//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Greener Pastures // by Static Shock //------------------------------// The rain was still beating down on Fluttershy as she drudged through the now swamp-like forest. Her hooves were covered in mud and her mane was completely soaked, but Fluttershy didn’t care about any of that. She had more important matters to attend to. Rays of moonlight pierced the layer of clouds that were pouring rain down upon the yellow pegasus, allowing her to see where she was going. It wasn’t much light, but it was enough. Fluttershy wasn’t really in the mood for sunlight anyway. “If I’m going to forget about him, I’ve got to stop reminding myself,” Fluttershy kept telling herself as she barged on through the forest, each hoof taking just a little more effort to lift out of the mud than the last. Finally, the trees ahead of Fluttershy parted, revealing her destination. Rain rippled the surface of the lake as she approached, the necklace in her mouth and a look of determination in her eyes. A short distance from the edge of the lake, she paused briefly, thinking back to what had turned into her first and last date with Big Mac. Feelings of resentment filled the yellow pegasus’s heart as she remembered how he had actually dived into the lake to retrieve the piece of jewellery she was now holding between her clenched teeth, only to crush her feelings not even a week later. If I’m going to forget about him, I’ve got to stop reminding myself. The necklace has to go. Fluttershy moved closer to the lake, taking the necklace into her hoof and looking at the ruined picture of Angel inside. She pulled back her hoof to launch the necklace in an arc back into the lake from which it had been retrieved on that fateful night. Fluttershy paused, however, when she noticed the boat that she and Big Mac had shared that night was floating in the middle of the lake. It was empty at first glance, but when a lightning bolt struck in the distance, Fluttershy had a little more light, allowing her to see the pony sitting in the boat. Or rather, the stallion. He seemed familiar. Color was hard to discern in the moonlight, so Fluttershy decided to wait for the next lightning bolt, which would bring another moment of illumination with it. She didn’t have to wait very long, and when the flash finally came, she noticed that the stallion... had a red coat. Unsure of whether she was imagining things or not, Fluttershy decided to wait for one last flash to get a closer look at the stallion’s mane. When the flash arrived, Fluttershy’s fears were confirmed; the mane was yellow. It was Big Mac, sitting in the middle of the lake in the same boat that he and Fluttershy had shared that night. He was alone, it seemed. Fluttershy played with the thought of trying to catch his attention, she even tried to raise a hoof to do so, but Big Mac was facing away from her. She’d have to walk around the lake to get him to notice her. Fluttershy started her walk around the lake, but stopped after she had taken the first few steps. If I’m going to forget about him, I’ve got to stop reminding myself. The necklace has to go. She gave up on getting to speak with Big Mac that evening. The stallion had hurt her, probably even more than he thought he had, and the wound was still too fresh to ignore. Fluttershy raised her hoof, necklace in it, and threw. The necklace arced through the air, the rain almost obscuring it from sight. Fluttershy heard a satisfying splash, and she knew that the necklace wouldn’t be found again. She had taken the first step towards recovery. Big Mac would not be easy to forget, Fluttershy knew, for she still lived in the same town as he did. True, they lived on opposite sides of said town, but she’d run into him eventually. Fluttershy didn’t immediately leave for home. She sat there for a while, staring at the stallion who was sitting in a boat, in the middle of a lake, sulking. It didn’t make any sense, Fluttershy thought. Why would he be here? What’s so special about this lake? Fluttershy wasn’t completely sure how long she had been sitting there, staring at the stallion who had crushed her heart. She found herself unable to leave, however, and only when the rain cleared did Fluttershy realize that she needed to get home. Big Mac hadn’t even stirred. He was just sitting there, in the middle of the lake, doing nothing. The path home was a rather disastrous one, as the conditions in the forest had only worsened as rain continued to pour from the skies. Fluttershy struggled to make her way home, even tripping over the roots of some particularly large trees as she passed them. As a result, the yellow pegasus was hardly yellow anymore when she finally returned home. Her coat was covered in dirt, leaves, twigs, and pretty much anything one would expect to find in a forest. She walked straight into her bedroom, ignoring Angel’s concerned looks as she crashed onto her bed, not even bothering to remove the dirt from her coat before she did so. She’d wash the sheets later, she thought. Her nap, for Fluttershy had fallen asleep not too long after she crashed onto her bed, was rudely interrupted by a knock on her front door, however. Fluttershy hadn’t bothered to close her bedroom door, so the noise was distinctly louder than she would have expected. Another knock, confirming that there was indeed somepony at the door. Fluttershy got up, still covered in dirt, and opened the door to see... Rarity. Of all the ponies to see me like this... "Rarity? What are you doing here? We've already been to the spa this week." Rarity had been staring at the pile of ash at the edge of the forest, and turned to face Fluttershy when she heard her friend speak. Her face would have turned pale, had it not been for the pony’s already white fur. “Oh, I just thought I'd stop by to ask you why you left the pa-... Heavens! What on Equestria happened to you!? Were you attacked, dear? Are you wounded?” “No, I’m fine.” “Say no more!” Rarity exclaimed, as she grabbed one of Fluttershy’s hooves and started to drag her off into town. “Uhm... I really don’t want to go into town today... Wait, why are we going into town?” “Why, to get you into shape, of course! I simply cannot let one of my friends go around looking like... well, that! No offense, darling, but you look absolutely atrocious!" “Oh... I uhm... I really don’t think that’s a very good idea...” “Nonsense, dear! You’ll need capable hooves to take of this... situation, and I know of nopony more capable than Lotus and Aloe!” Her protests going completely unnoticed, Fluttershy decided that the best thing to do was to lay low, and attract as little attention as possible. The plan worked, mostly, but she still got some weird looks as she drudged through the town, all the while being dragged along by the white unicorn in front of her. The two of them arrived at the spa, and wasted no time in getting inside. “Good afternoon, Lotus,” Rarity said. “I’d ask for the usual, but we have a bit of a... situation on our hooves.” Rarity stepped aside, exposing the pegasus behind her. Lotus had to fight back the urge to allow her jaw to drop, Fluttershy noticed, but she eventually recovered, and spoke. “I uh... think you’re going to need a full treatment, dear. This is... quite the mess you’ve made,” she giggled. Fluttershy simply stared at her hooves, wishing to be alone in her home, with nopony bothering her. She still had a lot of thinking to do, but her friends didn’t quite seem to sense her mood. Rarity had already walked ahead, and was standing in the entrance to the room in which the hot tub stood. “Come on, darling. We’re going to be here for quite a while if we want that layer of... whatever it is, to be cleaned. Best we start soon, so we can be out of here before the day ends.” Fluttershy remained quiet, but nodded before reluctantly walking over to her friend. The mud covering her had dried and cracked in places, making most of it easy to clean off. Not too long after Rarity had already relaxed in the hot tub, Fluttershy had been cleaned sufficiently to be allowed to join her friend. Fluttershy sighed as she lowered herself into the water, catching Rarity’s attention by doing so. “What’s the matter, dear? You seem even more quiet than usual.” “It’s... nothing. I’m just... nevermind. Let’s just focus on relaxing.” Fluttershy wasn’t making eye contact, but could make out the puzzled expression on her friend’s face from the corner of her eye. “If... you say so,” Rarity said. The two of them sat in silence, allowing themselves to relax in the warm water. Fluttershy was having a hard time relaxing, though. Her mind kept drifting, and when it did, she always found herself thinking of Big Macintosh. She still didn’t know what he had been doing on the lake. If she hadn’t known any better, she’d think that he’d been there for her. That doesn’t make any sense. He broke up with me, to be with Twilight. Why would he still be bothered by the lake, then? Unless he took Twilight there too... “Oh, cheer up, darling,” Rarity suddenly said. “How about you and I go into town after this? You were cleaned remarkably fast, and I think we’ll still have some time. Going into town is just what you need, I think.” “Oh... thank you, Rarity, but I really would rather stay home...” Fluttershy mumbled. “Nonsense, Darling. You and I are going into town after this. I will not take no for an answer!” “I really don’t think I want to go into town, Rarity.” “What did I say about taking no for an answer, dear?” “Oh, right.” “Well, you look... presentable, at least. We’ll go into town now, and if you still don’t feel like it once we’re there, I’ll let you return to your home to sulk about whatever is bothering you so. Does that sound like a plan to you, Fluttershy?” “Sounds... good.” The two ponies proceeded to climb out of the hot tub, each of them taking a towel with which to dry their mane and coat. Not too long after, the two of them were walking around town, Rarity turning her head in each and every direction to look at every shop they passed. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was just staring at the ground. “Oh my, this scarf... it’s wonderful! Don’t you think so too, Fluttershy?” No response came. “Fluttershy, dear?” Rarity turned around to look at her friend. Fluttershy was frozen in place, staring at something directly in front of her. Rarity went to stand next to her friend, to make it easier to follow her gaze. What she saw had her somewhat puzzled. Fluttershy was staring at Twilight. Twilight and... Big Macintosh? The two were walking through town much like Rarity and Fluttershy had been doing, with the sole exception of neither of them being in a bad mood. They seemed remarkably close, even. “Fluttershy, are you alright, dear?” Again, no response. She was just staring at the happy couple in front of her. Rarity could’ve sworn that she’d seen Fluttershy’s lower lip tremble, but she didn’t get the chance to study her friend some more. Fluttershy turned and ran for home. She had been trying her best not to think of the stallion she’d been dating, and her supposed friend he had left her for, but this confrontation proved too much to bear. They seemed so happy. Twilight had been blushing vigorously, and Fluttershy could only assume that Big Mac had been doing the same. They were walking side by side, Twilight looking up at Big Mac while he was staring at something in the distance. Neither of them seemed to have noticed her, thankfully. How could she? Fluttershy ran past several ponies on her way. It was nigh impossible not to, considering that she was running from the centre of Ponyville. Some of them called her name, or a greeting, but Fluttershy payed them no mind. She just wanted to go home and be alone, as she had been doing before Rarity showed up and dragged her to town. Why did she have to drag me into town, anyway? Couldn’t she have just left me alone? She crashed through her front door, not even bothering to look around for a sign of her pet bunny. He could take care of himself, for once. Fluttershy spent the rest of the day in her bedroom, quietly sobbing into her pillow. No more knocking on her front door, thankfully. He seemed so happy... She would never have looked up from her pillow, had she been left alone. Angel, however, felt it necessary to express his concern for his owner. Never had Fluttershy come home this devastated. Something was wrong, the little white bunny knew. His gestures were of little use, as Fluttershy simply nudged for him to leave. She didn’t want any company. Angel decided that his efforts weren’t about to yield any results, and gave up. He left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Fluttershy looked up at the now closed bedroom door, feeling just a little sorry for her pet. The little bunny had only tried to cheer her up, and she just shoved him aside. She’d had good reason, though. All Fluttershy wanted was to be left alone, yet none of her friends seemed to understand the message. I’m sorry, Angel. I just... don’t want to be bothered, right now. Hours later, Fluttershy’s sobbing finally ceased. Not because she was done with it, but because her eyes had run dry. She was out of tears. Her throat hurt, her head ached, and her eyes stung. Fluttershy rested her head on the now soaked pillow, and allowed sleep to take over. One final thought passed through her mind before she drifted off. I hope it’s another dreamless night.