Fluttershy paused as she watched the two leave. She pondered what, if anything, Twilight meant by ‘ask for advice’ and ‘good luck!’
I’m sure that she’s only trying to be helpful, Fluttershy told herself.
Yet there was still a small grain of doubt that niggled in the back of her mind. After all, it seemed like Twilight had just arrived, said ‘Hi’, picked her to be the teacher and then up and left.
“Oh, Fluttershy,” she began, her ears drooping. “I really hope you haven’t taken on more responsibilities than you can handle. After all, it’s not just-”
“Waaaait!” cried a panicked voice from above.
“Wha-” Fluttershy suddenly found that she had no time to react to the blur of grey, yellow and brown that was spiraling towards her general direction, only to veer course towards the bushes at the last possible second!
Fluttershy squeaked, the near involuntarily reaction of her wing being the only thing shielding her from any flying debris once the very terrible crash landing came to its conclusion.
Peeking over when she was sure the commotion had fully passed, she spied the dark grey hind legs of a pony with seven bubbles for their cutie mark, a yellow tail, in what appeared to be a brown mailmare uniform, sticking out from a bush.
“A-are you ok?” Fluttershy asked, cautiously approaching the pony as they emancipated themselves from the tangled undergrowth.
“Yefpt!” the grey mare said, a twig in her mouth and leaves behind her ears. Spitting everything out and shaking her head to regain her wits, she stuck a hoof back into the greenery to retrieve her hat.
“You’re a mailmare now, Der- I mean, Bubbles?” Fluttershy asked, unsure of which name she ought to use. After all, she had heard so many names used over the years.
“Or Muffin, I’m ok with any of those,” she replied, adjusting her hat. “And yeah! They’re having me doing a trial run!”
“Well, that’s great to hear.” Fluttershy eyed her mailbox. “You didn’t happen to be working yesterday, did you?”
“Uhm, no, why do you ask?” the mare of many names asked, brushing off leaves from her uniform in an attempt to appear more presentable.
Fluttershy pushed her forelock out of her face and looked up. “Well, it’s just that my mailbox was rather... uhm, full today.”
Derpy shrugged. “Well, that wasn’t me, but I would be happy to make sure that the mailponies know about it.”
“Well,” Fluttershy paused, putting a hoof over her mouth. She didn’t want anypony to get into trouble over her mail! But at the same time, if there was a problem... “Thank you. Did you have something for me?”
“Oh yeah!” she replied, tapping the side of her head and in the process, knocking her hat off once again. “That’s what I’m here for, right?” she asked, pulling out a letter from her mailbags.
“T-Thank you,” Fluttershy said, taking the letter awkwardly.
Derpy’s wall eyed gaze fell upon the yellow mare before her, and she tilted her head to a worried, sympathetic angle. “Is there anything wrong?”
Fluttershy nervously shook her head. “What would make you think that?”
“You’re sort of dancing in place...” Derpy replied, pointing to the slowly pacing yellow hooves.
“Oh.” She stopped herself and blushed in embarrassment. “It’s nothing, really.” Fluttershy insisted, looking up into the walleyed mare’s doofy, yet concerned expression. Ears pulling back, she buckled under the pressure. “Well—”
“Yeah?” Derpy asked, once again replacing her hat back atop her head.
“Well, Twilight, just asked if I could, uhm,” she paused, the realization that she didn’t know how much she could and couldn’t share about Heartbreak’s situation hitting her. “Do a favor for her and, well, look after H.B. this month.”
“That’s all?” Derpy asked, tilting her head.
“Well, it’s more than that. H.B. can be... difficult sometimes.” Fluttershy worriedly explained. “And I still have all my animal friends to take care of.”
Just then a strange “EERrwoooSHHhEERr” sound echoed across the glade!
“EEEP!” Fluttershy yelped, ducking behind a bush. “W-what was that?!” she asked, barely peeking out from the underbrush.
“Oh, that’s me,” Derpy replied, rolling her eyes and taking a glowing red crystal from her saddlebags. “Sorry, it lets me know when I have a new package to deliver. I sorta changed the alarm to this sound that I thought was really neat at the time, and I kinda don’t know how to change it back.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy replied, practically forcing her wings down in an attempt to calm herself. “It’s very... loud.”
“Yeaaah. Well, sorry Fluttershy, but ya know, packages don’t deliver themselves! “ Derpy lightly touched the top facet of the crystal before stuffing it back into the mailbag. “Or... do they?” She paused with a bit of momentary concern. “I sure hope they don’t, otherwise I would be out of a job!”
Just then, the alarm started to go off again, the mailmare this time quickly tapping it into silence.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to handle whatever task that Twilight has saddled you with. After all, you’re one of the most kind, patient and reliable ponies I know!” she said, adjusting her hat and mailbag before awkwardly taking back to the skies.
And before she could even give a small ‘thanks’ or ‘bye’, just like that, once again, Fluttershy was alone.
Wow, it’s been a really busy morning! Fluttershy thought, a summer caress wafting through her mane as she started back down the path to her cottage. Muffin might not be the most...uhm...graceful, yes, graceful of ponies, but her heart is in the right place. And she’s right: Twilight wouldn’t have thought that I could handle this on my own if she didn’t think I was reliable enough.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, smiled and looked at the beautiful sunny summer day.
A day still full of wonder and possibilities. A day that—
Oh! My letter! she thought as she was midway up the walk. “I wonder who it’s from...” However, once she read the name on the return address, Fluttershy’s entire mood soured.
=============================================================
Hey there Sis! It’s me! Your favorite Brother, coming at you from none other than the great city of Seaddle!
How are you doing? Me? I’m doing great! (other than a few hiccups, but more on that later.)
Anyway! The weather out here is fantastic. I mean, if you don’t mind all the rain that is! Really, what is up with that?
But I’m just moved out here with a fantastic new roomie!
She’s an amazingly attractive mare named ‘Feenix Fire’. Boy, she can live up to that name sometimes, if you know what I mean. Geez, it’s like, sometimes, she just can’t take a joke!. She also has a pet badger named ‘Simon’! I thought I would tell you cause I know how much you love animals!
(That is still your thing, right?)
Anyway, she’s really great, letting me stay here while I get set up and strike it out here on my own!
She even gave me two months rent free!
Though, (and feel free to say no, just floating an idea out there), with that said, your little brother really could use some extra bits to cover a few expenses, like food or utilities, but if you can’t, that’s OK. You got to look out for you too, sis!
Well, thought I would drop you a letter telling you how your favorite little brother is doing!
With much love, Zephyr Breeze
P.S. Don’t go and tell Rainbow about my new roomie! You know how jealous that mare can get when it comes to her Z.B.!
=============================================================
Angel chewed his pellets nervously. His pony was practically scowling as she half-heartedly stuffed a letter into her saddlebags. She then began to joylessly attending to the task of doling out the various food stuffs to the other animals.
Whatever was in that letter, it could not be good for her health.
Ears pinned back, she paced to and fro after she filled up the hummingbird feeder. As she sharply turned, the little bunny could almost hear her tail making a whip-cracking sound.
“It was almost as if he wasn’t-” Fluttershy began before trailing off as she filled Nigel’s food dish.
“I mean, he is trying to move out and get away from mom and dad...But... What if he gets into trouble?” She paused and bit her lip while raising a hoof at the passing thought. “I’d be there for him... right?”
With her feathers ruffling, she went to the refrigerated cupboard and searched on a high shelf for where she swore she had left the food for the burrowing owl.
“Just what did he think he was doing?” Fluttershy asked out loud. Frowning almost uncharacteristically, a harsh, spiny, cutting thought passed through her mind.
Maybe something should happen, maybe then he’d learn-
“Oh, Fluttershy! You can’t think like that...” She whimpered. “He’s your brother! And of course you would be there for him if things did take a turn for the worse... It’s just-”
She took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Calm down,” Fluttershy told herself. “You have many more things to do today. You don’t want H.B. to worry about you when you go to visit her again, do you?” The pony asked herself.
“Of course not,” She replied. “She has enough to worry about as it is and-”
Just then, she felt a tugging on her foreleg.
By this time, Fluttershy almost didn’t have to guess who it was. After all, she had said the ‘H’ word out loud, hadn’t she?
“Yes, Angel?” She asked, attempting to push away any oncoming feelings of frustration that were growing with her dear pet.
The little rabbit once more looked up at his pony with a disapproving glare, his little arms crossed and his foot threatening to thump the ground.
“I’m sorry, but I have to, Angel. I need to make sure that she’s taken her medicine today.” Fluttershy took a deep breath before letting out a soft, if not irritated, sigh. “And tell her that Twilight wants me to be her teacher for this month.” She quietly added.
Upon hearing this, Angel threw his little paws into the air, and once more, like before, showed more of his disapproval with a series of angry grunts.
Fluttershy, just like before, took another deep breath and sighed. “Please,” she began in her most pleading of voices. “Not today, Angel.” And before he could even start to protest, the little rabbit felt the gentle feather of his pony’s wing touch his nose and saw those big, beautiful kind eyes staring into his. “Momma just needs to go for a little walk to take care of this one thing. And the sooner she can do it, the sooner she can be back to take care of everypony’s needs. Alright?”
Still like that first day in the meadow, when I, Angel, found her, the bunny thought, waxing nostalgic over those much simpler times. These pleasant thoughts were however short lived as the hyper excited clattering of claws and the jingling of a very expensive leash zipped by.
“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, once she saw that the poodle was sitting pretty, his puffball tail wagging at the ready.
“I’m sorry, Nigel, I was really hoping to do this alone. Maybe when I get back-”
But before she could finish her sentence, Nigel let out a pathetic whimper and looked up at Fluttershy beggingly.
“Oh... I suppose you can come with me. After all, I do need to make up for missing yesterday’s walk, don’t I?”
=============================================================
“So, I sent Dib a letter after that night, but I have yet to hear back from him,” the Webless pony agonized to little Lucas. “I mean, I could just write another letter, just in case the first one went to the wrong individual... Just like I could send one to Twilight, but-”
“Lesser One, Lucas-”
“It is a dark yawning Abyss that beckons Lucas to go down the hole and see what is on the other side!”
“Stop shaking incoherently, you will be free from the conversation with the Webless One soon enough.”
“Lucas will? Lesser One Lucas thanks their Queen!”
“There is one task that your Queen asks of you.”
“Anything, my Queen!”
“The Kindness Pony approaches, alert the Webless One to their arrival by pointing to the door.”
“And then Lucas may partake in foraging with the Colony?”
“Affirmative. Then Lesser One Lucas may proceed in foraging with the Colony.”
Just after the little spider felt the message that these vibrations carried, they began to wave four of their eight legs and jump in place to garner the Webless One's attention.
=============================================================
“Seriously, sometimes? I would just like to remove myself from... uhm, myself and smack myself upside the head while asking why I just don’t- eh?” Heartbreak stopped in her line of thought as the little sad-faced spider that had been sitting upon her hooves began to almost dance and point.
“Oh?” she asked, bemused at the antics. “What is it, Lucas? Did Timmy fall down the well? You pushed him, didn’t you?”
The spider shook its body in a vaguely negative manner before pointing in the direction of the front door.
Heartbreak tilted her head. “What, is there somep-pony at the door?” she asked, still somewhat in a state of disbelief that she was asking a spider of all creatures such a question.
Just then, there came a light rapping, a small tapping from her front door.
“Oh,” Heartbreak deadpanned. “There is somep-pony at the front door.” She looked at Lucas. “Uhm, mind getting off so that I can answer that?”
Quicker than one could even see, Lucas made a swift hop, skip and a jump to the armrest of the couch.
“Thanks,” Heartbreak smirked, pushing herself up and off the couch. Keeping eye contact with her new spider pal, she backed her way towards the hallway entrance. “You stay right there, I’ll be right back after I see who’s at the door. Then, we can finish up our little conversation,” she said before turning the corner.
Just as she was halfway down the hallway, she heard another light rapping on her front door.
“Cooming!” She called out. Another few light raps caused her to mutter. “Yeah, yeah... hold your horses, I’m coming...” Slowly opening the door, Heartbreak was greeted with a most pleasant pink and yellow surprise.
“Oh!” She pushed the door open wider. “Hey, Fluttershy.”
“Good-” The pegasus smiled at the rather affectionate snapdragons before gently pushing them down. “Good morning, H.B.”
A small awkward pause grew pregnant between the ponies, each one of them turning their heads opposite to the other before they both quickly turned their heads and in unison asked a simple question.
“Soo- How are you doing?”
Fluttershy’s hoof went to her mouth embarrassedly. “I’m sorry!”
Heartbreak blinked and then chuckled a little. “It’s alright, I just didn’t expect you to... well. Yeah. It was just a funny ... thing. Don’t think anything of it. You go first. How are you doing? Just out and about?”
“Oh, uhm, well, I was taking Nigel for a walk, but then I met the girls-”
“Girls?” Heartbreak interrupted. “No offense, Flutters, but there are a lot of girls. You mean the C.M.C. by chance?”
“The-” Fluttershy began, a small note of confusion at the string of abbreviated letters.
“Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle? Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“Oh! Oh, right...” Fluttershy replied quietly. “I’m sorry, I’ve had a lot of things on my mind this morning.”
“Uhm, it’s alright.” Heartbreak rubbed the side of her head and leaned against the door. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, you were saying something about Nigel’s walk?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy replied, her wings fluffing slightly. “They asked me about you, and I realized that I ought to see how you were doing, but I couldn’t do that if I was walking Nigel so-”
Heartbreak held up a hoof. “Let me guess, they offered to walk him the rest of the way?”
“Yes...”
Once again, the quiet started to form between the ponies. However, with a deep breath, Heartbreak decided to break it before it once again grew awkward. “So! Come to check in on me again? You’ll be happy to know that I’m dooing be-e-”
Suddenly, Heartbreak’s voice cracked with an interruption of coughs, followed by a sharp wheeze and finally a harsh clearing of her throat. Such was the harshness of the cough that even the snapdragons turned, giving the tan mare a wide-eyed set of questioning looks.
“Better! I’m fine! Really...” she insisted. “Just the final dregs of a cough that refuses to just die.”
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, her wings nervously flitting about.
Heartbreak nodded. “Yeah, colds are always like this for me. They tend to hit hard and then they do--” she let out a muffled lingering cough. “Eh-Hem! Yeah! That!” she squeaked out.
“You are sure about that? I mean, you weren’t just sick with one cold,” Fluttershy asked, meekly.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Heartbreak replied, clearing her throat again while rolling her eyes.
“Have you had your tea yet?” Fluttershy asked. “Warm fluids could help in breaking up all that nasty phlegm...”
“Nooo...” Heartbreak bit her lip. “I haven’t... I really should have but I kinda got... distracted. Talking.”
“Talking?” Fluttershy asked, her head tilting to the side.
“Yeah!” Heartbreak exclaimed in a sudden moment of almost uncharacteristic excitement while clearing her throat. She opened the screen door and motioned with her hoof for the pegasus to come in. “Oh! You’re going to love this!”
Slowly, Fluttershy followed. Maybe she is feeling better, but then again, I’ve never seen her this excited over anything! she thought, walking down the hall.
“All right,” Heartbreak said, pausing before the door frame to the living room. “Let me introduce you to Lu-” She stopped, her hoof extended, but her face drooped in confusion. She looked around the living room and the armrest of her couch, before sighing. “Aww... They’re not here anymore.” she lamented, her ears drooping in disappointment.
Fluttershy cautiously entered the shaded and, now that she thought about it, all too dusty room. “Who’s not here anymore?”
Heartbreak looked around a final time before frumping back down on the couch in dismay. “One of those sad-faced spiders you told me about came down and paid me a visit.”
“They did?” Fluttershy asked, starting to peer around the room more closely.
“Yeah,” Heartbreak sighed. “I told them about a dream I had, along with a bunch of other things.” She grinned a little. “I even named them Lucas.”
“Ooooh, that sounds really cute,” Fluttershy cooed.
Heartbreak paused, her face slightly twisting up.
Fluttershy backed away a little, taken aback by the sudden change in expression. “I-is there something wrong?”
“You’re going to have to excuse me, but I’m not cute,” she muttered, turning away.
“Oh! No... I’m sorry, I meant... Lucas sounded really cute...” Fluttershy explained, slowly trailing off.
“Oh- ha, right,” Heartbreak awkwardly replied. “You meant Lucas and... not me.” She took a deep breath through her nose and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I totally knew that. I mean, I apologize, it just sounded-”
“It’s ok...” Fluttershy replied, confusion over this small, and perhaps pointless, exchange painted on her face.
“So!” Heartbreak exclaimed after a few more moments of awkward silence, followed by a small sigh which ended in a few more coughs. “Was there anything else you came here to talk about, I mean other than the tea?”
“Oh! Actually, yes.” Fluttershy replied taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Alright Fluttershy, you’ve got this! “Well, uhm, Twilight came back today and-”
“‘Scuse me!” Heartbreak squeaked out, holding up a hoof and once again letting out a stream of harsh, desperate-sounding wheezing coughs before finally ending in a harsh evacuation of whatever nasty thing was stubbornly clinging to the back of her throat. “Gah, right, once again stupid cough-”
Fluttershy bit her lip. “Maybe I should make you your tea first...” she said, letting her saddle bags fall to the ground and moving back towards the kitchen.
“Please and tha-ank yooou!” Heartbreak squeaked out. “Otherwise, I’d be here all morning.”
=============================================================
Gawds, I feel so stupid in all this. Imagine, Fluttershy thinking that I am ‘cute’. Ponies themselves most likely have no idea that they were designed to have all the tropes that come along with the ideal of what is cute.
Large shining eyes that practically take up most of their faces, small mouths that- wait... have I had this conversation with myself before? I try to think about it, but then come to the conclusion that I should just cut to the chase here.
I am not comfortable with the idea of thinking of myself as cute.
“Geez,” I mutter to myself. “Why is this even an issue? This is Fluttershy, she thinks that animals are cute, not ponies.”
“Did you say something?” Fluttershy asks, her head popping in around the corner to momentarily startle me. “Oh, sorry...”
“It’s all right,” I reply, clearing my throat. “You’re not having any trouble finding anything, are you?”
“Oh no,” she replies, smiling warmly. “Although, I think you might be out of sugar.”
“Figures... That’s what I get for not being able to get to the market or store for a few days, eh?” I croak out. “Although, I bought some honeyblade a few weeks back. That could work in lieu, right?” She nods, tapping her chin and looking up thoughtfully.
“I suppose it could and surprisingly, it’s much healthier too.”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Sugar substitute that’s healthier? Pffft, that’s what they all say. Then again, this is Equestria, so who the fet knows. “It’s up in that... uhm, pantry closet thing on your left?” Good fetting Gaia, it’s so difficult to describe directions without the use of the word ‘hand.’ “You know where I’m talking about?”
She nods. “Yes, don't you worry about it, just rest here and I'll be back with your medicine.”
I blink and tilt my head. I’m not sure if Fluttershy has ever been this chatty before. I-- Just then, I notice that there appears to be an envelope that fell out of her saddlebags.
“I really should leave that alone,” I comment to myself. “Buuuut, with everything that she’s done for me..”
Pushing myself up and off the couch I pick the letter up with my mouth. And just as I’m about to put it on the table, Fluttershy reenters the room, the warm smell of herbal tea with the alluring aroma of honey accompanying her.
“Uhm, I found this on the floor,” Fet, letter’s still in my mouth. Spitting it out on the table in front of me, I hear it land with a bit of a wet sound. “Stupid lips,” Best give her an apologetic glance, there H.B. “I really hope that wasn’t anything terribly important.”
“Oh, that?” She pauses from setting the tea set down and... grimaces? “Nooo, that’s nothing.” Her wings fluff and her eyes narrow as she goes back to the task before her. “Just a letter from... Zephyr.”
“Oh,” Hoooooly fet-buckets, her body language! That sudden shift has caught me off guard and now a new question is flying around in my head like a little brown bat trapped in the hallway of an apartment complex. “Uhm, who?”
She tilts her head at me in a state of what I can only describe as shock or confusion?
“Zephyr Breeze?”
I give a momentary pause, running through fan names for background ponies to see if anything comes up.
“Nope, not ringing any bells,” I reply, shaking my head. “Though, from the way you’re, uhm, expressing yourself, I would have to take a guess and that he was somep-pony close to you? Fffriend from when you were young or... a crush?” Hey, it could happen.
Her eyes go wide and a twinge of something goes across her face. Not sure what that-
“Brother.” She quietly states while she fiddles with her forelock.
Disgust. That was disgust, H.B.
“Well, that was much more of an awkward answer than I expected,” Great, now she must think I’m an absolute idio- ”Wait, you have a brother?”