“Oh no! Oooh no! Have I really been gone for that long?!” you desperately question yourself as you rocket down the dirt pathway that lead back to your house. The sun had already begun to dip downward into the horizon, signaling the coming of nighttime. “I promised her that I would only be gone for a few minutes, not a few hours!” You hate to imagine as to what she will think of you when she knows that you have broken your promise and had left her alone for so long. Your levels of worry build up as you approach your home. Fluttershy was not in the yard, and all of the animals had gone away to prepare for the coming night, making you fear the worst had already happened.
“Ooooooh! I shouldn’t have left her here by herself with no company. It must have been awfully lonely to wait for a friend, especially a friend that may have hurt her feelings...” You sadly say to yourself as you move up the front door, your head sulking downward all the way. You open the door and enter your surprisingly warm home. You place the box on an end table near the door and hang your saddlebags on a hook nearby. Your head is still hanging low as your emotions continue to drag your soul down to a deep pit of worry and despair, the thought of losing a good, if not the greatest friend you’ve ever had occupying your mind.
“Oh, you’re back!”
Your head jolts upward at the sound of the one voice that made your both your heart and mind soar. You immediately turn towards the fireplace, where the angelic voice called out to you from. Fluttershy was looking at you with kind, awaiting eyes and a smile beset on her beautiful face as she sat on the floor next to a lit fire. You look into her eyes and smile back. Your full gaze was locked with her own, both sets of eyes boring deep into each other’s soul like a toothpick through soft butter. This went on for quite a while. Neither of you spoke as the two of you continued staring into each other’s eyes with nothing but the warm air from the fire to accompany the moment.
With a noticable hint from your eyes, you catch a small glimpse of a white ball of fur stirring next to Fluttershy’s right wing. Fluttershy must have felt the movement, for her own eyes were now turned away from you and towards the moving mass. You decide to step forward to get a closer look. When you arrive at Fluttershy’s left side. you smile and lightly giggle when you discover what the rather familiar looking ball of fur really was.
“I, uhh...I’m sorry that I came into your home uninvited, but it was starting to get dark outside, and I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye, so I came inside to get out of the cold, and that’s when I saw this little guy...” Fluttershy gently nuzzled the ball of fur with the tip of her snout, causing the furball to toss and turn for a few seconds before rolling over onto Fluttershy's wing. The sight was beyond adorable. “I never knew you had a ferret for a pet, and he was really playful and just so cute, so I...well...played with him for a little while, but then he got tired and fell asleep next to me. Again, sorry for barging in here without your permission..."
Your smile grows even wider when you hear her say her adorable apology for the second time. “It’s alright Fluttershy, You're welcome into my home anytime!” you happily reassure her while bending down next to her and lightly nudging your sleeping pet onto your neck. You stroll over to a tiny wooden house in a corner of the room and open the tiny front door. You reach around and delicately grip the ferret’s neck with your teeth, being careful as not to awaken it, and slowly slide it’s sleeping form inside, closing the door once you finish placing a small blanket onto his back. Somehow, you could feel Fluttershy’s smile radiate all the way across the room. The sensational presence made your spine tingle with happiness and splendor. You walk over to the end table by the door and grab the two paper-wrapped cookies next to the small box. You turn and walk back to the fireplace and took a seat on the carpet next to Fluttershy. You offer her one of cookies, which she gladly accepts.
“What’s his name?” Fluttershy politely asked as she took a small bite out of her frosted treat and chewed it slowly.
“Remi, but I usually call him Jonsey, after a cat I used to have as a pet when I was little. He’s very playful and he gets along with other animals quickly, but he expends much of his energy in just a few hours, so he tends to fall asleep quite a bit. I can’t even count the number of times I had to climb up a tree or crawl into a hollow log just to get him out and put him to bed.” When you finish telling her some of the many memories you've had with your ferret companion, you notice that Fluttershy has moved a bit closer to you. Her wings were only a hair's breadth away from your coat, and you could even feel her light, evenly-spaced nose-breaths spread out over the side of your neck with each rising and falling action of her chest. It was a bit awkward at first, but you didn’t mind.
“Angel bunny is pretty much the opposite of all of that.” She giggles at the ironical opposites between her own pet and Remi. “But Angel is still a sweet bunny. He may be a bit grouchy at times, but he gets along with others after a little while.” Fluttershy finished off the last of her cookie and wiped away any frosting that was still on her lips. She starts to close her eyes and breath in short intervals, only to jolt upward and gasp in sudden alarm. She quickly glances at the clock above your fireplace and instantly makes for the door.
“I’m soooo sorry, but I never realized how late it was! I have to get back home before one of the late-night storms comes in. I’ll come back to check on you and the other animals tomorrow alright?” You smile and nod back in acknowledgment. “Ok, see you tomorrow!” She quickly opens the door and closes it once she steps out into the moonlit night. You start to hear the pitter-patter of tiny raindrops falling onto your windows, sending a clear signal saying that the bulk of the storm was on it’s way. You also take a look at the clock and note how late it was getting, so you decided to head to bed. After checking to make sure that Remi was still asleep, you douse the fire with a small bucketful of dry ash and head up to your room, the essence of Fluttershy’s heavenly breathing still warmly residing on the sides of your neck.
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Ok Jonsey, you win. I quit. After many mind-bending toils and the “friendly” company of your obcesent badgering, I finally put you in the story.
Congratulations, you’re a dead cat.
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has tracked and/or favorited this story so far. I have plenty of free time on my hands everyday, so these chapters can fly out pretty quickly.
Expect more soon!