Wrong Recipient

by elmago02

Chapter 4

Applejack groaned as the bright light of the dawn hit her straight on the face. She turned her head away from this, laying on the ground for a little longer. She finally lifted her head, taking in her surroundings. She was still at the top of the hill.

With all of the emotional and physical exhaustion of the previous days, it didn’t surprise the mare that she had fallen asleep and spent the night in that place.

Applejack stood on her hooves, feeling her legs a little sore, but nothing she hadn’t felt before. She blearily gave a look at the horizon before her stomach informed her of its complete lack of food. The mare took the hat that laid close to her and started her walk down the hill and through the orchards. It wouldn't be long before she reached the house.

“Do ya know how long have Ah been waitin fer ya out here?” Granny Smith said from her rocking chair, carefully keeping her eyes on her granddaughter as this one got closer. “Yah had all of us worried sick. We had no idea where ya were or when ya would come back. We thought somethin’ had happened to ya.”

Applejack stopped right next to Granny Smith and took her stetson off. “Sorry fer that. Ah just… Ah just needed some time alone,” Applejack said, looking down at her hooves in shame.

Granny took a quick look at the younger mare, taking in the rough aspect of her appearance, with her mane looking like a bird nest and the dry tears on her face. She nodded as she kept rocking on her chair. “Ah understand dear, but next time, be sure to at least inform us before ya leave. Ah mean, ya were gone fer a whole day.”

“Ah… Ah’m really sorry.”

Granny sighed. “That’s alright. Ya are back and that’s what is–” A growl from Applejack’s stomach interrupted Granny Smith. She chuckled as she stood from her chair. “Come on, AJ, Ah’ll prepare ya somethin’ good,” Granny said, guiding both of them inside the house.

They parted ways, with Granny moving to the kitchen and Applejack going to the bath. The young mare took a quick look at herself on the mirror. A complete mess. She really needed a bath, but that could wait until after her breakfast. She just took a moment to splash her face with water and smoothing her mane a little bit before leaving for the kitchen.

Applejack was just stepping into the room when a yellow and red projectile collided against her side, causing her to fall to the floor. Apart from a small amount of pain from the fall, Applejack could feel a pair of little hooves attaching to her barrel in a hug. Applejack looked down to see her little sister burying her face on her chest.

Granny chuckled, turning her head to the stove. “Ah told ya ya had all of us worried,” she said before stirring the contents of the pan she was using.

Applejack wrapped a hoof around the smaller body of her sister, using the other to slowly stroke her mane. “Ah’m sorry for worrying ya, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom shook her head and lifted her head to look at her sister. She had a few tears on her eyes which she quickly wiped before giving a big smile. “That’s okay.”

Applejack smiled for a second before her face fell into a frown.

Apple Bloom looked worriedly at her. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah…” Applejack kept stroking Apple Bloom’s mane. “Ah’m sorry fer shouting at ya that night. Ah… Yah didn’t deserve that.”

Apple Bloom just smiled and shrugged. “Ehh, no problem. Ah had actually forgotten ‘bout that, but Ah accept the apology.”

Applejack’s smile returned. She removed her hoof from her sister’s mane to place it with the other around her sister, giving her a bear crushing hug.

“Aaahh! Applejack! Let me -ugh- go!” Apple Bloom screamed, trying to break her sister’s hold on her, pushing against Applejack’s chest with her hooves.

Applejack chuckled. “Ah’m also sorry Ah didn’t kept mah promise of baking ya that pie ya wanted,” she said, not bothering on decreasing the strength of the hug.

“J-just… let me… go and Ah… will forgive… yaaaaaAAAAHH!” Apple Bloom crashed against the wall, as her sister had let her go at the same time she use all her strength to push herself away.

“Alright, that’s enough games from ya two. Now sit and eat yer breakfast before it gets cold,” Granny said before placing four plates on the table.

Applejack and Apple Bloom quickly took their places on the table, the only one missing was–

A hoof touched applejack’s shoulder, prompting the mare to turn her head. Big Mac stood at her side, smiling down at her.

“Good to see ya this morning, Applejack,” he said before taking his place next to Apple Bloom.

“Y-yeah,” Applejack mumbled, trying to suppress that bitter feeling in her chest before digging on her food.

---

The day before, after Fluttershy’s talk with Big Mac, the mare had walked around town a little more, trying to find Applejack.

With no luck on that, Fluttershy had moved back to her home, removing the letter from under her wing and placing it on a table for later. There was work she had to do around the cottage, and it would be better if she got to it right away.

It took her a lot of time to finish everything. As she finished something, she quickly busied herself with another chore, no matter how small it was.

That night, as she laid on her bed, Fluttershy was telling herself that she had been too busy to read the letter, but she knew that was a lie. She could have taken a moment to read it, it wouldn’t had taken more than a minute. But she couldn’t, she was afraid…

She was afraid, because once she read it, she would realize just how deep she had hurt her friend. How much damage her mistake had caused.

But Fluttershy was also curious. Curious about knowing a little more about her friend’s feelings. Curious to see what the farmer saw in her. And… curious to know how she herself would react about such information.

‘I’m going to read it… Tomorrow morning, that’s the first thing I’ll do.’

The next morning, Fluttershy found herself sitting on the living room, having an intense staring contest with the envelope. She had been like that for an hour, a bit afraid to read it, but determined on not going anywhere before she did.

Fluttershy pushed herself from the couch, walking to the table where the envelope lay. She gulped, moving a little closer to grab it, just to give up at the last second, turning around to go to her previous spot. This was about the twentieth time this happened. Fluttershy sighed as she flopped on the couch.

“Nooo! I was so sure she would do it this time!” somepony shouted, causing Fluttershy to jump from her seat. She looked around the room, easily spotting the draconequus standing on one corner of the room, wearing sports fan clothing. He also had a pennant that said “Go Fluttershy!!!” which he promptly threw to the floor.

“I can’t believe I lost again,” Discord said, crossing his arms.

Angel bunny was right next to him, poking Discord’s knee with his little paw while tapping his foot.

Discord sighed. “I know, I know,” he said, pulling a wallet from out of nowhere. “Last time I bet against a rabbit,” he mumbled as he took a look inside the wallet. He quickly pulled about fifty carrots, holding them up on the air. “Come on, one last time. Quadruple or nothing!”

Angel crossed his paws and shook his head, signaling discord to just pay him.

“Ugh! There!” Discord grunted, dropping the carrots, effectively burying the rabbit with them. “I hope you choke with one of those.”

“D-Discord? What… What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, looking between the draconequus and the pile of carrots on the floor, a bit confused. “H-how long have you been there.”

“Oh, dear Fluttershy, I have been here since the very beginning,” Discord said, vanishing and appearing right next to the mare in seconds. “You seemed extremely focused on staring at that piece of paper, I thought it was rude to disturb. So I said nothing.

“And for what’s going on, I didn’t find it nearly as interesting as you to just sit around and watch it in silence, so I had a little wager with Angel,” Discord continued, looking with disdain at the little rabbit who tried to fit every single carrot in his hutch. He sighed. “I try to be a good friend, betting on you, believing that you could do it, whatever it was you were trying to do. My mistake.”

“Uhm… I-I’m sorry you lost your carrots because of me.”

Discord just shrugged. “Meh, I don’t even like carrots that much. Now, tell me,” he started, pointing at the envelope. “Is that thing making fun of you? Because if that’s the case, I can easily send it flying to the center of Ponyville in nothing but its underwear.”

“I-I, but it doesn’t, I don’t… T-that’s not necessary.”

“If you say so,” Discord said, placing his hands behind his head as he started to slowly float. “But really, what is so interesting about that…” He trailed of as he noticed for the first time the name of Fluttershy between two hearts on the envelope. “Ooohhhh! A love letter? You got a secret admirer!”

Fluttershy looked down at the floor with a saddened expression. “N-not really.”

Discord looked at Fluttershy, then at the envelope and back. “I feel like you are really conflicted with this. I believe I can help you with it, make things easier for you.”

Fluttershy looked up, meeting Discord’s gaze. “Y-you can?”

“Of course!”

“A-alright. What do you have in mind?” Fluttershy asked with curiosity. What could discord do to help her with–

“This!” Discord snapped his fingers. A little pop was heard and a small cloud of smoke appeared where the envelope had been, only leaving a little scorching mark behind when it dissipated.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!” Fluttershy shouted as she jumped from her place, running to the table and looking around to see if she could find a single piece of the letter.

“You were obviously distressed by the letter, so I just got rid of it.” Discord crossed his arms, looking annoyed. “Seriously, you try to help your friends and they just start shouting for no reason.”

“Discord, please, I need it back! Applejack wrote it for me and I–”

“Wait… Applejack wrote you that love letter?” Discord asked wide eyed. “I had no idea she swung that way.”

“Neither did I, but that’s not important right now. I need that letter back!” Fluttershy said in a pleading tone.

“What? You think I can just make it magically reappear? Well… You’re right.” With another snap of his fingers, Fluttershy found herself seated on a booth. A pair of red curtains hung from nowhere, floating in front of her.

The curtains slowly parted, revealing Discord, who was currently wearing a magician costume. A wave of applause sounded from everywhere, with Fluttershy nervously looking around to see where it was coming from.

“Ah! Thank you, thank you all for coming! For my first trick...” Discord removed his top hat and presented its insides to the audience. “I’ll pull a rabbit out of this hat!” He hit the hat with his wand two times, then inserted his hand inside, pulling Angel Bunny out, who wasn’t looking amused at all.

The applause was heard once more, with a few whistles added to it. “Thank you! Thank you!” Discord shouted, bowing slightly. “For my next trick!” He paused dramatically, slowly turning to look at Angel with a wicked grin. “I’ll pull a hat out of the rabbit.”

Angel’s eyes widened, quickly covering his rear with his little paws. Angel wiggled his way out of Discord’s grasp and ran away.

Discord huffed. “Such lack of commitment for the profession. It’s the last time I work with amateurs.”

“D-Discord,” Fluttershy called from her seat. “I really want that letter back.”

Discord sighed. “Fine, let’s jump to the grand finale.” Discord rolled up both of his sleeves. “Nothing up my sleeves and... PRESTO!” Discord extended his arms, pointing at the space between him and Fluttershy. A cloud of smoke popped and quickly disappeared, leaving behind… nothing. “Hmmm, there really was nothing up my sleeve.”

“Discord! Can you just give–”

Fluttershy’s scolding was stopped when a knock was heard from the door.

“And that’s all for the night! Thanks for coming! Do tell your friends about the Magnificent Discord!” Discord said before bowing. He then pulled his top hat down over his body, disappearing inside it.

“Discord, come back here right–” Fluttershy got interrupted once again by the knocking.

Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh. “Coming!” she said, walking to the door and slightly opening it to see who was standing outside. “Hello… eep!” She froze, with her mouth slightly ajar. Her nerves taking control of her body the moment her eyes took in who exactly was the mare on the other side.

“Hey, Fluttershy…” Applejack said as she scratched the back of her head. “Ah hope Ah didn’t come at a bad moment.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “N-no, you didn’t… Uhm, no,” she answered, not really meeting Applejack’s gaze.

“Fluttershy… Do ya have a moment? Ah… Ah want to talk with ya.”

“Uhm, y-yes, I…” Fluttershy opened the door the rest of the way and stood to the side. “C-come in...”

Applejack shook her head. “No, no, here’s okay. It’ll be just a second.”

“A-alright.” Fluttershy stood in front of Applejack, waiting for the mare to start.

“Fluttershy, Ah… Ah’m sorry for what Ah did last time Ah was here…” Applejack took a deep breath and continued. “Ah just thought that it was for me and Ah was so…That letter w-was fer Big Mac, Ah understand. Ya send it to the orchard he usually works but Ah got it instead. If we had spoken properly… If Ah hadn’t just rushed, thinking that it was… Ah…” Her breathing was shaky. “Ah’m really sorry… Ah kissed ya out of nowhere, and it must have been really weird fer ya. That won’t h-happen ever a-again a-and Ah… A-Ah… Consarnit!” Applejack looked away, lifting her hoof to cover her face.

Fluttershy heart ached for her friend when she saw a tear rolling down Applejack’s cheek. “Apple–”

“Ah know Ah made t-things awkward between u-us,” Applejack continued, still covering her face. “Ah just hope that this doesn’t a-affect our f-friendship. J-just… A-Ah want ya to know that Ah really mean it… S-so ya d-don’t have to worry about nothin’.”

“Applejack, you really–”

“S-sorry, Ah g-gotta go!” Applejack shouted, her hooves kicking and carrying her away. Fluttershy watched her friend disappearing in the distance.

The mare stood there without moving, still looking in the direction her friend had fled. Shortly after, Fluttershy’s ears caught the sound of a few step from inside the cottage.

“Wow…” came the voice of discord from behind the shy mare. “I was planning on giving her the ‘You better not break her heart’ speech. I never imagined you would be the one breaking hearts.”

Fluttershy’s ears folded back as her gaze dropped to the ground, remaining deathly quiet until she started to sniffle.

Discord eyes shot wide open in alarm and quickly kneeled in front of the pegasus. “Come on, Fluttershy, I-I didn’t really meant it,” he said, as he frantically waved his arms around. “It was just a terrible, terrible comment. You know I’m still really bad at this friendship thing, and I’m no good at being tactful with others.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that I did break Applejack’s heart,” Fluttershy mumbled.

Discord looked worriedly at his somber friend. He hated seeing her like that. He snapped his pawn several times, trying everything he could to lift her spirits, but the mare just didn’t pay attention to the multiple changes he had done to reality. She didn’t even notice when he made rain puppies and kitties. But he finally got a reaction when he dressed Angel Bunny like a tiny clown and made him ride a unicycle as Discord played the accordion.

“Discord…”

“Yes, Fluttershy?” Discord asked, eager to do whatever the mare told him.

“I… I want to be alone right now. Could you… Could you leave, please?” Fluttershy said monotonously, still not looking up.

Discord deflated. “I… Alright, if that’s what you wish…” Discord was ready to teleport away, but stopped just short of that. He lifted his claw to Fluttershy’s ear, waiting for a second to see if Fluttershy looked up, but she didn’t. He sighed, pulling an envelope from behind the mare’s ear and placing it on the ground before snapping his fingers, disappearing with a puff.

Fluttershy had stopped sniffling, locking her gaze on what Discord had left right in front of her. With a shaking hoof, Fluttershy opened it and took the letter inside, reading several times the single sentence written on it before pressing the paper against her chest.