Chapter 21
Dear Applejack,
Thanks for the letter. I don’t get much mail.
The orchards are doing just fine. Bloomburg’s as well off as an apple tree can be. He’s the pride of the West Orchard.
As to coming to Ponyville, I’d love to come. We’ve gotten some new arrivals since you and your friends came last. This, of course, means I’m free to come and help you and your folks. Your trees must be doing really well if you still need help with North around. He’s a very hard worker as I recall.
I’m sorry to hear about them breaking up. From what you wrote, they made an excellent pair. I’ll do what I can when I get there.
Braeburn
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The Elements of Harmony sat around a table, each with a different meal in front of them. They were in Ponyville’s Haybale, which was named after both the seating and their specialty.
“Ah just don’t know what ta do.” said Applejack. “He seemed fine, but now he’s stopped talking completely.”
“Did something happen?” asked Rarity.
“Ah don’t know.” said Applejack. “Ah asked Big Mac if he knows anythin’, but he says he doesn’t.”
“Maybe he was just tired?” suggested Fluttershy. “He doesn’t talk much when he’s tired.”
“It’s been several days. And he’s still helpin’ outside’n everything.”
“I think I might know.” said Twilight, swirling her lemonade thoughtfully.
“Ya do?”
Twilight nodded. After several seconds of silence, Applejack cleared her throat.
“Care to expand on that?”
“Huh?” she snapped back into focus. “Oh, yes. Well, do you know how ponies are always talking about how painful a broken heart is?”
“Um… yeah?”
“Well, I’ve never really believed that. Don’t you think a broken heart would, you know… not work?”
The other five stared at her for a moment. They they collectively vocalized their comprehension.
“Huh?”
Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes. “If his heart is really broken, he wouldn’t feel anything. His mind is shielding itself from the heart, since it isn’t doing what it should. Hence his silence; he just doesn’t care anymore.”
“But… Twilight, darling, how can we fix it?” asked Rarity. “I mean, it isn’t exactly as if Applejack could tighten a few screws, or I could sew a patch on. This is somepony’s heart we’re talking about. And North of all ponies.”
“As to that…” said Twilight, looking downcast. “I don’t know.”
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Big Mac was with North, out in the orchards. There had been no conversation between them, which was normal. They were both so in tune with the other, they never needed to ask the other for anything. What wasn’t normal, though, was the silence.
Normally, one of them might be humming a quiet song. They might even sing once in a while. But North was quieter than he himself had ever been, and Mac didn’t know what to do about that. Every time he’d tried to start conversing with the white pegasus, he’d gotten nary a word out of him. He’d given up, just because it made him so uncomfortable to be the only one talking.
When they went back to the house that night, North immediately went to shower. And after they’d eaten, he was halfway to the stairs before Mac was even aware he’d left the table. He got up himself, following. He’d decided to try something.
“Ya need ta get out of the house.” he said. “Ya can’t just stay here all the time.”
North gave him a glance, then shook his head. He went into his room, and shut the door behind him.
Big Mac wasn’t a quitter though, and he resolved to try again the next day. While he and North were doing dishes (it was their turn), he gave it another try.
“Come on, North.” he said. “Please?”
North shrugged. Upon further cajoling, he sighed, then gave a jerk of his head. A nod.
“Good.” said Mac, grinning.
When they’d finished, they dried their hooves and went outside. Big Mac gave North a gentle nudge in the direction of the road. North looked up at him, eyebrows knitted.
“Yes, you’ve got to.” said Mac. North’s ears drooped, but he plodded along after the red stallion.
About halfway to Ponyville, Big Mac looked back at his morose companion. He looked very depressed, but at least he wasn’t moping around the farmhouse. Once in Ponyville, Mac came to a halt. He stuck a hoof out, forcing North to stop and look up.
“What d’ya want ta do?” he asked. “Go to the library? Visit a shop ‘r two?”
After getting only a shrug in return, Mac sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he’d anticipated.
“Well, er… are ya hungry?” It was a reasonable question, since the dishes they’d been doing were several hours old.
This time, a nod. Progress.
Big Mac looked around. Sugarcube Corner was out of the question. Pinkie could only make North worse right now. And… he couldn’t actually think of anywhere else. His knowledge of Ponyville’s restaurants was incredibly limited.
“Er…” Big Mac cleared his throat. “Ah… ah don’t… where do you want to go?”
North looked around, seemed to come to a decision, and set off through town. Big Mac followed, noting that North was giving everypony but him a decent-sized berth.
When they did reach North’s intended destination, it was fairly obvious. It was a hayburger joint, just around the corner from the library. It was one of those restaurants where you’re half convinced they pay secret advertising agents to pump the smell of their food out of the small aeration vents on the side of the building. Big Mac’s mouth had started watering, and he swallowed so he wouldn’t start drooling.
“Here?” he asked. North nodded, and walked towards the front door.
North held the door for him, looking in at the assembled patrons. More than half the tables were taken, it being lunchtime. They went up to the counter, where a mare with a baseball cap was taking orders; currently from a middle-aged stallion wearing a vest. They waited patiently, until he got his order. Then they approached the counter.
Big Mac had been wondering how North was going to order. After all, he’d been refusing to talk to anypony all this time. He got his answer when the mare with the baseball cap looked up from the cash register, and smiled.
“Hey.” she said. “Nice to see you again. The usual?”
North nodded, and she directed her attention to Mac.
“And you, sir?”
“Oh, uh…” he looked up at the menu. “Er… a quarter-pounder, please.”
“Anything to drink?”
“Jus’ water.”
“Okay.” she repeated their order to the stallion in the kitchen, who acknowledged it, and got to work.
“Your food’ll be ready in just a minute.” the mare said. “That’ll be seven bits, please.”
North handed over the money, which surprised Mac more. He’d been perfectly willing to pay for his own meal. When the mare gave the their trays, they went to some seats near the window.
“The usual?” asked Mac. North nodded, and took a bite out of his hayburger.
As they ate, Mac watched North. His bearing was still tired and downtrodden, and he’d let his mane grow out longer than he ever had. It fell down over his eyebrows, nearly covering his eyes.
After they’d eaten, they visited a few shops. Nothing was bought, but Mac was glad that North was out of the house, and hopefully enjoying himself a little. Even if he couldn’t actually tell.
Their final visit was to a greenhouse, in which there were many exotic specimens. Mac was glad to see that North’s lethargy briefly disappeared, replaced with an alert interest. But their time was growing short, so when Mac concluded it would be best to return to the farm, he nudged North, who was examining a strange-looking orchid.
“It’s time ta go, sugarcube.” he said. “We need ta head home.”
North looked disappointed, but he nodded. He followed Mac out, and followed him down the path that would take them home. They passed the schoolhouse, which was dark and empty for the weekend. The flag fluttered in a small breeze, and the shiny bronze bell gyrated slowly from side to side. They wind picked up a little, and North shivered.
“You okay?” Mac asked. “You c’n walk closer ta me if ya want.”
North nodded, but the continuing onslaught of cold air finally drove him to huddle against the red steed for warmth. Mac didn’t mind. North was like a brother to him, after all. He could feel how cold North was now, and tried his best to block as much of the chilly air as he could.
“Y’know,” he said, as they were walking past the edge of the Everfree Forest’s border with the farm, “AJ sent a letter, askin’ Braeburn ta come up here’n help us with the harvest.”
North’s ears pricked up. Response.
“Ah reckon y’all ‘re gonna have a great time together.”
Once home, North went upstairs, and Big Mac went to make sure all the tools were put away. After ensuring this, he took his turn in the bathroom, then went to his bedroom.
Big Mac’s room was fairly simple. His bed was placed against a side wall, next to a dresser with a small lamp. A raggedy old doll was laid back against his pillows. He picked the doll up, brushing its grey yarn mane out of its blue and red button eyes. Then he straightened its polka-dotted pants, and smiled.
“Hello, Smarty Pants.”
The doll gazed back up at him. He nuzzled it, and climbed into his bed.
“Today’s been weird.” he whispered to the ever-attendant Smarty Pants. “North won’ talk ta anypony, ‘n he’s been so tired-lookin’.”
He sighed, and relaxed.
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Later that night, Big Mac was in a peaceful half-asleep state. His mind wandered freely among different trains of thought, which were disjointed and unrelated. He was musing on the incredibly random subject of different kinds of jellyfish, when his door creaked slightly.
He looked over at the door, to see a guilty-looking North peering in at him. North blinked, his eyebrows knitted in a frown. Mac caught the silent question.
Can I come in?
Big Mac nodded, and North crept quietly across the room to his bed. He pawed at the worn covers with a hoof, a questioning look directed at Mac. Mac nodded again, and pulled the covers back part of the way.
North climbed up next to him, and curled up on the bed. Mac pulled the covers back over them, and settled himself back down.
“Nightmares?” he whispered.
North nodded, as he snuggled up against the red steed’s chest. Mac wrapped North in his arms, letting him relax into the embrace. North burried his face in the thick fur of Mac’s chest. He heard North sniffle, and tightened his hug.
“Yer safe.” he said, nuzzling North’s mane. “Ah ain’t gonna leave ya, ah promise.”
North nodded. After a long time, his breathing evened out. Mac kept the smaller stallion against his chest. While North slept, he drifted off. Soothed by the gentle breathing of one who was like a brother.
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Applejack was awake too. She’d heard creaks coming from out in the hall, and assumed Applebloom or Big Mac had gone to the bathroom. This annoyed her, since she’d been woken up. It was a well known fact that Applejack was highly irritable if her sleep cycle was interrupted. But she knew that it was inevitable that one of them would end up going at some point during the night. But when there was no second squeak, but only silence, she grew suspicious.
She got up, and sneaked out into the hall. She was light on her hooves, and easily avoided the loose floorboard. She checked on Applebloom first, but she was sleeping like a rock. Minus the half-snores and the wide open mouth. Granny Smith was in a similar state, so she moved on to the stallions’ rooms.
She went to Mac’s door, and discovered it was already partially open. In her half-awake state, she stared at that for a few minutes. Then she pushed the door open a few more inches, and peered in.
Big Mac was there, like he should be. But what she hadn’t expected to see, was North, curled up next to him. Wrapped in his embrace, even.
She very nearly lost it then. Anger rose up inside of her like a fiery viper. She was about to throw the door open with a bang, and give North a full-out tirade over sleeping with her brother. But some measure of self-control took over, and she took a closer look. North looked flat-out exhausted. He didn’t normally look this peaceful when he slept. She’d gone on enough nighttime prowls to know this. But right now, held by her brother, he seemed to be more relaxed.
So she left them be. She’d ask Mac about it in the morning. But right now, she just wanted to go back to bed.
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When Big Macintosh woke in the morning, he could still feel North pressed up against his chest. They’d shifted a little during the night, so now North was using his chest as a pillow. He closed his eyes again, and relaxed. He knew that he should be getting up right now. The apples wouldn’t harvest themselves, after all.
But he felt so comfortable. It was… nice, not being alone. Not that he minded being alone. He took comfort in the moments of peace and solitude, when he was alone with his thoughts.
But this… he liked it.
He opened his eyes again, gazing down at North. He leaned over, and nuzzled into his messy blue mane.
Soon, though, he really did need to get up. He bent over North’s ear.
“Sugarcube…” he said, quietly enough so as to not be heard outside. “‘s time ta get up.”
North stirred, stretching his back. He rubbed his eyes, then pushed himself upright. Big Mac made himself do the same, and sighed. He looked down at North, and smiled.
“Sleep okay?”
North nodded a bit, then looked up at him. He seemed to hesitate for a second, then he wrapped his arms around Mac’s midsection. Mac returned the embrace, giving him a good squeeze.
“We need to go’n help AJ now, or she’ll be on the warpath.”
North nodded, and got off the bed. They walked out of the room, and Big Mac briefly recalled the previous time this had happened.
North needs somepony. He told himself.