//------------------------------// // Down by the Riverside // Story: Us Against the World // by Chelis //------------------------------// May was in full bloom when they decided to meet up in private. At that time, the school year was winding down as they marked the days left of it. It was a holiday that day, and while the rest of the of the town including their friends and family decided to have their get together on the shore of the lake, they were planning to meet downstream. For Fluttershy: it was "plans with family". For big Macintosh, it was "plans with friends". They walked down the forest trails from their homes, looking out for potential spies who they call ‘friends or family’. They would freeze once in awhile when they heard rumbling in the bushes, prepared for the lines of questioning the might receive, only to see a fox or rabbit pop out and run from them. They took a sigh of relief and kept moving. Big Macintosh was the first to arrive and waited around the crossroads for her. He was patient about it since he was closer to the crossroad than her. She arrived ten minutes after the agreed meeting time. she had a blanket while Big Macintosh had a basket in his hand. She didn't even say hello, opting instead to greet Big Mac with a tender kiss. The continued on their walk to the lake: catching up, talking, laughing, holding hands as they went. They were still paranoid of being watched, but they resorted to casual look around rather than looking like they had something to hide. They found a great place down the river, a small flood plain only a hundred feet wide, and covered by the trees. "This the place?" Fluttershy asked. "Yup!" Big Macintosh answered as he sat the basket down, and prepared the food for their lunch. It was last night's chicken leftovers, but with freshly made fixings as well like corn and mash potatoes. For that special date, Big Macintosh brought a glass bottle of apple cider for them to share. The thing about home cooked meals was it was always tiring, which hit the two very hard. They smiled at each other, gave off a few yawns. Fluttershy laid on her side, inviting Big Macintosh to join her. The young man wrapped his hands around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. With the sounds of the stream flowing and the sound of carnival happening at the lake upstream, they fell asleep in the beauty that was a mid morning. By the time they woke up, the sun was assaulting them with its heat, with the trees overhead not being much help. They were both sweaty, hot, and bothered. They knew how to fix that. Even though underneath their clothes were their bathing suits, it was still embarrassing to take any kind of clothing off in front of each other. So, they did it behind bushes, and when they came out , they awkwardly stared at each other: Fluttershy admiring his body and premature abs, while Big Mac looking at the tightness of Fluttershy's one piece suit. They held each other's hand as they slowly stepped into the waist deep stream. "C-c-old!" Fluttershy yelped. "C-e-e-up!" Big macintosh agreed. Even if the water was cold as ice, it beat the hell of the heat. "I have an idea," Mac said. He grabbed Fluttershy's hand and lead her to a rockier section of the river. He wrapped his hand around her and started to float. They went only foot downriver until big MacIntosh was stopped by two rocks that were spaced apart, using them as an anchor. the river went fast enough to keep them afloat. they were still talking as she was laying on top of him, and she was basically using Big Mac as her floatation device. As they watched the trees and the singing birds above them, a feeling of bliss overtook them. "Big mac?" Fluttershy asked. "Yea?" "Have you ever thought when we can announce 'us' to everyone?" She asked. "Not really," he answered. "Well, we eventually have to tell them. We can't keep a secret like this," "Yea," "So when can we?" "How about after this summer, when your friends and Applejack join us at Canterlot High." "Deal!" Their date ended as the sun began to go down. They wrapped up their date and headed back to Big Macintosh's to drop off the basket and blanket. They went from there to their friends at the fair. They claimed to have 'found each other' on the way to the fair, which for the most part, save one Applejack, everyone else bought it. They had their fill of carnival food and found their seats for the fireworks show to cap off the fair, which was fired off a barge in the middle of the lake. They were sitting together, but separated by Big Mac's family and Applejack's friends. they gave each other a smile every so often, imagining it was just them watching the show together. When it was over, and it was time to go home, Big Macintosh volunteered to walk Fluttershy home. He sounded reluctant to do it, but it was for show, although Applejack looked like she didn't bought Big Mac's forced emotion. AJ eventually sighed and went with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. They had been dating for months, but even so didn't keep Fluttershy from stopping Big Macintosh in the wild grass in front of the house. They shared one more kiss and held hands. "So many memories here," Big Macintosh reminisced. "Same, maybe next time you should watch what you're doing before playing in abandoned barns," Fluttershy answered with a wink. Big Macintosh was shocked. He always had a feeling, he always wanted to ask her, and yet he didn't need to because she just gave herself away. "That was you?!" He asked. "Of course! All I saw was a boy and a cute dog in the field, I couldn't help but try to say hi...to the dog." They both laughed because that was something Fluttershy would totally do. They shared a hug, and he watched as she walked through the wild grass, and disappeared into the small cabin at the edge of the tree line. Big Mac gave her cottage one more look, gave a short whistle to Winona, and started their way home.