Mac let out a number of small, short pants as he took a moment to relax. His entire body ached, muscles and tendons burning, his very bones screaming at him. He was covered head to hoof in sweat, his clothing drenched and darkened by it. He felt tired, more so than ever before, like every last bit of energy had been drained from his body, and yet he knew he had to push past it. There were people depending on him, and he wasn’t about to fail them.

Focusing, putting all he could into his next action, Mac let out a low growl that slowly turned into a loud yell as he tensed up every muscle in his body. “GgggrrrrrrrraaaahhHHHHH!!!!”

The ground beneath him practically erupted, and from it came a large root that was entrenched within the body of Equestria. The mass of vegetation that had penetrated so deeply into the unwanting earth was still, but Mac could almost sense its unwillingness to leave the land it was violating with its presence. The tentacle pod it was attached to shook its leaves and vines, the vegetable matter acting both angry and afraid, as if it knew it wasn’t being harvested or relocated, but weeded. The pod was the toughest enemy Mac had faced since King Dainn, and it made him reflect on what had happened since that time.

Six months had passed since that fateful day in Canterlot, a year and a half from the day the caribou had stolen Equestria from the ponies who had inhabited it, and two and a half years from the moment Dainn and his ilk set foot in pony lands. In the time since Dainn’s death, things had been very busy, with Mac hardly able to keep up with everything.

From the moment he had destroyed the Crystal Heart and absorbed its power, things had been hectic, with ponies and caribou in near constant battles vying for control over the nation. Stallions everywhere, once released from the grip of the enchantment suppressing their morality and clouding their judgement, were not too happy with their “benevolent leaders” when they started to remember who they were, and recognized what they were doing. The caribou had been taken off guard by this sudden mass upheaval of stallions attacking them in bouts of confusion, rage, and insanity, with many of the deer being subdued and captured within the first few hours after the reclaiming of Canterlot.

A few smaller cities where the caribou could outnumber and overpower the pony citizens were held, but having only the faintest of hints about what was going on, many of the stags decided that going to the king to address the situation was the best idea. They saw no problem with the city being covered in Shining Armor’s protective barrier, assuming Dainn had enacted a state of emergency. Once they had made it inside, the didn’t find the warm welcome that they had expected, but instead vacant streets in a city that should have been bustling with life. By the time they figured out something was wrong, they were already trapped well within the barrier, and when the pony guard launched their attack, they were outnumbered and overpowered by men and women whose special talents and training made them more than capable of defending the kingdom against the lackies of a dead king.

Once rounded up, the caribou were sent to be switched immediately, transformed into the gender they so blatantly belittled and disrespected, rendering them weak, stupid, and magically disabled due to the biological differences that caribou cows had from the stags. Even the largest and most powerful of the lot, such as Durnir and Ivangir, were reduced to creatures less than half of their original sizes, who could hardly focus their minds on anything other than rubbing their newly formed pussies and tits on anything the could get close to. They were imprisoned, enfeebled, and stripped of any dignity and rank they had once had, but surprisingly the once proud stags seemed happy. Their lust filled minds made them blissfully unaware that their new wardens had done something to them they would have considered their worst nightmare as men.

Very few caribou had survived with their genders intact during this time, those that had being the ones left behind to watch over the cities they resided in as the higher ranked officers headed off to their doom. Mere weeks were given to the few remaining caribou controlled towns before Shining released upon one of the smaller settlements the fruits of the experiment he proposed to his troops in the castle’s main hall. Lacking many of the advantages they had when they invaded Canterlot, the sight of four alicorn princess descending upon the city, their wings unsheathed and fully feathered, and horns restored to their former glories filled them with fear.

Shining had gone to great lengths to restore the princesses of Equestria to their rightful stature, utilizing any form of magic he felt would help fix what had been broken. Their feathers were the easy part. Once their wing binders were removed, they simply grew back of their own accord, the caribou’s runes being the only thing that prevented them from doing so to start with. What wasn’t so easy was the restoration of their horns, but luckily he found a solution in the four severed horns Dainn kept as trophies on this throne, and an appropriate use of mending spells.

Before he fixed their bodies though, he felt there was one other thing that he needed to correct first, and that was the damage done to their minds. Again the caribou had provided the answer to this dilemma in advance. Using a spell created to cure purple collars, Shining Armor erased the memories they had of the time they spent as slaves, reverting them to how they were before the fall. Only Luna was spared this part of the process, as she had not succumbed to corruption like the others, though she was left in the dark of what Shining had planned to do until after the act was done, just like anyone else not directly involved in the process. He wasn’t about to let anyone prevent him from correcting the mistakes of his past, and with the four princesses regressed and restored to their uncorrupted forms and mindsets, he felt that Equestria had all it needed to rid itself of its invaders.

The caribou still had their anti-magic armor, but the ponies now understood the capabilities, and limitations of such defenses. The armor could dampen or stop the effects of a direct beam of magic, but that didn’t stop Celestia from using her offensive magic to blast the ground beneath them and send them flying. It didn’t stop Luna from lifting up massive objects and tossing them at creatures that had no hope of withstanding their impact. It didn’t let them bypass Cadence’s own protective bubble, which rivaled Shining Armor’s. It didn’t allow them to ignore indirect compulsion or illusions spells, such as the one Twilight placed on a rock which made the caribou that looked upon it forget completely that they were fighting for their lives, and instead had them fighting amongst one another for possession of the pebble.

Of all the caribou that resided in that city, only two managed to escape, more allowed to flee than anything. They were to let the other caribou know that their time was coming, to set fear into their hearts that the ponies were fighting back, and that they had on their side four mares that could devastate their forces without breaking a sweat. It made the caribou paranoid, confused, and on alert, but left them completely vulnerable for what happened next. One by one cities were infiltrated, caribou expecting the same kind of assault to besiege their fortifications instead met by Gunne, who was welcomed into many a town by the desperate stags as an ally, despite the superstitions around him.

Other towns had to face the problems of sleep deprivation, as Luna invaded their dreams and turned them into nightmarish visions of what would happen once they were captured and brought to justice, which also allowed the ponies to know how many caribou were vulnerable, and when would be the best time to strike the exhausted stags. Even more cities had to deal with other issues, like an armies of earth ponies storming the gates on mass, barrages of offensive magic from the horns of angry unicorns that hit them with enough force that it overwhelmed the defenses their armor gave them, or having to suffer through heavy localized droughts when pegasi pushed clouds away and allowed the sun to shine down on them with its blistering heat. When it came down to it, the caribou never stood a chance against an opponent that knew they were a threat.

After six months of pushing the caribou further and further back, and reclaiming territory, what little left of them that were not switched and imprisoned had been forced into corner. They were unable to fight back, left to take up refuge within what might have been a couple of cites left to them. The ponies didn’t just let them lie in wait though, and took measures to have the cities completely surrounded, setting up guard stations and around the clock surveillance to make sure that if a caribou so much as blinked, they would know about it. With these safety measures in place, it was finally time to rebuild, and that was exactly what Big Macintosh intended to do, starting with Ponyville.

Caramel, who was aiding in the removal of the rape plants that infested Sweet Apple Acres, came aside Mac, and gave a whistle at the sight of the uprooted botanical behemoth. "That one’s pretty huge."

“Yeah, it was the biggest one we had,” Mac said, still out of breath from having recently pulled the plant out with his bare hands. “How are you the rest of ya coming along?”

“We’re doing fine,” Caramel said, looking over to a bunch of Ponyville stallions digging up the countryside, shoveling dirt and rock aside to make sure that not a single root was left in the ground. The plants, while sexually hostile to any and all females, didn’t pay nary a mind to the presence of males, and thus it was up to the men to make sure they never threatened to violate a woman ever again.

It wasn’t that all the work was thrust upon the stallions though, as the mares had their own tasks to take up. Many were in town, fixing up the buildings, re-purposing anything that could be used to rebuild, while tossing away anything that could only be viewed as sexual or perverse. It was an extreme measure, but one that for the time being needed to be taken. Besides, almost every pony in Equestria could agree that for the time being, they’ve had their fill of sex.

There were a few women working on the farm too, doing odd jobs around here and there, and making sure the men toiling out in the fields had plenty of refreshments to get them through the day. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation, for either side. Many women were still wary of men, and so they tended to keep their distance, laying food and beverages in an area to be retrieved rather than take them directly to the hard working stallions. The stallions, on the other hand, found the whole thing to be unnerving. Some of the girls helping on the farm were ones that they remembered personally having raped, or having tormented in other ways that they wished they could take back. The ponies of Equestria were willing to see the whole event as what it was, and blamed the caribou for mutually raping both stallions and mares by turning the males into sex-crazed lunatics, but that didn’t take away from what had been their part in it all, willing or not. Mac could understand, since things weren’t all that easy for him either. He had his own troubles with having mares on his farm, and as two walked by with trays in their hands after having made a delivery of lemonade and sandwiches, he started to feel the effects of what was bothering him.

The two were fully clothed, reinstatement of proper female attire being a priority once the caribou were taken care of. One wore a pair of black, cotton pants and a heavy turtleneck sweater, despite it being rather warm. The other had on a pair of blue jeans and a white ruffled top. They indicated, in one way or another, exactly how comfortable the two mares were with their bodies after having them so thoroughly ravaged during The Fall.

However, for Mac the sight of them sparked something welled up inside him. He could slowly feel himself becoming aroused, the clothing turning him on more than constantly being surrounded by hoards of naked mares ever had. The concealment left plenty to the imagination, which then sparked even more creativity as his mind wandered from what lied beneath the fabric, to what he could do with it. He envisioned himself taking the articles of clothing off of each of them, starting with the slow, methodical removal of their tops, and whatever undergarments underneath, which Mac pictured as a pair of lacey, filled bras, to expose their breasts.

From there he would slide his hands down their bodies, caressing every curve of their partially nude bodies until he could slip a finger into their pants and remove them too with the same gentle care he had given their shirts. He would allow them to keep their panties on, the presence of them exciting him more than their absence ever could, and then with them nearly nude he would bring them both close, and sensually kiss at their bare, exposed necks, having no collars on them to impede his lips from touching what might be the most sexually alluring part of a woman to the clydesdale. Combining this with an ample application of caresses, rubs, and a few slips of his hands into their undergarments to plunge his fingers into their ever dampening privates, he would lay them down, on the ground if he had to, and move aside the crotch areas of the fabric to make way for himself. With his shaft fully erect, and himself already nude in his fantasy, all he had to do was line himself up with an entrance, choosing that of the shyer sweater-wearing mare first. She would give a little resistance, but he would take her arms and hold them down in a firm, but careful manner as to not hurt her, before tensing the muscles in his hips, and thrusting himself inside.

“MAC!” he heard someone yell, snapping him out of his fantasy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the loving cry of the mare in his dreams, but Caramel angrily scolding the clydesdale for having formed a noticeable and distinct bulge in his pants. While Mac had been able to overcome and suppress the effects of the caribou enchantment he absorbed from the Crystal Heart, it still resided within him, and influenced him from time to time when he was put into titillating situations, or sometimes when he just saw an attractive mare pass by. He was able to keep it in check, for the most part, enough that other ponies would not consider him dangerous, but it did fill his head with more perverse and occasionally kinky thoughts. It was worse than his first estrus season as a colt going through puberty.

"Sorry..." he said, a bit flustered at the enthusiasm of his reproductive organ, “I’ll take care of this right away.” With that brief apology, Mac awkwardly sprinted off to the barn house.

Along the way to his destination, Mac was able to see more of the work the other ponies were doing on the farm, catching a glimpse of the ponies that were carting away the rape pods to another location to be incinerated. Pegasus stallions that were hitched to several large carts were removing them from his family’s farm, being lead by two members of the Wonderbolts, Soarin and Rainbow Dash, who had been inducted into the team for her part in resisting the caribou, both during and after Dainn’s reign.

“Come on, we need to get these weeds to Flame Geyser Swamp in an hour so we can get back for the next load!” Rainbow Dash barked orders at the stallions below, more than happy to use the authority her title gave her to rid Equestria of another piece of corruption the caribou had brought to it. Flapping her wings to hover in place as she monitored the removal of the plants, she looked just as confident and determined as she had ever been before her enslavement.

At first glance, it would be easy to assume that the caribou invasion was nothing but some mass hallucination, as she seemed to show no signs of being affected by the fall. Mac knew a little better though, as from time to time he had noticed her wings give out briefly, not yet completely used to flying again. Even as he walked by, she fumbled a bit, to which Soarin quickly caught her and held her steady until she could regain her balance. It would take time for Dash to be able to fly like she used to, but she was still much better off than many other former black collar pegasi who had to be retaught how to properly move their wings from scratch.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one on the Elements of Harmony on the farm that day either, as a certain pink mare was there as well, aiding with the creation and distribution of food and baked goods. Equestria was in a great need for food, having been left in a shortage because of the caribou’s constant celebrations in their attempt to display to the world that a male-dominated society was much more prosperous than one built on equality. Thus a few of the more functional farms in Equestria, those that didn’t go crazy with planting tentacle pods everywhere just to watch their slaves being ravaged by the plants, were doing their best to grow, prepare, and ship off food to the places that needed it the most.

Being one of the best bakers in town, and a mare that most were unafraid of despite being marked a red collar during the fall, Pinkie was part of a platoon of workers to help her produce enough delicious and nutritious food to the masses. For many mares, it had been a long time since they had eaten anything but the dirt- or cum-flavored kibble their masters provided for them, and it was time that they were given something less demeaning, and more palatable.

Amongst her group of cooks were several ponies Mac knew well, including Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who seemed happier than ever that they no longer had to put on their red collar charade, and Mac’s own grandmother, who had been returned to Sweet Apple Acres once things had settled down. Mac was so relieved to have her back, though she refused to say exactly what happened at the home she was sent to by the caribou - only that her “visit” there was the most miserably vacation that she had ever been on, and that Mac should demand that he got his money back for the terrible service they provided. Knowing Granny Smith, Mac felt that she was keeping something from him, but as long as she was safe and unharmed he’d let it go.

For Mac, it was just a blessing that he and his family were back together, and it appeared he wasn’t the only one with this sentiment either, as one of Pinkie’s sisters had joined to help rebuild Ponyville. At first Mac found it odd that she wouldn’t just join in on the reconstruction efforts in whatever city she lived in, but then he started to notice how the grey furred, purple maned mare tended not to stray too far from her happy go lucky sibling. While Maud, as Pinkie called her, never showed visible signs of attachment, to Mac she made clear of how important Pinkie was to her with her presence, helping the hard-working cooks by assisting with the clean up and never letting her eye stray too far from the little sister she must have thought was lost to the caribou. If Mac had to guess, the two had probably gone through their own ordeals, but he wasn’t the type to pry, so that could just remain their secret if they wanted to keep it that way.

But not every face he saw during his trek was a cheerful or friendly one, as while he stayed near the fence to keep his distance from everypony else on Sweet Apple Acres while he walked off his erection, it forced him to pass by a bunch of warbeasts traveling down the dirt path in front of the farm. They were being lead by a group of guards, heading to Canterlot. As much damage as the caribou had caused with them, those currently in charge of Equestria’s operations saw it more fit to retrain them as beast of burden instead of euthanizing the lot of them. That was a much more merciful fate for them than that of most of the creatures the caribou brought with them, where rape plants were being immolated and the hive creatures hunted down and eradicated. The warbeasts themselves didn’t have an opinion on the matter, as they just did as they always did and followed the orders of the males guiding them to their next destination, but the yellow pegasus with not fully regrown wings trailing behind them seemed very distraught over the matter.

“Could you please not tug that rope so hard?” Fluttershy pleaded to one of the guards who seemed more in a hurry to complete the duty given to him, “He’s very sensitive, and if you don’t stop he’ll...”

The guard stopped walking, and turned to the pegasus. “I’m sorry, but didn’t your master teach you that the words of a filthy red collar slut don’t count for shit?”

Those words hurt not only the mare they were directed to, but they also hurt Mac to some degree. Mac had learned after the events of the gala that unlike Pinkie and Rarity, Fluttershy, one of the sweetest, most innocent girls he knew, still harbored many of the thoughts implanted in her by the caribou.

Fluttershy, just like all other red collars, had to stand before a court of ponies that deemed whether or not she was a traitor to Equestria based on how forthcoming she was with information, whether she had committed heinous acts against other mares, and how she reacted when confronted with the evidence that had been piled against her. From what he had been told, the whole thing weighed heavily on her emotions, and by the end of it all, when those who were charged to determine her guilt or innocence presented their final test, she had only passed by falling into a state of unrelenting sobs as she curled up in a ball and begged for forgiveness. She was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity.

However, the sins she had committed could not be easily forgotten, and while they removed the caribou’s red collar from her neck, they quickly replaced it with a new one. This was to mark her as a mare who done terrible things to others of her own volition, and that, even if she confessed to her crimes and was truly sorry for what she did, it would take some time for her to be trusted again.

Unlike the old collars, which were still used to mark “True Reds”, these ones were not locked with magic, but with a heavy mechanical lock that was only enhanced with magic to prevent other spells from undoing the seal. They were not uncomfortable, perhaps less so than the originals, and were loose enough to move around to show that this was not just another form of enslavement, but because of the locks they bore a heavy load. The weight of them made it hard for one to forget about their existence, and reminded the wearer that they had wronged others in pursuit of their own desires. It was suppose to be a symbol of one who was sorry for their mistakes, and was working to make things right, but to most it was just a sign that the wearer betrayed them.

The proof of this was being shown here and now, a guard who should have known better was treating her like a second class citizen when he should have understood the situation. This kind of attitude was going to lead to nothing but problems in the future, Mac could tell, and thus he had to put a stop to it here and now.

“Hey!” Mac yelled, placing his hands on the fence so he could lean over it slightly, “Don’t ya have something better to do than pick on a traumatized girl?”

Mac’s works got the attention of every guard there, as well as that of Fluttershy. Her eyes narrowed the moment she laid eyes on the clydesdale, and she uttered the word “murderer” just loud enough for Mac to hear before hightailing it back to Ponyville at a pace that Rainbow Dash would have found impressive.

“Heh… Nice work Mac. You sure showed that red collar what’s what.” The guard snarked as he went about his business, choosing to ignore that the hero of Equestria came to the aid of a traitor.

Mac could only sigh as he resumed his walk to the barn house. He hadn’t intending to set Fluttershy off, but he understood why she would be afraid of the man who killed someone to set her free.

Upon arriving to the house, he didn’t stop at the front door to enter it, instead circling around it to get to the finished addition he had been working on since before the gala. He had intended it to house the members of his family that he was going to purchase under the guise of being his slaves, but with that plan no longer needed, he decided to put it to a better use. Now it had been transformed into a place where women who were still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt could stay in relative comfort. From his understanding, some mares had even relocated from other cities to stay on his farm just for the chance to be near their savior. It was a flattering gesture, but one he had to quelch as quickly as he learned of it. Besides, he had already promised himself to a certain mare.

Giving the door to the addition a knock, Mac waited patiently for that special someone to answer. He didn’t have to wait long for the door to open. It was just a crack at first, ponies believing that there was no such thing as being too careful after what the caribou had done to them, but then the door opened wide and a pink earth pony leapt out to wrap her arms around Mac’s large body.

“Hey there Daisy,” Mac said, finding this a bit normal by now. When he had finally made it back to his farm, after being tested, poked, and prodded by Equestria’s top unicorns to make sure he would be stable enough to re-enter normal pony society, he felt the first thing to do was to make everything right with the mares he had used as work horses.

For Lily, there was almost nothing to say, or at least nothing that she would allow him to say. For her, the time she spent on Sweet Apple Acres was the best experience she had had during the fall. If anything, she believed she owed Mac a bit of gratitude, seeing that she was kept safe and practically untouched when compared to other black collars, and thus she wanted to help out in any capacity she could to get the farm back in working order to repay his kindness and generosity. Needing the help, Mac offered her a job keeping track of the paperwork and filling out orders for supplies they would need to send to Canterlot, since she already knew how to do the job.

Carrot Top, however, didn’t have the same sentiments though. While she had been protected to the same degree, and did respect what Mac had done to liberate Equestria, she had become too jaded by it all to truly appreciate the gift that was her time under his care. She took the apology given to her, and then left with very few words in return. All she wanted to do was put the bad spot in her life behind her and move on. Mac had thought that she would return to the animal farm, which was hers before the fall and which she was fully entitled to, but he hadn’t seen hide nor hare of her since she had left. He later heard she joined up with some movement group that was trying to help mares get their lives back on track, and he wished that whatever that group did would be what she needed.

When it came to Daisy, Mac felt there was much more he hand to apologize for. He had used her, made her suck his dick just to escape a bad situation. He could never forgive himself for that moment of weakness, but it seemed that she would. Once he had said everything he felt needed to be said; how he would have never done that under any other circumstance, how he assumed she had only volunteered because she was protecting him, and how he wished he could take it all back, she poured her own heart out, professing her love for him. She admired everything about him, and didn’t intend to be with another man for as long as she lived. This revelation came as a surprise to the stallion, and he questioned if she just felt that way because he helped to defeat the caribou, but Daisy was adamant about her reasons.

After that, and a long time of Mac trying his best to change her mind, he finally gave in. He, or maybe the spell inside him, couldn’t bear the thought of a mare never again receiving the touch of man for as long as she lived. So, in compromise, he said that they could be a couple if she felt so strongly about him, secretly hoping that eventually the stars in her eyes would fade and she would see him as the incredibly flawed man he truly was.

For now though, she was getting her prince charming, and thus he used his immense strength to pick her up off her hooves and spin her around in his arms, likewise putting a romantic spin on an otherwise mundane act of affection. Such a small gesture brought out such a pleasant giggle from her lips, lips that she had no issue pressing against his own as she embraced him once more. It was the little things like this that helped treat his current condition, directing that sexual tension in a way that was healthy. Cuddling, kissing, perhaps the occasional slip of a hand under a shirt to get a good feel, feeding the beast inside him enough that it didn’t get ravenous, but not enough that it was engorged.

Mac set his marefriend on the ground, and snuck a peek through the door to look at the other reason he wanted to check on. Most of the mares that stayed on his farm were out doing work, doing their part and earning their stay with good, honest labor. Two of the mares that stayed in his home were not quite able to participate yet however, that being two of his own family members, Apple Dumpling and Apple Cider. Mac had been crushed when he learned of their situation, that they had been blanked, and how that had destroyed everything they use to be. Purple collars were lucky. They had a spell that could repair their sanity, but whatever magic was used to blank ponies was strong, and not so easily fixed.

It’s not that ponies didn’t try things. Even Mac consented to at least attempting the anti-purpling spell, but that only removed the memories of what happened to them after they had been blanked. Others attempted to reach them with pictures, or stories of life before the fall, but that showed little results as well. In the end, the best thing for them was putting them in the blanking device again, using it to at least restore them to their original forms, lower their libidos. and release the limitations put on their intelligence, but even that didn’t restore their personalities. What it did do was make them much more docile, like they had their wills stripped from them even more than before. They could respond, comprehend, make decision if they had to, but most of it came off as robotic. Even when they smiled or sounded happy, there was a sensation of unease that came with it, like they were just pretending to have emotions that they no longer remembered how to project.

Mac briefly watched the two, sitting quietly on their respective beds, occasionally shifting their eyes to look at another portion of the wall, before closing the door and looking back to Daisy. “Are they doin’ any better?” he asked, hoping to hear something good.

“I’ve been teaching them things, but they aren’t showing any signs of remembering anything since their re-blanking. We’ll have to give it time, hope that someday they’ll either snap out of it, or that someone finds a cure.” That answer was unfortunate, but hope wasn’t a bad thing to cling onto. Mac had held to hope for a year, and that bore results that no one could have predicted. He just wished that things did always have to turn into one long ordeal. “Oh, cheer up,” said Daisy, noticing that sadness was showing slightly through his smile, “When you finish your work, we’ll take them on a picnic and see if we can’t get them to remember something important. The caribou used to say they could get blanked mares to reveal the locations of rebel bases, so there has to be a way to reach them.”

“You’re right…” Mac agreed, “That sounds nice, and it will do us all a bit of good.”

“That’s more like it,” Daisy said, going to her tippy hooves to plant a kiss on his cheek, “Now get out there and show those rape plants what you’re made of.”

“Hey Mac!” The two were startled, as Noteworthy turned a corner and yelled, “Oh, there you are. You have a visitor at the gate.”

“A visitor?” Mac questioned, “Who is it?”

“You’ll see…” Noteworthy said with a lack of enthusiasm.

At this point it could have been literally anyone; Mayor Mare, having been put back in charge of Ponyville’s operations and perhaps needing some of the ponies on the farm to come back in town to help out there, or maybe it was Applejack, who had chosen to stay in Canterlot to help Twilight and Rarity take care of the problems that still existed there. Then again, neither of those made sense, since their arrival should have received a better reception than what Noteworthy gave.

“Ah guess Ah better check this out,” Mac said, going into a sprint, his desires sated for now by Daisy’s affection. “Just make sure everything’s set up for that picnic, I’m gonna be pretty hungry by this afternoon!”

Mac caught Daisy putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head playfully, finding the order from the stallion to be ironic when she was supposed to be a free mare, with Mac being the very stallion who freed her. Mac found it humorous too, and figured that if she decided to joke about it later he’d play along and blame his demands on the enchantment inside him.

Leaving Daisy, and rounding the barn to get back to the front of the farm, Mac tried to see who was waiting for him in the distance. At first he could only make out three canterlot guards standing at the gate, and then women among them when he got closer. At the halfway point he realized that one of the guards was actually Gunne, who had Equestrian armor instead of the caribou chestplate he normally wore. It was the first time he had seen Gunne in that kind of attire, and it looked so peculiar when seen on a caribou.

Mac didn’t really know the other two guards with Gunne. He was certain he had seen them before, maybe had even been around them a lot during the process of removing the caribou, but up until a few months back he didn’t really get to know anyone unless he really had to. The women with them, on the other hand, he already knew fairly well. One of them was Gunne’s sister Ginna, wearing some of the more revealing sets of clothing he had seen on a woman since the fall, a halter top that was cut so high that it exposed her midriff and a skirt that only went down to the top of her knees, while the other was Roseluck. Mac had his ideas as to why the small group was here, but he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions before things were explained to him, so he readied himself for what he felt might be a very awkward conversation.

“Hey there!” He said aloud as he got close, perhaps a bit too loudly, showing his nerves behind his otherwise calm demeanor.

“Hello Macintosh,” Gunne replied, being as professional ever, “I hope we aren’t disturbing your work.”

“No, Ah was taking a break anyways. What brings ya around these parts?” Mac answered, stopping about a foot away from Gunne. After six months working together to restore Equestria, the caribou still hadn’t ever seemed to get over his grudge with the stallion, averting direct eye contact and keeping his face frozen in an image that seemed to define stoicism. Mac wanted to do whatever he could to make any contact between the two of them as comfortable for the stag as he make possible.

“We’re here on official Canterlot business,” Gunne explained, “The release of a red collar back into the general populace.”

“Is that so?” Mac said, noticing that Roseluck was wearing one of the new style red collars.

“I’m sure you are aware by now, but as part of this process, I must inform you that red collar mares allowed back into society have to be given to a respectable citizen of Equestria to allow for both the rehabilitation of the mare and to make sure they are monitored to ensure they don’t attempt anything that would break their probation. This includes acts of public masturbation, indecent exposure, attempted rape of another pony, sabotage or attempts to sabotage the restoration of Equestria to it’s former glory, indecent sexual conduct with beasts-”

“Gunne, please,” Mac said, getting riled up again by the stags mentioning of so many lewd and forbidden acts, “Can we please get to the point?”

“Of course,” Gunne replied, “The Equestrian Committee of Ponies has evaluated Miss Roseluck here, and found her to be eligible for rehabilitation due to a substantial lack of evidence against her.”

“Lack of evidence?”

“It seems that for most of her time as a red collar, she had been unable to commit any actual crimes against her fellow mare, as her master at the time all but forbade her from sexual activity. It is a practically unheard of situation, but if she hadn’t committed a crime, they could find no reason to incarcerate her.”

Mac had to hold back a snort. What he was hearing was hilarious. Roseluck had been one of the most eager red collars he had ever met, but by being under his care she might have been spared a trip to Tartarus.

“And seeing as you were said master, the Committee decided that if you were willing to keep an eye on her again, you would be the perfect person to keep her in line.”

Mac looked at Roseluck, who turned her head away at his glance. She had to be harboring some of that fear of him, or hatred for what he had done to her. He didn’t deserve to be the one to watch over her, but in the same sense he didn’t want her handed off to someone who would treat her unjustly. He knew Roseluck from before the fall, knew that she was a good person deep down, and that her terrible attitude was something the caribou had put into her. She deserved to be in the care of someone who understood that.

“Ah suppose that depends…. If she would want me to do it,” He answered, allowing Roseluck the freedom of choice.

“Well?” Gunne asked, facing the earth mare. “It’s up to you then.”

Roseluck hesitated, and then lifted her head to look Mac in the eye. He had seen the fierceness she showed in many a mare since the caribou’s defeat, but never directed towards him. It made him recoil slightly, and then a little more when she came forward and closed the gap between them.

For a few seconds the two just looked at each other, neither of them sure what to say. There was so much that they had both done wrong to one another, and thus a lot of reasons they also felt wronged. Nothing was going to make them forget those terrible things, but if they were ever to find at least a place of understanding, someone had to make the first move. As always, Mac felt that the choice was being left up to him.

“Roseluck…” he started, “Ah know that Ah’ve done some terrible things to ya, and I’m not askin’ ya to forgive me. Just just for a chance to make things ri-IEE!”

Mac lifted his leg and clutched his shin, a sharp pain through it from the kick that he had just received. The action made him hunch over, and when he did, he felt a hand go across his face. Roseluck had a heck of a slap for being such a little thing compared to Mac, and it had been some time since he had received such discipline from a mare. It was refreshing, perhaps even a little arousing, to have a woman take charge instead of waiting for him to make the first move.

The guards didn’t think the same though, and were ready to apprehend the hostile red collar on the spot. The only thing stopping them was Mac himself, as he raised his hand and told them, “No, no, Ah deserved that.”

Roseluck crossed her arms, pleased to finally get a bit of payback for what happened in Mac’s barn. “I’ll give you your chance, but after what you did to me, you better treat me like a princess.”

“Now let’s not get too out of hand here,” Mac said as he straightened himself, “You weren’t exactly a bed of roses either.”

“Sure I was, you boys just forget that every rose has its thorns.”

“Is that supposed to be clever?”

“No,” Rose said, sticking out her tongue momentarily as she gave a wink, “It was suppose to be cute.”

Mac rolled his eyes at the mare, more happy than annoyed to see someone in such high spirits. Everything as of late was so sullen, but if there were more mares around like Roseluck to lighten the mood, it could make Ponyville become a lively and enjoyable town to live in once more.

“Ya know ponies around here aren’t going to forget what you were so easily.” Not that they could with that reminder around her neck.

“I know,” said the earth mare, her enthusiasm dying a little, “That won’t stop me from trying.”

Mac had heard enough. “Gunne, Ah would be honored to have Roseluck in mah home, and to help her rehabilitation in any way Ah can.”

Gunne sighed, but not in annoyance or disappointment. He seemed genuinely pleased to see that Mac was willing to finally take responsibility over a mare. “Then by the power invested to me by the Equestrian Committee, you are now the legal handler of this mare and are responsible for all her actions.”

“Rose,” Mac said, “Ah think Lily is inside the house right now. Why don’t ya go in there and let her know that you’re back and will be staying with us for a while.”

“While you’re at it,” Gunne butted in, “could you take my sister with you?”

Ginna gave her brother a timid expression, and gripped his arm firmly in her arms. “Master, I don’t want to leave you again. Please don’t make me go.”

Gunne gave the nervous caribou cow a pat on the head to reassure her. “It will be fine. I just want to talk to Mr. Macintosh, that’s all.”

Ginna pouted and groaned, but in the end she was still the woman she was raised to be, and her brother’s word was law. Releasing his arm, he went over to the red collar mare and took her hand.

“Don’t worry Ginna, I’m sure that a cute caribou and a red collar walking through the fields is sure to turn a few heads.” said Rose, knowing that ponies were going to flip at the sight of them.

“That’s what I’m afraid of….” Ginna replied, knowing the same thing.

“Come on, it will be fun.” Roseluck encouraged further, ready to run off, but stopping herself at the last second. “Oh…. and Mac?”

“Yeah Rose?” The clydesdale asked.

“Thanks for keeping me out of trouble.” With that, she was off like a bolt, dragging behind her a less than willing female deer.

“Okay Gunne, what was it ya wanted to talk about?” asked Mac, facing the stag and the two guards with him.

“Actually… I was hoping that we would be able to talk alone for a moment. It’s been so long since we had we had a private conversation.”

Mac had no qualms with being alone with Gunne. Even after all this time, the clydesdale still felt indebted to the stag. He was partially responsible for freeing Equestria, and if not for everything he had done, Mac would have never been placed in the perfect position to kill Dainn.

“You know you’re not allowed to do that,” said one of the guards accompanying Gunne, “You have to have an escort at all times.”

“But I will have an escort,” Gunne rebutted, “That is unless you think the savior of Equestria can’t handle an unarmed caribou.”

The two guards gave each other a suspicious gaze, but then one of them said, “Put your wrists together.” The caribou did what he was told, but not purely out of compliance. A pair of cuffs were forcing him to obey the command, the same kind Flim and Flam were peddling a while back. “You have twenty minutes, then we’re gathering up you and your sister and heading back to Canterlot.”

“Understood,” Gunne said with a bow of his head. “Mac, do you have a place that’s close so we can speak?”

“Uh sure, follow me.” Mac said, walking off, Gunne close behind him.

The two guards, not exactly trusting the caribou, stood at the post of the gate in wait for his return, keeping an eye of both him and Mac so they didn’t go too far out of sight.

The two found themselves a stump that Gunne could sit on, while Mac himself leaned up against a tree. It was far enough away from everyone else that they would not be heard, nor would anyone notice immediately that there was a caribou male amongst them. Most of the females had been taken from the stags when pushing them out of Equestria, many of the ones who fled leaving behind their “cherished” cows who would only slow them down, and thus in some places the site of them being escorted about was still commonplace. That was odd, but generally wasn’t unnerving, since they were made to remove their collars, put on clothing, and they were not really a threat when it came down to it. Too docile to endanger someone, and not considered clever enough by most to be plotting anything. A male caribou was something to cause a stir about though, and so Mac didn’t mind keeping this as private as possible.

“So…” Mac said breaking the ice, “how have ya been?”

“Horrible,” Gunne said jokingly, “I don’t know how you ponies ever did it.”

“Did what?”

“Tolerated the orders of a woman. Luna and Celestia are slave drivers. Every bit the tyrants that Dainn depicted them.”

Mac lifted an eyebrow, not sure where Gunne’s joke ended and the truth began.

“You know, I would much more appreciate it if I were under the direct orders of one of the male members of the Committee, like Shining or that cousin of yours. Even a murderer like yourself would be more acceptable, had you accepted the role.”

Mac scoffed at the idea. When things were getting back to normal, Shining had wanted to give Celestia back her rightful position as leader of Equestria, but to the unicorn’s surprise, she declined. She stated that this event had made her realize that it was time to change how Equestria was run, and that she should step down and let others take charge. Thus, she created the Equestrian Committee of Ponies to manage the kingdom's most important affairs, a group of pony representatives consisting of two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies, each group having a stallion and a mare to act on behalf of their respective race. Celestia had hand chosen them all from her understanding of how all the members had acted during the fall, and how they in their own ways prevented Equestria from falling into chaos.

Luna, being the only alicorn to resist the caribou, was also added to the committee to give her opinions on situations they would have to address, and act as a tie breaker should things become deadlocked. They dealt with matters such as deciding what parts of the caribou’s “advances” should be kept or destroyed, directing the rebuilding efforts, distributing food, and passing judgement on those deemed traitors to Equestria.

As Gunne had said, Mac was offered one of these positions, but that kind of work was not his forte, so he handed the responsibility off to a pony he felt was better suited for the role; his cousin Braeburn. He was the one who had evaded the caribou for so long undetected. He was the one trying to save the Apple mares from a life of misery. He was more suited to be a leader than Mac could ever be, and he was willing to take that role when given.

“Now come on,“ Mac said, “Give the princesses some credit. They can’t be the worst leaders you’ve ever seen.”

“They are no Dainn,” Gunne replied, “But I feel that’s where their merits come into play. As much as I would rather Dainn not died, and that he was still the king, it’s hard to deny the damage he was doing to these lands. Whether or not our ways worked in the old country, they most certainly didn’t work here in a land too stubborn to change.”

“So what do they have ya doing that’s so hard anyways?”

“You mean besides having me personally remove the rune locks from every collar and binder ever put on a woman.” He joked, though Mac knew this was not an extreme exaggeration, “I’ve had to help go through all the files my brethren had gathered on your race to pick out anything and everything that could be used as evidence against those who betrayed Equestria, which is a bit of a chore in and of itself.”

“Yeah, you told me that caribou kept good records.” Mac answered, though had learned that it wasn’t so much the caribou keeping track of things as much as delegating that work to ponies who were skilled at such tasks.

“At one point, they had me dealing with the zebra, too.”

“The zebra?” Shortly after Dainn’s death, the representatives from the zebra nation came with their usual tributes of gold and women to the caribou. They were ecstatic the hear the news that Dainn had been dethroned, and his men pushed back, and were happy to help the ponies in any way they could. The zebra had never wanted to obey the caribou, and just like the ponies and the griffons, they had been forced to obey more than anything else. In liberating themselves, the ponies brought freedom to so many others, and for that, the zebra were in their debt.

They offered many things to the ponies, to aid in the recovery of their and their people. They allowed them to take the gold they would have normally given to the caribou as tributes, so they could use it to fund whatever resources they needed to get Equestria back into working order. They also offered their services as alchemists, providing potions and cures to the number of things that the caribou had done to physically alter and maim women. Shining’s horn mending worked, but it was nowhere as effective and quick as a zebra potion that made the stumps grow back good as new. The only thing they asked in return was that the the zebra women that resided in Equestria during The Fall were returned to them, so they could rehabilitate them in their own manner. How could the Committee say no?

“For weeks, I was hounded about what was put into things like Mare-stims or the aphrodisiacs we used, but I’m not a potion maker, and proved little help to them. Not that they need help… I’ve seen them cook up several potions already that appear to undo everything in the blink of an eye.”

“Except for blanking…”

Gunne nodded. “Except for blanking.”

“Of course…” Mac said, slamming his fist against the tree he was leaning on enough to make it tremble, “The one thing that Ah need them to figure out.”

“Everyone’s trying everything they can, Mac.”

Mac let out a stream of air through his nostrils, letting off steam in an almost literal manner. “Ah know, but Ah was hoping that this was about something related to that.” The clydesdale took a moment to settle down, and then decided it was time to get to the point. “Why exactly are we here?”

“Well… I wanted to make sure you were caught up with the political climate. Knowing you, you’ve done nothing but hole up in here, confined in your own little world.” Gunne had Mac pegged. The clydesdale had been focusing on the things that actually applied to him, like the farm, his family, his friends, and Ponyville. “And… I suppose there is one other thing I want about.”

“And what’s that?” Mac inquired.

“Well… how to say this…” Gunne looked fairly troubled about what he was going to say, like what he wanted to say conflicted with the way he thought. “I suppose… what I want to say is… that in seeing this world you wanted to protect… I can understand why it is you did what you did. While I still believe that a woman’s role is to act as a servant to a man, I can also see how men and women working together can bring about its own enjoyable results.”

“So… you’re sayin’ ya forgive me?” Mac ask, scratching his head at how vague Gunne was being.

“No,” Gunne corrected. “It still fills me with anger every time I think about you on stage… with Dainn. I really think I might never forgive you for what you’ve done, but I understand your reasons, and I suppose that is enough for me to not to want to strangle you to death.”

“That’s good to hear… Ah guess.” said Mac nervously, it not being as clear as before if Gunne was just joking or not.

“Besides,” Gunne said, getting up from his stump, “If I ever tried to do something like that, your people would have me switched so fast my head would...” Gunne stopped himself before he said something he felt would be inappropriate, “They would never let any harm come to their beloved hero, and if I wasn't around who would take care of Ginna?”

“Gunne…” Mac said solemnly, “Ah’m not sure if ya realize this, but Ah don’t think I’m half the pony everyone else thinks Ah am. Ah killed a man, even though it went against every bit of moral fiber in mah body. Ah would have rather Dainn be brought to justice, or that their have been some other way it could have gone about, but Ah was weak and just took the easiest way out at the time. Ah’m no hero… Ah’m just a guy who was looking out for his sister.”

“Then that is at least one thing we can agree on.” Gunne said with a smirk, “Now then, let me tell you about what happened with the council just after you left. Seems things here, even after my brethren have been expelled, aren’t all rainbows and butterflies, and it’s been causing Celestia a great deal of stress.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Well you know that unicorn mare Celestia put in the committee? Well she-”

“Gunne!” Both men turned their head to the sound of Gunne’s name being called, and found that to two guards had kept to their promise. After the allotted time had gone to collect Ginna, and were now there to gather up Gunne.

“It would appear that my time is up. Perhaps next time I can get you more up to speed. I still need to tell you how I’ve been made ‘Director of Caribou Affairs’, and how they expect me to handle the remaining problems with my brethren.”

“That sounds like its own pile of problems,” Mac said, extending his hand towards the stag, “But I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it next time.”

“Yes, next time it is then.” Gunne took Mac’s hand, gave it a firm shake, but didn’t release immediately after like Mac had expected. Instead he drew the stallion closer, so that they were chest to chest, and only then released to bring his arms up and behind Mac in a swift motion. It all happened too fast for Mac to react to, so when Gunne pulled back towards him, the stallion could only follow along.

Mac found himself face to face the stag, lips pressed firmly together, with Gunne having closed his eyes and the two were joined in a kiss. The clydesdale was so shocked that he could hardly do anything but stare in disbelief, and repeat the words “Holy fuck” again and again in his head. What would Daisy say if she saw this, or Applejack? What was he thinking right now? He wanted to push Gunne away, but he simply couldn’t. It was only when the stag brought his arms back down, and broke the kiss himself, that Mac could even do so much as take another breath.

“Well then… at least I got that out of my system.” The stag said, turning away from the clydesdale. As he walked away, Gunne lifted an arm, moving his hand once to give a simple wave goodbye. “That should give you something to dwell on till next we meet.” he said, chuckling as he left, for reasons Mac didn’t understand.

As the caribou left, heading off to return to his duties in Canterlot, another approached Mac from behind. “Oh hey, there you are,” said Caramel, “We need some help moving that monster you pulled out earlier and was wondering if-” The earth stallion paused as Mac turned towards him, and let out a groan. “Still?!”

“Still what?” Mac asked, before noticing that his jeans felt a little tight around his waist again. Looking down, he spotted the bulge that had reformed down his pant leg. “Oh, for the love of…”

“For Equestria’s sake, get your dick in check and then help us then met us over in the field.”

Mac blushed and gave an embarrassed laugh as Caramel walked away shaking his head. If this kept up he was gonna have to keep a bottle of ice water around in case of emergencies. It was a small price to pay for what he had gotten in exchange for it though.

Mac, calming himself so his stiff dick would settle, went over to his fence and looked out to the rising sun. The sun was always considered the symbol of Equestria, and he knew why. As while the sun sets, and allows darkness to flow over the land, so too does it rise, to bring light back to the world. Celestia use to be the one who guided this pattern, but for now she allowed the sun, and in turn the people of Equestria, to take their own path. One day things might take another turn for the worse, one day a bigger threat than the caribou could arise, but that would be fine, for Mac knew that the wish that he made would always come true in the end.

That no matter how awful things got, no matter how bleak things looked, even if things had to get a whole lot worse before they got better, a day would come when light would chase away the darkness, and things would be good again. For right now, while Equestria was still in shambles, ponies were at the start of a new sunrise, a new beginning, and another chance to make the world they knew into a happy one.

Author's Note

With this, we bring a close to Bruised Apples. I thank everyone for sticking with me these two long years, and for putting up with my bit of craziness (or sanity depending on how you look at it). I've been keeping an eye on all the information going about during the last week, and let me say that senpai has noticed all of you, and I am pleased to see the near overwhelming support the last chapter got.

That said, I know that you all probably have a few questions, or maybe even complaints, about how I chose to close this tale. I bet some of you would have rather have seen this lead into a series where Mac, Shining, Gunne and the elements of harmony were shown unifying Equestria against the caribou, instead of getting a brief explanation of what happened. Well.... I guess what I have to say about that is that I don't really want to write about wars and sieges. There already exists plenty of Post Fall that tell of rebellions and bloody battles, and so I feel that the quota for such a thing has been met, at least enough for me to feel it's ok to skip it.

When it comes down to it I would rather write about how the ponies recover from here, at least when it comes down to things that happens after Dainn's death, especially since things are not as easy going as Mac would like to believe. There are still tons of problems to deal with that go beyond getting Equestria rebuilt.

Other issues you all might have is that everything stated here might have seemed too... easy. The caribou, for being such an "imposing force", have appeared to be swept away with little effort, or so it appeared. My only explanation to that is.... yeah, it was. The caribou have just lost their chain of command, many of their best men, and any kind of momentum and power they might have had. One of their biggest benefits during the invasion was that they somehow were able to get the element of surprise in every attack they did, so they really shouldn't be able to fight back at this point when they've been found out.

The last issues that might be brought up was how easy it was to fix issues like horns and how the princesses were just "reset". Personally, I don't really see the horn thing as a big deal myself. Ponies live in a magical world where there would be plenty of ways to fix a problem like this, and the only reason was ever an issue was because NCN didn't want horns to be able to grow back. At one point I wanted to write a story about a mare who would have escaped her master long enough for her horn to grow back, and it was turned down because horns where not suppose to ever grow back so he could just have another thing to keep the mares from being able to even have a fighting chance ever again.

Or maybe not, I guess, since info about this has always flip flopped depending on who you asked, and just the other day one of my former co-contributors said they grow back. At this point I'm going to just say again that no one knows what the heck is going on in this setting, and just says what they think feels right, with NCN never bothering to correct them. So take everything with a grain of salt.

And as for the princesses and their reset button... was it cheap, sure, but I want to write about how the characters from the show would handle this situation, not NCN's little fuck fantasies. Twilight, Celestia, and Cadence in no way represent anything from what they are suppose to be in this setting, and only can be considered them by how they look in the images, so fuck it. If people wish to complain, whatever, but I don't care and feel there is more to be had from Equestria princesses classic then these new flavorless formula produced by people who wouldn't understand an MLP character if they came into reality and explained the entirety of their psychology to them with excruciating detail.

As for any other questions, I am hoping to eventually get to them all in story, as I feel that is the best way to explain things anyways. I made sure to leave plenty of things here that should leave people wondering, or yelling at me in rage, but I promise that unless I die of some sudden cause, or everyone just loses interest, I will do all I can to get to everything I have planned. Heck, knowing me, even things that minor wouldn't stop me from completing this stuff.

So again, thanks for investing your time in my story, for better or worse, and I hope to see you all "After Fall of Equestria".

P.S. I do intend to eventually release the alternate ending to BA, for those wondering, and I would have to say that it is probably just as good as the real ending, if maybe just a bit stupid. Just give it some time, and maybe I'll put it out as an anniversary bonus, or sooner if you all are on your best behavior.