Chapter 3 – Mid-Morning

Twilight Sparkle and Big Macintosh walked through the orchard in relative silence. Sure, Twilight had tried talking to the stallion, but his habit of mono-syllabic responses made conversation difficult, to say the least. She had read in a book, once, that in order to get a lively conversation going with somepony else who is potentially shy or uninterested in spending time with another pony, one might try to talk about something they were interested in. But the only thing Twilight knew about Big Macintosh was that he was Applejack and Apple Bloom's brother, and he farmed apples.

Not much to go on.

"So…do you and your sisters get along well?" asked the mare.

"Eeyup."

"No major fights or anything?"

"Eenope."

"Really? Because I would think that every once in a while, you guys would fight about something."

"Eenope."

"Not even teasing?"

"Well…" At this change in wording, Twilight Sparkle skipped a step. She smiled from ear to ear. He was finally going to say something with substance! "There's always teasin' among siblings." She waited. But he didn't go into detail.

The mare couldn't hold back a sigh. "No examples?"

The stallion lifted his head up, raising his eyes to the sky, deep in thought as he chewed on the piece of hay hanging out of his mouth. After a few moments of watching him carefully, Twilight saw a smile spread across his face. Then he said, "Eenope."

"Uh-what?" said the mare. "But what was that look you just had?"

"Just rememberin'," he said. "Hard to explain. Plus, Ah don't think Applejack would appreciate me tellin' you all this."

"All this? You haven't told me anything!" Twilight Sparkle huffed. Big Macintosh stopped and stared at the mare. She shrunk down a little under his confused gaze. "Sorry. I'm just…having a long day."

"You sure you're okay, Miss Twilight?" he asked, genuinely concerned by her outburst.

"No. I mean, yes. I spent the whole morning with Pinkie Pie. I guess I'm just a little wound up."

"If your wantin'," said the stallion, "Ah can take these mahself to Apple Bloom and her friends, and you can go home and rest."

"It's alright, Big Macintosh," Twilight said, resuming her walk, which encouraged the stallion to walk along with him. "We're almost there, as it is."

After walking a few more minutes in painful silence, the two ponies found themselves in front of the club house the mare had heard so much about. But there wasn't a crusader to be found.

Big Macintosh frowned. "Too quiet," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Twilight said. "Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Are you in there?" She trotted up the ramp to check inside the window and see if they were (hopefully) playing a quiet game and just too engrossed in it to hear anything else. Or, ideally, were so enthralled in reading, they didn't want to answer. But upon looking inside the club house, there was no such luck. No pony could be seen.

Just as Twilight turned to tell this to Big Macintosh, somepony yelled, "CHARGE!" and the three little fillies they had been looking for came running out from behind a tree, screaming war cries as they charged toward the large stallion.

"Grab his leg, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called as she, herself, wrapped herself around her brother's left foreleg.

"Got him!" Sweetie Belle said, grabbing the stallion's left back leg. "Take him down, Scootaloo!"

The little Pegasus charged up her wings, and managed to lift a few feet off the ground, launching herself into Big Macintosh's left side, before bouncing off and landing on the ground.

The stallion let out a sigh, glancing over to the unicorn mare, before looking down at his sister clasped around his leg. The little earth pony gave the biggest, roundest eyes she could muster, before saying, "Aw, come on, Big Macintosh!"

After another sigh, the stallion slowly lowered himself to the ground, laying his head down, as though he were defeated. "Ya got me," he said.

"Yay!" Apple Bloom said, standing on top of her brother's side, turning to her two friends. "We're victorious, once again!"

"Pshh," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof, "After that awesome charge I gave, how could we NOT take down the monster?"

"Maybe next time," piped in Sweetie Belle, "I can use some of the magic my mom's been trying to teach me." She poked at the stallion's leg. "Is fur flammable?"

At this, Big Macintosh sat back up, furrowing his brows at the unicorn filly. Apple Bloom rolled off her brother's side and lay on her back, looking up at her friends.

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but start laughing. "Uh, maybe you should wait until you have better control of your magic, Sweetie Belle."

Apple Bloom got up, looked at her brother, looked up at the unicorn mare, and smiled. "What are you two doin' together?"

"Delivering cookies," Twilight Sparkle said, louder than she had intended. She knew where this was going. "Cookies for you, from Pinkie."

"Aw, sweet!" Scootaloo raced over to Twilight Sparkle, who was carrying the box on her back.

"I love cookies!" Sweetie Belle said, following Scootaloo, Apple Bloom trailing behind. Big Macintosh slowly got back up, shaking the dirt off his coat.

"Alright," Twilight said, looking into the box, then down at the three fillies. "Hmm. There are thirteen cookies in here. Why do I always get a baker's dozen?" The mare eyed the box warily, looking from the fillies, to the stallion, back to the box. "Okay, if we give the girls each four cookies they can eat throughout the day, that leaves one left over for Big Mac, and we should be all set! I mean, he DID say the girls would like the cookies more than he would…"

With that, she lifted up three sets of four cookies with her magic, giving them to each of the girls. "Here you are," she said, trotting past the girls and down the ramp, one cookie left for the stallion.

"That's alright," he said.

"Oh, no, I insist."

"It ain't right if I get a cookie and you don't," he said.

"But the cookies were sent to the Apple family, not me," Twilight said. "You should have the last cookie."

"Ah don't feel right leavin' you with none."

Twilight laughed nervously. "But you see, if you don't eat the last cookie, then that will make things uneven. I already gave the girls four cookies each. If I gave it back to them, then they might fight over the cookie."

"We won't fight!" Scootaloo said. The lavender mare looked back to see the three fillies leaning over the edge of the guardrail, watching the conversation with fascination. "I can take the cookie!"

"Scootaloo, that's not nice!" Apple Bloom said. "What if Ah wanted the cookie?" To Twilight, she said, "I still have my cookies. We can split them up again if you want."

"Uh…" Sweetie Belle put a hoof over her mouth. "I already ate all of mine."

"See?" the mare said, looking back to the stallion. "There's no turning back now. You HAVE to have the cookie. There's just no other way."

Big Macintosh looked to the side, a bemused smile adorning his face. "We could split the cookie."

Twilight Sparkle took a step back. That wasn't even an option in her book. Behind her, she heard the three fillies "ooooh!" at the same time. The mare took a second to consider this, before shaking her head. "No, no, no, but I couldn't. It's not my cookie. Here!" Big Macintosh opened his mouth to say something, and just then, Twilight used her magic to shove the cookie into his mouth. The stallion's eyes opened wide. He was forced to chew, lest he choke on the whole thing.

The momentary satisfaction in having properly dispersed the cookies was dispelled by the look the mare was receiving from the stallion. It wasn't a good one. Annoyance with a touch of anger, maybe? She took a few steps back, laughed nervously, then turned to the three fillies, who were whispering to themselves about something. "SO!" she said loudly, trying desperately not to look at the earth pony to her right. "Do you girls know the story of Heart and Soul's Day?"

"Ah think Granny Smith mentioned it to me a while ago," Apple Bloom said, thinking for a second.

"And they told us in school last year," Sweetie Belle.

"Told YOU, maybe. I wasn't paying attention to some sappy love story," Scootaloo said.

"I'd like to hear it again!" the unicorn filly said, guessing where the mare was going with her question.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Apple Bloom said, following Sweetie Belle down the ramp. "Come on, Scootaloo!"

The little orange Pegasus groaned. "Do I HAVE to?"

"You know, Scootaloo," said Twilight, "it's not just a love story. There's feuding between the tribes, too."

"Really?" At hearing that, Scootaloo joined her friends near the unicorn mare, looking up anxiously to hear the story.

"Well," Twilight Sparkle began, "It all started back when Equestria was new. The three tribes still had difficulty getting along in some remote areas of the land, and some were even said to have come to blows."

"I'm liking this story already," Scootaloo said, taking a seat.

"One of these areas," Twilight continued, "housed two villages: one earth pony village and one Pegasus village, not unlike Ponyville and Cloudsdale. In the earth pony village lived a mare who tended to roses, named Rosy Heart; and in the cloud village, lived a weather pony stallion, Gentle Soul. The Pegasus would fly over the earth pony's garden and watch with curiosity as the mare tended to her flowers. One day, he flew down to see up close what Rosy was doing. This, of course, startled the earth pony, but he assured her that he meant her no harm. He had just never seen what an earth pony could do, or how they could grow such beautiful things from the earth.

"The mare was equally impressed by the weather pony, as there was no way she could move the clouds or make the day sunny and warm. For weeks, the two would meet every day to talk about what their lives were like, both fascinated with the workings of earth pony and Pegasus pony. Then one day, they both realized they had fallen in love."

"Awww!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sighed.

"Yech," Scootaloo said, folding her forelegs. "Where's the action." Twilight heard a soft chuckle to her right. She glanced over to see the earth stallion was listening to the story, too. Thankful that he didn't look upset anymore, the unicorn breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"Gentle came down to the earth pony village every day, and Rosy would give him a rose to symbolize their love. And for that time, they were happy.

"But two ponies from different tribes simply did not fall in love. It hadn't been done before as far as anypony knew. So it was of no consequence to the town elders what would happen to the couple when the tension between the two tribes became formidable, and they decided to separate all relations between earth ponies and Pegasus ponies. The lovers didn't know how to stay together when their villages wanted to keep divided. Gentle couldn't risk coming down to visit his love anymore, and Rosy couldn't fly to meet with her love in a safe place that wasn't earth pony territory.

"The two ponies were devastated. They had finally learned of what it was like to be in love, and now they were forced to be separate. But rather than be angry, the two found ways to share their love with one another, even when the sky was separating them."

"Oooh, this is the good part," Sweetie Belle said.

"Is there a sword fight?" Scootaloo asked, sitting up straight, perking her ears forward to listen intently.

"Better," Twilight Sparkle said. "Rather than resort to violence," the mare paused as the Pegasus filly groaned, "they used their unique gifts to express their love. Every night, as the sun was going down, Gentle Soul would create a breathtaking sunset in the sky for his love. And every day, Rosy Heart would hand out specially cultivated roses for the town's ponies. With such public displays of affection, other ponies took notice, and word spread of why they were graced with a beautiful sunset every night, and given such lovely roses during the day.

"Word of the lovers spread to the town elders, who decided to meet again to discus their situation, and the separation between the two tribes. Things were rocky, and a pursuit of harmony seemed shaky, if not near impossible. But when talks were finished, the earth pony village and the Pegasus village agreed to allow their citizens to interact once again. Despite things being so tense between the tribes when they first separated, the ponies in each village were so moved by the tale of the two lovers, they were joyous to know that the two tribes would come together, again!"

The unicorn filly and earth pony filly cooed at hearing this. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but Apple Bloom pulled her close for a hug as she leaned in close to hear the end of the story.

"They held a celebration that very night in the earth pony village. Pegasi were finally allowed to come down on earth pony territory and mingle with their pony brethren. Rather than the tense atmosphere they once had, the two tribes were now joyous to see one another and talk about what went on in their villages – it was the most excitement they had in quite a while.

"The villagers lined the streets with the same rose petals given to them by Rosy. As both villages watched, the lovers raced to each other down the dirt paths. And once they met, they shared a long awaited kiss. Both worlds seemed to fade away as the two ponies embraced. They were not only allowed to be together again, but through their actions, managed to bring two feuding villages together. So we celebrate this day to commemorate the actions of Rosy Heart and Gentle Soul, and remind us that love can be a powerful tool that unites all of us together."

"That was sooo sweet!" Sweetie Belle said. The Pegasus filly, who looked unamused, raised her hoof.

"Yes, Scootaloo?" asked Twilight.

"So, let me get this straight," she said. "These two ponies were sooo interesting that the two villages wanted to watch them get back together again? Who does that?"

"Well," the mare said, slightly annoyed at Scootaloo's lack of fascination with the story. "Times were different back then. They didn't have entertainment the way we did, or even time off from work their hard work. They had to work a lot harder and longer just to live comfortably. Sitting down to read a book was near impossible for most ponies, so most stories were passed along by word of mouth back then. Hearing about two star-crossed lovers was like reading a good book to the tribe's ponies. Except, in this case, the situation was real. The celebration was like reading the happy ending at the end of the book to those villagers."

"Isn't it kind of creepy?" Scootaloo asked. "Having all those ponies watch you kiss your love after all that time?"

"I'm sure at the moment, they didn't care," Twilight Sparkle said. "I wouldn't know. I've never been in love. But I've read some ponies describe kissing the one you love can have that effect on you."

"Whatever," Scootaloo said, getting up and turning around. "What's a story without a little blood shed or action, anyway? Maybe we can find Rainbow Dash and make something out of today. She went running in that direction, right?"

Big Macintosh, who had quietly been listening to everything, frowned to Scootaloo. "You should leave those two be. They're wantin' to spend the day together, alone."

"Awww," the three fillies said.

"I wonder how many cookies I have left," Scootaloo said, trudging past the two adult ponies and back to the club house, the other two fillies following her.

"That was a mighty fine story, Miss Twilight," Big Macintosh said, stepping up next to the unicorn. "The way you tell it, that is."

"Thank you," she said, smiling. "Listen…I'm sorry for earlier. I don't mean to get so crazy about having everything just right. Everypony else puts up with me all the time, I forget how crazy I must sound to other ponies, sometimes. And, er…how I act around them."

"It's alright," he said. "When you live around Applejack and Apple Bloom, ya get used to a lil' crazy."

Twilight chuckled lightly at the thought. She could only wonder what their family dynamic was like, or how different the two sisters acted when not around their friends. "I wonder how Applejack would react to you saying she's a little crazy."

"She don't like it much," he admitted.

"Oh, so you tell her that on an everyday basis?"

"She gotta hear it somewhere," he said, giving a gentle smile.

"I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Rarity probably tell her a few times, too," the mare said.

"Well, she's not hearin' it right from them," he said. "She still acts that way."

The mare looked over to where the cutie mark crusaders were supposed to be, only to notice they were gone. "Where did they go this time? I doubt they expect to get the element of surprise again…" the lavender unicorn trotted up the ramp to look into the club house. "Huh…I thought they just went in here."

"Oh…" The mare turned to the stallion, who looked off to the trail that led to the main dirt road. "Applejack's not gunna like that…"

Twilight Sparkle made her way back down the ramp. "You don't mean that they went after Rainbow Dash like they said they were going to?"

"Eeryup."

"But…" unsure of how much Big Macintosh knew, she was reluctant to finish her statement. "Well, I don't know about AJ, but Rainbow sure isn't going to like that…"

"Eenope…" Big Macintosh started towards the trail. "C'mon…'fore they ruin their date." Twilight Sparkle cringed at the fact that the stallion knew. Then she smiled that he cared enough to keep it from being ruined.