Chapter 1: Grey Days and Red Ponies
(My first fic. Please give me CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, I've tried to write before but always quit and deleted it, never feeling up to par. If you know anything about how I can improve, please tell me.)
It was a depressing day in ponyville. Few ponies were out, the sky was grey, and it was Big Macintosh's turn to man the apple stall. He knew the weather was bad. But, he had a job to do, and he had known little in his life other than his job. He relaxed in the night, reading for a few hours before going to sleep to adhere to his strict schedule. The first few drops of rain began to pour. Big Macintosh was not phased, he simply tied the bag of apples tighter, and continued to deal his fruits to the few ponies that came by.
The weather began to get worse, rain and wind beginning to mess up his thick and smooth coat. He managed to resist the urge to pack up. The last few ponies on the street ran off into their homes, and Big Macintosh decided that he might as well pack up, much as he hated to leave a job unfinished. He could work extra tomorrow, he decided. It was at that point that it began straight up storming, hail pounding his body and piercing the sack of apples. He began to run, apples spilling out of the holes. The hail was bad, even breaking his skin in certain points. He knew he couldn't afford to let these apples go to waste, and he decided to risk bursting into the nearest store.
The door collided with the bell at record speeds, causing Roseluck to panic, yelping as she fell down on the floor and got up. She held her head in her hoof and looked up at the pony, his coat dripping water on the floor, as he stared at her, wide-eyed.
She recognised him as Big Macintosh, Applejack's sister. The farmer came into town few times, coming into stores almost never. There were rumors among him he was more than he lot on, a romantic and a highly intelligent pony. They shared a moment of eye contact, before Big Macintosh noticed the water he was tipping onto the carpet. He began apologising profusely, repeating "sorry" a few times before Roseluck interrupted him.
"Ah, it's alright, Big Macintosh," she stammered. "Just... What brings you here?"
Big Macintosh, as typical of him, got to the point. "I had to duck in to get my apples out of the rain."
Roseluck noticed the sack of apples pouring onto her floor. This pony was uncharacteristically clumsy, for all the tales she heard of the suave stud that the Mares wanted and the Stallions wanted to be. She nodded, saying "You can borrow my umbrella if you like. Hate to have such a fine crop go to waste, eh?" Pointing to the umbrella held on a stick jutting out from the wall by the door.
Big Macintosh took it, opening the door halfway before giving his thanks. "Come on down to the farm any time y'want to get it back." He exited, attempting to control the sack of apples. Roseluck was left pondering what had just happened, and began to clean up, taking a bite out of an apple Macintosh had not seen.
