Under Pressure

Big Macintosh was feeling overwhelmed. His ambition toward getting home was fading, rapidly. Though determined to reunite with his friends and family, his fear of rejection, as well as his fear of dying before he made it, was starting to get the best of him. After everything he’d been through, all he wanted was to return to his loving family and caring friends.

Images played through his mind of crawling through the gate of his orchard home. Applejack would be the first to notice her injured brother. He could see her tending to her chores and looking up just in time to spot him dragging himself through the dirt. She’d come galloping over to him and embrace him in a close, loving hug. Applebloom danced through his mind’s eye, as well, dashing to meet them and throwing her hooves around them both. Eventually, Granny Apple would hobble on over and join in the family reunion, as well.

He saw himself lying in a hospital bed, well on his way to a full recovery. Everypony he held dear would come to visit him, every day. He saw Rarity’s compassionate gaze. He could see Rainbow Dash’s fiery stare, Fluttershy’s sweet and empathetic smile, and even Pinkie’s ecstatic grin. Spike would take his post up on Rarity’s back, just as he always did, wearing a goofy and innocent child-like smile.

A smile crept upon Big Macintosh’s face as he fantasized his hero’s welcome. As he delved deeper into his mind’s illusions, the pictures become sharper and more vivid. All the ponies he cared for most surrounded him.

Now, he could see another pony entering the room. It was a mare. She was purple in color, and looked to be a Pegasus. Not a Pegasus... She bore a tall, proud horn over her brow. An Alicorn.

His mind’s eye portrayed Twilight Sparkle entering his hospital room with a strained, sympathetic smile. It wasn’t the kind of sympathy one would feel for a young foal who’d just dropped their cold, delicious, and refreshing scoop of ice cream off of their cone and onto the dirty ground. It looked more to be the look of disgusted, slightly humoured pity as one watched a pig roll around in its own fecal matter. The crudely patronizing expression did not much suit her.

The friends broke off their interest in Big Mac and immediately launched themselves at the long-absent pony. They held her close in their embraces. All backs had turned on him. Twilight was the only pony that faced him, now. Big Macintosh found himself staring at her in astonishment.

She looked up to make eye contact with Big Mac, and when their eyes locked, he could feel goose bumps surfacing on his nape. He could feel ice-cold chills run up and down his spine. A burning anxiety erupted in his stomach, making his insides twist in revolt. He could feel something wrong. It wasn’t the twilight he’d remembered. There was something different about her. Something dark. Something… menacing….

Their gazes were locked onto one-another for several heartbeats. He saw a streak of red flash through her eyes. His eyes shot open in terror as realization stabbed at him. Twilight’s friends still embraced her, and didn’t seem to notice her transforming.

Her horn and wings simply faded into nothingness. Her snout came to a sharp point. Red streaks flowed down her now pink mane. The once beautiful purple coat faded to white. Blood began to flow from her hairline, covering her face. That demented grin he knew too well stared back at him.

Pixie shot Big Macintosh a pointy-toothed grin and winked at him, playfully.

“NO! Git the hell away from me!” His screams danced lackadaisically over the mountains before disappearing in the distance. Cold sweat filled the lines of his brow.

I’m fine, he thought to himself. She’s not real. Ah just imagined the whole thing. His personal reassurances did little to satisfy his fear. She was so real… Ah wasn’t even dreamin… Big Mac feared he was losing his grip on reality. Pixie so harshly and unexpectedly intruded on his thoughts. A simple fantasy, a foal-hearted daydream, and she appeared as real and horrifying as she had in his dream the day prior.

Am ah goin crazy? She seems way too real ta just be a dream. He thought he was safe from her as long as he was awake, but now, he started to doubt the sanctuary of his consciousness.

No use dwellin over it. Ah gotta get mah mind back on track. He looked behind him to see how much progress he’d made over the past two hours. The faint beams emanating from the moon highlighted the chasm he was stuck in, before. It lay only a half-mile behind him.

“Well aint that just peachy?” Feeling unimpressed, he let his body loosen up. His head dropped lamely to the ground as his muscles relaxed. The fear of mortality he’d been struggling with was attacking his mind in full force. He didn’t want to go back into shock, so with avid determination, he tried to fight it.

Ah just can’t believe what’s goin on… This wasn’t supposed ta happen. Not ta me! He began to envisage more vividly than he had before what his injuries must look like. His delusions showed him a broken spine. He could see internal bleeding, causing him to die slowly and painfully. He imagined his hind legs broken in several different places.

NO! I gotta stop this! Fear`ll only slow me down! Struggling to keep his sanity in check, he visualized the bravest and toughest pony he knew. A pony that would never panic over something as minor as a few broken bones and some blood. A pony that’s proven time and time again how you can overcome anything with the right bravery and determination. A pony everypony else respected and looked up to. An elegant blue mare that goes by the name of Rainbow Dash.

***

Rainbow Dash looked over Ponyville from a cliff far in the distance. The mighty structure stood a clear mile-and-a-half tall. Night had fallen long ago, and all she could make out from the town were several shimmering lights. She tried to picture them in her head; the ponies of Ponyville carrying on with their Daily lives as if nothing were wrong. The thought of them moving on so carelessly burned within her.

An illuminated red cross shown like a beacon. It was the only concrete shape she could see from the distance she stood. “Pinkie Pie…”, she spoke to nopony at all. She just spoke, perhaps thinking that somepony of some time and space might be able to hear her. Maybe she spoke to herself for closure. She wasn’t sure why she spoke, she’d just felt a dire need to let go.

“I’m… so sorry. This is all my fault…” A tear ran down her cheek, causing her to cringe at her own weakness. “I never told you… I wish I was braver. Now, you might die without ever knowing how I feel.” A cold wind blew, sending chills through her. Her mind was reeling to find an answer. Something that could give her perspective. All she could reflect on, however, were her fiery emotions. “You know, you were the only pony I could talk to that made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I…”, her voice began to crack and tremble.

Even if Pinkie miraculously came through, Twilight came back, and life went back to normal, her darkest secrets would always keep her from living a happy life. There was no way around it. Rainbow Dash wasn’t like other ponies, and she knew it. Rainbow knew what she needed to do. No matter what she said to anypony else, she held more fears in life than most mares could ever imagine.

“… I HATE BEING ALONE!” Tears erupted from her eyes. “I… I love you… Pinkie Pie. I’m so sorry!” She peered straight down to try and spot the unforgiving ground that lied over a mile below. She stood straight up on her hind legs with her front hooves out at her sides. Without another word, she leaned forward, diving head-first off the cliff.

The wind from the intense speed rippled through her beautiful rainbow-striped mane. Completely upside-down, she descended at incredible speed toward the ground. She’d forever lived with her head in the clouds. She only wanted something more stable. She wanted to be grounded.

She closed her eyes and allowed the sweet memories they shared to play through her mind. She remembered all the laughs they’d shared, together. Every time they’d hung out. She remembered spending an entire summer with Pinkie at the lake. They played in the water and lied together under the warm, comforting sun. A tent set up by the side provided them shelter throughout the nights.

Pinkie was always happy and never showed anypony else her sadness. There was one night during that summer in which she opened up to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie was shaking and sniffling in her sleep. Rainbow watched her for a moment, admiring her. Everything about her. She seemed to emit an aura that when within, she could feel joy and love blossoming inside her, as if her innards were a bouquet of sunflowers bursting with bright colors.

She had appeared to be in serious distress, though. Cautiously, Rainbow nudged her awake. In the blink of an eye, Pinkie jolted upright and looked around, wildly. Rainbow Dash assured her that she was the only pony there; that it was just the two of them. Much to her surprise, Pinkie Pie burst into tears and lunged at Rainbow, pulling her into her death-grip hug. They sat holding each other until the tears stopped. Rainbow had asked her what was wrong, but Pinkie only shrugged with a timid smile. “I guess I just scared myself”, she’d said. As they lied back down to sleep, Rainbow Dash felt Pinkie nudging closer. She put her hoof around her. Pinkie laid her head on rainbows shoulder. They fell asleep, lost in one-another’s embrace.

The scenery in her mind changed as more images penetrated her thoughts. She remembered the parties Pinkie always threw. She would throw slumber parties for all her friends. After a night full of festivities, Rainbow and Pinkie would always be the last two awake. Together, they’d sit on the roof of sugarcube corner, staring at the stars and talking. They’d talk the entire night through. They talked about all their hopes, dreams, passions, fears, their pasts, and anything else that’d popped into their heads.

“My foalhood was kinda boring, but it certainly wasn’t bad”, Pinkie had said one night. “I know I feel too emotional, sometimes, and sometimes I’m even a bit frail. But it’s only cuz I love my friends so much! I don’t know what I’d do without them!”

Rainbow had hesitated for a moment before looking at her. Pinkie was already looking back. “Do… do you love me, Pinkie?” Pinkie pie didn’t falter. She smiled warmly and nuzzled the side of her face into Rainbow’s chest.

“I especially love you, Dashie!”

Tears silently flowed from her gently closed eyes and disappeared into the night sky as she continued her decent. No matter what happened, I’m just… I’m just a friend. I’m just different. Mares are only supposed to love stallions. But I’m… I’m… DIFFERENT! I’m alone… I’m always going to be alone. After what happened to Pinkie, it’s all I deserve, anyway.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes as much as she could despite the wind crudely stabbing them. The hard packed dirt of the ground below loomed ever closer. She’d expected it to feel different. She somehow thought that it would feel… more peaceful than it was. Her escape was nigh. The one safe haven from life was but a few more seconds away.

Peace did not, however, fill her mind. All she could see was Pinkie’s face, and the fear and pain of losing her was tearing her heart to shreds

Come on! Come on!

Finally, the ground had rushed up to meet her. Her falling had suddenly picked up speed. The ground jumped out at her, as if trying to meet her, half-way.

“DAMMIT!” Her scream was loud enough to be heard all throughout Ponyville. I can’t do it! Not a second too soon, her wings burst open, slowing her down just enough to adjust upright. She’d built up too much speed. With the mightiest flaps of her wings she could muster, she tried to halt herself before she fused with the ground thirty yards below.

It was useless; she’d already built up too much velocity. Forcing her body horizontal, she attempted to thrust herself forward. Now flying diagonally instead of falling straight down, she’d lost enough speed to survive the fall. She bent her knees upward, and then kicked at the ground to propel herself onward. CRUNCH! A snap erupted from her front-left ankle, sending needles up her entire leg. “AAAHHHHhhhh!” With an audible thud, she hit the ground and started rolling. She was so dazed at this point, she didn’t even feel her left wing crack. With one more kick from her hind-left leg, she shot herself into the air, only to be stabbed by a sharp pain in her wing. She tried desperately to regain control. She glided for what must have been about forty yards before losing it and colliding hard with a lone pony walking along an empty road.

“Gahh!” The deep, gravel-filled voice of the stallion she’d crashed into boomed off the mountains and bounced playfully through the trees. Together they rolled until being abruptly halted by a large rock sticking halfway out of the ground.

Pain was surging through her body like the very blood in her veins. Though Rainbow Dash was in a dark place, she was still one of the most competitive athletes in Ponyville, and she’d had her fair share of injuries. With the familiar liquid-fire sensation radiating from her wing, she knew right away that it was broken. She took a moment to herself to let her dizziness wear off before she realized she was lying on top of the stallion she’d just pulverized into the ground.

“Oh my gosh! Are you alri…” Her words crumbled before she’d communicated them. Her guilt and worry faded away when she saw Big Macintosh picking himself up off the ground.

“Eeyup”, he said with a grunt.

“Pfft, like I care if you’re okay!” It was a rather harsh introduction, though well within Rainbow Dash’s character. Her brashness that had saved her on countless occasions had often been the very catalyst of the dangers she’s faced.

“Oh no, Dashie, don’t ya dare start throwin them spiteful words at me. Yer the one that just come crashin outta the sky! What were ya doin, anyway?!” The question echoed in her head. A gruff frown carved in stone rested upon his face as he awaited her answer. She spotted something in him, then, that she’d never picked up on before. It was a certain rugged gruffness that indicated his history of hard farm work. The years of disciplined and tedious work left many lines in his face. This particular moment in time revealed much stress bearing down on him. She still, however, refused any thoughts of sympathy for him, for at this moment, he was her enemy.

Rainbow’s angry expression vanished as Big Macintosh threw the seemingly accusing question at her. I can’t just tell him what I was actually doing, she thought. His stare continued to pierce her fragile sense of self-confidence. Like he even cares, anyway. This ding-dong would probably believe any old story I throw at him. A light bulb blinked on in her mind.

“Well, Big Mac, if you must know, I was practicing a new move of mine.” Big Mac stared at her with disbelief.

“A new move, huh?” His tone reeked of thick sarcasm.

“YES”, Rainbow rebutted. “My… um…, my grand finale for a routine I’ve been working on!” His neutral expression remained unaffected. She felt proud of herself coming up with something so clever on the spot. She also couldn’t help but laugh inside her own head as she realized the irony in her statement. Grand Finale, indeed!

“Does that routine o` yers involve landin on yer face?”

She felt a surge of fresh anger jolt her. Rainbow was getting irritated. She could handle somepony calling her a liar or a secretive little floozy, but she couldn’t ever accept anypony taking a stab at her flying skills.

“You know what, Big Mac? Nopony asked you to share your opinion! Just leave me alone, okay?” She turned to walk away, but collapsed as the weight of her bruised body bore down on her snapped ankle. “Ouch!”

Rainbow couldn’t see him, as she had been facing away from him when she toppled over, but she could feel Big Macs judgmental eyes burning a hole in the back of her head. At least, that’s what she had imagined he was doing.

“Did ya hurt yerself, Rainbow Crash?” The immature mocking was a shamefully quick route to her temper. She wanted to get up, turn back around, and throw many colorful words at him that could make even the mighty and vulgar Iron Will gasp in shocked disgust. She fought it. Don’t let him get the best of you, Dashie! You’re stronger than this!

She turned her head to look at him. He was gazing at her in his unnervingly neutral manner. “Of course not! I’m Rainbow Dash! I’m the iron pony, for crying out loud! I don’t bruise that easily, you know!” Her words had come off more stand-offish than she’d intended, but she wasn’t going to go back on her story, now. Not wanting to show him any weakness, she stood, once more and began to limp off. Each step forced her molten pain to multiply. After only six struggled paces, she collapsed back onto the ground. She allowed a sigh to escape, signalling her defeat. Big Macintosh went on to speak, though his tone had softened, considerably.

“Yer wing is bleedin. It looks like yer ankle is mighty swollen, too”, he observed. “Come on, Dash, ah know we had our little fallout, but ya need ta get to a hospital. Come on, hop on mah back. I’ll take ya.” True and compassionate words spoken from a liar and a brute! She couldn’t allow herself to be carried like a baby. Especially from the pony she loathed over all others.

“Go to hell…”, she said, quietly. One final attempt to get back on her hooves, once again, resulted in her falling to the ground. This time, she couldn’t even take a single step. As her shock slowly wore off, the pain from her collision flowed to all the extremities of her body. She planted her face into the ground between her front legs, which sprawled out in front of her. He couldn’t see her crying.

“Uhhh, Rainbow, are ya comin with me `er not?”

“NO! No, I’m not coming with you! There is not a force in Equestria that will ever make me let you lay a hoof on me, you got that, bub?!” She all but spit fire as she spoke. She cocked her head back to view Big Mac’s response, who was quite surprised by her sudden emotional reaction.

“Come on, Rainbow”, he said after a brief silence. “Ah can’t just leave ya here…”

“Well, I’m not coming with you, so you just do what you have to do and I’ll do my thing!” Feeling satisfied that she had won the dispute, she lied her head back down between her front legs.

“Welp, ah guess ah got no choice, then”.

“No. No, you don’t”, Rainbow said.

“Ah  gotta do what I gotta do while ya do yer thing”, Big Mac said, mockingly. “So I’m gonna stay here.” Rainbow looked back at him trying not to cringe as a fresh dosage of burning pain shot through her neck.

“But...! You can’t… just… fine. Whatever. Just don’t bother me.” She contemplated for a moment. She would be lying if she’d said she hadn’t partaken in one of her many poisons. She still felt the effects, and while she hadn’t planned on consuming more, these recent events suggested that she had no reason not to. “Well, as long as you’re here, why don’t you make yourself useful?” Big Mac cocked his head at her in confusion. “My saddlebags fell off during the fall. I’m not sure where they landed.” He continued to stare at her, blankly. “Sooo… go get them for me!”

Big Macintosh walked off without responding. He was gone for no more than three minutes before he trotted on back to Rainbow Dash. He walked around her and dropped the soaking wet saddle-bags in front of her. The jingling of broken glass sounded as the bags hit the ground.

”Hey, be careful with that! These are… important, okay?!” Oh, please be okay! At least tell me there’s one left! She pulled both flaps open with her teeth and peered inside. “Yes! Thank Celestia”, Rainbow exclaimed, excitedly. She Pulled out one brown-yellow bottle, followed by one more, and set it on the ground next to her. She then rolled onto her flank in an upright position and scooted back until she was leaning against a tree next to the path.

“What`re those?” Big Mac cocked his head as he inspected the bottles.

Rainbow looked at Big Mac in disbelief. “They’re bottles of apple-whiskey, you dufus! How do you not know this? You sell them on your farm!”

“well, ah… uh, ah never had whiskey, before.”

“You’re kidding me!” Rainbow had a hard time believing that a full-grown work stallion had never once had a drink in his life. “How have you never had a drink before? Especially considering your easy access! Why wouldn’t you even try a drink?”

Big Mac shuffled his hooves, uncomfortably. He had to clear his throat before speaking. As though trying to speak through a lump, he explained. “When ma and pa died, Applejack… she was still little, and Applebloom was just a baby foal. Ah had ta take care o` mah family. Ah never really had the time ta drink…”

Big Macintosh stared at the ground. She felt bad for bringing up such a sensitive subject. She was mocking him because she hated him, but at the topic of his family, his tough and gruff demeanor shriveled into a fragile and wounded state. She didn’t wish it, but she couldn’t shake her feelings of empathy for the stallion. I guess I have a little more to be thankful for than I thought…

“Big Mac, I… don’t just…” She sighed. “Come over here, guy”, she said with a faint half-smile, patting the ground next to her with her hoof. “Let me give you your first taste.”

Big Macintosh nodded at her, doing as was requested of him. He picked up the bottles she’d left in the road and joined her by the tree. He plopped down in front of her and laid the bottles at her hooves. She, then, picked one of the bottles up and unscrewed the cap.

“Are you ready for this? This is eighty-proof. It’s pretty strong stuff.” Big Macintosh stared at the bottle in amazement and nodded his head. “Alright”, Rainbow said, humored by his foalish wonder as he gazed at the bottle. “Just remember, you asked for it!” She gave up the bottle to Big Mac, who grabbed it with both front-hooves and took a large gulp.

“Blah!” He winced and started choking. His face contorted as if he’d just eaten a sour lemon.

“Bwahahaha! Come on, Macky, surely a big tough pony like you can handle a little whiskey! Or is it too strong for you?” Big Mac shot her a look of determination.

“Ah sure can handle it! Ah just… inhaled a little is all.” She raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, as if to say ‘prove it’. He lowered his brow, squeezed his eyes shut, and proceeded to chug the whiskey. Gulp after gulp, he scarfed down nearly half the bottle in less than a minute.

"Whoa, there, Big Mac”, Rainbow said. “Take it easy, guy, you’re going to get sick!” He ignored her and continued to drink. When two-thirds of the bottle had been emptied, he slammed it on the ground in front of him with medium force. He smiled at her. She looked at him, then at the near-empty bottle, then back at him.

“Well well well”, Big Mac said with a cool smugness. “look who can handle a…” His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He started teetering back and forth as a dizzy spell had spontaneously hit him.

“Uuhhh, are you okay, Big Mac?” Big Macintosh raised his front hoof as if to state something matter-of-factly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he lost balance and fell backward onto the grass.

“Bwahaha!” Rainbow was hysterical. She laughed so hard it made her sides hurt.

“I’m fine! I’m awright! I’m awright!” He slowly eased himself back up, already drunk off his pony. “Awright, Ms. Crash! It’s-uh-yerrr-turrrn!” She silenced her laughing and smiled, looking down at the third-of-the-way full bottle.

“Well, I can’t let you get more drunk than me! Looks like I have some catching up to do!” Rainbow looked at Big Macintosh before she did. His demeanor had changed, drastically, and in little time. A confrontation started with much ferocity had mellowed and changed direction toward a drinking contest. She smiled at the thought. At least he’s not asking me anymore questions, she thought to herself.

She picked up the bottle and chugged the rest of it. Fire scorched her throat as the taste of apples and alcohol descended down her gullet. Once empty, she tossed the bottle into the bushes behind her, opened the second bottle, and chugged down half of it. She stopped drinking for a moment to catch her breath, and when she went to take another sip, she was interrupted by a loud hiccup.

“Hic!” The force of the hiccup made her jump off the ground, slightly. Now it was Big Mac’s turn to laugh. His deep throaty laugh made Rainbow laugh, more. Together they chuckled and snickered, drunk as two skunks. Big Mac reached for the bottle and took a small sip. He then offered it to Rainbow, indicating she should have a sip. She accepted.

“Big Mack, I have to say, I didn’t rerly like the way you yelleded at everypony, the other day”.

“Ah know. Ah`m sorree bout that. Why were yooouuu so mad about it, though? Ya were in mah face, like… real angry-like.”

She looked at him. “ Well, I’m Raaainbow Da.. hic!.. Dash! I’m one bad mare! I don’t.. hic!.. like feeling intimidated!”

“Ya felt intamerdated? Bah me?! Really?”

“Well… ye.. hic!..es! You’re, like, super big and stuff, and your voice is so deep and loud! I thought you were going to hit somepony! I was infur.. hic!..ur.. hic!.. iated!”

“Ah don’t think ah woulda hit anypawny. Ah was just sad bout Pankie Pie.”

“No! You don’t get to be sad about her! You.. hic!.. you don’t love her!”

Big Mac's gaze sharpened. “But, Ah wasn’t the only pawny that acted brashly. Ya had me stale-mated on that`un. Wher’d that even came from?”

Rainbow sat up straight and started inching closer to him, ignoring her injuries. “Because, Macky! I do love Pinkie.. hic!.. Pie!”

"Well, Dasher”, Big Mac said, “We all love Pankie.”

“No! Listen!.. Hic!.. Just listen! I am in love with Pinkie Pie!” Big Mac raised his eyebrows in slurred, slightly delayed shock. She didn’t care. After sucking down all that whiskey, she felt a certain courage fill her that she didn’t have, before. She still felt a need to let go.

“Wait… so… yer a lesbian?!”

“No!” Rainbow responded, over-defensively.

“But, ya jes said yare in love with er.” She didn’t answer. He decided to try and lighten her up a little with a soft joke. “It’s okay, Darshie”, he said. “Ah like all kindsh o beans! Baked beans, lima beans, Lez-beans…” He snickered at his own joke. He found it to be particularly hilarious. Rainbow, however, hadn’t granted him the reaction he was looking for.

She felt cornered, but her belligerent mind made her not care as much as she normally would about the topic.  “Ya know what, Mac.. hic!... Macky? I am! I’m different! I wasn’t practicing! I was trying to.. hic!.. I was try.. hic!, I was.. hic! Ah, screw it!” She gave up. Though she felt a false courage to tell him everything despite her better judgement, she couldn’t get it out.

“Ya… tried ta kill yerself…” He looked down at the ground in sadness, then back up at her. “Ah thought that’s what ya mighta been doin, but ah derdn’t wanna say anythin...”

Rainbow closed her eyes and hung her head down. The misery she felt was too much for her to handle. The fresh dosage of embarrassment washing over her didn’t help much, either. “Nopony would like me, anymore if they knew who I truly was. And Pinkie will never feel the same way about me that I feel about her. I’m just… different… hic!”

“But Raimbow! Pinkie is…” He stopped before he finished his sentence. She looked at him, waiting eagerly for him to finish his sentence. He blinked at her, repeatedly, and looked around attempting to be smoothly inadvertent. He spotted the bottle in her hoof, snatched it, and began drinking in a hurried pace.

“No!” Too drunk to feel any pain, she pounced on him, her weight holding him down. She touched her snout to his and stared him down. “What were you.. hic!.. going to say?!”

“Raimbow, ah can’t! Ah promished her ah would never tell anypony!”

“I don’t care! You’re going to.. hic!.. tell me!”

“Ah can’t”, big Mac blubbered.

“Oh yes.. hic!.. you c.. hic! hic! hic!”

“Alright, alright! Pankie is differnt, too! Ah promished her ah wouldn’t say anythin, but ah can tell ya that if ya talk to `er bout it, you’ll probly find that her response wouldn’t be as bad as yall be thinkin! ” Rainbow’s jaw dropped to the ground. Her eyes shot open in surprise. “R.. really!?”

“Yup, she’s gut more in common with ya than ya might know. Ah hope yer happy! Ya jes made me break a pankie promishe!” Rainbow got off of Big Mac and scooted back to her tree. “After ah got caught at one oher parties, we got close an started seein each other, more often. We sat out on that ther roof `o hers and told me after she made me Pankie Promishe not ta tell nopony.” Rainbow felt like she’d been struck with the mighty hammer of truth. Big Macintosh's words were quite unexpected, especially in her current overly-emotional state, she couldn’t decide how to react. Her mind seemed to lose its ability to function.

Big Macintosh observed her reaction for a moment, then went on. “Now, Raimbow, ah know ya feel sad n what-not, but ya can’t keep hurtin yerself. This  ought to be incentive enough, right ther. This is the second time this week somepawny tried to commit suweecide nexta me. Now, no more sad thoughts, Darshie, mmkay?” She smiled at him and sniffled. Coming out about who she was was a very difficult prospect. She never expected to get any love or support. Especially not from Big Macintosh.

“Now come on, Darshie, we gotta get ya to a Doctar, tomorrow. Let’s sleep off this alceehol, firs`, though, eh?”

“But, it’s too cold out.. hic! here!”

“Don’t worry Darshie, I’ll keep ya warm.” She looked at him, sceptically.

“I’m a ‘lez-bean’, remember? You’d better not try any funny business!” At this, Big Macintosh only looked at Rainbow with a humored expression.

“Don’t worry. How bout this?” He scooted over to Rainbow Dash, placed his forehoof on her shoulder, and spoke. “Ah now pernounce ya, Raimbow Darshe, ta be mah new honorary sister. Ah, as yer big brudder, promishe ta keep ya safe, and warm!”

Rainbow smiled at him. “Really? Do you.. hic!.. mean it, Macky?” Big Mac smiled and nodded at her. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little. The earnest yet goofy smile and the way he nodded his head was funny to her. “Big Mac, I never realized how big of a.. hic!.. dork you are.” He laughed at this.

“Come on, Darshie”, he said. He hoisted her up onto his back, and very careful to keep his balance, walked behind the treeline of the woods and away from the windy open road. He rolled her into his hooves, lied down on his back, and placed her next to him. She wrapped her front hoof around him and lied her head on his chest. He hugged her close to him in a gentle and protective fashion, just as if she were Applejack or Applebloom.

“Big Mac?”

“yep?”

“you know,.. hic!.. I know a lot’s happened lately, but I’ve never heard you speak this much before this stuff started happening.”

“Ah guess ah never had too much ta say before, now.”

“It’s a good thing”, she said, fondly. “I like it when you talk with.. hic!..  me.”

He responded only with a faint snore. He was zonked, and his alcohol had gotten the best of him. “Not bad for your first time”, she said quietly. Rainbow felt something she hadn’t felt since she was a young foal, and her father was tucking her in at night. She felt protected. As if all the stresses, dangers, and problems in the world couldn’t get her, because somepony was fending off all the demons. She felt so safe, and for the first time in far too long, she felt a sense of family. “Not bad, at all…”

She contemplated, momentarily, about her day, and how it had taken a complete one-eighty. She, then, buried her face in his furry chest. The lulluby of his beating heart sang to her and relaxed her. The rocking of his gently rising and falling chest pulled her into sleep.  She fell asleep, finding the most restful sleep she’d had in years.