(SiC) Part 2 - Flutter Clutter

by Brian Jacko

A Surprise Visit From Big Macintosh

"Knock, knock, knock."

Fluttershy heard somepony rapping at the door and scampered over the many bags of garbage that was leading up to the door way. After tripping over a few things, she managed to get to the door and open it.

There stood Big Macintosh with a bouquet of flowers. To the side of him stood Rarity.

Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth and said, "Oh my, um, hi Big Macintosh. I uh, hope you came here willingly. You didn't force him to come did you, Rarity?"

Rarity coughed a few times and said, "Well I just had to give him a few death threats and told him that his farm might get burned down if he didn't come with me, but it was all for the motivational factor! No harm done."

Big Macintosh rolled his eyes.

"So I guess I'll just leave you two alone and let you do your thing! Have a good time now," Rarity said as she began to back away.

Fluttershy and Big Macintosh stared awkwardly into each other's eyes for a moment.

Fluttershy put her head down and nervously dragged her hoof across the door mat. "I uh, guess you can come inside and make yourself comfy," she said.

Big Macintosh stepped inside the cottage and his eyes grew wide at seeing the horrible mess that was before him.

"Uh, do be careful please. I have a lot of important things around the cottage and some things I haven't yet organized. Oh, I can take those pretty flowers. Thank you."

Big Macintosh let her take the flowers from him. He took a step and got his hoof caught in a garbage bag. His hoof opened up a hole in the bag. When he took his hoof out and looked at the bag, there were rusted metal bars inside of it. Big Macintosh looked a bit annoyed and asked, "What is so useful 'bout keepin' rusted bars inside yer cottage? Ya'll can get cut and get tetanus!"

"Oh, um, those can come in handy someday. You never know if you could use them for some kind of building project or something, even if they are a bit beat up and rusty."

Big Macintosh stared at her with confusion written all over his face.

"I guess you must be hungry since you're such a strong and hard worker. I can get make us some soup if you would like."

Big Macintosh nodded his head yes and said, "E-yup."

"Ok. Just please have a seat on the couch and make yourself comfortable." Fluttershy began to mutter some words as she tried to make her way into the kitchen over the heaping piles of trash.

Big Macintosh sighed and wondered just how sanitary Fluttershys kitchen was. He tried to make his way over to the couch. There was just barely enough room for him to squeeze in. He squeezed himself against the pile of trash bags that were piled up on the couch. Big Macintosh was rather tired. This was normally his day of rest and sometimes he enjoyed a nap on this day. He began to close his eyes and leaned against one of the trash bags. He quickly fell asleep.

Fluttershy came back into the room with two empty bowls that she carried in with her mouth. She was hovering towards the dining room table with the pot of soup that she was holding with her two front legs. Fluttershy mumbled a few words of disapproval as soup from the pot began to spill onto the floor, since she practically had an obstacle course of junk to fly through. When she got to the table, she almost tripped over something and the pot slammed down on the table that was filled with clutter. Fluttershy wiped the sweat from her forehead and placed the bowls on opposite sides of the table. She looked over and saw Big Macintosh sleeping. She came over and put her hoof to her mouth. She wasn't sure what she should do. She knew how much she hated soup getting cold when her beloved pet Angel Bunny refused to eat, but she was also very shy. She bit her lower lip and poked the side of Big Macintosh with her hoof.

There was no response.

Fluttershy poked his side several times and said, "Big Macintosh, please wake up....I um..." Fluttershy looked over to the pot of soup and could see that the steam was starting to fade away. Fluttershy put her head near his ear and screamed "WAKE UP! THE SOUP IS GETTING COLD!"

Big Macintosh jolted up.

"I mean, please have some soup, I don't want it to get cold." Fluttershy smiled and a squee sound was heard. Fluttershy hovered away from him and sat down at the table. She looked back over to her date who was standing still and said, "What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?"

Big Macintosh glared with anger at her and said, "I reckon I don't have wings to carry myself across this here mess."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth and said, "Oh, I'm sorry about that. Just do your best to step around things. I won't mind if you step on the bags."

Big Macintosh sighed and began to step across the bags. There was so much junk scattered all across the floor that he couldn't even see the floor of her cottage. Big Macintosh stopped when he suddenly heard something that sounded like glass breaking.

Fluttershy grinded her teeth in anger and said, "That was my special mirror that I bought from an antique shop! Can't you watch where you step?!"

Big Macintosh rolled his eyes and said, "I reckon I can't even see the dern floor 'cause there's so much stuff 'round here."

Fluttershy shook her head several times and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry about that. Don't worry about it. I'm sure I can find something else to replace it when it's scavengers night."

Big Macintosh made it over to the table and sat down. "Scavengers night?" he said. "What is that all about?"

"It's just a very special time when ponies put out their collectables on the front of their lawns," Fluttershy said.

Big Macintosh scratched his head with his hoof and asked, "So ya like to collect other ponies trash too?"

Fluttershy's cheeks turned red with anger and said, "It's not trash! It's treasure! Maybe one day, the things I have collected will become great collectors items and I can make so much money from them!"

Big Macintosh put his hoof to his forehead and closed his eyes tightly. "If you say so Fluttershy, how about we at least try to enjoy our meal?"

Fluttershy picked up the ladle in the pot and poured some soup into Big Macintosh's bowl. Fluttershy perked up and said, "Oh, how could I forget the drinks! I'll be right back." Fluttershy turned her back and flew into the kitchen.

Big Macintosh listened as loud clamoring sounds came from the kitchen, followed by several harsh words. He watched her fly back in with two fancy glasses and a bottle of Champagne. Big Macintosh watched Fluttershy pour him some champagne in his glass. He looked closely at the glass and could see smeared streaks across the glass and specs of dirt on the side. "Um, Fluttershy, do you wash your dishes?"

Fluttershy began to panic. She didn't want to tell him that the entire sink was filled with her collections from other pony's junk, but she couldn't think of a excuse. "I-I-I don't have enough room to do the dishes anymore, but don't worry, the alcohol should be able to kill whatever germs might be on the cup!" Fluttershy tried to give a cheerful smile, but Big Macintosh did not look too happy.

Big Macintosh took the glass of champagne and sipped it on the side of the glass that looked the least dirty. He put the glass down and was getting ready to eat some soup when out of nowhere, a very foul smell had entered his nostrils. Big Macintosh puffed his cheeks out and put his hoof to his mouth. He took his hoof away from his mouth and said, "Fluttershy! What is that rancid smell? It smells like an animal friend of yours died beneath the surface of all of this junk and is rotting away! I have had my fair share of smellin' foul odors on the farm, but this is just ridiculous! How about we go eat inside the kitchen instead?"

"Oh, the kitchen is a bit messy right now, and I think it's actually cleaner to eat in here. I know how to take care of that odor." Fluttershy calmly took out a can of odor removing spray from under the table and said, "That's what sprays are for!" She then began to spray it all around the table.

Big Macintosh began to have a coughing fit as the toxic and cancerous chemicals filled his lungs. He waved his hoof in the air trying to shoo away the poison. "I think that's enough sprayin' Fluttershy. Ya don't wanna over do it." The mix of chemicals and the rotting stench combined, actually made everything worse.

Suddenly, some flies began to buzz around the table.

Big Macintosh swatted his hoof at them, but they started to increase in numbers and began to swarm his bowl of soup. "How do ya'll eat yer food if the flies keep harassin' ya? There are more flies here than when Granny Smith bakes her famous shoo fly pie and eats it outside."

Fluttershy took out a can of bug spray and a fly swatter. She began to spray and swat at the pesky little flies that buzzed all around them.

Big Macintosh faced hoofed and asked, "Where is yer bathroom? I need to excuse myself." Big Macintosh did have to use the bathroom, but he also couldn't bear to see the flies swarming around his food and the toxic chemicals being sprayed to try to repel them.

Fluttershy pointed her hoof towards the bathroom and said, "Second door on your left."

He got up and began to step through what seemed like a landfill of trash. He was silently praying that there would be no syringes laying around the cottage or in one of these bags. Big Macintosh made it to the door that was already opened because of all of the clutter that was in the way. He peeked inside and noticed that her bath tub was filled with junk that reached all the way to the top of the ceiling. He looked for the toilet, and realized that there was junk piled on top of that too, but at least he could move some of it aside. He tried to squeeze himself through, but there was far too much clutter, and big Macintosh was a far bigger pony than Fluttershy. He suddenly stopped when he felt something break through his skin. He quickly turned his head and noticed that a rusted bar on the ground had given him a cut. This was getting ridiculous and he began to swim back to Fluttershy in a sea full of garbage. Big Macintosh took his seat at the table and sighed.

"Oh, you're back so soon. Were you able to get inside?" Fluttershy asked.

Big Macintosh frowned and said, "No! I couldn't get inside, and when I tried, I got a nasty cut on my front leg!" Big Macintosh put his front leg on the table to show her. "I better not have to end up gettin' my leg amputated, Fluttershy."

"Oh, my!" Fluttershy said. "I have a spray that can fix that right up."

Big Macintosh face hoofed and said, "I'll be alright, don't worry about it. I think I had enough sprayin' for one day."

"Well, do you still have to use the bathroom?" she asked her date.

"Yes I do, but I don't think you can possibly clear out enough clutter for me," he said.

"Well, if you have to really go, you can relieve yourself on the side of my cottage. Just please try to be careful with your aim and not to uh, splash upon my daffodils."

Big Macintosh felt terribly awkward, but he really had to pee. He made it out the door and stood on the side of Fluttershy's cottage. He looked around several times making sure that no pony was around. Thankfully, Fluttershy's cottage was near the edge of the Everfree forest, and not too many ponies traveled near there because it was too dangerous. Big Macintosh began to relieve himself as he continued to dart his head around making sure that nopony would see him. When he finished taking care of his business, he went back inside the cottage and climbed over all of the clutter and back to the table.

"You didn't get my daffodils wet did you?" Fluttershy asked.

Big Macintosh glared at her with anger and said, "No, I made sure to aim away from them!" Big Macintosh looked in his bowl of soup and watched a fly buzz around inside of his meal. He couldn't eat his meal now, he had seen so much today. He looked back up and asked, "Where did all the flies go? How did you get rid of them?"

Fluttershy smiled and pushed away some junk and revealed a few candles that were lit around the table. "These are special bug repellent candles, and they smell quite good," she said in cheerful tone of voice.

Big Macintosh sighed and asked, "Fluttershy, do you even shower anymore? I saw that yer bathtub that was filled with all of your collections."

"I still practice good hygiene. Sometimes I may wash myself off with the hose outside, but normally I just use this body spray. It works quite well!" Fluttershy reached below the table and took out some body spray. She began to spray herself down with it and then turned the spray onto Big Macintosh. "Try some, it smells quite pleasant. " she said.

Big Macintosh put his back to the chair in shock and said, "No! Fluttershy, wait! That spray can is probably flammable and..." Big Macintosh's words were cut off when Fluttershys body spray vapors suddenly connected to one of the lit candles. It was almost like a miniature flame thrower, and a spew of fire shot out. The fire caught on to some of the papers on the table. The fire scattered around the table and quickly began to spread. Big Macintosh stomped his hoof on the flames, but there was no use because there was just too much clutter and the flames had spread so rapidly.

Fluttershy began to panic and tried to grab a hold of some of her possessions next to her, but Big Macintosh grabbed a hold of her tail with his mouth and pulled her away. She began screaming about losing her belongings, but Big Macintosh ignored her cries and pulled her out the door. Fluttershy perked up when she realized that there was one incredibly important critter left inside of her cottage that she needed to rescue. She raced back inside and ingored Big Macitnosh's cries to come back.

Big Macintosh stuck his head back inside of the cottage and called for her, but the smoke was obstructing his view and he began to choking on it.

Fluttershy came back outside and pushed passed him, just before he was able to enter the cottage to try to save her. She began to have a coughing fit and was cradling a little critter friend of hers in her front leg.

The critter happened to be holding onto something and hopped out of Fluttershy's grasp. It scampered away into a bush nearby.

"I'm sorry, but I had to do that. He means the world to me right now," Fluttershy said. Fluttershy was tempted to run back inside to grab some more belongings, but she felt Big Macintosh's hoof on her shoulder and he pulled her away.

"I don't think it's safe for us to be this close to the smoke, Fluttershy. Come on, let's move further away," he said.

Fluttershy fell to the ground and began to cry because her precious collections were being burned away to ashes.

Big Macintosh grabbed a hold of her tail and tugged her away from the burning cottage. He let go of her tail and sat next to her side as they both watched the cottage burn down quickly to the ground.

"I-I-I don't know what I'm going to do now. I have no place to go and I'm so scared," Fluttershy said as she leaned her head into Big Macintosh's side and cried.

Big Macintosh wrapped his front leg around her and said, "I can give ya a place to stay at Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps Applejack and I can figure somethin' out." Big Macintosh turned his back to her and got low to the ground. "C'mon and hop up on my back, and I'll take ya there. I'm sure you had enough trauma fer one day."

Fluttershy instantly hopped onto the stallions back and laid the side of her face against his mane. The smell of stallion sweat from all of the hard work on the farm, filled her nostrils to her delight. Fluttershy wasn't much of a romantic pony like Rarity was, but there was something about Big Macintosh that she craved. Perhaps it was his big strong muscles, or how quiet he was, or maybe even how hard he worked, or the fact that every single mare in this town seemed to obsess over him. Fluttershy pondered these thoughts as the strong stallion carried her over to Sweet Apple Acres.

When they got there, Applejack put the last barrel of apples away and greeted them both. "Uh, howdy ya'll! What are ya doin' ridin' on my brother's back, Fluttershy?"

"Oh, it's just that well, we were dating and..." Fluttershy didn't even get to finish her sentence because Applejack had cut her off.

"What in tar-nations! Every single mare in this town is chasin' after my brother! I swear, he can't catch a break! Ya'll do look a bit cute together though. Ya'll remind me of the ketchup and mustard put together on a hot dog!" Applejack said.

"Applejack listen," Fluttershy said. "My cottage just burned down, and I have no where to stay, but Big Macintosh said that you all might be able to help me out."

Applejack stared at her for a moment and said, "Oh my gosh! I'm glad ya'll made it out ok. I'd be more than willin' to help ya out. We have an extra bedroom because our Apple family is so huge, and many times, they may travel by us and need a place to sleep. I actually think we can all do somethin' really nice for ya tomorrow, Fluttershy!"

"Oh, what would that be about?" Fluttershy asked.

"Tomorrow just so happens to be the Apple family reunion!" Applejack said proudly.

"And what significance does that have?" Fluttershy asked.

"You'll see tomorrow sugar cube!" Applejack said. "Ya'll reek of garbage! Why don't ya'll hit the shower and Granny Smith can git ya'll somethin' to eat!"

Fluttershy wasn't sure what Applejack meant by that, but she followed Big Macintosh inside of the house to get some grub since neither pony was really able to enjoy or eat their meal at what once was Fluttershy's former cottage.

After Big Macintosh and Fluttershy had some food, they went back outside. Big Macintosh felt like he wanted to do some extra chores around the farm since he had some free time, so he told Fluttershy to just chill out and try to recover from her stressful day.

Fluttershy found a hammock tied between two trees and laid on it. Big Macintosh got her some lemonade to sip too. She sipped her drink and sighed when she began to dwell on her special critter friends. She missed all of her animal friends terribly, ever since they all moved out, except that one special critter she had. She missed Angel Bunny the most, but she tried not to dwell on it now. She just kept her focus on the handsome and hardworking stallion who was now fixing a broken gutter on the side of the house. Fluttershy continued to hang around the Apple family until it was time for bed. She was guided upstairs by Applejack and sunk deep into the blankets on the bed. She fell asleep while thinking about Big Macintosh.

Comments

[TheLordInsanity]

How does Big Macintosh know the word "Tetanus"?

Um, off-topic anti-chemical message in this chapter much?