Pinkie's first friend

by Never2muchpinkie

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life
Length: 6230

Filly Pinkie, fresh off her latest party, finds a scared Fluttershy huddled under a bush, Always eager to make new friends, she slowly gets the pegasus to open up and elects to keep her comany until she can get back home.

Filly Pinkie has just come from her latest sensational party. Hyped up with energy she decides to go for a walk before going home, when she happens upon a scared pegasus huddled in a bush. She had fallen down from Cloudsdale earlier, as she had once before.

Pinkie Pie slowly gains Fluttershy's trust by being friendly and respecting her boundaries, and the two of them become fast friends. As Fluttershy falls asleep Pinkie keeps watch over her until her family can pick her up. Having never been too close to a pegasus, Pinkie gets a little TOO interested in the extra appendages.

All inspiration for this story comes directly from this comic: https://derpibooru.org/377?scope=scpedd0a897b87ab38133e505fc8d895b9d387bc2b8e

Published 2015-07-15 19:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-15 19:00:01 UTC

A little kindness

I’d been in Ponyville a few weeks, and met quite a few ponies, but there is one meeting in particular that meant something really special to me.

With Sugarcube Corner’s increasing popularity, and all the ponies that I had made happy during my time working there, I was overjoyed when Mrs. Cake asked me to help set up a party for a filly called Colgate. The party went great. Besides helping to put up decorations and put out food I got to provide entertainment and music.

Hee hee hee. I remember at one point I began juggling rubber chickens while balancing with one hoof on a big rubber ball. It was a big hit. I recognized quite a few of the ponies there: Derpy, Bon Bon and her best friend Lyra, Cheerilee, and many others that I either already knew by name or had seen around town.

However, it wasn’t what happened at the party that was so amazing. It was what happened afterward. Me and Mr. and Mrs. Cake had just finished cleaning up everything. They were ready to go home, but I wanted to stay out for a little while longer and just enjoy the evening air. They told me to come home when I was ready, but not to stay out too late, and then they left.

I was walking around Ponyville Park, hopping around and enjoying the breeze, when I heard something. It was a itsy-bitsy quiet something. The kind of quiet that’s loud in a really small way. I strained my ears, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

I heard a small rustling of a bush, and the quiet sound again. It sounded like crying. I went towards the bush, and I saw a small pegasus huddled there. She had a pink mane and a yellow coat. I couldn’t see if she had a cutie mark because most of her body was still huddled inside the bush.

I had never seen her before, and that instantly got my heart racing in excitement. I just LOVE to make new friends and meet new ponies. I started to give out a big, hearty “HELLO!” when she looked up at me, tears coming down her eyes and shaking like a leaf. She looked really, really scared.

As I approached I saw her recoil, backling her body back further into the bush, so I stopped. “Hello,” I said in a quiet voice, lying on the ground so I was on her level. “I’m Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?”

She continued to shake and shiver, looking at me like I was gonna cook her and eat her. “F-F-F-Flut-t-t-ter-sh-sh-shy,” she finally stuttered out, her voice no bigger than a whisper.

“What’s got you so scared, Fluttershy?” I asked.

“I-I’m lost.”

“Lost?” I responded. “Is that all? Together the two of us can find your way home.”

A few more tears came down her eyes, and she retreated a little more so only her head was visible. She shook her head and said, “N-no. You can’t h-h-help me.”

“Why not?” I asked. “I’m still a little new to Ponyville, but I could ask Mr. and Mrs. Cake for directions.”

She let out a sad groan, backing up more so now only part of her face was sticking out. She gestured upward with her head. “I-I-I fell down from up there.”

I looked upward, but there wasn’t a tree above her. All there was were some thick clouds. I gasped as I realized that she had come from Cloudsdale. I hopped up and ran in front of her, making her let out a frightened squeal, and now I couldn’t see her at all as she was fully hidden by the bush.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” I cried out in a panic. “Do you need a doctor? Is anything broken?”

She grabbed some of the branches of the bush, pulling them down in front of her. “No. P-please leave me alone.”

I could see how frightened she was, and I knew I was only making it worse. If I wanted to make a new friend I had to pay attention to what worked and what didn’t. She was obviously shy. I mean, it was in her name!

I turned around and walked until I was about at the distance I had been at the start. I laid down again, trying to be calm. Lowering my voice again I said, “I’m sorry I scared you, Fluttershy. Can we start over?”

I waited for a little while, and finally she let the branches go and poked her head out just a bit. “I really like parties!” I said, excitement in my voice, but still being quiet. “That’s how I got my cutie mark. I threw this big party for my parents, and it made them all smile and we danced and had lots of fun. How about you?”

She looked at me uncertainly, like she wasn’t sure whether to talk to me or not, but after a while she said, “M-my cutie mark is three butterflies. I… I got it because I’m really good with animals. I get along better with them than any ponies. I can understand their sounds like they’re speaking our language.

“This isn’t the first time I fell down here. It happened once before, and that’s how I got my cutie mark. My parents sent me to junior flight camp, and I fell off a cloud back then too. I’m… not a very good flier. I thought I was going to fall to my death, but I was saved by a large group of butterflies.”

There was a slight shift in her voice. There was a bit of happiness and excitement there, and I saw she wasn’t shivering nearly as bad.

“That was my first time being on the ground. I saw all the animals; the bees, the frogs, the bunnies, the squirrels, the birds. So many wonderful creatures. And suddenly I wasn’t afraid anymore.”

She finally smiled, and it made me smile too. “Just as I was getting really comfortable there was this big boom that scared them away, and they all went hiding. Even though I had gotten scared too at the noise I suddenly felt something like… courage. I knew that they needed me, and I went to each of them and encouraged them to stop hiding and that everything was okay. They listened to me and gathered around me, and that’s when I knew what my destiny was: I wanted to take care of animals.”

Her smile faded. “But this time isn’t like that time. I wasn’t saved by any butterflies.” A confused look came to her face. “I actually bounced off a large group of balloons and landed around here a short while ago.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “That was me.”

“You’re a group of balloons?” she asked, her eyebrow going up.

I began to laugh. “N-n-noooo!” I wiped my eye of a tear. “After the party I threw ended I tied all my balloons together and set them free, hoping someone else might get some use of them. Hee hee. I guess someone did.”

The small happiness that had flared up in her died, and she began to cry and shake again. “This is nothing like the last time. I looked, and there aren’t any animals around. I’m scared!” She gulped in oxygen, sounding like she was about to break down completely. “I want my daddy!”

At first I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I wasn’t a pegasus. I had no way to get her back home. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were earth ponies as well, and I wasn’t super good friends with any pegasuses. Pegasi? Is there a proper plural for pegasus? Is it like sheep where the plural is the same word? Hmmm…

Well, um, anyway, back to the story.

I got an idea. I couldn’t help her with getting home at the moment, but I could help her not be so scared while she waited for her daddy to find her.

“Let’s play pretend!” I said brightly.

“Pre-pre-pretend?” she said, sniffing.

“You like animals, right? I’ll be your animal.”

I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue, panting heavily as I began to walk around, sniffing at everything. Finding a stick on the ground I picked it up in my mouth, wagging my tail as I jogged back to Fluttershy and dropped it in front of her.

It seemed she was too surprised to be afraid that I had got into her personal space barrier. I looked down expectantly at her, and she was looking at me like I had three heads. I didn’t mind, though. She had stopped shaking and crying.

After a few seconds she got an odd smile on her face, like she wasn’t sure whether to be amused or weirded out. Finally, she shrugged and picked up the stick, throwing it into the distance.

I went racing after it. As I neared it I did that dog thing where they can’t stop in time and go flying when trying to get the stick on the ground, spinning over a few times before getting back and retrieving the stick, dropping it in front of her again. She still had that odd look on her face, torn between wanting to smile and wanting to be afraid.

“Maybe I’ll be a toad.” I began to hop around. I do that a lot anyway. It’s so much more fun than walking. “Ribbit! Ribbit!” Unfortunately I don’t have a frog tongue, so I couldn’t grab anything from far away.

“Or maybe a squirrel.” I stood up on all fours, running around and letting out little squirrelly squeaks, grabbing acorns and stuffing them in my mouth before running up a tree and pushing them into a hollow.

As I got down and looked at her I could definitely see the smile side was starting to win the battle. I was winning her over!

“I’ll be a kitty cat.” Putting on my cute face I got up and let out a hearty, “Mrow!” I lifted my hoof to my mouth, lapping at it before pushing my mane back with it.

I put my front half down as I looked at the nearby stick, shaking my back half and wagging my tail before I suddenly pounced on it. I lifted it up by its edge like a mouse tail.

Dropping it I went back up the tree, trying to do it like a cat, which is quite hard when you have no claws, I’ll have you know.

When I got to the top I looked down proudly, before opening my eyes in dread and clinging to the branch like my life depended on it, letting out a fearful, “MROW! MROW! That’s cat for, 'Help, I climbed the tree and now I can’t get down.'”

Fluttershy at first seemed perplexed by my behavior, but then she let out the most beautiful sound in the world: she began to laugh. Her smile was special, but her laughter was lovely.

“P-P-Pinkie, you’re crazy!” she said, laughing her head off. She couldn’t contain herself. I had finally won the battle. Her true inner pony was shining through. All it took was a little careful effort and paying attention.

I made a purring sound as I approached her, rolling over onto my back and gently batting at her mane, making it go back and forth.

Fluttershy had gotten her laughter under control, and now she joined in on the game at last. “Aww, does the little kitty want a belly rub?”

At that I stopped playing and gave her access to my belly, purring louder as she gently rubbed her hoof back and forth against it.

By now, though, I was ready for the next part of the plan. “Fluttershy?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to be my friend? Not as an animal, but as a pony. Would that be okay?”

That uncertain look was back on her face. “I… I guess so.”

“Great! Wait right here!” I took off without another word, running as fast as I could.

I returned a few minutes later with my saddle bag. When I got there Fluttershy was still hovering by her bush.

I felt a little sad. I was quick as could be, but the time I was gone seemed like it had taken away all the happiness I had given her. “Hey, Fluttershy. I’m back.”

“Pinkie Pie,” she said quietly. I was at least happy to see that she wasn’t trying to hide from me this time.

I took off my saddle bag, opening it and taking out a tablecloth, which I lay down right in front of her. I took out several bags of leftover treats from the party, as well as a pitcher of fruit punch. Lastly, I set down a few stuffed animals.

“I know you aren’t really comfortable with other ponies, but I thought the two of us could have a little party. I don’t have any animals myself, but I thought you might be more comfortable with something that at least looks like one.

“What I was really hoping for is if you would stop hiding in your bush and join me properly, but if you want to stay in there while we enjoy our treats that’s fine too. I’m not going to force you to do anything. I like you, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy looked around at the little picnic I had set up, and I saw tears start to come down her eyes again. She extricated herself from the bush and practically fell on me as she began to sob, squeezing me like her life depended on it.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” I said quickly. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“N-n-no!” she said between sobs. “You’re-you’re-you’re just the first-first one to be so nice to me.”

I hugged her back, seeing these were happy tears. “Well, Fluttershy,” I said warmly, “I think sometimes we all need to be shown a little kindness.” I thought of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and how they were letting me live at Sugarcube Corner.

I held her until she began to settle down to shaky breaths and loud sniffs. As she pulled away I got to see her cutie mark, the three cute little butterflies. She sat down on the other side of the blanket, grabbing a stuffed teddy bear and snuggling it.

“Are you feeling better now, Fluttershy?” I asked.

She gave a little nod in response, still holding tightly to the bear.

I offered her a cupcake, and I got to see her wonderful smile again as she used one of her hooves to grab it, taking a bite.

I poured her some punch, and then some for myself. For the next hour or so the two of us just talked. It wasn’t about anything in particular. I wasn’t used to having a solo party, but the best party planners always take their client’s needs into account.

As she talked I began to understand why she was so skittish: she had a bunch of bullies mocking her for her poor flying ability. Her parents had pushed her into the junior flight camp to improve her flying capacity and help her gain more confidence, but getting mocked for all her failures and being behind all the other cadets seemed to be having the opposite effect. Only one pony stood up for her; some pony named Rainbow Dash. I didn’t know her, but I already knew I would like her. Someone who stands up to bullies who pick on those weaker than them is already a hero in my book.

Then again, I don’t HAVE a book. I mean, I OWN books, but I’ve never WRITTEN one. And even if I did how could Rainbow Dash be in it before I even knew about her? I would have to rewrite it and get another copy made with her part in it and that would be a lot of work. Hmm? Oh, I’m getting off topic again. The point was that I approved of what Rainbow Dash was doing.

By the time the treats and punch were finished up I could see Fluttershy was feeling comfortable with me, so I crossed to the other side of the blanket and sat down next to her, putting a hoof around her. She pulled away a little at first, but then seemed to think better of it. “Everything is going to be fine, Fluttershy. So long as you’ve got a good friend by your side there’s nothing to worry about. Not all ponies are like those bullies. Some ponies, like me and Rainbow Dash, are good ponies that want to look out for their friends.

“Don’t give up on ponies, Fluttershy. It’s fine to love your animals, but ponies are awesome too. If I didn’t think that I wouldn’t be hanging out with a cool pony like you.”

I saw Fluttershy blush, mumbling under her breath she didn’t think she was cool.

“Nonsense! You’re plenty cool. I think so, and one day you’ll see it for yourself.”

Fluttershy let out a little sigh. “I sure hope so.” She let out a yawn. “It’s pretty late. My daddy is probably looking for me. You should go home. I’ll be okay.”

I shook my head hard. “No way! I’m not going to leave one of my besties all alone. We finally became friends. I have a lot of friends, but I'm not all that close with anyone in Ponyville yet. It’s been awesome just being able to talk and hang out.”

I patted her head. “If you’re tired then you should sleep until he finds you. Just tell me what he looks like.”

She rested her head on my shoulder. “I’ve never met a pony like you before, Pinkie. You’re so random, but you’re also really funny and kind. I hope I can be more like you when I grow up.”

“You should be who you are, Fluttershy, and no one else. Pretending can only get you so far before they realize you’re only faking it.” I put my other hoof around her and gave her a strong hug. “You’re incredible, Fluttershy, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Tears dripped down Fluttershy’s eyes as she hugged me back. “T-t-thank you, Pinkie Pie,” she said thickly.

“No problem! That’s what I’m here for.”

When we let go she yawned again before wiping her face. “My daddy has a yellow coat like me, with an orange mane.

“But aren’t you tired too?”

I shook my head. “NOPE! I’m much too excited to be tired. You’re my first close friend.”

“Me?” she said, sounding skeptical. “But you’re, like, not afraid of other ponies at all. How could I be your first?”

“I’m still new here in Ponyville. I’ve memorized a lot of other ponies favorite stuff, because that’s what good friends do. I also have thrown a few parties for other ponies. But it wasn’t until today, when I met a shy little pegasus, that I got to sit down and really talk with another pony. I’m so used to going around and making sure that everyone is having a good time that I didn’t realize how special a one on one party could really be.”

Fluttershy smiled at me. “I’m glad. And… y’know, I like you too, Pinkie.”

I giggled, my heart soaring as I hugged her again.

She hugged me back like before. When she let me go this time she set her head on my back leg and yawned. Keeping her eyes closed she said, “I’m so glad I found you. When I first landed here I felt so scared. I was stuck in a strange place with no animals to keep me company. I thought I was going to be stuck in that bush all night until I saw my daddy looking for me.”

“I guess you’re the kitty now,” I said with a laugh as I started rubbing her back.

“I guess so,” she said sleepily, sounding content as she stretched her wings a few times before curling them back up.

It was only a few minutes later before I felt her go limp and begin to gently snore.

I looked up into the sky. There weren’t any trees right nearby, so I could see it pretty well. I didn’t see any pegasus-pegasisus-pega…pega… I didn’t see a single pegasus. ARGH! Why does their species have to end in an “S?” This would be so much less confusing. Earth ponies! Unicorns! Simple! But NOOOOO! The winged ponies have to be all tricky and sneaky and make me all confused by putting that S right at the end. I wish I could talk to the pony that named them that and ask them what they were thinking.

More minutes passed, but I still didn’t see anything. Fluttershy was asleep, her head feeling warm on my leg. She was sleeping. Totally unaware of anything that was going on in the outside world.

I looked left. I looked right. I looked up into the air. I didn’t see anyone. My heart began to race a little in excitement. I’d seen plenty of pega…YOU KNOW WHAT? Forget it! I saw plenty of winged ponies before! Sheesh! Confusing species name! ARGH!

Ahem! I’ve seen plenty of winged ponies around as I lived in Ponyville, but I’ve never been so up close and personal to one before. My tongue was sticking out of the edge of my mouth as I looked around again, double-checking that Fluttershy was still sound asleep. I gently lifted my hoof, slowly moving it toward her, and poked her wing. I quickly pulled it back, letting out a little nervous giggle. Fluttershy didn’t react at all.

I lifted my hoof and touched her wing again, poking it a few times. Still, Fluttershy didn’t react. I touched her wing but left it there this time. Taking one more sweeping look around I put my hoof at the bottom of her wing, lifting it, my heart racing in nervousness and excitement.

I slowly stretched it, completely fascinated. I couldn’t stop myself letting out an awed “Oooohhhhh!” It was so… wingy! It would be so much fun to have wings. I could fly around and it would be so much easier to put up decorations. And I could entertain ponies by doing tricks at the parties I threw. I’m so jealous.

Fluttershy was still deeply asleep. I looked around again, feeling in a silly mood. I put my face on her wing, feeling the feathers tickle me as I nuzzled it.

In a deep voice I said, quietly of course, “Stop right there, villain.

“Who are you?” I responded in a higher pitched voice.

“Who? Me?” I pulled her wing down from my face. “I’m Batmare! Pachew! Pachew!

“Oh, no! I’m defeated. Bleh.

“And good saves the day once again!”

I already got a new idea. Lifting her wing up by my face I quickly moved it away like I was throwing a cape and said melodramatically, “Ha…ha…ha! Your girlfriend is tied to the tracks and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’ll wear this mustache, because I’m evil!

“You fiend! But your mustache can’t beat my BEARD!”

“No! My one weakness!”

I continued to have a lot of fun just feeling and playing with her wings. She was a pretty heavy sleeper, and I did start to get a little careless. When I was messing around I accidentally pulled her wing a little harder than I meant to, and she jerked, her wings slipping out of my grip.

She looked up at me with glassy eyes. “Pinkie?” she said sleepily.

“Yeparooni! Everything is fine. Just fine. Go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” she said in a whisper as she folded her wings back up and was out again in a matter of moments.

Phew! That was too close. I knew I couldn’t do that anymore. That would have been awkward to explain.

Hmm hmm mmm mmm…

Sure was getting boring with nothing to do. I looked around and my stomach began tickling as my gaze locked onto her wing.

Touch it.

No! Bad Pinkie. We’re not gonna do that anymore.

Touch it, touch it, touch it.

I turned my head away. Maybe if I didn’t look at it I would stop thinking about it.

I leaned back against the ground, my hooves behind my head, and stared up into the sky. There were so many pretty stars in the sky. And if you looked hard enough you could make out little patterns sometimes. Like there was this one that looked like a wing. And another one that looked just like a wing. And another one. And… another one.

Touch it, touch it, touch it!

I felt a bead of sweat come down my face. That wasn’t working. I pushed myself back up. Okay, then. I’ll think of something completely different. The three of us have a couple of parties planned at Sugarcube Corner. I’ll just decide what kind of party themes and games I want to set out.

For games we could play pin the wing on the pegasus. Yeah! And the party theme will be all about playing with pegasus wings. YEAH!

OH! I was doing it again. I held my breath, starting to shake as I turned my head to Fluttershy’s wings again.

Doitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoit.

No! I don’t want to.

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT! Touch it touch it touch it! You know you want to!

Fluttershy’s wings began to move, rising up and moving like a snake. “Come on, Pinkie Pie. Our owner is asleep and we’re so bored. Don’t ya wanna play with us? Please? We were having so much fun before.”

Mmmmmmmmmmm… weeeeelllllll, maybe just one little touch.

I lifted my hoof, reaching out for her wing. I was almost there.

“Pinkie!”

I slammed a hoof over my mouth to stifle a yell of surprise. I whipped my head around to see Mr. and Mrs. Cake standing there.

“H-hi!" I said, quickly stuffing my reaching hoof behind my back. “What’s up?”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Mrs. Cake, “It’s getting late and we want to lock up for the night. You really shouldn’t be out so late. It’s been over an hour.”

“Oh!” I said, not even realizing how long Fluttershy and I had been talking. Time sure flies when you’re with a good friend. “But I can’t go yet. I’m helping out a friend.”

They looked over at the sleeping pegasus and Mr. Cake asked, “Who is she?”

“Her name is Fluttershy. She lives up in the clouds, but she fell off earlier and couldn’t get back, so she’s waiting for her daddy to come looking for her. She was so scared and it took a lot of work to get her to trust me. She fell asleep and I promised to look out for her daddy. You don’t want to make me a liar, do you?” I pouted at them, giving a little puppy-dog whine.

Mrs. Cake lightheartedly rolled her eyes. “Of course not, Pinkie. Come home when you’re ready.” She walked up to me and gave me a nuzzle. “Stay safe, Pinkie.”

“I will!”

The two of them left.

“Now where were we?”

I put on my toughest look and stared right at her wings. “I’m not playing with you anymore! That’s right. I have a job to do for my friend, and I can’t do it if I’m playing around, so you be quiet. You got that?”

There was no answer. I gave an authoritative nod and kept my eyes on the sky. It was a little bit boring, but at least those tricky wings weren’t yelling at me and distracting me from my goal… even if they were a ton of fun to play with. Hee hee!

Every once in a while I saw a flying pony overhead. How long I sat there I don’t know, but I saw a pony rapidly flying around after a while. He didn’t look like the others. He kept going back and forth, his head going all over like he was looking for something.

Was it him? Up so high I couldn’t make out his colors, but I was going to try anyway.

I lifted both my front legs, waving them rapidly. I didn’t want to yell and wake Fluttershy up, so I sure hoped he noticed.

Thankfully, he did. His head stopped looking all over the place and focused on me. I gestured to him to come down. He flew down and landed on the ground.

Yellow coat and an orange mane. I think we had a winner!

“Hello!” I said in a quietly loud voice. “Are you Fluttershy’s daddy?”

He let out a sigh of relief as he saw his sleeping daughter. “Yes, I am. I’m so glad she’s alright.”

“I’m Pinkie Pie.”

“Forest Meadow,” he replied.

“She told me she fell down here once before, so I guess you had to come find her to get her back then, too?”

“Yeah. There aren’t many ponies she trusts, so I’m kinda surprised she fell asleep on you. You must have some kind of magic despite not being a unicorn.”

I giggled. “No, I just pay attention so I can figure out how best to make others happy.”

“Thank you so much for keeping my daughter company.”

“No problem.”

He walked over and picked her up, flapping his wings and hovering in the air. “Sleeps like a rock, this one.”

Thinking of the fun I was having with her wings I had to agree.

“Thank you again, Pinkie Pie. I better get her to bed.”

As he took off I was so happy that her family had found her and been reunited that it took me a while to realize that I hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye.

I walked home miserable, and I fell asleep crying a little on Mrs. Cake.

I didn’t see her the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. I kept an eye out for her, just in case she had another accident, but I guess she had been lucky enough not to fall down here anymore.

It just made me sad. When I was with her it felt like we had had a real connection. It was the first time I’d had a really close friend around my own age.

In time I got over my sadness, made some new close friends, and returned to my happy life, but I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about her from time to time. Was she still being bullied? Was Rainbow Dash still looking out for her? Was she still a scaredy pony? Did she need my help?

It was about another three or four years before it happened. I was walking through town, super excited because my latest party had been a hit. I was bouncing with each step, bounding forward without a care in the world, when I suddenly crashed into something.

I fell to the ground, and heard a cry of pain to match my own. As we both sat up holding our heads we looked toward each other, and, almost in sync, we let out a gasp. “Pinkie Pie?” came the sweet voice of Fluttershy.

She remembered me! After all this time. My pain vanished as endless joy filled my being. I threw myself at her, crying my eyes out. “F-F-Fluttershy! It’s been too long.”

She hugged me back. “It really has! I’m so happy to see you again.”

“Me too!”

As we split apart she said apologetically, “I’m so, so sorry, Pinkie. I never got to thank you for what you did for me back then. I woke up in the morning in my bed, not having a clue how I had got there until my daddy explained it.

“I had no idea where I had fallen, and I didn’t know how to find you again, and I wasn’t good enough to fly to the ground to come looking for you.” Now she was crying. “Oh, you must hate me for it. We never even got to say goodbye.”

I shook my head. “How could I ever hate you?” I asked, warm tears coming down my eyes. “I just wanted to know you were doing okay.”

“I am. Really! I’m still not that brave, but I have some great news. I have a home on the ground in Ponyville.”

“You do!” I said excitedly, and she backed up a step.

“Y-yeah. I finally told my parents that I wasn’t interested in flight camp and flying, and that I wanted to get a job caring for animals. They were a little reluctant at first, but they finally saw that it was what would make me happiest, and they bought me a cottage where I house all my little animal friends. Because of that I’m not as scared of life as I used to be. I don’t have to worry about falling to my doom from Cloudsdale, or all these mean bullies from flight camp. All I have to worry about is how best to care for all my critters.”

“That is so great!” I said, hopping up and down. “I just have to throw you a party to welcome you to Ponyville.”

“O-oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, trust me. You’ll love it. Come to Sugarcube Corner in two hours, and I’ll have it all set up.”

I took off, my heart racing in excitement. My old friend was back! And she was here to stay! I could see her whenever I wanted! And we weren’t separated by a town I couldn’t get to.

Time passed, and by the time Fluttershy nervously came into Sugarcube Corner I was ready.

“H-hello…” She looked around. “Oh, no. This isn’t some kind of surprise party, is it? Ponies aren’t going to come out of nowhere, are they?”

“Nope!” I said brightly. I gestured with my head. “Come on!” I began to walk up the stairs to the second floor, her following behind me. We went up another flight to my room.

“Surprise,” I said in a squeaky quiet voice, shutting the door behind her.

I had spent a lot of time deciding the best kind of party stuff to have for her. I thought of decorations and guests and games and came to a conclusion: that wasn’t really her style. There were only some modest, unobtrusive decorations and balloons. The music was more for background effect, and not all that loud or upbeat. On the floor, reminiscent of our first meeting, was a tablecloth covered with snacks and drinks for two, along with stuffed animals.

“What is this?” she asked quietly. “I thought you said this was a party?”

I nodded. “Yep. A party for two, just the way you like it.” I sat down on one end of the tablecloth. “Come on. Sit down.”

I finally got to see it again: that precious, lovely smile. She sat down on the other side, looking relaxed and calm. Right then and there I knew I had made the right choice for this party, and that it was going to be yet another hit.

We chatted for hours, sharing all that had been going on in our lives since we last met. We laughed and joked and talked and ate and drank, and it felt like those years we were separated never happened.

When she began to get tired I invited her to spend the night, and she accepted. She slept on the other side of the bed from me. She was out pretty quickly, but I couldn’t sleep. I was much too happy.

Feeling a little naughty I couldn’t help but give her wings a few pokes, for old time’s sake.

I kept watch over her, wanting to make sure that she was happy, that she was safe, that she was comfortable. After all, it isn’t every day a long lost friend comes to visit.

A couple of hours later I finally fell asleep, and when I woke up she was gone. It felt like my heart was breaking. It was too similar to how we had parted back then. She didn’t even say goodbye…

When I came downstairs Mrs. Cake told me that Fluttershy had left in the morning to go feed her animals, but then came back with a package for me.

I picked up the box, and it felt strangely heavy. There were holes all over the box, which was a little weird. I took it up to my room, plucking off the note taped to it. Opening it I saw it said only one thing: “Sometimes we all need to be shown a little kindness.”

Ripping off the paper on the box I opened the lid, and I gasped, my heart going into overdrive as joy and satisfaction captured every part of me.

I put my hooves in, plucking out the teeny tiny little alligator inside.

“I’m gonna name you Gummy!” I said as I hugged it to me, happy tears coming down my eyes.

Author's Note

As said in the description, this fanfic was directly inspired by this comic: https://derpibooru.org/377?scope=scpedd0a897b87ab38133e505fc8d895b9d387bc2b8e