The Greatest Show of Kindness
Chapter Six: A New Beginning
Fluttershy had awoken the next morning, and after eating her breakfast and feeding her animals, she went up to feed the changeling his morning love. For the past weeks, he hadn’t said anything, so she wasn’t expecting him to say anything today, though she hoped he would.
As she was nuzzling him, he was desperately trying to open his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. There was a mass crowd rioting in his vocal cords, being suppressed by an army of nerves. They were all screaming, yelling and chanting, but they were shot down with the artillery of shyness and the beatings of anxiety. His attempt to speak was an unlit flame that continued to remain in cold water.
As she left him and went into the main room, Bumble cried on the inside. The feeling that he had failed her filled his mind, blocking out all other thoughts.
‘Failure!’
‘You failed!’
‘Loser!’
‘Castaway!’
‘Dead beat!’
All of these voices from his past suddenly shot through his head, giving him a headache worse than that of any that he had ever experienced. His worst fear was failure, and it seemed like it was all he ever knew. So much of his short life was spent with disappointment; it almost made him sick how terrible he was at living.
Later that night, when Fluttershy was feeding him love, he once again tried to speak. Like before, his rioting within was held down. When she left; however, he finally managed to open his mouth and speak.
“… W-Wait!” he whispered, holding out his good hoof.
Fluttershy stopped for a moment, wondering what she had just heard. She looked back at him and saw him with his hoof extended.
“… Little one?” she asked. “Was that you?”
“Y-Yes, it w-was…” he mumbled, Fluttershy barely able to hear him. She walked closer to him.
“What was that?” she questioned, unsure of what she just heard.
“It was me,” he said, slightly louder.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, surprised to hear him speak. It had been a while. “What there something that you needed?”
“Um… no, not really…” he awkwardly said, rubbing his head with his hoof.
“Is there something that you wanted to talk about, then?”
“Y-Yes.”
“What is it, little one?”
Fluttershy jumped up on the bed and sat down beside the changeling. She cast her eyes down onto him, putting her hoof on his carapace. He tried to flip himself around to face her, but couldn’t. Sighing, he spoke.
“I just wanted to say that… I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry? About what?”
“I’m sorry for being so mean to you…”
“Being mean to me? What are you talking about?”
“I said all of those… terrible things to you… I hurt your feelings… I made you angry and sad…”
“Oh, that? You didn’t hurt my feelings at all.”
“I… didn’t?”
“No, sweetie. While it might’ve been a little… shocking at the time, I can understand that you were going through a lot of stress and pain then, and probably still are. I don’t know what you’ve been through in your life, but I do know that it must be difficult. That’s the entire reason that I’m trying to help you, sweetheart-to help you heal the wounds that have been brought on you, in both a physical and emotional way. Being a changeling in today’s society is already hard, if not impossible, and to add on to it, you’ve gone through such great trials… I could never be angry with you because I know that you’ve probably been through a lot worse than I have.”
Shocked by her gentle and kind words, the changeling started to tear up again. It was such a wonderful feeling, knowing that she really was there for him. Twisting his head to look back at her, he gave a smile that outmatched any others. With every fiber of his conscious, he was joyful. The happiness was almost overwhelming for him-he never really had this feeling of pure comfort and glee before as nothing before in his life was truly good-there was always a negative to every situation he’d been in. This was raw elation, and it was the best sense he’d ever had.
Seeing his smile was the most beautiful thing Fluttershy had experienced in a long time. Within her, she could feel a whirlpool of tenderness and love swirling, sucking her into it and encompassing her. She swam around in it, splashing about and allowing it to seep into her mind. He joined her inside, allowing the two to enjoy their love and merriment. He was truly delighted, and knowing this, Fluttershy was, as well.
Bumble desperately wished that he could see the world around him, especially Fluttershy. He knew that the love that she was giving off was showing happiness, but he would feel even better if he had his sight-to see Fluttershy's kind face. He still imagined what she looked like all the time.
In an instant, she embraced him in the warmest hug she could, allowing him to absorb an extraordinary amount of love. As she caressed him into her chest, he let his tears go, allowing them to roam free down her soft fur. Once they stopped, she rubbed her forehead against his and kissed him.
“Thank you so much for being here with me, Miss…” he started, not being able to come up with her name. “Miss…”
“My name is Fluttershy, little one,” she filled in.
“Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.”
“You’re very welcome, but you don’t need to call me ‘Miss,’” she informed.
“Okay, Fluttershy,” he said with a giggle.
“Do you have a name?” she quizzed.
“My name’s…Bumble,” he answered.
“Bumble? What a sweet, little name,” Fluttershy praised, putting her hooves against his cheeks and smiling. His cheeks turned bright green, and he giggled.
“Th-Thanks, Fluttershy.”
“You’re very welcome,” she said. “Um… how old are you, Bumble?”
“I’m… seven.”
“Do you know when your birthday is?”
“It’s… I think it’s August 16th in Equestrian time…”
“I see. That’s coming up in a couple weeks here…is there anything that you like that you want?” she offered.
“Well… let me think about it for a little while.”
“Okay.”
“…What’s the date?”
“It’s July 26th, Bumble,” she answered.
“Okay. Thank you, Fluttershy.”
“You’re welcome. Well, I think it’s about time that I start getting on with my chores… Is there anything that you need, sweetheart?”
“No, thank you, Fluttershy.”
“Alright. I’ll check up on you later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
With that, Fluttershy went on with her day.
Bumble felt a wave of relief wash over him as he was successful in doing something good for his life. He felt that he could finally belong somewhere, which he could feel safe at with no chance of being hurt. He felt like nothing could ruin this now, and that made him feel more secure.
Later that night, Fluttershy went up to put Bumble to sleep.
“Bumble?” she called out.
“Yes, Fluttershy?” he asked.
“It’s time to go to sleep,” she explained, walking over to him. She planted a kiss on his forehead, lifting him up into her arms.
“Oh,” he sighed, putting his head to her chest.
“Good night, sweetie,” she smilingly said.
“Good night, Fluttershy,” he repeated.
Giving him one last kiss on the forehead, she put him back down onto the bed and tucked him in, nuzzling him against the head. Seeing that his breathing was stabilizing and hearing the small buzzing noise that came along with his snores, she went down to her couch and fell asleep.