“Now, Angel, there's no need to run away! I promise I'll listen to you more and make sure you get enough to eat and buy you a new bed and—”
A soft yellow pegasus with a bright pink mane was slowly hovering above the ground, keeping pace with a small white bunny who was attempting to escape her incessant concessions.
“—then you don't need to worry about anything, because none of the other animals will be able to bother you or be mean to you. Oh, Angel, please just stop running away!”
Angel turned around for a few moments and faced the pony, attempting to stick his tongue out at her, but before he could finish, the pegasus swept him off his feet. “Oh, thank you for being so understanding! I'll make sure you get all kinds of wonderful things once we get—”
Her speech was cut short by a bunny foot in her face as Angel vaulted out of her captivity and back onto the ground, valiantly darting off in a futile attempt to escape his owner's clutches. The pegasus sighed to herself, landing on the ground and slowly trotting toward where Angel had darted.
A frown formed on the pony's face as her bunny zipped into a wall of trees. She told herself, “Oh, Fluttershy, you have got to be more assertive. Don't let him go that easily next time, or it'll only cause more trouble.”
As she traveled deeper into the copse of trees, Fluttershy became increasingly paranoid of the sounds around her. She wasn't sure where Angel had gone, and she had no idea where she was going, either. Several times, she called out, “Angel! Where are you?” but received no reply.
Quietly, in the distance, she heard a distinct thump.
Squeaking, the frightened pegasus dove inside a bush, her breath quickening as her mind conjured any number of things that could be thumping in the woods.
There was another thump.
And another.
She began to hear a stallion's voice which lost volume as it twisted among the trees. “Give me some hay, Ah'll work for a day, gimme some buckin', Ah'll keep truckin', don't lemme roam, or Ah'll never come home, another meal please, and Ah'll clear all these trees...”
Fluttershy's face split with a smile. She recognized that voice.
As she hopped out of the bush and walked in the direction of the voice, she began to pick out more of what was being said. He was singing a song. “...It's a simple life for me, applebuckin' with mah family, and Ah couldn't ask for more....” His singing stopped as Fluttershy caught sight of him. He was tapping his hoof on his chin thoughtfully. “Well, 'cept one thing.”
As she closed in on the treeline, the stallion continued his work of ramming trees with his hind legs, breaking into song once more. “Fer if there was one fer me, as happy a stallion Ah'd be, Ah'd bow and plead and beg, even give up mah left hind leg, just fer a chance t' see, the mare of mah dreams.”
The pegasus stared in captivation at the gentle giant of a pony as he bucked another tree. The entire thing shook as his powerful legs made contact, then he pulled back quickly, the apples falling neatly into the baskets situated at the base of the tree. Despite the large amount of force that had been applied, all the leaves did was move around; not a single one fell from the branches.
Astonished, Fluttershy watched as Big Macintosh bucked another tree, the apples once again landing safely in their designated baskets. Another tree bucked, another round of full apple baskets. And still, not a single leaf fell.
He was perfect.
At that moment, Angel chose to dart out of the trees directly in front of Fluttershy, attracting the attention of Big Macintosh. As the big red stallion looked toward where Fluttershy had been spectating, the mare froze. She had a chance to hide... and she just stood there instead.
Their eyes met.
Big Macintosh's large body quivered slightly as he saw Fluttershy looking back at him. It registered in his eyes that she had been standing there for some time. Both of them stood there a few precious seconds, eyes locked and staring into the souls of one another.
Angel kicked Fluttershy in the leg. She looked down at her pet, feeling faint. As if in a trance, the pegasus collapsed on the ground, her vision going black.
Fluttershy's eyes fluttered open. She was... on somepony's back. She looked at the ground and saw Angel hopping next to her rescuer.
Applejack's voice piped up next to her. “Why'd she faint? Did she tell ya why she was in the forest like that?”
One of Big Macintosh's two surefire answers came back from the pony carrying her. “Nope.”
“But yer sure she didn't come from somewhere else? The forest is the only place?”
“Eeyup.”
“Well, ain't that just the strangest thing. Fluttershy don't seem like the adventurous type.” Applejack was silent a moment. “She say anything about why Angel's with 'er?”
“Nope.” Fluttershy slowly smiled at Big Mac's familiar answer.
Suddenly, the big stallion stopped as Applejack rushed around to Fluttershy's face. “Fluttershy! You all right, sugarcube? Ah heard ya fainted!”
The pegasus blinked. “I'm... um...”
The earth pony looked in the direction of Big Mac's face, then back at Fluttershy. “You all right t' stand?”
She thought for a moment before nodding. Her wings fluttered slightly as she rose slightly into the air. The big red stallion moved out from under her as she hovered for a moment, then she alighted once more on the ground.
Applejack ran up to her friend. The orange mare peered with concern at Fluttershy's face. “Y' sure yer all right? We can take ya back up to the farmhouse and get ya some water t' drink. Big Macintosh said ya fainted! Is there somethin' wrong? What were ya doin' in the forest?”
Fluttershy explained her chase with Angel and where it had led her, omitting the part about Big Macintosh singing and instead saying, “And I was, um, tired, and when I saw Angel, I was just so relieved... I guess my legs fell out from under me.”
Applejack seemed to accept this as they neared the farmhouse. She trotted ahead a little, holding the door open for Big Macintosh and Fluttershy. The shy red earth pony and the equally as shy yellow pegasus seated themselves at a table, looking awkwardly at the ground. The orange earth pony trotted into the next room, leaving the two of them alone.
There was silence for a few moments before Big Macintosh, seizing his chance, finally spoke. “You, uh... ya heard me?”
Fluttershy looked at the ground as her cheeks gave off a soft glow. “Yes.”
The stallion said nothing, instead looking out the window distractedly. His red coat would have hidden any embarrassment he was experiencing, so Fluttershy continued her focused stare at the ground.
Applejack burst back into the room with a glass of water, as well as some auburn-colored liquid, announcing, “Ah decided it'd do ya better t' chase that water down with some nice, refreshin' Apple Family apple juice! Hope ya like it!”
Fluttershy smiled weakly, offering her thanks and sipping from the glass of water. Entire minutes ticked by, Applejack discussing her plans for the rest of the day while Fluttershy nodded and pretended to pay attention. Her thoughts kept straying to the red stallion sitting next to her.
Occasionally, she would catch him sneaking a quick glance toward her. The only reason she knew was because she kept doing the same.
That evening, Fluttershy trotted back into her cottage, having finished her refreshments and with no other reason to stay. She'd really wanted to stay longer.
She put Angel into his new bed that she'd promised him and regretfully hopped onto her bed. She... wanted to see him again. She didn't have a reason, though; she'd just let him go. He was probably too embarrassed to even talk to her anymore. The nervous pegasus was certain he would never return her feelings, even if she wanted him to.
She sighed and closed her eyes.
That night, Fluttershy had a dream.
She was lying in one of the fields in Sweet Apple Acres, staring into the night sky. Countless stars winked back at her as she smiled and sighed. Rolling over, she nuzzled a big, red stallion next to her.
She awoke from her bed with a start. It was still dark out. But... she had to do something! She couldn't just let it go!
She leaped into the air and beat her wings, eliciting a shocked squeak from Angel as he was spooked from where he'd just been sleeping peacefully. Fluttershy flew into the window located in her room, knocking it open and disappearing into the night, her bunny squealing and hopping in circles as he debated what to do.
The pegasus couldn't see where she was going, but she knew the general direction, so she simply continued. Luna's moon wasn't very bright tonight, covered quite extensively by clouds, so she soldiered on, flying blindly towards her destination.
Slowly, she realized that there were trees below her, their dark forms becoming a carpet below the gliding pegasus. Eventually, she began to pick out small familiarities; she'd been here enough times to recognize the general area.
She focused her sights on one area in particular.
About an hour later, Big Macintosh purposefully departed the farmhouse as the first rays of sunlight began to peek over the horizon. The big stallion traveled in the direction where he'd been bucking yesterday, before he'd found Fluttershy there watching him.
It still put his nerves on edge. A mare—one he liked, no less—had seen him singing! He wasn't sure he would ever live it down. Or if he'd ever be able to sing again.
This early in the morning, though, there was nopony else around. Deciding there was no way anypony would hear him now, he sang a little tune to himself. “Oh, if Ah was a little apple tree, Ah'd shake mah leaves and make some seeds, Ah'd spread mah boughs and make some roots, t' make some ponies some tasty fruit...”
He trailed off as he approached the place where he'd been working. There was the shape of a pony sitting there.
Big Macintosh ran up to the yellow pegasus as she stared at nothing. “Fluttershy! Are you all right? What're ya doin' out here so early? Should Ah go get Applejack?”
Fluttershy looked at the earth pony touching her shoulder and smiled. She knew she would find him here. She looked up and stared into his eyes.
Big Mac stopped shaking the pegasus and returned her gaze. Then he broke contact and mumbled, “Is there somethin' wrong?”
She stared at him for several eternal moments. As she felt the seconds tick by, she saw the stallion begin to stop worrying about her. She... wanted him to notice her. To pay attention to her. To be there for her.
So, she simply said, “Yes.”
The stallion looked back at her in surprise, but before he could say or do anything, she was leaping at him in an embrace.
For a moment, there was total silence. Then, slowly, Big Macintosh raised his hooves and wrapped them around Fluttershy.
You lied, you silly filly.
It didn't matter. She felt like she finally had somepony.