//------------------------------// // Chapter Sixteen: Good Girl // Story: The Equestrian Venture // by TheCrimsonDM //------------------------------// THE EQUESTRIAN VENTURE Chapter Sixteen: Good Girl Written by TheCrimsonDM After getting dressed Rita found herself sitting in the living room while wearing her nightgown. She had to admit that it was really comfortable to wear, and after sitting on the couch quietly for a few minutes she decided that she was going to wear it a lot more. Fluttershy came out of the kitchen with a plate being balanced on her back, there were two wooden mugs sitting on top of it. Fluttershy carefully gave one of the mugs to Rita and set the plate down on the coffee table before joining her on the couch. Rita looked at the mug with distrust. The liquid inside was a dark brown color and foaming over the lip of the mug. Whatever it was, Rita wasn’t sure that it would taste very good. She took a sample sip of the drink and was startled by the rich apple flavor with a hint of something else. Rita quickly took another much larger drink to which Fluttershy gasped and said, “Rita, don’t drink it that quickly. You’ll get sick.” Rita looked over at Fluttershy and then back to her drink and asked, “Why?” after a momentary pause Rita added, “Is there alcohol in here?” Fluttershy’s cheeks began turning pink and she looked away saying, “Um… it’s apple cider… so um… yes.” After a long pause Fluttershy’s expression turned to worry. “Can humans consume alcohol? Do I need to make you puke?” Rita snickered and said, “Human’s get drunk all the time... not me of course but other humans do.” “Okay, good. I wouldn’t want to poison you by mistake,” Fluttershy said quietly. Rita scooted a little closer to Fluttershy and smiled before taking another sip. Drinking was never her thing, so she could only assume that it wouldn’t take much to get her intoxicated. Fluttershy began brushing a wing tip through Rita’s damp hair before saying, “Rita, when did you last brush your mane?” “I don’t know,” Rita replied. She really hated brushing her hair; the act was beyond tedious in her opinion. Fluttershy quickly reached over and slipped something wooden around her hoof. Rita was a little unsure of how to react when she realized that it was a brush. The brush in question had a hole that was made for a pony to slip there hoof into, which made sense to Rita considering ponies didn’t have hands. “What are you gonna do with that?” Rita asked. Rita took another drink of the cider. “I’m going to brush your mane, don’t worry I’ll be gentle,” Fluttershy said in a kind voice. Rita simply shrugged and said, “Whatever.” Rita was surprised to find out just how gentle Fluttershy was when brushing through her hair. Rita always got caught on knots and hurt herself every time she brushed it herself, but for whatever reason Fluttershy had no such difficulty. Rita quietly drank the cider while Fluttershy worked her magic. After a few minutes Rita’s face began getting really hot, and she felt warm inside. The best part about this new found feeling was the fact that Rita felt at peace, truly at peace with herself, and the world around her. It was a wonderful feeling that she had missed so dearly, it had been such a long time since she last felt that way. After awhile Fluttershy put the brush down and Rita found herself smiling for no apparent reason. Fluttershy very quietly said, “Thank you for letting me do that. Your mane was getting messy.” “It’s cool, and it’s called hair… screw that I like it being called a mane better. It makes me fit in more,” Rita said. Fluttershy reached over and picked up a small plate from the table, Rita didn’t really know where Fluttershy had gotten the plate from, for all she knew it had come in with the cider. The small plate had a chocolate chip cookie on top of it. Fluttershy gave the plate to Rita and said, “This is for letting me brush your mane. Thank you, Rita.” Rita smiled and reached over taking the cookie off the plate. She had a mug of cider, a brushed mane, and now a cookie. Rita was content. She took a bite out of the cookie before she began to feel as though something was off about this whole situation. She tried to think about what it was but it just didn’t come to her. She got a drink to help her calm down, then she got her hair brushed, and then as a reward she got herself a cookie. A reward… “Did you just give me a treat for good behavior?” Rita asked. “Oh, it was just because you were so good about letting me brush your mane and all… I really thought you would say no,” Fluttershy said. “I was going to give you the cookie either way…” Rita thought about it for a second and even though something still felt off about this, she decided it was all well and good. “Okay, sounds good to me. Thanks for the stuff.” “It was my pleasure,” Fluttershy responded. After finishing the cookie Rita began feeling tired, she had exhausted herself from crying earlier and now it was finally starting to hit her. She leaned over and slumped against Fluttershy’s side. Rita looked up at Fluttershy’s face and said, “I’m sleepy,” she yawned, “I want to go to bed.” Rita set the mug down very carefully on the edge of the table, Fluttershy quickly pushed the mug further away from the edge, and then Rita stood up. The world became dizzy and although standing perfectly still, Rita somehow found herself sitting on the couch again, the world was still dizzy though. Fluttershy smiled and said, “Alright sleepy head, I’ll take you to bed.” Rita smiled and said, “Thanks, the world is all dizzy, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.” Fluttershy smiled even wider at Rita as she helped Rita climb onto her back. Fluttershy carefully took Rita upstairs and laid her down on the bed before tucking her in. Rita looked up at Fluttershy with the biggest puppy dog eyes that she could muster before saying, “Will you sing me a lullaby?” Fluttershy was beginning to blush again. “O-o-okay… I don’t feel afraid of singing in front of you, so I’ll do it.” Rita waited impatiently as Fluttershy slowly began singing in a soft and soothing voice, “Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head…” Fluttershy stopped singing as soon as she heard the snoring. Fluttershy leaned in and kissed Rita gently on the forehead before turning and leaving the room. The door closed quietly behind Fluttershy as she left and the room was filled with a quiet darkness, save for the sounds of one lone human snoring peacefully after a having such a rough day.