Heart-a-Flutter

by Shadowmane PX-41

Off To The Lake

The next morning, when the storm had passed and the birds began to chirp, Keychain was the first one to rise from the bed. He limply swung the covers off of himself and walked over to the window, opening the curtains up to let the light back in. He stretched his arms and let out a yawn.

Fluttershy was still tucked away safely in bed. Angel in one hand and with a finger from her other hand back in her mouth, she suckled tenderly as she remained in her little dreamworld, unaware that it was morning and time for someone of her age to wake up and smell the playtime. Some small coos left her, but she remained completely unmoving, peacefully slumbering in Keychain's bed.

Keychain had debated on waking her up before he got started, but when he saw her face and how peaceful she was with the shock of last night's thunderstorm scare, he decided against it and went off to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, had a shave, then capped it off with a run in the shower. Then, after he came back to his room, he started to get himself dressed for the day ahead.

He slipped on a black t-shirt with an image of a key-shaped sword in the middle of an explosive background. During his little dress-up chore, he saw Fluttershy finally begin to stir and wake up from her slumber, rubbing her eyes as she pushed herself up onto all fours on his bed. She let out a yawn of her own, dropping Angel as her arms rose out of the covers, knocking them away effortlessly.

"Morning, Fluttershy. Have a nice sleep?" Keychain asked as he watched Fluttershy pick up Angel, then throw the covers off of herself.

Fluttershy nodded at Key, then climbed down off of the bed. She noticed that he was wearing something different, then rubbed her own clothes to make sure that they were still on. When her hands brushed over the white, furry parts of her pink coat, she put on a smile with a stifled giggle.

"Glad to know you did." Keychain grew his own smile. After how upset she was with the idea of a monster trying to eat her after last night's scare, he needed something to make it up to her. "Hey, Fluttershy. Have you ever been to a lake before?" He asked.

"Lake?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "What... is lake?" She asked.

"A lake's kinda like a bath, but it's much bigger and full of water animals like fish," he explained by stretching his arms out wide. "Me and my friends are gonna go on down there for a little fishing trip. And now that you're here, you can fish for yourself as well."

"Fish?" She asked.

"Since you love animals great and small, I figured that maybe the fish in the lake would be perfect for you. Just swimming around and doing their little fishy things." He walked her over to the living room. "Now, I'm not saying that you should actually go and swim with the fish because; A, I don't know how good you are at swimming; B, fish are very hard to catch by hand; and C, I don't want you to be put in danger, Fluttershy."

Keychain went to the kitchen with Fluttershy and went for a cupboard. Inside it were cereal boxes. All different sizes, all different colours, all packed with cereals with varying and questionable levels of nutritional value. Keychain took two white ceramic bowls from the neighbouring cupboard, laid one out for him and the other out for Fluttershy. It was then he noticed how small she was in relation to the chair, so he picked her up and set her down on the seat, with her neck barely reaching over the tabletop.

"Now, do you have any preference of cereal, Fluttershy?" Keychain asked as he pulled out a selection of boxes and set them down before her eyes. "We've got Frostwings, Choco Rocks, Crunchy Pillows, Scatterballs, and lots more. You just pick out whatever you think looks good, alright?"

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she looked at each individual box. Every single colour jumped out at her; every single design commanded her attention and wouldn't let go. She leaned over and reached out for a bunch of different boxes, swaying her arm back and forth between them. Eventually, she caved in for the Frostwings box, giving it a push with her hand. She unintentionally knocked it over, only for Keychain to catch it before its' contents went everywhere.

Keychain poured Fluttershy some of the Frostwings, watching as the golden pellets with hints of white frosting landed in the bowl. As soon as it was finished, he went for his own cereal, the Crunchy Pillows. What came out of his box was rather different. Pillow-shaped chunks landed in his bowl one after the other, with some carrying tiny clumps of frosting. With his pouring done, Keychain started to eat away at the cereal in his own bowl.

Fluttershy looked over at the bowl of Frostwings, lifting her finger up shortly to reach out for one. Plucking a piece from the pile, she brought it to her mouth and put it in, crunching it up with her teeth to get the taste down. She couldn't taste much from the cereal, so she pushed it away, only for her belly to groan more. She looked around and found fruit in the bowl. Fluttershy made small moans and reached out for it.

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Keychain looked across and saw Fluttershy's begs for breakfast clearly. He took one look at the bowl he had made for her and facepalmed. Oh yeah... I forgot that Fluttershy's still growing up. Even the sugary cereals wouldn't be able to satisfy her... "You want some fruit? Well, I'm sure that I can get that for you." Feeling ashamed for his mistake, Keychain stood up, leaving his breakfast behind as he plucked a banana from the bowl and handed it to Fluttershy. "There you are. I'm sure you know how to peel a banana, right?"

Fluttershy took the banana out of Keychain's hands. Instinctively, the first thing she went for was the top, the core that held the peel together. Using her whole hand to grab the banana, she ripped off one line of the peel, before doing the same with the others. It took some time with her physique and size, but she was able to reveal the banana's innards at long last. Fluttershy took a bite out of the banana, immediately getting a reaction on her taste buds over the cereal. The gooey mush of the banana swirling around in her mouth with each chew gave her smile back, and within no time at all, she was finished, with trace amounts of the fruit left on her mouth. Her thumb make quick work of what was left.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make you happy with the cereal, Fluttershy. But I'm glad that you found something good to eat." Keychain patted her on the head as she climbed off of the chair and looked up at him. "Truth be told, I should have fed you with that from the get-go and I'm a terrible guy for not thinking of it sooner..." He slapped himself, then went to salvage whatever was left of Fluttershy's cereal. He took it from the bowl and re-boxed it, then put it and the other cereal away. "Now, let me just get finished with my cereal, then we can get going.

Fluttershy watched Keychain eating for a few moments, then shrugged and went off back to her own room to play with her things. She once again stood on her tip-toes and launched herself at the handle in order to open the door, then waddled inside to her little playroom. There was light in the room once again with the storm's passing and all of the shadows that were made were less monstrous and stuck more to the objects themselves. With Angel still by her side, she went and had a little talk to her plushies. And by talk, she could only say a few words, with the rest of it being gurgles.

Keychain eventually finished breakfast, then put his bowl in with Fluttershy's. He gave the both of them a good wash and left them on the draining rack to soak. After which, he went off to retrieve Fluttershy. He saw that she was deep in a little conversation of her own with her plushies, laughing inbetween sentences. But it wasn't until he went over and carried her up from the floor that she truly squealed with delight.

"Okay, Fluttershy. I'm glad that you were able to have your little talk with your friends, but I think it's time that we go now. But don't worry, we'll be back later," he said to her. "Now, give them a wave goodbye, now, will ya?"

"Bye-bye!" Fluttershy waved back to her plushies, still laughing as she was spirited away from the room and down the corridors.

It was another cloudy morning in Cedar Grove. The temperature and overall weather wasn't bad, but the ground was still soaked and leaf-ridden from the storm. There wasn't any house damage whatsoever and no trees had been knocked over. The same could be said for Keychain's car, as it was still in pristine condition, minus the apparent droplets that it had managed to catch and keep. Regardless, Keychain went to the car and sat Fluttershy down in the other seat, then climbed into his own again.

He was about to drive off, when he thought about something. Keychain went to the boot of his car and plucked some cushions from the last time that he had been camping. He always kept them on hand in the event that driving became too uncomfortable or if he was going to be going out for another long trip and needed something to rest his head. Keychain plucked a few pillows, then came over to Fluttershy's side of the car. He put the pillows down by the car floor, then unbuckled Fluttershy and lifted her out for a second.

"I've got a great idea, Fluttershy. Now, you just stand there for a second." He went and put the pillows down where he had been sitting, making a makeshift booster. "It might look unstable from here, but when you sit down, it'll hold together pretty good. I promise you that."

Fluttershy took one look up at the tower of pillows. While she did find it pleasing for her eyes, the way that they were put was what caused her to get defensive. Her body curled in as she took a step back, before being carried up onto the seat once again. Her rear end collided with the top of the tower, pushing the cushions down into a compressed stack. The upholstery hugged her bottom, giving her a light grin as she tried rocking around on the spot to test it out. Sure enough, she didn't move much from her position. And Keychain took the opportunity to belt her in while she was playing around with her new seat.

"There. That should keep her stable until I can afford a booster for her." Keychain slapped his hands together, as if dusting them off. After which, he went back to the driver's seat, strapped himself in, then drove out of the driveway.

With the car able to reach its' optimal speeds thanks to Fluttershy's security and safety being accounted for with the pillow stack, Keychain pushed down on the accelerator, reaching fifty miles an hour fairly easily. He drove through the town, passing by a few districts and houses along the way. This went on until he got to the edge of the suburbs and drove off into a forest-like area.

Fluttershy looked out of the windows with a high-pitched coo, watching the world fly by. Now, she could see the trees standing tall. Brown monoliths of bark, holding their golden leaves high in the air, swaying gently in the winds. At their feet, she could see the roots bursting out, with more leaves sprinkles around it. The sight was enough to hypnotise her, latching onto her eyes seamlessly. Not even the passing of the birds or other animals in the area such as squirrels or deer were able to distract her from the majesty of the trees of Cedar Grove.

You know, another thing that's just come to mind. It's a Sunday today. She's gotta have school tomorrow. Or... pre-school from the look of her. Keychain took a look at Fluttershy from the overhead mirror, watching as she watched nature passing by her eyes. And I don't even know which school she goes to, let alone how she'll cope with it. Heck, she might even get real upset about the idea of leaving me for even a moment and think the whole thing's terrible. Either way, I'll have to take her to the local pre-school tomorrow and see if she's there. No doubt someone there will tell her parents as well.

---

After a long drive, Keychain and Fluttershy arrived at a small parking area with half-logs dictating where cars should be parked. There were three other cars in the area; most likely Lemon, Cyber, and Bench's cars in Key's mind. With a fourth slot open, Keychain took it and parked gently. Once inside the lines, he climbed out and picked Fluttershy off of the seat, snapping her out of her little trance.

"Trees..." She muttered, like a zombie risen from the dead as she looked around. The area was just as forest-like as the path that they had been driving down, with a small pathway leading through an open neck of the woods; one that had been completely coated in fog and mist. Some small steps could be seen on the path downwards, with handrails for those who wanted to support themselves going down. They were big enough for Key, but not enough for Fluttershy. "Key? Trees big." She tugged on his leg.

"Huh?" Keychain looked up at the trees himself. He never paid much attention to the smaller things in life, but when Fluttershy pointed it out for him—both literally and figuratively, he could see just how titanic they were, and how much more so they were from her point of view. "Oh yeah. These trees are pretty big. But that just goes to show you that they've lived healthy lives. We don't exactly know how big they'll be before a logger like me has to chop them down, but trees are as much of a risk as they are a reward sometimes."

"Trees... Good." Fluttershy nodded as she tried to run over to one of the trees, rushing through the parking area to the nearest one that she could find, only for Key to pick her up, causing her to whimper and stretch her arms out. "I wanna tree!" She moaned, trying to break free of Key's hold.

"You want... a tree?" Keychain's eyes widened, but he still shook his head and carried her to the path, sticking onto the topic. "Fluttershy, I know that these trees are pretty nice, but at the same time, the floor was uneven. You could've tripped and hurt yourself, then you'd be crying your eyes out. And there's not exactly some good first aid with me, so if you got any cuts, they'd be there for a pretty long time..."

Fluttershy crossed her arms and pouted, gaining a big frown as her brows lowered. "Trees special." She huffed. "Hug trees. Tree hug special."

"Oh... you wanted to hug the trees; not own a tree." Keychain did another face slap as he picked her back up and carried her off to the tree. "Well then, why didn't you just say so? You know, for a little kid like yourself, you're not that well spoken yet."

"Only... talk to special," she said. "You special. So I talk to you. Angel special. So I talk to Angel." Fluttershy toddled up to the tree once she had been put down by it. Then, she reached out and gave it a hug. "Tree special. Special get hugged." She brushed her face against the tree's wood and whispered to it softly. She dropped Angel during her hug, then picked him up once she had finished. "Uppies. Me want uppies!" She reached her arms up to Keychain.

"Well, if you want uppies, I guess I can give you some" —he picked her up as he spoke— "uppies!"

"Yay!" Fluttershy cheered and threw her arms up as she was sat down on Keychain's shoulders. "Uppies good!" She laughed gleefully.

With Fluttershy riding on Keychain's shoulders, he went over to the car and opened it up wide. Inside was a white and blue cooler and a fishing rod. He picked both of those out of the car, then closed the boot before making his way down the path with his little passenger. Keychain held onto the handrails to keep his balance on the walk down, while Fluttershy held onto Keychain's body for balance so as not to fall off of him. When both of them reached the end of the rails, Key walked along the path normally.

The misty fog around them was very thick, creating an illusion of an endless expanse of ethereal white energy around them, as if they had been taken away to a magical realm that neither of them had seen before; even though Keychain knew this place well. A few woodland critters passed them by, but none of them disrupted their little walk. Fluttershy took the time to wave to each individual animal before she went back to holding onto Keychain.

As their hike went on, the air around them suddenly grew a lot colder, as if turned down manually by a switch. Keychain, without a coat, started to shiver slightly, while Fluttershy with her coat just hummed to herself, nice and toasty as she felt the fibres cuddling with her body. When she noticed Keychain struggling with the temperatures, she asked, "Key? Why noise?"

He noticed what she was on about straight away. "O-oh, that? Well, that's what I get for not packing a coat..." He tried to force a smile, but the cold prevented him from doing so. "I-I-I'll be fine. It's just an early morning fog. It'll clear up and get nicer later on. Trust me on that."

Fluttershy took his word for it and went back to her little self-playtime, singing to herself in her little world as Keychain struggled through the wicked climates.

If only she knew. Keychain took one look at Fluttershy's little coat and felt jealous. But then again, it was his own fault for forgetting his own. For being the only clothes that she has, and because it's one of her little "Specials", she gets an awful lot of use out of it. Inside clothes, outside clothes, it's a pretty good piece of apparel for her. Only makes me wonder what she would look like in other clothes, though. Then again, would she even like other clothes, or would she want to stick to her "Specials" and nothing else? It's been keeping her happy and in high spirits so far, so why would she want to change it, especially when her parents aren't around?

"Key? Where going?" Fluttershy eventually asked when they saw another set of arrows pointing to a break in the trees.

"We're going to the lake. At least, I think that's where we're going. Stupid fog today's really been playing around with my sense of direction." Keychain gritted his teeth and trudged onwards. "Don't worry. We'll be there shortly. And then you can meet Lemon, Cyber, and Bench again. Just hang on for just a bit longer, alright?"

Fluttershy just let out a tinny laugh as Keychain went on through the thickness of the fog. "Key silly. Special, but silly."

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Interesting little chapter, even if it was mostly filler it did give us some look into Key's insights and his thought processes. Though I must ask, how long is it before something happens. I mean, Fluttershy alone just can't carry the story forever...

[Shadowmane PX-41]

9753137
Oh, something WILL happen. Don’t worry about that.

[FairyFun]

DAWWW!!!!!