Pink Apple Seeds

by The1Ryu

Chapter Three: The Witchy Mare

Chapter Three
The Witchy Mare

Weeks passed but Big Macintosh never left his room, the only real change coming when the tall red colt moved to his bed, giving up on trying to keep the door barred. His parents were never invasive usually just gently knocking on his door and giving a short plea for him to come out or eat something which was always ignored. Applejack, however, was a different story; she tried everything she could think of to get in finally succeeding when she climbed up to his window. Worried the stubborn little filly would hurt herself and realizing that having her in his room was no worst then her banging on his door and yelling at him, Big Macintosh relocated to his bed.

Valencia brought him food but Big Macintosh never ate nor did he really sleep. Each day he seemed to get worst, listless, numb to their presence, and soon he seemed completely catatonic. His half open eyes grew distant and his family grew more worried. They didn’t understand what was happening whether it had to do with his strange abilities, his depression or both.

Applejack sat at a small picnic table her hooves cupping her cheeks as she glared down at the table trying to think of how to snap Big Macintosh out of his stupor. Apple Bloom sat nearby burbling and playing with a set of worn blocks that had once been Applejack’s and Big Macintosh’s before her.

“Excuse me little one, this is Sweet Apple Acers I take it?” A voice from behind Applejack snapped her out of her thoughts, she turned around and nearly jumped out of her skin. Behind her stood an old chocolate colored unicorn mare, she had hard green eyes and a thick curly raven mane. She wore exotic clothes in dark colors and an odd wrap around her head. To Applejack she looked very much like the wicked witchy mares from the story book her father read to her at bedtime and a suddenly fear of being made into a witch’s brew shot over her.

Applejack let out a squeaky scream and ducked behind her baby sister. “Ah... ah, taste really bad. Ah’m always skipping mah bath, but they wash Apple Bloom every day.” Applejack stammered nudging her little sister towards the chocolate unicorn. Apple Bloom looked up with wide-eyed curiosity at the unicorn and started sucking on her hoof. The chocolate mare’s expression softened becoming a curious, almost confused look, but before she could question the young filly further she noticed a familiar face coming towards them.

“Oh, my Unistra you finally found your way here.” Granny Smith called slowly trotting up to the raven-maned unicorn and gave her a warm hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you as well Granny Smith,” Unistra paused and looked the much older looking mare over the added with as much sincerity as she could muster, “The years have been kind to you.”

Granny Smith neighed and rolled her eyes at that, “You and your darn ‘unicorn aging. I’d look as young as you if I had spent my life in a library being waited on by maids and butlers and taking magic potions for every little ache and wrinkle.”

Unistra laughed at Granny Smith’s words and soon the older mare joined in as well. “You earth ponies are too stubborn to die before a unicorn like me, your old bones will be visiting my grave one day just you wait. As for my potions, I hope you’ll at least take the one I use for my arthritis; it will make you feel years younger.”

Applejack finally came out from behind her little sister seeing her Grandma and the Witchy Mare were friends. It was odd, Applejack always though her granny didn’t like unicorns for all the reasons she had just told the Witchy Mare, but they were laughing about it.

Granny Smith became serious casting a grim look at her friend, “That’s not why I asked you to come, though.”

Unistra nodded the seriousness returning to her eyes. “I am sorry I could not come sooner, the mail has trouble finding me when I am out. Normally that is exactly why I go out on my ‘research expeditions’ but I never intended to ignore an old friend in need.”

“Yer here now that all that matters, we earth ponies are patient so if things take time we can wait. But where are my manners here you are standing outside in the sun, please come into the house.” Granny Smith stepped aside and guided Unistra to the house.

Applejack listened intently to the conversation, it sounded like the Witchy Mare was here for something important, and the only important thing happening was Big Macintosh’s condition. But what was the Witchy Mare going to do about that? Applejack decided she should keep a close eye on the Witchy Mare and make sure that her ‘help’ was really helpful. She picked up little Apple Bloom who had been watching the whole scene with wonder, probably due to the presence of a new pony, and trotted quickly after the Witchy Mare and her Granny.

At the house, Granny Smith introduced the Witchy Mare to Valencia and Great Graven, and much to Applejack’s surprise her parents both gave her a short bow and spoke to her with a formality she had never heard from either of them before. The Witchy Mare greeted them with equal formality and Applejack noticed Granny Smith roll her eyes at all three of them.

The adults sat in the kitchen to talk while Applejack was sent off to play in the living room with Apple Bloom, but that didn’t stop her from listening closely to find out just what the Witchy Mare was planning to do to help her big brother. As if to help her big sister Apple Bloom played quietly not making much sound at all.

“...and ever since then his strength has just been unbelievable.” Valencia finished explaining to Unistra about what had happened with the tree when Big Macintosh was young. “Before then I mean, he was a strong foal, but not like that. Granny Smith said Graven was the same way as a foal, but after that Big Macintosh seemed to break almost everything he touched until he learned to control his strength.” Valencia’s ears folded back and she looked down with worry at the table, “He controlled it most of the time, but there were always accidents.”

Applejack listened as they explained about Big Macintosh’s problems at school and how things seemed to get better after Big Macintosh finally made a friend, but then he just seemed to give up. As she listened Applejack realized that they didn’t tell the Witchy Mare anything about Big Macintosh’s power to make those neat light shows, but she remembered that Big Macintosh had never told their parents about that and made her promise to keep it a secret just between the two of them.

“That is quite incredible, for one so young to develop such power, I can see why he has been having so much trouble,” Unistra replied with a look consideration.

“Do you think there’s anything you can do for him?” Valencia asked insistently, her voice full of concern. Big Macintosh hadn’t eaten anything for so long that, despite the fact he seemed to be fine, she was getting very concerned for his health.

“I’ll have to talk to him myself first, I need to be sure of what it is before I can try and do anything.”

“Ah don’t know how much luck y'all have, he won’t talk to anypony, even his little sister,” Graven said deeply saddened by the situation. “He... ah didn’t think anythin’ could make him cut himself off from Applejack like that but...” He trailed off know knowing how to finish.

Unistra cast him a sympathetic look, “Still I need to see him and talk to him if I may try?”

Valencia and Great Graven nodded and all four of them stood up from the table and started up the stairs to Big Macintosh’s room. Applejack gave a last look to her foal sister, who was playing safely in the middle of the carpeted living room and quietly followed them up the stairs.

Big Macintosh’s room was plain and undecorated just a bed, dresser, closet, and window. The top of the dresser held his few personal items, important items given to him by his family some preserved even though they had been accidently broken. The rest of the trappings of his youth had either been passed down or destroyed, the latter more than the former, and the only other markings in the room were marks on the floor and walls where repairs had been rendered.

On the bed lay the still red form of Big Macintosh lying with his back to the door. He didn’t move when they came in and an outsider might just have believed he was sleeping, but the four adult ponies knew better. Big Macintosh hadn’t slept the entire time he had shut himself in his room. He never slept and he never ate but for whatever reason, he also never seemed to waste away either, not that it stopped his parents from worrying.

“Mackie,” Valencia nudged his softly trying to rouse him. “There’s somepony here to help you she just needs to talk with you. Please just talk to her a little.”

Big Macintosh didn’t move or say anything; the slow movement of his breathing was the only indication that he was even alive. His mother’s eyes glazed over with tears and her jaw began to shake, “Mackie please.”

Seeing her mother about to cry was all Applejack could take. “Big Macintosh!” The little filly shouted tearing into the room jumping up onto the bed and then onto her brother’s side. “Y'all better get yer sorry butt outta bed right now,” She jumped up and down on Big Macintosh’s side though it didn’t seem to have any effect on the colt. “And tell the Witchy Mare what’s going on now!”

The adults stood in stone silence watching the little filly attack her catatonic older brother. “Applejack,” Valencia finally shouted in shock.

“Don’t worry mah, I’ll get him movin’ yet.”

“Applejack, you stop that right now, and what did you call Miss Unistra?”

Applejack paused her humping and looked shamefully at her mother. “But mah she does look like a witchy mare.”

“Applejack!” Her mother gasped in shock turning bright red and glanced over at Unistra who was curiously looking herself over. Valencia snatched Applejack off her brother holding her up off the ground by her mane and hauling her from the room, “We’re going to have a little talk about this, and where is your sister!”

“But mah she looks just like the witch mare in my storybook.” Applejack whinnied, furthering her mother’s embarrassment, what would Unistra think they were teaching their children. “And Apple Bloom’s fine downstairs,” Applejack reassured her mother only to have the little foal announce some distress she was having with a shrill cry. Granny Smith rolled her eyes at the commotion the little filly had caused and went downstairs to deal with the little foal while her daughter-in-law took Applejack to her room to deal with her.

Unistra smirked to herself; sometimes she wished she had started a family like Granny Smith. She would never know the simple trials and tribulations that a family could bring. She sighed and mused that time for such things was long past and therefore should not be dwelled on.

Her expression became serious once again as she turned to the red colt that had lain still throughout the commotion. She walked around the bed to face his front and look into his face. His eyes were half closed, dull and unfocused staring at nothing. What had happened to make him like this? Was his strength really so incredible that he couldn’t control it? If that was true Unistra feared there may only be one reason.

She looked down into his face, “I suppose that you will not talk to me, even if I am here to help you?” As she imagined that earned her no response from the colt, she sighed and continued. “OK, there is still one thing I can do as a test, but I am afraid you will not find it very comfortable.” Unistra’s horn glowed and she conjured up a needle, it gleamed in the light. She hovered the needle over to Big Macintosh’s flank and stabbed the needle at it.

“What’re y'all doin’?” Great Graven asked growing a little suspicious of this Witchy Mare who was trying to stick his son with needles, Graven hated needles.

“It is all right Mr. Apple,” Unstria said pulling the needle away from his son, it hadn’t even pierced his skin. She dismissed the needle into the nothing she’d pulled it from only to conjure another. This one looked different, Graven could put his hoof on it but this needle’s point seemed keener for some reason. She stabbed this one at Big Macintosh’s flank and it sunk in easily but did little more than earn a small involuntary jolt from him.

“What’s the meanin’ of this,” Great Graven protested again.

“Sorry about that Big Macintosh,” Unistra said to the unresponsive colt, dismissing the needle and conjuring an X-shaped bandage placing it over the tiny wound. She turned to Graven who was glaring down at her disapprovingly. Without the large stallion noticing she conjured the needle again and stuck this one into his flank, it sunk in without a problem.

“What in tarnation?”

“Did not take much force did it, quite sharp hmm, and this is the first one I tried.”

Graven glared at the old unicorn, gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger. “Ya so what, what are ya doin’? Ah, don’t much like folks comin’ ‘round and stickin’ meh and mah kin with needles!” His patience was wearing quite thin.

“Come back downstairs and I’ll tell all of you there,” Unistra said walking past Great Graven, pausing to yank the needle out of his flank earning her another groan of pain from him. She didn’t want to tell them about what she believed was causing the problem with Big Macintosh with him in the room, even catatonic it didn’t seem right to talk about a pony like he wasn’t there.

Great Graven paused for a moment to look at his son’s still form and his whole form drooped sadly as if he was suddenly feeling a terrible weight on his back then turned to follow the old mare.

The adults gathered back in the kitchen, Granny Smith having calmed little Apple Bloom and Valencia having finished scolding Applejack. She left the two in the living room once again warning Applejack not to bother them again. Applejack waited a few moments until she heard them talking again then moved up to listen in on their conversation.

Unistra was silent for several long moments, despite her confidence dealing with an angry Great Graven she didn’t really know how to begin.

“I’m sure as earth pony you all know the stories about the legendary earth pony, Titan?” Unistra asked carefully.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Valencia asked.

“I am sorry I know how odd the question sounds, but if you please just entertain it for a moment.”

The three earth ponies looked at each other in confusion but didn’t protest further and Great Graven began to recount what he could remember of the legend.

---

They say before the rule of Princess Celestia, and even before the earth, pegasi and unicorn ponies came together and formed the land of Equestria in the age before ages when monsters roamed the lands terrorizing all ponies there arose a mighty hero named Titan. It was said that the earth shook at his every step, his kicks leveled mountains, and that the fangs and claws of the monsters could not pierce his hide. He was the first to befriend pegasi and unicorn ponies, the fastest of the pegasi became his herald, and the wisest of the unicorns became his sage.

With them, Titan wandered the land defeating hundreds of monsters and saving countless ponies until the very sound of his approach caused monsters to flee in terror. With the monsters gone peace came to the land and Titan was crowned king of the earth ponies.

However, the fleeing monsters did not wait ideally for Titan to pass from the world and sought the aid of their king. The King of Monsters was the most terrible of their breed, and so huge and awful that he devoured his own kind. Yet so great was the monster’s fear of Titan that they would risk the wrath of their king.

Enraged that anything could cause a fear in his subjects that rivaled his own the King of Monster abandoned his ancient home and sought vengeance against Titan. Titan and the King of Monster fought from sunrise to sunset, but the King of Monster, who was bigger than any mountain, wound not fall to Titan’s kicks, and as the last rays of the sun were claimed by the horizon Titan was swallowed in a single bite.

The ponies despaired knowing that Titan’s death would mean the return of the monsters. The night that followed was longer than any other, but when the day finally broke it brought with it a joyous sight, the body of the King of Monsters dead and sprawled across the distance landscape a new mountain range that stood between the land of monster and the land of ponies.

During the fight Titan had come to realize that he could not defeat the massive King of Monsters its hide was too thick to pierce and its bulk to great to overcome. However within, the King was vulnerable and so he let himself be swallowed to defeat the King of Monsters from within.

The King of Monsters body stood for the rest of time as a great barrier keeping the monsters from returning. Still, some believed that the monsters did not dare return for fear that Titan would be reborn. Still, others say that Titan did return, each time ponies were in need he returned to save them, coming from under the King of Monsters’ mountain and returning once the danger had passed.

---

Unistra nodded, the basic story was the same in most legends she’d heard. The three earth ponies watched her expectedly waiting for her to explain why she had asked to hear the legend.

She cleared her throat, “What most ponies do not realize is that the legend is true, at least partially. What happened between Titan and the King of Monsters is lost to the ages, but Titan returning that part is true. Except you see it was not Titan that returned, but another earth pony that inherited his power.” The Apples stared in wide-eyed disbelief in what the old mare was telling them, not really know how to react they let her continue.

“Scholars debated for years about the truth of the matter, whether it really was Titan or some other pony. Did Titan’s spirit merge with the pony to give them this power or did they use some kind of magic to give themselves Titan’s power? It was Princess Celestia with her eternal life that finally realized the truth. Every hundred years or so another earth pony would be born with Titan’s abilities, scholars have taken to calling such ponies Titan earth ponies. She paused and looked deeply at the assembled Apple family. “I believe that your son is the Titan earth pony of this century.”

Big Macintosh’s parents reeled at her words, Graven sat dumbstruck and Valencia shook her head in protest, “Mackie’s stronger than anypony else, but his steps don’t shake the ground and his kicks can’t knock down a mountain. It’s... It’s just ridiculous!”

Unistra leaned back calmly her expression remaining even and relaxed; she knew that there would be resistance to such a radical theory. “Gossip can get blown out of proportion as it is spread around, the same is true for legends. With that kind of power, you described him showing as a foal it is not hard to see how the legends of a full grown Titan would portray him with such strength whether or not it was technically accurate. Big Macintosh probably does not make the earth tremble with his every step, but I would wager he could make a little tremor if he put his mind to it.” She could see that the Apples still were not totally convinced or, more precisely, that they simply did not want to believe it.

“Ah reckon that’s gotta be it.” Applejack appearing at the doorway then rushed to Unistra’s side agreeing with the Witchy Mare. Despite the scolding she had gotten from her mother the forthright little filly had to voice her opinion on the matter if it would help her older brother.

“Applejack hush,” Great Graven told her firmly, “Yer were told t’ watch yer little sister, not go hangin’ ‘round listenin’ t’ us.”

“But pa the Wi- I mean Miss Unistra gotta be tellin’ the truth, Big Macintosh can do so many amazin’ thin’s. Why he can even make fireworks all on his own an’ makin’ look however he wants!” Applejack argued back desperate to get her parents to listen to what the Witchy Mare was telling them.

Unistra’s eyes shot open at what Applejack was saying, the Titan legends never mentioned him being able to do anything like that, but they did describe abilities like that. Before Applejack’s parents could send her away Unistra stepped to face the little filly. “Applejack, are you sure your brother can do those things? How do you know, did he tell you he could make these fireworks?”

Applejack looked down at the floor shuffling her hooves both a little intimidated by the Witchy Mare’s sudden interest in what she was saying and embarrassment over what she had done. “Naw he showed me it. Ah caught him doin’ it once and ah begged him till he showed me proper. He didn’t like doin’ it but he said he had to, to get rid of it cuz it kept buildin’ up in his chest. Ah thought it was cool but he made me promise not to tell anypony.” Applejack was sobbing now tears coming down her cheeks, crushed that she had to betray her brother confidence like that. “But ah don’t care, he’s bein’ stupid just lyin’ up there like that. He’s so cool and nice, he’s the best big brother ever, but he just listens to all those stupid ponies at his school. Ah... ah just want him to go back to the way he was before!”

Tear poured in a steady flow from her eyes and she was too choked up by her own sobs to speak. Her parents went to the little filly hugging and hushing her to calm her down, and Apple Bloom’s cries soon joined her sister as if in protest of whatever was causing her big sister to cry.

Unistra would have tried to calm the young filly if her parents had not been there, however since they were her mind was free to reel with the consequences of Applejack confession. Applejack’s account of Big Macintosh’s other abilities fit what was known from the legends, but it just could not be.

Though not always present many of the legends told of another gifted earth pony. In some legends, he was Titan’s best friend, while in others he was Titan’s brother. In some, he seemed to be just a regular pony while in others he was weak and sickly, but all the legends agreed that he had the ability Applejack described.

In most of the legends, he was known as Shooting Star and though he and Titan were friends he usually turned to evil due to jealousy, lust for power, or is simply misguided and tries to forcibly bring all ponies under his rule, forcing him and Titan into conflict. In some of the legends he sees the error of his ways and is welcomed back by Titan. In others, he is banished to the land of the monsters, but in most of the legends, Shooting Star perishes either by Titan’s hooves or by his own foolish mechanisms.

The legends told of Shooting Star’s return as well, and ponies with Shooting Star’s abilities became known as Kinetisis ponies, however, Kinetisis ponies were so rare that even Princess Celestia claimed to have only ever met one such pony. It was only after seeing the incarnation of Titan ponies throughout the ages did she theorized that the Kinetisis ponies probably followed a similar but much longer cycle.

Unistra could find no reason for the little filly to lie, in fact, the little filly seemed to have an unshakable honest heart leaving no doubt she was telling the truth. The implications of what Applejack had just told her, however, were staggering. None, of the admittedly few ponies that studied the field, had ever theorized that a pony could be born both a Titan and Kinetisis pony. Such a pony’s power would be immeasurable, it would be like a deity walking among mortals, and nothing would be beyond such a pony’s reach. Yet if the young Applejack’s testament were to be believed then the most powerful pony ever born now lay catatonic in his room, defeated by a broken heart.