The sun rose it's usual time. The morning ritual came through one more time. Fluttershy ignored Angel Bunny's temper and swept over to her boudoir. There she brushed through her mane carefully before clipping a cute blue flower accessory into it. After she felt satisfied, she walked casually over to her door.
It had become something she expected and, admittedly, something she looked forward to. The small gift box was wrapped in yellow today. The wrapping paper was decorative and cute, and the little white polka-dots that covered the sheen was inviting. As she picked it up, she returned back to her bed to sit on its comfortable warmth and pulled the paper off of the box gently.
Instead of a nicknack or a cute hair accessory, inside was a folding piece of paper. Fluttershy was not disappointed as much as she was purely surprised.
“I wonder what this is.” She muttered aloud, bumping the box with her hoof. Angel glared up at her impatiently, flopping his ears against the sides of his head, only to lift them high again. His desperate attempt to grasp at Fluttershy's attention was in vain as her eyes were plastered to the neatly folded paper. An odd aroma drifted from the box. Not exactly unpleasant but bitter. It was strong enough to singe at her nostrils but familiar enough for her not to notice.
The paper unfolded almost on it's own.
Fluttershy,
I'm more of a stallion of few words, so I'll try to make this brief...
Angel's impatience has hit its peak. The small fuzzy creature sprung forward, his long feet thrusting him from his stationary stance on the ground. His ears whipped behind him in his speed, and he took hold of the paper from Fluttershy. Taking of towards the door, he slammed his foot down multiple times, pointing towards the ground.
“Angel!” Fluttershy scolded. She firmly approached her little pet. However, she was defeated when Angel pointed accusingly at the wall clock. She was, in fact, late for her date with Applejack and the others. She weighed her consequences, glancing back and forth between Angel and the clock.
Forgetting briefly about the mysterious note, Fluttershy scattered out the door.
-----
Yes, a manticore. Twilight remembered that thing.
Erinyes? Those sound terrifying.
Oh my, how long do they live?
That also sounds terrifying.
BONK!
When the apple smashed into the top of Twilight's head, she was left dazed until two more followed shortly afterwards.
BONK, BONK!
Her Rare Creatures of Equestria book flopped on the ground as her levitation gave way. The shock of impact brought Twilight down to her knees, and left her eyes spinning in a haze. She rattled her head in an attempt to set her eyesight straight and then looked around her.
She was walking by the apple trees at Sweet Apple Acres. She looked back down at her open book as it lay spread upon the soil. Pouting, she used her magic to pick it up and set it back down properly.
She refused to learn her lesson about reading while walking to places.
“I'm sorry! Hey, you alright?” A voice called out to Twilight as she gathered her awareness.
“What? Oh, yes, I'm absolutely fine.” She responded promptly. A hoof was held out to her, and she took hold of it without looking at the face behind it. As she was pulled to a stance, she lifted her book into the air and slipped it into her saddle-bag. She's was already at the farm. No more time to read.
“Oh good. I can buck the tree pretty hard sometimes.”
As Twilight looked, she recognized the face of the stallion in which she was conversing. He had familiar light brown eyes. His blue mane and fur were slightly variant in shade and his cutie mark was graced with backwards musical notes. Eighth notes to be exact.
The blue earth pony gathered the three apples that had interrupted Twilight's peaceful reading and flung them over into a barrel. Afterwords, he smiled and looked over to the victim of his applebucking. “Twilight Sparkle, was it?”
“Yes, that's correct. And your name is Noteworthy, right?”
“Yes, ma'am. That's me.” He answered, not making eye contact but instead examine the branches of the tree, counting the apples that remain.
“Here, let me help you with that.”
With a thrust of magic, Twilight shot a levitation spell from the base of her horn. The apples remaining on the tree and the apples on the tree next to it plucked from the branches and leaves. Motioning her magic with the movement of her head, she led the apples up into the air, and then downwards. They drifted delicately, floating down in unison. They rested in two separate barrels without bruising, and Twilight let go of her grip on them.
Noteworthy was clearly impressed. He laughed proudly as she started eyeing the other trees.
“No wonder Applejack didn't think she needed us!” He made his way to another tree. Luckily, Applejack did the liberty of arranging barrels around the farm so he didn't have to grab any himself. He looked carefully at the trunk and readied to kick. “But I don't think anything can beat nice – hard – BUCK!” Kicking back during each pause, he thrust his back legs as hard as he could against the bark covered trunk on the last word.
“Not so fast!” Twilight joked, sending another wave of magic. As his hooves smashed against the bark, not only did his bragging ways cause him to tense up last minute causing his hooves to scrape against the bark and slip, but Twilight's magic swept through and caught any apples that managed to fall.
He grinned sheepishly, raising his eyebrows modestly. Twilight chuckled and dropped all of the apples into a barrel besides one, which she plopped on Noteworthy's head hard enough to thud yet delicate enough not to bruise the apple. Pulling a foreleg up in front of her mouth, she hid her laugh in vain.
“I'm going to go find Applejack now. Nice talking to you, Noteworthy.” Twilight said, still finishing her laughter before finishing her sentence.
Picking the apple off the ground, the blue earth pony looked at his company leave. He pouted pridefully, plopping the apple on top of a stack of apples in the nearest barrel.
-----
“Thas right, Caramel, just like that. Now, don't go forgettin' anythin', ya hear?” Applejack snipped at the light brown earth pony known as Caramel as he traced the trunks of the apple trees around him carefully.
“Applejack! I'm sorry that I'm late!” The sound of Fluttershy's voice called softly, hard to hear through the beating of her wings as she appeared over the treetops.
“Oh there ya are! Nah, don't worry 'bout it too much. It ain't nothin' big.”
The timing seemed to fall together perfectly. As Fluttershy hovered down onto the ground, Applejack managed to catch sight of Twilight galloping steadily towards her. The three ponies met in the middle, resulting in both Applejack and Twilight meeting where Fluttershy landed.
After some small talk, a light bouncing sound arose from behind the trees. As the heads turned towards the sound, the distinct mane style and color of Pinkie Pie started to hop in and out of view. The three sets of eyes watched carefully as Pinkie frolicked carelessly into the scene.
“Okie Dokie Lokie Applejack! I'm here for some working-ness!”
“Well, it looks like that's everypony. Do ya'll need introducin'?” Applejack asked after a brief laugh from Pinkie's entrance. She motioned towards Caramel as he bucked unaware of their attention.
All of them shook their head and smiled, pleased to be there to help their dear friend.
“Alright, everypony. Let's meet back here in two hours!”
-----
It was difficult to explain to an earth pony or a pegasus how magic could feel tiring. It was subtle; like a constant buzzing in your ear that kept you wondering when the sound was going to eventually get overbearing. It was tingly, and felt a little warm. However, it felt multiplied by double digits when used in mass. The weight of 30 apples is much more than somepony would expect, and the heaving mass felt like too much to handle at times. In one fluid motion, Twilight lifted a few trees worth of red and green apples. They drifted as if they were weightless.
As she split them up accordingly and slipped them all into barrels, she sat back, letting a few drips of sweat drip from her nose.
“You alright there, Miss Show-off?”
As Twilight's head followed the source of the sound, her eyes laid on Noteworthy again. A sly smile slid across her lips and she nodded to him.
“I'm fine. Are you sure you're okay? Had any unfortunate slips?”
“Not enough to matter.”
The last comment had a slur of sarcasm in it, but still sounded silly enough to laugh at. Noteworthy joined her in her laughter and took a seat next to her.
The sun had drifted farther in the sky, signaling that Twilight had been working for an hour straight. A rest wasn't out of the question.
As she glanced over to the earth pony next to her, she noticed he was tapping his hoof ever so slightly. She watched carefully. Tap, tap, tap-a-tap, tap. It was clearly a rhythm in his head. He repeated the pattern again, looping it seamlessly and flawlessly.
As he tapped, his head swayed back and forth slightly and his eyes were in a daze. He was clearly singing along in his mind.
As Twilight watched, she was captivated by the sheer simplicity of the pattern, but the mesmerizing beauty of the look in his eyes. As she looked at him carefully, she noticed the shagged fur, coated with sweat. His mane looked messy and his hooves chapped. Considering he was here before Twilight arrived, how much longer than her had he worked?
Tap, tap, tap-a-tap, tap.
The pattern looped once more. How many times has it been? It was melodic in its own way, even though it lacked the melody line itself. She looked away, leaning back into a more comfortable position. She swayed her head with the beat, taking in the rhythm. Subtly, she began to hum the first song that matched that she could think of.
She couldn't see it, but she could feel his eyes burn into her once she hummed along. She dared not look, lest she embarrass herself. She enjoyed music and all it brought to her. If she knew Noteworthy better, she'd probably sing. She wasn't ashamed of singing.
They continued their unplanned muse. Noteworthy began to hum with her, laughing lightly every now and then, as if he didn't know why he was feeding into it. As about 5 minutes passed, the song seemed to reach its end. Twilight almost found herself tempted to start humming again, as if she were sad it had ended.
After their song ended, there was silence. Neither party was brave enough to look at each other after the event drew to a close. Slowly, however, the silence ebbed into Noteworthy's humble laugh. The warm sound felt unexpected, drawing Twilight's attention.
“What?” She yelped, feeling her face become hot with blush.
“Nothing!” Noteworthy answered, laughing steadily. He looked in Twilight's direction and nudged at her. “It was just a fun way to pass time. But we probably should get back to work.”
“Oh, right.” Twilight agreed, smiling before taking a stand. “We've almost cleared this whole side of the farm though. We'll be done soon.”
“Hey, Twilight Sparkle?” Noteworthy asked. Twilight looked at him wordlessly, still a little embarrassed. As she didn't vocally respond, Noteworthy looked nervous. “Th-that is your name right?”
Twilight let out a small laugh. “Yeah, but you can just call me Twilight. What did you need?”
“Well, I didn't need anything. But I was thinking, maybe we can keep each other company as we finish. It would make it go by a lot faster.”
With a small smile, Twilight nodded.
-----
“Good job, everypony!” Applejack yelled over her friends. They all looked back with beaming grins. “We finished with enough time 'til the market to do a more in depth quality check!” She stomped a hoof down triumphantly. The friends talked amongst themselves and took a seat to rest, leaving Applejack to walk back to her home in order to gather some celebratory apple juice.
“Um...” Fluttershy approached her friend slowly, her head low. “Applejack?”
Applejack looked back at the yellow pegasus and paused in her steps. “Yeah, sugarcube?”
“Um, if you don't mind... I was wondering if I could come in with you and check on Big Mac's wounds. Oh, uh, if that's okay with you.”
“'Course! If you hadn't come last time he gone and hurt himself, we wouldn't have learned how to get him better faster.”
“Oh wonderful. Because, you know, I saw him limping before and I thought I could give him a few hints on how to recover.”
“Thas right, I've been meanin' to ask.” Applejack said, almost as if she were disconnected to Fluttershy's last statement. “That there flower in your mane. Where did ya get it?”
“Oh this?”
Putting a hoof up to the flower in her pink mane, she had almost forgot she was wearing it. “It was a gift. I didn't see who gave it to me... but it was on my doorstep. There's been this pony, somepony I haven't seen. They've been leaving gifts at my door every morning.”
“Oh?” Applejack said, suddenly growing a sleek smirk. “I see. Well then, ya'll better get in there and talk to Big Mac. I think that you should mention that to him while you're at it. He's real interested in stuff like that.”
“He is? I don't think he's the kind of pony – ”
“Just trust me. I think ya will be awfully surprised about what he says when you do.”
With that, the two ponies entered Applejack's home, taking different turns at the front door.
How sweet.
Finally, 's love interest is REVEALED!
I know it may not be who you thought it would be, but it's not the only straight Twi ship I do, so there will be other fics in the future with different ships if the urge hits me!
Feedback is appreciated
And so it begins
I'm more interested in who Dash is going to wind up with, mostly because I've literally never seen her paired with a male character. Also, is Noteworthy an actual background character or an OC? I've never heard of him before.
800754
It's no secret, this story is SoarinDash. Meaning she will ultimately end up wtih Soarin from the Wonderbolts :)
And also, Noteworthy is also sometimes called Blues. He is, in fact, real.
http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Noteworthy
I hope that helps!
800762
Heh, it never occurred to me to look at the character icons. Feel a little dumb now.
FlutterMac!!! Hehe, AppleJack's his wingmare
800776
No, you're not stupid. I've just had several other people ask in the comments, some of them very blatantly voicing their opinion on my couple choices. So I just decided to get it all out on the table. No worries, bro.
800781
Yes, I believe you are right. Thanks for pointing it out. I will try to snap them more into their characters! I appreciate your constructive criticism!
Cute choice on Twi's love interest. Especially his intro with a few bonks on the head.
And so our Story begins :3 I can just hear Theresa saying this lol
2000 words never flew by so quickly... can't wait for the next chapter!
love it! cant wait for the next one!!! but maybe spike could get a date maybe with somepony/ filly
I'm excited for twilight, but Fluttershy still disgusts me.
Some of the writing could do with improved construction.
What I mean is, the sentences could be worded better. For example,
The sun rose it's usual time. The morning ritual came through one more time.
could be improved by combining the two sentences into one. Voila!
The morning sun rose, and with it came another mysterious present.
Same thing goes for
An odd aroma drifted from the box. Not exactly unpleasant but bitter.
It could be
An odd aroma, bitter but not unpleasant, drifted from the box.
I'm just saying it could see some serious improvement through better sentence construction. In a story, it isn't so much what happens in it, it's more about how the events are presented to the reader. It's why you don't just write
The sun came up. Fluttershy found another present on her doorstep, but remembered she promised Applejack she'd help her with apple-bucking that day.
Luckily, Applejack did the liberty of arranging barrels around the farm so he didn't have to grab any himself.
"Ah store apple barrels all over Sweet Apple Acres in case of a barrel emergency!"
Also, Twilight and Blues? Not only will this be the first fic I've read with Blues, but it will be in a new Twi ship. Fancy that.
The tune I was imagining while they hummed and tapped? It was less of imagined and more I played it repetitively, because it fits.
[youtube=eq4VHi86hzk]
With Noteworthy's taps being the sounds of clanking metal and the hums being the whatever it is. Infact, I managed to imagine it with the sounds of wood and magic, and it fits PERFECTLY. Gondo's theme goes with everything, does it not?
That's weird - I hinted at a Twilight/Noteworthy pairing in one of my stories, and I don't even remember why I did it. Was there a reason you chose him? I like how you've written him here, and it's always nice to see ponies helping out at Sweet Apple Acres who don't actually have talents related to farming.
And here we see Applejack at her most subtle. Smooth!
The inevitable shit storm begins Stay tuned NEXT TIME ON MLP FANFICION
800856
WOOO Fable!
802463 fireboltfist but i do hope you prefer Fable aka Fable the lost chapters over F2 and especially F3 it could have aged so well but instead we got... well ask peter telluswhatwewantthengiveushalfofthat what F3 was supposed to be :3 lol i dont even hav a Xbox Xbox360
802505
I loved tLC and 2. Mostly cuz 2 was my first game.
indeed F2 brought new concepts but stripped the originals from Fable mini map,limited magic etc but as much as gameplay got more... child friendly the combat system i thought was better in some ways but shit in others like making it look badass but taking away most of the challenge limited magic and fable3 made gameplay... even worse :( the combat system became Uber easy i didnt die once in my first playthrough lol and the clothes you cant just give us a shitload of clothes in FLC half it in F2 the quarter it in F3 it is bullshit... wait what was i talking about
d'aaw so cute, patiently waiting for the next chapter now
d'aaw so cute, patiently waiting for the next chapter now
800754
if you like a straight dash you might want to read soarin' with rainbows. I really like it, but the update time of the story is very sporadic. It are very short chapters, but very fun anyway
I'm kinda amused that Twilight has taken an interest in a pony who looks just like her had. If they ever get serious that is going to be an awkward meeting.
Twilight and Blues, that a new pairing to me, sounds interesting. I like how it developed with them working and making music together.
My preferred m/f Dash ship is MacinDash, though SoarinDash works for me too.
804632
Damn mate, have a heart towards the poor fella.
Just kidding, I don't care for him either. That's why I put him through so much pain in my stories
Just kidding 2.0, I care for him, but winning over the heart of your true love is not a cake walk. And now I want cake but I have no cake. Cheerrio
And I thought twilight was going to go with comet tail.
Never heard of this Noteworthy, but I guess it's time to see if he's worthy enough for Twilight.
Love is in bloom...
I spotted a little mistake though: the heaving mass felt like too - double space between 'mass' and 'felt'
Not really sure how I spotted something that petty...
I have a question: How does one pridefully pout?
809486
Pout because their pride was hurt
809511 Ok
811919
Thanks for the criticism.
Between you an me, and any one else who reads this comment (because I'm not very secretive about who's going to be with who) Spike isn't getting shipped. His place in the story is learning how to cope with rejection and mature hopefully as a character because, as the story stated, he's generally a bit older and might be maturing soon in the canon mlp, which is why I wanted to play with it.
Yes, I can see how you would be unable to tell where it's going because I snip my chapters short due to my motivational issues. However, there is a plan. It would probably sound like an excuse if I said this story started as practice, so I didn't take it too seriously at first. But now that it's getting pretty popular, I am trying my best to step up to the plate and deliver something that deserves the views I'm getting.
All-in-all, your review so far was very fair. Thank you for taking the time to read my fanfiction.
I knew it! Actually right after reading about the fallen tree I knew that was how Big Mac got injured!
Also, here's the shipping list as far as I can tell:
Applejack: Caramel
Rainbow Dash: Soarin
Rarity: Fancy Pants
Pinkie Pie: Pokey Pierce
Twilight: Noteworthy
Fluttershy: Big Mac
Ohhhh how sweet. I love romance.
Great fic by the way!
Keep Moving Foward
Any idea as to when the next chapter may be arriving? It's getting better and better, by the way! Loving it!
876550
I did proofread, and as a matter of fact, this chapter was pretty important to me because it's pretty much the start of everything important, but it is possible that I missed some stuff. Thanks for bringing it up.
907016 I'm excited for new chapters, but not so excited about reading the Soarin'Dash parts. Oh well, guess I still have to wait for more.
704080 I agree with you on this one, but I dislike Soarin'Dash, nothing wrong with it, I just personally dislike it. I mean, it just kinda bugs me when I read Soarin'Dash fics, dunno why, but it does.
Are there lesbian.... relationships in this? Tell me now, so that I might prepare myself, call me paranoid, but I don't want anypony feel my hatred.
EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I SEE SOARINXDASH I'M LIKIN' IT.
Dernit, now I hurve to wait a mirrion years fer the next chaptur.
915409 Nope, All straight here
924437 Then, in the end, there shall be no chaos.
NoteSparkle. I like it.
This gonna get updated anytime soon, or did it die?
Great job on giving everypony a good amount of spotlight. I'd imagine that managing 6 different characters is not the easiest thing to do, but so far you've done splendidly. Hope you continue with this story!
1039059
I have many projects that I am working on, and I alternate between them. I AM updating this, and actually have the 7th chapter started. So, no worries! not dead!
I can feel soarin X RD coming on.... Oh well. I was hoping for AJ X Soarin, but you cant always get what you want