Chapter 5
Big Macintosh waited until Pinkie Pie was nearly out of sight before he stepped out from his hiding place behind the corner of a nearby house. Rarity hadn't moved in the interim; she stood, looking far off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. Big Mac made no effort to mask his approach; his heavy footfalls thudded on the packed dirt of Ponyville's main street, but Rarity didn't turn to look at the new arrival until he addressed her directly, "Why howdy, Rarity. Ah ain't seen yew in a while. Why d'ya look so sad awn such a nice day?"
Rarity turned, and when she saw Big Mac she tried to put on a smile, but it just made her look more worried to Big Mac, and her voice sounded uneven when she spoke, "Oh, why hello there Big Macintosh. What do you mean? I'm not sad."
Big Mac sighed at her, "Now Ah may nawt be tha mos' per-cep-tive of ponies, but Ah dew know a sad mare when Ah see one, an' there's one in front'a me right now. This got somethin' ta do with that stallion ya took a shine ta?"
Rarity's eyes widened, "How did yo-"
"Word gets 'round quick on tha farm. Now, Ah don't know who this stallion yew got yer eye awn is, but Ah ain't heard no rumors before taday, so it seems awful sudden-like. What's got ya so int'rested in this stallion anyhow?"
Rarity seemed to debate with herself for a moment before answering, "Well Big Mac, the reason is fate. You see, Twilight and I used magic to see a vision revealing the future, and it told me that I was destined to be with an... with a certain pony."
Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow, "An what's some vis-un got ta do with matters ahv tha heart?"
"Well don't you see?" Rarity asked, "That's exactly the kind of romance I'd want. A vision of love, a whirlwind romance, a bond blessed by magic and fate itself!"
"Ah could see how ya'd want that kinda romance," the red stallion replied before pretending to think to himself for a few seconds, "But this here stallion, did ya spend much time with 'im afore tha vis-un?"
"Well, no, bu-"
Big Mac interrupted Rarity's protest, "An' does he like tha same things yew like?"
"I don't see wha-"
The Earth pony cut in again, "An has he shown int'rest in yew in tha' past?"
Rarity was beginning to look discouraged as she answered hesitantly, "No, not really..."
Big Mac nodded, "Ah see. So yer sad on account 'a him re-jec-tin yew. Well, Ah'm right sorry to hear 'bout that, but if'n Ah were that stallion an' you told me yew wanted ta date me cause 'a some vis-on yew had without even knowin' bout me, Ah'd 'a rejected ya too. In tha Apple fam'ly, we know love's got ta do with what ya feel in yer heart, not about what anypony, even fate itself, tells ya ta do. 'Least, that's tha way Ah see it."
He knew that he had done his job when he saw the despair in Rarity's eyes. She wouldn't pursue him anymore, not after being rejected that way, at least, that's what Big Mac counted on. Now, he only had to point her in the right direction. After a pause, he spoke again, "Anyways, Ah came ta town cause Ah was lookin' fer yew. Somethin' ya done made Applejack upset, an' she's in a right state, so I came ta see if yew could go ta Sweet Apple Acres an' work out wha'cha'll need ta work out, an' make up."
If anything, that made Rarity look even sadder, "Oh dear. Did she tell you anything about why she's mad at me?"
"Nope. But Ah do know this. Y'all've been close friends fer a while, y'all're close friends now, an' y'all're gonna be close friends fer a long time yet, one way or another, so y'all're gonna have ta work it out sometime. Might as well be now. It's best not ta let these things fester. She's back at Sweet Apple Acres; go now, afore it gets toward sundown."
Rarity was silent for a few moments, just staring at the larger Earth pony, but then she replied, "You're right, Big Mac. Applejack is more important than this." And with that, she turned and started walking toward Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh turned to watch as she left Ponyville behind.
The red stallion sighed to himself. He hated to see her leave, but he did love watching her go; he almost kicked himself over letting such a grand opportunity to get in good with a great looking mare go. She sent Twilight to see if he had any intelligence, so she obviously cared about that and might even have been a good match for him. Still, his sister had first claim, and he never would have heard the end of it if he'd made a play for Rarity before she had a chance.
He figured he'd need to give the two of them some time, so he decided he might as well stay in Ponyville for a bit. A thought occurred to him, and he decided to throw caution to the wind. He'd given up his chance with Rarity, but there were other options. Great options. He hummed to himself as he trotted toward the library, idly wondering why he had such a thing for unicorns.
***
Applejack was restless. She'd waited inside, but had come out when she'd started worrying about whether she'd see Rarity approaching. She'd stood outside, until she'd started worrying about looking desperate. She'd started pacing, but had stopped when she'd started kicking up dust; Rarity wouldn't have liked that. Eventually, all her worries just sort of balled up inside her until she couldn't tell one from another, and she just felt sick. Still, she twitched with nervous energy, and decided to kick a dead apple tree, to relieve her stress. That sort of thing always made her feel better. There was a dead tree not far from the farm house, so she went over and just started kicking, as hard as she could.
After a time, she wound up another kick, and it missed. She turned around in confusion, then laughed nervously to herself, "Ah guess Ah overdid it...." The splintered tree's roots had been torn out of the ground, and her kicking had caused it to fall over. She needed to get it out of sight before Rarity arrived. Grabbing a branch in her teeth, she started to drag the mangled log toward the woodpile behind the barn.
"Hello there Applejack, darling, what are you doing?"
As soon as she heard Rarity's voice, Applejack felt like the pit of her stomach had simply fallen out, opening into a vast chasm of fear. She cursed her own timing, and Rarity's, as she dropped the branch she'd been using to move the tree she'd downed. "Uh... well... Ah was jus' clearin' some dead wood. What brings you 'round? Rainbow Dash talk ta ya?" Applejack didn't know whether it was the right thing to say; her mind seemed to be filled with nothing but panic, and words seemed to drop out of her mouth without her consent. She hoped that she'd at least said the words in English.
Rarity replied in a puzzled tone, "Well, I did see Rainbow Dash, but I was already on my way over. She just landed and asked whether or not I was coming here. When I told her I was already on my way, she just called me a lucky.... Well, she called me lucky and something rude, and then flew off. Isn't that odd?"
Applejack was able to manage a weak laugh, "Heh, yeah, odd."
The silence stretched between them as though it were tangible. Applejack heard herself break it, "So if Dash didn't tell ya ta come, why are ya here?"
Rarity replied, "It was your brother, actually. After Pinkie Pie told me how angry you were at me, He said some things that made me realize that our friendship is more important than some strange vision, even if I want it to be true. I'm sorry I tried to go out with your brother without talking to you first. I understand why you're angry at me, and I'm sorry."
"What," Applejack stated flatly, dumbfounded. "Rarity, Ah wasn't angry at ya. Ah was angry at mahself, and Ah was jealous ahv mah brother."
"What," Rarity replied, in the same flat tone. "Why would you be...?"
The silence stretched again, and Applejack felt herself near the precipice of decision. Once the words were out of her mouth, she wouldn't be able to take them back. Rarity might hate her. They might never speak again. Rarity might just turn around in disgust, and walk away. Applejack felt like she'd never be able to speak, but she knew that she had to anyway.
The words poured forth from her in a rush, "Ah love you Rarity. Ah've loved ya fer a while now. An' Ah know Ah ain't no pure white stallion with a gleamin' horn. Ah've heard ya describe your perfect weddin' a thousand times by now, and Ah know ya ain't never mentioned no mare at the altar with ya. Ah know ya want a storybook romance that wouldn't cause no scandal nowhere, an foals someday. Ah know ya want all that, an Ah know that Ah can't give ya any of it. If that's really what ya want, well, Ah'll get outa yer hair. But do ya want all that 'cause'a what ya feel, or 'cause that's what everypony told ya to want? Do ya think it'll make ya happy? Is that tha point? Cause, Rarity, Ah know this if Ah know anythin': Ya make me a happy pony, an' if ya can give me a chance ta win yer heart, Ah'll do mah best ta make ya the happiest pony in all 'a Equestria." Applejack couldn't believe that she'd said all that, but it was her voice speaking, and Rarity had heard.
Rarity smiled as tears streamed down her face, and for the first time in a long time, Applejack felt hope.
***
"...And so a lot of ponies learned lessons that day. Applejack learned that sometimes, it can take a lot of courage to tell someone how you feel about them, but you'll never get anywhere by keeping your feelings to yourself. Pinkie Pie learned that you should always be careful with fire, and never leave it unattended. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that lesson has sunk in all the way; we all laughed when she took out so many different insurance policies on that little shack when she bought it last season, but now she's got five times as many bits as she paid for it, and she moved right back into the appartment above the sweet shop the night it burned down. I'm sure she'll be more careful in the future, though," Twilight dictated.
"As for me, well, I learned that just because you don't seem to have much in common with someone at first glance, doesn't mean that they're not the kind of person you were looking for," She continued, looking over at a dark blue unicorn that was reading a large meteorological reference on one of the library's book stands. Spike had never seen him before, and on further examination, the unicorn cast a shadow much larger than his average sized frame gave him a right to. It would fool any pony, but Spike's draconic eyes detected the telltale shimmer of an illusion. After a brief pause, Spike's quill began to move again as Twilight continued to dictate her letter to Celestia, "Whether you knew you were looking or not."
"And Rarity... Rarity learned that when it comes to love, you can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you might find... you get what you need." Twilight walked over to one of the library's windows and opened it, breathing in the fresh air and watching two ponies argue as they sat at a park bench in the clearing nearby. Twilight remained silent as they shouted at each other for a bit, but soon Rarity said something quietly enough that Twilight couldn't hear, and Applejack blushed. The two ponies smiled at each other, and Twilight smiled down at them before motioning Spike over to the window.
"From your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Go ahead and send it, Spike."
Spike gathered up the pages he'd covered in writing, rolled them up as well as he could, raised them toward the window, and blew. Green fire consumed the pages, and a cloud of ash, dust, fire, and magic blew swiftly toward Canterlot over the park bench where two very happy ponies sat, each content, for now, to simply enjoy each other's company.
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I nearly fell out of my chair laughing on page four. Loving this so far.
This was so beautiful, I've never been keen on romantic stories, but i tell ya this one was great. Although I was hoping RD to get some loving.... poor Dashie...
Nicely done, ok so I wasn't expecting that ending... and somehow I got into my head that once it appears that Rarity wasn't going to be with Big Mac, that he ended up with another unicorn
. Oh well, still good story, a nice break from the all the dark and angst filled ones. ~Celestia's Paladin, Ex Solis et Lunae, Providentia et Prospera
so when dash talked to rarity she said lucky then an insult is the insult the b word
You know... I read this a month or three ago, and I reread it tonight on a whim.
And I just got what Pinkie did.
Well played, sir! Well played.
Loved it! Great job Ebon Mare.
Loved it.
Also that swearing
6611 um he did the blue unicorn was an illusion it was really big Mac .
"And Rarity... Rarity learned that when it comes to love, you can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you might find... you get what you need."
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THAR
....
and i liked it
Great story, btw.
Why is Big Mac under an illusion?
116184
lol #2
Bravo good sir, Bravo
Well author, you've sure got some stones there. And I don't mean a major Tom, either.
Pinkie Pie, insurance scammer.
Augh, Rolling Stones reference! D: Dammit, Ebon!
Well, anyway, story number eighty. Eighty. It sure is fun to go back and read old fics, but boy howdy is this season one. Like, middle of season one season one. I can't even judge it properly, because standards were so different back then, if not nonexistant.
Still, I'm impressed at the triple-ship handling. Pinkie on-call Tourette's was hysterical, and so was Big Mac's sudden accent switch (predating Applejack's, if I'm not mistaken!) The twist at the end of chapter 3 was perfectly executed, even if you ended with the February-esque, "Ah love you and now you love me too."
BUT WHO CARES BEST SHIP
2544052
>> even if you ended with the February-esque, "Ah love you and now you love me too."
Well I actually did write this in February of 2011. This and Creatures of the Night are two of the original February fics.
2547216
You bad person you :V
2547216 Okay, I've been googling my ass off and I have no idea. What the hell is a "february fic?"
2588272
Within this fandom, it refers to a poorly written shipping fic with a weak conflict that's resolved immediately upon one of the characters telling another character about romantic feelings, which the second character immediately reciprocates. Basically, the only plot is 'pony A and pony B like each other'
2589264 Delightful... Why is it called "February?"
2589640
Because that just happens to be the month where the archetypal cases were written, back in February 2011, since it was very early in the fandom and there were only a few fic authors, so even the very bad ones (like myself in those days) got attention. Valentine's day also increases the number of shipping fics produced, so there happen to be a lot of bad shipping fics every February.
Nice fic, very cute. Love the red herring. Don't understand why Big Mac was disguised at the end as a blue unicorn. Was that a reference to something? The swearing caught me totally by surprise, great job!
Anyway, excellent work, greenthumbed!
2547216
Well that's amusing.
I have to say the best part about this was Pinkie Pie's insurance scam.
I am amused by the presence of early pony stuff here though.
Big Mac's accent being by choice (something we later found out was the case with Applejack)
Rainbow Dash x Applejack and Rarity x Applejack
Why doesn't this have a comedy tag? Fuck a mailbox, indeed.
Old but gold. The fact that this is an early fandom fic but I still favorited 2 years after it was written, it shows how good it is.
2633784
If he's seen at the library business could suffer.
Pinkiepie having Tourettes is now officially my headcannon.One because it just makes SO much sense and two because I have it too.Though,it's seems Pinkie got the short end of the stick because she has both and I just get the twitches,(that doesn't mean I don't cheat and claim to have both problems when I get caught,though...). X3
Might he be a changeling?
4696566
Considering this was written over a year before the season 2 finale... no.
Oh, Pinkie, you little insurance fraudster, you.
This was well written and concluded. I really liked this story. I just don't like this-
&
- ship.
Its good