Big Mac was pulling the plough through a new plot of untamed land he had recently obtained the deed to. Few ponies ever farmed this close to the Everfree Forest. In fact it was only the Apple Family who currently farmed in any part of what generally is considered the "neutral zone" around the Everfree. Still, profits were down and the crop yield from last summer had been below expectation, it was time to let that soil rest and move to fresh ground.
The ground was stony, but the earth found here was rich and well rested, perfect for a new crop of corn. Ol' Slicer (as he affectionately named his plough) was tearing up the ground behind him as he heaved it forward. Suddenly there was a metallic twang as the harness he was wearing suddenly went fully taught. Turning, he saw that Slicer had been caught on something. Pawing the ground with his hoof, Big Mac tried to dislodge the stone that was blocking the plough.
Getting a hoof under an edge of the flat stone surface he strained, heaving up. Hearing a squeal of protest from the hinges, he almost tumbled into the pit as it suddenly opened beneath him. The stone he had been lifting was no rock, but rather a stone door covering some kind of underground staircase. Sniffing, Big Mac decided to not venture in just yet as the air smelt acrid. Leaving the top open, Big Mac moved the plough off to the next row and finished the rest of the field.
***
Coming back to the underground stairwell, Big Mac saw that the bad air seemed to have dissipated. Heading down the steps he felt somewhat apprehensive but shook it off. Whatever had been down here was long gone, the stone steps seemed solid and surely he could handle whatever trouble could be down here. If not, he could always come back later with the tools needed. Reaching the bottom of the steps he followed a cobbled floor, hooves resounding in the echoey hallway. Mac saw a faint glow emanating from around a corner at the end of the hallway. Following the hallway he slowed as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. The walls were decorated with evenly spaced unlit lamps. Looking closer, Mac noted to his surprise that the lamps didn't seem to run on oil, but on some form of magic. With a hoof, he eased a tiny switch up and the light gradually brightened. Lighting up several of the lamps along the way in, Mac finally reached the end of the hallway where it turned to the right into a grand chamber.
Sparsely lit by several more lamps, the circular cavern extened before him. At the bottom of a series of steps stood a series of statues of various ponies clad in weapons of war. As Mac walked down the steps he recognized Commander Hurricane from her insignia, as well as Starfall the Robed and Digger Ursa. Each were standing in a warlike pose. Commander Hurricane, wings flared with razer sharp blades on each wing and hoof; Starfall the Robed head down as he cast some terrible spell; and Digger Ursa, holding a curved sword in his teeth and caught mid-charge. Various ponies, griffins and even a few dragons dotted the floor space.
Moving past them, Mac looked in awe at the sheer magnitude of this place. Under his breath he muttered "Surely somepony must have found it before me, it is simply too large to have been undetected for so long, even this close to the Everfr--"
"You're right." Came a raspy voice from behind him. Turning quickly he saw an aged unicorn tottering up toward him, horn glowing faintly. "I found this place years ago. I've been waiting for someone else to come, didn't expect a mud mucker to be the one to find it next."
Big Mac narrowed his eyes slightly, the only sign he had noted the insult. Pausing before speaking he said "What in the hay is goin' on down here?"
"I suppose it is too much to hope for an inteligent pony to arrive. Oh, well," the aged unicorn said dismissively. "This is the Emporium of Warriors. Only the finest are sold here, only the richest get what they want. Do you understand?"
"Eeenope," Big Mac said, accentuating his drawl.
"We sell Warriors here to the higest bidder, for the highest price." Smiling smugly, the pale grey unicorn waved a hoof over his collection. "It will be interesting to see what price you fetch."
"Me? I'm no warrior, I'm a farm pony." Mac said, taking a step back.
"Eh, encased in stone you'll look big and impressive. They won't find out until I have the bits. And I don't do refunds," the decrepid mage said giddily. "Now come here and let me petrify you."
"Eeenope!" And with that, Big Mac took off running through the petrified warriors. A spell splashed behind him, hitting a stone pony holding a mace. The size of the pony almost doubled as more and more rock formed around him. 'Hmm...' thought Mac. 'Maybe these ponies aren't pure stone after all, but rather just encased in stone.
Charging forward, he reached Commander Hurricane and (silently apologizing for this), smashed a hoof onto a stone flank, trying to avoid the wing so as not to get cut on her bladed wingtips. A spiderweb of cracks eminated from the point of contact. Hitting again, it crumbled and the mare started to move, cracking more of the stone. The stone, now cracked lost its integrity, allowing the pony to free herfself.
"Who dares?" came a growl from the Commander as she removed the last bit of stone from her face. Turning to look at Big Mac he took a step back. "Um...he does," he said pointing at the unicorn approaching.
"YOU!" the Commander cried. "I'll have you strung up and dr---"
Her diatribe was interrupted by another blast from the unicorn, turning her back into a statue.
"My thanks, mud mucker. This is an even better and more fearsome pose than before," said the insane unicorn gleefully. "Growl for the petrification."
Dodging behind another stone pony, Big Mac ran again, but this time he had a plan. Smashing his hoof into whatever pony, griffin or dragon he came up to, he slowly started to weaken the stone on many of the warriors trapped. As they came to life, the grey unicorn growled with anger, his strongbox cutie mark glowing as he cast spell after spell trying to turn them all back to stone.
"WHEN I CATCH UP WITH YOU, MUD MUCKER, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU DIDN'T HAVE HOOVES. BUT DON'T WORRY, BECAUSE I'LL REMOVE THEM LAYER BY LAYER!" he screamed.
Mac ran up to Starfall the Robed and smashed him awake, just before being hit by the petrification spell. Feeling the stone slither over him like a living thing he managed one more hoofblow to the cracked shell on the unicorn he was trying to free before being trapped himself.
Mac itched all over from the second skin he couldn't quite shed. His mind started to spin, trying to find things to do. 'How many different steps did I take in my life?'
Time felt meaningless inside his stone skin. He couldn't tell if it was a minute that had passed, or a year. Mac was somewhere around contemplating how his one million, six hundred thousand, four hundredth step had gone when suddenly he felt a shudder.
***
Commander Hurricane looked at the stone pony before her, the last one left who had not been freed from his prison. This unknown pony had made it possible for all of them to escape, and they could not return the favour. The stone he was encased in was just too thick. As she looked at her petrified saviour, a unicorn approached her.
"What do you want?" she said brusquely. "Starfeld was it?"
"Starfall ma'am. I think I have a solution."
***
"Are you sure this will work?" the Commander asked.
"The theory is sound, a traction trebuchet should be able to leverage us enough force to break the stone," Starfall said quietly.
"OKAY PONIES! ON THE COUNT OF THREE! ONE! TWO! THREE! PULL!" Bellowing at the top her lungs, Commander Hurricane coordinated the ponies, griffins and dragons to pull the massive weight at the end of the wooden arm so that it swung around and smashed into the stone back of Big Mac.
Small cracks formed, but were not enough to free him. Resetting the device, they tried again, larger cracks forming. One final time the trebuchet swung down, smashing onto the stone, shattering it completely and sending Big Mac to the foor with a grunt.
***
Pain. His back was in pain, especially his right flank. But pain was better than the nothingness he was in before. Looking up he saw a bunch of ponies standing over him with a worried look.
"Ah take it we won?" Mac said.
"Hah! Good to have you back!" came Commander Hurricane's voice from the back of the pack. "Never did get to ask you your name."
"Mac...Big Mac folk's call me," he said, regaining his hooves painfully.
"Good to know ya, big guy," she said, smacking a hoof into his shoulder, causing Mac to wince slightly. "Okay ponies, let's clear out of this rat trap!"
Heading back up, the ragtag group all blinked in the sun. "So, Big Mac, how long has it been?"
"Err...You'll have to talk to Twilight 'bout that. She's better with dates," Big Mac said hesitantly. "Historical dates, I mean."