//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Big Mac to the Rescue! // Story: Before Nightfall: Barely Rescued // by Jordan179 //------------------------------// As usual, Big Mac's first intimation that something was wrong came with a sudden shrill sound from his sister. It was neither a shriek, nor a scream of pain. It was high, tinkling merry laughter, a sure sign that something had amused Apple Bloom. This was not necessarily a good sign. Apple Bloom found many things amusing, including some from which full-grown Ponies quite reasonably quailed in terror. Apple Bloom was an optimist; she assumed the world and all within to be friendly. She was also exceedingly brave. These were charming attributes for a three-year-old filly; however, they were not necessarily survival traits, especially for a three-year-old filly living on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. As Big Mac shrugged himself free from the plow's traces in one single, fluid and well-practiced movement, his mind briefly flashed back to an earlier occasion on which Apple Bloom had laughed much the same way. That time, Big Mac's little sister had found a rattlesnake with which to play -- she had squalled in foalish fury when Mackie had desperately darted in and trampled the serpent, squashing it to jelly under his huge hard hooves while managing to avoid striking even a glancing blow to the fragile little filly right beside the viper. That had been an interesting experience, where "interesting" is taken to include waking up in a cold sweat for weeks thereafter, shaking in terror at the realization of how very easily things might have gone wrong, and left him with one less little sister. That was the day Big Mac fully realized that his relative fearlessness concerning his own fate did not prevent him, by any means, from knowing stark terror on behalf of a loved one. The memory spurred him forward. He broke out into a full gallop, from almost a standing start, and dashed into the underbrush. Leaves and branches lashed him unheeded; his only acknowledgement of their presence was to blink when they whipped too close to his eyes. As he broke through the belt of undergrowth on the edge of the Everfree, fears flickered through his mind. What, precisely, had Apple Bloom found to entertain her? Few large predators came this close to Sweet Apple Acres, so it probably wasn't anything like a Manticore. Timber Wolves sometimes did -- the animated woodpiles were extremely aggressive, more so than natural animals -- but Bloomie knew, due to her encounter with them last season, that Timber Wolves were not at all funny or playful. No, at worst it was some normal predator -- maybe a fox or coyote or wolf or even bear. A deadly threat to a small filly, but of these the only one Big Mac wasn't certain he could overcome would be a bear -- and he was faster than any bear ever born. If he could get to Apple Bloom in time, she would be okay. The brush fell away, and he was racing along a deer trail through the woods. Above, multi-canopy vegetation closed off the sky. It was a cool green-tinged darkness, silent aside from Apple Bloom's giggles. Thank Celestia the filly's still laughing, thought Mackie. His own hooves loudly cracked and rustled branches and leaf-litter under them as he ran. He dodged around the bole of a tree, and abruptly Apple Bloom's red-topped yellow form was in view. Alive, laughing and in no worse danger than the worst of his imaginings. Apple Bloom had found -- or been found by -- a big brown bear. The bear was already bigger than Big Mac, and it had probably not yet attained its full growth. Mackie knew that its bones were thicker even than his own, its musculature immensely powerful, the beast quite capable of felling him with a single strike anywhere along his own spine. Even a blow elsewhere could break his bones, and each great forepaw was armed with claws longer than the thickness of Mac's own hooves. The bear could kill him with those claws; even a wound would do terrible damage. It could, of course, kill little Bloomie without even really trying. That was why, when Big Mac saw the bear, he did not even consider backing off, but instead increased his pace, charging directly in, shouting "Hey! Yew! EeYAHH!!" It was vitally-important to fix the beast's attention on himself, rather than on his vulnerable little sister. Big Mac was fairly sure he could survive a glancing blow from the beast; he strongly doubted Bloomie could do the same. As Big Mac closed the distance, two things hapened. Bloomie turned and cooed delightedly at her big brother, "Hi, Mackie!"; and the bear emitted a great bawling roar, and reared up to its full frightening height. Even at this moment of supreme danger, Big Mac was sufficiently calm to notice an important point: the bear was not so much roaring as bawling, indicating more confusion and fear than active aggression. This did not mean that Apple Bloom was safe; a confused or spooked bear could still lash out with lethal force. But it did explain why Bloomie wasn't dead yet, and it meant that Mackie had a good chance of getting his sister away from the bear without either Pony getting hurt -- if he moved fast. Big Mac moved about as fast as any Earth Pony ever did over uncertain footing; driven on by his love for his little sister. At the penultimate moment, he feinted left, then flung his whole body to the right, scooped up Apple Bloom in his mouth, and dashed to the right, running past the bear. As he ran, Big Mac glanced over his shoulder. The bear whirled with dismaying speed, one great paw coming down toward his rump in a mighty slap. Big Mac leaped foward, and -- instead of smashing his pelvis -- the bear's paw instead swatted his tail, missing Mackie's dock and just tearing hairs out from his skirt of straw-colored tail hairs, doing nothing worse than stinging the big stallion. Big Mac lit out of there as if he had a bear on his tail, because that was the exact situation. He had to pay very close attention to his footing, for a stumble at full gallop with an angry bear chasing him would be a more than usually unfortunate occurrence. The glance or two he was able to snatch behind him showed the bear, running faster than Mackie would have imagined possible on his clumsy plantigrade paws, keeping up a fairly close pursuit. Big Mac knew he could not afford to slow down, for any distraction. Apple Bloom constituted a minor distraction. The little filly was crying and squirming in Mackie's oral grasp. "Ah wanna play with the big doggie!" she complained. The 'big doggie' made whuffing noises disconcertingly close behind Big Mac's tail. "Mmmph-nope," replied Mackie, eliciting further wails. Big Mac well knew the woods through which he raced; he was currently making a beeline west-southwest from the Southwest Fields, bearing directly away from Sweet Apple Acres, running through the fringes of the Everfree. This was not so dangerous a part of the hell-forest. Long before he got in very deep, the bear would be winded; compared to Ponies, bears were poor endurance runners. The problem was that, when this happened, the bear would be between Mackie and Sweet Apple Acres. This meant that to make their way back home, they would either have to chance meeting the bear again, or take a wide arc to avoid it. And bears were smart -- given the chance, the bear might attempt to ambush them. So Big Mac began a gentle curve to the right. He dared not curve too sharply, for if he did the bear might cut his corner and attack him from the side. But Mackie was a powerful runner over rough ground, and he had a slight edge in speed; thus he was able to turn the chase around, until they were running toward the farm. He timed this perfectly, for just as this happened, the bear began to slow, its great strength finally flagging, worn out by the effort of propelling its huge body on flat feet at the ends of legs short and poorly-jointed for running. Bears were ambush predators, capable of a short sprint at speed, but not the magnificent, miles-devouring gait of Ponies. The bear slowed to a shuffle, and then sat down, panting heavily. Big Mac could plainly see its baleful glare as it fell away behind him. Ah'll have to do something about that, Big Mac thought, a slight shiver down his spine as he considereed what might have happened. This could have gone bad real easy. What if I'd been just a mite slower grabbing Bloom, or dodging the bear's strike? What if it had come on Granny or Grampa? They cain't run so fast no more. That bear's just not shy enough around Ponies. Now, there's nothing else fer it. Ah'll probably have to come back and put the brute down. He felt slightly saddened at the notion. Big Mac was determined to do what was necessary, but he did not enjoy killing -- certainly not killing anything as smart and Pony-like as a bear. But the safety of his family came first.