Kindness and Cruelty Book 1

Chapter 2 – Reasons you never perceived.

Fluttershy flew back to her cottage, with Angel holding onto her mane. From up in the air, they both saw Mr. Greenhooves standing on the same spot where they left him that morning, still watering her petunias. It was like he’d never moved. Fluttershy's immediate reaction was rage. For a moment, she felt the urge to slam into the ground right beside him and shout some sense into the daffy old fool.

“No, no, that is not right! Mr. Greenhooves might be drowning my petunias, but even so, to call him a fool is too disrespectful.” Shaking her head clear, she instead landed gently a few meters away from him. But when she looked at him up close, just standing there with the garden hose and a vacant expression, water flooding out from the garden around his own hooves, her anger started to well up again. “Respect? Respect?! Look at the old fool! I mean REALLY?! RESPECT?! HE obviously doesn't respect ME! I'm one of the last ponies who'll still hire him, and just look at how he treats me! What, just because I'm younger than him?!”

No longer able to hold these thoughts back, Fluttershy let her anger burst out with a shout "HEY!"

"Wha-huh?!" Startled, Greenhooves' head swung around looking for the source of the sudden noise, finally settling on Fluttershy with a smile. “Oh! Ms. Fluttershy! That was a quick trip!”

“Just WHAT do you think you're doing?!” Fluttershy was shouting at him? Now he really was startled. This wasn't like Fluttershy at all.

“Whuh...what do you mean?” Mr. Greenhooves said, taking one step back from Fluttershy, one front hoof raised defensively, his ears pinned down.

“Just look at this!” Fluttershy waved a hoof at the water flooding all over the path. Mr. Greenhooves was at a loss.

“Huh-how did that happen? I...you were just gone for a short while,” Mr. Greenhooves said, trailing off into indistinct mumbling for a moment. Then, head low and ears still flat, he added in a weak voice: "...weren't you?"

Even through her frustration, Fluttershy's caring nature told her loud and clear that something was amiss. Pushing the anger out of her voice for the moment, she answered evenly: "You were watering the petunias when Angel and I left for the market. We've been there the whole morning since. It's nearly afternoon now, and until just a minute ago, you were still standing in that exact same spot, watering the same flowers."

“I was? Oh dear...I...my medicine...I think I forgot to take my medicine,” he said as he tried to remember whether he did forget or not. Then he finally noticed the muddy flood under his hooves. “Oh my dear filly, I am so sorry! I was lost in thought…” He paused for a moment. Fluttershy took note of his sad face as he continued, stuttering, “I-I-I was deep in my head again, with memories of my friends. We were a fun loving gang back in our day you know, me and my buddies...” He turned his head to the side, his eyes beginning to glisten again as he mumbled things that only he could understand.

“Oh goodness! And here I am being a monstrous meanie to my aging gardener when he was actually getting carried away in his own memories, losing track of time. All because he forgot his medicine! I...I didn't know he had to take medicine or else he'll lose himself in his head...”

Her anger collapsed under a wave of empathy and guilt as quickly as it had built itself up, returning Fluttershy to her usual kindness. "Mr. Greenhooves, I... I'm sorry for shouting at you. Are you alright...?"

Mr. Greenhooves brought his attention back to the present day and, shaking his head, he apologized again. “Dang-nangit! It happened again, didn't it? Every time I think I've got this problem licked, it happens again. Ms. Fluttershy, I'm real sorry...”

“Oh, no. It was my fault Mr. Greenhooves. I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't know how easily you lose track of time and that you have to take medicine for that...I was nothing but a brute to you.”

Then, she was gripped with a horrible realization. “Oh dear Celestia! What about that nasty Earth stallion at the market?! He really looked like he needed those cherries. But for what? And I made him squish them by tripping him up! Oh no!”

Angel jumped off her back and scampered away as Fluttershy closed the front door behind her and sat down, leaning back against it. If she only knew the reason why Mr. Greenhooves over-watered her plants from the start, then she would not have been angry at him...or would she? Or would she make sure that he took his medicine for the day? All of a sudden, she felt uncomfortable in her own coat. She then thought of that Earth stallion at the market. He looked at her with anger, but then he was also crying. What was the reason why he was both angry, and crying? What exactly had he been feeling? And what had made him feel that way?

If she was any other pony, she probably wouldn't give a flying feather about the reasons. After all, they are not her problems, but theirs.

“Yes, that's true," she thought indignantly. "Why should I care about the reasons? They are not my concern! If I cared about it, I'll just be making excuses for ponies like them. They should get their act together!”

But again, that feeling of discomfort under her skin. Sighing, she walked over to her sofa to lie down. Her critters started to gather around her, led by a visibly concerned Angel.

“These critters, I care for them. At my own expense, in fact. Many of them, I found sick and injured, and I nursed them back to health. If I were to tell them to, 'get their act together' and throw them out into the forest to fend for themselves, no pony would fault me...”

She remembered her first days and weeks as a filly visiting the critters on the ground below Cloudsdale. She remembered who she was.

“...except myself.”

Sensing her unease, many of the critters moved in closer for support. A few birds even flew up to perch on her back, tweeting songs of consolation.

“No, I cannot be that kind of assertive! I'm the Element of Kindness!” The small crowd around her perked up at her spoken resolve, while the sudden energy behind it startled a few of the birds into flapping back and hovering for a moment. “Why, even Discord—The Lord of Chaos—learned kindness and friendship from me!”

She thought this over, and her thoughts returned to the poor Earth stallion. “So, why did I like getting even?”

Later that day, her heavy groceries were delivered by a two-stallion team. Both helped carry her sacks of supplies into her supply closet. They always liked delivering Fluttershy's stuff from the market. Her presence was always a relaxing moment from their high-tension job of carrying and lifting heavy things.

At dinner time, Fluttershy cooked a simple pot of mushroom soup. She didn't really feel like eating that night. She kept on thinking about that Earth stallion from the market, how mean he was to her and Angel; how she flew after him to get even; how she did it without him knowing it was her...and how that thrilled her. To get away with something, to get even at someone without them knowing, thrilled her—her, 'The Element of Kindness.'

“Why did you need those cherries so badly, mister? Why did you look at me with anger and tears? Why were you running towards the Everfree forest? What reason did you have for treating me and Angel that way? And if those reasons didn't exist, would you have been so mean?”

As she got ready for bed, putting on the pj's that Rarity made for her, she looked out the window at Luna's moon. She got in her bed, draping her covers over herself. Though it was a peaceful night, she can never ever deny the fact that, once upon a time, she – The Element of Kindness, was thrilled with cruelty.

And with that thought, she fell asleep.

Earlier that day...

An Earth stallion opened Zecora's door, flustered from his rush over there. Inside was Zecora by her mixing table, preparing a brew. A few feet from her was a unicorn stallion holding a feverish colt and filly, lying on a mattress on the floor.

“How are they?” he asked breathlessly.

“They are so far doing fine,” Zecora said, “but without those cherries, they won't be, in time.”

“I...something happened on the way here. Here are the cherries.” He took off his saddlebag and took out a hoofful of pulpy red mess – cherry jam without the jar.

The unicorn stallion stared at the proffered hoof, “What the buck happened?!” he asked, bewildered.

“I tripped.”

“What!? How could you be so careless?!”

“Enough!” Zecora said with authority. “It does not matter if it is whole or crushed cherries. What matters is to get it into their bellies.” Zecora hoofed each of them a spoon. They two stallions quickly dug through the crushed cherries in the saddlebag, hastily spoon feeding both colt and filly while Zecora finished mixing up the healing potion.

Soon, Zecora poured the potion into two cups for the colt and filly to drink. As soon as the brew was swallowed, their shivering began to fade, and soon they were both feeling much better.

Zecora smiled as the Earth stallion and his unicorn brother thanked her profusely. Their younger siblings would be fine.