//------------------------------// // The Sunrise // Story: Ask Big Macintosh // by BloodBunny67 //------------------------------// A reddish orange sliver of light flickered into existence over the endless field of grassy knolls that formed the picturesque backdrop of Sweet Apple Acres as the new dawn made its presence known. Thunk! Apples rained down as a mighty blow reverberated up the thick trunk and shook its way into the tree’s dense canopy. Dang it Big Mac! Why didn't ya burn that box when you first came back? What were y’all thinkin’? Thunk! The loud impact from the massive hind hooves was followed by a soft patter as the swollen red fruit rolled off the overflowing wicker baskets and onto the soft blue-green grass that carpeted the orchard. You left. Apple Bloom was just sitting there, confused and scared, and you just left her there, alone. Thunk! Limbs, now bereft of their fruit, shook hard. A snow of verdant green foliage falling in their place. Ma an’ Pa ‘moved’ her birthday? Ah can't believe that's what you came up with. The old you would have known just what to say. Always did. Filthy Rich used to say you could sell a cloudsdale house to a family of earth ponies, and have them give a pat on the back for your trouble. Thunk! The trunk of the formerly lush apple tree now sat at a thirty degree angle from the earth beneath it. Loose sticks had begun dropping from the outreaching limbs under the assault of the mighty earth pony’s vented frustration. Ahh, what are you thinking now, you stupid horse! It’s the pony you used to be that went and mucked everything up in the first place! Why, If it wasn't for you- Crack! Big McIntosh recoiled as his hoof shattered its way through the trunk of the once mighty apple tree. His powerful hind leg lodged between the two splintered halves as he tried to pull away. “Dang it!” he had time to yelp before he lost balance and  tumbled down hard to the ground. Dust settled on the stunned Big Mac as he lay prone. After a few unsuccessful moments of struggling to free his hoof from the ruined tree, the anger that had begun to bubble up once more suddenly ebbed, before flowing out again with an exhausted sigh. Big Mac stopped struggling and allowed himself to collapse into the soft ground below. He laid still in the cool dewy grass for a long moment, shivering from the chill before it was chased away by the coppery warmth of the cresting sun. Without the will to even lift his head, Mac’s eyes nonetheless rose from their downward cast and looked up at the Apple family farmhouse that lay some distance away. Despite the early hour, the second floor bedroom window facing the west orchard was dimly lit with the flickering amber glow of an oil lamp. She hasn’t slept a wink all night, Big Mac’s eyes drooped low again. Ah need to go talk to her. Straighten things out. The words rang hollow to his mind even as he thought them. He sunk lower into the ground, an invisible weight resting heavily on his shoulders. Cept’ in this world, some things just can’t be straightened out. Some things were so twisted and ugly, the only way to live with them was to bury them deep and then spend every day trying to forget they existed. At least, that had worked until yesterday. And it was all your fault, stupid horse. Y’all should never have left. The moment the spontaneous thought was formed, his heart was stabbed with a blade of fresh guilt. “No... No, you don't mean that,” Mac’s thoughts came out in a soft whisper as his eyes grew blurry with tears. “But, maybe it would have been best if y’all had just stayed gone.” Warm tears began to fall as Mac’s mind lost itself in the memory, well over a decade old, but still as fresh as a field of green wheat in his mind.