Ow!”
Luna looked up from her breakfast. “Art thou well?” she asked, concern in her eyes.
“Ah’m fine,” Big Mac replied. “Ah just banged ma horn on the headboard again. How do y’all get used ta this thing? And why is it so sensitive?”
“Tis because thy horn is new. The nerve endings that connect it to the rest of thee are equally new, so they have to adjust to greater sensation. Thou must give it time, my love. Thou hath only had the horn and wings for two days now. It always takes a little getting used to. Tia and I spent nearly four months adjusting to our wings and learning to fly.”
“That’s another thing...” he said, adjusting his position in the large bed without upsetting the breakfast tray. “That instructor you got fer me...”
“Thou meanest Soarin?”
“Eeeyup... He said he wants me to practice jumpin’ off the balcony. Says it’s the best way ta get the feel o’ the wind in ma wings.”
“Not this one, I hope,” she said looking out the twelfth floor window.
“Nnnope. The second floor one, just off o’ the Royal Chamberlain’s office. He says Ah have ta build up the instinct ta extend ma wings without thinking when in the air.”
“And he expects thee to land safely after jumping off a second story balcony?”
“Eventually, but fer now he’s riggin’ a large pile o’ mattresses fer me ta land on. At least it looks out on an enclosed courtyard, with few windows so Ah don’t have ta demonstrate ma shortcomins’ ta every pony in sight.”
Luna smiled coyly. “Believe me my love. If there is one attribute thou doth not have, it is shortcomings.” She leaned over and gave him a long, luxurious kiss on the mouth. She loved the fact that he always tasted of apples. Breaking off the kiss, she magically shifted her tray from her lap to a nearby table then pushed aside the covers and climbed out of bed. Big Mac reached out to move his own tray aside when she stopped him.
“No... not with thy hooves. Try using magic.”
“Uh... how?”
“Imagine lifting the tray with thy hooves, but keep them still,” Luna instructed. “Let that feeling of chilled water you talked about yesterday flow up the back of your neck and into your horn. The magic will do the rest.”
Big Mac nodded. He focused on the tray. To his surprise a green aura surrounded it and lifted it a few inches off his lap... then flung it violently against the far wall of the room where it landed with a loud crash. “Oops!”
Luna put a hoof to her mouth and tried to suppress the giggle she felt bubbling up in her throat... with little success.
Grumbling, the stallion climbed out of bed and began picking up the pieces of his breakfast tray.
“Nay, beloved... Thou art royalty now and should leave cleaning up the mess to the servants.”
“They weren’t the ones who made it... Why should they clean it up?”
“Because tis their job. Tis what they are paid to do.”
Big Mac looked down at the heap of broken dishes and breakfast remains. “It just don’t feel right,” he said even as he picked up a shard or two of shattered china and placed them in a nearby waste basket. Luna smiled and gently shook her head at his reluctance.
“Well, if thou insists on cleaning up after thyself, then at least use it as an opportunity to practice thy magic.”
“Eeeyup,” he muttered as he tried concentrating on the dishes. He quickly discovered that the fine manipulation required to levitate the smaller individual pieces was easier to control than his earlier effort with the tray. Still, by the time he finished he could feel a slight headache trying to edge its way into his consciousness. It didn’t help that since his ascension to the status of alicorn, his other senses had also increased. He paused to close his eyes and gently massage his temples. After a moment or two his hooves were smoothly brushed aside as a smaller, more delicate pair took over the task. He could feel the slight tingling of magic pass through him. His headache faded.
“Better?” Luna asked.
“Eeeyup.”
“I suppose thou realize that flying isn’t the only thing we will have to teach thee. Thou must learn to control the magic that now flows through thee.”
“Eeeyup,” Mac replied, smiling behind closed eyes as he enjoyed the gentle caress of his fiancé.
“As a matter of fact, Tia and I were discussing it just yesterday morning and we both think it would be a good idea to enroll thee in Magic Kindergarten.”
“Eeeyup,” he sighed, then his eyes popped open. “WHAT?”
Luna nickered in amusement. “Think about it, dear. Aside from using the Unicorn Amulet, which was both extraordinarily brave and horribly risky, thou hast no experience in the direct manipulation of magic. In many ways, thou are like a unicorn foal. Thou hast to start from scratch.”
“What about hirin’ a tutor, like y’all did with Soarin?”
“Well, Soarin is rather interesting. He hath...” Luna suddenly paused, remembering she needed to practice modern prose. “I mean... has taught young pegasi part-time at Basic Flight School, so he knows how to work with what they call groundlings. Magic, though, especially at your level of power, is a lot more complex.”
Mac looked down at the remains of his breakfast tray. She was certainly right about that.
“We looked at a couple tutoring candidates already, but working with grown ponies their expectations tend to be a lot higher and their patience correspondingly lower. What you need is a pony of exceptional understanding, enthusiasm and quiet determination.”
“In other words... a kindergarten teacher.”
Luna smiled. “Precisely. The only drawback is there are very few teacher’s qualified to teach in Magic Kindergarten. So few, that we can’t ‘recruit’ one as a private tutor without causing an increase in the size of the other classes at magic school.”
“So Ah’ll be enrolling in a class full o’ foals?”
“Well... yes and no. You will be on the roster as a Teacher’s Assistant and if any pony asks, your official duty is to evaluate the curriculum by participating in it, which will be the truth.”
Big Mac thought about this for a moment, then quietly laughed.
“Is something funny?” Luna asked.
“Just a mite ironic, that’s all. Ah never had a chance ta finish school cause I had ta drop out ta take care o’ the farm and ma family.”
“So you missed out on your foal-hood?”
“Eeeyup. Ah had ta grow all the way up when Ah was ten. Now, Ah’m gonna be workin’ in a school... sorta.”
“You’re not bothered by the idea, are you?”
“Just a mite,” the stallion admitted. “Ah know just about everythin’ there is ta know about apples and farmin’, so goin’ ta school so Ah can learn somethin’ new makes sense, but what Ah know about teachin’ young uns, y’all can fit that in a feedbag for a mouse.”
Luna gently leaned forward and gave Big Mac a gentle cheek to cheek caress. “I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll do fine.”
**********
“But Ah thought the idea was ta teach me how ta unfurl ma wings without thinkin’?”
Soarin looked at the red-furred alicorn and grinned. “It will be... but first, you need to learn how to tuck and roll for those times you make a bad landing.”
“Ah don’t recall ever seein’ any pony other than Rainbow Dash make a bad landing.”
“Then you never saw Princess Twilight practice for the Summer Sun Celebration. It took maintenance a week to fill in all the face divots she left around Canterlot.”
Big Macintosh sighed. “Alright then, let’s get ta work. What’s first?” Before he realized it, Soarin was cinching a leather belt around the stallion’s mid-section, pinning his wings to his side.
“First, we keep you from damaging your wings when you tuck and roll.” He pulled tight on the strap and the alicorn grunted.
“Okay... now what?”
“You tuck and roll,” the pegasus replied as he shoved Mac off the balcony.
“WWWWOOOOAAAAHHHH...... OOOF!” The stallion landed face first onto a thick mattress. Any pony watching, and there were a few, thought that the way he landed made the red stallion look more like the letter ‘Z’ that an alicorn. His left rear hoof twitched slightly as he looked up at Soarin.
“More roll... less tuck!”
**********
“Good morning, Sir Macintosh,” the school nurse said brightly as she finished writing on her roster. “How are you doing today?” she asked, picking up two file folders and attaching them to the clipboard.
“Fair,” he replied in a rather somber monotone. “Ah was observing the foals in Miss Hooferton’s class while they levitated different kinds of animals... learning how to lift things gently. She even insisted Ah try it ma self.”
“I remember that exercise when I was a foal,” the unicorn replied smiling. “I got to pick up and pet a baby ferret with my magic. I could actually feel how soft it was right through my spell. It even purred for me.” She set the folders and clipboard aside and looking up at the farmer for the first time. She gasped when she saw the stallion standing before her. His face resembling a pin cushion. “What happened?” she asked.
“Ah had the porcupine.”
**********
Applejack yawned as she came down the stairs and trotted into the kitchen. “Mornin’ Granny,” she called out to the elder Apple.
“Morning yer self, A.J.,” she replied as she loaded up her grand-daughter’s plate with half a dozen hot cakes.
The sound of slow hoof steps coming downstairs drew the farm pony’s attention. Her younger sister walked into the kitchen, a wide yawn stretching the edge of her mouth like a rubber band. “Morning Applebloom. Did y’all remember ta wake Big Mac?”
“Ah knocked on his door, but he weren’t there.”
The farm pony finished tying the hair band on her mane and looked towards her grand-dame. “Where’s Macintosh?”
Granny brought a gravy boat with syrup in it to the table. “Yer brother was through here half an hour ago. Said he wanted to finish plowing the new field before he had to be back at the castle.”
“Don’t sound like turnin’ inta an alicorn has changed Mac much,” Applebloom observed.
“Ya mean aside from the horn and wings?”
“Ah meant changed what’s inside,” the filly replied. “Scootaloo was tellin’ me that according ta Rainbow Dash, he’s got the largest set of wings of almost any pony she’s seen. They’re almost as big as Celestia’s.”
“Well... he was pretty big even before the change. He probably needs a large pair just ta get off the ground.”
“So when do we get ta see him fly?” Applebloom asked. Ah mean he’s had them wings fer more than three weeks...”
“He’ll show us when he’s good an’ ready. There’s a lot more ta flyin than just flappin’ a set o’ wings ya know.”
“Ah suppose. That’s what Scootaloo says anyway.”
“No doubt she knows herself what’s needed.” Applejack paused to take a sip of coffee and noticed that her sister was already finished with breakfast. It always amazed the palomino how quickly Applebloom could eat... or how much. “If y’all are done, take yer dishes inta the kitchen then get yer mornin’ chores done so’s ya can be off ta school.”
“Aw... Do Ah have ta?”
“Eeeyup!”
The young Apple picked up her dishes in her mouth and carried them into the kitchen, grumbling softly the whole way. “Bad enough Ah gotta put up with Big Mac and his Eeeyup... now Applejack’s doin’ it. Next thing ya know, they’ll have me Eeeyuppin’ everythin’ in sight.”
The palomino pony smiled at the grumbling, taking time to finish her meal before grabbing her stetson from the hat rack next to the door and heading out to the new field. The farm hands were busy sorting and organizing wood for the fence that would keep trespassers out while their new orchard matured. She watched them for a moment, scratching her head wondering why they were all wearing hardhats. Shrugging, Applejack looked around and quickly spotted her brother.
Big Mac was pulling the plow briskly across the field. He’d had to rig a new harness that could accommodate his wings, but it seemed to work well enough. The ease with which he moved caused his sister to raise an eyebrow. As strong as he was before the change, it was obvious that now, as an alicorn, his strength had at least doubled. He might be having trouble adjusting to his new wings and horn, but the magic of the earth flowed through him like water under a bridge. Judging from the half-smile on his face, it was clear he was enjoying himself.
“Mornin’, oh Prince o’ dirt,” A.J. playfully kidded her brother. “How’s it coming?”
“Mornin’ yerself,” he replied. “Just about like we expected, though a tad faster even with all the rocks.” As his sister watched he paused at the end of one furrow and concentrated. There was a green glow and about a dozen large, hoofball sized rocks levitated themselves free of the soil. Most of them drifted gracefully over to a large pile at the edge of the field and settled among their brothers. The last one however just sat there vibrating slightly and refused to budge. Mac grimaced, closed his eyes and focused on the glowing rock. It shimmied, then rose a foot or two off the ground before suddenly launching itself straight up like a cannonball.
“OOPS...! HEADS UP!” yelled the alicorn.
One of the work ponies looked up and saw the projectile as it reached the apex of its flight and started down again. “FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!” The other ponies with him dove to the ground and covered their heads with their hooves. Turning, Big Mac tried to grab for the rock with his magic. Unfortunately he’d forgotten he was still hitched to the plow. One of his back hooves stepped on the harness leads causing his other hoof to pull short and, like someone tripping over a loose shoelace, the farmer toppled face first into the mud. The rock came down a short distance away, missing the barn by about a foot and demolishing a rain barrel next to it.
The noise brought Applebloom to the barn door, milk pail in her mouth, her coat splashed with white. “WHAT’S GOIN’ ON?”
Applejack uncovered her eyes and then saw her sister standing only a few feet from the demolished rain barrel. “Y’ALL OKAY, LIL’ SIS?” she called.
“AH’M FINE,” she replied, “CEPT AH GOT MILK ALL OVER ME.”
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. JUST GET INTA THE HOUSE AND CLEAN UP FER SCHOOL. AH’LL FINISH THE MILKIN’.
With a little cheer Applebloom put the milk pail down and trotted over to the house. Once she was out of sight the palomino rounded on her brother, her heart still pounding in her chest. “MACINTOSH APPLE... WHAT IN TARNATION Y’ALL TRYIN’ TA DO... KNOCK DOWN THE BARN?”
The stallion picked himself up from the mud and looked in the direction of the barn, his eyes dropping slightly to the ground. “Nnnope,” he replied quietly.
“Y’ALL KNOW YA COULDA HURT SOMEPONY, PLAYIN’ ROUND ALL CARELESS LIKE WITH YER MAGIC...”
“Ah weren’t playin’.” he said miserably. “Ah was practicin’ like Ah’m suppose ta be.”
“Yer suppose ta be plowin’ the field, not doin’ tiddlywinks with a bunch o’ rocks. Yer lettin’ all this magic stuff get ta yer head. Y’all was born an Earth Pony. Ya should act more like one when yer here and not like some kind of high fallootin’ Canterlot pony.”
“But A.J....”
“Don’t A.J. me,” she replied. “Just get this field finished so we can get the seedling in afore sunset.” With that, she turned and stomped off back to the farmhouse, too angry and too scared for further conversation.
Big Mac watched her go, then, without a word, unhitched himself from the plow and walked off towards the north orchard, head down, ears drooping and wings nearly dragging in the dirt. He knew deep down that his sister had been frightened by what had happened, which accounted for her harsh words. Still, knowing that didn’t really take much of the sting off them, nor did it do much to relieve him of the guilt he felt. He’d been careless with the rock, letting his stubbornness influence the amount of power he put into the spell. He hadn’t intended to launch that rock into the sky, but he had and except for luck might have hurt Applebloom. The thought of what could have happened made him feel horrible.
Reaching the gazebo he’d built for himself and Luna he sat down and gazed across the hills towards Canterlot. Luna would be finishing up with her Night Court just before moonset. She and Celestia would breakfast together around eight. They expected him to join them before Luna went to bed and he headed off to “school.” His life certainly wasn’t what it used to be.
There was so much to know now, so much to learn, so much to do, and very little of it related to farming and apples. It was like nothing he knew was of any use anymore, and even when he was pulling a plow, it was so dang easy he had to work twice as hard to get a quarter of the satisfaction he use to feel. Magic had made his life easier and harder at the same time. He sighed unhappily. He was an apple farmer. Not much in the grand scheme of things. The kind of pony who didn’t really make much of a difference to the wide world. He wondered morosely if Equestria might not be a better place if he’d never been.
Emotions tangled with new, untapped relays within his mind. Unfocused thought became unintended desire. Mac suddenly became aware of a cold feeling traveling up his spine and into his horn, only this time it wasn’t like chilled water, it was like ice. Ice so cold it burned. There was a sudden explosion of light from his horn. When it dissipated, the alicorn had vanished, leaving behind half of a charred gazebo.
A unicorn watching from the shadows of a nearby apple tree smiled wickedly. “Be careful what you wish for, my friend.”