Appledashery

by Just Essay


All In the Family

"Hmmmm..." Fluttershy squatted on the front lawn of her cottage. Her lips smiled, fuzzy cheeks turning rosy as she threw seed across the grass, feeding the pigeons and water fowl that had gathered along the banks of a babbling brook. "Hmmm-heeheehee... he he he he..."

"Uhhh... Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash reclined lazily on a tree branch overlooking her best friend's property. "Everything cool down there?"

"Heeheehee-yes, Rainbow." The animal caretaker nevertheless continued giggling.

Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "You're not... snorting some of that stuff you're tossing to the birds, are you?"

"Oh no. No no no no no. Nothing like that, Rainbow." Fluttershy emptied her bag of feed and leaned down to nuzzle a family of ducks. "I've just been in a good mood ever since Big Mac's last visit."

"Hmmmm..." Rainbow smirked, leaning her head back on crossed hooves. "I bet."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "He was telling me how happy the farm's been as of late."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Applejack's been serving tall stacks of syrupy pancakes every single day at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Hey, sounds snazzy," Rainbow Dash murumured. She squinted up at the blue morning sky. "Although I hope they have a pretty large outhouse."

"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy sighed through a wry smirk. "Don't you see what I'm getting at?"

"Hmmm?" Rainbow looked down at her.

Fluttershy flapped her wings and levitated beside the tree branch. "Applejack has been immeasurably happy." She folded her forelimbs. "She's been on top of the clouds for days now! Well..." A girlish chuckle. "You know what I mean."

"Sure." Rainbow stifled a yawn. "Just... don't know where you're going with it, exactly."

"Rainbow Dassssssh..."

"Eugh..." Rainbow clenched her eyes shut. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Use... that voice."

"What voice?"

"That 'motherly older sister voice,'" Rainbow grumbled. "It's almost as bad as your Stare... only on the ears."

"There's a reason why Applejack's been so happy as of late."

"She got coronated as the Pretty Princess of Apples?" Rainbow mused, then blinked blankly into the air. "Guh..." Wincing, she reached out and manually coiled her wings to her side. "Down, girls... down."

"It's because she's had the loving support of a best friend," Fluttershy said. Her teeth showed in a beaming smile. "And that happiness has spread throughout her whole household. It's infectious, and it's left Big Macintosh positively jubilant every day. He doesn't understand the reason behind it... but I do." She squinted. "And I think I do too."

"So I may have cleared a cloud or two above Sweet Apple Acres so that AJ and Stu could have their silly date." Rainbow shrugged. "Big deal."

"It means a lot to them, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy gulped. "And... and you might be playing it cool, but I know that it means a lot to you too."

Rainbow Dash breathed out her nostrils. She stared west with dull eyes. "Uh huh..."

"Perhaps not in the same way, but... still..." Fluttershy exhaled. "I'm proud of you, Rainbow Dash."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Heeheehee..." Fluttershy giggled. Eventually, she cleared her throat. "Anyways, it wasn't a date."

"...it wasn't?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Could have fooled me."

"Actually, Big Mac told me all about it," Fluttershy calmly said. She perched on the end of the branch across from Rainbow Dash. "Apparently Applejack went and took Stu to see her parents."

"...?" Rainbow Dash sat up. "The hay does that mean?"

"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy calmly shook her head. "I mean their graves."

"... ... ..." Rainbow Dash squinted. "They're... buried at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Along the southwest edge of the property. By a garden." Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "Did you not know that?"

"I... I mean, sure, it's... probably come up in conversation once or twice... but... but..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "Wait, a garden? How do you know about it?"

"Uhm..." Fluttershy brushed her bangs aside. "Because Big Mac first took me to see them months ago. I've... made several visits since. I've even helped Granny Smith with planting flowers around the plot." She bore a tender smile. "It's... such a peaceful spot. Beautiful, too." Her wingtips fluttered. "Being there and keeping the ground in check almost... m-makes me feel like part of the family."

Rainbow Dash stared at her for a while. At last, she swallowed and said, "You and Big Mac have been pretty serious too."

"Ohhhh... I don't know if 'serious' is the right word to use."

"Why not?" Rainbow smiled. "Serious love sounds like the best kind of love."

"I don't feel 'serious' every time I'm with Big Macintosh," Fluttershy said. "I just feel... happy."

"Yeah..." Rainbow glanced aside. "I... wonder how Stu and Applejack feel. Serious or happy."

"Maybe both?" Fluttershy shrugged. "Every pony is different. I don't see why every couple can't be unique as well."

Rainbow sighed. She hugged herself. "Pancakes and gravestones..." Her ears twitched. "...I think that about does it, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy blinked curiously.

"Hook... line.. and sinker..." Rainbow bit her bottom lip.

"And... uhm..." Fluttershy leaned her head to the side. "...how are you doing, Rainbow Dash?"

"Me?" Rainbow shuddered. "I'm spending time with a good, good friend."

Fluttershy stared at her. She smiled. It wasn't long before she was leaning in to nuzzle Rainbow.

Rainbow closed her eyes.

"I have an idea..." Fluttershy leaned back with a smile. "What say we go to Sugarcube Corner? They're serving a fresh batch of imported Trottingham cider. How about it? It'll be my treat."

"Hmmmm... a cider of a different flavor," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"That's right."

"Sounds gross. Will probably make me barf." She hopped off the branch and hovered in place. "What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"