The First Friends You Ever Makeby ShotomanChaptersFirst Look: The PrincessesSecond Look: The Student and AssistantThird Look: Beautiful MusicFourth Look: Tree Sap? Eeeyup.First Look: The PrincessesThe First Friends You Ever Make By Shotoman First Look: The Princesses Princess Celestia, co-regent of the magical land of Equestria really should have been in bed by now. It was late, and as always she had the sun to raise at dawn. Yes, she really should have been in her exorbitantly comfortable bed, completely dead to the world, rather than standing out on her balcony looking up at the curiously blank face of the moon as it shone overhead. In truth, she had been sound asleep not all that long ago. Unfortunately, though, she'd had that dream again. The one that had haunted her for a little over a thousand years now. It didn't matter that her precious little sister had been free and happy for almost two and a half years now, nor did it matter that, if anything, the two were closer now than they were in the days before. There were still some nights, when the day had been hard and Celestia's subconscious was feeling particularly mean, when she would dream about that night so very long ago. The night that nearly never ended. "I know you're there, Luna," she called out, the briefest twinge of a smirk forming on the corners of her mouth. "You might as well show yourself." Princess Luna almost seemed to melt from the shadows as she stepped into the light of Celestia's balcony. Little wonder she had become such a hit on Nightmare Night. Though the expression on her face was one of genuine concern, mixed with a bit of embarrassment. "Apologies, sister. We... I am still a bit at a loss when it comes to these matters. I wished to provide comfort, yet was unsure if my presence would be at all welcome, considering... well..." A small but impish smile quirked into being on the older sister's face. "Luna, have you been peeking?" "I do not peek!" Luna sputtered indignantly. "Your dreamscape was practically shouting for my attention! What was I expected to..." Luna stopped her rant mid thought and lowered her head as violet tinges glowed through the midnight blue of her cheeks. "You were teasing me, weren't you?" Celestia sighed softly as she brought her head down to snuggle her little sister. "Maybe a little. Your company is always welcome, Luna. Especially during nights like tonight. You being here with me... it serves to remind me it's all just a dream. A past that is long gone and best put behind us." Celestia's eyes were shining as she straightened her posture to look down at her little sister. "Have I told you how much I missed you?" Luna laughed. "Almost every night these last two years." Pressing her side up against Celestia's she added. "And I most certainly share in the sentiment." Celestia sighed as she looked back up at the gleaming white orb above. "I still see her, sometimes. The Mare in the Moon. Like that shadow that appears in your vision after looking at the sun too long." Luna's left ear flicked as her face wore a wry expression. "You of all ponies see that shadow?" The catty expression returned to Celestia's features. "Well, it admittedly takes quite a bit longer for me than most, but yes, it still happens." After another moment of comfortable silence, Luna spoke up once again. "I have been thinking of putting something new on the moon's face. It does seem a bit... empty. But other obligations have been getting in my way of late." "Speaking of," Celestia admonished. "I'm sure you've got some duties right now that are far more important than comforting an old mare like me after a bad dream. You should probably get back to them." Luna nodded. "In truth, I do have responsibilities calling for my attention this night. But to say any of them are more important than you? Never." Nevertheless, Luna separated herself from her sister and began to retreat back into the palace. "But you are correct. As ever, duty calls and I must regrettably answer. You, however, should get some rest. The dawn will arrive all too soon." "Do not worry over me, sister. I'll return to my bed once I've had a minute or two to... wind down, I suppose." A moment or two passed in quiet peace, before Celestia was suddenly drenched by a surprise torrent of ice cold water, followed almost immediately by a metal bucket dropping on her head. Another moment passed in silence before she levitated the bucket off her head and cast a glare back into the open doorway to the castle. Peeking around the corner was none other than her precious little sister, who had supposedly left to attend to important duties. When the two immortal rulers locked eyes, the younger sister's face split into a wide smile that released a small squeak, and then she was gone. Celestia laughed as she tossed the bucket aside. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" she shouted as she ran after her sister, a trail of tiny puddles left in her wake. ~FiM~ Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guards of Canterlot, Prince of the Realm, and Official Envoy for the Crystal Empire, dearly wished he could be in bed right now with his beautiful wife (sleep was optional). Unfortunately, duty called. After all, he was captain of all the guards, not just those who watched over the day, and there was a new wave of recruits for the night watch. None of the rookies gathered out here in the courtyard saw any sign of distraction, nor of any desire to be elsewhere. One did not gain all those fancy titles without some degree of diplomacy, after all. "Now, I am well aware of all your achievements up to this point," he lectured. "Only the best and brightest get selected for palace detail. Understand, however, that all the guards before you were the best and brightest of their classes, and so on and so on. You are all still green and inexperienced, and you will encounter things that no amount of training can prepare you for on its own." A sudden thundering from the castle caused him to stop his lecture, as the midnight blue form of Princess Luna bounded from within, barely coming to a stop before the assembled recruits. Shining Armor cringed inwardly. The Princess of the Night was breathless and smiling. That usually meant he was in for a round of something less than dignified. The Princess cast a mirthful eye over the assembled recruits. "Ah, welcome to our service, my little ponies," she began. "I am honored that so many of you have dedicated yourselves to the protection of your princesses and your country, and one night soon I hope to be able to interview each and every one of you personally. Tonight however..." At this point, Celestia burst from the castle, her horn glowing bright gold. "Got you!" she triumphantly bellowed. Luna's smile simply widened. "I must away!" She launched herself into the air like an arrow, just in time for a cringing Shining Armor to be enveloped in Celestia's magic. Shining Armor kept his eyes screwed shut for several long moments after the flapping of wings and tinkling of laughter had died away. "How bad is it?" he asked. The commander of the night guard, one Golden Sunset, answered, "Purple with pink polka dots, sir." Opening his eyes, Shining saw that his once white coat was in fact colored as described. "Ah well, at least it isn't the fur growth spell again." Golden Sunset's expression was passive, but there was laughter in her eyes. "Even so, sir, better you than me." Shining Armor was about to give a grumbled reply, but stopped short at the sight of the gathered recruits. All of them, down to the last pony, were staring at the sight with their mouths hanging wide open. Regaining what little dignity he could, Shining Armor stood back at attention and addressed his troops once more, though he couldn't quite keep the corners of his mouth from pulling upwards just a bit. "As I was saying, you will encounter many things that no amount of training can prepare you for. Chief among them being the princesses themselves." And in the sky, two streaks of light, one blue the other gold, chased each other, bringing a sense of cheer and happiness to an already beautiful night. Second Look: The Student and AssistantSecond Look: The Student and Assistant The excitable lavender filly made a sound that was maybe a little too high pitched to be heard comfortably, but adorable all the same. "Spike Spike Spike Spike Spike! I haven't seen him in forever!" Celestia just continued to wear her small, patient smile as she led her student up the spiraling stone staircase. It had, in truth, only been three days, which was pretty well nothing to one who had seen centuries pass, but was just ever so unbearably long for a filly of Twilight Sparkle's age. It had been a mere matter of months since Celestia had taken Twilight Sparkle in as her personal student, first one since Dawn Riser several centuries ago, and she could already tell that it was a good decision. Over the last few months, little Twilight Sparkle had shown both raw power and incredible aptitude in magic. Those lessons were going far more smoothly than Celestia had ever seen them pass before. But in certain other aspects of pony life, Twilight Sparkle was sadly lacking, even at this young age. This was the reason for these sojourns to the eyrie. While there were only two ponies the young filly ever truly bonded to--her older brother Shining Armor, and foalsitter Princess Cadance (Admittedly, even Celestia was rather surprised to learn that her distant niece had such a connection to the little one. After all, what were the odds?)--but there was one creature with whom she formed an instant bond. A large iron door awaited the pair at the top of the tower, which Celestia opened a mere moment before a violet little blur darted through. On the other side of the door was actually a rather comfy nursery, with a cheery paint job and a large number of (magically fireproof) toys. However, the pleasantness of the room was somewhat marred by the splatters of tan paste that seemed to completely cover one corner of the room. In a sturdy stone high chair sat a little baby dragon, his purple scales covered in the same stuff that covered both the walls and his caregiver, a middle aged mare named Patience, who was obviously about to run out of her namesake. "Have we come at a bad time?" the Princess asked with an amused smile. "I just don't know what to do with him today," Patience complained, her frustration keeping her from quite noticing with whom she was speaking. "All he wants to eat is gemstones, and he's refusing anything else! Have you ever tried keeping a dragon from doing what it wants?" "I have a time or two, yes," Princess Celestia responded with a chuckle. "And, though I may be bragging by bringing it up, they weren't infants, either." Patience at that point dropped the bowl of baby dragon food she had been attempting to feed to her charge, her eyes wide and pupils small. "P, Princess Celestia! I'm so sorry, I didn't quite realize..." Celestia raised a calming hoof as she responded. "There is nothing to apologize for, Patience. I do have some understanding of how frustrating it is to take care of one so young." She looked down at Twilight, about to suggest they perhaps return after feeding time was over, but the suggestion died in her throat when she saw her student wearing that look on her face. The one that said she'd just learned a new bit of information and was trying to process it, one eyebrow quirked upward, and her mouth puckered just a little. "What is it, Twilight?" the Princess asked. The young foal looked up at her teacher. "Did she just say Spike eats gemstones?" she asked, the tone of voice indicating she wasn't quite sure she heard what she thought she did. Celestia chuckled softly. "Yes, Twilight. All dragons do. It is in their favorite food in the whole world. It's one of the reasons they hoard them so fiercely." Twilight Sparkle nodded as she thought that over. "Then why not just let him eat them? It's not like they're rare, especially here in the palace." Celestia sat down and assumed her teaching role. "Let me ask you something, Twilight. Why do the grown-ups keep children like you from eating nothing but ice cream, and cupcakes, and other similar sweets?" "Oh, that's easy. It's because they're just junk food. They don't have suff...suffisss...enough good things in them to help ponies grow up healthy." "Well, gemstones are the same thing for dragons. They love the taste, and they do get some nutrition out of it, but they need to eat other things to grow strong and healthy. Gemstones simply lack sufficient nutrition. Which leaves us with something of a problem." "What's that?" "I know how much you were looking forward to your playtime with Spike today, but at the same time we can't reward him for being naughty, either. So what are we to do, hmm?" Twilight thought for a moment, then perked up. "How about I try to feed him?" Though Celestia smiled at that, Patience's expression showed... doubt, to say the least. "Are you sure that's such a good...?" she began. "I don't see any harm in it," Celestia replied airily. "The worst that will happen is that they'll... make a mess." Even Patience had to chuckle at that, upon realizing just how bad this corner of the nursery was. Twilight took the bowl of baby food in her magical grip and approached the little chair. Lifting a spoonful of the stuff to Spike's mouth, she spoke very sternly. "Alright, Spike. I know you don't like this, but it's good for you. So eat it." Spike glared at the spoon for a moment before whacking it, sending it flying through the air. The flight was short lived, as Twilight instantly caught both the spoon and the baby food and brought them back into position as if nothing had happened. Patience's jaw dropped and Celestia chuckled. "Now Spike," Twilight admonished. "That was not nice. Now I'll have to do this!" Twilight quickly took her hoof and poked Spike in the side, complete with saying "poke!" aloud. Seeing a smile form on his reptilian face, Twilight went in for the attack. "Poke! Poke! Poke! Poke!" Finally Spike burst out laughing, and the spoon instantly swooped in and deposited its payload. Spike glared and made to spit the food out when a lavender hoof pressed itself against his mouth. "Ah ah! Swallow it," its owner ordered. "Swallow!" The baby dragon glared at the little foal, but complied. Twilight smiled widely, squeaking as she did so. "Good going, Spike. Now for another bite." Patience's jaw dropped again as she watched little Twilight Sparkle continue to feed baby Spike, with each bite seeming to come a little easier. "I don't believe it," she stammered. "I've already tried all manner of different versions of just that little game. It was one of the first things I tried. How did she pull it off so easy?" Celestia was gracious enough not to laugh at the caretaker's plight, but her smile did widen ever so slightly. "Sometimes, Patience, it's not the technique that's important so much as it is the pony." Both of the adult mares then had to cringe (not without smiles, mind you) when Twilight let loose another high pitched cry of triumph when she fed Spike the last spoonful. Third Look: Beautiful MusicThird Look: Beautiful Music The music was mesmerizing as it wafted through the concert hall, the melody and arrangement familiar to most of the concert's attendees, yet the young mare was putting so much of her heart and soul into it that even the most jaded of critics couldn't help but be touched. This was young Octavia Philharmonica's special gift to the world of music--the ability to completely lose herself in her performance. As soon as she picked up her bow and drew it across the strings of her double bass, even the potential scholarship to Canterlot University's prestigious school of music that was on the line was completely absent from her mind. There was only the music. There was a brief moment of silence after Octavia played her last note. A brief moment where she allowed herself to bask in the peace that she only felt on a successful performance. Then the applause started, and she opened her eyes, a small, dignified smile playing on her face as she looked out into the audience. The smile faltered just ever so slightly at the pair of empty seats in the front row. But then again, it wasn't like she was expecting anything different, so why should she let it get to her? As she began to put her instrument away and the applause began to die down, she heard something that caused her gracious smile to twist into a smirk. "You go, Octy! That was the bomb! You rock!" and so on, until the sandy, almost masculine sounding voice was the only sound in the hall. It took considerable effort for her to not laugh outright as the voice continued. "Huh? Waddya mean I gotta leave? I ain't going anywhere. Hey! Leggo, ya stinkin' narc! YourockOcty!" SLAM! And then there was silence. It wasn't until she was backstage that Octavia let herself release a small chuckle. "Wow, that had to be embarrassing," a sudden voice spoke up. When Octavia looked up, she saw the mint green form of Lyra Heartstrings, carrying her namesake instrument in the magical grip of her unicorn horn. Octavia smiled politely at her competitor--the young unicorn from Ponyville was the only real competition she ever had--and answered, "Embarrassing? Perhaps a little, but that's just how she is." A mock long-suffering sigh slipped from her lips. "Sometimes I wonder just why I ever invite her at all. Honestly..." Lyra looked the refined earth pony over for a brief moment before her face split in a canny grin. "Weeeell,' she almost purred. Octavia suddenly stood stock straight as her face became that specific shade of red that only ever-so-slightly overripe tomatoes seem to produce. "'Well?' What 'well?'" she asked anxiously. "Why did you say 'well?' There is no 'well.'" "If you say so," Lyra responded before going out to the stage to play her piece. Octavia stood there just past stage left for several seconds before her face returned to its normal ashen grey and she was able to trot over to the dressing room. How is it possible, she asked herself, that a simple, private conversation can be more embarrassing than that public spectacle? Shaking it off, Octavia dragged her large instrument case through the door. She did need a moment of privacy after all. Octavia placed her double bass back at the same spot she had put it at the beginning of the competition, comfortably nestled between a cello and a viola, before heading over to one of the sinks and opening the tap full throttle. As the sink filled with ice cold water, Octavia let her mind drift to the concert, her odds of actually winning the scholarship (She had it pegged at 50/50. That Lyra was really quite the prodigy.), and who was out there in the audience rooting for her. As well as who wasn't. At least I have a fan, she thought wryly as she shut off the valve. A loud, obnoxious, overbearing, irritating fan, but a fan nonetheless. Octavia was just about to perform her usual post-performance routine, when a knock resounded from the back door. Octavia sighed, but with a nearly unnoticeable smile, as the pony on the other side of the door continued knocking as if they were performing a drum solo. Octavia made sure she was one step to the side of the door--the last thing she needed tonight was a concussion--and quickly pulled the door open. She smirked in satisfaction as the unicorn on the other side stumbled into the room. Octavia chuckled softly at the sight of her friend. She had shown up in a jet black tuxedo--which actually contrasted nicely off her white coat and shocking blue mane. The night called for formal attire, after all, but even when forced to obey the rules, Vinyl Scratch made sure to do things her way. She even had those ridiculous sunglasses affixed to her face as always. "Hey Octy," Vinyl said cheerfully. "S'up?" Octavia rolled her eyes for a moment before another, very loud knock sounded from the door. "Horseapples! It's the fuzz!" Vinyl exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. "'It's the fuzz?' Seriously, Vinyl?" Another knock caused Octavia's trespassing friend to scramble behind the large pile of instruments. Octavia rolled her eyes as she opened the door again, this time to find the burly but not unfriendly looking security pony. "Sorry to bother you, miss, but we believe there's a trespasser backstage. Have you seen anypony come in through here you don't recognize?" Octavia just smiled at the stallion. "I do apologize, sir. But I'm the only pony who's been in the dressing room the last several minutes. I do hope you find her... or him." The security pony regarded the young mare for a second or so longer than she would have liked, but he smiled at her and nodded his head. "Sorry for the intrusion. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere." As he turned to leave, he stopped. "Oh, and I saw your act. Good going, kid." She smiled diplomatically and thanked him as she shut the door. She was unsurprised to see Vinyl already standing behind her grinning. Octavia leveled her best glare at her. "You know you're going to end up in prison by the time you're twenty, right?" "And you're my adorable little accomplice," Vinyl cooed teasingly. She raised an eyebrow when she saw one of Octavia's eyes twitch. "You haven't done the post performance cooldown yet, have you?" Octavia's whole body began to subtly shake as she replied "No..." Vinyl stepped aside to let Octavia dash to the sink, dunk her head in the ice water, and release a scream that would have been very loud indeed in the open air. When she came up for air, there was a towel waiting for her, courtesy of one grinning white unicorn. "Feel better?" Vinyl asked. "Much," was the reply as Octavia dried herself off. "Now what, may I ask, are you doing here?" "Well, you did invite me, y'know, and I thought you could use a fan in the audience." "No, no, no," Octavia responded even as a slight flush came to her cheeks. "I mean, what are you doing here in the dressing room?" "Oh, that. Well, once I got the obligatory mushy gushy best friends stuff out of the way, I thought I'd drive you crazy." Octavia smirked wryly. "'Obligatory.' That's a big word for you." "It was on my word of the day calendar," Vinyl responded completely without irony. "Oh, and I'm also here to foalnap you and bring you to my place, where my parents, my brother, and the little anklebiters have a quote-unquote surprise party waiting for you." Octavia blinked in surprise, for once lacking a snarky comeback. "Wha... why?" Even behind her sunglasses it was easy to tell that Vinyl rolled her eyes at the question. "Uh, because tonight was your biggest competition ever? Duh? 'Sides, I knew you were gonna need cheering up tonight." "I do not need 'cheering up!' I gave the best performance I ever gave and am perfectly content, I'll have you know." Vinyl pushed her glasses up above her horn and levied a serious magenta colored glare at her friend. "You're doing that thing again. That I-can't-let-other-ponies-know-I-have-feelings thing. I know the parents didn't show up. Again." Octavia snorted. "It's not like it was unexpected. They haven't been to any of my performances all year." "Because they're idiots who don't know how awesome you are," Vinyl responded heatedly, which caused another blink of surprise from her friend. "Now come on,' she continued, completely back to her normal self. "My family is loud and obnoxious maybe a little embarrassing, and that's exactly what you need right now." "And knowing you doesn't provide me with enough of all that?" Octavia asked. Vinyl laughed. "Aw hay, no. Now let's scram." "What, now? But...but I'm expected to stay the whole event. It's only the proper thing to..." Octavia yelped as Vinyl chomped down on her tail and the surprisingly strong unicorn began to drag her out the back entrance. "You let go of me right now, Vinyl Scratch! This is entirely improper, unnecessary, and, I think, illegal. Let..." Both Octavia's protests and Vinyl's pulling stopped as Lyra stepped into the dressing room and the three ponies simply stared wide eyed for a moment. "Uh," Vinyl said through a mouthful of tail. "Thith ith exthacltly what it lookths like." "Help me," Octavia pleaded. Lyra simply grinned and waved them off. "Oh, don't mind me. Have fun you two." Octavia gave her musical rival a glare that should have vaporized her on the spot. "I will kill you," she said an instant before disappearing out the door. Vinyl was right of course. What awaited Octavia was a night of bad ready-made five-bits-for-a-large pizza, an embarrassing amount of mothering from Vinyl's mom, a few accidental bruises from the twins, a belching contest between Vinyl, her brother, and her dad, and board games and other such completely pedestrian pursuits. Octavia's mother would have been appalled. And yet, Octavia couldn't stop smiling. She later learned that she did in fact win the scholarship, but that was not why she always remembered that night, and the many others like it that followed, with such fondness. In fact, as the years passed and Octavia and Vinyl's musical careers took off and eventually sent them in different directions, Octavia Philharmonica always made it a point to return to that house and it's loud, sometimes embarrassing inhabitants at least once a year. After all, they were her family. Fourth Look: Tree Sap? Eeeyup.Fourth Look: Tree Sap? Eeeyup. Special Thanks to ZeroCore for the suggestion. "Now, yer sure ya c'n handle things on yer own?" As this was the fifth time Applejack asked this question in the last fifteen minutes, Big Macintosh would have been more than justified in rolling his eyes. A small smile quirked it's way into being on his muzzle instead. "Eeeyup." The comparatively smaller bundle of orange energy didn't stop. A.J. was just far too flustered to really notice the signs of her older brother's mirth. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Caramel 'n the guys, but they just ain't applebuckers, you know?" Big Mac's expression never wavered, though a twinkle seemed to appear in his eye as he watched his sister check for the twentieth time to see if she packed her toothbrush. "Eeeyup." Something in his tone caused her to stop, and she looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Are you laughin' at me, Big Mac?" "Eeeyup." There was a subtle but definite note of smugness to his voice this time. "Well, excuse me for being nervous 'bout my first big trip away since Manehattan," A.J. huffed. "And not just any trip either. This's Bloomberg were talkin' about. Bloomberg!" Big Mac's smile widened ever so slightly. Looked like it was finally time to enter into this conversation good and proper. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Y'know how to take care of a tree on the go, right?" A.J.'s green eyes showed that strange combination of uncertainty and mule-headed stubbornness that only she could quite pull off. "Right..." "'n Cousin Braeburn's a full-blooded Apple Family apple farmer, ain't he?" "Yeah..." "'n you got yer friends with you, who help ya out a lot, even though they ain't applebuckers, right?" Applejack had the grace to blush sheepishly. Big Mac had this uncanny ability to call her out without even changing his tone. "Sorry. Right." "Then don't worry. Yer gonna make it out all right." A.J. sighed and smiled. "Yer right, of course. S'not just me I'm worried about, though. And not just the farmwork. I know how ya work. You'll get 'er done. What scares me is, yer gonna be left mostly alone with Apple Bloom. S'not like Granny Smith c'n keep up with her, much as she'd tell ya otherwise." Big Mac shrugged his over-sized shoulders. "She ain't the first little filly I've had to deal with, y'know." Somewhat to his surprise, a wry smirk formed on A.J.'s face. "You haven't met her new friends." ~FiM~ Though the morning had been on the frantic side--as is always the case when seeing a family member off on a trip, especially with A.J.'s chaos-attracting friends involved--the afternoon was promising to be a rather quiet affair. Big Macintosh would have the farm mostly to himself that day, since Caramel, Pokey, and the rest of the guys wouldn't be in until the next morning. So he took the opportunity to tend to at least part of the South field on his own. He never did feel quite right if he couldn't do at least something to keep the farm running each day. The quiet was shattered by a large explosion that shook several not-yet-ripe apples from the trees. "Whut in tarnation?" he asked aloud before charging off in the direction of the sound. "WHUT IN TARNATION!?" he repeated again mere minutes later when he entered the barn and saw the mess. He would never in his life know exactly how those three fillies actually caused the wagon to explode with a hammer, saw, and some nails, but the evidence lay before his dinner-plate sized eyes that they managed somehow. "Uh, Sorry, Mac," Apple Bloom sheepishly spoke up for the group. We thought we could, ah, get our cutie marks if we could, uh, fix the old wagon? Guess we were wrong..." Big Macintosh stayed stock still, taking in the utter carnage. He dimly registered the little orange pegasus--Scootaloo, he'd learn later--whisper "I think we'd probably better get out of here before he pops." "Might be a good idea," Apple Bloom agreed, and the three of them were gone like a shot. It took Big Mac a few minutes to regain his usual composure, but after some deep breathing and a rather long sigh, he somehow managed. He did remember the boundless, restless energy of youth--he still liked to think it hadn't been all that long since he'd possessed it, though the sheer destruction was certainly something to address--and he did know that Bloom was having a tough time of it recently, so he figured the lecture could wait 'till dinner at least. Besides, at least they knew better than to go after the good wagon. The one they tried to "fix" was old, run-down, and seldom used anymore. Physics-defying failure aside, no real harm was done. Right? ~FiM~ Bic Mac could literally feel the blood vessels in his temple throb when the now all-too-familiar sounds of filly-related destruction sounded throughout the orchard. While those three fillies had fortunately not managed anything quite as... spectacular as that first day, they still managed to get up into all kinds of trouble. Whether it was something as mundane as pulling the vegetables and leaving the weeds over at Carrot Top's, to more interesting trouble like getting stuck in a taffy machine at Sugar Cube Corner, some form of disaster seemed to follow when they got together. Sighing, he turned Caramel. "You think y'all c'n handle this while I go sort out mah sister?" Caramel chuckled. "Sure, sure, big guy. Though you might wanna keep it down on the 'sorting out' thing. Ponies might get the wrong idea." Big Mac looked at his old friend in genuine confusion. "Huh?" Caramel just chuckled. "Nothing. Nothing. Just go do what you need to do. This is basic stuff. We got this, right Pokes?" Pokey Pierce didn't answer, as he was divesting all his concentration on levitating the apples out of a tree with his magic. "Yeah," Caramel repeated, somewhat less than convincingly. "We got this." ~FiM~ A few minutes later he found the three little fillies stuck to a tree, covered in tree sap. He had to admit, it was somewhat amusing that Scootaloo muttered something along the lines of "Seriously, again!?" before the three of them saw Big Macintosh approaching. "Uh, hi there, bro!" Apple Bloom said in a humorously forced attempt at being casual. Big Macintosh just grunted. "I don't suppose y' could, uh, get us down from here?" Another grunt. "'Cuz, uh, we're kinda stuck." Without saying a word, Big Mac gave the tree a swift kick, knocking the sticky trio off the trunk and onto his back. "C'mon, then," he said, his tone brooking no lip. "Where're we going?" Miss Rarity's little sister Sweetie Bell asked nervously. "I dunno,' Bloom responded. "How can you not know?" Scootaloo asked irritably. "Isn't this your farm?" "You have any idea how big this place is? I'm not allowed everywhere yet." Big Macintosh stayed silent even as he led them deeper into the farm, to a place that wasn't secret, exactly, just not well known. Apple Bloom's eyes widened a bit when she recognized the place. It wasn't much, really, objectively speaking. A quite small pond with a shack next to it. But for a family like the Apples, it was a place of summer memories. With a quick buck, he sent the three fillies into the pond with a splash. When they surfaced moments later, spluttering and gasping, they were each beaned on the head with bars of soap. "Wash up," he ordered, and the three fillies did so without much fuss. Just as they were finished and were about to climb out, Big Mac surprised them all by cannonballing into the pond, dunking the three in a veritable tidal wave. "What was that!?" Scootaloo sputtered when they had all surfaced. "I don't..." Apple Bloom began before suddenly being pulled under, just to be launched to the other end of the pond. The other two swam over to her in a hurry, somewhat surprised that she was laughing when she surfaced. "What's going on?" Sweetie Bell asked. "I've never seen your brother like this before." Bloom just laughed. "You've never seen 'im at the family reunions." Not far away, Big Mac peeked out of the water, his head just surfacing like a shark's fin. "GIT 'IM!" Bloom ordered, and the three fillies tackled the large stallion as one, only to be swept away by another tidal wave courtesy of his powerful foreleg. Mac only stayed in the pool for a few minutes, long enough to get the little anklebiters good and riled. He just spent the rest of the afternoon watching as the little ones had a good, clean, day of fun, with no explosions, and not one mention of a cutie mark. ~FiM~ As the sun began to set over the horizon, Big Macintosh slowly trotted back to the farmhouse, one very tired little sister on his back. "Thanks fer that, big brother," Apple Bloom said through a yawn. "No problem," he replied. "Y'all looked like y'could'a used a day without, what d'ja call it? Crusadin'?" "Hmm. Guess we did. Yer not gonna give me the lecture on letting our cutie marks come in their own due time 'n all that, are ya?" Big Mac chuckled. "Nah. Figured y'all've heard it plenty. 'Sides, th' way I see it, the cutie mark's all 'bout finding who you are, right? There's worse ways t'go about that than with some friends." Apple Bloom laid her head on her big brothers really big shoulders. "Thanks, Mac." "Just... try to keep the explosions to a bare minimum," he teased. Bloom laughed. "You got it." ~FiM~ Big Macintosh sighed in contentment as he wiped the sweat off his face. Today's haul was good, really. Ahead of schedule even, thanks to help from the guys. Still, he was gonna be happy when A.J. returned the next day. His contented mood was shattered the same way the evening air was, with a new sound of destruction reverberating over the trees. Big Mac just sighed and muttered, "Whut in tarnation?"
First Look: The PrincessesThe First Friends You Ever Make By Shotoman First Look: The Princesses Princess Celestia, co-regent of the magical land of Equestria really should have been in bed by now. It was late, and as always she had the sun to raise at dawn. Yes, she really should have been in her exorbitantly comfortable bed, completely dead to the world, rather than standing out on her balcony looking up at the curiously blank face of the moon as it shone overhead. In truth, she had been sound asleep not all that long ago. Unfortunately, though, she'd had that dream again. The one that had haunted her for a little over a thousand years now. It didn't matter that her precious little sister had been free and happy for almost two and a half years now, nor did it matter that, if anything, the two were closer now than they were in the days before. There were still some nights, when the day had been hard and Celestia's subconscious was feeling particularly mean, when she would dream about that night so very long ago. The night that nearly never ended. "I know you're there, Luna," she called out, the briefest twinge of a smirk forming on the corners of her mouth. "You might as well show yourself." Princess Luna almost seemed to melt from the shadows as she stepped into the light of Celestia's balcony. Little wonder she had become such a hit on Nightmare Night. Though the expression on her face was one of genuine concern, mixed with a bit of embarrassment. "Apologies, sister. We... I am still a bit at a loss when it comes to these matters. I wished to provide comfort, yet was unsure if my presence would be at all welcome, considering... well..." A small but impish smile quirked into being on the older sister's face. "Luna, have you been peeking?" "I do not peek!" Luna sputtered indignantly. "Your dreamscape was practically shouting for my attention! What was I expected to..." Luna stopped her rant mid thought and lowered her head as violet tinges glowed through the midnight blue of her cheeks. "You were teasing me, weren't you?" Celestia sighed softly as she brought her head down to snuggle her little sister. "Maybe a little. Your company is always welcome, Luna. Especially during nights like tonight. You being here with me... it serves to remind me it's all just a dream. A past that is long gone and best put behind us." Celestia's eyes were shining as she straightened her posture to look down at her little sister. "Have I told you how much I missed you?" Luna laughed. "Almost every night these last two years." Pressing her side up against Celestia's she added. "And I most certainly share in the sentiment." Celestia sighed as she looked back up at the gleaming white orb above. "I still see her, sometimes. The Mare in the Moon. Like that shadow that appears in your vision after looking at the sun too long." Luna's left ear flicked as her face wore a wry expression. "You of all ponies see that shadow?" The catty expression returned to Celestia's features. "Well, it admittedly takes quite a bit longer for me than most, but yes, it still happens." After another moment of comfortable silence, Luna spoke up once again. "I have been thinking of putting something new on the moon's face. It does seem a bit... empty. But other obligations have been getting in my way of late." "Speaking of," Celestia admonished. "I'm sure you've got some duties right now that are far more important than comforting an old mare like me after a bad dream. You should probably get back to them." Luna nodded. "In truth, I do have responsibilities calling for my attention this night. But to say any of them are more important than you? Never." Nevertheless, Luna separated herself from her sister and began to retreat back into the palace. "But you are correct. As ever, duty calls and I must regrettably answer. You, however, should get some rest. The dawn will arrive all too soon." "Do not worry over me, sister. I'll return to my bed once I've had a minute or two to... wind down, I suppose." A moment or two passed in quiet peace, before Celestia was suddenly drenched by a surprise torrent of ice cold water, followed almost immediately by a metal bucket dropping on her head. Another moment passed in silence before she levitated the bucket off her head and cast a glare back into the open doorway to the castle. Peeking around the corner was none other than her precious little sister, who had supposedly left to attend to important duties. When the two immortal rulers locked eyes, the younger sister's face split into a wide smile that released a small squeak, and then she was gone. Celestia laughed as she tossed the bucket aside. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" she shouted as she ran after her sister, a trail of tiny puddles left in her wake. ~FiM~ Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guards of Canterlot, Prince of the Realm, and Official Envoy for the Crystal Empire, dearly wished he could be in bed right now with his beautiful wife (sleep was optional). Unfortunately, duty called. After all, he was captain of all the guards, not just those who watched over the day, and there was a new wave of recruits for the night watch. None of the rookies gathered out here in the courtyard saw any sign of distraction, nor of any desire to be elsewhere. One did not gain all those fancy titles without some degree of diplomacy, after all. "Now, I am well aware of all your achievements up to this point," he lectured. "Only the best and brightest get selected for palace detail. Understand, however, that all the guards before you were the best and brightest of their classes, and so on and so on. You are all still green and inexperienced, and you will encounter things that no amount of training can prepare you for on its own." A sudden thundering from the castle caused him to stop his lecture, as the midnight blue form of Princess Luna bounded from within, barely coming to a stop before the assembled recruits. Shining Armor cringed inwardly. The Princess of the Night was breathless and smiling. That usually meant he was in for a round of something less than dignified. The Princess cast a mirthful eye over the assembled recruits. "Ah, welcome to our service, my little ponies," she began. "I am honored that so many of you have dedicated yourselves to the protection of your princesses and your country, and one night soon I hope to be able to interview each and every one of you personally. Tonight however..." At this point, Celestia burst from the castle, her horn glowing bright gold. "Got you!" she triumphantly bellowed. Luna's smile simply widened. "I must away!" She launched herself into the air like an arrow, just in time for a cringing Shining Armor to be enveloped in Celestia's magic. Shining Armor kept his eyes screwed shut for several long moments after the flapping of wings and tinkling of laughter had died away. "How bad is it?" he asked. The commander of the night guard, one Golden Sunset, answered, "Purple with pink polka dots, sir." Opening his eyes, Shining saw that his once white coat was in fact colored as described. "Ah well, at least it isn't the fur growth spell again." Golden Sunset's expression was passive, but there was laughter in her eyes. "Even so, sir, better you than me." Shining Armor was about to give a grumbled reply, but stopped short at the sight of the gathered recruits. All of them, down to the last pony, were staring at the sight with their mouths hanging wide open. Regaining what little dignity he could, Shining Armor stood back at attention and addressed his troops once more, though he couldn't quite keep the corners of his mouth from pulling upwards just a bit. "As I was saying, you will encounter many things that no amount of training can prepare you for. Chief among them being the princesses themselves." And in the sky, two streaks of light, one blue the other gold, chased each other, bringing a sense of cheer and happiness to an already beautiful night.
Second Look: The Student and AssistantSecond Look: The Student and Assistant The excitable lavender filly made a sound that was maybe a little too high pitched to be heard comfortably, but adorable all the same. "Spike Spike Spike Spike Spike! I haven't seen him in forever!" Celestia just continued to wear her small, patient smile as she led her student up the spiraling stone staircase. It had, in truth, only been three days, which was pretty well nothing to one who had seen centuries pass, but was just ever so unbearably long for a filly of Twilight Sparkle's age. It had been a mere matter of months since Celestia had taken Twilight Sparkle in as her personal student, first one since Dawn Riser several centuries ago, and she could already tell that it was a good decision. Over the last few months, little Twilight Sparkle had shown both raw power and incredible aptitude in magic. Those lessons were going far more smoothly than Celestia had ever seen them pass before. But in certain other aspects of pony life, Twilight Sparkle was sadly lacking, even at this young age. This was the reason for these sojourns to the eyrie. While there were only two ponies the young filly ever truly bonded to--her older brother Shining Armor, and foalsitter Princess Cadance (Admittedly, even Celestia was rather surprised to learn that her distant niece had such a connection to the little one. After all, what were the odds?)--but there was one creature with whom she formed an instant bond. A large iron door awaited the pair at the top of the tower, which Celestia opened a mere moment before a violet little blur darted through. On the other side of the door was actually a rather comfy nursery, with a cheery paint job and a large number of (magically fireproof) toys. However, the pleasantness of the room was somewhat marred by the splatters of tan paste that seemed to completely cover one corner of the room. In a sturdy stone high chair sat a little baby dragon, his purple scales covered in the same stuff that covered both the walls and his caregiver, a middle aged mare named Patience, who was obviously about to run out of her namesake. "Have we come at a bad time?" the Princess asked with an amused smile. "I just don't know what to do with him today," Patience complained, her frustration keeping her from quite noticing with whom she was speaking. "All he wants to eat is gemstones, and he's refusing anything else! Have you ever tried keeping a dragon from doing what it wants?" "I have a time or two, yes," Princess Celestia responded with a chuckle. "And, though I may be bragging by bringing it up, they weren't infants, either." Patience at that point dropped the bowl of baby dragon food she had been attempting to feed to her charge, her eyes wide and pupils small. "P, Princess Celestia! I'm so sorry, I didn't quite realize..." Celestia raised a calming hoof as she responded. "There is nothing to apologize for, Patience. I do have some understanding of how frustrating it is to take care of one so young." She looked down at Twilight, about to suggest they perhaps return after feeding time was over, but the suggestion died in her throat when she saw her student wearing that look on her face. The one that said she'd just learned a new bit of information and was trying to process it, one eyebrow quirked upward, and her mouth puckered just a little. "What is it, Twilight?" the Princess asked. The young foal looked up at her teacher. "Did she just say Spike eats gemstones?" she asked, the tone of voice indicating she wasn't quite sure she heard what she thought she did. Celestia chuckled softly. "Yes, Twilight. All dragons do. It is in their favorite food in the whole world. It's one of the reasons they hoard them so fiercely." Twilight Sparkle nodded as she thought that over. "Then why not just let him eat them? It's not like they're rare, especially here in the palace." Celestia sat down and assumed her teaching role. "Let me ask you something, Twilight. Why do the grown-ups keep children like you from eating nothing but ice cream, and cupcakes, and other similar sweets?" "Oh, that's easy. It's because they're just junk food. They don't have suff...suffisss...enough good things in them to help ponies grow up healthy." "Well, gemstones are the same thing for dragons. They love the taste, and they do get some nutrition out of it, but they need to eat other things to grow strong and healthy. Gemstones simply lack sufficient nutrition. Which leaves us with something of a problem." "What's that?" "I know how much you were looking forward to your playtime with Spike today, but at the same time we can't reward him for being naughty, either. So what are we to do, hmm?" Twilight thought for a moment, then perked up. "How about I try to feed him?" Though Celestia smiled at that, Patience's expression showed... doubt, to say the least. "Are you sure that's such a good...?" she began. "I don't see any harm in it," Celestia replied airily. "The worst that will happen is that they'll... make a mess." Even Patience had to chuckle at that, upon realizing just how bad this corner of the nursery was. Twilight took the bowl of baby food in her magical grip and approached the little chair. Lifting a spoonful of the stuff to Spike's mouth, she spoke very sternly. "Alright, Spike. I know you don't like this, but it's good for you. So eat it." Spike glared at the spoon for a moment before whacking it, sending it flying through the air. The flight was short lived, as Twilight instantly caught both the spoon and the baby food and brought them back into position as if nothing had happened. Patience's jaw dropped and Celestia chuckled. "Now Spike," Twilight admonished. "That was not nice. Now I'll have to do this!" Twilight quickly took her hoof and poked Spike in the side, complete with saying "poke!" aloud. Seeing a smile form on his reptilian face, Twilight went in for the attack. "Poke! Poke! Poke! Poke!" Finally Spike burst out laughing, and the spoon instantly swooped in and deposited its payload. Spike glared and made to spit the food out when a lavender hoof pressed itself against his mouth. "Ah ah! Swallow it," its owner ordered. "Swallow!" The baby dragon glared at the little foal, but complied. Twilight smiled widely, squeaking as she did so. "Good going, Spike. Now for another bite." Patience's jaw dropped again as she watched little Twilight Sparkle continue to feed baby Spike, with each bite seeming to come a little easier. "I don't believe it," she stammered. "I've already tried all manner of different versions of just that little game. It was one of the first things I tried. How did she pull it off so easy?" Celestia was gracious enough not to laugh at the caretaker's plight, but her smile did widen ever so slightly. "Sometimes, Patience, it's not the technique that's important so much as it is the pony." Both of the adult mares then had to cringe (not without smiles, mind you) when Twilight let loose another high pitched cry of triumph when she fed Spike the last spoonful.
Third Look: Beautiful MusicThird Look: Beautiful Music The music was mesmerizing as it wafted through the concert hall, the melody and arrangement familiar to most of the concert's attendees, yet the young mare was putting so much of her heart and soul into it that even the most jaded of critics couldn't help but be touched. This was young Octavia Philharmonica's special gift to the world of music--the ability to completely lose herself in her performance. As soon as she picked up her bow and drew it across the strings of her double bass, even the potential scholarship to Canterlot University's prestigious school of music that was on the line was completely absent from her mind. There was only the music. There was a brief moment of silence after Octavia played her last note. A brief moment where she allowed herself to bask in the peace that she only felt on a successful performance. Then the applause started, and she opened her eyes, a small, dignified smile playing on her face as she looked out into the audience. The smile faltered just ever so slightly at the pair of empty seats in the front row. But then again, it wasn't like she was expecting anything different, so why should she let it get to her? As she began to put her instrument away and the applause began to die down, she heard something that caused her gracious smile to twist into a smirk. "You go, Octy! That was the bomb! You rock!" and so on, until the sandy, almost masculine sounding voice was the only sound in the hall. It took considerable effort for her to not laugh outright as the voice continued. "Huh? Waddya mean I gotta leave? I ain't going anywhere. Hey! Leggo, ya stinkin' narc! YourockOcty!" SLAM! And then there was silence. It wasn't until she was backstage that Octavia let herself release a small chuckle. "Wow, that had to be embarrassing," a sudden voice spoke up. When Octavia looked up, she saw the mint green form of Lyra Heartstrings, carrying her namesake instrument in the magical grip of her unicorn horn. Octavia smiled politely at her competitor--the young unicorn from Ponyville was the only real competition she ever had--and answered, "Embarrassing? Perhaps a little, but that's just how she is." A mock long-suffering sigh slipped from her lips. "Sometimes I wonder just why I ever invite her at all. Honestly..." Lyra looked the refined earth pony over for a brief moment before her face split in a canny grin. "Weeeell,' she almost purred. Octavia suddenly stood stock straight as her face became that specific shade of red that only ever-so-slightly overripe tomatoes seem to produce. "'Well?' What 'well?'" she asked anxiously. "Why did you say 'well?' There is no 'well.'" "If you say so," Lyra responded before going out to the stage to play her piece. Octavia stood there just past stage left for several seconds before her face returned to its normal ashen grey and she was able to trot over to the dressing room. How is it possible, she asked herself, that a simple, private conversation can be more embarrassing than that public spectacle? Shaking it off, Octavia dragged her large instrument case through the door. She did need a moment of privacy after all. Octavia placed her double bass back at the same spot she had put it at the beginning of the competition, comfortably nestled between a cello and a viola, before heading over to one of the sinks and opening the tap full throttle. As the sink filled with ice cold water, Octavia let her mind drift to the concert, her odds of actually winning the scholarship (She had it pegged at 50/50. That Lyra was really quite the prodigy.), and who was out there in the audience rooting for her. As well as who wasn't. At least I have a fan, she thought wryly as she shut off the valve. A loud, obnoxious, overbearing, irritating fan, but a fan nonetheless. Octavia was just about to perform her usual post-performance routine, when a knock resounded from the back door. Octavia sighed, but with a nearly unnoticeable smile, as the pony on the other side of the door continued knocking as if they were performing a drum solo. Octavia made sure she was one step to the side of the door--the last thing she needed tonight was a concussion--and quickly pulled the door open. She smirked in satisfaction as the unicorn on the other side stumbled into the room. Octavia chuckled softly at the sight of her friend. She had shown up in a jet black tuxedo--which actually contrasted nicely off her white coat and shocking blue mane. The night called for formal attire, after all, but even when forced to obey the rules, Vinyl Scratch made sure to do things her way. She even had those ridiculous sunglasses affixed to her face as always. "Hey Octy," Vinyl said cheerfully. "S'up?" Octavia rolled her eyes for a moment before another, very loud knock sounded from the door. "Horseapples! It's the fuzz!" Vinyl exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. "'It's the fuzz?' Seriously, Vinyl?" Another knock caused Octavia's trespassing friend to scramble behind the large pile of instruments. Octavia rolled her eyes as she opened the door again, this time to find the burly but not unfriendly looking security pony. "Sorry to bother you, miss, but we believe there's a trespasser backstage. Have you seen anypony come in through here you don't recognize?" Octavia just smiled at the stallion. "I do apologize, sir. But I'm the only pony who's been in the dressing room the last several minutes. I do hope you find her... or him." The security pony regarded the young mare for a second or so longer than she would have liked, but he smiled at her and nodded his head. "Sorry for the intrusion. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere." As he turned to leave, he stopped. "Oh, and I saw your act. Good going, kid." She smiled diplomatically and thanked him as she shut the door. She was unsurprised to see Vinyl already standing behind her grinning. Octavia leveled her best glare at her. "You know you're going to end up in prison by the time you're twenty, right?" "And you're my adorable little accomplice," Vinyl cooed teasingly. She raised an eyebrow when she saw one of Octavia's eyes twitch. "You haven't done the post performance cooldown yet, have you?" Octavia's whole body began to subtly shake as she replied "No..." Vinyl stepped aside to let Octavia dash to the sink, dunk her head in the ice water, and release a scream that would have been very loud indeed in the open air. When she came up for air, there was a towel waiting for her, courtesy of one grinning white unicorn. "Feel better?" Vinyl asked. "Much," was the reply as Octavia dried herself off. "Now what, may I ask, are you doing here?" "Well, you did invite me, y'know, and I thought you could use a fan in the audience." "No, no, no," Octavia responded even as a slight flush came to her cheeks. "I mean, what are you doing here in the dressing room?" "Oh, that. Well, once I got the obligatory mushy gushy best friends stuff out of the way, I thought I'd drive you crazy." Octavia smirked wryly. "'Obligatory.' That's a big word for you." "It was on my word of the day calendar," Vinyl responded completely without irony. "Oh, and I'm also here to foalnap you and bring you to my place, where my parents, my brother, and the little anklebiters have a quote-unquote surprise party waiting for you." Octavia blinked in surprise, for once lacking a snarky comeback. "Wha... why?" Even behind her sunglasses it was easy to tell that Vinyl rolled her eyes at the question. "Uh, because tonight was your biggest competition ever? Duh? 'Sides, I knew you were gonna need cheering up tonight." "I do not need 'cheering up!' I gave the best performance I ever gave and am perfectly content, I'll have you know." Vinyl pushed her glasses up above her horn and levied a serious magenta colored glare at her friend. "You're doing that thing again. That I-can't-let-other-ponies-know-I-have-feelings thing. I know the parents didn't show up. Again." Octavia snorted. "It's not like it was unexpected. They haven't been to any of my performances all year." "Because they're idiots who don't know how awesome you are," Vinyl responded heatedly, which caused another blink of surprise from her friend. "Now come on,' she continued, completely back to her normal self. "My family is loud and obnoxious maybe a little embarrassing, and that's exactly what you need right now." "And knowing you doesn't provide me with enough of all that?" Octavia asked. Vinyl laughed. "Aw hay, no. Now let's scram." "What, now? But...but I'm expected to stay the whole event. It's only the proper thing to..." Octavia yelped as Vinyl chomped down on her tail and the surprisingly strong unicorn began to drag her out the back entrance. "You let go of me right now, Vinyl Scratch! This is entirely improper, unnecessary, and, I think, illegal. Let..." Both Octavia's protests and Vinyl's pulling stopped as Lyra stepped into the dressing room and the three ponies simply stared wide eyed for a moment. "Uh," Vinyl said through a mouthful of tail. "Thith ith exthacltly what it lookths like." "Help me," Octavia pleaded. Lyra simply grinned and waved them off. "Oh, don't mind me. Have fun you two." Octavia gave her musical rival a glare that should have vaporized her on the spot. "I will kill you," she said an instant before disappearing out the door. Vinyl was right of course. What awaited Octavia was a night of bad ready-made five-bits-for-a-large pizza, an embarrassing amount of mothering from Vinyl's mom, a few accidental bruises from the twins, a belching contest between Vinyl, her brother, and her dad, and board games and other such completely pedestrian pursuits. Octavia's mother would have been appalled. And yet, Octavia couldn't stop smiling. She later learned that she did in fact win the scholarship, but that was not why she always remembered that night, and the many others like it that followed, with such fondness. In fact, as the years passed and Octavia and Vinyl's musical careers took off and eventually sent them in different directions, Octavia Philharmonica always made it a point to return to that house and it's loud, sometimes embarrassing inhabitants at least once a year. After all, they were her family.
Fourth Look: Tree Sap? Eeeyup.Fourth Look: Tree Sap? Eeeyup. Special Thanks to ZeroCore for the suggestion. "Now, yer sure ya c'n handle things on yer own?" As this was the fifth time Applejack asked this question in the last fifteen minutes, Big Macintosh would have been more than justified in rolling his eyes. A small smile quirked it's way into being on his muzzle instead. "Eeeyup." The comparatively smaller bundle of orange energy didn't stop. A.J. was just far too flustered to really notice the signs of her older brother's mirth. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Caramel 'n the guys, but they just ain't applebuckers, you know?" Big Mac's expression never wavered, though a twinkle seemed to appear in his eye as he watched his sister check for the twentieth time to see if she packed her toothbrush. "Eeeyup." Something in his tone caused her to stop, and she looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Are you laughin' at me, Big Mac?" "Eeeyup." There was a subtle but definite note of smugness to his voice this time. "Well, excuse me for being nervous 'bout my first big trip away since Manehattan," A.J. huffed. "And not just any trip either. This's Bloomberg were talkin' about. Bloomberg!" Big Mac's smile widened ever so slightly. Looked like it was finally time to enter into this conversation good and proper. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Y'know how to take care of a tree on the go, right?" A.J.'s green eyes showed that strange combination of uncertainty and mule-headed stubbornness that only she could quite pull off. "Right..." "'n Cousin Braeburn's a full-blooded Apple Family apple farmer, ain't he?" "Yeah..." "'n you got yer friends with you, who help ya out a lot, even though they ain't applebuckers, right?" Applejack had the grace to blush sheepishly. Big Mac had this uncanny ability to call her out without even changing his tone. "Sorry. Right." "Then don't worry. Yer gonna make it out all right." A.J. sighed and smiled. "Yer right, of course. S'not just me I'm worried about, though. And not just the farmwork. I know how ya work. You'll get 'er done. What scares me is, yer gonna be left mostly alone with Apple Bloom. S'not like Granny Smith c'n keep up with her, much as she'd tell ya otherwise." Big Mac shrugged his over-sized shoulders. "She ain't the first little filly I've had to deal with, y'know." Somewhat to his surprise, a wry smirk formed on A.J.'s face. "You haven't met her new friends." ~FiM~ Though the morning had been on the frantic side--as is always the case when seeing a family member off on a trip, especially with A.J.'s chaos-attracting friends involved--the afternoon was promising to be a rather quiet affair. Big Macintosh would have the farm mostly to himself that day, since Caramel, Pokey, and the rest of the guys wouldn't be in until the next morning. So he took the opportunity to tend to at least part of the South field on his own. He never did feel quite right if he couldn't do at least something to keep the farm running each day. The quiet was shattered by a large explosion that shook several not-yet-ripe apples from the trees. "Whut in tarnation?" he asked aloud before charging off in the direction of the sound. "WHUT IN TARNATION!?" he repeated again mere minutes later when he entered the barn and saw the mess. He would never in his life know exactly how those three fillies actually caused the wagon to explode with a hammer, saw, and some nails, but the evidence lay before his dinner-plate sized eyes that they managed somehow. "Uh, Sorry, Mac," Apple Bloom sheepishly spoke up for the group. We thought we could, ah, get our cutie marks if we could, uh, fix the old wagon? Guess we were wrong..." Big Macintosh stayed stock still, taking in the utter carnage. He dimly registered the little orange pegasus--Scootaloo, he'd learn later--whisper "I think we'd probably better get out of here before he pops." "Might be a good idea," Apple Bloom agreed, and the three of them were gone like a shot. It took Big Mac a few minutes to regain his usual composure, but after some deep breathing and a rather long sigh, he somehow managed. He did remember the boundless, restless energy of youth--he still liked to think it hadn't been all that long since he'd possessed it, though the sheer destruction was certainly something to address--and he did know that Bloom was having a tough time of it recently, so he figured the lecture could wait 'till dinner at least. Besides, at least they knew better than to go after the good wagon. The one they tried to "fix" was old, run-down, and seldom used anymore. Physics-defying failure aside, no real harm was done. Right? ~FiM~ Bic Mac could literally feel the blood vessels in his temple throb when the now all-too-familiar sounds of filly-related destruction sounded throughout the orchard. While those three fillies had fortunately not managed anything quite as... spectacular as that first day, they still managed to get up into all kinds of trouble. Whether it was something as mundane as pulling the vegetables and leaving the weeds over at Carrot Top's, to more interesting trouble like getting stuck in a taffy machine at Sugar Cube Corner, some form of disaster seemed to follow when they got together. Sighing, he turned Caramel. "You think y'all c'n handle this while I go sort out mah sister?" Caramel chuckled. "Sure, sure, big guy. Though you might wanna keep it down on the 'sorting out' thing. Ponies might get the wrong idea." Big Mac looked at his old friend in genuine confusion. "Huh?" Caramel just chuckled. "Nothing. Nothing. Just go do what you need to do. This is basic stuff. We got this, right Pokes?" Pokey Pierce didn't answer, as he was divesting all his concentration on levitating the apples out of a tree with his magic. "Yeah," Caramel repeated, somewhat less than convincingly. "We got this." ~FiM~ A few minutes later he found the three little fillies stuck to a tree, covered in tree sap. He had to admit, it was somewhat amusing that Scootaloo muttered something along the lines of "Seriously, again!?" before the three of them saw Big Macintosh approaching. "Uh, hi there, bro!" Apple Bloom said in a humorously forced attempt at being casual. Big Macintosh just grunted. "I don't suppose y' could, uh, get us down from here?" Another grunt. "'Cuz, uh, we're kinda stuck." Without saying a word, Big Mac gave the tree a swift kick, knocking the sticky trio off the trunk and onto his back. "C'mon, then," he said, his tone brooking no lip. "Where're we going?" Miss Rarity's little sister Sweetie Bell asked nervously. "I dunno,' Bloom responded. "How can you not know?" Scootaloo asked irritably. "Isn't this your farm?" "You have any idea how big this place is? I'm not allowed everywhere yet." Big Macintosh stayed silent even as he led them deeper into the farm, to a place that wasn't secret, exactly, just not well known. Apple Bloom's eyes widened a bit when she recognized the place. It wasn't much, really, objectively speaking. A quite small pond with a shack next to it. But for a family like the Apples, it was a place of summer memories. With a quick buck, he sent the three fillies into the pond with a splash. When they surfaced moments later, spluttering and gasping, they were each beaned on the head with bars of soap. "Wash up," he ordered, and the three fillies did so without much fuss. Just as they were finished and were about to climb out, Big Mac surprised them all by cannonballing into the pond, dunking the three in a veritable tidal wave. "What was that!?" Scootaloo sputtered when they had all surfaced. "I don't..." Apple Bloom began before suddenly being pulled under, just to be launched to the other end of the pond. The other two swam over to her in a hurry, somewhat surprised that she was laughing when she surfaced. "What's going on?" Sweetie Bell asked. "I've never seen your brother like this before." Bloom just laughed. "You've never seen 'im at the family reunions." Not far away, Big Mac peeked out of the water, his head just surfacing like a shark's fin. "GIT 'IM!" Bloom ordered, and the three fillies tackled the large stallion as one, only to be swept away by another tidal wave courtesy of his powerful foreleg. Mac only stayed in the pool for a few minutes, long enough to get the little anklebiters good and riled. He just spent the rest of the afternoon watching as the little ones had a good, clean, day of fun, with no explosions, and not one mention of a cutie mark. ~FiM~ As the sun began to set over the horizon, Big Macintosh slowly trotted back to the farmhouse, one very tired little sister on his back. "Thanks fer that, big brother," Apple Bloom said through a yawn. "No problem," he replied. "Y'all looked like y'could'a used a day without, what d'ja call it? Crusadin'?" "Hmm. Guess we did. Yer not gonna give me the lecture on letting our cutie marks come in their own due time 'n all that, are ya?" Big Mac chuckled. "Nah. Figured y'all've heard it plenty. 'Sides, th' way I see it, the cutie mark's all 'bout finding who you are, right? There's worse ways t'go about that than with some friends." Apple Bloom laid her head on her big brothers really big shoulders. "Thanks, Mac." "Just... try to keep the explosions to a bare minimum," he teased. Bloom laughed. "You got it." ~FiM~ Big Macintosh sighed in contentment as he wiped the sweat off his face. Today's haul was good, really. Ahead of schedule even, thanks to help from the guys. Still, he was gonna be happy when A.J. returned the next day. His contented mood was shattered the same way the evening air was, with a new sound of destruction reverberating over the trees. Big Mac just sighed and muttered, "Whut in tarnation?"
