Chapter V
Hour by hour crept past, accompanied spell by another confusing spell. Macintosh slowly began to had enough. He could easily judge it was well past noon - the luminous rays subtly changed their angles since his arrival to Books and Branches. And in all that time, he had barely managed to read another chapter from his astrological book. Wave after wave of magic flushed over his body, either doing nothing in particular or inducing another crazy effect. And of those he swore he could make a list by now - he had been shrunk, grown, his mane and coat had been re-coloured a dozen times, he changed into a pig, a sheep and a bunny. He swore he could feel his tail turn into a fish's flipper one time. Finally, Twilight somehow managed to show him what it meant to be a mare. Thank Celestia that change was the briefest.
As he mused, another flash of light blinded him momentarily. Twilight, yet again, sent a magical probe through his body before they both collapsed. Mac had tucked his wings down and took on a most defensive position, still afraid he would somehow end up a splatter on the wall, just like back when the unicorn made his hooves all slippery.
The mare, on the other hand, let her head hit the ground in with audible thud. She sighed forcefully, blowing a gust of warm air from her nostrils in apparent frustration. A single wooden cup of water slid by her face as her eyes met with those of her small drake. Somehow, he managed to sneak by the two unnoticed.
"You're giving up now or should I prepare the broom in case of another hurricane?" he asked sarcastically, grinning slightly at his sister.
"..." Twilight's response consisted only of silence as she gulped down the refreshment with aid of her telekinesis.
"I just don't know. I tried everything - every transfiguration spell, every physical enchantement, thanks for the water Spike, even that one spell Starswirl deemed too dangerous to use on other ponies. Nothing. Not. A. Single. Reaction. It all comes bouncing back. Argh, my mind is in shambles," she fell rolling over on her back.
Mac had almost forgotten being turned into a clay saucer for a minute. He simply couldn't fathom Twilight's fascination with bowl-making spells. Still, he let that thought slide. A much more dire sensation came over him quick enough.
The Element of Magic and probably the only unicorn in the entire area with such deep understanding of arcane lore, couldn't help him. His wings remained connected to his back, taunting him with their mere existence. He gave them an angry flap before tucking them down again.
"Ah... Ah'm mighty sorry for troublin' ye like that, Miss Sparkle," his voice was laced with sincere regret. He barged into her home and needlessly pestered her, even though she probably had much, much more vital task to do.
"Think nothing of it, Macintosh."
His eyes and ears (and wings) momentarily perked up. He was not expecting such response.
"You're a challenge for me. I thought I had known most of transfiguration magic like the back of my hoof. It only took a few chapters to turn bunnies into stallions and give Rarity her own pair of wings... yet no matter what I do, I can't seem to take yours away," she started with a mutter, and quickly escalated into a lecture on the history of her magic mishaps.
"No, you're not troubling me. At all. In fact, stay a little longer. I'm not giving up before I solve this riddle. That, and you're a friend of mine - friends take great lengths to help friends, don't they?" she finished with a cheerful grin before snapping her head to the side - another array of books covered in purple mist jutted from the case and levitated before her.
"Ah'm... uhm... thanks, Miss Spark--" he drawled underneath his breath, but was quickly interrupted by the unicorn.
"Sssh, I'm trying to think here," she gave him a rather soft warning and an audible hush.
The big mountain blushed once again, gently taking a step back over to his table. He always considered Twilight Sparkle to be a mysterious, introvert mare. Of course, he had heard of her many adventures, most of those retold first-hoof from his own sister, the Element of Honesty herself. Still, the leader of their party was an unicorn - they worked with magic, practically breathing it in their every step. It was helpful, yes, but it facilitated tardiness.
How can one truly know the burden and dedication of hard work if one could just wish everything into place with a fickle of one's horn? He always stood fast in his belief - all unicorns are the same. The occasional customer from Canterlot would only reaffirm his beliefs. For whatever reason, all of the magical ponies from the capital took bonus time to rub in just how superior they are to everypony, even if they just came to order a few tonnes of apples for another of their silly royal parties.
Yet the storm of knowledge and writs behind his back was a nasty scar on his theory. She had probably forsaken her entire day just to help a stranger like him. She endured almost four or more hours of casting her spells, a chore clearly as tasking to her as pulling a broken plough for him. When that failed to bring any resolution, she simply whiskered him away and continued on her research into his matter. Macintosh understood that for a pony to be truly strong, one should have both able body and an illustrious mind - and working on the former was just as important as on the latter.
Can't believe I'm thinking this. I'm admiring... an unicorn?
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind once more. Maybe a few chapters of the Almanac would do him just good enough? He trotted over to his table only to find his prized book... missing, replaced by a small dragon trying to read his text upside-down.
"...I don't get it, it's gibberish," he put the book down on his laps, looking quizzically at Big Macintosh.
The stallion simply nudged the hard cover with his muzzle, turning it around. "There."
"Huh?" was Spike's only response. He looked at the pony with puzzled face, provoking the same response from the stallion.
"Somethin' wrong?"
"You are."
With these words, Macintosh looked mighty offended at the assistant.
"I mean, you're speaking. I haven't seen you saying more than yups and nopes since... darn, almost an year or more!" the young dragon's frankness drilled through his calm demeanour.
He's right.
"Ah'm... not a talkative type," he retorted conscious of himself.
"Heh, sure you aren't. I mean, it only took your entire world flipping upside-down... literally... to get you to talk," the drake chuckled.
Mac simply stood in silence, not sure how to respond to that.
"I didn't mean to insult you or anything... I was just laying down the facts," he shrugged, breaking eye-contact. Spike took his claw and turned the page, revealing another mouth-drawn graph of the night sky and a dozen of constellations.
"What do you see in these anyway? I swear they made more sense upside-down. At least they looked prettier."
"Ah don't know. 's just... helps the mind wonder, y'know? Ah like to think 'bout... things when Ah'm tired.".
Drat. Spike almost effortlessly coaxed the stallion in a conversation.
"So... they're just drawings for you then?" the dragon looked flummoxed.
"Eenope. Some of these have a practical use. Ah mean, 's the Ursa Major, yup? This star shines th' brightest in the night. Ye can't miss it. An' it's always poitin' north to boot."
"That's... interesting. And this one?" he pointed to another graph with his sharp little claw.
By this time Big Macintosh found himself seated on the floor with Spike lying on his belly just near him. They both peered over the "Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy", the stallion tapping his muzzle dot against dot, explaining the significance of each star in the night sky. The draconic assistant would listen, something in Mac's voice drawing his attention. His explanations were much more down-to-earth and laypony. When Twilight explained him her thesis, he would doze off instantly - it was so... alien and simply impossible to understand. Yet the red giant near him managed to put all of this arcane material into words simple enough for even the most stubborn to understand.
On the other side of the argument, Big Mac found spending his time in... enjoyment. He was talking, constantly almost, going into every little detail he could remember while the little dragon would just nod or occasionally ask an easy question. It must've been the unicorn's influence - he was much more receptive to learning than little Applebloom. A shocking thought crossed Mac's mind - he was speaking to a stranger and enjoying it. Almost as well as he did teaching his sister basic algebra. He felt something tingle in him. An emotion that hadn't surfaced for ages now.
He felt he was making a new friend.
__________________________________________________________
They managed to study what amounted to good four chapters of lore and sky analysis before the little dragon lost his interest. Big Macintosh continued to read, regardless. Twilight was still busy, trotting up and down the house. She would leap into the kitchen and then backtrack all the way to her bedroom. All that time a long line of books followed her. The stallion was amazed by her coordination - not only did she manage to flawless navigate a flight of stairs and evade all the previously discarded tomes on the ground, but in fact she never even broke eye-contact with her current subject, reading as she went.
His newly forming rope of thoughts was quickly cut short by a gentle tug on his side. He felt something, or rather, someone poking at his left wing. With a most content and gentle smile, he unfurled it slightly, catching the little custodian off guard. Unlike his sister, he only took a few steps back.
"So... have you ever tried flying with these yet? I'm kinda envious..."
"Eenope. Well um... Ah did, but Ah wouldn't call that flyin'."
The dragon chuckled. "What, did you fly into a barn or something?"
"...eeyup."
"It's harder than it looks, isin't it?"
"Eeyup... wasn't that obvious?" Mac added with a tiniest hint of sarcasm. Spike was definitely rubbing off on him.
"Rarity had no trouble going airborne as soon as she got her pair. Granted, they weren't real..." the dragon gently pulled on his non-existent beard.
"You know, you should really try to give it one more shot. If I were you I wouldn't stand sitting on the ground like that and just let them go to waste," he continued, electing to pester the stallion with more pokes to the delicate feathers.
"Why do ya wanna fly so bad?"
Seeing through Spike's badly-hidden disguise was a foal's play.
"Umm, duh? I'm a dragon, remember? Too young for that, true, but one day... I'll have my own pair of wings! And when I'll grow big, I'll be able to take other ponies on flights around town! And... and... maybe I'll be able to take Rarity on a lovely fly-over of entire Ponyville?" the little creature was lost in his blissful thoughts.
...which were quickly interrupted by a pained groan as the owner of the library slammed the door leading to another section of the building, walking in as she discarded the last book onto the rather impressive pile...
"I can now fully, absolutely and with no hint of guilt say that I've managed to read through all the magical reference manuals in this entire library and find exactly nothing relevant to our case," Twilight Sparkle almost shouted in frustration before she lowered herself down on the ground, lying on her back against the stairs, exhausted. She held her hooves by her head, rolling left and right.
"'s fine Miss Sparkle. Ah'm... Ah don't mind them too much...".
I do. A lot.
His lie was blatant, with both her and Spike looking at him in sheer disbelief. The unicorn more so than the dragon.
"Ummm, I might be stupid saying this but... what if the cause isn't magic-magic? You know Twilight..." his voice slowly lowered itself until it was barely more than a whisper.
Another beat of silence. Mac was becoming awfully irritated with these.
The unicorn's mouth opened slowly at first, and then gradually sped up until she stood up, flabbergasted. The stallion could swear he saw a small twinkle of a star in her eyes before she quickly galloped into the kitchen.
"Spike! Where did you put that book Zecora gave me on Monday?!" came a yell from the aforementioned room. The little dragon quickly got up from his rump and dashed over to one of the piles, digging in like an experienced diver.
The large red stallion still sat there, his mind trying to wrap up what had transpired around him. An idea was hatched and an order was swiftly issued. The atmosphere changed completely. The little assistant, just as suddenly as he had disappeared, pushed himself out of the pile. He was carrying an old book, green soft-cover. It was visibly old and well-worn. A small inscription of a herb and a mortar adorned it's front.
"SPIKE?! What's the meaning of this?!".
It didn't sound like Twilight at all. In fact, Mac could swear somepony somehow managed to sneak an Ursa Minor into the kitchen. The mare slowly walked outside, a single empty vial held in her magical grip. Small drops of liquid had gathered on the bottom.
"I... umm... I have no idea, honestly," he stammered slightly, but was quickly regaining his composure. It seems the dragon was well used to such outbursts, seldom they were.
"You were supposed to keep it off the stove. We needed that to ferment before I could work on the recipe any more. Why did you..." her tone had changed yet again. She wasn't frustrated, or even remotely angry. The mare sounded disappointed.
"Now wait right here before you get all "I'm not angry I'm just disappointed" on me."
They really are like siblings.
"I tucked it away on the windowsill. Maybe you should ask Owlowiscious if he managed to grab himself a shiny bottle last night, hmmm? Now, where did you find it."
"Discarded at near the trash bin.".
"Well, I haven't touched it then," the dragon crossed his arms and huffed.
Haystacks.
"I don't know who touched it, but this doesn't change the fact I had a base of a potion ready to ferment yesterday and now I'm left with a shoddy excuse for a clean bottle," she proceeded to shake the vial left and right a couple of times to make her point.
Macintosh managed to rather easily grab their attention by railing himself up and spreading his wings again, his posture expanding well enough to bathe almost half of the room in red. As soon as the two were done with their squabble, he tucked them in and coughed slightly, his eyes avoiding Twilight.
"Ah'm... Ah may had somethin' t'do with that, Miss Sparkle..."
"Ugh? What do you mean? You weren't here in a long while no—"
"At th'party, Miss Sparkle."
Something clicked in her mind. "But I locked the kitchen. Only Spike and I had the key."
"Miss Sparkle... 's was Pinkie who umm... forced me t'down this thing," he hesitantly pointed his hoof at the vial.
He could swear the gears in the mare's head were basically falling down upon themselves in a fiery inferno.
"And Pinkie got inside the kitchen how exactly?.
"Miss Sparkle..."
"Yes, Big Macintosh?"
"Pinkie Pie," he looked awkwardly at the ground.
"...you have a point," with that, the unicorn quickly turned around and went back into the room from which she came, dropping the subject quicker than he would make apples fall after a good buck. Spike, meanwhile, found himself busy packing her saddlebags with the book and the half-emptied vial. The dragon managed to notice Mac staring at him.
"Well, if you lived with her for as long as I did, you'd knew what this means," the little creature replied in a wry tone before picking up another book - this one much better preserved.
"Ah dun' get it," the stallion replied.
"You're going to Zecora's place, that's what. Twilight's been dabbling with alchemy barely enough for a week now, so if your little "malady" here is the cause of that, she'll probably take you to somepony more knowledgeable."
He knew Zecora from sight, and from his sister's tales. A zebra, creature he only read about in stories and ponytales. And she apparently lived right in Everfree forest, one of the few places he was truly afraid to venture into. As far as he recalled, the ponies of Ponyville had grown to accept the... could he even call her a mare? Yet, as much as he tried, he just couldn't find himself capable of... even looking at the creature. There was something alien, unknown about her. He wasn't sure if he could truly trust her - for all he had known, Applejack shrunk and Applebloom managed to brew almost three deadly concoctions so far.
And now he would have to go and personally visit the enchantress.
Haystacks.
__________________________________________________________
"I said don't move. Just one more tug, I'm sure you can handle it..." Twilight sparkle muttered as she focused her magical grip on a long strand of bandage material. It came from underneath Macintosh's belly, and was long enough to make at least two more turns around the stallion.
If he wanted to get rid of those wings, he would have to visit the zebra in Everfree. And this meant leaving the library's sheltered space. Of course he would do anything to hide his current condition, but without his sister's patchwork rug, concealing a pair of giant, feathered appendages proved more than a challenge. He was in luck however, for the unicorn magician hatched a simple plan quicker than he would even dread to think of such an idea.
So there he was, wrapped thick in innumerable layers of bandage. With a snap of last strand, Twilight levitated her own saddlebags over and gave the front door a good punt, letting the fresh air blow inside Books and Branches.
"We'll be back by sundown, try to keep this place in something remotely similar to order," she turned around already outside, smirking at her assistant.
"No worries Twilight. I'll try to wrap up your magical hurricane and that tidal wave as soon as I can. No need to worry, it'll just take mere minutes," his reply laced with sarcasm, dripping down almost visible holes to Big Mac's eyes.
With another slam of the door, he was more than sure there would be no turning back. The village before him was bathed in warm, afternoon sun. The morning hassle was long gone, replaced with a leisure atmosphere of everyday ponies either tending to their stable businesses or slowly trotting to and fro in their spare moments. Normally, he would notice Applejack's strand near the Sugarcube Corner, catching stray ponies in her clever merchant traps. She always made good business.
"Big Macintosh, are you coming? Ummm..." the mare looked at him with a somewhat worried expression, her voice quite clearly signalling she was unsure what to say.
"Ah'm sorry Miss Sparkle... on mah way."
"You don't need to apologize all the time."
"Ah'm.... so... eeyup," he decided to end the disaster of a statement with his trademark phrase.
By the time he caught up to his unicorn companion, the two were already entering Ponyville's square. Once more, Mac found himself assaulted by all sides. Strangers of all shapes and sizes would steer over to them and greet them, again, with a polite nod. Twilight Sparkle replied to each and every one of them, occasionally stopping or slowing down her pace to strike up a passing conversation about unreturned books or simply to give good advice.
The stallion remained quiet through most of the trip, only returning the salutations when necessary or politely bowing his head when asked of his own opinion on the subject matter. Still, the ponies stayed far enough from him, of which he was more than glad.
That is until a certain other, caramel-maned stallion crushed straight into Macintosh's chest. The red mountain took a slight step back, his bandages bumping up slightly with a barely audible rip. Thankfully, Twilight layered them enough to stop his frightful strength, at least for now.
"Agh, haystacks, Caramel! Watch where'ya goin'!" he spouted in the spur of the moment. He didn't mind the clumsy pony at all. In fact, whenever the other stallion would come to work at the farm, he would have a quality laughing time one way or another. Still, he pondered whether "being a ditz" was a viable cutie mark...
"Ah... ah I was just looking for you Mac! We're finished with the new recipe..." he slowly picked himself up from the ground, clopping down his front hooves slightly to shake off all the dirt from his coat.
"...and Granny Smith is good to go, but ummm... let's say there was a minor incident and our kitchen and the living room is in no state of use... Chance-A-Lot and Toffee are already working double to make up for all the damage, but we could use a spare set of hooves... umm.. think... umm... you could uh... help us a bit?" the lithe stallion started gushing, but his tempo dropped significantly as he approached the proposition. Mac couldn't do anything more than just raise an eyebrow.
"Ah guess I could, when's..." he stopped as the purple mare gently pushed herself against him, reminding him of just what mess he was in.
"Ah'm mighty sorry Caramel... Ah.. Ah've got some things to take care of fe' now... Ah guess Ah could help ya tomorrow or in th' comin' days. Eeyup," Mac finished with a slightly forced smile, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
"...pity. Still, I doubt we'll finish by tomorrow, so feel free to drop by any time you want. Oh.. and hello there Miss Sparkle," he replied nonchalantly, his eyes momentarily zoning out as they met with the mare's.
"Good day to you too, Caramel," Twilight simply smiled at the ditz.
"crud... I... I need to be somewhere fast right now this instant thank you for your time both of you goodbye Big Mac goodbye Miss Sparkle!" the small pony almost lost his breath while speaking rapidly like a waterfall. By the time the two managed to make sense of his squabble, he was already gone.
"...was it something I said?" the unicorn asked Mac obliviously.
"Eenope."
__________________________________________________________
The wall of wild, untamed trees stood before them, almost ready to mock the two ponies who would dare enter it. Strangely enough, in sharp contrast to the inhospitable wilderness stood a small wooden cottage. In fact, the whole little glade was a serene oasis compared to the lush right near it. Dozens upon dozens of small critters frolicked, minding their own business and not paying the slightest attention to the pair.
Mac was somehow relieved by this.
"That's strange..." Twilight's voice again pierced his musings.
"Fluttershy should be tending to the ducks... she doesn't leave her doors open like that. Big Macintosh, could you wait here for a second? I... I need to check up on her," the mare finished before galloping over the much-too-small bridge, disappearing inside the hut.
She's really worried...
Still, one way or another, he couldn't do anything. The little pegasus he had heard so much about was but yet another foreign pony to him. Of course, she would visit the farm time and time again, and he would catch glances of her pink mane. He did hear stories of her being a bit of a curiosity - timid, slow, completely unlike your average pegasus. Some even said she was a better earth pony than half of the town together.
Truthfully, that claim annoyed him.
Still, he stood right next to the dreadful Everfree. In a place filled with so much kindness he wouldn't expect it the least. Slowly moving closer to the little stream, Macintosh dropped himself, waiting for his partner to return from her search. A school of ducks managed to catch his attention. He was an earth pony himself, and as myth held true, he was more in touch with the so called "spirits" of the soil and animals than any other pony. Majority of the Apple family's success stemmed from that simple fact indeed. A normal unicorn or a pegasus would probably laugh in his face should he mention of "understanding the apple trees".
As he pondered his own kind, something wet splashed against his muzzle. One of the little ducklings swam much closer to him than any other animal otherwise would. As he realized what just happened, Mac noticed that much of the other stray animals gathered around him. Normally, he didn't have problems with all the different creatures, and approached them freely. Still, for them to do the reverse without any consent?
She... she made them like ponies? Just like that? Unbelievable.
"Big Macintosh? Oh..." Twilight stopped, peering at the distinct display of nature's little curiosities. Maybe not so little, in one case.
"...umm, Fluttershy is all right, I believe. In fact, we may even run into her in Everfree! Say goodbye to your new friends and let's get going," she finished the sentence already well on her way towards the dreaded lush.
Mac was, once again, dumbfounded. He rose, the little duckling desperately trying to get his attention visibly saddened.
"Ah, there there..." he tried to comfort the animal. Turning around, he trotted behind Twilight. For a brief second, his heart stopped pounding. That purple mare entered Everfree... just like that. She simply hopped over. For all he knew, a bear or a snake... or any other dangerous creature could jump her the very moment she put her hoof down in their territory.
And yet she continued on, paying his little tale no mind.
The red stallion followed her, realizing he was making a foal of himself at this rate.
...this unicorn... just... I don't know what to think.
One way or another, the two ponies now found themselves in a place much different the previous plain. Tall, dark trees gnarled at them with their twisted barks. The thick canopy obstructed most of the light, bathing the wildlife in sparse strands of yellow and white. He wasn't easily frightened, but he could swear strange shapes, globs of darkness, crept up on the corners of his vision. He would almost feel their breath at his neck. The bandages were still holding steadfast, thankfully. He, or rather, his wings would act on instinct, whenever he heard a crack or even any sound for good measure, they would try to unfurl themselves and rise him to safety.
Not with Twilight's hoofiwork.
In fact, the unicorn mare was trotting before him, her face up and... was she smiling? He tried to focus on her, at least to filter out the petrifying situation he had gotten himself into. Now, his mind solely locked on to the magician, he could hear she wasn't just eyeing the trees. In fact, she was muttering something most cheerfully.
" ... you gotta stand up tall, learn you face your fears.."
Is she... singing?!
"You'll see that they cannot hurt you, just laugh to make them disappear..."
He couldn't even try grasping what was happening. A normally collected Twilight Sparkle, someone he would always imagine spending her time buried in books and approaching everything with an emotionless analytical eye... was singing a foalish song, her hooves popping up and down from the ground to rhythm.
"Uhh... Miss Sparkle?"
She turned around, beaming at him like they had never left Ponyville.
"Yes, Big Macintosh? Anything wrong? How are your wings holding up?"
"Ah'm fine, Miss Sparkle. But... umm... what are ye singin'?" his question honest.
Twilight's coat took on a curious shade of red.
"Oh... this? This is just a little song a friend of mine thought me back when we first visited Everfree. I... I don't know, but it's really something, you know? At first I pretty much dismissed it as incredibly silly, but now I can't stop myself from musing it under my nose whenever I visit this forest," she turned her face away, giggling slightly.
"...eeyup, Ah understand."
"So..." she took a slightly deeper breath. Mac turned his head, rising an eyebrow. She gave him a single wink.
"Giggle at the ghostly, guffaw at the grossly, crack up at..." she didn't finish, merely drawing out the last vowel in a suggestive tone.
"...creepy?" he was unsure if he really wanted to go along with this.
"Whoop it up with the..."
"Weepy..."
"Chortle at th—" she would try forcing him one more time, but the mare was pleasantly interrupted by Macintosh unleashing his deep voice in a subdued manner.
"...at the kooky."
"Snortle at the spooky," the sang the last line in unison, the stallion lagging slightly behind as he picked up the words and quickly filled out the rest of the verse on his own.
__________________________________________________________
He still couldn't believe himself. In fact, the whole situation resembled a silly dream more than reality. Unfortunately, the lucidity had confirmed itself all too often for the poor stallion. What was a creditable fact was his presence in Everfree, happily trotting along Twilight Sparkle... talking.
As the mare finished chanting another of her friend's songs, this one about cupcakes, she moved on to a more modest topic. They would discuss how the weather ponies had little dominion over the forest or how sudden changes of humidity affected apple harvests in mid-summer. In these matters, he was the one leading the conversation. Though, occasionally, Twilight would lapse into her own little courses on magic theory.
Just as she wasn't absolutely silent on his weather analysis, neither was he on her inhibited arcane flux theorem.
Of course, he only had a passing knowledge of the subject matter. He supplied himself with advanced calculus, apparently used extensively by the unicorns in determining just the right amount of their energies to put into the spell matrix. Or how to weave the enchantment not to break their bones and the bones of everyone around in a five-block radius.
He felt strangely safe with her. This emotion caught his attention immediately.
She's... she's not Applejack. Yet, she feels like her. Not in that way, but similar.
He mused on that - for the longest time, Mac found himself enjoying presence of another pony. He was still worried about hurting her least he let his mind wonder. Even so, he would trust her in a sense he could not... or would not explain rationally. For a second, he could swear he had shared the feeling a long, forgotten time ago. Back in the day he was not so ridiculously huge and strong, and he could enjoy the presence of other ponies unhindered.
Twilight stopped her little lecture, planting her hooves firmly in the soil. Big Mac would soon follow. Their happy trot to Zecora's cottage has been, once more, interrupted. A strange, deep growl reverberated through the gnarled mess of trunks and branches.
"Miss Sparkle, do kindly stay back," he muttered, taking a step before the mare.
She replied with a quick flash of her horn.
"I can defend myself, thank you," she returned with a subtle smirk on her face.
Wary, the two ponies proceeded towards the ominous source of the disturbance. As they drew closer, the ghastly sounds took on a new meaning. Slowly, they managed to pick up words from the mysterious chant. After a few more steps, Macintosh peeked his head from behind a tree, the unicorn right by his side. A large cave, naturally fell in the mountain, loomed its dark mouth before them. Somepony... or something was inside, humming an infernal tune.
"Ah think 's not a good idea t'go inside, Miss Sparkle," yet before he could finish a strong tug of magic on his short tail pulled him back.
"Somepony's coming..." she uttered below her breath.
They both took shelter behind a large bush, clearing the leaves just enough to let them see.
Neither of them expected what would happen.
Slowly, a bright-pink mane was illuminated by the sparse Everfree light as she came into view. A small, fragile yellow pegasus, three butterflies for a cutie mark. She wore a linen necklace, two vials - one red, one blue, corked, dangled carelessly, occasionally bouncing against one another. Mac's mind was severely wounded by what had just transpired. A stallion, as big and powerful as himself, was deathly afraid of entering the forest. And this little mare, almost a foal in his eyes, was hopping light-heartedly from inside a cave painted in all shades of death.
...and speaking in the deepest baritone Macintosh had ever heard on this side of Canterlot.
"'s that yer friend, Miss Sparkle?" the stallion spoke softly, trying his best to remain unnoticed.
"Yes, we should show ourselves... try not to startle her, the effects can be... severe," she replied meekly.
How severe can a little yellow filly be?
He would oblige. With a slow nudge, he tried to back down from the bush, and slowly approach the stallion-voiced mare from behind the tree nonchalantly. As luck would have it, Twilight shared his plan and the two bumped to each other. Her lithe body was no match for his large frame, and the two tumbled inside the bush causing the leaves aflutter.
"Who's there?! S...show yourselves!!"
Mac could only see a brief flash of light as the unicorn bailed out of the situation. Still, his mind failed to register the sensation completely. His whole frame became stiff. It was unlike anything he had experienced before. Somepony made a demand, an absolute directive. And neither his mind nor his body would deviate from the given task. Enthralled, he stepped outside the bush, his gigantic frame leaving the mess of flora inch by inch.
And Fluttershy's mouth opened itself wider and wider.
Another flash of purple light signalled Twilight leaving her magical slipstream.
"Shhh, it's just me Fluttershy!" she began immediately in her usual tone, trying her best not to cause any more fright to the little creature.
"Wha--wahha---aaah... Twilight! My... my you almost startled me."
She tried her best. She really did. As much as she willed her mouth shut, a laugh escaped her, soon causing the unicorn to fall and roll around. This pierced Mac's daze, slinging his mind back where it belonged.
...the hay just happened?!
"Oh... ummm, yes..." the pegasus was quick to mutter to himself, before pulling over the red vial and taking a small sip. She shivered as the liquid forced itself down her throat, but was quick to reassure her stance.
"I'm... I'm sorry for using my Stare at you and..." her response came in her usual timid, meek and quiet voice. Mac's eyes were fully opened by now, gazing into the little menace of a pony.
"...and Big Macintosh...eepehm... umghgm... ummm... I... good evening," she tried her best to cover the entirety of her face with her bright-pink mane, to no avail.
"Eeeyup, howdy," the stallion replied calmly, though one could still feel the hint of stress running through his throat.
Twilight was blissfully unaware, slowly recovering from her laughing fit.
"D--don't tell me you're drinking poison joke extract.. hehe..." the unicorn finally stood up.
"Ummm... I.. ah... I do, but it's not for me, no, no!" Fluttershy was quick to protest, shaking her head left and right as the vials resounded against one another.
"You see ah... ummm... it's Henry."
Who's Henry?
"Isn't he a lie?"
"He... used to be, but then I really met a bear."
...a what?!
"...is this the same one you...?"
"...umm... yes."
"And now you're doing what exactly to him?"
"Singing lullabies, of course," she was proud to remark.
A little, timid pegasus mare, almost deathly scared of her own shadow.
Was singing lullabies.
To a bloody bear!?
"He's... he's barely out of... ummm... cub-hood. His mother is away so he started visiting my cottage more often, and I can't let him linger around the other critters, he might accidentally stomp one of the ducklings or swash a birdie... So I usually take him back to his home cave and sing him to sleep... but he was becoming restless and my usual voice couldn't cut it any more..."
Strange as it was, the little filly found more of breath in her underdeveloped lungs than Mac thought was physically possible.
"...so I asked Zecora to brew me an extract from the poison joke. I... I don't like this voice but Henry seems to think of his mother when I sing to him like that, so..." her eyes trailed into the dirt as she took a single step back, looking left and right as if trying to escape from an invisible foe.
"heh... It's fine, Fluttershy. You're just caring for another animal, yes? Glad you're not changing in that field at least. Mayor Mare says you're doing an invaluable favour to the whole town; without you we'd have to have the Guard patrol the border and maybe even scare the stray creatures awa—"
"Scaring little creatures? Oh... oh no that's not going to work! You know some of them tend to become very... very nasty and moody when you try to scare them! You need to be extremely gentle, especially with the rattlesna—"
"I. Know. Calm down now, Fluttershy. We're going to visit Zecora, you feel like walking with us?" Twilight finally got her say in.
"I... umm... I guess... if you don't mind me walking with you that is ummm..." she began stammering like she had swallowed the said bear.
"Of course we don't! Right, Big Mac?" the unicorn smiled at her mare friend before looking at the red mountain of a stallion.
Who stood there, eyes still wide and mouth slightly opened.
"Ee...eyup."
Just what did I just watch? She's a pegasus. She's scared of her own shadow. She can't even hold a conversation straight (hypocrite!) and she seems to be on the border of fainting right here and now. And now you're asking me to believe she's singing haystacking lullabies to a bear who could rip me apart easily, let alone that little filly. Just what is she?
__________________________________________________________
The three ponies walked in silence, the relative quiet pierced now and again by Twilight's insightful question or a similar remark. The little pegasus barely spoke, only taking enough trouble to add something to the other mare's deduction or correct her on a bad assumption regarding the wildlife.
Mac himself kept to the back, letting the two other ponies serve as his guides in this gloomy forest. In fact, he had paid less and less attention to the surrounding lush as his mind trashed upon itself in efforts to figure out just what he had encountered. His eyes were firmly stuck on Fluttershy, investigating her with mathematical precision.
To his eyes, she was just... simple. Her pink, bushy tail heaved left and right as she walked, and she would occasionally flare her wings up in an expression and immediately tuck them back in. As she did, Mac's own pair would rustle beneath the wrapped bandage. It had been hours since he last gave them a good swing. The itching was slowly becoming nigh-unbearable.
...but how? I'm an earth pony. I can talk to apples, sort of. I understand exactly what the trees need of me. Yet here, I can't even hear the ground. Or rather, I can, and it's screaming at me.
How is a pegasus coping better than me?! She can't even speak the language. But the animals understand her... better than they understand me.
Mac stopped for a second, analysing just what exactly had passed his mind. It was a first, that's for sure. In all his days, he would never... would it be called envy? All the ponies he had met, he ended the relationship on a positive note. True, he was slightly prejudiced against the unicorns and the pegasi, but he had overcame that hindrance. Everypony had a place in the society - his kind would tend to the soil, the winged ones would run the clouds and the magical kin would keep the whole world stable.
But this yellow mare stripped his ideology. She would violently rip it from his mind and stomp it down with glee on her face.
Mac breathed somewhat loudly through his nostrils in frustration. He was conflicted like never before.
"...umm... something wrong... eh... Big Macintosh?" the subject of his musings turned around, looking at him with a worried glance. He had to quickly put on his best poker face before she would notice anything out of place.
"Eeenope. Mighty thank'ye for yer concern, Miss Fluttershy."
As soon as her attention turned elsewhere, Mac once again shook his head. He was furious. He had no idea how she managed to read him. She wasn't even paying attention to the stallion. Yet, she was able to pick up his subtle gesture faster than Applejack would ever read his face.
She was like an earth pony locked in the body of a pegasus, possessing the best of both worlds.
And this fact, this subtle abuse of the social ladder was slowly proving to be more for the red pony to bare.
"Oooh---oh! Is that Heart's Desire?" Twilight's exuberant shriek broke both ponies out of their silence.
"Ummm... yes... yes it is. What is so interesting about it, Twi... that is... if you don't mind telling us..." Fluttershy replied meekly.
"Zecora left me some notes in that last batch of plants I borrowed for my experiments. This is a rare plant, and very potent. I need to get my hooves on some samples. Oh, this is just what I need!" she quickly deviated from their course, galloping over to the large patch of red flowers.
"Don't mind me! Rest up while I pick a few!" she only managed to shout as she turned her head mid-dash.
And like that, the red behemoth was stranded alone with the smallest yellow mare he had ever seen.
They stood in absolute stillness for a good minute. Mac was almost capable of hearing her every heartbeat between the occasional rustle of leaves and sounds of wildlife. He was more than sure she could hear his. To somepony like him, little signs such as these meant so much. To his mind, talking really was overrated - subtle body language and facial expressions are more than enough to convey a message.
...let's see just how good an earth pony you are, miss...
He gently swayed to his side and rose his hind hoof before putting it against the ground. This would normally mean his legs are tired and he would request some place to lie down for a moment. Such base instincts and movements were beyond the scope of a complex code - beauty in simplicity.
The mare gently moved her tail to her sides, her head bobbed up and down slightly as her eyes focused no where in particular. She agreed, and even suggested he would rest under the large, hollow tree before them.
Impossible!
A single moment taken too long was worth more than an entire month of a sonorous discussion. And he was about to waste it. Trying not to betray his stoic demeanour, he accepted her idea with another bob and walked over, resting himself against the tree. As soon as he moved himself before the mare, she coyed her head away from him and beamed the tiniest of smiles. For Mac, it was more than a firework display, even though he was unsure how to interpret that.
Was she mocking him? Is she laughing?
It had to be something different. Just as quickly as the two started "conversing", Fluttershy became... unreadable. Her movement was neutral, and she betrayed naught emotion outside her standard array. She trotted over to Mac, avoiding looking at him. Whatever was her plan, she was enjoying it.
Anger overtook him. His hoof scarred the earth, giving a solid buck to the large tree behind him. This fetched a quick reaction from the pegasus as she jumped up and landed, looking around frantically before finally setting her gaze on the red stallion.
"Ah'm sorry, cramped leg," he cooed.
She gently trotted over, smiling at him without any hint of deception. "It's fine. Should I take a look, I can massage it if you want... umm... that is... if you don't mind."
It finally hit him.
She's not mocking me. She's... she likes talking like that! She was enjoying it!
"Ah... Ah..." He was shocked, frankly. For the first time outside of his family, he felt a mare enjoy his presence, or so he thought. Twilight was a similar case, indeed, but she acted on virtue of helping him with his untimely problem. Fluttershy, on the other hand, seemed similar to him. Eerily similar. In fact, he would compare them to a mirror reflection, twisted and turned.
She was a pegasus who was a better earth pony than he used to be.
He was an earth pony who was a worse pegasus than she is.
On second thought, they weren't all that similar, at least in those mat—
His leg jerked back immediately as he felt a warm hoof skin along his coat.
Still, his reflex was cut short by another strange, orderly voice - "Please stop."
"...my, you're so tense. No wonder you had trouble walking..."
She was correct, though the reasons for his muscles clenching up like that were all the different.
"...I knew you were... umm... big, Big Macintosh, but... I can't reach around your flank like that... ummm... could you turn around?" she gently prodded his side.
"Ah... Miss Fluttershy, ya... ya don't really need'ta."
She stopped that very moment, slowly sitting down near him instead, her face discouraged.
"ah... umm... alright. I didn't mean to be off—"
"Ya weren't Miss Fluttershy. 's all right."
He questioned what had just happened. Applejack would often help him against his will, and even hammer her reasons for her aid into his head nearly with a hammer. But... that pegasus was a stranger, not knowing him more than from second-hoof impressions. And yet, she did not hesitate a bit to help him with his apparent problem. Such behaviour puzzled him - ponies were usually trusted, but... you can easily burn yourself by extending that trust too much.
Why?
He shook his head gently, looking at the mare. She was right beside him, peeking intently at Twilight picking the Heart's Desire to her... heart's content. With another signature sigh, he looked up to peer through the thick canopy. Maybe he could see the sun and see what time it is? The idea of visiting that zebra by night was all more dreadful.
Instead of the brightest star, something else caught his attention. A small splinter almost fell into his eye just before he managed to close it. Peering up again, Mac noticed a large, thick branch slowly breaking off the hollow tree. The crack travelled downwards, marking the unstable area larger and larger. Soon enough, a good half of the tree was ready to fall on the pair of ponies.
Hay. Stacks.
Crack.
The large mass of rotten wood was already falling, he had noticed it too late. There was little time to get away, lest they both suffer injuries. Then again, it was just wood. If what had happened yesterday was true, and Berry's new neighbourhood was an undeniable proof, he could just well take the blow for the pegasus mare. Still, it looked rather sharp.
No helping that.
Before Fluttershy could even look up and notice what was headed her way, Macintosh quickly jumped up and forcefully covered her entire body with his. She immediately went limp, as if he was about to commit some heinous act. In fact, to a bystander, it wouldn't look too different. The red stallion was straining his face, his eyes closed and his teeth glaring. The bandages were done with most amazing expertise. Still, he was stronger.
She couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was doing above her. That is, until she noticed a ferocious... hand of gnarled bark, almost twice as big as herself, heading at them from high above. Big Macintosh did not suddenly go crazy - he was trying to shield her... with his own body. She still could not fully understand his frustrated face. Was he bracing for impact?
A second satisfying sound of ripping material announced the beginning of the show. Quickly, two large bodies of feathers spread themselves from the sides of Mac's back. Stray red quills danced in the updraft as he spread his humongous wings, almost as big as himself, to his sides. Fluttershy's mind became slow, and with each passing moment she understood less and less. Bandages and red feathers floated all around them, and she swore she was dreaming.
Mac, for a moment, had the most annoyed and gruelling expression painted on his face.
Smack.
Splinters of rotten wood were sent flying in all directions, large portions of the hollow tree dropping down, broken into smaller pieces, from the stallion's back.
A bright flash to their side declared somepony's sudden arrival. "What happened?!"
Neither of them responded. Fluttershy was still on her back, turning into the same red hue as her saviour. Mac, on the other hand, flapped his wings a couple of times, letting the last pieces of hollowed grove fall unto the ground. He gently tucked the larger parts away with his hooves, making as much space for the mare to pick herself up.
He stepped back, however, he did not hide his wings, instead opting to leave them half-spread over his sides to catch in the refreshing air. He looked at the yellow pegasus with a worried glance, once again engaging in their own form of conversation.
No response.
Her breathing was becoming rapid, as if she had seen a monster. Her eyes ran across Mac's imposing frame, registering his new appendages with fright and amazement.
"...ah," she only managed to whisper before she closed her eyes, her head hitting the soft ground.