Big McIntosh (Friendship is Magic)

{{{Debut|FIM1}}

Big McIntosh is the rustic older brother of and  and grandson of Granny Smith. A stoic, yet kind and caring Pony, Big Mac is among the hardest workers in all of Ponyville, constantly slaving away at Sweet Apple Acres without an ounce of ire. On top of his herculean efforts each day, Big Mac will go above and beyond in order to help his sisters in any way he can.

Early life
Big Mac was the eldest child and only son of Bright Mac and Pear Butter. At some point, his parents most likely passed away, leaving him to be among the dominant elder influences in his younger siblings lives, along with Granny Smith. Despite this, he was still very young when Applejack decided to leave Sweet Apple Acres to stay with the Orange family. Though he was teary eyed over this, he supported her move and was overjoyed when she returned.

Personality
Big McIntosh retains a steadfast stoic composure, rarely getting emotional, even under stressful situations. At first glance, Big Mac may appear to be emotionless and simpleminded, but this is far from the truth. In actuality, Big Mac is as good-natured as they come and very intelligent and articulate, as his thinking process is shown to be quite complex and nuanced. Likewise, Big Mac is a caring and gentle soul. He's great with kids, and acts like a big brother to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. He's also helped Mr. and Misses Cake babysit Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake on occasion. Apple Bloom is always the first one to vouch or support how sweet and kind Big Mac can be and he loves his little sister dearly because of it. He also loves her friends, and  and looks out for them, but also finds them to be tiring. Big Mac is a hard worker by nature and will go to great lengths to make sure his workload is finished.Although he doesn't joke around much, Big Mac appears to have a good sense of humor in his own way, occasionally cracking a good-natured smile and content expression. Even in increasingly stressful situations, Big Mac continues whatever he's working on, no matter the cost. He's also quite competitive, as shown when he joined an eating competition with Princess Luna. Big Mac is also shown to have a romantic side to him. He appeared to show feelings for Princess Luna in Zen And The Art of Gazebo Repair given her rowdy, boisterous and slightly tomboyish nature but has also shown feelings for for her sweet, kind and intelligent personality.

Although he sometimes comes off as a gloomy pony, Big Mac is very much happy with his life. He has a wide circle of caring friends such as, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and even Discord. He and Spike love to hang out and play O&O together when their sisters are gone. In spite of his overall content and joyful life, Big Mac is fundamentally a serious pony and thus can get agitated when others interrupt his work, but still tries his best to remain polite and courteous. A trait seemingly natural to the Apple Family, Big Mac will go out of his way to help just about anyone in need if he happens to come across their plight, even when he to is busy. He's also naturally very forgiving, forgiving enough to become close friends with Discord in spite of the grief he caused his family in the past. He doesn't seem to hold grudges either, no matter what anypony throws out him, he tends to forgive them right back.

Big Mac has an artistic side. As revealed in A page from the scrapbook of Big Mac, Big Mac is actually quite a skilled artist who derives simple pleasure from drawing the events that happen in his life, giving gentle commentary on each picture of a past event that happened in an almost motherly way. What's even more interesting is that in his own self-portraits, Big Mac drew himself as a smaller, gentler, more approachable stallion with an infectiously happy expression, possibly reflecting what he views himself as.

Although McIntosh prides himself on his strength, he's nowhere near as strong as the princesses, as seen when Celestia did not even struggle to effortlessly defeat him in a hoofwrestling competition.

Romances
Big Mac is a romantic pony, even if his quiet disaposistion doesn't convey it. Over the course of his life, he's had a number of love interest.
 * : Cheerilee and Big Mac were force in love by a Love Poison on Hearts and Hooves Day. In their love mad stupor, the two were practically inseparable and made painfully cheesy loving remarks to one another. After the effects of the potion, the to still flirted, though it was unknown whether or not they were genuine flirting or just done to mess with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sense then, their relationship has been dormant, though occasionally brought up. A handful of IDW Comic bonus artwork depicted them as a loving couple.
 * Fleetfoot: Fleetfoot fell in love with Mac during a party in Ponyville when he gave her a stuffed animal that he just needed to get rid of and instantly imagined an entire life with Big Mac. She pictured him as a kind and generous stallion who she would have beautiful kids with. She grew jealous of Tea Love, who also fell in love with Mac.
 * Tea Love: Tea Love fell in love with Mac only moments or hours after Fleetfoot, picturing as a suave and heroic spy. She got in a fight with Fleetfoot over his affection, though Big Mac was ignorant.
 * Princess Luna: It was shown that Princess Luna may have developed a small crush on Big Mac after the two hung out at the same party, and even kissed him on the cheek while on a Ferris wheel.
 * Marble Pie: Marble Pie and Big Mac developed a mutual crush on one another while he was staying on the Rock Farm in Rockville. They wee later seen walking on a beach together with affectionate eyes.
 * Sugar Belle:

Friendships
Big Mac is great friends with Spike.