Prologue

A/N: So, this here is the prologue. And no, this won't be an Applejack/Fluttershy fic (friendship or romantic). It's mostly going to be about Fluttershy, but there will be a few chapters from Big Macintosh's POV. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll hopefully update again soon. Also, most chapters will probably be longer than this, though I can't say if they'll be that much longer. I like writing short chapters. And think of it this way, if I write shorter chapters, then I can update more often!

It all started with the stampede.
Stampedes where common enough around Ponyville - more common than the villagers would like, but not so common that they couldn't be prevented. The villagers reinforced their houses so they were strong enough to withstand almost anything,and almost everything in the town could quickly and easily be lifted and moved inside. Every once in a while there was a stampede that stood out from the rest, but in those cases, there was Applejack.
The day of the stampede started like any other. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, and Ditzy Doo was sitting in Sugar Cube Corner, eating her usual breakfast muffin. Nothing seemed out of place, until the ground started shaking. Rainbow Dash, who had been in the air practicing her latest flying trick, stared into the distance in shock. "STAMPEDE!" she screamed, flying up into the clouds to her home town of Cloudsdale.
Ponies ran in every direction, cleaning up town and getting into their houses. Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, who had been digging up rocks right on the outskirts of town, trying to see if one of their hidden talents was archaeology, ran straight to Sweet Apple Acres to get Applejack and Winona, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the path leading into town.
But Applejack was already running towards them, or more specifically, towards the cows running towards town.
"Put 'em up Winona!" shouted Applejack. "Come on!" She lassoed the cow in front of the pack's horn, and pulled, leading the herd of cows away from Ponyville. They ran straight past the entrance to the town, missing it by only a few feet. The cows kept running, past Ponyville and into the distance, and Applejack let them go. Winona kept running for a few feet, making sure they were really leaving, and in those few feet, her front right foot got caught in the hole the cutie mark crusaders had been digging.
With too much momentum to stop, Winona kept going, but her paw stayed caught where it was. With a sickening crack from her leg, Winona fell forward, her paw bent at an awkward angle. Fluttershy, as if sensing the injury, stuck her head out from the cottage at the edge of the village she had been hiding in. "Oh. Oh my," she said. "Winona had better come with me. That doesn't look good."
Applejack, standing just behind Winona, had teared up, frightened for her pet. Winona had been a gift for Applejack right after she came back from Manehattan, and she couldn't bear losing her like this. "Is – is she gonna be okay Fluttershy?"
"Oh, of course. Don't you worry about a thing Applejack, Winona will be fine in no time. Just leave her to me."
And with that, Fluttershy walked off towards her cottage, allowing Winona to lean heavily on her shoulder. Applejack looked after them, amazed at the careful way Fluttershy was walking so Winona didn't even have to use her broken ankle. "I really don' have to worry 'bout a thing." thought Applejack. "That filly'll fix her up 'fore you could say apples."

So, what did you think? Please review and tell me what I should change, etc. I know I said this earlier, but I should be updating again soon.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Time passed, and the little injured animals in Fluttershy's cottage came and went. Winona stayed - much longer than expected, since she kept trying to get up and help Fluttershy, and she re-damaged her healing paw in the process. Fluttershy tried, but she just wasn't as into helping the injured dog as she usually would have been. She just felt that something was... Missing. She didn't know what quite yet, but she was sure as hey going to find out.

Eventually, the time came to bring Winona back home. She still had the cast on her foot, but she was out of the wheel chair, and Fluttershy thought it would do her good to see a familiar landscape.

As they walked to Sweet Apple Acres slowly, Winona resting slightly on Fluttershy's shoulder, Pinkie Pie ran by. "Twitcha twitchy twitcha twitch!" she screamed. "My tail is twitching! Something's gonna fall!" She ran into the nearest house possible, with her umbrella hat still shaking from the run. Fluttershy smiled and kept walking. It would probably just be a plate in someone's kitchen, or maybe a raindrop. But there was no crash of breaking china, and the sky stayed clear. Fluttershy grew more and more nervous, and began looking around to see what might fall. While she was distracted, her hoof caught on a loose stone in the path and she tripped and fell flat on her face.

"Well," thought Fluttershy. "I guess that's what's falling." She began struggling to her feet, to find another pony standing beside her, holding out a hoof to help her up. She looked up to find herself looking into the face of the most handsome pony she had ever seen. His coat was a dark red color, which was complimented perfectly by his blond mane and tail. Fluttershy thought she could hear angels singing, but maybe that was just from the bump she got on her head from falling.

"Umm... Thanks," said Fluttershy to the other pony, taking his hoof and blushing. Why did she always have to meet new people at the most embarrassing times? She remembered meeting Rainbow Dash, many years before, at the first day in flight school. She had been flat on her face then too, and two bullies had flown up to her and started teasing her. If it hadn't been for Rainbow Dash, she might have been teased by them for hours. That was also the day she got her cutie mark.

Fluttershy was literally jerked back to reality by the older stallion pulling on her hoof to help her up. She blushed again, embarrassed by the fact that she had completely forgotten what was going on. "Sorry for any inconvenience I caused you..." she mumbled, getting quieter with every word.

"Thass quite aright, miss," said the red pony, smiling down at her. "Ah'm Big Macintosh, by the way."

Fluttershy noticed the green apple cutie mark on his flank and made the connection. "Oh!" she said. "You must be Applejack's big brother."

"Sure am. An' you're Fluttershy, right?. And is that Winona I see there with ya?"

"Oh, yes. I was just bringing her back to the farm. How did you know my name?"

"Well, from what Applejack's said about her friends, I know you're the only one who doesn't speak 'bout a mile a minute," he said, smiling again.

"Oh, yes. Our friends can be a bit... noisy," she said, surprising herself by saying something at an almost normal level. Fluttershy was never this comfortable around somepony she just met, especially one so... attractive. But there was something special about Big Macintosh. She felt as if she'd known him for years, even though she'd just met him.

"Well, Ah was just headin' back to the farm, Ah can take Winona from ya if ya'd like."

"Oh, if it's not too much trouble. I have so many more animals to tend to at home."

"Iss no trouble at all."

He took Winona from her, and Fluttershy stood there, frozen, watching as he and Winona walked down the road, into the distance, and disappeared into the gates to Sweet Apple Acres. Then, finally, she turned and walked back to her cottage, and smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. She couldn't wait to see him again.

A/N: Sorry, this one is short too. I'll try to write a longer chapter next time. (it'll also hopefully be from Big Mac's point of view)

As always, please review and favorite and add to alert list and all that jazz

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
A/N: So, just so you guys know, this fic is set just after Call of the Cutie, and the prologue was a week or so after Applebuck Season. Later I will directly reference things that happen in Green Isn't Your Color. I'm going to try to keep the timeline correct, but I may mess things up or have to put in events in the wrong order because it just fits better that way. Please bear with me. And now... A chapter about Big Macintosh! I may switch off every other chapter, but it'll probably just be whenever I feel like switching POV. Sorry this isn't as long as i promised, especially considering how long it's been. I will hopefully be updating more regularly in the next month or so, as well as starting a new Octavia/Vinyl Scratch fic, because there aren't enough of those in this world yet. Sorry for the disgustingly long AN. So, yeah. Enjoy, I guess ;)

Big Macintosh was surprised by how normal Fluttershy had seemed, compared to Applejack's other friends. He had met them all now, and let's just say he wasn't quite sure about them. Rainbow Dash seemed to do nothing but taunt AJ, as did Rarity, but in a different way. And Pinkie Pie was... Well, Pinkie Pie. There was no explaining her. Twilight Sparkle was the most normal besides Fluttershy, and she seemed to do nothing but study and practice her magic. And even though she'd technically saved winter wrap up, it was partially her fault that they had been so behind anyways, since she'd gotten the field covered in snow again, right as they were almost done ploughing it. Big Macintosh couldn't wait to see her again, but wait he did until he got an opportunity almost two weeks later.

He was in the basement getting some apples ready to turned into applesauce, when he heard a set of hooves clopping down the stairs behind kept cutting the apples, until the pony came right up behind him. He turned, and found himself face to face with his sister Applejack. "AJ," he said, nodding to her.

"Howdy," she said back, smiling at her practically silent brother. "Ah'm goin' to Twilight's for a sleepover with her an' Rarity tonight, but Ah'm behind on apple deliveries, an Twi said we had ta be there at 4 exactly. So, long story short, could ya deliver the last few wagons full? It's only ta Fluttershy's an' Diamond Tiara's."

Big Macintosh knew he would say yes as soon as she mentioned Fluttershy, but he liked to make his sister work for what she asked. "Hm," he said, fighting a smile. "Well..."

"Pleeeeease?" she whined at him. "Pretty please?"

"And what'll Ah get out of this?" he asked, smiling widely now.

"Ah'll... Ah'd offer ta do all the applebucking next year, but we know how that'd turn out." she said, smiling too, almost in a mischievous way. Big Macintosh began to grow worried. "Ah'll put a good word in for ya with Cheerilee."

Big Macintosh frowned, remembering the purple pony he had dated the year before. She had broken his heart, and dumped for that moronic pony Caramel, who would lose his own mane if it wasn't attached to his head, and though it had been almost a year since it happened, it still hurt to think about her. Usually, at least. Now all Big Macintosh felt was frustration with himself for not realizing sooner that Cheerilee wasn't right for him - and that there was somepony else who was. "Hmm," said Big Macintosh, pretending to consider. "Ah'll pass."

"What?" said Applejack. "But... Ah... You... But ya're in love with her ain't cha? What do Ah hafta do?"

"Trade jobs with me?"

"Ya mean..." stuttered Applejack, obviously confused. "Ya mean, Ah do all the easy work 'round here, like makin' applesauce, and you do all the deliveries?"

Big Macintosh nodded. "Eeyup."

"Big Mac, it looks like ya have yerself a deal," said Applejack, spitting on her hoof and holding it out. Big Macintosh spit on his hoof too, and they shook on it, Applejack not realizing in the slightest how happy she'd just made her brother. She turned and headed back up the stairs, and Big Macintosh turned back to the apples, deciding to finsh cutting them up before he started the deliveries.

Just after she reached the top step he called after her. "Oh, an' AJ? Ah ain't in love with Cheerilee anymore. Ah reckon Ah found mahself somepony new." and without waiting for a response, he turned back to the applesauce, leaving a befuddled Applejack standing in the doorway.