//------------------------------// // Candlelit Harmony // Story: Candlelit Harmony // by TheRatava //------------------------------// Big Mac walked through the kitchen door of the Apple Family's house and grabbed a glass of water. He sat down at the table just as Applejack strolled in after him, presumably done with her work. "Hey. Big Mac, yer done with yer chores?" Applejack asks him as she opens the refrigerator, scanning it for something, then closes it again, not finding anything to her liking. Big Mac shakes his head and finishes his drink, he stands back up. "Just getting a drink." He states and walks back outside. {} A good half of the apple orchards trees were bare of any apples, the other half still having the bright red fruits hanging from their branches. Applejack and Big Mac took great pride in this, seeing as they were very ahead of schedule. They had enough time to make grand dinners that they used to make before their parents left. They also had enough time to help teach the CMC how to buck apples, claiming that if they were good at it they'd get their cutie marks. They weren't very good at it. Then again, so was AppleJack when she started applebucking. It wasn't too long before Big Mac got back into the swing of things and was applebucking once more with ease. He gathered the fallen apples into the baskets and made his way over to the barn to drop them off. He was about to walk back into the orchard when he saw a familiar pink maned Pegasus. {} Big Mac could distinctly remember the first time he had met the mare known as Fluttershy. He was young back then, a little bit older than the CMC now, and was just learning how to buck apples on his own. His father had taken him into town, Ms. Cake had been talking to his father about a young filly that was staying at Sugar Cube Corner, about the age of Big Mac and the other filly the Cakes had taken in. The Cakes had a history of taking care of people until they got back on their feet, which was what had happened with Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, had began working for the Cakes, and they let her stay in one of the extra rooms in the loft above Sugar Cube Corner. It was a rather simple way to meet, Fluttershy had been sitting and reading by the counter when Big Mac and his father had walked in. Finding himself bored, he had sat down next to her and tried to spark up a conversation. The filly was quiet at first, and Big Mac had waited patiently for her to start talking. Eventually she did talk, but in a very quiet voice, Big Mac had to still his breathing in order to hear her. Soon after, his father called for him, and they left. He turned to smile at the filly, who smiled back. This continued for a while, a few weeks. Whenever his father would leave to the town, Big Mac would come along and sit with Fluttershy as they talked. It was the start of a rather pleasant friendship. One day, when the two Apples walked through the doors of Sugar Cube Corner, Mac noticed that Fluttershy wasn't sitting in her usual spot. "She said she was going out to the river." Mrs. Cake had spoken up, noticing Big Mac's confusion. He nodded as a thank you and walked out of the bakery. He found his pink maned filly friend sitting by the river, marveling the flowers and the butterflies. Big Mac looked at her and smiled. {} "Oh, hello Big Macintosh." Fluttershy greeted the applefarmer. "I was just here to drop off a few things for Applejack," She gestured to a saddle bag around her, "She's here, right?" "Eeyup." "Thank you, Big Mac, it was good talking with you." She smiled him, and he thought about how it wasn't really much of a conversation. "Wait, Fluttershy." Big Mac spoke out as Fluttershy made her way to the Apple house. She turned around. "Is something wrong?" "Nope," He shook his head, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me- help the Ponytones." Fluttershy blushed and looked away, "Oh, it was no problem, I enjoyed it, and now I'm a part of the Ponytones! I should be thanking you! Oh, wait, I'm not thanking you for damaging you voice, but I'm thankful for you letting me lipsync, which I suppose was because you damaged your voice." Big Mac held a hoof out, signalling her to stop rambling. She squeaked out an apology. "The least I can do is thank you." He stated. "Oh, but you already did." Big Mac chuckles and shakes his head. "No, that's not what I meant, I want to find a good way to thank you." He thought for a moment, "Let me take you out for dinner at the new restaurant in town, how about tomorrow night? It's the least I can do." Fluttershy blushed harder, "Um, okay, I mean, it sounds fun, and I don't have anything going on tomorrow night. So, I accept." She said and smiled up at him, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." She began to trot back toward the Sweet Apple Acres fence, before turning around and running back, "I forgot about Applejack!" With that, the pink maned filly was gone with a flash. Big Mac smiles after hear, and a few minutes she has actually left. The moment she was out of sight, Applejack was galloping towards Big Mac, yelling his name. Big Mac halted in his tracks and gulped when he saw his sister's expression. "Just what in tarnation do ya think you're doin'?" She inquired, staring him down despite being shorter than him. "We'll I'm thinkin' that I'm gonna have to find a nice suit for when I take Fluttershy out for dinner tomorrow night." He says, trying not to tremble under his sister's gaze. "Well, listen hear, Big Mac, I'm thinkin' that ya better watch where ya step now. If ya hurt Fluttershy, I'll deal with ya the way I'd deal with any other Pony that would hurt my friend." "I am not gonna hurt her, I'm a gentleman." Big Mac retorted. "Look, I know this little crush of your's has been here for quite some time, I'm okay with that, but if you do anything to hurt her, you'll be answering to me, siblings or not. Ya hear?" Applejack raised an eyebrow and Big Mac nodded. The orange coated Mare nodded and smiled. "Now, if ya don't mind, I gotta make sure Applebloom and her friends ain't burnin' the house down. Something about 'CMC Cooks'." She shook her head and began to walk away, before stopping and turning her head, "By the way, ya don't need to wear a suit, ya don't even have one." She quipped. {} Big Mac straightened the red bow tie around his neck and glanced around the room. Taking note of everypony's attire, he pondered the thought of maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't have worn that suit (and bow tie) he had borrowed from his friend Doctor Whooves, who wasn't actually a doctor, which was a bit odd. He had been waiting at their table for about 5 minutes, but he did show up early, so it's not like Fluttershy was late. {} 10 minutes pass by. {} 15 minutes. {} 20 minutes. She was officially late, and Big Mac was starting to get a bit nervous. {} 30 minutes later, Fluttershy comes running into the restaurant, sitting down before him and spewing a thousand apologies out of her mouth. At least Big Mac wasn't the only one to dress up, she's wearing a fancy dress lined with sapphire gems that matched her eyes, and her hair was done up. It was frazzled and falling all over the place, but she still looked beautiful. {} During dinner, the sun had set and the moon had risen, resting high in the sky as if it was covered with a dark blue starry blanket. The two ponies had decided to go for a stroll around Ponyville. Fluttershy had stopped in a small park, sitting down on a bench and beckoned Big Mac to it next to her. After he sat down, Fluttershy started to point out constellations, and Big Mac pointed out a few that he knew. Soon after that, they began playing a game of making up constellations and a story about them. Fluttershy was much better than Big Mac at this. "Whoo-hoo!" She exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air and giggling after Big Mac had given up. The next few minutes were full of comfortable silence, and it was nice. "Hey, Big Mac?" She spoke up as she watched a butterfly flutter around her. "Do-do you think, that maybe, we could do this again sometime?" Big Mac looked at her and smiled.