//------------------------------// // Shield and Stick // Story: Melody for my Dear // by FerociousCreation //------------------------------// Melody for my Dear Ch5 Straw lay scattered in a small chicken coop during the first dull colors of the morning radiance. Many chickens snoozed in their own nest, some snuggling close against their yellowed young. One of the multi-color feathered birds shuddered a bit and hobbled out of its nest. Its red waddle shook as the rooster strutted to the entrance of the hut. Bringing a fist to his beak and with a clear of his throat, it shattered the silence with the usual caw of a rooster. Yawns came from inside the triangular prism of sheets, following some grunts as some ponies stretched from an uncomfortable sleep. “Mm… hey Scoot,” mumbled Sweetie Belle in a deeper voice than usual. “Hm,” replied the filly pegasus with a cough. “I think your dad is calling.” Applebloom heard the remark and began to giggle that followed with a yawn. “Hardy har… very funny.” “Oh, good morning girls,” spoke a voice from the opposite side of the tent. Two eyes shimmered from the sunlight that bled through some of the tiny holes from one of the blankets. “Morning Fluttershy,” spoke the three fillies in unison. “So girls, I am going to go fix you three some breakfast and then go feed the animals.” Yellow wings stretched out before Fluttershy stood up. She then walked outside and inhaled the fresh morning air. Applebloom sat up and adjusted her bow that was cocked to the left on her mane. Two of her friends were beginning to sit upright when she spoke, “So girls, ya'll still want to make Big Mac an’…” “Good morning Mr. Rooster. That was a nice cock-a-doodle-doo you did this morning,” spoke Fluttershy from a distance. Ah need to be more quiet so Fluttershy doesn’t hear me… “…an’ Fluttershy special someponies,” whispered Applebloom. “YEAH,” squealed Sweetie Belle excitedly. “SSSHHHH, keep it down,” hissed Scootaloo. “We don’t want Fluttershy to get suspicious about us.” “Oh, right… heh, sorry…” “Then it’s settled,” smiled Applebloom. “When we get to the clubhouse, I’ll give ya’ll a journal so each one of ya can write down anythin’ you see between the two of them.” “Sounds like a plan,” smiled Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “CUTIE MARK CRU…” All three of them stopped their chant and realized they were too loud. “Umm, maybe we should do this one quietly,” suggested Sweetie Belle and her friends agreed. “cutie mark crusader love investigators are go, yeah…” chanted the three fillies with a giggle. With capes on their backs, the Cutie Mark Crusaders exit the tent and saw some of the animals awaking from their homes. Birds flew from their nests to retrieve their food for their young while other creatures emerged from the earth. Soon, an aroma began to wisp its way through the cool dawn air and tickled the fillies’ noses. “Mmm,” squealed Sweetie Belle with delight. “That smells heavenly!” “Yeah, must be our breakfast,” replied Scootaloo with a buzz of her wings. Entranced by the scent, the little girls floated through the air and began to hover to the backdoor and into the cottage. Applebloom was last to enter, when a loud snore ripped through the air. Two white ears poked up from the wooden bench, but from Applebloom’s perspective were unable to see what else was up there. Hmm, wonder who is up there, pondered the filly. Now the scent was too strong for Applebloom to resist and quickly walked into the cottage. At a table not too far from the doorway were her friends waiting for the meal being prepared for them. “Oh, hello Applebloom,” greeted Fluttershy with joy. “I made you and your friends some apple cinnamon porridge.” “I knew I knew that smell,” smiled Applebloom as she and her pink bow hopped onto a chair. “Did Applejack give you her recipe?” “Not really. I actually remember the recipe she and I made when you were sick one day.” “Oh, yeah… when I had that pesky sore throat. It was very delicious.” “I hope you girls enjoy it.” And they did. It did not take very long for the three fillies to finish their breakfast because they were too eager to find their special talent. With bellies full, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were quickly outside in hopes they can obtain their cutie mark. Lucky for them, Fluttershy attempted to help the girls to try and find their talents by having them tend to her chickens. Applebloom quickly found out that throwing chicken feed at Scootaloo’s feet would cause her friend to be swarmed by chickens. Even though it increased Applebloom’s amusement and decreased Scootaloo’s patience with her friend, it didn't improve the rate of getting their cutie marks. Noon quickly rolled around as the three fillies ventured about the cottage, trying to find what there special talent is. Sweetie Belle knitted a shirt, but it was too small to fit either of her two friends. Applebloom wanted to cook some food for the animals, but Fluttershy and the animals ended up helping her clean up a mess in the kitchen. Applebloom wanted Sweetie Belle to sing to the birds, but the white unicorn suggested that Scootaloo should soothe the birds with her voice. There was no soothing voice. Frustrated, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo sat at the kitchen table where they ate there last meal. Scratching her chin, Applebloom complained, “Hmm, what have we not tried yet?” “Hmm…,” pondered Sweetie Belle as she looked at her small shirt she poorly stitched together. “Maybe we can build a bird house,” smiled Scootaloo. Before either of her friends could respond, Fluttershy frantically flew in and asked the three of them, “Umm, girls, I’m so sorry for interrupting but have any of you seen Angel? I looked in every rabbit hole, bird house, even the cookie jar he loves to sneak into. I am so worried…” “Sorry, we haven’t seen him…,” frowned the filly unicorn. “Oh dear…” Fluttershy whimpered in a panic. Applebloom then remembered she saw a pair of ears on the bench before she walked into the cottage. “I think he is on the…” *KNOCK* *KNOCK* A sound came from the wooden seal of the cottage. “One second girls,” the yellow pegasus spoke to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. When the mare went to answer the door, she attempted to not look like she wasn’t panicking by brushing hair with one of her arm and flatten some of the strands of hair that stuck out in a messy curl. While the three fillies were discussing what color their birdhouse should be, they heard Fluttershy speak in a very quiet tone, “Oh… hello.” Fluttershy’s guest didn’t interest the Cutie Mark Crusaders until she said, “Why don’t you come inside Big Macintosh.” At that moment, six ears turned towards the direction of the sound and the fillies could only stare at the two older ponies as they walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Big Mac,” smiled Applebloom. “What brings you here?” “He is here to pick you girls up,” Fluttershy answered. “Aww,” whined Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom. “Well, at least we can start working on the birdhouse at our clubhouse, RIGHT girls,” winked Applebloom to her friends. “Oh, yeah, THAT birdhouse, for TWO birds, hehe,” giggled Sweetie Belle. “Maybe we can paint it red and yellow,” replied Scootaloo with a smile. Obviously, that was not what the girls had in mind and would rather attempt to get Fluttershy and Big Macintosh together. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to grab their belongings, when Fluttershy asked, “Umm, before you girls go, can you please help me find Angel. I am really beginning to get worried…” “Of course we can,” smiled Scootaloo. “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” chanted Sweetie Belle. “And anythin’ we do will bring us one step closer to gettin’ our cutie marks,” shouted Applebloom. “Alright girls, you know what ta do.” “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RABBIT RESCUERS ARE ON THE CASE! YEAH,” ran the three fillies to the backyard. “Always so ambitious, aren’t they Big Mac,” Fluttershy spoke as she looked at the stallion. “Eeyup,” he replied. “Umm… I don't mean to be a bother, but do you mind helping me find Angel, please?” An’ search for that little white rat, Big Macintosh thought in anger. Stubborn ball of fur makin’ Fluttershy feel all sad by pushin’ her aroun’ like some sack of chicken feed. Lucky for him she cares about em… “Oh, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Even though Big Macintosh despised Angel and the way he treated his owner, Fluttershy’s tone did not sound like she would take no very lightly. With some thinking, Big Macintosh smiled at the yellow pegasus and said, “I’ll help.” “Oh thank you Big Mac,” Fluttershy responded with a smile. Both ponies then walked into to the backyard, where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were looking for Angel. One of the girls looked in the now wrinkled tent to see if the rabbit was resting in it and another using binoculars trying to see if maybe he went to the gopher hill. “Any luck girls,” Fluttershy asked the three fillies on the search for her rabbit. “Not yet,” replied Applebloom as she lifted up a lily pad that rested on top of the calm pond. “Oh dear oh dear oh dear!” Big Macintosh would have followed Fluttershy, but she took off in a panic and wanted an aerial view instead of looking on the ground. “Angel! Angel!” Soft cries came from the frightened pegasus’ voice while she frantically looked around for her rabbit friend. Hmm, now where could I start looking thought Big Macintosh. As he scratched his chin with his hoof he looked to his left to see the wooden bench he and Fluttershy sat on the other day when the two of them were eating some of the apple pie he brought. The only thing that was different about the pie was that there was no pie and the pie tin was flipped upside-down. Something else bothered him; the pie tin was moving up and down very slowly. What in tarnation? Curious, Big Macintosh picked up the tin and found something that was white, had two ears, and a round belly. It was Angel lying on his back with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. Crumbs of breading sprinkled the creature’s mouth, indicating that it ate the rest of the pie. Well, might as well alert the others, grinned Big Macintosh a mischievous smile. Letting whistled a loud “FWEET” by Angel’s ears, the rabbit was in for a rude awakening. Because Big Macintosh startled him, Angel awoke with a jerk and accidentally pulled himself off the ledge of the table and ended up landing on the seat of the bench, but on his face. Stars rolled around the white rabbit when he tried to look in front of him. Once Angel’s vision came to, he saw the all too familiar red pony that has been causing him trouble. Big Macintosh attempted to show as if he had done nothing wrong, but the stallion’s lips were trying ever so hard not to crack a smile. Two green eyes rolled around in the red pony’s head until they met an angry gaze that could boil water. At that moment, Big Macintosh could not contain himself and a huge smile fell across his face as he let out a low chuckle. “Hey brother,” called a young voice from afar. Applebloom and her friends were at a good distance away when her brother heard them. “We heard a whistle from over yonder. Was that you?” “Eeyup,” he simply replied. “So did ya find Angel?” “Eeyup.” “OH THANK GOODNESS”, a voice came from behind The Cutie Mark Crusaders. A blur of yellow dashed past the three fillies and Fluttershy came to a complete stop next to Big Macintosh. Two arms snatched angel off of the bench and Fluttershy cradled the rabbit in her arms. “I’m so glad you are okay!” After rubbing her cheek Angel’s face, the pegasus looked at the bunny and asked, “Why are you so chubby Angel?” Crumbs were sprinkled around the rabbit’s mouth which clued Fluttershy in on what Angel did. “You ate all of that pie, didn’t you,” the pegasus scolded. Angel made an uncomfortable expression as his body sagged and dangled while Fluttershy held onto him. Sighing, the yellow pony set Angel down on the table and smiled, “Well, at least you are okay.” “Good thing we had Big Macintosh to help us out,” Scootaloo spoke with a smile. “Eeyup,” Fluttershy replied with an even bigger smile. “You must be awfully thankful now that he found Angel, HUH Fluttershy,” Sweetie Belle nudged Fluttershy’s yellow arm. “Of course I am. Why would you think I am not?” Meanwhile in Fluttershy’s mind, she was thinking, OH MY GOSH, I FORGOT TO THANK BIG MACINOSH! Trying to make her appearance look calm, she turned to the stallion and said, “Thank you for helping me find Angel.” OH NO, I HOPE I WASN’T TOO LATE! “Any time,” Big Macintosh answered with a nod and smile. That was close… thought the yellow mare in worry. “Well, I am going to go get Angel some carbonized soda. You girls should go grab your belongings. “Yes Fluttershy,” all three fillies responded and giggled as walked inside the cottage. Before turning and walking into the floral house, the yellow pegasus smiled and said again, “Thank you Big Mac, you relieved a lot of stress.” The stallion was about to reply when she reached out to give him a hug. Big Macintosh reflexed and did the same. Both Fluttershy’s and Big Macintosh’s arm went around each other’s neck and pulled each other close for a friendly embrace. As they did, the pegasus felt a warm cheek brush against her face. At that moment, time somehow felt slow. The brush on her cheek felt warm; nice; comforting. Warm blush covered Fluttershy’s cheeks while the two continued to hold each other. She tried to let go, but she was afraid of showing her face. However, the grip of Big Macintosh was loosening and Fluttershy was doomed to show herself. When the two ponies pulled away, the yellow mare was quick and turned her body with haste and faced the door. “I’ll be inside getting Angel some soda. Please watch him until I get back, okay?” “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh nodded. I hope he didn’t see my face, Fluttershy thought as she went inside. Wonder why she was all like that, Big Macintosh pondered to himself. Then again, she is shy. Air filled his lungs as he let in a big sigh and looked at the calm blue sky. It felt nice knowing he is befriending Fluttershy. After all, she did help save Equestria several times. But his calm thoughts were quickly interrupted when a metal tin pelted him in the face. Ah! What the…? Rubbing his injured eye, Big Macintosh used his other eye to see where the tin came from. At first he was greeted with a smile, but realized that smile came from that thing that treats Fluttershy poorly, Angel. Oh, ya’ll think yer tough small fry, glared the red stallion. Setting his hoof on the table in front of Angel, Big Macintosh gave Angel a shove and caused him to roll to the edge of the table. The rabbit tried his very best to stop himself from falling, but his heavy weight slowly pulled him off the edge. Once again, Angel was lying on his face, but on the earth this time. Lil runt, Big Macintosh smiled with silent laughter. He took his eyes off of the rabbit and looked at the door to the cottage. Hmm, them little ones are takin’ their time. But his thoughts were interrupted yet again when something blunt struck the stallion in the skull. “AH,” Big Macintosh grunted in pain. Both of his eyes searched for the location of where the rock came from and soon found his answer… One decent sized stick was held by Angel and next to him was a pile of rocks. WHY YOU…! Without hesitation, the rabbit cracked another rock in the stallion’s direction. It buzzed past Big Macintosh as the stallion avoided the blunt sphere. Looking for something to defend himself with, the red pony grabbed the pie tin to block with. This did not stop Angel from shooting rocks at Big Macintosh. With the pie tin at hoof, Big Macintosh used his advantage to block the attack that was raining upon him. It wasn’t long before Angel ran out of ammunition to fire at his foe. Angel was then quickly swallowed by a large shadow as Big Macintosh slammed down the pie dish over the rabbit and trapping him underneath. Ha! Gotcha! But Big Macintosh’s victory was short lived when a stick pierced through the brittle tin and poked the stallion’s hoof and retracted his arm from the sharp pain. Using the hole that was created by the stick, Angel lifted up the pie tin and then held it in front of him and was now wielding it as a shield with the stick his another hand. Cute, thought the red pony with a grin. An’ what’r ya gonna do with that? Without warning, the rabbit threw the tin at Big Macintosh and in bounced off his cheek. Before the stallion could take away Angel’s newly found shield, the rabbit used his stick to go through the hole of the pie tin and pull his protection back to himself. Alright, no playin’ around, ya hear, thought Big Macintosh now fed up with the antics. Grabbing a fork that lay on the bench, the red stallion was now wielding a weapon. Sparks flew as the two glared into each other’s eyes. Both were about to strike when a voice came from the doorway, “Umm, what are you two doing?” It was Scootaloo standing in front of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy. Neither of the two rivals moved and stood still with a dumb expression. “Are ya’ll fighting,” questioned Applebloom. “N… nope,” Big Macintosh stuttered. “We’re uh…” He looked down at Angel to find an answer but even the rabbit gave him a blank stare. “Well, we are…” A lump was caught in the stallion’s throat and finished saying while grinning through his teeth, “P…playing… right Angel.” The rabbit’s ears shot up when he caught onto what Big Macintosh was doing and nodded in reply. “Oh, that’s great,” Fluttershy smiled in delight. “Angel never gets to play with other ponies. Now Angel has a new friend.” “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh lied with a distasteful smile. In unison, both Angel and Big Macintosh slowly reached out an arm and then slowly shook hoof and paw, still having an awkward smile on their faces. Even though Fluttershy seemed happy for the “friendship” the rabbit and pony created, the Cutie Mark Crusaders thought otherwise. “Well, thank you for everything today Big Macintosh.” “Eeyup.” Everypony then began giving their farewells to Fluttershy and began to leave. As Big Macintosh and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were crossing the bridge, the yellow mare called out to her friend, “I’ll see you on Tuesday.” “Eeyup!” Big Macintosh turned and waved at the yellow pegasus as she stood at the entrance of her cottage. Atop of Fluttershy’s head sat Angel. Without hesitation, the rabbit stuck out his tongue at the red pony. Ya jus’ keep askin’ for it doncha, thought Big Macintosh. The pony replied back by blowing his tongue at Angel. “Umm, Big Macintosh… why are you sticking your tongue at me?” Shock fell on the stallion’s face when he realized what he was doing. Big Macintosh was quickly able to reply, “Oh… umm… fly landed on ma mouth.” “Oh, okay.” Fluttershy smiled as she watched the four walk over the bridge while Angel giggled in her hair. The pegasus looked up to see her white friend laughing, but didn’t know what he was laughing about. “What is so funny Angel? Did you see something funny?” Angel replied with a nod of his head and continued to laugh. “Oh, well what was it? I mean, if you want to tell me…” Unfortunately, Angel grinned and shook his head in reply to Fluttershy’s request. “Oh… okay.” Big Macintosh saw the two turn into the cottage and lost sight of them. Stubborn little white rat, the red pony thought to himself with an irritated look on his face. One of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was about to ask why Big Macintosh looked so bothered, but her bow was tugged on by Scootaloo. “What the hay Scoot,” Applebloom remarked in an angry tone. “SHHH, keep it down,” whispered Scootaloo. The filly pegasus then quickly walked ahead of Big Macintosh and gestured her friends to follow. When both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle caught up, Scootaloo exclaimed loudly, “SO GIRLS, WHAT SHOULD WE USE FOR OUR TREE HOUSE?” All three of them looked behind to see if Big Macintosh was listening but was actually looking elsewhere. With the opportunity at hand, Sweetie Belle asked in a low tone, “Alright girls, what’s the plan?”