//------------------------------// // Ch 16. Meeting Fluttershy. // Story: The Silent Guardian // by Not_available_now //------------------------------// Ch 16.                     “Hi, nice to meet you. What´s your name?” I ask her as I sit down on a pillow.                     “I´m Fluttershy.” She says, trying to hide herself some more behind her mane.                     “I didn´t get that. Could you say it again?” I ask while pointing my ears towards here. I don´t even have to turn my head, so that is a plus that came with becoming a pony.                     “I´m Fluttershy.” She says, somehow even softer that just before. Applejack gives her an encouraging poke in the side.                     “Couldn´t quite hear that. Can you repeat that?” I say, leaning forward a bit.                     “Don’t worry, Leo, she´s a bit shy.” She says to me behind her hoof. “C´mon Shy, tell him yer name.”                     “My name is,” She takes a deep breath, “Fluttershy.” She wipes the sweat of her brow and smiles at me.                     I hold back a heart attack. “Nice to meet you, Fluttershy. My name is Leo Lion.”                     “Ooh, Do you like lions? Most of them are mean, but I´ve met a nice one once.” Fluttershy says, obviously interested in the fact that I chose an animal name as a last name.                     “I do. Lions are my favorite animals,” I say, “It´s been nice to meet you, but I actually came to say something to Applejack.”                     “Oh, ok.” Fluttershy says as she moves back behind her mane.                     “So, Leo, for what did ya came here.” Applejack says.                     “I have finished the row of apples that I had to buck. Do I need to do anything else?” I ask her while trying to keep my tail from flopping in my face all the time.                     “Ah can´t think of anythin´ that ya can do. Ma brother is goin´ ta pick up the apples and then we gotta do some small chores,” Applejack says while thinking deep, “Maybe Shy has somethin´ ya can do?” She turns to Fluttershy. “Do ya, Shy?”                     “Uhm… I wouldn´t want to impose.” Fluttershy says as she pokes her muzzle from behind her mane.                     “I isn´t a problem. I would gladly help.” I say, almost jumping at the change to help Fluttershy. I most likely have to help with some kind of small animal.                     “Then it´s settled. Why don´t ya go with Shy and ah will take care of ta farm.” Applejack says as she walks out of the room, leaving me and Shy alone.                     “So what do I need to help you with?” I ask her as I grab one of the few books that are on the small table in the middle. The title is ´Learning how to pick up apples, a beginner´s guide.´ Why do these books even exist? That should be something every foal can do. Maybe it´s for Applebloom.                     “I need some help with an animal who doesn´t want to brush his teeth.” She says a lot more openly. She even shows me her face.                     “Sure, I love helping animals.” I say as I put the book back on the table.                     “That´s great. Should we go?” Fluttershy asks, a large smile on her face.                     “Sure, let´s go.” I say as I hop of my seat and start walking towards the door. She follows me as I walk towards the gate of the orchard. We wave back at Applejack as we walk along the path.                     “How long have you been here in Ponyville?” Fluttershy asks as we walk past the orchard and towards Fluttershy´s cottage.                     “I got hit in the head by Pinkie Pie about 5 days ago.”                     “Oh my. Did it hurt? Why would Pinkie do that?” She asks.                     “It didn´t hurt that much, but it did put me in the hospital for two days. Pinkie didn´t did it on purpose. She merely crashed into me and offered me a party as soon as I got out of the hospital.” I say calmly while Fluttershy´s expression got more surprised with every word that I say.                     “It put you in the hospital. That is horrible, but how could that happen?”                     “I wasn´t paying attention to where I was walking and I got hit in the head.” I say as I hop over a large log while Fluttershy walks around it.                     “Oh, how did it go in the hospital? I hope you had a good time.” She says while wiping her mane out of her face. Her voice is so soothing that I think that she can compete with Morgan Freeman.                     “It was nice, but one of the nurses has a bit of a squeaky voice. Rainbow and Pinkie visited me, so I could bear it.”                     “That is very nice of them, but where do your life? I haven´t seen you anywhere in Ponyville.”                     “I have been living with Rainbow and working at Applejack´s. Rainbow paid my bills and I am working to pay her off.”                     “You have been living with Rainbow. Are you two… uhm…” Fluttershy says as he face starts to redden.                     “What do you mean?” I ask, but I think that I can guess what she means.                     “I mean…” Fluttershy says as her face becomes as red as a tomato.                     “Oh, you mean like that. No no no no, nothing like that. I just have no bits to my name so she offered to let me stay.”                     “Oh, ok. That´s good.” She says as her face starts to get yellow once more.                     We don´t talk much to each other as we walk down the rest of the path. We simply walk on and soon I see the cottage on the horizon. I almost looks like the one on the show; there are just a bit more animal homes here. I see holes for rabbits, cages for birds and so many more things. It is a lively bunch.                     We walk towards the cottage and step in. Fluttershy immediately goes to check some of the feeding bowl of the animals and refilling the empty ones. She flies around as she takes care of the birds and the other flying animals. I think that I even see a bat flutter around somewhere.                     I sit down on the couch and ask her, “What kind of animal do I have to help with?”                     “Oh, it is nothing big. Just a bear.” She says very calm. Wait, did she just said ´bear´?