//------------------------------//
// Friends 
// Story: One Big Awkward Family 
// by PropMaster 
//------------------------------//

The sun hadn't fully risen by the time Fluttershy woke up. She stretched slowly, sitting up in bed and fluttering her wings before removing herself from the pile of pillows and blankets she'd nestled herself in. She felt tired, even though she'd gone to bed early. She had a brief moment of frustration with herself. She'd neglected her animal friends' evening feeding schedules, and they'd certainly be cranky today. They probably felt as bad as she did. With a small sigh, she stepped over to the window above her bed and opened it, letting the chill air into her room. She peeked out at the birds' nests and found her bird friends nestled in bed with their eggs and mates. That was... unusual. They usually only settled down after being fed in the morning. She smiled warmly at her feathery housemates before ducking back inside and heading for the door out of her bedroom. 

At the doorway, Fluttershy paused ever-so-briefly, head tilted as she listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. It was oddly quiet. She frowned, shaking her head. Of course it was quiet. Discord wasn't here to wake the animals up. She trotted downstairs, humming a quiet tune, and stopped dead in her tracks at the foot of the stairs.

Her living room had ponies in it.

On the smaller love seat were curled the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were dusty and their manes and coats were mussed. Apple Bloom leaned against the arm of the seat, her head thrown back. Sweetie Belle lay across Apple Bloom's lap, head and forelegs drooping over the edge of the love seat towards the floor. Scootaloo lay against Sweetie Belle's side, four legs and tiny wings askew and twitching as she dreamed.

Applejack was sprawled on the floor, face resting on the coffee table as she snored, her stetson covering her eyes. On the sofa lay Rarity, her face covered by a purple sleep mask and an embroidered blanket pulled up to her chin.

Fluttershy stared at her friends, confused. What were they doing here? She overhead quiet whispering from the kitchen and the sound of pots and pans carefully being moved about, and she walked over quietly to investigate. In the kitchen, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike were chatting softly. They moved about the kitchen, working on breakfast. A pot of oats simmered on the stove next to her kettle, which was hissing a small line of steam. Pinkie Pie sat next to the oven, a signature smile across her face, peering through the oven window to stare at some treat baking within. Spike stood on the counter, mixing a batch of what appeared to be pancakes, occasionally reaching into a bowl of crystalline shards and snacking on them like hay fries.

Fluttershy cleared her throat, trying not to be intrusive, but the sound broke the bustle of the quiet kitchen and drew her friends' attention. Fluttershy felt a brief moment of anxiety as they turned to look at her, but reminded herself that they were in her house. "Hello everypony. What's going on?"

Pinkie Pie let out a happy squeak and bounced over to Fluttershy, landing directly in front of her. "Fluttershy! We're so happy you're up!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Morning, Fluttershy."

Spike smiled brightly. "We're making pancakes!"

Fluttershy smiled warmly, "Ah, oh. That's very nice of you! But... why?"

Her three friends exchanged a glance, and Pinkie Pie quickly launched into an explanation. "Wellllllllllll, we heard that you and Discord had a fight. Or he dumped you. Or you dumped him! And he went and got Scootaloo to get her friends to help take care of your animals! And Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle tried to help, but the job was super-duper big, so they went and got their big sisters to come and help! And then when we heard that you needed help, everypony else decided to come and help! And now we're allllllllllllllll helping!" Pinkie Pie finished with a grin and a flounce.

"Yeah, we were all worried about you, and we figured you were upstairs trying to sleep, so we kept things quiet and made sure that all your critters were taken care of so you wouldn't have to worry. No biggie, " Rainbow Dash said with a small smirk, as she stepped a little closer to Fluttershy and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Twilight was here, too, but she wanted to go and see Discord. Everypony had some wild ideas about what happened, so she wanted to clear things up. She said she'd be back once she found Discord... however you do that. So we're making breakfast!" Spike chimed in, smiling as he dutifully mixed the pancake batter.

Fluttershy swallowed hard around a lump in her throat. She was so, so lucky to have such good friends. She smiled, a fragile thing, and whispered, "Thank you. You didn't have to do all this, though. I'm fine."

Pinkie Pie's eyes narrowed, and she looked Fluttershy in the eye. Fluttershy felt her lower lip begin to tremble. "Really. I'm... I'm fine."

Pinkie Pie's smile redoubled. "Somepony needs a hug from Auntie Pinkie Pie!"

"I'm a year older than—eep!" Fluttershy found herself in a tight, fluffy, pink embrace before she could object. Not that she didn't want a hug. She decided that she definitely, definitely needed a hug. She took a slow, shuddering breath, and felt the beginnings of a sob building in the back of her throat. "Thank you..."

"Shhh. It's okay, Fluttershy. Auntie Pinkie Pie is right here. You just let it alllllllllllll out." Pinkie Pie's voice was chipper, yet gentle and full of empathy.

Fluttershy briefly hated how transparent she was with her emotions, but as tears began to roll down her cheeks, she realized that she needed this. So she started to cry, quietly, clutching her friend tight and feeling a strange mixture of sadness and relief.