The Alternative Six

by Miniscule Literary

Chapter 2

Sweet Apple Acres was a place of considerable peace, due to its location on the edge of town. Although the farm's owners, the Apple family, worked the farm whenever they could, it remained a much quieter place than the town itself. Big Macintosh was the oldest of the Apple family children, usually tending to the farm alongside his sister, Applejack. But now the duties of the farm were his and his alone; Applejack and her friends were given a mandatory vacation by none other than the ruler of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia.

Thankfully for Big Mac, the farm was off season, meaning it would be some time before the apples would need harvesting. The transition from winter to spring was one of the most peaceful times in Sweet Apple Acres, and although Big Mac loved working on the farm, this down time was one of his favorite times of the year. With Applejack gone, Applebloom being too young to assist in any major way, and Granny Smith being too old to do the same, apple harvest would be his responsibility. And that much work, for just one pony...he had seen it before; it did not end well.

His responsibilities were rather simple this time of year: make sure the animals were taken care of, make sure the various structures on the farm were clean, make sure Applebloom did not get into too much trouble. Big Mac was a quiet pony who wasn't much for social interaction, so his daily chores were done with plenty of time to spare. Everything was going smoothly for the Apple family, until the day of the fire.

The farm land itself was much too far to be threatened by the fire, at least not immediately. Big Mac and even Applebloom were some of the ponies who were rallied to help tame the fire once Zecora alerted the little town of the danger. It was the following day, however, that the true problems began.

Granny Smith woke Big Mac in the dead of night on the night following the fire. "Theres somethin' scurrin' around in the orchard!" she wailed, trying to push the sleepy stallion out of bed. "They're after tha seeds for the new harvest! I jus' know it!"

Such a thing wasn't too far fetched. Sometimes animals got a little too out of control in Ponyville, usually escaping from Fluttershy's property to cause problems on their own. But Granny Smith would not have awoken him if they were mere rabbits nibbling at their crops.

"Eeyup," was all the stallion said as he descended the stairs and exited the farm house, heading into the fields while Granny Smith ranted angrily behind him. It was dark, as it tends to be at midnight, and in his tired haze Big Mac had neglected to retrieve a lantern. This was not going to be easy.

Immediately, a soft noise reached his ears, barely audible over Granny Smith's angered words. Growling, and lots of it. Big Mac's first thought was of the Timber Wolves they had seen numerous times during Zap Apple season. But it was far too early in the year for them, as far as he knew anyway. Could a wild beast have snuck out of the Everfree Forest during the fire, and made its way to the farm? The stallion hoped not. They were equipped to deal with, at most, Timber Wolves, not something like a hydra or manticore.

With clear determination to protect his family's livelihood, the stallion pressed on into the darkness, his vision slowly adjusting to give him some sense of sight. A few pieces of vegetation came into view as he moved, torn from the ground and shredded, long before it was time to be harvested. And judging from the damage, it was done by something quite fierce. Big Mac frowned, irritated that whatever this was was destroying their hard-earned crops.

Suddenly, a loud hiss sounded to his left, and Granny Smith screamed in surprise as a flash of bone-white color zipped by him, trotting off into the darkness with a savage growl. It was not alone: growls, snarls, and hisses sounded in numerous locations all around him, as whatever was destroying their crops escaped into the dark of night. Big Mac and Granny Smith both decided it was best to wait until morning until they surveyed the damage, and when they did, it was not pretty.

Comments

[Random Duty Guard]

A nicely written story with potential, but I would suggest mending these chapters together into one large chapter. For example, the last chapter and this one could have easily been combined, but it's up to you.

[Miniscule Literary]

1164003
Actually, I thought about this. Its probably a more book-appropriate route, but I dunno, I personally enjoy smaller chapters when reading, so I guess its a preference thing.

[Alexia_pony]

Hello! I wonder how I put the story here to be read ... I've done everything but the most important is that I could not put HISTORY! Someone help me before they see my story is a real discord! Spirit of Chaos! so yes!