A Macintosh for Your Thoughts

by CrackedInkWell

There were Two Ponies and a Picnic. (According to Big Mac)

4:45.

Ah’ve been pacin’ around mah room for a while now. It’s been a week since Ah’ve asked a certain somepony out on a date. Except, unlike some of them that I’ve been on like with Cheerliee or Rose Luck that Ah had developed some crushes in the past, this time, it’s the other way around – not only that but now it’s with a stallion. Even more so, it's mah best friend that Ah’m goin’ with.

Not ta say that this wasn’t what Ah expected ta play out last week. Grant it, all that Ah knew for a few years that Mel swung that way, and the fact that he prefers ta be around me. But in hindsight, Ah guess Ah’m an idiot in not seein’ this comin’. Guess it goes ta show how blind Ah’m really am when it comes ta ponies really likin’ me.

Looking at the alarm clock on mah nightstand, Ah wonder what Mel had in mind for us. Since it’s obvious that Ah’ve never been on a gay date befor’, Ah honestly have no idea what to expect from out of this. But Ah do have my doubts that Mel would do anything out of line, he isn’t like that. So how come Ah couldn’t feel anything but nervous?

Perhaps it’s because Ah’m not sure if AH should go with him in fancy clothes or not. After all, he didn’t say anythin’ about where and what we’ll be doing. What if he booked us in some high-class restaurant that requires everypony to wear a tux? If that were the case, Ah would be unprepared in more ways than one.

Or is it something else…

“Hey Mac!” mah little sister shouted, “Caramel’s here!”

‘Okay, just breathe Mac, it’ll be fine.’ Ah tell myself as Ah left my room and walked down the stairs. Trying to keep as calm as possible before Ah answer the door. When Ah pulled it open, there was Mel. He wasn’t in any suit or tie which Ah inwardly sighed with relief.

“H-Hey,” he greeted me looking down at the floor and pawing his hoof nervously. “You uh… ready to go?”

Immediately Ah thought up with a million responses to that simple question but settled on a nod and a “Eeyup,” because, frankly Ah’m a bit nervous about this too.

By the time we started walking off the porch, Ah couldn’t help but notice the huge saddlebags he was carrying, not to mention the smell that came out of them. So it immediately clicked that he was holding a bunch of food, probably for a picnic somewhere.

“So…” Ah stared, “Where we’re headed?”

“I know a little spot in the Whitetail Woods,” he said, “Someplace where not many ponies would usually go to so we could be left alone.”

Nodding, Ah understood his reasoning behind it. Mel isn’t exactly the most sociable pony in town. Not to say that Ah hasn’t in the past tried to help him make friends when we were in school together. But those friendships never last as long as our kind of relationship since he trusts me so much. Even to go as far as to tell me by a letter one day that he’s gay and was afraid of losing me because of it.

As we headed down the path away from the orchard and through the town, Mel looked a bit jittery as a jumpin’ bug that’s afraid of lightning. His eyes looked this way and that, completely paranoid by the looks of things as if somepony would point us out to what we’re doin’. All the while, he never said a word until we were on the path into the Whitetail Woods.

But once we were out of everypony’s sight and earshot, Mel cleared his throat. “So Mac, how are you doing?”

Ah shrugged, “Fine Ah suppose.”

“Oh… Anything new on the farm?”

“Other than preparin’ for Cider Season, it’s all chores as usual.”

There was a pause as we walked through the path that’s used for the Running of the Leaves. We walked past the lines of trees, with a roof of green leaves that shade us.

So breaking the silence, Ah spoke up, “How’s your job goin’ along?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s alright I guess. I’ve been doing some commissions here and there. But I’m not looking forward to next month, to be honest.”

“Why’s that?”

“Fall and winter are the busiest times of the year. I’m just waiting for a landslide of customers demanding for new shoes before the snow hits. Yet, I can’t imagine what autumn must be like for you.”

Chuckling, Ah reply, “Ah hate it. The real harvest is pure chaos if somethin’ goes wrong, in which every year it does.”

“Like the time you hurt yourself before the harvest?”

“And when AJ wanted ta show that she could take care of the harvest without anypony’s help? That’s it,” Ah nodded, “Or the time when little Bloom nearly set the barn on fire.”

Mel snapped his attention ta me, “She really did that? When was this?”

“Jokin’,” Ah laughed. “As young, as she is, do ya really think somepony like AJ is gonna allow her anywhere near matches, candles or anythin’ else?”

This made Mel chuckle. At least the mood was lightening up a bit. “Anyway, we’re almost there,” he hopped off the path and Ah followed him through the woods until we came to a clearin’ where the only thing there was a log and patches of grass.

He asked me to help unload the stuff in his bags, which I did. And it’s quite a surprise of what he was carryin’ all this time. Asides from the blanket that you’d lay out for a picnic, he had everythin’ that we’d like. From the hayfries from the Afternoon Daisy to the Honey Oat pie from Sugar Cube Corner, this was apparent ta me that Mel did put quite some work into this, probably cost him more bits he would usually spend.

Seein’ all of this spread, it’s rather flatterin' how much effort he went into this, all for me.

“Do you… think this is enough?” Mel asked as he sat the soda bottles down on the blanket.

“Plenty,” Ah sat down on the log, “How long have ya been gettin’ all this?”

“Since after lunch,” he gently sat down. “It took a while to get all the orders in and trying to figure out how to keep some of this warm.”

When we started to dig in this feast, Ah couldn’t help but feel guilty again. On the one hoof, Ah really do appreciate what he’s doing. From offering a helping hoof ta open the bottles to cuttin’ up the pie for us. Like every step of the way, he’s treating me like royalty. Yet on the other, the fact that mah barn door doesn’t swing that way, Ah feel empathetic towards how tragic it is for him. This little date is probably the closest thing he could get to treat me like his own coltfriend, but Ah doesn’t feel exactly the same way.

“So,” he spoke up after munchin’ on some chips. “Compare with other dates, is this any different than the ones you’ve been on?”

“Well… Ah don’t think so. It’s kinda similar except for-”

“Me?” he interrupted.

Ah nodded, “Uh-huh. But it ain’t a bad thing. If anythin’, this is quite relaxin’ havin’ dinner out here.”

“Yeah, that’s the reason why I chose this place. In truth, it’s like one of those thinking places.” Ah raised an eyebrow and he explained, “This is the spot I’ve always come to since I was a colt to think over some hard things. It’s a good place too. There are not many ponies that come by or notice this place. So that way it’s always quiet here. It’s a perfect place to reflect on some important thoughts.”

“Really?”

He nodded, “But after a while, it can get lonely when there’s nothing except the trees and wind.”

“So you come here often?”

“Not always. Just for those days that you want everything to hold still for a bit.”

“Oh.”

Ah eyed one of the sandwiches, but before could take a bite, Mel asked, “Mac, are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Well, Ah think Ah was the one that asked y’all out. Why do you ask?”

“Can I be frank with you?” Ah nodded as Ah bit into the sandwich, “When you gave your reason as to why you asked me out, I couldn’t help but think there was something you were holding back. So Mac, please tell me honestly, why did you suddenly decided to do this?”

Swallowing, Ah answered, “Mel, do ya remember the last Sisterhooves Sociable, when Ah put on a dress, makeup, and pretended to be a Cousin Orchard Blossom?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I somewhat ran into ya that day. It took me a moment to register what I was seeing. Why’d you ask?”

“Fer one, Ah has many ponies askin’ me about that, except for you.”

“I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to offend you. Besides, I have no idea how to bring something like that up.”

“But do Y'all know why Ah did it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “Kinda, something about your little sis wasn’t it?”

Ah nodded, “This brings up ma second thing. Ah dressed up fer two reasons. One of which was that little AB was feelin’ down since AJ was called away so she’d had ta miss it. But fer the other, she used ta look up to me like Ah’m a hero to her. But when she’d grew up, she became more attached to her big sis because of all the things she’s done. Ah mean, Applejack is the real hero. She goes on adventures with her friends all over Equestria, gets to attend parties for the most reserved, and even is the element of honesty itself.

“But fer me? What am Ah? Ah just do chores, keep the farm in order, if it weren’t fer ya and our Saturday outings, Ah wouldn’t be interested in goin’ anywhere. So, when ya told me you loved me and watchin’ ya break down, Ah thought back to when AB was there fer me after what happened at the Sociable. Fer a moment… Ah saw mahself as my little sis and asked what would she had done. So, here Ah am. Even if this might last fer a day, if it means ta make you happy, Ah’d do it.”

Mel was left speechless, he looked away but Ah could tell he was blushing.

“Hey, since we’re bein’ honest,” Ah started, “Mel, Ah want ta ask you somethin’, and Ah want you to look at me in the eye while sayin’ it.”

He did, “A-And what’s that?”

Ah smirked, “Did Y'all ever look at ma flank when Ah wasn’t lookin’?”

His eyes widen and his enter head turns bright red, “MAC! I… Oh Celestia, do I really have to?” Ah nodded, “W-Well… n-not all the time. Not that you look good or- no wait I didn’t mean like that I-” he buried his face in his hooves like an Ostrich that realized it was naked. “Maybe once or twice,” he muttered.

Ah laughed as I slapped him on the back, “Hey, Ah’m jus’ teasin’ ya.”

“That was embarrassing! You don’t just ask somepony anything like that.”

“Still, it was just a bit of teasin’. Guess Ah’m still honored though, so good lookin’ that even stallions swoon over.”

He shook his head, “But it shouldn’t be all about looks. I mean, they help, sure, but it shouldn’t be why anyone would fall for you.”

“Ah suppose yer right,” Ah said before taking another bite of the sandwich.

“Do you ever feel a bit jealous of Applejack,” Mel suddenly asked, “I mean, with what you did at the sociable, was all of that cross-dressing all over because of Applejack?”

Ah sighed, “Kinda. It gets frustrating that here Ah am doin’ all of this work, yet she and probably Applebloom to an extent has a better life then what Ah have. Sometimes…” no, stop right now, he wouldn’t want to-

“Sometimes, what?” he asks.

“It’s… Just forget it,” but his look sharpened.

“Mac, tell me. It isn’t fair that I had spilled my heart out to you to express what I feel. Please, go ahead, I promise that I will listen to every word you have to say.”

Ah looked around the trees, even though Ah know we’re all alone, Ah still don’t want to risk anypony hearing me. “Promise you wouldn’t tell anyone?”

He smiled, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

The Pinkie Promise… well, I guess it’s safe. “Well, sometimes… Ah just feel like Ah’m nothin’, ya know? When no matter how much work you put in, no matter what you’d come up with ta make someone happy, or even if somepony asked ya to do somethin’, Ah struggle ta see what the point of it all is. Ah work from the crack of dawn to the setting dusk, yet nothin’ Ah do compares to what my sisters have done. Savin’ a country? How am Ah supposed to compete with that? Who in their right mind would want ta remember a nopony?”

Ah fought the urge to cry. No, not in front of him, especially not when Caramel was watchin’.

Then, Ah felt his hoof on my shoulder, “As overdone as this is going to sound, I mean every word of it. You may be nothing to everypony, but to this one pony, you are everything Mac. So what your sisters have interesting lives than you? You have a pearl of quiet wisdom that I envy of having, with the strength to harvest a titanic orchard in a few days, and you being so open-minded to somepony like me. I don’t care that you’re not a hero to Equestria, nor do I care that you’re just a farmer. To me, you will always be more than that. You in my eyes are an unappreciated god that I’m willing to worship in all of your simplicity. Don’t let anypony, least of all you; think that you’re anything less of anyone’s attention, especially mine.”

Wow. So this is what he really thinks of me?

“Y’all really mean that?”

He nodded, “I told you, I love you, Mac, even when you won’t feel the same way.”

“But Mel, this ain’t fair ta ya at all. Ah know that but Ah jus’ don’t know what else to do.”

“You don’t have to,” this caught me by surprise. “Straight or not, you promised me a little happiness with this date. As kind as that is, I realize that it isn’t really needed. Just being with ya, be it helping with your chores or you in my workshop, or even just eating together is all I need. Realize that I didn’t fall in love with you because of your looks alone, but because that you’re… well, you. And the fact that this is my first real date, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else except for a certain red Apple.”

Ah blinked, “Ah never thought you’d be the romantic type.”

Mel chuckled, “Guess it’s something that I’ve wanted for so long to do and say that it came naturally to me. More pie?”

Nodding, Ah accepted the extra slice onto a plate. “But it does bring somethin’ up. How am Ah bein’ yer date? Ah haven’t done much.”

“No, this has been good,” he told me as he got a slice himself. “I got to know you a little better after all.”

“Ah suppose,” Ah said with a shrug before eating, “Although, after all of this is done and over with, where do we go from here?”

Mel paused for a moment. “Go for whatever is comfortable to you since I don’t ever want to pressure you into anything you don’t want to. As of now, if you still wanted to continue to be my best friend, I’d be grateful for what you’ve done for me today. But if you for some reason want to be my special somepony, oh what joy it would be for me for that to become real. Yet, as long as I get the chance to be by your side, I’m happy all the same.”

“Thank you, Mel. Ah’m kinda wonderin’,” Ah said after taking a bite of the pie. “As much as Ah appreciate Y'all doin’ this fer me, Ah honestly don’t see this workin’ out like lovers. Forgive me Mel, but Ah just can’t picture us like this. All except as the best friend that Ah’ve always known and Ah don’t wanna lose that. Please don’t get upset with me, but Ah's sure that you’ll run into someone that you’d like.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Like who? Except for you, name one pony that will be crazy enough to go out with me.”

“Well…” my mind went completely blank. Come to think of it, Ah can’t name any other gay stallion that he would like. Heck, Mel’s the only stallion Ah know that prefers to us guys. The only one Ah could think of at the moment is Braeburn, but Ah’m not entirely sure of him sure since Ah would be goin’ off from rumors that may turn out to be wrong.

Mel sighed, “That’s what I thought. But it’s alright now. It may take me some time to adjust to what just happened. Yet, overall, I want to thank you, Mac, for your selflessness. But more importantly, to thank you for giving me the chance to show you how much you mean to me.”

Ah smiled, “Yer quite welcome Mel. Anythin’ ta make y’all happy.”

_*_

By the time Ah got back home, the sun was startin’ to set when Ah walked through the front door. Not only is Mel been given closer, but our relationship was still intact. Although, there was one thing that was botherin’ me, and it’s that him bein’ left empty hoofed. It’s like Ah cheated him out on something that Ah couldn’t provide.

“Hey’ya Mac,” AJ was the first ta greet me, “Had a good night?”

“Eeyup.”

“What did ya and Caramel do this time?”

“Dinner.”

“Ah, that was mighty nice of ‘em,” she commented as Ah made my way up to my room. “Which reminds me, Granny said you can invite him for dinner next week since Cousin Brae’s commin’.”

With her announcement still fresh in mah head when Ah closed the door and flopped onto the bed, an interesting idea formed in mah skull. Although Ah needed to talk with my cousin face to face to confirm this, it may give Mel the special somepony that he deserves. After all, Ah did say that Ah would lend a helpin’ hoof ta make him happy, so might as well give it a try.

Comments

[Vectored Thrust]

Aww, poor Caramel. That's heartbreaking for him, but Mac himself is selfless for even giving Mel a chance.

A short story, but I liked it.

[Last Resort]

This is SOOOO cute! I know how Caramel feels, but that's just the way it is in life. You should make a sequel with Caramel and Braeburn. It would be so awesome!