CHAPTER 2. June 6th/02/3:42 PM/3rd person.
She was rather surprised, but pleased nonetheless at his answer. "Really!?" she asked more enthusiastically than she intended.
"Eeyup," he said with a genuine smile plastered on his face.
"Ok, follow me," she said as she began walking back towards the back door, sounding a bit more cheerful than usual.
He did as she said and followed her, staying a few paces behind.
Once they entered he made sure not to look around the room and made a mental note not to think about what was in the room.
They continued through the house, passing through the living room and into another room that was placed at the bottom of a staircase.
Entering it, it turned out to be what he expected it to be. A kitchen.
"I'll start heating some water, you can pick whatever flavor you want," she said as she gestured toward a medium-small off-white metal box decorated with a fence in the background and a rooster & hen in the foreground that housed a large variety of tea boxes.
He examined all the boxes, listing the flavors as he did so. Green, lemon, raspberry, peppermint, ginger, chamomile, apples & cinnamon, black, orange spice and white.
He decided to stay on the safe side and go with black, since that's what he used to make sweet tea.
"What flavor do y'all want?" he asked, since he was already there.
"I'll have apples & cinnamon, if you don't mind," she said.
He grabbed a packet of both flavors and brought them over to where she was heating the water.
"Here ya go," he said simply as he gave her the tea packets. He considered if he should offer his assistance in making the tea, but considering you just boil water and put the tea bags in, he decided against it, as it could unintentionally imply that he thinks she's incompetent.
So he simply sat down at a small round table that seated (what looked to be) up to 4 people at the far end of the room, placed next to a rather large window.
He was examining the room around him, when he noticed a small white rabbit on the ground near his foot, it seemed to actually be looking at him, with a look that almost seemed to be saying "What are you doing here?" it's face was very expressive for a common rabbit, which he took note of considering it was still looking intently at him. Under normal circumstances he would've treated the rodent as vermin, but this was Fluttershy's pet, so that obviously wasn't an option.
It looked friendly enough, so he reached his hand down to pet the small creature.
Possibly out of fear, the rabbit bit him on the hand, causing him to wince slightly. He had grown accustomed to pain over the many years he worked on the farm so this wasn't anything he wasn't used to. He was confident the rodent had its shots, so he decided not to make a big deal out of a tiny bite mark on his hand.
Oddly enough, the rabbit didn't run away, it simply stayed where it was, causing a bit of confusion to befall Big Mac; he looked at the rabbit with a curious expression on his face, wondering what the small creature was thinking. After a few more seconds, he averted his gaze from the small creature.
He then shifted his gaze to Fluttershy, she was almost done with the tea preparation, all she needed was a pair of cups and spoons, after getting the cups she went over to sit with Big Macintosh, placing a cup in front of him and sitting down in the chair across from him.
Once she did so, the rabbit quickly hopped over to her and hopped onto her lap, this caught Big Mac completely off-guard. That was odd behavior for a rabbit, let alone a rabbit that just bit him.
"Hi Angel!" she said happily to the rabbit.
"Did y'all train that rabbit?" Big Mac asked curiously.
"Actually no, he's always acted this way…well at least when it's not meal time"
"Really?...how'd ya get 'im?" he asked.
"…I found him as a baby…he was so tiny and all alone," she said in a tone that suggested she was in deep thought and continued. "His mother probably abandoned him because he was too small and weak…and in many ways, I sympathized with him." a subtle tone of sadness tracing her voice.
Big Mac was not expecting such a drastic change in tone and certainly did not intend to make the demure woman upset. "…Ah'm sorry if Ah brought back any painful memories, Ah sincerely didn't mean to," he said honestly.
"…It's alright, I know you didn't mean to," she said and gave him a reassuring smile.
He felt angry with himself for making Fluttershy upset, even if it was by accident, he hated seeing people upset, especially women.
He didn't exactly know what to say, usually he was rather quick when it came to supporting people, but for some reason he was at a loss for words.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, it's really not your fault; I become sad so easily that just a simple memory about how I met Angel can get me emotional," she said admittedly.
"…Do y'all wanna talk about it? Ah know ya don't know me very well, but Ah'm willin' ta listen, if'n yer willin' ta tell me," he said with a sincere smile on his face.
She didn't respond right away and looked out the window at the animals living in her backyard. "I wouldn't want to bore you by talking about myself," she said in a somewhat sad tone of voice.
"If y'all aren't comfortable, Ah understand, but trust me when Ah say ya won't bore me," he said honestly. "An' besides, we're friends now right? an' friends are there for each other; so don't feel like y'all can't talk ta me about yourself." a comforting smile spread across his face.
"…Thank you, that means a lot to me. And actually, I feel oddly comfortable around you, it's as if I've known you for years," she said sincerely. "I can't figure out why though, maybe it's the way you carry yourself, how you know what you are and how the world views you, but yet, you're still full of confidence even knowing there's people who think you're a dolt, or think you're unwise, even though that's the furthest from the truth...I wish I could be more like you," she said as she looked into her empty cup.
"What makes y'all think ya can't?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
She looked up at him with a slightly puzzled look and responded "I'm just too insecure…I could never be as strong as you or Applejack…or any of my friends for that matter," she said, as she looked back down into her cup.
"Look at me Fluttershy," he said, provoking her to look up at him. "No-one is born strong." a serious look on his face.
"I guess…But what about you and Applejack?" she asked.
"I wasn't at all strong or confident 'til Ah was in my early teens…but Ah was never as confident as Applejack...at least, not 'til then," he said honestly.
"What caused you to become more confident?" she asked curiously.
"Necessity…" he said plainly, and lowered his gaze slightly; staring as if he was in deep thought.
She looked at him with a confused look, not sure what he meant. "I don't understand, why was it a necessity for you to be stronger and more confident?" she asked with a look of inquiry.
He hesitated on his response and let out a short sigh. "When yer the only one physically capable of doin' work an' have 2 younger sisters an' a grandmother lookin' ta you fer every kind of support…y'all can't be weak, even if all yer strength is gone," he said and brought his hand to his mouth and rested his head on it after he was done speaking.
"…Oh…I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking when I-" she was saying when the kettle began to screech, effectively interrupting her sentence.
"I should probably get that…" she said as she stood up and walked over to the kettle.
Big Macintosh followed shortly after, cup in hand.
Fluttershy then removed the kettle and set it to the side for the time being. She then put her cup down and put the tea bag in it, then picking up the kettle and pouring water into her cup. Looking behind her she saw Big Mac and gestured for him to offer her his cup, he did so and she poured water into it.
He then picked up his tea bag off of the counter and placed it into his cup and the pair walked back over to the table.
Fluttershy was about to speak when Big Macintosh spoke up. "Y'all don't have ta apologize, it ain't yer fault."
Fluttershy hesitated on her response "…But I brought back those painful memories…I should apologize."
"Ah haven't gone a single day without thinkin' of those memories, Ah've learned ta live with it...an' if it never happened, Ah wouldn't be half the man Ah am today," he said honestly.
"…I suppose that's true," she said in an unsure tone and took a sip of her tea.
He followed suit and took a sip as well before speaking. "So, as Ah was sayin', no-one is born strong." he said suddenly, completely changing the subject and dropping his somber attitude.
She seemed a little hesitant, but decided to just continue on with the conversation. "…So, you actually think I can become strong?" she asked curiously.
"Eeyup, but that's if'n y'all weren't strong ta begin with; yer already strong, in yer own way. But Ah believe y'all can get stronger," he said simply and took another sip of his tea.
"W-what? You think I'm strong?" she asked with a shocked looked on her face.
"Eeyup," he said simply and took another sip of his tea.
"How!?" she asked in a shocked and confused voice.
"Well, Applejack told me about how ya stopped a manticore jus' by bein' kind ta it, so y'all have strength when it comes ta animals, Ah've never heard of anyone tamin' a manticore," he said and continued. "An' yer kindness, Ah mean, there's that sayin' 'kill 'em with kindness' So y'all don't even need ta be physically strong, as long as yer strong at what ya do," he said, making a decent point and taking another sip of his tea.
"…I guess so…but I want to be strong like you," she said, catching him slightly off guard.
He considered asking why, but decided against it. "Alright."
She looked at him with an expression of minor confusion and responded. "…Alright? What do you mean?" she asked.
"Y'all said ya wanna be strong like me, right?" he asked.
"Yes…" she said trailing a bit.
"Well, the only way yer gonna be strong like me, is if someone teaches ya."
She then realized what he meant. "Do you mean…" she said trailing off.
He then gulped down the rest of his tea and answered. "Eeyup, Ah'm gonna train ya!" he said with enthusiastic finality.