Becoming Fluttershy

by Hope

chapter 39. Finding the stars

“...W...Wow. Hee... tears. How do they work...” Reid finally asks as we both reach the end of our tears. In a clinical way I avoid the crux of the question which would be better summed up as “Why do tears make us feel better?” or “Why do we cry?” and instead focus on the literal question.

“Pain turned physical I suppose?” I wipe some tears from her cheeks, leaving the tear tracks on my own face. “ You are right though... We have to go on, we've got to keep up hope...”

Reid suddenly laughs before quickly tilting her head to the side in a confused expression. “Huh. Wow, so that's what that feels like. Sparkly,” she comments.

“Huh? What's wrong?” I ask, worried that maybe despite all this she does have an injury that needs to be tended to. I do realize I go a little one track minded when ponies might be hurt.

“Oh you wouldn't believe me if I told you,” She chuckles. “Just file it under Pinkie being... Reid being Pinkie. Being Reid being Pinkie. Ad infinitum. Actually just file it under distracting self.”

There is a short pause while I think over how she is acting. Confused looks, unable to pick a name, have Reid and Pinkie finally become one?

“So.... what happens now?” She turns to me.

I giggle, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. “It happened huh? So are you male or female now because that's been bugging me to no end...” I look away, feeling quite silly and simple-minded. “I keep feeling bad for thinking of you as one gender or name.”

“What? Oh. Nonono, we're still we. But for the gender thing, um.... Male on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, female on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sundays we're neuter,” She rattles off.

As crazy as it is, this would have helped greatly, if Discord had not changed the names of the week. So for now I just assumed it was monday, being the first 7th of a new week.

“Um... I... Okay. So I guess we tell the others? Maybe find a better way to tell them than showing them a picture of Twi in a hospital bed?” I ask, deciding to deal with the gender issue later, if ever.

“Yeah...” She nods. “To be honest, though, I have a lot of faith in the medical system. Mom's a nurse. Reidmom. Wow, I have two mommies.... How am I going to explain this to mom? I mean, you know, Pinkie's mom, I mean...” she sighs.

“My point is, she'll be fine because my mom's a nurse. I'm more worried about the princesses of the day and night.” She points out.

“They have so much power though...” I protest. “Do you think they are actually in trouble? And if they are what could we do about it? We don't have Spike to send her a letter, and I doubt Cad... Linda or Julien would know how to locate them.” I wince at again confusing Linda and Cadance, knowing the princess a bit better than the human made it hard to keep them straight.

“Yeah. Princess of day and night.” Reid nods, looking contemplative. “Princess of the night.... Princess of the Night?” She says it with more and more energy before grabbing me around the withers and grinning like a madmare. More accurately, grinning like Pinkie. “PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!”

I raise an eyebrow and slooooowly reach up to boop her on the nose. “Yes. Princess of the night.”

“HAHA! PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!” She hugs me a bit hard before running for the door and slamming her face into it. “Ow.”

I had followed her, and I help her up before standing between her and the door. “Explain, then I’ll let you run out there like a madmare.”

“Princess... of the night.” She says, tapping her own head and looking at me as though I was missing something blatantly obvious. “What do you do at night, hmm? Well, I mean in general, not, aheh, if you're with another pony or incontinent or.... I'm rambling, aren't I.”

I ignore the comforting familiarity of the rapid fire thoughts. “Dream, but... Are you sure? I mean, the chances of Princess Luna wanting to visit one of our dreams....”

“Infinitesimal. Which is why I need to ask Jackie for some tin foil. And antennae, if she has those.” She smiles with the hope of somepony who has a thread and needs a rope. “Every road can be walked two ways.”

“...you want to hijack your dream in order to reach out to Princess Luna? Well, I suppose its better than not trying anything at all.” I say, bowing out of the way.

“Yeah, I know it sounds weird. And insane. And maybe a little bit...” She pulls the element off her neck, or from thin air for all I care, and twirls it around her hoof with a smile. “Silly?”

I laugh and can’t help but hug her close. “I missed you.” I say gently, very nearly regretting the words from how much emotion they contain.

“Well, the idea was Reid's. I just added the tin foil hat. Everything works better with a tin foil hat.” Pinkie says with a kind smile, before Reid looks down, a bit of a blush on his cheeks, that I assume is just from not being used to hugs.

“Not to split you ladies apart, but we don't have the tin foil hat yet.” He points out.

“You know you like the hug, Reid.” Pinkie says.

“Yes, I do... fine, two minutes and then we go back to being silly in a serious way.” He sighs, laying his forelegs around me in a comforting gesture.

I hug a little tighter. “We will get through this, won't we? Everything will work out okay.”

She hugs me back just as close. “Yep. Because we're the ones working on them.”

I look up to the smiling pink pony, and I smile back as she meets my eyes. A curious mix of sparkling energy and solid confidence.

"I... I feel safe here, Pinkie... Reid.... Both of you, I feel like home. Don't go anywhere okay?" I plead, not wanting to see my closest friend leave, hoping that it isn't taken the wrong way. I'm not trying to force her to be my bodyguard or anything.

"I... well, I won't stay away," She says. "I mean for small things like the bathroom and splitting up car rides or stuff like that... I'll probably stick in a ten mile radius and...” She rolls her eyes. "Reid, you're over thinking things again." She smiles down at me. "I'll keep him on a tight leash.”

She chuckles as I lay my head against her and sigh contentedly. Safety, has been such a fleeting thing in my past. Maybe things could work out this time. Maybe I can be safe for once.

Before I know it, my eyes are slowly drifting closed as I cuddle up against Pinkie, a gentle hoof brushing through my mane.

"...um... Erishy?” Reid starts. "While I'm thinking about it, I have something to tell you..."

"Hmm?" I look up under half lidded eyes, a sleepy smile on my face. Everything seems so warm and soft and sleepy. How long has it been since I got a good nap? I suppose I slept well last night but....

"Well, Figment was wondering if you could give him any dating tips with... what was her name, the striped Fluttershy plushie?" She asks.

I giggle a little, still in a half asleep stupor. "Mrs. Buzzy. He should just tell her that he likes her. I mean, she's a plushie. I'm sure she would love to have somepony to hold her and keep her safe and... And..." My mind has started furiously working on something, but I don't know what, it's like I am missing something important.

"...and as much as I honestly hate to break this up, it's been two minutes and I really need that tin foil hat to contact Luna." Reid let go of me and turns away. "And you promised to help Jackie with the costumes, right? She wouldn't keep you up all night, but you should probably still help her."

I am shaken more awake by the hug ending and my brain starts to pick up the pace. "Pinkie I... I mean Reid... Did you mean..." I start to say as she turns to the door.

Click Pinkie has always been close to me, I have often wondered if she had any interest in me, despite my inexperience. Click Reid is becoming one with Pinkie, and I may have scared him or hurt him by being so close with her. Click I just almost fell asleep in his or her arms, and I felt safe.

It all falls into place, and I feel like I just stabbed Reid. How could I be so dense?

"Pinkie was pulling a little prank. You... helped me out of my shell, and the last girl who did that I had a... I thought I had a crush on. But I never asked her out, and looking back it was more joy that somebody understood me then anything romantic." She sighs, looking hurt and dejected beyond measure as she looks to the door. "I don't want to make that mistake again. I don't want to confuse... well, like I said, there's more than one kind of close friend."

Pinkie and I both winced at the implication, though I am more worried because I feel like I have forced him further away from me.

"...I'm confused, and I can't say yea or nay yet. And of course I don't want to hurt you, and of course there's things more important, yadda yadda yadda. Don't you hate it when you're reading a story and the answer's so obvious you want to yell at the characters to do this or that or whatever and they just don't?" She looks up as though at a camera or to the sky. "Well, relative fictionality notwithstanding, maybe the audience can start yelling at me."

I smile a little, surprised and flattered by even the potential of somepony being attracted to me, but so very cautious. I am not without my own emotional scars. "Well... I..." I take a pause to collect my thoughts. "You've helped me a lot Pinkie. You too Reid. So... I don't mind." I say hopefully, simply not wanting her to think I don't like her.

"...Like I said, I never dated. So I don't know. And if... if it isn't what I think it is..." She bows her head. "If it isn't what I think it is, and I hurt you, I don't think I could see you again. Not without losing my element." She sighs, the weight of the moment filling the air between us.

"...I just need to figure this out. Later. For now, it's time to be seriously silly." She turns and kicks the door open. "Hey there Jackie! I want to catch a few hundred extra channels. Got any tin foil?"

Comments

[websterhamster]

I hugs a little tighter.

Smeagol makes his cameo!

[Pinklestia]

This was cute, sad and heartwarming...

[Hope]

3567749 Thank you!

[BronyCrystal]

it's time to be seriously silly." She turns and kicks the door open. "Hey there Jackie! I want to catch a few hundred extra channels. Got any tin foil?"

Dat Ending lol

[Funky Pony]

Got any tin foil?"

Got so-much-insanity-that-I-love-it