Chapters The room was freezing when I awoke. I reached out to cuddle with my new found friend, but I came out empty handed. My eyes shot open when I realized she was missing. I searched all over the room looking for her. “Fluttershy! Where are you?” I shouted to no avail. “Quit your hollering, it’s not like she’ll even know what you’re saying.” I grumbled to myself as I searched. After ten minutes of trashing my bedroom looking for her I saw my door nudge open, and Fluttershy’s little head pop in. She smiled and then left, pausing as if she wanted to show me something.
I shuffled down the side walk at a fast pace. One of my arms was sticking out, the other was sucked into my jacket. People stared at my disfigured shape, particularly noticing my protruding belly. Still I shuffled along ignoring their glares. I may look like a pregnant one armed man, but that is no reason to judge me!
The most literate toddler
It has been a few months, and Fluttershy has grown so much! I suspect she is a toddler, though I can’t say for sure. But at the rate she is progressing I would say she is in her early learning years. Her wings have developed from a soft downy mass into leaner feathery muscles. I’ve been keeping track on how tall she is the old fashioned way, with a doorway and a sharpie. Her legs have been growing at different rates, the hind legs are just a bit taller than her fore legs, but I’m sure there’s no need for alarm.
That guy, the one at the store. Something about him didn’t add up. After all, he had just seen what most would perceive as an alien. How could he just flash a button and act as if nothing ever happened? I don’t know why I’m so worked up right now; I guess it’s my fatherly instincts.
Fluttershy seemed to notice that I was deep in thought. I had been giving her a bath in a trance the whole time. She nudged with her snout, effectively snapping me back into consciousness. I resumed scrubbing her yellow coat softly, still deeply in thought, but I put a little more effort into washing her which seemed to suffice for her. “Hey Fluttershy,” I said as I stared out into space, “why don’t we visit the store today?” She shrugged and said “after.” “Of course we’ll go after; we can’t have you walking out soaking wet!” I said with a giggle. She giggled back, although I don’t think she knew what I was laughing about.
After she had dried off and brushed her hair (which took surprisingly long) we headed out the door, deciding to go with the dog costume after the last incident. It was a nice stroll, no one was outside, the sun was shining, and the weather was starting to warm up. But, as we neared the store I had gone over my questions in my head. I started to tense up as I approached the doors, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But the doors had already open, no going back now.
I walked through the doors slow, yet fast enough to where I wouldn’t look suspicious. I’d decided that I should at least finish what I came here for and started to search for the guy I saw yesterday. As I rounded the corner I saw him restocking another row of shelves with what seemed to be baby food. He looked up from his dreary job and saw me. His eyes lit up and he gave me a cheery smile, then he returned to his task.
I strolled over, trying to act nonchalant. I stood beside him casually examining the wares in front of me. After a few awkward moments of silence the boy spoke up. “Sir,” he began,” I don’t mean to pry, but why do you need baby food?” My mind scrambled looking for a legitimate excuse for staring at baby food. “Uh… I… um…” I stuttered, trying to stall to give myself time to think. “It’s for her isn’t it?” he said calmly as he gestured towards Fluttershy, who was currently disguised as a dog.
“How so?” I said in a monotone voice.
“But wouldn’t this freak you out, even just a little?” I said with genuine curiosity.
“I only named her after that show, she’s not actually the one from TV. That would be impossible.” I explained.
“And what was with that button?” I asked trying to switch subjects.
“Oh that,” he said, his smile creeping up his face once more, “That’s her cutie mark, Fluttershy’s that is. You see, I’m a brony. I thought if I showed you it that you would feel reassured, you’d understand that I wouldn’t tell.”
“Wow, that’s… really cool of you.” I said absorbing it all. “I uh… have to go. This will be our little secret ok?”
“Sure thing, still need that baby food?” he said with a sly grin.
“I think I’m good.” I replied and chuckled as Fluttershy and I left.
There was a skip in my step as we walked home. Fluttershy noticed that I was happy and started skipping alongside me. Before we knew it we were both skipping on our merry way back home. It felt good to know someone was watching out for me, even if it was some random teenager at a store. Maybe there were more people like him, somewhere.
Summer break begins tomorrow. Time for old debts to be repaid, and honestly I’ve been looking forward to this. The apartment building was hard work to take care of, especially for one person. Fluttershy tries to help out, but there’s not much she can do. She’s tried to clean a few of the restrooms with disastrous results. It breaks her heart not being able to help, but there’s not much I can do. Maybe I’ll be able to figure something out for her to help with.
Every now and then I’ll see Sammy, we’ll pass each other on the side walk or I’ll see him at the bookstore. I’ve made sure that he doesn’t forget about his debt, but I still wonder if he’ll make it. For all I know he could blow me off, and honestly I wouldn’t do anything. I can’t go looking for him, he has to come out of his own accord.
I looked out the window to see a small figure in a green hoodie approaching the building. “Huh,” I whispered to myself, “he actually came back!” I started to unlock the door which startled Fluttershy, who had been watching cartoons in the living room. “Dad,” she hollered, “where are you going? We aren’t out of food, right?” before I could answer she jumped from the couch and dashed to the kitchen to make sure we had food. I just ignored it, she’ll figure out soon enough, I have to check up with my new “worker”.
The metal steps of the stair well squeaked as I made my way down to the parking lot, a bag of spray paint in hand. Sammy noticed me as I was walking down and hid his face in shame, apparently still feeling guilty about what he’d done. I flashed him a smile as I finished my descent and lifted up the bag of paint over my head. He lightened up a bit and gave me a timid smile in response. We met in the middle of the parking lot, both wearing big smiles.
“So,” I said trying to strike up a conversation,” I hope you’ve kept up your art skills. You’re going to need it.” I tossed him a can of paint which he awkwardly caught.
“Uh, yeah. I’ve been practicing… on paper of course!” he said nervously.
“Right, well let’s get to work!” I replied and grabbed a few cans of paint myself.
For about an hour and a half we were both deeply focused, I would paint one side of the wall as he’d paint another side. Before long I had created an intricate tree, showing its roots deeply underground. I took a step back to admire my work and see what I need to brush up on, when I caught a glimpse of what Sammy was painting.
On his side of the wall were big stained glass windows that portrayed what seemed to be two ponies, each of them opposite to the other. They were very well done and detailed, stunning all though odd. I had seen that one night while Fluttershy and I had been watching My Little Pony, she was so excited to see the first episode of season two.
“Hey,” I said breaking Sammy’s concentration,” where’d you get the idea to paint that?” I questioned.
“Oh um, I don’t know. I can paint over it if you don’t like It.” He said timidly, obviously embarrassed at his work.
“No, no.” I said before he could start repainting,” It’s beautiful, it really is. You did a good job, I was just wondering is all.”
“Oh!” he replied with surprise,” are you one too then?” He said in a hushed tone.
“Am I a what?” I asked with suspicion present in my voice.
“Oh, never mind. I thought you were a…” He paused and lowered his voice a bit, “I thought you were a brony too.” He said in a hushed voice.
My mind thought back to the store employee, who I’d become friends with not too long ago. He had been kind, and he claimed to be a brony. Maybe being a brony would give me something to have in common with Sammy.
“Of course I’m a brony!” I said with enthusiasm to Sammy.
“Really? So you’re cool with this?” he said ad if he misunderstood me.
“Yes I’m cool with this. In fact why don’t you teach me how to paint like that?”
His face lit up and a big grin appeared on his face. For thirty minutes he sat there and taught me how to paint ponies. “You always have to start with the ears…” he said as he demonstrated his technique. Soon enough we were both going away at it, painting ponies of all shapes, sizes, and colors all over the wall. By the end of the day the entire wall was covered, each spot was filled with color. Honestly, it was beautiful.
I sent Sammy home, it was already getting dark, and started to climb the stairs up to my apartment. But as I was ascending the staircase my foot lightly tapped something on the stairs. I looked down to see Fluttershy curled up in a ball, sleeping on the small platform. She woke up, startled by my presence as I lifted her off the cold steps. “Were you spying on us?” I said teasingly, she nodded in response and muttered an apology. She was really tired, I’m guessing that she had been asleep for quite some time.
I had decided that it was bedtime seeing how tired Fluttershy was. She grumbled a bit and let out a soft sigh as I set her down gently onto the bed. I tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the forehead before I went to triple lock my front door as usual. Soon I was falling fast asleep as well. “Dad…” I heard Fluttershy mumble barely audible. “Yes sweetie?” I replied after a moment. “I like your drawings…” she murmured before falling back asleep.
This place is a hole. The pavement is littered with trash, living and inanimate. People are sharing their depression with everyone they come into contact with. The only thing bright and colorful is the graffiti, half of which is my work. The best part of my day is when I get to go home, triple lock the door, and stare at the pretty colors on my monitor like a possessed moth.
I live in an apartment building, by myself. In fact I own the place. Before my grandparents died, my grandfather would always tell me to get into the rental business. “It’s hard at first,” he would say,” but it’ll pay for itself with time.” My grandfather was a great investor and an even greater man, it was because of his investments that I was able to buy this building.
I had it all planned out. I would buy this place, have it refurbished, and paint it beautiful colors! People would flock to my beacon of light and we would turn this town around for the better. The entire city would become a tribute to my grandfather! But that didn’t work out.
I had purchased the building with plenty of cash left to have it refurbished and painted. I was on my way to the bank when a stray bullet from a drugstore robbery hit me in the gut. Soon all of the money I had set aside for my dream was lost, the med boys had a hard enough time keeping me breathing. They took every dime for their services. But I can’t complain, they did their job. I’m still alive, living inside a dead dream.
I still gave that building color though. Every inch of that place is covered in intricate graffiti. Murals I like to call them, graffiti seems a bit demeaning to me. Soon my “murals” spilled out into the rest of the town. What can I say, it was my stress reliever.
I came home one day to see a giant, amateur, poorly drawn, name sprayed all over my murals. Sammy, with s replaced with $. Man was I ticked. The one thing I really took pride in was now ruined. I shouted curses at the perpetrator for a solid twenty minutes. I needed to let off some steam, I grabbed my spray paint and went for a walk.
Block after block, I walked on. Finally I came up to a good spot on a clean house, and pulled out my spray paint. But before I could get down to work I heard a soft cry. I just ignored it and began to lay a base pattern for my new “mural”. Then I started smelling gas. The cries stopped. “Oh god,” I thought, “whatever’s in there must have passed out!”
I knocked on the door to no avail, there was no response. Everything was starting to blur, my adrenaline was pumping, I knew something had to happen now. “Jesus Christ!” I murmured,” I’d better not get arrested for this!” I took a step back and launched myself at the door shoulder first. Before I knew it I was on my back staring into a newborn’s fading eyes. Before I could think I grabbed the infant and took off, trying to escape the fumes.
Block after block I raced on. Finally I found a good spot in an abandoned parking lot. I stopped to get a better look at the child that I “technically” abducted. What I saw I couldn’t comprehend. Behind all the long pastel pink hair (that I somehow didn’t notice) was a little yellow snout, and two deep blue eyes that gazed into my soul. What was this thing?! It looked more like a cartoon character rather than a real living thing. Yet here it is, breathing heavily, heart beating, and body warm.
Another day another struggle, although this one was a bit unusual. Fluttershy and I woke up at seven a.m., gone through our morning rituals, and set off for work. I had used an old make up kit to make her fur turn brown which had made her look, oh I don’t know, 20% doggier. She giggled a bit as I rubbed in the dark powder, being very careful not to hurt her in the process.