Getting Shy

"Okay, okay, my turn. Hmmm..." Patrick paused with his slice of pizza halfway to his mouth while Fluttershy skillfully cut up her microwave vegetable lasagna by manipulating her plastic knife deftly with both hooves. She wasn't too enthused by it, but it was the best they could find among a myriad of meat dishes. They'd stopped at one of those small highway rest stops with a tiny bar and outside benches. The pair were the only people there and they'd taken the furthest table, one very nearly in the surrounding woods.

'Shy kept glancing at them so much that Pat was afraid at first she'd try and make a run for it, but when a bird landed on one of the nearby tables and the mare smiled brightly he understood. She was hoping to see some woodland creatures. He thought about offering to go for a short walk, but he really didn't want to spend too much time there. Besides, they were going to a zoo anyway.

At the moment, though, he was trying to come up with a question which would be at least interesting, if not exciting. "Got it! What's your biggest regret?" he asked. He nearly slammed his head against the table a second later. Of course being enslaved would be it, he didn't need to go dredging up painful memories just for her to confirm it.

Unfortunately it was out and Patrick watched Fluttershy's face with some trepidation as she looked up at the sky and scrunched up her muzzle in concentration. Strange, he thought, how this scrunch was entirely different from an angry scrunch. She really had a very expressive face. Her ears fell about halfway, which nearly made him wince, but then 'Shy shrugged and said: "If I had to pick, it's that I never got up the courage to ask Princess Celestia for that song."

Patrick, flushed with relief, gave her a questioning look and opened his mouth to ask for more details, but 'Shy understood his glance and headed him off.

"It was when Twilight earned her wings. She said that- well, in the place she got taken..." 'Shy shook her head and started again. "Sorry. She vanished right from before our eyes when she cast some spell and she said it took her to this weird place. It was like the night sky, except brighter and she could walk on air. That was where Princess Celestia appeared and made her into an alicorn."

"Okay, I think I'm with you so far."

"Well, anyway, the Princess - Celestia I mean, Twilight wasn't a Princess just yet - she sang this song and Twilight said it was very beautiful. She was blushing when she said it! It was about her, so I kinda understand why she was embarrassed." Fluttershy giggled at the memory and used the pause to switch from her knife to her fork and scoop a piece of the lasagna into her mouth. Pat waited patiently for her to chew and swallow.

"So, eventually I got Twilight to tell me the lyrics, but she couldn't sing the melody. It really does sound like a beautiful song and I always wanted to learn it, but I never quite managed to ask Princess Celestia. I guess I thought it'd be inappropriate." Her ears finished their journey all the way down and the mare sighed a sad sigh. "I guess I always thought there'd be another chance, but I don't think it's going to happen now."

They were both silent for a while. Pat wondered if he should say something, perhaps tell her he was sorry it happened that way, or reassure her that she'd go back home someday.

It was 'Shy who broke the silence. "Anyway, maybe it's silly, but I think that's my biggest regret."

"Shit. Yeah, um, I'm sorry Flutter- Buttershy. Wanna sing it for me?" The nickname brought out a faint smile and Patrick felt pleased with himself, even after realizing that his question had been stupid. Sad Fluttershy was a truly heart wrenching sight. He reached over to cover her foreleg with his hand for a moment and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Never mind, you said you don't know the melody. Why did you want to learn the song that much?"

The smile tugged at Fluttershy's lips some more. "I just always liked singing. It's like, um, I guess you could call it a hobby. My- my friends said I had a good singing voice."

Pat thought back on the time he'd spent with the mare, trying to remember if he had ever heard her sing, like with actual lyrics instead of just humming. "Well, I've only heard you hum so far."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I guess I only sing when I'm happy and that hasn't- it's just rare now."

This was nearly too much to bear and Patrick put his pizza down. He got up and went around the table, ignoring the curious glances from 'Shy. Once there, he stood behind her and leaned down enough so he could put his hands around her barrel. He brushed his nose against her cheek and then gave it a little kiss. "Don't worry, it'll get better. Once we get you away from Mason, I promise you'll be happy, 'kay?"

'Shy stiffened and her head jerked as if she was about to shake it, but then she let out the breath she was holding and whispered: "I believe you."

It made Pat smile happily. "Well, maybe if the zoo is extra nice, you can sing on our way home?" he proposed.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"Let's finish the food, we still have about two hours in the car."

She nodded enthusiastically at the thought of the zoo and picked up the fork again while Pat went back to his seat. It promised to be a nice day. He'd never been one to visit the zoo on his own volition, but with how happy Fluttershy was about the idea he found he was looking forward to it as well. Besides, the sun was nice and hot, the sky was nearly cloudless and he still had three days with 'Shy after today. With some luck, they might even get to do... something 'fun' when they came home, if Fluttershy was pleased with her zoo visit.

Despite her assurances, Patrick was deeply uneasy about what 'Shy was doing. His muscles were tense and his hand hovered just above her back, ready to grab and pull her away at the first sign of trouble. Except- there was no trouble. The bear just on the other side of the metal fence was letting her rub its head with a hoof. The most it did was let out an occasional non-threatening growl which sounded more relaxed than threatening.

"That's right," Fluttershy was saying, "you're not really mean, are you?"

Much to Pat's surprise, the big bear gave a grunt he could have sworn was affirmative. "Um, 'Shy? When you said you can understand animals, you meant..."

She looked back, smiling, and waited to see if he would finish his question. When she decided Pat wouldn't, she answered: "I meant I can understand animals and they understand me. It's my special talent."

"Yeah, uh, I can see that."

When she had proposed to pet the bear Pat had said no, of course. Only after pleading with a promise of tears in her wide, shiny, sky-blue eyes had he relented. Even so he'd been worried she'd lose a leg or something, but all that happened was that the bear came over to inspect her more closely and she ended petting it on the head. Her giggles snapped him out of near absolute surprise. "You remind me of Harry," 'Shy commented and pulled her leg back.

"Who's Harry?" Pat asked, but she wasn't really listening to him.

"Are they treating you well? I'm sure if I went and told somepony I could-"

The bear gave a strange mix of growls, grunts and snorts while Fluttershy listened and nodded to herself. "Well, if you're sure," she answered.

There was another exchange which ended with the bear giving a series of what sounded like snores at first.

Pat blinked in shock. Was the bear laughing?! "What the hell?!"

Fluttershy still wasn't paying him any attention. This time her face darkened and she almost glared at the bear. "That doesn't sound very nice! I want you to promise me you won't do that again!"

It was just too much for Patrick. 'Shy was having an honest-to-god, real-life conversation with a bear. He laid his hand on her back, which finally reminded 'Shy about his presence. "Do what again?!"

She turned her gaze on Pat, still glaring. "Mr. Bear here says he likes to roar at his keepers when they bring him food! Apparently," she said with a tight voice and looked at the bear, who seemed to slump a little, "it's funny to see them scurry away!"

The next growl could have been an apology, judging by the way the creature hunched its shoulders and looked at the ground.

"Good. You better," 'Shy snapped. "I'll come back someday and I don't want to hear anything of the sort, okay?" She didn't wait for a reply and began walking onward. They had barely arrived and she obviously wanted to see more.

Pat hurried after her, throwing a glance back at the bear who was watching them leave. "You were serious."

His voice was flat as Pat still struggled with believing the evidence of his eyes.

"Fuck, 'Shy, that was- I don't even know what that was. Holy crap."

"Language!" she warned.

"Sorry. So you can talk to animals?!"

Fluttershy stopped and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling to take the sting out. "I've told you, Pat."

"That has got to be some kind of weird magic or something. Animals on Earth can't think. They don't shrug, or apologize, or, or, play jokes on people!"

'Shy didn't say anything, she just watched Pat with her bemused, slightly mysterious smile.

"Do they?!"

"Maybe if you took the time to listen," she said and shrugged. "Come on, I want to see the reptile house!"

There was nothing to do except follow her, hoping whatever other little miracles she pulled out of her tail wouldn't knock him on his ass too hard. More importantly, he hoped she'd use some discretion, because if people saw what she could do they might both end up in trouble. Especially with Mr. Mason. Patrick doubted very much the man wanted that sort of attention because of 'Shy. On the one hand, it might make him want to sell her, but on the other hand her value would go up, putting her even further out of Pat's reach.

It was still pretty damn amazing, though! "You're really something special, Buttershy."

Her ears folded down and she blushed in embarrassment at the praise, but didn't reply.

"Just try to keep it a secret, okay? People would go nuts if they found out you can do this."

This time she gave Patrick a worried look. "Really?"

"I think it'd be a whole lot safer if no one saw you."

"Okay, I'll be more careful, I promise."

Thinking back on their meeting with the bear, Pat was suddenly glad there hadn't been other people close enough to overhear. It had come as a shock and he hadn't been expecting anything like it. It was proving to be a very interesting day. He let his hand rest on Fluttershy's head as they walked and she angled herself to come closer and brush his thigh with her muzzle.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Pat."

"Welcome. We'll do it more often once we get you away from Mason, okay?"

She smiled at the suggestion, perhaps for the first time since he started bringing it up. Pat counted it as a win.

By the time the two finally rested Patrick was hurting. He was determined not to show it, but his legs were killing him. He'd done more walking in that single day than in any week before that. In truth, if it weren't for Fluttershy's enthusiasm, Pat would have given up and taken them back home pretty soon. As it was, there was no way he could break the little mare's heart by cutting their zoo visit short. The annoying part was that Fluttershy didn't seem in the slightest bit affected. She was perfectly okay, still prancing from enclosure to enclosure, exhibit to exhibit, pointing out anything she found interesting.

That is to say, she pointed out just about everything and Pat had to go check it out, even when all he wanted was to sit down for a minute. He finally got 'Shy to agree to a quick snack and some rest. Unfortunately the stand in the zoo didn't have much of anything. There were hot dogs, pizza slices and French fries. All easy to make quickly, Pat couldn't help noticing.

The pizza was no good for the mare, since they only had the kind with pepperoni, so he got her some French fries and took a hot dog for himself. Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset by seeing him eat meat. They found a free bench and sat opposite each other, ignoring the strange looks Fluttershy was getting. She was still uneasy and uncomfortable with all the attention, but the distractions of the zoo overcame any anxiety she might have felt.

"There we go. Hope French fries are okay, it was the only vegetarian option."

"French?" 'Shy asked, leaning her head to one side and turning an ear toward Pat as she watched the people walking past. "Don't you mean Prench?"

"No. What's 'Prench'? France is a country."

She shrugged to herself and waved a dismissive hoof. "I guess we have a place that sounds kinda similar. Never mind."

"Want any mayo or ketchup on that?" Pat offered the packets in his hand.

"Oh, ketchup please!" She bit it open and poured it over her meal. Pat was curious to see how she'd eat, but 'Shy just grabbed fries with a hoof... somehow. He watched for a while, but in the end he decided it was either magic, or some trick of extreme dexterity. It'd make sense either way. 'Shy had explained about magic and unicorns in her world, and from all he'd seen today he was starting to fully believe her. Maybe this was another, subtler type of magic which just helped her pick stuff up. If not that, she was pretty handy with those hooves, there was no doubt about that.

The thought made him suddenly chuckle and Fluttershy froze with a French fry on her outstretched tongue for a second before biting down on it. "Huh?"

"Nothing, just a joke I thought up."

She swallowed her morsel almost whole, proving that she was also quite hungry even if she hadn't shown it, then gave Pat a bright smile. "Wanna tell me about it?"

"I was just thinking you're quite handy with your hooves, that's all."

'Shy waited patiently for the joke, but then blinked and looked down at her forelegs on the table. She seemed to be thinking.

"Handy, get it?" Pat flexed his fingers, but 'Shy just watched with incomprehension.

"No," she said, quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You probably don't have that expression, since you don't have hands, y'know?"

They went back to their food for a while in uncomfortable silence. Patrick desperately wanted to fill it, so he blurted out the only thing which popped into his mind. He couldn't help noting how the fading sunlight seemed to accentuate the shadows on Fluttershy's barrel from her ribs. "Sorry about that whole 'too thin' thing, 'Shy."

She blinked in surprise at the unexpected topic, but then shrugged. "It's okay. You couldn't have known."

The next bit was extra cliché, but Pat could no more stop himself than he could stop breathing. "You look cute just the way you are."

This time it got her to blush, which just increased her cute factor. Her ears went partly down, like a puppy who was expecting a head pat. "Um, thanks. I used to be a model for a little while, you know?" Strangely, she didn't seem all that proud of that particular achievement.

Patrick had just been about to put the last piece of his hot dog in mouth, but stopped and pulled it away in absolute shock. He looked at her with fresh eyes, but she didn't look any different. Maybe if he had seen more ponies he could compare. "Wow. Really?" So he was dating - or nearly so - an actual friggin' model?! Even a pony one. Perhaps that was even better.

"My friend Rarity said I should do it when Photo Finish said she wanted to sign me up. I didn't really like it, so I quit."

"Wow. Mare of many talents, I see," Pat joked.

Spurred on by his approving grin, 'Shy cleared her throat and went tentatively on: "Um, I was also in a q-quartet. That was... um, fun, but also scary."

This time Patrick just whistled in appreciation. He hurriedly chewed and swallowed his food and took one of the plastic bottles from the tray. He had gotten a coke for himself and that strawberry fizz for 'Shy. "Why scary?"

Fluttershy's mouth worked for a moment, then she looked down. "I don't really like attention," she replied in a small voice. "Ponies kept staring at me when I was a model and... I kinda hid when I was in the quartet. Well, until the end, that is."

"Wait, you hid? You sang on a stage, but you were hidden? How does that work?"

She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "It's a long story. I- I think I got over it, but I'd still prefer not to be in the center of attention. Or crowds."

"Well, would you sing for me sometime? I'm not really a crowd."

Fluttershy's blush deepened and she couldn't meet his gaze. Her ears went all the way down and she inclined her head so her pink mane covered part of her face. It was almost like she was hiding behind it.

"Please?"

A slight whimper escaped her lips and 'Shy looked uncomfortable. "I d-don't like singing in, um, public," she repeated almost too quietly for Pat to hear.

"It won't be in public, 'Shy. Just me. You don't have to if you don't wanna, I'm just offering to listen."

She finally looked up and there was a faint, half-smile on her muzzle. "I'll think about it, okay?" Seeing that he was already done with his food, 'Shy hurried up with her fries while Pat opened the bottle for her and placed it where she could reach easily.

"So, what's next? I think we've seen everything by now, right?" he pointed out.

'Shy nodded, swallowing her mouthful before speaking. "Yes, but I'd like to see the snakes again. Oh, oh, and the penguins! We didn't have them in Ponyville so I only ever read about them in a book!" She was watching him with some unease, obviously worried he'd say no. Of course 'Shy didn't realize Pat could never say no to her face.

"Sure thing. Let's see those and then whatever's on the way back to the car, okay?"

Her smile blossomed and suddenly Pat could hardly feel how sore his legs were. He'd get a chance to rest them on the drive home anyway.

It was late at night when Patrick finally parked and shut the car off. He took a moment to just rest and look around, but the neighborhood was dark and there was nothing to see. With all the instrument lights off, the only source of illumination was the street light somewhere behind them. It left a pool of shadow on the passenger seat, but Pat saw a yellow wing poking into the light. He didn't know exactly when 'Shy had fallen asleep, but her responses had been getting slower and slower until he'd stopped talking and just let the mare doze off. When he had glanced over some minutes after that, she was already curled up in a ball, seatbelt somehow looped around her back now.

Now that they were home Pat realized how exhausted he was himself. It had been an exciting and busy day for them and a good night's rest would do them good. The only remaining problem to overcome was getting them both inside. Pat suppressed a yawn and got out of the car. He made sure to shut the door as gently as possible, so as not to wake Fluttershy up. Likewise, he opened the passenger side door with exaggerated care. 'Shy was in a surprisingly small ball of fur, her muzzle pressed into the backrest and her rump supported mostly by the seatbelt in a way that didn't appear entirely comfortable. Pat put a hand on her back to lift it up, which made it easier for him to unbuckle her. Then it was just a matter of slipping one hand under Fluttershy's barrel, the other under her hind legs, and picking her up much like he would an infant. Her head came to rest on his shoulder and her hooves curled up against her body.

"Mmmmm," 'Shy moaned but didn't wake up during this procedure.

Pat pushed the door shut with his foot, then struggled to reach the key fob in his pocket to lock his car. "Almost there," he whispered to her as he carried the mare up the stairs. Unlocking his apartment was another exercise in fiddling, but somehow he succeeded with minimal jostling. He didn't bother with the light inside, but rather made his way to the bedroom by memory and feel. The bed was still unmade from that morning, but that was no different than any other day. Pat sat down, careful not to drop Fluttershy in the last minute. She was a lot easier to hold now that he could put her in his lap. A bit of stray light shone in through the window, lighting a patch of yellow fluff. Pat moved a little until the beam shifted to Fluttershy's face.

She was still asleep, but she looked like she was smiling in her dream. It really was a magical sight and for a moment Pat considered staying like that until morning. He easily held 'Shy with one hand, which freed his other and he brought it to her muzzle. He carefully brushed her mane away from her eyes, then spent a peaceful few minutes simply stroking the soft fur around her muzzle. After that he moved his hand to trace her hairline, lightly brushed her ear with a finger, and continued down to her jaw. Her muzzle scrunched up at the tickle and he took his finger away. He couldn't resist and tapped the tip of her nose, which made her scrunch harder. He couldn't help chuckling at the sight.

Anyway, he was getting sleepy and 'Shy wasn't getting quality rest with him teasing her like that. The bed looked incredibly inviting, especially with her to share it again. Patrick carefully leaned over and deposited the sleeping pony down on the mattress. She let out a small whine at the loss of warmth as he let her go. There was no time, nor need for pajamas, he decided. Hoping Fluttershy wouldn't wake up Pat discarded his pants and shirt, then pulled his socks off. He thought about brushing his teeth, but he didn't want to waste any more time. They could both do it in the morning. Wearing just his boxer shorts, Pat climbed in the bed next to 'Shy. It took him a bit of struggling to untangle the blanket, but he got it and pulled it over them both.

He was settling down when Fluttershy moved. "M-Pat?" she whispered.

"Hush, it's okay. We're home, you can sleep now."

She sought him out with a hoof, then wiggled closer. Her muzzle found his shoulder and 'Shy nuzzled into it, using his upper arm as a pillow. Her wing slipped around his bare belly and settled there.

Pat was suddenly aware of Fluttershy's hot breath against his chest. He leaned down awkwardly to plant a kiss against her cheek, then wrapped his free arm around her and settled comfortably to sleep. He didn't think it'd come soon, but just lying there, cuddled up as they were, was pleasant enough that Pat didn't want to move at all. All in all, despite the effort and the strange looks they'd gotten, it had been a really wonderful day. Exhausting, too!

Before he knew it, Pat was asleep.