At last, after another trip of tedious walking, I was standing a couple of feet of distance from Fluttershy's cottage. It had been such a tiring cardio; the base of my forehead was sweating, the bottom of both my feet pulsated in soreness as they longed for the relaxation they so desperately needed.
Ever since I came to Equestria, I had been having a subsequent diet of fish meat and confectioneries. Mostly the latter. Fish meat's okay when it came to protein, but what would I'd give for some greasy bacon... Seeing as eating a ton of sweets was not only affecting my weight but it was also bad for my health. Heck, I didn't have any health care coverage. So I hereby swore myself to lay off the sugary delights as a resolution to this first day of summer's last month - August. Quite a shame, really, yet sacrifices had to be made for the sake of one's constitution.
Ponies and their homes in Equestria were small. A majority of them were either at or a couple centimeters shorter than the waist of an adult human. This excluded Celestia as she was the exact height of one such as myself. Because of their teen-ish size, it became a nuisance having to occasionally lower my head or crawl on fours just to enter each time. My daughter's home was an exception.
Her cottage was pretty broad, and the doorways were ideal for me to walk through without having to crawl. And how would I know? Because of a week and two days ago, when I came home after fishing, there was seriously a bear inside the place and boy was it humongous! I didn't think anything bigger than me could fit through the front door. I was dead wrong. Though much as it pained me to admit I, as a grown man, shouldn't have to live inside a hut crowded with animals. One of the other downsides was that Fluttershy didn't own a kitchen.
Just... I know I shouldn't complain about my daughter's home, but this was why I need a house of my very own - a crib that'd be perfect for me; a home where I'd have a normal couch to sit on, an actual comfy bed that wasn't a sleeping bag, a kitchenette to cook and eat my food in. And maybe an office for bills or stuff.
Bless Fluttershy's heart, anyway. She heavily insisted I'd come to live with her, and I never regretted doing so. I just hated the burden of freeloading, was all.
Raising a hand up, I prodded the cottage's door open further, allowing the cool air to spill inside the cottage. The metallic hinges eerily groaned as the door slowly swung out over the polished wooden floorboards. An unpleasing stench of animals lingering in the cottage washed over me like a tidal wave the moment the door opened. It smelled pretty bad, but after living in Fluttershy's cottage for a whole month it's something I kinda had to get used to.
Lowering my head, I cupped a hand to my mouth and softly hollered, "Fluttershy, I'm home!"
"Just a second," she too hollered back softly from her bedroom.
I hanged Fluttershy's saddlebag on a pristine coat rack stand to the right of me. The stand was made of fine oak; a gift from Rarity at the welcoming party. The fashionista was generous enough to pair it with a fancy black fedora (guess that'd be why she's nominated as the Element of Generosity). I hadn't worn it since but I didn't deny how 'arguably dashing', as she so lovingly put it, it'd go with my coal-black suit and pants if I wore it.
After passing the threshold I stood up to my full height, with my head inches away from touching the ceiling, and closed the door behind me.
I trudged further inward to the center of the cottage meanwhile examining my surroundings; the room was fairly small in size and held little furniture. There was a couch along one wall, a light green in color. The wall it rested on was actually created by a staircase housing an under-the-stairs closet. Across the couch was a small wooden table. On it rested a shiny glass vase, and three framed pictures; one which was of Fluttershy and Angel with a group of animals behind them, one of only Angel, and lastly, one of me holding Fluttershy in my arms. That picture, oh how it had me think back the day we took it. It was taken several months before the incident -- the tragic day of Angel's death -- back on Earth. She looked so young and angelic. Beautiful, I would also say. As she had gotten older she had retained her beauty, as well as her shyness for that matter. It'd make one inquisitive about how someone old can still look young and pretty. N-not that Fluttershy was old or anything. Actually, forget the last two sentences I've written. I'll just cross them and this out.
Popping out of that reminiscing montage, my eyes reverted their bleary gaze back to the luxurious-looking couch. The mere sight allured the temptation to sit on it, so I did just that. Moseying on over to the said furniture, I carelessly flopped down onto it as my rump sank into its plush cushion thus relieving the soreness from the bottom of my feet.
"That's much better...." I sighed in utter relief.
Untying my black Nikes and pulling them off, I lay them next to the couch. Stretching my legs over the table, I carefully rested my feet on top of it and closed my eyes temporarily.
After a minute or two, I raised an eyelid seeing Fluttershy already at the bottom of the staircase. She was pretty light on her hooves (what with being a pegasus and all), but it was interesting just how quiet her steps were; I didn't hear a single click or clop when she was coming down. That's where I mused on an engrossing theory -- maybe the gravity here was lighter than that of Earth's, or something else?
As a man who miserably failed his physics class in homeschool, I can't go 'Bill-Nye' with the whole "universal gravitation" mumbo-jumbo, so I plainly surmised Equestria's gravity being lighter than Earth's. Simple as that.
After a couple more steps, all of Fluttershy's hooves touched to the ground floor. She began trotting elegantly toward me, her pink tail drooping low enough that it was being dragged along the floor as she went. I've reminded myself a couple of times for the past week that her mane and tail were in need of desperate trimming, but the concern of it would always elude me for an odd reason...
"Welcome back home, Father," Fluttershy greeted with a warm smile, her pacing becoming slower as she'd gotten closer. "You must have had an awfully busy day coming home at this late hour." She said.
"Heh. It sure was an assiduous day," I replied wearily. "My feet and legs are so sore I think they're going to be numb tomorrow."
Fluttershy softly giggled, taking my remark as a joke. I swear, that delightful giggle of hers sounds as enchanting as an angel. Who'd I be kidding? Fluttershy practically was an angel; a heavenly, yellow-furred and pink-maned angel of a daughter whom I loved so very much.
She neatly strolled around the coffee table and hopped onto the green couch beside me. "Did you um... end up talking to Twilight today?" Fluttershy asked knowingly.
"Per usual," I nodded. "The conversation was cut short when Spike overheard me saying that I was going to Rarity's. He got so excited that he pleaded to come with," shifting closer, Fluttershy had the upper-half of her body laying on my lap, listening to my words attentively. "But I can't understand why he never has the guts to tell Rarity how he feels if he's so madly in love with her. Heck, he had me Pinkie Promise to never tell anyone," I grimaced at the memory of doing the stupid charade for the promise. "Love works in such mysterious ways."
"But you meant it, right?" Fluttershy questioned.
"What do you mean?" I questioned back, with an addition to raising a brow.
"You're going to keep that promise, aren't you? It's Pinkie's traditional way of trusting somepony. If you don't stand by your word for it, Pinkie Pie would be terribly upset. That and you'd betray Spike's trust," she added.
I blatantly shrugged.
Fluttershy's brow furrowed as she peered up at me. "Daaad..." she said, acting discontent.
"I kid, I kid!" I chuckled while stroking the back of my daughter's neck with a thorough hand. My skinny fingers swept across her neck, their nerves tickled by the soothing sensation of her buttery-colored fur. "You know I wouldn't do anything to make your friends upset if it then makes YOU upset," Fluttershy's heartwarming smile returned, which earned a fatherly smile from me. "As I was saying, the second Spike overheard me saying that I was going to Rarity's he pleaded to come along with, and Twilight didn't mind that at all as long as I'd bring him back home before dusk. Which I did, in case you'd ask."
"Definitely sounds like you've had your hooves full. What else did you do after that?"
"I hurried on over to Sugarcube Corner afterward," I bluntly answered without correcting her metaphor of 'hooves' instead of 'hands'. "Sadly it was closed by the time I arrived there. Sorry I couldn't bring the cupcakes like I promised I would."
I really couldn't tell her about the talk between Discord and me; the draconequus wanted our meetings at the lake to be our little secret. I had asked him why, but his cryptic reply to me was just this: Just because. Even though I said this before, Discord sure was an odd and mysterious fellow.
"It's okay," she said, not a single disappointment hinted in her voice. She leaned the side of her head closer to my chest, her nose nuzzling my neck as she did so. "I'm just glad you're home safe and sound. That's all that matters to me."
It'd be times like this that if you weren't a father you'd probably find this a tad heartwarming. To me, it was more than that. I held back a tear I felt was going to come out because that was the most precious (albeit corny) thing my daughter had ever said to me.
Pulling myself together, I snuggled her closer and gave a light peck on her forehead. "And that's one of the main reasons why I love you. You always seem to know how to brighten your father's mood."
"I love you too," Fluttershy cooed sweetly. She then pulled herself out of my embrace and perked her head up at me. "Dad," she started.
"Hm?" I hummed as she snatched my undivided attention.
"Do you... like it here?" She asked, her piercing blue eyes glistening a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.
It didn't take me a second to reply to an obvious question. "Of course I like it here," I said assuredly. "What on Equestria gave you that idea?"
Ugh. Saying 'What on Earth' would have sounded far better than that. But this wasn't my home planet, so I had no choice but to have used the phrase....
"I-it's just that..." Fluttershy's words began trailing off. Her eyes were then staring directly at the ground. "N-nevermind. Forget I asked." She said defeatedly.
I knew there was something wrong, so I lent a gentle thumb underneath her chin and leveled her head up where our eyes locked into one another, face to face. "My dear Shy, as your father it is my solemn duty to listen to anything that troubles you. Don't be afraid to speak your mind out. Whatever it is we can talk through it together, but we'll do that tomorrow because right now your father is awfully exhausted. I also need to write an entry in my journal before I go to bed."
"Oh, okay." Fluttershy nodded as she shifted herself off my lap.
It sure was later than ever, and my legs were stiff from sitting in that position too long. The moment I had freedom, I arched my spine forward until it made a painful pop' or two. After steadily getting up from the couch, I took my a palm over my mouth to mask the yawn that was coming out.
Fluttershy was already on her way toward the staircase and she too made a graceful yawn. As she ascended up the staircase, she stopped midway where she could still see me. "Dad," she called again.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Goodnight," she said, her delicate lips stretching into a grateful smile.
And with that, she went out of plain view and entered her bedroom. However, I had just noticed something off about my daughter when she was climbing up the stairs....
'Has she gotten a little fatter?'