Chapter 6
Applejack helped Granny mop the kitchen floor and cleaned out the fireplace. She beat out the dust from the throw rugs in the sitting room and dusted the pictures on the wall. And when Apple Bloom came home from school, Applejack had a plate of fresh-sliced cortland apples at the kitchen table waiting for her. It seemed hugely important to get the farmhouse running smooth, so that at least something felt right. It helped - by the time the bathtub sparkled cleanly and the windows all had their storm screens in place, Applejack no longer felt like the world was ending. When Mac came in from the fields, Applejack set down her pipe wrench and helped Apple Bloom throw together an upside-down cake.
Halfway through the recipe, Apple Bloom accidentally splashed batter onto Applejack's face. She flicked a bit into 'Bloom's hair and soon enough the two of them were wrestling on the kitchen floor, brandishing dirty spatulas and laughing like madponies. The cake turned out delicious, and the extra fifteen minutes of cleanup flew by.
After a long and joyful dinner together, Applejack sat and watched the fire burn down. Apple Bloom coughed quietly to catch her attention. Her hair was brushed, her teeth looked white and shiny, and she was looking at Applejack with the biggest puppy-dog eyes ever. Applejack chuckled and followed Apple Bloom up to her room and smoothed down her sheets once she’d gotten settled.
Applejack sat down at her bedside. “So you wanna hear about the Giant Ponies?” Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. “Alright. Well, way back a long time ago, ‘roundabouts the same time the Princesses came to power, all sorts of strange stories were coming out of the Macintosh Hills. Ponies were finding hoofprints the size of a house, entire groves of trees would have their tops go missing, almost like they were bein’ grazed... but nopony knew for the life of them where anything large enough to do those things would hide …” Apple Bloom listened in rapt silence, her eyes sparkling as each detail fell into place for the umpteenth time. And Applejack knew she was home.
Things fell into a steady rhythm; the same one Applejack had followed since she’d taken charge of the farm. Out at sunrise, in for lunch, out ‘till supper. On the third day, as she walked back in at noon, she found Fluttershy waiting on the porch steps.
“Hi,” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Hi yourself.”
“C-can we talk?” Applejack walked slowly over to a nearby tree and settled down. Fluttershy sat a foot away from her, stiff as a board.
“So, then,” Applejack said, shifting. “How’re you doing?”
“Alright, I guess.” Fluttershy shuffled her wings. “Applejack, I’m sorry,” she blurted out, her eyes squeezed shut. “Not just for the things I said when we were fighting, but for everything lately. I just got so used to you being there for me, I just got so used to you doing things for me that I started expecting it. And that wasn’t fair of me.” A panicked edge wormed into Fluttershy’s voice as words tumbled out of her mouth. “I know that I hurt you, and I’m sorry for that. I can’t say anything else, but I’m so, so sorry, and I’ve been such a horrible pony, and --”
“Fluttershy.” Fluttershy stopped immediately. “It’s not all on you, alright? I know I shoulda trusted you more with my feelings. I shoulda taken the time to spell out what I was feelin’ instead of expectin’ you to read me like one of your patients. So I’ll accept your apology if you’ll accept mine?”
Fluttershy paused and nodded. “Where does this leave us?” she asked, her voice a tiny, fragile thing.
Applejack smiled and scooched a little bit closer. “Reckon it leaves us in a better place, sugarcube.” Even though she was painfully aware of the space between them, Applejack felt at ease around Fluttershy, felt relaxed. And when Fluttershy left to make her own lunch, Applejack started missing her the moment she moved out of sight.
Something was sizzling as Applejack woke the next morning. She trotted downstairs to the kitchen. Fluttershy waved her in with a slightly ruffled wing. “Good morning, Applejack. Would you like some coffee?”
Applejack blinked and stared at the stovetop percolator, already bubbling away. She nodded dumbly and poured herself a mug. She took a burning mouthful: Dark, bitter, and gritty, just the way she loved it. “Good coffee,” she allowed, taking another sip.
Fluttershy flipped over some hash browns and smiled. “Thanks.”
Applejack felt more awake as the second sip warmed her stomach. “Not that I’m complaining, but what are you doing here?”
“Making breakfast. How do you want your eggs?”
“Over easy… Why are you making breakfast?”
Fluttershy shrugged and smiled as Big Mac walked into the room. “Morning, Mac. Coffee’s in the pot.” He grunted happily and shuffled over to grab a mug for himself. Fluttershy cracked two eggs into a skillet , flipping them at just the right time and loading them onto a plate for Applejack. Applejack broke each of them onto a piece of toast and watched the yolk seep in. Perfect.
Fluttershy offered everypony else the same eggs-to-order and sat herself next to Applejack but too far away to touch. “What are you working on today?” she asked around a mouthful of scramble.
“Planning on winterizing the saplings this morning,” Applejack answered, finishing her second cup of coffee.
Fluttershy nodded. “May I help?”
Fluttershy was pretty handy with wrappings and tape. It made sense, considering how many animals she patched up, but it was still a wonder to see when it meant that this year’s transplants would make it through the winter. By the end of the first hour, the two of them were a well-oiled machine, passing the tree wrappings smoothly to each other around the trunk, cutting off and taping at the right times, practically reading each others’ minds from time to time.
By the second hour, Applejack was truly enjoying herself. Her hooves were filled with helium, and each new tree seemed more like a gift than an extra chore. And Fluttershy … Fluttershy was a wonder to behold. She moved with the grace of a dancer, smiled like the sun, and knew just where to be and when. A sly, off-center smile made its way onto her face. It seemed private, almost, that smile. Applejack had never seen it before, but it felt like it was meant for her. And the silence … Fluttershy had shown her how many kinds of silence and stillness there could be, and this silence, this warm, comfortable silence melted away minutes, easily. Fluttershy ducked her head for a moment when they ran out of tree wrap.
“Applejack, you remember the dragon?”
Applejack stepped closer, cautiously. “Yeah. ‘Course I do.”
Fluttershy nodded slowly. “You helped me climb the mountain. You saw I was scared and you found another way. And that whole time, I felt like it was alright to be frightened. I felt like it was okay to freeze up, because you were with me and you’d find a way to get me where I needed to go.” Applejack waited for Fluttershy to continue. She was a lot like Mac - she wouldn’t say anything that didn’t need to be said.
“But I also knew that you believed I was a strong pony, Applejack. I knew that you were helping me get there because you believed that once I was there, I’d find the strength to do what I had to. And you were right. But … sometimes, lately, it’s felt like you don’t think that anymore. That you don’t think I’m as strong as I think I am. And I know you’re probably just trying to be nice, but it still feels like you don’t expect me to be my best.”
Applejack nodded. “So tell me next time,” she said, resting her hoof gently on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Tell me to back off and I will, alright?” Fluttershy nodded and glanced at the angle of the sun.
“I should probably go,” she half-apologized. “Belinda’s painkillers are about to wear off.” She folded Applejack into a warm hug and nuzzled her lightly before stepping off down the road.
Fluttershy was back the next morning, after breakfast this time. She offered to help with harvesting, flying through the treetops the way she had two cider seasons ago. A playful competition started between the two of them, egging each other on with smiles and smirks, chasing each other row by row. They got the last Cripps off their branches before Fluttershy needed to head off again.
“‘Shy, you wanna swing by for dinner tonight?” Applejack’s heart did flips when Fluttershy nodded, and she did another three hours-worth of work before heading inside to make a dinner worth sharing.
Applejack had brushed her hair to a fine sheen and cleaned the worst of the field dirt from her hooves. When Fluttershy knocked on her door, she scrambled to open it and tried her best to look suave and unhurried after the fact.
Fluttershy giggled. “You look nice.”
Applejack looked her over. “So do you,” she countered.
Fluttershy giggled again. “I didn’t do anything different, though.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, “...And?” She dodged Fluttershy’s playful wing-swat and led her into the dining room.
Applejack hadn’t gone so far as to fold the napkins fancy, but the company china was out on the table instead of the usual chipped stoneware. A whole spread, from soups and salads to turnovers and fritters, covered the table. Applejack made a huge deal of serving each dish, winking as she botched tricks with ladles she’d seen in Manehattan and generally made a fool out of herself. As much as her odd theatrics left Apple Bloom embarrassed and Mac confused, it was worth it to hear Fluttershy’s laughter.
Fluttershy had helped her with the dishes, comfortably close. After they dried and put away the last platter, Applejack followed her impulses and kissed Fluttershy on the cheek.
“May I walk you home?” she asked, looking straight into Fluttershy’s eyes and willing, hoping that her intentions would come across.
Fluttershy scuffed the floor and Applejack prepared to get a timid earful about boundaries. “Umm… May I stay here tonight?” Fluttershy asked, and Applejack found herself nodding emphatically.
They excused themselves to Applejack’s bedroom and cuddled up against each other happily, silent for some time.
“I forgot how wonderful your family is, Applejack,” Fluttershy murmured, tucking her head beneath Applejack’s chin.
Applejack kissed her forehead. “I think I did too, for a little bit,” she murmured back, holding Fluttershy a little bit tighter. “Would you like to … maybe spend more time here?” Applejack swallowed nervously as silence followed, but she breathed, relaxed … It was good silence. It was thinking silence.
“I might,” Fluttershy finally said. “But there’s a clinic I still need to run.”
“Of course there is.” Applejack grinned. “We got a lot of old buildings lying around, though. It would be pretty easy to convert one into a hospital.”
Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled at her tenderly. “I’ll keep that in mind, Applejack. But, for right now?” She kissed Applejack, draping herself comfortably across Applejack’s strong chest. “For right now, I think this is enough.”
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Wow, wasn't expecting you to post the last three chapters so quickly. It was an enjoyable story, Midnight, thanks for writing it.
3651571 My muse is a slave-driver sometimes, and I didn't stop writing until 5 am, at which point I couldn't stop myself from hitting the submit button. And now I'm revising parts I didn't like because control freak.
Still, glad you liked it. I think it needs about 20% less melodrama, but we'll see what actually happens.
Well I've only got one more contest story (Homeward Bound) to read, but it will keep until I wake up.
This story was much better than the other two I read, though. It had some reasonable back and forthing, the buildup of the conflict, the characters trying stuff and failing, and eventually it all coming together in the end.
I thing both AJ and Shy were out of character, specially Shy.
3658187 Aight, fair enough. Care to specify, or is that all you're gonna say on the matter?
Eeee! You wrote longer ponywords! I will read this at work tonight, yes yes yes.
3656289
I totally agreed with this opinion.
This is a great AppleShy story. I love how the conflict felt real and that it wasn't one sided. The ending was adorable with a sight set on a possible future, but happy to keep things the way they are, for now.
4349069 Glad you enjoyed it. I'm always convinced that every conflict has many sides, and I have an obsession with how a breakdown in communications can lead to some really nasty drama without seeming contrived. I'm also bad at definite, happy endings, so I'm glad the ambiguously happy, hopes-for-the-future end worked for you.
Thanks for the lovely comment and fave!
4696088 Yep. It's tough, suddenly losing a big part of your life like that.
Beautifully done AppleShy story!
Wow this is almost criminally underrated.
I had always wanted a more realistic version of a relationship in a fic. Too many were simply idealistic romances at the best of times.
This was very well done and left on a cute bittersweet note.
Bravo sir like and fav well earned.
Decent, you write a good applejack but you didn't write fluttershy very well, she felt more like a combination of dash & twilight rather that the yellow Pegasus,