A/N: Hey guys. I must say right now; I'm so sorry for the wait. As you probably know. I recently got a job and that, coupled with school and other things has really been digging into my time.
Also, I recently started playing a few games again (Soul Calibur 5 & Fallout 3: game of the year edition, in case anyone was wondering) and they've really been cutting into my time. So after I get off work or finish school, my thoughts aren't "Better start writing!" it's either "Time to start exploring!" or "Time to beat the crap out of people and rank up!" I'll try to divide up my time better from now on (or at the very least; the next update).
Anyway, enough of that. On with the story.
CHAPTER 10. June 8th/02/2:08 PM/3rd person (Fluttershy Overview).
After hours of consideration; to the point that her thoughts were now in the way of her work. Fluttershy decided it was about time to visit Applejack and ask her a few questions about Big Macintosh. She wasn't sure if Applejack was working in the fields or selling merchandise today but for the most part, Applejack sold merchandise the most, for various reasons. From what Fluttershy knew.
Granny had a tough time getting around and was (from time to time) overly friendly and talkative and that was often bad for business; Apple Bloom was too young to run the stand on her own And Big Mac was not nearly as well-known or as good at speaking to customers as Applejack was. So in the end, Applejack was the best pick for running the Apple family's merchandise stand.
Fluttershy began her trek into town, keeping her eyes peeled for the Apple Family's stand. The problem was, Applejack (or whoever was running the stand) often changed the place where they sold merchandise. So Fluttershy was forced to look around for a good twenty minutes to find the position of the stand.
She was lucky she found it when she did, Applejack (who was indeed running it today) was closing everything up and setting the harness on the horse she had with her and preparing to pick up and move the wagon somewhere else in town, possibly even somewhere Fluttershy had already looked.
Fluttershy quickly approached her friend as she called out, loudly enough for Applejack to hear. "Wait, Applejack!" she called to get her friend's attention.
Applejack then lifted her head and looked over to her friend who was approaching rather swiftly. She then waved to Fluttershy and spoke up. "Howdy Fluttershy!" Applejack called back. "What's the matter?" she asked with slight confusion in her voice.
Fluttershy then slowed down and stopped in front of Applejack before responding hesitantly. "Oh, I just wanted some…apples?" she said in more of an asking tone than a telling one.
Applejack looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow before responding. "Are y'all alright sugar cube?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, umm no- I mean yes! Yes I'm fine." she said unconvincingly in a nervous voice.
"If anythin's wrong Fluttershy, y'all can tell me." Applejack said honestly.
Fluttershy wasn't sure why asking Applejack about Big Mac, was so difficult all of a sudden, but she knew she had to; she did walk around for twenty minutes looking for Applejack just to ask her a few questions. "Oh, nothing's wrong, I just…can I ask you some questions?" she asked abruptly, causing Applejack to don an even more confused face.
Applejack chose to ignore Fluttershy's odd behavior, as for Fluttershy it wasn't particularly odd. "Sure sugar cube, what do y'all want ta know?" Applejack asked curiously.
"I, um…I actually wanted to ask about Big Macintosh." she said hesitantly.
Applejack seemed somewhat surprised by Fluttershy's request, but decided to answer it anyway. "Big Mac? Ok, what do y'all want ta know?" Applejack asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.
"Umm…what dances does he know?" she asked curiously.
Applejack chuckled lightly before responding. "Oh he knows all kinds of dances; he always loved dancin' or watchin' people dance; anyway, he knows quite a few." Applejack said honestly.
"Oh, ok." Fluttershy said simply in response.
"Why are y'all askin'?" Applejack asked curiously.
"O-oh, umm, no reason; I'm just curious." she said, once again, not convincing Applejack.
"…Anyway, y'all said ya wanted some apples right?" Applejack asked her friend; changing the subject.
"Oh, no, I'm fine." she said somewhat absent-mindedly.
Applejack then donned a look that seemed to say "Oh really?" before she responded. "Are ya sure? Ah've got some nice, tasty McIntosh if you want some?" Applejack said with a sly smirk on her face.
Fluttershy immediately turned a deep shade of red as her eyes shot wide open in surprise.
"Ah knew it! Y'all do have feelin's fer Big Mac!" Applejack said loudly in response to Fluttershy's reaction.
Fluttershy didn't know how to respond, she just sat there with a shocked look on her face as she blushed intensely.
Applejack then calmed down a bit before responding. "Sorry if Ah upset ya, Ah just wanted ta know if it was true, don't take it personally." Applejack said apologetically before continuing. "Ah think we should talk about this, sugar cube." she said as she softened her voice and features.
"…Ok." Fluttershy said hesitantly in response.
Applejack then packed up the rest of her family's stock and the pair began moving to a new location in town. The two talked as they walked.
"So, Fluttershy; it seems y'all have takin' a likin' ta my brother…well Ah can tell ya; yer certainly not the first. It seems like at least one a week some girl comes up ta me an' asks me ta introduce her ta Big Mac; I always tell 'em the same thing." Applejack said as she waited for Fluttershy's imminent response.
"What do you tell them?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Ah tell 'em that he ain't lookin' fer a relationship right now." Applejack said simply in response.
"Is that true?" Fluttershy asked with a curious, yet eager looking expression on her face.
"That he ain't lookin' fer a relationship? Nah, he's told me that before, but Ah know better. Ah just don't want lady callers at the farm everyday buggin' him an' interupptin' his work. Ah know that sounds somewhat selfish; but trust me, he don't want girls buggin' him when he's workin'." Applejack said as she kept her eyes facing forward.
"…Do you tell him about all the women that ask for him?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Not most of the time; he's asked me not to, because he doesn't want it getting in the way of work." Applejack said simply.
"Oh." was all Fluttershy said as she seemed to lose heart.
Applejack noticed her change in attitude and looked over to her friend before speaking up. "Fluttershy, don't be like that; y'all ain't like all the other girls an' Big Mac knows that…an' even though Ah'm not so sure about how Ah feel about all of this…Ah know that you have a better chance with him than anyone right now…and if y'all really think that he's the one fer ya…Ah'm here ta support y'all." Applejack said in a somewhat heartfelt and thoughtful way.
Fluttershy seemed moved by Applejack's words and took to heart what she said before responding. "Thank you Applejack, that really means a lot to me…but…I'm not sure how I feel about Big Mac yet…all of this has just happened so quickly and I've been introduced to feelings and thoughts that I hadn't previously experienced…I think it's going to be a little while before I'm able to say for certain how I feel about all of this." she said honestly as she opened up to her close friend.
"Don't worry about it right now; if ya wait awhile, y'all will know what yer feelin'." Applejack said as she offered her advice.
"I'll keep that in mind…thank you Applejack." she said in genuine appreciation.
"No problem sugar cube." Applejack said simply in response.
Fluttershy didn't respond.
"Is there anythin' y'all want ta ask about Big Mac?" Applejack ask curiously.
"…Has he ever had a girlfriend?" she asked hesitantly.
Applejack chuckled for a few seconds before responding. "Ya know, Ah have no idea! There was a time that Granny an' I thought him an' Cheerilee were datin', but he always denied it an' said that they were jus' friends. Whether he lied or not, Ah don't know, but Ah doubt it." Applejack said honestly.
"Miss. Cheerilee? Apple bloom's teacher?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"Eeyup." Applejack said simply in response, imitating Big Mac.
Fluttershy laughed slightly at Applejack's impersonation of Big Mac.
"Y'all really do like him don't ya?" Applejack asked suddenly.
"…I do…even after just a day, it feels like I've known him forever and I just didn't know it." Fluttershy said honestly, as she avoided eye contact with Applejack.
Applejack then began smiling widely as she looked at her friend. "Ya know…when Ah first found out about my brother an' y'all bein' together, Ah really wasn't happy about it…but now that Ah think about it an' Ah see how yer actin'…Ah actually like this." Applejack said suddenly; catching Fluttershy off guard.
Fluttershy was left speechless as she tried to search for words.
"Y'all don't need ta say anythin', Ah know y'all ain't sure about it yet." she said and continued. "But Ah can see that y'all definitely have feelin's fer 'im." Applejack said with finality.
"That's exactly what Rarity said!" Fluttershy said in response.
"Me an' Rarity agreein' on somethin'? It's definitely gotta be true now!" Applejack said enthusiastically.
"She wouldn't agree with how you worded that sentence just now." Fluttershy said, ignoring Applejack's conclusion.
"Yeah, yeah, we all know me an' Rarity are jus' about as different as it gets. No need to go an' point it out." Applejack said as she shrugged slightly.
"Anyway…I have to go and restock on some animal care products." Fluttershy said suddenly asshe prepared to depart.
"Alright, Ah won't keep ya." Applejack said simply.
"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" Fluttershy said with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe; I guees Ah'll see y'all soon sugar cube." Applejack said as she bid her friend farewell.
"Hopefully." Fluttershy said as she moved closer and gave Applejack a quick hug. "Goodbye." she said as she began walking off.
Applejack simply waved to Fluttershy as the two parted ways.
A/N: I said what I wanted to at the beginning (for once) so not much to say here. The next chapter SHOULD be up in a much more reasonable and timely manner.
Also. Shout out to "DRWolf001" on YouTube. He's the only MLP analyst I watch and his theory's, speculations, observations and head cannons influence and reflect a lot of how I think about the show (other than the Mane six's ages, but to each his own).
Anyway. That's all, rest easy guys and gals.
Thanks again.