Maud pulled up to the Apple barn where Pinkie's band practiced when school was out. Having just turned sixteen, Pinkie would soon be getting her own drivers license and thus free Maud from this chore. Well if she were to be honest, it wasn't that much of a chore. As the second born, Pinkie was the closest to her of her three little sisters. When Maud moved out to go to college, she insisted Pinkie come with her. Her parents were reluctant at first, but they gave in.

At times Maud felt more like Pinkie's mother than big sister. For the last four years, from the time she was eighteen to now, twenty-two, she had looked after Pinkie. Looking after any child was hard enough, but for Pinkie, the living embodiment of childhood; it was more than most parenting situations. But that was one of the things Maud loved about Pinkie. Pinkie was just so out there; so full of life and unfiltered. Maud, on the other hand, was beat down and emotionally dead inside due to her parents strict, Christian-conservative upbringing. It was one of the reasons she insisted Pinkie come with her so she could avoid the same as her.

Maud stopped the car and let Pinkie get out. The girl was so excited, she started running off without checking with Maud as to when she would be back to pick her up. It didn't matter Maud supposed. Their practices usually only lasted two hours. So it was 2pm now, so she would be back at four. If nothing else, Pinkie could call her if she needed picked up earlier.

As Maud got ready to drive off, she saw a young, shirtless man loading creates of apples on to a flat bed truck with fenced sides. She could see from here that he was tall and superbly muscled. Every muscle was well defined, his pecks, delts, lats, triceps, biceps, even his abs. While large and well defined, they weren't too large as to look disgusting or over the top. His skin was tan with a coat of sweat that glistened in the sun. His body looked hairless, but that could just be because he was blond. He had a proud, masculine chin, longish blond hair, and piercing green eyes. He wore lose fitting jeans and a belt that kept them from falling down. Although she had never met him before, Maud assumed this was "Big Mac" of whom her sister talked about.

For the first time in her life she felt something; something weird. She looked at this boy-man and wanted to be closer to him. She also found she wanted to talk to him. But more so, she wanted to run her hands over his bare chest. Was this attraction ? She had never felt it before but from what she had read; this is what it must be. Almost automatically she turned the car off, got out, and walked over to him.

****************************************************************************************************************

Big Mac was loading apples on to the truck to be taken to the apple sauce factory. It was a small, regional brand; but they pay well. He had been out all day, picking and sorting the apples himself; and now he was putting them on the truck. Such was his life. He wanted more but as the eldest of the three siblings and the only male in the family, he felt duty bound to stay and work the farm. It was his families business and he couldn't stand to see it fall. Hopefully his sisters could escape. They were his hope. He was only two years older than Applejack, but sometimes he felt more like a father than a brother. After their dad died when he was seven, he really did become the man of the family.

As he was working; he saw a young woman walking over to him. She had long, black hair with Betty Page bangs. She had on dark eye make-up and indigo lip stick which contrasted with her pale skin. She had had high, model cheek bones and a soft chin. She wore a grey t-shirt which was untucked. Around that, she had an oversized black belt. She had black, skinny jeans on and black Converse sneakers. All in all, her look could best be described as slob goth.

On a lesser woman, this look would be a train wreck; but on her it worked. The hair, make-up, and skin gave her both a fragile but stern appearance. Her shirt was a bit oversized, but her ample chest was still clearly outlined. The belt made her hips pop out. All in all, Big Mac thought she was one of the sexiest women he had ever seen. Now if he just knew who she was.

*****************************************************************************************************************

Maud walked up to Big Mac and said without any sort of emotion, "I'm Maud, Pinkie's older sister."

Big Mac just smiled and replied, "Macintosh. I'm Applejacks big brother. Most people call me Big Mac."

Maud just looked at him with no expression, barely blinking. "Like the sandwich?"

Big Mac tilted his in thought for a moment. "Nope. Don't think so."

"Oh, because Mc Donald's has a sandwich called a big mac."

"Yup."

The two just stared at each other not saying a word. To some it might have seemed awkward. For others it might have looked creepy. Maud just looked at Mac with no expression and he looked at her with a good natured look on his face. Finally Maud spoke.

"Would you like to go on a date sometime?" she asked flatly.

"Yup," Big Mac answered.

"Meet me at Denny's, this Friday at nine p.m. ."

"Yup."

With that, Maud turned around and walked off while Big Mac went right back to work. To some, all this would have appeared strange; but for these two quiet, damaged people, it was the most romantic day of their lives thus far.

Author's Note

Yes, I'm going there again. I like these two and honestly feel they "belong" together. But I never did want to focus on the mane 7 exclusively. I feel this world is best explored through all the characters. Also, as magic plays a bigger role in the upcoming stories, I really need and want a simple, real life, based story or sub plot to keep me interested (I'm really not a big magic fan) and the story grounded. The magic is for you, this is for me.

And for those who think I'm on a shipping tare, well relationships are a big deal in every persons life, especially late teens/early twenties. Each ship gives me the chance to explore love from a different angle. It's not meant to be gratuitous, but just part of the natural flow of growing up.