Everypony's Looking

by lethalogica

Chapter Four: Sweet Dreams Are Made of Bits

They ate what was going to expire first and delegated anything else alright in Big Mac's pillowcases, saving the best for last. Giving one last look around the room, the two left and searched town for what looked was a good place to camp out; after all, the sun had to begin setting eventually, what with all that excitement earlier that eventually died down to a good, ol' chatting and giggling. With the occasional arguments and snappy retorts, of course.

She argued as she turned against Big Mac to begin sleeping, "Star Wars was sooo much better than Star Trek, any day!"

"No way! Ah mean, was Paladin Skywalker becoming Dark Vader really a shock? You saw his cutie mark!" he refuted as he lay on the other half of the bed.

"Nightmare Moon, you are thick! It doesn't matter! What matters is that Fluke Skywalker found out Dark was his dad and they had a huge sappy moment in the end before Dark died!" Rainbow pulled the blanket more on her side, giving a grumble towards the stallion.

"Nnope. Star Trek will always better. They had emotional moments and moral situations. An' Spark! Spark will always be the best! He was so good even Haggard Coy, his actor, got his legacy!" He pulled it back to himself.

"Ban Solo!" On the moment she stressed the name, Dash tugged it back a tight grip.

Thus began a battle of their own, a battle of the wits, which science fiction franchise reigned supreme over the other, and the duvet. It ended, however, when Rainbow Dash turned to him with tired eyes and bopped him once on the snout, whispering before drifting off to sleep, "Star Wars infinity squared..."

Big Mac smiled and tucked her in, then took his pillow and settled on the floor. He thought about how they ended up there together, and let his mind run through what happened just two hours ago several times.

They found an old motel that appeared to be the least infested, but after searching all the rooms, the two could only confidently say one room was good enough for them. With a single bed tethered to the middle, heart-shaped with shades of pink and red assorted among the furniture, they wished it weren't so. It was, unfortunately, the single adequate place for them.

She'd repeated her orders plenty earlier- despite her sensitivity to touchy-touchy scenarios with colts, Rainbow wasn't selfish enough to force him to sleep on the floor. She wasn't, however, selfless enough to sleep on the floor herself. So the proposition was simple: just share the bed.

But Big Mac was a gentlecolt, he argued that it was alright, she could take it all. With the stubborn personality akin to Applejack's, Rainbow refused and forced him to share the bed, threatening that if he didn't, she'd tell everypony that he stole her from Braeburn when they were back home. Underhanded, yes, but it worked like a charm; Big Mac was apprehensive of how his sisters and Granny Smith would react if they found out about such a false rumour.

Glancing towards the snoring pegasus who quickly took up the space Macintosh left in his absence when he moved, he thought of his sister. They're so alike, yet so different... Ah can see how they become the best of friends not long after meeting each other. Ah wonder how Braeburn must be feeling right now. Mighty lonely and broken-hearted, I'd reckon. But Ah can see how he fell for her so easily... Those bright eyes a' hers are always so driven, and she has a damn well hidden side o' her... Ah wonder if anypony besides me has ever seen it before...

His eyes hovered over her unconscious form. Even asleep, drool all about her mouth and her body contorted in such a way that seemed impossible yet utterly comfortable, Rainbow Dash was gorgeous in a kind of whimsical way. He felt an urge to get up and wipe her hair away from her pretty face, and he was about to, but a small, nagging thought at the back of his head snapped the farmer back to reality. No, Big Mac, that's your little sister's best friend! An' she's not like you at all! Always so arrogant and prideful and full of herself! So brash and conceited. There's no chance anyways, she wouldn't ever go for a piss poor farmer like you...

He took back his hoof quickly as if he just touched a hot oven, and retreated to his spot on the floor. Just as he was settled, Big Mac heard something crash from outside. "Who's ther-"

A gloved hand forced a towel of chloroform into his face, the stallion's last image being of Rainbow still beautifully asleep, before going unconscious in the stranger's arms.

---

"Whoa. *That* was weird. Hey Big Mac, come on, wake up," the pegasus beckoned to her sleeping companion.

He only continued to stir, so she kicked in him the back and yelled, "Bucktard! Get off your lazy ass this instant!"

Macintosh got up startled, only to see his favourite pegasus, smile, and give her a quick peck on the cheek. "Ya' know you could've seriously injured my back, right, Poptart? I need that for plowing."

"But I didn't, so shut up about it, okay?" she said with a light blush as she wrapped her light blue wings around her special somepony.

He stroked them softly, making Rainbow shiver in pleasure. "Of course, especially when it's from a gal like you."

"It's too early Mackie, I need to go to my- ohhh- job now, remember? Ooh- Celestia, stop it, I- ahhh- I hate you so much!"

Pulling her in for a short-lived, but passionate kiss, he quipped, "But that's why you married me."

She beamed and punched him softly in the cheek. "And I regret it every day."

She left him in bed, where he plopped back down, wondering how he'd snatched such a wonderful mare like her. It was only a year- wait- or was it is a few months ago? It seemed like just yesterday, but that couldn't be.

Now that he thought about it, when did they meet? Right. It was at Sweet Apple Acres, when he saved Dash from yet another crash. Afterwards, it seemed like every other week, she was ending up near the farm in some kind of trouble, where Big Mac just happened to be, and he would nurse her back to health, or like the first time, keep her from getting an injury at all by jumping in immediately. Then Braeburn came one Friday morning. Something happened here, something there, and somehow, Rainbow and Mac had ended up in the desert, presumably miles away from Ponyville, and lost. They found an abandoned community- Celestia, the details were getting harder and harder to remember! - and they were in an old motel and he was about to fall asleep at last when suddenly-

"Buck!" he uttered. There was a sharp pain in his head. "Dammit, Ah need an aspirin."

He trotted out, passing a fluffy little cloud in the hall. Backtrot. "What the in Equestria?"

He prodded it warily, and it emitted a high-pitched, "Eep!" making him scramble backwards. Big Mac leaned in to poke it again when abnormally large black eyes opened themselves and stared at him. A smile curled, accompanied by tiny dimples, and it gave a little jump upwards.

"Uh, hello little cloud," the farmer greeted with an uneasy grin. I haven't even taken any aspirins yet... Did Rainbow put a hallucinogenic into mah dinner again? "AJ, c'mere a second!" he commanded.

A familiar brown hat bobbed up and down as the mare wearing it hopped up the stairs. "Something up, Big Mac?" she asked calmly.

"Are you seeing this too?" He pointed at the puff and she just giggled, making him raise a brow.

She petted it lightly, explaining, "It's just Professor Puffpuff, remember? Dash found it on one o' her adventures one time and brought it home to live with us! Unless you're seeing something other than this adorable li'l sugarcube."

"Nnope, I'm just a tad bit dazed and confused, Ah suppose." He was about to keep going down to grab some breakfast so the pills would work later on, when he paused and looked back at his sister. "When did you start wearing your hair loose?"

She looked at her untied blonde locks and chuckled, "Since forever, silly! Ah don't know how you of all ponies never noticed!"

With an unsure, "Eeyup," Macintosh left his sister to her own devices, trying to figure out why the headaches were coming back as well as why everything felt so unfamiliar.

Upstairs, after the stallion was too far to hear any of their conversation, "Professor Puffpuff" summoned a hand from his body and thumped the mare on the back of her head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Applejack rubbed the area as she looked to the creature for an answer.

"You blithering jackass," the cloud growled in a deep, scratchy voice, "you didn't do enough research! And 'Professor Puffpuff'? Are you bucking with me? That was all you could think of at the moment?"

The mare began, "Ah though-" when the thing shushed her and condescended, "Dear, I unfortunately require your services, so please, do not attempt to stress your delicate mind too much; it was a rhetorical inquisition, I have no need for it to be answered."

She furrowed her brows but began to walk away, still hearing the creature when he muttered, "I have to work with these impossible morons, of course."

---

"Alright, ponies, hustle up! I got the assignments for today from the boss!" Rainbow yelled, soon standing over her subordinates with a domineering stance and voice.

"Today, we're going to be testing our teamwork with a game of capture the flag!" she declared making some cower in fear and others jump up in anticipation.

She flew to the starting marks that loomed over the newly designed map. Envisioned by yours truly.

With a short briefing, Rainbow sent them away, keeping an eye on one of her favourite students. I still can't believe it! This is sooo super awesome! It still feels so strange to me, going to the Wonderbolts stadium, training the newbs before the season starts; and I can't wait until then!

She took a quick glance at the players, sure nopony was going to finish just yet, and went to an idle cloud not so far above. I don't even remember getting in. I mean, I do remember the first training weeks though, with the Lightning Dust scandal and stuff, but... Not the second... Whatever, Big Mac will be able to tell me what happened when I get home.

Heh, I miss him... How did we even get married? I- I know that I started getting feelings for him after the dozenth time he'd save me at Sweet Apple Acres, but it's not like I could act on it! I didn't even think he was interested in me... Then we were lost together... And we were in Coltergeist together... And then we-

"Ah! Buck it!" she hissed. "A damn migraine." Better go see Flutter or Twilight... She waved off to her second-in-command, and flew down.

"Hey, Derps!" Dash chirped as she flew past the blonde mailmare hovering around one of the houses on the outskirts of town. Wait a minute... Backtrot. "When did your eyes get better?"

"Whaddya' mean?" she asked.

Trying to be polite, she clarified, "Your eyes, they were a little... Wobbly?"

"Oh, I, um, got contact lens!"

"Uh, that's good," the rainbow-maned mare said with a crooked smile, and continued towards the center of town, deciding Twilight would be the better choice.

"You lumbering lummox! I can't be everywhere at once!" a cloud yelled at her, revealing itself to be "Professor Puffpuff" from earlier.

"Sorry, boss," the grey pegasus said.

It hit her on the head before leaving with an ill-mannered grumbling, "These milksops are too mentally retarded for me to handle."

---

"Hey, Twi- Mackie?"

The red stallion turned around and said with a smile to her scratchy voice, "Heya Poptart, whaddya' doing here?"

"Uh, some aspirins. My head started hurting over at the training grounds, but I didn't wanna see the nurse, so I went here."

He cocked his head and shot a strange look at her, saying, "Ah had some headaches back at the farm too, so I went here when I saw we don't got none. By the way, do you remember getting some sort of cloud thing from one of your outings? A 'Professor Puffpuff'?"

"Uh, no," she shook her head the absurdity, "I don't recall anything like that."

They stood in silence, combing through the other curious incidences from the day in their heads. "Rainbow, I heard you come in! And Big Mac? I assume you two came here for the same reasons, so why don't you come up here?" the unicorn's level-headed voice rang from her bedroom.

The couple looked at the other, shrugged, and went up, Big Mac taking a fast pace on the stairs as his wife simply flew upwards.

The door was slightly open, and as they peeked in, purple hooves grabbed them by the forelegs and pulled them inside.

"Ow, Twilight, what was- what is this?" Rainbow asked, looking around the room. It wasn't Twilight's bedroom at all. It was white, a pure, almost blinding white, and it seemed to go on forever, reaching no horizon in the far distance, but simply a blending of the dimensions. They looked around awe-struck before the unicorn reminded them of their purpose.

"Hey, Mac, Dash, stop looking around and listen to me," the purple mare snapped impatiently.

"Um, I- okay," Dash stuttered.

"Look. I don't have much time, so I have to make this brief. I am the personification of your consciousness. Yes, Twilight Sparkle for the both of you. Before you ask, Rainbow, I still remember that one time you wrote an essay describing everything you love about yourself then sent it to yourself as a secret admirer in hopes of deterring those stupid colts from still making fun of you in flight school-"

Mac laughed, making Rainbow punch him in the leg as she blushed furiously.

"- and Mac, the time Applejack found you in her bedroom dressed up in Granny Smith's clothes because you, quote unquote, 'wanted to see how it was like to be a mare.'"

Dash fell on the floor, chortling at the hilarious revelation, as her partner blushed an impossible shade of red.

"But that's not the point. So I need you to listen to me. You're trapped in your own minds. I can't tell you what they are- I don't know either- but I can tell you that something's wrong and you both know it."

She waved a foreleg towards her right side, making a black screen appear. It show a few seconds of static before taking a scene from Big Mac's memories. "Yes, you remember this, right? Well, after you left, this is what happened."

The duo watched in disbelief as the cloud grew a limb and spoke in its uncharacteristic pitch. She went next to them and began to show them other similar events, ending it with, "So, as your consciousness, I must advice you to stay away from any clouds or ponies other than me. And you'll know me from the nicknames I give you if I see you again."

"Yes, but I'm afraid you may be all too late to in revealing this," a voice spoke from behind them.

"You! Professor Puffpuff!" Rainbow shouted upon turning around.

The thing looked at her with dead eyes. "Please. Stop calling me that. It isn't the name my mother blessed me with."

"Then what are we supposed to call you? 'Puff the Magic Cloud'?" the farmer asked sarcastically, inciting an, "Oh, yeah," from Rainbow and a high-one.

She snorted, "Or how about the 'Terrifyingly Jet Puffed Marshmallow'?"

They gave a hoof bump, while Twilight spoke up, "Ooh, ooh! Um, what about 'Cloud Atlas'?" The three looked her without a word. "Gosh, I'm still Twilight, alright? I can't just turn into a comedian overnight," she muttered, rubbing her foreleg with the other.

The cloud shook itself, continuing, "Nonetheless, it was distracting. You may refer to I as Cornelius. Telling you Fillystines my last name would be useless, since I won't be meeting you again."

"Ha, and why is that?" the blue mare jeered, pushing her face into Cornelius's.

Macintosh pulled her back as it shivered from her breath. "Ugh, I can't believe one of you filthy mammals almost touched me! I'm glad I won't have to meet with you two again, since you'll be dead."

"Limbs!" he called out from behind.

Applejack, Rainbow's right-hoof pony, and Derpy appeared, morphing into replicas of the creature's hand. They attached to his body and he gave them all a couple seconds of stretching before knocking Big Mac off of his hooves with a sucker punch.

"Mackie! Oh, you-" and Rainbow was interrupted by a shot to her face.

---

"Ugh," a groggy Rainbow slurred, "what the buck happened?" She woke up to the sight of her companion being cradled on the neck by a hand connected to a fluffy, malevolent thing, and-

"What the buck! Stop it, you- you- Cornelius!" the pegasus yelled, regaining the recent facts, and spotting the knife in its left hand.

"Too late."

Comments

[PinkPearl]

oooh you have GOT to update soon!

[Trevosta]

Poptart? That is... Wonderful...
A lot of cute, plenty of embarrassing, and a big ol' heapin' helpin' of possible backstory.

[djthomp]

Hmn, not bad.