Applejack looks around the peaceful forest glade and smiles. Mid afternoon sun filters through the thriving trees in ribbons of molten gold, accenting the lazy bursts of pollen and dust that swirl in the breeze.
She shifts off the picnic blanket and sighs as her shoulders hit a soft patch of clover, rolls in that glorious, soft bed of greens, taking in the scent and the feel of it, before shifting her head up and cloud watching.
A year ago, she would’ve thought about all the undone chores waiting for her at the farm. A month ago, she would’ve muddied up the near-silence with inane questions and idle, empty chatter. But lately, she’s come to love the whispers of the wind through the trees, the murmur of a far-off brook, the tickling blades of grass beneath her. But she’s not quite where she wants to be, and that old, restless shifting, that need to move and do something itches through her legs and hooves. She squirms uselessly in the heavenly clover bed before rolling up onto her stomach and cracking her neck out, causing an awful, embarrassing echo through the peaceful glade.
"D’you want some more tea?" She rumbles in a half-whisper. Fluttershy starts and shudders before smiling kindly at her.
"No, thanks," she murmurs back. Applejack nods and hums a little something before settling back into the luxurious, springy greens around her. She tilts her hat just a tad, shading her eyes from the glaring, beautiful day, breathing in a comforting aroma of clover and daisy and Fluttershy and her musty old hatband. Her eyes droop and unfocus, and from underneath her hat-brim the leaves across the clearing move in sinuous, hypnotic waves. A sleepy little smile drifts across her face, light and steady as a low-hanging cloud.
Applejack barely registers the clink of flatware and wonderful warmth and weight of another pony against her as she drifts towards sleep. The dreamy softness of feathers tickles her chest, and then she’s gone.
Interesting take on the prompt -- brief, relatively subtle, but effective. Also, you keep managing to intrigue me with these ships I would never otherwise bother with.
2994891 Oh, yay! I take it as a huge compliment when I intrigue you with shipping, since you seem to be a fairly discerning individual when it comes to pony smooches, etc.
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Well, I'll take that as a compliment in turn, though in truth, "discerning" is a very kind way of saying "picky and opinionated with an incurable predilection for Twidash." That being said, though, I do enjoy seeing what you can do with the pairings I don't normally lean towards, particularly the ones involving Pinkie and Fluttershy. I love all of the main six, but those two are admittedly my least favorite of the bunch, so it's nice to be reminded that they can be shipped just as well as my preferred pairs.
This scene in particular is rather lovely. The sensory details really convey a sense of normally-industrious Applejack just lying there relishing the quiet and stillness with Fluttershy. I also smiled and d'aaawed at the snuggling at the end. (Yes, I have a terrible weakness for cute cuddling ponies.)
2995317 "Picky and opinionated with a predilection for TwiDash" is true for you, , but I like giving people compliments. Besides, your predilection for TwiDash isn't as blinding as many TwiDashers I've
argueddiscussed shipping with, which is really very nice. In all seriousness, I'm happy whenever i've made you consider a new ship in a new light, even if it's only for the intrigue factor, because then I know I've done it well. I ca totally see why Pinkie and Fluttershy would be someone's least favorite characters, since they're often portrayed as either wildly annoying or entirely spineless/psycho at various times. I'm of the opinion that all the ponies are in love at any given time, sorta like Shroedinger's ship...I figure out how many ponies are involved in the snuggly love party for a given story and I write them. The advantage to Shroedinger shipping is that any number of ponies can be cuddling, which is probably my biggest weakness as well... Or at least it's tied with ponies angsting.Sometime I should try my hand at TwiDashing, since I think by now it's the only Mane Six ship I haven't explicitly written... Hmmmmm....
Yeah, Applejack is definitely someone who needs to wind down, not wind up (not that reading the latter isn't entertaining in its own way).