Fluttershy never dealt well with stress, apprehension, or pressure, and she wasn’t dealing with it very well right now. She sucked in a deep, wheezy breath to stave off her rising panic, and as her barrel expanded outwards, she felt the soft touch of her friend, Twilight Sparkle, who placed a wing over her back.
“Sometimes, being assertive is still hard for me,” Fluttershy said in a wheezy whisper, “and this is a big step for me. Oh, I hope nopony complains or is ever upset.”
“Have you even had a complaint?” Twilight asked as she turned to look at one of her dearest friends. “I mean, I know that it is none of my business, but have you?”
“No.” Fluttershy’s voice was almost squeaky. “But then again, I’ve never actually done this as a business. So far, the parents really like that I have all these animals around, it teaches foals to be compassionate and think about the needs of others. Your mother, Twilight Velvet, says that the animals are therapeutic for troubled foals and will help them, should I take one in.”
“You know, Fluttershy, foster care is a big step,” Twilight started to say, and when she was about to continue, Fluttershy cut in with a polite squeak, so Twilight waited, her ears perked forwards in an attentive manner.
“I know, Twilight, but I choose to see it as an extended foalsitting job. I’m just looking after them for a time as a caretaker. And yes, I know that all of you are worried about me being able to give them up. Rarity has already had a long, long talk with me.” With a nervous full body twitch that made both of her wings flap, Fluttershy looked at the wooden sign that Twilight was prepared to drive into the ground and her eyes widened a bit as she blew her long forelock out of her eyes with pursed lips.
The sunny yellow pegasus pulled away from her friend, stepped forwards, and began to look around at all of her hard work. Years of hard work. She had help from her friends, help from the community, and now, everything was coming together. Feeling thoughtful, she turned her head towards Twilight, blinked a few times, then drew in another deep breath.
“You know, Twilight, having a talent for kindness… that can be difficult to turn into a means of supporting yourself, but I’ve done it. I’ve done it and I feel really good about it. Mayor Mare pays me a stipend for the animal care that I do, and my little foalsitting business is taking off. I’ve found a means of fully supporting myself doing the sorts of things that I love to do… I’m a very lucky pony, Twilight.”
“Yes you are, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied as she lifted the sign. “Shall I make it official?”
“Oh!” Fluttershy’s cheeks turned bright pink and she nodded a bit as she drew one foreleg up against her barrel. “I would be honoured if you did, Princess Twilight.” In the pegasus mare’s voice, there was unmistakable happiness and joy, both well deserved.
Hefting the sign up, Twilight then drove it down into the ground with great force, planting it down deep into the rich black dirt. She held out one wing, dusted off the sign a bit even though it was spotless, and nodded her head. “I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do decree that this place of business is now open.”
The two friends looked at one another and Fluttershy’s breathing quickened. Nearby, a chicken clucked, then went running off to do chicken errands, rushing off to do whatever it was that chickens did during the day. Turning about, Fluttershy looked at the decorative sign, which had been hoof-carved by Big Mac.
Fluttershy’s Foalsitting and Foster Care.
The lettering was plain and simple, which Fluttershy liked a great deal. Big Mac had carved butterflies around the words, butterflies that looked very much like her cutie mark, and there were several little hearts as well. All around the edge of the sign, vines had been carved into the wood, with many little leaves, an astounding amount of detail.
“I wish Rarity could have been here,” Twilight said, sounding wistful and a little bit disappointed.
“Twilight, it’s the cost of her success,” Fluttershy responded, trying to defend Rarity’s absence. “She just opened that store in Fillydelphia and it’s having problems. She would have been here if she could, Twilight.”
Slumping, her wings drooping somewhat, Twilight rolled her eyes and her lower lip protruded. Rarity had been scarce lately, almost a stranger, and it seemed that she was always off somewhere, doing something business related. Sighing, Twilight made herself smile for Fluttershy, who looked as though she might go into full blown defense mode of Rarity’s behaviour at any moment.
“Twilight, she’s not here to defend herself.” Fluttershy’s lips contorted into an unpleasant almost-frown. “This is just how things are now, Twilight. Rarity has her business and she stays busy. Rainbow Dash is either chasing after adventure with Daring Do and Tarnish or she’s doing Wonderbolt stuff. Pinkie, well, I don’t quite know what’s up with Pinkie Pie, but she keeps going on longer and longer trips doing, well, whatever it is that she’s doing. Things have changed.”
“I didn’t want them to.” Twilight’s voice was strained and her eyelids fluttered a bit as she fought back tears. “Sometimes, it feels as though we’re not as close as we once were. Half of us just up and leaves any time they feel like it, to borrow a phrase from Applejack.”
“Including you, Twilight.” Fluttershy’s words held soft admonishment for her friend.
“Yeah, well, I can’t help that.”
“Neither can Rarity or Rainbow Dash.” The sunny yellow pegasus sighed. “We couldn’t be young and carefree forever, Twilight. We’re at that point in our lives when friendship takes a lot of hard work and effort.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Twilight eyed the sign, thinking about what it meant. Fluttershy, like Applejack, had put roots down here in Ponyville. While the others came and went, and lately, there had been a lot of coming and going, Applejack and Fluttershy made established homes. At least there was something to come home to, and the thought was sobering for Twilight, who found herself away from home more and more.
Holding out her wings, Twilight embraced Fluttershy, who squeaked. Fluttershy was only taken off guard for a moment though, and she returned the embrace, pressing herself up against Twilight, who suddenly looked much older and a whole lot wearier. She stroked her friend’s neck with her wing, and Twilight’s barrel began hitching a bit as the pair of them stood together.
“Somepony is hugging my pegasus!”
Closing her eyes, Fluttershy summoned her patience with a sigh, and she pulled away from Twilight to face Discord, who hovered nearby. She watched as he pointed at the sign with his claw, and the draconequus looked as though he had been offended. She wondered what sort of theatrics were about to ensue.
“What is this?” Discord demanded. “This… this… this travesty? What about us? What about our time together?”
“Us?” Fluttershy felt a few bad words coming and for a brief moment, she bit down upon her own lip. “There is no ‘us,’ Discord, I don’t know what you mean. You… you keep going off and vanishing, you don’t even tell me when you are leaving, and when you’re gone, I worry! I worry a lot and then you come back and just expect for me to be here on your return, and you expect me to stop everything I’m doing so I can give all of my time to you! That’s not how friends are, Discord!”
“Somepony is certainly in a sour mood,” Discord replied as he pulled back his claw and pressed his paw to his chest. “Dearest Fluttershy, this crankiness does not become you. You are going to give that pretty face of yours worry wrinkles.”
Gnawing on her lip now, Fluttershy’s nostrils flared and she pawed the ground with her hoof as she stared at the draconequus lounging in the air. Her face darkened and the corner of her right eye began to twitch. All of the fine, velvety hairs along Fluttershy’s spine stood up, and the various animals in Fluttershy’s yard discovered that they had pressing business elsewhere.
“Um, Discord, I think you might be in some trouble—”
“Oh, nonsense, Twilight, everything is fine!” Discord made a dismissive wave with his claws at Twilight, and he ignored Fluttershy’s ever-increasing rage. “Foster care… really? You’re going to start looking after little waifs? Hmm”—Discord began to stroke his chin and he looked down at Fluttershy—“I bet your biological clock is ticking. We can talk about it over our Tuesday tea.”
“Get out!” Fluttershy squeaked with rage and she stomped her hooves on the ground. “Just… go away! I can’t deal with you right now!”
“But I just got here! You’re supposed to be happy! I wasn’t gone that long!”
“One hundred and three days, Discord! One hundred and three days!” Fluttershy stomped her hoof on the ground and her wings sprang out from her sides. “One hundred and three days of fretting and worrying about you! One hundred and three days of being sick with worry!”
“I lost track of time—”
“GET OUT!” Fluttershy roared.
Looking wounded, his eyes filled with real, actual hurt, Discord did not reply. He hovered in the air, shocked, surprised, and blinking at the angry little pegasus mare, looking pained and astonished by her behaviour. Saying nothing, he held up his griffon talons, snapped his claws, and vanished.
The second he was gone, the floodgates opened and Fluttershy began to cry. The animals, who had sought safety just a few minutes before, now began to return, many of them looking worried as they approached their caretaker. Sitting down in the soft, green grass, Fluttershy began to bawl and her sobs shook her whole body.
“This was supposed to be a happy day!” she wailed.
Sitting down beside her friend, Twilight wrapped her wing around the smaller pegasus with the hopes that a warm, fuzzy, feathery snuggle would comfort her. She gave Fluttershy a squeeze, trying to make her feel better, and then let out a troubled sigh as she thought about how much work it took to maintain a friendship as the years rolled by. Work that Discord clearly wasn’t interested in doing.
“Let it out, Fluttershy,” Twilight said in a soft, soothing voice as she gave her friend another squeeze. “When you’re done, we’ll go inside and we’ll have tea. I’m putting the kettle on to boil right now.”
“Thank you, Twilight.” Fluttershy covered her face with her foreleg, leaned against her friend, and was glad that least one pony had showed up for the grand opening of Fluttershy’s Foalsitting and Foster Care.
Author's Note
This was originally the beginning of a longer story, but I decided that it worked well as a one shot. Thank you, for reading, I appreciate your time. 
