Fluttershy was crying.
Crying wasn't exactly a foreign concept for her. Ever since she had started to get more depressed, crying was a daily occurrence. She sobbed harder and looked at the clock. Nine-thirty.
"Rainbow should b-be here soon," she managed to choke out. Nopony heard her, save Angel. She loved that little bunny, even if he was a bit mean to her sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. She sniffed. "Even my own rabbit thinks I'm a nuisance."
It was raining hard. The weather pegasi usually weren't terribly organized without Rainbow Dash, but they had done a good job. Rain. Lots and lots of rain. It poured down her window, mimicking her tears. She glanced at her nightstand. Two things sat on top of it.
A battered music player, and a tissue box. She took a tissue and wiped her face and eyes. Rainbow was normally here by now, sitting with her and giving her a shoulder to cry on. She let Rainbow cry on her shoulder, too. They would talk for hours about their lives, the gossip floating through town, or in the case of one night, debating the merits of alcoholic versus non-alcoholic cider, which had made her laugh. Thinking back, that was the first time in a few weeks that she had laughed, and it wasn't forced. Another deep sigh and a glance at the clock revealed that it was nearly ten. Maybe she was running late.
Rainbow had suffered a falling-out with her father. Only Fluttershy knew why; she had come out and told her brother and father that she was into mares. One long shouting match later, Rainbow had ran out of the house, came back to Ponyville, and told Fluttershy everything. It was one of the only times Rainbow needed her shoulder more than Fluttershy needed hers. Since then, her father had hauled her off to a family counselor, and Rainbow had to go and visit with her father, try to "talk things out", once a month at the very least. This was the first visit.
Sitting next to her bed was an old red saddlebag with the names of various metal bands scrawled on it in black ink. It was a memoir from high school, and she could distinctly make out the long-since-faded names that had also been written on it, smiling as she saw the little lightning bolt Rainbow Dash used to dot her "I's" with.
She picked up the bag, tossing a few bits as well as her music into it. Maybe if she was lucky, she could meet Rainbow at the train station, and they could walk to her house together. The thought gave her a little bit of hope.
She stuck a note to the door for Derpy or some salespony. Gone out. Be back later. -Fluttershy. As she stepped out from under the little roof above her front door, she instantly became soaked. She heaved a sigh and headed into town, not bothering to get an umbrella. Feeling resigned to her rain-drenched fate, she trudged along, until she was jolted out of her reverie by the fierce knocking of a pony's hoof on glass.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing out here without an umbrella? Come in here!" The words on Pinkie Pie's large sign blared. Pinkie opened the door and gestured for Fluttershy to enter, waving one hoof wildly. Fluttershy ran in, glad for an escape from the free shower, and shook herself dry, soaking Pinkie in the process. "Sorry, Pinkie."
"No problem! Let me get you something to eat." Pinkie bounced off into the kitchen. "Sit down! When was the last decent meal you had?" Fluttershy settled down at the bar. A job as an animal caretaker did not pay much, and she often had to be thrifty in order to make the cheap groceries she could buy last. This thought made her heart sink further. "I don't know, I think a few days ago."
Pinkie let out a loud gasp. "That simply won't do at all! I swear, you can be so proud about some things." She tutted and served up a sandwich. It wasn't sugary, it didn't have any form of candy in it. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had both worked hard to keep Fluttershy on her hooves since her parents had died, and she had sunk into depression. The three ponies had formed a kind of family by now, and little gestures like these showed Flutters how much Pinkie truly cared. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Don't cry, my Fluttershy." Pinkie patted her on the shoulder, her aqua blue orbs staring into Fluttershy's own.
"Isn't Dashie coming back from Cloudsdale today?"
Fluttershy sniffed and nodded. "Mhm. I was going to head to the train station and pick her up, then we could go to my house together." She took a bite of her sandwich.
"That so?" Pinkie shot Fluttershy a sultry glance. "You two come up with a safe word yet?"
Fluttershy coughed and her face turned red. "Pinkie, get your mind out of the gutter! You know what I mean!"
Pinkie giggled. "I do. I'm sorry. How's about we both go, and we could all have a little mini-party down here at the Corner?" She jumped for joy.
"That sounds wonderful, Pinks. Let's go."
Fluttershy slipped her saddlebag on, and Pinkie got an umbrella. Flutters had to run to catch up with Pinkie's fast and cheerful bouncing. She was amazed Pinkie didn't seem to be tired either, considering it was past ten thirty at night. Pinkie skidded to a stop a few feet from the station and started bouncing up and down and waving. "Dash! Dashie! We're over here!"
Fluttershy could see the tired cyan pegasus leave the station and spot Pinkie. Rainbow's eyes rested on hers for a moment, then she ran over to Fluttershy and Pinkie. "Hi, guys!" They group hugged.
"How was Cloudsdale, Dashie?" Pinkie bounced alongside Rainbow Dash as the three made their way back to Sugarcube Corner.
"What started as a civilized conversation turned into another shouting match, and I got kicked out of the cafe." Rainbow stated flatly.
Pinkie stopped bouncing. "Oh. Well, me and Flutters have planned the perfect thing to lift your spirits! Didn't we, 'Shy?" She glanced at Flutters.
"Pinkie thought we could have a mini-party at Sugarcube Corner to celebrate you coming back. It isn't the same without one member of our family." Fluttershy wore a small smile.
"Sounds good to me. I feel like loosening up a bit. I've missed my girls." Rainbow walked a little closer to Fluttershy, who snuggled up against her. Pinkie pushed open the door.
"Guess what I have?" She sang. "In this refrigerator, I have...." She did her best to make drumroll noises with her mouth, and when that failed, she just took a bottle out of the fridge and held it up in triumph. "Apple family cider!" She crowed.
"Where are you at?!" Rainbow Dash took the bottle and cradled it with reverence, as if it were the most divine of nectars.
Pinkie Pie winked. "Connections. Granny Smith gave it to me! Lemme get some cups..." She rummaged around in a cupboard and produced three glasses, each of which she filled with a generous measure of the honey-colored liquid. "Now I shall make sammiches." She put away the bottle and busied herself with making sandwiches for herself and the other two mares.
Rainbow studied Fluttershy. "Pinkie Pie been treating you well?"
Fluttershy nodded. "She's been feeding me." Pinkie set a sandwich down in front of her and gave her a hug.
"Good thing I was, too. She's been leaning less toward skinny and more toward malnourished." Fluttershy glanced at herself in the window. She didn't think she was that thin.....
"I'm sure she didn't get that skinny." Rainbow waved off Pinkie's comment and sat closer to 'Shy. "You wouldn't let her."
Pinkie's expression turned serious. "Speaking of Fluttershy, there's something I want to talk to you about." She sat down at the little table they were using, and passed Fluttershy a little rectangle of parchment. Flutters read it.
"Ocean Waves, professional therapist, located at 289 Chestnut Road." She glanced up at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow was biting her lip, and Pinkie Pie was wearing a concerned smile.
"I haven't been able to make you smile a whole lot ever since the thing happened. I've met Ocean, and she's really nice. I think it would be good for you to go see her. If you want me or Rainbow to come with you to your first meeting with her, then I'd be happy to."
Fluttershy stared at the card. She'd never considered a therapist.... Truth be told, she was too shy to talk to anypony outside of her friends. She glanced back up at Pinkie and Rainbow.... They wanted what was best for her, and they had done so much to try and make her happy, even on the worst of days. When she had a good day, they would celebrate. When she had a bad one, they were there for her. She knew everypony out of their six cared for one another equally, but these two seemed more like her family and less like her friends. She would do it. For them.
"I'll do it, I'll talk to this Ocean Waves. I'd like to go by myself, though. Thanks for giving me her card, Pinkie."
"No trouble, Fluttershy." Pinkie gave her a nuzzle.
Rainbow Dash let out a loud yawn. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to clock out. It was awesome being able to see you two again." She nuzzled them both, lingering a little longer with Fluttershy's, then took off for her cloud home.
Pinkie waved enthusiastically. "Bye, Dashie!" She turned to Fluttershy. "You going too?"
"Mhm. Bye, Pinkie."
She waved to Pinkie, and headed home, the rain having left by now. It was almost dawn, a smudge of indigo along the horizon. She set off home at a light jog, shivering a bit once she was inside. She poured food into each of her animals' bowls, then headed upstairs. She sighed, collapsing on her bed, then looking out the window at the night sky, Dash's cloud home barely back-lit by the moon. As she closed her eyes, her last thought before falling asleep was;
"I've taken my friends for granted over the past few months. As I've grown more depressed, they've still stuck by me. And now Pinkie gave me that card....They're wonderful friends, please Luna, don't make them leave me. My parents are gone, I don't think I could bear it if I lost them."