Oh, what'll I even say...
Fluttershy thought as she sat near the edge of the fence at Sweet Apple Acres.
She had already gone back home and fed her animals through the day; it was afternoon, so now...
She just had to wait.
As she did however, she continued to wonder about why she was doing this in the first place.
But... she had asked that question so many times before that she had downright given up trying to figure it out, accepting that she'll probably never know the answer.
"That was good work today, big bro."
Fluttershy's ears perked up as she heard her friend's voice ring through the orchard. Looking closely, she saw Applejack come out from behind the trees, followed by Big Macintosh.
"Y'know... 'cept for your little bit o' slackin'," the orange mare added with a sly smirk, making her big brother blush pink.
"A-ah told ya, sis; ah'm sorry!" he said.
Applejack just snickered, then felt eyes on her that were not her brother's and turned, taking notice of Fluttershy.
The yellow pegasus jumped a bit at being suddenly noticed, but still tried to stay calm, giving Applejack a backwards tilt of the head to signal 'come here'.
The orange mare stared over at her friend for a moment, then looked back at Big Macintosh and smiled. "You go in an' tell Granny Smith that we're all done here. Ah'll be in later," she told him.
The crimson stallion gazed at his sister in confusion for a moment, then followed her earlier gaze to see Fluttershy, who was nervously patting at the dirt road with her front hooves.
His eyes flashed a foreign emotion for a moment that Applejack failed to make out, but it vanished as he nodded to his sister and walked off.
Fluttershy then looked up at her friend as the brown-hatted earth pony trotted up to her. "Alright, sugarcube. What's the trouble?" said-friend asked, taking a seat to give her pal a feeling of assurance.
"Ah... well..." The shy pegasus looked back to the ground again, almost forgetting what she had planned to say.
"...Could you... tell me a bit about... your brother?"
Applejack blinked in response. Her brother? "Big Macintosh? Why ya wanna know?" she asked.
"U-um, I just..." Fluttershy nervously twiddled her hooves as she spoke.
"...wanna be sure of something."
"..."
Looking over at the orange mare's face, she noticed Applejack's expression; her snout was scrunched up a bit, and she was giving her a soft glare, as if she was trying to figure something out.
"...A-Applejack? You okay?"
"Huh?"
The confused earth pony blinked for a moment, then simply smiled.
"A-ah, yeah, sure. Ah guess I could tell ya what I know; ain't much to tell though."
"Oh... tell me anyway?"
Applejack shrugged, then shifted positions and leaned back against the fence.
"Anythin' specific?"
"Um... his... personality?"
The orange mare took a moment to think, then tipped her hat over her face as she relaxed.
"Well...to start off, he's a pretty easy-goin' kind of stallion; doesn't get angry much."
Fluttershy nodded swiftly to let Applejack know that she was listening, almost leaning in as she continued.
"And tho' he might not look it, he's actually pretty smart n' clever."
I could tell.
"He's also kinda shy too though, so most ponies never learn that, since he doesn't talk much."
Him? Shy...?
"Not only that, but he's a super hard-worker; determined too. He'll do anythin' for the family."
Fluttershy couldn't help but blush a bit as Applejack continued. The words were putting so much warmth into her somehow.
But... she quickly noticed how her friend was no longer talking.
"I-is..is that all?" she asked, somewhat disappointed. She could've listened to her talk about her brother for days.
"All?" Applejack asked, feeling as though she said enough. There wasn't much else to tell... except...
"...Well..." She then sat up, darting her head left to right. Afterwards, she grinned slyly and leaned over to the blushing pegasus.
"Ya didn't hear it from me, but..." The orange mare playfully jabbed Fluttershy's shoulder and giggled.
"He really likes cute things."
"Cute... things?" Fluttershy giggled as well. She certainly hadn't know that.
How wonderful!
"Now it's your turn to tell me somethin'," Applejack told her, interrupting the yellow mare's thoughts.
"O-oh... yes?" she asked, blinking a bit in obliviousness. What could her friend possibly want to know?
"Why're you so curious about mah brother all of a sudden?" the orange earth pony asked, raising a brow as she put her hat back at its original angle.
"O-oh! Um..."
Out of all the questions you could've asked...
"W-well... I-I kind of wanted to talk with him, b-but..."
Oh, just say it Fluttershy!
"...I-I'm afraid of him!"
Applejack reeled back a bit at the yellow pegasus' outburst. "B-beg your pardon?"
"I-I mean, I don't mean to, really! I met him back when I was a filly, and he wasn't scary then, but..."
She shivered slightly as she blushed red from embarrassment.
"H-he's so big now! I can't look up at other ponies' faces! It's just so..."
She paused for a moment to regain a bit of her composure.
"...f-frightening..."
There was no response; only the sound of Applejack standing up and shifting her hat.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't want to be scared of him, I-" The yellow mare paused as she felt a weight on her head.
"Applejack...?"
"Look up, sugarcube."
Doing as her friend said, Fluttershy quickly noticed that the sight of Applejack's face was blocked by the brown hat that was placed on her head.
"...Y-your hat...?"
"You won't have to worry about seein' his face by accident with that on."
"Oh? ...O-oh! T-thank you!" Now filled with a bit of confidence, she stood up and adjusted the hat to a comfortable position, then smiled at her friend. "This'll help! For sure!"
Applejack smiled back at her, then patted the ground. "Now, stay right here, alright? Ah'll go get 'im."
Not even giving Fluttershy a moment to respond, she promptly galloped off towards the barn.
"H-hey, wait!" the yellow pegasus called out, but it was too late; her friend was already gone, and she no idea what she was going to say when Big Macintosh came out.
...oh my...