A Gift for Pinkie

by Winter_Solstice

A 'Mitty' Moment

Fluttershy sat by herself in a corner of the crowded Sweets shop, delicately sipping her chamomile tea. All around her, ponies were bustling in and out, buying cakes, donuts, special orders, hot drinks...it was very chaotic! And while most ponies were polite enough, or at least weren't overtly rude, there were more than a few who were...hmmm..."stressed?" so to Fluttershy's Fluttershy Eyes, spoke a little sharper than they should have to the staff.

Through it all, she watched the pink pony serve each and every customer with a cheery smile, no matter how they treated her.

The little yellow pegasus winced as the door banged open, a chilly breeze blew in, and her least favorite pony in Town barged into Sugarcube Corner. Pointedly ignoring the busy line, Spoiled Rich marched right up to the counter and declared, "I am here for my special order, clerk! Don't keep me waiting!"

Pinkie put on her most professional smile and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Rich, but as you can see, there are many other customers ahead of you. If you'll kindly go to the back of the line, we'll serve you as soon as we can!"

Spoiled looked down her nose at Pinkie and sneered, "Do you know to whom you are speaking?! My husband and I own this town! You all are quite fortunate we even bother to grace your grubby establishment with our business, as we could buy our products from the finest confectionaries across Equestria! Now, retrieve my special order At. Once! Or you'll never see another tenth-bit from us again!"

Pinkie looked to be on the verge of tears, but she quickly smiled and braced herself, then began with, "I'm deeply sorry, but---" and that's as far as she got before she was cut off by Mrs. Cake.

"Here you go, Mrs. Rich!" she said, hoofing her a large, elaborate, triple-layer cake. It was covered in intricate decorations, such as pony-angels that rotated and tiny stars that sparkled. "Just as you ordered!" Then she added, "Please remember, Mrs. Rich, this cake is extremely delicate! Do not spill any on yourself, for that frosting would take hours to get out of your fur!"

"Please!" snorted Spoiled, "I am not some clumsy, Clouseau-type waiter! It's not like I'm going to fall face-first into it!" After throwing a bag of bits on the counter she turned away, but not before one last jab at Pinkie. "You might want to consider hiring some professional help, Mrs. Cake!" She turned away with another sneer and had almost made it to the door when she was tripped by a little yellow hoof. She fell face-first into her cake with a >SPLAT!< as the entire Shop went completely silent. She slowly stood up, now a complete mess, with an angel twirling merrily on top of her head, then looked around.

"Who? Tripped? ME?!?"

A quiet little pegasus took a sip of her tea, then calmly replied, "I did."

Spoiled's eyes grew wide, and shaking with rage she growled, "How DARE you!"

Fluttershy set down her tea and faced her squarely. "How dare I?' How dare you? You are so mean to other ponies, all the time, but why? You and your family have everything you need, and you could be so nice, but you're just plain mean..."

Spoiled's face, underneath the cake, flushed red, and she spluttered, "Tha...That's not true! I am SO a nice pony! I---"

Fluttershy just shook her head. "No. No, you're not. And everypony in Town knows it." She sighed. "I honestly feel sorry for you." Spoiled looked at her in horror, then she looked around at all the other ponies, and could see the Truth in their eyes! She WAS a bad pony! She WAS a mean pony! Oh, HOW could she have been so WRONG?!

Hanging her head in shame, she said, "You're right, Fluttershy; I have been a bad pony." But then she raised her head, her face brightened, (under all the cake) and she declared, "But from now on, with Celestia as my witness, (placing a cake-covered hoof over her heart), I WILL NEVER BE A MEAN PONY AGAIN!" Then she marched out of the Shop with her head proudly held high! (covered in cake)

There was a beat of complete silence, then everypony broke out into cheers! Pinkie came from around the counter, party cannon in tow, and shot off confetti and streamers! Triumphant music began playing! The ponies grabbed Fluttershy and hoisted her high over their heads, cheering, "FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY!"

---

"....Fluttershy? Fluttershy! You okay?" Pinkie waved her hoof in front of her face.

Fluttershy startled and looked up. "Oh! Pinkie!" She looked around. "What happened?"

"You've been sitting there for a while now, just staring off into space with a dreamy look on your face. What were you thinking of?"

Fluttershy looked around. She must have been there for far longer than she'd intended, for the place was mostly empty. Only one or two ponies were still finishing their treats, and they soon got up and left. She looked at Pinkie. "I...must have fallen asleep for a few minutes." She looked around again. "Did...Mrs. Rich come in a little bit ago?"

Pinkie smiled. "She sure did, and we took extra special jiffy care of her, just like we always do!" Pinkie paused and cocked her head. "Why do you ask?"

Fluttershy dropped her eyes to her now cold tea cup. "Oh, I was just afraid she was...mean to you..."

Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively. "Pbbbt! Mean customers don't bother me! I can always make a frown go upside down, silly!" But as she was turning away, her smile still seemed a bit...forced, and she let go a small sigh as she picked up a broom. The place was an absolute wreck, as there had been such a rush of customers the three of them, the Cakes and Pinkie, simply hadn't had time to keep up with both taking orders and bussing tables. The Cakes were in the back, taking care of the kitchen, which left Pinkie to do the entire dining area by herself.

Fluttershy's Fluttershy Heart cracked a bit watching her. "Can...I help you clean up?"

Pinkie looked back at her and paused in the middle of sweeping. "No, no..." she said after a moment, "we've got this! Hearth's Warming is in just a few days! I'm sure you have loads of stuff you need to do! You go enjoy your holiday!" Fluttershy nodded, then left.

But just as she closed the doors, she was sure she could hear somepony beginning to softly weep.

---

Author's Note:

For those readers too young to remember James Thurber, the 'Mitty' moment is a reference to his character in the short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is basically about a shy, unassuming man who constantly daydreams himself to be in various adventures. I thought it would an amusing side to Fluttershy's character in this short story.

There was an excellent movie done recently involving Walter Mitty starring Ben Stiller and Sean Penn, but I thought I'd simply include a short video I found on Youtube for those that didn't want to sift through a two-hour long movie.

ALSO, after thinking about it, I realize most younger readers won't get what Spoiled is talking about when she sneers about "not being a 'Clouseau-type' waiter." The joke is a reference to Peter Sellers' character Inspector Clouseau, from The Pink Panther movies of the 60s. He played a bumbling, stumbling, uber-overconfident French police detective that somehow always managed to solve whatever crime he was working on, despite his ineptitude!

The Simpsons picked up on this in an early episode:

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

You know, Fluttershy actually probably could intimidate Spoiled Rich into behaving. Me thinks Spoiled Rich would be powerless by something as potent as "The Stare".

[Winter_Solstice]

11461360
True, very true, but given 'Shy's reluctance to use that power on other ponies (as we've only seen her threaten to use it on the CMC, and that was only in jest) it's very unlikely she'd ever do it.