Ponyville Park was modestly crowded, given that it was a very nice, breezy day. It was no wonder many children were out flying kites and took advantage of the great winds. But it was the usual activity, along with the typical picnics or just hanging around on the grass.
On one particular bench, however, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat together, cuddled up. The location wasn’t particularly high traffic, but they occasionally had a passerby. Sometimes they were met with surprised looks, which they ignored. Especially Fluttershy, as she barely paid them any mind. No, her attention was completely on Rainbow.
To be honest, Rainbow Dash could barely remember why they came to the park in the first place at this point. The last twenty four hours- and counting- were just one thing after another with Fluttershy and really, she couldn’t have been more pleased. Taken aback, sure, but also very pleased. It was just such a sight to see her in such high spirits and even more so when just about any time physical contact came up could and usually would end with kissing, making out, and occasional groping. What was not to love about this situation?
They were just at one of the park’s many benches, sitting side by side, watching as birds sang, the clouds moved, and cuddling for no real reason outside of wanting to stay in continuous contact with one another. Rainbow heard this was called the ‘honeymoon phase’ new couples would go through, getting caught up with the relationship and being overly attached for a time. But even if that was the case, she was pretty sure she was fine with this lasting for as long as she could milk it- I mean, as long as Fluttershy wanted.
Fluttershy nuzzled her hair, kissing the top of her head, “Is something on your mind, Rainbow? You’ve been awfully quiet. Anything you’d like to share with me?” She held Rainbow closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Come on, you already know what on my mind right now,” Rainbow Dash told her with a smile, “Namely this cute, pink haired pegasus who so happens to be the kindest pony around. Used to be kind of more timid than this, but now we’re sitting in a park together talking about nothing at all; and loving every moment of it… maybe you know her?”
Fluttershy laughed, stroking her hair affectionately, “Oh Rainbow, you’re so cheeky! But you know I love that about you. Of course I know her, because that’s me, silly.”
“Is that so?” Rainbow snickered a bit to that, stealing a quick kiss fro Fluttershy, “Coulda fooled me on that one.”
“Oh, is that so?” Fluttershy leaned closer to her, giving her a teasing smirk.
“Nah, I’m kidding,” Rainbow replied with a grin, “I’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to pick up the signals you’ve been giving off since this morning.”
Fluttershy giggled and kissed her cheek, “How can I help it? I don’t have to hold back anymore. I can finally show how much I love you~”
With a blush, Rainbow laughed it off as she gingerly pushed Fluttershy back down to a sitting position so she could bring an arm over her shoulder, “Aw, come on, ‘Shy! You don’t gotta be so sappy all the time. I know you’re all for this and so am I, but we can play it cool.”
“Play it cool?” Fluttershy pouted slightly, “And what do you mean by that?”
“No, not like that,” Rainbow sweat dropped a little, giving her a nervous smile, “What I mean is, well, I’m still new to this, so if I end up tripping over anything, I don’t wanna drag you back or nothing- as odd as that sounds. I figured we’d take it slow, y’know? Kinda just what I always figured dating would be like.”
“Well of course we’re going slow, but…” Fluttershy snuggled her again, “We still have needs, Dashie. And I seem to remember you pouncing on me and making out with me yesterday, and this morning~”
Again, Rainbow blushed to that, “Yeah, I know, I know! I just don’t wanna jump the shark either. I’d rather us just go on a few dates, make out whenever the notion hits us, and sweet talk one another before we- you know, start rolling in the hay, if you catch my meaning. But as things are, yeah, I like this pace we’re going at!”
Now Fluttershy laughed, bringing her arms around her more and nuzzling her hair, “Oooh, so you’ve been thinking about making love~?”
“Uh, kinda?” Rainbow blinked a few times, trembling a little, “I mean, I won’t lie. I’ve thought about it before. I, uh… I’ve thought about it in sometimes in my room. Alone. At night. But that’s not the point.”
This made Fluttershy grin, but she instead just nuzzled her, “Me too… But I think you’re right too, we are going at a good pace. Besides, I’d like for us to go on more dates! I’m sure we’ll find plenty of nice things to do.”
To that, Rainbow relaxed a little, “Yeah, I know! I got this one place in mind we could go later this week. It’s a little place that opened in the middle of Ponyville last week, the Black Cat Cafe. It looks real low key and kinda cool. I thought we could go check it out and, if ya want, we can turn it into a date.”
“Ooh, that does sound nice,” Fluttershy smiled, kissing her cheek, “We’ll definitely have to go there!”
“But I gotta ask something,” Rainbow smiled back at her, “Why did we come to the park today? I totally blanked out on this. But why we did, I don’t mind.”
“We came out here because you wanted to go for a walk, or a flight,” Fluttershy explained, “Why we came to the park, that was my idea. I figured it was a nice place for us to come and enjoy the outside a bit.”
Rainbow chuckled a bit, “Then how did we get on the bench here cuddling?”
“Does it matter?” Fluttershy poked her nose.
“Eh, I guess not,” Rainbow shrugged a bit, grinning, “But still, it’s nice to know how we ended up here.”
“It is,” Fluttershy pulled her closer, this time onto her lap, “But what in the world made you forget? All we did was have breakfast, make out a little, and then we decided to get some air!”
“I guess you just take my mind off everything,” Rainbow snickered at her.
Giggling, Fluttershy looked about at the park for a few moments, then turned her attention back to Rainbow. She stroked her hair out of her face, looking into her eyes, “I think you do the same for me.”
“Good to know,” Rainbow smirked at bit, reaching over to cup Fluttershy’s face in her hands, “But I gotta admit, I do kinda wish we stayed home if we were gonna get sweet like this.”
A little blush dusted Fluttershy’s cheeks as she placed one of her hands over Rainbow’s, “That’s true… I suppose I thought if we were out here, we could control ourselves a little more. But I have to say I’m thinking the same thing.”
“So, what do you say we go back to my place and pop in a DVD, plop down on my couch covered in a thin blanket, and cuddle up for the evening?” Rainbow snickered with a grin.
“It’s the middle of the day,” Fluttershy reminded her, giggling. Nonetheless, she smiled and then stood up, gently placing Rainbow down onto the ground, “But yes, let’s do that!”
“Hey, even if it’s the middle of the day, we can just relax for the rest of the day, order Chinese, and just chill. I mean, you are suppose to be relaxing and with me watching you, remember?” Rainbow laughed back at her.
Fluttershy ruffled her hair and then took her hand, “Then let’s get going, shall we? It’ll be nice to get back to cuddling up in the couch with you~”
“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow grinned, shooting up from the bench and straight into the air. She was just about pull her along towards her house, but before they could get going, they noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were running about in the park looking for someone. In fact, it seemed like they were looking for Fluttershy in fact.
“Hey, Fluttershy!” called Apple Bloom.
“Do you think she might be here?” Sweetie Belle asked as she trailed behind her.
“Come on, if she’s not home or at Rainbow’s then she’s gotta be around here or in town,” Scootaloo explained.
Fluttershy caught wind of their conversation and giggled with amusement. She then let go of Rainbow’s hand and floated down to the ground. Giving a smile to the fillies, she approached them, “Hi there, girls! I was nearby and I heard you looking for me. Is everything all right?”
The three fillies jumped with glee as they found Fluttershy. Apple Bloom was the first to speak up aside from the shouts of hello, “Everything’s fine, ‘Shy! But mah sister has been workin’ pretty hard taday fer some reason. She wanted us ta make sure you don’t have an order placed fer any apples or nothing, do ya?”
As Rainbow came down beside Fluttershy, that was when Scootaloo ran up to her with a grin, “Hey, Rainbow! Are you hanging out with Fluttershy today?”
“You bet!” Rainbow grinned, ruffling her hair, “We were just out for a flight.”
“Um, I did ask for a bushel of apples, but I don’t need it right away! Whenever she can get them to me is fine,” Fluttershy assured with a smile.
While Scootaloo gushed over Rainbow Dash and continued to ask more questions about her day, Apple Bloom nodded in agreement to Fluttershy’s statement, “Alwright then! Ah’ll tell her you ain’t worried about it yet an’ let her know ta take it easy for now. Seriously, she needs ta slow down.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, “Oh yes, she does. I don’t understand sometimes. I know she has a strong work ethic, but how can she put in that ethic if she doesn’t relax?”
“No, Ah mean she’s workin’ harder than usual today,” Apple Bloom tried to explain, scratching the back of her head, “She was sayin’ somethin’ was wrong with the barn this mornin’, but Ah didn’t see nothin’ wrong with it. She dropped it after a few minutes then started working double time.”
“Oh, dear… I hope everything’s okay,” Fluttershy said worriedly.
Apple Bloom smiled a little, “Ah think she’ll be fine. Now we just need ta get back tell mah sister to chill.”
“All right then, you girls take care,” Fluttershy smiled again, “And give Applejack my regards, okay?”
“Sure will!” Apple Bloom nodded, having to grab Scootaloo and pull her away, “Come on, girls! Let’s get back to the farm!”
“All right! Let’s go!” Sweetie Belle agreed, following after them, “Bye Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!”
“Y’know, Rainbow Dash has been spending a lot of time with Fluttershy,” Scootaloo noted. She looked back at her honorary sister, seeing the two of them waving at them before taking off into the sky, “But I guess that might be just me.”
“My sister said it’s because they really want to date one another, but both of them are too nervous to make the first move,” Sweetie Belle giggled, following after them, “So maybe they finally did it?”
“Wow, seriously?” Scootaloo blinked, “I mean, I know Rainbow Dash is closer to Fluttershy, but whoa! I had no idea they were… well, ya know!”
“Rarity said they’re just good at hiding it,” Sweetie Belle said with a grin, “But I always felt like those two were more than friends.”
“Come on, you two!” Apple Bloom grabbed both of them by their hands and pulled them along behind her, “Ah wanna get mah sister to calm down now.”
“She’s not losing sleep again, is she?” Sweetie Belle asked with concern, “Oh man, I think Rarity’s going to freak when she hears about all this!”
Apple Bloom shook her head, “No! She’s just been acting like this since this mornin’.”
“Hope she’s okay, though,” Scootaloo remarked.
Apple Bloom rolled eyes at that, smiling, “She’s mah sister, it’ll take more than a little work to mess up her day!”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances, figuring to just take Apple Bloom’s word for it.
Before long, the young trio made it to Sweet Apple Acres. Upon arrival, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Everything was in its place, the pigs were happily rolling in the mud, the tractor was still parked, and all the trees were still standing. Of course, it did still beg the question of Applejack’s whereabouts and what she was up to.
“Well, great! She could be anywhere,” Scootaloo remarked.
Looking around for a moment, Apple Bloom looked toward the apple orchard. Sure enough, her sister was there kicking trees to get the apples to fall, then picked them up. She sighed, patting Scootaloo on the back, “Or she could be where she always is.”
“There’s a set place?” Scootaloo looked at her oddly, “I thought she had to be everywhere to get apples!”
“Yeah, but she’s usually always in the orchard at least most of the time,” Apple Bloom said, pulling her two friends along with her.
“Like I said, everywhere. It’s a huge orchard,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
“At least we found her!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “She’s just bucking apples, so I guess she has to be okay.”
Sure enough, the three made their way over to the hard working Applejack who seemed to working twice as hard as usual. She seemed to have done two days worth of work already was still going. It was only once the Cutie Mark Crusaders were there almost right in front of her.
“Oh, y’all are back,” Applejack greeted them with a nod, “Did ya happen ta see Fluttershy and check on her order?”
“We did!” Sweetie Belle replied, “She said not to worry about it! You can give it to her whenever you’re ready!”
“She busy today?” Applejack said with a smile, “Ah think I gotta make a few deliveries in town and Ah was thinkin’ about doin’ that now while it’s on mah mind.”
Apple Bloom shrugged, looking over to Scootaloo for answers.
“We don’t know! She was with Rainbow Dash, but that’s all we know!” Scootaloo said with a shrug.
“I think they might have been on a date,” Sweetie Belle giggled, hiding a smile behind a hand.
Applejack smirked a little at that, “Ah guess Ah’ll just swing by her place some time tomorrow if she’s home. Speakin’ of, is yer sister expecting an order from me?”
Now Sweetie Belle laughed more, nodding, “Oh, yeah! She wants you to bring her one of your, as she puts it, scrumptious apple pies!”
Applejack rolled her eyes with a haughty chuckle, “Ah think that’s doable. Apple Bloom, you okay if Ah take her some of the pie we had last night?”
“Go for it!” Apple Bloom giggled, sharing a wink with Sweetie Belle, “Ah’m sure she’d love it!”
“All right, Ah might as well get on with it,” Applejack said as she fixed her hat a bit, “Now, Apple Bloom, tell Big Mac Ah’ll be back in about an hour, so don’t go letting him slack off! You and yer friends are welcomed ta help out around here too, but only with someone watching after ya.”
“You got it!” Apple Bloom said agreeably.
“Lemme guess. Cutie Mark Crusader farmers,” Scootaloo said dryly, rolling her eyes.
“No, we already tried that,” Apple Bloom said quite seriously, “But we could just help out for the day because Big Mac could need some help.”
“Then let’s get to it!” Sweetie Belle chirped, “We’ll go find him and help him out!”
“Last one to find him is a bad apple!” Scootaloo grinned, cheering up considerably as she broke into a run toward the orchard, her tiny wings buzzing rapidly.
As the three fillies ran off to look for the eldest offspring of the Apple family, Applejack finally gave herself a moment to breathe. She had been running herself ragged since the run in with Discord and she was fully aware of it. Why did what he said bother her so much? It was almost like his words actually held sort of truth to them. But that was nonsense, she didn’t have any romantic interest in anyone, not even so much as crush.
Right?
Either way, Applejack had felt like she was just making an excuse to go see Rarity. In fact, she wasn’t even sure why she wanted to see her in the first place. It just seemed to be the first thing that came to her mind since speaking with Discord. And the only thing on her mind for that matter. That was why she was working twice as hard as usual, to distract herself. But it looked as though she finally caved in and admitted defeat.
And more importantly, why was she sweating so much even after she had stopped working? Truth be told, Applejack hadn’t done much of anything in the past ten or so minutes she started to… well, daydream. And she was not the type to do that. Maybe it was a good idea after all to go talk to Rarity. After all, she seemed to have a nose for this kind of thing.
Once she’d caught her breath, Applejack headed into the house. Strangely enough, she hadn’t recalled that Rarity wanted some pie. But she chalked it up as simply being distracted. At least now, she could make good on her friend’s request. Then once her mind was cleared, she would be able to get Fluttershy the bushel of apples. She chuckled at the idea, wondering just how much she she would be able to tease Rainbow about all this.
Once she came into the house, she beelined to the kitchen and checked the fridge. Sure enough, the pie was on the top shelf, already cut into a few slices. Taking two of them, she put them onto a plate and wrapped them in cellophane. Now all she had to do was take them to Rarity.
“Hope she won’t mind if Ah drop in…” Applejack mused.