//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Of Thistles and Honey // by D4ftP0ny //------------------------------// The flight to Ponyville wasn’t a long one, nor was it a particularly difficult one, but today as he approached the town Wild Wings felt as though he had flown a thousand miles non-stop. His chest hurt, like he was being squeezed by invisible ropes, and the closer he and Shooting Star got to the small village the more he was convinced that his wings were made of lead. “I’m… really not sure about this, Shooter…” he said, swallowing audibly. Beside him, the blue Pegasus sighed loudly as he tilted his wings to the side, sending him banking gently towards the ground, his wings flaring in the morning sunlight. “So I’ve gathered from the dozen or so times you’ve said that in the past hour,” he said, his voice light. “Just relax, Wild,” he said with a smile. “Remember the reason you’re here, and try not to let your nerves get the best of you.” Wild’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he felt his chest puff out in spite of the pain in it. “My nerves are just fine,” he huffed; Shooter shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes, his smile staying in place. “All right… if you say so,” he said. “I DO say so,” Wild muttered. Nopony insinuates that I’ve lost my nerve… But as Ponyville rose to meet them, Wild felt all the certainty that he’d felt earlier that morning begin to leave him, and not for the first time he was glad of Shooting Star’s company and his encouragement. The two Pegasi slid down from the sky towards a park in the town, one with a lovely white fountain at the heart and a smattering of trees around it; next to the fountain, Wild’s red eyes picked out a pink dot that seemed to be jumping up and down, and as they got closer he couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight. There, leaping for all she was worth as if she longed for nothing more than to join them in the sky was Pinkie Pie, one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the pony that Shooting Star had been more time with lately than any other. Her eyes were bright, despite the early time of morning, and her tail swished in anticipation as Shooter and Wild landed carefully nearby. Pinkie barely waited for Shooter to stop walking before darting forward and wrapping her front hooves around him in a hug. “Shootie!” she said happily, nuzzling his cheek with hers. “I’m SOOO glad you decided to visit me today! Oh, I’ve missed you a LOT! I’ve got SO MUCH to tell you about what I’ve been doing since you came to see me last! It feels like it was forever ago!!” Shooting Star cast a glance at Wild, and Wild couldn’t help but give him a knowing grin, which caused his friend to blush brightly beneath his dark blue coat. “Pinkie… it’s only been two days since I saw you,” he said quietly, obviously slightly embarrassed by the display. The pink mare dropped to all four hooves and backed up just far enough to look into his eyes, and Wild was surprised to see Pinkie Pie blush slightly too. “Well, yeah, but…” she giggled softly. “It was a long two days.” Wild Wings glanced from pony to pony, and suddenly couldn’t keep the grin from his face. There had been many times in his life where other ponies had accused Wild Wings of being able to miss the subtleties of feelings, but this was not one of those moments; the look that Pinkie and Shooter were sharing at that moment spoke volumes so loud that Wild shuffled his wings and took a step backwards from them. “Shooter? I’ll catch up with you later, OK?” he said. The blue pony didn’t even look away from Pinkie Pie as he nodded, his blush deepening. “Uh-huh…” he said. Pinkie giggled and bumped her nose against Shooter’s. “Where’s he going, Shootie?” she asked softly as Wild turned away. “He… is here to see a friend,” Shooting Star said with a smile. He and Pinkie Pie touched noses again and began to walk away, close enough together that Shooter put his wing slightly over Pinkie’s back. “And hopefully, he’s here to see his way through his heart.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Whew… that should be the last of ‘em,” Applejack said to herself, wiping a hoof across her brow. She took a step back and admired her work; a brand new rack covered the far wall of the barn from ceiling to floor, each shelf spaced perfectly to hold stacks and stacks of the large bushel baskets they used to harvest the apples. The Apple family had kept their baskets in a small building adjacent to the barn for quite some time, but a new need had arisen for the shed, and Applejack had taken it upon herself to build something to solve the issue of where to put the baskets. “Now, if’n I cain just get Fluttershy or Rainbow t’ help me lift these into place…” She tipped her hat back on her head and began eyeballing the top shelf, wondering if they would really need two Pegasi to lift a stack into place, or if one could do it. Well, Rainbow might be able to do it by herself; Fluttershy probably cain’t lift more’n one basket by her lonesome… She was just to the point of wondering exactly what Fluttershy could lift on her own when she heard a set of hooves enter the barn; much lighter than her brother’s, and much louder and slower than her sister’s. The orange earth pony turned towards the sound, and when she saw the pony making it her brow knit and she couldn’t help but frown slightly. Standing just inside the small side door of the barn was a gray Pegasus with a jet-black mane and bright red eyes; a Pegasus that she hadn’t seen in three months, and one that still sent an involuntary shiver down her spine whenever she saw him. Applejack turned her whole body towards him and managed to find a small smile. “Well… as I live ‘n’ breathe,” she said quietly. “Howdy, Wild Wings.” The Pegasus rustled his wings and looked slightly uncomfortable beneath her emerald gaze. “Applejack,” he said politely, giving her a deep nod that bordered on a bow. The earth pony doffed her hat and shook her mane slightly; the interior of the barn was still warm, despite the cool fall morning outside, and her hat was warming her something fierce. “I hafta say that I’m a mite surprised t’ see you ‘round these parts, Wild. No offense intended, o’ course; it’s just that y’all seemed mighty determined t’ stay well away from Ponyville after what happened.” Wild Wings winced visibly, and Applejack sighed as she placed her cowboy hat back atop her head. She truly wasn’t out to make him feel bad about what had happened… but, well, it was the truth, and she didn’t much have a way with words like Rarity seemed to. I’m sure she would’ve told me t’ say somethin’ polite ‘bout him first, or some such. But the events that had brought him to her acquaintance were all she had to reference him by, which made talking to him about anything BUT those events slightly difficult. “Yeah… I know,” he said quietly. “I really didn’t want…” He trailed off, as if he was second-guessing what he was about to say, and Applejack frowned. What in tarnation is mussin’ his feathers? But Wild Wings sighed sharply and gave her a smile that was obviously forced. “But how’ve you been, Applejack? It’s been three months now… how’re things?” “I’m fine, an’ everything ‘round here’s fine, thank’ee fer askin’.” She turned away from him and began re-examining the shelves, making sure that each one was securely in place, even though she had already double checked them. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Wild Wings… but if’n I had ta guess, I’d say that y’all didn’t come all th’ way back t’ Ponyville ta check up on me.” She turned and arched an eyebrow at him severely. “Unless there’s somethin’ y’all ain’t tellin’ me, an’ I’ve gotta start checkin’ outside my windows at night fer wanderin’ Pegasi with red eyes.” Wild blinked, and after a moment the corners of his mouth turned up and he managed a chuckle. Applejack found a grin as well, and to her surprise it stayed in place as the Pegasus shook his head. “No, AJ, I’m sorry,” he said. “I mean, you’re very nice, but that’s not why I’m here.” “Then what’s got a bee in yer bonnet, sugar?” she asked, nudging one of the shelves with her nose. She heard him shuffle his hooves several times then heard his wings open, close, rustle, readjust, then open and close again, and she sighed; that was exactly the same thing that Rainbow Dash did when she was trying to think her way out of a corner. “Well… I-I mean, I really was curious as to how you’ve been, Applejack,” he began, but as soon as he began speaking Applejack knew that he was just talking to fill the silence. “And how things’ve been here… and how the others in Ponyville are doing, of course, I mean, I haven’t just been thinking about you, obviously, we covered that already… yeah, that would have been awkward. B-but not awkward in the bad, way, of course; o-or is there really a good kind of awkward..?” Applejack sighed and turned back to the Pegasus. “Fer Celestia’s sake, Wild Wings, spit it out, b‘fore ya choke on it!” Wild stopped mid-word and stared at her for a half a second before his wings and ears drooped. “It’s… it’s about Thistledown,” he said with a heavy sigh. At the mention of the earth pony mare’s name, Applejack’s ears perked straight up, and she had to quickly rein herself in to keep the excitement from her eyes. “Thistle?” she repeated casually. “Y’all’re showin’ up here ‘cause o’ her?” The gray pony looked like he wanted nothing more than to shrink and creep away, but to his credit he stood his ground. “Yes, really, Applejack.” It was everything that Applejack could do to keep her face impassive. She would never, ever have told Wild Wings this, but ever since the events three months prior, she had been wondering when he would finally get the courage to ask her about the amethyst mare with whom AJ had shared her home for a brief time. A giddy feeling bubbled up in her stomach and the apple farmer found it extremely difficult to keep a silly grin from dominating her face. “An’, uh,” she began nonchalantly, gazing back to the racks on the wall, “What is it that y’all wanna know? Way I seen it, Thistledown made it purdy clear how she felt ‘bout y’all in Whinnyapolis.” “She did, yeah… and for a long time now, I’ve thought that made a difference,” Wild said, his eyes wandering the walls as if he wanted to look anywhere but at AJ. “But I can’t stop thinking about her, Applejack. About what could have been… and it’s starting to drive me crazy.” The orange mare turned back to him and arched an eyebrow, proud that she wasn’t simply leaping into the air and spilling what she knew. “Then why ain’t y’all talkin’ t’ Thistle direct-like? Seems t’ me that’d solve all yer problems right there.” Wild made a frustrated sound in his throat. “That’s the problem itself!! I can’t just go to her, Applejack, not after what happened!” He turned and began to pace back and forth, his wings rustling irritably as he continued. “I know how much I hurt her, AJ, and after all that, how can I possibly justify walking back into her life and telling her how much I care about her? About how I can’t stop thinking about her, about Honey, about what we could have had?! About how more than anything in the entire world I just want to know if-…” Applejack stepped forward, her green eyes wide, begging him to continue. “Y’all just wanna know if…?” Yer so close, Wild… SO CLOSE..!! Wild Wings stopped mid step, and his wings drooped almost to the floor. “It sounds so stupid, Applejack, but… I just want to know if I had a chance. If we could still… could ever have been together… and I thought that since you got to know her best while she was here… you might be able to answer that for me… so…” He took a deep breath. “Applejack… h-how did Thistledown feel about me?” Applejack felt a smile explode across her face, and in the blink of an eye she was standing nose-to-nose with Wild Wings, dancing excitedly in place. “Wild Wings,” she said, her voice bubbling, “Ah cain’t even TELL y’all how long I’ve been waitin’ fer ya t’ get yer courage t’gether an’ ask about that mare!” The orange earth pony leaped into the air, feeling every inch like Pinkie Pie at that moment; finally, FINALLY she would be able to tell him! Wild Wings, for his part, looked extremely confused. “Um… wha?” he said. Applejack giggled like a schoolfilly and cantered around the gray Pegasus. “Y’all really are as dense as they say, Wild Wings,” she said jovially. “I promised Thistledown that what she said ‘bout y’all would never reach yer ears… but when I promised, I made a lil’ subtext, as Twilight would say.” She gave him a grin and a wink. “I promised Thistle that y’all would never hear what I’m gonna tell ya unless y’all came t’ me an’ asked ‘bout it direct-like!” “So… so you’re saying that there is something to tell?” he asked hopefully. The orange mare slugged him in the shoulder hard with her hoof, but her smile never faltered. “Of course there is, ya empty-headed Pegasus, and y’all knew that or else ya wouldn’ta felt so driven t’ ask!” “Ow…” “NOW,” Applejack said, leaping up onto one of the nearby hay bale and reclining comfortably. “Have yerself a seat, Wild. This story may not take long, but it’s one worth hearin’.” ~*~*~*~*~ The weather was clear and pleasant, but Applejack barely noticed. The sun was now fully over the horizon, and the morning was beginning to warm up towards another gorgeous summer day… but the orange earth pony’s eyes were turned inward towards the feelings of anger that were slowly eating away at her heart like a worm in an apple. It had been all of four days since she had started feeling this way, and already she was sick and tired of it. She gritted her teeth around the handle of a pan as she tried vainly to flip one of the pancakes she was cooking, but she flipped too firmly and the pancake sailed over her head and landed on the floor… next to the three others that had shared its fate. “ConSARNIT,” she huffed angrily, slamming the pan back down onto the stove. This breakfast was taking her MUCH longer than she had thought; she’d just wanted to get the pancakes ready before anypony else got up, specifically so she could eat and leave the house before she had to deal with them. In her current state of mind, she thought it might be a good idea to spend some time alone. She turned from the stove and glared at the pancake-covered floor. “If y’all ain’t gonna go in my stomach, the least y’all could do is git yerselves into the garbage pail,” she snapped. From the bottom of the stairs came a gentle laugh and Applejack winced. Slowly she turned her eyes to the mare who stood there, another earth pony with an amethyst coat and deep green mane and tail. The mare smiled slightly. “I really don’t think the pancakes are going to listen to you, Applejack,” she said with a soft giggle. “They’re not known for their ability to comprehend orders.” Applejack sniffed indignantly. “Well they sure ain’t known fer fillin’ my belly on the floor,” she huffed. She felt another, more biting comment build up in her throat- something about how guests shouldn’t question their hosts or some such nonsense- but the look on the other mare’s face was enough to stop her, and after a moment she found her voice. “…Thistledown..?” she asked. “Are… are ya okay this mornin’?” The purple mare gave her a broad smile and made her way past Applejack into the kitchen, and to the farmer it looked as though Thistledown wasn’t really walking so much as floating just slightly off the floor. “Of course I am!” Thistle replied, her voice warm. “Am I acting like I’m not?” She turned and arched an eyebrow at Applejack, but try as she might the other mare couldn’t hide the smile that still hung on her lips. “Um… no, y’all ain’t actin’ like somethin’s WRONG… but ya sure are actin’… well, differ’nt.” Thistledown’s eyes suddenly sparkled in the morning sun, but she turned back to the stove and began making a new batch of pancakes, humming happily to herself. The mare’s sudden change in mood quirked Applejack’s curiosity, enough that even though Thistle’s behavior was quickly becoming irritating to the inexplicably angry Applejack, the farm pony was able to shove her irritation to the back as she stepped up next to her house guest. “Now that is a secret-keepin’ face if’n I ever saw one,” Applejack said, doing her best to keep her voice light. “C’mon now, out with it…” She managed to force a smile onto her face. “It wouldn’t happen t’ have anythin’ to do with y’all leavin’ the house late last night, would it..?” Now Thistledown’s eyes lit up, and her purple cheeks deepened in color as she blushed. “…Maybe it does,” she said softly, but even in her altered mental state Applejack could hear the giddiness hidden beneath Thistle’s carefully neutral tone. “Well, out with it then!” Applejack demanded, a bit more harshly than she had intended, but Thistledown didn’t seem to notice one bit. She pushed the pan away and turned her green eyes on Applejack, excitement exploding into them. “Oh Applejack… last night, I went to check on Honeysuckle, and I found her out of bed- she does that sometimes if she can’t sleep. She likes to go out and sit beneath the stars, in a garden if she can; she says it helps her talk to her father.” Her smile wavered just slightly, but then the excitement returned and swept the sadness that had always tainted her smiles away, and she grinned broadly again. “But I went out and found her sitting in the garden… with a stallion.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “A stallion..?” she asked, and the implication was clear in her question. “I was worried at first too,” Thistledown continued, “But I crept quietly up and listened to what they were talking about… and the stallion was talking to Honey. He asked her why she was out, and she told him… and oh Applejack… she confided in him. She told him everything that she was feeling, and he listened to her…” Tears suddenly welled up in Thistle’s green eyes, but she continued undaunted, her smile never wavering for a moment. “That moment… seeing the two of them sitting together under the moonlight… Honeysuckle has never spoken to another stallion, another pony about her father before, Applejack. Never once before… and when he noticed me, the look in his eyes…” She sighed, and the happiness on her face was strong enough to make the anger in Applejack’s heart calm slightly. “He really cares about her… and…” She blushed deeply again. “…And something about him makes my heart flutter, Applejack… I asked him to help Honey and I make dinner tonight, and I… I just can’t wait!” Thistledown giggled softly. “Oh… I hope I don’t make a foal of myself! I’m so nervous…” Somehow, Applejack managed a real, genuine smile for the excited mare. “You’ll be jus’ fine, Thistle,” she said softly. “Jus’ be yerself, an’ I’m sure…” She frowned slightly. “Say, what’s this feller’s name, anyhow?” The amethyst mare smiled and turned back to the stove. “He’s a Pegasus… honestly, I never really thought I’d be interested in a Pegasus… but his name is Red Wing, one of the other refugees from Whinnyapolis. He’s the one who’s been helping you around the farm-,” In retrospect, it was a good thing that Thistle had turned back to the stove when she had, because the emotions that crossed Applejack’s face at the mention of the gray Pegasus were anything but kind, and the sudden humming in the orange pony’s ears that drown out Thistledown’s words was anything but friendly. “Th-that’s awful nice, Thistledown,” Applejack said suddenly, unable to even hear her own words as she backed towards the door of the kitchen. Thistle turned and gave her a confused look, but when she tried to ask what was wrong, her mouth moved, but Applejack couldn’t hear the words. “I’ll be around…” the farmer said before turning and making her way out of the house. ~*~*~*~*~ Wild Wings stared at Applejack, his mouth slightly open as she finished. The orange pony grinned at him as his mouth flapped open and closed a few times like a fish out of water. “Well?” Applejack coaxed. “Is that the story y’all wanted t’ hear?” The Pegasus nodded numbly, but managed to find words after a moment. “And… did you have a chance to talk to her after everything?” he said quietly. “I did,” Applejack said with a nod. “An’ let me tell you, that was one unhappy mare that y’all left in Whinnyapolis.” The blonde pony shifted on her hay bale and jumped back to the floor, stretching her legs as the sun poured through the windows. “She fell fer you hard, Wild, an’ findin’ out y’all were workin’ with Dark Star crushed her… but when we left, I could see it in her eyes.” She turned to Wild and gave him an encouraging smile. “Y’all need t’ go talk to her, Wild Wings. She never got… ah, what’d Rarity call it… closure. Thistle’s feelin’s are still floatin’ around, with no start, no finish an’ no answers. She needs t’ hear what y’all’ve got t’ say an’ figure out what t’ do from there.” Wild watched her for a moment before his jaw set firmly, a fire lit in his eyes and he gave Applejack a firm nod. “Y’know what… you’re absolutely right, Applejack,” he said. “Now that I know there were feelings there… I need to know, and she needs to know.” “Now yer gettin’ the idea!” “I’m not going to waste any time; I’m going to go to Whinnyapolis right now!” “I cain’t see what harm could come of it!” The gray Pegasus nodded and headed towards the door, his eyes still trained on Applejack. “AJ, I can’t thank you enough,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m going to tell her how I feel, and I’ll let y-MMF!” Wild’s words were cut off as his face impacted a solid object that was suddenly blocking the door. Applejack’s eyes widened as the Pegasus turned his eyes up… and up… and up until he met the narrow green eyes of the one and only stallion to live on Sweet Apple Acres: Big Macintosh. Wild Wings looked like he might burst into flames on the spot; his tail drooped down between his legs, his wings slumped and his ears flattened against his head as he took a hasty step back “O-oh, um…h-h-hi there…” he said, his voice quavering like a cube of gelatin. He swallowed loudly enough that Applejack could hear it from across the barn, and as slowly and smoothly as he could he began to work his way around the huge red stallion in his way. “I-I was just talking to Applejack… a-about Thistledown, not about her, a-and just as friends… y’know… cuz we’re… friends…” “Hmmm,” Big Mac said, his eyes impassive as he watched Wild. The cool response seemed to make Wild Wings shrink and shake even more, if that was possible. “W-well, i-i-it was wonderful to s-s-see you, AJ… um…” his hoof slid slowly out the door and into the mid-morning sunshine. “…bye!” He hurled himself through, his wings snapped out and he was airborne in a flash, his furiously pumping wings not quite hiding his muttered “Gogogogogogogogogo!!” as he shot off into the morning air. Applejack watched his retreating form, then turned back to her brother, her lips pursed. “Big Macintosh… now what’d y’all hafta go an’ do that fer?” The red stallion turned his green eyes on her, and the blonde mare sighed before putting a hoof to her face. “Y’all’re enjoyin’ that a little too much, big brother,” she said, unable to keep from shaking her head and smiling slightly. Big Macintosh grinned broadly. “Eeeeyup.”