//------------------------------// // Word // Story: Last Words // by BlazzingInferno //------------------------------// Applejack was through running. After a day of charging through Ponyville on an empty stomach, even a slow trot felt like too much. If only she’d finished breakfast before Granny Smith burst in with urgent news, or even eaten some of the wedding cake Pinkie suddenly needed to get rid of. Better still, if only Big Mac was less of a baby when it came to the doctor; maybe then he would’ve stuck around a few minutes longer and saved her all this trouble. Wherever he was right now, her best effort at finding him simply involved putting one hoof in front of the other and watching the houses on main street slowly pass by. “H-hey AJ!” Applejack spotted Rainbow Dash overhead, clutching a bright red present in her hooves and wearing an eerily wide smile on her face. Forget her own troubles; if only Big Mac had spared the rest of Ponyville. “Hey Rainbow. You seen Big Mac?” Rainbow swooped down and set the present between them. “Y-yeah I have. I… uh… I got you a little something, Applejack.” Applejack eyed the package. Knowing Rainbow Dash, there was probably a cream pie mounted on a spring inside. Still, Rainbow looked a tad too nervous to be in a pranking mood. “What’s this about?” “Just to… you know… show how awesome our friendship is!” Applejack lifted the box’s lid. Inside she found a card, obviously targeted at foals, depicting two ponies hugging under the caption ‘Friends Forever,’ and a box set of Daring Do novels. This probably wasn’t the best time to mention that she only read non-fiction and historical romances, not to a pony that’d either had a visit from Big Mac or one crash landing too many. “Uh… thanks, Rainbow. This is mighty nice of you. You’re… feelin’ okay, right?” Rainbow nodded emphatically. “Never better! Say, don’t you think we ought to hang out more, since we’re such good friends? Maybe something low-key, and not in any way competitive? Maybe we could take the fillies camping again, like… tomorrow? I can’t do tonight because I’ve got this big party going down at my house. I-I would’ve invited you and everything, but it’s just a bunch of pegasi that I used to go to school with. That doesn’t mean you’re not a close friend though! J-just say the word and I’ll blow off the party and start packing my camping stuff right now!” Forget Big Mac. Getting Rainbow’s head examined by a professional was now Applejack’s top priority. She took a step back, which only prompted Rainbow to come closer. “That’s… that’s a nice idea, RD. Did anything… uh… prompt all this? Maybe an accident?” “Huh? All I did was talk with Big Mac, and he got me worried about—” Applejack groaned. “Big Red strikes again. Now where’d he go?” “But… camping?” “Only if you stop acting like I’m gonna disown you.” Rainbow’s nodded. “S-sure! That’d never happen… right?” “Ri—” Rarity’s glare could be felt at a hundred paces. “Applejack, I demand to know where Big Mac is!” Applejack sighed. “I’d like to know that myself. Think you could clue us in, RD?” Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno. Last I saw, he was headed to your place, Rarity.” Rarity ground her teeth together. “He certainly isn’t there anymore. You haven’t seen Spike, have you? Something transpired between the two of them, I just know it.” “Why? I spotted him right before I saw Big Mac. He said something about opening a savings account.” Applejack put a hoof to her face. “What’s Big Mac done to Spike…” Rarity stomped her hoof. “That’s precisely what I want to know!” “Wait… what’d Spike do to you anyway, Rarity?” Rarity paused, as if Spike’s apparent crime suddenly slipped her mind. “He… well I suppose he only held a door open for me…” “That’s all?” “A-and he looked at me in some intangibly different way! I haven’t quite figured it out—” Rarity blushed “—but for some inexplicable reason I simply can’t get him out of my mind.” Rainbow laughed. “Hah, way to go Sp—” Rarity reached up and put a hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “Don’t you dare! I’ve had quite enough meddling and matchmaking for one day!” Applejack grinned. “Why don’t you just talk to Spike? I don’t think Big Mac could’ve done that much damage to him. You might even… like it.” Rarity blushed again, and then turned to Applejack with a burning glare. “Know this, Applejack: if all of this somehow turns to heartbreak, I swear that Big Mac will experience a day of reckoning the likes of which ponykind has never seen!” Rainbow and Applejack watched Rarity storm off. When her angry muttering faded at long last, Applejack held up a hoof. “Ten bits on Spike blowing it before sundown.” Rainbow grinned and bumped her hoof. “You’re on.” --- Big Mac shambled his way through Cider Trough’s door, feeling loopier and lonelier than the barflies drooling on the countertop. As local watering holes go, this place was the bottom of the barrel, the kind of establishment that Granny Smith wouldn’t even mention in polite company. In that sense, it sounded like the perfect place to tend to a broken heart, or at least to drown it. He stepped across the sawdust floor, forever thankful that nopony here would recognize him. None of them would care if he had a thing to say, wise or foolish. The latter was more likely, anyway. He scanned the room for a spot to get off his hooves. Every barstool was taken, as was every table. So much for not saying anything. He pulled out the nearest chair and stared at the single mare occupying the table. “Pardon me, Miss. Mind if I sit? I’m just here to rest a spell, no pick-up lines, no funny business.” The mare, a grey one with a blonde mane, had a hoof wrapped around a half-empty mug. She glanced up at him, or at least one of her eyes did. The other seemed to be staring off into space for some reason. “Oh… oh wow, sure!” Big Mac didn’t care for her enthusiasm, but he wasn’t here to argue. He wasn’t here to talk at all. His throat hurt, and he’d made a mess of things with Cheerilee. All he needed was a little solitude, and a late lunch. So what if one of them came in liquid form? The mare seemed more than willing to talk, however. “Wow… Nopony ever sits by me. Not since… ever! I know who you are; do you remember me?” He shook his head. “Nope.” She grinned an inebriated grin. “I deliver your mail! Nopony ever thinks about the mail mare… unless I mess up. That’s how it’s supposed to be and everything, but—” Tears welled up in her eyes “—I try really hard! I-I just don’t have good depth perception, and letters and numbers get all fuzzy sometimes!” He watched her cry quietly into the tabletop. Comforting her was only slightly higher on his priority list than finishing off whatever grog she’d been drinking for her. Still, his elders didn’t raise him to ignore a pony in distress. “There… uh… There there.” She sniffled loudly. “Nopony ever sits and talks with me… nopony ever listens…” Big Mac was ready to excuse himself. She grabbed his hoof, as if she knew. “S-say something, please? Anything.” “Uh…” His track record of helping friends today was spotty at best. Still, the bloodshot stare-down she was giving him tore him up inside in a way not even Cheerilee had managed to. “Why don’t ponies like to talk with you? You seem nice enough.” “Lots of reasons. I’m clumsy, I look funny, I mess stuff up all the time… At least nopony calls me names anymore.” “Names? Now that’s no way to treat a pony, young or full grown.” She nodded emphatically. “I know! I moved away from Cloudsdale right after school just so it’d stop! There’s… there’s this big reunion party for Cloudsdale grads in Ponyville tonight. I-I couldn’t go, I just couldn’t! S-so I came here instea—” The bar’s door swung open, and a group of pegasus stallions strolled in, laughing to themselves. “—knew that dumb party was gonna be a drag.” The grey hooves grasping Big Mac’s foreleg shivered. “Oh no! No no no! That’s… that’s the captain of the hoofball team from my old school in Cloudsdale, and all his cronies. What’re they doing here? I-I’d better go before they see me!” Big Mac knocked a hoof on the table. “Now hold on a second. You’re a grown pony, ain’t you?” She slowly nodded. “Y-yeah, but they—” “This ain’t recess. Who cares what some other ponies think. You’re you, and you gotta be proud of that. Letting some other pony tell you who you are ain’t no way to live, not even for a day.” She shrank down in her seat. “B-but—” “But nothing. I’ll walk right up there with you, if you want. Show ’em you’re your own pony. Who knows, maybe they’re all grown up now too, nice and everything.” The laughter doubled in volume, and somehow Big Mac knew it was directed at her. One of the stallions walked over. “Check it out, dudes. You’ll never guess who I found over here!” The grey mare cringed. Big Mac stood up. “Now just a minute. If the lady don’t want to talk to you, you’d better just move along and leave her be.” She stood, too. “No… no. You’re right. I can be proud of who I am. I’m not afraid of you and your friends any more, Kicker. You might’ve bullied me before, but that’s not who I am. I’ve got a job, a house—” She wrapped a foreleg around Big Mac “—and at least one really nice friend. I’m not that filly you used to push around.” Kicker sneered at her. “Oh yeah? So even if I call you Der—” Big Mac was knocked down by what could best be described as a grey explosion. He spat out some sawdust and, to his surprise, saw Kicker on the ground next to him with a mouth full of it. The grey mare had him pinned to the floor, one foreleg around his neck, the other brandishing the razor-sharp remains of her glass mug. Her voice shook the room like thunder. “My name is Ditzy, you jerk! You want me to write it down for you? How about right across that big, stupid forehead? Huh? Just so happens I’ve got a nice sharp pen, right here!” Big Mac lunged forward, as did every other pony in the bar. Suddenly hooves, mugs, and bodies were crashing down everywhere, including on top of his head. The world faded to black in the midst of Ditzy’s rage-filled cries for blood. --- Applejack slouched on the park bench and pulled her hat over her eyes. Never had she done less in a single day. So far she hadn’t eaten breakfast, bucked a single apple, found her big brother, or had one sensical conversation with anypony. According to the fading light and the lack of raging fashionistas, she also owed Rainbow Dash ten bits. The sound of approaching hoofsteps, ones too light to belong to Big Mac, didn’t even merit a raised ear. Unless that pony was on fire, she was staying out of their way. “Applejack, I’m so glad I found you!” Applejack sighed. Apparently there was a pony on fire. “What’s got you wound up, Twili—” Suddenly a pair of hooves were around her, and tears were wetting her shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry. I’ll do everything I can to help you get ready for the day and to… to deal with afterwards. I already spoke to Princess Celestia, and she’d like to make a personal appearance. As long as that’s all right with you and your family, of course.” Applejack wrenched a foreleg free of Twilight’s embrace and pushed her hat out of her face. “Say what?” Tears rolled down Twilight’s cheeks. “For Big Mac’s funeral.” “What?” Twilight held up a sheet of paper. “I feel so horrible… I found this list on him, and gave him a hard time when I should’ve been supportive… What can I do for you? What can I do for him? I don’t want the last thing he remembers about me to be us fighting.” “Twi, just hold on a sec and let me explain someth—” Twilight gasped. “I-I swear I haven’t told anypony! I understand he’s keeping it quiet for now, and I can respect that.” “Twi, you’ve got it all wrong. See, this morning—” Applejack’s eyes got the better of her. She scanned through the list in front of her. She read the list of names over and over again, assuming she’d made a mistake. Twilight finally let her go. “Is something else wrong?” A single tear slid down Applejack’s face. “Didn’t think there was, but—” A swarm of pegasi tore through the sky overhead, most of them shouting or laughing. Rainbow Dash left the crowd and hovered over the park bench. “Applejack, I just got word from my school buds that there’s this crazy bar fight going on and… well, the important thing is I know where Big Mac is!” Twilight jumped up. “Really? Where?” Flitter left the crowd next. “Is it true? Is Big Mac getting married?” Applejack jumped up. “No! How’d you get the idea that—” Flitter gasped. “Oh no, then he really is dying? I was really hoping Pinkie was right, not Rainbow.” Twilight shushed her. “We’re trying to keep it quiet. Rainbow Dash, where is he?” Rainbow Dash pointed across town with her hoof. “They’re taking him to the hospital right now.” Twilight sank to the ground. “The hospital?” Applejack started off at a trot. “Come on y’all, it’s high time we get this mess sorted out.” --- Big Mac’s head hurt something fierce. He opened an eye, and then the other. Neither one was swollen shut. That was a good sign, at least. Maybe the bar fight hadn’t been so bad after all. Then he realized where he was. He was back at the doctor’s, laying on a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. Worse still, Applejack was seated in the chair next to him. She glared down at him. “Evening, Big Mac.” He opened his mouth, despite all fears of if anything would come out. “Appleja—” “You mind tellin’ me why half the ponies in town have this fool idea that you’re about to get married, or kick the bucket? Twilight already had Princess Celestia on high alert to make an appearance at your funeral.” “I can—” She slammed her hat down on his chest. “Your funeral, Big Mac! Granny told me what’s really goin’ on… or least what you thought was.” “Huh?” Applejack crossed her forelegs and turned away. “So you took the whole day to give your pipes one last hurrah. I get that and all, but—” She whirled around to face him with tears in her eyes. “Why wasn’t I on your list, Big Mac? Don’t I matter to you? We work next to each other every day! We’ve been through thick and thin! We… We dug Ma and Pa’s graves together! Am I that bad of a sister that I don’t deserve a last word from you?” He reached up to pull her into a hug. She batted his foreleg away, but he followed up with the other one. She was getting a hug, even if it cost him his front teeth. “Applejack… ‘course you deserve a word or two. You deserve all of ’em, and then some. You weren’t on that list because… well, same reason Apple Bloom and Granny Smith weren’t. You and I, we’ve done so much together, we’ve done things that… that I don’t think there’s words for. I love you, AJ. Simple as that. Don’t think I can ever say it like I really mean it, but there you go.” She raised her head off his shoulder and sniffled. “Thanks, Big Mac. Sorry I got so bent out of shape. I should’ve thought more of you.” Big Mac shook his head. “Nope. I should’ve thought, period. This whole day I’ve been wasting my time. Sure, friends are nice an’ all, but I should’ve just kept Apple Bloom home from school and spent the whole time with her, you, and Granny Smith. That’s who my last words should be for.” Applejack wiped a foreleg across her eyes and grinned. “Heh, about that…” Nurse Redheart burst through the door. She was panting, glistening with sweat, and missing her hat. “Oh good, you’re awake. I hope you’re ready to check out; we need every bed in the hospital. We just got another round of patients from the bar fight. It seems like just about every pony with a score to settle went nuts today.” Big Mac gasped. “That mare… Ditzy. She okay?” Nurse Redheart gave a slow, stern nod. “Ditzy M. Hooves. She’ll be fine. The pony she attacked agreed not to press charges, so long as the stitches don’t scar, and so long as Ms. Hooves speaks to a counselor about her rage issues.” “Could I see her? Kinda feel like I should apologize for everything.” She shook her head. “Tomorrow, after she’s slept off whatever dreck they serve at that dive.” Applejack cleared her throat. “Say, Nurse Readheart, don’t you think there’s some other important news you should be telling him?” The two mares locked eyes, which Big Mac assumed was likely to start a fire. Nurse Redheart blinked, and gave him a weak smile. “It… seems we made a slight mistake with your test results this morning.” He raised his eyebrows. Applejack snorted. “ ‘Slight’ my hoof…” Nurse Redheart nodded. “It seems somepony in the lab misread the test tubes. You’re not losing your voice, Big Mac. You’re as healthy as a horse, aside from the minor concussion you sustained when somepony broke a barstool over your head.” Big Mac gasped. Applejack glowered at her. “We’re not going to be seeing a bill for this little mix up, now are we?” Nurse Redheart shook her head. “No Ma’am. I’ll fill out all the paperwork. You can just leave as soon as you’re ready.” “We’re ready right now. Let’s hit the road, Big Mac.” He got up and nodded. “Eeyu—wait!” Applejack winced like she’d just stepped on a thistle. “What now?” Big Mac hurried past her. “I’ve got one more stop to make. Think Miss Cheerilee is still up?” Applejack sighed. “I guess you’re gonna have to find out.” “Eeyup.” They passed a steady stream of ponies on stretchers on their way out of the hospital. Their quiet moans of agony told Big Mac more than he ever wanted to know about what happened after he blacked out. Ditzy definitely wasn’t a happy drunk. Applejack took a long, deep breath. “This ain’t even half of the damage, Big Mac. Pinkie’s probably still giving away wedding cake, Twilight’s probably still panicking, Rarity… well actually that part was kinda funny.” Big Mac stared at the ground. “I feel lower than dirt, AJ, and twice as dumb. All I wanted to do was see my friends, maybe help ‘em out however I could… Maybe I should just go home and call it quits.” “Hey now, there’s no quittin’ in this family. You got something to say to Cheerilee, I think you’d best just come out and say it.” “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, considering—” A yellow blur dropped out of the night sky and, to Big Mac’s horror, wrapped its hooves around him. Fluttershy hugged him tightly, oblivious to his shivering. “There you are, Big Mac. I just had to say thank you for what you said to me today.” Big Mac steadied himself as best he could. “Do you… do you really mean that?” “I had a long talk with my animal friends, and I think it made all of us feel better. From now on, I’m going to talk to them about how I feel instead of just bottling it all up. I’ve had such a wonderful day, and it’s all thanks to you! I-I’m so sorry I hit you like I did, but—” He chuckled. “That’s all right, Fluttershy. What you said just now more than makes up for it. I’m glad I could help.” Applejack grinned. “Don’t stand around here chattin’ too long, now. Don’t you have one more stop to make? Besides, I need Fluttershy to fill me in on what had your knees rattling a second ago.” Big Mac set off at a gallop. “Eeyup.” --- Big Mac stood on Cheerilee’s doorstep for minutes on end, looking over the faded paint on the windowsill, the untended flowerbed underneath, and the ancient door knocker in front of him. This was where she slept, he knew, but it clearly wasn’t where she lived. He’d been there earlier today, and he’d failed miserably at his self-appointed task. He lifted the knocker with his nose and let it fall back into place with a reverberating clang. He’d been here only once before, when he’d walked her home at the conclusion of their little outing on Hearts and Hooves day. Why hadn’t he properly asked her out then and there? Why hadn’t he managed to say anything to her earlier today? It didn’t matter. He’d learned his lesson: mute or no, talking just wasn’t his thing and never really had been. Asking Cheerilee out with a bunch of fancy words was like telling her he was a unicorn. A shadow fell across the candlelight illuminating the window, and the door creaked open. Cheerilee sounded even more tired than she looked. “Yes? Who… Big Mac?” He smiled. “Eeyup.” Her smile eclipsed the moonlight. “Well isn’t this a nice surprise! I’d invite you in, but… well, you don’t want to see how messy this place is. That’s what happens when I stay up late grading papers.” Big Mac nodded. Her house couldn’t possibly be messier than his own room. “So, did you have a reason for stopping by?” He held up a single red apple, one of the only two that’d left the orchard all day. A daisy was tied to the top by the stem, melding fruit and flower into the only gift he could think to give. Cheerilee held a hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Is that for me?” “Eeyup.” She deftly undid the knot and placed the flower behind her ear. “This is so thoughtful of you, Big Mac. When I really get into grading, I sometimes forget to eat dinner.” He gasped and held out the second apple he’d been hiding. This one wasn’t decorated with a flower; he’d intended to eat it himself. She smiled and pushed the second apple away. “You’re too kind. This one’s obviously for you. Would… would you like to—” Big Mac sat down on her doorstep and nodded to the spot next to him. “Eeyup.” Cheerilee sat down and leaned against him. “I was hoping you’d say that.”