• Published 6th Aug 2017
  • 9,678 Views, 236 Comments

Speak From the Heart - Halp



Anon is pulled into Equestria by a long-lost artifact belonging to Discord. Without the ability to speak or write clearly after being transported, Anon is placed in Fluttershy's care.

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Chapter 3 - Day 2 pt. 2

Sweat dripped off of your brow as you flattened your hand and brought it down in a fierce chop. The tree branch snapped snapped under your blow effortlessly, sending small chips of wood into the air. Stopping for a break, you pulled your t-shirt off and used it to wipe your face. Fluttershy had left almost an hour ago to run a few errands, and left you to the task of busying yourself in her absence. You were initially tempted to explore the area, but decided that the risk of being seen wasn’t worth it. You had already dozed for a while on the couch with Fluttershy, as well, so napping wasn’t an option. Recalling her comment to Twilight earlier in the morning about preparing wood for birdhouses, you decided to go back outside and start cutting off branches from the tree you had carried out front.

Before she had left, you and Fluttershy prepared quite a large list of necessities, in case your stay was longer than a couple weeks. Extra food high in protein to accommodate your diet was her first goal. Finding a washboard for your clothes was a personal request; you were unsurprised that clothing wasn’t common for ponies, considering they didn’t have anything to hide, per se. Still, the last thing you wanted was to be stuck with foul-smelling clothes, or worse, be forced to walk around naked. You weren’t unattractive by human standards--your own, at least--but nonetheless felt self-conscious just thinking about not wearing anything. You had your doubts that there would be clothing anything like yours anywhere in Equestria, but Fluttershy insisted that her friend Rarity, a renowned seamstress, might be able to help. Last of all, Fluttershy wanted to see yet another friend and obtain tools you could use to divide up the tree in front of you. Applejack was a local farmer, and you had agreed with Fluttershy to help her as payment for the tools; assisting her closest friends--all of which were close to Twilight, as well--would be your best bet of gaining their trust, you had thought.

The sound of snapping and breaking branches filled the air as you worked, and you took a few extra steps to sort out smaller twigs and branches that could be used for nest material, placing them and the remaining wood into respective piles. You inspected the round side of your hand for any splinters or scratches, pleased that your hard work was hardly so; you imagined that your increased strength was one of your more redeeming features that would win over other ponies, provided you didn’t terrify them, first. As you brushed off a few bits of bark stuck to your chopping hand and arm, a large shadow loomed over you and your workspace in the grass. You rose to your feet and put a hand over your face to look up and find the source, a tiny cloud high in the air above you. You could barely make out some blue blob that was… sitting on the cloud? Even more surprising, the cloud was completely motionless in the air, as if the gentle breeze flowing past you didn’t exist. At this point, though, you didn’t question much anymore. Equestria was full of surprises, and this was definitely a welcome one. You gave a short wave to the cloud and its passenger, and hiked your leg over the tree trunk to continue your work.

“So, uh, who are you? And why are you breaking apart that tree?” The voice above you startled you, making your next chop miss its mark and impact the tree with a dull thud. You were grateful it didn’t hurt much, but you struggled to dislodge the couple fingers that had become embedded into the trunk. You looked up to see a light blue pegasus flying idly above you, snickering a bit as you freed your hand from the trunk. Her striking rainbow mane and tail bobbed as she hovered in the air, the former cut considerably shorter than Fluttershy’s. Acknowledging her question, you pulled out your whiteboard and doodled a small nest and birdhouse. She looked at you oddly after you displayed your drawing to her, glancing at the piles, the board, and back to you, visibly confused.

“O-kay, but why? What are you doing here, and why not just talk to me instead of drawing?” she asked with a tone of annoyance. She was clearly less patient than Fluttershy, but she hadn’t outright confronted you yet, luckily for you. You let a stream of nonsense and gibberish leave your mouth, and patted your lips, feigning frustration. You hadn’t even tried to speak correctly, but the pegasus seemed to get the message. With a sudden idea in your head, you erased the board, drew Fluttershy’s cutie mark, and displayed it the rainbow-maned pony, pointing back and forth to it, the cottage, and yourself.

“So… you’re here with Fluttershy, and making stuff for nests and birdhouses, got it,” she affirmed, nodding her head. “You can understand me, but you can’t speak, so you draw instead?” You gave her a sharp nod. Maybe ponies here were smarter than you expected, or maybe you could draw somewhat well; you weren’t sure, but felt at least a little lucky that you had at least one going for you.

“Well, alright, I guess. My name’s Rainbow Dash, I’m one of Fluttershy’s friends. Where is she now?” You pointed in the general direction of town, down the trail leading to the cottage. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and huffed. “Really? I just flew all the way from town, and I didn’t see her.” She settled onto the ground and sat beside you with a bored expression.

“I managed to get a day off today, and everypony else was already busy. I thought AT LEAST Fluttershy wouldn’t be doing something,” she complained. “I guess I can wait here until she comes back.” You felt a bit guilty that you were the main reason Fluttershy wasn’t present, but were grateful for the company. You returned to your spot on the trunk and started lopping off more boughs.

“So what are you, exactly? I haven’t seen an animal like you before in my entire life.” Rainbow Dash trotted into your field of vision, looking you up and down. You stepped off the tree once more to watch her as she stepped around the you to continue her inspection. You realized at that moment- the book Twilight had given you and Fluttershy would have text that she could read, and you could point out what was true about you and what wasn’t in the meantime. You started walking towards the cottage, gesturing for her to wait. A few moments of searching later, and you stepped back outside with the book in hand. Rainbow Dash’s bemused expression as you sat back down was almost comical.

“A book? What do you need that for?” You struggled to contain your amusement as you opened the book and waved her over. “A ‘human?’ Is that what you’re called?”

She skimmed over most of the text on the introductory page, and you were glad that you and Fluttershy had taken some more time beforehand to correct much of what was written. It had clearly been written by Celestia, judging by the cold, official-sounding descriptions of humans, and Fluttershy had been kind enough to use less biting words to describe you, in particular. Rainbow Dash turned the page back to the table of contents, and you noticed a wide grin spread on her face as she browsed the page. In a flash, the book was snatched from your hands, and Rainbow Dash hurtled into the air. The speed and lack of warning of her takeoff was stunning.

“You know, I’m not much of a book pony,” she called out, grinning. “But I do love books with pictures. Especially ones that talk about… ‘anatomy.’” A blush spread across your face as you put your hand out, demanding the book back. You knew it was a moot point, though- she was easily twenty, maybe twenty-five feet above you, and she continued to mock you.

“I’ll tell ya what: if you can come and take this book from me, you can have it! Although,” Rainbow Dash yelled with a laugh, examining the book closely with a devious expression. “Last I checked, humans don’t have wings. Maybe you could use your ‘strong, finely-toned leg muscles’ and jump up here?” she said, mimicking a passage from the book. You pressed your hand to your head in frustration, but considered her taunt. You were pretty strong when it came to running and lifting; it made sense to you that jumping to that height might be possible. You lined yourself just underneath Rainbow Dash and squared your stance. She looked down at you and your look of focus, and started laughing hysterically.

“Come on, come on big guy! Let’s see it!” she jeered. With a deep breath, you kicked off from the ground. The blue pegasus’ laughter died off in moments as you flew up to her height, and you gave her a cheeky grin as you looked her dead in the eye and retrieved the book from her clutches. Your landing was much shakier than you had anticipated, but your legs kept you upright on impact, and you gripped the book proudly. Rainbow Dash only looked down at you in utter shock, still processing the last few seconds’ events. You felt it was a good opportunity to put her in her place, and held out the book in front of you with your chest puffed out. Her eyes widened when you pulled out your marker and pretended to scribble all over the pages of the book.

“Hey! That’s Twilight’s, isn’t it?” she stammered. “If she finds out you scribbled all over it, she’ll flip!” You saw through her faux concern immediately, and continued to tease her with your fake drawing.

She descended towards you quickly, hooves outstretched, but you were prepared, and deftly sidestepped her. One of her wings folded inward immediately, and she turned on a dime for a second pass, which you barely avoided. Rainbow Dash turned again and slid along the ground at an angle, and bent forward into a sprinter’s stance, now with a competitive grin on her face. You snapped the book shut in one hand and assumed a wide stance, arms outstretched, ready for her advance. The pegasus bolted towards you with a flap of her wings, her rainbow-colored hair streaking wildly behind her, and you considered your options. With your position and her speed, dodging her could cause her to fly into the cottage and get seriously hurt. On the other hand, meeting her head-on could seriously hurt you if you weren’t careful. You chose to take the middle road, and dropped the book in your hand, waiting for the right moment. Just before she could reach for the book, you stepped to the side and slipped your arms underneath her sleek frame, turning and guiding her away from the cottage with a spin. She skidded to a halt several meters away, only to turn towards you with a laugh.

“Let’s see if you can do that again, huh?” Faster this time, she came towards you, now solely focused on the book on the ground. You snatched it up and hurled it high into the air. Her determined gaze followed it and she straightened out her wings to ascend, but you nimbly plucked her out of the air and, this time, kept your grip on her, causing both of you to spin uncontrollably. Unable to keep your footing, you both tumbled to the ground. Not too far from you, the book landed with a loud whap. You opened your dizzy eyes to see Rainbow Dash hovering over your body, laying slack in your hands, save for the shaking of her tired laughter. It took her a few moments to collect herself, and she stared down at you, grinning excitedly.

“Nopony’s given me a game of keep-away like that in a long time!” she exclaimed. “That was loads of fun.” You nodded in agreement, now taking the time to catch your breath and let the adrenaline rush settle. Several silent seconds were spent by you staring at one another, breathing heavily. Slowly, you became very aware of your position, and absentmindedly loosened your grip on her, expecting her to catch herself. Instead, she let her limp body fall, and you barely managed to pull your arms down and catch her with a stronger grasp before she flopped onto you. Her cheeks reddened a bit, and she immediately averted her gaze to your chest, smiling nervously.

“You don’t have to let go, if you don’t want to, you know,” she whispered. Her rough voice sent chills up your spine, but you felt it was better to not make the situation anymore awkward. You silently set her to the side and let your arms fall back to your sides. Rainbow Dash laughed quietly, and rolled over onto her back beside you.

“I was just teasing. But that was fun...”

“Rainbow Dash? Is that you?” Nearby, you could hear an unfamiliar voice calling out. You sat up and saw Fluttershy and an orange pony coming up the hill to the bridge. The stetson-clad pony was pulling a large tarp-covered cart full of boxes and tools, and watched you carefully as you got up and approached them. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw you, and suddenly started following some unknown object in the sky. You looked down at yourself, remembering the shirt you had taken off earlier. She hadn’t seen you without it on before, and you chuckled to yourself as you scanned the ground to find and put it back on.

“A-Applejack, this is the human I was talking to you about, Anon,” Fluttershy blurted out, pointing towards you. “Anon, this is my friend, Applejack. She’s the one I told you about that works over at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.” Applejack tipped her hat politely, and you gave her a curt bow in return.

“What are you doing here, Rainbow Dash? We saw you flying around here pretty fast earlier, was something wrong” Fluttershy asked innocently. Rainbow Dash’s ears twitched, she put on a half-convincing poker face.

“Oh, you know, just having fun with this big guy here. What did you call him? Anon?” she replied, bumping your thigh with her hoof playfully. “It’s my day off, so I thought I’d come see what you were up to. But then I found him doing this-” She pointed towards the stacks of branches and twigs. “-and thought I’d figure out what was going on.”

“Oh, I see. That’s a really good job you did, Anon, but you could have waited until we had proper tools to work with,” Fluttershy commented, running her hoof along the top of a pile of tiny sticks.

“Wait, you mean to tell me he did this without tools?” Applejack interjected, examining areas of the tree that you had snapped branches off of. “It’s pretty clean, at that, too. No broken pieces around here, almost no dents in the wood, nothin’.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty strong. Fast, too.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Fast? Now how do you know that?” The orange pony’s question surprised her, and you saw her adjust her wings as her poker face wavered for a moment.

“L-like I said, we were just having fun. We were playing keep away with that book over there,” she stuttered, pointing towards Twilight’s book in the grass nearby. You walked over and picked it up, relieved that it had taken little damage during your playful scuffle with the Rainbow Dash.

“Anon, you know you should be more careful with that. Who knows how Twilight would feel if something happened to it,” Fluttershy scolded gently. You nodded and entered the cottage to return the book to its place on the living room table.

Suddenly, a loud crash rocketed through the room, coming from outside the second floor of the cottage. You turned back to the door to exit, but was met with resistance. It wasn’t locked, but appeared to be blocked from the outside. At the window, you could see Fluttershy gesturing across her neck with her hoof; whatever the source of the sound was, it was clear that you weren’t meant to come outside and investigate. You crouched down beside the window, peeking your head up just enough to see a dazed, gray pegasus atop a crate almost as big as she was. Judging by the harness on her back, she had been carrying the crate here and had careened into the side of the cottage. Applejack’s expression after studying the outer wall told you that it was fine, and the gray pony’s grin and wall-eyed stare seemed to say the same. You couldn’t make out what was being said by any of the ponies outside, but after almost a minute, the pegasus had left as soon as she had arrived.

“You can come outside, Derpy’s gone now,” she informed you, pushing open the door. You chuckled a bit at the name, but thought it was fitting nonetheless. As you stepped outside, though, you suddenly realized the contrast in Fluttershy’s reaction to Derpy’s arrival, and your reaction to meeting Rainbow Dash. You counted yourself lucky that she was Fluttershy’s friend, otherwise your presence in the town could have come to a very abrupt end via Celestia’s hand… er, hoof. Horn? Either way, you made a promise to yourself not to be so careless as to work out in the open next time.

It turned out that the crate Derpy had brought was Fluttershy’s order of feed to replace what had been eaten a few days prior, as she had mentioned the day before. You were amazed at the sheer amount she had purchased, and questioned where she got the money. Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy helped out not only wild creatures, but also pets both in town and in neighboring areas as well. Her cottage served as an impromptu rehabilitation/veterinary clinic, and while she worked primarily for the service of the animals she cared for, she made a surprising amount of money from donations. Wealthier clients in metropolitan areas like Canterlot were particularly generous. Fluttershy made sure to point out, though, that nearly all of the proceeds went towards the animals, with only a small portion leftover for her own needs, like food and house repairs.

It was nearly sunset when you and the three ponies finished up your work in the front yard. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had both volunteered to help you cut the trunk into boards, while Fluttershy set about finding bird families to donate the twigs and leaves you had cleared. Although Applejack was the only one out of your group familiar with quartersawing logs, you took up the brunt of the work, using what would normally be a two-pony saw to cleave through the wood as the two ponies held it in place on the ground. You worked with vigor for those few hours, but felt the strain of the day bear down on you as you waved them goodbye. The various boards you had produced sat in a large, neat stack in the yard, and you draped the tarp from the cart over them, ignoring your aching arms as you secured the corners to the ground with stakes. Rainbow Dash had warned about a scheduled storm the following day--you added ‘controlled weather’ to your ever-growing mental list of Equestrian wonders--and you wanted to be certain that the wood would still be useable after the inclement weather passed.

You walked back into the cottage, sweat-soaked shirt in-hand, and found that Fluttershy was still out working. You had previously asked for permission to use her bath during a break from work, but you felt slightly uncomfortable now, using it without her presence. You strolled to the opposite side of the room and knocked quietly before entering the door to your right, which led to a cozy-looking bathroom. You couldn’t help but smile after noticing that, even there, a few birdhouses and tiny staircases were present; Fluttershy’s consideration for any possible guest, pony or otherwise, continued to impress you. Near the wooden bathtub on the floor, Fluttershy had set out the washboard and bucket Applejack loaned you, along with a small green box that read ‘detergent’ in bold font. Stopping for a moment to listen and ensure she wasn’t already in the cottage, you flipped the cute ‘occupied’ sign outside the door before shutting and locking it.

With a sigh of relief, you stepped out of the small tub, finished with your bath and feeling considerably less sore. You grabbed a pink, plush towel from the stack on a nearby shelf and wrapped it around your midsection. You opened the bathroom door open to let the humid air circulate, listening again for signs that Fluttershy had returned. You hadn’t heard her enter the cottage during your bath, and her absence combined with the darkening sky outside the window worried you. Fluttershy was clearly capable of taking care of herself, though. You imagined that anything remotely frightening in the woods would sooner welcome her presence than harm her. Pushing away your thoughts of concern, you returned to the bucket and washboard to sat on the pink carpet beside them. The instructions on the soap box were simple- pour a small amount into hot water, and work into a foam- and you imagined that using the washboard would be just as easy. As the sound of water splashing and cloth rubbing on metal filled the room, you heard the front door creak open.

“I’m home, Anon!” Fluttershy’s called out. You barely heard her mutter to herself and walk to the kitchen and back. Silence then hung in the air for several minutes--save for the washboard and splashing--and she called out your name again. You shouted nonsense in response, and you heard her quickly trot across the living room. Her hoofsteps stopped just shy of the bathroom door, and you could see her snout inch forward past the threshold.

“Are you still taking a bath? I wanted to talk to you, but I don’t want to bother you or anything, if you are,” she said meekly. You first checked to ensure you were completely covered and grunted in approval, prompting her to hesitantly opened the door. She didn’t look nearly as surprised to see you sans clothing as she had when she returned from town, but still averted her gaze from you by a few degrees as she approached you. That kind of reaction from a creature normally devoid of clothing was equally amusing and confusing to you.

“Today was a pretty busy day, I’m bushed!” Fluttershy remarked as she watched you tossed your soaked shirt over the shower curtain rod above you. “But I’m glad we got so much done. Without your help, that might have taken me a whole week, not to mention how long I would have had to wait on somepony to make the birdhouses made.” You hummed in agreement, and wrung most of the water out of your jeans, careful not to sling water everywhere as you threw them over the rod as well.

“Plus, you got to meet Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, too. I didn’t expect her to come by today, but her help was certainly welcome.” You nodded, and started picking tiny woodchips out of your socks. You had left your whiteboard on the sink nearby and couldn’t really converse, but the work of washing your clothes was keeping you occupied, anyway.

“Speaking of which, what do you think about Rainbow Dash? I saw her flying around you really fast earlier today. At first, I thought she might have been trying to scare you off like she did to Harry that one time--he’s a bear, by the way--but she said that you were both just playing. “

You stopped scrubbing, and thought for a moment- what did you think of Rainbow Dash? She seemed impulsive and brash, but she had a fiery personality that you liked. She was pretty different than Fluttershy in a number of ways, but she was still nice. You then recalled the last couple moments you had ‘played’ with the rainbow-maned pegasus. You hadn’t intended on ending up in such a compromising situation, and Rainbow Dash’s comment rang in your ears as you turned to look at Fluttershy. She was watching you expectantly, seemingly studying your reaction. After a moment, she gasped and put a hoof to her mouth, which made your hair stand on end.

“Oh, I did it again, didn’t I? You don’t have the whiteboard with you, and you can’t talk,” she whined, gently tapping herself on the forehead and relieving you of your worry. You snapped your fingers to get her attention and pointed to the bucket and sock in your other hand.

“Right, you’re still working. Can’t draw with your hoo- hands full, of course,” she replied, laughing weakly. She looked away from you again and tapped her hooves together quietly, trying to think of something else to say in her embarrassment.

“Earlier today, I talked to Twilight about helping Applejack and other ponies in town. She said that she and the princesses agreed on telling our friends about you, but that Celestia wanted to see how you did with them, first. So, the first thing you would do is help out at Sweet Apple Acres, of course, and then I think Rarity was needing help at her boutique, once she came back. Going to Sweet Apple Acres without anypony seeing you wouldn’t be hard- we’d just go along the edge of the trees to the fields, but Carousel Boutique is right by the town center. Twilight said that if the princesses changed their minds, then you’d be able to go, but she wasn’t certain about it.” You stood up and hung your socks and underwear with your other clothes, and cast a glance back to the choker sitting on the floor by the carpet. Your actions for the day had supposedly been magically broadcast to Twilight, and for the first time, the trinket gave you hope that she and Celestia might start to see the error of their ways.

“Anyway, she also reminded me that she wanted us to finish correcting the book soon, before you can go into Ponyville,” Fluttershy continued, still smiling. “I tried reading a bit of it by myself earlier today while we were taking a break, b-but I didn’t know if it was right or not, so I wanted to wait for you to see it. I would have asked you then, but...” You sighed and swore to yourself that the book was going to be the end of either you or Fluttershy before you managed to finish going over it. You didn’t understand why she had become so fidgety and self-conscious around you or in regards to the book, but you had a suspicion it might have been the same reason as yours.

“Just- after seeing you with Dash earlier, and what it said in the book… I read that humans do a lot of things with their hands, but I didn’t expect… I wanted to ask you-” she rambled, her sentences falling out of her mouth as she tried to collect her thoughts. You held out your hand and gestured for her to stop. Her face and even the tips of her ears were bright red, and she looked anxious enough to jump out of the nearest window. You were thoroughly confused as to what she was trying to get at, although her rant confirmed that it was in line with your fears regarding that moment with Rainbow Dash.

You took her trembling hoof in your palm and placed the other on top of it and locked eyes with her. A few slow nods and a calm smile were all you had to offer as you gently rubbed the top of her hoof, which slowly ceased shaking. She looked down to the floor and let her hair cover her face from you, which you brushed out of the way. She jumped at the sight of your hand, but didn’t object. Her previously rapid breathing began to slow, and the color in her face returned to normal after several silent seconds. This was probably the first time since your arrival that you were actually grateful for not having speech; calming her like this seemed like it would be much easier than trying to talk her down.

“Sorry I got carried away, Anon,” Fluttershy mumbled. “Maybe we can talk about this later, once we’ve finished up with the book?” You squeezed her hoof and smiled warmly. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she wiped away a tiny tear from the corner of her eye. She looked up to your clothes and then back to you.

“We should hang those up in front of the fireplace. That way, they’ll dry faster, and you’ll have something to wear when you go to bed.”

You turned to grab the choker off the floor and clasped it around your neck, and stood up to gather your clothes. Holding them all in one hand and the edge of your towel skirt in the other, you followed Fluttershy into the living room and draped your clothes over the stone slab in front of the fireplace. Fluttershy lifted a log into the fireplace and tossed a struck match onto it, watching it carefully as the tiny flame started eating away at the bark. You sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to you, but Fluttershy promptly announced that she would be heading to bed early. You leaned back into your seat as she stepped up the stairs, and took in a deep breath. Twilight’s book lay open on the table, and you leaned forward to inspect it. Your heart skipped a couple beats as you noticed the words 'courtship and rituals' at the top of the page, with just the tiniest pencil-drawn heart next to them.

Author's Note:

This chapter is a tad shorter than I'd anticipated, but I think I got the overall intent across. I promise that the over-the-top feels will subside in coming chapters to make room for more serious plot development. :yay: