Bigger Macintoshby KlamneiChaptersBystanderPotentialGreatnessHeroBystanderBigger Macintosh Part 1: Bystander Big Mac had always been one of the largest ponies around. He didn’t know why, mind you, it was just one of those facts of life. It could’ve been his earth pony heritage, good luck with genes, or maybe he’d just eaten right as a colt. All he did know was that ever since he could remember, he’d been a good head or two taller than all of his peers, and it wasn’t long before he was eye level with all the adults. Then he'd shot up past them as well, and pretty soon he realized he’d have to be shopping at the Big and Tall store from now on. He’d always been strong, too. Although that was to be expected, considering his line of work. Apple farming wasn’t exactly a desk job, and the amount of lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying, and bucking he did every day was evident in his figure. It’d just made him look buff as a colt, but when puberty hit, well, things shot up a whole new level. He became a walking wall of muscle, his massively broad chest filling out and drawing the envy of all his peers. His legs became like tree trunks, the rippling muscles bulging and bristling with unspent strength. His thick, beefy neck and shoulders flexed with every step, and his shapely rump looked like it’d been chiseled out of granite. That last part was a description his new marefriend, Princess Luna, seemed to favor. Yes, there was no mistaking it; Big Mac was a big pony. He didn’t mind his size, though, and neither did Luna. Rather enjoyed it, as a matter of fact. He liked that it made the farming easy, and that it allowed him to protect his home from the dangers of the Everfree Forest. He was a workhorse through and through, and as long as he could do what he liked, he didn’t have a problem with it. He and Luna traded visits in either Canterlot or Ponyville on the weekends, and aside from the occasional double-take at the unlikely couple, things hadn’t changed all that much. Of course, that’s when the changes started. He was in his room getting ready for the day one sunny Tuesday morning. His harness was in his hooves, and a twinge of annoyance was building in his chest. He’d noticed it been feeling a little snug lately, yesterday particularly so, but now he couldn’t even get the dang thing around his neck. It’s not like it’d shrunk or anything, either. It was made of wood! “Consarn it.” Big Mac walked over to the full-length mirror on the wall. He examined both himself and the harness with a critical eye, but the more he looked the more it was evident that he was the one who’d changed. His neck was thicker, his shoulders were broader, and even his chest looked deeper. He’d always been able to see all of himself in this mirror, but now, he noticed that the top of his head was out of the frame. Curious, Big Mac went over to the wall where he’d marked his height since he was a colt. It was covered with small pencil marks, and for some reason he’d never wanted to erase them. He’d been the same height for years, and he was pretty sure that his body was quite through with the growing thing, but it couldn’t hurt to be sure. He stood up straight, marked his height with a pencil, then went into his closet and got a tape measure. The new mark was a good three inches higher. Big Mac frowned. “Well, that ain’t right.” He leaned back on his haunches and pondered the situation. He hadn’t been doing anything different in his routine. He hadn’t stumbled into a patch of poison joke. He hadn’t been around any unicorns casting strange spells, He and Luna hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary, he’d steered far clear of that Discord fella. His diet had been the same, and there hadn’t been any world-ending apocalypse scenarios that threw all of Equestria’s magic into flux. At least, not since last year. Big Mac scratched his head. He didn’t think he was doing anything different. So why was he growing again? Maybe it was just a late growth spurt? That could happen sometimes, right? Ehh… maybe he shouldn’t put too much thought into it. It was only three inches, after all. Luna might notice, but other ponies probably wouldn’t. Hopefully. The lingering worries stayed with Big Mac as he left his room and went through the motions of his day. He ate breakfast, got ready for chores, then made up an excuse why he couldn’t use his harness. He’d get it refitted tomorrow. Work was nothing but normal routine, although he couldn’t but notice that everything seemed… easier. He could buck trees with but barely a swat of his hooves, he could push the plow without breaking a sweat, and he could carry more barrels of apples than he usually could. His large muscles flexed and moved with his fluid motions, making the normally grueling work look like foal’s play. Big Mac chuckled as he finished up for the day, two hours early. “I could get used to this.” He put the farm tools away and headed into the house to clean up. He then helped Granny Smith fix dinner (much to her surprise) making a good load extra for himself. He always had a good appetite, but tonight he felt especially hungry. He ate it all without a problem, too, which drew more than a few curious glances from his family members. “Geez, Mac,” Applejack said. She looked down at the six plates of food that her brother had polished off. “You sure were hungry.” Big Mac picked at his teeth with a toothpick and leaned back with a contented sigh. “Eeyup.” “Ya do some hard work today or something?” Big Mac shrugged. “Just one of those days, ya know?” Applejack eyed her big brother, searching for any sign of falsehood. She found none, but some part of her noted that something seemed different about him. She couldn’t but her hoof on it, but it was enough to be curious. Applejack nodded. “Yeah, I do know. Some days ya wanna suck up all the food around ya like a vacuum. I hear ya.” Big Mac smiled his slow smile. “Eeyup.” “Ya ate almost as much as much as that fillyfriend o’yours,” Granny Smith said, smirking. “Between the two o’ya, we’re gonna need a bigger fridge.” Mac rolled his eyes. “She’s pregnant, Granny.” Granny put on a look of mock shock. “Ya don’t say?! Well, I plum hadn’t noticed! I thought that she had just put on a bit o’water weight!” Apple Bloom snickered. “A lot of water weight.” The three mares broke into laughter, and Big Mac couldn’t help but join in. They loved to rib him about his relationship with Luna, but he knew they meant well. They’d actually been very kind to her, especially Apple Bloom for some reason. “Think i’m gonna be goin’ up this weekend to visit her,” Mac said. “Ya’ll don’t mind, do ya?” Applejack shook her head. “Naw. You know there ain’t much to do this time of year. All I was gonna do is teach Apple Bloom how to watch for tree fungi.” “I’m sooooooo excited,” Apple Bloom said dryly. Big Mac smiled. “It ain’t that hard, Bloom. You’ll get the hang of it.” That night was a simple affair. The four Apples wound down in their usual ways, and Big Mac eventually said his goodnights and retired to his room to sleep. He dawdled around a bit before crawling into his soft-plush bed, noting that it did seem a little smaller than he remembered. He still fit, of course, but if he stretched out his hooves all the way, they spilled out over the edge. Big Mac couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of excitement. He wasn’t sure why, but something about that implication made him feel giddy. Sure, he wasn’t a big hero like Applejack, but if he could take care of this farm by himself without any problems, then maybe that was enough. “I just wish I could do more,” he muttered to the dark ceiling. “I’ve found that greatness tends to be a family trait, young Macintosh,” Luna had said to him when they’d first met.“Just because you haven’t had a chance to prove yourself doesn’t mean you never will.” Mac sighed. Luna seemed to think he had potential, but in what way, exactly, he didn’t know. He didn’t see anything on the horizon, and unless something drastic changed somehow, he might live his whole life on the sidelines. The eldest child of the Apple family would sit useless while his sisters went off to do great things, and he’d be no more than a figurehead of the clan with no real clout or respect. Sighing, Big Mac crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep. PotentialPart 2: Potential Big Mac found himself on a barren plain that stretched out as far as he could see. The sky above was a mix of swirling colors like the northern lights, and the air was absolutely saturated with magic. There was a soft wind blowing, and he felt a dull malaise creeping over his senses. He looked around to see if there was anypony else, but he was completely and utterly alone. That is, save for one other thing. An enormous piece of metal in the shape of an eight-pointed star was sticking out of the ground like some sort of alien monument. The north and south points of the symbol were much longer than the others, and in its center was a bright, pulsing diamond. The metal was blue and crystalline, and glowing bits of plant matter hung from its edges that were reminiscent of ivy. The entire thing was covered in cruel, spiked chains with links bigger than his entire body, and they were so long that they stretched off far into the horizon and out of sight. Big Mac took a step back, shivering at the amount of magic in the air. “What the…” Do you wish to be a hero? a bodiless voice asked. Big Mac jumped. He looked around to try to find the speaker, but no such luck. All that was around was him and the strange monument. “Who’s there?!” Big Mac said. I sense the desire in your heart, Macintosh Apple. The voice was female, and it echoed all around him, ringing in his ears and touching his very soul. I have sensed it for some time, truth be told. You wish to be more than what you are, to be like your sibling and aid in protecting your world. You yearn for the chance to prove yourself and make your ancestors proud. Am I wrong? Big Mac was frozen in place. The words were jarring and blunt, but they couldn’t be more true. He realized that the voice was coming from the monument, and he didn’t like any of this one bit. His heart was now hammering in his chest, but the words resonated with him so much that he couldn’t help but reply. “E-Ee-n…” he gulped and wet his lips. “Erm… well, I’ll admit ya hit the nail on the head, but who are you, exactly? What do ya want?” The diamond’s light flickered softly. I was once many things. In life, I was the beloved ruler of my people; a lover of trade and a seer that could see glimpses of the threads of destiny. But I grew selfish and arrogant, and the seeds of cruelty were planted in my mind. I became a wicked soul consumed in a quest for total domination, and my greed and lust for power ultimately brought about my end, as well as the end of my people. My punishment has already been decided by the gods, but I have been offered a small chance to redeem myself and reduce my sentence. To that end, you have been brought before me to be given a choice. Big Mac could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. This was all utterly crazy, but despite that, he couldn’t help but ask the alluded question. “An’ what choice is that?” The voice spoke clearly without any stutter. There is potential within you, young Macintosh, potential that one of your gods has already seen and become drawn to. I would like to utilize that potential as well, but only if you are willing. There is a great threat is on the horizon that threatens your world, and only the power I can provide will be able to stop it. I’ve brought you here to ask you a simple question: If you were given a chance to be all that your heart desires—to be a hero, a protector, a pure and righteous force for good—would you take it? Would you take of the mantle of responsibility and defend your home? Big Mac couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was this all real? Was this all a joke? He had dreams of being a white knight all the time but this… this was different. This was practically surreal, and every one of his senses was tingling. It felt like he was really there in that moment in time, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. “Ya’ll can’t be serious.” Ah, but I am quite serious. The chains constricting the monument rattled in the wind. You wish to do more than chores on your little farm? To be like your sister? To feel like someone special, maybe even someone’s hero? This is your chance. I’m offering you what you’ve always wanted; the only catch is that you have to actually defend your home against a cataclysmic threat, and if you fail, everything you know and love will be destroyed. Big Mac chewed on his lip. “I… I don’t really understand.” The voice let out a long, windy sigh. The strong, silent types never are known for their analytical skills. All will become clear to you shortly, Macintosh. All that’s required of you now is a simple yes or no. What will it be? Big Mac sucked on his teeth. He still wasn’t entirely sure whether this was real or not, but if it was, it wouldn’t do very well to go and pass up such a golden opportunity. He wasn’t too keen on his home being threatened, and it didn’t sound like this voice had been very nice when she’d been alive. But she did sound sincere, and if the magic in those chains was as strong as it felt, then he doubted she’d be in a position to lie. He decided to roll with it. “Eeyup.” The monolith glowed with otherworldly power. Then let it be done. There was a crack like thunder. The magic in the air seemed to thicken, and then all at once, bolts of multicolored lightning began striking Big Mac from all directions. “GAH!” Big Mac fell to his knees, but almost immediately, his cries turned into groans of pleasure. The magic felt good… really good! It was hot and pulsing, flowing into him with the rhythm of his heartbeat. He felt himself rising up into the air, and before long he was lost in the sensation of pure, delicious power. More and more magic surged into him, dancing through his skin, muscles and veins, and he could feel the raw power building within him, more and more and more! The threat is nigh, the voice warned through the euphoria. You must act quickly and without hesitation, for this evil is not something that your Chosen Six will be able to defend against. Not even your gods will be able to help, although the Trickster might be able to provide some aid. In the end, though, you will need to act alone, for your strength will be the determining factor. Big Mac could feel the magic changing him. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, other than something fundamental about his very being was being... altered. He cried out again in ecstasy, his yells echoing long and loud across the ethereal plain. You have the soul of a protector, Macintosh, the voice said. The symbol was now fading in and out, its features becoming blurred and indistinct. You cherish your family and value the preservation of life. You love those close to you with all your soul, and the friends you make, while few, are loyal and lifelong. You remind me of myself before I gave into corruption and strayed down the path of evil. Perhaps that is why I have faith that you will succeed in this. Trust in your heart, young one, and all will be well... The power continued to flow into Big Mac, seemingly without end. His eyes shining like beacons in a starless night. His whole body felt tight, coiled up, like a spring held just waiting to be released. He felt like he was going to explode, but nevertheless he continued to absorb all the magic given to him, determined to receive it all without complaint. Finally, it was done. The magic was fully transferred to Big Mac, and his whole body glowed with harmonious might. He touched down on the plain, and when he opened his eyes, a prismatic glint could be seen shining within them. “Whoa,” Big Mac gasped. It is done, the voice said in a faint whisper. Go forth, Macintosh Apple. Wield my power for good, and show your world what kind of hero you can be... Big Mac blinked several times, still regaining his senses. “W-wait! I still— *+*+* Big Mac jolted awake. He sat upright and looked all around, his eyes wild and confused. He was in his room, it was just before dawn, and nothing seemed out of place. He sat there for a while, gasping for breath and rubbing his temples, the fog of sleep slowly clearing from his mind. After a moment or two he regained his senses… ...and that’s when he noticed the first change. His rump was scrunched up against the hoofboard, and his legs hanging far, far out over the bed. Big Mac did a double-take. “What in tarnation…” Unless the rest of the world had shrunk, it looked like he’d grown several feet in his sleep. His extra-large bed couldn’t quite contain his extra-extra large frame anymore, the springs creaked loudly with every shift of his weight. His favorite blanket now didn’t even come down to his thighs. His whole body was spilling over the bed in every direction, and it felt like he was in a foal’s bed. Thump-thump! Big Mac gasped. The power from the dream was within him, pulsing mightily in his chest like a second heartbeat. It was now flowing out to fill the rest of his body, filling him with a hot, amazing sensation that made him shiver with excitement. Big Mac stared at his own hooves in awe, watching the fetlocks become thicker, longer, and wider with each passing second. The rest of his body followed suit, gaining more and more bulk, the rippling, chiseled muscles swelling with his every breath. It was an adrenaline rush like Big Mac never experienced, and he felt like he could rip a full-grown apple tree out of the ground without any trouble. And the sensation was only getting stronger. In that moment Big Mac guessed that he’d doubled in size, but by the looks of things, he wasn’t going to stay that way for long. “Ah, shit...” He tore off his blanket and got to his hooves… ...only to smash his head through the ceiling. CRUNCH! Big Mac staggered. The force of his motion inadvertently punched a hole in the roof, the sturdy timbers falling away as if they were toothpicks. The floorboards now began to groan under his still-increasing weight, bending and creaking as they threatened to fall away. “Double shit!” He did the only sensible thing he could think of. Turning around and ducking down low, he aimed for the window and dove out into the night. CRASH! It wasn’t as bad of a fall as he’d expected. Sure, he’d been up on the second floor, but it didn’t seem to matter much. He barely even stumbled as he came down with a heavy thud and jumped away from the falling glass, cringing as he turned around and saw the giant hole that was now in the side of the house. Damn it. That was gonna take weeks to fix. Thump-thump! The power inside Mac flared again, and the light in his eyes shone brighter. “Ergh!” He felt another great burst of burning energy, the ground cracking beneath him as he inched upward. The stretching of his limbs and barrel was almost audible as he was forced to widen his stance more and more, and he had to bite his lip to prevent himself from voicing his pleasure. He grew until he found himself being eye-level with the hole in his room, and then kept going until he was looking down at it. “BIG BROTHER?!” BIg Mac looked down. Standing at the front door were Apple Bloom, Applejack and Granny Smith in their pajamas, staring at his giant form with incredulous eyes. They didn’t even come up to his ankles. Big Mac winced. “Uh…” And then all hell broke loose. SHWUMMM! A titanic tear in space ripped open over the western orchards. The night sky was lit up by violet, crackling light sparked out of the hole like lightning, and a deafening, screeching sound like the scraping metal filled the air. The Apple mares yelped and covered their ears. Big Mac merely pinned his back and narrowed his eyes. “Fast...” The tear lengthened and widened. The air became filled with the sharp smell of ozone, and the light became so bright that only Mac could look directly at it. There was an incredible CRACK, and then slowly, surely, something began to step out of the rift... ...something big, foul, and made of stone. “EENOPE!” Big Mac sprinted for the rift. The farmyard shook and rumbled with his mighty steps, and he got to the edge of the orchard in seconds. The trees were still bigger than him, though, and while he knew he was strong enough to push his way through the twenty-foot tall specimens, they would definitely slow him down. He didn’t have time for that. Thump-thump! The power within him pulsed mightily, his whole body shimmering in reply. He began to grow again, his whole perspective shifting as the ground fell farther and farther away. His body bulged and quickly became the height of the trees… ...then a head taller than them... ...then two heads... then four. Before long even the tallest of the apple trees only came up to Big Mac’s barrel. At sixty feet tall he crashed through the field and ran headlong for the rift, the trees crunching and toppling around him like dominoes. The sweet smell of pulped apples filled his nose as he carved a path through the orchard, his heart and soul screaming mournful wails at the destruction. The thing kept coming through the rift. It seemed to be a colossal pillar made of black rock, but pillars didn’t usually move on their own. Big Mac could tell it was alive from the way it moved, and it that was enough, there was also an aura of malevolence about it that almost made him feel ill. It had three short, powerful legs that supported it like a tripod, and its angular body was covered with spikes, sharp ridges, and hooks. It also had three long arms that it wave about like whips, each one ending in a long, vicious point like a scythe. The thing had no eyes or face to speak of, but just from one glance, Big Mac knew damn well that it could see. And he most certainly had its attention. Big Mac cursed. He couldn’t let this thing get through, but even at new-and-improved size, the thing had to be at least three times larger than him. “Not enough,” he growled. Thump-thump! The magic answered his call. With a blinding flash, Big Mac’s body exploded outward, doubling, tripling, than quadrupling in height! His shoulders widened with new muscle, his legs bristling with newfound power. His chest broadened even more, gaining hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of sheer bulk. He could now see well out into the valley and beyond, his eyes and other senses sharpening to superpony levels. He felt massive. He felt STRONG. But against whatever this thing was, he could only pray that was strong enough. Now within striking distance, Big Mac made his move. With wind-whipping force, he spun around, reared, and bucked the monster with all his earth-shattering might. KA-WHAM! It was like a bomb went off. The trees in the area were uprooted and sent flying, and every one of the farmhouse windows shattered. Big Mac felt the tremendous kick vibrate throughout his very being, and it was like he’d just struck a brick wall. Fortunately, though, his strength won through. The thing was sent sailing back into the portal from whence it came, and the feeling of evil and foulness disappeared along with it. But that wasn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. Big Mac could sense that he’d just knocked the thing back. It was still in there, and somehow he knew it was gonna try again. He’d be damned if he was gonna let this play out on the farm, but that essentially meant he was gonna have to come to it. It wasn’t his first choice to go charging through an unknown portal, but he knew he had to press his advantage. So without hesitating, he whirled back around, grit his teeth, and charged into the crackling portal into the unknown. GreatnessPart 3: Greatness Big Mac found himself standing in an utterly alien wasteland. The air was thick and dry, and the blue, ravaged soil felt dead beneath his hooves. The cloudy sky was green with forks of lightning lancing off into the horizon. A large, red sun hung fat and low in the sky, and there were sickly lakes of yellow far off in the distance. Big Mac felt a chill. “Whoa, nelly…” He was standing amidst the ruins of a destroyed city. The buildings looked to have once been bulbous, pod-like structures, but they’d all either been ripped open, collapsed, or were laying on the ground in pieces. Some of them might have once even been taller than him, although at two hundred and forty feet tall, it was hard to get a scale of things. He was able to see the skeletons, though. And were there ever a lot of them. Most had rotted away or had been ravaged by time, but from what he could tell, they seemed to have been some kind of spider race. Skulls with far too many eye sockets stared off into eternity, with dual-segmented torsos and multi-jointed limbs broken and strewn everywhere across the streets. Everywhere the ground was cracked and fissured, with dark, yawning pits that ended only in blackness. The cruel, howling wind was the only sound in his ears, and there was a sense of wrongness that pervaded his entire being. Big Mac shifted his enormous hooves. He could still feel a connection to the land, but it wasn’t giving him any feedback. It was silent. And with the air, his surroundings, and everything about the place, he could immediately discern one thing. “This world’s dead,” he muttered. And standing on its uneven feet only a scant few hundred feet away, was what Big Mac suspected had killed it. The stone creature beat its scythe-like arms together with a click-click-click! It took a few steps forward towards Big Mac, sizing up its new foe. Big Mac gave a perfunctory glance back at the glowing portal, then spat on the ground and glowered at the abomination. “Definitely nope.” There was a brief standstill. The two of them stared each other down, neither willing to make the first move. Big Mac tensed his body in waiting. He was a little bit bigger than the thing, and with the odds like this he was confident he could take it. But it seemed fate had it out for him, for in the exact instant he thought that, the creature’s body glowed with violet light and grew, rumbling and drawing more energy into itself. Big Mac’s jaw fell. “Aw, hell.” The thing had to be over seven hundred feet tall now, and it resembled a foul walking mountain with clawed whips. It now menacingly loomed over him, its arms poised and ready to strike. Big Mac glared at the monster. “Gonna play that way, huh? Well, fine! I can—AHHHHHH!” The monster straight up punted him like a hoofball. He was sent flying through the debris of the city, his giant red body smashing through building after building with an earsplitting din. He sailed for over a thousand yards before tumbling into the dirt, the cracking and crunching of the ruined structures the only sounds he could hear. Big Mac let out an annoyed snort. With a set of tremendous THUDS, he clambered back to his hooves and stomped on the ground, his blows leaving behind craters over thirty feet deep. He hadn’t been hurt by the strike, but he’d sure as hell felt it. The wellspring of energy within him was giving him all the protection and power he needed, but he wasn’t sure how long it would last. “AS I WAS SAYIN’,” Big Mac spat in a vicious snarl, his body flashing like an iridescent prism. “Gonna play that way, huh sugarcube? Well, guess what? I CAN DO THAT, TOO!” Thump-thump! With a mighty flare of power, Big Mac’s body shot upward, growing larger, and larger by the second. A river of electricity was flowing through his veins, suffusing him with more strength, more energy, and more fury. The ground seemed to fall away from him, his stance widening as his body thickened and broadened. He broke five hundred feet and kept right on going than reached seven hundred and met the monster’s eyes with a sneer. Then he tapped deep into the power, and his tremendous form SURGED upward, shattering one thousand feet and climbing to fourteen hundred feet tall! Big Mac was left with the mother of all adrenaline rushes. The ruined city seemed like a foal’s playset now, and the low-hanging clouds seemed no farther away than the rafters of his barn. The obsidian golem didn’t seem deterred, however, and was approaching him with surprising speed. It’s scythe-like arms were waving menacingly, and the clicking noise it kept making so loud he could hear it over everything else. Big Mac lowered his head and scraped at the ground. The action demolished an entire city block, but he didn’t care. He could revel in the power trip later. Right now, he had asses to whoop. Click-click-click! The creature closed the remaining gap and swung at Big Mac, its scythe like arm whipping up and aiming for his neck. Big Mac ducked and responded with a wicked right hook. BAM! The sound was like a thunderclap magnified a hundredfold. The city ruins around them crumbled to rubble and dust, and the creature was sent reeling by the blow, completely knocked off its charge and sent rolling into the dirt. Big Mac judged the distance it’d fallen, then took a few running steps forward and got a little payback, straight up punting the thing like a hoofball far into the distance. KA-RUNCH! The creature was literally sent flying. It broke the sound barrier on its ascent and sailed up and away several thousand feet. Big Mac watched the thing land roughly and tumble ass-over-teakettle with an incredible CRASH, devastating the landscape and kicking up the mother of all dust clouds. He leaned on his haunches and folded his arms with ahmph. “Get up from that, ya dragon’s ass.” Suddenly, as if in response to that comment, a smooth, teasing male voice filled his mind. I’d keep up the pressure, if I were you. Big Mac jumped. He looked all around, but he couldn’t see anypony else around but him. Not even his heightened earth pony senses detected any life, but he knew he hadn’t imagined it, as the voice was still ringing in his mind. “Who’s there?” Big Mac demanded. What, you don’t remember me? the voice said with mock affront. Why, I never. And after all those times that we never saw or interacted with each other, you’d think you’d know my voice by heart at this point! Such a forgetful little pony you are... er, well I suppose you’re not exactly littleanymore, so I suppose you’re just forgetful. Big Mac felt his stomach drop. The longer he listened to the voice, the more familiar it became. He now had a pretty good guess he had as to who it belonged, and he didn’t like it one bit. “Discord...” A ringing bell sounded off in his mind. Well done, Red! Perhaps you’re not as dull-witted as I thought. By the by, I can’t really blame you for wanting to take a small interdimensional vacation, but if you’d bothered to consult me beforeclaw, I could’ve recommended some more hospitable locales. There was abruptly a sound of grinding, cracking, and crunching. The dust cloud rippled, and then from out of its depths, the stone golem exploded out of it, swelling rapidly larger and larger. Its waving limbs grew longer, sharper, and more wicked. Its legs became taller and stronger, to the point that each one rivalled the size of a skyscraper. Its aura grew thicker and fouler, and even from this far away Big Mac nearly retched. The creature matched his size of fourteen hundred feet, but the violet magic around it only became stronger, and it rocketed past him to fifteen hundred... then seventeen hundred... then two thousand... Big Mac squared his jaw and cracked his neck with a loud pop. “I’m kinda busy right now, Discord.” He set off at a full-blown gallop, intent on engaging the creature before it grew any bigger. His hoofsteps set off an earthquake, due to each one weighing thousands of tons and smashing the earth with unbelievable force. The monster noticed his advance and turned to meet him head-on. Hmm, yes. You do seem to have your hooves full, don’t you? Though I have to admit you’re not doing half bad, collateral damage notwithstanding. Big Mac slammed the monster with a heavy shoulder ram. It took a step back from the blow, but then re-steadied itself and sliced with its arms. White-hot pain erupted in Big Mac’s shoulders and barrel as the blows raked cruelly at his flesh. The cuts were only skin-deep thanks to earth pony fortitude, but it was enough to make him cry out in pain. Big Mac retaliated by delivering a flurry of blows on the golem, yelling at Discord as he did. “Just tell me what ya want!” Oh, nothing really, Discord drawled. Just spectating this little slobberknocker. Your sister summoned the cavalry when the rift showed up, and even Sunbutt and Moonbutt came to see what the fuss was about! Naturally, something important enough to grab theirattention is of interest to yours truly, so I couldn’t help but take a look-see of my own. Big Mac felt himself being pushed back by the monster. His hooves dug over a hundred feet into the earth as he tried to stand his ground, but even still, he felt himself being overpowered. “I could... use some help... ya know!” BIg Mac grunted. Sorry, no can do. That thing negates the abilities of any divine creature or spirit that comes near it. The necrotic energy flat-out kills mortals, too, so your sister and friends can’t help either. All we can do is try to close the rift while I keep an eye on you. Big Mac felt his frustration build. He pushed with all his might, but it was a futile effort. “Fine, so I’m on my own! Do ya at least know what this thing is?!” Pfft. Who do you take me for, an amateur? One can’t very well appreciate a truly appreciate a fight like this without knowing about both of the contenders. That “thing,” as you so eloquently put, is called the Yigrox. It’s known by a few other names—Eater of Worlds, Consumer of Souls, Crusher of Gods, yadda, yadda, yadda. It’s a nasty leftover creation of the gal who used to rule this place. Didn’t think you could make an undead construct, but somehow she managed. Ironically, the Yigrox was what wound up killing her along with everyone else! Funny how life works sometimes, isn’t it? Big Mac was rapidly losing ground. The creature had realized how tough his hide was, and had now wrapped its arms around him instead to squeeze his ribcage. “Not… helpin’!” he gasped. Oh, right. Well anyhoo, as for stopping it… I doubt that you can. The Yigrox is supposedly indestructible, so you’ll understand that I didn’t place my bets on you. It destroyed all life on that planet and then wandered around for a few centuries before going into standby mode. Not sure what woke it up, but I’m thinking the best you can do is stall it while Sunbutt and company close the rift. Once that’s done, you’ll need to get far enough away from it so I can teleport you out of there. Mac’s pride rankled at that. He knew it wasn’t the same, but a part of him couldn’t help but whisper that he’d just be playing second fiddle if he did that. “Eenope!” Big Mac said with glinting eyes. “If this thing got through to Equestria once, it’ll find a way to do it again! It’s too dangerous for that, I’m not gonna let let this thing go on a rampage! So indestructible or not, I’m takin’ it out right here, right… NOW!” Thump-thump! New strength poured into Big Mac. His scarlet body glowed with otherworldly might as he began to grow once more, breaking free of the Yigrox’s grip with a roar. He grabbed one of its arms in his teeth, used the thing’s momentum to drag it forward, then leapt to the side and smashed it in the back with a haymaker. WHAM! Discord sighed in his mind. Stubborn as your sister, I see. Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. More of a spectacle for me, I suppose. The Yigrox crashed to the ground, its arms and legs wildly waving about. Big Mac took Discord’s earlier advice and kept up his assault, pouncing on top of it and punching it again and again and again. The air became thick with flying chunks of ebony rock, Big Mac’s strikes becoming heavier and more damaging as he grew. He matched the Yigrox’s size again in seconds, but the power kept flowing into him like a river, more intense than ever. It made him feel giddy and warm, powerful and in control. It was the best feeling he’d ever experienced in his entire life, and if he wasn’t already yelling out of rage, he probably still would be out of pleasure. Big Mac grew to a half mile in height and kept right on going. A single one of his hooves could’ve crushed Ponyville in a single step, and his eyes were bigger then the rift he’d used to get here. He was literally beating the Yigrox into the ground now, drilling both of them deeper and deeper as time went on. Quite the interesting power you have there, Discord remarked mildly. Never quite seen anything quite like it before. Almost reminds me of Tirek, except you don’t seem to be siphoning magic from anything. It seems more like you’re just tapping into the latent energy within your soul. Ironic that you’ve kept this little talent of yours a secret for so long, eh? And here I thought your family was all about honesty. “RAAAAAGH!” A spiderweb of fissures was forming all around Big Mac and the Yigrox, spreading out farther and farther into the horizon. Big Mac didn’t notice at all. All he could see was red, and his mind was solely focused on obliterating his foe. The clouds parted away from his form as he broke a mile in size, and the crater was becoming so deep that waves of heat were emanating from the cracks. The Yigrox, meanwhile, didn’t seem to be phased much by the beating. It was trying to throw Mac off, but right now it was pinned beneath his titanic weight. It struggled and kicked for a while, but upon feeling the heat coming from the ground, something within the creature seemed to change. Its clicking took on a fever-pitch and began thrashing wildly, drawing the heat into itself and moving faster for it. It began to swell, slow at first, but then larger and larger as the seconds passed. It healed the chips and cracks in its hide and then some, filling up the crater Big Mac had made all the while. CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!The Yigrox’s chittering could just be heard under Big Mac’s tumultuous strikes. It gave a mighty heave, trying to get itself free. No such luck. It grew another thousand feet or so and heaved again, this time throwing Big Mac off balance. It was almost twice his size now, and it was then that BIg Mac realized something was up. Uh, Red? Discord said. You might wanna— SWISH! Big Mac just barely managed to duck a swipe aimed at his neck. He reared and jumped away in time to dodge a second swing, then moved back to a safe distance as the alien crust crumbled beneath his every step. The Yigrox emerged from the crater huger than ever, bathed in lava and dark magic. “How big can this thing get?!” Mac said. The molten rock has seemed to energize the construct, and now it was moving twice as fast with even deadlier intent. It’s a essentially murderous mobile mountain that converts all forms of mass into negative energy and then absorbs it for fuel, Discord informed him.The Yigrox draws its power from the planet, and it doesn’t really have a limit to how much mass it can absorb. That’s one of the reasons you can’t really beat it, see. Smack it around all you like; it’ll just regenerate and come at you bigger and stronger than ever. The Yigrox skittered back and forth on either side of Big Mac, trying to get in his blind spot. He didn’t let it. He crouched low and kept facing it, watching its every move like a hawk. “So what you’re sayin’ is that I’m basically fightin’ this here entire planet,” Big Mac said. Something like that. Not really fair, is it? Big Mac picked up a city-sized chunk of rock and threw it at the Yigrox, beaning it right where its head would’ve been. “I learned life ain’t fair a long time ago. S’not exactly a new feelin’ to me.” The Yigrox didn’t seem to be phased much by the rock, but it did hesitate just a tiny, tiny bit. That was all the opening Big Mac needed, and he sprang forth to grapple the Yigrox from behind. It waved its claws about, trying to get at Mac, but it couldn’t reach no mattered how hard it tried. “Upsy-daisy!” Big Mac pulled with all his might, but the Yigrox was now too heavy to lift. It seemed to sense what he was trying to do and stepped on one of his hooves, causing him to howl in pain, but he didn’t let go. If you’re trying to break its connection to the ground, I’m afraid that won’t work, Discord said. It’s got quite the range on that ability. Like I said before, you’re probably better off just distracting it for now instead of trying to do it in. Right now you’re just making it angrier. “Eenope!” Big Mac tried again to lift the Yigrox, but again he couldn’t budge it. He was over a mile tall and several hundred million tons in weight, and still he had nothing on this thing. He needed more. He needed to be more. He wouldn’t let this thing get free or threaten anypony else, no matter what he had to do. THUMP-THUMP! The power within him sensed his resolve and flared to life, sending a pulse through him that was the mightiest yet. Big Mac began to grow again, and when he tried to lift the Yigrox a third time, he was almost able to do it. He tightened his rapidly-strengthening grip and tried again, this time actually getting it a few hundred feet off the ground. The planet beneath them groaned and rumbled under the increasing weight, and more and more fissures appeared around them. Well now, Discord said, a bit of surprise creeping into his voice. Look at you. A mile and a half tall. Not nearly enough. The Yigrox still had a lead on him. Three miles. He was larger combatant once more, but only just. He knew he needed to increase his lead. Six miles. Still shy of what he wanted, but it was a start. “ERRRGGGH!” With a herculean heave, Big Mac lifted the Yigrox off the ground and raised it over his head. Then, in a move nopony anticipated, he kept going and suplexed the creature, driving it claws-first into the planet. KA-RUNCH! The planet’s crust shuddered from the impact. Shockwaves and dust clouds spread to the entire hemisphere, plunging the entire surface into darkness. The Yigrox became firmly wedged in the collapsing rock, wiggling and squirming like a worm on a hook. Great plumes of lava began shooting out from the fissures, punching holes in the clouds and sending tons of ash into the atmosphere. Big Mac narrowly avoided a lava geyser and rolled back onto his hooves, the ground crumbling and breaking as if he were on thin ice. He couldn’t see where he was stepping because of the clouds, and suddenly he was quite worried about his footing. “Discord,” Big Mac said. “Ya said this thing killed everythin’ on the planet, right? Did you mean ‘everything’ everything?” Everything down to the bacterial level, Discord confirmed. Not even the plant life was spared. Good thing, too, because if anything hadsurvived, it’d be good as dead now thanks to that little move of yours. Speaking of which, don’t you ponies need that oxygen stuff, too? How are you managing without it? Mac blinked. Come to think of it, he didn’t feel much of a need to breathe, and the cold of the upper-troposphere wasn’t bothering him. Neither was the lava, really. He could feel the temperature, sure, but it wasn’t impeding him in any way. That realization gave him an idea. “Apple family secret,” Big Mac replied. Discord snorted. My front-right paw. “No, it’s true!” Big Mac said solemnly. “I swear it on my horn.” You’re an earth pony. “Damn straight.” Big Mac concentrated and opened himself more to the mysterious energy inside him. “And earth ponies ain’t much for askin’ questions, now are they? They’re known for gettin’ things done, so unless I suddenly get wings or one o’them fancy bone spikes, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do!” Big Mac’s body shimmered like a prism. The power responded to his call, and the clouds parted away once more from his ascending form. He grew ever upward, surpassing the troposphere and entering the warmer air of the troposphere. He doubled in size in mere seconds to stand at over twelve miles tall, and after one particularly colossal surge, the crust finally gave way to his weight and plunged him into the lava. SPLOOSH! Big Mac abruptly found himself swimming in a warm, soupy gunk. It was deep and difficult to move in, but otherwise it wasn’t so bad. Kinda felt like he was in a hot tub, really. If he wasn’t fighting for his life against a colossal death machine, he might’ve actually enjoyed it. Speaking of which… CLICK-CLICK-CLICK The lava suddenly began to drain away. Big Mac yelped as he abruptly found himself in a hellish whirlpool, all of which being sucked towards the Yigrox. Its terrifying body was bathed in black fel flames, its mile-long claws were covered in cruel hooks, and the sound it was making sounded like the shrieks of the damned. Big Mac grit his teeth. “And just when I thought this thing couldn’t get any uglier.” Pffft. You think that’s ugly? You should see the Garglschnorfs of Teralsi IV during mating season. One glance and your eyes’ll melt clean out your sockets. Big Mac thought about trying to swim against the current, but then reconsidered. He was building up some good momentum from being in the maelstrom, and momentum was good. He treaded lava and stared the growing Yigrox down, watching as it went from an unholy abomination to a terrifying effigy of the apocalypse. “That’s right,” Big Mac muttered. “Eat up, ya pebblehead. I’ll give ya somethin’ to chew on…” The Yigrox was swiftly becoming a monolith compared to him. At one hundred miles tall it dwarfed him in all aspects, and it was swiftly growing more as it hungrily devoured the essence of the planet. Big Mac could feel its necrotic energies reaching out to him now, eager to leech away his soul and leave him nothing but a husk. Its defiling touch made him sick to his stomach, but he didn’t even flinch. Big Mac closed his eyes and focused. He didn’t know what this power was, how it worked, or why he’d been chosen to wield it. He didn’t know if what he planned was going to work, and he was very aware that he might die. But he tended not to dwell on the what-if’s. All he cared about was what was in front of him, and how was going to deal with it. And when one looked at things that way, things tend to become real easy. The Yigrox reached for Big Mac with its enormous unholy claws… SWISH! Only to miss as he whirled around, took aim, and bucked the Yigrox with blinding speed. BA-WHOOM! A wave of shimmering earth pony magic erupted from Big Mac’s hooves. It struck the Yigrox and completely enveloped it, knocking it back with sheer force. The monster twitched and stuttered back and forth, its siphoning disrupted from the sudden blast of alien magic that shorted out its own. BIg Mac grinned. “Suck on THAT!” He felt a giddy elation spreading through him, amplified all the strength coursing through him. His body began to shine brightly, and his eyes turned a pure white. “So ya munch on the planet to heal yourself, eh? Nice trick. GUESS I’LL HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT ALONG WITH YA!” Red, I don’t think— But it was too late. The energy within Big Mac was answering his call, making his body rumble and shiver in preparation. THUMP-THUMP! He couldn't help but laugh madly as he felt the first tendrils of power seeping in, adding more to his already towering form. His body became a landscape unto itself as he grew bigger and bigger, adding mile after mile to his height and millions of tons to his weight. The muscles of his chest and legs were widening, bristling with untold, unspent power, and it was just begging to be unleashed. He resisted the urge for now, though, because he still needed more. He still needed so much more... And more he got. When Big Mac matched the Yigrox’s fifty mile height, he grabbed it and struck it with gargantuan headbutt. WHAM! The Yigrox fell flailing back into the lava with a mammoth splash. Country-sized globs of lava flew so far into the air that they cooled and sailed into the atmosphere, bursting into flames once more and falling back down as meteors. Big Mac put a growing hoof on the Yigrox and pressed it down, cackling like a fiend as he pushed it further down into the planet’s core. “Take it,” he hissed in a deep, echoing voice. “Take it all...” The Yigrox apparently had no issue with this, as the whirlpool around them began to swirl faster and faster. The splinters of lightning were now bursting around them instead of above them, and the air now filled with cacophonous bursts of thunder. Big Mac could feel the Yigrox swelling beneath him as it drew in the outer core of the planet and sucked away all aspects of the crust. Cities, forests, lakes, and whole continents were ground to dust as they were drawn into the vortex, all to fuel the malevolent force that was his foe. But Big Mac was growing, too. Fifty miles became the size of his hooves alone as he continued to ascend, the power within him flaring out in incredible surges that felt accelerated his growth to greater heights. He burst out of the mesosphere and into the thermosphere, his form expanding far beyond any and all expectations. He had to keep ahead of the Yigrox, and the Yigrox was absorbing quadrillions of tons of mass. Explosions went off around and below them from the planet’s death throes, but neither of them paid the light show any heed. They only had eyes for each other, the momentary standoff lasting only while they continued to ascend. Hmph, Discord muttered in his ear.Maybe I should’ve bet on you, after all. Big Mac was now a titan. The light of the planet faded away as he rocketed up into space, and he was left with a sense of weightlessness as the planet’s core fell into the Yigrox. They were both thousands of miles tall now, and the Yigrox was truly a monstrosity. Its clicking sounds were now soundless in the vacuum of space, but Big Mac could still hear the gibbering echoing in his ears, taunting and gnawing at his thoughts. The Yigrox propelled itself forward with a burst of magic and lunged at Mac, its necrotic energies eagerly reaching out for him. He raised his hoof and first a burst of his own magic directly in its face, in response, blasting it with the raw essence of life. VWUMMMMM The amplified earth pony magic burst out in an emerald beam that fully enveloped the Yigrox. Its silhouette could still be seen, through the onslaught, and it remained stubborn as it tried its hardest to absorb the incredible amount of life energy. The dreadful spellwork within it churned and chugged like a furnace, but eventually, gradually, it began to crack and creak under the strain. Big Mac narrowed his glowing eyes. “Not enough, eh? How about some more?!” His entire body flashed brighter than the sun. He doubled the ray’s power with a soundless cry, also doubling in size as a result. The moon shifted its trajectory to begin orbiting around him as he grew, reaching the ten thousand mile mark and still growing bigger. Cracks were beginning to show in the Yigrox’s planet-sized body. Flakes were breaking away to evaporate in the beam, and its claws were on the verge of snapping off. Still it tried to convert and process Big Mac’s beam into fuel, but there was just too much to keep up. The energy within Big Mac’s soul was like an endless wellspring. It fed him more and more power, and he used it all with a single-minded purpose. He grew and grew and grew, and the beam of energy grew wider and more intense along with him. He didn’t care what happened to him anymore. He didn’t care if some lifeless rock got destroyed, either. All that mattered was his home, and he wasn’t gonna let the Yigrox anywhere near it. “JUST DIE, YA VARMINT!” Finally, with a mute scream, the Yigrox’s core overloaded and burst like an overfilled balloon. Big Mac’s beam fully enveloped the construct’s tainted mass like a cleansing flame, and it disintegrated into ash that faded away into the endless expanse. Big Mac lowered his hoof and cut off the ray. He stared at the space where the Yigrox had been, searching for any remaining remnant that could somehow regenerate and start again. He saw none. He floated alone in the void of space in silence then for a time, a shining gigantic pony almost three times the size of his home planet. ‘Varmint?!’ Discord said. Seriously, Red? That’s the best you could think of?! Big Mac rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut up.” Discord’s voice was filled with mirth. I mean, come on! You get the chance to be a big bad-flank hero, and the best one-liner you can come up with is ‘Just die, varmint?!’ Bahahahahahaha! Big Mac felt his cheeks flush. “Hey, it’s not like I was prepared or nothin’! I’ve been just makin’ things up as I go!” Discord’s laughter died down a bit. Oh, I’m going to remember that one for a while. You save Equestria from certain doom in an amazing, grandiose display, and at the end you deliver the most hickish line possible. My ribs hurt from laughing… Big Mac sighed. “Are ya done? I’m kinda just floatin’ here at the moment. Can ya bring me back to Equestria now? Or at least close by so the Princesses can help?” There was a momentary pause. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Big Mac folded his arms in a slight pout. It sounded like he might be waiting a while. HeroPart 4: Hero Later- “And this entity you encountered said nothing of her name?” Celestia asked. “Or why this Yigrox creature had awakened?” Big Mac, once more his normal size (thanks to some assistance from the Princesses) and just having finished recounting what happened, shook his head. “Eenope. She was reluctant enough to tell me what she did. Seemed real sorry about it all, though.” They were currently in the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle, where a flurry of doctors and mages kept coming and going to look over Big Mac. Apparently Discord had saw fit to broadcast the fight all across the sky, and just about every pony in Equestria had seen it. The princesses had had to bring Big Mac to the palace just so he wouldn’t be mobbed by journalists, and he was now in a private hospital room filling them in on what’d happened. “An eight-pointed star with elongated north and south arrows...” Celestia scratched her chin. “I’m not familiar with that symbol. What about you, Lulu?” Luna, who had been fussing over Big Mac since his return and was now sitting next to him with her hoof on his arm, shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing comes to mind. T’was likely associated with this now-destroyed planet.” Big Mac put a hoof behind his head. “Ah… yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. I kinda got carried away.” “No, I don’t think you did,” Celestia said gravely. “You were barely able to defeat it with the considerable force you used. Perhaps there might’ve been another way that didn’t involve the planet’s destruction, but all things considered, I think you did pretty well.” “Indeed.” Luna leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Better you let a dead world be destroyed than a living one.”’ Big Mac nuzzled her. He couldn’t argue with that logic, although part of him wanted to for some reason. Celestia turned to Twilight, who was on the other side of the bed and had been running a scan on Big Mac. “Have you found anything, Twilight?” Twilight ceased her scanning and turned to Celestia with a scrunched-up frown. “There’s a spell matrix at work here unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s completely different from the magic of ponies or anything else that’s been documented.” “Really?” Big Mac asked. “How’d the three o’ya figure out to reverse it, then?” Twilight shifted on her hooves. “We’re not exactly strangers to power suppression. It’s a pretty universal concept across the board, to be honest, but ahat doesn’t mean we understand whatever’s going on with you. Assuming it’s not inimitable, I’m going to need some time to reverse-engineer it to make sure that you’re not any danger.” Big Mac shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it was hurtin’ me none, and I feel fine right now. Why would ya think I would be?” “Big Mac, your soul has been transmuted into some kind of magic generator, and your body’s been altered to be able to adapt to as much as it can put out,” Twilight said flatly. “I’m not sure if either one has a limit or not, but considering that you grew to almost twenty million times your original size, I’d consider it a non-issue. What’s more pressing is the question whether you even qualify as an earth pony or not anymore, as while you’re still a living, thinking being, your internal makeup is immensely changed. You swam in lava, shrugged off necrotic energy, endured enough kinetic force to destroy a planet, and survived out in the vacuum of space. Who knows what else you can do?” Big Mac felt a chill. He hadn’t really thought about all of it like that. But when it all got laid out for him in such a manner, he suddenly wondered just what on earth he’d agreed to. He cleared his throat with a cough. “Uh, well… i-ff you’re lookin’ for a place to start, ya’ll might wanna have a word with Discord. He sounded like he knew a thing or two about the planet, as well as the Yigrox. He might be able to tell ya a bit on how this magic works, too.” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear... All the ponies looked. A tear ripped open in one of the walls to reveal a polka-dotted void beyond, and through it stepped a brown unicorn stallion with red-on-yellow eyes. His mane was black and gray with a neatly-trimmed beard of the same coloration, and his cutie mark was an eight-pointed star. He smirked slyly at them all as he polished a pair of spectacles and closed the rift behind him with a flash of yellow magic. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about little old me,” Discord said, waggling his eyebrows at the group. “And here I thought that we were friends!” There was a brief stunned silence at his appearance, but Twilight was the one to recover first. “We didn’t want to bother you, as we figured you’d be too busy selling limited edition collector’s plates of the fight.” Discord’s eyes lit up. “Oho! There may be hope for you yet, Sparkle. By the way, like my new look? Fluttershy suggested I dress down a bit, so I’m giving this a try. I call it, ‘Incognito Mode’.” “Discord,” Celestia said in an even tone. “What do you know of all this?” “Hmm, a little of this, a little of that,” he said, winking at her. “I might be inclined to even tell you, if I could get a little bit gratitude for my unsolicited assistance.” Celestia lowered her chin. “I’m not in the mood for your--” “Thank you, Discord.” Everyone looked at Luna in surprise, who continued without pause. “It’s because of you that we were able to quickly locate Mac and were not left wondering about his fate. You also brought him back without any fuss, and I don’t know how we would have gotten him back otherwise. You did us all a service today, so for that, you have my thanks.” “Yeah. I owe ya one,” Big Mac chimed in. “You told me what I needed to know to win, and ya even got me back here in one piece. Prolly would still be floatin’ out there if it weren’t for you. Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought you were.” There was another silence. Discord seemed just as thrown-off as the rest of them, and didn’t have a witty remark for once. Celestia and Twilight exchanged a shared look of reluctance, but finally with pursed lips, they relented and muttered their thanks, as well. Discord coughed and looked away, his cheeks tinged a slight pink. “Well… t-that’s, um… well. I-It’s about time, is all I have to say! Yeah! Here I’ve been on my best behavior these past few years, and it’s only now you begin to appreciate me! Yeesh, better late than never, I suppose, but really now.” Luna chuckled. She rested a hoof on her enormously-swollen stomach and gestured for him to go on. “You said you knew something about this incident. Mayhap could you tell us?” “As you wish, oh gravid one.” Discord horn glowed again, and the wall he’d come through vanished to portray an image of the monument that Big Mac had seen and spoken to in his dream, sans the spectral chains. “I’m assuming this is what you saw?” Discord asked him. Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.” Discord sat on his haunches. “I’d guess then that you met Araus, former Goddess of Destiny and Queen of the Arachni. She went mad with power awhile back and created the Yigrox to try and conquer other worlds. Not a bad plan, truth be told, but she couldn’t control it and it killed her along with the entire planet. I’d heard that her trial was coming up, but it must’ve been moved up if she met with you.” Big Mac was quiet. He was recalling the dream more vividly now, and there had been a mentioning of a punishment being decided. He wasn’t sure exactly what that punishment was, mind you, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “Why meet with Big Mac, though?” Twilight asked. “Why not meet with one of the Prin--er, one of us?” Discord examined his hoof. “You wanna answer that one, Red?” Big Mac leaned back in his bed. “Said it was gonna happen too fast to get out a proper warnin’. Also said she thought I had potential, and that I reminded her of how she used to be.” Luna wore a smug grin. “A mare’s intuition is never wrong.” He smiled despite himself. “Never said that it was.” Why would the Yigox come here, though?” Twilight cut in. “What do we have in Equestria that would attract a monster like that?” “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight,” Discord said, clucking his tongue. “And here I thought you’d been to an alternate reality before! Don’t you know anything about how the multiverse works?” Twilight gave him a deadpan stare. ”Why don’t you enlighten us, Professor Chaos?” “Gladly!” Discord waved his hoof, and instant later he was wearing a tweed jacket and bowtie. His horn flared to life, and a grilled cheese sandwich appeared in front of all of them in his yellow magic. “Consider this information for you as well, Red,” Discord said. “Imagine that the top slice of bread is our reality, and the bottom one is a different one. We coexist side by side separately, but we’re also stuck together by an adhesive of sorts. In essence, our planet and the now-destroyed Arachni homeworld exist in the same space, along with countless other alien worlds. The only thing that separates is us all is dimension gunk, and if you have a device, spell, ability, or whatever that can make a hole in it somehow, it’s a simple matter of simply stepping through.” “And I’m guessing that the Arachni dimension is located close to ours,” Twilight said. “Right?” “That it is,” Discord said. “What more than likely happened was that the Yigrox was merely following its programming, whatever that was, and went for what it perceived to be the next-closest target. In other words, us.” Celestia exhaled out her nose. “The ruins suggested that their initial calamity happened quite a long time ago. Why would the Yigrox come here now?” “See, that’s what I can’t figure out,” Discord said. He took a bite of the sandwich and continued. “I don’t think that even Arachni even had interdimensional travelling capabilities, because if they did, the Yigrox would’ve come here centuries ago when they all kicked the bucket. Something must’ve woke it up, but as to what, I couldn’t say. Quite the head scratcher, wouldn’t you say?” “A worrisome head scratcher,” Luna said darkly. There was a murmur of approval at that. “I’ll admit it’s not my first choice for a brain teaser,” Discord admitted. “Wouldn’t have wanted to move to another reality, either. I just picked out the curtains for my living room.” D’ya think it had anything to do with Araus gettin’ sent to jail or whatever?” Big Mac asked. “Maybe she knew somethin’ was gonna happen the moment they put her in, and so this was her way of tryin’ to fix things.” Discord tilted his head from side to side. “It wouldn’t surprise me; Araus always was the paranoid type. She might’ve had failsafes built into the Yigrox to protect her somehow. Maybe it was trying to cross dimensions in an effort to get to her.” Twilight shuddered. “If that’s true, then that means that it might’ve done damage to multiple dimensions, not just ours.” She turned to Mac. “Your efforts might have just saved multiple realities.” Big Mac blinked several times. “Ya really think so?” Twilight smiled. “You’re definitely a hero, Big Mac. You deserve a medal and a ceremony for all this, at the very least.” He looked over at Luna, who was also beaming at him. “A medal sounds nice. I don’t gotta dress up or nothin’, do I?” Luna snickered. “I think you’re entitled to wear whatever you like.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. I hate tryin’ to find suits that fit, and that Rarity gal always fusses on how I should do somethin’ with my mane.” Discord burst out laughing. “Red, do all of existence a favor and go into deadpan comedy. You’ll make a killing at it.” Celestia stepped forward. “I recommend we hold the ceremony here at the castle so that your farm doesn’t get further disturbed by any commotion. Oh, and speaking of which, I can put in a few words with the Canterlot Arboretum to repair the damages to your crops.” “Big Mac bowed his head. “Thank ya kindly, Princess.” “I do need to ask one thing, though,” Celestia said, her tone turning serious. “What do you want to do with this power? The whole country saw what you can do, and I fear that you’ll find it difficult returning to your old life right now. We can help maintain your privacy here in the castle, and Ponyville won’t be disturbed by as many nosy journalists poking around for a story.” “Not to contradict you, dear sister, but there were already plenty of those thanks to me visiting regularly these past few months.” Luna idly traced her hoof up and down Big Mac’s leg, noting the size difference between them. The Mages Guild had cast their growth spell on her to keep her from becoming immobile, and now she was bigger than even Celestia. “I tend to stand out these days.” “You’d stand out regardless,” Big Mac said, putting a hoof on her giant womb and rubbing it gently. “That’s what happens when you’re gorgeous.” Luna tittered and put a wing around him. “On second thought, maybe you should stay here after all. We can hire some ponies to watch over the farm, and I can help you learn how to use that power of yours.” She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “And once that’s all sorted, maybe I won’t have to be the big spoon.” Big Mac’s eyes widened. “You know what? Stayin’ here sounds like a good idea! I’m prolly gonna need help me out with all this, and ya’ll can figure out how best I can help in the future. Sounds good to me.” Celestia looked between the two of them with an unreadable expression. After a long pause, she finally spoke in a cautious tone. “Yes… that does sound… logical. I’m sure that that would be best. Are you certain you wish to volunteer your services so quickly, though? You’re not under any obligation to.” “And it’s not exactly easy,” Twilight added. “Take it from somepony who’s got experience.” “I wanna help protect my home,” Big Mac said simply. “That’s what I’ve wanted to do for years, and now that I can, I’m gonna take full advantage of it. Just tell me what to do, Princess, and I’ll do it.” Celestia considered that for a moment. She looked to Luna and Twilight for their opinions, but neither of them offered any protest. Luna was, however, giving her a look that spoke volumes, and it was this more than anything else that ultimately made up her mind. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mac.” She smiled warmly at him, happy that her sister had managed to find such a good partner. “There aren’t any issues right now that I’m aware of, but if anything comes up, I’ll certainly let you know.” Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup. I’ll be here.” End
BystanderBigger Macintosh Part 1: Bystander Big Mac had always been one of the largest ponies around. He didn’t know why, mind you, it was just one of those facts of life. It could’ve been his earth pony heritage, good luck with genes, or maybe he’d just eaten right as a colt. All he did know was that ever since he could remember, he’d been a good head or two taller than all of his peers, and it wasn’t long before he was eye level with all the adults. Then he'd shot up past them as well, and pretty soon he realized he’d have to be shopping at the Big and Tall store from now on. He’d always been strong, too. Although that was to be expected, considering his line of work. Apple farming wasn’t exactly a desk job, and the amount of lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying, and bucking he did every day was evident in his figure. It’d just made him look buff as a colt, but when puberty hit, well, things shot up a whole new level. He became a walking wall of muscle, his massively broad chest filling out and drawing the envy of all his peers. His legs became like tree trunks, the rippling muscles bulging and bristling with unspent strength. His thick, beefy neck and shoulders flexed with every step, and his shapely rump looked like it’d been chiseled out of granite. That last part was a description his new marefriend, Princess Luna, seemed to favor. Yes, there was no mistaking it; Big Mac was a big pony. He didn’t mind his size, though, and neither did Luna. Rather enjoyed it, as a matter of fact. He liked that it made the farming easy, and that it allowed him to protect his home from the dangers of the Everfree Forest. He was a workhorse through and through, and as long as he could do what he liked, he didn’t have a problem with it. He and Luna traded visits in either Canterlot or Ponyville on the weekends, and aside from the occasional double-take at the unlikely couple, things hadn’t changed all that much. Of course, that’s when the changes started. He was in his room getting ready for the day one sunny Tuesday morning. His harness was in his hooves, and a twinge of annoyance was building in his chest. He’d noticed it been feeling a little snug lately, yesterday particularly so, but now he couldn’t even get the dang thing around his neck. It’s not like it’d shrunk or anything, either. It was made of wood! “Consarn it.” Big Mac walked over to the full-length mirror on the wall. He examined both himself and the harness with a critical eye, but the more he looked the more it was evident that he was the one who’d changed. His neck was thicker, his shoulders were broader, and even his chest looked deeper. He’d always been able to see all of himself in this mirror, but now, he noticed that the top of his head was out of the frame. Curious, Big Mac went over to the wall where he’d marked his height since he was a colt. It was covered with small pencil marks, and for some reason he’d never wanted to erase them. He’d been the same height for years, and he was pretty sure that his body was quite through with the growing thing, but it couldn’t hurt to be sure. He stood up straight, marked his height with a pencil, then went into his closet and got a tape measure. The new mark was a good three inches higher. Big Mac frowned. “Well, that ain’t right.” He leaned back on his haunches and pondered the situation. He hadn’t been doing anything different in his routine. He hadn’t stumbled into a patch of poison joke. He hadn’t been around any unicorns casting strange spells, He and Luna hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary, he’d steered far clear of that Discord fella. His diet had been the same, and there hadn’t been any world-ending apocalypse scenarios that threw all of Equestria’s magic into flux. At least, not since last year. Big Mac scratched his head. He didn’t think he was doing anything different. So why was he growing again? Maybe it was just a late growth spurt? That could happen sometimes, right? Ehh… maybe he shouldn’t put too much thought into it. It was only three inches, after all. Luna might notice, but other ponies probably wouldn’t. Hopefully. The lingering worries stayed with Big Mac as he left his room and went through the motions of his day. He ate breakfast, got ready for chores, then made up an excuse why he couldn’t use his harness. He’d get it refitted tomorrow. Work was nothing but normal routine, although he couldn’t but notice that everything seemed… easier. He could buck trees with but barely a swat of his hooves, he could push the plow without breaking a sweat, and he could carry more barrels of apples than he usually could. His large muscles flexed and moved with his fluid motions, making the normally grueling work look like foal’s play. Big Mac chuckled as he finished up for the day, two hours early. “I could get used to this.” He put the farm tools away and headed into the house to clean up. He then helped Granny Smith fix dinner (much to her surprise) making a good load extra for himself. He always had a good appetite, but tonight he felt especially hungry. He ate it all without a problem, too, which drew more than a few curious glances from his family members. “Geez, Mac,” Applejack said. She looked down at the six plates of food that her brother had polished off. “You sure were hungry.” Big Mac picked at his teeth with a toothpick and leaned back with a contented sigh. “Eeyup.” “Ya do some hard work today or something?” Big Mac shrugged. “Just one of those days, ya know?” Applejack eyed her big brother, searching for any sign of falsehood. She found none, but some part of her noted that something seemed different about him. She couldn’t but her hoof on it, but it was enough to be curious. Applejack nodded. “Yeah, I do know. Some days ya wanna suck up all the food around ya like a vacuum. I hear ya.” Big Mac smiled his slow smile. “Eeyup.” “Ya ate almost as much as much as that fillyfriend o’yours,” Granny Smith said, smirking. “Between the two o’ya, we’re gonna need a bigger fridge.” Mac rolled his eyes. “She’s pregnant, Granny.” Granny put on a look of mock shock. “Ya don’t say?! Well, I plum hadn’t noticed! I thought that she had just put on a bit o’water weight!” Apple Bloom snickered. “A lot of water weight.” The three mares broke into laughter, and Big Mac couldn’t help but join in. They loved to rib him about his relationship with Luna, but he knew they meant well. They’d actually been very kind to her, especially Apple Bloom for some reason. “Think i’m gonna be goin’ up this weekend to visit her,” Mac said. “Ya’ll don’t mind, do ya?” Applejack shook her head. “Naw. You know there ain’t much to do this time of year. All I was gonna do is teach Apple Bloom how to watch for tree fungi.” “I’m sooooooo excited,” Apple Bloom said dryly. Big Mac smiled. “It ain’t that hard, Bloom. You’ll get the hang of it.” That night was a simple affair. The four Apples wound down in their usual ways, and Big Mac eventually said his goodnights and retired to his room to sleep. He dawdled around a bit before crawling into his soft-plush bed, noting that it did seem a little smaller than he remembered. He still fit, of course, but if he stretched out his hooves all the way, they spilled out over the edge. Big Mac couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of excitement. He wasn’t sure why, but something about that implication made him feel giddy. Sure, he wasn’t a big hero like Applejack, but if he could take care of this farm by himself without any problems, then maybe that was enough. “I just wish I could do more,” he muttered to the dark ceiling. “I’ve found that greatness tends to be a family trait, young Macintosh,” Luna had said to him when they’d first met.“Just because you haven’t had a chance to prove yourself doesn’t mean you never will.” Mac sighed. Luna seemed to think he had potential, but in what way, exactly, he didn’t know. He didn’t see anything on the horizon, and unless something drastic changed somehow, he might live his whole life on the sidelines. The eldest child of the Apple family would sit useless while his sisters went off to do great things, and he’d be no more than a figurehead of the clan with no real clout or respect. Sighing, Big Mac crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
PotentialPart 2: Potential Big Mac found himself on a barren plain that stretched out as far as he could see. The sky above was a mix of swirling colors like the northern lights, and the air was absolutely saturated with magic. There was a soft wind blowing, and he felt a dull malaise creeping over his senses. He looked around to see if there was anypony else, but he was completely and utterly alone. That is, save for one other thing. An enormous piece of metal in the shape of an eight-pointed star was sticking out of the ground like some sort of alien monument. The north and south points of the symbol were much longer than the others, and in its center was a bright, pulsing diamond. The metal was blue and crystalline, and glowing bits of plant matter hung from its edges that were reminiscent of ivy. The entire thing was covered in cruel, spiked chains with links bigger than his entire body, and they were so long that they stretched off far into the horizon and out of sight. Big Mac took a step back, shivering at the amount of magic in the air. “What the…” Do you wish to be a hero? a bodiless voice asked. Big Mac jumped. He looked around to try to find the speaker, but no such luck. All that was around was him and the strange monument. “Who’s there?!” Big Mac said. I sense the desire in your heart, Macintosh Apple. The voice was female, and it echoed all around him, ringing in his ears and touching his very soul. I have sensed it for some time, truth be told. You wish to be more than what you are, to be like your sibling and aid in protecting your world. You yearn for the chance to prove yourself and make your ancestors proud. Am I wrong? Big Mac was frozen in place. The words were jarring and blunt, but they couldn’t be more true. He realized that the voice was coming from the monument, and he didn’t like any of this one bit. His heart was now hammering in his chest, but the words resonated with him so much that he couldn’t help but reply. “E-Ee-n…” he gulped and wet his lips. “Erm… well, I’ll admit ya hit the nail on the head, but who are you, exactly? What do ya want?” The diamond’s light flickered softly. I was once many things. In life, I was the beloved ruler of my people; a lover of trade and a seer that could see glimpses of the threads of destiny. But I grew selfish and arrogant, and the seeds of cruelty were planted in my mind. I became a wicked soul consumed in a quest for total domination, and my greed and lust for power ultimately brought about my end, as well as the end of my people. My punishment has already been decided by the gods, but I have been offered a small chance to redeem myself and reduce my sentence. To that end, you have been brought before me to be given a choice. Big Mac could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. This was all utterly crazy, but despite that, he couldn’t help but ask the alluded question. “An’ what choice is that?” The voice spoke clearly without any stutter. There is potential within you, young Macintosh, potential that one of your gods has already seen and become drawn to. I would like to utilize that potential as well, but only if you are willing. There is a great threat is on the horizon that threatens your world, and only the power I can provide will be able to stop it. I’ve brought you here to ask you a simple question: If you were given a chance to be all that your heart desires—to be a hero, a protector, a pure and righteous force for good—would you take it? Would you take of the mantle of responsibility and defend your home? Big Mac couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was this all real? Was this all a joke? He had dreams of being a white knight all the time but this… this was different. This was practically surreal, and every one of his senses was tingling. It felt like he was really there in that moment in time, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. “Ya’ll can’t be serious.” Ah, but I am quite serious. The chains constricting the monument rattled in the wind. You wish to do more than chores on your little farm? To be like your sister? To feel like someone special, maybe even someone’s hero? This is your chance. I’m offering you what you’ve always wanted; the only catch is that you have to actually defend your home against a cataclysmic threat, and if you fail, everything you know and love will be destroyed. Big Mac chewed on his lip. “I… I don’t really understand.” The voice let out a long, windy sigh. The strong, silent types never are known for their analytical skills. All will become clear to you shortly, Macintosh. All that’s required of you now is a simple yes or no. What will it be? Big Mac sucked on his teeth. He still wasn’t entirely sure whether this was real or not, but if it was, it wouldn’t do very well to go and pass up such a golden opportunity. He wasn’t too keen on his home being threatened, and it didn’t sound like this voice had been very nice when she’d been alive. But she did sound sincere, and if the magic in those chains was as strong as it felt, then he doubted she’d be in a position to lie. He decided to roll with it. “Eeyup.” The monolith glowed with otherworldly power. Then let it be done. There was a crack like thunder. The magic in the air seemed to thicken, and then all at once, bolts of multicolored lightning began striking Big Mac from all directions. “GAH!” Big Mac fell to his knees, but almost immediately, his cries turned into groans of pleasure. The magic felt good… really good! It was hot and pulsing, flowing into him with the rhythm of his heartbeat. He felt himself rising up into the air, and before long he was lost in the sensation of pure, delicious power. More and more magic surged into him, dancing through his skin, muscles and veins, and he could feel the raw power building within him, more and more and more! The threat is nigh, the voice warned through the euphoria. You must act quickly and without hesitation, for this evil is not something that your Chosen Six will be able to defend against. Not even your gods will be able to help, although the Trickster might be able to provide some aid. In the end, though, you will need to act alone, for your strength will be the determining factor. Big Mac could feel the magic changing him. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, other than something fundamental about his very being was being... altered. He cried out again in ecstasy, his yells echoing long and loud across the ethereal plain. You have the soul of a protector, Macintosh, the voice said. The symbol was now fading in and out, its features becoming blurred and indistinct. You cherish your family and value the preservation of life. You love those close to you with all your soul, and the friends you make, while few, are loyal and lifelong. You remind me of myself before I gave into corruption and strayed down the path of evil. Perhaps that is why I have faith that you will succeed in this. Trust in your heart, young one, and all will be well... The power continued to flow into Big Mac, seemingly without end. His eyes shining like beacons in a starless night. His whole body felt tight, coiled up, like a spring held just waiting to be released. He felt like he was going to explode, but nevertheless he continued to absorb all the magic given to him, determined to receive it all without complaint. Finally, it was done. The magic was fully transferred to Big Mac, and his whole body glowed with harmonious might. He touched down on the plain, and when he opened his eyes, a prismatic glint could be seen shining within them. “Whoa,” Big Mac gasped. It is done, the voice said in a faint whisper. Go forth, Macintosh Apple. Wield my power for good, and show your world what kind of hero you can be... Big Mac blinked several times, still regaining his senses. “W-wait! I still— *+*+* Big Mac jolted awake. He sat upright and looked all around, his eyes wild and confused. He was in his room, it was just before dawn, and nothing seemed out of place. He sat there for a while, gasping for breath and rubbing his temples, the fog of sleep slowly clearing from his mind. After a moment or two he regained his senses… ...and that’s when he noticed the first change. His rump was scrunched up against the hoofboard, and his legs hanging far, far out over the bed. Big Mac did a double-take. “What in tarnation…” Unless the rest of the world had shrunk, it looked like he’d grown several feet in his sleep. His extra-large bed couldn’t quite contain his extra-extra large frame anymore, the springs creaked loudly with every shift of his weight. His favorite blanket now didn’t even come down to his thighs. His whole body was spilling over the bed in every direction, and it felt like he was in a foal’s bed. Thump-thump! Big Mac gasped. The power from the dream was within him, pulsing mightily in his chest like a second heartbeat. It was now flowing out to fill the rest of his body, filling him with a hot, amazing sensation that made him shiver with excitement. Big Mac stared at his own hooves in awe, watching the fetlocks become thicker, longer, and wider with each passing second. The rest of his body followed suit, gaining more and more bulk, the rippling, chiseled muscles swelling with his every breath. It was an adrenaline rush like Big Mac never experienced, and he felt like he could rip a full-grown apple tree out of the ground without any trouble. And the sensation was only getting stronger. In that moment Big Mac guessed that he’d doubled in size, but by the looks of things, he wasn’t going to stay that way for long. “Ah, shit...” He tore off his blanket and got to his hooves… ...only to smash his head through the ceiling. CRUNCH! Big Mac staggered. The force of his motion inadvertently punched a hole in the roof, the sturdy timbers falling away as if they were toothpicks. The floorboards now began to groan under his still-increasing weight, bending and creaking as they threatened to fall away. “Double shit!” He did the only sensible thing he could think of. Turning around and ducking down low, he aimed for the window and dove out into the night. CRASH! It wasn’t as bad of a fall as he’d expected. Sure, he’d been up on the second floor, but it didn’t seem to matter much. He barely even stumbled as he came down with a heavy thud and jumped away from the falling glass, cringing as he turned around and saw the giant hole that was now in the side of the house. Damn it. That was gonna take weeks to fix. Thump-thump! The power inside Mac flared again, and the light in his eyes shone brighter. “Ergh!” He felt another great burst of burning energy, the ground cracking beneath him as he inched upward. The stretching of his limbs and barrel was almost audible as he was forced to widen his stance more and more, and he had to bite his lip to prevent himself from voicing his pleasure. He grew until he found himself being eye-level with the hole in his room, and then kept going until he was looking down at it. “BIG BROTHER?!” BIg Mac looked down. Standing at the front door were Apple Bloom, Applejack and Granny Smith in their pajamas, staring at his giant form with incredulous eyes. They didn’t even come up to his ankles. Big Mac winced. “Uh…” And then all hell broke loose. SHWUMMM! A titanic tear in space ripped open over the western orchards. The night sky was lit up by violet, crackling light sparked out of the hole like lightning, and a deafening, screeching sound like the scraping metal filled the air. The Apple mares yelped and covered their ears. Big Mac merely pinned his back and narrowed his eyes. “Fast...” The tear lengthened and widened. The air became filled with the sharp smell of ozone, and the light became so bright that only Mac could look directly at it. There was an incredible CRACK, and then slowly, surely, something began to step out of the rift... ...something big, foul, and made of stone. “EENOPE!” Big Mac sprinted for the rift. The farmyard shook and rumbled with his mighty steps, and he got to the edge of the orchard in seconds. The trees were still bigger than him, though, and while he knew he was strong enough to push his way through the twenty-foot tall specimens, they would definitely slow him down. He didn’t have time for that. Thump-thump! The power within him pulsed mightily, his whole body shimmering in reply. He began to grow again, his whole perspective shifting as the ground fell farther and farther away. His body bulged and quickly became the height of the trees… ...then a head taller than them... ...then two heads... then four. Before long even the tallest of the apple trees only came up to Big Mac’s barrel. At sixty feet tall he crashed through the field and ran headlong for the rift, the trees crunching and toppling around him like dominoes. The sweet smell of pulped apples filled his nose as he carved a path through the orchard, his heart and soul screaming mournful wails at the destruction. The thing kept coming through the rift. It seemed to be a colossal pillar made of black rock, but pillars didn’t usually move on their own. Big Mac could tell it was alive from the way it moved, and it that was enough, there was also an aura of malevolence about it that almost made him feel ill. It had three short, powerful legs that supported it like a tripod, and its angular body was covered with spikes, sharp ridges, and hooks. It also had three long arms that it wave about like whips, each one ending in a long, vicious point like a scythe. The thing had no eyes or face to speak of, but just from one glance, Big Mac knew damn well that it could see. And he most certainly had its attention. Big Mac cursed. He couldn’t let this thing get through, but even at new-and-improved size, the thing had to be at least three times larger than him. “Not enough,” he growled. Thump-thump! The magic answered his call. With a blinding flash, Big Mac’s body exploded outward, doubling, tripling, than quadrupling in height! His shoulders widened with new muscle, his legs bristling with newfound power. His chest broadened even more, gaining hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of sheer bulk. He could now see well out into the valley and beyond, his eyes and other senses sharpening to superpony levels. He felt massive. He felt STRONG. But against whatever this thing was, he could only pray that was strong enough. Now within striking distance, Big Mac made his move. With wind-whipping force, he spun around, reared, and bucked the monster with all his earth-shattering might. KA-WHAM! It was like a bomb went off. The trees in the area were uprooted and sent flying, and every one of the farmhouse windows shattered. Big Mac felt the tremendous kick vibrate throughout his very being, and it was like he’d just struck a brick wall. Fortunately, though, his strength won through. The thing was sent sailing back into the portal from whence it came, and the feeling of evil and foulness disappeared along with it. But that wasn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. Big Mac could sense that he’d just knocked the thing back. It was still in there, and somehow he knew it was gonna try again. He’d be damned if he was gonna let this play out on the farm, but that essentially meant he was gonna have to come to it. It wasn’t his first choice to go charging through an unknown portal, but he knew he had to press his advantage. So without hesitating, he whirled back around, grit his teeth, and charged into the crackling portal into the unknown.
GreatnessPart 3: Greatness Big Mac found himself standing in an utterly alien wasteland. The air was thick and dry, and the blue, ravaged soil felt dead beneath his hooves. The cloudy sky was green with forks of lightning lancing off into the horizon. A large, red sun hung fat and low in the sky, and there were sickly lakes of yellow far off in the distance. Big Mac felt a chill. “Whoa, nelly…” He was standing amidst the ruins of a destroyed city. The buildings looked to have once been bulbous, pod-like structures, but they’d all either been ripped open, collapsed, or were laying on the ground in pieces. Some of them might have once even been taller than him, although at two hundred and forty feet tall, it was hard to get a scale of things. He was able to see the skeletons, though. And were there ever a lot of them. Most had rotted away or had been ravaged by time, but from what he could tell, they seemed to have been some kind of spider race. Skulls with far too many eye sockets stared off into eternity, with dual-segmented torsos and multi-jointed limbs broken and strewn everywhere across the streets. Everywhere the ground was cracked and fissured, with dark, yawning pits that ended only in blackness. The cruel, howling wind was the only sound in his ears, and there was a sense of wrongness that pervaded his entire being. Big Mac shifted his enormous hooves. He could still feel a connection to the land, but it wasn’t giving him any feedback. It was silent. And with the air, his surroundings, and everything about the place, he could immediately discern one thing. “This world’s dead,” he muttered. And standing on its uneven feet only a scant few hundred feet away, was what Big Mac suspected had killed it. The stone creature beat its scythe-like arms together with a click-click-click! It took a few steps forward towards Big Mac, sizing up its new foe. Big Mac gave a perfunctory glance back at the glowing portal, then spat on the ground and glowered at the abomination. “Definitely nope.” There was a brief standstill. The two of them stared each other down, neither willing to make the first move. Big Mac tensed his body in waiting. He was a little bit bigger than the thing, and with the odds like this he was confident he could take it. But it seemed fate had it out for him, for in the exact instant he thought that, the creature’s body glowed with violet light and grew, rumbling and drawing more energy into itself. Big Mac’s jaw fell. “Aw, hell.” The thing had to be over seven hundred feet tall now, and it resembled a foul walking mountain with clawed whips. It now menacingly loomed over him, its arms poised and ready to strike. Big Mac glared at the monster. “Gonna play that way, huh? Well, fine! I can—AHHHHHH!” The monster straight up punted him like a hoofball. He was sent flying through the debris of the city, his giant red body smashing through building after building with an earsplitting din. He sailed for over a thousand yards before tumbling into the dirt, the cracking and crunching of the ruined structures the only sounds he could hear. Big Mac let out an annoyed snort. With a set of tremendous THUDS, he clambered back to his hooves and stomped on the ground, his blows leaving behind craters over thirty feet deep. He hadn’t been hurt by the strike, but he’d sure as hell felt it. The wellspring of energy within him was giving him all the protection and power he needed, but he wasn’t sure how long it would last. “AS I WAS SAYIN’,” Big Mac spat in a vicious snarl, his body flashing like an iridescent prism. “Gonna play that way, huh sugarcube? Well, guess what? I CAN DO THAT, TOO!” Thump-thump! With a mighty flare of power, Big Mac’s body shot upward, growing larger, and larger by the second. A river of electricity was flowing through his veins, suffusing him with more strength, more energy, and more fury. The ground seemed to fall away from him, his stance widening as his body thickened and broadened. He broke five hundred feet and kept right on going than reached seven hundred and met the monster’s eyes with a sneer. Then he tapped deep into the power, and his tremendous form SURGED upward, shattering one thousand feet and climbing to fourteen hundred feet tall! Big Mac was left with the mother of all adrenaline rushes. The ruined city seemed like a foal’s playset now, and the low-hanging clouds seemed no farther away than the rafters of his barn. The obsidian golem didn’t seem deterred, however, and was approaching him with surprising speed. It’s scythe-like arms were waving menacingly, and the clicking noise it kept making so loud he could hear it over everything else. Big Mac lowered his head and scraped at the ground. The action demolished an entire city block, but he didn’t care. He could revel in the power trip later. Right now, he had asses to whoop. Click-click-click! The creature closed the remaining gap and swung at Big Mac, its scythe like arm whipping up and aiming for his neck. Big Mac ducked and responded with a wicked right hook. BAM! The sound was like a thunderclap magnified a hundredfold. The city ruins around them crumbled to rubble and dust, and the creature was sent reeling by the blow, completely knocked off its charge and sent rolling into the dirt. Big Mac judged the distance it’d fallen, then took a few running steps forward and got a little payback, straight up punting the thing like a hoofball far into the distance. KA-RUNCH! The creature was literally sent flying. It broke the sound barrier on its ascent and sailed up and away several thousand feet. Big Mac watched the thing land roughly and tumble ass-over-teakettle with an incredible CRASH, devastating the landscape and kicking up the mother of all dust clouds. He leaned on his haunches and folded his arms with ahmph. “Get up from that, ya dragon’s ass.” Suddenly, as if in response to that comment, a smooth, teasing male voice filled his mind. I’d keep up the pressure, if I were you. Big Mac jumped. He looked all around, but he couldn’t see anypony else around but him. Not even his heightened earth pony senses detected any life, but he knew he hadn’t imagined it, as the voice was still ringing in his mind. “Who’s there?” Big Mac demanded. What, you don’t remember me? the voice said with mock affront. Why, I never. And after all those times that we never saw or interacted with each other, you’d think you’d know my voice by heart at this point! Such a forgetful little pony you are... er, well I suppose you’re not exactly littleanymore, so I suppose you’re just forgetful. Big Mac felt his stomach drop. The longer he listened to the voice, the more familiar it became. He now had a pretty good guess he had as to who it belonged, and he didn’t like it one bit. “Discord...” A ringing bell sounded off in his mind. Well done, Red! Perhaps you’re not as dull-witted as I thought. By the by, I can’t really blame you for wanting to take a small interdimensional vacation, but if you’d bothered to consult me beforeclaw, I could’ve recommended some more hospitable locales. There was abruptly a sound of grinding, cracking, and crunching. The dust cloud rippled, and then from out of its depths, the stone golem exploded out of it, swelling rapidly larger and larger. Its waving limbs grew longer, sharper, and more wicked. Its legs became taller and stronger, to the point that each one rivalled the size of a skyscraper. Its aura grew thicker and fouler, and even from this far away Big Mac nearly retched. The creature matched his size of fourteen hundred feet, but the violet magic around it only became stronger, and it rocketed past him to fifteen hundred... then seventeen hundred... then two thousand... Big Mac squared his jaw and cracked his neck with a loud pop. “I’m kinda busy right now, Discord.” He set off at a full-blown gallop, intent on engaging the creature before it grew any bigger. His hoofsteps set off an earthquake, due to each one weighing thousands of tons and smashing the earth with unbelievable force. The monster noticed his advance and turned to meet him head-on. Hmm, yes. You do seem to have your hooves full, don’t you? Though I have to admit you’re not doing half bad, collateral damage notwithstanding. Big Mac slammed the monster with a heavy shoulder ram. It took a step back from the blow, but then re-steadied itself and sliced with its arms. White-hot pain erupted in Big Mac’s shoulders and barrel as the blows raked cruelly at his flesh. The cuts were only skin-deep thanks to earth pony fortitude, but it was enough to make him cry out in pain. Big Mac retaliated by delivering a flurry of blows on the golem, yelling at Discord as he did. “Just tell me what ya want!” Oh, nothing really, Discord drawled. Just spectating this little slobberknocker. Your sister summoned the cavalry when the rift showed up, and even Sunbutt and Moonbutt came to see what the fuss was about! Naturally, something important enough to grab theirattention is of interest to yours truly, so I couldn’t help but take a look-see of my own. Big Mac felt himself being pushed back by the monster. His hooves dug over a hundred feet into the earth as he tried to stand his ground, but even still, he felt himself being overpowered. “I could... use some help... ya know!” BIg Mac grunted. Sorry, no can do. That thing negates the abilities of any divine creature or spirit that comes near it. The necrotic energy flat-out kills mortals, too, so your sister and friends can’t help either. All we can do is try to close the rift while I keep an eye on you. Big Mac felt his frustration build. He pushed with all his might, but it was a futile effort. “Fine, so I’m on my own! Do ya at least know what this thing is?!” Pfft. Who do you take me for, an amateur? One can’t very well appreciate a truly appreciate a fight like this without knowing about both of the contenders. That “thing,” as you so eloquently put, is called the Yigrox. It’s known by a few other names—Eater of Worlds, Consumer of Souls, Crusher of Gods, yadda, yadda, yadda. It’s a nasty leftover creation of the gal who used to rule this place. Didn’t think you could make an undead construct, but somehow she managed. Ironically, the Yigrox was what wound up killing her along with everyone else! Funny how life works sometimes, isn’t it? Big Mac was rapidly losing ground. The creature had realized how tough his hide was, and had now wrapped its arms around him instead to squeeze his ribcage. “Not… helpin’!” he gasped. Oh, right. Well anyhoo, as for stopping it… I doubt that you can. The Yigrox is supposedly indestructible, so you’ll understand that I didn’t place my bets on you. It destroyed all life on that planet and then wandered around for a few centuries before going into standby mode. Not sure what woke it up, but I’m thinking the best you can do is stall it while Sunbutt and company close the rift. Once that’s done, you’ll need to get far enough away from it so I can teleport you out of there. Mac’s pride rankled at that. He knew it wasn’t the same, but a part of him couldn’t help but whisper that he’d just be playing second fiddle if he did that. “Eenope!” Big Mac said with glinting eyes. “If this thing got through to Equestria once, it’ll find a way to do it again! It’s too dangerous for that, I’m not gonna let let this thing go on a rampage! So indestructible or not, I’m takin’ it out right here, right… NOW!” Thump-thump! New strength poured into Big Mac. His scarlet body glowed with otherworldly might as he began to grow once more, breaking free of the Yigrox’s grip with a roar. He grabbed one of its arms in his teeth, used the thing’s momentum to drag it forward, then leapt to the side and smashed it in the back with a haymaker. WHAM! Discord sighed in his mind. Stubborn as your sister, I see. Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. More of a spectacle for me, I suppose. The Yigrox crashed to the ground, its arms and legs wildly waving about. Big Mac took Discord’s earlier advice and kept up his assault, pouncing on top of it and punching it again and again and again. The air became thick with flying chunks of ebony rock, Big Mac’s strikes becoming heavier and more damaging as he grew. He matched the Yigrox’s size again in seconds, but the power kept flowing into him like a river, more intense than ever. It made him feel giddy and warm, powerful and in control. It was the best feeling he’d ever experienced in his entire life, and if he wasn’t already yelling out of rage, he probably still would be out of pleasure. Big Mac grew to a half mile in height and kept right on going. A single one of his hooves could’ve crushed Ponyville in a single step, and his eyes were bigger then the rift he’d used to get here. He was literally beating the Yigrox into the ground now, drilling both of them deeper and deeper as time went on. Quite the interesting power you have there, Discord remarked mildly. Never quite seen anything quite like it before. Almost reminds me of Tirek, except you don’t seem to be siphoning magic from anything. It seems more like you’re just tapping into the latent energy within your soul. Ironic that you’ve kept this little talent of yours a secret for so long, eh? And here I thought your family was all about honesty. “RAAAAAGH!” A spiderweb of fissures was forming all around Big Mac and the Yigrox, spreading out farther and farther into the horizon. Big Mac didn’t notice at all. All he could see was red, and his mind was solely focused on obliterating his foe. The clouds parted away from his form as he broke a mile in size, and the crater was becoming so deep that waves of heat were emanating from the cracks. The Yigrox, meanwhile, didn’t seem to be phased much by the beating. It was trying to throw Mac off, but right now it was pinned beneath his titanic weight. It struggled and kicked for a while, but upon feeling the heat coming from the ground, something within the creature seemed to change. Its clicking took on a fever-pitch and began thrashing wildly, drawing the heat into itself and moving faster for it. It began to swell, slow at first, but then larger and larger as the seconds passed. It healed the chips and cracks in its hide and then some, filling up the crater Big Mac had made all the while. CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!The Yigrox’s chittering could just be heard under Big Mac’s tumultuous strikes. It gave a mighty heave, trying to get itself free. No such luck. It grew another thousand feet or so and heaved again, this time throwing Big Mac off balance. It was almost twice his size now, and it was then that BIg Mac realized something was up. Uh, Red? Discord said. You might wanna— SWISH! Big Mac just barely managed to duck a swipe aimed at his neck. He reared and jumped away in time to dodge a second swing, then moved back to a safe distance as the alien crust crumbled beneath his every step. The Yigrox emerged from the crater huger than ever, bathed in lava and dark magic. “How big can this thing get?!” Mac said. The molten rock has seemed to energize the construct, and now it was moving twice as fast with even deadlier intent. It’s a essentially murderous mobile mountain that converts all forms of mass into negative energy and then absorbs it for fuel, Discord informed him.The Yigrox draws its power from the planet, and it doesn’t really have a limit to how much mass it can absorb. That’s one of the reasons you can’t really beat it, see. Smack it around all you like; it’ll just regenerate and come at you bigger and stronger than ever. The Yigrox skittered back and forth on either side of Big Mac, trying to get in his blind spot. He didn’t let it. He crouched low and kept facing it, watching its every move like a hawk. “So what you’re sayin’ is that I’m basically fightin’ this here entire planet,” Big Mac said. Something like that. Not really fair, is it? Big Mac picked up a city-sized chunk of rock and threw it at the Yigrox, beaning it right where its head would’ve been. “I learned life ain’t fair a long time ago. S’not exactly a new feelin’ to me.” The Yigrox didn’t seem to be phased much by the rock, but it did hesitate just a tiny, tiny bit. That was all the opening Big Mac needed, and he sprang forth to grapple the Yigrox from behind. It waved its claws about, trying to get at Mac, but it couldn’t reach no mattered how hard it tried. “Upsy-daisy!” Big Mac pulled with all his might, but the Yigrox was now too heavy to lift. It seemed to sense what he was trying to do and stepped on one of his hooves, causing him to howl in pain, but he didn’t let go. If you’re trying to break its connection to the ground, I’m afraid that won’t work, Discord said. It’s got quite the range on that ability. Like I said before, you’re probably better off just distracting it for now instead of trying to do it in. Right now you’re just making it angrier. “Eenope!” Big Mac tried again to lift the Yigrox, but again he couldn’t budge it. He was over a mile tall and several hundred million tons in weight, and still he had nothing on this thing. He needed more. He needed to be more. He wouldn’t let this thing get free or threaten anypony else, no matter what he had to do. THUMP-THUMP! The power within him sensed his resolve and flared to life, sending a pulse through him that was the mightiest yet. Big Mac began to grow again, and when he tried to lift the Yigrox a third time, he was almost able to do it. He tightened his rapidly-strengthening grip and tried again, this time actually getting it a few hundred feet off the ground. The planet beneath them groaned and rumbled under the increasing weight, and more and more fissures appeared around them. Well now, Discord said, a bit of surprise creeping into his voice. Look at you. A mile and a half tall. Not nearly enough. The Yigrox still had a lead on him. Three miles. He was larger combatant once more, but only just. He knew he needed to increase his lead. Six miles. Still shy of what he wanted, but it was a start. “ERRRGGGH!” With a herculean heave, Big Mac lifted the Yigrox off the ground and raised it over his head. Then, in a move nopony anticipated, he kept going and suplexed the creature, driving it claws-first into the planet. KA-RUNCH! The planet’s crust shuddered from the impact. Shockwaves and dust clouds spread to the entire hemisphere, plunging the entire surface into darkness. The Yigrox became firmly wedged in the collapsing rock, wiggling and squirming like a worm on a hook. Great plumes of lava began shooting out from the fissures, punching holes in the clouds and sending tons of ash into the atmosphere. Big Mac narrowly avoided a lava geyser and rolled back onto his hooves, the ground crumbling and breaking as if he were on thin ice. He couldn’t see where he was stepping because of the clouds, and suddenly he was quite worried about his footing. “Discord,” Big Mac said. “Ya said this thing killed everythin’ on the planet, right? Did you mean ‘everything’ everything?” Everything down to the bacterial level, Discord confirmed. Not even the plant life was spared. Good thing, too, because if anything hadsurvived, it’d be good as dead now thanks to that little move of yours. Speaking of which, don’t you ponies need that oxygen stuff, too? How are you managing without it? Mac blinked. Come to think of it, he didn’t feel much of a need to breathe, and the cold of the upper-troposphere wasn’t bothering him. Neither was the lava, really. He could feel the temperature, sure, but it wasn’t impeding him in any way. That realization gave him an idea. “Apple family secret,” Big Mac replied. Discord snorted. My front-right paw. “No, it’s true!” Big Mac said solemnly. “I swear it on my horn.” You’re an earth pony. “Damn straight.” Big Mac concentrated and opened himself more to the mysterious energy inside him. “And earth ponies ain’t much for askin’ questions, now are they? They’re known for gettin’ things done, so unless I suddenly get wings or one o’them fancy bone spikes, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do!” Big Mac’s body shimmered like a prism. The power responded to his call, and the clouds parted away once more from his ascending form. He grew ever upward, surpassing the troposphere and entering the warmer air of the troposphere. He doubled in size in mere seconds to stand at over twelve miles tall, and after one particularly colossal surge, the crust finally gave way to his weight and plunged him into the lava. SPLOOSH! Big Mac abruptly found himself swimming in a warm, soupy gunk. It was deep and difficult to move in, but otherwise it wasn’t so bad. Kinda felt like he was in a hot tub, really. If he wasn’t fighting for his life against a colossal death machine, he might’ve actually enjoyed it. Speaking of which… CLICK-CLICK-CLICK The lava suddenly began to drain away. Big Mac yelped as he abruptly found himself in a hellish whirlpool, all of which being sucked towards the Yigrox. Its terrifying body was bathed in black fel flames, its mile-long claws were covered in cruel hooks, and the sound it was making sounded like the shrieks of the damned. Big Mac grit his teeth. “And just when I thought this thing couldn’t get any uglier.” Pffft. You think that’s ugly? You should see the Garglschnorfs of Teralsi IV during mating season. One glance and your eyes’ll melt clean out your sockets. Big Mac thought about trying to swim against the current, but then reconsidered. He was building up some good momentum from being in the maelstrom, and momentum was good. He treaded lava and stared the growing Yigrox down, watching as it went from an unholy abomination to a terrifying effigy of the apocalypse. “That’s right,” Big Mac muttered. “Eat up, ya pebblehead. I’ll give ya somethin’ to chew on…” The Yigrox was swiftly becoming a monolith compared to him. At one hundred miles tall it dwarfed him in all aspects, and it was swiftly growing more as it hungrily devoured the essence of the planet. Big Mac could feel its necrotic energies reaching out to him now, eager to leech away his soul and leave him nothing but a husk. Its defiling touch made him sick to his stomach, but he didn’t even flinch. Big Mac closed his eyes and focused. He didn’t know what this power was, how it worked, or why he’d been chosen to wield it. He didn’t know if what he planned was going to work, and he was very aware that he might die. But he tended not to dwell on the what-if’s. All he cared about was what was in front of him, and how was going to deal with it. And when one looked at things that way, things tend to become real easy. The Yigrox reached for Big Mac with its enormous unholy claws… SWISH! Only to miss as he whirled around, took aim, and bucked the Yigrox with blinding speed. BA-WHOOM! A wave of shimmering earth pony magic erupted from Big Mac’s hooves. It struck the Yigrox and completely enveloped it, knocking it back with sheer force. The monster twitched and stuttered back and forth, its siphoning disrupted from the sudden blast of alien magic that shorted out its own. BIg Mac grinned. “Suck on THAT!” He felt a giddy elation spreading through him, amplified all the strength coursing through him. His body began to shine brightly, and his eyes turned a pure white. “So ya munch on the planet to heal yourself, eh? Nice trick. GUESS I’LL HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT ALONG WITH YA!” Red, I don’t think— But it was too late. The energy within Big Mac was answering his call, making his body rumble and shiver in preparation. THUMP-THUMP! He couldn't help but laugh madly as he felt the first tendrils of power seeping in, adding more to his already towering form. His body became a landscape unto itself as he grew bigger and bigger, adding mile after mile to his height and millions of tons to his weight. The muscles of his chest and legs were widening, bristling with untold, unspent power, and it was just begging to be unleashed. He resisted the urge for now, though, because he still needed more. He still needed so much more... And more he got. When Big Mac matched the Yigrox’s fifty mile height, he grabbed it and struck it with gargantuan headbutt. WHAM! The Yigrox fell flailing back into the lava with a mammoth splash. Country-sized globs of lava flew so far into the air that they cooled and sailed into the atmosphere, bursting into flames once more and falling back down as meteors. Big Mac put a growing hoof on the Yigrox and pressed it down, cackling like a fiend as he pushed it further down into the planet’s core. “Take it,” he hissed in a deep, echoing voice. “Take it all...” The Yigrox apparently had no issue with this, as the whirlpool around them began to swirl faster and faster. The splinters of lightning were now bursting around them instead of above them, and the air now filled with cacophonous bursts of thunder. Big Mac could feel the Yigrox swelling beneath him as it drew in the outer core of the planet and sucked away all aspects of the crust. Cities, forests, lakes, and whole continents were ground to dust as they were drawn into the vortex, all to fuel the malevolent force that was his foe. But Big Mac was growing, too. Fifty miles became the size of his hooves alone as he continued to ascend, the power within him flaring out in incredible surges that felt accelerated his growth to greater heights. He burst out of the mesosphere and into the thermosphere, his form expanding far beyond any and all expectations. He had to keep ahead of the Yigrox, and the Yigrox was absorbing quadrillions of tons of mass. Explosions went off around and below them from the planet’s death throes, but neither of them paid the light show any heed. They only had eyes for each other, the momentary standoff lasting only while they continued to ascend. Hmph, Discord muttered in his ear.Maybe I should’ve bet on you, after all. Big Mac was now a titan. The light of the planet faded away as he rocketed up into space, and he was left with a sense of weightlessness as the planet’s core fell into the Yigrox. They were both thousands of miles tall now, and the Yigrox was truly a monstrosity. Its clicking sounds were now soundless in the vacuum of space, but Big Mac could still hear the gibbering echoing in his ears, taunting and gnawing at his thoughts. The Yigrox propelled itself forward with a burst of magic and lunged at Mac, its necrotic energies eagerly reaching out for him. He raised his hoof and first a burst of his own magic directly in its face, in response, blasting it with the raw essence of life. VWUMMMMM The amplified earth pony magic burst out in an emerald beam that fully enveloped the Yigrox. Its silhouette could still be seen, through the onslaught, and it remained stubborn as it tried its hardest to absorb the incredible amount of life energy. The dreadful spellwork within it churned and chugged like a furnace, but eventually, gradually, it began to crack and creak under the strain. Big Mac narrowed his glowing eyes. “Not enough, eh? How about some more?!” His entire body flashed brighter than the sun. He doubled the ray’s power with a soundless cry, also doubling in size as a result. The moon shifted its trajectory to begin orbiting around him as he grew, reaching the ten thousand mile mark and still growing bigger. Cracks were beginning to show in the Yigrox’s planet-sized body. Flakes were breaking away to evaporate in the beam, and its claws were on the verge of snapping off. Still it tried to convert and process Big Mac’s beam into fuel, but there was just too much to keep up. The energy within Big Mac’s soul was like an endless wellspring. It fed him more and more power, and he used it all with a single-minded purpose. He grew and grew and grew, and the beam of energy grew wider and more intense along with him. He didn’t care what happened to him anymore. He didn’t care if some lifeless rock got destroyed, either. All that mattered was his home, and he wasn’t gonna let the Yigrox anywhere near it. “JUST DIE, YA VARMINT!” Finally, with a mute scream, the Yigrox’s core overloaded and burst like an overfilled balloon. Big Mac’s beam fully enveloped the construct’s tainted mass like a cleansing flame, and it disintegrated into ash that faded away into the endless expanse. Big Mac lowered his hoof and cut off the ray. He stared at the space where the Yigrox had been, searching for any remaining remnant that could somehow regenerate and start again. He saw none. He floated alone in the void of space in silence then for a time, a shining gigantic pony almost three times the size of his home planet. ‘Varmint?!’ Discord said. Seriously, Red? That’s the best you could think of?! Big Mac rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut up.” Discord’s voice was filled with mirth. I mean, come on! You get the chance to be a big bad-flank hero, and the best one-liner you can come up with is ‘Just die, varmint?!’ Bahahahahahaha! Big Mac felt his cheeks flush. “Hey, it’s not like I was prepared or nothin’! I’ve been just makin’ things up as I go!” Discord’s laughter died down a bit. Oh, I’m going to remember that one for a while. You save Equestria from certain doom in an amazing, grandiose display, and at the end you deliver the most hickish line possible. My ribs hurt from laughing… Big Mac sighed. “Are ya done? I’m kinda just floatin’ here at the moment. Can ya bring me back to Equestria now? Or at least close by so the Princesses can help?” There was a momentary pause. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Big Mac folded his arms in a slight pout. It sounded like he might be waiting a while.
HeroPart 4: Hero Later- “And this entity you encountered said nothing of her name?” Celestia asked. “Or why this Yigrox creature had awakened?” Big Mac, once more his normal size (thanks to some assistance from the Princesses) and just having finished recounting what happened, shook his head. “Eenope. She was reluctant enough to tell me what she did. Seemed real sorry about it all, though.” They were currently in the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle, where a flurry of doctors and mages kept coming and going to look over Big Mac. Apparently Discord had saw fit to broadcast the fight all across the sky, and just about every pony in Equestria had seen it. The princesses had had to bring Big Mac to the palace just so he wouldn’t be mobbed by journalists, and he was now in a private hospital room filling them in on what’d happened. “An eight-pointed star with elongated north and south arrows...” Celestia scratched her chin. “I’m not familiar with that symbol. What about you, Lulu?” Luna, who had been fussing over Big Mac since his return and was now sitting next to him with her hoof on his arm, shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing comes to mind. T’was likely associated with this now-destroyed planet.” Big Mac put a hoof behind his head. “Ah… yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. I kinda got carried away.” “No, I don’t think you did,” Celestia said gravely. “You were barely able to defeat it with the considerable force you used. Perhaps there might’ve been another way that didn’t involve the planet’s destruction, but all things considered, I think you did pretty well.” “Indeed.” Luna leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Better you let a dead world be destroyed than a living one.”’ Big Mac nuzzled her. He couldn’t argue with that logic, although part of him wanted to for some reason. Celestia turned to Twilight, who was on the other side of the bed and had been running a scan on Big Mac. “Have you found anything, Twilight?” Twilight ceased her scanning and turned to Celestia with a scrunched-up frown. “There’s a spell matrix at work here unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s completely different from the magic of ponies or anything else that’s been documented.” “Really?” Big Mac asked. “How’d the three o’ya figure out to reverse it, then?” Twilight shifted on her hooves. “We’re not exactly strangers to power suppression. It’s a pretty universal concept across the board, to be honest, but ahat doesn’t mean we understand whatever’s going on with you. Assuming it’s not inimitable, I’m going to need some time to reverse-engineer it to make sure that you’re not any danger.” Big Mac shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it was hurtin’ me none, and I feel fine right now. Why would ya think I would be?” “Big Mac, your soul has been transmuted into some kind of magic generator, and your body’s been altered to be able to adapt to as much as it can put out,” Twilight said flatly. “I’m not sure if either one has a limit or not, but considering that you grew to almost twenty million times your original size, I’d consider it a non-issue. What’s more pressing is the question whether you even qualify as an earth pony or not anymore, as while you’re still a living, thinking being, your internal makeup is immensely changed. You swam in lava, shrugged off necrotic energy, endured enough kinetic force to destroy a planet, and survived out in the vacuum of space. Who knows what else you can do?” Big Mac felt a chill. He hadn’t really thought about all of it like that. But when it all got laid out for him in such a manner, he suddenly wondered just what on earth he’d agreed to. He cleared his throat with a cough. “Uh, well… i-ff you’re lookin’ for a place to start, ya’ll might wanna have a word with Discord. He sounded like he knew a thing or two about the planet, as well as the Yigrox. He might be able to tell ya a bit on how this magic works, too.” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear... All the ponies looked. A tear ripped open in one of the walls to reveal a polka-dotted void beyond, and through it stepped a brown unicorn stallion with red-on-yellow eyes. His mane was black and gray with a neatly-trimmed beard of the same coloration, and his cutie mark was an eight-pointed star. He smirked slyly at them all as he polished a pair of spectacles and closed the rift behind him with a flash of yellow magic. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about little old me,” Discord said, waggling his eyebrows at the group. “And here I thought that we were friends!” There was a brief stunned silence at his appearance, but Twilight was the one to recover first. “We didn’t want to bother you, as we figured you’d be too busy selling limited edition collector’s plates of the fight.” Discord’s eyes lit up. “Oho! There may be hope for you yet, Sparkle. By the way, like my new look? Fluttershy suggested I dress down a bit, so I’m giving this a try. I call it, ‘Incognito Mode’.” “Discord,” Celestia said in an even tone. “What do you know of all this?” “Hmm, a little of this, a little of that,” he said, winking at her. “I might be inclined to even tell you, if I could get a little bit gratitude for my unsolicited assistance.” Celestia lowered her chin. “I’m not in the mood for your--” “Thank you, Discord.” Everyone looked at Luna in surprise, who continued without pause. “It’s because of you that we were able to quickly locate Mac and were not left wondering about his fate. You also brought him back without any fuss, and I don’t know how we would have gotten him back otherwise. You did us all a service today, so for that, you have my thanks.” “Yeah. I owe ya one,” Big Mac chimed in. “You told me what I needed to know to win, and ya even got me back here in one piece. Prolly would still be floatin’ out there if it weren’t for you. Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought you were.” There was another silence. Discord seemed just as thrown-off as the rest of them, and didn’t have a witty remark for once. Celestia and Twilight exchanged a shared look of reluctance, but finally with pursed lips, they relented and muttered their thanks, as well. Discord coughed and looked away, his cheeks tinged a slight pink. “Well… t-that’s, um… well. I-It’s about time, is all I have to say! Yeah! Here I’ve been on my best behavior these past few years, and it’s only now you begin to appreciate me! Yeesh, better late than never, I suppose, but really now.” Luna chuckled. She rested a hoof on her enormously-swollen stomach and gestured for him to go on. “You said you knew something about this incident. Mayhap could you tell us?” “As you wish, oh gravid one.” Discord horn glowed again, and the wall he’d come through vanished to portray an image of the monument that Big Mac had seen and spoken to in his dream, sans the spectral chains. “I’m assuming this is what you saw?” Discord asked him. Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.” Discord sat on his haunches. “I’d guess then that you met Araus, former Goddess of Destiny and Queen of the Arachni. She went mad with power awhile back and created the Yigrox to try and conquer other worlds. Not a bad plan, truth be told, but she couldn’t control it and it killed her along with the entire planet. I’d heard that her trial was coming up, but it must’ve been moved up if she met with you.” Big Mac was quiet. He was recalling the dream more vividly now, and there had been a mentioning of a punishment being decided. He wasn’t sure exactly what that punishment was, mind you, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “Why meet with Big Mac, though?” Twilight asked. “Why not meet with one of the Prin--er, one of us?” Discord examined his hoof. “You wanna answer that one, Red?” Big Mac leaned back in his bed. “Said it was gonna happen too fast to get out a proper warnin’. Also said she thought I had potential, and that I reminded her of how she used to be.” Luna wore a smug grin. “A mare’s intuition is never wrong.” He smiled despite himself. “Never said that it was.” Why would the Yigox come here, though?” Twilight cut in. “What do we have in Equestria that would attract a monster like that?” “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight,” Discord said, clucking his tongue. “And here I thought you’d been to an alternate reality before! Don’t you know anything about how the multiverse works?” Twilight gave him a deadpan stare. ”Why don’t you enlighten us, Professor Chaos?” “Gladly!” Discord waved his hoof, and instant later he was wearing a tweed jacket and bowtie. His horn flared to life, and a grilled cheese sandwich appeared in front of all of them in his yellow magic. “Consider this information for you as well, Red,” Discord said. “Imagine that the top slice of bread is our reality, and the bottom one is a different one. We coexist side by side separately, but we’re also stuck together by an adhesive of sorts. In essence, our planet and the now-destroyed Arachni homeworld exist in the same space, along with countless other alien worlds. The only thing that separates is us all is dimension gunk, and if you have a device, spell, ability, or whatever that can make a hole in it somehow, it’s a simple matter of simply stepping through.” “And I’m guessing that the Arachni dimension is located close to ours,” Twilight said. “Right?” “That it is,” Discord said. “What more than likely happened was that the Yigrox was merely following its programming, whatever that was, and went for what it perceived to be the next-closest target. In other words, us.” Celestia exhaled out her nose. “The ruins suggested that their initial calamity happened quite a long time ago. Why would the Yigrox come here now?” “See, that’s what I can’t figure out,” Discord said. He took a bite of the sandwich and continued. “I don’t think that even Arachni even had interdimensional travelling capabilities, because if they did, the Yigrox would’ve come here centuries ago when they all kicked the bucket. Something must’ve woke it up, but as to what, I couldn’t say. Quite the head scratcher, wouldn’t you say?” “A worrisome head scratcher,” Luna said darkly. There was a murmur of approval at that. “I’ll admit it’s not my first choice for a brain teaser,” Discord admitted. “Wouldn’t have wanted to move to another reality, either. I just picked out the curtains for my living room.” D’ya think it had anything to do with Araus gettin’ sent to jail or whatever?” Big Mac asked. “Maybe she knew somethin’ was gonna happen the moment they put her in, and so this was her way of tryin’ to fix things.” Discord tilted his head from side to side. “It wouldn’t surprise me; Araus always was the paranoid type. She might’ve had failsafes built into the Yigrox to protect her somehow. Maybe it was trying to cross dimensions in an effort to get to her.” Twilight shuddered. “If that’s true, then that means that it might’ve done damage to multiple dimensions, not just ours.” She turned to Mac. “Your efforts might have just saved multiple realities.” Big Mac blinked several times. “Ya really think so?” Twilight smiled. “You’re definitely a hero, Big Mac. You deserve a medal and a ceremony for all this, at the very least.” He looked over at Luna, who was also beaming at him. “A medal sounds nice. I don’t gotta dress up or nothin’, do I?” Luna snickered. “I think you’re entitled to wear whatever you like.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. I hate tryin’ to find suits that fit, and that Rarity gal always fusses on how I should do somethin’ with my mane.” Discord burst out laughing. “Red, do all of existence a favor and go into deadpan comedy. You’ll make a killing at it.” Celestia stepped forward. “I recommend we hold the ceremony here at the castle so that your farm doesn’t get further disturbed by any commotion. Oh, and speaking of which, I can put in a few words with the Canterlot Arboretum to repair the damages to your crops.” “Big Mac bowed his head. “Thank ya kindly, Princess.” “I do need to ask one thing, though,” Celestia said, her tone turning serious. “What do you want to do with this power? The whole country saw what you can do, and I fear that you’ll find it difficult returning to your old life right now. We can help maintain your privacy here in the castle, and Ponyville won’t be disturbed by as many nosy journalists poking around for a story.” “Not to contradict you, dear sister, but there were already plenty of those thanks to me visiting regularly these past few months.” Luna idly traced her hoof up and down Big Mac’s leg, noting the size difference between them. The Mages Guild had cast their growth spell on her to keep her from becoming immobile, and now she was bigger than even Celestia. “I tend to stand out these days.” “You’d stand out regardless,” Big Mac said, putting a hoof on her giant womb and rubbing it gently. “That’s what happens when you’re gorgeous.” Luna tittered and put a wing around him. “On second thought, maybe you should stay here after all. We can hire some ponies to watch over the farm, and I can help you learn how to use that power of yours.” She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “And once that’s all sorted, maybe I won’t have to be the big spoon.” Big Mac’s eyes widened. “You know what? Stayin’ here sounds like a good idea! I’m prolly gonna need help me out with all this, and ya’ll can figure out how best I can help in the future. Sounds good to me.” Celestia looked between the two of them with an unreadable expression. After a long pause, she finally spoke in a cautious tone. “Yes… that does sound… logical. I’m sure that that would be best. Are you certain you wish to volunteer your services so quickly, though? You’re not under any obligation to.” “And it’s not exactly easy,” Twilight added. “Take it from somepony who’s got experience.” “I wanna help protect my home,” Big Mac said simply. “That’s what I’ve wanted to do for years, and now that I can, I’m gonna take full advantage of it. Just tell me what to do, Princess, and I’ll do it.” Celestia considered that for a moment. She looked to Luna and Twilight for their opinions, but neither of them offered any protest. Luna was, however, giving her a look that spoke volumes, and it was this more than anything else that ultimately made up her mind. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mac.” She smiled warmly at him, happy that her sister had managed to find such a good partner. “There aren’t any issues right now that I’m aware of, but if anything comes up, I’ll certainly let you know.” Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup. I’ll be here.” End
