The Adventures of Princess Malum

Apple Ale, a red-coated earth pony mare with dark green eyes and a wavy golden-brown mane, with a frilly white apron tied around her waist, she was busy at her little bar one late evening serving the construction workers who have been working day and night building a new castle for the princesses of Equestria. The tavern was simple in design with plank wood floors, a bar, giant barrels full of cider, and ale lined behind the bar. All the while, rowdy stallions filled the seats of the simple round wooden tables scattered around the room, laughing and enjoying their pie and Ale. Malum skipped over serving the stallions ale and pie, taking tips and smacking hooves itching for her rump. It was just another typical evening, and she was relieved. She spent so many years fighting monsters like the centaur Tirek and the lord of chaos Discord. Protecting the ponies of Equestria was quite exhausting, leaving little time to do much else. She wiped her hooves on her apron as she then proceeded to fill some more tankards of Ale. She stood there pulling the lever filling the giant mugs, thinking about her future now that the princesses Celestia and Luna were much more powerful and seemed to handle things independently. Maybe she can finally retire…

"Ale!"

The mare squeaked upon hearing the stallion shout; she turned around and gasped upon seeing Starswirl the Bearded gasping for breath with everypony now just staring at him.

The wizard seemed to realize everypony was now watching him as he exclaimed, "Ale! I...I need to see you!"

"Alright? It looks like Starswirl is having a senior moment," Malum teased, having the crowd roar in laughter as the old stallion grumbled and steamed. The mare snickered as she skipped off. "Just keep the party going, ok! I'll be back soon!"

"Come back soon, Aley!" the stallions all shouted, making the mare blush; it was such a stupid nickname, but it was starting to grow on her. The mare then closed the door and led Starswirl down an alley behind her inn. It was an evening with the sun now setting over Canterlot, which now was a dirty looking town with simple houses, farms, and dirt roads leading to a skeleton of a castle with its frames and stonework jutting outward, despite the unfinished mess, the ponies of Equestria were in the midst of creating something beautiful. But despite the crude shell of a town, everypony here was living together in harmony, earth pony, pegasi, and unicorn. The past feuds were now a long distant memory, and the future was looking brighter with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at the helm.

Ale walked to the alleyway until they were far from the inn Starswirl looked at her with a concerned look and exclaimed, "Something is wrong with the princesses at their old castle in the Everfree Forest! You need to go to them immediately!"

Ale just looked into Starswirl's eyes; she didn't want to say it out loud, but she guessed precisely the problem. "Is it Nightmare Moon!?"

Starswirl bent his head down as he whispered, "Yes, and she possessed Luna…."

There was silence for a moment as Apple Ale quivered. Her old nemesis has returned and has succeeded in possessing Luna. The old stallion looked up and slammed a hoof to the ground as he proclaimed, "the seven pillars can help! I'll rally my comrades!"

"You and the others stand aside! I can take her on my own!" Ale shouted back. She then took out a harness with a purple amethyst carved in the shape of an apple, set in the middle of jewelry. She clasped the ornament to her chest in an instant; her body glowed as her body transformed, her body elongated while her mane grew into long, lush blonde color, wings sprouted from her back. Standing before Starswirl was a rather stunning alicorn princess.

"Just leave Nightmare Moon to me!" The alicorn roared as she flew into the skies above.

"But A-"

Malum was already in the air as she looked down at Starswirl and shouted, "You stay here! if anything happens to the other princesses and me, you and the pillars will be the last line of defense for Equestria!"

Starswirl wanted to say something, but Ale was already heading south towards the Everfree Forest where the princesses currently reside. She really could use the help in taking Nightmare Moon down, but she wasn't going to be easy. What's worse is if Nightmare Moon has possessed Luna, then she will be almost unbeatable. This was going to be a fight of her life.

The red-coated alicorn continued to fly across the land and eventually came upon the thick foliage of scraggly dead trees and ominous pines that made up the Everfree Forest. As the princess came upon the old castle, the day had turned into night, and the castle Nightmare Moon stood over the crumbling ruins of the castle with ponies screaming and running for their lives. There in all of its destruction stood Nightmare Moon with Celestia wrapped in green tendrils of magic hostage. The princess of the night burst into maniacal laughter and roared, "Equestria will soon fall in a never-ending darkness!"

But then something flew across the sky. It was a streak of red flying across the night sky and slammed into the ground creating a blast wave of rock and stone to be thrown across the ruined castle. Princess Malum was now standing across from the evil alicorn in her full glory, her long flowing golden mane, striking red coat, and piercing green eyes. She stood there with a smirk on her face. "Nightmare Moon, prepare to be defeated again!"

"Not this time! Your precious Princess Luna finally allowed me to be absorbed into her!" The evil alicorn cried out in glee.

Princess Malum stepped back with an expression of disbelief on her face. "No...this...this can't be."

Nightmare Moon now had this evil grin spread across her face as she slowly stepped forward. Tendrils of dark green smoke came off her as she continued to walk forward. "It is my dear, Luna's jealousy and hatred of her sister called to me like a moth to moonlight. I now have a physical form, and now I will destroy all who stand in the way of the eternal night!" Nightmare Moon roared as she lit her horn, readying to attack.

But the great princess Malum flew towards Nightmare Moon first and fought her in a grand battle. They shot magical beams at each other, Malum's bright red, while Nightmare Moon's dark green. The beams locked and exploded as they touched each other. The two alicorns stood there locked in a battle, neither of them was giving any ground, but the red beam started to overtake the green one showing that Princess Malum eventually got the upper hoof. However, the Princess had tears in her eyes; despite having the upper hoof, she could feel her body hurting, and her head felt like it was on fire. Droplets of blood started pouring from her horn and dripping down her face. Princess Malum knew that over the years, she's lost the strength she had in her prime. Princess Malum cried out, feeling blood spewing from her legs and torso. They were injuries reopening from when Tirek almost killed her in a battle not long ago. She was battered and defeated already, Malum was on her last legs, and she didn't know if she had the strength to save Luna from Nightmare Moon's grasp. But an idea did come to mind as she shouted, "I'm sorry, Luna! I tried to save you from yourself...if this was a few years ago, I would free you from this nightmare. But all I can do...is seal you away! I'm sorry!"

Then with the last of her strength, Princess Malum's eyes glowed as her entire body was engulfed in an aura of red with Nightmare Moon's expression turned into that of horror and confusion. "Wait! You're going to seal me away, your crazy! Don't you care about Luna!? You're sealing her away too!"

Princess Malum's face was full of blood and tears; she wanted so bad as to save her friend Luna. But she knew now that wasn't going to happen. "Luna…. forgive me!" She roared as she condensed into the moon, using the last of her energy into Nightmare Moon as she roared, "no!!!!!"

But that was the last thing she heard as Nightmare Moon was enveloped in its energy and was sent upwards into the sky and sealed onto the moon. Creating a visage of an alicorn on the surface. But as the smoke and dust cleared, there was no sign of Princess Malum. After the battle, Princess Celestia had the seven pillars search far and wide, and eventually even the newly created Wonderbolts. But nopony could find a trace of Princess Malum. It was soon determined that she died in the battle, and that's why the Golden Apple Celebration happens every year to honor her sacrifice.

Big Mac was lying in bed with a look of amazement on his face peering up at the colorful panels of the comic book he was finishing. He then closed the comic and put it on his bedside table, revealing Princess Malum fighting Nightmare Moon on the cover with "Adventures of Princess Malum." printed above the artwork.

The big, red-coated stallion rose up from his bed, looking around his small room. Big Mac yawned and stretched his hooves, feeling rather tired of reading all night as he was completely absorbed in the story he was reading.

He looked upward at the ceiling, thinking about how princess Malum looked a lot like him despite the long wavy mane, thick rump, wings, and horn. She was beautiful in every sense of the word. The stallion sat back in his bed, wishing he could be worshiped as a hero. But then he felt the sun rising outside as the rays of the sun showed through his window. He gasped upon seeing the sun rising over the rooftops and shouted, "Oh buck! I'm late!"

He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs; there, he saw Granny Smith in the kitchen, busy baking all kinds of pastries, pies, apple fritters, cupcakes. The tired old mare looked up from the baking and yawned, "Morning, Big Mac."

"Mornin' granny!" He quickly replied, taking a pancake and scoffing it down, then drained some coffee. Apple Bloom skipped down, shouting, "is today the day! We're having the big Apple family reunion!"

"Ey'yup," Big Mac chirped with a smile as he turned around to see his little sister Apple Bloom skipping down the stairs. She must be rather excited for the upcoming Apple Family reunion, and he also was excited to just relax and eat his fill.

She jumped into his hooves, and he couldn't help but nuzzle her. Then a thought came into his head."Hey, why don't ya go help Applejack with gettin' the tables set up? I was gonna...but…."

"Don't ya worry! I'll help Applejack! Maybe I can get my cutie mark...in...um...helping Applejack!?" the filly replied out loud.

Big Mac and Granny both chuckled at the young filly's adorable remark, then the old mare said, "Applejack's already out getting everything ready, but I think I'm gonna need more apples. We got more ponies comin' than usual this year."

"Alright, Granny, I got it," Big Mac sighed as he got up and went off to do some apple bucking. If he didn't she wouldn't shut up about it all day. Besides he needed time to wake himself up for the day's festivities.

Deep in the apple orchard, the stallion was bucking apples. Eventually, his thoughts trailed back to the comic he spent reading all night. It was the last issue...he sighed; it was great watching princess Malum learn to use her power and save Equestria...but she died in the end...and yes, she was honored with a statue in Ponyville and with her name written in history. But was it worth it all in the end? She died so young and with so much undone? As he thought about it, the story was rather depressing?

He sighed as he continued bucking. He wondered...maybe he can find some clue to what really happened to her?

After gathering some more apples, he looked up to see it was still fairly early. He wanted to go to the old castle of the princesses one more time just to see if he could find any trace of Princess Malum. Maybe it was just a story...but he had a feeling it wasn't…

"Hey, Big Mac, where are those damn apples!"

"I'm comin' Granny!" Big Mac shouted; he got up, taking the wagon full of apples. He shook his head, realizing he needed to get his head straight and focus on the Apple family reunion.

As he was coming back to give the apples to Granny Smith, she took the wagon and gave him a pat on the head, "thanks, sugarcube."

"Ey'yup," Big Mac replied with a smile; he then turned to see an odd purple unicorn accompanied by a small purple scaled dragon. They were sitting down with his sister Applejack with piles of treats stacked on top of each other.

The stallion didn't know why but he felt a strong urge to talk to this violet unicorn. He slowly trotted over wondering what he was going to say. The stallion stood over the mares and chuckled, "so I see my sis made a friend."

"Well yeah, she seemed to be all alone and thought we should greet her with a welcoming hoof," Applejack replied with a smile; she got up and trotted over to Big Mac. "Now, why don't ya give her some company while I help Granny in the kitchen."

"Ok," Was all Big Mac said as he was left rather awkwardly with the violet unicorn.

The violet unicorn pointed a hoof at her chest as she introduced herself. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this little dragon is my assistant Spike. We came to check to make sure that all the food was being prepared for the celebration."

"Um...my name is Big Macintosh, but most just call me Big Mac." The red stallion responded with a sheepish grin. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but this violet unicorn looked rather cute.

"Well, Big Mac, I'm not just here for the food; I also came to research the Apple family as it's been rumored your descendants of princess Malum!" Twilight chirped.

Big Mac was stunned; it was confirmed that it was rumored they were descendants of the mysterious Princess Malum. Still, it was never proven if they actually were. He wasn't sure on how to respond to the unicorn's question. But he had to say something so he then stammered, "W...well...I have to say, that most likely ain't true? I mean...she died before she had any foals from what I've read."

Twilight eyes lit up, "you read! Did you read the entire epic Starswirl wrote about Princess Malum!?"

Big Mac held up the comic he was reading earlier with pride and said, "ey'nope!"

Twilight's ears drooped as the little dragon with her eyes lit up, "oh, you read the final issue! How was it!"

Big Mac opened his mouth as the little dragon held up a claw. "Wait! Hold on, don't say anything No spoilers!"

The stallion chuckled, seeing the story was already known by everypony across Equestria. But he wasn't one to spoil a good comic. "Alright, no spoilers, but it was great." He hoofed the issue to the drake, who gasped as he started reading it.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "well, I have read the comics too, and they mostly stick to the real story of Princess Malum as far as Starswirl was able to learn about her. But they seem to exaggerate the battles, and they make her way too sexual."

Big Mac chuckled as he sat down and took some apple fritters. "Sorry to disappoint; all I know about Princess Malum is from the comics."

Twilight groaned as she stowed away her quill and scroll. "Great, well, at the very least, the food is ready; come on, Spike, we still have a lot to do before the celebration."

"Ok!" Spike groaned, handing the comic back to Big Mac; he took the comic with a smile.

Big Mac paused; what if this strange purple unicorn could help him. He was already looking for evidence of what happened to Princess Malum after her battle with Nightmare Moon. Maybe she can help him discover something he missed. The stallion held up a hoof and cried out. "Wait! Before you go! I wanted to ask if you um...do...do you want to go the old castle of the princesses?"

"Buck, yeah!" Twilight exclaimed, running over to the stallion, then gasped, "wait are you saying you found it!"

"Y... yeah, I've been trying to find any traces of Princess Malum for a while…." Big Mac replied with a blush growing on his cheeks.

"Ok, why don't we go right now!" Twilight squealed, tugging on Big Mac's hoof.

Spike scratched his head as he followed the two. "Um, Twilight? Don't we have a lot of other things we need to do first?"

But Twilight was now lost in her own thoughts, clopping her hooves together. "Oh, all that can wait! Imagine if we find out what really happened to Malum! Princess Celestia would be so thrilled!"

Big Mac chuckled; he wasn't expecting to find much as he's been searching for a few years now. But it would be interesting to see if he's missed something.

Twilight and Big Mac made it to the old castle deep in the middle of the Everfree Forest. The castle was rather ominous, with the place mostly in ruins and the stones being wrapped up in vines. Twilight was crawling around the ruins, searching for any trace of the mysterious princess. Big Mac just watched with a smile; it was rather cute seeing this violet unicorn pulling up rocks and stone, searching for any clues on the mystery of what happened to Princess Malum. Spike on the other hoof was just sitting on a stone indulging in a comic book.

Big Mac looked up to see the sun was already high in the sky, indicating high noon. The apple family reunion was still ongoing, and his family probably already noticed his absence by now. He sighed, turning to Twilight, and said, "I told you not to get your hopes up; I've been here dozens of times already and haven't found anything."

"Oh, come on, Big Mac! There's got to be something here!" Twilight shouted; she was starting to get frustrated.

The stallion pointed to little flags placed everywhere. "Every time I look through an area, I plant a flag; I've been able to clear most of the weeds and toss most of the rubble myself."

Twilight looked around, seeing the entire castle grounds somewhat cleaned and covered in little flags, and whispered, "you're like an archeologist; this is actually really impressive."

Big Mac scratched the back of his mane. "Thanks, but it's more like a little hobby than anything else."

He then came over to a small clearing with the sun coming down through the roof. There was a giant column and on the base was a carving of an apple. Despite being strong even among earth ponies, there was no way he would be able to lift it. "Twilight...could you use your magic to lift this?"

The mare nodded as she planted her hooves firmly in the dirt; she concentrated her head and lit her horn as she grunted, using her magic to lift the massive stone up. Big Mac ran over and helped, taking the stone column the two threw the column across the ruins. They then both blinked upon seeing something glinting in the sun where the stone column. Big Mac picked up the strange object and dusted the dirt and grime from it. His eyes widened with disbelief; what was in his hoof was a gold bridle and in the center was a purple amethyst in the shape of an apple. It was without a doubt the amulet of Princess Malum!

"No way! That's princess Malum's bridle!" Twilight squealed, levitating the ornament towards her as she carefully looked it over. The purple gem glinted in the sunlight with Twilight tearing up. "I... it's beautiful!"

Big Mac nodded with a surprised expression even Spike's eyes were wide with his mouth drooling.

"No, Spike, you're not eating this! This is a historical artifact!"

"Um, yeah...sorry…." Spike stammered as he buried himself back in his comic book.

Twilight took the amulet and placed it into her saddlebag as she replied, "We should give this to Princess Celestia as soon as possible."

"Ey'yup," was all Big Mac could say; being just as astonished as Twilight was, he spent years looking for a clue, and just now, they discovered Princess Malum's amulet. It was almost prophetic; they found it on the exact day one thousand years after her final battle. As the two started to head back to crystal glowed inside Twilight's saddlebag, and the ornament flew out and attached itself to Big Mac's chest. The stallion gasped as tendrils of magic wrapped around his body. He felt his body elongate as his mane started to grow out; he cried out in pain his face and skull morphed and reshaped. He felt something growing from his skull like a giant bone protruding through his forehead. But the worst was yet to come as Big Mac felt the rest of his body change, he gnashed his teeth as his body was stretched out and his muscles, organs, and bones rearranged inside of him. The stallion squeaked as he then felt the magic enter his nether regions and cried out, feeling his member disappear. But he couldn't dwell on the loss of his stallionhood as the burning pain from his side, as wings sprouted from the sides of his body. He was then slowly lowered to the ground standing there blinking, knowing what's happened to him but was too scared to say anything.

"T...T...Twilight…" Big Mac gasped upon hearing his voice; it was so soft and velvety, unlike his gruff voice. This was much more feminine as he felt something shrink beneath his legs. The stallion kicked and cried out as he lowered down to the ground. Big Mac stood there with his legs shaking and looking nervous. "T..Twi...Twilight, what happened?" from his much more feminine voice.

The mare stood there, eyes wide, and her mouth dropped open, her knees buckling and her entire frame quivering. All the violet unicorn could do was stammer, "Y...you..you.."

"You're princess Malum!" Spike burst into laughter as he fell on the ground kicking his stubby legs. Big Mac slowly trotted over to the nearby river and saw his reflection for himself. From the pictures he's seen of Princess Celestia he resembled her with his new long pronounced face, long eyelashes, a long flowing golden brown mane, and a long spiraling horn jutting from his forehead. "T... this is impossible! How did this happen!?"

"Big Mac, don't you understand this proves you're the descendant of Princess Malum," Twilight whispered.

Big Mac looked down at the bridle clasped to his chest, this amulet was what clearly turned him into a princess alicorn; instinctually wanting to turn back into a normal earth pony stallion he ripped the jewelry off him, and then in an instant; he was back to a simple earth pony. He took a moment to see his thick hooves were back, his broad chest, and then he took a peek between his legs and sighed in relief seeing his trusty member was back. The big red stallion got up and brushed the dirt off him, still somewhat shaken by what just happened.

Twilight then slowly trotted over and picked up the jewel as she replied, "Big Mac, Celestia sent me here to find any clues because it's been a thousand years since Nightmare Moon was sealed away. She will most likely return tonight, and you need to be the one to defeat her and save princess Luna."

"H...how!? I don't know anything about magic or how to fight or fly! I'm just an earth pony!" Big Mac cried out, his heart pounding in his chest.

Twilight trotted over and thrust the jewel into Big Mac's chest. "I'm sorry, but you're the only one who can save her; if you don't, we're all doomed."

The stallion stood there wide-eyed, looking down at the purple jewel in his hooves. Can he save Equestria?

The stallion rose on his hooves, "a...alright... I'll try…."

"Ok, well...we should get back to the Golden Apple Celebration," Twilight replied as she trotted off; she then turned her head and added. "Besides, technically, you're the guest of honor."

Spike snickered as Big Mac rolled his eyes. "Haha, funny."

He trotted off, looking downward...can he be the descendant of princess Malum? If so, why didn't anypony tell him? Why wasn't he prepared!? Is this somehow connected to the death of his parents? So many questions ran through his brain as he trotted off to Sweet Apple Acres.

After the Apple Family reunion, Big Mac was too wracked with paranoia and fear to celebrate anymore. He couldn't think straight as he had no idea what he was supposed to do. All the stallion could do was trot back and forth in his room nervously. Looking down at the amulet, he wondered if maybe Twilight was wrong? Perhaps Nightmare Moon won't return? Even if she did, Celestia could take her? Ma-"

"Muhahaha!" The cries of evil laughter echoed across Ponyville. Big Mac looked out his window seeing Nightmare Moon rising above the town with her eyes aglow with a dark green aura with Celestia wrapped up with green tendrils. "Princess Malum! You're the one who sealed me away, and you're the one I want to destroy! If you don't come out, I'll kill Celestia in front of everypony here and now!"

Big Mac gnashed his teeth, "buck! She already has Celestia hostage!"

He pulled his mane and shouted, "buck!" once more; it looked like he didn't have a choice; he had to go out and save Princess Celestia. He then reluctantly took the amulet and held it in his hoof. Looking downward at it, he was hesitant on becoming a princess alicorn again...but if he didn't do anything, Equestria was screwed! He gnashed his teeth, cursing fate, then shouted, "Fine, here goes nothing!"

The stallion then slammed the ornament into his chest as he felt his body transform again; it was still painful, but he was ready for it this time as Big Mac grew in size, wings sprouted from the sides of his body, and a horn grew from his head. He was once again a princess alicorn and was ready for battle. He flared his wings and shot through the ceiling of his house throwing pieces of wood all over. Big Mac blushed, looking down at the alicorn-sized hole in the roof. "I'll fix that later."

The stallion then spread his wings and soared across the sky, only to stumble about a little and cry out as he crashed into the ground below. Nightmare Moon stood flying above her, and she burst into laughter. "This is the great princess Malum! Seriously!?"

Big Mac groaned as he rose on his hooves; he stumbled a little trying to get used to this new body. When he finally got stable, he turned his attention to Nightmare Moon and snapped, "What are you saying? I'm here, aren't I?"

"I'm not talking to you meat sack," Nightmare Moon hissed; she then continued, "you always choose earth ponies to possess. It baffles me; they're weak and pathetic; their only purpose in life is to grovel at the hooves of the other tribes. You can be more powerful than Faust herself; all you have to do is possess Luna or Celestia, Cadance, or Twilight? But no, you instead possess an earth pony whose name will be forgotten and discarded like the rest of his kind."

"Shut up! You just shut the buck up!" Princess Malum's eyes glowed as her horn lit up. She flew upwards as Big Mac could feel he had lost almost all control at this point, to "princess Malum" or whoever was controlling his body, started to shoot out beams of magic outward at Nightmare Moon. The evil alicorn princess flew upward and skillfully dodged her attacks. Still, Nightmare Moon didn't realize apple trees started to grow all around her. They were huge with thick trunks and full of apples; the branches then began to hurl the apples at Nightmare Moon, showering her with thousands of the projectiles.

The dark alicorn princess flew upward, avoiding the barrage of apples before shooting out a beam of green energy cutting the trees down. Big Mac was now flying over the princess of nightmares and had a smirk on her face. She shot downward at the mare with a blast of energy in the shape of an apple. Nightmare Moon fell down to the ground as branches of apple trees grew around her limbs. The evil alicorn princess snarled and kicked, trying to break free. All while Princess Malum stood over Nightmare Moon and glared down at the dark alicorn princess heaving, her mane a mess, wings bent, she was quite battered and looking rather defeated already. However, despite being exhausted and feeling beat, she stood over Nightmare Moon victorious.

"Now you give Luna her body back, then leave Equestria forever! This will be your one and final warning," Princess Malum growled.

She lit her horn and aimed her magic at Nightmare Moon as the evil alicorn burst into laughter. "You think you can defeat me!? Fool! I am the night eternal!"

She shot her beam of green energy at Princess Malum's as it hit her bright red beam. They fused, exploding outward. Big Mac was crying out; her head was hurting. It was a headache worse than anything she had felt before. There was no way she could defeat her! At that moment, she was hit with the full strength of the blast; Princess Malum cried out in pain as she was sent flying through the town and was slammed into the depths of Everfree Forest.

Princess Malum gasped as she woke up in pain in her chest; she got upheaving and spitting up blood. She slowly stood up on all four hooves on the forest floor, breathing heavily, her chest hurt, her body screaming in pain. She stood there as she couldn't believe the fact that she was still alive. The flapping of wings and the shouting of "princess Malum!" came from above the red-coated alicorn looked up to see princess Nightmare Moon flying overhead.

Big Mac was trembling in fear; the prospect of him being defeated by Nightmare Moon and failing to save Equestria was becoming ever more evident. He lowered his head with tears filling his eyes as he whispered meekly, "we lost..."

"Yes, we can win; you just need to believe in yourself; I didn't choose you because you were powerful; it's because of your willpower."

"My what?" Big Mac asked out loud.

"Your resilience, the strength of your mind, you are an amazing pony. I believe we can defeat Nightmare Moon and save Luna."

Big Mac paused despite not knowing who the voice belonged to him could only assume that it came from Apple Ale, the former Princess Malum. He threw his long mane back and brushed the dirt from his chest as he asked, "ok...but how? She's too powerful to go on a head-to-head battle. We need a plan."

"Look around you; we can use the forest to our advantage."

Big Mac did see the scraggly dark-looking trees then she realized what the spirit of princess Malum was talking about. "Good idea! Let's do it!"

Big Mac didn't know anything about magic, but he concentrated on growing apple trees. He lit his horn, and not long after, apple trees grew around her; not just a few but hundreds grew as they shot upward into the sky. Nightmare Moon was caught by surprise as she hot beams of green energy at the trees once more, shouting, "this trick again! Your stupid trees can't stop me!"

But the branches shot out tangling Nightmare Moon in them. She kicked and cried out, "this isn't going to work a second time!"

Nightmare Moon's eyes lit up with green energy as she sent a blast wave slicing through dozens of branches and trees. She carved her way through the foliage, searching for Princess Malum, but as she did, a giant apple tree grew in her path, and she slammed right into it and was thrown to the forest floor below. There Big Mac smirked; he did it! Nightmare Moon was down! He had to take the opportunity; the stallion ran towards Nightmare Moon, turned around, and bucked her into another tree knocking the wind out of her. Nightmare Moon laid there heaving and groaning as Big Mac towered over her with his horn glowing. "Stand down; it's over."

To Big Mac's surprise, Nightmare Moon didn't try to curse him or fight back. Instead, she turned to face him with a cruel smile as she laughed, "you think you've won, but in reality, you're in a prison of your own making! You'll never escape and stay trapped in this nightmare forever!"

Big Mac had no idea what Nightmare Moon was yammering on about, but it didn't matter. He needed to focus on rescuing Princess Luna! He lit his horn as the shadowy visage of Nightmare Moon dissipated as what was left was a soft, dark blue-coated alicorn. She blinked, looking over at Big Mac tears filled her eyes.

"I...I found you! Thank Faust, you're ok!" Luna flew over and hugged Princess Malum, who was somewhat stunned. She hugged the red-coated alicorn and held her crying as Celestia flew down towards them. The princess of the sun looked astonished, not only seeing her sister but also her long-lost friend, princess Malum. Celestia then whispered, "princess Malum is that you?"

Big Mac stood there shaking looking rather nervous; despite just going through a battle he was much more scared of the princesses learning that he wasn't the legendary Princess Malum, but in truth was just a simple earth pony stallion. In response, he just gave a nod and simply replied, "Ey'yup." In his rather cute feminine voice.

Princess Celestia stepped forward then hugged Big Mac close. The two held each other for some time while she whispered, "I can't believe your both here and are ok. It's been too long since we've been together like this."

Luna smiled at the two, she opened her mouth to say something but then took a moment to think and said, "Yes, it's nice to be back…."

"Yes, sister, I'm so happy you're safe and free of Nightmare Moon's grasp," Celestia whispered.

Celestia turned to face Princess Malum and asked, "as for you, what happened? Where have you been all these years?"

Luna also turned to face her as Big Mac just stood there. How could she respond? Would they accept that he was a simple farm pony who just got caught up in all of this? He needed to say something, and the most he could muster was a stammer, "I...um...uh not sure...I think I um lost my memory."

Big Mac wanted to slam a hoof into his face; who would believe such a stupid lie. But Celestia just walked over and gave her a hug wrapping her soft angelic wings around her. "I'm glad you're back; that all that matters; thank you for saving my sister."

Big Mac paused then hugged her as well "ey'yup."

When Celestia broke the embrace, she started to brush the dirt and leaves out of Princess Malum's mane and suggested, "why don't you come to Canterlot with us? There's so much I need to catch you two up on."

"Um...I um... can't...I umm...have to...stay here…" Big Mac stammered; what was he supposed to say? He can't go to Canterlot! Despite now being the new vessel for Princess Malum he still has his responsibilities running Sweet Apple Acres.

Celestia turned to Princess Malum and asked, "I see, are you currently living here in Ponyville?"

Princess Malum gulped, seeing that at the very least he should tell them he'll still be in Equestria when needed; but he was still holding the truth about his secret identity close to his chest. He then replied somewhat reluctantly. "Ey'yup."

"Very well, but if we need of you, how can we contact you?" Celestia asked with a disheartened look.

"Oh, don't worry, dear sister, I have an idea," Luna responded abruptly. She nuzzled into Celestia and whispered, "let's just go, ok? I'm sure Princess Malum is tired and is probably self-conscious about her secret identity."

Both Big Mac and Celestia looked over at Luna with questionable expressions on their faces. Big Mac wondered what Luna was talking about? Why would she simply say something about him having a secret identity? He wanted to ask her what she knew about him but Celestia nuzzled into her sister first. Seeing the two princesses having a moment he decided it was probably better to keep his mouth shut. Celestia eventually turned her attention to Princess Malum and said, "Ok...well, just if you need anything, let my student Twilight know. Is that ok with you?"

"Ey'yup," was all Big Mac said in response.

Celestia and Luna then both flew off into the night with Big Mac looking upwards with a smile. Despite all, that's happened and how unprepared he was he did in fact just save princess Luna, after all, and nothing in the world can take that feeling away from him.

"I know you're still nervous about them learning your secret identity, but I'm sure they will accept you as you are."

Big Mac sighed; maybe Apple Ale was right…if this voice was Apple Ale…but he still didn't think they would, and right now, he was too shaken and shocked to have more pressure on his plate. "I'll tell them myself when I think it's right…for now; let's just go home and get some sleep."

The stallion then took the amulet and tore it off his chest. Big Mac stood there heaving and then looked down, seeing he was back to being a simple earth pony stallion. This time he didn't even check to make sure his stallionhood was back feeling his member between his hindlegs return. He chuckled and whispered to himself. "I'm actually getting used to this."

The amulet glowed as the voice replied in a rather annoyed tone, "well, as much as I prefer being a mare, it's your body, so you can choose when to put me on."

"Ok, but who are you?" Big Mac asked, being rather curious. He really wanted to know if this was the spirit of Princess Malum or if it was the former user of the amulet Apple Ale.

Before the spirit could respond, he heard Twilight shout.

"Hey, are you ok!? Big Mac!?"

The stallion turned to see Twilight rush over, and he hugged her close. They held in each other's embrace for a few minutes as the mare looked over the stallion and asked, "are you hurt?"

Big Mac blinked on, realizing all the pain in his chest…was gone!? He looked over his body, and he was feeling rather sore and bruised…but overall, he felt fine. He shook his head and replied with a simple." Ey'nope."

"That's great! Where's Princess Celestia? I'm sure I saw her fly over here?" she asked, looking around with an excited look in her eye.

"Um, you just missed her." Big Mac replied with a sheepish grin.

Twilight stomped a hoof in the ground and cursed, then said, "it's fine; I'll write to her later."

She then got out a scroll and quill. "Now, tell me everything you've learned about the amulet. I want details."

Big Mac shrugged; as much as he wanted to tell Twilight more about the amulet, there wasn't much else, he learned. As the two walked out of the Everfree Forest, he did his best to talk about the battle, and he did his best to describe the voice that seemed to be another entity possessing his body. But other than that, he couldn't give details on who the spirit was or why it chose him. Their conversation was cut short as he winced upon hearing another mare shout.

"Big Macintosh, there ya are! We've been searching all over Ponyville for ya! And here ya are waltzing out of the Everfree Forest like nothin's wrong!"

Big Mac and Twilight stood there with blank looks at an angry-looking Applejack fuming as she eyed at the two, then scoffed, "oh, I see what's going on here! Didn't know you were into unicorns, Big Mac?"

"Buck, no, you have the wrong idea!" Big Mac cried out, holding his hooves out with sweat coming down his brow, knowing precisely what Applejack was implying.

Twilight nodded and stammered, "it's not what it looks like, I swear! I was just looking for him too!"

"Uh-huh!? Sure, come on, Big Mac somepony left a giant hole in our house, and I need help fixin' it." Applejack snapped. She took her brother by the ear and dragged him off as he winked at Twilight, who blushed as she waved a hoof at him. He was glad she kept his secret about being a princess from his sister. He wasn't sure how to explain what happened to him as he was still confused about the whole situation himself. Big Mac could only hope he could talk to Twilight more in the morning, and maybe they could start learning more about this mysterious amulet.