//------------------------------// // (Mostly) Good Intentions // Story: The One Shot Repository // by thehalfelf //------------------------------// (Mostly) Good Intentions Note: This story takes place between Seasons 2 and 3 “So, Twilight, you think you can help me out?” Rainbow Dash asked the lavender unicorn next to her as they led their group of friends down towards Ponyville, new pet in tow. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be too hard.  I’ll probably have the spell done in a couple days, then I’ll just have to make the actual machinery.  It should be done in time for the next Pony-Pet Play Date,” Twilight replied, after going over some calculations in her head. “Awesome!” Rainbow shouted, jumping into the air.  Twilight looked up at her, eyebrow raised, and the pegasus fluttered back down to the earth. “What are you going to do with Tank until then?” the unicorn asked.  “I don’t think he’ll be able to go up to your cloudhouse without the copter.” “I... uh...  I hadn’t thought of that...”  Rainbow looked down at the tortoise plodding along next to her. Fluttershy quickly darted forward, gently tapping Rainbow’s shoulder to get her friends’ attention.  “Um, I could take him in, until you’re ready that is...” “Thanks, Fluttershy, but I’d rather take Tank back home.  I’ll get some high-density clouds from the Weather Office and make a bed for him, or something.”  Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively, missing Fluttershy’s cringe. “A... Are you sure?  It really wouldn’t be any trouble, and I wouldn’t want him falling from your house.  It’s pretty high up...”  The shy pegasus threw a concerned glance towards the tortoise. “Well, even if he did fall, I’m the fastest pegasus in Equestria!  It wouldn’t be any problem to snatch him before he gets the ground.”  Rainbow turned her head to look at Fluttershy.  “It’ll be fine, really.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to let something bad happen to the best pet ever.” Angel Bunny, seated comfortably on Fluttershy’s back, looked like he was about to argue the “best pet” point, but a look from Rainbow stopped him cold.  “Okay... if you say so,” Fluttershy responded before falling back to Rarity to discuss their next spa date.  It wasn’t too much later that the group came to the outskirts of Ponyville, and a small dirt road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres, and a little further down, Fluttershy’s cottage.  The friends all said their farewells before splitting into smaller groups and heading towards their homes. A short while later, Fluttershy said her goodbyes to Applejack and Winona as they turned down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving the mellow pegasus and her spoiled bunny.  It wasn’t long before Fluttershy spied her home, the cozy cottage perched precariously on the edge of the emerald Everfree Forest. The pegasus fluttered over to the door, pushing it open with a hind leg, allowing the swarm of animals to pull her inside.  “Hello everyone,” Fluttershy said, gently kicking the door closed behind her as she set Angel down.  She spent the next few minutes rushing around in a frenzy, quickly and effectively feeding and caring for the animals currently living with her. Once she knew her animals were satiated, and that the injured still walked the road to recovery, only then did she turn her thoughts and actions to her own needs.  After a few minutes of busy but productive fluttering in the kitchen, Fluttershy sat down at a small table with a light fresh salad.  As she ate, she made a mental list of everything else that needed to be done for the next couple of days. Well, I’m going to need to go into town to get the ingredients for Angel Bunny’s special Friday snack.  While I’m there, I might as well do some of the shopping for myself.  The chicken coop out back could use a fresh coat of paint, so maybe I’ll stop by Sweet Apple Acres sometime and ask if Big Macintosh could help me.  Even though she was alone, her light blush still made her anxious. The badgers down under the bridge have been really quiet lately, I should go see if they need anything.  It might also be a good idea to pull up some of the plants in the garden that I don’t like.  I’m sure Tank will like...  Fluttershy’s thoughts trailed off, ears falling victim to gravity.  As much as she pushed Rainbow Dash to allow her favorite tortoise to participate, part of her was going to miss the slow creature. Well, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to get the food and bring it to Rainbow, right?  Besides, then I could make sure Tank is well taken care of.  Not that Rainbow can’t do it!  Silly brain, stop thinking bad about Rainbow...  Ensured that she had properly chastised herself, Fluttershy cleaned up the small mess she had made eating, and grabbed a book, intending to climb to her bed and read until she fell asleep. /)*(\ Days passed in a flurry of activity.  What Fluttershy had thought was going to be a short, easy shopping trip the next day ended up taking hours after she agreed to help Rarity model a new line of dresses, “because I simply can’t find a better model than you, darling.”  Not that she would refuse, oh no, Fluttershy would gladly do anything to help Rarity, as long as it didn’t involve another, um, special outfit.  On the way back, however, she did manage to catch the beavers of the bridge and ensure they were, indeed, doing perfectly fine. The next day was relegated to tending to her garden, which also turned into an all-day affair when Angel Bunny started pestering two chipmunks, causing Fluttershy to have to stop her work every few minutes to break up the fighting.  Not that she really minded that much, much better to use time stopping fights than to use it to tend wounded. The day after, Fluttershy managed to get Applejack to allow Big Macintosh come and help her repaint the chicken coop.  Well, she would have helped, she really would have, if Big Macintosh hadn’t insisted that she not do anything, at least with the chicken coop.  Instead, Fluttershy spent several hours cooking a nice meal--and something for Applejack as well--as a way to thank the red farm pony for all his work.  Just a thank you. In fact, Fluttershy had been so busy that she had barely given a passing thought to Tank, or his new home, until she lay exhausted on the couch of her living room on the third night.  With half-closed eyes, the pegasus noted the basket of flowers, grass clippings, lettuce, and other things from her garden picked the day before on the table.  As Fluttershy slowly drifted to sleep, she resolved to deliver the supplies to Rainbow Dash the next day, as soon as she had time. /)*(\ Fluttershy sat perched upon the perch of her friend’s cloud home.  In her mouth she held the basket of food, which now also contained several other supplies Fluttershy thought Rainbow could use to take care of Tank properly.  After giving everything in her grasp a once-over to make sure she didn’t forget anything, the yellow pegasus raised a hoof and knocked on the door, hood sinking into the cloud door for a brief second before it hardened to the contact. “Just a minute!” Rainbow shouted.  Several long second, and many, many crashing sounds later, the prismatic pegasus poked her head out of the small crack in the door.  “Uh, hey Fluttershy.  How’s it goin’?” “Oh, it’s great.  I just wanted to come by and give you some things for Tank, if that’s alright,” Fluttershy replied, offering up the basket. “Yeah, yeah!  That’s great!”  Rainbow reached out a hoof, nicking the basket and stowing it somewhere inside, opening the door only wide enough for it to fit through before closing it again.  “Anything else?” “Well, I was hoping to see him, and maybe teach you a little about caring for him...”  Fluttershy lowered her head, letting her mane spill forward and hide her attempt to peek through the door for any sign of the tortoise. “Uh, right now isn’t really a great time--” “Is something wrong?  Is Tank hurt!?”  Fluttershy exclaimed, bolting to her feet and rushing towards the door to be stopped by a cyan hoof. “We’re fine.  I just want to make sure he is settled is all.”  Despite her reassurances, Rainbow looked nervous. Fluttershy thought for a moment.  She wanted to see Tank, and make sure he was okay with Rainbow, but at the same time, she didn’t want to offend her friend.  “Well, um, could I come in and rest for a minute before going back?” Obviously relieved, Rainbow agreed, ushering the yellow pegasus into her lofty home.  The two sat in a somewhat awkward silence for several minutes before Rainbow spoke up.  “You, uh, you want some water?” “Oh, yes please,” Fluttershy replied.  She had seen the other pegasus’ kitchen, and so, knowing she had a couple minutes of no supervision, she quietly darted up and began to search the house.  Not once during her entire visit had she heard or seen Tank, which worried her.  Fluttershy knew the tortoise was slow, but surely he would have made himself known by now! Sneaking to the best of her ability--which, given her usual state of noise, was really good--Fluttershy made her way to Rainbow’s bedroom, the most likely place for the tortoise to be.  As she gently nosed the door open, Fluttershy heard a voice behind her. “What are you doing?” Fluttershy froze, ears pinned flat to her head, knees bent, eyes dilated in fear.  She turned around slowly.  “R-Rainbow Dash, I can explain...” “What the hay Fluttershy!?  I didn’t really think of you to sneak around like that.  What are you doing?”  Fluttershy cringed.  Rainbow sounded really angry... “I-I was just worried about Tank, and you wouldn’t let me see him, and so--” “So you snuck through my house!?” Fluttershy cringed, on the brink of tears.  “M-Maybe...” “Maybe?  Maybe nothing!  You’re right there, sneaking through my house!”  Rainbow shook her head, taking a deep breath.  “Okay, sorry.  I didn’t mean to yell.” Fluttershy just nodded. “I, uh, I never had a pet before, and...” “Is he hurt!?”  Fluttershy interrupted, all traces of emotion beside concern vanishing. “No, of course not!  I just, uh, didn’t really know what to do with him...”  Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof.  “Look,” she said, cutting off Fluttershy’s next interruption, “I’ll show you, but you have to promise not to tell anypony else, okay?” After Fluttershy nodded, Rainbow hesitatingly pushed the door to her bedroom open all the way.  Inside was the bedroom Fluttershy had seen many times, posters of Wonderbolts adorning almost every surface that could hold it, pile of weather papers on a disheveled desk, vying for attention with magazines and a stray Daring Do book. But, the fluffy bit of high-density clouds in the corner was new, just like the tortoise sitting amongst mounds of stuffed animals, plushies of the Wonderbolts, and various bits and bobs that really made no sense.  Right next to the cloud-bed was a set of bowls, one containing water, the other full of hay fries piled on top of a grilled daisy sandwich. Above all of this, ribbons tied to little bits of cloud fashioned to look like stars were hung from the ceiling, forming a crude mobile above the inert animal.  Fluttershy looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was blushing almost as bright red as Big Macintosh’s coat. “How about those pet care lessons now?”  Fluttershy asked with a little smirk. /)*(\ A week later, Twilight met with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash early before their Pony-Pet Play Date.  With her, the lavender unicorn carried a special contraption, powered by solar magic, that would allow Tank to fly with Rainbow, with a little practice.  “Here,” Twilight said as she handed over the flying machine.  “You also might want to be careful while he gets used to it.  After all, you only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle once.” “Tortoise,” Fluttershy corrected on instinct.  “Sorry...” Twilight laughed.  “Tortoise, I’m sorry.  So, hows it been going Rainbow?  Tank get used to living in the sky yet?” Unbeknownst to the unicorn, a sheepish look went from the cyan pegasus to the yellow one.  “I helped her out,” Fluttershy said.  “Tank will love his new home.” “That’s great!  See you girls at the play date!”  Twilight called, walking back towards the library to get ready. “Bye Twilight,” Fluttershy said before turning to Rainbow.  “After all, he can move without all the stuffed animals around.” Rainbow Dash glared at the other pegasus for a moment before they both broke out in laughter.  As the fit subsided, Fluttershy grabbed the whirligig in her mouth, and headed off with Rainbow to strap on Tank’s new toy.