For this Happy Friend of Mine
A blur of bright pink zoomed straight past a slack-jawed Applejack who had been forced to a halt by a scream of “COMING THROUGH!” just a moment before. She watched as the bright shape blew past the innocent townsponies of Ponyville, several of whom had dove out of the way to avoid a collision with the brightly colored object.
“What in tarnation?” Applejack said to herself, shaking her head to regain focus. “Pinkie Pie, you nearly ran me over!” The farmpony looked about at her cart full of deep red apples, relieved that none of the cart’s contents had spilled out onto the dirty road. A simple bath of water would be enough to clean dirt off, but possible bumps and bruises weren’t so easy.
Applejack made her way to her usual spot and began to set up shop, covering the cart in usual business finery to appeal her simple products to the townsfolk. The apples could sell themselves, but a little country flair didn’t hurt, now did it? As she finished, she held a grin of satisfaction on her face. Ponies would be coming at any moment.
Speak of the devil, she thought to herself, for right at that moment she could hear hoofclops heading in her direction. She wheeled about and was met with a pleasant surprise: Twilight Sparkle, her friend, had decided to drop by.
“Hey there, Twilight! Want a bite to eat? On the house for a friend,” she greeted.
“Not right now, Applejack, but thanks for the offer,” Twilight replied, peering around. “You haven’t seen Pinkie Pie anywhere today, have you?”
The Earth Pony recalled the near-trampling she had received. “For about two seconds, Ah did. Can’t tell yah where she was headed, though.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Did she hurt anyone?” she asked with a sigh.
“No, but looks like she gave Carrot Top a heart attack,” Applejack remarked. “Why? Do you know what she’s up to?”
“I was having lunch with her just a minute ago when I mentioned to her that Fluttershy had had a bad day yesterday, then she sped off at top speed,” the princess explained.
Applejack’s ears perked up. “Bad day? Is Fluttershy alright?”
“I think so, you know how it is with Fluttershy. She was helping some baby bunnies who had gotten separated from their mother and a couple of ponies yelled at her for being in the way.”
Applejack bit her lip to hide her frustration. Fluttershy was the kindest, most gentle soul she or anypony could ever meet, and most certainly did not deserve to be yelled at over aiding a few baby bunnies. It was uncalled for. “How’s Fluttershy doing?” she asked.
“Oh, she’s fine, no tears this time,” Twilight answered. “But she did say that she wanted to be alone for a bit, so I let her be. When Pinkie Pie heard about it, she declared she was going to cheer Fluttershy up and dashed off.”
The farmpony felt a tremor of unease. “Uh… should we stop her?” Pinkie Pie has been known to go a little…. overboard.”
Twilight pondered the thought for a moment, then shook her head. “If Fluttershy wants to be left alone, she’ll tell Pinkie so. She told me.”
“Then let’s just hope Fluttershy says it loud enough for Pinkie Pie to hear her,” Applejack muttered.
Pinkie Pie had no time to lose. She had raced away from Twilight’s castle the moment she had heard the terrible news, and had made a beeline to the pegasus’ cottage on the outskirts of town.
This isn’t just bad, Pinkie Pie thought to herself, this is really, really massively mega-ly ultra-super bad! I’ve got no time to waste, or else Fluttershy will get all sad and she’ll start crying and she’ll be alone and nopony will be able to cheer her up!
In a time that would have impressed even Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie found herself in front of the doors of Fluttershy’s cottage, knocking on the doors in a frantic rhythm. It was a matter of happiness and unhappiness that she cure this catastrophe immediately, and she needed to see her super-awesome friend NOW!
The door opened slowly and Fluttershy’s head peered out from behind the door. “Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie,” she greeted softly. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Pinkie Pie, ignoring all the rules of personal space in spectacular fashion, leaned in and examined Fluttershy with great care. She noted that Fluttershy’s normally well-kept mane had a few stray tussles, and her bright kind eyes were tinged with sadness. Even the gentle smile that the pale gold pegasus typically possessed was absent. Fluttershy, not particularly enthused by the whole affair, was starting to shrink back into the depths of her house. “Umm, Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?” she asked tremulously.
“Hmm… the situations appears to be even worse than I thought!” Pinkie Pie declared dramatically, posing for extra effect. “Never fear, Fluttershy, for I –Pinkie Pie- am here to help cheer you up and brighten your day!”
Fluttershy visibly relaxed and even gave a small smile. “That’s very nice of you, Pinkie Pie, but I’m alright, there’s no need to worry.”
As usual, the party pony went on her ramble as if she hadn’t noticed. “So, Fluttershy,” she said, speaking as if she was an investigator about to demand answers. “What. Would. You. Like. To. Do? We could have a party and invite all our friends over or we could play games or we could do whatever we felt like doing and it’ll be so much fun!”
“Thank you, Pinkie Pie, I really do appreciate the offer, but I’m not in the mood for parties today,” Fluttershy said, her voice a hint more audible.
Pinkie Pie deflated of energy like a popped balloon. “Are you sure?” she asked desperately. “Isn’t there anything I can to do help you, Fluttershy? Anything?”
Fluttershy hesitated the threshold of her cottage, thinking for a moment. While she wasn’t in the mood for a party or Pinkie Pie’s usual frenetic energy, but as she stared at the Earth Pony’s eager expression, she discovered that she did want some company. And here was company, able and willing.
“Actually, I was about to get started on today’s chores,” Fluttershy began. “Now that all the baby bunnies are back home with their mother, I was going to bring over some carrots from my garden and check to see if they were alright, then I was going to head over to the woods and visit with some of my animal friends. Would you like to come along?”
Pinkie Pie refilled with energy, though admittedly not with the crazed hyperbole that was normally evident within her. “Sure thing, Fluttershy! What do you need me to do?”
Fluttershy’s smile grew somewhat. “I’ll be right back out with all my things,” the gentle mare replied. “Hold on for just a moment.”
As the door to the cottage closed, Pinkie Pie gave a low, deep sigh. “No parties? No games?” No party cannon? Immediately wheeling about to hide the enormous contraption, she waited patiently for her friend to reappear. “Alright, now focus, Pinkie! A friend may not want to be cheered up, but at least you can help her with her chores! Because that’s what a good friend does!”
She smiled to herself, though she felt it was somewhat lopsided. This hadn’t been what she’d had in mind at all when she had come here. She hoped it wouldn’t be too dull.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked (Fluttershy walked. Pinkie Pie bounced along, as per usual) alongside a small creek that had furrowed its way through the earth, watching the birds in the sky and the wind blow through the tall grass. Fluttershy’s mane had been properly combed, with not a single hair out of place. Her eyes were still somewhat sad, but the smile had returned.
“Here we are!” Fluttershy said, gently kneeling down next to a small hole overlooking the creek. “Hello, is anyone home? Ms. Ruffle, are you in there?”
In a few seconds, a large gray rabbit hopped from within the hole, followed closely by a half-dozen or so of her offspring, all of them staring curiously up at the two ponies before them.
“It’s very good to see you all today,” Fluttershy greeted warmly. “I’m glad to see you’re much happier today. I thought you might be hungry after yesterday, so I wanted to bring you some carrots.”
Pinkie Pie set down the small basket of vegetables and gently nosed it over to the mother rabbit and her babies, wishing she had at least laced it with confetti and ribbons. The family of rabbits went wide-eyed at the sight and immediately began on their feast, apparently overjoyed.
“Goodness, you are hungry today!” Fluttershy declared (Or, declared as loudly for a pony whose normal voice was barely above a whisper). “Well, I’m very glad I came by and said hello, and I’m very glad to see you all together.” With a gentle smile that shone, she got to her hooves and left the family to eat their meal in peace.
“Thank you for the help, Pinkie Pie, and thank you for being so quiet,” she added, turning to her friend. “You do like to do loud things, so I do appreciate it.”
“Your welcome!” Pinkie Pie replied distractedly, looking back at the gift basket and wishing she had thought of a song and dance routine. “I do wish I could have done something…”
“I know, but bunnies are timid creatures, and they could have been frightened or even gotten hurt trying to run away. Why, they’re even more timid than I am!” Fluttershy added with a giggle.
As the two friends walked towards the woods, Pinkie Pie’s thoughts turned to an unusual, admittedly uncomfortable, fact: she and Fluttershy rarely, if ever, spent time on the pegasus’ terms. When the two were socializing, it was often amongst the rest of their friends, or on her own terms in regards to some big party. It was highly unusual for the two of them to be like this, doing whatever Fluttershy wanted to do. Pinkie Pie didn’t really know what to do.
“So,” she said with some hesitancy, “is this what you spend your day doing when you’re not with me and the others?”
“Usually, yes,” Fluttershy answered, her eyes glowing as a pair of birds hovered to say hello to her. “I’ll go here and there to say hello to all my little friends, and then I’ll try to make my way over to the woods to greet even more of my little friends, and maybe one or two of my not-so-little animal friends. They all have such nice manners, and are always very kind to me.”
“What do you do with them?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously. “I mean, do you play games with them, or have parties?”
“Every week I take a picnic blanket and have tea with some of them,” Fluttershy answered, “but usually I just come up to say hello and see how they all are doing. Some of the smaller animals in the woods can’t always find enough food, so I like to check and see that they have enough to eat. Ms. Ruffle, for example, is usually so busy looking after her children that she doesn’t always have enough time to make them supper, so I bring her some carrots every now and then just to make sure.”
“You really do love animals, don’t you, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Of course I do,” Fluttershy replied sweetly, positively shimmering with delight as a small brown squirrel dashed over and hopped onto her back, immediately curling up in apparent delight. “They’re such kind, sweet creatures, and they’ve always been so nice to me.”
Despite the simplicity of the day’s events, it didn’t seem to take very long for the sun to set. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie spent the rest of the day in a similar manner to how it had begun; they visited families of animals, greeted wise old owls who had woken up from their daily sleep to say hello, and even checked in on a big brown bear that gave Fluttershy a very big, fuzzy hug. To Pinkie Pie, it was less like watching an animal whisperer and more like watching a mother with her children. It was a skill that seemed almost unreal.
When they had finished their day’s work, the two returned to Fluttershy’s cottage for a nice, pleasant dinner of dandelion salad and sat outside, enjoying the last of the sun’s rays until nightfall crept in. Just as Pinkie Pie was about to leave, Fluttershy said, “but you must stay now! It’s a beautifully clear night, and I’ll bet we’ll be able to see lots of stars tonight.”
Pinkie Pie agreed, and now the two friends watched as the dazzling display of the darkened sky awoke and began to glow in all its celestial glory. The stars simply shone in a beauty too magnificent for words, so Pinkie Pie remained silent, gazing up at the stupendous display in awe.
Despite how well the day had gone, she still felt a tinge of guilt. She had come out here today to cheer Fluttershy up, and she had spent the entire day just participating in Fluttershy’s daily rounds. No parties, no games, nothing. Not even cupcakes. She hadn’t been able to cheer her friend up at all!
“I’m sorry,” she murmured softly.
“What did you say, Pinkie?” Fluttershy inquired, peering over at her friend.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to cheer you up today!” Pinkie Pie burst out, tears starting to form at the rims of her eyes. “I came out here as soon as I heard about those ponies yelling at you and all I wanted to do was cheer you up and make you feel better, but you told me no so I just thought that you wanted to just be sad all day and here the day’s all over and I never got to make you feel better!”
Fluttershy stared for a moment as Pinkie’s normally bright expression was dissolving in unhappiness, but then gave a soft laugh. “Oh, Pinkie Pie, I’m not sad.”
That was enough to shock Pinkie out of her mood. “What?”
“You came over and cheered me up very much,” Fluttershy said affirmably. “You were ever so kind to help me with taking care of all the animals, and it was wonderful to spend the day with a friend. I was so happy to spend the day with you, and I hope we get to do it again sometime.”
Even in the darkness, Pinkie Pie could feel the glowing smile and happiness that radiated from the gentle pegasus, and found her temporary sadness melting away. She returned her friend’s smile and wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy in a tight hug.
After a few moments, Fluttershy pulled away and gave a yawn. “I’m starting to feel tired, so I think I’m going to head on inside,” she said. “Thank you for stargazing with me, Pinkie Pie. See you tomorrow!”
Pinkie Pie waved goodbye and hopped away back to her home at Sugarcube Corner, an unusually jaunty spring in her bouncy step. Even if she hadn’t realized she was doing it, she had managed to make her good friend’s day better, and that was something to be happy about. And she had had a lot of fun helping Fluttershy with all the animals, even if it hadn’t been party cannons and games kind of fun. She’d have to ask to help again sometime.
All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile, from these happy friends of mine, she thought to herself, bouncing down the road and back to her home, satisfied with today’s work.