The One Shot Repositoryby thehalfelfChaptersA Filly and her Plushie(Mostly) Good IntentionsPony Pet Prank DateA Filly and her PlushieOk filly, you got this, Vinyl thought to herself as she stared down Octavia, today is the day. You can do this. “Octavia, there is something I want to tell you.” Vinyl said, mentally preparing herself for the worst. “What is it Vinyl?” Octavia replied, curiosity evident in her voice. “I... I... Grrr. I can’t say it!” Vinyl took a long look at Octavia, before picking her up in a halo of light blue magic and putting her back in the cupboard she usually resided in. Way to go Vinyl, you can’t even tell a bucking plushie how you feel. How are you going to say anything to the mare herself? Vinyl lowered her head, holding it in her forehooves. I’m hopeless... Vinyl stood up, her hooves immediately beginning her favorite pacing routine. Five steps towards the door, turn, two steps to her turntables, turn, three to her bed, repeat. Five steps towards the door, turn, two steps to her turntables... Maybe...maybe it’s because I’m trying in my room. I always try in my room. Why would I tell Octavia how I feel in my room? It would probably happen in the living room... Maybe if i try there... With that, Vinyl released “little Tavi” from her hiding place, and carried her lovingly into the front room of the apartment the two mares shared. Little Tavi was put down on one end of the couch, Octavia’s favorite end, and Vinyl sat in her chair. Vinyl stared at the plushie for a moment, mustering her thoughts into a spearhead of brilliance, before squinting her eyes shut and speaking. “OctaviaI’msorrybutIloveyoudon’thinkI’mweirdwanttogoouttodinnersometimesoon?” The words practically exploded from Vinyl, each sound barely being formed before it was expelled by the one following it. She took in a deep breath, and let it out in a long, lilting laugh that bubbled up from her very core. “Look at me, swooning over a little plushie. Celestia I need help...” The plushie itself did not bother Vinyl as much as it used to. Lyra had gotten it for her as a gift the last time she visited her and Bon Bon in Ponyville, as a joke. Of course, as soon as Vinyl saw it, she immediately suspected the worst... *** “How did you know!? Tell me!” Vinyl shouted, shooting forward so she was almost muzzle to muzzle with her oldest friend. “Know what Vinyl? Why are you getting your tail all twisted over this? It was a joke, jeez. Calm down.” Lyra replied, pushing Vinyl away with a hoof. Vinyl blinked. “O...Of course it was. Ha ha. Funny....” “Seriously Vinyl, what’s got you so worked up about this?” Vinyl took the plushie from Lyra, quickly putting it in her saddlebag. Before the other mare could ask any questions, she said “Sorry, gotta run Lyra. Train leaves soon” “W...What?” Lyra spluttered, “you just got here. How can your train be leaving so soon?” She never heard as reply as Vinyl dashed off soon after. “Whatever. That mare gets weirder and weirder every time I see her. It was just a plushie of her roommate... Wait a minute...” Lyra broke into a grin. “Oh!” Lyra walked back to the little apartment she shared with her own marefriend, silently wishing her friend luck with her romantic endeavors. *** Lost in thought, Vinyl almost missed the sound of their front door opening. She frantically searched for a hiding place in the small room. Finding none, she quickly grabbed the plushie in her magic grip, and shoved it behind her own body, adjusting herself until she thought it was entirely hidden from view. ‘Vinyl, I’m home!” Octavia called form the entry. “Vinyl? Are you here?” “Y...Yeah Tavi. Living room!” Vinyl replied, praying to Celestia, Luna, and every other equine goddess she could think of that Octavia would give her an opportunity to hide Little Tavi. Octavia walked into the room, quickly taking the seat that was occupied moments before by Little Tavi. She noticed the odd position her roommate was sitting in, but chalked it up to one of Vinyl’s eccentricities. “Hey Vinyl, what’s up?” Octavia asked, carefully placing her saddle bag on the table in front of the couch. “N-Nothing much Tavi. What’s up with you?” VInyl replied, very smoothly. Obviously, she had a very stressful day, which she spent the next half hour complaining about in vivid detail to her captive audience. “I’m so glad you asked Vinyl, I had the most dreadful day. First, I got to the recital hall where we usually practice, you know the one, just to find out that Beauty Brass decided that we should have it in her own house, almost a mile away!” Vinyl nodded, not really paying attention. “So, of course I went as quickly as I could. But when I got there, that mare had the gall to bring up the fact that I was the only one who was late. Apparently she had told everypony else that the meeting was moved, I just happened to miss the stupid memo. I know, for a fact, that she did not tell me. You know how organized I am with things.” “Mmhm.” “So Her Highness decides that we should start practicing for the Summer Sun Celebration, which is months away! I tried to politely remind her of this, and of the impending performance in the Lunar Hall for Princess Luna’s birthday in two weeks, but no. Apparently we already know all we need for that, even though I know that Silver String still struggles with some parts of it.” “What a whorse.” “Vinyl, don’t be so crass. Anyway, like I was saying, so of course everypony decides that we have to obey Her Highness and we wasted the whole day practicing for an event that isn’t even close to being here. Then, after practice, I made it a point to ask Beauty Brass where our next practice would be, so I wouldn’t be late. She just smiled, and said that it would be, ‘where it always is, darling, you should know that.’ I swear Vinyl, some days I want to just murder that mare.” “No reason to get your pretty little hooves dirty Tavi. Just say the word and I’ll have it taken care of.” “Vinyl there is really no reason to talk like that. And just to make everything worse, while I was walking home, I stubbed my hoof. It really hurts Vinyl. A lot.” “Weeeell, as fun as that sounds, I’m going to go get some food.” Vinyl got about halfway up before she remembered what she was hiding. She quickly sat back down. “On second thought, why don’t you go take a shower, and relax while I make dinner in a minute...? Heh heh...” “Um... sure...?” Vinyl is being weird... Er. Octavia thought to herself as she walked to the bathroom. As soon as Octavia left the room, Vinyl bolted up. Gripping Little Tavi in her magic, she quickly and quietly made her way to her room. Right as she was stashing the plushie in it’s normal hiding place, she heard a noise behind her. “Vinyl. What are you doing?” Octavia’s voice pierced through the room like an arrow, aimed straight at Vinyl’s center of fear. “N...Nothing Tavi. I thought you were in the shower...?” Vinyl replied, hoping her blush wouldn’t show. Of course it’ll show, you idiot, your coat is white! “You were acting weird, and I was worried. So what was that? What’s in that cabinet you never let me open?” “Nothing Tavi. Go take your shower and forget about it.” Vinyl was terrified. Everything would be ruined if Octavia opened that cabinet. “Let me see.” “No.” “Vinyl...” “Do you not trust me Tavi?” The accusation stung more than Vinyl could ever know. “Of course I trust you. I’m just curious...” “If it is really such a big bucking deal, look inside then.” “No it’s fine I’ll just...” “Look.” Octavia hesitated for a moment, courage battling out with trust. Courage won in the end. Octavia opened the cabinet, and reached a forehoof in to find... A cello. A beautiful, masterfully crafted cello. Vinyl was almost in tears. “Are you happy now, Tavi? You ruined the surprise I had planned for your birthday.” “M...My birthday. But this cello. It...It must have cost a fortune. Why would you spend so much on me...?” “Because I bucking love you, you beautiful, oblivious, amazing mare. That’s why.” Octavia stood in shock. She used an educated word. I’m so prou-- Wait. She said... She said she... “You love me?” “Yes. I want to be your marefriend. I have since we started living together. In fact, that is one of the main reasons I wanted to be your roommate... so that maybe I would eventually pluck up the courage to tell you.” Octavia sat in thought. Sure, she had had very special someponies before, but it never seemed to work out. But Vinyl was...different. Different from everypony she had ever called her friends, the exact opposite of Octavia, the other half to a whole. Was it really worth possibly damaging the best friendship she had? Almost as soon as she asked herself, she had her answer. “Yes.” Vinyl stared, astonished. “Yes?” Octavia walked forward and planted a kiss on the end of Vinyl’s nose. “Yes.” “Yes!” Vinyl jumped in the air, beaming so hard it looked painful. As soon as she returned to Equestria, she said, “you can have the cello, by the way. No use in hiding it from you now.” Now it was Octavia’s turn to beam. She carefully removed the cello from it’s resting place, but noticed something else as she did so. She held out the plushie to Vinyl, questions and concern vying for dominance of her thoughts. “Vinyl... What is this?” There was a pause. “Shit.” Author’s Note: So, this idea came to me while editing a friend’s story. He told me to write something funny, so I did. A very truncated version of this is what emerged. So, as I sat bored out of my mind in school, laptop humming away in front of me, I decided I would flesh it out. This is going under the One Shot archive. It does not deserve it’s own story. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to the team and InsanityCorps for prereading. -thehalfelf (Mostly) Good Intentions(Mostly) Good Intentions Note: This story takes place between Seasons 2 and 3 “So, Twilight, you think you can help me out?” Rainbow Dash asked the lavender unicorn next to her as they led their group of friends down towards Ponyville, new pet in tow. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll probably have the spell done in a couple days, then I’ll just have to make the actual machinery. It should be done in time for the next Pony-Pet Play Date,” Twilight replied, after going over some calculations in her head. “Awesome!” Rainbow shouted, jumping into the air. Twilight looked up at her, eyebrow raised, and the pegasus fluttered back down to the earth. “What are you going to do with Tank until then?” the unicorn asked. “I don’t think he’ll be able to go up to your cloudhouse without the copter.” “I... uh... I hadn’t thought of that...” Rainbow looked down at the tortoise plodding along next to her. Fluttershy quickly darted forward, gently tapping Rainbow’s shoulder to get her friends’ attention. “Um, I could take him in, until you’re ready that is...” “Thanks, Fluttershy, but I’d rather take Tank back home. I’ll get some high-density clouds from the Weather Office and make a bed for him, or something.” Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively, missing Fluttershy’s cringe. “A... Are you sure? It really wouldn’t be any trouble, and I wouldn’t want him falling from your house. It’s pretty high up...” The shy pegasus threw a concerned glance towards the tortoise. “Well, even if he did fall, I’m the fastest pegasus in Equestria! It wouldn’t be any problem to snatch him before he gets the ground.” Rainbow turned her head to look at Fluttershy. “It’ll be fine, really. Don’t worry, I’m not going to let something bad happen to the best pet ever.” Angel Bunny, seated comfortably on Fluttershy’s back, looked like he was about to argue the “best pet” point, but a look from Rainbow stopped him cold. “Okay... if you say so,” Fluttershy responded before falling back to Rarity to discuss their next spa date. It wasn’t too much later that the group came to the outskirts of Ponyville, and a small dirt road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres, and a little further down, Fluttershy’s cottage. The friends all said their farewells before splitting into smaller groups and heading towards their homes. A short while later, Fluttershy said her goodbyes to Applejack and Winona as they turned down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving the mellow pegasus and her spoiled bunny. It wasn’t long before Fluttershy spied her home, the cozy cottage perched precariously on the edge of the emerald Everfree Forest. The pegasus fluttered over to the door, pushing it open with a hind leg, allowing the swarm of animals to pull her inside. “Hello everyone,” Fluttershy said, gently kicking the door closed behind her as she set Angel down. She spent the next few minutes rushing around in a frenzy, quickly and effectively feeding and caring for the animals currently living with her. Once she knew her animals were satiated, and that the injured still walked the road to recovery, only then did she turn her thoughts and actions to her own needs. After a few minutes of busy but productive fluttering in the kitchen, Fluttershy sat down at a small table with a light fresh salad. As she ate, she made a mental list of everything else that needed to be done for the next couple of days. Well, I’m going to need to go into town to get the ingredients for Angel Bunny’s special Friday snack. While I’m there, I might as well do some of the shopping for myself. The chicken coop out back could use a fresh coat of paint, so maybe I’ll stop by Sweet Apple Acres sometime and ask if Big Macintosh could help me. Even though she was alone, her light blush still made her anxious. The badgers down under the bridge have been really quiet lately, I should go see if they need anything. It might also be a good idea to pull up some of the plants in the garden that I don’t like. I’m sure Tank will like... Fluttershy’s thoughts trailed off, ears falling victim to gravity. As much as she pushed Rainbow Dash to allow her favorite tortoise to participate, part of her was going to miss the slow creature. Well, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to get the food and bring it to Rainbow, right? Besides, then I could make sure Tank is well taken care of. Not that Rainbow can’t do it! Silly brain, stop thinking bad about Rainbow... Ensured that she had properly chastised herself, Fluttershy cleaned up the small mess she had made eating, and grabbed a book, intending to climb to her bed and read until she fell asleep. /)*(\ Days passed in a flurry of activity. What Fluttershy had thought was going to be a short, easy shopping trip the next day ended up taking hours after she agreed to help Rarity model a new line of dresses, “because I simply can’t find a better model than you, darling.” Not that she would refuse, oh no, Fluttershy would gladly do anything to help Rarity, as long as it didn’t involve another, um, special outfit. On the way back, however, she did manage to catch the beavers of the bridge and ensure they were, indeed, doing perfectly fine. The next day was relegated to tending to her garden, which also turned into an all-day affair when Angel Bunny started pestering two chipmunks, causing Fluttershy to have to stop her work every few minutes to break up the fighting. Not that she really minded that much, much better to use time stopping fights than to use it to tend wounded. The day after, Fluttershy managed to get Applejack to allow Big Macintosh come and help her repaint the chicken coop. Well, she would have helped, she really would have, if Big Macintosh hadn’t insisted that she not do anything, at least with the chicken coop. Instead, Fluttershy spent several hours cooking a nice meal--and something for Applejack as well--as a way to thank the red farm pony for all his work. Just a thank you. In fact, Fluttershy had been so busy that she had barely given a passing thought to Tank, or his new home, until she lay exhausted on the couch of her living room on the third night. With half-closed eyes, the pegasus noted the basket of flowers, grass clippings, lettuce, and other things from her garden picked the day before on the table. As Fluttershy slowly drifted to sleep, she resolved to deliver the supplies to Rainbow Dash the next day, as soon as she had time. /)*(\ Fluttershy sat perched upon the perch of her friend’s cloud home. In her mouth she held the basket of food, which now also contained several other supplies Fluttershy thought Rainbow could use to take care of Tank properly. After giving everything in her grasp a once-over to make sure she didn’t forget anything, the yellow pegasus raised a hoof and knocked on the door, hood sinking into the cloud door for a brief second before it hardened to the contact. “Just a minute!” Rainbow shouted. Several long second, and many, many crashing sounds later, the prismatic pegasus poked her head out of the small crack in the door. “Uh, hey Fluttershy. How’s it goin’?” “Oh, it’s great. I just wanted to come by and give you some things for Tank, if that’s alright,” Fluttershy replied, offering up the basket. “Yeah, yeah! That’s great!” Rainbow reached out a hoof, nicking the basket and stowing it somewhere inside, opening the door only wide enough for it to fit through before closing it again. “Anything else?” “Well, I was hoping to see him, and maybe teach you a little about caring for him...” Fluttershy lowered her head, letting her mane spill forward and hide her attempt to peek through the door for any sign of the tortoise. “Uh, right now isn’t really a great time--” “Is something wrong? Is Tank hurt!?” Fluttershy exclaimed, bolting to her feet and rushing towards the door to be stopped by a cyan hoof. “We’re fine. I just want to make sure he is settled is all.” Despite her reassurances, Rainbow looked nervous. Fluttershy thought for a moment. She wanted to see Tank, and make sure he was okay with Rainbow, but at the same time, she didn’t want to offend her friend. “Well, um, could I come in and rest for a minute before going back?” Obviously relieved, Rainbow agreed, ushering the yellow pegasus into her lofty home. The two sat in a somewhat awkward silence for several minutes before Rainbow spoke up. “You, uh, you want some water?” “Oh, yes please,” Fluttershy replied. She had seen the other pegasus’ kitchen, and so, knowing she had a couple minutes of no supervision, she quietly darted up and began to search the house. Not once during her entire visit had she heard or seen Tank, which worried her. Fluttershy knew the tortoise was slow, but surely he would have made himself known by now! Sneaking to the best of her ability--which, given her usual state of noise, was really good--Fluttershy made her way to Rainbow’s bedroom, the most likely place for the tortoise to be. As she gently nosed the door open, Fluttershy heard a voice behind her. “What are you doing?” Fluttershy froze, ears pinned flat to her head, knees bent, eyes dilated in fear. She turned around slowly. “R-Rainbow Dash, I can explain...” “What the hay Fluttershy!? I didn’t really think of you to sneak around like that. What are you doing?” Fluttershy cringed. Rainbow sounded really angry... “I-I was just worried about Tank, and you wouldn’t let me see him, and so--” “So you snuck through my house!?” Fluttershy cringed, on the brink of tears. “M-Maybe...” “Maybe? Maybe nothing! You’re right there, sneaking through my house!” Rainbow shook her head, taking a deep breath. “Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Fluttershy just nodded. “I, uh, I never had a pet before, and...” “Is he hurt!?” Fluttershy interrupted, all traces of emotion beside concern vanishing. “No, of course not! I just, uh, didn’t really know what to do with him...” Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “Look,” she said, cutting off Fluttershy’s next interruption, “I’ll show you, but you have to promise not to tell anypony else, okay?” After Fluttershy nodded, Rainbow hesitatingly pushed the door to her bedroom open all the way. Inside was the bedroom Fluttershy had seen many times, posters of Wonderbolts adorning almost every surface that could hold it, pile of weather papers on a disheveled desk, vying for attention with magazines and a stray Daring Do book. But, the fluffy bit of high-density clouds in the corner was new, just like the tortoise sitting amongst mounds of stuffed animals, plushies of the Wonderbolts, and various bits and bobs that really made no sense. Right next to the cloud-bed was a set of bowls, one containing water, the other full of hay fries piled on top of a grilled daisy sandwich. Above all of this, ribbons tied to little bits of cloud fashioned to look like stars were hung from the ceiling, forming a crude mobile above the inert animal. Fluttershy looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was blushing almost as bright red as Big Macintosh’s coat. “How about those pet care lessons now?” Fluttershy asked with a little smirk. /)*(\ A week later, Twilight met with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash early before their Pony-Pet Play Date. With her, the lavender unicorn carried a special contraption, powered by solar magic, that would allow Tank to fly with Rainbow, with a little practice. “Here,” Twilight said as she handed over the flying machine. “You also might want to be careful while he gets used to it. After all, you only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle once.” “Tortoise,” Fluttershy corrected on instinct. “Sorry...” Twilight laughed. “Tortoise, I’m sorry. So, hows it been going Rainbow? Tank get used to living in the sky yet?” Unbeknownst to the unicorn, a sheepish look went from the cyan pegasus to the yellow one. “I helped her out,” Fluttershy said. “Tank will love his new home.” “That’s great! See you girls at the play date!” Twilight called, walking back towards the library to get ready. “Bye Twilight,” Fluttershy said before turning to Rainbow. “After all, he can move without all the stuffed animals around.” Rainbow Dash glared at the other pegasus for a moment before they both broke out in laughter. As the fit subsided, Fluttershy grabbed the whirligig in her mouth, and headed off with Rainbow to strap on Tank’s new toy. Author's Note Alright, this idea was sent to me by one awesome dude by the name of Toiski. He was the only one who gave me any ideas when I put out a blog post asking for them, so, thanks for that. TheCloudtop commented on it for me and proofread it and tried to help me find some awesome adjectives for my amazing alliteration/assonance. Yup, still got it. I put three references into this story. Let me know if you find them all. Now back to things I should have been working on in the first place instead of this. As always, if you have any ideas you'd like to see me write, just PM them to me. Never know when I'll have some free time to put out a little one shot for you guys. -thehalfelf Pony Pet Prank DatePony Pet Prank Date Chaos. Madness. Absolute unadulterated anarchy, of the highest order. Creatures raced back and forth, keeping both the ground and the air in a maelstrom of fur, feathers, and scales. The crowd surged back and forth, mindlessly following their yellow overlord; she herself rushing to put together the last bits she needed to fill the ever-important picnic basket. “You may recall that you are not meeting the others for another hour yet, Fluttershy,” Discord said, dodging around another pocket of squirrels following the pegasus on her latest trip across the main room of her small cottage. “But I still have so much to get ready. The birds need to be fed, the rabbit hutch cleaned, and I still have to finish the snacks I said I would bring, plus make something to bring for Angel in case he gets hungry.” Fluttershy flew back to the kitchen, bringing her cadre of followers. Discord floated lazily along behind. He pulled along Fluttershy’s picnic basket and blanket, watching her being throwing things together for the packed lunch. “And what is on the menu for today?” From a cabinet Fluttershy produced a fresh loaf of bread and fixings. She set them down and glanced at Discord, still floating by the door. “Sandwiches” “And for Twilight?” Fluttershy studiously ignored Discord’s single wiggling eyebrow. “A sandwich.” “Just a sandwich?” “Yes.” “A sandwich made with lOoOoOve?” Pony and Draconequus stared one another down. Some of the more sensitive animals scattered for cover. “Just a sandwich,” Fluttershy confirmed. She spun around, ending the conversation, and set about making six sandwiches, an assortment of assorted pet treats, and one salad. Discord sighed. His rehabilitation with his Dear Fluttershy had officially ended months ago, but she was too stubborn to let him help solve her problem. Though she had two, actually, in that she refused to acknowledge the existence of the first. “You should tell her,” Discord said as Fluttershy carefully stowed lunch for later. Fluttershy sighed. “I couldn’t do that. It... It isn’t fair to the rest of the girls.” “Oh, a new one. Had enough of that, ‘what if she says no,’ or ‘I’m too scared,’ or ‘what if she already likes somepony else?’” The lightest tinge of red dusted Fluttershy’s cheeks, but she maintained eye contact. “I have never said any of those things.” Discord waved a hand dismissively. “Said, thought, acted, it’s all the same, isn’t it? The point is that you aren’t getting any hot, purple--” Half a tomato flew across the room, startling him to silence. Fluttershy turned as well, to see a very irate Angel Bunny, standing to one side of the kitchen and tapping a foot. “Angel, it is not nice to throw food,” Fluttershy said, though with more relief than anger. Without waiting for a response, or another argument from Discord, she packed a blanket on top of her basket, nestled it between her wings, and walked towards the door. Angel followed, quickly forcing his way to the head of the following furry flock. Discord quickly rushed from the room, barely managing to get in front of the pegasus before she left. “Okay, okay, fine. I tell you what. I’ll drop it, never say a peep about it again, if you try this one little thing. But, if I’m right, I get told-you-so rights until the end of everything ever. All you have to do...” Before Fluttershy could answer, DIscord darted down and whispered something in her ear. It was all so simple. If it didn’t work, he’d never say another thing. If it did... Fluttershy felt her cheeks heat up again. “Deal,” she said, and quickly slipped out the door. Discord chuckled. “Oh, she is going to get there very early...” <><><><><> Twilight grumbled staring down at the meticulous, color-coded parchment hovering near her muzzle. A miscalculation, a thirty minute mixup meant she was at the park, the prearranged meeting place for this week’s pony-pet play date, early. Alone. Well, Owlouscious was sitting in a nearby tree, napping while waiting, but she was mostly alone. It never ceased to be surprising how an owl would willingly leave the tree at noon just to play with the other pets. Did true friendship extended beyond the confines of high intelligence in such a way? Assuming so, that meant the magic of friendship could be affecting much, much more than just ponies and the other civilized species, allowing for even closer ties between those who-- “Oh! H-Hello, Twilight.” A soft voice broke the unicorn from her thoughts. Twilight turned and smiled as Fluttershy rounded the corner. She reached out with her magic and plucked the wicker basket from between her friend’s wings. “Hey, Fluttershy. Got ahead of yourself too?” “Y-You could say that.” Fluttershy approached and, at Twilight’s prompting, took a seat next to her on a bench. The two sat in silence, watching Angel meet with Owlouscious in the shade of his tree. The two seemed to chitter for a moment, before the two began racing around the tree and nearby park, playing. “So,” Twilight said, lifting a corner of the picnic blanket to peer at the basket contents underneath, “what are we eating this week?” “Sandwiches on fresh bread, with fresh flowers and seasoning from the gardens, and l-lettuce.” Twilight glanced up at her friend’s hesitation. “Is everything okay? You’re stuttering, more than usual, I mean.” “I... Well, I, um... I...” Fluttershy shifted nervously on the bench, unable to look her friend in the eye. “I have to tell you something.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow and shifted more to face her friend, her posture becoming more serious. “Of course. What’s on your mind.” “I... I can’t tell you when you’re looking at me. Can you cover your eyes. Um, pretty please?” Twilight’s eyebrows swapped elevation, but she nodded, and after only a moment's hesitation covered her eyes with her hooves. The moment stretched on with no sound from Fluttershy’s side of the bench except for fast, nervous breathing. Twilight was just about to prompt her friend, or even take her hooves down, when she felt something against her cheek. Something faint, wet, and hesitant. Every train of thought in Twilight’s mind derailed, simultaneously. A single, lonely manual rail cart was dispatched, its only job to try and restore some semblance of normalcy to the unicorn’s poor, fractured mind. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Fluttershy kiss. Fluttershy kissed me. Kiss. Fluttershy just kissed my cheek. Finally. Job accomplished, the single rail cart rolled back to rest as Twilight’s normal trains of thought began organizing cargo and resuming their runs. On the bench, the actual unicorn leapt into action. Or, more accurately, pounced into action. In one single motion, she lunged forward, placing one hoof behind Fluttershy’s head, and one behind her rump, and simultaneously pulling the pegasus forward while falling herself, leaving the two locked in an embrace. She felt something wiggle against her barrel before Angel popped out and scurried away. “Fluttershy, I must say I’m pleasantly surprised.” Twilight unconsciously dropped her voice lower, huskier, making it instantly more intimate. “I had hardly dared to hope you returned my feelings, and had not expected you to take matters into your own hooves.” “I... You... This... I... I didn’t... You are... You...” Fluttershy stuttered, unable to string together anything resembling a full thought. The fur of their coats rubbed together, the heat of their bodies mixed. Twilight hushed her, bringing their muzzles closer together. “You don’t have to explain anything,” she practically whispered, “we can talk, at length later. Right now, I just want to enjoy this.” The distance between them shrunk further, until Fluttershy swore she could feel every puff of breath from Twilight. She watched her friend’s eyes flutter shut as she moved in to close the last little bit of distance. Something in Fluttershy panicked. She shoved hard, sending Twilight tumbling to the ground in hurt and shock. Immediately, she apologized on reflex. “I’m sorry,. I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant to do! I just, you were so close, and getting closer and... and...” Seeing pain in Twilight’s eyes, Fluttershy powered on. “Discord, it was Discord. He made me make this silly promise in return for not bugging me about y-- something. So I held up Angel Bunny and touched his little nose to your cheek so you thought I’d kissed you and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or push you but you were so close and I panicked and... and..” She trailed off, seeing blush start to color Twilight’s cheeks. “So, you made me think you’d kissed me because Discord told you to?” “Yes! I-I mean, no, but...” “That... That is really mean.” The blush was fading now, replaced by the beginning of tears. The voice of Discord himself floated through Fluttershy’s mind, though whether due to memory or the creature himself speaking was anypony’s guess. “It might work out, she might like you too. You’ll never know until you put yourself out there.” Fluttershy took a moment to center herself, carefully ignoring the tears welling in Twilight’s eyes. “I did it because I wanted to. To k-k-kiss you, I mean, but I was always too afraid. I didn’t want you to turn me down, or to put any strain between us, or any of the other girls. So I’m sorry, I played a mean trick.” “So... You do...?” Twilight muttered, raising herself off the ground warily. Fluttershy tried to speak, squeaked out some half-thoughts, then nodded. Twilight pulled her front half up onto the bench and stared into her friend’s blue eyes. “You mean it?” Fluttershy nodded again. The two slowly drew closer again, both sets of eyes fluttering shut as their muzzles drew ever closer to touching. “Ya better go faster than that, Dash, or Ah’m gonna beat’cha!” Fluttershy and Twilight flew apart as Dash and Applejack bounded up the hill towards them. Rarity and Pinkie soon joined from the other direction, and the pet play date was officially on. Later that night, Fluttershy filled in Discord over evening tea. He invoked his right to told-you-so. Many times. Author's Note Story loosely based on a comic I found on Reddit, here.
A Filly and her PlushieOk filly, you got this, Vinyl thought to herself as she stared down Octavia, today is the day. You can do this. “Octavia, there is something I want to tell you.” Vinyl said, mentally preparing herself for the worst. “What is it Vinyl?” Octavia replied, curiosity evident in her voice. “I... I... Grrr. I can’t say it!” Vinyl took a long look at Octavia, before picking her up in a halo of light blue magic and putting her back in the cupboard she usually resided in. Way to go Vinyl, you can’t even tell a bucking plushie how you feel. How are you going to say anything to the mare herself? Vinyl lowered her head, holding it in her forehooves. I’m hopeless... Vinyl stood up, her hooves immediately beginning her favorite pacing routine. Five steps towards the door, turn, two steps to her turntables, turn, three to her bed, repeat. Five steps towards the door, turn, two steps to her turntables... Maybe...maybe it’s because I’m trying in my room. I always try in my room. Why would I tell Octavia how I feel in my room? It would probably happen in the living room... Maybe if i try there... With that, Vinyl released “little Tavi” from her hiding place, and carried her lovingly into the front room of the apartment the two mares shared. Little Tavi was put down on one end of the couch, Octavia’s favorite end, and Vinyl sat in her chair. Vinyl stared at the plushie for a moment, mustering her thoughts into a spearhead of brilliance, before squinting her eyes shut and speaking. “OctaviaI’msorrybutIloveyoudon’thinkI’mweirdwanttogoouttodinnersometimesoon?” The words practically exploded from Vinyl, each sound barely being formed before it was expelled by the one following it. She took in a deep breath, and let it out in a long, lilting laugh that bubbled up from her very core. “Look at me, swooning over a little plushie. Celestia I need help...” The plushie itself did not bother Vinyl as much as it used to. Lyra had gotten it for her as a gift the last time she visited her and Bon Bon in Ponyville, as a joke. Of course, as soon as Vinyl saw it, she immediately suspected the worst... *** “How did you know!? Tell me!” Vinyl shouted, shooting forward so she was almost muzzle to muzzle with her oldest friend. “Know what Vinyl? Why are you getting your tail all twisted over this? It was a joke, jeez. Calm down.” Lyra replied, pushing Vinyl away with a hoof. Vinyl blinked. “O...Of course it was. Ha ha. Funny....” “Seriously Vinyl, what’s got you so worked up about this?” Vinyl took the plushie from Lyra, quickly putting it in her saddlebag. Before the other mare could ask any questions, she said “Sorry, gotta run Lyra. Train leaves soon” “W...What?” Lyra spluttered, “you just got here. How can your train be leaving so soon?” She never heard as reply as Vinyl dashed off soon after. “Whatever. That mare gets weirder and weirder every time I see her. It was just a plushie of her roommate... Wait a minute...” Lyra broke into a grin. “Oh!” Lyra walked back to the little apartment she shared with her own marefriend, silently wishing her friend luck with her romantic endeavors. *** Lost in thought, Vinyl almost missed the sound of their front door opening. She frantically searched for a hiding place in the small room. Finding none, she quickly grabbed the plushie in her magic grip, and shoved it behind her own body, adjusting herself until she thought it was entirely hidden from view. ‘Vinyl, I’m home!” Octavia called form the entry. “Vinyl? Are you here?” “Y...Yeah Tavi. Living room!” Vinyl replied, praying to Celestia, Luna, and every other equine goddess she could think of that Octavia would give her an opportunity to hide Little Tavi. Octavia walked into the room, quickly taking the seat that was occupied moments before by Little Tavi. She noticed the odd position her roommate was sitting in, but chalked it up to one of Vinyl’s eccentricities. “Hey Vinyl, what’s up?” Octavia asked, carefully placing her saddle bag on the table in front of the couch. “N-Nothing much Tavi. What’s up with you?” VInyl replied, very smoothly. Obviously, she had a very stressful day, which she spent the next half hour complaining about in vivid detail to her captive audience. “I’m so glad you asked Vinyl, I had the most dreadful day. First, I got to the recital hall where we usually practice, you know the one, just to find out that Beauty Brass decided that we should have it in her own house, almost a mile away!” Vinyl nodded, not really paying attention. “So, of course I went as quickly as I could. But when I got there, that mare had the gall to bring up the fact that I was the only one who was late. Apparently she had told everypony else that the meeting was moved, I just happened to miss the stupid memo. I know, for a fact, that she did not tell me. You know how organized I am with things.” “Mmhm.” “So Her Highness decides that we should start practicing for the Summer Sun Celebration, which is months away! I tried to politely remind her of this, and of the impending performance in the Lunar Hall for Princess Luna’s birthday in two weeks, but no. Apparently we already know all we need for that, even though I know that Silver String still struggles with some parts of it.” “What a whorse.” “Vinyl, don’t be so crass. Anyway, like I was saying, so of course everypony decides that we have to obey Her Highness and we wasted the whole day practicing for an event that isn’t even close to being here. Then, after practice, I made it a point to ask Beauty Brass where our next practice would be, so I wouldn’t be late. She just smiled, and said that it would be, ‘where it always is, darling, you should know that.’ I swear Vinyl, some days I want to just murder that mare.” “No reason to get your pretty little hooves dirty Tavi. Just say the word and I’ll have it taken care of.” “Vinyl there is really no reason to talk like that. And just to make everything worse, while I was walking home, I stubbed my hoof. It really hurts Vinyl. A lot.” “Weeeell, as fun as that sounds, I’m going to go get some food.” Vinyl got about halfway up before she remembered what she was hiding. She quickly sat back down. “On second thought, why don’t you go take a shower, and relax while I make dinner in a minute...? Heh heh...” “Um... sure...?” Vinyl is being weird... Er. Octavia thought to herself as she walked to the bathroom. As soon as Octavia left the room, Vinyl bolted up. Gripping Little Tavi in her magic, she quickly and quietly made her way to her room. Right as she was stashing the plushie in it’s normal hiding place, she heard a noise behind her. “Vinyl. What are you doing?” Octavia’s voice pierced through the room like an arrow, aimed straight at Vinyl’s center of fear. “N...Nothing Tavi. I thought you were in the shower...?” Vinyl replied, hoping her blush wouldn’t show. Of course it’ll show, you idiot, your coat is white! “You were acting weird, and I was worried. So what was that? What’s in that cabinet you never let me open?” “Nothing Tavi. Go take your shower and forget about it.” Vinyl was terrified. Everything would be ruined if Octavia opened that cabinet. “Let me see.” “No.” “Vinyl...” “Do you not trust me Tavi?” The accusation stung more than Vinyl could ever know. “Of course I trust you. I’m just curious...” “If it is really such a big bucking deal, look inside then.” “No it’s fine I’ll just...” “Look.” Octavia hesitated for a moment, courage battling out with trust. Courage won in the end. Octavia opened the cabinet, and reached a forehoof in to find... A cello. A beautiful, masterfully crafted cello. Vinyl was almost in tears. “Are you happy now, Tavi? You ruined the surprise I had planned for your birthday.” “M...My birthday. But this cello. It...It must have cost a fortune. Why would you spend so much on me...?” “Because I bucking love you, you beautiful, oblivious, amazing mare. That’s why.” Octavia stood in shock. She used an educated word. I’m so prou-- Wait. She said... She said she... “You love me?” “Yes. I want to be your marefriend. I have since we started living together. In fact, that is one of the main reasons I wanted to be your roommate... so that maybe I would eventually pluck up the courage to tell you.” Octavia sat in thought. Sure, she had had very special someponies before, but it never seemed to work out. But Vinyl was...different. Different from everypony she had ever called her friends, the exact opposite of Octavia, the other half to a whole. Was it really worth possibly damaging the best friendship she had? Almost as soon as she asked herself, she had her answer. “Yes.” Vinyl stared, astonished. “Yes?” Octavia walked forward and planted a kiss on the end of Vinyl’s nose. “Yes.” “Yes!” Vinyl jumped in the air, beaming so hard it looked painful. As soon as she returned to Equestria, she said, “you can have the cello, by the way. No use in hiding it from you now.” Now it was Octavia’s turn to beam. She carefully removed the cello from it’s resting place, but noticed something else as she did so. She held out the plushie to Vinyl, questions and concern vying for dominance of her thoughts. “Vinyl... What is this?” There was a pause. “Shit.” Author’s Note: So, this idea came to me while editing a friend’s story. He told me to write something funny, so I did. A very truncated version of this is what emerged. So, as I sat bored out of my mind in school, laptop humming away in front of me, I decided I would flesh it out. This is going under the One Shot archive. It does not deserve it’s own story. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to the team and InsanityCorps for prereading. -thehalfelf
(Mostly) Good Intentions(Mostly) Good Intentions Note: This story takes place between Seasons 2 and 3 “So, Twilight, you think you can help me out?” Rainbow Dash asked the lavender unicorn next to her as they led their group of friends down towards Ponyville, new pet in tow. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll probably have the spell done in a couple days, then I’ll just have to make the actual machinery. It should be done in time for the next Pony-Pet Play Date,” Twilight replied, after going over some calculations in her head. “Awesome!” Rainbow shouted, jumping into the air. Twilight looked up at her, eyebrow raised, and the pegasus fluttered back down to the earth. “What are you going to do with Tank until then?” the unicorn asked. “I don’t think he’ll be able to go up to your cloudhouse without the copter.” “I... uh... I hadn’t thought of that...” Rainbow looked down at the tortoise plodding along next to her. Fluttershy quickly darted forward, gently tapping Rainbow’s shoulder to get her friends’ attention. “Um, I could take him in, until you’re ready that is...” “Thanks, Fluttershy, but I’d rather take Tank back home. I’ll get some high-density clouds from the Weather Office and make a bed for him, or something.” Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively, missing Fluttershy’s cringe. “A... Are you sure? It really wouldn’t be any trouble, and I wouldn’t want him falling from your house. It’s pretty high up...” The shy pegasus threw a concerned glance towards the tortoise. “Well, even if he did fall, I’m the fastest pegasus in Equestria! It wouldn’t be any problem to snatch him before he gets the ground.” Rainbow turned her head to look at Fluttershy. “It’ll be fine, really. Don’t worry, I’m not going to let something bad happen to the best pet ever.” Angel Bunny, seated comfortably on Fluttershy’s back, looked like he was about to argue the “best pet” point, but a look from Rainbow stopped him cold. “Okay... if you say so,” Fluttershy responded before falling back to Rarity to discuss their next spa date. It wasn’t too much later that the group came to the outskirts of Ponyville, and a small dirt road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres, and a little further down, Fluttershy’s cottage. The friends all said their farewells before splitting into smaller groups and heading towards their homes. A short while later, Fluttershy said her goodbyes to Applejack and Winona as they turned down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving the mellow pegasus and her spoiled bunny. It wasn’t long before Fluttershy spied her home, the cozy cottage perched precariously on the edge of the emerald Everfree Forest. The pegasus fluttered over to the door, pushing it open with a hind leg, allowing the swarm of animals to pull her inside. “Hello everyone,” Fluttershy said, gently kicking the door closed behind her as she set Angel down. She spent the next few minutes rushing around in a frenzy, quickly and effectively feeding and caring for the animals currently living with her. Once she knew her animals were satiated, and that the injured still walked the road to recovery, only then did she turn her thoughts and actions to her own needs. After a few minutes of busy but productive fluttering in the kitchen, Fluttershy sat down at a small table with a light fresh salad. As she ate, she made a mental list of everything else that needed to be done for the next couple of days. Well, I’m going to need to go into town to get the ingredients for Angel Bunny’s special Friday snack. While I’m there, I might as well do some of the shopping for myself. The chicken coop out back could use a fresh coat of paint, so maybe I’ll stop by Sweet Apple Acres sometime and ask if Big Macintosh could help me. Even though she was alone, her light blush still made her anxious. The badgers down under the bridge have been really quiet lately, I should go see if they need anything. It might also be a good idea to pull up some of the plants in the garden that I don’t like. I’m sure Tank will like... Fluttershy’s thoughts trailed off, ears falling victim to gravity. As much as she pushed Rainbow Dash to allow her favorite tortoise to participate, part of her was going to miss the slow creature. Well, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to get the food and bring it to Rainbow, right? Besides, then I could make sure Tank is well taken care of. Not that Rainbow can’t do it! Silly brain, stop thinking bad about Rainbow... Ensured that she had properly chastised herself, Fluttershy cleaned up the small mess she had made eating, and grabbed a book, intending to climb to her bed and read until she fell asleep. /)*(\ Days passed in a flurry of activity. What Fluttershy had thought was going to be a short, easy shopping trip the next day ended up taking hours after she agreed to help Rarity model a new line of dresses, “because I simply can’t find a better model than you, darling.” Not that she would refuse, oh no, Fluttershy would gladly do anything to help Rarity, as long as it didn’t involve another, um, special outfit. On the way back, however, she did manage to catch the beavers of the bridge and ensure they were, indeed, doing perfectly fine. The next day was relegated to tending to her garden, which also turned into an all-day affair when Angel Bunny started pestering two chipmunks, causing Fluttershy to have to stop her work every few minutes to break up the fighting. Not that she really minded that much, much better to use time stopping fights than to use it to tend wounded. The day after, Fluttershy managed to get Applejack to allow Big Macintosh come and help her repaint the chicken coop. Well, she would have helped, she really would have, if Big Macintosh hadn’t insisted that she not do anything, at least with the chicken coop. Instead, Fluttershy spent several hours cooking a nice meal--and something for Applejack as well--as a way to thank the red farm pony for all his work. Just a thank you. In fact, Fluttershy had been so busy that she had barely given a passing thought to Tank, or his new home, until she lay exhausted on the couch of her living room on the third night. With half-closed eyes, the pegasus noted the basket of flowers, grass clippings, lettuce, and other things from her garden picked the day before on the table. As Fluttershy slowly drifted to sleep, she resolved to deliver the supplies to Rainbow Dash the next day, as soon as she had time. /)*(\ Fluttershy sat perched upon the perch of her friend’s cloud home. In her mouth she held the basket of food, which now also contained several other supplies Fluttershy thought Rainbow could use to take care of Tank properly. After giving everything in her grasp a once-over to make sure she didn’t forget anything, the yellow pegasus raised a hoof and knocked on the door, hood sinking into the cloud door for a brief second before it hardened to the contact. “Just a minute!” Rainbow shouted. Several long second, and many, many crashing sounds later, the prismatic pegasus poked her head out of the small crack in the door. “Uh, hey Fluttershy. How’s it goin’?” “Oh, it’s great. I just wanted to come by and give you some things for Tank, if that’s alright,” Fluttershy replied, offering up the basket. “Yeah, yeah! That’s great!” Rainbow reached out a hoof, nicking the basket and stowing it somewhere inside, opening the door only wide enough for it to fit through before closing it again. “Anything else?” “Well, I was hoping to see him, and maybe teach you a little about caring for him...” Fluttershy lowered her head, letting her mane spill forward and hide her attempt to peek through the door for any sign of the tortoise. “Uh, right now isn’t really a great time--” “Is something wrong? Is Tank hurt!?” Fluttershy exclaimed, bolting to her feet and rushing towards the door to be stopped by a cyan hoof. “We’re fine. I just want to make sure he is settled is all.” Despite her reassurances, Rainbow looked nervous. Fluttershy thought for a moment. She wanted to see Tank, and make sure he was okay with Rainbow, but at the same time, she didn’t want to offend her friend. “Well, um, could I come in and rest for a minute before going back?” Obviously relieved, Rainbow agreed, ushering the yellow pegasus into her lofty home. The two sat in a somewhat awkward silence for several minutes before Rainbow spoke up. “You, uh, you want some water?” “Oh, yes please,” Fluttershy replied. She had seen the other pegasus’ kitchen, and so, knowing she had a couple minutes of no supervision, she quietly darted up and began to search the house. Not once during her entire visit had she heard or seen Tank, which worried her. Fluttershy knew the tortoise was slow, but surely he would have made himself known by now! Sneaking to the best of her ability--which, given her usual state of noise, was really good--Fluttershy made her way to Rainbow’s bedroom, the most likely place for the tortoise to be. As she gently nosed the door open, Fluttershy heard a voice behind her. “What are you doing?” Fluttershy froze, ears pinned flat to her head, knees bent, eyes dilated in fear. She turned around slowly. “R-Rainbow Dash, I can explain...” “What the hay Fluttershy!? I didn’t really think of you to sneak around like that. What are you doing?” Fluttershy cringed. Rainbow sounded really angry... “I-I was just worried about Tank, and you wouldn’t let me see him, and so--” “So you snuck through my house!?” Fluttershy cringed, on the brink of tears. “M-Maybe...” “Maybe? Maybe nothing! You’re right there, sneaking through my house!” Rainbow shook her head, taking a deep breath. “Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Fluttershy just nodded. “I, uh, I never had a pet before, and...” “Is he hurt!?” Fluttershy interrupted, all traces of emotion beside concern vanishing. “No, of course not! I just, uh, didn’t really know what to do with him...” Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “Look,” she said, cutting off Fluttershy’s next interruption, “I’ll show you, but you have to promise not to tell anypony else, okay?” After Fluttershy nodded, Rainbow hesitatingly pushed the door to her bedroom open all the way. Inside was the bedroom Fluttershy had seen many times, posters of Wonderbolts adorning almost every surface that could hold it, pile of weather papers on a disheveled desk, vying for attention with magazines and a stray Daring Do book. But, the fluffy bit of high-density clouds in the corner was new, just like the tortoise sitting amongst mounds of stuffed animals, plushies of the Wonderbolts, and various bits and bobs that really made no sense. Right next to the cloud-bed was a set of bowls, one containing water, the other full of hay fries piled on top of a grilled daisy sandwich. Above all of this, ribbons tied to little bits of cloud fashioned to look like stars were hung from the ceiling, forming a crude mobile above the inert animal. Fluttershy looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was blushing almost as bright red as Big Macintosh’s coat. “How about those pet care lessons now?” Fluttershy asked with a little smirk. /)*(\ A week later, Twilight met with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash early before their Pony-Pet Play Date. With her, the lavender unicorn carried a special contraption, powered by solar magic, that would allow Tank to fly with Rainbow, with a little practice. “Here,” Twilight said as she handed over the flying machine. “You also might want to be careful while he gets used to it. After all, you only want to get hit in the head by a flying turtle once.” “Tortoise,” Fluttershy corrected on instinct. “Sorry...” Twilight laughed. “Tortoise, I’m sorry. So, hows it been going Rainbow? Tank get used to living in the sky yet?” Unbeknownst to the unicorn, a sheepish look went from the cyan pegasus to the yellow one. “I helped her out,” Fluttershy said. “Tank will love his new home.” “That’s great! See you girls at the play date!” Twilight called, walking back towards the library to get ready. “Bye Twilight,” Fluttershy said before turning to Rainbow. “After all, he can move without all the stuffed animals around.” Rainbow Dash glared at the other pegasus for a moment before they both broke out in laughter. As the fit subsided, Fluttershy grabbed the whirligig in her mouth, and headed off with Rainbow to strap on Tank’s new toy. Author's Note Alright, this idea was sent to me by one awesome dude by the name of Toiski. He was the only one who gave me any ideas when I put out a blog post asking for them, so, thanks for that. TheCloudtop commented on it for me and proofread it and tried to help me find some awesome adjectives for my amazing alliteration/assonance. Yup, still got it. I put three references into this story. Let me know if you find them all. Now back to things I should have been working on in the first place instead of this. As always, if you have any ideas you'd like to see me write, just PM them to me. Never know when I'll have some free time to put out a little one shot for you guys. -thehalfelf
Pony Pet Prank DatePony Pet Prank Date Chaos. Madness. Absolute unadulterated anarchy, of the highest order. Creatures raced back and forth, keeping both the ground and the air in a maelstrom of fur, feathers, and scales. The crowd surged back and forth, mindlessly following their yellow overlord; she herself rushing to put together the last bits she needed to fill the ever-important picnic basket. “You may recall that you are not meeting the others for another hour yet, Fluttershy,” Discord said, dodging around another pocket of squirrels following the pegasus on her latest trip across the main room of her small cottage. “But I still have so much to get ready. The birds need to be fed, the rabbit hutch cleaned, and I still have to finish the snacks I said I would bring, plus make something to bring for Angel in case he gets hungry.” Fluttershy flew back to the kitchen, bringing her cadre of followers. Discord floated lazily along behind. He pulled along Fluttershy’s picnic basket and blanket, watching her being throwing things together for the packed lunch. “And what is on the menu for today?” From a cabinet Fluttershy produced a fresh loaf of bread and fixings. She set them down and glanced at Discord, still floating by the door. “Sandwiches” “And for Twilight?” Fluttershy studiously ignored Discord’s single wiggling eyebrow. “A sandwich.” “Just a sandwich?” “Yes.” “A sandwich made with lOoOoOve?” Pony and Draconequus stared one another down. Some of the more sensitive animals scattered for cover. “Just a sandwich,” Fluttershy confirmed. She spun around, ending the conversation, and set about making six sandwiches, an assortment of assorted pet treats, and one salad. Discord sighed. His rehabilitation with his Dear Fluttershy had officially ended months ago, but she was too stubborn to let him help solve her problem. Though she had two, actually, in that she refused to acknowledge the existence of the first. “You should tell her,” Discord said as Fluttershy carefully stowed lunch for later. Fluttershy sighed. “I couldn’t do that. It... It isn’t fair to the rest of the girls.” “Oh, a new one. Had enough of that, ‘what if she says no,’ or ‘I’m too scared,’ or ‘what if she already likes somepony else?’” The lightest tinge of red dusted Fluttershy’s cheeks, but she maintained eye contact. “I have never said any of those things.” Discord waved a hand dismissively. “Said, thought, acted, it’s all the same, isn’t it? The point is that you aren’t getting any hot, purple--” Half a tomato flew across the room, startling him to silence. Fluttershy turned as well, to see a very irate Angel Bunny, standing to one side of the kitchen and tapping a foot. “Angel, it is not nice to throw food,” Fluttershy said, though with more relief than anger. Without waiting for a response, or another argument from Discord, she packed a blanket on top of her basket, nestled it between her wings, and walked towards the door. Angel followed, quickly forcing his way to the head of the following furry flock. Discord quickly rushed from the room, barely managing to get in front of the pegasus before she left. “Okay, okay, fine. I tell you what. I’ll drop it, never say a peep about it again, if you try this one little thing. But, if I’m right, I get told-you-so rights until the end of everything ever. All you have to do...” Before Fluttershy could answer, DIscord darted down and whispered something in her ear. It was all so simple. If it didn’t work, he’d never say another thing. If it did... Fluttershy felt her cheeks heat up again. “Deal,” she said, and quickly slipped out the door. Discord chuckled. “Oh, she is going to get there very early...” <><><><><> Twilight grumbled staring down at the meticulous, color-coded parchment hovering near her muzzle. A miscalculation, a thirty minute mixup meant she was at the park, the prearranged meeting place for this week’s pony-pet play date, early. Alone. Well, Owlouscious was sitting in a nearby tree, napping while waiting, but she was mostly alone. It never ceased to be surprising how an owl would willingly leave the tree at noon just to play with the other pets. Did true friendship extended beyond the confines of high intelligence in such a way? Assuming so, that meant the magic of friendship could be affecting much, much more than just ponies and the other civilized species, allowing for even closer ties between those who-- “Oh! H-Hello, Twilight.” A soft voice broke the unicorn from her thoughts. Twilight turned and smiled as Fluttershy rounded the corner. She reached out with her magic and plucked the wicker basket from between her friend’s wings. “Hey, Fluttershy. Got ahead of yourself too?” “Y-You could say that.” Fluttershy approached and, at Twilight’s prompting, took a seat next to her on a bench. The two sat in silence, watching Angel meet with Owlouscious in the shade of his tree. The two seemed to chitter for a moment, before the two began racing around the tree and nearby park, playing. “So,” Twilight said, lifting a corner of the picnic blanket to peer at the basket contents underneath, “what are we eating this week?” “Sandwiches on fresh bread, with fresh flowers and seasoning from the gardens, and l-lettuce.” Twilight glanced up at her friend’s hesitation. “Is everything okay? You’re stuttering, more than usual, I mean.” “I... Well, I, um... I...” Fluttershy shifted nervously on the bench, unable to look her friend in the eye. “I have to tell you something.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow and shifted more to face her friend, her posture becoming more serious. “Of course. What’s on your mind.” “I... I can’t tell you when you’re looking at me. Can you cover your eyes. Um, pretty please?” Twilight’s eyebrows swapped elevation, but she nodded, and after only a moment's hesitation covered her eyes with her hooves. The moment stretched on with no sound from Fluttershy’s side of the bench except for fast, nervous breathing. Twilight was just about to prompt her friend, or even take her hooves down, when she felt something against her cheek. Something faint, wet, and hesitant. Every train of thought in Twilight’s mind derailed, simultaneously. A single, lonely manual rail cart was dispatched, its only job to try and restore some semblance of normalcy to the unicorn’s poor, fractured mind. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Fluttershy kiss. Fluttershy kissed me. Kiss. Fluttershy just kissed my cheek. Finally. Job accomplished, the single rail cart rolled back to rest as Twilight’s normal trains of thought began organizing cargo and resuming their runs. On the bench, the actual unicorn leapt into action. Or, more accurately, pounced into action. In one single motion, she lunged forward, placing one hoof behind Fluttershy’s head, and one behind her rump, and simultaneously pulling the pegasus forward while falling herself, leaving the two locked in an embrace. She felt something wiggle against her barrel before Angel popped out and scurried away. “Fluttershy, I must say I’m pleasantly surprised.” Twilight unconsciously dropped her voice lower, huskier, making it instantly more intimate. “I had hardly dared to hope you returned my feelings, and had not expected you to take matters into your own hooves.” “I... You... This... I... I didn’t... You are... You...” Fluttershy stuttered, unable to string together anything resembling a full thought. The fur of their coats rubbed together, the heat of their bodies mixed. Twilight hushed her, bringing their muzzles closer together. “You don’t have to explain anything,” she practically whispered, “we can talk, at length later. Right now, I just want to enjoy this.” The distance between them shrunk further, until Fluttershy swore she could feel every puff of breath from Twilight. She watched her friend’s eyes flutter shut as she moved in to close the last little bit of distance. Something in Fluttershy panicked. She shoved hard, sending Twilight tumbling to the ground in hurt and shock. Immediately, she apologized on reflex. “I’m sorry,. I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant to do! I just, you were so close, and getting closer and... and...” Seeing pain in Twilight’s eyes, Fluttershy powered on. “Discord, it was Discord. He made me make this silly promise in return for not bugging me about y-- something. So I held up Angel Bunny and touched his little nose to your cheek so you thought I’d kissed you and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or push you but you were so close and I panicked and... and..” She trailed off, seeing blush start to color Twilight’s cheeks. “So, you made me think you’d kissed me because Discord told you to?” “Yes! I-I mean, no, but...” “That... That is really mean.” The blush was fading now, replaced by the beginning of tears. The voice of Discord himself floated through Fluttershy’s mind, though whether due to memory or the creature himself speaking was anypony’s guess. “It might work out, she might like you too. You’ll never know until you put yourself out there.” Fluttershy took a moment to center herself, carefully ignoring the tears welling in Twilight’s eyes. “I did it because I wanted to. To k-k-kiss you, I mean, but I was always too afraid. I didn’t want you to turn me down, or to put any strain between us, or any of the other girls. So I’m sorry, I played a mean trick.” “So... You do...?” Twilight muttered, raising herself off the ground warily. Fluttershy tried to speak, squeaked out some half-thoughts, then nodded. Twilight pulled her front half up onto the bench and stared into her friend’s blue eyes. “You mean it?” Fluttershy nodded again. The two slowly drew closer again, both sets of eyes fluttering shut as their muzzles drew ever closer to touching. “Ya better go faster than that, Dash, or Ah’m gonna beat’cha!” Fluttershy and Twilight flew apart as Dash and Applejack bounded up the hill towards them. Rarity and Pinkie soon joined from the other direction, and the pet play date was officially on. Later that night, Fluttershy filled in Discord over evening tea. He invoked his right to told-you-so. Many times. Author's Note Story loosely based on a comic I found on Reddit, here.
