Fine Print

by nucnik

Rating: everyone
Tags: Granny Smith, Applejack, Apple Bloom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Big Macintosh, Alternate Universe
Length: 5407

The Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic has some warnings written on the back of the bottle. Too bad Granny Smith didn't read them.

When Applejack wakes up one day, she finds that the Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic has had an effect on Granny Smith. While she goes off looking for the Flim Flam Brothers to reverse the effect, others are taking a more positive approach to Granny's new condition and somepony even decides to get in on the Tonic action. But how could this have happened? It's not like there's fine print on the bottle or anything...

Written for Writer's Training Grounds #014: "Leap of Faith" on EQD.

Published 2014-04-03 20:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-03 20:20:01 UTC

The side effects may include...

Applejack slowly opened her eyes as sunlight crept in from the window, illuminating the room. A new day had begun and with the sound of the rooster’s crowing still ringing in her ears, she rolled off the bed and made her way to the kitchen. Helping Granny Smith with breakfast was one of those chores that really set the day in motion – while Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh slept, Applejack and Granny Smith made the perfect breakfast for the whole family. She already knew what the menu for today was: a small plate of apple bites for Apple Bloom, a large apple pie and a slice of apple bread with apple jam for Big Mac, who he had plenty of work to do today, some good old fashioned apple strudel for Granny Smith, and finally, some cream-topped baked apples for herself.

Just as the first drops of saliva formed in the corner of her mouth from visualizing those apples, she heard a commotion from the kitchen. The sounds of dishes being put on the table and pots clanking against one another and the kitchen counter. Applejack stopped and perked her ears. Is that… Is somepony makin’ me breakfast?

She knew there was far too much activity in the kitchen for those noises to come only from Granny Smith. Or even two ponies working together. That didn’t leave many options, and Applejack smirked as she felt a warm feeling envelop her heart. She gently walked forward, to the light coming from the open kitchen door, not wanting to be heard. Ah don’t believe this. The whole family got together to treat me-

Her thought was cut short by what she saw when she peered around the doorway and into the kitchen. The warm feeling and the smile also disappeared, the first being replaced with a tight squeeze in her stomach and the latter by her jaw dropping and her pupils narrowing as her eyes widened.

In the kitchen, Granny Smith was placing the last pieces of cutlery on the napkins sitting by the plates, putting the cut-up apple bits into an empty cookie jar and preparing the cinnamon to sprinkle on top of them, spreading apple jam over the apple bread and opening the oven to check on the apple dishes that were baking in there, so she would know when to take them out without burning one or undercooking another. And she still managed to stand with perfect balance on the ground with her three unoccupied legs. It was a good thing she had those five to spare, or she would never have gotten that much done!

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, somehow hoping that her eyes were still blurred from sleeping. When she regained focus, and discovered that nothing had changed, she looked around the kitchen, moving only her eyes, and only moving them a fraction to each side, looking for anything out of place. Ah’m still dreamin’, she thought, trying to convince herself of that. She looked down at her hooves, brought the right one up to her mouth and bit down on a small strand of wayward hair. Funny dream, this. She pulled on it, and-

“Ow!”

The sound was masked partially by the fur of the hoof in front of her mouth and by the fur now in her mouth, as well as the clenched teeth. The jolt of pain was very much real, though, and even though it paled in comparison to the kind of stress that she normally put herself through working on the farm, it warranted a response by being so unexpected.

“Applejack, is that you?” the mildly raspy voice of Granny Smith called out to her.

Applejack froze for a moment, not knowing whether to reply or what to say if she did reply. Given Granny Smith’s occasional ignorance of the world around her, Applejack couldn’t even say if Granny knew she had more legs and hooves to work with than usual. She didn’t really know what to do next, but whatever it was, she would have to do it tactfully. There was no way of knowing what Granny would do once she found out.

“Yes, Granny, it’s me.” Applejack defensively said, words shaking out of her mouth, before she took the first steps past the door. She was scanning the whole kitchen for any signs of potions or witchcraft in general. The idea that this was caused by a unicorn had crossed her mind, but only briefly. Short of Twilight and the other princesses, there really wasn’t anypony around that could do anything like that. And why would anypony do that in the first place? A zebra, on the other hoof…

“Well, as you can see, ah won’t be needin’ your help today, so why don’t you just go get Apple Bloom and Big Mac, and we can have ourselves some breakfast!”

“Wait. You know about… this?” Applejack took another step forward and kept one hoof halfway in the air, as if she was getting ready to point out all the things wrong with what she was seeing. But Granny Smith was all too happy toiling away to turn back and face her, so she was already getting ready to put the hoof back down.

“Oh yes, child, I know!” With that, Granny Smith turned around. “It’s wonder-“

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!” Applejack screamed as she saw Granny’s face.

She would later wonder why she was so shocked at seeing eight eyes where there were once two, since spiders do have eight legs and eight eyes, so she should have expected it. And there wasn’t a lot of doubt in her mind about Granny Smith having been cursed by some spider-related spell in the first place, but in her defense, there are things nopony is willing to accept as a possibility when it comes to loved ones and curses. Like the loved one growing three extra pairs of eyes, for instance. That’s just creepy. Still, at least Applejack realized the error of her ways the moment the scream ended and despite it, Granny Smith was still smiling a wide smile, so that was good. Except for the fangs, but those were now the least of Applejack’s worries.

“Ah’m sorry, granny,” Applejack finally forced herself to relax enough to say that, “It’s just that I’m not used to… Spiderfolk.” A squeamish smile completed the apology.

“Oh, it’s okay Applejack,” Granny reassured her, “How do ya think I reacted when I saw m’self in the mirror?” She let out a short chuckle at that, spitting some drops of thick saliva on the floor. “Oh my. Ah have to be more careful with these.” She tapped lightly against her fangs that were pushing her lips apart, allowing the saliva to escape. “A few kinks to work out, notin’ more!”

She turned away from Applejack and went about with the breakfast as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Applejack frowned, but decided that she wasn’t going to ruin Granny’s seemingly happy morning, so she first stepped aside to allow her mind to reaffirm everything she was seeing, than went out of the kitchen to awake the sleeping members of the family.

What do I even tell Apple Bloom? “Don’t be scared, but yer grandma’s a spider now?” And I just know Big Mac’ll laugh at me all the way to the kitchen, sayin’ I was up all night hittin’ the cider again.

Her theory on Big Mac proved true. As soon as she woke him up and told him what to expect, he chuckled, said she was drunk, and then left for the kitchen. Only Applejack deliberately woke him up first. She knew with unquestioning certainty that that would be the outcome and she wanted to make him pay for that. She walked alongside him until they reached the next stop.

And the laughing stops in 3, 2, 1… she thought as she stopped by Apple Bloom’s door. Sure enough, the faint echoes of chuckling and subdued laughter, that had followed Big Mac as he went right past her, abruptly came to an end as he arrived to the door and saw the spider-like pony cleaning up the mess that she had made while making breakfast. Applejack knocked on Apple Bloom’s door.

“Could you pass the sugar, please?” Applejack said to Big Mac in the most casual voice she could muster. He was opposite her, his face was looking forward, but his eyes were permanently fixed to his left. Apple Bloom was chewing on each apple bite as if it was made of rubber. On any normal day, she would have devoured the plate whole, if given the chance, before running out to meet with her friends. Only now, something was keeping her interested. “Big Mac?” Applejack asked once again with a firmer voice.

“Eeeyup,” Big Mac said slowly, looked at Applejack for a second, grabbed the first thing at his hooves and placed it in front of Applejack’s plate. She grabbed the shaker, but held back from using it. It was pepper. She opened her mouth and raised the shaker in the air to protest, only to drop it back down again and close her mouth. It was pointless to point it out.

“Big Mac, can I have a word with you?” she asked, although the way in which she said it made it clear it wasn’t a request.

“Eeeyup.” Big Mac got up. Just as they turned to leave the kitchen, Granny Smith decided to brighten up their day.

“Don’t worry about the dishes, ah’ve got all the help ah need!” She clapped with the upper three pairs of legs when she said that, the huge smile on her face confirming that she meant every word. Applejack and Big Mac shuddered.

“OK. So clearly, we have a situation, don’t we?” Applejack started once they were in the clear.

“Eeeyup.”

“And we have to do somethin’ about it?” She was pacing around the room.

“Eeeyup.”

“How did this even happen? Did you see her talkin’ to anypony strange?”

“Eeenope.”

“Any strange glows? Sounds? Weather patterns?”

“Eeenope.”

“Anythin’ at all!?”

For the first time, Big Mac raised a hoof to his chin and looked upwards at an angle.

“Well, she has been hittin’ the bottle an awful lot lately.”

“Big Mac!” Applejack gasped.

“No, no. no. That ain’t what I meant.” He gave Applejack a disapproving look. “The tonic. She’s been drinkin’ it up like it’ll last forever.”

Applejack blinked. “The tonic?” She suddenly realized why Granny Smith had been so energetic even though Flim and Flam were long gone, although how exactly that related to the whole spider thing was still beyond her. She had completely forgotten that they had bought a whole case of it and Granny Smith had only drunk a few bottles up until the competition. “Where is it?”

Big Mac casually walked to the pantry near the kitchen. He opened the door and, sure enough, among all the fruits, vegetables, and spices, there was a case full of the Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic, but as Applejack got closer to it, she noticed nearly all of the bottles were empty.

“Gosh darn it,” she quietly swore, earning another reproachful look from Big Mac, even though she couldn’t see it as he was standing behind her. “That’s two dozen bottles and only four full ones. And it’s only been two days since they left!”

“Eeeyup.”

“Come on, we have to-“ She picked up an empty bottle to present it as evidence to Granny Smith, without having formed any kind of strategy of what to say and do after that – she was there when the case was bought after all, and not once did she mention to Granny Smith that she should drink less of the stuff. Not that she knew how often Granny indulged herself. But the fact that so many bottles were empty must have been bad for her somehow. The reason she didn’t finish her sentence, though, was not from the lack of plan, but from what she only now noticed, as she twisted the bottle in her hoof. On the other side of it, below another eye-catching motif of the Miracle Curative Tonic, was a drawing of a pony skull with two crossed bones just underneath it. “What the…”

She took the bottle out of the dimly lit pantry and had a closer look, then whispered out the inscription below the bones. “Daily, drink at most: 3 bottles; 5 if mixed with water 50:50. Excessive amounts may produce various side effects due to the extensive use of magic in the process of manufacture and the possibility for contamination during storage and transport. In case of overconsumption, the following occurrences are not excluded: bone strength increased tenfold, liver failure, increased desire for maple syrup, sudden ability to play golf, reduction in perceived gravity, genetic entanglement with nearby life forms, and bad breath. The sellers claim no responsibility in case this warning is ignored.”

She angrily smashed the bottle against the floor. “Those good-fer-nothin’…” She was already running out of the farmhouse before Big Mac could hear the ending of that tirade. He took a bottle out of the case, read through the same fine-print that Applejack saw, then shook his head and quickly glanced around. Seeing that nopony was watching, he downed the Tonic in one big gulp and wiped his muzzle with his hoof. Liver failure sounded fun!

Applejack called out for Winona and ran straight to where the giant tent, housing Flim and Flam’s sales show, used to be. She knew they had packed up and left in a hurry the moment she ousted them for the frauds that they were, but she knew they had to have gone somewhere and there weren’t many ponies that were as good as tracking as Applejack was, especially with a little help from Winona. Applejack hunkered down over the ground where the entrance to the tent used to be and pointed at it.

“Here, girl, here!”

Winona sniffed around where Applejack was pointing and soon started going in ever wider circles. Then she stopped, looked up and sniffed at the air around her before she chose a direction and ran as fast as she could, Applejack trailing behind her. Back home, Apple Bloom was slowly wiping her hoof against the plate and picking off the traces of apples that were getting stuck on it and Granny Smith’s patience was wearing thin.

“Don’t ya think you’ve had enough oglin’ for the day?” Granny Smith asked Apple Bloom, who was still staring directly at her, trying to prolong the time she could justifiably spend at the table. She shuddered when Granny spoke to her, as if she was brought back to reality. Granny’s strange shape really was hypnotic, but now Apple Bloom realized that only the two of them were left in the kitchen and that her staring wasn’t very appropriate.

“Ah’m sorry, granny,” she said, her eyes moving down to her plate in embarrassment.

“It’s all right, young’un.” Granny said comfortingly. She knew she would have reacted the same if her granny would turn into a spider-pony when she was so young. She patted Apple Bloom on the shoulder with one of her legs. “Now, why don’t you go outside an’ play while I get this mess cleaned up?”

“OK!” Apple Bloom cheerfully agreed, then walked away from the table, went outside and rounded a corner, before sneaking back to the kitchen window. She peered her head just above the window sill and watched in amazement at Granny Smith, who was again making use of most of her legs to pick up the dishes, wash them, scrub them, wash them again, and at the same time was drying off the ones she had already cleaned and was putting them in the cupboards and shelves where they belonged. As soon as the dishes were done, she set about scrubbing every surface in the kitchen and cleaning the oven, and generally tidying up the place for the next meal in a few hours.

“Hey Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted. Apple Bloom turned around, surprised and afraid that Granny Smith would hear her. As she saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle approaching the farmhouse, she motioned to them to be quiet. They understood and hunkered down before silently skipping over to her. “Where were you,” Scootaloo asked in a hushed tone, “We were waiting for you at the clubhouse, but you didn’t come.”

What do I do? Apple Bloom wondered, already regretting both the decision to call them over instead of running to them and spending so much time staring at Granny Smith that she wasn’t in the clubhouse on time. Her eyes darted between her two friends, both of whom were looking right back at her with full knowledge that she was trying to hide something and wondering what that was. Under the pressure of the questioning stares, Apple Bloom relented and let out a sigh. They are my best friends after all. I can trust them.

“Well, girls, here's the thing…”

When Applejack was walking back to the farmhouse a few hours later, she was dripping with sweat and firmly disappointed. Winona was walking by her side, slightly panting but otherwise content. For her, it had been a fun run and a long, relaxing walk home. For Applejack, it was a failed mission, but as they were walking on the path through the orchard, she was surprised to see Twilight coming her way. The unexpected visit lifted her spirits, and she immediately trotted forward to greet her.

“Well, ah’ll be! What in the gold cornfields are y’all doing all the way out here?”

Twilight flew over and greeted back, “Hello, Applejack. Well, you didn’t expect me to miss out on something as big as this, would you?” The way she smiled at the end rang all kinds of bells inside Applejack’s head. It was one of those extremely-focused smiles that Twilight was known to pull whenever something peaked her interest too much.

Please no, Applejack immediately though, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. But instead of confessing her fears openly, she chose the friendly route. Perhaps because it would also delay the answer she knew was coming. “Big thing? Why, whatever do you mean?” She swiped her hoof across the air, which should have revealed her nervousness and the attempt at feigning ignorance, but luckily for her, Twilight was far too busy quietly forming theories and pondering the possibilities in her mind to pick up on that. Instead Twilight smiled a naïve smile.

“Oh Applejack; always so funny!” Applejack didn't say funny things very often and that statement only fueled her anxiousness, with the first hints of terror sneaking into the mix for good measure. Twilight was well and truly in another place at the moment and there weren’t that many reasons for being like that on the apple farm. There was only one, but before Applejack could start planning an escape strategy, Twilight continued as she hovered in front of her. “Granny Smith transforming into a spider, silly!” She then twitched her head as she realized there was a flaw in what she just said. “Well, half transformed anyway, but I’m sure she’ll be fully transformed by tomorrow!” The joyful squee at the end didn’t help.

Applejack frowned. “So, you know.” She dug down into the ground with her hoof. “It’s all the Flim Flam Brothers’ fault! Them and their damn tonic. Ah’ve been trying to find them, but the trail went cold in the Everfree forest and ah-“ She noticed Twilight was looking at her, but not really seeing her. She was just blankly staring into the nearest sound source, completely caught up in her thoughts. “Never mind. Let’s just get back to the farm before anypony else finds out about this.” She started walking and was nearly past Twilight before her friend snapped back to reality and followed suit.

“…Now I don’t mind ya knowin’ an’ all, but if word got ‘round-“ Applejack stopped when they got out of the orchard and saw the large crowd of ponies gathered around the farmhouse. It was the opening day of the cider season all over again, only less organized, but it didn’t take long for her to single out one particular filly and focus on her. Apple Bloom was walking through the crowd, collecting bits and taking something from ponies. Applejack squinted. Sweaters? Before she rushed down to confront her sister, she noticed two other fillies wandering about the crowd, doing the same. “Cutie Mark Crusaders,” she muttered under her breath, then galloped to the farmhouse and pushed her way through the crowd. She stopped right in front of Apple Bloom, daggers in eyes.

“Apple Bloom!” The shout scared the filly to the point that she dropped the sweaters on the ground. “Do you mind tellin’ me what in tarnation yer doin’?”

“Well…” Apple Bloom lowered her head and looked up at her sister with puppy eyes. When the trick didn’t work, and Applejack remained firmly annoyed, she carefully smiled and went into overdrive. “Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came lookin’ for me, ‘cause I was late for our meetin’, but I was lookin’ at granny cleanin’ the kitchen through the window and I had to show ‘em. But Sweetie’s sweater had a hole in it from a nail in the clubhouse an' when granny saw us, it was the first thing she noticed so she told Sweetie Belle to give it to ‘er so she can fix it up.“ Applejack was no longer angry or annoyed, but was holding her head back in defense of the onslaught of words coming her way. “So she gave her the sweater an' granny gave it back a second later, good as new, an' Sweetie remembered Rarity was runnin’ out of time for her new dresses an' asked if she could bring some more.” For the first time, Apple Bloom breathed in and Applejack used the moment to step in.

“So, let me guess.” She pointed accusingly at Apple Bloom. “Sweetie Belle went to Rarity and Rarity couldn’t contain her generosity and went about tellin’ everypony?”

“No, ah told Sweetie not to tell anypony, and to tell Rarity not to tell anypony.”

“Uh-uh, so what went wrong?”

“Uhm…” Apple Bloom nervously shuffled her hoof around. “When I saw how quickly granny was done with those dresses an' the sweater, I got an idea for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Sweater Repair Shop Assistants. We would take the sweaters, give them over to granny and divide the bits at the end of the day.”

“Uh-uh.” The picture was slowly forming in Applejack’s mind, along with a whole list of punishments and chores. There were so many to choose from that she simply didn’t know how to even begin filtering them.

“We first tried it on the mailmare, and it worked great!” Apple Bloom’s face shone with pride as she said that and momentarily forgot what the outcome was. She continued in a more quiet tone. “Uhm, but when she got the sweater back, she said it was better than when she bought it, and she wanted to thank the repairpony in person.” And the picture was complete. “We didn’t want to let her in, and she was about to leave, but then granny came out when she heard us talkin’ to ‘er and wanted to know what the hubbub was about.” With a final sad note, she finished the story. “We didn’t want this to happen, but granny told her to tell her friends about our shop.”

Granny Smith. Ah should’ve known. Some ponies are just too damn good-hearted.

Applejack patted Apple Bloom on the head, a gentle smile on her face, but that soon turned to a frown. “We’ll talk about this after ah discuss it with Granny.” She pushed her way through the crowd and into the farmhouse, where Granny Smith was busy knitting several sweaters, fixing tears and holes and cleaning them up for the customers outside. She looked at Applejack with her many eyes, leaving the legs to do the work.

“Why hello there, Applejack! I wondered where the two of you went. But don’t y'all worry, ah’ve got a whole bunch of ponies keepin’ me company and Apple Bloom and her friends are always checkin’ up one me to make sure ah have everythin’ I need. They’re just the kindest fillies I’d ever laid my eyes on.”

Applejack was taken aback on several levels. First, from all those eyes Granny was now sporting – she mostly blocked out the knowledge of them while she was chasing down the Flim Flam Brothers, second from the way Granny spoke about the ponies wanting her expertise and the little fillies who’d made it possible, and third… Well, she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what the third part was, thanks to the conflicting emotions she was now experiencing. She rapidly glanced about the room, before she calmed down, focused on the floor, and allowed her mind to work out the best course of action, only twitching with her head when a fork in the road appeared from the conflicting thoughts. There was a lot of twitching.

Those ponies only came gawkin’ at her, like she's some kind of circus freak! But fixin’ up sweaters does make her happy, so - No! They’re just usin’ her! But she is the damn best knitter this side of the Castle. Are they just bein’ nice to the Crusaders? And the Tonic did give her the energy to - Sure they see her when they get here, but before that they’re just comin’ to get their sweaters fixed up. But it was wrong of Apple Bloom to even consider that in the first place! Takin’ advantage of her granny like that – Did she really do that if Granny's happy?

Applejack collapsed to the floor and threw her hooves over her eyes. Ah just don’t know what to do, she thought, exercising great effort not to say it out loud. She could always blame it on exhaustion.

“Applejack?” Granny Smith said with no discernible hint of concern in her voice, much to Applejack’s surprise. She opened her eyes and looked at Granny Smith, who continued in the same happy voice as she had before, “Don’t ya worry your pretty little head! Ah know what’s troublin’ ya.” Applejack’s eyes widened. “Ah don’t mind at all that they’re here to get a good looksee at the monster,“ she chuckled gently as she said that, “As long as they’re happy with what ah can do for ‘em! Ah once again feel like ah’m doin’ somethin’ useful for somepony and Apple Bloom and her friends are learnin’ how to do business!”

It don’t seem right, but if it makes her happy… Before Applejack could finish the thought, the image of the Flim Flam Brothers floated through her mind, although she could have sworn she was seeing it right in front of her eyes. No. This ain’t like the Tonic. That was lying, this isn’t. Or is it? She got up from the floor, still not entirely convinced that what Granny was going was right. She rubbed her chin and asked, “So what yer sayin’ is… Y’all are okay with bein’ put on display if it means bein’ appreciated for what you can do?”

“Ah guess you could say that,” Granny Smith replied, then folded the sweaters up and yelled out, “Apple Bloom!”

Apple Bloom squeezed herself past the door and Applejack and picked up the sweaters. She dumped a pile of bits onto the counter and turned to leave, but before she could do that, Granny Smith had something to say.

“Apple Bloom, would you kindly tell the ponies waitin’ out there to come back later? Granny needs to take a nap.”

Apple Bloom nodded and walked out. As Granny Smith was swiftly putting away the knitting tools and accessories, Applejack could hear Apple Bloom shouting to get the message across the ever increasing number of ponies waiting outside. With the first sighs of disappointment echoing from outside, Applejack escorted Granny Smith to her room. They didn’t say a word as they walked, but when it was time to go to sleep, Granny Smith gave Applejack a multi-legged hug.

Applejack couldn’t contain the sudden feeling. “Ow!” she yelped and instinctively pushed herself away from Granny. She would have thoroughly failed had Granny Smith not released her immediately, seeing as how many legs were holding her in.

“What’s the matter, sugarcube?”

“It’s nothin’…” Applejack started, but involuntarily glanced at Granny’s chest.

“Oh my,” Granny laughed, “Ah guess my fur’s gone sharp! And ah wondered how the sofa got so bad since yesterday…”

“It’ll all right granny,” Applejack smiled. After a day like this, Granny’s sharpened fur was the least of her concern. “Now go and get some sleep, there’s plenty of ponies waitin’ for ya!” She winked to let Granny know she would be by her side.

“Why thank you child,” Granny Smith answered, before she climbed on the wall above her bed and started spinning a web in which to sleep. Applejack watched, mouth gaping and eyes wide, in part horror and disgust as Granny slowly moved in a precise pattern and secreted silk from somewhere below her tail. Before she could actually see the glands in question, Applejack turned and rushed to the door, but as her brain worked overtime to mask that sight, a fragment of what Granny Smith had said earlier floated by.

…where the two of you went. Applejack stopped as she suddenly realized the third thing that had disturbed her. Despite her hidden desire to not look at Granny until she was back on the ground again, she turned back and asked, “Wait a minute. Did y’all say Big Mac ain’t here?”

“That’s right, sugarcube; haven’t seen ‘em since breakfast.”

Bug Mac had plenty of work around the farm, and it wasn’t like him to shirk his chores. She knew he wasn’t in the orchard – she would have seen him on the way back. He wasn’t in the farmhouse either – she would have heard him. But what if he’s hurt? A sense of terror gripped Applejack and she ran outside where she called for Apple Bloom.

“What is it big sis?”

“Apple Bloom, have you seen Big Mac?” she hurriedly asked, trying to mask the worry.

“No, ah haven’t. Why?” Apple Bloom knew something was wrong. She knew her sister well enough.

“No reason.” The lie wasn’t working, but Applejack was nothing if not resourceful. “You know what, ah’ve just thought of another game you can play with yer friends! How does Cutie Mark Crusaders Pony Finders sound like?” Apple Bloom let out a happy squee, instantly forgetting that Applejack looked worried. “Ah’ve already got a job for ya – find Big Mac! And to make it more difficult, the orchard and the farmhouse are out of the question.”

“All right!” Apple Bloom happily shouted back, before calling for her friends. “Cute Mark Crusaders!”

With the three fillies running around Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack quickly went through every room and the barn in the farmhouse. When Big Mac didn't turn up there, she began running to the orchard, already imagining him caught under a tree, unable to move. Before she could get there, thought, the sound of Apple Bloom brought her to a halt.

“Applejack, ah think somethin’s wrong with Big Mac!”

Oh no!

Applejack rushed to Apple Bloom. She let her lead the way as they ran to the top of a small hill near by the farm. At the top, she saw Big Mac. Apple Bloom was right, something was very wrong with him. The patterns, the colors, the way he was moving – it was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen happen to him; a truly painful sight to behold and she had but one reaction for that. She screamed at the top of her lungs, in anger.

“Biiiiig Maaaaaac!”

A stone’s throw away, standing on the side of the hill and looking toward the green fields ahead, head held high and chin proudly jutting out, Big Mac was preparing his next swing, the yellow and blue checkers and stripes on the hat and polo shirt shining in the sun.