One Month Later
Big Macintosh woke up before dawn ready to begin the day’s chores an hour earlier than he usually did. Thus making him the earliest waking Apple family member. Granny Smith wouldn’t be awake for another half-hour and Applejack and Applebloom a couple more. While it was only a month ago that he would have been quite content with simply doing his chores all day, a relatively new social life made him eager to finish as soon as possible in order to free up as much of the day as possible.
Stifling a yawn, the red farmer headed downstairs with soft steps unexpected from a pony so large. Years of living in the old house gave him intimate knowledge of every creaky floorboard and rusty-hinged door. He headed into the kitchen to fetch an apple for breakfast before leaving the house for the day’s labor.
xXx
Plowing, seeding, and weeding the half dozen or so fields around Sweet Apple Acres took up the greatest portion of his time, but thankfully he had that done around noon. An hour later the preserves, jams, and jellies were taken out of the cellar and into the barn ready for Applejack to sell. Which meant the only chore left was to deliver the dozens upon dozens of wicker baskets filled with apples to the citizens of Ponyville.
After taking a quick shower (it wouldn’t do to go into town and deliver apples dirty and sweaty) and after the last basket had been placed into the cart, he hitched himself to it and started the walk into Ponyville. He was only halfway through the path when he felt a familiar weight on his back. Though burdening him further, it made him smile.
“Mornin’ Pinkie,” he said without even turning his head to look at the pink pony on his back. He heard her giggle as she buried her muzzle in his mane.
“It’s already afternoon, silly,” she said with a smile as she rested her chin on the top of his head while her forelegs wrapped around his neck. “Need any help?” she asked.
“Nnope,” he said.
“Are you su~re?” she said, drawing out the last word. She hopped off the stallion and started walking alongside him.
“Eeyup.”
“Are you absolutely positively undoubtedly inconsequentially…”
Big Mac could only smile as Pinkie did what Pinkie was wont to do. But he knew that if he let her go on he’d never finish his deliveries. So he did what he usually did when she rambled and slowly brought his nose closer to hers until they were just touching.
“Unquestion…ably…” As soon as she saw what he was doing her talk turned to a mumble as her mind tried to decide what her mouth should be doing. Finally, he brought his lips to lightly touch her own and Pinkie’s eyes fluttered to a close. The kiss was small but caring, the kind of kiss a schoolcolt would give his crush. It only lasted about a second but made Pinkie speechless, if only for half a minute.
“…sure?” Pinkie Pie finished quietly.
The workpony chuckled. “Eeyup.”
“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie said with a bounce, her characteristic energy coming back to her all at once. “You’re still bringing apple sweets to Pokey’s party, right?” she asked.
“Eeyup.”
“Great!” Pinkie said with a grin, “I’ll see you there.” Soon she bounced out of sight, leaving Big Macintosh a bit saddened by her departure. But he learned from experience that if he accepted her offer all he would do is just joke and laugh with her while the apples remained undelivered. Rather, it was best to just get his work over and done with and spend the rest of the day having fun without the nagging thought of work not done.
With renewed motivation, Big Macintosh quickened his pace into a gentle trot. There were fifty-three baskets of apples to be delivered. Twice his personal record for baskets delivered in an hour. No time like the present to try and blow it out of the water.
xXx
An hour later Big Macintosh was back in the Apple family kitchen with a batch of apple turnovers in the oven. On the table were even more baskets, these ones lined with linen and ready to receive the baked goods. He knew how to bake, all Apples did to some extent, though he was nowhere near as fantastic a baker as Granny Smith. But Pinkie, bless her heart, always said his treats were the best. So whenever he had a chance to bake he did. And, given how many parties that pony threw, there were plenty of opportunities.
“There ya are,” Applejack said as she entered the kitchen. “Still gettin’ used ta findin’ ya in here than out in the fields.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said as he bit into a thick cloth and used it to take the turnovers out of the oven. He placed the pan on the table to allow the pastries to cool while taking a new pan filled with what would soon be an apple and cinnamon jellyroll into the oven.
“Ya know ever since ya got together with Pinkie ya’ll been baking a whole lot more,” Applejack said as she started placing apple turnovers in a couple of baskets and folding the cloth over them to keep warm.
“Eeyup,” he said. This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. Though started differently each time, it always ended with Applejack asking:
“So how’d you two end up together?”
Big Macintosh didn’t say anything and instead focused his attention on fetching a dishtowel and laying it on an empty side of the table. He grabbed some confectioner’s sugar and began sprinkling a generous amount on the covered surface. All the while, Applejack focused her gaze on him.
“Aw c’mon Mac, Pinkie won’t tell anypony either. Ya gotta admit ya’ll’s relationship came pretty unexpected,” she said.
“Eeyup.”
Applejack half sighed and half groaned. “Could ya at least tell me if Ah need ta tan yer hide?”
Big Macintosh smiled at his sister’s frustration. “Nnope.”
“No ya can’t tell me or no Ah don’t need ta tan yer hide?”
“Eeyup.”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed at the red pony’s ambiguity. She finally gave up with a shake of her head as she left the kitchen in a huff, mumbling to herself all the way. “First Pinkie starts sayin’ ‘eeyup’ and now my brother starts actin’ like a darn smart-aleck.”
Big Mac couldn’t help but chuckle as he bit into the thick cloth once again. He took the sheet of pastry from the oven and plopped it onto the dishtowel ready for rolling.
xXx
It didn’t take long for him to finish the rest of his baking, place the pastries in their baskets, and load the baskets into the cart. Déjà vu overtook him as he hitched himself to the cart for the second time that day. But this time a sense of excitement replaced the usual feeling of obligation. And so it was with an almost weightless gait that he made the trek to Sugarcube Corner where Pokey’s birthday party was taking place.
“Hey Mackie!” Pinkie’s voice called out as soon as he entered the confectionery. The party pony bounced up to him and, before he knew what was going on, wrapped her forelegs around his neck and pressed her lips against his. The kiss was charged with the same irrepressible energy the pink mare did everything with. The kind of kiss that sent a bolt of lightning down Big Mac’s spine.
Usually he would enjoy the intimate act but the couple dozen or so partygoers looking at them, some trying to stifle giggles while others looked away politely, made the situation more than a little awkward. The farmpony’s cheeks burned hot as Pinkie finished the kiss with an exaggerated ‘mwa’.
“Did you bring the treats?” she asked once their lips parted.
“E-Eeyup,” Macintosh stuttered, trying to get his brain working again. Unable to form any more words, he simply brought a hoof to point to the applecart outside.
“Great! C’mon, help me bring them in so everypony can enjoy them,” she said. All he could do was follow the bouncing mare outside.
xXx
Pinkie Pie spent most of the party organizing the various games and making sure there was enough time to do everything she wanted to do. There never was, but she never stopped trying. Meanwhile, Big Macintosh spent most of his time negotiating with the Cakes on stocking the Apple family’s baked goods on their shelves.
“Alright, alright,” Mr. Cake said. “We’ll pay three bits per and not a bit more before we see how they sell, I got a family to feed after all. We have a deal?” he asked as he raised a hoof.
“Eeyup,” Macintosh said as he shook. It had been a rough couple of hours, but getting the frugal and business savvy Carrot Cake to triple the price had been worth it. The extra bits the Apple family would make from the sale would hopefully be enough to hire a full-time farmhand. A mare, of course. If he ever caught a stallion leering at his sister he’d buck their face in the opposite direction. But being an overprotective brother aside, the money and the farmhand also meant that the farm’s productivity would skyrocket.
Still glowing in his success, he stepped towards the snack table hoping to feed his rumbling stomach. It had been hours since he ate his breakfast apple and something sweet and tart sounded downright delicious. But when he arrived he found the table completely cleaned out. Oh well, maybe he could grab a bite to eat nearby.
He wondered if he should tell Pinkie Pie where he was going. She always worried that he wasn’t enjoying himself at her parties and always came to look for him when he disappeared for long periods of time. He could understand why. The farmer wasn’t the most social pony around, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was actually enjoying himself more than he was a month ago. Still, he wasn’t about to become the center of attention or anything drastic like that.
He looked around the room and found Pinkie Pie in the middle of a game of pin the tail on the pony, seemingly too busy to pay any attention to him. With a small smile, he stepped outside into the early evening and looked around for any sort of café or diner where he could grab a quick bite. But a small group of mares caught his attention before he could find one. Applejack’s familiar blonde mane stood out the most, and from there he recognized the other four as her close friends. They were regulars when it came to Pinkie Pie's parties.
He figured he might as well take the opportunity to tell his sister about his sale. As the face of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had always been responsible for selling the farm's various products. A responsibility he’d wanted to try his hoof at lately. And with the Apple siblings being the Apple siblings, they had turned it into a little competition amongst themselves. But as he approached to brag to his sister, he couldn’t help but overhear a bit of their conversation.
“Far be it for me to try to understand the inner mechanisms of love,” Rarity said, her back to the approaching Macintosh, “but you’re guess is as good as mine when it comes to Pinkie Pie and your brother.” She didn't see him, while the others turned their gaze towards the red pony.
Rarity noticed. “Pinkie’s right behind me, isn’t she?”
“Nnope.”
He could see the white unicorn stiffen at the sound of his voice. She quickly turned to face him. “Macintosh, dear, how good to see you,” she said with a nervous chuckle. The farmpony just kept his neutral expression. “We were just talking about, uh…”
“Oh just give it up. He knows,” Rainbow Dash said as she stepped towards Big Macintosh. “Look, we were talking about you and Pinkie Pie, alright.” Well, he could appreciate the rainbow mare’s honesty. “It’s been bugging us. So just tell us what happened that got you two together in the first place.”
“Nnope,” Big Mac said, knowing full well that Pinkie hadn’t told any of them the circumstances of the couple’s meeting.
Rainbow Dash groaned. “You try,” she said to Applejack.
“Are ya kiddin’? Ah’ve been barkin’ up that tree for the past month. You try,” Applejack said to Fluttershy.
“Um…please?”
“Big Macintosh,” Twilight said as she stepped forward. “I can understand not telling us because we want some juicy gossip or something, but that’s not what we’re after.”
“Actually,” Rarity began, but Twilight’s glare quickly silenced her.
The purple unicorn continued. “We’re Pinkie’s friends and, even though we know you’re a good stallion and would never do anything other than act like a gentlecolt, we just want to make sure she’s not…jumping into things like Pinkie tends to do. We just want to make sure you and her aren’t doing this just for…” she struggled to find the right word.
“Fun,” Rainbow Dash said.
“No,” Twilight quickly disagreed. “That you’re not doing it just for the sake of being in a relationship.”
Big Macintosh had to think about it for a minute. Truth be told he didn’t quite believe her. After all, if anyone could think up an excellent excuse it would be Celestia’s pupil. But she sounded sincere enough. He sighed as he turned his head back towards Sugarcube Corner where he knew his marefriend was busy having fun.
“She makes me happy,” he finally said. “Ah know that ain’t sayin’ much when talkin’ ‘bout a pony who loves to make other ponies happy. But Ah like ta think she makes me just a little bit happier. Work feels just a bit easier, sweets taste just a bit sweeter, and every step Ah take is just a bit lighter. If she doesn’t wanna tell ya how we met then it ain’t none of yer business. But Ah hope that it’ll mean somethin’ when Ah say Ah’d do anythin’ for that mare. And Ah think she feels the same way about me.”
Silence stood between them for a few moments until finally Twilight spoke. “Thank you, that’s all we wanted to know.”
He gave her a nod and turned to go back into Sugarcube Corner. About halfway did he realize he was still hungry, but he didn’t turn back. He didn’t want to ruin his dramatic exit.
xXx
A yawn escaped from the red earth pony after the last of the party decorations were cleaned up. He twisted his neck to get the ache out of it before turning to Pinkie Pie busily putting something into a small, pink box with her back facing him. After she placed a red bow on top of the case she turned around and noticed his gaze and grinned at him and he smiled back.
“Great party, huh?” she said as she balanced the box on her head and bounced up to him.
“Eeyup.”
“Going home?”
“Eeyup.”
“Great, I’ll go with you,” she said as she hopped onto his back. He turned his head to look at her quizzically, earning him a giggle. “There’s something in the farm I want to show you.” She didn’t take her usual position and instead took the box off of her head and placed it on his as she sat down on his back.
He smiled as he tried his best to balance the container. They both knew that her coming along would be pointless since he would just insist on walking her back home anyway. “Whaddya got goin’ in that brain of yers, ya silly filly?”
“You’ll see,” she sang. He knew that was the only thing he was getting out of her for now, and so just decided to head out towards Sweet Apple Acres. The sun was low with only about a couple of hours of daylight left and on the way Pinkie talked about inconsequential things. Things like how much fun everyone had at the party, how much Pokey enjoyed the presents he received, and how much everyone loved the apple pastries. He just listened all the while, taking a reprieve from having to think about what to say.
“Oh hey about your treats,” Pinkie said. “I heard Mr. and Mrs. Cake are going to sell them now. That’s great! I told you your baking was the best.”
He smiled. “Eeyup. Gonna have ta do a lotta bakin’ ta get the number they want.”
“You want any help?” Pinkie asked.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said as he entered the border of Sweet Apple Acres. “So where’s this thing ya wanna show me?”
“Over there in the orchard,” she said as she pointed a hoof towards a certain line of trees. He shrugged and walked towards the foliage. Along the way Pinkie Pie lifted the box from his head and bounced off to hop alongside him, the case now balancing on her back. He couldn’t help but notice that she always stayed a bit ahead of him.
“Surprise!” she exclaimed as she waved at a tree’s trunk. Big Mac’s expression, however, remained unchanged.
“Uh Pinkie, Ah appreciate the gesture but ya probably should’ve wrote somethin’ different,” he said.
The pink mare quirked an eyebrow at him before turning her gaze to the tree. On its trunk was a carved heart similar to those left by most couples. In its center read the letters ‘BM + PP’. She suddenly realized her mistake as she brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle the laughter threatening to erupt from her.
“C’mon Pinkie, it ain’t that funny,” Big Mac said. But soon Pinkie exploded into fits of giggles and collapsed on the ground as she clutched her sides.
“Okay, maybe it’s a bit funny,” he said as he gave his own chuckle. But his growling stomach soon interrupted their merriment.
Pinkie stood on her hooves and wiped the joyful tears from her eyes. “Wow, you’re still hungry even after all those pastries?” she asked.
“Actually, Ah didn’t eat anythin’ at the party,” he said as he dropped himself to lie on his stomach beneath the tree. “We ran out before Ah could get somethin’.”
Pinkie Pie grinned as she laid herself next to him and placed the box in front of them. “I thought that might happen, so I got you this.” She lifted the lid and immediately the four sides fell flat on the ground to reveal a miniature apple pie with a single lit candle in its center. Strange, he didn’t make mini apple pies for the party.
“Happy one month anniversary,” Pinkie said as she gave him a soft kiss. “I made it myself, it’s not as good as the Apples make but-“ She was cut off by Big Mac’s lips on her own. This kiss lasted much longer, and Pinkie couldn’t help but bring a foreleg around the stallion. It ended much too soon, and once their lips parted she took away her foreleg from around his shoulder and pressed herself closer to him.
“Thanks,” Big Macintosh said softly, “for everything.”
"Eeyup," Pinkie Pie said with a giggle. “I wanted to throw a party to celebrate, but I remembered how much you don’t like parties when they’re for you.”
He smiled as he wrapped a foreleg around her and brought the crook of his neck to rest on her puffy mane. “This is much better anyway,” he said. She giggled as her cheek rubbed against his neck. While he certainly had an appreciation for the bubbly mare’s optimistic and fun-loving disposition, he couldn’t help but love these tiny, intimate moments he shared with her. But still, he just had to ask a question that had been bothering him for about a month.
“Can Ah ask why ya don’t wanna tell everypony how we got together? It ain’t like it’s embarrassing or anythin’ like that,” he said.
“Well,” Pinkie paused to hum in thought. “I just thought you might want to keep it a secret since I know how quiet you are. I didn’t want to tell until I knew you were okay with it.”
Big Macintosh smiled. “Ah’m okay with it. But Ah gotta admit, it’s pretty fun seein’ everypony try an’ figure it out.”
Pinkie Pie laughed. “I know, right? Maybe we should keep it a secret and keep them wondering. It’d be like a giant prank.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac said with a chuckle. “Say Pinkie?”
“Yeah?”
“Did ya bring anythin’ ta eat the apple pie with?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, not really,” she said with a sheepish grin. The two looked at the pie in front of them, the candle burning almost the last of its wax. As he looked at the pie's golden crust, Big Mac couldn't really help himself. He blew out the candle and dove right into the pastry as if he was in a pie-eating contest. With a giggle, Pinkie joined him.
Once they were done and once they had cleaned each other with kisses and the occasional lick, they were content with cuddling together. Big Mac buried his nose in her cotton candy mane while Pinkie nuzzled his neck. They stayed there for a while and simply enjoyed each other’s warmth.
But it couldn't last forever. Soon the sun descended below the horizon and the moon began its ascent. Along with the night came a cold breeze that sent a shiver through Pinkie Pie as she tried to press herself closer to the stallion.
“C’mon, let’s get ya home,” Big Macintosh said as he stood up. Pinkie Pie nodded as she got up as well. Together, the pair headed back to Sugarcube Corner. On the way, Pinkie talked about inconsequential things while Big Mac just listened all the while. He enjoyed how much she talked because he didn’t need to say anything.
End
