"Just another day like any other," Thought Big Macintosh as he loaded a barrel full of apples into a his cart. Not that he particularly minded of course. A nice calm orchard, a mug of cider, and some time alone with his thoughts was all Big Mac needed. He preferred to leave the more exiting stuff to his sister.
Sitting down for a brief rest, Big Mac looked around at the now empty trees surrounding him. At this rate he'd be done with today's work well before dinner. If he kept this pace up he'd probably have most of the orchard harvested before Applejack got back from whatever shenanigans she and her friends were mixed up in. As he got back to work, Mac wondered to himself what sort of thing it might be this time. Maybe some ancient unspeakable evil, perhaps a misguided sorcerer trying to seize power, or maybe it was a problem that could be fixed with a simple talk to clear up a misunderstanding.
"Ah bet Rainbow Dash would be mighty annoyed if that was it," he thought with a chuckle. Of course, it wasn't as if he didn't appreciate all the work they did. Heck, he and everypony else in Equestria owed them their lives several times over.
But even the greatest heroes couldn't be everywhere at once. As Big Mac filled yet another bushel with fruit his mind flashed back to a fateful meeting in the Everfree forest. He couldn't help but wonder what the odds were that he, of all ponies would've been in just the right place at that time.
Well, in any case, he had more harvesting to get to.
Just as he was getting back to work, a blood-curdling shriek shattered the silence. The sounds of ponies screaming could be heard from town.
"Another one already?" Thought Big Mac, "Ah swear to Celestia, its like those darn things can read my mind."
He looked up and saw a black cat sitting perched on a branch above his head. Not that he needed the reminder. He already knew what he needed to do.
(One year ago)
"Here Winona! Here girl!" Big Macintosh called out for the Apple family dog. He stood at the edge of the Everfree forest where she'd just run in while chasing a cat. Now it wasn't unusual for Winona to chase after some critter, but normally she'd stop short of the forest. This time though, for whatever reason, she just kept on going.
Big Mac hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't just leave Winona in there by herself.
"Here goes nothin'," he thought as he stepped into the trees.
Even with the midday sun overhead, the thick foliage made it seem like dusk. Winona had left plenty of tracks to follow but Big Mac couldn't help but worry that one of the Everfree's many monsters would get to her before he did. Even though she could be a bit of a hoof-full at times, he could bear the thought of her getting hurt out here. After nearly half an hour of searching, he finally heard the sound of excited barking.
Big Mac hurriedly galloped towards the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from inside a small cave. Cautiously, Big Mac poked his head inside and sure enough there was Winona standing over some sort of lumpy bundle.
"Winona! Oh thank Celestia," Now that he was no longer concerned for her safety, Macintosh adopted a sterner tone, "You know better than to run into the forest by yerself girl. What if Ah hadn't..."
Whatever Big Macintosh was about to say next never came, because he suddenly realized what the dog had found in the cave. A pony.
He quickly scrambled in and to the strange pony's side. The pony, a pegasus mare as he could now see, had clearly been victim to some sort of attack, though by what he couldn't say.
"Miss? Miss can yah hear me?" She opened one eye part way and looked at Big Mac, but said nothing
"Can yah move at all?" Again no response. Realizing this was going nowhere, Big Mac decided to stop wasting time and simply take her to someone who could help.
"Ah'm gonna give yah a lift inta town alright? There's a doctor there who can help yah." But before he could make a move, she held out a hoof.
"Don't bother," She said weakly, "Its too late for me."
Before Big Mac could object, she continued.
"I need you to listen to me. They're coming for Ponyville. You need to stop them."
"Who? What's comin'?" Rather than respond the mare pressed her hoof to his.
"Please promise me." she whispered, clearly struggling to speak. For a fraction of a second, Macintosh hesitated. This whole hero thing was more Applejack's forte. But as soon as that thought entered his mind, he shook it out. He couldn't just shrug off a dying pony's request, especially when the lives of everypony he knew could be at risk.
"Ah promise," he said with a nod. With that, a golden glow surrounded the stranger's body, working its way to the end of her forehoof. Where their two hooves met, the glow spread to Big Mac. As it covered him, a strange tingling sensation engulfed his body.
Finally the light faded and the mysterious mare gave a small chuckle.
"Heh. A stallion. I don't think anypony ever expected this," She looked Big Mac in the eyes, "Thank you."
With that, she closed her eyes and her body simply faded away.
Big Mac took a few steps back, trying to process what had just happened. The tingling sensation was still there, and now he found himself fighting back a sudden wave of nausea. He turned to leave, took a single step forward, and passed out. ----------------------
With start, Big Mac awoke. He was in his room, lying in his bed. Had that all been a dream? He couldn't remember coming back home, and one look out the window let him know that it was night and had been for some time.
Just as he determined that it must have been an incredibly vivid dream, he felt his stomach lurch.
"Well that was real at least," he thought, rushing to the bathroom.
After vomiting up the remains of yesterday's dinner, Big Mac happened to catch his reflection out of the corner of his eye. But... something seemed off. He turned his head to get a better look.
Several thoughts flashed through Big Mac’s head at once: Who is that? What is she doing here? Why does she look like me? Wait a minute that’s the mirror! Big Mac turned his head. The mare did the same. He lifted a hoof. She repeated the action. He started laughing nervously. “Oh, okay, Ah get it. This is still a dream. Ah’m gonna wake up and realize that this was all because of some cider gone bad.” With that he turned and, somewhat shakily walked back to his room. Laying down in his bed, Big Mac closed his eyes, certain that when he opened them everything would be back to normal.
As it turned out, he was right. When he awoke just before dawn, Big Mac found that, indeed, last night’s events had passed and his body was back to its usual appearance. In addition, his stomach felt much better. Heading downstairs for breakfast, Big Mac found a note addressed to his on the kitchen table. “Hey Big Mac, We left early to make sure we caught the train to Appaloosa. Ya seemed real tired last night so we decided not ta wake ya. See ya in a week!
-Applejack, Applebloom, Granny”
“Forgot about that,” He said to himself. His family were visiting family in Appaloosa and he’d been chosen to stay behind and tend to the farm. But something about the note bothered him. He’d seemed tired last night? Big mac thought back. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember coming home yesterday. Come to think of it he couldn’t remember much of anything from yesterday except for… the Everfree. But that had been a dream, hadn’t it?
Shaking off that thought, Big Mac quickly ate breakfast and headed out to start his chores. The day passed in a blur. Try as he might, he couldn’t keep his thoughts off of that dream and the missing time he seemed to have experienced.
It was about two in the afternoon when Big Mac’s ears were assaulted by a horrific sound from the direction of Ponyville. It was like metal scraping metal mixed with the roar of an impossibly huge bear. Seconds later it was followed by the sound of ponies shrieking for help.
“What in the name of Cele-” Big Mac’s words were cut off by a shock of pain coursing through his entire body. He collapsed to the ground as his insides contorted and his body compressed itself. He could hear the crunch as his legs snapped and reformed with new bones and muscles.
The whole process felt like hours but in reality only took a few seconds. When it was over Big make just lay there on the ground covered in sweat and breathing raggedly.
“Get up,” said a voice. Big Mac didn’t respond. “Get up!” it repeated with a note of impatience. This time Big Mac looked up to see a black cat staring back at him. “I don’t want to have to move you again. It takes a lot out of me,"
"Wha-, what's goin' on?" Big Mac paused upon hearing how high pitched his voice had become.
"No time for that!"
"But-"
"No time for that either! The Shade is going to kill everyone. You've got to get into town before it's too late!"
Big Mac wanted to ask more questions but it seemed like he didn't have much of a choice. As the sounds of destruction grew louder he stumbled to his feet, only to realize that he suddenly felt much better.
"Now go!" Commanded the cat, a hint of desperation in her voice.
Big Mac took off toward Ponyville, stumbling once or twice on unfamiliar legs. He had a million questions that he needed answered.
Why was there a talking cat?
What was a Shade?
What exactly had happened to him?
Well, that last one he had a feeling he knew the answer to already. A very unsettling feeling. The answer would only confirm it.
A few short minutes later he'd arrived. Ponies scattered about screaming for help while rubble flew through the air. Big Mac followed the sounds of destruction to Sugarcube Corner. There he saw it.
A pitch black creature the size of a house. It looked almost like an emaciated ape but whenever it moved tendrils would sprout from its back and separate like drops of black liquid.
"A Shade," he whispered to himself.
"Stay back Miss!" a familiar voice called out. Princess Twilight Sparkle swooped down and began firing a beam of magic at the creature, making it cry out but not causing any visible damage. It was tough but maybe she could handle- wait did she just say…"
Big Mac turned his eyes to one of the few unbroken windows and there it was. Staring back at him was the same young mare he'd seen in the mirror last night.
What is happening?
What is happening?
What is happening?
What is happening?
What is happening?
"What are you waiting for?" Big Mac was pulled from his stupor by the sudden appearance of the cat beside him.
"Do you think sent you out here to sit there staring at nothing?"
"Ah…Ah don't… Ah don't even know what's happenin'," Big Mac refused to allow himself to cry in public but he was pretty close to snapping.
The cat sighed.
"Look, I realize that this is sudden, but I promise I'll explain everything later. Right now I need you to just say the magic words."
"…?"
"You don't know them?" Big Mac could only shrug in response.
"How could you not-? Whatever! Repeat after me," Big Mac nodded and she continued,
"By the Power of the Moon.
By the Strength of the Sun.
I vow to defend all life,
From the shadow of evil,
And the monsters that hide in the dark."
As Big Mac repeated the words, felt an unfamiliar energy flowing through his body. It was strange, but also welcoming in a way, like a fire on a cold night. He closed his eyes as it enveloped him.
When his eyes opened he found that he was wearing some kind of green costume. Before he could say anything the cat spoke again.
"Hold out your right hoof."
He did so and a wooden mallet nearly as big as his body appeared there.
"Unconventional but sure," The cat pointed to where twilight was still trying and failing to drive off the Shade, “Now go smash that thing before it kills the princess!”
Big Mac reared up on his (or perhaps her now) hind legs and charged at the monster. Despite her now smaller frame the muscles in her legs somehow seemed even stronger than before, and Big Macintosh wasn’t exactly a weakling. She leapt in the air, lifted the mallet over her head, and called out.
“Twilight! Get outta there!”
Twilight turned to see a strange mare in a green and gold dress flying through the air straight toward her. She reflexively dodged just before the impact, and was momentarily blinded by a sudden flash of light.
As Big Mac brought down the hammer she could feel the creature’s bizarre, semi-corporeal flesh disintegrate. It began to glow with the same power that she’d felt before. The blow landed, and with a flash of light one of the Shade’s arms was torn clean off. The Shade shrieked in pain and stumbled back, attempting to regain its balance.
“Get outta my town!” Big Mac shouted defiantly. Inside however her thoughts were quite different.
Oh sweet Celestia, what the hay was that?! Did I just do that?!
“Keep going!” She heard the Cat cry out, “You need to hit its heart!”
“Heart, got it,” Big Mac considered her situation. It was an animal right? And it was injured, which meant it was more likely to lash out, but it wouldn’t want to expose its weakness.
Wait. That was it. Big Macintosh had a plan.
By then the Shade had regained it bearings and was charging back. All the while it was sure to keep its injured side away from its foe. As it got closer Big Mac turned away from it and held the wooden mallet in her mouth. The uneven footsteps got closer.
“What are you doing?!” The Cat called out.
“Apple Buckin’!” replied Big Mac before kicking out with her hind legs. The monster’s jaws, mere instants away from their target were slammed backwards with the force of a cannon blast. At the same moment Big Mac spun around and released the hammer, flinging it directly toward the Shade’s chest.
The Shade was silent as it fell, a gaping, pony sized hole in its chest. The edges glowed like embers that spread to the rest of its body. With one final gurgling hiss its body disintegrated before it even hit the ground.
Big Mac flopped to the ground in a sitting position. The Cat walked up to him. “How did you know that would work?”
“Well, Ah needed it to give me an opening. And Ah knew that since it was hurt it wouldn’t be thinkin’ straight and it- Wait why the hay am Ah explainin’ mahself to you? You promised Me answers!”
"I know, I know. Just one last thing, I swear," The Cat gestured to keep calm, "You need to hold your weapon in the air and repeat the magic words"
"Fine," Big Mac held up the hammer and repeated the oath from earlier, "By the Power of the Moon.
By the Strength of the Sun.
I vow to defend all life,
From the shadow of evil,
And the monsters that hide in the dark."
A wave of gold blasted out from the hammer, covering the town of Ponyville. In an instant the damaged buildings had been repaired and all signs of the battle were gone. Twilight and the few ponies remaining in the area sat frozen in place with a dazed expression.
"Excellent. Now quickly, before they wake up," The Cat took off back toward Sweet Apple Acres before Big Mac could argue.
"Now will ya finally tell me what the hay is goin' on?" A short run later Big Mac finally got the Cat to stop, "Who are ya? What was that thing? And WHAT. HAPPENED. TO. ME?!!!" Each word was emphasized with a hoof jab to the Cat's chest.
Thoroughly unimpressed, the Cat looked Big Mac dead in the eye.
"I am Ardent Fire, guide and companion to the wielders of the undying light. And you, Big Macintosh Apple, are a magical filly."
"I can see by your expression that you still have questions,"
Big Mac nodded.
"Eeyup," (it sounded weird with this higher pitched voice).
"Very well," sighed Ardent Fire, " I should probably start from the beginning anyway. Tell me, do you know anything about alchemy?"
"Um, a little?" Big Mac scratched her head, trying to recall the information, "Ah know ponies use it to try and turn lead inta gold, 'cept without magic."
"Sort of," replied Ardent, "it combines aspects of magic and science to convert one type of matter to another. And yes, turning lead into gold is one thing you can do assuming you know the formula. But gold isn't the true prize. No, the ultimate goal of any alchemist is Life."
"D'ya mean like a golem? Ah know Twilight can make those."
"No, no, golems aren't truly alive. They move around and obey orders, but that's just due to the magic being channeled through them. There's no actual mind or soul in them. What I'm talking about is taking something entirely unliving and making it completely living, independent of an outside source."
"Is that what those-the Shades are?"
"Yes. Not long after Celestia and Luna began their reign somepony figured out the secret. Nopony is sure who exactly, but they did leave behind some notes..."
Suddenly Big Mac's vision was filled with the sight of an unfamiliar room. To one side was a desk with a somewhat tattered notebook.
"Wh-What's goin' on?"
"I'm sharing a memory with you. Trust me, this will be faster than saying it all out loud."
The vision moved closer to the desk and opened the notebook.
"Day one: experimentation begun. Goal: to create a functional, living being
Day two: have attempted to combine... (unintelligible)... using energy from crystals. was unsuccessful"
So it continued for some time, with some text unreadable, growing more and more frustrated until finally:
"Day 498: I have discovered that... (unintelligible)… with shadow magic produces a promising reaction. will require magical barriers. must keep it alive
..........
Day 507: I'VE DONE IT! ITS ALIVE! IN THE NAME OF FAUST, NOW I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE FAUST!"
Soon enough however it was followed by:
"Day 520: It cannot be controlled. It has attempted escape again today and nearly succeeded. My assistant is dead. I must destroy it. can't destroy it. barriers too strong
Day 521: there are two of them. they are self-replicating. not sure how much longer they will stay contained"
On the final page was written a single sentence in the center of the page:
"To whoever finds this: forgive me."
Big Mac had to take a moment to breath as the vision faded.
"So what happened?"
"Well," said Ardent, "as you might imagine, word of monsters that were immune to magic and physical attacks spread pretty quickly. Celestia and Luna gathered a counsel of Equestria's finest minds to find a way to combat them. Eventually they created an entirely new form of magic: The Undying Light.
The trouble was, in order to get around the Shades' defenses, the spell had to be incredibly specific. So specific that not only could it only be used by a single pony, it could only be used by a specific type of pony: a young mare."
"So that's why Ah'm like this?"
"Yeeesss… I think," for the first time since she'd begun speaking, Ardent didn't seemed so sure of herself, "Like I said, the power was never meant to be wielded by a stallion. When I first showed up at your farm I was hoping to find Applejack. As near as I can tell it compensated by changing you into a form that it was compatible with."
"Am Ah Stuck like this then?!"
"I don't know."
"How can ya not know? Ah thought ya were some kinda ancient magic guardian! But Ah ask fer help and all ya can say 'Ah Dunno'?" Big Mac emphasized the point with an exaggerated shrug.
"Like I said," continued Ardent, rolling her eyes, "This has never happened before and it was never supposed to happen. I'm just as much in the dark as you. Ideally the previous wielder would've trained a replacement before passing the power to her."
"Could Ah do that? Pass it on Ah mean?"
"Unfortunately no. At least, not now. Even if these were normal circumstances, the power is still unstable after the transfer. You'd be just as likely to kill whoever you tried to give it to."
“Ah see…”
“Look, there may be a way for you to change back,” Big Mac’s ears perked up, “At least for a while.”
Big Mac’s ears lowered.
“Well that’s better than nuthin’ Ah guess.” She said, somewhat disappointed but also glad for a fix of any sort.
“Do you still remember the words I taught you earlier?”
“Eyup.”
“Right now you’re in your ‘Powered’ form. Repeating the spell should revert you to your natural form for now.”
“Right,” Eyes closed, Big Mac recalled the words from before,
“By the Power of the Moon.
By the Strength of the Sun.
I vow to defend all life,
From the shadow of evil,
And the monsters that hide in the dark.”
As the last word was uttered, Big Mac felt a bizarre tingling sensation followed by nausea. It wasn’t nearly as bad as before but still, not exactly pleasant.
When the feeling passed, Big Macintosh found himself back to his normal stallion self. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ah never thought Ah’d be this happy to see mah own hooves,” he thought, holding said appendages before his eyes.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” a voice from below remarked. Big Mac turned his head to see Ardent Fire, seeming much smaller now that he was back to his normal size, “Until you master it, you’re going to transform any time a Shade comes to town”
Too relieved to be upset at the moment, Big Mac instead asked a question that had been ruminating in the back of his head.
"Yah said the Princesses helped make this spell right? And these monsters used ta be everywhere right? How come this is the first Ah've heard of em?"
"That's because everypony except the original wielder had their memory wiped."
"?"
"The Shades will attack anything in their path," explained Ardent, "But for some reason they seem to specifically target anypony who knows about them. Even if somepony's never seen a Shade, as long as they know what one is, they will be hunted. In order to minimize casualties Starswirl the Bearded built a memory spell into the Undying Light. That little trick you did after killing the Shade? It didn't just fix the town, it made everypony in range forget that anything had happened at all."
" So Ah can't tell mah family about this?"
"If you value their lives, you won't tell anypony."
