Braeburn led Fluttershy out into the orchard to a nice private spot, away from the party. It felt better to be at least close to alone, or at least to Fluttershy. She was accustomed to the company of five specific ponies, usually in unison, but if it was none of them then it was usually just her animals, namely Angel, who kept her company. Braeburn was a pony (a stallion, no less) she'd only met once, and even then they hadn't ever really spoken, and Braeburn apparently didn't even remember that short time, which made her feel more awkward than she did normally in social situations.
For his part, Braeburn was enjoying the silence, though he feared if he didn't say something soon that would be all he'd get out of the butter coated mare beside him. He had acted politely, hadn't he? He hadn't quite noticed how quiet she is normally, so he questioned whether or not he had done something wrong. He decided the best step to take at this point would be to initiate some semblance of chatter from her.
"So how do ya know Applejack?"
"W-when Twilight came to town, I uhm... met her first, th-then I decided to help her find the Elements of Harmony, and y-you know Applejack went, too."
"Oh, Ah see. So whatya do 'round town?"
"Oh, I take care of the little animals around Ponyville."
"That sounds like a mighty fine passtime."
"Thank you."
He began to wonder why in the world she was so gosh darn quiet. She, on the other hand, began to wonder if it would be impolite to ask him to be a little less talkative. It probably would be.
"So..." He started.
"So." She mumbled politely.
"Ah was wonderin' i-" But he was cut off by a sudden yell and crash as a blue blur hit a tree nearby then ricocheted towards them.
Rainbow Dash slammed straight into Braeburn and hit Fluttershy with her leg. They ended up in a heap on the ground tangled in each others manes, tails, and legs.
"Heh, heh...uhh you guys okay?" Rainbow asked as she got up.
"Ah'm fine. How 'bout you Miss Shy?" Braeburn asked while he got up, too.
"I'm okay. Uhm, Rainbow, what were you doing?" She answered, shaking her wings a bit before neatly folding them again.
"Oh, some of the little squirts wanted to see some aerial stunts, so, I obliged." She said waving her hoof offhandedly. Fluttershy nodded once, then turned her attention to her left wing, which she had unfolded and was checking because of an irritating sensation. She shook it once or twice, then folded it back to her side.
Not noticing Fluttesrshy's distress, Braeburn began looking around, "Now where in tarnation is my hat?"
Rainbow began looking around while Fluttershy began examining her wing closely. When she finished examining it she came to the conclusion that she had lost a few feathers in the crash. That explained why her wing stung so much, and she continued thinking nothing of it. After a moment of looking around Rainbow found the hat and brought it back to Braeburn.
As she handed it to him, a yellow feather fell out of the inside of the hat. Braeburn put the hat on and picked up the feather.
"This yurs, Shy?" He asked, holding it up.
"O-oh, yes, I think it is..." She said flapping her wing again.
"Oh, did I do that? I'm so sorry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to her fillyhood friend. She started frantically examining Fluttershy's wing for injuries. "Ohmygosh! I don't think you'll be able to fly with this wing for a week!"
"Uhm, Rainbow? That's the wrong wing." Fluttershy said quietly as she lifted off a few feet to show Rainbow she could still fly.
"Right, I was uh...kidding." She said sheepishly as Fluttershy landed beside her.
Braeburn held up the feather to Fluttershy and asked, "Mind if Ah keep it?"
Her cheeks flared orange as she attempted to answer, but her voice caught.
"Why the hay would you wanna keep it?" Rainbow interjected.
"Well, ya see, Ah've been spendin' lotsa time with the buffaloes and they see feathers as somethin' special. Ya know Miss Strongheart kept one of yer feathers, and Ah just thought since Ah'm only here a few days, it might be nice ta have somethin' ta remember Miss Shy by, that's all." Braeburn explained.
"I think it's creepy." Rainbow retorted.
"I think it's uhm... sweet." Fluttershy mumbled. "You can have it."
" Thank ya kindly."
"...ANDTHENITBLEWUP!!!" Pinkie exclaimed with a flourish.
"That's a mighty fine story, Pinks." Applejack said distractedly. She'd been tending to the needs of her entire family for a half hour and had only been listening to Pinkie on the side. Pinkie, for her part, had been ranting on about something that had to do with a chef's hat, oranges, and some form of sugar alternative...now that she thought about it, Applejack probably would've enjoyed this story.
As it was, however, she was dealing with about fifty mouths to feed and a table set for thirty-five. Darn thing wasn't big enough, so they brought out some more tables and more food. Of course, it didn't help that Pinkie was in attendance and there happened to be an abundance of sugary treats, and, as anypony knows, Pinkie plus sugar does not equal a long lasting meal.
Thanks to this small detail, the whole family was beginning to run out of things to eat
So Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle got to work making more food for the Apple family, carrying out steaming trays of varying pastries, tarts, sweets, pies, and various other apple-based foods. As Applejack was taking out another tray of pies, she spotted Fluttershy and Braeburn returning from the orchard. She couldn't help but glare slightly at the sight of the two walking together like that. It wasn't fair; she'd always wanted to-
"Hey, Applejack! Watcha starin' at?" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced on over to her.
"Nothin'. Ah was just thinkin'." She answered hurriedly.
"OOooOOooh, I see. So watya think is gonna be the next game?" She asked excitedly.
"Ah don' know. Ah guess you can decide." Applejack answered distractedly.
"Okay! HEY EVERYPONY! TIME FOR THE PONY POKEY!!!" She practically sang as she trotted away. At that most of the family gave cheers of varying enthusiasm.
As the game started Applejack trotted off to meet Fluttershy and Braeburn. She practically flinched at the sight of Fluttershy's feather poked into Braeburn's hat. THAT just wasn't fair.