All's Fair

by Equestria Buck Yeah

Chapter 10

A spring was in her step that she frankly had never experienced before, and nothing was going to get her down. A bright smile and even brighter eyes led Fluttershy down to her favorite breakfast nook that morning. The familiar waitress that tended to take her order when she stopped by nearly fell over when she asked for the strongest coffee they had, to say nothing of how easily and confidently Fluttershy zeroed in on what she wanted instead of finding any excuse in the book not to select this or that off the menu. A larger than usual tip was another pleasant surprise once the pegasus' meal was done.

The mare had another craving that she needed to satiate since late the night before, one that surfaced after her evening escapades. With a vigorous flap of her wings, Fluttershy took to the sky, heading for the towering crystalline structure at the west end of town. While it wouldn't quite be the same thing as what had gotten her in such a feisty mood, it would make for a decent substitute on the off-days. Now, as long as Twilight actually kept such novels in stock, it wouldn't be a waste of time. However, considering how much she adored books of any kind, it was practically a certainty that she'd be able to find something enticing hidden somewhere in her sea of literature – or at least, know where to get it if need be.

She shivered with glee as she glided to Twilight's home. Which ones would she choose? Perhaps one that could...give her some tips to help please Big Macintosh? Ohhh, the idea was so naughty, so dirty – and yet so enticing! It was amazing how things had turned around for her so much so quickly. She never would have believed she had it in her a month ago, but now it almost felt natural. Best of all, it felt right, it felt good! With any luck, it'd go on forever!

When she finally reached her destination, she touched down as delicately as a feather drifting toward the ground and knocked on the large door. Her young, scaly friend welcomed her. She was too high on life to hear the subtle misery he was still carrying.

"Hey, Fluttershy," the little dragon said. "Come on in. What brings you here?"

"Morning, Spike! So nice to see you!" she squealed, grabbing him a bear hug. "I was hoping to talk to Twilight about getting my hooves on some...particular books I hope she has."

"Oh, yeah, sure. She's in her study doing some reading as usual. Can I get you a drink or something?"

"I'm good, thanks. Very...very good."

He understood what the mare's blush and awkward posturing meant the moment he saw it. Granted, it may have been a few weeks since he last saw a particularly striking unicorn, but he still yearned for her, even with their split just as fresh in his mind as it was the day it happened. Spike's shoulders slumped as he silently led Fluttershy to the Princess.

Despite how jubilant she felt, the pegasus was easily able to recognize the dragon's misery, and it made her hone in her enthusiasm. She'd been there enough times herself. She recalled what Rarity had told her a couple weeks prior about what happened between her and Spike...at least what her side of the story was. Whatever really happened broke two hearts that day, and they were likely still in pieces. As much as she wanted to ask Spike if he was okay, she thought better of it, deciding to clam up and simply follow him to Twilight instead of risking hurting him more. So much for time healing all wounds.

After a brief walk, the two came to the door. Spike held it open for the pegasus like the gentledrake he was. Fluttershy nodded her appreciation and floated in, landing gently beside a very distracted princess. Neither heard their scaly friend leave though Fluttershy happened to notice when she looked back. If only she had the right words for him.

Either way, trying to figure out the least awkward way to ask for the kind of literature she was looking for was going to be a feat unto itself. Hopefully Twilight wouldn't think any different of her.

-----

While the mare had started getting used to Big Macintosh visiting on a near-nightly basis, usually topped off with some carnal pleasures, it was actually a bit refreshing to just sit down on her couch and relax with one of the steamy novels she picked up at Twilight's. She could have done without her friend's little chuckle and sly wink, but Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle a little herself when she borrowed the books. One thing was for sure – expanding her horizons was certainly a lot more fun than she anticipated! Perhaps she could convince Big Mac to try a few things she read about?

The day lazily turned to night with many, many pages being turned as Fluttershy lounged in the living room. Most of her critters were similarly relaxing, some of them napping. A rapping at the door stirred them all from their comfortable states. It was likely the mare's lover, but he wasn't expected that night. Didn't he say he had some plans? Eh, maybe something came up.

She set the book down and cantered to the door. Just as she was expected, Fluttershy opened it to find her favorite stallion smiling at her and invited him in. Almost as if he owned the place, Big Mac sauntered over to the couch – receiving numerous glares from the resident animals – and flopped down onto it, stretching his limbs out as wide as they could. Fluttershy giggled and glided over, softly touching down right beside him and laying her head on his massive chest.

"I wasn't expecting to see you tonight," she cooed.

"Yeah, I changed my mind and decided to come over here instead."

"Won't the ponies you made plans with be upset?"

"Eh, they'll get over it," he replied, wrapping a forelimb around her.

She hummed into his fur. "I was going to make dinner in a little bit, but I could always move it up. Did you want to join me?"

"Eeyup!" he chuckled.

"Great! I'll go start putting something together. Don't go anywhere!" Fluttershy joked as she trotted to the kitchen, giving him one last wink before disappearing from view.

One by one, the tiny animals scattered about sighed and started retreating back to their holes and hiding places. However, their de facto leader stood firm for once, growling at Big Macintosh. The stallion smirked back at him and leaned in nose to nose.

"You can get as mad at me as you want," the Apple whispered, "but at the end of the day, what she's been doing for me is simply delicious – and one way or another, I'm going to get exactly what I want. How do ya like them apples?" Big Mac rolled his eyes and grumbled to himself, "Gods almighty, I can't believe I just said that."

It was all Angel was going to stomach from the chauvinist, sinking his teeth into the stallion's snout, making it even redder. Yelping in pain, Big Macintosh recoiled, hissing through his teeth as he rubbed a hoof on the wound. He didn't notice any blood. That didn't stop him from baring his own teeth at the tiny terror. Angel's defiant look melted away when his victim turned his angry frown upside down and laughed to himself.

"You've got some balls on you, you long-earred rat." Quicker than the rabbit could react, a pair of strong red hooves snatched him up, causing the rodent to shriek and plead for help. Mice and squirrels and other allies peeked out from their nests, screaming as the situation unfolded in front of them. No matter how much Angel struggled, he couldn't squeeze loose from the death grip that brought him back to eye level with his grinning captor. "Just to be fair, I'm going to have to bite you back."

Just as his fuzzy, white skull was about to be shoved into the toothy cave that was Big Mac's mouth, a plate crashed onto the floor.

"What are you doing?!" Fluttershy hollered.

With the stallion frozen up, the rabbit slinked out from his hooves and raced over to his adopted mother. She caught him mid-leap and clutched him reassuringly, though it did nothing to stop his shaking.

"I was trying to play with him! You know how–"

"Play with him?! You looked like you were about to...about to..." Angel squeaked pathetically into her chest, holding onto her fur for dear life. She softly caressed down his back. "Shhh, it's okay, sweetie. I'm here." Fluttershy turned and fired the harshest Stare she had ever given anypony.

"Look, hon–"

"Don't call me that!"

Big Mac groaned, "Look, your animals always have this look in their eyes. They hate me for whatever reason! I just figured if maybe I made nice with Angel there, they'd eventually warm up too. But as I'm trying to play with him, he just goes and bites me for no reason!"

"Did you stop to think that maybe you were getting too rough with him or something? He's so tiny compared to you!" The bunny stuttered as he shared his side of things, barely audible even to Fluttershy. Her eyes went wide. "He what?" Angel continued, his owner's brow clenching as he spoke. "You're going to get exactly what you want, huh?"

"I never said anything like that!" Big Mac insisted.

Fluttershy looked around the room to see numerous little heads nodding in fear. A few voiced the same concerns Angel had, further refuting the stallion. A small group of birds reiterated their initial misgivings about the large country pony from the start.

"Funny, they say they heard you say that too. What, do you see me as...as nothing more than a piece of meat or something?! Was that what this was all about the entire time?! I thought we had something special!" Tears started to form in her aquamarine eyes.

"Oh, come on, I'm telling the truth! You know us Apples are honest folk! You're going to believe them over me? Why would I say something like what they're accusing me of saying?"

"Applejack embodies honesty. And I'm going to believe my fuzzy friends because I've known them longer and I know them well." Her lips – and the rest of her – started to quiver. It was her first attempt at a serious relationship all over again. "I...I-I thought I knew you well too, but...I guess I was wrong."

"Fluttershy–"

"Go away. G-get out of my house," she whimpered.

"But–"

"Go away!"

The two dueled in a contest of silence. Eventually, Big Mac shrugged and stomped his way out, forcing several animals to duck and dodge from his tree-trunk legs. Once he was gone, Fluttershy floated to the couch, bunny still in hoof, and sank into the seat. The first tear fell from her eyes. Through her blurring vision, she noticed the book she was reading sitting on the coffee table and angrily flung it across the room. A small army of small companions gathered around her, trying their best to make her feel better. Her sobs only got louder as the night went on.

Meanwhile, Big Macintosh crossed the short bridge in front of her cottage, smirking to himself. "All too easy. Just one more thing to do."

-----

The following day was about as uneventful for Fluttershy as it could possibly be. Her novel still remained in a heap in the corner. Her animals kept her company whenever they could, not knowing exactly what to say to her. Any attempt at conversation they made received little to no response. The only things the mare seemed to move for involved food for either them or herself.

Her eyes were bloodshot and tired. She had barely slept the previous night, her mind replaying all the good times she and Big Macintosh had over the weeks. From time to time, memories of Fluttershy's first crush had popped into her head. What he had said, what they had done...they didn't help any. All they did was compound the issue. Fate apparently had decided love was nothing more than a cruel joke for her a long time ago.

Fluttershy's misery would take a back seat to a sudden jolt of surprise at the sound of a piece of glass being broken upstairs. It almost sounded like it was coming from her room. Curious, the mare hopped off her couch and carefully crept up the stairs, leaving her furry companions to ponder what was up on their own.

Once she reached the top, she paused and shifted her eyes about, worried that something was about to jump out and attack her. While she didn't live in Ponyville proper, the Everfree Forest was just a few paces away. Could something terrifying have leapt into her home? Was it nothing more than a bird who didn't see the window? Did a strong gust of wind throw something at just the wrong place? A million questions flew through her head as she took her first steps forward.

Eventually, shaking, she reached her bedroom and peered inside, mostly hidden around the corner. "He-hello? Is anypony there?" she asked. She received no reply.

Braving the unknown, she tiptoed in and found a small rock laying in the middle of the floor by her bed, surrounded by shards of glass; most of the window was gone. She picked up the stone and examined it. It was just slightly bigger than her hoof and weighed what she expected. There was no way in the world any breeze could have lifted it up and hurled it at her house. Perhaps if it was one of the Rainbow Dash's tornadoes, maybe. Did that mean somepony threw it? Who would? Why?

Her answer came in the form of violent noises and her animals shrieking from downstairs.

Dropping the rock, she sped out the room and down the stairs, coming to a stop a few steps from the ground floor. A gasp flew from her lungs. It was the only thing that stopped Big Macintosh from stomping one of her petrified critters into a puddle. He had only broken in a few seconds ago and had managed to splinter her coffee table into pieces. She could see a few small craters in her floor, no doubt from his attempts to flatten one of her friends.

He turned and smirked in her direction. With a mock salute, he sprinted out the door, leaving Fluttershy to tend to the frightened beasts. A quick scan of the group that didn't run out during his rampage didn't reveal any wounds aside from emotional ones. As she looked into their eyes, little by little, her dangerous temper because to climb to the surface until, finally, it burst at the seams.

Gritting her teeth hard enough to break them, she flew outside and took the sky, ready to destroy her target. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she circled her house, even going so far as to descend close to the evil forest nearby to challenge the darkness it held, she couldn't spot the giant stallion. Big Macintosh was probably fast thanks to having such powerful legs, but how could he have just vanished? The idea that he got away only fueled Fluttershy's rage further.

She narrowed her eyes and headed back to her doorway. Angel and his kin gathered in close, their gazes asking if she managed to find their attacker. Her face softened for a moment. The mare was relieved everyone was alright, but it wasn't long before her anger flared up again. While she may have lost track of him, there was only one place she could think of to get some answers – and hopefully some justice.

"I'll be back," Fluttershy grunted as she gently closed the door behind her. She spread her wings and, with a single hard flap, raced off to Sweet Apple Acres.

-----

Why did Applejack's farm have to be so enormous? Even being a few hundred feet overhead, it was more than an arduous task finding the cowgirl. With the endless amount of trees, she could have been working from underneath any one of them and Fluttershy would never have spotted her. She had searched for more than an hour when her mission came to a partial conclusion. Only by dumb luck did the pegasus find the farmer gathering some baskets up by the barn. Figures she was in the easiest place to find her.

Fluttershy knew she could have just waited until that night to confront Big Macintosh when he'd inevitably be at home with his family, but her fury wasn't about to be contained by such things like rational thought. However, Applejack was a decent and logical place to start. She needed to know what her big brother had been up to. She had animals of her own on the farm. Fluttershy would have thought he'd be more sympathetic to her tiny friends just for that reason, but Celestia help him if he's treated theirs the same way he treated hers.

Never mind that while the animals are certainly important to Fluttershy, nothing compares what Big Mac did to her personally. Even if something else had eventually occurred that led to her throwing him out on his rump, there was no reason for him to be so disrespectful to her let alone to be doing what he claimed was 'playing' with Angel in the first place.

Her yellow hooves touched down hard on the dirt, getting Applejack's attention. "Howdy, Fluttershy! What brings ya 'round these parts?" The pegasus took a deep breath, trying desperately to stay as calm and rational as possible to her friend. AJ wasn't responsible for anything, after all. However, the livid mare did a bad job of masking her emotions. "Uhhh, you okay, sugarcube? Ya look like you're about ready to explode or something."

"We need to talk about your brother," Fluttershy replied with a stone cold voice.

The orange mare blinked at her tone. "Oh, err...alright. What'd you want to know?"

"Where is he?"

"He's in the barn putting a few things away." Applejack turned to the structure's open door. "Hey, Big Mac? Fluttershy's here to see you."

The moment the stallion came into view, before he could even say hello, the angry flier was in his face. "Just what in the world is the matter with you?! Were you trying to finish the job from yesterday and flatten some of my friends, you sick monster?! And don't you dare try and–"

"Whoa, whoa, Fluttershy!" Applejack intervened, pulling her to the ground. "What in Celestia's name are you goin' on about? He tried to what yesterday?"

"I caught him trying to...to...b-bite Angel's head off! And earlier today, he came back to my house and tried to stomp my critters to death! I saw it with my own eyes!"

The farms jaws fell open, and they looked at each other as bewildered as could be. Big Macintosh couldn't even begin to process a coherent enough sentence to defend himself from such an absurd and nonsensical accusation, choosing to simply shrug at his sister.

"Fluttershy...hon...Big Mac hasn't left the farm in nearly four days. He's been here the whole time working his butt off! I'm sorry about whatever it is you're sayin' happened to your animals, but whoever it was, it certainly wasn't Big Mac! Why would he do such a thing? You know how harmless he is!"

"It was him! Are you calling me a liar?!" Fluttershy fumed.

Applejack glared at her friend, getting nose to nose with her. She wasn't about to take such allegations lying down. "You callin' me one?"

The pegasus folded her forelegs in front of her chest. "Maybe! Were you with him the whole time those last four days? Hm?"

"Yes! Well...I mean, not every single minute, but yeah, I knew where he was the whole time!"

"That's not even possible for you to know where he is if you're not standing next to him all day long! You want to know where he was a little over an hour ago? My house – terrorizing my animals!" Fluttershy spat.

"What are you talking about? I was here!"

"Shut up!" the furious mare screamed, quickly silencing the stallion's argument. "Just...sh-shut up!"

"Hey! Don't you yell at my brother like that!" Applejack shot back.

"He's a big boy, A.J.! He can handle himself! Believe me, he can handle himself! You want to know what else he's been doing when you weren't looking?"

"Oh, this oughta be fun."

"Me – on and off almost every day for a few weeks! We'd go out, have a good time, maybe spend some time alone in a quiet place and...well, you can figure the rest out!" the pegasus explained, a pair of green eyes rolling at the notion.

"The heck's the matter with you? You want to go ask Granny Smith and Apple Bloom where Big Mac has been day in and day out? I already told you he's been workin' the farm like he always does!"

"No wonder he wanted to keep the whole thing a secret! You probably would have told him, 'Oh, Big Mac, we can't have you leaving and having a life for yourself. You have to stay on the farm and work like a slave all day!'" Fluttershy droned, mocking the farmers with a nasty tone.

"Why would I care if he wanted to date you? I mean, he'd be crazy to now, but–"

"He'd be stupid to ask again!"

"Hey!" Big Mac snapped.

The incensed mare zipped to the big red stallion, meeting him snout to snout and shocking him into submission. "I told you not to speak! You don't get to – not after how you treated me!"

After so much raving and ranting, Fluttershy's temper finally got the better of her. She began pummeling Big Macintosh, aiming first for his square jaw. He barely had a chance to throw his forelimbs up to protect himself from the sudden, surprisingly painful onslaught. Applejack's mouth fell open at the sight of arguably the most delicate and graceful of the group striking her brother with enough force to make him yelp and call out for help.

A brief moment later, a lasso tightened around the yellow mare's waist, knocking the wind out of her as she was tossed off her victim and onto the ground. Fluttershy sprang right back up and tried to go back in for more but couldn't get very far with Applejack holding the rope to the soil. Even though she knew her brother would never hit a mare, that didn't mean she was going to let him get beaten on endlessly.

"Criminy, girl! What in tarnation's gotten into you?!"

"Let me go!"

"The only goin' I want you to do is off of my farm!"

That wasn't good enough for Fluttershy. Somepony had to pay!

Narrowing her eyes, instead of continuing her charge, she spun around and let the rope take her, tackling a surprised Applejack hard into the dirt before taking back to the air, slipping out of the lasso. She snorted when the two made eye contact.

"You don't want to do this," Applejack warned.

"Sure I do."

With the flier dive-bombing her, A.J. twirled and kicked up a patch of dirt into the air, blinding Fluttershy enough to send her careening to the ground. The cowgirl was on her opponent's back in a flash, her hooves locking together around the yellow mare's chest.

"Will you stop it?! What are you tryin' to prove?!"

Shaking off the cobwebs, the once-gentle pony managed to stand and wriggled out of the deathgrip, using her wings and a few inches of air to spin loose and flop Applejack onto the ground. The pegasus fell face to face on top of the farmer, the two struggling for control as they rolled and rolled, swinging and battering at each other wherever they could. Most of the hits that landed didn't hurt too badly, but the scrapes and cuts started to add up on both ends quickly enough.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Big Mac hollered to no avail.

The two eventually split and stood up on shaky hooves, winded, sweaty with fur tattered. Applejack stood only a few steps from the wall of the barn and the still-angry Fluttershy noticed. With speed rarely seen from the timid mare, she launched herself shoulder first into her unsuspecting enemy, sending the earth pony flying into the beams of wood and crashing limply to the turf.

"Agh!"

Unfortunately, as Applejack tried to stand, she lost her footing, having landed awkwardly on one of her forehooves. She winced as she tried and failed to stand again. Upon flexing it, it didn't feel broken, but she wasn't about to try and put any weight onto it. Probably just a bad sprain. The pain was still enough to prevent her from glaring at her attacker and instead cradle her injury in her good hoof.

It didn't stop Fluttershy from snarling at her downed foe. Mercifully, somepony else managed to.

"Enough!" Her aquamarine eyes shifted over to a horrified, disappointed set of large green ones on the verge of tears. Seeing Big Mac's fear and concern for both of them snapped her somewhat back to reality. "Why are you doing this?"

As her pulse gradually returned to a more normal pace, she looked back at the wounded warrior and was met with a cold stare. Did...she really do that? The last couple minutes were a bit of a blur. She knew she was rather angry at the Apples – mostly at Big Macintosh – but she never meant to hurt anypony. Give them a piece of her mind, sure...not injure them. So why was she shaking?

She took a step toward Applejack to check on her but was immediately stopped by a soft voice. "You should leave, Fluttershy," Big Mac calmly spoke. "Now...please."

The pegasus looked back and forth between the siblings. Gritting her teeth behind her lips, she gently took off and drifted away, irritated with herself now just as much as the Apple family and left with questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answers to. As Fluttershy departed, Big Macintosh helped his sister to her hooves and into the house where he could look her over.

-----

Fluttershy lightly closed the door to her cottage once she arrived, having left it wide open when she barreled out of it earlier. Most of the critters had waited for her, eager to find out how things went down. Angel was the first to ask. The way she flopped onto the couch told them a lot.

She leaned onto a hoof and rubbed it into her forehead. Her eyes sagged open, screaming with exhaustion. The hoofprints smashed into the floor were a wonderful reminder of why she was so upset with Big Mac. Still, not remembering much of what happened after getting snippy with Applejack was just as depressing, forcing a groan.

The hurtful words he said kept beating against the inside of her skull. Angry tears returned to run down her cheeks...tears that maybe she should have shed while at the farm. The sadness she felt as well the resentment and bitterness clashed in a seemingly endless battle in her heart with no clear winner in sight. She shook her head and huffed in disgust. Was it any wonder she was so hesitant to give romantic relationships another try?

Comments

[Hillbe]

ouch

orig06.deviantart.net/b986/f/2015/343/b/3/raritys_wet_willy_2_by_hillbe-d9jl56m.jpg

[SFaccountant]

Oh, the tragedy! The pain! The drama!
Heh. This is fun.

Seriously, though, I'm pretty sure SOMEPONY has to figure that something sketchy is going on, here. Between Fluttershy having a relationship and confrontation that he doesn't remember - and an alibi which can be confirmed by his family - and Rarity's stringing Spike along while she wasn't even in town, I feel like we should have a Rarity/Apple alliance getting to the bottom of this.