Big Prospects

*THUD*

The front door of the house slammed open. The force of which the door opened alerted everyone inside to the presence of a young red colt. The pegasus, standing in the doorway looking rather frustrated, was small for his age, standing at about 1 and ½ feet tall. The sun shone brightly behind the agitated pony, revealing a distinctive grey/green mane, which, at this time, was unusually rugged.

The red colt threw the saddlebags he had been carrying on the floor and proceeded to stomp up the stairs, leaving the house’s inhabitants wondering what had happened that had the tiny pegasus so riled up. The colt’s mother, a deep blue earth pony with a striking purple mane, followed her son upstairs to get down to the bottom of the mystery.

The mare approached her son’s room and proceeded to knock on the door. After her first attempt was left with no response, the mare knocked again with a little more force. “Are you okay, Crimson?” the mare said, with a bit of volume. After that attempt left no response, the mare slowly opened the door to reveal Crimson engrossed in one of his video games.

The mare repeated herself, “Are you okay, Crimson?”

“Go away, mum.” Crimson replied with an agitated tone. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Crimson, I…”

The blue pony’s voice trailed off as she realised that this is another one of those situations where Crimson would pay more attention to his game than to her. Taking action, the mare pulled up a chair next to Crimson and proceeded to shut off his gaming console.

“MUM!” Crimson shouted. “You didn’t even let me save!”

“I know, but this is getting ridiculous. Three days now, you have stormed in and gone straight to your room, playing these silly video games.” The mare said in a calming tone.

“It’s what I do, mum.” Crimson said, pointing to his flank. On it was an orange spiral, closely resembling the logo of the pony’s favourite games console, the Dreamcolt. “Now, if you don’t mind, I want to get back to my game.”

The blue earth pony looked at Crimson, whose facial expression looked like a mix of angry and lost. “Not before we talk about what’s got you so upset. Is it those bullies again? I told the school to keep an eye on that lot.”

“They refuse to leave me alone.” Crimson said, in a nearly despairing voice. “They keep telling me that I’m just wasting my life playing video games, that I’m pretty much useless and that my cutie mark has no meaning. I’m trying to socialise, giving everyone hugs, as you told me to, but then they say that hugging is for fillies, and that hugs have no place for us colts”.

Crimson was on the verge of tears at this point. His mother was heartbroken, seeing her son in this way.

“Crimson. Your cutie mark is a symbol of your talent. The fact that you have that cutie mark proves that you’re certainly not useless. I’m sure if you challenged any of your classmates to a video game, you would win.” The mare smiled at Crimson. “And I’m glad that you’re going out there and socialising with the other ponies. They’ll learn to appreciate your hugs, and maybe one day, you’ll be the pony everyone wants to hug. A hug horse, you could say.”

Crimson wiped the tears from his eyes. “You really think so, mum?”

“I know so, sweetie.” The mare replied. “Now, how about I cook up some pizza for you? I know how much you love my pizzas.” Crimson’s eyes lit up, and his frown turned into a huge grin.

“You know me well, mum. Thank you!”

“No problem, my dear.” Crimson’s mother said with a smile on her face. She then turned to leave the room. When she got to the doorway, she turned around to Crimson and said “Keep on hugging those ponies. Maybe you’ll become big because of it.” As Crimson went to boot up his console, he acknowledged his mother’s words.

“I will, mum. Promise.”

-------------------------------------------TWELVE YEARS LATER---------------------------------------

*THUD*

The ground shook. The trees trembled. The buildings wobbled.

The ponies of Manehattan gathered, wondering what was causing the earth beneath them to literally move. Was it an earthquake?

*THUD*

Nope, definitely not an earthquake. The ponies became increasingly curious and alarmed as the thuds grew louder, and the ground shook with more and more force. The sound of sirens then filled the air, and the ponies on the ground looked up to see many pegasi flying above them. They all seemed to be suited up, like a huge battle was about to take place. With their curiosity further increased, the ponies followed the pegasi to the edge of town. They then saw something approach in the horizon, and quickly, they figured out the answer to all their questions.

The ginormous red pegasus slowly stomped towards Manehattan. He seemed to take care about where he stepped, although sadly, a few trees were crushed and lost beneath his hooves. As the giant approached the city, he could hear the yells and screams of the tiny ponies below, rushing to cover to avoid being squished by his big hooves. Slowly, a shadow was cast over the city, as the 500ft pegasus reached the outskirts of Manehattan. Coming to a stop, the pegasus looked down at the tiny city, and it’s even tinier inhabitants, below.

“I don’t think this is what mother meant by big.” Crimson muttered to himself.