The Adventures of Princess Malum

by Foal Star

Rating: teen
Tags: Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Thriller, Comedy, Big Macintosh, Adventure
Length: 28473

Big Mac discovers he is the next in line to wield the Amulet of Malum. This ancient artifact transforms him into a princess alicorn and with this newfound power, he must protect Equestria from the minions of Nightmare Moon.

This story takes place after the episode "Do princesses dream of magic sheep"

Big Macintosh is a simple earth pony who one day runs in the misfortune of learning he's the next in line to wielding the Amulet of Malum. With this artifact, he can transform into Princess Malum, a powerful alicorn who is burdened with the duty of protecting Equestria from Nightmare Moon and her minions. Being inexperienced and forced to share his body with the spirit of the former user of the amulet. Big Mac now has to learn how to use his new body to protect Equestria; while keeping his identity a secret and performing his duties of running Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily for him, he's not alone. Along with Twilight and her friends, Luna will help him deal with his everyday life and hero life. In the end, Big Mac will have to choose one or the other. But, before then, he is...Princess Malum!

Published 2021-10-09 18:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-06-06 23:47:18 UTC

Episode one: Once upon a time...

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.

Episode Three: My name is!

The next day came and went in what felt like a blink of an eye. Big Mac was now standing out in an open field near his family's apple orchard, already in his alicorn form. The former stallion was somewhat nervous as he was about to have his first flying lesson with Rainbow Dash. Was he really going to be able to learn how to fly? Or is he just going to end up crashing all day? Regardless he was here, and there was no turning back. The alicorn took a moment to spread out his wings and admire his massive wingspan. He decided to give his new appendages a few gentle flaps. Big Mac then looked over the long flowing wings and couldn't help but focus on how massive they were on either side of his body. Despite being somewhat used to his new form, his new appendages still felt alien to him, and he still saw them as something that shouldn't be on his body.

You'll get used to them.

"That's easy for you to say," Big Mac scoffed out loud, addressing the spirit living inside him had more experience with this stuff than him. As he thought about this, he couldn't help but ask Apple Ale within his mind. "How many years did you have this body?"

I can't recall the exact number, but it was for at least a decade.

"So please understand that I've only been a mare for a week, so give me a break," Big Mac grumbled rather irritably, annoyed with the fact that Apple Ale should know he had little to no experience in this foreign body.

Of course, just remember I'm always here and will lend you, my expertise.

Big Mac shrugged as he was okay with her assistance and was also grateful; she was there to keep him from making a complete fool of himself. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

He threw his long-flowing mane back looked up into the cloudless crystal blue sky. Today would be perfect for flying, with no clouds or wind; this was somewhat reassuring to the alicorn as he hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself too much with constantly crashing.

"Hey! Glad to see you made it before me!"

Upon hearing Rainbow Dash’s voice, Big Mac then had to switch to his alter ego Princess Malum as she turned to face the pegasus and flashed a smile. "Yeah, good to see you as well, Rainbow um…uh…Rainbow Crash?"

"My name is Rainbow Dash!" The mare shouted as she slammed a hoof down on the ground.

"Right, sorry…" the former stallion stammered with his cheeks flushing red, feeling somewhat embarrassed for getting the mare's name wrong.

The daredevil rolled her eyes and said, "it's fine, now are you ready for some flying?"

Princess Malum wasn't sure, and she wasn't ready for what was to come, and she could feel the sweat pouring down her forehead as she stammered out. "Yeah, sure…"

"Okay, let's start with take off!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she took on a stance spreading out her four legs. "Now, get into a stance like mine; this is important to a proper lift-off!"

Princess Malum followed suit, taking a similar stance to her mentor and spreading out her large wingspan. Rainbow Dash gave a nod of approval, then said, "good, now start gently flapping your wings. Once you get enough push, you should be able to lift yourself off the ground."

Princess Malum started to flap just like Rainbow Dash and gently lifted herself up. Unlike her first flight, where she was pumping with adrenaline as she rushed into a battle going off of pure instinct. This time the slow, gentle flapping and gradually rising in the air felt more natural as she slowly rose into the sky to meet with her mentor.

"Hey! you're getting the hang of it!" The daredevil cheered as they were now hovering over the apple trees below.

The alicorn flew up right after her, and they started to fly together gently. Princess Malum stumbled about a little as she was getting used to being in flight, but despite her inexperience, she was in complete ecstasy with her long flowing mane trailing in the wind and the feeling of the cool breeze blowing through her feathers. But as the initial experience was wafting over her, she turned to face Rainbow Dash and saw how effortlessly she was flying through the air without a care in the world. It was then Princess Malum realized how clumsy she was, stumbling about with every gust of wind and having to adjust her position to keep upright constantly. After a few more stumbles and with Princess Malum finally able to steady herself, she heard her mentor shout.

"Hey! Pay attention!"

The mare looked up and saw a hot air balloon floating right towards her! Princess Malum cried out as she took a dive and was able to avoid it barely but ended up slamming into a cloud. The water vapor blinded the alicorn as she started plummeting towards the ground. Then almost as if somepony else was taking control of her body and she threw her wings out to their full length. Princess Malum closed her eyes and braced for impact as she fell to the ground with a loud crash!

As Princess Malum woke up from her crash, she could feel her body aching as she slowly got up on all fours. She flapped her wings, making sure they weren't broken, but winced, feeling some pain, but after a few more flaps, she could feel the pain receding. The princess then looked over to see Rainbow Dash landing next to her with a worried look on her face as she asked, "Hey, are you alright? Are ya hurt?"

"Ey'nope," was all the alicorn said, feeling somewhat embarrassed and rather shaken by her fall.

Rainbow Dash then went from being worried to being annoyed and said, "seriously, you need to keep an eye out where you’re going; you’re not the only thing flying around here."

"Right, sorry," Princess Malum squeaked, being taken aback by Rainbow Dash's demeanor. They then both lifted off into the air once more then the pegasi turned towards her with a smile and commented, "Honestly, you’re not half bad; you're doing a lot better than Twilight did on her first time."

There it is again; it seems many ponies think Twilight is an alicorn for some reason?

"Who cares? I shouldn't be focusing on that right now," Princess Malum grumbled in her mind; it was strange how many of Twilight’s friends thought of her as an alicorn, not a unicorn. But honestly, it wasn't something she should be focusing on right now. The alicorn pushed it out of her mind as they reached a higher altitude with a few clouds in the area. Rainbow Dash then began to explain. "Now that you have the basics, there are some things you should keep in mind. Flying is like when you’re a baby trying to walk; when you start, you'll be stumbling about, and you're rather clumsy, but over time it becomes more natural until it’s second nature."

Princess Malum lowered her head, feeling self-conscious of her ability, but Rainbow Dash continued with that smile of hers. "But that's okay; all beginner flyers have to pay attention to their balance and need to focus on keeping themselves upright."

"Okay…so, it's just going to take more practice…." Princess Malum sighed, feeling somewhat relieved to see that she was utterly hopeless. So, she continued to fly across the landscape for a few more hours. She was much more vigilant of her surroundings, avoiding collisions with birds or other flying objects. However, the princess couldn't help to look down at the sprawling landscape, and the view below was breathtaking. The apple orchard below looked like a sea of green dotted with tiny spots of red. They were now far above Ponyville with the homes of her fellow ponies looking no bigger than dollhouses, and Golden Oaks library looked no bigger than a shrub. Princess Malum turned her gaze to the vast Everfree Forest outstretched like a sprawling entity of darkness with its scraggly trees and ominous presence. Then beyond that was a mountainous landscape that stretched out to the horizon. At that moment, she realized how little her town was compared to the rest of the world and how despite Ponyville not being that big her home, she had to protect it at all costs. Then her train of thought was suddenly broken as she heard shouting.

"Hey, Princess! Where did you go!?"

"I'm coming!" Princess Malum exclaimed and quickly flew over towards her mentor. She didn't notice earlier, but the alicorn outpaced Rainbow Dash by quite a lot, and she wasn't even aware of it.

Rainbow Dash sighed relief as she flew over and shouted, "seriously! Stay with me; if anything happens to you, Celestia knows what Twilight would do to me!"

"Right, I apologize," Princess Malum insisted as she bowed her head a little out of respect.

"Stop with the apologizing come on, let's just go home using a current." Rainbow Dash opened her wings more and flew off. The princess followed suit, unfurling her wings as the two descended back towards Sweet Apple Acres. As they did so, Rainbow Dash began to explain, "Easy, now remember you want to let yourself go with the flow and allow the current carry you. You'll tire yourself if you exert too much."

"Right, "Princess Malum gasped as she felt rather beat and bruised from the crash and the amount of time she's spent flying. As the two got closer to the ground, Princess Malum bent her wings a bit more, letting the wind push under them, allowing her to slow down.

"Good! Good!" Rainbow cheered as she led the alicorn through the air; they continued to the ground. Rainbow Dash landed rather well, slamming perfectly into the grass. As for, Princess Malum squealed as she stumbled a little on her landing and ended up falling right on her face into a mud puddle which resulted in a laugh from Rainbow Dash.

The alicorn groaned as she slowly got up, shaking the mud off her body and feeling like she failed as the mare bent her head and apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to land so hard."

"What did I say about apologizing all the time? It's getting weird!?" Rainbow scoffed, and Princess Malum was going to utter another apology but decided at the last moment to keep her mouth shut. Rainbow Dash then continued to compliment her. “Seriously, you’re doing fine; keep it up and continue practicing; you’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

"Right, it just takes practice," Princess Malum mumbled back with a smile feeling rather proud that she got such a compliment from Rainbow Dash. All it took was more practice, and she’ll be ready to face Nightmare Moon again.

Two weeks later…

What turned into two weeks of practicing magic and flying felt like a few hours to Big Mac. Since his first flying lesson with Rainbow Dash, he's been busy nonstop, and it showed. His eyes had dark bags under them; his flowing mane was a giant frazzled mess. Sitting across from him was Twilight, who was the exact opposite looking much more regal with her straight dark blue and light pink mane and sitting up straight in her chair. His vision narrowed as he focused his attention on a big red rubber ball. Twilight was standing aside, and there was a tense atmosphere. Big Mac closed his eyes and concentrated all his energy, trying to teleport a ball from one side of the room to the other. Then without warning, he sent an aura of green energy towards the ball as it suddenly disappeared with a flash of light. Twilight and Big Mac were both astonished and waited to see what happened next. Then a ball suddenly appeared again right before him, but his astonishment turned to one of dismay seeing the ball return as nothing but a pile of ash.

Big Mac rubbed his hooves over his face and cried out, "Ugh again!? I'm never going to get this!"

Twilight clapped her hooves and cheered, "It's okay, you’re getting better at this. You’re just over-exerting yourself, is all."

Despite feeling like a failure, Big Mac did feel better-having Twilight mentoring and encouraging him. He didn't have anything else to say as she waved a hoof and said, "come on, let's get something to eat; you need a break."

The former stallion shrugged as he wasn’t feeling hungry but didn’t see the harm of taking a small break. He trotted over with Twilight to her kitchen. As his mentor brought over some dandelion sandwiches and glasses full of iced tea, they sat down together. Big Mac then took his hooves and was going to take a bite of his sandwich, but he looked up to see Twilight wagging a hoof in his face. "Come on, Big Mac, use your horn like I taught you."

The alicorn was rather annoyed seeing he's been eating with his hooves his entire life. But he relented and levitated the sandwich with his light green aura and started chomping on it rather aggressively. They sat there eating their sandwiches together in silence, with Big Mac brooding.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked.

Big Mac looked over towards the violet unicorn. He thought about how for two weeks as he thought about the massive amount of pressure coming down on him. The alicorn felt like Daring Do trapped in a room with the ceiling and walls slowly closing around him. He usually kept all his thoughts and emotions to himself. But he also tried to keep his identity secret, and he needed to rant a little. "Yeah, I have been working nonstop for two weeks; I wake up, do my chores, make an excuse to come here to practice magic, practice flying, go back to finishing my chores, then collapse on my bed, or sometimes in the middle of the orchard."

Twilight blinked then shouted, "wait, why didn't you tell me that you're working so hard! I don't want to overwork you!"

That's what I keep telling him.

"Shut up," Big Mac snapped mentally at the voice; with all of this on his mind, he no longer felt hungry as he rose up from the table to leave. But, despite all of the pressure he was putting on himself, he wanted to explain to Twilight the was a reason for it all as he said, "I need to practice, I don't know when Nightmare Moon will return or who is working with her, so I need to practice and be ready for her."

Twilight rose, and in a worried tone, she explained, "I understand, trust me, I know how you’re feeling. But you can't save the world if you don't care for yourself. Please go get some rest."

Listen to her stop trying to do everything on her own.

The former stallion sighed as he collapsed into his chair and looked downward. Despite everypony that knew his identity giving him the same advice, he was still unsure if he could stop practicing his magic and flying. Big Mac then looked Twilight right in her big round violet-colored eyes and admitted, "I'm scared, that if I'm not ready and somepony gets hurt on my watch, I would never be able to forgive myself. I need to be ready."

Twilight smirked as she tossed her sandwich at the alicorn; out of almost pure instinct, Big Mac used his horn to zap it with a flash of lime green light. Then in a blink of an eye, the sandwich ended up speared on Twilight's horn with mustard running down her face.

Big Mac was surprised despite the sandwich ending up on Twilight's face; he was surprised to see it was mostly intact!

Twilight then teleported the sandwich back onto the alicorn's plate as she beamed a smile at him and said, "You see! You did it! You’re learning magic and how to fly faster than anypony I've ever seen! You're going to be fine."

"Thanks…is it okay if I take a nap?" Big Mac asked as he lowered his head, admitting that he was indeed learning and was grasping his newfound magic and flying ability.

"No problem come on, follow me," Twilight chirped as she led the alicorn princess up to her room. Princess Malum almost instantly collapsed on the mattress, not even bothering to throw the blankets over her. He laid there on the bed, looking out the window mulling over what Twilight said, wondering if he was indeed ready to protect Ponyville. But the desire for sleep was much more alluring. For now, he'll close his eyes and get some rest…

A few hours later…

Princess Malum stood on top of Golden Oaks Library and looked down over Ponyville, taking in the scenery. She looked much better after a shower and some coffee with her mane flowing and looking less messy and with her amulet glinting in the sunlight. The princess looked downward, watching the town and seeing the hustle and bustle of the townsponies below like ants going about their work, unaware of how small they were. The exhilaration of finally showing herself and going on a flyover was something she wanted to do for some time when she felt fully ready. Yet, she still had this sense of dread that she wasn't prepared…

Despite Princess Malum’s self-doubt, she felt like it was time to show the citizens of Ponyville their safe and that she was their protector. With a look of determination on her face, she got into a stance as she threw out her giant red feathered wings; then, she lifted herself into the air with a sudden burst of energy. Princess Malum narrowed her wings towards her body as she soared through the skies at breakneck speeds, and she threw herself up through the clouds then cried out. "Wooo! Hooo!"

The mare was embracing herself fully; after weeks of training with magic and flying, she felt like she was becoming an alicorn. The alicorn continued to fly over the town with the crowds of ponies looking up, staring at her in awe. Stallions cheering, mare clapping and chanting her name, foals jumping up and down in excitement. She, of course, was too shy to say anything and could only wave a hoof back. But the moment ended as she heard a sudden loud Boom! She turned to see a house exploding near the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. The princess tucked her wings, soared across the sky, and headed towards the explosion. As she got near the flames, the princess was hovering over what appeared to be a blue-coated unicorn wearing a purple cape and a strange amulet in the shape of an alicorn around her neck. Trixie was laughing maniacally and shouting, "Run! Run! As I the great and powerful Trixie will take over this Ponyville and rename it Trixieville!"

But her shouting ended as Princess Malum slammed into the ground sending a cloud of dust and smoke to fly around her. As the debris cleared, standing above the unicorn was a mighty red-coated alicorn wings spread out, horn alright with magic and glaring right at the unicorn, causing havoc. The citizens that hadn't evacuated were in awe at the powerful visage standing before them. Trixie, however, seemed unphased as she turned around and scoffed back. "Another princess alicorn has come to stop, the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Princess Malum narrowed her gaze, focusing her attention on her foe as she said, "yeah, that's right, my name is-"

Episode Four: Princess Malum Vs Trixie

The battle was much more difficult than Princess Malum anticipated as it had been going on for about an hour. The princess alicorn was heaving and feeling rather worn out as she planted her hooves on the ground and looked up to see that Trixie was flashing an evil smile right back at her. The princess alicorn in question stood upright, looking somewhat exhausted; her body was battered and bruised. Despite how broken she looked, the show mare wasn't looking too hot either. They looked worn out, and Princess Malum was hoping that Trixie would give up the fight soon, being somewhat exhausted. She didn't know how long she'd be able to continue. But Trixie started to laugh and then exclaimed, "well, it seems Trixie's plan has worked perfectly!"

"W…what are you talking about?" Princess Malum wheezed, being out of breath from their battle, wondering what the heck could Trixie be referring to?

A smirk slowly grew on her face. She said, "I have a power that I never showed anypony before. I will now use my abilities to capture you and bring you to Trixie's princess Nightmare Moon! And she shall have risen again!"

Princess Malum spat out some blood from her mouth as she readied herself for another round. Trixie groaned as her body began to transform in front of her. She grew more prominent and thicker, with her coat becoming much like a mass of fur that now covered her entire body. Her face started to become a squarish muzzle filled with rows of sharp teeth. The princess alicorn stood in horror as she watched the beast towering over it was a giant bear! She's never seen such a creature whose body was the size of a barn or a mansion. But something in her mind whispered. "It's an Ursa Major! That unicorn just transformed into an Ursa Major!"

"But how!? Is that even possible!?" Princess Malum shouted within her mind; she had heard of Ursa Majors before, but she always thought they were just from stories older ponies told her to behave. She never thought they were real, let alone seeing Trixie transforming into one!?

The magical, mystical bear with its sparkling dark blue coat looked down at her with violet eyes glowing with rage. The creature let out a loud roar at the princess alicorn, spittle all over her. Princess Malum wiped the drool from her face as the alicorn princess stepped back in fear. She was trembling all over, having no idea how to take this creature down.

The bear then tried swapping at her, and she had to fly up to avoid it, and she was now terrified! She felt her heart thumping in her chest and queasy, dodging the swats and then climbing into the air, trying to get above her. Princess Malum was now trying to gauge what to do and wondering if she even had a chance of defeating this creature. She tried to blast the bear with a beam of energy, putting all of her strength into the blast. The Ursa Major just chuckled as the magical rays bounced off its body harmlessly. The creature then stood up on his back legs and tried waiting at her again, with Princess Malum having to fly backward. She saw that if Trixie came any closer, it would be trampling over Ponyville. The fear paralyzing her vanished as she realized that she had to stop this creature from advancing further, and she had to do something fast!

The mare's horn started to glow as Apple trees sprung up around the bear's paws, with the trunks twisting slowly around the massive legs. Trixie growled and roared as the Ursa Major tried to rip the trees from the ground smashing her paws on the ground, causing the earth to tremble. It seemed as if she could not move; she was stuck and couldn't move! It was great. Trixie had to be using a lot of magical energy. Eventually, she had to revert to her usual self, and then she could be captured! But her victory was short-lived as the Ursa Major took her paws and, with all her might, started to rip the trees from the ground; she roared and went into a rage as the thickly blue-coated bear charged forward at the princess.

"Buck!" Princess Malum shouted as she tried sending more trees to wrap their branches around the beast. But Trixie was smashing them to bits ripping the trees from her body, nothing impeding her charge.

Princess Malum had to soar into the sky and soar over the Ursa Major, and she was starting to freak out. The alicorn princess was starting to realize she needed help! Maybe Princess Celestia or Luna could assist, but how can she get ahold of them!?

Princess Malum scanned the area, and that was when she saw a shivering-looking yellow-coated pegasus; it was Fluttershy. If she could remember, the mare could calm animals down and help tame this giant angry bear, and she could maybe then get her to stop this rampage before things get out of control. She then flew over and grabbed the mare and shouted, "Fluttershy, that's your name, right!?"

Upon hearing her voice, the pegasus slowly looked upward and gulped, and asked, "yes?"

"Hey, listen, can you use your stare on her?" Princess Malum asked; she didn't know how she could understand that this pegasus had an ability like that.

Fluttershy tilted her head upwards and squeaked upon seeing the Ursa Major roaring making her squeak, covering her eyes, and starting to cower. Princess Malum tried to summon more trees to keep Trixie at bay, buying them time. But she could feel her heart pounding, knowing that if Fluttershy couldn't get her to stop cowering, they would be dead. The princess shouted, "Hey, you can't be scared now; you have to be brave, understand!? If we don't stop her, she'll come stomping through Ponyville, tearing up the place. Ponies will get hurt, lives will be lost; we can't let that happen!"

Princess Malum grounded her hooves into the ground. It grew trees in its path, not knowing if her words got to Fluttershy, but all she could do was hope to keep her concentration on stalling Trixie's advance.

However, Fluttershy seemed to regain her composure and stared right at the Ursa Major and shouted, "Trixie, stop!"

The thick-furred blue-coated bear was looking right into Fluttershy's eyes when the pegasus shouted and stopped right in her tracks, unable to stop herself from gazing deep into her eyes. She stopped right in front of the pegasus as she glared at her, and she seemed hypnotized.

"Now I don't know what's going on? But you need to stop right here and not go any further," the pegasus snapped.

The Ursa Major huffed through its nose, seeming rather pissed as he slammed a paw into the ground, snorting but unable to go any further. She lowered her head as Fluttershy brushed her muzzle with a hoof. "There, calm down; there's no need for all of this."

Princess Malum was ready to send more magic at Trixie, seeing the creature growling under her breath. But it seemed like she was entirely under Fluttershy's gaze and seemed to be unable to break away from it. Seeing her opportunity, the princess alicorn started running. She was soon sprinting at full speed until she slammed her horn with magic into the Ursa Major. The creature gave one last cry of pain that reverberated across the plains. Princess Malum now stood over Trixie, watching as the massive bear returned to her little pony form. Her shaggy blue coat turned a lighter color. The giant body was reduced to its pony size with her thick squarish muzzle turning round. The blue-coated mare groaned, rubbing her head as she looked up to the princess alicorn standing over her. Despite wanting to capture Trixie immediately, she needed to confirm something as she asked, "so Nightmare Moon is still around, huh? Where is she?"

Trixie laughed rather manically as she got up on her hooves and said, "Nightmare Moon is everywhere and knows everything about you, Big Macintosh. You will soon be hers and I will witness her rebirth and the Night shall last forever!"

"Wait, ho-" before the princess could ask her another question, the unicorn lit her horn and vanished in a puff of smoke without a trace.

The princess alicorn looked around and saw that Trixie was nowhere. She then turned her head and saw groups of ponies clapping and cheering as they came closer and chanted her name. "Princess Malum! Princess Malum!"

She was soon swarmed by reporters bombarding her with questions about what just happened and asking if she was ok? And who is she?

With all of the questions coming at her, the princess alicorn seemed flustered as she suddenly had to shout, "stop!"

Everypony paused then Princess Malum cleared her throat. "Look, everypony, listen, I don't know who that was, and I am still learning what's going on myself. I couldn't have taken on that creature myself, and Fluttershy was today's true hero. We would've lost this battle if it weren't for her bravery."

The ponies all over this place looked somewhat confused and whispered amongst each other. Princess Malum saw that Fluttershy fled, leaving her behind to continue the press conference. She was annoyed and slightly unsure how to continue; her main goal should be to reassure the press and Ponyville that they were safe. The princess alicorn cleared her throat and continued, "you all know me now as Princess Malum. But I need to clear something up I am not like the other princesses. I'm not here to govern you I'm just here as a protector. As you see, Nightmare Moon, the entity that possessed Luna, is still out there, and she sees me as a vessel for her to control. That means she'll continue sending her minions at me until I allow her to possess me, which will never happen."

The multitude of reporters started to whisper amongst each other and asked more questions.

"Ok, where are you living? There are rumors you're staying with Twilight Sparkle. Is that true?"

"Some say you have a castle in the Everfree Forest; is that true? Are you a changeling or a monster in disguise?"

Princess Malum gulped, seeing there was no way she could explain everything; then, suddenly, she squeaked as she heard somepony shout. "Enough!"

The alicorn princess squeaked as she looked up to see Luna flapping as she started to come down from the sky and landed next to Princess Malum. The Princess of the Night looked rather pissed as she raised her head and then shouted in her Canterlot voice. "Ponies of Ponvyille! There is no need to worry. Princess Malum has done an extraordinary job keeping you safe and will be your protector henceforth. I swear my sister and I will continue to provide assistance in these battles but Princess Malum will always be the first line of defense. "

"Where is she staying!?"

"Yes, where is she? Who is she?"

The reporters started to continue flashing their cameras and asking more questions. Princess Malum gulped as she had no idea how to answer. Luna, however, once again saved the day as she said, "Princess Malum is staying in Canterlot, but she has the uncanny ability to help when necessary. However, Princess Malum and I will take our leave as we have some business to discuss." Everypony nodded, seeming to like that answer; but the press continued to bombard them with questions. However, Luna's wings flared as she took Princess Malum by the hoof as they flew off across Ponyville, heading to the vast sea of appletrees that made up Sweet Apple Acres.

The two alicorns landed in a nearby apple orchard, where Luna helped brush some dust from her coat and mane. Princess Malum's heartbeat slowed down, and she was starting to regain her composure. She wanted to do nothing but thank the princess of the night for her help getting out from the press that swarmed her. But Luna looked over at her with a worried expression on her face as she said, "look at you all bruised up. I am so sorry I should have come to help you sooner."

"It's fine, Fluttershy, and I saved Ponyvile, and that's all that matters," Princess Malum gasped in response as she was still catching her breath and trying to relax her mind.

Luna opened her mouth and was going to say something, but she closed it and then gave a long sigh as she said, "there are too many eyes here, but when we're alone at the Gala, we need to talk. I need to tell you a lot, but for now, what you need to know is don't let this hero stuff get into your head. You have to keep Ponyville safe, but don't let this consume you."

"Ey'yup," was all Princess Malum said as she watched Luna fly off back into the skies. When Luna was gone, the alicorn princess slowly took off her amulet. She reverted back to her broad, stallion earth pony form. He looked at his body overseeing the bruises were gone, but Big Mac winced in pain as he trotted down the orchard. The stallion decided to slow down and continued to trot towards his home. Upon seeing his sister, he saw his sister Applejack, who was hitched to a wagon full of apples as she looked over at him with a glare. He gulped, knowing she must be pissed at him as they were supposed to be bucking apples today, and shouted, "Hey, where were you!?"

Big Mac gulped again as he thought about a lie and stammered, "uh…I…um…went to Twilight's…."

"Ok, I get it. I don't need details, just come and help me get these apples stored!" Applejack shouted. "Seriously, I know you and Twilight are becoming more of a thing, but we still got a farm to run."

"Ey'yup," Big Mac replied with a nod as he helped place the apples into barrels; he couldn't help but wonder if he should tell Applejack the truth. But at the same time, he didn't want to risk anypony knowing he was Princess Malum as Luna's minions would target his family. He shook his head until Nightmare Moon was defeated; he would keep his identity a secret even from Applejack. If anything happened to them, he would never be able to forgive himself. Then there was what Luna said? What did she mean by there was something she needed to talk about?

Big Mac yawned as he was somehow in his bed, and night had fallen; he blinked, looking somewhat confused, staring outside with the moon's glow lighting his room. He felt his tired aching body craving sleep. However, Big Mac's mind still continued to ponder things, wondering what in Equestria was going on? Why does Nightmare Moon want his body, and what does Luna wish to talk to him about? His mind soon drifted off and in his dreams, he could still hear the chants of Princess Malum in his mind. He couldn't but feel a bit happy feeling a sense of pride in ponies knowing him even if it was just from a disguise.

Episode Five: The trials of being a Princess

It's been a few weeks since Big Mac's debut fight with Trixie the Ursa Major, as he was slowly walking down the streets of Ponyville in awe as he was trotting through the streets with a cart of apples strapped to his back. He couldn't help but look around, seeing the praise of Princess Malum was growing all around him. He enjoyed the glory that he was getting sure. Still, there was so much pressure on him to keep Ponyville from being destroyed. Already he's faced a giant squid monster, a centaur named Tirek, a Headless Horse, and even an old mare looking for a rusty horseshoe. That was including the dozens of carriage crashes he's prevented, the dozens of cats he saved from trees, and blasting a few asteroids into space.

The stallion was utterly exhausted and drained, with bags under his eyes and his mane a mess. But as he continued his trot, he looked around to see a crowd of ponies seeing newspapers with his name "Princess Malum" printed on them. Foals were running, cheering, carrying dolls and action figures of his alicorn form. The stallion looked downward with a pink blush growing on his face; he was somewhat embarrassed about his situation. Big Mac continued his walk down the road as he looked over to see the farm mare at a stand selling apples. The stallion waved a hoof over his head and shouted, "Hey, Applejack!"

"Hey, Big Mac," Applejack yawned as they went about their business; the farm mare started to talk. "So I need to ask? Where in the hay are you going every night!?"

The stallion gulped, looking at all the merchandise and praise his alter ego was receiving. Seeing how popular she was becoming, he couldn't risk all this unnecessary attention on his family, so he lied, "I am seeing Twilight more…."

Applejack eyed her brother and said, "Right, I asked Twilight many times about what's going with you two; she keeps dodging my questions and gets all flustered. I know you and Twilight both are rather close, but I feel like you two are hiding something from me."

Big Mac slammed a hoof to his face and groaned under his breath, seeing that all of these lies would eventually fall through, and she would learn the truth. But for now, he remained adamant about remaining silent as they sorted the apples, took a good chunk out of the dried apples, and tossed them aside.

"I think the fruit bats are back," Applejack growled under her breath.

"Yeah…" Big Mac grumbled as he had been fighting an army of bat ponies who were attacking the strawberry fields and other ponies' fruit stands. He was still investigating who their leader was. Still, for now, he was simply trying to mitigate the damage they were causing. After a few hours of selling apples, he saw the sun was now going down and squeaked, "Hey, I gotta get going and get ready for the gala!"

"Right, well, go on! Don't want to be late!" Applejack snickered as she slapped his rump with a hoof. The stallion rolled his eyes and ran down the road as fast as possible.

He then clasped the purple amethyst to his chest and suddenly transformed into his alicorn form. The princess alicorn then spread out her wings and with a burst of speed lifted off and soared off through the skies.

After a few minutes of peaceful flight as he continued flying through the air, he heard somepony shout at him from below.

"Princess Malum, I need your help!"

The alicorn mare groaned, wondering what it could be this time as she looked down and was somewhat surprised to see Mayor Mare waving a hoof at her. She then looked down and saw that the mayor was hosting some kind of rally with a group of ponies to be all around, looking like a fan convention wearing t-shirts with her picture on them, some wearing even full-body costumes of her. Princess Malum then landed right next to Mayor Mare and looked over the crowd with a confused look and then shouted, "what is going on here!?"

"Oh, nothing more than were here to thank you for saving Ponyville!" Mayor Mare cried out.

The crowd all cheered as Princess Malum slammed a hoof into her face. "I thought this was an emergency!"

"Yes, it is an emergency! We should've celebrated your victory over Trixie weeks ago! I declare that we host a national holiday for the hero Princess Malum!" the mayor exclaimed. Everypony started cheering once again and continuing to chant, "Princess Malum!" once again. Princess Malum placed a hoof over her face being rather bashful and waited patiently for the chanting to die down. The alicorn cleared her throat and said, "again, Fluttershy helped me take down Trixie, and she deserves as much praise as me."

"See, how humble Princess Malum is! Why don't we give her a round of applause!" Mayor Mare exclaimed as she clapped her hooves as dozens of ponies began clopping their hooves and chanting her name again.

The alicorn princess grumbled under her breath, seeing nopony was listening to her and she was wasting time. However, she loved all the attention she was getting as Big Mac; he was always just a nobody that could go through life without anypony noticing anything he did. He was not used to everypony throwing so much attention his way, and it was hard not to let all of this praise go to his head. The former stallion was wrapping up signing "Princess Malum" on dozens of T-shirts and other merchandise. Princess Malum got caught up writing down her name on everything when she looked up at the sun and then the realization that she was going to be late for the gala. She then suddenly squeaked, "ok! I gotta get going, or I'm going to be late!" Without warning, she burst into the air and headed straight to Golden Oaks library as fast as possible.

It wasn't long until the princess landed near Golden Oaks Library, the stallion felt a chill crawl up his spine. The princess alicorn then slowly trotted inside the library, where he saw Twilight standing before her. The unicorn's horn lit up, and the alicorn blinked as he tried to move; it wasn't like anything he's felt before, with each movement feeling stiff and awkward. He tried flapping his wings, and they were there, but it felt like two giant pieces of cardboard as they moved up and down rather stiffly and seemed to not respond to him.

"Muahahaha! You lost Big Mac, for I Smarty Pants have taken over Twilight's body!"

Big Mac was somewhat confused; he slowly turned his head and looked right at a mirror, seeing that his body had this plasticity shine with her regal fitting loosely on her body. Big Mac walked around the table, getting used to how new plastic, stiff body, then he looked over at the purple unicorn and chuckled. "So you think you defeated me, really?"

"Yes, your soul is now in a plastic doll; what can you do now but submit your true body to Nightmare Moon!"

"Sorry to disappoint, but that's not happening today!" the alicorn princess exclaimed. She flew across the room, ramming her horn into Twilight. Soon, the two were duking it shooting blasts of magic at each other. Meanwhile, the action figure, Big Mac, jumped off the table and headed up the library's stairs in search of the toy that held Twilight's soul in. He eventually made his way up to Twilight's bedroom, where he saw that an old-looking ragdoll was slumped in the mare's bed. He was hoping that maybe Twilight's real soul was residing within. Big Mac then slowly made his way through the room and climbed through the bedsheets, and as he moved over to the mare, and asked, "hey Twilight is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Twilight grumbled, "I'm assuming Smarty Pants is another one of Nightmare Moon's minions was trying to hold me hostage, again!"

Big Mac gulped as he said, "Hey, it's better than being held by a squid monster."

"Don't remind me! I'm not one to complain about my looks, but it took a week to get that fish smell out of my coat!"

"Ey'yup! that was hilarious!" Big Mac chuckled, remembering how agiant squid covered Twilight's library in its mucus. They stood there in silence with the sounds of magical blasts and feeling the library shake. Twilight turned her head then commented, "you don't seem to be fazed about any of this?"

"Ey'nope!"

"guess you're getting used to the superhero life, huh?"

"Ey'yup!" Big Mac responded rather angrily despite being in an action figure. He was used to the absurdity of these frequently tough fights. However, he didn't know how Twilight could be feeling, seeing this wasn't the first time she was caught in the crossfire and said, "Also, don't worry about staying like that; my alicorn body will be getting us back to normal soon."

Twilight, however, was somewhat confused as she asked in a questioning tone, "Is the spirit Apple Ale taking control over your body!?"

"Ey'yup!" The stallion responded relatively comfortably as he used his plastic wings to help him grab onto the sheets; he then made his way over the ragdoll.

"Sorry that you got transformed into an action figure," Twilight replied apologetically.

"It's fine; Apple Ale got this one."

Twilight couldn't express emotion on her plush face, but she said, "I'm abit concerned about this Apple Ale? Can you trust her to put your soul back into your body? What if she just leaves you in that action figure!?"

Big Mac tapped a hoof to his chin as the idea never seemed to cross his mind. But seeing they've been through alot together and he was starting to see her as a sister and she as her brother. He shook his head then said, "No, she wouldn't do that. I trust her."

"If you say so," Twilight said as she looked out the window seeing the sun slowly setting and added, "we're going to be late to the gala if this keeps up."

"We got time," Big Mac replied, seemingly rather nonchalant about all of this. In fact, he was kind of feeling relaxed, seeing he wasn't the one going through the fight this time.

Twilight gave a sigh seeing that they were alone she asked, "So I have to ask how are you doing? It's been a minute since your last magic lesson, and I have to keep lying to Applejack that we're…um…dating to keep her from knowing what you're really doing."

Big Mac laid there for some time thinking things over before he said, "I know, and I'm sorry, but I can't risk Nightmare Moon knowing the truth."

"Yes, but she probably knows already? At this point, you're making excuses the longer you keep it a secret the harder it will be on both of you," Twilight explained.

"I know, I'll tell her soon," Big Mac grumbled under his breath, seeing she had a point that maybe it's about time Applejack and maybe everypony knew the truth. But he still felt they will become targets the second the truth was revealed. However, Princess Malum then came trotting up the stairs looking somewhat exhausted. She gently plopped Twilight's body onto the bed and said, "sorry, you two, this took longer than I expected."

"Right, um? Princess Malum?" Twilight responded rather sheepishly.

"Well, it's Apple Ale, but it's fine," the alicorn princess chirped as she lit her horn. Big Mac was back into his body in a blink of an eye and flapped his wings a few times just to make sure he was indeed in a flesh and blood body. Meanwhile, Twilight was looking over herself, seeming to make sure everything was in order. But then the tiny action figure on the bed looked over its new body and cried, "what did you do to me!"

"Well, you wanted my body; now you have it!" Princess Malum snickered as she fit the squirming plastic toy into the box nearby and tied her down with little plastic ties. As the alicorn mare closed up the box, the last words the doll cried was, "you can't defeat me! I'm Smarty Pants! I-"

She then fit the boxed action figure into a closet and closed it up while wiping her hooves.

"Wait, can't Smarty Pants still steal souls!?"

"Don't worry, I put a sealing spell on the box," Princess Malum explained; she then looked over the window and, seeing that the sun was gone and the moon was now rising, she took Twilight's hoof. "Now we gotta go get dressed for the gala!"

"Right! We need to get going right now! oh, we're definitely going to be late!" Twilight exclaimed as she followed after Princess Malum and the two set off towards Carousel Boutique to get ready for the gala.

Episode Six: Princess Luna reveals the truth!

Princess Malum was now present in his princess alicorn form, standing by in the Carousel Boutique alongside Twilight. They were both being prepared for their appearance at the Galloping Gala. Rarity was dressing her up in a lovely light green gown with golden thread embroidered around the dress's skirt and oversized poofy sleeves around her shoulders. Her gold bridle with the purple amethyst set squarely on her chest. While Twilight was dressed in a lovely night blue gown with silvery stars embroidered around the edge of the skirt of the dress. Both mares were wincing in pain as Rarity pulled, brushed, and braided their manes and tails with magic.

"I'm not really interested in dresses or girly stuff, but I have to say we look rather beautiful."

"Haha, so funny," Big Mac grumbled under his breath.

"I do apologize, but both of you had so many tangles," Rarity replied as she went about her business. Big Mac wanted to apologize for muttering to himself. Still, he kept his mouth shut as it would be rather difficult to explain why he was talking to himself. After getting the two had their manes done, Rarity looked over the mares and asked, "so I heard down the grapevine that Princess Malum saved your life again, Twilight."

"Yes, she did, and I don't want to talk about it," The violet unicorn growled.

"Well, it was a rather hilarious tale, Twilight, and I almost ended up as toys," Princess Malum explained with a snicker, unable to contain the truth. The unicorn mumbled under her breath as Rarity when about to apply makeup and blush to her friend's face.

"Oh my! Sounds like a tale!" Rarity cooed in a rather seductive tone as she moved over to Princess Malum, doing the same to her with the alicorn coughed as the blush was applied to her face. The fashionista then went about and went about applying makeup over her eyes and applied blush to her cheeks. Princess Malum looked rather stunning with a regal look on her face, the dark eyeliner making her eyes look much more intense along with her eyelashes, a crimson sheen on her lips, along with a slight blush to her cheeks. Princess Malum had to admit she made a damn good-looking alicorn. She then turned towards Rarity and asked, "so, are you finished?"

"Not quite yet, darling, just glad you approve of me doing your makeup," Rarity chimed as she took a step back; there was something odd about her with this strange green glow coming from her eyes. Magic tendrils swirled around her and squeaked as she felt all the bruises vanish with the pain leaving her in ecstasy. The princess threw her head up and sighed, seeing her body had this shine to it and she couldn't help but feel that not only did Rarity heal her wounds but rejuvenated her body.

"What did you do?"

Rarity trotted around her, admiring her body, placed a hoof over the mare's face, and whispered, "just helped relax and heal you. You had so many cuts and bruises all over your body I just had to patch them up."

"Wow! I didn't know Rarity was a medical mage!? Didn't know they were needed in this day of age. Back in my day…."

"Ok, I get it," Big Mac grumbled as he was somewhat irritated that he had to get all girlied up for this fancy-schmancy gala he wasn't in the mood for another of Apple Ale's long drawn out rambles about the old days. But what Luna said kept playing in his mind, and he had to figure out what she wanted to speak to him about so he'll go to the gala find out why and leave.

As Princess Malum brooded Rarity performed the same spell on Twilight with green tendrils swirling around the mare, and she seemed to relax abit and looked instead at ease.

"Well, now that you two are groomed and dressed, you two need to be going! You're already late as it is!" Rarity exclaimed; she then lit her horn. She had an apple on the road transformed into a carriage as it grew in size; it was rather fun to watch the apple turn into a pristine white carriage with golden rims around the wheels. But the two mares were too concerned about being late as Princess Malum and Twilight ran inside the carriage and then shot off with a swoosh of magic as it soared off into the air.

"Well, I didn't know that Rarity was so well versed in magic." Princess Malum replied with a yawn being somewhat surprised at her magical prowess."

"She isn't," Twilight mumbled as she looked instead worried as she shifted in her seat. "That green glow in her eyes, I think I've seen it before…."

"Yes, I believe Twilight has a point; if she's telling the truth and Rarity never studied magic, she shouldn't be able to cast such advanced spells like that."

"Well, there's no reason to worry about it now; let's just focus on the gala," Princess Malum replied, seeing that Rarity looked fine to her. Still, she'll investigate her odd magical abilities the first thing after she returned to Ponyville.

She must've slept through the ride to the castle because they were at the glistening fairy tale castle of the grand Canterlot palace. The castle was beautiful, looking like something out of a fairy tale glistening in white stone and bathed in moonlight.

"Isn't it beautiful!? It's rather breathtaking, huh?" Twilight asked with a smile.

"Yes, it is," Princess Malum gasped as she was escorted out of the carriage. The two mares continued their trot on towards the castle together. They eventually came upon the front doors where Princess Celestia was standing before the door where she would greet the guests as they came in. The alicorn princess bowed her head as she looked over Twilight and Princess Malum, looking somewhat relieved. She then flew towards them and wrapped the mares tightly with her massive wings as she pulled them into her motherly embrace. Big Mac was rather surprised squeaking as he was smooshed up next to the princess of the sun. She couldn't help but feel content being so close to Celestia's warm body was like laying her head on a warm pillow. Big Mac was so close to the mare that he could smell the cake on her breath as she cried, "Oh, I'm so happy to see you're both ok! I was so worried about you both!"

But Princess Malum squeaked in response as she kicked about, feeling abit awkward being held in such a manner by another pony, especially being from the princess of the sun! After breaking off the embrace, Celestia flashed the mares a smile and said, "Princess Malum, I'm so glad to see you’re alright, I've heard about your many battles. I do hope you're not injured?"

"No, I'm not but thank you, princess. I wouldn't have been able to go through them without Twilight and Rainbow Dash as teachers. Also, Fluttershy deserves praise for helping me stop Trixie's rampage."

Celestia flashed her a smile and said, "I see you've made some friends; also, I see that Rarity made you such a lovely dress."

The mare's cheeks flushed pink as she said, "yes, I've made many friends here, and I bet I'll make many more."

"that's wonderful to hear," Celestia chimed she then turned her attention to Twilight and said, "I also see princess Twilight is looking fabulous as ever! I hope we can actually talk with each other this time."

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" the unicorn exclaimed. She jumped over to Celestia's side, not even caring that she was called a princess or had never been to the gala before.

"Well, I also have a da- I mean engagement with your sister, Princess Luna," Princess Malum responded with a smile and nod. She then trotted through the doors. She was among dozens of ponies in suits and dresses, all dancing together in a rhythm to the music being played by a rather joyous orchestra that played soft music that reverberated across the walls. It was all rather romantic and dreamlike, being something he's never seen before. She's been to parties, but they were much more rustic with drinking and square dancing. Princess Malum turned her attention to Luna in the ballroom corner as she waved a hoof towards her. The two alicorns slowly trotted off down the halls and ended up in a room together. As Luna slowly closed the door behind her she looked over at the red-coated princess with a smile and said, "here, we can talk in private."

The alicorn princess looked around the room, seeing it made of dark stone with little blue moons printed on the tiles. Seeing how mystical the room looked, she wondered aloud, "what is going on here?"

Princess Malum squeaked as her voice sounded more masculine sounding voice coming from her. She was surprised to see that he was back in his stallion body. Big Mac looked upward and saw Luna was looking rather serious. The big red-coated stallion started to feel worried as he cleared his throat and asked, "why am I here?"

"I'm showing you the truth," Luna whispered as she opened a window. Big Mac slowly walked to the window and gasped upon what he saw. It was just a vast emptiness of purple and black mist with bubbles floating by looking like random dreams floating through the aether. Big Mac was somewhat scared and in awe, being rather worried about what was happening. He slowly turned towards Luna and asked, "where are we?"

The princess of the night lowered her head as she explained, "a week ago, I released an entity known as the Tantabus on accident, that grew beyond my control over my guilt of becoming Nightmare Moon. I thought it was over, but somehow Ponyville vanished into the dream realm."

"Wait but aren't we in Canterlot right now!?" Big Mac asked; now he was worried, thinking all of Equestria got sucked into this massive dreamscape.

Luna shook her head and continued, "no, only Ponyville; this is just a construct that was created as an extension of your subconscious connected to others who have been to Canterlot."

Big Mac being somewhat confused as Luna's words just went over his head; the princess noticed that he didn't catch on and said, "basiclly, this is an actual dream."

"So, did Nightmare Moon trap us here?" the stallion asked, seeing that she had to be behind all of this.

Princess Luna tapped a hoof to her chin and added, "sort of; she took advantage of the chaos the Tantabus was causing and slipped into the dream without me noticing. She must've then sucked all of Ponyville into a portal in hopes of possessing somepony, most likely Twilight. But for some reason, she has had her sights on you."

Luna turned her head and stared right at Big Mac, who was now looking in a mirror at his stocky masculine form with the amethyst. So many questions were running through his head as he asked out loud, "so why me? Why not an alicorn?"

The princess of the night bowed her head looking somewhat ashamed as she answered the stallion's question. "I believe it has to deal with jealousy; Nightmare Moon attaches to that emotion like a fly to honey."

Big Mac blinked as the metaphor seemed to go over his head, making Luna roll her eyes as she added," she can't resist feeding off that emotion, and you must've attracted her."

Big Mac's heart was thumping in his chest; he couldn't remember being jealous of Applejack. But he could feel deep down that what Luna said was true and that he was jealous of his sister. He stomped a hoof down to the ground and said, "so is Nightmare Moon turning me into a hero to feed off my ego?"

"No, I believe that she would've tortured you with nightmares to bend you to her will instead." Big Mac's face turned a pasty white out of the thought of having his worse nightmares. Luna must've seen how scared Big Mac looked and quickly added, "however, something is stopping her from doing so. Whatever that is has been giving you the power to transform into an alicorn princess."

Big Mac blinked as he held a hoof to the gem around his neck and whispered, "Apple Ale?"

"Yes, whoever this entity is, she has connected to you and your love of comic books, creating a dream of a young stallion who accidentally became a hero. Thus you're in control of the dream, which is why Nightmare Moon can't just do what she wants. She has to play by the rules."

"So, Princess Malum is like a good version of Nightmare Moon?"

Luna nodded again and said, "Yes, this is like before, where my guilt fueled the Tantabus. Your dream is fueled by your strong will, and we can use that to defeat her and restore Ponyville back to the waking world."

Big Mac nodded as he threw a hoof over his mane. He's been through a lot in his life, but he never felt this much pressure on him than before as he asked, "But until then?"

Luna trotted over as she looked Big Mac right into the eyes; she continued, "until then, things have to remain as they are to keep Nightmare Moon in the dark. If she finds out, you know the truth of what's going on, it'll make things worse. We need her to exhaust all options she'll then get sloppy and when she does we can trap her once and for all."

Princess Luna bent down to get at Big Mac's level until he could see right into her teal eyes. He could tell that the princess was desperate as she continued, "but my plan will require you to play your part. I'll admit this is a gamble; if we fail, we can lose everything, and you'll be risking your life. So it has to be your choice."

Big Mac looked downward with an unsure look; he wasn't like other stallions. Many would jump at the chance trying to prove their bravery, not knowing the risks involved. Others would do it simply to get the favor of this beautiful princess on the notion they would court her. But he always admired heroes in comics because most of them saved lives and fought villains, not because they got something out of it. But because it was simply the right thing to do and they had a responsibility to help others with their powers. He looked right back at Luna with a determination, knowing full well he could be putting his life at risk as he said, "tell me what to do?"

Big Mac was stunned after hearing about Princess Luna's plan, and he gave it a lot of thought in his mind. It was a terrifying plan, but it can only happen when Nightmare Moon reveals herself and not just her minions. From the looks of things, she'll only get more desperate and trick more ponies into becoming her villains and making his life more difficult. The stallion's train of thought was broken, and he became somewhat surprised as his body began to morph again into an alicorn princess once more. As Big Mac returned from the other room as they entered the grand hall, he saw that other ponies were ball dancing around them in rhythm to the classical music that echoed across the room.

"So, is this all a dream?" Big Mac asked, still somewhat confused as he looked over his body, seeing he was back into his alicorn form.

"Yes, it is," Luna whispered as she took his hoof as they continued towards the middle of the ballroom. The two began dancing together rhythmically to the music as it played around them; it was unlike anything the former stallion felt before falling into the mare's embrace as she nuzzled her head into his chest. Big Mac had to blink, knowing that this was a dream, but this was also somewhat real, seeing that they both were physically here. Dancing with a princess was something he would've never dreamed of happening, not in a million years. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, seeing this was technically a dream and reality mixed together. But as they twirled about the room, something was bothering him as he couldn't help but wonder if Luna liked him because of who he was? And not because he was an alicorn princess?

However, he could see that Princess Luna was having a good time, so he didn't say anything to interrupt the mood. As the music stopped, the two princesses came to a standstill, and they then were taken to the back of the palace. There they sat down in a rather lovely garden full of lavenders, with lightning bugs flashing their lights, as crickets chirped, a waterfall in the back with the sound of rushing water echoing as it created a rather soothing atmosphere. A massive moon rose up through the night sky with the ground aglow in silver light. Big Mac was somewhat surprised by the new scenery, and Luna looked over at her and said, "I do love you as an alicorn, but how about you show me your true form."

"Ok," Big Mac mumbled as he took off his amulet, and he felt his body revert back to his bulky male stature. He threw his mane back as he lowered his face and said, "Well, I think it's time to get to know you."

"Yes, seeing that we are starting to know each other pretty well, "Luna whispered as she looked over at him. "This was a lovely night, and I thank you for dancing with me."

"It was my pleasure," Big Mac chimed in response. He then shifted about in his seat and replied, "but I…I mean, do you really think this will work?"

Luna sat back, and she didn't answer right away as she thought things over, then shrugged, "not sure; I haven't dated in over a thousand years."

Big Mac chuckled as he brushed a hoof over his mane and said, "sadly, I haven't dated much either but seeing that I'm not a prince…."

"Well, come now, I was Nightmare Moon! You think that I would care if you're royalty or not?"

Big Mac couldn't help but admire Princess Luna's candid remark and said, "Ey'nope."

Luna giggled as she flapped her wings, "well, then tell me about yourself?"

Big Mac wasn't sure what to say; what would he even talk about? His life as an apple farmer? Him putting the responsibility of running the farm after his parents died? There wasn't much to talk about, seeing his life was somewhat tragic and dull. He scratched the back of his head while nervously sweating and said, "Well, after my parent's pa-"

Big Mac stopped as he saw a bright green light approaching them; out of pure instinct, the stallion jumped onto Luna. The two fell onto the floor as the green light flew over them harmlessly. Big Mac raised his head to see that Rarity was looking up and the fashionista slowly trotting over with her eyes glowing with her wavy mane and laughing maniacally. "You think you can avoid me so easily!? Soon you two will become beautiful attire!"

"What is going on with her!?" Big Mac asked, being somewhat stunned at the sudden turn of events.

"Remember Nightmare Moon is still around; she must be using her somehow!?" Luna shouted as she got up on her hooves and leveled at herself, shooting a beam of energy at the invader. Rarity, however, created a shield around her body and deflected the magical blast of energy. The fashionista then started to bombard her with a torrent of green beams of magic falling from the sky. This time, Luna took Big Mac (still lying on the ground); she lifted his massive body with her hooves and flew off into the ballroom slamming the doors behind them. There they saw that everypony inside we're now just ponyquins with gowns or suits dressing over them. Big Mac was gasping, looking around in horror as Luna added, "don't worry, none of these ponies are real; they're just figments of somepony's imagination."

"Ok, so whose dream is this!? Maybe whoever it is can help us!" Big Mac shouted as he slammed the amethyst into his chest and transformed back into a princess alicorn.

"Well, she would, but she's busy trying out a lovely gown!" Rarity cried as she trotted over with an evil grin planted on her chest. As she showed off two alicorn ponyquins, one being purple with light violet eyes, along with Celestia and her light pink colored eyes on a bright white ponyquin. They looked worried as their plastic wings and legs seemed to vibrate as the two obviously wanted to break free. It was rather disturbing, and all Princess Malum could do was curse under her breath, and Luna shouted in anger, "What did you do to my sister!" The princess flew through the air rather recklessly at Rarity. But she cried in horror as her body started to turn into a plastic form. The princess kicked about and cried as she flapped her wings and looked down at her body, seeing that she couldn't move as a plastic pole was now coming through her body. She roared in anger, trying to escape, but her mouth was soon no longer there as her body stiffened, as her hooves and wings stopped moving. Soon all as she became nothing more than a plastic mold. Rarity then dressed the ponyquin in a dark purple dress and cooed, "now you just look as beautiful as your sister."

But Rarity was distracted and didn't notice as she dressed the ponyquin; a tree trunk started to wrap around her body. The fashionista kicked and shouted, trying to get herself free. Rarity turned to face proper princess Malum and snarled, "there you are, Princess Malum! Let me go, and I might still make you a beautiful ponyquin and not a scarecrow!"

The red-coated alicorn shook her head and demanded, "not until you restore everypony back to normal right now!"

Rarity just gave her an evil smile and added, "no, I believe this is over; yes, all of these ponies are figments, but Luna and Twilight are now hostages under my control. Until you allow Nightmare Moon into your mortal form, they will remain this way forever!"

The alicorn princess glared at Rarity, seeing that this wasn't her fault and she didn't want to hurt the fashionista. But she had to do something to save the princesses and Twilight. Then Apple Ale whispered into her mind, I have a plan to agree to her terms but make it clear that we'll only do it if she decides to restore to ponyville. Make it seem that you really are going to give up your powers.

She slammed a hoof to the ground and, with a defeated look, shouted, "fine! I'll let Nightmare Moon into my body if she not only turns these mares back to normal and restores Ponyville back to the real world."

Princess Malum disintegrated the apple tree wrapped around Rarity as she chirped, "Done, done, and done! Well, let's do this, shall we!?"

"Let's go back to Ponyville first, ok?" Princess Malum replied as she still eyed Rarity for being suspicious.

It wasn't long until they were back in Ponyville with the place looking much more different with the streets full of gold bricks with dozens of ponies, now all ponyquins as well. What was disturbing like before, they still had their eyes and minds as they all gave her worried looks. Princess Malum looked all over the town seeing that the houses looked like fancy manors. The sky above was a dark blue with sparkling diamonds replacing the night sky. It was like Nightmare Moon had given her some power to alter the dream realm. She wondered if she had already taken over Rarity's body almost to the point. But no, if she did, there would be no reason to put her into this position. Standing across the street, Rarity stood proudly with her eyes glowing green as she growled, "well, what are you waiting for? Take off the amulet and give it to me!"

Princess Malum ground a hoof into the dirt below, not knowing if this was the right decision, but she heard deep in her mind, "trust me, give it to her; we can save everypony."

The alicorn princess growled under her breath as she slowly removed the amulet. Then she reverted back to her stallion's bulky body. He then tossed the amulet to Rarity, who squealed, taking it and started to kiss it. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Now Nightmare Moon will let me make all of Equestria beautiful!"

"I got them!" a little plastic alicorn chirped as she fluttered over with two crystals in her hooves.

"Get back here!" Rarity shouted as she chased after the action figure; she would blast it with magic, but Big Mac jumped over and tackled the toy and shielded it from the blast. He cried in pain as he felt his body turning into a hardened plastic. He could feel himself turning into a ponyquin, but he fought through the pain and shouted," destroy the green gem!"

"O…Ok!" The toy cried, seeming rather horrified as she took her tiny plastic hooves hoof and slammed them on top of the green crystal with her hooves shattering it into a million pieces. She gasped as the green glow in her eyes suddenly dissipated as the fashionista collapsed to the ground.

Big Mac felt his body reverting back to normal as he shook his limbs and started to look around, seeing that Ponyville was beginning to transform in front of him, seeing that that town had begun to change back to normal. With the ponyquins all beginning to revert back into ponies, he realized that everypony was standing around; Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight, and tons of ponies were now eyeing him. He slammed the amethyst into his chest and turned back into an alicorn princess right in front of the crowd. This transformation was unlike any before as it became relatively routine. Still, he could feel the heat on his back from dozens of eyeballs on him this time as his body turned into a mare. He could sense his mane elongating, his masculine form grew in size and became much more feminine with wider hips. The crowd gasped as a horn grew on his head, and wings sprung from his sides, making the crowd cry out in shock as he revealed their entire span. He stood there silently as his heart thumped in his chest, and he slowly turned his head towards Luna, until their eyes met. There was so much to say about how sorry he was seeing that their evening was ruined and that he wanted to make it up to her. But seeing the dozens of other ponies now all gazing at him, he suddenly felt an onset of fear rush through him as he launched himself into the air. He flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres, wanting to be alone and think things over, seeing that his secret identity was now fully exposed.

Episode Seven: Big Macintosh Vs Princess Malum

Big Mac was slowly trotting through the darkened Sweet Apple Acres with a starry night shining overhead. The red-coated mare continued to walk over to a tree trunk and sat down on it. He looked down at the ground and brooded over things as he removed the crystal from his chest and placed it on the trunk across from him. The alicorn then reverted to his stallion form again, and he just sat there staring at the crystal and asked, "can you reveal yourself?"

The crystal glowed in dark blue light and started to pulse. Then slowly, an apparition began to form in front of him; now, it began to look more like his princess alicorn form, but she was this wispy red floating creature. The mare was beautiful, with a golden waterfall flowing around her head with her mane. It was like staring in a mirror, having transformed into an alicorn dozens of times.

The princess alicorn bowed and said, "well, I'm here? What do you need from me?"

Big Mac paused; being somewhat unsure of what he would say first, he decided that this time he would get straight answers and find out what this spirit wanted and why it chose him. He cleared his throat and asked, "Before I agree to anything, who are you?"

The spirit looked away, seeming to be ashamed as it spoke. "I am merely a ghost within the dream realm. The spirit of bravery and perseverance."

Big Mac blinked then said, "so...Princess Malum, who was Apple Ale? Was all of that backstory fake?"

Princess Malum continued to float there in silence as Big Mac cursed under his breath, then mumbled, "Princess Luna told me everything about what's going on. So stop hiding secrets from me."

The spirit hovered over him, finally gulped, and said, "yes, I apologize for lying and manipulating you."

The aetherial being lifted her head and asked, "What problems do you have with me?"

"First, how did you talk to the possessed Princess Malum toy?"

The alicorn snickered as she said, "it was a lot easier than you think. I just communicated through the realm and had her use some residual magic to break herself free."

"How much power do you have here exactly?" Big Mac asked with a low growl.

The spirit lowered her head, seeming unable to answer.

"I know you erased our memories and have changed reality to make me the hero," Big Mac growled.

The mare looked away and said, "yes, I did, but you have to believe me; I did all this with the best intentions. Making you have the tropey hero origin story would help you establish that identity and ensure that Ponyville was kept safe."

"Yet, at the cost of our memories, you are warping reality and keeping us in danger," Big Mac snapped.

"Yes…but…"

The stallion held up a hoof, interrupting her; she might have good points in why she wants them to stay in the dream realm. But he was not budging on his laurels and wasn't going to be persuaded. He cleared his throat and said, "so then, let's pull Ponyville back to the real world and end this charade. I think it's not fair to the rest of the citizens of Ponyville to be stuck here and be terrorized."

"Big Mac, you have more power here. The major reason things aren't worse is that your subconscious protects this world. I chose you because you are the most down-to-earth pony here despite your jealousy for Applejack and don't have grandiose desires."

Big Mac was abit confused as he scratched his mane with a hoof. "So you chose me because I'm the less interesting pony here?"

The spirit seemed to snicker and said, "well...yes, and that lack of imagination keeps Nightmare Moon at bay."

Big Mac rose and shouted, "so what!? We stay here forever, with me pretending to be a hero while putting other ponies at risk!? Did you see what happened with Rarity!?"

"Yes, Nightmare Moon's influence is growing, maybe more powerful than I imagined. But it's better, trust me…."

The red-coated stallion held up a hoof and said, "I won't change my mind; I don't care if Nightmare Moon becomes more dangerous; she has her sights on me, right? Then let's go to the real world. Stop this insanity with keeping these ponies prisoners in my dream."

Princess Malum rose from the trunk. "You don't get what you're saying in the real world; you'll be less powerful, the bounds of reality trap us, and everypony will be much more vulnerable. If Nightmare Moon can influence ponies in the real world, she will. Then you will be less capable of saving Ponyville and Equestria."

Big Mac paused as he scratched his chin, thinking over things for a few minutes, and said, "Yet, I'll not only have help from the princesses but Twilight and her friends."

The princess alicorn paused, seeming not to consider, then said, "yes, but that doesn't mean you're ready for the full wrath of Nightmare Moon?"

Big Mac shrugged then said, "then that's the risk we all need to take; we can't just stay here in my prison and pretend that we're fine here."

Princess Malum nodded in approval and said, "ok, but you should know until Nightmare Moon is defeated; we must stay united to keep your alicorn body. That means things will be much more difficult with your family and daily life. We'll be bonded as one, and it can change you in ways you haven't even thought about."

Big Mac didn't like that he had to turn into a princess alicorn to gain this power. Still, it was something he wouldn't mind if it meant his family and Ponyville remained safe. He gave a long deep sigh and said, "That's fine, and I assume once we defeat Nightmare Moon and ensure she's no longer a threat, you'll leave me forever?"

The spirit nodded and said in an assured tone. "Yes, once Nightmare Moon is vanquished, there is no need for us to stay together."

Big Mac paused for a second, thinking things over. Being an alicorn princess for Celestia knows how long, and he has to deal with Nightmare Moon as a constant threat. But he remembered Rarity turning the citizens of Ponyville into ponyquins, among the numerous threats he's faced already. Whatever they may face back in the real world couldn't be worse than what they faced already. He bowed his head and mumbled, "send us back to the real world and restore all our memories."

Princess Malum nodded as she lit her horn. "Alright, then please close your eyes."

Big Mac closed his eyes and gave a deep breath. Everything was enveloped as a sudden bright light surrounded him, as he felt his mind go through what felt like a portal. The red-coated stallion cried in pain as memories, thoughts, and feelings flooded into his mind.

Princess Malum blinked, seeing the sun over her, and she felt the warmth. It was odd seeing the dream realm was much colder, the sun was fake, and the difference was noticeable almost immediately. But he also noticed that she was now an entire alicorn princess body. Instead, the mare was used to being one again, having transformed into one plenty of times. But this was different, like she was half Big Macintosh with all his memories, wants, and desires. But at the same time, not fully princess Malum. She just woke up from a coma and was trying to figure out what was happening. The princess, however, shook her head, completely confused. But as she continued to trot through the streets, Princess Malum realized that her mind was set on making sure that she would tell the truth to the citizens of Ponyville and reassure them she'll try to keep them safe.

As Princess Malum trotted through the streets of Ponyville, where everypony was still looking somewhat confused, some were scared as she raised her wings and, in a loud voice, shouted, "everypony, listen up!"

They all turned to her, looking wide-eyed. The princess stood there trembling and tried her best to remain composed. "We know a lot's happened, and you're all wondering what's going wrong? Well, the truth is we were once a pony named Big Macintosh. He was just a simple earth pony and being the brother of Applejack, he wasn't anypony special."

Many ponies began to giggle and snicker. The alicorn princess began to feel somewhat self-conscious seeing she just told everypony her secret outright." Yes, we all have been trapped in the dream realm where your reality was altered and your memories messed with."

The alicorn princess trembled a little before continuing, "The truth is Princess Malum has been protecting us within the dream realm as she was trying to keep us safe from the wrath of Nightmare Moon. But to do so, she thought Big Mac needed to become the hero."

The other ponies whispered amongst themselves, and then she continued, "look, Twilight and her friends have fought worse than me and have done more than me. We're not here to steal their glory, and my main focus will be to keep you safe."

Princess Malum placed a hoof over her chest, and with her head held high, she pledged. "I swear we will do whatever it takes to do my duty until we vanquish Nightmare Moon!"

Everypony started to clap, and some cheered. She looked over to see that Applejack was looking downward, somewhat unsure about this. While Twilight, who was now an alicorn, seemed rather excited, flying over and shouting. "Everypony, listen! I'll have Princess Malum stay at my castle until we figure things out, so please, let's give her some space, and I'll talk things over with her."

They soon cleared the way as Princess Malum trotted down the road heading towards the castle that was made of crystal. They were indeed in the real world, and Celestia knows what a Princess of Equestria entails seeing her secret was out. The road will be long, noticing that there was no clear direction in what an alicorn princess entails, but whatever happens, she'll be ready for the journey that lies before her.

Episode two: A Ticket to Dress

One early morning with the sun had just come up, and Big Mac was keeping himself busy, he spent his time apple-bucking smacking his thick red-coated legs into the apple trees that surrounded him. Thump, thump, thump the mindless work of pounding his hooves into apple trees and sending the fruit raining down into the baskets below, then he would throw the apples into the giant wagon strapped to his back to be stored in the barn. He repeated this action for what had to be hours that morning, and he’s been at his work for several days now. All of this was important as it was applebucking season, it was their harvest of the apple orchard, and for two ponies himself and Applejack, it was a lot of work. But he was proud of it, and it made him happy when they cleared every apple from every tree, and with such a bountiful harvest came the bits to help keep this place running. Big Mac took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, reminiscing a little over the past week as it’s been several days since the events of the Golden Apple Celebration, and Big Macintosh was trying his best to keep his mind off of those events. The fear of being Equestira’s protector had made him too nervous and too unsure of himself to confront Twilight regarding the strange jewel he found and what it meant for him to be Princess Malum. On top of that, he wasn’t sure how; when to process what was happening to his body and mind. There were so many questions going through his head, but he was also somewhat scared of the answers he would receive.

“I don’t want to be rude, but I think it’s about time we talked?”

The voice that went through Big Mac’s head wasn’t new to him as it’s been trying to get his attention since they defeated Nightmare Moon together. Over time, he came to the realization that what happened to him wasn’t a dream. Whoever the voice was, Princess Malum or Apple Ale, it was about time he figured out who this spirit was and what it wanted. He looked around the apple orchard, making sure nopony else was around. The last thing he needed was Applejack or Granny Smith thinking he was going crazy. Seeing that he was alone, there was one question that he wanted to ask for a while, and he asked rather sternly, “Ok, who are you?”

“It’s complicated; in my final battle with Nightmare Moon, Apple Ale’s body was destroyed, and her soul was absorbed into the amethyst around your neck. Princess Malum was indeed its own spiritual entity, the protector of the earth pony race. But she and I melded together, and now we are one.

Big Mac paused with his heart thumping in his chest. Is this crazy? How can the spirits of two ponies be one? He knew nothing about magic, even if this was just him going crazy, which wasn’t out of the question. The stallion cleared his throat and asked, “Really? So your Apple Ale and princess Malum?

“Yes, that is true; we know that a lot’s happened, but that’s the best way I can describe what happened to me after I died.”

The stallion was still confused, but now a bit horrified seeing that Apple Ale was killed while performing her duties as Princess Malum? And if so, does that mean he is destined to die as well? Big Mac needed to know more about this spirit, so he asked, “So? I have to ask are we related in any way?”

“I had a brother...and he had foals; they were still young when I died. You’re probably one of his descendants.”

“Ok, that makes sense,” Big Mac muttered as he nodded his head. He guessed that was probably the case. From what the stallion read in the comics, she did have a brother who helped her run her tavern while she was out battling monsters and saving Equestria. In the last few panels, he was in Apple Ale found out her sister-in-law was pregnant. So far, everything she said was accurate; he felt that the spirit wasn’t lying to him.

“Yes, you look a lot like him, but my brother and I were twins...though I was born a few minutes before him. Anyways I do believe that’s why we’re connected; it’s why we bonded so well together.”

Big Mac paused as he wanted to know if he had to be the vessel and asked, “so...you can’t bond with any other pony? Nightmare Moon said something about that?”

I could, but...I have this urge to stick with you, and the amulet seems to prefer earth ponies, but I do transform you into a mare. So I can see that if you wish to give me to another vessel, that is your choice.

Big Mac paused as he sighed; he was hoping for a simple yes or no. His gender transformation was painful and was annoying, but it was something that he was getting used to. But a question was nagging in his mind, why did the spirit choose him? The stallion then asked, “it’s fine, I’m just...unsure if I’m the right choice?”

I think you doubt yourself way too much, and I believe you are the perfect vessel; the more compatible we are, the more powerful we are. If the vessel I’m with fights me or thinks it can use my power without my help, I fear that pony will only get in the way.

Big Mac blinked upon this realization; pegasi and unicorns who were already experts in flying or using magic would indeed go off what they’ve learned throughout their life. While he is like a newborn foal trying to learn and cope with his transformed body and how it works, it made sense that he can utilize his alicorn form and learn to understand it as the spirit utilizes it. Despite being deep within a conversation in his mind, the stallion slowly trotted over to another apple tree with the intention to continue bucking as he said, “So what you said it’s true it's more about willpower than anything else...But I’ve doubted myself all night. I think even in that department, I’m not the one.”

I disagree, you went out and fought Nightmare Moon, and you did it knowing full well you could be killed. Again, you only doubt yourself because you lack the knowledge of using a horn or wings. In reality, you used my powers in ways I didn’t even really think of. Trust me, when I teach you everything about this body, you’ll be that more ready if Nightmare Moon sends her minions or if she returns.

Big Mac mulled over what the spirit told him as he slammed his back hooves into another apple tree with a loud thump. The stallion watched the apples falling into the baskets below, taking a moment to think, feeling unsure of what to say in response. He wanted to be the vessel of Princess Malum; it was an honor and a privilege. But at the same time, he had so many duties running Sweet Apple Acres on top of still doubting he was the right pony for the job. Big Mac decided not to immediately answer as he went about pouring the apples he bucked into the wagon behind him. He then responded, “I’ll think about it; it just give me some time.”

Alright, but don’t think too long Nightmare Moon can never be defeated, and she is bound to return or have one of her minions attacks.

“As I said, I’ll think about it,” Big Mac grumbled rather irritably; he didn’t need to be reminded that the fate of Equestria hung on the balance in his decision. He then slowly trotted off across an apple orchard. The bulky red-coated stallion had sweat pouring down his brow. Despite being exhausted, he was rather proud of himself for all the work he’s done. So he endured the pain and carried his wagon full of apples to the barn for storage, taking his time to dump the apples into barrels and sealing them to be sold or made into cider at a later date. After ensuring every apple was packed away, Big Mac’s stomach grumbled; he realized he was rather hungry and trotted off towards his house to get some breakfast. When he went into the kitchen, he was hit by a waft of aroma hitting his nostrils with the scents of apple and cinnamon, along with the sweet smell of coffee mixed in as well. Big Mac slowly trotted into the simple dining room and plopped his giant rump on a creaky wooden chair. There he saw Applejack was busy flipping pancakes and poured two mugs of coffee. Big Mac was feeling somewhat relieved that his sister was cooking, as he was really too exhausted at the moment. He laid back in his chair, just taking a moment to breathe in the sweet aromas that flowed from the kitchen.

“Mornin’ loverboy,” Applejack teased as she trotted over and plopped a platter of pancakes on the table.

The stallion just rolled his eyes being rather annoyed that Applejack was still teasing him about their night out in the woods as if that was any of her business. Big Mac started to take some of the pancakes from the platter as he grumbled, “Twilight and I didn’t do anything last night if that’s what you’re suggesting?”

The farm mare chuckled, “oh yeah, that’s why I found you two in the Everfree Forest while Nightmare Moon and Princess Applebutt were fighting each other?”

Big Mac glared at her; he seemed to be more pissed off than usual, not knowing for sure if Princess Malum’s spirit was controlling him when he suddenly snapped, “It’s princess Malum nor princess Applebutt!”

“Ok, princess Malum or whatever, seriously, where were you during the Golden Apple Celebration? You even missed Celestia’s appearance and speech before everything went sideways?” Applejack asked in a suspicious tone as she gave her brother some apple cinnamon pancakes with some coffee.

The stallion wasn’t sure of what to say; he was just looking upward with an unsure expression on his face. There was no way he could tell his sister the truth, right? He wanted too badly, but he wasn’t sure what to say to make things make sense.

“Um...I….um was...yeah Twilight and I were making out….” Big Mac mumbled with his cheeks flushing pink he couldn’t believe he just said that out loud, but it was the best excuse he could come up with.

Applejack just stood there with a blank face, then suddenly burst into laughter; she then trotted over and ruffled his mane. “I knew it; come on, I ain’t mad, just surprised is all.”

Big Mac just lowered his head, being too embarrassed to say anything in response. The farm mare then sat across from her brother as she started to dig into her breakfast and continued, “that Twilight is pretty sweet; she even gave me a ticket to the grand galloping gala the other day.”

The red-coated stallion looked up, somewhat surprised at the news, and exclaimed, “Seriously!? the Grand Galloping Gala!?”

“She’s penpals with Princess Celestia or something’ like that,” Applejack explained rather casually as she took a sip of her coffee. “Now, I can go and sell them hoity-toity folk some good old fashion baking and make a killin’.”

Big Mac gave a slight nod as he finished his breakfast, scooping up the rest of the pancakes and drowning his coffee. Big Mac was lost in thought as he ate his pancakes and drained a mug of coffee. The stallion was still somewhat surprised Applejack of all ponies received an invite to the biggest party in Equestria.

I’m not surprised; Princess Celestia invites all kinds of strange ponies to that stupid party. I know her too well; most likely, she just wants to see the nobles squirm at the uncouth behavior of her personal guests.

Big Mac chuckled at Apple Ale’s comment; in truth, he didn’t know anything about the princess but just learning that small fact made him want to know Princess Celestia even more now. He then looked over at his sister and noticed she was rubbing her forehead as if trying to soothe a headache. The stallion was starting to feel that something could be wrong and asked, “um, sis? Are you feeling ok?”

The farm mare took a moment and shook her head, then mumbled, “No, I’m fine. I just had this memory of being at the Galloping Gala before.”

Big Mac eyed her, wondering how his sister had such a memory? It must’ve been a dream of some sort? Being concerned for his sister, he asked again, “are you sure you’re ok?”

Applejack stopped rubbing her forehead then drank down the rest of her coffee. She wiped her mouth with a hoof before responding, “no need to worry about me, Big Mac; it must’ve been my imagination.”

“Um...ok?” Big Mac mumbled, not being convinced. He knew his sister was too stubborn to tell him if she was sick or injured; it was annoying.

Applejack got up taking the dishes to clean them, and asked, “anyways, you got your chores done rather early? Ya gonna go see Twilight?”

Big Mac’s cheeks flushed pink, taken by surprise by the question. For a moment, he thought about the cute violet unicorn again. He had to admit she was rather attractive but now that he lied to his sister about the two making out. Big Mac would have to convince Twilight to also back him up on the lie, which was a conversation that would be rather awkward. He’s been somewhat nervous seeing Twilight again and has purposely been avoiding the unicorn. Big Mac decided it was time to see her, and the stallion rose from the table and said, “actually, I need to go see her for a few hours, ok?”

“Oh really, just a few hours?” Applejack teased with a smirk on her face.

Big Mac realized what his sister was implying and quickly stammered, “I just need her help with somethin’ ok? It...it’s about princess Malum….”

Applejack went to the sink; as she started doing the dishes, she just casually waved a hoof. “Just don’t have too much fun.”

Big Mac rolled his eyes again, not even bothering to respond to his sister’s joke. The stallion then trotted off and headed to the door, opening it and looking outside at the grassy hills leading to Ponyville. He took a moment to pause and take in a breath of fresh air. Big Mac needed to figure out what exactly was this jewel was and what the buck he was going to do next?

Big Mac slowly trotted towards Twilight’s library, still being somewhat nervous about talking about the amulet. He was rather worried about seeing the violet unicorn again; he hoped to see if she could figure out what this jewel was or, even better if she could take it. The stallion trotting slowed as he came onto the wooden door; he gave a deep breath, then knocked on the door and waited patiently for the mare to open it. Instead, as the door opened, he looked down at a little purple scaled dragon below.

“Hey! It’s about time you came over!” The dragon cried out as the two hoof bumped (for Spike, it was more of a claw bump).

Big Mac smiled at the little drake; he was a cool little fellow who constantly came by his place to borrow his comics. But today, he came by on a rather serious matter. “Hey Spike, is Twilight here?”

“Yeah, she’s here just follow me,” Spike replied with a wave of a claw; the little dragon led Big Mac into a rather quaint library, and they came to Twilight, who was sitting down on her couch with scrolls thrown about, and a giant tome spread open before her. The violet unicorn peered up; she was a mess, her mane was frazzled, she had coffee stains all over her coat, along with bags under her eyes. Twilight eventually noticed that giant stallion standing over her and waved a hoof with a smile on her face. “Hey, Big Mac! Glad to see you finally came!”

The stallion brushed a hoof over his mane with a blush growing on his face, “yeah, I felt it was about time...but we can do this another time? You look exhausted?”

The unicorn yawned and stretched her hooves. “No, it’s fine; there’s a lot on my plate besides researching about jor jewel. There are my friendship lessons, on top of trying to figure out who should get a ticket to the gala.”

“Right, well, here it is,” Big Mac mumbled nervously as he hoofed out the amethyst.

The stallion held out the bridle, and Twilight looked down with her eyes aglow. She carefully took the jewel in her hooves, being hypnotized by the bright shining purple jewel beautiful it was shining in the light. “I have to admit; I believe that this artifact is from a different world or dimension.”

That’s an interesting theory? Does this Twilight have any proof?

Big Mac blinked, being surprised byTwilight’s response as well; he then asked, “so? What does that mean exactly?”

Twilight looked up as she did her best to explain, “well, there are other dimensions that may be similar to ours; I believe that the amulet didn’t originate in our Equestria. I’ve scoured through all my books, and none of them mention this jewel or where it came from.”

She pointed in a passage in the Epic of Malum the true history of the princess told by Starswirl and explained, “According to Starswirl, he says that the jewel originated in the place where Ponyville was eventually founded. But that’s all; I could fine.”

That’s correct. I came across it because I heard that tasty wild apples were being grown outside of Canterlot, and I wanted to see if the rumors were true. I just stumbled on it by complete accident.

“Hmm, that is a mystery….” The stallion pondered out loud as he tapped a hoof to his chin. He was wondering if he should tell Twilight that Apple Ale or Princess Malum was speaking through his mind on the matter.

Twilight gave a slight nod and continued to explain, “right, there’s a lot we don’t know, and we need to learn, but for now...there are other things we need to address.”

“Right, like how do I use magic? I also need to learn how to fly?” Big Mac grumbled under his breath as he still felt unsure of using his new appendages.

“That’s right; now I can teach you magic; that’s no problem,” Twilight explained with a smile.

“Right, and what about flying?” Big Mac asked as he didn’t know many pegasi and indeed not any that he could trust knowing his secret identity.

“I can teach that too? I mean, I‘ve only been an alicorn for about a year now, but I got a lot of lessons from Rainbow Dash.” Twilight replied rather cheerfully.

The stallion eyed her with a questioning look being somewhat baffled by Twilight’s response, and asked, “what are you talking about?”

Twilight blinked as if she just realized something was wrong; she then started to rub her head as if trying to soothe a migraine and mumbled, “r...right...what am I saying?”

Big Mac was now concerned, seeing that something similar had happened to Applejack. Maybe it was just another strange dream? Or perhaps this was proof she should be the one to take this amulet and be the vessel to Princess Malum. The stallion shook those thoughts out of his mind; for now, he should make sure Twilight was ok. He slowly held out a hoof and asked, “are you alright?”

Twilight nodded as she looked up at the stallion and said, “Yeah, sorry, I don’t know why I said that?”

Regardless of everything, Twilight knew much more about Princess Malum, and on top of that, she was Princess Celestia’s star pupil. She’s probably a genius when it comes to magic and can probably utilize the spirit of Princess Malum far better than he ever could. In all honesty, he didn’t agree with the spirit at all; he was just a simple earth pony who had been caught up in something much more significant than bucking apples and running a farm. This spirit chose wrong, and he needed to do this not just for Ponyville but for all of Equestria. He then hoofed her the jewel and said, “Maybe you're the one who should be using this.”

Twilight looked down at it; the thought must’ve crossed her mind with the purple amethyst sparkling in the sunlight. The unicorn looked like she was tempted to take it, but she pushed the jewel back with a sigh then said, “Big Mac as much as I would love to...this didn’t choose me, it chose you.”

That’s what I’ve been telling him all morning.

“I don’t want this!” Big Mac shouted. The stallion rose seething, heart racing. He was usually relatively calm, but so much rushed through his mind with all of this responsibility suddenly falling onto his shoulders. Big Mac had just to get off what was on his chest and continued his shouting, “Do you have any idea how it was fighting Nightmare Moon?! It was terrifying! Having all that pressure on my shoulders and not knowing what I was doing! You’re much more capable than me.”

He took a moment to calm down as he pushed the jewel back to Twilight and said, “you should be Princess Malum, not me.”

Twilight was taken abit aback by Big Mac’s shouting, but she then slowly rose on all force; she looked him right in the eyes and said, “look, Princess Celestia didn’t just send me down to find you, she wanted for me to make friends...I thought that was impossible, and I was determined just to shut myself in my library while I was here.”

The purple-coated unicorn held up a hoof and asked, “Guess how many friends I have now?”

Big Mac wasn’t sure how to respond, being confused at what point Twilight was trying to make. “I...Am I not sure? One? maybe two?”

“Six, I have made six friends, and it hasn’t even been a week,” The mare replied rather proudly.

Big Mac was still confused about what Twilight was getting at and asked, “what are you trying to say?”

Twilight gave a small chuckle before responding, “what I’m saying is if I can somehow make six friends, I’m sure you can be Princess Malum.

The stallion didn’t agree with the unicorn even if making friends was brutal; he doubted it was anything like what he was going through. Regardless, there was something that nagged him. He couldn’t help but be captivated by this lovely unicorn and how they bonded rather well in the past few days. Out of curiosity, he wanted to see if there was more than friendship between the two as he asked, “am I just a friend?”

Twilight lowered her head slightly, with her cheeks flushing pink. “I’m sorry we’re just friends; I know you probably lied to Applejack that we um...did more than just snuck off to the Everfree Forest. But, I’m not ready for a….um...a...you know...a relationship.”

The stallion threw his head back and trailed a hoof through his mane. He was now blushing, seeing that he should tell Twilight what he said to Applejack. “Well...um...I did tell her...we...um...k...kissed.”

Twilight narrowed her gaze then slapped Big Mac across the face. “You could’ve just said we just flirted or something!?”

“Sorry!?” Big Mac squeaked in shock as he soothed his raw cheek.

Twilight shrugged and said, “well, at least that’s all you said. Now there are a few other things we need to address.”

“So...you said that you have a friend who can teach me how to fly?”

“Yeah, but um...if you want to keep your identity a secret and you want me to introduce you to Rainbow Dash to fly….”

Big Mac groaned, knowing that Twilight needed him to transform into a princess alicorn. The stallion didn’t want to as he was still uncomfortable turning into a mare, having a horn or wings. All of it was still unsettling and alien to him; however, Twilight had a point he would have to transform into his princess alicorn form to keep his identity a secret. The stallion reluctantly took the amulet and strapped it to his chest. He grimaced as his body transformed once more, his body lengthening, mane and tail growing out; the worst parts were feeling the horn growing from his forehead and wings sprouting from his sides. It wasn’t long until he was now towering over Twilight with the unicorn just gaping at him in complete awe of his transformation.

Twilight continued just standing there fascinated by Princess Malum’s majesty before shaking her head and said, “ I'll go get Rainbow Dash...I’m sure that’ll be better since if we both go out there...”

“Yeah, I'll be swarmed by reporters and paparazzi,” Big Mac grumbled, grimacing his new light feminine tone; it was still somewhat alien to him. He then slumped into a soft chair as Spike chuckled behind a claw.

“Right, I got books to read, so just keep yourself busy….” Twilight suggested as she left the library. The alicorn decided to look around the library, browsing through the hundreds of books lined the shelves. A relatively thick medical book stuck out with the Anatomy of an Alicorn being on the spine. Big Mac took the book, wondering how much he could learn from this?

Hmmm, Another book written by Starswirl? I’m not surprised; he was such a wonderful pony despite being somewhat stubborn and rather crude. But his curiosity was something I always admired about him.

Big Mac gave a slight nod and pondered out loud, “yes...I’m just wondering if there’ll be anything useful?”

I would give it a read; even I never fully explored my alicorn body, we both can learn a thing or two.

The stallion was curious himself, and he settled down in one of Twilight’s comfy chairs as he opened the book and started to read through it. He found a passage about an alicorn’s reproductive systems. Big Mac’s cheeks flushed pink, and he looked over to see that Spike was too buried in a comic to notice him. He looked down into the book, hoping to learn about this female body, wondering if being an alicorn would change his knowledge of other mares? Or even if he could be pregnant in this body. There was much to learn, and he probably didn’t have much time. Big Mac buried his head into the book and started to read.

Big Mac continued to read in peace; he learned a lot from the Anatomy of an Alicorn with how his wings weren’t as aerodynamic as a pegasi’s by his longer wingspan will help him fly for thousands of miles. He was also amazed to learn that his magical prowess was doubled that of an average unicorn. Also, it seems that there’s been no evidence of male alicorns up to the date this book was written. The stallion was somewhat disappointed upon learning this and scoffed upon reading that passage. “Seriously? Is that why I turn into a mare?”

I can’t say for sure, but I would assume that has something to do with it.

Big Mac grumbled irritably seeing he had so many questions that even the Great Starswirl the Bearded couldn’t answer. He continued onto the next chapter with his cheeks flushing pink seeing it was on the menstrual cycle of an alicorn mare.

As embarrassing as this sounds this might be important. I would suggest giving this part a read.

Big Mac gave a small sigh as he started to read, being somewhat curious about if he’ll have periods and what he should do exactly if he had one. But then Twilight came bursting through the door quite suddenly. “Hey, Princess Malum! I got you a flying teacher!”

The alicorn squeaked in surprise as he threw the book aside and quickly rose up. “He...hello!”

“Hey, your princess Malum, right!?” a light blue pegasus exclaimed as she flew into the library.

The princess adjusted the bridle around her chest and threw her mane back to look more presentable before saying, “yes, I'm Bi-Pri...Princess Malum, and who are you?”

“Call me Rainbow Dash! The best flyers in all of Ponyville and soon-to-be Wonderbolt!” The pegasus proclaimed rather proudly.

Big Mac took a good look at the pegasus, with her cyan-colored eyes, her short and matted rainbow-colored mane and tail, and her cutie mark being a thunderbolt showing through a cloud. He heard of this mare before whose primary job was cloudbusting, and she also is in charge of bringing water to Cloudsdale. She was cocky, annoying and he wanted to protest against her being his flying teacher, but at the same time, there weren’t many options, and seeing that she was Twilight’s friend, he’d trust her judgment. Big Mac bent his head down a little out of respect and said, “Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for accepting my proposal to be my flying teacher.”

“So, Twilight says you don’t know how to fly?” Rainbow Dash asked rather bluntly as she put a hoof over her mouth and snickered; she was obviously trying not to burst out into a fit of laughter as she continued, “and considering what I saw a few nights ago, I would say she wasn’t kidding.”

“Yeah, I crashed? Big deal?” Big Mac snapped back with his cheeks flushed pink, still feeling embarrassed about that.

“It’s fine, I crash all the time, and I'm totally ok teaching you how to fly? But...how much flying experience do you have?”

Big Mac gulped as he felt that saying he didn’t know anything about flying would be really suspicious, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be dishonest about it either. “Um...uh...none….”

The daredevil mare blinked with a disappointed look on her face. “Um...seriously? Aren’t you like a hero of Equestria!?”

“I um...lost my memories when I um almost died to Nightmare Moon,” Big Mac stammered again, trying to keep his lie straight.

Rainbow grumbled, looking rather annoyed, then said, “It’s fine; I can teach you the basics.”

“Thank you,” the alicorn replied with a bow of his head.

Rainbow Dash trotted around Big Mac, checking out her long red feathery wings, and asked, “so...um….just curious where were you for all these years?”

“I...I seriously don't know!? One day I was battling Nightmare Moon! Then I woke up, and I was battling Nightmare Moon again!? Only a thousand years later….” Big Mac couldn’t believe he said the lie once more, but it was the best he could come up with.

Rainbow Dash went wide eyes and exclaimed, “Wow, it must be awesome being a thousand years in the future!”

“Yeah, it is….”

“By the way? Did you get your ticket to the grand galloping gala?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Ey’nope,” Big Mac responded rather bluntly.

“Oh, buck! I almost forgot!” Twilight slammed a hoof into her face. She then dug out a golden ticket and hoofed it over to Big Mac. “Here, Luna sent you this.”

“Really!?” Big Mac cried out; he took the ticket, feeling exhilarated with the honor of being invited to the biggest party in all of Equestria. And from none other than Princess Luna! But he then read over the ticket and cursed a little because he realized it was signed for Princess Malum. But as he thought about it, it would be strange for Luna to send an invite to a random farm pony in Ponyville.

“That’s why Twilight invited me, darling! And besides, if you’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala, you need a dress!” A rather posh white-coated unicorn exclaimed as she threw open the doors and strode right into the library with a smug grin on her face.

Big Mac was caught by surprise by the stunning unicorn, with her sharp blue eyes, curly purple mane, and tail that bounced a little as she trotted across the library. The former stallion was trying to recognize who this unicorn was had seen this mare about before. His eyes slowly drifted to the mare’s rump recognizing the three sparkling diamonds that made up her cutie mark. Then, out of an utter sense of realization, he suddenly recognized her as the fashionista known as Rarity. “You’re Rarity, right?”

Rarity flashed her eyes and said, “Yes, I am darling! And I presume you’re princess Malum?”

“Ey’yup,” Big Mac chirped in his girly voice at a much higher pitch than usual, being abit aroused at the sexy unicorn.

“I do apologize for coming here without warning; I’m simply here to measure your body and get ideas for a dress!” Rarity explained rather excitedly.

“Great!? Thanks for warning me, Twilight!” Big Mac roared, turning his anger towards the violet unicorn who just stood back with a hoof over her face laughing, “Sorry, but you can’t go to the gala without a dress.”

“Why not!?” Big Mac snapped with frustration in her voice as he had no intention of cross-dressing even if he was in a mare’s form!

Rainbow flew up with her hooves crossing her chest, “trust me; you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to wear a dress.”

“Oh, both of you, stop complaining; we should all be honored to be invited to the most lavish party in all of Equestria,” Rarity responded in a somewhat condescending tone as she started to trot around Big Mac and took her time to look over his alicorn body. “Honestly, she’s beautiful without one, but it is a formal occasion after all,” Rarity explained as she threw her hoof then took out her measuring tape. “Now, can you lift your tail for me?”

Big Mac rolled his eyes and grumbled in irritation at having his rump being measured. But did as Rarity asked. He couldn’t see what she was doing, but he could feel the cold plastic feeling of the tape touching his rump and felt it wrap around his butt cheeks.

“Thank you, darling; you have a marvelous rump, by the way,”

“Um...thanks?” Big Mac squeaked out at the comment, but he was relieved that the fashionista finished measuring her rump she lowered her tail. The former stallion then felt her rub a hoof over his soft coat; he didn’t realize how sensitive this body was compared to his stallion form. She did the same for his chest as Big Mac lifted his neck a little to give her room to measure.

Once she was finished measuring his chest, the fashionista seemed to stand and admire the purple amethyst on his chest and cooed, “I have to admit your bridal is rather exquisite.”

“Ey’yup,” Big Mac responded in agreement as he also had to admit the jewel was beautiful.

“Now, can you lower your head a little, darling?”

Big Mac bent his head down until his green eyes matched Rarity’s piercing blue ones. Normally he would feel his member stiffen a little being around such a lovely mare. But instead, a new sense of arousal came from his nether regions feeling his newfound marehood feeling hot and bothered. But he was patient and took some self-control to relax a little as Rarity then took out a ruler and placed it on his forehead as she measured his horn. He then saw her using her aura of magic, writing down notes on a notepad. He was actually rather curious to see the measurements himself having a strange obsession over numbers. But he held his tongue, knowing it’s probably best not to mess with Rarity’s concentration.

“Now, for your wings, darling.”

The stallion took a moment to feel his new appendages and then slowly unfurled his wings out their full wingspan making everypony in the room just gaze in utter amazement at how long and splendid they looked.

“Your wings are rather impressive,” Twilight commented.

“Yeah, you’re wings are totally twenty percent cooler!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“I have to say you even put princess celestia to shame.” Rarity chimed in.

“Please don’t say that!?” Big Mac cried out as he looked over his wings now spread out across the library. They were massive two giant feathery wings covered in a thick layer of red feathers. He was rather impressed at his wings and horn; if he could keep his male gender, this alicorn body wouldn’t be so bad.

Rarity was gentle using her measuring tape to take a proper measurement of his wingspan as she pulled the tape all the way from the tip of his wing all the way to his shoulders. Big Mac shivered a little as he could feel the tape rub across his feathery expanse, and he bit his lip at how sensitive his wings were to Rarity’s tape touching his feathers.

It wasn’t long until Rarity was finished measuring his wings as she whispered, “I’m done, thank you, darling.”

Big Mac then folded his massive wings to the sides of his body once more, still feeling rather exposed and squeamish from three mares just gawking at him. Rarity was finishing writing the last of her notes as she said, “my goodness, this will probably be the most difficult dress I’ve ever designed, but I always love a challenge.”

Rarity then looked up and asked, “Now can you tell me about yourself?”

“What for?” Big Mac responded with a questionable tone; the last thing he needed was somepony asking questions he wouldn’t answer instead.

Rarity waved a hoof, “Oh, it’s just for the dress, darling, I need an aesthetic, and the more I know about Princess Malum, the better the dress will be.”

Big Mac shrugged, seeing that there was no harm in answering a few questions. But he wasn’t sure what to say, tapping a hoof to his chin trying to come up with something today. “Um, I fight and defend Equestria from Nightmare Moon and her minions; other than that, there’s not much to tell.”

Rarity just scoffed, “Oh, stop with the boring stuff and monster fighting; what’s your favorite food...and don’t say apples.”

Big Mac pondered the question for a moment as he tapped a hoof to his chin, “um...apple cinnamon pancakes….”

“Hmmm, what do you prefer, mares or stallions?”

“Mares,” Big Mac squeaked, realizing he said that out loud and slammed a hoof to his face. Twilight started to burst out in laughter as she knew why he would say that.

Rainbow threw her hoof over her mane. “Hey, I ain’t judgin’ stallions are total boneheads.”

Rarity took the princess into a hug and cooed, “yes, darling, there’s no need to be shy; I bet that being gay is much more accepted than it was a thousand years ago, I’m sure.” Big Mac stood there both feeling aroused and squeamish by this cute unicorn hugging him.

Rarity has a point, you know? And Starswirl was on the money I had a few marefrie-

Big Mac was feeling way too squeamish at this point, with both Rarity and Apple Ale pushing some uncomfortable boundaries. She then pushed Rarity back a little a squeaked, “Ok! I think that’s enough! I like mares; let’s just leave it at that!”

Rarity flashed her a smile seeing he was somewhat uncomfortable, then asked, “alright, I won’t push that topic anymore, now what are your hobbies?”

“Brewing ale, Growing apple trees,” Big Mac stammered, wanting this interview to be over and is just saying whatever came to mind.

Rarity just nodded as she continued to write stuff down and said, “oh, you sound like fun!? Well, that’s all I needed. I now have a few ideas for your aesthetic.”

Rarity gave Big Mac one last quick hug and then trotted off as the stallion sighed in relief.

Rainbow Dash then flew down and said, “yeah, sorry about that Rarity can be a pain; anyways, where should we meet for flying lessons!?”

Big Mac shrugged; it didn’t matter, but he wouldn’t mind practicing somewhere discreet with as few eyes as possible. Then it came to him? His family owns a ton of land; most ponies don’t ever go near; it’s perfect! “Why not out near Sweet Apple Acres.” Big Mac suggested.

“Ok, and um...where are you staying?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The former stallion sighed as he was starting to get tired of all of these questions and snapped, “Here with Twilight!”

“Really? seems kind of cramp?” Rainbow asked, looking around with a confused look.

“Um...it's fine, I’ll manage,” Big Mac snapped back as he was being rather peeved about all of these questions as he really didn’t want anypony to know his true identity.

“Ok, ok, just be up bright and early tomorrow!” Rainbow responded defensively, getting the hint. She then flew off out of the library as well.

Twilight then trotted over next to Big Mac with a smile and said, “you know...keeping your identity a secret is going to be much harder as time goes on. I’m sure ponies would be accepting of you.”

Big Mac rubbed his hoof down on the plank wood floor, being abit unsure of how to respond even if what Twilight said was true. “Yeah, I know; I’ll show everypony who Princess Malum really is eventually. But for now, I’m just not ready...especially since I’m still unsure if I’m supposed to be the vessel.”

Twilight then started taking out some tennis balls and suggested, “ok, well, while you’re here, why don’t we start with some basic magic lessons.”

“Ok,” Big Mac responded as he plopped down in one of Twilight’s loveseats. Despite his best to concentrate on trying to levitate the balls with his magic, his mind constantly drifted to how sexy and adorable Rarity was. Then upon learning that Apple Ale was a lesbian, he had to wonder are these feelings his or Apple Ale’s?