Applejack Shy

by HareTrinity

Sparkle Extinguished

Applejack had been getting worried: She hadn't heard from Fluttershy in a while. Was her pegasus okay? Maybe she should go over sometime, maybe take some food, invite her out on a picnic?

It was that line of thought that had brought her out to Ponyville's market place so early in the morning; that and her grandmother. Turns out the green pony had been around Ponyville centre the day Fluttershy was rejected by Rainbow Dash, and that Applejack had galloped straight past her own relative as she rushed to check on her friend. Since then Granny Smith had been even more worried about her, trying (in her own way) to get her granddaughter to talk. The orange mare kept dodging the subject of what was on her mind: She was too prideful and embarrassed to admit that she was down over somepony, especially when she'd never even let that pony know she was interested. In the end it was partially just wanting to avoid Granny Smith's worry that Applejack had agreed to get out of the house for something other than chores. This had slowly developed into the idea of inviting Fluttershy out for a picnic the next day.

She hadn't slept well that night but it turned out that this was just as well: Applejack arrived at the market that morning and saw that there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Must have been on their copy of the weather calender, but Applejack hadn't thought to check. Weather like this meant that the market would most likely be packed in a few hours, though luckily at this time in the morning most of the stall owners had only just finished setting up and there were few other customers apart from Applejack.

"How about something new this season, Applejack?"

"No thank you, ma'am!" replied the farm mare to the hat stall's owner, smiling and tilting her own hat back in recognition.

Wait, would Fluttershy want a new hat? Or would that be too much? I should stay more casual, at least until I know if she's recovered since Rainbow Dash... Hmm... Does she like cherries?

Carefully Applejack went through the food stalls, picking out the best of what they had for offer and feeling a little better as she did so. The thought of a picnic with Fluttershy perked her up and the more she prepared the more real it seemed, plus the stall owners all had little in-jokes with her family and more than a couple had new anecdotes to share. The friendliness wasn't just for show, either, though it would be in their interests to fake it if they had to: The Apples were a well established family with knowledge of all the area's trade routes, and fellow traders had learnt that the family was happy to share such knowledge with the many friends they had. There was a lot of respect for the family, plus Granny Smith would kick up "a mighty fuss" if she thought any of her grandchildren had been shortchanged!

Soon Applejack had two saddlebags full of foodstuffs and ingredients that, with what she had at home, could be made into a very ample picnic for her and one other. She smiled and slowly started to trot back to the farm, mind on the potential meal and, more importantly, on the one she'd be sharing it with...

She could picture it now, at a lake, the serene sound of birdsong all around them. That look on Fluttershy's face as she relaxed, at one with nature, and, Applejack thought, she'd take this chance to maybe get a little closer, maybe let Fluttershy know how much their friendship meant to her... Fluttershy would smile, confirm that she'd always appreciated their friendship and hint that it maybe meant more to her than that before trailing off. Settling for this, plus a little nervous, Applejack would flop onto the cool grass happily, only find herself speechless as Fluttershy made eye contact. The pegasus would smile again, suddenly seeming more confident, her mane getting caught up in the wind as she approached the earth mare...Then BAM, from the lake would burst a sea monster! Cold water would splash over them both and Applejack, temporarily paralysed with shock, would stare up at the beast as it towered above her! Then, like a ray of light, her pegasus would shoot up to face the creature, which would rear back in surprise, shocked by the fearlessness of the cream mare. Fluttershy would shout at it, saying she'd never let her good friend be hurt, and as her commanding nature came shining through the beast would slowly submit. Soon Flutttershy would have scolded the creature into apologising humbly before quietly leaving, not daring to disobey the commanding pony. In the aftermath Applejack would stare at Fluttershy, the adrenaline rushing through her still dripping wet body, thinking nothing but how beautiful that shining pegasus appeared as she flew back down to her. Before she knew what was happening, Applejack would find herself caught up in a strong embrace by Fluttershy and soon they'd both be gripping each other tightly, their mouths pressing against-

"Oh! Hello Applejack!"

The farm mare found herself jerked out of her fantasy by its subject: At some point the yellow pegasus had walked right up to her!

"Flu-Fluttershy!" - she could feel her face turning red - "Ain't see you for a while, was startin' to get worried!"

"Oh, I'm okay, thank you for last time, and sorry I was such a mess..."

"Aw, no point worryin' 'bout it, we all have our bad days!" Should I just invite her on the picnic now? Or would it be better to make it a surprise, find a good spot first and then-

"...But this time it'll be better!" finished Fluttershy.

This time?

The pink-maned pony produced a book from one of her saddlebags, "What do you think?"

...Oh no...

"...That's, erm... A mighty nice cover it's got?" No... It can't be...

Fluttershy nodded absent-mindedly as she glanced off towards the library. "This time I'll handle it better! I don't have reason to think she'll feel the same, but I'm going to try anyway! If she doesn't, that's fine too!"

...No...

"...Uh-huh..." mumbled Applejack, swallowing down her emotions.

"Wish me luck?" the yellow pegasus asked, flashing a winning smile that dazzled the farmer.

"G-good luck, sugar cube!"

Twilight? Really? Applejack groaned as she watched her heart's desire prance off to the giant tree house. She'd always hoped Fluttershy wasn't into intellectual types because... Well... School hadn't been Applejack strong point. She had often been told it wasn't so greatly important: That she had heart, which mattered more, and a lot of abilities to spare, but... What good is all of that if... Oh Fluttershy, am I really invisible to you? What would I have to do, to get you to see me? Or maybe it's already too late...

Turning around the farmer pony started slowly and miserably on her way back home, appetite lost and fantasy ruined, feeling more painfully aware of her academic problems than she'd done for a long while. Her limbs felt heavy; steps becoming smaller until she was all but shuffling. She resisted the urge to come to a halt by telling herself that she had to keep going, that her emotions would have to wait until when she was back in her room, back where nopony could see her...

"APPLEJACK!"

The farmer found herself caught up in a tight hug by an over-enthusiastic cream pegasus.

The Apple mare struggled to talk, her jaw feeling heavy, "Uh, wha'?"

"SHE SAID YES!!! We're going on a date TOMORROW!" announced Fluttershy, the joy radiating off her.

"...Oh... Oh, Ah mean, good fer y-"

"Ooh! I must go make sure my animal friends have enough food! Bye, Applejack!"

With a quick wave the pegasus was rushing off, leaving Applejack, now feeling even more dejected, to continue her long walk home...

---

It had lasted two weeks.

"And we only went on THREE dates!" sobbed Fluttershy.

Applejack put a foreleg around the pony's shoulders, patting her gently. She'd heard about one of those dates from Rainbow Dash when she asked how the couple were doing. The pegasus had assured her that they were fine and dandy little "Lovebirds" which, despite honestly feeling happy for them, had only made Applejack feel more isolated than ever before. Everypony seems so darn happy for them... I wonder if they'd have been happy for me... The orange mare hadn't had much sleep over the last couple of weeks and her appetite had lessened too, although (as she'd been using it to take her mind off the situation) her progress on the season's apple bucking was better than normal, something which had been of no comfort to her family. Big Mac and Apple Bloom would normally believe their sister when she claimed to be okay, but Granny Smith had clearly seen through Applejack's attempts to mask how she felt. She'd been coming up with numerous easy household chores that Applejack "needed" to do before apple bucking, all of which came with more conversations aimed at getting her granddaughter to talk. When Applejack had mentioned (a little less than enthusiastically) that she was going to see friends this day Granny Smith had all but carried her off Sweet Apple Acres.

Yet, despite all the build up to meeting her friends as a couple for the first time, when Applejack had finally arrived she'd found just Fluttershy, by herself, crying at one of the café's tables. Fluttershy had soon told her how Twilight was honestly busy and didn't really have enough time for a more time-consuming relationship than a couple of dates every week. Since Fluttershy hadn't been able to cope with that the two had agreed to end things. Twilight had then left to get back to the experiments she'd started and Fluttershy had been in tears ever since.

Trying to be positive, Applejack had offered to buy lunch. Fluttershy, however, had shook her head, saying she she wasn't hungry. From that point on Applejack again found herself being a shoulder to lean on. It was more than a little tiresome for the overworked pony but she couldn't find a way to escape, nor a way to justify such actions when her friend clearly needed her. Eventually she saw that the staff were giving them looks and slowly managed to convince Fluttershy that they should leave the café.

"Well... Ah'll walk you home?" Applejack meekly suggested

The pegasus gave a weak nod, forcing a small smile, and together the pair left the café behind, setting off towards Fluttershy's cottage.

Applejack started to feel a bit more normal as they settled into walking. If Fluttershy and Twilight weren't to be then maybe... It was silly, but possible. Still, her thoughts were troubled. What should I do right now? Is now a good time to- no, of course not... Last thing she needs is something like that on her plate now, and at best I'd be worried of rebound...

The mood was low as they walked in silence, and extremely awkward for it. Applejack could practically feel Fluttershy's downheartedness radiating off her, and she wanted to say something of comfort but didn't know what. Why couldn't it be something else on Fluttershy's mind? Chores or needing help restraining wild beasts? Those were things Applejack was sure she could help with, but not this... After a while she decided to try talking about something, something other than Twilight, but Fluttershy just sighed and said she'd rather walk the rest of the way alone.

"Well... Promise me you'll eat something before bed, alright sugar cube?"

The pegasus nodded and the farmer pony watched her walk off in the midday sun. Turning to head back to the barn Applejack realised she really did feel better knowing it hadn't worked out, and promptly cursed herself for it. It wasn't good to wish loneliness upon somepony just because... Just because it's all she'd felt lately...

Comments

[NeotheTwilitUnicorn]

Well, I like this. I look forward to seeing where this will go, so keep it up. *Upvotes and favorites*