Today was the day. Rarity asked if she could make that outfit she thought would look so good on me when we were at her house after our math club meeting, and I said yes. We agreed to meet after my shift at the animal shelter since her house was so close to it. As I pulled up, I regretted my decision, but for a different reason than I expected.
The reason was my oversensitive immune system. Mild hay fever wasn’t new to me. And I took this job at the shelter knowing I was also mildly allergic to pet dander. But turns out dry, breezy fall weather and being around dozens of animals for a long Saturday shift didn’t give as mild of results. And as luck would have it, I didn’t take any nasal spray or antihistamines before I left or with me to the shelter. So needless to say, I was now pretty miserable.
“Fluttershy, you people pleasing idiot,” I muttered to myself. “You knew you had to work 7 hours today. Of all the days, you had to agree to meet with Rarity on this one?!”
I thought about texting Rarity so I could at least go home and take the allergy meds, but at that point, I might as well have just canceled entirely. And fortunately, I wasn’t in short supply of tissues, so I grabbed them, and dragged my fatigued, itchy, and stuffed up self to the front of Rarity’s house.
She greeted me, and though I could tell she was trying to hide her shock and concern, I could also tell she was feeling both at the sight of me. Couldn't blame her.
“Hi Ra… aa… achoo!!! Oof. Excuse me,” I said, blushing a bit. If I wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong before, I certainly couldn’t now.
“You poor dear,” Rarity sympathized. “I'd ask how you are, but it seems like you’ve been better.”
“I’ve sneezed over 100 times today, my eyes are so itchy and watery, I want to rip them out, and I feel like I'm moving through molasses,” my exhaustion almost made me blurt out. “So yeah. I suppose you could say I've been better.”
But I remembered that this was a generous offer from a friend. And I thought the outfit she was making for me was really pretty.
“Oh, it’s just allergies,” I said. “I forgot to take anything before my shift at the shelter. But I’m looking forward to today.”
I wasn’t completely lying when I said it was just allergies. I didn’t feel great, but there were colds that were worse. At this, Rarity cocked her head slightly, but she opened the door wider to let me in.
“I am too,” she agreed.
Rarity led me to the basement as I did my best not to sniffle and sneeze all over my friend’s house.
“Alright then,” Rarity said. “I’ll just get a couple things and we can get started.”
I sat as I let out another embarrassing sneeze in the silence while I waited. But in a way, the embarrassment was a good thing because it made me realize I couldn't continue like this. I decided to speak up when she got all her things.
“Rarity, you know… perhaps we should do this another day. I’m so sorry. But I think this meeting will be more productive when I’m better.”
“Never be sorry for advocating for yourself,” Rarity insisted. “I should be sorry for not making you go home and rest.”
It was my turn to sigh from relief. And pride. I was proud of myself for stating my needs and I was proud of Rarity for making me feel safe to do so.
“I still am a bit embarrassed, though,” I admitted. “I hate having to cancel this over allergies.”
“It might be ‘just allergies,’ but you still feel like garbage, darling!” Rarity assured. “Trust me–my asthma was awful this time of year when I was a child. So I understand.”
Something about hearing Rarity say “feel like garbage” made me laugh.
“You have asthma?” I asked. Never heard that mentioned anywhere.
Rarity nodded.
“It's in our family. Things could change, but now I’ve mostly grown out of it,” Rarity explained. “But that's why our cat Opal is hypoallergenic.”
Interesting–I didn’t know you could grow out of asthma.
“Though you must love animals a lot if you’re willing to work with them despite being allergic,” Rarity continued.
“I’ve been managing,” I said, with a giggle. “I started a month ago. I hope I’ll build up more of a resistance eventually.”
Rarity laughed along as she got up from her chair.
“Let’s get you home so you can take some medicine.”
Author's Note
This was inspired by my brief mention of Rarity having asthma in another fic and wanting to continue the A Strange New Math World storyline… and I thought Fluttershy loving animals, but being allergic to them was an interesting and perhaps even relateable dilemma. 🙈
I finished the last of my math homework and checked the time. 3:55. Perfect timing–Fluttershy was coming for her fitting at 4. I hoped she didn’t think I was pitying her too much by doing this for her. I truly wasn’t. I had a vision and I wanted to make it a reality for someone who seemed very nice.
And what a vision it was! As I told Fluttershy that day, the outfit just seemed so HER. The pastels, the pink to match her hair, the butterflies to match her sweet demeanor–it just seemed so right. And though she didn’t outright say it, I had to deduce that at least one reason she accepted my offer was because she felt the same.
As such, I was very excited to see and work with my new friend. The clock struck 4, and I heard the doorbell ring not too long afterward. I answered the door eagerly, but to my shock, Fluttershy’s eyes weren’t also filled with eagerness, but instead were red, puffy, and sore. What on earth happened? I only saw her a bit, but she seemed alright at school just yesterday.
“Hi Ra… aa… achoo!!! Oof. Excuse me,” Fluttershy said.
“You poor dear,” I sympathized. “I'd ask how you are, but it seems like you’ve been better.”
Being firm and honest while also being tactful was definitely possible, I learned.
“Oh, it’s just allergies,” Fluttershy tried to assure me. “I forgot to take anything before my shift at the shelter this morning. But I am looking forward to today.”
Part of me wanted to believe the “just allergies” thing. She was right–out of all the maladies in the world, hay fever was far from the worst one. But did that matter when it seemed like Fluttershy was using up all her energy and then some just to be here? What good would it do either of us to have this meeting while Fluttershy was in this state? But I also knew that we were both excited to work on this and to get to know each other better.
I let Fluttershy in and led her to the basement and asked her to wait a moment while I got my things before we began. Poor Fluttershy let out another sneeze as I got my pencils and sketch pad. Bless her, I could tell those few moments from the door to now probably felt like an eternity to her as she tried to save at least some dignity. I again wondered if I should say something. But before I could think much further, Fluttershy spoke first.
“Rarity, you know… perhaps we should do this another day. I’m so sorry. But I think this meeting will be more productive when I’m better.”
“Never be sorry for advocating for yourself,” I said firmly. “I should be sorry for not making you go home and rest.”
I did feel bad that Fluttershy had to be the one to speak up, but in a way I was glad that Fluttershy had the courage and opportunity to do it, as that probably wasn’t something that came super naturally to her.
“I still am a bit embarrassed, though,” Fluttershy said sheepishly. “I hate having to cancel this over allergies.”
I thought of Princess Twilight in Equestria and how her friends initially brushed off her anxiety when she didn’t have a friendship problem to write about as nothing.
“It might be ‘just allergies,’ but you still feel like garbage, darling!” I assured my friend. “Trust me–my asthma was awful this time of year when I was a child. So I understand.”
“You have asthma?” Fluttershy asked.
I got that question a lot once people found out about my asthma these days. I still owned an emergency inhaler and needed it every so often, but I didn’t need daily medicine anymore and I hadn’t for years.
“It's in our family. Things could change, but now I've mostly grown out of it,” I explained. “But that's why our cat Opal is hypoallergenic. Though you must love animals a lot if you’re willing to work with them despite being allergic."
I definitely understood Fluttershy’s struggle. Our family felt so lucky to have found Opal.
“I’ve been managing,” she said with a giggle. “I started a month ago. I hope I’ll build up more of a resistance eventually.”
I laughed along as I got up from my desk.
“Let’s get you home so you can take some medicine."
Author's Note
I was thinking about ways to write this story while also meeting the 1000 word requirement, and dual POV is what I ended up doing! And I had a lot of fun with it. 😊