Aborted Romance

Fluttershy clutched at her stomach and crawled along the street. She felt like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

“What’s wrong?” came a voice from above her. Derpy flew down and landed beside her, settling into a slow walk. “Did you eat some of Applejack’s baked bads?”

“No… it’s not that…” Fluttershy groaned.

Derpy thought for a moment. “Got in a fight with Bulk Biceps?”

“Not that either…” Fluttershy moaned.

Derpy scratched her head with a hoof. “Hmmm… well… then it must be…”

“Time of the month,” they both completed together.

“Oh dear, poor thing,” Derpy said. “Come back to my place. I think I know just the solution.”

Five minutes later they were in Derpy’s house.

“I never knew you lived in one of these cottages,” Fluttershy said, sitting on Derpy’s soft grey couch and sipping a cup of hot chocolate that the kind mail mare had prepared for her.

“Yes, I moved here from Cloudsdale soon after I got my cutie mark,” Derpy explained. “Here, have another muffin.” She passed the basket to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy reached out a hoof and grabbed a muffin. “Delicious,” she said, having taken a big bite. “This really has made me feel better.”

“That’s not even what I meant!” Derpy said. “What will make you better is…”

She left the room.

Fluttershy waited.

Five minutes passed and still she waited.

Fluttershy wondered where Derpy had actually gone. She heard some loud banging from upstairs.

She finished her drink and helped herself to another muffin. It was a big basket, and she was sure that Derpy wouldn’t mind.

“… Dressing up!” exclaimed Derpy, enthusiastically leaping into the room while pulling a large free-standing rack of clothes behind her.

Fluttershy couldn’t even remember the beginning of Derpy’s sentence anymore, but dressing up sounded fun. “Oh my… I don’t think any pony in Ponyville has such a large collection of clothes, except Rarity of course.”

“I love dressing up!” Derpy enthused. “And I’m sure it will make you feel loads better.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said, running her hoof along the rack, looking at the outfits. “Hey, this one’s cute… kind of anime style.”

“Yeah, I’m going through a big anime cosplay phase at the moment,” Derpy explained.

Fluttershy grinned, her abdominal pain a thing of the past. “Oh, I love anime. I’m just wild about everything from Neighpon!”

“Let’s cosplay then!” Derpy shouted.

The two picked outfits.