Angel was an instant hit at Sugar Cube Corner, everyone who came to eat and hear her melodious singing was immediately enchanted. After her performance for the night, she even mingled with the crowd and commented that she was very sweet and polite. Even somepony who didn’t enjoy her performance only had to see the flash of her smile and be won over by her. Big Mac could not be more proud of her, and she was proud that she learned to conquer her stage fright and put herself out there.
Though, one week later, the Cakes felt it would be best if she only performed on Fridays so she could give her voice a rest this gave Angel more time to spend with her friends and Big Mac.
Angel spent as much time with all of them as she could, going on picnic lunches with her friends and romantic dinners with Big Mac. But all these activities had left her house with cobwebs and dust one morning she came downstairs from her bedroom and noticed this.
“Well, I know what I’m doing today,” she said to herself.
She went over to the cleaning supplies closet and got the mop, mop bucket, rags, sponges, and broom; she then tied her hair up and began cleaning. She scrubbed and swept the floors, dusted the furniture, cleaned the kitchen (and almost gagging in the process of cleaning the sink), she cleaned her bedroom and the dining room. In the process of cleaning her dining room, she bumped her front leg into the table’s leg.
“AH! Sweet Celestia!” she shouted in pain.
She only watched as a spot of her leg turned purple, her head then turned towards the door when she heard 3 knocks. Angel limped towards it and looked through the peephole to see Big Mac, that is when Angel began to panic, she opened the door and hid her bruised leg behind the other in one swift motion.
“Hey Mac, what are you doing—”
“Ah’m gonna take ya ta meet mah family,” he said nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.
Angel couldn’t hide her shock, “Huh?”
“By the way, yer mane looks cute like that.”
“Big Mac, can you repeat that about meeting your family?”
“Ah’m...gonna take ya ta meet mah family.”
“When exactly?”
“Today.”
Angel’s eyes widened, “Mac, this is kind of short notice...I have cleaning to get done and—”
“What happened to yer leg? You’ve never stood like that before…”
Angel then began to sweat a little, knowing how Big Mac would react to seeing her injured leg. “Mac, since when have you taken notice in my posture?”
He huffed, “Angel, let’s see it…”
He held his hoof out patiently like she were a foal hiding candy behind her back.
She heaved a sigh, “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She placed her hoof in his and the shock on his face appeared, he saw the bruise that was the size of a baseball on her leg.
“Angel….who did this?”
“What?”
“When Ah find the pony who did this ta you...Ah’m gonna kick em in the hind quarters so hard I’ll banish them to the Moon!” he said through gritted teeth.
Angel rolled her eyes, “Mac, you want me to leave you and the dining room table alone so you can give it a stern talking to?”
Big Mac blushed, “Oh.”
Angel smiled and let out a small giggle, she found it sweet how protective he was of her.
“But, I’d love to meet your family, but I can’t be gone long I still have cleaning to do.”
“Ah’ll make sure ya don’t come home late, and Ah’ll even do the cleanin’ mahself for ya if yer too tired.”
Angel smiled, “Thanks, I guess I can take a break for a bit.”
“Great, Ah just have ta pick up some supplies here in town and we can get goin’.”
“I can come with you.”
“Alright, sounds good...wait, what’s that on yer face?”
“What?”
Big Mac reached toward her face toward a spot that looked like another bruise on her cheek, he brushed his hoof over it and it was gone, leaving Angel blushing.
“Don’t worry, it was dust, ready?”
“Yeah.”
Angel and Big Mac went into town, picked up the supplies, stored them in the wagon and headed out to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Ya nervous?”
“Just a tad, I’ve only talked to Apple Bloom and Granny Smith briefly, I’m just worried of what they’ll think of me…”
“Angel, they’re gonna love you...you’ll see.”
They were halfway there when they heard a bang and Big Mac felt the cart fall to one side. He unstrapped the cart from his collar and went to assess the damage, a wheel had sunk into a mud puddle he had tried to avoid and the entire cart was stuck.
He grunted, “Pony feathers...Ah hate it when this happens.”
“Can I help?” Angel asked.
“Naw, Ah got this.”
He then began pushing the cart only to get it out a little and have it roll back into the mud, Big Mac then got a thick branch and began trying to dig the wheel out, it had been going on for half an hour ending up with Big Mac’s legs and chest covered in mud.
“Everything okay over there, Mac?”
A little irritated, he said with sarcasm, “Yeah, it’s going great.”
Angel laughed a little, “You know, it’s getting late...this is usually the part where Slendermane comes out from behind the bushes and kills us both.”
Big Mac rolled his eyes, “Can ya help me out please?”
Angel snorted a laugh and walked up to the wagon, she then began pulling the cart from the harness. She pulled three times and each time the cart went back in the puddle causing mud to splash onto Big Mac’s face.
“Okay, Angel, that’s enough!” he shouted to Angel as he spat out the mud on his tongue.
Angel let go and more splashed on him, and Angel laughed at how he looked covered in mud. He now reminded her of a caramel apple with the brown on his red coat, he only smiled evilly as he approached Angel she knew what he was up to and began to back away quickly.
“Oh no ya don’t!” Big Mac said playfully, he then ran up to her and hugged her tight with his forearms getting mud all over her as she squealed. He laughed as he let her go and she wanted revenge, Angel scooped up some mud with her hoof and flung it at Big Mac the mud went through the air and splattered all over his face.
“Two can play at that game!” he exclaimed scooping some mud up himself and flinging it at Angel.
Both of them laughed as the mud continued to fly from Angel and Big Mac chucking mud at each other from opposite sides of the cart until their hair was and coats were spotted with brown. Big Mac then decided to use a more tactful and stealthy approach and picked up more mud and snuck around the cart behind Angel who looked confused when she didn’t see Big Mac there getting ready to throw more mud at her. She then felt a cold splat on her back and shrieked, Big Mac ran past her to get away but slipped in the mud puddle and landing on his stomach. Angel fell backwards in the mud next to her coltfriend and both were a laughing mess. They laid there for 5 minutes just laughing before Big Mac helped Angel up and finished getting the cart out by them both pushing on the back of it. Angel helped Big Mac get hitched up to the cart and they were on their way again, but now Angel was more than hesitant to meet Big Mac’s family with her appearance.
“Mac, I think we should go back to my house to get washed up.”
“Angel, we’re already halfway there and we’ve got hoses in the back of the house.”
“Mac, I’m serious, I’m not meeting your family looking like this!”
“They’re not gonna care, they’ll just giggle a little and tell us to hose off.”
“Besides, Ah can’t go inta yer house like this either...it would be more cleanin for you.”
That made Angel back down as Big Mac laughed and they came up to Sweet Apple Acres, Angel had never been this far into the countryside but she thought it was beautiful. The way the sun shone on the barn perched on the hill was peaceful to her, she couldn’t help but smile at it’s rugged beauty.
“Big Mac! Where’ve ya been? And bring the little gal with ya!” an elderly voice called out.
He grinned at Angel, who was now shaking in her hoofprints, Big Mac nuzzled her cheek and whispered, “It’ll be alright.”
“Big Mac! Hurry yer patootie!”
He smiled, gently took her by the hoof and guided her towards the house.
As they got closer, the elderly pony, who Angel recognized as Granny Smith saw the two covered in mud.
“What in the name of Apple Strudels happened ta you two?”
“Had some trouble with the cart,” Angel responded politely.
Granny looked embarrassed and came up to Angel and tried cleaning the mud off of her, “Ah’m so sorry ‘bout that apple dumplin,’ Big Mac, can you go inta the back and hose each other off? Ah’ll bring ya some towels.”
“Ya got it Granny,” Big Mac said saluting.
He led Angel to the back of the house where the hose was and she got a good view of the miles and miles of apple trees covering the rolling hills. She then felt cold water spray on her which made her jump, she heard laughter coming from him which gave her an idea. She grabbed the hose from him and began spraying him with the ice cold water as well.
Angel then came closer to him with the running hose; he began backing away Angel then ran after him and it quickly turned into a chase scene throughout the entire backyard. Big Mac had now taken the hose away from Angel and was now drenching her in water, both of them were sopping wet, but clean. Granny came around the corner with the towels and smiled when she saw the scene in front of her because of the happiness that her grandson had found in this one mare. He was smiling in front of her, he was laughing, his eyes revealed the love and compassion he felt for her and Granny Smith knew he had never felt that way about anypony outside of his own family.
“Here’s yer towels!” She called as she came, about ready to cry.
“Thank you, Ms. Smith,” Angel said politely.
“When Ah hear Ms. Smith Ah look around fer mah Financial Advisor, you can call me Granny. Yer a part of this family now dumplin’.”
Angel giggled, “Okay, Granny.”
“That’s better.”
Granny gave them their towels as a young southern voice could be heard, “Angel! Angel!”
The little filly Angel remembered was named Apple Bloom rounded the corner in a run, “Angel! Yer here!”
“Hey, Apple Bloom!”
Angel embraced the filly in a hug and saw Applejack come around the corner as well, only in a walk.
Apple Bloom was then released from the hug and said excitedly, “It’s a good thing yer here, Big Mac was dreamin’ bout ya last night!”
Angel and Big Mac looked at each other, Angel in surprise and Big Mac in embarrassment.
Big Mac put on the fakest smile he could muster and said with gritted teeth and a fake laugh, “No Ah wasn’t.”
“Yeah ya were! Ah could hear him too, ‘Angel! Angel!’”
Angel and the others could only laugh as Big Mac’s face turned redder than his coat.
When the laughter ceased, Granny suggested that Big Mac showed her around the orchards so he could calm down. He did this happily, he led Angel there as calmly as possible.
“Was that as awkward fer you as it was fer me?”
“I love your family, they’re wonderful!”
“So, how long has the orchard been in your family?”
“Since Granny’s family first moved here.”
Big Mac told the entire of Granny Smith moving to the property, the hardships they went through, as well as the story of the Zap Apples.
“What about your parents? You...never mentioned it.”
He suddenly stopped and hung his head, Angel knew what this meant.
“Oh...I am so sorry, if I said anything—”
“You didn’t…”
He looked into the distance of the northernmost part of the orchard then back at Angel, “Follow me and be careful, you can get lost really easily in here.”
Big Mac took her to a place in the orchards, it was a makeshift fort of some kind made of a series of branches. The fort was lopsided and slanted a bit but it still looked stable, Big Mac stood ahead of Angel silent and still.
“Big Mac, are you okay?” Angel asked.
“Sorry, it’s just...the reason why Ah built this place…”
Angel shouldn’t have been surprised, but she still was, “Why did you build this place?”
“To get away…”
Angel was confused, what would he want to get away from?
“Get away from what?”
He heaved a sigh, “When Ah was 10, mah Mother died from an illness and mah father followed 3 months after...Ah built this to try and avoid everypony givin’ their sympathy. Ah just couldn’t take it anymore. And for a while it worked, until Ah realized that Ah needed ta take over mah farm, mah family, and most of all mah life.”
Angel was taken aback with sadness by his story, she never knew that somepony with as much strength as him could carry an emotional burden like this. She now saw him as a brave and strong soul that she felt immediate compassion for. Somepony that had seen and been through a lot in his time, and while it broke him down, it also spiritually strengthened him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yer the first mare Ah’ve ever brought here, the reason Ah did was because when Ah’m around you...Ah forget about it all, Ah forget about all mah past problems with mah parents, mah sisters, everypony.”
“What’re you saying?”
Big Mac Turned to face her with the look of a stallion who was seeing heaven’s gates and walked toward her. He then gently took her hoof and said, “Because...I love you. Angel, yer very precious ta me…”
Angel recovered from her shock, he. Loved. Her?
“Ah fell in love with yer kindness, yer willingness to put other first and just...you, everythin’ about you. Yer the best thing that’s ever come inta mah life and...Ah...Ah was scared ta tell ya cuz...I didn’t know if ya felt the same way and..”
“I do…”
Big Mac looked at Angel in the eyes, “Ya do?”
Angel nodded with a warm smile on her face, “I’ve fallen in love with the strength you carry, not in physical strength but with spiritual strength. I also love your kind heart, how you make sure I feel safe and how you’re gentle with me. Before you, I was in a relationship where I was left and I was scared of that happening again...I’m still scared of that happening but not as much anymore.”
“Angel, Ah would never leave you...Ah couldn’t do that…”
“I know, and you should know that I love you too and I feel like this one is actually going to last…”
Big Mac smiled as he saw joyful tears coming from Angel’s eyes, he sat on the ground and kissed her. The kiss lasted longer than usual and Angel didn’t feel uncomfortable whatsoever. Angel sat down with him and gently placed a hoof on the side of his face, their lips parted and they weren’t even apart for a few seconds before Angel kissed him with passion, causing him to fall over and taking Angel with him. They both blushed fiercely once they realized the predicament they were in, Angel rolled off of him and sat up feeling embarrassed.
“Angel, if ya don’t mind, Ah would like to know what it’s like to have ya in mah arms again.”
Angel smiled and laid down in his waiting arms enveloping her and pulling her close to him.
“Did Ah ever tell ya how beautiful Ah think ya are?”
“You’ve said I am but...I thought they were just compliments.”
“Angel, yer beautiful inside and out, ya have the most beautiful soul Ah’ve ever come across in mah life. That’s what Ah meant when Ah said that you were beautiful.”
Angel nuzzled into his chest, hearing his heartbeat fast for her soothed her and made her sleepy. They napped there for a whole hour.
When they woke up, the sun was starting to set and they decided it was time to go back home to get dinner ready. Once they got home, Apple Bloom came up to Big Mac and hugged him, “Yer not mad about earlier are ya?”
“Nah.”
Apple Bloom made a sigh of relief.
Big Mac then had a playful smirk on his face, “But yer still gonna get it, c’mere you!”
Apple Bloom let out a playful squeal and ran off with Big Mac chasing her, Apple Bloom got her chance to get behind him and jumped on his back. She then began tickling his sides, he was then laughing loudly as he fell to the ground. The filly then got on his stomach and shouted victoriously, “Gotcha!”
“Oh yeah?”
Big Mac then began tickling her, she laughed and squealed as Big Mac said, “Ya like bein’ tickled? Huh? Ya little tickle monster!”
He then let her go as she got onto his back again and he began jumping around the front yard and Angel took note on how good he was with her. He was patient, gentle and playful; she couldn’t help but giggle at their antics her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Applejack come up to Angel and ask “Hey, Angel...Ah know yer guest and all but Ah was wonderin’ if you’d help me and Granny with dinner?”
“I’d love to. Besides, I need to get to know her somehow!”
Both of them laughed as they went inside, leaving Big Mac and Apple Bloom to their playful antics.
Angel entered the house and was led to the kitchen where Granny was getting the lettuce ready for salads that night.
“Hey there, Angel! Can ye chop up this lettuce fer me?”
“Sure thing!”
Angel began chopping as Granny Smith and Applejack were slicing the apples for the salad. Once the lettuce was done, Granny asked Angel if she could toss it for them while they got the drinks, which Angel was more than happy to oblige. As Angel tossed the salad, she watched as Big Mac and Apple Bloom continue playing in the front yard. It made her think of the things she wanted in life until it was taken away from her. She wanted a nice house with a husband who would come home and kiss her, a family of her own, to grow old with said husband and to sit on a front porch someday and watching their grandchildren. Angel choked back tears as she finished tossing the salad, she turned around, put on a smile and lifted the bowl with her magic. She was almost to the table when she felt her head hurt and the bowl began to drop. Angel tried to get it before it crashed to the ground but couldn’t, luckily Applejack caught it in time.
“You okay there, hun?” Granny asked.
“Yeah, my magic isn’t really the strongest, no worries.”
Both AJ and Granny looked a little skeptical, “Angel...if there’s somethin’ ya wanna tell us, you can,” Applejack offered.
“No! I mean...nothing’s wrong…”
“Are ya sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Applejack felt conflicted on whether or not she should say something else when Big Mac and Apple Bloom came in. Angel came up to them, “You two have fun?”
“Yeah! Big Mac’s tons of fun ta play with!”
Angel laughed then Big Mac pulled her gently into a kiss in front of them all.
“Eew!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Big Mac then picked up a book to cover the sight of them kissing as they all laughed.
“Alright you two, let’s sit down and eat!” Granny said laughing
Angel sat down between Granny and Big Mac, and across from Applejack and Apple Bloom. She felt calm with a twinge of nervousness in her, but all of that melted away as she began conversing with them as she ate. Listening to Apple Bloom’s cutie mark quests with her friends as well as Applejack’s own adventures with her friends.
It was halfway through dinner that Granny said, “She’s a lot purteyer than you said she was Big Mac!”
Big Mac’s face turned red again, he just wanted to sink into the floor while Angel just smiled warmly and took him by the hoof assuringly.
“Thanks, Granny.”
“Hey, ya think she can come over again?” Apple Bloom asked.
Big Mac looked at Angel, expecting her to give him a look that meant ‘no,’ but instead, he got a nod. He then looked at his youngest sister and said, “Eeyup.”
The young filly’s eyes lit up at the thought.
“It’s gettin’ kinda late out, Ah think Ah should get Angel home.”
“Big Mac, before ya do...can Ah talk ta you privately?”
“Uhh...Eeyup? Angel, wait fer me outside?”
“Okay.”
Angel then got up and went outside to see that the fireflies had come out, she watched their lights glow and dim softly as she waited for Big Mac.
Granny pulled him aside near the stairs and said, “It’s about yer marefriend…”
“Is somethin’ wrong?”
“Only that she nearly dropped the bowl of salad with her magic, does that happen often?”
“It does, Ah’ve seen it often but her magic isn’t that strong so...it’s nuthin’ new.”
“Well, if that’s all it is, Ah’m okay with it! It concerned me is all. Other than that, she’s a keeper! Keep her, hold her, don’t let her go! Besides, Ah wanna see some great grandbabies!”
Big Mac couldn’t help but want to get Angel out of there before Granny Smith started planning their wedding. Which Big Mac wouldn’t mind except he hadn’t known her that long, he’d only been with her a few months and the thought of marriage now felt like they would be going too fast. He then went outside and walked her home.