Mac blinked awake, finding himself laid out on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, a lazy smile spreading across his lips as memories of the night before came flooding back. The dancing, the kissing, the trip back to Sweet Apple acres together in the moonlight, flanks occasionally touching, tails moving together, ending with a soft, lingering kiss on the front porch and a promise to meet again that weekend.

All in all his first date with Luna had gone as well as either of them could have hoped. He turned his head to look at the orchid laying on the nightstand, leaning in a bit closer to sniff at it. A shame he couldn’t wear it in public just yet, too many ponies would go asking questions that he really wasn’t ready to answer. Despite their indiscretion on the dance floor at the end of the night, Luna was still adamant they do their best to keep things quiet until she had time to prepare a formal announcement and, he suspected, take steps to minimise any fallout among the nobles.

He’d already decided what he wanted to do for their next date, something in contrast to the raucous exuberance of their first date. There was a hill on their property, down near the South Field, with a view over the whole of Ponyville. It was where he’d gone at night to watch the town and talk to the stars. He thought she would appreciate him sharing that with her. He was already making plans for what he’d take on the picnic for them both, some wine, some treats from Sugarcube Corner, maybe some food from that fancy place in town…

His train of thought was interrupted by a cry from downstairs “COME’N’GIT IT, EVERYPONY!” He snorted in surprise as he tugged the curtains back and realised he had, for the first time in years, slept in! It was already breakfast time and here he was lazing in bed like a foal? He rolled over and out of the bed in one motion, the sound of his four heavy hooves thudding down onto the floor announcing to the rest of the house that he was up and about. A brief pause to wash his face and brush his mane into some semblance of order and Mac trotted downstairs to join the rest of the Apple family.

And Rarity.

And Pinkie Pie.

And Rainbow Dash.

And Fluttershy.

Mac stopped dead at the base of the stairs, pursing his lips a little at the unexpected sight of Ponyville’s more famous residents all sitting around the breakfast table, their eyes fixed on him. He supposed he shouldn’t really be surprised, not after Pinkie Pie had been right there at the Club last night. Still, he wasn’t about to make it easy on them.

“Nnnnnnope,” he stated firmly, turned about and trotted for the front door before anypony could say anything. He’d content himself with some apples from the orchard instead.

He hadn’t taken more than three steps before he found his hooves dangling helplessly in midair as a magical aura wrapped around him and inexorably pulled him back into the kitchen. He opened his mouth to protest, then just sighed and hung his head as he was set down back at the table.

“Oh we wouldn’t DREAM of depriving you of breakfast, Mac,” Rarity cooed as she released him from her magical grip, her voice saccharine sweet. “A big, strong stallion like you has to keep his strength up.”

“That’s what she said!” Rainbow snorted before she was silenced by a reproachful look from Rarity.

“Uh-huh,” Mac commented as he nodded to AJ, Applebloom and Granny Smith and helped himself to a plateful of apple fritters, adding a large mug of black coffee to wash them down. He had a terrible, painful feeling he was going to need all the help he could get to survive the next few minutes.

“Well? Tuck in, everypony!” Applejack’s voice was higher and reedier than normal, fidgeting in her seat as all other eyes were fixed on Mac. “No sense letting it get cold now, is there?”

“Nnnope,” Mac agreed as he pointedly refused to make eye contact with anypony else in the room.

“Y’all heard her! Eat!” Granny Smith barked and Mac sighed in relief as, for now, the girls complied and fell to eating with an enthusiasm that could have been fairly described as ‘unseemly’, the food disappearing at a conspicuous rate.

For his part, Mac ate slowly and patiently, his attention entirely focused on the plate before him while his mind raced. He knew what was coming and was already debating what he was going to do about it. Playing dumb and silent would only get him so far, especially with Applejack; his sister could be as mean and as tenacious as a tick. That said, he was relieved to see her looking distinctly uncomfortable with the situation while the four other girls were eyeing him up like some particularly tasty morsel they were just itching to pounce on.

“Where’s Miss Twilight?” Mac broke the silence around the table as he looked around, the purple-hued unicorn distinctly absent from the gang of would-be interrogators.

“Oh, she said something about having to go to Canterlot,” Fluttershy said, nibbling at the edge of a pancake. “Something she had to speak to the Princess about, you know how it is. She asked me to look in on Spike while she was away.”

Mac nodded, taking a sip of his coffee as he gazed across the table to where the girls sat with ill-concealed eagerness. Stifling a sigh he glanced sidelong at Granny Smith and gave her a little nod. The Matriarch of the Apple Clan nodded in return and pushed briskly away from the table with a loud scraping of her chair.

“Alright, come on Applebloom! We got some chores need tending to. Far away from here!”

“Wait! But—I—Awwwwww!” Applebloom pouted the rest of the way out the kitchen as Applejack stood and closed the door behind the pair, leaving Mac alone in the room with the five mares. He took another long, lazy sip of his coffee before setting the mug down on the table.

“This ain’t none of y’all’s business,” he growled as he looked at each of them in turn. “So ya might as well all just eat up and ship out.” He might well be doomed, he’d be damned if he’d make it easy on them.

“A-HEM.”

Mac glanced at an exasperated-looking AJ and shook his head, “Ain’t none of your business either, AJ. Ya don’t see me askin’ about your stallion friends, do ya?”

“Au contraire, Mac,” Rarity interjected before the suddenly blushing Applejack could retaliate. “Your relationship is of a rather different nature, is it not? None of us have ever had the pleasure of dating one of the Royal family. Your relationship is, shall we say, a matter of public record.”

“Nnnnnope,” he stated, more firmly this time. “Right now this is ‘tween me and Luna. If it’s gossip y’all are after, go read the Ponyville Free Press.”

“I TOLD you he wouldn’t do this the easy way!” Rainbow burst out, slamming her hooves down on the table hard enough to set the crockery bouncing and leaning forward to jab a wing at Mac. “Enough prancing around! We know you went out with the Princess last night, Pinkie and half the town saw you kissing her! Dish the dirt Mac, or do we need to get tough with ya?”

Mac paused, looking over the rim of his coffee mug at Rainbow, one eyebrow arching upward. “Tough?”

Rainbow coughed, shifting a little under the stallion’s amused stare. “Y-Yeah! We know ways to make your life miserable, don’t we?”

“Uhm…I don’t,” Fluttershy squeaked, waving a hoof in the air. “Don’t you think we’re maybe taking this a bit too seriously, girls? If Mac doesn’t want to talk about it then—”

“Oooooh no! He doesn’t get to wiggle out of it that easily!” A heartbeat later Pinkie was over the table, and shining a light in his eyes, a lantern suddenly held in her mouth. “Nww sphill thbees!”

“Y’wanna fill me with bees?” Mac asked innocently. He was surprised to find he was actually starting to enjoy teasing the girls like this even as he winced and turned his head away from the light. Where HAD she got that thing from anyway?

“NNNMPH!” Pinkie protested, shaking her head and forcing Dash and Rarity to duck out of the way of the flailing lantern. “BEANS!” she finally managed to force the word out around the handle that filled her mouth.

“Ya’ll wanted beans? Ya shoulda talked t’Granny Smith.”

Pinkie spat the lantern out and glared at him, barely paying any attention to the fact that one of her hooves was sunk up to the ankle in apple pie. “So that’s how you want to play it, buster? We haff vays of making you whinny!”

“That’s what she—Mmph!” Rainbow was silenced by Applejack’s hoof over her mouth this time, the earth pony glaring at her friend until Dash rolled her eyes and sank back down into her chair.

“Pinkie, get down offa there,” Applejack growled, “an’ clean that mess off yer hooves ‘fore ya track it all over the kitchen!”

Pinkie blinked, looked down and squealed happily before shoving her pie-covered hoof into her muzzle and licking up every last trace of the sweet, crumbly mess before she hopped down to the floor. The mostly hollowed-out remains of the pie were then scooped up and thrust into her muzzle with such eagerness that Mac couldn’t help but stifle a shudder. What was it with the mares around here and their near-magical ability to make food disappear?

His attention returned to Rainbow Dash who had gone right back to glaring at him, the atmosphere in the kitchen growing more tense by the moment. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, on the verge of giving in when a thought occurred. They’d probably never agree to it but still, if he could needle Dash’s pride...

“Tell ya wut. Ah’ll make y’all a wager.”

The girls stared at him, the statement apparently catching all of them by surprise. He ignored Applejack covering her face with one hoof, his attention entirely on Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow as their eyes narrowed and they exchanged glances before turning back to him. Rarity was the first to speak. “Name your wager, darling. What do you propose?”

“Simple. A contest. Nothin’ hard now, nothin’ dangerous. Call it a test o’skill, patience an’nerve.”

“I’m in!” Dash blurted out before he could take another breath.

“Me too!” Pinkie was quick to follow, her eyes wide and excited. “Is it a pie eating contest? Painting the barn contest? Running loops around Ponyville contest? Parasprite wrangling? Hydra dancing? Dragon dueling? Princess parking?”

Mac and the mares exchanged a confused look. Fluttershy opened her mouth, a puzzled little frown on her face, only to be quickly shushed by Rarity before she could utter even a single syllable. “Some things are best left alone, darling.” The fashionista whispered to the pegasus.

“Nnnope,” Mac drawled once Pinkie paused to take a breath. “It’s nothing like that. In fact it’s somethin’ real simple. Balancing.”

There was a long pause before Rainbow Dash burst out in fits of laughter, hitting the ground and rolling on the floor as she held her sides. Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy all looked confused but Applejack? Applejack had lowered her hoof and was giving her brother a rather more suspicious look.

“What’s the matter, Ms Rainbow? This too tough a challenge for ya?”

“Tough? You gotta be kidding me! What’s so hard about balancing on something? I do it on clouds all the time! C’mon, Mac, at least pick something hard!”

“It’s alright if you don’t wanna admit ya got four left hooves, Rainbow,” he was careful to pitch his voice just SO, enough to sound like he was actually being understanding instead of condescending. “Not everypony has the skill for it.”

“SKILL? I’ll show you skill!” Dash was glaring up at him now. “You want a balancing contest? You got it!”

“Fence posts out back. Ah’ll take one, you girls take the other.” Mac kept his voice calm and neutral even as he allowed himself a little moment of triumph. Some folks almost made it too easy.

“All at once?” Dash snorted from the floor. “How’s that fair?”

“One at a time, Ms Dash. Rules are simple. Y’fall off, one o’the other girls takes yer place. Ah fall off, then ya get what ya want and ah’ll tell you about the date. Only other rules are no usin’ wings, no usin’ magic. Any part of ya touches the ground after ya climb onto the post, ya lose.”

Dash had clambered back up and was leaning on the table, staring suspiciously at Mac. “Five of us against one of you? That means you gotta stay on there five times as long as us!”

“Eeeyup.”

“And you still think you can beat ALL of us?”

“Eeeyup.”

“You’re on!” Dash spat on her hoof and extended it to Mac, who did likewise before thumping his hoof to hers.

“Y’might not wanna be looking so confident there, Rainbow.” Applejack warned as the group rose from the table and headed out to the back of the farm. “Mah brother’s got this weird zen thing going on, like those Neighponese ponies practice.”

“Oh come on, AJ! This is a mug’s game! How can he last longer than all of us put together? He’s so big the post’ll probably crack under him anyway!”

Applejack promptly thumped Rainbow on the shoulder. “Y’all questioning the quality of our fencing, Rainbow?”

“OW! Geeze, AJ….” Dash grumbled, rubbing at her shoulder. “Of course not! I just mean, well, look at him! He’s like as heavy as you and me put together after a binge at Sugarcube Corner.”

Applejack promptly punched Rainbow on the other shoulder. “Y’all callin’ mah brother fat?”

“OW!” Rainbow took the hint and danced away from the riled up earth pony. “Dammit, Applejack! You trying to take me out the contest before we even start?”

“No, just tryin’ t’thump some manners into that thick head of yours.” Applejack retorted, then stalked through the back door as Mac held it open for the girls to trot outside.

“Oh! You mean these ones?” Fluttershy asked, peering at two thick posts set near the edge of the yard. Each stood around three feet in height, roughly cylindrical in shape with rope strung loosely between them. They were just about wide enough for a pony to get two or three hooves down at once, but certainly not big enough for all four at the same time and a pony Mac’s size would be lucky to get even two on there at once.

He glanced at the girls and could already see Rainbow looking smug as she made the calculations in her head and realised the disadvantage she thought he would be at. “Eeeyup. The very ones,” he ambled over to the one on the right and patted it firmly. “Who wants t’be first?”

To his surprise, Fluttershy quickly stuck her hoof up. “P-Probably best we get the least confident ones out the way first, right?”

“As you like, Ms Fluttershy,” he replied. Mac waited for the pegasus to flutter over and settle down (somewhat unsteadily at first) onto the fence post before he reared to his haunches and pulled himself up. He was forced to balance somewhat precariously at first till he got himself settled as he liked. He’d done this a hundred times before, just never with an audience and never on something quite so SMALL as this, but that didn’t matter once he got himself settled.

“No cheatin’,” was all he added as he closed his eyes and let his breathing slow. He braced his forehooves lightly atop the rear ones, letting his weight settle back comfortably onto his haunches, swiveling his hips just enough to cushion the weight of his body, his head bowed to help counterbalance the mass of his powerful hind legs.

“Oh… Oh dear,” he could hear Fluttershy already struggling to stay in place, her wings twitching, the feathers rustling as she fought to keep from spreading them.

“Come on, Fluttershy! You can do it! Keep your weight backwards! No wait, forwards!” He could just imagine Rainbow Dash hovering before the poor yellow pegasus, doing her best to try and urge her on in her own inimitable fashion. “No! No! Not like that!”

Mac opened one eye to find Fluttershy laying face-first on the ground, her rump pointed helplessly skyward, her mane down over her face as her wings twitched weakly. “Y’all right there, Ms Fluttershy?”

“Uh-huh,” was the somewhat dazed reply. “I think I fell.”

“You THINK?” Dash burst out as she helped Fluttershy right herself and stumble over to join the others. “Okay, that’s it. No more foolin’ around! Let the professional do it.”

Now this Mac had to see. Careful not to let his concentration slip he opened both eyes to watch as Rainbow confidently swooped down to take up station on the post. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed and intense as she carefully positioned her hooves, her wings tucked tight to her flanks. “You’re gonna lose, Mac,” she taunted. “You’re totally going down.”

“Mmhmmm.”

“I got this one. You might as well just quit now.”

“Mmhmmm.”

“Come on, darling! You can do it, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried, stomping her forehooves on the ground.

“Course I can, I’m awesome! I got this in the bag. No sweat.”

Fluttershy had recovered enough to offer up her own soft but heartfelt “Yay,” for Rainbow, watching intently as Dash stood straight and tall on the post as if she was made of stone. In fact, Mac noticed, she really was standing a bit TOO straight and tall. Like a rookie in the royal guard she’d made one fatal mistake and locked her knees in place, thinking this would help support her. She was so tense all she was doing was making her body work all the harder.

Sure enough, as the minutes ticked by, he could see little beads of sweat starting to glisten on Rainbow’s face. The pegasus snorted, tossing her head irritably rather than risking her balance by moving one of her hooves to wipe it away. It all happened in mere moments after that.

“AJ—” Mac didn’t even manage to finish warning his sister that she’d have to step in as Dash’s eyes rolled back in her head and the rainbow-maned pegasus simply keeled over and off the post, thudding to the ground hard enough to make Mac wince in sympathy.

“Oh no! Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy and Pinkie quickly rushed over to the downed pegasus while Applejack went to fetch a pitcher of water for her.

“She alright, ladies?” Mac rumbled, taking the opportunity to shift his own weight a little, rubbing an annoying itch on his muzzle against his shoulder before he settled into place once more.

“Oh, she’ll be fine,” Fluttershy assured him. “She takes hits a lot harder than that in practice. We’ve lost count of how many times she’s crashed into Twilight’s library too.”

Mac grunted, then just nodded to the now-vacant post, “Rarity, Pinkie? Applejack? Who’s gonna be up next?”

“Aw no, ah ain’t takin’ part in this. If ya don’t wanna talk about what went on then ah ain’t about t’try and force ya into it.” Applejack looked over at Pinkie and Rarity. “Sorry girls, it just ain’t worth it. Ah’ll take Rainbow inside and make sure she didn’t do any more damage t’that thick skull of hers.”

Rarity and Pinkie exchanged glances, “I’d really rather not run the risk of chipping a hoof or getting dust in my mane, darling…” Rarity ventured to the suddenly empty air as Pinkie hopped up and onto the fence post before she’d even finished her sentence.

“Alright, buster! I told you ve haff vays of making you whinny! It is ON now.” Pinkie snorted and lowered her head down, glaring at Mac from beneath the tangle of her mane, her four hooves planted firmly atop the post.

Mac simply nodded laconically and let his eyes drift closed again as he settled back into his semi-crouch atop the post. As he relaxed it came to him, not for the first time, that this could well be some sort of earth pony magic. It had taken time, but now when he calmed his mind he could almost feel a presence from the ground beneath him. Not just touching his hooves, but feel it reaching up and inside him to help support him.

His hooves were as steady as the roots in the orchard, his breathing as slow and easy as the breeze through the leaves, every sense stilled and yet attuned to what was going on around him. Was this what Luna meant, he wondered? Was this the stillness she had sensed in him?

“Oh you’re good,” Pinkie’s voice impinged on his thoughts and he flicked an ear in her direction. “But you’re talking to the one-hoof balancing champion of Ponyville!” He let his eyes open to find that Pinkie was, indeed, standing on just one hoof on the other post, a teasing smile on her face as she hopped from one hoof to the other with perfect accuracy.

“Impressive,” he acknowledged. “But it ain’t all just about bein’ fancy, it’s about stayin’ the course.”

“I got stamina to spare, buster! I’m a finely tuned balancing machine and it’s time to balance the books with YOU!” She again hopped from one hoof to the next and then suddenly, just as she straightened up again, her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh no! Nonono!”

With that sudden, cryptic yell, Pinkie’s whole body suddenly vibrated violently, the pink pony bouncing right off the post, onto the ground and halfway across the yard before she stopped, panting softly. “Oh wow! I haven’t had a doozy like that since Twilight and the hydra!” She blinked and looked around. “Oh PONYFEATHERS, and I lost too!”

Mac turned his attention to Rarity, who gave a graceful shrug. “I think we must concede defeat, Mac. Your secrets remain yours to keep. I do hope that you will share some of what goes on with you and Luna when your relationship has had a chance to grow some more, though. You must at least understand our curiosity. Princess Luna has always shunned the public eye since her return and while we know some of what Princess Celestia is like through Twilight, her nocturnal sister is as much a mystery now as she was three years ago when we freed her from the grasp of that despicable Nightmare.”

Content that the matter was resolved for the moment, Mac hopped down from his post and extended a hoof in commiseration to Pinkie Pie, who was looking downcast. “Ah think you’d have given me a right close run there, Ms Pinkie. Maybe we can do it another time when yer Pinkie Sense ain’t acting up.”

“Okiedokielokie!” Pinkie shook hooves briskly and trotted back into the farmhouse.

“Well, it appears that’s that, darling. I do believe we have a spa appointment today. Shall we be going?” Rarity asked Fluttershy. “Do you need to check on Rainbow before we head back into town?”

“Oh yes. I should just check she’s okay to leave. It’ll only take a minute, I promise,” Fluttershy flashed Mac a shy smile and trotted inside, followed close behind by Rarity. Mac sighed, sagging down to sit on his haunches, shifting a little to relieve the first beginnings of a cramp in his leg. Rocks and treestumps were definitely a whole lot easier than a fence post. He made a note not to try that again and instead just took a moment to enjoy the quiet.

Applejack’s friends were all good ponies, he knew that, and they’d proved that to the town and to Equestria as a whole time and time again but they sure were hard work some days. Each of them on their own wasn’t too bad, but when they were all together like that it was as if they fed off each other and just grew that much larger than life because of it.

“They’re gone,” Applejack’s voice roused him from his contemplations and he nodded as he rose to all fours again and joined his sister by the back door.

“Thanks, AJ. For respectin’ mah privacy, mine and Luna’s. We didn’t mean for last night t’happen, not like that, anyhow.”

“So much for keepin’ things quiet,” Applejack snorted and shook her head. “Ah don’t know if ah want to hug you or thump your skull. You two ain’t gonna keep this quiet for long with displays like that.”

“How much did Pinkie see, exactly? What did she tell the others?”

“Not much, just that you and the Princess were in the middle a’the dancefloor, kissin’ up a storm like ya were the last two ponies alive.”

Mac groaned quietly and butted his forehead against the doorframe. “Ah really didn’t mean t’do that. It just…happened. She was there and lookin’ so beautiful and ah just—”

“Did what most folks would do in your place, Mac,” her voice was softer now and the look she gave him was warm, tinged with concern. “Ah know you ain’t never really gone with a filly before so this is all real new to ya. Ah just… Y’be careful, okay? Luna wouldn’t hurt ya, but it ain’t her that worries me. Ya know what them Canterlot folks can be like and ah just don’t wanna see ya with yer heart broke. Promise me you and her will be more careful from now on, alright? Just until YOU decide that ya wanna tell folks.”

Mac solemnly performed the motions of the Pinkie Promise before suddenly finding himself clutched near painfully tight in AJ’s forelegs as she reared up to hug him to her, burying her head down against his shoulder. “Ah promise, Sis,” he repeated as he nuzzled at her ears. “We’ll be careful.” And yet, even as he said the words, part of him couldn’t help but wonder just what the “doozy” was that Pinkie had sensed...

Author's Notes:

Hello folks,

As there might be a little delay over Christmas as I'm down with the wife's family, I decided to give you a little early present and post this up a few days ahead of schedule. I'm 2500 words into chapter 11 so you MIGHT get it before Christmas, but as I imagine my editors will be off with their families I make no promises.