Caramel had spent the following three weeks after the injury of Macintosh locked tight in his room, inconsolable. His sister, Toffee, had tried to come into his room only once over this time and was rather rudely slammed away.

Some days he would just lay there and think over that most ill fated day’s happenings. His gradual sinking into love for his cousin, the confession, the injury. Caramel would take and analyze each memory he had of the handsome stallion in his mind to confirm his feelings; to his disappointment the result was always the same. He was madly in love with Macintosh. It was all he could think about, every minute of everyday was Macintosh. Some of those days the beige pony would lean into his pillow and sob over his freshly broken heart. Caramel wasn’t the most emotionally stable pony there was before the incident, with his cutie mark of three blue horseshoes reflecting his talent for losing things and screwing up and the ridicule that comes with such a talent. Sadly it was that ridicule that had helped solidify the love in Caramel’s heart, much like the candy of his name, towards Macintosh whom had always watched over him with gentle and caring eyes.

But Caramel had hurt him and since then had been unable to face any other member of the Apple Family. After the first three weeks had passed the beige pony had unfortunately found himself dead center in the middle of winter, those three months of work free vacation were doing their best, mocking his crushed heart. Caramel begged to throw himself in his work, he wanted to buck something, hard; with all of his might. So much pent up frustration was coursing through his form with no way of release.

So Caramel had begun to run. His grandfather and sister didn’t know when he left the house, he was gone long before they were up… and they would only catch a glimpse of him coming back at night. They had no idea where he was going, and half the time neither did he. On some days, when there was that thick grey overcast which haunted Ponyville over the three long months of winter he would gallop through their orchard and run laps around the dead trees. The running allowed a methodical moment of non-thought for the emotionally stressed pony. Bittersweet.

Though he would run for hours and clear his minds of all thought there was no satisfaction in his actions…the satisfaction only came from those moments when his mind was filled with Macintosh…every other moment seemed dull as if it was a moment unlived.

Caramel would lay in his bed late at night, biting his pillow softly, his arms wrapped around it; bitter tears staining the white cover. At times he wished Macintosh would come for him, take him in his strong arms and make him his own… at others he wished he could go back in time and take back the confession to keep everything the way it was. Between living with unrequited love and living without Macintosh in his life Caramel felt sure he would have chosen the first.

On those nights when the cold moon would cast their snowy orchard in a pristine glow Caramel would find himself trapped in a restless sleep, Macintosh’s pained face haunting his nightmares, the rejection cutting him through. Toffee would never admit the things she had heard her brother moaning at night during these nightmares when she would sneak in and make sure he was ok. Some of it had made her cheeks turn redder then the hottest fire and others had made her want to cry deeply. She had never seen her brother so focused in all her life, he never was what one would call “focused”…but his love for Macintosh had changed that, she was sure right now with that stallion on his mind Caramel would have been able to buck the hours away without screwing up.

Toffee wasn’t sure how she felt with the situation though…her brother was in love, believe it or not she figured that may eventually happen. Given his complete and utter incompetence when dealing with women Toffee had always been ready to accept him as a coltcuddler, assuming that beyond his normal shyness, his clumsiness was something more. Big Macintosh, on the other hand was Family, a cousin (though she’d admit several times removed), but family none the less. It had confused her a lot the first night and it wasn’t until many other visits that she had fully come to understand her brother’s moaning.

He was in love with their cousin. He loved him.

Her first thought was repulsion…but Toffee considered Caramel, the shy pony who hesitated with everything he did out of fear of screwing up, being so passionate about something for the first time in his life. She considered the implications it would have if they did become a couple in the eyes of the elders. Sighing she reached a hoof out and stroked her brother’s sweat dampened mane as he called out for Macintosh in his sleep again. Toffee looked at her tossing brother and decided that, for better or worse, she would have a talk with Macintosh and find out what’s what. Before deciding whether she was okay with her brother’s obsession or not.

Resolve set she turned and silently left the room as her brother relaxed into a calmer sleep. Yes, she thought, tomorrow she would go visit Big Macintosh.

XXXXXXX

Macintosh lay in the barn, chewing on a piece of hay. He was in a bed of the stuff left over from the fall harvest, his eyes on nothing…staring off into space. The muscles in his side, thankfully, had fully recovered in due time just a week before. Now winter was here, however, and the stallion found himself with nothing to do but think.

The stallion found himself thinking all the time…Caramel’s confession weighed heavily on his mind.

Now, Big Mac was not one to toot his own horn but he had been liked and pursued by more then a handful of filly and mares in his time ( a colt or two as well, surprisingly) but they had always been one-sided crushes. The red stallion had always sat down his pursuer and told them straight out that he was not interested, he had a farm to run and was far too busy to play those kind of games. Then again none of them had ever confessed being in love with him.

This crucial part of the story had kept Macintosh up late into the nights. Nopony ever said they loved him, it was all just crushes and hints at dating, nothing like love… and the fact that he kept thinking about the situation made his stomach twist a little when he focused too hard. As stated he had always turned the ponies down and moved on, ignoring any additional pining, it was pushed out of sight and out of mind. But this was not anypony.

This was Caramel.

His sweet, soft spoken cousin who was so scared of causing trouble for others that he could barely stand to work out in the field. But he tried so hard anyway, a trait that Big Macintosh had always respected and held pride in. Groaning the red stallion rubbed his hooves against his eyes trying to push away those treacherous thoughts.

He loved Caramel, he loved Applebloom and Applejack, they were family. It was his duty to love them. But to be in love… that was something that stirred unusual feelings inside Mac. The large pony lay there staring up into the rafters of the barn lost in his head. Macintosh had never given another confession a second thought, so why now was he being so considerate towards Caramel’s? Having never really considered it before… Macintosh considered coltcuddling as a whole. It never really crossed his mind and he had always been indifferent to it and fillyfooling, ponies were free to live their life anyway they wanted as far as Macintosh reckoned and it was everypony else’s job to keep their nose in their own business where it belong.

But for him? And with his cousin… Macintosh would never admit it, to anypony but he had spent the majority of his time off injured looking at the Sweet Apple Acres family portrait, tracing the lines between him and Caramel. Second cousins, twice removed. A rather far connection, but blood was thicker then applesauce in their family and all the relatives remained fairly close.

Macintosh shook his head violently, what was he thinking? Caramel was family, and another stallion. Groaning the red tank of a pony rolled onto his stomach covering his face beneath his thick fore legs. Why was he so tied up in all of this? He should just go to Caramel and tell him how he felt.

It was at this moment that Macintosh was hit with a staggering realization which left him staring dumbfounded.

He really didn’t know how he felt on the matter.

Unlike any other pony and any other confession he didn’t have the urge to just turn them down and get back to work. There was the feeling, the need to considered it from all sides. It tightened his stomach and he could feel his cheeks burning with blood. Stop that! he ordered groaning the blush away as best he could. Why did he need to think about it, this was Caramel for heaven’s sake.

A pony not unlike his little brother.

No, a stallion like his little brother. Macintosh shook his head and buried his head at that thought. Groaning he tossed and closed his eyes only to find his thoughts flooded with the beige pony. Every moment together with Caramel was there. Macintosh could see him working so hard to fit in and contribute to their family in the corner of his eye time and time again…Had he always been watching Caramel like this? There was a moment of muscle memory, that warmth of Caramel’s silky mane under Mac’s hoof and it pushed a shiver down his spine and a sigh to escape his lips resonating deeply from his throat.

Maybe loving Caramel wasn’t so wrong.

XXXXXXX

“MACINTOSH!” Applejack bellowed out from the door of the main house making Toffee flinch, a smaller pony then AJ with a deep brown coat and a multilayered mane of brown and grey Toffee looked out of place to the country belle.

A grunt resonated from the barn and AJ sighed deeply. “I don’ know what’s gotten into that pony. It seems all he do’s is sit up in that there barn.” she said with a defeated look on her face. Toffee tried her best to not make eye contact, hoof dragging in the snow a little as she tried to hide the knowledge she had from her cousin’s eyes.

“Toffee’s here for you! You busy?” Applejack yelled to him a thick resonating response.

“Eenope.”

A pause and no sign of Big Mac could be seen.

“Well aren’t yall gonna come talk to ‘er!?” AJ yelled infuriated, slamming her hoof down.

“Eenope.”

“I’m powerful sorr’ Toffee, looks like you’ll just have to go see him urself.” AJ groaned walking back into the house giving Toffee a wave of her hoof for good luck.

Toffee was quiet till she was sure AJ was gone, thinking herself lucky. She wanted to be alone with Macintosh.

Finding him in the same pile of hay staring at the ceiling as he had been in the morning Macintosh paid little attention to her arrival, his eyes far off. Toffee gave him the ol’ once over, his strong red coated body; brilliant orange hair. The green apple half on his flank, the cutie mark he had earned many years ago. She understood how such a strong and dependable pony could entice her brother, enthral him.

“I assume you know why I’m here Cuz.” she said sitting down beside him, his brilliant wide eyes rolling her way for a long moment. Toffee shivered, it was a power of Macintosh’s; those eyes and that stare could see deep into the heart of anypony as he gradually calculated a response.

“Eeyup.” he nodded looking back to the ceiling his eyes fading, looking farther then the barrier would prevent.

Toffee gave him a minute to reply but no more words came, a moment more and still nothing but silence. Growling a little she stepped over her cousin pinning him down with her hooves pressed to his shoulders, knocking from his stupor.

“And what are you going to do about it?!” she growled quietly, if there was anything that set Toffee off more then someone hurting her older brother it was being straight out ignored.

Macintosh looked deeply into her eyes for a long moment, analyzing them; his mind thinking through its usual process.

“Don’t know.” he whispered in a uncharacteristically quiet voice for the deep throated stallion.

Toffee came very close to smacking her cousin at that moment for the first time in her life. It took all of her discipline as the heir to her family’s farm to not just punch him right in the face.

“That’s not good ‘nough.” she said in that deep, motherly tone she used whenever Caramel would tick her off. “You may have it all fun and free over here but I’m the one who has to listen to Caramel cry himself to sleep each night for hurtin’ your relationship and your body! Do you have any idea what you’re doing to him Macintosh!?” she growled yelling loudly in his face, eyes closed in her fury. She was shaking mad, could feel her blood pressure rising. Slowly she opened her candy coloured eyes and stared down taken aback by what she was seeing.

Macintosh was a Stallion among Stallion’s; stoic and strong in all hardships. The pony had always felt it his duty as the eventual heir to his farm and the man of the house. Toffee had never known him to get overly emotional over anything, or anypony. Macintosh was always the rock. The slow spoken savoir for his family would take any situation in his calm and strong matter.

So why then was he here pinned under her arms, shaking and crying like a new foal looking up at her with a pained expression on his face that nopony else had ever seen.

“Caramel’s…C-Caramel’s…” Big Mac stuttered, STUTTERED.

Toffee slid off him and turned, walking away she left the barn feeling terrible with herself. She had not taken into account Macintosh’s feelings in this whole ordeal. She had now seen a side of him nopony else had ever seen, a broken and feeble Macintosh and realized… he loved Caramel, even if he had not come to terms with it yet the confusion the big, quiet Stallion felt was eating him up inside as much as Caramel’s was his outside.

Toffee cried on her way home, not stopping for anypony who pulled over and asked if she was okay. Locking herself in her room she lay there feeling awful with herself.

XXXXXXXX

Macintosh lay there in the hay his eyes and cheeks soaked with his tears; hooves working furiously to brush them aside. Why was he crying? Why was he so upset with himself?

Why did the image of Caramel laying broken in bed, in tears over him; causing Macintosh so much pain?

It would not be until late in the night still in that same hay pile, crying till no more tears could run down the manly stallion’s cheek would the answer come to him.

He was in love with Caramel.

XXXXXXX

Winter Wrap up was upon the two stallions quicker then either could have planned. Macintosh had spent over two months thinking deeply, quietly to himself on the farm just what his feelings were. While Caramel had done all he could to drive them from his mind. Both ponies had excused themselves from every family function and holiday get together out of fear of bumping in to each other before they were ready.

Macintosh paced much through the night before they were all scheduled to get together and clean up winter to make way for spring. A long standing tradition in Ponyville; founded by earth ponies. Magic was a taboo topic this time of year and everypony chipped in the best they could without the arcane aid.

Not that Macintosh worried about that, no the Apple Family was one of Ponyville’s founding families and was very hard in the tradition. Another reason why the fact he had fallen in love with his cousin was worrying him…there was no way to predict what the elders would do in response.

Assuming Caramel would still have him… Macintosh had no word on the beige object of his (albeit subdued) passion had been since Toffee’s visit. He had decided that today would be the day, he would find some time alone with Mel and tell him how he really felt, from the bottom of his heart.

Scanning the list of jobs again for what must have been the hundredth time this night to ensure he hadn’t misread. Macintosh and Caramel were scheduled together, He would be ploughing the snow out of Mel’s way to the grass seeds for the re-plantation of the fields. It would be time alone…time together, Macintosh reached deep inside and found his resolve.

XXXXXXXX

Scanning the list of jobs again for what must have been the hundredth time this night to ensure he hadn’t misread. Caramel twitched and paced nervously in his rooms. His heart was pounding violently in his chest, crying for some release; he considered seriously calling in sick and having some other pony do the work. Especially having lost the seeds last year, the idea of having to spend the day with Macintosh…it was overwhelming.

One part of Mel wanted desperately to be near Macintosh, craved the red stallion like a heroine addict. The other wanted to stay as far away as possible, ashamed and scared of how the meeting would go down. He pawed at the floorboards in his room anxiously… trying to calm his beating heart with memories of Macintosh…the stallion’s rich apple smell; his strong hoof caressing Mel’s mane in a way he found all to pleasurable.

These memories solidified his soul and heart far better then anything else, both sides of the split relaxing as long as the red stallion was there. One thing was sure for Caramel above all others in his tumulus mind that night.

Tomorrow he would get his Macintosh fix, for better or worse.

XXXXXXXX

The two ponies met up coming along two different paths head on. Macintosh had never been more grateful for his magnificent red coat as he was in that moment as he gave Caramel a one over, he could feel the blood in his cheeks rising and just hoped his fur would hide it. Caramel on the other hand was flushed completely, turning his face away from Macintosh’s hiding his shame, his hooves buckling against each other absently as he waited for something to break the silence.

“’Morning…” Mac said, his deep voice shaking snow off the trees, sending a spark along Mel’s spine. That voice, had that voice always been so deep and earth shattering? Caramel wondered just how attuned to Big Mac he had become… that voice spoke to him on a level none other could.

Caramel mumbled something incoherent and turned away from Macintosh…unsure as to how to handle the situation, was the stallion just going to ignore the confession and carry on as if it had never happened…and was Caramel okay with that? He loved Mac, he wanted to be loved back desperately, falling in step behind the red mare; he found his eyes glued to the others body as he ploughed the thick snow away.

Caramel wouldn’t be happy with it being ignored…he knew that. This wasn’t a passing crush or him screwing up his feelings… This was a fiery passion that he had never felt before. The thought of ultimate rejection scared him to the core, he loved Macintosh, needed him… Caramel could hardly recall a time when those feelings were not prominent.

Still he plod on after his love in silence, eyes trained to his tight muscular body. At least until he noticed Macintosh looking back, in which case he would turn away violently; cheeks hot enough to melt the snow.

Little did the beige stallion know that the smile that played on Mac’s lips stemmed from those little glimpses of a near drooling awestruck Caramel. Macintosh felt happy to be with Mel, happy that he couldn’t keep hi eyes off of him… he had never needed that sort of reinforcement before, and even now he didn’t know how to handle it. But Big Mac felt the…want, the feeling of being wanted and it filled him with a warmth he had not known before.

Yes, he thought plodding away the bit heavy in his mouth; neck harness relinquishing as much of the strain as it could. He was very much in love with Caramel. It was a beautiful feeling that large stallion was unused to…he would have loved to focus on it more but the snow was thick and hard, the plough heavy on his back. Forcing all thoughts from his mind he pushed with all his might to clear the snow for Caramel.

Caramel plodded along in silence, whenever Macintosh would focus on ploughing the beige pony would focus on him…those muscles straining so hard to clear the way for him…He flushed violently.

Caramel understood that it wasn’t for him specifically, it was a job that Macintosh had been given for the day…but he wished it was for him, wanted it to be for him. Sighing quietly he kept pace with Big Mac, it was going slow but he would never complain. Every silent moment with Macintosh was one more perfect memory etched into his mind before, what he feared the most, would come to pass.

The next hours went by peacefully, it was a lot of ground to cover from the edge of the orchard to the shed where the grass was stored and Macintosh by the end of it was completely spent… His time injured and then the months of winter had broken the strong stallion’s routine of exercise and strict regime of work. Big Mac sighed and pushed open the door to the large shed, it was roughly half the size of the barn he had spent the majority of his winter in and was equally as cozy.

Ushering Caramel inside, whom was flushing furiously as he walked by to go in and grab the seed bag, Macintosh gave a long look that there was no one in sight. He wanted this moment to be just them…it needed to be.

Coast was clear.

Trotting inside after disconnecting himself from the plough Macintosh closed the door, blocking out the early afternoon light.

Caramel shivered for a moment and froze. They were alone in a rather dark room; his heart began to race. “Calm down clam down calm down” his mind demanded with great anxiety, Macintosh just wanted to get out of the cold for sure… Which is what Caramel though honestly. There was a deep sound in the room…panting? Macintosh must have been more tired then he had let on his breath coming in haggard gasps that sent shivers all over Caramel.

He could feel himself becoming aroused by the sound and hated himself for it. It was a deep throated pant of exhaustion but to Caramel it sounded lik so much more…so many fantasies would be so much clearer now and he found his cheeks glowing at the thought. Gripping the large bag of seeds in his mouth he began to turn, trying to tune out the panting.

Only to be stopped by a surprisingly heavy weight on his back.

Macintosh, eyes close din exhaustion had fallen forward onto Caramel a bit, making the beige pony scream within his mind trying as hard as he could to stem his heart before it began to shake the building. Mel swallowed hard, gripping the bag in his teeth to try and bite back his own panting and moans, his body coursing with electricity.

There was a light pressure, like lips pressed to flesh at the base of his neck which sent sparks flying…Another and another working its way up his neck making Caramel swoon, his legs buckling under the pleasure. The pressure reached his ear and he felt the hot breath of another pony tickling him.

It took all of Caramel’s might to keep the open seed bag in his mouth groaning through the pleasure. There was a deep sound, followed by a groan which escaped Caramel’s lips… It was words being spoken into his ear…the voice was the earth itself he was sure that had to be it; so deep and powerful was it.

“Caramel…I love you.”

Whimpering Caramel found the bag of seeds falling from his mouth, spilling down beneath the floor boards; not that he minded. A red hoof leaned up and turned his head to face Macintosh’s. On the verge of tears, cheeks flaring so red it put the other stallion’s coat to shame Caramel leaned into the hoof.

A pair of succulent red lips pressed against his own causing his body to groan in delight…

Pushing back, to his infinite gratitude he found the pressure of the lips fighting back. In that moment those two shared a moment that so few ponies in this world will ever get to know. Their first kiss with the one they loved the very most in the whole world.

It wasn’t a dream… Macintosh loved Caramel…And the rest of the world melted away.

XXXXXXXX

Over an hour passed with the two Stallions locked in their kiss, panting hard by the end of it; their faces pressed close together. Both were smiling like fools. Caramel leaned forward and rested against Macintosh’s chest listening to his heart beat and thud as deep as his earthly voice. A strong, but soft hoof caressing down his mane sending a shiver down Caramel’s spine. He smiled absently not wanting this moment to end…though he knew it must…and he knew that the two of them had to decide where to go next… given the situation there would be a lot of flak and a lot of hate from a lot of ponies…But that all melted away when Macintosh leaned down and kissed him again.

“Yes…” he thought silently. As long as Macintosh was with him it would all be okay.

“Hey…Mel…” Macintosh whispered in that throaty voice of his.

“Hmm?” Caramel inquired digging into his new coltfriend’s body taking pleasure in his warmth.

“Think we should go tell AJ ya’ll lost the seeds again.” He teased, making Caramel blush furiously.

“Oh yeah…that.”