Butterflies and Apple Pies

by Adrian Brony

Part 2

Fluttershy tucked the wounded ferret into a soft lined cubby in her wall, his leg bandaged up, "There, now you rest up until that bone mends. And remember not to pick at the splint."

The ferret limped around in a circle until it was curled into a small puff of fur. Fluttershy smiled and closed a little curtain over the ferret's room. She yawned, "That took longer than I expected. It's almost time for bed, and," she scratched at a front leg, crumbling some small pebbles of dirt from her fur, "I'm still all dirty from earlier."

She closed her eyes at the recollection of the day, "Applejack. She knows now."

Fluttershy picked up a lantern and left her cottage. She followed the stream by her house to a small pool that was dug into the middle of the current. She set her lantern on a small post near the pool and eased herself into the cool flowing water, wading into the middle of the stream. "What am I going to do now?"

The water caressed each hair on her coat, gently lifting the dirt out of her fur, "She's such a support for me. It's not like I can't function without her, but I can just do so much more with her."

Her coat began to return to it's normal pastel yellow as the dirt washed off from her skin, "I didn't even notice when I fell for her. Water is wet, trees grow, and birds fly. You learn to walk before you gallop, but I’ve been ‘galloping’ with her for so long I didn’t even notice when I stopped walking."

Fluttershy looked into the sparkling water, taking a deep breath before immersing her head. Her mane fanned out into a nebulous cloud of hair behind her as the water separated each strand, "Was the love built around her support, or was the support a product of our love? That really doesn't matter at this point I guess. It’s like the two notions grew into each other like trees. One and the same."

She gasped for air as she emerged from the water, her mane sleek and clean, "So if I want this..." The last patch of mud flushed out of her tail, "I need to show her how strong she makes me. I need to make the first move."

The lantern flickered off as Fluttershy set it on a small table near the front door, her fur still wet from the bath. Humming to herself, she cast a fluffy towel on the floor, smirking as she got it perfectly even. She flopped down onto the towel, giggling to herself as she rolled around the terry cloth. Rubbing her face on the soft fabric, she grabbed it between two hooves and rolled herself up in it, laughing when she found herself coiled up in the wet towel. "Simple pleasures."

She struggled around until she freed a leg from the cotton cocoon she had herself trapped in and slipped out, leaving a lump of fabric on the floor. She giggled again as she picked up the towel and tossed it into a wicker basket. Fluttershy looked out the window into the night sky, seeing the moon nearing it's zenith, "That late already? Time for bed, I'm going to need to be well rested for tomorrow."

Fluttershy crawled into bed, wrapping herself tightly in her blanket, "I can do it. I can do it. I'll show her how strong I am."

Applejack balanced herself on a step ladder, her head in the branches of an apple tree. Applebloom sat at the base of the tree, notepad and pencil in front of her.

"Now this, this is what we gotta look out for." Applejack snapped off a burnt looking branch from one of the apple trees, tossing it down in front of Applebloom.

"This is called 'fireblight,' it can kill a tree and all the trees near it if left unchecked. Given how all the trees are near each other around here, this needs to be checked for regularly."

Applebloom scribbled notes down on the pad and drew a rough sketch of the diseased branch for reference. "If you find this in any tree,” Applejack continued, “you need to break off the infected branch. You can't let it get to the trunk, or the tree won't stand a chance."

Applejack climbed out of the tree with two more infected branches, "And be careful with these. Leave 'em laying around and they'll infect other trees. You gotta get these things completely away from the orchard. It's best to burn 'em."

The filly continued to scribble on her notepad, making sure not to miss any information. Applejack spat and sputtered, trying to get the taste of the diseased branches out of her mouth. When she opened her eyes, she saw a faint spot of pink in the distance. Her eyes shot wide and her heart skipped a beat, "Aaa- Applebloom, uh, that's enough for today, why don't you go back to the house and, uh, get ready for school?"

"But it's the weekend."

Applejack grunted, "Okay, uh, well, I think Macintosh told me he needed your help with the pigs again."

Applejack glanced toward Fluttershy as she neared. Applebloom followed her gaze and caught sight of the pegasus, "Are you just trying to get me to leave? "

Her older sister desperately whispered "Would you? Please?"

The filly smiled, "Okay then. I'll be back at the house then if you need me."

Applejack sighed in relief, "Well she sure took that well."

Fluttershy strode up to Applejack with confidence. Applejack looked around to make sure Applebloom had gone out of sight, "Oh, now what am I gonna do?"

"Oh, hello Applejack, I was just nearby and I think..." She saw the nervousness in Applejack's eyes. "... you might like some help?"

Fluttershy scolded herself silently, swearing to make her move next chance she got. Applejack stuttered, "Uhh, yeah! I was just checkin’ these trees for diseases. Bit of an outbreak in this part of the orchard. ''Aag, play it cool Applejack. Just act like you always did around her. Don't want to make it too awkward. Just see where to go from here."

Fluttershy looked at the pile of burnt looking branches on the ground, "Oh, dear, is that fireblight?"

Applejack tried to compose herself, "Yeah! Yeah, there's been a problem with that stuff lately."

Fluttershy smiled, "Oh! I can help with those. I'd have a much easier time getting to them than you using a stepladder. Okay, I'll help her out for a bit and see if I can work it into conversation somewhere."

"Sure! I'll just gather the branches you toss down and pile 'em up in that clearing over there to burn. Yeah, a romantic little bonfire! I can do it there."
"Oh, um, Applejack?"

"Yeah?"

Fluttershy hesitated, gazing towards Applejack a few seconds. "Maybe later, yeah. Later. Did you know that this is usually transferred by bees? That's how these infections get into orchards in the first place."

"Really? I never did figure out how this darn stuff gets into the trees. I should have known you'd know that."

Applejack kicked the branches into a small bundle, "We'd make a good team tending this farm."

She looked up to Fluttershy in the tree, with a smirk.

Applebloom tossed her notepad onto the kitchen table on her way to her room. Big Macintosh looked up from his book at the sound, "Applebloom? Aren't you supposed to be with you sister?"

"Nah, something seemed to bother her or something so she told me to get out of her mane for a while. I don't know what her problem is all of the sudden. All I know is It must have something to do with Fluttershy."

Macintosh slipped on the counter he was leaning on, knocking his book to the floor. "I just don't know how she could possibly bother big sis like that. Unless, do you think she used The Stare on her?"

He looked down at his book that lay face down on the floor, ponderously darting his eyes around. "Nope."

"Then what could she have done to bother Applejack like that?"

Macintosh hesitated, staring out the window for a moment. "Well, you know how such good friends Bon-Bon is with that one unicorn?"

"Yeah! they're always going places with each other."

"Well,” Macintosh cleared his throat, “about that..."

Applejack tossed the last of the branches into a big pile. The stars were peaking out through the last rays of the day, "Fluttershy, Thanks again for all the help. It'd have taken me days to sort through this acre alone."

Fluttershy dug at the grass, "Now or never, I have to do this. Oh, it was nothing really. Actually I've been meaning to ask..."

Applejack did a double take at the pegasus, "She's doing it? She's doing it! Act natural, gotta keep stable for her."
"... What were you going to be lighting the fire with?"

Applejack grimaced at the sudden shift in the question, "What's wrong? Am I being too pushy? Well, I've got the pile doused in moonshine. I usually have a bottle of it around for this sort of thing."

Applejack held a piece of flint to the ground and shaved some sparks into the pile. A puff emerged from the inside of the pile and a low blue flame engulfed the dead branches, slowly turning a brilliant yellow as the wood began to burn. "Well, now that that's over with, Fluttershy, I gotta tell ya, I know why you came."

Fluttershy inched away, nervously avoiding eye contact with Applejack, "I mean, what happened yesterday, It got me to thinking about us."

The pegasus sat, staring at Applejack, tears brimming in her eyes. "I have to tell you, Fluttershy, I lo-"

Applejack cut off. She examined her love, the look on her face. She wasn't brimming with anticipation. She looked like a cornered wounded animal, begging for mercy. "Think about what you are to her."
Fluttershy gazed back at Applejack, waiting for her to get it over with. A pang of regret passed through her mind. The earth pony stammered, "I, Fluttershy, I'm. I didn't realize."

She walked over and offered Fluttershy a hoof to help stand. Fluttershy Wrapped her neck and front hooves around Applejack, tears moistening the back of her orange neck. "I'm sorry, Applejack. I just. I tried, I really tried."

"Darlin’, it's okay. Just take it one step at a time. It'll happen soon eno-'

Fluttershy broke off and stared at Applejack in front of the rumbling fire. She backed up and clenched her eyes tight, "I'm sorry!"

In a flurry of tears and feathers, the pegasus took to the skies as fast as her wings could carry her. Applejack lowered her head, watching her shadow dance in the flickering light. "Oh Applejack! Are you okay?"

A smaller shadow came into range as she felt her little sister rub up against her. "What happened? I thought you two, well."

Applejack stared in shock at Applebloom, then looked around the nearby tree line, finding the large red stallion, slowly trying to back away. She looked at him in bewilderment. Catching her gaze, he sheepishly stepped forward, "She was old enough to know."

Applejack sighed, closing her eyes while sorting her thoughts out. Applebloom tried to make eye contact with her big sister, "Why didn't you just tell her? You both knew."

She met her little sister's gaze, "Sugar, I. Well, you might not understand, but I didn't want to take it away from her."

On to Part Three>>>

Comments

[Frizzy]

"You know how such good friends BonnBon is with that one unicorn?"

Uh oh, here we go.