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// Chapter 1- The Mega Musings of a Forgotten Stallion 
// Story: MEGA Macintosh 
// by BottleH2O 
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The wreckage of an abandoned camp laid in the center of a humongous, perfectly round crater in the middle of the Whitetail woods. There, laying discarded and forgotten on the ground was a large tome. But this was no ordinary tome, this particular book was full of spells, both finished and incomplete, taken out of Canterlot’s royal library by none other than Prince Blueblood, the (spoiled) nephew of Princess Celestia and Luna. Why was this here? Well essentially Blueblood and a few friends of his got tired of constantly having their personal requests ignored by the princesses so they decided to use a spell in the book on themselves to become more noticeable. And by more noticeable I mean they used an incomplete growth spell to grow into giants. Once they became the largest thing in the kingdom, they thought for sure they could get their way. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Now that it was all over and things had gone back to normal, but there was one thing everypony had seemingly forgotten about: The book that caused all this. 

There it laid on the ground, still sparking weakly, this due to the magical residue left on the book by Blueblood’s magic. You see, when a spell is activated on an object or artifact, it has a specific time of life where the spell is good, like when you cut into an apple and see the smooth, ripe inside of it. However, when the spell exceeds its lifetime, it starts to deteriorate and become wild, similarly to how a sliced apple becomes brown and mushy due to a chemical reaction when exposed to the air for too long. 

Many scholars and magic users know full well to always cancel out their magic on artifacts that aren’t in use because if they don’t, then, as stated before, the magic becomes unstable and unpredictable. Any spell casted with said artifact would lead to unknown and potentially catastrophic results due to the mutated spell.

And unfortunately for the foolish Blueblood, he never did cut out the spell he used on the magic book, the growth spell well exceeded its lifetime. 

The book laid motionless, still fizzling feebly when all of a sudden it stopped, and the light faded. Seconds passed with nothing happening, then suddenly the book shot into the air, magic circling around it wildly, getting stronger and stronger, wind picking up in its surroundings, making leaves and branches fly around. All around, forest critters scurried to safety to escape the sudden storm. 

The book charged up its remaining energy and blasted out a yellow colored energy beam out of its covers, shooting through the trees. The book flopped back down onto the ground, once again motionless and weakly sparking.





THUD! Several apples rained down from their lush, green homes in the treetops and fell down into buckets laid carefully around the base of the trunk. The bright round red apples filled up to the brim of each one of the large buckets and even overflowed from their overabundance of the large ripe fruit.

And standing behind the buckets, wiping sweat from his brow, was the hulking form of muscle, power, and mass, the earth pony stallion Big Macintosh.

Big Mac let out a breath as he observed the tree, he had just bucked stop vibrating, with the last of the straggling apples on the branches fall to the ground and into the bucket neatly. His bright red fur glistened with sweat and slight fatigue from a long day of work in the orchard, his iconic large wooden yoke gleamed in the sun, and his green cutie mark of an apple matched up nicely with some of the fruits that had been procured from today’s harvest.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said nonchalantly as he strode forward. Leaning down he grasp one of the buckets by the handle with his mouth and began placing them one by one into the wagon he had brought with him. There were roughly 20 buckets total, all of which was filled with the apple family’s trademarked bright red, ripe, and juicy apples. Big Macintosh silently closed the back of the wagon shut with the flip up wooden board, securing the harvest in the back before sauntering over to the front of the wagon.

There he attached the front of it to the harnesses on his yoke. Once secured Big Mac began his long trek back to the barn so he could unload his cargo.

It was only him working in the fields today, due to the fact that Applejack was out with her friends at Canterlot today meeting with the Princesses to discuss some incident that had happened with some rowdy nobles earlier that week, Apple Bloom was still far too young to be doing any hard labor in the orchard, besides she and her friends were busy crusading to get their cutie marks again today. Something about becoming bungee jumpers. Big Mac usually let them try whatever they wanted, so long as nopony got hurt and that they were safe about it. And as for Granny Smith, well her name spoke for itself and the fact that she physically couldn’t do any hard labor anymore in the fields due to her age. But at her prime, according to Big Mac’s Ma and Pa, Granny Smith was a beast in the orchard. Easily being able to buck several trees in a few hours. A feat that Big Mac had learned to replicate and improve himself over the years.

But as the earth stallion made his way back to the barn, Big Mac contemplated the absence of his middle sister Applejack. It had seemed that ever since she had gone into the forest that night for the summer sun celebration, she just seemed to be a little too busy to help out on the farm anymore because of her sudden connection to Princess Celestia herself. She had become something called an “element of harmony,” 

“Ah think that’s what the girls called it,” Big Mac thought

Applejack had been told that she represented the element of honesty which apparently meant that she could now wield some ancient pony power that the royal sisters held ages ago. And to say that Big Mac was proud of his little sister was an understatement to say the least. He was over the moon for her about how proud he was of her how proud Applejack would have made their parents. But since that day Big Mac felt like he was seeing his sister less and less as she got called to deal with threats to the kingdom. Like that random dragon that appeared one day and decided to take a nap in the mountains and unknowingly cover the sky in smoke. After AJ had returned she was praised like there was no tomorrow by the Apple family as she became the family hero.

The large stallion felt a small pit of sadness open in his heart at the thought. He loved both of his sisters and was proud of them, he always will be. But lately Big Mac couldn’t help but feel like as the weeks went on, he seemed to be fading further and further into the background. For both in Ponyville and at family meetings.

And the reason why he felt like that was simple: What was something he had done that was considered noteworthy? In an extremely large family like his, standing out wasn’t something that is easily done. And something that you accomplish that felt big to you could be easily overlooked by everypony as somepony else takes center stage.

“What exactly have Ah done that makes me stand out?” Big Mac wondered, pausing his walk briefly to think about it. A small frown crossed his face as he faced the sky thinking about it, but he was saddened to realize that he came up with nothing. Sure, he handled the finances of the farm sometimes and could harvest half a field in a single day, but at the same time the finances were something Granny could do as well, which was something she busied herself with doing now that she wasn’t out in the orchard anymore. And as for harvesting a half a field in one day, well, what did that matter when AJ would just come along and the two of them could knock out the entire thing in a single day. Thus, negating the value of his hard work alone.

Big Mac shook his head, trying to free himself of those thoughts as he resumed his walk to the barn. But as he continued to dwell on it, all he could come up with were feats that the rest of his family had contributed and done. His dear Granny Smith had founded the entirety of Ponyville for goodness sake! That was definitely something of note in the eyes of everypony. Which is why, whenever Granny Smith went into town, there was always an aura of authority and presence following her, even though she wasn’t the mayor.

Apple Bloom and her friends, the cutie mark crusaders, had also made a name for themselves. In both the club they had started, but as well as their mischievous antics to get their cutie marks. The entire town knew who they were, and they were always joyful to see them. The filles were constantly giving the town a good laugh as they tried to help others in their seemingly never-ending pursuit to get their marks.

And then there was Applejack, now one of the elements of harmony, element of honesty, hero to Equestria, and the hero of the Apple family. As Big Mac had reaffirmed before, he loved his little sis to bits and will always be proud of her. But now at every family gathering his relatives would flock over to Applejack to her about her latest heroic exploits, over to Apple Bloom to hear about what the latest trouble was she had gotten herself into, and Granny Smith so she could tell some stories about the old day. All Big Mac usually got now was a passing “Hi,” from somepony and that was it.

This was even prevalent at home and at the dinner table. Usually at the table, it used to be a time for all of them to reconnect after a long and hard day, at both the farm and, in Apple Bloom’s case, school. But now all that seemed to be happening was everypony eagerly awaiting to hear from Applejack what her latest adventure was and what she and her new friends had gotten up to. Sometimes it ranged from going up to the capitol and talking to the princess to dealing with some beast from the Everfree. But nevertheless, everypony was excited to hear about the spectacle.

After Applejack was done recounting her day, it would be Apple Bloom’s turn to talk about her day, and it was usually the kind of trouble she found herself in. From overflowing the Cake’s oven with Marshmallow trying to get a baking cutie mark, to building a lopsided doll house trying to get a construction cutie mark.

After this it would be Big Macintosh’s turn, but nowadays his talking time was negated to something simple like “Mah day was good, just bucking apples from them stubborn trees in the south orchard,” or “Ah plowed the fields to make way for the coming harvest everypony.” To Big Mac, it felt like his exploits weren’t nearly as memorable or exciting as his two younger siblings. Sure farm work needed to be done for the farm to continue to function, it wasn’t like he was just going to abandon his responsibilities for the sake of having some fun, but just once he wished for something noteworthy to happen to him so he wouldn’t be seemingly forgotten by his entire family.

Big Mac signed as he finally reached the barn. He carefully unhooked the harness from his yoke and let the ropes drop to the ground. Once safety free from the wagon, Big Mac marched over to the front of the barn and pried them open. The big stallion wincing as he heard the old wood creek and groan from the effort. The old rusty hinges of the barn made it really hard to open the door, but that was the least of his problems. The wood itself was fading from its old shiny red look, leaving blotches of white underneath. It was cracked and pealing off in some areas and Big Mac was sure that there was a hole in the roof somewhere.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Big Macintosh bowed his head, looking over the damage he’d have to fix by hoof at some point before heading back over to the wagon.

“Eeyup,” he said as he took one of the bucket handles in his mouth and carried it over to where the food cellar was, inside the back corner of the barn. Big Mac set the bucket down in front of the cellar as he observed the decrepit state the doors were in. These were made of wood as well, but they were a faded brown. And bits were also pealing off from old age.

Mac just looked at it wearily, knowing that he’d have to repair this as well soon, before fall rolled around, and things got too cold. He took hold of the door hinges and opened up the entrance to the food cellar and headed down, grabbing the bucket of apples as he went and deposited them in the apple section of the cellar. Mac went back up and retrieved the rest of his haul for the day. Carrying it one by one down into the dark food cellar. 

After the last one was placed downstairs, Big Macintosh emerged from below. Carefully closing the door behind him so he wouldn’t upset the hinges anymore than he needed too and headed back outside of the barn. He walked back up to the wagon and began to fiddle with the ropes and harnesses. Intending to reattach them to his yoke so he can roll it into the barn for storage for the next day. 

But as he was preparing to do that, he heard the sound of few mares laughing. Peaking his head around the side of the barn, Big Mac was able to see that it was Applejack and the rest of her friends, all of them waving her goodbye as they dropped her off at the farmhouse. From the looks of it, she had just got back from the Ponyville train station from her trip to Canterlot with the girls.

“Well shucks, Ah can’t thank y’all enough girls for helping me pick up mah little sister from school,” Applejack was saying as she patted Apple Bloom on the head while giving her mane a little ruffle.

Apple Bloom giggled playfully at her older sister’s antics before she and the rest of her friends began bouncing around the rest of the element bearers “We can’t wait for you guys to tell us about your trip to Canterlot!” they all chimed in happily.

Applejack giggled “Now don’t you worry none lil’ sister, Ah’ll be sure to spill everything at supper tonight,” she said happily

“YAY!” Apple Bloom cheered “Ah can’t wait to tell y’all what me and the girls did today while we were crusading. Cuz boy howdy it was a tizzy!”

The CMC as well as the element bearers waved each other goodbye as they all went their own separate ways. Applejack and Apple Bloom heading back to their house while the rest of AJ’s friends and their little sisters headed back down the path to Ponyville.

Big Mac let out a sad sigh as his ears flopped down. Turning around, his head hung as he made his way back over to the wagon as the sounds of the girls voices faded away. “Congratulations to ya sis for another job well done,” Big Mac thought, a small spark of pride flaring in his heart at his sister’s accomplishment, before quickly being washed away by sadness “And once again Ah won’t have nothing to contribute tonight at supper aside from the usual ‘Ah did farm work,”

Big Mac gloomily began to reattach himself to the wagon so he could haul it into the barn for the night “Just once, Ah wish something significant could happen to me so Ah could be noticed by mah family for a change. But will that time ever come?”

Well, who said opportunities don’t come knocking? Because as Big Mack began to fasten the straps to his yoke he began to hear and feel a vibration in the air. He paused what he was doing and looked around confused, trying to figure out what was going on.

And his answer came in the form of a bright yellow beam of light rocketing out of the forest and hitting the large stallion directly in the chest, tearing the herness loose and sending him shooting into the barn at breakneck speed. 

With a WHAM! Big Mac collided into a haystack. Going limp as he was knocked unconscious form the force. But unnoticed to him, as his head was lolled back lifelessly, small trails of arcane lightning was sparking around his body.





“..ac? …acky? BIG MAC!!” hollered a voice

With a grunt of surprise Big Mac jolted awake, shooting upward form the “ground.” Blinking his eyes his surroundings came into focus and he was able to see that he was no longer in the barn, but was now laying down in his bed. With the concerned faces of Applejack, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom looking down at him.

“Macky are ya alright?” Granny Smith asked, worry plastered all over her face

“Yeah, Ah’m all right Granny. What happened ta me?” Big Mac asked wearily 

“Ah don’t know Mac, ya got hit by some beam of light and were thrown into the barn!” Granny Smith said “Are you feeling alright?” 

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said slowly “I don’t feel no different Granny,”

“Are ya sure Big Mac?” Applejack asked “That there was a mighty big blast,”

“Yah AJ, Ah’m all alright, thanks for askin,” Big Mac grunted out.

Applejack nodded slowly, worry still etched on her face “Alright big brother, as long as you’re sure,” she said “Granny, Bloom, and Ah are gonna head down for supper. Holler if ya need anything alright? We’ll bring up some for ya in a bit ya hear?”

“Alright AJ, but Ah’m not to hungry, Ah’ll pass on supper tonight,” Big Mac said

Everypony stared at him and before sharing a glance. Did they hear him right? Big Mac skipping a meal because he wasn’t hungry?

“Um, alright then big brother, whatever ya say,” Applejack said as the three others headed to the bedroom door “We’ll head down now then,”

Big Mac nodded silently as the three left, stretching down under the blanket more. But as he did, for some reason, an uncomfortable feeling began to spread out across his body, a foreign feeling really, kind of like when your body falls asleep and you feel pins and needles all over your body.

Meanwhile at the kitchen table the remaining Apples were discussing how Applejack’s days went.

“So why were ya at Canterlot sugercube?” Granny Smith asked Applejack, as she poured syrup over her apple flapjacks

“Well, we had to head up cuz tha Princess wanted to check up on them nobles who turned into giants a little while ago. We got ta see now Enterprise Pursuit and Lily Shine were holding up and honestly, things are going pretty well for them. Despite getting in trouble, they still remain good ponies deep down. Fer some reason that other one, Blueblood kept whimpering whenever Princess Luna came into the room. Don't know what that's all about. All Ah know is that she handled his punishment personally. Them other ponies however, Jet Set and Upper Crust still remain as nasty as ever. Ah’m willing to bet that they ain’t even sorry, just sad they ain’t towering over the kingdom no more. ” Applejack said with a twinge of anger in her voice as she recalled just how snobby those two were in particular “The Princess hasn’t found whatever fancy spellbook they used to grow big, the royal guard are working overtime trying ta find it. They said that it has to be found fast before somepony else becomes all big and such,”

Back at the bedroom, Big Mac rolled on his side, trying to get comfortable, but for some reason he couldn’t. From both the feeling of pins and needles in his body as well as the fact that his hooves were feeling a little cold. Blinking, he looked down towards the end of his bed, expecting to see a window open or something. But instead, he saw that his big red hooves were dangling over the side of the bed. Big Mac frowned in confusion as he saw this, he never had a problem fitting in his bed before, so what gives? 

“It’s not like Ah got bigger right? Mah growth spirts ended years ago. Ah reckon it must be Mah imagination, gotta build a bigger bed at some point,” Big Mac thought as he settled back into bed, his hooves still dangling over the side of his bed