> Locked Out Kindness
>  by Onyx Archer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part 1: Please Let Me Know
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please Let Me Know

Winter has always been a time of year that Fluttershy could relax a little. Due to the hibernation and migration cycles of the majority of the animals she tended to, she was able to put her hooves up and enjoy a nice calming cup of tea and some biscuits. Sometimes she’d spend this time with Discord, but she made it a point to not let that be a daily occurrence. Discord was a total sweetheart deep down, but he still had his quirks that were best experienced in small bursts.

In fact, today was a day where she felt like having fun rather than relaxing. If one had suggested that she’d be the kind of pony to actively seek out fun two years ago, she would laugh. Well, not really, but she has come a long way in the past couple years. She still prefered to keep to herself most of the time, but she had become more comfortable engaging others. Somedays she actually wanted to spend some time out of the house, with somepony else.

Much to her disappointment, however, most of her close friends were occupied. Twilight was currently taking an extended vacation in the world beyond the mirror, although Spike had told her that it was because the random weather had stranded her at Sunset Shimmer’s place. Apparently the mirror world lacked a weather team, which Fluttershy found a bit odd.

Pinkie was currently out of town visiting her family for the holidays, as was Applejack. They weren’t spending the holidays together this year, however. This year, Applejack’s aunt was incredibly ill, and she and her family went to go look after her. They’d likely be back soon, as Hearth’s Warming was over.

Rarity was unavailable due to the mass amount of orders she needed to fill after her brief holiday break. It was one of the few drawbacks to being an entrepreneur, but Fluttershy knew Rarity wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, maybe she’d want a short spa break. She could see Rarity wanting a pedicure after all of the orders were taken care of.

And then there was Rainbow Dash. She was probably the one who Fluttershy had expected to be free. Interestingly enough though, Rainbow was occupied with her duties as a reserve flyer for the Wonderbolts. Apparently Spitfire had decided that the two highest ranking reserve flyers would do a routine together, which had taken up pretty much all of Rainbow’s free time. Fluttershy had briefly met Rainbow’s routine partner the other day when they had taken a day off to rest after three straight days of practice. Her name was Indigo Zap, if she was remembering right.

Even Tree Hugger was busy. She, like Pinkie and Applejack, was visiting some of her family in the Manehattan area. She never met Tree Hugger’s family, though to be fair, Tree Hugger hadn’t really met her family. Unless she counted her friends as family, which they were, at least to her.

As she walked the snowy streets of Ponyville, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh. She couldn’t help but find it somewhat ironic that on a day she wanted to spend time with her friends, none of her friends were free. Despite that, she decided she’d make the most of it. It was a nice day, if a bit chilly, but that was because it was winter. Perhaps she could get some peppermint hot cocoa from Sugarcube Corner, and enjoy some of their gingersnaps. Maybe she could play with the twins for a little bit? It was certainly better than nothing. 

Settling on the way to fill some of her afternoon, she made her way through the snow to the home of the Cakes. As the snow crunched under her hooves, she shivered a little. She had woken up in a warm cottage, a fire burning brightly in the fireplace. It was a stark contrast in comparison to the chilly air that filled the streets of the town. Adjusting her scarf (a Hearth’s Warming present from Rarity the year prior), she continued walking to her destination.

That is, until she heard the sound of somepony’s frustrated groan. It had caught her attention since the streets were relatively bare this afternoon. Most ponies were inside, or out of town, so only the odd few were strewn about the streets. Not able to find the source of the groan in a cursory glance of her surroundings, she continued down the street. Whoever it was, it was clear they were in a sour mood.

“Oh for the love of Celestia!” erupted from the direction of the prior annoyed groan. However, this time, when Fluttershy had looked, she saw a pegasus pony with a rose colored mane that had a single streak of aqua running through it. She seemed to be carrying some saddlebags with groceries in them. Not only that, but she appeared to be looking on the ground in the street with an irate expression. It didn’t take a genius to see that she had dropped something. “Where the hell are they?!”

Taking note of the mare’s displeased expression, and rather crude language, she almost wanted to just keep walking and pretend she saw nothing. That, however, wouldn’t be very nice, and Fluttershy was anything but rude. She was quite shy around ponies she didn’t know, sure, but she wasn’t rude. Walking over to the clearly upset pegasus, Fluttershy felt her heart race, as it normally did around new people. Her nerves started to scream at her to change her tune and walk away, but she was not that kind of pony anymore... on a good day. It just so happened to be a good day that day too, nerves be damned.

“Umm... excuse me, but did you... uhh, lose something?” she asked the stranger timidly. The mare looked up from the ground, her unpleasant expression all but disappearing. It was kind of troubling in Fluttershy’s mind, but she shook the thought, not wanting to judge somepony she didn’t know at all.

“Why yes, yes I did,” the mare said with an overly sweet sounding voice. It was a stark contrast to her tone of voice from earlier, which Fluttershy found a little bit odd. The stranger smiled at her, and it looked genuine enough. “I dropped the keys to my house somewhere, and I’m having a hard time finding them in the snow.”

Her voice shifted from being sweet to the familiar crass tone from earlier. She was able to shift between them on the dime, which was certainly an interesting habit. Fluttershy simply smiled, albeit a bit nervously. The mare likely was just frustrated about her not being able to find her keys.

“Well... umm, if you want some help, I could... uhh, lend a hoof,” Fluttershy offered, her voice wavering slightly, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for the pink-maned pegasus. “Is there, uhh,  any place you’ve been since you were last at home?”

The mare’s face shifted into one of deep thought. It was a much more neutral expression than the overly nice or gnarled bitter looking ones Fluttershy had seen from this pony. It was a welcome change of pace, although it didn’t last long.

“I’m new in town, so I was trying to get used to the area. That and do some grocery shopping,” the girl replied, her face turning sour as soon as she was done speaking. “Which means they could be anywhere in Ponyville. Greeeeaaaaaaat.”

That was certainly a problem. She had been all over Ponyville earlier in the day, which was a lot of space to cover alone. It didn’t help that it was cold out, and the temperature would drop as the day ended. If she had to search for her keys alone, she’d probably end up catching a cold, which was never a good time. Fluttershy knew that this girl needed her help, and it’s not like she had anything else to do today.

“I’ll help you look. Umm... I mean, if you’d like me to,” Fluttershy once again offered. “I’d hate to see you get sick.”

“Why thank you! I’d really appreciate it,” the mare said with her overly sweet sounding voice. Offering an outstretched hoof, she introduced herself to Fluttershy. “I’m Sour Sweet by the way, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said, introducing herself to the new resident of Ponyville. She accepted Sour Sweet’s hoof, and gave it a timid shake. “It’s nice to... uh, meet you too.”

With that, the two newly acquainted pegasi began their search.

“Is there anything that’ll... uh, help us spot the keys in the snow?” Fluttershy asked the rose haired mare beside her. “Like a keychain or something?”

“Yeah, there’s a keychain with a replica of my cutie mark on it.”

Taking a quick look at her new friend’s cutie mark, she memorized it rather easily. It was a simple heart design with lines that made up a gem looking shape over top of it. It was a cute design, as was typical with a cutie mark, though it was definitely a unique looking design for the most part.

“It’s rude to stare at somepony’s flank...” Sour Sweet spoke, her voice course tone snapping Fluttershy’s attention away from her cutie mark. Blushing, she smiled awkwardly at the other girl.

“Sorry... I was trying to memorize your cutie mark so I could... umm, spot it... easier,” she explained, although her tone didn’t make her excuse sound convincing. Sour Sweet, with a cocked eyebrow, just nodded, accepting it for now. “Is the one on the keychain... umm, exactly the same? Or is it a solid color?”

“It’s the same, but with a silver looking edge,” her friend replied, her face pointed at the ground. Her voice was relatively neutral this time, though she was occupied scoping out the ground around her as she walked. Nodding, Fluttershy began walking away.

“I’m going look over this way... how about we... uh, meet at Sugarcube Corner in a little bit?” She suggested, before realizing that Sour Sweet might not know where that is “Oh, umm, do you know where that is?”

“It’s kind of hard to miss,” was the reply she got. “See you in a little while!”

And with that, the two pegasus ponies split up, expanding the coverage of their search for Sour Sweet’s keys.

Fluttershy surveyed the streets as carefully as she could, not wanting to accidentally miss the keys as she walked. She recalled the times she had lost the keys to her cabin when she was out getting some food for her animal friends. She’d end up spending a good hour looking for her keys, only to find that she had passed by them multiple times. It always made her feel somewhat silly when she found them. Of course, she knew the area around Ponyville extremely well, having lived her for a number of years.

Sour Sweet didn’t have that kind of advantage, and was likely so visibly frustrated because she didn’t want to be locked out of her house in the middle of the winter. It was probably a terrifying thought that she would have to sleep in the cold, which certainly wouldn’t help prevent the onset of a potential cold.

Determined to help, Fluttershy even took minutes to fly over some of the areas, to get a better vantage point. Sadly, it didn’t really help, and ended up being a waste of energy. What made matters worse was there was a slight breeze that blew some of the loose powder snow over the ground, which likely covered the keys.

After another ten or so admittedly frustrating minutes of searching, Fluttershy decided it was time to meet Sour Sweet at Sugarcube Corner. She, after all of the moving around in the cold, could really go for a warm cup of peppermint tea.

Arriving not five minutes later, she saw Sour Sweet sitting inside, clearly very annoyed. She had clearly had just as much luck as Fluttershy in finding her keys. As she walked over to her, Sour Sweet looked up at her, wearing a hopeful expression. Shaking her head with a frown, Fluttershy watched as the girl frustratedly pulled her cheeks down with her hooves. Her scowl was made even more bitter looking as she held her face, a low growl coming from between her clenched teeth.

“Dammit! Where the hell are those god forsaken keys!?” she muttered angrily. Fluttershy could only put a hoof on her back and offer a smile. “I’m never going to find them am I?”

“Don’t say that. I’m sure you’ll find them before the day’s over,” Fluttershy said, moving to the counter. “Why don’t we just have a cup of tea and warm up for a little bit? We can go back out and look later.”

Sour Sweet opened her mouth to protest, but oddly enough no angry sounding words left her mouth. She just sighed, and looked at Fluttershy with a defeated look on her face.

“Alright...”

Fluttershy gave her a soft smile, before walking up to the counter.

“Hello Mrs. Cake. Do you think we could have some peppermint tea and gingersnaps please? She’s had a really rough day,” Fluttershy asked, placing the necessary bits on the countertop.

“Certainly dear, I’ll have it ready in a minute,” Mrs. Cake said, accepting the bits.

“Thank you.”

> Part 2: What It Takes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What It Takes

It was on days like today that Sour Sweet hated being a pegasus. On days like these, she wished that she had been born with a horn instead of a pair of wings. Things would likely not go missing as easily if she could just will them into her saddlebags, instead of having to put them in with her mouth. Hell, she’d settle for being born a griffon if she had to, if only because they have talons would also make it easier to hold things.

The day had started off simple enough. Sour Sweet had more or less finished unpacking her things in her new house, having moved to Ponyville two days prior. She had been eager to move, as she really needed to get away from Cloudsdale. Sunny Flare had given her the idea, citing that a change of scenery would be good for her. And she was right.

Well, for the most part anyway.

After two long days of moving, and a much needed sleep, Sour Sweet was ready to see the sights of her new home. That, and she needed to do some shopping for groceries, having run a little short because of the move. There was more to her day out than that, but it hardly mattered at the end of the day.

After taking a moment to lock her front door, she had taken to the streets of Ponyville with a sickeningly sweet smile, taking in the scenery of the once small town. Sour Sweet had been to Ponyville once in the past, having been roped into weather team duties for last year’s Winter Wrap Up. The town had gotten a bit bigger, and it was easy to see why by just looking up.

From almost anywhere in the streets, if one were to look up, they could see the towering crystal castle of one Twilight Sparkle, the “Princess of Friendship.” Sour Sweet thought the title was a bit stupid, but then again, it’s not like it could get any worse. Or maybe it could? She didn’t really care.

Grocery shopping had been easy, despite the weather. A lot of stalls were still open despite the chilly air. She couldn’t help but wonder why some chose to stay outside, but again, she didn’t really care. She only cared about getting all of her shopping done.

Which she did, thankfully, in what felt like no time at all. The ponies who ran the shops were all incredibly nice, even when she had a “sour” moment with them. Some of the prices were a little irritating, but she really wasn’t in a place to complain, since most of the prices still beat out the ones back in Cloudsdale.

It was once Sour Sweet got home that her day went from “pretty alright” to “outright shit.” She had reached into her saddlebags, looking to grab her keys so she could unlock her front door. A simple task that had yielded no results. Panicked, she all but dumped the items in her saddlebags on her doorstep, and searched through all of it to find her keys. Sadly, this also yielded no results. Putting everything back, she began walking through the streets, angrily looking for what she had misplaced.

“Oh for the love of Celestia!” she yelled angrily. This had garnered a fair bit of attention from the passersby, which earned a majority of them a stink eye, as if to say ‘what the hell are all of you staring at!?’ Needless to say, most of them quickly averted their attention from the extremely pissed off mare, and continued what they had been doing earlier prior to her outburst. The last thing she needed was a bunch of strangers staring at her as she looked for her lost keys.

Which she still had no luck finding.

“Where the hell are they!?”

And not a minute later, she could feel the eyes of another pony looking at her. Just one this time, though it was still as annoying as the many from earlier. Looking up, she was ready to glare at the random stranger, when she found said stranger standing relatively close to her, offering an extremely timid expression on her face.

“Umm... excuse me, but did you... uhh, lose something?” the shy looking mare asked. Sour Sweet could instantly tell that this strange new pegasus was incredibly nervous, each little stutter coming out her mouth making it harder for Sour Sweet to be mad at her for staring. This mare, unlike the other walking sets of eyeballs, actually asked what was wrong. Not a lot of ponies did that with Sour Sweet, and it was a refreshing change of pace.

“Why yes, yes I did,” Sour Sweet responded, sweetly. “I dropped the keys to my house somewhere, and I’m having a hard time finding them in the snow.”

She watched as the other pony involuntarily jumped at the sudden shift in Sour Sweet’s voice. It wasn’t all that strange consider her habit. Yet after the sudden jump, the mare just offered a smile, which was certainly not the reaction she expected to get from the timid mare.

“Well... umm, if you want some help, I could... uhh, lend a hoof,” the girl offered with an unsure sounding voice. She was clearly not sure how to approach the situation with this pony she was being oddly nice to. “Is there, uhh, any place you’ve been since you were last at home?”

“I’m new in town, so I was trying to get used to the area. That and do some grocery shopping,” Sour Sweet said after a brief moment of thought. And with that thought came another, only this one was much more bitter. “Which means they could be anywhere in Ponyville. Greeeeaaaaaaat.”

The thought that she would have to walk all over the town in the winter snow was beyond frustrating for Sour Sweet. She had been out in the cold for a few hours already, and thanks to this minor set back, she was bound to end up spending more than a few more hours in the chill of winter. Hooray, she would likely freeze before she found her keys. Fucking. Perfect.

“I’ll help you look. Umm... I mean, if you’d like me to. I’d hate to see you get sick.”

Sour Sweet didn’t even want to think of the possibility that she could get sick whilst looking for a set of keys. She hated getting sick, it was literally the worst.

“Why thank you! I’d really appreciate it,” she said, offering a hoof to the mare. “I’m Sour Sweet by the way, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“I’m Fluttershy,” the mare said, introducing herself to Sour Sweet. Fluttershy took her outstretched hoof, and give it one of the most timid hoofshakes Sour Sweet had ever experienced. “It’s nice to... uh, meet you too.”

And thus, they were ready to start their search for the missing keys.

“Is there anything that’ll... uh, help us spot the keys in the snow?” Fluttershy asked. “Like a keychain or something?”

“Yeah, there’s a keychain with a replica of my cutie mark on it,” Sour Sweet replied. Not a second later, she could feel Fluttershy’s eyes tracing the design of her butt tattoo, clearly trying to memorize it’s many details. “It’s rude to stare at somepony’s flank...”

Fluttershy once again jumped at the harsh tone of Sour Sweet’s voice, before blushing. It was kind of cute that she felt guilty, Sour Sweet thought to herself.

“Sorry... I was trying to memorize your cutie mark so I could... umm, spot it... easier,” the pink haired mare stammered out. Had she not known any better, she’d have not believed the stuttering response for a second. Fortunately enough, Sour Sweet was not an idiot. She nodded, accepting the explanation. “Is the one on the keychain... umm, exactly the same? Or is it a solid color?”

“It’s the same, but with a silver looking edge.”

With a nod, Fluttershy suggested that the two of them split up, in order to cover more ground. It was a fairly decent plan, though Sour Sweet couldn’t help but wonder if her demeanor had scared the girl into making said suggestion. It’s not like it’d be the first time that Sour Sweet’s personality spooked some seemingly nice pony.

Either way, Sour Sweet was left to her own thoughts as she searched Ponyville for any sign of the piece of metal that would unlock her front door. Her thoughts of how she was grateful for the help, but also annoyed that she had to accept help from a complete stranger. She thought herself to be quite the independent pony. While it was nice to get help from time to time, it always bothered her a little when she couldn’t solve her own problems on her own.

She searched for what felt like hours, leaving no stone unturned, and still came up short. She had uttered quite the number of explicit sentences, earning a glare of ire or two from passing ponies. They judged her because of how she talked. Everypony did.

No, now was not the time to think of depressing shit like that.

She continued her search for a couple more minutes, before deciding that she needed a break. Really. Fucking. Badly. She continued to look around as she made her way to Sugarcube Corner, which was easy enough to find amongst the various buildings in the relatively small town. Fluttershy had made it the designated meet up spot to share their findings, or lack thereof.

Walking inside, she found she was the first of the two to arrive. One of the owners, a older looking mare, greeted her with a smile. She smiled back as best she could, thought judging by the look the elder mare had given her in return, it was likely a forced, overly sweet looking smile. Maybe she shouldn’t have smiled back, and just said hello?

Then again, when she was trying to sound cheerful to hide her bad mood, it often came out as obnoxious.

A few minutes passed before she heard the door open again. Looking over at the door, she was greeted by a familiar looking cream colored pegasus. She could feel herself become hopeful that her companion had better luck than she did, but those hopes were quickly dashed with a frown and a shake of her head.

She clenched her teeth, scowling at the lack of luck either of them had. A low growl escaped her throat as she stewed there.

“Dammit! Where the hell are those god forsaken keys!?” she muttered, seething in rage. The older mare from earlier glared at her, and put a hoof to her mouth. Well, screw you too lady. She felt Fluttershy place a hoof on her back, in an attempt to comfort her new friend. She looked at Fluttershy, taking note of the sad smile on her face. “I’m never going to find them am I?”

Fluttershy simply told her not to give up hope on finding them, and suggested they take a short tea break. Sour Sweet wanted to say that she wasn’t really big on tea, but right now, she hardly cared about drinking it. She just sighed, feeling utterly defeated.

She watched as Fluttershy talked to the lady behind the counter, taking in the mare’s appearance. Sour Sweet took note of how fitting to her personality the three little butterflies on her flank were. It was certainly easier to make out than her own cutie mark. Like, seriously, in what world does a heart and a gem outline fit the name Sour Sweet? It was like she was given her mark by a toy maker who just wanted her to look cute or something.

Before long, Fluttershy returned with two cups of tea, and a plate what appeared to be gingersnaps. Accepting a cup with a thank you, she took a sip of the warm tea, and was met with the cool taste of a candy cane. It was certainly not the worst kind of tea that she could have ordered.

“Thanks...” she said. “For the help and the tea. I really needed a break from looking.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. I didn’t really have any plans for the day, so I don’t mind helping somepony in need.”

“You are such a sweetie, thank you,” Sour Sweet said sweetly. Fluttershy gave her a questioning look, as if she was asking Sour Sweet if she was being genuine. She couldn’t blame her for wondering that, considering how forced it sometimes sounded to her own ears. “I mean it, don’t worry. I’m just really bad at sounding genuine.”

“Oh, okay.”

The clock on the wall chimed, letting her know it was four in the afternoon. She shrugged off her saddlebags, and reached inside. After a short minute of rustling through the various things in the bag, she pulled out a pill bottle. Popping the cap off, she knocked one out of the bottle, before returning the bottle to her bag. Taking the pill in her mouth, she took a sip of her tea, and swallowed. Letting out a short sigh, she she reached over to the plate of gingersnaps, as if nothing at all happened.

She felt Fluttershy’s eyes staring at her. Turning to look at the mare, she was met with a confused look.

“What? Haven’t you seen a pony on medication before?” she asked, her voice coming across more bitter than intended.

“Oh, no, that’s not it,” Fluttershy replied, sipping her tea. “I’m just curious why you took it now?”

“I’m supposed to take them every couple of hours. Otherwise I have really bad mood swings,” Sour Sweet explained, before biting into a gingersnap. They were probably some of the better cookies she’s had in a long while. She’d have to come back sometime.

“I see...” Fluttershy spoke. “I also have a medication I have to take, though I only have to take mine twice a day.”

“Huh...” was all she could say. It wasn’t often one would meet a pony that was also on some kind of daily medication. Then again, a lot of ponies didn’t really like sharing that kind of information with others, since it often lead to some bullshit stigma being attached to them. “What do you take yours for?”

“I have an anxiety disorder, and I only recently started taking something for it,” Fluttershy explained with a smile. “Twilight was the one who suggested it, and I’m grateful she did.”

Twilight? She had heard that name before... wait a second! Could she be referring to...?

“As in Twilight Sparkle? Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

“That’s right, she and I are really good friends,” Fluttershy answered, sipping her tea as if it wasn’t a big deal in the slightest. Last Sour Sweet checked, being on good terms with a Princess of Equestria was not something to be taken lightly. “We’ve been friends for about two years now.”

Sour Sweet was dumbfounded. Absolutely fucking speechless at that. The pony that had been helping her look for her keys, the pony she had been drinking freaking tea with... was a close friend of the fourth Princess of Equestria.

“Uhh, Sour Sweet?” the cream colored pegasus called, snapping Sour Sweet away from her thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little surprised that, you know.”

“It’s okay, a lot of ponies are surprised when they find out. Well, ponies that don’t live in Ponyville anyway,” Fluttershy said, a soft smile gracing her lips. “Everypony here is friends with Twilight. She’s lived here for a while before becoming a princess. We all just see her as the same pony as before.”

The conversation petered out from there. Sour Sweet didn’t want to ask many questions, since it wasn’t her place to ask about any of that. She’d probably meet Twilight at some point down the road anyway. Ponyville, while bigger than it used to be, was certainly still a relatively small town afterall.

“We should get back to looking for your keys soon. We don’t want to be looking for them in the dark,” Fluttershy said, ending the pregnant silence that had previously took up the space between them.

“Yeah, we should. I don’t want to sleep in the freezing cold,” she replied. Sleeping outside was the absolute last thing she wanted to be doing later.

“And if we can’t find them today, you could stay at my cottage for the night,” Fluttershy offered with a soft smile. “I wouldn’t want you to have to sleep in the snow. That would be awful.”

“Are you sure that’s okay? I hate feeling a burden,” Sour Sweet asked, with a bit of bitterness coming through in the end with the thought of burdening this nice pony. She already felt like she was taking advantage of how kind Fluttershy was, and she didn’t feel right taking up space in her home. Even if it was just for a night. If she were Fluttershy, she likely wouldn’t offer a stranger a bed for the night, regardless of how nice they seemed.

“It’s alright, I don’t mind. I trust you.”

She... trusted her? Just how much of a saint was this mare?

“Thanks...” she said, a light blush gracing her cheeks. “That’s really nice of you.”

Fluttershy just smiled back at the rose-maned pony, finishing her tea as she did. With the tray clear of cookies, and a final sip of her tea, Sour Sweet was ready to continue the search for her keys. Thanking Mrs. Cake (having heard her name when Fluttershy had asked for their tea), the two left Sugarcube Corner, and entered the chilly streets of Ponyville once more.

The two agreed to meet back at the entrance of the building they just exited, and split up once again. Sour Sweet, much like earlier, was left alone to her thoughts once more.

As she walked, she thought about Fluttershy’s offer to let her stay the night at her house. It was one of the nicer gestures she had received in a long time. Hell, the only other pony that was willing to be patient with her attitude before Fluttershy was Sunny Flare. Sure, she had other friends, but they all seemed to have their limits with how much Sour Sweet they could take in a given day. Such was the problem with having an easily set off personality.

Sighing, she heard the sounds of someone’s hoofsteps approaching her. Turning to the source of them, she saw Fluttershy, who was holding a set of keys and a keychain. They were hers.

“I found them sitting beside Bon Bon’s sweet shop,” Fluttershy said, holding the keys in an outstretched hoof. “They were covered by a bit of powder snow, so they were a little hard to see.”

Taking the keys from Fluttershy’s hoof, Sour Sweet hugged the mare with all of her strength.

“Thank you so much!” Sour Sweet cried, sounding genuinely happy despite her overly sweet delivery. “You’re the best, Fluttershy!”

“You’re welcome, Sour Sweet,” the other mare said, returning Sour Sweet’s hug with earnest. “I was more than happy to help.”

Ending the hug, Sour Sweet did a little victory dance, earning a giggle from the girl with the butterfly cutie mark. She was so damn happy that she didn’t care how dumb she looked. She didn’t have to wander around in the cold anymore. She could go home and relax! Thank Celestia for Fluttershy.

And now came the manner of how she would thank the aforementioned pegasus.

“I really should thank you for how sweet you’ve been.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that. I’m just happy that I was able to help out a pony in need,” Fluttershy said, smiling warmly at her. “A thank you is enough for me.”

Sour Sweet couldn’t help but find Fluttershy’s modesty to be charming. Still, she didn’t feel right not giving the girl a reward. The question was what kind of reward could she give her.

Well, there was always the cliche classic.

Leaning over, she gave Fluttershy a little peck on the cheek. She smirked as the other mare’s face lit up like a cherry. She couldn’t help but giggle at the confused expression on Fluttershy’s face. It was adorably priceless.

“I owe you one,” she said, simply. “Despite how much I hate being in someone’s debt.”

With that, Sour Sweet simply left the scene. Leaving Fluttershy flustered in the middle of the street with a smirk on her face. She was glad to have met her.

“Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.”