As many ponies have heard, the Everfree Forest is one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria. Putting aside the poisonous plants and complete disregard for the natural order, it is filled with a multitude of beasts that would jump at the chance to eat defenseless ponies.

Armed with the knowledge that Poison Joke grows in the forest (because of course it does), the next step is to search for somepony who knows about the forest. Nopony would be dumb enough to live within the actual forest, of course, but there might be a ~~shack~~ home or two at the edge of the forest.

The trip to the edge of the forest takes a good chunk of the afternoon. While cutting through the town would have saved time, I prefer the security that the scenic route provides. Fewer encounters with others this way.

To my relief, there is a home at the edge of the forest. It isn’t much to look at, a quaint little cottage built into a tree on top of a small hill. It would almost make for a quaint vacation home, save for its location and… apparent infestation.

Dozens of animals of every size and shape loiter around the home. Even from a distance, I can make out a small bestiary of simple beasts roaming the hill. It seems that the home’s indiscriminant owner collects everything from noble eagles and bloodhounds to lowly vermin.

Already picturing a crazy old mare, I cross a bridge over a narrow creek and approach the front door, thankful that my curse excludes most animals. I give the front door three firm knocks and retreat fifteen paces back down the hill.

This time, I’m not taking any unnecessary risks.

After a moment, the door swings open and out walks… the cutest pegasus I have ever seen. Her golden coat catches the sunlight just right and her luxurious pink mane covers a single eye as she… looks around for something… wait…

I wave one foreleg through the air, quickly grabbing her attention.

After a moment of pause, the pegasus cocks her head to one side and squeaks out… something. While her voice is too soft for me to make it out, I have a pretty good idea what she’s asking.

“Yes! I’m the one who knocked on your door. Could you speak a bit louder?”

“Why are you all of the way over there?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Don’t mind that. I’m just a bit shy. I was wondering if I could ask some questions.”

The pegasus seems to process this for a moment or two. Something must have gone wrong, however, because she processed the wrong part of that statement, “Oh dear. Is there anything I could do to make you feel more comfortable? I know a thing or two about being shy.”

“Did I say shy? I meant… uh… scared. No need to do anything special, though I’d appreciate it if you could speak up. So, about those questions?”

“Scared?” asks the oblivious pegasus, obeying my request but still focusing on the wrong part. She looks down at her hooves and then back along her ~~curvaceous~~ body “I don’t think I’m that scary… am I?”

“It’s not you. Don’t worry about it.”

Looking around, the pegasus looks between the various animals, “Oh… is it one of the animals? I could come to you, if that’s all right.”

With that, the mare takes a step out of her home.

“It’s not the animals,” I say, taking a step back down the hill, “As I said, don’t worry about it…”

“Are you sure?” the mare asks, taking another step forward, “I used to have a lot of fears until I started talking about them with friends.”

Sure, that’s going to happen. I’ll just open up and tell her that I’m scared of causing accidents with my presence… that I fear breaking up happy couples by standing in the wrong place at the wrong time… that I’m scared of going anywhere near doctors and that I have no idea what to do if I ever get injured or sick. Why not share my biggest fear while I’m at it? I’m sure that this stranger would love to hear all about it.

Wait… did she just take another step toward me?

“I’m sure that works for ponies like you who have friends,” I respond, taking a couple steps back, “but I’m taking steps toward fixing my problem. In fact, that’s what brings me here.”

The pegasus freezes for a moment or two, eyes widening as she stares in my direction with those blue, misty… wait, is she crying?

“You… don’t have friends?” she asks, drooping her ears as she takes another step… and another. What? Does she think that she’s going in for a hug? Is this… is she serious?

“C-come on,” I stammer, retreating as Fluttershy moves forward, “I already told you not to worry about it. Everything is… is…“ Everything is what? Okay? Fine? “…a work in progress?”

My rear hooves are suddenly wet. Looking back, it seems that I missed the small bridge in my retreat. My rear legs are soaked to the pastern in the creek.

The pegasus takes two final steps toward me before finally stopping her approach, “Um… if you aren’t scared of me, would it be all right if I got a bit closer? Talking to somepony so far away is a little bit… um, difficult.”

I take two more steps of my own, carrying me through and beyond the creek and up the start of a new hill on the opposite bank, “While I’m not afraid of you, I really need to keep my distance. I promise that it is nothing against you personally, Miss…”

“Fluttershy.”

“Miss Fluttershy,” I amend “I can explain my reasons if you are really curious but I really don’t like talking about it. Either way, I hope you can respect my personal space.”

At the very least, Fluttershy has the good sense to blush, “Sorry for pushing like that. It’s just.. it’s been a really long time since I’ve met somepony like… me. After all that I’ve been learned, I think that I might be able to help you… if that’s what you want. If you want to do things your own way, though, I have no right to stop you.”

“Thanks for the offer, Miss… Fluttershy…”

Wait a moment. Fluttershy… Fluttershy… I know that I’ve heard that name somewhere! That name must’ve been everywhere a couple years ago… but why? Fads and celebrities come and go but… wait… that face. I know that I’ve seen it somewhere…

…but it can probably wait. I’m not going to make the same errors two conversations in a row. From now on, I’m keeping my distance and staying on topic. If I want to learn more about Fluttershy, it can wait until I am cured and capable of ~~dating~~ holding normal conversations.

“oh… okay.”

“First of all, are you familiar with a plant called poison joke?”

“Unfortunately,” Fluttershy mutters, blushing at the thought, “there’s a small patch of it not too far away from here. My friends and I… uh… accidentally walked through it one time.”

Well, THAT certainly catches my attention. While the blue freckles on my face were relatively minor, there is no trace of blue on her body… not counting her radiant blue eyes. “If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look any worse for the wear…” a random thought occurred to me, “…unless you used to be a young colt or something.”

“All of us were cured the next day…” Fluttershy says, her cheeks a deep shade of red, “…though my problem wasn’t really something you could see.”

Normally, I’d be a little bit curious about what sort of curse Fluttershy had faced. At the moment, however, I’m a bit fixated on a single word she used.

“Cured? There’s really a cure?”

“Oh yes… A special herbal bath was able to wash everything away. I couldn’t even imagine what life would be like if all of us were stuck like…” Her words ground to a halt as her eyes widened, staring right at me.

…Horseapples.

Giving a cough of discomfort, I spoke up, “Again, I’d rather not talk about my situation in too much detail. With that said, I’m kind of hoping that you know how to prepare that bath.”

Fluttershy frowns, “I’m really sorry. I know that I live next to forest but I’m much better with animals than with plants… see?” With that final word, Fluttershy turns to the side and presents her… huh, I guess that I missed a bit of blue on her… yup, right there… in her cutie mark.

I suddenly come to the realization that I’m openly staring at a mare’s flank. While it barely ranks on my list of awkward situations, I still feel a pang of shame for my breach of civility. Thankfully, Fluttershy does not seem aware of my transgression.

“So I see,” I dryly reply, “I don’t suppose you know where I could find some?”

“I do, actually!” Fluttershy happily responds, “I can already think of five equines who might have some… or at least know how to… how to make… make… ” Fluttershy’s head slumps forward, making her look down at the floor. As she takes her first step toward me, however… I am ready to break down.

“No… No… You can’t… you were out of range…” Looking over the surrounding area, I can see my error. I retreated down a hill… across a creek where the slope bottomed out… up a slope on the opposite side. While we were still ten paces apart along the ground, the distance between us as the crow flies was…

Foiled by basic geometry. This… this can’t really be happening.

“Please,” I plead to the advancing pegasus, “You have to fight, it Ms. Fluttershy! Tell me who I need to see. I just need a single name. Just. One. Word!”

When she finally reaches me, Fluttershy actually succeeds at speaking. In fact, she gets out two coherent words. As with much of our brief conversation, however, the two of us don’t seem to be on the same page.

“Poor doggy,” Fluttershy whimpers, lifting up one forehoof and… starts petting me. Given our difference in size, I imagine that it looks quite ridiculous.

For me, however… I don’t have much to laugh about. There’s nothing left for me to do but put this little pegasus to bed… though she seems to be taking the lead on that front.

To my surprise, Ms. Fluttershy stops her petting and takes a step or two toward her cottage, waving for me to follow. While I’m not used to my “victims” taking an active role, I don’t object to the unexpected assistance.

“Dun worry, puppy…” Fluttershy slurs, slowly walking backwards as I follow, “mama’s gonna make it aaallllll better.”

If I’m being fair, this conversation wasn’t a total loss. I know that there’s a cure. I know that there are ponies in town who know how to make the cure. I even learned that not all victims of poison joke turn blue like me or that scam artist.

The thought that I might’ve met dozens of victims without ever knowing it… It’s actually a pretty calming thought. Makes me feel a bit less alone.

“I’m sho shorry, Angel,” Fluttershy coos, having stepped on something white and furry while walking backwards into her home. A bunny, I think.

Speaking of which, the interior of the cottage is… pretty nice, actually. Dozens of small animals (mostly small rodents and birds) fill the room but the furnishings aren’t half- *thunk*

Wait, what was… right. My briefcase apparently slammed right into the doorframe. After carrying it for so long, I forget that it exists at times. If I’m somehow not cured in the next couple of days, I’ll look into obtaining some sturdy saddlebags.

Turning back, I can see that every single face in the room is focused squarely on me. Fluttershy is waving me toward the couch, however, so I slowly follow her inside.

I feel… surrounded.

“Hey there, everyone,” I say out loud, feeling silly for talking to simple animals, “No need to be alarmed. I’m just here to help Ms. Fluttershy sleep.”

Fluttershy lowers herself to the ground on a carpet in front of the couch, motioning with one hoof for me to join her. As I move to join her, I suddenly feel a stabbing pain in the side of my barrel. Looking over, I can see a white rabbit holding a fork like a spear.

…Well, you don’t see that every day.

“Angellll,” Fluttershy moans from the carpet, “Dondodat, Angel. Be nice fer Momma”

‘Angel’ looks between the two of us, his paws still clutching his weapon as his expression is torn by indecision. If it makes things go any faster, I’m willing to go along with this madness.

“Hey there, Angel,” I say, addressing the rodent with my softest tone, “I can see that you want to protect you… ‘moma’…. but I promise that I’m only here to help her fall asleep. If she thinks I’m a dog, she could probably use the rest.”

“Heeeeerre puppy puppy puppy!” Fluttershy beckons.

With one last look between the two of us, Angel drops his fork to the ground. With one paw, he motions toward his eyes and then at me.

“No funny business,” I agree, “I read you loud and clear.”

While I don’t blame the rabbit for caring about his caregiver, he doesn’t have much to worry about… for multiple reasons, really. Even if every pony I met was made to insist that I mate with them, doing so would by horribly wrong. With that said, affected ponies don’t go after that. Some ponies are more aggressive cuddlers, sure, but even they stick to wrestling, back-breaking hugs, and forceful nuzzles. After all of this time, I haven’t even been kissed… willfully.

…I’ll admit that it took me a bit of time to figure out what was going on with my curse. I have kissed a couple of ponies when faced with sudden affection and came dangerously close to mating when faced with an ex-marefriend in Canterlot. The scary part wasn’t what almost happened, though. It was the way they responded.

They didn’t resist in the slightest.

None of them ‘got into it’, mind. I realized something was wrong when my ex-marefriend made no move to kiss me back or more herself into a suitable position. If I wanted to force something onto them, though, if I hadn’t suspected that something was amiss… No. Even if I disregarded my moral compasss, there would be no point.

When I drive ponies giddy, there is almost nothing of them left. There’s no conversation… no spark of affection or warmth… very little of their personality. Even their emotions are heavily sedated. While they are different enough to tell them apart, they aren’t… real. It’s an empty mockery of who they really are, a single equine-shaped mass of flesh that wears a hundred flimsy disguises.

No matter how deep I sleep into loneliness, I can’t imagine anything happening. I can’t imagine what sort of pony would want something to happen. While the cuddles could be nice… and the ponies might be attractive… Angel has nothing to fear.

“Puppy!” Fluttershy coos in delight as I lay down beside her. Unfolding one of her wings, Fluttershy gives me a solid nudge to the side… followed by another. Given my weight, I don’t think that she’s going to move me. Not quite sure what she’s after, though.

I try scooting away from Fluttershy, only for her to scoot back next to me and continue nudging me with her wings. Does… does she want me to preen her? I’ve helped with that once or twice so…

Fluttershy is petting me again. Rubbing me, if you want to be technical. She is rubbing the lowest part of my barrel, right where it meets with the floor. As she continues rubbing, I receive another nudge. It takes a second for me to piece things together.

“…Belly rub?” I ask, watching as Fluttershy gives me a serene smile.

I have to give Fluttershy credit. So far, she has been the most ‘put-together’ mare that I have ever dealt with. I can’t help but wonder if cuddling somehow fits into her special talent… unless she’s special for some other reason.

Rolling onto my back, I allow the attractive mare to start rubbing my belly as if I was an oversized mastiff. I reach out with a single hoof to return the favor, only to find my hoof blocked by one wing. The wing gently pushes back on my hoof as its owner gives me a stern gaze. The moment I give up, however, the mare is all smiles and bell rubs.

Taking a hint, I close my eyes and try to ‘enjoy’ being treated as an animal.

I can hear the other animals milling all around us, apparently deciding that belly rubs were no big deal. I can hear the squeak of mice running right next to my head… can hear a couple of actual puppies chasing each other in play… can hear the songs of birds lurking in the rafters.

…Wait… I didn’t know birds could hum. Is that… could that be Fluttershy?

I hear humming almost every single day. After all, it’s one of the few ways ponies can “verbalize” pleasure without using real words. Fluttershy, however… she’s humming an actual song with that lovely voice of hers… a lullaby, I think.

Is this… is this what it’s like for the ponies I affect?

This is… This is… this is over far too soon.

Apparently, Fluttershy’s lullaby was too much for her to take. She falls asleep on the carpet, one hoof still hanging over my barrel in mid-rub.

As I remove Fluttershy’s hoof and lift myself back up, I notice that I feel a bit… lighter, I guess.

The animals are still milling around, though Angel is standing next to the door and motioning for me to leave. I walk over towards the door, seeing no reason to linger in the cottage any longer…

Until I see the picture hanging on the wall.

In the picture, I can see a group of six ponies gathered together in some unfamiliar library… Fluttershy is one of them and… I actually recognize that purple one.

I recognize her coloration and cutie mark, at least. She was the princess’ personal student, not to mention a near-constant presence in the royal library before she was shipped off to some backwater town. While I’m hardly her friend, she has helped me find books on one or two occasions. In any case, the picture was most certainly not taken in the royal library.

Wait… didn’t Roseluck say something about a library in Ponyville?

As I stare at the picture, the beginnings of a notion begin to form in my head. If that library was the Ponyville library, maybe Ms. Sparkle was sent out here to Ponyville. No, I’m almost certain of it. The newspaper reported that the whole Nightmare Moon debacle went down in the Everfree Forest. That was… what, a couple months before my luck turned?

So… If Twilight Sparkle was sent out to Ponyville… and Ponyville had a library… there was a decent chance that she had read whatever book talked about poison joke. From what I remember of her, I can imagine Ms. Sparkle being the first pony to figure out that cure. In fact, I’m almost sure of it. If I can find Twilight Sparkle in town, I can get rid of this stupid curse.

Until I find a better solution, I have to believe that.

As I turn to leave, however, I do catch sight of one more unusual thing in the photograph. All six of the ponies seem to be wearing some form of gaudy jewelry. Five of them, including Fluttershy, are wearing golden necklaces. Ms. Sparkle, meanwhile, is wearing a tiara. Something about that tacky jewelry looks vaguely… familiar.

Oh… Oh.

Well, I have a pretty good idea of where I heard the name ‘Fluttershy’ before. I can’t believe that I didn’t recognize her sooner.

I just… I was just cuddled by an Element of Harmony!

...Oh buck me.

Author's Note

And... yeah.

I realize that Fluttershy's approach may, at first blush, seem out of character. With that in mind, I don't think that we've ever really seen Fluttershy interact with a similarly withdrawn or shy pony. Given her close friendship with Rainbow Dash, a pony who is constantly encouraging and coaching others, I'd imagine a certain level of excitement if Fluttershy thought that her lessons could help another pony (especially if the pony appears to be more shy or scared than herself).

Just my thinking, though