Shipping Grab Bag

by Jondor

A Morning (AppleShy)

If Applejack had to choose, really choose, she would choose mornings like this one. They didn’t happen too often, farm chores start early in the morning for a reason. Once the sun climbs high in the sky at noon, the day really starts to heat up, and working out in the hot sun like that can become dangerous very quickly.

The animals preferred to wake and be fed early as well, at least the daytime animals. During that same hot time of the day, they liked to find some cool place and rest. Applejack couldn’t blame them one bit. Whenever she could, she would find some task to do in the shade of the barn until the sun began to dip.

Still though, while she usually worked through the mornings, it was nice to be able to sit still in the quiet air and watch the sunrise once in a while. She had enjoyed doing so alone, but she enjoyed it even more now that she had a companion.

Fluttershy was able to make these mornings so much more special. She never had to ask or be asked, she just knew when Applejack wanted a break. All the previous day she would spend her time with all the animals on the farm, all the critters she cared for, and ask them very politely to sleep in the next morning. Even the roosters, who normally crowed at dawn without fail, would stay silent when Fluttershy asked.

Applejack had never been conscious of the need herself. Whenever she needed a break from routine, she wouldn’t know until she set hoof on the crest of the hill just outside the house and looked out over the east fields. She would just stop and sit, watching the sun as it rose, ignoring the crowing of roosters and chattering of farm animals. Eventually, she’d stand and stretch and take care of just the chores that were most important. The biggest difference now was that she would know sooner. The morning would come, Applejack would wake to silence just before dawn, and then she would know that a beautiful, restful morning waited for her.

On a morning like that, she had no need for coffee, no need for breakfast. She would trot, head high and proud straight out into the yard, to the crest of the hill, and look east. The chilly morning air would tickle her coat for a moment, but only a moment, then a soft yellow wing would cradle her back and a warm yellow coat would cuddle against her.

Neither of them would speak, there was no need, the touch of their coats, and the twining of their tails said more than could ever be communicated in words. They would sit still and watch the sunrise, only the soft sound of their breathing breaking the stillness of the morning air that Fluttershy made possible.

When the golden rays of Celestia’s sun began to warm their coats, they would turn their eyes from the overpowering brilliance and their lips would meet. Their cheeks would flush from the heat of the sun and they would turn to embrace each other fully, hooves wrapped around each other’s barrel, tails twisted together like a candy cane, and Fluttershy’s wings forming a cocoon around Applejack.

The embrace would leave them both breathless, panting heavily until they finally spoke to each other.

“Ah love you, Fluttershy.”

“I love you, Applejack.”

After the simple, but heartfelt exchange, they would stand and walk through the orchard, Applejack held in the light, feathery embrace of Fluttershy’s wing. They might talk, or sing, or just walk in silence and enjoy the rays of the sun striping the path from between tree trunks. Whatever they did, it was their morning.

Eventually, the morning would end and they would go their separate ways for much of the day. But they would spend the day that much more firmly nestled in each other’s heart.

Yes, if Applejack had to choose, really choose, what she loved best about Fluttershy, it was being able to spend mornings like this one with the mare she loved.

All of this passed through Applejack’s mind from the moment she awoke to the silence this morning, until her lips met with Fluttershy’s in their unspoken, but unchanging ritual. Applejack worried this morning, though. She had been trying to find the perfect moment and this seemed like it. She was ready, everything was prepared, but it would mean changing the ritual.

Most of her life was routine, farm work tended to be. Even this break from the routine of farm work had a routine of its own. Could she really risk breaking it, even for something this big?

Fluttershy seemed to sense Applejack’s worry somehow. Her wings cradled Applejack tighter than usual and as they broke their kiss, a yellow hoof reached up to stroke an orange cheek. Fluttershy’s beautiful blue-green eyes reflected even more love and kindness than usual, and Applejack smiled. She could do this.

Her lungs took in a deep breath of the cold morning air and her lips parted to speak and break the morning ritual.

“Will you marry me, Fluttershy?”

“I will, Applejack.”

Fluttershy steadied Applejack’s trembling hooves as she adorned her fiancée’s yellow ears with apple cutie mark earrings. They smiled and shared another breathless kiss, panting more heavily than usual when it finally broke.

“I love you, Applejack.”

“Ah love you, Fluttershy.”

Rather than stand, the two lovers curled up on the ground together, basking in the warm glow of Celestia’s sun. Fluttershy pressed against Applejack’s back, a wing draped over her barrel and head resting on her shoulder. There would be plenty of time for rituals later. Plenty of time for walks in the orchard, plenty of time for chores, for farm work and feeding animals. A lifetime.

They fell asleep again together in the warm glow of the morning sun, only the soft sound of their breathing breaking the stillness of the morning air. Eventually they would have to rise and eat, perhaps visit friends and share the news, but whatever they did, wherever they went, whoever they saw, whenever they chose, it was their day.

Comments

[The Princess Rarity]

...dammit, that was adorable. (And I don't even ship Flutterjack.)

[JetstreamGW]

2580493 This actually reminds me VERY strongly of Cloudy Skies' Fluttershy x Applejack stories.