> Apples Don't Fall Far From The Tree
>  by No Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Out Of The Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia's sun bore down like the glare of an angry mare. Big Macintosh often wondered if it meant something. Weather was the duty of the Pegasi, but Celestia was the living avatar of the sun and it often brought to mind that when it was exceptionally hot that the princess might be in some sort of emotional state. Anger? Joy? It was hard to imagine that sorrow would make it more intense. Either way, the heat was unbearable for almost everypony around, but a hard working farm pony like Big Macintosh? It was bearable, as he was used to the heat mixing in with his intense line of work, but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable for him.

That being said, Big Macintosh lifted his foreleg and wiped the sweat from his brow, a smile pulling at his lips. As uncomfortable as the heat was when he was at work, when the labor was done with, nothing felt better than looking upon freshly plowed fields after a hard's day work. It was exhausting, that was a fact, especially when Applejack was out on another one of her crazy friendship adventures, but it was because it was such a taxing task that made the fruits of his labor so rewarding. Especially when he got to take in this view.

Large, proud apple trees that had roots in this land as deep in the Apple family itself stood tall on the rolling hills of the farmstead. The brown of the trunks against the green grass and blue sky with just a hint of red dotting the land was a sight that may not draw the eye of some fancy schmancy art dealer from Canterlot, but when he took in the smell of dirt and apples, those simple colors became so much more. They were an experience, one he was glad to take part in every day of his life. Sure, he may have been a bit closed off from the rest of the world, but he still had a majesty of wonder here. Especially with the passage of time.

He'd marvel over the change from what he saw now, to a whole new pastel of colors once the sun set, adding in hues of orange and purple that otherwise seemed out of place with the nature of the farm he knew, yet saw it every day, to the enveloping darkness that didn't so much hide the natural beauty to one of a different sort. But beating that out was the changing of the seasons. Everything in its prime and out there during the summer, the leaves changing colors and falling during autumn, to what seemed like withered, lifeless husks in winter, yet finally renewing themselves in the spring. It was something many ponies overlooked, a splendor that only one such as himself could appreciate, not that he believed himself above others for his recognition of the intricate changes in scenery the same place could go through.

Even on this simple homestead of his, he had seen things few other ponies were blessed with seeing. Sure, some of them were terrible things, like when Discord tore at the very fabric of reality or when Tirek attacked, but he could see Twilight Sparkle's amazing crystal castle from the hills. He could see all of Ponyville in fact, its simplicity beautiful when you could truly admire it from afar. Why, he had even seen a Sonic Rainboom when he was but a wee colt. Sure, with Rainbow Dash's skill improving and training, more were seeing it, but he still found each one he saw as specially, particularly that first one. He could even see the minute differences between that one and the one he was seeing now. That this one had a slightly sm-

Wait, one that he saw now?

It took Big Macintosh a moment to recognize that he was staring at a quickly growing Sonic Rainboom that was streaking across the sky. It was beautiful as it always was, but something was off about it. Big Macintosh was no expert on flying, but the way it wavered seemed to indicate it wasn't performed correctly, but for it to occur, something an intense amount of effort had to be put into it.

Narrowing his eyes, Big Mac was barely able to make out the speck of blue leading the Rainboom. It was difficult, as not only was it incredibly fast, but it was almost impossible to make out against the blue sky itself, but years of examining apples for flaws gave him a pretty good level of perception. His eyes widened as he was able to get a better look at it, or rather, her.

Rainbow Dash, as he had suspected, being the only pony he knew who could perform a Sonic Rainboom, was darting across the sky like a shooting star. He was used to that, seeing as the mare could hardly keep her pace slow whenever possible. The difference was that her wings were moving awkwardly. One of them that is. Her right wing was outstretched perfectly fine, but the left seemed to be twitching oddly. Not so terrible that it looked like it wasn't working, but even with his limited understanding of aerodynamics, slight deviations in angle and movement at high velocity could drastically change the course and overall outcome of one's flight in general. She was lucky that she wasn't spiraling completely out of con-

It snapped. Big Mac's eyes widened in shock as he noticed the twitching wing suddenly snapped back. From this distance, he couldn't tell what was the cause or how bad it was, maybe it wasn't even what he thought it was, but all he knew was that Rainbow Dash's wing couldn't stand the wind pressure and pressed back against her body. Her velocity dropped immediately as the Sonic Rainboom came to an end. It was worse when he recognized that, even with his discerning gaze, the lack of the Rainboom trailing her made it difficult to follow her path.

Big Mac sucked in air, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath as he watched the scene unfold... and then ran. He ran away from Rainbow Dash, straining his muscles to push his massive bulk forward. His head turned to the side occasionally, glancing back to make sure he could get some sign of the Pegasus. She was descending now, the small speck of her form against the sky slowly growing larger, but he was glad for that. Had she kept going at the speed she was before, she'd have flown straight past Sweet Apple Acres and into the Everfree Forest, but the sudden disruption had made it so that she would end up short of the heavily wooded region.

By the time Rainbow Dash was just over the tops of the orchard's trees, Big Macintosh had reached the very end of his family's property and turned to face the descending Element of Loyalty. She was heading straight for him and had started spiraling in such a way that her limbs were flying out in all directions. Snorting, Big Mac tensed his muscles, digging his hooves into the earth as he prepared for impact.

And then he blinked.

In that short span of time between his eyelids closing and opening, he got hit with the wildly falling Pegasus. The air was knocked out of his lungs as he was sent skidding backwards, his hooves leaving trails in the ground as though he just ran a rusty and chipped plow through it. Even as he braced himself and pushed hard to keep himself upright as the blue pony barreled into him like a cannonball. His mouth opened to let out a pained groan as he felt something snap behind him, but with the air already out of his lungs he couldn't make a sound.

Several more things snapped behind him, if that was even the proper way to describe it. His eyes stayed shut tight after the collision, but he could have sworn he felt full grown trees collapsing in their wake. Seconds stretched over hours for the farm pony as he bore the brunt of the impact, trying to keep himself tensed to keep from hurting himself, yet also trying to allow some give so he didn't hurt the pony before him.

At last, Big Mac felt no more movement. Once more, he took in a deep breath, almost wincing at how labored the very act was. Maybe he had a cracked rib? Or several cracked ribs? He could take a lot of punishment, but he'd never taken a hit from something moving fast enough to form a Sonic Rainboom, even if she wasn't moving at that speed when they collided.

Shaking it off, he had to focus on said Sonic Rainboom forming pony. Looking down, he saw Rainbow Dash had slumped to the ground, lying on her right side and almost curled into a fetal position. There was a look of pain on her face, not so terrible that she seemed truly distressed, but not so mild that he could just ignore it.

Pressing his forelock against her cheek, he carefully nudged the Pegasus' face, but received no reaction. Big Mac wasn't a pony to show too much concern, even when he knew his sisters were always off on crazy adventures that seemed to risk their lives, he had trust in them and would be there to help pick them up off their hooves. But now, there was an injured mare who may have...

"B-Big Mac?"

The stallion's eyes refocused on Rainbow Dash's face, her vibrant pink eyes focused on him through wincing eyelids. She was hurting, there was no denying that. Even with his help, there were cuts and scrapes over her body, and he had no doubt she'd have at least one massive bruise from where they made contact, but she was conscious, at least for now.

Seeing the curious, questioning look in her eyes, Big Mac chuckled deeply, ignoring jolts of pain rising up from his chest. He finally replied "Eeyup."
> An Apple A Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Big Mac's face contorted into one of absolute displeasure. It wasn't from the slight jolts of pain caused by Nurse Redheart prodding him to assess the damage done to his body. It wasn't from the scowl affixed to his sister's face as she verbally berated him for doing something that went and got himself hurt, even though he knew that under the words of concern at her brother's health, she was proud of him for saving her best friend from dying. No, it was from the nasty chemical smell he hated so terribly from hospital. It was so artificial and sterile, the complete opposite of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Dang it Big Mac, are ya even listenin' ta me!?" Applejack snapped, nearly pushing Nurse Redheart to the floor as she got in his face. Her green eyes angrily bored into his, but he could see the slight bit of excess liquid in them, the tears she fought back as she thought of what could have happened if his rescue of Rainbow Dash had ended poorly.

"Aaaaah, leave the boy alone!" Granny Smith shouted, grabbing Applejack by the tail and giving it a tug. For an old mare, she still had that good ol' Apple family strength that was able to pull the Element of Honesty into a seat. "He did good by that friend of yours and ah think ya should be proud of him. Ain't seen chivalry like that since ah met your pappy." the green mare announced, leaning back into her seat as she started to reminisce about her late husband. "Aaaah, your pappy, such a sweet colt he was. Why, ah remember-"

"Ya're like a superhero!" Applebloom interrupted as she popped up in front of Big Mac, drawing the attention of those that didn't want to listen to Granny Smith's story. "Ah mean, ya don't have any super powers, but ya took a Sonic Rainboom ta the chest and ain't got no broken bones or nothin'! Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo are gonna be so jealous when ah tell them what ya can do!"

Snorting through her nose as she tried to dispel the raw mixture of emotions she felt, Applejack quickly responded "Ah wouldn't do that, sugarcube. Big Mac may be a hero." She took a quick moment to glance at her older brother, trying to convey that she was still angry with him despite the compliment. "But remember that Scootaloo idolizes Rainbow Dash, an' she'd be more freaked out than anythin' that she needed a big red lumox of a pony to shield her from any real damage."

Big Mac couldn't help but smirk slightly at the verbal jab, knowing that as ticked as his little sister was, she was already starting to turn over to the fact she was proud of him and was simply using it as some way to keep the dying anger alive. She had a temper on her, he'd known that for years, but he also knew how sweet she was behind it all. Reminded him how how she was named after the drink, applejack. Sweet taste, but had a kick to it. Also made him wonder how ponies always seemed to know just the perfect name for their foals.

"Speaking of your friend." Nurse Redheart interjected, grasping the attention of all but Granny Smith, still rambling on about some time their grandfather had fought a pack of Timberwolves or something. "I'm heading over to check on Rainbow Dash next. Seeing as you are the ones that brought her in, I figured you'd like to see how she's doing as well."

Big Mac was surprised to hear this, more so over the fact that Rainbow Dash would already be available to check up on in the short time they've been there as opposed to the family being asked if they would like to see her. Regardless, the stallion didn't need any further invitation to check in on the mare he saved, hopping off the chair/table/gurney/whatever it was they had him sitting on and onto his hooves. Despite a slight surge of pain from his sore hooves, he didn't show any external signs that he was uncomfortable... but that didn't stop Applejack from spying it somehow.

"Hold on there Big Mac, ya just got looked over yarself, maybe ya need ta sit back for a bit longer. Heck, we haven't even heard what's wrong with ya yet." Applejack stated, earning a raised brow from Big Mac as she moved to block his path. He had a few scrapes, some sore hooves, and a bruise forming on his chest for sure, but nothing was wrong with him.

"Nothing's wrong with him. He has a few scrapes, some sore hooves, and a bruise forming on his chest, but that's it." Nurse Redheart explained, bringing a smile to the stallion's face. Either he was developing some sort of psychic power to read minds or should consider a career in medical practice. "I mean, I shouldn't even be the one saying it, but you Apples know how to grow them. We couldn't even find a hairline fracture in his ribs. Celestia knows my job would be a lot easier if all ponies were as durable."

Big Mac wanted to give a cocky grin at his sister, but instead made his way for the door. He heard a huff behind him as the Apple family followed Nurse Redheart out of the room and to an adjacent one. All in all, it looked about the same as the previous room, but while Big Mac's had one of those examination tables, this had a full bed upon which Rainbow Dash was laying. She looked to be fairly well, minus the bandages covering the various cuts she had, but her left wing was in a cast and being supported.

Glancing over at the visitors, the deep frown that had situated on itself on Rainbow Dash's face disappeared, waving an eager hoof at them. "AJ! Nice of you to drop by" she said, although she quickly ended up wincing as she strained herself a bit.

"Funny ya should say that, cause ah heard it was ya who was droppin' in." Applejack retorted, giving her friend a knowing smile, even as her eyes showed that same thinly veiled concern that indicated she was more concerned about her friend then busting her chops over the incident.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned away, crossing her forelegs before her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of that from you, the doctors, the weather team, the Wonderbolts, and anyone else you can imagine wanting to take a shot at me."

Striding up to the bed, Applejack gave a more knowing, caring smile to the Pegasus and said "Shoot Dash, ya know ah'm just ribbin' ya. Or would ya rather ah lay inta ya like ah did Big Mac over here?"

Rainbow Dash cast a glance over to the only colt in the room, who gave her a silent shake of his head that indicated he had received quite the earful and wanted to spare the Wonderbolt hopeful from the same fate. "I, uh, think I'll avoid that part of it." Rainbow Dash replied, wondering why she'd get off lucky when she was the one at fault as opposed to Big Mac, but she wasn't about to open a can of worms if she could help it.

"Well if you two don't mind, I'm going to do my job. Try not to get too active." Nurse Redheart stated, walking over to do a few quick examinations on the injured pony, casting the two Elements of Harmony a look that told them not to make her job any harder than it already was. It made Big Mac wonder why she had invited them to check on Rainbow Dash with her, but figured that despite her desire to do her job with as little issue as possible, she really did care about letting friends and family look out for each other.

Nodding to Nurse Redheart, Applejack turned back to Rainbow Dash and continued. "So mind tellin' me what in tarnation ya were doin' over our farm by the way? Cause from what Big Mac told me, ya seemed ta be doin' a Sonic Rainboom with a wonky wing."

Looking down almost sheepishly, Rainbow Dash replied "I... sorta was." Looking back to the Apples, she knew from their deadpan look that wasn't going to cut it. "It wasn't like I hadn't done it before or anything. I've practiced over your farm before and all that. The only difference here was... well, it's stupid, but I got a wing cramp."

"A wing cramp... A wing cramp is why ya gosh darn smashed inta my brother hard enough ta break through our fence and a tree." Applejack asked, an incredulous brow raised at her best friend. Big Mac could only think back to looking up from Rainbow Dash after he made sure she was alright, seeing that they had indeed smashed through the fence bordering Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Forest, then a few trees. To be fair, they were older trees that were already in the process of decaying, but it still showed how hard Rainbow Dash had hit Big Mac. It was a miracle neither of them were hurt worse.

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash continued "No... I mean yes, but not exactly. Haven't you ever listened when I told you how important it is to do everything perfectly when I do my tricks? That cramp caused my wing to change angles so that it worked against the wind pressure. I couldn't correct it at that high a speed. From there it just... kept going downhill from there. Especially when my wing broke."

"Hm... well, ah can't say ah'm surprised. Ain't the first time ya ended up in here cause of all that showboatin' ya do." Applejack acknowledged, although the way she put it had Rainbow Dash huffing, earning a quick glare from Redheart as she moved in a manner unsatisfactory to a wing check.

"Yeah, maybe you could do with, I don't know, cutting back on the stunts? Between you Elements of Harmony and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we've got enough going on in here." the nurse stated, looking over to Applebloom and Applejack, wondering if it was in their blood to cause trouble for the hospital's staff.

Giving a chuckle, Rainbow Dash replied "Well from the looks of it, I won't be doing any flying for a while. Gonna have to kick back and read some Daring Do books like last time." The Pegasus reclined into her bed, crossing her hooves behind her head, only to put pressure on her injured wing and wince, also earning a look from Redheart.

"Well you'll have to do it at home this time. You can't stay here." Nurse Redheart stated in an almost casual tone that it took a moment for the other ponies to register what she said.

"Wh-what? But why!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, almost unusual considering how much she hated hospitals, but the prospect of reading a bunch of Daring Dos probably had her more relaxed than her previous visits.

"The hospital's going under some renovations for the next week or so. Doctors and nurses will still treat patients, but we'll be doing house calls... although... in your case, we don't have any Pegasi on our staff, so we won't be able to make it to your house. Although with that broken wing, I doubt you'll be able to either." Redheart explained, giving the wing another once over before walking over to a clipboard and writing something down.

"But... but what am I supposed to do? I mean, I guess I could get somepony to help me back to my house, but I wouldn't be able to go anywhere without help or anything. That'll be so boooooring!" Rainbow Dash groaned, throwing her head back, only to jerk forward when she realized that wasn't good for her wing. Redheart could only roll her eyes and shake her head at the fidgeting Pegasus.

"Why don't ya stay with us?" Apple Bloom offered up, drawing all eyes to her. "Ya're Applejack's best friend an' hurt, wouldn't feel right leavin' ya on your own. An' ah'm sure Scootaloo would love bein' able ta come over an' hang out with ya."

Giving a slight, yet oddly apologetic smile, Rainbow Dash answered "I don't know kid. I mean, I really appreciate the offer, but I've already caused you guys enough trouble. Making you look after me would feel like too much."

Cocking a brow, Applejack meandered up to the bedside and stared her friend in the eye. "Shoot, since when have ya ever cared about stuff like that? Don't seem like ya should back down from stayin' with us if ya feel like ya owe us. Heck, ya can even work ta pay us back for the room an' board, not ta mention the fence an' Big Mac's injuries."

Rainbow Dash frowned and gave a snort, earning a further curious look from the Element of Honesty, only for her to smile, crossing her forelegs and turning away from the Apples with an exaggerated huff. "I guess if you're begging me, I'll up the cool factor of your farm by at least twenty percent till my wing heals." Applejack laughed and gave Rainbow Dash a slight punch to her foreleg, who then returned it with a punch of her own, earning the two a sharp look from Nurse Redheart that made them shrink back.

Coughing awkwardly, Applejack started moving back to rejoin her family and said "Ah'll go ahead an' start settin' up the guest room at home. We'll be back ta pick ya up once the docs say ya're free ta go."

"Well ask Fluttershy to swing by so I can get her to pick up a few things from my house." Rainbow Dash requested, turning back to face the Apples once more.

"Sure thing, Sugarcube. Anythin' else ya need before we head out?" Applejack asked.

The reply she got was a chuckle and a shake of the head. "You're letting me live with you while my wing heals, I think I'm good. Now go on, get out of here."

Shooting her another smile, Applejack turned on her hoof and led her family out the door. Glancing to the departing Apples, Redheart said "You've got a real nice friend there, willing to look after you while you recover."

Rainbow Dash chuckled once more, nodding her head as she held the sheets of the bed against herself. "Yeah, and I'm supposed to be the Element of Loyalty. Makes me feel bad that I'm being so much of a burden on one of my friends." Rainbow Dash admitted.

Nurse Redheart looked at Dash for a good moment, but returned to her work. She wasn't an old mare, but she considered herself experienced enough. She knew how tough it was for a pony to feel like they were just dragging others down because of something they couldn't control, it happened all the time when ponies ended up in the hospital. She just hoped that Rainbow Dash didn't let it bring her down too much. Although she'd never tell her because of how she behaves, Redheart had a respect for that undying flame the Elements of Harmony and Cutie Mark Crusaders had that made them keep on going, even if it caused other ponies a lot of trouble.