Wise Words of an Apple

by Laichonious the Grey

Bruises

Fluttershy’s Cottage: a refuge and haven for more than the multitude of critters that can be found inside. The mare who lives there has done her best to be a living balm to others, but to whom can she turn when she is in need of comfort?

Ponyville bustled with activity in the balmy spring morning. Ponies ran hither and thither, getting this or that. Winter Wrap Up went like a dream this year, thanks to Twilight. The residents of Ponyville suddenly found all sorts of time at their disposal, and spring cleaning was well underway. Applejack had finished her work on the farm for the morning and decided to make her way to town to see if any of her friends could use a helping hoof. She wandered the bright and colorful roads of Ponyville with no particular destination in mind. Through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, she helped Roseluck with a new flowerbed, Rarity with some dirty rugs, and the Mayor with a dusty closet. Her helpful wanderings brought her to the edge of town and the road to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Fluttershy herself was out on her side yard, cleaning out the chicken coop, when Applejack trotted up the path. “Hey there, Fluttershy! Anythin’ Ah can help yah with?”

“Hello, Applejack,” the yellow pegasus said, poking her head through the opening of the chicken coop. She brushed some straw from her mane. “Um, I guess if you want, there’s some boards on the side of the chicken coop that need to be replaced.”

“Gotcha.” She glanced at the side of the coop and, sure enough, there were a few rotted boards at the bottom. The replacements leaned against the back of the coop along with a bag of nails and a bucket of paint.

Fluttershy wearily swept another pile of straw through the little opening of the coop out onto the yard. Her mane seemed a little disheveled, more than a day of cleaning would account for, and she had bags under her eyes. Applejack thought about a way to find out what troubled the quiet mare as she wedged the back of a hammer between the first rotten board and the frame of the coop.

“Ah imagine you’ve been busy lately,” she said as neutrally as possible.

“Oh, I guess... This year isn’t so bad. Twilight did a great job making sure everything got done on time, the animals have been able to take care of most everything by themselves.”

“Well, that’s good ta hear. Everythin’ fine at the hospital too then?” Fluttershy worked at the pet hospital as a nurse. She had recently opened up her home as an outpatient and long term care location, it meant some late nights with poor animals in pain. That could drain a pony, AJ had firsthoof experience with it herself.

Another pile of straw spilled out of the coop just as Fluttershy crawled out. She shook herself, flapping her wings in order to dislodge the little bits of straw that fell lazily to the ground. “Uh, well it hasn’t been too busy there either... it’s next week I’m not looking forward to.” A light sigh followed her words.

“What’s the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack grunted, giving the hammer a good kick to dislodge the rotten board. The offending lumber yielded with the screech of rusted nails, separating from the frame of the little building.

She glanced over at the pegasus in time to catch a grimace. “There’s a conference for veterinarians in Canterlot...” She fished her broom out from the coop. “They want me to go....”

“Well, that sounds like it’d be all sorts a’ fun. How come yah don’t wanna go?” Applejack glared at the board as she wedged the hammer into the other end.

“I guess. But, they want me to be a keynote speaker at the conference. I don’t know why...” Fluttershy hovered above the ground, sweeping the straw into a larger pile. As she continued her explanation, the sweeping became more forceful and her voice turned into a panicked whisper. “It’s not like I really know anything about anatomy or illnesses. I just make the animals comfortable, it’s the doctors that do all the work.... What if they don’t like what I say? What if I say the wrong things? They’d throw me out! I wouldn’t get to work at the hospital anymore! What would I do after that? It’s going to be a disaster! They’ll take away my license and I won’t even get to take care of woodland creatures.... Princess Celestia would be so disappointed... I-I can’t do it Applejack!”

“Whoa, now. Calm down, sugarcube. What makes you think you can’t do it? Ah happen ta know fer a fact that you know all sorts a things about helpin’ critters.”

Fluttershy shook her head vigorously. “It’s not the same thing, Applejack. They want me to teach them something... I don’t really understand what it is I do, it just happened that day I got my cutie mark. I’ve never been good at anything before, now I have something I love, and-and If I don’t do this right... I-I-I’ll lose it...” She sank to the ground, dropping the broom and covering her face with her hooves.

“Fluttershy, you are a great pony an’ don’t you let me catch yah callin’ yerself otherwise. It don’t matter a mole-hill to a mountain what them other ponies say, Ah believe you’re just the mare fer th’ job. Now, Ah know yer life ain’t been easy, but take it from me, sometahms it’s the bruises that make us better. Listen... it may sound silly ta ask but, have yah ever bit into a bruised apple?”

“Well, yes...”

“What was it like?”

“Um, uh-it wasn’t one of your apples, Applejack...”

AJ waved her hoof, she couldn’t fight the smile creeping onto her face. “It don’t matter if it was one o’mine, just tell me what it tasted like.”

“Uh, it-it didn’t taste very good...” she mumbled into her mane.

“Exactly,” the yellow pegasus jumped at Applejack’s enthusiastic affirmation. The farm filly blushed slightly and moderated her tone. “Exactly, it tasted that way ‘cuz the apple got hit a little too hard. There’s a more complicated reason behind it not tastin’ so great an’ what-all, but that ain’t important. What’s real important is what yah did with it after that first bite. So, what’d yah do with it Fluttershy?”

“I, um, threw it away?”

“Why’d yah do that?”

Fluttershy tried to duck even further into her mane. “I’m sorry, was that the wrong thing to do? I’ll, um, go get another one, if that’s what you want, that is, um-uh--”

Applejack swept the demure pegasus up in a hug. She trembled in her grasp, but for only a moment. “Listen, sugarcube, it ain’t about the apples or the doctors or the bullies or anythin’. Sometahms things just ain’t what we expect ‘em ta be, so we throw ‘em away. There ain’t nopony, nowhere, that would throw you away, Fluttershy. Just because that apple wasn’t that great fer eatin’ like normal, doesn’t make it useless. Apples like those are all Granny uses in her pies. Ah asked her why one day an’ she said, ‘a bruised apple is just an apple that knows a bit more than the others in the barrel. Them apples are the ones who know more about bein’ apples, so they’re better at it.’ You know what it’s like ta be hurt...” Applejack tightened her hug, blinking back a tear. “That’s why yer so good at makin’ others feel better.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” the pegasus whispered.

Applejack held her friend for a few moments longer, then pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “Now, let’s head on over to Twilight’s an’ get that speech all sorted out, hmm?”

“Will you come with me?”

“Ah’m with yah all the way, Fluttershy.”

Comments

[The Libertarian Brony]

Even more beauty than the last chapter
How do you come up with these? All I have to say is well done