Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Forty-Five

Big Macintosh gathered up some of the fallen autumn leaves and placed them into the heavy cart he was pulling, surrounded by other ponies engaged in the same job.

Fluttershy flew up alongside him. "Hi, Big Mac!" she chirped.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

"How are you holding up, honey?" she asked, hovering in front of him.

"I'm… y'know, I'm good. Fine."

She nodded tearfully and hugged him. "That's my brave, strong Macky. You know, you don't have to hide anything from me."

He smiled and nuzzled her, then continued on his way. She flew around him and started rubbing his back with her hooves.

"Oh," she said sympathetically. "Oh, Macky, you're so tense. I… I can give you a massage, if you'd like. I am professionally trained. I mean, I've never massaged a pony, but I can figure it out."

"That does sound nice," he said. "But no, you don't have to do that."

She perched on his back and leaned forward. "How about a nice hot bath, then?" she whispered into his ear. "I can have one ready for you as soon as you're finished with your work here. You can just come right home and sink into it, and all the stress in your muscles and joints will just melt away…" On a sudden impulse, she licked his ear and nibbled on it.

"That's okay," he said, laughing.

Fluttershy hopped off of him and walked alongside him. "Well, then… then… can we drop all pretenses and… and just go off to bed together?" She glanced around and lowered her voice. "I have to confess I've been feeling a little frisky. We haven't… you know… for a while. It'd make both of us feel a lot better, I think." She leaned against him. "I… I love you, Macky."

He looked down at her and smiled. Taken in by her pleading expression, he kissed her. He pulled back, considered for a moment, and kissed her again.

"Fluttershy, I…" he whispered. "Listen…"

Her eyes widened in fear.

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

Applejack sat on a bench, opening and digging into the lunch she had packed. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a yellow and pink blur race past her, giving a distinctive sobbing gasp as it did so.

"Fluttershy?" Applejack wondered.

Applejack got up and found her at a table outside a restaurant, her head resting on its side on the table and a stream of tears positively gushing from her eyes.

"What's going on?" Applejack demanded. "Sugarcube, what happened?"

"He… he dumped me," Fluttershy choked out.

Applejack's lip thinned. "He did, huh?" She massaged Fluttershy's neck. "O… okay, sugarcube, stay here for a second. Keep on, just, cryin' it out. Just let it all out. I will be right back."

"Wh… where are you going?" Fluttershy asked, lifting her head.

"I'm gonna go castrate my brother. Just take me a minute."

"Okay, cool," Fluttershy muttered. She placed her head back on the table, then raised herself up rapidly. "Wait a minute, that's not cool. Don't do that!"

Applejack returned and sat down across from Fluttershy. "If ya say so."

Fluttershy stared at Applejack in disbelief. "Were you actually going to castrate him?"

"I could," Applejack said simply. "I've done it to pigs, can't be that different."

Fluttershy went silent and hung her head again.

Applejack leaned toward her. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"He… he said he couldn't see me anymore," Fluttershy peeped. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Then he said 'I'm sorry', and I… I started crying and he said, 'Please. Go.'" She pressed her forehead against the table.

Applejack came around and embraced her. "Oh, sweetie… that is messed up. Let me go find out what the hell he was thinking. You… just cry it out. It's good for ya." She kissed the top of Fluttershy's head and stormed purposefully out into the streets.

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

"HEY!"

Big Macintosh turned his head and saw Applejack stomping through the fallen leaves to him.

"Hey, boy-o, you see what you did to Fluttershy?" Applejack called.

He gave a tearful, barely audible, "Eeyup."

Her face softened, recognizing his genuine anguish. "Well… why would you break her heart like that, bro?"

Big Macintosh walked along with his cart. "There's stuff weighin' me down, AJ. I can't be with Fluttershy and… everythin' else."

She scowled. "Oh, she weighs you down now, does she?"

"Hey, get off my back!" Big Mac snapped. "She was all up in my face, and I'm tryin' to grieve!"

"Hey genius," Applejack snarled, "my grandmother just died too, ya know! You don't see me kickin' everypony who loves me to the curb!"

"Well, unlike you, there's more to me than just 'work' and 'play'," Big Mac said snidely. "I have real, pony-style emotions!"

Applejack raised her hoof and struck him across the face.

He put a hoof to the stinging welt on his face, looking more shocked than actually hurt. "AJ!" he gasped.

"What?" she sneered. "You say right to my face that I don't have feelings, you get smacked. That's just how things go!" She glared at him, her head down. "I'll have you know Granny's death ripped apart my soul! I need my friends near me to get through my healing process!"

She stopped in her tracks and pondered her own words as he studiously walked on.

"But you're not like me," she realized. "You need to be alone, most times. That's what we've always known about you. And… and we had to learn that that's okay too."

He turned around to face her. "I can't deal with anypony being so close to me, not with everything that's going on in my head. And she doesn't deserve to have to deal with me, with how I'm doin' right now."

Applejack stepped up and caressed his face with a hoof. "You know she'd like nothin' better… nothin' better than to help get you through this."

"I know," he whispered. "But… I really do have to puzzle through it by myself. I have to."

"Well, please don't take too long," Applejack said. "You do wanna be with Fluttershy again, don't you? At some point?"

He sighed. "If it's in the cards." His eyes welled up with tears. "Fluttershy…"

Applejack nodded. "Can't ask for more than that. Take care of yourself, bro. I gotta go comfort Fluttershy."

"…Eeyup."