Getting Shy

Pretty soon the groceries were packed away and Pat was sitting on the couch with Fluttershy. He reached for the console to turn it on, but hesitated. Instead, he turned to face the mare. "Wanna cup of tea or something? Coffee?"

She was bundling up in the blanket they'd simply left there. "No, thanks. I'm fine."

Pat still didn't put the game on, remembering the previous night and, to a lesser extent, the store. Maybe it was none of his business to pry, but he liked 'Shy and wanted to do something nice for her. Surely having someone to talk to would help, even if he couldn't do anything actually useful? "'Shy?"

She wiggled somewhere in the pile of cloth until her head was poking out toward him. "Mm?" she asked. Pat couldn't help but smile at the mental picture of her turning around in circles a few times to get comfortable. "I think we should talk."

'Shy scrunched up her muzzle in confusion. "What about?"

The decision to discuss this had been kinda sudden and Pat didn't know how to go about it. He took a deep breath and improvised. "Um, is there something, well, bothering you?"

'Shy raised one eyebrow. "Hmm? No, why do you ask?"

"Well, you seemed kinda... sad. At the store? Not to mention last night."

Judging by her face it was going wrong, but Pat didn't know what to do to get the conversation back on track. One thing he did suspect, though, was that she really didn't want him asking her these things. He realized Fluttershy wasn't really willing to talk about it, so he prodded some more. "Wanna talk about it?"

"N-No." Her voice was still as quiet and gentle as always, but now it also had a slight tremor in it. She even withdrew a little unto the blankets which now covered her like a protective shell, or a cave.

"Fluttershy..." This was probably pushing too far and her muzzle vanished entirely under the blanket. There was no reply. Pat moved closer and placed a hand on top of the pile. He felt 'Shy jerk at the touch, but at least she didn't try to make a run for it. "Come on, I just wanna talk," he pleaded.

"Why are you bringing this up?" came her quiet voice, now muffled by the cloth. If anything she sounded resentful.

"I wanna help."

Her answer was flat and she'd tried to make it emotionless, but her voice shook and betrayed her fear. "You can't."

Pat sighed and dug his fingers in, trying to convey through touch alone that he wasn't going anywhere and that he didn't believe her lies. They were probably good-natured, he thought. It was very like Fluttershy to try and spare him dealing with her troubles. "Maybe you'll feel better if you tell someone." There was nothing for a while and then the blanket shifted and a pair of cyan eyes looked out. Even partially obscured, Pat could see they were already filled with tears. "Come on," he urged, "you can tell me. I'm a friend, right?"

Surely it was a good sign when 'Shy didn't immediately hide again. Pat slid his free hand into her makeshift hidey hole and lightly brushed the fur on her muzzle with his fingers. She still didn't reply, but her eyes closed as she took comfort from the touch. Maybe 'Shy just needed some time. As long as she didn't try to hide again - or run away, Pat thought to himself - he could wait for a bit. He kept his hand on her cheek, stroking very slowly.

"Nothing is gonna change if you talk to me about it, except you might feel a little better." Her eyes opened and 'Shy pushed the blanket off her head. Her ears were completely flat and she was trembling a little. She nuzzled Pat's palm and he suddenly got an idea. Maybe it was a bad one, but he had to do something. Scooching closer, he slid both hands under the pegasus and carefully lifted her. She didn't resist as Pat brought her into his lap together with the blanket still covering her small form. Her head lay against his chest and her hooves automatically went around his midriff in an almost involuntary hug. Once she was there, he put his arms around the whole bundle to keep it in place.

Pat rested his chin on Shy's head, figuring another point of contact was a good thing. At the touch she looked up and pressed her nose right against his neck. It was wet and felt a bit cold, but soon her hot breath washed away any discomfort. "That's right, I got you. Look, whatever it is, I'll help if I can, okay?" he promised. "And if I can't, at least you'll have someone to listen." It was definitely something Mr. Mason would never offer. That man just expected obedience and 'Shy was supposed to deal with her problems by herself. He might be a blundering fool, but Patrick was at least prepared to listen.

He felt the young mare nod against the crook of his neck. It was both gratifying and exciting and Pat wondered if she could hear how hard his heart was pounding.

If she could, it didn't seem to bother her. "It- it's my friends," 'Shy said finally, in almost too quiet a whisper for him to hear. Even this single statement seemed to unburden her and she slumped a little as she relaxed against him.

Pat turned his head to bring his ear closer to her mouth so he wouldn't miss even the quietest words from her. "You almost never talk about them."

Fluttershy took a shuddering sigh and her hug tightened for a moment. "Because it's too- too..." she sniffed, but made herself finish: "Too painful." At first Pat guessed that maybe they didn't part on the best of terms, but luckily he didn't say it. Fluttershy drew a breath and let out a thin wail. "I'll nev-never see any of them again!" she cried, her hot tears already soaking into Pat's shirt collar.

"Are, uh," Pat had to clear his throat before continuing. "Are they on Earth?"

'Shy shook her head, but then paused. "I du-dunno. There was an accident. S-Some might be, but that's even worse. I don't want my friends to be slaves like me!"

Pat moved his hands under the blanket, letting one rest around Fluttershy's withers and bringing the other up to brush the fine fur on her muzzle. There were already wet trails down her face and he smoothed the fluff and tried to wipe them away as best he could. She gave it a perfunctory lick in a show of thanks, tasting her own tears on his fingers. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"We were... um, c-camping just inside the Everfree forest with Ms. Cheerilee's class," 'Shy explained. "And there was an explosion. Um, Rarity was there with Sweetie Belle and Applejack with Apple Bloom and, uh, I think Rainbow Dash was there." Pat waited, eagerly absorbing these new, exotic names. After a moment's though, Fluttershy shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know what happened, really. One minute we were in the Everfree and the next we were on... on a road. There were cars."

"You were magically transported from your world to ours? How?!"

"I don't know! We just were," 'Shy said, shrugging again. "P-Ponies panicked. I think Rainbow Dash was with us on Earth, but I didn't see the others. M-Maybe they got back, or were left behind."

They were both silent for a while. The story didn't explain much, but it was a big sign of trust, Pat recognized that much. "So, how did you get separated?"

At this 'Shy clamped up and squeezed her eyes shut. Pat could feel her whole body shudder and fresh tears welled up, wetting his fingers again. He brushed them away, mostly to let her know he was still there. It wasn't all that hard to make some guesses. She and a lot of other ponies, by the sound of it, had been somehow magically transported to Earth. Then she was separated from her friends. Pat couldn't imagine any scenario where that would be voluntary. It could only mean they had been captured, probably while they were still confused about where they were and what had happened. They did look like animals, after all. Even in civilized nations a herd of what looked like ponies would probably be split up to make them easier to manage.

Someday he'd have to get her to talk her way through it all, but Pat decided there had been enough progress for now. Well, at least he called it progress. 'Shy was starting to trust him enough to tell him these things and maybe talking about it would make her feel better. Or at least she might find it easier to put behind her. "You don't have to say. It can wait."

Again the mare squeezed a bit more strongly with her hooves and lifted up her head to give Pat a brief nuzzle. In return, he gave her a kiss on the side of her muzzle. Even Pat didn't quite know why he'd returned the gesture like that, but it felt appropriate and 'Shy didn't seem to mind. "Well, for what it's worth, I think you'll see your friends again, 'Shy."

She just shook her head. "How? Mr. Mason won't let me leave the house. Um, ex-except when I visit you." She laughed a mirthless laugh. "Today I've been further from his house than ever since I got here."

It felt wrong to trap this beautiful creature, both in a place and in a role of maid. Pat wanted to help, but he had no ideas yet. "What if we find a way to get you away from Mr. Mason?"

Fluttershy's gaze slid away from Pat's face and she shook her head. "He's not gonna let me. He said he likes having me around."

"Well, I promise I'll think about it, okay?"

That statement elicited no reply from Fluttershy. Pat wrapped both arms around her barrel and hugged her close. He was happy that she tightened her grip on him as well. "Thanks for telling me. You can tell me anything, 'Shy." She didn't reply, but Pat felt another nuzzle, this time against his chest. "Sorry about your friends. Wanna tell me more about them?"

At this 'Shy pulled away and inspected his face. Her eyes were still leaking tears, but maybe she wasn't quite as distraught. After a moment she nodded and her gaze unfocused, as if she was staring into a great distance. "Well..."

"You mentioned, um, Rarity, I think it was? And Apple-something and Rainbow Dash. Wanna start with them?" Pat prompted.

"Applejack," 'Shy said with deep longing in her voice. "Pinkie Pie didn't go with us on the trip, so she's probably back home. Rarity..." she sighed, "maybe she was left back home. I didn't see her on that road. I think I heard Rainbow Dash shouting to calm everypony down. Then there's me and Princess Twilight in, uh, in our group."

"Princess?"

"Yeah. Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy murmured, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips before it faded with a low groan of despair. "For the longest time I hoped Twilight would get us out. She's an alicorn princess. If anypony could find us and get us back, it would be her. She wasn't with us, so she should still be in Equestria."

There was a pause and Pat used it to ask the obvious question. "What's an alicorn princess?"

She opened her mouth to give a simple and quick answer, but then thought better of it and shrugged the blanket off so she could spread her wings a little. "You know how I'm a pegasus?" she asked, demonstrating with a little flap.

"Yeah, obviously."

The wings snapped shut and 'Shy went on: "Well, there's also unicorns - um, they have a horn, but no wings. Rarity is a unicorn. And then there's earth ponies like Applejack and Apple Bloom. They have neither."

"Okay, with you so far, but slow down so I can wrap my dumb human brain around it, 'kay?." It was a stupid joke, but it seemed to work. Maybe it was just what the mare needed at that moment, because she quirked her mouth up in a slight smile.

"Well, there's a fourth kind. They're called alicorns and they are very powerful. There used to be just two..."

"Okay, okay," Fluttershy was saying with a big grin. "So there's like, no way for us to cross, right? And that dragon is literally crying over his mustache, which is making the water go crazy." She was sprawled on her back, with her head hanging off the couch and her hind legs resting vertically on the backrest. She was close enough to Pat, who was sitting normally, for her wing to brush against his leg whenever she shifted.

Pat couldn't help it, he chortled with laughter. The mental image of a big river dragon so obsessed with facial hair was simply too incredulous. "So, what did you do?"

'Shy grinned at the memory. "You're not going to believe this. Rarity, chopped off her own tail and gave it to the dragon as a replacement moustache!"

"What? No way, the Rarity? Don't let me get my hooves dirty Rarity? Also, gave it to him? How does that even work?"

At first Fluttershy simply laughed at Pat's incredulity. "Yes, that Rarity," she confirmed, then shrugged a little. She also couldn't answer the other question, but she tried to guess: "Magic? I think?"

Patrick kept laughing at the lackluster explanation, but a prod from Fluttershy's hind leg against his shoulder made him stop. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of your friends. So, that was on the way to... what did you call it?"

She lifted her head to give him a slightly disappointed look. Patrick didn't remember exactly when she'd turned around, but it was a position which spoke volumes of how comfortable she was with him. Especially considering how this way her belly was totally exposed to Pat's hand. He remembered to scratch again and 'Shy let her head drop once more. "Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree forest. That was where Nightmare Moon went."

"Right, right. It still seems incredible she'd be trapped on the moon for a thousand years."

"Well, that's how it happened," Fluttershy insisted. "Twilight saw how it started when she drank that potion from Zecora!"

It sounded more like a fairy tale than a thing which had actually happened, but then again Pat was petting a real, live pegasus. A yellow one, who could speak English and had magical powers. That last one was giving him some trouble. "By the way, you said you can talk to animals, right?"

'Shy lifted her head to give Pat a smile, doubtless remembering that dog at the store. It was a good thing they allowed pets inside. "Mhm!"

"It's like your magical talent."

"Cutie mark," 'Shy repeated and leaned her body to one side so he could see the picture on her butt.

"Oh, you mean this?!" Before she could react Pat moved his free hand there and tickled both the flank and her belly, making Fluttershy kick her legs against the couch backrest.

She squealed with laughter. "Stooop! Pat! Stop!" She rolled away and jumped up, out of Pat's reach. Her wings flapped a few times to move her faster and 'Shy landed on the couch, crouching low to protect her belly and facing Pat. Her soft bits were thus guarded from his inquisitive fingers and there was no chance of a sneak attack. There was a blush on Fluttershy's muzzle and her ears perked up to focus fully on Pat. She was waiting for him to strike again, clearly enjoying this new game.

Pat obliged and leaned over to get in range. He stuck his hands under both wings, guessing that she might be ticklish there. The area was usually protected by several layers of feathers when she folded them up, after all.

"Noooo!" she whined, backing away and hitting the pile of her blankets with her rump. "That's cheating!" Her wings had snapped closed, but it was too late. Pat already had his grip and now played with her fur under there. The giggling went crazy. "Eeeee- eee hee hee!" The sound was nearly high enough to break glass. She had an impressive pair of lungs on her, but it wasn't enough to make him stop.

In desperation Fluttershy flipped herself back against the pile of blankets, but unfortunately that just exposed her front.

"Aha!" Pat easily changed his assault to the softer fur on her belly. This left 'Shy completely red in the face and gasping for breath. "Sto-hp," she wheezed, "I'm gonna pee myself! Stop! Sto- hee hee!"

He relented and let the little pony go, but it took her some time to wind down, alternating between giggling and gasping for breath. It was some time later that she could speak: "That was mean, Pat!" she complained, but with a smile which put a lie to her words. There was a glint in her eye, one Pat found he liked very much. "What if I do it to you?"

Patrick just spread his arms so he was defenseless. "Go right ahead!"

'Shy thought for a few seconds, then pounced. She didn't have enough finesse in her hooves, but she still tried to run them up and down Pat's sides. Her fetlocks actually did tickle a little, but he managed to hold on to his stony face. That is, until 'Shy got a brilliant idea. Her hooves somehow hooked under his loose T-shirt and lifted it. She couldn't undress him, but it exposed plenty of skin. Then she brought her wing feathers into play. The touch was light, almost delicate, but that made it so much worse!

"Shit, ha ha ha, stop! Wait!" He tried to cover himself with his hands, but 'Shy just moved her feathers to his belly. When he switched his protection there, she flicked back. Her precision with those things was uncanny. At last Patrick remembered to grip her hooves and pull them down, covering his exposed skin with the shirt once more. That helped a lot and 'Shy struggled for a few moments to free herself. She came quite close, which was a real eye-opener for Pat. Small as the mare was, she was quite strong. If it were a matter of kicking, he doubted he could have stopped her. It was only because of the angle that Pat had been able to hold on.

"Okay, okay... truce?" he offered.

Fluttershy inspected his face for signs of deceit, then gave a single nod. Her wings snapped back to her sides and Pat let himself relax a little. She also stopped trying to pull free from his grip. After a few seconds she folded her ears down and murmured: "You can let me go now." She was blushing, Pat realized!

"Oh. Sorry. Right." He let her hooves go, but rather than scurrying away, 'Shy just let them fall and rest on his thighs. "You wouldn't really pee yourself just from tickling, would you?"

The blush deepened and 'Shy drew back, sitting as small as she could and wrapping her tail around all four hooves. "I... m-might. It really tickled!"

"Sorry."

The apology earned him a small smile. "Don't be. Um, it was fun. I can't remember the last time I laughed like that. I guess it was that time Discord told Twilight and Princess Cadence he was ill and they had to get this special flower."

"I don't see what so funny about that..."

Fluttershy chuckled into her hoof and blushed, unable to meet Pat's gaze. "Don't tell Discord this," she said in a quieter voice, "but it was really funny when he got sick for real from the Tatzlwurm!"

Perhaps you had to be there, or know these people better to see the joke, because Pat still didn't find it particularly funny. Fluttershy was giggling, which was the important bit. Suddenly there was a low growl emanating from somewhere in his abdomen. "Whoops, I guess that's me. We kinda... forgot lunch." A glance at his phone showed Pat that it was nearly three in the afternoon. "Oh, jeez. I better get cooking!"

Fluttershy's ears perked up at that. "I can help!" she offered.

It sounded like fun, so Patrick readily agreed. "Okay, what are we having?"

The mare gave it some thought, then shrugged. "You pick."

"How about a pizza?"

This seemed to hit the right spot because 'Shy clapped her hooves together in delight. "Oooh," she practically moaned, "it's been ages since I had pizza! Can we make it out of hay-dough?"

"Wait... hay? Like in dried grass, hay? I can't eat that!" Her ears wilted and Pat was immediately sorry. "It's not like I even have any in the house."

"I h-have some," 'Shy said, looking down at her hooves.

It might not be edible for humans, though Pat was willing to try. He came up with a good compromise. "Okay, okay, how about you go fetch it and we make half of the pizza with hay-dough and half with the regular kind?"

Fluttershy sprang to her hooves, smiling once more. "I'll be right back!" she promised and flew off. There was a thud as she landed in front of the door, the sound of it opening and closing, and then her hoofsteps faded down the stairs. Pizza out of hay. Pat shrugged to himself. He'd try anything once.