Disclaimer: My Little Pony is the properties of Hasbro. This is a non-profit work made by an independent contractor outside of the official company's notice intended for non-profit entertainment and speculative purposes only.
Darkryt Orbinautz presents...
The moon's rays fell over the dirty, well-beaten roads and farms of a rural community. Plowed roads were out as far as a farmer pony's eye could see.
One farm in particular stood out above them, a cut above the rest with connections to the royalty via friends. It had the honor of serving at weddings and galas and uh...sumthun else. Name's not clickin' at the mo'.
Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack, representative of the Element of Harmony Honesty was washin' up sum dishes when suddenly...
"Applejack!" the weary, wizened voice of her grandma Granny Smith shouted. "Can y'all come up 'ere so Ah can talk to you!?"
"Shore thang, Granny Smith!" Applejack shouted back. "Jus' let me finish these last few dishes 'ere..."
Applejack scrubbed the last of food and apple-related pastry dregs off the plates with a cloth, then tossed the cloth on the table and galloped up into her granny's room, where she found her brother Big Macintosh sittin' beside their granny's wheelchair.
Granny Smith sighed. "Young'in's, Ah gotta get to talkin' to y'all."
"'Kay." Applejack answered, starting to get afraid of wut was comin' up. "'Bout?"
Granny sighed again. "Reproducin'. Keepin' tha Apple Family line afloat. Ah'm sorry to say, Applejack, but it's gonna have to be you."
Applejack's eyes widened. "Wut!? Why me!? Why not Big Macintosh 'ere!?"
"'Cos Big Macintosh's found love, an' it ain't wit anypony who can give me a grandfoal." Granny explained.
"Love? Aw, Granny! Y'all don't mean that stupid doll of Twilight's!?"
Big Macintosh glared at Applejack.
Applejack smiled nervously. "Ah, uh, Ah jus' meant that...oh, forgive me, Big Mac, it jus' slipped out!"
Big Macintosh huffed.
Applejack started shiftin' her eyes 'bout the room, tryin' to find sumthun' to deflect attention off herself. "Oh, weren't y'all supposed to give that back to Twilight, anyhoo!?"
"Ah was." Macintosh answered. "Ah did. Knocked on Miss Twi's door, gave her the doll, and made mah leave. Wasn't four steps from tha the door when Twi opened it back up and told me to take Smarty Pants back. Ah said no, seein' as it was her doll. She told me Smarty Pants always finds her way back. When Ah was ready to go to bed, Ah found her waitin' for me on the pillow."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "But...Twilight's married to Pinkie, and she don't strike me none as the cheatin' type."
Big Macintosh facehooved. "Not Twilight, Smarty Pants! Smarty Pants was on mah pillow! An' Ah realized that...she loved me."
Applejack shook her head. "Big Macintosh, talkin' like that doll has feelings and... is alive jus' ain't right..."
"Ah'd agree, 'cept she is."
Applejack signed and gave up. There was clearly no use in tryin' to talk her brother outta tryin' to make a relationship wit a doll work.
"Ah'm sorry, Applejack, but yer gonna have to be the one to continue our legacy. Unless of course, y'all rather Apple Bloom do it..."
"No! NO!" Applejack shrieked. "Ah'll do it!"
In reality, Apple Bloom was gettin' close to bein' of-age. Still a few more years left before she even be allowed to bed, but she would probably start lookin' for stallions soon already, so that she knew what she wanted from whom-so-ever was going to end up bein' her life partner. But to Applejack, to any respectable big sister, not even a thousand years worth of age being magically transferred was enough to justify Apple Bloom gettin' a partner.
Componydum
Chapter II
"Shimmy"
Episode Synopsis: Applejack starts to feel pressured to have an heir, and Rarity suggests she uses Fluttershy to 'practice date', but Fluttershy has been hiding sumthun from them quite well...
It was the day after Applejack's conversation wit Granny Smith an' Big Macintosh. Applejack was traversing along Ponyville's dirt road wit a basket of apples bobbing along her back. She was goin' to gather up her friends and use tha' pretense of sharin' the apples to all get their advice on Applejack should proceed with procurin' herself the father of her own foal...and maybe a stallion while she was at it.
Maybe.
See, Applejack was gonna have some difficulties gettin' her own stallion-if she did. She preferred workin' by herself, and the stallions tough enough to reach Applejack's standards were also too arrogant to let their mare handle any work of any sort. An' the stallions whom would be willin' to stay at home, play with the foals and cook had other quirks about 'em that made disrespectful to stallions in Applejack's eyes.
So it was kind of a fine line.
Applejack had almost passed the local restaurant when she heard the unmistakable giggling of her friend Rarity coming from the tables. She stopped, then galloped back towards the way Pinkie Pie walks backwards.
"Hey, Rarity! What'cha up to?" Applejack said with a smile.
"Oh, Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed, puttin' sumthun behind her back. "Forgive me for being startled, darling. I was expecting Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, good! Ah need y'alls and the other girls help landin' me a stallion."
Rarity's eyes went blank. "Um. When you say a stallion, you mean a-"
"Ah mean somepony to help me keep the legacy of the Apple Family alive!" Applejack explained. "You know, a father."
"Are you sure you don't want another mare?" Rarity timidly asked. "I hear Lucky Swirl's turning into quite the prodigy of Twilight's in more ways than one. Though I also she's being bulled at school for having too mothers, the poor thing..."
Ah, yes. Lucky Swirl. The result of Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie...experimenting with each in certain ways most ponies weren't allowed to know.
(And they were perfectly fine with that.)
"Wut? Why?"
"The ponies- and Changeling foals there too- all think her having two mothers is 'unnatural.'"
Oh yes, another thing...the Changeling species had been fully fledged into Equestria as proper citizens given some...unusual circumstances arising between Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis. Queen Chrysalis was a creature of opportunity, and Celestia had given her a very nice. (Also, she was in slavery staus to Celestia for four centuries in exchange for Celestia keeping her trigger-happy sister Luna from murdering her horrifically.)
"Well, it kinda is, ain't it? Ah mean, the story goes 'when a daddy pony and a mommy pony love each other very much', not 'when two mommy ponies love each other way too much-"
"Applejack! I can't believe what I'm hearing!"
"Well, ya gotta admit, sumtimes it seems like Twilight's a little TOO in love with Pinkie..."
Tha look on Rarity's face was nuthin' short of 'brain-crashed'.
"...TOO in love?" Rarity said more to herself than Applejack. "Can you be TOO in love? I wonder..." Rarity put her hoof to her chin as she attempted to work out the conundrum brewing in her head.
"Hey, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash greeted, flyin' down from above. "So, where's that-oh." Dash seemed deflated to see Applejack.
"Wut's wrong, R.D? Not happy ta see me?"
"Well...no. Rarity told me we would be getting a little one-on-one time."
"One-on-one time?" Applejack questioned. "OH! Rarity, Rainbow Dash! Don't tell me y'all are datin' each other behind our backs like Twilight and Pinkie were!"
Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged looks.
"We're friends." Rarity said. "...With benefits."
"Now wut in the hay is that supposed to mean!? You know what!? Ah don't think Ah want to know! Hmph!" Applejack turned around and started to storm off in a huff.
"Applejack, wait!" Rarity called after her.
Applejack stopped and looked over her shoulder. Though wit' a glare that made it clear she was only goin' to listen for a moment's notice.
"Since I'm, er...involved with Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Pinkie are married...perhaps you can complete the circle by asking Fluttershy out for a practice date!" Rarity suggested. "Most colts would find you rather drab at the moment..." The unicorn added quietly as an aside.
Applejack raised an eyebrow and tapped her hoof. That wouldn't really help wit gettin' a father for her future foal. But on the other hoof, Rarity seemed to a good idea wit the 'completin' the circle'...
In a weird, utterly crazy kind of way. It was one of those things, where a pony- a sane pony- would never, ever, ever think of it, but once it was thought of, it seemed like the unverse was wantin' it to happen.
"Y'all know wut? That sounds totally crazy, but fer sum reason, Ah can't help but like that idea..." Applejack trotted off towards Fluttershy's, having completely forgotten about her basket of apples. "Ah'm forgetti' something here...oh yeah!" she remembered them, picked up some apples with her mouth and tossed them into the air. She bucked them towards Rarity's and Rainbow's table.
"Thank you, darling!" Rarity waved at her.
Rainbow took her seat. "So, where's that present you had for me?"
Rarity held up a tiny box in her hoof. "It's right here."
"It's awfully small..." Dash noted. She recoiled suddenly wit' her wings out in alarm. "It's not a wedding ring, is it!?"
Rarity chuckled. "No, darling. I assure you it is not a wedding ring."
"Oh, okay!" Rainbow Dash swiped the box from Rarity's hoof.
"Exscusie-moi..." the restaurant's waiter said to them, trotting over before Dash could open her present. "But are those apples from the restaurant?"
"Er, no."
"Then I'm going to have to ask you either get rid of them, or take them and leave. No food from outside the restaurant, you see."
"Of course. We understand." Rarity grabbed her apple off the table. "Come along, Rainbow darling."
Rainbow hovered silently behind Rarity, willin' to follow rather than lead.
"Oh my gosh!"
"What, darling?"
"I just remembered something!" Dash explained. A few days before Twilight's and Pinkie's marriage, Rainbow was having emotional troubles and went to Fluttershy for help. There, Dash learned of Fluttershy's attitude towards...intimacy. An attitude like that wouldn't go over well in a partnership. Granted, a partnership wasn't what Rarity was tryin' to get Fluttershy and Applejack into, but it's sumthun the farmer should've been warned of beforehoof.
Applejack ripped through Ponyville, nearly trampling over Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Lucky Swirl along their way.
"Applejack, watch were you're going!" Twilight shouted at her. "You almost trampled over Lucky!"
"Sorry! Ah'm kinda in a hurry!"
"To do what!?"
"Ah don't wanna talk 'bout it!"
Twilight huffed and shook her head disapprovingly. She didn't know what could've warranted trampling a filly, but Applejack was so stubborn there was no use talkin' to her.
Applejack arrived at Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts and lingered around the various flower gardens that adorned the shy mare's home.
At first, Rarity's suggestions seemed like a crazy idea that would somehow result in some good after some-over-the-top harebrained shenanigans...but now that Applejack was actually here, about to ask Fluttershy out a practice date. An actual practice date date, with going to a restaurant of a movie or something...
Applejack gulped. "Universe, y'all better have a good reason for why Ah'm not doing the rational thang and forgettin' all bout this here idea..."
Applejack slowly made her through the flower beds and up the ramp and knocked on Fluttershy's door wit' her hoof. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy, are ya in there? Ah got sumthin Ah want to ask y'all!"
Fluttershy opened the door.
Applejack got worried.
Bags had formed on Fluttershy's eyes, her wings were raised, somehow up and low at the same time, and her tail looked stiff and recently cleaned thoroughly. Too thoroughly.
"H-hello, Applejack." Fluttershy wheezed out, sounder quieter than ever. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, land sakes's, girl...forget about me, girl! Wut's happened to y'all!?"
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy questioned, as if unaware of her own self. "Oh...yes. This. Don't worry about it, Applejack."
"Y'all shore? 'Cause if y'all need anything..."
"Oh, I need something, but I don't think you can give it to me. Now, what did you come here for?"
"Well..."
Fluttershy shivered. "So much worse than Changelings..."
"Wut?"
"Nothing. Go on, Applejack. Please." Fluttershy seemed to really want Applejack to not worry about herself and ask what she wanted.
"Will...will y'all go on a practice date wit' me?"
Fluttershy perked up visibly. "Oh...looks you can help me, after all."
"Beg pardon?"
"Yes, I will go out on a practice date with you."
The bags under Fluttershy's eyes seemed to disappear like magic. Fluttershy trotted down the ramp, as if whatever had been ailing her had somehow been cured.
Applejack suddenly heard a hissing, sizzling noise from Fluttershy's still-open door.
Applejack was 'bout to ask wut it was, but Fluttershy seemed to read her mind.
"Don't worry about it." Fluttershy answered. "It's my problem, not yours. I thought we were going on a date?"
"Eh, yeah, shore thang! Uhh...here. Ah was goin' to share these apples wit' our friends, but-" Applejack laid the basket to rest under the ramp. "Ah'm shore yer critter friends will be happy to dig in.
"Thank you. That's very generous of you."
"Oh, no sweat. We can always jus' pick more apples. So, where we goin'?"
"Well, you asked me." Fluttershy said. "Where are we going?"
"Mmm...how's about that fancy restaurant of the other side of town?"
"Oh, I don't know...that place is awfully...fancy."
"Ah, shucks, Fluttershy!" Applejack said, draping her leg around Fluttershy's neck. "It's not like this isn't gonna turn into a regular thang, so we might as well enjoy it, right?"
"I guess..."
So, Applejack and Fluttershy trotted their way all the way towards the other end of town. As they went, they were waylaid by an angry Twilight Sparkle, whom still had yet to forgive Applejack for nearly tramplin' her filly.
"A foal could have been HURT!" Twilight yelled as Applejack and Fluttershy kept walking. "Does that not mean ANYTHING to you!?"
Applejack signed and turned around. Takin' in a deep breath, she put her hat over her chest.
"Twilight, Ah am so, so sorry Ah almost hurt yer filly, an' even though Ah was in a rush, Ah should've realize wut Ah was doin' when Ah was doin' it. Ah of all ponies should know what's it like to know yer little sister- or foal- was almost hurt. Can y'all forgive me?"
Twilight seemed placated. "Yes. Just don't do it again! To anypony!"
Applejack nodded. "Ah won't. Now can y'all leave me and Fluttershy alone on our date?"
Twilight nodded. "Sure."
Applejack and Fluttershy were almost out of earshot when Twilight realized what they had said.
"YOU'RE ON A DATE!?"
Applejack and Fluttershy rolled their ears and kept walkin'. Applejack bumped into somepony's chest.
"Oh, ah'm so sorry, sir or madam-hello." Applejack cut her apology short when she was who- or what she had bumped into- a very handsome unicorn stallion with blue hair and a white coat.
No, it wasn't Shining Armor.
"Hello to you, too." the stallion replied. "Shimmy's my name. What's yours, you cute little mudpony?"
Applejack giggled and blushed. Comin' from anypony else, being called a mudpony would've deeply insultin', be comin' from this colt, it seemed like a compliment on her Earth pony ways. "A-Applejack." A flustered Applejack stammered out.
Fluttershy suddenly put herself in between Applejack and Shimmy.
"Excuse me, but we're on a practice date, Shimmy." Fluttershy almost...was she growlin'? It sounded like she was growlin'!
Shimmy hmphed. "I'm aware of that, Fluttershy."
Applejack was snapped outta her daze. She raised her hoof. "Uh, beggin' yer pardon, but what's goin' on here?"
"We have a history." Shimmy and Fluttershy said in unison. Although Fluttershy near-snarlin' in her reply, Shimmy said with amusement.
"It would be ever so nice if you could leave us alone on our date, Shimmy." Fluttershy said with a tone Applejack had never heard her use before- it was almost she was...bitter.
Shimmy huffed. "Well...have a nice...date." Shimmy left wit' his nose in tha air.
Anypony in their right mind would clearly see that Shimmy was a jerk, or at least not nice. He must've done sumthun to make Fluttershy react like that, but Applejack couldn't keep her eye offa 'im. He had a very nice...Cutie Mark. Come to think of it, his Cutie Mark was a...female symbol.
"Applejack, can you quit looking at him, please? I know he's attractive, but we're on a date."
"Yeah, yeah, shore, sorry..." Applejack hung her head low in shame as she walked, but Fluttershy still seemed angry. At Shimmy, rather than her, but that provokes the question...
"Hey, Fluttershy? Wut did that Shimmy feller do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ah mean...what is it about that got you so riled up so fast?"
Fluttershy signed. "I don't want to talk about it...but I should. Maybe I will, but not here or now."
Applejack accepted this, and they made to the fancy resturant wit'out further incindent. Once inside, they asked for a table. The pony there asked if they had a reservation.
"Reservation?" Applejack said. "Oh, Ah didn't know we needed a reservation."
"No reservation, no table." the clerk told them.
"Oh...can't you do something?" Fluttershy asked softly. "We'll tip you extra for your trouble."
The clerk rolled her eyes and snorted. "No reservation, no table."
"Mm...well, it's only going to get worse, so I might as well..." Fluttershy murmured.
"Wut'cha on 'bout, Fluttershy?"
"Could you look away, Applejack? So I can convince the clerk?"
"Uh...okay." Applejack turned away and heard a smmmaack sound behind her like somepony being smooched. Applejack turned around to see the clerk's head wobbling about like she had been hammered.
"Uh...you know what?" The clerk said. "I think we have some folding chairs in the back. I'll see to it that the staff gets them out for you, and you make a table out of them over there by the wall."
"Thank you so much." Fluttershy thanked her.
So Applejack and Fluttershy got a rather weird table made out of folding chairs being bridged together the staff made willin'ly, but they all had confused expressions. Their waiter brought them their menu. He stood out, being a dark blue Earth pony who seemed grumpy 'bout everythin' ever.
"Wonder what his problem is." Applejack said out loud. She opened her menu and took a quick scan of its contents. "Wut do y'all think you'll have, Fluttershy?"
"Oh, Rarity brought me some veggie salad from this place once. It was so good, I think I'll order it...and maybe a side." Fluttershy answered. She quivered a little and signed. "So good..."
"Fluttershy?" Applejack said, folding her menu. "Ah know y'all said it was yer problem, but sumthun seems to have been bugging y'all all day. Wut it is?"
Fluttershy bared her teeth, her eyebrows furrowin'.
"Whoa! Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't-"
"Heey, ladies!"
Applejack realized Fluttershy wasn't mad at her. Shimmy walked to their 'table' if it could be called that. "How's your date going?"
"How did you get here?" Fluttershy demanded as harshly as she could. The end result was rather like a songbird that had a swallowed a lozenge improperly.
"I was going here today, anyways." Shimmy answered coolly.
"You followed us, didn't you? This is exactly why I broke up with you." Fluttershy said.
Applejack's widened to the size of dinner plates. "Y'all used to date? Shimmy, Fluttershy broke up with you?"
"I prefer to think of it as more she broke things off." Shimmy answered. "But yes."
Fluttershy put her menu down slowly. Tensely. "Shimmy, can I talk to you...in private?"
"Sure, sugercube." Shimmy answered. Fluttershy got up and trotted towards the restroom entrance, Shimmy followin'.
It wasn't normally in Applejack's nature to pry, but sumthun' was goin' on wit' Fluttershy all day...Applejack got up, puttin' her own menu down and trotted towards the two.
"Pardon me, y'all." Applejack said. "Ah seem to need to use tha little fillies' room."
Shimmy and Fluttershy nodded and parted to let Applejack through. Of course, Applejack didn't need to use the fillies' room at all. She pressed her ear against the door to listen in on Shimmy's and Fluttershy's conversation.
"I know you're upset." Applejack could hear Fluttershy say. "But I am done. That chapter of my life is over."
"Oh come on, Fluttershy..." Shimmy purred. "You know something like that can never be over. Don't you?"
"Whatever! You stay away from Applejack- you stay away from ALL my friends, or Celestia help me, I will take Pinkie's Party Cannon and firecracker your head off!"
Applejack put her hooves to her mouth in shock. Wut was goin' on that prompted Fluttershy into death threats!?
"Whatever you say, sugercube." Shimmy gloated. "Oh, and firecracker isn't a verb."
Applejack almost fell over and stumbled to stand up straight when the bathroom door was pulled open. Her head hit sumtun soft.
Applejack looked up to see her head was in Fluttershy's chest. She seemed to be doin' that a lot today...
"You never needed to use the restroom, did you?" Fluttershy questioned dryly.
"Ehehe..." Applejack giggled, tryin' to deflect attention off herself.
"You're a terrible liar." Fluttershy said. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. There's just something Shimmy that...that just makes so...arrrgh!"
"Ah figured that."
"Can we go back to the table and eat?"
Applejack nodded. They both trotted back to the table where their food had been served. Applejack had some apple fritters. Being an Apple pony of course, she thought Apple Family fritters were infinitely better.
"Wut...wut really went on between you and Shimmy anyways?" Applejack asked. "Sorry. Ah know Ah ain't got no right to ask."
"It's okay. I still don't want to talk about it, but..."
Applejack nodded, and they both ate in silence.
Once they were done and paid the restaurant, Fluttershy led Applejack out back for some privacy. She apparently had sumthun to talk to Applejack about. It had gotten late quickly, and twilight was setting in.
"I, um...you know that growling from my cottage earlier? That was Shimmy." Fluttershy explained.
"Goodness!" Applejack exclaimed. That hissing was Shimmy?
"Um..." Fluttershy pawed at the ground wit' her hoof, the way ponies do when nervous. "Applejack, it's...been so long since I even...so much as kissed somepony. Since we just had a date and ate, and it's dark...I was wondering...would you kiss me?"
"Oh!" Applejack exclaimed. This was supposed to be a practice date, not a real one! She wasn't supposed to be kissin' anypony! Especially not Fluttershy!
But Fluttershy was givin' her a look. A sort of glare that was somewhere between 'come hither!' and 'please, just this once?'
Applejack folded. "Okay."
Applejack approached and gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the cheek.
Suddenly Applejack's mind went all hazy. Everything got blurry and fuzzy like she had just taken a potion. A bad potion. A hallucinogenic potion, or similar.
In addition to all that, Applejack...wanted more. With little to no thought, she wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy's cheeks and went into a deep-throated kiss where Applejack moaned in pleasure, trying to shove her tongue into Fluttershy's mouth further in than it would- could go.
Fluttershy swatted Applejack's hooves off and held them. "Oh, I'm sorry, Applejack..." Fluttershy's started getting water. "I never should've asked you to do this!"
Fluttershy ran off, cryin'.
Applejack put her hoof to her head, coming back to her senses. "Wut happened? Wut Ah'd do!?"
"Well, duh. You should know what you did!"
Applejack turned around to see Shimmy standing there.
"Wut do y'all want, Shimmy? Y'all been followin' us 'round all day."
"I want Fluttershy to come back into the fold." Shimmy answered.
"Fold?" Applejack questioned. "Wut fold? Ah never known Fluttershy to have been part of anything."
"Oh? She didn't tell you? Aren't you one of her best friends? I would think she would tell you something like that."
"Ah've had it with yer double-talk, Shimmy!" Applejack stomped her hoof. "Fluttershy is one of the kindest ponies Ah ever had the pleasure to meet! She's kind, sweet, honest, takes care of animals-"
"And is a shape-shifting Succubus like myself." Shimmy added.
"An' a shape-shiftin' Succubus like yerself!" Applejack concluded fiercely.
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Shimmy pulled out a pocket watch that went tic-tic-tic as he waited for Applejack's response, as per the narration's instructions.
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Waaaait for it...
Okay, now:
Applejack's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"WUT!?"
Author's Notes for "Shimmy"
Confused as to how we're seemingly back to (relatively) normal cartoon continuity?
Don't be.
I seem to have this thing where I give Fluttershy some quality that would make her a rival to Chrysalis in some fashion...here, I make her a Succubus, in one of my other stories, I turn her into an metal insect princess...
There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, and not a whole of narration. Granted, I wanted to make the narration 'fit' Applejack and Applejack isn't a pony for a whole lotta fancy words, so I guess it evens out...
Um...I suppose I should explain the name. See, I had been reading fanfics with nifty ideas, but terrible executions, and it got to the point where could make ...compendium of them. I took it upon myself to take this nifty ideas and turn them into actual, proper fanfiction!
I will make sure to note what came from where, when it appears.
...And not one of these ideas have appeared yet in two chapters and a preview.
