Author's note: Gosh, I'm balancing a lot of fics here. XP Ah well. Here's some pony, starring my favourite pony couple!

Also, a pedal is the bone inside a hoof. You will need this knowledge for later.

Chapter Four: In Truth

"Applejack!" Fluttershy called out, trotting to a stop by her earth pony friend. "Are you okay?"

"Mmm," Applejack replied, staring at the grass.

"... How did it go?"

Applejack slowly lowered herself to the ground. "You and Pinkie were right, Fluttershy..."

Fluttershy gasped in horror. "Oh no! You don't mean...?"

"Caramel was datin Sassaflash behind my back."

"... But... but... hadn't they broken up already?"

"Yeah... only, he loves her, apparently." Applejack scoffed. "She came crawlin back and he had the gall to go out with both of us!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry..."

"T'ain't your fault, sugar cube... I'm glad ya told me."

"... Did... Sassaflash know?"

"Funny enough, she didn't. She was downright furious with Caramel for cheatin on her, too."

"Oh, Applejack..." Fluttershy maneuvered herself and sat down beside the farm girl. "I'm sorry I didn't find out sooner. If I had, I would've..."

"It's alright. Nopony was expectin this. Ponyville's normally an honest town."

"I know, but..."

Applejack looked up and smiled faintly at her. "Now, don't you worry none. This ain't your fault, ya hear?"

Fluttershy ducked her head, still looking at the earth pony. "Okay..."

Applejack turned away and stared wistfully into the distance. "Ya know, Caramel was always a weird colt, anyway... If anypony was happy when he in a bad mood, he'd immediately hate em for a day. Happened a few times with Pinkie and Twilight."

Fluttershy straightened her head. "He'd hate them for being happy?"

"Yup. He'd say it was like they were mockin him, bein happy when he wasn't. Pretty selfish, actually." Applejack paused. "It's no great loss, really. I mean, he made me happy, sure, but I know for certain that I didn't love him."

This lifted Fluttershy's spirits slightly. "You didn't?"

"Nope." Applejack paused again, then lowered her head to the ground. "Although I'd be lyin if I said it didn't hurt... and you know I can't lie worth an apple."

Fluttershy felt her heart break. "Oh, Applejack..."

Suddenly, she was reminded of a similar situation that had taken place a long time ago. That time on the mountain, when Applejack had comforted her. Taking inspiration from the memory, she wrapped her front legs around Applejack and snuggled into her coat.

"S-Sugar cube?"

"Shhh... it's okay..."

Applejack fell silent, so Fluttershy took that as a sign to continue cuddling her and they stayed that way for a while. Gosh, this brought back memories. This was just like back on the mountain, when Applejack had been cuddling and nuzzling her. A fluttery feeling entered her stomach as she remembered all that the earth pony had done for her. She'd helped her when nopony else would. It was true that the other four would gladly help her now, but, back then, only Applejack had volunteered to do it.

The longer the two of them lay there, the more she began to think about that day so long ago. She'd been so petrified of that dragon, the mere thought of it causing her to freeze up in terror, but Applejack had been her knight in shining armour and had come to save the day. No words could ever describe how grateful she'd been to her on that day. Heck, when Twilight Sparkle had been bugging her to talk to the dragon, she'd hidden behind Applejack. That was honestly where she'd felt safest at the time. It was oddly fortunate that Rainbow Dash had angered the dragon, otherwise she would never have had the courage to speak to him at all.

She nuzzled Applejack and beamed at her. Back when the earth pony had done this to her, she'd felt so special, so loved. It was no different now. She had butterflies in her stomach and was blushing in happiness, knowing that she was paying her lovely friend back for the kindness she had shown back then.

There were also a number of things that she admired about Applejack: her physical strength, her mental strength, her honesty, her unending devotion to her friends and, even, her stubborn pride. The farm girl had put up quite a fight against an insistent Twilight Sparkle when harvesting her apple orchard one year. It was admirable that she'd tried to do it all by herself. Admirable, though rather silly.

"Thanks, Fluttershy."

"Hmm?"

Applejack turned to her and smiled. "Thanks for cheerin me up."

Fluttershy was momentarily caught off-guard by the sight of Applejack blushing, but smiled gently back. "You're welcome, Applejack."

There was a pleasant silence for a while, until Applejack looked up at the sky. "Huh. Looks like we were lyin here longer than I thought."

Fluttershy looked up and noticed that the earth pony was right. "Oh yeah."

"... Well, I guess I can't lie here all day. I promised I'd help Apple Bloom with her homework... and, knowing my little sis, she'll need a push to get started, too."

Fluttershy was rather disappointed. It felt nice having her front legs around Applejack. It almost felt like they belonged there, so she wasn't quite ready to let go just yet. It was such a weird feeling.

"Yeah..."

"Ya got somewhere to be today? You could hang out with my family, if ya like. Maybe help me with Apple Bloom."

Fluttershy smiled again. "Oh, that would be-!" She paused, her eyes widening as she remembered something. "Oh no! I... I think I'm late!"

"Late? For what?"

Fluttershy pulled her front legs off Applejack. "I have an appointment at the spa with Rarity. If I don't hurry, she'll wonder where I am!"

"I see." Applejack beamed. "Well, then, get along to your spa treatment. I wouldn't want ya to miss that. Not to mention, Rarity'll get pretty freaked out if you're not there soon. Ya know how she is."

"Yeah."

"She'll get all 'Darling! Where were you? I thought you'd forgotten our appointment! You kept me waiting so long! Did something happen? Oh, tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me!'"

Fluttershy giggled at the Rarity impression. "Oh, Applejack."

Applejack waved a hoof in the direction of Ponyville. "Get along now."

"Okay." Fluttershy stood up. "You know, you should really join us at the spa again some time. Maybe try out their mud baths and sauna. Ooh! Or get one of their amazing hooficures."

Applejack chuckled and stood up. "Well, I'll admit that place gives a pretty darn good massage... but all that fancy-shmancy girly stuff ya just mentioned is Rarity's territory, not mine. I'm a farm pony at heart and always will be."

"Well, okay." Fluttershy turned around. "I guess I'll see you around, then?"

"I'm sure ya will, Fluttershy." She raised a hoof and waved it. "Take care!"

Fluttershy raised a hoof and waved back. "You, too. Bye!" She galloped off.

Applejack walked into her house and shut the door behind her. Her heart was still thumping madly in her chest at what had just happened, so she took some calming breaths to rid herself of the adrenaline rush.

Big McIntosh walked casually into the room. "Hey, AJ," he said.

"Hey, Big McIntosh," she replied.

"You've been gone a while. Everythin okay?"

"Uh... yeah..." Applejack looked away and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I just... had some issues to deal with."

"Issues?"

"... I'm not seein Caramel anymore."

"You're not?"

She lowered her hoof and looked at him. "Nope."

"Why not?"

"Well..."

"Oh dear..." Granny Smith said as she hobbled in, "and he seemed like the perfect boyfriend for ya, too."

"Yeah... well..." Applejack forced a wide smile. "It just wasn't, uh, workin out, ya see! We had to go our separate ways, 'cause of... complications!" There was a pause. "Yup."

"Applejack, dearie... we all know ya can't lie worth an apple."

"Eeeyup," Big McIntosh agreed.

Applejack deflated. "Aww, pony feathers," she replied. "Well, I wasn't technically lyin, anyway. There were complications."

Apple Bloom trotted into the room. "Applejack?" she asked. "You're not datin Caramel anymore?"

Applejack felt a tug at her heartstrings. "No, Apple Bloom. I ain't."

Apple Bloom pouted. "Well, why not? I was lookin forward to him one day bein my big brother!"

Applejack's mouth twisted at that comment. She knew that Apple Bloom had been very keen on her marrying Caramel, but the idea of doing that now disgusted her.

"I'm sorry, but he cheated on me."

Three pairs of eyes widened. "He what?" Granny Smith yelped.

"No way!" Apple Bloom cried.

"He really did that?" Big McIntosh asked.

"Yup, he did." She gave them all a tired smile. "Now, if ya'll don't mind, I don't really wanna talk about the details. I'd rather just go help Apple Bloom with her homework."

"Well, alrighty then, dearie..." Granny Smith replied, "but if ya do need to talk, we're here for ya."

"Thanks, Granny."

Applejack lay in bed in the pitch black of her room and stared at the ceiling. She'd been trying to get to sleep for the past hour, but something was bothering her.

The way that Fluttershy's front legs had woven around her upper body had reminded her of that day on the mountain so long ago, when she'd done the same thing to her. She'd felt the exact same fluttery feeling in her stomach, the exact same sense that those legs belonged around her. It was crazy. Why was she feeling this way?

In fact, it felt rather like it used to back when she'd been dating Caramel. He'd cuddle her close and she'd feel safe, secure and happy. She shook her head. No, it wasn't like that, it was stronger. Was that weird? Fluttershy was one of her best friends, after all, but this feeling seemed to stretch in a different direction.

Groaning in confusion, she shoved away the blanket and climbed out of bed, deciding to grab a drink of water. She was quite thirsty after all that thinking.

She dragged her hooves to the door, opened it and walked down the hall. Why was it that she felt this way around Fluttershy? There had to be an explanation for it. The way she always felt so protective around her, as though she was a knight protecting his – or, rather, her – damsel in distress. Fluttershy could be a damsel sometimes, but she was very strong and dependable when it counted.

She smiled fondly to herself. Fluttershy was so cute. Sometimes the frightened little mouse and, sometimes, the raging bull. Even in raging bull mode, though, she'd never harm anything or anypony. She was just too kind and gentle.

Well, heck, she thought, it's almost like I have a crush on her. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, causing her to freeze where she stood. A... crush? It thudded again and a warm feeling spread through her body, calming her mind. Oh hay, no... Seriously? She couldn't explain it, but she could feel that that was the truth. She slapped a hoof to her head. "Aw, you pedalhead!"

She honestly wasn't sure if she was insulting herself for not seeing it sooner or for getting a crush on one of her best female friends. Since when did she like fillies?

The only thing she did know was that, being the element of honesty, it would be very hard to keep this a secret for very long. What was she to do?

She sighed and continued on towards the bathroom. She'd have to figure that out another day. Right now, she just wanted some water.