After leaving Carousel Couture, Fluttershy and Stardust started to walk home. The pegasus hadn’t realized how long she had been inside of the clothes shop. The sun was starting to descend, and the sky was tinted with the beautiful hues of sunset. As pretty as it is, to see Celestia’s sun slowly kiss the horizon, the pegasus was not a fan of being outside after dark. Today had been quite eventful enough, without having to worry about what may lie in the dark.

It had indeed been an interesting day. The mare had went from living like a hermit, to suddenly being a parent. It still felt a bit unreal. Her, a broken mare, was now raising a foal…. Speaking of which, where was he? She just realized that he was no longer next to her. She stopped in her tracks and looked briefly in a slight panic. She then calmed down as she saw him. The little colt had apparently squeezed past the main traffic flow, and wandered towards the buildings. She tilted her head as she watched him for a moment.

Stardust walked oddly close to the sides of buildings. He went out of his way to avoid the center of the street. How odd… Fluttershy flew over to him and then stood in front of him. “S-stardust,” she quietly huffed. “Don’t wander off- please,” she said. “I thought I lost you for a minute. Why’d you go all the way over here?”

“Sorry,” he replied. “I-… Uh, habit,” he mumbled. “Not used to walking in the middle of the road.”

Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion for a moment. She didn’t get right away why anypony would choose to stay on the edges on a path. Then a thought came to her. “Ohh, you must’ve been from a big city… before, huh? I-I’ve heard that in places like Manehatten, ponies prefer to travel by carriage.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about that here. Ponyville’s quite small, so you won’t have to look out for that sort of thing,” Fluttershy assured.

“Mhm,” he said. He sounded a bit… sad? Perhaps a little homesick. “No cars- I mean, carriages to look for.”

Fluttershy paused briefly before bending down. “Here, c-climb on. It’s not a carriage, but how about I give you a piggyback ride home?” She offered with a little giggle and a smile. She waited for the colt to climb on and rest safely between her wings. “Off we go,” she said as she trotted towards the outskirts of town.

As the familiar sight of her cottage came into view, Fluttershy started to slow her walking speed. She hummed to herself as she started to feel more relaxed. Once they made it to the door, she lowered herself so the colt could get off of her back. She then stood back up and let him inside.

She watched as he shuffled into the living room and then climbed onto the couch. He sat with his weight on his bum, which was still strange to the pegasus whenever she saw it. That’s not a comfortable position for the typical pony. In fact, she only knew one pony before now who could even manage to sit like that. She began to wonder. Maybe he’s… No- don’t be silly, she told herself. Lyra had no interest in stallions, and she certainly hasn’t had any foals recently- or at all, so she couldn’t possibly have anything to do with her foster-son’s quirk. Perhaps it’s simply a city-pony thing? Miss Heartstrings was originally from the capital, after all.

Her fixation on the curious habits of her ward subsided as she began to feel hungry. She retired to the kitchen and grabbed some snacks before joining her son- it’s still odd to say, on the couch. She sat a small tray with cookies onto the coffee table. “Would you like one?” She asked the foal.

“Maybe just one,” he’d replied before biting into it. His face scrunched up almost immediately.

“Stardust,” she sighed. “You don’t sound very convincing… A-are you sure? What’s wrong with it? Not sweet enough?“

“Uh-“ retorted Stardust, “actually…. The opposite. It’s too sweet- Pinkie made this, huh? It’s like biting into pure sugar. It makes my teeth hurt,” he fussed. He then suddenly looked sheepish and his ears pinned back. “Don’t tell her I said that-“

Fluttershy looked confused and concerned. She knew that the perky, pink party pony always packed her treats with extra sugar but… she’d never seen anypony look repulsed by a cookie before. She’d also never known a pony to get a toothache from sugar either. “You… really don’t like the sugar?”

Stardust paused and shrugged. “It’s excessive. It really doesn’t bother you? What’s the point of so much damn sugar anyway- Someone could get diabetes from this shit,” he fussed with a frown.

Fluttershy frowned at the foal for his uncoltlike behavior. “P-please don’t swear- and…. Ponies don’t get diabetes. Plus, ponies need sugar, you know that… right?”

Apparently the colt, in fact, did not know that. He responded with a perplexed. “What kind of animal needs teeth rotting sweetness??”

Oh dear, Fluttershy thought to herself. Was this foal deprived of schooling when he was with his family? The link between sugar, sunlight and magic was basic information that even a five year old knows. To be around 11, and not know where your energy comes from?… That was concerning. She made a mental note to make sure that she enrolls him in school once summer ends. He probably has a lot of subjects to catch up on. She probably shouldn’t reprimand him for lack of knowledge. Who knows what his life was like before?

“J…just know that sugar is important, okay?” Fluttershy mumbled. She then glanced out of a window awkwardly. She felt bad about drawing attention to the issue and wasn’t sure how else to continue the conversation.

She then noticed that the sun had finally gone down and the moon was rising to greet the sky. She looked back at Stardust. “Oh, it’s getting late actually… H-how about we get ready for bed now?” She suggested.

It’s bath time now, apparently. I stood in the bathroom, shifting my weight on my hooves awkwardly as I waited to get cleaned. I was not thrilled about having to get washed by somebody else but, seeing as how I can’t use my hooves properly, it’s not like I have a choice.

Fluttershy turned the faucets with her hooves and then grabbed a bottle of oil with her mouth, before pouring some of it into the water.

The flowery aroma wafted through the room. I inhaled deeply and sighed as I suddenly felt a bit sleepy. “Pretty~” I said in a whisper.

Fluttershy giggled quietly. “You like it? It’s lavender oil. It has so many uses. I… use it to relieve anxiety, but it also relaxes muscles and promotes deep sleep. Plus it’s a good bug repellent and-“ she felt like she was rambling and trailed off. She cleared her throat. “A-anyway, ready to get in?”

“So I can undo your clothes-“ she explained. “Or did you want to try again, to see if you can perform magic?”

“Umm… y-you do it. I don’t wanna…. strain myself” I said. I felt slightly flustered as I stood on my hind legs. Despite the fact that my past life was a human, this action was quite tricky to pull off now. I kept my front hooves pulled close to my chest and avoided Fluttershy’s gaze as I tried not to fall over.

The buckle came undone rather quickly and the garment was sat aside. Then I was picked up and gently plopped into the tub. My body immediately began to relaxed into the warm water. “Mmmm~” I sighed softly. “This feels great. God, I haven’t had a bath so long. This feels like heaven,” I mumbled.

Fluttershy looked a little stunned by my words for a moment but then smiled at me gently. “You’ll get to enjoy this often, from now on,” she said as she rustled my hair.

She scrubbed me with a loofah, lathering soap into my fur. I felt a lot better as the dirt I’d accumulated over the past few days had gotten washed off. She made sure every inch of me was clean. She did half the washing with her eyes closed as she wanted to preserve my dignity, I guess.

After the bath was over, she scooped me up in her forelimbs. She dried me off with a towel and then lifted me off of the ground. She didn’t fly very high, only about a foot off of the ground, as she carried me into the bedroom. She put me to bed and even tucked me in. Hey, I’m starting to like all this kiddie treatment.

“I will be right downstairs, if you need me,” Fluttershy said in a soft tone, “so just shout and I’ll be right here. Okay?”

I nodded my head in agreement. I squeezed my arms- I mean, forelimbs against the covers and sighed. I paused and looked up at her. “Thank you” I mumbled under my breath.

“I said… Thanks,” I repeated. “For… all of this. You didn’t have to take me in, but…. I’m glad it was you that I ended up with.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “No need to thank me. I was just doing what I felt was right,” she said. She yawned softly and twitched her wings. “Now, you should get some sleep.”

I felt sleepy already but wasn’t quite to the point of nodding off. That is, until I was graced with a lullaby from the lovely yellow pegasus.

Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.
Hush now, quiet now, close your sleepy eyes.
Hush now, quiet now, my how time sure flies.
Drifting, drifting off to sleep the days excitement behind you.
Drifting drifting off to sleep let the joy of dreamland find you.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.

I was lulled into total relaxation after that. I quickly started feeling myself drift off. The last thing I recall before falling asleep was feeling a little kiss planted on my forehead.

I dreamt that I was adrift in a sea of stars, flowing aimlessly in the vast expanse. The stars whispered but their voices were incomprehensible. Despite not understanding the sounds of the heavenly bodies, I could feel that they were calling out… begging, pleading, for something. But what? And who were they shouting for?

Suddenly, I felt warmth the distance, ahead of me. I couldn’t see my own body, but I drifted towards the warmth. The warmth came from a bright and beautiful, yet not blinding, crimson sun. Inside of the sun, I could see the shape of…. something, inside, resting. I had no time or means to decipher who this figure was as I heard an oddly familiar voice.

I whipped around towards the sound and found myself in front of a moon, which possessed an equine face upon it. I then felt a coldness flood my senses as pulsating mass of dark blue emerged from the moon. Then, the undulating darkness began to speak.

‘The time draws nearer… Thou cannot hide forever. Thou will hede our call, just as all of those blessed by the breath of the Matron.’

“L..leave me alone!” I cried into the abyss. “I’m not doing anything you say.”

‘Insolent knave’ was the rebuttal offered by the miasma. Thou will submit… Or ye will crumble under foot!’ It threatened. A bolt of energy then shot out of the darkness and into me. I felt a pressure in my chest and a painful heat in my head.

My Life as a Pony

by _Sugarplum_

Bubble Baths & Bad Dreams