramel titled his head to the side, his mane neatly tucked around his neck towards the bottom, looking like chocolate sauce flowing into caramel sauce. There was a gentle pony look in his eyes, like a benevolent spirit were behind them. The sun was all the way out with the clouds gone, and the rays gave his coat a warm highlight “Can I have one?”
“One what?”
“…A cherry. Applebloom talked her way into AJ buying her some ice cream so now we’re all getting some and I need to get a cherry for mine.”
“Oh, uh” Pit looked down at the cherries he had managed to lay out, the other ones in a bit of a heap from his earlier disturbance “Sure, take anyone that strikes your fancy.”
Caramel reached inside his little side sachet and took out three bits. He put them on the stand and took a single cherry from the lot, the smallest one that he could see.
Pit squinted at the money “Wait, they’re only two bits.”
“I know” Caramel just put the cherry away in the sack curtly “I heard you drive a hard price sometimes though, so I thought I’d pay extra just in case.” He giggled a bit to himself “Last time I saw you don’t respond to smooth talk and haggling well either”
Pit fixed him with a confused and offended glance. To all watching he was a like a theater mask changing from one to the next in moments “Who’s been saying that”
“No pony. It’s just what I saw one day…or maybe because it was mare trying to sweet talk.” He gave the two another look as neither of them appeared to have anything to say to him. He nodded to Mac “I’ll try and save you some but Applebloom might steal it.” The comment was made with comical annoyance .
“I’ll be there in a spell, Mel.”
“Thanks for the cherry Pit. Hope the sales go well” Caramel said and continued on in the direction he had been facing, off to the Apple family stall. His chocolate tail swayed delightfully as he trotted in a bit of a skip from what seemed to be a good mood. Both the stallions watched him go, probably for a very similar reason.
“Well…he is cute, I give you that. Not bad.” Pit started up again when the beige pony was out of range. He looked down at his stock and started spreading them out again fussily, feeling somewhat obliged to do so suddenly “Sharp tongue too. I thought he was a bit of a shy stutter type.”
Mac nodded solemnly, still staring in the direction with a thoughtful expression Pit could only guess was love blood flooding the brain cells.
“Nice flaunty flank too. Bet he can put it to real good use if he wanted” Pit was eyeing Mac naughtily as he said it “You’ve probably already found that out though.”
“…” Mac looked at the ground, kicking the dirt some.
“…You have…made use of it, haven’t you?”
“Don’t say it like that Pit. Sounds dirty” Macintosh shot a cross expression at the other burly stallion, who seemed entirely not phased and probably even more determined to get the info.
“But it is dirty” Pit was leaning on his front hooves again, invested once more. You couldn’t see from the front but his hind legs hopped from one to the other in an out of place slightly adorable wiggle of his hind quarters. “Question is how dirty it was …” he eyed Macintosh from top to bottom. He was avoiding eye contact, having made a new friend with the ground “It’s either something embarrassingly plain or embarrassingly out there…and I wouldn’t put either past you.”
“…Was nice, that’s all I’m sayin…” Mac mumbled off into the distance, the ground or anyone else besides Pit.
“You didn’t strike me as somepony bashful around this sorta business Mac…” Pit’s arms crossed somewhat over the table. He looked the sinewy stallion up in another lighting, admiring the thick stride and bulky physique with a trained eye of judging another stallions. “…Shoot…ya must really like him…”
“I do…” Big Macintosh was looking up at the sky again. It was clear it was for everyone, so blue and vast without end, holding nothing but imagination inside them to let the mind paint their own canvases. And then he thought about Caramel for a moment more…the smiles, the laughter, the pouts…the ups…the downs…the all the way arounds.
“I’m jealous”
Macintosh lowered his gaze from the sky towards Pit. He was leaning on his cheek, one hoof absentmindedly rubbing the next in thought “How come? You get plenty a stallions yourself, Pit.”
“Yeah, but none of them stay in the hay for too long…and here’s you. That farmer colt everyone had their little hopes on, happy with his coltfriend. No doubts, no insecurities, just happy.” Pit sighed “Sometimes I wish I had that.”
The scarlet coated stallion just gave one of his usual smiles “Aw you’ll get their Pit. You’re an alright fellow. Eventually somepony’s gonna realise it. Doesn’t matter how many you have to go through to get the special one, n’ that just makes him more special if ya ask me.” Mac was eyeing a cherry of his own “I just struck lucky, is all. Caramel trotted his way right into ma life, is all.”
“Easy for you to say…”
“Reckon it is…” Mac was still eyeing a cherry, conversely a larger one that previously purchased.
Pit was busy eyeing him all the while, and looked to the side to help himself dismiss his interest “Oh just take it Mac. Your dang coltfriend already paid me more than he had to.” Pit rumbled off, waggling his hoof in the air dramatically.
Mac plucked one as tenderly as he could from the top of a pile, stashing it away quickly “Jealousy ain’t mighty attractive ta stallions these days I hear.”
“Oh yeah? And where’d you hear that Casanova?”
“You”
“Aw buck off” Pit Ship rolled his eyes to the side in great over exaggerated effort. Mac looked up him up down for just a moment, then gave a soft chuckle of amusement at the entire thing “I’ll see you around Pit. Nice seein ya” and started strolling off to the side casually.
Pit made sure the stallion took a few steps before stretching his head out and asking “Does he at least have a couple toys?”
“Ain’t got nun.” Mac half yelled back, his nonchalant walk continuing without a perturbed thought or intention “Says he doesn’t need em.”
Pit Ship bit down his muzzle on the comment he knew he had ready to fire back and turned the approaching laughter inward. He watched Mac go with a greatly amused expression fitting his thick masculine features and let some of the laughter out as he polished the last of the dirty cherries. It was as if he hadn’t even made a sad sounding comment to begin with, as he started to hum to himself in his deep tones. Onlookers would see only a bright sided thick chinned face. Those that had been watching longer might wonder how many moods the stallion planned to go through in such short bursts. He even started to whistle.
Some time passed. Sales were made. Cherries were sold to new homes. Smiles and banter shoved themselves upon the dinner table of market life. The clouds stayed out of the sky like promised, and as Celestia’s sun moved across its path, Pit Ship watched,mostly stallions, he watched. Making his own little fun of rating them a score.
But he had the most fun, when Caramel and Macintosh had their ice cream together. The stall opposite and further towards the right, right enough for Applebloom to have seen it, was chugging out sweet frozen wonders by the second. The sun was still high in the sky, and every pony could afford ice cream one way or another. The little sitting area for anyone eating food at the market was always populated. So many ponies in ponyville didn’t have market related jobs, and even more of them had time to browse the stalls. Ponyville didn’t have the major shopping buildings like Cantrolot and Fillydelpia did. This was their little shopping mall, sprawled out across the streets.
He watched them be together. Out in the open. Eating ice cream with cherries bought from him. In plain view of everypony that wanted to at them.
…It didn’t look at all like he had expected.
Pit looked at another table. A table with a stallion and mare. The mare was shyly hiding behind a menu from the nearby cake stand while the stallion rattled off what Pit guessed was either his back story, or telling her how wonderful she looked with her new mane style. She laughed and continued to try and hide herself like she was ashamed of it, even though it was clear she had really hoped he would notice. Their milkshake arrived, and he nudged it towards her expectantly. They seemed to have an overly complex and drawn out play argument over who was going to take the first sip before they eventually decided to share it, staring directly into each other’s eyes like if they stopped the world would snap in two, and ‘accidentally’ rubbed their noses together when doing so.
Pit’s gaze fell on the red and dirty brown hued stallion in turn. Caramel was idly licking the edges of his own ice cream around the base. The stoic looking Macintosh had already torn through half of his ice cream treat, but his was significantly smaller than his company. Between licks Caramel would mention something. Mac would respond to whatever it was, and it continued. They held what looked like a normal, everyday conversation of varying topics as their faces told tales of amusement, smiles, questionable material and serious faced comments. Pit ship could see it so clearly. He could see the odd companionship remark given and taken between them. He saw the interested grin in whatever Caramel had said to him, a rebuttal given what Pit knew was a counter complement that Caramel seemed brightened by with his own pleasant easy going smile. They could have been talking about anything from the farm work to the price of stock, to caramel’s trips to future plans they had, it all looked so natural in their stride. Neither was trying to impress the other, neither was trying to outwardly show the world that they were dating. There weren’t hooves bumping up against one another under the table, or hoof holding along the top.
…They were not a pair of young colts skittish about their ways…they were a pair of stallions who were in love.
“I love you” Pit murmured softly under his lips, reading Mac’s lips following the same movement. It was given as an afterthought. It came out of nowhere. They hadn’t spoken for a few movements to resign to ice cream licking when Caramel noticed his was melting. Said pony looked up, gave a pleased looking expression but didn’t say the words back. Instead he flicked his mane out of his muzzle and mumbled something back, looking slightly shy for the first time that day.
“I do” Pit lip read again. He then chuckled and said it in a his best Big Macintosh husky voice impersonation “A’ do”
…Mac was a 10. Straight up. No arguments could justify otherwise…Caramel was…Pit thought about it for a moment longer. At first glance, Pit knew he would give Caramel about a 6. He wasn’t the drop dead catch nor did he try to make himself anyway more alluring to look at day by day. But he ranked it up higher to a 8 after a few seconds of thought. Anyone who could make even Macintosh could love him deserved a few points. He did look brought out of his shell as a handsome pony when he talked to Mac. The confidence boost was probably all he really needed.
...Pit wished he saw more real couples like the two of them around. The stallion found himself quietly wishing the two good luck, as they both had ice cream
“Excuse me”
Pit stopped his partial voyeur act and turned to look at his newest customer. A zebra of all things. Exotic. Pretty defined body from neck to flank with a short mane held down. Weighty look smile and clean green eyes with a confident looking air about him. A 9 to add to the books.
“You seem entertained in something other than your job. Why is that?” The darker stranger asked
“Oh just admiring what a cute couple my friends make” Pit ship replied. He would have been of put by the intrusive question most times, but he let it slide by mood and good eye candy persuading him “Can I help you?”
“You got some fine cherries here. May I have one?”
Pit laughed inwardly. If he had a count of how many times he’d heard that outside the job he’d be rich already…He heard that the zebras were pretty spiritual too especially with matters of the heart…
…He might ask, but at least Mac and Caramel didn’t seem to need any divination…