//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: For The One We Love // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Fluttershy was hoping to spend a nice, quiet afternoon preparing for Fritter’s first birthday tomorrow. Currently, she was doing just that, slicing carrots for a nice salad, and waiting on Mac to come home in a few hours with plenty of apples. They’d make Fritter’s namesake, of course; and a few other apple things, and then, hopefully, they’d put Fritter to bed early and do some… other things as well. Subconsciously, she began to slice more quickly, internally looking forward to that. But the universe was having none of this peaceful stuff. Instead, it decided that she needed a little more excitement; and it delivered this excitement in a staggering one-two punch. “Hiya!” At figurative punch number one, Fluttershy jumped and spun around, and her knife clattered onto the counter. “Oh, Pinkie Pie,” she breathed as she recognized her assailant; or, rather, her assailant’s head sticking out of one of her planters. “You startled me.” Pinkie finished climbing out of the pot and shook the dirt off, looking a little bit like a puppy shaking water off, except much larger and pinker. Fluttershy quickly brought up a hoof to shield her face. Thankfully, she was used to having her house scattered with dirt flying everywhere from her animal friends' visits, and the nearby animals (the ones that hadn’t fled at Pinkie’s surprise and noisy entry) were nonplussed. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Pinkie said pleasantly, “but it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve dropped in unannounced, and I doubt it will be the last. Besides, I figured you’d be used to it by now. You know how much I love visiting my friends!” Fluttershy had the distinct impression that they were both discussing two different things. She shook her head. “What brings you here, Pinkie?” “A most important question!” Pinkie answered, puffing her chest out importantly. “A question I cannot answer on my own, a question of utmost importance! A question that could determine the future as we know it and have ramifications that could spread across an entire lifetime and affect countless generations to come!” Fluttershy blinked. She knew Pinkie sometimes classified things as 'important' differently than most ponies, and she was unsure if this was cause for alarm or not. “That sounds serious,” she observed. “It is!” Pinkie affirmed. Fluttershy waited, but Pinkie merely stood there. Finally, she had to ask, “So what’s your question?” Pinkie pressed her nose against Fluttershy’s. “What kind of flavor cake does Fritter want for his super special birthday party tomorrow?” she asked. Fluttershy chuckled as she retreated and continued chopping the carrots. “He’s turning one, Pinkie,” she said. “I don’t think he really has a preference on much of anything, let alone cake flavor. Do you, Fritter?” she asked rhetorically. Fritter burbled an agreement and hit his hooves against the ground. “But what if he does?” Pinkie challenged. “First birthdays only come once in a lifetime, and I’d hate to think I messed up this most superific special occasion by baking the wrong kind of cake! Fritter would be so sad! And can you imagine a face like this, sad?” She held up her tail to demonstrate Fritter’s face, but all she ended up doing was revealing that Fritter was hanging off it by his teeth, gnawing contentedly on it. Fluttershy dropped her knife and quickly retrieved him. He giggled, and Fluttershy nuzzled him tightly. “I don’t think he’d be sad,” she said. “I think he’d love whatever you put together, because you work hard to make it special for each and every pony.” Pinkie Pie waved a hoof dismissively, but her cheeks did turn slightly pinker than usual at the compliment. “Well, you know, it’s what I do,” she said. “Super party pony and all.” “And you’re quite good at it,” Fluttershy reassured her. Pinkie nodded, and then resumed her train of thought. “So, chocolate, or vanilla? Or maybe red velvet? Ooh, or maybe both?” “He also seems to like carrot cake,” Fluttershy suggested. Pinkie struck her hoof. “I hadn’t even thought of that,” she said. “So, a five-tier carrot cake, with white buttercream frosting and little fondant sculptures. Can do.” Fluttershy winced. Not that she was ungrateful or anything; but she didn’t want to make Pinkie do too much work. “I was kindof expecting something a little… simpler,” Fluttershy admitted. Pinkie nodded. “Four tiers, then. Got it.” Fluttershy cracked a smile and shook her head slightly. Once Pinkie wanted to do something, she usually ended up doing it, regardless of what anypony else might say. “But I'll also bring plenty of brownies and cookies and streamers and punch and-” “You might not need too much,” Fluttershy said. “There’s going to be plenty of pure cider, too.” “Really?” Pinkie gasped. “I love cider!” Fluttershy nodded. “We’re making it tonight, after Fritter goes to sleep.” She leaned in close. “But it's a surprise. Please don't tell anypony.” * * * Rainbow Dash slowed, allowing the cloud she had been pushing to slowly drift away. A mildly confused frown crossed her face. Cloud Chaser noticed this contradiction of her nature and approached her boss hesitantly. “Rainbow Dash? You ok?” she asked. “Yeah,” Rainbow said, looking around for something she couldn’t identify. “You’re not feeling sick, or-?” “I’m too awesome to get sick,” Rainbow said instinctively, cutting her off. She continued looking around and then rolled her shoulders. “I dunno why, but I just got a really, really good feeling about tomorrow.” * * * “I won’t! I promise!” Pinkie said happily. She made a very convoluted series of motions that Fluttershy interpreted as zipping up her lips with a zipper, locking it, throwing away the key, deciding that wasn’t secure enough, retrieving the key, digging a hole and burying the key there, reburying the key, building a concrete pad over it, then reanimating a dinosaur to stand guard over the hole. Fluttershy blinked. How had she-? Her brain was saved from the impossible task of making sense of what she had just seen when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Pinkie sang. She bounced over through the living room and Fluttershy could hear the door opening, as expected; but then she heard something quite unexpected.. “Oh, it's you!” Pinkie scowled. Fluttershy paused and frowned. That was most unlike her. She had never heard Pinkie use that much vitriol in her voice, ever. She poked her head out to see who was at the door. Her eyes widened in horror at the awfully familiar pony standing there in her doorway, she began to hyperventilate, her tail clamped down and her wings clenched tightly against her body. Skyblaze Carnage Wingsteel of House Thunderhead smirked. “Morning,” he said pleasantly.