//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: A Helping Hoof // by kbooms //------------------------------// “So you really liked it?” “’S not like Ah eat apples an’ nothin’ but apples,” Applejack quipped with a wink. “Oh, of course, I just… wanted to make sure.” Fluttershy blushed slightly. The farmpony chuckled softly in response as they walked slowly out the door of the restaurant. It had been a nice surprise that they’d not had to pay for their food, courtesy of the waiter. She felt more at ease than she ever would have imagined following such a dinner. “Applejack?” “Yeah, sugarcube?” “Um… should we go to Sugar Cube Corner now?” Fluttershy looked nervously down the path that would take them to said bakery. “Pinkie seemed so insistent….” The orange mare thought for a moment, a hoof tapping her muzzle. Suddenly, a mischievous idea took root in her mind. She eyed her friend, a slow smirk spreading across her face and a glint in her eyes. “Ah reckon,” she drawled slowly. “That this is our date night, an’ we can do whatever we want t’ do.” “Our… d-d-date night?” Fluttershy gasped in astonishment, her wings spreading open to point at the first few stars gracing Princess Luna’s night. “Well… yeah!” Applejack looked over at her friend as she began trotting in a different direction from the bakery, their friends, and the party. The pegasus followed her without question, likely overloaded from shock at the d-word. “B-but, um… it… wasn’t really a date.” “Don’cha think that’s what Rarity an’ Pinkie were tryin’ t’ do?” The farmpony nearly lost her footing as she realized she couldn’t stop the next words from escaping her mouth. “An’ Ah reckon Ah ain’t had a nicer date than this’n.” Her friend turned to her with wide eyes. “Really?” she breathed. “Darn tootin’!” She blushed suddenly and glanced to the side. “’Course, Ah ain’t ever been on a date in the firs’ place so, might be that ain’t such high praise after all.” “Oh, I’ve never been on a date either.” Fluttershy smiled shyly. “And I think it was just… lovely.” “No kiddin’?” Applejack raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Shucks, Ah’d’ve thought plenty o’ stallions an’ mares alike woulda asked you by now.” “Well,” the pegasus’ blush deepened. “They’ve asked….” “Jus’ not your type, huh?” The farmpony nodded knowingly. “Oh, they were all nice ponies,” she protested. “I just… I’ve had a crush on a certain pony for so long now, and I just couldn’t do that to a pony I didn’t really feel something for….” “Same here,” Applejack affirmed. She then frowned. Maybe Pinkie had been onto something. There was only one way to find out. She braced herself and took a deep breath. “Fluttershy?” “Yes?” Those gorgeous eyes locked onto hers, shimmering in the leftover rays of the sun now resting just below the horizon. “Follow me.” She turned away abruptly and began galloping toward her destination at a pace she imagined her friend would be able to keep. A surprised Fluttershy quickly charged down the path after her. On a nearby rooftop, a blue pegasus stretched and gave a huge yawn. Her magenta eyes opened blearily as she recalled her task, ears twitching at the sound of rapid hoofbeats. Her gaze locked onto the two ponies fleeing the scene and she immediately sprung to her hooves. “Oh, ponyfeathers,” she cursed under her breath. Twilight Sparkle surveyed two of her very close friends with skepticism. The all-too-innocent smiles on their faces didn’t sit well with her, and her wings rustled against her back in irritation. “You did what?” she said flatly. Raising her voice was not yet required, nor was it truly necessary. They knew very well how she felt about the matter, even in the scant minutes since she’d arrived at the hastily prepared “party.” “Come now, Twilight,” Rarity simpered. “It’s not as if it will cause any harm.” “Also!” Pinkie Pie butted in, her face mere centimeters from the purple unicorn’s. “They’re already in love!” “Pinkie, you know I believe in your Pinkie Sense,” Twilight began, stepping back from the too-wide smile of her friend and forcing herself not to roll her eyes. “But for something as nebulous and unpredictable as love? This just feels like meddling.” Pinkie made a stricken, offended noise. “Of course my Pinkie Sense can sense love!” She frowned in disapproval. “Tsk, tsk, Twillight – I thought I taught you better!” “This is hardly meddling, Twilight,” Rarity sniffed haughtily. “I mean, it’s not as if we’re spying on them to make sure everything goes as planned—” Suddenly, the front door slammed open, revealing a stricken Rainbow Dash. The pegasus paid the door no heed as it swung back and forth from the blow, and landed quickly and neatly in front of her friends. “Rarity,” she gave the unicorn a mildly panicked look. “We have a problem.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Not spying, huh?” The white mare at least had the decency to blush as she began questioning Rainbow Dash. “Please,” Fluttershy wheezed as they started up a large hill somewhere on Sweet Apple Acres. “Are we… almost there? Or could we… just… trot?” Applejack responded by slowing her pace to a walk and giving her friend a gentle smile. “Sorry, sugarcube. Ah do tend t’ forget that Ah run faster’n most ponies.” She gave the pegasus a reassuring nudge with a shoulder as they crested the hill. “An’, yes. We’re here.” “Oh… good!” Fluttershy gasped, flopping unceremoniously – and yet extraordinarily gracefully – onto the lush, green grass. The pegasus heard a light chuckle from the pony behind her, which warmed her entire being for the second time that night. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of the grass and the very slight, cool breeze from the northwest. Though she would never say so to anypony, this was far better than any party Pinkie could throw in her honor. Applejack’s words from earlier echoed through her head. Don’cha think that’s what Rarity an’ Pinkie were tryin’ t’ do? Unbidden, her memory brought forth all the shared moments, the meaningful looks, the comfort and safety that radiated from the farm mare that she’d always sought out. A rustle of grass off to her left distracted her, and she opened her eyes reluctantly. “This here’s the best hill on the Acres t’ watch th’ stars come out,” Applejack said softly, lowering herself onto the grass next to her friend. “Ah figured we could watch th’ first couple hundred or so, then mosey on over t’ Sugar Cube Corner so we don’ disappoint Pinkie too much.” She winked conspiratorially. “A bit o’ quiet time between events never hurt anypony.” Fluttershy could hardly breathe. It was as if the farmpony had known, somehow, that she’d needed extra time before the party. “Applejack,” she breathed. “It’s so nice… and so… perfect.” She let out a contented sigh. Without thinking, she slid a bit closer to her friend and gently rested her head on the strong shoulder situated at the perfect height. Every thought had so completely vanished from her mind, she wasn’t even embarrassed to whisper to her friend: “I love you.”