A/N: Well, people wanted me to update this. So... here it is.


Mac walked through town once more, pondering where to go next. However, his thoughts kept falling back to Octavia. Sure, some pony every now and then had caught his eye, but she had either moved away or didn't turn out to be who he thought she was. Octavia, however, seemed different. She felt like that one pony Mac longed for. Giving off a sigh, he trotted about, finally coming to a store that seemed interesting enough.

Octavia trotted slowly toward her home. Making sure her cello was perched carefully on her back, she walked up the steps and went inside. Setting her cello delicately in its stand, she moved into the kitchen. Setting a kettle to boil so she could make some tea, she went back into her main room. she hopped onto her favorite sofa and settled down for a short nap. She liked to take one after returning home from performing. Closing her eyes, she was soon asleep...

As she finished her performance, Octavia stood up and took a deep bow. "Thank you everypony, thank you!" she called out to her adoring fans. "If it weren't for you, I don't know where my inspiration would come from!" Jumping lightly off the stage, she headed backstage. Entering her dressing room, she settled down and took off her bowtie. As she was finishing up, a gentle knocking came at her door. "Who is it?" she called. The door opened and in stepped Big Macintosh. Octavia blushed and moved over to greet him. "You came!"
"Ah sure did. I wouldn't have missed it."
Octavia laughed, then nuzzled him in the neck. Mac nuzzled her back, then gently moved to kiss her. Octavia smiled and leaned in. However, his breath got to her. It smelled oddly like smoke. Leaning away, she was about to say "Mac, your breath smells like smoke." when she saw his whole head was on fire!

Octavia woke with a scream, then saw her room and screamed louder. The walls were on fire and so were parts of the rug. "The kettle!" she thought frantically. Running to the door, she remembered her cello. Rushing back, she grabbed it and ran for the door again. A burning piece of wood fell and blocked her path. Letting out a gasp, she ran back into her main room. The smoke was starting to get to her. Dropping to the floor, she coughed and looked around in fear.


Mac trotted out of the store and frowned. "Not much of a selection..." he thought. Trotting away, he started to head for home. Seeing smoke on the horizon, he figured it was just a bonfire. "Somepony celebrating who-knows-what..." With a shake of his head, he continued that direction. The smell of smoke started to become a little powerful. Getting curious, he started towards the smoke. A few ponies ran past him with buckets and Mac quickly started to run with them. Upon reaching the house, he gasped as he saw the flames that nearly engulfed the entire home. Seeing Vinyl Scratch, he ran up to her. As he was about to speak, he noticed she was crying. "What's wrong?"
Vinyl turned to him and sniffled. "That's Octavia's home and she's still in there!"
Mac quickly turned and ran at the house. "Mac, come back!" several ponies yelled. Ignoring them, Mac ran to the front door. Pushing it, it didn't budge. Mac scowled and quickly turned. Bucking the door open, he ran inside. Dropping to the ground, he listened for Octavia. "Octavia!" he yelled.
Octavia lifted her head. Surely that had been somepony calling her name! "In here! Help!" she screamed, crawling towards the voice. Mac slowly crawled into the main room and saw Octavia. moving towards her, they both gasped as another piece of burning wood dropped down in between them. Octavia's eyes filled with tears and she gave Mac a desperate look. Mac looked back, then quickly realized what needed to be done. Siezing the wood in his hooves, he ignored the searing burning pain and shoved the wood aside. Leaning delicately on his knees, he crawled towards Octavia again and nudged her. She crawled onto his back and Mac stood up. Again ignoring the pain in his hooves and the smoke he was inhaling, he ran towards the door. Running through the flames, he felt them lick the sides of his body. His mind was screaming pain at him from all angles, but Mac didn't care. He had to get Octavia to safety. Clearing the flames, he ran outside and towards the crowd of ponies. Letting Octavia gently off his back, the full pain in his hooves welled up, and Mac fell to the ground. Coughing hard, he noticed Octavia fall next to him and he made to move towards her, but the pain seared up again and the world turned black.


Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Octavia groaned and opened her eyes. Coughing, she glanced around. White. Lots of white. And a curtain around a bed next to her. Sighing, she felt a pain in her flank. Checking, she found a bandage around her lower stomach. "I must have been burned..." she thought, remembering Mac's desperate dash to safety through the flames. "Oh... how bad he must look..." she thought, with a pang of sadness. The door to the room opened and a nurse trotted in.
"Oh good, you're awake." the nurse said, moving towards Octavia. After checking her over, the nurse said "You seem to be doing well."
Octavia nodded, winced slightly and asked "How is Mac?"
The nurse gave Octavia a look, then said "Well... his burns are way worse. He got them on his hooves, sides and underbelly. His face managed to remain untouched, thankfully, along with his back and tail. We can fix the damage with grafting, but..." the nurse sighed, then went behind the curtain hiding the bed next to octavia.
Octavia sighed and leaned back in her pillow. The beeping was still sounding off and Octavia looked for the source. Upon realizing it was coming from behind the curtain, she sighed. The door to her room opened again and Vinyl trotted in.
"Hey."
Octavia turned to her. "Hey..."
"How... how are you doing?"
Octavia shrugged. "I only got a little burned, I guess."
Vinyl nodded. "That's good. I wouldn't want a pretty mare like you getting wrecked."
Octavia smiled a bit, then asked "Do you know where they're keeping Mac?"
Vinyl shrugged. "I don't know."
The two chatted for a while, Vinyl trying her best to cheer up Octavia. Octavia would smile, but she wouldn't laugh. Vinyl knew full-well it was because what had happened was weighing heavily on her friend's mind. She had just lost her home and everything she held dear. Laying her hoof on Octavia's, Vinyl said "If you need a place to stay, you can always crash with me."
Octavia smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Vinyl smiled, then turned to leave. After she had left, Octavia sighed again. The nurse came back from behind the curtain and Octavia glanced her way. "Say... who's behind that curtain?"
The nurse looked back and said "Mac." before leaving the room. Octavia gasped quietly. Trying her best to get off her bed without causing too much pain, she finally managed to get to the floor. Trotting behind the curtain, she gasped louder as she saw Mac. He was sleeping, but his hooves were wrapped in medical gauze and tape, as well as his stomach, sides and flank. Moving to the side of his bed, Octavia climbed up into a chair and watched him. After a few minutes, Mac opened his eyes and looked down at his body. Giving a small sigh, he turned and saw octavia, She fixed him with a small smile, which was returned. "Thank you for saving my life."
"T'was my pleasah, Octavia."
Octavia smiled. Mac made it sound like what he had done was a simple act. Getting off her chair, she leaned in close to Mac. "Turn your head."
Mac gave her an odd look, and turned. "Now why-"
His words were cut off as Octavia planted a kiss on his lips. Mac's mind shut down and his first instinct was to pull away. However, he stayed connected with Octavia. As Mac kissed Octavia, he felt that what was happening was perfectly alright. Finally, the two broke away for air. Octavia gave Mac a small smile and said "That's my way of thanking you."


Post Note: I should make these chapters longer... NEXT UPDATE!