Broken Hearts and Busy Hooves

by Littlecolt

Chapter Two - Big Macintosh

Big Macintosh was a simple pony. He awoke every morning and had a simple breakfast - a four egg omelette with a side of apple slices, toast with apple butter, and a glass of water - nothing fancy, nothing too heavy, just simple and filling. Being the only stallion on the farm meant that he got the brunt of the heavy jobs, and he had no time to waste fussing over what he was eating. He liked it better that way, anyway, and had for years.

After breakfast, he’d have a quick shower, then head out to the fields. Again, nothing fancy - no scented soaps or oils - they made no sense to him since he was just going to go out and work up a sweat anyway. Everything he did made perfect sense to him, and he made sure it was done quick.

Oh sure, sometimes he’d think about how plain his life was, but he was usually quite pleased with it. To him, the family business was top priority. Not only was his family dependent on the money they made from their farm, but they were also dependent on the food it produced. His sister, Applejack, did her fair share of work for certain, but it would never all get done without his help.

This particular morning, though, Big Macintosh awoke with an aching back. It was nothing he hadn’t experienced before, but he could tell it was going to slow him down for the first part of the day. As he went through his brief morning routine, his slower movements were noticed by Applejack.

“You feelin’ okay, big brother?” Applejack asked with concern. “You ain’t movin’ around so good this mornin’.”

“Yup,” he simply replied as he cleared his dishes from the table. He reached over to the sink, and as he extended his front hooves, he felt a spike of pain shoot up his back and into his shoulders. His forelegs shook and the dishes fell to the ground, breaking into pieces. He slumped to the ground, instinctively pressing a hoof against his shoulder and rubbing lightly.

Applejack stood over him, a cross look on her face.

“Why would you do that?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about the dishes, sis, I got ‘em,” he said, brushing the pieces into a pile.

“Not that, dag nabbit!” she said with frustration. “I mean why would you tell me you were fine when you weren’t?” She sounded as if she were scolding a child that had fibbed.

Gettin’ lectured by my little sister, Big Mac thought to himself. Now that’s embarrassing.

“So?” she asked, seemingly expecting an answer.

“I guess I just pushed it a little too hard yesterday, that’s all,” he replied in a tone that suggested it was no big deal. “I’ll be fine after I have a hot shower, then I’ll be off to tend the farm.”

Applejack sighed. She knew her brother was thick-headed. Heck, it ran in the family, so she was all too familiar with it.

“Look, you need a break, Big Macintosh,” said Applejack sternly. “When was the last time you took a day off?”

He took a moment to think. It had been a long time, for sure, but it didn’t bother him. He enjoyed his work, and it was all worth it to him.

“Sometime last month, I guess,” he replied, knowing she wasn’t going to let him off the hook until he told her. “I don’t need a day off, sis.” He stood up and turned towards the kitchen pantry where the broom and dustpan were kept.

“Since yer not gonna take the hint, I’ll just say it, then,” said Applejack, stepping in front of him. “Take the day off, brother. If anypony deserves a break, it’s you. I can handle things for one day.”

Big Macintosh sighed. “I won’t know what to do with myself, AJ,” he protested.

Applejack smiled. “It’s Hearts and Hooves Day, why not head into town and find yerself a date?” she said, halfway teasing. She knew her brother wasn’t the type to go out looking for tail. Despite that, she had to admit that she’d never seen him with a mare before.

Big Macintosh gulped nervously. It’s Hearts and Hooves Day? he thought. Now I really don’t want to head into town.

“Yeah, maybe havin’ a little lady would help you relax a bit,” Applejack said, now seriously thinking about her brother’s love life, or lack thereof, for as long as she’d known him, which was her whole life. She couldn’t help but wonder why.

A big, strong stallion like him could have his pick of any mare in town, she thought to herself, pondering the issue. Wonder what’s stoppin’ him?

“Just the opposite,” said Big Macintosh, turning towards the front of the house so he could go have his morning shower. “It’s nothin’ but a distraction.” He trotted up the stairs and left Applejack alone in the kitchen.

How’s he know that if he’s never tried? she wondered as she swept up the broken dishes. As she dropped the shards into the trash, a light bulb lit up above her head. Wait... is he speakin’ from experience?

Applejack ran to the stairs. “How would you know?” she hollered up at her brother, who had just shut the bathroom door.

“None’a yer business!” he shouted back just before the sound of running water filled the hallway.

“What a stubborn mule!” Applejack said to herself. She shrugged, pulled her hat off a peg on the wall and headed out the door.

Up in the bathroom, Big Macintosh was standing in the shower with hot water running down his back. He could feel his sore muscles relaxing finally, which was a relief since the little argument with his sister had only made them tense up even worse. Steam began to fill the room, making everything hazy. Big Mac shut his eyes and shook his head.

Hearts and Hooves Day, he thought. Ain’t no good for my heart, anyway.

His thoughts drifted back to Hearts and Hooves day four years prior, the day he’d met Cheerilee after a friend of his sister’s had set him up on a semi-blind date. Back then he’d been a lot more open to the idea of finding a girlfriend. Heck, he even wanted to. When June Bug told him she wanted to set him up with Cheerilee, the school teacher who’d just taken over after the old teacher had retired, he was a bit nervous to even try.

He’d seen her in town before, and had always admired they way she carried herself. She was always smiling, and that bright smile really warmed his heart. Her two-tone mane, styled simply, was lovely to him as well. He’d always lacked the confidence to talk to her, though, or any other mare for that matter, unless it was related to the family business. Still, he noticed himself looking at her more than other mares, and that fact only became more obvious to him as he shyly agreed to meet her for a date.

He’d stood awkwardly at that fountain in the park for the longest time, having arrived earlier than he should have. He was full of excitement at first, but it had quickly died down, and he was now feeling more nervous than anything. A broken bench had drawn his attention, and he couldn’t help himself but to try and fix it. Fixing things was in his nature. He’d gotten so distracted by the bench, though, that he hadn’t even noticed Cheerilee when she arrived. She’d apparently not been told who she was meeting, and he almost let her walk away after a brief conversation, if you could call it that.

Everything was a blur after he finally admitted to her that he was the one she was supposed to be meeting. She tripped and fell down an embankment towards the pond, and he chased after her. He gazed down at her as she lay unconscious on the ground. Pressing his face closer to hers, he could feel her breath against his snout.

“You okay?” he asked, relieved to see she at least seemed uninjured. Then the unthinkable happened. She pushed her lips right up to his and kissed him. This wasn’t just some normal kiss, either. Big Mac had never been kissed before, and the experience washed over his mind as shivers shot down his spine. He kissed her back, as if he even knew what he was doing, just trying to mimic what she was doing.

Once the shock had passed, he found that he really liked it. As reality came crashing down around him, he finally realized that he was sitting at the edge of a pond in the park making out with one of the best looking mares in town. The scene was about as unreal as he could imagine, and he couldn’t have felt better. The outside world slowly closed off from his senses, and all he could see, feel, smell, hear, and taste was Cheerilee. She gently filled his entire being, and he realized at that very moment that he was in love.

Big Mac blinked and shook his head, the hot water of the shower still pouring over him as he recalled the moment of his first kiss. His first love. He found his hoof pressed to his lips, which he immediately stiffened, lowering his foreleg back down.

“Old dreams that shoulda never came true,” he said to himself, and shut the water off.

After drying himself off and walking back downstairs, Big Mac found himself feeling much less sore. He peeked out the window and saw Applejack in the distance bucking trees. Glancing over at the barn, he could see she’dd already bailed up some big blocks of hay and loaded them onto a cart to be pulled into town.

Big Macintosh nodded his head and stepped out the front door, heading straight to the cart. He hitched it up to himself as fast as he could, tossing the yoke he usually wore over his head and onto his shoulders. As he began to pull the cart away, he could hear Applejack yelling at him from the distance.

“Put the cart back!” she yelled, running towards him.

He turned his head and shouted back at her. “I want to do some work, and you want me to go into town, so this is a compromise!”

Applejack stopped in her tracks and sighed.

There’s just no talkin’ sense into that thick head a’ his! she thought to herself as she watched him haul the cart off into the distance towards the town.

“You throw yer back out, I ain’t liftin’ a hoof ta’ help ya!” she yelled at him, now pouting. He just continued to pull the cart, not even responding. Applejack stomped a front hoof against the ground, then turned and headed back to the orchard.

Big Mac breathed a sigh of relief, glad she didn’t chase after him. He’d work through his pain, and the work would help him keep his mind off any thoughts like the kind he’d had earlier in the shower.

Arriving in town, Big Mac hauled the cart over to the spot in town where the hay was needed. The mayor had budgeted some money and bought the hay from the Apple Family to be used as a play area for the foals this coming spring. It was still technically winter, even though the weather was pretty nice. The pegasi usually promoted nicer weather during holidays, especially one like Hearts and Hooves day when folks would want to be out and about.

Before he knew it, the hay was stacked up and he was bundling together some looser bales to be brought back to the farm. A voice called out to him from the top of the stack of bales, and he glanced up. He was greeted by the face of one of his other little sister’s friends, Scootaloo.

“Doing anything special for Hearts and Hooves Day?” she asked out of the blue.

“Nope,” Big Mac replied, wondering why she’d even asked. He knew where Scootaloo was, though, Apple Bloom was sure to be as well. He felt a sudden sinking feeling in his gut. As if the argument with Applejack earlier hadn’t been bad enough, now evidence was pointing towards Apple Bloom and her friends poking their noses where they didn’t need to be, as well.

Guess I can’t escape from this day no matter how hard I try, he thought to himself. Still, this job’s almost done. I’ll head back to the farm and apologize to Applejack. I guess I was a little rude.

After loading up the excess hay, Big Mac began to pull the cart back towards the Apple Family Farm. About halfway there, he saw his little sister, Apple Bloom, running towards him.

Here it comes, he thought. Just be nice, she don’t know any better.

“Big brother!” said Apple Bloom with excitement as she arrived, panting for breath. “The gazebo at the park just collapsed. I don’t suppose you could lend a hoof and help fix it back up, could ya?” She smiled up at him, a bit too big of a smile for his liking.

“Yup,” he said, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Thanks!” Apple Bloom yelled, and then bolted off towards town. “We’ll meet you at the gazebo!”

We? Big Mac thought as he watched her run off into the distance. What are those three fillies up to?

He shrugged again, though, and pulled the cart the rest of the way back to the farm. Once there, he grabbed his tool box and headed back out towards the park where the hilltop gazebo sat.

“At least it’s something else to do,” he said to himself as he walked. “I still need to go apologize to Applejack, though. I guess that can wait ‘til after this.”

Big Macintosh was was no fool.

He knew his little sister and her friends were up to something, but he couldn’t say what it was exactly. He lugged his toolbox with him and he made his way up to the gazebo. That place had a bit of history with him, and today of all days, he didn’t really want to think about it.

But I bet they did somethin’ to it during one of their crazy schemes to try and earn their cutie marks, he thought to himself as the gazebo slid into view. Hopefully it ain’t too broke down, or I might need more’n this tool kit.

As he approached, he eyed the delicate boards that held the structure up, not spotting anything immediately broken about it. It was less of a gazebo and more of a small tree grove, to be honest. He dropped his toolbox on the ground and grabbed a hammer out of it, thinking I may as well sturdy up the joints while I’m here, though, remembering the time when he himself actually built this little spot.

Of all the things to be thinkin’ about, and on today of all days, he thought as he looked up at the first joint he would be aiming his hammer at, Seein’ as I first built this thing because of her…

His thoughts were interrupted by his sister, who had snuck up behind him.

“Oh, sorry big brother!” Apple Bloom said with a bit of giddy excitement in her voice. “We went and fixed up the Gazebo all on our own. See?” As she finished that sentence, she butted her head into Big Macintosh, pushing him forcefully towards Cheerilee.

This was the first time he even noticed Cheerilee was there. She avoided eye contact with him, staring up at the gazebo. Big Mac stared at her for a second, a bit dumbfounded. Where in tarnation did she come from?

He turned his head back to look at his sister, his lips curving down into a frown.

“As long as you’re here, why not have a bite to eat from this romantic looking picnic?” Scootaloo suggested in an overtly obvious manner. The food they had set out does look appetizing, Big Mac thought as he turned his head to look. Tiny apple pies, chocolate cream horns, and some… heart candies? With flowers?

Big Mac shuddered internally as he realized what was going on.

“Oh, gosh!” Scootaloo added, “Seems like there’s only room for two!”

What a coincidence, Big Mac thought, the back of his brain now aching.

“I, uh, guess we’ll just be goin’ then!” said Apple Bloom with a chuckle, and then the three fillies darted away, only to be punctuated by Sweetie Belle rushing back to place the needle on the record. Sappy instrumental music began to pour out of the player’s tiny speaker. Big Mac would have slapped a hoof to his face if he had the energy to do so at this point.

Consarn it, why do they have to put me in this awkward situation? Big Mac vocalized internally. Now now, hold it, there. They’re just fillies, they don’t know no better. He turned and looked at Cheerilee, staring at her, still unable to believe that they were alone up on this hill again, after so long. He suddenly felt his heart begin to beat faster and he couldn’t look away from her eyes, which had now locked onto his.

After a moment, though, she turned away. “Beautiful day we’re having,” she said.

“Yep,” he responded almost automatically. Not as beautiful as you, though, he thought to himself, not daring to actually say it. Can’t say that kinda stuff now, not after what happened between us. I lost my chance.

Yet, she turned back towards him, looking back into his eyes which hadn’t moved.

“Any... big plans for tonight?” she asked. Big Mac’s heart rate increased further.

Is she gonna… Naw, she’s just makin’ conversation, don’t be a fool, he thought, simply saying “Nope,” with a shake of his head.

His heart continued to go faster and faster as Cheerilee, much to Big Mac’s surprise, started to inch her face closer and closer to his.

What is she doing? he thought, panicking, but keeping a calm expression plastered on his face by sheer willpower.

“Big Mac...” she said softly, her eyelids drooping down lazily. She stared right into his eyes.

“Yep?” Big macintosh responded, gazing back into her eyes, doing everything in his power to maintain his poker face.

This is it, he thought to himself, finally resigning himself to fate. His head became light and woozy, his heart was beating out of his chest. He stared down at her lips, which had begun to open up, her bright pink tongue peeking out from behind them. She’s actually gonna do it. I can’t… I can’t resist it. Dog gone, it!

“You have something stuck in your teeth,” she said, pointing with her hoof and then dropping her gaze towards the ground.

It was at that point that Big mac realized he’d let his guard down, and his own mouth had subconsciously begun to pout, preparing for what he expected to be his first kiss after years.

“Oh come on!” came Sweetie Belle’s voice from behind her, followed by the rustling of a bush.

Big mac sighed, quickly grabbed a piece of straw, and started picking his teeth with it. His heart was still beating like crazy, and his stomach was full of butterflies. Well there’s a feeling I ain’t had in awhile, he thought. Not used to it… never was.

“Well, this has been... strange,” she said nervously.

“Eeeyup!” said Big Macintosh, a look of bafflement on his face.

“I need to get going,” Cheerilee said, “but it’s always great to run into a good friend.”

“Yup,” replied Big Macintosh, as the two of them turned and began to walk away.

Big Macintosh rubbed a hoof behind his head as he walked off back towards the apple farm.

Dang kids, yer gonna send me to an early grave pullin’ stuff like that! he thought, shaking his head as he went. At least now I can get back to work on somethin’ more productive.

Big Macintosh was a simple pony, but his life was about to get really complicated.

Author's Note

Updated 9/4/2013 because this chapter was never supposed to be so short. I admit it, I half-assed it back when I wrote it, and tonight I was really thinking about this story a lot, so I had to finish this chapter.

Chapter 3 soon, I promise. Now that I've finished both their character setups, I can get to the really JUICY parts. <3