//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Stable Song 
// Story: Just My Imagination 
// by Closer-To-The-Sun 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4: Stable Song

Another hard day of work passed for the tan stallion and it was not even done for him. Caramel continued to work in the barn into the evening, stacking the barrels of apples up for storage. It was Big Mac and Applejack's idea that he work in the barn to limit the risk of him striking up his bad luck streak again. Caramel was okay with this task, particularly because it was something simple for him.

About an hour into his work, his cousin Applejack arrived into the barn, "Howdy, Caramel."

"Oh, hey there, Applejack. What's up?" the stallion greeted his kin.

"Just stoppin' on in ta check up on ya," the mare stated, "Ya know ya don't have ta work through supper. Ya been workin' all day an' a break won't hurt ya."

Caramel rolled a barrel from one side of the barn to another, "I know, but I just want to get this done so I can relax and not worry about it."

Applejack shrugged, "Suit yerself. But just remember that if ya hurt yerself, that's yer problem."

"Good to know that you have my back if I'm injured or something," the stallion laughed, "I'll be fine. I mean, I can't screw something as simple as this, can I?"

The orange pony joked, "Ya never know. Yer bad luck streak is somethin' of legend."

"So that's why you give me the simplest, longest, and most boring job?" Caramel smirked.

"Ya know it!"

Caramel laughed slightly, "Figures. Well, at least I'm not screwing anything up."

Applejack continued to jest, "Yet."

"You know your not helping, right?" Caramel gave an annoyed glare to his cousin.

Exiting the barn, the orange mare laughed, "Ah know, but why can't ah have a lil' fun?"

Caramel sighed as he continued moving the large number of barrels around the barn. He slightly mumbled under his breath, "I still have no idea how we are related."

The tan pony continued his work for about thirty minutes until he was visited again. This time, however, it was a meek and timid voice that Caramel had heard before, "Um….hel….hello…."

Caramel turned to see the yellow pegasus that he had been smitten with, "Oh, hello….um, Fluttershy, was it?"

The pegasus nodded, her long pink mane swaying, "Y-Yes, I-I'm Fluttershy."

The stallion nodded back, "Alright, nice to see you again." Caramel tried his best to continue his work, but also to not trip over his own words. He was actually impressed he had not messed up already.

"It's really nice to see you too, Caramel," Fluttershy smiled warmly to the tan pony.

Caramel froze slightly. Inside, he was jumping happily that she remembered his name, though since Applejack did shout at him when they first met, it wasn't exactly all that hard to forget. Keeping his composure, he continued, "So, what brings you around?"

"Oh….well, I was trotting around town, looking for some small critters that might be hurt or something of the sort. I-It's something that I often do, and I thought that I might stop by here to see if there were any by the farm," Fluttershy explained herself.

"Oh, did you find any tonight?" the stallion asked, rolling another barrel to stack.

Fluttershy shook her head, "None tonight, so I figured I would visit Applejack."

"Applejack left sometime ago. She might be inside the house eating dinner, though," the stallion informed her before lifting the barrel up to stack it.

"O-Oh, okay….I-I rather not be a bother to her if that's the case," the pegasus hesitantly stated.

"I don't think it'd be a bother to her," Caramel stated as he continued working, moving on to the next barrel.

"O-Oh…."

Silence filled the barn save for the sound of a rolling barrel. Fluttershy seemed to shy away from speaking, though it seemed to Caramel that she had something on her mind.

"Is something the matter, Fluttershy?" Caramel paused in his work.

Fluttershy seemed to be shaken at the sudden question that broken the silence, "Ah, um….no…."

The stallion was not convinced, "You sure? Seems like something is on your mind."

"N-No….but….um….if I-I am distracting you from your work, I….uh….could leave, if that would help…." the pegasus was very timid with her words.

"Huh? N-No, it's fine, really!" Caramel was flustered in his attempt to make the mare stay. He wasn't one for small talk, but he would have begged if it meant that she would stay.

"A-Are you sure? I-I mean, I don't want you to be distracted while you work…." Fluttershy spoke.

Caramel took a deep breath, "Actually, there's something else that's kind of distracting me…."

Fluttershy raised a hoof up to cover her mouth, "Oh dear, what is it?"

With a sigh, Caramel finally spoke what his heart wanted to say, "Fluttershy, I don't know really how to say it, but I think I might be in love with you."

Both of the pony's faces were bright pink.