Post by Applejack on Jul 23, 2013 1:11:53 GMT -5
Summer evenings are the longest, and possibly the nicest. The sun is low but still up, casting a rich golden glow all around the grounds of Fluttershy's cottage and menagerie. The daylight animals have had their supper and the nighttime ones are still asleep when a familiar orange form trudges up the lane. It's a little unusual for Applejack to visit here - it's a LOT unusual when she isn't carrying anything except a look of determination. AJ arrives and checks around the yards, looking for her gentle friend and preparing to knock if she isn't outside.
There's a long silence after the knock where AJ has a chance to hear the crickets and cicada and the chirps of evening birds filling the air around her. It would probably be a nice moment for quiet reflection, if AJ didn't clearly have something on her mind. It takes longer than it really should have, but eventually there comes the clip-clop of hooves muffled behind the door, and a 'Just a minute!' accompanied by one big blue eye peeking out of the side window. The door opens wide - there's no need to hide from Applejack. "Hello, AJ. A-are you okay? I was just fetching more feed and the mice told me you were here..."
Applejack takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "Ah'm okay. Ah wanted t' ask yer advice on somethin', though. Oh. If'n yer busy, Ah can come back some other time. It ain't... urgent." She rubs the back of her head with a hoof. "Maybe Ah shouldn't'a come botherin' y'all. Ah'm sorry, Flutters. Take care now." AJ starts to turn away from the door.
"N-no, wait!" Fluttershy pleads, reaching out a hoof into the open air between them. "You don't have to leave. I-I'm not really all that busy, and you did come all this way...are you sure you're okay, Applejack? You seem kind of...down."
Applejack stops where she is. "It's about Twi. Sorta." She turns around and faces Fluttershy again. "Ah think Ah might be fergettin' how ta be her friend. It's... complicated." She frowns and looks at a flower by the door. This is not a pony who's comfortable with 'feeling complicated'.
Fluttershy's neutral face slowly melts into a frown. "Oh dear." There's another long moment with nothing but the sounds of nature, which means Applejack may as well be listening to Fluttershy's soul. "W-would you like to come in?"
Applejack gives Fluttersky a small smile. "Thank ya kindly, Ah really would." As she steps in (waiting for Fluttershy to get out of the way first, of course) she continues, "Ah'm sorry ta barge in on y'all, but... Fluttershy, yer th' kindest, sweetest pony Ah know. Prob'ly th' kindest Ah've ever heard of. That's why Ah'm comin' ta y'all: Ah think Ah need some advice on how ta keep likin' somepony."
Flutters follows AJ to the couch. "Go ahead and have a seat, AJ. Here, l-let me get you some tea. She trots into the kitchen, and hen right back out with a big tray full of teacups and cookies. "Now, tell me what's the matter. Did...y-you and Twilight didn't have a--*fight*, did you?"
Applejack sits and shakes her head. "Nah. Nothin' like that. Ya know Ah ain't exactly th' retirin' type. If'n Ah'd had a fight with Twilight, Ah'd be over THERE talkin' ta HER about it. Ah reckon Twi ain't got th' slightest notion there's any kinda problem, an' Ah aim ta keep it that way." She pauses for a moment to add what Flutters would probably consider WAY too much sugar to a teacup and take a sip. "It ain't anythin' she DID. It's... it's kinda what she *is*." Another pause. "Did Ah ever tell y'all why Ah went ta Manehattan all them years ago?"
The yellow pegasus thinks for a quiet moment while she pours out some tea for herself. "...I-I don't think so."
Applejack leans back with the teacup and pushes her hat up. "Don't laugh, okay? When Ah was a little filly, younger'n Apple Bloom, Ah used ta wanna be a Broadhay star. Singin' an' actin' an' suchlike. Ah wasn't even in Manehattan a month when Ah realized Ah was needed back on Sweet Apple Acres an' came home. Don't get me wrong, Ah love the farm, an' the trees, an' Ah would do *anythin'* fer mah family... but sometimes it still gives me a little ache." Sip. "Ah'd almost fergotten before Twi came ta town an' all th' cockamamie stuff we've been through since then. An' it ain't like she's DONE nothin' wrong, it's just... she never had ta give up *her* dreams. Ya follow me, sugarcube?"
Fluttershy listens patiently, nodding along where it seems appropriate. Beyond all else, Fluttershy is a good listener. "Oh, Applejack. Y-you never told me about that...I had no idea! So, so the Hearthswarming pageant must have been..." Fluttersh's ears droop. Very bittersweet.
Applejack grins. "Nopony ever even wondered where a farmer even got th' idea she could take th' stage fer th' biggest pageant in Equestria. Heh. Yeah. It stirred up some stuff Ah'd thought long gone. It was a hoot an' a half, though, wasn't it, 'Private Pansy'?" She chuckles for a moment and sips the tea. "Y'all see what Ah mean, right? These here are *mah* feelin's - Twi ain't done nothin' ta deserve anythin' less than friendship from me... but every time Ah see her, Ah can't help but think about all th' differences between us. Flutters... what would mah life have been like if'n mah family'd been rich Canterlot types instead o' farmers?"
Applejack pauses, stricken by a thought. "... would Mama and Daddy still be alive?"
Flutterflinch. "I, um..." These are questions she isn't equipped to wrestle with. She opens her mouth and *almost* tumbles out stories about her foalhood, her long fantasies on lonely cloud islands pretending she was an alicorn, or unicorn, or *anywhere* other than Cloudsdale--but she didn't have to give that *up*. And then the next question is a double-slap to her sickened stomach. "Applejack, I--I'm sorry..."
Applejack gives her head a little shake and snaps out of it. "No, *Ah'm* sorry, Ah didn't mean ta get all maudlin at y'all. That ain't th' point. Ah *hate* feelin' like this - an' Ah DOUBLE hate feelin' it about one o' mah best friends! What do Ah *do*? Ah've been pushin' it all away fer a long time now, an' it's eatin' me up inside. It got a lot worse since she became a princess, 'cause that's th' other thing." AJ empties her teacup and takes a deep breath, seemingly not wanting to say the next thing. "Ah asked around a bit. Did y'all know that Princess Cadence used ta be a pegasus?"
Fluttershy jerks her head back, sloshing a little tea out of the cup (where it's quickly lapped up by a squirrel). "No! I-I had no idea! I mean, I guess I never really worked up the courage to, you know, ask..."
Applejack gives a small chuckle. "Y'all'd be AMAZED what y'all can learn just by askin'." She shrugs. "Heck, Ah just asked Twi. Nopony knows what Celestia an' Luna were 'before', or if'n they even HAD a 'before', but right now we got four Princesses of Equestria. One used ta be a pegasus. One used ta be a unicorn." A long pause, even though it's probably obvious where this is going. "Do earth ponies ever get ta be princesses?" AJ looks uncomfortable even thinking about this, and tries to cover it up by refilling her teacup, which involves teeth. But that only takes a moment. "Ah ain't even talkin' about me now. Ah ain't princess material. Heh, ah'm prob'ly not even fillyfriend material, never mind what-the-hay-ever that Pumpkin Seed done got stuck in his craw. But what about Apple Bloom? What about th' rest of our family an' th' Apples yet ta come? Ah reckon it'll only be a couple more years before Big Macintosh settles down an' starts a family of his own. What about his foals? Or theirs? Or *theirs*?"
Flutters' eyes and jaw shift around uncomfortably a couple of times during Applejack's ramble, for a few different reasons going on inside that impenetrable little head of hers. "Um...I-I dunno. I've kind of been wondering about that, too, ever since Twilight...you know. But I'm sure it could happen..." Although, why is she sure? Probably just hopeless Flutteroptimism.
Applejack sighs. "Ya think? Ah dunno. Seems ta me that th' whatever magic it is would have ta happen TWICE. Cadence's horn AND Twilight's wings." AJ reach es out and very delicately strokes one of Fluttershy's pinfeathers. "Maybe one day ya'll have a family of yer own, too. An' when ya do, ya can rest assured... it ain't common, but somepony somewhere related ta you COULD be a princess." She sips her tea again and makes a face. It's getting a bit cold now. "We're stronger an' tougher'n pegasi an' unicorns, but... what's that compared ta soarin' across th' sky in half a shake or bein' able ta just THINK yer work done? Ah would be very surprised ta meet even one earth pony who's never even given it a thought. Y'all can fly an' touch th' clouds; we can't even VISIT someplace like Cloudsdale without some kinda magical hoodoo... but we can't do THAT neither! Ah *saw* Twilight harvest th' apples outta twenty trees all at once! Takes me HOURS ta do that!" The ramble has become a rant, but just as it starts to pick up steam, Applejack realizes it and clamps her mouth shut. She eats a cookie, mostly to give her mouth something to do other than upset Fluttershy.
Fluttershy fidgets when she feels her feathers touched. She doesn't try to pull them away, but when Applejack is distracted by her diatribe, Fluttershy quietly tucks them behind her back. Her eyes are facing downward, staring fuzzily through her coffee table and partly hidden by her forelock. "I...I-I used to want to be a ground pony, or...or a Princess, too."
Applejack nods. "Yeah. Ah reckon most fillies at least think about bein' a princ-" (Wait, what??) "Y'all used ta fancy bein' an earth pony? ... Why?"
Fluttershy shrinks back into her seat (which is to say, into her floor). "I-I just...I didn't want to have to live in Cloudsdale any more. It was so high up, a-and so lonely. I didn't even know what I was missing back then, but I knew I was missing *something." She takes a sip. "S-so I used to go out on clouds where nopony could find me, and sometimes, I would just read storybooks and fairy tales, and sometimes I would put a carrot on my head or something like that and pretend I was somewhere else."
Applejack's lips twitch in a smile for only a fraction of a second. Carrot, heh. But she sighs. "Well. Now don't Ah feel like a selfish Sally. Ah'm just unloadin' all over y'all an' Ah didn't even stop ta think mah kinda thinkin' might be causin' y'all exactly th' same kinda hurt feelin's Ah get from Twi. Ah'm sorry." She starts to sip, then puts down her teacup. That stuff's not helping. "How do ya deal with it? Yer always so sweet t' everypony... how do ya get RID o' th' bad feelin's without explodin' at somepony? Ah know none o' this is Twilight's fault, it's just chance, th' world ain't fair.... but how in the world am Ah s'posed ta stop bein' angry when Ah ain't got nopony ta be angry AT?"
"Well, I, um...I-I knit."
Applejack frowns in confusion. "Y'all... knit? Knit what? Does that help?"
"Well..." Fluttershy finally raises her eyes again, just a little. "I mean, I have a lot of time to myself, living so far from everypony, so...I have a lot of creative hobbies. That helps a little."
"And besides that, I just...try to keep thinking good thoughts about everypony." Does it take *effort* to be Fluttershy? She was practically immune to Discord, but then again...
Applejack squints shrewdly at Fluttershy for a moment. Somepony has finally picked up an inkling that there's a LOT going on beneath Fluttershy's quiet, gentle surface. Then she smiles a little. "That there's an interestin' idea. Creative hobbies, huh? There ain't a whole heck of a lot o' time fer hobbies on th' farm, but... might be worth it if'n that's th' way ta save mah friendship with Twilight. What am Ah sayin', o' COURSE it'd be worth it. Ah ain't rightly sure knittin's th' thing fer me, though..." She trails off, then munches another cookie, looking thoughtful.
Fluttershy tilts her head a little. "So w-what are you thinking?" SOmething more down-home... "Maybe whittling? Or...sculpture?"
Applejack considers. "Ah s'pose Ah could. Ah already sculpt stuff on occasion, like th' ice heart fer Cadence an' Shinin' Armor. Ah learned that more fer practical reasons, though. Ah ain't rightly sure how sculptin' could clear out bad feelin's neither. How does th' knittin' work fer y'all?" She looks around. Not one knitted object in sight. "...Do y'all ever show anypony yer work?"
Fluttershy looks around. Glance left. Glance right. Whatever she's wary of, it isn't here. "W-well...I guess I could show you. I-I mean, it's...for a friend, right?" Flutters takes a deep breath, flits across the room, and does something strange with one of her bookshelves before the whole fixture swings out of the way. Who knew FLuttershy had a *basement*? "It's down here."
Applejack BOGGLES. Fluttershy's got a secret door? What the hay?? But she hops up and follows. This should be interesting. How come nopony ever noticed Fluttershy's depths before??
They're some *very* hidden depths. Luckily the passage is lit up by fireflies, and the stairs aren't too long. Fluttershy's hooves clip-clop away into the distance ahead of AJ, and when Applejack reaches the cellar... ...her eyes will meet a wild burst of color in crochet, towering a good ten ponies' height overhead and swirling all around the room, into twisting, rolling, bursting blooms of color unfolding. And Fluttershy is standing there at the base of her masterpiece, looking sheepish as always. "S-so...um, yes."
Applejack stops at the bottom of the stairs and stares, eyes and mouth wide in astonishment! "oh mah sweet celestia..." She takes a couple of tentative steps into the room and stares more. At the 'tree' and the 'butterflies' and the dozens of other pieces. AJ sits - thump - in the center of the room and takes off her hat in reverence. "Y'all... made... all o' this?"
"Um." Fluttershy fidgets. "Well...yes. I-I mean, I knit a lot of things, you know, in my spare time, a-and some sewing, too. I call this my, um...my Chamber of Extreme Knitting." She walks carefully around the base of the butterfly fountain to stand beside a crochet dragon. "I have a lot of free time."
Applejack replaces her hat and stands up. "Celestia have mercy... Fluttershy. Ah have seen th' return o' th' Mare in th' Moon. Ah have watched th' spirit of Chaos turn Ponyville inta a nightmare an' back, and seen Y'ALL teach him ta behave. An' Ah have seen a close friend hoodooed inta another kinda pony entirely. But this. This here... this might be th' most amazin' thing Ah have ever laid mah peepers on. Ah had no idea y'all could do this! Or anythin' like it! How come ya hide it all down here instead o' showin' everypony yer work?"
Fluttershy scuffs her hoof on the floor, in a spot where it's not littered with crochet vines and animals. "Well...I-I just worry they might not like it. What if they laugh at me?" She looks up at Applehat. "Do you really like it that much?"
Applejack smirks. "Ah ain't Bardigan or Skyheart, sugarcube. Ah don't dress stuff up in fancy words if'n Ah don't mean 'em. What sorta pony would LAUGH at this? COULD laugh at this?" She wanders around, very gently touching a couple of items. "This... this can't be 'free time' an' nothin' else. This here is *love*, ain't it?"
Slowly the ice breaks and a new spring smile creeps across Fluttershy's face. "Well...y-yes. I mean, I try to put a lot of love and care into every one of my little projects. They're almost like my animal friends. And, um, and they all mean something about my feelings."
Applejack nods slowly. "Ah think ah get it. Flutters, yer very quietly one o' th' most interestin' ponies in town, ain't ya?" She chuckles, then gives Fluttershy a tender smile. "Ah reckon it took a lot ta show me this. Thank ya so much. Ah think... maybe Ah know what Ah have ta do."
Fluttershy blushes and turns her head aside, but she can't hide her big bashful smile. "Oh...i-it was nothing, AJ. I mean...I'm sure everypony has little hidden sides of themselves like this, right? I'm just glad I could help."
Applejack looks around at the yarn wonderland. "Not like THIS they sure as shootin' don't! Ah don't even wanna leave until Ah've looked at everythin'. But it's late. Wishin' don't bring th' harvest in, ya know?" She touches a crocheted book delicately and says under her breath, "twi can't do this. no way no how." Then she blinks and looks up again. "If'n Ah don't skedaddle, Ah'm not gonna be able ta work tomorrow mornin'."
It's true - Twilight might have all kinds of organization skills and levitation, and maybe even a super-weaving spell, but no unicorn can just magic art without *passion* behind it. Fluttershy gives her little knitted dragon a pat and walks back to the stairs. "Well...a-all right. I wish I could help you out somehow."
"With the harvest, I mean."
"...again."
Applejack climbs the stairs back to Fluttershy's living room, then turns and favors her with a huge grin. "It ain't applebuckin' season yet.... but y'all helped anyway. A *lot*." She grabs Fluttershy and squeezes her (gently, gently!) "Ah'm awful glad Ah decided t' ask ya fer help. This here mighta been just what Ah needed ta see." She lets go and heads for the door. "G'night, sugarcube. Thanks so much. An' don't worry... as much as Ah might think y'all should be sharin' that there talent with all of Equestria, Ah promise Ah won't say a word ta nopony unless y'all give me th' go-ahead first."
There's still a soft squeak (eee) as AJ puts the squeeze on Fluttershy. "Oh, thank you, AJ. I-I'm so glad you're feeling better. And, um...thank you," she adds quietly, smiling. She shows Applejack to the door, and insists she take some extra cookies with her...and glances back at the open chamber door. Maybe she won't lock it up quite so quickly this time.
Applejack smiles properly now, and keeps doing so as she trots out the door and down the lane. The stars have started to come out overhead, and there is a few moments of tranquility... but the nocturnal critters are going to want breakfast pretty soon. Oh well. No rest for the knitted.
There's a long silence after the knock where AJ has a chance to hear the crickets and cicada and the chirps of evening birds filling the air around her. It would probably be a nice moment for quiet reflection, if AJ didn't clearly have something on her mind. It takes longer than it really should have, but eventually there comes the clip-clop of hooves muffled behind the door, and a 'Just a minute!' accompanied by one big blue eye peeking out of the side window. The door opens wide - there's no need to hide from Applejack. "Hello, AJ. A-are you okay? I was just fetching more feed and the mice told me you were here..."
Applejack takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "Ah'm okay. Ah wanted t' ask yer advice on somethin', though. Oh. If'n yer busy, Ah can come back some other time. It ain't... urgent." She rubs the back of her head with a hoof. "Maybe Ah shouldn't'a come botherin' y'all. Ah'm sorry, Flutters. Take care now." AJ starts to turn away from the door.
"N-no, wait!" Fluttershy pleads, reaching out a hoof into the open air between them. "You don't have to leave. I-I'm not really all that busy, and you did come all this way...are you sure you're okay, Applejack? You seem kind of...down."
Applejack stops where she is. "It's about Twi. Sorta." She turns around and faces Fluttershy again. "Ah think Ah might be fergettin' how ta be her friend. It's... complicated." She frowns and looks at a flower by the door. This is not a pony who's comfortable with 'feeling complicated'.
Fluttershy's neutral face slowly melts into a frown. "Oh dear." There's another long moment with nothing but the sounds of nature, which means Applejack may as well be listening to Fluttershy's soul. "W-would you like to come in?"
Applejack gives Fluttersky a small smile. "Thank ya kindly, Ah really would." As she steps in (waiting for Fluttershy to get out of the way first, of course) she continues, "Ah'm sorry ta barge in on y'all, but... Fluttershy, yer th' kindest, sweetest pony Ah know. Prob'ly th' kindest Ah've ever heard of. That's why Ah'm comin' ta y'all: Ah think Ah need some advice on how ta keep likin' somepony."
Flutters follows AJ to the couch. "Go ahead and have a seat, AJ. Here, l-let me get you some tea. She trots into the kitchen, and hen right back out with a big tray full of teacups and cookies. "Now, tell me what's the matter. Did...y-you and Twilight didn't have a--*fight*, did you?"
Applejack sits and shakes her head. "Nah. Nothin' like that. Ya know Ah ain't exactly th' retirin' type. If'n Ah'd had a fight with Twilight, Ah'd be over THERE talkin' ta HER about it. Ah reckon Twi ain't got th' slightest notion there's any kinda problem, an' Ah aim ta keep it that way." She pauses for a moment to add what Flutters would probably consider WAY too much sugar to a teacup and take a sip. "It ain't anythin' she DID. It's... it's kinda what she *is*." Another pause. "Did Ah ever tell y'all why Ah went ta Manehattan all them years ago?"
The yellow pegasus thinks for a quiet moment while she pours out some tea for herself. "...I-I don't think so."
Applejack leans back with the teacup and pushes her hat up. "Don't laugh, okay? When Ah was a little filly, younger'n Apple Bloom, Ah used ta wanna be a Broadhay star. Singin' an' actin' an' suchlike. Ah wasn't even in Manehattan a month when Ah realized Ah was needed back on Sweet Apple Acres an' came home. Don't get me wrong, Ah love the farm, an' the trees, an' Ah would do *anythin'* fer mah family... but sometimes it still gives me a little ache." Sip. "Ah'd almost fergotten before Twi came ta town an' all th' cockamamie stuff we've been through since then. An' it ain't like she's DONE nothin' wrong, it's just... she never had ta give up *her* dreams. Ya follow me, sugarcube?"
Fluttershy listens patiently, nodding along where it seems appropriate. Beyond all else, Fluttershy is a good listener. "Oh, Applejack. Y-you never told me about that...I had no idea! So, so the Hearthswarming pageant must have been..." Fluttersh's ears droop. Very bittersweet.
Applejack grins. "Nopony ever even wondered where a farmer even got th' idea she could take th' stage fer th' biggest pageant in Equestria. Heh. Yeah. It stirred up some stuff Ah'd thought long gone. It was a hoot an' a half, though, wasn't it, 'Private Pansy'?" She chuckles for a moment and sips the tea. "Y'all see what Ah mean, right? These here are *mah* feelin's - Twi ain't done nothin' ta deserve anythin' less than friendship from me... but every time Ah see her, Ah can't help but think about all th' differences between us. Flutters... what would mah life have been like if'n mah family'd been rich Canterlot types instead o' farmers?"
Applejack pauses, stricken by a thought. "... would Mama and Daddy still be alive?"
Flutterflinch. "I, um..." These are questions she isn't equipped to wrestle with. She opens her mouth and *almost* tumbles out stories about her foalhood, her long fantasies on lonely cloud islands pretending she was an alicorn, or unicorn, or *anywhere* other than Cloudsdale--but she didn't have to give that *up*. And then the next question is a double-slap to her sickened stomach. "Applejack, I--I'm sorry..."
Applejack gives her head a little shake and snaps out of it. "No, *Ah'm* sorry, Ah didn't mean ta get all maudlin at y'all. That ain't th' point. Ah *hate* feelin' like this - an' Ah DOUBLE hate feelin' it about one o' mah best friends! What do Ah *do*? Ah've been pushin' it all away fer a long time now, an' it's eatin' me up inside. It got a lot worse since she became a princess, 'cause that's th' other thing." AJ empties her teacup and takes a deep breath, seemingly not wanting to say the next thing. "Ah asked around a bit. Did y'all know that Princess Cadence used ta be a pegasus?"
Fluttershy jerks her head back, sloshing a little tea out of the cup (where it's quickly lapped up by a squirrel). "No! I-I had no idea! I mean, I guess I never really worked up the courage to, you know, ask..."
Applejack gives a small chuckle. "Y'all'd be AMAZED what y'all can learn just by askin'." She shrugs. "Heck, Ah just asked Twi. Nopony knows what Celestia an' Luna were 'before', or if'n they even HAD a 'before', but right now we got four Princesses of Equestria. One used ta be a pegasus. One used ta be a unicorn." A long pause, even though it's probably obvious where this is going. "Do earth ponies ever get ta be princesses?" AJ looks uncomfortable even thinking about this, and tries to cover it up by refilling her teacup, which involves teeth. But that only takes a moment. "Ah ain't even talkin' about me now. Ah ain't princess material. Heh, ah'm prob'ly not even fillyfriend material, never mind what-the-hay-ever that Pumpkin Seed done got stuck in his craw. But what about Apple Bloom? What about th' rest of our family an' th' Apples yet ta come? Ah reckon it'll only be a couple more years before Big Macintosh settles down an' starts a family of his own. What about his foals? Or theirs? Or *theirs*?"
Flutters' eyes and jaw shift around uncomfortably a couple of times during Applejack's ramble, for a few different reasons going on inside that impenetrable little head of hers. "Um...I-I dunno. I've kind of been wondering about that, too, ever since Twilight...you know. But I'm sure it could happen..." Although, why is she sure? Probably just hopeless Flutteroptimism.
Applejack sighs. "Ya think? Ah dunno. Seems ta me that th' whatever magic it is would have ta happen TWICE. Cadence's horn AND Twilight's wings." AJ reach es out and very delicately strokes one of Fluttershy's pinfeathers. "Maybe one day ya'll have a family of yer own, too. An' when ya do, ya can rest assured... it ain't common, but somepony somewhere related ta you COULD be a princess." She sips her tea again and makes a face. It's getting a bit cold now. "We're stronger an' tougher'n pegasi an' unicorns, but... what's that compared ta soarin' across th' sky in half a shake or bein' able ta just THINK yer work done? Ah would be very surprised ta meet even one earth pony who's never even given it a thought. Y'all can fly an' touch th' clouds; we can't even VISIT someplace like Cloudsdale without some kinda magical hoodoo... but we can't do THAT neither! Ah *saw* Twilight harvest th' apples outta twenty trees all at once! Takes me HOURS ta do that!" The ramble has become a rant, but just as it starts to pick up steam, Applejack realizes it and clamps her mouth shut. She eats a cookie, mostly to give her mouth something to do other than upset Fluttershy.
Fluttershy fidgets when she feels her feathers touched. She doesn't try to pull them away, but when Applejack is distracted by her diatribe, Fluttershy quietly tucks them behind her back. Her eyes are facing downward, staring fuzzily through her coffee table and partly hidden by her forelock. "I...I-I used to want to be a ground pony, or...or a Princess, too."
Applejack nods. "Yeah. Ah reckon most fillies at least think about bein' a princ-" (Wait, what??) "Y'all used ta fancy bein' an earth pony? ... Why?"
Fluttershy shrinks back into her seat (which is to say, into her floor). "I-I just...I didn't want to have to live in Cloudsdale any more. It was so high up, a-and so lonely. I didn't even know what I was missing back then, but I knew I was missing *something." She takes a sip. "S-so I used to go out on clouds where nopony could find me, and sometimes, I would just read storybooks and fairy tales, and sometimes I would put a carrot on my head or something like that and pretend I was somewhere else."
Applejack's lips twitch in a smile for only a fraction of a second. Carrot, heh. But she sighs. "Well. Now don't Ah feel like a selfish Sally. Ah'm just unloadin' all over y'all an' Ah didn't even stop ta think mah kinda thinkin' might be causin' y'all exactly th' same kinda hurt feelin's Ah get from Twi. Ah'm sorry." She starts to sip, then puts down her teacup. That stuff's not helping. "How do ya deal with it? Yer always so sweet t' everypony... how do ya get RID o' th' bad feelin's without explodin' at somepony? Ah know none o' this is Twilight's fault, it's just chance, th' world ain't fair.... but how in the world am Ah s'posed ta stop bein' angry when Ah ain't got nopony ta be angry AT?"
"Well, I, um...I-I knit."
Applejack frowns in confusion. "Y'all... knit? Knit what? Does that help?"
"Well..." Fluttershy finally raises her eyes again, just a little. "I mean, I have a lot of time to myself, living so far from everypony, so...I have a lot of creative hobbies. That helps a little."
"And besides that, I just...try to keep thinking good thoughts about everypony." Does it take *effort* to be Fluttershy? She was practically immune to Discord, but then again...
Applejack squints shrewdly at Fluttershy for a moment. Somepony has finally picked up an inkling that there's a LOT going on beneath Fluttershy's quiet, gentle surface. Then she smiles a little. "That there's an interestin' idea. Creative hobbies, huh? There ain't a whole heck of a lot o' time fer hobbies on th' farm, but... might be worth it if'n that's th' way ta save mah friendship with Twilight. What am Ah sayin', o' COURSE it'd be worth it. Ah ain't rightly sure knittin's th' thing fer me, though..." She trails off, then munches another cookie, looking thoughtful.
Fluttershy tilts her head a little. "So w-what are you thinking?" SOmething more down-home... "Maybe whittling? Or...sculpture?"
Applejack considers. "Ah s'pose Ah could. Ah already sculpt stuff on occasion, like th' ice heart fer Cadence an' Shinin' Armor. Ah learned that more fer practical reasons, though. Ah ain't rightly sure how sculptin' could clear out bad feelin's neither. How does th' knittin' work fer y'all?" She looks around. Not one knitted object in sight. "...Do y'all ever show anypony yer work?"
Fluttershy looks around. Glance left. Glance right. Whatever she's wary of, it isn't here. "W-well...I guess I could show you. I-I mean, it's...for a friend, right?" Flutters takes a deep breath, flits across the room, and does something strange with one of her bookshelves before the whole fixture swings out of the way. Who knew FLuttershy had a *basement*? "It's down here."
Applejack BOGGLES. Fluttershy's got a secret door? What the hay?? But she hops up and follows. This should be interesting. How come nopony ever noticed Fluttershy's depths before??
They're some *very* hidden depths. Luckily the passage is lit up by fireflies, and the stairs aren't too long. Fluttershy's hooves clip-clop away into the distance ahead of AJ, and when Applejack reaches the cellar... ...her eyes will meet a wild burst of color in crochet, towering a good ten ponies' height overhead and swirling all around the room, into twisting, rolling, bursting blooms of color unfolding. And Fluttershy is standing there at the base of her masterpiece, looking sheepish as always. "S-so...um, yes."
Applejack stops at the bottom of the stairs and stares, eyes and mouth wide in astonishment! "oh mah sweet celestia..." She takes a couple of tentative steps into the room and stares more. At the 'tree' and the 'butterflies' and the dozens of other pieces. AJ sits - thump - in the center of the room and takes off her hat in reverence. "Y'all... made... all o' this?"
"Um." Fluttershy fidgets. "Well...yes. I-I mean, I knit a lot of things, you know, in my spare time, a-and some sewing, too. I call this my, um...my Chamber of Extreme Knitting." She walks carefully around the base of the butterfly fountain to stand beside a crochet dragon. "I have a lot of free time."
Applejack replaces her hat and stands up. "Celestia have mercy... Fluttershy. Ah have seen th' return o' th' Mare in th' Moon. Ah have watched th' spirit of Chaos turn Ponyville inta a nightmare an' back, and seen Y'ALL teach him ta behave. An' Ah have seen a close friend hoodooed inta another kinda pony entirely. But this. This here... this might be th' most amazin' thing Ah have ever laid mah peepers on. Ah had no idea y'all could do this! Or anythin' like it! How come ya hide it all down here instead o' showin' everypony yer work?"
Fluttershy scuffs her hoof on the floor, in a spot where it's not littered with crochet vines and animals. "Well...I-I just worry they might not like it. What if they laugh at me?" She looks up at Applehat. "Do you really like it that much?"
Applejack smirks. "Ah ain't Bardigan or Skyheart, sugarcube. Ah don't dress stuff up in fancy words if'n Ah don't mean 'em. What sorta pony would LAUGH at this? COULD laugh at this?" She wanders around, very gently touching a couple of items. "This... this can't be 'free time' an' nothin' else. This here is *love*, ain't it?"
Slowly the ice breaks and a new spring smile creeps across Fluttershy's face. "Well...y-yes. I mean, I try to put a lot of love and care into every one of my little projects. They're almost like my animal friends. And, um, and they all mean something about my feelings."
Applejack nods slowly. "Ah think ah get it. Flutters, yer very quietly one o' th' most interestin' ponies in town, ain't ya?" She chuckles, then gives Fluttershy a tender smile. "Ah reckon it took a lot ta show me this. Thank ya so much. Ah think... maybe Ah know what Ah have ta do."
Fluttershy blushes and turns her head aside, but she can't hide her big bashful smile. "Oh...i-it was nothing, AJ. I mean...I'm sure everypony has little hidden sides of themselves like this, right? I'm just glad I could help."
Applejack looks around at the yarn wonderland. "Not like THIS they sure as shootin' don't! Ah don't even wanna leave until Ah've looked at everythin'. But it's late. Wishin' don't bring th' harvest in, ya know?" She touches a crocheted book delicately and says under her breath, "twi can't do this. no way no how." Then she blinks and looks up again. "If'n Ah don't skedaddle, Ah'm not gonna be able ta work tomorrow mornin'."
It's true - Twilight might have all kinds of organization skills and levitation, and maybe even a super-weaving spell, but no unicorn can just magic art without *passion* behind it. Fluttershy gives her little knitted dragon a pat and walks back to the stairs. "Well...a-all right. I wish I could help you out somehow."
"With the harvest, I mean."
"...again."
Applejack climbs the stairs back to Fluttershy's living room, then turns and favors her with a huge grin. "It ain't applebuckin' season yet.... but y'all helped anyway. A *lot*." She grabs Fluttershy and squeezes her (gently, gently!) "Ah'm awful glad Ah decided t' ask ya fer help. This here mighta been just what Ah needed ta see." She lets go and heads for the door. "G'night, sugarcube. Thanks so much. An' don't worry... as much as Ah might think y'all should be sharin' that there talent with all of Equestria, Ah promise Ah won't say a word ta nopony unless y'all give me th' go-ahead first."
There's still a soft squeak (eee) as AJ puts the squeeze on Fluttershy. "Oh, thank you, AJ. I-I'm so glad you're feeling better. And, um...thank you," she adds quietly, smiling. She shows Applejack to the door, and insists she take some extra cookies with her...and glances back at the open chamber door. Maybe she won't lock it up quite so quickly this time.
Applejack smiles properly now, and keeps doing so as she trots out the door and down the lane. The stars have started to come out overhead, and there is a few moments of tranquility... but the nocturnal critters are going to want breakfast pretty soon. Oh well. No rest for the knitted.