//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: A Red and Yellow Affair // by Horsegirl123 //------------------------------// Perspective: Big Macintosh Big Macintosh took the harness of the plow in his teeth and unlatched it. He was near the barn, having started bucking in the far west corner of the Apple Fields. At about halfway, he'd attached the plow to himself and readied the corn field for its seeds that were soon to come the following morning. He was impressed with himself with the amount of work he'd accomplished in the ten hours. The sun was still at a decent height in the sky, especially for six o'clock. The longer the days, the more work. Big Mac sighed and headed for the barn to peacefully reside in his room before dinner. His ears perked up at the sound of something that was unfamiliar. He stepped back in his path, and turned to see what the commotion was. "Oh, Dahlia. Please stop. Come back." Really, it wasn't a commotion at all, because the pony saying this didn't raise her voice in the slightest, but the tone hinted that she was nervous and scared. Coming up the hill the Apple family's barn rested on, a brown llama with a rope hanging from its neck galloped towards Mac. About twenty lengths behind, a yellow pegasus cantered behind. Her light pink hair covered her face as the wind blew against her favor. The llama ran wildly, but the mare didn't seem able to muster out a sentence higher than a whisper to attempt to stop the animal. The llama was coming right towards him. He'd handled this many a time before with stampedes. He stepped aside as the llama got closer, opened his mouth, and caught the rope in his mouth. His strong jaw locked, and the llama, surprised by the sudden pressure on its neck, halted. The yellow pegasus trotted up to Big Mac, and looked at the ground. Her blushing pink mane fell over part of one eye and the right side of her face. She looked up from the ground, her sapphire blue eye making contact with Big Mac's unimpressive moss like eyes. "Thank you so much Big Macintosh. I don't know where she would've gone if you didn't catch her. It wasn't too much trouble, was it?" The pegasus looked up with guilty eyes. They swelled up with anticipation of an answer. They were beautiful. Big Mac shook his head; implying the answer 'no' and trying to shake the thought of the pony's eyes out of his head. He couldn't develop feelings for her, he knew she was one of his oldest little sister's best friends. But, he'd never been alone with her. "You, ah, need any help bringin' home yur pet, there?" He was being polite, right? No, his mind hadn't made up an excuse to be with her longer, had it? "I wouldn't want to impose" whispered the filly. Her cheeks turned a subtle shade of red. "Nah, let me assist you mam." He tied the llama's rope around his neck, and walked at a slow, steady pace as to not leave the shy filly behind. She walked a few paces behind for half the trip. Before they started off, she informed him of the location of her home, which sadly resided on the other side of Ponyville. If Big Mac had thought he was going to relax this evening, he was wrong. "Have I seen you before?" Big Mac suddenly spoke up. He stopped in his tracks to allow the yellow pegasus to reach his side, and continued walking when she did. Her pink rose hair slightly dragged on the ground, and he wondered why she didn't fly everywhere like most pegasi. "Oh, um, yes. I'm friends with Applejack. I've helped her with Winona a few times." In a barely audible tone she added, "I'm Fluttershy." She looked toward the dirt road, as he so often did. She was obviously shy, and seemingly embarrassed to speak up. Big Macintosh smiled a friendly, reassuring smile at the beautiful mare. Beautiful? Where did that come from? Although he wanted to fight it, he gave in to himself, and allowed him to admire her grace and beauty for a split second, before looking straight ahead again. Yes, he had seen her before. With Twilight, his sister, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. He knew of Pinkie from her multiple party invites, and Rarity, Twilight and Applejack had a weekly get together. And who hadn't heard of Rainbow Dash? But Fluttershy never came up. Big Mac thought over the mare as they walked in silence, neither of them big on words. She was silent, not brash and cocky like Rainbow, and not loud and annoying like the pink one. Of course he would never say anything rude out loud; he knew how to hold his tongue. Becoming so lost in his analysis of the pony, he almost didn't realize her stop in her tracks. For the first time he saw, she used her wings to flutter over to a hill that looked out towards Canterlot. She delicately sat, breathed in, and watched the sky. The sun bathed her shoulders has she tucked her wings in. Her hair spilled over her face, and she quietly huffed it away. Big Macintosh let the llama graze as he dropped the rope from his mouth, and went over to join the pegasus mare. "Uh, Fluttershy? Evreythin' all right?" "Oh, um, yes. Thank you. I just love this spot. Watching Celestia pull down the sun brings beautiful colors, and well, it's a nice break from the animals." The two sat in silence as Fluttershy's eyes remained fixed on the sky. The sun crept further below the horizon, and the lower it sank, the lower Fluttershy's eyelids fell. But Big Mac was so gripped by the beauty of this sunset, and preoccupied with his thoughts of Fluttershy, that he didn't notice. When the last bit of light left Equestria , Mac lifted himself up off the ground and went to retrieve the grazing llama. He started walking a few steps, turned, and saw Fluttershy not following. "Mam? You coming?" He asked as to not offend her. It would break his heart to have such a sweet mare mad at him. His eyes widened a little, and a gentle smile crossed his lips. She had fallen asleep. She looked incredibly peaceful, silent, and her breath was calm and slow. She was a beautiful sleeper, unlike AJ who tossed and turned and occasionally murmured "apples" in a dream. He put his nose to her stomach, then under, and hoisted her over his neck onto his back as gently as ponily possible. Her stomach barely touched the fur on his back as she breathed daintily in pleasant slumber.