Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Seventeen

"Nice night," Fluttershy said.

"Real nice," Big Mac agreed. "Listen to them crickets."

Fluttershy nodded happily. "I like crickets."

"I s'pose you know what the crickets are sayin'?"

"Oh, nothing really," Fluttershy admitted. "Mostly crickets just talk about the weather… nights like this remind me of the day I first moved to Ponyville. That evening, it was just like now. There were crickets, and I went into town… you were there, you probably don't remember—"

"No, I remember," he said.

"Huh?" Fluttershy said, taken off guard.

"Eeyup, your first day in town? I remember that day, 'cause I remember seein' you. Couldn't forget that."

Fluttershy wrapped her front legs around Big Mac's neck and kissed him passionately. "You're a dirty rotten no-good flatterer, and that's why I love you," she whispered. "There are a couple of reasons I love you, actually."

They silently gazed into each other's eyes for several minutes.

"Big Mac, did you hear me?" she said.

"Huh?"

"I said I love you," Fluttershy said tenderly. "I mean it, I truly do… I love you."

Big Mac smiled. "I know you do. You said so when ya first came to the farm to ask me out… sure is nice to hear that somepony loves you."

No, Fluttershy thought. This can't be happening, I… I should never have thought I was good enough to—No! Don't go down that road. Keep a cool head.

"Big Mac," she said sweetly, "do you love me?"

He sighed and leaned in close to her. "Look… I'm always honest, mkay? Truth is, I dunno. I never felt that before, I don't know if I'm ready." He kissed her cheek.

"You don't… know if you love me," Fluttershy said slowly. "Okay, well, in that case, get out of my bed."

"I don't… what?"

"You heard me," Fluttershy said, jumping out of her bed and taking to the air. "I said get out." She whistled, and an army of rabbits, mice, and squirrels surged into the room from all directions.

"Remove him from the premises, please," Fluttershy said softly, her eyes closed.

The tiny creatures ran up to the bed and overturned it, then the mass of them picked up Big Macintosh and lugged him out of Fluttershy's room, out of her front door, down her garden path, and threw him into the street.

Fluttershy hovered in place, eyes still shut, and shed a single tear.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"So you just tossed him out?" Rainbow said the next morning. "Right as you were about to have the big night?"

"I think my exact words were 'get out of my bed'," Fluttershy replied from Rainbow's couch.

"'Get out of my bed'," Rainbow marveled, filling her cereal bowl. "Wow. Ha ha! Fluttershy, you are such a badass. I don't tell you that often enough, but you really are."

"Thanks, but I don't feel like a badass," Fluttershy whispered. "I feel like I let him down."

"Oh, please," Rainbow scoffed as she flew over to join Fluttershy on the couch. "You did the right thing and you know it. Don'tcha now?"

Fluttershy sighed. "…I need to know that he loves me. I can't toss away my"—she silently mouthed the word "virginity"—"on a relationship that's not going anywhere."

"I get it."

"But it's still eating at me that I hurt him like that," Fluttershy mumbled.

"Stick to your guns," Rainbow insisted. "You know what's really gonna start eating at you? Losing your self-respect. Do not cave in to his demands. Do not negotiate. He does what you say, got it?"

"Is this a relationship, or a siege?" Fluttershy said irritably.

"Self-respect and integrity, Fluttershy!" Rainbow said firmly. "You made yourself a promise years ago that you would never sleep with a guy who wasn't in love with you. Do not go back on it, or you'll never forgive yourself."

"Okay… you're right," Fluttershy said. "Thanks, Rainbow. I'm not accustomed to seeing things that way… sometimes I need a fresh perspective."

"I got your back, sister," Rainbow said through her mouthful of cereal. "You stand your ground. You were right to dump him; don't take him back until you get the sincere declaration of love that you're after."

"Dump him?" Fluttershy repeated. "Oh my goodness, do you think he thinks I broke up with him?"

Rainbow tilted her head. "Did you intend to break up with him?"

"No."

"Then he probably thinks you did," Rainbow said dryly. "He's a guy, after all."

"No…" Fluttershy muttered. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

"You okay?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I'm not okay!" Fluttershy declared, vaulting off of the couch. "I have to get my man back!"

"What?" Rainbow demanded. "No, damn it, no! What did we just talk about?"

Fluttershy turned to stare at Rainbow Dash intensely. "Big Macintosh is faithful and loyal and kind. He gets me. He would have understood if I had just told him I wasn't ready instead of kicking him out of my house like I'm some kind of drama queen." She put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "I'll keep my promises to myself, don't worry. We can get to the point where he can say he loves me, if I haven't already lost him."

Rainbow stared silently for a moment, then nodded. "Go get him."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Big Mac approached his farm, pulling a full cart of apples. Fluttershy approached him from the side. When he noticed her, she stopped in her tracks and hovered there for a moment, averting her eyes. "…Hi, Big Mac," she said.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry about last night," she muttered.

"No, no, I'm sorry," he said.

"Here, I wrote you a note," she said, holding it out to him. "I know, right? I'm a coward. A note…"

"No, no," Big Mac assured her. "I, uh I got one for you too."

They exchanged their notes awkwardly, and stood quietly.

"Okay—good," Fluttershy finally said. "I'll… I'll talk to you later."

He nodded, and she flew off. When she was off of Sweet Apple Acres property, she unfurled the note.

I LOVE YOU, it read. Of course I do. Just gotta figger out how to say it out loud, is all. Hope you'll wait for me.

She held the note to her heart and looked up into the sky. "Oh, Big Mac…" she sighed. "My naughty poem and accompanying lewd illustration suddenly seem a lot less classy by comparison."

Big Mac's eyes darted hungrily over the image she had presented to him.

"Whatcha got there, big brother?"

"Nothin', AJ," he said hastily, covering it. "Just a little somethin' from Fluttershy."

"Oh," Applejack said, walking alongside him as he brought his apple cart into the barn. "You guys okay after… whatever happened last night?"

"Yeah, still good," he said. "Better, I think."

"Good. What've you two been doin' lately?"

"Oh, we've been hangin' out a lot with Rainbow Dash," Big Mac said.

"…Really?"

"Eeyup… kinda weird, I know," Big Mac admitted. "But Shy keeps askin' her along. It's fun, heh heh… that Dash sure does pull some funny faces."

"Funny faces?" Applejack demanded. "What the hay do you three do together?"

"We have conversations," Big Mac retorted. "Mind outta the gutter, AJ."

"Okay," she muttered. "Conversations…"

"Well," Big Mac said, unhooking himself from the cart, "I got a lot to think about. Later."

"Like what?" Applejack said curiously.

"Nothin'," he said. "Fluttershy stuff."

"Having a problem?" she said, keeping pace with him. "Maybe I can help."

"Well, you are a filly," he said thoughtfully.

"Pretty sure I'm a mare, actually," she said dryly.

"Heh heh. Okay…" He turned to look at her, stared into her eager green eyes for a few seconds, then quickly turned and started to walk away. "…Never mind, you don't wanna know."

"Sure I do," she insisted.

"Nope."

"Come on, help me help you."

"Okay," he said, stopping but not looking at her. "I never… went out with a pegasus before. They're s'posed to be real delicate and brittle, right? And Fluttershy's even more so than most. And me, I'm a big guy—you see where I'm goin' with this?"

Applejack shook her head.

"You don't see where I'm goin' with this?"

"Sorry, no."

"Ooh boy…" he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "Przewalski… well, here's the thing." He inhaled deeply, and in one breath hastily spilled out, "I'm afraid that if and when me and Shy sleep together, I'd spend the whole evening freakin' out about whether I might accidentally break her pelvis or somethin'." He turned to her expectantly.

"…You're right, I didn't wanna know," Applejack said.

"Told you," he said simply. "So, whaddya think?"

She shrugged, shifting her hooves nervously. "I really have no clue how to solve that problem."

"Ooookay then. Don't you have work to do?"

"I do indeed," she said, relieved.

"Good. See you later."

"All right," Applejack said cheerfully, walking away. "You'll excuse me if I don't make eye contact for the next six months. That a problem?"

"Nope."