//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Where Earth Meets Sky // by Cloudy Skies //------------------------------// Where Earth Meets Sky Chapter 3 It was remarkable how hard it was to be sneaky when there were no clouds to hide on. Half of the reason why Rainbow Dash left a smattering of clouds in the sky even on days scheduled to be “sunny” was because they were convenient for her. Need a nap? Find a cloud. Need to impress somepony? Kick a cloud. Trying to get hard evidence of certain farmponies being no good- friend hogging- apple- applesmackers? Dash scowled. Find a cloud. The only cloud in the sky today was her own cloudhome, and she’d spent too much of the past few days moping in there, flipping through old magazines. It was just as well, really - she had half a mind to kick asunder any clouds she spotted right now. There was always the chance that they might rain on Applesnack’s precious little crops. The crops themselves weren’t so bad, of course. Not as bad as the deceitful apple-flank who grew them. No, the crops were useful as camouflage. Enough waiting. Today, it was time for action. Rainbow Dash readjusted the yellow bandanna she wore to blend in with her surroundings, adding another piece of cornstalk to the bouquet atop her head before she peered back over the fence to observe her target.         Rainbow Dash had no real idea what actual farming was like beyond bucking apple trees, but today apparently began with watering some rows of strawberries planted by the side of the farmhouse. The tranquil, dopey grin Applesmack wore in place of her habitual smile must be part of some sort of ritual. Dash had heard that some ponies sang to their plants, and Appleback probably did that too. Still, she seemed almost too happy as she kept this up for the better part of half an hour.         Dash’s legs were cramping up from sitting still, and her wings itched. This was boring. She already knew what she needed to know, really. Fluttershy had replaced her with Applesack, and the two of them were trying to split the six friends apart. All that remained was to find some hard evidence with which to convince the others. Pinkie was too, too... too Pinkie Pie to even understand, but Twilight and Rarity wouldn’t be able to deny evidence.         Evidence was another one of those tricky words though. She didn’t have a camera, and she doubted that Ampleflank was about to write a letter for her to steal, detailing exactly what she was up to. That would be too simple.         In the stories with the awesome guardponies, evidence could be anything: a shoe, a half-eaten daffodil sandwich, a scrap of cloth would fix that. Everything was fair game as long as it was “connected to the case”. Dash wasn’t quite sure how anything on the farm would take the magical journey from item to evidence, but if it happened, she would be there to catch it.         Applesplat did not seem very concerned with generating evidence, however. Having watered the strawberries and some of the other minor crops that were small enough that it could be done by hoof, she set course for the nearby barn. Dash was losing her quarry. She’d have to pass over the farmyard to follow, but her corncob-bandanna would look laughably out of place over there. She needed to update her disguise, fast.         Think, Rainbow Dash. You can figure this out. What do we have to work with here? Fence, corn, more corn, basket of- oh yes. That never looks out of place here.         With her camouflage improved, Dash tip-hoofed across the exposed farmyard and slipped inside the huge red barn that dominated Sweet Apple Acres. Giving her eyes a moment to forget the brutal shine of the sun outside, she darted behind a pile of hay in the relative darkness of the barn’s interior. After a moment’s deliberation, she grabbed a hoof-ful of hay with which to improve upon her disguise. She had barely completed her adjustments when Applemat passed her by, already on her way out again, now carrying a large bucket of over-ripe vegetables. Farm life was fast-paced and confusing. Why was she still smiling, though? Why would Applebat look so content while taking out the trash? The befuddled pegasus crouched down, her head almost at ground level as she stalked after the unwitting earth pony. She had to get to the bottom of this. Perhaps the treacherous apple-obsessed pony was relishing a job well done, thinking about how she had turned Pinkie Pie against Dash, too? No. Applefat isn’t even smart enough to realize how well her plan is working. Pinkie is the victim, here. Okay, where are we going? Oh horseapples, did she just look at me? No, she couldn’t have. Where are we going? All this walking is boring. This small house? What’s that smell? Oh, no.         Pigs. Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly fussy about these things, but the place reeked. She crinkled her nose as she followed Apple- uh, Applecat inside. Dash stuck out like a sore hoof in here. Okay, need to blend in, blend in, how do I blend in, ah-         The piglet squealed loudly as she tried to pick it up. She froze, squirming pig still in her grip. This was bad. On the other side of the pen, slop bucket grasped in her mouth, Applejack was staring straight at her. There was a slight chance that she might have been discovered.         Applejack calmly put the bucket down and sighed. The lazy smile was gone, and that was good. Rainbow Dash had been about to fly over and ask Nurse Redheart if there was any sort of disease that could cause stupid grinning anyway. That the smile had been replaced with a frown was to be expected, but Applejack didn’t look angry in the least. “R.D? Ah’ve tried to be patient with you today, but enough is enough. Ah’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for you trying to steal a pig while wearing a corn-and-hay hat and balancing apples on your wings, but Ah will admit that Ah can’t figure this one out myself, so you’ll have to help me out here a little.” “It’s a bandanna,” Dash retorted. “It’s made outta my produce, so Ah reckon it belongs as much to me as it does to you, and Ah say it’s a darn hat,” Applejack snorted. “I got it from Pinkie for my birthday last year, and she said it was called a bandanna. It’s from Neighpon. Shows what you know!” “It’s corn and hay and it looks like one of Rarity’s silly hats, so it’s a hat. Now put that darn pig down!” Rainbow Dash obliged, mostly because the annoying little creature was making so much noise they practically had to shout to hear each other. The offended pink creature immediately oinked and ran over to the other side of the pen. “Now, care to tell me what in the hay is up, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, tilting her head.         It sounded almost innocent. Like she believed it wasn’t obvious. Rainbow Dash snorted and folded her wings, letting the apples fall to the ground. “I’m on to you,” she said, frowning. “Just because you got Pinkie on your side doesn’t mean you’ve won. I’m going to tell Twilight what you’re trying to do.”         Applejack puffed out her cheeks and closed her eyes. “And what is it Ah’m tryin’ to do?” “I don’t know exactly,” Dash admitted, taking to the air and making for the exit at a leisurely pace. “But I know the plan involves trying to make Fluttershy forget about me, and hey, nice job there, you won that battle, but the war isn’t over!” Okay, that was the. Coolest. Line. Ever.          “It ain’t nothing like that, consarn it!” Applejack called, galloping after her, but her voice rapidly faded as Dash made her ascent up into the clear blue sky above. Equestria spread out around her, and Applejack became a tiny orange dot far below yelling something about Fluttershy and some varmints.         The small rock landed just short of the lake with a clatter of stone on stone. Rainbow Dash spat furiously to try to get the taste out of her mouth. Flinging rocks into the lake was really more of a unicorn thing. Kicking the rocks had worked fine, but only until she chipped a hoof.         She was running out of rocks anyway. She’d spent a lot of time out here. The sun was already setting, and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. Truth was, she was fed up with being angry with Applejack. Was she too stupid to understand that she was ruining it for everypony, even if she was just trying to hog Fluttershy all for herself?         Not that she missed either of them, Dash told herself as she resolutely planted her rear on the rocky shore. Her life would be far better without deceitful earth ponies and fair-weather pegasus friends.         A soft rumbling sound lazily poked at the silence that had settled. It took a moment before she realized it had actually been her own stomach complaining that she hadn’t eaten since yesterday. What she wouldn’t give for a muffin right now.         Muffins or cupcakes. Something sweet. Rainbow Dash stared at the waters of the lake as if she could force a bright and cheerful pink pony forth just by thinking about it hard enough. It was extremely unlikely that Pinkie Pie would surface with a tray of tasty treats for her, and that was why she was sure it would work.         Come on, close eyes- wait, no turn around, close eyes then pretend to hope that Pinkie Pie doesn’t bother me today. This always works.         Minutes passed, and precisely nothing happened. Not that she minded or missed Pinkie, either. It was her own choice if she didn’t want to hang with the Dash. She’d come crawling back. Tomorrow, probably. Or the day after. How long would she wait, anyway? How long were you supposed to wait when these sort of things happened? Twilight probably had a book about it. Egghead’s Guide to Friendship Ruining or whatever. Applejack would’ve read it.         Twilight. Now there was a thought. She hadn’t talked to Twilight or Rarity about this yet, and here she sat, moping like a foal. No, worse; she wasn’t moping. She was losing. Sure, Applejack was almost as athletic as her, and perhaps about half as cool, but she was not letting that apple-brain win this one. The Dash did not go down with a fight. She didn’t intend on losing, either, but she couldn’t win until she fought.  This wasn’t just about the three of them any more. The friendships of the entire gang were at stake here. She just needed to explain what was going on to Twilight and Rarity, they would side with her, and then this stupid mess would go away. AJ would stop being so stupid, and Dash could have all of her friends back.         Rainbow Dash grinned. That had sounded really cool to her, and cool was half the battle.         “AJ?”         It was the third time her big brother had called from downstairs. Each time he was a little more urgent and a teensy bit louder, but never quite so loud as to wake Granny Smith from her second afternoon nap. She had heard his baritone voice clearly each and every time, and she wasn’t ignoring him. Applejack simply hadn’t been ready.         Reluctant wasn’t supposed to be in her repertoire. Nervous wasn’t something that was known to her, and fussing was not a familiar feeling for her. Yet the she was, planted in front of the old hallway mirror. Enough dilly-dallying. Time to move. Nope, still standing here, AJ. Move consarn it!         It was stupid as hay. Sure, she may’ve started seeing Fluttershy in a new light recently, but that didn’t at all excuse her being like this.         Being like what? Being utterly contradictory? She’s at the door, and you’re standing here fussing like a filly. Granny said yesterday that fear doesn’t make you weak, but Ah sure as heck ain’t feeling high and mighty right now. Yet the Applejack looking back at her in the apple-framed mirror was smiling a wide and earnest smile. She had tried to frown, just as an experiment, but it just wouldn’t stick. She had to shake her head in disbelief at how silly she was being.         “AJ?” Big Macintosh asked for the fourth time. Applejack could see him approach in the mirror, but she made no reply, letting him draw up beside her. “Fluttershy’s outside, waiting for ya,” he murmured with infinite patience, looking at her through the reflection.         “Ah know,” Applejack said.         “Reckon you do, at that,” Big Mac replied thoughtfully.         Applejack gave her big brother a sidelong glance. “You wipe that smile off of your face, right now,” she threatened with exactly zero conviction. Sure, he wasn’t actually smiling, but she knew her brother well enough that she could hear his version of amusement in his voice.         “You first,” he retorted, smug behind his poker-face.         Having no real reply, Applejack gave him a shove on the shoulder before she turned and headed for the stairs. She knew he was laughing on the inside, and she didn’t blame him in the least. Peeking her head into Applebloom’s room as she passed, she gave her younger sister a wave, receiving a sullen glare in return. Explicitly forbidding her from following and trying to earn her paparazzi cutie mark hadn’t been a popular decision, but she’d respect it.         Just like that, she stood before the heavy oaken door she exited every morning right after the sun brought to the first light of day to her farm. It was amazing how she only considered the existence of that door now, probably for the first time in years.         She was seriously thinking about a door.         Exasperated with her own nonsense and eager to get on with it, she tore open the door hoping to find Fluttershy waiting on the other side. She had not seen her for two days, and hadn’t the faintest clue what she would say to her, but there she was.         Except she wasn’t. Nopony at all waited for her on the other side of the door. She took a few tentative steps outside, finding Fluttershy giving Winona belly rubs at the other side of the farmyard. Applejack chuckled softly and began making her way over. She’d probably have gotten fed up with waiting in half the time, herself.         “Sorry for making you wait,” Applejack said as she drew near. Fluttershy looked up and smiled, rubbing the top of Winona’s head. Were it anypony else, Winona would dart back to Applejack at the sight of her, but the pegasus mare’s way with animals was downright uncanny.         “Oh, it’s not a problem at all, it’s my fault - I should have, um,” Fluttershy began as she got up. She was wearing a white lily in her mane, and looked absolutely beautiful.         Beautiful? Applejack would never before have used that word about her friend, but she wasn’t about to question herself. What she would do was stop Fluttershy before she could try to find a scenario in which this non-issue was her own fault.         “Nonsense. Ah knew you were waiting,” Applejack said, shaking her head as she cut through. “Ah like the little flower.”         “Oh. Um. Thank you?” Fluttershy said, drawing back a little and blushing. “You look really nice, too.”         “Ah look the same as always, sugar,” Applejack said with a snort and grin. Fluttershy merely nodded an affirmative at Applejack’s words, wearing the cautious beginnings of a smile. It was Applejack’s turn to blush. “Ah, so, anyway! Where’re going? You said nothin’ too fancy, right? Rarity’s not been putting ideas in your head?” Applejack asked with a grin, tilting her head in the general direction of Ponyville. There was only really one path off of Sweet Apple Acres, so she started heading down the road at a slow walk once Fluttershy joined her.         “Oh, I haven’t really had the time to talk to Rarity,“ Fluttershy admitted, looking a little saddened. “I’ve been so very busy with an extra turtle census - oh, and I had a new family of otters moving in from the river, and they really aren’t wanting to play nice at all.” The pegasus frowned. “And don’t even get me started on all the mess the raccoons have stirred up with the chickens!”         Applejack nodded at that and made a sympathetic noise. She knew too many ponies who thought Fluttershy only lazed about her cottage all day - even some of her friends would probably laugh at the notion that the quiet mare was a hard worker. Applejack knew better.         Part of Applejack wanted to say what was proper - that if Fluttershy was really busy, they could do this another day. Fluttershy would almost certainly refuse, of course. The odds that Fluttershy would take her up on the offer and postpone their date were slim. “So how’d you pick the place then?” she heard herself ask instead as they trotted down the road side by side. She had never been very fond of gambling.         “Well, um, it’s not entirely true that Rarity didn’t help, but I didn’t ask her,” Fluttershy admitted. She hung her head a little, but Applejack saw her smile. “We talk a lot at the spa, and she mentioned The Gilded Carafe, you know, if I ever found somepony nice.”         As much as the last words warmed her heart, it was hard to not feel a little sceptical. It was harder still to hide the uneasiness in her voice. “With it being Rarity, no offense, Ah’m half expecting us to be a little lacking in the fru-fru department for that sorta place. You sure this is a good idea?”         “Oh, she said it was very nice and a little, um, informal? But- oh my goodness, I wouldn’t dream of making you go if you didn’t want to,” Fluttershy said, her words rapidly picking up speed as she herself slowed down. The pegasus looked aghast. “I mean, we can have another picnic just like last time, too. I- I can head back-”         Applejack halted, chewing pensively on her tongue as she turned to face Fluttershy. Panic was slowly spreading across the yellow mare’s face. “Applejack?” Fluttershy tentatively asked, unaware of the gears churning in in the farmpony’s brain. Applejack would normally never leave a friend floundering like this, but right now a few pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place up in her head. Fluttershy was anxiously biting her lower lip when Applejack finally found her voice.         “At some point,” Applejack said. “You’re gonna have to start believing that Ah ain’t doing this just to be nice. If Ah used to, if there was a point when Ah did, well, that just ain’t the case no more.”         It was news to Applejack herself, but there it was. She wasn’t doing it for Fluttershy. She was looking forward to this date for herself, and she really didn’t want anything compromising it. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to go out with Fluttershy and have a nice, intimate evening away from the chores of the farm. More to the point, away from the lack of chores of the farm thanks to the impending drought. She was looking forward to it in a way that was new to her, and it wasn’t unpleasant at all. Fluttershy looked up at her and seemed to struggle with words for a moment. She began to say “Thank-”, but stopped herself mid-sentence, giving Applejack a sheepish smile as she amended herself in a quiet whisper. “I mean, ‘okay’.”         “That’s more like it,” Applejack said with a grin as she set them moving again. Every now and then, she’d feel compelled to glance over at Fluttershy. More than once did she catch the pegasus doing the same, but she was quick to avert her eyes and made no comment. It seemed that no matter what Applejack said and did, there was a hard little core of hesitance that simply would not crack. The silence held for minutes that felt like hours. It was so incredibly stupid that they would be more shy around each other when they were trying to get closer. The same silliness that had been building inside of her all evening seized a hold of Applejack just then, rebelling against this nonsense.         The evening air was almost pleasantly chill compared to the oppressive heat of the day. Suddenly, the tall grass of the nearby fields was all too tempting. She had never really done this with anypony before, but it just felt so darn right.         Applejack cut in front of Fluttershy, and upped her pace as she cantered straight off the road and into the sea of belly-high grass that brushed against her in the most delightful way. When she stopped and turned, Fluttershy stood on the road still, watching her from a small distance away.         “Um, where are you going?” came the entirely reasonable question, tinged with obvious nervousness.          Applejack scratched the ground with a hoof. Truth be told, she was a little nervous herself because the simple answer was that she had no idea. It was never about the “where” of it. It wasn’t even a clearly defined “what”. Sometimes, she was seized by urges, and it was hard for her to understand how anypony could not want to just run, sometimes. If they did, they kept it to themselves - and so did Applejack. She hadn’t even told anypony about this except for her brother. It was something she did alone. Usually. “Ah was thinking of going for a run,” she called back, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Because to her, it was. She tossed her mane and swallowed. “Wanna come along?”         It sounded almost pathetically hopeful. She stood there smiling at Fluttershy for a good minute, hoping and wondering. Fluttershy, for her part, stood on the road glancing nervously about every few seconds, her attention torn between Applejack and the nearby Ponyville. The corners of Applejack’s mouth had just started to dip when Fluttershy hopped off the road and waded into the field of grass made golden by the sinking sun.         It was all the encouragement Applejack needed to finally let go. She could have sworn her legs were just starting to tremble with suppressed energy, but now she was freed. She reared up on her hindlegs and nickered before bolting off through the grass, grinning at the surprised little squeak from Fluttershy somewhere behind her. There was nothing but clear, flat fields ahead of her. Only free running as far as she could see. She had meant to start an easy pace, but such plans never lasted. She held her head high and enjoyed the wind in her mane as she galloped through the dry grass that whispered at her passing. The familiar bliss of simply letting herself go was doubled when she heard the soft flapping of wings above her. She slowed her pace just a tiny bit to let Fluttershy land and fall into step at her side, the sound of their rapid hoof-falls intermingling.         If she had feared that Fluttershy would hold her back, she was sorely mistaken. She stole a glance at the pegasus pony galloping next to her, and her smile grew larger still. Fluttershy’s head was low and she was focusing on keeping a steady pace. When Applejack turned left, she followed without even looking at her. Words had no place here. Talking would ruin it, and it seemed that Fluttershy understood.         It had been far too long since she let herself loose. She left her worries about the farm back on the road, stamped her concerns into the dirt, and together they ran huge circles around her problems in the fields, leaving them powerless. Every time she and Fluttershy galloped side by side from one field to another, she shed a little more tension, and the world belonged to them.         Applejack had no idea for how long they ran. Time ceased to have any real meaning as they dashed about. She put all of her being into simply enjoying the freedom of the run. Where Fluttershy had worked hard to keep up initially, Applejack found she could up the pace, little by little. Soon she was doing nothing but watch Fluttershy as the she ran. Never once did she complain. When she looked at Applejack, it wasn’t a nervous glance of askance or a timid look - it was a question of where next?         Those glances became rarer and rarer. There was no destination, only the run. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to understand this. When Fluttershy finally began to flag after they had half-circled the outskirts of Ponyville, Applejack herself was starting to get a little tired too; the sun had already given way for the moon and the last rays of daylight were gone. They came to a stop on some wordless and mutual agreement at the edge of Whitetail Woods, both of them breathing hard.         “Oh goodness no,” Fluttershy stammered as Applejack immediately began moving again. “Please, no more, I- I can’t-”         Applejack chuckled as she trotted small circles around Fluttershy, pausing every now and then to give her legs a good stretch or a shake. “Just making sure Ah ain’t gonna feel this in the morning, sugar, that’s all.”         “Oh,” Fluttershy said with a sigh of relief as she hung her head and went back to trying to catch her breath.         As much as she wanted to avoid feeling sore in the morning, it also gave Applejack a great excuse to collect her thoughts. She wasn’t a pony prone to blushing, but she knew it wasn’t just exertion that had her flustered at the moment. She offered a silent prayer to Luna that Fluttershy didn’t think she was crazy for sharing this - even if she was. If she could have a second and a third wish, too, it would be for more evenings like this.         Yet Fluttershy hadn’t said a thing, and she didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps she was just too tired to protest? No. The pegasus was tired, but it couldn’t just be Applejack’s imagination - she seemed more at ease. She trotted up to Fluttershy and experimentally nudged her snout with her own.         “Um, what?” Fluttershy asked, scratching her snout-tip with a hoof. “Is there something on my nose?”         Applejack nickered with joy and lay down on the ground, rolling onto her back. Fluttershy hopped back in surprise.         “What?” Applejack asked, grinning as she ground her shoulders into the soil. She always relished the way it scratched itches she never knew she had. “It’s just grass and dirt, sugar. Come on down!”                  Fluttershy bit her lower lip, but the hesitation was short-lived. Slowly lowering herself down to the ground, she held her wings tightly to her side as she rolled over, her legs flailing a little. Unbalanced, she flopped over on the other side almost immediately, giggling.         “This is really very silly,” she said rolling back and forth in the grass, looking a little awkward but no less enthusiastic for it.         “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Applejack retorted with a laugh. The two soon lay facing each other, both on their sides. Fluttershy stretched her free wing and smiled brightly, finally meeting Applejack’s eyes without wavering.         “That was fun,” Fluttershy murmured. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and she sounded out breath still. Still not a single word of complaint. Applejack could feel her own heartbeats keenly.         “Ah reckon you got more than a little bit of earth pony in you, sugarcube,” Applejack said, reaching out to run a hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. They were both sweaty and covered in grass, but it mattered exactly none. “You ain’t too fussy about stuff that don’t matter, and you’re made of tougher stuff than anypony gives you credit for. Least of all yourself.”         Fluttershy blushed brightly, though there was nowhere to run for the poor prone pony. Applejack felt her own cheeks burning, too, even if it took her a while to understand why. They were earnest words, and could just as easily just have been spoken from a friend to another as encouragement. An innocent compliment, even. Except that wasn’t at all what it had sounded like, nor was it how she had meant it. It was far, far more. She cleared her throat and changed the subject before she could find room for another set of hooves in her mouth.         “Uh, so, hate to ask, but were we s’posed to be at the restaurant at some specific time? Did you have a reservation?” she asked. “If Ah made us miss it, Ah feel plum terrible now.”         Fluttershy looked over at the distant lights of Ponyville. Thanks to their run, they were further away from the restaurant than ever. Applejack lay there in silence watching as those bright blue orbs slipped away from the promise of their dinner and came back to meet her own eyes again.         “I don’t really think I am all that hungry,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, if you are hungry-”         “Ah’m not,” Applejack said almost immediately. It was the purest, most innocent lie she had spoken in her entire life. She was famished.         Fluttershy smiled back as she got back up on her hooves. Applejack lay still for a moment longer, watching. The flower that had adorned the pegasus’ mane had fallen out somewhere. It probably lay in the fields somewhere, Applejack mused. Was it too soon to reminisce fondly about something that had happened minutes ago? She was about to get up when Fluttershy offered her a hoof.         “Why, thank you kindly, ma’am,” Applejack drawled as she accepted the helping hoof, making them both giggle. “What d’you want to do then, if you’re not feeling like dinner anymore?”         Making no immediate reply, Fluttershy set off in the direction of Whitetail Woods. Applejack grabbed her hat and followed. In the wake of their maddened evening gallop, the trek to the woods proper seemed little but a short stroll, and soon they were in under the boughs of the forest. Fluttershy led them with determined purpose for a few minutes before she slowed down and put a hoof to her mouth, creeping up on bush.         “Ah’m not sure I follow,” Applejack admitted, raising a brow in puzzlement as Fluttershy cringed and peered over the rim of the greenery she hid behind.         “It’s just, if you could lower your voice a teensy bit? Please?” Fluttershy whispered, beckoning her closer. Applejack adjusted her hat nervously as she approached. For Fluttershy, that was a harsh rebuke indeed.         “Pardon,” she muttered as sat down on the soft soil and pried a few branches apart to try to see. “What’s up?”         Yet again, Fluttershy didn’t reply right away, but this time it was because words were redundant, the answer quite obvious. Past the bushes and trees, a small family of foxes made their home. One larger fox, not much smaller than Winona, sat outside a den keeping watch while three kits were playing.  Watching the little critters here in their own home was odd. It was hard to think of them as thieving little varmints as she watched them jump about trying to pin each other down for playful nips. The smallest of the three wasn’t jumping about quite as much as the others, though. Once, after he’d gone for a bite on the tail of one of its larger siblings, the other two ganged up on him. Applejack had been about to intervene. She was up, ready to burst through the bush to stop them, but Fluttershy put a gentle hoof on her side which arrested her as surely as bonds of iron. At her confused, wordless query, Fluttershy didn’t so much as bat an eyelid. The yellow mare sat completely still, calm and quiet, watching. Over by the den, the grown-up fox had already separated them, and the three kits were playing nice again while the bigger one scanned the bushes for any threats. “They’re just playing. She’s clever, and a good mother, that vixen,” Fluttershy whispered. She was still watching, transfixed and smiling warmly as she spoke. Applejack, for her part, couldn’t take her eyes off Fluttershy. “She came to me when the little cub there got hurt. He’s the fox I’ve been treating.” “So you just come here to watch, then?” Applejack asked, trying to keep quiet. It was amazing to see how comfortable Fluttershy was here. She’d always thought of the cottage as Fluttershy’s home, but it wasn’t quite so simple, it seemed. “Oh, I’m not really, um, oh goodness, I don’t mean to sneak around. I mean, I usually don’t have to,” Fluttershy admitted sheepishly. Even as she spoke, a little bird with brilliant red feathers flitted down from a tree to perch on her head. She barely even seemed to notice. “I just, um. I didn’t want to startle them because they don’t really know you. I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, dropping her eyes as it was her fault while it was really quite sensible. “Oh,” was all Applejack could think to say. Even as she fumbled for more words, Fluttershy’s whole face lit up. “I’ll go talk to them,” Fluttershy shot in an excited whisper. “I’m sure they’d like to meet you!”         “Uh, no, that’s okay sugarcube, I-” Applejack whispered, but Fluttershy had already soundlessly disappeared through the bushes with uncanny grace. She sighed and sat down again, cringing at the noise she was making. Applejack was doing her darnedest to keep quiet, but being around Fluttershy here, she felt clumsy no matter what she did.         She sighed and scratched her snout. It wasn’t that she disliked animals, and she was right grateful that Fluttershy had wanted to share this with her, but-         But what? There was no real “but”. Out of your element, Applejack? This ain’t no competition. Now be a polite guest. She poked her head through the bush and watched as Fluttershy approached the family of foxes, immediately getting swarmed by the curious little cubs. Whatever she was saying to the vixen was lost to her, too faint to hear. Before long, Fluttershy beckoned Applejack with a hoof. “You can come out now if you want,” she offered, sitting down next to the vixen by the entrance to the den. The clearing seemed a very different place with her in it, more birds arriving and lining every branch even as she watched. It was a very reluctant Applejack who slipped through the bushes and into plain view. If not for the invitation, she’d have felt like an intruder rather than a guest. “Uh, hello?” she offered awkwardly, glancing every which way. A few of the birds scattered at that, and the fox cubs were hiding between Fluttershy and their mother, watching curiously. She stopped a short distance away and adjusted her hat. “Ah ain’t right sure what to do, frankly.” “Just wait a little,” Fluttershy suggested. It was frustratingly vague, but Applejack did as she said. She sat on her rump waiting, having no idea what she was actually waiting for. Sitting still doing nothing was nice enough when she was just enjoying the quiet, or - as she had recently realized - sharing a moment with Fluttershy, but all the animals quite frankly made her nervous. “Um, begging your pardon, but how long am Ah supposed to wait?” Applejack whispered. “Ain’t that Ah’m impatient, but...” her voice trailed off as Fluttershy hushed gently. Applejack’s protests died on the inhale when she saw what Fluttershy had been waiting for; the smallest of the fox kits was stalking towards her, body low to the ground. Fluttershy stifled a giggle as she watched with great interest. “Okay, hi there little varm- er, fox-foal thing,” Applejack said, drawing her head back and peering at the cub as it came near. It stopped not half a pony length away from her. “Um, Fluttershy, what’s it doing?” “He wants to play,” came the amused reply. “Oh do be careful, won’t you?” “Careful?” Applejack snorted. “What’re you-” she started to say, only to yelp in surprise and pull back one of her forehooves as the kit pounced on it. The little fox was lifted off the ground and flipped onto its back, losing its grip. Applejack’s breath caught for a moment, but the kit scampered right back up to run in tight circles around her, yipping loudly. “Uh, sorry. Ah didn’t mean to do that,” Applejack said, mortified. In hindsight, she was also a little surprised to find she had not been addressing Fluttershy, but the noisy little fox. The rambunctious creature was soon joined by its brothers - or sisters, Applejack really couldn’t tell. Within minutes, she had one of them hanging by her tail and another trying to climb up one of her hindlegs. She had no idea how to handle this.         “Fluttershy?”         The pegasus in question was covering her mouth as she giggled, watching the spectacle, but as she was addressed she quickly sobered up. “Oh, um, sorry Applejack, are you okay? I’m sure I can ask them to stop.”         “No, no, it’s fine,” Applejack immediately retorted when she saw Fluttershy’s expression. She swallowed what she’d meant to say quicker than a tankard of apple cider after a long week. “Just, uh, not sure what to do. Ah ain’t cut out for this, Ah don’t think.” Fluttershy exchanged an incomprehensible glance with the vixen and slowly approached Applejack. The kits were still swarming around her trying to climb up on her and nibbling harmlessly on her legs. “Do you have to do anything at all?” Fluttershy asked softly. “Maybe you could lie down? Um, if you want to, I mean?” “Sure?” Applejack said in what was more a question than a statement, lowering herself to the ground. Instantly, she felt the pitter-patter of small paws running up her flank, along her back, and come to rest atop her head. Looking up, she had to cross her eyes to see one of the cubs peeking down at her from the brim of her hat. It was hard not laugh, but she feared the fox might fall off if she did.         “Why d’you do all this?” she asked, steadying her hat. It was yet another of those questions that just slipped out of her. “Ah mean, ain’t saying it’s not worth doing,” she amended. “Is this what gets you out of bed all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning?”         Normally, Fluttershy might have quailed under the spotlight of such a question. Whether she was bolstered by the animals, Applejack or both, the farmpony couldn’t tell. Fluttershy simply spread one of her wings and smiled as a trio of little birds landed on her wing’s edge. “I guess, maybe? I haven’t given it that much thought, but I think that’s it.”         “They’re my friends, too, you know,” Fluttershy added as she moved to lean over the prone Applejack. For a moment, the farmpony idly wondered if she was about to run off with her hat, but all she did was gently help the stranded kit down by grabbing its neckscruff in her teeth. The kits scampered into their den, followed by their mother, leaving the two ponies alone save for a few lingering birds. “Guess it’s a bit like family, huh,” Applejack said as she got back up, placing her almost snout to snout with Fluttershy. She didn’t mind the closeness at all, except the pegasus pony was frowning and looking at something right past her. “Is there something in my mane, sugarcube?” Applejack asked which a chuckle. “Um, actually, yes,” Fluttershy retorted with a little blush. “I think you took half the bush with you when you walked through it.” “Oh.” Applejack laughed and twisted her head around, but she knew it wouldn’t work. Her ponytail shifted over to the other side, making her just laugh even more. “It’s no big whoop, sugar. We ain’t exactly fit for a gala, us.” “I’ll get it,” Fluttershy offered, leaning past her to nip the leaves and twigs our of her mane with care. Without any real reason to object, Applejack simply sat still and let her do it. The fact that it landed her in the thick of Fluttershy’s mane wasn’t such a terrible fate, either. Truth be told, she hadn’t often had other ponies tend to her mane before. It was pleasant and peaceful, and she thought she might just fall asleep sitting there like that up until she heard a faint voice far in the distance. “Did you hear that?” she asked, cocking her head a bit and turning an ear. Fluttershy made a curious noise and a little eep when Applejack’s head bumped into hers. The pegasus gave her a questioning look as she pulled back and spat out a mouthful of leaves. When nothing else happened, Applejack gave a little mental shrug and resigned herself to Fluttershy’s ministrations again, something the latter was more than happy to do, tranquility once more settling in the small forest clearing.         Only to be rudely shattered when Rainbow Dash thundered through the canopy, sending branches and birds flying every which way and destroying the peace quite thoroughly. Fluttershy froze almost completely, slowly turning around to see what was going on even as she stood half-buried in Applejack’s mane. Rainbow Dash was advancing upon them, branches and leaves raining down around her. Somewhere nearby, Applejack could hear multiple sets of hooves approaching and somepony calling Dash’s name, but the pegasus’ more immediate presence drowned them out.         “Okay, your jig’s up, Applejack! I got you red-hooved-” Rainbow started to say as she stalked towards them.         The worst part was, Applejack couldn’t really bring herself to be surprised. She wasn’t a pessimist. At worst, she was a realist, but even though she hadn’t really expected this, she felt she should have, and it made her weary. All the little things she’d shoved to the back of her mind during her evening with Fluttershy flooded back to join her in the present. The spell was broken. She wearily turned to face Dash.         Rainbow Dash stood still, her mouth hanging open as looked at the two entangled ponies. Applejack couldn’t even muster up a smile at how she and Fluttershy must look, but if nothing else, the colorful pegasus finally seemed to get it. Her eyes were wide, first with shock, then with fear.         “Oh buck me,” she breathed. “You guys were- oh.” Her voice trailed off as she furled her wings and shrank a bit. “I thought...”         “Or how about this, Rainbow Dash, you didn’t,” Applejack snorted, but she couldn’t stop at exasperation. She tried pulling the brakes, but her anger just accelerated and made her whole body shake. By the sun, she loved her friend, but this was really too much. “You don’t ever think, do you?” she spat.         Rainbow Dash had her ears flat against her head. Never had Applejack thought she would see Dash so cowed, and while she heard the warning bells in her head, she couldn’t make herself heed them. The ever-louder hoof-falls similarly went ignored.         “Ah tried telling you, but for all your talk, you never stop to listen,” Applejack went on. She took a step towards Dash, leaving Fluttershy behind. “If you have a problem with this, then just say so, and if you don’t?” she trembled. “Then go. Away.”         Dash’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly once, twice, and she looked completely lost.         “And now you ain’t got anything to say? That’s rich,” Applejack said. She was fishing for more choice words to hurl at Rainbow Dash when her view was blocked by pink and yellow. Fluttershy stood between them, looking straight at her. She seemed calm, and in here eyes there was no trace of anger, only suffering.         “Please, Applejack, that’s enough,” she implored.         “I- I gotta go,” Rainbow Dash stammered. Applejack could only watch as the pegasus looked away and took off, tore through the canopy in an explosion of leaves.         “Yeah, fly away. That’ll help,” Applejack muttered.         “I said that’s enough,” Fluttershy said. Applejack drew back, looking at the strange pegasus that stood where Fluttershy once had been. Her eyes had misted over, but there was a strength in her voice that was both terrible and heartrendingly beautiful: an iron resolve. The pegasus’ stance was wide and low, and had she not not looked so sad, it might have been threatening.           “You’re gonna take her side in this, of course,” Applejack retorted, rolling her eyes. “Oldest friend and all that.” It was so deliciously simple to just be angry.         Fluttershy made no reply, regarding her silently. Her lower jaw trembled, and tears lined her eyes, but it was all too easy to imagine she was defending the image of her departed foalhood friend behind her.         “Does Rainbow Dash know you stole her Element?” Applejack chuckled bitterly. “Seems Ah got Loyalty right in front of me here.”         “I’m not taking sides,” Fluttershy whispered as the tears began to fall, obviously trying to keep her voice under control. It wasn’t going very well. “So please stop trying to make me.”         And check. She’d made the pony she thought she might love, cry. You are a class act sometimes, Applejack. Go home before you can ruin anything else tonight, you complete hay-brain.         “Ah’m heading home,” she heard herself say as her body finally listened to her brain. It felt like the only sensible decision she’d made in the past few minutes. Fluttershy whispered something in return, but it was lost to Applejack as she walked off in the direction they’d come from. She hadn’t taken more than four steps before Rarity and Twilight burst through the bushes looking like they’d just finished the the last stretch of the annual Running of the Leaves. Twilight stopped right before they collided, wide-eyed and breathing hard. Rarity, her normally-perfect mane askew, lay straight down on the ground. Applejack had no idea what was going on, and she simply didn’t have the capacity to care right now. “Ladies,” she muttered as she passed them by before either of them recovered enough to speak. She just wanted to go home to her own bed to think on exactly how she just blew it.