Fluttershy’s heart beat quickly as she walked nervously through an apple orchard. She had landed there after falling from Cloudsdale during Rainbow Dash’s race that she was participating in. She quickened her pace as the apple trees began to make her nervous; they repeated themselves endlessly.
She began to sweat, becoming more and more frightened with every step. If only her wings weren’t plastered to her sides when she was afraid, she could fly high above the orchard and leave. Fluttershy began to gallop, running blindly between the trees. For a moment, all she could hear was the sound of her heartbeat, her sharp breaths muffled in her confusion. Her vision became blurry with tears. She turned her head, and slammed into something, knocking it over with a soft thud. Suddenly, everything went black.
* * *
Fluttershy opened her stinging eyes. She found herself staring at a crimson hide, and stumbled off of the breathing mass. “Oh, I-I’m so very s-sorry…” she squeaked. The young colt got to his hooves, and he looked at her with emerald eyes. Fluttershy quickly bowed her head after a moment, unable to look into his eyes.
They stood in silence for a moment before the colt spoke. “You lost?” Fluttershy silently nodded her head, continuing to stare at the ground. He turned and began to walk towards a dirt path, motioning for her to follow. She kept staring at the ground as she followed him. She slowly raised her head, staring at him for a moment before she caught his gaze. She quickly averted her eyes, walking silently along the dirt path. Soon, the soft afternoon sun began to warm her, and she lifted her head. They had reached the edge of the trees.
Fluttershy slowly turned to face the young colt, quietly saying, “T-Thank you…” She began to walk away, when she stopped and turned her head. “Oh, I’m so sorry, b-but I didn’t catch..your name…” The colt smiled and said, “Name’s Big Mac.” Fluttershy turned and blushed lightly, thanking him again as she began to quickly walk away from the orchard. When she flew back to Cloudsdale, she resigned from the flight academy so that she could live on the ground with her animal friends.
Fluttershy lay on her bed in her cottage, thinking back to that day when she first met Big Mac. She kept going over every detail carefully in her mind, but mostly thinking about his bright green eyes. She broke her concentration, and began to make the evening meal for her animals.
All the while, though, she thought about Big Mac. After dinner, she began to lose herself in her thoughts again as she cleaned the dishes.
She had begun having these thoughts after Flim and Flam challenged the Apple family in a cider making contest a week ago. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, she told the animals goodnight. Fluttershy went to her room and tucked in for the night, quickly falling asleep.
Fluttershy began to dream.
She was once again in the apple orchard, this time under the branches of Applejack’s prized tree, Bloomberg. She sat comfortably in its shade, and she heard muffled hooves in the distance. That's when she saw him. She waved to him, and he walked over to her, smiling and talking; but no sound left his mouth. Fluttershy tried to clear her ears, but found that she still couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“I-I’m sorry?” she said shyly, trying to see if Big Mac could hear her. He only smiled, and she stared deep into those emerald eyes, losing herself as she took a step closer.
Fluttershy woke up in a cold sweat, breathing quickly. She stared out of her window, trying to calm herself as she stared at the light morning sky. She watched the sun rise before getting out of bed, trotting across her room and down the stairs after the moment. Angel was still fast asleep by the staircase.
She began to make breakfast after a little more day-dreaming, and as the sun rose higher, the animals began to congregate in her dining room. As she set her breakfast on the table, she looked down at her friends and smiled. She prepared each of their breakfasts, and walked back to the table.
Her mind kept taking Fluttershy back to the dream she had the previous night. She played the dream over and over in her mind as she completed her daily chores, leaving the cottage for Sweet Apple Acres after she was finished.
Fluttershy arrived at the farm by the time the sun had begun to set. She was greeted by Applejack, who had just finished her chores for the day.“Howdy there, sugar cube. What can I do for ya?” “Um, do you know where Big Macintosh is, Applejack? I-I’d like to talk to him.”
Applejack thought for a moment and pointed Fluttershy to the orchard, telling her that Big Macintosh worked the fields until dark. Fluttershy thanked her and shuddered as she walked towards the trees. She reached the edge of the trees and flew up above the orchard, searching for the crimson stallion.
As she was searching, a timber wolf howled in the distance. Fluttershy became so frightened that her wings snapped to her flank, and she plunged below the darkened tree tops. She hit one of the trees with a soft thud before landing, which broke most of her fall.
She opened her eyes, looking around her at the trees, their shapes twisted into one grotesque shadow that crawled across what little light was left in the sky. She tried to unfurl her wings and take flight, but to no avail. She backed into a tree, fear beginning to take hold. Fluttershy panicked, and she began to bump into tree after tree in the diming sunlight. She shrank down against a tree and began to sob softly.The tears flowed, and she didn’t move for what seemed like hours.
She suddenly felt something touch her head and quickly jerked up to see what it was. The stars had risen, and Big Macintosh stood before her, emerald eyes shining in the dark. She began to tear up once more, but he raised a hoof, and wiped them away.
“Oh…t-thank you…” she murmured. She looked deeper into his eyes as she stood up. Big Mac stared into her eyes and moved towards her a little. They stared at each other for a moment. Fluttershy leaned in, and their lips met. She began to tense up, but as the kiss got deeper, she relaxed, and they pulled away after a moment.
Fluttershy nuzzled close to him, not wanting to leave his comforting warmth. Big Mac pulled away, and they stared up at the stars. A meteor shower began, and the stars twinkled and shimmered as they fell. Two shooting stars burned brightly, falling together, just before they disappeared over the horizon. Big Mac smiled as he spoke.
“They’re dancin’ just for us,” he said softly.
Fluttershy murmured agreement and curled up to Big Mac’s side, her eyelids suddenly growing heavy. She gently drifted off into sleep as the stars began to calm, and the meteor shower ended. She smiled as her eyelids began to get heavier, and she thought happily to herself as she fell asleep. I love you, Big Macintosh…
**********
A few days after the meteor shower, Fluttershy woke up, a happy spring in her step as she trotted down the stairs to make breakfast and do chores. After her errands, she went to Sweet Apple Acres, and met up with Big Mac. They hugged and she greeted him warmly.
“Are you doing anything today, Big Mac?” she asked hopefully.
“I have to get some hay from across town, but it shouldn't take long.”
Fluttershy was a bit disappointed. “You’ll be back soon, though, right?”
Big Mac just smiled at her and said, “Eeyup.” With a wink, he was off, and Fluttershy walked back to her house after watching him go. When she returned home, she found Angel pouting in the corner of the kitchen, staring at the door angrily. Fluttershy walked over to him and he turned away from her.
“Oh my, what’s wrong Angel?”
Angel jumped up and walked over to a wicker basket, giving her an angry look as he thumped his foot against the floor.
“Oh, goodness! I’m so sorry Angel, I completely forgot about our picnic.”She walked to the pantry and packed everything into the basket she had prepared the night before.
Fluttershy placed the basket on her back and walked over to the table.“Come on, Angel. Let’s go to the park today.”
Angel hopped in the basket, and they left the cottage, heading towards the gazebo in the park. The sun shone warmly between the trees, and the gazebo soon came into view. But Fluttershy noticed there were already two ponies sitting under the gazebo, and that they were also having a picnic.
“Oh, I’m sorry Angel, but it looks like somepony else got there first. Let’s find another place to have our picnic.”
Angel rustled around in the basket and looked at the gazebo, jumping onto Fluttershy’s back and thumping his hind leg gently. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, and Angel pointed to the gazebo.
Fluttershy flew closer, a hid behind the bushes so she would not disturb them. She gasped softly when she saw who it was. Big Macintosh and Cheerliee were staring deeply into each other’s eyes, not paying attention to anything or anyone else around them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were with them, a worried expression on their faces.
Fluttershy looked away and rubbed her eyes, but not matter how hard she tried, she had to accept that what she was seeing wasn't her imagination. She began to tear up, and Fluttershy galloped all the way back home, leaving Angel and the picnic basket behind.
Angel arrived at the cottage later in the afternoon, and found Fluttershy sobbing softly on her bed. He patted her gently on the head with his paw, and she raised her bleary eyes to him.
“I-I’m so s-sorry I left you at the p-park…I..I..” she said, choking on her sobs as she spoke.
Angel curled up against her, and they stayed there for a while, Fluttershy all the time going over what had happened in her head. “I just…thought that he…loved me…” She choked out to Angel Bunny. After a little bit, she had something more important to do first. Fluttershy walked to Sweet Apple Acres, slowly, hoping that what she had seen earlier was a misunderstanding.
She heard voices coming from the dirt road that ran through the orchard, and she slowly walked towards them. Fluttershy saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Big Mac and Cheerliee from far away. They winked at each other and the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled into the air in response.
Fluttershy watched them go their separate ways. When Big Mac turned in her direction, he stopped in his tracks and the smile disappeared from his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but Fluttershy ran away, tears in her eyes, before he could say anything.
She ran past the farm, past the town, and out to a place that overlooked the grasslands, where she could be alone with her thoughts.
Fluttershy stared out at the town, overlooked by the cliffs and the rolling hills. She stared at the happy ponies enjoying their Hearts and Hooves Day, unaware that she had even left. She stared over the edge of the cliff and looked at the ground below.
She felt the urge to jump.
She took a step forward as soft hoofsteps came up behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Fluttershy said nothing, and she didn't turn to face him.
She took another step forward, but Big Mac spoke.“You don’t have to do this…we can talk–”
“No we can’t...” she said coldly, cutting him off. She took another step forward, almost to the edge of the cliff now. Big Mac just stared at her, and she didn’t move.
Silence. Thick and unmoving.
Fluttershy turned to Big Mac, tears collecting in her eyes.
“I thought you loved me…I thought you loved me…” she chanted for a moment, her eyes empty and unseeing. Big Mac took a step towards her, and she took a step back, now on the edge of the cliff.
Big Mac just looked sadly at her, “Please, don’t–”
Fluttershy stepped backwards, and she fell. Big Mac rushed to the edge of the cliff, trying to grab her, but he was too late. Time seemed to slow down as he watched her helplessly plunge towards the ground and land with a sickening crack. After a moment, her blood began to seep around her sides.
He rushed down the edge of the cliff to her side. Fluttershy’s eyes were cloudy and dying. She looked up at him sadly, and with a small smile, her eyes closed, and she passed. Big Mac stayed next to her body all night, and in the morning, just before the sun rose, he buried her.
He left and returned a few minutes after burying her to plant a small cherry blossom tree he had gotten from Daisy for Fluttershy as a special Hearts and Hooves day present overtop of her grave. He sat under the tree after he planted it, and watched the sun rise. As he laid back and looked up into its branches, he saw the first of many; the first butterfly wings of spring...
