//------------------------------//
// Bonus #2: Big Mac and Sombra Debate Philosophy [Slice of Life] 
// Story: An Apple A Day 
// by Esle Ynopemos 
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((Prompt: Big Mac has something to say.))

Big Mac's day had started like any other. He'd risen with the sun, had his oats and coffee alongside his sister—with minimal conversation, of course, because it was early and neither of them felt very chatty—and headed out the door to work the fields. There was a certain stability and rhythm to farm life that Macintosh felt he quite enjoyed.

Unfortunately, this was farm life in Ponyville, so the stability and rhythm parts of the equasion flew right out the window. Just as he was getting ready to hook himself into the plow, a magical accident involving an ancient chalice, Lyra and Bon Bon's anniversary, and something the Cutie Mark Crusaders wouldn't end up actually doing until ten years later tore open a hole in space time, throwing the stallion into another dimension.

That was about the point Big Mac realized it would be one of those days. He sighed. “Eeyup...”

…

Once everything stopped spinning, Big Mac pushed himself to his hooves. He wasn't quite sure what he was standing on, since it felt solid, but he couldn't see anything below his hooves. Whatever it was, a twisted chunk of the plow and a heap of dirt and grass also stood on it, no doubt having fallen through... whatever that was, with him.

Macintosh looked up, and couldn't deny that what he saw was impressive. Thousands upon thousands of colored crystals floated in the... what he was going to call the air, for the sake of his sanity... above him. Light from an unseen source reflected and refracted off of uncountable facets, showering Macintosh with a dazzling light show in every color he had ever seen, and a few he hadn't.

“Crystals.”

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.” He blinked, then jumped with a start as he realized the first voice had not been his own. He turned to see a black mist slowly shape itself into the form of a unicorn with a curved red horn.

King Sombra eyed Big Mac curiously. “Slave?” he hissed.

Macintosh fiddled with his yoke. “N-nnope.” He shook his head.

Oddly, or at least oddly considering what Mac had heard from his sister about the tyrant of the Crystal Empire, Sombra merely shrugged. He lit his horn, and a few small crystals floated down from above, orbiting the dark unicorn. “Crystal slaves,” he declared, a fierce grin on his face.

Big Mac frowned. As one of the crystals floated past him, he took it in his hoof. Sombra's magic aura faded from it, the tyrant hardly noticing its loss as he made several other crystals march in formation before him. Macintosh let go of the crystal, and it rose up to join the dizzying display above them.

A thoughtful look creased Mac's brows. After a long time, he finally spoke. “Nnope.”

Sombra's eyes darted up. A snarl formed on his lips. “Crystal... slaves!” he bellowed. At once, a dozen sharp crystals, bathed in Sombra's aura, hovered threateningly in a ring around Macintosh.

“Nnope,” Mac repeated, this time with more conviction. He tapped one of the crystals, shaking it free of Sombra's grip. The crystal drifted lazily upwards to join the spinning crystalline galaxies.

Sombra stared as the light glistened on the vertices of the free-floating mineral. He looked at the crystals held by his magic, then back up at the whirling facets of color above. He blinked, slowly at first, then a few more times rapidly. With a grimace, he doused his horn. His 'crystal slaves' all floated upwards to dance in the sky. A look of wonder crossed the tyrant's face.

…

Hours later, after Twilight and the gang had finally managed to wrest control of the Song of Memory from the Dark Queen of Tears so that they could open a portal to the dimension Macintosh had been lost in, they found him sitting across from King Sombra, drawing things in the patch of dirt he'd brought with him.

“So what you're saying,” King Sombra said, staring wide-eyed at the dirt, “is if I have the courage to jump, the crystals will sparkle?”

“Eeyup.” Macintosh nodded his head.

“Wow. That's deep.”