Applejack was pacing. She was doing something she never did, because she was never nervous, or stressed enough to do so. This situation, however, was worth pacing over,"Okay Applejack, I've let you imitate Twilight for half an hour! It's time you actually try to stop your stress before you start making up things to stress over," Rainbow piped up suddenly, snickering at the thought of all the times Twilight Sparkle had gone through this process. Applejack only rolled her eyes, though she stopped pacing, and sat down on the floor.
"I just...I don't know what to do, how to ask her, what to do with any possible response she could give me!" Applejack replied, her eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep she had in the last week.
"Yeah, now you really sound like a country imitation of Twilight. Look, if you're too scared to-" Rainbow cut herself off when she received a glare from AJ after calling her 'scared'," Sorry, lemme rephrase that. If you're too...nervous about telling her face to face about how you feel, why don't you write down your confession on paper, and give her that? Like, mail it to her or something." Rainbow suggested, trying to think of a way to help her friend.
"Hmm...that could actually work! That way if I'm rejected, at least I won't have to deal with it in person!" Rainbow arched an eyebrow at this.
"Um...AJ, I really don't think that's a positive way to look at this situation," Rainbow rubbed her temples, she had been trying to help her friend for the past few days with her crush, but as both mares were pretty stubborn and full of pride, the task was proving quite difficult," What I meant by 'write a note,' was to use it as a setup, that way after she read it, give her a little time to contemplate it, and then give you a response in person. Because let's face it, you guys will still be friends either way, so I wouldn't worry about her hating you for telling her your affections. I mean good grief if somepony hates you for your feelings then that's just...just wrong, that's all I can say about that."
"It's not that I'm worried about her hatin' me!" Applejack stopped for a second to think,"Okay that thought has passed my mind a few times but...but it ain't bothered me near as much as just tellin' her how I feel has! I mean she's just...perfect! She's everything I could ever ask for in a mare. Every mornin' I wake up with her in my mind, and she's the last thing that goes through my mind at night. Since the day I laid my eyes on hers...I don't know...I just feel like I found a piece of me that's been missin'. I love her Dash...Without her...I just...I don't feel like I have a purpose. I love her." Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had tears in her eyes, though the country mare was the only one who let the tears fall from her eyes.
"See Applejack, right there." Rainbow managed to say after making sure her eyes were tearless and voice wasn't cracking anymore than normal.
"What do you mean?" AJ asked, looking up, a fear stray tears still streaking the earth pony's face.
"Tell her what you just told me, and she's bound to accept you! I mean, I don't know any mare who wouldn't fall for something as beautiful as that is just stupid!" Rainbow exclaimed, her wings fluttering at her sides. Applejack blushed.
"Thanks, Dash...That means a lot to me...and I think I will write her a letter, though I might change my words up a bit,"
"Not a problem AJ, now go get to writing!" The pegasus cheered, doing a flip in the air before landing back on the floor of her living room. Applejack smirked and nodded.
"Oh! Before I go, mind if I ask how you know so much about romance?" Rainbow snorted as she chuckled at Applejack's comment.
"I don't! I just speak from experience! How do you think I got with Twilight? By just waltzing into her castle and asking her on a date?"
"Um...that's exactly what you did." Applejack deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
"I..." Rainbow thought about that for a second,"Okay...yeah...but that's only because I knew she had already had a major crush on me! Rarity told me so! So I didn't have anything to worry about! You on the other hoof, have no idea if she likes you back, or if she's even bi or lesbian or whatever, so you have less than a hundred percent chance like I did!" Nervous sweat once again began to drip down Applejack's forehead. Noticing this, Rainbow scrambled to correct herself.
"Not that you have much of chance of her rejecting you! I'm just...saying...uhm...why don't you go write your letter?" Rainbow suggested with a giant, dorky smile that showed how nervous, and the slight guilt, she felt. AJ only nodded before racing out the door back toward Sweet Apple Acres.
The earth pony groaned as she slammed her head against her desk. She had spent the last three hours trying to write the perfect letter for her crush, but with every draft she came up with, she could always find some reason of how she had messed up,"Come on Applejack," She whispered to herself,"This is Fluttershy! It ain't like she's expecting anything fancy! Well...it's not like she's expectin' anythin' at all..." Sighing, AJ began looking over her latest draft, when a sudden knock came to her bedroom door. Releasing a shocked gasp, the country pony grabbed all her papers, crumbled them up, and tossed them into the trashcan before saying,"Come in," as she pulled a clean sheet of paper out in front of her.
"Heya sis! Whatcha doin' up her all by yer lonesome?" Her sister Applebloom asked, both confusion and concern written in her voice.
"Nothin' for you to worry your pretty little head about alright sis?"
"Okay...I just wanna make sure that you're okay! You'd tell me if you were upset about somethin' right?" The filly looked up at her sister with sad eyes. Applejack chuckled as she ruffled the younger mare's mane.
"Course I would, as long as it's somethin' you need to know about," Applejack added the last part with a smirk, and Applebloom rolled her eyes.
"Fine fine, fair enough. Anyway, Granny sent me up to tell ya that supper is in half an hour." The filly finished with a smile as she quietly closed the door, and walked back down the hallway.
"Okay..." Applejack sighed as she rewrote the same header for the tenth time in the past couple of hours.
"Dear Fluttershy,"
Just like the last ten times she had written it, she stopped at that sentence,"Ugh...I need help writin' this..." She told herself as she placed the page in her saddlebag, before placing the bag on her back and going downstairs,"Hey Big Mac, tell Granny to save me a plate. I need to run to Twilight's." Her brother only nodded before the love-struck pony was out of the house and galloping down the street.
"Twilight!" Applejack called as she barged into the castle, startling the princess, who was currently reading on her couch.
"Um...yes? How can I help you AJ?" Twilight asked as she stood up to face her friend.
"You know how to write letters and stuff, and I was wonderin' if you could help me write a letter to...to..."
"Fluttershy?" Applejack gasped.
"How did you know?" Twilight chuckled at her friend's comment.
"Oh please, it's painfully obvious you like her, plus, with you being the Element of Honesty well...it has a few disadvantages. Anyway, I can't write the note for you, but I can give you a few ideas! What do you have so far?" Applejack sighed and pulled the paper out of her saddlebag and showed it to Twilight,"Well...that's a start. WhenI I saw Dashie earlier today, she told me you came by and poured your heart out about your feelings of Fluttershy to her. Why don't you just write down what you told Rainbow?"
"I tried, but I always find something wrong with the letter..." Sighing, Applejack sat down and stared at the floor.
"How about you write it, then let me proofread it for you." Nodding, Applejack followed her friend into the library and began to write.
AJ's pencil fell from her mouth and landed on the desk she was sitting at. It had taken two hours, but she had written a two-page letter,"Finished?" Twilight asked as she entered the room, a coffee mug levitating in her magic. Applejack sheepishly nodded and allowed her friend to read over the note.
"Wow..." The alicorn breathed as she finished the letter,"This is beautiful! She's going to love this AJ!" The earth pony blushed.
"Thanks..." Twilight smiled warmly before replying,
"You're welcome. You know it's nearly midnight, you're welcome to stay here in the guest room, I'll send a letter to your grandmother."
"Thanks, Twi." AJ said before placing the letter in her saddlebag, and a yawn escaping her mouth,"That'd be great."
"Twilight! You coming to bed yet? It's cold up here!" A familiar raspy tone called from upstairs, causing the alicorn to blush profusely.
"Coming Dashie..." Twilight muttered,"Well, goodnight!" Twilight told her friend before teleporting to her bedroom, where her marefriend was waiting.
The sun pierced through the window of the castle window, its rays landing on the farm pony's face. Yawning, AJ stretched her hooves as she sat up. The smile on her face fell when she saw her saddlebag on the floor, and she remembered what was inside. Sighing, she pushed the blanket to the edge of the bed and stood up,"Well good morning!" Rainbow said cheerfully as she entered the guest bedroom.
"Mornin'..." Applejack sighed.
"So you gonna deliver that letter today?"
"Yeah...I guess so." AJ put on her brave face as she placed her saddlebag on her back,"Tell Twilight I said thanks, fer lettin' me stay, I gotta go," Rainbow nodded as her friend raced from the castle and through town. She instinctively slowed to a walk when she neared Fluttershy's cottage,"Alright Applejack...just put the note in the mailbox and leave...that's all ya gotta do..."
When the small cottage came into her view, she looked around to make sure the timid pegasus wasn't around, when she was sure she was alone, Applejack pulled the letter from her bag and placed it in the mailbox, and after closing the small box, she took off down the road back toward Sweet Apple Acres.
Fluttershy was humming softly as she continued flying around her property, filling each small home she had made for her animal friends with the proper food they needed, when a light tapping on her hoof got her attention,"Oh! Hello Angel, is something wrong?" The little bunny nodded and pointed to the mailbox, where the small flag it held was raised up, meaning her mail had been delivered. Fluttershy smiled,"Thank you, Angel." The pegasus smiled as she flew over to the mailbox to retrieve her mail. After pulling the small stack of papers from her mailbox, she closed it up and flew back into her home and sat down on the couch to see what had come in,"Let's see...bills," Fluttershy said, placing the light and water bill on her coffee table,"Junk mail," She continued, placing the random newspapers and spam notes into her recycling bin,"And finally...um...a letter?" Tilting her head in confusion, she looked at Angel, who simply shrugged his little shoulders, before hopping over to his bed and grabbing a carrot,"Looks like it's from...Applejack?" Fluttershy said out loud to nopony, or animal, in particular, as she unfolded the two pages and began to read the note in her head:
Dear Fluttershy,
So, I've had a lot of feelings locked up inside of me for a long time now, feelings that honestly, are pretty hard to explain. First off, I hope that whatever you choose to tell me after you read this, doesn't affect our friendship in any way, because I can't lose you as a friend, it hurts enough to call you just a friend as it is. Anyhow, you're probably wonderin' what this whole thing is about. Well, I've been talking to Twilight and Rainbow Dash a lot the past few weeks about...well you. Specifically, you and me. You are probably the prettiest mare I've ever laid eyes on since I've grown up in Ponyville, and from a pony who knows just about everypony in town is sayin' a lot. You mean a lot to me, and it kills me, absolutely kills me to see ya get hurt, or to see somepony bullyin' you. Heck, just hearin' the stories about your time in Flight School is enough to make my blood boil. At the last Grand Galloping Gala, I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the way Discord was treatin' ya. I mean it's obvious he likes ya as more than a friend...
Basically what I'm tryin' to tell ya is...I love you. I love you Fluttershy. I have been wantin' to tell you how I've been feeling since the day I fell for you, which was nearly a year ago, to be honest. I thought at first that it was a simple school pony crush, nothin' more, but as time has gone on, my feelings have just gotten stronger. I remember the time when Tirek was destroying Equestria, and Discord locked us up in that cage...Seeing you cry like that makes my heart break, I don't see how anypony would want to make such a gorgeous face cry like that.
Before you ask, no, I don't just like you for your looks, anypony like that doesn't know what true love is. Truth be told, I didn't know what love was either till I met you. You're just...perfect in every way. You're modest, have the most amazing personality, you're beautiful obviously, and your eyes...they could make anypony's heart melt. I know that nopony is perfect, but hon, in my eyes and words, you are the definition of perfect. I know you don't think this highly of yourself, but darlin' you should.
I hope you hear from ya soon.
Xoxo,
Applejack
Fluttershy had tears streaking her face. Nopony had ever told- or, written her anything so beautiful, but how would she respond? It was in that moment that she realized that she loved Applejack back, and she wanted to make her response special,"Hmm...Oh! I got a perfect idea!" Fluttershy held the letter against her chest as she flew to her bedroom, where she placed the letter in her keepsake box under her bed, then began gathering supplies for her surprise to her soon-to-be marefriend.
After nearly an hour of preparation, Fluttershy had everything ready. She had planned a small, practical joke on AJ, and though she knew it was going to be a little mean, she knew that it would be worth it in the end. Taking a deep breath, she practiced her "angry face," a few more times before looking at Angel,"Think she'll fall for it?" The little bunny smirked and rubbed his paws together menacingly,"I hope this goes according to plan..." She whispered to herself before taking another deep breath,"Well, I'll see when I get home Angel, bye!" She made sure her saddlebag was secure on her back, before taking off in flight from her cottage.
After about a ten minutes in flight, Sweet Apple Acres finally came into view, and a smirk appeared on Fluttershy's face,"Okay Fluttershy, look angry..." She coached herself as she descended from the sky and began walking through the fields, looking for Applejack,"Applejack!" She screamed across the field when she caught eyes of the farm pony. Even though she was at least twenty yards from her, Fluttershy could see Applejack gulp and sweat start to drip from her forehead.
"H...Hey Flutters! Did ya...um.."
"Get your letter? Yes! Yes, I did!" Fluttershy approached Applejack, glaring daggers at the earth pony.
"What...what did you think?" Fluttershy could see the nervousness AJ was holding, and it took everything she had not to crack a smile.
"How could you!?" Fluttershy screamed,"How could you write me something like that?!"
"I-"
"No! Shut up and let me finish! You dare tell me how you feel when you should know that I am straight!" It was really taking all of Fluttershy's strength now, she never thought she would see Applejack cry, but here she was, she had made her cry. Fluttershy rolled her eyes at the crying mare and shoved what Applejack presumed to be the letter she had given the pegasus back into the earth pony's hooves, before flying out of sight. When she was sure Applejack couldn't see her, she looped around and hid in the tree, watching AJ to see what she did.
Applejack turned to begin walking back toward the barn, but her legs were jelly, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing out loud. She slowly opened the crumbled piece of paper, only to find six words that made her gasp and realize what Fluttershy had done.
...Straight up in love with you.
"Gotcha." She suddenly heard Fluttershy say, and AJ slowly turned to see the pegasus smiling at her. All the anger was gone, there was nothing but love in her eyes. The paper fell from AJ's hooves, and she tackled Fluttershy in a hug. Fluttershy laughed,"That's what you get for being too scared to tell me face to face." Drying her tears, Applejack finally worked up the courage to respond.
"I guess so...I'm just thankful you accepted me."
"I'm glad you told me how you felt," Fluttershy responded with a giggle, and the two locked themselves in a deep, passionate kiss, their lips locking just as the sun set over the farm.
That night, Applejack and Fluttershy decided to have a sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres,"Thank you Flutters."
"What for?" Fluttershy asked, looking up from her marefriend's chest.
"For being you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I could say the same thing about you."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this! I've been into AppleShy and TwiDash lately so, I'm glad this story turned out as well as it did, at least to me lol. Lemme know what you think!
