Long-Distance

by Bicyclette

8. Farm

Wallflower heard Sunset’s coos through the speaker as she watched the mother cow bathe her calf with her tongue. It truly was an adorable sight, but she could not help but glance down and tug awkwardly at the sleeve of her leather jacket. She heard Sunset chuckle.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? When I found out what leather was in your world, I thought I was so cool for wearing it. Like I didn’t care that cows were people where I came from.”

“You were cool!” Wallflower smiled, remembering how intimidating she had been back then. “Everyone was afraid of you.”

“That wasn’t something to be proud of.” Sunset laughed. “I still can’t believe you had a crush on the me I was then.”

“Was it really a crush? I was just jealous of everything about you and got way more upset when you didn’t remember who I was than when anyone else did it.”

Sunset groaned, and Wallflower laughed. She squeezed the glove on her left hand, and the glove squeezed back, transmitting Sunset’s action on the pad of her hoof. They continued to hold hand and hoof in the idyllic meadow, Wallflower wishing she could send the smell of the fresh-cut grass along with the bucolic sight and the tranquil silence, interrupted only by the licking of the mother cow, and the sound of approaching footsteps and hoofsteps. She turned to see Fluttershy coming towards her, with a three-legged goat by her side.

“He likes you!” Fluttershy said as the goat ran ahead to Wallflower. She crouched down to stroke its head, as it rubbed a cheek against her leg in appreciation.

“So, what do you think of the sanctuary so far?”

“It’s really beautiful!” Sunset spoke. “It’s amazing what you’ve done with the place.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe what it took to get it done! The architects and designers all had their own ideas. I had to really put my foot down!” Wallflower smiled as she kept petting the goat. She could really imagine it. Fluttershy continued. “But it was hard for me. For some of them, it was the last thing they would ever build. It made sense that they would want to put their own stamp on it.”

“Ah.” A tinge of sadness in Sunset’s voice. “The winding down is starting?”

“It is.” Fluttershy said matter-of-factly. “I know I’m lucky. I won’t have to reinvent myself for these last few years. I’ll have everything I need right here.”

A silence hung in the air. Wallflower didn’t want it to last. She spoke.

“You had a goat in your class last year, didn’t you Sunset?”

Sunset snapped to, her voice brightening a bit. “Yeah, I did! He always had an excuse for not getting his assignments in. One time, it was because he ate his own homework. Can you believe it?”

Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, this little one would never do anything like that. He is just too precious and innocent.“

“Yes, he is,” Sunset agreed. Wallflower smiled. She looked up at Fluttershy.

“Do you ever miss it? Hearing what they’re thinking?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy suddenly seemed anxious, and touched the geode around her neck. “Actually, I don’t think that’s how my power really worked. I think it really was giving the animals around me the ability to have thoughts more complex than instinct.”

“Really?” Wallflower kept petting the goat, and looked into its bizarre eyes. There was no sign of intelligence in them.

“Yes, and actually…” Fluttershy averted her gaze. “I think it’s a lot better that way.”

Wallflower’s smile faded to concern. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Fluttershy looked down at the goat and smiled. “We give the rescued critters here the best lives they can have. But out there…” Wallflower followed her gaze to the fence at the edge of the sanctuary, and the wilderness beyond it. “Animals live awful lives and die cruel deaths. Starvation, getting sick with parasites, dying slowly from injuries. Even from the weather. You don’t want to know how many cute little bunnies freeze to death in the winters around here. I wish I didn’t.“

Fluttershy crouched down, and the goat turned to her happily as she began to scratch its chest.

“And that’s not even counting getting killed horribly by predators. Could you imagine being a pregnant deer, and watching helplessly as your baby gets torn out of you by wolves and chomped to bits? That deer already suffers so horribly for it. Could you imagine how much worse it would be if she could think like us?“

The goat rubbed up against Fluttershy happily as she moved on to its forelegs.

“No, it’s much better this way. That all they need to be happy is food, water, shelter, and little friends to play with. That they don’t live with dread at the fact that it’s all going to end one day. That they’re not like us. They don’t know the day or the hour.“

Wallflower felt her glove squeeze around her hand, and she squeezed back. She felt Sunset trace a heart on her palm.

Fluttershy then held up her forearm in front of herself and gazed at it wistfully. Wallflower was confused for a moment until she heard Sunset gasp, and then remembered why Fluttershy had only worn long sleeves for years. They had faded a bit after more than a decade, but the dog bite scars were still noticeable if you looked.

“And they don’t have to dread what they’ve already lost.”

Comments

[RDT]

I can hear their voices as I read.

[BoredAuthor817]

10764608
That is a sign of madness.

... or just good character writing...

[Bicyclette]

10764608
10775542
Much too kind!

[Unity Bringer]

I was just rereading this story and...

Dog bite scars. That... doesn't happen to be a reference to Spike, does it?

[Bicyclette]

11792532
it is indeed Spike