Chapter 65: I Can't Explain
It was a rather cool Wednesday morning, making it all the better for Bryce and Rocksalt to deliver the latter's daily newspapers. By now the dull brown colt was able to go about his route without stopping for more than the time it took for Bryce to toss him a paper, and then throw said paper onto the subscriber's doorstep. By the end of the route each morning the pair was left breathless, but had managed to beat their record from the previous day, though it was usual for there to be a few more seconds on the Sunday edition. The achievement showed on Rocksalt, nonetheless, who was finally able to smile again. Plus, there was added benefit on Bryce, who was able to get some much needed exercise.
At the last house on the route, Bryce tossed Rocksalt the paper. In an almost fluid motion, Rocksalt jumped up, grabbed the paper out of the air, and flung it at the doorstep. Time slowed down as the paper flew towards the house, but sped back up when the paper landed more than a foot from its mark. Not to be so easily turned by this setback, Rocksalt ran over, grabbed the paper, and placed it onto the doorstep in perfect alignment. With this done, he yelled, "Time!"
Bryce looked to his watch, and took a few second to calculate the time. "Well, despite missing the mark this time, you shaved a second off."
The dull brown colt gave a hoof pump. "Yes!"
"Ya did good today, kid. Now let's get ya back home for school." After the pair was walking for a minute, having then caught their breaths, Bryce asked, "So, Kid, how have things been at school?"
"They've been alright."
"How's the teacher?"
"Miss Cheerilee's real nice. And she didn't even say anything, either."
"Well, I bet you feel silly about that now."
"You can say that again. And those two girls have been nice ta me, too. Though Almond's a lot like a mouse. And Pecan, she's nuts."
"No, Kid, she is a Nut. Her father is Mr. Nut."
The dull brown colt eyed the human. "No, not like that. Ah meant-" He stopped once he saw the smirk across Bryce's face. "You..."
"Well, I guess I take the blame for that one. This was before you met them, but those two girls used to be a mirror image of each other. Back before I flung Pecan off the merry-go-round they even mixed up their own names."
"Ya flung her off a merry-go-round? How'd ya manage ta do that?"
"Well, I was trying to push it fast and I was running along beside it. Well, I tripped, but still held on. Almond stayed behind but Pecan was thrown into a sandbox. And, well, I guess you can see the result: Almond's too afraid to do anything that may hurt her and Pecan can't stand not to do anything that's dangerous."
"Ya got that right," Rocksalt agreed. "Sometimes Ah'm right next ta Almond and Ah still can't hear her. And Pecan, she just won't stop no matter what anypony tells her. Except for Miss Cheerilee, she can make her stop like that," Rocksalt said with a clop of his hoof.
"Hmm, impressive. But other than that, everything's going well with them?"
"Yep."
"Well, how are you doing in all of your subjects?"
"We haven't covered much, yet. We started math last week, but I'm not doing good in it."
"What are you having trouble with?"
"We started multiplication and it's tough. I can do 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s, but everything else goes over my head."
"Well, if you need help I can teach you."
"Why, are you good at math?"
Bryce stopped and pointed off to a distance building. "Well, if you were to drop a ball off the top of that building, I could tell you how far off the ground it is and how fast it's going, all at a definite period of time. I can even tell you how tall the building itself is using my distance away from the foundation and the angle of ascent."
"Whoa. You can tell all that using numbers?"
"All that and more. I can tell you when a cake that's been in the oven will be cool enough to eat and the largest possible area or volume based on how much material there is available."
"Eh, that sounds great, Bryce, but Ah just need to learn how to multiply."
"Well, I'll help you with that. But later, because you have school." By then they had reached the colt's house. "Have a good day, Kid. And if you need help later I'll swing by your house later. Until then, try it yourself and we'll work on what you can't get."
With the dull brown colt safe within his home, Bryce followed the path that would take him to Fluttershy's cottage. And while he was happy to help her at the farmer's market later today, he was more than ready to fake a stomach ache to avoid seeing her at all.
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By the time Bryce and Fluttershy got to the last stall it was a few minutes into the afternoon. In the entire time the pair had been busy shopping for the things Fluttershy needed to care for her animals they had said little past what was needed and where they should go next. For Bryce, this was nothing new, due in part to the timid mare's sudden instinct to make up chores when he was around. He thought she would open up, somewhat, but he still felt like the third wheel to whatever had her mind.
After Fluttershy paid for her purchase, and they walked away from the stall, Bryce tried his best to juggle everything in his hands. He didn't know if Fluttershy was getting more than usual, but right now he had a forty pound bag of bird seed on one shoulder, a bag of chicken feed that weighed the same amount on the other, and an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and canned goods packed away in saddlebags in both hands. As they walked along, Bryce asked, "So, is there anything else or was this it?"
"Nope, that's everything. Is there anything you wanted to look for, or do you need to be somewhere? Because I wouldn't want to be in your way if you do."
"No. I really want to go and check the job board. But it's getting close to lunch time, if you want to grab a bite."
"Oh, well, I suppose I could eat a little something. Is there any place you can think of going?"
"Well, there's this one place I've been going to for the past couple of weeks. It's not all that expensive, but it's good food the leaves you full.
"That sounds nice. It's not very far, is it? Because I wouldn't want you to carry everything more than you have to."
"It's not too far, but I can handle this."
"Are you sure, because it must be heavy."
"It's fine, really. I mean, if you take anything away I'd lose my balance. It's nothing against you, Shy, but I've got this."
Fluttershy wanted to push the issue, but she didn't feel like fighting the human. Right now she was focused more on how, if ever she was going to talk to Bryce. She knew what she wanted to say but she kept getting caught up in the how, and what his reaction would be. And if it turned out to be the bad reaction she was expecting then she didn't know what she would do. If he said no, or turned her away then what could she do.
When they reached the diner Bryce would go to with Mina, he dropped the saddlebags containing the greens and canned goods first, followed by the two forty pound bags on his shoulders. After taking a minute to flex his sore muscles, he took a seat across from Fluttershy.
They looked over their menus in silence, not saying anything until a waiter came to take their orders. After the waiter left, the pair snuck glances to the other, not wanting to seem awkward by breaking the awkward silence.
It wasn't until they received their drinks that Fluttershy finally asked, "Have you come here very often?"
"Yeah. I've come here every afternoon for the past couple of weeks. But I told you that already."
"Oh, that's right. I've been wanting to come here for a while now. It's just that I never had anypony to go with me; I wouldn't want to go someplace new by myself."
"Well, it's a good place. It tastes a lot better than most of the same food I had back in my world, most especially in college. Some of that was the same stuff they serve in prisons."
"Is that so?"
"Sure. The only difference was I had to pay for it and they got it for free. Though it’s one of the reasons I gained weight in the first place."
"You look a lot leaner than when we first met."
"Well, you can think Rainbow for that. I'm down almost 20 pounds, and it's all fat weight. But I still have a ways to go, though."
"Well you look better."
"And I feel better, too. Without her help I wouldn't have been able to get my construction job. But I also have you to thank, Shy. If you hadn't come along that first morning I would have been ran to death."
"It was nothing. I was just in the right place at the right time. And I know how Rainbow can be with it comes to fitness. You either give your all or don't bother getting out of bed. She’s been like that since we were fillies. But she is a good friend. I remember the times when she stood up to a bunch of foals who were picking on me because I couldn't fly as well as they could. Both her and Ditzy did."
"Well, I kinda know the feeling myself. Kids my age would pick on me, too. But there wasn't ever anyone who stood up for me."
"It didn't have to do with, uhm, what you can do, did it?"
Bryce bit his lip and shook his head. "No, this was before I knew I had them. It was more that I acted weird and they acted normal, whatever the H that is."
There was a short pause before Fluttershy said, "I'm sorry that happened to you."
"Well, you didn't have anything to do with it, Shy."
"I still feel bad it happened to you. It makes me feel sad nopony would take the time to know how kind and caring you can be. Because you mean a great deal to a lot of ponies here. A lot of ponies who would stand up for you when everypony else says differently. And there are a few who wouldn't mind spending time with...you..." Fluttershy began to sink behind her mane as she looked at the contents of her glass.
Bryce reached forward and gripped the mare's hoof, rubbing it with his thumb. "Shy, are you alright?"
Fluttershy shut her eyes, prepared to let out what had been on her mind now for the longest time. "Bryce," she said, still hidden behind her mane. "There's something I've been wanting to say-"
"Hey, you!" A high-pitched voice said outside of Fluttershy's field of vision.
Fluttershy looked over, and was amazed at the silver mare she saw. She was a lot like herself, with a long mane and a thin, slender physique, but was different in the thin, conical protrusion that jutted from her forehead. At first glance, Fluttershy would have admitted she was like something out of a dream.
"Oh, hey, Mina," Bryce answered the mare back, chipping up at sight of the mare.
"Where have you been? I didn't see you at the job board so I thought you might be here, and it looks like you are. And with a friend, no less."
"Well, Mina, I was helping Fluttershy here carry a few things at the farmer's market. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't get away. And I don't know where you live." He turned back to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, this is Mina. She and I have been eating here together."
"H- Hello, Mina." Fluttershy said, offering the newcomer a hoof.
Mina took her hoof and shook it, almost pulling her leg from her socket. "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy. So it looks like you're the one I should get on to for Bryce's disappearance."
This comment shocked Fluttershy, who sunk back on her haunches. "I wasn't trying to take him away. I didn't know you both were-"
Fluttershy was further shocked by Mina's laugh. "I was just messing around. Hey, you guys haven't ordered yet, have you?"
"Yep, already have,” Bryce answered. “And it looks like it's coming out now,” he said, pointing with his thumb.
Looking where Bryce had pointed, Fluttershy spotted the waiter carrying her garden salad and Bryce's two bowls of soup.
"Darn. Well do you guys mind if I stick around until you're done?"
"It's fine with me," said Bryce. "What about you, Shy?"
"It's no problem with me," Fluttershy said from the safety of her mane.
"Great, thanks," Mina said as she took a seat close to Bryce. Fluttershy couldn't help but notice how Bryce didn't shy away from the mare. "Bryce, do you mind if I snag one of your bowls of soup?" The mare asked.
"Yeah, sure. Take your pick."
Fluttershy stood up and made her way for the restroom.
"Shy, where are ya going?"
"I'm going to go wash my hooves," she said without looking back.
When she entered the restroom she ran over to the sinks and turned on the hot tap. As the steam began to fog up the mirror Fluttershy stared into her own reflection. She couldn't contain the tears as the thought of having lost Bryce to somepony she'd never known about. And it hurt that she had to find out just when she was about to lay bare her own innermost feelings to him. Well it helped matters now. Now she knew the truth, but it hurt her to the core. If only she had been faster.
Her sobs were cut short when she heard the restroom door creak open. "Fluttershy, what's going on?" The yellow mare looked over to find Ditzy standing in the doorway. She looked concerned to find a pony she knew all too well crying inside a diner bathroom.
Ditzy walked in the rest of the way, allowing the door the shut behind her. "Fluttershy, what's wrong?"
"I- It's nothing. I'm fine." Fluttershy said, forcing a smile.
"Well you don't look fine. I can tell when something's up with you, and have ever since we were fillies."
"Ditzy, it's..." More tears began to fill at the pegasus's eyes as she thought back to what she'd witnessed. Fluttershy explained what had happened, and Ditzy listened.
When Fluttershy was finished, Ditzy placed a hoof of Fluttershy's shoulder. "Is that really what you think?"
Fluttershy gave a nod as she stared at the tiles on the floor.
"Oh, come on, Flutters. I doubt that's what's really going on. I think you just might be mistaking it for something that's not really there."
"But I saw them. When she came up he became so happy, and when it was just the two of us he wouldn't say a word."
"Well, how were you before that?"
Fluttershy was slow to answer. "I... I didn't say much to him, either."
"And why's that?"
"Because I... I didn't know what I could say. Rarity talked me into letting him help me, so I could tell him how I felt, and I just couldn't say anything."
"And why's that?" The walleyed mare asked again.
"Because if he says no then I just know we would never be able to look at each other the same way ever again. And I just know he would."
"Then why were you about to tell him?"
"I... I don't know. We were talking, and I told him there were ponies who would want to spend time with him. And... And the words almost came out..."
Ditzy allowed that to hang in the air for a few seconds before saying, "Well can I ask you this? What if the reason he wouldn't talk to you was that he was going through the exact same conflict in his mind?"
"But...he-"
Ditzy placed a hoof over the yellow mare's mouth. "Just hear me out for a second, muffin." She removed her hoof. "A lot of ponies think that just because I can't see straight I miss a lot, but as it turns out I see what most ponies miss. For example, I've seen how you react whenever Bryce is around, and I've seen how you react whenever he's not. And I've seen you when somepony says his name. You look down to your hooves and wiggle them in place. And do you want to know what I see when you are around or when you aren't around, but somepony happens to mention your name?"
"Wh- What...?"
Ditzy's response was to give wide mouthed smile.
Fluttershy came close to losing her balance, having to prop against a wall to steady herself. She raised a hoof to her mouth. "H- He couldn't be. We're both so different."
"Oh, and those differences are?"
"He only has two legs, and fingers. And he's mostly skin."
"He's not a pony, so what?"
"But in his world we're animals, and he couldn't like an animal in that way."
"I doubt that includes us. Hay, I doubt he ever thought he would see anything like us to start with."
But what about the other mare? She's so much prettier than I am, and they seem to get along together so well."
"Sometimes certain ponies get along well with certain other ponies, but in the end all they ever will become are good friends. And if you're really going to go on looks alone then I doubt you would have felt anything for Bryce in the first place."
"Ditzy, I don't know if I can now. I was so close this time. I don't think I'll have the courage to try a second time."
"You will, Fluttershy, I'm sure of it." Fluttershy looked to Ditzy, a little uplifted by the grey mare's words, but at the same time unsure if what she said were so. Ditzy slung a leg over her friend's neck. "Come on, let's get back to him. I bet a tray of muffins he's about to come and check on you."
When they left the restroom and reentered the dining area, Fluttershy found Bryce and the silver mare where she'd left them. Bryce's own bowl of soup was untouched, as was her salad, while Mina's soup bowl was drained of its contents.
It was Bryce who spoke first. "Hey, Shy, are you okay? You were in there for a while."
"Oh, yes. I'm okay."
"That's great. I was about to come looking for you."
Ditzy gave Fluttershy a nudge. "We were just having a little chat since it’s been a while since we've seen each other." Ditzy looked over to Mina. "Hello there. I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"Well, that's something I wouldn't expect to come from somepony like you. You know, with your eyes the way they are," Mina said, twirling her hooves in front of her own peridot eyes.
Both Bryce and Fluttershy half expected the walleyed mare to take such a comment to heart, but instead Ditzy gave a smile. "I guess I could see you thinking that, but I stopped being ashamed of it a long time ago."
"If that's so then you must be good at eye spy."
"You could say that. I usually find the things other ponies just glance over."
"So long as you aren't a peeping Tom."
The two mares shared a laugh on that. "I can tell I'm going to like you," Ditzy said.
"Likewise."
The two mares shook hooves before Ditzy left for her own table, where a familiar light brown earth pony with a red bow tie sat waiting for the grey pegasus.
Fluttershy took a seat back at the table. "I'm sorry I took so long, but you didn't have to wait for me."
"Well, I wanted to," Bryce said. "I mean, I didn't want you to rush on my account."
Fluttershy gave a smile at this. Before either one of them could dig in, Mina stood up and said, "I think I'm gonna go ahead and let you guys eat."
"You don't have to leave, do you?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'd like to stay, but I have an appointment I need to get to. Anyways, you two have fun. Bye."
After she had left, Bryce looked to Fluttershy. "She's a friend of mine. I've been helping her with something personal. I won't say here, I'll tell you when we get back to your house." With that said Bryce began to scoop out his soup.
Fluttershy watched him for a moment before she began to munch into her salad. She was a bit more optimistic about the situation, but at the same time hesitant to accept in full what Ditzy had told her.
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When Applejack opened her eyes from her nap, she found a pony's face staring back at her. Without thinking, she thrust her hoof out and sent them to the ground. Jumping up, Applejack mounted their back, grabbed their foreleg, and twisted the appendage behind their back. "What in the hay do ya think you’re doin!?" She demanded.
Retching in pain, the pony under the apple mare said back, "And here I thought you were too honest to hurt an injured pony."
"Beg pardon!?" Applejack took a closer look at the pony beneath her and found their foreleg entwined with gauze bandages. "Bait, what do ya think you're doin out here?" Applejack asked as she released the tan colt's leg. She kept him pinned to the ground, nonetheless.
"I came out her because I wanted to talk."
"Yeah, bout what?"
"I think we both know the what, I would like to know the why."
With a snort, Applejack unmounted the colt, and asked, "You came out here fur that?"
"How else could I expect you to answer?" Bait asked the apple mare as took his time in raising himself up on all fours. "Before now you were avoiding me, and you still are, but I can tell it's now for a different reason."
"Yeah, so? After what you did Ah would be the last pony you'd wanna be close to."
"Maybe so, but I can tell that you are holding back."
"What makes ya so sure about that?"
"For one, you let me go."
Applejack furrowed her brow at hearing him say that. "Yeah, so I did. What's it to ya?"
"Before, when I apologized to you for what I did in the beginning, you ended up punching me in the eye. And now you are allowing me to say more than two sentences. I simply want to know why."
Applejack walked past the colt. "Ah don't have ta explain myself to ya."
"I thought you would say that, which is why I am willing to help you."
The apple mare looked back. "Help me? Help me how?"
"Help you applebuck."
That was enough to almost make Applejack's jaw drop. "Oh no, not with the way you are! Do you wanna open your wound!?"
"The wound is open. And all I want to do is help you with your work. And the only thing that will keep me going is your stubbornness to not speak with me."
Applejack looked to the colt, seeing his sly smile. She let out a heavy sigh. "You really would do it, wouldn't ya?"
"I am afraid so."
"Of all the low down..." She said under her breath. "Fine, Ah'll tell ya the truth. But you better not even think of doing any kinda hard work just yet." She took a seat under an apple tree. "Just so ya know, Ah still don't like ya."
"Perish the thought."
She shot Bait a glare before continuing. "Ah only did cause ya helped my sister. Ah woulda let ya suffer, but ya came through for her. And, well, my daddy always taught me ta never let how Ah feel about somepony get in the way of what's the honest thing to do. And Ah reckon Ah wasn't really doin too well on that now. But ya saved Apple Bloom. And if Ah'd stopped ya from goin out there with Bryce who knows what coulda happened."
"With what I do know about him he would have thought of something, but I suppose we will never know."
"Yeah, I guess not. But ya saved my kin, and while Ah still think you're one of the most dirty, low down, rotten scoundrels Ah've ever known, you're still not one of the worst ponies Ah ever met."
"Well, I don't know how I should answer that, but I think the best thing would be to say is thank you. Though now that I say it, it doesn't feel to be the proper phrase."
"Then how this sound: We're even."
"We're...even?"
"Yep, even, that is until either one of us does something crooked to the other." She stuck out her hoof to the tan colt.
"I'm not very well acquainted in these types of scenarios, but I will accept it as it is." He took the apple mare's hoof with his bad hoof and shook it.
"There is one thing though,” Applejack said when they let go. "Would ya really have gone through all that trouble just so I'd tell ya all this?"
"It depends, would I, a dirty, low down, rotten scoundrel be so willing to put myself through something that would be so ill to my health for something so simple?"
"Ah wanna say no. But the past few months Ah've done so many things Ah've regretted Ah wanna buck my own self in the head. And ya did bother walking out here, so I'd like to think ya would."
Bait returned an honest smile. "Then you have your answer."
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After Bryce and Fluttershy returned to the latter's cottage they went about placing the day's purchases in their proper places. After they were finished, Fluttershy asked the question she had wanted to ask, but didn't want to know the answer. "Bryce, now that we're alone, will you tell me how you know Mina?"
She asked him just as he placed the last of the canned goods in the high cupboard. "Well, in truth, I don't know her that well. From what she's told me she doesn't have a job, and I don't know where she lives. In fact, I don't know her real name; Mina's something I came up with."
"You said you were helping her with something personal. What ae you helping her with?"
"Well, I don't feel comfortable saying it, but in short she isn't doing very well. I don't mean like with money or friends or anything like that. She isn't doing well health wise."
"Health wise? How bad is she?"
"Let me put it this way: When you cough something up what's the one color you wouldn't want it to be, above all the others?"
Fluttershy flinched at the thought. "Oh my... But she looked so healthy."
"Well, that's because of me. I've been giving her a little of my life force my and again. I don't give much, but what I do give is helping."
"But are you sure you aren't giving too much?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I only give what I can replenish from one meal.”
"But are you sure? Because I remember how you were when you helped Angel. You looked like a corpse, and you felt so cold."
Bryce could see the timid mare's concern, and it made him a little worried. He held his hand out to her. "If you want you can feel for yourself."
Without pause, Fluttershy scooped the human's hand up and held it up to her forehead. His temperature felt normal, but she wanted to be sure. She felt his hand at every angle, and at almost every possible area along her face, but it felt normal. When she was satisfied she gave control of Bryce's hand back to him. "It...feels okay..."
"See, there's nothing to worry about... Is there...?"
After a second, Fluttershy said, "I guess not, but I just wanted to be... Would you have done that for anypony?"
"Well, of course. I mean, if they needed it bad enough."
"Would you do it for...?" She slowly pointed a hoof into her chest.
Bryce was just as slow to answer. "Yes, I would. It wouldn't matter to me how small it was, I'd give it all for you." He turned his eyes away from her. "You don't need any now, do you?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I feel fine. Um, thanks for asking..."
There was a long pause before Bryce said, "Well, I don't mean to look like I'm rushing off... Unless there's anything else you need...?"
"Uhm, no, there's nothing else for today. Nothing I can't handle myself."
"Well, if you want I could-"
"No, no, it has to do with the animals. I'm sure you would do well with them, but they prefer it if I do it."
"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll get out of your way. I'll see you whenever." Bryce made his way for the door.
As he was leaving, Fluttershy moved to put her saddlebags away. It was then she discovered there was a can left out. She didn't want to bother Bryce and decided to put it away in the high cupboard herself. She flew up to the place, and opened the cupboard door, allowing a large can of sliced peaches that had been left nestled a few inches over the edge of the highest shelf to fall off its narrow perch. And Fluttershy's forehead was there to break its fall.
It was more out of shock than pain that made Fluttershy fall back, though it did smart. She hit the floor with a thud.
Bryce heard the commotion from the doorway. He was about to say, "Fluttershy," but stopped once he saw the buttercup mare on the floor and the large can of peaches lying next to her.
He rushed over, taking less than a second to reach the mare, drop to his knees, and place a hand behind her head. "Fluttershy! Shit! I- I was sure I'd put the cans up properly, but I... I thought I did and...and... Fluttershy, I'm- I'm sorry..."
For a fair amount of time they stared back into each other's eyes, their breathing shallow. Their hearts beat fast at a matching tempo.
After they managed to break their gaze, Bryce asked, "I, um... I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Oh, um, n- No. I'm fine, really. I wasn't expecting it was all."
"Well, uh... That's, uhm..." Bryce stuttered as he sat back with one knee still in the air. "Are you sure? Because that can... It looks heavy enough to have hurt."
Fluttershy had placed herself in a seated position, as well. "I'll be okay. It just looks like it hurt."
"Well, do you want to go see a doctor? Or maybe I could give you a little of my...life force?"
Fluttershy hesitated. "That's okay, I wouldn't want you to waste it on something so small and unimportant."
It didn't take long for Bryce to reply back. "It's important to me."
When he said that the air around them went cold. To them the comment was corny, and it was, but the buttercup mare felt a warmth grow inside her chest despite this.
"I- If you want to. I just wouldn't want it to be a bother," she said.
Being careful not to make another mistake or slip up, Bryce shifted himself forward. After he felt he was close enough to the mare he began to rub his thumb against his middle and forefinger, releasing the same warm glow Fluttershy had seen one time before.
"Okay, I'm going to apply it. Where did it hit?"
Fluttershy offered her hoof, which Bryce placed his glowing digits in. She guided the glow up to her forehead, pressing it on the spot where she had been struck only moments ago.
When Bryce's finger met her head she let out a gasp. It was like the unsettling feeling one would feel when they took that first step into a warm bath. The feeling that would fade as the tepid bathwater spread across their form, leaving them at ease. But with this there was something else. It was a feeling of emotions -- strong emotions that no one, save the right person could decipher. And right now, Fluttershy knew she was the one.
And it almost tore her apart when Bryce pulled his hand away. She didn't know how long they had been in contact, but the cuckoo clock she kept on the wall told it hadn't been for long. If she had been a braver mare she would have made Bryce keep his hand in that spot, but right now she couldn't bring herself to move as Bryce's light grey eyes looked into her own. But when she looked into the human's eyes now she could the truth, and it was just as Ditzy had said.
They were both still breathing heavily when Bryce asked, "Do you feel okay?"
"I feel better now."
"That's great... Are you going to keep that can of peaches, because I could go and take care of it for you?"
"No, it's okay. I'll take care of it."
"Well, I guess I'll be going. For real this time. Thanks for letting me come along, Shy." He got up to leave.
Fluttershy continued to sit on the floor when she asked, "Bryce, do you remember when you said the ponies in your world are animals?"
Bryce flinched when she asked that. "I do."
"Do you see us as animals?"
"Well, I guess there are a few, but most of the ponies I know I see as ponies."
"And what about the rest?"
"Well, I see them as themselves."
"And what do you see me as?" Fluttershy asked, using the can of peaches to hide her mouth from his view.
"Well, I see you as Fluttershy, and as someone I would like to spend more time with." Bryce bit his lip, not believing he was the one who'd said it.
But if Fluttershy had noticed, the can of peaches hid her reaction. "That's nice, Bryce. If you want, we can meet again next week at the same time?"
"That's sounds nice," he was quick to say back.
"Good, I'll see you then."
With that done, Bryce went out the door. But Fluttershy continued to sit in the floor, not letting go of the tin can in her hooves. After a second, she lowered the can into her chest and held it tight, unable to keep herself from smiling.
Meanwhile, down the dirt road that would take Bryce back to the apple farm, he couldn't bring himself to do anything but smile. While he had gotten in close to the yellow mare to heal her bump, he had also used the opportunity to delve into her mind. He regretted he had invaded her thoughts, but he hadn't come away disappointed. Mina had been right, and if she hadn't come when she did he may have never known.