//------------------------------// // Embarrassing Final Conclusion // Story: Long Days // by Kalreas //------------------------------// Technically, this is the last chapter, but you all know of the bonus. I think it's a good bonus, and that you'll like it. At least I hope so anyway. Thanks! ________________________________________________________ Applejack stepped back, starting to turn around. Her eye caught something strange, so she gave another look at her friend's hoof. There were white strands of bandages around it, just above the hoof itself. "What happened there?" She asked quickly before finally turning. "Oh, my hoof? I got a bruise because I fell off of my bed this morning." Applejack could only barely hear what she said, but she still had to block a small giggle. "Well," AJ started. "hopefully it's not gonna be too much of a pain for what yer gonna be doin'." "Wait, what am I going to be doing? I-I didn't hear about anything!" As soon as she said that, the unintentional memory of her dream last night threw itself into her vision. Before she could ask anything about it, Applejack started explaining. "Listen here, Ah got a plan fer Macintosh and you ta get a little more bondin' done. Ah thought that ya might also like ta see what Mac is capable of, as well as showin' 'im what yer made of inside." The entire time, using the intensity of their talking to her advantage, Applejack had been nearly trotting instead of walking. They had crossed a much greater distance because of it. They were at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres before she knew it. Fluttershy was unexpectedly looking at Big Macintosh only moments later. "Eep!" She dove behind a tree and hid from his sight. She wasn't exactly ready to talk to him yet. Applejack had different thoughts about that, though. Quickly following her to behind the tree, she pushed Fluttershy into the open. Her sight shifted from the ground to the red stallion. She saw his features in great detail, as she felt as if minutes passed, when it was truly only seconds. His large, dark green gems of eyes, sparkling in the sunlight. His mane, while short and spiky, ruffled in the wind ever so slightly. He had in his mouth a strand of straw, and it only added the detail of his three white speckles below his eyes. He was waiting for one of them to say something. Finally, after what felt like long moments for Fluttershy and Big Macintosh both, Applejack walked forward and spoke. "Ah have a feelin' that y'all will get ta know each other better by helpin' each other out an' such. Fluttershy, today, ya'll be helpin' out me an' Big Mac here with the farm a bit. Tomorrow, Ah'm gonna send Big Mac over ta you ta help you with yer animals an' such. At least Ah think that was yer plan, wasn't it, Mac?" He took a small step back, nervous about answering that in-front of her. "Eeyup." He still answered, and both Fluttershy and him seemed to be relaxing as Applejack walked off. 'Yeah,' Fluttershy thought. 'just like that, she up and left after receiving confirmation from Big Mac.' Now, both Fluttershy and Big Macintosh were looking directly at one another. Long, awkward moments passed before one of them eventually started moving. It was Big Macintosh that moved, and he started moving towards the closest tree. The entire time, he was hoping Fluttershy wouldn't notice his nervousness. All of his hopes died as soon as he tried to buck the apple tree with one leg, like he limited himself to normally. His nervousness eliminated all the strength in his first kick, and the tree barely shook. His gaze shifted from the tree to the buckets on the ground, and he tried to give a solid kick. Only a few apples fell. Embarrassed and humiliated by the tree, he ignored everything else and kicked himself half-way into the air. His backside was fully up, and ready to fully kick. Everything immediately broke into panic, as the relentless, sudden force of his mighty kick with both legs sent the tree falling to it's side, and onto the ground. The sharp sound of the wood of the tree breaking was followed by a thunderous roar. The tree had broken at the roots and fallen to the ground. The thunderous boom, as well as the vibrations in the ground it sent shortly after, could be heard and felt from across the farm. It didn't take long for a worried and confused Applejack to arrive at the scene. "What in the hay happened?" She asked swiftly, before seeing the small Pegasus on the ground with her eyes closed and hooves over her head. "Sorry, AJ!" She heard Big Mac call from the side of the tree. "Ah hit the tree with both legs again." Sighing, Applejack walked over to him. "It's fine, we can grow another tree 'round there later." She moved over to Fluttershy and helped her up. "Sorry, Mac can underestimate his kicks sometimes, an' it don't help none when he's nervous." When she was up on her hooves, she looked at Big Mac once more. 'Why is he so nervous around me all the sudden? Is it because of what happened yesterday?' She took some time to just stand there, blankly staring at Macintosh, just to think about what to do. 'I'll have to comfort him.' "Applejack, we'll be just fine for the rest of the day, don't you worry about a thing." Fluttershy tapped a hoof on her friend's shoulder, smiling and reassuring her that it would be fine. Applejack, only slightly nervously accepting what she said, began turning. She walked a few steps out before looking back. "Ah hope so." She stated softly before leaving and returning back to her side of the day's work. Fluttershy stepped over to where Big Macintosh was, and spoke up before he could. "Mac," She used a short of his name, which held the most meaning. "please, don't work too hard just because I'm here." She gave a shake of her head. "Or rather, you shouldn't feel as if you need to do anything special for me. Just me being here with you is enough for me.. and.. I hope it's enough for you for now as well." She felt heat nearly burning her cheeks from the inside, so she could only guess she was blushing as bright as ever. Big Mac, however, simply stared at her, concern and surprise showing on his face. He didn't know what to do in this situation. What should he say? His mind felt like it was racing for a moment. "W-well, uh.." He tried to think of something to say back for her, but his mind drew a blank. She, however, noticed that as he moved his eyes from side to side, trying to think of something to say, his blushing showed, if only slightly. "Ah don't know what ta say.. as long as yer fine with everythin', Ah feel a little better." At least there was a small amount of relief. Fluttershy smiled, and flew over to a tree. She landed beside it, turned her back to the tree, and lifted both of her back legs. Confident that this was the way it naturally happened, based on the fact that she had seen Applejack work relentlessly and tirelessly several times. She gathered up all of her courage and strength, and bucked the tree as hard as she could. Quite a number of the apples fell from the tree, and- onto the ground. There were no buckets to catch and secure the apples from rolling away. Frantically, she rushed after a couple of the apples, trying to gather them as well as she could. Big Macintosh was going to a few more of the stray apples, also trying to secure the escapists. Luckily enough, the ground was even enough for the apples to not get too far without slowing to a stop. Slowly but safely, they both worked in perfect harmony and returned the last of the apples in the same trip. Fluttershy turned and tried to walk away, attempting to hide her embarrassed blush. "S-sorry." She didn't know whether to look away, or give eye contact. She just looked in the direction of Big Macintosh. He tried to hide his confusion, but some showed as he asked: "What for?" "F-for making those apples go everywhere." "Ya ain't gotta worry 'bout none o' that. T's just a mistake." He said, trying to calm her down. "Oh.. th-thank you." She looked around, blushing brighter than she had ever remembered. She wanted to tell him so many things, and figure out if he felt the same way. However, she felt like pouring it out on him so suddenly would be.. shocking. Oh how she desperately wanted to tell him everything. She had to wait. She had to wait until tomorrow, when he would be at her house, helping her with her next day. After all, all this work over at the farm, away from all the animals.. they'll need more attention and care after all this time away. Especially Angel.. he's probably worried sick about her. Reluctantly, Fluttershy turned and tried her best to help Macintosh with his work. Everything she wanted to say would have to wait until later. ________________________________________________________ The day had neared it's end, and Fluttershy's help had really sped up work at the farm, but now her entire body was going to ache. Especially her back hooves, even more so than the hoof injury she got in the morning. Ever since she got back, nearly every animal in the forest that she took care of came to welcome her back. The night came shortly after, and the excitement had dwindled down. It was going to be easy to get some well needed rest for her mind and body both. It definitely felt great to relax in a bath, then continue relaxing in her bed, easing her muscles and allowing them to soften and calm. Tomorrow, she could let everything she wanted out.. she hoped. ________________________________________________________ "Mornin'!" She received from a happy Applejack sitting inside her living room. Fluttershy was too shocked to move or speak, but her mind was racing. 'When had she gotten there? What made her-' Her thoughts were interrupted as Big Macintosh tapped her side. "Hey." He spoke simply, knowing that just that one word meant so much more that what it let on. "Alright, you two be good an' have fun. Macintosh, want you back by the end of the day at least. Tomorrow by the latest." She gave a wink to Fluttershy before turning and leaving them both blushing and wondering. Awkward moments passed as Macintosh and Fluttershy both just simply sat there. "Breakfast." The mare said quietly and quickly, turning around. She looked for what she normally ate for breakfast, but stopped when she saw the table in the living room. It still had a plate and a half of food on it. She could only guess that Macintosh had only eaten half of his plate, and the full one was hers. "Breakfast?" She asked with a blush glued to her face, embarrassed. She got a good look at her food, and it was a Dandelion Salad. 'One of my favorites, yay.' She took her seat at the table, and began to eat. Angel had just sat down beside her leg, munching on a carrot. She was happy to see that Angel was eating well. Breakfast passed like every other day, but occasionally, she would look up and see Big Macintosh. Thoughts raced through her mind every time she looked at him. Thoughts of yesterday, nervous thoughts about what would happen today. Thinking about how she would express how she was feeling about him. She had done it before, the first time they met, but this felt so much different. This was like writing a letter to Princess Celestia for the first time. She wasn't sure how he would take what she had to say, and she was afraid of rejection.. but she didn't want to stay in fear the entire day. She did know that she didn't want to bring it up so early in the day, so she had to wait. 'Just a little longer, Fluttershy. Wait until later.' She reassured herself that she would talk to him about everything. She kept wondering why she was so nervous and afraid about everything. Unfortunately for her, breakfast was over, so she had no more time to think about things, as she had to get to work. ________________________________________________________ Angel has had one eye on Big Macintosh ever since he stepped outside, and all of the animals were afraid of him at first. Still, everything went better than expected for Fluttershy. She had her chance at the end of the day to ask him to listen, and she's glad he did. Even though it was difficult to talk about, he still answered her questions well enough, for her at least. Asking him about the dream she had, he said he would talk about that with Applejack around. She was overjoyed at the fact that not only was he willing to listen to what she had to say, but also that he was willing to answer her questions. 'He's so kind.' After her time talking, pouring out her emotions and being able to understand everything better, it was time enough for his side. There were laughs, confusion and even some tears. Everything was falling into place, and everything was working so well. It was getting dark, and Fluttershy asked him if he wanted to stay here tonight. When receiving a positive answer, she felt her heart jump into the clouds. After everything was said and done, she moved closer to him.. and kissed him. "I love you." Silence. Feared silence. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and she felt the big, strong hoof push her away slightly. "Flutter..." "Mac?" She asked in fear. "Thank you so much." He said quickly, rushing in to give her another kiss. Her widened eyes and her tensed muscles slowly settled as she melted herself into his embrace. They lay together, in the cold of night, keeping each other warm. Shortly after she was comfortable, she felt something wet drop onto her neck. ________________________________________________________ I've put this off for far too long. Sorry for the really late release.