A Little Talk With Mac
Big Macintosh was what you'd call a simple pony; he worked on the family farm for as long as he could remember since he was a young colt. He was a big stallion, but kindhearted, and rarely spoke unless he had a reason to. Mac was never one for pointless conversation; and the simple words he used to answer questions were usually just, 'eeyep' and 'nope'.
But, regardless of what most ponyfolk thought, he did speak more then those two words, he just tended to talk more around family because he was comfortable, that and he was a stallion of action.
So, when his youngest sister, Apple Bloom, came up to him with a question that was both simple and even sort of embarrassing to talk about at the same time, he didn't really know how to answer it.
"So ...ya want ta know what, now?"
"Ah wanna know where babies come from," the small filly answered, looking up at her brother.
Big Mac could only wonder one thing at the moment. "Why don't you go ask Apple Jack, Ah'm sure she'll tell you plenty."
Apple Bloom sighed, giving a pout. "She was the first one Ah asked about it, but she ran off sayin' she had somethin' to take care of."
"Did she now." Mac should have expected as much, he knew that Apple Jack loved Bloom just as much as he did. But, when it came do to something like this, she was always the first to take off for the hills; as if they didn't have enough on the farm as is. "What about Granny?"
"She went to take care of some Apple business in Fillydelphia, remember?"
Oh, right. How'd Ah forget that? The red stallion sighed, shaking his head. If he was going to tell his sister about the birds and the bees, Celestia be damned, he was going to be comfortable while doing it. "Alright, then, how 'bout we go into the living room and Ah'll tell you all that ya want ta know," he said, looking down at the filly. Nodding, she smiled and trotted off into the next room.
Macintosh placed the pies he had been preparing into the oven, shut the door, then used his mouth to take of the flour covered apron, tossing it over the back of one of the chairs. He made his way out to the the living room, seeing that Apple Bloom was sitting there, waiting patently for him on the couch.
He took a seat next to her, and felt the nervousness kicking in. How do you tell a filly about where babies come from? It was his Pa who told him, and Granny Smith had been the one to talk to Apple jack about it; so it never occurred to him that he'd be the one to tell his little sister, he just always assumed that Apple Jack would be the one to do it when the time came.
Looks like Ah'm the one doing it, now. Maybe, I should just tell her the same way Pa told me, plain and simple, she'll understand, Ah'm sure.
"So, are you gonna tell me?" Apple Bloom asked anxiously, she was getting a bit restless with all the waiting and stalling everypony seemed to be doing. It made her wonder if the whole 'how babies are made' thing was that serious. She, for one, thought that parents would buy babies from the hospital with bits; they went in, then a few days later they came out with a baby. Though, she never understood why the mare's stomach got so big before that.
Big Mac let out a breathe, and scratched the side of his cheek with his hoof. It was now or never. No lies about a stork or something like that, just cold facts and hard truth. Just the way Pa did it. "Okay, baby sis', yer nine-years-old, old enough to find out about these types of things, and it might seem a bit ...gross. Celestia knows Ah thought it was at first, but bare with me."
"Alright, Ah'm listenin'."
And so, Big Mac started off The Talk, the same way his Pa had done with him. "Okay, when a Stallion and a Mare get together, sometimes it's fer different reasons. It could be love, like when their married or with their special somepony, or lust, depending on the two ponies involved. It starts off with kissing most of the time, then it escalates into what's called the heat of the moment; and when that happens, ponies will do something called sex. Now, sex is when-."
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"-Then white stuff, called semen, comes out of the stallion and gos into the mare, and if the egg is fertilized, months later, maybe half a year, and a baby's born into the world kickin' and screamin'."
There it was, he did it.
Big Macintosh felt a bit of pride, the talk took about ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops, with questions in between, but he got through it. He wondered if this was the same way his Pa felt; knowing that the one you cared for was growing up into a young mare with the whole world ahead of them.
"So, ya got anymore questions?" Mac asked.
Apple Bloom had been sitting there quietly ever since her brother had began telling the last bit; all the stuff he had told her, she had no idea it would sound so weird ...and gross, Big Mac was right about the gross part. But, she wanted to be seen as a responsible young filly, so she wasn't about to voice it like most ponies her age would. "Ah can't really think of anything," she said, looking up at the red stallion. "Ya answered all the things Ah wanted to ask."
"Good," Big Macintosh said as he stood up off the couch on all fours and headed towards the front door. "Well Ah've gotta go handle somethin' in town, the pies in the oven should be done in about two hours. Ah should be back by then, so yer the mare of the house until Ah get back."
"Yay~!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, hopping off the couch, doing a dance. "Who mare of the house! Ah'm mare of the house! A to the P to the ...hey, wait a minute," the little filly stopped in mid-dance, looking over at Mac. "If the pies gets done before ya come back, can Ah take it out of the oven?"
"Nope," the stallion said, simply.
"Aw, please, Ah promise Ah'll be careful!" Apple Bloom begged, pouting and giving him the puppy dog look.
"Fine," Big Macintosh sighed, smiling a little. "If by chance the timer gos off before Ah get back, then fine, ya can take it out."
"Yes! Ah won't let you down, big brother!" Apple Bloom said, giving him a hoof salute.
"Ah know you won't, Apple Bloom."
Big Mac walked outside and closed the door, hearing the cheers of the little filly come through the front window. He looked up at the sky; his was sure his Pa would be proud of him for the way he handled things with little Bloom. Taking a deep breathe, he started down the steps and headed towards the dirt trail leading to Ponyville; his marefriend, Cheerilee, had told him take she had some type of news to tell him that afternoon, sent via, his sister, AJ.
Little did the red farm pony know, Apple Bloom wasn't the only one who had something to say about a baby.
Big Macintosh was in for the surprise of a life time.