Chapter 4
Apart from Twilight Sparkle’s close friends, nopony visited the Ponyville library more frequently than Cheerilee. She came by often to borrow books for use in school, and occasionally brought her entire class in for a day of browsing (thereby bringing the library more visitors in a single day than it usually received in a week). Moreover, Twilight’s skill with magic and knowledge of diverse fields of study made her an invaluable unofficial teaching assistant. As a result, the librarian and schoolteacher had become close acquaintances, if not quite close friends.
On weekends Cheerilee was free to visit the library at any hour, and she often did; it happened to be early in the afternoon when she came through the front door of the great tree-house. Twilight greeted her at once, happy to have someone besides Spike to keep her company while she worked – the little dragon was a wonderful assistant, but Twilight’s preferred topics of conversation tended to go way over his head. Cheerilee, who shared the unicorn’s love of knowledge, offered a much higher level of discourse which Twilight found refreshing.
Today, however, their discussion was far less cerebral than usual:
“So…you really think Fluttershy has a thing for Big Macintosh?”
“That’s how it seemed to me. Today wasn’t the first time I noticed it, either. I’ve seen her around from time to time, and it’s always the same whenever she and Big Macintosh are in the same place at once. But you know her better than I do; what do you think?”
Twilight paced across the library floor, trying to wrap her mind around Cheerilee’s theory. Social interaction had never been her forté, so trying to determine Fluttershy’s feelings based on her behavior proved more puzzling for her than the most complex mathematical equation. “I can’t say for sure,” she said at length. “The way you describe it, it sounds like Fluttershy is afraid of Big Macintosh, not in love with him.”
Cheerilee smiled amusedly. “Sometimes they’re the same thing, Twilight. Most ponies tend to get nervous when they’re around someone they like.”
“I wonder why that is,” Twilight mused. She made a mental note to conduct some research on that matter sometime later on before returning to the issue at hoof. “Now that you mention it, Fluttershy has been acting rather odd lately, especially in the last week. She’s been keeping to herself a lot, and when I do see her, she always seems a little…distracted, I guess. Do you think that means she’s….”
“…thinking of Big Mac?” Cheerilee finished for her. “That’s what I was thinking, too. Of course, it could just as easily be something else, but after today, I’m fairly certain that Big Macintosh is the cause of it all.”
There was a short silence as the two ponies pondered the situation. At length Cheerilee spoke up again: “Do you think they’ll work out? As a couple, I mean – surely you know Fluttershy well enough to tell me that.”
“I…suppose they might,” admitted the unicorn. “I mean, they are a lot alike: very shy and quiet, and very kind. And…” she paused for a moment, seeming to argue with herself over whether or not to finish what she was about to say. “…and if nothing else, they do share a common interest.”
This piqued Cheerilee’s curiosity. “A common interest? What do you mean?”
“Did Big Macintosh ever tell you about…surely he must have, considering how close you were….”
“Tell me about what?” The barest hint of irritation wormed its way into the teacher’s voice. “Was Big Mac keeping something from me while we were dating?”
“Nothing serious, really,” Twilight answered, a little defensively. “It’s just that…well, a while ago, he started coming by the library and…borrowing certain books.”
Cheerilee’s eyes now narrowed to slits. She raised one eyebrow questioningly.
“It’s not what you think! Really!” The unicorn paused briefly, and then smiled a little. “Actually…” she chuckled, “you might find this a little funny.” She glanced around the room, spotting Spike at the far end shelving books. Leaning forward, she whispered something into Cheerilee’s ear.
Seconds later, Cheerilee burst into a fit of barely-restrained laughter. Twilight soon joined her.
Spike turned to look at them, and then shook his head and returned to his work. “Girl talk,” he muttered to himself. “I guess I’ll never get it.”
The cake was delicious. The very first bite soothed Fluttershy’s frazzled nerves in an instant and prompted an involuntary “mmmm” as she savored its richness of flavor. Pinkie smiled at her friend, happy to see that her prescribed “treatment” was having the desired effect.
“So how’s that chocolate-frosted chocolate ice cream-filled chocolate cake treating you, Flutters?”
The pegasus took a moment to chew and swallow. “It’s delicious,” she replied. Indeed, it was almost overwhelmingly flavorful, but she said nothing of it. Opting to give her stomach time to process the last bite, she set her slice of cake on the table in front of her and leaned back in her seat. Sugarcube Corner was mostly empty, with a customer entering and exiting once every few minutes or so, and the two ponies were left mostly in peace.
The party pony’s suggestion had been spot-on: a slice of something sweet was just what Fluttershy needed. She took another bite, now beginning to realize that the cake was not only improving her mood, but satiating her hunger as well. Had she been hungry? She honestly hadn’t noticed – the anxiety of the day’s events had kept her mind on other topics. Only just now it occurred to her that she had forgotten breakfast that morning; aside from that half-finished dandelion sandwich, this piece of cake was the first thing she’d eaten all day. It made a decent breakfast, she thought, even if it was already half past noon.
“So,” began Pinkie, taking a seat across from Fluttershy and placing another slice of cake on the table. “Feeling any better? Because you really look you’re feeling lots better.”
“Yes, I am,” Fluttershy answered. Her voice softened. “Thank you, Pinkie.”
“Aw, there’s no need for thanks, Fluttershy,” Pinkie said, still smiling. “You’re one of my very bestest best friends and it always makes me happy to do nice things for you.” She then shoved her own slice of cake into her mouth in an implausibly cartoonish fashion, and chewed smackingly.
Fluttershy smiled as she let her mind wander. She recalled reading somewhere that eating chocolate gives one the feeling of being in love – so naturally, her thoughts drifted to Big Macintosh. And for once, they weren’t filled with anguish and longing, but rather warmth, joy, and hope. Her confidence bolstered by good feelings, she felt prepared to spill her secret to the world. Indeed, she felt like she could march out of Sugarcube Corner, head straight back into town, and confess her love to Big Macintosh in front of everypony in the square.
Well…maybe she couldn’t do that. Such a course of action was a fair bit bolder than anything Fluttershy would ever be capable of, no matter how much chocolate she ate. She decided instead to start smaller. So far, all of her friends had uncovered her secret by accident, or else had already known; she had yet to actually tell anypony about her crush herself. Perhaps she could tell Pinkie about it, just as a warm-up for the real deal. Then she’d be ready. Fluttershy steeled herself.
“Uh, Pinkie,” she said meekly. “Can I, um…t-talk to you about something?” Already she was growing nervous; she took another bite of cake to calm herself as she waited for Pinkie’s response.
“Of course you can, Fluttershy! This is about Big Macintosh, right?”
Fluttershy nearly choked on her cake. “But-but…but how did…how…” she sputtered, each word punctuated by a loud cough.
“How did I know? Easy! Y’see, yesterday, I was talking with Rainbow Dash and she – ”
“Wait…Rainbow Dash told you?” Fluttershy was aghast: had Rainbow really spilled her secret to Pinkie? And if she told Pinkie about it, who else might know by now?
“Eeyup!” Pinkie said, giggling at her pitch-perfect impression of the stallion they were discussing. “But don’t worry, she made me Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony else, so we can just keep it between us. I know it would be super-embarrassing if it got out, since you’re both so shy and all, and we wouldn’t want to do that to you.”
Fluttershy sighed in relief. She was quite irked that Rainbow had revealed her secret, but at least it was only to a close friend. And seeing as how there was a Pinkie Promise involved, she felt certain that the rumor would spread no further. Still she was disappointed: she had lost yet another chance to tell somepony about her feelings herself. Ah well – at least now she had another friend to talk to. It couldn’t hurt to get Pinkie’s opinion of the situation.
“So, um…” she said. “Do you…do you think it’s okay? I mean, do you think it’ll work out?”
Pinkie Pie titled her head to one side and eyed her friend curiously. “What do you mean? Do I think what will work out?”
“You know…me…telling Big Macintosh…that I, um…have…feelings for him,” Fluttershy mumbled, her voice shrinking with every word. She closed her eyes, awaiting a reply she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.
What she heard was a loud gasp. Her eyes shot open, beholding a stunned, agape Pinkie Pie. “You have feelings for Big Macintosh?!” exclaimed the pink pony, a bit more loudly than was necessary. “Omigosh, that is so cute! You two would be so adorable together!” She began to bounce around the room in happy circles, blathering (mostly to herself) about what an adorable couple they would make.
“Um, Pinkie, I – ”
“You’re just perfect for each other! You’re both really shy and kind and sweet and gentle and nice and shy and kind and sweet….”
“Pinkie, I thought you – ”
“And you’re both really good at taking care of animals since he works on a farm and has to work with animals all the time and you’re so good at taking care of animals that you have a ‘taking-care-of-animals’ Cutie Mark and….”
“But I thought you already – ”
“And if you two got together and got married and had foals they’d probably be so super-good at taking care of animals that they’d all have ‘super-taking-care-of-animals’ Cutie Marks and – ”
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy shouted. Well, she didn’t quite shout – she merely raised her voice a few decibels and spoke with something that resembled conviction. But it was enough of a change to catch Pinkie’s attention, and she stopped her bouncing and looked back at her friend.
“What?” she asked, once again tilting her head in curiosity.
“What, um…why are you so surprised? I thought you said Rainbow Dash already told you.”
“What?” Pinkie laughed. “No, silly, she told me that you let Big Macintosh borrow your ‘My Little Platypus’ books. She never said anything about you liking him!”
“Oh,” answered Fluttershy, now deeply embarrassed. Once her mind finished processing what Pinkie had just said, another thought struck her: “Wait – he never borrowed those books from me. I’ve never even told him I have them.” She looked aside, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “I’ve never told anypony I have them, except for Twilight. Rainbow Dash only knows because she liked them too, when we were fillies. Did she…did she tell you about them?”
Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Uh huh. She told me that you’re like, the biggest closet ‘My Little Platypus’ fan ever, and you’ve got every book and every toy and you even have a ‘My Little Platypus’ fan club lifetime membership and….”
While Pinkie rambled on, Fluttershy’s face fell and her ears flattened against her head. How could Rainbow Dash do that to her? Ever since they’d moved to Ponyville, it had sort of gone unspoken between them that Fluttershy’s affection for those goofy little foals’ books was to remain a secret. It had been necessary to bring Twilight in on the secret as well, as her aid was required in collecting the last of them from the library, but unlike Rainbow Dash she had actually taken a vow of secrecy. She supposed she couldn’t be mad at the pegasus for breaking an agreement that they’d never actually made, but it still felt like a betrayal of her trust.
“…and when Rainbow Dash was flying over Sweet Apples Acres and saw Big Macintosh sitting under a tree and reading one of those books she just had to tell somepony about it because she thought it was really funny for a grown-up stallion like him to be reading them and she figured ‘who in Ponyville likes funny things more than Pinkie Pie?’ So she came and told me all about it and she kind of let me know about your secret because she thought it was something that you and Big Macintosh could ‘bond over.’ Then she said she had to go take a nap and that’s the last time I saw her.’” There was a short pause as something suddenly occurred to the pink pony. “Oooh, now I get it! She wanted you two to have something to bond over because you like him! Now it all makes sense!”
“Wait,” said Fluttershy. “She saw him reading them? He really likes them?”
“Eeyup!” replied Pinkie, once again giggling at her impression. “Or at least, eeyup to the first question, because Rainbow Dash definitely saw him reading them, which I guess must mean he really likes them, too. So eeyup to both questions, then. But if he didn’t get them from you…I wonder where else he could’ve gotten them?” She put a hoof to her chin and hmmmed in thought.
While Pinkie hmmmed, Fluttershy merely stood in silence as the spark of an idea in her mind grew into a warm, hopeful glow. “Something to bond over,” she half-whispered to herself. Maybe Rainbow Dash was onto something.
“Um…thanks for the cake, Pinkie,” she said hurriedly, taking one last quick bite and making for the door.
“You’re welcome!” the pink pony called out after her. As soon as she was out the door, Pinkie swallowed up what was left of Fluttershy’s slice of cake. Couldn’t let it go to waste, after all.
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
1,025 users online
126,320 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Sorry about the shortness of this chapter. Only one more to go, and I promise it'll be of a decent length.
What a good friend Dash is
Platypus? Eh, as long as one of them is a secret agent, I like the idea!
1035394 That wasn't intended to be a reference...but hey, if it works as one, no complaints from me!
I enjoy combing my My Little Platypus's fur. Makes me feel like a real stallion.
1037424
May not be necessary. There was a bit of a time lapse between reading chapter 1 and chapter 2 for me, and I had entirely forgotten what Dash suggested, and I didn't keep re-reading when I went back to check.
A FlutterMac fic? *marks for later reading*
That was a clever idea of giving them something to bond over
Good Job
1037562 Oh my gosh! I'd be honored if you were to read my fic. I'm a huge fan of your work!
1038528 Thanks!
That cake sounded like if you took a bite, you would explode from chocolate over load.
1038777
I have...fans?
*squee!*
(Sorry for the double-post, my edit to the previous one wouldn't take)
I like how this is going thus far, I can see a lot of care has gone into writing it.
...And I would *so* totally watch a show called "My Little Platypus".
1042732 Thanks a ton! Your compliments mean a lot to me. This one won't be much longer, but I'm so glad you're liking it.
And yes, you do have fans. The two fics you've written are both among my top 10 favorites in the whole fandom.
1039844 It does, doesn't it? I'd love to try a bite of it myself, really.
I see the My Little Pony reference in the My Little Pony fanfiction.
But seriously, platypus? lol.
I see what you did there
I also see what Dashie did, slick
Four in an I'm liking this! Pacing is spot on :D
1074126 Thanks! Glad you're liking it.
Didn't Fluttershy eat part of a sandwitch last chapter?
Fluttershy has good taste.
Very nice build-up.