Dead Heart

by Leila Drake

Level 5 - Fluttershy

"Thank you for helping me with this", said Rarity and smiled at Priest. He just nodded, trying not to drop any of the four humongous shopping bags he was carrying. "Usually Spike is the one to help me out but sometimes I get the feeling that he's biting more than he can chew."

Can't imagine how that feels..., he complained silently.

"What do you need all that stuff for anyway?", asked Priest through the pile.

"'Stuff'? That, my friend, is not 'stuff'. It is cloth, ribbons, a new pair of scissors, food, snacks, beverages, a small gift for Sweetie Belle, feathers and a surprise but certainly none of it is", she huffed, "'stuff'. All of the things I have purchased have a designated purpose one of which is a nice picnic in the park. If you have the time, that is."

"Wait, what?"

"After we have brought everything else home, of course."

"...Right."

Did she just use three different words for the same thing?

As they walked back to the Boutique, Rarity with a content smile on her lips, deliberately ignoring everypony else's stares, Priest wondered why she was so friendly.

Rarity could have asked Spike to help her. She even invited Priest for lunch – oh wait, how did she know about last night's kitchen raid? On the other hand, she probably didn't and just assumed he had to eat something eventually, like every living being does.

And by the Light, he might be an ass sometimes, but it seemed she was one of his few friends now so it would be really dumb to turn down the harmless invitation.

Then there was that party Pinkie Pie was planning which made Rarity's behavior even more suspicious. Was she trying to occupy him to stay out of the party planners' way?

Nah, now I'm just assuming they're planning something big. Talking about big, I wonder how Tak is doing. Gotta remember to ask Twilight if she has a way to find out, mused Priest.

"Oh my, they were so rude!", complained Rarity. "It's just the same as with Zecora all over again!" It seemed that the townsponies' disapproving glares were getting on her nerves a lot more than on his - which made sense since Rarity was not new to town anymore.

"Who's Zecora?"

The unicorn magicked her shop door open and let Priest walk past. He put the bags on the table at the back of the room. They were freaking heavy and friendship or not, he wouldn't carry them upstairs or anything. Rarity was the one with the levitation magic!

"Zecora", said Rarity as she started unpacking, "is a Zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest. When she was new to town, everypony avoided her, there were even rumors that she ate ponies. I do have to admit it was not one of our best moments", she added, blushing with shame.

- - -

They picked a secluded spot in the park under a huge willow tree. Sitting on a blanket, Rarity enjoyed a daisy sandwich. Priest preferred the carrots, apples and cucumber. He could even taste them a little and the fruit contained lots of water so it wasn't as bad as he had feared. The whole eating business still felt awfully strange to him (except for the cupcakes).

They didn't say much, just leaning back and watching ponies of all ages walking and playing in the park. Rarity would occasionally point at some of them and tell Priest their names. From their spot they weren't seen immediately but could keep an eye on almost the entire area. This way Priest could watch the green earth pony approaching way before she got into earshot.

"Oh, great...", he mumbled between two bites.

"What is it?", asked Rarity.

Priest nodded at the earth pony. "It's Mara Dust. She keeps trying to 'help' me. Yesterday she even left a cupcake at the library."

"I don't understand. That sounds really nice after all, why would that be a problem?"

Priest frowned. "Because I don't like 'help' like that, especially not out of pity. I hate it when random people think they have the right to meddle with my day or tell me how to do things."

"You do?", said Rarity, a mixture of a confused smile and a slighty hurt frown on her face.

Priest shot a sideways glance at the unicorn and made a vague gesture, pointing at the food. "This is different. I helped you, you helped me. That makes us even, right?"

Rarity hesitated. "I suppose."

Guess that came out wrong, thought Priest. I should pull myself together. Just accept the earth pony's 'help', say thanks and be done with it.

"Hello again", he forced himself to say nicely to Mara as she came closer.

She smiled and nodded. "Hello, you two."

Rarity, noticing the slight change in Priest's attitude, smiled as well. "Nice to see you, Mara. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. The job at the post office is going well. Did you get the cupcake?", she turned to Priest.

"Yeah, it was good", he said truthfully. "I went to Sugarcube Corner to get more this morning."

"I see", beamed Mara. "Well, you're probably wondering why I'm so insistant..."

"Pray tell", he said with a certain sharpness in his tone, causing Mara to shrink a little.

"I, uhm, Princess Luna asked me to help you settle down in Ponyville... so I wondered if you'd want to check out some things and places on the list I made... I mean, later, if you have the time..."

Priest tilted his head, getting curious. "Twilight made a list, too, so I guess combined with yours I'll definitely find a job and all. Wait, I get it, you have to report to the Princess or something like that, right? Because if that's all, why not."

He was not really too convinced of his own words but hoped that she would buy it.

"Thanks!", smiled Mara, relaxing instantly. She sat down next to Rarity who moved on her blanket and encouraged her to have a bite of the sandwiches.

"By the way, Mara", said Rarity, "have you heard of the commotion at Quills and Sofas this week? Whatever was that all about?"

Mara glanced at Priest who was studying the list she had hoofed over to him. He seemed busy for now, absent-mindedly scratching his back, so she shrugged, took a carrot and replied, "Actually, it was kind of a big deal. Half of the store got demolished. Nopony knows who it was and I don't believe the rumors that it was Derpy. She wasn't even there at the time, she had left before that happened."

Rarity scoffed. "Why would they assume it was Derpy? There was just that one incident with the Town Hall and the one at the hardware store... hm, now that I think of it, I do remember that time when she crashed into the joke shop, the noise was hard to miss..."

Priest suppressed a snort.

Mara threw a scolding glance at him even though he had not made any noise. "It must be hard for her", she said. "She's not even that clumsy... but sometimes when she touches stuff, it... collapses or explodes or... I don't know, gets destroyed in some other way... but this time I know it wasn't her. We're good friends and when she denies being involved you can believe her. Besides, everypony just talks about 'somepony' doing it, that's not terribly specific..."

Rarity looked at the park, pondering what to say. In some distance, Pinkie Pie bounced across the street, balancing a huge crate on her back. Her pink mane and tail bounced along, brushing the side of the container.

"This is strange indeed", she said slowly.

Mara shrugged. "I'm afraid there's not really anything we can do about it."

- - -

After the picnic, Mara and Priest decided to visit some ponies to get to know Ponyville better. That meant that Mara suggested it and Priest chose to go with the flow and see how it would turn out.

He could already see the trees beyond the fields. They stretched on to the horizon, bright and dark green shapes covering the hills with a gap threading through the pattern - Priest assumed there was a river running through the forest.

"You know, I've heard of the Everfree Forest several times now", said Priest as they made their way to a cottage close to said forest, "and you got me curious. So there's a Zebra living inside the forest and it's supposed to be", he raised his hands to do the quote-unquote sign, "'dark and scary'. What's so scary about a freaking forest in Ponyland?"

Mara grinned. "It's 'Equestria'... and well, since you're asking, the forest is different from the other forests. The clouds move on their own and everything grows by itself! Isn't that creepy?"

"Yeah, so damn spooky we might as well call it the Flower Garden of Doom", deadpanned Priest.

That made Mara flinch and stare at him with disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, that's not creepy at all! It's completely natural!"

"N-natural?"

"Sure", said Priest. "Where I come from, the entire world works like that. No exceptions."

"Huuuh?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Mara? You can't really think nature is somehow waiting for you to make it work. That's ridiculous!"

"S-sorry", stuttered Mara, "That's a... new perspective to me. And I still think it's creepy! They say that there's manticores and hydras!"

"Okay, now you're talking", said Priest. "I'd really like to see that forest later."

The earth pony shuddered but did not answer, unsure whether he was serious or not.

- - -

They approached the cottage. It was unlike the other houses of Ponyville, its roof coverd by grass like the dwarven homes of the Twilight Highlands and surrounded by trees. It seemed as if it wanted to completely merge with its surroundings. Birds flew around the cottage and sang in the trees. A small fence surrounded the area next to the house. Priest spotted some chicken behind the hedge.

"Please remember, Fluttershy really lives up to her name", said Mara now. "She is very sensitive and will probably be scared by your appearance at first. Please try to be... nice?"

He shrugged. "I'll do my best. Why are we visiting her anyway?"

Mara smiled. "Because despite her shyness, she is very interested in all kinds of creatures. It might be interesting for you. Maybe she needs help with them so you could ask for a job. She's a friend of Rarity's." She threw a skeptical glance at Priest. "We can still go back..."

"Psh", said Priest, "I've got the time anyway."

Mara nodded. "Alright."

She knocked at the door. They could hear some rustling and hoofsteps inside, then the door opened by a few inches.

"Hello?", asked a gentle, quiet voice.

"Hi Fluttershy", said Mara. "Remember me from the party a month ago?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Nice of you to drop by, Mara."

The door opened a bit further, revealing the mare's face. The bright yellow coat and her pink mane along with her friendly eyes made Priest cringe with guilt. She'd probably get scared as soon as she-

"Eep!" The cry was not even loud, more like a strangled shriek half stuck in Fluttershy's throat. Her eyes reduced to pinpricks, she froze on the spot, then fainted.

"Ugh, great", snorted Priest. "Now what?"

Mara groaned. "I had hoped she would at least remain conscious."

He gave her an annoyed look. "Is that a thing of hers, to faint when she sees someone new?"

"Er...no", said Mara. "But you're not a pony..."

"Whatever", he interrupted her, getting more pissed with every second, "let's wake her up already."

She eyed him suspisciously. "Are you okay?"

Priest frowned. "Course I am. Except I just scared the living crap out of a harmless pegasus I meant to visit!"

He bent down to pick up Fluttershy and carried her carefully to her green sofa. For some reason her being scared of him made his insides burn with shame, something that had never happened before. He was usually just annoyed when everyone stared at him or got freaked but something about Fluttershy was... different. He couldn't put his finger on it.

This house is different than other houses on the inside, too, noted Priest as he looked up. There were birdhouses and holes in the wall. It looked like a small petting zoo in here.

Except the critters had all disappeared once the intruders had entered the room.

The only animal that had stayed was a white rabbit. It eyed him with a suspiscious glare matching that of a viscious watchdog.

Mara stretched out a hoof to pet the bunny. It seemed to approve of that; with a curt nod it let her continue for a few seconds, then it hopped outside through the window.

Meanwhile, Priest tried to pray and convince the Light to help Fluttershy wake up.

His magic did not respond, though. Maybe his request wasn't important enough? That could happen sometimes. Despite bending to his will, the magic of the Light was still fickle at times and didn't do anything if it seemed to consider it too minor.

He chose to use the more common way and slapped Fluttershy gently on the cheek.

"Hey, wake up", he said softly.

The pegasus's eyelids fluttered open and she stared at him. Before she could say anything, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Fluttershy blushed and nodded, her eyes still wide. "I'm sorry", she whispered.

"Nevermind", said Priest. "Mara, can you get me a glass of water?"

Mara nodded and made her way to the kitchen, ignoring Priest's commanding tone.

The undead looked back at Fluttershy, sitting at the ground to appear less tall and intimidating. "So you're Fluttershy", he said, trying to break the ice. "Twilight says you are good with animals."

Fluttershy nodded silently, half her face hidden behind her long mane.

"Um", said Priest.

Crap, she really does live up to her name...What am I supposed to say?!

"Your animals are really... cute.", he offered.

The corners of her mouth went up a little. "Yes, they are. Angel, the bunny, is one of my closest friends", she said quietly, seemingly relaxing as Priest still wasn't moving a limb.

"Well, I just wanted to drop by", mumbled Priest. "So I did. Uh... I can leave if this is a bad time."

"Oh, it's okay", said Fluttershy with a steadier voice but still hiding behind her mane. "I'm sorry, I was so surprised. I've never seen a creature like you." She blushed violently at that.

"Ah, right. I keep forgetting it's not just me being...", he managed to stop himself before saying, 'undead', mentally slapping himself, "...tall."

Idiot, don't make this harder than it already is!

He coughed. "I'm a human. Twilight... met me when she was doing her portal research." Half the truth, but it should be enough. "I'm going to stay in Ponyville for the time being."

He got interrupted by a confident male voice.

"And why in Equestria would you, a strange and probably terribly dangerous being from another world, be this interested in my dear friend Fluttershy?"

With a creaking noise, Fluttershy's sofa started to wiggle, urging her to stand up. It curled and bent until one of the pillows, a patchwork mess of shrill colors, jumped off, spinning wildly, and floated across the room. As it whizzed closer to Priest, it transformed into a fully grown...

Priest wouldn't have been able to identify the species two months earlier but after doing research with Twilight for this long, he knew whom he was facing. The undead jumped to his feet and put himself between Fluttershy and the dragonequus, ready to charge up his magic.

"What do you want, Discord?", he demanded.

Comments

[CoastalSarv]

Oh! Fluttershy's new friend! This will be interesting!

[Mocha Star]

Kewl beans