//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Appleshy // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// Courage. Bravery. Fearlessness. All words that meant the same thing; a singular quality that Fluttershy wished she possessed. All things considered, Fluttershy was quite happy with who she was, but she would often sit around and wish that she was as brave as her friends. It wasn't fun being picked on occasionally by the others for her quiet, nervous nature. She knew her friends didn't mean any harm by it, but it was something that still bothered her once in a while. She didn't like feeling as if she were a hindrance to her friends, like she did back when they had gone to deal with the dragon who was snoring smoke all over Ponyville. Sure, things turned out well in the end, and her friends held no grudge, but regardless, she wanted so badly to have courage. Fluttershy had been thinking all of this through while idly flying down the path to Ponyville. She soon realized that she had been lost in thought for longer than she had planned, because she had certainly passed Ponyville. She looked down and noticed, much to her chagrin, the very last thing that could possibly have broken her out of her current mindset. The sight of Sweet Apple Acres below her sent her into a strange mix of joy and stress. She tried to look away, but she could not help but scour the fields until she caught sight of exactly the pony she simultaneously did and did not want to see. As Applejack bucked and loosened a handful of apples from their perch, Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat. Applejack embodied the very personality traits that she so wanted to inherit. Applejack was always brave in every situation. She never held the group back by being scared of anything. She was always there to help her friends whenever they needed her. Fluttershy specifically remembered Applejack's efforts to help her back when she was too scared to go with the rest of the group to talk to the dragon. Applejack was so wonderful that day, going out of her way to bring Fluttershy up that mountain...it was that moment that Fluttershy would often play over and over again in her head. Throughout the entire trip, she had wanted to express her thanks to Applejack, but her fear wouldn't allow her to even move a muscle, let alone let out a word of gratitude. Ever since that day, her shyness would increase tenfold whenever she was around Applejack. At first, she attributed it to the fact that she felt bad about not thanking her. Then she put the blame on the fact that she was intimidated by how courageous Applejack was, and her admiration for that trait was a bit overwhelming. She soon realized that she spent most of her time at home thinking about Applejack, and although she wasn't quite ready to admit it to herself at first, she eventually came to terms with the fact that her feelings for Applejack had grown more than a bit past the point of friendship. This did nothing at all to decrease her shyness towards Applejack, of course. Instead of just worrying about not being as brave as Applejack, she now had to worry about getting the drive to tell her how she felt, and how Applejack would respond when and if she finally did. "Hey there, Fluttershy!" Fluttershy's wings nearly seized up as she heard Applejack call her name. She hadn't realized that she was still in plain sight, thinking in her nervous state that her altitude would somehow mask her from the eyes of the pony she'd spent so much time pining over. She caught herself and regained control of her wings just before she would have started to drop. "Oh...did I distract you from your work?" Fluttershy said quietly. "I'm sorry..." She sighed silently to herself after this. She'd done it again. She didn't mean to apologize so often, but always found herself doing just that. She had to be more assertive and less passive if she was ever going to let Applejack know how she felt. "Not at all!" Applejack responded, smiling in her direction. "I'm always happy to see a friend! Although I am plum surprised to see you over here. T'ain't often you fly down by these here parts. What brings y'all here?" "I..." Fluttershy said, then quickly caught herself before another sorry escaped her lips. "...I finished up some work at my cottage, and figured I'd come out and say hello." She managed a small smile. "...If that's OK, I mean..." "Why, of course it's OK!" Applejack responded cheerfully. "Why don't you come down here and rest your wings a spell?" Fluttershy squeaked to herself, quietly enough that she hoped Applejack didn't hear her. After taking a quick breath, she allowed herself to drift down to the ground, landing gently in front of Applejack. "You look like you've been awfully busy today," Fluttershy said, looking at the baskets of apples scattered around the area. She instantly regretted saying it. She started to worry that it sounded more like she was telling Applejack that she physically looked like she'd been working hard, and that wasn't what she meant at all. Applejack looked absolutely perfect, just like always. Even though she was always working hard, she always managed to keep her mane and tail nice and neat. Fluttershy loved how she kept them tied back; it always looked so adorable to her. And that hat...she wasn't normally a fan of hats, but Applejack wore hers so well... "...so can you help me out?" Applejack finished. Fluttershy blinked, realizing that she had been lost in thought and that Applejack had been talking to her the whole time. What did she need help with? Fluttershy had no clue, but looking into those big green eyes... "...Of course!" Fluttershy said quickly, not even knowing what she had agreed to. "Great!" Applejack exclaimed, smiling widely. "Now you go take care of those trees over yonder, and I'll get these over here!" Fluttershy looked over where Applejack had pointed, and, seeing a row of trees with apples still on them, realized that she must have agreed to help get the apples down. Fluttershy squeaked a bit, not sure of her ability to shake them down. Applejack was much stronger than she was, and could get apples down with one swift kick. Fluttershy nervously approached the first tree. She stared at it, intimidated by its height and sturdiness. Closing her eyes tight, she turned around and gave the bark a weak kick. Opening her eyes, she saw that not a single apple had been shaken from its perch. "You gotta kick a little harder than that, sugarcube!" Applejack called over, as she brought a number of apples down with a strong kick to her tree. Fluttershy felt her heart melt a little bit. She loved when Applejack would call her sugarcube. She knew that Applejack called everyone sugarcube, but it still warmed her heart to hear it in reference to herself. Regaining her composure, Fluttershy closed her eyes again. Applejack depended on her to get those apples down. She had to do it for Applejack. Fluttershy reared back, then kicked with a level of might that she didn't even know she was capable of. It hurt a little bit, but she quickly forgot the tiny bit of pain when she heard the sound of apples hitting the dirt. "Atta girl, Fluttershy!" Applejack said proudly. Fluttershy smiled larger than she ever had in her life. Hearing Applejack's praise sent shivers of joy down her spine. She headed to another tree and, thinking about how happy Applejack was with her previous kick, gave it a kick of equal power, once again setting in motion a cascade of apples. Fluttershy squealed with delight. Not only was this earning her praise from Applejack, but it was fun too! Feeling as courageous as she'd always hoped to be, she continued to kick trees, paying no attention to the fact that her kicks were getting harder and harder. All that mattered to her was that she was helping Applejack. Suddenly, Fluttershy felt a surge of sharp pain down her right hind leg. The pain shocked her mostly out of her haze, and she knew that she must have kicked too hard. As she tried to step down, her leg buckled under her, and she stumbled backwards. She felt her right wing slam hard into the tree, and before she knew it she was on the ground. She barely knew what had just happened, but she knew that she was hurt. "Fluttershy!" she heard Applejack's voice ring out as the clop-clop of hooves got closer. "Are you OK, sugarcube?" In an instant, Applejack was at Fluttershy's side, looking down at her. Fluttershy tried to move her right wing, but found that she couldn't; the pain was too much to bear. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and tried to hide her face with her hooves. "You poor darlin'...and all cause you were trying to help me!" Applejack said, bringing a hoof around her back, being careful not to press on the injured wing or jostle the hurt leg. "I feel downright terrible...I'll get you to my home and we'll get you all patched up...poor darlin'..." As Applejack dragged her as gently as possible towards her place, Fluttershy couldn't help but think back to the day that she had replayed so many times in her mind. In between the little jolts of pain that were inevitable from being dragged across the ground (not that she wasn't grateful; it was the best Applejack could do), she found her mind straying, and her affection and gratitude towards Applejack growing more and more. Eventually, she forgot about the pain altogether, lost in happy thoughts towards the apple-loving pony who was trying her hardest to bring her to safety. She soon found herself drifting into a deep sleep, feeling safe and comfortable in Applejack's care. "You awake, sugarcube?" Applejack's voice broke Fluttershy out of her slumber. She found herself lying down in Applejack's bed. She gave Applejack a small nod, then tried to move her leg and wing, but found them both bandaged up. "Don't you try to move, darlin'," Applejack said. "It's just a couple of little sprains, nothin' major, but it's best to be careful anyways." Applejack looked down at her and smiled, even though her eyes showed the regret she had for putting her dear friend in a position to hurt herself. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you," Fluttershy said softly, feeling her eyes begin to water again. "No, no," Applejack answered. "It's me who should be sorry. I'm awful sorry you got hurt on my watch, when you were tryin' to help me with a job I shoulda finished already. I feel like a downright foal." Fluttershy thought she was seeing things as Applejack's eyes began to water a bit. She had never seen Applejack this close to tears. "It's OK, I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard," Fluttershy responded. "Thank you for taking care of me." Mustering up every single bit of courage that she previously never thought she had, she leaned up and nuzzled Applejack's cheek. Shocked at this minor overcoming of her apprehension, Fluttershy rested her head back on Applejack's pillow. She was worried that her action might have been unwelcome, but that worry disappeared when Applejack returned the gesture. "Anything for you, sugarcube," Applejack said. For a moment, Fluttershy thought she saw a glimmer of something in Applejack's eye, a glint of something that reciprocated the feelings Fluttershy had towards her. She wasn't sure of it, but she could always hope. "I'm gonna get back to work now that I know you're alright," Applejack said, smiling. "You ain't gonna be able to walk or fly until at least tomorrow, so you go ahead and rest, and when I finish up, we'll have ourselves a good ol' unplanned slumber party." "That sounds wonderful," Fluttershy said, hoping that Applejack didn't notice her face turning as red as the apples they'd been harvesting.