Big Macintosh's Big Explanation

Tara Strong
Andrea Libman
Tabitha St. Germain

and

Peter New

Big Macintosh's Big Explanation

By The J.A.M.

Based on a fanfic written by ZettaLux



"There he is!"

"He's MINE!"

"I saw him first!"

"What are you - "

"But... I was going to..."

"Anteater!"

"Wait - "

"OW!"

"Stop it!"


"SHUUUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUPPPPP!!!!!" shouted the draft pony, with a rage that practically no one in Ponyville had ever seen.

The five mares stared at him, ears down.

"Um… Ah mean…" the colt rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… please?"

With resignation, he looked at the ground, and said, "Ah'm sorry... But ah had to say something to get yer attention," he tried to say as calmly as he could, taking a deep breath. "It's just that… well, Ah'm not sayin' none of you are lovely - you all are. But… th'thing is… Ah just cain't unnerstand why all five of ya'll would don't want a handsome colt and instead want a plain pony like me…"

"Huh?" asked Fluttershy.

"What are you talking—" said Twilight.

"Plain?" blurted Rarity.

"But… but Mac-y Whacky… you're not plain!"

The colt sighed again.

"There's… there's more to that… and there's stuff ya'll need to know 'bout me."

"Stuff?" asked Twilight. "What do you mean? Applejack has never said anything bad about you! We know you're a hard working pony who runs the best apple farm in all Equestria!"

"That's just it, Miss Sparkle," he answered, not looking up. "Ah'm ONLY a hard working farm pony… and ya'll… well…" He thought for a moment, and tried again, "Have ya'll ever wonnered… if Ah'm the best pick of th'herd… then why haven't Ah still NOT paired up with a nice mare?"

That question even stumped Twilight. "Well… now that you mention it, it does seem kind of odd. After all, all you have to do is pick one mare and she'll follow you, no questions asked, right?"

"Well, that's mostly true… for most of the mares in Ponyville… and… to tell ya the truth, that kinda gets annoyin' after a while. Every time Ah go into town Ah see all the available mares practically throw themselves… or crash themselves…" he glared at Rainbow Dash, who gulped nervously, "…at me… but what really burns mah tail… and th'reason why Ah don't choose any of 'em… is because all those mares are th'same fillies who had their fun tormentin' me when Ah was a lil' colt mahself."

"What?!" asked Twilight, indignant.

"Eeeyup," he sighed. "When Ah was in school, Ah was mighty thin an' gangly, and everyone at school seemed t'think Ah was their personal punchin' bag. Sure, Ah tried t'fight back, without much success, mind ya."

"Until your dad—"

"That's right, Miss Sparkle. My pop got me started early on th'apple buckin' one summer, and boy, Ah filled out mighty quick ther. Still, th'next school year didn't get much better, with th'same horsin' around from the bullies, colts AND fillies. 'Xcept this time…"

"You were able to fight back."

"Eeeyup, Miss Dash. One day it got so bad that Ah was practically fightin' every single student in th'school, colts AND fillies alike… it was… not somethin' ya'll would have liked t'see. But yes… Ah was buckin' everyone who wanted a piece of me… and Ah gave them a piece of me… Ah… Ah was outta control… All th'anger that I had juss' seemed to explode… and explode again… and again… and again. Not that they never laid a hoof on me, of course, by the end of th'day Ah had two black eyes and Ah was missin some teeth… but Ah busted quite a few teeth mahself… from colts…" he shuddered, "…AND fillies."

The five mares gasped.

"Eeeyup. Ah was determin'd to 'teach' them a lesson they'd never ferget… an' Ah busted their teeth… and Ah broke a few noses… and jaws… and legs… of the colts… and fillies… and th'teacher."

"YOU BROKE YOUR TEACHER'S JAW???!!!" whinnied Rainbow Dash, with a mix of terror and admiration.

"NO, YA IDJ—um…Ah mean…no, Ah didn't, Miss Dash. Ah… just gave her a bloody nose… but only cause she got in th'way when she tried to stop the fightin'."

Subtly, Fluttershy lowered her head and closed her eyes, trying to keep her hooves and wings from trembling.

"Ah think that's when someone called th'parents, cuz more an' more grown-ups showed up, an' Ah started fightin' them, too. They tried to hold me down, but… Ah was totally outta control. Ah found Ah was stronger than most o'them, specially the pegasi and unicorns, an' even the earth ponies couldn't handle me. Ah… broke some wings and horns, too. Then, someone shouted mah full name, an' Ah turned and Ah was ready to buck their teeth outta their head… and… and…"

The stallion trembled with the memory.

"An' it was mah Granny Smith. Ah couldn't believe Ah was about to buck her teeth, so Ah just froze ther'. Then Ah looked around an' saw all the colts and fillies on the ground… it was like a horror movie. Many were cryin'… even the tough bullies were bawlin' their eyes out, specially when their parents showed up… an' many weren't movin', but they were all bleedin, many were spittin' blood, some had their legs or jaw or wings bent in ways that they weren't supposed to… broken horns were on th'ground too… an' th' unicorns were carefully pickin' them up. Then th'parents… the ones who weren't injured, looked at me like… like Ah was a monster…"

He whispered, "…which Ah was…"

"Then came all the nurses… ya'll would think that there had juss' been a war or an earthquake… Ah think many were called from other towns to take care of so many injured… an' it was all because of me."

The red pony couldn't look up at them now.

"Well, mah Granny dragged me by my ear back to th'farm, right afore the Royal Guard showed up. An' mah Granny gave me a mighty chewin' out about what a gentlecolt's supposed to be… an' how one never raises a hoof against a mare, an' how one never gets into a fight unless your life, or your loved ones, or your farm, is on the line. An' she taught me a lesson with th'ridin' whip that Ah'll never forget."

The uncanny silence made him look up and find some faces of disapproval of corporal punishment, especially for a young colt.

"Aw, come on, ya'll know Ah deserved it!" He sighed and continued, "Well, Ah didn't go back to school that year. Ah spent it buckin' the trees, an' workin' my… tail off t'pay for all th'medical stuff that all the ponies needed. Ah dunno if it was one year or two, but by th'time Ah went back t'school, everyone who was in that fight that day had gone up a grade or two, an' right about then Ah got mah cutie mark, not that anyone would have wanted to know about it. Anyway, now Ah had t'endure the younger ones teasin' me cuz I was mighty old t'be in their class, but Ah… held mah peace, thanks to mah Granny."

"Well, it looks like everyone has forgiven you for that," whispered Fluttershy, "if the same mares that you fought are now… wanting to be with you…"

"That's just th'problem, Miss Fluttershy. With all th'buckin' Ah was doin', Ah got bigger an' bigger, an' Ah was gettin taller an' taller too, 'till Ah was taller than mah pop. So now, the same mares who first ridiculed me, an' then got their teeth bucked… were now lookin' at me like Ah was a piece of candy—"

"Yummy candy!!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "Um…I mean…sorry Big Mac…"

"Exactly. So, Ah didn't think that all those mares who seemed to want a… relationship with me were… worth lookin' at… Ah thought they were all… well… um… what's the word—?"

"Superficial? Shallow?"

"Eeeyup. Thanks, Miss Sparkle. Anyway, Ah used t'think that all the mares were shallow… an' then ya'll showed up in th'last Summer Sun Celebration… an' there was the whole mess with Nightmare Moon an' Princess Luna."

"But wait, you weren't involved… you were just Applejack's brother, right?"

"Eeeyup, Miss Sparkle. Applejack told me an' Apple Bloom all that happened an' how ya'll rescued Princess Luna from that monster, and she talked about how ya'll became th'Elements o' Harmony, an' she even showed me that necklace that appeared on her… mighty pretty, too. Never seen an apple-shaped gemstone."

He sighed again, lowering his head. "Well, now this is where it gets… deep…" he sighed.

"When ya'll became national heroes, Ah thought, 'Well, these are fine mares, an' if they're as nice as Applejack says, then maybe not ALL mares are alike…' but then…"

The stallion shook his head slowly. "Then… Ah… started thinkin' wrongly about you…"

"Thinking?" asked Pinkie Pie. "What's wrong with thinking? You weren't saying nasty things out loud, in fact, you don't say much, period, and right now you've probably talked more in ten minutes than in the whole year we've known you andmmmmmffff—"

A bit of magic from Twilight managed to zip Pinkie's lip, literally.

"The thing is that… when ya'll started… you know… comin' on to me… Ah began thinkin', 'No, they can't be as shallow as the rest of them!' But then…"

The mares looked down.

"Then ya'll weren't lettin' up… so Ah… began thinkin' ya'll were juss' like th'rest of them… but th'worst of it all… involved you, Miss Sparkle."

"Me?" The unicorn shot her head up. "But… why me?"

"Well… it was a bit long in coming… with you bein' Princess Celestia's personal student, and bein' th'Element of Magic… and bein' very smart an' organized… but… it all sorta exploded… in th'last Winter Wrap Up."

Twilight suddenly lowered her ears and head, almost stepping back, and wishing the ground would swallow her up right now. "Oh… THAT incident…"

"Eeeyup. Ever wonder why, with all th'ponies we had helpin' out in th'farm, there was ONE snowplow no pony was usin'?"

"I… I never gave that much thought… and I never bothered asking Applejack about it." She couldn't look up now.

"Well, that was MAH plow…"

"Oh… that explains why I couldn't move it. It was adjusted for someone your size…"

"Eeeyup. Ah didn't wanna leave the plowin', but Ah knew Ah had to pick up the grass seeds mahself, after all, we couldn't afford to let Caramel lose them like he did last year, so this time Ah wasn't gonna take any chances, an' Ah got them all fine and nicely… an' Ah was comin' back when Ah saw Caramel gallopin' up to me and then he started blabberin' about some idj… um… an… uninformed… unicorn mare that had tried usin' magic t'clear th'snow off'n th'fields and had caused an avalanche."

Twilight bent all four knees, and her eyes welled up.

"Well, when Ah heard what had happened, Ah left the seeds with Caramel an' told him to bring 'em to th'barn for sortin'… and… and Ah galloped to the fields as fast as I could."

It seemed as if the red stallion had become even redder, with the rage that was welling up inside him, and even the snow seemed to melt with each stomp of his reddened hooves. Hot breath blasted out of his mouth and nostrils, making him appear more like a dragon than a pony, and even his freckles seemed to have darkened with anger.

"Ah was… mighty… upset…"

Idjit pony, who does she think she is, usin' MAGIC to prepare mah fields for plantin'? Where was she raised, Canterlot?

"An'… Ah was feelin'… things Ah hadn't felt in quite a while… since school, actually…"

Idjit and double idjit… mare or not, she's gonna be spittin' teeth afore she gets taken off mah farm in a STRETCHER!

"Ah was also… thinkin' stuff… you know… um… plannin'… to do things… to whoever was using magic for clearin mah fields…"

Ah hope Ah can get there in time… maybe the crops can be saved… maybe Ah can clean the fields usin' that idjit's carcass as a snowplow!

"It… it wasn't pretty… whut Ah was thinkin'… Ah… just felt so angry… you know… considerin' that a whole mess o'crops could have been affected… because they had been prepared with unicorn magic an' not earth pony magic…"

The red stallion's rage seemed to explode, and explode again, when he reached the top of the hill, and he saw the damage of the avalanche. Most of the farmhooves had already dug themselves out of the snow and were freeing up their buried plows, and they were quickly setting up to re-do the work they had done in the morning, but despite their tenacity to work the land, the red stallion snorted and pawed at the melting snow under his hot hooves.

Then, his sister's angry shouts drew his attention to his right, and he saw the culprit.

"When Ah got back to th'farm, Ah saw Applejack chewin' you out. She seemed just as angry with you as Ah was, an' Ah suppose she said everythin' Ah was gonna say to you. Ah only caught th'end of it, cuz then Ah saw you gallop away."

Oh, no. You're NOT gonna git away THAT cleanly, girl! Maybe spendin' time re-growin' your troublemakin' horn will teach you to mess with MAH FARM—!!!

"But even though Applejack seemed to deal with you… you know… thoroughly, Ah was… Ah… Ah guess Ah wanted t'say a few things to you mahself… you know… non-gentlecoltly things… an' maybe do… a few more things t'make sure you didn't forget them… an' then…"

The stallion was about to follow the purple mare, until he got a clear look of her coloring.

And her emblem on her flank.

"Then… Ah saw your cutie mark… an' Ah realized you were Princess Celestia's student…"

The stallion stopped, breathing deeply, incredulous that he had almost mauled a mare again, and not just any mare, but a national hero: The Element of Magic.

"Well… Ah became… mighty… um… well, mah mind kinda got into a jumbled mix cuz now diffrn't thoughts were runnin' through it… Ah was feelin'… um…"

"Conflicted?"

Big Macintosh thought for a moment, and nodded. "Eeeyup, that sounds jus' 'bout right. On one hoof, mah Granny's lessons 'bout defendin' mah farm an' th'food we grow were tellin' me that it was right t'want to do those… ungentlecoltly things to you, Miss Sparkle, but on the other hoof, you WERE a mare… an' the Princess' personal student…"

By then, Twilight was crying openly, with her head down, and she sobbed, "M… Macintosh… I… I don't blame you… for feeling that way about me… I… know I almost ruined this year's crops… because of my ignorance… well, I also wasn't expecting my spell to get caught in a feedback loop… but that's because I was mixing unicorn magic with earth pony magic, and since I was moving forward, the plow moved forward, but then the plow pushed at me and made me move faster, which made the plow move faster, which made me move faster and… um…"

Every pony looked at her.

"Um… I… did a bit of research to find out what went wrong, and I should have cast a cleansing spell on your plow before I got started, but… that's still no excuse, Macintosh."

"Well, after a bit, Ah calmed down. Lookin' at th'fields, Ah saw that we didn't lose an entire day of work, maybe just an hour or three, and the parts you cleaned could be re-done too, so it wasn't a TOTAL wreck… it… it could be fixed. 'Course, by then Ah noticed Caramel hadn't gotten back yet, so Ah went back t'see what th'problem was… an' that's when Ah saw that we had even bigger problems, an' Applejack wanted Miss Dash to melt the snow faster but Miss Fluttershy didn't want that cuz all th'animals were still sleepin'… an' that's when you got all of us organized, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight smiled a little, and looked up at the red stallion who towered over her.

"You speeded up the plantin' process mighty quick, without usin' magic, or without unicorns workin' th'land. Ah… Ah never got t'properly thank you for that."

"It… it was… my way of repairing the damage I did, Macintosh—"

"But that still… that… got me even MORE… conflicted. Ah knew it was wrong of me to… think of chewin' you out… an' maybe buckin' you out of mah farm… but then, it WAS mah farm… an' th'food we eat…"

Twilight shuddered. "Macintosh, if… if you had done or said anything to me… believe me, I wouldn't have blamed you, not in the least. I know I deserved everything I got from Applejack, and if you thought it wasn't enough, I… this 'idjit' pony wouldn't have stopped you. And even if I AM a mare… I really don't think anyone else would have blamed you, either, after all, I worked not only against tradition, but against established planting procedures that ensure a healthy harvest. Mac, I know more than anyone that the worst type of 'help' is not from the ignorant, but from the ignorant who THINKS she knows what she's doing… so yes, I know I was an 'idjit', and… if I had managed to ruin your crops, I doubt that even Princess Celestia would have forgiven me of my arrogance. And even with the organization I managed to bring about at the last minute, it was months before I could look at Applejack in the eye… and… and even now, I still can't look at your grandmother… or Apple Bloom… or you… in the eye… I still feel awful for what happened, and if you say you felt such anger at me, then all the more reason for ME to feel awful… I don't know if I will be able to make amends fully with you and your family—"

"Miss Sparkle… that's sorta th'whole problem. Sure, you made a mistake, an' you did th'best you could to fix it… but th'problem is… is with ME now… you see, Ah thought Ah had got rid of these feelings a long time ago… an' then last winter… they just came back again. Ah thought Ah was a normal pony… but then Ah saw that my temper… still had a hold on me, an' Ah'm startin' t'wonder if mah problem is that Ah never fixed it in th'first place. Ah… Ah really thought Ah was fine… an' now Ah don't know if now mah temper… gets that way cuz of things that happen t'me… or if mah temper… is just a part of me… and Ah'll never get rid of it. It's like when it happens… Ah'm seein' mahself get all worked up… as if Ah'm… well…"

"…beside yourself…"

"Miss Fluttershy?"

The timid yellow pegasus pawed at the ground and sobbed, "…you… feel like you're beside yourself… and you're watching a monster go on a rampage… and you can't do anything about it because the monster IS your own body… your own mind… and you find yourself doing and saying things that never crossed your mind because they're so… so… wrong… so… NOT you… and… you don't know where those things come from… or how they got inside your mind… and when you come back to your senses… you look at all the damage you did… and you find yourself so lost… so confused… so conflicted… because you KNOW that what you saw IS part of you… that part of you… that is capable of hurting others… hurting them… so badly… a part of you… that waits for the right moment… the right trigger… to explode… and explode again… and again… and the only thing that stops it is your own exhaustion…"

Fluttershy couldn't take it anymore.

She gave an agonized squeak, and with tears blinding her eyes, she bolted away before taking off in a panicked flight away from the group.

Macintosh watched his friend fly away in shame, and that made his eyes water a bit.

He sighed, "Applejack… mentioned somethin' happened at th'Gala… Ah guess it went deeper than she made it sound."

The red stallion turned to face the remaining, and stunned, Elements of Harmony. "So… that's the real Big Macintosh you… you had taken a likin' to. Just a plain lookin' earth pony who's covered with dirt and sweat for th'better part of th'day… an' who does what he can t'keep calm… cuz you don't wanna be near him when he gets… upset or conflicted. Miss Sparkle, for what it's worth, me an' my whole family thanks you for savin' th'plantin season. We know the thing with the parasprites was more than anyone could handle, too, an'… now that all is said an' done… we forgive you."

"Th… thank you, Macintosh. I still feel awful for what I did… but at least I know your family doesn't hate me."

"And we don't look down at you, either!" said Rarity. "Macintosh, do you really think that WE now think that you're some sort of mindless hillbilly who'll attack anypony that comes near him? If anything, now we know that you're a hard working pony who loves his family, and his farm, and will do anything to defend them if anyone dares to harm them! Sure, maybe your procedures would have been a bit… crude… but we don't think any less of you because of your temper!"

"Yeah!" added Rainbow Dash. "At least we now know that Applejack's temper runs in the family!"

"Big Macky, everyone thinks of me as being happy all the time, but I have my angry and sad moments as well, and those aren't pretty, believe me."

"Believe her, please," muttered Rainbow Dash.

"And also, you're honest, with us, and yourself. You don't think of yourself as more than you are, but please, don't think of yourself being less," added Twilight. "And… for what it's worth… you're… not plain," she blushed.

"And some of us like the smell of hard working pony," winked Rainbow Dash.

"And while sweat IS disgusting, if applied properly, it glistens in your coat, like a thousand diamonds, emphasizing every muscle on your… um…" Rarity shook her head, "Um… you look nice when you sweat."

The red stallion turned even redder, but not because of rage.

"Um… Ah'm mighty flattered… but Ah really think ya'll need to think about who ya'll are wantin' t'get closer to. After all ya'll ARE th'Elements o'Harmony, national heroes, an', when you think about it… one wonders if ya'll need a stallion to begin with…"

"Pardon?" asked Rarity.

He turned to them and explained, "Well, look at ya'll. Ya'll are th'Elements o'Harmony, th'six most powerful ponies in the land, next to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Ya'll braved th'Everfree Forest, several times, mind you, ya'll defeated a hydra, not one, but TWO dragons, a whole pack of diamond dogs, an' you, Miss Sparkle, defeated an Ursa Minor single hoofed-ly while that other unicorn didn't even lift a hoof t'help you. And ya'll did all that… all by yourselves."

The male looked down.

"Ya'll… are th'new protectors of Ponyville, an'Equestria… an' Ah'm sure that… that…"

He whispered, "…that it never crossed yer minds t'ask a stallion for help…"

The four mares looked at each other, even more stunned than before.

In dealing with the hydra, no one thought of asking Big Macintosh to help them, despite the fact that they galloped past Sweet Apple Acres to reach Froggy Bottom Bog.

Applejack never thought to ask her BROTHER to help search for his SISTER who went after Zecora.

Princess Celestia specifically asked the Elements of Harmony to deal with the sleeping dragon, and no pony else.

Even Twilight didn't think to ask Rarity, nor any other unicorn, to help her with the Ursa Minor.

The parasprite infestation was dealt with by one single pony: a mare, The Element of Laughter.

The Winter Wrap-Up was organized by a mare.

The six mares decided to go against a whole pack of MALE diamond dogs, with only one male baby dragon to help them, probably because they thought they had enough help with him.

And for the apple harvest, a job where stallions were needed most, five mares were enough to complete the task.

"By Celestia's mane… we've become self-sufficient!!" squeaked Twilight.

Macintosh agreed, "Eeeyup… that kinda… leaves us stallions in th'dust. No male can ever hope to reach th'level of power ya'll have now, much less mahself. Ya'll… have done things that many stallions dream about. Only the best of the best ever make it to the Royal Guard, but ya'll could probably give 'em a whippin hooves down. So y'see… ya'll have become amazin', wonderful, and lovely mares… ya'll are like stars now… watchin' over Ponyville… over… a plain lookin draft pony like me, an' even you, Miss Sparkle, know that it's practically impossible to touch a star. If ya'll think Ah'm special, well, Ah'm might flattered, but Ah think ya'll really do deserve somepony who CAN be much better than me. Um… what Ah'm sayin' is… keep your options open for now. After all, Ponyville is kind of a small town, an' maybe out there is a stallion who'll be able to… well… be more than Ah ever could be."

"I don't think any stallion would be able to be bigger than you, Big Mac," giggled Pinkie. "And some of us like the strong, silent type," she winked at him.

"And while we MAY be a bit… more self-sufficient than other mares… well, Macintosh, there are things that only a stallion can do… that a mare needs," blushed Twilight.

"Pegasi stallions do a better job with the snowflakes than the mares, and they can handle the 'taste' of rainbows better, too," added Rainbow Dash.

"A unicorn stallion enhances the magic of the mare, but even if the mare chooses an earth pony, your magic can still enhance the unicorn magic."

"And earth pony stallions are much stronger than the mares, too!" bubbled Pinkie Pie. "What we're saying, Big Macky is…"

The pink mare cantered up to him and rubbed her mane on his shoulder.

"We like you for who you are, and maybe you'd like to be more than friends with one of us?"

"Maybe," he smiled. "But Ah think that right now, ya'll need to find Miss Fluttershy. Looks like what happened at th'Gala… really got to her again juss' now."

"Oh, right!" said Twilight. "Rainbow Dash, take to the air, and search for her! We'll go to her house and see if she's there. Um… Macintosh, do you think you could help us talk to her? You two… seem to share a similar experience."

"Let me finish some work here in town, and Ah'll join up with ya'll in her house."

"Got it. Let's go, girls!!"