Chaotic Courtship

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Fluttershy slowly, dejectedly shuffled her way to the spa. She peeked her head in, seeing no sign of Rarity, and sat down in one of the waiting room's plush green chairs, letting out a long, sad sigh, her mane covering even more of her face than usual. When Rarity arrived, spring in her step, happily anticipating their weekly treatment, Fluttershy barely felt she had the strength to look up.

“The usu--” Rarity stopped immediately when she saw the look on her friend's face. “...Aloe, Lotus, we may need a rain check,” She told the spa workers apologetically, and hurried to her friend's side. “Fluttershy, darling, what's wrong?”

Fluttershy's eye came up from the floor to meet Rarity's gaze, but almost instantly went back down. She shook her head. Her mouth almost seemed to move, but she didn't say a word.

“Are you sick?” Rarity asked, worried. If anypony would show up sick to something recreational, something that was just fun between friends, just because she didn't want to break the appointment, it would be Fluttershy.

“Rarity...” Her voice cracked and tears welled up in her eyes, making the unicorn feel like her heart was going to tear in half. “Am I broken?” she choked out, barely above a whisper. Rarity felt tears welling up in her own eyes before she threw her hooves around the poor pegasus.

“Girls, I'm definitely going to need to cancel our weekly treatment.” She said, not breaking the hug. “There's something much more important that I need to take care of with Fluttershy.” She finally released her, and nodded toward the door. Fluttershy slowly fell out of the chair and on to her hooves. They made their way to the Carousel Boutique. Rarity found her best friend's pace to be agonizingly slow, though she couldn't say anything, not when Fluttershy still hadn't stopped the rivers of silent tears flowing down her muzzle. Finally, they made it to Rarity's home.

“What's wrong?” Rarity asked her again, stroking her mane comfortingly. Fluttershy shook her head.

“I don't...I can't talk about it...” Her voice was breaking up even more. Whatever had happened, it had turned the already fragile Fluttershy into an utter wreck.

“If you're worried about it being a secret, I'll gladly Pinkie Pie swear that I won't share a single detail without permission...” She continued to stroke her mane, beginning to feel helpless.

“I can't...it hurts...” The silent tears finally had sound to accompany them as she dropped down, laying on the floor, sobbing quietly.

“Fluttershy... I can't help you if you don't talk to me...” Rarity told her, crouching low beside her.

“Everypony always has to help me...I'm broken...” She began crying loudly, frantically into her hooves.

“No, darling! You're not broken... We help you because we're your friends!” Rarity told her, though her reassurances didn't seem to help at all.

“You're my friends...” She wheezed through the tears. “And I'm your burden...” Rarity stared at her in shock. She dashed to the window and threw it open, her magic tugging the tail of the first pony she saw.

“I'm terribly sorry but there's a bit of a crisis going on and I desperately require the aid of my friend. I understand if you're otherwise occupied, but if not, could you please go to the Sweet Apple Acres and tell whatever pony you encounter there that Rarity needs Applejack at the boutique?” The young pegasus blinked a few times at the strange unicorn who'd grabbed her tail, but shrugged, having buck all else to do.

As Rarity waited for Applejack to arrive, she lifted Fluttershy into the air, eliciting a frightened squeak followed by even more intense crying, and brought the pegasus to her room, setting her down on the bed. “There, now.” She gave a weak smile. “Isn't that much better than the cold floor?” She only received more crying as an answer. As AJ arrived, she was brought up to speed on what had happened, talking in the hall right outside the bed room so Fluttershy wouldn't hear them.

“So, why'd you only call me on down ta help with this? Shouldn't all of us be here, supportin' her?” She asked, confused.

“Applejack, she's resisting attempts to reassure her. For whatever reason, I think she feels like she deserves to be miserable right now, and...” She paused, thinking for a moment. “I speak from personal experience when I say that a pony in her state is likely to just imagine anyone trying to reassure her is just lying, just so she'll continue to feel awful.”

“An' y'all think she'll believe me, even when she don't want to?” Applejack seemed skeptical of the idea.

“Why, of course, dear. She doesn't have much choice. You're quite literally the spirit of honesty, after all. She can't make up an excuse for why you'd lie. We can call the others in when she's willing to be reassured. I'll stay out here and give you both some privacy. Just...Remember, even though honesty is important, you must remember to be delicate...” Applejack nodded and walked through the door into Rarity's bedroom, closing the door behind herself.

“Hey, there, Fluttershy. Rarity says y'all got a problem...Talkin' nonsense about how yer...broken...” She sidled up next to the bed, frowning.

“I am broken...I can't do anything...” She was a little less hysterical than she had been, but every word was still littered with choked sobs.

“No, you ain't. You're just fine, Fluttershy. Look, we need you. All of us. Without y'all, we ain't complete. There'd be somethin' missin', and there's no tellin' how quick we'd all fall apart. We count on yer kindness. Without y'all, we'd...we'd turn on each other faster than...than...Well, shucks, we'd turn on each other so fast Ah ain't even got nothin' to compare it to. So of course we're willin' to give y'all a little extra help and consideration. You're an extra special part of the group.” She gave the gentlest, most tender smile she could muster.

“How do I know you're not just lying to me to make me feel better?” Fluttershy asked between sniffles.

“Come on, Fluttershy. You know me better than that. Ah'm tellin' you the TRUTH ta make y'all feel better.”

“...Thank you, Applejack...” She reached over the side of the bed to hug her, though the crying still hadn't stopped.

“Thank YOU, Fluttershy. Yer one of the best friends anypony could ask fer, and we're all--”

“HI!” Pinkie shouted.

“GYAH!!!” Applejack replied, startled, as Fluttershy locked up from the shock. Pinkie Pie looked between them, smile on her lips, but confusion in her eyes.

“Where's Rarity?” She asked, a little worried. All either of her friends could do was slowly lift their hooves toward the door. Pinkie, with no rhyme or reason, squeezed under the door, the universe's strain at her disregard for its rules nearly audible. The door opened, Pinkie pushing in a shocked Rarity. She brought her to a chair, and sat down on the floor, watching her expectantly.

“What in tarnation is goin' on here?” AJ asked, Fluttershy hiding under the covers. Rarity buried her embarrassed face in her hooves.

“Rarity's gonna tell me about the birds and the bees!!!” Pinkie cheered. Everypony present besides Pinkie had a strong blush forming on their cheeks.

“One moment, please.” Rarity said, holding up a hoof, a cracked smile on her face. Her horn glowed, and a pillow, engulfed in the aura of her power, floated to her. The magic pressed the pillow hard to her face, muffling a scream of embarrassment and frustration. She let it fall to the ground once she was done.

“Now, hang on jes' a minute. You're tellin' me a mare your age don't know the facts of life?”

“Oh, she knows. I was as shocked as you were, the FIRST time she came to me to ask for an explanation. Once I'd finished, I found out she knew all along. But she keeps coming back. Every two weeks, I have to tell her. All. Over. Again.” Rarity's voice was dripping with annoyance by the time she finished talking.

“I just love love LOVE the way she tells it! When Twilight told me about it, it was all big words, and she sounded so serious, like a doctor! And Rainbow's version left out all the smarty pants stuff, but that's really important! And Fluttershy didn't say a word, she just sat there!” Fluttershy blanched at Pinkie's words.

“Sheesh, when's the FIRST time y'all had the talk?” Applejack asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Oh, on my parent's farm, when I was a little filly! They HAD to explain it when I started asking questions! You know how it is on a farm, right, Applejack? There's no way a filly's going to spend her whole childhood without seeing something!” Everyone just stared at her.

“Ah...wuh...Y'GREW ROCKS!” Applejack finally said what everyone else thought.

“Really randy rocks!” Pinkie agreed. “Oh, wait, are you upset because I didn't come to ask you? I really would have, Applejack, but once I heard Rarity's version, I just stopped asking other ponies!”

“...Right, well, we'll leave you two to that.” Applejack said, looking at the stock-still fluttershy. She turned away from the bed, stuck a back leg under it, and kicked upward, launching the pegasus onto the earth pony's back, and hurried downstairs.

“Sorry, Ah know that might've been a bit rough, but Ah jes' had ta get outta there, and from the looks of things, so did you.”

“Oh...No, it's alright...” Fluttershy muttered, still slung across Applejack's shoulders.

“...Ah'm sorry we got interrupted. Ah hope ya don't feel...swept under the rug. 'Specially not when you've been feelin' so low.” She eased Fluttershy down onto the floor, and tried to look into her friend's evasive eyes. “What got ya so down in the first place?”

Fluttershy stole a few quick glances at the farmer's face, only enough to understand that it was scrunched up and frowning with worry. “...stallions.” she squeaked, sadly.

“...Stallions? What about 'em?...You feelin' the need to look for a special somepony?” She instinctively ran a hoof through Fluttershy's mane.

“N-no...they...I overheard them...In the market, this morning...Two stallions...” She clenched her eyes shut, small tears leaking out. She spoke in a very quiet hush, and Applejack, leaning in to hear, was thankful that Fluttershy was keeping herself from seeing how close they'd gotten.

“They were talking about Twilight. How she was smart, and, and 'librarian-hot', whatever that means, and so skilled with magic...Before I realized I was eavesdropping, they were talking about Rainbow Dash. How she was so pretty and athletic and strong, and how much they'd like to hang out with her. When they started talking about how perky and fun Pinkie was, I...I realized they were talking about reasons they might want each of you as a very special somepony...”

She sighed, still not opening her eyes, but a few more tears wetting her cheeks. “They said how beautiful and elegant Rarity was...They mentioned how strong and pretty and easy to spend time with you'd be...and then...” Her breath hitched in her throat as she choked out a sob. Applejack had seen this coming. Fluttershy was the only one she hadn't mentioned them talking about. Whatever compliments they'd paid her sweet, kind friend had been the trigger that caused this self doubt. But what would somepony say about wanting Fluttershy to be their special somepony that could make her feel so bad about herself?

“They mentioned that I'd be a problem...” She finally continued. “No matter which one of you they picked, they said that I'd be your baggage, that I'd be weighing everypony down! They talked about how...how...how I'm BROKEN!” She doubled over in tears, burying her face in her hooves. “And they're right! I can't do anything right by myself!” Applejack tried to say something, but couldn't seem to get the words out.

How could anyone say that about Fluttershy? How could she get Fluttershy's focus back on her and off of her sorrow? The indignation built within the farmer, until finally, there was a resounding boom throughout the building. Fluttershy looked up in shock at the angry earth pony, the floorboards splintered under one of her hooves from the force of her stomp. Rarity and Pinkie rushed downstairs, the former shrieking at the damage to her boutique.

“Y'AIN'T BROKEN!” Applejack shouted, finally. She saw Fluttershy shrinking away from her, and reigned in her voice, but while she brought the volume down, she still couldn't hold back her outrage. “There ain't one lick wrong with ya, and if some durned foals can't 'preciate that, it's their loss, not yers. Yer smart, yer pretty, and consarn it, any pony would be LUCKY ta have ya as their own!” She turned to the ponies by the stairs. “Can y'all believe it? Some stallions in the market! Talkin' us up as datin' material, but sayin' that for each of us, Fluttershy'd be BAGGAGE. That...Fluttershy, it's horse apples! No, it's downright road apples!”

Fluttershy squeaked at the vulgarity as she felt Pinkie's hooves around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy! When the great flame sweeps across Equestria, they'll be purged in righteous cleansing fire!” Pinkie giggled, cheerful as ever.

Rarity tried her level best to keep herself focused on Fluttershy, and to keep from fainting at the site of the cracked floor. “I...Fluttershy...” She paused and turned to Applejack. She had to take care of this real quick, then the pegasus would have her attention. “...You broke my floor...” She pouted. Applejack looked down at her hooves, and blushed.

“Ah s'pose Ah did...Ah'll pay you back fer the damages. Now, y'all were sayin'?”

“Er, yes, I were. Was!” She cleared her throat. “Fluttershy, you are an amazing friend. Someday, somepony, some colt – or filly! Whichever you desire...Is going to be very, VERY happy with you. I'm absolutely certain. And when that day comes, I would be honored to design your wedding gown.”

Fluttershy took in the things her dear, trusted friends were saying, sitting there on the floor, processing this information. Asserting that I'm smart? That I'm pretty? That any pony would be lucky to have me? The idea that I would be able to make somepony happy? That I might even be married some day? That a great flame was going to cleanse...On second thought, she decided to push that bit to the back of her mind.

“You all really think those things?” Fluttershy asked, trembling, though not even she could tell if it was from fear or a minor surge of excitement.

“Well, Ah can't speak for the others, an' Ah sure as heck hope Pinkie doesn't mean what she said, but y'know Ah don't lie. 'Specially when it's somethin' so important.” Fluttershy nodded at this.

“...Thank you. I think I need something to drink...” She furiously began wiping the dried tears out of her fur, her head aching a bit with how much fluid she'd lost crying. Rarity fetched her a glass of water with her horn.

“Are you feeling alright now?” The unicorn asked her. Fluttershy drank down eagerly, each gulp loudly audible, and letting out a short gasp for air when she finished, blushing.

“I...Yes. I think I'll be alright.” She replied, her smile a very, very tired one.

“Darling, if you're tired, then please, feel free to avail yourself of my bed.” Rarity insisted, smiling tenderly. Fluttershy frowned, her ears drooping down a bit.

“Oh, no, Rarity, you've done so much, I just couldn't possibly impose...”

“No imposition at all, dear! After all, it's not as if I'll be needing it for several hours yet, and I know just how draining something like this can be.” She had already begun to usher Fluttershy upstairs.

“If you need anythin', jes holler.” Applejack said, smiling at the pair as they climbed the stairs. “...And, Ah guess that goes for you, too.” She told Pinkie, who planned to stay behind, eagerly awaiting the talk she was going to have with Rarity.

Applejack headed out the door and started on the way through town, back home to Sweet Apple Acres. As she walked, something seemed stuck in the back of her head. Sure, she believed every last thing she said to Fluttershy, but now that she thought about it, she started to worry. After all, it wasn't what her friends thought that had caused her problems, it was what some random stallions thought. She felt a telltale tingling itch in her withers. Her hat didn't feel like it was sitting quite right. If she didn't get some answers, the question was going to keep expressing itself in odd twinges until she addressed it. She broke into a gallop, heading home.

She swept in the door, headed down the hall, and pushed another door open. Her brother threw something across the room into a trunk, charged over, and slammed the trunk shut, eyes wide, and chest heaving with deep breaths as he tried to calm himself. “...You're lucky Twi never asks me if hers was the doll Gabby Gums caught you with,” she mused, smiling a bit. Even through Big Macintosh's red coat, she could swear she almost made out the tinge of a blush on his cheeks. Still, as much fun as teasing her brother could be, that wasn't why Applejack had come to his room.

She walked over to him and sat down. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked up at her brother. “Big Mac, what do you think of Fluttershy?” She asked him, her brother taken back a bit by the serious look on her face. He paused for a moment to think, noting the smile on her face that appeared when he finally began to speak.

“AJ, you know Ah trust yer judgment. Who y'all spend time with ain't really my business.” He told her, trying to be comforting, though, as she huffed at his answer, he was beginning to think that comfort wasn't what she was looking for.

“That ain't it at all! Ah ain't askin' fer my brother's approval of a friend! Ah'm askin' a stallion his opinion of a mare!”

Big Macintosh thought for a while. “Well...I don't rightly know. She's sweet, an' kind, an' more'n purty enough...But Ah never talked to her...Not more than a friendly hello.” He told her, still contemplating the idea, his ears quirking around a bit as he thought. “Can't say Ah ever really thought 'bout it.”

Applejack stared at him, a little annoyed and a little disinterested. “Ah shoulda known. Y'know, Ah don't know WHAT all them mares in town see in you.” He snapped to attention.

“What? Which mares?” He was almost certainly blushing. Applejack raised an eyebrow, grinning mischievously, ears flat against her head.

“Well, and here Ah was, beginnin' to think my brother didn't care 'bout the mares.”

Macintosh grew flustered, sputtering at this. “'Course Ah care!” He turned away bashfully, looking a little upset.

“Aw, c'mon, Big Mac, y'know Ah'm just teasin'.” She poked him playfully in the chest. “So, really, Ah gotta know, who're you sweet on?” Her brother thought for a moment, a look of worry on his face. “Ah swear Ah won't tell. Ah'll even Pinkie Pie Swear. And then Ah'll tell Pinkie, 'Pinkie, Ah Pinkie Pie swore not to tell anypony who my brother likes.' So you'll know she'll stop me if Ah start to tell anypony.” Her brother let out a long sigh.

“You don't need to do that...Ah'll tell ya.” He looked away, dragging his hoof against the floor a bit. If he ever got the courage to act, he'd want his sister free to help him. He finally found the nerve to regain eye contact. His sister waited patiently, smiling. “Ah...That is, Ah...”

“Take yer time. Chores're done, got nothin' planned, and Ah can't even start ta figure how hard this might be.” She reached up, putting her hoof reassuringly on his shoulder.

“...R...Rainbow.” He finally forced out. “Ah like Rainbow Dash.” Applejack stared, and stifled a surprised giggle, earning her a stern glare.

“Ah'm sorry, just took me off guard...Rainbow Dash, huh? And when exactly did that happen? You two don't exactly spend a lot of time together.”

“...Cider challenge.” He replied, thinking back to their time on the treadmill, running side by side, working to press the apples. He could still remember how hard it was, trying to keep moving as his muscles ached and protested, and how it was even harder to keep from stealing glances at the athlete’s body. Every muscle toned to near perfection, every motion perfectly practiced, graceful and seamless.

Applejack stared as her brother seemed consumed by memories. “Uh...Bro?” He snapped back to the present. “Thought Ah lost you there.” She chuckled. “...So, y'think you'll ever tell 'er?”

Big Mac's ears lay flat, as he looked down at the floor. “Nnnope.” He replied. Applejack frowned a little at how easily he seemed to resign himself to the idea. She thought for a short while, both of them silent.

“Y'remember what you told me back when Ah wanted to live with Aunt and Uncle Orange in Manehattan?” He looked up, confused.

“...'If you really want somethin', go after it. If ya don't, you'll always regret wonderin', and if it don't work out, then...then at least you tried, and that ain't nothin'. And no matter what happens, you'll always have yer family, ready to welcome you home with open hooves.'”

“Ah'm not sayin' you should just run off after her right now...Ah'm sayin'...When you think about whether you'll tell 'er, try to stay positive. Tell yourself either 'yes,' or 'maybe.' And if you do tell her some day, and it don't work out....” She gave him a gentle smile. “Ya said it yourself. 'Then at least you tried, and that ain't nothin.'”

Big Macintosh let these thoughts tumble around in his head for a moment before standing up straighter, confidence becoming visible in his eyes. He wrapped his thick, powerful forelegs around his sister. “Thanks, AJ.”

She hugged back as he squeezed her, patting his back. It was only now that he was not obscuring her view of the clock. “HOOVES 'N HORSE SHOES! How long we been talkin'!?” She pulled back from the hug. He spun and looked at the clock. They rushed to the dining room in a panic. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom wouldn't be saving food for them if they didn't get there in time for supper!

The night wore on after dinner, and Applejack headed to her room, swinging her head to the side, tossing her hat onto the night stand, climbing under the covers, and nestling into her pillow. She blew out the lamp by her bed, and closed her eyes, sighing. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with Fluttershy. She sighed, feeling that itch in her withers return.

Something about what she'd said to Fluttershy was still rattling around in her head. It wasn't that she didn't think something she said was true. She believed every last word of it, just as much now as when she'd said it. Fluttershy IS smart. Ah reckon it's 'cause, all the time she spends not talkin', she spends on thinkin' instead. And pretty? Of course she's pretty! Ah don't know much about modelin', but Ah know not just anypony has the looks to make a career outta havin' their picture taken, so Ah can't be the only one that thinks she's a looker. An anypony sure as shootin' would have to be pretty dang lucky to be with her. Ah know Ah'd sure--... Her eyes snapped open as it finally came to her. The thing that felt off wasn't that she'd said something wrong, it was that she didn't realize just how strongly she'd meant the things she had said.

“Oh, sweet skies above...Ah'm sweet on Fluttershy...” She sighed, curling up a little tighter in bed. “...Nothin' to do 'bout it for now.” She told herself, shaking her head, pushing it to the back of her mind. “Always more work in the morning...” She released a long yawn. “Can't be stayin' up all night...thinkin' bout...romantications...”

Applejack awoke to the cock's crow, yawning loudly as she stretched. She grabbed her hat, headed out the door, and got to work. The chickens and the pigs were fed, the eggs were gathered, the cows were tended to, and now it was time for breakfast. Things were a little quiet around the family's table. Granny Smith gathered up the dishes and began washing them.

“Apple Bloom!” She called, smiling, “Take a good look at yer siblin's! One day, when you're all grown up, you're gonna wanna know what it looks like from the outside when yer heart's all tied up in knots over somepony special.” Applejack and Big Mac both rushed out the door before Apple Bloom had a chance to interrogate them, getting to work on their late morning chores, and as soon as she'd finished hers, Applejack headed into town.

Supportive as her brother would certainly be, she didn't know how long she could hold her feelings to herself, and if they were going to come out, she wanted some good advice for how to express them. She opened the door to the Carousel Boutique, a bashful smile on her face as she looked around, before spotting Rarity through the glass, her hoof still on the door. She stepped in and allowed it to swing shut.

“Honestly, how do you get so much done so early? I only just got the door unlocked.” Rarity sighed. “So, I trust this is a social call?” She teased, smiling. “Or has some miracle occurred to bring you here on actual business?”

“...Uh, Ah'm...That is to say...” She fiddled with her hooves nervously. She pulled off her hat and held it to her chest, taking a deep breath.

“Oh, dear heavens. Please, tell me you're not here to confess your feelings to me,” Rarity sighed, her cheeks flushed.

“How'd you know?” Applejack put her hat back on, crestfallen. She had, indeed, come to confess her feelings for Fluttershy.

“Enough ponies have made their awkward attempts at telling me they love me that I've come to recognize it. It's flattering, of course, and while knowing you so well does give you a much better chance than most would have, I'm afraid I just don't feel the same way.”

“...You think Ah...” Applejack burst out, roaring with laughter. She fell to the floor, unable to keep herself up.

“Somehow, this is both the most positive and least composed reaction I've ever witnessed in a pony whose advances I've rejected...” Applejack straightened up, still snickering a bit.

“Oh, thanks, Rarity...Ah really needed that laugh. But it's not you I got feelings fer. Ah just came to you for advice.” Applejack wiped a tear away, smiling.

“Oh! Oh, of course. I understand. I'm not sure how I could've made that mistake... After all, the very idea of you as a fillyfooler would be a pretty difficult pill to swallow, let alone that you'd think we would be romantically compatible.”

“Now what's that supposed to mean?” Applejack's reply was clearly an offended one.

“Oh, come, now, Applejack. Even if we did have those kinds of feelings for each other, we'd hardly be able to make it work. Though I do suppose we sometimes bicker like an old married couple...” She mused.

“Not that! Why can't Ah be...uh...Y'know...”

“A fillyfooler? Apart from the fact that you can barely bring yourself to say the word?” Rarity asked, smirking. “Enough beating around the bush, dear. Just tell me who the lucky stallion is.”

Applejack smiled. She didn't care about her nerves anymore. “Fluttershy.” She replied. Rarity froze in shock.

“I'm sorry?” She finally responded.

“You should be.” Applejack replied firmly, smiling confidently.

“Oh, yes, I...well, now I just feel AWFUL for saying that...Can you ever forgive me?”

“Forgiven and forgotten. Now can y'offer me any advice? You know me, Ah can't keep anythin' quiet fer long... Especially if somepony realizes Ah'm hidin' somethin', and just straight up asks me...” She rubbed her foreleg a bit, feeling her nerves return. “But...Ah mean...it's FLUTTERSHY, y'know? Ah...Ah'm...Imagine it! Somepony tellin' her they love her?”

“Oh, please, Applejack. The worst thing that could happen is that she doesn't return your feelings, and she turns you down delicately. Or would it be her running off and hiding from you...? Hm...”

“Neither.” Applejack interrupted. “The worst thing would be her puttin' her friend's happiness first.”

“Pardon?” The unicorn had a very skeptical tone.

“She's done it before. Remember? Back when she was a model? She was puttin' her happiness after yours. Or, thought she was, at least. In the end, no big deal, 'cause you were both doin' it, but think about if we started goin' out, and she just didn't have it in her to call it off. Or if she only went out with me in the first place 'cause she's tryin' to make me happy! Ah'd never forgive myself if she started throwin' her life away just 'cause she wants me happy, when she could go out and find somepony she REALLY loves instead.” Applejack took a deep breath, trembling after letting out her fears.

“...A fair point...But I must say, you must've spent a long time thinking about that...How long did you know you had feelings for her?” Rarity asked, trying to be as tactful as she could with the question.

“Only just before Ah fell asleep last night, but Ah have thought about it a lot...Mostly just somethin' Ah tend ta worry about with anypony that might be approachin' her with...you know, romantic intents. Wanted to be able to help her get out of it if she needed.” Applejack sighed.

“...Tell her.” Rarity said plainly, a smile on her face. “If you're really certain that you feel that way, then just tell her, and tell her exactly why you want her answer to be honest. Just put absolutely everything on the table, and let her know that you'll still be there for her even if she doesn't feel the same way. And be patient with her. It is Fluttershy, after all.” Applejack took this in, then nodded, confidence coming back to her. She turned to head out the door, then paused.

“Rarity?” She asked, looking back at the unicorn. “Thanks. You're a good friend.”

“Oh, stop stalling,” Rarity teased, grinning. “I hope it works out,” She added softly. Applejack nodded, and left the boutique.

Applejack stared down the road. It wasn't a problem if Fluttershy said no, as long as she only said yes for the right reason. Or at least, the earth pony kept telling herself that. She tried to smile, and it didn't feel right. She tried not to smile and it was so hard to hold it back her cheeks began to hurt. She headed forward, walking at a relaxed pace. Unfortunately, she was anything but relaxed. She sped up a bit into a trot. Then a canter. Finally, she just stopped caring about staying composed and burst into a gallop, startling some of the other ponies on the streets.

With a life time of hard work to back them up, her muscles carried her easily to her destination, with no sense of pain or weariness. She made it to the cottage, and walked up to the door. She took a deep, steadying breath, raised her hoof, and froze instantly as she heard two sounds coming from inside: Fluttershy's gentle giggle, and a male voice, laughing heartily.

Fluttershy had company? Fluttershy? Applejack wasn't prepared for this. This was supposed to be private, and special, and quiet. Whoever she had in there was certainly not quiet. The voice was familiar, and she felt nervous when she heard it, but she couldn't quite place it.

A thought crept into Applejack's mind. A nasty, despicable, traitorous, and totally reasonable thought that made her forget to breath and her heart feel like it was covered in ice. She might have been too late. Somepony else might have made their move and taken away Fluttershy's heart forever.

“I think somepony's at your door.” Applejack jumped, but she was here. She came here for a reason, and it was the same reason that she couldn't leave just yet. She'd see what was what, and then, if Fluttershy was happy, she'd leave them to their joyous life together. The door swung open.

To say Applejack expected the door to be opened was entirely accurate. To say she expected Fluttershy's guest to be the one there, staring at her, might be stretching it a bit. To say she expected to find herself staring at a draconequus would be an almost believable lie. To say she expected him to be wearing a smoking jacket and sunglasses, and holding a cocktail glass, was right out.

“Martini?” Discord offered. Since Applejack just stared, he decided to go ahead and take another sip. The motion, luckily, seemed to snap her out of her daze.

“D-Discord?!” She was flabbergasted! “What are you doin' here?!”

“Well, what I'm doing is drinking a martini and sharing stories. But if you meant to ask why I came here, it's because I felt like visiting my friend.” He took another sip. Fluttershy peeked out from behind him.

“Hi, Applejack.” She said, smiling. She had such a beautiful smile. How had Applejack taken so long to realize she felt this way about her? “....Applejack?” Fluttershy's voice seemed to be prodding a bit, and Applejack silently swore, wondering how long she'd been thinking about Fluttershy's smile. “You didn't do anything, did you?” Fluttershy asked, craning her neck to look up at Discord.

“...I offered her a drink, but she hasn't actually taken me up on it yet. Or even said 'no thank you.' Talk about rude.” He turned and walked over to the sofa, lounging on it, almost looking like his spine wasn't even there, like he was melting to fit his body to the furniture's contours. Finally, Applejack got her mouth and mind back to working together, and best of all, they seemed to be moving at approximately the same speed.

“Ah...Uh...Ah had somethin' to tell you, but it's kinda private, and...” She looked around Fluttershy at the ancient god who had the power to rewrite reality at a whim. “Well, it's nothin' that'll change any time soon, so...Ah might just put a pin in it.” She hated herself for that, but she knew this wasn't a good time.

Discord looked up toward her. He pushed his sunglasses down, staring over the rim, and took a long, slow, slurping sip on his drink, refusing to break eye contact with Applejack. The farm pony had to wrestle her eyes off of him and back to Fluttershy, who looked confused and worried.

“A-are you sure it can wait? We can go for a walk and you can tell me, if you want to...Oh!” She whipped her head around. “I mean, if...if you don't mind?” She asked Discord. The draconequus had conjured into existence a toy boat with each of their cutie marks on the sail. He inspected it with a critical eye.

“Go right ahead. I need to see if this floats anyway.” He told them, smirking at his little pun, enjoying the loud wooshing noise the joke made as it soared over their little pony heads. Applejack and Fluttershy shared a perplexed look before heading out the door, walking around the back of the cottage.

Several rolling slopes lay ahead, the green grass broken up by small smatterings of wild flowers all the way to the edge of the Everfree forest. They walked along the hills in silence, Applejack trying to regain the nerve to express herself to Fluttershy, and Fluttershy being either too patient or too meek to press her on what she wanted to talk about. Applejack looked over at the other mare, noting her encouraging, gentle expression.

“An' there's one more reason...” She muttered, red coming through the orange fur on her cheeks. The blush intensified as the look on Fluttershy's face was replaced with a slightly more quizzical one. She sighed. “Ah need to talk to you about what Ah said yesterday.” She finally said, looking down at a few flowers by her hooves.

Fluttershy felt a wave of panic quickly crash on her as she considered that perhaps Applejack HAD simply been trying to placate her, but the tide of fear quickly ebbed as she shook the idea from her head. Applejack was honesty. There was no chance that it was the case. She opened her mouth to encourage her friend onward, but stopped as she heard Applejack take a deep breath.

“Somethin' about what Ah said bothered me. Didn't know why. Finally came to me when Ah was lyin' in bed, about to go to sleep...” She paused and looked up at the pegasus. “Now, wipe that frown off your face. You know Ah meant every word. Ah just...” Her gaze went straight to the flower again. “Didn't know how much Ah meant it...” She paused again, trying to organize her thoughts.

“Ah like you, sugarcube. Ah don't know how Ah missed it for so long, but it hit me like a ton of bricks last night, and Ah know there's no two ways about it...But Ah'm scared. A little scared that y'all won't like me back, but...Mostly Ah'm just terrified that you might end up goin' along with it just 'cause you think it'll make me happy. Ah don't want to wake up one morning down the road, in a relationship, and find out that you weren't never into fillies to begin with. Ah...” Her voice began to quaver, and the very thought was bringing tears to her eyes. She squeezed them shut, trying to will the tears away, but they just spilled out onto her cheeks. “Ah don't think Ah could take that,” As she finished, she wiped the tears off her face furiously, her voice not just cracking, but shattering with emotion. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

“So, there you have it. Ah ain't gonna ask you to tell me anythin' right away. Not unless you really ain't into fillies.” She finally looked up for the second time since her confession began, to see a hoof pressed to Fluttershy's mouth, and tears flowing down her cheeks. “...Ah'm sorry. Ah know you weren't expectin' this, and Ah just went and sprung it on you...But you got no reason to rush. Alright? If you wanna think on it, you know you can always come find me later.” She paused, worried, but finally moved forward, bringing her tail up to dab away pegasus tears.

“I...I...” Fluttershy was frozen, stuck on that one word. She struggled and pushed, but nothing else would come out.

“No need to push yourself. Ah ain't in a hurry. Ah'm a farmer, remember. Sometimes you plant a seed, it can take years before you even get one piece of fruit.” She told her, smiling. And still, that smile persisted as she continued, though her voice sounded a bit weaker. “And...Sometimes it don't bear no fruit at all. But that's fine, 'cause ya gotta take the rough bits with the smooth ones. Whatever you decide, Ah'll abide by it. And...Ah can't believe Ah forgot to make sure Ah said it sooner, but no matter what happens, we'll still be friends. So there's no worry there, alright?” She stood there awkwardly, staring at Fluttershy. The pegasus' hoof had left her mouth, and now rested against her chest, as she took multiple quick, deep breaths.

Even once she'd calmed herself, Fluttershy found them both stuck in an awkward silence, staring at one another. She had no idea what to say! No idea what to do! Silently yet frantically she wished for a distraction, and somewhere in the distance behind Applejack, a friend answered the call. A flash of cyan passed just overhead, followed first by a rainbow contrail, and second by a powerful gust of wind that sent Applejack's hat tumbling off. The headwear smacked right into Fluttershy's face, eliciting a startled yelp as she panicked and pulled it off, holding it out to the earth pony. She wasn't certain what she was trying to say as Applejack accepted her hat and replaced it upon her head, but it only manifested as quiet squeaks and whines.

“Ah guess Ah've eaten enough of your time. Ah can wait as long as you need me to, for a yes OR a no.” She gave Fluttershy a very small smile, and stepped past her, then, with a resounding thunk at the back of her head, she fell to the ground in a heap. She tried to move her hoof, to rub the back of her skull, thinking it'd almost certainly been cracked open by the force of whatever that was, but she could barely get her leg up. It felt like somepony had just chucked a bowling ball at her! Glancing up a bit, she realized she wasn't far from the truth, as Tank's oddly blurry form followed his master.

Fluttershy stood over her, eyes wide, both of her front hooves pressed to her mouth to suppress a gasp. Finally, this new silence, painful and worrying, was broken.

“.....owwwwwwwwwww.” Applejack whimpered. She looked to Fluttershy, almost asking her for a hoof to help her up, but before she got the chance, the pegasus had taken off as fast as her wings could carry her, zipping through the air toward her cottage.

Applejack felt tired. She knew she probably had a concussion, and couldn't risk falling asleep, especially right after the blow. Growing up, rough housing with a Little Macintosh who didn't know his own strength taught her all about head trauma. Fluttershy'd been gone for a little while, and Applejack prayed she wasn't hiding, or running from the confession, now that she knew there was no way she'd be followed. Still, as her mind kept revisiting that scenario, she felt like it became more and more likely. She sighed, closing her eyes. “Gotta stay 'wake...” She muttered. Over and over, she chanted. “Gotta stay 'wake...” When she felt a freezing cold pressure at the back of her head, her eyes shot open. Her body tried to jump, but just sort of flailed, grinding her face into the ground.

“Oh dear! Please don't move so much!” Fluttershy begged, putting the ice pack to Applejack's head again.

“Fluttershy...Tank's really hard...” She replied, having trouble moving her jaw with all the dirt under it. “Think Ah got a concu...concussion...” As soon as she finished speaking, panicked hooves started pulling her eyelids wide open, those beautiful shimmering blue pools staring at her.

“Follow the feathers.” Fluttershy instructed, her voice shaking as her wingtip came into Applejack's field of vision. She deliberately led her gaze a little close to the sun, paying careful attention to the size of Applejack's irises. She'd never had to take care of a pony with head trauma before, but that didn't mean she wasn't accustomed to helping animals who'd taken similar knocks. She just had to keep telling herself that, once she was done, she could be as scared as she wanted. She just had to get Applejack through this first.

“Can you remember what happened?” She asked her, her voice still shaking. She was desperately trying not to panic.

“Rainbow flew past. Tank was followin' her. Ah got in Tank's way. Ah dropped like a sack a' taters.” She answered, mumbling, her chin still pressed to the ground. “And before you ask, name's Applejack and we're behind your cottage.” Memories of paramedics from the few times Little Macintosh had underestimated himself yielded the questions she was always asked, and the answers came easily.

“Have you felt like you might throw up?”

“...From about the time Ah started talkin', up till Tank hit me, but nothin' that weren't nerves,” She mumbled into the grass. Fluttershy turned around, her hooves busy with something. She turned back toward her, holding up a hoof.

“How many blades of grass?” She asked, frowning.

“Seven.”

“And are they very blurry?”

“Woulda been, moment while ago...Feelin' better. Think it was just a scare...Just dazed.” She began to try to stand, but Fluttershy stopped her. She felt hooves picking up the ice pack that had been resting against her head. She felt them very gently pulling her mane to the side. She felt them prodding oh so tenderly near her neck, most likely checking to see if it hurt Applejack at all, and finally, she felt them under her chest, helping her to stand.

“Thanks, Fluttershy...For helpin' me, and...well, for hearin' me out. Ah think Ah need ta get somethin' in my belly, and lay down for a bit.” She gave her a nervous smile before walking back to Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy just stood there, watching her go, wishing she had an answer for her. She put the ice pack back in her first aid kit and carried it home to her cottage. Discord was on the couch, as he'd been when she'd come to get the kit in the first place, but this time she noticed binoculars by one of the back windows. Her face turned bright red, but it could've just as easily been that her friend the draconequus had put them there as a joke.

“Um,” She struggled for something to say. Finally, a nice, polite question came to her. “Did your ship float?”

“Not sure yet. Have to observe it more. Do you mind if I stay here for a few days?” It was an odd request, and even odder still was his answer to the question she'd asked. How could he not be sure if it floated or sank? Still, odd as he was, he was her friend, and she was happy for the company.

They spent the evening chatting and smiling, and even shared a light dinner. If he hadn't been a draconequus, this probably wouldn't have even been possible. Not with how intimidated she could be by other ponies, at least. She didn't feel especially at ease with him, not when compared to her friends, but that they'd gotten to know each other so well could only be attributed to the fact that he had never been a strange pony, even when he'd been a stranger. They whiled away the hours, and finally, Fluttershy needed to get some rest. She went up to her bed, pulled back the covers with her teeth, climbed in, and pulled them back up over herself. She let out a tiny, quiet yawn, and sighed, snuggling into her bed, giving herself up to sleep.

Sleep didn't take her. Applejack's words, from both yesterday and today, floated through her head. She liked spending time with Applejack, but that didn't help. She liked spending time with all of her friends. She considered the possibility that maybe she wasn't into mares, only liking stallions, but in retrospect, even though this had been started by a pair of young stallions, she'd really never actually given much thought to whether she preferred them over mares, or vice versa. Then again, she'd only ever really spent time with her friends. She wished she could think of some way to know if she had feelings for a pony. If Applejack only realized it the night before, maybe she had feelings for Applejack she didn't know about?

She sighed, tossing, turning, and wishing she could fall asleep. She heard a knock at her door. “Oh, sorry,” she got up, opening it. “Was I being too loud?” Discord shook his head.

“No. What's bothering you?” He asked, though his spying had already revealed the answer. He felt it would just be polite to ask.

“...I keep trying to figure out how I feel about somepony.” She replied, pretty darn sure he already knew what was going on. “And I don't know how to tell.”

“Well, stop thinking about how you feel about her,” he instructed, “And start thinking about her. But pay attention to how you feel.” She looked a little impressed by his oddly wise-sounding advice. She gave him a quick hug.

“Thanks, Discord.” He nodded, closed the door, and went back down to the sofa. Fluttershy climbed back into bed, yawning. She really needed her rest, and Applejack said she could take all the time she needed. So why couldn't she convince herself that it didn't need to be figured out so soon?

Because Applejack deserves an answer, She decided. She trusted me with this, and if I make her wait too long, it's not fair to her... She deserves an honest answer, as soon as I can give her one. She sighed. Taking Discord's advice, she focused on the pony, and what thinking about her made her feel, rather than focusing on what feelings she thought she might have. Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely sure where to start.

She thought about the arrival of Nightmare Moon. She cowered in terror, but Applejack had not only managed to keep a cool head, but kept both Rainbow and Pinkie from getting themselves attacked. When she had to take care of Applebuck season on her own, she didn't cancel any of the things she'd had planned. She was stubborn sometimes, but not unbearably so. No, more than that, she was dependable. She was honest, hard working, and no matter what problems she was facing, she always found time for her friends.

Fluttershy felt safe and comfortable as she thought about Applejack, but as she kept thinking, she felt her nerves starting to kick in. It wasn't the normal kind of nervous, though. It was as if she was full of some strange kind of energy and joy that only knew how to be expressed as nervousness. There was an unfamiliar warmth in her stomach, and she was certain she'd found her answer. Probably. Maybe only half certain. However certain she was, it was as certain as she'd ever felt about anything. It was all she could do to keep from flying out the window, waking up Applejack, and telling her, but she convinced herself that they each needed to get their sleep.

The sun rose far too early, and were Applejack more bold and less forgiving, she might have found herself silently cursing their benevolent ruler. She had a splitting headache even without the Tank bruise. She stumbled out of bed, rolling her neck and enjoying the satisfying pops and cracks it made. Alright, let's get some a' these chores done, have some breakfast, finish up everything else, and then you can take a little nap.

Willing to accept the deal with herself, she made her way downstairs and out the door. Pigs slopped, eggs gathered, cows tended, chickens fed, she went back in for breakfast. She thanked the skies above that her sister still hadn't started asking about what Granny Smith said during yesterday's breakfast as she started filling her plate. The massive welt she came home with seemed to do a wonderful job of distracting her. Just as she started to eat, there was a knock at the door. Big Mac's mouth was already full of food and Apple Bloom was pretending not to hear it. Rather than force Granny Smith to take care of it, she pushed her chair out with a sigh, and headed for the door. She put on the best smile she could manage and pulled it open.

“What can Ah do for—Fluttershy!” Her smile became much more genuine when she saw the pony in front of her.

“I...I just...wanted...” She punctuated her greeting with a nervous squeak. Her voice left her. Her mouth moved, and her cheeks reddened as she realized that nothing came out of it. She jumped as she snapped back to the world around her, a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

“Easy there, sugarcube. Ah ain't gonna bite.” Applejack stared into her eyes, and in them Fluttershy saw the very same nerves she was struggling against. She felt a little better, but she still wasn't sure how to share her news. Her voice didn't seem keen on returning to her, but she was so excited to tell Applejack. Surely there was some way to communicate her feelings! The seconds were dragging on and she still hadn't managed to say anything. She felt desperation building as she frantically sought some way to tell her. Before she even realized what she was doing, she found her lips pressed against Applejack's.

She pulled back and stared at the ground, her ears and cheeks bright red. Finally, her voice returned. “I'm so sorry!” She said, frowning. Applejack's dazed grin washed away her fears. She couldn't help but giggle at the look on the earth mare's face.

The sound of Fluttershy's gentle giggle elicited a chuckle from Applejack, but somewhere behind her, another voice interrupted their shared moment. “AJ! If you don't hurry up, Ah'm eatin' your breakfast!”

“...We'll talk more later.” Applejack assured Fluttershy, as she dashed back to the table to protect her meal from Apple Bloom. Fluttershy knew deep down that she should feel terrible for pulling Applejack away from a meal, but she just couldn't. She sighed happily as she turned back toward her cottage, and headed home. She'd taken the time to feed her friends, even making Discord something, but only now did it occur that she'd yet to eat anything herself.

Author's Note

I have restored some parts of the accent to its prior state because I figured out something I could do with it! HOORAY FOR IDEAS!

Chapter 2

Applejack trudged into Fluttershy's home, the door being held open for her. Their relationship had only begun a few weeks ago, and they were both feeling immense pressure. They both felt like they desperately needed to do something special, but with no real experience to speak of, neither of them could figure out how to go about it, and both were becoming obsessed with figuring out exactly how they should spend time together romantically. Their friends, though well meaning and trustworthy, were certainly no help in this area.

Everything Rarity recommended was something that would have dozens of high class eyes staring at them, exacerbating Fluttershy's nerves and judging Applejack's every faux pas. Twilight went to books for help, but these only offered advice for getting to know a pony you only just met, in the context of a date. Pinkie Pie gave the most easily predicted answer: Attend parties together. While that advice might have worked out, there weren't a lot of parties going on, and they'd hate for their friend to overtax herself by throwing them a party every time they wanted to spend time together. And as for Rainbow Dash's idea... Well, Applejack wanted her big brother to be happy, and if it made a friend happy, all the better, but Big Macintosh probably wouldn't be prepared for a relationship where the other pony's idea of a date was to “just go buck.”

All these memories running through her head, Applejack nearly collided with Fluttershy's house guest. Or, she would have almost run into him, but even if she hadn't stopped, there seemed to be a rather large hole in his torso with a ramp leading up to and down from it. She just rolled her eyes a bit.

“You're still here?” She asked, sounding only half as tired as her failed attempts to spend time doing something special with her special somepony had been making her feel.

“That a problem?” He asked, grinning. Applejack just sighed and slumped onto the couch.

“Naw...Any friend of Fluttershy's, an' all that...” She watched as her fillyfriend hesitated a bit, before joining her on the sofa, and cringed a bit that she'd even waited. Fluttershy did truly seem to want this, but that was probably why she seemed to be acting more nervous around Applejack than she usually did with total strangers.

“Still no good ideas?” Discord asked, the tunnel through his body finally closing up. The two mares shook their heads.

“We ain't exactly got all the time together we want... An' tryin' so hard to find somethin' ta spend that time on is startin' ta wear on...both of us?” She looked up, not presuming to speak for Fluttershy. The pegasus gave a quick nod, looking down sadly.

“I'm starting to think...” Her breath hitched in her throat as tears formed in her eyes, “That it just isn't going to work...” She felt Applejack's forelegs around herself, and some of the fear dissipated.

“Don't think like that, sugarcube. It ain't really that big a' deal...” Even as she said these words, she felt some of Fluttershy's doubts creeping into her heart.

“I've got something you could try,” Discord offered, grinning.

“...No offense, Discord, but what'd y'all know about pony datin'?” Applejack gave him a confused look as she pulled out of the hug.

“...Well, he did help me realize how I felt about you.” Fluttershy mumbled, looking up to him appreciatively. Applejack smiled a little.

“Ah reckon that'll earn ya some consideration. So, whaddaya have in mind? Where do we go fer a date?”

“Well, it's not really a date, per se... It's a bit more complicated than that. I mean, it's LIKE a date...But it also helps you figure out if you can make it as a couple.” He told them.

“...Ah dunno...This sounds a mite fishy...”

“...Let's give it a try, Applejack. Please?” Fluttershy was afraid, but she also felt like she was running out of options, and was desperate to latch onto some idea before any chance they had as a couple would slip through their hooves.

“...Fine. Fer you, sugarcube.” She told her, resting her hoof on Fluttershy's.

“So, you're both interested?” They each nodded to Discord. A mischievous smile on his face made them wish they hadn't.

Fluttershy groaned loudly. Thank heavens this pillow was so soft. She hadn't felt like this since the morning after that bottle Rainbow Dash brought over when she finally landed her weather management job. As she opened her eye a bit, she could almost hear the eyelid dragging itself up. She gasped, jumping into a sitting position. Those weren't her walls. This wasn't her bed! And that snoring! Who was that!? She nervously turned over in bed to see who else was in the room. She felt much better about things when she realized that, wherever she was, Applejack was there with her. A different kind of worry shot through her when she realized that they'd apparently shared a bed last night. She tried to run, to lift off, to fly out the window.

Applejack's eyes slowly opened to the sound of Fluttershy screaming. Once she saw why, she screamed out as well.

“WHERE ARE YOUR WINGS?!” She shouted, finally giving coherent words to the panic they both felt.

“WHERE ARE MY WINGS?!” Fluttershy repeated, rubbing her sides frantically, as if they had somehow hidden in the fur of her coat.

“WHERE ARE WE?!”

“WHY WERE WE IN BED TOGETHER?!”

They both paused, taking deep breaths, eyes darting about the room, before, finally, one question came from both their mouths.

“What did Discord do?!” They quickly climbed out of the bed, ignoring their throbbing headaches, and began searching the room, eventually spotting a note on the wall above the bed's headboard, getting in close to read it together.

“You're probably wondering,” the note began, “where you are. Or, if you noticed that first, where Fluttershy's wings went. Don't worry, they'll be back when you're done here. As for what 'here' is, it's not a place that actually exists. Or, at the very least, it didn't until I made it for you. Before I exiled my kin from our world to rule alone, draconequi couples would spend months in these places without their powers or any special abilities, which should tell you why those wings are gone. Right now, you're on your way to an island, unless you overslept and ran ashore already. On the island, you'll find many dangers, and some ruins and temples. The two of you have to work together to solve puzzles, face challenges, and survive.

“If frightened, don't be. There are dangers, but it's nothing the two of you together shouldn't be able to handle, besides which you should find plenty of surprises to make things a little easier on you.

“I'm sure you're both worried about your lives here in Ponyville, but time flows differently there. As long as you come back, you should only have been gone for an hour or so at the most, but there's only two ways to do that. The first is to solve the puzzles, complete the challenges, and destroy the world you're trapped in. With no world to contain you, you will be freed and you will return here. The second... Well, the love shared by you two is one of the core components of this world's makeup. If your love doesn't last, you'll return home.

“So, there you have it. I do hope you make it back. I was sure to keep from making it too dangerous, but it's not going to be easy. Let's see if your love and cooperation can get you home. I'm rooting for you.”

“Fluttershy?” Applejack asked, oddly calm.

“Y-yes?” She trembled.

“Ah know he's your friend, but Ah'm gonna clock 'im. Right in the jaw, hard as Ah can, soon as we get back. He shoulda told us more 'fore he went ahead an' sent us here. 'Specially if he knew he'd be takin' your wings.” She waited for Fluttershy to object, but the pegasus could only nod.

Applejack went to the door, and as she shoved it open the salty breeze caught her off guard. She ran forward, eyes wide. The boat was half way up the beach of a beautiful island, covered with a lush, green forest. Fluttershy followed her out, and they took a moment to simply take in this prison that they'd been thrown into.

Fluttershy turned around to see nothing but sea along the horizon. Her eyes wandered across the vessel that had brought them here, something seeming oddly familiar that she just couldn't seem to put her hoof on, until she saw the sail. Her gasp got Applejack's attention, and the earth mare followed her gaze. Both of their cutie marks were on the sail.

“...Well, least it's familiar.” Applejack mumbled, before wandering around and finding another door, with Fluttershy chasing after her.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Well, Ah figger this ship's got plenty a' room...No reason it'd only have two ponies on it.” She opened the door and descended into the ship's hold. “Ah'm none too confident he'd send us with any supplies, but no harm in lookin', either.”

Luckily, Discord HAD given them some supplies, and when they finally finished tallying them up, they had quite a few barrels of fresh water, two sets of saddlebags, plenty of rope, and, aside from lumber, more than enough equipment for Applejack to raise a barn if the urge struck her. They had parchment, quills, a pair of compasses, a medical kit... Still, even with all Discord had given them, he'd put very little food on board, only giving them a few days worth of hay.

“Well, at least we've got enough food for a little while...” Fluttershy sighed. She wasn't looking forward to going out into that strange island.

“Water'll last us a couple weeks, even if we ain't especially careful with it. We could drag the barrels on up to the deck to help refill 'em when it rains...”

“Um...If...” Fluttershy corrected, dragging a hoof against the floor.

“Pardon?”

“W-well...Never mind. It probably won't matter.” She backed away, hiding in her mane.

“Fluttershy...” She moved toward her fillyfriend and put a hoof on her shoulder, giving her a comforting smile and staring into her eyes. “We're gonna be here by ourselves, with nopony else to help us. If you got concerns, Ah need you to tell me about 'em.”

“Oh gosh...You're right, Applejack, I'm sorry. I was saying...Well, we don't know if it rains here. At all. Or if there's even fresh water on the island...” She sighed and looked away.

“...Well, let's take a look.” AJ headed up the stairs to the deck, Fluttershy staying extra close the whole way up. “See any clouds?” She asked, gazing skyward, the pegasus joining her in her search.

“No, none...” She sighed. “It might just be a really clear day, though...” She offered, more for Applejack's benefit than her own. They stood there on the deck for an awkwardly silent moment. Applejack turned toward the island.

“No sense puttin' it off any more than we have to.” She lowered a boarding plank, then paused, looking around, her head leaning over the rail along the whole deck. Finally locating the Anchor, she dropped it onto the beach.

Fluttershy frowned, once she'd recovered from the noise it made. “I don't really think the ship even CAN go anywhere...Not when it's stuck on the sand like this...”

“Probably not, but Ah'm not especially eager to trust this place. Ah'll feel better knowin' the anchor's down.” Fluttershy found it hard to argue with that reasoning. After all, this was a place built by Discord, and the ship had all their supplies, and probably the only bed on the island. “This ship'll probably be our home for at least a while,” Applejack said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “We oughta make sure it stays where we can find it.”

“Find it...Oh!” Fluttershy dashed below the deck, and emerged with saddlebags on, and a compass hanging from her neck. Applejack gave her a questioning look, but Fluttershy just looked away, embarrassed.

“Uh...Whatcha got there?” She finally asked, a wan smile on her face.

“Um, well, I've got a compass, a quill, some ink, and a few pieces of parchment...And the medical kit, just in case...I thought we could maybe try to make a map of wherever we go today...”

“Good thinkin'! Fly on up, and draw whatcha see!” She said with a grin, though it soon faded. “Sorry, Ah forgot...” Fluttershy hung her head low, sighing sadly and looking at the empty space where her wings used to be. They finally got themselves off the ship, and onto the wet sand below.

They made their way up the shore to the edge of the forest, and stopped. “...Y'do know how to use a compass, right?” Applejack asked, a little nervous about taking those steps over the threshold. Fluttershy nodded, shaking a little.

“Orienteering is a required part of flight camp...” She explained.

“An' map making?”

“...Well, I thought...I thought it would be like you said. Draw what I see.” She jerked her head toward Applejack. “Is, is that wrong? Do you want to make the map?!” She reached into her saddlebag, bringing out quill and paper, holding it out to Applejack.

“As near as Ah can figure, you got the right idea. 'Sides, Ah can't draw to save my life.” They stood at the edge of the forest a while longer. “...Don't really look too easy to get in there.” She stole a glance at the pony beside her, frowning. The frown deepened when she realized she was caught red hoofed. Fluttershy stared at the ground with an intense focus, blushing furiously. When it was clear she wasn't going to say anything, there seemed little choice but to explain.

“Look, Ah wanna make sure it's clear, there's nothin' wrong with you. But the fact is, you ain't as hardy as Ah am. All this brush is gonna be a struggle for me to get through. So, maybe we should just wander a bit, see if there's an easier way in?”

Fluttershy nodded sadly, and made some marks on the map. As they walked along the edge of the forest, something began to wear on Applejack's nerves. When she couldn't take it anymore, she spoke up.

“Aheh...Surprised you're doin' so well with the quiet. Ah mean, big forest like this...There oughta be a heap of critters in there, but Ah ain't heard a peep.” Fluttershy blinked at her a few times.

“Oh, of course not! You know how some creatures eat others?” She asked, frowning a little and wishing all of her friends could get along.

“...You're not implyin' somethin' ATE everything in there, are are ya?” Applejack asked, eyes wide and face quickly losing it's color.

“No, no! The opposite!” She told her excitedly, but quickly pulled back her enthusiasm as she continued. “I mean, um...There's no plants to hide behind on the beach...If something little came out here, something big could snap it right up, so none of the prey would risk coming out to the beach. And if there's no prey coming out here, the predators won't come here either.”

“Oh, Ah get it. So the critters should start showin' up once we get a little ways in?” Applejack relaxed, smiling at her.

“I-if there are any here. We might be all alone...” Fluttershy shivered at the thought. The very idea of being so completely, utterly alone was almost unthinkable, and yet she couldn't stop thinking it. It wasn't much longer before she felt a tug on her tail. Whipping around in a panic she saw Applejack standing there, Fluttershy's tail in her mouth.

“Off in your own little world, huh?” Fluttershy blushed and nodded. “Ah understand, but we should probably try to keep our wits about us. Anyway, Ah was sayin' Ah think we might be able to squeeze through here.” She nodded toward the forest, having found a place where the undergrowth was far less dense, and the trees a little further apart. Fluttershy looked at her map, then looked behind them. She wasn't too sure of the distance, but she could still see the ship, if only just barely. She quickly began making some marks based on her estimations of how far they'd gone when she was thinking, and the two ponies moved past the tree line.

The silence pounded against them, the only sounds either could make out coming from the other. As they moved forward, they found that the opening widened out, and the ground became a cleared path beneath them. If their friends were there, they'd all be able to make it through shoulder to shoulder. This thought came to both of them, and the silence pounded against them even harder than before as the reality of their situation reasserted itself. They were alone. Completely, undeniably alone.

Fluttershy jumped as a twig snapped under her hoof. “Applejack...? I really don't like this...”

“Rubs me the wrong way too, but there's no two ways about it. We gotta make it through this if we ever wanna get back to Ponyville. 'Sides, at least we got each other here.” She did her best to give Fluttershy a reassuring smile, and was thankful to see that it seemed to work.

They walked for what felt like hours, but there was no way to tell how long it really was. Neither felt like they had any right to stand up to the silence around them, as if it were some powerful ruler over this place, and the ponies were intruders to its realm, and with no conversation, no frame of reference, no sound for either of them but their own hoofbeats and the other's breathing, time seemed to lose its meaning. Fluttershy kept trying to update her map, but she was no cartographer, and it became harder and harder to convince herself she was doing it right.

Without warning, and startling her companion a bit, Applejack spun around, before breathing a sigh of relief. Fluttershy stared, befuddled.

“Uh, Sorry...Ah just...Ah wanted to make sure we were actually movin'...Ah half expected the beach to be right behind us.” As she turned back around, something caught her eye, a small parting in the brush, and something behind it. She ran across the path and tried to muscle her way through, finding herself a little too thick. Fluttershy watched in fear and confusion as the earth pony began unexpectedly driving her head into the bushes, frighteningly calm in her inexplicable attempts to uproot them. A lesser pony may have lashed out at the scrub from the maddening oppressive silence. A lesser pony would never have managed to clear the bushes as easily, as fast, perhaps even at all. When Applejack finally finished and stepped to the side, Fluttershy thanked the sun and moon that she wasn't here with a lesser pony.

A clearing stretched before them. No, more than a clearing, a beautiful meadow, filled with flowers and small bushes covered in berries. In the center of the meadow rested a glimmering pond, its surface so still that they couldn't be sure it wasn't made of glass until Applejack took a drink, motioning for Fluttershy to come and join her. Near the pond stood a solitary peach tree, granting them shade as they drank. This place was a miracle. With this pond, even if they had to journey so far with emptied water barrels, they might be able to keep themselves fed and hydrated longer than they even needed to be here.

Once they finished drinking, Fluttershy removed her saddlebags and they began adjusting the load, moving all the equipment she'd brought to one side, and beginning to fill the other side with peaches, berries, and a few bundles of the edible flowers. It would be a little heavy for Fluttershy to carry, so she quickly finished up her notes on the map that she'd been making, rolled it up, and set it in the bag. It wouldn't be hard to find their way back. The whole walk through the woods, they'd been heading west, so the compass would lead them to the beach. As Applejack began to put on the saddlebags, they were finally freed of the silence.

A loud, bellowing hoot echoed through the meadow. They both turned toward the perceived source, but the echo made it hard to pin down. They scanned at the dense forest surrounding the meadow, not seeing anything.

“That...That sounded like an owl...” Fluttershy said, unnerving Applejack with just how terrified the prospect seemed to be making her. “Like a really big, really angry owl...”

“Well, we'll just have to talk some sense into it, if it's as angry as all that.” She felt nearly as terrified as Fluttershy did, but she had complete faith in her fillyfriend.

All thoughts of negotiation fled their minds to make way for shock and terror as trees were torn down at the edge of the meadow, the sound of the snapping trunks being burried under another massive hoot. What they saw there, neither of them could've expected. It had the head of the owl, and there was no lack of feathers, but this thing could never be an owl. It was larger than any breed she'd ever seen, but there was no mistaking it, not with the experience that Fluttershy had. That was the body of a bear.

No creature like this had ever been known to Equestria. If there was ever any doubt that this place was built by Discord, it was erased by this needless, terrifying amalgamation slowly lumbering toward them. Fluttershy swallowed down her fear, watching it closely. It was angry, and it seemed to be trying, or rather, succeeding, at intimidating them, but this...thing was made of two kinds of animals she knew well. If she was lucky and careful, she might be able to talk their way out of this.

“Um, hello!” She spoke, her voice wavering despite her attempts to sound calm. “I'm very sorry if this is your territory...We simply didn't know. If you'd like, we can give you everything we've gathered, and we'll be on our way. Alright?” She smiled, her lips and cheeks trembling. The strange beast stared at her for a moment, before standing up on its hind legs and pulling its arm high above his head, claws glinting in the light. She ducked, her forelegs over her head. The beast roared as he brought his mighty arm down, and roared again, now in pain, as his swing was thrown off by a powerful buck to his side. Applejack rushed in front of him and tackled Fluttershy, knocking her away.

“Stay back!” She shouted, not taking her eyes off of the monster. “If ya can't convince him we ain't a threat, maybe Ah can convince him we're too big of one to handle!” Fluttershy stared on in shock, frozen on the spot.

The creature prepared for another swing, and once again was interrupted, the earth pony charging forward, ramming her head into its gut, causing it to double over. Before she could get back to her hooves, as the creature fell to its back, it raked its claws against her side, roaring in pain from her strike. Fluttershy watched nervously, her mind racing. Applejack might be strong and clever enough to stop this thing with brute force, but she was bleeding, and they didn't have many medical supplies. If they kept running into these things, there would be nothing left to patch either of them up before long.

Fluttershy felt her worries about supplies melting away, making room for much bigger fears as, before she recovered from the creature's strike, it wrapped its powerful arms around Applejack, squeezing the breath right out of her. Fluttershy couldn't move. She couldn't act. She could barely even think, but as their eyes met, as she saw the panic in Applejack, the pony she loved desperately trying to inhale, somewhere, in the back of her head, she heard a voice. Are you going to let her die? and immediately, the answer came to her.

The monster roared out in pain, Applejack tumbled to the ground gasping for air, and Fluttershy turned and fled, trying to spit out bits of the monster's fur. Enraged, the creature pursued her, quickly gaining ground. The creature was far faster than Fluttershy, but luckily, it wasn't faster than Applejack.

Catching up, she jumped forward, landing on it's back. She pivoted on a front hoof, swinging her hind legs out, and slamming both her rear hooves into the base of its skull, a terrible cracking sound exploding through the meadow. It tumbled to the ground, and she rolled off of it, bleeding and giving long, ragged breaths. Fluttershy rushed to her side, and they stared at the monster, each tense and ready to act if it managed to get back up.

Fluttershy shrieked in terror and leaped behind Applejack as the creature turned black, began melting down into into a thick, viscous fluid and seeping into the ground. They stared, stunned for a moment, before the scent of blood brought Fluttershy back to her senses. She yelped, and Applejack looked around, ready to defend them.

“Don't move! Don't move!!!!” Fluttershy told her, rushing to the saddlebags and digging out the medicine bag. She rushed to her wounded love. She quickly unscrewed a bottle and poured disinfectant over the cuts, trying not to let the gasp of pain she heard keep her from her work, watching the blood in the fur get rinsed away as the liquid foamed, dislodging any dirt or debris. She silently noted how lucky they were that the cuts, though wide, were not very deep. “I need to make sure it doesn't get infected, I'm sorry! I know it hurts!”

“None of that.” Applejack replied, gritting her teeth as she saw a needle and thread come out of the bag. “Ah trust you. Y'know what you're doin'.” She looked away, staring at the trees, trying to keep her focus somewhere besides her wounds. She inhaled sharply through clenched teeth as the needle began moving through her skin.

“Just...just a moment. I'll be done very soon, I promise.” Fluttershy finished stitching the wound. “Alright...all done.” A piece of gauze and some tape, and Applejack was ready to move. Fluttershy pushed her head under the earth pony and helped her to her hooves. “Do you need help walking?”

“It's my side, not my legs...” She answered, rolling her eyes. “All the same, thanks...Ah don't know how Ah coulda made it through that without you chompin' into his hind.” Fluttershy turned bright red.

“...I...I don't even know what came over me...I just...I had to stop him...”

“And you did.” Applejack reassured her, putting a foreleg over her shoulders. “Now come on. Sun's startin' to set. We should get the gear together and head back to the ship.”

Fluttershy rushed forward, intending to carry the saddlebags herself, but tripped over something. Applejack moved carefully over to her and helped her up.

“What'd y'slip on?” She began checking the ground, finding a jar of green fluid. “...Ain't this where that thingy vanished?” She asked, looking around at the grass, before lifting the jar and examining it. “'Discord brand healing tonic...Apply sparingly by hoof for bruises and cuts, gently rubbing into affected area. Drink for internal bleeding and broken bones.'...Um...” Fluttershy snagged the jar from her, removed the bandages, and gently rubbed some of the liquid onto her scratches. The stitches fell free through some sort of magic and the wounds vanished before her eyes. She felt so stupid. If she had just checked the area first, she could've saved Applejack so much pain, and she could've saved the supplies as well.

“Ah know what you're thinkin'.” Applejack told her, snapping her out of her worries. “What's done is done. Ah still say you did good. Now let's pack it up and head back.” Fluttershy nodded, adding the jar to the medical kit, replacing the kit in the saddlebags, and putting them on herself. “Fluttershy, Ah'm all healed up. Ah can take the bags.”

“I...I'm sorry, Applejack, but you still lost blood,” She told her, looking away. “Please...” Applejack nodded after a moment. She didn't feel weaker, but this really didn't seem like it was worth arguing over. They began the trek back to the ship, Applejack keeping her tail under one of the bags to help with the weight. The trip that felt like it took hours before was only about twenty minutes on the way back.

“Seemed a lot longer on the way in, didn't it?” Applejack was answered by empty silence. She looked over to find the wingless pegasus taking strained breaths, apparently doing her best to keep from being audible. “You're sure Ah can't carry some of the load?”

“I...um...I...” Her steps sped up a little. She was determined to keep the burden to herself. Applejack sighed, slipped her tail under the harness, and moved the saddlebags to her own back. “Sorry...” Fluttershy whimpered.

“No call for apologizin'. Come on.” She led the march up onto the deck of the ship, and down into the hold. They unpacked the food they'd gathered and began eating, making the hay that was already on board the bulk of their meal.

After dinner, they rinsed the sweat from their fur with some of their water. Applejack really didn't mind the sweat, but it wasn't as if they didn't have a way to refill, even if it wasn't going to rain, and when she saw Fluttershy cleaning up, she decided it was the polite thing to do.

After being fed, cleaned, and dried, the ponies headed up to the deck and through the door of the cabin. Applejack entered the dark room first, the light from the moon and stars barely making it past the threshold. Both ponies moved slowly, Fluttershy taking the time to make sure the door was locked behind them. They edged forward, thankful that the room was so wide and empty, holding only the large bed.

Applejack closed her eyes, nestling in under the covers. She heard a quiet whimpering from the other side of the bed. “Fluttershy? What's wrong?” She rolled over to face her, even though she still couldn't see her in the darkness. The crying stopped, and silence followed. “...D'you mind if Ah talk about somethin' botherin' me?” The silence returned when she finished her question. “Here goes...” She took a breath to gather her thoughts. “You've been seemin' more nervous 'round me than you used to, ever since we got together. Ah figured Ah could just wait it out, but...Ah don't want you feelin' like y'can't talk to me. There's nopony else here, and sometimes stuff just has to come out. Ah'm worried about you.” More silence was the reply. She sighed and laid her head back down against the pillow. She had almost fallen asleep when Fluttershy finally spoke.

“I'm scared...” It was barely above a whisper. Applejack blinked a few times, not entirely sure if she'd actually heard anything at all. She heard it again, though, a bit clearer this time.

“Ah'm scared too. This ain't no place for two ponies to be tryin' to live.”

“No...I mean...I'm scared I'll say something wrong, or do something I'm not supposed to, and...when this...when we got together, I was so happy... I don't want to do something wrong and ruin it...” It was clear by her voice she was crying, and Applejack had to struggle to keep from reaching over to wipe tears away and risking punching Fluttershy if she misjudged the distance in the dark.

“Ah don't want it ruined either, but Ah don't think it will be. Not if you relax a little and enjoy it, at least. Ah'm not gonna turn my back on you for an honest mistake, Ah know that much... Ah like bein' with you, and Ah like spendin' time with you. Ah love you, Fluttershy. That ain't somethin' especially easy to change.”

She felt the bed shifting, the other pony moving closer. She felt the warmth of the other pony, and pulled her into a hug. In the dark of night, she heard her fillyfriend whisper, calm and content, “I love you too, Applejack.”

“....So what were y'cryin' over?”

“...I miss my wings...” Applejack hugged her a little tighter, and the two ponies fell asleep.

Author's Note

So, toned down Applejack's accent, as was suggested. And with this chapter completed, I can reveal that Discord is not going to be in this very much. The reason for him on the character tags is more that, even without his presence, his influence is the main factor of this story. Or, at least, that's how the plan looks now. I don't know, I might have him pop in from time to time. Got some rough ideas of where to take this, but nothing's totally concrete, even after I publish it.

Chapter 3

Fluttershy awoke, startled, to the mighty peal of thunder. Applejack awoke to a frightened pony squeezing her just a little too tight. The droning of rain against wood filled the room. Applejack stood and stretched, sighing with satisfaction as her joints popped. “Ah guess it rains here after all.” She said with a grin, grabbing her hat. Fluttershy jumped up and hurried to her side as thunder once more cracked through the air. Applejack leaned over to nuzzle her reassuringly before stepping outside. As hard as it was raining, it didn't seem to bother her as she went below deck and began trying to tackle the puzzle of how to collect water in a barrel that she couldn't get out of the hold without spilling.

“W-we could just take it upstairs when it's empty...Or take it to the pond we found if it's not raining...” Fluttershy offered from behind her. Applejack smiled, a little impressed at how she'd managed to sneak up behind her.

“Ah suppose. There's plenty down here, we've only gotten a little into a barrel...Maybe Ah can set somethin' up though...” She stared at the tools, thinking.

“W-well, maybe we shouldn't do much today...We'd be in a lot of trouble if we got sick from working in the rain...” Applejack considered this, and nodded.

“Well, at any rate, we oughta eat some breakfast.” She gathered a rather large amount of food and put it into a saddle bag with a lantern before they headed back to the cabin. They shook themselves as dry as they could, but the water still clung to their coats, a deep chill starting to penetrate them both. “...Ah've never wanted a fireplace so bad in my life.” She said, looking around the room at all the flammable material it was made out of. The lantern came to life with a little work, and a hook on the wall helped it fill the room with a pale light. She set out some of the food she'd brought and settled onto the floor, Fluttershy following suit.

Leaning forward, Fluttershy took a mouth full of hay, trying to keep her jaw steady as she shivered. She paused mid-chew, growing red as she felt pressure on her side. She didn't have to look. She knew what had happened, and she certainly appreciated it, leaning against Applejack eagerly. It wasn't a drastic improvement, both bodies soaked in the same cold water, but, no matter how little, it was helping. She finally swallowed.

“Thank you...” She said quietly, before going in for another bite. Water ran out of their fur slowly as they ate. They were still damp when they finished, but they decided to move to another spot on the floor, and Applejack pulled their blanket down off the bed, onto their bodies.

“If y'get hungry...Ah brought more food up. In case the storm don't stop before lunch...or dinner.”

“Alright...” Fluttershy replied quietly, adjusting herself. She nuzzled Applejack, then frowned as she pulled back, noticing her damp hair sticking to the farmer's cheek. She began to apologize, but didn't find a chance before Applejack returned her affection. They listened to the rain, the constant sound comforting, even in the dimly lit room, even with a chill in their bodies from the water. Silently, they watched the water gather against the small portholes, obscuring what little light there was in the storm. The day wore on as the rain continued. Eventually Applejack stood up, Fluttershy jumping up to join her.

“Oh, uh, Ah'm just stretchin' out. Been layin' on the floor too long...Startin' to get stiff.” She put her front legs on the bed and slid her rear hooves back behind her, giving a satisfied grunt as she stretched. Fluttershy observed until she noticed the thoughts this called to the back of her head, and quickly turned away, her cheeks tinged red. She didn't feel particularly stiff, but decided it couldn't hurt to do...well, anything. She trotted around the room a little, and then paused by the saddlebags full of food.

“Are you ready for lunch?” She asked, her small smile looking fragile as ever, belying the true strength of her will. Applejack nodded, staring at her face a little, an off-center smirk on her own lips. They ate their lunch together, and finally both felt dry enough to let themselves onto the bed. They lay under the covers, staring across the gentle light of the lantern on the floor and walls.

“Ah know we wanna get home as soon as we can, but...Ah gotta say...Ah don't mind wasting a day shut in with you.” Applejack said, blushing a little. There hadn't been much conversation, but they hadn't really felt like there needed to be any to begin with. Fluttershy rested her cheek on Applejack's neck.

“I...” She struggled to put her thoughts into words, to make the words come out. “I don't think we wasted it...” Applejack smiled, and pulled back a bit, Fluttershy blinking as she found two bright green eyes staring into her own.

It was gentle, tender, and it only lasted a moment, but the kiss still stole the breath from Fluttershy's lungs, and from the look of things, Applejack had been similarly stricken, even though she was the one doing the kissing. Maybe that was why it felt so different from the one on Sweet Apple Acres, that first day, when they became a couple. No, that wasn't it. It was because it wasn't spontaneous. It wasn't panicked. It was gentle, it was tender, and it only lasted for a moment, but something about the kiss felt so...real. The rain tapered off against the cabin as the minutes passed, both of them still reeling from such a simple expression of their affection.

“S-sounds like the storm's lettin' up...” Applejack said, looking toward a wall, trying to regain her composure and keep from doing something she'd regret if it happened too soon. Oddly, Fluttershy resting against her seemed to help her goals. She would've thought her mind would grow even more muddled from the contact, but it was so...soothing.

Fluttershy felt so safe. Even when she was happy she was usually at least a little scared, but Applejack was strong, and not just physically. There was nothing to be afraid of in this room after what Applejack told her last night...This pony loved her, and that wouldn't be easy to change. It may not have meant much if somepony else had told her, but Applejack was honest. More than that, Applejack was Honesty. Fluttershy felt there was nothing in her to doubt, and even in this strange land, she didn't have to worry about how she acted, about how she carried herself. Not anymore.

The rain stopped falling, and they headed outside, Fluttershy tying the blanket and sheets to a rope by their corners to let them dry a bit. Applejack seemed to be in a hurry to get down onto the island. “Where are we going?” Fluttershy asked, worrying.

“Ah just want to look around for a good spot ta get started buildin'.” Applejack answered, moving closer to the tree line and looking around.

“Building?”

“Nothin' too big, but...We've got enough tools...Why should we be stuck in a boat if Ah can build us a house?”

“You can build a house?”

“Well, Ah think so. Ah've built barns before. Chicken coops. Dog house for Winona...Anyway, if we bring our bed down, and it's got four walls, a roof, a firepit and a chimney, and a short walk to the ship, Ah'll be happy.” She gave a cocky grin and Fluttershy answered with a meek smile.

They wandered around, looking for a nice patch of ground. “It's nothing but sand all the way up to the trees...C-can you build a house on sand?”

“Uh...Ain't never tried it. Ah don't think so, though...”

“W-Well, we need wood anyway, right?”

“...Yeah. We could take some trees for lumber, set the house down right where they were.” Applejack headed inside and came out with an ax, a saw, and a shovel.

“C-can I help?” Fluttershy asked, smiling. Applejack nodded and held out the ax in her teeth. Fluttershy bit down on the handle, but when Applejack released it, she began to fall forward, the weight far more than she expected. She quickly steadied herself and followed Applejack to the edge of the forest. The earth pony nodded at a tree. The pegasus swung her neck back with the ax to take a swing, and found herself thrown to the ground by the weight and momentum.

“...Hang on.” Applejack replied, tail through the handle of the saw. She rapidly sawed at a tree, then stepped aside once she had gotten a good channel going. “Alright, you take over here, and Ah'll handle the ax, ok?” Fluttershy nodded, frowning. “Look, gettin' a saw goin' ain't easy if you ain't sawed nothin' before. Now we're each on a tree, and it'll go faster. Don't worry. You're pullin' your weight.” She told her with a tender smile. Fluttershy's face softened a bit as she relaxed. She looped her tail through the handle of the saw as Applejack had, and began pushing and pulling. “Long, slow strokes. Only gotta go fast at the beginnin'. Let me know when yer almost through, an' Ah'll kick it down.”

“I shouldn't just saw it down?”

“If Ah kick it down, we'll know exactly which way it's gonna fall.” Fluttershy took a moment to consider this. She then considered sawing a tree all the way through with no idea where it would land. With her right next to it. And Applejack right next to it. For one of only a hoof-full of times, she found a solution to a fear before the fear made itself known, and resumed sawing, thankful for her fillyfriend's foresight. Applejack sauntered over to the ax, tossed it up with her tail, caught it in mid air with the same appendage, and spun her body around, driving it deep into the wood.

The trees were thin, and fell easily. The sun fell from the sky, and they gathered up their tools and returned to the ship, putting them back in the hold, grabbing some dinner, cleaning themselves up, and heading up to the deck to take the sheets and blanket down from their makeshift clothesline. Applejack paused, looking up at the moon.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, moving beside her.

“Oh, nothin'...Just wonderin'.” She dismissed the thoughts in her head, and gave Fluttershy a smile.

“Wondering about what?” Fluttershy pressed gently with the question.

“...Who's movin' that?” Applejack asked, pointing at the moon. “Who moved the sun down, who brought that moon out?”

“I don't know...” Fluttershy answered, staring up at the sky. “It's a beautiful moon, though.”

Applejack nodded, then leaned over and nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek. They spent a silent moment staring at the night sky, then headed back inside, made up the bed, and went to sleep.

They resumed their work in the morning, and continued for over a week, making occasional trips to the meadow to restock food. Somewhere in the midst of all of this, Applejack found time to make a funnel with a lid and some wooden piping from the deck to the hold to refill the water barrels.

In the end, heir house was small, but well crafted, and had everything Applejack had wanted. A place for a fire, a place for the smoke to go, their bed, and a short walk over to the ship for supplies.

Applejack opened the door, and paused half way inside.

“Applejack? What's wrong?” Fluttershy asked, frowning. Applejack turned around, blushing hard.

“Ain't WRONG, just...Ah didn't think we'd be doin' this so soon. Ah mean, it just kind of clicked...we got our own house together. And while that's somethin' I wanted down the road...” The contagious blush spread itself to Fluttershy's face. Applejack finally went inside, and Fluttershy followed. It was smaller than the ship's cabin, and it didn't have any windows, but it would certainly be more comfortable on cold nights and stormy days.

They settled in. They weren't about to stop trying to get out of this place, but there was something special about this little one room house, and they were going to spend this day enjoying it. They'd get back to work tomorrow, but today, they just wanted to rest, and appreciate the fruits of not only a job well done, but a job done well together.

In the morning, they began toward the meadow, but for the first time since discovering it, they didn't break off from the path that they'd found in the forest. They kept moving forward, feeling discomfort at the idea of changing their regular route. After a short while, the path stopped being straight. They followed it deeper and deeper into the woods, wondering if it ever went anywhere at all. As they continued onward, they heard the telltale signs of wild life, but as the twists and turns became more and more rapid, the sounds ceased, and they nearly tripped over themselves when they finally rounded the last corner.

“...What do you think?” Applejack asked, hesitantly staring out at the lack of trees, and the broken, worn down buildings that replaced them.

“I....I think this is what we're looking for...” Fluttershy replied. “R-Ruins and temples, right?” Applejack nodded. Fluttershy pulled out the inkwell.

“What's that for?” Applejack asked, confused.

“W-we want to check the buildings, right? I mean...if we're going to find a way out?”

“Can't think of what else we'd do with 'em... So?”

“There's not that many, but... I thought we could...um...nevermind...” She began to put the inkwell back into her saddlebag.

“Nuh uh. Tell me.” Applejack told her, a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, giving her a nuzzle. Fluttershy blushed in response, and felt all the more confident from the encouragement.

“We could mark the doorways we've been through...so we know we're not checking a room, or even a whole building, twice...”

“Good thinkin'!” Fluttershy beamed under the praise, and they began exploring, every door they passed through being stamped with ink applied to the bottom of a hoof. This place was clearly meant to be a town, and they almost felt guilty wandering around empty houses, but there were no ponies here beside the two of them, and there never had been. Discord had created this place to seem like it had been inhabited. That's all there was to it.

While Fluttershy kept her discerning eyes open for any sort of clue, Applejack began to fill her saddlebags with anything that might be useful to them. Among such items was a completed map of the island, and when she was shown this discovery, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief that she didn't have to worry about cartography anymore, although it also dealt a small blow to her pride, showing her just how incredibly wrong she'd gotten so many things.

They'd nearly checked half the buildings when they finally came across one with a stark difference to all the others: the presence of a basement. They went down the stairs, and immediately returned to the surface, grabbing a candle to try again with a light source. The stairs ended just before a door, but it seemed to be locked. As Applejack kicked at it, she rattled dust loose from its surface, and Fluttershy stopped her from trying again. She blew the dust away, regretting it as she coughed. The door bore an inscription, and a line to write upon beneath it.

“'To find the target that you seek, hurry up to catch a peak.'” Fluttershy began reading. “'To great heights you must aspire, deep within, stone burns as fire.' I...uh...”

Applejack stared at the riddle with her. “Somethin' don't look right...” Fluttershy nodded. They read it over and over again, trying to come up with an answer. The candle burned down and Applejack went to get a new one.

“'Hurry up to catch a peak'...a peek at what?” She pondered as she waited for AJ's return. Then it hit her. “Peek's spelled wrong!” She said loudly, startling herself, and the pony right behind her, bringing their newer light source.“I mean, it's spelled right, but not like peeking at something!”

“...Like the peak of a mountain!” Applejack smiled widely. “That's gotta be it!”

“It's all there! If it's a volcano, there's melted rock in it, and we have to go to great heights!” She quickly wrote the word 'Mountain' on the door, and it swung open slowly, the hinges groaning in protest to their achievement.

The room they found themselves in was well lit, and Applejack set the candle aside. There were only two things inside, a large chest against the back wall, and a table in the middle of the room. As they approached the table, they found a model of their island on it.

“There's the mountain...Wait, there's this village. If we're so darn close to a mountain, shouldn't we be able to see it?” Applejack asked, furrowing her brow. They hadn't caught a glimpse of a mountain since they'd arrived, but by this model's scale, it was only a short distance from the ruins. Fluttershy looked around, and approached the chest.

“It's locked...” she said quietly, inspecting it. “There's a picture on the lock, but...no numbers...no key hole...”

“What's the picture?” Applejack asked, leaving Fluttershy a little surprised to learn that she'd been speaking loud enough to hear.

“A-a mountain...” she said, still recovering from the surprise, and feeling more than a little self conscious about her mumbling as she approached. They stared at the model of the island, and Fluttershy pulled out the map they found. There wasn't a mountain on it. Just more forest.

Applejack rubbed her chin. “Ah think you'd be better at figurin' out why this is down here...Ah'm gonna try to get that chest open.” She walked over to it, stared at it intently, then spun around and kicked it quick and hard. The lock broke apart, and she lifted the lid. “...All just keeps comin' back to the mountain...” She sighed, as she began gathering up the horse shoes with hooks on the bottoms, the harnesses, and all the gear they'd need to get up their nonexistant mountain.

Fluttershy stared at the model. “The map's of the island, but the island and the map don't have a mountain here...” She muttered to herself. “Maybe it's supposed to be somewhere else...” She reached in to grab the mountain, and try to find somewhere else to put it. The moment her hoof made contact, the whole island began to tremble. She stared, eyes wide as the map changed to match what happened outside, and the model faded out of existence. On the floor, a click was heard as the broken lock opened itself.

The ponies stared at each other for a moment before hurrying upstairs, outside, and into the shadow of a small but formidable mountain, steep inclines and cliffs all the way around, completely flat on the top.

“...So we just had to touch it? Why didn't we try that sooner?” Applejack wondered aloud. “Well, least now we know where to go. How's about it, Fluttershy?” She asked, smiling. “Climb a mountain together in a few days?” Fluttershy stared at her, eyes wide, blushing with humiliation.

“I'll try to do better this time...” She finally replied, casting her eyes down and frowning a little. Applejack watched her, the gears turning in her head. It didn't take long for it to click. She remembered their last trip up a mountain together, dragging her up by her tail while the others waited.

“Ah don't mind so much, long as we can make it up together.” She hugged her gently, and they began heading home. “Ah figure we'll come back tomorrow, pick up some more stuff, and then maybe try to head up the mountain the day after.”

“Alright...I hope it only takes one day...” She sighed as they headed back to their home. They unpacked in the hold of the ship, had something to eat, and headed back to their little home.

Fluttershy awoke in the darkness. Applejack snored softly beside her, and the morning light wasn't creeping in under the door. “Woke up so early...” She mumbled to herself, and nuzzled in closer to Applejack, listening to her snore and sighing happily. “Worth it...” She added, listening peacefully to the sounds until she finally dozed off again.

Two days later, Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut and curled her legs in against her body, whimpering, desperately wishing she were back in bed, warm and safe.

“Come on, sugarcube. We're goin' up together, right?” She asked. She wasn't sure if Fluttershy was nodding, or just shaking at the prospect of scaling the face of a mountain. “Y'gotta stick yer legs out. Y'know you'll be safer if we can get this harness on you. Here, Ah'll put your helmet on first.” Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut as she heard the chin strap click together. Slowly and shakily, one after another, her legs extended out and the harness slipped over them.

“H-how do you know how to do this?” She asked, trying desperately to keep her mind off of her terror.

“Me an' Rainbow go climbin' sometimes. We don't usually have enough free time, so it ain't often, but it's usually a good time. Least, better than Ah first thought it'd be.” She adjusted the tightness of the harness and ran a rope through it, tethering them together, and each of them wore a set of horse shoes. Finally, she began giving her a rundown of their equipment, and how they were going to get from the ground to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, this proved unnecessary, as she had to go to her fallback plan.

“I'm sorry!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Sug, it's fine, but Ah kinda need to focus, and Ah'd be mighty grateful if'n you could stop apologizin'.” Fluttershy whimpered a bit as she dangled from her fillyfriend, unable to force her hooves to reach out to the face of the mountain. “Just focus on bein' careful about swingin' around. You're doin' great so far.”

Fluttershy flopped onto her side tiredly once they made their way up onto an outcropping. What confused her was her own exhaustion, when Applejack just looked...alive. Out of breath, but full of energy. The farmer sat down next to her, grinning. “Is...Is there anything I can do to help?” She asked, feeling so very weary.

“Sure!” Applejack smiled, prying off her shoes until they'd be needed again. “Open up yer saddlebag and pass me one of those bottles.” Fluttershy hurried to comply, understanding now why Applejack had brought so many empty glass bottles back from the village. Applejack bit down on the cork, yanked it out, and cradled it in her tail as she took several deep swigs of the water, letting out a satisfied gasp as she moved to plug the cork back in. She paused, however. “Y'want any?” She offered, grinning. Fluttershy accepted it and drank a little, a shy smile on her lips. She plugged the bottle back up, and set it in the saddlebag. When she looked up from this, she saw Applejack near the edge.

“A-Applejack?” She slowly sidled up to her. “What are you doing?” She nervously peered over the edge, then jumped back, clenching her eyes shut. Applejack moved over to her, put a hoof around her shoulders, and gently guided her back.

“Don't look down. Look out. Look at what's in front of ya, not what's under ya.” She told her, sweeping a foreleg in front of her in front of herself for emphasis. Fluttershy swallowed audibly, trembling a little. She slowly opened her eyes, staring out at the glorious view that the island provided for them.

“It's so beautiful...” She looked down at her hooves, blushing, before realizing she could see down the edge of the cliff and backing up a bit. “S-sorry...” With her guilt, she couldn't look up to meet Applejack's gentle smile.

“Not a problem. Let me know when you're ready to get back to climbin', ok?” She stepped away from the edge and nuzzled Fluttershy comfortingly, burrying her face in that soft, pink mane. Fluttershy sighed and leaned in against the nuzzling. She then slowly got to her hooves.

“I...I think I'm ready...” Applejack nodded firmly, checked their equipment, slipped her shoes back on, and began scaling the cliff face. She paused and looked down at Fluttershy, who seemed to be mumbling something over and over, staring away from the outcropping. After a moment, she made out the words as her own advice, being repeated. “Don't look down, look out... Don't look down, look out...” Applejack smiled at her with love in her eyes, then turned back upward, continuing their ascent, letting Fluttershy's new mantra keep her at a steady rhythm.

By the end of their climb, they were both tired, thirsty, and Applejack was aching. No additional outcroppings had been found, and no more rest was available on their way up. Fluttershy quickly supplied them both with some water, her own throat dry from her relentless chanting. Once they'd rehydrated, they turned their eyes to their goal. A large, foreboding structure stood on the flat surface before them.

“Reckon,” Applejack began, forcing herself up into a sitting position with a grunt, “That's one of them temples he mentioned...” Fluttershy nodded, frowning.

“I wonder what's in there...” The pegasus asked, trembling a little. Applejack stood up, stretching her muscles, and shaking the weariness out of her head.

“Doesn't matter. Whatever it is, we gotta deal with it.”

Author's Note

You know, I realized about a quarter of the way into this chapter, while also working on ideas for future ones, there's going to be a lot of games that I'm drawing inspiration from. I mean, the previous chapter, there was an owlbear as a random encounter, that's pretty obviously DnD inspired even though I've never done much tabletop gaming. Of course, it was meant to be pretty obvious.

But once they started building their home, a one room shack with a bed in it, I realized I was drawing from minecraft. that's always my first priority in a new world. build something with a bed and a door. everything else comes later. after that, without realizing it, I continued using minecraft to write. it hit me later that exploring a town and leaving hoofprints wasn't too far removed from exploring tunnels and leaving a cobblestone block.

Chapter 4

Applejack clapped her hooves together, knocking the dust off of them. Only a few steps inside and they'd been accosted by what appeared to be a rock face, around the size of their heads, with four legs and a desire to bite. It was now only a small mound of dust and rubble.

The ponies took a moment to take in their surroundings, the building much bigger on the inside than the outside. Everything seemed to tower around them. Massive, uneven pillars rose to the ceiling all down the wide corridor. The constant deep red hue of the stone making it seem as if the entire temple had been carved out from a single rock. Torches lined the walls, offering them visibility almost as an afterthought, with no windows in the entire structure.

With determination overcoming trepidation, they both moved forward, the door sliding shut behind them. Fluttershy shook with fear and turned around to begin pushing against the door, shoving at it with everything her dainty muscles had. “Oh no! Oh no, oh no!” Her voice seemed to be soaked into the door, but echoing off of everything else.

Applejack grabbed her by the tail and tugged her away from the wall. “Come on, Fluttershy...Ah think Ah know how we're gonna get outta here, and it ain't by goin' back the way we came...” Away from the door, the echo was far more powerful, causing them both to flinch a little.

Fluttershy slowly stopped her attempts to open the door, then shakily turned toward the earth pony, nodding weakly. “L-let's go...” Despite the strength she'd tried to put into her words, she didn't move until she was sure Applejack was moving first.

Every hoof-fall echoed loudly, sounds flying off of the cavernous red rock, bounding outward from the impact, thundering off the walls, the ceiling, growing ever louder and throwing themselves back at the ponies who made them. In this constant, rhythmic din, neither of them heard the sound of rocks scraping together, until the source came into view.

Fluttershy saw the creature first, finding herself between it and Applejack. It was another rock, like the one they'd encountered when they first entered. Angry, almost certainly blind eyes were carved into it, and the only part of its face that seemed functional was its thrashing jaw. Four legs of stone quickly moved as she yelped. The appendages coiled then sprung, managing to effortlessly launch the rock face into the air.

Something warm and soft wrapped around Fluttershy's front hoof, yanking it out from under her. She fell under the arc of the stone's attack as Applejack threw her hoof into its path, cracking it deeply and throwing it back. It fell against the wall hard enough to finish the job AJ's hoof had started, and crumbled into a pile of dust.

Fluttershy stayed down, shaking, until that soft warmth returned, that golden tail working under her and gently guiding her back to her hooves. “Y'alright, sugarcube?” The words flew through the temple and collapsed around them. Fluttershy just offered a silent nod, still shaking a little. They resumed walking, trying desperately to hear past the echoes for any sound of an attacker.

The sound waves caused loose stone to fall, small pebbles falling and dropping down from the ceiling. Each time, they'd stop and turn toward the source, silent and still for a moment. Half a dozen times, this happened, but on the sixth, just as Fluttershy began her sigh of relief, Applejack grunted in pain, sharp, stone teeth digging into her tail.

She turned hard, whipping her tail, surprised to feel it thud against the pillar beside her with no crack of stone smashing against stone. Her eyes shifted as she heard Fluttershy scream. The creature had released her tail the moment she began to move, and was now targeting the easier prey. Applejack lunged and brought both her front hooves down on top of it, filling the air with red dust and covering the ground with a small mound of rubble. The panicked pegasus took frantic, shuddering breaths, her scream still resounding loudly through the massive hall. The sound drew attention.

Applejack stared, jaw slack and eyes shrunk to fearful pinpricks, as no less than thirty of the stone heads began sliding down off walls, filling the corridor in front of them. “Stay behind me!” She shouted forcefully, panic in her voice.

Fluttershy didn't need any more urging than that. She dashed behind Applejack, trembling. She wanted to do something to help, but if she fought, she'd surely just get in Applejack's way.

Think, Applejack! Think! They ain't too sturdy an' they can't see, but they're quick, they're clever, and they're comin' this way...Alright, they know to let go when Ah'm about ta slam 'em into somethin' with my tail...Well, how about if I don't let 'em let go? She stuck her head into her saddlebag, emerging with eyes full of confidence and mouth full of rope. She pulled her neck back, then jerked it forward, building up momentum and throwing forth the lasso, catching one of the stone faces. She jerked back, then down, lifting it and slamming it into the ground, shattering it. If this kept up, she could take out the bulk of them before they were close enough to be a threat.

The lasso tightened around a second rock creature, but this time, when she tried to pull it into the air, only tattered rope came back. “Dagnabbit...” She said under her breath. Her mind began reeling, looking for any kind of plan. Alright, so they can cooperate. And bite through rope. And we didn't bring an awful lot of it... Ah wonder if the temple'll fall if'n Ah knock one of the pillars on them... best not to risk it... She stared at them, and lowered her head, dragging her hoof against the floor. Ah guess that just leaves one option... She charged forward, slamming her hoof into the first one to come into reach, knocking it into the one behind it, leaving the first crumbled, and the second, cracked. She turned as quickly as she could, and bucked hard, sending two of them flying back through the rows of enemies. A hoof full of them were broken, beaten, and gone.

Fluttershy hated conflict. She detested confrontation, she abhorred violence. And yet, even though she felt terrified by the violence, upset by the destruction, she couldn't help but feel entranced by Applejack's strength and skill. She started to feel safer. She started to feel confident. Until she noticed the blood.

Applejack struggled to keep fighting, coughing and squinting. Every time she smashed one of these things, more dust filled the air, choking her, obscuring her vision. She was slowing down, and they were taking advantage of her weakness. Jagged stone teeth left shallow punctures in her skin. Powerful tackles from stone beings bruised her. They battered her. But they would not beat her.

She took every hit they managed to land, every bite that met its mark, and kept swinging. Her lungs heaved with powerful coughs, her eyes watered, full of debris, and her hooves were beginning to chip and crack from the fighting. Can't give up...WON'T give up! Ah can't slow down! She fought. She fought as hard as her body would allow, and then defied her body and pushed herself even harder. Come on, AJ, get through this....Y'know what they call an Apple that gives up on a job half way through? She punched, the lashed with her tail to pull her weight back and regain balance, and she punched again. With one last kick, she stood alone, Fluttershy the only other being standing, moving, in the hallway. She felt weak, tired, and sore, but mostly, she felt triumphant. They don't call 'em nothin', cuz there ain't no such thing.

Fluttershy rushed over to her. She looked horrified at what had become of her lover. Her coat and hair were stained red from the dust matted onto her coat with sweat, and worse, with blood. She coughed hard and deep, lungs clogged, and she could barely open her eyes. “H-here! Please, drink some...just a little...they were hitting you so hard!” She offered up the bottle of healing tonic. Applejack's hoof reached out, missing the first time, but catching it the second. She took a swig, grimacing at the horrible, bitter taste, gagging on it. But after a moment, there were no more wounds, no bruises would form, and she could swear that rib she didn't even know was cracked had mended.

The dust vanished from her eyes, and from her lungs. She smiled, relaxing, until she realized how little of the miraculous fluid was left. She frowned as she returned the bottle to Fluttershy, her coat still filled with damp dust and streaks of blood.

“How...How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked quietly, concern heavy on her face and in her voice.

“...Guilty that we only got enough left for one more emergency...but, Ah feel healthy. Even cleared my eyes and throat...” She replied, keeping her voice just above a whisper in an attempt to keep from waking any more of the creatures. They moved forward slowly, with a sense of caution that bordered on paranoia, but it seemed to be for naught. No more of the creatures revealed themselves. They finally reached the end of their corridor, to find two doors, one inscribed with apples, the other with butterflies. Panicked whispers flooded forth from Fluttershy.

“Oh no...Oh no! Do we have to split up!? I don't think I can make it through here without you...” Applejack didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't too sure of how well Fluttershy would do without her, either.

“Well, maybe we ain't gotta?” She put her hoof on her door, which began glowing. “Touch yours.” Fluttershy nodded, and the moment she touched it, they both opened, revealing an inky, unnatural darkness. Applejack moved toward her, and both slammed shut. “...There goes that idea...Look, we don't know that there's anything that'll hurt us past here...And we don't got food, and we don't got another way out. If you're attacked, Ah want you to run, but if it's nothin' tryin' to hurt us, Ah know you can make it through. Alright? We just...We gotta hope Discord wouldn't split us up just to give us somethin' we can't handle...”

Fluttershy swallowed audibly, her fear making her shake, but this was the only way they'd make it out of here. She put a trembling hoof to her door, and nodded at Applejack. Once they both opened, they each stepped through the threshold, trying to prepare themselves for anything. The darkness surrounded each of them, but quickly faded, yielding to light borne of an indeterminable source.

CHALLENGE: APPLEJACK----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack looked around, confused by the empty chamber. “Hello?” She called. The echo wasn't horribly beating back against her like the hallway. “Why'd he want us splittin' up, if there's nothin' here but another door?” She looked around, confused. She slowly walked forward, past the center of the room. “Ah hope Fluttershy's havin' as easy a time past her door...”

“Course she is! She's the smart one.” Applejack whipped around at the voice behind her, staring into her own face. After an instinct-fueled moment wherein her hoof passed right through the other Applejack's face, she stepped back, examining the false pony.

“What kinda game is this?” She gave the fake a skeptical eye.

“The only game is the one YOU'RE playin'. Y'still think y'can call yerself the Element of Honesty?” The doppleganger circled her, looking down on her like a predator as the true pony lowered herself in a defensive stance.

“The hay you talkin' about?”

“Ah'm TALKIN' bout you pretendin' to be what yer not.” Applejack blinked at this.

“Alright, this conversation's endin'.” She stood up straight and began toward the exit of the room, finding it locked.

“When's the last time y'said 'y'all'?” Applejack froze, about to buck the door.

“Beggin' yer pardon?”

“Y'didn't even know y'were doin' it? That's just sad...Ya hide yer accent ever since you two started datin'. Because deep down, yer scared. And why shouldn't you be? What beautiful, smart pony could ever love an ignorant, backwards farmer?” Another hoof passed right through her phony pony face. “See? Ignorant. First y'try ignorin' yer problem, like y'all can just leave 'em behind. But the door's locked, sugarcube. Now yer tryin' ta use violence t'get the problem t'go away. No wonder she's pretendin' she loves you. She's 'fraid of you turnin' yer hooves on her.”

“SHUT UP!” She tried to punch her again. And again, and again, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

“She don't love you. If she loves ANYTHING, it's the pony you've been pretendin' t'be.”

“I AIN'T PRETENDIN'!”

“Then yer fergettin' Granny, an' Apple Bloom, an' Big Mac, and everythin' you come from...” She shook her head, disappointed. “Leavin' behind yer roots, fergettin' EVERYTHING that made y'all who you are.” Applejack stared at the fake, gears turning in her head.

“...No...” She squeezed the tears from her eyes, a smile on her face. “No, Ah ain't forgot nothin'...much as a pony comes from her family, she comes from her friends, too. An' if Ah'm not the pony Ah was before we were a couple, it's cuz I'm still growin', an' Ah'm comin' from her just as much as Ah'm comin' from family. And Ah know any changes she puts in me are gonna be for the best, because there ain't no way, no how, she could be a bad influence...An' even if I don't deserve her now, someday, with her help, Ah'll be a pony worth her time.”

“That's yer answer?” The fake asked. Applejack nodded. “...Acceptable.” It spoke in Discord's voice as the exit opened. She began fading away, vanishing into thin air. Applejack reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes, but paused as she realized her hooves were still covered in dust, deciding to leave the tears where they were as she walked through the door.

CHALLENGE: FLUTTERSHY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh goodness, oh goodness...” Fluttershy's eyes darted around the room as she chanted her fearful mantra, looking for hiding spot that might be occupied by danger. Confident, or as confident as she could be, that there was nothing hiding here, she decided that the floor must be covered in booby traps. She reached out with a nervous, tentative hoof, and began prodding the floor's surface. The room, like the rest of the temple, seemed to still be made from one hollowed out rock, the floor a single sheet with no cracks in it. Well, if there weren't pressure sensitive tiles, surely there were trip wires, and she'd just have to keep her eyes open and on the floor, her hoofsteps very short and careful. After nearly a full minute of shuffling forward, she passed the middle of the room, and was startled to hear hoofsteps, and see another of herself coming around from the periphery of her vision.

“W-who are you?” She asked timidly, backing up.

“I'm you, Fluttershy...And I have some questions...” Fluttershy stood up a little straighter, and gave her doppleganger a soft smile.

“A-alright, then. What would you like to know?” Her smile faded as the fake stared at her with disdain.

“Why are you with Applejack?” She asked.

“B-because we love each other...” She answered honestly, with a blush on her face.

“And do you deserve it?” The shadow of her fears turned away, looking back over her shoulder at her. “Could weak, little Fluttershy EVER deserve to be happy, especially at the expense of another mare's happiness?!” Fluttershy stared speechlessly as her counterpart spun back around. “All you've done since you got here is slow her down, and waste her supplies!”

“I...I helped build a house...” She offered, hiding behind her mane.

“And how often will you be doing that when you get home? How many times, in Ponyville, will you actually help, and how many will you be slowing her down? How much of her happiness will she sacrifice because you found out that she was in love with the one pony who doesn't deserve it?”

“I...You...She d-doesn't...” Fluttershy stammered helplessly under the assault of the doubts she'd long kept silent.

“You're still everything those stallions said you were. But now, you're dragging her down even more. She could've found a mare who makes her happy. A mare she could love who WOULDN'T be baggage. Who isn't helpless, weak, and broken!” Something snapped in Fluttershy. A dam burst, and confidence came flooding out.

“I'm...Not broken. Applejack said so!” She asserted, standing up straighter and peering out of her mane.

“Hm. So you've grown a spine. But do you really think that anything you can do for her is going to be of value?” The clone tried to force her to back down with an intimidating glare, but the words came easily to Fluttershy, and no imitation could ever muster the power of the look in her eyes.

“I have had enough of your neigh-saying!” She said with a quiet, powerful fury, and a piercing gaze that was quickly building in force. “She loves me. And if being with the pony she loves makes her feel anywhere near as happy as it makes me...anywhere near as secure, and peaceful...Then I'm PROUD of what I can give her!” The clone bore the full brunt of the stare, backing down nervously. “I'm not going to let anyone tell me I'm not good enough to be happy...Not even myself...Because I know that SHE wouldn't let me say that...she wouldn't let ANYONE tell me that. EVER.

The clone looked away, stammering, muttering, and slowly fading away. “...Th-that's...Acceptable...” Spoke the voice of a nervous Discord, as the door slid open. Fluttershy dashed forward boldly, but tapered her gallop off to a nervous trot by the time she reached the door.

Applejack exhaled with relief when she saw her lover walk through the door. She rushed over and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Ah'm guessin' there was somethin' in there you've been hidin' from, an' ya had to talk it out?” Fluttershy nodded. “I guess we both got some stuff still worryin' us, an' we didn't even know it...”

“Oh, I've always got things worrying me...” Fluttershy admitted. “...I never realized that was part of it...” Applejack patted her on the back.

“We can talk it out when we're at home, if you want. For now, Ah think we might be about done here...” She looked around, seeing only one large door, with both their cutie marks on it. “Probably needs us both to open it...” She put her hoof against the door, the apples on it glowing. Fluttershy joined her, and the butterflies responded. The door rumbled as it slid into the ground, and both ponies entered to find a massive room with a vaulted ceiling, completely round, with a door at the other end...and in the middle, a massive stone head, mounted on a pedestal, with arms made of dozens of rocks each, and powerful, massive hands. It let out a deafening roar as two eyes, two real, yellow, bloodshot eyes, stared them down. Fluttershy began to shrink back, but Applejack's gentle eyes stopped her.

“We only got one exit.” She told her.

“But...But it's so...so big...” Fluttershy whimpered.

“...So we don't fight it head on...we think somethin' else out...” She began looking around, and Fluttershy tried to join her.

“...Oh!” Fluttershy's eyes lit up. She shared her revelation with Applejack, who stepped forward to test it. A massive stone arm swung down at her, coming up short.

They skirted the edge of the room, walking outside of his reach, Fluttershy whimpering quietly with every scream of impotent rage that the stone head loosed at them. When they reached the half way point, they noticed another flaw in its design. Mounted in the center of its room, this creature could neither move to pursue them, nor turn to face them. Unfortunately, while the monster wasn't properly made to fit the chamber, the exit door wasn't budging.

“Ah guess we do need to fight it...” She looked over at the back of the stone head. “Almost feel sorry for it.” The farmer quietly moved in behind it, and bucked it with all her might, causing a deep crack to spread over its surface, one of the arms breaking off. It roared in pain, and its remaining arm flailed frantically as her hooves struck it once more. The stone broke open, and rising from the rubble, staring at her, were the large, yellow, bloodshot eyes. Spidery legs carried them toward her, each with a razor sharp point. They moved with outrageous speed and ferocity, intent on destroying the ponies, starting with the one who freed them.

Applejack dodged a few swings, but this day had worn on her, and she couldn't risk bringing Fluttershy into the fray. She needed to find some way to slow down the giant, lidless eyes. Luckily, she'd suffered her answer first-hand.

Applejack allowed herself the pain of a few glancing blows as she began stomping furiously on the broken remains of the head, slowing down her attempts to evade these freakish enemies. Dust stirred itself into the air as the stones were broken apart. The eyes panicked, and in an attempt to clear themselves of debris, they sealed their fate, scrabbling at their soft, fleshy surfaces with their only appendages, sharp and deadly.

Fluttershy had been hiding her eyes since the creatures made themselves known, but turned and opened them when she heard the door opening. Applejack rushed to her side to ensure she didn't look back and see the gruesome, panicking monsters destroying themselves. As soon as both were through the door, it shut behind them, and streamers, balloons, and confetti rained from the ceiling. Discord appeared before them.

“CONGRATULATIONS! You two have completed your first temple!” He said, smiling as Applejack tried to withhold her fury. “And in real world time, you've only been here...oh my, 27 seconds! Are you in some kind of hurry? You really should take your time with things, you know. Make sure you're properly equipped.”

“We...We do need more healing tonic...” Fluttershy said, frowning.

“What, really? It's a common drop! Clearly, you two are not fighting enough monsters. But, I suppose there's no wrong way to approach this world. Once more, congratulations on completing the Temple of the Self.”

“An' just how many more temples are there?” Applejack asked, grinding her teeth.

“Now, now, AJ, that would be telling.”

“One, only my family can call me AJ. Two, if you DID tell us, would it change anything? Ah mean, would it REALLY make things that much different?” Discord stared at her for a bit.

“...Fine, you've got two more temples.” He snapped his fingers, and another table with a model of the island appeared, along with a treasure chest. “See you at the end of the next one!” He blinked out of existence.

“....Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, frowning. “C...Can I call you AJ?” Applejack smiled at her and nodded.

“'Course you can, sugarcube...Now, let's figure out where we're headed next...” She walked over to the chest. “Lock's got a snowflake on it.”

“A-and this looks like some kind of cave...made out of ice...” Fluttershy reached toward the model, touching the one thing that wasn't presently on the island, and watched as the model faded away. The ground rumbled, the lock popped open, and the top of a slide appeared in the middle of the room with a sign that said “To the foot of the mountain.”

Applejack flipped open the lid of the chest, and gathered up the cold weather gear. “Guess this means we're a third of the way done.” She said with a smile, before she realized that convincing Fluttershy that a slide that went down an entire mountain wouldn't be too scary might well be the biggest challenge of the day.