Your Little Butterfly

by Mickey Dubs

The Encounter

~~~~~

The sun was slowly rising on her first day in Ponyville, but even though the day promised to be quite lovely Fluttershy couldn't find it within herself to enjoy it. Her bags had been unpacked and her boxes unloaded in her cottage with the exception of one errant crate of dry goods, a parcel gone awry thanks to the attention—or lack thereof—of one of the local delivery-mares. Fluttershy didn't mind the hiccup: that delivery mare was an exceptionally hard-worker, even if her eyes and her speech were a little off. It did, however, require her bashful presence in the marketplace to make up for her lack of food.

Her contingency plan was now her only option as she had been thrust into this foreign world a week ahead of schedule, forced to brave the marketplace and the ponies who worked within before she had really gotten a feel for the town. Fluttershy steadied her trembling with a few deep breaths and brushed her mane to calm herself down, undoing the knots in both her hair and her will with her reassurances.

"It's okay, Fluttershy... you can do this!" her little voice whispered for her heart to hear, a heart which hid away even further as a pair of ponies passed by and gave her an odd look. Her wings reflexively clamped closer to her sides as they trotted away, and only when she had taken three deep breaths to calm her nerves did she reopen her eyes to make sure they had departed.

"It's okay, honey," she whispered through her exhalations. "They don't think you're weak! They don't even know you! They've never seen you before, that's all. You're new, but that doesn't mean you're any less nice than they are! They'll understand what you can do, they just have to get to know you... that's all!"

Her reaffirmation kicked her resolve into high gear as she turned to face down the alleyway where she had hidden away. With another calming breath she finally raised her head to examine the courtyard and the souls who lingered there not chained as she was to the weight of their reservations.

Dozens of ponies laden with food, furniture, artwork, and other wares milled to and fro under the patches of sunlight trickling through the cloud cover. Their faces beamed with joy and excitement as they shook off the lingering tendrils of sleep to revel in the glory of the early morning. Carrots, turnips, lettuce, and various exotic and foreign fruits and vegetables sat glistening from their morning cleanings, looking almost as bright as the faces of the ponies who bore them along.

Above her head, she could see her dearest friend Rainbow Dash in the middle of a ring of pegasi. It was apparent she was briefing them as to their morning duties, and as she pointed to various clusters of clouds little flashes of color sped off from the congregated mass as her team went to wrangle or eliminate their charges. That cyan weather-mare was in total control, and her bearing demanded their respect.

It was her understanding of her team's limits, however, which made them give her their admiration.

"That's easy enough!" Fluttershy whispered as she shook her mane and straightened out the remaining knots. "Just be strong. Just be like Dashie! You can do this Fluttershy! They don't know you yet, so you have to make them know you're brave!"

As if by some heavenly design the alleyway in which she'd hidden away suddenly illuminated as the patch of cloud above her was pushed away. Marveling at what serendipitous forces had given her those last few pieces of her courage, Fluttershy gave herself the brightest of grins as a beam of sunlight laid out a glittering road of warmth for her to follow.

In just a few moments her will had turned a sharp about-face, and now her confidence was just as bright as that luminous yellow strip which would herald her arrival into this new society.

"Alright, Ponyville," she asserted, stamping her hoof as she made her declaration to the marketplace before her and the world beyond. "Say hello to Fluttershy!"

Then, with a final shake of her mane, she took a few tentative steps forward. Finding that her conscience was still intact, she found that the next few steps were a little easier. With every step her confidence grew, and by the time she broke from the confines of the alleyway and made her way into the courtyard she found that she wasn’t even aware of just how out of place she looked. Nopony knew just who she was, but that didn’t matter: they didn’t know just how timid she was on the inside, so it was a fresh new start for her! Cloudsdale had always been a little unkind to those few pegasi who were unsure or unwilling to give their all at flight, so hopefully she would be a perfect fit for this quiet Earth-pony town.

Looking around Farmer's Market now bustling with activity, she found the first vendor she needed to approach selling his fruits, vegetables, and various trinkets. He looked nice enough, old and grizzled though he was, and that lingering thought gave her a little courage as she walked across the square. She found herself adopting that face she’d practiced in the mirror just that morning, but instead of just donning that façade of artificial contentment, she was actually content... no, happy! Joyous! It was a beautiful morning, and everyone was so nice! Nopony was yelling at her for not flying, or holding her head low, or not talking like the others! They didn’t mind she was shy!

It was full of pride that she made her way up to the vendor, holding her head up high as she gestured with her nose to a little bushel of apples.

“Hello!” Fluttershy chirped happily, her voice far stronger than she imagined it would be. With a little blush and a jolt of surprise she corrected her volume in the hopes no one would mock her for her over-jubilant tone. With a cough she lowered her head and continued, weighing her words and their volume before letting them tumble out of her mouth.

“Umm... hi! Sorry, I was just wondering... umm... how much for the apples? I’m just curious, I didn’t see a price on them...”

“What, these?!” the green salespony chuckled, prodding the apples with his hoof. “These here are four bits for the bushel! Buy two bushels and I’ll drop it down to six bits for the lot!”

“That sounds fair! I'll take two!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her smile wide as she nodded her consent to his bargain. As he selected her bushels with a calculating eye, she slid off her saddlebags to find her little purse. His kind green eyes watched her expectantly as he carried his load and placed it within her saddlebag, trotting back to his stand to write out the record of their transaction as she continued to rummage for her purse in the opposite bag.

Even though she found herself hurrying up to try and find her money, it was obvious he didn’t mind. No one minded when she poked her head into her saddlebags, leaving her body exposed in such an odd position. She gave a sigh of relief: no one was making fun of her for looking so weird!

They might, however, make fun of her when they found out that she had left her money at home.

Pushing aside her various necessities with her hooves, she found no little canvas bag which held her allowance of money for the market, and with a flutter of her wings she leapt over her bags to find a similar absence of coin beneath the apples he had loaded.

“Oh no oh no oh no!!!”

Scrambling furiously to find her money, the salespony's hoof tapping offhandedly against the dusty ground signaled his presence and his mounting impatience. His eyebrows cocked as he watched her struggle to find her money in vain, and his face only slackened when he found no bits to grace his hoof. With a sad smile she raised her head and faced him, giving herself a little breath to calm herself down.

He would understand, there was no doubt about that...

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Sir...” Fluttershy began tremulously, picking her words as carefully as he had picked his apples. “I don’t mean to inconvenience you, but it seems I left my money at home! Would you mind if I go back and...”

“Oh no, you little thief! You’re not going to walk away from this so easily!”

She hadn’t expected him to be quite so caustic, and where once his smiling face had been the center of her attention she now found it quite aligned in the opposite. His eyes were aflare as he advanced on her, and she found herself scrambling backwards to lean against his cart to hide herself away from his angry eyes.

“I’m not trying to steal,” Fluttershy cried. “I’m really not! I was just going to fly back home and...”

“And... what?” the salespony barked, stamping his hoof in annoyance. “You were thinking of taking my apples with you, I expect?! Do you really expect me to think you’re just going to come back on your word and give me what you owe? You must be new, kid, because that’s not how things work around here! I worked for these apples, and you’re going to pay for them!”

“I plan on it, I just... I don’t have... I didn’t mean...”

“You wasted my time and you distracted potential customers!” he snarled acerbically, giving her another violent glare. "Do you know how many ponies passed by and couldn't get what they wanted because you were making things difficult?"

Shaking her head as her first tear fell, she couldn't find anything to say. Her lips were trembling too much and her heart was so low in her breast she could feel it thumping against the ground below.

“Don't you ever expect to buy anything from me again, kid! I don't deal with thieves or time-wasters! Is that understood?”

She gave a little nod as her lips trembled, and as she curled up to shield herself from his eyes' acidic bite she couldn’t help but close her eyes and allow herself to cry.

She hadn’t meant to do anything to ruin his day! Why wouldn’t he listen? What had she done wrong?!

“Lay off her, Bramley...”

A deep rumbling voice stood out alone in the hustle and bustle of the square, and it might have been due to its proximity that it was so loud and controlled. As she listened intently, however, it was not only his voice but the utter silence of this corner of the square which aided in its volume. The various ponies who had once been enjoying their morning stood by silently as this newcomer made his presence known, the weight of his hoofsteps almost causing those rocks and pebbles which she stared at so intently to dance and jump at his approach.

Soon, however, the dancing stopped, and as she turned her gaze to regard the voice's source she found a solid wall of crimson fur a mere foot away, standing right there at her side. Beyond that vast frame she could see a ring of ponies watching a few yards off, murmuring to one another as her crimson savior stood towering over her. His apple half cutie mark tensed with muscle as he stood his ground.

She hadn’t seen his face, but she didn’t need to. She knew just what he looked like based on his voice alone... or at least what she imagined him to look like. He must have been defiant, calm, but fiery like the stallion who'd rebuked her. He must have been kind, for that booming voice was far more soothing than she could ever have imagined it would be. The thought alone made her resolve lift just enough to listen into their conversation.

“Excuse me,” the grouchy vendor snarled, “but the last time I checked you don’t run this market! I can do what I want with my thieving customers, especially this one who thought she could run away with my hard-earned apples!”

“She didn’t mean to and you know it,” the voice said calmly, his slight drawl hidden away only by his melodious and powerful baritone. “You loaded up her bags just as much as she forgot her money. You’re just as responsible for them being there as she is for her faults.”

Some of the ponies behind him murmured and nodded their heads, for they had been watching just as much as he had. With a little stamp of his hoof the crimson wall made another proclamation.

“Take back your apples and leave her alone. If she can’t pay, she can’t pay... but that doesn’t mean you're allowed to attack her for it!”

She could feel the older apple vendor's eyes probing her, looking for signs of weakness. There were plenty to be found.

Finally summoning enough courage to lift her head, she found the two stallions staring each other down, the green one far older and more wrinkled than the red mountainous stallion who stood beside her. That defiant red powerhouse held his ground, his face passive and calm despite the anger and barely-checked rage of his rival’s venomous eyes.

Her protector was thick and burly, bulging in places with massive muscles which rippled like waves beneath his flesh, but there was no tension of his frame which she could see. He might have been strong... but right now, as he faced down the older, more violent stallion: he was utterly calm. She was unable to find any shred of hesitation or doubt in her champion's bearing, and still he remained when he could have easily ignored her silent pleas for help. She couldn't help but smile as she wiped away a little tear.

She was safe.

With a little *huff*, the green stallion extricated his bushels from her saddlebags, swinging them up and over the rim of his cart to land heavily amongst all the others. Knowing her savior had emerged victorious, Fluttershy brushed her mane from her eyes after a few moments, taking the time required to wrangle in her wayward confidence and allow herself to look up.

The sight she found turned the whole world silent.

Her champion was smiling down at her as if nothing had happened, as if her mistakes had no meaning. Those eyes betrayed that he didn't care that her stumble had tarnished her brand new reputation. They whispered soundlessly that those things didn't matter... that all that mattered was that she was safe. Their shared smile shocked them both into petrification, and as she recorded the details of his face the color in the world around her slowly faded away.

Still hugging the ground, she found herself calm and collected as he lowered his head and kept his voice low.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Not even the hustle and bustle of the marketplace could have hid that deep sonorous voice away for long, but it wouldn't have mattered. The voices of the dispersing sea of ponies who had lost interest in the resolved feud had walked away and left the two of them alone. They had disappeared, and through the enveloping silence his voice sounded out alone. Those ponies faded away even more when he offered her a little smile.

"Don't mind him," the stallion whispered, keeping his voice steady while nodding in the direction of the rival apple vendor. "He's having a rough day."

"I didn't mean to..." Fluttershy stammered, her words still dripping with her stifled tears. "I just, you see I... umm... I left my..."

"You don't need to explain yourself" the stallion stated evenly, offering the demure pegasus his hoof as he raised himself from his bow. She gave herself a few moments to clean off her face before taking his hoof, using the limb as a support. Brushing the dust off her sides with her hooves and tail, Fluttershy gave a little smile as her hair broke free from behind her ears and cascaded around her face.

"What's your name?" he offered quietly, keeping his voice low as he picked up her saddlebags in his teeth and allowed her a few moments to get ready before helping her get them on. Gesturing with his hoof towards the far side of the market, she fell into step at his side without a single thought or hesitation. Before she'd even noticed, she was walking beside him through the square as if she had always known him...as if it had always been this way.

'How did he do that?!' Fluttershy puzzled before realizing she owed him an answer.

"My name?" she stammered, looking around to distract her mind only to find herself staring at the great yoke he carried so effortlessly on his shoulders. "Why do you... I mean, I don't even know you! Why do you want to know my name?"

"Well, I can't call you 'Thief' forever, now can I?" the stallion retorted calmly, shooting her a little grin.

She praised what forces that were that she'd inherited her mother's thick, long hair. That blush wouldn't die away anytime soon!

"Umm... well," Fluttershy murmured, kicking a few rocks as she watched his shoulder, unable to give herself that courage to look him in the eyes. "It's... umm... well, it's Fluttershy."

"It’s nice to meet you Fluttershy,” the stallion replied, gazing over his shoulder at the little pegasus who, unbeknownst to herself, was finally smiling on her own again. They shared a little glance, and she couldn’t help but emit the biggest, goofiest grin she had ever told herself not to give when he gave her a little wink. She found herself covering her face in surprise with her hooves with a little *eeep!*, but her actions came without regard to gravity or balance. With a stifled gasp of surprise Fluttershy fell down hard, losing both her balance and that momentary sense of pride his little wink had helped reinvigorate.

Chuckling at her embarrassment and her flustered attempts to hide her shame, he sat down on the ground before his yellow companion, her face still covered all the while. With a little nudge, he pushed her hooves down just a tiny bit to expose her sea-blue eyes and the blushing face beneath.

“...You can call me Big Macintosh.”

~~~~~

Fluttershy opened her eyes to find the sun had only moved but a fraction of an inch compared to the vastness of the sky and the mountains which would be her marker. As soon as the edges of that star touched the tallest peak of the range beyond, it would be time for her final memory. As it was now, she had enough time for a few more blissful reveries before her commitment.

Tightening her blanket over her shoulders, she played with the little flowers at her sides as she lingered on the strands of her next memory, batting the edges before gripping it entirely to be whisked away again.

It still surprised her, even now, that things had changed so rapidly as they had when they first tested the waters with one another. It might have taken a long time to finally make her move, but she had done it alone without the aid, advice, or even knowledge of her friends. She had been totally independent and unafraid of being let down.

She had been utterly confident for the very first time.

Watching the soft pink petals of the blossoming tree at her side whisking and dancing on the wind beyond the edges of her outcrop, she drifted back into her daydream with a smile.

It had been just like this...

~~~~~

"Pinkie: you cover the west side of town and keep that sense of yours on alert! Applejack: warn the farmers and ask if they've seen her in their fields or orchards! Rarity, Twilight: use your magic to scan the town. Rainbow: you need to keep watch in the sky. She could be anywhere, so you need to be everywhere. Does that make sense, girls?"

The five mares nodded their consent before splitting off into their respective tasks, each driven to action by Macintosh's command. The stallion himself followed after Rainbow Dash as she rocketed for the far side of town before speeding straight upwards to scan the land below.

There was only one place he knew of where she might have gone, and thus his heart sped him along and gave infinite power to his hooves in pursuit of her one possible destination.

As he turned down the corner towards his own orchard, he sent a little prayer to his Princesses just in the hopes that his love was there, safe from harm, willing to listen to the truth and forgive him for his weakness.

With a bound, he cleared the fence bordering his orchard from the untamed wilds of the Everfree Forest and stampeded for the one place he prayed she would be:

The place where he saw her heart for the very first time.

~~~~~

Comments

[BobtheLurker]

Very well written and great perspective and inner monologues. I'm not a fan of tragedy but it's a nice change of pace from the usual heart warming fluff I read. Emotional Mac is not a common sight and it's very hard to do well. There's nothing canon to compare it to so I say you did well. I want to see more.

I don't understand the knee jerk down-voting and yet I do. It's hard to give up or down votes any credence when they are done out of spite or dislike of the character choice. This ship gets no respect. No respect I say! I don't go pissing on Flutterdash fics just because they exist.

err, sorry about that rant. Do carry on writing.

[Mickey Dubs]

2199688
I appreciate your comments, and I thank you for your appraisal of my work! The initial downvotes, though a little demoralizing, are a direct consequence of me rushing to get this out before class began, so I do deserve them in some small way.

Regardless, the next chapters are being written and should be up soon for your perusal! I hope you enjoy!

[DarthSylar12]

I love it. You have really captured the emotions of both Fluttershy and Big Macintosh perfectly in both this and the previous chapter. Your descriptions are masterful and beautiful as they wrap the reader in the sad, beautiful and tragic story you are telling. I really loved this falshback to how the pair met, it works so well with their characters and shows the how they meld together. I can't wait for the next installment, the tension has me at the edge of my seat. Eagerly awaiting, See you in Brighter Days!

[Jagged Fox]

Yayz! I'm glad to see this come out, and yeah, just some idiots on the downvotes. All the comments I've seen so far are good, so My guess is you got trolled by somepony. They aren't worth mentioning, and to everypony who puts one, please actually read it first.

[peep]

Because I know what's coming.