//------------------------------// // Rain // Story: Fuzzies // by Palm Palette //------------------------------// It was well into the night, and a light drizzle poured outside. Splattering droplets filtered through the leaves of the Golden Oaks Library, creating a steady pitter patter in the background. Candlelight flickered in an unseen breeze, dancing long shadows along the walls. Spike had long since gone to bed, while Twilight struggled to make sense of it all. She sat at her writing desk, working on her friendship report. This should be easy. I know what a fuzzy is, what they are like, and I know in my heart that they are rotten, but at the same time, I find myself at odds with many of my friends. Twilight shook her head. She dipped her quill in an ink pot and went back to work. I was asked to listen, and like any dutiful student, I have done as requested. Compiled here is a report of my friend's opinions, along with my reactions. Starting this list is Applejack. I've always admired her honesty, and this matter was no exception. She immediately recognized Fluttershy as a lost cause, and while talking to her pained me greatly, it was also refreshing to be around another who saw the world so clearly. If I could point to one pony whom I agreed with the most, it would be Applejack, though I've since learned that clarity may have been due to a lack of vision. Twilight frowned. “Lack of vision? What am I writing? Gah. I really messed this up.” She reached to crumple the paper, but hesitated. “Well, I can always write a second draft later.” Dipping the quill back in the inkwell, the steady drumming of rain marched on, as did her report. When I first talked to Rarity, she seemed to understand the situation quite well. Fluttershy was a lost cause, and associating with her could ruin her career. She didn't like it, but neither did I. If only she had left things at that. I would not learn of her dark side until later. Pinkie Pie Twilight shuddered, splattering the sheet with an ink blob. Let's not talk about Pinkie Pie. I'll talk about her later. Frowning, Twilight stared at what she wrote. “Dark side... Pinkie Pie... This doesn't sound much like a friendship report. Am I missing something? What am I supposed to learn other than my friends are a bunch of freaks?” She shook her head. “No. That's not quite right. They can be reasonable too.” Rainbow Dash chose to stand up for Fluttershy, despite her change into a horrible beast. I applaud Rainbow for chasing off vandals and hecklers, but at the same time, it confused me greatly. I know for a fact that she hates fuzzies even more than I do, so why would she do that? Now, don't get me wrong, vandals and hecklers give us good ponies a bad image, so I'm not complaining. I just didn't understand. After talking to her, it didn't take much to discern the problem. She was still thinking of Fluttershy as a pony, and not a fuzzy. Thankfully, I was able to set her straight though I since regret doing that. Twilight slapped a hoof on the desk and shook her head. She got up and pulled out a fresh candle from her nightstand. After lighting it, she snuffed the short, dribbling stub and set it aside to cool down. A thin wisp of smoke filled the room with the crisp scent of ash. Okay. I just want to make it clear that I don't hate Fluttershy, because my report so far sure makes it sound that way. I'm just being logical. Logic can be cold. She might be the kindest, gentlest pony thing I know, but, but... Moving on, I had the good misfortune of running into Rarity a second time. She was disguised, poorly I might add, but I guess she didn't expect to run into somepony who would recognize her instantly. As it turns out, her prior proclivities were a lie, and the very first thing she did was to go hobnob with Fluttershy in some sort of misguided altruism. Groaning, Twilight frowned as the first single drop of molten wax dribbled down the side of her brand new candle. Okay. I can understand where she's coming from. Her aversion to fuzzies is much like my own, but rather than shunning them like a normal pony, she chooses to channel that energy into turning them back into 'real' ponies. Not with a cure. Not with magic, but by disguising them so that they can live among us undetected. The thought just makes my skin crawl. Her logic is fairly simple, and I can't refute it, If a fuzzy can act like a pony and look like a pony then they can be accepted as a pony. It's fine, in theory, but fuzzies are neither ponies, nor are disguises infallible. Should they be discovered, well, Sapphire Shores isn't always going to be around to bail them out. Twilight rubbed her temple. “I'm writing what I think, what I know, but why does it still feel as if I'm missing something important? I should have learned something, right? Something about the magic of friendship?” Rarity should be ashamed of herself. Even Fluttershy knows she's a horrible monster. “Uh...” I want to reiterate that Fluttershy has been a good friend to me. It's truly a tragedy for something so horrible to happen to such a nice pony. My heart “I feel so conflicted right now.” Is this what I'm supposed to discover? That this fuzzy thing is driving us apart? Well, duh. Even Fluttershy acknowledges that she's a horrible monster. I can't make friends with monsters. Neither can anypony else, well, anypony who knows what's good for them. Yes. I will miss Fluttershy. No. I can't Before I talk myself in circles, I will say a few words about my chat with Fluttershy. Yes, I did give her a chance. No, it did not end well. Twilight got up and stretched. She smacked her lips, and looked drearily out the dark, rainy window. She sighed and settled back down to keep writing. Basically, my biggest problem is that she literally confirmed that every single thing I ever heard about fuzzies is actually true. She looks like a monster. She has bestial instincts. She's lost part of what made her a pony. She's confused. She hates herself. She has trouble functioning normally. And... one other rumor that I'd hoped was more hearsay than truth. She even acknowledged that she was a danger to others, but, she blamed this on the ponies who hate her rather than being a danger herself. That last part, at least, is true. I'd look like an idiot if I tried to stay friends with her, and my other friends would lose their dreams and their livelihoods, and it's all due to the way that society shuns fuzzies and anypony who associates with them. Fluttershy herself is still the same kind and gentle po being I've always known. I couldn't imagine her hurting a fly even if she was five hundred tails high and covered in wild, flailing, spiky tentacles, something that could actually happen if “Uh... It's probably best if I don't mention the tree thing.” I guess this brings me back to Pinkie Pie. I have to say, I've never experienced such vile repulsion for a single pony in my entire life as I did for her at that very moment. No, it wasn't due to the strange trip to crazy town. (What does she think she is? Some kind of closet vaudeville comedian?) It was because she's a beast lover. I-I... even if my other friends are wrong, they still at least have the wherewithal to understand that what they're doing isn't right, but Pinkie... she thinks wrong. It's like her brain is damaged. She's just not normal. She treats holding Fluttershy's horrid striped tail as no different from examining the feel of a silk fabric, and that's not even the worst of it. To her, everypony else is wrong. She wants us all to think like her! Twilight shuddered. Yes, I know, I want that too, but I have the advantage of being right. At least other ponies agree with me! I guess it's odd, in a way, because Spike isn't bothered by Fluttershy either, and yet, it's Pinkie that revolts me. “Now I'm confused.” Twilight scratched her head. “It's late, I guess. I never did figure out what was bothering me. I might as well just wrap this up and go to bed.” I guess I learned something about myself? That beast lovers are even more revolting than fuzzies, excepting when said fuzzy tries to hug me? N-not that I hate said fuzzy, or either of them, of course. It's just a reasonable, logical reaction to want to keep my distance. I certainly learned a lot about my friends. Applejack and, oddly, Fluttershy have the clearest, most sensible heads, while Rainbow Dash could be reasoned with. Rarity is misguided, and I'm going to have nightmares about the fuzzy underground conspiracy; I just know it. While Pinkie... I still can't get over Pinkie. In a way, she's even more disturbing than the thought of fuzzies living secretly in town. It's like she was born with some kind of freakish, vile, inability to hate— Twilight's quill snapped, and she stared at what she wrote. Inability to hate. Inability to hate. No, that—that had to be wrong, but it wasn't. It was true. But if that was true, then what of herself? Her heart sank. In a soft whisper, her lips barely moved. “I've been lying to myself. I do hate Fluttershy.” This simple admission opened a floodgate of bottled emotions. She felt sick to her stomach. “Sweet Celestia, what is wrong with me?” Clenching her teeth, she tore at the papers, ripping them from her journal, wadding them up and slamming them onto the ground. “Gah! I can't believe it! Me? I'm the normal one?” She huffed, breath ragged and raspy. Rain continued to pour down. Crumpling on the floor, she slammed a hoof on the ground. “I have a rotten heart.” She sobbed like the rain, steadily throughout the night.