Chapter IV
The morning sun's rays effortlessly pierced though what remained of Macintosh's thinly-veiled dream. They were surprisingly lurid today. Slowly stretching the legs under his body, he savoured the last remnants of rest. It had been a good night, strangely enough. Even though he managed to crash himself multiple times against the wall, almost break the bones in his new appendages and startle both of his sisters, he somehow still got a lion's share of sleep. Yawning, he finally decided to open his eyes and raise up. Winged or not, he should at the very least prepare his ceremonial breakfast.
Though doing so from the roof of the Apple household seemed counter-intuitive at very best.
He sleepwalked. Sometimes. All in all, it might had happened twice or thrice before. Usually he would drop himself near the fireplace or relocate to the barn, waking up head-covered in hay.
But this time, he somehow managed to fly himself on the roof.
Why can't anything be easy any more?
The house wasn't that tall, he tried to reason with himself. He also had wings. It can't be that hard getting down. Take a slight jump off the side and glide to terra firma safely. He didn't have any other choice anyway - climbing down the chimney would be awkward and he could swear he'd jam himself somewhere around the mid-point.
Mac slowly walked over to the edge, looking down and judging the height. The choice was simple. He could either wait for Applejack to wake up and ask for a ladder from the barn. Which would not only embarrass himself but also needlessly task his sister. Or he could jump and try to land.
Here goes nothing.
__________________________________________________________
Applejack was woken up by, strangely, not the chicken's screech. Instead, the sound made her think about somepony trying to violently hit the chicken with a heavy object. She dismissed the silly image and quickly picked herself up from her bed. Grabbing her towel from the rack, she immediately headed to the bathroom. She had to be fast if she wanted to stir something good up for her brother. After what he had gone through yesterday, he well-deserved it.
As she entered the bathroom, the first thing that caught her eyes was the horrendous mess all over the sink. Granny Smith's favourite ointment had been spilt all over the floor, somehow even managing to land on the rear wall and stain the window. Applejack grumbled something before trotting over to the counter, pulling out a mop with her mouth and dragging out a fibre with her hoof. It seems cleaning herself will have to wait; cleaning the room comes first.
__________________________________________________________
His hay stalk held firmly in place, Macintosh was finally enjoying himself after the horrible gauntlet of unfortunate events. With quick jabs of his mouth, he sent the pancakes flying from one pan to another. Apple fritters were already roasting, the pleasant aroma filling his nostrils. Stewed apples bubbled pleasantly. He always wanted to try the recipe after one of his cousins from Stalliongrad shared it with him on the last Apple Family Meet-up.
They're actually somewhat useful.
The intense heating rising from the stove was constantly beaming against his face. The light from Celestia's sun didn't help much either. Strangely though, he found his wings invaluable in such situation. He flapped them up and down, slowly, taking large arcs to gather as much air as he could, cooling himself bit by bit.
With a twitch of his ear, he managed to hear the wooden stairs creak. He shrugged slightly; she'll have to wait for her meal a little bit longer. With that, he grabbed the pan and flapped the pancakes around once more.
"Mornin' Mac," Applejack said still almost half-yawning. Her hair was a bit messy - she clearly didn't put enough effort in her (still minimal) grooming.
"Ye seem t'be feelin' better today," she continued. The large stallion turned over his head for a second, gently nodding.
"Eeeyup."
"When's the food?"
"Five minutes."
"Sweet. Eh, Mac..." Applejack finally made the attempt to stir the topic in the right direction, leaning against the frame to the living room while her brother shoved himself around the kitchen left and right.
"Eeeyup?"
"Ah stayed up a tad and managed to sew ye somethin' for today, least Ah could do."
He gave her an inquisitive expression.
"We had some ol' fabrics and scraps lyin' around the closet so Ah figured we might as well put 'em to good use. Ah made ye a cloak to hide them wings of yers," she smiled sheepishly.
"...that's mighty nice of ye Jacks."
"Don't mention it. As Ah've said, least Ah could do."
The realization finally shot through his head. That, or the cork of the kettle as the water finished boiling.
"Whadd'ya mean ye ain't comin'?" he asked somewhat confused, massaging the temple of his head from the fresh hit.
"Well, Ah don't know if ya noticed, but somepony has t'keep an eye on th'farm. Ya don't leave 'ere all too often, but now Ah guess it's my turn to keep watch," she replied with a slight hint of sarcasm. True, he was the one to stay at the farm. He or Granny Smith. But since the old mare wouldn't be coming back to the Acres until later this evening, the obvious task really did fall on Applejack's shoulders.
"Ya'll walk Applebloom to school then, and drop by Twilight's on yer way back. Say, how long has it been since y'walked the filly, hmm?"
"About... three years or so?"
She only replied with a snide smirk.
Something fizzled behind Mac's head.
"Drat, pancakes!" he yelped as he quickly turned around fanning his wings to cool the thing down.
__________________________________________________________
The rest of the early morning was rather dull and thankfully uneventful. The two ate their breakfast in relative silence, Applejack trying for her worst to stir up a conversation. She insisted that if he's going to visit Twilight on his own, he should be at least able to tell her more than Eyups and Nopes. If he's trying to find help, he needs to go out and ask for it, instead of waiting for someone to guess his problems.
Macintosh didn't really pay attention to half of her rant, though he did register her making a few valid points.
It's just the fact he wasn't comfortable speaking to other ponies. Of course, he knew all of Applejack's friends, and even some other individuals such as Lyra, Bon-Bon and even Caramel. Still, they didn't know him. He could possibly hurt them, or come off as insensitive or plain rude. For the better, he had been limiting his interactions with other ponies for years now. At least that is what the stallion kept telling himself.
Soon Applejack went out into the fields for her daily share of chores, today doubly so as she took her brother's duties upon herself, again. Helping the only way he could, Mac was content in cleaning the dishes and putting away the stewed apples to cool off. Just as he pulled the fritters outside, another filly descended from the first floor.
"Mornin' Big Mac!" Applebloom was ecstatic. Unlike her older sister, she was well-kept and rested. His red feather was still hanging from over her right ear. As she trotted closer, her eyes instantly went wide. With a quick swipe and a slight jump, the filly nagged one apple fritter from the plate, which was still held in Mac's mouth.
I swear she's too good at this.
"Umhm, Big Mac, why arn't ye in the fields?" she stopped munching on her meal half-way, turning over at her brother from the chair.
"Ah'll be walkin' ye t'school today. Ah've go—"
"Whaa, ye haven't done so in... in a very long time! Ah swear ye won't recognise some of my friends. Hah, they won't recognise ye too!" she mused to herself while happily devouring the fritter. In no time, he could swear she learned magic just to make the batter invisible. She was such a motor mouth. Macintosh couldn't even explain the situation at all as the filly kept rambling on and on.
Soon enough, both of them left the house, the stallion dressed in a makeshift, multi-coloured cloak tucked under his yoke.
__________________________________________________________
As the pair left the Acres far behind them, the distinct buildings of Ponyville came into view. It was still some time before they would arrive, and little Applebloom did not waste a minute gushing about even most irrelevant topics. He managed to filter out most of her silly banter, content enough to enjoy the view of the clouds in the sky. Something was drawing his attention to the white blobs high above him.
Of course, it's no secret that natural pegasi magic allowed them to interact with the ethereal puff like an earth pony would do with his tools. The city of Cloudsdale was forged entirely out of the white material. Finally, a most silly notion came through his mind.
...Maybe I can stand on clouds now, too? I... I do have wings, that's not much of a stretch.
Applebloom's nagging became more and more apparent. Even he could no longer ignore her. He could swear she also started speaking with a few new voices. He quickly shook his head, clearing his stray thoughts.
The two were almost in the middle of Ponyville, crowds of ponies walking around them busy with their own lives. Some of these politely slowed down and exchanged nods and greetings with Applebloom. To his surprise, they even gave him a polite bow of their heads. He didn't recognise any of these ponies, but as good manners would have it, he returned each and every one of them a nod as well.
He really didn't appreciate the commotion. Sometimes ponies would dash right beside him, almost running into him - or rather, he would run them over instead. He didn't mind crowds - he enjoyed his peace and quiet. He could easily suppress that silly need. Mac, however, did mind the stray pony's physically interaction with him in one way or another. And many of them weren't neither as experienced as Applejack or Applebloom. One wrong movement, one wrong step and he could be charged with assault or even send an innocent to the hospital with a broken hoof or two.
Still, the siblings managed to get through half of the town without causing any calmor. If he managed well so far, he could surely hold out for the rest of the trip. Macintosh even managed to spot the Books and Branches resting over the hill, his destination as soon as he's done dropping off Applebloom at her school.
And Macintosh would mean "drop off" literally, as the little filly had since climbed on his back, resting over his wings.
"Applebloom..."
"Ye said they itch, hmm? Well, how about Ah make sure ye don't do anything stupid and accidentally flap them or somethin'. 's just a piece of cloth," her explanation was shoddy at the very best, but he would oblige. It's his little sister after all.
He had grown to using that explanation for anything now, hadn't he?
The two had left the crowded, busy side of the town, now making their way through a much more spacious district of lush gardens and small rivers. The sparse pony traffic was a source of relief for the big stallion. Still, some of the passerbyes he only knew by glance would flock even closer to him in their greetings. Sometimes commenting silently on his brotherly devotion.
They really think I can't hear them from here, do they?
The paved road they walked on was nearing its end, a single stone bridge would lead them over the river into the school grounds. Aside from trees and bushes, this area was almost empty.
Just a single, large building stood out like a sore hoof. The ground underneath it was slightly tilled, marks of something incredibly heavy dragged along lead directly to the walls. There was a single purple pony with a dark mane overseeing the building, trotting around it and paying curious glances to the walls and the ground around it. She was a peculiar sight, as the mare lapsed from a happy grin to a look of fury as her eyes jumped between the pristine planks and the ravaged soil.
Celestia have mercy, because Berry Punch surely wouldn't spare none.
In a cruel, though unavoidable, twist of fate, the violet mare turned her eyes away from her household just at that moment. Her gaze instantly locked down on Big Macintosh. A most sinister grin crept on her face. The stallion could swear his heartbeat suddenly got unnaturally fast. Even though he could feel his entire body tensing up, he would display none of it.
At least, under normal circumstances he wouldn't.
As soon as she made a step forward, his wings instantly flared up in shock. Little Applebloom wasted not a second, spreading herself across his back trying to hold them down. It looked awkward, to say the least. With each step, Mac's expression would remain unchanged, yet his back would bump up and down furiously.
"Big Mac, heehsh! Calm down! Ye'll blow ye cover!" the filly tried to mumble to his ear, although it proved to be more than troublesome.
Finally, Berry Punch stopped.
Right in front of the red behemoth. His perfect poker face betrayed nothing, unlike his back. Applebloom was still wiggling around against his wings. Finally, her patience had ran out as she bucked Macintosh forcefully on his neck. Even though he did not budge, it had a positive effect - his wings simply froze. Success.
"Good morning, Macintosh Apple. And to you too, little Applebloom," she spoke in a surprisingly soft tone.
"Howdy," Appelbloom replied from her brother's back. He, however, remained silent.
"Beautiful weather we're having now, hmmm?"
"Eeeyup," he finally drawled.
"Ah, I'm glad you share my enthusiasm towards weather-gazing. See, I enjoy the warm sun's rays beaming through my window, gently waking me up each consecutive day. There's just this tiny problem, a petty one you see. I'm sure you find this a laughable subject, really..." she trailed off.
Mac knew well enough where this was headed.
"...but I find it hard to enjoy my mornings now that my quarters face the west, you see?"
This came as an absolute shock to the stallion. He had braced himself for a most impressive shout, but it never came.
"Somehow, just yesterday, my house had found itself dragged across the entire town. I'm sure you noticed the trails leading all the way here. I swear I was dreaming that day, it was just so surreal. Like one of those abstract paintings. But, I'm sure you know, that was not a dream. It was real, yes? Of course it was. Because that RED STALLION WHO PULLED MY HOME OFF ITS FOUNDATIONS AND HOPPED MARRILY THROUGH PONYVILLE WITH NOT A SINGLE WORRY ON HIS DARNED HEAD WAS YOU, MACINTOSH APPLE!!"
His winged bumped up against Applebloom one more time.
"Eeyump. Ah'm mighty sorry Miss Punch."
Mac noticed something he hadn't before. Right there, lying behind the opened door - rope.
"Glad you are. So, how about we get to fixing this little inconvenience. That's why you're here after all, yes?"
"E..eyup. Ah... nnope... ugh..." she had him deadlocked.
"Let me get the necessities then..." the mare muttered as she turned around.
As on a cue, Applebloom quickly jumped on Macintosh's head, hastily making a mess out of his mane.
"Work with meh, Big Mac," she whispered to his ear just before forcibly pulling it down. The filly slid down back unto earth, tugging the cloak's side around his yoke, covering his front a bit more.
By the time Berry Punch turned around, rope in her mouth, the presentable stallion looked as if he had seen nothing less than a windigo blizzard.
"We're sorry Miss Berry Punch, but big brother Macintosh is here just to drop me off t'school. He'll be going for his medicine right away and then stay at bed t'whole day!" she exaggerated her gestures to a ridiculous degree.
"Whehl..." she spat the rope down. "If that's the case, then why didn't you say so sooner? I wouldn't have insisted were I to know your brother's so sick."
He was bad at lying. Not as bad as Applejack, though if there was anything that would break his stalwart poker face, it was a blatant lie. He decided to remain silent in this conversation.
"Thank'ye for understandin', Miss Berry Punch!" Applebloom's head was basically constantly bobbing up and down.
"Ah, don't worry Applebloom. Pray tell when your brother gets better, alright?"
"Will do Miss Berry Punch!"
The mare gave the filly a gentle pat on her head as she moved closer to Mac.
"...next week."
She walked away from him, and for a second he could swear he was standing right next to himself. His little sister was resting against his right leg, breathing heavily. Her peace was quickly cut short by a familiar bell ringing from across the river.
"Drats. Ugh, ye won't meet mah friend then, Big Mac. Got to go!" she was already on the bridge shouting the last part before disappearing behind the chiselled rock.
And thus he found himself alone, with a certain mare's gaze weighting him down more than any physical exhaustion. She circled him like a wolf, slowly closing distance to its pray. Nothing could escape her inspecting eye.
"You don't look that sick at all. Normally ponies are all flared up when sick. Or at least I am.... It's the coat, right?"
"Eh... eheyup," he muttered slightly. He wasn't technically lying - his red coat did help him hide both flares and blushes.
Like it did now.
"Why are you wearing this old rug anyway? It's not like you're heating up before a warm bath or anything," she continued, getting uncomfortably close. Finally, she nonchalantly prodded his covered side with her hoof.
His wing reacted appropriately, though Mac was slightly more conscious of them after Applebloom's direct approach, fluttering slightly and making the cloak shake a bit.
"Ah... what's that?" she had already raised her hoof when Mac finally turned around, nervously stepping back.
"Oh, you're hiding something? Don't, I know it's something to further break my house down. I'm sure of it. Now spill the grapes!" her voice much more demanding now.
"Eeeh...yu... Ah mean nope! Enope!" he muttered slightly, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
Though his face was twisting and turning in a series of horrible grimaces with each sound coming out of his mouth.
"Ah, tell me, you! I can't let you work with my house if you're going to blow it up! Or set it on fire! Or paint it red! Or..." she continued to list reason after ridiculous reason.
At this moment, Macintosh felt something cold against his flank.
Haystacks.
He bumped his rump against the dead stone of the bridge, and Berry Punch's slow trot was unrelenting, just as her more and more pressing demeanour.
"Oh, good morning Berry Punch, Macintosh."
A soft, methodical voice quickly interrupted whatever mania Berry Punch had gotten herself into. Mac felt incredibly relieved. A purple unicorn stepped down from the bridge, giving them both a polite nod. He returned it quickly, while his assailant hesitated for a second before once again going through a complete flip of personality.
"Oh, good morning to you too, Twilight Sparkle. I see the book delivery went swimmingly?"
"Not as bad as I planned for it to go, no, so I guess I should be grateful for that. And... umm... what brings you outside the farm so early, Big Macintosh?" she turned her head towards the stallion.
Come on, come on. Speak to her. She won't help you if you keep mumbling like you always do. Just this once.
"...ah... Ah guess Ah need some help from ye, Miss Sparkle," he finally spoke out of his own volition, though as soon as anything cohere came out of his mouth, he quickly broke eye contract with the purple unicorn.
A mild expression of shock jolted over Twilight's face, making her raise an eyebrow in regards to Macintosh's curious behaviour.
"I guess it's pretty serious if came to me directly. It's about the farm, isn't it?"
"Eeyup," it was not a lie, per se.
"If I am to help you, I'll need peace and quiet to evaluate the problem. Let's discuss everything in detail at the library, all right, Big Macintosh?"
"Eeyup."
"He's sick," Berry Punch interjected bluntly.
"Oh! Well, I have a book just with a few simple remedies, though I'd still suggest you go talk to Nurse Redheart."
"'s not about that," another look of shock went through both the stallion and Twilight.
"Well... um... I guess we should get trotting then."
"Eeyup," he drawled slightly more enthusiastically than he should.
"Well, good day then. And remember Macintosh Apple. Next. Week."
The purple earth pony finally gave up, turning around and slowly walking back to her migrated household.
"Now... what was that about, Big Macintosh?"
__________________________________________________________
The walk to the library was mostly uneventful. Majority if not all ponies were occupied, tending to their work or busy being somewhere else but the street the pair had decided to take. They walked slowly in solemn silence - something usual and cherished by the stallion. Still, he could feel her analytic gaze stuck from on his right flank, though for far different reasons. His cloak was slightly rugged from the earlier hassle, and it managed to loose itself right at that spot, revealing just a tiny feather of his wing.
Still, she said not a word. He was becoming unsure if this suited him any longer.
Finally, they reached the Books and Branches. Macintosh stopped before the door, stepping aside with a polite nod. Twilight returned the gesture as the door swung open from a magical grip.
The inside was a nice sight for the eyes - the entire main room was bathed in strands of sunlight cutting through the windows. Placed right in the middle of the circular area was a single "table" - a piece of the hollowed tree left to imitate furniture. One could see specks of dust dance in the beams illuminating the books. Still, these were sparse, a testament to just how well Twilight and her assistant managed to keep this place.
"You're back home early. Have to wait for your lunch though, I wasn't expecting you back so fast!" came a familiar voice from over to the small passage to the left of the library.
"It's fine, Spike. What are we having anyway?" the mare replied.
"Roasted dandelions."
"Good. Get to it, I have some work to do over here myself," she finished on a warm note.
"So then. What's the problem? If you're sick you should have really went for the hospital instead. I... I know some herbal remedies and traditional cures from my books, but this doesn't change the fact I deal mainly in magical maligns."
"Ehh... Miss Twilight... Ah... about that," he was unsure how to start.
"Ye may wanna sit down."
She only manage to make a curious face, slowly walking back to the table.
Macintosh gently tucked against his cloak with his mouth. It didn't want to come off. It seemed Applebloom had shoved it harder underneath his yoke than he would like.
"Um... would you like some help with that?"
"Nhphne, Ahmhm fhine."
Darn she bound it well.
With no other choice, Macintosh pulled a side of the cloak forcibly and, at the same time, unfurled his wings. The piece of stitched materials quickly shot up, building an impressive hump on his back. It lowered down quickly, the clothing apparently tied in a knot underneath his belly. He would have to try again with slightly more force.
Not that Twilight didn't have her jaw already down on the floor by this time.
One last time, Mac simultaneously pulled his cloak with his mouth while spreading the wings as hard as he could. Finally, with a satisfying rip, the coil gave away to pressure. The tattered sack came flying down from his back, dropping down on the floor near him in an impressive storm of loose feathers from Applebloom's charade. He himself spread his additional limbs to their fullest, finally letting them catch some fresh air.
Attaining their maximum length, his wings towered over both him and the mare, reaching all the way to the impressive ceiling. Were he to jump, he could actually tip it. Still, he swung them down, trying to get a feel of them whole. Stray feathers, still clinging between one another, we left in the descent's wake. With a final deep breath, Macintosh tucked his wings, though not entirely. They hovered at his sides, still catching as much air as they could.
For most of the spectacle, Twilight just stared blankly at Macintosh, her mouth dangerously unhinged. She managed to mutter a silent "whoa" when he had brought them down. Now, slightly more composed, she just looked at him with her mouth closed, breathing in and out deeply through her nose.
"Ahm sorry Miss Sparkle... Ah... Ah kinda had t'a."
"You came to the correct place indeed," she muttered, her mind still running wild through the possible causes. Methodically, she trotted over to Macintosh and began examining each and every bit of his body.
"Could you flap it once for me, Big Macintosh?"
"Eeeyup," he said somewhat unsure of himself.
"That's good... umm.. fine, now the other one please."
In the coming minutes she had scanned him thoroughly. Technically, every bit of his body was where it should be. His legs were correctly joined, his neck wasn't deformed, his flanks were still standing correctly in relation to his tail.
But for some reason, his shoulders sprung outwards into two large claws of flesh, bone and sinew. That, and feathers.
With a fizzle in the air, her horn began glowing with the lavender miasma. A series of four books flew from random sections of the library, dancing around her in a matriculate manner. Every so often, one would lower itself down and open before her gaze, its pages flipping on an invisible wind. Then, they would stop and the tome would float away as another took its place.
She finally noticed the large stallion staring at her with worry in his eyes. His mouth was half-opened, as if he was trying to start speaking. She didn't give him a chance.
"It's fine, really. Make yourself at home while I figure out what's wrong with you, hmm? Earth ponies don't grow wings overnight just-like-that...".
"That's what Ah've been sayin'," he retorted silently, turning around over to the impressive collection of literature.
He walked over to the shelf, neatly labelled as "Sky, Astronomy and Space". Searching up and down, he finally found his favourite Almanac.
"Miss Sparkle, can ah—" he turned his head only to notice a hurricane of scrolls, quills, inks and most importantly, books and tomes of all kinds swirling around the unicorn as she muttered phrases and exempts from them to herself.
I guess she won't mind at all.
He grabbed the book with his mouth with utmost care. Such things were highly praised by the stallion, and he would make sure no harm would come to these classics. Twirling around, he set out to the unoccupied table. As he gently dropped his new reading material, he noticed a small drake standing in the doorway, shocked with its jaw agape. He himself was locked in the middle of an awkward pose, teeth still gently touching the firm cover. He opened his eyes to their fullest, a sense of embarrassment creeping over his mind.
The only thing piercing the awful silence was Twilight's constant, low and absent-minded mutter.
"Wow, allergies hit hard, don't they?"