Sunset Shimmer’s eyes shot open with a start, pulling her away from her sleep, as she felt the piercing sensation of pain streak across and through her ribs causing her lips to let loose a pained yelp. Her hands ran to her sides, clutching them as as she felt her teeth grind coarsely against each other at the pain while her sleep filled eyes scanned the room she was in. She immediately recognized the room as Applejack’s and her awareness of her surroundings sent her mind reeling back to the events of the day before. Apple picking season had just started in Sweet Apple Acres and Sunset and her friends decided to give Applejack a helping hand with the harvest. By way of thanks, Applejack had invited them for dinner at her home followed with a sleepover. Rubbing her ribs to ease the discomfort, Sunset Shimmer turned to her side to find out the cause of the sudden pain and immediately felt her mouth shape itself into a grimace as when she saw Pinkie Pie’s foot crashing into her. Mumbling grumpily to herself over her lost sleep, Sunset Shimmer shuffled away in order to put some distance between her and Pinkie’s offending foot.
Her fingers spread across the wooden floor as she felt for her cell phone, grasping it as soon as her fingers brushed across its familiar shape. Sunset’s eyes narrowed to as they adjusted to the garish light of the screen that glared back at her as she unlocked her phone to check the time.
“12.45,’’ she mumbled as she put down her phone. With a sigh, she turned to Pinkie while muttering under her breath, “Thanks for the wakeup call, Pinkie.”
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie chimed, her head bobbing in her pillow with each word.
At the sound of Pinkie’s voice, Sunset’s sleep filled eyes flew open once again. Was she awake this whole time, she wondered to herself. However, when no other response came from Pinkie, other than her shifting around in her sleeping bag and a loud snore, Sunset figured that Pinkie Pie was still very much asleep.
“She rolls all over the place, snores and talks in her sleep?” Sunset thought to herself as she sat up in her sleeping bag. “She really ought to see a doctor about that.”
As the last traces of sleep cleared from her eyes, Sunset realised that not only was she fully awake but she was also very thirsty. Licking her dry lips and swallowing softly to placate her parched throat, Sunset Shimmer carefully tiptoed around the shadowy silhouettes of her friends as made her way out of Applejack’s room. Attributing her thirst to last night’s pizza binge, she could almost recall in her mind the image of Applejack’s dining table stacked with boxes upon boxes of pizza, cheese sticks and soda cans that had adorn it the night before. Although, it is true that pizza was an absolute necessity for a slumber party, but throw in Applebloom’s additional slumber party with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, coupled with Big Macintosh’s appetite and you’re asking for enough pizzas that could probably feed an entire fraternity party and then some. Simply put, there was just too much pizza and too little self-control.
Sunset Shimmer felt her eyes adjust to the dim light of the hallway as she closed the door to Applejack’s room behind her, her feet feeling the shift from the soft carpeted floor of the bedroom to the smooth polished wood of the hallway. Making her way towards the stairs at the edge of the hallway, Sunset walked past the many sturdy wooden doors that lined the second floor corridor of the Apple family’s house before stopping suddenly, her sight falling on a sturdy oak door at the end with a large horse collar hanging from it. It was Big Macintosh’s room, Sunset Shimmer knew this because she had helped Applejack call him down for dinner last night. Looking down, she noticed a small stream of light creeping out from the gap under his door.
“He’s still awake at this hour?” she thought to herself as she walked past the door and down to the first floor. He had mentioned earlier that night that he was preparing for his college entrance exams so he was probably in the middle of a cram session. Still, to be studying this late into the night, she thought to herself, that couldn’t be very healthy for him.
Illuminated only by the faint moonlight that snuck in through the curtained windows, Sunset Shimmer walked into the empty kitchen, her eyes scanning the dimly lit room for the kitchen sink so she could run herself a glass of water. However, when the refrigerator in the corner came into view, a new thought crossed her mind.
“I wonder if they have any milk,” she thought idly as she made a bee line to the refrigerator. Opening the refrigerator door, Sunset began looking through the many items that occupied the refrigerator shelves. Sifting through the leftover pizzas and surplus apples that filled the refrigerator space, Sunset felt her lips tug slightly to the side of her face in a satisfied smirk when she spied an open carton at the far end of the first shelf.
“Not much left,” she thought to herself, as she took it out and shook it lightly while peering into it to check its contents. “I really should grab a glass but I could probably finish the rest.”
So, without giving it much thought, Sunset Shimmer placed the open spout of the carton to her lips and started drinking. She’d normally wouldn’t drink straight out of a carton but she was too tired to start looking for a glass. Besides, she thought to herself, since there really wasn’t that much milk left anyway, it was probably no big deal if she drunk like this.
The sound of someone clearing their throat behind her however, gave Sunset Shimmer enough reason to rethink her stance on the matter. Turning around, she was greeted by the sight of Big Macintosh leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. Dressed in a red t-shirt with a green apple in the middle and a pair of loose-fitting navy blue track pants, he raised an eyebrow while giving Sunset a lopsided smirk that just screamed, “Drinking out of the carton, Sunset Shimmer? Really?”
Her eyes went wide and she was about to let out a startled gasp but only managed a series of whimpering ‘Ows’ as the milk she was drinking pushed its way to the back of her mouth and up her nasal passages, burning its way out of her nose.
“Ow, ow, ow,” whined Sunset Shimmer as she turned away and brought a hand to her nose in a futile attempt to stem the flow of milk. Her nose still burning, she was drawn away from her discomfort by the sound of soft but deep chuckling coming from the young man behind her; he had obviously found the sight of her spewing milk from her nostrils rather amusing. Turning around to face him again, she found him holding out a box of tissues with his smirk still present on his face.
She took the box of tissues with a nod of thanks as she was still too preoccupied with her sore nose to voice a proper thank you. Dabbing her face clean of the milk, she heard the sound of running water from the tap and by the time she was done cleaning herself, Big Macintosh had returned with a glass of water for her.
“Thanks, Big Mac,” she said as she accepted the offered drink.
“Eeyup,” was Big Macintosh’s simple reply.
As she sipped on her water, Sunset Shimmer brought her attention to the kitchen table. She had been lucky that none of the milk had spilt onto her purple pyjamas but the same couldn’t be said about the kitchen table, which now had a tipped over milk carton lying on it as well as some spilt milk. Pulling out a couple of more tissues from the box, she stood the carton back up on the table and wiped the table top clean of its milky mess.
“Sorry about that,” she apologized as she threw the damp tissues into the wastebasket. “I don’t usually drink right out of the carton. There really wasn’t much left and I was planning to finish it.”
Big Macintosh smiled and shook his head at her apology.
“No harm done,” he said. “Yer lucky that Applejack didn’t catch ya, though. She woulda tanned yer hide fer drinkin’ like that.”
“Lucky me, then,” Sunset replied with a chuckle.
Sitting herself down at the table, she watched as Big Macintosh walked over and reached out for the milk carton. Shaking the carton and looking into it as she had done earlier, Big Mac held up the carton to her as if to ask her if she wanted any milk.
“Oh, no, thank you,” she answered as she shook her head with a smile. “You go ahead, though.”
He then gave her a nod of thanks and proceeded to drink straight from the carton as she did. It didn’t occur to her at first but as she watched him drink, a blush crept across her face.
“Wait a minute,” she thought to herself, “weren’t my lips on the same place his are now?”
Although she was probably taking the situation out of context, the thought of their lips meeting at the same place did surprise her if not embarrass her slightly. Her embarrassment didn’t last long however, as another thought made its way into her mind, causing a mischievous smile to creep upon her face. She had, since her reformation, toned down on her sneaky side but seeing that she now had an opportunity to get back at him for causing her to spray her milk was just too tempting.
“If I handle this right,” she thought to herself as the sly grin started growing wider on her lips. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Getting up from her seat, she sensually sidled up behind him. Standing on her toes, she hooked her chin on his shoulder so her lips were just an inch away from his ear while she playfully ran a finger down the length of his arm.
“You know,” she whispered in mocked sensuality, “my lips were on that same place too…”
In no time at all, Sunset Shimmer got the reaction she wanted, a startled gasp that was followed by a series of whimpers as the milk sprayed from Big Macintosh’s nose. Pulling away from him, she let out a triumphant chuckle at her plan’s success but when she saw the surprised look on Big Mac’s face, with a trail of milk dripping down his nose and blushing ear to ear, Sunset Shimmer found that she could hardly stop herself from giggling at his expense.
“That was for before,” she said to him with a mischievous smirk as she reached for the box of tissues before passing them to him.
Taking the box of tissues so he could wipe his face, Big Mac watched as Sunset Shimmer walked over to the kitchen sink and began to run another glass of water.
“Hold on,” she said, an amused smile still on her lips. “I’ll get you some water.”
Realising that her flirting was only meant as a joke, Big Macintosh started to calm down. When she had first sidled up to him as she did, he didn’t know what to think but once it was clear that it was nothing more than a playful prank, he was able to collect himself. By the time she returned, he had regained his composure and was now wearing a calm smile on his face.
“Looks like I got you good,” Sunset Shimmer said as she passed him the glass.
“Eeyup” replied Big Macintosh, his smile turning lopsided. “Ah’ll have ta remember ta get ya back though.”
As the two of them sat down at the table across from each other, each taking sips from their glasses, a calm silence descended on them. As Sunset Shimmer regarded the eldest Apple sibling, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat grateful. She had been rather worried when Applejack had asked her to call him down for dinner that night. Although they had met on a few occasions due to her friendship with Applejack, she was afraid that he, as did many of her schoolmates, may have still retained that negative outlook of her. So when she had called him, she wasn’t really sure what kind of reaction to expect. But aside from the slight look of surprise when she first called out to him from his doorway, he smiled gently and nodded at her when she called him down for dinner. Closing his door as he left his room, he and Sunset Shimmer had walked down together to dinner and had sat next to each other at the table since they were the last ones to arrive. Although she didn’t talk to him much during dinner, he was always polite whenever she did and always seemed to regard her without a shred of ill will.
“He’s a great guy,” she thought to herself. “As kind as Fluttershy and as honest as Applejack.”
She chuckled to herself when she found herself idly comparing him to her girlfriends. She could probably factor loyalty and generosity into his character but she began to wonder where she was going to fit Pinkie Pie into the facets of Big Mac’s personality. She found it rather funny imagining Big Macintosh bouncing all over the place like Pinkie was wont to do. As the silence continued, Sunset Shimmer felt that now would probably be the best time to get to know Big Mac better and hopefully get a chance to start over.
“Studies keeping you up late?” she asked as she attempted to start a conversation.
“Eeyup,” he replied.
“Applejack said that you were planning to study mechanical engineering at Canterlot University. I have to admit, I was a little surprised when I heard you planned to enrol. Between your work on the farm and your studies, isn’t it tough?” Sunset asked.
“Eeyup,” answered Big Mac. “But mah Pa always told me that a college degree was important an’ Ah think so too. ‘Sides, learnin’ mechanical engineerin’ would probably help with the tractor maintenance on the farm so it’s somethin’ Ah’ll make use of anyway.”
“Oh, well, that’s good,” Sunset replied with a smile. Upon the mention of his father, Sunset realised very quickly where the conversation could take a turn to. Although an orphan herself, she’d never met her parents and as such, she had no real memory of them. But Big Mac did have memories and Sunset Shimmer had no intention of upsetting him by bringing up a topic that may cause him to miss them. Deciding that steering the conversation away from his parents was the best thing to do, Sunset Simmer tried to think to something else to talk about. But other than casual small talk, Sunset couldn’t seem to find a topic that would lead to a meaningful conversation. Her frustration however, was not lost on Big Macintosh.
He’d been observing Sunset Shimmer the whole time and knew she was trying to avoid talking about his parents the moment he mentioned his father. It wasn’t a surprise, most folk did the same out of respect whenever they spoke to him. What did surprise him, however, was Sunset Shimmer showing that same consideration for him by avoiding the topic. Although he had heard that Sunset had changed from being a royal pain in the rump from his sister, Applejack, this was the first time he was actually seeing it. It’s true she had been polite and civil those few times they met after she had befriended his sister but he wasn’t completely sure of her reformation. But seeing her today confirmed what Applejack had told him about her, Sunset Shimmer had changed for the better. Apologising for her mistakes, being helpful and considerate, it was as though she was a completely different person. Well, except maybe for her sneaky side though, but even then, her sneakiness seemed to be more playful now compared to the malicious cunning he was familiar with. He had to admit though, that prank she had pulled off earlier certainly caught him off guard. Despite her former reputation, he had always considered Sunset Shimmer a beauty. She had a beautiful face and mesmerising cyan coloured eyes as well as a crown of lovely red hair with blonde streaks and a figure that other girls would kill for. Having a girl like that flirt with you, even as a joke, was sure to garner quite a reaction.
Eeyup, he thought to himself, Sunset Shimmer really had changed. And now, here she was, sitting in front of him trying to start a conversation in a hopeful attempt to start over. He’d never thought it would happen but if she was willing to put in effort into this conversation, he would do her the same service by responding in kind.
“Hey,” he started, not quite sure were to begin.
“Yes, Big Mac?” Sunset asked when she realised he was trying to get her attention.
“If ya don’t mind me askin’,” asked Big Macintosh. “What’s yer background? Applejack said ya ain’t originally from around here.”
Big Macintosh grimaced inwardly at how tactless his attempt to get the conversation rolling sounded but when he saw her smile at his question, he figured that she probably didn’t mind.
“I suppose you already know that I’m from another world,” she said, humour creeping into her voice.
“Eeyup.”
“And about the part that I’m not human?”
“Eeyup.”
“How about the part that I’m actually a unicorn and used to be the personal student of an alicorn princess?”
“Nope,” Big Mac said finally, his face actually a showing a degree of surprise now.
“Well,” replied Sunset Shimmer as she put her glass of water down. “That’s a good a place as any to start.”
Leaning forward, Big Macintosh took a long sip of his water as he prepared to hear Sunset Shimmer tell her story.
“I grew up in a village called Ponyville but moved to Canterlot when I was still very young,” she began, “not this one, but the one in Equestria. Equestria is the world I’m from and there, ponies are the dominant species. There are mainly three types of ponies in Equestria; Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns. I am a unicorn pony myself and although all unicorns have magic, I was considered to be very skilled for a unicorn of my age. I was admitted into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and was soon chosen by Princess Celestia to be her personal student due to my magical ability. Princess Celestia, by the way, is one of the two alicorn princesses who currently rule Equestria. The other princess is Princess Luna, her younger sister.”
Sunset Shimmer watched as Big Macintosh’s eyes went wide at the mention of the two familiar names. She could tell that he was probably starting to draw a connection between Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna to the two Equestrian princesses.
“Starting to sound familiar, doesn’t it?” she asked him. “Your world and mine.”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Mac as Sunset Shimmer continued her story.
“I was a very gifted student but I was also very impatient,” she continued. “Princess Celestia tried her best to teach me about friendship and humility but I refused to learn. All I wanted then was power, power so great that I could use it to become the next ruler of Equestria. I searched and studied to find a way to get it and as a result, I started to become more dishonest and cruel. Finally, Princess Celestia confronted me about my obsession with power. The argument didn’t go well and so I left both her tutelage and Equestria in an attempt to get the power I wanted myself.”
“That’s how I came to be here,” she said finally, “and I suppose you know the rest.”
Big Macintosh stared at her in surprise, watching as Sunset Shimmer suddenly seem to shrink away from him after finishing her story. She was obviously still coping with the guilt, that was obvious to see. As she continued to shy away from him, he wasn’t really sure what surprised him more, the fact that Sunset Shimmer was a magical unicorn from another world or that she now looked more vulnerable and fragile than he’d ever seen her before.
“You must probably think I’m really rotten,” she said as she looked up at him, a look of shame seated in her eyes.
“Nope,” he replied as he shook his head, his auburn hair waving slightly as he did. “You’ve turned yerself around. That’s the important thing.”
“Thanks,” said Sunset as she leaned back into her chair, a grateful smile on her face. It was certainly heartening to her that he was willing to look past her checkered past and accept her intention to change herself.
Sunset felt the silence return again but it didn’t last long as Big Mac surprised her again by asking her another question, this one a little more personal than the first one.
“Ever feel homesick?” he asked. “Lonely?”
Sunset Shimmer took a little longer to answer this time, the smile that was on her face slowly drawing out into a grim line. Whereas the first question was rather general, this one was touching areas more associated with her feelings and even with the girls, she still kept quite a lot of her feelings to herself. Perhaps it was the guilt which caused her to feel that it wasn’t her place to unload her feelings unto others or that she was afraid that others may think little of her if she opened up. Whatever it was, talking about feelings didn’t come easily to her. But as she regarded the young man sitting across from her, she noticed that there was a strange certainty that lay in his deep green eyes, a type of loyalty that promised he would never break her trust. That was apparently all she needed to take the chance.
Just as Big Macintosh was beginning to wonder if asking her that last question was appropriate, she answered him, much to his relief.
“Sometimes,” she said. “I think about it every once in a while but I’ve gotten used to life in this world. Besides, I’ve got friends in this world, right?”
“Eeyup,” he replied with an encouraging smile on his face.
“I remember I used to get so homesick when I first came to this world,” she admitted. “So when I heard about your family orchard at the edge of town, I started to sneak in every once in a while.”
Sunset chuckled softly as Big Mac’s eyes widened at her admission of her trespassing on his family’s farm, she’d never get tired of seeing that surprised look.
“There’s an orchard in Ponyville called Sweet Apple Acres, just like yours. It’s been run by the Apple family for generations and when I was a filly, I mean, when I was younger, I used to love going there. There was an elderly mare who lived there who would serve us the most amazing apple pie whenever we foals would visit. Coming to your orchard, it always seemed to remind me of Ponyville. The smell of grass, fresh sun dried hay and Granny Smith’s apple pie, it all helped with the homesickness and always made me feel like I was back where I belonged.”
She hadn’t realised that she had drifted away into the comforting memories of her foalhood, a wonderful time before she had become so engrossed with magic and power, until she felt the touch of Big Mac’s hand resting on hers. The sudden forwardness of his actions had caught her by surprise and when she looked up at him, she saw a warm comforting smile resting on his face.
“Yer welcome here anytime,” he said, “Anytime yer feelin’ homesick, ya come on over. And as fer them apple pies, don’t ya worry none. Anytime, Granny Smith whips one of ‘em up, Ah’ll give ya a call.”
Her eyes were wide as she listened to his generous offer, her mouth slightly agape. His hand was still on her own, his being so much larger than hers that it almost enveloped hers completely. She could feel callouses on his fingers and palm, callouses that spoke of the hard work he was accustomed to and yet, she could also sense the gentleness that came from being a loving older brother and a caring friend. Thinking back on his words, she found a smile of her own before responding to the kindly farm boy sitting across from her.
“Thank you, Big Macintosh,” she said. “I really look forward to coming back here.”
As the pair sat alone in the kitchen, his hand on hers, Big Macintosh and Sunset Shimmer regarded each other. Sunset was still amazed at how she had found such a kind and understanding person in such an unlikely place. The more she looked at him, the more she seem to find comfort and care in all parts of him; his sweet green eyes, his honest freckled face and his warm, laid back smile. Minutes passed but neither moved as Big Mac was also enraptured by the red haired beauty in front of him. She was so different from anyone he’d ever met, her beautiful cyan eyes held surprises in them, ones that hinted of secret sides of her personality she had yet to show him but at the same time, her appreciation for the simple things like the smell of the orchards or Granny’s apple pies made her seem so familiar to him.
It was only when they heard the clock chime one did they break out of their mutual trance and seem to realize that despite five minutes having passed, Big Mac still had his hand on hers. Withdrawing it, he nervously tucked his hand under the table. Although a bit disappointed that he had pulled away, Sunset reasoned that it was getting really late and the two of them should probably head back upstairs and get some sleep.
“We should probably call it a night,” she said, a slight tone of nervousness in her voice. “It’s getting late.”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Macintosh, a similar touch of nervousness present in his usually stoic voice.
“You go on ahead, Big Mac. I’ll just get a drink before I go.”
“Eeyup,” he replied with a nod as he made to leave the kitchen.
He was halfway out of the kitchen when he suddenly heard her call out to him. Turning back when he heard her, Big Mac saw that Sunset Shimmer had also left her seat and was now anxiously rubbing her right arm with a look on her face that seem to hint that there was something she wanted to say.
“I really had a good time talking to you tonight,” she said with a slight blush flushing her cheeks. “If it’s alright, I’d really like to do this again.”
“Eeyup,” he responded with an eager smile and a polite nod. “Ah’d like that very much too.”
As both of them said their goodnights to each other, Big Macintosh exited the kitchen and walked up to his room. Feeling unusually warm despite the nippy temperature of the room, Sunset Shimmer looked around the now empty kitchen, her sight crossing the dining table before finally settling on the lonely milk carton that sat innocently on it. A wry smirk crossed her face as she recalled the amount of trouble this carton had caused that night. As she picked it up, she heard the sound of milk sloshing within the carton, her eyebrows lifting in quiet amazement.
“There’s still some left?” she wondered. “Well, no point in putting it back, might as well finish it.”
Taking her empty cup, she emptied the milk in to it before placing the milk carton in an empty cardboard box which the Apples kept for recyclables. As she sipped on her drink, she couldn’t help but think about her conversation with Big Macintosh. He certainly surprised her by initiating some of the conversation but the most important effect that he had on her was how comfortable he had made her feel, yet at the same time, made her more anxious than she had ever been in her entire life. The thought had crossed her mind, the possibility that she was starting to like him as more than a friend, but she really wasn’t sure whether that was the case. The only relationship she had been in was with Flash Sentry and even then, it was only to make her more popular rather than a genuine romantic interest in him. She still wasn’t sure, but she knew what she felt within the short time she spent with Big Mac was so much more intimate compared to the entire time she was dating Flash and definitely more eventful than any date she had ever been on.
“Only thing missing was the good night kiss,” she thought sarcastically to herself.
As she sat drinking her milk, lost in her thoughts, she failed hear his soft footsteps as he came downstairs a second time. She didn’t hear him run another glass of water or grab the box of tissues by the counter. She did however, feel the soft press of his lips on her cheek as she took a sip of her milk. And she definitely did feel the familiar burning sensation streak through her nose as the milk exited her nostrils for a second time that night. Blushing furiously at the realisation that Big Macintosh had just kissed her on the cheek, she quickly turned around to face him, not caring that she probably still had milk dripping down her nose. She found him looking down at her with a satisfied smirk while holding a glass of water and the box of tissues.
“That was for before, sugarcube,” he said with a playful wink as he passed her the water and tissues before heading back to bed.
Author's Note
Yes, I know it's a crack pairing but I think they look nice together. Besides, the great thing about Big Macintosh is that he's like Guile's Theme. He goes with everything.
