All told, Fluttershy enjoyed the food that Granny Smith had given her. She particularly liked the freshly-baked apple pie that they had for dessert; again, she explained, her family had never had anything of the sort in Cloudsdale, but already she thought the Apple Family's culinary delights some of the best she had ever tasted.
As was not unusual, Big Macintosh hadn't said more than a few words throughout their supper; but on this occasion, he felt as though his silence wasn't as much 'normal' as it was awkward. He couldn't quite explain it, but somehow he felt an urge to try and say something to impress the canary-yellow filly. As he couldn't think of anything clever to say, however, he simply held his tongue and let Granny Smith do the talking.
Just as they had finished, they heard somepony knocking at the front door, whereupon Granny Smith went out to the front room to see who it was. When she opened the door, she noticed another Pegasus standing just outside; this time, it was a young mare in a similar colour scheme to Fluttershy, though in a paler shade and with three flowers of some sort as a Cutie Mark.
“Can Ah help y'all, miss?” asked Granny Smith inquisitively.
“Uh...well, I sure hope you can.” The mare spoke in an equally cautious tone to Fluttershy, though hers was less breathy and more mature. “My name is Posey; I'm looking for my daughter. You...you wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?”
Granny Smith pondered. “That depends,” she replied. “Could ya tell me what she looks la'k, perchance?”
“Well...she's about four hooves and ten inches high; same colour as me, but richer; and she answers to the name of Fluttershy.”
“Well, what a coincidence!” remarked Granny Smith. “Mah grandson Big Macintosh found a li'l Pegasus filly of the same name wanderin' 'round just north o' the orchard.”
The pale yellow Pegasus mare's eyes widened. “You mean you've seen my little filly?! Where is she?”
“She's right here, matter o' fact,” replied Granny Smith, cocking her head towards the hallway where the two younger ponies were standing and listening in on their conversation.
Posey looked curiously over the elderly mare's shoulder, and let out a small gasp when she saw the canary-yellow Pegasus filly standing next to the red-coated teenager she assumed was Granny Smith's grandson. At the same time, Fluttershy suddenly realised who it was at the front door, and gazed at her with her mouth wide open and her eyes glistening with tears. There was a long silence, until at last neither Pegasus pony could contain herself any longer.
“M...Mama!” whimpered Fluttershy, bolting towards the mare with her tears now streaming out of her eyes like winter torrents.
“Fluttershy!” wailed Posey joyously, holding out her arms and hugging her daughter feverishly while the little filly cried loudly into her mother's shoulder.
Granny Smith and Big Macintosh looked on, thoroughly moved by the euphoric moment between the two Pegasi. Big Macintosh in particular was so full of emotion that he couldn't avoid shedding a tear of his own as he watched them embrace; but neither did he care whether teenagers should have been capable of that sort of thing anymore. All he cared about at this moment was that Fluttershy and her mother had been happily reunited.
“Oh, Fluttershy,” sobbed Posey, who by now was also starting to show tears, “I'm so glad you're safe. When I heard what had happened at flight camp, I thought you might have been......well, killed.”
Fluttershy was in such an emotional state that she couldn't immediately answer, so Granny Smith tactfully interjected; “Actually, from what Big Mac 'ad been tellin' me, she seemed perfectly fine,” she replied. “Dunno how she managed ta survive such a long fall, but there ya go. She din' seem ta know her way round this part of Equestria, though, so Mac an' Ah brought her back here an' took care of her until somepony came to pick 'er up.”
Posey smiled warmly. “Oh, bless you both,” she said softly.
“Yo' very welcome, Miss Posey – least we could do,” replied Granny Smith modestly.
“Eeyup,” agreed Big Macintosh quietly. Secretly, he was glad his fur was the right colour to hide the blush he could feel spreading across his cheeks.
“By the way,” went on Granny Smith curiously, “ya never said anything 'bout yo' gal Fluttershy havin' a Cutie Mark. Din' she have one before she ended up down here?”
“What Cutie Mark?” Posey looked down onto Fluttershy's flank, and was utterly amazed at what she saw. “Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! You've finally got your Cutie Mark? H-h-how did you...?”
“I don't know, mama,” admitted Fluttershy. “It must have been something to do with all those animals who saved me and helped guide me and Big Macintosh home.”
The older Pegasus smiled softly. “Well, I sure would like to hear about it later,” she mused. “I'm so proud of you, though; you must be the first in your class to get your own Cutie Mark.” She then looked up to the elderly Earth pony mare. “Thank you so much for looking after my daughter, Miss...um...”
“Smith's the name – Granny Smith. That's quite alright, Miss Posey; an' thank you, Fluttershy, fo' bringin' Big Macintosh home. Next time y'all are in Ponyville, feel free ta drop by if ya feel la'k it.”
“Oh, we will, Miss Granny Smith. Thanks again.” Then Posey returned her attention to her daughter; “Right, come along, Fluttershy, let's get you home.”
“Just a minute, mama,” said Fluttershy promptly. She trotted shyly up to her new friend and gratefully nuzzled against the side of his head. “Goodbye, Big Macintosh. I hope I'll see you again soon; and thank you both for feeding me.”
“Thanks fo' helpin' me get home, Fluttershy,” answered Big Macintosh softly. “Take care o' yourself, y'all.”
Fluttershy promised that she would, and climbed carefully onto Posey's back ready for the journey home. After thanking Granny Smith and Big Macintosh one more time, the two Pegasi gently took off for Cloudsdale, while the two Earth ponies stood and watched them leave. Big Macintosh kept his eyes on Fluttershy until the last.
“Couple o' days later, of course, Applejack finally came home from Manehattan,” finished Big Macintosh, “but even now that she was back, mah life felt strangely empty without Fluttershy. She did come back ta visit once or twice after that first encounter, but Ah still felt kinda incomplete until Ah heard she'd moved into a cottage nearby, just on the edge o' the Everfree Forest. Ever since then, Ah'd been tryin' ta build up the courage to at least consider datin' with her......except that...well...”
Apple Bloom nodded in solemn understanding. She knew exactly what her big brother was about to say. “Ah'm awful sorry, Mac,” she apologised glumly. “Ah din' realise...”
“Well, of course ya didn't,” replied Big Macintosh sadly. “Y'all may have gone an' ruined everything, but Ah'm the one who's to blame fo' it. If Ah'd been a bit less shy about it, maybe Ah would've still had a chance with her.” He said no more, but hugged his Fluttershy plushie close to his heart. “She must really hate mah gut after that love poison malarkey,” he murmured, shedding a small tear. “Let's face it – Ah'm gonna be alone forever!”
This coming from her big brother, somepony who was normally so laid back and easy-going, made Apple Bloom's heart bleed. She had never known Big Macintosh to be so pessimistic before, and to see him in such a state was so depressing that she only just managed to fight back tears herself. If only there was something that she could do to put things right, she thought to herself as she gazed sorrowfully upon her eldest sibling.
But no sooner had that thought gone through her head than she straightened up and assumed an expression of steadfast resolve. “Not on mah watch, Big Mac!” she stated firmly. “Let me an' mah friends take care of this; we'll soon set y'all an' Fluttershy straight again!”
Big Macintosh hesitated for a moment or two, but eventually replied with a weary shake of his head; “No thanks, Apple Bloom. Y'all 'ave done enough.”
“No, Big Mac!” insisted Apple Bloom resolutely. “We were the ones who got y'all into this mess, so it's only fair we get y'all out of it again – an' Ah won't take 'no' fo' an answer!”
“But...are ya sure y'all can handle this? Ah mean, if Fluttershy...”
“Aw, c'mon, big brother,” interrupted Apple Bloom persistently. “At least give us a chance. Ah wanna help, an' Ah'm sure Sweetie-Belle an' Scootaloo would too.”
Once again, Big Macintosh took a moment to consider. At this point, Apple Bloom played her trump card by directing him a sad, pleading, puppy-eyed expression, which finally caused him to relent. “Oh, alright then,” he sighed reluctantly, “but only if ya let me in on any plans ya have, okay?”
“You bet!” grinned Apple Bloom, secretly raising a triumphant hoof as she spoke.
Locomotion chortled in disbelief. “So Big Macintosh actually enlisted you girls as matchmakers?! Well, there's a first!”
“Tell me about it,” agreed Apple Bloom. “Ah was still tryin' to bring him round to the idea by the followin' mornin'. So anyway,” she went on, “havin' tried to reassure him fo' the zillionth time, Ah set off fo' the clubhouse, an'...”
“Ooh! Ooh! This is where me and Scootaloo come into the story!” squeaked Sweetie-Belle enthusiastically.
“Oh right?” said Locomotion, interested. “How so?”
“Well, we hadn't really made any plans for how we were going to get our Cutie Marks that day,” the white unicorn explained, “so we were hoping to work a few things out that morning. For whatever reason, though, Apple Bloom seemed to be running late, so Scoot and I sat down to a game of checkers while we waited for her...”
Scootaloo stared out of the window again, but she still couldn't see the yellow farm filly anywhere. “I don't get it,” she muttered, absent-mindedly moving one of her horseshoe-shaped pieces diagonally onto the next square. “Apple Bloom's never usually this late.”
“Probably just busy at the farm,” mused Sweetie-Belle. “You know how it is with her and Applejack and Big Mac.” She then returned her attention to the board, and grinned broadly when she realised the mistake Scootaloo had just made. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at Sweetie-Belle's expression; but before she could ask what had just grabbed her attention, the white unicorn filly moved one of her own pieces to jump across those of her opponent before reaching the other side. “King me!” she announced triumphantly.
“Aw, nuts!” groaned Scootaloo, slapping a hoof to her face in annoyance. “I just had to miss that move, didn't I?”
Sweetie-Belle smirked cheekily. “Bad luck, Scoot,” she teased. “You snooze, you lose.”
“What the hay's that supposed to mean?!” objected Scootaloo huffily. “I wasn't asleep just then, and I'm not a loser! I'll prove it to you!” and she moved another of her pieces in a bid to try and capture one of Sweetie-Belle's. Unfortunately for the orange-coated Pegasus filly, she only succeeded in being jumped again immediately afterwards; but thankfully, any further humiliation was soon nipped in the bud as their yellow-furred friend finally arrived.
“Howdy, gals,” said Apple Bloom as she entered the clubhouse.
“Hey, Apple Bloom,” chirped Sweetie-Belle. “So what are we doing for our Cutie Marks today?”
But for once, much to her friends' surprise, Apple Bloom didn't seem too bothered about finding her Cutie Mark. “Ah ain't really thought about that, ta be honest,” she replied, “but that's not important right now.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle stared in disbelief. They had never known Apple Bloom to be so complacent about them gaining their Cutie Marks before.
“What do you mean, 'not important right now'?” exclaimed Scootaloo. “Haven't you forgotten, Apple Bloom, that we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?! Emphasis on the 'Cutie Mark' bit...”
“Ah repeat; it ain't important right now!” insisted Apple Bloom.
“And why not?! I thought gaining your Cutie Mark...”
“Just shut up an' listen!” ordered Apple Bloom sharply. Scootaloo subsided with an annoyed frown. “Ya know how we tried to bring Big Mac an' Miss Cheerilee together on Hearts an' Hooves day?”
Scootaloo grimaced. “Ugh! You had to bring that up, didn't you? And just when I'd managed to get all that mushy talk outta my head!”
“Are you trying to tell us we haven't actually broken the love curse between them?” asked Sweetie-Belle, tensing up with worry.
“No – but it seems that by meddlin' in one relationship, we've kinda tarnished another,” explained Apple Bloom gravely. “When Ah went to tell Big Mac that dinner was nearly ready yesterday, Ah noticed that he had several photos of Fluttershy on his bed. He told me that he'd had a crush on her fo' many years now, an' was tryin' to work up the nerve to ask her ta be his very special somepony.”
Sweetie-Belle was horrified. “You.....you mean we've taken all this trouble to......how much more stupid can any of us get?!?!” she burst out, thoroughly dismayed and visibly angry with herself how badly their matchmaking plan had gone.
“Wow!” remarked Scootaloo, taken thoroughly aback. “I guess that the whole love poison thing was a worse idea than...well, than any of us thought.”
“Worse?!” repeated Sweetie-Belle shrilly. “It was way worse than worse, Scoot! We've cost Big Mac his relationship with Fluttershy! We've ruined everything!”
“Not yet we ain't,” stated Apple Bloom calmly. “In case y'all 'ave forgotten, Fluttershy was outta town that day; even if she's heard about it, at least she won't 'ave seen it for herself, so there's no way she'll think Big Mac's actually hooked up with Miss Cheerilee. It'll be easy for us to make amends fo' the whole thing.” She paused, assuming a thoughtful expression. “We just need ta work out how we're gonna do it is all.”
“Well it'd better not be the love poison thing,” scowled Scootaloo. “I've had to put up with enough mushiness this week.”
“Ah wasn't gonna suggest anything of the sort, Scoot,” said Apple Bloom resolutely. “But what Ah do suggest is that we dig up a bit o' dirt on Fluttershy – give Big Mac an idea o' the sort'a pony he's lookin' at; then from there we can plan out a firs' date fo' them both.”
There was another pause as Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle exchanged thoughtful glances. Scootaloo still seemed rather unenthusiastic about the whole idea, but Sweetie-Belle, on the other hoof, seemed much better convinced that they had a chance of resolving the dilemma that they had unwittingly dragged Big Macintosh into.
At last, Scootaloo nodded and said, “Alright, Apple Bloom. I just hope we don't end up screwing up even further.”
“That's settled then!” declared Apple Bloom. “Now a' we need ta do is find some time to hang out at Fluttershy's place – an' then we can start ta gain the info Big Mac's after.”