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Another Day

by PonyTom

Chapter 1: One Peaceful Night

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Ponyville is a quiet and peaceful place at night.

Despite being home of many eccentric ponies, it was nothing if not peaceful. The kind of quiet that allows one a sense of spiritual peace of mind, forgetting the darkness that might otherwise threaten to consume their lives. Why, it is even said that Twilight Sparkle (now crowned Princess of Ponyville) has found herself more at-ease than she had been living in the duty-driven society of Canterlot.

The calm oftentimes masked what happened behind closed doors. At this hour, many ponies were putting their foals to bed, telling stories to their young to lull them to sleep. Others were sharing special moments, expressions of love, of caring, of passion.

And yet others were simply having fun.

That was what was going on in the barn this night on Sweet Apple Acres.

"Fold."

"Again? Third time you folded at the start of a hoof! What are you playing at, Mac?"

Three stallions and two mares sat around a table, each with a series of cards in their hooves, eyeing them intently. The pony in question, one Big McIntosh, stared half-lidded at his cards as he sat them down, as if he had no interest in them whatsoever. He grunted as his only response.

"Right" said the mare, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and a dealer's visor who stared at her cards, her expression hard; she seemed as if she were concentrating on her cards, focusing so hard as if she might will them to win by staring at them.

"Fine," said Caramel, "I don't mind. I'm feeling pretty good about my cards anyway." He grinned, staring at his cards.

"Oh that does it!" Said Rainbow with a grin. "I'm going to raise!"

Caramel quirked a brow. "What? You raise because I'm so confident?"

"Of course she is," said Lyra, who was right next to Caramel, staring blankly at her cards. "We told you before, everytime you announce your confidence, you always seem to have a losing deck. I'm starting to think you just speak before you think. Raise."

Caramel balked. "What!? I do not!"

"YEEEEEEEEAH!" shouted the fifth, a large, white-coated pegasus that dwarfed even Big Mac. "... You do! Check."

Caramel rolled his eyes. "Pfft, you're all full of it."

Silence seemed to fall on the group again as the table went around in checks and raises. Eventually, Snowflake sighed. "I fold."

Lyra grinned. "What's wrong, big guy? All that muscle can't save you here?"

Snowflake shrugged. "My powerful pecks can do ANYTHING! I just think I should cut my losses tonight."

Big Mac grinned. "Chicken?"

Snowflake shrugged at the comment. "I made back a decent lot of what I lost, but a winning streak can't last forever. I'd rather come back with just a little less money than I came in with, than come out of it broke."

Big Mac nodded, conceding to his wisdom. Immediately, however, Rainbow Dash grinned. "Hah! Well, I'm an all-or-nothing mare! If I'm not gonna win, I'm gonna lose honestly!"

Snowflake waved a hoof. "Says the captain of the weather team. I don't get paid as much as you, and my membership at the gym costs money!"

Caramel snorted. "You really need it? I mean, your house practically has it's OWN gym. Can't you use your own equipment?"

"YEAH!" shouted Snowflake, causing everypony to cringe. "But what's the point if nopony can watch you work out!?"

Big Mac shrugged. "Want a job?"

Snowflake laughed. "I need a REAL workout, Small-Fry! Your little 'honest day's work' training regiment is adorable, but I gotta feel the BURN!" Big Mac scowled a bit. Rather than offer any form of rebuttal, he snorted and shook his head as everypony lay their cards down.

"Caramel, you lose." said Rainbow, matter-of-factly.

"Aww DANGIT!"

"Lyra... aw crud you beat me..."

Lyra grinned as she reached forward and raked the bits on the table towards herself. "Come to mama you sexy little things!" She giggled giddily and clopped her hooves together joyously. "I've got such good luck tonight!"

Rainbow sighed and looked out the window. "Well, it IS getting kinda late. Think we should call it a night, guys?"

"'Yup," replied Big Mac, stretching his fore hooves out. "Work tomorrow... and camping trip."

Rainbow Dash quirked a brow. "Yeah, what's that all about? I mean, we can carry our things just fine."

Big Mac nodded. "Miss Rarity's comin'."

Rainbow winced at the reminder of her trip with her friends and the Crusaders. "Oh yeah... right..." She huffed up. "Well, why doesn't she pull it herself then?"

Big Mac quirked a brow, smirking. "Don't want me to come?"

Rainbow immediately balked. "What!? I wasn't saying THAT, big guy! I was just trying to figure it out! Nothing's wrong with Applejack, is there?" Big Mac chuckled. He knew that Rainbow cared about Applejack - to what extent he wasn't sure, but until she proved otherwise, he would just assume it was sisterly. After all, nothing good ever came from wild assumptions.

"Nnope."

Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chin. She still wasn't sure she bought it - although she did imagine that maybe they'd take turns. She shrugged, deciding that for now it was best to accept whatever story was being given her and keep an eye on her friends to make sure nothing seemed amiss. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll go on home and get to sleep. You take care of yourself, Mac!"

With that, she bolted out the door. Big Mac turned to his friends and nodded. "Well, y'all better git on home if'n ya don' want a sore day t'morrow." One by one, the ponies began to file out of the barn, Big Mac waving each of them off. Once they were on their way, he let out a long, tired sigh and turned to pull a pocket watch from his saddlebag (which also stored his winnings for the night.)

It was 12:46

He snorted in surprise. He hadn't expected it to be so late! He thought it was closer to 10:30 or something! He'd be lucky if he got enough sleep to work properly the following day; and that's assuming he didn't wake anypony on his way inside. He half considered sleeping in the barn for the night, but decided against it - Applejack would think something was wrong and she'd do a full investigation of all his card-buddies. No, he'd have to go back inside, and he'd have to be sneaky about it.

A short hike led Big Mac to the porch, and just across that, to the door that marked the front entrance into his home. Big Mac winced as he pushed, hearing that high-pitched squeal of the metal hinges as the door creaked open. Carefully, he peaked around and perked his ear - he couldn't hear anypony moving around. Taking that as the 'coast is clear' sign, he began to gently tip-hoof his way into the house.

Just as he turned a corner to the living room, something overtook his vision, which lit up before being replaced with blackness.

*******************************

Pain.

The first thing Big Mac registered as he regained consciousness was pain. He let out a hiss as he put a hoof to his face.

"Careful Mac! Ah got ya pretty good, yer bleedin' a bit..."

Big Mac slowly opened his eyes, trying to bring them into focus. Before him was Applejack, holding his head up in her hooves and holding some tissue paper to his nose. "Ah thought you was a thief sneakin' inta our home! Ah didn't mean t' hurt ya!"

Big Mac would have smiled if he wasn't so worried about having a broken snout. Applejack peeled the tissue away. "Yer bleedin' pretty good... we might have t' take ya to the hospital..."

Big Mac shook his head. "Dope... I'b fide..."

Applejack scowled. "Yer talkin' funny. Sorry, but we're takin' ya to th' hospital. Y'all just hold that tissue to yer snout and use me fer balance if you got trouble walkin'."

Big Mac didn't want to comply, but he knew that her mind was set, and in this instance, she absolutely would not take 'nope' as an answer. Sighing in resignation, he stood up to his hooves, a bit wobbly, and took a clean bunch of tissue and placed it against his snout. The two made their way out of the house, their destination set towards Ponyville Hospital.

*******************************

Doctor Stable looked over the X-Rays and smiled. "Good news, Mister McIntosh. There was some damage, but I see no serious breaks, and you should heal up just fine, although you may have a bit of swelling for a little while." Big Mac sat on a nearby table, Applejack holding a hoof against his own. His snout had already begun to turn purple and swell - as well as his left eye (she had hit him with a vase, and he got caught at just the right part of the curve).

"Well... Ah guess that's a relief..." said Applejack. "Is there anythin' ya can do for 'em t' help? Maybe help 'em heal faster?"

Doctor Stable shook his head. "Healing magic can only do so much. The most I can do is prescribe you pain pills in case you're suffering any."

Big Mac shook his head - it DID hurt, but he felt he could manage it. "Nnope."

The doctor nodded. "Alright then. Just sign with the nurse on your way back out, and be careful in the future, alright?"

********************************

"Ah'm SO sorry again, Big Mac..."

Applejack stayed close to her older brother, who now sported a bandage over the top of his snout and was pressing a bag of ice against his eye, occasionally switching between it and said snout. "Ah mean, Ah thought you was a burglar, an' with Granny Smith bein' so old, n' Applebloom so young, n' Ah thought you was in yer room sleepin'--"

Big Mac blinked. "Didn't Ah say Ah was playing a card game...?"

Applejack blinked and bit her lip. "Uh... m-maybe... ya mighta said something about it?"

"Rainbow didn't say'?"

Applejack gulped. "Well, uh, Ah was workin' a lot t'day so when she came over Ah mighta not paid much mind..."

"Ah asked you to join..."

"Alright! Ah wasn't listenin'!" shouted Applejack, silencing Big Mac. "Ah was so busy workin' n' plannin' fer th' campin' trip t'morrow that Ah wasn't payin' attention t' anything else, alright!?" The silence seemed to hang in the air. Applejack blushed realizing she had probably just woke up half the neighborhood. "Sorry... Ah've just been kinda stressed, n' I--" Before she could even finish the sentence, Big Mac had pulled her into a hug. She was some what caught off guard, but did not resist, and returned the hug. "Ah'm so sorry Big Mac... Ah was so busy, Ah don't think I was payin' attention t' any of mah friends or family..."

Big Mac smiled. "Eeyup."

Applejack sighed. "This is just one of the few times Ah get t' spend with all mah friends, unhindered by work, or bills... Ah wanted t' be sure everything was right."

Big Mac nodded. He could understand the idea behind that. "Well... you make the stew at the trip. We'll be even."

Applejack sighed. "Big Mac, y'all don' have t' go. Th' least Ah could do is let ya off yer burden for repentance an' carry Rarity's stuff m'self."

Big Mac shook his head. "Nnope."

Applejack sighed. "What? Ya just wanna go campin' with a buncha pretty mares? An' Rainbow Dash?"

Big Mac smirked. "Nnope." He looked up at the sky. "Bondin' time with mah sister."

Applejack hummed. She didn't know how much they could possibly bond if she were so busy with her friends, but she supposed he had his plans. "Alright. But Ah'll find another way t' make this up t'ya. Mark mah words."

Big Mac shook his head, rolling his eye some as he held the ice over his other. "Alrighty then."

Next Chapter: A-Camping We Will Go Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 26 Minutes
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