Getting Shy

The evening passed in a daze and Patrick only noticed when it was too dark to see inside his apartment. He was still sitting at the table and his thoughts had been going in circles for the past several hours. Surely he wouldn't go to prison for this, would he? He wouldn't survive prison, Pat thought. Did people go to prison for bestiality? He could have checked on the Internet, but he didn't dare. As long as he didn't know for sure, he could hope for the best. Maybe it'd just be a fine or something. Probably whatever Mason won in damages would hurt a lot more, and the shame from his family and friends. For a few moments here and there he managed to convince himself that it wouldn't happen, that 'Shy would come through and get some incriminating dirt on Mason. Then, as the phone continued to be silent despite Pat checking it every few seconds, he became depressed, thinking she didn't call because she didn't want to talk about betraying her precious Master.

He immediately felt guilty for assuming that about Fluttershy and quickly told himself that she simply wasn't able. Maybe Mason was watching her too closely. Perhaps he'd found her phone and taken it away, which meant she would never be able to call. It was nearly enough to make Patrick cry out of frustration. If only he had a plan other than waiting for 'Shy to save them both! The phone told him it was nearly midnight and its battery was running low, doubtless from him checking it so often. He didn't want it to run out just when 'Shy was able to call, so he stood up and dragged his feet to the bedroom. The charger was permanently plugged in beside his bedside table and the cable had slipped behind once more. He fished it out, shoved it into the phone and dropped the thing. He thought about eating something, but his appetite was gone. Then he thought about sleep, but immediately knew he wouldn't be able to.

Was it even worth trying? Patrick sat down heavily on the bed and heaved a sigh as he buried his face in his hands. It had all gone to shit within a single afternoon. Damn Mason and damn his vet and the whole world which didn't understand that he and 'Shy had something beautiful. It sucked that she was a slave, but it sucked even more that Pat couldn't see any real way of getting her, unless she came through with those papers. Pat groaned and fell on his back, feeling utterly helpless. If only he knew what Fluttershy would decide. At least then he could plan or something.

Maybe she would call once Mason had gone to bed. Pat settled down for the long wait.

It had to be nearing morning already and still no sleep had come. Not that Pat had expected any better, but he had been hoping for Fluttershy's call. Just a few words and she could have put his fears to rest. Well, some of his fears, at least. In the quiet hours of the night he began to worry about her future as well. Even if Mason didn't beat her, he was liable to sell her off. Who knew what kind of an owner would she get next? Maybe some rich fucker who'd want a taste of that horse pussy. Someone who wouldn't listen to her 'no'.

Even thinking about- Patrick swallowed a lump and mentally changed the next word. Even thinking about the 'R-word' and Fluttershy in the same sentence was making him physically ill. His hands gripped the sheets and he still couldn't get them to stop shaking. He simply had to talk to her. Maybe she could lay his wild imagination at rest. Maybe she knew Mason well enough and would be able to gauge just how pissed he was. She might already know if she'd stay with the man.

Pat couldn't stay still. He had to try something. It was probably a bad idea and if Mason caught him it would make everything worse. He barked a laugh. How much worse could it end up? The bastard was going to drag him through the courts anyway, what's one more charge of trespassing beside the mountain of horse- besides that? He groaned as he stood up and made his way to the front door. He stopped with his hand on the door handle and tried to talk himself into trying to sleep. What he was doing was completely stupid and it'd serve no real purpose. Closing his eyes he leaned his forehead against the cold wood. He had to at least see that she was alive. With luck, she would see him as well through the window. She'd know he hadn't abandoned her.

Each other was pretty much all they had at that point.

Patrick resolutely drew in a fresh lungful of air and let himself out. The night air was chilly and his breath misted in the light of the street lamp, but he ignored it. He thought about going back for a coat or something, but he told himself there was no time. It had to be near morning already. The sky was still dark, but maybe there was a hint of gray in the East? He wasn't sure, but he still hastened his pace. He hurried down the steps and gratefully stepped out of the circle of light and on the grass between their two houses. He walked rapidly, but tried to make as little noise as possible. In the still air, each footstep made a squelch and the rustle of dry grass could surely be heard from the other side of the street!

Unfortunately there was no holding back now. Pat sped up until he was nearly jogging, eager for the thicker darkness away from the lamps. He paused at the fence to inspect Mason's house, holding his breath and listening intently for any sounds coming from within. Once he was certain all was quiet, Pat clambered over the fence and bit back the swear as the rough wood caught on his pants. He tried to lift himself up, but could not get off. In the end, he tugged wildly, desperately. His hand on the pointy stake slipped and he pitched into Mason's yard. The fabric ripped with a deafening noise and the wood scraped his leg, but he was free.

Patrick barely caught himself on his hands, gasping as the freezing mud smeared across his palms. He fumbled a few more steps but managed to get his legs under him. He nearly slipped once more until he finally stopped and straightened up, breathing heavily. He was there, anyway. Except that he was looking into Mason's dark living room. Fluttershy's bedroom was on the other side, past the master bedroom window. Pat stopped just before turning the corner and waited until he got his breathing under control again. Then he crouched down and hurried under Mason's window. He kept the crouching run for a few more steps, just to be sure, then straightened up when his legs felt like they would fold up. Crouch-running was a lot harder than it looked in the movies.

Then again, he was probably out of shape.

Nothing to be done about that now. He waited a little longer and listened intently, trying to decide if he'd woken his neighbor up. After a few seconds he thought he heard a snore and relaxed a little. Only a little further to go. Pat turned the final corner and came to the correct window.

The inside of the room was completely dark, but by then his eyes had adapted to the dim light and he thought he saw a lump on the bed. His heart leapt and he wanted to call out to her, but fear clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't leave without knowing she'd seen him too and Pat bit his lip in thought. How to get her attention? His fingers found themselves on the glass and he gave it an experimental tap. It had three layers or something, because the thud was almost too faint to hear even outside. He tried again, this time with a little more force. The tapping was clearly audible this time, but nothing changed inside.

"Come on, 'Shy. Wake up!" Patrick couldn't believe she was able to sleep, not after what had happened, but what other explanation could there be? In desperation, he smacked his entire palm against the window, then made a fist. He was about to try for a stronger knock, but finally the mare in the bed shifted. She sat up and Pat saw she had been facing away from the window. When she turned around he could clearly see her face, staring out in a mixture of fear and shock. It only lasted a few seconds before she slid to the edge of the bed and hurried over to him. He had to wait for her to move a chair from the desk in her room so she could reach, but then she was pushing the handle and a moment later swung the window inwards.

"Fluttershy!" Patrick reached for her, but 'Shy drew back and folded her ears down.

"Shush," she said.

He obediently became quiet and then Pat heard a low, dull buzzing. "What is-" he began.

"My collar," she answered and took another step back. The buzzing stopped. "It's that," she pointed with a hoof.

Pat followed it and saw a discreet plastic box above the window. "That's just Wi-Fi."

Fluttershy shook her head. "You're not listening to me," she whispered and flicked her ears in annoyance. "They put that there about a week after I got here. Mr. Mason said- um... it was a bit complicated. Something to do with proximity or something." She turned around and stretched out a hoof. "There's another above the door and a few more in the kitchen and living room. Mr. Mason said he-" When she faced him again, her ears were hanging down once more. "He said he didn't think he'd have to use them, but now he has to. This," she tapped the collar, "starts to vibrate when I get too near them and he said there will be an alarm if I try to leave."

Patrick tried to remember if he'd spotted those devices when he visited 'Shy in Mason's house, but he couldn't recall. Maybe he simply dismissed them as Wi-Fi. "B-But I thought your collar has GPS tracking!" he bleated, voice getting desperate. Perhaps he hadn't even thought about it yet, at least not consciously, but simply grabbing 'Shy and running for it had always been a last-resort plan. He knew the alarm would sound as soon as she got too far away, but with how imprecise GPS was, Pat had been hoping they could at least get to the car before Mason realized what was happening. He could take her collar off, but that alarm would sound immediately. Now it seemed that this one would as well!

"It has that too."

"Oh, 'Shy..."

She finally stepped close enough for him to touch, but the collar began its low, rumbling buzz once again, so she stopped. It was barely enough to brush the fur on her muzzle with his fingers, but at least it was some contact. "Can you climb over?" she finally asked.

"Can't. I'll track mud everywhere and Mason will know I've been here."

Fluttershy closed her eyes and pressed against his hand, her breath warm in his palm, and Patrick leaned forward as much as he could without falling over. She had her wings extended to keep her balance on the chair and Pat thought he could lose himself in the soft rustle of her feathers.

"Your hand smells of of it. Dirt," she told him.

"Oh. Yeah, I fell."

"I don't mind."

They stood there, enjoying each other's physical presence for a while before 'Shy pulled away. "Uh, so what happens now? He-" she gulped and looked at the far wall, in the direction of Mason's bedroom. "He said he would beat me, but he hasn't and I don't think he will. W-What if he sells me?"

"I don't know, 'Shy." He held his arm out for a few more seconds, hoping she would come back to nuzzling it, but the moment was over so he dropped it to the window frame to balance himself.

"I'm afraid. If he really sells me to- to that place..." She fell silent and Pat's breath caught at the unwelcome mental image. He pushed it aside and remembered the reason he'd come there.

"You have to get me those papers, 'Shy. It's our only hope."

Fluttershy watched him in silence and her ears slowly lowered as she considered it. After a few seconds she dropped her gaze to the floor. "I-" she began, but clamped her mouth shut. She looked up at Pat and swished her tail in agitation.

"Please. I can't think of anything else. Please, Buttershy!"

This was the moment on which hinged their future, Patrick realized. If she still refused, even now, he probably wouldn't be able to see her any more. After Mason told everyone that he was a horse- that he and 'Shy have been together, he probably wouldn't have a job. He'd have to move, most likely back in with his parents. They'd be disgusted and disappointed and that would be his life from then on. The other way- if she got the papers and they turned out to be genuine-

It was a big unknown, but it was also the only hope Pat had left. He'd threaten to send the documents to IRS and maybe Mason would back down. Maybe he'd give him 'Shy rather than risk prison or something. Patrick was pretty sure tax fraud had a prison sentence. In any case, Mason would be ruined, so however much he'd paid for 'Shy would be a preferable loss. At least that's what Pat hoped.

At long last 'Shy let out the breath she had been holding. The cloud of mist drifted around Pat and he realized her room had gotten as chilly as the outside. They probably didn't have a lot of time left. Mason might feel the cold and decide to come check if his slave had found a way to escape.

"Okay," 'Shy said quietly. She had still been looking at the floor, but now she lifted her face and stared directly at him. Her cyan eyes seemed to glow in the faint pre-dawn light. "Promise me you'll let me go if I can return home."

That one was easy. "I promise," Pat said smoothly.

'Shy was shaking her head. "No, give me a real promise. Pinkie swear!"

He remembered something about that. Supposedly it was an absolutely unbreakable oath in Equestria, although he had thought Pinkie was just one of Fluttershy's friends and didn't understand why a promise to her would be anything special. "Um, how does it go again? Something about a cupcake?"

"Cross my heart," Fluttershy began, still staring directly in his face. Her eyes seemed to expand until they filled Pat's vision and he felt small, insignificant in front of her.

"Cross my heart..."

"-and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake..."

"Oh, right. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The feeling suddenly vanished and Pat felt dizzy for a moment. His grip on the window frame tightened in an effort to keep him upright.

"What just happened?"

"You gave me a Pinkie promise. You can't break that."

"I won't."

They looked at teach other for a while and Patrick suddenly thought that Fluttershy's expression looked a lot more fierce than usual. He only got that impression after her face softened from the intense, focused stare she had been giving him.

He felt as if he needed to say something. "I love you, Buttershy."

She blushed a little and there was suddenly a smile on her muzzle. "Um, I love you t-too," she mumbled back. It was cute as all hell and for a moment Pat's heart lightened. He really would give this little horsey everything she wanted, he realized. Even if it meant letting her go. Hopefully it would never come to that.

Once again 'Shy glanced in the general direction of Mason's bedroom. "I'll try and get the papers tomorrow when he's at work. Or maybe the next day. If- if he lets me out of the room. He's gotta let me use the toilet."

"Okay, I'll wait. Just- just don't take too long. I don't know how quickly he'll act on his threat, but I'm afraid we don't have a whole lot of time, 'Shy."

She turned back and gave Pat a single, firm nod. "I'll get the papers. I'll call you when I do."

That seemed to be it. Nothing left to do but sneak back home, shower, change, and try to go to work. The day would be awful, but he needed the money, perhaps now more than ever. "Thanks. Um... bye?"

'Shy lightly shook her head. "I want a kiss before you go."

Patrick pointed at the box above the window. "What about the alarm?"

Fluttershy's mouth tightened, her tail flicked, and then she shook her head, as if disagreeing with some internal debate. "Screw the alarm! I want a kiss and I'll just tell Mr. Mason I needed some fresh air!"

It would work, but he would have to hurry away right after. He leaned as far inside as he could while still keeping his balance. 'Shy put her hooves on the windowsill with two faint clicks and came closer. The collar's buzzing intensified as their lips met.

The kiss was pretty chaste, but all the more meaningful for the implied warmth and love 'Shy managed to convey. Pat brought a hand up to caress her face and 'Shy let out a breath in a long, relieved sigh. "It's gonna be okay," she whispered when they parted. "Go."

The incessant buzz of her collar reminded Pat of the danger and he settled back down just outside the window. "I'll- we'll talk," he mumbled, not sure what to say.

She gave him a wave and a smile, then he was off.

Pat remembered that he didn't have to go all the way around the back of Mason's house and sighed to himself a little for his earlier stupidity. He could just get to the street on this side and then take the sidewalk back home. All he'd have to do was make sure no one was watching before he jumped the fence. This time it went a lot better and he didn't scrape himself. The street lamp was uncomfortably bright and Pat kept listening for that indignant shout behind him, but it never came and he made it back home.

It had worked, though. He'd gotten to see 'Shy and laid both their fears to rest, at least somewhat. They had a plan and she would help him. Help them both.

Maybe, somehow, it would all turn out alright.