Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Stallion
Big Maconova
By: TCSNxs
“Now, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna moved the chalk over the rolling blackboard with her telekinesis, drawing a line between two rough diagrams, “the keys to an illusion is to give the spell enough magic and to hold subconsciously. If you focus too much on the magic, you won’t be able properly interact with the world while in disguise. Too little focus and you'll lose the spell.”
“I see,” Twilight looked to the Princess as she set the chalk down. Twilight's eyes gleamed in fascination, “but doesn’t it drain a pony to hold it?”
Luna chuckled, “Twilight, from what my sister says of you, I doubt that will be the problem,” Luna set the chalk down, “Now would you care to try it?”
Twilight furiously nodded. She moved away from the central desk of the library and concentrated, gathering her magic. The spell was little difficult to manage as she worked her mind to focus on the image placed in her head. Her horn grew gradually brighter before releasing a purple flash of light. In Twilight’s place stood an exact image of Star Swirl the Bearded.
“Thou even has the bells right,” Luna quipped, though she was proud of her. It wasn't an easy spell to do, taking Luna months at first to get it the illusion perfect. Of course, that was millennia ago.
The faux Starswirl timidly took a step, then another. Gradually, Twilight gained confidence she could hold the illusion. She trotted down around the desk, admiring her form before absentmindedly stepping on the long grey beard. The illusionary Star Swirl managed to do a complete somersault before losing her mental grip the magical manifestation.
Luna laughed despite herself, “You may wish to practice with the forms you wish to take before using them in public. But as you can see, the illusion itself can have a lot of uses.” She offered a hoof to Twilight, which the unicorn took, "With enough practice, you can add any number of things you wish to affect the senses of others. It will take practice though."
Luna looked outside, seeing a large muscular red stallion working a stall in the market place outside. He was completing a transaction with a pegasus over a bag of apples. The wind whipped through his short blond mane while his green eyes were piercing.
“Who is that,” Luna couldn’t hide the sauciness of her voice. Her eyes moved up and down, taking in the entirety of Mac’s form.
“That’s Big Macintosh, Princess,” Twilight caught something in Luna’s voice, but was unable to place it.
“Oh is he now?” Luna’s cyan eyes were sparkling.
Twilight merely nodded.
“I see. Tell me Twilight, would you care to see a demonstration of the illusion spell?”
~(o)~
Mac worked the stall in his usual fashion, which is to say he let the apples and various related products sell themselves. Mac was enjoying the weather, switching the straw grass in his mouth from one side to another. His large muscular frame, built from years of hard manual labor, rested easy on the grass as he let his mind wander on various things. Contrary to perception, he was stallion bred of a practical wisdom that learned to enjoy the simplicity of life and take joys wherever they could be found.
Mac broke his mental retreat when a dark sapphire furred pegasus with a crescent moon cutie mark walked up. Her big cyan eyes and sharp features painted a pleasant view to his eyes.
“Good afternoon,” she spoke with a light voice. She seemed to be perusing the cart with occasional glances to the stallion tending it.
“Ma’am,” Mac nodded politely with a placid smile on his face, his deep voice was surprisingly gentle, “Do ya see somethin’ ya like.”
“Might that I do,” she smiled slightly in return. She paused for a second, as if deciding her next course of action, “Tell me, do these pies come made to order?”
“Eeyup,” Mac nodded again, “though it’d take a while to deliver.”
The pegasus simply grinned, “Good.”
She took took a piece of parchment and pen, writing down a few lines. Mac caught the brief scent of her hair, smelling like something between a floral bouquet and a salty ocean breeze. He glanced to the parchment when she was done and turned it towards him. Mac nearly blanched despite himself.
“Apple pie with anchovies?” Mac spoke, trying to keep the incredulousness from his voice.
“It's a Marediterranean delicacy.”
“Ah see,” the rest of the paper simply had a room number at Ponyville’s lone hotel, “Ya’ll be in town tonight?”
“I shall,” the pegasus’s voice sounded inviting.
Mac smiled politely, his emerald eyes having a bit of flair in them, “Until then, ma’am.”
The pegasus pursed her lips before falling into a smile, “Call me Waxing Moon, please.” She offered a hoof. Mac, being the gentlecolt he was raised to be, took it delicately and pressed a small purse of his lips to it. She turned away and cantered away. Mac lost her in the bustle of the marketplace.
~(o)~
“Apple Pie with anchovies?” Applejack shook her head while preparing the pie crust in the kitchen. Mac brought a tin of the smelly fishes, a few sundries, and a book on Marediterranean cuisine back to the farm with him. Applejack glance quizzically to her brother, “Ya sure this ain’t a joke?”
Mac gave a shrug of his powerful shoulders, “Don’t matter Ah guess. Worse case scenario, we can give it to the pigs.”
“Ah don’t think they’d touch it,” Granny Smith offered with a shake of her head.
Mac chuckled despite himself as his sister and Granny set to work. Mac moved to the bathroom, figuring a cold shower would do him good.
~(o)~
Mac had the pie in a small cart tied to his trademark harness. His hair was styled a bit more than usual, which is to say he took a brush to it. Mac was humming to himself, the warm night air filling him with a sense of inexplicable but profound joy.
As Mac approached the hotel, he released the strap binding the cart to his harness and worked the warm dessert onto his back. Mac walked through the hotel's lobby and shortly found the room. After a knock on the door, he waited a moment. The door seemingly opened of its own accord. Mac took the cue and cautiously entered the dark room.
“Miss Moon? Ah got your pie,” Mac’s voice trailed off as he paused past the door’s threshold.
In place of the usual hotel room, Mac found a surreal scene. A vast and twinkling night sky opened in place of the ceiling, with a storm rumbling off in the distance. A sandy stretch of shoreline expanded to the horizon all around him. The sound of distant thunder and crashing waves filled his ears while the warm, salt-scented air overloaded his nostrils. A blanket with a pair of wine flutes and an unopened bottle of wine waited in front of him. The moonlight bathed the area, making the scene all the more lucid. A part of Mac wanted to shake himself free of his fascination, but it was in the minority on the matter.
“Do come in,” Mac heard a familiar voice purr, “and please, shut the door.”
Mac complied. As he hoofed the door closed behind him, the door vanished into the illusion, becoming a part of the stretch of sandy shore reaching to a distant villa. Mac blinked a few times. He wasn’t unfamiliar with magic, though it was certainly beyond anything he would have expected.
“Do you like it,” the dark sapphire pegasus spoke from behind Mac. He was sure she wasn’t there a moment before.
“Eeyup,” was all the large farm pony could muster.
“Mmm,” Waxing walked up beside Mac, her rump rubbing along his suggestively. Mac’s eyes shot open as she continued, “That pleases me. This took much effort and it be a shame if it were wasted."
Mac was searching for an explanation, “Ma’am, Ah think there’s been a mistake.”
The pegasus smiled as a pinprick of silver light emanated from just above her eyes. As the light grew in intensity, it gradually encompassed her form. When it died away, there stood Princess Luna in her place. Nearly as tall as Macintosh, she smiled in such a way that Mac allowed his brain to feed itself a few lurid images. Her auroral mane danced on some celestial wind as her cyan eyes sparkled like the night sky.
“I don’t believe so, Big Macintosh,” Luna slowly circled around the stallion. She grasped the pie with her magic and set it aside, “Do you think an immortal princess is capable of making a mistake.”
“Nope.” Mac somehow managed. Mac’s mind was racing, trying to find some measure of restraint.
“Good,” Luna raised an eyebrow slightly, a sultry smile on her face. Her horn lit up, grasping the prongs of Mac’s harness with her magic, “Tell me then, what else would you think of a Princess?”
She pulled mac towards her. She rose up on her rear hooves, her wings spread invitingly open. Mac could feel his heart racing ferociously, pumping blood through large volumes as he fell into the Lunar Princess’s waiting embrace. Luna pressed her lips firmly into the giant crimson stallion’s with a sense of urgency. Mac responded in kind. He leaned forward, guiding Luna gently onto the blanket, the moon being their only witness.
“Ah think,” he started in a final protest.
Luna putted a hoof to his lips, “You talk too much.” Mac fell into her again, unable to fault her logic. He moved a hoof up along her side, tickling along her ribs............
~(o)~
"Rarity!"
"Aaaaeeeee!" Rarity's eyes shot open as her quill streaked off the page she was working on. She quickly collected herself before glaring harshly at her little sister, "Sweetie Belle! Didn't I tell you to knock before barging in?"
"I did and I've been calling you for a full minute," Sweetie Belle shot back, "Look, the girls and I are hungry. When's dinner going to be ready?"
"I'll be down in an hour, okay Sweetie?"
"Alright," Sweetie Belle huffed as she cantered off down the hall. Rarity closed the door behind her with her magic.
"Now, my Big Macintosh, where were we?" Rarity smirked to herself as she picked up her quill and resumed her writing.
