My Dear Shy - Life in Equestria

by Keeper-of-Harmony

Chapter Twelve

I must say, it feels nice to settle things on a positive note rather than an ugly one. By that, I am regarding how I may have given Twilight a glimmering ray of hope to woo me over. I mean, she can try since I did open my big mouth when I added: "anything is possible if you try hard enough". I never intentionally wanted to give her the idea that we're boyfriend and girlfriend, but I never saw the harm in any of that, long as it remains platonic.

And you know how the universe just loves to twist things up a bit. I'm sure after what I had said just earlier, I might have gone up and made the genre a romantic comedy. Well, if I have to tell you all the truth... That's exactly what transpires. Confused? Read on further and you'll see why...

So remember when I had explained to Twilight all those things we'd do together? As in dating? Well, the universe thought it'd be hilarious to throw a proverbial curveball at me. And by that, I mean a musical. I'll recap what happened after Twilight and I talked...

---

It started off faintly but kept growing, as cheery music started to play. Oh no... As I recalled the research on the show on Wikipedia, there were musicals, or formally known as...

The Magic of Music.

This would be the very first time I get to partake in one, but I dread to sing. Truth be told I'm a terrible singer. There's no point hiding or denying that fact. Last time I tried to sing, I swear if I were in a list of singers with Justin Bieber in it, I'd be below him by a couple of numbers. And the worst part would be is that he's second to last. I know, I know... I'm that awful.

The feeling was swelling in the upper-left part of my chest, pushing its way up to my throat as the background music plays louder and louder.

I don't know how the cartoons do it, but I did my best to look at the audience -- wherever they may be -- and shot them a deadpan stare before my lips began quivering.

'Well... shit.'

---

Okay. It might've been too short to have called upon a recap. But whatever.

After the uneventful fiasco that is the musical, Twilight and I are casually heading back towards Fluttershy's cottage. I'm the one who is more languid in my steps than Twilight—who is still humming the tune to herself—that I am disgruntled enough to mask my face out of sheer embarrassment from involuntarily contributing my gritty, sandpaper-esque voice to the mare's merry song.

"I cannot believe I was pulled into that..." I grumble indignantly.

Twilight keeps herself at my flank with the same snails-pace, ceasing her humming for the time being. "Aw, come on, Rick! It wasn't all that bad," she assures.

"I told you that I wasn't the singing type more than I would normally care to." I did. Really, I did. It was during the short break in the song. "Thank God it was short," I mutter, "otherwise I would've knocked myself silly until I'd pass out."

We halt inches before Fluttershy's cottage door. "There's no need to be pessimistic about it," Twilight argues. "I thought it was... nice." I couldn't help but notice she has hesitated on that last word.

"Aha! So even you think it's bad!" I exclaim, pointing a finger at her.

"No, I don't!" Twilight protests.

"Oh really?" I quiz with a skeptical tone.

"Yes, really."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"How so?"

"Because when we were somehow from the cottage to Ponyville in a matter of seconds, all the ponies in town had those disgusted looks on their faces every time I sang my verses. I think I even saw one vomiting in a garbage bin. Next thing after the song we're back outside the cottage." A big, shit-eating grin appears on my face. "So, by way of answer, if you thought my singing was more deserving than simply being called 'nice', you would have said so!"

The strange thing about the power of musicals. The first moment you sing, the background would fade into blackness only to be short-lived by a new scenery and the jolting sound of trumpets, chimes and whatever else they throw at you.

"That still doesn't answer the question," Twilight says.

"My voice. Is. Terrible! Come on, I can see it written all over your face that you were lying about it being nice earlier."

"Rick," Twilight begins sternly with narrowed brows, "you shouldn't need to worry how bad your voice sounds. When it comes from the heart, terrible or not, it's still considered beautiful," she finished that sentence with the tap of her hoof on her chest. "I, for one, thought you were spectacular."

I give a little snort in disbelief. "Well, the other ponies didn't seem to think so," I say with a wry smirk.

"Who cares if anypony else finds it awful," Twilight argues. "Take Sweetie Belle for example; last time Fluttershy told me she sang... Well, let's just say the way she explained it, it was overtly loud and rambunctious. Not everypony is perfect at singing, and no matter how bad it sounds, as long as one pony likes it, it's good enough for them." I notice the tone in her voice as she stressed that last sentence.

"Fine, but it still doesn't change the fact that everypo- everyone," damn pony culture slang! "heard it," I huff quietly.

Twilight's ears pricked up. "What?" She asks.

"Oh, nothing..." I reply quickly. "But I really have to ask, Twilight."

She looks up at me, raising a brow. "Hm?"

I place both hands on my hip. "Back when we had our, uh, tete-a-tete, surely calling you pretty alone couldn't have been the reason you liked me, right?"

There's a brief, thoughtful pause. "Well," Twilight lightly blushes, "I always did think you were... I don't know... Handsome," she admits bashfully. "But there's more to it than just your looks. Like yesterday when I had cast a half-finished spell that Starswirl the Bearded created and turned everything upside down, you went out of your way and disregarded any concern for your own safety from the dangerous weather to look for me. As Fluttershy's closest friends, you prioritize our well being just as much as her's. That there is one of the reasons I like you, Rick."

"Oh come on now, you're making me blush," I say, scratching the back of my head sheepishly. "Only some of those things you said are partially true."

Twilight gives me a friendly nudge to my right thigh. "Don't sell yourself short, Rick. I mean it when I say it."

With that out of the way, Twilight's horn begins to glow with her signature rose-pink hue. The door is promptly opened but left ajar by her magic. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but, do you care if I can see how you change clothes? It would be good for research purposes," the purple mare asks with a small, sheepish smile as she clops her hooves together.

My eyes widen incredulously. "Why in Sam's Hell would you want to do that?!"

"For educational purposes," Twilight answers in passing.

I tilt my head. "Really, just... Really? 'Educational purposes...'" I say, my voice dripping sarcasm with an eyebrow raised.

Twilight's cheeks are burning red as a bead of sweat forms on the far right side of her forehead. "Educational and... to... sate..." she trails off for a brief second, "Uhm, curiosity?" Her wings suddenly sprout forth, stiff as wood, and her whole face is tinted in a much deeper red and her eyes moving in her head to see what involuntarily happened, much to my bemusement.

Oh oh oh, I remember this! This was back when I found myself researching pegasi on the internet. It's not like I was forced to, mind you. I had to for the sake of raising Fluttershy when it came to teaching her how to fly. I digress. If I know this, wings of a pegasus flare whenever they're excited because that excitement stimulates the blood into the wings and therefore they become erect like Twilight is doing now. Wait a second... If I haven't known any better, I'd say that's rather equivalent to...

Oh dear...

My face also turns beet red at the realization. Did it just get hotter all of a sudden? It's probably the blazing sun getting to me, that or the pajamas. Maybe both. "Oh. Well. Um," I stammer uneasily. "I- I don't know."

Twilight steps forward more, using her hoof to stroke my leg. "Just relax, Rick. I mean, there's no reason to be nervous. Especially around your new marefriend," she says with her best bedroom eyes. I really, really should have seen this coming when I added in that bit of dialogue.

Thanks a lot, universe!

I take a long, deep and calm breath. "I'm not exactly nervous. It's just..." I fidget trying to find the right word. "I would find it uncomfortable having someone watch me getting dressed. I would much prefer it if you wait downstairs for me."

Twilight gives a stiff, understanding, but at the same time disappointed, nod, the blush receding from her cheeks. I could still see a faint shade of red though. "Alright," she complies as she flicks her tail on the back of my leg salaciously. "But you can always watch me anytime," she adds with a flirtatious wink over her shoulder, then resumes trotting into the cottage.

Ponies don't even have clothes, so what in the hay did she mean by that!?

I follow in after and make my way upstairs into Fluttershy's room to access my suitcase that's underneath her bed. I slide it out from underneath and flip up the locks to unlock it, and proceed to pull out my suit and pants. Twilight's words earlier come back to haunt me and at that moment I stand in the room momentarily - shoulders slumped, expression blank and eyes blinking owlishly. If I had all knowledge of the universe, through some erroneous reason, there would only be one word in the entirety of the English vocabulary that would best fit with my current expression as the innuendo dawns on me.

"...What?"

I shake my head to rid of the thoughts and when I amble my way back downstairs with the suit and pants in arms, Twilight is sitting on the couch.

With her wings still flared.

"Uhm, Twilight?"

"Yes?"

I lean down to whisper softly in her ear. "Your wings." I stand back up, and the blush Twilight made minutes ago returns with a vengeance, and she just sits there looking totally embarrassed—much to my amusement. I couldn't help but grin.

Hearing this, Twilight peers over her shoulder to discover that her wings are indeed still sticking out. With a frightened gasp, she says, "Well don't just stand there like an impish foal! Help me with these things before Fluttershy comes back from the backyard!"

"W-why do I have to?!" I protest. "Can't you will them down with your magic or something? You're a bloody alicorn, for Pete's sake!"

"It's not that simple! I mean I could, but it takes some time! You can do it simple enough; just massage the specific joints where the muscles are and they'll relax them, please!" Twilight pleads.

I rest the suit and pants on the couch's armrest to hold my hands up, waving them in protest. "No freakin' way! If I did that to them it'd almost be like I'm giving you a handjob!"

She turns to look back up at me inquisitively. "What's a handjob?"

"Twilight, there aren't enough nopes in the world. I'm not going to explain that to you, no way!"

"All I'm asking is for you is to massage and relax my wings so I can fold them! What's so bad about that?"

"I... Uh, I..." I try to argue.

She does have a point though - that's all she's asking me to do. Yet the way she's asking me to do it is loaded with innuendo.

I sigh in defeat and quickly take a spot on the couch, as Twilight turns her back to me. With reluctance and self-deprecation, I raise my hands and start running them along with the tips of her wings, causing Twilight to whicker as I do so.

I lightly press on them and this further elicits a soft moan. Sweet Jesus this is beyond wrong on so many levels.

"Remember the joints, too," Twilight reminds.

Without a reply, I skate my fingertips along with the wings until I find a joint in them and firmly press my thumbs into it to help relax the muscles in the area. She doesn't seem to do anything in response besides those whickers and moans. If only you all can see the expression I'm making right now...

"How's that?" I ask.

She turns to me with a blush on her face. "Better. Thank you."

I shake my head at the sight of the blush and move onto the next wing, relaxing the joints in that one too. Not too long, after massaging them, she ruffles the wings and folds them back to her sides.

"That's much better, but if you don't mind, could you just give them a once over?"

I stare at her questionably. "...Why?"

"I can move them, but it's just to get out any remaining stiffness."

I groan inwardly and use one hand on each wing this time. I rub my fingers and thumbs down the wings, getting closer and closer to the joints on her back. When I got there, I put my thumbs on the base of each joint and wrap my hand around each wing, using my thumbs as a pivot when I pull the wings back towards me. Is this what you want, the universe? You sick fuck?

However... the inevitable has happened...

"Oh, goodness! I've forgotten the pellets!" Fluttershy gasps as she hastily trots back in from the back door, her eyes focus on the storage closet. Out of the corner of her eye, she straightaway notices our presence on the sofa... Fluttershy skids to an immediate halt, both hooves covering her mouth as her pupils shrink to the size of pins.

Dreadful silence takes over. Twilight and I remain remotely frozen in place, exchanging petrified looks.

I turn to my daughter and speak as casually as I could muster, "My dear Shy, please don't freak out, but this is totally what it looks like."

---

"Fluttershy? You all right?" I ask my daughter—who is lying unconscious on the floor—worriedly. No response. But there's nothing to worry about! She's breathing normally, her pulse is fine and she's as healthy as, well, a horse.

Her reaction to 'me massaging her best and closest friend's wings' wasn't what either I or Twilight quite expected. Well, Twilight may have. God knows I least expected it. When Fluttershy had caught us in the middle of the scene, she just... fell flat on the ground like a felled tree. It came to my astute attention that pegasi wings are profoundly... sensitive and must, therefore, be treated with utmost and proper care, which is why it is the fundamental reason they typically preen it by themselves only. Their beau and close relatives are the exceptions, of course. This might also apply to unicorns and their horn, but I don't know about the sensitivity of horns nor should I ever find out.

Though at the same time they gain, dare I tentatively say, pleasure when either their wings or horn are handled professionally. N-not to say I am professional in that regard... Let's just cross this out and pretend I didn't scribble this bit of detail.

So I guess the message was too much for my dear Shy to absorb that all she could do was faint.

Twilight, on her haunches, is next to me looking down at her pegasus friend with a frown. "You sure she's okay?" Twilight queries, concernedly. "That fall really sounded like it hurt..."

"I've checked; no bumps, bruises, scrapes or any sort. Though I knew something like this was going to happen eventually. But I never wanted her to catch us doing that." I sighed. "Let's be grateful she didn't catch us doing something else that could have been worse." And there I mentally facepalm for giving Twilight ideas.

"Like if she would ever catch us-"

I instantly plant an index finger on her lips, expectant what she's going to say. "Whoa there, Timmy Turner! Now's not the appropriate time to be thinking about that! Besides, I think we're a long, long way away from anything like that. I mean, it's just too sudden to be discussing those types of... things. Especially on the first day of our relationship."

I've known for some time that Twilight's voice was scarily familiar to that of Timmy Turner from The Fairly Oddparents. There was a certain pitch to it which made me make the connection. Jeez, it's sure been an awful long time since the last I've seen it. I really missed watching Cosmo. That trouble-making half-a-meatball was definitely my favorite alongside Ed and Billy. I don't know if it's only me, but, I seem to be fond of the dumb more entertaining cartoon characters. I swear, that fairy's slower than a playground full of retarded kids. No offense intended.

"I know," Twilight says with a squeaky smile under my finger. She then arches a quizzed brow. "Wait. Timmy Turner? Who's-"

Twilight is interrupted again by a weak groan from Fluttershy. I hastily retract my finger from the purple mare's lips and glance down at my daughter.

"I think she's coming to!" I softly holler, relieved she is all right. I slide a gentle hand to the back of her head and lift it up.

Twilight is pretty relieved as well. "Thank goodness," she whistles.

Fluttershy twitches each of her limbs, her face scrunching just a little. She wrinkles her muzzle, followed by another tiny groan and a double flick of her pointy ears. I carefully brush away the silky strands of her pink hair that were obstructing her eyes as they are slowly opening. About halfway lidded, they then spontaneously flit open.

"Dad?! Twilight?!" Fluttershy exclaims perplexedly. Twilight and I back away to allow her space as she instantly hops up on her fours. She points at the purple mare, gawking, "Twilight, you were..." She then points at me. "And Dad, you were..."

Swiveling her sight back and forth, Twilight and I wordlessly nod in unison. "Quite a shocker, huh?" I say wryly. Twilight and I then look at each other before staring down, our cheeks partially flushing hot pink.

Fluttershy continues to juggle her vision between us until she fits the cerebral pieces together. "So moments ago when I saw you two, does that mean you and her are..?" She purposely trails her words off for me to finish. Okay, much as it is to my dismay, I have to go along with it. I'm going to have to talk with her later about what the actual status is between Twilight and me.

"Indeed so," I answer.

"W-when? Where? For how long?" Fluttershy blurts the questions rapidly.

"Easy there. You'll pass out again if you keep that up," I say jokingly. "Our relationship started outside when Twilight wanted to speak to me privately. We discussed what to do at the coronation party. Twilight confessed that she had a crush on me, and there was some talk here and there. Then we came back in and, well, that's when you stumbled upon our... awkward situation. That's the gist of it, really."

Fluttershy silently fixes me a confused stare, that is until she taps her chin thoughtfully. I can tell that she must be replaying the scenario in her head as a small blush appears on her face. She looks to Twilight inquisitively. "So that really means you two are..?"

Twilight rest a hoof on my shoulder. "It does, Fluttershy. We're coltfriend and marefriend!" Twilight chirps happily.

Fluttershy then turns to me with the same inquisitive look. "And Dad?"

I bring a hand to Twilight's hoof, rubbing it affectionately. "Yes, my dear Shy," I confirm. "You could say that The Fates have brought us together."

For the record, The Fates are a bunch of bitches. And the universe is too.

Fluttershy doesn't respond right away. Her brows are narrow, eyes darting to and fro at the floor, she lowers her jaw but snaps it back shut to dwell further in her thoughts.

Feeling Twilight's hoof tensing, I stroke it to soothe her anxiety. "Don't worry. It's Fluttershy we're talking here. You're each other's best friends, I'm sure she won't disapprove," I whisper calmly.

Twilight smiles. "That's the other thing I like about you - you tend to act so placid under certain stressful conditions," she whispers back.

"Let's just say that I had a lot of "snacks" before bed."

"Oh?" Twilight nudges closer with a pique of interest. "Mind if you give me a snack later?"

"I think I can sneak some over to your place," I say, playing a composed smile. Just keep it together, Rick. Surely she really meant an actual snack and not some innuen- Oh lord that's exactly what she really meant, wasn't it?

"And perhaps some Honey Dew wine to go with it," Twilight purrs provocatively, her warm breath caressing the edges of my left ear.

I swear I'm not making this up. Maybe relationships in Equestria are slightly different than Earth's? Please prove to me if I'm wrong here.

A loud cough from Fluttershy breaks our hushed conversation and snags our undivided attention. We fix our gaze to Fluttershy's, who has a seemingly disapproving frown. "That's..." she ominously begins, her expression distinguishable as a rock - both dull and impossible to read.

Twilight leans in, her anxiety evergrowing, as I could determine by her trembling hoof still resting on my shoulder. However, seconds later, Fluttershy's frown slowly lights up to a soft smile. I couldn't help taking note that the frown was meant to playfully mislead us. Touche, daughter. Touche.

"That's wonderful!" Fluttershy outbursts with a cheer, her face brightened like the sun rising. I urge a smile while watching Twilight's own smile stretching from ear to ear. "This is absolutely wonderful! I mean, you and Twilight?" Fluttershy flutters in for a celebratory hug, wrapping us around with not just her hooves but her large wings as well. "I'm so, so happy for the two of you!"

"I'm glad you think so!" Twilight comments cheerily.

"And here you almost had us going there for a second, my dear Shy. I would give you applause, but I think a hug works just as fine," I quip.

Fluttershy giggles to that. "Aren't I a stinker, Father?"

Ah, one of the famous quotes from the illustrious Bugs Bunny. Brings back childhood memories. I grin and tighten my hug. "Heh, you sure are, sweetie. You sure are."

Somewhere in the depths of my consciousness, I can hear someone sipping their drink loudly in a smug kind of way from what I can imagine.

"You done fucked up now, dude."

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