What Lies in a Moment

by PaulAsaran

Briarpelt: Waking

Waking
By Briarpelt

There was a fuzzy kind of warmth on top of Fluttershy. It soaked into her belly, face and chest, all of which seemed to be facing towards the sky. That was interesting… how did she wind up upside down? She decided it didn’t matter. She wasn’t ready to think yet. There was a golden brightness on the inside of her eyelids, and something tickled her cheek. It was cooler underneath her, and slightly damp. It smelled like green, like soil… she tried to ignore the tickling. It was annoying, but she didn’t want to move. It was so warm here.

Slowly, her world expanded. She was becoming more aware of the brightness on the other side of her eyelids, and the heat on her belly was growing uncomfortable. More things were tickling her, in the hollow of her back and behind her neck. A silky strand of something lay across her face. That was annoying, too. She had the feeling that it didn’t belong there, that it should be swept back, but she still didn’t really want to move or think yet. Just a few more minutes.

There was a rustling in her ear, and just like that, she realized that there was sound. Mostly just the whispering noise, but farther away, something was chirping. There was also laughter, ponies’ laughter. And voices… it sounded like her friends. Involuntarily, the corners of Fluttershy’s mouth turned up in a gentle smile. She loved her friends. They were like a big family.

A gentle breeze started blowing, ruffling at her fur. It cooled the heat on her stomach, but made her sides a little too cool, causing her to shiver slightly. It also made something tickle her left ear. She flicked it, and shifted her head a little, which stopped the tickling at her cheek. It looked like she was going to have to get up, now. Besides, the sound of her friends’ laughter was appealing. She wanted to join them.

Slowly, Fluttershy stretched, reaching her forelegs over her head like a cat. She made a little mewling sound in the back of her throat, and gently rolled over onto her stomach. She stretched out her hind legs in the process, and mewled again. But now that the cool parts were in the heat and the warm parts were in the shade, she didn’t want to move anymore. She rested her chin on her hooves, and snuggled into the grass.

Then, it got colder. The brightness dimmed, leaving an afterimage of light on her eyes. She shivered a little more, and tucked her tail around her back hooves. The grass was still rustling. It was so peaceful here. In a moment, the world brightened again, and she decided a cloud must have passed over the sun.

There were wingbeats. The air shifted around Fluttershy, as some flying creature approached. Then the wingbeats stopped, and a quick series of four thumps informed her half-asleep brain that somepony had landed. More hoofsteps followed, as a few more ponies walked toward her.

“Aww, look, she’s sleeping!” That voice sounded familiar, even though it was unusually hushed. It was Rainbow Dash, she decided. Rainbow Dash, her oldest friend. And those must be her other friends nearby. She loved her friends. They were like a big family.

“Shh, Rainbow! Let’s not wake her up.” That was Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy liked her voice—it was sweet and calm and strong. She smiled a little more.

“She’s quite an adorable little thing, isn’t she?” A refined, carefully accented voice cooed. Rarity's voice. She could be a princess, Fluttershy thought. So regal and delicate. Twilight was already a princess, but they said that anyone could be whatever they wanted, so Rarity might be a princess someday. Fluttershy herself wanted to be a tree. But how would one go about becoming a tree, she wondered? Maybe if she stayed like this long enough, her legs would turn into roots and grow deep into the soil… and she would grow a trunk and branches and leaves, and stay here in this sunny field forever… that would be nice.

But if she was a tree, she would miss being able to play with her friends and take care of her animals. She decided she needed to get up now, so that she wouldn’t sleep here forever and miss out. She sighed, and opened her eyes, blinking the sleep away. She looked up and saw her friends, all standing around her and whispering to each other. She flicked her ears and raised her head, then pushed up into a sitting position.

“Oh, hello, Fluttershy. Have a nice sleep?” Twilight asked. In response, Fluttershy yawned, reaching up with a hoof to push the stray hair out of her face. Then she nodded.

“Hello, Twilight. Did I miss much?”

Comments

[Fistfire]

Daaaawww!

[Hoof of Approval]

There was one thing in this story that really drove it home for me, more than Rainbow's moment of introspection earlier. Rainbow taking a moment to actually be Rainbow Dash, that one.

This one had a literary tactic that is seldom used to good effect: reinforcement.

Twice it is said:

She loved her friends. They were like a big family.

The first, a simple statement... the second made concrete by where in the story it's placed.