MLP: Divergent Days Ch. 9

Chapter 9

Applejack, tired and sore from a long day of bucking, slowly trotted back to the farm house with a cart full of apples in tow. Typically she and Macintosh would call it a day around seven in the evening, but after lunch she had gotten started a little later than she would have liked. Now, quarter to nine, her body ached in ways she felt far too often for a young mare. After Applejack had joined her brother in the west field, Macintosh decided to leave and work on the north field; leaving her alone for the greater part of the day. Now, as Applejack neared the house, her suspicions from earlier were correct; Mac had finished before her... again. The front porch light was on, a sign that the two siblings used to taunt one another; telling the other they finished first.

"Lucky pony."

All around the barn, she could see several additional apple carts; all full and waiting to be sorted, signaling tomorrow will be another busy day. As Applejack neared the house, she noticed something off about it's appearance. Specifically, two somethings snaked out of the front door, down the porch, and around towards the barn. As she stepped closer, she realized they are two orange power cords; badly sun baked, the orange faded to an almost pink color. Curiosity showed its ugly head as she investigated. Following the path with her eyes, the two orange cables ran into the barn; a light could be seen throughout the many cracks in the wood sides.

"What in the-?"

"Kurt said he needed some power."

Applejack jumped, surprised by her brothers sudden arrival, although he just stood there, a piece of hay in his mouth as he looked at his sister with a content expression. His eyes seemed to droop on the sides of his face, giving a very "simple" look to Macintosh's appearance. However, looks were deceiving, as he was actually quite intelligent despite his accent and build. Through his simplicity, you could find a lot of wisdom in his words; one of the shining examples of the content of the package being more important than its wrappings; it simply took looking beyond those droopy eyes.

Retuning to the power cords, Applejack tried to understand what was going on as she continued toward the barn, "What's he doin'?"

"I dunno, but his music be mighty loud," Mac said, following his sister.

As they drew near, the two siblings did indeed hear music playing. The closer they got, the louder and louder it grew.

"Geeze, Kurt's gonna blow his ear drums with that," Applejack added, unhitching the cart from herself.

"Eeyup. Ah needs ta help Granny with dinner t'night. Could ya get'em ta turn it down a notch?"

Applejack looked to her brother, then to the barn, "Ah suppose. Jus' gimme a minute."

With a nod, Macintosh walked back to the house, leaving his sister several yards from the barn; slowly, Applejack made her way to the front door. A faint light protruded from around the door's edge, as well as several cracks along the wood planking that made up the walls. As she reached for the handle with her teeth, she could clearly hear the lyrics to the music Kurt was listening to. It was a heavier metal beat, one that she could imagine Rainbow Dash would listen to.

"What is it really, that motivates you? The need to fly or this fear to stop? I'll go along, when you realize. When we get there I say nine of ten drop.

Applejack tried to ignore the loud music as she slid the door open, looking for Kurt. What she found first instead was a blinding light; using her hat to cover her face, she tried to look toward Kurt's Blue vehicle. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a standing light fixture aiming at the front of Kurt's Blazer.

Now who's the light and who is the devil? You can't decide so I'll be your guide. And one by one they will be hand chosen. Now this is what it's like when worlds collide!"

Deciding to get a closer look, she slowly trotted over toward the vehicle. Every so often, she saw a flickering light coming from the front of Kurt's Blazer. Along with the flashes, she noticed a familiar smell of burning, but there was no fire or smoke to go along with it. Having both the blaring music deafening her ears and the burning smell irritating her nose, she was beginning to feel disoriented inside her own barn. Walking around the front end of the vehicle, she saw Kurt kneeling on the ground, holding something up in his hands to the front end of his Blazer. Behind him, sat two oddly tall tanks attached by some type of hose to the brass handle he was holding.

"Are you ready to go? Cause I'm ready to go! What you gonna do baby, baby? Are you going with me? Cause I'm going with you. It's the end of all tiiiiime!"

Applejack couldn't even hear herself think though the heavy metal beat. Finally, next to Kurt she spied a sliver rectangular stereo sitting on the ground; a small black device also plugged into one of the ports on the front. Stepping closer, she gave the noise maker a swift nudge, somehow apparently hitting the power button as it turned off. Kurt, startled by the sudden quietness, stopped and turned to Applejack. She jumped a little when Kurt faced her, his appearance looking like some sort of crazed, storybook scientist. He had on a strange pair of tinted goggles and a thick black apron covering his chest. Over his hands and up to his elbows were black leather gloves, seemingly protecting him from the brass device in his hands. His trademark orange baseball cap was on his head backwards, the brim behind his neck.

Kurt took his free hand and turned one of the knobs on the brass device. A bright flame had been spewing from the end of it; now as Kurt turned the knob it went from bright white to blue, then finally disappeared. Applejack could instantly tell the burning smell was coming from that device Kurt was holding, as the smell had already begun to dissipate now that it was off. Kurt set it down and lifted his goggles from his face.

"Yes?" Kurt said, showing a smile. A thick layer of dust and soot had layered itself on his face, and the goggles removed from around his eyes show the skin around them to be untouched. It gave Kurt a comical appearance, one quickly made apparent to Kurt when Applejack let out a small chuckle.

"What's all this here?"

"Oh, my torch? Yea, my Blazer is almost 15 years old, half that time it went through salty winters. It's so rusted up I have no other choice but to cut some of this out to work on the radiator."

Applejack had no clue what most of that meant, but Kurt seemed to know what he was doing so the earth pony let it go, "Ok, if ya are a'right then. Jus' one thing, that music there be kinda loud, so-"

"Oh, sorry. I get kinda in the moment when I'm working. I'll make sure to keep it down," Kurt said, standing with a stretch.

"Well, if ya need anythin' jus' get Macintosh from tha house. Ah'm gonna be gone for tha evenin' so yer on yer own."

"Oh? Where to, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Pinkie's party."

Kurt paused for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he tried to remember. His movement sent light clouds of dust and soot into the air as he vaguely remembered Pinkie mentioning something about a party.

"Ya, it's suppose ta be yer 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, but ya can't exactly go."

"Right, cause I'm a human. I get it."

"Yer not upset are ya?"

"No, I understand."

"Ok, jus' keep yer music down 'n don't work too hard."

Applejack began to walk back, a slight skip in her trot as this discussion with Kurt went better than she had thought. Maybe the human was calming down, relaxing now that he was getting to know the ponies. That would at least make his staying here more bearable.

"Oh, and Applejack, one more thing."

"Welp, there went that thought," Applejack stopped, and turned around to Kurt. She half expected Kurt to say some witty comment, or do something stupid. Instead, she turned around to find Kurt looking at her, concentration and seriousness in his face; as well as some guilt, judging form his body posture. He rubbed his hands together; the leather gloves made some sort of creaking noise as his right palm rubbed on the back of his left hand.

"Look, I just wanted to..." Kurt found himself unable to speak suddenly. He knew what he had to say; he had no right earlier to yell at her like he did. It seemed the pony was over the deal, but in the back of Kurt's mind it had been bothering him. Finally, it had become unbearable as he watched the pony leave, "...say I'm..."

"Yer what sugarcube?"

Kurt looked to the ground, trying to say the word, "Ug, it was easy with that white unicorn, why can't I say it to Applejack so easy?" Kurt rubbed his right arm, and finally looks back to the orange earth pony. Her brown cowboy hat slightly off kilter to her left side, and her blonde mane wrapped around the right side of her neck. She stood there quietly, waiting for Kurt's inevitable response.

Finally, putting all his frustration and pain from earlier behind him, he spoke the word:

"Sorry"

Applejack raised her brow, as she looked at the human confused, "What was that?"

Kurt sighed, "Honestly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you earlier after Rarity had shocked me. I'm just so tired of all this; it's all so different for me and I'm just..." Kurt relaxed his arms at his sides, slapping them on his jeans, "...tired."

Applejack studied Kurt's face for a moment; seeing the sorrow and pain he had endured, she realized it all must have been hard on him. And yet, he worked away at his vehicle to try and prepare it for his departure, if that even happened. Hopefully for Kurt, it does. This apology also added to Applejack's cheer; the human being more honest now. Applejack had something she too needed to say -- or ask, in her case.

"It's a'right Kurt, ah know ya were upset. It happens ta all of us. Well, while yer bein' all honest, mind if ah ask ya a question?"

Kurt looked up to Applejack, glad to see her smiling still, "Well I must have done ok. I didn't even swear!", Kurt nodded.

"Ah was wonderin', ya called me 'Amanda' when ya woke up. What were that 'bout?"

"Fuck", Kurt stiffened up, adjusting his hat; he was not expecting the question so suddenly. He wasn't sure if he had said that or not, but he clearly remembered the dream. Applejack continued to stare towards Kurt, unaware that he was completely unsure how to answer her question. He couldn't just go out and say who she was; it was bad enough he had to live with the guilt. He didn't want to go and tell his life story to every person he saw. Kurt cleared his throat, and kneeled back down to his Blazer; picking up the torch handle and quickly placing on his goggles.

"It's nobody, don't worry about it. I was disoriented, just blabbering."

Applejack was unconvinced; she knew full well that Kurt was lying. Even though he was a human, and she was a pony, the way he tried to avoid her gaze and change the topic was a clear indicator of deceit, regardless of the species. Before she could ask any further questions, there was a knock at the barn door. She looked over, and spied Macintosh standing at the entrance; he tried desperately to shade his eyes from the blinding light like she had earlier.

"What is it brother?"

"Can ya come out here a sec'nd?" Mac asked, not entering the barn.

Applejack began to leave, wondering what had drawn her brother from the house.

"Have fun at my party," Kurt called, not looking away from his Blazer.

Applejack, who was still curious about Kurt's actions, simply nodded and left the barn. There was no sense in pushing the topic further; it was evident Kurt did not want to talk about it.

"What's up Macintosh?"

"Welp, Rainbow Dash stopped by real quick ta make sure yer goin to tha party 'n all."

"Aw shoot, ah need ta get a move on," Applejack began to trot away, then stopped and looked back to her brother, "Ya comin' Big Mac?"

Macintosh simply shook his head slowly. He almost never went to Pinkie's parties, but his sister always asked him that same question each time. With some adjustment of the straw of hay in his mouth, he looked to the evening sky, "Naw, ah ain't feelin' too good. Ah think ah pulled somethin' buckin'."

"Again with tha lyin'" Applejack just nodded as she continued to trot away; not before she shouted back, "Maybe ah can get Rarity to give ya a massage like Kurt got fer yer pain!"

Macintosh just gave a light chuckle, as he sat down and watched his sister leave. Her figure got smaller and smaller the closer she trotted towards Ponyville. The town wasn't very noticeable when it got late; the only lights on were normally the street lamps, and from the farm it was nearly impossible to see those alone. Macintosh sat in front of the barn, looking back up into the sky. Stars were beginning to pop up as Celestia lowered her burning sun, making room for Luna's bright moon.

There had always been something personal about the moon to Macintosh. Its illuminating light casting a blanket of coolness down onto Equestria. It was always so beautiful; Macintosh could easily understand why Luna had become so resentful a thousand years ago, wanting to make it an "everlasting night". He always felt it to be some sort of duty to the night princess to just sit and gaze at the moon every night. He would always do it before bed; sitting at his window, looking towards the sky, he would gaze at the moon -- making a wish on the rare occasions he saw a shooting star.

It seemed each wish was different, whether it was as simple as a new plow, or as complex as wishing for the ability to visit space and explore the moon he looked upon each night. However, for the last two stars, he wished for the same thing: some confidence. He was a good hearted stallion and did what he could to help others, whether he knew them or not. He worked hard to help support his family. But after his parents' passing, he felt a constant emptiness in his heart. It wasn't that he needed parents, but somepony else to feel the same kind of love towards. Sure he loved his sisters and granny, but he was at the age in which he should have settled down by now and had a foal.

Regrettably, the farm had kept him from doing such things. Applejack was able to go out and enjoy herself with her friends, just like Applebloom. Granny had her cooking and her bingo nights in the town hall where she got to mingle with other grand-ponies. Macintosh... had the farm. Sure, he talked every so often to Applejack and Applebloom's friends, and occasionally the other elderly ponies when he went to walk Granny Smith home, but he always felt like somepony who was merely tagging along, and that he had nothing to look forward to that he could call his own. He recalled all the stories that the elders told him -- stories of past and present loves -- and, though he was far too preoccupied with farm work to dwell on it much, he did find himself longing for another pony in his life; one to curl up next to in front of an open fire or sit next to in the park as they watched other ponies move to and fro.

"Why are you still here?."

Macintosh jumped a little as he turned around to see Kurt standing in the doorway of the barn. His goggles, gloves, and apron were removed and his hat faced the correct direction; his face, however, was still dirty except around his eyes. Macintosh did his best to keep himself from laughing as Kurt walked up to the stallion and sat on the ground beside him. Macintosh looked back towards the distant Ponyville, continuing to think. Kurt continued to look at the large red stallion.

"Well?" Kurt asked again.

"I don't feel like goin' at tha moment," Macintosh lied, not looking directly at Kurt.

"Geeze Mac, and I thought I was a terrible liar. It's alright if I call you Mac right?"

Macintosh simply nodded as he kept his focus on the town.

"Beautiful night tonight, its a shame you're not going to that party of mine," Kurt said again, looking up at the twinkling stars above.

Macintosh did the same, staring at each individual star he could spy.

"Ah said, ah don't feel much like goin'."

"You know, I've seen that look in a person's eyes before."

The statement caught Macintosh off guard, as Kurt continued to talk.

"I've been doing this since I was five years old," Kurt began, "Watching, waiting, for something to happen that would fill a gap in my life."

Macintosh looked to the human, who was still looking up to the twinkling stars.

"The night I started doing this, I saw something amazing. A long streak of light, shooting itself from one side of the sky to the other. It was so beautiful; it was my first shooting star."

Macintosh looked back to the night sky; he wanted ever so desperately to see a shooting star tonight and make another wish. They were never answered, but it was still something he would look towards.

"I made a wish on it, even though I didn't know that's what you are suppose to do anyway. I wished for something in my life to happen and make me happy. Make me know that I can have something to look forward to. You know what happened Mac?"

Macintosh looked back to the human, who was still staring at the night sky. Mac didn't even get a chance to respond, as Kurt continued.

"A miracle. The best thing in my life," Kurt then turned to Macintosh, looking at him  square in the eyes, "Don't let your chance slip away. Just because I got lucky with my first wish doesn't mean your thousandth wish will even come close."

Macintosh stared at Kurt longer. For as loudmouthed a human as he was, Kurt was showing another side of himself to Macintosh. What it was that sparked the human to talk, Mac had not a clue. With Kurt's words bouncing around in his mind, Mac stood to stretch his back; keeping his focus towards Ponyville once more.

"You should go to that party tonight."

Mac looked to Kurt, who was still sitting on the ground. He had elevated his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"Go. Have some fun. You can't always wait for your wish to come to you. Sometimes, you have to go after the wish."

Macintosh looked back towards Ponyville, shifting his shoulders to adjust his large harness as he stared at the small town. Down there was Sugarcube Corner, where a "Welcome" party was being held for a guest that couldn't even enjoy his own party. In that building was his sister playing, talking, and having fun with her friends. One of her friends, Fluttershy, being a very shy, yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, stood out in Macintosh's mind. That pony, he dare thought, may just be the one to fill his empty gap.

She never said much to Macintosh, but since he laid his eyes on her he'd had a strange feeling in his gut. He would always account it to being around his sister; after all, she could say something embarrassing about him to her friends. But, more and more, he found himself thinking about her, and growing eager to join Applejack on jots up to town to meet up with her friend. The yellow Pegasus was always so gentle, caring, and nice. The problem however, was that Macintosh couldn't bring himself to talk to her. She already hid from most stallions, and he was one of the biggest in Ponyville; he could see fear, either shyness or intimidation, in her eyes, which told him that whenever he was around, she felt like fleeing.

That was why, Whenever he saw a shooting star this year, he wished for the confidence in himself to go up to her and talk. He had never been the best at talking with mares; then again, the only ones he ever talked to were his sisters' friends. All of them were very friendly and talkative, except Fluttershy. She was kind, but Mac was worried the mare feared him. That, in turn, caused Macintosh to fear talking to her, not wanting to scare her to death. He didn't even know what he would talk about anyway; he would make himself look like a fool stuttering and unable to keep communication. That feeling in his gut always silenced him before he could look her in the eye and actually speak his mind to her.

Suddenly, Macintosh felt the weight around his shoulders be lifted, literally. He turned to see Kurt taking off his large wooden harness, standing there with the confidence Mac wished he had. Kurt smiled down to the stallion, motioning his head towards Ponyville.

"The more you think about it, the harder it is to actually act. Just do it; don't be such a fuckin' pansy."

Even with Kurt's slang, Macintosh felt another weight being lifted from his shoulders, although more metaphorical. Without saying a word, Macintosh began to trot towards Ponyville. At first it was a slow walk, then became a trot, and finally a full on sprint.

Macintosh had no clue why he was running; only knew that he should, as if his chances would slip away forever if he did not hurry. A question of why he was doing this popped itself into his mind, trying to fray him and cause him to stop. But Kurt's words echoed throughout his brain, pushing that small thought away. What Kurt said came from the heart, and Mac wasn't going to let Kurt's words go to waste. Even if nothing happened, and he and Fluttershy just talked, at least he could say he did something. He quickly realized he didn't thank the human, which he would have to do tomorrow if everything panned out correctly.

Kurt heard the galloping of hooves down the dirt path, and chuckled to himself as he set the heavy harness against the barn side.

"Man, how does he carry that thing? It weighs a ton," Kurt brushed himself off, looking back in the direction Mac had taken leave. He knew there was a town down there, and he couldn't go for obvious reasons. But it would be nice to at least see people moving around, talking and going on with their lives. Just some sort of sign of life other than himself. The only problem here though, is they weren't human, they were ponies.

Kurt looked back up into the night sky, eyeing all the stars. He could see what he thought were several constellations. Not ones like back on Earth, which were randomly placed stars in the solar system. These seemed to be more detailed, like they were made on purpose unlike the stars above his planet. Then, across the sky, a shooting star appeared for a brief moment, and quickly disappeared. He looked back down to Macintosh's harness, and smiled to himself.

"I sure hope you get your wish Mac."

Kurt hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the stallion and his sister; but he was human and they were stupid most of the time. Scratch that, most of the time were stupid. They did things they clearly knew they shouldn't. Why? Curiosity mostly, as well as greed and love. Kurt wondered if ponies felt and did the same things, or if they all were oblivious to those sorts of feelings. He could tell there was love, but what about greed? Pain, suffering, horror. The common feelings Kurt had gone through so many times in his life.

Somehow, it all felt a little more manageable since he got here. At first, he was miserable around the ponies. But now as time passed, he was finding them to be an interesting bunch; especially Applejack and her brother, Macintosh. Heck, they could almost be frie-

Kurt felt a cold shiver down his spine, giving him the shakes as he turned around towards the barn. No, he almost thought it. He couldn't think it, or even want it. The pain with Amanda was too much for him to endure again...

"Amanda..." Kurt whispered, looking up into the night sky.

Every time it started just like this; he met some people, they get along well, then next thing he knew they were calling him their "friend". And each time, Kurt freaked out and just left. He hated to act so rude to people, because, quite frankly, he was a friendly guy, besides his foul mouth and his adding personal thoughts to situations.  Still, an attachment to these ponies wasn't what he wanted to feel. He couldn't let anyone become close to him. Otherwise, Kurt feared they would fall upon the same fate as his only friend.

Kurt stood there, lost in thought, beginning to question the way he acted towards Macintosh.. Why had he talked to him the way he did? All it seemed to do was spur this rage in him and cause him to spiral back into his long lost depression.

His body tried to push himself back into the barn and continue work on his blazer.

His mind was telling him to forget all about this and get out of this crazy world.

His heart, telling him to just let go...

...but he couldn't...

"I need a beer," Kurt muttered, then entered the barn in silence.