Broken
Fluttershy awoke to the sound of bird song. She listened happily for a minute before stretching and getting out of bed. She opened her bedroom window to greet the singing birds. “Good morning,” she called to them. “You’re singing such a lovely song today.”
A few of the birds called back to her and she smiled. It was then she noticed a couple of sparrows she’d never seen before. They had created a new nest, high up in one of the nearby trees. Fluttershy flew over to them. She landed on the branch, carefully positioning herself. “Oh hello! It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Fluttershy. I’m here if you need anything.”
The sparrows cheeped cheerfully at her. Fluttershy surveyed her cottage, a soft smile on her face. As she shifted, her hoof slipped off the branch. A small squeak escaped her lips as she fell. Shock and fear made her mind go blank. By the time Fluttershy remembered she could fly, it was too late. She landed hard on her right wing. A loud crack rang through the air and Fluttershy opened her mouth in a silent scream. Within seconds, the pain deprived her of consciousness.
All the animals near the cottage rushed to her side. Angel nudged her, but she didn’t stir. He knew she needed help. Angel raced off towards Ponyville. At top speed he made it to Twilight’s castle in minutes. He pounded on the door as hard as he could. When Spike opened the door, the bunny zoomed inside. “Angel? What are you doing here?” Spike asked. Angel ignored him, looking around for Twilight. Confused, Spike called out, “Twilight!”
At the sound of her name, Twilight came running. “Spike, what’s wrong?” she inquired. It was then she noticed the bunny hopping toward her. “Angel? But… where’s Fluttershy?” Angel began squeaking and furiously pointing toward Fluttershy’s cottage. “Did something happen?” Angel nodded.
“Oh, no! Fluttershy!” she exclaimed. Twilight levitated Spike and Angel onto her back. “Come on!”
She galloped to the cottage as fast as she could. The animals that had formed a circle around Fluttershy scattered at Twilight’s approach. Twilight could see that Fluttershy’s wing was at an odd angle. “Fluttershy, can you hear me?”
Fluttershy moaned softly, but offered no words in reply. “Oh, no!” Twilight cried. “Spike, I’m going to take Fluttershy to the hospital. I need you to get all of our friends.”
Spike nodded and ran off. Twilight picked up Fluttershy with her magic and flew her to the hospital.
* * *
Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all stood around Fluttershy’s hospital bed. The doctor had diagnosed her with a broken wing and splinted it so it could heal properly. Fluttershy looked at all of them and sighed, “I’m really sorry everypony. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout us, Sugarcube,” Applejack soothed her friend. “We’re all just happy yer gonna be okay.”
“I’ve just got one question. How did this even happen?” Rainbow demanded.
“Oh, well I was in a tree saying hello to some new birds,” Fluttershy explained. “Then I slipped and fell on my wing.”
“You fell out of a tree?” Rainbow shouted. “Why didn’t you just fly?”
Fluttershy shrank back into the bed as well as she could. Her voice was so quiet they had to lean in to hear it. “Well… um… I… I forgot I could.”
“How in the hay do you forget you can fly?” Rainbow erupted.
Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chided. “The poor dear has been through enough today without you yelling at her.”
“But she… I mean… it’s just…” Rainbow stammered. Finally she hung her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry Fluttershy. I just don’t like seeing my friends hurt!”
“It’s okay, Rainbow. I understand,” Fluttershy assured her friend.
“So how long do you have to stay in the hospital?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, I’m just waiting for them to give me some pain medicine to take home,” Fluttershy replied. “I’ll be leaving after that.”
“What?” five voices chorused.
“But I had to stay longer than that when I hurt my wing!” Rainbow argued. “And mine wasn’t even broken!”
“Truthfully, the doctor wanted me to stay longer,” Fluttershy admitted. “But I can’t. I have to get back to my animals. They need me!”
“We can look after yer animals,” Applejack said. “Why don’ you just stay here for a while?”
“I’m afraid that won’t work. A lot of the animals will only listen to me,” Fluttershy replied.
“Fluttershy, Darling,” Rarity began. “I understand that it is important for you to take care of the animals, but it is equally important to take care of yourself. If you insist on going home, I will accompany you. While you take care of the animals, I shall take care of you.”
“Oh, Rarity. That really isn’t necessary. I’ll be fine. Besides, you have your shop to worry about and-”
“Nonsense! You are my friend and I will care for you to the best of my abilities. Carousel Boutique will survive if I take some time off.”
“Really, it’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s no bother, Fluttershy,” Rarity replied. Fluttershy opened her mouth, but Rarity cut her off. “I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You’re always doing nice things for everypony. Let somepony do something nice for you.”
“Well, I guess. If you really want to.”
As Fluttershy finally agreed, Nurse Redheart walked in. She handed Fluttershy the prescription. “Are you sure you can’t stay?” Nurse Redheart asked.
“No, I have to get home,” Fluttershy said.
Nurse Redheart looked very concerned. She relaxed somewhat when Rarity told her, “I’ll be staying with her for a while. If I need to, I’ll bring her back.”
“That’s good. The pain medication we’re giving her can be taken every four hours. We gave her a dose when she came in about an hour ago,” the nurse explained.
“Thank you, Nurse Redheart,” Rarity replied. She turned to her injured friend. “Shall we go?”
Fluttershy nodded and slowly stepped down from the bed. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie said their goodbyes and left. Rarity and Fluttershy made their way out at a much more deliberate pace.
Fluttershy soon realized this would be a painful trek. Every step she took sent vibrations up her wing. It wasn’t much, but the pain seemed to build as she continued to walk. She tried to hide it, but halfway to her cottage, Fluttershy started whimpering. “Darling, are you okay?” Rarity asked her.
“I-I’m fine,” Fluttershy panted.
“Are you sure?” Rarity pressed. “You’re looking rather pale.”
Fluttershy sighed deciding she should be honest. “My wing hurts. Walking seems to make it worse,” she admitted.
“Maybe we should take a short rest,” Rarity suggested.
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, I want to get home as soon as possible.”
“Very well. But if you need to rest, just tell me.”
They attempted to keep walking, but Fluttershy stumbled after the first few steps. Rarity hated to see her friend in this state. She cared more for Fluttershy than she wanted to admit. Without warning she ducked under Fluttershy and lifted the pegasus up. Fluttershy squeaked as her feet left the ground and she found herself on Rarity’s back. “R-Rarity? Wh-what are you doing?”
Rarity grunted with effort as she began walking. “I’m carrying you, Darling.”
“N-no. Th-that’s okay. I can make it. I-I’m heavy,” Fluttershy said, fidgeting.
It was true that Fluttershy weighed more than she would usually carry, but she wasn’t nearly as heavy as Tom. If Rarity could carry that stupid rock for her own greed, she could certainly carry a friend in need. “It’s fine, Fluttershy,” Rarity assured her. “I am more than capable of carrying you. Please stop squirming though. It makes this much more difficult.”
Fluttershy gave in with a sigh. She wasn’t one for arguing, and she knew Rarity well enough to know the unicorn would not be swayed. If she were completely honest, she’d have to admit that it made her happy that Rarity was willing to do this for her.
Progress was slow, but they finally made it to Fluttershy’s cottage. Animals swarmed them as they entered the abode. “Hello,” Fluttershy greeted them as Rarity set her down. “Sorry for scaring you all. I’ll be okay. Rarity’s going to be staying with us while I’m recovering.”
Angel made his way over to Fluttershy. He squeaked and gestured in annoyance. Several animals added their own voices to Angel’s. Fluttershy nodded. “I know. I promise to be more careful in the future.”
Rarity waited a minute while all the animals checked on Fluttershy. When she was sure they were all satisfied, she said, “Fluttershy, Darling, I think we should get you to bed.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, I can’t,” she fretted. “I have to take care of my animals. I still need to feed them. I can’t rest now!”
“I am perfectly capable of watching and feeding the animals,” Rarity countered. “I only expect you to step in when they are being obstinate. Now I really must insist you lay down and get some rest.” The look Rarity gave Fluttershy left no room for argument.
“Okay, Rarity.” Fluttershy walked over to her couch and gingerly laid down. She watched as Rarity moved around the cottage feeding all the animals. With her worries put to rest, Fluttershy fell asleep.
Intense pain woke her up. Fluttershy cried out. In an instant, Rarity was by her side. “Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” she asked.
“It hurts,” Fluttershy cried. “It hurts so much.”
“You still need to wait another hour for your next pill,” Rarity said.
“I can’t!” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“Shh,” Rarity soothed. She began running her hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. Despite the pain, Fluttershy’s heart beat faster at the feeling. She knew she liked Rarity more than she should.
Rarity began humming a gentle tune. Fluttershy found that between the humming and the petting, she didn’t hurt quite as much. She still sobbed softly, but there wasn’t as much force to it. They stayed like that for the full hour. After Rarity gave her a pill, Fluttershy fell asleep again, dreams of the white unicorn filling her head.
As the days passed, the two fell into a routine. Rarity found she liked taking care of her friend, and Fluttershy found she liked being taken care of. Though neither said anything, they both dreaded the day this would end.
Rarity went with Fluttershy when she got the splint off. “How does it feel?” Nurse Redheart asked as Fluttershy stretched and moved her wing.
“Well, it’s still a little sore,” Fluttershy answered. “And it’s stiff. I can’t even fold it back all the way.”
“That’s completely normal,” the nurse assured her. “And don’t evern think about trying to fly on it until a physical therapist clears you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Good,” Nurse Redheart said. “You may go now.”
The two ponies left and made their way back to Fluttershy’s cottage. As they were walking, Rarity said, “You know, Fluttershy, I could rub your wing for you.”
Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her hair. “N-no,” she stuttered. “Pegasus w-wings are really s-sensitive.”
“Yes, well I could be gentle.”
“Th-that’s n-not it. It’s just, well, you see a- a wing rub is- is usually considered a very i-intimate thing.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly. So you can’t really do it without it meaning something.”
Rarity didn’t respond as she was deep in thought. When they got to Fluttershy’s cottage, she broke the silence. “What if I wanted it to mean something?” she asked.
“What?” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“What if I wanted it to mean something?” Rarity repeated. “I’ll be honest, Fluttershy, I like you more than a friend really should.”
Fluttershy opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out. Finally, she walked up to Rarity and nuzzled her. “I’d like that,” Fluttershy whispered.
Rarity just smiled and walked inside, ready to make good on her promise.