Away From The Acres

by Machiniman20

Interlude II : A Rainbow to a New Day

Hey, everyone! It's good to be back. again. again. ANYWAY. As you may have seen, my style of uploading has been finally completed, and it will continue in the manner which I have chosen, which will be one or two of the perspective style chapters, followed by an interlude with Big Macintosh.

Listen to this, while reading. I think it fits quite well, until the funny bits.
Luna-Dijital

Fairly early in the morning, it was just becoming as bright as any day would be, when he saw it. The sun, having crested over the horizon, began climbing upward toward its pinnacle at the top of the sky. It shone down over Sweet Apple Acres, casting a calm, serene light onto the trees, the apples, and a particular red stallion. It was just then that a wave of color, originating from somewhere near Ponyville, swept through the sky, giving a beautiful sight to any who had awoken early. It seemed to refract and amplify the sun's rays, causing a wave of light to cascade over the grass and trees, leaving behind a dreamlike shimmer on the dew, which had not dissipated since the morning began, thanks to the lack of activity from the aforementioned red stallion.

Big Mac looked up at the light silently, as it passed over him. Each of the colors seemed to trigger a different memory, and it allowed him to contemplate the events of the previous day, from his meetings, to his unfortunate flight from the city of Ponyville. He recalled his meeting with Luna, and how helpful she had been, both in listening to his plight, as well as helping him to sleep. He wondered why ponies could ever have rejected her to the point of her own jealousy taking over her, and causing her to become the terror that was Nightmare Moon. She was so kind, even though she might have been a bit overly formal. Big Mac continued to think over various things, all the while trying to convince himself to move, but fighting a losing battle.

Though Big Macintosh was awake, he didn't want to be. He remained slumped against the tree, his body and mind arguing over the concept of forcing one's self to get up. The body sternly exclaimed that rest was a blessing that should not be wasted, while the mind retorted that, every morning must be faced with energy. To this, the body simply refused to budge, and held fast on his point, claiming that with the lack of rest he's had recently, he deserved a reprieve. The mind was quite put off by this, and reasserted that he had control over the body, and told it to move. The body, as would be expected, complied, but only by shifting an inch or so to the left. At this, the mind simply registered the fact that a bug was flying into Big Macintosh's nose.

He got up, choking and coughing violently, in an attempt to get this insect intruder out of his nasal tract. Miraculously, the bug escaped, unharmed. In disregard of his previous apathy, Big Mac took in his immediate surroundings. He looked at the trees around him, and all of the apples they held. Shining in the morning sun, it was almost like they were rubies hanging from the branches.

The work that lay behind the collection of those apples, his sister couldn't do it alone; she'd tried that before. He knew he'd have to go back, if not for his sake, for the farm's. He stood up, and began slowly ambling along the border of the farmland; back in the general direction of Ponyville, his mind tormenting him along the way. Once or twice, he thought he saw something move amongst the trees, but he put it up to still being fairly drowsy, and continued slowly on his way.

Upon seeing home on the horizon several hours later, Big Macintosh imagined what had gone on in the house since yesterday. He wondered why he didn't see Applejack in the orchard, bucking apples; He half expected to see AJ going about her business normally, as though he'd never been gone. Big Mac's thoughts conflicted. His sister cared about him just as much as she cared about anypony else in the world, but she was a strong pony, she'd handled herself for a few days in Manehattan, which was more than he could say. She wouldn't be panicking herself sick trying to find him, right? He felt a pang of guilt sweep over him. He shouldn't have left without notice. He should've at least let Applejack know he was going to be spending time out of the house, however odd it may have seemed... He could've just left a note. In what could be as much of a panic as could be expected of him, he picked up the pace slightly, and he was about to open the door when he heard voices coming from inside. Very familiar voices.

He quietly crept around the outside of the building, and peered in a window. He saw Applejack, surrounded by her friends, they were all talking, and Applejack looked like she'd been very stressed, and she even had some redness around her eyes. He wondered how hard she'd been working while he was gone. The window was extremely dirty, so he could only make 6 blurs in the room, though he identified them by voice.

"I'm sorry y'all. I just don't know why he would up an' leave like that, didn't even leave a note, nothing. I'm just wonderin' how long it'll take him to get back." She sighed. "Thanks girls, I appreciate ya comin' round, Though I'm a bit surprised you all came by at once to see him."

"No problem, Applejack. I hope Big Mac turns up soon. Don't hesitate to come see us if you need any help."

"Don't you worry about that, girls. He'll show up, I just know it."

He watched, silently, as five of the mares got up and left, leaving only Applejack in the room. He quickly hid behind the barn, and watched until they were all out of sight. He went back to the window, and looked in. Applejack was sitting, slumped down in a chair in the corner, her hat pulled down over her eyes. As quietly as he could, he opened the window.

"Sis. AJ. You alright?"

Applejack stood up with a start. She looked over, and stared at Big Macintosh for several moments. Then she smiled tiredly, adjusted her hat, and stumbled over to the window.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leavin', Macintosh? Where were ya?" she drawled. Big Mac thought about this. He didn't want his sister to be mad at her friends, but he couldn't think of an answer in the moment, so he simply asked her a question to divert the conversation.

"Why do you sound so worried? I was just out for the night." He knew the answer, he knew it before it even reached his ears.

"You're my brother, Macintosh. I love Applebloom, I really do, but you're the only one around here who keeps me sane for long. Granny Smith's memory sure isn't getting any better, an' sometimes it seems like you're the only name she's got in that old head of hers. Half the time she can't even remember my name, let alone that I'm her granddaughter. Never know when she'll be leavin' us." Big Mac frowned deeply at this. He knew that Granny Smith had been losing her memory, but he didn't know it was that bad. Then again, he hadn't talked to her in a few days, maybe even weeks. In fact, he'd said more to Luna in the previous night than he could ever remember saying at once. He mumbled his thoughts, aloud.

"That ain't good. Maybe I was just workin' so much that I didn't really take the time to talk to her. I suppose I should-"

A loud crash interrupted his train of thought. Applejack seemed to snap out of whatever sort of tired reverie she was in as well, and then sprinted up the stairs. Big Mac followed quickly, and saw Applejack standing horribly still, in the door to his room. He wondered why, but then froze in shock, and he stared into the room, noting the skewed decor, the chair out of place, and the curtains open. But, worse than any of these, he noted the still, silent form of Granny Smith, lying on her side on the floor. The timing was almost too imperfect.

"AJ, what... how... is she...?" Applejack said nothing, but pulled her hat over her eyes, and she fell back onto her hindquarters, shaking softly. Big Macintosh felt himself suddenly overtaken by a strange, internal cold, as though his lungs had been replaced with ice, and his stomach had been filled with rocks. He did not shake. He did not tremble. He simply stared, a blank stare that only the confused mind of someone still in shock could replicate.They sat in their respective positions for what seemed like an eternity. Just as tears started to well up in his eyes, a startling yell came from the still form, making him jump backward in surprise.

"DURN IDJIT! YA GONNA STAND THERE, OR YA GONNA HELP UP YOUR GRAN?!"

Big Mac forcefully slammed his face into his hoof, and watched as Applejack's shaking slowly turned into a sort of restrained shudder, and then she finally doubled over, and let out a hearty laugh. They'd really got him this time. Whether it was in bets, or in pranks, his sister always managed to get the better of him.

Applejack's laughter died down, and her voice took on a slightly more serious tone.

"Never believe what happened while you were out, Macintosh. Rainbow up and crashed straight into the ground I'd tilled last night. She woke up an' asked about you, not too sure why. Anyway, I got her some water, then went out to buck some apples. I saw you comin' while I was out in the back sections of the acres, early in the morning. Never seen you move so slow, Macintosh! Got back as fast as I could, and all my friends were there, askin' bout you. Apparantly you became a bit of a conversation starter, on your day off. Ponies ain't used to seein' you around, I guess. Then you showed up, took ya long enough." She chuckled. "I wasn't lyin' when I said I knew you'd be home. Anyhow, welcome back, brother of mine! Hope you're OK for work tomorrow, I'm tired as Tartarus. Dunno how in the hay you get up so early." Applejack laughed as she walked downstairs. Granny Smith was giggling like she'd gone mad, and she followed. He turned, and in a somewhat pathetic voice, complained at them.

"That wasn't funny..." Even saying this, Big Macintosh let out a chuckle. For the Element of Honesty, his sister knew how to hide things. He turned back into his room, knowing that it was him that needed to refresh his memory. Macintosh Apple needed a crash course on pranks, he knew he'd have to get her back for this one. He started to readjust the things in his room, and he thought to himself...

Who could he find that knew something about pranks?

HOORAY, I finally got it done... I've been dealing with a lot of stuff, I'll probably put that in a blog post for ya, but here it is, the new interlude, in all of it's badly written glory. As always, criticism is respected and helpful, as I don't have anyone to proofread these for me.
-Machiniman20

Comments

[Sky Charmer]

605449
I vote for You guessed it! 605449!

[Bronyhood of steel]

1753917 great chapter

[north_star]

Who could he find that knew something about pranks?

"Dear Twilight Sparkle...send me the pink one..."

[Kage no Brony]

1755056

And the rainbow one, as well, as my sister requires a major attitude adjustment. Thinking she can mess with her big brother...

[Dysons_Fear]

Finally got to reading the new chapter. I enjoyed it and can't wait for it's continuation.

[Machiniman20]

1924009
Working on it, though it is painfully slow, still. I'm adding a lot more in terms of content, and I'm only partially done with the very first segment of the third day, which would be Twilight's. So I've got 1900 words, and a LOT left to do.

I'm glad you've stuck with me this far! Thanks!

[Dysons_Fear]

You update schedule has been less than stellar yes but good things come to those who wait. Just do it at you own pace. I'll be here, reading.

[Nethalar]

Yo! Just re-read this and I remembered why I liked it so much! I love Macs personality and the way you portrayed fluttershy, twilight and rainbow dash.

I know it's been ages since you last worked on this, but is there any chance to get this up and running again?