//------------------------------// // Four // Story: Shell Game // by BlazzingInferno //------------------------------// “Mayor Mare just kept insisting she needed it all done by Tuesday,” Noteworthy said in between bites of his sandwich, “even though I already told her that it’ll be done by Monday. It’s kind of scary when she gets that adamant.” Fluttershy gave a knowing nod. “What happened next?” “Then my anxiety really kicked in. It wasn’t as bad as last time, but whenever my nose runs Mayor Mare gets worried that I’m sick and won’t have her papers done in time, which only makes it worse.” “Did you tell her how she was making you feel?” Noteworthy gave a brief smile. “I told her. I don’t think she heard me over all her pacing and worrying, but just saying it out loud helped a lot.” “That’s wonderful! I just wish my week had gone so smoothly. During Princess Celestia’s visit I… I…” “Borrowed her pet phoenix?” Fluttershy gasped, nearly upsetting her water glass in her rush to cover her open mouth with her hooves. “How did… D-does everypony know?” “Oh no, not everypony. The only reason I know is the paperwork that always follows a royal visit.” She hung her head, her half-eaten lunch forgotten. “I-I should’ve just asked Princess Celestia about her pet’s health instead of taking matters into my own hooves… It was awful.” “I’m sorry. You did get to have lunch with the Princess, though. That must have been special.” “That’s true… and if it wasn’t for what happened, I probably wouldn’t have spoken to her. I guess things worked out after all.” The waitress, an elderly mare with a frizzy mane, came to their table and cleared away the dishes without a word. She didn’t need to ask how the food was, or if they wanted anything else. She’d grown used to their weekly ritual too, right down to their usual orders. Fluttershy’s gaze wandered to one of the vacant tables while the waitress piled the dishes on her back. She didn’t understand how this all came to be; how she could sit at this little table, face to face with Noteworthy, and talk frankly about things that made her shake and sob in the presence of her therapist. Never had she felt more at ease, not even on her and Rarity's now weekly spa trips. What was it about this little ritual of theirs, having lunch in a quiet spot after their respective appointments, and why did an hour’s chat with him give her more of an emotional calm than her other friends, or even Dr. Grape? Her friends presented another tricky question: when would she introduce Noteworthy to them? He’d been her friend for nearly a month; surely that meant she should properly add him to the circle of ponies that made her otherwise solitary life so wonderful, but when? The best answer she had was “not now.” His sensitivity to stress was reason enough to wait, but perhaps not for much longer. He hadn’t sneezed around her in weeks, his handkerchief was nowhere in sight, and his previously raw nose had healed completely. Surely he could handle meeting her six other friends. Then again, could she handle such a meeting? Could she give up this special hour of talking about everything and nothing all at once without a care in the world? Even if they weren’t seated at the table, her other friends would change the dynamic somehow. All of the sudden the Fluttershy with six best friends and the Fluttershy with one wonderful lunch partner would need to be one in the same. She shut her eyes for a moment. You’re just being selfish, she told herself, doesn’t Noteworthy deserve to have a bunch nice friends just like you? Why wouldn’t you want to share them with him? “Fluttershy? Is… is something wrong?” Of course he noticed she was upset. He always noticed. He’d noticed after her modeling career blossomed and wilted inside of a week, after all, and he'd listened attentively as she'd recounted the whole ordeal in greater detail than even Dr. Grape knew. “Am I boring you?” he asked. Her eyes shot open. The waitress was gone, as were the remains of their lunch. Now was the moment when they’d normally say goodbye and part ways until the next week. “D-do you want to… m-meet—” and then she hit upon an idea  “—do you want to meet some of my animal friends that live in my cottage?” Silence reigned for a moment, as if she’d just asked him to dip his tail in jelly. Finally his frozen expression broke as he sneezed. “Y-your cottage?” “It isn’t very far, and I just know they’d love to meet you,” Fluttershy didn’t need to force her smile. She should’ve thought of this sooner; her pony friends were very important, but her dearest companions of all were the ones that shared her home, the kind and gentle creatures that she could be herself around without reservation. That was the group of friends Noteworthy deserved to belong to first. “At… At… your… c-cottage? Your home?” “Please can you come? I’ve been feeling guilty that I haven’t introduced you to my friends already.” Noteworthy nodded slowly, dabbing his nose with a napkin. “Okay… lead the way.” --- Fluttershy glanced back to Noteworthy, who seemed to be slipping further behind with each sneeze. They’d been walking for ten minutes, and in two more would be at her doorstep. “Are you okay? You’re not nervous about meeting my animal friends, are you?” She came to a stop on the path, next to a large glade where the sun shone through the tree leaves in shimmering patches on the grass. On more worry-filled days she’d hurry past this lovely spot without so much as a glance, but not today. If Noteworthy really was too stressed to go any further, at least they’d reached a wonderful place to say goodbye for the week. Noteworthy caught up to her, one shaking step at a time, and hung his head. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. Lunch with you doesn’t do this to me, but…” “That’s okay, Noteworthy. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Would it be better if we just stopped here?” He followed her gaze to the picturesque scene before them. “Wow, it’s beautiful here.” “That’s why I love living right outside of Ponyville so much. It’s so peaceful; it’s like there isn’t another pony in the whole world,” She stepped off the path, chose a sunny spot, and seated herself on the grass. Her gaze went to him next, beckoning him to follow. After another great sneeze, he stepped through the grass with his eyes fixed on the ever-changing patterns of light. Fluttershy waited for him to sit, and was pleased to see him choose a spot closer to her than their normal arrangement at the cafe. She wouldn’t have to speak so loudly. “If we stay here long enough, one of my little friends might even come join us.” “Oh. That’s n—” another sneeze scared away the birds in the trees “I can’t believe I’m such a mess.” “Are you really that nervous about meeting my animals? They're all very nice, and very polite when it comes to making new friends.” “Your animals? No…” “Then what?” He stared at the grass. “It’s not that I’m scared, exactly. I just… I’ve never met anypony like you, Fluttershy. Never. Things have been going so great with lunch every week, and I keep having this argument with myself over how I just can’t mess this up versus how I don’t think I could possibly mess things up with somepony as kind and understanding as you… and here I go messing things up right as you’re about to show me your cottage.” “My cottage? There’s nothing special about it… except for all the bird feeders and nests, I guess.” “Of course it’s special. It’s special because it’s yours. I tell you everything I tell my therapist, you know… plus more. The only thing I never told you was…” She leaned in closer, ears raised. “What?” “My problem with stress… one of the big triggers has always been mares I think are pretty. Half the reason my therapist days are my bad days are because I pass by you in the waiting room. Then we actually said hello, and we’ve been spending time together, and… it’s like around you I don’t have a problem anymore. It’s great, and I want to keep doing it, and of course I want to meet your animal friends, and your pony friends, and introduce you to mine. I just… I don’t want you to think I’m getting cold hooves or something. I can’t even begin to say how much I treasure our… our relationship.” Fluttershy stared at him, open mouthed. The whole scene before her, from his penetrating gaze to the shifting patterns of light, suddenly clawed at her. Scary words that she never thought she’d have to face head on, words like ‘kiss’ and ‘dating’ and ‘marriage’ robbed the sunlight of its warmth and her heart of its newfound self-confidence. Those words weren’t for her, just like ‘amazing’ and ‘inspiring.’ What happened to friendship? “Fluttershy?” She’d gotten to her hooves without realizing it. Her breathing had dissolved into a series of gasps, which made speaking nearly impossible. “N-N-Noteworthy… I… I… ooh.” Those same words chased her all the way home.