Slim Chances (Swirlstar the Dedreab)
Fluttershy had never liked thunderstorms much; they were loud and scary and made a mess out of everything. She liked them even less from below, cowering in her new home and counting the seconds until it was due to pass. So, it was not really a surprise that, when somepony -or something, she couldn’t help but think- knocked on the door.
With a yelp she took to the air, banging her head on the table she had hidden beneath. Rubbing her aching scalp, she quietly snuck out towards the stairs, to seek shelter in her closet with her teddy bear and wait for whatever Everfree monster had decided to besiege her cottage. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice she recognized; hoarse and though it was.
She took a breath to calm herself down, puffing out her chest as she went to open the door. Outside was the amazingly gorgeous unicorn that had helped her out when she had first come to town. Rarity was wearing a brown cloak darkened by the heavy rain, and from her reddened face it was obvious she had been crying.
Now however, she was trying to put on a brave face, managing a pained smile as she saw Fluttershy and the pegasus felt a pang of sympathy and sadness at the futile act.
“Rarity, what’s wrong?” She stepped back to let in the shivering pony. But Rarity didn’t answer, at least not before she had hung up her coat and been led by the hoof to the living room table. In fact, before she had said a word Fluttershy had assured her that whatever the issue was it would be alright several times, alternating between the kitchen and the living room as she tried to both console her friend and make them some tea at the same time.
As Fluttershy was pouring the tea for them, she finally spoke.
“I-“was all she managed before bursting into tears. Fluttershy gasped and almost threw the kettle to the table as she leaped to Rarity’s side, pulling her into a tight hug. They just sat there for a while, holding each other as minutes ticked by on the grandfather clock in the corner. Fluttershy was honestly starting to enjoy it, the feeling of Rarity’s smooth coat against hers, the smell of her perfume, even just the feeling on being this close to her crush was enough to invite a swarm of butterflies into her belly.
She silently scolded herself, Rarity, her friend -and nothing more-, was crying her heart out; this was not the time to enjoy herself. When Rarity finally stopped and pulled away gently, Fluttershy couldn’t help but leave a hoof to rest on her shoulder.
“Thank you Fluttershy… I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said sniffling. Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel proud about that, even though it made her feel sick to be enjoying her friend’s suffering.
“I need your help-” Rarity’s face sank, unwilling to see Fluttershy in the eye, “-I think…” After a deep breath, she told Fluttershy everything, and she listened to it all: the self-hatred, the eating problems, the purging, looking at herself in the mirror and seeing an incredibly fat, ugly pony staring back at her with equal parts disbelief and disgust. But worst of all there were the judgments, Rarity’s attempts at entering the fashion industry only to be rejected because of her looks, her idols and heroes sneering at her.
Fluttershy felt a seething anger build in her chest. They had dared to reject the most wonderful pony in the world. They had DARED to say that Rarity, the most beautiful and amazing pony in the world was not good enough for them! Fluttershy felt like hitting something, she just couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
In the end, all she did was pull Rarity back in for another hug, holding her tighter and wrapping her wings around her. She felt Rarity hug her back, felt the tears pouring onto her shoulder. She pressed her cheek to Rarity’s briefly before whispering in her ear.
“It’ll be alright, I’ll help you.” She felt Rarity nodding weakly and heard a sigh of relief.
“It’ll be alright…”
A small bell chimed as Fluttershy entered the Eastern Wind, taking in the sights and smells of the surprisingly roomy restaurant. It was not a particularly busy day, she guessed, but well-dressed patrons chatted quietly over half-empty plates of food. She slowed her walk so that she came up side by side with Rarity, and gently draped a wing over her back.
Rarity held her head high, and acted casual, but Fluttershy could read her like an open book. She was nervous, her eyes occasionally flitting over one of the more attractive mares as if to check them for disapproving stares. They sat down at a table for two near the corner and Rarity called over a waitress. Fluttershy looked up from her menu and saw Rarity having a minor panic attack about the available dishes. Dramatic as always.
As their waitress, a cheery unicorn in a flattering pink dress reached their table, Fluttershy smiled weakly.
“Greeting ladies, I’ll be your server today,” she began in an accent so affected it was impossible to determine what it was supposed to be, “have you decided on a meal?”
“I’ll take the bok choy and shiitake quiche, if that’s alright,” Fluttershy answered before looking expectantly at Rarity, who shot her a desperate glance before becoming very interested in the menu again. Fluttershy gave her a smile and turned back to their waitress (which according to the name-plate was named Tofu Treat). “She’ll have the same.”
“Very well, anything to drink?” Tofu Treat scribbled down their order on a clipboard.
“Yes, two sodas please.”
As their waitress turned to leave, Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile at the strange reversal between herself and Rarity. Usually it was her who was silent and uncertain, while Rarity took the lead. Now however, she had just decided what they were going to eat, and Rarity was giving her a thankful look for having done so.
“You know Rarity, in these three weeks you’ve changed a lot.” Instead of being avoiding and fearful, Rarity had become more direct with her feelings, even if she mostly showed it by shying away from the spotlight she used to love. “You’re looking better too, and I think maybe soon you’ll be back to normal…”
“Thank you sweetness. I simply cannot express how much this means to me...”
They sat in silence for a while, Rarity raising her head and absent-mindedly looked around in a way that made it obvious she was trying to pass the time. Truth to be told there was little left to talk about since they had spent most of the past few weeks together. Fluttershy thought back to their struggles, and couldn’t help but to smile.
Not only had Rarity improved, but she herself had learned to become more assertive and outspoken. She remembered feeling bad about forcing Rarity to eat, feeling like she intruded on her privacy when she constantly followed her. Of course she probably should feel bad about it; usually forcing others to do as you want and monitoring their every move was a bad thing.
However, Fluttershy had realized that there are times when you need to do unpleasant things to help others, and she felt proud of herself that she had not backed down under Rarity’s irresistible puppy-eyes.
Snapping back to reality, Fluttershy caught herself grinning dopily as she stared at Rarity. She straightened herself out and tried to ignore the warm sensation in her cheeks before noticing that Rarity had returned her gaze.
Rarity’s eyes were half-lidded and her mouth were somewhere in between a smile and a grin. It was impossible to stop looking at her; her flawless alabaster coat; her deep, sapphire eyes; her gorgeous mane. Fluttershy could spend a lifetime describing Rarity, not just her beauty, but her strength and kindness too. There was only one way to express how she felt.
“I love you.”
Rarity was pacing. She did that a lot nowadays, as this one day had been getting closer. For Fluttershy, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, and she just sits on the weathered couch, watching her wife circle the table over and over again. Now, that was something that had sunk in: wife. Months after their honeymoon had ended it still gave her tingles just to think about it.
In the back of her mind she couldn’t help but compare Rarity (her wife!) and her pacing habits with that of Twilight. Maybe it’s a unicorn thing? Probably not.
“Oh, sweetheart, how can you be so calm?” Rarity had stopped, and was now pouting at Fluttershy in that utterly heart-melting way that only she could. “This is a big moment for us.”
Fluttershy rose and walked over to her, nuzzling her cheek before planting a kiss on her forehead, at the base of her horn. She shot Rarity a wide smile and wrapped her wings around her in a hug.
“I know Rarity, I know.”
In that moment the door swung open and a tall, chipper-looking earth pony walked in on only three legs. His right front leg was folded against his chest around a bundle of cloth. He carried it over to the couple, one hyperventilating and the other frozen still and tensed up. “Congratulations,” he said, more to the foal than to the mares, “These are your mommies.”
They were currently walking down a street somewhere in Canterlot. Fluttershy hadn’t really paid attention to her surroundings; she was more preoccupied with the tiny foal held tightly to Rarity’s chest by a blue dweomer. He had a sort of dull, green-ish yellow coat; the beginnings of a sand-colored mane with some mint striped in it; and ice-blue eyes.
Eventually, the reality that they now had a child had hit her –it was when she had been struck by a sudden gust filed with sand as he practiced his foal-enhanced magic abilities- and she had joined Rarity in alternating between stressing out and crying tears of joy. However, it had grown annoying to just call him “the foal”, so now they were on their way to see a namegiver.
The house they finally arrived at was unassuming, being the same white, purple and gold cottage as every other house in this part of the capital, but the inside was like something out of a museum of pre-Equestria unicorns. Sparse and cold, the only decorations in the room were banners hanging from the wall, depicting scenes like birds feeding from a tray and trees gently blowing in the breeze. The only furniture was a desk and some chairs, behind which sat a bespectacled pegasus who looked to be somewhere in her fifties or sixties. When she heard them enter she looked up from whatever she was reading and gave them a polite smile. Then she saw the foal, and her smile widened into a grin.
“Welcome to Madam Mystic’s Fortune Telling and Nameing Parlor,” She said in a tone of voice that made it clear she knew exactly which of the two services they were here for. “Mystic is currently free, if you’d like an appointment right away.”
They agreed, and were soon led into a smaller room that looked more like an office. Fake torches lit up the dark grey walls and multicolored shrouds hanging from the ceiling. Madam Mystic herself was seated on the floor, behind a low, round table covered with cards and other fortunetelling equipment. She gave them a smile and motioned for them to join her, waving away her secretary.
“I apologize for the décor,” she began, “but my clientele expect a certain vibe. I hope you understand.” The two mares nodded. “Both of you understand how this process works, right?”
Rarity nodded, but Fluttershy shook her head meekly; she must have missed that day at school. Madam Mystic gave her a disarming smile that suggested it wasn’t an uncommon thing.
“Well, I will look into your child’s future, and see what their name is. It isn’t more complex than that.”
Fluttershy thought that made a lot of sense, and explained some question’s she’d had about how her parents knew she that Fluttershy would be a fitting name. Rarity reluctantly handed over their foal, who just smiled and seemed generally happy about how things were going. A brown dweomer enveloped him and the fortuneteller’s face constricted into a focused grimace. The seconds seemed to last forever, each one longer than the last until finally she stopped the spell.
She almost beamed as she handed him back over to Rarity before standing up.
“Congratulations, your son’s name is Sandstorm.”