A Web of Secrets

by Kec

3 - Caught in the Web

Big Macintosh slowly walked towards the barn. Whatever problem awaited him surely wouldn’t be as depressing as sitting alone under an apple tree, so he decided to do some work, put his mind off his past. After all, manual labor wasn’t exactly difficult for a pony of his stature, even if the prospect of such disappointed him to no end.

It was evening now, and dark clouds idly rested overhead, dotting the glowing sky with grey blotches. The wind had picked up, and Big Mac’s cropped tail stuck out behind him while he walked. He predicted that he only had a few fleeting minutes of sunlight left before the solemn yet serene moon reigned the sky for another night.

It was much prettier than the constant gray sky of St. Palomino.

Entering the barn, he found one of the windows neatly slid off of its pane and placed on the floor, with his toolbox on the ground beside it.

That’s odd, he thought. Almost looks like somepony took that off on purpose.

As he fitted the pane into place, he heard the barn door creak open behind him. Instinctively turning his head to look at the visitor, he was surprised when he realized who it was.

“Oh, uh... hello, Cheerilee. Ah wasn’t expectin’ ya,” he said nervously.

“Hello, Big Macintosh. Sweetie Belle told me there was a fight here at the barn, and I came to see that it was resolved. But it looks like everything has been resolved here, so I suppose I’ll be on my way,” said Cheerilee, suspicious about whether or not it was another Cutie Mark Crusaders plot to play Cupid with her and Big Macintosh. The two of them were very good friends, and considered themselves a couple, but neither of them expressed any desire to take their relationship further.

Just then, another pony burst into the room. Big Mac and Cheerilee both turned to look at the door, now occupied by a frowning Applejack.

“So what’s all this hoopla ‘bout there bein’ trouble at the barn? Ah don’t see nothin’ wrong here,” said Applejack.

However, something about the sight caught Applejack’s eye. Big Mac was here, with Cheerilee, his fillyfriend, and Fluttershy had witnessed him together with Rarity in the woods earlier that day. Obviously, Cheerilee was blind to the transgressions committed by Big Macintosh, and he was playing her for the fool. The revelation brought Applejack’s temper to a peak, and she returned to her original plan from lunch, tossing aside her secretive notions: she would expose Big Macintosh’s double life, right here, in front of Cheerilee, and demand answers. She couldn’t allow the lies to continue, for Cheerilee’s sake.

“...never mind, Ah do see somethin’ wrong here! Yer here with Cheerilee, ain’t ya, Mac? So how’d ya explain all that huggin’ with Rarity in the woods today? Fluttershy an’ Apple Bloom done saw ya both!” spat a suddenly angry Applejack.

Big Mac and Cheerilee both stood shocked from the sudden revelation.

“Rarity?” whispered Cheerilee, looking over to Big Mac with tears in her eyes, desperately trying to believe the accusation wasn’t true.

Big Mac wasn’t as shocked as Applejack expected, though. In fact, he seemed incredibly angry, with his brow creased and a tight jaw. He walked up to Applejack and pointed his head down toward her.

“Applejack, just what are ya insinuatin’ by that?” he said, calmly but forcefully.

“Ah ain’t insinuatin’ nothin!” replied Applejack. “Ah’m outright tellin’ ya! Yer affair ain’t a secret no more, Big Mac. Yer a liar an’ a cheat, an’ it’s finally caught up to yah!”

Big Macintosh was angrier than either Cheerilee or Applejack had ever seen him before in their lives. He poked his muzzle at an immediate angle to Applejack’s and looked her straight in the eye.

“Ya wanna know why Ah was in the woods with Rarity? Ah’ll tell ya! In fact, Rarity told me to tell ya! It’s cause ah ain’t yer real brother! Are yah happy? Ah was just plannin’ on keepin’ it a secret, to hold onto the one family that done accepted me, but no! Ya just had to pry into it!” screamed Big Macintosh.

Now it was Applejack’s turn to be shocked. “Ya ain’t... mah real brother?”

“Big Macintosh...” whispered Cheerilee, huddled in the corner.

Big Macintosh stepped away from his sister and sat in the corner opposite Cheerilee. All three were crying, and the silence persisted for several tense minutes. Eventually, Applejack spoke up.

“Well, Ah’m gonna go talk to Zecora. She said that Ah could use her crystal thingy ta see yer past.”

Big Macintosh thought for a moment in silence, then called to Applejack with a decision.

“Wait, Applejack.”

Applejack turned to look at him.

“If that crystal can show mah past... Ah have a request for ya. Get Zecora ta come here to Ponyville first. Round up yer friends, an’ Apple Bloom, at Miss Twilight’s library. Ah’ll go get Rarity, ya just need ta get the others. Make sure Apple Bloom brings her friends too, one of ‘em may wanna hear this. The unicorn one. Once ya got everypony, call me an’ Ah’ll explain everything. As long as Ah’m gonna show y’all what happened, Ah’m gonna show everypony what happened,” he instructed.

Applejack nodded and dashed out of the barn.

“Cheerilee, ya may wanna come too. Ah promise ya Ah ain’t havin’ an affair or nothin’,” said Big Mac. “Now Ah’ve got some business to attend to before everypony meets up, so Ah’ll see ya at the meetin’.”

Cheerilee, obviously hurt by the accusations made towards her coltfriend, nodded in agreement.

The two ponies both got up and walked out of the barn, into the darkness of night. At the crossroads, they went their separate ways, tears rolling down both their faces.

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders hopped out of the bushes behind the barn, crying.

“Every time we try and do something nice, it always turns out real bad,” noted Scootaloo.

“I wonder why Big Mac said he wanted me specifically to hear?” wondered Sweetie Belle. “What was all that they were saying about my sister? She wouldn’t do anything like that...”

“This is all mah fault!” cried Apple Bloom. “If Ah hadn’t spied on Big Mac an’ told y’all ‘bout it, this meetin’ woulda never happened!” She threw herself onto the dirt and sobbed. “An’ now Ah may not have a big brother anymore!”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had no words to console her, and only watched as she continued to shudder on the ground.

“He’s gonna be so mad at me...” wailed Apple Bloom.

Just then, a butter colored Pegasus emerged from behind the other side of the barn.

“I’m so sorry, Apple Bloom,” offered Fluttershy. “I was the one who told Applejack that Big Mac was having an affair. I wanted her to feel better about her brother, to give her a reason why he would possibly be sad, but in the end, I only made things worse.” Fluttershy began crying.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned to look at the visitor.

“Why are you here, Fluttershy?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I followed Applejack here. I guess I got so caught up in ensuring my friends were okay, I just had to poke into their personal lives a bit too much,” she said.

The comment caused Apple Bloom’s sobbing to stop. She began to take in the events of the previous day: Her brother had been revealed to not be her real brother, Applejack was now upset with him, Miss Cheerilee was sad, and it was all because somepony happened to stumble across a secret and misinterpret it as something very different.

And that somepony hadn’t learned her lesson. She just now admitted to following Applejack here.

She was still capable of hurting ponies with her secrets.

Apple Bloom’s anger spiked. “Ya most certainly did poke in too much!” she spat. “Ya spy on mah brother. Ya spread rumors about him an’ mah friend’s big sister. Ya cause mah whole family to just up an’ break down, an’ ya still have the nerve to spy on mah sister the whole way here?! Ah hate ya! Git off mah family’s farm, ya big yella gossip!”

Fluttershy backed away from the furious Apple Bloom before burying her face in her bubblegum pink mane, turning, and running away, sobbing and shouting apologies the whole time.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were shocked once more.

“What the hay was all that for, Apple Bloom?!” yelled Scootaloo. “She apologized. You were really harsh on Fluttershy. I think you should go and apologize to her.”

“Yeah, Fluttershy is one of the nicest ponies I know!” said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom just sighed. “C’mon, girls, ya heard Big Mac. Let’s get to Twilight’s library. Ah’ll apologize later.”

Once my family’s back together, thought Apple Bloom.

“But what do I do, Twilight? How do I know if he’s the right choice for me?”

“Well, Rainbow, the book ‘Dating Advice for Pegasi’ says to ‘try and initiate a friendly conversation, then see if his interests match up with yours. Ask him to fly with you: if he accepts, it’s a yes,’” quoted Twilight.

“I hope you’re right,” replied Rainbow Dash hopefully. “Why do you have a book about dating advice for Pegasi, anyway? That’s a little odd for a Unicorn to have.”

“Rainbow, I’m a librarian,” reminded Twilight flatly.

“Oh, yeah.”

Rainbow Dash had been asking Twilight many questions about dating advice. She had decided to go through with her plan to court this mystery fireworks Pegasus. Twilight was enthusiastic of the idea, since it would give her the opportunity to spy on Pinkie Pie again to reclaim her chip. She planned to use an invisibility spell to hide near Pinkie Pie and watch as the Pegasus performed, then hopefully grab Pinkie after the show.

Rainbow Dash approached the clearing nervously. She had been instructed by Twilight not to approach the Pegasus until after the show, and to stay hidden so as not to alert Pinkie Pie. To her surprise, the pink pony wasn’t there at all. Perhaps she was hidden as well.

The Pegasus donned a blue mask and suit that completely covered his body, which was highly reminiscent of Mare-Do-Well’s uniform minus the hat and cape, to Rainbow’s chagrin. He was very large, and his wings folded back over his torso. The costume obscured his cutie mark and colors.

Rather than perform an extravagantly loud and flashy show like Rainbow Dash expected, this pony simply sat in the center of the grove, lighting the fireworks one by one, and each one produced a stunning burst of color, despite the small size of the explosions. The towering trees protected against prying eyes and ears very well, and it was obvious why nopony knew about these demonstrations.

Rainbow Dash was in awe. The vibrant, spectacular display was incredible, yet this pony wanted no one to see it. Was he ashamed of his talent? A multitude of possibilities flashed through her mind as firework after firework exploded in the sky. She imagined what sorts of fireworks he would make at a wedding and sighed dreamily at the thought.

Wait, Dash. You don’t even know him at all, yet, she thought. Don’t go making wedding plans just yet.

She thought for a moment, though. Why was she getting married at all to begin with? To satisfy her own desires for greatness through her children. She admitted it to herself: she only wanted to have something to be proud of. Her dreams of Wonderbolts glory had been lost with time.

She felt worthless, and needed her children to provide her own fame.

But she didn’t care. Her recognition would come, and this stallion was the key to her hopes and dreams. The display was over, as the pile of fireworks by the costumed Pegasus had dwindled to nothing, and he walked out of the clearing.

Rainbow Dash remained hidden, just as Twilight instructed. She was to wait for Twilight to remove the spell before approaching the stallion so as not to scare the quarry.

Sure enough, Pinkie Pie popped out of the bushes opposite Rainbow Dash. She had revealed earlier that she came to see this pony at the same times each week, and Rainbow had intercepted her at one of those times. For such a hyper pony, Pinkie Pie was very punctual.

Twilight Sparkle followed Pinkie Pie invisibly, waiting to see what she would do. Rainbow had reported her apparent interest in this fireworks pony, so Twilight seized the opportunity to determine exactly what Pinkie’s intentions were.
Pinkie Pie snuck up behind the costumed Pegasus, who was slowly walking away. With the chip in her hoof, she edged closer and closer, preparing the toss. She would be one friend closer to princesshood, one step towards the recognition and fame she deserved. She curved her foreleg back, and flung the chip at the back of the costumed pony.

Only to have it fall straight down in midair. Twilight undid her invisibility spell, appearing right in front of Pinkie, and grabbed the chip off the ground.

“Pinkie,” boomed Twilight in a serious tone, “we need to talk. We’re going to my house.”

Pinkie smiled a coy grin at Twilight.

“Uh-oh...” she said worriedly.

Immediately behind the two ponies, Rainbow Dash approached the costumed Pegasus and attempted to initiate a conversation.

“Hey there! My name’s Rainbow Dash! What’s yours?” she asked.

The large stallion turned to look at her, then turned back to look at the path, saying nothing. Rainbow Dash wondered what she had done wrong. She was simply trying to “initiate a friendly conversation”. Maybe a compliment would help ease into the conversation?

“So what’s a big, strong Pegasus like you doing in a place like this? C’mon, we can maybe fly around a bit, have a nice, friendly chat,” Rainbow offered.

Again the large stallion looked over at her, and this time shook his head no before turning back. Rainbow Dash had her heart set on this encounter, and grabbed the Pegasus’ wings, attempting to fold them into a flying position.

“Come on... mister... and fly... with me...” she said, straining to try and pull the wings out from their folded position. But regardless of how hard she tried, the wings wouldn’t budge. The stallion strained to resist the pull, and the two were locked into an intense tug of war, until Rainbow Dash was suddenly torn backwards and fell on the dirt.

With two fake cloth wings in her hooves.

“Holy Celestia!” she yelled. “They’re fake wings! Twilight! That wasn’t a Pegasus at all!”

“It wasn’t?” said Twilight and Pinkie in unison. Rainbow looked over: Twilight had restrained Pinkie’s hooves using magical bonds and was now levitating her by her legs.

“Uh, that’s a little excessive, isn’t it, Twilight?” commented Rainbow.

“Not at all. After the fake she gave us last time, I’m taking no chances,” said Twilight.

By now, the costumed pony had run off into the night. The three mares were standing alone in the dark, pondering the events that had just occurred.

“So what kind of pony would sew fake wings like that?” wondered Rainbow Dash.

Twilight removed the torn outer cloth, exposing plush toy wings. “Rainbow, these are toys. You can buy them at the joke shop, didn’t you know that?”

“Twilight, I have real wings. I wouldn’t have any interest in fake ones,” reminded Rainbow.

They heard a fourth set of hoofbeats approaching them on the road, and turned to see Applejack rushing towards them, her Stetson hat nearly flying off her head in the breeze.

“Y’all better git on over to Twilight’s house!” she yelled. “Big Mac’s got an announcement. Ah’l meet ya there, Ah gotta go see Zecora right quick. Can ya pick up Apple Bloom an’ her friends for meh? Thanks.”

“Sure, Applejack. That’s where Pinkie and I were headed anyway,” answered Twilight.

“Alrighty,” replied Applejack. “Now, any reason ya got Pinkie Pie strung up like a hog?”

Twilight chuckled at the imagery. “I’ll explain later. See you at my house!” she said cheerfully, walking away with Pinkie Pie floating and Rainbow hovering behind her.

Applejack just muttered to herself. “Crazy town lately,” she commented, dashing off into the Everfree Forest once more.

Big Macintosh entered Rarity’s boutique and closed the door behind himself, proceeding into the sitting room like always.

“Hello again, Macintosh,” sang Rarity. “Oh my, whatever happened to that? It’s simply ruined!” she said, referring to the torn cloth draped over Big Macintosh’s back.

“It’s fine, Rarity. Look, Ah just wanted you ta know that Ah took yer advice. Ah’m gonna tell Applejack tonight,” he said. “Ah already told her a lil’ bit, but Ah’m gonna give her the full story.”

“Wonderful, dahling, simply wonderful,” she commented. “It’s good to get these kinds of things off your chest. Secrets do cause much unwarranted stress, you know.”

“Ah know that full well. That’s why Ah’m gonna tell her, an’ her friends, an’ Cheerilee, an’ Apple Bloom an’ her friends the truth, with the help a’ Miss Zecora’s crystal ball.”

“Wait, what?” responded Rarity, incredulous. “Why the sudden change of heart? This was your biggest secret, the one you promised to put behind you and shut away for the rest of your life. Why on earth bring it up now?”

“Rarity, have ya seen any of yer friends today?” asked Big Mac, apparently ignoring the question.

“Why, no, I can’t say that I have. In fact, my only other outside contact today was Ditzy Doo for some... muffin print clothing she ordered,” said Rarity, obviously still slightly disturbed over Ditzy’s request.

“Well, there’s a rumor goin’ ‘round ‘bout you’n me. Ah don’t know how much ya heard, but a few ponies saw us in the woods, ‘n word done got out that Ah was cheatin’ on Cheerilee or the like. Fluttershy an’ Apple Bloom, but Ah think it was just Fluttershy that said we were havin’ an affair,” said Big Mac.

Rarity began to seethe with anger. “An affair?! Ooh, that gossip is going to get it! How dare she add such a stain on my reputation?!”

“Ya really ought ta come ‘n be there at the meetin’. Ah’ll try’n get everythin’ sorted out,” assured Big Macintosh.

Rarity was grateful that Big Macintosh was there for her, but the way that Fluttershy acted was simply horrifying. How could she have been so brash as to state that Big Mac was having an affair with her? Did she not realize the consequences of her actions?

Her own friend had exposed her secret and twisted it.

“Fine,” agreed Rarity. “I’ll come.”

The two ponies left Rarity’s shop, turning out the lights, to head to the meeting that would hopefully end the twisted path of lies that Ponyville was heading down.

“Oh, hi you three!” said Twilight to Apple Bloom and her friends. “I was going to come look for you, but I see you’re already here.”

“Oh, hi Twilight,” said Apple Bloom somberly. “Ah take it yer here for Big Mac’s meetin’?”

“Well, I actually live here,” said Twilight. “But yes, Applejack just told me to come here for whatever Big Macintosh wanted.”

The door opened, and Applejack entered with Zecora following behind, a large spherical bulge in her pouch.

“Hi Applejack, hi Zecora,” said a cheerful Twilight.

“Hello there Miss Sparkle, my friend. So nice it is to see you again,” rhymed Zecora. “Though our conversation must wait, for now your friends’ fears we shall abate. Big Macintosh’s presence plays a vital part, so without him here we cannot start.”

“Fluttershy, git in here!” yelled Applejack out the door.

Fluttershy poked her head in the doorjamb. “But... but she’s in there!”

“Fluttershy, Ah promise ya she won’t yell atcha again. Ain’t that right, Apple Bloom?” said Applejack pointedly.

Apple Bloom nodded, weakly smiling at Fluttershy, who walked into the room slowly, trembling with each step. Behind her entered Rarity, her head held high with a worried expression, and behind her was Big Macintosh, with a piece of torn blue cloth draped over his back. He set it on the table, right next to where Zecora was preparing her crystal orb.

“Hey, that’s...” said Rainbow, noticing the cloth.

“Ah’ll explain later, Miss Dash,” whispered Big Macintosh. “Okay then, everypony, Ah’ve gathered y’all here fer a story. Mah story. Y’all were gettin’ a bit tense over some ponies behaviors lately, an’ Ah think this’ll answer a lot. Fer starters, Rarity an’ Ah ain’t havin’ an affair.”

“Macintosh!” scolded Rarity. “Whatever happened to gently easing into the topic?”

“Ah wanted it ta be crystal clear. Also, Ah ain’t from here. Ah ain’t Applejack’s or Apple Bloom’s real brother. And mah name ain’t Big Macintosh.”

A series of shocked gasps elicited from most of the crowd.

“Mah name,” he said, “is Red Rocket. An’ this is how Ah grew up. Miss Zecora, can ya start the magic ball thingy?”
“I will indeed do as you ask. Prepare to see the events of the past. Mpira kioo, yatangaza zamani” shouted Zecora.

And the crystal ball began to glow.