Fluttershy is happy to listen to you!
“Oh dear!” gasps Fluttershy as she opens the door for you after only a few moments of polite, quiet knocking. “Come in, please! You don’t look so well, and while I was just going to run off to the market, that can wait, it can all wait.” She holds open the door and watches as you shuffle past, biting her lip anxiously.
Around you, animals scurry and scuttle and soar, chittering to themselves quietly, but they leave you plenty of room to move about. It’s almost as though they can sense your emotional exhaustion, and give you more than enough space to figure it out yourself. The only critter that dares get within a few feet of you is Angel, who settles in front of you as you stand awkwardly in the center of Fluttershy’s living room. The rabbit stares at you, slowly munching on a lettuce leaf, maintaining uncomfortably prolonged eye contact as only Angel can.
“I don’t know what’s bothering you, but I’m here to listen, okay?” Fluttershy closes the door behind you before flapping her buttercup wings and leading you over to her couch. “Give them space, Angel bunny! They need to talk, and we’re the perfect ones to listen.” She beams as the rabbit begrudgingly listens and moves to let you pass. You sink down on the well-cushioned couch, settling against the plush fabric. A flurry of birds spiral around Fluttershy as she delicately flutters down to take a seat on a stool in front of you.
“Would you like something warm to drink? Sometimes, that helps me when I’m not feeling too good.” You nod, more out of habit than anything, and she stands up and trots off to the kitchen. One of the birds perched nearby twitters softly at you, and when you look over at it, it begins singing softly before fluffing up and tucking itself into a little ball of feathers. You manage a tentative smile at it as Fluttershy returns with your drink. She sets it down in front of you before tenderly picking up the bird and sets it on her shoulder.
She waits until you’ve had a chance to settle back with your drink before clearing her throat softly, her voice soothing and understanding. “Now, tell me everything, um, if you want to, of course. I’m happy to listen, even if you don’t feel like talking at all. Sometimes being quiet can be comforting too, so long as you’re quiet with a friend.” The pegasus hums and perks her ears attentively at you.
She sits patiently as you try to explain what’s been going on with your life. Occasionally, she nods or smiles, but she’s careful not to interrupt, and lets you speak at your own pace. When you get sidetracked for a moment and realize it, she doesn’t bat an eye. “It happens to everyone, and I’m sure that part was pretty important to you too. Besides, I’m in no rush.” The bird on her shoulder nestles into her neck, its eyes slowly closing.
As you speak, the animals in her peaceful cottage settle down, their chatter fading to a quiet murmur. Fluttershy occasionally interjects when you pause to collect your thoughts with encouraging statements, such as “That sounds really tough,” and “And then what happened?” Your voice cracks once or twice, and
Her gaze, you notice when your eyes meet hers, is gentle and empathetic. Her blue eyes seem to swim with tears as you wrap up your story. After you finish speaking, you notice the cottage has gone completely quiet. The silence isn’t intimidating, though; it’s calming, as though the cozy home itself has relaxed and sunk into deep thought.
After a moment or two, Fluttershy nods slowly. “It sounds like you’ve been through a whole lot. I’m not very good with advice, and I’m so very sorry that I can’t do more to help, but you do seem a little bit happier now that you’ve told me everything.” You smile weakly at her. It does feel a bit better, you suppose, talking it out, and it’s nice that somepony is here to just listen without judgement.
Fluttershy waits for a moment in case you have something to add, then she speaks up again. “I know it may not seem like a lot is going right at the moment, but I think we just have to believe that it’ll all get better soon. You’ve been through so much already, so it can only go up from here, right? And you’re so much stronger than you know. Since you’ve made it this far, I know you can keep going!”
You sigh and look away. It’s pretty easy to say that sort of thing, but it’s so much more difficult to keep pushing through all the things you’ve been putting up with. While you’re sure she understands that, does she really understand how hard everything has been for-
“Hey!” Fluttershy’s voice cuts through your negative thoughts, and you jerk your chin up to face her. Her expression is stern, as though she’s scolding a puppy who’s gotten into the cat food again, but her gaze is gentle and concerned. “Don’t get caught up in those nasty voices. I know what they’re like. I know how easy it is to listen to them, and I know how tempting it must be to give up. But you know what? You just can’t give in right now. That would mean you went through all of this for nothing, and you didn’t, did you?”
You shake your head slowly, a little startled by her assertive tone. “No, you didn’t, and you’re going to keep pushing through. I know it hurts, and I know it takes so much energy to keep going, but you’re going to make it. I know you will.” She smiles. “You’ll be okay, and I’ll always be here to listen, and I’m always here to support you.”
Her serene certainty in that makes you feel a little warmer inside. Fluttershy is here. She’s here for you, and that’s got to mean something. Maybe you can keep on going for her? The bird on her shoulder chirps quietly in its sleep, and you smile. Her gift for caring for others just might extend past the animal friends she loves so dearly.
“Your drink!” You blink at Fluttershy almost topples out of her chair in sudden realization. The animals in her cottage snap out of their quiet reviere and resume their chittering. “Your drink must be cold by now. Oh, dear! Here, let me get you another one!” She reaches out and gingerly picks up your cup before flying out of the room to fix you another warm drink.
You chuckle to yourself as you watch the flurry of activity in the room begin anew. You can hear Fluttershy fussing to herself in the next room over as she waits for your drink to heat up. Maybe things aren’t quite so bad, after all. And if they become tough again? Well, at least you know you have a friend who’s happy to help, no matter what.
Author's Note
Need to talk? If you're feeling upset and want someone online to listen to you, I recommend the following resources.
7 Cups of Tea, an anonymous chat site where you can talk to trained volunteers. They aren't counselors, but if you just need to get something off your chest, they can be very understanding. Each listener has to pass a series of online lessons before they can help others. They also have quite a few helpful resources.
If you're just stressed out, this has helped me in the past calm down and figure out how to deal with it.
If you are in a crisis, and for some reason don't want to (or are unable to) call a hotline, this is an online crisis chat.
Here's a list of hotlines, sorted by need.
Be safe, you all.
Rarity knows you can do it!
“Good heavens!” A clatter behind you makes you jump, and you wheel around to see Rarity’s magic barely catching a tray full of teacups before they smash to pretty little porcelain bits on the ground. “Darling, was that- were you- why were you crying?”
You can’t help but blink at her before reaching up to wipe your cheeks. Yeesh, you hadn’t even noticed the tears streaking down them. You suppose that’s what you get for getting too lost in your thoughts, especially right outside Carousel Boutique. It just happened to be on your route home, and you hadn’t really noticed where you’d sat down to think.
“Wait right here, I’ve got to set these down before I drop them again. They are imported, you know, and vintage as well! I got them at a wonderful price…” She trails off as she hustles into her boutique, the door cutting off her fading voice as she rambles away about the price of teacups in Canterlot these days. It gives you a moment to collect yourself before she returns.
For a moment, you consider leaving while she’s inside. Then, you won’t have to bother her with the details of what’s going on with you. She’d be happier without knowing, wouldn’t she? No, no, she’d probably be sad once she figured out you were faking it, you realize. Rarity is your friend, and she’d most likely be pretty upset if she knew you were hiding your feelings from her.
So, what are you going to tell her? You’re not quite sure where to begin, and while you don’t think Rarity would mind listening to you pour out your heart and soul, she’s probably super busy, and doesn’t have time for the long, boring story. Maybe you can summarize, and this time without crying. Crying doesn’t fix anything, after all, and it only makes other ponies feel guilty, and that’s the last thing you want!
What does that leave you with, then? You guess that trying to explain what’s been going on with your life in a few sentences is the best idea, and you can only hope that you’ll be able to do that without your voice shaking. Hopefully, you’ll manage that without throwing yourself even more of a pity party than you have been.
The door behind you creeks open, and you silently pray to yourself to hold it together. “I’m back, darling! Terribly sorry for the delay, but I’ve been collecting those for a friend. She loves teacups, and while I admire a passion for pristine porcelain, I’m not sure where her sudden obsession for them came from.”
“Now,” Rarity continues, holding out a hoof to you. “This is no place to feel sad and talk about such feelings. To the spa, darling!”
You barely get a consenting word in edgewise before you find yourself dragged off towards the Ponyville Spa. You can barely keep up, but you do your best to avoid tripping and landing face-first. Rarity fusses the whole way about how stress and worry can make you look less fabulous than you really are, but you find yourself tuning out her well-meaning babble. What in Equestria can you going to tell her?
You look up, blearily recognizing that Rarity is talking to those spa ponies, Aloe and Lotus. Nopony is paying any attention to you. Vaguely you realize that this is your last chance to bail, but a large part of you doesn’t want to. Maybe this is what you needed. Maybe it wasn’t a complete accident that you stopped in front of Rarity’s shop, and your subconscious knew that you needed to be with a friend. Even if being in a spa wasn’t what you needed, it still could help, right?
Well, it couldn’t hurt. With a decisive nod, Rarity leads you gently down a hall, and helps you into one of the side rooms. You hope this isn’t too expensive of a treatment, but figure that Rarity would probably hush any attempts you’d make to pay for this. She is the Element of Generosity, after all, and she always seems to live up to her name.
You look around. The room doesn’t quite match the physical pampering you had expected when she’d mentioned the spa. A fish tank burbles to itself quietly in a corner, betta fish diving and weaving between fake plants. The room is lit with mood lighting, which slowly changes colors, cycling through a rainbow of peaceful hues.
A panel lights up one wall, with a series of buttons on it. Curious, you press a few, and the background noise changes, from silence to waves crashing on a beach, to the babbling of a brook, to the gentle rumble of a thunderstorm, to the rustling of aspen leaves and birdsong. You pick one you like after switching through them a few times, before remembering that you aren’t alone and turning around. Rarity is smiling patiently at you.
“Now, darling,” she begins, sitting down on a cushion on the floor and patting one next to her. You sit and get yourself comfy. “Ponyville Spa is rather special. They recognize that sometimes, some ponies need to calm themselves emotionally before they can be at their best. This room is usually reserved for ponies who need a place to be alone, to relax in a safe and soothing environment.” You look around. It is pretty soothing, you have to admit.
“Of course,” Rarity continues after a brief pause, “I can leave if you’d just like to stay in here for a short while. Aloe and Lotus have guaranteed that you won’t be disturbed today. But I thought I’d offer my company. I’ve found that being with a friend can be helpful on its own, even if you wouldn’t like to talk. It’s up to you, of course.” You tell Rarity that you’re happy she’s here, and she looks relieved.
Neither of you say anything for a few minutes as you take the time to clear your head. Then, at your own pace, you summarize what you’ve been going through. It’s hard to speak about it out loud, especially since it doesn’t feel like that big of a deal now that you’re actually telling somepony about it, but Rarity listens with concern and understanding.
Oh dear, are you crying? You feel a tear make its way down your cheek, then another. You’re pretty embarrassed, but all Rarity does is scoot a little closer and offer you a tissue and a shoulder to lean against. You take the tissue and hold it tight as you sniffle. Slowly, reluctantly, you hug her, and she holds you as you weep.
“You know, dear,” says Rarity gently as she rubs your back, “I cry an awful lot. Some ponies think that crying is a sign of weakness, or that it means they’re too pathetic to keep their feelings to themselves, but I think it’s a sign of strength. Nopony should have to hold in their feelings all the time, and it usually feels a lot better afterwards.”
You blow your nose and rest your head against her shoulder. You can feel Rarity smile against you. “You’ve been through a lot, darling. It’s okay to let your feelings out. I’m here, and it will all be better. I know what it’s like to feel like everything is the end of the world, trust me, but it all turns out okay in the end.”
You chuckle weakly. Rarity is pretty well known for her dramatic outbursts, and if she can make it through some of the ridiculously hopeless odds she’s faced, you suppose you can make it through this.
“It still hurts, of course,” the unicorn says, gently pulling you up to face her. “And just because it will be okay later doesn’t mean that everything is suddenly going to be easy now. But I’m here to listen whenever you need it, okay, darling? And we can sit in here for as long as you like, as often as you need! Just let me know, and I’ll come running.”
Her hoof reaches up to catch a tear making its way down your cheek. You take a few deep breaths and close your eyes, enjoying the ambience of the room for a little while longer. Once you’re ready, you pick yourself off the far-too-comfortable cushion and tell Rarity that you’re ready to enjoy the rest of the spa treatment.
She chuckles knowingly and opens the door as you make your way towards the massage tables. As you both wave over the spa ponies, she hums, and you look over to see that she looks almost… proud of you?
“You are strong, darling. Much stronger than you know. I’m completely positive that you can make it through this!”
Author's Note
Sometimes, you just need a distraction until you've calmed down. Here are a few things that I've found helpful.
This is a pretty website. Use your mouse to draw pretty patterns!
Here's a jigsaw puzzle site, if you like puzzles.
Music squares! Needs flash player, but you can make fun little tunes.
Here is the best rain sound generator I've found. You can personalize the rain to your own tastes.
Stay safe, friends.
