It had been two days since the incident...And Applejack was taking it harder than anyone else. Work at the farm was slowed because of the loss of the powerful red stallion...and it was also because of the shape Applejack was in. Bags were forming underneath her eyes, and if she wasn't at Sweet Apple Acres she was in the hospital right beside Big Macintosh. Her friends were noticing the shape that Applejack was in and did everything they could to convince her to head back to work. They finally managed to, and they all agreed that each of them would pitch in a bit of their day to do Big Mac's share of work on the farm.
Big Macintosh's injuries weren't the only reason that Applejack was in a bad mental state...it also because of Applebloom's anger and Granny Smith. Applebloom blamed her sister for everything that had happened to Macintosh, and she wasn't helping the fact that Applejack was already hurting herself horribly. They never spoke to each other, and whenever Applejack tried her sister would respond with a "Eeyup" or a "Nnnope." Just like her brother.
Granny Smith was a different story. Applejack just couldn't find it in her to break the news to her grandmother. She didn't want her to feel the loss of another family member and so she said that Big Mac was on a trip to Appleloosa to help with construction.
"I'm so proud of that boy..." Granny Smith chuckled, rocking in her old wooden chair, "He always does what he can to help others. Just like this father." Applejack couldn't say anything and just left, tears in her eyes as she went on her daily visit to the hospital.
As she walked through the town, the ponies grew silent. Many of them tried speaking with her about the issue but she just brushed them off with a sad smile and said that she was busy. Some of them blamed the incident on her and her friends, but that was only a small percentage of the whole town.
When she entered the hospital and stepped into Big Mac's room, she noticed that she had found him exactly how she had left him...Broken, beaten, and unconscious. She stepped up to the bed, looking at his form. His breathing was still in the same weakened state, and his heartbeat was precisely the same as well. Her eyes once again started getting watery, her frown quivering. She felt so useless...so very useless.
"Hey Applejack." A voice said behind her, "I was looking for you. I...thought I would find you here." Applejack looked back to see a familiar blue pegasus standing in the doorway.
"Hey there Rainbow Dash...." Applejack said, wiping her eyes and forcing a smile, "What's up?" Rainbow Dash walked up, her eyes glancing back to Big Mac, "Well, the girls were thinking about giving you some sort of a break today. We've decided to finish your share of work too so that maybe you can have some time to yourself to...think and such. You know, take a walk around and gather yourself. Maybe visit sugarcube corner and have yourself some delicious cupcakes or something." Applejack smiled at her friend, "Thank you guys so much but it's alright. Ah'll be fine. Tell the girls that I'll be back to work any minute now. Ah just wanted to come by and see how Big Mac was doing was all..."
"Come on Applejack." Rainbow Dash said, walking up to her friend and placing a hoof on the yellow mare's shoulder, "Big Mac...would want you to do this." Applejack thought for a second and managed to make a little smile, "Well...Alright..." She wiped her eyes again and headed to the door, "Tell that girls that ah said thanks..." Rainbow watched her friend leave before sighing and pulling up a stool next to Big Mac's bed.
"Your sister really is something..." Rainbow Dash laughed sadly, "She's trying to take responsibility of what happened all herself. And...that's just wrong..." The blue pegasus sighed, looking into the closed eyes of the stallion. Memories danced around in her head as she thought back on her first meeting with Big Mac.
Rainbow Dash sped through the trees, her wings beating fast as she cut through the air like a razor sharp knife. Her eyes were on fire with anger, and her teeth were clenched as she weaved through the trees expertly. It was about noon with Celestia raising the sun to the very top of the sky. It was a very beautiful day, but the naive young pegasus couldn't have noticed it at that moment.
"Stupid parents...." She growled, "I hate them I hate them I HATE THEM!" A few hours before she was in the state she was in she had told her parents of her big dream of joining the wonderbolts, the greatest flyers in all of Equestria. They simply just gave her a funny look and laughed, saying how her life would stay with controlling the weather and nothing more. The young filly just shook with anger and shot out of the house, cursing her parents for just dismissing her dream like it was nothing.
Her anger was clouding her flying concentration, and before she knew it her left wing smacked into a bush. She cried out in pain as her wing retracted on reaction, her flying getting out of control. She spun in a few awkward circles before hitting the ground, bouncing a few times before finally slowing down to a slide on her face.
"I'm...so glad...the wonderbolts...would never see this..." She groaned, standing up and shaking out the pain. Her voice was squeeky even when she tried to sound as masculine as she could. She cracked her neck, feeling a satisfying pop as she stretched out her wings, "Nothings too badly hurt..." She said to herself, "Well, I might as well keep flying away as far as I can from them." Before she could even start, she heard an odd noise. Blinking, she looked around in the trees, hearing nothing but the occasionally chirping and the sound of the breeze through the leaves. Shrugging, her wings spread out as she began to fly.
The strange sound reached her ears again and she stopped, pulling her wings back into her body as she scanned the area. She was a very curious pony, and she couldn't help but seek out the source of the noise. She heard the sound again and began creeping, poking her head out of a bush to see what was causing it.
The sound was being caused by the ripping of earth and a grunt of a pony that she could tell was a few years older than what she was. The pony was a deep red color with dirty blonde hair and what appeared to be a yoke around his neck. The yoke was connecting to a large plow behind him, and even Rainbow Dash was impressed that he was actually managing to drag that through the tough ground. He was skinny and slightly taller than her but she could see his muscles tightening and quiver with every step he took with that plow.
"What are you doing?...." Rainbow Dash asked before realizing that she had spoken outloud. The colt gave her a glance as he continued to pull the plow, his teeth clenching with effort, "Workin'." He said, his legs pushing down at the ground as the plow moved inch by inch. The pegasus emerged from the bush, a bit surprised that he didn't question why she was there.
"I can see that..." She said in her ever so confident voice, "But why? It looks a bit heavy for you." The colt glanced over at her again before going back to his pulling, sweat coursing down his body.
"It's my job." He grunted, the metal blade tearing through the earth behind him. Rainbow Dash grew annoyed at his simple answers, stomping her hooves onto the ground with frustration.
"Why is it your job?" She asked, walking closer to him, "You're way too small to even try to pull that thing! Besides, wouldn't you rather be hanging out with some pony friends? I can think of a hundred different things that I would rather be doing than pulling some weird contraption through dirt!" The colt stopped in his tracks, panting loudly as the plow ceased to halt. He looked at her, his eyes giving her a strange lazy look.
"It's for my family." He said, chewing a sprig of wheat in his mouth. Rainbow Dash blinked and glared, anger filling her heart once again.
"Why?..." She growled, "You're family is probably trying to control your life! Is this what you really want to do?! Pull something three times your size through dirt for the rest of your life?!" The incident with her parents was flaring up in her mind and she growled, "I bet your parents are just having you do this so that they can just sit around and have a good long break! They don't want you to go out and discover yourself! They probably just want you to do boring work like this all day so that they don't have to! There are so many other things you can be doing than this! Don't you have a dream? Don't you have something you've always wanted to do?! Why are you doing something so demanding when you could be out there making something of yourself! Why? Why?!" The red colt sat down, his eyes not leaving her as he listened to her rant. With a sigh, he spat out the wheat and stood up.
"My parents..." he said as he began pulling onto the plow, "They're dead." Rainbow Dash blinked, her anger ceasing and her words stopping right away. He grunted, his muscles trembling as he continued to pull the plow.
"My family..." he breathed, "Needs me. All ah have left is my sis and my granny. My sis is too young to help with the hard work and granny is too old. Ah've got to keep working....so that my sis...can chase her dreams...." The colt pulled and pulled, the pegasus doing nothing but watching him with wide eyes.
"But..." Rainbow Dash blinked, standing up and following him as he pulled the heavy plow, "What...what about your dreams? Isn't...isn't there something that you've always wanted to do?..." The colt gave a heart warming smile, his eyes staring before him as he dragged over the earth.
"Ah want to help my family. My dream....is to see my sis grow up...and live the life that she would always want" he said, grinning wide, "And ah want to see...this farm live on like my ma and pa wanted..." He lost his footing and he fell onto the dirt, panting loudly as he lifted his head, determination burning through his eyes.
He felt a push on his side and he stood up, looking over and seeing the blue pegasus standing next to him with eyes that were a strange mixture of sadness, happiness, regret, and appreciation.
"I thought I was the coolest pony..." She chuckled lightly, "But....I guess you can take that title for today." She spread her wings and jumped over to the plow, placing her front hooves on the back, "I also can't leave a fellow pony in need! So let's do this!" He stared at her with wide eyes before giving her the biggest grin she had ever seen, "Eeyup!"
The plowing had taken a few big hours out of the day, and the sun was starting beginning to set when they had finished. As soon as the last inch of dirt was finished, they found themselves lying on their backs, sweat drenching their coats as they smiled in victory, the work finally being done. Rainbow Dash found that she had a hard time walking at the end of it, and she couldn't imagine what the colt was feeling at this moment.
"So..." She panted, looking over at the fellow pony she had helped, "Is that it for today?..." The red pony grinned, chewing on the end of a small thing of wheat, "Eeyup. For today." He chuckled lightly, staring up at the clouds that the pegasi above were beginning to work on . Rainbow did as well, but thoughts were clouding up her brain.
"I was thinking about what you said to me back there..." She said with a frown, "I...recently told my parents of my dream to join the wonderbolts. They...completely shot me down...Like they couldn't believe that I would ever become one. It...really hurt." She said, wondering why the hell she was talking to somepony that she had met only a few hours earlier that day.
The pony just stared up at the sky, chewing on the wheat in silence for a bit before he spoke, "Your parents love you. They were just thinkin' 'bout what they thought was best for you. It's not like they doubted you or nothing. Ah bet all these apples that when you get back home they'll be worried sick, and once you prove to them that you have the determination and the will, they will support your dream all the way."
"You...really mean that?..." Rainbow Dash asked quietly, glancing over at the red colt.
"Eeyup." He smiled, his green eyes making her feel happy and reassured. With that, she stood up and shoot out her exhaustion from her bones.
"Well, then I don't want to keep them waiting to apologize." She smiled, spreading her wings. She turned towards the colt, "Thanks a lot for the talking. I'll see you around, stud!" Her wings batted and she flew off into the sky, glancing back to the see the red pony waving and smiling at her as he disappeared into the distance.
When she had got back home, her parents had wrapped her up in a super tight hug. They had been worried sick, and they both apologized from the bottoms of their hearts to their beloved daughter. Rainbow forgave them, and she would forever thank the pony that had helped her through the day. She only wished that she had asked for his name.
"Now explain to me why we're going to your family reunion again?" Rainbow Dash asked her good friend Applejack.
"Come on, Rainbow! We'll have all kinds of delicious delights goin' around! And the rest of my family would really like to meet my friends!" The blue pegasus sighed in frustration and would rather soar through the air for her practice. She and Applejack had known each other ever since she had first stepped foot in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had never met or heard anything about Applejack's family besides Granny Smith, Applebloom, and her brother that never really went into town because he was always back on the farm. As she took her first step into the farm an old memory from years ago popped into her mind. The memory of that red colt that she helped plow the fields with. It had been a while since she had last thought of him and she would always like to know how he was doing.
Applejack brought Rainbow to a huge picnic table where her family was all seated at. There was one blank empty seat, or maybe it was two together since there was quite a bit of space there.
"Ah'd like to introduce you to my family!" Applejack exclaimed, hooking a hoof around her friend, "There's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious...." The list went on and on, and Rainbow Dash had to give fake smiles to hide the immense boredom that was building up in her. Applejack kept listing them on and on before briefly pausing.
"Hey..." Applejack said, glancing around, "Where's Big Macintosh?! He's supposed ta be here right now!" The apple family all glanced around and shrugged, "You would think because of his size he would easily be noticed..." Applebloom said, eating a bit of a pie that was placed in front of her.
"Big Macintosh!" Applejack yelled looking around, "Ya here?!"
"Eeyup."
Rainbow Dash froze before jerking her head toward the direction of the voice. She was pretty certain she had heard that before, and it was from that colt all those years ago.
Trotting from the corner of the house came a massive stallion, a cutie mark of a green apple slice in half on his flank. His eyes were an emerald green and his mane was a soft looking darkish blonde. His tail was cropped, and he had a large wooden yoke fitted around his neck. He was holding a basket in his mouth and he set it down onto the table before taking a seat.
"No...no way..." Rainbow Dash blinked, staring at the red pony.
"And this is my brother Big Macintosh!" Applejack grinned, "He doesn't say much but he's a hard working pony!" Big Mac looked up at the blue pegasus with his usual lazy look. The family reunion began, but Rainbow Dash had a hard time not stealing glances at the massive stallion. This was the same skinny little colt she had met years before and she knew it. He had the same color, same eyes, same way of speaking...He was just bigger...and much more muscular.
When everybody had begun eating and drinking she caught him getting off from his seat and saw him making his way back to the barn. She soon followed after him, living her friend to deal with a few drunk ponies.
As she entered the barn behind him she noticed an old rusty plow that lay in the corner. No doubt it was that same plow she had pushed years ago, and she was still flabbergasted.
"Need somethin'?" Big Mac asked, emerging from the darkness and almost scaring the living daylights out of the blue pegasus.
"Um...." She stammered, her voice squeaking a little bit, "I'm...just taking a look around is all..." She laughed nervously, turning around. Why was she nervous?...She was always confident and strong. But meeting this pony again and seeing how strong and different he had become...she couldn't help but feel a tension in her chest.
"Wait." Big Mac said, making Rainbow dash freeze in her steps. The blue pegasus looked back to see the red stallion grin widely at her.
"It's been a while and I've never caught your name ever since you helped me plow the fields." Her eyes blinked and her cheeks grew a bit red, "Um...long time no see....Big Macintosh....I'm...Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow came back to her senses when a nurse opened the door to Big Mac's room, "Oh, I expected to see Applejack here. Are you watching him for her?" The blue pegasus blinked before getting up from the stool, "Well, uh...for a little bit. Now excuse me..." She chuckled lightly, heading for the door. She glanced back at the red stallion one more time before shutting the door behind her, holding back her tears.
This chapter I was a bit unsure of but I hope you enjoyed it. If there is a few errors that you notice or anything else like that, please tell me. I'll do what I can to improve the way I write.