I do not own Mlp: FIM. I also apologize for the delay between chapters, I hit a wall that some call writers block. I have missed this story and hope you have too! So enjoy.
Much credit and praise to my editior Acsinclair, without you, I don’t know how I could be here.
::Fluttershy::
Baton looked at Fluttershy, the fields of flowers flowed behind him like and endless sea of beauty. The sun was high and the air around them was pleasantly warm. Fluttershy enjoyed getting lost in his eyes, “This day is amazing.” She said, trying to not stare into his eyes like a goof.
“Indeed, it is perfect, yet all of this pales in comparison with your beauty.” Fluttershy blushed and tried to hide behind her hair at the complement. He always knew what to say to make her blush, not that it was hard, but this was a special blush, one that made her feel light and giddy. Baton chuckled at her shyness, “You don’t have to be shy around me, I would never leave you. There is something I want to say,” Fluttershy's heart began to beat. “Fluttershy… I… I lo-
--CRASH!!--
Fluttershy awoke from her dream, bolting upright at the sound. Her heart raced as she struggled to regain her orientation. She looked around the room, it was nothing special. She was still in her bed in her bedroom. Oh my… I was having such a pleasant dream. She remembered the reason for her reluctant return to the waking world. Fluttershy got out of bed and began to tip-toe toward the source of the crash. She could hear grumbling as she walked through her house. Oh dear… I hope no one broke in! What if they are hurting the animals! Fluttershy took a deep breath and looked around the corner to the source of the sound. There stood Baton putting dishes away from the sink, mumbling to himself. Why is he talking to himself? The dishes slowly flowed into the cabinets, each alight with Baton’s black glow. Baton winced as if he had been hit. Red electricity crackled around his horn, the dish that was being carried by Baton’s magic poofed into a balloon.
“Buck!” Baton cursed as he strained to sustain his levitation spell. Two more dishes turned into balloons. Baton set down what he was carrying and gathered the dish balloons together; he took a deep breath and focused on the balloons. The black glow of his magic surrounded the balloons as they turned back into plates… and fell to the floor. Another crash rang through the house, Baton winced at the sound. “Oh, she definitely heard that one…” He repaired the plates with magic and set them on the stack in the cabinet. Baton turned around and began heading to Fluttershy's room, only to run right into her. The pair of ponies hit the ground, Fluttershy landed on her back, under Baton. Her eyes grew wide as she realized their situation; Baton on the other hand just gave a dopey smile, his eyes a tad red from lack of sleep. “Well I guess I don’t have to go wake you up.”
Oh… oh my… Was all that Fluttershy could formulate in her head, her heart beat and her face flushed. You need to say something! “G-good morning Baton… wh-why are you up so early?”
“Well I couldn’t sleep so I thought I would make you breakfast!” Baton got up and offered his hoof to Fluttershy, helping her up. He then turned and walked to the kitchen. Fluttershy followed and when she saw what was on the table her mouth began to water, a plate piled high with fresh steaming pancakes!
Baton continued his narrative of the morning, “…And then there was a knock on the door, so I decided to answer it before they tried to knock louder.” Fluttershy began to eat her pancakes, tilting her head inquisitively at the mention of a visitor that early. “Oh, it was your friend Pinkie Pie, she invited us to a party today at Sugar Cube Corner. Well, she invited you and, after a minute long monologue about how rude it is tell someone about a party without inviting them, then invited me. That Pinkie Pie sure knows how to talk.”
Fluttershy swallowed what she was eating and looked to Baton. “But… it’s not anyone’s birthday today. Gummi’s was last month and Rainbow Dash’s isn’t for another two…”
Baton’s look turned confused, “She said it was a surprise party, I wonder who its for? Oh well! Finish your breakfast and then we-“ Baton turned and looked into the far corner, his face stern and concentrated. He glared at the shadow cast by one of Fluttershy’s chairs. Then, as if nothing happened, he turned back to the yellow Pegasus with a smile, “-can go! I already fed the animals this morning. I wasn’t sure what Angel bunny wanted, he kept throwing a book at me, so I settled on carrots.”
Fluttershy looked to Angel’s basket to see the bunny, stomach bulging, laying on his back. Oh dear… he never ate that much for me… Fluttershy finished her pancakes and the two of them started off toward town.
The sun was high overhead as the pair of ponies made their way through town. Baton was slightly ahead, looking every which way as if he couldn’t decide what he wanted to look at. He had an off-beat spring to his step, it never was the same step, always different. He was also humming a tune to himself, something nonsensical that Fluttershy couldn’t put her hoof on. She watched the stallion as he trotted ahead, her thoughts flitting from if he was ok, to what the party is about, to if Twilight had gotten any headway on a spell for Baton. They finally found their way to Sugar Cube Corner and found it occupied by Applejack, Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash.
“Howdy Fluttershy! It’s been uh while since you’ve been out ‘n about.”
“Oh… yes, I’ve been keeping an eye on Baton, he hasn’t been feeling well.” She glanced over to the stallion who just stood there smiling like a doof. This isn’t like him, he’s usually quite social.
Twilight chimed in, “I’m close to perfecting a spell that should tell us exactly what’s wrong”
“Yah… almost.” Moaned Spike as he hiccupped, sending a stream of green bubbles into the room.
“Whoa! Can you make me shoot lighting out of my mouth!?” Rainbow dash asked excitedly, her faced pushed up close to Twilights, already planning new tricks.
“Uh… maybe after the party?” Twilight said as she tried to retreat away from the excited Pegasus.
Applejack bit onto Rainbow Dash’s tail, pulling her back, “Whoa there partner!” Rainbow Dash gave a low moan at the sensation. Eyes shot open as the group realized what had happened, Dash and AJ turned a deep shade of crimson, even Fluttershy and Twilight grew a bit red, Baton, on the other hoof, was zoning out with his big goofy smile.
“Sooooo….” Twilight said, trying to break the awkward silence, “Who’s this party for anyways? It’s supposed to be a surprise party, but we don’t even know who is supposed to be supr-“
“SUPRIIIIIISE!!!” The pink party pony burst from a door connecting to the living room, a jet of confetti and balloons shooting with her. Fluttershy’s heart nearly stopped as she was scared stiff. Twilight, AJ and Rainbow dash all jumped in fright while Baton just chuckled to himself, getting a face full of confetti.
“Pinkie! Don’t scare us like that!” Twilight said, clutching her chest.
“Well isn’t the point of a surprise part to surprise someone? Duh! If you weren’t scared then it wouldn’t have been a good surprise!”
“Why are you even surprising us? It’s none of our birthdays.”
Pinkie Pie giggled at this, “It’s not a birthday party but it is a surprise for you, and you too Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, and Fluttershy’s-really-close-live-in-guy friend! IIIIII~~ have something to tell you all!” Pinkie Pie was getting visually more and more excited as she explained. Her grin was wide and she was positively giddy.
“Well what is it Pinkie?” Asked Dash, her curiosity peaked by the mystery that presented herself.
“Weeeeeeeell……. I have a Colt-Friend!” She screamed, happy to get her surprise out. Each of the mares gathered were dumb struck.
“…who is it?” Twilight asked, positively lost for any easy answer.
“Come on in!” Pinkie called to the room she entered from. The door creaked open and the girls craned their necks above and around the pink pony to try and get a closer look. The stallion that walked in was familiar to all of them, save for Baton, but was also the very last pony they thought would walk through that door. He ambled in, slowly walking, as was his normal pace. His hoofs clopped slowly, the blond shaggy tips brushing against the floor. Applejack’s jaw fell. The red coat alone was enough to give the identity away, but all was confirmed by the green apple cutie mark on his flank.
“B-B-Big Mac?” AJ stuttered out in her shocked state.
“Eeyup.”