There she was again, next to Big Mac. Walking this time, but still in the evening. Something was different, but Fluttershy couldn’t quite decide what it was. The sunlight seemed the same; gradually growing less. Grass was still green, and the sky slightly orange, as one would expect at a sunset.
Big Mac looks the same too, aside from... wait... is he... blushing? He is! Big Mac is blushing! Because of me! She felt her heart do a somersault as she tried to make eye contact with the red stallion.
“Big Mac?” she asked him, seeming remarkably confident. “We’ve been going out for a while now, and... uhm... I think we... we ought to be more than what we are now. ...Even though I’m not quite sure what we are right now.”
“Eeyup,” he said, slowing to a stop as he turned to look Fluttershy in the eye. He looked... happy, or relieved even.
And that was it. That one word had been all she needed. That one word meant everything to her, she had been hoping, no... dreaming of this moment for weeks now! And here it was. Big Mac, the sunset, the eye contact. They stared at each other, both overcome with joy that they had finally crossed that line. Fluttershy felt her heart beat faster as Big Mac leaned closer, and closer... and they kissed.
All the sadness of the last few weeks was forgotten. For that one, perfect moment, nothing else mattered to Fluttershy. She was happy. Her heart was racing, her chest felt warm, and her heart felt like it was about to explode. It was almost too good to be true...
Fluttershy woke up with a jolt, her heart immediately sinking as she realised that it had just been another dream. She had fallen for it again. Why would a pony’s mind play such cruel tricks on itself?
One flood of tears later, Fluttershy came out of her bedroom, still sobbing every so slightly. Angel was sound asleep, as she had hoped. She had promised the little bunny that she wouldn’t let her feelings get in the way of today’s plans, and she didn’t want to start the day by breaking her promise. Sure, it hadn’t been a pinkie-promise, but even normal promises are meant to be kept.
She stood there for a second, admiring the the little white rabbit. She hated waking him up, even if it was for the sake of playing with him. Angel was sprawled on the floor, snoring quietly, and a small trickle of drool running from the corner of his mouth. Fluttershy couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
“Angel, wake up. We’ve got a lot of games to play today,” she said ever so gently to the little bunny. He was a light sleeper, so it never took much to wake him up. As she looked up from the now awakening bunny, she noticed his empty food bowl.
Oh, right! We haven’t had breakfast yet! It was morning, and she had completely forgotten about breakfast.
“I’m sorry Angel,” she smiled. “You’ll want something to eat before we get started, won’t you?” The bunny nodded slowly, still a little drowsy from his sleep.
A strangle grumble was heard from her stomach, and she blushed in embarrassment.
“I guess that makes two of us,” she said with a smile as she made her way to the kitchen. “Let’s go see if we can find something to eat.”
The smile quickly faded from her face as she realised that she didn’t have any food to prepare for breakfast, not even something small like an apple.
How did that happen? Oh... I’m going to have to shopping... I hope Angel doesn’t mind having to wait even longer for his breakfast...
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Angel. It looks like I’m going to have to go do some shopping before we can start. Do you mind waiting for me to get back?”
The little bunny shook his head. Truth be told, he did mind. But he didn’t want the yellow pegasus to know that. Her state of mind was a delicate one these days, and he didn’t want to risk saddening her even more than she already was, despite her cheerful appearance.
“I’ll try to be as quick as i can, Angel! Why don’t you go play with some of the other bunnies?” she called over her shoulder as she made for Ponyville, saddlebags with her, and some money tucked inside a pouch on the side of them.
Just over two hours later, she had already arrived at the market, and had already done most of her shopping. Her saddlebags almost full, she only needed a few more things to make Angel and herself an extra luxurious brunch, to compensate for the belated breakfast.
With a lettuce, the last thing on her list, bought and safely placed in her saddlebags, she moved to turn around and started walking when she bumped into somepony. As she looked up to see who it was, her face started to assume about the same colour as his.
It was Big Mac. Out of all the ponies in the market, she just had to bump into Big Mac. After an awkward silence, she realised that Big Mac had no problem with remaining quiet, so she spoke:
“Oh... hi Big Mac, sorry I bumped into you. You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“Nope,” he replied with a smile, obviously amused by the idea of Flutterhsy injuring him.
“Oh, good... I had best be on my way now. Angel is waiting for me to come home to make some lunch,” she said, still blushing vigorously.
“Eeyup,” said Big Mac as he turned to proceed with his business.
“Wait!” Fluttershy squealed, immediately regretting her decision.
“Ee...yup?” Said Big Mac, turning back to face her with a questioning, yet also vaguely hopeful expression on his face.
“I... I...”
It was happening again. For the millionth time since she had fallen so deeply in love with the red stallion, she was locking up at just the thought of telling him exactly how deeply in love she really was.
’No. Not this time. Not again. I’m not letting this happen to me again. This has to end, if not for me, then for Angel.’
The thought of her favourite pet bunny did the trick. She just couldn’t stand thinking of Angel being in pain, or even feeling sad or let down, just because she wouldn’t just go up to Big Mac and tell him.
“I... I really like you, Big Mac. More than I would an other colt. I’ve always thought that one day, we might be more than just friends, but I was afraid to tell you.”
No reply. He was taken aback by this sudden outburst from the otherwise so quiet pegasus; she could see it in his eyes. She faced away, unable to look him in the eye, for fear of what was about to come. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she awaited those words she had dreaded for so long: “I’m sorry, but...”
They never came. As the first teardrop landed on the ground, there was no sound to be heard. Aside from Fluttershy’s own barely audible sniffling, the market was quiet.
A hoof. A hoof on her shoulder. She looked up and saw that Big Mac was moving closer to hug her. Her heartbeat quickened, just like last night, and just for a second, she thought that she had reacted too soon. For that one moment, she could pretend that she and Big Mac were actually more. It made her feel happy, but also a little guilty. She pushed him away, but only slightly, so she could look him in the eye.
He looked... happy? She had a hard time telling. He was always in a good mood, so it was hard to tell if he wasn’t just being himself. Add the teary eyes to that equation and for all Fluttershy knew, he could be laughing at her, not just smiling.
Realising that Big Mac was waiting for her to calm down, she spoke up, something she wouldn’t have been able to do if her mind hadn’t been drifting away towards Angel.
“So...?” she managed to ask him, only barely audible.
“...Eeyup.” That was all she needed. She felt her heart racing, tears welling up in her eyes once again. But these were different. They weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of joy
She galloped straight home. Big Mac would understand, or she would explain later. She was simply too thrilled to be able to have a normal conversation. She loved him, and he loved her back. It was the best Fluttershy had ever felt.
Only five minutes had passed, but she was already home. She hadn’t stopped on her way home, not even to catch her breath; it could wait. Even Angel managed to forget about his increasingly louder stomach for a while when he saw his owner coming back so overjoyed. It was a big contrast to how she had come home the past few weeks. A big contrast, but a welcome one.
Fluttershy spent the rest of the day playing with Angel, and when he had had enough of that, she went to lie on her bed. Not to feel sorry for herself like she had been doing lately, but to remember the moment, to check if it really had happened.
It almost seemed like a dream to her, it was so... surreal. She almost couldn’t believe that it had actually happened, but deep inside, she knew it had. There was one thing different from the dreams she usually had: The perfect moment had passed, but she hadn’t woken up yet.
She had done it. She had told Big Mac how she felt. She had finally overcome her nature and done what her heart had always told her to do. She... she was part of a couple. A couple with Big Mac.
Done with her disbelief, but still unusually happy compared to her behaviour lately, Fluttershy went to check on her pet one last time.
Angel was doing fine. He had helped himself to some of the lettuce from her saddlebags, and was now lying sprawled in the middle of a small patch of grass, enjoying the sunlight, or... what was left of it. The sun had started to set.
Oh my, just how long have I been dreaming away in my bedroom?
After having checked on Angel, and making sure that he didn’t need anything else, Fluttershy went back inside. She gasped as she glanced at the clock. It was already seven PM. ‘Time really does fly when you’re having fun, she thought to herself. There was no point in making supper. She was much too excited to eat, and Angel would be quite happy with his lettuce.
The last few hours before bedtime were spent trying to think about the next conversation with Big Mac. It’d be awkward, she knew that much, but that wouldn’t last long; they knew how the other felt about the relationship. Fluttershy moved to go to bed, almost forgetting that she hadn’t yet wished Angel goodnight. Quickly retracing her steps, she found Angel huddled up in a corner of the room, but still awake.
“Goodnight Angel. I’m sorry we didn’t get to play all day, but we still had fun, didn’t we?” She smiled as she said this. It was a proper smile, too. Angel was beaming at the sight of his owner in such a good mood again.
She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow, pleased with how the day had gone, and a giant smirk on her face as a result. It had been a long, eventful and happy day. The best she had had in a long time. And tomorrow would be even better; she’d actually be in a relationship, instead of just trying to start one.