Copy of In the Garden

COLLAB STORY 4 BEANS

Old Prompt: Earth Pony Magic

By Nailah and Ninjadeadbeard

Fluttershy sat on the back porch of her tree house and sighed, quietly. The sun was up and shining, and the cool breeze from Cloudsdale was mixing with the warmer winds off the Everfree forest, creating the conditions for a nice, cool spring morning. In fact, it was the first spring morning, since Winter Wrap Up had, naturally, wrapped up the day before.

But, despite how nice the weather was behaving today, she couldn’t quite feel pleased yet. Not when the ground was so barren and so lacking in the beautiful plants and flowers that normally adorned her garden.

It all just seemed so… dead. Lifeless. Boring. Though that last one might have been Discord rubbing off on her.

Without her flowers, the butterflies and other insects that lived in and around her place wouldn’t have enough food or nectar. And she and a few of her other animals also liked to have a nice, ripe flower on occasion. So, her garden being this way was not at all ideal to Fluttershy.

She sighed, again, and took a dainty sip of her still-steaming apple-spice tea.

“I do hope she gets here soon,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. “She always manages to brighten this day…”

Her ears perked up. There was a sound. A rhythmic beating as something hurried up the dirt road from town.

And just as the particular mare she was hoping to see came up over the horizon, orange coat standing out amidst the green of the spring morning, and the most identifiable stetson hat proudly seated atop her sun-golden mane, Fluttershy’s smile returned.

Applejack! she silently cheered.

The wind whistled at Applejack’s back, as she made her way to Fluttershy’s cottage. She had made sure to bring plenty of supplies, and soil for the task ahead. Whistling a soft tune, she saw how the warmth of the sun framed itself over Fluttershy’s cottage, she smiled as she pushed herself forward to meet up with her friend.

Every season brought with it new challenges for ponies to face, but Applejack always ensured the wellness of the lands, for it was what had been passed down to her from Granny.

“Howdy there Fluttershy! I reckon you are eager to get started, aye?” Applejack asked, reaching up to tilt the tip of her stetson down, ever so slightly. Her emerald eyes shone splendidly against the light of the sunlight beaming down on them both.

“Oh, thank you for coming, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, quietly but with a wide smile on her lips. “I know springtime is very important for your farm…”

Her eyes widened, and she glanced down to the cup of tea held in her cupped wing.

Blushing, Fluttershy stuttered, “I-I’m sorry… I forgot to pour extra tea for you. W-would you like me to get you some…?”

“Naw, it’s fine. There’s a lot of work to do, and relaxing with a cup of tea sounds like a great reward to a hard day's work.” Applejack said, moving her forehoof forward while shaking her head. Applejack took a glance around the area to see exactly what sort of foundation they’d be working with. Even though Fluttershy wasn’t an earth pony like her, she knew not to doubt the skills of the shy pegasus.

“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said with a nod of her own. She turned towards the soon-to-be garden, and asked, “Should we start with the azaleas this year? Or the rose bushes?”

She led Applejack around to the little garden space she’d tended to and used for feeding her animals for years. Right now, with Winter only a recent memory, it was just a flat plane of dirt around the back of her cottage.

No, it didn’t look like much yet. But with an earth pony to coax it back to life…?

Applejack followed beside Fluttershy, fully taking in the landscape, and studying the texture of the dirt. Feeling with her front forehooves, she dug just ever so slightly into the earth. She wanted to test how soft or hard it might be. It would determine how suitable the ground was for plants, and what sort of flowers would be most likely to bloom.

“Hmm…” Applejack began mumbling underneath her breath. Fluttershy had suggested two kinds of flowers, both with different aspects, and traits to them. Her bright emerald eyes glimmered, as she felt the magic of the earth beneath her hooves. “I think both of those sound lovely, Fluttershy. I don’t see why we can’t plant both. We just need to take our time for each one, to assure it grows plentiful.”

Fluttershy watched her friend paw at the ground and idly imagined what that must feel like. Feeling the seeds and the health of the land right underneath her hooves. Maybe it was a warm feeling? Or, did Applejack sense some sort of veins and currents, as Fluttershy could sometimes sense in the air?

She’d wondered these thoughts before. Every year, in fact. And every year, Fluttershy felt a tinge of shame. Not for being a pegasus, of course.

But for the jealousy she felt, watching Applejack…

Applejack was looking at her.

“Oh!” Fluttershy blushed cherry-red and slipped behind the curtain of her mane. “Sorry… um… sorry… What did you say? I wasn’t...”

Applejack paused and blinked at Fluttershy’s awkward reply. “Uh… I reckon I said that we just need to take our time to ensure each flower grows plentiful.” Applejack replied, pausing again, giving Fluttershy a full look over, trying to figure out why she seemed distracted by something she had asked for help with. Perhaps… She was having an off day? Applejack wouldn’t have been surprised if Discord was playing his usual antics by messing with them, but she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the draconequus all day long. “Fluttershy, are you feeling quite alright? I don’t know if it’s just me, but you seem kind of off. You wanna talk about it?”

Fluttershy, still hiding behind her mane, bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to stare. She hadn’t meant to give away her thoughts. Oh, what must Applejack think of her now?

But, if Applejack could tell what she was thinking, she hadn’t gotten mad about it, right? Wasn’t that encouraging?

No, not really, Fluttershy sighed to herself. But then, Discord was always encouraging her to try new things. Put herself out there.

Well… she was certainly out there now. What was there to lose?

“W-what…” She licked her lips and swallowed dryly. Then, peeking out from her mane, she asked, “What does it feel like?”

Applejack paused, listening to what Fluttershy had to say. She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but she’d be there to support her friend no matter what. What does it feel like?

“What?” Applejack started to say before a realization came to her. “Oh, did you mean the earth? Well, that’s kind of hard to explain. On one hoof, it feels soft and smooth, like the sun has warmed it after a long Winter’s rest.” Applejack replied, taking a breath before continuing. “And yet it is also firm and solid like a mighty oak tree. The earth can feel all sorts of ways, but you really have to know what it is you're looking for, to see what lies beneath. Does that make sense to you?”

As Applejack spoke, Fluttershy slowly, glacially, coaxed herself out of her hiding spot behind her mane. Applejack’s voice felt like somepony lightly strumming a banjo, the notes clear and sure. With every word, Fluttershy felt the heat fade from her cheeks, and instead felt it in her chest, near her heart.

She wasn’t mad, or upset. Applejack seemed… happy to talk about it.

Maybe she didn’t understand...

“That sounds… nice,” Fluttershy said, once Applejack finished. By then, she had fully unclenched herself and stood straight and tall before the earth pony. But still, she knew she had to say more. “But, I was sort of talking about your… magic.”

“Oh! My magic. Well… uh I don’t really know where to start. Well, I think it’s probably similar to how pegasi make the clouds and the rain. It’s just a wondrous feeling to put your hoof into the earth and be able to feel it breathing. Does that make sense?” Applejack asked, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly, her ear flickered. She could feel the warmth of the sun beginning to beat down on her golden orange fur, causing a bit of sweat to drip from the sides of her face.

“Wait a darn-tootin second now. You don’t want to just know about any old earth pony magic, you want to know about mine specifically?” Applejack asked, but Fluttershy didn’t really need to answer, it was evident by the look on her face. Suddenly, Applejack began to wonder what to say, and how to say it.

Fluttershy, though, just shook her head.

“Oh, no,” she said, softly, “I don’t… what I meant was…”

She took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Fluttershy remained quiet for a few moments, eyes closed.

“Applejack,” she began, “when I first moved to Ponyville, I wanted to live on my own. Partly, it was because I was scared of everypony I met… but it was also because I wanted to prove to everypony back home that I could.

“But…” Here, she took another deep breath and stared down at one of the dusty dirt patches in her yard. “... but nothing I did made anything grow. How could I feed my animals, or myself, if I couldn’t grow anything?”

Her eyes came back up and locked onto Applejack’s with a sudden intensity.

“At first, I… I didn’t really care much for you, Applejack,” she admitted. “I was… jealous.”

“Jealous of me, why?” Applejack asked.

“Because you didn’t need anypony else!” Fluttershy said, perhaps a little louder than she intended. Her voice dropped off again, as she whispered, “You could grow food for yourself, or your animals, or… for anypony else, really. And I couldn’t.

“But, eventually,” Fluttershy said with a smile, “I finally asked you to… help me. And I realized that I didn’t need to be jealous of you.”

“Oh…” Applejack began, standing there completely still, yet her eyes darted from one side to the other, before finally she moved a hoof to her mane, and gently rubbed at her temples. “I wouldn’t say I didn’t need anypony. Heck, I reckon I probably needed you a lot more than you needed me. Do you remember the time I was having trouble with the sheep? If not for you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.” Applejack said, smiling back at her friend, a faint blush rising up on her cheeks.

Applejack stopped talking and pointed her hoof next to the earth beneath their hooves. Without saying a word, she began to work the land with her hoof, and smooth out a base for the seeds to go. Turning back to Fluttershy, with the same warm smile upon her lips, she asked gently.

“Shall we get started then?” Applejack asked once more, as she placed a hoof upon Fluttershy’s pink mane, gently petting the top. “I am glad you asked me to help, and I’m glad you like me because well I’ve always been jealous of you too. Your way with animals is just so useful.”

Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “You… you think I’m useful?”

Her cheeks were red again, but this time she did not feel like pulling back behind her mane.

“Animals and plants…” Fluttershy hummed. “... Applejack? Would you say they… go together?”

“Hmm…” Applejack mumbled under her breath. Nodding her head, she grinned. “You know, I’d say they go great together. Animals and plants, each one has its place, but together they make life much more wholesome.”

Fluttershy’s smile grew just a little brighter. Without a word, she reached over into Applejack’s saddlebag with one wing. And after a moment of searching around, she withdrew a wingfull of little seed packets.

Then, she began the slow, but not unpleasant, task of walking alongside her friend, and planting the seeds across their garden. One at a time.

“Much more wholesome,” she agreed.

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