"Oh dear!"
Those were the words that was repeated in the cottage of one pony by the name of Fluttershy, as she ran about like a chicken without a hat -- a joke that the pony laughed momentarily about.
A small rabbit watched with confusion as she continued her panic, it was something that he'd seen happen occasionally, yet, she had forgotten to do the one thing she always did with him, which usually included food, and his plate.
So, he began to follow as Fluttershy continued her mad dash, jumping on her back in an effort to get her attention.
“Angel!” the butter colored yellow pony said the moment her back felt attacked. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t have time today, I need to find my saddlebags!” she said in an effort to sound angry, but unable to as her worry showed through.
Angel gave her a flat stare, easily pointing towards a spot near her bed, hidden between a shelf and the mattress.
“Oh! It's always the last place you forget to look!” she said in relief. "Thank you, Angel!'
He merely rolled his eyes, pointing to his plate, questioning her forgetfulness of feeding him.
"Sorry, I never told you!" Fluttershy said, going to the kitchen and quickly taking out a bowl of already prepared salad, placing it on his plate. “Today is the annual international seller's market, and the day SHE comes!” she looked at Angel, awaiting any question about what she meant, but received only the silence of her animal. “Oh, yeah. Sorry…” she reached into her saddlebags, taking out a small satchel, which she casually dropped to the ground, causing a small tremble as it hit the floor.
Momentarily curious, Angel opened the bag, revealing inside nothing but golden coins, grabbing one, he already realized that they were the 'bits' the ponies seemed to need to live.
“Yes! I’ve been saving up for so long!” Fluttershy continued, scooping up the bag again and putting it back in her saddlebags. “This pony sells some of the most elegant, beautiful, and of course, most expensive thread in all of Equestria!”
The young rabbit shook his head, unable to see the excitement she seemed to have for something as simple as thread.
“Oh, but it’s just not simple thread, Angel!” she started, clearly having expertise on the subject. “It’s a very special thread that CHANGES color depending on what it touches!” she said excitedly, jumping in place. “The one who sells it only comes to Ponyville once every three years, and today is the day when I finally get my hooves on such a rare thread… And I’ll be able to make some great things with this!” she finished squeeing in delight.
Meanwhile, Angel bunny couldn’t care any less, as it was being shown by him being immersed by his salad.
“Oh no! I have to go! The market is about to open!” she said desperately, kneeling down near Angel and stealing a piece of lettuce for herself, much to the rabbit's annoyance. “I’ll be back in a few hours, don’t cause trouble Angel! Momma loves you!” she finished, rushing out the door, leaving Angel staring back with indifference.
This could only turn out well.
Not being a psychic, Fluttershy was unable to hear her rabbit’s pessimistic thoughts, and was well on her way to the market, with numerous other ponies already up and about, as the place was flooded with an unusual amount of bustling even so early in the morning.
“Oh dear,” she mulled worriedly. “There are so many ponies here this year… I hope no one gets to the mercer before I do… Or I’d be so sad! Oh, I’m so nervous, I mean, what if they are full, or if they already sold it! Oh no, w-what if th- Oof!” she was cut off, as she suddenly bumped into someone. “Oh, excuse me!”
“Oh no, pardon me, I wa- Oh, Fluttershy!” exclaimed the white mare, who seemed excited to see the yellow mare.
“Rarity!” Fluttershy said not nearly as excited as her friend was. “G-great to see you here, er,” she began awkwardly, attempting to end the conversation. “Pardon me, but I have to go…”
“Oh, well, sure Fluttershy,” Rarity frowned. “If that’s what you wish t-" she wasn't able to finish as Fluttershy sped by. "Hey, wait!"
”Sorry, I’ll see you later!” Fluttershy dismissed herself quickly, avoiding any further conversation from her friend. “I apologize Rarity, but I have a mission today!” she exclaimed determined, noticing a tent coming up in her line of sight. “Oh, there it is!”
Setting into a trot, Fluttershy made it to the spot, where a tired looking unicorn began setting up shop, putting down numerous pieces of fabrics on a table as sample. “Huh?” she mumbled, turning around to meet Fluttershy. “Well, if you ain’t here early!” the pony said excitedly. “Looking for some fabric, I gather?”
“Y-yes, I am!” Fluttershy said giddily, bouncing in place, uncaring of the bits that pushed her down as she did so. “Unless, it’s too early, I wouldn’t want to be a bother…”
“Well, well, somepony is loaded today,” the mare laughed, not missing the obvious sound. “I was going to tell you to wait for opening, but it seems somepony is excited to get what they want, so I’ll make an exception for ya.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” without wasting any time, Fluttershy reached into her saddlebags, placing the bag of bits on the table. “Here you go! Four-thousand bits!”
The mercer whistled surprised. “Well, I’ll be, this was faster than even last year!” she grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. “I already know what you want!” she said, heading inside her tent for what felt like ages to the now impatient Fluttershy. “Okay, here you go!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she saw the small ball of thread, it glistened in the sunlight, not from its beauty, but rather from the plastic wrapper around it. Fluttershy didn’t care much for details at that point.
“Oh, yes! That’s it!” she said with the biggest smile she could muster.
“Glad to know," she said, placing the ball on her hooves. "But just gotta count the bits, you know? Make sure that all of it is here, ya feel me?” the mare said. “It’s a business after all.”
“Of course! Go ahead!” Fluttershy said calmly, already holding the ball on her hooves, eyeing it hungrily, her mind already running the numerous ideas she had for it.
Meanwhile, the mare counted the bits in a quick, professional pace, placing the coins to the side as she finished, she didn’t take long to get the last ones, until finally, she tossed the last bit back in the satchel.
“I imagine that's it, thank you so much!” Fluttershy said, turning to leave, but wasn't able to get far, as she was stopped by a hoof.
“Actually, there is a problem young lady,” the mercer said, clicking her tongue. “To get to the point, you are missing a bit, and I do NOT make incomplete deals,” she said sternly.
Fluttershy’s irises shrank back into her eyes, she shook her head, chuckling nervously. “T-that can’t be! I counted it all ten times last night! It should all be there… I, maybe you could recount it?”
“Won’t change a thing,” she shrugged. “I’ve never been wrong when it comes to counting bits, and I don’t think today makes a difference… Sorry kid,” she said, taking the thread and placing it back in the darkness of her tent.
“N-no!” Fluttershy cried out. “But how! I didn't touch it after I counted it! The only time I did was...” she quickly reasoned, remembering the moment she had dropped the bag for a certain creature to see. “Angel!”
“Did that “Angel’ steal your bits? Huh, ironic name,” the mare said with a dry laugh.
“Angel!” Fluttershy cried out, taking off in a rush, yet, carefully avoiding any ponies that would be bothered by her.
As she ran, she passed by Rarity once more. “Fluttershy! I've been looking for y-"
“Can’t! Thread! Angel! Bits!” she said quickly, leaving Rarity not only worried, but confused.
Without wasting time, she barged into her own house, looking around with wild eyes. “Angel!” she shouted, breathing heavily as she searched for any signs of her so-called Angel.
The rabbit appeared in front of her, looking surprised at the now disheveled form of his owner, wondering what had happened to make hear appear in such state.
“Where did you put the bit!” she shouted straight to the point. “Without it, I can’t buy the thread, and I’ll have to wait three more years for it!”
Angel quickly shook his head in denial, feeling for the first time in what could be his short life; true terror.
"Don't lie to me, mister!" she said disapprovingly. "I thought we already talked about not lying!"
All Angel was able to do is stand in place, as Fluttershy gave him the stare, shaking his head desperately in an attempt to show his lack of involvement in the taking of said bit.
“Then it must be upstairs!” she said to herself, as she ran back to her room, where she quickly tossed about all items in her room, making the usually neat place unrecognizable. “No… No!” she cried out, breathing heavily. She ran back downstairs, where she did the same, looking everywhere she could for that last bit, but being unable to find anything. “I-it can’t be!” having run out of options, she fell to the floor, feeling defeated. “I-I missed my chance… And I forgot my bits with the mercer… Of course,” she said miserably, deciding to at least collect the rest of her hard earned currency.
And so, minutes later, the mercer watched as the now depressed Fluttershy approached her with drooped ears. “No luck, huh?” she said sadly.
“No… I couldn’t find it!” she said as she looked to her satchel, neatly placed to the side of the mare. “Thank you for not keeping my bits…”
“I would never take them,” the mare said with a warm smile. “Here,” she pushed the bag to Fluttershy, who simply sighed as she looked at it.
“Three years… For nothing!” she said, unable to hold back her disappointment.
“I wish I could help you, but I need to be strict with these items. You understand, right?” she said apologetically.
“Yes, I do. No hard feelings,” Fluttershy said, forcing a smile before turning to leave.
“Fluttershy?” she turned just in time to find none other than Rarity in front of her. “My goodness! What is wrong?” she asked, noticing the look of distraught Fluttershy showed.
"Oh, Rarity!" unable to hold back her frustration, Fluttershy let it all out in front of her best friend.
“Fluttershy… Why didn’t you say something?” Rarity said, reaching into her saddles and taking out a small bit coin. “Here you go!” she said, placing the bit in her hoof.
Fluttershy looked at the coin with disbelief. “R-really?”
“Fluttershy, it's one bit," Rarity said amused. "You could've easily asked any of your friends for one, I'm sure you could have paid that back."
“I-I guess I was too busy thinking about my lost bit to think of that... Thank you so much!” wasting no more time, she returned to the mercer, where she was quickly able to make the exchange, much to her delight. “Oh, I’m so happy! Thank you so much!" she said, hugging the thread happily.
Rarity chuckled at the sight. “Wanna know something funny?"
“What?”
“That was actually your bit, you dropped it when you bumped into me earlier, I tried to call you, but you seemed to be in a quite a rush,” she said.
Fluttershy stopped, and could do nothing but stare as her mind ran numerous thoughts, yet, her mouth let out a plain, and simple.
“Oh.”
Author's Note
Was this too simple for a story? Probably.
But this is simply a short story, which I hope was at least enjoyable to a level of simplicity any of you can enjoy.
Thank you for reading!
