A World Without Princesses

by PonyTom

Chapter 21 - Future Uncertain

Any other night, Big Mac would have tucked his sister into bed hours ago by now. He'd have helped his grandmother make her way to her own bedroom, as she would likely have passed out in her chair and been too groggy and achy to get there herself, and he'd have to make a sojourn into town if his cousin was out for the night. That would have been done by now. At this hour, when most of Ponyville was asleep, he'd be tucking into bed himself after taking an hour or so to read a story, and he'd be in blissful dreams by now.

But today was a day of new things.

And so, tonight Big Mac sat alone, in the basement of Sugar Cube Corner, drinking hard cider. Braeburn had been accompanying him for a while, though he had escorted his smaller (and more lightweight) cousin upstairs to sleep an hour and a half ago. Or was it longer? Or shorter? He couldn't tell, he realized, as he sat there alone with his thoughts.

The day had been... eventful to say the least. Braeburn's arrival had been nothing short of shocking, in that he arrived bound, gagged, and in a sack, which was a bit frustrating on his part, though Macintosh couldn't deny its effectiveness (Braeburn couldn't be subtle to save his life). Having to explain the events up until then had been a lot to put onto Braeburn, especially explaining that in helping Macintosh he had inadvertently made himself a potential target for Filthy Rich, that Twilight was a unicorn, and it was a lot for his cousin to take in all at once. Braeburn had seemed to take it all in stride at first, but once they had come to the basement, the stallion seemed to drink his cider more eagerly than normal, and while Braeburn liked to drink, Macintosh had never seen his cousin try to drink himself silly unless a bet was involved.

And truth be told, Macintosh felt a true sense of similarity in his cousin in that sense.

He took another sip of his hard cider and felt it wash down his throat. His ears felt warm, and his cheeks tingly, a buzz washing over him, though he paced himself enough to avoid drunkenness. As the day's events replayed over and over in his head, he felt himself having difficulty believing any of it, even though he had seen it all happen. Twilight Sparkle was a unicorn, a strange, mythical, magical pony. Filthy Rich - whom he had known and respected like family his whole life - was a monster who may very well be out for blood. Nightingale...

Macintosh winced.

'Could she really have had a hoof in all of this...?

He took another swig of his cider. Nightingale had taken to him quickly, seemingly driven by strong, carnal desires, but the longer their relationship carried, the more she seemed to authentically care. He had hoped that she was simply confused as to how to court a pony and was adjusting herself to better suit the situation, but what if that wasn't it at all? What if she had been using him since the beginning?

'No,' he thought to himself with a grimace, 'When she started flirtin' with me, I hadn't even been acquainted with Twilight. I was still workin' with Zecora....'

And then a new line of thought was born. Zecora. More than once Big Mac would wonder about the Zebra, and a few nights he even lost sleep, wondering if she was okay, if something had happened or what. In light of new information, Big Mac tried to remember just how events had played out. 'It was just after Rich made his offer to us that Zecora and I were attacked. Is it possible he ordered it? Could he be responsible for all the misfortunes I've suffered up to this point?'

'Could Nightingale?'

The more he thought of it, the more he wanted to stop thinking of it. He took another drink of hard cider, hating the storm of thoughts running through his head. What was real? What wasn't? Surely there had to be a misunderstanding somewhere. Surely something has been misconstrued so horribly that everything else is magnified in its error.

But he couldn't think of what.

Macintosh looked solemnly into the empty bottle as he finished off its contents. He contemplated grabbing one more bottle, but decided against it. 'Ol' Uncle Scrumpy drank himself to death,' he thought to himself. Standing, Big Mac stretched and popped his back, ready to head upstairs and try to get some sleep, hoping the thoughts screaming in his head would silence long enough for him to drift off.

As he made his way onto the first floor, he took note that all the lights were snuffed out. The silence of the bakery told him that everypony had likely already gone to bed, and may have been asleep for all he knew. Macintosh then realized he wasn't even sure what time it was. Rounding the corner, he stepped into the bakery proper, where he noticed a slight glow of magenta light.

A pillow had been situated onto the floor nearby, and there he saw Twilight Sparkle laying on her side (the uninjured one), a book in front of her. Her horn glowed faintly as she turned the page, eyes locked onto her reading. Big Mac stared at the curious mare, who seemed entirely oblivious to his existence. A nearby candle gave her light, allowing her to read the words in the book. He simply stared at her for a few moments.

Her horn glowed in a magenta light.

A page suddenly turned itself.

It was such a small, simple act. And yet somehow, he found himself enthralled by it. She could turn the pages without even touching the book. Twilight's eyes drifted up, and for a moment, a fleeting moment, their gazes met.

And then Twilight almost jumped out of her skin.

The mare leaped to her hooves and grabbed her book, shoving it over top her horn. "What!? Who is that!? What are--" The mare paused. She squinted as recognition began to take root. "... Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," said Macintosh with a nod.

Twilight let loose a sigh of relief, and the book levitated from her head back in front of her. "You... you almost gave me a heart attack! I thought you had gone to bed hours ago!"

"Sorry," said Macintosh, with a nod. "T'be honest, I thought you did too.

Twilight sighed once more, slowly easing back into a comfortable position, her eyes lowering back to her book. "I... did try to sleep, but it just didn't happen. Between today's events and Pinkie Pie's snoring..."

Macintosh trotted towards where Twilight was sitting and sat down on the floor near her. "Ya gonna be alright...?"

The mare looked from the book up to him, her eyes studying his face for a moment. "Well, it was painful but I was able to remove the bullet from my leg, and I'm fairly certain I've properly disinfected it, but it's still a little sore."

"I don't just mean that," said Macintosh with a shake of his head, "I mean you. How are you holdin' up?"

"Oh," said Twilight, seemingly a little surprised at the question. She looked a bit to the side. "Well, I think I should be asking you that. To be honest, this probably has a bigger impact on you than me." It was a logic Macintosh couldn't deny.

"Still," he said with a shrug, "this has just been a bad day for me... for you it's been longer."

Twilight didn't respond to that at first. She looked down at her book once more. "Well," she said with a sigh, "I will admit... I hate this whole situation. Losing my house, my books, my resources... none of it was ideal. My whole life was in that house, and now it's buried under rubble and debris." Twilight then grinned wide. "But... I was able to save one thing before that gryphon broke into my tower." Her horn glowed once more, and the book Twilight was reading levitated upward.

'Unicorns: The Lost Tribe.'

Macintosh's jaw hung open. "You saved yer book...?"

"Yep!" Twilight sounded almost giggly as she said it, setting it back on the ground before her. "After the first cannonball hit I was worried it might get hurt in the destruction, but fortunately it was fine, and I managed to sneak it out with me!" The mare looked down at the book and sighed, a soft smile on her face. "This book... this book is very dear to me."

Big Mac seemed confused at this. "Ain't you a unicorn? Shouldn't you already know everything there is to know about your culture?"

Twilight giggled. "Do you know everything there is to know about yours?" Macintosh raised a hoof, but paused. Now that he thought of it, he was fairly certain he likely didn't. Twilight smirked. "Thought not." The mare set her eyes back on the book. "This book isn't special just because the knowledge it holds... there's a lot of reasons I cherish it."

Big Mac nodded. "Like?"

Twilight looked up to him. She seemed almost confused by the question, looking from side to side. "... Uhh... are you honestly asking?" Big Mac smiled and nodded. The unicorn mare seemed absolutely flummoxed by the mere thought, but she looked down at the book once more. "Oh. Huh. I'm not used to ponies actually caring what I think or feel about subjects. Rich was always more focused on lore and artifacts."

"Well," said Twilight, clearing her throat, "this book is probably one of the most famous studies from Earth Pony or Pegasus authors into Unicorn lore and history. Though there's a lot of speculation and theory in it, the book represents the most thorough and well-thought out research done by a non-unicorn into unicorn history." Her horn glowed, and a few pages flipped. "Golden Quill the 3rd didn't just research into unicorn lore, he dug into Equestria's history itself, as far back as to the founding of Equestria. He traveled the entire country, gathering knowledge from other scholars who researched the subject, learning of artifacts, of legends..." Twilight put a hoof on a page of the book, stroking it gently. "Unlike his grandfather before him, he was driven. He had passion. He didn't just want to learn of rumors and legends, he wanted to crack history itself open and learn the closest thing to the truth available to him."

Twilight sighed, closing the book. She smiled. "... He worked hard. He never gave up. He never let other ponies dissuade him... " She looked towards Macintosh. "... And he was noticed." She looked back down at the book, and Macintosh noticed an almost somber look on her face. "... The day he died... unicorns everywhere mourned his passing."

Macintosh looked down at the book in her hooves. "... One pony meant so much to so many...?"

Twilight nodded, closing her eyes. "His desire for knowledge was pure and innocent. He didn't want power, he didn't want an edge... he did everything he did out of love." She opened her eyes, and Twilight's gaze met Big Mac's. "Love for a people he had never met. For a history he barely knew. He truly loved my people... and we loved him back..." Twilight's speech seemed to hit a lull as she and Macintosh stared at each other, the mare caught up in her story, and the stallion totally invested in what she had to say. For a moment, things were silent as the two stared at each other. Twilight cleared her throat and let her eyes lower back to her book. "But... yeah... he meant a lot to us..."

Big Mac nodded. "Wow... that's somethin'..." He looked down at the book in the mare's hooves. "Maybe I'll have to find a copy of that book some time..."

"Good luck," said Twilight with a smirk. "This book is rare, because it was considered 'dangerous thinking' during the era it was published in." The mare rolled her eyes. "If it was published today it would have been deemed wishful at best, and absolute lunacy at worst."

"Well," said Macintosh with a shrug, "I don't think it's silly."

Twilight shrugged. "Well, you've also met a unicorn, so I suppose you couldn't."

Macintosh smirked. "Hey, if I wanted to be in denial that'd be my right." Twilight chuckled, shaking her head and opening her book once more.

"Well," she said at length, "if you ever want to read the book, feel free to ask. As an earth pony yourself, you'd likely be able to draw a similar appreciation that he did from his research."

Once more, things became quiet. Twilight scanned the book, reading a few words. She tried to ignore Macintosh for the most part, though once in a while she'd look up to see him staring, or trying not to stare, at her. She didn't want to be rude, but she began feeling a little self conscious. "Is there... something wrong?"

"Nope," said Macintosh, shaking his head and looking off to the side. "Uh... Twi... I was jus' wonderin'... an' forgive me if this is not the kind of question I should ask.... but.... uh...."

Twilight found herself oddly perplexed by the seemingly shy nature Macintosh was displaying. He was a modest pony, but he almost seemed bashful at this moment in time. "Yes?"

"Well," said Macintosh, rubbing the back of his neck, "I... hope I ain't crossing any lines or anythin'... but.... could you maybe show me... some magic?"

The mare seemed perplexed. "... You want to see magic...?" Big Mac nodded. Was he blushing? That was strange, the stallion never seemed to blush. Twilight stared a bit at the stallion, but she smiled slightly. "... Well, okay... but nothing loud, noisy, or bright." Big Mac smiled a smile not unlike what one might expect of Pinkie Pie.

Twilight set the book aside, and began to look around the room. "I'll pick something small, something simple... is that okay?" Big Macintosh responded with a nod, which made Twilight smile. She set her eyes on a broom which lay against a wall nearby; Pinkie must have forgotten to store it before she went to sleep. The mare nodded and lowered her horn somewhat, and closed her eyes. Macintosh watched intently as the grooves in Twilight's horn seemed to suddenly glow with magenta light, and slowly, that glow encapsulated the entire shape of the protrusion. The nearby broom began to tremor, and his eyes went towards it. An aura surrounded the broom, and then, it stopped.

Macintosh watched as the broom sat there, quietly.

And then it began to shake. Big Mac's eyes widened as it's sides began to expand outward, as if something was trying to get out of the small shaft of wood. Then, an arm sprang from one side. And then the other. The broom suddenly forced itself upwards, wobbling at first, before supporting itself, using it's straw bottom as legs. Big Mac watched with wide-eyed wonder as the broom made its way towards the two, and stopped in front of Twilight.

"That," said Twilight with a smile, "is a come to life spell."

Macintosh stared at the broom with wide-eyed wonder. "That.... that's amazing...."

"Yes," said Twilight with a grin, "the spell doesn't actually bring the broom to life, it just animates it with a basic imitation of life. If you damage it, it won't feel pain, and it won't acknowledge the damage is enough to obstruct its ability to function." Macintosh reached a hoof forward and poked the broom, and it responded by slapping his hoof. The stallion wasn't sure, but the way it pointed at him looked as if it were scolding him. Twilight blushed. "Uh... also, I'm not entirely used to using that spell, so I may have gave it too much personality..."

The mare lowered her horn, and once more it glowed. The broom stiffened as if it had been paralyzed. Slowly, it tilted. It's arms faded from existence, and it fell. Before it could hit the floor, however, a magenta glow caught the broom, and it levitated upward. Macintosh continued to stare, awe struck, as the broom was moved back toward where she had found it.

Macintosh looked at the broom a few moments more, before turning to Twilight again. "... That was the most amazin' thing I have ever seen..."

Twilight giggled and blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Thanks... I'm a bit rusty... I haven't gotten much time to practice my magic in the past few months, so the spell wasn't as great as it could have been..."

But Macintosh only grinned wide. "I-I've never seen nothin' like it before! I've seen unicorns, but the only actual magic I saw was--" Big Mac paused, and his grin diminished. He put a hoof to his mouth and cleared his throat, and he could see Twilight become visibly nervous. "Well," he said with a sigh, "that's... not important." He smiled and looked back towards Twilight. "I honestly mean it... that was wonderful... and... thanks for indulgin' me...."

Twilight giggled, though he could tell she was a little tense, likely with the reminder he had inadvertently brought up. "Thanks... and you're welcome... it was nice to show somepony magic that could appreciate it." Twilight continued to paw at her pillow. "And... I should be thanking you."

Macintosh raised a brow. "For what?"

Twilight looked towards him and smiled. It was odd, because it was probably the most sincere smile the stallion had ever seen on the little unicorn mare. "... For too many things.... for being my friend... for accepting what I am... and most importantly, for saving mine and Spike's lives..."

Big Mac smiled, and he almost seemed bashful in that moment. "Think nothin' of it."

Twilight wanted to argue the point, to tell him how much all of that meant to her, to make an argument, a speech out of it... but she knew him too well. She knew that he would not fight her, and that he would only disagree with her on the fact that what he did was heroic. A smile formed on her face, and she looked off to the side. "I make no promises."

---

Ponyville mornings were always a sight to behold. Before anypony was wandering around, readying for the day's chores and business and shopping, it was quiet. Still. The streets were empty, with only a few ponies roaming occasionally - out-of-towners, late workers, as well as some shadier individuals. Most any other pony was asleep by now, likely just finishing up their dreams before waking up to another Ponyville morning.

That made it perfect.

Several figures darted between buildings and alleys, skirting the more open streets of the town as they zipped about. They kept out of sight, ducking under windows and running through yards if need be. They could not afford to expose themselves too much, lest they be found out. Right now, everypony was a potential enemy, and they knew it. After several jumps, twists, and turns, the group stopped as they lay their eyes on a warehouse.

"Right there," whispered Rainbow Dash, pointing at the building, "that's our next stop."

"What?" Twilight raised a brow, pulling the hood of her cloak over her horn, "a warehouse? Why would we go there? We need to go somewhere, not deliver something!"

"I know," said Rainbow without averting her gaze, "but this is where we'll do it. I said before I was owed favors right? Well, I have a contact here who I asked to help me set up an escape if things turned south."

Macintosh tugged his own bandanna down from his mouth, having used it to cover his face. "Wait... were you plannin' on things goin' sour with Rich?"

"No," said Dash, looking back at him with a raised brow, "I'm a professional, I anticipated coming here, doing my job, getting my money, and disappearing." She looked from behind their cover, looking down either path of the street before them. "Thing is, sometimes your employers decide they can save a buck if they kill you off, or they get caught red-hoofed, and when that happens, you need to be able to get away before anypony realizes you were even there."

"And these people won't expose us to Gilda, will they?" Fluttershy piped. Dash looked back at her and smirked.

"These are professionals, 'Shy. Gilda might ask, but she knows if they say 'no' there's no way she'll get a different answer from them." She set her attention back out to the street. "Alright, we gotta run now. Everypony, make your way to the back door and wait for me there. Stay together, stay low, and stay. Quiet."

Dash spread her wings and darted from where she was across the street, flying up to a window, which one could not see inside due to a curtain. She gave it a light tapping, and then it opened, and she quickly made her way inside before the window shut again. Macintosh looked to the other ponies - Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Braeburn, and Spike... who wasn't really a pony... - and gave a nod. Twilight, with Spike on her back (and covered by her cloak), disappeared in a popping flash, reappearing across the street and behind the building. She gave a nod, and everypony rushed to the other side, careful not to make more noise than absolutely necessary, and reached the side of the building. Hurrying, the group made its way behind the building. Several crates seemed to be stacked in haphazard ways, likely to help with this particular situation, and they weaved around them until they reached the back door, where they waited.

And waited.

And waited...

Macintosh wasn't sure how long they waited, had it been seconds or minutes, but every tick of the clock felt like an eternity, and he felt fear. Fear that they'd be found out, or that something went wrong, he wasn't sure. He felt the urge to knock on the door, but resisted; no idea what that'd stir. Big Mac looked to the other ponies. Twilight returned his gaze with an equal measure of concern and impatience, as did Fluttershy, though Pinkie Pie seemed to be keeping herself busy pretending her hoof was a pegasus in flight.

Then a click.

Everypony turned to the door, seeing it open, revealing a grey-coated stallion with blue eyes. He said nothing, simply gesturing into the building, and everypony stepped inside.

The inside of the warehouse didn't seem particularly special to Big Mac. There was boxes, a table with some papers on it, a delivery wagon... it all seemed fairly normal to him. He turned his attention to the stallion who had let them inside. "What now?"

"Now," he heard Dash say as she flew down from the upper level, "we prepare for our trip!" She walked towards a barrel, giving the lid a nudge, revealing the inside had a flooring of hay. "It ain't exactly first class, but it's about as inconspicuous as we can get right now."

"What about the hunchback?" said the stallion, pointing to Twilight. Macintosh looked to the unicorn mare and noticed that Spike, hiding inside her cloak, did make her seem hunched. "You think you can fit in one of these barrels?"

Twilight blinked, confused, before realizing he was talking to her. "Oh? Oh! Y-yeah," she said, tugging her cloak slightly to hide her face, "I-I think I can manage..."

The stallion eyed her for a moment, before giving a shrug. "Alright... well, get on in those. We'll be takin' off in thirty minutes." He looked to Macintosh. "'Cept you, Big Guy. You're gonna help."

Macintosh stared in confusion at the stallion. "What?"

"You heard me," said the grey earth pony, "I can't pull all of ya. We can manage to make sure you ain't easy to recognize, but you gotta keep yer yap shut n' let me do the talkin'." It wasn't an idea he liked at first, though as Macintosh thought of it, he considered that he'd really prefer to be moving about than stuffed in a box anyway. He gave a slight nod, and the grey stallion smirked. "Great. We got some coat-paint and a cutie-mark decal upstairs. Go put those on an' get back down here." Macintosh turned away and looked to everypony else. Dash gave him a nod of encouragement, and Pinkie already seemed to already be in a barrel, with Fluttershy examining another one. He looked to Twilight, who gave a nod of her own, and he sighed, looking up the stairs.

'Well, he thought to himself, 'best get this over with...'

Macintosh trudged up the stairs into the second floor of the building. It was about as simple as the first; several crates, some barrels, and a desk with a sack. He approached the sack and reached inside, withdrawing the promised hair paint and a cutie-mark decal that was shaped... like a pile of crates. He felt somewhat self-conscious, looking back towards the stairs, before sighing and removing his bandanna, setting it on a nearby crate. He removed his jacket and his shirt, and set them on the floor. He wasn't used to being so... exposed. He reached for the bottle and--

"Oh, Big Guy, the black dye you'll want to put on your coat to--"

Macintosh jumped and tried to cover his indecency, and Dash gave a whistle. "Well hello there handsome."

"Can I help you!?" said the stallion with no shortage of indignation.

Rainbow, however, rolled her eyes. "What? It's not like the clothes you do wear really hide anything."

"Not the point!"

Dash sighed. "Fine, fine, I'm off, but eh..." She smirked and gave a wink, "gotta say, not a bad view!" The mare flapped her wings and made her way back down stairs, leaving Macintosh turning red(der). Rainbow Dash had seen him naked. Sure, they walked around bottomless all the time, but it's just the principal of the thing! Big Mac huffed, trying to forget how embarrassing such a situation was as he grabbed the dye, opened it, and--

"Oh, uh, Macintosh, Dash said you wanted to show me something and--"

"Fluttershy!?"

Once more Big Mac covered himself and Fluttershy's eyes shot wide, cheeks turning red and she darted back down the stairs. "Rainbow Dash!"

Big Mac stared at the stares, jaw hanging. He grabbed the dye and was quick to get some onto his body trying to change his coat before anypony else came up there, while Rainbow Dash laughed just a floor below.

He had never felt more exposed in his life.

---

He had never felt more exposed in his life.

He was in close proximity to a stallion he had just met, pulling a wagon down the streets of Ponyville. Several barrels behind them carried his friends, others filled with produce, and he knew all it took was one slip up and they were all exposed.

"Keep cool," said the stallion next to him, just quiet enough for him to hear, "follow my lead, and you'll get through this jus' fine." After several minutes of walking, the two ponies found themselves at the gates leading out of Ponyville, where two guards with white coats, blue uniforms and wide-brimmed hats stood. Macintosh felt his muscles tense as they walked closer and closer. One of the guards' eyes met his, and the two stared at each other for what seemed an eternity as they walked.

"Hold," said the guard, stopping the two.

The unknown stallion next to him spoke up. "What seems to be the problem, officer?"

"Where you two gentlecolts off to at this hour?" said the guard.

"Well," said the stallion, nodding to Macintosh, "me an' my friend here were just deliverin' some produce to the next town over. Got a bit of a ways to go, figured we'd get to it now."

The guard raised his brow and looked to Macintosh, who tried to keep his cool but felt himself beading with sweat. "Yer friend looks awful nervous."

The stallion groaned and rolled his eyes. "You'll have to excuse him... he's recently had a really bad run-in with a guy pretendin' to be a guard in the Pegasus district... sorta... effected him..."

"Really?" The guard raised a brow, looking to Macintosh. "What kinda trouble?"

The stallion looked to Macintosh and sighed. He turned his attention back to the other guard. "Well... it's... kinda personal for him... but...." He waved a hoof, gesturing the guard closer. The guard obliged, leaning in, and the stallion whispered into his ear. The guard's eyes widened, and he stood up straight.

"Oh... oh, I-I'm so sorry sir."

"Yeah," said the stallion with a sigh. "We're... kinda workin' 'em through it."

The guard looked to Macintosh a moment, shaking his head. "Uh... ahem... right... y-you two have a safe trip, and be careful, there's been some crazy rumors of a weird goings on outside the fields lately, and if you see anything weird we advise staying as far away as you can from it."

"Thanks Officer," said the stallion with a nod, "we'll keep that in mind."

"Also," said the stallion, walking in front of Macintosh, who felt himself tense up again, "Sir... I... just want to say... for what it's worth... I've known ponies who've had similar experiences... and there's groups you can see who will be more than willing to help you in any way they can." Macintosh wasn't sure, but he could swear he saw the guard's eyes become watery. He nodded slowly, and the guards moved apart, letting them continue on.

As they made their way down the road, Macintosh looked back towards the walls of Ponyville. It felt like it was only recently that he and Zecora had made a similar trip, and that this whole thing had really turned on its head. He looked back to the stallion next to him, raising a brow.

"What did you tell that guard?"

The stallion raised a brow. "Told 'em you got... eh... 'taken advantage of' by a pony pretending to be a guard in the pegasus district."

Macintosh's jaw dropped. He heard a small 'eep' come from one of the barrels - likely Fluttershy again. "Th... that's horrible!"

"Needed an excuse where he wouldn't ask questions," said the stallion, giving Macintosh a sideways glance, "if you'da kept yer cool, I wouldn'ta had to."

Macintosh grimaced, staring forward, glaring daggers at the dirt road ahead. "Yer despicable."

"The alternative was tellin' 'em yer on the run, an' I suspect that if you wanted to do that you wouldn't be askin' fer my help." As much as he loathed to admit it, Macintosh knew he was right.

"Next time, come up with somethin' better."

The stallion nodded. "Alright. I've already got ideas."

Comments

[SFaccountant]

Ponyville has gates, now? I can only presume there's a town palisade too, then, or else the gang could have left going any old direction.
I'm kind of surprised they had to bother with such an elaborate escape plan. Ponyville doesn't seem like the kind of place where a pony could get held up just leaving the place. Does Rich have the place on lockdown?
The part with Big Mac going shirtless was fun. Especially in that it evoked such a reaction from Dash and Fluttershy. Good times.

[PonyTom]

6442352
Well, it's supposed to have a big wall surrounding the city, and Rich is a powerful stallion, so there's no telling what he's managed.

[MrSpartan]

Will there be any more Discord in this story, maybe, please?

[MrSpartan]

Will there be any more Discord in this story, maybe, please?

[howard035]

This is kind of a sad chapter. I liked the Big Mac/Twilight interaction, but an earlier chapter stated Golden Quill the 3rd eventually disappeared while looking into unicorns. I had guessed that meant he fell in love with a unicorn mare and spent the rest of his days in Zauberstadt, or something similar like that. If the unicorns don't know anything else about him, then I guess Golden Quill spent his life fruitlessly searching, just like his grandfather. Like I said, sad.

[Skydrake]

This was pretty good, especially the interactions between Twilight and Mac early on. It was fun seeing him approach magic with cautious wonder and excitement; good to know his past hasn't completely soured his view on the subject. Then again, being level-headed is what he's good at. I certainly wouldn't mind a few more such moments down the road between him and Twi, though I guess opportunity is going to be scarce.

He also gets major props for the (paraphrasing) "I've had a bad day, you've had a bad life" line - most people probably would be too busy wallowing in their own misfortunes to even consider the unicorn in the room, or even blame her for the troubles. That Mac does neither and acknowledges that his troubles are small in comparison ... I tip my hat off to him. No wonder it seems like Twilight is falling for him a bit, heh - and unless I am seeing things for the past few chapters, I have a feeling he might be doing the same in return. Here's hoping something more develops between them - it would be a deliciously complicated relationship with all sorts of long-term implications if it did ...

[TimeKeeper112]

6442604
My, my you are eager
But judging from the story's direction I would have to say no
Unless I'm wrong

[TimeKeeper112]

About Nightingale...is she perhaps-
*SYSTEM ERROR*

[MrSpartan]

6447973 You're probably right. I just really loved how PonyTom handled him. It had sort of a weird Cthulhu-ish vibe while still sticking to the wonderfully chaotic roots of the most magical creature in Equestria. Although Discord did come off just a TAD bit more evil then I think he really is. vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/c/c9/Discord_%22overreacted_just_a_skosh%22_S5E7.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20150518225656
I just really enjoy Discord. Oh well, a man can dream though...

[_CheckMate_]

6442612 As great as that would be, it likely won't happen. At least for quite a long while.

[ferret]

Hey Fluttershy, Big Macintosh has something upstairs he wants to show you!

That is so Rainbow Dash.

[Crimson Twilight]

Does anyone know the status of the story?

[Godiswithus3]

Wished the story was finished. It was great while it lasted.

[TheWhisperInYourHead]

anyone else is still waiting? :D