//------------------------------// // What does it mean? // Story: A stomach full of Fluttershys // by Slick Dash //------------------------------// She knew how to thank him! A sandwich wasn’t much to show her gratitude, so now Fluttershy headed for the leafy orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. The sun shone brightly, making the air sultry, muggy and humid. The atmosphere made the mare’s mood all the more... peculiar. She had no clue what possessed her to do this, she’d never normally even consider such and a dangerously risky and embarrassing stunt, but the memories of the previous night had festered in her mind until she was sure it would work! Mac was so kind, so generous, so chivalrous and hadn’t asked for anything in return. If she was going to go off what Rainbow usually said, boys only do that sort of thing if they’re... interested in a mare! That was what Fluttershy was about to find out, she was going to go straight up to the stallion, tell him she had noticed his kind attitude, and that she was open for, something. Fluttershy stopped, her usual insecurities slowly taking hold once again. She really hadn’t thought this through very well. What if Mac WAS just trying to be helpful, Fluttershy would be about to make an utter fool of herself! Mac COULD think of her in that kind of way, but may not want to act on it; he was after all as shy as the yellow Pegasus herself. NO! Come one Fluttershy! Be confident, be assertive! A big stallion like Big Macintosh wouldn’t be used to that kind of attitude, so that was her best bet! The yellow mare reached the white picket fence of the farm sooner than she had expected. The divide between public and private property also indicated, once Fluttershy crossed it there would be no going back. She would easily be spotted once she crossed, and once somepony asked about why she was there, it didn’t matter. Mac would eventually know she had come. The pony reached out a trembling hoof, preparing to push open the gate. It froze mid air. Fluttershy looked at it for a moment, thinking hard. Was this... the best idea? Her worried eyes narrowed, yes! Time to start taking charge Fluttershy! Time to live a little! When she moved the hoof again, it was steady and resolute. She pushed open the gate and took a determined step forward. The muggy air of the orchards made Fluttershy’s fur stick to her sides as she moved up towards the main farmhouse. Her wonderful pink mane sagged slightly as the humidity took a hold, pulling it down to drape on either side instead of it having its usual bouncy quality. Fluttershy persisted; she reached the house and glanced in through a window cautiously. No one seemed to be home judging by the silence coming from within. Fluttershy’s ears drooped, she had finally plucked up enough courage to do something brave...and he was nowhere to be seen. Just as Fluttershy’s hopes seemed dashed, she heard a loud rumbling snore explode from the barn not too far away. The yellow mare’s spirit’s rose in hope. The sunshine Pegasus trotted over to the door as quickly and quietly as she could. Fluttershy gazed into the barn, though the sun was out, the inside of the barn was dark. Cracks in the roof let small beams of sunlight pierce the gloom, highlighting the particles of dust that hung and floated in the air. One particular crack in the roof, spanned a good few feet, creating almost a curtain of light that seemed to split the large open space in to. As Fluttershy’s eyes followed the sheet of light she found the source of the snoring and her heart fluttered at the sight. There, lying on a thin layer of hay snoozing in the warm sunlight, but avoiding the unpleasant conditions outside. Was Big Macintosh. Quickly the mare blew at her mane, trying to renew some of its bounciness but to no avail. Taking a deep breath, she plucked up one last bit of courage and entered the barn. Inside was cool and comfortable; Fluttershy could see how the stallion could fall asleep here. As soon the temperature dropped, her body trembled with relief. She let out a small shaky breath as she approached the sleeping Macintosh. She jumped as his powerful lungs sucked in a lungful of air, creating a loud roaring snore. The stallion grumbled something in his sleep and rolled to his side. The site of the bare patch of hay beside the stallion gave Fluttershy an idea. An unbelievably brave idea! Slowly and carefully, she lay beside the stallion revelling in the warmth of the sunlight above. Her movement must have disturbed him, as he began to move back around to his previous position. The scent of apples that radiated from him filled the mare’s nostrils making her tingle inside with nerves. This wasn’t going to work; this was never going to work! Mac turned until he faced the other side of the barn. His forehooves moved to become more comfortable, but met Fluttershy’s soft forelegs instead. Groggily he opened a bleary green eye to investigate. “H-hello Big Mac.” smiled Fluttershy, batting her eyelids as best she could. She expected him to jump, to move in surprise, something! The work pony simply sat there however, slowly gazing into her eyes as he began to wake properly. Finally realising he wasn’t dreaming, the stallion gave a smile. “Howdya do Fluttershy.” The two were unbelievably close; Fluttershy could actually feel his body heat pouring out towards her timid little body. The feeling was...nice. She savoured it as she lay there beside the big strong stallion, who she noticed seemed to have edged closer without her noticing. “Anythin’ I can help yah with thar ma’am?” he whispered to her. At the question, Fluttershy’s eyes half closed making her look a thousand times lovelier as she gazed at the stallion. “I think there’s something...” she left the statement hanging confidently in the air as she took the last step and moved into Big Mac. Her lips met his for a minute and nothing happened. Mac’s eyes flew open for a moment, before closing in ecstasy. The two lay there, slowly intertwining themselves with each other’s legs. Suddenly and forcefully Mac pushed up so he lay above the mare, he leaned in again and reinitiated the kiss. Fluttershy didn’t mind his show of dominance, in fact being such a usually shy mare made meant that the confident act by the work pony made her feel more comfortable. The two continued to kiss, Fluttershy’s tongue danced across Mac’s lips teasing his to come out and play. Slowly, and nervously, much like the stallion himself, it did. A moment later, the two were stood. Mac pushed the mare playfully against a post holding up the second tier of the barn as they continued to show their passion. The contact with the wood caused Fluttershy to open her eyes for a moment. She saw a gas lantern that hung just to the side of them bounce against the wooden beam in response to the two’s exploits. Rata-tat-tat... Fluttershy closed her eyes again, enjoying Big Mac’s hot and flailing tongue in her own mouth. Tat-tat-tat-tat Was that lamp still moving? Wow it’s distracting! Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat That can’t be the lamp! It’s sounds like a hoof...on...glass? Fluttershy opened her eyes, and with that, the feeling of Mac against her body, the scent of his coat and the feeling of his kiss was gone completely. Fluttershy was lying in bed; the covers around her were scrunched and bunched at the foot of her mattress. Had she kicked them off? Thinking back to the dream she had been having she wasn’t surprised. Suddenly remembering the dream, the mare’s face burned red with shame! Oh dear! Why in Equestria had she dreamt that? The idea that it had come from her own mind made her feel...dirty. She didn’t like the feeling; Big Macintosh was a kind and helpful friend nothing more! So why had she thought of him in that way in the first place? Before she could question herself any longer, she heard it again; that relentless tapping noise that had penetrated her dream. Fluttershy turned to the window just by her bed and wash shocked by the face of a blue furred pony staring back at her. “Eeep!” she squealed, as she tumbled backwards off of her bed and onto the floor. When the shaking mare came back to her hooves, she saw the Pegasus outside mouth the words. “Open up!” and pointed towards the door. Fluttershy nodded and obeyed. Groggily moving over to the pine of the door, she blinked the last bits of sleep from her eyes, and opened the door. No sooner had she opened it, the other Pegasus swooped in with a torrent of questions. “Geez Fluttershy! I was knocking forever! Are honestly that much of deep sleeper? I was almost breaking down the door, how could you not hear me?” Rainbow settled to the ground, tucked her wings in and turned back to her friend, standing in the centre of the room. “You ready?” the punk pony asked politely. When Fluttershy’s face showed nothing but confusion, Rainbow dash gave a small sigh. “You’re helping with the weather today? Remember?” Fluttershy thought for a moment, then realised. “Ohhh. Y-yes...well... could I make some breakfast first?” she asked quietly, to which the cyan pony shrugged. “If you want, I’m not in TOO much of a rush. If you help, I can just get it finished quicker is all, not like I can’t do it myself!” the cyan Pegasus scoffed cockily as Fluttershy smiled at her friend and headed into the kitchen. Once in there, she began to make herself a BLT, but as she took out the ingredients she remembered when she had last used them. Macintosh’s reward. The Pegasus’s mind began to wander, lost in thought, about last night, about the dream, mostly about Macintosh though. The red of the tomato reminded her of his thick red coat. The coat that covered such a toned, masculine body. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked as she entered the kitchen. The yellow mare squeaked, and quickly rushed to look busy, which resulted in her dropping the tomato and bread. With a small laugh, Rainbow trotted over and picked up the dropped food. “So?” she asked, as she placed the tomato back on the chopping board. “Ummm...so?” Fluttershy repeated, unsure of what her friend had asked her. Oh dear, had she asked her something while she had been daydreaming? Rainbow rolled her eyes at the mare, then persisted. “So what was the dream you were having? I could tell it must have been one heck of a good one!” she laughed, not realising Fluttershy’s horrified expression. What could she do now? How was she supposed to get out of this? Rainbow noticed her face, and immediately she became concerned. “Hey, I was only kidding. I only meant ‘cos you were rolling around so much. I guess it wasn’t that much of a good dream then?” She asked. Fluttershy gave a shaky movement of her head, somewhere between a nod and a shake. Rainbow shrugged, “Sorry, I guess I didn’t really think then huh?” at which point she turned back into the living room. Fluttershy began to cut the tomato, thinking hard. Was it a bad dream? In her eyes it was, she was imagining a friend in a completely inappropriate way! But at the same time, she couldn’t help a small voice in the back of her head. ‘It was a good dream! You had fun, you enjoyed it!’ It was true; the dream Fluttershy had enjoyed it, but then again, who’s to say the dream Fluttershy was anything like the real one? She had been far more confident than the real one, and far more...flirtive! How could she make sense of it all? As she placed the second slice of bread over her now complete meal, she decided. “...R-Rainbow?” She asked as she entered the living room, the other Pegasus had taken a seat on the sofa. “What’s up?” The cyan pony responded, glancing up at the nervous mare. “I’ve got a question, it’s ok if you don’t wanna answer, but I was wondering... you see... I guess...” Rainbow laughed, she gestured to a seat; silently suggesting that the stuttering mare took it. She did. “How about we give that another try huh?” Rainbow smiled. Fluttershy nodded, returning it with a nervous one of her own. She took a seat and placed her plate on the table. “Ummm...Rainbow... what does it mean when you have a dream about somepony you know?” Rainbow frowned. “What kind of somepony?” the cyan pony asked, raising and eyebrow. “Oh...just somepony. A friend.” the yellow mare said furtively, not trying to look her friend in the eye. Rainbow had a vague idea of what her friend was asking, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. “Uhhhh” She began, “You mean like Pinkie Pie or me?” “N-not exactly... never mind!” Fluttershy bowed her head and reached for her sandwich. But was stopped by Rainbow’s hoof that held her back. “No come on! You can’t just ask something like that and then change your mind! Come on Fluttershy.” She looked at her yellow friend. When Fluttershy saw the pleading look in her friend’s eyes, she decided, if anypony should know, it should be her best friend. “Well...You see...yesterday I had some help with my groceries and”- “Oh you mean Big Mac?” Rainbow cut across. Fluttershy’s mouth dropped in amazement. Was she that good a guesser? “What?” Rainbow laughed. “I saw you guys headed for your cottage as I cleared up yesterdays rain clouds.” She smiled for a moment, her face showing a slight smug smile as she guessed what Fluttershy had been meaning to say. “Wait...” paused Rainbow, comprehension beginning to dawn on her face. “Big Mac... Fluttershy, did you dream about Big Macintosh?” The question made the yellow mare blush and look away ashamed. “OH MY GOSH! YOU TOTALY DID!” goaded the cyan Pegasus. “So what happened? Come on Fluttershy you gotta tell me now!” She wriggled to get more comfortable, Fluttershy had never seen her like this, so eager to hear about her usually quiet friend. Though she found it embarrassing, Fluttershy took a deep breath, and described the whole sequence she had just experienced in her mind.