It was a bright, clear on Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville. Big Macintosh, a red earth stallion with an orange mane and golden apple cutie mark, had just begun his daily duties around the farm to prepare for the last leg of applebucking season.

“Baskets; eyup. Wagons; eyup. Wagon hitches; eyup. Applejack should be all set,” Big Mac’s lazy, Southern drawl glazed the surprisingly chilly morning.

Though applebucking season was almost over, there was still tons to be done around the orchard. This worried Mac because Applejack had gotten onto one of her stubborn kicks again, and refused to ask anypony to help her. Half of the trees in the orchard still needed ‘bucking and he was busy with other things on the main property. The barn roof needed fixing after Discord’s chaos storm knocked it in and poured chocolate milk rain on the beams.

“Big Macintosh! Where in Celestia’s name are you hiding at?” Applejack, Big Mac’s little sister and a spirited orange pony with a yellow mane and three red apples for a cutie mark, called out around the barn, exasperated.

“Behind the barn, AJ,’ Came his faint reply.

Applejack trotted around the barn to find her brother precariously perched on one of the wagon’s wheels whilst trying to place the last basket on the already leaning tower of baskets.

“How long you been out here, Mac? It ain’t healthy for somepony to be alone for too long,” Applejack, being very perceptive to her brother’s feelings and thoughts, saw the sad look on his face that aged him about twenty years. She had meant more than just being behind the barn for too long, and Macintosh, upon seeing the concerned look on her face, knew exactly her meaning.

“Now don’t start on this hoohah about me finding a lady friend again. We’ve been over this Celestia-forsaken topic a hundred times. I am not in the business of needing anypony to… -OOPH!!!!!-“ his sentence was interrupted by a small, blue mass rocketing into him at top speed with a rainbow in hot pursuit.

“Rainbow Dash! You know it’s impolite to crash into ponies without saying you’re sorry,” AJ chided a smug looking Rainbow Dash.

“Oh Pegasus! Calm you jets, AJ. I was aiming for you anyway, but you moved last second. I didn’t mean to crash into your brother. You okay Big Macintosh?”

“Eyup,”

“You sure I didn’t hurt you with my awesomeness?” Dash put her hoof on Mac’s hoof

“Eyup,”

“You need help?” Applejack piped in.

“Eh-nope,” Mac shot her down.

You absolutely positive?”

“Girls, I am fine! I don’t need nopony’s help,” the annoyed stallion shook the young pegasus’ hoof off of his shoulder. “Besides, AJ needs your help with the bucking.”

At that, Big Macintosh trotted away. He cursed himself under his breath for being so taken by such an arrogant Pegasus. And yet, the touch of her delicate hoof  still burned on his side. Mac broke into a gallop as thoughts of Rainbow Dash flooded his mind. His horrible guilt weighed him down as he ran and dragged him to the foot of the Cutie Mark Crusaders club house. Apple Bloom and her friends were nowhere to be found.

“Probably out trying some new cutie mark scheme,”  Mac chuckled wryly in spite of himself.

The red stallion sunk to his knees and collapsed onto one side, resting is tear-stained muzzle on the ground. He berated himself for letting one speedy, blue Pegasus pony make him forget why he worked so hard in the first place. He stomped his hoof on the soft dirt and cursed himself again for the effect Rainbow Dash had on him.

“Why me?” he thought, “I don’t need or want anypony. I already lost one… My only one…” With that, Big Macintosh, the strong, silent, red stallion, gave his body over to the sobs wracking his body and flooded the awaiting earth with tears.

A Crusader's Truth

     The Cutie Mark Crusaders were just entering the clearing when they saw a heaping red mass sighing and sobbing at the base of their club house. The small, yellow filly, Apple Bloom, put her face in her hoof and shook her head. Her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo skidded to a stop next to her on Scootaloo's scooter laughing and carrying on. Apple Bloom hushed the other Crusaders pointing to the crying Big Macintosh ahead of them.

     "Whats eatin' him?" Scootaloo shot her fellow blank flank a questioning look.

     "He's probably upset about my mama again. He tries to be strong for me but it gets to him every now and again," Apple Bloom continued, "Ya see, Big Mac isn't mah brother. He's kinda mah daddy... He didn't want anypony to know he had a filly out of hoof-loc, and since it was around the time of mah granparents leaving, he told everypony that I was AJ's siste and by extension, his sister. No pony questioned cause no pony really knew my grandparents and it became fact. You guys have to Pinkie Pie swear that you won't tell anypony about this, though."

     "But, who's your mo--" Scootaloo started.

     "Pinkie Pie swear!" Apple Bloom insisted.

     "Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in unison.

     "Oh that's so sad, Bloom... I swear," Sweetie Belle said with a glum look and a sigh.

     "Mum's the word, AB," Scootaloo agreed.

     The three little fillies approached the sobbing stallion as quietly as church mice. They crept around his quivering frame and scurried up the ladder into their club house. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had a new charge and new research to spatter along the walls of their meeting place. They were now the proud helpers of one very sad, very lonely red stallion.

Author's note: I realize the chapter is short, but I hope y'all like it and the new chapter should be uploaded this afternoon.