What's It Like?

Farming

"Is that all he does?"

Applejack froze, turning her head slowly to look back at her friend, confirming that the blue pegasus was sitting at her kitchen table, sipping cider from a mug. It'd been a few days since Rainbow Dash had visited when Applejack had to run out to deal with the Great Glue Incident, and despite her offer at that time, they had been out of cider, so when they restocked their supply, Applejack had invited her over to make up for it. The two were having a good time, talking and ribbing a bit, making a few comments on the events that had transpired in the past week. Applejack had gotten up to refill her mug when her friend posed the rather unusual question.

"Who does what now?" Applejack asked, lifting her stetson up so it didn't block her view of the Element of Loyalty. Instead of a verbal response though, Rainbow Dash pointed out the kitchen window. Following the extended digit, Applejack spied her big brother lifting one powerful leg, giving a tree a kick and causing the apples hanging from its branches to fall into baskets. "Apple buckin'? Well shoot, Big Mac does more than that. Heck, he does the plowin' as well. An' of course, we all go ahead an' do a variety of chores. Feedin' the hens, repairin' the fences, waterin' the-"

"That's not what I meant." Rainbow Dash interjected, drawing Applejack's attention to her once more. The Wonderbolt hopeful stared into her mug, then took a big gulp of it before setting it back down. "I meant, is farming in general the only thing he does?" Rainbow Dash reworded her question.

"Um, well, Ah reckon. Ah mean, it's sorta what both of us do, sorta a farming pony's job after all." Applejack muttered as she pulled some cool cider out of the fridge. It was rather obvious that Big Mac's job was farming, seeing as he lived on a farm.

Snorting, Rainbow Dash got up and joined Applejack in getting more cider. "Not like that. I meant it like... you know, you do the farming and stuff as well. But you do other things. You hang out with everypony and we go on adventures and stuff. Sure, most of those aren't really intended, but you'll still join us on a thought out trip to Canterlot or the Crystal Empire or something like that. You do things that don't relate to the farm."

Applejack nodded, understanding a bit more as she refilled the mugs, but found it difficult to bring it to her lips for a moment. "That's true Ah suppose. Course, Ah got a lot of friends. Big Mac's kinda keeps to himself, so he really doesn't get out all that often." Applejack admitted. It wasn't to say she or Granny hadn't tried to get him to enjoy life, but more often than not if they convinced him to go out and do something, when he returned to the farm at the end of the day he only had the usual look on his face and a single word answer to describe his evening.

But what was really confusing to her was the fact that Rainbow Dash suddenly had such a sincere interest in her older brother. They didn't really interact all that often, and whenever they did Applejack was always around, so she couldn't see any reason for the question. Unless this was an attempt for Rainbow Dash to ask more about Applejack herself by using Big Mac as a substitute, seeing as the question related to her a bit as well, but then it wouldn't seem to matter much seeing as Rainbow Dash was the one to outline that Applejack did more than just farm. Of course, there was always...

Giving a sly smile, Applejack elbowed Rainbow Dash's arm right as she was taking a drink from her mug, causing some of the cider to splash up on her face. As she gave Applejack a glare and wiped her arm across her mouth, Applejack said "Ah see what's goin' on here. Ya got a thing for mah brother."

Rainbow Dash gave her an incredulous look that seemed to almost confirm it, but it quickly disappeared as she broke into a goofy grin and laughed in an almost obnoxious manner. "Me!? With Big Mac!? That's hilarious Applejack!" Rainbow Dash roared, having to quickly put her mug on the kitchen counter as she doubled over, holding her stomach from how hard she was laughing.

Applejack, on the other hoof, did not find the humor in it. "What's so funny about it? Ya think ya're too good for mah big brother?" she inquired, her voice low, but the tone steely.

Sensing she had struck a nerve, Rainbow Dash held a hand up to symbol she needed a moment to control herself. Slowly, the laughter devolved into a chuckle, allowing her enough control to speak without bursting out in a fit of giggles. "S-Sorry Applejack, I didn't mean to insult your brother or anything, but we're totally different. I'm a high flying, speed record setting pegasus who's totally free and am the center of every conversation. Big Mac is... and I mean this in the most literal sense, but he's a slow moving earth pony whose got his roots buried in this farm and rarely says more than a single word unless provoked."

Recognizing the truth in what Rainbow Dash was saying and, more importantly, the fact that she really wasn't looking down on her brother, Applejack gave a sigh. "Ah reckon that's true." she mumbled, only to peer at Rainbow Dash with one eye. "But if that's the case, how come ya're suddenly so interested in him?"

Scrunching her face up as she seemed to ponder her own reasons, Rainbow Dash leaned against the kitchen counter and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm just curious. He asked me a weird question a couple of days ago and it's been bugging me since."

"Such as?" Applejack pressed, leaning in on Rainbow Dash to emphasize her interest in the subject, even though the pegasus quickly pushed her away, not wanting the larger mare to be putting her weight on her. Rainbow Dash may have been athletic, but that was for more aerial activities.

"He asked me what it was like to fly." she stated, reaching back for her mug, but leaving it. Something about the conversation made her less thirsty.

The answer, or rather question, surprised Applejack, who could only stare at Rainbow Dash for a good moment. "Ah-... huh... Ah ain't never known him ta be interested in somethin' like that." Applejack pondered, removing her stetson so she could run a hand through her mane. Glancing out the window once more, she watched her brother collecting the baskets of apples in a small cart and pulling it to the barn.

"Likewise. I was hoping maybe you knew if he was doing anything or something that caused the sudden interest to pop up." Rainbow Dash admitted, although she could clearly tell by Applejack's reaction to everything the entire thing was news to her.

"Maybe Ah should ask him later." Applejack considered, only to raise a brow as Rainbow Dash shook her head slowly.

"That won't work. I tried doing the same thing not long after he asked me and he just... I don't know, he reacted all weird. He gave me this little frown and just sorta marched off like I had offended him or something, excused himself to go take a shower."

Furrowing her brow, Applejack looked out the window again, giving her older brother a slight glare that he didn't notice at all as he disappeared into the barn. "That ain't very gentlecoltly of him. Ah'll go ahead an' have a talk with him later." she announced.

Waving a hand before her dismissively, Rainbow Dash said "Don't worry about it, I'm not offended. Just... really, really confused. It's why I asked you about it. I wasn't sure if he had some sort of interest in flying or maybe an aversion to it. I mean, you're my best friend and all, but there's a lot of stuff I don't know about your family, Big Mac in particular."

Still frowning a bit, Applejack chugged down the entire mug of cider, giving a pleased sigh of relief as she set the empty container aside. "It's really hard ta say. Like Ah said before, Big Mac don't get out all that often, even though Granny an' Ah have tried ta make him... but... Ah reckon it's not his fault he don't really enjoy it."

Raising a brow in intrigue, Rainbow Dash pushed her own mug away, giving Applejack her full attention. "Why's that?"

"Well... Ah don't like talkin' 'bout it very much, but ya know how mah Ma an' Pa ain't 'round no more?" Applejack asked, getting a hurried little nod from the pegasus before her. "Well they died when Ah was just a little filly an' Apple Bloom was a newborn foal. When they died, we struggled with the farm a bit. Granny was still in enough shape that she could applebuck, but she couldn't do it on her own. So Big Mac, just a young colt himself, only barely earnin' his name at the time, quit school. He spent every day helpin' Granny on the farm, but he weren't as good or strong as he is now. It'd take from dawn till dusk for him ta get the chores done, then he'd collapse in his bed and fall asleep."

"Wow, I, uh... didn't know that." Rainbow Dash mumbled, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck. She knew the Apples' parents were dead and they had some rough times, but she wasn't aware of this part of their history.

"Eeyup." Applejack replied, giggling in a somewhat sad manner as she imitated her brother's speech pattern. "Big Mac got his cutie mark that way, workin' so hard ta keep us goin'. Ah ended up doin' the same thing when Granny couldn't buck no more, but... Ah still had time ta be a filly. Made friends, went ta school for a while, all that. Big Mac gave that up a lot earlier. Ah guess part of the reason he don't do much else besides farmin' is cause he don't really know what ta do. Ain't his fault or nothin', but cause of it all, he just ain't never gotten a chance ta be like everypony else." Applejack sighed, feeling a slight burning sensation at her eyes as tears tried to slip out. It was a reminder of how much her family had been through. She was proud of her brother by all means, but what he had gone through to keep them afloat had hurt her as well.

Rainbow Dash could only stare at her friend for a moment. She just wanted to know what had made Big Mac bring up the whole flying thing. Instead, she got a deeper look into the Apple family's history than she honestly would have liked at this time. Rubbing her own arm, she looked at the floor, unsure of what to say to her friend. Sorry your parents died when you were a filly? Sorry your brother's socially inept because he's a good brother? Sorry he's... Oh.

"Horse apples." Rainbow Dash muttered, slapping a hand against her face, earning a look from Applejack once she wiped away the stinging tears she had been fighting back.

"Watch your mouth hun, Granny won't accept that sorta talk... unless she's the one doin' it." Applejack warned her.

"Sorry Applejack, but I... I think I just figured out what it was that made Big Mac ask me about flying." Rainbow Dash declared, although despite the apparent revelation, the look on her face showed she was less than pleased with whatever the answer was.

Blinking a few times, Applejack pushed off of the counter and moved to stand before Rainbow Dash. "What is it?"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to answer, but paused. Thinking it over, she shook her head. "If you don't mind Applejack, I'd prefer if I could... talk to Big Mac about it before I talk to you about it." Rainbow Dash requested.

A slight tinge of red appeared on Applejack's face as her fingers began digging into her flannel button-up. "An' why would that be?"

"Well... you can be kinda... abrasive." Rainbow Dash pointed out, prepared for whatever reaction she was going to get from the farm pony.

"Abrasive!? Me!? Ah can't hardly believe the words that are comin' outta yar mouth!" Applejack shouted, making Rainbow Dash flinch from the sheer volume.

"Don't take this personally." Rainbow Dash swiftly requested, trying to derail her friend before she truly got started in a rant. "Look, you're the Element of Honesty, right? Well you're just that, honest. Brutally so sometimes. If I tell you what I think this is and you go talk to Big Mac about it, it'll come out as some sort of accusation or whatever, and I don't know how Big Mac will react, but considering what you just told me about your family, I think it's best to avoid any infighting." Rainbow Dash explained, standing strong in the face of her furious friend, although some part of her was ready to get dragged out the front door and tossed on her rump... if she didn't just fly up that was.

Thankfully, she saw the anger draining from Applejack's face, a sheepish regret taking its place. "Aw shucks, Ah guess that's true." she grumbled, not wanting to admit her own faults, but knowing she had them nonetheless.

"Right. Now, if I go ahead and talk to him about this, even if he gets upset with me, it won't be a huge deal. I'm just somepony to him, so it won't really matter if we get into a fight with one another." Rainbow Dash outlined the plan she had in mind, something that surprised Applejack a bit, albeit also irritated her.

"Well Ah don't exactly like the idea of mah brother an' best friend bein' on bad terms if things go sour." the earth pony countered.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash turned away from Applejack and looked out the window, seeing no sign of Big Mac leaving the barn just yet. "Like I said, it doesn't really matter. Besides, I rarely speak with him enough that we'd probably just chill out over it after some time."

"Ah don't like it, but Ah suppose Ah can't force ya ta tell me before ya go speakin' ta him." Applejack relented, grabbing her stetson and placing it back on her head, letting the brim cover her eyes for a second before she adjusted it properly.

"Sweet. And don't worry, I'm not about to start grilling him on anything." Rainbow Dash assured her friend, watching as Big Mac finally left the barn, his yoke freshly adorned as he made his way for the plow. Pouting slightly, Rainbow Dash brought her focus on Applejack and added "Mind letting me know the next time Big Mac has some free time? I figure if he doesn't have any work to do when I talk to him, he won't have any excuses to worm his way out."

"Ah suppose so. Ah'll even put in a couple extra hours ta see if Ah can't get him a break sooner." Applejack offered, earning a smile from Rainbow Dash. She wasn't all that close to Big Mac, but she felt it was necessary to talk to him about this. After all, looking back at what was said and done, she felt kinda bad. Maybe it was just that, as the Element of Loyalty, she felt inspired to assist her friends' family members. All she knew for sure was that the next time she got the opportunity, she was going to confront Big Mac the next time she saw him.