How to be Happy

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 7: Sweet and Kind

Fluttershy poked her head into a barn and looked around.

“Hello? Is anypony here?”

When there was no response, she looked at Pinkamena and shrugged. There’d been no answer at the house, and this was the last barn they had to check. It was starting to look like the farm was completely empty.

“Maybe they’re out to lunch?” Pinkamena asked.

“Maybe…” Fluttershy hummed in thought. “Why was Diamond Tiara here, though?”

“Maybe she wasn’t hungry.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t know… Let’s go check the treehouse.”

With Pinkamena in tow, Fluttershy walked off into the vast sea of apple trees that made up the orchard. It was a huge place, big enough that the entire Apple household took over a week to harvest it all, but Fluttershy had been there enough to know her way around. Between visiting the animals unique to the orchard and just being friends with Applejack, she’d spent more than her fair share of time beneath those trees.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse wasn’t actually in the orchard, but it wasn’t very far away. After all, beyond the orchard was the Everfree, and even the bravest fillies wouldn’t put their meeting space too deep into those woods. The only reason they ventured out that far at all was that Applejack didn’t want them in one of her apple trees.

As the trees around them started to change, they began to hear the sounds of other ponies.

“No, no, not like that,” one was saying. “You’re gonna get hurt. Here, let me show you.”

A sharp thwack suddenly echoed out through the woods. Fluttershy and Pinkamena exchanged glances.

“It’s too hard,” another pony said. “It moves around too much!”

As they walked closer, the voices got clearer, and soon enough they could pick out who was talking.

“It’s a log,” Applebloom said, “it don’t move.”

“Not the log,” Diamond Tiara replied. “This thing. It’s too heavy!”

“That’s why you gotta use two hooves,” Applebloom told her. “Just don’t think about falling and you won’t fall!”

“If this kills me, you’re not getting my stuff.”

“It ain’t gonna kill you, just—”

Applebloom and Diamond Tiara both froze as Fluttershy and Pinkamena walked into the clearing. Diamond Tiara was up on her hind legs with an axe, poised to strike at a log sitting nearby, and Applebloom was on the other side of the log coaching her. They locked eyes with the older ponies awkwardly and completely stopped what they were doing.

Pinkamena tilted her head at them, while Fluttershy just looked at them blankly.

“Girls.” Fluttershy’s voice was cold and emotionless.

“We can explain,” Applebloom said.

Diamond Tiara let go of the axe, which fell to the ground with a heavy thump, and dropped back down to her hooves. “Yeah, definitely.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow without saying anything.

“We were just, uh…” Applebloom searched for an excuse, but nothing came to her.

“A-Applejack told us to do it,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Well don’t lie,” Applebloom hissed. “That’ll just make things worse!”

“Well, what then?” Diamond Tiara whispered back.

“I was tryin to think of a real excuse,” Applebloom told her.

“There isn’t a real excuse, we just—”

“Girls.” Fluttershy cut off their bickering.

Diamond Tiara winced, and Applebloom looked away nervously.

“Okay, fine, we can’t explain,” Diamond Tiara admitted.

“I just wanted to show Diamond Tiara more farm stuff,” Applebloom said, “but she’s not strong enough to buck trees.”

“So your next thought was an axe?” Pinkamena asked.

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. “Just… Don’t do things like this without an adult, okay?”

Applebloom pouted. “But Fluttershy, we—”

“Okay?” Fluttershy asked more sternly.

Applebloom gulped. “Y-Yeah, of course. We’re sorry.”

Diamond Tiara nodded rapidly. “Sorry.”

“Good.” Just like that Fluttershy turned off her lecture face and smiled sweetly again. “So, where is everypony?”

“I think Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo went to a skate park or something,” Applebloom said.

“Why didn’t you go?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ponyville has a skate park?” Pinkamena whispered under her breath. Diamond Tiara gave her a quizzical look.

“Cuz it’s Saturday,” Applebloom said.

“And Saturdays are when she’s mine,” Diamond Tiara added. She trotted over to Applebloom and put a leg around her shoulders possessively, which made Applebloom blush deeply.

“So this is a date?” Fluttershy asked.

“An axe date,” Pinkamena muttered.

The fillies both nodded.

“I gotta watch the farm today,” Applebloom explained, “so we’re stuck here.”

“You’re not doing a very good job,” Pinkamena said a bit louder than she meant to. Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes.

“I mean, it’s not like anypony’s gonna show up,” Applebloom said.

“We showed up,” Fluttershy argued.

“You don’t count,” Applebloom said. “You don’t need my help if you need something at the farm.”

“You could’ve at least left a note,” Pinkamena said.

“I—” Applebloom pursed her lips. “Oh. Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“Hey,” Diamond Tiara said, “I have a question.”

“Yes?” Fluttershy looked at her patiently.

“What’s with Pinkie?” Diamond Tiara tilted her head. “Is she broken or something?”

Applebloom jabbed her in the side. “Be nice! She gets like this on bad days.”

“I’m just wondering.”

“No, it’s okay,” Pinkamena said. “I’m actually, um… Not Pinkie.”

The fillies gave her very confused looks.

“You sure look like Pinkie,” Applebloom said.

Pinkamena sighed and turned to Fluttershy. “Am I gonna have to explain this to everypony?”

Fluttershy frowned sympathetically. “Probably.” Then she turned to the others. “Pinkie got split into two different ponies. This one is Pinkamena.”

“What?” Applebloom tilted her head.

“Yeah, that makes no sense,” Diamond Tiara added.

“There’s just two of me now,” Pinkamena said. “Only one of us has a straight mane, so just call that one Pinkamena.”

“Uhh… Sure,” Applebloom said. Diamond Tiara gave her a look, and Applebloom shrugged back.

“You’ll get used to it,” Fluttershy said.

None of them had anything to say to that, and the conversation had an awkward pause. They all just looked at each other in silence for a moment, waiting for the others to say something.

Applebloom broke the silence. “So, uh, what’s up? Why’d you come find us?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped and put a hoof to her mouth. “I completely forgot. I’m looking for a replacement.”

“Replacement for what?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“For me,” Fluttershy told her. “Since I’ve moved away, somepony needs to take care of the animals in Ponyville and the Everfree Forest.”

“Geez, good luck with—”

“Ooh!” Applebloom interrupted Diamond Tiara. “I have an idea!”

Fluttershy grinned. “I’d love to hear it.”

“Well, Diamond Tiara is great with animals!” Applebloom grinned and squeezed the other filly. “I mean, look, she got her tiara back from Winona all on her own!”

Diamond Tiara winced. “Actually, um, Fluttershy kind of… Told me how to do that.”

“Well, you still did it,” Applebloom said. She turned back to Fluttershy. “That means she learns fast, right? You can teach her!”

Fluttershy pursed her lips. “I don’t know…”

Diamond Tiara frowned at the rejection. “What? I could do it! You know, if I wanted to.”

“Animal care like I did needs a very gentle touch,” Fluttershy said. “You need to—”

“I can be gentle!” Diamond Tiara pouted. “Right, Applebloom? I can be gentle, can’t I?”

“Yeah, of course you can,” Applebloom told her. “I mean, probably. If you wanted to be.”

Diamond Tiara huffed. “You’re supposed to say I already am gentle!”

“Well, I ain’t gonna lie.”

Diamond Tiara gave Applebloom a tiny shove and stomped a few paces away from her. “Clearly, Applebloom does not know what gentle means. I assure you, Fluttershy, I am the gentlest of ponies.”

Pinkamena lifted a leg to hide a snicker.

“I’m not saying you’re not gentle,” Fluttershy said, “it’s just… It needs a very specific kind of pony.”

“You don’t know that! I could be the best animal caretaker in Equestria and you’d never know because you won’t even let me try.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Do you even want to try?”

“I…” Diamond Tiara huffed. “Yes. I’ve decided I do want to try.”

“It’s very messy,” Fluttershy told her, “and animals can be much rowdier than Winona was.”

Diamond Tiara wavered for a moment, then stomped a hoof. “You can’t scare me off! I’m not some weak little pony. I said I want to do it, that that means I’m going to do it!”

Fluttershy looked at Pinkamena. “What do you think?”

Pinkamena laughed and shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“Hmm…” Fluttershy nodded and looked back at Diamond Tiara. “Okay, if you’re sure, I’ll give you a chance. Are you ready to start now?”

“N-Now?” Diamond Tiara winced. “But I, uh… We have to stay on the farm!”

“Well,” Fluttershy said, “we’ll just have to hope we can find some animals on a farm.” With a kind but ever-so-slightly mischievous smile, Fluttershy motioned for the group to follow her and walked back into the trees.