It’s not the same. Over the course of this school year, things obviously changed but without a reason. In the beginning, everything seemed fine. You hanged out with people here and there, made some decent acquaintances, but you didn’t have the guts to ask a girl out. Well, you were close to doing so a few times, only to fuck it up by bailing on doing so. Fluttershy seemed quiet, nice, and didn’t seem all that busy like the rest of her friends. But with each passing month and cowering away, it was one of the many downfalls. It didn’t seem much at first, but it was more significant when winter came.
After winter break, Fluttershy kept on wearing baggy clothes. It would be a bulky sweater and sweat pants, something that would cover her in a thick line of fabric. But at the time, it was reasonable. It was cold as fuck and everyone was wearing that shit. When spring came around, she didn’t stop wearing it. And that was when she showed up. With each passing month, she would appear less frequently than the last. It went from once every month to three times a week. Somehow, she was able to finish the school year and might continue in the next grade.
Now its summertime and the one thing that is missing when you see her friends is Fluttershy herself. You would check out the animal shelter if she was there, but it would be closed. The last place you would check is her house, but you don’t even know where she lived. Right now, you’re in the mall, looking around for something that you might need for the future. In pure honesty, you don’t even need this. You just walk around and look at whatever interests you and leave without looking back. The best you would buy is a pretzel or a smoothie at the food court. Not this time, you doubled down and bought both. Sweet and salty, you should have thought about this sooner. You toss the wrapper and empty cup away and resume your stroll.
You stop when the girls walk out of the recently open pedicure store. They seem to be heading your way, chatting about how their nails are their greatest with the new coat of paint. When you’re about to pass by, you waive a bit and stop. ”Hey Anon.” Sunset greets you.
”Hello Anonymous.” Rarity joins.
”Hiya Nonny!” Pinkie chimes with glee.
”Howdy there.” Applejack politely comes in.
”Sup.” Rainbow plainly announces. You notice that Fluttershy is absent once more.
“Hey, enjoyed the pedicure?” Most of them nod and shine them in the light. Rainbow Dash just stands in the sidelines with her arms crossed. “I’m guessing it’s not your thing, Rainbow?”
”Nah, it’s just a waste.”
”Come on, it’s not bad.” Sunset comments.
”For you. I think wasting your time to get something that will barely get recognized a nice coat of paint is just a waste.”
You think of a quick reason to shut this down before it becomes a flame war. “Where’s Fluttershy?” A part of them look away or scratch a certain body part.
”She couldn’t make it.” Sunset answers.
“Is she alright?”
”It’s nothing. She just couldn’t hang out with us.” Rarity taps on her shoulder and whispers something in her ear. Sunset whispers something back and pretends that didn’t just happen.
“What’s going on? Is there not something that you guys are holding me back on?”
”It’s not that, but… we just couldn’t tell you about it.”
“Why not?”
Sunset sighs. ”Do you really want to know?” You cross your arms and nod.
”Sunset, are you sure you want to tell this guy what’s been going on with Fluttershy?” Rainbow interrupts.
”He has a right to know. We can’t keep it a secret forever.” Applejack speaks up.
“Know what?” You ask.
”Okay. Anon, just focus. If you want answers, I’m afraid that you’ll have to go for the source.”
“Meaning…?” Sunset grabs out her phone and types away. “What are you doing? This isn’t the time to check up on your MyStable.”
When she finishes up, she puts her phone away in the sleeve of her jacket and glares at you. Your phone goes off in your pocket. ”You might want to get that.” Sunset points out. You get it out and read the message. It’s some kind of address.
“Do you want to tell me what this is?”
”Just go there, knock on the door and say that you’re a friend.” She advises.
“Anything else?”
She shakes her head. ”You will get what’s going on by the time you get there. We need to be somewhere, there’s a sale on all designer bags across the mall.” All of you exchange goodbyes and go your separate ways.
You knock on the wooden door that leads to a plain house in an average neighborhood. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary here. The door unlocks and opens up to show a woman in her late thirties. She is wearing a simple white shirt with a skirt that goes down to her knees. ”Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here for a friend.”
”One moment.” When she closes the door, you can hear muffled yelling from inside the house. The door creeks open to a few inches. You see a small blue shine from inside with a pink strand covering it. ”H-hello?” A voice that you haven’t heard in so long, but know that low tone anywhere else.
“Fluttershy?”
”Um, yes? What do you want?”
“I came over to ask something.”
”I’m fine, can I go now?” She sounds impatient.
“Not yet, your friends told me that I can get the answers from you.”
She sighs in disappointment. ”They said that?”
“Yeah, I just want to know what’s going on.”
”You wouldn’t understand.”
“Just try.” You plead.
”But, it’s something that you will never know, and when I tell you, you’ll just spread it around school.”
“I won’t, I promise to keep it between me and the girls.”
She promptly looks down, then back up to you. ”Okay.” She moves away and opens the door. ”Come in and leave your shoes outside, please?” You cooperate by leaving them to the side and walk into her living room. It's nothing special, two couches, television, a tacky painting on the wall. When the door closes, you turn around to see her in a thick tan sweater that goes down to her hips. ”Anon, what this is it just something I can’t control.”
“What do you mean? These sweaters and ditching school doesn’t seem healthy.”
”You have to know that, I can’t go outside. I just can’t.” She crosses her arms and looks away.
“Why not?”
”People will think I’m a freak. I just cannot have that going around.”
“They won’t. Whatever you did, I’m sure people will understand.”
"It’s not what I did, it’s just why was it me that got it!” She cries out.
“Okay, what is it that you have?” Fluttershy appears to be frightened to tell you anything. “Listen, you’re just overreacting. Surely it’s not as bad as you think it is.”
She looks like she is about to crack, but she looks away and grabs her sweater to reveal her knockers suspended by a small shirt and curvy hips that are struggling to stay in their shorts. ”Is it!?” You just stand there and wonder how that stayed hidden from a simple sweater. ”I knew this was a mistake!” She cries into her hands.
“N-no! It’s not.”
”Then how come you just gawked at me!?”
“I didn’t know, alright?”
”That’s what most of the guys are right now. No one but my friends knew about what I am. If I go outside, I will have to reveal all of this.”
“A shirt and shorts should cover it up.”
”Girls clothes are not like anything you guys wear!” She shouts.
”Fluttershy, is everything okay?” Her mom's voice is calling from the kitchen.
”I’m fine, just upset.” Fluttershy responds at a normal tone.
“Flutters, nothing would change.”
”Yes it will. People will… stare at me.”
You realize she is not the type of person who appreciates to be noticed. “So what, they just look at you. It’s not like they are holding a gun at you.”
”Now that’s what I think that they’ll do to me!” She panics.
You think twice about what you are about to say next. “You’re bound to leave this place. You can’t just stay indoors for the rest of your life.”
”I could and I may as well do that.”
“Okay, but what about your friends?” You try to pick out bits of her life that are crucial on going out of this house.
”They can visit me every so often.”
“What about school? You still have another year.”ou try to pick out bits of her life that
”I can take online classes at home.”
Shit, this last one should break her. “What about the pets at the animal shelter, who will take care of them?”
”Uh, I have volunteers.”
“When was the last time anyone took a flyer?”
”A few people did back in spring.” She tries to justify her excuse.
“And how many of them ended up in the trash?”
Her eyes swiftly move around. ”I… it… maybe they already knew where it is?”
“Face it, Flutters. Without you, those animals may as well end up in the streets, or worse, the pound.”
She brings her foot up to stomp it down. When you sense some of the shockwave, you watch her knockers shake around. ”Fine! You win.” She walks past you to plop on the couch. ”I’ll try to go outside tomorrow.”
“Why not today? It’s not that hot, and there is a breeze coming in.”
”I’d rather not. It’s just too soon for that.”
“When was the last time you fed the animals?”
She shows her frustration when getting up and grunts. ”If only my parents would allow me to bring them here….”
Chapter 2: A Stroll Around Familiar Territory
Chapter 2: A Stroll Around Familiar Territory
”Anon, I’m having second thoughts about this.”
“We’re already outside and the mall is literally right in front of us, it’s way too late to turn back now.”
Fluttershy is wearing a different shirt and a pair of shorts that fit her much better than before, but it does not hide her figure well enough. ”I don’t know. This would be better if I wore something much more than, you know.”
“If you wore a sweater and pants, there would be no chance for you to last in the sun for half an hour.”
”It already sounds much better than what we’re doing.” You walk into the mall and look around. “It’s not that packed. We can get you to meet up with your friends and it should be smooth sailing.”
”Are you sure this might work?”
“You’re already here, so let’s get this over with.” You grab her arm and pull her inside. She looks around and follows you.
As the two of you pass a few people, some of them take a glimpse before continuing whatever they are doing. ”I told you this would happen.” She whispers to you.
“They are just taking a quick look, it’s nothing serious.”
”But, I just know that they might be talking about me.”
“Forget them, it will die down.” You walk faster to get to an escalator to head for the second floor. There is the stairs nearby, but having her breasts bounce around is not what she needs. When you get to the top, you continue to walk through the few crowds that bat an eye.
”Okay Anon, I think we’re done here.”
“No, we’re getting you though this.”
”But, I swear, they’re talking about me.”
“They aren’t. You’re just thinking that. Unless you can hear them actually talk about you, I would have heard it as well.”
”They are, just slow down.” You do so and eavesdrop on a nearby conversation when walking by three girls that aren’t older than you.
”Could you believe that, who knew that she had the body of a whore?” One of them asks.
”I know, how many guys you think she was with when she was gone?” The second one questions.
”Who knows, but I bet that’s her latest sucker,” the last one answers. You give them the bird and continue to walk away.
”Of course she would want a jerk with no style,” came from the last one.
You just get away from them and continue on to meet up with Fluttershy’s friends. ”See? I told you that this was a mistake.”
“Screw them. They do that shit just to make themselves feel better just so that they can ignore the fact on how terrible they really are.”
”Hm, that does explain a lot.”
There is another group that you are about to pass by, but it is completely different. It’s a pair of guys who nod to each other. ”Damn, that’s something you don’t see often.” One of them comments.
”Yeah, isn’t she that weird quiet girl who takes care of cats?” The second one asks him.
”I wouldn’t mind if she took care of me.” He jokingly says.
You pretend that didn’t exist and resume your search. ”Anon did you—“
“Forget those dipshits, they aren’t worth anything.” The two of you make it to the food court and see the rest of her friends sitting at a circular table.
”Hey Anon and Fluttershy?” Rainbow points out.
“Yeah, I knew all of you would hang around here.” You let go of Fluttershy and sit down in an empty chair. She walks over to the other empty chair that is on the opposing side of the table, centered between Rarity and Applejack.
”What did you do, Anon?” Sunset asks.
“Something that I’m completely sure that none of you tried to do.” Each of them looks away in guilt.
”We thought that Fluttershy needed some time to herself,” Applejack tries to excuse the situation.
“By letting her stay at her house even more so during the school year would solve it?” You interject.
”Okay, we just didn’t know it would be that bad. We know our friend Fluttershy, meaning we just didn’t want to pressure her out of her comfort zone,” Rarity tries to defend.
“Sometimes you need to be there to help her, not let Fluttershy fight it by herself.” You continue.
”Hey, we knew her problem and we didn’t want to force her out of it.” Rainbow Dash sharply replies.
“Even that is more risky than trying to help her.”
Rainbow Dash crosses her arms. ”Come on, what was going to happen?”
“She wanted to stay inside and never come out.” Rainbow Dash and the rest are stunned by your news.
”Fluttershy, is this true?” Rarity asks.
She looks away in shame. ”I thought that it would be for the best.”
”But for your life? That’s a bit irrational, don’t you think?”
”Rarity is right. You can’t just spend your life seeing the same four walls every darn day.” Applejack joins in.
”It could have worked. I just needed some time working out the problems, but I’m sure it can work out.”
“Fluttershy, you need to get outside for something. No matter what, you will need to leave your home.” You inform her.
”Listen to the boy. You’re overreacting for your safety.” Applejack continues.
”Besides, the worst that you could possibly get is jealousy from the other girls. Nothing terrible will happen to you.” Rarity tries to reassure the situation.
Fluttershy flicks her thumb in her left hand before letting out a sigh. ”You’re right. I guess there are things in life you can’t have your own way.”
“Exactly, you’ll have to get used to the things you don’t like. I’m sorry but that is how it is.”
”Yeah….” She starts to sink in her chair.
”Cheer up, Fluttershy. At least you can finally hang out with your old pals again!” Pinkie cheerfully shouts out.
You get poked on the side. ”Hey Anon,” It’s Rainbow Dash trying to get your attention. “So, I’ve been wondering about you and Fluttershy.”
“What about it?”
”You’ve been pretty concerned about her. What’s up?”
“Nothing, really. I just saw you guys without her for the last few months and thought that something went wrong.”
”Wait, you’ve been eyeing us?” Rainbow picks out.
“No, I’ve just seen you guys hang out at lunch or at the mall.”
”So yes.”
You just shake your head. ”I don’t know, she’s kind of onto something,” Applejack comments.
“Hey, after all of the shit you guys did to the school, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise that some of the students turned their heads to see if another wall is going to blow up.”
”Did we strike a nerve?” Rainbow jerks you around. You slump in your chair.
Sunset Shimmer moves her chair closer to the table. ”Leave him alone, Dash. I get it, some unusual stuff goes on here, but we never asked for it.”
You straighten up from your seat. “Thanks, Sunset.”
She just shrugs her shoulders and sits back. ”I dunno, just thought Anon here had a thing for Fluttershy or something.” You sit still and eye the girls. ”Hey wait, is that the reason why you asked about her?”
You give a rough swallow. “No, not entirely.”
”So it does have something to do with this. Did you already know about it?” Rainbow continues to interrogate you.
“It’s not that. No, I never knew. I liked her before this.” As you look around the table to see all eyes drawing on you, that one slip up might have been a mistake. “Fuck,” you whisper under your breath.
Some of them raise an eyebrow. Fluttershy sinks in her chair and covers herself with her hair. ”So that’s what this is.” Rainbow proudly says when crossing her arms. “I should have known you where shifty from the start of this.”
”Settle down, Rainbow.” Sunset comes in.
”Oh no, this little crap is all the more motivated for whatever he has in mind.”
“I didn’t know,” you try to remind her.
”And now you do, it’s big game hunting, isn’t it?”
”Will you stop picking on him, Dash?” Applejack comments.
“I just like her for who she is!” You shout out. The girls go pack to giving you their undivided attention. “It still hasn’t changed. I like her for who she is, nothing more and nothing less.”
You go back in your chair and wait for what they have.
Each of them looks at each other and nods. Fluttershy has her head peaking from the table. ”Could you give us just a minute to discuss?” Rarity politely asks. You scoot back and walk away from the chair. You sit beside a bench that is right beside a railing and watch them talk with no audible voices. It seems to be a normal conversation, until Rainbow stands up and points a finger at you. Rarity raises her hand and instructs her to sit down. She does and leaves her arms on the table.
They continue on the conversation for a few more seconds before looking over to Fluttershy, who still has her head covered. Her pink hair moves away to show that she looks around the table, then to you. She says something, but pauses for some time. Her hands move around the face of the table. When they stop, she resumes. Her friends follow her every word, some of them look to each other. When she stops Sunset seems to be saying something, allowing the others to nod. She waives her hand, signaling you to return. ”I’m sorry about that. We just need some discussion to ourselves.”
“I noticed.” You sit back in your seat and sense a bit of unwelcoming from the group.
”I think it’s best to let her tell you. Fluttershy?”
She takes a deep breath in. ”I appreciate with what you did, and I don’t really mind that you….”
”We’re gonna be here all day, she is fine if you would take her out.” Rainbow interrupts. Applejack shoves her shoulder. ”What? I’m just speeding things along.”
“So, that’s it? No conditions or anything?” They shake their heads. “And you’re fine with this?” Fluttershy sheepishly nods her head. "Okay then, that's cool?"
"What's wrong, Nonny? You don’t sound very happy.” Pinkie Pie asks.
“It just that secrecy that you guys had for the last minute just because of this?”
”Some of our concern is more kept to a certain restriction.” Rarity explains.
“I’m guessing you can’t tell me now, since that’s over with?”
”I’m afraid not. Some things are better kept away from others.”
“Figures.”
”We’ll let the two of you make plans, we’re going to get something to drink.” Most of them get up and walk away to head for a juice stand, leaving you with Fluttershy still sitting across the table.
”I hate to ask but, now what?”
“I don’t know, do you want to catch a movie?”
”I would, but I’m not comfortable about movie theatre.”
“Do you want to watch something at your place or mine?”
”We can try my place. My parents will be out tomorrow night.”
It seems like a good idea. You don't have much to do for tomorrow anyway. “That’s fine, we can do that. This better not be another excuse to stay out of public.”
”Okay, maybe it is.”
“Then what’s the other reason?”
”There isn’t much out there that interests me.”
“I don’t blame you. We’ll watch whatever at your place.”
”Do you know any movies?” She asks you.
“I’ve heard about an old one. It’s good, but I haven’t looked into it.”
”What’s it called?”
“Aliens, I think.”
”It sounds kind of terrifying.”
“It might not be. Just don’t let the name fool you. It could be something silly, like Avatar.”
”Oh, I guess that makes sense.”
You see the group coming back, each of them is carrying their own smoothie. “Where’d you get those?” Pinkie points over to the stand at the far side of the food court. “Hey, do you want one?” She looks at the drinks and nods. “Do you know what flavor you want? Mango, blueberry?”
”I’m not picky, any one will do.” You get up, wishing that it’s true when you come back. That’s the least of your concern, since you don’t even know what movie you just asked for tomorrow night. When you get home, you’ll do a quick search about it.
