Title: Morpho and Big Macintosh Scene
Premise: MLP: FIM. Prince Morpho goes by the lake to hang out with Big Mac, skip rocks and get to know each other better.
Date Posted: 12/31/12
Personal Comments: This somewhat alludes to AskBigMac on tumblr and YouTube (his videos are a lot of fun to watch), with Big Mac liking to hang out by the lake and liking to read.
Morpho trotted down the steep hill down towards the lake to the spot where he saw Big Mac picking up little flat rocks and chucking them across the lake, skipping them across the calm water. The next one he hurled skipped four times before disappearing under the water.
He was excited about seeing his friend again, even though it had just seen him last night. They had had another double date last night in which the four of them had gone to see the play, Wicked. He remembered how he and Twilight held hooves while Fluttershy clung to Big Mac's foreleg. The dinner they had afterwards was not bad either.
She was at Doctor Whoove's house now, discussing science-related stuff, and Big Mac had said he wanted to hang out by the lake, so Morpho had come down to do just that.
"Hey Mac," Morpho said as he finally approached the red stallion.
Mac turned around and smiled. "G'd afternoon, Morpho." He pointed over to a small pile of four yellow bottles set up by his side. "Brought some cider if you're thirsty."
"Alright. Thanks!" Morpho wasted no time levitating two bottles and opening them, then passing one to Mac, and dropping the other in his own hoof.
"Here's to good health, I guess," He smiled.
"Eeyup!" Their bottles clinked and they both took a big sip.
When he was done, Morpho let out a sigh of satisfaction. "That's some good stuff," he whispered.
"Eeyup. One of the many recipes the apple family's known for." They both set down their drinks for a minute and looked out over the water.
The clouds up ahead drifted by slowly. The only sounds that were to be heard were the rustling of the leaves in the light breeze and the babbling of the water, as well as the occasional bird chirping. It was so peaceful and quiet.
"Wow," Morpho said after a minute. "This place is beautiful."
"Eeyup," Mac replied, "I come down here a lot in mah free time tah read, go for a swim, do some fishing, or just sit 'round n' skip rocks. It's the perfect place if ya ever need a quiet place to just clear your head, ya know?"
"Yeah, I bet," Morpho nodded. "We got a few watering holes back home in the Badlands, but nothing as beautiful or... serene as this. I can see why ya wanted to meet up here."
Mac then lifted his hoof and held it out to Morpho. There was a little flat rock in it.
"Here," He said. "Throw a rock, why dontcha?"
"Alright," Morpho shrugged. He levitated the pebble, and held it in front of him. With another shot of magic, it shot off like an arrow from a bow, and skipped all the way to the other side of the lake.
"Try to beat that," Morpho laughed.
"That was good," Mac replied, lifting up another pebble. "Now try WITHOUT magic."
"Alrighty," Morpho took the pebble, tossed it around in his hoof for a moment, and then gave it a good throw. He knew how to actually skip rocks without magic.
The rock slung over the water and skipped three times before it submerged.
"Not bad," Mac chuckled.
"Thanks," Morpho smiled.
They sat in silence for another moment before Mac spoke up again.
"So tell me; how ya liking Ponyville so far?"
Morpho paused for a minute, not expecting such a question, and thought of an answer. Finally, he spoke up. "Well, it's okay, I guess."
"Ya guess?"
"Well...I guess I'm still getting use to everypony here." He let out a huff and readjusted himself on the grass before he continued. "I lived in the Badlands all my life, living with my Mom, Dad, and Aunt Phyxie, amongst the other changelings, feeding off the love my parents provided for me."
"Then one day when I was small, some unicorn took my dad, just for the FUN of it!"
Mac, who had been listening intently, was startled by Morpho's sudden seriousness. Morpho took another sip of cider, then leviated another rock into his hoof. He chucked it far into the lake before he continued.
"Growing up, most of the love that a changeling feeds on comes from their parental units. My mom loved me with all her heart, but it wasn't enough to keep me going. I remember I felt pretty weak a lot of times. Finally, Mom convinced Princess Celestia to let me into Canterlot so I could feed off the love in the atmosphere of that place."
"But I really wasn't happy. I felt so alone. I could only communicate with my mom and Aunt through messages. The princess never had time for me. There wasn't much to do besides check out a couple of books at the palace library. And every time I left the castle, or even in the castle, every where I went, ponies would glare at me. If I tried to talk to anyone, they were either cold, or they would run away in fear. One guy even beat me with bat for walking into his shop!"
A tear ran down Morpho's face as he remembered such terrible days. He sniffled as Mac placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
Morpho wiped his face and smiled as he moved on to the next part of the story.
"And that's when I met Twilight, after about a month. I guess the princess knew I was lonely. Twilight was visiting Canterlot, seeing her parents and her mentor, and Celestia introduced us." He took a deep breath. "Our first date was one of the happiest days of my life."
"She convinced me to come down to Ponyville with her. Down here, the ponies are a little less prejudiced. But they're still not very accepting of me, or my kind. Even most of Twilight's friends. They're still not that use to me. Fluttershy and Pinkie are the only ones that really seem to like me now."
He then turned to Mac to ask a question.
"Do you have any idea what that feels like? To be placed in a strange land? Far away from everything and everyone you once knew? Where no one likes you just because of what you look like? Or where you came from?"
"Nope," Mac replied, shaking his head. "I kin honestly say I don't know what that truly feels like." He thought for another second before he spoke again. "Well, actually, come to think of it, I may have some idea. You familiar at all with the term 'hill filly'?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I've been 'round to a few places. Canterlot, Manehatten, Fillydelphia. I've occasionally run into some pegasi or unicorns, even some other earth ponies, who looked down on me just because I was an earth pony, or because I worked on a farm.
"At first, it got to me pretty often. But unlike you, I had my family and a few friends to help me get over it until I just learned to ignore such ponies. I guess since you've been alone, it's been much harder for you."
"How are you able to ignore them?"
"Well, it's a sad truth, Morpho, but truth is there's just ponies out there who just look down on anyone who's different. But ponies like that- well, their opinions don't matter to me. I got a lovin' family n' many friends who like me, n' that's good enough for me.
"If ya ask me, if you can find a few good friends who really like you and will stand by you, you're a lucky guy, n' ya got a lot to be happy for." He downed the rest of his cider bottle.
"Got a good point there," Morpho smiled. "And I do have a few friends here. I got Twilight of course. Then there's Pinkie, even if she can get a tiny bit annoying sometimes. And Fluttershy's a doll. I can see why you like her so much." He playfully elbowed Mac in the side. "Spike's still kinda getting use to me though. I think though that he's mostly being protective or possessive of Twilight. She's like a big sister to him, ya know? And of course, now I got you, right?"
"Eeyup."
After another sip of his cider, Morpho asked, "So it doesn't bother you that I'm a changeling?"
"Eenope. Not at all. I mean I heard about the battle in Canterlot, but I wasn't there. Even if I was, you weren't there, right?"
"Right..."
"N' you seem like a pretty decent guy. You said you've never done anything to hurt any pony, right?"
"Right, yeah."
"So I don't see nothin' to hold against you. The whole incident in Canterlot? That was all your mum n' her subjects. You had nothing to do with it."
"Yeah, that's true."
"I mean, just because one unicorn wronged you, do you hate every unicorn or pony you come across now?"
"No. Not really."
"I don't judge anypony until I get to know them first. And I think I know you enough to say you're a good guy, Morpho." Mac gave Morpho a firm pat on the back.
Morpho smiled. The fact that somepony else besides Twilight was having this deep of a conversation with him, trying to help him out with his problem, it meant so much to him.
"N' I know Applejack n' a few others don't like ya much, but she's a bit different from me, and she had fought your mum n' her subjects, so it's a bit harder for her. I'm sure once she gets to know ya better, she'll get use to ya.
"Although she did tell me about this stunt you pulled when you first met them."
Something seemed to snap in Morpho's mind. "You mean that thing where I shocked them all into thinking Twilight was dating her brother?"
"Eeyup, that. If ya wanted them to accept you, that really was a bad idea. A first impression's something you only get one chance at, after all."
"Yeah, I guess you got a point there," Morpho chuckled. "It was still pretty funny though."
They sat in silence for another moment before Mac spoke up again.
"Ya know, I actually lost my parents too."
"Really?" Morpho was surprised. He turned to Mac.
"It was about three month after my sister Apple Bloom was born. Mum got really sick, n' Dad caught it from her. Don't remember what it was though."
"Oh. I'm really sorry to here that."
"Well, when they passed, I was almost a fully-grown stallion. I had a decent fillyhood with them, n' so did AJ. It really is a shame that Apple Bloom never got to know them. It was a hard time for all of us back then, but we got through it because we had each other. We keep workin' the farm with Granny Smith, n' I know they're both up there' watchin' over us." Big Mac smiled and looked up towards the sky.