A Kind Doctor: Fluttershy's early life

It was a night like any other and all throughout Fluttershy’s cottage, not a peep was heard. Animals rested in the fields where they lay, and only the soft glow of light shows that anyone was home.

CRASH!

That would be true, however, if it wasn’t a night where the timid pegasus had the misfortune of tending to the three young and well loved terrors of Ponyville.

Tonight, they seemed to have preoccupied themselves with attempting to be, as they put it, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS HOUSE CLEANERS! YAY!” Fluttershy, who had hoped just to give the dears something to occupy themselves with, was now left floating in the middle of her own house as they shot from one end to the other ‘cleaning’ wherever they went, usually resulting in a larger mess behind left behind.

Dishes, picture frames and other ornate objects were at risk from the fillies’ boundless enthusiasm and Fluttershy’s animal friends were little help to reign them in, several of the slower critters already falling to the clutches of the little fillies for a bathtime they won’t soon forget. What resulted had shocked the rest of the animals enough to send them hiding into their homes, hopefully out of reach.

All this was rather surprising to the caretaker of these animals, seeing as Fluttershy only equipped them with a small feather duster each. Somehow, Sweetie Belle managed to get them all dressed in attire similar to a maid’s outfit to round things out, even if it was clashed horribly with their capes fluttering in the wind behind them as they dashed about.

“I’ll get the flower vase!” Applebloom called out as she dashed to the blue container holding a fresh cut of pink flowers. Before Fluttershy could move, the Apple was already climbing up the endtable and batting away at the vase left and right with her duster before jumping away, leaving Fluttershy to sweep in behind her and catch it before it fell.

As soon as she set it back in place, a cry for help from the bathroom caused her to fly over as quickly as possible. “Oh.. My…” To her dismay, Sweetie Belle, in an attempt to clean the shower, had gotten herself completely wrapped up in the curtain. Fluttershy swooped in to try and dislodge the filly but instead found herself getting tangled within. “Sweetie Belle, please hold still, I can’t find you if you keep moving.”

“Hold on, I”m almost... There!” With a hop, Sweetie Belle jumped free of the fabric, leaving Fluttershy spinning to try and find where she had gone. Her hoof catches the the cloth, pulling it off of the bar above the shower and completely wrapping it around her. An oblivious Sweetie Bell was already running out the door when it had happened, calling back, “Thanks, Fluttershy!”

Angel found her several moments later and rounded up a few of the braver animals, setting them to work unwrapping the helpless mare. They eventually got her free, but her attempt to thank them all was cut short by an alarm call coming forth from the main living area courtesy of a bird’s shrill cry. It wasn’t a moment before Fluttershy was in the room, her eyes going wide as plates as she saw what the cause was.

The Trio of Crusaders had decided to clean off the knickknacks from the top of a rather tall shelf by stacking themselves hind legs on shoulders. Applebloom on the bottom using her natural strength to hold up the other two, Sweetie Belle next up with Scootaloo using her wings as best she could to reach higher. But all that resulted was the shelf growing far too heavy on one side and starting to lean on a dangerous path to crushing the three fillies.

While Fluttershy had been frozen in shock at what the girls were attempting to do, her maternal instinct took over once she saw what was going to happen. The shelf’s hind legs slowly rose up off of the ground as items shifted forward and fell off, alerting the fillies of a fact far too late for them to change. They cried out in panic as the shadow of the shelf lomed over them.

Suddenly, a mighty CRACK shook the house and the shelf was shot back, shattering against the wall. It was only a moment before the three Crusaders realised what had occurred when they saw Fluttershy standing next to them, her hind legs still raised up from bucking the shelf back in place using strength she never knew was in her.

Seeing all was safe, Fluttershy quickly moved to gather up the fillies in her hooves and wings. “Oh my goodness, are you ok? I was so worried. Please don’t scare me like that again. Oh please say you aren't hurt,” Fluttershy swiftly said, affectionately checking them over for even the smallest indication of injury.

Scootaloo managed to get herself free from the grasp, attempting to put on a cool act, “We’re fine, Fluttershy. We had it under control.”

Applebloom raised and eyebrow, asking in a deadpan voice, “Is that why you screamed the loudest? Because you wanted to show how in control you were?” Scootaloo tensed up as she was caught red-hoofed as the other two shared a laugh.

Crossing her hooves, she looked away stubbornly. “I wasn’t screaming. I was… Doing a Karate yell! Just like Rainbow Dash!” She attempted to prove this, pulling off a few weak moves she learned from her idol while the other two rolled their eyes.

“I’m just glad you are all safe,” Fluttershy said, her voice returning to it’s soft whisper as she gently scooted the three of them to the couch. “Now stay here and let me clean up, ok?”

“Let us help you!” The three girls jumped up, already eager after their near encounter with a falling shelf.

“No!” Fluttershy’s shout was more of a very loud whisper, but it stopped the three all the same. She slinked back and cleared her throat, “I mean, let me get the glass first. It’ll be safer that way.” Begrudgingly, the three Crusaders agreed and only watched while Fluttershy floated around the floor and cleaned up the glass from a few broken pictures, the smaller claws of her animal friends helping to speed things along greatly. With things a lot safer, she waved the girls over to help pick up

The fillies wasted no time in scurrying over and helping to pick up the broken picture frames. Each picture was of her many animal friends, from super closeups of her smallest friends and pictures that were larger than others to help them fit. “Whoa! You’ are friends with a manticore?!” Scootaloo couldn’t believe her eyes as she held up the picture of the scorpion tailed beast, holding the much smaller Fluttershy in it’s arms. It would almost look horrifying if not for the smiles that both of them wore.

“Yes, he’s such a sweetheart.” Fluttershy took the picture and smiled tenderly at it, “I remember meeting him and helping him with a thorn in his paw. He was so grateful for it.” She giggled, remembering the ticklish licks she got from him the first time they meet.

Beside her, Sweetie Bell lifted up one picture and tilted her head in confusion. “What’s this?” Fluttershy leaned over the unicorn filly’s shoulder as she read on, “University of Medicine, Baltimare. This Certificate of Medicine hereby grants Fluttershy of Ponyville the title of.. Doctor!”

The three Crusaders shared a look of shock before turning it on the quickly blushing Fluttershy, only growing worse as they said at once, “You’re a Doctor!?”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but hide her face in her wings, “Well.. yes. Kinda. Only with animals though. But, I could help a Pony. Maybe. If they say it’s ok.”

Applebloom shook her head, “It’s not possible! You don’t wear that white coat or go around touching us with cold things.”

Applebloom shivered at the memory as Scootaloo chipped in, “You don’t have sharp needles or hit our knees!”

Sweetie Belle was the last to speak up, sounding the most disappointed, “And you don’t even have any candy!” When the other two Crusaders gave her a look of disbelief, she shrugged defensively, “What? She doesn’t.”

Fluttershy giggled and gathered up the last few pictures and set them on the table before placing the diploma in the middle. “Well, I’m a different kind of doctor. See, I don’t give checkups to ponies, I help tend to my little animal friends who come to me with something wrong.” She brightened up at an idea, “Tell you what, how about I tell you about how I earned my diploma for a bedtime story?”

The three Crusaders shared a window rattling cheer and raced each other up the stairs and bowled into the bed, the sheet flying up and slowly floating down onto their forms. Their angel smiles betrayed the horror that they once visited upon the home.

Soft as a feather, Fluttershy floated up the stairs with an album in her hooves and set herself down on the chair next to the bed, opening the album up to show them the pictures inside. “Do you remember my Cutie Mark story?” At the three rapid nods, she smiled and went on, “Well, shortly after that…”

The crickets outside started singing, replacing the song of the birds as Night settled on Ponyville. While Luna rose the moon, Fluttershy took her little charges into the story of her growth into a mare. She left out the parts unfit for fillies, but the memories she had were clear and unfiltered.

Some of them were sad, others joyful. Some scare her still and others bring her unending laughter. But none of them she will sacrifice. Especially that of a doctor, one who bore a name from his father’s favorite book.