“Thank Celestia there was an airship about to leave. The sooner we get outta here, the better. Come on, Fluttershy.”
The two ponies ascended the walkway up to the airship that would take them back home. Applejack walked quickly and deliberately, a very grumpy scowl on her face. Fluttershy, meanwhile, trailed behind, looking rather glum. That wasn't to say she was regretting leaving Las Pegasus. On the contrary, she, like Applejack, was quite eager to put the rowdy, noisy city behind her.
They had succeeded in their map-appointed mission of solving a friendship problem in Las Pegasus, something they knew Twilight, at least, would be proud of. They had repaired the friendships of not just the Flim Flam Brothers, but the performers of Ponet Fantastique, freeing them from the toxic duplicitousness of their old employer, Gladmane. However, this had come at an unfortunate price.
With Gladmane ruined and out of the picture, Flim and Flam, who had previously used their wiles to help Applejack and Fluttershy in ousting the sleazy stallion, had reverted back to their old tricks and assumed control of the resort. They'd even had the gall to continue selling tickets for the now disbanded performance of Ponet Fantastique, telling patrons to ‘fill the empty space with their imaginations’, and at no additional charge! It was a sickening sight, seeing all the ponies who were led in by this, and Applejack wanted out of that place as soon as possible. She’d even winced as Flim and Flam called out their thanks to them as they left. The very idea of them thanking her and Fluttershy for allowing them to return to their old dishonesty felt like a bitter lump in the pit of her stomach.
Retreating to an empty corner of the airship’s cabin, Applejack flopped down into a seat, let loose a frustrated sigh that she'd been holding back for too long, and began massaging her temples with her hooves. Fluttershy sat next to her, without a sound, still looking dispirited. With a rumble of its engines, the ship lifted off and started on its way.
“Just wait ‘till Ah tell Granny and Big Mac who we ran into up here,” Applejack muttered, still massaging her forehead. “It's bad enough that Ah can't seem to avoid runnin’ into those two, but even after what we went through, gettin’ them back together and havin’ them help us get rid of Gladmane, they're still the same two-bit charlatans they always were! And now they've got a whole resort under their hooves! Ugh! Gladmane even said the two of them together could take over. Well, he was right about one thing.”
Applejack’s grumbling became inarticulate as she finally stopped rubbing her temples. She looked over at Fluttershy, who so far had said nothing throughout this. Her anger was checked slightly from the gloomy look on the pegasus’s face.
“Fluttershy?” she said, in a much gentler tone than before, concern mixed into it. “Somethin’ the matter, sugarcube?”
Fluttershy looked up. It was some relief to Applejack that she wasn't crying, but she still looked plenty miserable. She shook her head quietly and looked away again. Applejack let out a small snort.
“Come on, now, none of that,” she said, adopting a slightly sterner tone. “Ah may not be the best at keepin’ a secret, but you've got a pretty bad poker face too. What's wrong?”
Fluttershy winced. She kept her gaze firmly averted from Applejack as she answered, quietly,
“I don't want to say it. You're stressed enough as it is, and I don't want to make it worse.”
Applejack was surprised by this. She didn’t know what Fluttershy was talking about, but whatever it was, it was causing her quite a bit of pain. It hurt her to see her like this. She placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
“Come on, hun, you can tell me,” she said, gently. “Ah promise Ah won't lash out at ya. It’s been a rough day for the two of us, and Ah know I’ve been grumblin’ ever since we left the resort, but Ah’ll hear you out, without fuss.”
Fluttershy slowly looked up again, her sorrowful teal eyes meeting Applejack’s green ones, full of understanding and kindness. Fluttershy closed hers, as though something in Applejack’s was threatening to overpower her, her lips trembling. At last, taking a deep breath, she said, in a tremulous voice,
“Applejack, I'm so sorry for what happened. It's all my fault.”
Applejack blinked, bewildered.
“Yer sorry?” she repeated. “Fer what? What could you have possibly done that needs apologizin’ for?”
“Letting Flim and Flam take over the resort.”
Applejack opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking taken aback.
“I was the one who said we needed to help them,” Fluttershy went on. “I thought they were the only ones who could help us expose Gladmane. I'm glad they were willing to help, but now it feels like they were just using us so they could run the resort instead. I really wanted to hope they could change, that they could lead a more honest life by helping us get rid of Gladmane, but it feels like I only made things worse. I put two dishonest ponies, the ponies you hate most, in charge of an entire resort in Las Pegasus, and who knows what they'll do to it? What if it’s even worse than when Gladmane was running it? Oh, Applejack, I’m sorry! I'm so sorry…”
Now tears really were blossoming in Fluttershy’s eyes. She turned her head away from Applejack again, as they slowly ran down her cheeks.
Applejack was speechless. She’d had no idea Fluttershy felt responsible for what happened, but was that right? Yes, she had been the one who was adamant about getting the two con ponies to reconcile, and Applejack had been vehemently against it from the word ‘go’. However, it was, after all, what the map had called them for, and their reconciliation had become necessary in order to undo Gladmane’s toxic control over the resort and the performers. Applejack herself had grudgingly admitted that that was why they had come to Las Pegasus. And after all, hadn't this difference of opinions worked out for the best? Hadn't it gotten them to the root of the problem and how to resolve it? Hadn’t they saved the performers from an unhappy life at Gladmane’s?
Still, Applejack could understand where Fluttershy was coming from: the jarring results of their success, and the uncertainty of the future of Las Pegasus under Flim and Flam’s ministrations. She also realized, with a pang of guilt, that she must have made her feel worse about it with her complaining and grumbling, as though subtly accusing her of what she feared. Her heart melted, and her expression completely softened.
“Oh, Fluttershy,” she said, softly. “Come here, sugarcube.”
She drew her foreleg around Fluttershy and pulled her into a gentle hug against her, putting her other foreleg around her as she did. Fluttershy sniffled and nestled almost instinctively against Applejack’s furry chest. She could hear the soft, rhythmic beat of the farm pony’s heart behind her ribs. The sound, along with the warmth of Applejack’s stout and sturdy frame, was quite comforting.
“Ah want you to listen to me, hun,” said Applejack. “What happened wasn't yer fault, and Ah never once thought it was. If Ah made you feel that way, then Ah’m sorry. Like I said, it's just been one heck of a day, y’know?”
Fluttershy nodded, her cheek brushing against Applejack’s fur, tickling her slightly. Applejack gently stroked her long, silky mane.
“Gettin’ those two back together was what we were supposed to do, remember?” she went on. “It's why the map sent us. Without Flim and Flam, we'd never have been able to get everypony to see Gladmane for who he really was. Heck, like you said, if it weren’t for them, Ah never would’ve gone out of my way to find a different problem, and then where’d we be?”
The corners of Fluttershy’s mouth twitched at this.
“But after that-” she began.
“Ah know, Ah know,” said Applejack. “What happened after wasn't too pleasant, but there was nothing we could've done about it. Ah really should’ve seen it coming, especially since Gladmane said it might happen, but Ah didn't wanna think about it. Ah wanted to believe they'd changed as well, that doin’ somethin’ good might’ve changed their mind about being con artists, but it looks like it wasn’t enough. The sad truth is that it’s hard for some ponies to change. Some ponies are just born the way they are, and spend so long that way that it seems like they can't be anythin’ else.”
She paused, and tilted Fluttershy’s head up by the chin to look up at her.
“But maybe there's still hope for them after all,” she said. “Maybe you showin’ kindness towards them might mean somethin’ to them in the end. Ah’ve got mah doubts on whether or not they can keep that resort goin’ for long. They may end up gettin’ run outta town again. Still, you lent an ear to their problems when they were feudin’ with each other. You were willin’ to give them a chance, and it might make all the difference in the world, if they find themselves without jobs again. Maybe they’ll learn their lesson someday.”
Fluttershy took a wipe at her eyes, looking marginally more hopeful.
“Do you think so?” she asked. “I really want to believe that.”
“Then keep believin’ it,” said Applejack. “After all, you were the one who saw good in Discord when nopony else did, and look what came of it.”
She punctuated this with an affectionate poke to Fluttershy’s belly, making the pegasus giggle. Applejack smiled and nuzzled her cheek,
“Now there’s the Fluttershy Ah know and love,” she said. “So, no more blaming yerself, all right?”
“Mm-hmm,” said Fluttershy, nodding. “Thanks, Applejack.”
And she put her forelegs around Applejack, shifting herself up to give her a proper hug in return, resting her chin on her shoulder. Applejack smiled warmly and strengthened the embrace.
“Yer welcome, sugarcube,” she said.
They stayed that way for a good while, until they finally eased apart and settled back in their seats, both looking much more relaxed and cheerful. After a few minutes’ silence, Fluttershy piped up,
“Applejack?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think, maybe, when we get back to Ponyville, you could leave out how I dressed up as Impossibly Rich?”
Applejack raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this, and Fluttershy blushed.
“It was a little embarrassing,” she said, “and I don't think Filthy Rich and his family would appreciate me posing as their matriarch.”
Applejack chuckled good-naturedly.
“If you want it kept quiet, mah lips are sealed,” she said. “It was a nice look for ya, though, and it definitely suited you better than it would me.”
Fluttershy giggled, her cheeks still pink.
“Oh, don't be so modest, ‘Apple Jewel’,” she quipped, nudging Applejack in the side.
“Oho, bringin’ that up, are we?” laughed Applejack. “You know darn well why Ah had to do that.”
“Of course I do,” said Fluttershy, calmly. “I don't hear you complaining about not enjoying it, though.”
She smirked knowingly at Applejack, and it was her turn to blush now.
“Got me there,” she said.
And the two friends broke into a fit of giggles as the airship lumbered on, back towards home, and away from the city neither was reluctant to leave behind.
