//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Putting the Pieces Back Together // by Wheller //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Derpy returned the next day; the same receptionist from the day before eyed her menacingly, judging her silently as she filled out the same forms as yesterday. Okay Derpy, here goes nothing. Derpy spotted Fluttershy immediately; Fluttershy looked up and saw Derpy approaching her. The yellow pegasus thrust her head to her left, telling the wall eyed pegasus to follow her. Derpy followed as instructed, and Fluttershy lead her to the back side of a building close to the fence. “Hello Fluttershy.” Derpy said. “Hi Derpy, how are you?” Fluttershy asked with a smile. “I’m doing good thanks. Listen, about yesterday...” Derpy began, however she was quickly interrupted by Fluttershy, who raised a hoof to silence her. “You don’t have to apologise. I wasn’t really freaking out, I was just pretending...” Fluttershy took a quick look around, making sure the coast was clear. “So that they wouldn’t suspect!” This had to have been a record. Five seconds into a conversation, and Derpy was already lost. “Have to make them think that I don’t want to leave!” Fluttershy leaned in close and whispered into Derpy’s ear. “I secretly do! Now if they think that I don’t want to leave, that casts suspicion away from you, and why you’re really here!” Derpy looked confused. “To break me out?” Fluttershy questioned. “Oh yeah! That. Duh!” Derpy said, feeling that running with it would work better in the long run. “I’m such a feather brain sometimes...” “That’s okay. You’re heart is in the right place, which is most important,” Fluttershy said, she took a quick look around, checking to see if nobody was listening. “You have to get me out of here!” Derpy looked at the yellow pegasus strangely. “I’m... still working on how to do that.” “Take your time, but the sooner the better! They’re trying to poison me!” Fluttershy said. “I haven’t been taking my “medication” for that reason.” You don’t say? It was official. The situation was far worse now than it had been yesterday. Fluttershy was delusional, paranoid, and dangerous. Breaking her out was simply out of the question, not that Derpy had had any intention of doing it in the first place. Fluttershy needed help. Help that could only be given here, and it needed Fluttershy to take her medication. Derpy just needed to figure out a way to get her too. “If you want to escape... why don’t you just fly over the fence?” Derpy asked. Fluttershy shook her head. “It’s not that simple, the fence is for show. It couldn’t keep any of us here if it wanted to. No, what’s really keeping us here is a magical barrier that extends to the height of 10 metres. I tried escaping that way, I tried everything I could think of, and I couldn’t get past it.” Derpy needed to get her to take her meds. It was the only way she was going to get better, but how was she going to do it without Fluttershy figuring out that Derpy wanted her to take them. Fluttershy was ordinarily soft spoken and gentle... but like this she was unpredictable. She had every reason to believe that Fluttershy would try to kill her if she deemed her a threat. Worse still, you can’t reason with a crazy pony. “Fluttershy?! Where are you?” a stallion’s voice called out from around the corner. “Hide!” Fluttershy hissed. Derpy didn’t see a reason why she should, but she ducked behind the other side of the building anyway. She peeked around to see that an all black stallion in a white medical coat come into view. “Oh! Hello Doctor Nightcaller!” Fluttershy said to him. Doctor Nightcaller looked over his patient. “Recreation hour is over Fluttershy, its medication time.” “Oh, I’m so sorry Doctor, I must have lost track of time,” Fluttershy said, she smiled warmly at the earth pony doctor, and disappeared around the corner. Doctor Nightcaller looked right at Derpy, whose head was still peering out at them from behind her cover. “What are you doing?” Doctor Nightcaller asked. Derpy looked terribly embarrassed. “I... uh, Fluttershy told me to hide, and considering her condition, I felt it best not to argue with her.” Nightcaller frowned and shook his head. “That poor filly, we can’t get her to take her medication, she’ll never get better if she doesn’t.” Derpy frowned, but suddenly felt an idea forming. “Doctor Nightcaller? I have an idea. Though it’s probably unethical at the best and illegal at the worst... But if it does work it’ll help everypony.” Nightcaller looked over the wall eyed pegasus. “You have my attention.” … Derpy returned to visit Fluttershy the following day, she had been expecting her this time, and Fluttershy did not jump when Derpy greeted her. “I’m here to get you out Fluttershy,” Derpy said, smiling warmly at the yellow and pink pegasus. “Super!” Fluttershy said happily. “Oh I’m so excited! Tell me, what’s the plan?” “How long have we known each other Fluttershy?” Derpy asked her. Fluttershy stopped and thought about it for a moment. “Gosh, it’s had to have been... three years maybe?” Derpy nodded, she stepped towards the pegasus hoof outstretched. Lying on her hoof was a small pill. Fluttershy looked at Derpy with confusion. “Every day for the last three years, I delivered your mail, even on Sundays, I came by just to say hello. So now I have to ask you, have I ever had any reason to harm you?” “No...” Fluttershy said. “Exactly,” Derpy continued. “Have I ever given you any reason not to trust me?” “No...” Fluttershy said again. “I need you to trust me right now Fluttershy. I am personally delivering this to you. I need you to take this. Take this, and you’ll finally be able to come home,” Derpy said smiling at her. “Do you trust me Fluttershy?” Fluttershy stood silent for a moment. “Yes,” she finally managed. Fluttershy took the pill in Derpy’s hoof and swallowed it, opening her mouth and lifting her tongue to prove that she had indeed taken it. Derpy smiled at her. “I’m going to be back tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, for as many days as it takes for you to get better, just so that you know, that you will be safe. You have nothing to fear when I am with you,” Derpy said reassuringly. Fluttershy smiled back, knowing her friend meant every word. … It had taken nearly twice as long as the Doctor and Trixie put together, but Derpy Hooves had scored her first victory. Fluttershy regularly took the medicine that Derpy ‘delivered’ to her, and a short few days later, Doctor Nightcaller was stamping discharge papers. Fluttershy had become more reasonable, and while it would be much longer before she had fully healed. Doctor Nightcaller deemed that she was healthy enough to return to Ponyville, where she would be most happy. “I have got to hand it to you Miss Hooves. I think you went into the wrong profession,” Nightcaller said. “Noooo... I’m not smart enough to be a doctor. Fluttershy is just my friend and I know how to talk to her,” Derpy said modestly. Fluttershy smiled at Derpy as she stood next to her, Nightcaller rolled up the papers and filed them away. “Thank you for everything Doctor Nightcaller... I’m so sorry that I was bad.” Fluttershy said sadly. “Don’t you worry. It wasn’t you’re fault. You were sick, and now you’re better,” Nightcaller said with a smile. Derpy and Fluttershy stepped out of the office and into the open forest beyond the magical barrier. Now it was time to go home.