The lovely sun that Princess Celestia had taken such pride in her entire life had slowly set, giving most of Ponyville a lovely and peaceful red sunset. As the day ended, in her quaint little cottage on the edge of the Everfree forest. Fluttershy ran about her house going from room to room making sure everything would be perfect for her guests. For the fifteenth time that afternoon she ran a brazer through the sheets of her guest bed despite not intending to need it until far later.
"Oh my!" She thought aloud to herself. "I hope this time will be a lot different than before". Memories of the last time guests had stayed with her where still fresh in her mind, try as she did the though of things going as bad as that last time, just wouldn't leave the little flyer's mind.
Turning to her pet and best friend outside the other six; Angel Bunny, who sat and looked at her like the panicky over reactor she was. "Oh don't you look at me that way, you know I only want what's best for them." Several times during the past few hours, Fluttershy had run herself ragged. Running all over her cottage making sure every detail was at its peak, her kitchen was still sweltering from running the oven for so many hours toasting long rolls into cheese encrusted bread-sticks, her fore-hooves where still red and sticky from mashing tomatoes into dipping sauce for them, while her back hooves where purple and sticky from crushing grapes into fresh juice, if someone looked at her without knowing any better it would seem like had bruised her back hooves and cut her fore-hooves!
"Do you think they'll like bread-sticks and juice or should I have just baked cookies?" She said to almost no one save the rabbit that couldn't reply. Unlike the last time she had more than planned to be awake a majority of the night, as several cans had started piling up in the little waste basket in her kitchen. The cans where black with a swirly blue pattern on them, not unlike Princess Luna's coat and armor, and speaking of that, the name on the drink cans revealed just how into staying awake Fluttershy was. As the side of each can read Night lovers chilled coffee, stay awake and enjoy my beautiful night without the jitters or dangers of energy drinks, her words exact.
Due heavily in part of the many times that afternoon she had ran a brazer through the guest bed and it was showing, the sheets had grown stiff and dried with the heat and the mattress liner had to be removed because the heat was starting to make it melt. The floors had all been buffed and waxed so much, at least three times that afternoon that Fluttershy had nearly fallen flat on her face from how slippery they where, but in spite of all her problems with getting the house in order, it felt oddly satisfying to her.
"Just you wait Angel, the girls are going to have so much fun now that they know to behave around me." She was of course referring to how she (reluctantly) mastered her power known as "the stare" and had left the Cutie Mark Crusaders with the impression that if they ever acted the way they did around her again it would be the stare for all of them. She didn't MEAN to use it on any-pony, least of all little foals. It was more a hollow threat that served her well enough just hovering over the little one's heads.
At long last she stood by her door, the clock about to strike seven as if the girls really would be there at seven on the dot. this time there was to be no trouble, no messes or loud noises. of course that didn't mean the night was going to be completely dull and overly quiet, just less of a near disaster that it had almost been back when the girls where more a handful and less obedient to Fluttershy. She still had everything set up to ensure they would still have fun that evening, as Fluttershy had in addition to food and drinks, gotten a nice assortment of board games, puzzles, storybooks, and toys ready. Some of them where relics from her own filly-hood, that she had actually been saving for the day she had started a family with foals of her very own. With her mane brushed neat and tidy, her hooves finally clean and smelling of pink hoof soap, her pets safe outside in their night cages and hutches, (especially one little rabbit snoozing the night away with two very big rolls of fluffy cotton in his ears) and the air in her house giving off a smell of Parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, fresh juice, and various other hoof made treats, she was ready.
MEANWHILE
A large white cart with big blue crosses painted on it's sides along with the words "Ponyville Hospital transport and administrative department vehicle FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY!" made its way down the road by Fluttershy's home, the two stallions pulling it were dressed in blue paramedic umiforms and looking quite annoyed at the prospect of being out here.
"you know it could cost us all our jobs for this Mrs. Joy" grumbled one of them to the tan coated and brown haired mare in the back with the cutie mark of a bottle and a lolly on her flank.
"Well gentlemen, I'm sorry but if the hospital wont allow Button to stay with me on my shift any more I'm afraid this is the only way to get him someplace fast enough and back to our posts before being missing in action, does just that." The mention of how little Button Mash and his new friends the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten into big trouble last week brought a blush to the little colt's face.
"Aww mom how was I supposed to know that terminal didn't have Forgotten Trail on it?"
"Yeah and how are we suppossed to know you need more than a foal school education to take care of ponies Mrs. Joy?" Asked a little yellow filly with a red bow in her mane with soft cute innocent eyes. "Button you almost cost the hospital six months of payroll and patient information, and you three?...Well let's just say you should consider yourselves luck Mr. Oldpony wasn't too mad for what happened."
"Hey he did get less angry once the gas kicked in, I thought it was his oxygen he was begging for us to put back in." Answered another white unicorn filly a spitting image of Rarity save for her size.
Mrs. Joy had previously intended to bring only the Cutie Aark Crusaders to the cottage, but it seemed the Ms. Fluttershy would hopefully make an exception for her son joining them that fine evening, "I just hope he wont be to much trouble for her and that she'll forgive me for what I'm about to unleash on the poor girl." She thought to herself as the cart pulled up to the front porch.
