//------------------------------// // Chapter one: I'm a what!? // Story: The Many Dreams of Princess Macintosh // by Foal Star //------------------------------// Big Mac slowly woke up one morning with the sun streaming through his window. The stallion woke up later than usual, but it was primarily due to the strange dream he had the other night. He then slowly clambered out of bed, stretching his forelegs into the air as he did so. It would be another typical day as he would go buck apples all day. But as the red-coated stallion got out of bed, he felt something was off as he got up from bed. He had two giant feathery appendages spread themselves over his body. Big Mac blinked as he realized that these enormous red fluffy appendages were attached to his back. The stallion cried in horror as he flew up from the bed in surprise. Without realizing it, it stayed in the air for a few moments, squeaking as he landed on the floor with a loud thump! Onto the ground below, which was when a beam of green energy shot from his horn and through the wall across from him. Big Mac completely shook at what was happening and then slowly raised a hoof towards his head only to feel a bone-like protrusion coming from his forehead. That was when it all dawned on him….horn...wings!? He had that strange dream the other night about turning into an alicorn!? The stallion's cheeks flushed red, moving his legs apart and seeing that he at least still had his stallionhood. So he wasn't a female…or at least not yet!? Whatever was going on, he needed help getting these horns and wings removed to return to being a simple farm pony. The stallion got up and went to his window, thinking of flying out, seeing he didn't want his family to see. Celestia knows Applejack would freak out while Apple Bloom would be adoring him. She probably wanted to show him off to her classmates. Big Mac paused as now that he thought about it, that wouldn't be so bad…also he could probably help Twilight and her friends save Equestria now with his newfound body. This was all starting to sound better and better! In fact, as he looked down and realized he had no idea how to fly, it was probably better just to go downstairs…hopefully, Applejack and Granny Smith won't freak out too much. "Big Mac, what the buck happened to you!?" Both Granny Smith and Applejack cried out loud. The stallion in question just sat at the foot of the stairs as his family was gawking at him. It was rather amusing seeing them looking so surprised and shrugging, "I have no idea I just woke up like this." "Seriously, Big Mac, you look so cool!" Apple Bloom squealed! The little filly started hopping up and down in excitement, unable to control herself. You're a full-blown princess alicorn with wings and everything!" "Um…well…from the looks of things, he ain't a princess," Applejack snickered, looking over her brother, who rolled his eyes at his sister's comment. The farm mare then stepped back and asked, "But at the same time, I just have to say that this is crazy!? What in the hay did ya do yesterday?" "Nothing, I just went and did my chores, cleaned the pigs, bucked some apples, had a salad for lunch, and a pint of cider and some tofu before bed." "So, ya didn't go out into the everfree forest or anything?" Granny asked, eying him. "Ya didn't drink any weird potions!?" The red-coated stallion shook his head and simply said, "Ey'nope." Applejack tapped her hoof to her chin, "well, I might just be pulling at straws here, but it could have something to do with the tantabus thingamajig we dealt with last night." "The tantawhat?" Big Mac asked, somewhat confused about what Applejack was referring to. It sounded familiar, but it seemed to escape his mind as soon as he thought about it. "Come on, before we do anything, we're going to Twilight's; if anypony knows how to fix magical, crazy shit, it's her!" Applejack shouted. Big Mac considered following his sister's advice. Still, he saw Apple Bloom bouncing around him as she was over-excited about her brother's new appearance. It was settled despite wanting to go back to normal. He couldn't pass up the chance to finally have Apple Bloom's attention and admiration. So the stallion shook his head and simply said, "Ey'nope." then trotted off alongside Apple Bloom towards the schoolhouse. Big Mac now found himself in his sister's schoolhouse and was looking around the quaint classroom with its desks lined up neatly and filled with students (who were all gawking at him). The stallion was surprised as if they were transported into the school, not remembering if they were walking into the building. Cheerilee looked over and was somewhat startled upon seeing him and asked, "Apple Bloom is this really your brother?" "Yes, he is!" The little filly cheered as she hopped over and hugged the rather muscular red-coated alicorn and exclaimed, "This is my big brother Big Macintosh, and he's recently become an alicorn!?" The rest of the classmates were all surprised and had their mouths open in awe as Big Mac flashed his wings. The ponies then started to clap and cheer (meanwhile, Diamond Tiara sat at her desk with her hooves crossed over her chest). Cheerilee cleared her throat and said, "please calm down, class." Everypony began to clamor down as the teacher sighed and said, "well, Big Macintosh, I have to say this is highly irregular as it's not family appreciation week. But considering the circumstances, I have to ask, how did you become an alicorn?" Big Mac, who wasn't sure, simply shrugged and said, "I have no idea?" "Well, as much as I appreciate you coming by, I have a class to teach. I would also suggest going to a hospital or something," the teacher replied. She was starting to grow a bit concerned over his appearance. "Awww, can't he stay!?" Apple Bloom pleaded, but Big Mac bent his head down and nuzzled his sister. He would love to stay, but Cheerilee had a point; he interrupted her lessons and said, "Hey, don't worry, I'll be by your treehouse later?" "Ok, just don't go back to normal yet! Maybe we can find your princess cutie’ mark!" The little farm filly exclaimed as she ran off to her desk. “Ok, sure!” Big Mac chirped with a chuckle, wondering what his cutie mark would be as a princess!? And what would he be the princess of? Princess of Apples? He shrugged as it wasn’t something he would worry about at the moment. The stallion then strutted off with his head held up high, feeling proud he made a good impression on Apple Bloom (and took her school bully Diamond Tiara down a notch). But as he thought, his mane started to grow and turned to see its length by quite a lot. He blinked, wondering if it was always this long as was the length of his tail. The stallion shrugged and continued down the road to do his chores. Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac was going about bucking apples as he was getting used to his new appendages. But his wings seemed to make it much more complex than usual. He then thought of using his magic to light his horn as he saw other unicorns squinting his eyes and trying his hardest to levitate the apples into the barrel. It was difficult at first, but eventually, the action became seamless as he took dozens of apples from the trees and placed them into fruit baskets. He started to laugh at himself, seeing that what would've taken weeks of bucking took a few minutes! Why don't they have more unicorns in the family!? Big Mac then heard a somewhat irritating cough as he turned around to see a not-so amused Applejack glaring at him and snapped, "guess you're worried ya gonna chip a hoof now!?" The stallion scoffed at Applejack, seeing she's always been apprehensive of magic, let alone trying new things, and said, "come on? You let Twilight use her magic during Apple Bucking season before?" "That was a long time ago! And ya know unicorn magic ruins the crop!?" "Ey'nope!" "Oh, just go and see Twilight already!? You're gonna regret staying like that if ya don't!" Big Mac then shoved his flank into his sister's face and trotted off with a smug grin. "Also, maybe if you buck more, your butt won't look so big!" Big Mac's cheeks flushed pink as he tucked his tail between his legs, but his cheeks flushed red seeing his ass was much bigger than he remembered. The stallion took a moment and thought he should cut back on eating apple pie and fritters. He then just shrugged, not thinking much of it as he trotted off towards Ponyville, hoping to find somepony to help him learn to fly. "Hey, Big Mac! Almost didn't recognize ya there!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew down next to him. He didn't realize it, but his body looked much more prominent, his face a bit rounder, and his flowing rainbow-colored mane flew over his head. However, the one body part Rainbow Dash was interested in was flying around admiring his wings! As the daredevil exclaimed, "I love your wings!? Do you want somepony to teach you how to fly?" Big Mac got rather excited and nodded and said, "ey'yup." Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew down from the sky next to the stallion, who gave her a proud smile as he flexed them and said, "ey'yup!" "That is just so bucking cool!" Rainbow squealed in delight. "Okay, let's start with take off!" the pegasus exclaimed as she took on a stance spreading out her four legs. "Now, get into a stance like mine; this is important to a proper lift-off!" Big Mac followed suit, taking a similar stance to her mentor and spreading out her large wingspan. Rainbow Dash nodded in approval, then said, "good, now start gently flapping your wings. Once you get enough push, you should be able to lift yourself off the ground." Big Mac started to flap like Rainbow Dash and gently lifted herself up with slow, gentle flapping. Gradually rising in the air felt more natural as he flew off to meet with his mentor. "Hey! You're getting the hang of it!" The daredevil cheered as they were now hovering over the apple trees below. The alicorn flew up right after her, and they started to fly together gently. Big Mac stumbled a little as she was getting used to being in flight. Still, despite his inexperience, he was in complete ecstasy with her long flowing mane trailing in the wind and the feeling of the cool breeze blowing through her feathers. But as the initial experience wafted over him, he turned to face Rainbow Dash. He saw how effortlessly he was flying through the air without a care. Then Big Mac realized how clumsy he was, stumbling about with every gust of wind and adjusting his position to keep upright constantly. Eventually, he found himself soaring through the clouds. Still, realizing something was off, he looked around and saw his body was lankier and taller than usual. That was when a horde of reporter pegasi started to swarm him; he blinked as they began to bombard him with questions about who he was. Where did he come from? And what kind of princess was he? Then they started flashing their cameras, all rather sudden and sort of out of nowhere. Eventually, Big Mac was overwhelmed and flew off, trying to escape the paparazzi and get away from all of these crazy pegasi! That was when he saw Rainbow Dash flying right towards him. He didn't remember much else but seeing rainbows before everything went black. "I can't believe you dropped him?" "Come on, do you have any idea how heavy he is!? Anyways he's here; let's just get him inside." Big Mac groaned in pain while rubbing his head with a hoof and looking around to see walls made of some sort of violet gemstone; he turned to see Twilight Sparkle, who was busy flipping through books and tossing them over her shoulder. The violet alicorn looked over at Big Mac and flashed him a smile, "oh hey, you're awake!" The stallion blinked, seeing that he had to be in Princess Twilight's castle! Upon this realization, he stammered, "yeah…um…where am I?" "Relax, I found you crashing into my castle, and now I have to find a way to turn you back to normal!" Big Mac scratched his head and asked as he looked over his body, "So you're going to look for a way to turn me back?" "No worries! Just hold still; I think I have a spell to reverse what's happening to you!" Twilight then lit her horn, and instead of his horn and wings disappearing, they grew more prominent as he became much taller in size. "Oh no! I didn't mean for that to happen!?" "Wh…what did you do!?" Big Mac cried and gasped, looking over his body which must have grown double in size by the spell as he was now towering over Twilight. Twilight was just looking upward with complete awe and confusion as to what happened and stammered, "I…I don't know!? I think I made it worse!?" Big Mac turned to a mirror, seeing he looked almost like Princess Celestia being as tall as her. His muzzle was lengthened and more slender, and his hips were much wider along with his butt. His short crop of hair on his head and tail were now long wavy strands that seemed to wave on some invisible breeze! Big Mac stared at his reflection with a wide-eyed expression and asked, "Why do I look like Princess Celestia?" "I'm not sure, but you should stay here. I think I can assist you," Princess Twilight pleaded with a concerned look. Big Mac was starting to freak out and just got up and flew off out the nearest window. The stallion flew through the sky, and realizing he was hovering over Ponyville, he squeaked as ponies all around were now looking upward and gawking at him. Big Mac threw his hooves over his body, feeling so exposed now showing his feminine figure in public! He quickly flew off, trying to ignore the crowds and hoping to avoid more paparazzi as he headed straight home. Big Mac spent the next few hours in his room crying with his dainty hooves covering his face. There was almost nothing left of his old self minus his stallionhood. This was just crazy!? How did he end up like this!? And why did he look like Princess Celesta!? So many questions went through Big Mac's mind as he sat at the foot of his bed, balling his eyes out. Then he heard somepony knock, and Big Mac quickly wiped away his tears and whispered, "who is it!?" "A zebra named Zecora, I don't know you, but I'm well acquainted with your sister Apple Bloom." Zecora!? Upon hearing that name, Big Mac's heart leaped in his chest. He hadn't met her that much, but he knew enough from what Apple Bloom and Applejack had told him about the strange potion maker in the Everfree forest!? If anypony could turn him back into a simple farm pony, it was her! Big Mac stood up, threw his mane over his shoulder, and quickly said, "please come in." Zecora then slowly stepped into the room with a wide-eyed expression. She slowly walked over towards him, gawking at Big Macintosh's appearance, then said, "so it's true what Applejack has sworn? Something has transformed you into a princess alicorn!?" Big Mac nodded and asked worriedly, "you have a potion to change me back to normal, right!?" "That I hope is true; this potion should wake you up." "Wake me up!? Don't you mean change me back to an earth pony stallion!?" Zecora cleared her throat with a hood and quickly said, "Oh yes, that, I…see…just a slip of the tongue, don't mind me." She then hoofed him a cup of tea, and he sipped; it tasted awful, but he hoped that whatever this was would result in him becoming a male earth pony again. The stallion waited, but nothing seemed to have changed, but then he groaned, feeling a hot burning sensation near his groin. Big Mac cried out in panic, looking downward as he gaped in horror seeing his stallionhood and testicles were gone!? The stallion shoves his legs close and cried, "What did you do!?" That was when he heard his new voice sounding rather feminine, and upon hearing his voice, he went into a panic as a beeping noise started to ring in his ears!? What was going on!? He then suddenly became quite tired and felt faint, collapsing onto the bed. Big Mac was confused as he started to wake up in a doctor's office. He looked down to see his body dressed in a hospital gown. That was when Nurse Red Heart trotted towards him, noticing he was awake, and said, "oh my goodness!? Princess Macintosh, glad to see you're awake!" The red-coated alicorn blinked, looking around to gauge his surroundings; it looked like he was in Ponyville general with blank walls while in a hospital bed. The Nurse was taking a flashlight and going over his eyes. He then looked around the hospital bed and shouted, "where am I now!?" That was when he noticed his voice still sounded much more feminine, lighter, and fluffier. Still, with a tone of royalty he's heard Princess Luna have before…in fact, why did he think of princess Luna!? That was when Princess Luna entered the hospital room with her beautiful dark blue coat as she flashed her lovely teal eyes. Upon seeing him, the princess of the night placed a hoof over her chest. She sighed as she said, "Hello, Big Mac, or should I say, Princess Macintosh, it's so good; to see you're finally awake!?" "Princess, what!? Big Mac shouted now, getting concerned. Princess Luna gulped, saying, "you're a princess alicorn." "Bu…, but I'm not a princess!?" Big Mac cried as he crossed his legs over his crotch area, feeling uncomfortable being in this situation with one of the princesses of Equestria, no less. "Oh, you are now!?" Princess Luna giggled with her cheeks flushing pink as she was somewhat surprised as she asked, "well, that's ok. I mean, this is just a d-...d.. don't worry about it, ok!?" Big Mac, wondering what she tried to say earlier, asked, "ok, why am I turning into a princess alicorn!?" "I'm not sure, but I believe you desire to be an alicorn princess for some reason?" Princess Luna admitted she came over and started using her magic to look him over. But I'm sure a good night's sleep will solve this. But as for now, we should have you taken to Canterlot! Having a new princess this sudden, we must set up your coronation!? "Coronation!?" "Yes, but don't worry about that right now; just try to relax," Princess Luna whispered as she fluffed Big Mac's pillow and pulled the sheets over his body. Big Mac tried to calm down, but he felt as if something was wrong, feeling rather desperate and scared in his present situation. He turned his attention to Big Mac and asked, "Something is wrong!? Is there any way to reverse what's happening to me?" "Trust me, you're fine. I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to you. Now all I need from you is to relax once you do that, we can start getting you to wa-" Princess Luna then suddenly paused mid-sentence. She cleared her throat before continuing, "I mean, get you back to normal.” The alicorn princess then lit her horn, seeming to put a spell on Big Mac. His eyelids grew heavy, and he started to feel more comfortable; despite knowing something was wrong, he felt much safer and secure with Princess Luna. As Big Mac drifted off to sleep, his last thought was that If anypony could help him, it was Princess Luna.