Chapter One: In which Fluttershy realizes it's going to be one of Those days
The party was in full swing. Gaggles of gentlecolts and ladies paraded about like exotic birds, completely unaware of the cold chill that was running up and down my spine like a thousand sharp knives. No doubt about it—crime was in the air, and if somepony didn’t act fast, this gathering would end in tears, or at least a few torn skirts.
Lucky Jack, of course, wasn’t happy to hear the news.
“Why always on the good days, Spade?” My friend sighed, giving his silk bow tie a quick jerk. “Always, always, always when I’m ready to have a good time, you go and drop the ‘there’s going to be a crime’ bomb. Never on the rainy days, when I’m at home in my flat with nothing better to do—”
I pressed a hoof over his mouth to silence him. “Quiet, Jack! We don’t know who’s listening. Now, we must proceed from this point carefully. Stay close to me, and we’ll find our culprit before the crime has even—“
Before I could finish, an ear-splitting shriek filled the room and some pony started crying for help. The two of us exchanged a look and dashed off toward the sound. I could barely hear Jack grumbling over the sound of my pounding heart.
“I was hoping for a relaxing evening, was that too much to ask? I just wanted a good day to stay that way for once, but no, not possible…”
—Silk and Scarlet: A Shadow Spade Mystery
The day it all started, or at least the day it all started for Fluttershy, somehow mutated into one of Those days.
Fluttershy couldn’t properly explain exactly why she dreaded Those days so much, especially when she was in the middle of one, but the truth was there were few things she dreaded more. On Those days, her thoughts couldn’t break away from what made her feel small and scared, or overcome with frustration, or just very, very sad. Her heart became fragile like glass and full of the desire to go home, even when she was curled up with some blankets in her beloved cottage and as ‘home’ as she could possibly be. She became queasy, confused, and nervous. Often these feelings kept her from doing anything right for her animal friends, which just added unhealthy guilt to the mix. And that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was when she went to bed at the end of one of Those days and found she felt too sick to sleep. She’d be tossing and turning for most of the night, too tired to do anything but whimper. Was it any wonder she tried to forget them as soon as they were over?
Fluttershy had tried telling herself it was all in her head. She was sure she could control when or whether a day became one of Those days if she just tried hard enough. But despite her best efforts, it never seemed to work. She’d be left even more exhausted, making the day even harder to deal with.
On a brighter note, Fluttershy knew that no matter how horrible a day could get, it would eventually come to an end. Whenever she woke up in the morning after one of Those days, things would be better. She had also found Those days seemed to be happening less and less now that she was a bit more confident in herself and her friends. But, deep in her heart of hearts, she knew she’d never entirely be rid of them. Those days would always be there, and they would always, always, always and forever be the worst days of her life.
This day was no different, though it certainly didn’t start that way. In fact, that morning was one of the most beautiful Fluttershy had seen all spring…
“Oh!”
Fluttershy stumbled. The momentum of her fall flung her straight into Harry Bear’s side, almost planting her face first in the clump of burrs she’d been trying to gently remove for him a moment ago. She managed to twist at the last second, avoiding the prickly pelt stickers by a hoof. The mare sighed in relief and turned to smile at the startled grizzly.
“That was certainly close, wasn’t it?” Fluttershy chuckled softly. “And strange. I wonder what could have…?”
She paused, glancing around curiously until she finally spotted what had tripped her. Or rather, who had tripped her.
“Angel! Heavens, are you alright?”
There was a small squeak. Angel Bunny popped out of the grass nearby, looking dazed and a little ruffled. But he quickly recovered with a shake as Fluttershy darted over to check on him, and crinkled his cute face into a glare that could have withered skunk cabbage.
“Oh, I’m so sorry Angel!” Fluttershy exclaimed, concern and guilt making her fidget anxiously as she examined him. “I wasn’t looking where I was going! Here, let me—”
Angel slapped away her hoof. He leaned back, folding his front paws together and tapping a foot in irritation as he continued to glare up at her. The expression on his face made it clear that in his own mind he towered high above his caretaker, although in reality his ear tips didn’t even reach her chest. Also, he wanted her to know that she’d irked him, thank you very much.
Fluttershy sighed, rubbing her hoof against her chest to soothe the stinging. “Well, I am sorry, but I did warn you not to get so close. Not that I don’t love your nuzzles, but—”
Angel held up a paw to stop her—he didn’t want to hear it. Before Fluttershy had a chance to check him again, the small bunny had dashed off. She tried calling him back, but he was already out of sight.
The pony sighed, and turned to give Harry a defeated look.
“Well, at least he feels good enough to brood about it, right?”
The bear rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I know, but you wouldn’t be too happy if somepony had just tripped over you either,” Fluttershy reminded him gently as she returned to his side. “And honestly, I’m just grateful I only hurt his feelings. Even if that probably means…well, even though that most definitely means he’ll be a moody mess for the rest of the morning.”
Harry growled sympathetically, then leaned down to blow a puff of playful air in her face. She giggled, pushing the loosened strands of her mane back into place.
“Well, you do have point,” she agreed, giving the bear a quick kiss on the nose. “We shouldn’t waste our time worrying about that. Especially not on such a beautiful day!”
The pegasus closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. There had been rain during the night, and while the clouds that had brought it were now hurrying back to Cloudsdale, its scent still lingered in the air. It was crisp, cool, and clean. That was the wonderful thing about rain—it washed everything down, leaving a purified world in its wake. All of nature, from the stones to the grass, was rejuvenated. It was as if the rain had brought a new kind of energy that was seeping into everything, including the animals.
Fluttershy smiled a little to herself at this thought. Oh yes, the animals were definitely feeling something—they’d been positively giddy with excitement all day. When she’d first arrived at the sanctuary earlier that morning, she’d been greeted so enthusiastically that she’d had to kindly remind her animal friends that they could hurt her if they weren’t careful. That had calmed them down a little, but not much. Fluttershy had found herself constantly being interrupted from her work by friendly licks, bumps, rubs, nuzzles, calls, splashes, and other such demands for her attention. In fact, she was pretty sure Harry had rolled into those prickles while trying to show off, but she couldn’t be certain because she’d been busy helping a bird with her nest at the time. And it certainly wasn’t just Angel who’d been getting under her hooves today, though so far he’d been the only one to come out on the unlucky end of things.
But, despite all the animal’s disruptions, Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to be cross with them. After all, they were just so happy. All over Sweet Feather Sanctuary, they played, chased, pranced, dashed, pounced, dipped, flapped, and tackled each other out of the sheer joy of being alive. And that was certainly nothing to get upset about, was it?
Fluttershy opened her eyes again and continued to carefully remove the prickles from Harry’s fur. It wasn’t exactly pleasant work, but oddly enough she found she was enjoying it. After a few minutes, she even started to hum. She felt Harry relax at the sound, so she hummed louder. The birds flying above her picked up on the tune and threw in their own chorus.
Tweet!
Chrrrrrreeee!
Pip. Pip. Ber-brrrrrrrrrrra!
Chicka-dee-dee-dee-dee!
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, where the hay are ya?”
Fluttershy started. That certainly wasn’t a pitch she’d been expecting.
“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!”
“Over here, Applejack!” The buttercream mare called out. “By the treehouse!”
A twig snapped, and then a figure very familiar to Fluttershy came trotting out of the bushes. A pair of emerald eyes met her own, and her friend’s freckled face broke into a smile.
“Howdy, Fluttershy! Mighty fine mornin’, ain’t it?”
The pegasus beamed. “Oh yes—it’s absolutely lovely!”
Applejack started walking over to her, then suddenly paused, looking past both bear and pegasus. Her brow pinched together.
“Uh, is he suppos’d ta be doin’ that?”
Perplexed, Fluttershy turned to look. She gasped.
“Angel! Put Huckleberry back on his feet this instant!”
“So, that’d be a ‘no’ then.”
Angel had somehow managed to push little Huckleberry Turtle onto his back, and now the poor thing lay rocking on his shell, wiggling his legs in a fruitless attempt to right himself. At the warning in Fluttershy’s voice, Angel glowered and shoved the turtle back onto his feet with a jerk. The bunny turned and sped off into some bushes.
“Angel, that was so rude!” Fluttershy called after him, flying over to make sure the dazed turtle was alright. “We do not treat our friends like that, mister, even if we’re not having a good day. Come back here and apologize!”
A small pebble came flying out of the undergrowth. It hit the top of Applejack’s hat as she trotted up and immediately bounced into the brim.
“Angel!!” Fluttershy was horrified.
“Sheesh, he’s certainly bein’ a ray o’ sunshine today,” Applejack said, tipping her hat so the pebble fell out. It hit the ground with a relieved thump, glad to be home.
Fluttershy waited hopefully for a moment, but Angel didn’t come back out. She shook her head and nuzzled poor Huckleberry comfortingly.
“There, there, it’s alright. You’ll have to excuse Angel—he’s had a rough morning.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she turned back toward the bushes, and she raised her voice just a touch so any bunny who might be listening could hear what she had to say.
“BUT, naughty bunny’s don’t get bedtime stories. Maybe he should keep that in mind for the rest of the day.”
There was no response, but judging by the broody silence that descended around the bush Fluttershy was certain her message had gotten across. With a firm nod, she started trotting back to where Harry was patiently waiting.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed?” Applejack guessed, falling in step beside her.
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, it’s really my fault. I tripped over him on accident, and now he’s in a bad mood.”
Applejack snorted, rolling her eyes like Harry had earlier. Up close, Fluttershy couldn’t help noticing that the earth pony looked especially, well, earthy today. A layer of dark mud coated her hooves and the lower part of her legs, and there were patches of her fur that looked darker in places were more dirt had settled. There was even a dark streak across her face, which she’d probably gotten while trying to wipe the sweat off her forehead. She’d obviously been up and working for hours already.
“Ya ought ta win a medal just fer puttin’ up with him every day,” Applejack paused when she saw the burrs in Harry’s coat and gestured at them with a jerk of her head. “Need a little help?”
Fluttershy hesitated. “You’d need to be very, very gentle. Harry’s sensitive.”
“Roger that,” Applejack saluted her. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds before Fluttershy snickered, and the two burst out laughing.
The ponies sat down and began prickle-pulling side by side. They worked quietly, but Fluttershy didn’t mind. In her opinion, the only thing better than talking with friends was feeling silent companionship. Most ponies weren’t comfortable when things got too quiet, and had to talk or tell a joke or something to break it up. There were very few ponies Fluttershy knew who she could keep company with while not having to say a word, and Applejack was one of them. The earth pony didn’t mind if the two went extended periods of time without saying a word to each other, especially if they happened to be working together. It was a comfortable feeling, Fluttershy thought, knowing you were being understood without having to say a word.
Except…
Today something was wrong.
Fluttershy blinked and shook herself. No, she was imagining things. She tried to push the feeling aside, but it wouldn’t listen. It was tense and unsettled, like the ominous presence of a thunderhead on the horizon.
Perplexed, she glanced over at Applejack. The farm pony was focused on the task at hoof, but there was a slight hardness around her jaw and a flick of her eyes that Fluttershy hadn’t noticed before.
Was Applejack…nervous?
The idea was silly—what in the world did Applejack need to be nervous about? She was just here to…here to…
Fluttershy averted her gaze, suddenly feeling unsettled herself. Come to think of it, Applejack hadn’t even said why she was here yet. But, she didn’t have to give a reason. They were good friends, after all. She had probably been passing by and decided to pop in to say hello. Yes, that must be it. Everything was fine. It was just Fluttershy’s overactive imagination imagining things again, that was all.
Right?
Imagination or no, the concerned mare found her gaze wandering back to her friend until the last burr was out and the two were in the breathtaking squeeze of a grateful bearhug. Once Harry had let go and lumbered out of sight, Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore and cleared her throat.
“Um, thank you for your help, Applejack.”
Applejack reached up to rub the back of her neck, then paused and looked at her muddy hoof as if seeing it for the first time before lowering it back down.
“No problem, Fluttershy. You know I’m always happy to help ya.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy hesitated, then forced herself to continue. “But…I couldn’t help noticing you seem a bit…out of sorts. Is something wrong?”
Applejack stiffened. Then she deflated with a sigh.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Not…exactly. But, you do seem a bit tense,” Fluttershy put a hoof on her friend’s withers. “What’s wrong? Is there something I do can do to help you?”
The orange mare didn’t say anything at first. For a few seconds, Fluttershy was afraid she wouldn’t answer at all. But then, Applejack lifted her head.
“To tell ya the truth, Fluttershy, that’s why I came here today. I need yer help, and I…just didn’t know the right way to go about askin’.”
Fluttershy threw her forelegs around her friend to give her a quick hug, breathing a sigh of relief. “Is that all? Of course I’ll help you! What is it? Is there some sort of animal problem at the orchard again? Beavers? Bees? Oh dear, is it Francis?”
“Who? Oh, well, no.”
“The fruit bats aren’t feeling well?” Fluttershy pulled back, looking carefully into her friend’s face. “A group of gophers has moved into Granny Smith’s garden? You’ve started having trouble connecting with Winona?”
Applejack looked pained. “Uh…it’s not exactly…then again, it could be…well, it’s a problem, and technically it’s havin' to do with a, ah, a sort of animal, so I guess you could call it an animal problem, I wouldn’t, but some ponies might…”
Fluttershy cocked her head, causing the curl at the end of her mane to bounce. “What do you mean?”
Applejack sighed. “It’s hard to explain.”
“I see,” the pegasus said, although really she didn’t. Applejack was certainly being uncharacteristically vague today. But, not wanting to make her friend feel more uncomfortable, Fluttershy tactfully decided to ignore it. “I can come and try to help right now, if that’s alright. All my chores are taken care of for at least the next two hours, as long as there are no more emergencies.”
She jerked her head toward a certain bush to show Applejack what she meant. The leaves rustled slightly.
“It shouldn’ take that long,” Applejack reassured her quickly, suddenly looking very, very relieved. It was like an unseen weight had been taken away from her. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I can’t tell ya how much this means ta me.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Then don’t try. Just lead the way.”
Applejack did, and before long the two were at Sweet Apple Acres. As the orchard came into view, Fluttershy gasped in delight. It was that rare window of time when all the trees were in bloom. They covered the hills in a blanket of pink and white, and filled the air with their scent. She longed to take a moment just to breath all in, but Applejack wasn’t giving her that option. In fact, the mare tensed again as the trees came into view and quickened her pace to a faster trot. Fluttershy hurried to catch up.
The pegasus expected to see or hear something soon that would give her a clue of what Applejack had brought her here for. The chatter of angry chipmunks, or a swarm of unhappy bees, or even the smell of animal fear. But, to her bewilderment, there was no sign of a disturbance of any kind. Everything was peaceful and quiet. She wanted to ask Applejack about it, but the earth pony was nervous already and only seemed to be getting more so as they trotted along, so she stayed quiet.
The farming mare led her toward the Apple family’s home, then suddenly turned and started heading toward a line of smaller barns a little ways off. Confused, but trusting that her friend knew what she was doing, Fluttershy followed close behind. She was close enough to hear every word when Applejack suddenly broke the silence and started talking briskly.
“Look, Fluttershy, I understand ya’ll probably be a bit nervous at first, but all I need ya ta do is talk to her for me—just ask her to start workin’ again, ya understand? That’s all. Tell her she don’t need to say a word ta me if she don’t want to, but I’d appreciate it if she’d start doin’ her work again—”
“Wait, what?” Fluttershy blinked. It didn’t sound like she was talking about Winona—besides, the dog couldn’t talk. But what other animal did Applejack ever address as a ‘her’? A feeling of apprehension started curling uncomfortably in the pit of Fluttershy’s stomach.
“Don’t cha worry—” Applejack was talking very, very fast now and her hooves accelerated with her words. “Yer both as sweet as pie, so she’ll make ya feel comfortable as quick as she can. Just start sum kind of conversation, maybe about yer animals, yeah, she might like that, and tactfully let it slip how awful grateful the family would be if she would be workin’ again. It’ll be just fine, ya’ll see. I’ve always thought you and her would get along.”
“Who?” Fluttershy trotted quicker to catch up with her. Apprehension was blossoming into dread.
“I know ya two don’ know each other very well,” Applejack reached one of the barns and put her hoof up to the door. She let out her breath in short little gasps, and her face looked a shade paler. “An’...an’ I know yer not usually too keen on hintin’ with creatures yer not well acquainted with like I’m askin’ ya ta do, but..”
Applejack paused, bowing her head. Her face was blocked from Fluttershy’s view by the brim of her hat.
“But…I think yer able to do more than I can in this situation.”
Fluttershy had had enough. She felt like her heart was rising up into her throat, and her brain was starting to whirl in confusion.
“Applejack!” Fluttershy didn’t mean to shout, but that’s the way it came out. She took a moment to catch her breath and recenter herself before continuing in a normal voice. “Who am I supposed to talk to, exactly?”
Applejack turned back to face her. She was biting her lip, but her green eyes were determined.
“Marabetha.”
Fluttershy blinked...hard.
“Applejack…? Are you…? I mean, what…?”
“Now,” Applejack said briskly, pulling the door open. “Don’t cha worry, I know ya can do this.”
“Applejack…Marabetha…she’s…"
“I’ve seen ya take on dragons, bears, even Discord himself an’ come out on top. Get in there and work yer magic, sugarcube.”
“Applejack?!” Fluttershy cried, desperate. She was getting a sinking feeling that this was going to be one of Those days.
“Mary! Mary, ya ’ave a visitor!”
And before Fluttershy had a chance to get her thoughts together, she found herself inside the barn, with the door slammed shut behind her.