It was a lovely afternoon, Fluttershy thought to herself as she trotted through Ponyville. The sun shone on her wings and mane, and she still had the warm glow of accomplishment occupying her belly. She was so happy that she had been able to convince Applejack to let the vampire bats stay in her orchard.
She hummed a little ditty as she walked, stopping to smell Daisy and Roseluck’s finest products left from summer. She thanked them for the small sample they gave her, and merrily went on her way.
As she passed the Golden Oaks Library her ears swiveled, bringing her attention to a couple of familiar voices conversing out front.
She turned her head and saw Rarity and Twilight Sparkle exchanging urgent, hushed words with worried looks on their faces. She frowned and trotted up quietly to her friends.
“Hello girls. Um… is something the matter?” Fluttershy hid behind her mane, afraid her interruption would be unwelcome.
“Why, hello, dear,” Rarity replied with a wan smile. “I’m afraid we are quite worried about poor Applejack.” She exchanged a glance with Twilight.
“Very worried,” Twilight affirmed with a nod. “She hasn’t so much as spoken to anypony for days. She works all day and shuts herself in the farmhouse every night! We’ve all tried talking to her, without any luck at all.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy’s frown deepened. “I haven’t talked to her yet – maybe I could try?”
Rarity and Twilight exchanged a skeptical look.
“Well…” Twilight began.
“You see, after the other day…” Rarity’s gaze was fixed on a pebble.
Fluttershy’s mouth hung open with shock.
“You… think it’s because of the bats?” She asked timidly.
“Well, dear, no one can be certain,” Rarity soothed. “It was merely coincidental timing.” She laid a comforting hoof on the pegasi’s shoulder.
“It certainly couldn’t hurt for you to try, Fluttershy,” Twilight offered.
“I’ll do my best,” Fluttershy muttered. “I guess I’ll see you both later.” She turned to face the path that led to the Acres.
“Good luck!” Twilight called after her as she and Rarity waved their hooves.
“Hopefully Applejack’s soft spot for Fluttershy will help,” Rarity muttered to Twilight, who nodded sagely.
* * * * * * *
Fluttershy glanced at the sun’s placement in the sky. It was nearly sunset. She guessed Applejack would be finished with her chores and dinner by the time she got to the orchard. With any luck, her timing would be perfect.
As she trotted, she began to fret about the cause for her friend’s strange behavior.
“Oh,” she mumbled to herself. “I hope this isn’t because of the bats. She seemed so pleased with our compromise the other day!”
By the time she had convinced herself that worrying over the cause of Applejack’s isolation would do her no good, she had arrived at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.
Fluttershy braced herself when she was face to face with the sturdy red door to the farmhouse. She took a deep breath before knocking timidly.
The door opened, revealing the silhouette of a large stallion. He looked down at the trembling pegasus on the front stoop. His face remained emotionless as he greeted her.
“Howdy, miz Fluttershy,” he rumbled. “You lookin’ for AJ?”
“Um, yes, thank you,” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Ah’m afraid she ain’t seein’ anypony tonight.” His normally amiable baritone held a note of steel that surprised her.
“Oh, but um… I really need to speak with her.” She put on her best puppy dog eyes.
Big Mac said nothing but, after a few tense heartbeats, stepped aside to let her in.
“Up the stairs, firs’ door on your right.” He ambled off to the living area after shutting the door firmly, where Fluttershy saw him sit close to Apple Bloom to resume telling her a story.
Fluttershy followed Big Mac’s directions, not having been in the farmhouse proper before. She glanced at the photos on the wall of the stairway, one showing the Apple family as she knew it, and another with two unfamiliar ponies. One was a rusty-coated stallion wearing a very familiar cowpony hat. Next to him was a beautiful yellow mare – she looked like a full-grown Apple Bloom, to Fluttershy’s eyes. They stood proudly in front of the entrance to a section of orchard that jogged the pegasus’ memory, though she couldn’t quite place it.
She shrugged, figuring it wasn’t important. Steeling herself, she trotted up to the door Big Mac had mentioned and knocked.
After a couple tense moments when she worried Applejack would simply ignore her, the door creaked open slowly.
“What is it, Bloom?”
An extremely worn Applejack looked blearily out the door, not even looking directly at the pony in front of her. Her normally flawless golden mane was tangled and dirty, and the deep bags beneath her eyes indicated she hadn’t slept properly for days.
Fluttershy instantly thought that Twilight and Rarity had not only been right to worry, but perhaps they should have worried more.
“Um, Applejack? Are you OK?” She waved a hoof in front of the farmpony’s face to catch her attention.
The green orbs immediately snapped wide open, and looked sharply at the mare in front of her.
“Fluttershy?” Applejack’s face went from openly exhausted to completely guarded. “What’re you doin’ here? Ah thought Ah told everypony Ah didn’t need any visitors!”
“But, Applejack, you look awful!” Fluttershy blushed at the less than pleasant implication. “I mean… we’re all so worried about you.”
Applejack sighed. “Y’ might as well come on in.” She turned back into her room. “Ah don’t have a lot of time for chit chat, mind you.”
As she entered the room, Fluttershy took note of the neatly made bed in the corner, as well as the pegs near the door that held a rope and trademark hat. Applejack was already seated at a well-loved desk near the only window in the room. The desk, much like everything at the Acres, was well built and practical. It was also covered in papers full of numbers and scribbles.
The farmpony sighed wearily as she looked through the mess. “So what’d you come over t’ say?”
“I just… I-I wanted to find out what’s been bothering you.”
Applejack turned and gave Fluttershy a look that made her blood freeze in her veins. “What’s botherin’ me?” Her tone alone could have dropped every apple from all the trees in the entire orchard.
Fluttershy swallowed convulsively.
“Um… yes?”
Applejack stood slowly, her eyes never leaving her guest. “Fluttershy, Ah am goin’ t’ be as polite about this as possible, an’ Ah need you t’ know that it is nothin’ but the honest truth.”
The pesgasus’ words had deserted her, so she simply nodded.
“You know, Ah’m sure, that apples are our biggest sellin’ crop here at the Acres,” She began, almost as if she’d rehearsed it. “The money we make from Applebuckin’ season keeps us afloat the rest of th’ year. This year, however, Ah’m tryin’ t’ figure out a way that we’ll even be able t’ make it through Hearth’s Warming even without fancy gifts. Ah’m in charge of expenses – all of ‘em. Ah crunch the numbers. An’ this year it ain’t gonna be any sort of walk in th’ park.” She eyed Fluttershy carefully, though most of the fight had gone from her stance due to her exhaustion.
“No Hearth’s Warming gifts? B-but… why?” Fluttershy stammered.
“Why?” Applejack looked genuinely surprised. “Because those apple-suckin’ varmints have been gifted a large portion of our product!” Her eyes had become hard as the emeralds they resembled. “Because Ah gave up mah Ma and Pa’s very productive personal orchard so that your precious little bats could have a place o’ their own!”
Fluttershy’s heart dropped like a stone from where it had been in her throat, and settled painfully in her stomach. The photograph -- that’s why it looked familiar. Her mouth worked, trying to eke out an apology or an excuse, but her mind just couldn’t come up with the words.
Applejack sighed heavily, regret plain on her face. “Ah wish Ah could’ve done things a bit diff’rently, that’s for sure. That was the only place Ah could see the bats stayin’ put in an’ not devouring th’ whole Acres. But, now that grand prize money from the fair is gone an’ so is zap apple season.” Her eyes met Fluttershy’s, all anger gone.
“Ah cain’t blame you for doin’ what you did, sugarcube.” A strained chuckle escaped her lips. “Might be Ah’d’ve done th’ same thing if our places were reversed.” She shook her head slowly. “But now Ah’ve got t’ pay for the decision Ah made – the decision t’ save a pony Ah care deeply for an’ t’ make her as happy as Ah could, no matter the consequences.”
Fluttershy sat, stunned, on the hard wood floor. “You… care deeply for… me?” She began to feel light-headed from the sheer quantity of information that had been revealed to her.
Applejack snorted in response. “’Course Ah care for you! Why else d’you think Ah’d accept a ‘compromise’ where Ah lost everything an’ you got everything? Ah risked mah entire livelihood jus’ t’ see you happy, sugarcube.” She looked guiltily at the floor. “Though, it might be Ah went about th’ whole thing the wrong way since Ah’m taking my regret an’ bitterness out on you now.”
The pegasus could only stare. What had she done to her friend? How had she not considered the implications of her silly plan for anypony but the bats? Tears began to form in her eyes as she realized the mistake she’d made.
“Hey.” It was the softest, gentlest tone she’d ever heard Applejack use. “It’ll be OK. Might be Ah overreacted. We’ll make it work. We always do.” She tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. “You should get on home now. Ah’m sure your critters are all dyin’ for a bite t’ eat, an’ Ah’ve still got work t’ do tonight.”
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy whispered, a single tear making its way down her cheek. She shut her eyes tight before turning toward the door. She flew down the stairs and out the door, without a word to anypony on her way out.
Applejack watched through her window as the pegasus fled through an orchard colored by the falling dusk, and let out a deep sigh. On any other day and in any other circumstance, she would have immediately run after her friend to make sure she was all right.
Reluctantly, she turned back to the ledgers.
* * * * * * *
The sunlight streamed in through the curtains, lightening the greens and reds from their usual bold colors. Applejack’s eyes blinked wearily as she raised her head from the desk where she’d crashed. Again. As she cracked her neck, she wondered if it’d ever feel normal again. A hoof wiped some spittle from the sheet of calculations she’d been working on last night, which had ended up as her pillow.
To say the least, the farmpony felt less than ready for the day, as had been the norm for nearly a week now.
Since her talk with Fluttershy the day before last, her dreams had been troubled. The farmpony tried as hard as she could to find a viable option for the family’s spending through the winter so that her friend wouldn’t have to worry anymore and her own guilt could be absolved.
She had had no luck with any of it.
Even with the surplus corn production, even with the ever-increasing sales of zap apple jam, and even the fact that maintenance costs were at an all-time low did nothing to change the fact that, without the apples from her parents’ orchard, the Apple family was still going to have to do without Hearth’s Warming and any luxury foodstuffs just to get by.
“Maybe we could raise th’ price o’ cider this season…” she muttered to herself. “It ain’t like it’s some big Ponyville tradition or anythin’.” She frowned at her own sarcasm and dragged a hoof over her face.
“C’mon, AJ, pull yourself together,” she scolded. “We’ve always found a way t’ get by, an’ this time’s no diff’rent!”
She slowly dragged herself to the shower and turned on the tap. The tepid water felt so good after days of ignoring personal hygiene in favor of the ledgers that she spent extra time just basking in the sensation.
After her grooming and a hearty breakfast, Applejack felt more herself than she had since the entire vampire bat fiasco started. She trotted out into the fields with Big Mac with a genuine good feeling in her belly.
Applejack found her bucking rhythm, and both time and everything but the trees and the apples and the luscious smell of the green earth disappeared.
That is, until Big Mac came thundering up with Fluttershy in tow.
“Uh, AJ?” He nodded toward the now cowering pegasus. “Found her in the North Orchard… near the Johnagolds.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, and lowered herself from the buck she had been about to deliver to the sturdy Ambrosias behind her. She looked from stallion to mare, wondering what this was all about.
“Alright, Mac.” She trotted toward Fluttershy purposefully. “Ah’ll take her from here.”
“Eeyup.” The great stallion trotted back to his position with the Honeycrisps.
Once Big Mac was out of sight, Fluttershy brightened and wore a wide smile. Her wings spread and she began to hover close to the ground.
Applejack eyed her friend suspiciously. “Sugarcube, what in tarnation is-”
“Come with me!” The pegasus interrupted, lightly tugging her friend in the direction she wanted to go.
“Alright, alright already!” The farmpony clasped her hat firmly to her head as she was led through the orchard.
As they neared the North Orchard, the Johnagolds, and those pesky bats, Applejack felt her mood begin to sour. She noted the sign she had placed for them last week and felt her face settle into a grimace.
“Fluttershy, d’you mind tellin’ me why Ah’m followin’ you through mah own orchard for reasons Ah haven’t yet been told?”
The pegasus turned and wordlessly positioned Applejack so she was looking at the entrance of her parents’ special orchard, exactly where the photographer would have been standing so many years ago with her parents.
As the orange mare felt her heart begin to tighten with grief, she noticed something. Her green eyes darted from tree to tree, looking for bats. There was not so much as a single fang in any of the trees. Belatedly, she noticed three large carts full of baskets just inside the fenced-in area.
They were full of ripe apples. Gorgeous Johnagolds specially bred by her father, kept safe in this section of the Acres for nearly a generation. Speechless, she turned to Fluttershy who was still hovering beside her.
Her friend met her gaze evenly, eyes dancing with delight at the surprise.
“Sugarcube, Ah don’t understand…” Applejack couldn’t decide where to look – the beautiful sight of those Johnagolds, safe and untouched, or the sight of the true friend who had brought her the former. She felt the prickle of tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Applejack.”
The sound of Fluttershy’s voice brought her gaze to rest on her friend. The bittersweet notes therein caused her to tilt her head as an invitation for explanation.
“I… thought about all those things you said.” A small blush made its way across her cheeks. “And I realized that, while I had been very kind to my bat friends, I had been very unkind to one of my best friends – one that I also care deeply about.”
Applejack felt her own cheeks begin to flush.
Fluttershy gestured toward the orchard. “I had no idea this was your parents’ orchard, or that Sweet Apple Acres would suffer so much from my foolishness.” She turned back to her friend, regret written on her face. “I just had to fix it, Applejack. I’m so sorry I put you and your family through this.”
“Where’d they go?” the farmpony asked dazedly.
“I took them to the Everfree Forest,” was the soft reply. “I had to brush up on speaking their language, but… it wasn’t so hard. There’s so much food there for bats – it’s probably where they came from originally. I wish I’d thought to do that in the first pla-”
An orange hoof gently muffled the rest of her sentence, and Applejack shook her head.
“Don’t do that t’ yourself, sugarcube.” She surveyed the scene around her with a serene smile. “There’s no need.”
Author's Note
This story was obviously inspired by the latest episode, "Bats!" I must say the ending did not sit well with me, as it is obviously bad for business to freely give product away. So this is my take on the aftermath. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is always welcome, especially as this is my first story.
