The Marine

When I started to stir awake I could smell pancakes, I sat up stretching out my muscles. I saw Fluttershy making pancakes and eggs, she had two plate set out. I'm guessing it was for the both of us. I gently cleared my throat to let her know that I was awake without startling her too much. She looked up from what she was doing and smiled. "Oh good morning Mickey, I hope you don't mind eggs and pancakes. I originally had some bacon as well but Harry the bear got into it when he wasn't supposed to and he's in time out at the moment."

Aw damn, I really wanted bacon now. "It's fine." I looked around on the counter. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Oh yes." She went over to a cabinet and took out a mug and poured me a cup of coffee. "Sorry, I used my tea set to help make the coffee so it may taste a bit different."

"It's fine, I appreciate it Fluttershy. Thanks for letting me sleep here." I mixed in some creamer and sugar into my coffee after I moved over to the counter to fix it the way I wanted.

"It's no problem, you are one of my friends after all." Fluttershy smiled as she served me my plate of pancakes and eggs.

"I'm not sure I should deserve that title. Given what had almost happened last night." I sighed.

"Mickey, we all do strange things when we're scared, I usually hide but you, you're a soldier you reacted the way you thought was best." Fluttershy sat next to me as she started to eat.

"How can you understand this so well?" I asked her as I began to eat. "I'm a marine by the way."

"My great uncle served in the royal guard. They broke him down and rebuilt him." Fluttershy said. "If you would like to talk about I'm always here to help."

I dug into my eggs. "Thank you, Fluttershy."

She smiled at me and I smiled back and continued to eat. She slowly put a hand on my back and rubbed it. "I'm glad you're comfortable."

I stoped eating. "Fluttershy, you're touching. Has your cycle started?"

"I-It has, but I took care of myself earlier. I just want to cuddle." Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, I'm not ready for something like that. I don't want to rush into something." I gripped my fork and knife tighter. "Please, don't do something like this to me."

Fluttershy took her hand off my back. "I'm sorry."

"I know you're just trying to help but I need time." I said.

"It's been 3 years Mickey, have you been...?"

"Pleasured? Yeah I have. It's nothing but sex. It means nothing but...I want it to mean more. I want to feel loved." I said.

"D-Did you ever think about, herding?" Fluttershy pointed out. "There's the girls and I. Except Rarity."

"I don't want to rush anything." I argued.

"Mickey, we would never hurt you for any reason." Fluttershy looked at me in the eyes, her teal eyes staring into my hazel ones. "Just please try to be more social. You're more secluded than Twilight when she gets a new book." She put a hand on my cheek. "Come on, don't you think it's time for you to open up to us?"

I lean into Fluttershy's hand a little. "I'll...try. It's going to be a while, I need some time."

"Okay." Fluttershy pulled me into a hug which I did not return. I had fork and knife in my hands I didn't want to accidently hurt her.

Maybe it was time to get out there again. I need to get some help, after the hug I put the fork and knife down and took the plate to the sink to wash it. It gave me some time to think. I've been very antisocial since I've been dumped in Equestria. Looking out at Fluttershy effortlessly feeding the animals. She may not be as well built as Applejack or Rainbow Dash but she still has built muscle over time by feeding the animals she has under her care. I smiled as I cleaned the dishes, I was concentrating on my thoughts so much that I had cleaned all the dirty dishes. I was cleaning the last knife when Fluttershy came back in she startled me when she asked. "Oh! You're still here?"

"Ah!" I jerked my hand and it sliced my palm open. "OH SHIT!" I wrapped my hand in a towel.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped. "I'll go get the first aid kit." Fluttershy ran up to the bathroom while I sat down to slow the bleeding by tightening a towel around my hand. When she came back, she had some antiseptic and I opened up the towel and she put it on the wound.

"AH FUCK!" I slammed my other hand onto the table.

"I'm sorry. I don't think this would require stitches but it's better if we get it checked out." Fluttershy said. "We should go to the hospital."

"That won't work. Pony medicine is too foreign to my body, I have to go to the veterinarian. I'm more primate than pony biology-wise." I said.

"Oh, well. I'm working towards my veterinarian's license so I could stitch this up if you need me to." Fluttershy suggested.

"This is nothing more than a flesh wound, I was once stabbed 3 times in the same day. I'm still alive."

"Oh wow." Fluttershy said as she wrapped up my wound. "I'm not sure to be horrified that you got stabbed 3 times or proud that you told me a little about yourself and your past."

"Maybe a little mix of both wouldn't hurt." I smiled. "Sorry about your cutlery."

"It's fine, I startled you and you had an accident. So there's no one to blame, but I also want to thank you for doing my dishes, I would've done them myself." Fluttershy finished with my wound.

I flexed my fingers and thumb. "Nothing debilitating, but it's going to hurt occasionally."

"Just don't do anything too strenuous with it, and while there's no actual damage it could get much worse if you use it for too long."

"But I work at Applejack's, I have to use my hands if I want to work." I said.

"I could tell her that you could work the stalls with Applebloom, you know she and the crusaders think the world of you." Fluttershy offered.

"When I first met the three, they tied me up and covered me in honey to slow me down. I had honey in my hair and had to shave almost my entire head. They still haven't repaid me in a way that I see fit." I pointed out.

"That's really not fair." Fluttershy pouted.

"What's not fair is having honey in your ass and having to shit it out." I said. "That's not fun."

Fluttershy grew upset and flicked my forehead. "I don't care what you do in your house but as long as you're inside of my home you aren't going to swear."

"Yes ma'am." I took the first aid kit. "I'll put this up and then get my stuff and get out of here. I need to make sure that nothing has stepped on my house."

I walked up to the bathroom and put the first aid kit back where it belonged underneath the sink. I was walking downstairs when I heard Fluttershy talking with someone, and it wasn't an animal because I heard them talking back. When I got to the living room I noticed that Fluttershy was talking with Applejack. "Oh hey Mick, I guess you were sleeping on Fluttershy's couch this mornin'."

"Yeah, it was late last night and it's a long walk to my house from here so I just slept here. There's no problem with that is there?" I asked my employer.

"Nah, just deliverin' some apples for Shy here. She told me about your hand." AJ mentioned.

"Yeah it's fine, I can do my work with one hand, though it might take me twice as long." I told her.

"If you're willin' you could work the apple stall later on today with Apple Bloom." AJ suggested.

I scratched my head for a bit, I did think about being a little less antisocial. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Looks like I lost a bet with Rainbow. I'd never thought I'd see the day that Mick chose to work the stall." AJ adjusted her hat.

"I have to go to my house to change clothes and take a shower. I'll be there around 10." I told her. "I don't think you would like it if I showed up to work smelling like day old whiskey." I then put my shirt and boots on and left the house. "Oh and thanks Fluttershy."

After I left AJ looked at Fluttershy. "Okay darlin' you gotta tell me how you did that."

"Did what?" Fluttershy asked.

"He's a bit calmer, a little more open. He doesn't look like the world is out ta get him." AJ stated. "How did you do it?"

"I made him think." Fluttershy said. "I showed him how unhealthy it was for him to be antisocial and told him how we were concerned for him."

"Well I'll be a orange's uncle." AJ said scratching her head.

If you're wondering how I know about conversations they have when they're not around me, they usually tell me about these things later.