Escaping the mob crowd that charged into the theater, Fluttershy and I galloped away to a far away room where we could just relax for a few minutes. We figured the performance would last for a while, but I wanted to go find Flim to finish our conversation from earlier.
"I'll be back, Fluttershy," I said," I just want to go thank Flim and Flam for all the help they did."
"Oh, no problem," Fluttershy muttered back," If you don't mind, I would rather stay here away from all the loud ponies."
"Sure thing, Sugarcube."
My first instinct was to follow the sound of the many ponies that were enjoying themselves. Up ahead, I saw Flam talking to what looked like some business ponies. When I got close enough, Flam noticed me and walked over.
"My dear, Applejack!" Flam said," Why are you still here?"
"Fluttershy and I wanted to rest for awhile before a long train ride back to Ponyville."
"Oh, I see. Where is Fluttershy? I would like to thank her for her magnificent performance today."
"She's back behind one of the curtains over there. Do you know where Flim is? I would like to thank him personally for all the effort you guys did today to help us."
"He's where you and him were hiding while waiting for Fluttershy, me, and Gladmane to appear."
"Okay, thanks!"
I walked towards the curtains where me and Flim had recently been, and I could hear the faint sound of somepony sobbing. As I looked behind the curtain, it was Flim, crying. I cleared my throat to let him know was I there, and he looked back at me with the saddest, green eyes I'd ever seen.
"Oh, Applejack," He began," I'm so sorry for what we did back there. I only wanted to make my brother happy. I didn't even think about the friendship I had made with you. I understand now that I don't want our friendship to disappear. I hope you can forgive me, eventually."
Flim hung his head, still sobbing but silently. I walked over to him and sat down. Looking at him this way just made my heart ache to see how much pain he was in.
"Oh, Sugarcube," I said, as he lifted his head to look at me," I saw how upset you were when you had to add on to your brother's idea. I understand you didn't want to disappoint him and that's fine. You have to know that I forgive you for what you did. I know your heart is in the right place."
I gave Flim a smile, telling him it was okay, and I got a smile back from him.
"Thank you, Applejack. You truly are an amazing friend."
Flim pulled me in for a hug, and it just felt so good to be in his cream colored arms as they embraced me. I leaned back and looked up at him. We were so close to each other, our hooves wrapped around one another. I never felt so safe in all my life. I knew that this was right, and I knew Flim knew it, too. We looked into each others' eyes, knowing just what the other wanted. Finally, we closed the gap between us as we came together for a memorable kiss.
It was a pleasantly, gentle kiss. His soft, warm lips up against mine were amazing. The taste of apple cider filled my mouth as we continued to kiss. We knew that this was how things were meant to be between us. No more competitive competitions or lying to one another. Just embracing each others love. We pulled away, and we both smiled at each other. I nuzzled up against him, and I felt the vibration of his throat as he began to speak.
"You know what else you are, Applejack?" Flim asked.
"What?" I said, looking up into his malevolent, green eyes once again.
"An amazing kisser."
We chuckled quietly as we both fell asleep after a long days work in each others sweet embrace.