You and ‘Shy walk in awkward silence. You wonder if you should try to start a conversation, but Fluttershy looks particularly down at the moment. You just walk under the arch that proclaims Sweet Apple Acres in bright red letters, and you can soon see the red farmhouse, and the barn, which Applejack is walking out of, a satisfied look on her face. You can see the colt Big Macintosh standing on the front porch. You recognise him from the one time he was with AJ when she visited you and ‘Shy in the hospital. When Applejack notices you and Fluttershy as you get closer to the farmhouse, she gallops towards you both, a smile on her face.
“Howdy! How’re y’all doin’-- Fluttershy? What’s wrong?” She looks at you questioningly, and realisation dawns on her face. She looks away from you immediately and takes Fluttershy softly by the shoulder, leading her to the farmhouse. As she walks in, she says to Big Mac;
“Keep ‘im busy fer a little while. Ah need t’ talk wit’ ‘Shy inside.” Big Mac nods his head slowly, once.
“Eeyup.” AJ goes inside and you limp up to Big Mac, who has come down off the porch. He positively looms over you. You would feel intimidated, but you know that he would only ever hurt another if he felt it was necessary. And he would make sure whoever made it necessary wouldn’t be able to again, not for a long time. You are frightened of him, in a way. It would be idiotic not to, with his legs like tree trunks, his body like a shaped block of stone. With that impassive face, you can never really tell what he is truly feeling. But he turns away and walks towards the orchard and you release a breath you didn’t realise you had been holding. He turns when he reaches the edge of the trees and gestures for you to follow. You turn around, finding it harder on the dirt to arrange your crutches. But you eventually turn and limp after him. He waits for you to catch up. When you do, he continues further into the forest. You follow, and notice that he is barely walking at his full stride, so you can keep up. As such, you push yourself a little bit, ignoring the pain your leg is giving you, wanting to show that he doesn’t have to go slow for you. You push ahead of him and keep moving. Eventually you stop and look around. You have no idea where you are now. You are in a small clearing. All sounds from Ponyville have been lost. There is the overwhelming scent of apples in the air. You look around, turning in a circle. But then you realise that you have forgotten which direction you came from.
“Oh, come on!” You yell at the sky, louder than you expected you would. Then you hear heavy footfalls and Big Mac steps out from behind a tree.
“And that is why it would be better for you to take it slow for now.” The way that Big Mac speaks surprises you. His accent is nowhere near as heavy as his sisters’ but, if you were to listen closely, you could still hear that edge to it.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“If you had of taken it slowly, you wouldn’t have gotten lost. But you went faster, and when I accidentally stepped out of your view, you thought you were lost. You should keep it slow, especially while your leg is healing.”
“Okay, fine. Why did you bring me out here anyway? I doubt it was to teach me that little lesson.”
“Nnope. It wasn’t. I’ve seen you ‘round town today, and I think your eyesight was damaged in that crash as well.”
“What?”
“Even I can see what you feel. And I think everypony can see how she feels.”
“What in the hay do you mean?”
“I don’t think AJ would be very happy if I told you.”
“Then don’t tell her!”
“She has a thing for telling when you lie t’ her. And I don’t lie t’ family anyway.”
“Then don’t say anything!”
“Hmm... Well... I could tell you, and not tell AJ. But I won’t.”
“I’ll ask yet again. Why the hay not?”
“Because it would be unfair t’ her.”
“To who?”
“You’ll figure it out. Just think. Think about how you both have been acting for the last week. Once you figure it out, then I can help you.”
“Me and who?”
“Just think. Do it now.”
“Now?”
“Eeyup. AJ and Fluttershy will be a while.”
“Fine.” You sit down on a log, putting your crutches down next to you. Big Mac walks over and sits down next to you, making the log creak ominously. But it holds the weight of both of you.
“Go ahead.”
“I can’t if you keep talking, can I?”, you say irritably. You close you eyes and think. At first your thoughts are scattered, as you wonder about what Big Mac is talking about. No! Think properly. Go in order.
...
Alright. He said ‘the last week’. So I’ll start there. A week ago, I woke up in the hospital. I thought I was in heaven. Oh, Celestia this is stupid... No! Focus! Okay, I thought Fluttershy was an angel. She is, in a way, for saving me. That stupid monitor was going crazy whenever I even saw her. I left, this morning. We went to her house. I had a look around, met a demon-bunny, and fell down her stairs. When she came to help me up, the look in her eyes... She gave me breakfast. We talked about our lives. Then I told her I had never been in love. She became awkward all of a sudden, and the conversation pretty much died there. We left. We went to Twilight’s Library and she went to talk to Twilight there. What were they saying? THINK! I heard more than that... Maybe part of me didn’t want to hear it until now... I don’t know. But I have to rememb-- Oh, Celestia no... How could I be so blind? You just remember what they said and can hear it clearly in your head, as if they were standing in front of you saying it right now.
“I’ve been reading some books recently. You should tell him how you feel as soon as possible.”
“It’s hard, Twilight. You know I’m not good at this.”
“Just do it, ‘Shy!”
“But what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“He will, it’s the way he looks at you, trust me.”
And with Rarity...
“You should tell him soon, darling.”
“But what if he doesn’t feel the same?”
“Just do it, Fluttershy. Handsome colts like him don’t come around very often.”
“I’m not sure about it though...”
“You have to be assertive for once, dear.”
“I don’t think I can... At least you are doing better at hiding this than Twilight. She was really very obvious, she almost gave me away...”
Oh, how could I be so stupid? And the way I’ve been feeling about her... I hate myself for this, I really do. ‘Shy has been tearing herself up about this, and I was too damn stupid to realise. I guess I am like the bloody fool in that book. Wait! Maybe Twilight can help me with this? Actually, she seemed like the one who wanted to tell the most, so... no. Rarity might be able to help, but I don’t want to go near that vindictive little hairball again any time soon. Pinkie Pie would throw a party probably, and Rainbow Dash... well... She’s Rainbow Dash. She isn’t really one for this stuff, as far as I know. AJ is with Fluttershy, and I think she would be better of not knowing for now. The Element Of Honesty isn’t the best at keeping secrets... That just leaves the colt sitting next to me.
You open your eyes and look at Big Mac. He is wearing a small smile, and is chewing a piece of hay. For some reason the smile annoys you.
“Alright, fine. I love Fluttershy. You got me. But why are you helping me out? Last I heard, you two had a thing.”
“Ah, that was just a rumour.”
“Alright. Fine. But what do I do?” Big Mac actually looks surprised for a moment before saying;
“Tell her. What else is there to do?”
“I’m not really very good at that stuff...”
“Have you ever tried?”
“No, but--”
“Then how do you know?”
“I... I... I... Well played. But what about when to tell her?”
“Whenever it feels right. You know how she feels now, and it might be easier to cheer her up. Don’t tell her until you think it is the right time.”
“Alright. Thank you, Big Mac.” You get up and realise you don’t know how to get back. Big Mac waves his hoof to indicate which way to go. You nod gratefully and set off. Before long you see the large red farmhouse from between the trees. You emerge and see Fluttershy walking down off the porch, looking only slightly happier. At least she’s looking up now... You think, as you rush --as much as you can-- to meet her. When she sees you, though, she just looks at the ground again and stops where she is. You slow down and approach her slowly. You can see the fuzzy outline of Applejack in the screen door of the farmhouse, watching you and ‘Shy. You look back at her and see that the Pegasus is putting one foot in front of the other, grudgingly pushing herself forward. Then she is in front of you. You are both standing quite close. You open your mouth to speak but immediately shut it again when she throws her head up and kisses you. The suddenness of it throws you off so much you don’t even remember your own name for a few seconds. Only that you have been waiting for this for longer than you thought. But then she pulls away and you realise you have to speak. But you can’t seem to find your tongue. She was a better kisser than you expected. She is looking at you hopefully, but her face drops after a few seconds, and her blush returns.
“I-I’m sorry... I-I shouldn’t h-have done th-that. I-I guess they w-were wrong... You d-don’t l-l-love me after all...” She spreads her wings and flies away, sobbing. Then you finally find your ability to speak.
“FLUTTERSHY WAIT! DON’T GO! AH, DAMN IT!” You yell this last part at the sky, as Fluttershy is gone. You just missed your chance. No! She has to land eventually. I have to find her. Even if she goes all the way to Celestia-damn Cloudsdale I’ll walk there to find her. How could I do that to her? She finally showed how she felt... And I screwed it up... You are thrown off this train of thought as you are thrown backward, a weight on your chest. You find yourself on your back, looking into the furious eyes of Applejack.
“What in th’ hay are ya playin’ at? Why would ya do that? Are you pretendin’ ya’ love her?”
You struggle to get away, but quickly realise how hopeless this is. You have the unnerving feeling that she could kill you right here and nopony would ever know.
“Of course I’m not! I bloody do love her! I was actually about to tell her, dammit! But that kiss surprised me so much I couldn’t figure out what to say! Damn!” She look into your eyes, as if inspecting your very soul. You try to get away again, but Applejack shifts one of her hooves to softly press against your bad leg, and you remember that she bucks apples most of the time, so her legs could crush bone --especially damaged bone-- quite easily. She puts enough pressure on it to make you start feeling uncomfortable, but not enough to hurt. Then she stands up, and offers a hoof.
“Okay, then. You’re tellin’ th’ truth. But ya’ have t’ find her.”
“I got that. Where would she be?”
“Well, Ah don’ think she’ll go t’ any of th’ others. Ah’ve got a feelin’ she has gone t’ see somepony else... But who?”
“Well, I don’t know. I only just came here a few months ago! I don't know anypony!”
“Would you just shut up! Ah’m tryin’ t’ think.”
“Well, think faster! Where is she?” Applejack looks scared for a moment. Then she looks at you, barely concealed worry on her face.
“Ah-Ah’m sorry Sugarcube... Ah don’t know where she is... Usually Ah can tell... She’s gone.”