Chapters Applejack liked to consider herself a relatively reasonable Pony. Sure, she was only just old enough to stop being considered a filly, but even so, she always did her best to be polite, or patient, or calm, even when exasperated. Yet there was one thing she simply had no patience, politeness, or calmness for in the least, and that was thieves who tried to steal apples from her farm.
Even when those thieves were a small herd of rabbits.
"Get back here, ya miserable li'l varmints!" the orange Earth Pony shouted, chasing the surprisingly speedy critters through the woods.
Their leader, a white rabbit with a particular gleam in his eyes and a good three apples in his arms, gave a mocking wiggle of his tail at her. Snorting with indignation, Applejack put on an extra burst of steam as her quarry rounded the corner.
Yet as she turned that same corner, she was forced to screech to a halt. The entire herd had, down to the last rabbit, stopped to sit stock still. The apples they had absconded with were either dropped on the dirt around their feet or else tucked behind their backs. Just as Applejack was readying to rustle the whole lot of them (despite her confusion over what had frozen them all up), a soft yet stern voice spoke out from up ahead. "Oh now Angel, we've talked about this. You're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you."
There at the head of the group floated down a soft-yellow Pegasus Pony with a silky pink mane and matching tail. She looked to be about Applejack's age, maybe a little older, with gangly legs that didn't seem to have quite caught up with the rest of her rather sleek body. She landed right in front of the white rabbit-this "Angel" she mentioned, Applejack guessed-, motioning for him to show the apples he was meagerly hiding behind his back. To Applejacks' surprise, Angel complied (with a heavy sigh, admittedly), showing all three before plopping them down in front of the Pegasus. "Now I want you and all your friends to pick these up," the pegasus said, "and return them to-OH!"
Her eyes went wide as they spotted Applejack, still standing there looking tensed and ready to pounce. Realizing she'd been spotted, the Earth Pony quickly relaxed herself, hopeful that this pegasus might be able to help work things out peacefully. "Um...howdy?" the Earth Pony said with a nervous smile.
"...um...um..." the pegasus squeaked meekly, the air of authority she had shown with the rabbits just moments before completely gone. "...h-hi there...um...m'am."
Scratching the back of her head in confusion, Applejack nonetheless managed to chuckle a bit. "Heh, I'm no 'ma'm', thank ya kindly," she said. "Name's Applejack."
At the word "apple", the pegasus' ears perked up, flattening quickly in embarrassment. "...oh dear," she said, "You're not the Pony my little Angel and his friends stole from, are you?"
Applejack was ready to confirm that she was, but the pegasus was suddenly bowing humbly before her, head knelt and eyes closed. "Please, don't take it out on them!" she said sadly, "It's my fault, I should've kept a better eye on them!"
"Relax, relax," Applejack said, still not sure what to make of this odd pegasus. "I ain't mad or nothin', I promise. Well, at least not anymore."
The pegasus looked up at her, eyes wide. "R-really...?" she whispered with a sniffle.
"I promise," Applejack replied, smiling at the pegasus' clear compassion for her rabbit friends, "I'm tellin' ya the honest truth: as long as I get back what's mine without any more trouble, I ain't got nothin' t'be mad about."
Rising back up to her feet, the pegasus smiled, the slightest hint of tears rimming her eyes. "Thank you very much," she said warmly. "I really appreciate it, and I'm very sorry you had to go through all this difficulty."
"Aw shucks, 't'weren't so bad, really," Applejack admitted, as much to herself as to the pegasus; now that she'd had a moment to simmer down, she knew it was more the act of theft that had angered her than anything particularly bad about the rabbits themselves. "'Sides, way I see it, if a Pony as nice as you's willin' to stick up for 'em, they can't be too bad."
The pegasus stepped back a bit, still smiling but tucking her head down a bit, her curled mane covering one of her eyes. "O-oh," she murmured, "t-thank you for saying something so nice."
Gathering up the apples on the ground (and ignoring the stink-eye she was getting from Angel) into a satchel she wore on her back, the farm pony looked at the pegasus kindly. "No need t'thank me," she said, "Just tellin' the truth, far as I'm concerned. Incidentally, you know my name, but I reckon I still don't know yours yet. Mind sharin'?"
"O-oh!" the pegasus squeaked again. "I'm...well, I'm...um...fluttershy..."
"Say again?" Applejack said, pausing in her apple-gathering to try and hear her new acquaintance better.
"...fluttershy..." the pegasus tried again.
"One more time, Sugar Cube," Applejack chuckled politely, "With feeling this time."
The pegasus gulped, taking a deep breath before finally saying, loud enough that Applejack actually understood this time but still one of the softest whispers the Earth Pony had ever heard, "...fluttershy...."
"Pleased to meet ya, Fluttershy," Applejack said happily, offering her front hoof to the pegasus for a good strong shake. "Don't reckon I see a lotta Pegasus Ponies 'round these parts. What brings ya here?"
Fluttershy smiled meekly, giving Applejack's hoof a light, friendly tap but retracting it before the Earth Pony could shake it. Though Applejack couldn't help but quirk her brow at the odd gesture, Granny Smith had always told her to be respectful of everypony's personal greeting style, so she let it pass without comment. "I just moved here from Cloudsdale, actually," the timid pegasus explained, "I guess I finally realized I didn't belong up there in the sky...I preferred it down here on the ground, with all my little animal friends."
She gave a warm little smile to Angel and the other bunnies, who had begun to snuggle up to Fluttershy, returning her smile sincerely. "You...you just up 'n' left your family like that?" Applejack asked, not only surprised that such a soft-spoken Pony could do something so bold but further remembering her own misguided attempt to run away from home.
"Oh goodness, no," Fluttershy giggled, "I got their permission first, and I'm still in regular contact with them. And not just them, either; I've been talking to one of my good friends from Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash, about her moving here too."
Soothed by that information, Applejack's bright demeanor returned. "You're quite the considerate Pony, aren't ya?" she said, "This Rainbow Dash is mighty lucky t'have you as a friend."
Fluttershy scuffed the ground gently with her front hoof, again ducking her head down to hide her eye behind her mane. "T-thank you...again," she murmured bashfully. "Oh, but look at me, hogging all the attention; what about you, Ms. Applejack?" she suddenly perked up.
"Well, fer starters, you can stop with the 'm'am's' 'n' 'miss's 'n' all that," she said, "Just plain ol' Applejack'll do just fine, thank ya. And really, I ain't got a whole lot t'say. I live on my farm, Sweet Apple Acres, with my brother Big Macintosh, my Granny Smith, 'n' my li'l sister Apple Bloom."
"Little sister?" Fluttershy asked, eyes suddenly widening with excitement. "Oh that's wonderful! I've always wanted a cute little sister."
Applejack chuckled. "Heh, you may reconsider that when you meet Apple Bloom. Li'l filly's not even old enough t'walk yet 'n' she's already a hoof-full." The Earth Pony doffed her hat respectfully. "But I do love her with all my heart even so."
"You're so lucky," Fluttershy sighed dreamily. "I never had any siblings, and my parents were away working at the Rainbow Factory most of the time when I was little. You, though...you get to be with ponies you love all the time. That just sounds perfect to me."
"Yeah, well...I kinda had to learn how much my family really meant t'me the hard way," Applejack admitted as she re-donned her hat. "But ever since, I've been grateful to have 'em in my life each 'n' every day."
Fluttershy could only smile all the brighter at that. "I'm very happy for that, Applejack," she said. "A good-hearted Pony like you deserves to have a family that caring."
"Thank ya kindly, Fluttershy," Applejack replied, "And y'know...us Ponies in the Apple family have a sayin' I figure you should know."
"Oh?" Fluttershy asked. "What's that?"
"A good friend's as good as Family," Applejack answered. "You ever feel like bein' surrounded by good-hearted Ponies who care about you yourself, don't hesitate t'come by Sweet Apple Acres any time you want."
Fluttershy nodded. "O-oh yes, absolutely. I'd love to meet your family," then, bashfully muted, "and...see you again...."
Applejack nodded. "Feeling's mutual. Anyway, I'd better get these apples back home 'fore it gets dark out. Take care, Fluttershy, 'n' it's been a real pleasure meetin' ya."
"You too," Fluttershy said, beaming.
The pegasus watched as Applejack trotted off, back toward her home. "Now let's get all of you back home too," she told her rabbit friends, who all nodded in agreement. "And remember. No more stealing, OK?"
Another round of rabbit nods. "Good," she said happily, leading them off toward her hut.
She then turned back, seeing Applejack still off in the distance. It was good to know, even if Rainbow Dash didn't wind up moving to Ponyville, she had a good friend to turn to here.
It was the cool, calm wind against her cheeks that woke Fluttershy up. Blinking a bit, gently shaking off the last bits of blurriness clouding her senses, the delicate Pegasus tried to collect her thoughts. What had she been doing…?
"What in the name of all things Cinammon Swirl is a full-grown Dragon doin' here in Equestria? "Princess Celestia has given us this mission and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years." "You have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy."
…oh. Right. The Dragon sleeping on top of the mountain. Just thinking about such a big, ugly, pony-eating monster gave Fluttershy the shivers and indeed, the sky full of thick black smoke which was the first image her slowly-clearing vision saw managed to refresh the sense of fear that continued to keep her wings locked in place. As her senses continued to return to her, she also began to notice she was being dragged along the ground on her back. Peeking around, she soon noticed why. Her tail was wrapped around the head of….
Sure enough, there was the orange Earth Pony, trotting along a dirt path that was slowly but surely spiraling upward and around the mountain. That was when Fluttershy remembered exactly what had happened before she had fainted.
"I'll need this if I'm gonna take her around the mountain another way."
"Oh good, you're awake," Applejack said, pausing to untangle Fluttershy's tail.
"Y-yeah," Fluttershy said meekly.
"Heh, good," Applejack said with a chuckle. "No offense, Fluttershy, but you're an awful lot heavier than I would've thought, 'n' we've still got a bit of a ways t'go."
"O-oh, it's…it's not that," she replied, still staring at the ground. "It's just…it's just…."
"Aw, no, sugar cube, it ain't like that," Applejack explained calmly, nuzzling her friend's cheek to try and calm her down. "It was my choice t'help you get up this mountain, and I don't regret it for a second."
Fluttershy sniffled again. "I know," she said, "b-but…that's the problem. Everypony always sticks their neck out for me, and I just…" She sighed glumly. "How can I call myself your friend when all I ever do is drag you down?"
That earned a soft but sudden stomp from the orange Earth Pony. "Now you stop right there, Fluttershy," Applejack said. "Nopony badmouths my friends while I'm around!"
"…but…!" Fluttershy started, finally drawing her gaze up to meet Applejack's.
"No buts," Applejack replied. "If anypony else called you worthless, I'd buck 'em right in the teeth 'cuz they didn't know the first thing they were talkin' about, so I sure as shootin' can't let you get away with it."
Fluttershy's ears perked slightly, but she still looked unconvinced. "…t-thank you," she started softly, speaking up a bit more as she continued, "But…well, just look at Rainbow Dash! I've admired her since we were fillies in Cloudsdale, how she's so fast, so strong!"
Applejack laughed a bit at that. "I-I'm serious," Fluttershy said. "You…you say I'm one of the strongest Ponies you know, but I'm not strong…not like you or Rainbow."
The Earth Pony smiled, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. The pegasus knew her friend would disagree, and indeed felt a little guilty arguing with her over what was basically a compliment. Yet she knew how she felt, and she had to speak to that honestly, no matter what Applejack said to the contrary.
"You're absolutely right," Applejack said.
…wait, what? Fluttershy blinked a bit, ears fully up now. Had she heard that right? Applejack…Applejack really thought she was weak, even after everything else she had said?
"You're not strong like me 'n' Rainbow," the Earth Pony continued. "You're strong in your own way." That didn't exactly ease Fluttershy's confusion, and Applejack could see that on her face. "I guess what I'm tryin' to say is, bein' strong doesn't have to be all about how fast you can run or how hard you can hit."
"You really think so?" Fluttershy asked timidly.
"I know so," Applejack replied. "I see it in you every day."
Again Fluttershy blushed, ducking a little bit but keeping her eyes on Applejack. "I mean it," Applejack chuckled, crouching a bit herself to keep at eye-level with the pegasus. "You've got such a big heart, Fluttershy." There was a subtle shift in Applejack's voice then; she still spoke with an honest, compassionate tone, but there was a seriousness to it now that Fluttershy had not heard before. "A heart so big it's got enough love t'share with every living thing in Equestria. From the tiniest li'l critter to the meanest Manticore, you've always got a helping hoof ready, 'n' you'll offer it freely every time." She pressed her forehead against Fluttershy's gently. "If that ain't strength, I don't
The pegasus thought she was going to squeak, or shirk away, or do something; ohhh she was so not used to this kind of close contact! Yet to her own surprise, she instead remained perfectly still and silent. Both Ponies stayed like that for a moment, drawing something from the other with eyes closed and not another word spoken.
Eventually, however, Fluttershy gently broke the silence. "…t-thank you, Applejack," she whispered, pulling back a step.
The Earth Pony gave her a warm smile. "It's like I'm always tellin' you, sugar cube," she said, "You don't have to thank me for just tellin' the truth."
Fluttershy smiled at that. "Well I still want to thank you," she said. "I think I'm starting to understand what you mean," then her eyes darted to the ground, her head bashfully sinking a little, "a-at least a little bit, anyway…."
Her gaze then returned to that black, smoky sky. "My own kind of strength…." She repeated softly. "Is…is that enough for…?"
Thinking of that dragon again sent a shiver down Fluttershy's spine, even now.
"That, I don't know," Applejack admitted, joining Fluttershy and looking skyward. "Heck, I don't know if any of us have what it takes t'deal with the Dragon."
Fluttershy turned to her friend suddenly. "You…you don't?" she asked. "But…but you were so gung-ho to go up that mountain! You all were! Why would you do that if you didn't know you could win?"
Applejack chuckled a bit, doffing her hat. "Like I said, Fluttershy," she said, "it takes all kinds of strength."
Despite herself, Fluttershy giggled at that. She looked at Applejack, eyes still looking upward and hat still down, and could not help but feel a small but real swell of courage in her own heart. To know that Applejack believed in her…to know she wasn't the only one with doubts…to know all the things the Earth Pony had told her since she'd woken up…it meant something to Fluttershy that was hard to describe. There were still doubts, fears tugging at her thoughts, but…
"You're a good friend, Applejack," Fluttershy said softly, "I'm…I'm very grateful for everything you've said to me, 'just the truth' and all."
Placing her hat back on her head, Applejack nodded, smiling softly at her Pegasus friend.
"I'm grateful for you too, Fluttershy," she said. "We all are, 'n' don't you forget it."
More and more, Fluttershy felt her heart calming, her wings slowly but surely loosening again…
And then they heard the dragon's monstrous roar echoing from above.
Squeaking in shock, the Pegasus' wings locked up again and she passed out on her back all over again.
It took Applejack a moment to process what had just happened, but once she did, she sighed a bit. "Poor thing," she muttered, "Just when we were makin' progress, too."
She knelt down to Fluttershy's side, looking over her friend carefully to make sure she was OK. "So much love in your heart," she whispered, "I only wish you could show a little more for yourself."
Shaking her head, she took the Pegasus' tail in her mouth again, working to tie it back around her head, the Earth Pony nonetheless had to smile at her friend.
"Ah well. She'll figure it out for herself," she thought. "Someday."
And dragging behind her, eyes wide and body stiff, the unconscious Fluttershy could still hear those words ringing strongly in her thoughts.
"My own kind of strength…."
Fluttershy loved any reason to visit Sweet Apple Acres, but those occasions when the reason was to help the Apple family were her personal favorites. It was already nice to be on the farm, but nicer still to know her being there was a benefit to the family. So it was with an extra bit of pep in her wings that she and her little animal friends attended to the last few remnants of the Iron Pony competition Sweet Apple Acres had hosted only two days ago. While the young Pegasus was happily humming along as she airlifted the apple-shaped score cards into the tool shed, however, Angel Bunny was a bit less than gracious as he dragged the tug-of-war rope along. "Hrr-rrr-umph!" he grumbled grumpily.
"Oh now Angel, that's a very rude thing to say," Fluttershy chided, "We are not just doing this work because the Apple Family is too lazy to do it themselves; Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were heading into town on business, and we both know Granny Smith's too old to do this kind of thing herself, so I volunteered our services."
"Rrr?" the rabbit asked as he gracelessly tossed the rope into the shed.
"Applejack? Well, she's…um…" Fluttershy paused; why was Applejack not around? She'd just assumed her friend had gone into town with her siblings, but now that Angel mentioned it….
The pegasus looked about for any sign of the Earth Pony. Nothing. "It's so unlike her," she thought aloud, "to not help when there's work to be done."
Already, that all-too-familiar feeling of "what if…?" began to build in her mind; what if Applejack were sick, or hurt, or sick and hurt and stuck under a log and unconscious and unable to call for help? Wings flapping faster and faster as the nightmare scenario built itself up more and more, she swooped down to Angel. "You and the others take a little break," she said urgently, "I'm going to check around and make sure Applejack is OK."
Angel sighed in relief, taking a seat with the squirrels as Fluttershy took off.
"Applejack?" she called out, gliding up to the upper window of the barn-house.
"Applejack?" she tried again, this time peering in to Winona's dog-house; not only was there no Applejack, there was no Winona either.
Just as she was getting ready to add "with Winona coughing on the smoke" to her dreaded scenario, however, the pegasus heard a grunt echo out from nearby. Immediately whipping her head toward where she had heard it come from, Fluttershy strained her ears, listening cautiously in case she might hear the sound again. Sure enough, after a few moments, there came the grunt again, and Fluttershy was quick to zip over toward its source. "Apple…?" she started as she approached, only to stop quiet at what she saw.
It was the running path that had been set up for the Long Jump part of the Iron Pony competition. Sitting by its end was Winona, mouth open and tail wagging as she sat patiently. And in the dirt patch at the end was Applejack.
Her eyes were burning with frustration, fixated on a set of hoof-prints in the dirt only a few feet in front of her. Stomping her own hoof in the dirt angrily, she trotted back a few feet past the start of the path. Then, turning around and scuffing the ground, taking a deep breath, she ran full-throttle along its length, taking a flying leap midway through toward the dirt patch…
…and landed, with the same grunt that had guided Fluttershy to her, in almost exactly the same spot in the patch she had started at. With an aggravated growl, the Earth Pony bowed her head, and once again turned around to make her way back to the start of the track, but this time she found a familiar pegasus standing in her way. "…Jack?" she said timidly.
"F-Fluttershy…!" Applejack yelped, stumbling back on her flank.
"I-I'm sorry…" Fluttershy squeaked, shrinking back. "I didn't mean to interrupt, it's just…well…I didn't know where you were or why you weren't…um…helping with the clean-up and I just thought…well…"
Her voice became so soft as to be entirely incoherent after that. "Well shoot, I'm the one who should be apologizin'," Applejack replied, getting back on her hooves. "I plum forgot all about the clean-up on account of…well…"
She looked back behind her to the dirt patch. "…unfinished business."
"W-what kind of unfinished business?" Fluttershy asked in spite of herself.
Having already seen where this was going, Fluttershy did not need to be told twice. With a timid "Eep!", she flew up into the air as Applejack charged, leapt, landed, grunted, and growled angrily once again.
Before the Earth Pony could begin the cycle anew, Fluttershy swooped down next to her. "Please, Applejack," she said with as much urgency as her gentle heart could muster, "what's got you so worked up? Please, tell me what's…!"
Yet as she looked at Applejack, and saw where Applejack herself was looking, and followed that look to the four hoof prints in the dirt, suddenly Fluttershy realized the answer to her question before it had even finished. "…oh dear…" she whispered instead.
Applejack gave an exasperated snort. "Tch! 'Oh dear' is right," she grumbled. "Been at this for hours, 'n' I ain't no closer to gettin' past 'em now than when I started."
"I don't understand," the pegasus said, "I thought…well…I thought you and Rainbow Dash had worked things out. I mean, you both seemed so happy after the Running of the Leaves."
Slumping down glumly, Applejack's gaze remained fixed on those four marks in the dirt. "I still feel like a right foal for the way I acted that day, y'know," she admitted. "Goin' after Rainbow like that…."
Fluttershy crouched down next to her, leaning comfortingly against the Earth Pony. "It's OK, Applejack," she told her, "You just lost your temper, that's all. It happens to the best of ponies."
"I know, I know," Applejack grumbled, melancholy giving way to frustration, "but still…! I should've known better! I should've set an example!"
"So…why didn't you?" Fluttershy asked cautiously, immediately adding, "I-I mean… well…" A little blush tinged her cheeks, "I've known you for years now. And I know that it takes more than a little of Rainbow being competitive to get under your skin."
Applejack snorted again, looking first to Fluttershy, then back to the hoof prints. At last, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and resting her head on her hooves. "This…this ain't about Rainbow," she said, a bit calmer now but still obviously bothered, "Not strictly speakin', anyway."
"Go on," Fluttershy encouraged.
"It's just…." Applejack started, cutting herself off; honesty may have been her element, but she still had her pride. Still, she knew her friend deserved the truth, and that mattered more. "I put everything I had into that Iron Pony competition, tried as hard as I could. I knew I wasn't gonna win 'em all, but…"
Her hooves clenched. Fluttershy leaned gently against the Earth Pony, trying to calm her. "I know it ain't her fault, I know she didn't mean nothin' by it, 'n' I don't blame her, but…whenever Rainbow used her wings to win a contest she might've lost otherwise…"
Applejack gave a deep, defeated sigh. "For the first time in my life, I felt…ashamed…because I'm just an Earth Pony."
Fluttershy's ears went straight up, eyes widening with surprise. She had known it was a serious matter to bother her friend so much, but this was the last thing she ever would have guessed. "I know us Earth Ponies ain't got fancy magic, 'n' we can't fly, but I've always told myself-always-that it didn't make me any less of a Pony. That anything a unicorn can do with magic, or a pegasus can do with flyin', an Earth Pony can do without either of those."
Brows quivering, her eyes returned once more to the hoof prints. "But all it took was one beat 'o' wings, 'n' that landing spot was put out of my reach."
She looked at Fluttershy, a struggle of emotions plain on her face. "Don't…don't take it the wrong way, neither," she said softly, "I don't mean nothin' against Pegasus Ponies or anything like that."
"I know you don't," Fluttershy replied sympathetically. "In fact…"
A gentle smile spread on the pegasus' face as she stretched a wing out over Applejack's back, its soft feathers brushing against her comfortably. "I know a lot about what you're feeling."
Soothed by the feel of Fluttershy's wings, Applejack looked to her silently, more than willing to give the pegasus her say. "I may have wings, but I've never been very good at flying. Oh, I can hover about good enough, but as soon as I try anything more complicated than that, well…" She giggled a little bit. "Let's just say it's a good thing I moved down here from Cloudsdale."
She gave a soft little sigh herself. "Even after I came to live here in Ponyville, though, I looked at my poor flying skills as a weakness. Most everypony else did too. And for a while, that made me very sad."
Her smile returned, and her eyes went to Applejack. Fighting the blush on her cheeks (and the butterflies in her stomach), she said, "But then…I met this wonderful Earth Pony who taught me that there are all kinds of strength in the world. And because she did, I realized that even if I couldn't fly very well, that didn't make me weak. In a way, it made me…well, me."
The pegasus felt like her heart was about to burst; she was not used to speaking this openly-this firmly-with other ponies, least of all a close friend! That part of her mind that eternally lived in a state of frightened "what if…?" was screaming at her that this was not her place, that she had no real advice to offer to a pony as proud and strong as Applejack. Yet Fluttershy knew, in a place too strong inside of her for that voice to drown out, that Applejack did need her right now, and that meant pushing past her bashfulness. Just this once. "W-we all have limits, Applejack," she pressed on, ignoring the tremble in her own voice, "But they only really hurt us if we let them. Sure, I can't fly very well…but that just means I can be here, on the ground, with my animal friends. And with Twilight and Pinkie and Rarity and Rainbow…and you…" Keep going, before you lose your nerve! "So no, you can't fly like a Pegasus Pony. And you can't use magic like a Unicorn Pony. But…well…"
She pointed directly beneath where she and Applejack lay. "Look at how far you jumped without wings."
For a moment, they both just sat there, looking at the spot Fluttershy was pointing to. Applejack seemed to be mulling all those words over very carefully as she did.
After a few moments, however, a light came to her eyes. At last, Applejack smiled. The worry eased from her face, and she looked at her Pegasus friend with a look of sincere gratitude. Her speech done, Fluttershy immediately let instinct take over and tucked her head back like a turtle going into its shell, blushing openly and wildly now. "But, y'know, feel free to just ignore me if you want," she squeaked.
And Applejack laughed a good hearty laugh. "Ignore you?" she asked brightly. "Shucks, I'd be as dumb as a doornail to ignore all that, sugar-cube!"
She lifted herself up onto all fours, offering a hoof to Fluttershy to help her do the same. Still doing her best to disappear beneath her own mane, the timid Pegasus nonetheless accepted. Immediately, Applejack wrapped her up in a soft, soothing hug. "Bless you, Fluttershy," she said humbly. "From the bottom of my heart, bless you."
The pegasus could only mewl gently in response.
Letting her friend go, Applejack gave her a good pat on the back. "Now then!" she piped up, "I do believe we have an Iron Pony competition to finish cleanin' up after?"
"…hm?" Fluttershy asked, momentarily separated from reality by the sudden rush of emotion. "O-oh! Right! The competition! Angel and the others are already helping, but every hoof counts."
Applejack nodded vigorously. "Then let's get to it!" she said excitedly.
Fluttershy nodded. She then began to trot off back toward the tool shed, but stopped when she realized Applejack was not following her. She looked back to see her friend, once again staring at those four hoof-prints in the dirt. Worry surged up in her mind immediately. Had she failed? Had Applejack just been faking it for her sake? Had…?
Her questions were all silenced, however, as the Earth Pony briskly used her tail to sweep the prints away. "Ready when you are," Applejack said with a wink.
Fluttershy smiled. "W-well then, I guess we're both ready," she said warmly.
Applejack nodded, joining the pegasus by her side. And together, they went to finish their work.
