//------------------------------// // The Big Picture // Story: Prosopoanothenphobia // by TheTalentlessPony //------------------------------// Alright, Sweet Apple Acres... Fluttershy nodded confidently as she trotted through the gate, looking around curiously as she attempted to spot the crimson stallion. He probably looks about the same, so I don't think there's too much to worry about, but-- The pegasus suddenly halted her thoughts, stopping her trot as she wondered... Just what was she doing? Here she was, at her friend's farm, looking for somepony that she saw years ago, and for only a few minutes at that. So what did she plan to say to the stallion? How did she intend to bring up conversation? Where did she even intend to go with it after that? And why... WHY Did she want so badly to see him again that she just left Applejack, who was probably wondering why the heck her shy friend just galloped away, alone at her cottage? "...I don't know." was all she could muster as an answer. And it answered next to nothing about what she was questioning. Her body pushed forward anyway though, despite her mind starting to slowly fill with doubt. Would he remember me? Will he recognize me? How do I approach him? ...Is he going to be any different? The shy pegasus stopped for a moment to giggle. "Of course not." What a ridiculous question that was. "He's the nicest pony I've ever met. There's no way that he could just... change." Now filled with a little more assurance, she trotted along into the orchard of apple trees, now with a little spring in her step. Truthfully, she knew that he probably wouldn't be very hard to find; Applejack had said that she was going to help him buck the apple trees, so all she would have to do is find the trees with no apples in them. If she followed the path of them, he'd probably be around the end of it, right? Right... Fluttershy then stopped as she approached the first empty tree, being impressed that every single apple had fallen from it, yet all the leaves were somehow still up there. Was there an art to this thing; giving enough force to make the apples fall, but holding back enough so that the leaves would stay on? She wasn't sure, but she knew that she didn't have time to dwell on it, so she just made a mental note to ask Applejack whenever she saw her again. Turning her attention downwards to check for hoofprints, she then took notice of the apples on the ground. Had Macintosh... er... Big Macintosh (as Applejack called him), forgotten them? At a closer look though, she noticed that part of the apple seemed to be rather rotten, and... was that a bite mark? It was only enough of a bite to leave an indent, but still. There were others around too; all rotten and bitten into. So she wondered... Did he... take a small bite out of it to let anypony know that it was rotten, and not meant to be picked up or eaten? I mean, sure, he could've crushed it, but that would've been so hard to clean up afterwards. ...How clever of him. Smiling a bit to herself at the revelation, Fluttershy then went back to her 'mission': finding this kind and apparently-intelligent stallion that she had come to search for in the first place. Though, once again, her mind began to drift as she trotted along; this time however, she was careful not to let it wander too far, like it had done years ago. Big Macintosh. ...Big Macintosh... She had to repeat it to herself to get it through her head. Big Macintosh? He hadn't been called that when she met him. Was he overweight? ...No, it'd be cruel to nickname someone because of that. Was it clever word-play somehow? Maybe an inside joke that only the family knew off? ...Possible, but not likely. What would the joke even be anyway; that the mcintosh apples on the farm were somehow bigger than all the other apples? He was around her height when she met him, and stallions were meant to be a bit taller than mares. Maybe he never grew much and it was one of those ironic jokes? ...Perhaps. She tried to ignore such intriguing questions, but it was hard not to. She was curious about the stallion, to put it lightly. However, it didn't really matter to her if he was overweight or short; looks were just something that came with the package, right? Eventually directing her focus back onto her quest, she then wondered about how long she had been walking, still not seeing the crimson earth pony anywhere. Thirty minutes maybe? The orchard was huge, so she wouldn't put it aside as an impossibility; though, it didn't really matter that much. Her animals wouldn't be hungry for a while now, and her hooves were running on the power-of-curiosity, so they'd probably never get exhausted. She then considered flying up into the sky to look for the crimson stallion, but put that thought aside almost instantly. See, Fluttershy wasn't what you'd call a 'good flyer'. It wasn't because her wings weren't strong, oh no; if she was determined enough, she could fly pretty darn fast. The problem lied with her state of mind. Flying way-up-high made her feel... big... like she towered over everything. She didn't like that. Then again, she couldn't stand feeling too small either. Fear would always overwhelm the shy pegasus whenever she was like that. Especially when she ran into anypony who was taller than- THUMP "Umpf!" ...her? Fluttershy blinked for a moment, staring directly at the chest of the pony that she had bumped into... ...then quickly freaking out. "U-um, I-I'm so sorry!" Backing away with great haste, she quickly glanced downwards, feeling the gaze of the crimson pony on her. "I-I was just-" ...Wait, crimson? The yellow pegasus eyed the earth pony's legs; tan hooves, just like... "I-I was just..." her voice trailed off again. "...Fluttershy?" The yellow mare shuddered slightly at the mention of her name. That voice... it was different, yes, but still... H-he's here... h-he remembers me! Her heart leapt somewhat; though whether from excitement or fear, she didn't know. "M-Macintosh?" she asked. After taking a moment though, she quickly corrected herself. "I-I mean... B-Big Macintosh?" N-now I get why he's called that... a-and... h-he certainly lives up to his name... A deep chuckle came from the stallion. "Eeyup." Fluttershy couldn't help but smile slightly at his response, despite her sudden fear of him. He certainly kept that cute accent. ...But why did he have to be so... big? She shuddered again under his stare. They were eye-level when they were younger, but now... "Hungry?" "H-huh?" the yellow pegasus asked, her gaze never leaving the ground. Big Macintosh didn't respond; instead choosing to kick the tree beside him, which caused an apple to fall from it. "Eat up; we got plenty." Fluttershy simply stared for a moment, then shyly went up to it. "U-um...thank you," she said, sitting down before picking it up and biting into it. She had meant to eat one of the apples that Applejack had given her earlier, but her stomach was left forgotten at the mention of Big Macintosh's name. "...Guess we gotta stop meetin' up like this, huh?" he asked with a grin, though Fluttershy couldn't see, still hiding her face behind her mane; she managed a giggle though. "G-guess so!" she replied nervously, shifting her hooves about and fiddling with the apple she held. She began to get rather frustrated with herself at that point. She had met this stallion before with no problems, so what was the big deal now? ...She knew the answer though. He was bigger now... much bigger, easily towering over her; that was scary. She was calm along with nervous though; His gentle voice, though deeper now, still sends shivers up her spine and made her heart... well, flutter, appropriately. She wished that it wasn't such a big issue, but it was something she couldn't help. And suddenly, she was growing a deep dislike for butterflies; specifically the ones that were making a home in her stomach. "So, what're ya doing here?" asked the source of her mixed emotions. "O-oh, um..." Fluttershy blushed pink as she remembered her reasoning; it sounded so... desperate. "I-I was... j-just..." Just say something Fluttershy, come on! It doesn't have to be the truth! "..." "...p-passing by," she lied. At least now she knew why she wasn't the Element of Honesty. "Yeah? Odd that ya found me then," The stallion muttered. "Rare to run into anypony in this big orchard." "W-well... I-I..." The mare quickly lowered her voice as she continued. "...I was kinda looking for you too, s-so..." There was a small silence, but it was quickly broken by the sound of nervous hooves shifting against the ground. "...Yeah?" he repeated, though his voice was somewhat shakier. "M-mmhm..." she mumbled, nodding her head. "...A-ah see..." "..." She felt a presence next to her and quickly assumed that the earth pony had taken a seat beside her. "...After all this time?" "...y-yes..." This is so embarrassing! "...Well... good to see ya again. I was always wonderin' if you were alright." "Y-you were?" Fluttershy was suddenly thankful that her mane hid her face; the last thing she needed was for Big Macintosh to question her red cheeks. "A'course. Ah never saw ya again... got worried." The tone he had implied that he was rather embarrassed to say so, but she didn't seem to notice. "...I-I see. Well, at least you know now." "Ya made it back home?" "...Yes... no... kinda..." Sensing the stallion's confusion, she patted at the ground with a hoof and continued. "This is my home now." Big Macintosh paused to think over her words, then smirked a bit. "And what a mighty fine home it is." Fluttershy smiled at his statement as she paused awkwardly, then went to say something when- "THERE YA ARE!" The crimson stallion quickly scrambled to his hooves as Applejack came into view, looking rather annoyed. "So ah come back to help ya applebuck like always, and what do ah find? You sittin' here talkin' to-" She paused as she tilted her head to Fluttershy. After taking in the sight of the yellow mare, she raised a brow with the look of 'oh, so this is where you went.' "...mah friend... Fluttershy?" Big Macintosh nervously looked between the two, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "A-ah'm sorry, sis. Lost track o' time ah guess." Applejack gave him a bit of a glare at first, then sighed and shrugged off her anger, knowing that she couldn't stay mad at him forever; they were family after all. "Alright then. Ah'll let ya off easy this time. But c'mon; we're behind schedule." The two then took off, leaving the shy pegasus to nervously prod at the apple core in her hooves.