Quiet

by Koariangel

4. Spa

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle walked down the street with a particular destination in mind. It was Saturday: their official spa day. It had been the first time in a while that Twilight had anytime to spend with any of her friends. Since the creation of the Castle of Friendship, she and Spike had been hard at work making it into their new home. She'd spent weeks ordering and arranging books to replace those demolished with the original library, as well as having hundreds sent over from the old castle in the Everfree Forest. Between that and scattered royal responsibilities, this day off was long overdue.

"Such a nice day," Rarity commented as they strolled along. She was right, too. There was a slight breeze, rustling and freeing loose leaves as it passed, but not making it too cold. It was quite a pleasant Autumn afternoon.

"And it's so nice to get out to enjoy it for once. You girls wouldn't believe how long I've had to stay indoors lately," Twilight mentioned. A couple ponies bowed as she passed, but she simply waved back in her usual friendly way. She still considered herself a princess by name only.

"We're just glad we finally get a chance to have you all to ourselves for a change. Well... almost," Rarity looked over her shoulder and the other two mares mimicked her. Walking a respectful distance behind them, just beyond hearing range of their conversation to allow them their "girl talk", was an orange pegasus stallion with blue hair, adorned in royal guard armor.

"Well, it's just a security measure. After the Tirek incident, Princess Celestia sent a small detachment of the guard to protect my new castle. Flash Sentry was hoofpicked by my brother himself to be the captain of the group," Twilight explained.

"Flash?" Fluttershy wondered. That name sounded familiar.

"Yes, dear. The pegasus we met in Canterlot that makes Twilight's cheeks turn a charming shade of pink," Rarity joked as they approached the spa.

"He does not! They do not!" Despite her protests, her cheeks were changing colors. Even Fluttershy lifted a hoof to hide her light giggle.

"Will that be all, Your Highness?" A voice spoke up behind them, as her guard closed the distance he'd established as they walked. Twilight tensed and tried to put on the best poker face she could muster.

"Ahem, yes. Thank you Flash. Come back and pick me up in a couple hours, please."

"Of course." He bowed once before looking back up at her with a charming smile. With that, he turned and began to walk back to the castle. Twilight watched almost dazed as he left.

"The most charming shade of pink," Rarity reiterated as she magically opened the door to the spa.

"Rarity!!!!"

---

By the time they had set their spa itinerary and had gotten comfortable in the hot tub, all three mares were laughing about the situation.

"Okay okay, I can admit it, alright? He's attractive; I can say it. I do have eyes, you know?" Twilight said, reclining against the side of tub with her wings outstretched. Both friends were similarly situated on either side of her.

"One would never think, since you keep them glued in those old books all the time," Rarity joked.

"Uh, where do you think I get my standards from? After reading about dazzling, handsome stallions coming to the rescue, I can get a pretty good idea of what I like. Besides, he's kind of literally a knight in shining armor; you can't get much better than that."

"Have you talked to him, outside of royal duties that is?" Fluttershy asked as she lazily ran her hooves through her wet mane.

"I just haven't had the time," Twilight sighed regretfully. "Besides, I'm a princess now. I highly doubt that he even sees me as a mare, let alone approachable." The princess looked down at the water gloomily for a second before quickly shifting the focus off of herself. "What about you Rarity?" The white unicorn's ears twitched at her name.

"Moi?"

"Yes, do you have anypony that you're interested in? I-if you don't mind telling us that is," Fluttershy chimed in, her voice dimming with each word she spoke.

"Oh. Well, I have been visiting Canterlot quite a bit recently for business. The town is full of eligible bachelors, you know. So many to choose from," Rarity replied coolly...almost too coolly.

"But..." Fluttershy offered, knowing there was more to it.

"Well, Fancy Pants and I seem to be running in the same circles quite frequently..." Once she'd admitted this, she hid her lips beneath the water as her friends giggled conspiratorially.

"Any progress with that?" Twilight wondered as the timer went off. It was time to move on to their grooming. The mares pulled themselves out of the blissfully warm water and began toweling off.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I suppose there would be if not for Fleur Dis Lee. I have no idea what her deal is," Rarity grumbled as she and the girls put on their spa robes. Rarity rarely grumbled.

"Are they dating?" Fluttershy wondered out loud as they headed to the lounging tables. Once the three were situated, four spa ponies came to cater to them. One lifted Fluttershy's left wing, beginning to clean out any remaining dirt and old feathers. Another began to file Rarity's horn. Being an alicorn, Twilight got to enjoy both treatments, with two ponies working on her at once.

"Well, I thought so at first. I was going to back off if they were, but it seems they are just childhood friends. From what I've heard, they've grown up and networked in the same social circles, so it's not so unusual that they're always together. But the way she fawns and grabs all over him is... so uncouth. And I can tell it bothers him too. If they are 'a thing,' it's in her mind only." Rarity sighed as the spa pony had finished filing her horn and had grabbed one of her legs to begin her hooficure. "What about you, Fluttershy darling?" The pegasus blinked as her own spa pony shifted to work on her other wing.

"What about me?" she wondered, not understanding the question.

"Are you interested in anypony?" Twilight supplied as one of her attendants began kneading and massaging her back. The very idea made Fluttershy's blue eyes fly open and her wings suddenly shut with an audible snap. The pony that had been cleaning them was suddenly quite confused.

"What?! No! I couldn't! I couldn't even think to look! And if I did how could I even think to talk to him? And what if he thought-" Her wings had spread back out and began lifting her a couple inches of the table before the spa pony quickly placed a hoof on her back and pushed her back down. Oh darn. Not again. The attendant took this as a sign that the preening was over, and moved on to the massage. The other two patrons shared a knowing glance; they'd figured that Fluttershy either wouldn't allow herself to consider these feelings, or it honestly hadn't occurred to her. But, it was worth a shot.

"In that case," Rarity tried again, "what do you think you would look for in a stallion? What kind of pony do you imagine?" Hypothetically? Fluttershy could do that. Anything not having to do with real life confrontations, she could handle. But despite the amount of time she'd spent in her own head, she had never thought about it; this was a foreign subject to her.

"Hmm," she pondered, trying to think on the spot. She looked up at the ceiling "I suppose like Twilight, I'd want somepony with knight-like qualities. Maybe not a real knight, but who would want to protect me and others. And...I suppose looks are kind of important, but I'd probably look more at the inside. I'd want somepony I could talk to, who would listen to anything I had to say, no matter how stupid. He'd be somepony who makes the world alright just by entering a room. Somepony to support me. Somepony who could see all of my flaws and still think I'm something special. Somepony I could confide in and share my deepest fears and secrets with. Oh, and a cuddler! He'd have to love to cuddle and snuggle. Somepony that can be my own personal, gentle soul." When Fluttershy finished her thoughts, she looked over at her friends who were looking at her with large, intent eyes. They were leaning over towards her slightly, apparently hanging onto her every word. They reminded her of children gathered round at story time. A short silence passed.

"That... was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, Flutterhshy! You belong in a storybook," Twilight declared at last. Rarity nodded her head in enthusiastic agreement. The pegasus blushed with a shy smile as she looked down.

"Oh... well thank you Twilight. But I was just saying what I thought. It would be nice, but I don't think it's possible." Despite the depressing statement, she made it with her usual passive smile.

"You don't think he exists?" Rarity wondered, referring to Fluttershy's theoretical perfect gent.

"Well maybe, but..." Fluttershy trailed off as her thoughts took over. I just don't think it's possible for me to meet someone like that. Despite her low self esteem, Fluttershy didn't necessarily view herself as ugly or unattractive or anything of the sort. But she wasn't sure what someone would see in her at first glance. He'd have to look at her soul, just as she'd look at his. It was hard to think about something like that actually happening, let alone happening with some stallion she would happen to meet through the journey of life. Fluttershy had never noticed stallions in a romantic way before, and she was fairly certain that they'd never noticed her either. Maybe not everypony was meant to have a special somepony. Some ponies had always been by themselves and had been just fine...right?

Author's Note:

Nothing like good ole girl talk, right? Regarding Fleur Dis Lee, she's probably not as annoying or bitchy as I make her out to be, but I needed an antagonist that is sure to appear in other stories that I plan to write. Sorry, if that bothers anyone (anypony)!
But, this was intended to be a sort of filler, as well as show some insight into some of the other ponies lives; they will most likely be having their own story later. I also wanted to show Fluttershy's mindset when it comes to the opposite sex. Thanks as always for the amazing support. Much Love!

Comments

[BobtheLurker]

I've been wondering what Fleur's deal is. It's another one of those relationships that the show would never bother to define.