Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Granny Smith had, to Big Macintosh’s great relief, not pestered him with details about his lunch with Twilight Sparkle; Applejack had kept dinner occupied with an anecdote about a strange bunch of rocks she’d found while working in the fields.
The next day was reassuring. Granny Smith was more or less contented for the time being. She was actually helping them with the chickens, collecting eggs. She got along well with the chickens, chatting with them to pass the time.
“…And then you won’t believe what she said to me,” she rattled off to one chicken who looked up at her, clearly engaged in her story. “She says if I don’t like it, I can make one myself! So I says fine, I will…”
Big Macintosh and Applejack passed a relieved look to each other as they stacked cages onto a cart.
“Alrighty, there,” said Granny Smith, finishing her conversation with the chicken. “You just send them along to Fluttershy’s now, give ‘em a reward for all them egg-layin’s.”
“Will do, Granny,” said Applejack.
“Eeyup.”
“And while you’re at it, why don’t you say hi to Fluttershy?” asked Granny Smith.
Applejack rolled her eyes. Big Macintosh sighed, and nodded. “Alright,” he conceded.
Big Macintosh pulled the cart as usual, with Applejack trailing behind to make sure everything was fastened and wouldn’t fall out over the course of the bumpy ride.
“So,” said Big Macintosh, “what does Fluttershy do with the chickens?”
“Oh, tends to their needs,” said Applejack. “Lets them walk around the yard, feeds them, gives them a relaxing steam bath.”
“Eee… what?” asked Big Macintosh.
“Yeah, she also has different activities with the other animals,” Applejack explained, nonchalant as always. “s’like they’re off on a vacation all fancy-like.”
“Ah.”
Fluttershy’s cottage was on the outskirts of the town, but not too far of a walk from the farm; they both sat near the borders of the Everfree Forest.
It was a quaint little cottage, though Big Macintosh had never set hoof inside. In all honesty, he felt it seemed rather small for him. Looking at it he wondered if he’d hit his head on the ceiling inside.
He walked up to the fence next to the cottage, and Applejack went in front of him, opening the gate. “Fluttershy?” she called.
“I’m right here,” said Fluttershy, who to Big Macintosh’s surprise was standing right next to the fence.
“Oh,” said Applejack. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay,” said Fluttershy. “You can just park them in the pen and open the doors.”
Big Macintosh strolled on through, all the while the chickens clucked impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, hold your, um…” he said.
“Thanks a bunch, Fluttershy,” said Applejack. “Always a use to us. They been pumpin’ out a whole lotta eggs lately and need a bit of a rest.”
“Oh, of course,” said Fluttershy. “Angel’s on vacation, so I’ll be able to look after them.”
Applejack tilted her head. “Angel Bunny? Vacation?”
“Yes,” said Fluttershy. “He needs to have some time on his own, after all. He’s a grown bunny.”
“Uhh huh…” Applejack looked off to the yard. Fluttershy, it seemed, had set up a tea set on a stump. “Rarity meetin’ ya for tea?”
“Actually…” Fluttershy looked down. “She couldn’t make it. She had a meeting with… Hoity-Toity, I think. Something important.”
“Right, right,” said Applejack. “Had dresses and deals to make?”
“She was very sorry,” said Fluttershy. “She had to call off our tea party at the last minute.”
“Aw, shoot,” said Applejack. “And after you got everything set up.”
Big Macintosh listened to the conversation. He didn’t have that much else to listen to as he unlatched the chicken coops, letting the birds waddle on out. One of them stopped and looked up at him quizzically.
“Hi,” said Big Macintosh.
“Cluck,” said the bird.
“I don’t suppose you could join?” asked Fluttershy.
“Sorry,” said Applejack. “I got stuff to do.” She smiled. “Big Macintosh might be able.”
Big Macintosh’s head snapped back. “Beg pardon?”
“I’ll take over your workload,” said Applejack, trotting over to the chicken coop wagon. “I’m sure Granny Smith won’t mind. Have a nice day, Fluttershy!”
“Uhh… bye…” said Fluttershy, looking after Applejack as she hitched herself up to the wagon and merrily left. She and Big Macintosh shared an awkward look. “Well, it’s nice tea,” she said. “It’s herbal. Very relaxing.” She walked over to the stump, by the teapot. She lifted the lid off of the pot with her mouth, taking a nice, relaxed whiff of it, before sighing contentedly and replacing the lid.
Big Macintosh sat down opposite her on the stump, looking down at the teacup in front of him.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked.
“Eeyup.”
She leaned over, pouring tea into the cup. Somehow, he found himself compelled to lean back, just so that he didn’t risk crushing her with the weight of his shadow. Somehow, that made sense to him at the time.
When she retreated back to her side of the table, he looked down at his cup of tea. The cup was so tiny he wondered if he couldn’t just swallow the whole thing in one gulp. Including the saucer.
Fluttershy poured herself some tea and just sat there, contentedly watching the steam rise and smiling softly. Big Macintosh sat there, waiting for his own tea to cool, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do. Fluttershy wasn’t doing anything, talking or otherwise. He decided he’d have to do something.
“So…” he started, and almost stopped when Fluttershy looked up at him in near-alarm. “Uh… You doing something on Saturday?”
“I have to pick up Angel from his Vacation,” said Fluttershy. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” said Big Macintosh. “I just remembered Rarity said somethin’ about opera.”
“Oh, yes,” said Fluttershy. “I wanted to go, but, well, I couldn’t.”
“Ah see,” said Big Macintosh. He really didn’t have anything else he could think of to ask.
“Would you like some milk?” asked Fluttershy, nudging a small pitcher of milk.
“Nope.”
“Oh. Sugar?”
“Nn…” Big Macintosh started, but upon seeing Fluttershy’s slightly dejected expression, relented. “Eeyup.”
Fluttershy plunked two sugar cubes into his cup and then backed into her own seat. She took a sip of her tea as Big Macintosh watched his cubes dissolve.
He took his cup, and took a small sip. This was, to his slight embarrassment, enough to completely drain the cup. He lowered it back down to the saucer, sheepish.
“Would you like some more?” asked Fluttershy, nudging the teapot over to him.
Big Macintosh did have to admit: Fluttershy was right about the tea. It was nice, and it did make him feel more calm. He found himself admiring the cottage; it had a nice earthy feeling.
“I like your house,” he said.
“Oh. Thank you. The animals like it. They feel comfortable in it.”
“Eeyup.”
Fluttershy blew on her tea a little as Big Macintosh watched. The animals around the place (namely the chickens) were making more noise, clucking away at nothing in particular. One of them slipped in the mud, prompting Big Macintosh to chuckle a little.
“You take care of our hens, Fluttershy,” he said.
“Oh, don’t worry,” said Fluttershy, smiling. “I’ll take real good care of them. When they get back, they’ll be ready for laying again.” She nudged the sugar bowl. “More sugar?”
“Eeyup.”
***
Fluttershy, Big Macintosh reasoned, was… nice. Very, very nice. He liked that. He wondered if she liked him. It was a little difficult for him to tell if she was shy or scared of him.
As he left the cottage, he saw the mailpony placing a package in the mailbox, along with a postcard.
“Hey, Stationery,” said Big Macintosh, addressing the mailpony. “How goes the mail job?”
“Good,” said Stationery. He shut the mailbox, though Big Macintosh got close enough that he could have sworn he saw a picture of a rabbit wearing sunglasses and an aloha shirt. “Hey, you mind coming with me for a moment? The dog at the next house is out to get me, I swear.”
“Sure thing,” said Big Macintosh. They headed on down the road back to the town. “Same ol’, same ol’?”
“For now, yeah,” said Stationery. “What was that you were doing with Fluttershy?”
“Oh, nothin’,” he said calmly. “Just a tea party.” Stationery snorted and rolled his eyes. “Somethin’ wrong with that?”
“Oh, tea parties,” said Stationery. “Never get me at one of those.”
“There’s nothin’ wrong with ‘em,” reasoned Big Macintosh.
Stationery turned around to face him. “Big Macintosh,” he said, “let me explain something to you—”
“Go ahead.” Big Macintosh said, nodding.
“Tea parties are a metaphor for the matriarchy that keeps us stallions doing what they like.”
Big Macintosh stopped and stared at him. “I don’t follow.”
“Listen, it’s like this,” said Stationery, drawing a line in the dirt with his hoof. “At a tea party you all sit at nice, pre-arranged places, where the host, which is the leading matriarch, or a stand-in for the princess, has complete authority. She’ll offer you the tea and be nice about it, but it’s always on her terms. And if you want milk or sugar, well then,” he snorted. “You have to ask nicely for it. It’s about submitting to the absolute authority of the matriarch. Well, I’m not submitting to any matriarchs. And of course, it’s invitation only,” he said, tapping the line, “stay on your side of the line. Can’t do anything unless the matriarch lets you.”
“So…” Big Macintosh looked down at the line, “I should come without being invited.”
“Ughh…” Stationery groaned. “Look, it’s a metaphor.”
“I see,” said Big Macintosh. “So if Princess Celestia came along, you wouldn’t bow?”
“No siree,” said Stationery. “Stallion’s gotta stand his ground if he doesn’t want to get pushed around by the mares. Like how your Granny’s pushing you around.”
“Well,” said Big Macintosh, “it could be worse.” He imagined if he were like Stationery he’d have an even harder time finding a mare who’d want to marry him.
“Oh, it’ll get better,” said Stationery. “Just once we start realising it.”
“Tea parties?”
“Yeah,” said Stationery.
They came up to a house surrounded by a white picket fence with a swinging door. Stationery cautiously approached it. “That dog… You help me out here?”
“Eeyup,” said Big Macintosh.
“Great.” Stationery slowly opened the gate and walked on tip-hoof up to the door, past a large and menacing doghouse. “Can’t get a mailbox…” he muttered. “Just a mail slot…”
Big Macintosh looked over at the doghouse and swore he could hear, or perhaps feel, a faint rumbling coming from within. He stared it, like looking into a deep, dank, smelly cave.
“That’s done,” said Stationery, passing by him. “Let’s get out quickly so he won’t…”
Grr… came a rumbling from the doghouse. “Oh no,” said Stationery. “RUN!”
***
As Big Macintosh ran back to the farm, he thought about what Stationery had said about tea parties. He guessed it made sense. But then, he could probably apply that to anything. He didn’t know.
He didn’t feel like repeating it himself, though. He suspected that if he himself started saying it it wouldn’t sound as convincing. Also, it probably wouldn’t help him with anything.
As it happened, Big Macintosh returned to the farm just in time for lunch. He was looking forward to getting back to work, thankful his tea party with Fluttershy had gone well.
Thinking on it some more, he couldn’t really apply Stationery’s tea party theory to his meeting with Fluttershy. Fluttershy was very sweet and kind—not the kind of authoritative matriarch Stationery was talking about. But then, Fluttershy had been expecting to meet with Rarity. Maybe Rarity was the matriarch. That might have made more sense. But then, Fluttershy was the host, and the host was supposed to be the matriarch.
He shook his head. Nothing there made sense.
“Howdy there, Big Macintosh!” called Applejack, waving her hat. “How’d your date go?”
“It was okay…” said Big Macintosh. He just stood there as Applejack cantered up to him. He didn’t know if there was anything to what Stationery had said about tea parties, but there might be something else. “Applejack?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Why’d you do that?” asked Big Macintosh.
“Do what?” asked Applejack. “Oh, you mean the thing with Fluttershy?”
“Yeah,” said Big Macintosh.
“I dunno,” she said with a shrug. “I thought you might like her. And it might help with Granny Smith.”
“But I didn’ ask for it,” said Big Macintosh. Applejack looked at him, a hint of realization creeping into her face. “I appreciate the sen’iment, but… you didn’t have to vol’nteer me.”
“Oh…” said Applejack. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it that way. Guess I got ahead of myself?” She gave a nervous self-deprecating chuckle.
Big Macintosh smiled. “It’s okay,” he said. “Just… somethin’ to think about?”
“Okay, big bro,” said Applejack.
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As always a interesting read, glad to see a new chapter up.
So many authors would have made AJ and Granny hateful.
I think they're far more interesting (and true to the show) being fundamentally good-hearted and genuinely wanting what's best, but also being stuck in their ways and slightly clueless.
And here we see Macintosh once again being forced into a situation. Even his sister thought it was a good idea to push Big Mac into a impromptu date. Yes, Matriarchal society is heavily said in this story.
Since Big Mac is so well suited for & good at his job, it just doesn't make sense for him to be a house husband & his hypothetical future wife to be the breadwinner.
But 'Sense' may not enter into it if the society is so stuck in their ways. Such an arrangement clearly hasn't occurred to either Granny or Applejack (though Apple Bloom touched upon it) & I'm just not sure if Big Mac would be actually willing to fight societal pressure on the issue.
"sen’iment"
sentiment.
This even if it was meant for a southern accent should be spelled correctly. It's okay to see it every now and then, because we will do this, but it's not everytime.
That wasn't much of a
but it sure was fun!
I wonder if Big Mac will end up with anyone. He is not really making an effort.
3527555 not if he has a specific purpose if he spells it correctly we wont hear it in our minds the way the author wants us too
Well at least he had a pleasant time with Fluttershy, I think. He'll probably still end up with Roseluck or Bloomberg or Celestia in the end lol.
3527915
Trust me whether or not I hear it in my mind isn't the problem. I'm saying that as a suggestion for later on. Like I said, it's not correct even for a southern accent to skip T's like that. We do pronounce words correctly, even in a story the accent of someone shouldn't be held to that, while the accent stays the pronouncition of words can still be proper. Ain't nothing wrong there, just to thick of an accent to still be considered southern, even with us only hearing maybe two or three sentences from Big Mac outside of "Eeyup" and "Nope", his few lines aren't as heavy as that sentence.
I absolutely love the story and all... But while the accent here is actually GOOD it goes... Overboard sometimes. That's one of the few, the rest fit in but that one... I don't know it stuck out.
3529725
Thank you for the feedback. Heh. I have to admit, I'm sort of winging the accents. I'll bear that in mind in the future. Don't want to get things too wrong.
3530549
For winging it you did better than 89% of the authors I know that tried winging it.
Should be him.
Anyway, story's still interesting and enjoyable to read. :3
3527555 That is what annoys me most when people write about the Apple family. Side note: there is a specific situation to say "y'all". I hate it when authors use it in a singular tense. It's plural. Are you listening authors? PLURAL!!!
3550627
I GET THAT SO F*CKING MUCH!
It's like their trying to make fun of us, or their "proper" education doesn't understand southern slang well enough to roll with it. I know someone who has AJ as their favorite pony, and I can tell you now they would write her 'til it just ain't funny no more. Problem is he stays the hell away from southern accents, and just because he can't understand the strange punctuation mark places on several words.
Most of the time though I can deal with the y'all mis use though it when they start the -
"Jus' 'cuz ya messed up don' mean nothin' Twi'." Crap
Even in Louisiana it's THE ACCENTS NOT THE WORDS THAT ARE CHANGED DAMN IT! Pronounciation is different.
Great chapter, and nice reference to "Tea Party" as well^^
The matriarchal elements seem a bit heavy handed, but overall this story is very good. I think Big Mac might be the best sort of character to be teasing out these sorts of elements.
4137826 I admit, I'm not really happy with how I'm playing it. I like the idea of presenting Equestria as a matriarchal society and exploring that, but I feel my presentation is… kind of shallow.
4138382
Yeah, kind of. A lot of this sort of thing in real life plays out as subconscious impulses or unquestioned assumptions, rather than the bare faced biases which I saw in your story.
4138485 I will say that the Caramel example was something that actually happened to my mom, but you're correct. Having it be a subtler, underlying theme ultimately make for a smarter story.
Shame.
4138823
I'm sorry, that came out sounding highly critical. I did not intend it as such, I enjoy the story quite a bit, and hope that you can work out some of your difficulties with it.
I am sorry to hear about that happening to your mother.
4138867 Hey, honest criticism is always welcome.
And eh. That was like twenty years ago. Just something I felt I could draw upon.
Oh dear. Hopefully I'll update this story soon. There's really no reason it should take so long to write.
4138934
I know exactly how you feel, it has been forever since I updated my own story.
And they were never heard from again.
As soon as I finished this, I then realized that it's been forever since the last update.
And I was getting so into the story...
4712859 Heh. Sorry about that. We'll see about it. I'm just working on some of my other stories at the moment, at my glacial pace...
4713187
It's alright. At least I now know the author didn't give up on it.
4869707
Wow. That's actually extremely embarrassing. So scatter-brained I can't even basic continuity. I'll have to fix that before my next update.
I'm so embarrassed! I meant to update one of my other stories, but I accidentally posted it here!
5603754
So no update for this story?
Just got a notification that Chapter 34 had been released but I can only see up to chapter 4 when I look at the story.
5604043 You'll have to wait a bit longer for the next MMM chapter, I'm afraid. I've been working at it bit by bit for a little while.
5604155 Yeah, terrible gaffe on my part. That chapter 34 was for my story The Book of Friendship. Again, very sorry about the confusion and possible disappointment.
Have you stopped writing this story? If so, then why?
5608448 I haven't stopped writing it. I've just been having trouble getting words out.
Quietest date ever.
I bet Stationary goes on Tumblr.
smash the matriarchy!....ugg that physically hurt me to type.