MLP: A Thousand Miles Shy

My Little Pony: A Thousand Miles Shy

It was the cool, calm wind against her cheeks that woke Fluttershy up.  Blinking a bit, gently shaking off the last bits of blurriness clouding her senses, the delicate Pegasus tried to collect her thoughts.  What had she been doing…?
    
"What in the name of all things Cinammon Swirl is a full-grown Dragon doin' here in Equestria?
"Princess Celestia has given us this mission and we must not fail.  If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years."
"You have to come!  Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy."

…oh.  Right.  The Dragon sleeping on top of the mountain.  Just thinking about such a big, ugly, pony-eating monster gave Fluttershy the shivers and indeed, the sky full of thick black smoke which was the first image her slowly-clearing vision saw managed to refresh the sense of fear that continued to keep her wings locked in place.  As her senses continued to return to her, she also began to notice she was being dragged along the ground on her back.  Peeking around, she soon noticed why.  Her tail was wrapped around the head of….
"A-Applejack?" Fluttershy squeaked.

Sure enough, there was the orange Earth Pony, trotting along a dirt path that was slowly but surely spiraling upward and around the mountain.  That was when Fluttershy remembered exactly what had happened before she had fainted.  

"I'll need this if I'm gonna take her around the mountain another way."

"Oh good, you're awake," Applejack said, pausing to untangle Fluttershy's tail.  
They had arrived at a plateau along the path which looked to be about a third of the way up the mountain's length.  "Hope you're feelin' better," Applejack said, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow.

"Y-yeah," Fluttershy said meekly.

"Heh, good," Applejack said with a chuckle.  "No offense, Fluttershy, but you're an awful lot heavier than I would've thought, 'n' we've still got a bit of a ways t'go."
The Pegasus scuffed the ground nervously, looking away from the Earth Pony with a soft squeak.  Applejack frowned.  "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I didn't mean to offend you," she said.  

"O-oh, it's…it's not that," she replied, still staring at the ground.  "It's just…it's just…."
She sniffled a little, ears flattening.  Applejack was by her side immediately.  "You…you carried me all this way," Fluttershy squeaked.  "You're always so strong and brave, and I'm nothing but a burden."

"Aw, no, sugar cube, it ain't like that," Applejack explained calmly, nuzzling her friend's cheek to try and calm her down.   "It was my choice t'help you get up this mountain, and I don't regret it for a second."

Fluttershy sniffled again.  "I know," she said, "b-but…that's the problem.  Everypony always sticks their neck out for me, and I just…"  She sighed glumly.  "How can I call myself your friend when all I ever do is drag you down?"

That earned a soft but sudden stomp from the orange Earth Pony.  "Now you stop right there, Fluttershy," Applejack said.  "Nopony badmouths my friends while I'm around!"

"…but…!" Fluttershy started, finally drawing her gaze up to meet Applejack's.

"No buts," Applejack replied.  "If anypony else called you worthless, I'd buck 'em right in the teeth 'cuz they didn't know the first thing they were talkin' about, so I sure as shootin' can't let you get away with it."
The Earth Pony gave her somewhat-confused friend another comforting nuzzle.  "Look," Applejack said, "I've known you for years, Fluttershy.  And I can tell you without a doubt in my heart, you're one of the strongest Ponies I know.  So don't you go insultin' me or yourself by sayin' you're no good, 'cuz it just ain't so."

Fluttershy's ears perked slightly, but she still looked unconvinced.  "…t-thank you," she started softly, speaking up a bit more as she continued, "But…well, just look at Rainbow Dash!  I've admired her since we were fillies in Cloudsdale, how she's so fast, so strong!"
A slight blush tinged Fluttershy's cheek, her eyes darting to the side.  "…or you," she whispered timidly.  "And all the amazing things you can do, like lassoing or herding or applebucking.  Or, y'know…carrying me half-way up a mountain."

Applejack laughed a bit at that.  "I-I'm serious," Fluttershy said.  "You…you say I'm one of the strongest Ponies you know, but I'm not strong…not like you or Rainbow."

The Earth Pony smiled, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.  The pegasus knew her friend would disagree, and indeed felt a little guilty arguing with her over what was basically a compliment.  Yet she knew how she felt, and she had to speak to that honestly, no matter what Applejack said to the contrary.

"You're absolutely right," Applejack said.

…wait, what?  Fluttershy blinked a bit, ears fully up now.  Had she heard that right?  Applejack…Applejack really thought she was weak, even after everything else she had said?  

"You're not strong like me 'n' Rainbow," the Earth Pony continued.  "You're strong in your own way."  That didn't exactly ease Fluttershy's confusion, and Applejack could see that on her face.  "I guess what I'm tryin' to say is, bein' strong doesn't have to be all about how fast you can run or how hard you can hit."

"You really think so?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

"I know so," Applejack replied.  "I see it in you every day."

Again Fluttershy blushed, ducking a little bit but keeping her eyes on Applejack.  "I mean it," Applejack chuckled, crouching a bit herself to keep at eye-level with the pegasus.  "You've got such a big heart, Fluttershy."  There was a subtle shift in Applejack's voice then; she still spoke with an honest, compassionate tone, but there was a seriousness to it now that Fluttershy had not heard before.  "A heart so big it's got enough love t'share with every living thing in Equestria.  From the tiniest li'l critter to the meanest
Manticore, you've always got a helping hoof ready, 'n' you'll offer it freely every time."
She pressed her forehead against Fluttershy's gently.  "If that ain't strength, I don't
know what is," the Earth Pony said softly.

The pegasus thought she was going to squeak, or shirk away, or do something; ohhh she was so not used to this kind of close contact!  Yet to her own surprise, she instead remained perfectly still and silent.  Both Ponies stayed like that for a moment, drawing something from the other with eyes closed and not another word spoken.

Eventually, however, Fluttershy gently broke the silence.  "…t-thank you, Applejack," she whispered, pulling back a step.

The Earth Pony gave her a warm smile.  "It's like I'm always tellin' you, sugar cube," she said, "You don't have to thank me for just tellin' the truth."

Fluttershy smiled at that.  "Well I still want to thank you," she said.  "I think I'm starting to understand what you mean," then her eyes darted to the ground, her head bashfully sinking a little, "a-at least a little bit, anyway…."

Her gaze then returned to that black, smoky sky.  "My own kind of strength…." She repeated softly.  "Is…is that enough for…?"

Thinking of that dragon again sent a shiver down Fluttershy's spine, even now.   

"That, I don't know," Applejack admitted, joining Fluttershy and looking skyward.  "Heck, I don't know if any of us have what it takes t'deal with the Dragon."

Fluttershy turned to her friend suddenly.  "You…you don't?" she asked.  "But…but you were so gung-ho to go up that mountain!  You all were!  Why would you do that if you didn't know you could win?"

Applejack chuckled a bit, doffing her hat.  "Like I said, Fluttershy," she said, "it takes all kinds of strength."

Despite herself, Fluttershy giggled at that.  She looked at Applejack, eyes still looking upward and hat still down, and could not help but feel a small but real swell of courage in her own heart.  To know that Applejack believed in her…to know she wasn't the only one with doubts…to know all the things the Earth Pony had told her since she'd woken up…it meant something to Fluttershy that was hard to describe.  There were still doubts, fears tugging at her thoughts, but…

"You're a good friend, Applejack," Fluttershy said softly, "I'm…I'm very grateful for everything you've said to me, 'just the truth' and all."

Placing her hat back on her head, Applejack nodded, smiling softly at her Pegasus friend.  

"I'm grateful for you too, Fluttershy," she said.  "We all are, 'n' don't you forget it."

More and more, Fluttershy felt her heart calming, her wings slowly but surely loosening again…

And then they heard the dragon's monstrous roar echoing from above.

Squeaking in shock, the Pegasus' wings locked up again and she passed out on her back all over again.

It took Applejack a moment to process what had just happened, but once she did, she sighed a bit.  "Poor thing," she muttered, "Just when we were makin' progress, too."

She knelt down to Fluttershy's side, looking over her friend carefully to make sure she was OK.  "So much love in your heart," she whispered, "I only wish you could show a little more for yourself."  

Shaking her head, she took the Pegasus' tail in her mouth again, working to tie it back around her head, the Earth Pony nonetheless had to smile at her friend.  

"Ah well.  She'll figure it out for herself," she thought.  "Someday."
With that, Applejack resumed her careful trot up toward the mountain.

And dragging behind her, eyes wide and body stiff, the unconscious Fluttershy could still hear those words ringing strongly in her thoughts.

"My own kind of strength…."