//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: A Turn of Events // by Shadow_Fire //------------------------------// Nick’s PoV “So Fluttershy, that’s your cottage?” “Yes it is. It’s not too small, is it? I’m sorry if it is…” “Flutters, it’s fine. You don’t need to keep apologizing to me.” “Sorry…” I chuckled as Fluttershy led me up to her cottage. Helping the beaver fix his dam had gone well; he had his home back and I only fell into the river twice. The remainder of the walk back consisted mostly of apologies from Fluttershy and polite chuckling from me. My mind wandered back to Justin and the three energetic fillies we had left him with. “So, those Cutie Mark Crusaders …do they cause much trouble?” Fluttershy picked her head up and moved to unlock her door. “Hmm? Oh, yes, quite often. But nopony gets hurt! And it’s not like they ever mean to get into trouble, it just always seems to find them. Trouble and tree sap.” “Tree sap?” “They tend to do their crusading outside for the most part.” “I see, I see.” “Well, here we are. I hope you don’t mind, but I told my animal friends about you, and they might be a bit curious.” “Don’t worry about it Flutters, I’ve always liked animals. As long as they don’t start scratching, we should be fine.” “Ok, here we go.” She opened the door to her home and cheerfully trotted inside. I followed closely behind her, peering into each corner of the house for the previously mentioned animals. I could tell she had them; there were many birdhouses and other dwellings all over the place. I decided to voice my confusion to Fluttershy. “Flutters? Where are your animals?” “I’m not entirely sure. Although, it is late, so Angel might have sent them to bed already.” “Angel? Who’s that?” “Oh, Angel’s my pet bunny rabbit. He can be a bit stubborn at times, but he really is a good pet.” “Sounds like a hand-full. Um, I mean, hoof-full.” “Oh he can be. At those times, all he needs is a good talking to. But what about you or Justin? Did you ever have a pet?” “When we were little. Our campus didn’t allow pets, so we didn’t get any more after we moved out of our homes.” Fluttershy’s face fell a bit upon hearing that last bit. After a few moments of thinking, she perked up again. “W-would you like one?” I pondered this for a moment, thinking about how life would change for me and Justin with the addition of a pet. Well, how much MORE anyways. I mean, we’re in a world of magical ponies. Doesn’t change much more than that. “You know what? Why not. I’d love one, and Justin’s been wanting to move out of the dorms so we could get a pet. So yes, after we get our own place, we’ll come to you for a pet.” “Oh, yay! I have so many wonderful choices for you guys to pick from, there are bunnies and kittens and birds and bats and dogs and goats and-“ “Fluttershy, we don’t even have our own house yet. And I still need to talk to Justin about it.” “O-oh. I’m sorry. I just get so excited about finding ponies, or in this case people, the perfect pet. I just love seeing my animal friends happy.” I chuckled again. ‘So friggen adorable.’ “Don’t worry about it Flutters. So, where am I gonna be sleeping?” She motioned to a door near what I assumed was her bedroom before saying “I have a guest bedroom for you to stay in right here.” *YAWN* “I’m sorry, I’m a little tired. It is late, and I need to tend to my animals tomorrow. You should get to sleep, too. Don’t you and Justin plan on going to Twilight’s?” I sat myself down on the bed she was letting me use before answering. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. We need to go so we can set up some visits with Luna. Yeah, sleep sounds really good right now.” Fluttershy smiled largely at me. “All right then, I’ll leave you to it. And don’t forget your promise; go with somepony or somebody else when you go into town. You never know what Lyra’s going to do.” “Don’t worry Flutters, I won’t. Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” A/N********************************************************************************************************************************* I apologize for the short(er) chapter. This one and the next are simply Nick and Justin settling in