Moonlight Harvest (18+ ver)

Chapters

Moonlight Harvest*
Getting the Story Straight
Rehearsal
Holes in the Veil
R&R
Reconciliation
Worries
Announcements
Comfort*

Moonlight Harvest*

Moonlight Harvest (x)

Fluttershy was dreaming. It was an uncannily vivid dream she had had several times in the past year.

By the light of the full moon, she'd take to the skies, flying so high she couldn't identify the few ponies who walked the streets of Ponyville by night -- much higher than she'd ever dare while conscious. She didn't even really like flying at all if she could avoid it. Yet, in these dreams, the typically timid mare always felt so calm, so free, so... powerful.

After a peaceful flight over the placid town, she’d touch down in the recently planted annex of the Sweet Apple Acres orchard, where the harvest was left alone to support the local population of vampire fruit bats. After making small talk with the bats and enjoying several apples -- which seemed even tastier in her dreams than in reality, and that was saying something! -- she would take flight once more, doing a few laps around the farm with a few bats to accompany her, then bid them farewell and return home for a nap before daybreak.

This time, however, while she was catching up on the bats' latest drama, something changed.

Crunch crunch crunch crunch....

Fluttershy's strangely sensitive ears perked in the direction of the sound. A pony? At this hour? She passed her half-eaten apple to the nearest fruit bat before unfurling her tail to drop from the tree she'd been hanging in, landing gracefully and looking for the source of the sound.

Sure enough, beyond the trees in the dead of the night, she could see a spot of red moving between the fields as plain as day. Spreading her powerful wings, Fluttershy licked her lips with an uncharacteristically smarmy grin.

Tonight, she would partake of a different sort of Apple.

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

With a speed and grace she could never hope to achieve in the waking world, Fluttershy silently flew a wide arc around the pony she'd found tending his fields before sunrise, until she was able to land a few meters behind him undetected.

At least until her hooves hit the ground. She quickly folded her wings away as the large stallion rounded to find the source of the noise.

"Hmm? ...Fluttershy? What're you into at this hour?" Big MacIntosh asked, tipping his head incredulously.

Fluttershy smirked, taking a soft step closer. "I could ask the same of you."

"Got a little behind yesterday, so I figured I'd get up a mite early t' catch up," he replied matter-of-factly. He then cocked an eyebrow, simply staring expectantly at the yellow mare. After a moment's silence, however, his expression changed into one of concern. "Ya feelin' alright? Ya look awful pale."

Her smirk grew into a sultry grin. "I've never felt better."

"Hmm. If ya say so," he droned, turning away to return to his work. "Ya still ain't answered mah question."

Fluttershy licked her teeth as her sharpened eyes took in the rippling muscles and bulging veins of the massive stallion. "Couldn't sleep, so I came to enjoy the view..."

MacIntosh couldn't help but to chuckle softly. "I suppose it is a sight, ain't it? Glad somepony 'preciates mah hard work."

He turned to smile at her, but his eyes widened as her hind hooves met his ribcage. A second burst of pain and MacIntosh found himself sliding down a tree. Was he just bucked... by FLUTTERSHY?

The yellow mare's grin continued to grow as she swiftly flew to land atop him, pinning him down more with the look in her eyes than with her meager weight.

"F-Fluttershy, what're you--"

"Shhhh." She pressed her nose to his, forcing him to look her in her intense red eyes. She adjusted herself to straddle him, eliciting a nervous gulp from the stallion as she pressed her forehooves to his chest. "What's the matter, MacIntosh?" she whispered with a chuckle. "You act like you've never touched a mare before... Surely such a handsome, hardworking stallion...?" Fluttershy couldn't believe what was happening, but it was a dream, after all, and apparently this was where her subconscious wanted to wander tonight.

"I-I don' get off the f-farm much," Big Mac stuttered, flinching a little as Fluttershy began to subtly gyrate her body against his, maintaining her mesmerizing gaze.

"Shame," she mused, finally taking her eyes away from his to focus instead on a pulsing vein in his neck. Soon, she thought, enthralled by his increasing heart rate. Just a little more.... She touched her nose to his once more, letting her eyelids droop as she nuzzled up the bridge of his snout.

"F-Fluttershy...?" he said so softly that his voice broke. His breath shortened further as she rolled her pelvis against his once more.

She didn't have to look this time; she could feel her prey's heartbeat pounding beneath her hooves. Time for a taste....

With an animalistic look in her eyes, she spread her wings sharply as she bared her elongated fangs, scarcely giving MacIntosh the time to register was was happening before she dove in for the attack.

"WHAT IN EQUESTRIaaaaahhh...." His cry of terror gave way to a soft groan as Fluttershy's mouth found its target not at his neck, but between his legs. "Flu-- wh-- uhhh... I-I didn' know ya felt that way," he stumbled over his words as the mare worked her tongue around his flare, teasing his stallionhood out into the cool air.

Fluttershy couldn't believe it herself. She'd always been curious about her friend's stoic brother, but this dream seemed to be blowing it out of proportion more than a little. She knew she should be alarmed her subconscious had created such a lewd scenario, but all she could feel was an overwhelming and wild desire. And so she continued to suckle the tip of MacIntosh's rod, chuckling through her nose as his subtle reactions told her she was doing well.

As his shaft grew stiffer and more exposed, she released the tip and began to take long, slow licks up the sides, drawing further squirms and moans from the stallion. Before long, Fluttershy smirked and flicked her tail excitedly as Big Mac's stallionhood stood at full attention, the blood throbbing wildly inside it. Eyes half-lidded, she looked into her quarry's eyes and licked her chops. In the blink of an eye, she was straddling him again, her nose pressed to his and her eyes once again wild with lust.

MacIntosh shuddered as he took in the mare atop him, his eyes especially drawn to her outstretched wings. "I-I ain't complainin', but what's got into you?"

With a sultry giggle, she kissed his nose. She had to stand up to reach the massive stallion's ear, which she licked once before whispering, "You." In a swift and precise motion, she slammed herself down onto him, splitting her hymen -- huh, that's a strange thing to carry into a dream, she thought -- and taking his pulsing rod all the way to the hilt. It was incredibly painful, but somehow the pain only fueled her flame, and she wasted no time in beginning to ride the bottom half of his length.

MacIntosh groaned, laying his head back against the tree as the inexperienced mare found her rhythm. Fluttershy couldn't help softly hissing as his flare tugged at her insides. Hearing this, the stallion reached up to stroke her mane, causing her to shiver with delight at the unexpected tenderness. Her gradually dampening walls clenched involuntarily, causing both to moan in tandem. Before long, Fluttershy had developed a steady beat, and she smirked up at her willing victim once more, licking her teeth with relish.

Big Mac then placed his hooves on her flanks, drawing a soft yelp from her the first time he thrust upward to meet her halfway. Once her surprise wore off, she took on a devilish grin and began riding higher on his stallionhood, taking more of it in and out each thrust. Her efforts became more and more frenzied over the next several minutes, as evidenced by her twitching tail and flailing wings, until it was all she could do not to let her eyes roll back from the sensation of his entire length slamming in and out of her. Mac's breathing grew shallow as her own gasps grew higher, and Fluttershy's smile widened as she felt her conquest draw near.

"Aaahh... ha... oh, Flutter...shy," he wheezed, thrusting somewhat erratically as his flare stiffened.

The extra friction drove the wild mare over the edge, forcing her to release an earsplitting shriek. Big Mac quickly leaned forward in an attempt to lock lips with her a few thrusts before he'd come, but she instead latched onto his outstretched neck, pressing her fangs into his thick hide without quite breaking the skin. The stallion yelped as the unexpected bite caused him to finish a little sooner than he'd anticipated, and Fluttershy released his neck to let out a high-pitched sigh of delight for the cool splashes of Apple seed her prey had been helpless to prevent.

Spent, the stallion fell limp against the tree behind him, his breath husky and shallow. He shivered, his eyes rolling back in his head, as his assailant pulled herself free of his shrinking, hypersensitive shaft.

"Flu...tter-mmmph," Mac started, interrupted by a brief kiss on the lips.

The mare then leaned to his right ear, nipping it softly with a fang before whispering, "Sweet dreams are made of this...." She giggled as she spread her wings, taking off into the night and leaving the stallion too exhausted and disoriented to contemplate what had just happened.

Fluttershy woke the next morning feeling better rested than she ever had in her life. She always felt great after dreaming about Sweet Apple Acres -- perhaps by the same logic that somepony would be exhausted after a nightmare, she thought to herself. However, she found herself blushing profusely and hiding behind her mane, much to her animal friends' confusion, when she remembered the rather different direction it had gone this time. Even when she was in heat, her mind never strayed to such vulgar thoughts! It was only a dream, but... well, she took comfort in the fact that she and Big MacIntosh lived in the complete opposite outskirts of Ponyville. She wouldn't be able to look at him without blushing for a while.

SIX WEEKS LATER

Fluttershy fidgeted with her mane as she sat waiting in Nurse Redheart's exam room. She couldn't imagine why she had been vomiting so much the last few mornings. Twilight had not been able to find any illness with what spells she knew, and Fluttershy had taken extra care to ensure all her food was fresh and healthy... so what could it be?

Her ears perked as the nurse trotted back into the room, wearing an inexplicable smile. "Great news, ma'am! I got your blood tests back, and you're not sick at all. You're pregnant! Congrats!"

If Fluttershy's eyes had widened any further, they'd have fallen right out of her head. "W-what?" she gasped. "Th-that's impossible! I've never even had se--"

Her breath caught in her throat as a thought struck her. When Twilight had accidentally turned her into a vampire about a year prior, she had thought it all a bizarrely vivid dream... just like....

"O-oh... my...."

Getting the Story Straight

Fluttershy gulped yet again. She wasn't sure how long she'd been staring at the front door of Sweet Apple Acres, hoof raised to knock but frozen by her nerves. How in Equestria could she face him? She'd been over the speech in her head a thousand times on her way here, and now that the time was upon her, she was drawing a blank.

It only made her more anxious when she realized that it had been six weeks since she... since it happened, and not once had the stallion come to see her. From what she knew of him, he wasn't likely the type to pursue... more of that... but one would think he'd at least ask her about it. Or what if he was upset with her? She had sort of forced it -- violently, even. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

Fate seemed to decide enough was enough, as Fluttershy halfheartedly reached for the door once more only to narrowly avoid punching Applejack in the nose.

"What in tarnation?!" the farmer shouted, flinching from the yellow hoof outside her door. "Oh, Fluttershy! What brings you 'round?" she asked with a tip of her Stetson.

The pegasus blinked and stuttered for a moment, her hoof still shaking in place where the door used to be. "U-um, hi, um, Applejack, um, i-is MacIntosh around?"

AJ blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah. If ya ain't seen him in the fields, I reckon he's at the barn," she offered, tilting her head towards the building in question while cocking an eyebrow. "What'd ya want with him?"

"I-I, um, I, er, IwantedtotalktohimaboutthePonytones," she blurted out, hiding behind her mane.

Fortunately for Shy, the Bearer of the Element of Honesty couldn't spot a lie any better than she could tell one, and she only grinned. "Really? Ya been workin' on yer stage fright, then?"

"S-something like that," she squeaked with an unconvincing fake smile. She didn't want to sing in front of ponies again, but she needed a discreet excuse to cross paths with Big MacIntosh a little more often than the current never, nerves be damned. But Applejack didn't need to know that. "So, um, the barn? That one?" She pointed with a wing.

"Eeyup," AJ nodded, "either grabbin' tools, or goofin' off. But hell, hard as he works, Ah can't hold it against him when he does," she added with a shrug. "Anyhoo, Ah gotta head to town for supplies."

"Oh, right." Fluttershy shook herself and stepped back a few paces so her friend could get by. "Um, take care, then."

Applejack smiled. "You too, sugarcube. Tryin'a get back on the stage, who'da thought?" she mused to herself with a chuckle as she went on her way.

The pegasus licked her dry lips and gulped as she laid eyes on the barn. It seemed the longer she looked at it, the farther away it got. After a few deep breaths to steel herself, she forced her hooves forward.

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

Chapter Two

Fluttershy gave herself a moment to hyperventilate before peeking into the barn and clearing her throat so softly that she couldn't hear it herself. "Um... B-Big MacIntosh?"

A few yards away to the right, a hay bale fell over, accompanied by the sound of a very large pony crashing to the floor behind it. "E-e-eeyup!" he stuttered, scrambling to his hooves as he frantically looked for the voice that had called to him. Rolling the bale out of the way, he spotted the small mare in the doorway. "Howdy, Fluttershy," he greeted with a nod, regaining his composure quickly . "What can I do ya for?"

Here it was. The moment she'd been dreading. But this wasn't something she could hide from. It was no simple matter of setting aside her nerves to please a friend or help a stranger; this was far more important. "Um..." she paused to gulp and draw another deep breath, "I-I want, er, need to, um, join the Ponytones, b-but that's just a cover-up...?"

MacIntosh furrowed his brow. "Whaddya mean by that?"

"W-well, you see, um, I..." She fidgeted with her mane a bit, suddenly finding the dirt at her hooves quite fascinating. "W-we need to talk. A-a lot."

"Whatever for?" The stallion was beyond confused. Aside from her previous stint with his a capella group, the two had scarcely ever held a conversation.

Out with it already, you can do this! Fluttershy braced herself. "I-I'm pregnant and it's yours!" She immediately clapped her hooves over her mouth and shrunk behind her mane, while the farmer's eyes lost any trace of their usual calm.

"What?! I-- how?"

"Y-you don't remember the night I..." she gulped, "um, I-I--"

Somehow MacIntosh's eyes found a way to grow even wider. "Th-that actually happened?!"

"Mhmm!" the mare squeaked, biting her lip as her wings automatically came up to shield her.

Mac fell to his plot, staring at her incredulously. "I-I thought that was just a dream..."

"M-me too..."

"But... I don't know ya too terribly well, but I know that ain't like ya," he mumbled. Then, more loudly, he added, "Ya had different eyes! An' all yer feathers was missin'!"

Fluttershy folded her wings and brushed aside her mane, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "A-Applejack told you about the time Twilight accidentally turned me into some kind of... bat... pony... thing, right?"

The stallion's shoulders slumped a bit. "She said y'all'd sorted that out..."

"W-we thought so... but I guess I've been transforming again every full moon," she explained, stopping to fidget for a moment. "I-I'm aware of myself, but not in control, so I-I thought they were just dreams..."

"An' now ya got a foal on the way," Mac finished. He rubbed his forehead with a hoof, sighing heavily. "Mah foal." He chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "Can only imagine what Granny's gonna say."

"What's Granny gonna say 'bout what now?"

Both adults jumped at the sound of Applebloom's voice. MacIntosh hesitated, looking expectantly at Fluttershy, who cleared her throat before answering, "I-I'm auditioning to join the Ponytones, um, again. With my real voice."

"Really?!" the filly cried, her whole face lighting up. "That'd be the greatest thing ever!" She grinned widely, bouncing on her hooftips as she waited for the others to continue. After a moment's awkward silence, her smile drooped a little, but she kept bouncing. "Well, don't stop on mah account! Audition!"

Fluttershy blanched, but Mac wasted no time in diverting the situation. "She already did, Applebloom. Now we're just discussin' royalties, taxes--"

"Aaaaand ya lost me," the foal muttered, ears flopping down as she turned to leave the barn.

"Phew, that was a close one," Fluttershy said softly once the barn door closed behind Applebloom. "Quick thinking, there."

"Ah live with her," he mused with a laugh. "Ah'd 'bout lose mah mind if Ah didn't know how to redirect her."

Fluttershy giggled quietly before clearing her throat to resume their previous conversation. "So, um, what do you think we--"

"Oh, hey, Fluttershy!" Applebloom burst into the barn again, getting an even bigger jump from Fluttershy, though Mac had been prepared this time. "After ya get all the borin' stuff sorted out, ya wanna play Frisbee with me an' Winona?"

The pegasus quickly put on a smile before turning to face the filly. "That sounds lovely, Applebloom. "

"Awesome! I'll be waitin' for ya!" she shouted excitedly before leaving the barn once more.

The two adults simply stared at the door for a long moment this time. Eventually MacIntosh broke the silence. "The Ponytones? You realize tellin' her that amounts to tellin' the whole town an' half mah extended family, right?"

"Um, y-yes," she answered with a tiny nod. "I do intend to join the group, um, if I can. Our paths so rarely cross, it'd be odd if we just suddenly started spending time together," she explained. "This way, we can get to know each other better without anypony being suspicious of our sudden interest in each other..."

"Hmm." The stallion nodded. "Clever. But what if someone figures out it was conceived two months before ya joined?" he asked, tilting his head.

Fluttershy didn't hesitate -- she'd thought of that too. "I've come to you for private tutoring every couple weeks for a few months now -- I think my friends would believe I was most comfortable singing in front of somepony else who's... quiet like me."

"And if we don't hit it off," Mac pointed out, "then how do we explain conceivin' a kid?"

The mare opened her mouth to speak, but stopped short. She hadn't thought quite that far. "Um... hmm." She tapped her front hooves together softly for a moment. "Um, I did really well one night, and we found the bottom of a bottle celebrating?" she offered. "I-I don't drink," she added almost unaudibly, "but the girls haven't ever really tried to get me to, so maybe they'll buy that."

MacIntosh chewed his lip for a moment, eyes focused somewhere in the air. "Hmm. Might work, I don't reckon anypony'd question Pappy's Secret Cider."

"'Pappy's Secret Cider'?" she repeated, tilting her head curiously.

"Well, it ain't cider proper," Mac elaborated. "More like apple moonshine. Special order only, we don't sell it in stores. Way too strong. Definitely wouldn't surprise anypony if ya ended up doing somethin' ya regret."

"Oh, o-okay." Fluttershy stared at the ground for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity before breaking the silence. "So, um, now that we've got our story straight... what do we do?" She looked up at the sire of her unexpected foal. "Do... you want to be involved? Like, joint custody or something?"

Big MacIntosh sighed, looking down somewhat sadly. "If I had mah druthers, I'd never have conceived a foal outside o' wedlock, but--"

"Oh my goodness!" the mare cried out. "You were saving yourself? I-I'm so sorry! Why didn't you try to stop me?"

"Now don't beat yourself up, Fluttershy," he said, holding up a hoof as if to physically halt her anxiety. "Ah thought Ah was dreamin' -- you weren't yourself, and, uh," he paused to cough bashfully, "pardon me for... bein' a stallion, but I've had indecent dreams before. Thought nothin' of it."

Stroking her mane anxiously, the mare frowned. "I just feel awful."

"Hey." Mac reached over and gently pulled her chin to face him, a sympathetic smile on his face. "Relax. It's spilt milk at this point, don't matter how it got there, we're cleanin' up now." Releasing her chin, he sat back down and scratched the back of his neck. "Now, no foal o' mine's gonna be without his daddy," he stated matter-of-factly. "I'd always pictured a proper household, o' course, but I don't reckon you wanna marry a pony ya barely know any more'n I do."

Fluttershy scrunched her shoulders a bit, looking defeatedly to the side. "I'd do it for the baby..."

"Don' worry about that right now," Mac insisted, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "We've got, what, nine, ten months?" She nodded. "Plenty o' time to figure this all out. I'll talk to Toe Tapper 'n' them, see about gettin' you to rehearse with us, an' we'll go from there." He let go of her shoulder and nodded pointedly at the doors. "Now, ya made a filly a promise; I'd get to it 'fore she gets bored."

Fluttershy nodded and straightened up, looking back to give MacIntosh a grateful smile tinged with uncertainty as she headed outside. Nevertheless, she already felt a little better about the situation, and she almost pranced out into the field to meet Applebloom.

The pegasus intercepted Applebloom's Frisbee with a wing, causing Winona to bark at her indignantly. Fluttershy giggled before throwing the Frisbee to the dog herself, who only barely managed to catch it. Winona ran it back to the filly, who had run up to Fluttershy's side excitedly, but as Applebloom prepared to throw it again, Fluttershy swiped it right out of her hoof and teasingly hovered above her, holding the Frisbee just out of reach.

"Hey, no fair!" the filly cried indignantly, but couldn't help giggling as she and her dog both repeatedly jumped for the toy.

MacIntosh silently watched from the door, a small smile turning up his lips as a warm feeling filled his chest. Even if he ultimately couldn't love the mare, he thought, he was comfortable knowing his foal would have an excellent mother.

Rehearsal

It hadn't been an hour after Big MacIntosh spoke with the rest of the Ponytones that Rarity had come to beat Fluttershy's door down. The meek pegasus had forgotten her close friend was the quartet's soprano, and the reminder only made her more nervous about the whole situation.

Naturally, Rarity had already written additional soprano harmonies into all of their songs. After all, she had wanted Fluttershy to join them months ago.

Not prepared to talk to Rarity at that time, Fluttershy had made up some important to-dos and managed to deflect the unicorn, who had reluctantly left after giving her a massive stack of sheet music to learn her parts. Despite the rapidly increasing gravity of the whole fiasco, however, the yellow mare worked hard to make sure she impressed the Ponytones.

And here's where it all falls apart, she thought with a gulp as she approached the studio for her first rehearsal with the band. It had been a good two weeks since she found out about her pregnancy and hatched this plan with MacIntosh: plenty of time for her to reconsider and dread every detail of it, especially the part where Rarity would be mere metres away every time she spoke to her foal's father.

After pausing at the door to take a few re-centering breaths, Fluttershy trotted into the Ponytones' studio, where the four ponies were already practicing a song ahead of schedule. Despite Rarity insistently beckoning for her to join them, she simply sat and listened to them until they finished and greeted her.

"Um, hello everypony," she responded in kind, nodding in turn to MacIntosh, Rarity, Toe Tapper, and Torch Song. "I-I think I'm ready. Um, I learned my parts."

Toe Tapper grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine. How's the stage fright?"

"Um, well," she started, avoiding everypony's eyes, "MacIntosh has been tutoring me for a while now--" She froze. There it was. That gleam in Rarity's eyes: shipping goggles. That didn't take long. After a moment's hesitation, Fluttershy was able to turn her sudden loss of composure into another believable lie. "Um, b-but now there are f-four of you..."

Three of the singers failed miserably in their attempts to comfort her by all speaking at once, causing the pegasus to shrink. MacIntosh cleared his throat loudly, hushing the others, before stepping forward and lowering his head to meet Fluttershy at eye level.

"Now, Fluttershy, remember what we talked about," he said softly. She bit her lip and looked him in the eyes as he continued. He had really comforting eyes, she realized. "Just breathe, 'n' don't think about the ponies around ya. Ya got four other singers to cover ya if ya slip up a little, nopony'll even know. Just relax an' enjoy the music, right?" Fluttershy's lips turned up a bit as she gulped and nodded. Mac smiled with her, straightening up and stepping back among the others. "Now we're gonna get started on some warmups, arpeggios 'n' the like, 'n' you just jump in whenever you're ready."

"O-okay," she agreed, closing her eyes and trying some deep breathing techniques she had picked up from Twilight. With Twi's exercises and Mac's reassurance, Shy found her nerves softening much sooner than she had expected, and began performing scales along with the rest. The others smiled at their new member, and Torch Song almost clapped, stopped just in time by a firm elbow and stern "cut it out" gesture from the farmer. Instead, the Ponytones just grinned in silence as Fluttershy finished her warmups, unaware that the others had stopped a while ago.

When she did at last register the silence, she stopped and blushed, looking around at the others with a sheepish smile. "Um... maybe I'm ready...?"

"Then let's get started, shall we?" Rarity offered cheerfully. After some brief discussion on which songs to perform at their next show (mostly built around Fluttershy's favorites for now), the Ponytones began rehearsing properly, Shy falling right in as if she'd always been there. Things seemed to go without a hitch for most of their set, until one of their songs' conclusion was met with an unexpected round of applause.

"Brava! C'est magnifique!" Fleur Dis Lee's airy voice rang out during the last note, while her husband simply smiled at the band. Fluttershy's chest tightened immediately. Perhaps she wasn't ready for this after all.

While the others happily greeted the wealthy couple, Fluttershy tried her best to hide behind MacIntosh. Fancy Pants wasn't easily fooled, though: his eyes had been on the Element of Kindness since the moment they'd arrived. While his wife talked to the others, Fancy trotted around the large stallion, who was rolling his eyes as he gently tried to free his hind leg from Fluttershy's grip.

"Ahem," Fancy politely cleared his throat, his professional demeanor holding strong despite the rather comical situation before him. "I see you've acquired a new talent, MacIntosh."

"Eeyup," Mac grunted, giving up on shaking the small mare off.

"Performance anxiety?" Fancy asked her directly, his voice warm with sympathy.

"I-I'm sorry," she squeaked, causing MacIntosh to sigh heavily.

"Fluttershy, Fancy here is one of our sponsors," he explained, no small amount of frustration in his voice. She whimpered softly as she looked up at him. "Ah know this is all happenin' so fast, but keep in mind what you're workin' so hard for," he reminded her, his eyes jumping very briefly to her abdomen. He knew she was going to be difficult, but this was ridiculous.

The pegasus gulped, unconsciously rubbing her belly with a wing, then nodded and stood up, finding it hard to meet Fancy's eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she repeated softly. "I-I really do enjoy singing with the Ponytones, I just..." She bit her lip, dressing what she was about to say. "I can't get over my anxiety."

Fancy chuckled, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Believe me, I understand completely," he said. "Why, when I was a colt, believe it or not, I was a timid little thing. Father was so wealthy and influential, how could I ever fill those shoes? I was always surrounded by so many powerful ponies, all of whom expected great things from me... Haha, I was a mess," he said with a wink. "But," he continued, raising his eyebrows with a grin, "I eventually found it was much easier to face them all of I stopped worrying about what they thought and focused on being happy with myself."

"O-oh." Fluttershy bashfully scratched behind her neck, glancing at MacIntosh, who still looked displeased with her.

"Just relax, cheri," Fleur added, having overheard her husband giving a speech he'd used many times before. "You are young and beautiful and a wonderful singer, zey will love you."

Shy nodded, remembering Mac's pointed glance earlier. I am good at this, she told herself, and I need to do this for the foal. I can do this. I can do this!

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Fluttershy took on a look of determination. "You're right. I need to face this. C-could you maybe... bring some friends to rehearsal tomorrow? I-if they aren't busy..."

Fancy and Fleur both chuckled softly. "I'm sure we can round up an audience," Fancy declared. "Now, why don't you try a couple more songs just for us first? Baby steps, you know."

Fluttershy took a deep breath before nodding. "Alright. Everypony else ready?" she asked, glancing around at her bandmates. They all took their places and began another song, the pegasus keeping her eyes closed but singing along perfectly.

That night, Fluttershy found herself dreaming again. No, not dreaming, she realized. This was Flutterbat, as Rarity had called it. Fluttershy would have sighed if she had control of her body.

Instead, Flutterbat scrunched her eyebrows. This was an odd feeling. She was having thoughts that didn't seem to be her own. Shaking her head, she pushed these thoughts away. She was ravenously hungry, and the orchard couldn't reach the horizon soon enough.

An image popped into her mind: the red stallion she had mated with a couple nights ago. She had been too hungry to think about him last night, but this time, she remembered. Yet, this thought of him seemed tainted somehow. She... feared for him? That couldn't be right. What was wrong with her? Maybe some apples and gossip would ease her mind.

As she reached the orchard, however, she couldn't take her mind off the stallion. Part of her wanted to mate again, another part -- what is this? -- wanted to warn him not to mate with her? She was so confused.

Whatever it was, it was far too distracting for her to have any sort of appetite, so she instead flew toward the farm house. Somehow, she knew which of the windows she'd find her prey behind, and she latched onto the wall on either side of the window frame with the claws on her wings, tapping on the glass with a hind hoof.

"MacIntooosh~" she sang. He never said his name, how...? She shook the thought away. It didn't matter. By Celestia's sorrows she was horny. She tapped the glass more insistently, grinning when she saw movement in the dark room.

Mac grunted as he rolled over to light the lantern on his end table. Groggily, he made his way to the bedroom door, opening it to find an empty hallway, but the noise continued. Turning around, he spotted the culprit at his window and sighed heavily.

"Ah know what ya want, and ya ain't gettin' it," he stated sternly.

Unperturbed, Flutterbat pressed her pelvis to the glass. "You can't tell me you didn't enjoy the other night," she mused almost inaudibly through the window.

"Ah won't lie and say that wasn't fun," he admitted, "but Ah didn't rightly know what was goin' on at the time. Ah ain't interested in doin' that again."

The vampire pulled back a hoof, preparing to punch the glass. "You weren't interested last time, until it was already happening~"

"Now listen here, bat," he growled, "ya break mah glass an' you won't be back on mah property without a fight. Just cuz ya got away with jumpin' mah bones two months ago don't mean it's gonna happen again. Ah got more respect for Fluttershy than to--"

"Two months?" she repeated, tilting her head. "That was just the night before last, you silly stallion."

Big Mac looked at her incredulously. "D'you not have Fluttershy's memory?"

"What are you talking about? I am Fluttershy."

"No, you're not," he insisted, shaking his head at the floor with a sigh. "You're... Ah dunno... some kinda spirit, or something, that gets control o' her body once a month. That's the best I can figure, at any rate."

She scrunched her face, growing confused and angry as she considered his words. After what seemed an endless moment, she hissed at MacIntosh and turned around to take flight.

As she headed for the orchard, disturbing thoughts crossed her mind. Could he be telling the truth? She had no memories of fillyhood... yes, she did...? But they felt foreign.

They're not your memories, they're mine. Those thoughts that didn't feel right! Was that the real Fluttershy? Yes. No! Impossible! She began to panic as she arrived at the orchard. There was no other mind in her head. Perhaps she was just going mad? That stallion had done this to her!

Frantically, she flitted among the vampire fruit bats, asking them different questions in turn. How often did she visit them? Once a month. How long had Lucius and Narcissa been mates? Nearly a year, and Narcissa would be giving birth to their first offspring any day now. Where was Vincent? He'd passed away a couple weeks ago.

Fluttershy -- Flutterbat -- whoever she was! -- fell to the ground, curling up and hyperventilating as her reality fell apart. She'd never thought it odd that the bats seemed to move through life so quickly. It had never occurred to her that the moon shouldn't be full every night. She had always had a strange feeling like somepony else was watching her, but now this other was talking to her occasionally. Was this normal? Did she even belong in this body?

It was an accident.

She jumped as that other mind showed itself again. What is this?

I'm not entirely sure myself... One of my friends cast a spell that somehow... created you. I turned into you a few nights in a row, but she tried to reverse the spell. Since then, you've only come out every full moon.

Flutter...bat deliberated for a moment. Faint images of Fluttershy's memory presented themselves to her, but she couldn't make much sense of it. Instead, she curled up tighter, whimpering pathetically. Am I not... real?

I... I wouldn't say that...

W-where do I go? Where do I come from?

I wish I had an answer... I'm sorry. Um... can we go home now? O-or maybe eat? I'm-- er, you're hungry. We're hungry?

Flutterbat groaned. The hunger was there, but no desire to eat. What was the point? She was just going to disappear at sunrise, right?

It's my body too, and I have to eat for the baby.

Baby?

You... conceived a foal with MacIntosh.

Flutterbat bit her lip and gulped. This wasn't even her body, and she'd put a child in it.... She forced herself to get up and flew into a tree, ignoring the strange looks and inquisitive squeaks from the bats as she forced herself to eat. She owed Fluttershy that much, at least.

Holes in the Veil

Every other time Flutterbat had taken over for the night, Fluttershy had always woken up feeling energized and refreshed. This morning, however, she was almost too exhausted to roll out of bed. It made sense, she supposed, that one's alter ego having an existential meltdown would be rather draining. Insofar as any part of this situation made some form of sense. Ugh.

With a shaky yawn, she flopped onto the floor and halfheartedly stretched her wings out. As soon as he noticed his caretaker was awake, Angel Bunny hopped in front of her, tapping his foot and pointing at the clock with a disapproving frown. She looked up at the timepiece with eyes that refused to focus, scrunching her face as she tried to recall her plans for the day. Perhaps it was just her unrested mind playing tricks on her, but the clock seemed to have turned into a face.

"Running a little behind schedule, aren't we?" came a smarmy voice from the clock. No, her eyes were just fine.

Fluttershy yawned. "Mmmmorning, Discord..."

"Morning?" Discord chuckled, retreating into the clock and reappearing beneath Fluttershy to lift her to her hooves. "It's a quarter past noon. Tree Hugger is already making tea."

That woke her up. "Tree Hugger is here?!"

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

Chapter Four

The pegasus was torn between excitement and apology as she headed downstairs to greet her friend. Tree had been on some sort of spirit quest for 7 weeks that required total isolation from other ponies; Fluttershy had missed her a lot.

She found both her friends in the living room. Discord had, of course, traveled by his own means already, and had made the teapot grow wings to pour their cups itself. She immediately ran to embrace Tree, who laughed at her friend's excitement as she reciprocated.

"Hey, Shy," she mused in her usual soft drone. "I was just telling Discord about my meditations on chaos and order. I saw beautiful and enlightening things in the æther."

Discord nodded with a surprisingly genuine smile. "It's really wonderful to finally have a friend who understands chaos from the inside."

Fluttershy sat in her usual chair with a tired smile. "You'll have to tell me all about your journey. I've missed having you over for tea."

"You look wiped out, dude," Tree said with a sympathetic smile. "Fortunately, I have the remedy." She gestured to the awkwardly flying teapot as it tipped backwards, pouring Fluttershy's tea from the handle rather than the spout. "Lemon ginger with ginseng, for energy and focus," she explained with a mystical flourish of her hoof.

Shy smiled her gratitude to Discord as the pot sat down on the table and shed its wings, then turned her attention back to Tree Hugger. "So, do tell us about your time away. I'm sure you've had a lot of interesting revelations."

The earth mare chuckled softly. "It cannot be justly told, one must experience it to understand," she mused. "I have found peace in chaos, beauty in dissonance... Perhaps Discord would take you to the Chaos Realm some time for your enlightenment?" she suggested, glancing at the draconequus.

"The Chaos Realm? Fluttershy?" he asked, his eyes darting uncertainly between the mares. "I've been wary to take her; she's rather... fragile."

"Mmmm..." Tree nodded slowly, closing her eyes. "It is a harsh environment if you aren't properly centered."

Fluttershy blushed softly, hiding her sheepish look by taking a sip of her tea. When she looked back up, she found Tree staring at her, looking somewhat confused.

"U-um, is something wrong?" the pegasus asked, unnerved by the look on her friend's face.

"I can't put my hoof on it," she replied softly, tapping her forehooves together, "but your aura feels... different. Like, bigger?"

Oh no, what if she can sense Flutterbat?! No, wait, Flutterbat was there before I met Tree Hugger... Then what...?

The green mare's eyes suddenly grew wide, and she gasped as her face lit up. "Dude, you're gravid!"

"PFFFT!"

"Whoa!" Tree had to duck as Discord did a spit-take, spewing shards of teacup across the room. The tea itself remained floating in a dome shape between his hands as he looked at Fluttershy in disbelief.

The pegasus gulped and nodded, blushing profusely. Discord's jaw dropped, detaching from his face and falling into his tea with an exaggerated ploink. After blinking a few times, he slurped up the tea in the process of putting his jaw back on, where it helped the rest of his face form a scowl.

"I know I didn't impregnate you," he growled. "Are you cheating on me?"

"What?!" It was Fluttershy's turn to drop her jaw, albeit within the bounds of physics.

"I didn't stutter!"

Tree Hugger raised a hoof. "Uh, should I leave?"

"No," Shy insisted, waving a hoof at her. "I'm gonna need some help re-centering after this. Discord! Kitchen! Now!"

Discord made his way into the kitchen by turning 2-dimensional, shrinking, and regaining his depth beyond the doorway. The various animals in her care scattered as Fluttershy quickly followed by wing, hovering face-to-face with him, her nose barely an inch from his. "What is the meaning of this?! What are you talking about?" she demanded in a hushed shout.

"I'm talking about my marefriend" --he emphasized the word by roughly poking her chest-- "sleeping with somepony else!"

"Your marefriend?!" she repeated, looking as confused as she was angry. "No one ever told me we were together! What in Equestria gave you that idea?!"

"Oh, I don't know," he growled, rolling his eyes, "all the lunch dates, the tea parties, the strolls through the woods, the deep and personal conversations--"

"All the things I do with all my other friends on a regular basis!"

"The way you wormed your way into my heart to 'reform' me?!"

"Again, friendship, Discord!" Fluttershy had lost her forced hush by now and was yelling in his face. "Just because I was the first pony with the patience to put up with you doesn't make it love! And furthermore," she screamed, jabbing him in the chest with a hoof, "if you honestly thought that we were together, then how do you explain Hearts and Hooves Day" --Discord shrank back, but Fluttershy stayed right in his face-- "when you melted in here in the middle of the night, so drunk you were slurring your species, bragging at the top of your voice about what a great lay Princess Celestia is?! If you honestly believed you could be with two mares at once, you are the last person with any right to tell me I can't sleep with whomever I choose!"

She paused to catch her breath, her eyes stinging with the onset of tears. "And why didn't you ever just tell me how you felt about me?!"

"I-I-I-I, I thought it was clear..." Discord's glare had given way to a look bordering on fear at this point, his voice wavering. "Y-y-you don't...?"

"No, Discord," she replied, getting her teeth, "I don't love you! You... are a wonderful friend, but if you aren't satisfied with that," she paused to take a deep breath her lungs didn't seem to want to contain, "then get out of my house!"

As if her voice were accompanied by a strong gust of wind, Discord disintegrated and slowly blew out the window. When the last speck of him was gone, the pegasus fell onto her side sobbing, curling up in a ball enclosed by her wings. She might have laid there forever, but a gentle hoof pressed between her wings before long.

"Shhh, sit up, Shy," Tree Higher softly said. The pegasus sniffled and did as she was told. "Good, now stretch your wings, open the chest... and breeeeathe. Out with the pain, in with the energy... Good."

Tree Hugger guided her friend through a few more exercises to help her calm down. When Fluttershy could breathe normally again, she sighed.

"What do I do, Treesy?" she asked, almost begged. "I-I don't want to lose Discord as a friend, a-and I certainly don't want him as an enemy..."

"Peace, Fluttershy, don't work yourself up again," the earth mare replied in a motherly tone. "I'll talk to him. If anypony can reason with a creature of chaos, it'd be me."

Shy simply nodded, staring at her mostly full teacup. After a long moment, she sighed. "Did anyone ever clean up Discord's cup?" she asked, all enthusiasm drained from her voice. One of the squirrels chittered from the corner. "Thank you."

Tree Hugger watched her friend for several minutes in silence, growing concerned as Shy only continued to stare at her drink. Finally, she stood over the pegasus, pulling her chin up to make eye contact. "Flutters, don't worry about it," she insisted. "You're having a baby, right? This is a beautiful thing. Rejoice!"

Fluttershy gave a small smile and nodded, but immediately went back to looking forlorn. Tree sighed.

"Tell ya what, I'm gonna run home and grab a few things for you," she offered. "Birth is a blessing, but it's also a trial. You'll need all the help you can get. I'll be back in a few, 'kay?"

Fluttershy halfheartedly nodded, her eyes still locked to her reflection in her cup.

It may have been several minutes or an eternity, Fluttershy couldn't tell, but Tree kept her word, letting herself back in with a saddlebag on her side. She sat on the rug in the middle of the room, patting the ground beside her as an invitation. With a sigh, Shy set down her tea and joined her friend on the floor as she deposited the contents of the bag between them.

"What's all this?"

Tree gave an almost smug smile. "Gifts for the expectant mother." She gestured first to a few bottles of vitamins, "Supplements for your health and the foal's," several sticks of incense, "fragrances to tame your unpredictable emotions," a recipe book, "a good, all-natural diet," another book, "and some new yoga routines to help guide your chakras to the womb and prepare your body for birth."

Fluttershy smiled at the earth pony, picking up the incense for a quick smell. "Oh, that's lovely," she sighed happily, the mere sample already doing wonders for her mood. "Thank you."

"These are the earth's gifts," Tree replied with a chuckle, waving a hoof dismissively. "Your only payment is to take care of the precious life you've created."

Shy grinned and hugged her friend before continuing to pore over the items on the carpet. She tilted her head when she spotted an eggshell-colored rubber ball amidst her gifts. "What's the ball for?"

"Oh, yeah," Tree said, picking up the item in question with a smirk. "This is a kegel ball. Very important exercise if you want the birth itself to go smoothly."

"How does a bouncy ball help?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Tree shook her head with a laugh. "You don't bounce it, filly. It's for pelvic floor exercise," she explained. "You nest it in the birth canal and sq--"

"Wait, what?" Fluttershy blinked, staring at the ball. Surely she'd misheard.

Tree rolled her eyes with a good-natured smile. "It goes in your vag, dude. You squeeze it to develop muscle control so you can bear your foal relatively quick and painless."

"Wha-- b-but that sounds terribly uncomfortable."

"Nah, maybe a little when you pop it in, but once it's in, you won't even know it's there."

Fluttershy just stared at the ball in disbelief. "U-um... h-how much, uh, do I squeeze it?"

Tree shrugged. "A few dozen times, just whenever," she suggested. "It won't fall out on its own, so you can leave it in all day if you want, exercise anytime, anyplace. Just take it out and wash it when you bathe."

Shy still only looked at the ball uncertainly, blushing a bit. "Y-you said anytime, but... won't someone notice?"

Her friend snickered. "Nah, filly, flexing your pelvic floor doesn't do anything visible. I have my ball in all the time, I'm doing it right now."

The pegasus found her eyes wandering between Tree's legs before she could stop herself, lingering just long enough to register a lack of noticeable motion before she looked away, blushing hard.

The earth mare simply chuckled and offered Fluttershy the ball in her hoof. "Trust me, it'll do you a lot of good, and nopony'll know."

"O-okay," Shy relented, taking the ball in her own hooves. She then blinked and raised an eyebrow at Tree Hugger. "Wait, why do you have one? A-are you pregnant too?" she asked, her face beginning to light up.

"Wha--oh, nah," Tree replied, chuckling softly. "A trained pelvic floor also has its applications to lovemaking," she explained with a wink.

Fluttershy blushed even harder. "O-OH. I-I see..."

Tree Hugger snickered and patted her friend in the back. "Like I said, it'll do you a world of good. But you can worry about that later." She picked up the yoga book and started rifling through the pages. "You wanna get started on some of these exercises?"

"Okay," Fluttershy replied with a nod, setting the kegel ball aside for now. "I'll light some incense."

MacIntosh wiped the sweat from his brow and shrugged off his tilling harness in the barn, stepping out to admire the sunset as it cast a pinkish glow across the bare field he'd worked so hard on today. He simply stood there in serene silence as the sun sank further into the horizon. Unfortunately, his peace was soon broken by his sister's voice approaching from his left.

"Big MacIntosh Apple!"

Mac stiffened up. She sounded far from pleased. "Eeyup?"

Applejack stomped her way directly in front of him, scowling up at him. He met her glare with a calm look that only barely betrayed his confusion.

"Why in the hell am Ah hearin' things from Rarity that Ah oughta've heard from you first?" the smaller Apple demanded, looking no less intimidating for her size.

"Don't rightly know what you're talking about," Mac replied coolly.

"Oh, don't give me that shit," she fired back. "Rare's all about some gossip, but she don't make up seein' ponies actin' sweet on each other. She said you 'n' Fluttershy been sneakin' around at night for months, and--"

"Now, hold it right there, Applejack," he interrupted firmly, but calmly. "She's got the wrong idea. Fluttershy asked me to tutor her so she could build up the confidence to audition for the Ponytones, that's all we been up to after dark."

AJ scoffed dismissively. "Okay, then what about all the hush-hush, talkin' out of earshot of the others during rehearsal? That part o' your tutoring?"

Mac sighed. Time to dig the rabbit hole deeper. "She... she likes me, Applejack," he said softly, pretending to be bashful. "And I've grown pretty fond of her myself."

Applejack's ears and shoulders drooped, her expression softening. "Well, why hide that? What, ya think Ah'm some possessive thing that don't want anypony datin' her brother?"

"No, it ain't--"

"Then why?" she insisted. "I'm happy for you, what's wrong with that?"

"It's--" he sighed, "it's Fluttershy. She don't want our relationship to be the talk o' the town; you know she ain't fond of attention."

Applejack bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, Ah guess you're right. Ah'm sorry for drillin' ya, Ah'm just hurt thatcha wouldn't tell your own sister you were seein' somepony." She looked up at him with a smile. "You know Ah like seein' mah family grow, and Fluttershy's one o' mah best friends. How could Ah disapprove?"

Mac smiled back, though his eyes held a shadow of sadness. "Again, it ain't about your approval. It's Shy. She's, well, shy," he explained with a chuckle, which AJ joined him in.

"Alright, I'll talk to Rarity in the mornin', get this all cleared up 'fore it gets out too far. Right now, Granny's waitin' on us to show up for dinner," she informed him, glancing out across the fields as the last sliver of the sun shrank away. "Nice work tillin', by the way. Couldn'a done better mahself."

MacIntosh smiled at his sister. Applejack ran the farm with an iron hoof most days, taking for granted the hard work that went into meeting her standards; it was good to hear some praise for his efforts.

Without another word, the two headed for their house, following the rich aroma of Granny Smith's zap apple pie cooling in the window.

R&R

Fluttershy beamed as the audience erupted with applause before her. It was the first time the Ponytones had stuck around for an encore since she had joined them; she was so proud of herself for overcoming her nerves over the last few performances. She cheerfully bowed with her fellow singers, making "thank you" gestures with her wings as the applause seemed to go on forever. Fluttershy didn't mind one bit.

Much to the others' surprise, it was Big MacIntosh who first left the stage. As the others joined him backstage, Rarity pulled Fluttershy aside.

"I'm so proud of you," she told the pegasus. "You've come leaps and bounds in conquering your nerves!"

Chuckling softly, Shy replied, "You've all been so supportive. I'm just so much more comfortable now."

"Oh, I know it dear, but I can tell you're still under a lot of stress," she lowered her voice. "Now, I say this not out of judgment, but as a concerned friend... you've put on a bit of weight, dear."

I'm showing already?! Fluttershy gulped, blushing a bit as she glanced at her belly. She was only three months along. It had grown just a little, but so gradually that she hadn't noticed. "Oh. U-um... I-I guess I have been eating a little more than usual lately," she hedged. It wasn't a lie. It wasn't why she was gaining weight either, but still not a lie.

"Don't worry, dear," Rarity said with a wink. "You just need a little R&R to celebrate and take your mind off things." She raised her voice for the others to hear as she continued, "And that's why I've booked us all at the spa this evening!"

While the others expressed joy in their own ways, however, Mac only groaned and lowered his head. "The spa? I ain't a m--" He stopped himself with a sheepish glance at Toe Tapper, the group's other stallion. "Er, i-it just ain't my thing."

Rarity waved a good dismissively. "Oh, nonsense, MacIntosh. As hard as you work at home, a good massage and hooficure would do you more good than the rest of us combined!" she insisted, raising her eyebrows like a mother telling her foal to eat his oats. "And besides, I've already paid."

Mac rolled his eyes and sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temple with a hoof. He then felt a soft mane leaning into his chest and opened his eyes to find Fluttershy looking up at him with a small, pleading smile. "Come on MacIntosh," she said softly. "I think it's a lovely idea. I go with Rarity all the time; it's wonderful stress relief."

Mac stole a brief glance at Rarity. Yup, she was adoring their "relationship". Keep the charade going. The farmer gave a small smile and nuzzled Fluttershy behind the ear. "Alright, Shy, if ya insist."

"Oh, I do," she replied, leaning into his affections. "You'll feel like a whole new pony."

With that settled, Rarity clapped her hooves twice and began to herd her bandmates out the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? To the spa!"

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

Chapter Five

MacIntosh looked around uncertainly as the Ponytones entered the Blossom twins' business. Exotic fragrances were heavy in the air, perhaps coming from the many foreign flowers and colorful candles that decorated the walls and counters. He didn't have much time to examine his surroundings before two absurdly thick accents greeted them in sync.

"Greetings, Ponytones!" Aloe and Lotus sang out as they came through the ornate beaded curtains behind their desk. "We have been looking forward to serving you this fine evening. You are ready for much-needed relaxation, yes?"

"Of course, dears!" Rarity chirped, putting an elbow on the counter and leaning toward the twins with a conspiratorial grin. "You've prepared our... personalized packages, I hope?"

"Of course, Rara!" Aloe replied with a flourish of her hoof. "Anyting for best customer's friends!"

"Wonderful!"

Lotus whistled a few odd notes and clapped her hooves once, and three of their employees came out of different doors, two dressed in deep red velvet robes. The third had no uniform aside from a headband; the white-coated stallion looked like he would never own a piece of clothing that fit properly.

Rarity and Torch Song didn't hesitate to go to the cream-coated mare with an almost masculine manecut. Toe Tapper followed as the younger pink mare beckoned. The disturbingly muscular stallion pointed at Fluttershy and MacIntosh in turn with exaggerated motions. "Fluttershy! Little dude! Are you ready for some MAJOR RELAXATION?!"

Mac nitted his brow, unsure which was more backwards: the intensity with which he'd proposed "relaxation", or the fact that Mac had just been referred to as "little dude" by the only stallion in Ponyville larger than him.

Fluttershy giggled at his expression, nudging him with a wing. "Don't let the machismo put you off," she insisted with a smile toward the oddly proportioned employee. "Bulk Biceps is one of the sweetest ponies I know, and he's very good at his job." Mac grimaced uncertainly at her, to which she rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Come on, MacIntosh."

Reluctantly, he followed as Bulk led them into a room with massage tables and a different, less pungent combination of floral scents.

When he reached the center of the room, Bulk stood on his hindlegs and began flexing his enormous arms, pointing at different pairs of tables with each motion. "Pick a table, any table!"

Fluttershy giggled at his shenanigans as she made her way to one in the corner of the room. Mac chewed his lip for a moment, raising an eyebrow at the massive masseur before sprawling on a table facing hers. Bulk wasted no time in beginning to rapidly pummel Fluttershy between her wings, eliciting a sharp gasp from the mare. MacIntosh almost got up to scold him for being so rough, but stopped himself as his foal's expectant mother let out a long, loud sigh of pleasure, her eyes crossing as her face melted into a huge goofy grin.

"AaAaAaAaAaAaAaHhHhHhHh..."

It was all Mac could do not to laugh. The mare's eyes slowly rolled back in her head, her tongue lolling out, as Bulk's hooves visibly vibrated her entire body. Before he could put much thought into how long it would be before the beefy buck turned his attention to Mac, a voice came from beside him.

"Big MacIntosh Apple," the pink twin, Aloe, said in a somewhat condescending tone, "I have tried again and again to persuade you and your seester to come to my spa. You Apples are such stubborn and prideful lot. Think it is shameful to accept help. Tell me, does this hurt?" Before he could react, Aloe shoved a hoof into his back, making Mac yelp and twitch. "That's what I thought," she said matter-of-factly, running her forehooves along the rest of his back and shoulders. "You are much too tense, every muscle in your body. You have knots in places I've never seen!"

Mac looked back at the masseuse with a frown. As he opened his mouth to argue with her, she sharply chopped a spot between his shoulderblades, making him jump again. "Now, what in the HAAAaauuuuhhhkay, you can have that," his protest petered off as she chopped again, this time a few inches lower on his spine, popping his back in a way that melted all the pain away in an instant.

Aloe smirked haughtily at him, popping her wrists before beginning to firmly rub circles in various areas of his musculature. As Mac glanced across to Fluttershy, who was now on her back with Bulk working her chest and forelegs, he found he could no longer laugh at her expression; he was probably doing the same thing.

After their massages, Mac and Shy were brought into another room. The stallion could barely walk, he was so limber. In the next room, they joined the rest of the Ponytones for a Pilates routine led by the twins themselves before they were split up again. Rarity winked at the quiet pair as Lotus took her, Torch Song, and Toe Tapper to the large hot tub room the spa was famous for. Aloe led the other two through an unmarked door in the opposite direction.

"Uh, why don't we get the hot tub?" MacIntosh spoke up as the pink mare led them through a rather plain-looking hallway.

"You do," Aloe replied simply, never looking back. Mac glanced at Fluttershy, who shrugged back. Eventually, they reached a door with a rotating "do not disturb" sign, which the masseuse opened and beckoned them into with a flourish of her hoof and a sly smile.

Mac's eyes widened as he stepped through. Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane. This room was much smaller, with a hot tub that would only fit two, maybe three ponies. The entire room was dimly lit by candles scented with thick, enticing spices, and decorated with bouquets of roses on the walls and rose petals all over the floor around the tub.

"U-um, a-are you sure this is the right room?" Fluttershy asked softly, peeking one eye around her hair to look back at Aloe.

"Of course, my dear," the earth mare replied with a smile. "The couple's package has special room for two so you may have privacy while you relax... or not," she added with a wink, causing Shy to blush even more. "Enjoy~" she sang, closing the door behind her before anypony could protest.

After a moment's silence staring at the door, Fluttershy and MacIntosh sighed in unison. "Rarity." They made eye contact and shared a brief laugh before Fluttershy stretched her wings out and stepped toward the hot tub.

"Well, we're here," she said, lowering herself into the water. "Might as well make the best of it."

Mac grunted and shrugged, taking another glance at the glaringly romantic display around them. Tentatively, he put a single hoof in the water, which he immediately yanked back out. "Yeesh, they ain't kiddin' about 'hot tub.'"

The small mare giggled softly. "Have you never been in a hot tub before?"

"Nnnope."

"Oh, it's wonderful, really," she insisted. "It only hurts for a few seconds. Just lower yourself in slowly."

Mac did as he was told, hissing quietly as the hot water crept up his legs, his flank, his torso. While Fluttershy was submerged to her shoulders, the large stallion found himself in a comfortable seated position before the water even reached his chest. He sat still for a moment, letting the water soak through his fur as he became acclimated to the temperature. She was right, this felt incredible. Shy giggled at Mac's groan of relief.

After silently enjoying the water for several minutes, the pegasus spoke up. "So, um... Maybe we should use this time to get to know each other better?" she offered.

"Mmm, eeyup," MacIntosh agreed. "Ahh... favorite color?"

She giggled at his simple choice of question. "Green. You?"

"Cerulean," he replied, causing her to blink in surprise. "Real nice shade o' blue," Mac elaborated, "but most ponies don' know their advanced color names."

"I-I know, I just didn't expect you to know them," she said with a bashful grin. "Um, I stand by 'green' though. I like them all."

Mac chuckled and nodded. "Alright, your turn."

"Oh, um..." The mare thought for a moment. "Oh, I don't know, um... what do you like to do with your free time?"

"Heh," he shook his head with a smile, "truth be told, I'm kind of a dork. I like comic books, 'n' adventure novels... Well, that's what I tell everypony, but truth be told, I'm kind of a sucker for romance novels," he said bashfully, eliciting another giggle. "If Shinin' Armor's in town, I'll go play Oubliettes and Ogres with him... I'll take Spike to hoofball games on the weekend sometimes."

"Oh, I'm sure that's lovely," Shy interjected, prompting a quizzical raise of eyebrow from Mac. "W-well, I don't care for sports, really, but Spike is such a sweetheart."

Mac chuckled softly. "Yeah, he's a good kid. Looks up to me too. I mean, he ain't had any kind o' father figure; Shinin' Armor moved out when he was two, an' Night Light ain't had much influence either, 'specially now that Twilight lives here."

"Oh, that's awful," Fluttershy muttered, her ears drooping sadly. She had never really thought about how lonely he must be with nopony but Twilight around most of the time.

"Eeyup. Not to say Twilight ain't doin' a good job o' raisin' him," he added, "but he needs a male role model too, y'know? I know what it's like havin' a daddy and then not havin' one..." He paused to chew on his tongue for a moment, eyes unfocused, then shook himself and cleared his throat. "So I try to be there for him when I can."

Fluttershy's heart swelled. MacIntosh was such a good stallion. She wished she had properly met him before this whole fiasco.

"Anyway, I'm off blabberin' about a bunch o' heavy stuff," he said, rolling his eyes, "so what about you? What do your weekends look like?"

They continued asking each other pointed questions for a while, eventually laughing together as the conversation dissolved into a casual sharing of random anecdotes.

"...and I tried so hard to set up a scary scenario for them all without being too scary," Shy recounted, referring to Nightmare Night a few months ago. "Well... it was just kinda pathetic," she trailed off sheepishly, hiding behind her mane.

As she stared blankly into the bubbling water, she was surprised to feel a roughly textured but gentle hoof brush her bangs back behind her ear. She looked up to find her foal's sire looking at her with a small sympathetic smile.

"How come you're always coverin' up your eyes when ya get embarrassed?" he asked, chuckling quietly. "Ya think if ya can't see somepony, they can't see you?"

Fluttershy flinched, reflexively trying to hide again, but Mac gently held her chin in place with a hoof. "W-well, I-I guess when you put it that way, i-it sounds silly."

Mac simply nodded, never breaking eye contact or his warm smile. "Ya got such pretty eyes, Shy. It's really a shame to hide 'em."

Her heart swelled once again at his words. Meanwhile, something about his deep, smooth voice caused a muscle spasm the pegasus probably wouldn't have noticed if not for the rubber ball nested in that area. Now acutely aware of a feeling she wasn't accustomed to, Fluttershy turned almost as red as the stallion opposite her and quickly scooted away, hiding behind her mane once more.

"Aw, hell," Mac muttered, seeing her discomfort. "Was that too forward?"

"U-um, no," she squeaked back. "I-it's not, um... I, er, it's just, um... That made me very happy, I-I just..."

Mac sighed. "I'm sorry if'n I made ya uncomfortable," he said with a grimace. "I just... well, I'm comin' to like ya, Fluttershy. You're a fine mare, and... Well, I'd just like to know where we stand. Are we still just pretendin' to date, or do ya think--"

"Pretending to date?"

Fluttershy shrieked and tried to bury her face in MacIntosh's very solid chest as the cloud of foam nearest her spoke up in a familiar snarky drawl. It proceeded to shift into the shape of a draconequus lounging with his head propped up by an elbow on the surface of the water before taking his proper color and texture.

"D-Discord?!" Shy squeaked, while Mac glared with his arms wrapped around the mare protectively. "W-what are you doing here?"

He examined the claws on his free hand as he replied, "Oh, I just thought I'd find out who the lucky stallion is, but this is so much better!" He floated up, cackling for a moment, then flew up to them and pinched one of each of their cheeks. "Sweet, innocent Fluttershy and good ol' farm boy Big MacIntosh are trying to preserve their dignity after a one-night stand?! That's stranger than fiction!" he finished, releasing their faces to roll on his back guffawing in mid-air.

"I-i-it's not like th-that, i-it's c-complicated," Shy managed to whimper before bursting into tears.

MacIntosh scowled and snorted, taking on a face that would terrify even Applejack. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he roared, causing the draconequus to pause and look at him with a raised brow. "I knew you could be an asshole, but I'd'a thought you'd at least have a little respect for your first true friend!"

"After she broke my heart?" Discord shot back haughtily. "I've been content to enjoy her suffering all by myself, but I can certainly spread the word if you'd like things to escalate," he finished, flattening his brow as the mirth left his voice.

Fluttershy sobbed louder at this, prompting MacIntosh to hold her tighter. "You're a terrible person, you know that?" the stallion growled.

Discord rolled his eyes so hard that they rolled out the back of his head, splashing loudly into the tub. From there they floated up to the ponies, where a few bubbles moved to imitate eyebrows so he could raise one smugly. "You seem to forget who you're talking to."

Mac glanced to the side, furrowing his brow, then glared back at Discord's eyes. He grabbed one, throwing it at the service bell button he'd spotted with perfect accuracy.

Discord yelped as his eye bounced off the button, flying back into his face, where he clutched it with both hands for a moment. He straightened up and floated his other eye into his lion paw, where he casually tossed it up and caught it as he glared at the stallion with one empty socket. "I'll remember that one later," he said flatly. His smirk then returned. "Don't worry though, I know how this one ends," he mused. "Everypony thinks it's adorable to ship the quiet ones together, but when it comes down to it, they just feed on each other's antisocial tendencies and never accomplish anything. If you two even last, you won't have much of a life. Not my problem," he finished with a shrug.

At that moment, Aloe came through the door. "What can I do for y--" She stopped short as she spotted Discord floating in the middle of the room, her professional poise fading in an instant. "DISCORD!!" she shrieked, stomping the ground. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave my fucking customers alone?!"

Fluttershy peeked over Mac's shoulder with a hiccup, wide-eyed. She'd never seen the masseuse lose her composure; it was surprisingly terrifying to see the usually upbeat mare with a vein popping in her forehead.

Discord, meanwhile, only snickered. "Your fucking customers?" he repeated with a chuckle. "Oh no, I arrived just in time to prevent that."

Mac gritted his teeth and snorted as Shy buried her face in his chest once more, while Aloe looked as though her head might explode. Without hesitation, she started throwing jars containing lit candles at the draconequus. "Out! OUT! OUT!!"

Discord laughed heartily as he dodged every one by either bending impossibly or opening holes in his body. "You and your sister really are too adorable when you're mad," he mused with a smirk as the jars smashed against the wall behind him. "Feel free to destroy as much of your own property as you like," he drawled, nonchalantly popping his knuckles. "I got what I came for." When the last candle would have collided, he opened a hole in his midriff that continued to expand until his entire body was gone, leaving Aloe and Mac glaring at empty air while Fluttershy shook and whimpered into the stallion's fur.

Aloe huffed and rang the service bell again. "I apologize that your stay has been disaster," she said softly, her voice shaking from residual rage. "You may have an extra half-hour if you like; I'll not see one of my favorite clients and her lover" --Mac and Shy blushed at this, but said nothing-- "leave our spa more tense than they came in. We'll just be out of your mane in a moment," she finished with a nod to her sister and one of their other employees, who had just arrived with brooms and dustpans.

"Thank ya kindly, ma'am," Mac replied, his own voice unsteady as well. With a sigh, he nuzzled the top of Fluttershy's head. She continued to whimper softly as the spa workers cleaned up the broken candles and left the pair alone again.

The pegasus rubbed her cheek against Mac's chest as she gradually steadied her breath. He began to gently pet her mane, drawing a shaky coo from the mare. No longer distracted by Discord's antagonism, the apple farmer realized why Fluttershy had gotten so embarrassed earlier when he drew a deep breath, inhaling her scent: the mare had been aroused and producing a high volume of enticing pheromones. This caused an unintentional physical response from the stallion as well, and he shifted uncomfortably. "U-uh, Fluttershy, you, uh, might wanna--"

She eeped and flinched as she felt the source of his discomfort reach her belly, still expanding. With a soft giggle interrupted by a hiccup, she looked up at MacIntosh and shrugged before leaning into his chest once more, reaching down to adjust his appendage to rest flat against her underside instead of pressing into her.

Mac smiled with a sigh, embracing her once more and nosing behind her ear. His arousal soon wore off. After several minutes of simply holding each other and recuperating, the small mare looked up at him with a smile.

"Yes, MacIntosh," she answered his question from nearly half an hour ago. "I think we can really date. I just hope Discord doesn't do anything too drastic," she added with a frown.

"Shh, don't think about that right now," he replied, shaking his head and giving her a soft squeeze. "We're here to relax, right?"

Shy smiled and rubbed her head against his chest again. "I've never been more comfortable in my life." Mac chuckled and resumed stroking her mane.

Soon after, Aloe popped in again, knocking on the door first. She smiled sadly at them after they invited her in. "You are feeling better now, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Eeyup."

"Ah, good," the masseuse replied, her shoulders drooping with relief.

Fluttershy glanced at Mac, who nodded down at her. "Could you bring our towels, please?" she requested. "I think we're ready to go."

"Of course, my dear," Aloe replied with a professional bow. "Your friends are already in the lobby."

When she returned with the towels, the couple dried off, helping each other with hard-to-reach spots. Once MacIntosh was dry, Fluttershy playfully shook her wings off at him, forcing him to dry again with a good-natured grumble. He then sat down and watched her skeptically as she preened her feathers no more than three at a time.

"Y'know, I always thought it'd be nice to fly," he mused, "but I don't envy you pegasi one bit. That's just too much effort."

The mare giggled through her mouthful of feathers but said nothing. Finally she finished, and they followed Aloe back to the lobby, where Lotus was gushing at the other Ponytones about a recent show she'd attended.

"...wonderful! Fluttershy has such a lovely voice, she is very complimentary to the rest," the blue twin said, causing Shy to blush behind her.

Her blush only deepened when she realized that she had been leaning into MacIntosh as they walked, and now everypony's eyes were on the pair. Rarity, of course, was the first to speak up.

"Well, well," she said with relish, "you two must have really enjoyed your stay. We've been done for ages!"

MacIntosh shook his head. "Discord showed up to raise some hell, so Aloe let us stay a bit longer to calm down," he explained with a frown.

"We do feel much better now, though," Fluttershy added with a smile up at her stallion.

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Rarity replied with a wink.

The pair both rolled their eyes as the rest laughed and got up to leave. Despite the unicorn's teasing, however, they never broke contact as they walked out of the spa.

Reconciliation

MacIntosh quietly closed the front door behind him before releasing a long-restrained breath. He had never actually had any reason to sneak out at night, so he had no idea how lightly or heavily his sisters slept (though Granny, he knew, could sleep through a tornado in the middle of the day as long as nothing touched her.)

It was the night of the full moon, so he decided to talk to Fluttershy's vampire alter ego. With any luck, perhaps she wouldn't be so... frisky this time. At least if she tries something again, the damage is already done anyway, he thought, shaking his head.

He really had no idea what to say to her as he approached the vampire fruit bats' portion of the orchard. Part of him hoped he simply wouldn't find her there, but he knew it was important that he talk to her, if only to clear the air about a few things.

Despite the darkness and the rather loud chatter of the bat colony, it didn't take long to find his target: the mare was sobbing rather loudly, her cries interrupted every so often by a bite of an apple. Mac sighed. Here goes...

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

Chapter Six

"Hey, uh, Flutter... uh, Fluttershy... bat... gal," Mac stumbled over his words, but it got her attention.

She sniffled, looking down at the large stallion she'd assaulted three nights -- no, months -- ago. "What do you want?" she demanded. Despite her distraught state, she projected her voice in a way very unlike her host; she was definitely not Fluttershy no matter how Mac looked at it. "Come to berate me for ruining your life?"

"Now, hold it right there," he said sternly, but softly. "What ya did... well, it threw a wrench in things for sure, but my life ain't 'ruined' by any means. And no," he replied, "I came to talk to ya 'bout our situation movin' forward."

She scoffed. "What's there to talk about? I'm just a bat... in a pony's body..." Her voice began to break. "My whole purpose in life is just to eat, breed, and die..."

"Now that ain't--"

"I've got the breeding down!" she continued with a humorless laugh, not even looking at MacIntosh. "So now I'm feeding this little parasite, and in a thirtieth of a pony's lifespan, I'm gonna die, having accomplished nothing but raping you and eating fucking apples!" she finished, now sobbing loudly.

The stallion sighed and shook his head. "Look, that's part o' the reason I came out here to talk to you," he explained, causing her to stifle her cries a bit. "I know you ain't Fluttershy, but you're a part of her, and if I'm gonna raise a foal with her, well, I need to learn to accept all of her. Which includes," he looked pointedly at the bat pony, "makin' friends with you."

She sniffled, looking at him with widened eyes, but said nothing.

"So," he continued after determining she wasn't going to speak up any time soon, "first order o' business... what do we call ya?"

She scoffed and turned away, glaring at the apple impaled on her wing-claw. "What does it matter? I'm nothing."

"That ain't true, and ya better quit tellin' yourself that," he replied firmly. "I want somethin' to call you that ain't 'Fluttershy' or 'hey you'."

The mare shrugged with another sniffle. "Rarity called me 'Flutterbat' once."

Mac snorted, wrinkling his nose. "Nope, that just sounds like a parody," he insisted. "I got a little more respect for ya than that."

She looked back at him as if he had just told her the moon was green. "Respect?" she repeated incredulously, hiccuping afterward. "How have I earned your respect by ruining your life?!"

Mac rolled his eyes before running them over the tree the vampire was perched in. After a moment's contemplative silence, he gave the trunk a carefully aimed kick with his left hindleg, jolting her off the tree with a yelp. Before she could react, he had sat on his haunches and caught her in his arms, cradling her with a stern, but warm look in his eyes.

"Sugarcube, you ain't ruined mah life," he told her, looking her directly in the eye. "Why, if anything, you've done me a favor."

Her eyes widened. "Wh-what...?"

"I'm a pretty simple guy," he said earnestly. "There's only two things I care about: mah farm and mah family. The farm's always gonna be there... but mah family," he paused, his eyes going out of focus, "Applejack's always off doin' somethin' or other, travelin' and savin' the world... Applebloom and her friends are ambitious kids, they'll be off doin' their thing who-knows-where in a couple years, and Granny... well, she'll be leavin' soon too."

Flutterbat idly nibbled at her apple, her ears drooping back.

"I've always pictured mahself with a wife and foals," he continued after a moment, "but I keep so busy with mah work, hell, I've only been on one date since school, and that was Applebloom tryin' to hook me up with her teacher. I just don't have the time, and it ain't gonna help when the girls move out. But," he smiled down at her, "you threw me a curve ball pouncin' me like that."

She blushed, looking away as she squirmed out of his embrace and got back on her hooves, but he gently pulled her chin to face him again. "Hey, it wasn't what I had in mind, but I got a kid on the way now, and Fluttershy and I seem to be gettin' along well enough. Gives me a bit more to look forward to than runnin' Sweet Apple Acres by mahself til I keel over... so thank you."

The mare's jaw dropped, her apple hitting the ground soon after. "R-re-really?" she stuttered.

"Eeyup," Mac replied with a smile. "I really owe ya a lot, weird as that sounds. Which is why I wanna spend time with you when you, uh... I dunno, come out? Transform?"

She shrugged and grabbed her apple, dusting it off before taking a bite. "What would we even do though? Nopony's out in the middle of the night like this," she mused sadly, looking up at the full moon.

"Ravers," Mac replied simply.

"Do what now?"

"Dance clubs," he elaborated. "Bass music ain't really mah thing, but you might have a good time, ya never know."

She chewed on her apple, mulling over the idea. After a moment, she raised an eyebrow. "What if somepony recognizes you?" she asked. "You aren't exactly known for late nights out."

MacIntosh scratched his neck bashfully. "I could dress in drag," he offered. "Wouldn't be the first time."

The vampire couldn't stifle a snicker. "I-I don't think you'd pass as a mare."

"Did mah first few times out," he replied without missing a beat. "The Sisterhooves Social this year was a bit of a different story," he admitted, flattening his ears, "but nopony at the pub has ever seen through it, or at least they've been quiet. I've been hit on a few times...."

The yellow mare blinked in disbelief for a moment as she processed this information. "W-wait, you've done that before?!"

Mac somehow managed to visibly blush despite his deep red coat and the diminished light of the moon. "I... well... call me crazy, but sometimes I'm a little more comfortable when I'm somepony else," he explained.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," she agreed with a nod. "I do enj-- er, Fluttershy enjoys masquerades and costume parties."

"It's a shy pony thing, I think," Mac replied with a chuckle, to which the vampire smiled and nodded. "So what do ya say? It probably ain't a good idea to be at a night club pregnant, but we could go after the foal's born. Til then, I'd be happy to walk with ya at night, at least."

"That would be nice, I suppose," she conceded. "What about your work though? You need your sleep."

The stallion snorted and rolled his eyes. "If Applejack has a problem with me takin' one day off a month, I'll show her 'lazy'. She won't question me twice, I'll tell you that right now," he half-growled. His eyes widened as he realized he'd begun to lose his temper, and he cleared his throat before putting on a soft smile again. "Uh, anyway, I can't hang around tonight cuz I haven't arranged to take tomorrow off, but, uh..." he trailed off, giving the bat mare an inquisitive look.

She began to grow nervous as he silently chewed on his lip. Looking herself over briefly, she asked, "What? I-is something wrong?"

"No, no," he replied. "I just... Well..." he sighed and let his shoulders droop. "I'm probably crazy for even asking this, but... can Fluttershy... hear me? I-is she here right now?"

The vampire blinked. She hadn't seen that one coming. "Um... I'm not sure," she replied, scratching her neck with a wing-claw. "I can't really tell when she's, um, 'here' unless she talks, er, thinks to me. I-I guess?"

"So you can talk to her?" Mac asked with wide eyes.

I'm here.

She stuttered a bit as that odd feeling of a second mind came over her. "Y-y-yeah, um, I think she can hear you now."

The farmer cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head, chewing his lip for a second and looking into the mare's eyes. Something about them had changed, perhaps the way they caught the light. "Uh... alright, uh, Fluttershy," he addressed her, raising his voice a little, "I-I was hopin' I could talk ya into takin' a walk with me tomorrow afternoon. I figure you probably know the Everfree like the back o' your hoof, so I'd like to show you the hills beyond the orchard... Just, y'know, figured I'd ask while you were here...ish... 'stead o' walkin' all the way to your cottage and back after I finish mah work..."

That sounds lovely.

The vampire stood in silence for a moment while MacIntosh watched her expectantly. She shook herself when it occurred to her that only she could hear Fluttershy. "O-oh, right, um, she said 'that sounds lovely'," she repeated, blushing at her mistake. "Um, is it okay if she comes right after lunch?"

Mac smiled and nodded. "Eeyup. I'm sure Applebloom'll keep her busy if I ain't done by then."

She nodded. "Fluttershy is looking forward to it," she said, turning to fly back into the tree she had been bucked out of. "Go get some sleep, MacIntosh. I'll see you next month."

The stallion nodded, watching as she carefully selected a new apple from the tree. "Alright, you take care now," he said warmly. "And quit beatin' yourself up. Like I said, you've done me a favor. Good night." Without another word, he cantered toward his house, leaving Fluttershy's alter ego to her thoughts.

Worries

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness," Fluttershy repeatedly murmured, pacing her bedroom in a panic. "He's taking me for a walk, he's taking me on a date, what do I do, what do I wear, oh my goodness, oh my goodness..."

Angel Bunny glared and tapped his foot impatiently. His caretaker had been at this since she woke up, frantically trying on every piece of clothing she owned before tossing them aside, citing one reason or another as to why it was too little or too much for the humble farmer she had been seeing. Angel never could wrap his mind around Fluttershy's particular brand of anxiety. She had apparently fared quite well when she'd been unexpectedly subjected to the Blossom twins' special romance routine at the spa last weekend, but now that a simple walk in the hills was planned, she just couldn't handle the anticipation.

A soft, rhythmic knock on the front door prompted the butter-yellow mare to yelp and fly right up into the ceiling of her closet, landing in her pile of rejected outfits with her hooves over her suddenly sore head. "Ow, ow, ow," she whimpered, looking sheepishly up at her rabbit companion. "W-would you see who's at the d-door, please?"

With the most scathingly unamused expression a rodent could possibly muster, Angel nodded and hopped away, leaving Fluttershy to wallow in her shame. Before long, he returned, followed up the stairs by the sound of hoofsteps much smaller than those of the bulky stallion she so eagerly dreaded to see.

"Flutters, what's up?" came the soft drawl of her even more nature-oriented friend. "I was in town to buy some herbs, figured I'd pop in for tea, but Angel's vibing like he's been watching a meltdown this morning."

"H-hi, Treesy," the pink and yellow parts of the laundry pile replied in a squeak. "J-just, y'know, getting dressed for a... d-d-date..."

Tree Hugger's face lit up, as well as her muted form of expression allowed, and she chuckled. "You silly filly, he's a farmer. Just go au naturel, it's not the Gala or anything."

"I-I know," Shy mumbled, getting to her hooves to meet her friend at eye level. "I just... I-I really want to make a good impression. He's taking me for a walk this afternoon behind the farm, s-so his whole family's gonna see me..."

Tree couldn't help but snicker at the pegasus' naïveté. "Dude, chill, it's the Apples," she pointed out. "They've known you for years. You don't have to impress 'em."

"I know," Shy whined, rubbing one foreleg with the other bashfully. "But it's a date."

"You're overthinking it, dude," the earth mare said with a chuckle, placing a comforting hoof on her antsy friend's shoulder. "You're already family, Flutters. Their house is your house. Just be you."

"B-but it's a date..."

Tree sighed and shook her head. "Alright, tell ya what, I'll help you doll up," she offered. "What's his favorite part of you? You ever caught him staring?"

Fluttershy blushed and shook her head. "N-no, he's a gentlecolt," she replied.

"Or just sneaky," the hippie added with a snicker, gently elbowing the increasingly red-faced Fluttershy in case she didn't catch the joke.

"Um, a-actually, he told me once that, um..." she quickly parried, trailing off and hiding behind her mane. "I-I have pretty eyes," she finished in a squeaky whisper.

"Aaaahhh," Tree responded, her countenance taking on a devious smirk. "Come here, Shy," she ordered, rubbing her forehooves together. "I got this."

Fluttershy gulped.

MOONLIGHT HARVEST

by [insert brony here]

Chapter Seven

Big MacIntosh groaned as he shrugged his yoke off. Maybe working so fast today hadn't been his best idea. He'd freed up a lot of time to spend with Fluttershy, whom he had seen playing with Applebloom and Scootaloo from across the property earlier, but a simple walk in the hills might as well be a hike in the mountains today. He ached in ways he'd never ached before, and probably still wouldn't have noticed if Rarity hadn't forced him into that spa recently. It was really a wonder how much self-inflicted abuse he had grown accustomed to without ever getting a massage over the years.

Cursing himself, he gingerly made his way out of the barn towards his house. Fluttershy and the fillies were no longer out in the yard, so he entered the house, pausing to take in the spicy aroma of an apple pie in progress wafting from the kitchen before following the sound of his grandmother's voice into the living room.

"...and mah husband, the bull-headed stallion, he said they was varmints, and we had ta kill 'em!" Granny Smith recounted dramatically, drawing a horrified gasp from Fluttershy. The aged earth mare gave a devilish grin as she continued, "I set that boy straight though, by golly, I says, 'They ain't hurtin' nopony! Them squirrels're just tryin' ta feed their babies, just like us, 'n' we got plenty o' land ta plant a few more trees 'n' let 'em keep those'uns.' He wa'n' havin' it, but I tell ya," she lowered her voice, winking at Fluttershy and unaware of her grandson standing in the doorway watching the exchange, "you kick a colt outta yer bed long enough, he'll do anythin' ya want. Still today, them squirrels' great-great-great-great..."

Mac rolled his eyes behind Granny as she continued with the "great"s for a while, Fluttershy's nervous posture giving way to a smile on the verge of giggles as the ancestry grew longer and longer.

"...great-great-grandbabies're livin' in the southwest corner o' the orchard... er maybe it was the southeast," the old mare muttered, looking up at the ceiling and tapping her chin with a hoof. She then looked down at the pegasus across the room with a bright smile. "Well, howdy, Fluttershy! What brings you here?"

Shy and Mac both grimaced as the stallion came around into Granny's field of sight. "She came to take a walk with me, Granny," he explained softly before turning to address his new marefriend. "Where'd Scootaloo and Applebloom wander off to?"

"Oh, they went to play with Sweetie Belle almost an hour ago," Fluttershy replied.

"Said they was gonna help that li'l spotty colt with the funny accent get his cutie mark," Granny chimed in, falling asleep immediately after finishing her sentence.

Fluttershy gave a smile tinged with sadness. "Granny Smith is lovely to talk to... when she remembers what she's talking about..."

MacIntosh sighed, looking over the Apple family's matron with pain in his eyes. "She's really somethin', but I worry about her," he intoned in a low voice. "Her mind ain't what it used to be, and she ain't exactly gettin' younger..."

Fluttershy nodded silently, chewing her lip for a moment while her coltfriend simply stared at his grandmother. Eventually, she spoke up. "So, um, sh-shall we walk?"

The stoic stallion shook himself and nodded. "Eeyup. I figured we might go--" He was stopped in his tracks when he looked at her, taking in her appearance properly for the first time today.

"Fluttershy," he said with a tone of awe, "you look beautiful."

Her mane was tied into two large pigtails, framing her face on either side, and she wore just the tiniest amount of eyeliner to draw out the vivid color of her eyes. She blushed under his scrutiny, her head tilting to one side and shrinking back into her shoulders, but her pale pink hair couldn't mask her sheepish grin like it typically did.

art by kei05

"Th-thank you, MacIntosh," she half-squeaked in response. "Um, i-it was Tree Hugger's idea."

"But it's your face," he replied with a swarm smile, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her own. "It's lovely when ya can actually see it."

Fluttershy's blush deepened, and there was nothing she could do about it. However, something about Mac's smile made it feel alright. He wasn't laughing at her embarrassment. Dare she believe this was a look of... love?

The stallion continued to admire her for a moment before clearing his throat. "Ahem, so, uh, like I was sayin'," he continued his previous train of thought, "I figured you might like the hills out the east side of the property. There's a nice pond out that way."

Fluttershy took a moment to find her voice again. "O-oh, um, that sounds wonderful," she stuttered, still trying to hide behind her tied-up mane. "I-I-I like... water," she added lamely.

MacIntosh chuckled softly, leaning forward to nuzzle the pegasus' forehead. "Then let's not waste any time, hmm?" he suggested.

Behind them, Granny Smith coughed violently, drawing concerned looks from the two younger ponies. When she regained control of her breathing, she waved a hoof dismissively. "Uh, y'all are so cute it makes me sick," she deflected with a weak chuckle. MacIntosh smiled and rolled his eyes at her, but she knew he saw through her charade. Nonetheless, she tried to maintain a cheerful demeanor. "Now, Fluttershy, you make sure Big Mac don't get lost out there, ya hear?"

The pegasus giggled. "I'll try. Take care, Mrs. Smith," she said curtly as she turned to leave the room.

"Aww, now don't be like that, Shutterfly," Granny replied. "You was family 'fore ya ever started puttin' the moves on mah grandson. Call me Granny, sugar cube."

Fluttershy smiled back at her. "Okay, Granny. We'll be back for dinner, right, MacIntosh?"

"Eeyup," Mac confirmed simply. "Love ya, Granny." He gave one more sad smile at his grandmother, who had fallen asleep again, before escorting his date outside.

As forecasted, they walked beyond the farm into the hills, MacIntosh explaining various aspects of his work as they went. Fluttershy found it all rather fascinating. The farm work had several parallels to her own gardening, albeit on a much larger scale. For some reason, the knowledge that her new coltfriend worked so hard lit a fire inside her.

She found herself leaning against him as they walked, deeply breathing in his unique mixture of apples, hay, and musk. There were a few times that she lost track of the conversation. Mac would simply chuckle when she asked him to repeat himself, however, assuming that he was simply throwing too much information at her at once.

Eventually the conversation dissolved into small talk, the two ponies sharing random anecdotes and discussing their interests and ambitions. As the sun started to set, Fluttershy realized they'd been walking an awful long time.

"Um, I didn't expect the pond you mentioned to be so far away..."

Mac stopped and gave her a sheepish grin, glancing back to where his house was still visible behind them. "We, uh, might've meandered a bit on the way," he admitted, "but we're about there. This way," he said, gesturing with a tilt of his head.

They continued walking the path until they passed between two steep knolls, beyond which lay a body of water as smooth as a mirror, barred from the wind by the earth that surrounded it on all sides. From the entrance, they directly faced the sun as it met the horizon, creating a breathtaking cascade of rich colors in the sky which were reflected in the greenish water of the pond. Fluttershy now understood why they had dallied on the way here.

"Oh, my," she mumbled softly, looking back and forth between the beautiful display before her and the stallion at her side with an ever-growing smile. "This is wonderful, MacIntosh..."

He smiled down at her, chuckling softly. "I figured you'd like that. I come out here a lot when I need some time to mahself to think," he explained, looking out over the placid water.

The mare nodded, leaning into his chest. "I'm sure you've been out here a lot lately..."

"Eeyup," he confirmed with a sigh. "Definitely been a lot on mah mind. Your, uh, batty friend--"

"Oh, um," she interrupted so softly that anypony else wouldn't have noticed, but MacIntosh heard her and paused. "After you left, we came up with, um, Umbral Breeze."

"Huh, 'Umbral Breeze'. Breeze," he tested the name a few times before nodding. "Suits her, I think. She like it?"

"Mhmm."

"Alright, Breeze it is," he stated before clearing his throat. "So, yeah... Breeze has definitely made things... interestin'. I've been out here damn near every day just tryin' to figure how we're gonna make this work. I mean, we live clear on opposite sides o' Ponyville, and I hardly have the time for child-rearin', as much as I want to. And now we got our relationship to figure out, everything's so complicated all o' the sud--MMPH!"

Mac's eyes widened as he found his mouth obstructed. Fluttershy had lifted off her forehooves somewhat to press her lips to his, surprising them both. After a brief moment that seemed to last an eternity, she broke away, returning to all fours and once again failing to hide behind her mane, though she maintained eye contact.

"Then marry me," she offered, her usually timid voice betraying no uncertainty.

"W-what, just like that?" Mac asked, eyes wide in disbelief. "What about livin' arrangements?"

"I could live here with you. I can fly home to take care of the animals; I couldn't ask you to walk so far to work on the farm. Your work is so strenuous as it is," she said with a look of concern.

"I--you--I mean," he stuttered in response, "isn't this a bit sudden?"

Fluttershy smiled and shrugged. "I was listening when you spoke with Breeze last night. I know you want a proper family, and I can't imagine making our foal grow up with separated parents. You do love me, don't you...?" she asked, focusing on his eyes intently.

Mac gulped at the look she gave him. Neither of them had dropped the L-word yet. MacIntosh knew his answer however, and he straightened up and maintained eye contact as he replied. "Yes I do, Fluttershy."

"Then what's the problem?" she asked with a joyous grin, her heart fluttering with his confirmation. "Every other aspect of our relationship is all backwards anyway... why not at least be married before the baby arrives?"

Mac sat down with a sigh, placing him at eye level with the small pegasus. "I guess this is just happenin' so fast. Me, I've always lived a simple 'n' repetitive life," he admitted, staring into the water. "But lately... hell, it ain't been two years since Applejack 'n' y'all were given the Elements o' Harmony, and so much has happened since then. She's always gone, 'n' I'm just here workin' the farm."

Fluttershy frowned sympathetically as she sat in front of him, leaning into his chest and nuzzling under his chin. He broke his gaze away from the pond to smile down at her before letting his eyes unfocus again with a sigh.

"Now somethin's finally happenin' to me, and I just don't know if I can handle it," he continued somberly. "I know I put a good face on it, kinda what I'm known for," he said, looking his marefriend in the eye again, "but I'm terrified, Fluttershy. What if I ain't a good daddy? Or a good husband? What's gonna happen to the farm when I'm tryin' to raise a foal? What if I--"

"Oh, quit being silly," Shy interrupted, gently pushing his chin up with her hoof. "You won't be alone, and you've done just fine raising Applebloom and running the farm since your parents passed away. This is no different. In fact," she added with a smile, "as long as they still live here, both of your sisters will be able to help us too. It'll be much easier than before."

The farmer's shoulders dropped and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. For all the time he spent on introspection, he couldn't believe he'd been so shortsighted. He did have plenty of help, at the very least through the first few years of the foal's life, and once he or she was in school, it'd be much easier even without his sisters around. With a sigh of relief, he embraced the miniscule mare beneath him, nuzzling behind her left ear.

"You're right, Shy," he admitted softly. "I'm sorry for all the fuss..."

"It's alright," she reassured him, pressing herself more firmly into his underside. "It's perfectly natural to be anxious about your first child. I'm a little nervous myself, but I've helped so many of the animals with their offspring, I know I can handle it."

MacIntosh nodded and looked across the pond once again, this time wearing a comfortable smile. Everything would be alright. Everything would be alright. He absentmindedly stroked Fluttershy's back as the statement danced through his mind.

The mare softly purred at his affections, closing her eyes in a blissful half-smile. After a few minutes, she turned around so she could face the pond with him, pulling his hoof around her in a silent invitation to feel her developing baby bump. Just over a quarter through gestation, it was barely noticeable, and the foal wasn't kicking yet, but nevertheless, MacIntosh felt his heart swell when his hoof came to rest over his lover's womb. Fluttershy sighed cheerfully and used her wings to rub the stallion's chest as they watched the sun slowly sink behind the hills.

As the sky began to lose its brilliant orange hue, MacIntosh lifted his hoof from his marefriend's belly and stood beside her, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Well, we'd better get back to the house," he suggested as she stood and stretched her legs and wings. "Applejack oughta be home with dinner by now."

"Should we tell them the news?" the pegasus inquired eagerly as they began their walk back.

Mac chuckled and brushed his tail across her side affectionately. "At least wait 'til I get you a ring."

Fluttershy giggled and put on a fake pout. "Aw, alright..."

They made their way back to the farm house in silence, simply enjoying each other's company as the last of the light left the sky.

Announcements

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Comfort*

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