A Shy Warrior (Built Upon Dreams, Paid in Blood)

-Five Years Later-

“Caught any yet?” Butterscotch asks Macintosh, as he watches the plastic bobber on his fishing line float on top of the water.

“Naw…” Macintosh mumbles reeling in his line.

Fluttershy and Applejack sit on the trunk of a downed tree resting along the river’s edge. Applejack leans against one of its thick branches. She hums a tune as she reads her book, a content smile on her face. Fluttershy sits opposite of her, her own book in her hands. But her attention is not on the book, it’s on Macintosh. She watches him throw his line into the river. Her cheeks blush as she watches his arms muscles flex and his long mane flow with the wind.

Noticing her friend staring off into space, Applejack moves her attention from her book and looks in the direction her friend’s looking. “Oh…” She giggles. “You like mah brother?” She teases, giving her friend a sly smirk.

Fluttershy jerks, her mindless haze breaking. Blushing she looks at her friend with wide eyes “What?!” She places her book and her knees against her chest.

“You like mah brother!” Applejack giggles.

Fluttershy blushes as her eyes jump from Macintosh to Applejack. “Uh… No…”

Macintosh's ears perk up as he overhears their conversation. “You can’t lie to me, I know you too well.” Applejack chuckles. “Amid it, you like him!” His cheeks blush. “I… I… Even if I did, I’m too young!” Fluttershy replies with a moan. Macintosh’s face feels hot. ‘She likes me?’ He questions.

“You won’t be in three years!” Applejack grumbles. She sees her friend melting into a ball of embarrassment. Shaking her head, she gets up and walks up to the colts standing at the river’s edge. “So, have you caught anything?”

Butterscotch looks over at the orange-furred filly and gives a sigh. “No… they’re not biting.” He frowns. “Stupid fish…”

“What about you, brother?” Applejack asks. She notices his flushed cheeks and slyly smirks. “Brother?”

“Uh…” Macintosh stutters, the haziness in his mind falling away. “No luck for me sis…”

Applejack nods slowly and huffs as she watches the water flow on past them. “Well I’m hungry, let's go!” She twirls around and heads up to trail to Fluttershy’s house.

Butterscotch grumbles, clipping the hook to his fishing pole, as he follows her. Fluttershy, still an embarrassed mess, slips off the tree and quickly runs up to her friend. Macintosh watches her as they ascend the trail. His cheeks redden further as he studies her movements, causing him to feel different about her. Shaking his head of his thoughts, he quickens his pace, catching up to the trio.

Standing side by side Fluttershy and Macintosh try their best to calm their emotions.

“Are they okay?” Butterscotch whispers to Applejack.

“No…” She giggles quietly. “They’re in love…”

“I’m in the lead!” Butterscotch giggles, his young squeaky voice echoing off the trees as he skips towards his house along the rocks poking out of the river.

“I’m catching up!” Applejack shouts, breathing heavily as she nears him. Butterscotch looks back, his eyes go wide in mock fear. He giggles, picking up the pace, the tip of his fishing pole swaying about as he swings his arms out to help his balance.

Fluttershy and Macintosh follow after them. Her skips are light and graceful, while his are heavy, lacking balance.

Jumping on the riverbank, Butterscotch tosses his fishing pole on the ground and takes off at a full tilt. “The last one off the rocks is it!” The rest follow his lead. Macintosh grumbles as he’s the last one off.

“Mac’s it!” Fluttershy giggles, sticking her tongue at him.

Macintosh smirks and gives chase. Butterscotch and Applejack run to the right through the grove of oak trees, while Fluttershy runs into the fields of wheat. Eyeing Fluttershy, he runs after her with a laugh.

Running through the stalks of wheat, Fluttershy worms her way up to her house, trying to make her path hard for him to follow. She giggles to herself, she can see the roof of the barn coming into view.

THUMP!

CRUNCH!

A chill runs down her spine as she hears Macintosh gaining ground. Flapping her wings, she gives herself a boost of speed… “AH!” She trips over a rock poking up from the ground. Tumbling across the ground she appears from the thicket and lands on her back, dazed and confused.

“OW!” Macintosh trips over the rock as well. Tumbling across the ground for a few seconds, he throws out his arms and catches himself before his body weight crashes on top of Fluttershy. Their snouts touch tips and their breaths mix with one another. Both children stare at each other with curious and embarrassed eyes. “Uh… Hi…” Macintosh breaths shallowly.

Fluttershy’s cheeks redden as their snouts push into each other. “Hi…” She feels a pleasant chill run up her spine. ‘He looks a lot stronger up close, so…?’ She couldn’t put a finger on it. She’s never felt these feelings before. Over the past five years, she has been growing into a teenager. She’s eleven now and just started puberty not too many months ago. Macintosh being fifteen, however, has just about finished going through puberty. He’s a lot more muscular, his shoulders are broader and he’s tall for a colt his age. “Um… It looks like I’m it…?” Fluttershy stutters with a blush, embarrassed by her own thoughts.

“Uh…” Macintosh is lost for words; the smell of her shampoo stuns him. “Yeah… I guess you’re it…”

Off in the distance not too far from where they lay, Butterscotch and Applejack stand under the doorway of the barn, watching their siblings’ awkward romance. “Stop laughing!” Applejack growls through clenched teeth. “You’ll give our position away!”

“You’re laughing too!” Butterscotch giggles his reply.

The longer he stares the urge to kiss her becomes overwhelming. Breathing in, calming his nerves, Macintosh moves his lips closer to Fluttershy’s. Time slows down for Fluttershy as their lips meet, her cheeks redden even further as she feels his lips on hers.

“HOLD IT!” Sun-Loch’s booming voice echoes across the farm. Macintosh and Fluttershy jerk in fear. “Colt! What do you think you’re doing with my daughter?” He asks walking up to them, his hands on his hips, a pipe resting on his lips.

“Nothing sir!” Macintosh stutters getting off Fluttershy. He looks at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck. “We were…”

“Nothing? It didn’t look like nothing.” Sun-Loch crosses his arms.

“Pa it was nothing…” Fluttershy silences herself as she sees her father’s expression.

“Colt you should know better, she’s not of age yet to be involved in such activities.” Sun-Loch chews on the end of his pipe. “You’ll have to wait another three years before you can court my daughter.” He smiles, offering them a hand. The children take his offer and stand up from the ground. He gives them a playful smirk. “Now run off, both your Ma’s fixed lunch for you fillies and colts.” Fluttershy blushes as she gives her father a smile. Macintosh does the same as they run towards the house with Applejack and Butterscotch following close behind.

“Hey what’s with…” Core Seed steps aside. “Whoa, what’s the rush?” He watches the children run past him into the house. With a laugh, he steps up to his friend. “What’s with the all the commotion? Hell, my son and your daughter look like they turned into ripe tomatoes with how much they’re blushing!”

Sun-Loch looks at the stallion with a smirk. “Your son tried to kiss my daughter.”

“And you broke it up?” Core Seed whines in mock sadness. “What a shame.” He smiles as he flicks ash off his cigar. “I knew mah colt had feelings for your kin.” He takes a puff of his cigar. “Do you think she does?”

Sun-Loch sighs as he smacks his lips, enjoying the tobacco. “I think so, but I don’t know if she has come to the realization yet.” Sun-Loch watches his fields of wheat dance with the breeze. “She just hitting puberty after all.”

Core Seed hums a reply. “Well, I think she’ll make a fine wife and mother one day.” He chuckles.

Sun-Loch looks at the stallion with a raised brow. “You don’t mind your son having feelings for my daughter.” He shrugs his shoulders. “You know on the count of her wings.”

“Nah… Like I said before, I could care less about her appearance.” He lays an arm over his friend’s shoulders. “As long as she has a kind heart, that’s good enough for me.” Sun-Loch smiles and returns the stallion’s affection.

Fluttershy looks at Macintosh with wide eyes, her cheeks still red as she slowly chews her bite of pb and j. Feeling her eyes digging into his soul. Macintosh looks at her, his cheeks turn his red fur, redder. Butterscotch looks at the two and sticks out his tongue at their young affection for one another.

“You’re in love.” Applejack teases.

Fluttershy shivers. “What?!” She looks at her friend, mortified by her statement.

“You’re in love!” Applejack sings. Butterscotch drops his sour face and joins her, taking joy in his sister’s embarrassment.

“Who’s in love?” Posey asks from the couch as she looks at them, pausing her conversation with Autumn Gold.

“Fluttershy and Mac are!” Butterscotch and Applejack laugh. Fluttershy cowers in her seat. Macintosh buries his face in his hands.

Posey laughs at her daughter’s expense. “MA!” Fluttershy whines, horrified she would take her brother’s side.

Autumn Gold giggles watching her son melt in his seat. “Oh, young love, isn’t such an innocent thing to behold?” She asks Posey.

Posey nods. “Oh, very much so…” She runs her fingers through her mane. “I once had a few crushes when I was a filly.” She lets out a sigh as she lays her head on the back pillow. “Did you have any crushes?”

“Oh yes.” Autumn Gold nods. “But not many.” She puts her knees on the couch. “When I became of age, I had to take love more seriously. My parents did expect me to find a mate and I just couldn’t let my heart fall for just any stallion.” She hums looking out the window eyeing her husband helping Sun-Loch with his putter-wagon.

Posey looks down at her lap, her smile leaving. “I don’t think I want Fluttershy to marry so young.”

Autumn Gold gives her a raised brow. “Well, she could wait until she’s sixteen, but that’s pushing it…”

“I married my husband at twenty, I think that’s a good age to marry.” Posey huffs, not in anger but is frustration. “Is that too old?”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Autumn Gold scratches the back of her head, her mind trying to processes the mare’s mood. “Um… In Wingthington, is child marriage a thing?”

“No,” Posey replies. She notices the children had finished their meals and are now playing a game of cards.

“At what age do pegasi marry?” Autumn Gold lays her head in her hand, her elbow resting on the couch’s back pillow.

“On average, twenty or twenty-two years of age.” Posey looks at the mare with a dull expression. “But when it comes to the poor and imbeciles of Withington society… well, it can vary wildly.” She picks up her glass of water and takes a sip.

Autumn Gold picks up her own glass. “You know there’s nothing wrong with her marrying young.” She smiles. “Especially when she has loving parents, she’ll always be in good hands.” She lets a hum slip past her lips. “And if she marries my son, she’ll have a good husband to boot.” She sings.

Fluttershy and Macintosh blush from her words. With a groan, Macintosh lays his head on the table. Fluttershy hides behind her the cards in her hands. Applejack rolls her eyes as she places a card on the table.

Posey looks at the mare, giving a small smile. “I know…” She sighs, finishing off her glass. “But you forget, you’re talking to a mare who just got used to wearing a bonnet and believing in a God who lives in the clouds and whose son died on the cross for our sins.” She giggles. “Let me at least still live with the fear that my daughter can get married at fourteen!” She rubs her eyes, shaking her head.

Autumn Gold shakes her head as well, giggling. “Oh…” She moans, clutching her stomach.

Hearing their mother in pain, Macintosh and Applejack look over at her with worried eyes. “Ma, are you alright?” Macintosh asks. Fluttershy and Butterscotch ears fold back as they study the mare.

“I’m fine…” She looks down at her protruding belly. “It’s just the foal kicking.”

Posey looks at the mare’s belly with a smile. “You excited?”

Autumn Gold nods. “Yes.” She giggles. “Shoot, who am I kidding! I’m ecstatic!” She places her hands on her cheeks and squeezes them. “I always wanted a large family!” Her mouth hangs open as she grabs Posey’s hands, pulling them to her chest. “Have you dreamt of a large family?”

Posey blushes as she feels the top of Autumn’s breasts. “Um… I don’t know…” Noticing her embarrassment, Autumn Gold lets go of her hands and gives an apologetic smile. Posey nods, telling her all is well. “I think I’m okay with only having two kids.” She puts her hands under her chin, her eyes focusing on her lap.

“Just two?” Autumn Gold tilts her head. “Oh, I cannot accept it!” She puts her hands on her hips. “You and your husband have the potential to make many beautiful foals.” She wags her finger in Posey’s face. “You should continue until your foal making factory shuts down young mare!” She giggles to herself.

Posey blushes. Autumn Gold’s tone flusters her to the point that her wings extend out, their feathers frizzy and fluffy from stimulation. Her children laughing at her expense only increases her embarrassment. “Oh… I’m going to get you one day Autumn!” She growls.

Autumn giggles. “Oh, I know, and I’ll be expecting it!” She puts a hand to her lips, trying to control her laughter.

“And the same goes for you!” Fluttershy and Butterscotch shut the mouths, killing their laughter. They look at their mother, their lips puckered, eyes wide.

“What on earth is going on in here?” Sun-Loch asks as he steps into the home, looking at the children and mares in confusion.

Core Seed laughs, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I think we stumbled into a mare moment.” He pats his back as he steps into the kitchen, leaving the confused stallion to his thoughts. “You kids finished with your game?” Core Seed looks at the children with a smirk.

“Sort of?” Butterscotch mumbles.

“Why Pa?” Applejack bends her head back, glaring at her father with raised brows.

“Well, Sun-Loch and I need your help with the putter-wagon!” Core Seed shouts playfully. “So, come on now, let’s go!”

“I WIN!” Butterscotch yells, slamming his cards on the table, before bolting out the door.

“HEY, YOU DIDN’T WIN!” Fluttershy growls, chasing after her brother. Applejack and Macintosh shrug their shoulders and give chase.

Shaking their heads, the adults look at one another with broad smiles. “Why don’t you mares start on dinner, we shouldn’t take too long.” Sun-Loch chuckles, still amused by the children’s antics.

“Sure, what do you stallions feel like having tonight?” Posey asks, smirking at her husband.

“We don’t know,” Core Seed replies for Sun-Loch. “We’ll leave that up to you mares.”

“Oh, so brave of you stallions, especially with a mare whose pregnant.” Posey sly smirks at the stallions.

Autumn Gold smirks as well. “Oh, yes, very brave of them…” She giggles, getting up from the couch.

The stallions feel a chill run down their spines and they eye their wives nervously.

“Let’s head to the kitchen to get a head start on the prep work.” Posey hums dragging Autumn Gold along.

“I’m craving something exotic, something with cheese and chocolate!” Autumn Gold winks at her husband.

“Uh… Now you two, don’t go too overboard, you hear!” Sun-Loch sternly shouts. The mares’ giggles only get stronger as they ignore his demands. “Oh, crap…”

Sun-Loch stares at his supper. He’s teary-eyed, overjoyed that it’s a normal bowl of navy bean soup. “Thank you, Lord…” He mumbles to himself.

Fluttershy and Butterscotch stare at their father with raised brows, unsure of his behavior. “Uh, is Pa okay?” They look at their mother.

“Yeah, is Pa okay?” Applejack asks her mother as well.

The mares skeptically eye their husbands. Their murmuring and sobbing, confounding them. “Did we break them?” Posey asks as she stirs her bowl.

“Um… I don’t know?” Autumn Gold tilts her head, her eyes narrowing as she studies her husband.

Bored of their parents’ antics, the children quietly resume their eating as they chalk up their behavior to ‘adult stuff’. Chewing, Fluttershy looks at Applejack’s bowl and sees she has a few bites left. “Applejack?”

“Yeah?” She looks up from her bowl, still chewing.

“After we finish eating, you want to read our book?” Fluttershy scoops up the last of her beans onto her spoon.

“Hell yeah!”

“Applejack! Watch your mouth young filly!” Autumn Gold chastises.

“Yes, Ma…” Applejack mumbles her response as she finishes her bowl. “Come on let’s go!”

Butterscotch looks at Macintosh with hopeful eyes. “We can play a board game.” Macintosh states with a smirk. Butterscotch smiles gleefully as he shoves the last of his meal into his mouth.

With their legs sprawled out and their heads propped up by a mound of pillows, Fluttershy and Applejack contently read their book by the fire. Each of them holding the book’s corners. Their eyes jump side to side as they scroll through the words filling the pages. For them at this moment in time, their surroundings do not exist anymore as their minds transport them to the book’s world.

Macintosh throws the dice into an empty box. Reading the dots, he picks up his marble and moves it along the circular board. “Your turn.” Butterscotch eyes his piece and sees he needs to move it four spaces to win the game. Biting his lip, he shakes the dice and tosses them into the box. He frowns when he sees he rolled snake eyes. “Ouch…” Macintosh hisses in mock disappointment. Butterscotch crosses his arms and pouts.

Sun-Loch and Core Seed sit by the radio next to the couch, closest to the fireplace, both listening intently to the baseball game being played in the northernmost province of Earthen.

“What do you think of this one?” Posey asks as she sits back down on the couch.

Autumn Gold takes the small glass container from her hands and smells the wax. “Mmm… What scent is that?”

“It’s called ‘Peach Berry n’ Cream.” Posey takes out another one. “And this is ‘Forest Pine’.”

Autumn Gold smells the other one and hums in delight. “How did you get into the business of selling candles?”

Posey smiles. “Oh, I was wanting to work again, help bring in some more tokes to pay the bills.” She picks up a box from the floor. “You know we just bought one of them telephones.”

“Oh yes, my husband wants one. We heard they’re quite the item to have. Shoot, instant communication to anypony in Earthen.” Autumn hums as she watches Posey rummage through the box. “Mighty interesting if you ask me.”

“Well someone from church told me about selling candles.” She pulls out some small candle lights. “And she told me since I have a telephone, I could do most of my selling from home.” She hands Autumn two candle lights of the scents she smelled earlier. “Here take them and give them a try.”

“Well shoot sugar cube, let me at least pay for them?”

“No, it’s alright, they’re for trying out anyways.” She looks through her box. “The company I work for says it a great way to bring in customers.” Posey smiles pulling out several more. Autumn Gold looks wide eyed at the candles and opens her hands.

“A Rick Rock Jamerson is up to bat ladies and gentlecolts! Here’s the pitch… And it flies high, soaring, it is gone! Homerun! The Miners are up two, nothing in the bottom of the sixth!”

“Yes!” Sun-Loch cheers. “Homerun!”

Core-Seed claps. “Take us to the world series!”

The children look up from their activities and listen to the game.

“Ymin is up to bat! He takes position on home plate…”

-The sound cuts out-

“Hey! What happened to the game?” Butterscotch whines.

The stallions look at the radio and frown.

“We interrupt our program to bring you this important announcement… *Patriotic music plays in the background* “Stallions, mares! Our men are marching strong to the front lines of the southern front… We have pushed back Wingthington forces from the island of Gem and the coastlines of Boulder Bay… With the threat of Pegasi invasion halted, we move south, to reclaim lost land in the early parts of the war, stolen by Unicorpia… Our stallions and colts march proud to win this war, and the hearts and minds of our fellow countrymen… Take hold, pray for peace…” Sun-Loch turns down the radio and gives a long-tired sigh.

“You don’t want to hear the news?” Core Seed wonders.

“Would you want to listen after five long years of the same talking points over and over again?” Sun-Loch grumbles as he gets up from his chair. “What’s the point anymore?” He sulks into the kitchen.

Posey gives Core Seed a solemn smile. “He lost his brother to the war.” Fluttershy looks at the fire, trying to fight off her emotion. Applejack looks at her friend and understands her hurt.

“We lost family to the war as well.” Core Seed replies. “Some died while others were captured.” He looks at the fire raging in the fireplace. “Lord only knows what they’re going through.”

“Not to change the subject so drastically,” Autumn Gold speaks up, not liking mood the conversation is going. “But I just remembered. Are you going to the lunar festival this weekend?”

Posey thinks. “Um, maybe?” She looks into the kitchen. “Honey are we going to the festival?”

“Ooh, can we go!” Fluttershy and Butterscotch beg.

Sun-Loch steps out of the kitchen and sees his children are about to burst with emotions. “Sure, I can’t see why not. Sounds like it would be fun, heck we can even set up our picnic spot by our favorite tree.”

“YAY!” Fluttershy and Butterscotch cheer.

“WOO!” Applejack and Macintosh join in.

Their parents shake their heads. “Well, I guess that’s a yes.”