"Thank you kindly for all your help today, Big Mac!"

Looking up from the cart he's unhitching himself from, Big Mac eyes his cousin Braeburn for a moment, before simply nodding.

"Eeyup, it was no problem," he replies as he finishes unhooking himself from the cart. He doesn't take his eyes off of Braeburn, noting just how weary his cousin looks. For a moment he considers asking about his troubles, but forgoes it. He knows Braeburn well enough to know he'll start spilling his guts about what ails him on his own soon enough.

True to form, Braeburn gives a sigh, idly watching as Big Mac circles around the cart to start unloading the baskets of apples held within.

"It's just gettin' so stressful round these parts," he begins, "y'know what I mean? Few weeks ago we up and lost contact with Dodge Junction, and anypony who heads that way doesn't come back. Now within the last two weeks, it seems like someone in town's plum gone missin' every few days or so."

"Eeyup," Big Mac offers, just after he stacks another basket in the back of the large barn. He'd already heard all about the problems going on in the area, from Braeburn and from others, but Braeburn liked to explain things and needed to blow off some steam. Big Mac was content to let him ramble.

"Just this mornin' Dixie Whistler up and vanished," his cousin continues, exasperation clear in his voice. "I'm worried half to death about everypony, and about the state of this here town. With so many missin', I didn't think we'd finish buckin' apples on schedule this season."

Big Mac nods as he sets the last basket of apples on the pile, and turns to head out of the barn. He eyes Braeburn, and offers him a reassuring smile. Braeburn smiles back, albeit weakly.

"What I'm tryin' to say, cousin," he continues, "is thanks. We couldn't have done it without you."

Big Mac just shrugs. "Don't mention it."

Braeburn puts on the biggest grin he can muster and slings a foreleg around Big Mac's shoulders as they leave the barn.

"Now I know you need to head back early in the mornin'," he says to Mac, "what to get back to your orchard and all, but have no fear! The folks and I are gonna fix up a grade-A meal as thanks for your help, cousin!"

Big Mac rolls his eyes, but smiles all he same. He'd been happy to come help when he'd gotten Braeburn's letter. They didn't need to make a big deal about it, but it'd be insulting to try and stop them.

"Now hold on just a second here," Braeburn says as they approach his house. They stop near the front porch, and Big Mac can see Braeburn take a bucket over to the water pump.

"Just need to bring some water in," Braeburn explains, placing the bucket beneath the pump. Grasping the pump handle with both hooves, he begins to work it up and down. They wait a few moments, but for all of Braeburn's effort, not a single drop comes forth from the pump.

"Ah horse apples," the yellow pony mutters, tapping the pump with a hoof. "This dang thing's busted again. Oh, I'd hate to bug the neighbors over somethin' like this..."

He picks up the bucket with one of his forelegs, walking towards Big Mac on three legs with practiced ease. "You can let my folks know that I'll be right back. Just need to grab some water from the river, is all."

Big Mac looks down at the bucket for a moment, then puts a hoof on Braeburn's shoulder.

"Let me," he says, looking Braeburn in the eyes.

"Huh? Oh, no need for that Big Mac," his cousin insists. "You're probably tuckered out from buckin' apples all day, and besides, you're our guest!"

It was true, the long day of apple bucking had left Big Mac fairly weary, but one look at Braeburn tells him that his cousin is in far worse shape. There are visible bags under Braeburn's eyes, and his shoulders sag as though he's close to being completely spent. The disappearances were clearly weighing on him even more than he let on.

"Braeburn," Big Mac says, his voice firm and stern. "You're tired. Let me."

Braeburn blinks, surprised by his cousin's tone, but sighs. "Yeah... sure thing. Thanks Mac."

He drops the bucket, letting Big Mac take it in his own hoof, then turns and slowly trots inside. Big Mac nods, then heads down the street. He turns west, squinting his eyes as he faces the setting sun, and follows the dusty road out of town towards the nearby river.

By the time Big Mac reaches the river, the sun has just about set. The various boulders and rocky formations in the area west of Appleloosa cast long, intimidating shadows across the landscape. Being so late in the evening, one would think that anypony else would be in their homes getting ready for supper right around now. Yet, as Big Mac approaches the river, it seems somepony, or rather somebody else is already there.

Getting a closer look as he approaches, it becomes apparent that the other person at the river is one of the buffalo from the local tribe. By their stature, Big Mac guesses they're rather young, though probably older than a foal. There is a filled bucket of water next to them, and they appear to be in the process of filling another one.

Content to leave the buffalo to its own devices, Big Mac silently approaches the river a few feet away and dunks his own bucket into the water. The bloop noise the bucket makes when it hits the water catches the buffalo's attention, causing her (by the sound of her voice Mac guesses she's a "her") to give a startled yelp and nearly drop her bucket.

"Oh!" she exclaims, regaining her bearings. "I uh... didn't hear you walk up. My apologies."

"No problem," Mac says idly as he fills his bucket. "Sorry for frightening you."

"Oh no, don't worry about it," she insists, dipping the bucket back into the water to fill it. She looks at Big Mac for a moment, as though thinking of something, then asks, "I don't recognize you from Appleloosa. Are you new in town?"

"Just visiting," Big Mac replies simply. "My cousin needed help bucking apples. The disappearances have them short-hoofed." He pauses, mulling something over, then adds, "I'm Big Macintosh. Folks call me Big Mac."

"Nice to meet you!" she replies jovially. "My name's Little Strongheart. I'm from the Buffalo Tribe, in the hills just north of here."

She pauses for a moment, looking a bit upset. "I've heard about the disappearances. No one from the tribe has gone missing yet, but hearing about everything that's happening in Appleloosa is just awful. I hope someone does something about it soon."

Big Mac raises an eyebrow. "You hear from Appleloosa often?"

The buffalo's eyes perk up a bit. "Oh yes! Ever since we made peace with the town, Appleloosa and the Buffalo Tribe have had great relations. We've started doing a lot of trading, and every so often there are community potlucks where all the townsfolk and buffalo get together for a great big communal dinner. We hear a lot from the Appleloosans about what goes on."

Big Mac nods. "Sounds nice."

Little Strongheart casts her eyes down again. "It was," she says, "but lately with all the disappearances everyone in Appleloosa has been on edge. The last potluck was called off, since some of the usual organizers went missing. I think the Appleloosans might be starting to suspect us, if only because nobody else lives in the area."

"Don't think so," Big Mac replies, shaking his head. "Seems like you've got a good relationship with the town. That kind of trust doesn't go away without a good-"

He stops suddenly, his ears perking up and swiveling about. He thought he'd heard something. Was it just the wind? No, it sounded like...

"Is something wrong, Big Mac?" Little Strongheart asks, stepping towards him. He puts out a hoof towards her, gesturing for her to be still.

"Somepony's here," he says. "Thought I heard the sound of-"

From the shadow of a large boulder, a chain shoots out and wraps itself around Big Mac's foreleg. In his surprise, he stumbles as a force on the other end yanks him forwards. Little Strongheart yelps in surprise, unsure what to do as Big Mac digs his other three hooves in to stay in place. He skids to a halt and the force on the other end tugs harder, but Mac grits his teeth and yanks back, causing the chain's owner to stumble into view.

A minotaur with a light gray coat and a dark brown mane appears from the shadow of the boulder, glaring at Big Mac with its beady yellow eyes. "Yeesh," it says in a deep bass voice, "I didn't think ponies could get this strong. What are they feeding you mongrels these days, huh?"

"Who are you?!" Little Strongheart yells, the steadiness in her voice surprising Mac a bit. Perhaps she was used to fighting?

"Not your concern," the minotaur replies, flicking the chain so that it unwinds from Big Mac's leg. "Just sit down and shut up, alright? Make this easier on all of us."

"You think I'll listen to somebody like you?" she asks incredulously, lowering her stance and getting ready to fight. "You've got one chance to turn around and leave us alone, before I-"

A whooshing noise can be heard overhead, and Big Mac turns just in time to see Little Strongheart leap away as a pegasus lands hard on the spot she'd been standing on moments before. Its striking orange coat is nearly the same color as the setting sun, and if Big Mac were to guess was probably how it avoided their notice for so long. The pegasus looks up, grinning eerily at the young buffalo.

"Hey, you're pretty quick," he says. "Heh, not bad. Fast reflexes will help you out when you're working for us."

"Working for you?" Strongheart repeats, confused. "Why would we ever do that?"

"Because you have no choice!" a shrill voice responds. Suddenly, a diamond dog of short stature hops up from the shadows onto the minotaur's shoulder.

"Think of us as... 'recruiters'," the diamond dog says. "We go around looking for able-bodied ponies to work for us, and then we snatch 'em up! Hehehehehahahahaha!"

Casually, the minotaur reaches up and flicks the diamond dog off of his shoulder. "Get off of me, Rodent, and stop explaining things to them. It's a waste of time, they don't need to know anything."

It seems apparent to Big Mac that these three are the ones responsible for the disappearances happening recently, or at the very least they represent the larger group behind it. Frowning deeply, he snorts and rushes the pegasus.

Hearing the thumping of hooves, the pegasus turns at the last moment. "Hey, the heck is thaaaaaAAAAT?!"

The last word becomes a shout as Big Mac bowls him over, knocking the pegasus to the ground and pinning him under hoof. "Where are the others you foalnapped," he growls.

"Heh," the orange pegasus chuckles. "Back at the hideout, doing their new jobs. Like you'll soon be doing, heheh."

Big Mac prepares to question him further, but he feels the minotaur's chain wrap around one of his back legs. With a grunt of astonishment he is flung back, hitting the ground near the minotaur.

"You're a good find," the hulking bovine says, putting a hoof on Big Mac's back to keep him pinned. "Real strong, though it might take a while to break you. You'll get a lot done once we get you to work."

"Big Mac!" Little Strongheart yells, rushing towards the minotaur to free him. The diamond dog jumps in front of her, cackling madly.

"No can do missy! You're going to end up like he is, trapped and unable to... AUGH!"

The tiny canine fails utterly to stop Little Strongheart's charge, getting casually knocked aside by the young buffalo. However, as she draws near the minotaur keeping Big Mac pinned, the burly biped merely slaps her away with his free hand.

"Hmph, lousy pest," the minotaur complains, as Little Strongheart stumbles from the hit. She tries to regain her footing to give it another go, but the orange pegasus springs into her view.

"Hope you didn't forget about me, sweetheart," he says, then raises his forelegs and shoves her hard. Strongheart staggers back, eventually smacking into a small tree on the edge of the riverbank. The old, wizened tree creaks under her weight, and she groans as she tries to right herself again.

"Quit toying with her and let's finish up here," the minotaur orders, before turning back to Big Mac still struggling under his hoof.

"Sorry pony, but between my muscles and my sheer weight, you're outclassed. Now hold still."

The minotaur picks Big Mac up by the scruff of his neck, but this gives the farm pony ample room to lash out. Turning forcefully, he drives a hoof into the minotaur's jaw. His captor lets out a grunt of pain and surprise, dropping Big Mac to clutch his mouth.

Big Mac hits the ground hooves-first, and turns to survey the area. The diamond dog is still sprawled uselessly on the ground, but the pegasus is standing over Little Strongheart with a hoof raised to strike her. Not hesitating a second, Big Mac rushes towards her, but to his dismay he feels the familiar sensation of the minotaur's chain wrapping around his leg once more.

Jerking to a halt with a grunt of pain, Big Mac turns back to see the minotaur still clutching his jaw with one hand, the other outstretched and holding the chain.

"A good hit, pony," the minotaur growls, "but I won't let you get a second one. Now come here."

As the minotaur begins dragging him closer, Big Mac turns just in time to see the pegasus strike Little Strongheart in the chest with a hoof. He tries in vain to scramble towards them as the young buffalo cries out in pain.

CRACK

For one horrible second, Big Mac thinks the cracking noise is one of Little Strongheart's bones, but to his simultaneous relief and terror he sees the small tree she rests on give way and fall into the rushing river behind them. With a gasp, Little Strongheart falls with the tree, dropping into the water and gripping onto the floating tree for dear life as she is carried downstream at an alarming rate.

"Big Mac!" she yells again, unsure what else to do as she is carried away. The orange pegasus leaps into the air, ready to pursue, but looks first to the minotaur. The minotaur, it seemed, was the one in charge.

"Leave her," the bovine says bluntly. "I'll be telling the boss about your ineptitude when we get back."

He looks down at the unmoving diamond dog, who can be heard snoring. To Big Mac it would've been comical, were the situation not so dire.

"Collect Rodent," the minotaur says to the pegasus, before turning its gaze back to Big Mac. "We're heading back. At least we've got something to show for our trouble."

Author's Note

The Neil Young song, not the Milky Chance one.

And that's the second half of the prologue. This was going to be Chapter 1 and it would've cut back to Trevor after the scene with Big Mac, Little Strongheart, and the "recruiters", but the transition felt jarring and I decided it would be better to let this be a second prologue thing. So this is what you get.

I was worried about having Big Mac actually speak in complete sentences. I wanted to have him still be curt and minimalist with his speech, but without sounding stupid. I think I found a good balance, but I'm not sure.