The common room of the Canterlot Uni mare’s dormitory echoed with a fitful giggling of Pinkie Pie, Bon-Bon and Redheart as they sat in a circle across for one another, acting like fillies five years younger than they were. Normally the calm patient Redheart, and the overly serious Bon Bon would never be found acting in such a giggly foolish manner, but their pink earth pony friend’s youthful energy had worked its way into them. For at least one night they had forgotten the stress and pressure of their schooling and allowed themselves to enjoy a bit of fun gossiping and joking.
“Oh would you three simmer down and go to bed,” hissed an annoyed Twilight Sparkle as she trotted in, her horn glowing to illuminate the dimly lit hall she had just come out of. “The Housemaster will be checking the floor soon and if he finds you out here you’ll be in big trouble.”
“Oh really~ do you think he soon~” Bon Bon cooed checking over her shoulder in mock fright causing the others to laugh.
“Oh I hope so, I wouldn’t mind a special goodnight from him,” Redheart fanned herself with a hoof in what was probably not a faked wave of flushed heat.
“Ugh,” Bon Bon shivered in disgust at the thought, “Redheart you know he’s married.”
“Ya, to that harpy Cheerilee.” Redheart smiled then screwed up her face and mocked a shrilled shout, “‘You should be studying, not goggling useless stallions!’”
“Hay!” Twilight shouted louder than any the trio had been that night, “She’s an educator you can’t talk about her that way!”
Redheart just waved the angry unicorn off, “You can have her after I steal Mr. Macintosh away from her.”
Twilight blushed at that, trying and failing several times to say something back.
“C’mon Twilight,” Pinkie Pie gave her friend a bright reassuring smile, “The worse Mackie will do is make us go to bed.”
Twilight flushed with anger again, glaring down at the pink mare, “Pinkie Pie you can’t call Mr. Macintosh that, it’s disrespectful. He’s…”
Before the unicorn mare could finish her statement the ‘bing’ of the elevator and the grinding sound of the cage being pulled back echoed into the room. From it stepped a large red earth pony stallion, his blond mane combed back in straight lines and his stoic face was set in a hard neutral expression, as where his eyes, but they at least held a glint of curiosity. “…here,” Twilight finished shrinking back from the large figure.
“Indeed,” He answered her in a deep voice glancing around that the four mares questioningly.
“We should get to bed,” Redheart asserted first, her flirtatious demeanor quickly dying in the actual presents of the stallion.
“Indeed.”
“Were! We were going to bed just before you came up,” Bon Bon lied getting to her hooves and rushing to her room along with Redheart and Twilight who retreated back down the dim hall.
“Indeed.” It was hard for the mares to tell if his word was an acceptance of the lie or sarcasm at how obvious it was, but they didn’t paused to ask.
“Ahh Mackie you scared them away,” Pinkie Pie gave a little whine watching her friends go. Then she looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes, “Is the fun really over?”
His response was simply to give her a long mute stare, which, regardless if its intent, caused a large bright smile to spread across her face. She hopped up to her hooves and rhymed happily, “Okie Dokie Lokie,” before trotted off to the room she shared with Twilight, giving more than a few exaggerated swishes of her tail before she disappeared into the dim hallway.
The hall now quiet and empty, Big Macintosh, satisfied with his work, moved back to the elevator. He had a few more floors to check going up, and then he would recheck them all on his way back down. There had been no more disturbances like Pinkamina’s little get together to break up, but it still took him over an hour to get back to the little campus apartment he and his wife shared.
His body heat rose and Big Macintosh gave a snort at the thought of Pinkamina. He really should put a stop to her calling him Mackie, the rest of the residents might begin to loose respect for him if she continued to do so. However, it was not as if he had not tried to do so in the past, but even after a long lecture on the importance of respect and manners for authority figures, her only response was to jump up and give him a peck on the cheek and say, “You’re so funny Mackie.”
Big Macintosh cheeks flushed at the memory, but he shook it off made his way to his bedroom ready to sleep after a long day.
Moonlight spilled in from the open window illuminating the room with a soft pale light. That was odd, Cheerilee hated keeping the window open, always worried she’d catch a cold, but it had been a hot day and she probably expected he would shut it when he got in, which he did. Then he noticed something odder, the mare shaped lump under the covers was on the wrong side of the bed. Again, Cheerilee hated sleeping on his side, she didn’t like how his musk seeped into her coat and there would be Tartarus to pay if he didn’t fix this as well.
He was just going to gentle push her over to her own side, but when he pulled the covers back, the round blue eyes staring back up at him were not his wife’s. Before he could say or do anything Pinkie Pie shot up wrapping her hooves around his neck and pressing her muzzle to his. After a few moment of stock stillness on his part she pulled back moaning, “Mmm, apples.”
“What…” What are you doing here? What if we get caught? These where the questions that ran through the stallions mind but he was too shocked to get out more than the first word.
“You invited me for more fun silly,” Pinkie Pie giggled, ruining her sultry smile. “And don’t worry, Twilight teleported out of our room after she thought I was asleep.” She said pulled herself up to whisper into his twitching ear, “I got a pretty good idea what she’s up to, too, so I got a feeling Cheerilee going to be busy for a while.” Pinkie finished by clamping down gently onto Big Macintosh’s ear, causing the stallion to shutter.
He knew he should be worried about what the pink mare was implying, but as she nibbled softly on her captured ear he just couldn’t bring himself to think of anything else. Surrendering to her completely, as he always did, he fell softly onto the bed on top of her.
With a single tempered hoof kick Big Macintosh caused the tree he was standing under to release its fruit. The apples rained down in a torrent of thuds as the fell into several well placed baskets around the tree. Big Macintosh paused for a moment to enjoy the sound of the falling fruit, chewing absently on the prig of wheat he had at hoof as a soft contented smile graced his muzzle.
“Hi Mackie!” a voice called out over the orchard. Big Macintosh’s smile grew wider as he turned to see Pinkie Pie hopping towards him. She gave a loud, “Mmwah!” and planted a kiss on the side of his muzzle when she hopped within reach of him. Big Macintosh caught her in his fore hooves matching her greeting with a quieter one of his own.
She let out a loving dreamy sigh, then hopped out of his hooves the stand in front of him jittering excitedly. “Guess what, guess what!”
He smiled down at her quietly and waited, this was his way of saying, “What?”
“I got you a present!” she cheered, fireworks seemed to explode around her excitement.
Big Macintosh ear’s rose curiously and his eyes widened as he gave a questioning “Eeyup?”
“Ya you see the girls and I all have pets. Like I have Gummy and Rarity has Opel and…” Big Macintosh waited while Pinkie tore through the list of her friends and their pets. His content smile never leaving him as he gave a soft loving chuckle.
“…and after Rainbow Dash went through all that to get Tank I thought, ‘Maybe Mackie would like a pet too.’ So I looked all over and final found you the perfect pet and here he is,” Pinkie Pie concluded and produced a rather large fuzzy blank faced brown animal seeming out of nowhere.
Big Macintosh’s eyes shot wide wit terror at the sight of the thing and he involuntarily jumped into the air. It was a giant rat. Oh it might have looked like that Guinea pig that Apple Bloom brought home from school to take care for a weekend, but he knew that thing was really just a big tailless rat. Standing over two feet tall and four and a quarter feet long this thing had to be the biggest tailless rat in the world.
“Oooo you’re jumping for joy I knew you’d like him! He’s a Capybara from Naizill and his name is Cappie.” Pinkie Pie excitedly introduced the large rodent to Big Macintosh.
Seeing his fillyfriend so excited about what she miss took as his liking of the giant rat Big Macintosh felt his heart sink at the thought of telling her he didn’t like Cappie. Instead his bit down on his tongue to calm himself and nodded in agreement with her.
“He’s perfect for the farm too since he eats grass and leaves and stuff like that. He can even eat bark,” explained Pinkie Pie as Cappie took a sniff at the nearest apple tree, then with a snap of its large teeth took a chuck out of the bark and began to chew it slowly.
Big Macintosh eyes when wide at the sight and he rushed over, pausing to force himself to stop shaking, and picked up the large rodent, quickly depositing him next to a rich patch of grass.
“Capybara can be very picky about what they eat,” Pinkie Pie continued to explain. Cappie sniffed at the grass for a moment then turned his nose up at it and padded back to the tree taking another bit out of it.
Big Macintosh winched at this and a dark look came over his face as he glared down at the giant rat; which met his gaze with a blank one. Big Macintosh glare turned into a bright smile however, when Pinkie Pie turned to him.
“Oh but one thing,” She said lifting a hoof and waggled it in the air. “He can’t produce his own vitamin C so it’s a good thing you have lots of apples right?”
Big Macintosh eyes shot back to the rat which had made its way over to a basket of apple and sniffed at it. He only managed one step towards it when Cappie large teeth tore through the basket causing the apples inside to spill out rolling across the orchard.
Big Macintosh gave a groan, which he quickly cut off and smiled when Pinkie Pie turned to look his direction. She narrowed her eyes at him an appraising look coming over Pinkie Pie’s face but, before she could see through the transparent smile, Big Macintosh rushed to gather the tumbling apples.
Meanwhile Pinkie trotted over to the Capybara and gave him a soft scolding. “No, no Cappie you can’t go wrecking the apple baskets like that, Mackie needs them.”
Cappie gave Pinkie Pie an almost dog-like bark of confirmation and Big Macintosh gave a sigh of relief, at least she trained him a bit. Cappie then padded over to second basket, reached up with its paws and pulled it over scatter its contents all over as well.
After a few minutes the pair of earth pony had the apples that Cappie hadn’t eaten gather back up and into a few over flowing baskets.
“He didn’t mean to make a mess Mackie,” explained Pinkie Pie trying to smooth over what had happened.
Big Macintosh just snorted at that.
“Y-you don’t like him do you?” Pinkie pie asked softly
“Ee…” Big Macinotsh started, turning to face Pinkie and confirm his dislike of the giant rat. However, when he turned to face Pinkie Pie, her eyes were large and wet and her bottom lip stuck out quivering. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, “…nope.”
Her eyes only grew more watery at this and Big Macintosh realized she hadn’t understood what he had meant. Without thinking he quickly stepped over to the giant rat and biting his tongue again, gave Cappie kiss on its snout and a happy smile to Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie beamed at that, “Oh I knew you’d like him!” she cheered.
Then a serious, somewhat disgusted, look came over her face, “But I wouldn’t kiss him there if I were you. Capybara are co… coph… copro…” Pinkie Pie paused then, quacking digging through her tail produced a little brown book and opened it in her hoof. “Coprophagous!”
Big Macintosh’s head tilted to the side at that, his brow furrowed in confusion, as Cappie nosed his hooves.
Pinkie Pie began pacing as she continued reading from the book, “That means he eats his own poop.”
As if it accentuate this point there was a squeak from Cappie’s behind causing Big Macintosh to look down at him as he began to turn around seeking what he had just produced.
Big Macintosh’s face turned green and he shot up rushing several feet to the nearest empty basket and quietly heaved his breakfast into it.
Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to notice Big Macintosh predicament and continued reading. “Oh here it says that they also regurgitate food they’ve already eaten and chew it again.”
Big Macintosh looked up from the basket to find that Cappie had made his way over to him and was now chewing something lazily. Once again accentuating Pinkie Pie notes he gave a brief heave then began chewing again.
Big Macintosh’s eyes when wide and he heaved again emptying his stomach completely this time.
“Oh, and speaking of their butts,” Pinkie pie began to chime in with another factoid.
“Please Celestia no,” Big Macinotsh silently prayed.
“Capybara have anal glands they use to mark their scent.”
When Big Macintosh felt something soft and furry rubbing up against his flank he didn’t bother looking down to see what it was. He just stuck his head back into the basket and began heaving again, his stomach proving it still had a little more to give.
“Oh no Mackie,” Pinkie Pie cooed sadly, finally noticing her coltfriend’s state. Bouncing over to him she started to rub his back, “Are you not feeling well?”
“Eenope,” Big Macintosh pushed the basket away trying not to think of the scolding he would get from granny latter for ruining the basket.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Pinkie Pie pressed, divining the mean beyond his simple responses.
“Eeyup,” he nodded and gave her a weak smile.
“Okay well you should go in and rest, I-” Pinkie Pie mane suddenly began to ring.
She reached in and pulled out a clock gasping at the time, “Oh no. Sorry Mackie I have to get back to babysit the twins, can you get back to the farmhouse by yourself?”
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh assured her with a nod that promised he would.
“Kay then, I’ll see you later Mackie,” Pinkie Pie bounced up to give him a kiss on the muzzle. But pausing and hanging in midair, she thought better of kissing him there and instead planted a kiss at the bottom of his right ear, causing it to twitch slightly.
Big Macintosh watch Pinkie Pie bounce off towards town, letting out a sad well-used sigh when she disappeared from view. This time however, a warm furry body slumped next to his flank and he looked down to see Cappie resting against him. Hesitantly he raised a hoof, then reach down and rub Cappie’s side. At the sound of contented chitterling, a smile spread across Big Macintosh’s face.
“Oh to Mackie’s spot, to Mackie spot we go! Hi I’m a marry mare, to Mackie’s spot we go!” Pinkie pie sang out as she hopped alongside Big Macintosh. The content smile on his face dwarfed by the huge toothy grin on hers.
“Are we almost there yet?” She bounced up again shaking as her eyes sparkled hopefully.
“Eenope,” Big Macintosh shook his head. They were a ways away from their destination, but he was looking for something he needed before they could start heading that way.
Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and looked up at Big Macintosh a curious expression spreading across her face. “Huh, how come? Where are you going?” She asked quickly hopping from one side of him to the other.
Big Macintosh paused and reached into the brown saddlebag with an apple shaped clasp on his back and pulled out a green clump. Holding it out to Pinkie Pie he revealed it to be a clump of moss.
“Oh are we looking for more moss?” Pinkie Pie guessed.
Big Macintosh gave her a smile and a nod, “Eeyup.”
“Okie, Dokie, Lokie!” Pinkie Pie vanished leaving a Pinkie shaped cloud of dust still staring at him. She reappeared to take the clouds place just as it began to fade away.
“Here!” She said proudly holding up another clump of green.
Big Macintosh’s eyes scanned the clump of flora in Pinkie Pie’s hoof, then he shook his head, “Eenope, lichen.”
Pinkie Pie frowned down at the lichen in her hoof for a moment, it looked exactly like the moss Big Macintosh had. A smile shot back across her face as she tossed the lichen away and said, “Kay let me try again.”
Big Macintosh watched her disappear again this time for several seconds after her dust cloud had disappeared. With a contented sigh and smile he waited, letting his eyes move across the trees around him. Suddenly his attention focused on something at the base of a nearby tree and he started towards it.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie appeared in front of him again holding out another clump, this one a grayish green, in one hoof while the other held a small while book with images of plants across its front and back.
“Here you go Mackie,” She paused to reference the book for a moment, “Reindeer moss.”
“I didn’t know there reindeer around her, maybe they’re new?” Pinkie Pie gasped and giggled a little, “That means a party!”
Big Macintosh looked the vegetation over, but as soon as Pinkie called it Reindeer Moss he shook his head slowly. “Eenope, lichen.”
Pinkie Pie’s eye shot wide as they darted from Big Macintosh to the Reindeer Moss and back several times. “But, but, but, it’s the second word in its name!”
Big Macintosh just shrugged as if to say, he wasn’t the one who had misnamed the lichen and moved over to the tree that had caught his attention and began hoofing at the ground.
Pinkie Pie groaned at her second failure and crashed face first onto the ground stunned by the absurd naming practices and difficulty of finding moss of all this. What kind of a pony names a lichen, moss? That like naming a pegasus, bird earth pony.
Pinkie Pie lay there for a few minutes before Big Macintosh came back and picked up her book, placing it in his saddle bags. He wondered where she had gotten it, but knowing Pinkie Pie she probably ran to the library and checked it out in those few seconds after she disappeared. Next he grabbed her hoof and pulled the still dazed mare up to her hooves and began gently brushing away dirt that had stuck in her mane and coat from the fall. After a minute of grooming her he finished by planting a kiss on a small scrape on the end of her muzzle. She leaned in towards for another, but he had already pulled away, and she opened her eyes to see a teasing smile across his face.
Pinkie seemed to be rejuvenated by the kiss and began bouncing and giggle happily once more. “So are we gonna keep looking, huh, huh?”
“Eenope,” Big Macintosh shook his head and held out a freshly harvested clump of green moss.
“Oh wow you found some already,” She stared at the moss wide eyed, still bouncing. “You’re really a super duper moss finder Mackie!”
“Eeyup,” He replied half-hearted putting the moss into his saddle bag.
“So can you go to super special secret someplace now?” Pinkie asked giving him a hopeful look.
Big Macintosh gave little chuck, “Eeyup.”
“Yes! Let’s go, let’s go!” Pinkie Pie cheer hopping around him once again.
They traveled through the orchard for another few minutes before reaching the point where the orchard’s boarder brushed along the Everfree forest. Moving along the dark trees they eventually came upon a deep depression in the ground at the forests edge and Big Macintosh held out a hoof towards it.
Pinkie Pie rushed up the lip of the depression and looked down, her breath catching in her throat. The depression was deep and unnaturally round like a bowl. The upper edges were bare stone the grass stopping at the upper lip of the depression. However the stone only persisted for a couple of feet before turning an emerald green that persisted all the way to the bottom of the depression.
It was Big Macintosh’s moss that covered the rest of the depression giving it a soft look as it grew to cover the ground and stones arranged in intricate and beautiful pattern. That the deepest point was a small emerald lake being fed by a gentle trickle of water that flowed from an opening in the side of the depression. At the edge of the lake grew the only true plant in the garden, a tree with a dramatic sway in its trunk and a wide canopy of leaves. Sitting at its base was a second tiny tree that looked very similar to the larger one.
Big Macintosh led them to a path that winded along the edge of the depression ending at the base of the tree. However, before they had dipped past the green edge of moss Big Macintosh paused and began unpacking his saddle bags taking out the moss, a jar and a brush.
He opening the jar and Pinkie Pie shot up at the sour smell coming from it. Turned literally green she took a step back and covered her nose. “Oh Mackie that smell awful, what is that urine?”
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh confirmed taking the brush in his mouth and dunking it into the jar. When he pulled it out it was covered in a thick creamy yellow paste which he smeared on the top half of a nearby boulder that was only half covered in moss, and once it was covered, he spread the moss he had collected over it. Looking over his work, Big Macintosh smiled at it and gave a nod. Then packed up his supplies, wrapping the soiled brush in a worn sheet of wax paper, and started back down the path, gesturing for Pinkie to fallow.
Pinkie did so, now walking calmly next to him as she took in the vast moss covered depression again, it smelled so fresh and clean like grass and rain. Looking up at her coltfriend she breathlessly asked, “Mackie did you cover this whole place in moss?”
“Mmmyup.”
“That must have taken forever,” Pinkie Pie exaggerated the last word.
“Eenope,” Big Macintosh shook his head. Thinking back to how he had discovered this place shortly after his parents passed away, it did seemed like a lifetime ago and he consider contradicting himself with a, ‘Eeyup.’
“Well it’s amazing!” Pinkie Pie shout with a jump giggling as she brushed up against a thick soft patch of moss. Her eyes shot wide as a though struck her, she turned back to Big Macintosh and her tone dropped flat. “But don’t expect any more kisses when you come here, with that nasty stuff.”
Big Macintosh let out a whinnying chuckle and turned on the mare puckering his lips and starting towards her.
She giggled and cried, “No,” hopping out of the way and around him.
Laughter filled the green garden of moss as Big Macintosh galloped after the hopping Pinkie Pie. He cut in front of her several time forcing her to retreat away from him for a few hops, then she would bound straight over him or sneak around him and flee back towards the base of the depression. They slowly made their way down the path, as they played.
At the bottom Pinkie Pie’s blue eye fell upon the crystal clear water. With a giggle she shouted, “Last one in is a silly pony!” and hoped towards the pool.
She was at the lip of the pool spring up into the air when something caught her fluffy tail and pulled, causing her to snap back like a rubber band. She landed in the soft moss at the lip of the pool with a little grunt and looked up to see a hoof reaching down to help her up.
“Eenope, sorry,” Big Macintosh apologized as he pulled Pinkie Pie to her hooves, then pointed a hoof slowly to the water.
Pinkie Pie tilted her head to one side and peered into the pool whose crystal green color was shared by her coltfriend. Several large orange, white and black fish swam in slow circles through the water. Pinkie Pie cheeks darkened to match Big Macintosh’s coat as she looked down at the defenseless fishes. “Oh I’m sorry Mackie, I guess I got carried. Pinkie Promise I’ll be more careful, ‘kay.”
“Eenope,” Big Macintosh smiled and shook his head gently, causing a bright smile to spread across Pinkie Pie’s face.
Gesturing towards the tree Big Macintosh started towards it, Pinkie quickly fallowing behind. Once the shade of the tree’s canopy fell over them Pinkie’s eyes fell upon the small tree, potted in a flat rectangular pot, which sat under the tree.
Big Macintosh took a seat in front of the potted tree, which seemed even smaller dwarfed by his titanic frame, and brought out a small pair of pruning shears from his saddlebag. Then he sat stock still not moving a muscle as he stared down at the tiny tree.
Pinkie Pie approached closer, her eyes shifting from the tiny tree, to Big Macintosh and then to the even larger tree they sat under. She started to ask him what they were doing, but the air had suddenly grown heavy and couldn’t bring herself to break the calm silence. She approached closer instead, standing right next to Big Macintosh, waiting for some indication of what he was doing.
Pinkie Pie let out a noiseless sigh and sat down next to Big Macintosh looking down at the plant that had him so preoccupied. Another long silent minute passed as Big Macintosh remained still. Pinkie looked up at him, her eyes moving across his face, but it was as stoic and welcoming as the rest of him.
Pinkie Pie let out another sigh, just as silent as before and leaned against Big Macintosh’s side. A content smile spread across her face as she felt the warmth of his body against hers. Her eyes relaxed as she continued to watch the tiny tree as time slipped by unnoticed.
Finally Big Macintosh raised the shears and broke the silence with a single crisp, ‘click’.
“Hiya Big Mac,” Pinkie Pie called out over the ring of bell that hung over the door of Sugarcube Corner. She waved and smiled brightly to him, just as she had done with every customer before him, and would for everyone after him.
She had agreed to treat him this way in town without complaint or even him properly asking. She simply understood that this was the way he wanted things to be, like she seemed to understand so many things about him.
If anypony were to ever watch one of their secret randevus, they would probably think that she simply droned on in endless conversation, while he listened with quiet contentment. But in truth she always seemed to know what he was thinking, unless he choose to hide his thoughts from her, and he participated in the conversation nearly as much as she did.
“What can I get you?” asked Pinkie Pie, as Big Macintosh made his way up to the counter. Just like he was any other customer.
Big Macintosh wondered why they were doing this, why he was doing this. The secret was his idea, something he had wanted so much that she hadn’t even tried to argue with him about it. Why had he wanted this? What possible reason could there be to put on this act?
He had been afraid, that was it. The fear still tightly squeezed around his heart, but try as he might Big Macintosh couldn’t remember what he had been so afraid of.
He was a popular stallion with all the mares, and could see them rising up in protest at his sudden lack of availability, taking out their anger on Pinkie Pie.
Big Macintosh felt immediately embarrassed that he had just had such a ridiculous thought. He might have been a popular stallion, but a town full of mares wasn’t just going to go insane because he started dating somepony.
Even on the off chance that they did, Pinkie would swiftly quell their anger by throwing them a grand ‘Plenty of Fish in the Sea’ party or something like that. Then she’d probably convince each mare that she didn’t need him to be happy, which of course they didn’t. She was friends with everypony in town after all and knew them all so well.
Maybe it was his family, Big Macintosh thought, he was eldest of the apple children after all, and the responsibility to find the right mare to settle down with and carry on taking care of the farm was on him. They might reject his choice of the party mare, declare her unfit to be an Apple.
Big Macintosh frowned, that fear had to be more ridiculous then the first. Pinkie Pie might be wild and crazy at times but she was still a hard worker, and it wasn’t like his family had a shortage of odd ponies. The Apples would welcome her with open hooves, and Pinkie would be swift to convince any who didn’t to change their minds.
“Mackie, is everything okay?” Pinkie Pie asked with a hushed tone that did not suit her normally bubbly demeanor. But with Big Macintosh just standing there stock still hiding all his thoughts from her, there was no way she couldn’t be worried.
Everything wasn’t ok. Big Macintosh was making Pinkie Pie hide her feeling, because he was afraid. He didn’t even have anything to be afraid of, he was just scare of change. Scared of the next step, scared of no longer just being him and becoming them. He felt more than just stupid, he felt ashamed.
“What-” Pinkie Pie started, but at that moment Big Macintosh set himself free from his fears and leaned across the counter. His lips met hers, the patrons of Sugarcube Corner mirrored both her stunned surprise and adulation, as she pressed in to return the kiss they erupted in a choir of cheers and cat-calls.
Big Macintosh squinted his eyes at the white hall and pale florescent lights that illuminated it. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of disinfectant, even knowing how critically important it was to the safety of all in the building he still hated it.
“Are you lost?” A gentle voice asked him, the clopping of hooves on the linoleum floor coming to a sudden halt.
Big Macintosh looked down at the cream colored nursing mare that had stopped next to him and stared up at the stallion with worrying eyes. “Eenope,” He said simply, his eyes returning to the far end of the hall. The nurse seem unsure, but gently nodded and trotted past him.
He would make it down that hall that was a simple fact. She, or rather they, were at the end of that hall and no force in Equestria or beyond could keep him from them. Not the princesses’ and Discord’s power combined would stop him, and yet even without their efforts Big Macintosh’s progress down that simple hall was slow.
Their friends had not been so slow to reach the end of the hall, having arrived hours before Rainbow Dash had managed to find him returning with his delivery cart many miles out of Ponyville. She had delivered the news and rushed ahead unable to wait on the slow running of such a heavy earth pony as him.
Big Macintosh chewed on his tongue, Pinkamina had promised him not to do this without him. He had wanted to wait by her side, to stay on the farm and be there in case it came early. She’s assured him, Pinkie promised him, that it wouldn’t come until he got back. He was never meant to make his way down this hall alone, to be allowed time to think, to worry about anything but her, what she was going through at that moment, and getting her to where and to do what she needed.
That time was past now, the receptionist told him when he arrived, all that had passed. She had arrived without him and so had the foal. He had been so prepared for that, preparing only for that every free moment of every day since they had found out and now that time had passed without him and he didn’t know what to think about anymore.
Ponies always spoke of his reliability and his stoic ability to deal with any situation that he was faced with and roll with it. The truth was that he hated change and the unexpected, well not Pinkamina’s unexpectedness, that was expected unexpectedness.
Big Macintosh went over that last thought a second time and let out a chuckle, that didn’t make any sense. But then that was Pinkamina, she was simultaneously the most stable and the most chaotic part of his life, she kept him safe and exposed him to all the wonders and dangers of the world. She was the stoic one, she was the one who could handle anything and it was only because of her example that he could do the same. While she was with him he could do anything.
“Big Macintosh!” Applejack’s voice rang out as she rushed to her brother and wrapped him in a tight hug.
Big Macintosh’s eyes went wide as he looked around to see all their friends and family around him smiling with a joy that went beyond his arrival. The only exception was Rainbow Dash whom crossed her arms and tried to glare at him as she said, “It took you long enough,” But she couldn’t help but let a joyful smile spread across her face as well.
Big Macintosh looked back at the hall that now lay behind him and wondered how he had come to cross it so suddenly, it had seemed so long before.
“Ye all git back an’ let ‘im through,” Granny Smith chided the assembled ponies nudging them aside with a firm poke of her snout. “Let ‘em go an’ git a proper look at his wife and child, he’s spent ‘nough time worrin’ already, right.” She looked up and met her grandson’s eyes, giving him an understanding look.
“Eeyup,” He agreed and quickly trotted past their friends and family, Applejack letting go of him as he started towards the door to the recovery rooms.
Unlike the first hall this one was so short he didn’t even remember passing through it. The next thing he knew he was standing in the hospital room looking down at Pinkie Pie whom dozed quietly in her hospital bed. Sunlight streamed in from the nearby window alighting her exceptionally messy mane and worn face. She had never looked so beautiful.
He waited, seconds or hours it didn’t matter, until she stirred and slowly woke up. She looked up at him and smiled both wide and wearily, “Mackie.”
“Pinkamina.” They greeted each other. Big Macinotsh rose up and took her shoulders in his hooves before leaning in and pressing his forehead against hers. He wished he could embrace her more tightly, but he was too strong and she was too weak at the moment.
They stayed like that for a while before she let out a little sniff and a few tears began to leak from her eyes. “I’m sorry Mackie, I broke my Pinkie promise.”
Big Macintosh gave a small chuckle at that and quickly moved to kiss away her tears, then planted another on her lips reassuring her it was all right.
Pinkie Pie smiled up at him as he pulled away, and with one last sniffle pulled up the tightly wrapped bundle in her hooves. “Big Macintosh meet your daughter, Apple Pie.”
Big Macintosh looked down and took in the sight of the foal in his special somepony’s arms. It was a tiny pink earth pony filly with her father’s orange mane twisted with her mother’s crazy curls.
Big Macintosh beamed at Pinkie Pie and then down at his foal as he took her into his hooves and brought her up to his face. “Howdy there darling.”
Rarity gave a somewhat unladylike groan as she tried to wipe the sleep from her not so shimmering blue eyes. She paced slowly through the hall between her bedroom and bathroom the strands of her deep purple mane poking out in all directions. She groped at the cool porcelain of her bathroom sink her hoof remembering the way from there to pull open her bathroom cabinet and only then did she venture to open her eyes. Her fear of the blinding sun overpowered by the presence of the expensive and fragile vials laying around her brush.
Picking it up in her magic Rarity brought it to her mane and began gently running it through her locks closing the cabinet to see Pinkie Pie reflecting in the mirror beside her. "Morning Rarity!" Pinkie cried out and waved as if seeing Rarity across a busy street.
Rarity shrieked and jumped nearly a foot in the air, "Pinkie!" But took a deep breath, "What are you doing here so early darling?"
"Just hoping I could get a little of your mouthwash." Pinkie said cheerfully already starting to fill the cap with the clear green liquid.
"Sure darling," Rarity said with a yawn but seized the bottle in her magic and gently slipped it from Pinkie's grasp. "But only half a cap."
"Aww," Pinkie moaned but smiled when she slurped down the half cap, swished it thoroughly and swallowed it, displaying why she wasn't allowed to have such things in her own home. "Thanks, Rarity, I'll see you later." Pinkie sang as she turned to leave.
"Bye darling..." Rarity yawned trying and failing to stifle it with a hoof. "Tell Big Macintosh I have his new dress vest ready any time he wants to pick it up."
Pinkie head continued to try to leave after her hooves had stopped dead stretching her neck out. It snapped back like a rubber band as she turned back to Rarity fidgeting in place, "W-what makes you think I'm going to see Big Mac today? You'd probably see him before me." Pinkie chuckled, but it came out in erratic bursts.
Rarity yawned returning to brushing her hair her eyes focused on her reflection instead of Pinkie. "Oh darling, you only ever come drink my mouthwash when you go see Big Macintosh. It's a cute little habit."
"Oh come on Rarity," Pinkie Pie gave an amused scoff, "I just wanted a nice minty drink. I'm not going to see Big Mac."
Rarity eyes narrowed at Pinkie's scoff, but she continued to run her brush through her hair until it was smoothed out before she turned an incredulous look on her friend. Her horn flared to life and the flap on Pinkie saddle bag yawned open, its contents dancing out.
"Well, what do we have here? A Hardly Colts book." The book dodged past Pinkie's hoof and into Rarity's who held it up for Pinkie to see. "Big Macintosh's favorite series, Twilight mentions how you return one every morning you come steal my mouthwash. I understand it's a good idea to have something to talk about with a stallion."
"What? No. Finishing a book always makes me really thirsty."
Rarity grinned and held out a hoof, a pair of bits floating into it. "And two bits, just enough to buy a bushel of clover, Big Macintosh's favorite I understand."
Pinkie shrugged cooly this time, "Is it I wouldn't know." Pinkie could help but gasp in shock at her own words. How could the premiere party planner and friend of everyone in Ponyville not know a pony's favorite food?
Coughing into her hoof Pinkie added, "I just like clover after my mint."
Rarity resisted a wince at the thought of those two flavors.
"Can I have my book and bits Rarity I have to go." Pinkie gave a little whine dancing nervously on the tips of her hooves and checking her wrist as if the time was displayed there.
"Oh yes of course," Rarity floated the items back into Pinkie's saddlebags. "You'll be late taking the longer south road to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack says you always take the south road when you go see Big Macintosh. It's a lot less traveled I guess than the east road and Rainbow says you always walk a little slower down it." She giggled, "It refreshing to know even Pinkie Pie gets nervous about love."
Pinkie stared at Rarity for several seconds her head tilting to the side slowly until it hung limply to one side and she whispered, "Do you have a pinkie sense to Rarity?"
Rarity giggled at the question and shook her head smiling at Pinkie, "No Darling just a common sense."
Suddenly Pinkie was in front of Rarity popping up from the tiny space between the unicorn and her sink. She grasped Rarity's shoulders her face hard and serious, "Rarity you gotta Pinkie Promise me you won't tell any pony this."
"Whatever for darling?" Rarity chuckled.
Pinkie gave her a shake, "Just promise me! Promise!"
"All right darling, 'cross my heart and hope fly, stick a cupcake in my eye'." Rarity recited doing all the motions despite the narrow space she had to move in.
Pinkie gave a long sigh of relief and slipped back down un-wedging herself from between Rarity and the mirror."
"Thanks, Rarity, sorry I really have to go now." Pinkie said with a wave as she trotted towards the door.
"It's fine darling, who would I tell anyway," Rarity said padding her face gently, "Everypony already knows about it."
This time Pinkie Pie's suddenly halting hooves caused her to face plant into Rarity's hallway.
"Now these ain't like cherry trees," Big Macintosh drawled slowly as he approached the tree setting out baskets all around it. He placed each one carefully looking from root to treetop and everywhere else before placing the next.
Pinkie skipped after him, even a few steps were cheerful and bouncy, the stack of baskets that swayed on her back rising up to a hight of five ponies jumped in small waves with her skips somehow never falling. When Big Macintosh place one Pinkie Pie merely gave a little shake and another, only one other, tumbled from the top and landed upright on the red stallion's outstretched and upturned hoof.
"Because we have to buck them?" Pinkie squeaked happily staring up eagerly at Big Macintosh
"Eyup," He nodded, smiling, "That's the best way. Shaking them won't work none."
"And the baskets they have to placed differently right?" Pinkie gave another shake and another basket fell into Big Macintosh's hooves. "How do you know where to put them?"
"Eyup," Big Macintosh smiled again, "That's a very good question, ya see we follow the movement of the tree's shadow..."
Big Macintosh podded on with his explanation, he spoke in a slow simple way taking the time to explain even minute things in detail. Big Macintosh wasn't quick to speak, but once he got going there was little that could stop him or get him the end any more swiftly. Someponies would grow short thinking he was speaking to them like foals, but Pinkie loved the deep rumble of his voice. It made her think of the beach and the lapping waves of the ocean. Pinkie sighed, once more a disappointed that her own excited chatter usually dominated their conversations, but she smiled, he was such a good listener.
Y'all wanna try?" Big Macintosh asked, at last, having placed the last basket around the base of one of the apple trees.
"Oooh can I really, really!" Pinkie bounced excitedly sending waves through her tower of baskets.
"Eyup," He said with a playfully exaggerated pop on the 'P' nodding and sitting down to watch her.
Pinkie gave a gleeful cheer and bounced to one tree looking it up and down as Big Macintosh had, rubbing a hoof on her chin and giving a 'Hmm.' Abandoning the first she bounced to another and repeated her actions giving this one a longer 'Hmm.' Then examined a third tree with an even longer, 'Hmm.'
Big Macintosh's chuckle bubbled up behind and she looked back to see him smiled and watching her as he chewed a spring of wheat, she smiled back and gave him a nod. Reaching back Pinkie somehow managed to lift the entire stack of baskets onto her nose. She wobbled back and forth as they swayed dangerously close to tipping over. After a few turns, Big Macintosh gave a confused tilt of his head and though he still smiled a glint of worry pricked at his eyes.
At last, Pinkie gave a toss of her head sending them up into the air. The stack came apart and descended in a chaotic rain. Big Macintosh jumped to his hooves worriedly, but not a single basket fell upon Pinkie. With a hoof, she nudged a few this way and that, but most landed unaided, bouncing and tumbling until they came to rest standing under the trees. Each of the trees she had examined now had several baskets arranged into a crude, but recognizable, smiley face under them.
"How's that," Pinkie bounced back over to Big Macintosh who's face was frozen with shock. "Did I do it right?"
Big Macintosh gave a shake of his, before moving to examine the basket arrangements. He stopped rubbing his chin and give a long 'Hmm,' Before shaking his head, "Nope."
"Aww, shoot," Pinkie moaned kicking the ground with her hoof.
Big Macintosh chuckled again, "Why don't you try buckin'?"
The new opportunity seemed to dash her failure and Pinkie jumped up eager to prove herself. She moved to the tree Big Macintosh had set up the baskets under and, with what she was sure was a perfect imitation of how Applejack did it, turned and bucked the tree. The back sent her flying forward like a rubber ball thrown against the tree. She screamed, but a red leg reached out and caught her before she could face plant into the ground.
Big Macintosh set her back onto her hooves and she wobbled a few steps before asking in a dizzy voice, "Did I do it right?"
Big Macintosh watched as the few apples dislodged from their branches fell with a thud into the baskets below, "Nope."
"Aww Mackie!" Pinkie began to wail, twin waterfalls springing from her eyes as she buried her face into Big Macintosh's shoulder. "I can't do anything right."
"Come on now Pinkamena, let's try that again, huh?" Big Macintosh gave her a gentle pat across her shoulders careful to keep his face out the torrents of water. Pinkie Pie sniffed as the tears stopped abruptly and she pulled back giving him a nod. "All right then go stand back under the tree."
They paced back to the tree Pinkie solemnly moving under it, her head hung, ears flat, and her eyes closed as she stood and turned her back to it. She sighed waiting for instruction when suddenly she felt a something press into her chest. Her eyes shot open and she gasped, Big Macintosh was pressing up against her. Her head shot up and he took the opportunity to slide his face up to her's and press in closer his lower chest against her upper chest. Suddenly, Pinkie could distinctly feel her heart begin to thump wildly in her chest, it was banging so hard against her chest she was sure Big Macintosh could feel it and she backed up a step in a futile attempt to hide it. He stepped with her, "There y'all were a little too far away."
His words didn't register to Pinkie and she was about to take another step back when she felt his hoof slowly running up along the inside of her foreleg. She shivered as Big Macintosh spoke, "And your stance isn't wide enough." She was like putty in his hooves now as he nudged her legs into the proper position.
"There, now y'all are perfect." He breathed into her ear. His hot breath washing away everything, Pinkie didn't remember what she was doing and didn't care so long as Big Macintosh was there with her, guiding her.
After a few moments or an eternity passed he spoke to her again, a low long whisper into her ear. "Buck Pinkamena."
She did, the crack of her hooves against the tree trunk reverberated through her and into him, the force sending crashing back to Equestria like a meteor crashing down to the planet.
Big Macintosh watched the apples fall to their baskets with pride, broken only by a sound that caused his ears to twitch. He looked back to see the apples falling into the rest of the baskets Pinkie had placed under the other trees and nowhere else.
"Well I'll be, y'all did it right after all Pinkamena," Big Macintosh smiled and looked back just in time to catch Pinkie Pie who slumped forward lifelessly her face red as his fur and eyes a spiral of hearts.
Big Macintosh's chest tightened painfully as his skin crawled with fear and his stomach churned not knowing what to do as distant voices in his mind argued for him to both press-on and flee. His lips pressed into Pinkie Pie's warm and perpetually sweet lips without much thought either than the contentment. Today, however, that contentment lasted only for the moment of their kiss and as soon as they were parted it was buried under the sea of his panic. Feeling the lingering wetness of her lips on his own he realized just how dry his mouth was.
Leaning back Big Macintosh could see Pinkie's smile drop to one of concern, "Ahh Mackie is something wrong? Do you feel sick? Are you sleepy? Was someone mean to you today?"
Big Macintosh gave a small grin despite his fear, reveling in how motherly and childish Pinkie could be at the same time. He gave a slow shake of his head and lied, "Nope."
"Okie Dokie Lokie," She rhymed happily skipping past him beckoning him to follow with a gentle lash of her tail. It fell over his face and tickled as she pulled it away leaving the lingering scent of cotton candy in his nostrils. Pinkie Pie climbed up on the worn couch, the brown upholstery of couch was so dirty and stained it was almost black save for the striped and polka dot patches that covered holes. It really should have been thrown away, but Big Macintosh and saved it and brought it down there into an empty room of the root cellar. His delight was again only momentary as she plucked a thick and wide round metal disk from her tail and tossed it to him. "I brought the next one," She almost squealed with delight in her sing-song tone.
Big Macintosh caught it in his mouth, it was as big around as his broad chest, but he didn't question how Pinkie Pie had stored and managed it in the fond pinkie, poofy tail. The sickening fear swelled larger in his chest when he finally held the thing, of course, it was inevitable it would come out. That was why they were in the root cellar so late at night, where they weren't likely to be disturbed and his family wouldn't be able to hear the screams.
He wondered, not for the first time if he should just remain quiet, watching the damn thing couldn't possibly be much worse than facing what the mare obviously disturbed mare would do to him evidenced from her movies. He shivered at the thought.
"Mackie are you sure something's not wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked again this time her smile faded to a frown and her voice was small and filled with worry.
Big Macintosh sighed, he couldn't let himself think like that. Pinkie Pie had opened herself up and showed him something about herself that she had kept hidden from everyone else he had to return that same courtesy to her. He moved over to the couch laying down across the other side. The couch was just big enough for the two of them to lay on it together if they pressed in close, and why wouldn't they? He set the metal pan containing the movie reel down on the floor between them. She looked down at it and up at him as he looked down at her, but not quite in the eyes until he said, "Pinkamina... ah really don't like your horror movies."
Pinkie gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof, her wide hurt eyes staring up at Big Macintosh as he continued. "Ah just get plain scared. So scared ah can't sleep and ah don't think I'll ever be able to go up a ladder again after that last one. And ah'm sorry cus I know y'all like 'em but I just can't watch any more. Ah-ah'm sorry Pinkamenia."
As he finished Big Macintosh's head and ears drooped and waited for Pinkie's to confirm her disappointment. Instead, a pair of hooves wrapped around his neck, just above his yoke, and pulled him into a tight hug. Her face pressed against his and he heard her sniffling before she spoke into his ear. "I'm so sorry Mackie, I-I thought you said you liked horror movies."
In a breath, all of Big Macintosh's anxieties flowed out of him and his only thoughts were of the reassurance of the mare's feeling. He wrapped his hooves around her as well and tried to joke. "Ah do, but ah don't know what's wrong with them Kirin ponies. They went a darn sight past horror with them movies."
"Well, you don't have to watch them if you don't want to Mackie," Pinkie reassured him, nuzzling into his cheek and ear. She pulled him in close as if he might slip away.
"Thank you Pinkamina," He smiled nuzzling her back. They pulled just far enough back that their lips could meet. This time their kiss was both needy and reassuring, long and purposeful. When they finally parted they nuzzled their noses together not wanted to part completely.
"Buuuut," Pinkie drawled playfully, leaning back so they could see each other properly. "Maybe if you're too scared to sleep afterward, we should only watch them if I stay over for the night?"
Panic gripped Big Macintosh's chest again and his stomach churned as the distant voices returned to his mind, arguing again for him to both press-on and flee.
