//------------------------------//
// Crush 
// Story: Crush 
// by CrystalSky 
//------------------------------//

	It was a bright, summer day in Ponyville, and Applejack glanced around the market grounds for a good spot to set up the apple stand. She glanced up at her brother, Big Macintosh, and indicated a spot between a flower stand and a pile of hay bales.
“Ah think that this is a good place to set up the cart.”
“Eeyup,” the large stallion replied with a nod of his head, and pulled the cart he was hauling behind him into the open spot. With his sister’s help, Big Mac unhitched the wagon, and the two proceeded to fill the cart with the apples from the burlap sacks that they had carried with them.
Applejack blew a strand of her mane out of her face, and shrugged off her saddlebag harness before she tipped back her hat since it had fallen into her eyes. She quietly took up a spot beside the cart, preparing herself for a long day of selling apples.
Big Mac took his place beside her, focusing solely on filling up the saddlebags of customers while his sister took care of maintaining their steady collection of bits as their supply of apples slowly dwindled throughout the day. By late afternoon, they had sold out.
“Alright, let’s get packed up,” Applejack commented as she placed the last bit in the bag she had been collecting the coins in. She looked up at her brother, again reaching up with a forehoof to tilt her hat back. “Granny still needs us ta help her with chores.”
The stallion nodded and started to hitch himself back up to their empty wagon while his sister loaded it up with their empty sacks. Once situated, Applejack began to lead the way back through Ponyville and on their way to Sweet Apple Acres. Big Mac was fairly quiet as he walked along behind her, lost in his own thoughts. As the two Apples passed by the Carousel Boutique, Big Mac glanced over, taking note of Rarity using her unicorn magic to transfer large fabric rolls across the room. He found himself slowing to a halt. He had seen Applejack’s friend before, of course, but he had always found himself transfixed with her. And the way she worked, so lost in her own world of fabric and ribbons…Big Mac found that the white mare was, well, beautiful.
And the red colt knew that there were few that would disagree. For someplace as small as Ponyville, Rarity was definitely larger than life, embodying the grace that was always associated with Manehattan and Canterlot. She always presented herself in the best and most sophisticated way, like she was trying to strive for the glamour of the big city in their small town.
For whatever reason, Big Mac was drawn to that. Even though he had grown up on Sweet Apple Acres for all of his life, and was very accustomed to working out in the fields from sunup to sundown, he liked Rarity’s elegance.
As the mare draped one of her mannequins with a swatch of turquoise fabric, she glanced out the window of her studio, noticing Big Mac; she offered him a smile, causing him to flush considerably at the thought of having been seen watching her.
“Yah comin’?” Applejack called from up ahead, finally noticing that her brother had fallen behind.
Big Mac jumped slightly and glanced at his sister, still flushed. “Eeyup,” he replied hastily, quickly following after Applejack.
The young mare smiled faintly as she watched her brother approach. She wasn’t quite sure if Big Mac was quite aware that his developing crush on Rarity was a little obvious, but Applejack found that it was still cute. Maybe one day he’d confess to the mare…But Applejack was certain that her brother would need a little extra push before that would happen.
*	*	*
“Big Mac, Ah need ta ask a favor of ya,” Applejack announced as she approached her older brother, standing patiently beside him as the last of the apples from the tree he was bucking fell into the baskets waiting on the ground. Once she was sure of his full attention, she continued. “Ah needja ta head on over to Carousel Boutique and help Rarity fix her sign.”
Her brother’s green eyes widened considerably and he shook his head with a very earnest, “Eenope.”
Applejack pretended to look irritated. “Look, it’s just ta help ’er nail her sign back up above her door. I was gonna do it for her m’self, but Granny wants me to help fix up th’fence in the east orchard. An’ she asked me to do so specifically, so, no, we can’t trade,” the light orange mare added before her brother could protest further.
The red colt’s ears drooped a little as he let out a long, defeated sigh. Finally, he mumbled a faint, “Eeyup.”
“Thank you. Now ya better get goin’, before Rarity throws a fit.”
*	*	*
Big Macintosh slowly approached the round, multi-storied building, trying to force himself to take each step towards the place instead of away. He was still wondering how he had managed to get roped into this situation. He wanted to know why Applejack had insisted he take her place; couldn’t his sister have explained the predicament to Rarity, and asked to help her on a different day when Applejack wasn’t doing other chores around Sweet Apple Acres? Didn’t his sister know just how nervous he got around the violet-maned pony? Applejack did realize that it was a miracle enough that Big Mac managed to get himself to Ponytone rehearsals and performances without being an awkward mess around Rarity, didn’t she?
Before Big Mac could talk himself into turning right around to return to Sweet Apple Acres, the front door of the boutique opened.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you would be coming, dear! Applejack assured me she would be coming to help…” Rarity said in lieu of a greeting.
Swallowing, the red stallion shook his head and replied with a soft, “Eenope…”
Rarity’s lower lip fell into a slight pout of frustration, but only for a moment. “Oh, well. No matter. You’ll do.” She turned and disappeared into the shop. “Come in!” she called back.
Letting out a sigh, Big Mac slipped inside the boutique and stood awkwardly by the door, wondering where Rarity had gone off to…He didn’t have to wonder long, because she was soon returning with a small metal bucket of nails and a hammer, the items enveloped into a pocket of her unicorn magic.
“I’m afraid that my sign blew off during the last storm the pegasi organized. Would you be a dear and put it back up for me?”
Big Mac nodded with a solemn, “Eeyup,” and stepped back outside. Rarity followed after him and gently set the bucket and the hammer down on the ground, before returning inside for a few moments before providing him with a ladder.
The red stallion carefully righted and positioned with ladder before he climbed up with the bucket handle and the hammer clenched between his teeth. Once at the top of the ladder, he carefully placed the two items on top of the roof before he went back down the ladder to retrieve the fallen sign, currently propped up against the side of the building. Big Mac set immediately to work once he had everything he needed.
The eldest Apple sibling was well aware of the fact that Rarity took the time to watch him for a good while. He was certain that it was so she could be certain he returned the sign to its proper place, but he found himself entertaining the thought that she was watching him specifically, perhaps even admiring his looks, his work ethic…Eventually, though, she seemed satisfied that he was doing a good job without her supervision, and she slipped back into her boutique, probably so she could work on a new project. Rarity’s clothes were in a surprisingly high demand, after all…
As Big Mac began to descend from the ladder, having finished his task, he noticed Rarity returning with a tall glass of water in the midst of her cloud of unicorn magic.
“Thank you ever so much, dear,” Rarity told him, smiling softly. “Drink some water. You must keep yourself hydrated,” she added, now beginning to fuss.
Big Mac just flushed a little and gratefully and silently accepted the drink she was offering him. Rarity offered him a brilliant smile that absolutely made the colt’s heart jump giddily. He quickly finished off the water and returned the glass.
“Thank you again,” Rarity told him.
Big Mac nodded a little awkwardly, and he glanced down at his hooves, taking note of a daisy growing nearby. On a wild impulse, he reached down to pick it before offering it to Rarity. She blinked, startled, before she flushed lightly. After a few moments of hesitation, she enveloped the single flower in her magic.
“Th-thank you…Big Macintosh…”
“Eeyup,” he replied nervously before he realized what he had done. Ready to die of embarrassment, he offered her an awkward nod before he all-nut-galloped away. Stupid, stupid crush!