Of Delicate Things… And Hard Work…
Chapter 1 - Admission
She’d been watching Applejack tend to the apples one particularly sunny morning. She was such a hard working pony, and it was really something to watch. She always admired Applejack’s strength; she never backed down from anything, she wasn’t afraid to speak up for herself or for her friends. She sort of envied that tenacity, but more than that she loved it.
She sighed, wishing she could work up the courage to say something to her. It made perfect sense in her head; Applejack was a nice mare with a really good heart. She was good with animals, at home in nature, and she could be so gentle and so delicate when she wanted to be.
And to think she’d almost left Ponyville out of shame. How could she be ashamed of trying her best? She still won medals, and still did her best. It didn’t matter that she didn’t bring home any blue ribbons, to Ponyville she would always be a blue ribbon pony. It was so sad to see her so shamed by it. She really was a wonderful pony and there just wasn’t any other like her.
She had spoken some of her heart that very day, but she couldn’t finish the thought then. It was okay, at least it told Applejack some of the truth and it did help her to feel better. Fluttershy would never forget those feelings, that worry she felt about losing Applejack. She was too important for that; she couldn’t bear it if that happened.
How could she ever tell her what she really felt inside? She was so shy, so afraid to speak her mind to other ponies. She doubted she could ever do it.
• • •
The apples were coming down easily today, but she sure didn’t want to be here doing this. She wanted to go and see Fluttershy. Ever since her friends came and brought her back to Ponyville, ever since Fluttershy said those beautiful words. It meant more to her than she had let on, she had always cared a great deal about Fluttershy.
She was a delicate thing, so fragile and so gentle. She spoke so quietly; and that made her voice so comforting. She had trouble standing up for herself, so she could use someone to stick up for her. Applejack wanted to be that someone. She just wanted to protect Fluttershy from everything that could ever hurt her or upset her.
She loved her beautiful flowing pink mane, and how it hung over one eye, and how Fluttershy would hide behind that mane when she was uncomfortable. There wasn’t much she did that wasn’t just adorable and charming. She was graceful, elegant, and so peaceful.
How could a pony so delicate and graceful possibly like a pony as rough and tumble as me? I’m all into rodeos and I work at my apple orchard, and I’m always dirty. She probably feels uncomfortable around me. Thought Applejack.
She really wished she weren’t herself today. She’d give anything to be the type of pony that Fluttershy might notice.
• • •
She swallowed hard, and looked around for a place to hide. Applejack was approaching the tree she was in and she had seconds to figure out what she was going to do. She took a deep breath and opened her wings, and glided down to the ground. It startled Applejack.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry!” she cried softly. She hadn’t meant to upset Applejack.
She wasn’t sure what to say; well actually she was completely sure but lacked the courage. Instead, she waited for Applejack to say something.
“Hey there sugarcube,” she began, and Flutterhy’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that Applejack used it a lot, but she loved it when Applejack called her that. “You okay?”
“Oh… Um… Yes,” she said quietly.
Applejack was always glad to see Fluttershy, but she never really knew how to talk to her properly. She was always so concerned with the mare’s feelings, and how delicate she was, that she found herself at a loss for the right words. She tried to be soft though, to have a gentle side of her own.
“Um… Applejack?” said Fluttershy, concerned. Applejack had been staring at her without saying anything for the last two minutes.
Applejack snapped back into reality. “Oh, sorry sugarcube,” she said. She really couldn’t think of anything else to say. She wanted to say so much, but none of that seemed right to say.
“You wanna help me out?” she asked, sort of hoping she’d say yes and spend some extra time around the farm with her. At the same time, though she had helped there before, she wasn’t sure it was the right environment for Fluttershy.
“Oh.. Yes!” answered Fluttershy, with a small but recognizable spark of enthusiasm in her quiet voice.
• • •
It was a pretty good day at work for Applejack; it was made much better by having Fluttershy around. She went home humming, and a bit dirty, but she seemed very happy on her way out. They had shared a hug before she left, and as tired as she was it really picked her up.
These kinds of days didn’t happen very often, and she needed one. She headed back to the house, and greeted her family as she entered. She was exhausted, and she needed to rest after all that work. At least, she thought, she would have thoughts of the day to welcome her into her dreams.
• • •
Fluttershy was humming the entire way home, she was glad she didn’t have to make up an excuse for sticking around. After all, she wasn’t very good at it. She was dirty, and tired, and oh so very happy. She had only ever worked so hard one other time, and that was during Applebuck Season. But this time, she got to have alone time with Applejack.
She rested on her couch and sighed happily. She couldn’t remember feeling happier, but then she reminded herself that they were only friends and that while they had spent a lot of alone time together, it didn’t mean anything.
A gaze at the ceiling helped her to remember all of the events of the day. The conversations weren’t much, but they never needed to be when she was with Applejack. It was more than enough just to be around that pony, she made Fluttershy feel so safe and so happy.
She looked around her cottage, and while there was certainly no shortage of animal friends, she never felt more alone. She had always liked that about the location of her home, it was quiet and out of the way and avoided a lot of pony traffic. Still, there was one pony she wouldn’t mind seeing right now.
• • •
She tossed and turned in her bed for hours, she couldn’t stop thinking about Fluttershy. She had to tell her, somehow. Oh, but first she might want to make a few changes to herself. She was much too rugged for such a delicate pony.
She was never much for that frilly stuff, never liked wearing a dress or being girlish. She was perfectly comfortable being herself, but she couldn’t see that attracting Fluttershy. She really needed to change herself a bit; perhaps the best start would be visiting Rarity. If anypony could teach her to be more ladylike it was Ponyville’s fashionista.
That was going to have to be it. Tomorrow she would go to the Carousel Boutique and get a dress and some lessons on behaving like a lady. She needed that if she stood any chance with Fluttershy. How would she explain any of this to Rarity though? She couldn’t very well tell her the truth, and she had no idea what else to say.
Oh well, she’d figure something out, she was sure of that.
• • •
“Darling! What brings you to Carousel Boutique?” Rarity asked excitedly. She rarely saw Applejack there on any fashion business; she wasn’t that type of pony. If she ever did show up, it was usually with a delivery of appletastic treats.
Today, though, was an unannounced visit. So Rarity was more than a little curious, and excited. Did Applejack finally want a proper dress? Oh that would be so wonderful!
“Uh… Well…,” she started, feeling quite a bit foolish all of a sudden. She knew why she was here, but she suddenly realized she had no idea how to ask. Still, it was important that she did. She had to, she couldn’t back down now. “Ah… um… Ah I need s-some advice…,” she stammered.
Rarity blinked, she was taken aback. It wasn’t something Applejack really did, coming to her for advice. She appreciated that Applejack was strong willed and plenty happy with herself as she was, so what advice could Rarity possibly offer he now?
“Ah’m… not real ladylike, am ah?” she asked, pushing her way inside.
Rarity blinked, pushing one’s way into a place certainly wasn’t ladylike. “Well Dear, not all of the time, no,” she offered, shutting her door as she trotted after Applejack.
“Why?” she asked, she was definitely curious.
“Ah… um…” she didn’t know how to answer. She knew the answer, just didn’t know how to say it and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. Still, she had to say something. “Ah just don’t feel like ah know how to be ladylike, tha’s all,” she said.
“Oh, well, that’s easy to fix darling,” Rarity said, smiling. She had a few ideas in mind. “I think the first thing we ought to do is outfit you properly. First of all, take off that hat, won’t you?” she spoke gently, but she was firm. She knew what she had to do. Applejack needed a proper dress and a lesson or two in proper elocution.
Applejack complied, taking off her hat and tossing it across the room. It landed on one of Rarity’s mannequins, positioning perfectly on the crown. Rarity frowned, for while that had been impressive, it wasn’t especially ladylike.
“Oh dear, no you mustn’t do things like that if you are to be ladylike,” Rarity scolded.
Applejack blushed; this might not be as easy as she thought. She had to really restrain herself if she was going to be ready for Fluttershy. She sighed and looked at Rarity. “Sorry,” she said simply.
“Oh no dear, you are still learning after all!” Rarity couldn’t help her enthusiasm, it was about time Applejack had tried this. She only wondered what took so long, but at least the day was here finally.
The minutes collected into hours and the hours seemed like eternities unto themselves, this was real torture for her. She was walking with poise, speaking with elegance, and Celestia help her, she was grooming herself and putting on a dress.
By the time she was through, she didn’t look herself at all. She found that her hair shined from the thorough cleaning Rarity gave it, and it was tied in a French braid from the back of her head down to the very end. The same was done to her tail. She had her bangs brushed into an elegant swirl, and she was wearing a baby blue dress set with emeralds (“Darling, they’ll bring out your eyes!”) and she felt ridiculous.
“Ah…,” she stopped herself, took a deep breath, and started over again. “I’m not sure about this, Rarity.”
“Oh nonsense, you look simply darling and you are unquestionably a lady!” chimed Rarity. She was proud of her work, the entire package. The dress was fabulous, of course, but that was hardly the work she was admiring right now.
• • •
It was a quiet day, but then every day was quiet at the edge of town in her little cottage. She loved it that way; the silence was very comforting to her. It was also very calming for her animal friends, with whom she had shared her deepest secret.
She sighed, and looked at Angel.
“Do you think she’ll ever notice me…?” she asked of Angel, who responded with a frown and a shake of his head. Angel was quite blunt, although even that would sometimes find its way over Fluttershy’s head.
Fluttershy sighed again, and looked down at the floor.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
Fluttershy jumped, as always, at the sound of knocking at her door. She had wonderful friends, and they did pay her visits, but somehow she could never get used to ponies knocking on her door. She took a breath and walked to the door, opening it timidly.
What she saw standing outside caused her eyes to shrink. What in the world was Applejack doing?
Why did she look like that? It was absurd. It wasn’t her at all.
“Um… Hi…,” said Fluttershy for lack of any other response coming to mind that felt appropriate to share. She still couldn’t believe her eyes. Applejack was standing there, more done up than she ever had been in her life. Even going to the Grand Galloping Gala, she had just worn some spiced up work clothes that Rarity had prepared for her. Why on earth would she be dressed like this?
“Wh…why are you…?” stammered Fluttershy. She really didn’t want to hurt Applejack’s feelings.
Applejack blinked, and swallowed. She felt like a real foal standing there in that dress, she had no idea what to say. She came here, and hadn’t so much as planned the first word. She really didn’t know what she expected to happen, and suddenly she couldn’t help herself. She turned and began to gallop away.
Fluttershy blinked, and stepped back, startled. What was that about? Why did Applejack run? Was it something she said? Oh dear, did she hurt Applejack’s feelings? Oh she couldn’t bare it if Applejack were angry with her.
• • •
She had taken her dress off and thrown it on the floor of her room, and now she was a wreck. She was very angry with herself for what a complete disaster that was. She pulled her hair out of its braiding and let it just fall flat against her coat. She sat there in her room and stared at the mirror.
“Stupid… stupid stupid stupid…,” she said to her reflection. She closed her eyes and shook her head and decided it would be best if she just went to bed. She wasn’t used to feeling like such a foal or doing such ridiculous things for anypony, she’d never been like this before.
She wasn’t used to this sort of feeling; she didn’t exactly know how to handle it.
She just climbed into her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She needed to just forget this whole embarrassing ordeal; it wouldn’t do to dwell on it.
How could she not dwell on it? She’d showed up at Fluttershy’s house looking like a foal and then turned tail and ran. Could she ever face Fluttershy again?
• • •
A few days had gone by, and Applejack had chosen to remain at the farm for all of them. She worked harder than ever, trying to just lose herself in the effort. It was working too; she was starting to forget her embarrassment as she kicked more trees and carried heavier bunches of apples back to her cart.
• • •
She hadn’t seen Applejack in days, she wasn’t even around town selling apples or spending time with any of the other girls. She was growing concerned with each passing second, and she wanted to know what was going on. It wasn’t like Applejack to stay hidden away like this; she loved spending time with her friends and having a good time when she wasn’t working.
She had even missed a party of Pinkie Pie’s, and that was even less like her. All the girls loved Pinkie Pie’s parties, nopony knew how to party harder and have more fun. Something must be terribly wrong for Applejack to be this absent for this long, and she needed to find out what.
It was early Monday morning after a week of Applejack’s absence that she decided to take action proper. She had gathered her courage, and this was very important to her and even more important: Applejack wasn’t herself.
She took off for Sweet Apple Acres just after the sun rose into the sky, you could count on Applejack being up early to harvest the apples. She flew through the air, the wind pushing her mane behind her gracefully and rustling her feathers.
The orchards were expansive and the trees rather numerous. It was always a sight to see from the air, the farm nearly dwarfed Ponyville and Applejack still didn’t quite manage to make ends meet. Still, the Apples were a close knit family and that was always so nice to see. She felt it must have made it easier to work day after day to think that she was taking care of Granny Smith and Apple Bloom with Big Macintosh’s help.
She approached the farm fast, scanning over the fields of trees to see if she could spot Applejack as she moved. All over the land there were bare trees and fallen leaves, the grass was looking a bit trampled down from wheels and hooves. She could see that Applejack had far outdone herself this week; the work looked to be complete. She decided instead to look around for any trees that still had apples in them, for this would most certainly be where Applejack was.
As she continued to scan she began to lose heart, there really were no trees still bearing apples. She decided that she must ask at the door, perhaps Applejack was inside and resting after so much hard work. If that were so, if Applejack really were resting, she had decided that she wouldn’t interrupt her.
She landed gently in front of the door to the Apple family house, and gazed at it timidly. She took a deep breath, and rapped on the door quietly. It wasn’t long before Apple Bloom answered the door, and seeing it was Fluttershy, she welcomed her in straight away.
“Sure is nice of ya to stop in fer a visit!” said Apple Bloom.
“Oh… yes…,” replied Fluttershy.
She had momentarily forgotten what she was doing here, but had remembered from the moment she didn’t see Applejack inside. She was disappointed to see that blonde farm pony wasn’t in the house, but it wasn’t going to stop her. She decided to ask after her, which would sound innocent, right?
“Um… Do you know where Applejack is…?” she asked, as timid as ever she was.
“Nnnope,” replied Big Macintosh.
• • •
She remembered it perfectly, the swamp land that was Froggy Bottom Bog. It was the place Fluttershy was going the day Twilight Sparkle was learning about Pinkie Pie’s weird ability to predict things. Applejack had known for a long time that you could surely depend on Pinkie Pie’s sense to tell you when something was about to happen, bad or good. So when she got a severe case of the shivers, and said that whatever was going to happen would be happening at Froggy Bottom Bog, Applejack felt a pang of concern that she was sure no one else shared.
She never realized how important Fluttershy was to her until that day, when she was suddenly faced with the possibility she might get hurt, or worse. She couldn’t let that happen, she had taken off so fast she had barely time to think about what she was doing, or what she’d do when she got there.
Yeah, that was a pretty scary day. It was such a relief when she got there, and Fluttershy was alright. She was safe, and taking care of her frog friends.
It was here that she really understood how she felt, what Fluttershy meant to her, and how happy she felt whenever Fluttershy was around. She had fallen for that delicate mare, with her gentle voice and accidental grace.
She looked at the muddy swamplands, bubbling and misting everywhere. It was a strange place to think of so fondly, what pony does that? She had associated this mess of sludge and damp botany with such a beautiful face, she wondered if that was insulting?
She rested on a rock, and took in the pungent smells of the bog and closed her eyes. She tried to visualize Fluttershy standing over the other end of the bog, helping her frog friends to their new home. She could see herself running up and seeing Fluttershy safe.
Even now, she sighed with relief at the sight of it. She started to consider returning home, she was covered in mud and sweat, and she was tired. She had worked so hard all week, almost as hard as she had done during Applebuck Season, when she refused anypony else’s help like a silly prideful thing.
Alright, now it was really time to go home. She’d been here all day, and she hadn’t bothered to even tell her family where she was going. It wouldn’t do to worry them any longer than she already had, that just wasn’t fair.
• • •
As she left the Apple family home, she waved and thanked them for their hospitality. The door slammed shut, and she trotted slowly away, she didn’t feel like flying just then. She was lost in worry about Applejack. Where was she? Why?
The thoughts just continued to pile on top of her, feeling heavier and heavier until she couldn’t take it any longer and she let loose a few tears. She wanted to know that Applejack as okay and as much as Granny Smith reassured her that Applejack was plenty strong and could take care of herself she really didn’t feel that much more comfortable.
Fluttershy had considered how hard Applejack must have worked to take care of the orchards in a week, and she supposed that she must be very tired now. Oh, I can’t let her stay out there all alone and tired and feeling helpless.
With that thought, Fluttershy’s wings opened suddenly and she took off with a burst of speed. She soared over Ponyville and over paths leading out of Ponyville. It wasn’t until she was clear of Ponyville completely that she caught sight of a familiar orange pony. Although still just a distant speck on the horizon, she was familiar to Fluttershy.
She changed direction, and started heading toward the orange speck. She had to know what was wrong; she had to take care of Applejack. She suddenly wished she had Rainbow’s speed and agility, and then she could get to Applejack so much faster and help her that much sooner.
• • •
Applejack was startled when Fluttershy touched down on the ground right next to her, and began to pace with her at a trot even though she was out of breath. She stopped, and blinked.
“Fluttershy? What are you doing here?” she asked, honestly perplexed.
“Oh, Applejack, what are you doing here?” Fluttershy countered, suddenly feeling just a bit more brazen than usual.
She needed to know, Applejack was hurting and she couldn’t let her suffer alone. She couldn’t let her suffer at all.
Applejack swallowed. She had a good answer to that question, one she was too afraid to share. She searched inside her head for something, anything that would justify her coming out this far, but it was no good. “I…I…”
Fluttershy decided to pick up on a thought that had just come to her, when she realized where Applejack was returning from. “You were at Froggy Bottom Bog…?”
“Yeah…”
“Why?” asked Fluttershy, who could only think of the time when Applejack had rushed to her when she thought the yellow pegasus was in danger.
“I… I was remembering somethin’… that’s all,” she replied, not sure if she should go into more detail than that.
Fluttershy smiled; there was really only one thing to remember there. It gave her a bit of courage to think that Applejack was remembering that, although she wasn’t sure why that was; she had a hope for what it meant.
“The day the hydra attacked?” asked Fluttershy.
“Uh… yeah… how’d you know?”
“Well… It was the biggest thing that ever happened there.” Lied Fluttershy. She really had a thought about that; it was something special for them, even if Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle and Spike had been there. She knew that Applejack had rushed there for her.
Applejack thought about it, and that did make sense. She wanted to say more, but she wasn’t sure if she could.
Fluttershy had had enough being afraid now, and she’d been worried about Applejack all week and she didn’t want Applejack to be gone without ever knowing how she felt.
“Um… Applejack…,” she started, feeling her surge of courage slowly draining as she began. No, she had to do this.
“Yeah, Sugarcube?” Applejack replied. It was the perfect thing to say, it made Fluttershy feel very comfortable and gave her just a little more time with her waning courage.
She took a deep breath, and stepped a bit closer to Applejack. She had to do this, it was now or she didn’t know when. No, focus now! Fluttershy reprimanded herself inside, then started to talk again.
“I… I…,” her voice trailed off into a soft mumbling.
“What was that…?” asked Applejack, who couldn’t be sure what Fluttershy was saying. It was cute though, whenever her voice trailed off like that.
Fluttershy suddenly felt her heart hammering inside of her; she didn’t know how she could finish it again. She could barely get her voice back; she just looked at Applejack with huge aqua eyes that shimmered as they threatened to drop tears of disappointment in herself.
Applejack blinked and nuzzled Fluttershy gently. “What’s wrong Sugarcube? Ya look like yer about to cry…,” she said softly. Applejack’s voice was very comforting when it softened this way; it was something Fluttershy had always admired about her. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t speak gently herself; really it was all she could do. What she admired was how Applejack could turn such a firm, strong voice into such a gentle and relaxing one.
Fluttershy felt her cheeks burning delicately, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I…,” she felt Applejack close to her, the strong mare really cared about her feelings and genuinely wanted to know what was wrong, “I… like you…,” she finished her thought and felt her heart stop. She had finally said it, and she wasn’t sure how Applejack would react.
Applejack froze, she wasn’t sure she had heard Fluttershy correctly. She likes me? Fluttershy likes me? She was lost in thought and had forgotten to respond to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy swallowed hard, Applejack was just standing there, frozen. What was she thinking about? Was it strange to her that a mare liked her? Did she not know how to react to this?
Oooh, this was no good. Fluttershy forced her wings out and took off into the air, tears were welling in her eyes and she was starting to shake as she flew home. Applejack watched her leave, her eyes shrinking as she began to think of what had just happened.
• • •
Once home, she pushed her door open. It swung inward and stopped just before the wall, never even making contact. She shut the door behind her as she stepped inside, and her tears began to flow freely.
Oh Fluttershy, you are such a foal! Why would she ever like a mare like you? Silly you, thinking you could have a mare like Applejack notice you like that. Why did you ever get your hopes up like that?
She threw herself on her couch, and wept into the pillow as she continued to beat herself up internally.
• • •
Applejack galloped as fast as she could, it didn’t matter that a stitch was building up in her side and she was so exhausted from working all week that her legs struggled against her every step of the way. The only thing that really mattered now was making sure Fluttershy knew the truth.
It felt like forever getting there, but she had arrived at her cottage. She stood there, looking at the door and breathing heavily. It couldn’t wait; she had to do this now. She lifted her hoof and tapped it against the door several times.
Fluttershy looked up from her couch, at the door. Now who could that be?
“Sugarcube? Are you in there?” Applejack asked.
Fluttershy blinked. Applejack was here? Why was she here?
She got up from the couch and trotted to the door, taking a moment to dry her eyes before opening the door slowly. “Um… hi…,” she said.
Applejack looked at Fluttershy, then stepped inside and pressed her nose to Fluttershy’s nose gently. “I like you too, Sugarcube.”