Celestia's sun was setting and it cast a tangerine hue in the azure sky of outer Ponyville, making the whole land seem on fire. The current of wind was slowly subsiding into a gentle, caressing breeze as the land was about to switch off the blazing sun and replace it with the Luna's moon and glittering stars.
Usually on a day like this, Fluttershy would stand outside of her house and close her eyes as the air swirled and danced around her mane and body and feel the last rays of sunshine pierce her pelt in a soothing way that would make her feel like she was already in the comforts of her sanction, slowly dozing under a silky, amethyst blanket while Angel Bunny was sleeping right on top of her.
Sadly, this was not meant to be since she had barricaded herself in her own cottage while slowly becoming tormented by the embarrassment that had happened in the market where she had needed to get supplies for Angel's treat.
At this moment, she was upstairs, in her bed, sobbing into the equally amethyst pillow that was currently being stained with her own grief. The blanket wasn't fairing any better, for it got rained on by the raindrops that were Fluttershy's tears.
The poor mare was crying so loudly that possibly the sea serpent in the Everfree Forest could hear her wails, even though she was quiet in most things. Whenever it got to where her sobs turned into sniffles, she thought about how all the mares and stallions at the market were staring at her, though it wasn't her fault she almost tripped.
If it wasn't for those silly, rambunctious colts, she wouldn't be in this predicament. If it wasn't for lack of attention, she wouldn't have fallen. If it wasn't for Big Mac....
Her thoughts immediately switched to the fairly built stallion that had saved her the pain of smashing into the sidewalk. She thought about how she must've wasted his valued time to help make sure she was okay, which only made her feel worse and cry even harder into her pillow, soaking it to where it might have shrunk.
Angel, who had seen Fluttershy bolt into the house and race up to her room, heard her crying for about a good fifteen minutes before he decided he was absolutely fed up with it and hopped up into her room. In there, he found the meek pegasus bawling on her bed and the scene made him feel a little guilty about not checking up on her owner earlier.
He jumped onto the bed and slowly came up towards her. He thought about how she might want some alone time after whatever had just happened when Fluttershy turned her head sideways. Angel gasped at the sight of her face. Her crying had left her eyes bloodshot and her cheeks were as red as a fire. To top it all off, dried tears stained the bottom of her eyes and cheeks.
"A-a-angel B-bunny?" Fluttershy stuttered in between sniffles, "w-when did y-you get up h-here?"
Angel communicated through his squeaks and hand motions about how he heard Fluttershy crying for a while and had decided to come up and check on her. He also added that when she was going to make him his favorite dessert. Fluttershy, who knew the foreign tongue of almost every little animal and critter, understood what Angel was saying. A talent that she learned at such a small age but had grown used to the language of her furry companions.
"I-it was horrible, A-angel. I-i," she suddenly got choked up but took in a deep breath and continued, "w-well, you s-see I..."
Now, if there was one thing that the small fluffy critter couldn't handle, it would be suspense. So when Fluttershy stopped talking, Angel motioned for her to continue talking.
"I-i....I-i...."
Angel couldn't take it anymore. He went up closer to her and gave her a good yet soft slap to the cheek.
"I ACCIDENTALLY TRIPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MARKET BY SOME YOUNG FOALS AND FELL ON BIG MAC!" she yelled so suddenly that it made Angel roll of the bed. Fluttershy quickly covered her mouth with both her hooves and looked over the bed to see Angel on his back, giving her a confused yet stern look that said, 'That's what you were crying about?'
"I know, That's a stupid thing to cry about and get you all worked up about, I'm sorry," she apologized, the sniffles slowly subsiding. Angel nodded his head in displeasure at being an alive barrel and being pushed off the bed and onto the hard floor. Before he could patronize her anymore on the subject, a knock at the front door turned their attentions toward the hallway.
Fluttershy wiped the tears in her eyes. "Who could that be?" she wondered out loud as she already made her way for the stairs with Angel in tow. She made a quick pit stop at the bathroom to quickly blow her nose and wash and dry her face before going towards the door. When she got a few feet away from it, the knock came again, only a little more strength was put into this series.
"Coming," she said to the anonymous pony outside her door, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying for the past few minutes or so. She had just reached the door when she smelled a faint yet oddly familiar scent coming from behind the door.
It smelled like....pears? No, more like....apples. Yes, apples. Apples and sweat. Now, why does that ring a bell? , Fluttershy thought as she pushed it open. To her utter surprise, the familiar smell was matched with a familiar face. A stallion's red face. Her eyes enlarged to be as big as saucers as Big Mac nodded his head in greetings, a piece of wheat swaying from his mouth. She stood completely still, hoping that he wouldn't notice her, with her mouth agape.
Why is he here?!, she thought as she thanked herself to not accidentally say that out loud, wait, he's about to say something.
"Fluttershy?" Big Mac asked in his deep southern accent, the one that was strikingly similar to Applejack's, "are you alright?" Fluttershy quickly replaced the dumb look on her face with a smile that couldn't have fit on her face and regained her posture.
"O-oh course," she started to say, her words becoming hard to say because of her nervous stuttering, "w-why don't you come in?"
Big Mac shook his head, "Sorry 'Shy. Got to get back to work on tha farm. You know how much apples we Apples need."
Fluttershy enlarged her smile at the small joke Mac had made, "I understand, but why are you here?"
Big Mac reached into the saddlebag that was apparently out of Fluttershy's view and took out a basket with an egg in it.
"You dropped thith," he said through the handle in his mouth. Fluttershy peered into the basket to find an egg in it, completely not smashed and unharmed. Fluttershy's shocked increased as she examined the egg up and down, only to find it completely unscathed.
"But how? I would've thought that when it fell on the ground, it would've been smashed?" she wondered aloud.
"Oh, it did. In fact, it was completely scrambled when I checked on it after you scurried off, so I decided to buy you a new one for all the trouble you've been through."
Big Mac stretched his head forward to emphasize that Fluttershy should take the basket from him. She did so and ever so gently placed it and its contents in the back of the door. She turned her attention back to Big Mac, who wasn't in the doorway anymore, but was going on his way back to the farm.
"Bye 'Shy," Mac called out over his shoulder.
"Bye Big Mac. Hope you sleep well," she called out to him as she shut her door. She slumped back behind it and sighed. She glanced over at the snowy white egg and gave a little smile. Big Mac was so sweet getting her another egg for her. So sweet....but why? Why had he gotten her another egg? Was it because he pitied her?
That's a possibility, she pointed out to herself.
He could've just gotten it for all the trouble she was put through, like he said. Possibly. And, there was the last reason. The reason was so undeniably embarrassing that she had covered her hooves with her mouth as if she had just said it. She couldn't believe what she was thinking, but it was still stuck in her mind as clear as day.
Did he do it because, he liked her?
No, that couldn't possibly be it, could it? Now that she had thought of it, does she like her back. Well, he did look quite ruggedly handsome today....
NO! Control yourself Fluttershy! You can't possibly love him! You've been avoiding love for a long time, why start accepting it now? Besides, I haven't even liked him before...or had I kept my love for him so well under wraps that even I didn't know?
Fluttershy's train of thought was suddenly halted to complete stop when she felt a furry paw tap against her. Angel Bunny, who had seen the whole, short conversation between the two, gave her a questioning look.
"Don't worry Angel. I'm fine, " Fluttershy reassured him, "now, let's go make that special desert of yours, shall we?"
The small bunny's face filled up with light as he hopped off towards the kitchen to help prepare her to cook. Fluttershy took the handle of the basket in her mouth and trailed the ecstatic Angel, thinking about what had she just suspected. Before she jumped to conclusions, she needed to confirm her doubts and for that to happen, she needed somepony to help her with that. It didn't take long to realize the pony to help with that. The pony knew every advanced thing about love, from the basic school crush to the intimate lovers, and that pony was one of her greatest friends.
That pony was Rarity.