• Published 6th Jan 2014
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Writer's Training Grounds Entries - Yukito



My entries into Equestria Daily's Writer's Training Grounds.

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Prompt #11 - Big Macintosh's Quest (Big Macintosh, OCs) [Random, Comedy, Adventure]

Prompt: Big Macintosh wishes chimeras were the only things he had to contend with on his delivery route. What he goes up against is far, far worse...


Big James Ryan Brandon Macintosh Jr. hated delivering pies to the elven-pony lands of Lostwood. His sister Applejack had to deal with a vicious chimers, smouldering fire geysers, toxic gases, nasty thorn bushes and a steep hill, sure, but Big Macintosh most certainly had it worse. He had to deal with… dragons. And princesses. And obnoxious little fairies that wouldn’t leave him alone until he rescued said princesses from said dragons!

“Hero, you must venture to the Keep of Lost Souls! There you will find Zardon, the Dragon of Lost Souls! This quest will be perilous, but you need not fear, for you are the chosen one!”

“Eenope.” Big Macintosh tried to walk around the little fairy, but as he anticipated, it simply moved to block him.

“Hero, please! Our princess is in grave peril!”

Big Macintosh rolled his eyes. It would be quite the detour, but it was the only way he’d get the little fairy to leave him alone. “Eeyup.”

“Oh, thank you, brave traveller! But you cannot defeat the dragon with you current arsenal.” Big Macintosh would have told the fairy that his delivery of pies were not ammunition for combat, but for some reason this strange land only allowed him to answer in ‘eeyup’ or ‘eenope’. Which made non-yes-or-no questions rather difficult to answer. Amusing, but difficult.

A map was given to Big Macintosh by the fairy and he studied it. “First, you must prove yourself by challenging the three dungeons marked on this map. Only then may you draw the Sword of A Thousand Truths from its altar and slay the beast Zardon. Time is short! You must make haste, hero!”

Big Macintosh wondered why he would have to prove himself when he was already selected in the first place. Or why one of the other Sword of A Thousand whatevers he had drawn on previous quests couldn’t be used for this one. Regardless, he knew that refusing would have been impossible, so he simply said, “Eeyup.” He then tucked the map away into his bag and took a turn towards the first dungeon.


“This wall seems too strong to break down,” the fairy said as Big Macintosh reached his first roadblock in the Dungeon of Skeletons. “We’ll have to find something to blast our way through.”

Big Macintosh considered the time and decided that he was already running late. “Eenope,” he said as he lined himself up with the wall, turned around, and gave a strong buck. The wall came crashing down and Big Macintosh pressed onwards.

“T-That works, too.”


After defeating an overgrown rat with a newly-received bow and arrow and claiming the first Proof of Heroism, Big Macintosh moved on towards the second dungeon, ignoring all of the creatures he passed on his way as they either tried to lure him into battle or ask him to lend a helping hoof.

He felt for some of the troubles these passerbys had, such as one whose leg was hurt and needed a lift to a town, or one who wanted Big Macintosh to investigate a suspicious individual who may or may not be bothering his sister, but he simply didn’t have the time to be distracted by such things. He was already on a tight enough schedule as it was, the last thing he needed was to do one thousand good deeds and end up missing his delivery.

Thankfully, the obnoxious little fairy – who had spent the majority of their walk to the second dungeon spewing the same catchphrases and lame jokes over and over again – only cared about him completing the primary quest, nothing more.


“You have done well to make it so far!” the boss of the second dungeon shouted as he towered over Big Macintosh with a toothy grin on his face. “It is too bad that your opponent is me! Prepare for your total annihilat-”

Big Macintosh simply stared up at the boss. His stare was calm and gentle, yet fierce and strong. “Y-You won’t look so brave when I’m through with you,” the boss said as he simply stared back into Big Macintosh’s eyes. “Y-You didn’t even claim the dungeon treasure, meaning you will be unable to even harm me!”

The boss gulped as Big Macintosh remained unfazed. The stallion took a step forward and the boss yelped. “N-Never mind! I… I actually have something I have to take care of! Later!” The boss fled quickly, leaving Big Macintosh and his fairy companion with an ungraded Proof of Heroism. Two down, one to go.


The third dungeon, the Gauntlet of Champions, was the inside of an active volcano, remodelled to be a labyrinth filled to the brim with traps and safety hazards. Big Macintosh had to stop at a nearby village in order to buy a refreshing hay smoothie with extra ice before he entered. He hadn’t a drink all day, and he wasn’t about to let dehydration be his untimely downfall.

Upon reaching the end of the labyrinth with only minor scrapes, Big Macintosh found a griffon guarding the final Proof of Heroism with rather sharp claws. “So you’re here! As expected of the son of Macintosh! But this is as far as you go! Prepare to die!”

Big Macintosh threw his empty cup into the trashcan beside him and took a calm step towards the griffon. “Eenope.”

“Hero! Hero! I have terrible news!” Big Macintosh sighed and turned towards his fairy companion. “It’s your cart, hero! Zardon’s minions have destroyed it!”

Big Macintosh’s eyes widened with horror. ‘WHAT?!

“Ah, so it has been done.” The griffon chuckled. “That cart was the source of your power, wasn’t it? My spies had reported you taking extra good care of it, so I had them-” The griffon stopped as she saw a fire surrounding Big Macintosh. Not the good kind of fire that would reduce him to mere ashes. The bad kind. The kind that he would harness to turn her into mere ashes. “D-Don’t act so tough. With your cart gone, you’re-”

Big Macintosh growled and stomped his forehooves before charging towards the griffon, steam shooting from his nostrils. He kicked the griffon once and she fell down, losing consciousness immediately.

The fairy approached Big Macintosh slowly. “Hero?” Big Macintosh didn’t respond. He simply looked down at the ground with a grim look on his face. “Hero, please. I know you despair right now, but you must endure.” Big Macintosh still didn’t respond. “Zardon has almost claimed the Philosopher’s Stone. It is said that whoever claims the stone will have their wish granted. We must-”

Big Macintosh’s head shot up and a spark glinted from his eye. He turned towards the Proof of Heroism and approached it, snatching it violently before turning to leave the dungeon.


“Finally, after all these years. Finally, I have found it.” Zardon approached the Philosopher’s Stone, holding the screaming princess in one claw as he licked his lips and prepared to make his wish. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him and found a stallion approaching him with a sword strapped to his side. “So, the Hero of the East is here to stop me, is he?”

Big Macintosh drew his sword and charged towards the dragon. “Fool!” Zardon shouted as he readied his claws. “I am the harbinger of darkness! The destroyer of kingdoms! I make ponies shudder at the mere thought of my presence, and I-” Before Zardon’s egotistical rant could finish, Big Macintosh sliced his head clean off with his sword and sheathed it. The princess gracefully fluttered down and bowed to her hero.

“Hero, I thanketh thee for thy help,” she said. “I hearby dubeth thee Sir Big James Ryan Brandon Macintosh Jr. Esquire. Now, as for thine reward-” The princess topped and tilted her head as she noticed Big Macintosh completely ignoring her and approaching the Philosopher’s Stone. “Hero? Dost thou not wish to receive thy reward?”

It’s just gonna be a kiss on the muzzle anyway,’ Big Macintosh thought as he reached out towards the Philosopher’s Stone and touched it. ‘Ah have bigger things planned.

“Hero, no!” the fairy shouted in a pleading voice. “The power of the stone is too much for one pony to bear! It will corrupt you! It will-” A blinding flash of light filled the area. When everyone present could see again, Big Macintosh was strapped to a harness attached to his old pie cart. Silence reigned for a few seconds before Big Macintosh nodded his head once and walked by the fairy and princess.

Now that that little distraction was over, he could continue with his true quest.


“Welcome back, Big Mac!” Applejack greeted as she waved to her approaching brother. “Y’all will never believe the adventure we had today! How ‘bout you?” Applejack noticed the sword strapped to her brother’s side. “Same old same old?”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack sighed and unstrapped the sword, examining it for a second before throwing it into a nearby pile. “Might be worth a couple more trees. Come on inside. Ya must be hungry.”

“Eeyup.” Following his sister inside, Big Macintosh licked his lips in anticipation of some fresh apple fritters fresh from the oven. At least, if the pleasant scent reaching his nose was any indication.

Author's Note:

Check out the other submissions by various authours here: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/03/writers-training-ground-011-somepony-to.html

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