Chapter I
Picturesque. Perhaps the most appropriate word to describe the scene of Ponyville’s park that afternoon. The weather had been coordinated perfectly, the sun was as warm and gentle as the Goddess Queen that commands it and ponies of all ages were out enjoying all the day had to offer in their own ways. For one familiar group of mares this was achieved with a pleasant picnic full of treats, leisure and idle chit chat of all subjects. One in particular is where our story begins.
“So, Rarity,” began the cyan Pegasus resting on her back and gazing up at the clear sky she took a not-so-modest sense of pride in from behind dark tinted glasses. “How was your date last night?”
The lavender unicorn at the opposite corner of the blanket gave a muffled chuckle into her tea cup and a silent thanks to her mentor that Spike wasn’t around to hear that particular question.
The flawlessly stark white unicorn accompanying her for tea gave a less than positive poker face from beneath her fabulous sun hat and shifted her glance away from her prismatic friend. “It was… adequate…” She stated nonchalantly as she raised her tea cup to her lips.
Against the fashionista’s hopes, or perhaps all according to her plans, all of her friends now fixed their attention to her.
“Well that’s not a very fun way to describe a date!” exclaimed the bubble gum colored earth pony in between gulping down her somewhere-in-the-double-digits cupcake and her definitely-in-the-double-digits cupcake.
“Oh, it went alright at first,” Rarity began with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “He chose an exquisite place to dine, was a perfect gentlecolt throughout and of course was a sharp dresser. It’s just…” A pause followed, to contemplate her next statement or for dramatic effect is a tough call. “At the end, the goodnight kiss…”
“Ahh,” said the orange cowpony in her usual drawl. “A bad kisser, was he?”
“Oh! He was dreadful!” bellowed Rarity with a theatrical wave of her arm. “There’s simply no polite way to put it, it was like being kissed by a Golden Retriever!” The divas display was cut off by the bellowing laughter of her prismatic Pegasus friend. “I’m sorry, does my plight amuse you, Rainbow Dash?”
“Kinda, yeah,” said Rainbow in blunt honesty. “I mean, I am sorry about the whole lousy date and all but that poor stud.” Another bit of laughter. “Seriously, the kiss can really make or break a date.” As her last bits laughter drowned out compared to Pinkie Pie’s, the colorful mare noticed the odd silence that had befallen her other companion. Her look of amusement melted to one of irritation faster than she could clear the skies. “What?!”
“Nothing, dear,” Rarity said dismissively from the lip of her cup.
The glare Rainbow Dash gave Rarity could have reduced the arctic landscape of the Crystal Kingdom to a tropical sea. “Oh, come on! I’ve been on dates before!” Her friends silence was far from assuring. “It’s not that hard to believe! I mean, even Fluttershy’s been kissed before!”
A stunned silence fell over not only Rarity but the rest of both pegusai’s friends. “Really?” they all said in unison.
Whether it was the embarrassment of being singled out or the blunt force of her friends disbelief but the blush that spread across the timid mares face turned her from sunshine yellow to a rosy pink.
“Yeah! I mean…” The once vindictive mare began to lose herself to her farthest reaching memories. “Wasn’t there that one geeky colt from the Junior Speedsters?” she asked her friend who was hiding in vain behind her forelocks.
“…. Yes…” peeped Fluttershy in a particularly timid tone.
“See!” declared Rainbow. “Even Fluttershy has a gushy High school first kiss story!”
Dropping seemingly from the sky Pinkie Pie planted herself right next to Fluttershy, eliciting a terrified ‘meep!’ from the humiliated pegasus. “Oh, this I GOTTA hear!”
“A rare occasion indeed but I agree with Pinkie,” said Twilight as she and the other mares gathered around the very uncomfortable yellow Pegasus, a foal-like grin spreading across the studious unicorns muzzle. “I’d love to hear the story of Fluttershy’s first kiss.”
Amidst the mutters of agreement amongst her friends Fluttershy was all but drowning in her discomfort. Ultimately realizing she had no escape she accepted her fate like a condemned prisoner kneeling upon the chopping block. With all of the strength she could conjure she inhaled one last breath of courage before giving her confession as eloquently as she could manage.
“Ok…” Averting her eyes, as if that would strengthen her resolve, she began her recollection with one important fact. “But… Brolly… wasn’t my first kiss…”
At this bit of news even Rainbow joined the suffocating circle of friends. “Ok, now I’m interested! I’ve never even seen you talk to a colt before Junior Flight School. How can that guy not have been your first coltfriend?”
“Well, he, Brolly that is, he was my first coltfriend,” explained Fluttershy. “But… My first kiss was… well…” Daring not to look directly at any of the five sets of eyes fixed upon her Fluttershy turned her head up and away to look at a rather uninteresting patch of sky but her gaze was fixed far back in her memories. “It happened like this…”
xxxxxxx
This day could not have been more perfect! In this enchanting new land, surrounded by creatures she had only seen in the books her father had read her, Fluttershy felt just like a fairytale princess. To top it all off the three little marks on her flank that told her she was forever tied to these lovely creatures filled her with more pride and splendor than she had ever felt before.
Alas, this was no foal’s story, and like all things in life had to come to an eventual end. After bidding a loving farewell to all the birds, rodents, frogs and even the sweetest little bear cub, Fluttershy now found herself facing the very grim reality of how she was supposed to get home. There was certainly no way she could fly all the way back up to Cloudsdale. Maybe if she could fly up to the lower clouds where the birds dwell she could shout out and somepony might… yeah, never mind.
With a worried whimper the lanky yellow filly decided that the only way to get back home would be to find someone to help her. She began her slow trot through the woods and with each timid step she only hoped that she wasn’t too far away from some form of civilization. Or that whomever she found wouldn’t be too scary. Or mean. Or big. Or…
Completely lost in her growing worry the little Pegasus didn’t see the bright red figure appear from out of the shrubbery until she nearly walked face first into his chest. In all of an instinctive second she assessed this stranger. A colt, bright red with rust colored hair and big green eyes. No wings but a large something-or-other around his neck. Oh, and most importantly: he was bigger than her, bigger than the colts back at Flight Camp even. Fluttershy could only follow her best known survival instincts. With a terrified yelp she jumped into the air and grabbed the nearest clinging spot she could find. Sealing her eyes shut the tiny Pegasus filly clung to the thick tree branch as though her very life depended on it. Trembling in sheer terror she waited to hear what this strange new colt would say to her.
“Howdy,” said a voice cracking on the border of youthful pitch and adolescent depth.
Popping her eyes open she craned her neck up to look down at the earth-bound pony.
Waving a lanky foreleg to her the red colt gave her the friendliest smile any colt had ever given her. “Ain’t never seen you ‘round these parts.”
Setting aside her lingering confusion Fluttershy let go of the branch and slowly floated back to the ground. Timidly cringing she could still not bare to make eye contact. None of the foals back at flight camp ever spoke to her unless they were making fun of her, would this colt be any different? She was still unsure.
“Didn’t mean to scare ya,” continued the red Earth Pony in a drawl the likes of which Fluttershy had never heard before. “I just heard some kinda explosions and came to see what it was.” Introducing himself he extended his hoof to the lanky filly.
Fluttershy looked back and forth from the hoof before her and the smiling face of the pony it belonged to. He seemed friendly enough, and nopony with a nick name like ‘Lil’ could be a bully. Taking a chance, the shrinking violet of a yellow filly whispered her own name in introduction.
“That’s a right perdy name,” the colt said with a smile. Fluttershy blushed a rosy pink. No one had ever called her ‘perdy’ before and whatever it meant it certainly sounded nice. “Where’re y’all from?”
And so with frequent uses of hesitant ‘ums’ and pauses Fluttershy gave her story of being from Cloudsdale and falling from Flight Camp to just a short while ago when she discovered the ground and her special talent for the first time. By the time she was recounting all the little animals she had met Fluttershy realized she was rambling and with an embarrassed gasp covered her mouth with her hooves. Looking away and trying desperately to hide behind her long bangs she gave a barely audible apology.
One could barely find the words to describe Fluttershy’s surprise when she glanced over to her companion, expecting to see him bored or annoyed but instead found him at rapt attention. His eyes wide with fascination and his smile warm and welcoming it was clear he had listened to every word she said, even saying he found her story ‘mighty interesting’.
A brief silence fell over the two foals. The filly rubbed her foreleg nervously while the colt rubbed the back of his neck, neither sure what to say next.. “Say,” began the colt, breaking the silence. “If y’all ain’t ever seen the ground before, does that mean you ain’t ever seen an apple tree before neither?”
Fluttershy looked at the colt from behind her protective wall of pink forelocks. She didn’t quite understand the question. Sure she had seen apples but no she had never seen apple trees before. “Ummm, no?” she answered as honestly as she could.
The smile that spread across the colts face was enough to draw her from her shelter. With kind and inviting eyes he gently offered her his hoof. “Would you like to see one?”
Once more Fluttershy looked at the lanky hoof before her and then to the colt’s face; His smile unfaltering and his eyes filled with such kindness that she broke into a small smile of her own. In a bold feat for her, Fluttershy took his lanky hoof in her own and was led further into this unknown world. Her gait still timid, but deep down quite thankful to have run into somepony as friendly, not-scary and not too big as Lil Macintosh.
Chapter II
Granted, it wasn’t uncommon for Fluttershy to be quiet, but at that moment she was absolutely speechless. Stretched out before her lay an absolute sea of trees, every one of them dotted with apples of every variety. Now, they have apples up in Cloudsdale, sure, but since they have to be imported from the surface they can be rather expensive; a rare treat for Fluttershy and her father when their budget allowed it, but here they could gorge on the juicy fruit until their bodies were too heavy for their wings to carry them.
Still wordless, Fluttershy turned to her companion to see Lil Macintosh standing tall atop a boulder jutting from the hill. While barely a meter above the ground the young earth pony stood poised and proud like a prince overlooking his dominion. His family’s legacy lay before him and doggone it he felt honored to share this majestic sight with this stranger from the sky.
Together they stood there drinking in what this slice of earth had to offer. From the vast, verdant vision of the orchards to the intoxicating scent of ripe fruit, tilled soil and… something else… something sweet. Both ponies sniffed the air to try and understand the new smell. For Fluttershy it was a vaguely familiar but ever so pleasing scent. Lil Macintosh however knew exactly what it was. His ears perked up and his kingly poise was dethroned by a delighted smile as his every taste bud quivered in excitement.
Bounding from his rocky perch Lil Mac landed beside Fluttershy and swiftly hooked his forelimb with hers and charged off as fast as his lanky limbs would allow. Dear little Fluttershy had to glide along in his pull to keep up, to confused to even ask what the sudden rush was. Fortunately she didn’t have to. As they hurtled through the trees and over fields of turned earth Lil Mac explained just what that heavenly smell was. They one thing, even should all his other senses fail him, he could identify from scent alone. From half way across Equestria.
Granny’s apple pie.
xxxxxxx
Her gait was slow and as soft as a feather falling as Fluttershy stepped through the door and onto the wooden floor. The material was so much rougher and hardier then the clouds of her home. It felt foreign to her touch but somehow secure. Satisfied that the floor was safe to walk upon she looked back up to the earth pony colt who dragged her here, his face looking several shades redder as he looked to the ground and apologized for his brash actions. She blushed in turn and gave him the daintiest of smiles, his own timidity somehow giving her the strength to step into the kitchen after him.
As Lil Mac held the door open, a shadow of a smile upon his muzzle, Fluttershy found her senses once again bombarded. Now within the farm house kitchen the scent of baked sweets hit her like a wall of aromatic bliss. Her wings flittered with excitement and lifted her along the trail of sweet scent and, for the second time that day, nearly crashed right into the chest of another pony. Only this time he was much, much larger.
Once again her instincts analyzed this new pony. This stallion was colossal compared to any Pegasus, his legs and body and thick and strong as the trees outside and his coat just a lighter shade of green contrasted by a red plaid handkerchief tied around his thick neck. From what brief glances to his face she could muster she could see his smiling face was highlighted by rusty auburn sideburns reaching from the shaggy mane beneath his oddly shaped hat and the friendliest of green eyes just like Macintosh’s. “Well, howdy there,” said the giant earth pony with a tilt of his hat. “Who are you, little one?”
“I-I’m…” Fluttershy stumbled upon her words, eyes darting anywhere but at the towering pony before her.
“This here’s Fluttershy,” Mac timed in with a smile. “She’s mah new friend.”
The adult pony gave a hearty chuckle and rolled the stalk of grass he was chewing on. “Well, shoot, and here Ah was hopin’ Ah had a few more years before yah started bringin’ perdy fillies home.” He laughed whole heartedly as he rustled Lil Mac’s mane, probably enjoying the deep blushes and embarrassed grimaces of both foals.
“Haralson Apple, you cut that out!” exclaimed a feminine voice. Joining the group in the kitchen came a mare of deep orange fur and golden blonde mane and tail both braided and tied with a pink bow. “You’re embarrassing our new guest.” The mare turned to Fluttershy, her freckled face and soft magenta eyes bright with the soothing smile as only a veteran mother can do. “Don’t mind him, little miss. Now then, how did such a sweet little filly like you meet our son?”
As welcomed as she felt among these friendly farm folk Fluttershy still hid herself behind half of her mane. From the corner of her visible eye she could see Lil Mac smiling at her. Somehow the crooked little smile and the large, happy eyes of the lanky red colt seemed to speak words of encouragement to her. So with the same hesitance as before Fluttershy once again recounted her story of flight camp, critters and cutie marks up to the point of meeting their son whom had shown her the first apple tree she had ever seen.
“My, my,” said the mother mare with a hoof to her heart. “That’s quite an adventure for one so young.”
“Still, I do wonder what that blast was…” the father muttered aloud as he tapped his hoof to his chin.
“Oh, I’m sure that’s a story for another day,” his wife dismissed with a wave of her hoof.
“Can she stay here with us?” Lil Mac asked as he jumped in place with youthful excitement. “She can sleep in A.J.’s room!”
“Now, now, Lil Macintosh, Ah’m afraid that just can’t happen,” said the large stallion. Lil Mac’s bouncing came to a deflated stop as his excitement was washed away by a wave of disappointment. “If’n she fell from Flight Camp then there’s probably somepony out lookin’ for her right about now wondering where she’s run off to.”
The all too familiar clash of chilling fear and searing panic came rushing through Fluttershy’s veins at the stallions’ very possible statement. The idea that she was causing somepony worry was just crushing. Or worse! Her father found out and had begun asking half of Cloudsdale, if not Princess Celestia herself, if they had seen her! These horrified visions were interrupted as the huge green stallion placed his massive yet so very gentle hoof on her shoulder.
“Aw, now don’t worry none, lil gal. We know plenty of pegusi ‘round town. We’ll just go ask one of them to fly up to that there camp and tell them folks where you are and that you’re safe and sound.” His tone of voice and gentle green eyes both spoke with the comforting strength of an experienced father. With his words reaching through to her Fluttershy took a deep breath and smiled in a relieved and thankful manner.
“Hold on, now,” said the mare as she trotted up next to her husband. “We can’t just let a filly who just earned her cutie mark go without some sort of celebration.” She leaned her head down to meet Fluttershy at eye level, her own eyes and smile bright and caring. “Tell you what; Granny just made one of her world famous apple pies. Would you like some?”
Now this was definitely uncommon. Normally Fluttershy felt terrified of being the center of attention, but here amongst these kindly Earth ponies she felt completely at home. Perhaps it was the warmth of the adults or the shine of Lil Mac’s eyes as they all smiled upon her that just washed away the fears that normally always chased her. So with the daintiest of smiles and a gentle nod Fluttershy accepted the offer and in no time at all was seated at the table with the slice of warm pastry set before her. As she took her first bite she once again found herself at a loss for words. ‘Ironic’ may be a good one. Because, to this grounded little Pegasus, this little bite of pastry, served to her upon the surface, was like a little slice of heaven.
xxxxxxx
“…If’n it’s clear and yellah, you got juice there fella, but if’n it’s tangy and brown you’re in cider town…”
Fluttershy did her best to show interest in Grannys’ lecture on the difference between apple juice and apple cider, but it was honestly a losing battle. Somewhere between listening to the history of apples and the list of the different varieties of said fruit the little filly had decided to just politely smile and nod as the elderly mare rambled on. Lil Mac on the other hand looked nearly comatose with boredom. It was quite clear he had heard this story a number of times before.
After their sharing of pie and good cheer Lil Mac’s mother and father held good on their promise and set off to find a Pegasus to lend the a hoof in getting Fluttershy home. In the mean time they left the two foals in the charge of Lil Mac’s Granny, whose promise of stories kept the children occupied but not exactly interested. As the old green mare prattled on in her creaky rocking chair it became clear she was more just reciting stories as the fell from her cobweb ridden memories rather than to captivate the two young’uns.
The lanky red colt picked up on this as his glazed over eyes drifted to the front door and then to his yellow companion. Gently nudging her attention to him he darted his eyes between her and the door as is to speak to her without words. His gestures say something like ‘Hey, follow me. I want to show you something.’
Fluttershy frowned worriedly as her own eyes darted to Granny. She was trying to speak like him and say ‘But aren’t we supposed to stay here with your Granny?’
Lil Mac smiled and rolled his eyes. ‘Oh, please, she could be at this for hours,’ he said. Rising to his hooves he gave the little filly a smile that spoke the loudest yet. One that said ‘You can trust me’.
Fluttershy felt a slight glow in her cheeks as she looked to the colt. Conceding to his silent pleas she stood and together tip-hooved out the front door, the elderly mares voice growing fainter into the distance. “… ‘Course in the Griffon Kingdom the whole thing’s flip-flopped…”
Once safely outside the colt gave a toss of his head, gesturing his female friend to follow him as he cantered past the fence around the front entrance. Keeping just behind him Fluttershy trotted with him through the gardens and back towards the edge of the orchards. “You said you like animals, right?” Lil Mac asked.
His voice so suddenly breaking the silence between them caught Fluttershy off guard. Her nerves gave her an internal jump before her mind registered his question. “Um, yes?” she said with uncertainty, still not used to verbal communication with this colt.
Lil Mac looked back to her with an eager smile. “I wanna show you somethin’,” he said as he led her around a particularly large apple tree. “I found this while helpin’ Pa with apple buckin’.” He pointed to a large root jutting out from the ground, a deep hole hidden behind a veil of tall grass leading under the tree. “Watch this.”
Watch Fluttershy did. Her eyebrow rose in curiosity, both at what the colt was doing as he tapped his hoof against the edge of the hole and what exactly ‘apple bucking’ was. The latter question would remain unanswered as she silently gasped at the formers answer. From behind the grass poked a pair of tiny long white ears, then another and another until a quintet of fuzzy baby rabbits came tumbling out of the burrow.
Fluttershy quietly gasped as her elated smile overtook her face. As the five baby bunnies scampered out from the earth, their mother soon following to keep an eye on her young, the yellow filly leaned down until her chin has nearly touching the soil. “Hello, little one,” she spoke audibly and confidently for the first time around Lil Mac. “Aren’t you just the cutest little darlings?”
Lil Mac stood by silent, his eyes widened with surprise. Not only because this was the first time he had heard this filly speak so clearly but also how the family of rabbits just flocked to her. He couldn’t even get to touch them when he first found them but now they were already nesting in the little pegasus’ long mane. To be honest he found the entire scene adorable beyond any words his young mind could fathom.
Completely lost in her fuzzy little paradise Fluttershy almost missed the tiniest of whimpers reach her ear. Twitching her ears like satellite dishes she could just detect the sound coming from the mouth of the burrow. There she saw it. A sixth little bunny, much tinier than its litter mates, stood quivering in the grass like a sad little snowball. The mere sight caused Fluttershy’s lips to quiver and eyes to shimmer with tears of absolute adorability. Ever so gently she reached to the little runt, placing her hoof mere centimeters from his trembling nose. “Hello, little one,” she spoke softly. “You don’t have to be scared.”
The little one sniffed her hoof and then timidly hopped a little closer to brush himself against her coat. “Aww, that’s right. I’m not going to hurt you.” Her words bringing a happy smile to his tiny white face. He soon hopped atop her hoof, his downy soft fur against her coat as she brought him to her face for a gentle nuzzle. “Oh, aren’t you just the sweetest little angel…”
Now most colts would probably gag at such a saccharine display. Lil Mac, however, had to cover his mouth with both hooves just to keep his squeals muted lest he scare away this adorable sight. Soon however he heard a sound no child wants to hear. One that can shatter any moment of joy.
“MACINTOSH APPLE!”
His mother calling his full name.
The shout carried well through the orchard, scaring away the family of rabbits back to their hole. “Uh-oh! They’re back!” Lil Mac exclaimed as he shot upright and beckoned Fluttershy to follow him back out through the trees.
Registering just what was happening the yellow filly rose to her own hooves only to feel a tug at her long mane by a tiny mass of trembling fuzz. Looking to the little baby bunny she saw him give her the most pleading of eyes, begging her to stay. “Oh, I’m sorry, but I really have to go…” His eyes watered and his nose twitched with the most effective use of cuteness the young rabbit could muster. Fluttershy’s own eyes glimmered with tears as she brought the little bunny to her face for one last nuzzle. “But don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon…” she then gently lowered the bunny to the ground and into the arms of his waiting mother. “… Little Angel Bunny…” And with one last smile she took off to catch up with her little red friend.
xxxxxxx
By the time Fluttershy had caught up to Lil Mac the young colt was already under the scrutinizing glare of his parents. “Macintosh Apple! We told you to wait here with Granny!” scolded his mother. From outside Fluttershy could see the elderly mare had at some point fallen fast asleep. Whether she even knew the two foals had left remained unknown.
“Ah’m sorry, I just wanted to show Fluttershy those baby bunnies Pa and I found,” confessed Mac with his head low.
“Aw, ain’t no big thing,” said his father with a chuckle as he patted his son on the head. He was clearly less upset than his wife. “’Though I am afraid it’s time for your friend to go home.” Fluttershy now noticed the small cloud hovering just a few inches from the ground. Atop of it stood a teenage Pegasus mare with a look that clearly showed she wasn’t thrilled to be picking up lost little campers.
Fluttershy turned her head back to see a disappointed looking Lil Mac walk somberly over to her. “G’bye, Fluttershy,” he said in his kindly manner as he took her hoof in his and shook it gently. “It was real nice meetin’ you.” She merely gave a girlish, squeaky giggle as she looked into the kindly colt’s eyes. Her hoof slid limp from his as he pulled away, both foals hesitant to part but slowly making their way to their respective homes.
Flapping her weak wings the yellow filly nestled into the cloud and gave a meek, apologetic whimper to the teenage camp counselor, her way of saying ‘I’m ready to go’. The older mare merely popped the gum she had been absent mindedly chewing a flapped her wings to shove the cloud off from the ground. Leaning over the cloud Fluttershy watched as the farmhouse and its inhabitants becoming became smaller and smaller. A tiny smile made its way across her face as she followed the red dot she knew was Lil Mac disappear into the wooden house. Her thoughts turned to the events of this long but so very wonderful day. Her friend defending her, finding a new, beautiful world and her cutie mark and of course meeting a new friend like Lil Mac. A colt who showed her his world with such joy and kindness. Kindness she had never seen from the colts back in Cloudsdale. Kindness from a colt for all she knew she may never see again…
“Um, excuse me, Miss,” Fluttershy stammered to the older Pegasus. “I, um, forgot something. Can we go back really quick? Please?” The teenager rolled her eyes but still complied with the filly’s request. Stopping the cloud she flew to its opposite side and pushed the puffy platform back closer to the ground. As the cloud came to just a few meters from the farmhouse the young filly glided down to the ground with skill she didn’t consciously know she had.
Knocking on the door she was greeted by the kindly faces of Lil Mac’s parents. Timidly asking where their son was they pointed back to the family room and Fluttershy wasted no time making her way there. Her courage faded back into nonexistence when Lil Mac gave her an excited smile, happy to see her again. The lanky filly rubbed her hoof against her leg and masked her face with her hair as she tried to rekindle her confidence. She knew what she had to say. She swore to herself she would.
“Um…” she began in her usual way. “I just wanted to say thank you for today. For showing me your home… and those bunnies… and for being so nice. And…” What little courage she had dwindled with each stammered word. Still she slowly stepped closer to the tall colt. Her wide eyes met his and she took one more deep breath to steel herself. “And I just wanted to say…” Her voice died in her throat. She was out of words. With no other choice but to act Fluttershy held her breath, closed her eyes...
And kissed Lil Mac square on the lips.
It was hardly the kiss one reads about in romance novels. No metaphorical fireworks, no leg popping swoon, just two youngsters without a clue what to do pressing their lips together. Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t special. Fluttershy’s father had told her when she does give her first kiss it will be with someone special. Today, Fluttershy knew that someone was this colt whom had been the nicest pony she had ever met.
The kiss broke almost as quickly as it had formed, leaving a dumbstruck colt and a furiously blushing filly standing in the living room. Too thrilled to say anything more Fluttershy turned and galloped away, barely noticing the proud looking elder stallion and the mare whom was barely containing a squeal of joy standing by the kitchen door as she left the farm and jumped onto the cloud waiting for her.
“Get everything you need?” said the teenage counselor with disinterest.
Fluttershy bowed her head, as she nestled back into the cloud, her smile and her blush never leaving her face. “Yes,” she said softly. “Yes, I did.”
xxxxxxx
The grown Pegasus mare sighed softly as she concluded her story. She pressed her hoof to her cheek in a futile attempt to hide the feint blush that her memories had cooked up. Daring to look back to her friend to see their reaction she could see they were quite mixed.
Rarity of course sighed and was nearly in tears at the telling of such a beautiful tale of young love. Twilight looked quite pleased, quite possibly mentally comparing the story to a book from her library and Pinkie clapped her hooves enthusiastically at the conclusion of story time. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was a surprise. Instead of her usual repulsed reaction to all things romantic she actually smirked and nodded proudly at Fluttershy, seeming to have found a new level of respect for her timid friend.
Applejack however was the most profound. Instead of looking like she had focused on the story she had her eyebrow raised and rubbed her hoof to her chin as if she was solving some sort of mental puzzle. Slowly her expression melted into an almost wicked, teasing smirk. “So…” she began, her word drawn out and dripping with coy undertone. “Did y’all ever see this charmin’ young feller later in life?”
The comfort of her heartfelt recollection was instantly crushed at her friend’s armor piecing question. It wasn’t so much that she asked it so much as it was that she had asked it. Fluttershy’s narration may have tried to avoid using names and keeping major details as vague as she could but Applejack was no fool. She had no doubt figured this lanky colt who worked on an apple farm had grown up to become a massive stallion who worked on an apple farm.
“Um! Um, n-no! Er, maybe…” Fluttershy tripped over her words as she desperately tried to dodge the question. “But i-it doesn’t matter. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember. It was so long ago…” She twiddled her hooves and darted her eyes anywhere but her Applejack.
“Hmmm, who knows…” The farm mare responded vaguely with a coy smile. She decided not to torment her sweet little friend anymore, but oh, how she couldn’t wait to get home and see her brother. It may not be the most mature thing to do, bringing up old memories of teasing her older brother for having kissed a filly and the old chants of ‘Lil Mac’s got a fillyfriend! Lil Mac’s got a fillyfriend!’, but this new ammo was too good to pass up.
