Chapter 10
It had been a lovely trip to Appleoosa, Twilight decided as she and Big Macintosh were saying their farewells to Braeburn. The day had been spent touring through the little town, grabbing a bite to eat and dropping in on some of Braeburn’s friends. Twilight even saw a few ponies that she recognized from her previous stay in the town, and had a couple of pleasant conversations with them. The day ended with the three ponies strolling through Braeburn’s flourishing apple orchard. Due to the warm weather hanging around the area, his apples were still growing.
Of course, all things must come to an end, and that’s what brought the couple to the train station now. They grabbed their saddlebags from Braeburn’s house not but twenty minutes before, then moseyed on over to the station where the train had just arrived.
“Well, Brae, thanks fer showin’ us around all afternoon,” Mac drawled, as he embraced his cousin.
“Not a problem, cous, not a problem at all!” Braeburn replied, beaming. “Y’all take care, and eat some of them apples I packed for ya! They’re the pick of the harvest, I say!”
Mac laughed, and reassured him that they would do so. Twilight approached Braeburn next, and began the awkward hoofshake-into-hug maneuver. Giggling, she said, “Thanks so much, Braeburn! It was great to see you again!”
“You take care of my little cousin here, now, ya hear?” he said. “Ya gotta make sure he behaves himself on y’all’s little journey!” As they broke the embrace, Twilight gave him a reassuring nod, then moved back towards Macintosh.
“Alrigh’ now,” Braeburn said. “Get on the train ‘afore it leaves without y’all!”
The couple did as he said, and quickly took their seat and let open their window. “We’ll see ya next time, Brae,” Mac said. “Ya take care while I’m gone, aight?”
“Don’t you worry none, cousin,” he said. “’Ole Brae knows a thing er two.”
At that moment, the conductor yelled out of the train’s doorway, “All aboard’s comin’ aboard!” He took a quick look around to verify everybody was on the train, before waving to the engineer to go ahead and pull out. The two ponies waved their goodbyes to Braeburn before relaxing into their seats.
Their next stop was a ranch in between Baltimare and Fillydelphia, where Mac’s family had raised dairy cows and grown apples for decades.
“So about these ponies we’re going to meet,” Twilight asked after about half an hour on the train. “What were their names again?”
“The patriarch of tha family is mah Uncle Hampshire,” Big Mac said. “His wife is Roxbury, but we jus’ call her Rox fer short.”
Twilight hummed as thoughts buzzed around in her head. “So, your Uncle Hampshire is…your dad’s brother?” she asked, screwing up her eyes as she tried to remember the little bit of Apple family history that Mac had once imparted to her.
“Eeyup,” Mac confirmed. “They both grew up with mah Granny on tha farm we’ll be at last. That’s mah great-great grandpappy’s farm, an’ it’s been in tha family ever since he started it.”
“Was that the first Apple farm?”
“Eeyup.”
At this time, an attendant came by wheeling a trolley full of in-transit goodies, and asked if they’d like anything. After both requesting just a cup of water, Twilight settled down into her coltfriend with a big sigh of content.
“I’m so glad we’re doing this, Mac,” she said. “It really means a lot to me.”
“S’not a problem, Twi,” he mumbled, nudging her into his chest more. “Ah mean, we may as well go on an’ get it outta tha way, right? Like ya said, if we’re gonna make it we gotta do this.”
“Mhm. That and…I don’t know, I feel like this trip will help us grow closer together. I know a lot about you, but…there’s just so much more to learn. And what’s better than spending several days meeting your family?”
Her stallion snorted and kissed her horn. “Ah tell ya what, if ya can handle meetin’ mah whole family and puttin’ up with all their nonsense, then Ah think there ain’t nothin’ ya can’t do in life, sweetheart.”
Twilight smiled as she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, Mac. That makes me feel even more hopeful for our future than I already was.”
“Of course, Twi. Now, why don’t we try to get some sleep? We still got about seven hours ta Baltimare, an’ tha sun’s settin’ fast.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” Twilight said. She immediately stretched out and lay her head against her coltfriend’s flank and was soon sound asleep.
Welp, Big Macintosh thought, looks like I’m on my own for a little while.
And with that, he settled in and peered out the window, and watched the dark landscape whizz by.
***
Twilight felt a lurch as she darted up from her sleeping position on Mac’s chest, which she must have changed to sometime during the train ride. Her quick gasp of air was enough to cause her coltfriend to stir, as she felt his breathing pattern change.
“We thur?” he mumbled, rubbing an eye with the only hoof that wasn’t trapped under Twilight.
“I-I think so? I can’t tell, it isn’t light out yet.”
Just as she finished her sentence, the train came to a full stop, causing the sleepy couple to lurch forwards once more.
“Guess that answers that question,” Mac said, with a tired chuckle. “C’mon, let’s get our bags an’ get off.”
After strapping into their saddlebags, the couple stepped off into a cool, predawn air that seemed to permeate their very bones. Twilight shivered, and leaned in further to Big Macintosh.
“Cold, sweetheart?” he asked, placing his leg around her withers.
“A bit,” she guiltily admitted.
Mac reached over his shoulder into his saddlebag and pulled out a wool blanket he had packed along with him.
“Here,” he said. “Put this on. We got a bit of a ways to go ‘afore we get ta where we’re goin’.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said with a little smile. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, and his coat changed to a darker shade of red for a second. He turned to her and reciprocated her kiss with a peck on her lips before motioning them forwards.
The train station was located a short ways out of Baltimare, and the city’s skyline was just barely visible as a dark outline against the grey sky. There were several lights on, but it was nowhere near as lit up as, say, Manehattan would be at this time. For the few times that Twilight had been there on friendship errands, she could have sworn that ponies in that city never took a break from anything.
There was a road leading towards the city lined with several stagecoach taxis. It seemed many of the drivers had moved inside to take a quick respite from the busy work they did during the twenty-four hours of each day, though a large portion were catching the attentions of ponies that had just disembarked the train. Going in the opposite direction of all this madness, however, was a small dirt road that seemed to lead to the edge of the dark world. There was a road sign pointing in this direction that had “Manehattan” painted on it, with a distance of 147 miles in neat, white lettering beside it.
“If ya walk far enough, ya do eventually get there,” Big Macintosh said, catching Twilight’s eye on the sign. “But really it’s just there for novelty. Ya’d be crazy ta go tha whole distance on foot.”
“It’d be hard to even teleport that far,” Twilight replied. “Train really is about the only way to get there quickly, unless you’re Rainbow Dash.”
The couple began walking through the chilly breeze, leaves from surrounding trees crunching underhoof as the Autumn set in more and more. Twilight leaned her head against Mac’s thick, corded neck, and lost herself in her stallion’s muscles moving under his surprisingly soft coat. After a moment, she decided to speak up.
“So, how are we going to do this?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“You know…introduce me. In a way that won’t have you immediately disowned and me getting run off before I even get to say ‘hi’?”
Her coltfriend didn’t respond, at first. He kept his course, didn’t look left nor right, and didn’t make a sound save the clopping of his hooves. After a moment, Twilight moved her head off his neck to look at him.
“Mac?”
No response.
“Maaaaac?” she said, this time very expectantly.
“Ah-ah don’t know,” he admitted. “Ah hadn’t really thought of that. Ah just figur’d we’d come on up here, an’ I’d introduce ya as mah marefriend, an’ then go from there.”
“That’s your grand plan?” Twilight asked sarcastically. “That’s it?”
“Well, yeah,” he replyed, sheepishly. “Ain’t no other way ta do it, really…”
“I’ll leave the judgment up to you, I suppose.”
A moment of silence passed, where only the lonely breeze and long-gone leaves spoke.
“If it means anything, Ah’m sorry,” Mac finally said. “It ain’t really these folks Ah’ve prepared fer.”
Twilight raised a brow. “Why didn’t you prepare for these ponies?”
“Cuz they ain’t as bad.”
“As bad as?” There was definite trepidation in her voice.
“As bad as the last ponies we gotta go see.” There, Mac thought. Ah said it. Hopefully she don’t kill me. He heard a big gulp, and looked at his marefriend. Her beautiful lavender coat seemed to have turned white, so he stopped and wrapped her up in a hug. “Don’t worry none, darlin’,” he said. “They may be bad, but Ah ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to ya.”
“Thank you,” she almost whispered. She felt lips on her forehead, and turned to accept a full on kiss. After a moment, she broke the embrace and said, “Let’s keep going, shall we? It’ll be light, soon.”
Agreeing with her statement, Big Mac followed suit. The homestead they were headed to was just a little ways up the road, now, and had just begun to appear on the horizon.
***
A rooster crowed, and the long moo of a cow called out in response. Pigs began to shuffle around in their pin, and the hens were just finishing laying their eggs. The sun that embodied the great Princess Celestia began to show its face over the horizon, and the world seemed to be coming to life. Despite the bite in the air, and the browning leaves of the apple trees that no longer bore fruit, it was setting up to be a nice day.
Besides, thought the large, middle aged stallion on his front porch, mah little nephew is coming to visit today. How could it not be a good day?
And even as he thought this, he saw two silhouettes appear at the end of his road.
Ah, that must be them now!
Hampshire Apple was a large, russet colored stallion. He was even bigger than Big Macintosh, and it was always said that Mac got his size from this side of the family. When his brother told him that his wife was pregnant with Mac, Hampshire had said he would be a big one. And he was right, too.
“Rox!” he called over his shoulder into his home. “C’mon out, and bring the kids! Mac’s here with this marefriend he told us about!”
A mare’s voice called out in response as Hampshire placed a straw into his mouth and began chomping away.
Must be tha’ time already fer the lad. I remember when he was jus’ a foal…by Celestia how time does fly by. Can’t wait to meet this mare o’ his if she’s gettin’ him to settle down this fast.
At this moment, his wife, son, and daughter joined him on the porch. They all got into place just as Big Macintosh was crossing the threshold into his yard with…
“Howdy, Uncle Hampshire, Aunt Rox,” Mac called out over the short distance that now remained between them.
“Howdy, Mac,” Hampshire responded, with hesitation.
The couple got right up to the front porch and stopped. Mac was standing tall and erect, looking as proud as ever. This was in great contrast to Twilight, who was trying to appear as small and insignificant as she possibly could. In other words, she was very clearly uneasy.
“Uncle Hampshire, Aunt Rox, cousins,” Macintosh said, nodding at each in turn, “this here’s Twilight Sparkle, mah marefriend.”
Hampshire narrowed his eyes to bare slits. “Ya didn’t tell me, Macintosh, that yer marefriend was a spiral-headed spell-slinger.” He said this with all the venom he could possibly spit.
Mac’s gaze never hardened. It never changed. He held complete eye contact with his uncle the entire time. After an eon of silence, he brought Twilight into a half-hug, kissed her on the cheek, and looked back at his family.
“Eeyup.”
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ITS BACK YAY
everyone has 3 guesses to what will happen next, and the first two don't count
Let me sum up my feelings of Big Mac in that final few sentences....
LIKE. A. BOSS.
Time for another Big Mac beat down!!
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTIvMTIvMTQvMjBfNTBfMTRfMTNfMTgwNjc5X19VTk9QVF9fc2FmZV9hbmltYXRlZF9iaWdfbWFjaW50b3NoX2dpZl9zaGl0c3Rvcm1fYnJhY2VfeW91cnNlbHZlc19icmFjZV93aW50ZXJfaXNfY29taW5nIl1d/180679__safe_animated_big%2Bmacintosh_game%2Bof%2Bthrones_shitstorm_brace%2Byourselves_brace_winter%2Bis%2Bcoming.gif
YAY! IT'S BACK!!!! i HATE waiting so MUCH!
2852294 Friendship, hugs, and love?
Also
This is my favorite line ever. Of all time.
2852355
All of my yes
Of course, all will likely be forgiven when they realize she is Princess Celestia's personal student.
2852439
it could make it worse, or do you know bigger "spiral-headed spell-slingers" then the princesses?
Tells me either he's pretending to be... whatever, to see how Big Mac reacts, or he's serially that prejudiced. I'm leaning more towards the former, but you never know...
2852486
She's also the biggest Earth Pony and Pegasus, as well.
2852500
true but what they see is a winged unicorn, aka a featherbrained spiral-headed spell-slinger.
and even if they are not racist against the princesses, the fact that Twilight got magic-lessons from her, just means that she's more talented with magic then any other unicorn, and that could make it worse.
you know currently mac still has the ultimate ability of pulling the "uncle iah'd watch that tone a yurs, unless you want me to let granny know you was shaming the apple family's legend of hospitality, ye know she still has her switch." just saying.
i look forward to seeing how this all goes.
2852541
Consider that Celestia controls the sun.
Now consider what that implies.
Now consider what they could imagine Twilight knows how to do.
Now consider that education allows them to be aware that Celestia is an Alicorn, which means she is all of them. Because that is part of the meaning of it, in this case. No ponies would think of her as being of only the other races, but as one of their own and all others. It would be how things go.
Plus, Windigos.
2852587
oh I'm sure they respect the princesses, but that doesn't mean they have to like them.
They being afraid of Twilights power would be a good thing in your eyes? okay if you think so
knowledge doesn't help against racism if it is not accepted
"Alicorns are part Earth-pony"
"Sure they are that's why they live in a big Unicorn-city and throw magic around like nothing. Heck are we even sure they are ponies? they look more like that big bastards from Saddle Arabia."
Truth to be told if it go after how things should be, there wouldn't be any racism at all.
Plus wendigos only appear when there is hate, but the apple-relatives seclude themselves from Pegasi and Unicorns, thus no hate, thus no wendigos.
Something tells me that this isn't going to be as easy as with Brae or those Japonies Apples (forgeot their names)...
2852308 True story bro, very true.
I liked this story a lot, not because I'm Big Macintosh, but because it was well written and had a great plot.
p.s
moustache poke, spread it around
Yay! always happy to see a update. So now we get to the less "freindly of mac family". Also are we ever gonna see the orange family and Babs?
Great chapter again! Unexpected complications arise. I can't wait to see the next part.
Great update. Got some
for you.
hrmmmm... if THAT is, and I quote,
... then I really am not looking forward to meeting the apples at great-great grandpappy's old farm
' Hampshire narrowed his eyes to bare slits. “Ya didn’t tell me, Macintosh, that yer marefriend was a spiral-headed spell-slinger.” He said this with all the venom he could possibly spit. '
I wonder how will he react when he find out that this 'spiral-headed spell-slinger' is princess Celestia personal student, the most powerful unicorn in the world and hero who played major role in saving Equestria more than once.
I really wish they would finally stop hiding Twilight accomplishments, just to see the look on their faces.
And suddenly it turned ugly
Also, that final part was badass even for Macintosh
Facing down a Demon Queen of the Night or a Sadistic God of Chaos? Not scary in the slightest
Facing down your Coltfriend's racist relatives? TERRIFYING
The sad part is, how much sense this makes. Relationships can be scary stuff
While I find her trepidation understandable, especially given her self-esteem issues, I would like to see Twilight (Aka Badass Bookworm) be just a TOUCH more assertive
Always happy when I see this story gets updated.
Also, congratulations on getting featured for it as well!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20hYoIyvjUM&feature=youtu.be this!
2852669
They are of all three races, and we do, in fact, have reference for that, in the chapter books, as well as from Lauren Faust, and other sources.
And we are sure they are ponies. Twilight became one, remember?
And, that is true.
There is another solution. If Big Mac gets her pregnant, his family will force him to marry her. No ifs, ands, or buts.
But, that is a less likely solution.
Wendigos appear with cannibalism. Windigos appear with hate.
All I can say is that I smell antics coming.
QUICK! TO THE BENNY HILL THEME!
2853748
to clarify
knowledge: "Alicorns are part Earth-pony"
racism: "Sure they are that's why they live in a big Unicorn-city and throw magic around like nothing. Heck are we even sure they are ponies? they look more like that big bastards from Saddle Arabia."
i agree Big Mac getting Twi pregnant is unlikely, since as far as i know they haven't done the deed yet, and even then that wouldn't help, they just could do what Twilight is fearing and disown BM.
Benny hill is for funny antics, i think it is gonna be more dramatic, what music is played then?
2853788
...Opera?
So I'm presuming that it's not Twilicorn yet? I couldn't imagine ponies doing that to a Princess...
In any case, I'm torn between Hammy saying the "spiral-head" line as genuine bigotry or as testing Mac's resolve in his relationship or something. I'm hoping for the former, but kinda want't'see the latter.
Wow. The entire family is racist. I wonder if Twilight's family will be the same, considering they are obviously high class Canterlot ponies.
"You're brother married a princess, and you're marrying a farmer!?"
Why would Big Macintosh care if they "disowned" him? It's not as though his relatives own Sweet Apple Acres or anything.
ahaha that kiss at the end is like a buck you to the face
Here it is!
Also, 666 likes.
Well in the beginning the story was a bit predictable. They talk about how there would be problems if some of the other Apples knew Twilight was a unicorn. Then, boom a letter arrives saying how some bigoted Apples were on their way! Amazing coincidence!
Eh, to be honest I'm a bit torn about the whole "make a trip to meet the family because it's tradition". I mean, what would Big Macintosh have done if Twilight came out and said she didn't want to go around meeting his family? Dump Twilight? I guess it would have shown how deep his love for her was if he chose "family tradition" over her.
So Fuji didn't like Big Macintosh being with a unicorn? Aside from defending Twilight's honour and whatnot, why exactly should he have cared? He's the one coming to SAA for help, and it's not as though they were extremely close. Now for the bigger Apple families, I could understand why he would want to settle any differences, family is important to him, they would probably help out if he needed it.
I guess it just bothers me that they have to go out of their way to placate a bunch of relatives, with the implication being that they could come between Twilight's and Big Macintosh's relationship. The only ones I can see actually influencing BM would be his parents (and I'm hoping it doesn't come to that).
Well with that out of the way, I look forward to what you have next, have a like and a favourite.
2853912
I can't really blame some of the older earth pony families for being racist.
If you think about it, old farming families are the Earth Pony's version of nobility. They have long memories, like from the pre-founding days, when everyone kicked Earth Ponies around and they lived in slave-like squalor while the military and royalty reaped THEIR hard work. That kind of thing trickles down... I know it's the point of contention in this story, but at the same time I just can't find it in me to hate these ponies for remembering the tales of horror bigoted horror passed down the family lines. Technically, it still seems to be about the same these days.
After the (supposed) battle at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, the capitol seems to have changed to the Unicorn capitol where Canterlot was being built, when from Granny's memory we can see Celestia on her chariot and Canterlot more or less still being built/expanding (city was just a collection of tents and the like, I believe the castle was also somewhat smaller) (Sidenote: This really lends credence to the theory that Granny has a highly increased lifespan, perhaps due to the consumption of original Everfree Zap Apples.) The main central area for Unicorn families and nobility is currently (and likely has been for centuries) the leading star of the entire pony race. Sure, being the capitol there's all sorts of ponies and whatnot there, but from what we've seen it's predominately Unicorn. Likewise, Cloudsdale is still pretty much just Pegasi due to clouds. If every pony plays to their strengths in Equestria, Earth Ponies are still doing jobs like farming and construction, mainly - excusing those rarer examples in Canterlot. I imagine that while things are generally quite peaceful, there's still a bit of resentment there. It'd be unnatural if there wasn't.
Still, I feel this lot's going to eventually come to understand that Twi's not "one of the bad ones".
... I also get the feeling that Twi's going to have to down five ciders and beat the living shit out of somemare at some point who has words a bit too sharp for Mac. I don't think the story'd be complete without it.
2854211
I take it you don't come from a clan-like family, otherwise you'd have been brought up with an understanding of why all of that makes sense. o-o From the outside, I suppose it doesn't. But if you look at any sort of tradition or custom from the right angle, they never make sense.
2853267
"This spell-slingin' spiral-head can turn you inside out with her mind. If Ah were you Ah'd least show her some common courtesy."
Better yet, I'd like to see twilight take a lump of coal and crush it into a diamond a la Superman with her telekinesis.
No, not just a "spiral-headed spell-slinger" Macintosh's girlfriend is the spiral-headed spell-slinger.
i absolutely love this story i can't wait to read more. it reminds me so much of my fiance' the way you play out big mac. please oh please tell me when you write more so i can keep reading.
And this guy ain't even the bad one.
Hooooo boy.
2854376 Eh, actually my dad and his five brothers built their homes right next to each other, one after the other, from my grandparents' house. So growing up I had a lot of interaction with a lot of cousins, aunts and uncles (was never too big on the old people
). Yeah we had our own traditions, and if some of us didn't want to go along with it, we would badger them until they agreed, but it wasn't as fanatical as Big Mac's family seems to be. So I guess we can throw out your theory there! 
2853832 Nope, no Twilicorn, not yet! That will come later. I am a fan of her being a princess, though, and did call it when Luna held up Starswirl's little spell book thing in the season opener. I was pretty excited lol
2854211 Thanks for the favorite and the like! Also, I liked your comment...I guess I can understand why there are a couple dislikes, but you do bring up good points. They aren't going out of their way to placate said relatives, per se. They're more just going ahead and introducing Twilight to everypony that will eventually be at their wedding (should they make it that far). I can say from personal experience that the whole "meeting the family" aspect is a pretty big deal, and they are just moving relatively fast as a couple. They are first loves, after all. Also, thanks for the comment and read on Sparkling Cider! I always like to see somebody who's read them both give me some feedback. Much appreciated!
2856771 No problem, I appreciate your.... appreciation!
Like I said, I am enjoying your story, if I didn't I wouldn't have bothered leaving a comment, I would have just left. Can't wait to see what you have next. 
2856675
Nope. There's a difference between a clan lifestyle and a larger family cell. So I guess we can put your rebuttal to rest. A family cell of any size can have traditions. A clan is BASED on and held together by traditions. It's what lends importance to where you come from and whose blood runs in your veins, it gives you the common ground between all members and branches of your family, it's what puts the family before all else.
When tradition comes into conflict, it means one of two things. You either give up what's conflicting with tradition, for the sake of the family and everyone in it. Or you part from the family, choosing the conflicting item over your roots. That is a major deciding factor in what separates a clan from a family cell. Change to that tradition is done on VERY serious grounds, and generally must be unanimous, and on extremely individual basis or you risk upsetting or destroying generations of sacrifice and hard work. That's what makes Big Mac's proposal to get up and go see the family before marriage exciting, because he's challenging the good and respectable norm, if he doesn't handle it carefully it could blow up and hurt the family. If you don't understand that, you lose a great deal of the gravitas involved in the situation, which means you're missing part of the story's impact.
Try not to sound so dismissive when you're missing key concepts to your argument. As someone who grew up in a family no different from the Apple clan here, I've got a bit better perspective.
2857392 I wasn't trying to sound dismissive, I was merely enjoying the discussion. It was meant to be a lighthearted reply, no need to be all uptight there!
Take a deep breath and EXHALE! 
Well for what it's worth, I'm happy you have a better perspective than I do! No condescension or patronization on my part.
2857419
Then I'll take your wording as unintentionally offensive rather than a directed barb meant to incite me. We'll carry on, then.
2857441
You realize this is the internet? o-o I wish I lived in a state of being where no one would try to enrage you just because they don't know you. Look around, it happens hundreds of thousands of times a day. People acting like jerks, people trolling, people treating you like they know better when they don't, people spouting fake factoids and acting superior.
People are jackasses, I don't know what kind of life I'd have to live to not trip over people who wanted to bait me into varying forms of combat and competition ten times a day at least.
2857454 Okaaaaay then....