Heart-a-Flutter

by Shadowmane PX-41

When Duty Calls

Keychain was shaken from his dreams by the sound of his alarm cutting through him. Rather than a regular, blaring siren alarm, the new alarm was actually a soothing, melodic tune, yet still loud enough to wrest him from his slumber. Once he clambered out—and made a mess—of the bedsheets, he turned off his alarm and opened the curtains up to a new day in Cedar Grove.

He went to do all of his rituals in the bathroom, having a shower, brushing his teeth, applying deodorant, putting on clothes, all the same day in day out. Not that he minded the monotony of it all. He was used to it by now. If anything, it became automatic with the way that he handled it. Efficiently, he cleaned himself up ready for the day ahead of him; another day trying to find Fluttershy's parents.

He went over to Fluttershy's room and cracked the door open slightly. He looked inside and saw that Fluttershy was still asleep. Hair still tied up in pigtails so that it looked like a giant, fluffy pink heart, Angel Bunny being cuddled gently by her and a thumb in her mouth that she was silently suckling on. But as the sunlight began to trickle into the house, Fluttershy made some high-pitched coos, almost sounding baby-like in a way as she stirred from her sleep and gently opened her eyes to a new day.

Fluttershy looked down at Angel Bunny and smiled as she climbed out of bed, taking the toy bunny with her to start the day. Straight away, her eyes were fixated on a large, plushie snake. She walked wobbly over towards it and sat down with the giant toy. She wrapped her arms around the stuffed snake, giving it the biggest hug that she could as she brought it to her chest.

"Good morning, Lucy," Fluttershy finally spoke. "Who's the best snakey-wakey in the whole world? It's you! Yes you are..." She chuckled to herself as she manhandled Lucy. A real snake wouldn't have taken kindly to being forcibly cuddled by a little toddler, but Lucy wasn't a real snake. She was just a fabrication of one. So Fluttershy was entirely safe in playing with her. "Wakey-wakey, snakey-wakey!" She giggled to herself as she wriggled the head of the snake around. "Mommy and daddy will find me soon, and then we can all play together."

Keychain found it all rather adorable. As much as he wanted to get Fluttershy back home as quickly as possible, he was still always taken in by her antics. She was the purest of pure children; even with the fact that her mommy and daddy were missing. In another world, he would have been happy with Fluttershy being his own daughter. But this wasn't another world. This was the real world, and Fluttershy wasn't his daughter, so all that he could do was live this fantasy out until it came to an end. But whether or not that ending came sooner rather than later was all down to how quickly everyone could find Fluttershy's parents.

Suddenly, Fluttershy looked at the door and toddled over to it, leaving Lucy and Angel Bunny behind. She pulled it open and saw Keychain standing on the other side of it. "Oh! Good morning, Key."

"Morning, Fluttershy." Keychain, having been exposed to Fluttershy finally walked into the room. He tousled her hair and sat down by Lucy and Angel Bunny. "And what were you and your two little animal friends talking about here? Something wonderful, I'll bet."

"Just stuff about mommy and daddy," said Fluttershy, scurrying back over to the group of three. "It's scary that they're not here, but they'll come. They'll find me. And then, we can all play together again."

"Yeah. But for now, I'm happy to fill in the gaps between those two. Along with all of your other little friends you have here," said Keychain as he picked up both Lucy and Angel and gave them back to Fluttershy, who eagerly took them back. "By the way, you've been talking a lot more recently."

"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded. "You, Lucy, and Angel are my special specials. Mommy said that there are three kinds of people in the world. Strangers, specials, and super specials. She said don't talk to strangers, but talk to specials and super specials. And that the super specials won't ever think of hurting you like strangers do. You're a super special, Key, so I can talk to you lots and lots now!"

"A super special, eh?" Keychain had to admit, it was an odd title to be called. But coming from Fluttershy, he could hardly fault her for it. And because she was still just a little girl, he couldn't really say anything against the way that she talked. "So tell me. What does a super special do?"

"A super special person brings love and happiness to everyone they see!" Fluttershy blurted out.

"Well, I don't exactly call myself super special, but if you think that I'm super special, then I guess I'm a super special." Keychain just shrugged and went along with it. Anything to make Fluttershy happy was enough to brighten up his day. "Now, come on, Fluttershy. It's time that you were cleaned. After a long day, you must be feeling pretty smelly right about now.

"Smelly?" Fluttershy sniffed herself to see if she could find an odour. Immediately, she could smell the musk of the day before on her and she groaned in horror; her nose twitching at the smell. "Ew! You're right! I need to be cleaned up!"

Keychain just chuckled and picked Fluttershy up. He let her sit on his shoulders and grab onto his neck. Like an upright pony, he ferried her out of the room and off towards the bathroom. Just like before, he started to run a bath for Fluttershy, complete with some bubble bath spray. As the bath was filling up, Keychain once more undressed Fluttershy. Because she was now his super special, she didn't mind that he was stripping her down until she was naked, or the fact that she was taking away her clothes. She knew that he would do his best to make sure that she was safe and happy.

Keychain put the now naked Fluttershy down in the bath and washed her again. This time, because she wasn't moping about her missing clothes or toys, she let him apply the shampoo and lather it into her flowing pink hair. Then she allowed him to dunk her into the water and rinse out the shampoo, which made the water even more sudsy.

"The biggest stink came from your armpits, didn't it?" Keychain jokingly remarked as he put some shampoo onto his hands. "That's the worst kinda place. You know why?"

"Why?" Fluttershy tilted her head.

"Because it's exceptionally... Ticklish!" And rapidly, Keychain lathered the shampoo into Fluttershy's arms, which made her start laughing uncontrollably as he forcibly applied the shampoo to her pits, creating a foamy cloud of bubbly suds that got bigger and bigger the more he rubbed it in.

"S-stop it!" Fluttershy remarked in the middle of her giggles as Keychain mercilessly lathered her armpits up with the shampoo. On her command, he actually did stop, but she was still laughing and smiling all the way as the gooey shampoo clouds now lingered in her pits.

"Alright. I'll stop." Keychain lifted Fluttershy's arms up and splashed the water into the armpits, washing out the suds and revealing her flesh once again. "See? Isn't that so much better?"

"Yes." Fluttershy nodded. "I feel much cleaner now, Key. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Keychain began to wash Fluttershy down with more of the warm water. "Just gonna clean up your clothes, and then we can get started on a brand new day." Keychain picked up Fluttershy's clothes and walked towards the door with them. "In the meantime, entertain yourself, Fluttershy."

As Keychain went off to put the clothes in the washing machine, Fluttershy looked down at the water. The first thing that she saw in the middle of her bubbly water was her own reflection, albeit very rippled because of how the water had been flowing. "Oh... Hello there." She waved at the reflection, which mirrored everything that she did and said. "Are you named Fluttershy? That's wonderful! I'm Fluttershy too!" She smiled as she got into a deep conversation with herself.

Keychain, on the other hand stuffed Fluttershy's pink clothes into the washing machine and set the machine onto a simple wash. One that would keep the colour and make the fabric even more comfortable to wear. He watched and waited as the machine spun up. Then, as it started to wash, Keychain went over to the kitchen to start setting up the things that he and Fluttershy would need for breakfast. Fruit, cereals, and bowls. The toast could wait until the both of them got there.

He was just about to go back to the bathroom when he heard his phone buzz with an alert. Today was a Monday. And that meant that it was one of the days when he had to go to work. And that was when the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. He had to leave the house. Leave Fluttershy. And she was exceptionally attatched to him. It would break her heart to see him leave for work like that without someone to look after her. Key simply couldn't abandon her. But he also knew that children weren't allowed on the premises of a logging company. Especially with how curious and playful they were. He wasn't going to be responsible for her getting mangled up by machines or causing any accidents on the floor with her antics.

Keychain decided to take the initiative. He went into his contacts and immediately found Lemon Zest's number. He just had to hope that she wasn't busy today. Keychain pushed the "Call" option on the contact and put the phone to his ears. He could hear the phone beginning to ring Lemon Zest already. A few dial tones later and a connection finally came through. "Sup, Lemon?" He finally spoke. "I've got a bit of a favour to ask you. And... it's kinda embarrasing."

"Embarassing? What do you mean? I'm down for anything you throw at me," said Lemon. "Besides. My schedule's free today. So I'm sure that I could kill some time for you."

"Glad to hear that. Do you think you could come to my house and take care of Fluttershy for a while?" Keychain asked. "See, I've gotta go to work, and I can't just leave her at some playgroup or pre-school. She's awfully nervous, and she might try to run away and find me. I don't want her to get even more lost than she already is."

"Chillax, bud. I've got this." Lemon Zest cut through. "Besides, that little kid's awfully sweet. I reckon that I could spend some time chilling out with her. How long do you think it'll last?"

"Well, usually, my shift takes a little while. Between nine and four, I think. So, that's about seven hours of work, then I should get back home," he said. "And, please, PLEASE don't have a repeat of what happened back in school when we did that childcare class. I swear to god, if it wasn't for our friends, those kids would have been in real trouble with their teacher."

"Don't worry, Key. As long as you've not got any ominous sock puppets scheming some master plan to overthrow the classroom, I think we're good. Besides, that Fluttershy's more into stuffed animal toys more, right?" Lemon replied. "Either way, I'm coming over. Oh, by the way, I'm helping myself to some of your food while I'm there. Hope that's not an issue. I'm housesitting and babysitting at the same time. And people say that it's not a good job."

Keychain could only smirk. Lemon's humour always had a way of making everyone happy. "Alright. That's great, Lemon. See you soon." After which, he hung up on Lemon Zest and went back to the washing machine. Sure enough, the clothes had finished their wash cycle and were now nice and warm. He took the clothes straight back to the bathroom and saw that Fluttershy was still in a conversation with her watery reflection. "Hey, Fluttershy? How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good, Key. I'm having a wonderful time talking to myself." Fluttershy turned away from her watery doppelganger and faced Key again. "She likes everything that I like and we think the same! It's like we're sisters! Isn't that right, Fluttershy? Yes, Fluttershy. It is." She said back to the water again.

Keychain could only chuckle. "Well, as fun as it all is, I think it's time the two of you got out of the bath now. Your friend needs to be dressed for the day ahead too, Fluttershy." Keychain carried Fluttershy back out of the bath and sat her down on the floor towel. Once she was sat down, he rubbed her from head to toe with a large towel, drying off the residual droplets of water that had plagued her body.

"What are we going to do today, Key?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "Are we gonna go out to see the fishies again? Or explore the town for the day? Or maybe get me some new toys to play with?"

"No, no, and sadly, no. Though I do wish that I could," said Keychain hamming it up to keep her amused. "Actually, I'm going to be pretty busy today, so I have a special friend coming over to help out with you."

"A special friend?" Fluttershy blinked. "Who is it?"

"You might know her pretty well, Fluttershy. It's Lemon Zest." Key added. "The green-hair girl who has those pink headphones. She's the fun one."

"Oh! I know her! She's the really pretty one who likes music!" Fluttershy's eyes gleamed with light. "Yes, I know her. She's not a super-special, but she's a special. That means I can talk to her, but not as much as I do to you, Angel, and Lucy, Key."

"Well, as long as you tell her exactly what you want, she'll give it to you. Food, games, TV, whatever you want, Lemon's gonna make sure that you get it." Keychain ruffled Fluttershy's hair, then dressed her back up in her pink, furry coat. Then, he got to work on her hair again, re-adding the butterfly hairclips and reforming her hair back into its' usual pink-heart style. "Trust me, Fluttershy. Lemon Zest to me is a super-special, and I'm sure that, if you let her in, she can be a super-special to you as well."

"Okay. I'll try, Key." Fluttershy gave a grin as she walked with Keychain out of the bathroom and towards the living room. Once the both of them made it there, Keychain lifted Fluttershy up towards the chairs by the table and sat her down so that she could get a clear view of what Keychain was doing. He filled up a couple of bowls with cereal and laid out some fruit. Then, afterwards, he went to make himself some toast by sticking some slices of bread into a chrome toaster. "Uh... you're not gonna pour me some icky food, are you?"

"No, no. I promise you, this food is good." Keychain reached into the cupboard and pulled out some cereal. He poured it over Fluttershy's bowl, where gold and chocolate-coloured flakes trickled down into the bowl. Already, the food was looking delicious. "Alright, I admit, that it might be a little bit... interesting, but I guarantee that if you eat it, you'll feel ready to tackle the day." Keychain even poured himself a bowl of the cereal just to prove it. "In fact, I'll eat it with you if you want, so we can both go on this taste adventure together."

Fluttershy chuckled. "I'd like that."

Keychain left the toast to cook as he sat down and scooped up his first spoonful of the breakfast that he had made for himself and Fluttershy. Once he had his spoon raised into the air, Fluttershy did her best to try and mimic his actions. But she was only small, and the spoon and bowl were much larger than she was. In an attempt to try and copy Key, she only just spilt the food everywhere. Pouting in denial, she eventually climbed onto the chair and lifted herself onto the table, which caused the chair to topple over and fall to the ground. Pleased with her new elevation, she sat down on the edge of the table and then copied Key's actions with the spoon and bowl. This time, she was much more successful and lifted her spoon high with food on it. She looked to Key and gave him a giggle, which he just grinned at. Then, the both of them took a bite of the cereal.

The taste was one that Keychain had known for a long time, but one that Fluttershy was just experiencing for the first time. The cereal was crunchy, but they could still taste the flavour from the first bite. A combination of chocolate from the darker flakes, and the nutrients from the golden flakes. It didn't seem like it would have worked, but it did. Keychain found nothing especially extraordinary about the flavour, but Fluttershy let out a coo of approval as she munched up the pieces of cereal and let the mixture run down her gullet. Excitedly, she readied another spoon and ate that much faster than the first one.

"Whoa, there, Fluttershy. Don't eat it too fast. Be sure to chew it as much as you can," said Keychain like a father would his daughter. "Munch those flakes down until their nothing but mushy goo, then swallow. It's much better for you if you do it that way. And it prevents your throat from getting blocked."

"Okie-dokie, Key!" Fluttershy obediently followed his words and slowed down her pace, making sure to eat the food slower, savouring each and every bite, rather than guzzling without the time to appreciate what she was eating. "See? I'm eating it slowly now!"

"Yes you are, kid." Keychain gave her a pat on the head as he let her continue his food. Keychain took a banana off of the bunch, peeled it entirely, and then took his first bite as he was disposing of the peel. His hand was starting to collect banana pieces, but he didn't mind that. It was only a banana. It wasn't like it was seen as immoral. He took some more and more bites as his gaze returned to the table, seeing Fluttershy continue to eat her food.

In the middle of all of the munching, the doorbell rang. "Ah! That'll be Lemon right now," said Keychain as he finished off the banana. With his hands free, Keychain opened up the door and there on the other side was Lemon Zest. "I'm glad you're here, Lemon. And just in time too. Boss is awfully persnickety about timekeeping."

"Hey, hey. It's totally fine, Key. I do owe you one. I'm glad to look after Flutters until her mommy and daddy come and find her." Lemon Zest strolled into the house and saw Fluttershy eating the food. "Speak of the devil, there she is!" She watched as Fluttershy turned her gaze to Lemon and her eyes widened. "Hey! How's it goin', squirt? Ya miss me? I know you did. C'mere!" She lifted Fluttershy up and blew a raspberry into her belly, which caused Fluttershy to squeal in delight, leaving her in a laughing fit.

"Hi!" Fluttershy said in the middle of her laughter.

"So, Fluttershy. I wanna explain something to you." Keychain watched as Lemon Zest calmed down and held Fluttershy as still as she could. "See, I have something important called a job. And if I don't do my job, then I can't live in this house, and you won't be able to have your toys or bed anymore. So I have to go out and do his job and make my boss happy. But I can't take you with me, because my work is very dangerous. So, I'm appointing Lemon Zest here, your special and my super-special, as a babysitter."

"Babysitter? What's that?" Fluttershy asked with wide eyes.

"A babysitter is someone who looks after someone's kids while they're out. By the way, it's not like your grandma, grandad, sister, brother, or anything like that. A babysitter is someone who isn't in your family at all," Keychain explained. "Lemon Zest isn't part of your family, but she is gonna look after you, so she's a babysitter."

"But... I'm not a baby," said Fluttershy in response. "I'm four. One, two, three, four." She used her hand to count upwards, revealing her age. "Mommy said to use my fingers to say how old I am."

"Well, babysitters don't primarily look after babies. It's just a word. They look after all kids of all ages, Fluttershy. And you're still a kid, aren't you?" He asked, which caused her to nod. "See? So you're a prime candidate for a babysitter to look after."

"Don't worry too much about it, kid. Whatever you want, I'm game," Lemon finally cut into the conversation. "So while Key's away doing his work and making his keep, I'm gonna be here with you and we can play all that you want. Whatever you wanna watch on the TV, we'll watch it. Wanna draw something, I'll draw with you. Heck, ya even wanna try and make it seem like stuffed toys are real? I'll help you with that."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked, her saucer-eyes looking into Lemon's soul.

"Yep." Lemon nodded.

"Sounds like you two are gonna go along together greatly." He walked backwards to the door and slunk out of it. "Well, in the meantime, I've gotta bounce. See you soon, Fluttershy. You be good to Lemon, alright? And Lemon, PLEASE, for the love of ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not re-enact what happened back at high-school."

"Key. I promise. That jerkwad sock puppet's long gone. You're totally fine. Go and do your work. Shoo." Lemon brushed the air with her hand; a gesture telling Key to get out and go away. Sure enough, as she did it, she shut the door, leaving her and Lemon alone in the house together. She turned Fluttershy around and lifted her up. "Well, kid? The floor's all yours. So, what do you wanna do first?"

Comments

[FourShadow]

awww

Still, Lemon, ya better not mess up.

[LadyofSorrows]

That cover picture is weapons grade levels of cute.

[Shadowmane PX-41]

10133603
It is, isn't it? That's why it fit perfectly for this story.

[The Bricklayer]

10133584
Lemon seems to know what she's doing, I have faith in her.

[Starlight Nova]

Does there really need to be a human tag if the story takes place in the Equestria Girls world?