//------------------------------//
// Hell Hath No Fury 
// Story: A Fate Even Worse Than a Fate Worse Than Death 
// by SolongStarbird 
//------------------------------//

	Big Mac could not believe it. Applejack could not allow the prospect of Applebloom alone at home to leave her mind. It had driven her to the point of forsaking her delivery and returning home. However, it had left Big Mac with a choice. He sat at the fork in the road, debating his options. To the left was the path Applejack would have taken, the path through the Fire Swamps. To the right lay the mountain path that went straight through... Big Mac shuddered at the thought. However, he had to accept the fact it was the latter of the two he would be taking. He had no fireproof boots, nor a taming chair, not even some ricotta. Besides, Applejack had no way of knowing he had taken her route, and the ponies beyond the mountains would remain pie-less. Mac drew a deep breath. He was strong. This did not stop him from questioning if he was strong enough to face a foe even worse than chimeras and a landscape of belching fire.
While he had not prepared to cross a fiery swamp, Big Mac had prepared for the rugged switchbacks of Foal Mountain. On the other side of the mountain lay... No, he would worry when he got there. For now, he would worry about the gap in the mountainside trail that the cart had to cross, somehow...
Three miles and a wheel repair later, the summit was reached. In the forested valley below, lay the town of Hollow Shades. Mac's stomach churned. He could do it. He was strong. He finally allowed himself to directly think about the threat. Hollow Shades was the residence of his Aunt Crabapple. This in itself was a danger to no one but Big Mac, who was the subject of her terminal disapproval. He had downed the silo at a reunion when he was a colt. The only pony who had been injured in the incident was Crabapple herself. He had tried to explain that it was an accident, but she refused to believe him. He never should have gotten into that bucking contest with Cousin Braeburn, who had run away and hid from Aunt Crabapple's wrath while he had earned her ire.
Big Mac grunted in reluctance and began his descent down towards Hollow Shades. Maybe he could get through the town without her noticing his presence. He immediately laughed at the thought, considering the fact that not only did she live on the main road, she could basically smell apples, and him, from miles away. She was probably already sitting on her porch with her hound dog, waiting for him. The town lay before him. Aunt Crabapple's house was two blocks from the city limit where he stood. If he could quietly turn at the first intersection, then maybe...
"Big Mac!"
"For buck's sake!" Mac muttered under his breath. He took a deep breath, returned to the main road, put a smile on his face, and continued forward.
"Hello Auntie Crabapple!"
"Do I look stupid, Mac? I know you aren't happy to see me," Crabapple glowered from her porch chair, her dull red coat bathed in afternoon sunlight.
"What did you want?" Mac asked, using as polite of a tone as he could muster.
"I was just wondering why you were up here. Usually you are back at home, breaking things."
"That was just one time," Mac grumbled.
"That one time just about crippled me," Crabapple snapped.
"How many times do I have to apologize to you? It was like ten years ago. You never got angry at Braeburn!"
"You know better than to make excuses!"
"It is not an excuse! Braeburn started it."
"And you should have ended it."
"I know, and I am sorry. The incident hurt me just as much as it hurt you. I barely even talk anymore."
"Big Macintosh, grow up! Stop telling lies too. You just had a full conversation with me. You should have gotten over this long ago!"
"Well you haven't either."
"You broke my leg!"
Mac gave up. He wasn't strong enough. He dropped his head and let Aunt Crabapple verbally thrash him. Oh, how deeply he wished that he had gone through the Fire Swamp. He was physically strong, yes, but his emotional strength was no where near strong enough to withstand this. Better a burnt body than a burnt soul. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes. He tried not to listen, but the harsh words crept in and manifested a weak version of himself. He was inconsiderate. He was stupid. He was worthless. A tear feel to the ground. Now he was too sensitive as well.
"Face it like a man!"
That last statement sparked a thought in Mac. He didn't have to do this. He didn't have to stay. The pies were more important than a stubborn, unforgiving relative. Mac turned and continued to walk down the main road through Hollow Shades.
"Mac! Were you even listening to me? Come back here! Face this like a man!"
Mac turned and yelled, "I am!"
"No, you're not! Do you seriously think walking away will help you're situation!?!"
"Eeyup."
And with that, Big Mac walked out of the sight of Auntie Crabapple, not looking back once. She continued to yell at him, but Mac had found the strength to ignore her.
Mac exited the town and continued through the woods. Back when Granny Smith had given him and Applejack the maps, she had mentioned that both routes were equally dangerous. Applejack had the Fire Swamps, and Big Mac had this narrow overgrown trail trough the woods, during the peak of Star Spider season. Big Mac chuckled at the fact that Granny had been referring to these woods, when the real danger had been back in Hollow Shades. After that ordeal, the spiders seemed like nothing.
Once he reached the small mountainside town that had placed the order, Mac brushed the large spiders off of the cart and began handing out the pies. As he did this, he contemplated the route he would take back through Hollow Shades. Auntie Crabapple would only be able to see him as he exited town this time around, since he was entering from the opposite side of the town. Mac wondered if Auntie would still be angry with him, or if she had finally come to terms when he had stood up for himself. His final verdict was that if she wanted to apologize, she could do it at the next reunion. Mac would do his best to avoid her on the way back.
As the last pie was unloaded, and the cart was hitched up, Mac thought of how much he had changed since the morning. Outside, he was the same as ever, give or take a few spider bites. However, on the inside, he was changed, strengthened. He had cleared a proverbial barrier and felt free. Perhaps he would even start talking a little more. Happy, progressive thoughts flitted through his mind as he just about skipped down the mountain trail.