Say It Ain't So

Chapter Four: Holiday

Let’s go away for a while, you and I.

To a strange and distant land…

I feel myself shiver in the chilly evening air as I walk up the hill to the East Barn. I’m pretty much walking on autopilot at this point, I’ve been to the East Barn so many times in my life I know the route by heart. Arriving at the top of the hill, I superstitiously check my mane and coat to make sure I’m still neatly groomed. I know it’s just the two of us, and in all honesty Mac probably doesn’t really care how I look, but a little grooming never hurt anypony.

I rap my hoof against the door to the barn, and then wait patiently, hearing a couple of crickets already out in the early night. I only have to wait a few seconds before I hear the sounds of what is unmistakably Big Mac coming down the stairs.

Either that or a herd of buffalo found its way into the barn and is now stampeding down the stairs.

Seconds later, the barn door opens and my buffalo theory is disproven as a brightly smiling red stallion is standing there instead. “Mel! Thanks again for coming. Come on in!”

I nod in response “Thanks, Mac.” I follow him into the barn, closing the door behind me before trotting up the stairs after him. The East Barn has been our hang out spot since we were colts. The ground floor of the barn is still used as a regular barn, storing equipment and whatnot, but upstairs is a loft space that was never used for anything. When we were colts, Mac and I used to go up there to read, or play board games, or even create our own games and stories. Once we got to high school, I helped Mac turn the loft space into our own personal “stallion cave”.

Arriving at the top of the stairs, I take in the familiar sights. A bar takes up the far left corner of the loft, with a couple of stools to sit on and plenty of Apple Family Cider and other alcohol stocked behind it. Across from the bar near the railing is an old mattress covered with clean sheets. This is our makeshift bed, in case somepony gets too intoxicated to walk home (which has happened more than a few times). In between the bar and the bed is a door which lead to a fire escape of sorts to the ground outside, which is also where the outhouse is. This is really the only flaw of the loft space, because trying to go up and down those stairs to use the washroom while you’re drunk is not fun, and I’m a little ashamed to admit I’ve taken more than one tumble down them. In the bottom right corner next to the stairs is the poker table. This is generally where we spend most of our time, either actually playing poker or just sitting around talking. The last piece of furniture in the loft sits in the the top right corner, directly in front of the stairs. It’s an old, slightly beat up gramophone. Mac found it in the attic of the farmhouse one day. The sound quality isn’t that great, but it works well enough and provides some nice background noise. Right now it’s playing some soft reggae music that I recognize as one of the bands I got Mac into.

I follow Mac as he heads to the bar and takes a seat behind it. I hop up onto a stool, taking a moment to adjust, before looking over the bar at him. “So what’s this big news you’ve got?”

Mac holds up his hoof in response, silencing me as he continues to dig around behind the bar. After a few moments he comes up with two steins filled with what I can only assume is cider. He slides one across to me, and I look up at him questioningly.

“Before ah get to ma big news, ah’d like to have a drink first.” He says, raising his stein.

I raise my eyebrow in response, lifting my stein as well. “Alright, what are we drinking too?”

“How about to us?”

“To us?” I ask skeptically, my eyebrow still raised.

“Why not? We’ve been friends for a long time, Mel. Ah think we should celebrate that.”

I look over his face, trying to find some sort of give or tell. He seems completely earnest, which makes me feel like I’m missing something here. After a moment I just shrug my shoulders and decide to go with it. “Alright. To us.”

“To us.” He repeats, clinking his stein against mine.

We both tip our steins back and take a sip. I almost choke on the extremely potent taste of alcohol. I whack myself on the chest a few times to get over the shock, before setting my stein back down on the bar and looking at Mac questioningly. “Mac, this is your Triple-X cider.”

“Uh-huh.” He says with a cheeky little smile.

If my eyebrow could go any higher, it would. “You only bring this stuff out when it’s a really special occasion.”

“Eyup.” That cheeky smile is still there.

“So…..?”

“So what?” That smile is starting to get a little infuriating.

“Sooo... what’s the big news?” I say, exasperated.

Mac waves me off again “In due time, Mel. In due time. Ah just want to hang out and talk for a bit.”

I stare at him flatly, causing him to chuckle “Ah’m serious Mel! We haven’t just hung out in a while, and ah’ve missed it.”

I think back, and find his statement rings true. It’s been a few weeks since the two of us just hung out like this, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also miss it. “Alright then, what’s up? How’s life been for you?”

“Pretty good, ah suppose. Mostly just been getting things ready ‘round here for winter.” He says, taking another gulp of his cider and resting his foreleg on the bar.

“I feel you on that.” I say, relaxing a little “Clyde always wants things ready like three weeks before winter is even due. It’s a little annoying sometimes when I’m still processing fall orders and he start giving me the winter stock.” I say with a roll of my eyes.

Mac chuckles. “Ain’t nothing wrong with being prepared. Ya never know, we might get one of those ridiculously early winters like we did a few years ago.”

“I guess. I still don’t know how the weather team managed to screw up the schedule that badly.”

“Me neither. One of life’s mysterious, ah guess.” He takes another sip before continuing “So, you get any more stories from customers about how they ‘supposedly’ lost or wrecked their horseshoes?”

I play with the ring of my stein while I think about it “Not recently, no. But my roommate just got back from Fillydelphia, and you won’t believe what happened there.”

“Oh yeah?” Mac says, leaning forward with interest.

I decide to take another drink of my cider, feeling the warm burning sensation slide down my throat, before continuing.“So Steam Whistle and his coworkers get to Filly, right? And his one buddy Manny needs to get his shoe repaired….”

“...so then ah said ‘Poker? Ah hardly know her!” Mac finishes, causing both to burst into raucous laughter. I have to grab onto the bar to stop myself from falling over. I don’t know how long it’s been since I got here, but all I know is that even though I’m only finishing my second stein of cider while Mac is starting his fourth, I am definitely feeling it already. Oh man, I forgot how kick-ass this special cider was.

“Ya should’ve seen the look on that old fuddy-duddy’s face when ah said that!” Mac continues, wiping a tear from his eye.

I giggle “I bet his face was as red as your coat.”

“Naw, I think it was even redder!” Mac says, causing us both to start laughing again.

I wipe a tear of my own from the corner of my eye, sighing with happiness. At some point, Mac switched records, and now some upbeat synth is playing quietly in the background, and I feel myself swaying gently with the music.

I think I used to listen to these guys in high school. That was fun. Right now is fun too. I’m really glad I’m hanging out with Mac. I missed this, this is really nice.

Suddenly another voice pops into my head. You should tell him.

Okay, I will.

“This is really nice, Mac. I’m glad we can hang out like this.” I say with a smile.

Mac smiles back at me. “Ah’m glad too. Ah love hanging out with ya. Thanks for comin’ tonight.”

“No problem. I always have time for my best bud.” I say, holding up my stein. Mac reciprocates and we clink our stiens together briefly before I finish off my cider.

As I’m setting it down on the bar, that other voice pops up again. That’s not what I meant.

Then what DID you mean, other voice?

I meant you should tell him how you feel.

I should tell who how I feel about what?

You should tell Mac how you feel about HIM, silly billy!

Oh yeah. You think I should tell him?

Yeah! Now’s the perfect time.

Why?

Why what?

Why is now the perfect time?

Because he’s in a good mood, and because you’re both drunk! So if you tell him and it goes well, then everything is peaches and gravy. And if you tell him and it goes squibbly, you can just play it off as you being drunk! You can’t not un-lose at this, I think?

Wow, you’re right, that makes so much sense! You’re so smart, other me.

I know. Now go tell him, ya goober!

I swing my head up and look at Mac. “Sooo, Mac.”

He looks back at me “Sooo, Mel.”

I giggle a bit before continuing “I have something to tell you.” I say in a sing-song voice.

“Do ya?” Mac says, looking at me with interest. Suddenly, he sits up, as if he just remembered something. “Oh! Wait! Hang On. Shhhh.” He says in rapid succession, put a hoof to my lips to silence me, which only causes me to giggle again. “Ah have somethin’ to tell ya first!”

I start to say something, but I see how excited he is and decide not too. Oh well. I’ll just tell him after. He seems excited about whatever he has to say.

“Do you really? What is it?” I ask, gently pushing his hoof off my mouth.

“It’s ma big news!” He says excitedly.

Oh yeah, that’s why he wanted me to come over, wasn’t it? “What is it?”

A huge grin spreads across his face as he claps his hooves together excitedly, and I can’t help but giggle at his foal-like glee. “Okay okay! So! Ah was going to wait until after tomorrow night to announce this to everypony, but I was just too dang excited, so ah needed to tell somepony, and since you’ve been ma best bud forever, ah wanted to tell ya first!”

Aw, he’s so sweet. He’s like a big red puppy. “So what’s the story, morning glory?” I ask, cupping my chin in my hooves.

“Okay okay! First, ya gotta close yer eyes!”

I look at him with fake scrutiny. “This isn’t some sort of prank, is it?”

He waves me off again “No no, it’s no prank! Just do it!”

I pause for a moment, watching him giddily dancing on his hooves like a foal waiting for their Hearth’s Warming Eve presents, before complying and shutting my eyes. “Okay, now what?”

“Alright, jus’ give me a second.” I hear him shuffling around behind the bar, giggling to myself when I hear him bang his head on something. After what seems like an eternity to me he speaks again “Okay, now give me yer left hoof.”

I start to give him my hoof, but hesitate. “You’re not going to put duct tape on it and then rip it off like in high school, are you?”

“Hey, that wasn’t me! That was Mighty Machine!” Oh yeah, so it was. My bad. “And no, ah ain't gonna do that.”

I give him my hoof, and feel him slip something on it. “You better not be hoofcuffing me to something…” I jokingly warn.

“Ah'm not…” He replies in a sing-song voice. After a few more seconds of adjusting, he removes his hooves. “Okay, ready? Open yer eyes!”

I open my eyes, and look down at my hoof.

It takes my alcohol-clouded brain a few seconds to recognize what I’m looking at.

It’s a bracelet.

An engagement bracelet.

My mind grinds to a halt.

I feel stupid for admitting this, really I do, but for a brief second, I think that he’s proposing to me.

But then logic kicks in.

And the warm, comforting embrace of the cider is replaced with the icy, cold harshness of reality.

I slowly look up from my hoof, trying to find my voice. “M-Mac….?”

I look into his puppy-dog eyes and see the pure, unadulterated happiness in them, and for a moment, time stands still. For just a fraction of second, everything stops, and I want nothing more than to preserve this moment, to take a snapshot of it and frame it on the wall. Because for just this second, everything feels fine. The world is content, the universe is at peace, and I’m just sitting here with my best buddy, enjoying the evening like the two friends we are, and everything is wonderful.

But then he opens his mouth…

“Ah’m gonna ask Miss Cheerilee to marry me.”

...and my whole world comes crashing down on me.