Finding Fluttershy

by SamFaith

November 10th

"I'm sorry, I can't come into work today," I said into my phone, "something has come up that I need to take care of."

"Some sort of fam'ly 'mergency?" said the gruff voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that."

"You guess!?"

"Look, call it a family emergency, a mental-health day... call it a vacation for all I care. Just don't count on me being there!"

There was a pause. For a moment I was convinced that I was going to have to find another place to work. The moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity as I listened for a response.

"I'll expect to see ya bright an' early on Monday."

"Monday morning, yes Mr. Monatoli! I'll be there!"

He did not even bother with a 'goodbye' when he hung up. I set my phone down and picked my head up. I have a tendency to wander while I talk, and this time I wound up in the kitchen.

I was unsure how to deal with the yellow pony in the guest room, but I knew what would cheer me up. I grabbed a bowl, and the last of the vegetables from my fridge. I made a mental note to go shopping later, as I cut up the last of the lettuce. I added radish and some cut up apples before grabbing the bottle of ranch and heading to Fluttershy's room.

"Flutter... Fluttershy?" I called through the door as I knocked.

I put my ear to the door and listened for signs of life. A lump started forming in my throat as I listened to silence. I was about to panic when the faintest sniffle caught my ear. I felt like an idiot, who had been hit by a train while deciding whether or not to get out of the way.

"Fluttershy, I know you're scared, I'm scared, too. I'm scared for you. You've been in there since last night, and I just want to come in and check on you."

Further silence. I opened the door a crack and peeked in, looking for the yellow pegasus. What I saw was a pony-sized lump under the blankets.

"I'm coming in," I announced, keeping my voice as even as I could.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, and Fluttershy immediately scooted away from me.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have shown you that"

"N-No," said her muffled voice, "I miss my friends."

I was in disbelief. My first instinct was to point out that she hadn't been away from them for more than a day. I took a deep breath and crushed that train of thought. I knew what it was like to have a large distance between you and your family, how hard it made it. How far would Equestria be from here?

"When I showed you that," I said, "You realized how far they were?"

"Y-yes."

"I can imagine how it must feel, I've been there before. Well, not to another world..."

I was stumbling over my words. Unable to think of the right thing to say, I wanted to calm this pony down, to reassure her and let her know that everything was going to be alright. Unfortunately, I was not sure, myself, if everything was going to be alright.

"I remember when I was a kid, getting lost at the mall. I was scared, confused, and I felt like I'd never see my mom again. I cried and cried."

I thought back, remembering that incident. I had wandered away looking at something. I don't even remember what caught my eye anymore. I looked up from my distraction and realized I did not know where I was, nor did I know where Mom was. That kind of separation can be pretty traumatizing to a four-year old.

"Wha-What happened?" Flutteshy's voice snapped me back to the present.

"Hunh? Oh! Eventually Mom found me. She was just as worried as I was, and started looking the instant she realized I'd gone missing."

"Oh..."

Just then, something clicked in my mind. I knew I was on the right path, even though I didn't know how I got there. I knew what to say next.

"I'm sure Twilight and your friends are doing the same. They're probably looking for you right now, and Twilight's smart, she'd figure it out, figure out where you are. So, why don't you eat something so you can keep up your strength for when your friends find you?"

She peeked from the covers, and I offered her the bowl of salad. She took it in her hooves and set it in front of her. When she looked up I held out the bottle of ranch dressing. It warmed my heart to see her face light up. She took the bottle and delicately squeezed it between her hooves, spreading the dressing on her salad.

I smiled, impressed. I was impressed that I was capable of talking to her, of reassuring her. I was also impressed with her dexterity, how she could just simply take the bottle and squeeze it out, not spilling a drop, with hooves instead of hands.

I stood up and started to walk out of the room. I barely made it to the door when I herd her voice.

"D-do you really believe I will get back home?"

I smiled at her and said, "There has to be a way, I refuse to believe the universe would be so poorly designed."

Her smile brought me pain. I turned away, reminded of my own doubts. On one hand I would love to keep her forever. On the other she deserves to get home, but I had no idea of how to get her there.

Eventually she came out, carrying the empty bowl in her mouth, and the bottle of dressing inside. I saw her walk by my office. At first glance I wondered if she had already cleaned the bowl. Then, I realized that she really liked the flavor of ranch dressing. She must have licked the bowl clean.

I stood and followed her to the kitchen.

"Y'know... " I started to say.

She yelped, sending the bowl and dressing through the air. I reacted as best I could, stretching and contorting myself out into a very ungraceful pose as I reached for the bowl. I knocked it out of the air and it thumped me on the head before my other hand barely got hold of the pony propelled piece of porcelain pain. I turned just in time to see the bottle bounce off of the tiled floor of the foyer, skip once on the living room's hard wood floor, and slide under the couch.

"I-I'm sorry."

I turned to see Fluttershy apologizing for the chain of events. I smiled as I rubbed the bump on my head.

"For me startling you? I'm the one who should apologize, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I just wanted to be a good host, and offer to take the bowl for you."

I put the bowl in the sink, and turned to retrieve the errant bottle. As soon as I was out of the kitchen I heard the water come on. To my surprise she had taken it upon herself to wash the bowl, and was doing remarkably well with hooves.

Thinking about it I realized I shouldn't have been too surprised for either reason. She did, after all have her own home that she took care of with the help of Angel. Given that Angel is just a bunny, it made sense that Fluttershy handled most of the chores. She was also the element of kindness, and as such would never miss an opportunity to be kind and helpful.

I returned to the kitchen, having retrieved the bottle.

"Thank you," I said, putting what was left of the ranch dressing away, "Y'know, you really didn't have to do that."

"Oh... but I wanted to help."

"I'm grateful for that, I hardly ever get my friends to help out when they come over. I guess I had just gotten used to it. So, thank you."

I saw her eyes well up at the mention of 'friends'. Normally she'd be with her five best friends. I only had three that I could call my best friends. Still, I had more than her right now.

"Hey, you do have a friend here... That is, if I can be your friend."

I didn't mean to mimic her, I really didn't. Yet, this time she didn't react to it. I can only guess that she had gotten used to my knowledge of her. Either that, or she was already too upset to notice.

"T-Thank you, I'd like that. Um... Is there anything else I could do?"

I looked at the house. Most everything that needed to be done had already been done. Anything else would be cleaned up before I went to bed. I turned to respond do her when I realized that she was bored.

At home she would've been tending to her animals, of which I had none. Or, she could be hanging out with her friends, who were not here. In my world there was nothing for her to do, except sit and wait.

Again my mind drifted back. This time it was the 'summer break' I gave myself. Before I found my job I would sign up for summer courses. I didn't actually need the classes, but I was happy to be in school all the same. Letty never understood this, so one summer he finally convinced me to try and enjoy summer break.

I hated it. I wasn't out of class for more than a month when I started to go stir-crazy. Sure, the first couple of weeks had been fine, even fun. I could hang with my friends all I wanted, and get caught up on the latest video games, but it didn't last. What would've been the summer semester started without me, and I was bored out of my mind.

I looked at Fluttershy, and knew exactly what was going through her mind. She needed something to do, some purpose in this new world. I couldn't give her such purpose, not right away. I would have to find something she could do without drawing too much attention.

When I snapped back to reality, I noticed that she was looking very worried.

"Heh, sorry... sometimes I stop to think, and forget to start again."

Her worried expression did not change in the slightest. She sat down, and I realized that if she was the slightest bit worried about me, it was gone now. She knew the conclusion I had come to: She was a pony without a purpose in a world that wasn't meant for her.

"Hey!" I said, as cheerfully as I could muster "Want to know what I do when I'm down?"

I deserved every bit of the look she gave me. I am no Pinkie Pie, the best I could manage was to sound like that creepy children's show host who pretends to be a kid. Still, I knew I had to distract her, so I went to my DVD library and took out a disk.

"This is a television," I explained as I went along, "It's not as complex as the computer, but it can show video. Just gotta turn it on... put a disk in the player... find the 'play' button... and ..."

The video came up on the screen and started playing. There was always something soothing about a thirty-year old Don Bluth movie, something familiar, and safe. She turned to the television, as the opening narration by Nicodemus started.

"The Secret of NIMH," I said as the title burned its way onto the screen, "It gets sad and scary at parts. It was made by a man who believed that..."

She shushed me. This took me completely by surprise, as I didn't expect the kind Fluttershy to shush anyone. But maybe, I thought remembering her behavior at the Grand Galloping Gala, and the nickname that had earned her in the fandom: 'Flutterrage'. I flopped down on the couch and watched the movie over her shoulder.

It was cute seeing her react to the movie. It reminded me of the feelings I had when I had first watched the movie. Her reactions mirrored them perfectly, giving form to my thoughts. She yelped when the cat, who was appropriately named 'Dragon', showed up and chased Jeremy the crow and Mrs. Brisby the field mouse up a tree. She cried when Mrs. Brisby lost Timmy's medicine, and let out a muted 'yay' when Jeremy handed the envelope with the medicine back to her. The meeting with the Great Owl saw Fluttershy peeking out from behind the couch, and she shook as Brisby entered the rats' lair. In the end, when Brisby saved her family, she cheered. I imagine that her screaming was about as loud as she was when Rainbow performed the Sonic Rainboom in the Cloudsdale Cloudseum.

"That was fun, can we watch another one?"

Comments

[Klutzershy]

Not bad, I might just track this... keep up the good work
Also first I guess... Who am I to go against internet tradition?

[Discorded Q]

THEN SHE WAS PREGNANT SOMEHOW!!!

err how do i say this.... SOMEONE ALREADY DOING A STORY WITH FLUTTERSHY!! i'm sorry for the trouble heres a cute AJ pic

http://kiyoshiii.deviantart.com/art/Late-christmas-276277474?

but you know what, this story is so good, i can live with it!

[SteampunkBrony]

secret of nimh? by the moon that one brings back memories... now i gotta watch it again, curse you

[GlitchyProductions]

This was pretty good.

[Aquilo]

this is so.. Fluttershy! :3

[Nekobladen]

The nostalgia reviewed that movie I think, he had some pretty 'choice' words for it.

[Meta Knight]

Excellent

[SamFaith]

99875
If you're referring to the Nostalgia Critic (AKA Doug Walker) and his review of NIMH 2: Timmy's Adventure, then I suggest you watch the review again. Also, you may wish to see his video entitled "Top 11 Underrated Nostalgic Classics".

[Wilhelm]

I refuse to believe the universe would be so poorly designed.
Startrek spotted off the bow.

[DaBeejees]

Ranch makes all vegetables [more] edible, and Fluttershy knows that as well as the rest of us.