Every Summer

*Disclaimer about not owning My Little Pony.

*Disclaimer about dizziness after reading this chapter alone is a normal side affect.

The door handle rattled, but the locks held it firmly shut.

“What the-? Brother? Are you still in there?!” Applebloom yelled into the door.

Mac’s ear twitched again.

Then he bolted upright.

“Let us in!” his littlest sister pounded on the door.

“Yeah, Big Mac! It’s our clubhouse!” yelled Scootaloo.

Panicking, Mac fumbled to his hooves, but ended up tripping over the tangle that was Rarity and Twilight. The pounding continued on the door, protests from the Cutie Mark Crusaders continued to pour in. Mac found his hooves again and began to shake the unicorn duo on the floor.

“C’mon now, we’re in trouble!” he said quietly.

Neither unicorn moved. Not even so much as a squeal or squawk of protest. He kicked Rarity in her back forcefully, but not harshly, with one of his forelegs. Still nothing. He peeled back one of her eyelids…

It was as if someone had taken her eye out and replaced it with a shiny black sphere. He pulled himself back out of shock before gingerly trying to open Twilight’s eye. Same story.

Suddenly, the front door burst wide open. He’d expected to see his little sister and her friends, but was greeted with a friendly helping of nothing but blackness. There was still forest and sunshine and bunnies out the windows, but the door lead to black.

The two unicorns abruptly popped into little bubbles which rose through the ceiling as the table in the clubhouse started morphed into some kind of jukebox creature that began singing “Sweet Home Appleloosa” in slow motion.

“…wut,” Mac started. Thinking quickly, he bit himself hard on his foreleg. Nothing.

The world cracked around him and everything turned white.

The beeping of an EKG machine brought sound back into Mac’s ears. Along with the feeling as if he just head butted a train that was running at full steam.

He groaned in pain, catching the attention of somepony just out of his field of vision. Funny, he could only really see to his right. A unicorn nurse pony came around the foot of his rather large bed and to the side he could see.

“Now just relax, Mr. Apple. You have a serious concussion and we don’t want you straining yourself,” she said as she adjusted her glasses with her magic.

Mac heard hoofsteps coming up the hall.

“Your friends and family will be able to explain what happened. You’ll probably need to hear from them to believe it,” she smirked and tried to contain her laughter as she turned away and walked out the door.

About the time she left the room, Applejack and Rainbow Dash came in and walked up to the side he could see them on. He stared at his sister, who was doing a bad job of holding a poker face. The cyan pegasus at her side tried to stifle a chuckle, but when they both heard it, they fell out in the floor laughing.

Mac looked at the duo with only the slightest bit of anger. Sound was still hurting his head.

“Again?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

Applejack contained her laughter just long enough to answer, “Straight into Big Timothy!” before slapping her knee and buckling over in another fit of laughter.

“I-I thought for a second you saw my shadow as I flew after you, but then you ran straight into the tree!” Rainbow Dash had tears in her eyes she was laughing so hard. She fell back onto the ground, rolling in fits of laughter.

He let them get it out of their system before making any attempt at a conversation. Eventually, the two ponies were clutching their sides and happily complaining about how bad their stomachs hurt.

Applejack sat back up and patted his foreleg, “Doc says you’ll be fine though. That bandage over yer face and left eye was more or less to keep you from touching that area in yer sleep.”

“So how’d Ah get here?”

“Well, after the ‘spolsion from the barn reached my ears, Ah turned around to come check what happened. All Ah found was Fluttershy ready to pour the bucket of ‘sorrys’ on me about it,” Applejack put simply.

“I laughed so hard that I forgot about the heat for a little bit. Enough to realize you had actually hurt yourself,” Dash added. “I led them to where you were and we brought you here.”

Mac sighed, “How many days?”

“Four. It was five last year, remember?” his sister nudged him gently in the side.

The unicorn doctor came into his view now.

“Excuse me ladies, but your time is up and I need to check in on this fellow,” he said as he shooed them out the door.

“See ya tomorrow ya lug!” Applejack waved as she left.

The doctor basically retold the story that his sister and Dash just did. It had all happened like they said. When they brought him in, they did a scan and found that he had a concussion and was possibly in a coma. Being the stout pony Mac was, the doctor had no fears though that he’d eventually come around. Assured by the doctor that there were no adverse effects to come around of this accident, Mac finally sank into the bed and relaxed.

“We’ll be able to remove the bandages over your forehead and left eye tomorrow morning first thing, Mr. Apple. Until then I advise plenty of rest and fluids so that we might see you out of here tomorrow!”

The doctor left Macintosh with his thoughts. He looked around the room, nothing changed from last year’s visit to the hospital for nearly the same reason. Except that Dash had sideswiped him into one of the older apple trees. And the nearly the same thing had played out in his mind while he was out. Except with Fluttershy. At her cottage. And that weird little rabbit watched.

But it was all a dream….or a nightmare. Macintosh wasn’t sure how he’d live with himself if he had done such a thing. He would never be able to face either Rarity or Twilight again had he done such a thing. But of course, he hadn’t. The dream had been realistic enough and the impact of the tree hard enough to blur the two realities seamlessly together. It caused him to grin.

Still chaste, still holding moral fiber.

The nurse ponies eventually came around again, brought him supper and showed him to the restroom. He showered what he could and went back to the bed. He lay there for the longest time just staring at the ceiling. The sun sank low, bringing in gold and orange to the room. He wanted to stare out the window, but that the same time he didn’t. Too much was on his mind.

Of course he couldn’t do such a thing; it would be unthinkable for Mac to act as he did in his dream. But why did he dream of doing such things and such things happening to him? Especially for the second year in a row, it began to boil in his mind. Of course though, this was his eighth season of heat that he’d been of age for, but he never had such dreams until last year. In the end, he chalked it up to the musk of the heat and the concussion combined to throw him for a loop.

Night descended upon the town and Ponyville Memorial Hospital. The nurses were doing their final rounds for the shift, but Mac assured them he needed nothing but a little more water. He continued to stare at the ceiling, trying to wish himself to sleep. The wind picked up some before Mac fell his eyes get heavy. He didn’t look at the clock above the door before he fell under, the sound of the wind blowing through the trees outside his window singing him to sleep.

LATER THAT NIGHT...

A nurse pushed a cart with a rather obnoxiously squeaky wheel down the hall, stopping at room 108. She eased the door open and saw the rising and falling of the sheets, and a small amount of snoring. She smiled as she checked the box next to Macintosh’s name on her notebook and continued down the hall.

The nurse took the elevator at the end of the hall, descending to the first level and pushing her cart back to the front desk.

“Everyone accounted for?” her co-worker pegasus asked.

“Shipshape!” she smiled.

The two workers then began exchanging small talk, not noticing the ninja-like movements of a pony sneaking into the hospital. The ninja pony, clad in black, except for the little bit of yellow peeking through for her nose to breathe and a small slit where her teal eyes darted around, snuck up to the where the nurse had rolled the cart. Quickly snatching the notebook, the mare then gathered the information she desired before gently setting the book back.

The she-ninja then snuck around the desk, out of sight of the two conversing ponies, and down the hall to the elevator. Her ride up was swift and quiet, until the doors bonged when they opened. She let out a squeal and ducked behind the bushes nearest the elevator doors on the third floor. After a moment, she peeked out from behind the bush, surveying her surroundings. Assuming the coast was clear, she continued on her mission.

The hallway was long, dark and scary. Being dressed like a ninja pony surely was not warranting any ninja courage to this pony. Any little bumps or noises caused her to squeak at levels that ants might hear. The room numbers closed in on her target, room 108.

There it was in all of its glory. She eased up to the large wooden door and timidly tried to turn the knob. It wouldn’t budge. She tried and tried and tried and still could not get it to move. She slumped against the door in defeat, ready to cry or go home or both. Until the door clicked and opened, letting the pony tumble into the room on her back. She froze solid, the snoring of a pony in the room continued on without missing a beat.

She stood up, easing her way towards the bed. Her target, that wonderful scarlet colored stallion lay in bed. She took a moment to admire the sight. Target acquired and locked. Her eyes narrowed, she licked her lips and pulled the hood of her outfit back. Her pink mane flowed out freely now as she shook her head to help untangle it in spots.
The large red pony rolled over in his sleep, now facing Fluttershy. She froze, panic setting her heart onto race mode. But he continued snoring. Eventually she regained her composure and went back to the door to close it. Quietly she closed and locked the door before returning to the same side of the bed.

She was now muzzle to muzzle with the stallion, his breath tickling her nose as she resisted the urge to giggle. Then the unthinkable happened. She felt the beginnings of a sneeze. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as she drew in a breath, unable to stop herself. Her sneeze rang out loud and proud….Macintosh’s soft snoring drowning it out entirely.

She chided herself mentally, You almost blew it! He could have woken up! Oh, why do you have to be so loud all the time?
After a few more moments of berating her actions, Fluttershy finally steeled up her nerves and began to prepare for the last part of the mission. She gingerly put her forehooves on the edge of the bed, watching his face the whole time. He never flinched. She pulled herself up a little higher onto the bed, just beginning to ruffle the sheets around her hooves. He still didn’t move. She gave a good shove and began to bring herself next him on the bed, but in midair she realized what she was doing. She was about to be laying next to one of the greatest stallions to ever star in her fantasies. Her wings broke free of the fabric of her ninja outfit, setting her off balance and colliding into the sleeping workhorse.

“Ppfftttbbffgfghdfhghhgt….” Mac snorted as he rubbed his good eye.

Fluttershy went stark still, staring straight at his face. Mac stared back. There was long, awkward silence.
Both parties screamed at once, Macintosh fumbled to get out of the bed, tangling himself in the cords and the IV line at his other bedside and crumpled to the ground. Fluttershy darted for the door when she looked back to see Mac caught up in all those horrible wires and lines. Then she met the door and fell over.

Mac quickly worked to undo his wires and lines and worked to untangle himself. He ripped the IV line out first, since it was now in much further than intended and causing him immense pain in his left foreleg.

“Not dreamin’! Not dreamin’!” he eventually freed himself and ran for the light switch next to the door.

That’s when he noticed there was nopony at the door. He could have sworn Fluttershy ran straight into it and fell over. Feeling silly, he reached for the light switch. His hoof was just millimeters from the switch when he was tackled from behind. He fell onto his side and went to roll himself back up when she pounced on top of him.

“I told you, Mackie. YOU ARE MINE,” the way her face smiled at him was unnerving to say the least. He’d once seen a movie where a filly was staring at a stallion like this. Then her head turned a full 360 degrees…

“Nnnope!” Mac pushed her off, not using anything near his full strength, but enough to send the little pegasus in quite the arc. He jumped up, opened the door and bolted down the hallway. He turned around to look just in time to see Fluttershy round the doorway and take to the air after him.

He raced down the hallway for the stairs, but he could hear the little pegasus gaining on him. He tried to dig his hooves into the floor to stop and let her pass over, but his forgetfulness of the friction coefficient of tiled floors and hooves sent him skidding past where he wanted to stop and right into Fluttershy’s path.

He let himself roll into a ball, not giving her any one area to grab onto when she collided with him. She bounced off and into the wall. Hearing her fall, he righted himself and continued down the hall and reached the stairs before she regained her bearings to set after him.

Macintosh half ran, half fell down the stairs to the first floor. He bolted out of the door and into the main hall. He heard the door open behind him again, but he didn’t turn around to confirm whether or not it was Fluttershy. He rounded the corridor that lead to the main entrance and desk.

“Help! She’s tryi-OOMFFF,” he grunted as he was tackled again by Fluttershy. He’ll never understand exactly where her speed or strength hid at, but this wasn’t the time to wonder on such things.

The desk ponies stared in disbelief for a moment before springing into action. The nurse, being a unicorn, grabbed Fluttershy in her magic.

“NO! NO! He’s mine!” she cried.

“It’s okay miss, we aren’t going to hurt you,” the nurse growled through her teeth as she focused on keeping Fluttershy still. The other nurse helped Macintosh up to his feet and away from the heat-crazed mare.

“I’LL GET YOU YET, MY PRETTY!” was the last thing he heard as she disappeared around the corner in tow by the unicorn nurse.

The staff helped Macintosh get re-settled for bed, assuring him that the heat-stricken Fluttershy had been given a temporary spell that quelled the heat for mares. They also explained that mares are to check in at the front desk during season for the spell when they visited the hospital. Ninjashy had somehow gotten by undetected.

They left Mac with the two requested glasses of water without asking any more questions. Of course to Mac, one was for drinking and the other was for nailing the next crazy pony with that came through that door. He left the light on all night and did not sleep a wink until daylight.

Mac had just barely gotten to sleep when the doctor came in. He apologized again for Fluttershy’s break in, but explained that such occurrences did unfortunately happen at the hospital. Had Macintosh been staying longer, he could have requested a guard be posted in his room.

Macintosh chuckled at the idea of somepony having to protect him. It was a good laugh, one that made him feel better. He did of course ask about the mare. The doctor said they simply cast the spell on her and let her go. As good as Fluttershy was for their business, she was allowed at least one free warning per year.

The doctor removed the bandages on Mac’s forehead and eye. Mac had gotten the idea he mutilated himself when he ran into the tree, but such was not the case. Of course, it was bruised and swollen in that area, nothing much else showed through. The doctor gave him a small prescription for pain medications if he felt he needed them until the injuries subsided.

Applejack was the only pony at the checkout desk. She of course had heard about Fluttershy’s episode, but forgave the pony out right and even apologized for her. Macintosh wasn’t angry at Fluttershy, he knew that the heat made mares actually go crazy from time to time.

The siblings walked out of the hospital. The heat still tickled at Macitnosh’s nose.

“Still got a while with the season. Yall think you can manage a few more days, big brother?” Applejack looked caringly at him.

“‘spose so,” he drawled out. “Long as Ah stay shut up in the cellar, reckon Ah could make it without any more crazy ponies tryin’ to get a piece o’ me.” He hung his head low, not really looking forward to being out of the hospital.

“Ah’d figured ‘bout the same thing,” Applejack nodded. “’cept Ah know how we can do that plan even better.”

“How’s that?”

“Well…we could get somepony to learn and cast that spell like they do there at the hospital…” she trailed.

“Ah don’t like where this is goin’,” Mac snorted.

“Look, Ah already asked her if she would be willin’ to help watch over you and she said yes. Especially after last night,” Applejack looked sternly at her brother as they walked down the road.

“O’course she would!” Mac laughed sarcastically.

“She’s got some fancy pills from Canterlot that helps keep her normal during season, along with her magic. Twilight would be pleased to help us out for the next few days while this passes!”

Oh boy….. Mac sighed in his mind.

“Ya don’t look particularly enthused ‘bout the idea, brother.”

“AJ…ah…there’s somethin’…”

“Ya like her, don’tcha?” she interrupted, giggles threatening to spill out of her.

Macintosh just hung his head even lower; he wasn’t good with any kind of poker face. And AJ could always tell when he was blushing, even through his coat.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, brother. She’s gonna be stayin’ in the house with us. Not like yall gotta bunk together or anything,” Applejack tried to sound harmless.

“You know what, AJ? Ah think it’s best you shut up.”

“Can she at least come over and see what she can do for us?” Applejack put that tone in her voice of which Mac knew he had just lost this argument.

There was silence for a while.
“
Fine. But if it don’t suit…”