With every step, her hooves felt heavier. Every stair climbed, she could feel her legs starting to lock up. But Applejack pressed on, reaching the top floor of her home and turning to look down the hallway to her room. What would she say? What could she say? Moving forward, she steeled herself. If she didn't do it now, then she wouldn't do it ever. It's not that it would go away, but what would she think? Lying together in the same bed, harboring such thoughts... It wasn't right. It wasn't honest. Standing outside her own door, she closed her eyes and tried reciting something. Anything, to get her on the right track. "She's mah friend..." She breathed. "And even if this... doesn't work out, she'll always be that ta me. And that's enough." Bolstering her resolve, the pony pushed open the door to her room.
"Fluttershy?" She called, expecting to see the mare in her room. However, she was met with the sight of her own room, slightly askew from her earlier shenanigans. Darting her head from side to side, Applejack trotted into the center of the room, seeing if Fluttershy was hiding, as if playing a game. "Nah, she ain't no little filly." Applejack muttered, only after she had already looked. Turning to the closet, she opened the door to find some of her games tampered with, but nothing was really taken out. "Naw where did she go...?" she breathed, staring at the window. It rattled as the wind made it's presence known, and for a moment Applejack believed Fluttershy had left through the window.
Maybe she heard her downstairs. Maybe she didn't feel the same way, and instead of confronting her, she left so Applejack could save face. Her legs frozen, she almost fell on her haunches right then and there, before urging herself to the window and looking outside. "Fluttershy...?" She called wistfully. Lowering her head, she resigned herself to the story she made up in her head. It only made sense. Opening her eyes, she paused. "Wait a gosh darned minute." The window was, for all intents and purposes, dry. At least her side was. Rattling again as the wind picked up, Applejack realized that there was no way the yellow pegasus had left. At least not through this window. Turning, Applejack headed again for the hallway, looking both ways as she raised an eyebrow. "Now where did that pegasus get to?" Applejack harrumphed, catching sight of a light and a crease in the door of the guest room. Walking down the hallway, the earth pony stopped short of the door, pausing to look in through the crease.
"Thank you, Fluttershy." Caramel mumbled softly as the the yellow mare shook her head. She was sitting at the foot of the bed, a wide smile on her face. "You're a smart pony, I feel a lot better now." He said, nodding his head as if approving his own sentiment.
Fluttershy merely shook her head. "Oh no, I have to thank you. I feel like I can take on the world. Thank you, Caramel." Applejack winced, although she wasn't too sure why. Peering closer, she tried to get a better look at the two, but her muzzle touched the door, causing it to creak open slowly. Fluttershy visibly jumped as she moved to her feet, but Caramel just turned his head slowly towards Applejack.
"Aw, hey AJ." Caramel waved a hoof toward her, and Applejack - a bit unsure - merely walked into the room. "How long you been out there?" As he said this, Fluttershy suddenly looked almost frightened, her face turning away in shame.
"Not... long. Just came up and couldn't find Fluttershy anywhere." Applejack coughed, an almost pained expression on her face. "Figures she'd find her way to some wounded animal." She added, taking a crack at Caramel while she was at it, trying to... do whatever she could to alleviate the sick feeling at the pit of her stomach.
Caramel merely nodded slowly. "Well I'm sorry to take your friend off your hands like that without askin'." Was all he let out, his head leaning back.
Shaking her head, Applejack smiled as best she could. "No, no, Ah'm sure whatever you two were talking about was more important than what Ah was doing," she said. At this, the yellow Pegasus' ears perked up.
Fluttershy looked up, her eyes unreadable, but clear. Apparently whatever Applejack had just said calmed her down a lot. "Oh, um," she squeaked, trying to get her voice under control. "I was just asking him about his injury and seeing if I could help him," she said, looking over to Caramel. "So I got him another pillow from your hallway closet."
Applejack looked between the two a moment, before her hoof stamped weakly among the ground. "Now sugarcube, what're you gonna sleep on now?" She asked. "Tha' pillow was meant fer you."
Caramel instantly looked up, suddenly aware. He looked guilty as he attempted to move the pillow off his bed, but winced when he unconsciously used his sprained hoof to attempt it. In a rush, the yellow mare moved his leg back, stopping him. "That's, um, quite alright. I'll manage, you keep it." She mumbled, turning to Applejack. "I don't think I'll need it that much," she breathed.
Tilting her head, Applejack merely let the pegasus give up her pillow - planning on sacrificing her own should it come down to it. "Well, we better let this one rest, Fluttershy. He's got a lot of healing to do, and staying up late and yammering on isn't gonna help him." She said, waving her hoof about as she did.
The pegasus looked at Caramel a moment, before turning to Applejack and smiling. "Right." Trotting out the door, she made her way back to her friend's room, her own resolve burning as she rehearsed her feelings in her mind.
-----
"Um, hello?" Fluttershy called, her head bumping open the door to the lit room. In it an adult colt of an orange color was laying in bed, his hoof on a book labeled Lord of the Saddles. Looking up, he seemed confused, but gestured a friendly wave toward the unexpected guest. "Oh, um. Sorry." Seeing that she had interrupted the injured pony's rest, she took a step back, intent on leaving.
"No, that's alright Fluttershy." Caramel mentioned, lifting his other hoof to pick himself up on the bed. As he did, however, the book slipped and tumbled off the bed. Pausing, all the colt did was stare at it briefly. "Oh. Whoops." Looking up toward the mare, he looked between her and the book, lifting his sprained hoof as he did. "Do you think you could...?"
Fluttershy followed his gaze for a moment before blinking and nodding. "Oh, I'm sorry, of course." Trotting over, she lifted the book back unto the bed, letting Caramel get a better hoof on it. "Sorry."
"My fault." He said, smiling. Suddenly, a crash of thunder ripped open the sky, and the house shuttered. As it did, Fluttershy squeaked and fell over, her legs locking up from under her. "Fluttershy! Are you ok?" Caramel asked, leaning on his good hook to get a look at the yellow mare. As soon as he did, the book slipped off the bed a second time, bouncing under the bed. "Aw, horsefeathers!"
Freeing her legs, Fluttershy quickly moved to her feet. "Oh, um, sorry." Bending down, she looked to see where the book landed - out of her reach at the moment, a quick swipe at it with her hoof told her that. "Oh darn." She stamped the ground - causing nothing more than a tap along the floorboard.
The stallion shook his head. "It's okay, I wasn't reading it all that intently in the first place..." He waved his hoof, before wincing and realizing that was his sprained one. "So... um. Why are you here, Fluttershy? Surely not to see me?"
"Oh no. I mean-" She paused, realizing how that must have sounded. "I mean, I didn't know you were hurt - you were just here when I got here and I saw a light down the hall while Applejack was downstairs for a long time and I was curious and nerve-wrecked and-" She paused, stopping herself before she went too far.
"Nerve-wrecked?" Echoed Caramel. Fluttershy looked away, realizing that she had gone to far regardless. "Not a big storm fan, I guess," he added. Fluttershy looked up confused, before realizing his mistake and nodded, going along with it.
"Oh yes. I mean, no. I'm not really a fan." Smiling, she realized at the moment she was trapped - she couldn't exactly leave Caramel after just arriving. "Um, so, how are you feeling?" She struggled out, attempting to buy some time until Applejack returned from downstairs.
Caramel took a moment to look over his leg, before shrugging his shoulders. "Been better. Been worse, too." Lying on his side, he faced Fluttershy a bit more comfortably, a smile playing on his features. "So... when did you decide you had a voice?" He asked, looking at the pegasus expectantly.
This surprised Fluttershy, her eyes widening. "Um, what do you mean?" She asked, her eyes darting toward the door - at any moment she was hoping Applejack would come back and free her.
"I've never heard you speak much before now. Barely an audible squeak." Caramel mentioned, leaning on his good hoof. All he had known about the yellow mare was that she took care of animals on the other side of Ponyville and was as shy as they came. "Why the change?" He prodded a little, interested on knowing more - seeing as he didn't have anything else to help pass the time.
The pegasus paused. It was true, she hadn't spoken to Caramel in the past. "Oh." She pondered. In fact, she remembered only a chance encounter in Ponyville, where she barely uttered a word. "I guess... I guess I'm a little... braver?" The word's crawled out of her mouth, as if unsure. Caramel tilted his head in response, but merely nodded.
"Alright, I guess I can see that. But you didn't answer my question - why're you are at Sweet Apple Acres, in this storm." At this, Fluttershy hesitated, but saw no harm in letting the colt know why she was currently in the same room as him - so far from home as it is. She let him know all about Angel's funny business back at her house, and how late it was before she could even leave her house. By this point she was pacing about the room as Caramel simply listened and nodded. When she mentioned Applejack's kindness in allowing her to come, he frowned. "So this was supposed to be your bed for the night? Ah... I'm sorry, Fluttershy," he said, his good hoof pressing down on the mattress alternatively with his sprained hoof, which merely passed through the air. "If only I was looking where I was going..."
"No, it's alright, Caramel, it's really no bother. I don't mind sharing a bed with Applejack for the night." She said, before freezing. Had she really just said that out loud? Maybe she could fix it - it wasn't that hard.
"Oh." Caramel mentioned before Fluttershy could say anything. "Well, I guess that makes sense," he said, as blunt as can be. Caramel nodded his head a bit as he slid his body unto his back.
"What makes sense?" She echoed, unsure of what Caramel meant. It suddenly occurred to her that he had immediately sensed her motive - and furthermore had his own dashed. "Oh-oh I'm sorry Caramel."
"Ah, don't worry about it, Fluttershy. I was so caught up in you just sayin' something to me that I let my mind run away with it. I'm not crushed," Caramel said, shaking his head. There was an awkward silence that filled the air, and Fluttershy slowly moved toward the door. "Ugh!" Slamming his head against the pillow, he suddenly looked toward the mare. "I hate to ask, but can you ask Big Mac to get me another pillow? I hate to bother him but this is straining on my neck." He asked, as if the last minute hadn't happened.
"Oh. Um, sure!" Was all she said as she walked out of the hallway. Looking about, she tried to guess which room belonged to Big Macintosh. Sighing, she resigned herself to just try the door across the hall, and tried knocking. However, the door merely pushed open, revealing a hall closet with various bed sheets, and perched upon them, a little pillow. "That was easy." Fluttershy smiled, picking the pillow up and happily trotting back towards Caramel. Pausing just outside the bed, she felt a bit awkward. Not only did he get shut down, but he knew of her attraction to Applejack.
However, Caramel could pick up on it pretty well, and waved it away with his hoof. "I meant nothing by it. Really Fluttershy. I didn't know you two were an item. Ha, I never even knew Applejack swung that way," He laughed, closing his eyes and lifting his head so the pegasus could more easily place the pillow. Quickly shoving the pillow in the gap, she squeaked out a pleasantry that reeked of suspicion. "Uh... what?" He asked.
"Um. Well, you see..." She had already admitted enough at this point. Almost skipped right into it, really. She hesitated, before lowering her head. "We're not really..." She trailed, her voice disappearing into a high-pitched squeak.
"Oh. Oh! Oh geez, I'm just eating my hooves tonight." Caramel slapped a hoof to his head, shaking it. Although, he had to admit the pillow was really comfortable. "I'm sorry Fluttershy, I had just assumed with how easy you mentioned it that it was common now. I thought that's why you were braver now."
Fluttershy looked away, but she mulled over what the stallion was saying. She had simply put it out there. Almost with conviction. She smiled briefly, which surprised Caramel. "I... suppose I am. A little." She swiveled her hoof around on the ground, tapping it idly as she stared downward.
"So why don't you just... bring it up with her?" Caramel ventured, seeing as now he was interested again. "I'm sure she..." He paused. What would Applejack do in return? She had always struck him as too proud for any old stallion... which he guessed was why it made sense to him so quickly that she might have her interests elsewhere. He sighed, leaning his head back. "Well, I'm not sure, but..."
Fluttershy turned her head slightly. It really wasn't his place to give relationship advice, but she felt it cute that he was trying to help, regardless. It was an odd feeling, what she had right now. She had taken that first step - maybe she stumbled into it, sure, but she had made it. She had said something without agonizing over every little detail. She didn't even take it back. Glancing toward the door, she could hear voices coming from downstairs, but knew better than to eavesdrop. Looking back towards Caramel, he hadn't moved since he had frustratedly given up on attempting to make her feel better without sticking every hoof he had in his mouth. "Are you, um, all right?"
"Am I alright? Yeah, sure, peachy." Caramel mentioned, fairly unamused. He didn't sound angry, but he seemed to be losing interest.
Stepping closer, Fluttershy asked again. "Caramel... are you okay?"
Looking up, Caramel looked ready to dismiss the mare before he caught sight of her eyes. He froze, suddenly unsure. "I'm..." Pausing, he sighed. "No, not really," he confessed, his hoof falling to his side. "And yeah, it's a little bit that you so easily shot me down. But I know I gotta tell you why or you're just gonna stare at me with those big ol' eyes until I do." He mumbled, causing Fluttershy to blush a little at the compliment. "Guess I feel like I'm doing nothing right, losin' seeds, tipping over apple baskets, breaking wagons, spraining ankles..."
Fluttershy nodded slowly. The poor pony before her did seem to hit a spot of bad luck every step of the way. "I'm sorry. It must be very hard to keep going sometimes, and you work so hard," she praised. Caramel paused his revelry to listen to Fluttershy further, a renewed interest in his eyes. "I mean, you help with the farm as best you can. And um, well, I know it's not Big Mac or Applejack who cook the food around here all the time, and there's only so much Granny Smith can do."
She was looking away now, trying to come up with more things Caramel did around the farm, but only could stick to more broad ideas. However, looking back toward the colt, he had moved from his interested position back to a relaxed one on his back, a gentle smile on his face. She smiled inwardly, her little plan had worked. Sighing contentedly, Caramel nodded his head. He knew quite well what Fluttershy had done, and he'd admit that her kindness had worked on him. "Thank you, Fluttershy," he said, a smile stretching across Fluttershy's face. " You're a smart pony, I feel a lot better now.
-----
Walking into the room, Fluttershy still had a smile on her face once it was clear Applejack hadn't been out there for long. However, Applejack still had a pit in her stomach, and she was starting to pace around a little. As the sound of rain and the low rumbles of thunder caught Fluttershy's attention, Applejack spoke up. "So uh, what'd you an' Caramel talk about?"
"Not too much. Just... things," Fluttershy said, kicking at the ground sheepishly. "It was... nice." She nodded in approval to her own statement. Looking over at Applejack, however, she suddenly saw that the strange look she gave in the guest room was still on her face. "Applejack?" She asked, her name enough.
Shaking her head, Applejack walked toward the bed. "It's nothin', sugarcube. You takin' a shine to him, Ah reckon?" It was blunt, and Fluttershy could almost feel it physically against her. It hurt, a little, that Applejack could say something so coldly. Without feeling, but yet... she wouldn't be wavered. Not yet.
Swallowing, Fluttershy shook her head slowly. "Oh no, nothing like that. He's... nice, but he's not... um. My type," She admitted, the nervousness feeling she had early started to grow, her resolve starting to fade. However, Applejack looked straight up, her face clear from whatever plagued her moments ago, which caused the pegasus to pause even longer. It started to dawn on her that maybe, just maybe... what she was feeling wasn't so strange. "Applejack, I have..."
She took her first steps in Ponyville, coming to the Sweet Apple Acres.
Applejack's painful feeling had subsided, and she was having a hard time trying to hide it. But more importantly, it was starting to become clear to her. What she held dear to her. What she had wanted. The storm outside blustered and rolled on, the thunder picking up as the main force of the wind started to rattle the window fiercely, as if delivering a crescendo of the utmost magnitude upon the two ponies.
"I want to thank you. So, so much for everything you've ever done for me. You've believed in me, led me along the right paths, never gave up even when I wanted to," She continued. She had dwelt on it all night. This feeling inside. And she had let it out, even just a little bit, with a minor bit of stumble, but she kept moving forward.
She didn't want to be held back, and in front of Applejack, she didn't feel she needed to.
The other pony stepped around the bed and came towards Fluttershy, a calm expression over her face. Behind the pegasus a scene of great force played out, with lightning and thunder and the wind causing branches and stray leaves around and around, obscuring any vision outside. But to Applejack, she couldn't hear a thing. Nothing but Fluttershy's soft, lovely voice.
The pegasus looked into Applejack's eyes. She could see what was there. She felt the strength the earth pony was giving her. It was everything she needed. Her voice didn't shake at all. Fluttershy smiled. Explosive sounds of thunder were heard overhead as Fluttershy nuzzled against Applejack's neck, the Earth pony returning in kind. She had come this far, everything seemed so perfect, so easy with the other mare there, with her. Backing away a little, she looked Applejack in they eyes once more. The next part was simple. It was as easy as a hop, a skip... Suddenly Fluttershy's back legs kicked out, causing her to jump right into Applejack.
"I love you, Applejack."