//------------------------------//
// The Adventure Begins..and Ends.  
// Story: Big Mac's Not-So-Small Adventure 
// by AlphaOmega 
//------------------------------//

Big Mac's Not-So-Small Delivery

By AlphaOmega

"Alrighty big brother! You got the pies?"

The big red stallion standing next to the orange mare gave a nod of approval as well as his usual word. "Eeyup." 

"Alrighty then. Applebloom," Applejack turned to her little sister who was giddy with excitement. "I left you all the essentials. Here is a list of everything you need to remember."

Applebloom took the list eagerly and frowned. "Uh...Make sure to blow on the soup if it's too hot?"

"Just in case you forget! And don't forget to-" 

Both Big Mac and Applebloom had tuned out the over protective sister. Macintosh looked at his route. It didn't look so bad. The map showed a path through a small town and into a deep jungle, judging from the trees. 

"-And don't forget to-"

"Alright enough enough!" Cried Applebloom. "Y'all are gonna be late your delivery! See you later!" 

"She's right AJ. Let's go." Big Mac responded in his deep voice. 

"Alright. Let's go."

As they left, Big Mac could hear all the way from down the road. "Ah'm home alone! Ah'm home alone!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been traveling for no longer than 2 hours when the over-protective sister began her rant. "Hey Big Mac?"

He groaned. "What is it now AJ? We're gonna be late."

Applejack merely prodded the ground. "Well, I'm scared for Applebloom.  What if she has to cough? Or Sneeze!? Oh I don't think we restocked the hats and bows room!"

Big Mac had had enough of the ridiculous ranting of his YOUNGER SISTER. With a heavy sigh, he turned to AJ. "You remember when you were her age and wanted to stay home but I wouldn't let you?"

"Yeah, but this is different! She doesn't know-"

Big Mac shook his head. "Nope. She is your flesh and blood as much as mine. If you could handle yourself at that age, I have no doubt Applebloom could do it to." He stopped and turned to Applejack. "Sometimes you need to have a little trust in those you love."

Applejack turned away, slightly ashamed. "Ah know. It's just that she's our little sis! We only have one and Ah don't wanna lose her to something. I want to be there for her." Her voice trailed off. 

"Listen Applejack." He stopped his cart and turned to his younger sister. "I know you are concerned about your sister. I am too! But there isn’t much we can do anymore for her. She's out all the time with her friends trying to make sense of the world around them. It's only fitting that we let go of her hoof and let her be a big pony." He grabbed Applejack and hugged her tightly.

"We all need to learn to let go."

AJ sniffed. "Thanks. I guess I could let it go..."

"Alright. Let's get moving."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So that whole speech was for nothin', huh?

Big Mac had been traveling down the map for a good hour since they had their conversation. But even before they had gotten to their crossroad where they would separate and then meet up in a day's time, Applejack had turned around and headed home to make sure her sister was safe. 

"That pony is more concerned than I was at her age." He mumbled to himself. He looked at the map. The small town of Tailgate was only a few kilometers away. He couldn't see it from where he was but he wagered it was over the hill that was covering the mid day sun. 

Grunting from the exhaustion, he unsaddled his sticky and sweaty back from the carriage and sat down for a good ol' sip of Diet Cider. He used to drink regular but with his constant blood sugar rising over and over, he had to switch. Or at least that was what the doc said. Never did understand why her eyes were so weird. Checking his saddle, he made sure he had some change so he could do business when he got to Trotsdale. It was a small city (not that one could tell the difference) with a good economy and always wanting something new to try. The Apple Family was their first shot at something Apple related. Usually the rival Cherry Family was the supplier but something had mysteriously happened to ALL their cherry trees...Something about fruit bats. 

As he continued to sip his drink, he heard a rustle from some nearby bushes. He quickly turned to the direction on of the disruption. "Hey! Who's there?"

No response greeted him. Knowing better than to run over to the bush, he picked up his bag and put the hitches on his pie cart. Whatever was in the bushes, he wasn't gonna deal with it. He attempted to do the latches as quick as he could, but the constant rush of adrenaline and sweat collecting at his forehead had begun to take its toll. 

"Well well. What do we have here?" He turned to see a tall, black clad pony. "I hope you didn't think you could get past this location without paying the toll." 

"Hey fellas." Big Mac responded in a calm voice. The other bandits had begun to creep up around the cart. They were clad in various scarves, clothes, and masks. They had a few clubs on their saddles but nothing that would do more than a bruise.

One of the bandits came close to Big Mac. He could smell a faint aroma of rotting apples. The bandit's mane was ratty and looked like somepony who had just woken up. He back down from the pure smell, much as he tried to remain resilient. 

"I would like a pie." One of the bandits spoke up.

"I would as well." The rest of the group agreed and resounded their opinion. Macintosh remained calm. It was seven on one. It wasn't odds he hadn't dealt with before when he was in school. But this was different. They wanted to hurt him and take the pies. He would need to defend the Apple family name.

The head bandit, he assumed from his stature, trotted up and pulled out a club. "I guess we will take it ALL! FREE OF CHARGE!" And with that, the other bandits attacked the caravan. Big Mac undid his hitches in less than a second. Swinging his great moment around, he bucked two bandits in one hit. They went down without a thought. He turned to another pair who attempted to whip him in the head with a club. The first swing missed as Big Mac ducked but a quick, yet weak, blow hit him on the side. Grunting, he grabbed the smaller bandit and ripped the club from his mouth. 

Gripping it in his own, mouth, slightly disgusted by the saliva of the bandit, he locked with the larger bandit who missed. It was no contest. Big Mac quickly pushed him to the ground and knocked him out clean with a blow to the head. The others began to regroup. 

"7 on 1," He gasped for air, "I'm not as young as I was."

The bandits glared hard. While it was 7 on 1, they weren’t expecting such hostility. What they didn't know was the Big Mac had made deliveries like this before, albeit much shorter and the bandits less in number, but that little the change the fact he could fight. The bandits looked at each other and pounced all at once. He was ready for the whole blow.

Despite what appearance could reveal, Big Macintosh was no slouch when it came to strategy. He quickly organized his surrounds. First, the smallest of the three would go for the legs. All he had to do was jump. The largest one would tackle him to the ground in an attempt to pin him. All he had to do was swing his club as he jumped. Finally, the second big one would throw is club in an attempt to land a blow. He would simply dodge and return the favor with perfect accuracy. 

It was an exact strategy. The first bandit went for the legs, and he jumped, smacking the second bandit in the face. Lastly, unable to realize his friends had been taken down, the last bandit threw his club, of which Big Mac dodged. He reared his head back to throw the club.

Then everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~

It was near dark out. The birds had flown home to their nests and the small critters of the land had returned with food to their homes. All was as it should be. Except for a VERY much ticked of Big Mac. He had been knocked out for several hours, he guessed. The club that was thrown had actually landed in the mouth of another bandit he thought he knocked out earlier. With a single blow to the head, Big Mac was down for the count.

"Guess I'm no Sherclop Pones." He sighed. He could feel the bruise on the side of his head. The swelling headache began to form in his mind as he thought about what might have happened to the pies. No doubt they had been taken, but maybe he could catch the bandits before they decided to eat the pies. There were was no indication that crumbs had been left so all he had to do was chase the bandits and see what they may have taken. 

Oh, and his pack too. That was probably important. 

With a groan, he began his silent walk to the small town of  Tailgate, was literally that: small. It had about 200 residents, a local diner that served all times, and a few small apartments. The only sign of life in the night was the fact that a nearby house had several party goers inside having a good time. No one was actually out right now.

That was when Big Mac arrived. The gate had already been closed and would not open until morning. He sighed. He would need to sleep outside in the cold. It almost brought a tear to his eye. What a great irony. His sister would have no doubt been so over protective of him, yet he could barely take care of himself. Defeated by some petty bandits and sleeping in the cold all by himself. 

He laid down near the side of the gate. It would open at dawn and he could go through the village. But that was when he noticed it.

A small trail created by something that was pulled had clearly passed around the town. Standing up, he followed the trail around the wall. It seems that whatever was pulled along clearly had wheels. 

And the whiff of apple pie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh wow this was a lucky day!" A voice cried out in the forest. A small fire was roaring in the middle of the bandit camp. They had just begun to heat up the pies and have a luxurious meal.  

"I haven't eaten like this in a while!" Another bandit said. He had taken the liberty of cutting a pie. The smell of apples filled the night air. "What an idiot! That big lug thought he could beat us!"

Everypony laughed. Except for one. Big Macintosh sat in a nearby bush, watching the bandits. He had disguised himself with some dirt. Not being able to risk getting caught, he resolved to let them have their fun then take back what they had left. As well as the money that he had brought along. While that was arguably more important, Big Mac could not help but feel an anger rise in him. First they stole from him, then they had the nerve to call him an idiot behind his back. 

He was never one to back down from an insult.

"So what do we do tomorrow?"

"Well I was thinking..."

Their conversations seemed to go on for an eternity. A few jokes there, a story or two. Then, everything went quiet. The fire was still roaring but the snores began to overwhelm. Now was the moment to go.

Having nearly fallen asleep, Big Mac stood up and began to creep past the bandits. The cart was near the middle of the encampment near a large tent by the roaring fire. No doubt that the leader slept in there. Moving as stealthily as possible, he began to make his way to the cart, careful as ever not to step on a twig or other sound producing object. 
Finally, he arrived at the carriage. Inside, several pies had been eaten, but about 30 more were in good condition. He could still make a nice profit.

Now for the money. Most likely, the leader had taken the largest sum so taking from him would be best. Following his earlier instinct, he quietly trotted to the large tent. Inside, it was like a thief's paradise.

Several pieces of jewelry hung from the wall. Sterling silverware, fine carpets, and bowls of fruits were stashed in a corner. Big Mac stood agape. How could such rick thieves be so cheap with their money? Then he noticed his saddle bag among a pile of coin purses. The owner of the text was sleeping on a comfy bed with several sheets wrapped around him for comfort. No doubt about it: he was definitely the leader. 

Grabbing the coin purse, he made his way out of the tent. Outside, the fire had slowly died and the thieves outside were sleeping under a sea of stars. The site made Big Mac feel tired. But he had a job. If he didn't get this done, he and his family would end up like them: thieves and greedy about it too.

Alright, that was harsh, Big Mac thought. They were probably saving up for a really nice house. He trotted quietly to the car and began to do the hitches. Struggling to reach the final strap, he finally gave up and began to pull the cart. Now that it was significantly diminished in weight, he over-estimated its weight. With an all mighty heave, the cart gave quickly, managing to spill several pies and make an even louder sound.

Groans began to awaken around him. "Hey! Some pony’s taking our cart!" A bandit cried.

"Get him!"

Big Mac thought quick on his hooves. If he went into the forest, he might be able to shake them off. But he knew from the Everfree that strange things lay in the dark recesses of Mother Nature's womb. Not seeing a better choice and seeing the pursuing enemy inch closer with each minute, he decided Celestia owed him a favor.

Ducking low to get into the deep bushes, he vanished from their sights. None gave chase. Big Mac smiled. They certainly were bright.

Wiping his brow, he crumpled to the ground. The sun was nearly rising and he felt so tired. All he could do was lay his head down on the nice, slimy floor and wrap around in th-

"AHHHHHH!!" He yelled. Suddenly, the world around him began to tilt. Losing his balance, he attempted to hold on to the trunk of a nearby tree. He may not have gone to church on Sundays like Granny, but he knew a prayer or two and said them as quickly as he could. The slime on the floor began to smell. It was the fresh scent of home. It was inviting him back to a simpler time.

Come now, it begged. Join us. Let it happen. Fall into our mouth...and become one! 

Join us.

Join us.

He thrust the thoughts out of his mind. Clearing it, he though carefully, The branch would soon break and whatever monster he had stumbled into clearly knew how to capture its prey. Looking to his left, he saw the carriage fall into the pit. Around him, trees and nests began to cave into the enormous hole that was most likely the mouth.

All that was left was the tree and his saddle. A little more, and he would fall in too. He had one shot. Taking a rope into his mouth, he lasso-ed a nearby rock, hoping to swing across.

Well, here goes nothin'. 

But the weight was too great. The branch snapped at the base. And in that instant, Big Macintosh's world evaporated.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Big Mac! Wake up! We are gonna be late for the delivery!"

"AHHHH!!!!" He yelled, yanking up from his sleep. His pajamas were a complete mess and his bed sheets were hung on a nearby window. The sun hit him in the eye, blinding him for a moment.

"Is this...heaven?"

Applejack just stared at his brother. "Uh. No...This is Equestria. You are Big Mac."

"But...I died!" His panting began to increase.

"Alright alright. Simmer down Sa-"

Big Mac grunted. "Darn it AJ! I hate that phrase." 

"Alright, tell me what happened." 

Big Mac thought long and hard. But just like any dream, he could barely remember a thing. "Well. We were delivering our pies..."