The second that Babs stepped off the train station and her hooves touched the dirt, they were immediately lifted up by a sudden force.

“Hey-hey, there’s my favorite Manehattan cousin!” Braeburn said, starting to spin her around. “C’mere, you!”

“Ack! Braeburn! Not in fronta everyone!” Babs protested, despite the obvious smile on her face.

Braeburn chuckled and put her back down. “Alright, alright. It’s great to see ya, cuz!”

“Likewise! I haven’t been to Appleloosa in foreva!”

“Sure feels like it!” Braeburn patted her on the back. “C’mon, let’s get goin’!”

As they walked through the streets of the town to Braeburn’s house, they were greeted by another familiar face running up to them.

“Hey, Strongheart! There ya are!”

“Hi, Braeburn!” Little Stongheart turned her head. “Oh, you must be Babs! It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise!” Babs took a moment to look over Little Strongheart, examining her in an almost judgemental way.

“Heh, gotta say, cuz, nevah expected you to get with a buffalo,” Babs playfully ribbed. “Always thought you’d end up with…”

“With who?” Strongheart insisted.

“...Nuttin, nevamind.”

Braeburn rolled his eyes. “Come on, Babs, Little Strongheart really wanted to meet ya.”

“Yeah?” Babs scoffed. “Why’s that?”

“Braeburn’s been saying a lot of good things about you,” Strongheart explained. “He was just so excited to be invited to another No Clop November, but he was even more excited seeing that you were there, too!”

“Doesn’t help anyone’s case when this is about getting to an orgy…” Babs mouthed to herself before actually speaking to Braeburn. “Lotta good things, huh?”

“And Strongheart here wanted to take the time to make some new friends outside of Appleloosa, and Ah’ told her that you’d be a great friend for her!”

“Psssh, me? I’m nuttin special,” Babs blushed.

“Braeburn said you were tough and cool and smart…”

With a casual blow to her bangs, Babs started nodding along. “Well, if Braeburn’s sayin’ it…”

Strongheart giggled. “I don’t think I’ve met many city ponies before. Are they all as cool as you?”

“Ha! They only wish!” Babs bragged, rubbing her chest. “You said you were tryna make friends with the other participants? Who else have ya met?”

Little Strongheart rubbed her chin. “Well, when I went to Ponyville, I met Gallus and Tempest. They seemed pretty nice, even if they seemed a little rough around the edges.”

Remembering Cozy’s tale of Tempest’s ticklish defeat, Babs cracked a smirk. “Heh, I heard Tempest has a soft spot or two if ya know where ta poke around.”

“Who else…Oh! There was also this really cute yak named Yona! She was one of the first ones I met. I think we really hit it off.”

A twinge of guilt hit Babs’s heart. “...Yeah?”

Little Strongheart nodded, her smile fading a bit. “Yeah. We came up with a really fun plan for her and her stallion Sandbar and me and Braeburn.”

Babs felt her hooves twitch underneath her. “Oh ya mean like a couple swap thing?”

“Exactly! But I heard that she got eliminated pretty early on.”

“Wow, really? Dat…sucks…!” Babs said, flipping her mane to intentionally cover up an eye.

“Yeah, real crazy how fast she went out, huh cuz?” Braeburn said.

Even with her hair obscuring her vision, Babs could tell Braeburn was giving her the side eye. “Yeah, crazy.”

Strongheart gave a resigned shrug. “I guess that’s all part of the game, but I still wish we could’ve done something together!”

“Well, look on da bright side, you’re still in it, and there’s plenty of participants left!” Babs said, trying to shift the subject away from Yona. “Still got your options!”

“That’s true…” the buffalo nodded. “Actually, there was this other stallion that talked to me…Feather Bangs, I think it was?”

“Oh jeez…” Babs immediately started groaning and rolling her eyes.

“You were talking to other stallions without me?” Braeburn said in mock-jealousy.

Little Strongheart was quick to go on the defense. “Hey, he started talking to me first! And I mean…I’ve never tried two stallions at once...”

Babs quickly waved her hoof. “Wait, hold on, lemme guess. He was trying some dumbass pickup lines on you?”

Strongheart’s face scrunched up. “Well, I wouldn’t phrase it like that…”

Babs clicked her tongue as she shook her head. “Dude’s really been getting around, huh? Unbelievable…”

“I dunno, he seemed really sweet in a way. Maybe a little lonely… I think he just wanted companionship over a fuckbuddy.”

“A poor soul looking for love, huh?” Braeburn chuckled. “Mighty strange place to look for it, but Ah’ guess Princess Cadence hostin’ the whole thing gave him some inspiration.”

Little Strongheart wrapped her hooves around Braeburn. “Not everyone can be as lucky as us, dear.” She looked over to Babs. “What about you, Babs? Have you found someone special yet?”

Babs quickly fired off a series of flustered sputterings. “What? Course not! What kinda question-You my mom or somethin’?”

The couple exchanged knowing glances. “So, nobody’s catchin’ your eye this year, cuz?” Braeburn smirked.

“Nnnope! Just playing to get laid an’ dat’s it!”

“Well if that’s the case, Feather Bangs seems very single…” Little Strongheart said in a sing-song tone.

Babs immediately started to gag. “Ugh! Fuck no! He’s nowhere near my type!”

With a cocky smirk, Little Strongheart tilted her head. “So what is your type, Babs? Are they still in the game?”

“Oh for the love of…” An exasperated Babs wheezed under her breath. “None of your business!”

“Ya don’t have even the tiiiiniest crush on anyone at all?” Braeburn egged on.

“Fuck no!” Babs scoffed. “Besides, even if I did, I doubt she likes me back that way-aw fuck.”

A knock on the door took Fluttershy’s attention away from her book. She had a feeling she already knew who was at her door, and was expecting this day for some time.

She walked to the door, mentally preparing herself for the worst.

“Heyyy there, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy nodded to herself as her suspicions were confirmed. “Oh, Feather Bangs! Is there…something I can do for you?”

Feather Bangs chuckled before he flipped his mane. “Haha, well, all I want is to make your heart flutter.”

Fluttershy smiled, but more out of disbelief that Shining Armor actually read him like a book.

As Fluttershy watched the stallion pose and wink, she swore that for a brief second, she saw nothing but pure exhaustion in his eyes that was gone as soon as she did a double-take. “Um…are you alright?”

“Huh? Never better! Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason. You just looked…tired?” Fluttershy saw another flash of fatigue behind those lidded eyes.

Feather nervously looked to the side. “W-Well, now that you mention it…Do you mind if I rest here for a bit?”

“It’s not a problem at all!” Fluttershy smiled, stepping to the side to let Feather Bangs in.

Feather Bangs quickly sat down on the couch, letting out a loud sigh of relief as Fluttershy walked into the next room.

Fluttershy quickly came back with a cup of tea, offering it to the stallion.

“Thank you, you’re too kind,” he said quietly before taking a sip.

“You’re welcome! Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, just feeling…” Feather Bangs took a deep breath. “...exhausted.”

“Oh, I know that my cottage is a bit of a long walk from Ponyville-”

Feather shook his head. “No, I don’t mean like that.” He looked over to the side towards nothing in particular, then back to Fluttershy. “Um…can you keep a secret?”

Fluttershy was feeling wary, but she saw that Feather Bangs was looking vulnerable. “Sure.”

“I’ve been going around, chatting with all these lovely ladies for the whole month, but all this talking to others has just been so…stressful!”

Fluttershy blinked. What Feather Bangs said made sense, just not when it was coming out of his mouth.

“Sorry, I…I know that probably sounds crazy. But the truth is…I-I’m really shy. Making conversation with others…it’s-it’s just terrifying!”

“Wait…you’re…shy?” Fluttershy asked, puzzled by Feather’s confession.

Feather Bangs laughed dryly. “Heh, hard to believe, right? But just the thought of talking to others gets me all nervous and shaky.”

Fluttershy was still trying to make sense of it all. “I…wait, but you’ve been flirting with every female doing this No Clop challenge, haven’t you?”

“It’s how I try to push past it all,” Feather Bangs nervously laughed. “Talking to a pony is one of the scariest things I can think of doing. So I figure the fastest way to practice being brave is to flirt!”

“I…I would never have guessed. You just seem so…confident when you’re talking to someone!”

“I’ve been forcing myself to get into all these uncomfortable situations, talking with all these ponies and dragons and changelings I’ve never met before,” Feather Bangs explained. “I still feel my heart racing in my chest whenever I approach someone, but if I don’t try, then I lose out on the chance to make a friend, and then I’d be alone. And that’s a lot scarier than making smalltalk.”

Fluttershy stood speechless for a moment. “Wow, that’s amazing, Feather Bangs! I had no idea you were so brave!”

“Heh, you’re the one that saves all of Equestria from disaster time and time again. I think that’s a lot braver than some silly ol’ flirt like me,” he winked.

“Still, that’s a pretty amazing way you’re overcoming your fears! I almost wish I had that idea when I was still terrified of talking to other ponies,” she giggled.

“I can only imagine how much safer we’d all be if you flirted with all of Equestria’s threats instead of fighting them.”

The two of them shared a few laughs over the idea of a flirty Fluttershy, taming the likes of Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon, and Chrysalis with pickup lines.

“So, I’m the last girl you had to talk to?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah…” Feather Bangs nodded, quickly backtracking. “Not that you were my last choice or anything! Just, someone has to be last, y’know?”

“Heehee, I get it. Well, what are you going to do for this last week since you’re all done?”

Feather Bangs let out a heavy, contemplative sigh before speaking. “I was thinking of checking back with some of the ones that are still in. Maybe get to know them a little better before the big day.”

“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I hope you don’t keep me waiting too long, though!” Fluttershy winked.

“Haha, I’ll try to be as quick as a bunny.”

Author's Note

Now that I think of it, I think Shining, Twilight, and Velvet has been the most blood-family members I've had in my runs so far. Which is wild considering the Apples and the Pies exist.