BEEP BEEP BEEP
Ugh. It’s too early for this. There’s not even light coming in through the window. I groan out “snooze” in a half-asleep stupor and roll over. Maybe if I just ignore the noise it’ll stop.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Dang it. I’m too awake now to get back to sleep. “Fine, fine, I’m awake,” I grumble as I push myself up and tumble off the sofa. “Geez.”
“BEEP BEEP BE- Oh, okay!” Pinkie mercifully stops beeping at me and chuckles. “Well, hurry up and get ready then. We’ve got a big day ahead of us!”
A few minutes later we’re out the door and into the chilly dawn. The sun is barely visible over the horizon, and a breeze runs through the streets. I yawn wide and shiver as we start to walk. Pinkie seems oblivious to the cold, hopping along beside me and smiling at the world.
“So what exactly is your plan here?” I ask after a few minutes. “I don’t get how you plan to ‘make me good’ or whatever.”
“I dunno,” she replies. “I figured I’d just kinda wing it. I’m sure somethin will come to me eventually.”
I wince. “If you don’t even have a plan, I can’t see this lasting very long,” I tell her. “You’re just gonna get yourself hurt.”
“We’ll see,” she hums. “I’m a pretty stubborn little pony.”
I sigh. “Well, do you at least know where we’re going?” I ask her. “This definitely won’t work if we just walk around all day.”
She giggles. “Well, I figure we’ll start where you started. There’s no way you woulda picked Fluttershy if you knew her better, so we’re gonna go make that happen.”
“I told you, I only picked her because she was the only other pony who I knew you were friends with,” I say. “How I felt about Fluttershy had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Pinkie says, “all super logical. Y’know, Rarity told me about what happened at the market. Where was the logic in helping Cheerilee, huh?”
“Well, I…” I stutter. I know there was a reason. I felt like I had to, my gut was telling me things would go bad if I didn’t. It was instinct. I don’t know how to explain that to Pinkie though. “Why did Rarity tell you what happened?” I ask instead.
“She was worried about you, dummy,” Pinkie says. She looks over and rolls her eyes at me. “Rarity’s good with breakdowns and stuff. She wanted to ask if I might’ve been pushing you too hard.”
“I didn’t have a breakdown,” I tell her. “I was just… overwhelmed. I’m not experienced with dealing with confrontation without a persona to give me a guideline.”
“Uh-huh,” Pinkie says sarcastically, and shoots me a grin. “Anyway, we’re gonna go cheer Fluttershy up. I want you to see how it feels to help instead of hurt.”
I shrug. I can’t imagine it’ll be worth the effort.
We walk up to Fluttershy’s house just as the air around us starts to warm up, and Pinkie knocks on the door. I look around as we wait for Fluttershy. There are animals everywhere. Birds in the trees, little mammals living in holes on the sides of the cottage, other creatures darting around just out of sight. All the plants seem to be thriving, clearly raised with care while still looking wild. The whole area seems warm and inviting.
Just as I’m about to ask Pinkie if she’s sure it’s not too early, the door creaks open to reveal a tired yellow pony. She has bags under her eyes, and her mane is unkempt, but she’s doing her best to put on a smile. Pinkie beams and jumps in to hug her as soon as they lock eyes, eliciting a shocked squeal from Fluttershy.
“Oh, my,” Fluttershy says meekly as she’s grabbed. “Hello, Pinkie, it’s nice to see you. Oh, um, you too Strawberry.” She peels Pinkie off of her. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“We’re gonna go on a walk!” Pinkie tells her excitedly. “C’mon, let’s go!”
Fluttershy and I are both stunned. “Umm, I… What?” Fluttershy stammers out.
“Through the woods!” Pinkie tells her. “It’ll be fun.”
“Oh… Pinkie, I don’t really know if I’m up to that right now,” Fluttershy mumbles. “I’m sorry.”
Pinkie shakes her head. “It’s mandatory. Walk time, let’s go let’s go.” This assertiveness is bizarre.
“Couldn’t we just have tea instead?” Fluttershy protests. “I just-”
“Nope!” Pinkie cuts her off. She moves around Fluttershy and starts pushing her out the door. “Goin on a walk!”
Fluttershy seems to give up once Pinkie gets the door shut behind them. She sighs and follows as Pinkie leads us around the house and towards the woods.
“Do you guys go on walks like this a lot?” I ask to make small talk as we walk.
“Well, I do,” Fluttershy says. “Pinkie usually doesn’t join me, because she um…” Her voice trails off.
“I’m really loud,” Pinkie says for her, smiling towards us. “Fluttershy likes to see the animals, but I scare em away, so usually when I come over we just have tea or whatever.”
As we talk, we reach the trees and go in, the world going dark around us. The forest is nice and cool in the shade, and animals in all directions are filling the air with noise. I was expecting there to be a path, but instead we just walk into the brush. Fluttershy seems to brighten up somewhat just from being here, and Pinkie and I start to follow her through the woods.
“You don’t really strike me as a pony that would be into tea, Pinkie,” I say.
“Oh, she’s not,” Fluttershy replies. “It’s more about the activity. Drinking tea together is very relaxing.”
“It’s a trade-off,” Pinkie says. “We relax at her house, then have parties at mine! A good balance for both of us.”
“So you just come out here alone then, Fluttershy?” I ask her.
“Oh, no, not alone,” Fluttershy says. “I never feel more connected to life than when I’m out here. It’s like taking a walk with Mother Nature herself.”
She floats into the air and gestures around us. “The forest is just filled with wonderful creatures.The singing of birds, the skittering of squirrels. Insects, fungi, even the trees. There’s always something new to see. Isn’t it just wonderful?”
She can really get going. You can barely tell she’s the same as the frightened, timid pony she was just moments ago. Like when she’s excited about something any other worries just disappear. I look over a Pinkie and she grins at me. I guess she knew this would happen.
“So what do you do out here?” I ask Fluttershy. “Just walk and look at nature?”
“Well, the walking is nice, for sure,” Fluttershy says, “but I actually come out here to check on the animals. Sometimes they need help from something bigger than they are, so I like to be there for them. Like, um…” She looks around quickly, then flies over to a tree. “Here, see this bird’s nest?”
I squint my eyes, and can just barely make out a tiny ball of twigs in one of the branches. “These take a lot of work to make,” Fluttershy continues. “But look, up above it, one of the branches is loose.” I follow her pointing and see the branch, but it just looks normal to me. “A bad wind could knock this off and it would fall on the nest. Since I found it, though, I can make sure they stay okay.”
Fluttershy grabs the loose branch in her mouth and yanks back, ripping it off right at the trunk. She must have been right, because I don’t think she would have the strength to pull off a branch that was well attached. She flies back down to us and drops the branch at our hooves.
“That’s a sharp eye,” I tell her as she lands, “and a noble goal.”
“That’s Fluttershy!” Pinkie says with pride. “Nopony is better than Fluttershy at being kind.”
Pinkie hugs Fluttershy, but her last comment makes Fluttershy’s face sink. “Well, I don’t know…” she says. “I’m not so sure kind is the right word anymore.”
Pinkie frowns, but then pops herself right back up. “Hey,” she says, “no moping! It’s walkin time. Frowns can be later.”
Fluttershy sighs and nods, turning and continuing on through the forest. She still seems better than when we first set out, but she really fell fast. Pinkie’s got her work cut out for her cheering this pony up.
Pinkie catches my eye as we walk and gestures like she wants me to say something. What could I say? I don’t even know her. Pinkie needs to lower her expectations.
“So, uh…” I start. I guess I’ll just say the first thing that comes to mind. “Is Applejack upset about the other day still?” Pinkie gives me a weird look, and I shrug back. I don’t know what she expected.
Fluttershy sighs. “She should be,” she says. “I really don’t know why she isn’t. I mean, I did such awful things. Anypony should hate me after that.”
Pinkie stares daggers at me. What does she want from me? Ugh. “Well, I mean,” I try, “maybe she just can’t bring herself to believe you would do that maliciously.”
“Maybe…” Fluttershy murmurs.
“I mean, uhh, I just met you, but even I can’t really believe you would be cruel like that,” I tell her.
Fluttershy is silent for a moment, then says “Thank you, Strawberry Tart.” I sigh in relief, and Pinkie grins at me. I guess that was up to her standards, at least. Somehow.
We walk in relative silence for a while. Pinkie isn’t entirely silent, because I don’t think she can be, and every so often Fluttershy stops to show us one of the ways she helps the forest creatures, but other than that it’s calm. It’s peaceful as the day goes on, the forest slowly heating up around us as we reach midday.
The routine seems to be slowly helping Fluttershy out of her funk. I guess Pinkie knew that getting her back to doing normal things would distract her enough for the emotions to process. Does she know these things intuitively, I wonder, or is it just because she knows Fluttershy so well?
Around what must be noon, we find a small clearing and decide to take a break. The heat is really starting to climb, and we’re all starting to feel it. Pinkie sprawls out onto some shaded grass, and Fluttershy and I find places nearby to get comfortable. A soft wind blows over us, warm but still welcome.
“Does it get this hot a lot?” I ask. “I can’t imagine coming out here very often if you have to deal with this heat.”
“No, this is odd,” Fluttershy says. “It has me kind of worried. The animals around here aren’t used to it. Maybe I should… No, that wouldn’t work…” She trails off, mumbling to herself.
“I hate it,” Pinkie grumbles. “Being hot sucks.”
“Should we go back?” I ask.
Pinkie groans. “I dunno…” she says, clearly conflicted. “We’re not done with our walk.”
Above us, the clouds part and spill light down onto us. With the light comes more heat, an almost overwhelming amount. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in heat this intense. It’s enough to make Pinkie start panting, and Fluttershy moves under a nearby tree.
“Oh, my,” Fluttershy says. “Pinkie, I don’t know if it’s safe for us to keep going in this. We’re just not prepared.”
Pinkie rolls over and gives a conflicted hum. “What’s so dangerous about it?” She asks. “I mean, we’re not gonna light on fire.”
Fluttershy frowns. “Heat can be very dangerous, Pinkie. You can get sunburn, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat st- EEP!”
Fluttershy jumps backwards with astonishing speed, followed closely by a stream of flames shooting out over our heads. The heat is unbearable, but the flames dissipate quick. I scramble to get up and look frantically around for the source. On the far side of the clearing is Fluttershy, and Pinkie seems to have already made it over to her. The rest of the clearing is empty.
I don’t see anything in the forest at first, but then I catch a glimpse of orange skittering through the brush. It’s small and fast, but that fire was pretty weak. Do I know of something that could fit that?
Just as I put the pieces together, Fluttershy speaks up behind me. “Salamander! Strawberry, get back!” How does she know what it is? She’s right though, I need to move. I sprint over to where they are, barely dodging a second volley of flames.
“We need to get rid of that thing,” I say as I reach them. “It’s too dangerous to let it stick around.”
Fluttershy gasps. “Strawberry, no!” she pleads. “We can’t hurt it.”
“It’ll hurt a lot of animals if it stays loose out here,” I tell her.
“I know, but…” she whimpers, her voice quivering. “Just, um… Okay, I um, I’ll calm it down. I can do this.” She gets up and starts walking in the direction of the salamander, whispering “I can do this” to herself over and over.
“Fluttershy, don’t be an idiot,” I say, but Pinkie hits me on the shoulder before I can continue. I look at her, and she’s completely calm, smiling like she has no worries at all.
“Just watch,” Pinkie whispers in my ear, so I do. Fluttershy is crouching low, slowly creeping over to the underbrush. Every so often a jet of fire shoots out at her, eliciting frightened yelps, but she presses on. It’s an astounding level of dedication for the yellow pony.
After what feels like several agonizing minutes, Fluttershy reaches the treeline, and without warning leaps forward, disappearing into the foliage. There’s a lot of noise, and then less, and then no noise at all. I look over to Pinkie, but she just smiles back at me. She clearly has a lot of faith in Fluttershy.
Then, out of the trees, Fluttershy’s head emerges with a grin. She floats out, carrying a big orange and red lizard with her front legs. Her mane is singed, and her tail is smoking, but she looks otherwise okay. The salamander seems docile, but I still back away when she sets it on the ground near us.
“What the heck did you do?” I ask incredulously.
Fluttershy crouches beside the creature and strokes its head. “I just calmed him down like any animal. Well, like any reptile.” She chuckles to herself. I just stare at her in shock, speechless.
“That thing is not an animal,” I finally manage to say. “It’s a monster. It’ll kill you.”
Fluttershy frowns. “Oh, he’s just a baby,” she replies. “Just lost and scared. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“Well, now what?” I ask her. “It doesn’t matter if it means to hurt anyone, it’ll do it again either way. If you let that thing loose it’ll grow up and burn this whole forest down.”
Fluttershy hums quietly for a moment. “I guess that’s true,” she says. “He needs a suitable environment. I wonder if Rarity could build a terrarium…” Her face slowly brightens as she thinks about it.
“Wait, you can’t possibly be thinking of taking it home,” I say. “That’s ridiculous, that is absolutely-”
“A great idea!” Pinkie cuts me off. “Oh, what an awesome pet!”
Fluttershy smiles and scoops the salamander back up, floating into the air. “Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve gotten to learn about a new kind of animal,” she says. “Help me get him back home, would you? Oh, and if you see Rarity later, tell her I need her help. Oh, oh, and Twilight too, I need to borrow some books.”
Fluttershy floats around us energetically the whole trip back, rambling about her plans with a wide grin, the salamander sitting lazily in her hooves. Back at her house she sees us off, saying she has a lot of work to do, which Pinkie seems to readily accept.
“So, whaddaya think?” Pinkie asks as we’re walking back home.
“About what?” I respond.
“About helping Fluttershy!” she says. “You did real well at it.”
“I almost died for it,” I tell her. “And Fluttershy still could. She’ll see what happens when you let a monster into your home.”
Pinkie just chuckles and grins at me. “I don’t hear you sayin you didn’t like it, though.”