Go away. Go away. Go away.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Go away. Go away. GO AWAY.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
"Fluttershy! I know you're in there! OPEN THE DOOR!" a voice yelled from the front door. Even though Fluttershy was in her bedroom, she could hear the voice as clear as day. Angel slept soundly beside her. She tried to block out the noise but every incessant bang on the door felt like it was pounding into her skull.
"FLUTTERSHY! OPEN THE DOOR!" With a groan, Fluttershy rose from her bed and managed to drag herself down the stairs. Animals ran in different directions when they saw her approaching and birds squawked angrily overhead.
"Yeah I get it. You hate me" she grumbled. As she neared the door, a faint whistling sound could be heard. She couldn't quite place it at first, but as it got louder, she realised what was happening.
She's gonna rainboom the door in.
With a surge of newfound energy, the Pegasus ran towards the door and flung it open just before a cyan blur shot past her and out the window on the far wall. An explosion sounded and Fluttershy was thrown to the floor. The cottage shook violently and the animals held onto each other for dear life. Rainbow energy surged through the air, nearly blowing the door off it's hinges. Seconds later, a battered Pegasus flew back through the window.
"Hey, Dash"
"Hey? HEY?! What is your deal? I've been banging on that bucking door for ten minutes! You agreed to go to brunch and the reserved table at the café will go to somepony else if we don't get there pronto!"
"Sorry. I had a bad night. Let me go wake up Angel and then we can go" She turned and started to trot towards the stairs before she felt herself being lifted into the air by her tail.
Now I know how Ace felt.
"Oh no you don't! We're leaving now!" With that, Rainbow Dash flew out of the door with Fluttershy's tail in her hooves. Before the door shut, Fluttershy saw Ace appear from a small hole in the wall. He glanced sadly in her direction and lifted a white tub up in the air. It was her tablets.
My tablets! I didn't take them! No, this can't be happening! If I throw up, Dash is going to know something's wrong! What do I do?
***
"I'll have the daisy petal soup with lettuce and a daisy sandwich, Berry Punch"
"Good HIC choice. I love daisy sandwiches, especially with cider. So Flutters, what you havin'? HIC" Fluttershy scanned the menu, finding it hard to choose an option. With a deep breath, she put down the menu and recited her order.
"I'll have an extra large daisy and daffodil sandwich, with extra daisies, a large pumpkin pie with whipped cream and vanilla, three strawberry cupcakes with extra sprinkles, daisy petal soup, salad, a bowl of mixed berries, with extra berries, grilled cheese with sweetcorn and lettuce and a bowl of vanilla ice cream. If that's ok"
Rainbow Dash stared at her friend, her jaw nearly touching the ground. Berry Punch was still trying to process all the information and she too was shocked. Fluttershy blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Nopony said a word for what seemed like ages and the yellow mare's cheeks burned.
After a while, Dash closed her mouth, folded her wings and nudged Berry Punch
"Our food?" she said, gesturing towards the kitchen. Berry Punch snapped out of her trance and nodded to Dash, quickly scurrying towards the kitchen doors. Fluttershy stole a glance at the Pegasus sitting opposite her. She quickly turned her head downwards again when she saw Dash looking at her.
"Wow Fluttershy! I think you made Berry sober! You've never ordered more than a small portion of hay fries and a burger. You gonna be able to eat all that?"
"I-I'm pretty sure. I'm really hungry"
"I can tell! So, you want me to hoof the bill? I got a lot of bits in my saddlebag" She shook the bag and many coins could be heard jangling inside the material.
"No, no. I'll pay. I ordered the most, I don't want you to spend all your bits on my meal" Her stomach grumbled but not with hunger.
Please not now.
Rainbow Dash smiled and said something but Fluttershy didn't hear it. She nodded at Dash but concentrated on her stomach. She could feel it rising up into her throat and she desperately tried to force it downwards. It didn't work. Clamping her mouth shut, she leapt from her seat and ran towards the bathroom. Throwing open the door, she ran into a cubicle and threw up, not bothering to close the door behind her. It all came out at the same time. She coughed and gagged and when she finished, sat down heavily on the cold linoleum floor, panting.
Great. Just great. Why can nothing go right for me?
A voice from behind made her jump and she turned to see Rainbow Dash standing behind her with a confused look on her face.
"Fluttershy? I thought you said you were hungry?"
"I am! I just...had a funny moment...nothing serious" she lied, rubbing her arm. Rainbow Dash looked down at her friend, not believing a word.
"Right. So, a funny turn made you throw up your guts in a matter of seconds? I know when you're lying. What's the matter with you?"
"Nothing! I'm fine! Everything's fine" The mare got to her feet and tried to step around the cyan Pegasus but she moved and blocked her path.
"You're definitely not fine. Now that I think about it, you've been acting really strange lately. First, you mysteriously go into the pharmacist" Fluttershy gasped and sat back down.
"You saw me go in there? I thought you were practising"
"I was. I just decided to get a drink from the juice stand and saw you go in there. So there's that. And then you snuck home, dodging out the way of any ponies you saw. This morning the animals seemed to avoid you and you looked really tired, you've ordered a load of food and now you're throwing up before we've even gotten a chance to have a conversation!"
The bathroom was silent. The sound of the breeze blowing through the open window could be heard. Sitting in silence, Fluttershy tried to think of something to say but her train of thought had derailed itself and blown up. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Everything was still. She looked around and tried to find an exit or a diversion but nothing could free her from this confrontation. Dash stood still, expecting an answer.
"I s-swear nothing's w-wrong!" Dash sighed. She wanted to believe Fluttershy, she really did, but she knew that she was hiding something.
"Fluttershy...I think you need to go to the hospital. Just for a check-up, to make sure you're alright"
Fluttershy took a step back. Rainbow Dash gave her a sympathetic smile, hoping to lighten the mood.
No. Not now. I'm such an idiot. She's going to find out. No! She can't, no one can. I'm not going to the hospital. I WON'T GO. I need to get out of here. NOW.
Fluttershy flared her wings and her eyes flickered between her best friend and the bathroom door. She needed to run. Rainbow Dash took step closer and reached out with her hoof to bring Fluttershy into a hug, moving away from the door slightly. Noticing the gap widening, Fluttershy jerked away from the hoof and flew into the air, knocking Dash off her feet. The Pegasus' head ricocheted off the wall and she flew into one of he cubicles, slamming her head against the toilet. She let out a gasp of pain before turning to see her friend fleeing the bathroom.
"Ow! Fluttershy! Wait!"
But Fluttershy didn't wait. She ran from the restaurant, pushing ponies out of her way and bolting through the streets. Stallions and mares leapt out of the way when they saw the yellow mare barrelling towards them at top speed. For once in her life, she felt strength coursing through her wings and with a leap that would shame a frog, she glided through the air and shot off in the direction of her cottage, knocking over a vegetable stand in the process and sending Granny Smith rolling into Apple Bloom, who was walking beside her.
"Soup's up!" the old mare yelled.
***
The door to the cottage flew open, narrowly missing a squirrel. Fleeing animals tripped over each other trying to get out of the way. Fluttershy didn't care. The only animal she wanted to see was Angel. Galloping up the stairs, she ran into her bedroom and slammed the door. Angel sat on the bed, almost as if he knew she'd return at this very moment in time. Beside him was Ace.
"She's gonna find out, Angel. She's gonna know" she choked, tears streaming down her face. The rabbit ran toward her and began to stroke her mane, whispering into her ear. He guided her onto the bed and she collapsed, kicking the pillows off and pulling the blankets over her. Ace tiptoed towards her, a tub in his hands. Fluttershy took one look at the thing and flung them across the room, pills flying everywhere.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry" Ace snuggled down beside her and nuzzled her wet nose. She was silent and soon her body relaxed, her shaky breathing just audible to the two animals.
There would be no nightmares as she slept, just darkness.