Earth and Sky

by Metal Pony Fan

What do you want?

He'll be there. Such a simple statement, but it's a really nice thing to say. I guess it's kind of, I don't know, romantic maybe? Not that I know the first thing about what's romantic or not. Oh look, he's holding the door open for me, that counts as romantic, right? I gave him a smile as I went in. I should probably do something romantic for him. But what? Ooh! I know! I can give him another kiss on the cheek! It's romantic, he'll like it, and if I'm lucky, he'll kiss me back! It's perfect! And I am getting way too excited over this. But I don't care. Now, I just have to find the right time to put my plan into action.

Mac started walking past me towards the kitchen.

Now seems like a good time. "Hey, Mac?"

"Eeyup?" He stopped walking and turned towards me.

I took a step towards him. "I really mean it when I said that I enjoyed today. It was a lot of fun hangin' out and I'd like to do it again sometime." Now's my chance! I took another step towards him. This is it, one more step and I'll be close enough to- No! Wait, I- I could- No! I can't. Wait. Why Not? There's no reason not to and I bet we'll both like it. That's it! I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go for broke and give him a real kiss!

I took on last step towards Mac. If I'm going to do anything, I'm gonna do it now! All I've gotta do is lean up and- I'm shaking, aren't I? I am so nervous right now, but I want to do this. I put my hooves to the side of his head, more to steady myself than anything else, and started leaning in. My heart's racing a mile a second and- And Mac's shaking his head and mouthing the word, "no." Way to kill the mood there, Romeo. Why wouldn't you want to-do

"CRREEEAAAKKK!!"

Everything stopped in that moment, and I'm fairly sure that includes my heart. Not only was somepony in the house, but they saw me about to kiss Mac! It's gotta be a robber or something. In that case, Mac can-

"Yeh'd best be thinkin' real careful-like 'bout where yer puttin' that mouth a' yers, little missy."

Is that?

"E-evenin' Granny," gulped Big Mac, "what're ya doin' back so early?"

It is! I thought they weren't gonna be back for two more days!

"S'prised ta see me, are ya? Then maybe ya can imagine how 'tis fer me, wakin' up from a nap and seein' mah grandson bein' more than friendly with his sister's best friend."

Shoot! I'm still holding on to him. I hastily let go of Mac and turned around to see old Granny Smith sitting in her rocker and glaring at me. Does that mean AJ's here too? What's she gonna think? I mean, I hope she'd be happy for us, but Granny Smith sure doesn't.

There was another creak as Granny got up from her chair. "Ah always had ya pegged for that sparkle filly," she said to Mac, "her or the pink bakery girl." Twilight or Pinkie?! Well, I guess I'm just as unlikely of a match for him as anypony. Granny started to walk around me slowly, eyeing me up and down like she was inspecting something before making a purchase. I didn't like it, but I didn't complain. I guess this is part of a relationship too, winning the approval of family members. "Yeh know," she finally said after a few moments, "judgin' by the way the two a' ya were gallyvantin' around an' still got yer chores done afore supper, Ah'd say the two a' ya fit."

"What?" I couldn't believe my ears, all she cared about was that the chores got done?

"Didn't yeh hear me?" She asked as she climbed back into her rocking chair. "I said, the to a' ya fit together. If yer lookin' fer mah approval, yeh've got it. Yeh had it the moment Big Mac took a shine to ya. Ah knew he'd pick somepony nice and it ain't mah place ta interfere." She was smiling at me as she talked, but as soon as she turned to face Mac, her face took on an angry scowl. "But Big Macintosh Apple, yer sleepin' in the barn till Applejack get's back. That's yer punishment fer not tellin' us. Now go on, git! An' there's a pie in the kitchen, mah gift ta the two a' ya, take it with ya."

Mac just nodded and walked away. That's not fair, he didn't do anything. "Look don't punish him because of me, you were already off on your little trip, he couldn't tell you if he wanted to. And he was just trying to help me, ok? If you want, I'll just pack up an-"

"Shut yer trap little missy," she jabbed a hoof in my direction, "yer stayin' out there with'im."

"What?" Why am I included in this?

She started rocking. The creaking of her chair almost hid the sound of the front door as Mac headed out to the barn. "Yer a strong gal," she said, "not many ponies talk back ta me like that. But don't ya go thinkin' Ah'll let ya use the guest room without askin' just cause Mac thinks yer somethin' special."

"What, you mean, all I've gotta do is ask?" I should probably tone down the sarcasm, I want her to like me. Failing that, I want her to tolerate me.

"Technicality-wise, Applejack owns the house, and yeh gotta ask her if'n ya wanna sleep in the guest room. But she ain't gonna be back fer two days."

This is AJ we're talking about, of course she'd let me stay in the guest room. But she isn't here now and I don't want to cause trouble for Mac. "Fine." I started walking to the door.

The chairs creaking stopped. "And just where in tarnation are ya gettin' off ta in such a hurry?"

What? Did you forget? "You just said I have to-"

"That don't mean we cain't talk a spell." I could feel my eye twitch. She seems like a nice old lady on the surface, but when she wants to be, she's one manipulative little- "Asides, yeh need to have that dirty ol' bandage swapped fer a new one."

She has a point there. "Yeah, I'll take care of it later."

She lightly stomped a hoof. "Hogswaggle!"

"What?" What does that even mean.

"Ah can take care a' it," a far off look appeared in her eyes, "Ah've done patched up so many ponies on this here farm that Ah may as well be a doctor." She turned and walked off to one of the bathrooms. Mac does seem to get hurt a lot, but I'm a pegasus and wings are pretty difficult to treat. She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later with an old metal box with the letters "TB" engraved in the middle of a cloud. "Ever since yeh became friends with mah granddaughter, Ah been keepin' this thing stocked. Do ya know what it is?"

"It's a medical kit." An extremely old one too. But it looks familiar, like I've seen it before, or at least a picture of it.

"A pegasus one at that." She opened it up and sure enough, there were wing splints, a feather straightener, and a few other tools that I am far too familiar with. "Yeh dislocated yer wing, judgin' by the way it's wrapped."

"How did you know that?" I swear, Granny will never cease to surprise me. She's a little like Pinkie in some ways.

She started talking while taking stuff out of the kit. "Back before yeh were born, well, Ah reckon it was before even yer parents were born, but Ponyville weren't much more than the farm and a post office when we got our first weather team. He was a brash, loudmouthed pegasus who always claimed he could do anything in seven seconds or less."

"No way!" There's only one pegasus that ever said that! Even I wouldn't dare say that! "You knew Thunderbolt? Founder of the Wonderbolts, that Thunderbolt?"

"Know'im, Deary, Ah gosh-durn near about married'im. What did yeh think TB stood fer."

"Whoa." That's where I saw that first aid kit, there was a picture of it in Thunderbolt's biography! "What happened?"

She pointed to the front door. "We said goodbye right out on that there porch. It came down to a choice between settlin' down and followin' his dream of makin' flyin' into a sport." Wow, I never knew there was that kind of history behind the founding of the Wonderbolts. Granny pulled a small pair of scissors out of the box and started cutting away the old bandage. "Yer livin' proof that he succeeded, and Ah want yeh ta tell me right now, is Mac gonna be sittin' on that porch like Ah did? Is he gonna be watchin' ya fly off one day, never ta see ya again?"

"Huh?" What is she- What kind of question is that?!

"What're yeh lookin' for here?" She pulled the bandage off carefully. "Ah see that boy took yeh to the pond. Yeh know, that's where his ma and pa used ta go when they wanted to be alone. After Mac was born, they used ta take him there all the time. They told him that it was a special place, and Ah know that's how he sees it."

"I- I didn't know."

"Yer the only one he's ever brought out there, so Ah'll ask yeh again. What do yeh want from him?" She started wrapping the new bandage around my wing. It may have been years since the last time she fixed up a pegasus' wing, but she did know what she was doing.

Years, huh?

I don't even plan things out a week ahead of time, and she's asking me what I want out of life? What I want from a relationship that, besides being my first, has only been going about a day or two? I don't even know if I can look that far ahead. "I don't know," I told her. It's true, I don't know. I don't know what to expect, or want, or anything like that.

"At least yer honest." She finished wrapping the bandage and tied it off. "But yeh best figure it out, sugarcube, things'll only get worse if ya wait."

"But, how am I supposed to do that? I don't-"

"Talk ta Mac, this involves the both a' ya, and Ah don't want ta see either a' ya get hurt." She started packing up the first aid kit. "And yeh better not lead'im on." She left the first aid kit on the floor and got back in her rocking chair with a sigh. "Ah know it's in mah own best interests if yeh figure this out soon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I didn't get a response. Did she fall asleep? I walked over to her rocker. Sure enough, she was snoring quietly. What? All that, and she's just gonna take a nap?

There's nothing I can do about it is there? I guess I'll go talk to Mac. Granny brought up some questions that I don't want to answer, but I owe it to Mac to talk to him about it. I exited the house and closed the door behind me. A voice immediately yelled at me.

"I want great-grandfoals!"

***-------------------

I don't see why she's so mad, Granny only uses my full name when she's really upset about something. But I didn't do nothing. I got the chores done, I couldn't tell them since they weren't here, and Rainbow needed help. I sighed as I pulled out a hay-bale to use as a table.

I just hope Granny isn't too hard on her.

I sat down in front of it after setting the pie down. Then I waited for several minutes before I heard the barndoor creak open. I looked over to see Rainbow trying to sneak in, she was edging along the wall keeping her back to me.

"Rainbow?" I called.

"O-oh, hey, Mac," she gave a nervous laugh and kept her back to me, "I'm just gonna take a quick nap, ok? I'm not used to waking up as early as we did."

"Don't ya want some pie first?" Granny must have said something.

"Nah," she waved back with a hoof but still didn't turn around, "you go ahead, just be sure to leave some for me."

"Nnope." Now I'm sure Granny said something. Rainbow's never passed up a chance at one of Granny's apple pies. "It'll be here when ya wake up. Ah can wait."

She groaned softly. "Why do you have to be so nice?"

"Cause ya deserve it." What happened in there? "Rainbow, turn around."

"I-I don't want to." Her voice was was quiet.

"Then I won't make ya, but I will be here for ya." She walked over and sat across from me at the hay-bale. Her eyes were red and she wiped them as she sat down. What could Granny say that would make her cry? "What happened?"

"It's nothing." She nudged the pie. "Hey, this looks great. Let's eat."

Sorry, Rainbow, a fake smile isn't going to get me to drop this. "You ain't the type to cry about nothin'."

She looked down. "I-it's just-"

"What did she say to ya?"

Her face started taking on a reddish tint. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing." Not the great-grandfoals again! She pulled that on Cherrilee and scared her off to college in another town even though she was only lookin' for a tree to plant in the park. Rainbow looked up at me. "But it's not what she said, i-it got me thinking, and where that led just kind of scared me. It's nothing really."

It ain't nothing. If it was nothing, you wouldn't be crying. "When ya got hurt yesterday, what yer ya doin'?"

"Huh?"

"Ah bet it was some kinda stunt that most Pegasi wouldn't even try."

"I- I wanted to see if I could do a sonic Rainboom by increasing my momentum on a circular flight path before slingshotting off a cloud and into the dive, but my wing collided with the sub-sonic barrier before I could straighten out my trajectory."

"See?" Cause I sure don't. "Now if somethin' scared ya, it's gotta be somethin' big." Cause whatever you just described scares the tar outta me.

"I was thinking about, well, the future, and what I'm gonna do in life."

"Ain't nothin' bigger than that. But what about the wonderbolts? Everypony in Ponyville knows that's where yer eyes're set."

"I know," she set her head down on the haybale," and that's what scared me." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Mac, what do you want?"

This is a sudden change of topic. "What do ya mean?"

"What do you want from this? From us?" She lifted her head a little bit to look up at me. I couldn't begin to describe the look in her eyes, hope, fear, and I don't know what, all fighting to be seen. "From me?"

How can I even begin to answer that? "Ah don't know." I really don't. "And Ah'm guessin' you don't either." She nodded before setting her head back down. "Then we can find out together."

She gave a weak smile. "I'd like that."

"Then, since ya went and helped me on the farm today, why don't Ah help ya train for the Wonderbolts tomorrow?" What little smile she had quickly disappeared. I must have said something wrong, but I don't know what.

"Mac, I've never told anypony this, but I know they'll never let me in to the wonderbolts. I won't admit it or talk about it, and I keep telling myself that, if I get better, then they'll have to let me in, but what Granny said made me realize that I need to move on and think about what I should instead."

Why wouldn't they let her in? "Yer the best flyer in Equestria, they'd be lucky to-" I just stepped in it. Her expression flashed from sorrow to anger as she jerked her head up from the hay-bale.

She smacked the pie off the haybale with a grunt,"WELL THAT'S JUST IT ISN'T IT!" she screamed at me, her tears were running freely now,"I'm the best! I'm the fastest! I did this! I can do that! I! I! I!" She dropped her head to the haybale. "Th-they're a team," she choked out, "I-, I just wouldn't fit in. I'm better off alone." She sniffed loudly and rubbed at her face.

I laid my head down next to hers. "Ya know," I said quietly, "Ah've been hearin' stories lately. It seems that a group of mares've been runnin' around Equestria and savin' it from evil creatures, dragons, and the like. Ah haven't heard their names, but Ah hear there's six of'em. And they all work together. Sounds like quite the team to me. Ah think they're called the elements of harmony. Ever heard of'em?"

She threw her hooves around me and pulled her head against my neck. "Thank you." I could feel her hot, ragged breaths and the warm trails of the tears running from her face. As warm as it was, I couldn't help but feel strangely cold. "But, there's more to it Mac, there's more than just them being a team." Her voice was cracking as she spoke. "I know for sure that I can never be a Wonderbolt. I-" She started crying harder than ever. "I know that my dream can never come true."

"How?" I put my hooves around her shoulders. "How can anypony know that?"

"Because I told them." She pulled tighter to my neck. "I had my chance to join and I told them no."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "That ain't the whole story, is it?" Everypony in Ponyville knows how much Rainbow loves the Wonderbolts. I can't believe that she would just up and tell them no without a good reason.

"I got the letter in the mail. One of their members retired early and they needed a new member. All I had to do was write back within a month and I would have been a Wonderbolt."

"What happened?"

"AJ didn't come home. She went to that stupid rodeo of hers and never came back."

"Ah remember that, but ya brought her home."

I didn't think she could tighten her grip on my neck, but somehow she did. "We brought her home, and I couldn't leave after that. If I did, I might as well have just taken a hammer to my element. I couldn't abandon my friends. It came down to the choice between my friends and my dreams." She took a deep breath. "The letter's still sitting on my kitchen counter, I never wrote back, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. I'm stuck in the past. I want to look to the future, but I can't and I don't know why, Mac. I just don't know."

"That's a choice nopony should have to make, Rainbow." I don't know if it'll make her fell better, but- "Ah used to be just like you. Before AJ was old enough to work the farm, Ah always had to take care of the family. Ah had to work the fields, handle the business, be strong for everpony else, and Ah thought Ah was always gonna be alone. Ah love the farm and Ah love my family, but there were times when Ah thought my life was picked out for me. I met somepony crazy, and exciting, and fun and- Rainbow, yoy let me know that things don't have to turn out the way Ah thought they would."

Her crying had stopped at some point while I was talking, and her breathing against my neck felt much more even. "Ya feelin' better?" I asked. Her steady breathing was the only reply. She didn't even move. "Rainbow?" No answer.Just her steady breathing against my fur.

She fell asleep! Leaning over the haybale, and holding onto my neck, she fell asleep. That's fine for her, but I'm taller than she is. "Rainbow?" And I'm bent over quite a bit. "Please wake up."

I'm gonna be feeling this later.

Comments

[Shrapmo]

Good chap. Nice character development, keep it up!

[spudicous]

Amazing job, you've done an amazing job developing rainbow and big macs relationship. Keep it up.

[Bad Touch]

Earth and Sky...

Where have I heard that before?

[spiralcrisis]

Well done on doing one of my favorite pairings justice.

[SFaccountant]

"I want great-grandfoals!"

Geez Dash, get a clue!

She smacked the pie off the haybale with a grunt, "WELL THAT'S JUST IT ISN'T IT!"

Dammit, Rainbow! I know you're upset, but the pie was innocent!

[RyuImperator]

This Story need more likes