(Timeline position: THIS IS THE FIRST STORY. The timeline starts between seasons 2 and season 3)
(For timeline info, please visit my homepage)
MLP: FiM
Soft Spoken with a Big Heart
By: Calm Wind
The coaches creaked and clattered as the passenger train bound for Appleloosa thundered down the rails. The engineer gazed out the side of the cabin as the sun rose over the horizon, brightening the barren stampede lands. Appleloosa was approaching in the distance. He reached up and pulled down on the whistle, the trains call tolled out towards the incoming station and woke the passengers on board as well. Way at the back of the train in the last coach, ponies were stirred from their sleep.
“Grrr, right after I manage to fall asleep.” Rainbow Dash grabbed her pillow and plopped it over her face.
“Train’s tootin’ makes a mighty fine rooster!” Applejack was out of bed and on her hooves seconds after the whistle, she glanced up at Rainbow Dash’s bed, “C’mon now, sun’s up and we’re pullin’ in. Ain’t no time to be snoozing!”
“No one gets up this early besides you.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, muffled by her pillow.
“Better get movin’ along! I’ll make sure the others are up.” Before Applejack could even reach for the door, it flung open and Pinkie Pie dove at her.
“GET DOWN!” She tackled applejack to the floor, frantically glancing back and forth. Applejack tried to retaliate, but Pinkie had a hoof covering her mouth. “They haven’t spotted us yet! Oh, but I haven’t spotted them yet either! Clever play, but I know what their up to!” She slid herself along the floor of the cabin, up to the wall and to a window. She peeked over the sill and scanned the passing terrain.
“Pinkie, what in tarnation are you up to?” Applejack questioned as she got to her feet. Pinkie was in her face again instantly.
“DON’T GET UP!” She forced Applejack back down and was at the window again before she looked up. “How did you not hear the sound of alarm?! There must be bandits! Oh! But what would they steal from us?!” She popped up behind Applejack. “I mean we don’t have anything valuable with us! Unless it’s something on the train? *GASP*” She was suddenly up in Rainbow Dash’s bed, standing over her. “We’re in a sleeping car! They must want to steal our sleep!” her expression turned serious, “never fear sleep! I, Pinkie Pie, will protect you from the bandits!” She whisked the sheet off Rainbow dash and snatched the pillow from over her face.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash protested but Pinkie had the pillow roped to the top of her head and the sheet was draped over her. She got right in rainbows face.
“If anybody asks, you don’t know me!” She whispered loudly and jumped back down.
“Bandits.” Applejack sighed with her eyes half closed. “Pinkie, there are no bandits.” Pinkie fell from the ceiling, the landing on her head cushioned by the pillow.
“I saw them with my own two eyes! I was sitting in the dining car, eating the most DEEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS slice of cheesecake ever, when I saw shadows fly by the windows and the sound of alarm chimed in! I was in the sleeping cars faster than I could blink! I…”
“PINKIE!” Applejack shouted. Pinkie’s balance wavered and she fell on her back. “You were dreamin’ about that dessert we had last night, them shadows you saw were the cacti you thought were people wavin’, and the sound of alarm was the trains whistle wakin’ you. The dining car’s seven coaches up.” She pointed at the door. Pinkie blinked, looked at the door, then the window, then back to Applejack. She smiled happily,
“But the cake was DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!” She squealed in delight. Applejack sighed and turned away towards the door, meeting Twilight Sparkle halfway.
“What was all that shouting in here?” She asked with sleepy eyes.
“Nuthin’. Just Pinkie being Pinkie.” Applejack explained briefly. Twilight looked past A.J. to see Pinkie bouncing on her head with the pillow still strapped tightly to her.
“Yep, looks normal. Rainbow! Are you up?” She called to the bunk. Rainbow slumped to the edge of the bed and groaned as she barely managed to glide to the floor.
“Where’s Rarity and Fluttershy?” Applejack questioned readily, seeming to be the only one fully awake and/or focused.
“I think they’re still in bed.” Twilight answered with a soft yawn. Rainbow Dash pushed past her.
“If I don’t get to sleep in, nopony does!” Rainbow entered the connecting sleeping cabin, catching glimpse of a well groomed purple mane in the first bed. “Rarity. Up. Now.” Rainbow Dash pounded her hoof on the bed, waking Rarity instantly. She pushed the sleeping mask up and glared at Rainbow.
“How rude Rainbow, I’m sure even YOU have SOME manners. Kindly find them and go so I may get regain the last minutes of my beauty sleep!” Without waiting for a reply, Rarity fell back against her pillow and pushed the sleeping mask back over her eyes. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She grabbed the middle of the sleeping mask, pulled it back, and let it snap onto Rarity’s face. She yelped and sat up in bed.
“Beauty sleep’s over, get up!” Rainbow left without another word, leaving Rarity to grumble. She moved one bed over and took to the air, reaching the higher bunk. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow examined the disturbed sheets, but Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. She glanced at the bunk below and saw an abnormal mass underneath the sheets in Pinkie’s bed. She flew down and lifted the sheets to see Fluttershy shivering with her mane completely over her face. “Fluttershy, what are you doing down here?” She questioned with an eye roll. Fluttershy peeked out from her mane and let it fall back to the side.
“Oh, good morning Rainbow Dash, I was, um, just hiding. Pinkie said there were bandits. Did they let us go?”
“There were never bandits,” she threw the sheet off Fluttershy.
“Oh, that’s a relief, I was so worried that—” The train whistle blew loudly and suddenly. Fluttershy shrieked and dove back under the sheets. Rainbow dash lifted the sheet again and stared at her, visibly annoyed. Fluttershy peeked out again. “Oh, wait, that the train whistle wasn’t it.” She scooted out of the bed as Rainbow headed back for the other compartment.
“Don’t have all day Rarity!” She pulled Rarity out of bed as she was stretching. Rarity yelped, but Pinkie Pie zipped underneath and caught her with the pillow on her head. Rarity crossed her hooves and huffed as the four moved to join Twilight, Applejack, and…
“Confound it, Macintosh! Wake up!” Applejack yelled in her brother’s face as they entered. Big Mac didn’t budge and continued to snore.
“Doesn’t he always wake up at dawn?” Twilight questioned as Applejack gave his bed a few bucks. The jostling of the bed frame had no effect on the sleeping giant.
“Yeah,” she wheezed as her efforts went nowhere, “big lug has his own internal clock, maybe it’s the train rockin’ him like a foal.” She moved to the back of the bed and grabbed his tail in her teeth. “Get up you!” She gave his tail a yank, but again he didn’t budge. Twilight grabbed Applejack’s back to assist. They failed as well. Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy all grabbed hold and pulled with all their might, but Mac continued to snooze like a newborn. As the mares continued to pull on his tale, Mac yawned and his eyes squeaked open. Without noticing the strange tug on his tail, he casually rolled over and hopped out of bed, throwing all the mares over his back, landing on a pile in front of him. They all groaned and looked up at him as he surveyed the ponypile.
“Well look who decided to wake up.” Applejack huffed, crossing her arms. Mac nodded and smiled.
“Eeyup.”
The train arrived at the Appleloosa station and the passengers hurried from the cars towards the town, they were all there for the very same reason the six friends were.
“Come on everypony! We have to get Big Macintosh there early!” Twilight yelled to her friends from outside the train car with Mac standing beside her. The rest exited and Applejack looked relieved.
“Sorry Twilight, just makin’ sure those front row tickets of ours from Braeburn were in my bag. Thought I lost one for a moment.” She explained while flashing six tickets from her saddlebag. Twilight nodded and turned to Rarity, raising an eyebrow.
“Seriously Rarity?” She examined her outfit. Rarity had a large dark violet hat that matched her mane and wore a necklace made entirely out of aquamarine.
“My dear Twilight, there are sure to be many big, strong, and handsome stallions at this event. I have to look my best.” She fluttered her eyelashes as she finished.
“Really?” Dash floated upside-down beside her with her hooves behind her head. “I’m shocked Rarity, I thought you’d find this whole deal, you know, what’s that word you always say?”
“Uncoolth!” Pinkie Pie appeared beneath Rainbow Dash, knocking her out of the way and to the ground.
“That’s, uncouth, Pinkie,” Rarity chuckled as the group began to walk, “and yes normally I would find such a silly competition to be such, this is a grand opening that will probably mark Appleloosa as a major city on the map, there’s bound to be many contestants from around Equestria at—” A large structure came into view down the main street of Appleloosa. It loomed higher and higher as they grew closer. It was a large stadium, recently completed in the center of the city. Canterlot had a stadium just like it, but being in the mountains, the stadium could only be used during the warmer seasons. The citizens of Appleloosa had been waiting for a chance to become a thriving city, so to earn publicity and attract ponies, they built a stadium just like the one in Canterlot to be used in the winter when the climate further north turned harsh. There were differences, this one was constructed mainly of wood, while Canterlot’s was stone and the surrounding community was obviously of a different class, but the style and intentions were identical. The event for the grand opening was “—the first annual winter StrongStallion competition!” Rarity beamed as she saw the large sign hung high up on the stadium.
“Well you best hope you can find maybe one of ‘em worth your praise Rarity!” Applejack chuckled, “cause big Macintosh here’s gonna clean up no contest, isn’t that right brother?” She nudged Big Mac, who wasn’t paying attention to their conversation.
“Eeyup.” He replied simply as they made their way to the stadium entrance.
The stadium was one large hallowed out cylinder with a dirt field in the center that was about fifty yards across. The stadium seating started five feet up from the ground and had forty rows of seats that circled the entirety of the structure. The six mares took their seats in the front row of the east end as the stadium filled to the brim with ponies from all over Equestria. In the dirt field, multiple events were set up to test the strength of all the stallions competing. Carts, rock filled saddle bags, heavy looking haystacks, large logs, and more were strewn all about awaiting their use.
Once the crowd was all in their seats, the stallions were lead out onto the field, earning cheers from the crowd. Applejack picked out Big Mac as soon as he entered with his usual lackadaisical expression, but the other five were all shocked.
Big Macintosh was the largest pony in Ponyville by far. He was well known around town as the soft spoken giant who loomed over everypony by at least a foot or more. Many had asked Granny Smith what she fed him as a colt. She gave the same answer every time, “Three meals and farm work.” Nopony worked as hard or as much as Big Mac, so how he turned out the way he did wasn’t much of a real mystery. All that being said however, the other stallions competing made Big Mac look not so big. He was also clearly the youngest.
“Whoa, check out all the stallions, they're huge!” Rainbow Dash commented with her mouth gaping.
“Oh my goodness, Applejack, your brother is so small compared to them. I didn’t think there was anypony bigger than him.” Fluttershy practically whispered with a worrisome tone.
“Pff,” Applejack scoffed as they all expressed their concern for Big Mac, “y’all need to sit down before ya hurt yourselves. Macintosh will eat these guys for breakfast.” They all looked between her and the field.
“What makes you so sure?” Twilight spoke up. Applejack chuckled and tipped her hat.
“Y’all don’t know Macintosh like I do,” she winked to them, “I honestly don’t know how strong he really is. He can knock all the apples out of a tree with a light one legged kick, and I’ve never seen him struggle to carry or pull anything. Not once.”
“Oh? EXPLAIN THE CAKE!” Pinkie was suddenly in Applejack’s face while wearing Applejack’s hat. She quickly snatched her hat back and replaced it atop her head.
“That was balance Pinkie, totally different.”
“Wrong! It was the weight of responsibility on his shoulders! Nothing is heavier than that!” She emphasized while poking her face into Applejack’s to the point where her hat tipped down.
“Howdy ladies!” They all turned to see Braeburn approaching except for Pinkie, who as frozen staring at Applejack. They all acknowledged Applejack’s cousin as he approached, and after exchanging simple pleasantries he looked around, confused. “Say, where’s Big Mac?”
“Competin’” Applejack answered simply while leaning back in her seat and pointing out towards the gathering of stallions in the ring. Braeburn’s eyes went wide for a moment as he scanned the stallions, finding Mac looking anything but big among the competitors. He turned back to Applejack and frowned.
“A.J. this aint even gonna be fair.” He stated with discontent.
“That’s what we said, but she insists Macintosh will win regardless.” Twilight shrugged.
“I know. None of them stand a chance.” Braeburn shook his head. Twilight grinned at being agreed with, until she realized what Braeburn had said.
“Wait, you too?” She scrunched her brow. Applejack only laughed.
“Just sit back and enjoy the show sugar cube, they may grow em big elsewhere, but on Sweet Apple Acres we grow em strong!”
As soon as she finished cheers erupted from the crowd. The first event was already lining up. All the massive stallions kept stealing glances at Mac, scoffing and chuckling to themselves as they all approached large bales of hay.
The event schedule was set up to have a few stallions eliminated at a time. There were fifty contestants, after each event the lowest ten scores would be dropped from competition. When there was only ten left, the lowest five would be dropped, then the lowest three, culminating in a final event between the last two standing.
The first event was a simple heavy bale toss down a marked alleyway. Each stallion took their turn, gripping the ropes around the hay bales in teeth and tossing the bales as far as they could. The results varied from stallion to stallion. Some threw far, some threw short. All their forms differed. Some went for a simple swing of the neck, while some used an extra spin to build up power. In the end none of it measured up, because when Mac stepped up, none of them could’ve guessed the result. The large stallions all snickered and raised eyebrows as Mac stepped up and gripped the ropes of his bale. He took one step back with his left hind leg, planting it firmly in the dirt. In one fluid motion, he took an extra step with his right and reared back, swinging his neck back with the bale in his teeth as he had with hay bales back on Sweet Apple Acres every day of his life.
To the awe of everyone in the stadium, competitors, referees, and spectators minus two smug family members, the large bale of hay swung cleanly over Mac’s body and careened down the alley, landing at least twenty feet farther than the previous farthest throw. In fact, it landed five feet past the furthest line marked on the alley. There was a brief silence amongst both the crowd and the competitors. The audience half of the silence ceasing within a few seconds as cheers erupted from the stands. The other half of the silence remained constant as Mac casually strolled back among the group of competitors.
Mac was easily the top score, coasting him smoothly into the next round. With forty stallions left they moved across the field to a saddle harness with two large baskets on each side. Each stallion would take his turn strapped to the baskets, laying on the ground. The baskets would be filled with heavy stones. The stallions had to stand up with the heavy load and lay back down controlled. After each successful stand, more stones would be added. Scoring based on how many times they could stand as the load got heavier and heavier.
The referees had to stop Mac’s turn short because even with the baskets filled to the brim Mac showed no strain nor fatigue. Again, he modestly put the rocks down and strolled back to the waiting group. The rest of the stallions cleared away as he moved, some becoming slightly afraid of this little superpony.
Thirty stallions left, they moved to the very edge of the stadium where a short post was set up with a soccer ball balanced on top. The object here was more about force than strength. The contestants would buck the ball off the post as hard as they could and see how far across the arena it would fly.
“PFFFFHAHAHA!!!!” They all turned to Applejack as she burst into laughter. “They might as well score this one early.”
Mac calmly awaited his turn as always, and approached the post. He turned around, and with one solid kick with his right leg sent the ball careening across the arena with no arc. An attendant setting up an event on the other side of the stadium had to duck as Mac’s ball shot over his head and lodged itself into the wooden wall of the field.
It became clear that this would be a reoccurring theme, and a rather one-sided competition. The events continued all with similar results leading to the final showdown between the top two.
The only competitors left were Mac and a huge, muscular, white stallion from Manehatten that was nearly three times Mac’s size. The crowd roared and cheered as two large doors at the edge of the stadium slowly lurched open. Two old steam engines from the trans-Equestria railroad appeared from behind them with ropes and harnesses attached.
“What?” Twilight gaped at the massive iron horses, easily putting together what the final event would be. “That’s crazy, nopony can do that.”
“Have you even been watching egghead?” Rainbow slung her arm over twilights shoulder, “Mac’s got this no problem.”
“Applejack, remind me to enlist your brother next time I do a mass order of shop supplies.” Rarity mused with a flutter of her eyelashes. Applejack tipped her hat at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Bat those eyelashes elsewhere and I’ll think about it.”
As the rest conversed, Fluttershy sat on the edge of her seat, her hooves up on the railing and her eyes peering just over, wide with fascination. Even though all the stallions were down on the field, she was still feeling overwhelmed.
She had seen and been around Big Mac almost every time she visited Sweet Apple Acres, she always shied away. It wasn’t that she was afraid of, okay maybe she was a little. Actually she was terrified of him, but not because he scared her. It’s because he was so BIG. Or at least he was the biggest in Ponyville. Even though he was very quiet, and never did anything to seem threatening, she always felt like he could just squash her like a bug.
That would explain why she was so fascinated by this contest. Big Mac was the SMALLEST stallion in the competition, but he was winning. He was winning with absolutely no competition to speak of.
“ISNT THIS GREAT FLUTTERSHY?!” Pinkie’s voice pierced through one ear and out the other. Fluttershy shrieked and shot directly upward, gripping the top of the flagpole that extended above near her seat. She sighed, realizing it was just Pinkie Pie. “What are you doing up here? You’ll miss the last event!” Pinkie yelled down at her, balancing on the top of the pole. Fluttershy shrieked again and fell back down into her seat with a thump. “Oh good! You got back in time!” Pinkie bounced up and down beside her. Fluttershy sat upright and refolded her wings, shaking her head to make the world stop spinning. She refocused and settled back into her position on the railing, eager to watch Mac again.
The two had been strapped into the saddles and awaited the signal to begin. Just as the referee put up his hoof, the other stallion smirked and kicked a large clump of dirt over to Mac. The dirt crumpled to pieces in the air and rained down on Mac’s face, getting in his eyes. He grunted in pain, instantly bringing a hoof up to try and wipe the dirt away. While he was preoccupied, the other stallion grunted and heaved his heavy steam engine forward. With Mac temporarily stunned, he managed to get a good twenty yards out before Mac could regain his focus.
“That dirty cheater! Let me at em!” Rainbow Dash tried to fly out of the stands, but Twilight and Rarity were holding her back.
“Simmer down sugar cube, this guy can cheat all he wants, he ain’t gonna beat Macintosh.” Applejack calmly stated, not reacting in the slightest towards the unsportsmanlike behavior of Mac’s competition.
Just as his little sister said, Mac glared down the stadium. The white stallion already had a sizable lead on him, but it was doable. Mac planted his hooves firmly and flared his nostrils. With two powerful steps that cracked the dirt beneath him, he went from a dead stop to a trot, the chains catching and creaking as the engine lurched after him. In four more steps, the crowd watched in awe as Mac accelerated into a slow gallop. The train behind him groaned as the old rusted wheels were forced to turn faster and faster, turning up sparks between metal. The gap between the finalists shrunk little by little until Mac overtook him twenty yards from the finish line. The white stallion stopped dead as Mac passed him, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. The stadium erupted in cheers as Mac crossed the finish line and slowed to a stop. He didn’t hoot and holler, nor did he jump up and down. He simply smiled at the crowd as the attendants helped him get his harness off and proceed to the exit. Reporters and cameras surrounded him, but he didn’t stop or answer questions. He just kept walking.
“See Rainbow? Aint nuthin to worry about!” Applejack chuckled. The ponies all began conversing about the competition. All except for Fluttershy, who was staring at the exit Mac left through. She couldn’t believe what she had seen. She always felt so small, so minuscule to the point where she avoided challenges and hardships without second thought. Here she witnessed somepony who seemed small and minuscule, but easily over came adversity and emerged victorious. She had never felt more inspired in her life to better herself, or at least she would try, as long as it wasn’t scary, or dangerous.
With the competition over and the sun setting, the ponies bid their farewell to Braeburn and Appleoosa, boarding the train for a long ride back to Ponyville. Riding with them in Mac’s bed was a large trophy cup Mac earned for his first place finish.
As the train moved north and towards the mountains that separated them from their destination, the climate changed considerably. The temperature dropped and eventually they came across the snow covered plains at the base of the mountains. It was winter after all and the more northern parts of Equestria were feeling the brunt of it.
“This weather looks bad. Are you sure we’ll be alright in the mountains?” Fluttershy asked as she peered through the window with worry.
“Oh you mustn’t worry so much Fluttershy, it’ll only stress you out.” Said Rarity, content that they had nothing to fear.
“I think a little more stress would do you good princess.” Applejack joked as Rarity spun around and glared at her. Fluttershy ignored the brief scuffle that ensued as she continued to look out the window. It had been snowing for a while and the longer she watched, the heavier the snow seemed to fall. Eventually she could hear the whistling of heavy winds outside. She concluded that she was making herself worry too much and turned away from the window in her bed. She glanced around at the scene in the sleeping car. Rarity was still fuming about Applejack, who had just left the car content with flustering her. Rainbow Dash was complaining about how she could have just flown back faster. Pinkie was bouncing up and down on her bed singing about going home. Twilight was reading, as usual. With nothing of real interest to look at, her head began turning back towards the window but she stopped herself half way. She didn’t want to worry herself again. She then looked towards the door Applejack left through. It was the door leading to the last coach on the train, which was the other sleeping car they had reserved. The only reason Applejack would go there is because Big Mac must be in there too. She hadn’t seen him since they boarded the train. She assumed he was tired and had gone to bed early.
He had left quite an impression on her, and she wanted to congratulate him. Yet he was big, and imposing, and towering, and really big. She told herself to be more courageous. That was the point of her current inspiration. But old habits die hard. However at the moment her options were try to talk to Big Mac or fret over the weather. She already decided to stop worrying about the ladder, so she only had one option.
She gently fluttered to the floor and trotted towards the door. There was only a small space in between the coaches, but the instant she stepped out she could feel the icy air and the powerful wind. It was so cold it made her teeth chatter. She quickly switched cars to avoid freezing and being covered in snow. However, even with her less than quiet entry, the Apple siblings took no notice.
“Gosh darn it Macintosh, I’m not letting ya work tomorrow after all that heavy lifting today. Just take a day off will ya? It ain’t gonna kill ya as much as strainin yerself will!”
“Nnnnope.” Mac replied flatly, the dull look still in his face as his sister fumed at him. Fluttershy decided it would be best not to get in between them and stood patiently for them to finish.
“For the last time, no. You are gonna rest and that’s,” she was cut off by a sudden gentle lurch of the sleeping car. She stumbled and glanced around, “sheesh the wind’s getting’ pretty wild out there.”
With the brief pause, Fluttershy saw fit to speak up, or in her case, barely squeak out a whisper,
“Um, excuse me, Big Macintosh,” she astounded herself by just getting that much out. Now with both his and Applejack’s attention on her, she found herself stuck with two more people focused on her than she was ever comfortable with, “um, I just wanted, I mean, I thought that, actually,” her head dipped lower and lower as she stumbled over her words, ending with her crouching down and letting out a very quiet high pitched squeak. Applejack sighed and shook her head as Mac only tipped his head to the side, not used to the mannerisms of the little curled up ball of yellow and pink forming in front of him. Applejack was about to address the situation when the train suddenly lurched, knocking her forward. Mac, who was unfazed by the movement, quickly helped his sister up.
“What the hay was that?!” Applejack shook her head and angrily glanced around the car. Twilight suddenly burst in, tripping and falling over Fluttershy. She hoisted herself up without hesitation.
“You three, quick! We have to move forward! The tracks are blocked and there’s and avalanche heading for the back—” She was cut off as the car suddenly shook violently, throwing them all to the floor and causing Mac to actually stumble. Before any of them could regain themselves, the car jostled again, this time even harder. Fluttershy squeaked in fright and her eyes shot open as she realized she was sliding. The car was tipping.
Outside the train the blizzard raged, the wind howling like a ferocious wolf. Large piles of snow were careening down the mountain side beside the tracks, slamming into the back two cars again and again. These, unfortunately, were only the calm before the true storm, as a massive surge of snow, much larger than all those preceding it came tumbling down. It collided with the cars with such force that the heavy steel frame was lifted cleanly off the tracks, tipping dangerously towards the sharp descent of the mountain. The continuous force of the avalanche was more than the cars’ weight could bear. The couplings snapped, and the two sleeping cars rolled off the tracks, tumbling down the mountain.
Fluttershy didn’t dare open her eyes. Moments ago she found herself being thrown every which way as loud thumps and crashes shot through her ears. She had shut her eyes tight as soon as she felt the car tip and fell against something soft as the shaking commenced. Clearly something bad had happened and she feared what she would see if she decided to peek. There was a sudden movement around her and she shrieked in fright. The movement stopped instantly, as if pausing at her surprised reaction, before continuing, only slower and more gently.
Millions of different scenarios played through her head as to what could be going on, but the fact that whatever was happening continued gently in concern for her helped her relax. She decided to open her eyes, slowly. Her actions were immediately met by an ice cold wind chilling her face to the bone. Her body shivered instantly. She was outside, but where and who was making her surroundings move? It was very dark, but she could make out a very large silhouette of a pony standing before her. She tried speaking, but the loud whistling of the wind completely drowned out her quiet voice.
This situation terrified her. She was shaken up, confused, freezing, couldn’t see anything, and couldn’t hear anything. To make things even worse, the silhouette had vanished, leaving her alone with the wind crashing against her face. She curled up, trying to find the safety she felt moments before. She began to whimper silently to herself, but was cut off as small sparks lit up a few feet away from her. The light was brief, but she made out the same large shape from before, along with a red tint and short yellow mane. After five or six sparks, the light came to life. It was a small lantern, protecting its flame from the wind with the glass bulb surrounding it. The pony standing over it was none other than Big Macintosh. This sight lifted her mood in an instant, yet turned to worry just as fast. He was covered in cuts and bruises, some rather severe. She cringed at the sight, yet he seemed completely unfazed.
With the new light source, she was finally able to make out her surroundings. Before her, around the light were two familiar faces, wrapped in blankets from the sleeping cars. Applejack was in one, her face looking very pale, not moving at all. In the other, Rainbow Dash, groaning and writhing, her wings causing to blanket to move all about beneath. The cloth finally got thrown off, revealing one of her wings severely bent at an awkward angle. Big Mac quickly hustled over and re-wrapped the blanked around her, putting his hoof gently on the side with bad wing. He applied light pressure to it until she settled down and held still.
“Wha—” her voice was cut off again by an intense rush of wind that blew her over. She rolled in the snow, shivering at the touch. She looked up and saw what lay behind her. It was a large mattress from one of the beds in the sleeping cars. She put two and two together, realizing how fortunate she was. The sleeping cars, which lay toppled in a large snow bank a few feet away, were tossed from the tracks and had tumbled down the mountain. At some point during the disaster, she had fallen into a mattress that was flailing about in the car. As evident by the states of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Big Mac, she was lucky she crawled away without a scratch.
She began to panic about Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity as she felt something soft and warm wrap around her. She realized how cold she was and quickly clutched the blanket tightly around her. She peeked up at Big Mac, who nodded and went back towards the lantern. She shuffled her way over to AppleJack as Mac went digging through the snow and nearby wreckage of the torn apart cars. She looked her friend over, trying to figure out what was wrong. It was clear with Rainbow Dash, but Applejack just looked pale and wasn’t moving. She put a hoof on her forehead, and quickly retracted it. Applejack was burning up. She figured her apple-bucking friend must’ve been thrown from the car and was trapped outside for a while before being found. She heard some more shuffling from the direction of the cars. Mac stepped out of the wreckage with both Pinkie and Rarity on his back and two more blankets in his mouth. Rarity was gritting her teeth and squinting heavily. Pinkie was continuously saying “ow” and holding her head. In normal circumstances this would have been comical, but there was a sharp tone of pain with every breath she took between her vocalizations. Mac gently set them both down and prepared the blankets. Fluttershy shuffled over and examined them.
Rarity’s front legs were covered in dark bruises, suggesting they were caught under something heavy. Pinkie, who was still saying “ow” over and over, had tears flowing down her face over an extremely swollen right cheek. With them both covered Mac glanced between all the mares before nodding, realizing one was still missing. He disappeared back into the wreckages as Fluttershy edged her way to Pinkie and Rarity. She checked on Pinkie first, who seemed to be in an extreme amount of pain. She seemed paralyzed, the only movement being her hooves holding her head. With no idea what else she could do, Fluttershy removed a hoof from the blanked and gently stroked Pinkie’s forehead to let her know that someone was there. This seemed to help a little, Pinkie settling down but still sobbing. She moved to Rarity, who seemed to be trying her best to keep the pain from knocking her out. The bruises on her front legs almost clearly visible through her white coat. Fluttershy was sure there were either fractures or breaks because they looked a little awkwardly bent and swollen. Her face was scrunched and she continuously grimaced. She seemed to be dealing with the pain quite well. Fluttershy was surprised to say the least, for a pony who was always so stingy and serious with her appearance and femininity she expected more of a dramatic outburst.
The wind became calm for a moment, allowing Fluttershy to hear someone talking.
“Thank you Mac, OW!” She turned to see Mac helping support Twilight as she limped towards the rest. Fluttershy was relieved to see she wasn’t the only one of her friends who could still move about. Twilight’s injuries seemed relatively small, only nicks, cuts, and a few bruises. “Oh no, looks like most of us weren’t so lucky.” She limped around, looking about her friends.
“Eeyup.”
“Oh! Fluttershy!” Twilight limped towards her, “are you unharmed?” Fluttershy was too shaken up to muster a response and just nodded. “Oh thank goodness,” she turned to Mac. “Thank you for helping us Mac, I don’t know what we’d do without you right now.”
“Eeyup.” He nodded.
“I’m no good with this kind of stuff. I wish I could be of more help. I’m sorry if we’re being a burden.”
“Nnnope.” He shook his head. He reached for a blanket and draped it over her. She accepted it with a smile and clutched it around herself for warmth. She looked back up at Mac, who was slowly becoming the symbol of hope for all of them. She wanted to do something to help but she had never read anything on survival tactics. Mac was clearly well versed in them. She huddled up to Fluttershy and the rest of her friends as the two watched Mac work.
Mac returned to the wreckages and began poking around. He found a maintenance closet that had been forced of the lock. After rummaging around he found what he had hoped for, a toolbox. He opened up and everything was accounted for. Hammer, wrench, screwdriver, pliers a few extra nails, screws, nuts, bolts, and washers. He looked back into the shed hoping to find a saw, but after thinking about it why would a janitor closet on a train have a hacksaw? He went back outside briefly to drop the tools before returning to the wreckage. He approached the frames of the beds, looking them over to see if they were what he wanted. Without the mattress they were about a foot and a half deep. It was perfect, but it seemed to be completely attached to the frame of the car. This is why he wanted the hacksaw, but it couldn’t be helped. Instead he gripped the wooden frame in his teeth and firmly placed his hoof beneath the frame, with a solid yank the wood splintered and tore from the bed. The board was about seven feet long, closer to six with the missing pieces that still clung to the frame. He nodded to himself, proceeding to remove two more boards in the same fashion. He balanced them on his back and began walking back out, but stopped as he eyed something under a pile of rubble. He pushed the rubble away and smiled. It was a first aid kit. He had been looking for one since he first emerged from the wreckage.
He re-emerged into the blizzard, which seemed to be going without end, dropping the boards by the tools and heading over to the mares all huddled together. He dropped the kit and opened it, taking the supplies out one by one, using his body to shield them from the wind. He took the plastic bag full of band-aids and dumped them back into the box, grabbing a hoof-full of snow and plopping it into the bag. He went to his sister and placed the snow filled bag on her head, hoping to calm her fever.
He felt a sudden nudge on his back leg. He turned around and looked down to see Fluttershy looking up at him pleadingly. She whispered something, but it was too quiet to hear among the whistling winds. Mac cocked an eyebrow in confusion and bent his head down, putting his ear right up to her. She repeated.
“Please, let me help.” She asked shakily. Mac didn’t know much about his sister’s friends, but he had heard of Fluttershy’s prowess in caretaking. Denying her in this scenario would have been ridiculous anyway so it was an easy choice.
“Eeyup.” He nodded and motioned towards the kit. She went towards it, but he caught up and stopped her. She turned and looked up at him again. He motioned towards Rainbow Dash, who was still moaning and groaning. She was confused at first, trying to make heads or tails of Mac’s inaudible way of communicating. Then suddenly it made sense. Rainbow Dash’s wing was the problem. Mac probably didn’t know much about Pegasus anatomy. Unicorns weren’t too different from earth ponies, but he clearly felt more comfortable having a Pegasus attend to a hurt wing. She nodded, earning a smile from Mac as he went to attend to the rest.
Fluttershy gathered bandages and a few small plastic splints from the kit and made her way to Rainbow Dash. She removed the blanket around her wing, wincing as she looked upon it. It was really bent out of position. Rainbow Dash yelped loudly as the cold air hit her wing. Fluttershy quickly rubbed her hoof up and down Dash’s back.
“Shh, it’s okay, be still.” She comforted her as she looked at the wing. After assessing the damage she gasped. The wing wasn't only broken, it was dislocated, meaning she would have to put it back before stabilizing it. She hesitated, knowing very well that it would be extremely painful for Rainbow Dash. She shakily reached towards the wing and gently gripped the base. She looked at Dash, and contemplating telling her what she was about to do. She felt horrible surprising her with it, but Dash’s body was currently relaxed. If she let her know pain was coming, she’d tense up and it would hurt even more. She shut her eyes tight and jerked the wing towards the joint.
Painful would be the weakest word possible to describe the manner in which Rainbow Dash screamed out. Mac jumped up from Rarity, startled by the sudden shriek. He looked over and saw Fluttershy hugging Rainbow Dash tightly, saying “I’m sorry!” over and over again. Mac frowned as he returned his attention to Rarity.
Twilight looked between the two taking care of her and her friends. She felt she needed to help in some way. The feeling of being useless was beginning to gnaw at her. Then a thought dawned on her. Fluttershy and Big Mac were struggling to help them, the blizzard hindering their aid. She had a shield spell she had been practicing recently that Shining had taught her. She could create a small dome around all of them to block the ceaseless winds. She immediately stood from her blanket and closed her eyes to concentrate. She conceived the magic through her thoughts and let it flow into her horn, causing it to emit a soft glow, but then something went wrong. For reasons unbeknownst to her, the magic reversed before it could take form, and forced itself back into her body. She yelped out in pain, her eyes shooting open and intense light from her magic shining out both her eyes and mouth. She fell over on her side, groaning. Her head was throbbing like never before and a small stream of smoke rose from her horn.
Fluttershy saw the whole thing as she finished stabilizing Dash’s wing and hurried over. She looked her friend up and down and gasped, wondering how she hadn’t noticed before. Twilight’s horn was slightly bent off center. Fluttershy assumed it had been struck during the crash. She wasn’t an expert on unicorns, but from what she saw, it seemed that casting magic with an injured horn was a recipe for an extreme migraine. Mac joined her as Fluttershy as she recovered Twilight and copied Mac’s ice bag idea he used on his sister. Having tended to Pinkie and Rarity, Mac nodded and went back to his work, leaving Fluttershy to keep an eye on her friends.
He returned to the wreckage to salvage more materials for his idea. After a few more trips he had everything he needed. The three boards, the door to the janitor closet, a few piles of scrap metal, and one last piece he was currently wrestling the whole train car for. He was trying to get the whole axel, plus the pair of wheels attached, off of the wrecked car. The only pair of wheels that looked like they could be manageably removed was still mostly attached. After lots of bucking and tugging, Mac finally broke the wheels off, the heavy set landing on top of him and pushing him into a large pile of snow. Fluttershy gasped and ran over to see if he was okay, only to arrive as he walked out of the pile with the wheels on his back.
Fluttershy sighed in relief. She knew Mac would more often than not be just fine regardless of what happened to him, but he was still the only hope they all had in this situation. If by some slim chance he were to get hurt they were sunk. She returned to her friends and watched him with his project. He split one of the boards in half, using the two small pieces and two long to create a frame around the door that lay flat in the snow. He nailed them on and turned it over. He set to work attaching lots of scrap metal pieces together until he had two stable hunks of metal protruding from the bottom, each with a wide hole at the end. He lifted the large train wheels into the openings and closed them around. Fluttershy finally figured out what he was making as he flipped the whole thing over. Using a bunch of scraps and his handy skills, Mac had put together a makeshift cart. He used the rest of the metal to create the pieces that would stick out and attach to his yoke, finishing it all off with a mattress to make the inside soft and comfortable.
With his work complete he walked over to Fluttershy and motioned to her friends. Fluttershy watched as he gently lifted Applejack onto his back and placed her in the cart, tucking the blanket back around her before coming back. Fluttershy got the point and went right for Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t the strongest pony around. In fact she almost never lifted anything heavy in her life, much less a whole other pony. She struggled to lift Rainbow Dash, succeeding on her fifth attempt. By the time she got beside the cart, her load suddenly got much lighter as Mac assisted her. Rainbow was the last pony to be loaded up, or at least that’s what Fluttershy thought. She yelped in surprise as Mac lifted her up and placed her in the remaining space in the cart and covered her with a blanket. She didn’t retaliate or question, feeling Mac knew what was best for her and the rest of them. She looked at all of her friends in the cart, noticing that the only other thing present besides five other ponies was the medical kit. She perked up as she thought of Mac’s trophy from the competition. She looked over her back and saw the large cup sitting upside-down in the snow among the wreckage. She reached over and poked Mac as he hooked himself up to the cart. He turned and looked at her quizzically.
“Um, you forgot your trophy.” She pointed back at it. Mac blinked twice, looking between her and the trophy and shook his head. Fluttershy was surprised. “You don’t want it?” She asked in surprise.
“Nnnnope.” He answered simply as he fastened himself and gripped the handle of the lantern in his teeth. Fluttershy looked back as the cart began moving with a painful creak. The trophy slowly disappeared behind the blizzard as they moved. She realized what this action meant. Mac could care less about some award he earned in a contest. He was more worried about them. This would be a long and difficult trek for Mac and the trophy would have been unnecessary weight. Knowing his intentions, Fluttershy didn’t question him. She just wished she could’ve been more helpful.
The blizzard refused to weaken as Mac heaved the cart full of ponies up down and around the steep mountain terrain. The snow pelted his face and the icy wind stung his eyes. He couldn’t see three feet in front of him, but as long as he continued north he knew he was going in the direction of Ponyville. He had no idea how far he had to go, but he was determined to save his sister and her friends. The six ponies were nowhere near a fraction of the weight of the old train he pulled in the competition. The terrain made it slightly difficult, but he was the strongest pony in equestrian right? This would be no problem. At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
Fluttershy huddled closely with her friends as Mac continued to pull them along. She kept lifting her head as little as possible to glance at Mac from time to time. Each time she tried to ask if he was doing alright, but the words never reached him over the whistling of the wind. She was afraid he was too cold, or that he was still tired from the competition.
In reality Mac was burning. He was covered in sweat from the continuous hard work, but to him this was no different from pulling a heavy plow. He was used to this kind of work. After what seemed hours with nothing but inclines and declines with extra weight on his back, Mac finally stopped to take a rest. He unhooked himself from the cart and walked around to check on all of them. As he moved from pony to pony, Fluttershy kept trying to get his attention. She finally realized that her quiet voice was fighting an uphill battle with the weather and losing horribly. She reached out and tapped him as he checked on Twilight beside her. He turned to her and cocked his head to the side. She tried to speak again but still couldn’t defeat the wind. Mac leaned towards her, holding his ear towards her again.
“Are you okay Big Macintosh?” She finally got him to hear. He set down the lantern with a smile and nodded.
“Eeeyup.” He answered and started to move, but picked up her saying something else,
“You’re not cold? Are you tired? Should we rest?” She asked multiple questions all out concern. Mac kept the smile on his face to keep her reassured. Answering only,
“Nnnope,” before shaking off the snow built up on his back and readying to set out again.
Their destination was nowhere in sight. Mac continued on, positive that as long as he didn’t stop he would eventually find salvation. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up. The fatigue from the competition was starting to catch up to him and as light as the cart and the ponies were, he had been going so long over rough terrain to the point where it was unbearable. His body was sore, his muscles ached, and the freezing temperatures weren’t helping as he had to stop briefly time and again due to leg cramps. Despite all this he forced every step again and again. One hoof in front of the other. Yet one hoof didn’t touch the ground. Mac looked down just in time to see his hoof stumble down and he fell over the edge of a steep snow drift. His weight pulled the whole cart down with him.
Fluttershy yelped as the ride suddenly got very bumpy, ending with a heavy thud, the cart tipping hard, and a large uplift of snow landing on her. She shook the snow off quickly as she heard moans and groans of pain from her friends. All but Applejack had been thrown from the cart. She quickly shed her blanket to help gather up her friends. With the cart tipped she easily helped Pinkie and twilight back in. She was heading for Rainbow Dash When Mac popped out of the snow with an uncharacteristic growl. Fluttershy shuddered as he roughly pulled himself out of the snow. He sounded frustrated, confirmed by the angered look on his face that very few had ever seen. He took a deep breath and his face returned to its normal relaxed look. The lantern had miraculously stayed alight, and Mac quickly helped them all back into the cart. Fluttershy jumped out and trotted up to him as he fumbled with the harness which was now slightly bent out of shape.
“Big Macintosh?” She spoke. She instantly knew she didn’t hear him, she began to wonder why she even bothered. She had lost to the wind every time. Instead of trying again she walked in front of him, grabbing his attention. She paused to brace herself as a strong gust of wind nearly knocked her down. She shuddered at the cold, but regained her poise and leaned close so he could hear. “Should we rest for a while? You’ve been going non-stop.” She hoped for him to agree, but Mac proved that stubbornness was an Apple Family trait.
“Nnnnope.” He answered and continued to work on the harness. Fluttershy was a timid pony, but she definitely wasn’t stupid. Being an expert in animals, she could easily catch signs of fatigue in Macs movements. She felt a rare wave of assertiveness and stepped around so he could see her again.
“But if you keep this up and, eep!” Her confidence shattered when she caught glimpse of anger on Mac’s face.
“Nnnnope.” He repeated in a harsher tone. Fluttershy shrunk away and scampered back to the cart. She began shivering, but this time it wasn’t because of the cold. Mac’s imposing stature was one thing, but he NEVER showed much emotion. That was a shock by itself, but that anger. Seeing Mac angry, most likely at her persistence, sent chills through her. She huddled up to her friends beneath the blankets, worried that she had incurred the wrath of the beast trying his best to help them.
Time began to move without notice. Mac couldn’t tell how far they had come nor how long he had been pulling. The storm seemed determined to defeat him, but he refused to yield, looking the storm in the face and saying nnnnope. Despite his unwavering willpower and drive to save the six ponies he pulled, he didn’t know how much longer he could go on. His legs were going numb and seemed to buckle more and more with each step. But he was the strongest pony in Equestria. A little flurry like this wouldn’t stop him. He would live up to his status and get them all home safely. Then it finally happened.
While forcing himself up a steep incline, he shakily planted another step, and pain shot through his leg all the way up to his body. He felt light headed and he suddenly couldn’t feel his legs. He collapsed into the snow and the weight of the cart caused it to roll to the bottom of the incline, dragging him through the snow. Fluttershy’s head instantly popped up from the cart as soon as it came to a halt. Her eyes went wide as she saw Mac sprawled out in the snow.
“Big Macintosh! Big Macintosh!” She yelled in worry as she quickly got beside him. She nudged his head with hers until she finally got him to turn over. She panicked as she looked him over and put her ear to his mouth. A wave of relief rushed over her. He was breathing. She quickly returned to the cart and retrieved her blanket. It wasn’t big enough to cover him, but she had to keep him warm if she was going to help him. As soon as she finished draping it over him his eyes shot open and he tried to stand quickly, only to fall down halfway. “Big Macintosh! You’re okay!” She smiled, but quickly turned to concern as the scowl returned to his face.
“Eeeyup.” He grumbled without looking at her. Without hesitation he tried to stand again.
“No! Big Macintosh please! You have to rest! You’re only going to hurt yourself!” She pleaded.
“Nnnnope.” He continued struggling. He almost managed to stand, but fell down again.
“Listen to me! You’re in no condition to keep going!” Fluttershy persisted, placing herself in front of him and thrusting her wings outward as if trying to bar him from going further.
“Nn…nnnope.” His expression turned from frustration to pure anger as he tried yet again, only to fail yet again.
“MACINTOSH!!!!” Fluttershy yelled while pounding her hooves in the snow. Mac let out a loud growl and his eyes snapped towards Fluttershy, he managed to get to his feet and gave her the biggest glare he could muster.
“NOW LISTEN HERE MISSY, WE’RE STUCK OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOUNTAINS WITH THIS DARN BLIZZARD POUNDIN’ US LIKE NO OTHER. WE’VE GOT FIVE PONIES THAT NEED DOCS BADLY. YA EXPECT ME TO SIT WITH MAH TAIL TUCKED BETWEEN MAH HIND LEGS AND LET THE STORM BURY US?!” Fluttershy stiffened completely as Mac unloaded his anger towards her. She slowly shrunk down to the ground, trying to make herself smaller and smaller as he belted at her. She shut her eyes tight and began to whimper. “MAH SISTER AND THE OTHERS NEED MAH HELP AND I AIN’T QUITTIN’ TILL WE GET BACK TO PONYVILLE!!” He finished, his breath heaving as he stood over her like a mountain himself. Then he looked closely at her.
Art by: Starfirenova (Her dev art page)
Fluttershy had contracted herself almost completely into a little yellow ball with a pink mane. She was shivering and crying. Mac’s anger quickly faded and he wobbled back down into the snow. What had he done? This never happened to him before. He was always so calm and relaxed, always so in control and gentle. How could he lose control and snap? At the most innocent pony no less? He hung his head shamefully for a moment before looking down at her with eyes that longed for forgiveness. She was still quivering with tears squeaking between her glued shut eyes. He sighed and pulled himself over to her, placing a hoof gently on her back.
“I’m,” he paused, not used to speaking so much, “sorry.” Fluttershy stopped shaking and her eyes slowly opened, they were red from tears. She looked up at him, immediately catching the dread in his expression. “I didn’t mean t’yell at ya. I’m just worried about y’all. I felt it was mah responsibility to get ya home safe, but all I’ve done is walked blind and scare ya cold.”
“No!” Fluttershy was up on her hooves quickly. “Big Macintosh, how could you say that? If you weren’t with us we’d be lost! When I saw what happened to all my friends I only panicked and cowered. You kept on calmly and kept our hope alive!” She looked down, averting her eyes when she realized how long she’s been looking into his. “How could any of us think less of you after all you’ve done?” Mac listened, her words warming his heart. He smiled and let his head rest on the ground.
“That’s mighty kind of ya t’say, but I’m done. I c’n barely move mah legs,” he glanced her way, “I think it’s time I let somepony else do the thinkin’. What should we do Fluttershy?”
“Me?” She felt inadequate, but with the state Mac was in, she felt she should help in some way. She contemplated their current situation and tried her best to come up with options. She looked over at the cart at her friends, surveying each one of them until she saw Twilight. A thought popped into her head. She wondered why she hadn’t thought about it before because it could’ve saved them and especially Mac a whole lot of trouble. She motioned to the cart. “Twilight is Princess Celestia’s star pupil, she’ll know about this soon and come looking, I’m sure of it. So if we can find a way to safely wait and tend to our friends, it’s only a matter of time before we’re saved.” She was worried Mac would feel his efforts had no point, so she quickly added, “You probably got us much closer to Ponyville so they’ll find us a lot faster.” He only sighed in response. Then she took a look around. She noticed the area was very flat before the incline they slid down. “Can you move at all?” She suddenly asked Mac as he tried to lay still for his poor sore body.
“A little.” He replied as he rolled over and shakily stood.
“Do you know how to make an igloo?” She asked smiling. He returned her smile.
“Eeyup.”
Working together, Mac and Fluttershy managed to build a small igloo that was just big enough to fit them all inside. One by one, they transferred their friends into the igloo to shield them from the stinging winds. Once the five injured ponies were inside, Fluttershy set the lantern down in the center and turned around to see Mac squeeze his big body through the door. He lied down with his back to the door to block the cold air from getting inside. The small shiver it caused didn’t go unnoticed by Fluttershy.
“Is that making you cold?” She asked with wide concerned eyes.
“Nnn,” he was about to deny it, but after looking her in the eye he sighed, “eeyup.” It was hard to lie to those adorable eyes. Fluttershy looked around at all of her friends all resting comfortably in their blankets and then looked at the one she had draped over herself. With no other option she lifted one side of her blanket up with her wing and nestled herself beside Mac, draping the blanket over them both with her wing.
“Then we can share.” She said quietly while using her mane to hide an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. Mac blinked, looking at her as she snuggled her body against his and smiled.
Art by: fia94
“Thank ya kindly Fluttershy.” He wondered how he could ever have yelled at such an innocent caring mare. Fluttershy couldn’t remember the last time she felt more secure. Big Mac was, as his name implied, big. It made her feel like she had her own personal mountain surrounding her. With the intense comfort of security she wondered how she could have ever found him scary. Soothed by each other’s warmth, they drifted to sleep.
Art by: Starfirenova (Her dev art page)
“Any sign of them Soarin?” Spitfire formed up beside Soarin while scanning the mountain range below.
“Nothing yet,” Soarin removed his goggles briefly to rub the mist off of them, “but Princess Celestia says she can feel the unicorns’ magic energy, so at least we know they’re out here.”
“How much area have you covered?” Spitfire asked while glancing around.
“I just did two flybys around the northern edge of the range.”
“So you’ve covered your whole area already. This is gonna take forever.”
“Hey guys!!” they both turned to see Rapidfire who was swiftly approaching while waving his front legs, “Fleetfoot found them!”
“Forever seems pretty short to me.” Soarin smirked at Spitfire as the two followed Rapidfire. Fleetfoot was circling over a small area. As the other three approached they spotted red and yellow among the white snow banks. Big Mac and Fluttershy stood outside their igloo, waving up to the Wonderbolt rescue team. The four circled as the royal guards began showing up with stretchers and medical supplies. As the scene unfolded around them, Big Mac and Fluttershy looked at each other and smiled.
Everything went back to normal in Ponyville. All the ponies besides Fluttershy and Big Mac had to spend a few days in the hospital, but other than that, responsibilities and work found their way back into their lives. The royal guards took it upon themselves to clean up the wreckage of the train crash. During the process one of them found Big Mac’s trophy and returned it to him at Sweet Apple Acres. It sat in the corner of his room as if nothing else had happened.
Mac stared at his warped reflection in the polished surface of the trophy and sighed. Sure he felt proud of winning the competition, but he still felt guilty about the way he snapped at Fluttershy. The image of her shying away from him with tears in her eyes haunted his mind. No matter how many times he reminded himself that he apologized, the fact that he lost his temper so fiercely scared him.
He had always been very strong. When he was younger, he learned a lot of life lessons about controlling himself. He had lost his temper only two other times in his life. Both were cases of defending his family name from somepony trying to tarnish it, but both of them ended up in the hospital with more than one broken bone after a less than ten second scuffle.
After the first incident he assumed the colt he roughed up was just a weakling, but when it happened again he realized just how strong he was and had vowed never to lose his cool again. Since then he had been a calm stone wall. You could spit in his face and he wouldn’t flinch. His calm demeanor became his natural state, and nothing ever seemed to swing it, at least until now.
What frightened him the most was that his anger wasn’t instigated this time. He lost his temper out of nothing more than frustration. If he had done anything to hurt Fluttershy physically, he would’ve never lived it down.
“Macintosh?” Applejack’s voice forced him from his thoughts and he turned towards the door. Applejack’s fever was gone the day after they were rescued, which was a relief to all because if she had missed a single day of work there would’ve been blood to pay. She was throwing him a concerned look. “You been starin’ at that trophy o’yours all mornin’,” Mac blinked, frowned, and returned his gaze to the trophy. “You okay?” She trotted up to him and looked his face over.
“Nnnope.” He answered in a somber tone. Applejack tipped her head to the side on placed a hoof on his shoulder.
“Aw what’s the matter big fella?” Before either of them could go further a soft knocking came from the front door. Applejack wasn’t sure if she had really heard it or not, but it came again so she left Mac alone to answer the door.
Mac remained where he was, the faint sound of conversing, or at least Applejack, could be heard. He couldn’t make out another voice, but she was definitely talking to somepony.
“Macintosh! You have a visitor!” Applejack called with a strange tone in her voice which sounded uncertain. Mac picked up on this and wondered who could be asking for him. He pulled himself away from his room, down the stairs, and into the living room. His eyes widened as he turned the corner.
“Um, hi, er, I mean, hello Big Macintosh.” It was none other than Fluttershy, standing in the middle of his living room wearing a saddlebag. Applejack went about her business, or so she wanted it to look that way, she ducked behind a corner, skeptical as to why one of her friends wanted to speak to her brother.
With the two of them “alone” Mac cocked his head to the side slightly as Fluttershy fidgeted in front of him, stumbling over her speech the way she always did.
“Um, I just wanted, you know, I thought, *ahem*, you were, wait, eeeeeeee.” She squeaked at the end. Applejack had a hoof over her face shaking her head. Fluttershy always did this when she was nervous to say something. Sometimes it took them minutes to get it out of her. Fluttershy shook her head and breathed in heavily, exhaling loudly. Big Mac just kept his eyes on her. “I just, wanted to, let you know, how much, it meant, to me, and the others,” she kept pausing every few words, “that you took care, of us, and, I wanted to give you this.” She seemed to be panicking more and more the further she got. She quickly reached into the saddle bag and pulled out what looked to be a plastic goblet glued to a wooden block. “I know it can’t compare to the trophy you left behind,” Applejack felt like saying they had found the trophy, but she didn’t want to ruin whatever adorable antics Fluttershy was up to, “but I want you to have it, I want you, to know I, I mean we, appreciate how hard you, tried for us.” She placed it at his feet.
Mac examined the little art project she had made for him and noticed scribbling on the side that said “Our Hero, Big Macintosh.” He stared at it and then looked back up at Fluttershy. She eagerly awaited his response, and became more and more uneasy as she waited for it. His lips turned up into a smile, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank ya, Fluttershy.” He nodded to her. Applejack’s head snapped around the corner with her jaw nearly on the floor. Big Mac had just spoken to someone outside his family in words other than eeyup and nnnope. She thought Equestria was going to implode. Fluttershy smiled happily back at him, but then suddenly looked away, hiding her face with her mane. Mac noticed this as he heard her take several deep breaths. Apparently the excitement wasn’t over.
“But, you know, truly,” Fluttershy’s voice was suddenly clearer, “I want you to know how heroic it was of you to try and save us all.” She peeked slightly towards him. “You kept all of us safe and tried your hardest to get us home to the point where you collapsed, I, I wish I could be brave like that.” She stepped closer to him while still looking away and mostly hiding her face. “You,” she paused, gathering herself, “you are a very special pony Big Macintosh. Thanks for everything.” She quickly leaned up and planted a very light kiss on his cheek. Mac’s eyes went very wide as Fluttershy, with her face redder than Big Mac’s coat, instantly turned and zipped out the door, slamming it behind her.
Applejack turned the corner and hastily ran up to the window, but Fluttershy was already out of sight. She tried to wrap her mind around everything she just saw and heard. First Mac talking, then one of her best friends kissing her older brother on the cheek and evacuating the premise the instant after. She furrowed her brow.
“Alright Macintosh, you got some ‘splainin to do.” She turned to face him, “What the hay was that all ab—” she stopped short. Big Mac was staring forward with a goofy smile plastered to his face along with a light blush and a dreamy look in his eyes. “Ohhhhh no. Don’t you even think about it.”
---The End---
