The Zen of Apples

Thought

The hot scorching sun bore down upon the village of Ponyville. Many of the citizens could be found relaxing beneath shade, away from the blistering rays. Others spent the hot Saturday afternoon cooling off in the relaxing waters of the local lake. Pegasi could be seen afloat in the sky, darting wherever their fancy struck them in an attempt to cool down. Yes indeed, clearly this day was one that many a pony would spend relaxing wherever the heat was scarce. It was not, however, a pleasant day for anypony spending it doing work. Especially not for those working beneath the hot sting of Celestia's sun.

Marching resolutely, after a long day of working himself to the bone on Sweet Apple Acres, Big “Big Mac” McIntosh made for a rather sorry sight. His eyes remained firmly on the path before him as he pulled the last of the day's harvest toward the barn for storage. A sharp breath of air from his muzzle blew the sweat stained fringe of his blonde mane to escape his eyes. The scarlet coated stallion turned a weary gaze toward the slightly clouded sky. What he wouldn't give to have had some clouds providing shade while busy with his work earlier.

Maybe even some wind to keep him cool would have been nice, he mused thoughtfully. The tired  farmpony had been working his aching body into exhaustion for the last two weeks. He would not normally be this fatigued, however, having offered to take on all of Applejack's chores to let her spend time with, and get to know her new friends better, had taken its toll on him, both in body and mind.

Big McIntosh felt that his dear sister deserved at least that much, considering she had risked her life with five other mares, not even two weeks ago, and saved Equestria from eternal night under  Nightmare Moon's hooves.

Applejack had been concerned for his health at first, but he had waved her off, stating that his body was made of tougher stuff. The first week had been hell, and he'd had little sleep, but ultimately had managed to complete all the chores.

His trouble started during his second week. The combination of an exhausted body and mind had allowed his thoughts to wander into dangerous territories. Thoughts that he had attempted to keep from being known to himself for many years had started appearing again.

Many knew him as a simple farmpony, one that preferred monosyllabic answers to questions, that enjoyed stoic silence rather than socializing with others. And they were right, this was the image he had worked hard at to present to the world. The more simple, and the fewer questions that were asked of him, the less he was required to think. To think, meant to acknowledge that he was more than 'normal', more than he appeared.

He had been 'normal' once, and had hated it. To become something more, he had sought enlightenment. As a colt, his desire would have been called a foal's silly dream by many. To him, it meant the world back then. And so, much like Applejack would do years later, he left the farm in search of answers.

The blonde maned colt spent a full year traveling wherever his heart led him. From the dangerous snow peaked mountains of Macintosh Hills, through the barren wastelands known as the Badlands, he searched. Further, through the treacherous Hayseed Swamps he journeyed, passing through the sea town of Horseshoe Bay, and even further onward to Baltimare he traveled still. He beheld the fields and farms of Filly Delphia and witnessed the beauty of the skyscrapers in Manehattan.

It was when he reached the great Neighagra Falls that his journey of self-discovery finally came to an end. He had caught a ride on a small boat across the massive lake beneath the Falls. It had happened during this trip across the great expanse of water.

To this day he was uncertain if he had hallucinated or not, but on that boat trip, he had looked into the water and had seen a large floating.. something. It was the same size as his own body, he had even remarked under his breath at how the thing's color perfectly matched his own scarlet coat. Surely, this was the answer he had been searching so long for?

When the boat drew closer to it, he had eagerly turned it around to inspect it further, only to recoil in fear and horror at what he beheld. The something, was the body of a clearly dead pony. It was himself.

Seeing himself dead at the cost of self-discovery had changed him, cleared his clouded mind even. On that day the true journey to self-realization began, and several months later, on the way  returning to his beloved Ponyville, he finally did it. He had become one with himself and the world. He had expected to feel never-ending happiness. He had expected to divine the mystery behind life itself.

He felt miserable instead. The more he saw, the more he beheld; the more he thought. His new thoughts and opinions scared him greatly. What had he become, that he would now think in such a queer way?

His first encounter with other ponies after he became enlightened was an eye-opener for him. He had met and spoken to a young couple, still freshly married. They had been in a devastated state when he spoke to them. Genuinely worried for them he had asked them what ailed them, and they had told him. The colt had barely heard their problem, before his mind had conjured a solution to their plight.

The couple was very appreciative of his advice, to the point that it made the young colt very uncomfortable. Never before in his young life had anypony bowed before him. Never before had anypony gazed at him with something bordering on worship. It had frightened him to his core.

Big McIntosh vowed on that day to stop anything like that from ever happening again. Thinking had caused him to help the sad couple, which in turn made them do something that truly frightened him. The solution was simple to him. He had to stop thinking. The less he used his mind, the smaller the risk of him thinking and being seen as anything other than 'normal'. The colt returned home to Ponyville and swore to keep his mind empty by focusing on hard work. How fortunate then, that he was born a farmpony. That was one problem solved.

To further prevent his mind from thinking, he constructed a facade that would keep other ponies from asking him questions again. After all, who would ask a country bumpkin questions that mattered? Who would bother with a 'slow' stallion that only communicated in monosyllabic grunts?

Back to the present, Big McIntosh had been overworking himself, both in body and mind. The extra farm work exhausted him, and many times he had found his mind wandering and thinking.

Thinking was bad, so he stressed his mind by trying to NOT think as much as possible whenever he noticed a slip. Understandingly, the combination of these two exhausting activities eventually led to the scarlet coated stallion's current situation.

He was thinking. He was using his mind again, after so many years of trying to keep it without thought. And honestly? He was simply too tired to care in his current state. So after many years of keeping up his facade of silent stoicism, Big McIntosh started being less of 'normal', and more of himself. His true self.

The stallion returned to the farm house in a calm trot, hungry after a hard day's work. He felt his mouth water in anticipation, just at the thought of what Granny Smith could be cooking. His eyes caught a few stray clouds as he approached the door.

“The clouds..” He mumbled beneath his breath. “The only birds that never sleep.”

“Whatsit, sonny boy?!” A loud voice interrupted his monologue. “Ya need ta speak up! I can't hear ya'll with all o'  that there low voley yum!”

“It's 'volume', Granny Smith.” The stallion corrected absently. He rose an eyebrow at the wizened mare standing in the now opened doorway. “Pardon, Granny, but ah thought ya'd be busy with dinner by now. Was there anythang ya'll needed?”

Granny Smith seemed to scrutinize her grandson with a sharp eye. He seemed... different today. Perhaps taking on all of young AJ's chores for the past two weeks was starting to affect him? She'd have to have a chat with the little filly later. Right now, she had more important things to worry about. Like feeding her poor starving grandson!

“Dern' tootin'! Ah can't make m'ah apple cobbler without batter, sonny boy! Go in ta town an' fetch yer ol' granny somma flour, alrighty?!”

Normally a 'normal' Big McIntosh would have balked at having to go into the town for something trivial like flour. It meant risking the possibility of communication with other ponies, which it turn meant possibly thinking. Unfortunately for the blonde maned stallion, he was too tired to realize this, and merely nodded at his grandmother.

“Sure thing, Granny.” He agreed, mind occupied by thoughts of floating dishes of apple cobbler. He turned around and started the small trek into town. He had enough bits in his saddlebag to cover the flour.

“Try ta bring back a bran' spankin' new marefriend fer once, ya silly lug! Pref'rably one with nice an' wide foal bearin' hips, y'hear?! I ain't got fore-” Big McIntosh tuned out the rest of Granny Smith's rant. She did the same thing whenever he left for town. He had long since gotten used to her obsession with getting great grand children out of him. His mind was more focused on the taste of apple cobbler that he would be having later.

The farmpony wondered briefly why he never did bring a marefriend home. Perhaps work kept him too busy? Maybe he hadn't found somepony whose company he enjoyed yet? His thoughts remained blissfully ignorant over the fact that he should be thinking as little as possible.

As he walked into town he noticed the town seemed to be in a state of disarray. Everywhere he gazed he saw ponies running around corners and converging in large groups, seemingly searching for something.

So busy observing his surroundings was the stallion, that he didn't notice somepony right in front of him right until he bumped into them.

“Ooph!” Big McIntosh blinked at the featherlight bump into his neck and raised an eyebrow at the feminine sounding cry. “Pardon me Miss, ah was a might distracted.”

He saw the mare in front of him back up and finally got a good look at whom he had bumped into. A canary cream coat, much lighter than Fluttershy- AJ's friend, was the first part of her he noticed, next his eyes fell on her raspberry shaded mane. His ears twitched as she spoke again.

“Geez, what're you made out of? It felt like walking into a wall of- Big Mac?” The mare seemed to goggle at the stallion once she got a good look at him.

Big McIntosh blinked at the pretty young mare and searching his memories for anypony that matched her. Did he know her from somewhere? His eyes widened marginally as he finally remembered.

“Rose, right?” At the young mare's hesitant nod he continued. “G'd afternoon to ya, Miss Rose.”

The raspberry maned mare got an odd expression on her face. “How have you been, Big Mac? Goodness! It's been years since we last spoke.” She tapped her hoof bashfully on the ground beneath her and smiled sheepishly. “I mean, what with you being so super busy at Sweet Apple Acres and all... I, n-no, we, your old friends were pretty worried when you stopped showing up at school, you know?”

The scarlet coated stallion briefly wondered why he hadn't seen her in town before. He had gone to town for errands many times before, and Rose lived here in Ponyville much like himself. Perhaps she had been busy in the few times he ventured into town. Come to think of it, this was the first time in a long, long time that he had gone into town on a weekend. His visits in town were usually strictly for business.

He shrugged at her. “Apologies, Miss Rose. Life has kept me mighty busy in the past few years. Had ta pick up the slack on the farm, what with ma' and pa'..” He gestured helplessly in the air with his hoof.

The young mare seemed to shrink into herself and looked piteously at him. Why did it feel like he was supposed to feel affronted at having a look of pity aimed at him? Strangely enough, he didn't really feel anything. Huh...

“O-oh! I'm so sorry Big Mac, I didn't mean to bring up something sensitive like that.” She shuffled her hooves awkwardly and tried to avoid eye contact with him. Something rather difficult to do, considering he kept his eyes locked onto her own in the same deadpan he always viewed the world with.

Big McIntosh tilted his head, as if dealing with a puzzle, all the while still eying the young mare before him. “It ain't bothered me none in quite some time, Miss Rose, no worries.” He offered her a cheeky smile, something he had not done in many years to anypony but his own family perhaps.

At Rose's body slowly starting to lose its tension, the stallion continued. “'Course, ya'll might wanna avoid mentioning somethin' like that in front of m'ah two baby sisters. They still miss ma' and pa' somethin' fierce.”

He blinked as he saw an odd look enter Rose's face. “What? Something on m'ah face?”

Rose turned her face away from Big McIntosh for a few moments, he thought he saw some pink tinting her cheeks, then turned back and looked questioningly at him.

“U-um, please don't take this the wrong way, Big Mac. But, do you usually talk this much? I-I mean not t-that there's anything wrong with that of course! It's just that, ponies talk! You know? And, well, um, t-that is, they always talk about how you, um.. Well, everypony says you're not very outspoken. And, and, you usually only really answer yes, or no if you can get away with it! But, just now you talked a bunch! And I'm really happy, because it means those other gossipy ponies were super wrong, but, I-I. H-hey! What's so funny?!” She demanded, eyes narrowed and a pout on her muzzle. The nerve of the stallion! Laughing at her!

Big McIntosh smiled warmly at the young mare. “Why would ah want ta talk much, when ya'll can talk for both of us? I don't mind listenin', ya know?” He shrugged. “After all, ya'll learn far more just by listenin' than by talkin'.”

The raspberry maned mare seemed to relax and look thoughtfully at the farmpony before her, a warm smile now on her muzzle. She tilted her head to the side questioningly. “Were you always this much fun Big Mac? It's been so long, I- I don't really remember so well.” She grinned bashfully at him.

The crimson coated stallion shrugged. “I am what I am, Miss Rose. It ain't much more to it than that.”

The mare nodded, and turned bright eyes and a beaming smile on her old school friend. “So what brings you to town Mackie? Farmpony business in town?” She asked, a teasing grin on her muzzle.

The farmpony in question blinked at the strange nickname the mare just used to address him. He remembered a certain pink partying pony friend of AJ's that also called him like that. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, so he simply decided to think about it later.

“Here ta pick up flour, actually. Can't make apple cobbler without flour, hm?”

She nodded in agreement. “Oh, absolutely! I remember getting all set to make some pancakes, only to discover I'm missing ingredients for batter. Come to think of it, it happens quite often.”

The young mare finished reflecting of past pancake failures and looked up to notice the farmpony seemed focused on the surrounding ponies. “Um, Big Mac?”

He turned to look at the mare and saw the questioning look on her face as she pointed toward to ponies he had been looking at. He blinked. “Apologies, Miss Rose. Just wonderin' why everypony seems ta be such a frenzied state. Sure looks like they're lookin' all over for somethin'”

Rose perked up, happy to help out. “Oh that? Well, I'm not really sure myself, but I heard that somepony in town has a spare ticket to the grand galloping gala! Isn't that amazing? Well, everypony is looking to track down whoever it is and try to convince them to give them the spare ticket.”

Big McIntosh blinked.

A purple and screaming blur ran pasted them. It was followed by a screaming large mob of gala ticket obsessed ponies.

A cream colored mare ran past. “Please let me have your ticket! I'll be your bestest best friend foreveeeeer!”

A musclebound pegasus stallion flew past. “Gala ticket! YEEEEEEEEAH!! Gotta get some!”

Big McIntosh blinked again. “Huh...”