Bridal Regrets

by QueenOfTheSilence

Trouble ahoof

Author's Note:

I wanted this to be longer but I'm a lazy bastard and I thought; It's been a while and something is better then nothing so here it is.

As much as she loved her friends and wanted to protect them, Applejack would willingly admit that family came first. So she made the tough choice of staying behind with her aunt while Fluttershy and Discord left, thought the yellow mare didn’t particularly mind leaving her friend behind. She understood Applejack’s fierce desire to protect the one’s she loved, especially her family members. Once Fluttershy was gone with her fiancé and “entourage” in hoof, Applejack set about helping her aunt.

She mopped floors, cleaned dishes, tossed piles of garbage and Celestia’s knows what else in to the buildings garbage chutes. She did absolutely everything and would have bathed the older mare had she not protested and nearly slapped her. “I can wash myself Jacquelyn” the mare had said, though Applejack did have to force her to take a shower at all. Once she was done cleaning the apartment and had located her Aunt’s missing cat [Whom she discovered was not missing but instead just hiding behind the washing machine of all places] the sun which had been high in the sky when she arrived at her aunt’s apartment was beginning to set.

Applejack sighed as she finished putting a clean set of blankets and sheets on her Aunt’s bed. Her back ached; while the mare was used to hard labor she did occasionally have her off days where her back would start hurting from strenuous activity. They were rare but they did happen on occasion. It was probably best if she saw Dr. Stable when she went back to Ponyville, they were starting to become a little bit more frequent.

The orange mare stretched and made her way out of her aunt’s room. As she left, the door to the main bathroom opened and Valencia stepped out, her hair and waist covered in towels. Steam from the bathroom filled the hallway and the yellow mare sighed happily as she ran a hoof over her face, enjoying the clean feeling. Oh how long had it been since she had bathed? At least a week.

“Oh I feel so much better Jacquelyn. Amazing what a shower can do.”

“Glad t'see you feelin' better. It's mighty fine t'see you clean an' all smiles.” Said the country mare, smiling at her aunt. Valencia nodded but as they stood there in the hallway, she remembered just why she was sad in the first place. The mare sighed and dragged herself to the sitting room and flopped down on the couch; Applejack frowned and silently followed after her.

“You okay Auntie?” asked Applejack as she approached the other mare. Valencia merely sighed again.

“No…Yes…I’m just unsure. I don’t know what I’m going to do Jacquelyn. Do I try to fight Mosley in court or should I just move on? I’m just so unsure”

“You could come home with me. Ah’m shure everyone would love to have ya’ around!” There was a brief awkward silence that filled the area as soon as those words left Applejacks mouth. Valencia gave her niece a forced smile.

“As much as I appreciate that little Jacquelyn, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The mare pushed herself off her couch and out of habit began fussing with the books on the tables.

“Ashamed of the farm life?” That came out a little harder than she intended and Applejack berated herself. She really shouldn’t try and judge her aunt for giving up on the country life and becoming a posh, Manehattatian. She was never one for judging ponies on how they lived their lives and she wasn’t going to start now. Valencia glanced at her niece and a mixture of anger and sadness passed over the mare’s face.

“No, no. Mother….Your grandmother has disowned me.”

-

Fluttershy didn’t like Manehattan. Well not to say she hated it but she didn’t like large crowds, always pushing against her as she moved through the streets as well as the crowded, condensed buildings that were taller than Canterlot castle, making her feel a bit anxious. True she wasn’t the strongest of fliers but like most Pegasus’s, she had an inborn desire to seek open air and tended to dislike small cramped places. Canterlot and Ponyville weren’t perfect, they had their own share of problems but Manehattan made the yellow Pegasus feel cramped, by the sheer number of buildings and ponies all around.

It also didn’t help that a physcopath had attempted to kill her which was another reason why she felt anxious as she’d rather be inside instead of in the open. Still, it was a beautiful day and she wasn’t exactly alone. Fluttershy trotted down the streets of Manehattan, her disguised lover by her side. After leaving Applejack to tend to her aunt, the pair decided to just wander down the streets instead of taking a cab back to the hotel. Actually, Discord wanted to lock her away inside where she was safe and a part of her wanted to hide as well but for some reason, she was feeling brave. Usually in this situation she would hide; hide and not come out for weeks or months but for months she had been feeling more courageous.

She didn’t know why, maybe because she was gaining confidence in herself, maybe it was because of falling in love with Discord but something inside her was changing. Not just her anxiety either, she was starting to find herself more forceful and stubborn. In recent days she found it harder to give in to Angel’s demands or even her friends. Like Rarity; half a year ago she would have just given in and worn that horrid dress but she found herself standing up for herself. And while somepony’s might see that as a good thing, while it was, the mare found herself…angrier; especially towards her friends.

The “bat’s” incident was a good indication; the fact that her friends only listened to her after she turned into a bat-pony and completely disregarded her advice on the matter. She, who was a licensed veterinary and animal behaviorist; whose special talent was dealing with animals. Even now, Fluttershy felt her jaw clenching. Just because she was-No…No. She wasn’t going to go there, she loved her friends and she knew they weren’t perfect, besides it wasn’t intentional; she knew her friends weren’t going out of the way to ignore her advice or opinions even if it still hurt.

Fluttershy sighed and decided to focus her attention on Discord. The draconequus was still in disguise and was surprisingly quiet and behaved, just staring ahead as they walked down the streets of Manehattan. Odd, he was usually loud and always trying to cause chaos. Immediately a red flag went up in the back of her mind.

“Discord?” The “unicorn” turned his attention towards her slowly, a small look of confudlment on his face. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk which earned a few nasty looks for ponies passing by. For a moment he stood there looking blankly at her before responding.

“Yes, my dear Fluttershy?”

“Are you…um..okay?” asked the mare, worried. This was absolutely not like him and she felt anxiety building up with in her. Discord snorted and laughed.

“Oh my dear, dear Fluttershy. Is this about the spacing out? You must forgive an old spirit of Chaos like me. I was just imagining what you’ll look like on our wedding night when I take you to bed.” Anxiety left her stomach and was instead filled with embarrassment.

“D-Discord!” shouted the mare, looking around to see if anyone had overheard him. Discord chuckled and without hesitation he pulled her against him.

“Now, now my little Pegasus. Nothing to be embarrassed about, I’m sure you’ll look beautiful just as you always do.” Fluttershy pushed him away and sighed.

“Tha-at’s not the prob-blem.” Inside Discord squealed, though he would never admit it out loud; he had always found her occasional stutters to be quite cute and endearing. The way she would glance at the ground, her cheeks would grow red and she would mumble words. Which was one of the reason why he enjoyed embarrassing her as it was a chance to see her in that state.

“Oh and what is. Are you worried about not having a little ensemble picked out? Not to worry, because I do enjoy your natural look.” If Fluttershy’s face was burning before, then now it was completely on fire. The mare sputtered and tried to hide herself behind her hair, an old habit of hers.

“D-Discord! We’re in p-public!” Discord barely heard her due to the sound of Manehattan life all around them and the low volume of Fluttershy’s voice. He merely laughed in response and pulled her back against him.

“Oh no need to be bashful. I’m sure nopony heard me at all” Discord was proven wrong as Nightblade, one of the guards coughed and glanced at the ground which earned her a glare from her superior, an earth pony stallion with a beefy build and a rugged, scarred face that indicated that he had seen some shit in his time. The mare merely looked away and tried to feign innocence. Swift Sword giggled at the situation but she quickly tried to cover it up by biting her lip.

“I’m surrounded by foals. We’re supposed to be inconspicuous and silent. Not paying attention to things that don’t involve us.” The silver haired mare sighed as she was chewed out by her colleague. He could be such a party pooper at times, even over the smallest of things.

“Oh no, it’s okay. Really it’s our fault for discussing this in public….I don’t think we’ve been properly acquainted have we? I mean we know each other’s names but I don’t think we really know each other.” Said Fluttershy, apologizing on behalf of herself and soon-to-be husband. The earth pony, known as Dented Steel shook his head.

“No need Ma’am, our duty is to guard you on behalf of Mayor Sunny Smiles and by extension, their royal highnesses Princess Luna and Celestia. Small talk is not needed."

“Oh but you've been following us around all day and I just feel awful…Say, I got an idea. Why don’t we have lunch? That way we can really get to know each other. My treat.” Fluttershy ignored Discords small whines of unhappiness; it wouldn’t kill him to share her or to interact with the ponies that were guarding them…her, it really didn't matter.

“That would be inappropriate, it’s our job to protect. you not abandon our posts.”

“Surely though you’re hungry? It’s almost one in the afternoon, I mean you must be starving and I would just feel awful if you had to follow me around on an empty stomach.”

“Well…” started Swift Sword before she was interrupted by Dented Steel.

“No, we shall not abandon our post.”

“Fluttershy-“ The mare in question ignored her fiancé and chose to speek over him. Which was a little off because she wasn't usually so forward.

“Please? I mean it wouldn’t really be abandoning your post if we’re all together now would it? It would honestly make my day to get to know you all.”

Dented Steel sighed and removed his helmet so he could rub his temples with his hooves.

“You’re not going to give in, are you?”

“Nope.”

Begrudgingly, the Dented Steel relented and allowed himself along with his colleagues to be dragged off in search of a place to eat. Swift Sword and Nightblade, seemed to be quite happy to be able to have a break from their post and have lunch. The reclusive and silent forth member of their quartet, Soft Blows was unphased and as usual showed no outward disdain or happiness, merely following along. No one noticed the trio of ponies following them, stalking them. Waiting for the perfect moment.