//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: A Red and Yellow Affair // by Horsegirl123 //------------------------------// Perspective: Fluttershy "I don't know, Pinkie…" whispered Fluttershy a little under her breath. She didn't want to hurt the party pony's feelings. "And pin the tail on the pony will be on this wall," exclaimed Pinkie, making a box with her hooves to plan where the game would go. Pinkie obviously hadn't heard what Fluttershy had said, because 'pin the tail on the pony' was exactly what Fluttershy was referring to. The pink earth pony and the yellow Pegasus stood inside the main entrance to Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville's prime "hang-out" and party spot. Pinkie Pie was showing Fluttershy all the plans she had for Big Macintosh and Fluttershy's wedding reception. However, the decorations were secretly not pleasing Fluttershy very much. Hot pink balloons that had no inscriptions were pinned to the wall, and a record player was blasting a polka song that hurt Fluttershy's ears. Streamers and pieces of candy littered the floor and were glued to the ceiling. A large punch bowl sat on a green table clothed fold out table, containing a purple liquid that made the shy buttercream coated pony suck her face up from the tangy taste. The party was obviously decorated by Pinkie's party cannon, but it still looked like the gala dress Rarity had made for the party mare had just exploded all over the room. As a pony a full month older than Pinkie, Fluttershy wanted a mature reception. Fluttershy had hoped that Pinkie would give up her "fun-time" parties for this occasion and be a little more… professional. Fluttershy wanted no balloons, a large stacked white wedding cake with her and her groom's names inscribed on it, and embroidered table cloths. She wanted it to be subtle yet "nice." But what Pinkie was planning, was ridiculous. She couldn't, however, bring herself to hurt the hyper-active pony's feelings by saying that games and polka dancing were a bit immature for a grown mare's wedding reception. "Pinkie, I don't want…" said Fluttershy in an even more hushed tone. "OOO! You have to try the cupcakes! They're my own special recipe. The secret is a pinch of cinnamon in the frosting!" Pinkie Pie started to push Fluttershy towards the treats, but judging by the grunts coming from Pinkie, Fluttershy knew she was having trouble pushing her. Pinkie was used to pushing pre-pregnant Fluttershy around, but was unaccustomed to the slightly heavier Pegasus. It wasn't her fault though; Fluttershy hadn't dared tell any pony else about her pregnancy. Applejack didn't even know. "Woo," said Pinkie as they reached the table, "Maybe you don't need cupcakes after all!" Fluttershy didn't appreciate the weight joke, but decided that Pinkie probably didn't even understand what she was saying herself, so she disregarded it. Fluttershy had felt sick looking at the cupcakes when Pinkie Pie had first pointed them out, but now she had an outright craving for them. 'Maybe they'd taste better… with hotsauce!' thought Fluttershy. As Fluttershy continued pondering what strange toppings would increase the flavor of the desserts, the chimes above the front entrance rang rapidly. Heavy snorting could be heard behind the two ponies planning the wedding reception. Fluttershy looked behind her as the angry snorting continued, and she was met with a pair of furious green eyes. "Big Macintosh… what, what are you doing here?" stammered Fluttershy. Her fiancé had a crazed, wild look in his eye, unlike any other she'd ever seen before. He looked insane and furious. Big Macintosh stomped over to Fluttershy, his eyes staring into her soul. He looked briefly at her slightly inflated stomach, and grimaced. "Macccc- intosh?" quivered Fluttershy as she shrank into a small ball. "Do ya'll have anythin' to say to yourself?" gruffed Big Macintosh. "W-what?" questioned Fluttershy uncertainly, not understanding what he meant. Big Macintosh kept staring at the frightened mare, expecting her to understand exactly what he was hinting at through his gaze. "Oh, I don't know!" he said sarcastically. "Maybe that yur carrin' a bastard child?" A few tears came into Fluttershy's eye as she started inching towards the door to evade Macintosh and the guilt. "Who told you?" she almost cried. 'I knew he would be mad at me!' she thought. 'Its all my fault!' "No matter who told me. The only thing Ah care about is that you didn't tell me!" Mac practically screamed the last sentence, but looked as if he was going to cry when he said the next sentence. "I thought you loved me." He hung his head low as his sandy mane swept over his eyes. He stomped out of Sugar Cube Corner and out to the street, where Fluttershy followed him. She was utterly a wreck. Pinkie, however, still stood behind the cupcake counter, dumbfounded. Fluttershy tugged slightly on his short blonde tail, causing him to whip around and stare her down again. His eyes were welling up. "Big Macintosh, I'm so sorry." She quietly said. "Oh, you're sorry. That makes everything better, doesn't it?" said Mac. He was acting so odd, out of character almost. He sounded drunk. But he was drunk on rage. "Right before our wedding, too. You cheat on me, and ruin my life! I've already spent all the money I saved on this here weddin', and you decide you wanna betray me and sleep around, dontcha?" A crowd of ponies started to come over, hearing the fight between the usually most silent ponies in Ponyville. Fluttershy became really confused. He thought she cheated on him? How did he get that idea? She would never. "I didn't-" "You didn't what? Sleep with another stallion? Didn't completely and utterly betray and destroy me. I thought you were nice, my special somepony. You were my one, Fluttershy. But apparently you didn't think the same way of me." His gruff voice was like sandpaper on her ears. It was usually sweet and calming, but now it was raspy and sharp. Fluttershy could hear whispers from the crowd. Her eyes darted from pony to pony, seeing who had heard the conversation. It looked like they had circled around the fighting couple. And she could feel all eyes on her stomach which felt like it was inflating with every gaze. She saw Berry Punch and Bon Bon, and heard Berry let slip a not so quiet "whore", as Bon Bon giggled maniacally. Her heart broke more when she saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash staring at her with dropped jaws. Rarity shifted uncomfortably, knowing that she possibly contributed to this mess. Pinkie Pie was wailing in SugarCube Corner. She saw Applejack galloping up the dirt road towards the scene. "Mac, I-I-" "Is that all you can say. What did you do?" he interrogated. Everypony leaned in a little to hear what she had to say to defend herself. Fluttershy knew how she would look if she admitted the truth. But she also knew it would be a lot worse to lie. Then again, she didn't want everypony knowing her painful secret, but she also didn't want them thinking she was a bad pony because of a cover up lie. The anticipation was killing everypony as Fluttershy dealed with her inner turmoil. She could see it on their faces. If she said it allowed, would Big Mac still love her? There would be so many questions afterwords, and everypon would look at her different. Either way, her life would never be the same. She would either be the slut who let herself get raped by parading herself around a bunch of drunk stallions, or the whore who cheated on her fiancé. Her eyes darted around nervously, until they landed on Applejack who had a frightened look on her face. But AJ read Fluttershy's face, too, and all she did was tilt her head into a slight nod. Fluttershy, seeing the honest pony, bursted into tears. "Get raped!" she squealed loudly. She immediately covered her mouth with her hooves, as every pony's jaw dropped. Fluttershy had practically screamed it in her hysterics, and now the words echoed through the trees, leaving a loud echo, yet still and eerie silence. Big Macintosh was stunned. He searched for words. But if he came up with anything, shedidnt hear it, because Fluttershy had already ran away.