Big McIntosh

Big Macintosh is Applejack's and Apple Bloom's big older brother, of the Apple family. He makes his debut in the first episode, during which he idly walks in Ponyville the moment Twilight Sparkle first arrives. Later, Applejack introduces him during the Apple family reunion, although he has no speaking roles until the fourth episode, Applebuck Season. Soft-spoken and shy, he often replies with a simple "eeyup" or "nnnope". He is first called by the nickname Big Mac in The Cutie Pox.

Development and design
Big Macintosh's original name was Big Apple, but it was changed at the request of Hasbro's legal department. The new name alludes to the McIntosh variety of apple, which is mostly red with green streaks on its skin. Big Macintosh's design ("size and furry fetlocks") is inspired by G1 Big Brother Ponies.

His appearance is that of a draft horse: his tail is cropped, a common practice with work horses to prevent it becoming tangled in the harness or cart shafts, and he wears a yoke in all his appearances, including the younger version of him in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. He is generally seen with a sprig of wheat hanging out of the side of his mouth. He and Applejack have similar large, light "freckles" on their cheeks. During some shots in Friendship is Magic, part 1, Winter Wrap Up, Sisterhooves Social, and MMMystery on the Friendship Express, his cutie mark is depicted with twinkles around the apple which are not present in most of the show's shots.

Lauren Faust noted in a comment on her deviantArt page that an idea for a Big Macintosh-centered episode was pitched to Hasbro but was turned down. The episode revolved around Big Macintosh gently keeping the peace in the Apple homestead, with a running gag that his sisters and granny are very verbose while he only responds with facial expressions.

Personality
Big Macintosh has a rather calm and easy-going demeanor in contrast with his sister Applejack's more stubborn and rushy attitude. His appearance matches his demeanor; his eyes are generally half closed and he looks slightly bored, as if to express that he's accepting everything around him.

He is a pony of few words and, like the rest of his family, he speaks with an accent suggestive of the Missouri Ozarks, where many real-life apple orchards can be found. He speaks calmly and slowly and almost never raises his voice, although he did once when he scolded the Cutie Mark Crusaders for publishing harmful gossip in Ponyville Confidential. He seems to have a practical sort of wisdom, certainly greater than his younger sister Applejack, who gets angry at him for "using his fancy mathematics" on her in Applebuck Season. He tends not to elaborate on a point if a simple "eeyup" or "nnnope" will suffice.

In Lesson Zero, he displays his concision, as well as both a softer side and considerable physical strength. He is dog-piled by the majority of the citizens of Ponyville, but he throws them off in a cartoonish explosion, sending some of them over the horizon in the process. Once the spell is lifted from the Smarty Pants doll, he still runs off with it, showing that his infatuation with it was at least partly genuine. In the episode Ponyville Confidential, his affection for the childhood doll is further canonized after a newspaper photograph depicts him holding it close to himself with a startled expression. Judging by the article's title ("Big Macintosh: What's he hiding?"), along with his embarassment upon its publication and his reaction to the photo being taken, it is evident that his love for the toy is a secret shame of his.

He displays his soft side again in The Last Roundup, crying when Applejack sends the note saying that she won't be returning. When she did return, he was the first pony to jump on her and welcome her back.

It is implied that he also holds the most authority in the Apple family, as evidenced by his having the most down-to-earth and reserved personality of the household. Adding to this is how quick he was to discipline the Cutie Mark Crusaders in both Ponyville Confidential and Hearts And Hooves Day.

Farming
He is seen as an exceptional farmworker due to his work bucking apple trees, shoving away hay bales, plowing through soil, pulling wagons, and doing other related activities. He is also said to be good at repairing things; in Hearts and Hooves Day, Apple Bloom gets him to come to the picnic by asking him to come and "fix" the gazebo.

Athleticism
Big Macintosh has shown himself to possess incredible physical strength, an attribute that's greatly emphasized in Hearts and Hooves Day, having the power to buck a tree with only one leg (seemingly without much effort) as well as drag two oxen and a cart of anvils with ease. In the same episode, he drags a house behind him, skipping all the while.

History
"Eeyup."

- Big Macintosh's characteristic phrase, from Applebuck Season

Big Macintosh first appears walking through town as Twilight lands in episode one. Later in the same episode, he makes a brief appearance at the Apple family reunion. Although he is mentioned by name and referred to in following episodes, he does not speak until Applebuck Season. The episode, along with Hearts and Hooves Day and Ponyville Confidential, are presently are the only episodes in which Big Macintosh speaks elaborately and in complete sentences.

In Applebuck Season, Big Macintosh has sustained some form of injury which renders him unable to help with the annual apple harvesting, prompting Applejack to attempt harvesting the entire orchard herself. The injury may have been caused by a bet between Applejack and him, which Applejack can be heard talking about at the beginning of The Ticket Master.

In Winter Wrap Up, Big Macintosh, alongside the other Earth ponies, clears away the snow in the fields around Ponyville and tells Applejack that Caramel has lost his seeds. In Fall Weather Friends, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom cheer on Applejack during the Iron Pony competition.

A pony with Big Macintosh's design and eye color, but with the same coat and mane colors and cutie mark as Caramel, is seen pulling a cart in the original opening sequence and in Green Isn't Your Color. In the remastered opening, which first appeared in Lesson Zero, he is replaced by Big Macintosh himself, though the character is still used as a background pony in a few scenes in Lesson Zero and Putting Your Hoof Down.

Applejack's flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles depicts Big Macintosh as a younger pony, much shorter and scrawnier than in the present (but with a build that's still comparable to some adult ponies).

His first season two appearance is in The Return of Harmony, part 2. After Discord takes over Ponyville, his influence causes Big Macintosh to behave like a dog.

Big Macintosh is featured in Lesson Zero when Twilight Sparkle slams into him after attempting to break up a fight she started between the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He retrieves Smarty Pants from the fillies, but due to Twilight's spell, falls in love with it himself, and runs away with the doll. The spell causes dozens of ponies to fight over the doll, and eventually Princess Celestia intervenes and neutralizes the spell. Once the commotion has died down, Big Macintosh looks around then grabs the doll and runs off again, neighing with joy.

Big Macintosh is very briefly seen at the beginning of Luna Eclipsed dressed up in his Nightmare Night costume, a black top hat and cape with a white skull-shaped apple on it, pulling several ponies in a cart.

In Sisterhooves Social, he assists Granny Smith as the race announcer by whispering the correct words in her ear when she makes a mistake.

In The Cutie Pox, he is seen inside Sweet Apple Acres during the discussion of Apple Bloom's cutie marks. He uses his hoof to cure Granny Smith's sudden Charley horse with a gentle knock to her hip. However, he does not comment on his sister's new cutie marks, simply smiling and echoing Applejack's joyful exclamations with a "eeyup" or "nnnope".

In Family Appreciation Day, he prepares for the zap apple harvest with Applejack, and speaks a partial sentence at the beginning of the episode when he, Applejack, and Apple Bloom cheer in unison that the zap apples are coming.

He works alongside his family with the cider production in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. During the cider sales, he carries the heavy barrels to the stand and hooks them up to the tap so Apple Bloom can dispense the cider. He does not care for Flim and Flam's unfair business proposition, stamping his hoof on the ground and saying "No deal!" At the cider-making competition, he runs on a treadmill to press the apples into cider, later with help from Rainbow Dash.

Macintosh plays an important role in Hearts and Hooves Day. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo try to get Big Macintosh to start a romantic relationship with their teacher, Cheerilee, using a love potion. However, they accidentally make love poison, which has overly powerful effects. The poison eventually wears off and Big Macintosh and Cheerilee play out an attraction towards one another to fool the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In this episode, he has a very extensive speaking role, though most of what he says are nonsensical terms of affection towards Cheerilee.

He briefly appears during the Smile Song in A Friend in Deed, giving Pinkie Pie and two fillies a ride in his hay cart.

In It's About Time, Big Macintosh helps Pinkie "disaster-proof" a bridge, suspending her by a rope held in his mouth. When Twilight walks by to inspect their work, he says "eeyup", accidentally dropping Pinkie into the river.

He briefly appears in one of the Foal Free Press prints in Ponyville Confidential, concealing the Smarty Pants doll that he collected in Lesson Zero, before appearing with Applejack later in the episode. The two engage in some character reversal in the latter: Applejack speaks with Big Macintosh's general "eeyup"s and "nope"s, while Big Mac scolds Apple Bloom and her friends for the trouble they caused.

He appears in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, carrying the Cakes' cake to the train station. However, the cake proves so heavy that Big Macintosh needs the help of the Main Six to get it to its destination without dropping it.

Appearances

 * See also character appearances

Merchandise
Big Macintosh is part of the mystery pack toys released in January 2012. Another Big Mac toy will be released in the Miniature Collection's Apple Family pack in late 2012, along with a Granny Smith and an Applejack.

Quotes
"Eenope."

- Multiple episodes

"One pony plus hundreds of apples doesn't add up."

- Applebuck Season

"You should be ashamed of yourself, humiliatin' your sister 'n' me like that. We don't wanna talk to any y'all right now so take your little gossip column and your embarrassing photographs and just go away!"

- Ponyville Confidential

Gallery

 * Big Macintosh image gallery