Problems, Progress, and Parents

by Spookyrus

1C. A Pegasus Meanders About Ponyville

Let's see here. Food for the animals? No there was still plenty, it could wait a few days. There was a load of fish that had to be picked up from Sea Swirl, that wouldn't take too long. Some wooden planks to repair the chicken coop, that wouldn't be a problem either. And... some more parchment would be good too, she was running low.

Fluttershy made a few adjustments to her shopping list, glanced over it, and then replaced it in her saddlebags. This was good! It was bright and early in the morning, and Rarity for whatever reason had cancelled their weekly spa trip today, so she had all day to get her errands done, possibly with time to spare. So, where to start? Probably the parchment, it was closest and the easiest to carry. Okay, that would do.

So Fluttershy cantered into town, humming as she went. She looked around at the sky, the bright sun and fluffy clouds. The birds in the trees sang in response to the pegasus's song, lifting her spirits. It was another lovely day in Ponyville, and if anypony was enjoying the peace, it was Fluttershy. She was quite happy not needing to confront ancient mythical monsters and blast them with rainbows. Like, being a national hero was nice and everything, but she somehow doubted it would surprise anypony if she said that she would much rather just live a contented life like this. She silently hoped to herself every morning when she woke up that there wouldn't be any monsters outside her window, and her cutie mark wouldn't be glowing, and Twilight wouldn't bust into her house and drag her back to the castle, or anything of the sort.

This wasn't to say that she wouldn't go along to help save the world if she was needed again, it was simply to say that she really didn't want to need to do so. She had seen so many terrifying things in her lifetime that she was honestly surprised she didn't constantly wake up in a cold sweat. So, this was nice, the harmony taking place at the moment, even if a nagging voice in the back of her head told Fluttershy that it wasn't going to last. For now, she had errands to run. "Live in the now," she recalled being told at some point probably.

"Hey Fluttershy!" came a familiar shout, and Fluttershy turned her gaze again to the sky. Down flew Rainbow Dash, making a movement with her wings to pull up before she could hit the ground.

"Oh, good morning Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy greeted with a warm smile. "What brings you here?"

"Eh, nothing important." Dash shrugged. "My cupboard was looking kinda empty, so I figured I'd go out for breakfast. Wanna tag along?"

"Oh, that sounds lovely Rainbow, but I can't. I have to pick up some food from Sea Swirl and I wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

"Meh, more for me." Rainbow casually flew beside Fluttershy as she continued her trip down to the village. "So, Flutters," she made an attempt at starting conversation, "what have you got going on today? You know," the blue pegasus planted herself on the ground to better keep with Fluttershy's pace, "other than the whole food-pickup-thing."

Fluttershy giggled at her friend's choice of wording. "Oh, well, I'm going to pick up some parchment first, and then I need to get some wood, and then..." She tapped a hoof against her chin. "...I don't know after that, I guess I'll have the afternoon to myself." Her brow lowered, and she inquired, "And what are you doing after your empty-cupboard-breakfast-thing?"

Rainbow Dash flailed a hoof mildly in defense. "Ugh, don't... don't! Don't mock me!" She was laughing through her sentence, and it didn't take terribly long for Fluttershy to join her. When they were about finished, Dash properly replied, "Eh, I'm not working today, so probably gonna practice my tricks again. Unless something comes up."

"Have you heard anything new from the Wonderbolts?" Fluttershy asked, and Rainbow shook her head.

"Nope, I have absolutely no idea when the next show is. But, y'know, more practice time, right?"

"As long as you're not worried."

Dash smirked proudly. "And I'm not, so everything's good."

"Good."

They had made it into town, and Fluttershy was now glancing around in search of the store that sold parchment paper. She didn't visit it very often, so she didn't really remember where it was exactly. "Um," she turned to Rainbow Dash, who in turn turned back to Fluttershy, "do you have any idea where the store is...?"

Rainbow scratched her head, looking around at the buildings. "Um...?"

"Oh, Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash, there you are!"

The pegasi were spared an awkward and confused search for the store by Rarity, who was now trotting over to meet them.

"Oh, it's Rarity," Fluttershy observed. "Good morning, Rarity."

"Yes, good morning, Fluttershy dear. What brings you out from your cottage this fine day?"

"Just some errands is all."

"What's up, Rares?" Rainbow questioned.

A devious smile crossed Rarity's face, only for her to quickly mask it with a less evil-looking expression. It didn't look like Rainbow Dash had noticed. "Oh, I was just hoping you might join me for dinner tonight, Miss Dash. I thought we might discuss a few things, and what better to discuss over than food?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "You... want me to go out to dinner with you?"

"No!" Rarity exclaimed. "I mean, yes? Not like..." She sighed. "Not just us. I was hoping to bring along Pinkie Pie as well."

Rainbow's eyebrow raised even higher, and she exchanged a quick glance with Fluttershy. "Pinkie Pie...?" Dash questioned. "And... this is gonna be where?"

"In a restaurant, of course," Rarity answered. "There are a few decent establishments here in Ponyville."

"Pinkie Pie... in a... restaurant?" Rainbow pressed a hoof against her head, an action which Fluttershy almost felt like copying. Rarity did realize what she was saying, right? Because Pinkie couldn't sit still for a second, and hardly did bringing her out to eat ever end well. It usually ended with an especially large tip for the waiter, and that was at best. Fluttershy could say this from experience.

Rainbow Dash shook herself. "So, let me get this straight," she said, eyeing Rarity with suspicion, "you want me... and Pinkie... to go to a restraunt... with you."

Rarity nodded pointedly. "Yes Rainbow Dash, that's exactly what I want."

Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash, who apparently had quite a few gears turning at the moment. Eventually the blue pegasus flattened her expression, and replied, "Alright, fine, I'm not doing anything today anyway. But only if you flip the bill!"

Rarity nodded cheerfully. "Absolutely, it's on me. Thank you so much, just drop by my boutique tonight and we'll all go together!"

The unicorn made to leave, but Fluttershy prevented her. "Oh, Rarity!" The previously named turned back. "Do you suppose you could tell me where I could buy some parchment?"

Rarity paused for a moment to process Fluttershy's question, and then smiled. "Oh, of course! Just go up to the end of the block and it's the third building on the right. Ta ta now!"

"Oh. Oh! Thank you, Rarity! Goodbye!"

Rainbow Dash scowled. "What do you suppose that was all about?" she inquired.

"I have no idea," Fluttershy answered, "but I guess you'll find out tonight."

Rainbow huffed. "Ugh, Rarity is so weird sometimes." She extended her wings and flapped them a little, picking herself up off of the ground. "Welp, I guess I should go get that breakfast then. See you around, 'Shy."

Fluttershy waved as Rainbow Dash zoomed back into the sky and away from the shopping district.

So she followed Rarity's directions, and on the third building to the right, there was the store. She pushed the door open and heard a little bell ring, and was immediately overcome by the powerful scent of paper. She looked around. There were lots of different kinds of parchment, none of which Fluttershy could tell the difference between. Some of them were different colors, like white or orange or a slightly darker tan than the parchment she normally used. She didn't understand why there were so many different kinds, and she wouldn't be lying if she said she felt a little uncomfortable here, because everyone else shopping here looked like they knew exactly what they were looking at.

Fluttershy quietly stepped past a display of ceramic inkwells, her head lowered slightly as she looked around for her usual parchment. Then she spotted a familiar face looking over quills.

"Oh... Twilight Sparkle!"

The alicorn perked, then looked for who had called her. Upon finding Fluttershy, she smiled and waved to her friend. "Hi Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" she asked when the pegasus approached her.

"I'm running low on parchment," Fluttershy explained. "Did Spike and Starlight ever finish those dishes?"

"Surprisingly, yes. I thought they would never finish!" Twilight pulled a violet and red quill out of a rack and examined it. "They did such a great job, I decided to do some shopping in their place."

"That's nice of you."

"Here, I'll help you find your parchment."

The two ponies headed back over to where the parchment was placed, mostly in separated rolls. Twilight looked over some of the different colors, and Fluttershy asked, "So, did you ask Sunset?"

Twilight's ears flattened, and her eyes flicked back and forth a couple times. How odd. Lately she had been acting a little strange whenever the human dimension was brought up. Fluttershy was curious as to why this was, but didn't want to ask in case it hurt Twilight's feelings.

"About visiting," Fluttershy clarified.

"Oh! Yes." Twilight turned her attention back to the parchment. "I'm going next weekend. Just to hang out a little, you know... I'll spend the night there."

"I'm sure Sunset will really enjoy your company." Fluttershy had only met Sunset Shimmer in person a couple of times, excluding the... first time. She was a nice pony, and good company. She was also really smart, which was great for Twilight, because there wasn't really wasn't anypony else who could keep up with her when she started talking about science and magic, not even Starlight. Well, maybe Sunburst, but they didn't see each other too often. The point was, Twilight and Sunset were really good friends, and it made Fluttershy happy that her good friend had another good friend who she could talk to.

Fluttershy had kind of forgotten what the were doing here for a minute.

"Ah, here you go." Twilight pulled a light tan roll of parchment off of a shelf. "Triple ply. Very durable."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." Twilight levitated the parchment over to Fluttershy, who took it in her hoof. "I probably would have been here all day trying to decide."

"No problem. Well, I'm gonna be here a little longer. See you around?"

"Okay. Thanks again!"

Fluttershy paid for the parchment and placed it in her saddlebags, then left for her next stop.

---

"Goodbye, Sea Swirl! Thanks again!"

The mulberry unicorn waved to Fluttershy as she trotted away, a medium sized bag of fresh fish hanging from her side. It was a little heavy, and the pegasus had to make an effort to keep her balance, but it was worth it. She quietly thanked the fish that had given their lives to feed her animal friends, before quickly refreshing herself on where she was going next. Oh, yes, the hardware store. But... oh, she probably should have thought of this before. How did she plan on carrying both the fish and the wood? Oh dear. She really hadn't thought this over. Well, she wasn't getting anything done by just standing here...

"Hey, Fluttershy!"

Oh dear. Who was this now?

Oh, it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Fluttershy hadn't seen them in a while.

Scootaloo zipped ahead on her scooter and did a 180, which in turn caused the wagon it was dragging to tilt and send Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tumbling out of it and onto their faces. It was a good thing they were wearing helmets.

"Ow. I think we're getting too big for that wagon."

"Yah think?"

Scootaloo helped Sweetie Belle up and Apple Bloom shook the dust out of her hair. "G'morning, Fluttershy!" the smallish earth pony greeted.

"Good morning," Fluttershy replied. "What are the three of you up to?"

"Mostly jus' lookin' fer something ta do," Apple Bloom answered.

"I'm looking for a job!" Scootaloo shouted excitedly.

Fluttershy's ears perked. Scootaloo, looking for a job? Oh, of course. Applejack said just yesterday that they would be leaving school soon. How wonderful that the little pegasus was getting a head start.

"Really? That's great." Fluttershy smiled. "I hope you find a good one. Do all of you know what you're going to do once school is over?"

"I'm gonna do the same thing that Rainbow Dash did!" Scootaloo declared. "Except with my scooter instead of flying. I'm already self-taught, so all I've gotta do is keep practicing and find a job to support myself until I can make it big!"

Knowing Scootaloo, that last part was probably an almost direct quote from Rainbow Dash. It was pretty cute how much she admired her "sister".

"Rarity said that I can work in her boutique and she'll actually pay me like a regular employee," said Sweetie Belle. "So that's pretty cool. She said it would be a good experience."

"Where are you going, Fluttershy?" Scootaloo inquired. She then sniffed the air, and her face scrunched up. "And what the hay is in that bag?" Sweetie Belle forcefully nudged Scootaloo in the ribs. Scootaloo had probably picked up on that language from Rainbow Dash.

"Fish," Fluttershy answered plainly, "and the hardware store. I need wood to repair my chicken coop."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both looked like they had something to follow that up with, but Apple Bloom beat them. "Ooh! Do ya think Ah could fix it for ya?" she requested. "'Cuz, 'cuz Ah was thinkin' that Ah could get inta carpentry, so like, Ah could help fix things on the farm!"

Fluttershy blinked. As much as she wanted to support Apple Bloom's endeavors, things had a tendency to... well, break around the CMC. But there must have been some way to help. Oh, okay. Fluttershy had an idea.

"How about this," she offered to the bright-eyed filly standing in front of her, "you can come to the hardware store with me. I know some really nice stallions there who might be willing to teach you."

Apple Bloom gasped. "Really?!"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Awesome!"

"Sweet!" Scootaloo cheered. "You go, Apple Bloom!"

"Nice, that'll really get the ball rolling," Sweetie added. "I hope you find your mentor there."

"Aw, thanks guys." Fluttershy watched the three share their signature high-hoof, before Apple Bloom bolted off in the direction of the hardware store. "C'mon, Fluttershy! We're burnin' daylight!"

"Welp, I'm going home," said Sweetie Belle trotting off in the opposite direction.

"See you, Sweetie."

As Scootaloo started to leave, a thought suddenly occurred to Fluttershy. "Scootaloo, wait!" she called, and the smaller pegasus turned her head back. Fluttershy lifted the bag of fish off of her back and dropped it in the wagon, Scootaloo watching her do so with a raised eyebrow. "Do you think you could take that up to my property? You can just leave it on the doorstep."

"Um...?"

Then Fluttershy proceeded to pull five bits out of her saddlebags and placed them inside the wagon as well. Scootaloo's expression lightened.

"Oh. Okay, sure thing Fluttershy!" She grinned, then started up the road towards Fluttershy's house. What a nice little pony.

"Hey Fluttershy, what are yah waitin' for?!"

"Don't worry, I'm coming!"

---

"Good morning, Mr. Jack Hammer," Fluttershy greeted a brown pegasus who was restocking shelves.

Jack Hammer wiped his brow and turned to Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. "Morning, Fluttershy. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I came here to buy some wood, but there's one other thing..."

"Sure, what's up?"

Fluttershy lightly nudged Apple Bloom forward, and the farm pony mustered up one of the most adorable grins she could manage. "This is my friend Apple Bloom," Fluttershy explained. "She's going to be leaving school soon, and she was hoping to study carpentry. I thought maybe you or one of your friends could...?"

"Apple Bloom, huh?" Jack Hammer extended his hoof to the filly, who gladly shook it. "You're Applejack's sister, aren't you?"

"Sure am!" Apple Bloom replied. "An' Ah'm real good a fixin' things. Ah fixed mah sister's old tree house a couple years ago, all by mahself!"

"Is that so? You must be pretty good already, then."

Apple Bloom nodded proudly. "But, Ah wanna be even better."

Jack Hammer scratched his head. "Well, it's been years since the last time I've mentored a foal, but I guess it couldn't hurt..." Apple Bloom's eyes somehow got even brighter. "But, that's not a definite 'yes'. I'll need to see what you can do, and your parent or guardian will have to fill out some paperwork..."

"Ah'll bring Applejack up here later today!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "She can fill out that paperwork, Ah know she'll say yes!"

Jack Hammer smiled. "Alright, alright. You do that, and I'll see what I can do for you."

"Yes!" Apple Bloom jumped in the air victoriously. "Ah'm gonna get a mentor! Ah'm gonna get a degree!"

Fluttershy giggled. "That's great, Apple Bloom." She was glad she had set the filly up on the road to success. As far as Fluttershy knew, neither Applejack nor Big Mac had ever gotten a proper degree, since they had stuck around on the farm, so Apple Bloom would be the first in their generation if Jack Hammer actually went through with it. That was great. Fluttershy always did like helping ponies.

"Now, what was this about you needing wood?"

Author's Note:

Fluttershy sure does say "oh" a lot.
Sea Swirl sells fish to Fluttershy. You can make up your own headcanons, I'm probably not gonna go any deeper with that.
So there were a lot of a requests to continue the PinkieDash subplot! That makes me happy, they're a super cute ship. But the Fluttershy request came first and I had already started writing the chapter with her when the PinkieDash comments started rolling in. All things considered, I think it was probably best to take this chapter to introduce plot #3. Surprisingly, plot #3 doesn't seem to have anything to do with shipping. Yet. Don't worry, we'll see more of plot #2 in the next chapter.

Comments

[HarmonyRapids]

Where's my PinkieDash?!

Haha. JK take your time!

[Crimson Dawn]

Its cool you don't want to give it all away right away. Besides Fluttershy can be an interesting character too.

Though I cannot wait to read any PinkieDash chapters.

[Mister Morden]

The plot thickens!

I am very much looking forward to the restaurant disaster now.

[livinthelife]

Does... Does Fluttershy know what parchment is made of?

[The end is nigh]

Im a bit confused with the second chapter? Did Rarity see that Twilight and Pinkie were both nervous about their special someponies so she wanted to test out getting RainbowPie going then Sunlight?

Otherwise I like the whole RainbowPie subplot keep the stories going

[Spookyrus]

7478030 I am ashamed of how long it took me to get that joke.

7478089 Sort of. But you can determine it however you like. :)

[ClawHeart]

I would love to see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash turn Rarity's manipulating back around on her. I just wonder who they would choose to try to set her up with.

[Cross Lament]

7478030 I'm sure it's just... uh... called 'parchment'. Yes.

[Pontiac56]

I'm hoping that Rainbow and Pinkie don't actually hook up and that Rarity gets her comeuppance for being a busy body and meddling to try and hook them up.

[GamerBoi42]

Okay, someone clearly put this in the wrong section of the RainbowPie group. They should have been put in the "background ships" section". I'd like to know who's responsible for this blunder, because I like my PinkieDash stories to have said ship as the main feature.

[Spookyrus]

7483395 Whoops! Sorry, must have zoned out while I was choosing the folder. I'll fix it as soon as I upload the next chapter.