I sat across from a sniffling girl, Fluttershy, who was sitting next to my mother on the couch. Her damp, snot-filled tissues littered the floor in a careless pattern. The table where our cooling drinks sat was covered with half empty tissue boxes. Angel, her bunny, sat in a cage next to her feet.
Fluttershy tried to speak but every time she opened her mouth a shrill screech came out instead of words. She mopped the snot and tears from her face and looked up. My mother smoothed her hand over Fluttershy’s hair and out of her snot covered face. She cooed honeyed words towards her to calm her down.
“Dashie, honey. We are taking in Fluttershy here because her mother was... in an accident.” My mother’s voice was at a soft almost whisper. Fluttershy’s already bloodshot eyes burst into two waterfalls of tears. By this point she could have filled a mug or two with the salty brine. Instead she let the tears drip onto her legs and the floor.
“I’m sorry.” She cried, “I di-didn’t mean t-to do it, I sw-swear! I just f-forgot!” Her muffled words came out in globs of sloppy slurs. My mother pushed Fluttershy’s head into her chest and pat her back softly.
“Shush honey, I know.” My mother tried to comfort the shrieking introvert. “I know it wasn’t your fault. But you have to be more careful when you leave the house.”
“Um, mom?” I ask, I should’ve been surprised by how quiet my voice was, but the sight of the weeping girl kept my thoughts away from stupid things like that. “What exactly happened?” I asked quietly, as I sat there with a questioning look pointed at Fluttershy. My mother looked back up at me and shook her head as if to say, ‘Not right now.’ she then stood up, prompting Fluttershy to do the same. She helped the feeble weeping girl up the stairs, I could hear her sniffling echo down back to the living room for a few moments followed by the soft click of a door closing then silence. When she returned she looked at me, her face full of sadness.
“Dashie.” my mom started, her voice laced with sorrow when she explained what had happened, “Earlier today Fluttershy had to take Angel to the vet. He was coughing and sneezing, it was really bad. When she came home her house was engulfed in flames,” She paused, choking up slightly then gulped and continued, “With her mother still inside.” My mother hugged me tightly and my eyes started to become blurry. “Well, Fluttershy had been cooking. She was turning on her gas stove, then Angel started… coughing.” Her voice was shaking and a few tears dripped down her face. “The flame never caught the gas that was coming out of the stove when Fluttershy had to leave. She gathered up some of the stuff Angel needed and left in a hurry.” My mother bent her head downwards and started to weep. When she looked up I could tell she knew more than just Fluttershy’s story.
“I remember getting a call from her mom. She was driving home, because she heard what had happened to Angel. When she got into the house I remember her telling me about how bad the air smelled and how much she wanted to get rid of it. So she… lit… a scented candle.” More tears rolled down her raw face as she tried her hardest not to cry. “I feel like I can still hear all of the sounds that came from my speaker. She was screaming, crying, and choking and I could do was stand there. I tried to call 911 but every time I said I would get her help she would cry out ‘NO! WHERE”S FLUTTERSHY?!’ instead. It took me a minute or two to call the fire department and get her to talk to me again.” Her face became puffier and redder with each tear that fell. “‘She is fine.’ I said. ‘She is out with Angel and she is ok.’ She calmed down and stopped struggling out from under the rubble. I still regret that. If I would have said Fluttershy was in trouble, maybe then she would still be alive. She intrusted Fluttershy into my care, and so far I am doing a pretty shoddy job at it.”
My heart started to hurt. I could never imagine going through any of that. If I even tried to I think I would vomit. I shook free of my mother’s grasp and bounded up the stairs. I stopped just short of my door. I heard the muffled cries of the timid girl wailing into my pillow. The ache in my chest then turned into a sudden weight crushing my heart as I listened to her crying behind the door. I stood stock still for Celestia knows how long before I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned around and ran back down the stairs.
“Is something wrong honey?” My mom looked puzzledly at me while wiping her face with a cool, damp cloth.
“Nope, nothings wrong. Nothing whatsoever. Nope. I’m Good.” I stammered on and on. I slowly turned and walked back upstairs. Fluttershy’s cries echoed through my barren room, so I just slumped down against the wall. And I cried. Like really cried.
The weight in my chest just got heavier and heavier. I felt so bad for her. Her house, her life. Hell, even her mom! She has lost so much in such a short time, but that ends now. I picked up Angel and took him from his cage. I opened the door a crack and poked his head through.
‘Fluttershy.’ I whispered in a lower voice. ‘Fluttershy, you up?’ I shook Angel a bit to make him look like he was talking. ‘Can I come in Fluttershy?’ I saw through the gap that she nodded her head, so I crept in and bounced Angel so he could ‘walk’.
“Angel, I am so happy you’re all right!” Fluttershy wiped her eyes. “Are you feeling any better?”
‘I am doing great, thank you Fluttershy!’ Angel yawned ‘But I am a bit tired. Can I come sleep with you?’ I bounced the white rabbit over to the edge of the bed. He hopped out of my hands and onto her chest. He bopped her chin with his forehead and laid down.
The weepy girl had long since stopped crying. She sat up on my bed and pet her sleepy, furry friend. I got up to leave but she clasped her tiny hand around one of my wrists. I turned around to see her looking back up at me through the hair that covered her face, those turquoise eyes, red and puffy from crying for so long, seemed to stare into my soul with a pleading look. “Please, don’t go.” she whispered, her voice cracked softly. I sat back down on a low chair near my bed and held her hand.
Eventually she started to fall asleep. Her bright eyes glazed over as she closed them slowly. Her breath getting deeper and more even than her half-frantic breaths from earlier. Her hand was warm, and she never let go.
~
I ended up sitting there the whole night. My back was sore, my butt was sore, and I think I had a foot cramp. Angel had scampered under my bed the night before and burrowed into my clothes hamper.
Fluttershy was a crumpled pile on the loosely made bed. She had curled up into a ball around my hand. Her face pinked softly when she started to cry in her sleep. I watched in the pale moonlight as her tears flowed down her cheeks before being soaked up by the bedsheets. The weight in my chest returned then I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, hoping to stop the tears from flowing, she squeezed back and they did.
I barely moved that night and by the time dawn came I was starving and my stomach gave a quiet growl. I needed to get back downstairs to grab some food, but Fluttershy was still holding on to my hand. To release her death grip, I pushed Tank between her harms to wrench them open.
I quietly snuck downstairs and into the kitchen. The smell of milk and plant water never smelled better! Except maybe that one time I got sick at the Young Flyers competition and upchucked my corn dogs on the windshield. That was bad. Like really bad.
I got a few pints of jam and dished a spoonful of each on the plate. Next to the sweets was plain toast, a little burnt, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind. A couple of bunny apples decorated the plate in a girly fashion. I walked back up the stairs and opened the door to my room. I set the plate down next to her on my night stand. I gathered some clothes up and slipped through the bathroom door.
The water was warm against my suit, but hot against my face. I tried to wash my hair but every time I moved the soap around it globed white foam all over the place. I gave up and stood under the water for a good fifteen minutes until all of the white had washed away.
A click sounded at the door, then followed by some slight rustling. Then Fluttershy flung open the thin curtain. I let out a small gasp and hid my already covered body and turned my head to avoid looking at her. She simply sleepily climbed in the shower with me and slumped against the wall, under the water. I stood there, staring at her bare back for about thirty seconds. Then I turn and carefully got out of the shower. I wrapped up in a towel and quickly got down the stairs.
“Not useful, you said. No one will walk in on you, you said!” I said towards my mother, who was on the couch. “Well I’ll have you know, this suit was the only thing between my naked body and Fluttershy’s eyes!”
“Right, like she would like to look at a washboard like you, Rainbow Dash.” My mother snickered. She sipped on her coffee and looked smugly. It isn’t my fault I haven ’t grown in yet. Yeah sure, I might be sixteen, but we all take time to grow. Right?
‘But it still isn’t fair. Fluttershy is my age isn’t she? Why is she so full? Gosh... WHY AM I THINK ABOUT THIS? GAH’ I thought. I shook my head and buried it in my hands. I looked at my flat stomach and frowned.
Fluttershy came in, dressed up in some of her old clothes. A ratted tee shirt, some shorts and pink flats. My mother hopped up from her slumped posture and tugged at Fluttershy’s shoulders.
“Oh no, This won’t do. Not at all.” She pulled Fluttershy into her bedroom and shut the door. The sounds that came from under the door seemed... awkward. Fluttershy made a few squealing sounds and kept saying, “No. I don’t want to put that on!” a lot.
A few minutes of torture and my mother released Flutters from her captivity. She had emerged from the darkened room in a bright yellow sweater, a shortened pink skirt, her pink shoes, and a pink butterfly clip. Her naturally pink hair was perfectly brushed and she had some light colored lip gloss.
Fluttershy awkwardly walks from my mother’s overbearing grasp. She looked down at her feet and shyly swaying back and forth.
“Does she look good or what?” my mother said, clearly cocky of her handy work.
“Good. She look… well… great. Really, you look really good, Fluttershy.” I replied. Well, that was all I could say. I just looked at her. I grabbed her hand and pulled her out the front door. I carried her to the car and put her in. The I turned over the ignition. She sat in the car staring out the window for about ten minutes before we parked the car.
“We’re here, get out.” I said playfully. She opened up the car door and I pulled her out to a big grassy field. The mostly bare landscape was dotted with trees and dirt patches. To the left was an empty table and to the right was a table with a few people. From the middle it looked a lot bigger than it really was.
“Wait what? Where are we and when did we get here?” She asked, quietly and confused.
I tugged on her hand and pulled her onto the grassy landscape, “We're at the park. I feel bad about what happened to you and your mother yesterday, so I wanted to take you somewhere quiet. Someplace you can feel safe.”
We sat at the empty table and talked for a few hours. I learned a lot about her. She was sweet, quiet, loved animals. She lived with her mom in the small cottage on the edge of town. She dropped out of flight school because she was afraid of heights and she is homeschooled as of two years ago.
I saw from over her shoulder that two guys were approaching us from behind Fluttershy. One of the brutes kicked his leg up and rested it on the table.
“Hey honey, how are you.” The thick headed brute cooed at Fluttershy. “What’s your name? Huh doll?” The second brute played with her hair and Fluttershy let out a sharp gasped.
“Fluttershy.” She said quietly. “My name is Flutter-” Her voice was almost a whisper. The shorter guy grasped a chunk of her hair from behind her and yanked upwards.
“What was that? I can’t hear you.” He yanked her hair up again.
“Let. Go. Of. Fluttershy.” I said calmly with a hint of panic in my voice.
“Fluttershy is it? I’ll call you Flutters. Can I call you Flutters?” He moved in closer to her, and she cringed. “How about you ditch mister scrawny bones over there and hang out with a couple of real guys? Huh? How does that sound Flutters?” He ordered the other brute to remove his hand from her hair.
“Rainbow Dash isn’t my boyfriend. SHE is a new friend of mine and my only means finding my way home.” Her voice was quiet. The sound of her heart pumping blood was louder than she was.
One of the brutes grabbed my arm. “So she is?” He looked over my flat frame and scowled. He pushed me towards the stocky one and released his grip. The stubby lug wrapped his greedy eyes and fingers over my stomach. I tried to wrench him of but ended up elbowing him in the face.
“Now If you will excuse us. We have to get going..." I was cut off by the remaining brute and was kneed in the stomach. ‘Oh hell no.’ I thought. I swept his legs out from under him and picked up Fluttershy in a badass manner. I kicked one of his hands out of our way and walked down the hill. I collapsed under the weight of her and she neatly landed in my lap. I threw my head back and laid it against the ground. She did the same so that we made a cross pattern from our bodies.
“You need to learn how to stand up for yourself Fluttershy, I won’t always be there to do it for you.” I said clutching my now sore elbow. She sat up and leered over my face. Her eyes met mine for a brief second. I could feel my face getting warm so I looked away. When my face was turned she kissed my cheek. I looked back at her with surprise written on my face.
“I hope I don’t have to deal with a situation like that ever again.” She said quietly and laid back against the ground and we looked into the starry face of the night sky.
We started our treacherous drive back to the gleaming city street where my house was built. Single file, the wood and brick housings droned on for miles. Most of them blurred together as the car slickly drove past.
Once we got home, I carried Fluttershy up the stairs and put her on the bed. I ended up falling asleep not to long after that, curled up on the bed. As I was falling asleep I felt her pull a cover over my body. When she tried to slip into her pallet, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to me.
Not so Fair and Fun at the Farmer's Market. [2]
The morning dew glistened against the windows. Little droplet marks shone into the room because of the rising sun. The sleepy moon had been set and the fresh morning was brought in at its scheduled time. The birds in the window chirped with enthusiasm at the morning light while the owls hooted short disapprovals. The scent of baking breads filled the house with its yeasty flavor.
It was quiet that morning, as I recall. Other than the low hums and chirps of birds and critters, the world was very still. No cars drove down the street, bumping over potholes or past one another. No soccer moms, taking their daily walks, bustling on the sidewalks, leaving only salty stench in their wakes. It was quiet, too quiet.
Fluttershy sighed breathily against the wall, which made the sound echo slightly. Her once straight hair was now a scattered, stray pile of light pink strands that bundled atop her head lazily. The small stuffed animal she clutched in her death grip would have been strangled to death before she even fell asleep. I snuck down the carpet padded stairs undetected.
The kitchen was filled with wrapped, cooling, and still baking breads. Some where wrapped in a clear plastic, laced with pink and green ribbons. Others were wrapped in an opaque white bag, laced with glittery blue and yellow ribbons. The tables were littered with bags, ribbons, glue guns and packets of star candies.
I looked around for my mother, in the bathroom, her bedroom, the laundry room, and even in the garage, but still no mom. Finally accepting defeat, I bumbled back into the kitchen. Fluttershy had finally gotten up and was carving a loaf of bread. Two plates and a small bowl were on the table next to her. She smelled an end piece, thought, then put it on a plate. She carved three more pieces and split them evenly onto two plates. She grabbed a few items from the fridge and pantry and got started.
Fluttershy squeezed some chocolate syrup onto the white plates and drew on them decoratively with a spoon. She chopped up two bananas and placed them in the white bowl. She also spread some whipped cream and sprinkled some cinnamon on the top. She placed about seven pieces of banana on each plate.
Fluttershy brought the plates over to the table, and I got glasses and filled them with milk. Vitamin D is important! The plate of bread smelled sweet. I cut a piece off and put it in my mouth. Bracing myself for a yeasty flavor, I got a big shock. It was sweet! and it tasted like bananas… banana bread! I looked at her with wide eyes and a shocked look.
“How did you know I love banana bread?” I asked with genuine surprise. Fluttershy just looked at me and shook her head. She took a bite of her bread.
“I didn’t. Your mom told me she would be out this morning. She told me to be up in time to take the bread out of the oven and to make sure you were fed.” She looked down at her feet and wiped her eyes. Angel was scratching at her ankle. She picked up her white rabbit and placed him on the table. He immediately ran for the slices in the white bowl.
“Oh, did she tell you where she was going?” I asked while cutting up the banana bread into chunks.
“No, but she did tell me to run some errands for her if you want to help.” She finished up her bread shortly and cleaned the kitchen of bread. She placed them all in a large gray container.
“Um yeah. I just have to go up and put on some clothes if that is ok.” I walked up the carpeted stairs, leaving my plate on the table, and into my room. I found some clothes picked out for me and placed on my freshly made bed. I picked them up and went to the bathroom.
‘Ok let’s see what I’m going to wear today’ I thought as I unfolded a small sheet that contained a bundle of clothes. The clothes consisted of a few pieces: a blue dress with a puffy white lace edge, blue tights, blue flats, and a hair clip of a cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt.
I slid the dress over my small frame and looked in the mirror. ‘It makes me look thin but it does fit my chest.’ I put on the tights and the flats. ‘I actually look… cute.’ I thought. I put my colored hair into a ponytail, leaving some bangs, and put the clip in my hair. I twirled around and felt the dress flutter around my body.
Fluttershy knocked on the door, “Hey Rainbow, um, are you done yet.” She sounded like she was in distress. I opened the door and looked at her. She squeezed past me and slammed the door shut. ‘Ok…’ I thought.
She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, “I’m sorry… I just really, really had to pee.” She smacked her hands together in an apologetic manner and asked for forgiveness, I accepted it. We then proceeded to the Farmer’s Market.
~
Walking with linked arms down the abandoned, dusty brick road past the forty-some odd stall, felt sort of nice. Just two friends, walking along, buying fruit. Yep, great. I let out a shortened sigh and I looked around. Fluttershy had taken off and browsed through the dimly lit carts for fresh produce.
“Let’s see here : One onion, a bag of potatoes, three cloves of garlic, a watermelon, six tomatoes, a bushel of apples…” She was listing out the food items that my mom had left for her to get.
“And a partridge in a pear tree-” I said in a sing-song voice. She giggled at my sudden joke and let out the cutest little snort you could ever hear from a quiet girl like her. I mean… Um… Dammit…
“Rainbow...” She said teasingly. “It isn’t Christmas yet!” She patted my head, letting her hand linger slightly on the top and letting her hand fall down the side of my face. Her gaze was fixed elsewhere. She pranced about the stalls looking for the perfect foods at the right prices. She was really good at that. But she was a bit shy so she made me do all the bartering. The time we spent at the farmer’s market wasn’t too eventful.
Walking through the aisles was pleasant and mostly quiet. The occasional snicker and whisper, followed us around, all day long. I tried not to think about it, which worked for a while but it always end with me watching my back.
“Rainbow, Is everything ok?” Fluttershy finally asked, while she finished buying some snap peas. “You seemed to be jittery and jumpy all day. I’m worried about you.” She caressed my face with one of her cold hands. The sounds of snicker increased as she pulled me into her for a hug.
“I think someone has been following us all day.” I pushed Fluttershy backwards, behind a tall tree and out of the line of sight of the prying eyes. I placed my hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t talk. Two girls walked past the gap, not noticing us, and looked around. They snickered slightly, and walked past the bushes.
“What was that about?” Fluttershy asked, finally free of my hand. “Why did you…?” She looked down to see that our bodies had been pressed together in an attempt to stay hidden. Her face turned a soft pink, almost as pink as her hair. I noticed why she was so eagerly quiet and quickly backed away.
“I think they were following us around all day long. They look familiar, but I don't remember where from.” I said looked down, away from her face. “You can leave if you want to. Even though I want you to stay with me, to let me protect you. You can go.” Despite my tries, Fluttershy saw my pinkening cheeks and pulled my downturned chin towards her face.
“Hey, look at me.” She pleaded. “If you tell me not to leave, I promise. I won’t go anywhere, ok?” She kissed my forehead softly and pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly. “I’ll promise, I won’t go anywhere.” I hugged her chest and heard her heart beat increase against her rib cage.
“I think we need to leave.” I said wiping my left eye quickly. “It is kind of dark and damp back here.” I pulled Fluttershy along the tree line until we reached a wide clearing. The clearing had a big open sky and and a flat grass ground. Fluttershy stopped running and sat down on the grass. She looked at me and extended her hand, and I reached for it. We sat down in the grassy plot and looked up at the pinkening sky.
“Oh for the love of Celestia!” Fluttershy said looking at the ripped tufts of grass I was unconsciously playing with. “I forgot that we needed to pass out the banana bread!” She got up from the ground and stomped her foot. “Ooooh! I’m just so frustrated I could scream.” She took deep and let out a high pitched, soft whine.
“That was a scream?” I looked at her confused and she nodded her head. “Well, It was weak.” Her face got redder. Im not sure if it was from embarrassment or anger, but it looked cute either way… I mean… I HAVE GOT TO STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!
~
One the way home I was forced to carry most of the bags. Fluttershy lagged behind and kicked a rock down the sidewalk. A few cars drove by a bit over the speed limit. One of them hit a big water puddle on the road spraying dirt water up onto the sidewalk. I quickly spun around, dropping the bags, and pulled Fluttershy into my arms. The second car passed by and sprayed the misted dirt all over my back.
“Oh my god! Rainbow! Are you ok?” Fluttershy seemed confused and panicked. She held up a cloth for me to clean up with. “I mean… Thank you.” She said trying to seem cool, however much a failure it was.
“You’re welcome.” I said with a toothy grin. She looked at me and giggled.
“So… I’ve kinda wondered. Why have you been so nice to me recently? You seem like you’ve been good friends with Gilda, and she didn’t seem so nice when we, ‘spent time together’ at school.” Fluttershy crouched down to pick up some fallen foods and put them back in the bag. “If you don’t mind my askings.”
“I don’t mind.” I said quietly. “Well… Gilda was my friend that I made in flight school. We hung out a lot. So I guess I ended up following her around. But I’ve always been nice, and if you tell anyone that, I will deny it. There was this one time I found this girl sitting all alone at the park. I think her name was Scootaloo. She had no one to play with and her parents were no where in sight, so I pushed her around on the swings, we played on the seesaw, and I think I cut my hand open on the monkey bars.”
I looked up from the piece of skin I was peeling from my hand to Fluttershy’s face. She wore a smile that could melt your heart. I looked down with a deep blush on my face.
“Awww. That is so sweet.” Fluttershy said with her honeyed voice. She placed one of her hands on top of mine and the other caressed my face. “Do you think of me like that? As a playmate?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how funny her words sounded.
“If that would make you happy, then sure. I think of you as a playmate.” I said while wiping a happy tear from the corner of my eye.
Fluttershy’s face turned red and she stomped her foot. “What? Was what I said so funny you had to laugh at me?”
“Well I can see you feel better about forgetting now.” I grabbed her hand. “That means we can get home and get me out of these wet clothes. I feel gross.” She just smiled, picking up a bag or two and walking towards the house.
