The Dishonest Truthby Arbiter BalemeadChaptersHappy ReunionsFeathers, Hats, and SugarHow Convenient...Seeking AdviceSeeking Advice Pt. 2Making an AttemptThe Honest TruthEpilogueWalks Are NiceHappy ReunionsIt was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville as a particular pink party pony was helping a particular orange workhorse set up a party for her visiting family. Tomorrow, the rest of the Apple family would arrive for the annual Apple family reunion. This year it had been scheduled only two weeks before apple buck season. The local Apple family was busy getting ready for both and had opted for assistance with one. So, Pinkie Pie had arrived bright and early to help get the preparations for the reunion ready. As was her custom, she attempted to make this small, outdoor, quiet, family dinner into the "Best. Party. EVER!" to Applejack's dismay. That was why it had taken until three 'o' clock to get the the preparations correct in the eyes of the farmer pony. It would've taken longer had Fluttershy and Rarity not shown up around two to help and ended up with the two of them conjointly holding Pinkie's "party instinct" back. Once the dinner was set up and ready (aside from the food, which would be prepared the next day) the four ponies present sat down to a happy meal of apples and cider. The four (or rather three talkative ones) talked randomly about their days in varying detail. As would be expected of her, Pinkie explained in full detail her day of waking up, helping AJ, and spending her whole day thus far in Applejack's company. She then proceeded to ask Applejack about her day. This elicited a round of giggles from the other three, to her confusion. Applejack obliged, explaining her day in details that Pinkie Pie found suspiciously familiar. She assumed it was just because she and Applejack may have had similar days and didn't comment. "Well, my day was quite boring. I simply spent it making the same dress ten times over, until Fluttershy arrived to come here and help. Truth be told, I expected you would need more help with the setup, dear." Rarity commented. "Welp, S'pose Pinkie here was more a help than Ah thought she'd be." She said as she nudged the pink mare in question with her elbow. "So how 'bout you 'Shy?" She asked curiously of the, thus far, silent mare sitting to her left. "Oh, me? I-I didn't have a very interesting day..." She said as looked away from the three. "Nonsense, Flutters! Ah wanna hear all 'bout yur day." Applejack responded, her voice sounding with genuine interest. "O-okay...W-well, I fed the animals and took care of some bears an-" "See? What would make you think we didn't wanna hear about you handling bears!?" Pinkie broke in. "W-well, I wasn't 'handling' th-" "I agree with Pinkie. It's really quite interesting, and besides, it's not like I ever do anything that interesting with my day." Rarity added. "Oh no, I'm sure you d-" "Me neither! I haven't thrown a party in, like, a week! I've been so BORED!" Pinkie cut in again. "And I've been making repeat dresses for a Canterlot client's dress store." Rarity said. The two began going back and forth until they completely forgot about how they had gotten on this subject. While they were ranting at each other, Applejack leaned close to Fluttershy and whispered, "It's alright, sugarcube, Ah'll still wanna hear about yur day in a bit. These two just can't focus on somethin' so..." She searched for the right word for a moment, and Fluttershy attempted to supply it. "Quiet?" She said with a small, yet, sly smile. "Heh, yeah." The four good friends finished their meal and said their goodbyes for the day. The last mare to leave was Fluttershy, as Applejack insisted she stay and tell her about her day. It was an excessive, and polite gesture, and it made Fluttershy feel a bit better to know that she genuinely wanted to hear her story. She explained her day of animal care, tending to bears, and gardening to Applejack in as much detail as Applejack insisted on having. When she finished they said their goodbyes and Fluttershy went back to her cottage near the Everfree Forest, and Applejack went back to the farmhouse and went to bed straight away. It was dark when Fluttershy got home and she decided that she would go straight to bed, after she took care of the nighttime chores, such as feeding the bats, or making sure the birds all had a way in or out, in case of nighttime....needs. Once that was all taken care of, she brushed her mane and went to bed. The morning could not be considered more similar for any of the six than it could when comparing Fluttershy and Applejack. They both woke up to the rooster's crow, they fed their animals, then proceeded to tend to their plants. The difference is what those morning chores were focused on. Fluttershy's animals were mainly small critters like bunnies and birds, while Applejack tended to cattle and pigs. Fluttershy had her small vegetable garden, Applejack tended an entire farm. Obviously, Fluttershy finished such chores more quickly than Applejack did. Then, when Fluttershy finished this daily routine, she would have a sporadic schedule of animal care throughout the wilderness around Ponyville. Applejack, however, occupied this time doing odd jobs around the farm, such as barn repairs and any other odd whatnot. This particular morning, however, both mares finished early in order to make time with the family reunion. Applejack had invited all her best friends because, as far as she was concerned, after the Flim-Flam incident they were all honorary family members. So ALL Apple family members would be in attendance this year, including the Appleloosans for the first time in almost ten years. Fluttershy was the first of their circle of friends to arrive, so she helped with the last minute baking. As she and Applejack finished up the dinner, the rest of their friends arrived and helped with the rest of the last minute preparations. Applejack and Fluttershy spent most of the morning in a random chatter about just about anything that was relevant to them. "So, who all is coming today? Um...i-if you don't mind telling me..." Fluttershy asked curiously. "Well, lemme think... Just about all the Apple family will be here. 'cept fer the Oranges...." She added a little bitterly. "Oh... I'm sorry about that." Fluttershy replied. "N'aw don't be. T'aint yur fault." Applejack said, her face changing to a friendly smile. "Why were ya askin' 'bout my family?" "Oh, I was just wondering." "Uh huh. 'kay." She pulled a tray of fritters out of the oven and took them out to the temporary pavilion and set it down next to the pies. She examined all the tasty treats and pastries adorning the table, and mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done. Again. "Well howdy, cuz!" "Howdy, Braeburn. Howdy, Apple Fritter, and uhh....ev'rypony else." Applejack greeted with a laugh. Her distant and close family all giggled a little at her "Howdy" and started to mingle around the grounds. Twilight mainly stayed with Big Mac for reasons that went over his head but no one else's. Rarity spent the time chatting it up with random ponies, trying to learn the gossip all over Equestria. Rainbow was playing the games with the younger foals, attempting to remember that she should let these kids win. Pinkie was...well, everything; food, games, food, dancing, food, and maybe a game or two. And possibly food. Fluttershy, as was par for her, pretty much just hid behind the nearest friend she could find, namely Applejack. For her part, Applejack enjoyed this feeling of protecting her friend, even if it was from the many dangers of smiling farmer's kids. After two hours of these shenanigans, Braeburn saw it fit to approach the timid pegasus. "Howdy, Miss..." He left the space open so she would introduce herself. "I'm..." She mumbled quietly. " 'scuse me?" "I'm Flu..." Still too quiet. "Your gonna need to speak up miss." "Fluttershy." She said before hiding behind her mane and under Applejack's tail. "Howdy, Miss Fluttershy, Ah'm Braeburn! Ah don' believe we've met." "Well if y'all had met, Braeburn, then Ah think ya'd know her name." Applejack interjected. "Huh...yeah..." He mulled over that a moment before he remembered why he had come over to talk to these two. "So anyways... Ah was wonderin' if Ah might get a chance to talk to a purty young mare like yurself, Miss Fluttershy." She had crawled out from behind Applejack and was now dumbfounded at his request. When what he had said finally registered her cheeks turned orange from blushing. Applejack, however, just rolled her eyes at her cousin's flirting; a commonality that she was surprised to see none of on her trip to Appleloosa. "I-I don't know, I-I guess..." She looked to Applejack for reassurance, and she simply shrugged. Personally, she wouldn't enjoy Braeburn's flirting with anypony she'd known, but she was enjoying it even less because this was Fluttershy, and...well, that bothered her. "W-What did you have in mind?" "Oh, Ah just wanted to chit chat somewhere private-like." He replied politely. "O-okay." She replied before following him away from the crowd. Applejack watched them go then turned away and bitterly ate a fritter. Pinkie bounced over with a a cupcake sticking out of her mouth as she ate it without using her hooves. "Great party, huh?" She said, somehow fluently around the cupcake. "Yeah happy reunions..." Feathers, Hats, and SugarBraeburn led Fluttershy out into the orchard to a nice private spot, away from the party. It felt better to be at least close to alone, or at least to Fluttershy. She was accustomed to the company of five specific ponies, usually in unison, but if it was none of them then it was usually just her animals, namely Angel, who kept her company. Braeburn was a pony (a stallion, no less) she'd only met once, and even then they hadn't ever really spoken, and Braeburn apparently didn't even remember that short time, which made her feel more awkward than she did normally in social situations. For his part, Braeburn was enjoying the silence, though he feared if he didn't say something soon that would be all he'd get out of the butter coated mare beside him. He had acted politely, hadn't he? He hadn't quite noticed how quiet she is normally, so he questioned whether or not he had done something wrong. He decided the best step to take at this point would be to initiate some semblance of chatter from her. "So how do ya know Applejack?" "W-when Twilight came to town, I uhm... met her first, th-then I decided to help her find the Elements of Harmony, and y-you know Applejack went, too." "Oh, Ah see. So whatya do 'round town?" "Oh, I take care of the little animals around Ponyville." "That sounds like a mighty fine passtime." "Thank you." He began to wonder why in the world she was so gosh darn quiet. She, on the other hand, began to wonder if it would be impolite to ask him to be a little less talkative. It probably would be. "So..." He started. "So." She mumbled politely. "Ah was wonderin' i-" But he was cut off by a sudden yell and crash as a blue blur hit a tree nearby then ricocheted towards them. Rainbow Dash slammed straight into Braeburn and hit Fluttershy with her leg. They ended up in a heap on the ground tangled in each others manes, tails, and legs. "Heh, heh...uhh you guys okay?" Rainbow asked as she got up. "Ah'm fine. How 'bout you Miss Shy?" Braeburn asked while he got up, too. "I'm okay. Uhm, Rainbow, what were you doing?" She answered, shaking her wings a bit before neatly folding them again. "Oh, some of the little squirts wanted to see some aerial stunts, so, I obliged." She said waving her hoof offhandedly. Fluttershy nodded once, then turned her attention to her left wing, which she had unfolded and was checking because of an irritating sensation. She shook it once or twice, then folded it back to her side. Not noticing Fluttesrshy's distress, Braeburn began looking around, "Now where in tarnation is my hat?" Rainbow began looking around while Fluttershy began examining her wing closely. When she finished examining it she came to the conclusion that she had lost a few feathers in the crash. That explained why her wing stung so much, and she continued thinking nothing of it. After a moment of looking around Rainbow found the hat and brought it back to Braeburn. As she handed it to him, a yellow feather fell out of the inside of the hat. Braeburn put the hat on and picked up the feather. "This yurs, Shy?" He asked, holding it up. "O-oh, yes, I think it is..." She said flapping her wing again. "Oh, did I do that? I'm so sorry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to her fillyhood friend. She started frantically examining Fluttershy's wing for injuries. "Ohmygosh! I don't think you'll be able to fly with this wing for a week!" "Uhm, Rainbow? That's the wrong wing." Fluttershy said quietly as she lifted off a few feet to show Rainbow she could still fly. "Right, I was uh...kidding." She said sheepishly as Fluttershy landed beside her. Braeburn held up the feather to Fluttershy and asked, "Mind if Ah keep it?" Her cheeks flared orange as she attempted to answer, but her voice caught. "Why the hay would you wanna keep it?" Rainbow interjected. "Well, ya see, Ah've been spendin' lotsa time with the buffaloes and they see feathers as somethin' special. Ya know Miss Strongheart kept one of yer feathers, and Ah just thought since Ah'm only here a few days, it might be nice ta have somethin' ta remember Miss Shy by, that's all." Braeburn explained. "I think it's creepy." Rainbow retorted. "I think it's uhm... sweet." Fluttershy mumbled. "You can have it." " Thank ya kindly." "...ANDTHENITBLEWUP!!!" Pinkie exclaimed with a flourish. "That's a mighty fine story, Pinks." Applejack said distractedly. She'd been tending to the needs of her entire family for a half hour and had only been listening to Pinkie on the side. Pinkie, for her part, had been ranting on about something that had to do with a chef's hat, oranges, and some form of sugar alternative...now that she thought about it, Applejack probably would've enjoyed this story. As it was, however, she was dealing with about fifty mouths to feed and a table set for thirty-five. Darn thing wasn't big enough, so they brought out some more tables and more food. Of course, it didn't help that Pinkie was in attendance and there happened to be an abundance of sugary treats, and, as anypony knows, Pinkie plus sugar does not equal a long lasting meal. Thanks to this small detail, the whole family was beginning to run out of things to eat So Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle got to work making more food for the Apple family, carrying out steaming trays of varying pastries, tarts, sweets, pies, and various other apple-based foods. As Applejack was taking out another tray of pies, she spotted Fluttershy and Braeburn returning from the orchard. She couldn't help but glare slightly at the sight of the two walking together like that. It wasn't fair; she'd always wanted to- "Hey, Applejack! Watcha starin' at?" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced on over to her. "Nothin'. Ah was just thinkin'." She answered hurriedly. "OOooOOooh, I see. So watya think is gonna be the next game?" She asked excitedly. "Ah don' know. Ah guess you can decide." Applejack answered distractedly. "Okay! HEY EVERYPONY! TIME FOR THE PONY POKEY!!!" She practically sang as she trotted away. At that most of the family gave cheers of varying enthusiasm. As the game started Applejack trotted off to meet Fluttershy and Braeburn. She practically flinched at the sight of Fluttershy's feather poked into Braeburn's hat. THAT just wasn't fair. How Convenient..."Well, Ah gotta say, cuz, this looks like a better harvest-ta-be than Ah've ever seen." Braeburn said as he and Applejack trotted about the orchard. The rest of the party had gone without major event (although it may be noteworthy that Pinkie and Rainbow had somehow tricked Twilight into drinking hard cider and... let's just say the six friends will never look at scented bookmarks the same way again). In the morning Braeburn had requested to examine the impending harvest with AJ. So, there they were trotting between trees, examining the trees for signs of disaster. "That's mighty kinda ya ta say, Braeburn. This harvest could be troublesome, though." Applejack replied without looking at him. "Why d'ya say that?" He asked politely. "Well, for the last few years its been me, Big Mac, and the gang, but this year Rarity is busy with dress orders, and Twilight has some convention in Canterlot. Rainbow has them tryouts fer the Wonderbolts, so all we got is me, Big Mac, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie." She answered, holding a hoof to her chin as she attempted to remember if there was anything else. "Hmm. You know Ah got the buffaloes helpin' out on my harvest." "Really?" "Yeah, they love them pies so much that they wanna help make 'em this year." "Wow." "So Ah was thinkin'...maybe Ah could help out here fer yer harvest?" Braeburn asked. "Ah don' know..." "Come on, cuz, it'll be fun!" Applejack looked at him now. At first she focused on his face, showing with childlike want, but eventually she caught site of the feather and had to look away. "Fine." "So he'll be helping with the harvest?" Fluttershy asked. "Eeyup." Big Mac answered. Fluttershy had stopped by to see Applejack and had run into Big Mac instead. He had seen fit to inform her that Braeburn would be here a few weeks longer. "Only problem is findin' him a place to stay that long." Big Mac said suggestively. "Y-you don't have any room?" She asked. "Eenope. Our guest room will be full a' apples when we start harvestin'. Helps organize." "O-oh, okay." Fluttershy mumbled. After a silent moment of thought she got an idea. "M-maybe he could...maybe... stay with me? If he wants to..." She asked quietly. "I think that'd be nice and convenient." "Ya what?!" "Ah said it'd be convenient. What's wrong with that? Now we don' havta find a place for him ta stay." Big Mac answered the upset Applejack. "Ah just don' ..." She stopped there not really knowing where to go with this without saying something she'd regret. "Is somethin' wrong sis'?" She hated it when people asked her questions and she didn't want to tell the truth. She couldn't just lie either. It wasn't in her nature, hints how she became the Element of Honesty, but that didn't mean she couldn't avoid the truth or just twist it a bit. "Naww, this is really convenient isn't it? I s'pose it's best he stay with Fluttershy than any of my other friends. She DOES live the closest." "Plus, they seem kinda close already, if you catch mah drift." Big Mac said, grinning. "Yeah, there's that too." Applejack said before turning and walking back into the farmhouse to tell Braeburn where he'd be staying. Hopefully, he wouldn't be wearing that hat. The next morning Braeburn woke to the rooster's crow. He rolled over too far on the couch and fell to the floor. Opening his eyes, his mind muddled by sleep, he slowly remembered where he was; Fluttershy's cottage. The rooster threw him off. As he got up he heard the flapping of wings and glanced over to see Fluttershy hovering down the staircase. "Oh, I'm sorry did the rooster wake you? I should've told Atlas not to crow this morning. I'm sooo sorry." She said hurriedly when she saw him still sitting on the floor. "Fluttershy. Ah live on a farm and wake up to the rooster's crow ev'ry morning. Ah'm fine, jus' forgot where Ah was is all." He assured her while he got. "O-oh...uhm, what would you like for breakfast?" "Oatmeal sure would be nice." "Okay I'll make some." She said before fluttering into the kitchen to put water on to boil. While she was doing that Braeburn found himself marveling at all the different animals and critters wandering around the small house and wondering at how in the world such a timid and shy pegasus could befriend so many different types of animals. When the oatmeal was done they sat down at the table and silently ate their bowl's worth. At first the silence was awkward but eventually it became something more of a friendly... lack of sound. Over at Sweet Apple Acres Applejack was tending to her animals, giving polite hellos to the cattle. Once that was all taken care she got to work with the small crops that had to be harvested earlier, such as corn. As could be expected of any moment of boring work, Applejack couldn't help but let her mind wander. Sadly, it only had one real place to go to. Fluttershy and Braeburn. She couldn't stop the image of HER feather stuck in HIS hat flashing forward in her mind. That just hurt her. There was a time when she felt like this whole thing was a two way street, but that time had long since passed. Now she only felt betrayed, and angry at herself for feeling that way. Obviously it wasn't Fluttershy's fault if she didn't return the feelings, and apparently she never would, but consarn it if she still felt this way no matter what she did. Maybe if she wasn't so pretty or so shy this would be easier, but no, Fluttershy was just... wonderful. Or at least to Applejack she was. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. This form of self-torture just wouldn't do her any good. She knew it and so would anyone else with any common sense. She sighed heavily, again upset with her inability to change the subject in her head. "Somethin' wrong, AJ?" She jumped at the sound of Applebloom's voice behind her. She turned to face her sister quickly. "The harvest is jus' fine, why?" "Ah wasn' askin' 'bout the harvest-" "I'm okay, Applebloom, I feel fine." Physically, at least. "Uh-huh? Well alright then." "What are ya doin' in this field, anyway?" "Ah was lookin' fer you. You left the house lookin' real glum this mornin'..." "Ah told you I'm fine." Applebloom eyed her suspiciously, but didn't pursue the matter. "Alright, if you say so..." "Ah do." Applebloom continued to watch her carefully, but finally gave up and turned to trot away. She stopped, remembering something suddenly. "Oh, Ah almost forgot; Rainbow Dash is here to see you." "RD? Did she say what for?" "Somethin' 'bout helpin' before the harvest." "Alright, Ah'll be right there." It was such a weird shape. It could've been anything. Maybe somepony had started digging and given up or maybe Big Mac had slammed his hoof here a few too many times. It could've be where somepony had left a large heavy object for a few hours. It looked like whoever had made it had spilled some orange liquid on it and let it dry. As Rainbow Dash was examining this oddity in the ground Applejack trotted up beside her. "Watcha starin' at, RD?" She barely glanced over her shoulder at AJ's voice, but merely continued staring at it. "Hey, AJ....Do you have any idea what this is?" She asked indicating the strange shape in the ground. Applejack glanced at it then looked back at Rainbow. "That'd be yer face print from the reunion, when you had a bit too much hard cider. Ya tried to show off when you couldn' even see who ya were showin' it to." "But I don't even remember drinking!" Rainbow said, shocked "That's what Ah mean by 'too much'." Applejack's reply was completely deadpan. She had expected that after that fourth bottle Rainbow would stop remembering and eventually have to ask questions about that night. "Oh... Well, uh, I came by to see if there was anything I could help out with before I go to Cloudsdale tomorrow." "Ah can think of a few things." A few hours later the pair had finished painting the barn after fixing a hole in it's roof. Once that was all said and done the two sat down to some well earned apple juice. Rainbow couldn't help but look a bit distracted, as she kept glancing around for no apparent reason. Eventually, AJ started to get curious about what was going on in the weather pony's head. "What's on yer mind RD?" ""I was just thinking..." "Good, it feels right, don't it?" Applejack replied with a smirk. "Shut up." Rainbow retorted while punching her playfully. "Anyway, I was just thinking about Braeburn and Fluttershy..." She said, watching Applejack carefully. Her face darkened noticeably at the mention of the new couple. "Oh, that. What about it?" She asked, her voice a little more edgy than she would've liked it to be. "That. That right there." Rainbow pointing at her while she took a swig of juice. "Excuse me?" Applejack asked, now confused. "You don't like them together. I don't know why, but I can tell you don't like it." Rainbow said with growing confidence. "So what is it, AJ? What's wrong with them being together? Do you feel protective of Fluttershy?" "She can handle herself." "Do you think they won't last?" "They probly will." Ouch...that was the hard truth, too. She honestly thought they would. She started getting the urge to get out of there before that stinging in her eyes got worse. "Do you think he'll go to fast for her? Or she'll go to slow for him? What's wrong Applejack?" "Look. They make a great couple and I see no reason why they shouldn't be together." Applejack said, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Then what's wrong with y-" She stopped when she looked at at AJ's eyes. "Ohmygosh." She whispered. "You're sweet on Fluttershy, aren't you?" "No." Being the Element of Honesty came with perks. People always believed you because they knew you wouldn't lie. But, occasionally, if you did lie, anypony could tell. "AJ. I've known you for a LONG time and I know you don't lie. I know you would never stab me in the back or hurt me for real, because you are an honest, loyal, good friend. And I know you would never even consider lying to me when it matters, but I have a problem." "What?" AJ asked, worry obvious on her face. "You just did." Seeking AdviceFirst, she stood, slamming her front hooves on the table, looking outraged. Then, she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. Next, she sat back down, knowing she had no way out of this. Last, she let her face fall forward onto her arms laying on the table. Anypony who saw her there would've assumed she was crying, but they'd be wrong. She couldn't muster the will to cry. Besides, after working a farm and dealing with everything she'd dealt with, she just didn't cry very often any more. Not after her parents... She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked up, surprised. Was she still talking to Rainbow Dash? This was a bit touchy-feely for her. "Heh... I'm as surprised as you here AJ." She said grinning awkwardly. She showed how awkward this was for her with the way her arm was practically shaking with the urge to let go and scoot as far away as possible. Luckily, she managed to resist that urge, much to Applejack's surprise. "So...You and Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked curiously. "Well we ain't a thing, y'know." "I know but still. I mean come on; You and Fluttershy... It seems right to me. It explains a lot actually." "Like what?" "Well, you're always protecting her, making her feel better, helping her. It makes sense to me." Applejack just sighed and took another swig of her apple juice. She brushed off Rainbow's arm and scooted away. "Oh, come on, AJ, it's not that bad. I bet she doesn't like him that much anyway." "She let him have her feather." She muttered in response. "Am I the only one who thinks that that is creepy? Whatever. She was just being polite. I think it wont last." "You're just saying that to make me feel better, but we both know that it probly will. Besides, she's happy right? Ah think Ah should just let it be." Applejack said as she got up and turned to leave. "And I think you're wrong." AJ stopped and turned to look at her. "So, what should Ah do?" "Tell her how you feel. Duh!" " 'scuse me?" "Jeez I thought it was what you're supposed to do about things like this." "Ah guess it is, but... Ah don' know. Wouldn't that just make this harder for her?" "Like how?" "Ah think she'd feel horrible about all this and feel inclined to...entertain me." "How's that bad?" "Because it wouldn't be fair to her or me if she was just doin' it ta make me feel better. Especially if she don'...swing that way." "This is making my brain hurt. I know you're right, but I don't like thinking things over like this...Why don't you just take a page out of my book and throw caution to the wind? Tell her how you feel and just tell her not to feel bad, or something. I don't know. I'm no good at this sort of thing. *sigh* Maybe... I don't know. Look, can I come by tomorrow? I'll try to help more then." "Yeah, that's fine." Later, at the library... "Rainbow, your story is confusing me. Can you make it more simple?" Twilight requested. "Uhh...sure. Metaphorically speaking, let's say Mare A likes Mare B, but Mare B is with Stallion A, and Mare A and Stallion A are friends. Mare A is obviously jealous, but she doesn't wanna hurt Flu-err Mare B or Stallion A, so...what should Mare A do?" "Rainbow...YOU came to ME for relationship advice?" "Yeah, so?" Twilight just shook her head in bewilderment. "It's just...I always thought that I'd be the one coming to you...never mind. So... what do YOU think yo-Mare A should do?" "First off, Twilight, this isn't about me, let's make that clear, okay?" "Alright, it's not you. What do you think Mare A should do?" "I don't know... fess up her feelings?" "That's a start. Then?" "How should I know?" "Don't you have experience in this?" "What would make you say that?" "I-you...whatever. Just answer the question." "Uhm... after that I'd say...dinner?" Twilight's face hit her hoof a bit harder than she'd intended. "Why would you ask me? Like I know?" "I don't know. I thought you and Big Mac were..." But she stopped at the site of Twilight's wide eyed stare. "Oh, darn it I'm bad at this." "That's a paradigm shift..." "Para- what now?" "Never mind. Anyway, I think dinner would be better before the whole revelation, but if you think dinner after would be best...whatever. I'd say 'okay' to it if she didn't slap you. But wh-" "This isn't about me. Uhg, I'm gonna go ask Rarity. Thanks Twi." And with that she flew out the window towards Carousel Boutique. In the field behind her cottage, Fluttershy and Braeburn were having a small picnic together. The two were sitting on a cloth enjoying their food silently. For Braeburn this was quite normal, but for Fluttershy this was an embarrassing first. She'd never been on a date and, as far as she could tell, it was obvious. Every time he did something simple, like handing her a slice of pie, she would blush like crazy. He would light a candle, and her cheeks would heat. He would scoot an inch closer, and she'd hide behind her mane for a moment. For his part, Braeburn was being as good a romantic partner as he'd ever seen. This picnic was weird for him, though, because, even when he was being raunchy (if ever), mares reacted positively to his approach. Fluttershy seemed to not enjoy his company and,yet, enjoy it at the same time. The two sat and ate and were companionably quiet until Braeburn finally couldn't hold off his curiosity. "Have Ah done somthin' wrong?" He asked suddenly. "What? Oh no, you've been quite nice since we got out here. Wh-what did you think you did wrong?" "Ya've been so...squeamish with me. Ah'm beginning to get the feelin' you don' really like me all that much." "But... I do like you..." "Not much." He said in a deadpan voice. Fluttershy looked away now, again hiding behind her mane. She knew he was right. No matter how well this picnic had been going, it felt like something was wrong. As if the picnic was right but the company wasn't. "Well Ah s'pose it was a nice picnic, and we never really did start goin' out or nothin' so it's nice ta know it wouldn't have worked from the start." Braeburn thought aloud. "Yes, it was...nice." Fluttershy said lamely. "So what was it ya didn' like?" He asked with innocent curiosity. The question surprised Fluttershy but she had an answer ready without knowing it. "The picnic was nice... but it felt wrong...l-like somepony else should've been here. I-if that makes sense." "Ah think Ah get it." "Y-you do?" "Ah bet you have a crush on somepony and never really thought about it." She gave him a blank stare while she tried to process that guess. Was that even possible? Was she capable of that much naivete? She had once taken nearly half an hour to figure it out when Rainbow Dash had been making sex jokes, but... could she really be that stupid? At least on this subject? "You look like Ah might be right. So think about it; is there anypony in town you think of more kindly than the rest? Maybe Big Mac or-" "No. Not Big Mac. Twilight would hate me. And I don't know very many stallions." She said. She thought hard. If not Big Mac, then who? There was Doctor Whooves, but she thought he was too eccentric to even approach. The thought of living in that little blue box was enough to keep her away. Then there was Caramel. He was good looking but Applejack said he had "stallion-to-stallion tendencies." Of course, Rainbow had to explain that one to her later. There were the Flim-Flam brothers, but she had troubles thinking of them kindly after that cider season incident. The only other stallion she knew was Mr. Cake and he was married. "I can't think of any stallions I could like..." She said after a while. "Now there's gotta be somepony you know that you like more than the others. Think of your friends." And with that images of her five best friends flashed through her head. Each ones face. First Rarity, then Pinkie, then Rainbow and Twilight, and last was... Applejack. She tried not to think about the fact that Applejack's face lingered in her mind. Instead, she attempted to distract herself by talking. Too bad that this was Fluttershy and talking almost never helped her think straight. "All my friends are..." But she trailed off as an idea struck her. It was a realization that she never even thought about. A thought that hit her out of nowhere. Maybe she liked... "...Mares?" Braeburn supplied, confused at her silence. "I think I do...." She whispered into her mane. "'scuse me?" He said, even more confused. "N-nothing." Seeking Advice Pt. 2At her boutique Rarity was working hard to produce ten more cloned dresses for the client in Canterlot, who had just doubled his order. She was in her workroom starting on the seventh dress in a row, when she heard a tapping at the window. She walked over to the window next to her front door and opened it up, allowing a cyan pegasus to fly through it. Rarity simply rolled her eyes at the sight of Rainbow Dash crashing into her wall. This was nothing new and it was simply getting annoying. "Rainbow, dear, don't you think the door would be SOOO much more convenient?" "Pfft! Doors are for chumps!" Rainbow answered as she stood back up, shaking her wings and ruffling feathers. "Right...'chumps'... I hope you don't mind terribly if I ask why you came here?" Rarity asked, in a bored tone. "Oh, right! Yeah I came to see you 'cause Twi had nothin' good for me to use." "Twilight had nothing helpful to say? That's unusual..." Rarity said, quirking an eyebrow. "Yeah she's not really the romantic type." "OH! Romance! I can help you there!" Rarity squealed, clapping her hooves together. "Great...." "So...?" "What?" "Who is this lucky stallion that stole your heart, dear?" "This isn't about me, this is about A-a friend." She stumbled over the words, having almost said Applejack's name. "Hmm...okay? Do go on, please." Rarity said suspiciously. "*sigh* I think I should just come clean this time, 'cause Twi was useless when she didn't know who I was talking about..." Rainbow thought aloud. At this Rarity simply tilted her head in peaking curiosity. A moment of silence later, Rainbow explained everything she knew. Names included. After her story was done, Rainbow sat back on her haunches and waited for Rarity's response. And it came. "Well, firstly, I think you are very brash for telling me the whole story, but I think it is also very kind of you to want to help Applejack like this but....." "But what?" "I don't think there is anything I or you or anypony else can do. Fluttershy likes stallions and Applejack likes mares. Do you see the problem here?" "Maybe Flutters swings both ways?" "Rainbow..."Rarity said, facehoofing. Over at the picnic, Fluttershy was sitting next to Braeburn in an awkward silence. He looked confused beyond belief while she just sat there with her face hidden behind her mane. She had just come to an inner revelation and was now trying to silently understand it. Braeburn, however, was beyond confused at this point. Fluttershy had been elusive and confusing about what she was thinking. All he knew was that she has a crush, but it's not any of the stallions she can think of at the moment. Oh, and that all her friends are....mares. Oh duh. "Consarn it, Ah'm slow." He said suddenly. "Huh?" "You have a crush, t'ain't any stallion you can remember, and all yer friends are mares. Obviously, yer crush has gotta be on somepony ya know and can remember. Ah think yer a...fil-*ahem*..." He stopped realizing the term "fillyfooler" was offensive. But luckily for him Fluttershy had caught on and was willing to fill in the blank, quietly, in her head. "Y-yeah....I think so..." She said quietly, turning her head just a bit farther away from him, ashamed of this revelation. "Come on, now, Fluttershy. There is nothin' to be ashamed of. This is jus' natural." He paused a moment, knowing that simple, hollow sounding words like these wouldn't help. When she started sniffing he realized that this was going to eat at her unless somepony (namely him) did something. He thought hard. The best anypony could do at this point is help her figure out who her crush was...right? Well it was worth a try. "Hey..." He started weakly. She looked up at him. "D'ya think ya know who it is ya like." She stared at him a moment. This should've been easy, right? How could you have a crush and not know who it was? But she thought hard, focusing on the terms crush and special somepony, but came up with nothing. She shook her head after a long moment of silence. "Alright then... Maybe we should have a sit down..." An idea had begun to form in his head. If he could talk her through her honest opinions of all her closest friends, maybe she'd realize who it was she had feelings for. Or, at least, that was the theory. "...and we talk about yer friends. Maybe you'll figure it out if you compare them...er somethin'." "Uhm...O-okay." "Rarity...I don't think we should just give up on them. Maybe we c-" "Rainbow Dash. I don't know where you are drawing such heavy doses of optimism from, but I don't think you realize how hopeless this situation is. They just wont work out, Rainbow. I think Applejack should just move on." "Right. Like I'm gonna go back to AJ and say, 'Oh I think your love life is screwed. Get over it! BYE!' Yeah that'll help her out she'll be all like, 'Heeyuck Thanka kindly, RD, Ah feel so much better now.' " Rainbow said, glaring at Rarity. "You sounded a lot like her..." "Call it a gift." Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. "Now, whether I do good cowboy accents or not, I need some sort of 'Game-plan' from you Rarity. I am NOT gonna quit on Applejack." And in that moment it occurred to Rarity that if somepony as romantically challenged as Rainbow Dash would not give up on something so hopeless then maybe, just maybe, she shouldn't either. "Alright, fine. I'll do it." "Applejack? You okay sis'?" Big Mac asked as he walked over to the table that Applejack was still sitting at. He had found her with her arms crossed on the table, her head resting on them. "Huh? Ah was just... resting my head." She said as she sat up. She muttered a silent "sorta" under her breath. "No ya weren't. Not JUST restin' yer head. You was thinkin' hard on somethin', weren't ya?" "Well-Ah uhh... Ah was jus' thinkin' 'bout my friends." She stammered. "AJ. Ah ain't stupid." He said in a deadpan voice. "Ah didn' say ya were." She said, surprised at his random outburst. "No, but yer actin' like ya think Ah'm gullible. Ya weren't JUS' thinkin' 'bout yer friends. Now tell me what ya WERE thinkin' about." "Ah don' really wanna talk about it..." "No ya don' wanna talk about it with ME." She just stared at him as he returned it with an indignant glare. His face simply said that he cared about her, but didn't care whether or not she wanted him to. Her shoulders slumped and her proud composure left her. She realized that, unless she told him the wholesome truth, he'd stay put. So she hung her head and said, "Ah was thinkin' 'bout Fluttershy..." "Miss Shy? What about her?" Applejack decided that this was something her family would need to know. If anypony in her family needed to know that she liked mares, it was Big Mac. Granny Smith needed to know, but she just couldn't bring herself to want to tell her. And Applebloom...that would have to wait a while. "Big Mac... Ah need to tell ya somethin'..." She began slowly. "...and she tends to end stories with uhm..." She cleared her throat, getting ready to impersonate Pinkie Pie, " AND THAT'S HOW EQUESTRIA WAS MADE!" It had been three hours since she had come to her inner revelation and confessed it to Braeburn. It seemed hard to even think of the word or even think of herself as a...fillyfooler. After years and years of her mother and father and teachers telling her that liking somepony of the same gender was BAD and believing it was true, that word seemed so disgusting. But here she was realizing that she actually found all of her friends were at least moderately attractive to her. She and Braeburn had talked through her honest opinions of each of her friends. That sounds silly doesn't it? Braeburn thought it might help if he sat her down and asked a bunch of questions about each of her friends. So far they had gone through Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. From what Braeburn could tell, she knew a lot about each of her friends, and that she was actually easily flustered if asked about her opinion of their appearance. From what Fluttershy could tell, she thought that Twilight's braininess was a bit more than admirable, Rainbow was just plain hot, and Pinkie was beyond adorable. Obviously, being as timid and shy as she was, she was very confused about thinking these things and not feeling any attraction to any of them. Not emotional at least. "Ya do a good impersonation of Miss Pie ya know." Braeburn commented, causing Fluttershy to blush. "It's a-uhm...gift. I can only do Pinkie Pie, though." "So, who next..." He said, holding a hoof to his chin in thought. "Oh, yeah. Rarity. Alright lemme think...what's she like?" But Fluttershy had gotten used to this and was ready to answer all his questions about Rarity at once. This was easy since he had asked the same questions about each of them. "She's a fashionista, she runs a dress shop, yes; I think she is pretty, " Que furious blush. " She's a very selfless pony, too. We meet once a week at the spa for a little spa treatment. She used to dream of meeting Prince Blueblood and marrying him, but when she met him, he turned out to be selfish snob. She cried on my shoulder for a week after that. And, lastly, she IS currently single and...uhm one second..." She thought hard for a moment. " I...don't think it's her..." Braeburn looked disappointed. After a speech about Rarity like that from somepony as quiet as Fluttershy.... well, it had his hopes up. He really did want to help her, but...wait...that was four of her friends. That left just one! It had to be her! It had to be.... Applejack. "So...uh that leaves my cuz, Applejack." Her face changed from almost blank to slightly upbeat. That was a good sign. She locked eyes with him, her face plainly saying "ask away." He decided that, since he was sure it was Applejack, he would ask different questions. "Has she ever hurt you?" This new question took Fluttershy by surprise, but never the less, she rolled with it. "Uhm...no." "How long have ya known her?" "Uhm....since Twilight came to town. I'd seen her around town, but I never really KNEW her until Twilight..." "Does she ever impress you?" "Oh, all the time. With those rodeo stunts and-I mean- she pretty much runs a farm on her own! That's-uhm...nice..." "Does she ever strike ya as....purty?" He never actually thought of his cousin in such ways, so asking these questions was making him uneasy. After a moment of thought Fluttershy nodded her head vigorously. "Oh, yes. Her pretty green eyes, and her cute little freckles and yellow mane, tied up like that...." She began to blush furiously again. "I'm ranting." She said from behind her mane. "No no. It's fine. Okay, lemme think." He had begun to notice an enthusiasm would take her with each question then sputter out the moment she realized she had it. His next question would have to confirm whether or not it WAS Applejack that Fluttershy had this....what was the word? ELUSIVE! Durn dictionary was always too big for him. This elusive crush of hers. Suddenly, it came to him. "Could ya live without her?" She just stared at him blankly. After a moment her eyes slowly began to spread open. As she stared wide eyed, her mouth almost dropped open, but instead only opened an inch or two. She seemed to be shocked at what he had said and continued to stare at him until, suddenly, she spoke. Or, rather, quietly squeaked. "No." Making an AttemptIt had been two days and apple harvest was under way. Braeburn and Applejack were hard at work bucking the trees and chatting playfully. Applejack seemed in high spirits today. Little did Braeburn realize that it was because the feather was no longer in his hat. She couldn't help but feel curious though. It was, after all, something she thought would not come to an end, ever. But this way, it felt like something had died young. She just had to ask. "Hey, cuz?" "Yes?" "What-uh... what happened to that pretty feather you was wearin' in yer hat the other day?" He glanced at her suspiciously for a moment then answered, simply. "Me an' Fluttershy decided it wouldn' work out...so we split. We's still friends we just ain't... close is all." Applejack had two separate reactions in her head simultaneously. One of joy and the other of guilt. Joy that Fluttershy WOULDN'T be with Braeburn, and guilt at the joy she was feeling, and that things didn't work out for them. "Gosh. That's too bad, cuz." She said slowly. "Oh! Speakin' of Fluttershy, she asked me ta ask ya to meet her at her house. And no, she didn' say why, just that it'd be nice if ya stopped by today." Applejack quirked an eyebrow at him for a moment, but simply shook off her curiosity. So what if he was lying about her mentioning why? He probably just didn't remember the whole reason, or didn't want to explain it himself. A few hours later, Applejack found herself at Fluttershy's cottage knocking on the door. The door opened immediately, showing an excited Fluttershy at the door. "Oh, hi, Applejack! I was w-well uhm... waiting for you." Her excitement began to visibly turn into nervousness. 'Play it cool, Applejack. She probably just needs somethin'. She thought to herself and said aloud, "What fer?" "W-well I was uhm....hoping we c-could go out... sometime. A-as friends... I just w-was hoping we could spend some time j-just the...two of us..." She had been hiding shyly behind her mane the whole time. 'Did she just- no, no this is Fluttershy.' Applejack was almost floored. She was sure this was nothing, but somewhere in the back of her mind, in the really girly part, she was as giddy as a schoolfilly. It was almost like Fluttershy had just asked her out, 'But...that was impossible right?' "Er-uh...what did ya have in mind, sugarcube?" She asked as calmly as she could manage. "U-uhm I uh... I was thinking... a uhm- walk or eh...." She started kicking at the floor nervously. She had honestly thought this would've gone a lot more disastrous by now. Her mind was going blank while Applejack's unwavering stare was on her. She looked up for a moment, smiled sheepishly, realized that that must've looked weird, then frowned and looked back down. "I guess a-uh dinner or uh- I eh- what did you want to do?" At least the pressure wasn't on her anymore. "A walk sounds fine ta me." Applejack said calmly. As an awkward silence spread between them. Fluttershy realized Applejack was still standing outside and quickly motioned for her to come in. "I'm so sorry. I should've offered tea." "Uh-no it's fine, sugarcube. I need to get back to the farm anyway. I'll uh...see you tonight?" "Yes." "So, Rainbow, you have no idea what either your best friend or your oldest friend would want to do on a first date?" Rarity asked. "Well... not really. It's not like I ever asked Flutters what she would wanna do on her first date! It just isn't my strong suit..." She rationalized. Rarity found herself facehoofing again. This constant hoof to face action could NOT be good for her complexion. "It would be so nice if the pony asking for help had some input to go on." "Well what about you? You've known Fluttershy for years, too, ya know. Don't you know what she would like?" "Well of course. She would like something quiet and...what's the word for it? Relaxed. But not too high class. A simple dinner or a picnic...maybe a walk... I doubt if a five star restaurant would be either of their styles." "AJ's the outdoorsy type. She might like a picnic." Rainbow said. "Finally! Some input from 'Miss Stunts' over here." Rarity exclaimed. "Hey! It's not like I-" "Rarity! Rarity I need some help. I just as-" Fluttershy galloped into the room but slid to a halt when she saw Rainbow. "Oh h-hi, Rainbow. Am I interrupting?" The two glanced at each other quickly, then Rarity spoke up, "Not at all, dear. What did you need?" Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow nervously. "Well I-uh I don't know if I want to talk about it with uhm..." She decided to stop there so as to not be rude. "Oh no worries, dear, I'm sure whatever it is, Rainbow can be here for it." "I-if you say so... Well I uhm... asked Applejack to uhmm..." She muttered the rest of it quietly. "I'm sorry, what was that, dear?" "I asked her to go ouwifmhe." "Hey, speak up Flutters." Rainbow said as she glided over and landed next to her. Fluttershy ducked her head low and took a deep breath. "Iaskedherout!" She said then ducked her head down again. Rainbow and Rarity glanced at each other again. "What exactly do you mean?" Rarity asked. "I mean I asked her out. On a date." Fluttershy said shortly. Then she looked up at Rarity, confused. "Wait, you don't hate me?" "Hate you? Why would we hate you, Flutters?" Rainbow asked. "Well I-I just thought that... since I'm a mare and she is too..." She looked back up meaningfully. Rainbow walked over and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Fluttershy. You have nothing to be ashamed of. How did it go, by the way?" "W-well... She said yes, but I didn't REALLY ask her out. I just sort of.. suggested... a platonic get together-type...thing." She said glumly. "So... she doesn't know it's a date?" Rarity asked. This was awkward for her and Rainbow. They'd been trying to approach this from one side in secret, when all along the other side was trying to do the same thing. "She should." Rainbow said. "She already li-" But she was interrupted by Rarity's hoof in her mouth. She then proceeded to drag Rainbow into an adjacent room, to Fluttershy's confusion. "What's the matter, Rare?" Rainbow asked. "Are you insane?" "Huh?" "She doesn't know and it's Applejack's job to tell her. You can't just tamper with that! There is nothing worse in a relationship than loosing the chance to tell your partner how you feel. Do NOT tell either of them no matter what you do!" Rainbow just stared at her, wide-eyed. "Got it?" "Uh...yes?" "Good!" And with that she walked back over and sat next to Fluttershy. Rainbow followed slowly. "So...dear. What happened, exactly?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy recounted the short, embarrassing tale to them quietly. When she finished she sat still in an awkward pose that said she was trying to brace for a scolding from the other mares. "That does sound a little awkward." Rainbow stated bluntly. Her statement was replied to with a swift hoof to the shoulder. "Ouch! C'mon Rarity! Stop doing that!" She quieted down at the sight of Rarity's murderous glare. "It WAS awkard. B-but what should I do?" "Go for the walk." Rarity said simply. "Huh? Rare...that's so...simple! What's going on?" Rainbow asked. "Well... It seems Fluttershy has already handled it. I just think she should make this attempt. Tell her how you feel, what you think of her, what you like about her, and maybe even why. I'm sure this will go well. And DO tell me all about it tomorrow on our spa date." Rarity said. "Now, go on. GO. Get ready for your date." She made shooing gestures at Fluttershy as the blushing yellow pegasus hovered out the door. "Rarity?" Rainbow began. "Your plan is so....simple, and... not involving you. Why?" "Rainbow have you forgotten the major thing Fluttershy doesn't know?" At Rainbow's confused look, she decided to explain. "Applejack returns the feelings." She said slowly, as though explaining the obvious details to a yearling. "Wha-oh...yeah..." The Honest Truth"Hey. Fluttershy." "Y-yes?" She asked nervously. "It'll be okay." Applejack said calmly. Fluttershy took a deep breath and nodded her head quickly. "Alright, let's do this." She pushed the door open and they walked into Sugar Cube Corner together. She looked around and spotted Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow sitting at a table together, chatting quietly. Pinkie was bouncing around hurriedly serving what few customers were in this early. Applejack heard a sharp intake of breath and looked over at Fluttershy. Her face was a little pale. Applejack glanced around to see if anypony was watching. She gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the cheek. She calmed down visibly and smiled back at her. The two walked over to the table and greeted them. "Well, hello, dears. What's this all about? Pinkie was barely speaking when she invited me here. She was giggling with excitement. I thought she said 'Super Tube Porter' at first." Rarity said. "Yeah, and I thought she said 'Bugar Snoop Former'." Rainbow added. "You don't wanna know what I thought she said..." Twilight mumbled. "Sorry about that, girls!" Pinkie said, having suddenly appeared between Rarity and Twilight. "Gah!" Twilight fell out of her seat while Rarity jerked away in surprise. "... and that, too..." Pinkie added, frowning. "But I was just so excited about Fluttershy and Applejack be-" She was interrupted by Applejack's hoof in her mouth. "Pinkie. WE are gonna tell 'em. Okay?" "Mhmm." Pinkie replied through her hoof. She removed it and sat down on the bench next to Rainbow. Fluttershy sat next to her and scooted close. "So what are you going to tell us?" Rarity asked. "Well we just wanted to tell you that we uhm..." Fluttershy started, but stopped as her nerves got to her. Applejack wrapped an arm around her shoulders, eliciting a deep blush from her cheeks. "We're together now." Applejack said with confidence. Her words were followed by a moment of silence. Seconds ticked by slowly as nopony said anything. Applejack felt some movement on the bench in the direction of Rainbow, but before she could turn to look some force from that direction knocked her and Fluttershy off the bench. By the time she realized what had happened, she and Fluttershy were caught in a bear (or rather, pegasus) hug, curtsey of Rainbow Dash. "Congrats, guys!" She said. "Heh... uh, thanks, RD." "Wait..." Twilight started, and the three untangled themselves and looked at her. "So... you really weren't talking about yourself, Rainbow?" After nearly an hour of explaining everything they knew about the events of the past few days to each other (while gleefully ignoring odd looks from the other customers whenever the new couple kissed or hugged) the six close friends decided to have a party to celebrate sometime soon. They all walked outside the corner and said their goodbyes... all except for two, who walked together back to the farm just outside the town. They may have told their friends, but one of them had a family in town that needed to know immediately. They arrived at the farmhouse and walked up to the door. Applejack stopped at the door and didn't move. She knew here granny was a very old fashioned mare. It was amazing she hadn't tried to set Applejack up with a local stallion yet, really. The thing was that Applejack didn't want to disappoint her. Ever since she'd gone to Manehatten, she'd never wanted to disappoint Granny Smith like that again. And what about Applebloom? She was way too young to even think about colts. Much less other fillies. Things weren't exactly going to be easy with her family. The only solace in all this was that Big Mac already knew and was perfectly accepting of it. She glanced over at the butter-colored pegasus next to her, patiently waiting for her to open the door. 'One of the only solaces' She mentally corrected herself. "Applejack?" "Yes?" "We'll be fine." She said. Deja vu... She leaned in and kissed Applejack full on the lips. They held it that way for a moment, until the door swung open next to them. They pulled away, both blushing furiously, to look at who had opened the door. "What in tarnation did Ah just walk inta!?" Granny Smith exclaimed. It took them half an hour of stalling before Big Mac showed up to help explain. Granny Smith always seemed to listen to Big Mac more. Applejack assumed that it was because his direct, monosyllable approach made it easier for the old mare to understand. With his help, the three of them explained as much as they could to her. When all there was to say had been said they sat in silence, waiting for her to give her approval or rejection. She looked Applejack dead in the eye. "Ah don' wanna catch you two sneakin' no more kisses on the porch, ya hear?" "Gran-" Applejack began but a wrinkled old hoof stopped her. "BECAUSE. Ah don' want Half-Pint to walk in on ya. She's too young to be thinkin' 'bout that sorta thing an' deffinitely too innocent to be thinkin' 'bout doin' it with no fillies." They stared at her for a moment then she opened her mouth to speak again. "But... on the other hoof... Ah'm very happy for you, Applejack." She said tenderly. She was met with an incredulous stare, then was hit with a powerful hug. "Oh! Watch the old back, Miss Shy!" That night the two spent the night talking back and forth about nothing and everything. If anypony asked them what they had talked about the next morning, neither would've remembered much of it, but both would've said it was a wonderful night, nonetheless. They laid down in Fluttershy's bed together, whispering sweet nothings till after midnight. Just before they fell asleep, the only thing they would remember the next morning happened. "Applejack?" "Yes?" "I-I love you." "I love you, too, sugarcube." They shared one last kiss for the night, sharing in a silent bliss, before falling into the second bliss that comes from sleeping next to the one you love. The End. EpilogueApplejack stood nervously next to the Princess. She knew this wasn't going to be bad. It was a happy occasion, in fact, but that didn't stop the sweat on her back. She stood patiently through the preparatory music, trying not to look nervous. Noticing her distress, Princess Celestia leaned her head down, and whispered, "It'll be okay. Once those doors open you'll forget you were even nervous." She smiled kindly when Applejack turned to look at her. "Ah hope so." She murmured back, turning to look at the assembled crowd. It was a small service; only Big Mac and Granny Smith were sitting in, while Fluttershy's mother sat on the other side of the room. It had honestly shocked Applejack how similar Fluttershy's mother was to her. The only difference between them was that Joystar, Fluttershy's mother, had a slightly darker set of colors. She was much less timid than her daughter and a little less self-aware. Applejack glanced beside herself, at Rainbow Dash, who smiled warmly and reassuringly. Behind her stood Rarity, and on the other side of Celestia stood Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Applejack took another deep breath and looked back at the door. She pulled at her collar uncomfortably. This suit Rarity had made by Applejack's request was really good looking and all, but it was uncomfortable as all tarnation. She glanced over at Rainbow again, not quite sure why she didn't just wear a dress like all her friends had. Maybe it was because she wanted to maintain some semblance of tradition and there was no stallion to wear the suit here. The music suddenly changed to the familiar tune that always played at ceremonies like this one. Applejack turned back to the door just as it opened to show Fluttershy standing in a long white dress. At first she seemed to freeze up, but her father, Starchaser, led her forward with confidence. Applejack could barely breath correctly, let alone get her heart rate back to normal at the site of Fluttershy in such a beautiful ensemble. She felt somepony nudge her ribs and glanced at Rainbow. "Ain't she pretty?" She asked with a grin. "Yeah." Applejack replied, turning to look at her bride again. Fluttershy arrived at the alter, beaming from ear to ear and stood beside Twilight, facing Applejack. Celestia began the ceremonial words, but neither payed close attention until they got to the end. "Do you, Applejack, take Fluttershy to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "Ah do." "And do you, Fluttershy, take Applejack to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do." "Then by the my own power, I now pronounce you mare and wife. You may kiss the bride." "C'mere you." Applejack said she grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her into a kiss. The small crowd cheered in delight at the new couple. Congratulations were shouted, and good wishes were bestowed, but neither heard them. They were a bit preoccupied. Walks Are NiceFluttershy finished her shower as quickly as possible and flew downstairs to check on all the animals. She fed the birds, watered the plants, and prepared a dinner for Angel. All the other animals fed themselves dinner, so there was no need to take care of that. All that was left no was to wait. She sat patiently on the couch, wishing that Celestia would let the day go just a liiiittle bit faster today. "Oh why does waiting have to be so-" KNOCK KNOCK. That was her! She flew to the door in a yellow blur, took a moment to compose herself, and opened the door. "Howdy, Shy." Applejack said as she opened the door. She had a saddlebag on and, as Fluttershy began eying it, she saw fit to explain. "It's jus' a few things Ah brought along fer a picnic. Ya know 'cause it wouldn' be a proper d-... get together without dinner." That moment of hesitation... Fluttershy couldn't figure out what it was. She'd almost said something else, but Fluttershy had no clue what it was. "I guess not. Uhm... do you want to eat now or...?" She asked. "Nah. Ah think we should walk fer a bit first." "O-okay." An hour later they were trotting through Whitetail Wood. They were walking along the very path taken in the Running of The Leaves. Applejack kept glancing at Fluttershy and then around in an odd manner that kept confusing the shy pegasus. She had a secret of her own to tell but couldn't imagine doing so with all this curiosity. "I-is something wrong, Applejack?" "Huh? Ah uh... Ah was jus' thinkin', why?" "Well, you seem a little...edgy." She said suspiciously. "Edgy? Whadya mean?" "You keep looking at me then looking around like you don't want to look at me." "But I do wa-" But she cut herself off. Her cheeks flared red as she looked away. "What?" Fluttershy half-laughed. "Wh-what were you going to say?" "Nuthin'." "Applejack?" "Ya?" "Your a bad liar, you know." She paused then added, "I'm sorry, was that too mean?" "Ah know Ah am...listen Ah need to tell ya somethin'..." "Uhm...C-can I go first, please? I-if that's okay?" "Uh...sure thing, sugarcube." "U-uhm...well, I uh... I *ahem*...Maybe you should go first." She said weakly. "Oh... Uh, Ah uhm....Ah think yuuuur...." She stretched the word out as she suddenly changed her mind on what to say. A sudden deep, rolling, rumble could be heard from Fluttershy's stomach. "... about ready to eat." She said, silently thanking Celestia for a way out. Fluttershy eyed her for a moment, then walked over to a nearby clearing and stood in the grass, Applejack only a step behind her. Applejack set out the blanket and laid out some dishes and foods. When she sat down Fluttershy sat down next to her, rather than across from her. Fluttershy scooted an inch closer, then looked at her nervously. "I-it's a little cold out." It wasn't really, but Applejack wasn't about to point that out. "So uhm... Ah was wonderin' what it was you were gonna say." Applejack asked as she served then each a daffodil sandwich. "I'm still wondering what YOU were gonna say." Fluttershy replied playfully. Applejack let out a puff of laughter and bumped Fluttershy with her shoulder. Rather than cow down or shy away, Fluttershy bumped back. They both giggled a bit before locking eyes. They continued staring into each others eyes for a moment before they both began to lean into each other. Their eyes slipped shut and their lips were only inches apart. Then they- "HI GUYS!!!" Pinkie barged through the bushes around the clearing and emerged between the two. They had pulled back, both of their faces flaming with a blush. Fluttershy started brushing her mane to cover her face while Applejack simply tilted her hat to had her eyes. "Oh. Am I intruding? I think I took the wrong trail this afternoon." She said eying the bushes she'd just come through angrily. "Oh wait! I didn't use a trail today! That's why I got lost!" "Pinkie, what're y'all doin' here?" "Oh, I go for a walk through Whitetail once a week. It always reminds me of the story my granny used to tell me about Clavicus Pie. He was a mighty warrior who went to battle against the dreaded Legion of-" "Pinkie, not that we don' wanna hear yer story, but now is not a good time. Would ya mind jus' keepin' on yer walk?" "Okay!" She said before bouncing along on the trail. "*sigh* So...Ah uh..." "I think I know what you were going to say." "Heh... uh yeah." "Were we going to... uhm..." "Ah think so. Do you still wan-" She was cut off by a pair of soft lips on her own. After a moment of surprise, her eyes slid shut as she sank into a shared bliss. Seconds passed as the two silently enjoyed this lovers' bliss. But, like all good things, this sadly had to end. After all, one needs to breath. "Yes." Fluttershy whispered quietly. Happiness can be infectious. Whether the infected no what the infecter is happy about or not, it can spread easily with a smile or a hug. If there are two happy ponies trotting through a park, the happiness is bound spread like wild fire. Such is the effect the Elements of Kindness and Honesty had on their way to... truth be told neither knew where they were going. They were just happy to be in each others company. And so they trotted happily through Ponyville. It occurred to Fluttershy suddenly that it may be smart to tell the other girls about this. The two made a stop at Sugar Cube Corner for some cupcakes and sat at a booth. They ate in a companionable silence for a moment, then Fluttershy spoke up. "So uhm... If we're together now, should we tell the girls?" "Well Ah'm sure that RD'll pick up on it. Ah kinda told her Ah had a crush on ya a few days ago." "Really? I told her today... well her and Rarity." "Rarity? Heh, Ah bet Rainbow went to her fer help with me." "Okay... So do you think Twilight doesn't know?" "Ah don' much care how many of 'em knew we LIKED each other, what matters now is that they know we're together. Ah'm thinkin' tomorrow at lunch er somethin'..." "How will we invite them?" Unbeknownst to them a certain pink mare was in the kitchen. Her left ear twitched twice then she sneezed and she knew. In a blurry pink flash she was suddenly beside the two with a huge grin on her face. "Who do you need to invite and to what?" She asked cheerily. "Ah-uh... How did you know we-" "My left ear twitched twice then I sneezed. That meant somepony needed help with invitations. It's a good thing I sneezed, actually, because if I hadn't that would've meant that somepony had a serious case of dia-" "Pinkie. Can ya jus' invite the girls ta lunch tomorrow fer us?" Applejack interrupted. "Sure thing." She said, standing on her hind legs and saluting. Then she ran up to her room to make the invitations. "Phew! So... Now that that's taken care of, what next?" Applejack asked turning to face Fluttershy again. As she did so she was surprised with a quick peck on the lips from the pegasus. "Ah hope that becomes a regular thing with ya, sugarcube." She said, grinning. "Me too."
Happy ReunionsIt was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville as a particular pink party pony was helping a particular orange workhorse set up a party for her visiting family. Tomorrow, the rest of the Apple family would arrive for the annual Apple family reunion. This year it had been scheduled only two weeks before apple buck season. The local Apple family was busy getting ready for both and had opted for assistance with one. So, Pinkie Pie had arrived bright and early to help get the preparations for the reunion ready. As was her custom, she attempted to make this small, outdoor, quiet, family dinner into the "Best. Party. EVER!" to Applejack's dismay. That was why it had taken until three 'o' clock to get the the preparations correct in the eyes of the farmer pony. It would've taken longer had Fluttershy and Rarity not shown up around two to help and ended up with the two of them conjointly holding Pinkie's "party instinct" back. Once the dinner was set up and ready (aside from the food, which would be prepared the next day) the four ponies present sat down to a happy meal of apples and cider. The four (or rather three talkative ones) talked randomly about their days in varying detail. As would be expected of her, Pinkie explained in full detail her day of waking up, helping AJ, and spending her whole day thus far in Applejack's company. She then proceeded to ask Applejack about her day. This elicited a round of giggles from the other three, to her confusion. Applejack obliged, explaining her day in details that Pinkie Pie found suspiciously familiar. She assumed it was just because she and Applejack may have had similar days and didn't comment. "Well, my day was quite boring. I simply spent it making the same dress ten times over, until Fluttershy arrived to come here and help. Truth be told, I expected you would need more help with the setup, dear." Rarity commented. "Welp, S'pose Pinkie here was more a help than Ah thought she'd be." She said as she nudged the pink mare in question with her elbow. "So how 'bout you 'Shy?" She asked curiously of the, thus far, silent mare sitting to her left. "Oh, me? I-I didn't have a very interesting day..." She said as looked away from the three. "Nonsense, Flutters! Ah wanna hear all 'bout yur day." Applejack responded, her voice sounding with genuine interest. "O-okay...W-well, I fed the animals and took care of some bears an-" "See? What would make you think we didn't wanna hear about you handling bears!?" Pinkie broke in. "W-well, I wasn't 'handling' th-" "I agree with Pinkie. It's really quite interesting, and besides, it's not like I ever do anything that interesting with my day." Rarity added. "Oh no, I'm sure you d-" "Me neither! I haven't thrown a party in, like, a week! I've been so BORED!" Pinkie cut in again. "And I've been making repeat dresses for a Canterlot client's dress store." Rarity said. The two began going back and forth until they completely forgot about how they had gotten on this subject. While they were ranting at each other, Applejack leaned close to Fluttershy and whispered, "It's alright, sugarcube, Ah'll still wanna hear about yur day in a bit. These two just can't focus on somethin' so..." She searched for the right word for a moment, and Fluttershy attempted to supply it. "Quiet?" She said with a small, yet, sly smile. "Heh, yeah." The four good friends finished their meal and said their goodbyes for the day. The last mare to leave was Fluttershy, as Applejack insisted she stay and tell her about her day. It was an excessive, and polite gesture, and it made Fluttershy feel a bit better to know that she genuinely wanted to hear her story. She explained her day of animal care, tending to bears, and gardening to Applejack in as much detail as Applejack insisted on having. When she finished they said their goodbyes and Fluttershy went back to her cottage near the Everfree Forest, and Applejack went back to the farmhouse and went to bed straight away. It was dark when Fluttershy got home and she decided that she would go straight to bed, after she took care of the nighttime chores, such as feeding the bats, or making sure the birds all had a way in or out, in case of nighttime....needs. Once that was all taken care of, she brushed her mane and went to bed. The morning could not be considered more similar for any of the six than it could when comparing Fluttershy and Applejack. They both woke up to the rooster's crow, they fed their animals, then proceeded to tend to their plants. The difference is what those morning chores were focused on. Fluttershy's animals were mainly small critters like bunnies and birds, while Applejack tended to cattle and pigs. Fluttershy had her small vegetable garden, Applejack tended an entire farm. Obviously, Fluttershy finished such chores more quickly than Applejack did. Then, when Fluttershy finished this daily routine, she would have a sporadic schedule of animal care throughout the wilderness around Ponyville. Applejack, however, occupied this time doing odd jobs around the farm, such as barn repairs and any other odd whatnot. This particular morning, however, both mares finished early in order to make time with the family reunion. Applejack had invited all her best friends because, as far as she was concerned, after the Flim-Flam incident they were all honorary family members. So ALL Apple family members would be in attendance this year, including the Appleloosans for the first time in almost ten years. Fluttershy was the first of their circle of friends to arrive, so she helped with the last minute baking. As she and Applejack finished up the dinner, the rest of their friends arrived and helped with the rest of the last minute preparations. Applejack and Fluttershy spent most of the morning in a random chatter about just about anything that was relevant to them. "So, who all is coming today? Um...i-if you don't mind telling me..." Fluttershy asked curiously. "Well, lemme think... Just about all the Apple family will be here. 'cept fer the Oranges...." She added a little bitterly. "Oh... I'm sorry about that." Fluttershy replied. "N'aw don't be. T'aint yur fault." Applejack said, her face changing to a friendly smile. "Why were ya askin' 'bout my family?" "Oh, I was just wondering." "Uh huh. 'kay." She pulled a tray of fritters out of the oven and took them out to the temporary pavilion and set it down next to the pies. She examined all the tasty treats and pastries adorning the table, and mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done. Again. "Well howdy, cuz!" "Howdy, Braeburn. Howdy, Apple Fritter, and uhh....ev'rypony else." Applejack greeted with a laugh. Her distant and close family all giggled a little at her "Howdy" and started to mingle around the grounds. Twilight mainly stayed with Big Mac for reasons that went over his head but no one else's. Rarity spent the time chatting it up with random ponies, trying to learn the gossip all over Equestria. Rainbow was playing the games with the younger foals, attempting to remember that she should let these kids win. Pinkie was...well, everything; food, games, food, dancing, food, and maybe a game or two. And possibly food. Fluttershy, as was par for her, pretty much just hid behind the nearest friend she could find, namely Applejack. For her part, Applejack enjoyed this feeling of protecting her friend, even if it was from the many dangers of smiling farmer's kids. After two hours of these shenanigans, Braeburn saw it fit to approach the timid pegasus. "Howdy, Miss..." He left the space open so she would introduce herself. "I'm..." She mumbled quietly. " 'scuse me?" "I'm Flu..." Still too quiet. "Your gonna need to speak up miss." "Fluttershy." She said before hiding behind her mane and under Applejack's tail. "Howdy, Miss Fluttershy, Ah'm Braeburn! Ah don' believe we've met." "Well if y'all had met, Braeburn, then Ah think ya'd know her name." Applejack interjected. "Huh...yeah..." He mulled over that a moment before he remembered why he had come over to talk to these two. "So anyways... Ah was wonderin' if Ah might get a chance to talk to a purty young mare like yurself, Miss Fluttershy." She had crawled out from behind Applejack and was now dumbfounded at his request. When what he had said finally registered her cheeks turned orange from blushing. Applejack, however, just rolled her eyes at her cousin's flirting; a commonality that she was surprised to see none of on her trip to Appleloosa. "I-I don't know, I-I guess..." She looked to Applejack for reassurance, and she simply shrugged. Personally, she wouldn't enjoy Braeburn's flirting with anypony she'd known, but she was enjoying it even less because this was Fluttershy, and...well, that bothered her. "W-What did you have in mind?" "Oh, Ah just wanted to chit chat somewhere private-like." He replied politely. "O-okay." She replied before following him away from the crowd. Applejack watched them go then turned away and bitterly ate a fritter. Pinkie bounced over with a a cupcake sticking out of her mouth as she ate it without using her hooves. "Great party, huh?" She said, somehow fluently around the cupcake. "Yeah happy reunions..."
Feathers, Hats, and SugarBraeburn led Fluttershy out into the orchard to a nice private spot, away from the party. It felt better to be at least close to alone, or at least to Fluttershy. She was accustomed to the company of five specific ponies, usually in unison, but if it was none of them then it was usually just her animals, namely Angel, who kept her company. Braeburn was a pony (a stallion, no less) she'd only met once, and even then they hadn't ever really spoken, and Braeburn apparently didn't even remember that short time, which made her feel more awkward than she did normally in social situations. For his part, Braeburn was enjoying the silence, though he feared if he didn't say something soon that would be all he'd get out of the butter coated mare beside him. He had acted politely, hadn't he? He hadn't quite noticed how quiet she is normally, so he questioned whether or not he had done something wrong. He decided the best step to take at this point would be to initiate some semblance of chatter from her. "So how do ya know Applejack?" "W-when Twilight came to town, I uhm... met her first, th-then I decided to help her find the Elements of Harmony, and y-you know Applejack went, too." "Oh, Ah see. So whatya do 'round town?" "Oh, I take care of the little animals around Ponyville." "That sounds like a mighty fine passtime." "Thank you." He began to wonder why in the world she was so gosh darn quiet. She, on the other hand, began to wonder if it would be impolite to ask him to be a little less talkative. It probably would be. "So..." He started. "So." She mumbled politely. "Ah was wonderin' i-" But he was cut off by a sudden yell and crash as a blue blur hit a tree nearby then ricocheted towards them. Rainbow Dash slammed straight into Braeburn and hit Fluttershy with her leg. They ended up in a heap on the ground tangled in each others manes, tails, and legs. "Heh, heh...uhh you guys okay?" Rainbow asked as she got up. "Ah'm fine. How 'bout you Miss Shy?" Braeburn asked while he got up, too. "I'm okay. Uhm, Rainbow, what were you doing?" She answered, shaking her wings a bit before neatly folding them again. "Oh, some of the little squirts wanted to see some aerial stunts, so, I obliged." She said waving her hoof offhandedly. Fluttershy nodded once, then turned her attention to her left wing, which she had unfolded and was checking because of an irritating sensation. She shook it once or twice, then folded it back to her side. Not noticing Fluttesrshy's distress, Braeburn began looking around, "Now where in tarnation is my hat?" Rainbow began looking around while Fluttershy began examining her wing closely. When she finished examining it she came to the conclusion that she had lost a few feathers in the crash. That explained why her wing stung so much, and she continued thinking nothing of it. After a moment of looking around Rainbow found the hat and brought it back to Braeburn. As she handed it to him, a yellow feather fell out of the inside of the hat. Braeburn put the hat on and picked up the feather. "This yurs, Shy?" He asked, holding it up. "O-oh, yes, I think it is..." She said flapping her wing again. "Oh, did I do that? I'm so sorry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to her fillyhood friend. She started frantically examining Fluttershy's wing for injuries. "Ohmygosh! I don't think you'll be able to fly with this wing for a week!" "Uhm, Rainbow? That's the wrong wing." Fluttershy said quietly as she lifted off a few feet to show Rainbow she could still fly. "Right, I was uh...kidding." She said sheepishly as Fluttershy landed beside her. Braeburn held up the feather to Fluttershy and asked, "Mind if Ah keep it?" Her cheeks flared orange as she attempted to answer, but her voice caught. "Why the hay would you wanna keep it?" Rainbow interjected. "Well, ya see, Ah've been spendin' lotsa time with the buffaloes and they see feathers as somethin' special. Ya know Miss Strongheart kept one of yer feathers, and Ah just thought since Ah'm only here a few days, it might be nice ta have somethin' ta remember Miss Shy by, that's all." Braeburn explained. "I think it's creepy." Rainbow retorted. "I think it's uhm... sweet." Fluttershy mumbled. "You can have it." " Thank ya kindly." "...ANDTHENITBLEWUP!!!" Pinkie exclaimed with a flourish. "That's a mighty fine story, Pinks." Applejack said distractedly. She'd been tending to the needs of her entire family for a half hour and had only been listening to Pinkie on the side. Pinkie, for her part, had been ranting on about something that had to do with a chef's hat, oranges, and some form of sugar alternative...now that she thought about it, Applejack probably would've enjoyed this story. As it was, however, she was dealing with about fifty mouths to feed and a table set for thirty-five. Darn thing wasn't big enough, so they brought out some more tables and more food. Of course, it didn't help that Pinkie was in attendance and there happened to be an abundance of sugary treats, and, as anypony knows, Pinkie plus sugar does not equal a long lasting meal. Thanks to this small detail, the whole family was beginning to run out of things to eat So Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle got to work making more food for the Apple family, carrying out steaming trays of varying pastries, tarts, sweets, pies, and various other apple-based foods. As Applejack was taking out another tray of pies, she spotted Fluttershy and Braeburn returning from the orchard. She couldn't help but glare slightly at the sight of the two walking together like that. It wasn't fair; she'd always wanted to- "Hey, Applejack! Watcha starin' at?" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced on over to her. "Nothin'. Ah was just thinkin'." She answered hurriedly. "OOooOOooh, I see. So watya think is gonna be the next game?" She asked excitedly. "Ah don' know. Ah guess you can decide." Applejack answered distractedly. "Okay! HEY EVERYPONY! TIME FOR THE PONY POKEY!!!" She practically sang as she trotted away. At that most of the family gave cheers of varying enthusiasm. As the game started Applejack trotted off to meet Fluttershy and Braeburn. She practically flinched at the sight of Fluttershy's feather poked into Braeburn's hat. THAT just wasn't fair.
How Convenient..."Well, Ah gotta say, cuz, this looks like a better harvest-ta-be than Ah've ever seen." Braeburn said as he and Applejack trotted about the orchard. The rest of the party had gone without major event (although it may be noteworthy that Pinkie and Rainbow had somehow tricked Twilight into drinking hard cider and... let's just say the six friends will never look at scented bookmarks the same way again). In the morning Braeburn had requested to examine the impending harvest with AJ. So, there they were trotting between trees, examining the trees for signs of disaster. "That's mighty kinda ya ta say, Braeburn. This harvest could be troublesome, though." Applejack replied without looking at him. "Why d'ya say that?" He asked politely. "Well, for the last few years its been me, Big Mac, and the gang, but this year Rarity is busy with dress orders, and Twilight has some convention in Canterlot. Rainbow has them tryouts fer the Wonderbolts, so all we got is me, Big Mac, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie." She answered, holding a hoof to her chin as she attempted to remember if there was anything else. "Hmm. You know Ah got the buffaloes helpin' out on my harvest." "Really?" "Yeah, they love them pies so much that they wanna help make 'em this year." "Wow." "So Ah was thinkin'...maybe Ah could help out here fer yer harvest?" Braeburn asked. "Ah don' know..." "Come on, cuz, it'll be fun!" Applejack looked at him now. At first she focused on his face, showing with childlike want, but eventually she caught site of the feather and had to look away. "Fine." "So he'll be helping with the harvest?" Fluttershy asked. "Eeyup." Big Mac answered. Fluttershy had stopped by to see Applejack and had run into Big Mac instead. He had seen fit to inform her that Braeburn would be here a few weeks longer. "Only problem is findin' him a place to stay that long." Big Mac said suggestively. "Y-you don't have any room?" She asked. "Eenope. Our guest room will be full a' apples when we start harvestin'. Helps organize." "O-oh, okay." Fluttershy mumbled. After a silent moment of thought she got an idea. "M-maybe he could...maybe... stay with me? If he wants to..." She asked quietly. "I think that'd be nice and convenient." "Ya what?!" "Ah said it'd be convenient. What's wrong with that? Now we don' havta find a place for him ta stay." Big Mac answered the upset Applejack. "Ah just don' ..." She stopped there not really knowing where to go with this without saying something she'd regret. "Is somethin' wrong sis'?" She hated it when people asked her questions and she didn't want to tell the truth. She couldn't just lie either. It wasn't in her nature, hints how she became the Element of Honesty, but that didn't mean she couldn't avoid the truth or just twist it a bit. "Naww, this is really convenient isn't it? I s'pose it's best he stay with Fluttershy than any of my other friends. She DOES live the closest." "Plus, they seem kinda close already, if you catch mah drift." Big Mac said, grinning. "Yeah, there's that too." Applejack said before turning and walking back into the farmhouse to tell Braeburn where he'd be staying. Hopefully, he wouldn't be wearing that hat. The next morning Braeburn woke to the rooster's crow. He rolled over too far on the couch and fell to the floor. Opening his eyes, his mind muddled by sleep, he slowly remembered where he was; Fluttershy's cottage. The rooster threw him off. As he got up he heard the flapping of wings and glanced over to see Fluttershy hovering down the staircase. "Oh, I'm sorry did the rooster wake you? I should've told Atlas not to crow this morning. I'm sooo sorry." She said hurriedly when she saw him still sitting on the floor. "Fluttershy. Ah live on a farm and wake up to the rooster's crow ev'ry morning. Ah'm fine, jus' forgot where Ah was is all." He assured her while he got. "O-oh...uhm, what would you like for breakfast?" "Oatmeal sure would be nice." "Okay I'll make some." She said before fluttering into the kitchen to put water on to boil. While she was doing that Braeburn found himself marveling at all the different animals and critters wandering around the small house and wondering at how in the world such a timid and shy pegasus could befriend so many different types of animals. When the oatmeal was done they sat down at the table and silently ate their bowl's worth. At first the silence was awkward but eventually it became something more of a friendly... lack of sound. Over at Sweet Apple Acres Applejack was tending to her animals, giving polite hellos to the cattle. Once that was all taken care she got to work with the small crops that had to be harvested earlier, such as corn. As could be expected of any moment of boring work, Applejack couldn't help but let her mind wander. Sadly, it only had one real place to go to. Fluttershy and Braeburn. She couldn't stop the image of HER feather stuck in HIS hat flashing forward in her mind. That just hurt her. There was a time when she felt like this whole thing was a two way street, but that time had long since passed. Now she only felt betrayed, and angry at herself for feeling that way. Obviously it wasn't Fluttershy's fault if she didn't return the feelings, and apparently she never would, but consarn it if she still felt this way no matter what she did. Maybe if she wasn't so pretty or so shy this would be easier, but no, Fluttershy was just... wonderful. Or at least to Applejack she was. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. This form of self-torture just wouldn't do her any good. She knew it and so would anyone else with any common sense. She sighed heavily, again upset with her inability to change the subject in her head. "Somethin' wrong, AJ?" She jumped at the sound of Applebloom's voice behind her. She turned to face her sister quickly. "The harvest is jus' fine, why?" "Ah wasn' askin' 'bout the harvest-" "I'm okay, Applebloom, I feel fine." Physically, at least. "Uh-huh? Well alright then." "What are ya doin' in this field, anyway?" "Ah was lookin' fer you. You left the house lookin' real glum this mornin'..." "Ah told you I'm fine." Applebloom eyed her suspiciously, but didn't pursue the matter. "Alright, if you say so..." "Ah do." Applebloom continued to watch her carefully, but finally gave up and turned to trot away. She stopped, remembering something suddenly. "Oh, Ah almost forgot; Rainbow Dash is here to see you." "RD? Did she say what for?" "Somethin' 'bout helpin' before the harvest." "Alright, Ah'll be right there." It was such a weird shape. It could've been anything. Maybe somepony had started digging and given up or maybe Big Mac had slammed his hoof here a few too many times. It could've be where somepony had left a large heavy object for a few hours. It looked like whoever had made it had spilled some orange liquid on it and let it dry. As Rainbow Dash was examining this oddity in the ground Applejack trotted up beside her. "Watcha starin' at, RD?" She barely glanced over her shoulder at AJ's voice, but merely continued staring at it. "Hey, AJ....Do you have any idea what this is?" She asked indicating the strange shape in the ground. Applejack glanced at it then looked back at Rainbow. "That'd be yer face print from the reunion, when you had a bit too much hard cider. Ya tried to show off when you couldn' even see who ya were showin' it to." "But I don't even remember drinking!" Rainbow said, shocked "That's what Ah mean by 'too much'." Applejack's reply was completely deadpan. She had expected that after that fourth bottle Rainbow would stop remembering and eventually have to ask questions about that night. "Oh... Well, uh, I came by to see if there was anything I could help out with before I go to Cloudsdale tomorrow." "Ah can think of a few things." A few hours later the pair had finished painting the barn after fixing a hole in it's roof. Once that was all said and done the two sat down to some well earned apple juice. Rainbow couldn't help but look a bit distracted, as she kept glancing around for no apparent reason. Eventually, AJ started to get curious about what was going on in the weather pony's head. "What's on yer mind RD?" ""I was just thinking..." "Good, it feels right, don't it?" Applejack replied with a smirk. "Shut up." Rainbow retorted while punching her playfully. "Anyway, I was just thinking about Braeburn and Fluttershy..." She said, watching Applejack carefully. Her face darkened noticeably at the mention of the new couple. "Oh, that. What about it?" She asked, her voice a little more edgy than she would've liked it to be. "That. That right there." Rainbow pointing at her while she took a swig of juice. "Excuse me?" Applejack asked, now confused. "You don't like them together. I don't know why, but I can tell you don't like it." Rainbow said with growing confidence. "So what is it, AJ? What's wrong with them being together? Do you feel protective of Fluttershy?" "She can handle herself." "Do you think they won't last?" "They probly will." Ouch...that was the hard truth, too. She honestly thought they would. She started getting the urge to get out of there before that stinging in her eyes got worse. "Do you think he'll go to fast for her? Or she'll go to slow for him? What's wrong Applejack?" "Look. They make a great couple and I see no reason why they shouldn't be together." Applejack said, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Then what's wrong with y-" She stopped when she looked at at AJ's eyes. "Ohmygosh." She whispered. "You're sweet on Fluttershy, aren't you?" "No." Being the Element of Honesty came with perks. People always believed you because they knew you wouldn't lie. But, occasionally, if you did lie, anypony could tell. "AJ. I've known you for a LONG time and I know you don't lie. I know you would never stab me in the back or hurt me for real, because you are an honest, loyal, good friend. And I know you would never even consider lying to me when it matters, but I have a problem." "What?" AJ asked, worry obvious on her face. "You just did."
Seeking AdviceFirst, she stood, slamming her front hooves on the table, looking outraged. Then, she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. Next, she sat back down, knowing she had no way out of this. Last, she let her face fall forward onto her arms laying on the table. Anypony who saw her there would've assumed she was crying, but they'd be wrong. She couldn't muster the will to cry. Besides, after working a farm and dealing with everything she'd dealt with, she just didn't cry very often any more. Not after her parents... She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and looked up, surprised. Was she still talking to Rainbow Dash? This was a bit touchy-feely for her. "Heh... I'm as surprised as you here AJ." She said grinning awkwardly. She showed how awkward this was for her with the way her arm was practically shaking with the urge to let go and scoot as far away as possible. Luckily, she managed to resist that urge, much to Applejack's surprise. "So...You and Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked curiously. "Well we ain't a thing, y'know." "I know but still. I mean come on; You and Fluttershy... It seems right to me. It explains a lot actually." "Like what?" "Well, you're always protecting her, making her feel better, helping her. It makes sense to me." Applejack just sighed and took another swig of her apple juice. She brushed off Rainbow's arm and scooted away. "Oh, come on, AJ, it's not that bad. I bet she doesn't like him that much anyway." "She let him have her feather." She muttered in response. "Am I the only one who thinks that that is creepy? Whatever. She was just being polite. I think it wont last." "You're just saying that to make me feel better, but we both know that it probly will. Besides, she's happy right? Ah think Ah should just let it be." Applejack said as she got up and turned to leave. "And I think you're wrong." AJ stopped and turned to look at her. "So, what should Ah do?" "Tell her how you feel. Duh!" " 'scuse me?" "Jeez I thought it was what you're supposed to do about things like this." "Ah guess it is, but... Ah don' know. Wouldn't that just make this harder for her?" "Like how?" "Ah think she'd feel horrible about all this and feel inclined to...entertain me." "How's that bad?" "Because it wouldn't be fair to her or me if she was just doin' it ta make me feel better. Especially if she don'...swing that way." "This is making my brain hurt. I know you're right, but I don't like thinking things over like this...Why don't you just take a page out of my book and throw caution to the wind? Tell her how you feel and just tell her not to feel bad, or something. I don't know. I'm no good at this sort of thing. *sigh* Maybe... I don't know. Look, can I come by tomorrow? I'll try to help more then." "Yeah, that's fine." Later, at the library... "Rainbow, your story is confusing me. Can you make it more simple?" Twilight requested. "Uhh...sure. Metaphorically speaking, let's say Mare A likes Mare B, but Mare B is with Stallion A, and Mare A and Stallion A are friends. Mare A is obviously jealous, but she doesn't wanna hurt Flu-err Mare B or Stallion A, so...what should Mare A do?" "Rainbow...YOU came to ME for relationship advice?" "Yeah, so?" Twilight just shook her head in bewilderment. "It's just...I always thought that I'd be the one coming to you...never mind. So... what do YOU think yo-Mare A should do?" "First off, Twilight, this isn't about me, let's make that clear, okay?" "Alright, it's not you. What do you think Mare A should do?" "I don't know... fess up her feelings?" "That's a start. Then?" "How should I know?" "Don't you have experience in this?" "What would make you say that?" "I-you...whatever. Just answer the question." "Uhm... after that I'd say...dinner?" Twilight's face hit her hoof a bit harder than she'd intended. "Why would you ask me? Like I know?" "I don't know. I thought you and Big Mac were..." But she stopped at the site of Twilight's wide eyed stare. "Oh, darn it I'm bad at this." "That's a paradigm shift..." "Para- what now?" "Never mind. Anyway, I think dinner would be better before the whole revelation, but if you think dinner after would be best...whatever. I'd say 'okay' to it if she didn't slap you. But wh-" "This isn't about me. Uhg, I'm gonna go ask Rarity. Thanks Twi." And with that she flew out the window towards Carousel Boutique. In the field behind her cottage, Fluttershy and Braeburn were having a small picnic together. The two were sitting on a cloth enjoying their food silently. For Braeburn this was quite normal, but for Fluttershy this was an embarrassing first. She'd never been on a date and, as far as she could tell, it was obvious. Every time he did something simple, like handing her a slice of pie, she would blush like crazy. He would light a candle, and her cheeks would heat. He would scoot an inch closer, and she'd hide behind her mane for a moment. For his part, Braeburn was being as good a romantic partner as he'd ever seen. This picnic was weird for him, though, because, even when he was being raunchy (if ever), mares reacted positively to his approach. Fluttershy seemed to not enjoy his company and,yet, enjoy it at the same time. The two sat and ate and were companionably quiet until Braeburn finally couldn't hold off his curiosity. "Have Ah done somthin' wrong?" He asked suddenly. "What? Oh no, you've been quite nice since we got out here. Wh-what did you think you did wrong?" "Ya've been so...squeamish with me. Ah'm beginning to get the feelin' you don' really like me all that much." "But... I do like you..." "Not much." He said in a deadpan voice. Fluttershy looked away now, again hiding behind her mane. She knew he was right. No matter how well this picnic had been going, it felt like something was wrong. As if the picnic was right but the company wasn't. "Well Ah s'pose it was a nice picnic, and we never really did start goin' out or nothin' so it's nice ta know it wouldn't have worked from the start." Braeburn thought aloud. "Yes, it was...nice." Fluttershy said lamely. "So what was it ya didn' like?" He asked with innocent curiosity. The question surprised Fluttershy but she had an answer ready without knowing it. "The picnic was nice... but it felt wrong...l-like somepony else should've been here. I-if that makes sense." "Ah think Ah get it." "Y-you do?" "Ah bet you have a crush on somepony and never really thought about it." She gave him a blank stare while she tried to process that guess. Was that even possible? Was she capable of that much naivete? She had once taken nearly half an hour to figure it out when Rainbow Dash had been making sex jokes, but... could she really be that stupid? At least on this subject? "You look like Ah might be right. So think about it; is there anypony in town you think of more kindly than the rest? Maybe Big Mac or-" "No. Not Big Mac. Twilight would hate me. And I don't know very many stallions." She said. She thought hard. If not Big Mac, then who? There was Doctor Whooves, but she thought he was too eccentric to even approach. The thought of living in that little blue box was enough to keep her away. Then there was Caramel. He was good looking but Applejack said he had "stallion-to-stallion tendencies." Of course, Rainbow had to explain that one to her later. There were the Flim-Flam brothers, but she had troubles thinking of them kindly after that cider season incident. The only other stallion she knew was Mr. Cake and he was married. "I can't think of any stallions I could like..." She said after a while. "Now there's gotta be somepony you know that you like more than the others. Think of your friends." And with that images of her five best friends flashed through her head. Each ones face. First Rarity, then Pinkie, then Rainbow and Twilight, and last was... Applejack. She tried not to think about the fact that Applejack's face lingered in her mind. Instead, she attempted to distract herself by talking. Too bad that this was Fluttershy and talking almost never helped her think straight. "All my friends are..." But she trailed off as an idea struck her. It was a realization that she never even thought about. A thought that hit her out of nowhere. Maybe she liked... "...Mares?" Braeburn supplied, confused at her silence. "I think I do...." She whispered into her mane. "'scuse me?" He said, even more confused. "N-nothing."
Seeking Advice Pt. 2At her boutique Rarity was working hard to produce ten more cloned dresses for the client in Canterlot, who had just doubled his order. She was in her workroom starting on the seventh dress in a row, when she heard a tapping at the window. She walked over to the window next to her front door and opened it up, allowing a cyan pegasus to fly through it. Rarity simply rolled her eyes at the sight of Rainbow Dash crashing into her wall. This was nothing new and it was simply getting annoying. "Rainbow, dear, don't you think the door would be SOOO much more convenient?" "Pfft! Doors are for chumps!" Rainbow answered as she stood back up, shaking her wings and ruffling feathers. "Right...'chumps'... I hope you don't mind terribly if I ask why you came here?" Rarity asked, in a bored tone. "Oh, right! Yeah I came to see you 'cause Twi had nothin' good for me to use." "Twilight had nothing helpful to say? That's unusual..." Rarity said, quirking an eyebrow. "Yeah she's not really the romantic type." "OH! Romance! I can help you there!" Rarity squealed, clapping her hooves together. "Great...." "So...?" "What?" "Who is this lucky stallion that stole your heart, dear?" "This isn't about me, this is about A-a friend." She stumbled over the words, having almost said Applejack's name. "Hmm...okay? Do go on, please." Rarity said suspiciously. "*sigh* I think I should just come clean this time, 'cause Twi was useless when she didn't know who I was talking about..." Rainbow thought aloud. At this Rarity simply tilted her head in peaking curiosity. A moment of silence later, Rainbow explained everything she knew. Names included. After her story was done, Rainbow sat back on her haunches and waited for Rarity's response. And it came. "Well, firstly, I think you are very brash for telling me the whole story, but I think it is also very kind of you to want to help Applejack like this but....." "But what?" "I don't think there is anything I or you or anypony else can do. Fluttershy likes stallions and Applejack likes mares. Do you see the problem here?" "Maybe Flutters swings both ways?" "Rainbow..."Rarity said, facehoofing. Over at the picnic, Fluttershy was sitting next to Braeburn in an awkward silence. He looked confused beyond belief while she just sat there with her face hidden behind her mane. She had just come to an inner revelation and was now trying to silently understand it. Braeburn, however, was beyond confused at this point. Fluttershy had been elusive and confusing about what she was thinking. All he knew was that she has a crush, but it's not any of the stallions she can think of at the moment. Oh, and that all her friends are....mares. Oh duh. "Consarn it, Ah'm slow." He said suddenly. "Huh?" "You have a crush, t'ain't any stallion you can remember, and all yer friends are mares. Obviously, yer crush has gotta be on somepony ya know and can remember. Ah think yer a...fil-*ahem*..." He stopped realizing the term "fillyfooler" was offensive. But luckily for him Fluttershy had caught on and was willing to fill in the blank, quietly, in her head. "Y-yeah....I think so..." She said quietly, turning her head just a bit farther away from him, ashamed of this revelation. "Come on, now, Fluttershy. There is nothin' to be ashamed of. This is jus' natural." He paused a moment, knowing that simple, hollow sounding words like these wouldn't help. When she started sniffing he realized that this was going to eat at her unless somepony (namely him) did something. He thought hard. The best anypony could do at this point is help her figure out who her crush was...right? Well it was worth a try. "Hey..." He started weakly. She looked up at him. "D'ya think ya know who it is ya like." She stared at him a moment. This should've been easy, right? How could you have a crush and not know who it was? But she thought hard, focusing on the terms crush and special somepony, but came up with nothing. She shook her head after a long moment of silence. "Alright then... Maybe we should have a sit down..." An idea had begun to form in his head. If he could talk her through her honest opinions of all her closest friends, maybe she'd realize who it was she had feelings for. Or, at least, that was the theory. "...and we talk about yer friends. Maybe you'll figure it out if you compare them...er somethin'." "Uhm...O-okay." "Rarity...I don't think we should just give up on them. Maybe we c-" "Rainbow Dash. I don't know where you are drawing such heavy doses of optimism from, but I don't think you realize how hopeless this situation is. They just wont work out, Rainbow. I think Applejack should just move on." "Right. Like I'm gonna go back to AJ and say, 'Oh I think your love life is screwed. Get over it! BYE!' Yeah that'll help her out she'll be all like, 'Heeyuck Thanka kindly, RD, Ah feel so much better now.' " Rainbow said, glaring at Rarity. "You sounded a lot like her..." "Call it a gift." Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. "Now, whether I do good cowboy accents or not, I need some sort of 'Game-plan' from you Rarity. I am NOT gonna quit on Applejack." And in that moment it occurred to Rarity that if somepony as romantically challenged as Rainbow Dash would not give up on something so hopeless then maybe, just maybe, she shouldn't either. "Alright, fine. I'll do it." "Applejack? You okay sis'?" Big Mac asked as he walked over to the table that Applejack was still sitting at. He had found her with her arms crossed on the table, her head resting on them. "Huh? Ah was just... resting my head." She said as she sat up. She muttered a silent "sorta" under her breath. "No ya weren't. Not JUST restin' yer head. You was thinkin' hard on somethin', weren't ya?" "Well-Ah uhh... Ah was jus' thinkin' 'bout my friends." She stammered. "AJ. Ah ain't stupid." He said in a deadpan voice. "Ah didn' say ya were." She said, surprised at his random outburst. "No, but yer actin' like ya think Ah'm gullible. Ya weren't JUS' thinkin' 'bout yer friends. Now tell me what ya WERE thinkin' about." "Ah don' really wanna talk about it..." "No ya don' wanna talk about it with ME." She just stared at him as he returned it with an indignant glare. His face simply said that he cared about her, but didn't care whether or not she wanted him to. Her shoulders slumped and her proud composure left her. She realized that, unless she told him the wholesome truth, he'd stay put. So she hung her head and said, "Ah was thinkin' 'bout Fluttershy..." "Miss Shy? What about her?" Applejack decided that this was something her family would need to know. If anypony in her family needed to know that she liked mares, it was Big Mac. Granny Smith needed to know, but she just couldn't bring herself to want to tell her. And Applebloom...that would have to wait a while. "Big Mac... Ah need to tell ya somethin'..." She began slowly. "...and she tends to end stories with uhm..." She cleared her throat, getting ready to impersonate Pinkie Pie, " AND THAT'S HOW EQUESTRIA WAS MADE!" It had been three hours since she had come to her inner revelation and confessed it to Braeburn. It seemed hard to even think of the word or even think of herself as a...fillyfooler. After years and years of her mother and father and teachers telling her that liking somepony of the same gender was BAD and believing it was true, that word seemed so disgusting. But here she was realizing that she actually found all of her friends were at least moderately attractive to her. She and Braeburn had talked through her honest opinions of each of her friends. That sounds silly doesn't it? Braeburn thought it might help if he sat her down and asked a bunch of questions about each of her friends. So far they had gone through Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. From what Braeburn could tell, she knew a lot about each of her friends, and that she was actually easily flustered if asked about her opinion of their appearance. From what Fluttershy could tell, she thought that Twilight's braininess was a bit more than admirable, Rainbow was just plain hot, and Pinkie was beyond adorable. Obviously, being as timid and shy as she was, she was very confused about thinking these things and not feeling any attraction to any of them. Not emotional at least. "Ya do a good impersonation of Miss Pie ya know." Braeburn commented, causing Fluttershy to blush. "It's a-uhm...gift. I can only do Pinkie Pie, though." "So, who next..." He said, holding a hoof to his chin in thought. "Oh, yeah. Rarity. Alright lemme think...what's she like?" But Fluttershy had gotten used to this and was ready to answer all his questions about Rarity at once. This was easy since he had asked the same questions about each of them. "She's a fashionista, she runs a dress shop, yes; I think she is pretty, " Que furious blush. " She's a very selfless pony, too. We meet once a week at the spa for a little spa treatment. She used to dream of meeting Prince Blueblood and marrying him, but when she met him, he turned out to be selfish snob. She cried on my shoulder for a week after that. And, lastly, she IS currently single and...uhm one second..." She thought hard for a moment. " I...don't think it's her..." Braeburn looked disappointed. After a speech about Rarity like that from somepony as quiet as Fluttershy.... well, it had his hopes up. He really did want to help her, but...wait...that was four of her friends. That left just one! It had to be her! It had to be.... Applejack. "So...uh that leaves my cuz, Applejack." Her face changed from almost blank to slightly upbeat. That was a good sign. She locked eyes with him, her face plainly saying "ask away." He decided that, since he was sure it was Applejack, he would ask different questions. "Has she ever hurt you?" This new question took Fluttershy by surprise, but never the less, she rolled with it. "Uhm...no." "How long have ya known her?" "Uhm....since Twilight came to town. I'd seen her around town, but I never really KNEW her until Twilight..." "Does she ever impress you?" "Oh, all the time. With those rodeo stunts and-I mean- she pretty much runs a farm on her own! That's-uhm...nice..." "Does she ever strike ya as....purty?" He never actually thought of his cousin in such ways, so asking these questions was making him uneasy. After a moment of thought Fluttershy nodded her head vigorously. "Oh, yes. Her pretty green eyes, and her cute little freckles and yellow mane, tied up like that...." She began to blush furiously again. "I'm ranting." She said from behind her mane. "No no. It's fine. Okay, lemme think." He had begun to notice an enthusiasm would take her with each question then sputter out the moment she realized she had it. His next question would have to confirm whether or not it WAS Applejack that Fluttershy had this....what was the word? ELUSIVE! Durn dictionary was always too big for him. This elusive crush of hers. Suddenly, it came to him. "Could ya live without her?" She just stared at him blankly. After a moment her eyes slowly began to spread open. As she stared wide eyed, her mouth almost dropped open, but instead only opened an inch or two. She seemed to be shocked at what he had said and continued to stare at him until, suddenly, she spoke. Or, rather, quietly squeaked. "No."
Making an AttemptIt had been two days and apple harvest was under way. Braeburn and Applejack were hard at work bucking the trees and chatting playfully. Applejack seemed in high spirits today. Little did Braeburn realize that it was because the feather was no longer in his hat. She couldn't help but feel curious though. It was, after all, something she thought would not come to an end, ever. But this way, it felt like something had died young. She just had to ask. "Hey, cuz?" "Yes?" "What-uh... what happened to that pretty feather you was wearin' in yer hat the other day?" He glanced at her suspiciously for a moment then answered, simply. "Me an' Fluttershy decided it wouldn' work out...so we split. We's still friends we just ain't... close is all." Applejack had two separate reactions in her head simultaneously. One of joy and the other of guilt. Joy that Fluttershy WOULDN'T be with Braeburn, and guilt at the joy she was feeling, and that things didn't work out for them. "Gosh. That's too bad, cuz." She said slowly. "Oh! Speakin' of Fluttershy, she asked me ta ask ya to meet her at her house. And no, she didn' say why, just that it'd be nice if ya stopped by today." Applejack quirked an eyebrow at him for a moment, but simply shook off her curiosity. So what if he was lying about her mentioning why? He probably just didn't remember the whole reason, or didn't want to explain it himself. A few hours later, Applejack found herself at Fluttershy's cottage knocking on the door. The door opened immediately, showing an excited Fluttershy at the door. "Oh, hi, Applejack! I was w-well uhm... waiting for you." Her excitement began to visibly turn into nervousness. 'Play it cool, Applejack. She probably just needs somethin'. She thought to herself and said aloud, "What fer?" "W-well I was uhm....hoping we c-could go out... sometime. A-as friends... I just w-was hoping we could spend some time j-just the...two of us..." She had been hiding shyly behind her mane the whole time. 'Did she just- no, no this is Fluttershy.' Applejack was almost floored. She was sure this was nothing, but somewhere in the back of her mind, in the really girly part, she was as giddy as a schoolfilly. It was almost like Fluttershy had just asked her out, 'But...that was impossible right?' "Er-uh...what did ya have in mind, sugarcube?" She asked as calmly as she could manage. "U-uhm I uh... I was thinking... a uhm- walk or eh...." She started kicking at the floor nervously. She had honestly thought this would've gone a lot more disastrous by now. Her mind was going blank while Applejack's unwavering stare was on her. She looked up for a moment, smiled sheepishly, realized that that must've looked weird, then frowned and looked back down. "I guess a-uh dinner or uh- I eh- what did you want to do?" At least the pressure wasn't on her anymore. "A walk sounds fine ta me." Applejack said calmly. As an awkward silence spread between them. Fluttershy realized Applejack was still standing outside and quickly motioned for her to come in. "I'm so sorry. I should've offered tea." "Uh-no it's fine, sugarcube. I need to get back to the farm anyway. I'll uh...see you tonight?" "Yes." "So, Rainbow, you have no idea what either your best friend or your oldest friend would want to do on a first date?" Rarity asked. "Well... not really. It's not like I ever asked Flutters what she would wanna do on her first date! It just isn't my strong suit..." She rationalized. Rarity found herself facehoofing again. This constant hoof to face action could NOT be good for her complexion. "It would be so nice if the pony asking for help had some input to go on." "Well what about you? You've known Fluttershy for years, too, ya know. Don't you know what she would like?" "Well of course. She would like something quiet and...what's the word for it? Relaxed. But not too high class. A simple dinner or a picnic...maybe a walk... I doubt if a five star restaurant would be either of their styles." "AJ's the outdoorsy type. She might like a picnic." Rainbow said. "Finally! Some input from 'Miss Stunts' over here." Rarity exclaimed. "Hey! It's not like I-" "Rarity! Rarity I need some help. I just as-" Fluttershy galloped into the room but slid to a halt when she saw Rainbow. "Oh h-hi, Rainbow. Am I interrupting?" The two glanced at each other quickly, then Rarity spoke up, "Not at all, dear. What did you need?" Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow nervously. "Well I-uh I don't know if I want to talk about it with uhm..." She decided to stop there so as to not be rude. "Oh no worries, dear, I'm sure whatever it is, Rainbow can be here for it." "I-if you say so... Well I uhm... asked Applejack to uhmm..." She muttered the rest of it quietly. "I'm sorry, what was that, dear?" "I asked her to go ouwifmhe." "Hey, speak up Flutters." Rainbow said as she glided over and landed next to her. Fluttershy ducked her head low and took a deep breath. "Iaskedherout!" She said then ducked her head down again. Rainbow and Rarity glanced at each other again. "What exactly do you mean?" Rarity asked. "I mean I asked her out. On a date." Fluttershy said shortly. Then she looked up at Rarity, confused. "Wait, you don't hate me?" "Hate you? Why would we hate you, Flutters?" Rainbow asked. "Well I-I just thought that... since I'm a mare and she is too..." She looked back up meaningfully. Rainbow walked over and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Fluttershy. You have nothing to be ashamed of. How did it go, by the way?" "W-well... She said yes, but I didn't REALLY ask her out. I just sort of.. suggested... a platonic get together-type...thing." She said glumly. "So... she doesn't know it's a date?" Rarity asked. This was awkward for her and Rainbow. They'd been trying to approach this from one side in secret, when all along the other side was trying to do the same thing. "She should." Rainbow said. "She already li-" But she was interrupted by Rarity's hoof in her mouth. She then proceeded to drag Rainbow into an adjacent room, to Fluttershy's confusion. "What's the matter, Rare?" Rainbow asked. "Are you insane?" "Huh?" "She doesn't know and it's Applejack's job to tell her. You can't just tamper with that! There is nothing worse in a relationship than loosing the chance to tell your partner how you feel. Do NOT tell either of them no matter what you do!" Rainbow just stared at her, wide-eyed. "Got it?" "Uh...yes?" "Good!" And with that she walked back over and sat next to Fluttershy. Rainbow followed slowly. "So...dear. What happened, exactly?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy recounted the short, embarrassing tale to them quietly. When she finished she sat still in an awkward pose that said she was trying to brace for a scolding from the other mares. "That does sound a little awkward." Rainbow stated bluntly. Her statement was replied to with a swift hoof to the shoulder. "Ouch! C'mon Rarity! Stop doing that!" She quieted down at the sight of Rarity's murderous glare. "It WAS awkard. B-but what should I do?" "Go for the walk." Rarity said simply. "Huh? Rare...that's so...simple! What's going on?" Rainbow asked. "Well... It seems Fluttershy has already handled it. I just think she should make this attempt. Tell her how you feel, what you think of her, what you like about her, and maybe even why. I'm sure this will go well. And DO tell me all about it tomorrow on our spa date." Rarity said. "Now, go on. GO. Get ready for your date." She made shooing gestures at Fluttershy as the blushing yellow pegasus hovered out the door. "Rarity?" Rainbow began. "Your plan is so....simple, and... not involving you. Why?" "Rainbow have you forgotten the major thing Fluttershy doesn't know?" At Rainbow's confused look, she decided to explain. "Applejack returns the feelings." She said slowly, as though explaining the obvious details to a yearling. "Wha-oh...yeah..."
The Honest Truth"Hey. Fluttershy." "Y-yes?" She asked nervously. "It'll be okay." Applejack said calmly. Fluttershy took a deep breath and nodded her head quickly. "Alright, let's do this." She pushed the door open and they walked into Sugar Cube Corner together. She looked around and spotted Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow sitting at a table together, chatting quietly. Pinkie was bouncing around hurriedly serving what few customers were in this early. Applejack heard a sharp intake of breath and looked over at Fluttershy. Her face was a little pale. Applejack glanced around to see if anypony was watching. She gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the cheek. She calmed down visibly and smiled back at her. The two walked over to the table and greeted them. "Well, hello, dears. What's this all about? Pinkie was barely speaking when she invited me here. She was giggling with excitement. I thought she said 'Super Tube Porter' at first." Rarity said. "Yeah, and I thought she said 'Bugar Snoop Former'." Rainbow added. "You don't wanna know what I thought she said..." Twilight mumbled. "Sorry about that, girls!" Pinkie said, having suddenly appeared between Rarity and Twilight. "Gah!" Twilight fell out of her seat while Rarity jerked away in surprise. "... and that, too..." Pinkie added, frowning. "But I was just so excited about Fluttershy and Applejack be-" She was interrupted by Applejack's hoof in her mouth. "Pinkie. WE are gonna tell 'em. Okay?" "Mhmm." Pinkie replied through her hoof. She removed it and sat down on the bench next to Rainbow. Fluttershy sat next to her and scooted close. "So what are you going to tell us?" Rarity asked. "Well we just wanted to tell you that we uhm..." Fluttershy started, but stopped as her nerves got to her. Applejack wrapped an arm around her shoulders, eliciting a deep blush from her cheeks. "We're together now." Applejack said with confidence. Her words were followed by a moment of silence. Seconds ticked by slowly as nopony said anything. Applejack felt some movement on the bench in the direction of Rainbow, but before she could turn to look some force from that direction knocked her and Fluttershy off the bench. By the time she realized what had happened, she and Fluttershy were caught in a bear (or rather, pegasus) hug, curtsey of Rainbow Dash. "Congrats, guys!" She said. "Heh... uh, thanks, RD." "Wait..." Twilight started, and the three untangled themselves and looked at her. "So... you really weren't talking about yourself, Rainbow?" After nearly an hour of explaining everything they knew about the events of the past few days to each other (while gleefully ignoring odd looks from the other customers whenever the new couple kissed or hugged) the six close friends decided to have a party to celebrate sometime soon. They all walked outside the corner and said their goodbyes... all except for two, who walked together back to the farm just outside the town. They may have told their friends, but one of them had a family in town that needed to know immediately. They arrived at the farmhouse and walked up to the door. Applejack stopped at the door and didn't move. She knew here granny was a very old fashioned mare. It was amazing she hadn't tried to set Applejack up with a local stallion yet, really. The thing was that Applejack didn't want to disappoint her. Ever since she'd gone to Manehatten, she'd never wanted to disappoint Granny Smith like that again. And what about Applebloom? She was way too young to even think about colts. Much less other fillies. Things weren't exactly going to be easy with her family. The only solace in all this was that Big Mac already knew and was perfectly accepting of it. She glanced over at the butter-colored pegasus next to her, patiently waiting for her to open the door. 'One of the only solaces' She mentally corrected herself. "Applejack?" "Yes?" "We'll be fine." She said. Deja vu... She leaned in and kissed Applejack full on the lips. They held it that way for a moment, until the door swung open next to them. They pulled away, both blushing furiously, to look at who had opened the door. "What in tarnation did Ah just walk inta!?" Granny Smith exclaimed. It took them half an hour of stalling before Big Mac showed up to help explain. Granny Smith always seemed to listen to Big Mac more. Applejack assumed that it was because his direct, monosyllable approach made it easier for the old mare to understand. With his help, the three of them explained as much as they could to her. When all there was to say had been said they sat in silence, waiting for her to give her approval or rejection. She looked Applejack dead in the eye. "Ah don' wanna catch you two sneakin' no more kisses on the porch, ya hear?" "Gran-" Applejack began but a wrinkled old hoof stopped her. "BECAUSE. Ah don' want Half-Pint to walk in on ya. She's too young to be thinkin' 'bout that sorta thing an' deffinitely too innocent to be thinkin' 'bout doin' it with no fillies." They stared at her for a moment then she opened her mouth to speak again. "But... on the other hoof... Ah'm very happy for you, Applejack." She said tenderly. She was met with an incredulous stare, then was hit with a powerful hug. "Oh! Watch the old back, Miss Shy!" That night the two spent the night talking back and forth about nothing and everything. If anypony asked them what they had talked about the next morning, neither would've remembered much of it, but both would've said it was a wonderful night, nonetheless. They laid down in Fluttershy's bed together, whispering sweet nothings till after midnight. Just before they fell asleep, the only thing they would remember the next morning happened. "Applejack?" "Yes?" "I-I love you." "I love you, too, sugarcube." They shared one last kiss for the night, sharing in a silent bliss, before falling into the second bliss that comes from sleeping next to the one you love. The End.
EpilogueApplejack stood nervously next to the Princess. She knew this wasn't going to be bad. It was a happy occasion, in fact, but that didn't stop the sweat on her back. She stood patiently through the preparatory music, trying not to look nervous. Noticing her distress, Princess Celestia leaned her head down, and whispered, "It'll be okay. Once those doors open you'll forget you were even nervous." She smiled kindly when Applejack turned to look at her. "Ah hope so." She murmured back, turning to look at the assembled crowd. It was a small service; only Big Mac and Granny Smith were sitting in, while Fluttershy's mother sat on the other side of the room. It had honestly shocked Applejack how similar Fluttershy's mother was to her. The only difference between them was that Joystar, Fluttershy's mother, had a slightly darker set of colors. She was much less timid than her daughter and a little less self-aware. Applejack glanced beside herself, at Rainbow Dash, who smiled warmly and reassuringly. Behind her stood Rarity, and on the other side of Celestia stood Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Applejack took another deep breath and looked back at the door. She pulled at her collar uncomfortably. This suit Rarity had made by Applejack's request was really good looking and all, but it was uncomfortable as all tarnation. She glanced over at Rainbow again, not quite sure why she didn't just wear a dress like all her friends had. Maybe it was because she wanted to maintain some semblance of tradition and there was no stallion to wear the suit here. The music suddenly changed to the familiar tune that always played at ceremonies like this one. Applejack turned back to the door just as it opened to show Fluttershy standing in a long white dress. At first she seemed to freeze up, but her father, Starchaser, led her forward with confidence. Applejack could barely breath correctly, let alone get her heart rate back to normal at the site of Fluttershy in such a beautiful ensemble. She felt somepony nudge her ribs and glanced at Rainbow. "Ain't she pretty?" She asked with a grin. "Yeah." Applejack replied, turning to look at her bride again. Fluttershy arrived at the alter, beaming from ear to ear and stood beside Twilight, facing Applejack. Celestia began the ceremonial words, but neither payed close attention until they got to the end. "Do you, Applejack, take Fluttershy to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "Ah do." "And do you, Fluttershy, take Applejack to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "I do." "Then by the my own power, I now pronounce you mare and wife. You may kiss the bride." "C'mere you." Applejack said she grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her into a kiss. The small crowd cheered in delight at the new couple. Congratulations were shouted, and good wishes were bestowed, but neither heard them. They were a bit preoccupied.
Walks Are NiceFluttershy finished her shower as quickly as possible and flew downstairs to check on all the animals. She fed the birds, watered the plants, and prepared a dinner for Angel. All the other animals fed themselves dinner, so there was no need to take care of that. All that was left no was to wait. She sat patiently on the couch, wishing that Celestia would let the day go just a liiiittle bit faster today. "Oh why does waiting have to be so-" KNOCK KNOCK. That was her! She flew to the door in a yellow blur, took a moment to compose herself, and opened the door. "Howdy, Shy." Applejack said as she opened the door. She had a saddlebag on and, as Fluttershy began eying it, she saw fit to explain. "It's jus' a few things Ah brought along fer a picnic. Ya know 'cause it wouldn' be a proper d-... get together without dinner." That moment of hesitation... Fluttershy couldn't figure out what it was. She'd almost said something else, but Fluttershy had no clue what it was. "I guess not. Uhm... do you want to eat now or...?" She asked. "Nah. Ah think we should walk fer a bit first." "O-okay." An hour later they were trotting through Whitetail Wood. They were walking along the very path taken in the Running of The Leaves. Applejack kept glancing at Fluttershy and then around in an odd manner that kept confusing the shy pegasus. She had a secret of her own to tell but couldn't imagine doing so with all this curiosity. "I-is something wrong, Applejack?" "Huh? Ah uh... Ah was jus' thinkin', why?" "Well, you seem a little...edgy." She said suspiciously. "Edgy? Whadya mean?" "You keep looking at me then looking around like you don't want to look at me." "But I do wa-" But she cut herself off. Her cheeks flared red as she looked away. "What?" Fluttershy half-laughed. "Wh-what were you going to say?" "Nuthin'." "Applejack?" "Ya?" "Your a bad liar, you know." She paused then added, "I'm sorry, was that too mean?" "Ah know Ah am...listen Ah need to tell ya somethin'..." "Uhm...C-can I go first, please? I-if that's okay?" "Uh...sure thing, sugarcube." "U-uhm...well, I uh... I *ahem*...Maybe you should go first." She said weakly. "Oh... Uh, Ah uhm....Ah think yuuuur...." She stretched the word out as she suddenly changed her mind on what to say. A sudden deep, rolling, rumble could be heard from Fluttershy's stomach. "... about ready to eat." She said, silently thanking Celestia for a way out. Fluttershy eyed her for a moment, then walked over to a nearby clearing and stood in the grass, Applejack only a step behind her. Applejack set out the blanket and laid out some dishes and foods. When she sat down Fluttershy sat down next to her, rather than across from her. Fluttershy scooted an inch closer, then looked at her nervously. "I-it's a little cold out." It wasn't really, but Applejack wasn't about to point that out. "So uhm... Ah was wonderin' what it was you were gonna say." Applejack asked as she served then each a daffodil sandwich. "I'm still wondering what YOU were gonna say." Fluttershy replied playfully. Applejack let out a puff of laughter and bumped Fluttershy with her shoulder. Rather than cow down or shy away, Fluttershy bumped back. They both giggled a bit before locking eyes. They continued staring into each others eyes for a moment before they both began to lean into each other. Their eyes slipped shut and their lips were only inches apart. Then they- "HI GUYS!!!" Pinkie barged through the bushes around the clearing and emerged between the two. They had pulled back, both of their faces flaming with a blush. Fluttershy started brushing her mane to cover her face while Applejack simply tilted her hat to had her eyes. "Oh. Am I intruding? I think I took the wrong trail this afternoon." She said eying the bushes she'd just come through angrily. "Oh wait! I didn't use a trail today! That's why I got lost!" "Pinkie, what're y'all doin' here?" "Oh, I go for a walk through Whitetail once a week. It always reminds me of the story my granny used to tell me about Clavicus Pie. He was a mighty warrior who went to battle against the dreaded Legion of-" "Pinkie, not that we don' wanna hear yer story, but now is not a good time. Would ya mind jus' keepin' on yer walk?" "Okay!" She said before bouncing along on the trail. "*sigh* So...Ah uh..." "I think I know what you were going to say." "Heh... uh yeah." "Were we going to... uhm..." "Ah think so. Do you still wan-" She was cut off by a pair of soft lips on her own. After a moment of surprise, her eyes slid shut as she sank into a shared bliss. Seconds passed as the two silently enjoyed this lovers' bliss. But, like all good things, this sadly had to end. After all, one needs to breath. "Yes." Fluttershy whispered quietly. Happiness can be infectious. Whether the infected no what the infecter is happy about or not, it can spread easily with a smile or a hug. If there are two happy ponies trotting through a park, the happiness is bound spread like wild fire. Such is the effect the Elements of Kindness and Honesty had on their way to... truth be told neither knew where they were going. They were just happy to be in each others company. And so they trotted happily through Ponyville. It occurred to Fluttershy suddenly that it may be smart to tell the other girls about this. The two made a stop at Sugar Cube Corner for some cupcakes and sat at a booth. They ate in a companionable silence for a moment, then Fluttershy spoke up. "So uhm... If we're together now, should we tell the girls?" "Well Ah'm sure that RD'll pick up on it. Ah kinda told her Ah had a crush on ya a few days ago." "Really? I told her today... well her and Rarity." "Rarity? Heh, Ah bet Rainbow went to her fer help with me." "Okay... So do you think Twilight doesn't know?" "Ah don' much care how many of 'em knew we LIKED each other, what matters now is that they know we're together. Ah'm thinkin' tomorrow at lunch er somethin'..." "How will we invite them?" Unbeknownst to them a certain pink mare was in the kitchen. Her left ear twitched twice then she sneezed and she knew. In a blurry pink flash she was suddenly beside the two with a huge grin on her face. "Who do you need to invite and to what?" She asked cheerily. "Ah-uh... How did you know we-" "My left ear twitched twice then I sneezed. That meant somepony needed help with invitations. It's a good thing I sneezed, actually, because if I hadn't that would've meant that somepony had a serious case of dia-" "Pinkie. Can ya jus' invite the girls ta lunch tomorrow fer us?" Applejack interrupted. "Sure thing." She said, standing on her hind legs and saluting. Then she ran up to her room to make the invitations. "Phew! So... Now that that's taken care of, what next?" Applejack asked turning to face Fluttershy again. As she did so she was surprised with a quick peck on the lips from the pegasus. "Ah hope that becomes a regular thing with ya, sugarcube." She said, grinning. "Me too."
