Making Things Complicated (Stupid Feelings)
"That's right", Angel confirmed solidly. "Day's crushing on Fluttershy."
Rime stared back at the snow white rabbit in relief. "Oh, well, duh!" he chuckled nervously. "It took you this long to see that!? I knew it the whole time!"
"Sorry I didn't get the memo", Angel retorted in a huff. "Anyways, I have a feeling that Fluttershy is kinda crushing back."
"Really?"
He nodded. "I know Fluttershy better than anypony. She's definitely acting weird around him."
"Okay…" Rime rubbed his head. "Why are you telling me?"
"Don't you want to see them happy together?"
Rime frowned. "I just wanted to win that bet I have with him."
"Well, I for one think they would be really cute together", Angel said honestly. "And Fluttershy's too meek to do it on her own, and by the looks of it, Day doesn't realize his feelings yet. They'd make the perfect couple."
Figuring it would be wise not to question the rabbit's gender, Rime shrugged. "Okay, why not? Let's play matchmaker!"
Daylight looked around the rabbit pens one last time. They seemed pretty happy with the new hay treat he left for them. That settled his thoughts on one problem. Now that their pen was clean, there was nothing left to do. "Ah, charcoal", he said to himself, "Maybe Rime was right. I should take it slower. Fluttershy can't pay us for eight hours if we finish in one."
He sighed in slight frustration, then yawned deeply. If lack of sleep was a new condition for him, Day would probably have complained about it. "I should go let Fluttershy know that I'm finished. Maybe I can take the rest of the day to rest before…" His voice trailed off. Refusing to remind himself of what was bothering him, he left for the chicken coop to find his kitsune and his employer.
Hopefully Rime wasn't annoying her too much. The last thing he needed was the kitsune to get them fired. The walk wasn't long, but it sure felt that way on his still-healing hooves. The scars were only just present to still cause him pain, but no pony would be able to tell there were ever scratches in the first place. A sigh escaped his mouth as he yawned again. Around the bend of the cottage, neither Fluttershy nor Rime could be found. The chickens happily clucked in their pen, leaving Day to wonder just where the two had gone. One of the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, but he ignored it. Had he been a little more paranoid, he would already be tearing through the cottage looking for the kitsune. But Rime wasn't so careless anymore. He learned through the years to keep their lives secret at whatever cost.
Day didn't know he wouldn't find Fluttershy. The mare was too busy collecting her second sample of the mysterious yellow goo that covered the last few inches of her garden hose. The two very different places she found it further added to her questions. "First, in Day's room, and now, outside…"
The squealing pigs behind her gave her mind something to think about. Day did fill the pig pen with mud. Maybe he saw it too...there had to be a connection. She used her dropper to place it with the first collection. The Pegasus left to go find the yellow Earth Pony and his kitsune companion. Rime never came back after turning the hose on. She shrugged it off as the two-tailed fox's short attention span probably had him chasing butterflies around the yards. Day would be easier to find, so she set off in look for the bigger target.
Along the way, she checked off the day's chores as she passed the cleaned pens and fed animals. "I never knew how fast everything could get finished with help. I should have started hiring a long time ago…" She looked up to the sky to collect her thoughts. The vast clear blue abyss helped clear her mind of all of the confusion and stress the morning and her mystery had already brought her. Using the gentle breeze, she took to the air. It wasn't long before she found Day poking around the blueberry bushes next to the front porch. Before flying down to talk to him, Fluttershy stayed behind to watch him dig through the shrubs. She had no idea what he was doing, but whatever it was, he was doing it adorably. Just like a puppy looking for a lost toy. She giggled silently to herself while she watched.
"Rime!" she heard him call, "Where are you!?"
Day's nose was too focused on the ground to catch Fluttershy's scent behind him. He dug farther into the hedge in hopes of picking up kitsune on his nasal radar. "When I find him…"
Fluttershy cleared her throat politely. It was just barely audible, but Day's ears picked it up like a volcano eruption. He jumped into the air and spun around to see her standing just feet behind him. Why didn't I hear her earlier?!
"Sorry", she quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you."
He shook the terror out of his face. "No, it's fine. I thought you were Rime trying to avalanche me again."
"I was wondering", Fluttershy said to change the subject, "If you know what this is?" Fluttershy studied his face as she brought out her small jar of yellow dye.
He shook his head, "No." His face held no signs that he was lying.
"I thought you might. I found some next to your bed and on my garden hose. I thought you would have at least seen it."
"Sorry, but no, Fluttershy", he repeated.
"Hmm…Maybe Rime will know."
It was a good thing she didn't see his eyes widen. If she did she would have had a sure sign that he was worried. Rime couldn't lie to save his cakes. He had to discourage her from going to him. "Good luck finding him. I've been looking all over the cottage."
"Oh, I'm sure I can find him", she assured. She turned to start leave but looked back. "There are no more chores to do, so you can have the rest of the day off. I'll still pay you for a whole day's work."
Despite wanting to tell her that it wasn't necessary, he nodded. "Okay, Fluttershy." The second her back was turned, he put his nose to the ground and quickly began to determine which of the many smells matched Rime's. Like a bloodhound, he set out to track the kitsune down. He knew it would be tough since Rime always caught a ride on him. The whenever he would get a whiff of the scent he wanted, the smell of his own tail would throw him off. Regardless of the difficulties he was experiencing, Day had faith that he would find Rime before Fluttershy did.
Fluttershy had absolutely no intentions to look for Rime. The small encounter with her employee motivated her to get to know him even better. She liked it when he talked and if she could pry open his shell a little more, he might just have a conversation with her. The only problem was that he was being incredibly sneaky about not talking to her. She knew of a way, however, to get that colt face to face with her whether he liked it or not. No pony could resist a little Fluttershy charm.
She grabbed a sunhat from the coat rack by her door and her small flower purse. The jar of dye, she set on her living room table. She could get it to Twilight for tests later. The mystery was officially on hold for now. All that plagued her mind was the yellow Earth Pony. She hadn't thought about it much, but was beginning to think that she was starting to… "Like him?" she asked herself. She smiled a little. "Maybe…"
There was only one way to confirm it, and that was to get closer to the unsocial pony. What better way to do that other than taking him out to lunch. The sun was almost at the highest point in the sky when she reemerged from her home. The sounds of peace were occasionally interrupted by Day yelling out to Rime somewhere in the back yard. To her that sounded like a good place to go pick him up.
"And you're sure you hid your scent well enough?" Angel asked for the third time.
"Ugh, yes already!" Rime sighed. "I transformed into you and hopped around a little bit. There is absolutely, positively, no way he's going to find us."
"Fine. And Fluttershy doesn't know about this place, so we're completely safe", Angel explained.
"So, what's the plan, Ears?" Rime teased.
"Call me that again and it'll be my foot in your face", the rabbit threatened.
Rime stood up on the offensive. "You wanna go? I'll have you frozen before your nose twitches again!"
Angel took a deep breath. "Let's come up with a plan before we tear each other apart", he suggested.
"Deal!" Rime plopped back down on his hindquarters. He sighed seriously. "Okay, Day already knows I'm going to try to get them to kiss, so he's already onto me."
"That's why we're not going to get them to kiss", Angel replied. "We're going to make them fall in love."
Something in the deep regions of Rime's memories clicked. He couldn't exactly remember what it was, but it made him feel really uneasy. "I don't know about that…" He put a paw to his head in concentration. "As much as I hate to say it, we can't stay for very long…we're just passing through…"
"Don't worry. I can help you two get a place to live here in Ponyville. Not a problem."
"It's not that it's—" Rime flinched. He almost created a disaster.
"If you don't have the bits that doesn't matter. I can still help you." Angel saw that Rime was still unconvinced. "And besides, once Day falls in love, he'll want to stay anyway."
Rime's mouth disobeyed everything his brain was telling it to do. Knowing every possible risk and danger, he answered, "Okay, let's do it."
From outside the hollowed tree, they heard Daylight calling out. "Rime! Rime where are you!? I need you here, now!"
Angel nodded to the hole, "Go ahead before he gets suspicious. Just be back right after sunset."
Rime nodded and dove out of the hole. Just before hitting the ground, he transformed into a leaf, drifted gently to the trees roots, and hopped back up unscathed. He frolicked toward Day, who had turned away just as Rime hit the ground. "I'm right here! Sheesh, stop yelling!"
Day snapped back around to sternly look into the kitsune's face. "Fluttershy found some of my dye. If she asks you about it, fake ignorance and don't you dare say a single word!"
Rime stepped back in fear. "O-okay, Day. L-let's calm down now…" He watched as Day let out a few heavy sighs. "Better?"
Day nodded. "Sorry, Rime. I, uh…" his voice trailed off while his composure struggled to regain itself.
"Lost it again…"
The Earth Pony met Rime's eyes in silent agreement. Day held out his hoof to the kitsune. Rime climbed to the top of his head and together they set off quietly and aimlessly for the cottage. The breeze offered the only solution for the silence. Day kept his eyes on the grass as his hooves delivered the two of them to Fluttershy's kitchen. As if Day's bad luck would have it, the yellow Pegasus had just walked in from the opposite side. Immediately, the Earth Pony diverted his eyes to Fluttershy's collection of expensive china on display near the pantry.
Rime hopped from his pony transport to the table. "Hey, Fluttershy!"
"Hello, Rime", she returned happily.
Rime scanned her face for any signs of the impending questions Day feared. Fortunately, she only looked like she wanted to watch Day study her plates. Rime switched his gaze back and forth between them with a grin. He watched the way Fluttershy stared at his partner. Whoa, that Angel rabbit was right…
Attempting to get Day's attention, Fluttershy cleared her throat. It came out as a squeak that not even Rime's sensitive ears could pick up. She tried again with a little more loudness and got a better result.
Day jumped in surprise. "Sorry, Fluttershy, did I forget to do something?"
"Oh, no", Fluttershy quickly replied, "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go someplace for lunch, since we have no more chores to do for the day. It's okay if you don't want to…"
I know I shouldn't…but how can I say no to her? Day stood dumbfounded. His instincts, better judgment, and some other third thing in his mind made it difficult to come to an answer. Then, for some crazy reason, he turned his attention to Rime for help. The kitsune nodded in comprehension and secret intention.
"Yeah, he'll go!" Rime exclaimed. "He'd love to spend a little time away from work! I'm not that hungry, so I'll stay here and play with Angel for a while."
If looks could kill, Daylight would be soon burying the obnoxious kitsune without a second thought. His glare pierced Rime with all of its might, but had no effect. He still stood with the widest smile on his face.
The near-deadly standoff was interrupted by Fluttershy, who forgot to ask if that's what Day really wanted. "Oh, that's fantastic!" she cheered with a decimal peak of about forty-five.
The stallion looked at Rime in a way that suggested he was internally screaming, "What have you done!?"
Despite the threatening glances, Day's partner was very satisfied. He now couldn't wait to tell Angel what he just did. They didn't even have to come up with much of a plan now. Everything would fall into place by itself now.
On the outside of her home, Fluttershy smiled at how easy it was to get Day out and about with her. She didn't even have to do that one trick that Rarity had taught her in the event of a colt playing hard-to-get. Maybe things would go her way during the rest of their time out.
Day figured he must be holding an unofficial record. Ponyville Park was packed with picnickers enjoying the beautiful day. He waited at the table he and Fluttershy were "lucky" enough to get. His mind was practically shut down with his lack of sleep, but that didn't stop it from trying to figure out just why he didn't come up with some excuse to get out of lunch. Everytime he got close, something would shove a very detailed image of Fluttershy's eyes over the environment. I'm not stupid…I know why…
He sighed heavily. "This is just great…"
"What's great, Day", asked Fluttershy on her way back from the sandwich stand rolling around the park. She set two sandwiches on the table.
"Oh", Day lifted his head up. "You know, the weather…its real sunny today."
He bashfully turned his attention to the sky. Fluttershy smiled at how adorable he looked. "Do you like the sun?" she attempted for conversation.
He nodded. "It's where I got my name…and my Cutie Mark…" Everything Day used for his years of shutting himself out from the world, every little safeguard, disappeared when he stood up to show her the image on his flank. It was two mountains opposite the sun, which was high above them in the direct center casting golden light down on a valley. "It changes as the sun moves across the sky, so in a few minutes the sun won't be where it is now." Day's heart froze over in fear when he fully realized what he had just done. What's happening to me? I've never had a reaction like this!
"That's amazing", Fluttershy commented, "I've never heard of a pony having a moving Cutie Mark."
"I'm the only one I know", Day said before he could stop himself. At that point he realized that being unsociable wasn't going to happen and focused on safeguarding himself from slipups that might give away his past. He took a deep breath and concentrated on keeping his smiles at bay and blocking anything from his mind about his life outside what was presently going on.
"I wish my Cutie Mark could move." Fluttershy smiled shyly at what she said. It was a somewhat pitiful attempt to compliment him more, but it seemed to work. Day looked away again. This time, it looked like his cheeks were slightly pink. She strained her eyes to see, but when he cut his eyes in her direction, she quickly looked away.
"It's nothing that special, really", he said just above a whisper, "…Not many ponies can even tell…"
Fluttershy was beside herself with excitement. The once shy and closed up Day was beginning to open up to her! When she glanced at him again, she saw what color his eyes were for the first time. They were the deepest color of spring green she had ever seen. She studied them in detail for as long as she could, which was until Day looked down at the sandwiches she had bought for them.
"…What kinds", he mumbled embarrassingly.
"Just plain daisy sandwiches", she answered while her blush slowly faded away. She pushed his across to him. "I hope you like it; I should have asked you before ordering…"
He unwrapped it. "…It's fine."
Fluttershy let him go ahead and have his first bite while she worked on more conversation material. She was getting the hang of talking to him more and more as time went by, but the only problem was finding things to talk to him about. He seemed pretty closed off about himself, so that seemed to be the best thing for her to press. "So, um, where did you and Rime stay before coming to Ponyville."
"Like I said yesterday", he said between bites, "We were camping in a little valley west of Ponyville. I think my map said its name was Daffodil Dell…"
"What was the last town you visited?" Fluttershy finally got hers unwrapped and was just taking a bite when he answered.
"…A small town named Petalburg. We didn't stay long…"
"Why is that?"
Day didn't respond. Instead, he pretended he didn't hear her over his chewing. Determined to keep him talking, Fluttershy let it slide and changed the subject. "Where are you from, Day?"
The Earth Pony found her question to be the opposite of intrusive. It actually kick started his heart with a little happiness. "One of the western Japonies islands", he replied. "Ambleshima, meaning "peace among spirits."
"Do you miss it?"
He shook his head. "Not much…I hardly remember it…"
"You poor thing." Fluttershy almost placed her hoof on his, but refrained. He probably wouldn't like being touched. "You've been traveling for that long?"
For the first time in his life, Day saw another pony genuinely sympathizing him. He almost didn't know how to react, but luckily he wasn't that foalish. "It hasn't been a problem for us", Day stated before mumbling, "Unless you consider the countless times we nearly died…"
"That doesn't matter", Fluttershy nearly exclaimed, "No pony should have to be so far away from their family and home for so long…"
"Trust me when I say it's best for everypony that I stay gone and on the road." He took the final bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly.
Fluttershy retreated to her sandwich to mull over more conversation ideas. She didn't know it, but the way she was staring at Day was making him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. His face began to burn, but that wasn't what he was presently worried about. The feeling was on a conquest to outwardly show itself to the mare, which started by making his tail quiver. He fought to keep the yellow-tipped red limb still, but he was losing the battle. Attempting to keep his expressions as calm as possible, he maneuvered himself on top of it. It was still moving, but no pony would be able to tell now. He watched with a blush as Fluttershy finished her sandwich. The silence was killing him, so he broke it, deciding to save the self-scoldings for later. "You're probably from Cloudsdale, right?"
"I am, but I like it down here on the ground better. It's where all of my animal friends live." On the outside, she was the same Fluttershy, but on the inside, she was cheering louder than a sugar-rushing Pinkie Pie. Whatever she was doing to get Day to open his hard outer shell, it was working like a charm.
Day was lucky she didn't know what it was, because she could have surely taken advantage of it. With another glance at her, he thought, Why does she have to be so beautiful? This is going to make it so much harder to leave…
Their lunch conversation lasted about an hour and consisted mainly of questions about their lives. Day took extra care not to give away too much about himself. It wasn't very hard; Fluttershy let every bit of his obvious secrecy slide. The two learned a lot about each other in that time. Day learned that Fluttershy wasn't the strongest of flyers amongst her Pegasi friends and Fluttershy learned that Day was very fluent in Japonies and even sang her a short song he remembered from his childhood.
To Fluttershy's dismay, no matter what she did she couldn't bring a smile to the Earth Ponies face. She could've sworn she got close once or twice, but aside from that there seemed to be no hope. The jokes she told wouldn't have even made a school filly laugh, which helped her decide to recruit Pinkie Pie in the effort. In the Pegasus's opinion, the pink mare told the best jokes around. She could almost positively get Day to at least grin.
Day kept the walk back relatively quiet. The adrenaline rush from his-soon-to-be-called-date by Rime finally diluted into his blood, leaving him once again drained of all energy. He dragged himself alongside Fluttershy, trying his best to keep his form in check to avoid questions. He managed to keep everything but his tail from dragging the ground, so he just left it behind him.
Fluttershy sneaked a peak at the stallion's Cutie Mark. He wasn't lying when he said it copied the sun. They were both now showing one on the dot. Day picked his head up from the ground just enough to see that some of the ponies pass along whispers as they walked by. He sighed heavily. Great…rumors…
He was about to pick up his speed when Fluttershy walked ahead. It seemed she wasn't enjoying the attention either. What started as Day catching up to Fluttershy became a frantic race to find out who would get to the cottage first. Fluttershy proved faster at first, especially since she took to the sky for more speed. Day galloped faster and faster until he was a yellow blur moving across the paths of Ponyville. He moved faster and faster until he was at the point of showing off. He flew past pony after pony until he cleared Ponyville's main sectors. It was as if his spirit was set free; all he wanted to do was run, never to stop. Unfortunately for him, life had its own emergency brakes.
Day's left forehoof hit the highest root the willows of Fluttershy's yard had to offer and stopped right abruptly while the rest of him shot through the air to land in a rolling, aching heap at the bottom of the shallow stream. He moaned in pain. "Come on…any day but today…"
"Oh my gosh, Day are you okay!?"
The words echoed through his head like the chimes of a bell in a belfry. They only barely registered as he tried to push himself out of the cold and wet moat. He got nowhere fast, prompting the Element of Kindness to offer her special helping hoof. It occurred to Day that she wasn't just going to offer it to him. She got into the creek with him and pulled him upright. Fluttershy watched as he attempted to divide his weight among his four hooves and slightly stumble upon making ground contact with the injured hoof. Then, without asking, she took him under that hoof and guided him silently to the living room inside.
Along the way Day experienced the all-too familiar burning sensation in his face that Fluttershy had been solely responsible for since he came into Ponyville. He sighed silently to himself while he waited on the couch for her to get back. His heart beats came in irregular fluttery sensations. No pony before could get him to feel so different inside. He had no idea what he wanted to focus on anymore. Day had never before had a factor like Fluttershy come into his life. The time he had to process it came to a halt as the very mare herself walked in with a small first aid box and a towel.
"Sorry I took so long", she apologized, "I looked as fast as I could."
"You didn't take more than a few minutes", he said to make her feel better.
She smiled shyly and draped the towel over the soaked stallion. He pressed it into his wet fur while she examined his left hoof. He managed to give it a pretty good bruise and swelling, so it was probably sprained. She wrapped it firmly in bandages, ignoring the fact that he was watching her the whole time. It wasn't until she finished before one of them spoke.
"Thanks Fluttershy." Day looked at his hoof. Even though it would be fully healed by morning, he still appreciated she would take the time to fix him up.
"You're welcome."
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. The day had finally taken its final toll on the colt. "I'm going to take a nap, Fluttershy."
"Oh, let me help you to your room."
Day let her carry part of his weight without protest. Her touch felt too nice to push away. They climbed the stairs to his freshly tidied room. Day was silent for the sole reason of that he couldn't find anything to say. Fluttershy was just too embarrassed to draw any more attention on herself. Upon entering his room, Fluttershy whispered something about waking him before supper then left him to his nap.
He flopped onto the bed. "I wish a nap would even help", he sighed. He smiled to himself. His heart was still beating in that funny way. And he knew exactly why.
"What's with that smile", asked Rime from the window, somewhat teasingly.
"Rime", Day replied, "Against everything I have ever learned in my life I have broken rule number three." He closed his eyes and pictured the thing that forced his lips into the smile.
Rime furrowed his brow in concentrated thought. "What was that rule again?"
Day sighed in content. "I think I just fell in love with Fluttershy."