For Her Favor

“So umm Applejack said that you and she wanted to talk to me about something,” said a visibly nervous yellow pegasus mare as she was sitting down on a comfy pillow cushion. Before her two other ponies, an orange earth pony and a purple unicorn stood still and looked to one another before turning back to address the fidgety pegasus.

“Yes Fluttershy, Applejack told me about what happened on your dates and to Thunderlane when he attempted to ask you out a second time,” said Twilight as Fluttershy quickly looked over to the friend she had confided in, who now seemed more interested in looking at section on the ‘History of Failed Polymorph Magic’ than her friend. Before continuing, Twilight decided to sit down to make herself appear less imposing and attempt to defuse some of the tension, Applejack quickly did the same. “You see Fluttershy, I’m glad you came to Applejack and told her about your worries, and well after discussing it we want to be completely open and honest with you.”

Applejack by this point had decided to brave the elements and look over to her friend. She was overcome with instant relief when she saw no sign of anger in the pegasus’ face. Applejack then wiped away the nervous sweat that had accumulated on her forehead. Indeed Fluttershy was not mad; she had gone to Applejack specifically to seek advice so she was glad that she was finally getting some.

Twilight then cleared her throat and looked straight into her friend’s face and calmly said, “We think somepony is following you on your dates.”

Silence and absolute stillness took over the room as Applejack and Twilight awaited the inevitable panicking of the introverted pegasus. A panic that never would come, as the yellow pony continued to sit on her cushion and looked at her friends while simultaneously not looking at them, seemingly in another world entirely.

Oh dear somepony following me, a… a part of me was afraid of this, but oh how I wish I were wrong. But, but what do I do now!?

“Fluttershy,” came a voice from a world separate from the one Fluttershy’s voice was currently occupying.

I can’t go on these dates if I’m being followed, what if this pony isn’t nice? Oh but what if they are and I’ve  misjudge them?

“Uh Fluttershy, ya in there?”Came another voice.

Oh I’m terrible pony for automatically thinking bad of the poor pony that’s following me!

“Fluttershy!” the voices said in unison, louder than previously.

I know I’ll try and make it up them, umm somehow…

“FLUTTERSHY!” Said the dual voices, only far louder than before, though this time it seemed to work as Fluttershy was brought back into the world she once been in.

Fluttershy blinked and looked up to find that her friends had moved over to her to put a comforting hoof on her, while also trying to shake her from her self-imposed trance.

“Ya alright there sugar cube?” Applejack was the first to address Fluttershy.

“Oh umm yes, I’m sorry that I worried you and Twilight, it’s just umm, is there something I should do?” Fluttershy asked innocently.

At the pegasus’ question, Twilight walked from where Fluttershy and Applejack were, over to the table that stood in the middle of the library’s main room. She then took from the table a small, unimposing box, it reminded Fluttershy of a gift one might receive for Hearth’s Warming Eve. Twilight then returned over to where her friends were sitting and placed the box down, opening it and lifting its contents to show to Fluttershy. The pegasus was surprised to see that it was two pendants, each was pink and shaped like a butterfly, Fluttershy noted how they looked like the trio that adorned her flank.

“Well you see Fluttershy, Applejack and I both know you’re a grown, mature mare who can make decisions for herself, but we also want you to be safe, because you’re our friend and we care about you,” Twilight said in an assuring tone, Fluttershy nodded to show she was following along. “So we first thought about coming along in case something happened, but we quickly realized that would not be an appropriate plan. It would be condescending of us to follow you around and treat you like a foal that needs a chaperone. Also it would be an invasion of your privacy while you were on your date.”

“Not to mention a tad bit awkward,” Applejack added in.

“Yes, so I think I’ve come up with a way for Applejack and I to give you your deserved space, but still be able to help you if, and only if, the need should arise. So I present to you these,” Twilight waved her hoof towards the pendants in a dramatic fashion that would have given Rarity a run for her money.

Without the fanfare and special effects usually synonymous with such an unveiling, Twilight continued to stand there awkwardly presenting her magical invention while Applejack simply brought her hoof to her face and quietly groaned.

After finally succumbing to the curiosity Twilight had expected, Fluttershy looked to her purple pony pal and asked, “Um so what are these things?”

“Glad you asked, these are of course pendants, only I have enchanted them. The first one is enchanted with an Alert Spell,” She said excitedly while pointing to the one on the left, she then guided her hoof to the other one while continuing her lecture, “and this one is enchanted with an Emergency Alarm Spell.”

Fluttershy knew very little about magic so she was grateful the names of the spells were incredibly self-explanatory.

“So I’m guessing that one let's you tell somepony when there's something scary or dangerous nearby, and umm that one tells the wearer about it,” Fluttershy’s tone suggested she was not entirely sure of her answer.

Twilight, despite having been denied a chance to give a lecture on magic, smiled and nodded her head. “Why yes Fluttershy, that’s correct actually, and yes if you wear this pendant on your date, and Applejack or I wear the other, then if anything happens to you I can teleport us to your location, which I can do easily as the pendant share a magical connection to one another.

“But a course this is if, and only if, you want to go through this plan. Twi and I care about ya Fluttershy, and we want to be there for you, but we know that you’re a grown mare and if ya don’t want us to help then just tell us, we don’t want to make it seem like we’re intruding on you personal…” Applejack was then interrupted as she and Twilight were enveloped in a tight hug, both forelegs and wings encircling them.

“Oh I could never think that about either of you, why this is one of the most thoughtful things anypony has ever done for me. The truth is I’ve been thinking that it was something like this, and that’s why I came to you to talk. You see… the things is, I’m scared, but not just about these weird things that keep happening,” by this point Fluttershy had begun producing small drops of tears, her voice struggling through the crying.

“Of course, I’m also just scared about dating in general,” Fluttershy was now freely crying, though gently so. “It’s just that... I’m sorry about what happened to Thunderlane and Ace, but a part of me was also relieved that my dates with them ended so quickly, they made me feel so uncomfortable.” Fluttershy’s crying became more noticeable, now the tears were freely falling. “Then there was my date with Meadow Song, and he was just so much different from the other two, so much nicer than the other two, but…” Fluttershy then hesitated as she battled with what she wanted to say next.

Twilight and Applejack, relieved that their friend was not angry with them, returned the hug. Twilight patting Fluttershy’s head while stroking her mane. Applejack just hugged her, holding onto her friend tightly, as if she was afraid the pony might disappear otherwise. Twilight, being much better with words than Applejack, decided to finish Fluttershy’s thought, “But you just weren’t that into him, were you?”

Fluttershy nodded her head to confirm, “Yes, he was such a nice stallion, and I enjoyed hanging out with him that evening and even singing karaoke, but then at the end of the night I had to tell him the truth, and he… he just oh… he just had this sad look on his face and I felt so bad,” Fluttershy had tried to hide behind her mane, as if to hide from some sort of shame she felt she deserved.

This time Applejack was the one to address Fluttershy, looking directly into her eyes, “Fluttershy, now listen here, you have nothin’ to feel sorry for or ashamed of. Meadow Song is a grown stallion, and if he’s as nice a pony as you say he is then ah’m sure he’ll be fine and find some other pony,” Applejack then wiped away the tears still on Fluttershy’s cheeks before continuing her efforts to console the pegasus. “Always remember sugar, dating and relationships shouldn’t be built on favors and thinking you need to do somethin’ just to be nice, even if it’s somethin’ you don’t want to do. That isn’t doing any favors for the other pony, and it certainly isn’t doing any favors for yourself, always remember your feelings and happiness should always come first.”

Twilight broke away from the hug so she could look her friend in the eye as well, while still stroking her mane, “AJ’s right, if the pony you’re with doesn’t make you happy, it’s sometimes as simple as that.”

Fluttershy, feeling as if a weight had been taken of her chest, now felt she could breathe and even give a small but genuine smile to her comforting friends. “Thanks girls, and yeah after my date with Meadow Song, I told him how I felt and asked if we could just be friends, he seemed a little disappointed, but he tried to hide it and agreed. So after that date didn’t end with anything, I thought that maybe the problem might be that I was limiting myself, so that’s why I agreed to try going out with a mare, and Dr. Flumox had been the first one to proposition me, and well she and I both have an interest in animals so at least we’d have something to talk about, so I umm said yes.”

“Well Applejack and I wish you the best of luck, who knows, you two might hit it off. Now with your permission, would you care to wear this pendant on your date, and should anything happen to you we’ll know about it and be there as soon as possible,” Twilight floated the Detection Charm over to Fluttershy, who nodded her head and took it from Twilight’s telekinetic grasp.

“Yeah, and if anypony even thinks of trying anything, ohh doggie, they’re gonna quickly regret it,” said Applejack as she fiercely punched her forehooves together, taking a battle-ready stance.

Despite now being slightly terrified by her well-meaning farmer friend, Fluttershy smiled and nervously chuckled, “Uh thank you girls, I really do appreciate your concern, but I also wanted to really thank you most of all for how you handled it.”

Twilight and Applejack looked to each other in confusion, Applejack being the first to voice their concerns, “Whadaya mean sugarcube?”

“I mean that you guys came to me and asked if it was alright. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I have friends that want to protect me, but I appreciate that you decided to let me make the choice on whether I wanted your help or not. So thank you again girls,” again Fluttershy brought her friends into a warm embrace.

…

Rainbow Dash laid on top of her cloud bed in silence having failed for the past two hours at falling to sleep. Normally the aspiring Wonderbolt had no problems with sleeping, given her love of naps and all. She knew that the problem wasn’t her cloud bed, as it was amazingly soft as always, Rainbow simply could not put her hoof on what it was that was keeping her from sleep. She just continued to lie there, in her large, quiet, mostly empty house.

Unlike a certain other pegasus, Rainbow had chosen her home to be the same as most traditional pegasi homes: made out of clouds. While cloud homes had several advantages, one severe shortcoming was that it made having guests difficult, so for the most part Rainbow’s home was quiet, undisturbed, and empty.

Rainbow had never really been bothered by this situation, if ever she wanted to visit friends she’d just go to their homes, but now on this silent night, Rainbow found herself slightly put off by the emptiness of her home. Rainbow had never been much of a social pony; she butted heads with most, especially stallions. In school she had been a rebel, one who rejected social graces and rules. She was antagonistic, aggressive, and hated to be second-best. This collection of traits of course made the process of making friends… problematic, so she had been somewhat of a loner as a filly.

There was of course one exception, there had been one pony that hung out with her, accepted her for what she was and didn’t try to change her or make into something else. The filly had a coat as bright and yellow as Princess Celestia’s sun, and a pink mane and tail that seemed to flow like water. They had spent a large portion of their foalhood together, and while this filly frequently got on Rainbow Dash’s nerves, she knew the connection they shared was special, and that they would be forever linked to one another.

Thinking about the past, despite whatever nuggets of happiness it held, made Rainbow feel even worse. Thinking about the mare she had befriended also brought back all the memories of when Rainbow had hurt her, and then she remembered that tomorrow she would follow that now grown pony on her date, desperately hoping she wouldn’t hit it off with the other pony. Rainbow knew it was selfish, but she did not care, for she knew that after tomorrow night Rainbow was finally going to get off the bench and would be ready to play hardball. She then ignored the annoying silence and finally managed to fall into a rough sleep.

…

Twilight had been pleased with how well yesterday’s talk with Fluttershy had gone, and she was glad the pegasus had accepted her and Applejack’s help. She just had to take care of some basic chores before she would head out to Sweet Apple Acres, where she would be spending the night with Applejack so that if and when danger occurred they would both be together and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Only one thing remained to take care of, but fortunately a knock came at the door which Twilight hoped signaled the arrival of a certain pony.

“Coming,” said Twilight in a singsong voice, as she opened the door to reveal Rarity standing, looking slightly less than flawless. Her mane, while brilliantly styled, seemed to lack its usual bounce, and despite her best efforts to conceal them with makeup, Twilight noticed the subtle bags under Rarity’s eyes. “Um Rarity are you alright?”

Noticing the concern in the other unicorn’s voice, Rarity did her best to shake the obvious signs of tired from her face, and put on her best smile and laughed lightly. “Oh but of course I’m alright darling, I’m just here to pick up those pieces I commissioned you for.”

“Oh well they’re ready, so let me go get them for you, just come on in and find a seat while I fetch them,” Twilight then let Rarity into the library as she trotted down into the basement to go get the charms she had made for Rarity.

After just a few moments Twilight emerged from her basement laboratory with a small package in her magical grasp, she then handed it over to Rarity who had taken a seat on one of Twilight’s cushion.

Rarity then took the box into her own magical grip and opened it to check its contents, which consisted of an assuming pair of glasses, and seemingly normal scarf. “Why these are perefect Twilight, I really must thank you again my dear, so what do I owe you?”

“Oh you don’t owe me anything Rarity, that’s what friends are for,” replied Twilight has she held up her forehooves in an attempt to refuse her friend from paying her.

“Nonsense, there must be at least something I can do to show my gratitude,” after taking a moment to think Rarity’s face lit up with the spark of inspiration, “IDEA! I know, why don’t I make you a shawl, it’ll be something that you can wear on dates and is simple, not too much, and once autumn sets in it’ll be perfect for those cool nights.”

“Oh Rarity, you really don’t have to, but I’m sure Futtershy would love to have one of those, especially if she keeps this dating trend up.”

“Oh, yes well Fluttershy seems to be doing just fine with her dating situation, so it’s not like she’ll need the help of a new accessory,” said Rarity, having not realized she had changed her tone to one of nervousness.

Twilight was slightly surprised at Rarity’s lack of excitement at the mention of Fluttershy’s dating , having expected Rarity to be giddy over her friend’s recent forays into the world of romance. “Well, yes I’ll agree she’s been quite the busy mare, oh and I’m so proud of her for trying out new things, and not letting some minor setbacks dissuade her from trying.”

Knowing that it was now her turn to feign agreement, Rarity answered back, “Ah yes, so proud for her, she told me that she has another one scheduled tonight, only this time with a mare. The veterinarian I believe, well I do wish her the best of luck. So as for your shawl, I will begin work on it tomorrow, I’m afraid tonight I’ll be a bit preoccupied with other matters, but I promise I’ll have it done quickly, well Ta Ta for now darling!” Rarity then quickly raced off before Twilight could say anything else.

As Twilight stood there, she began to take in her friend’s odd behavior. She had been expecting her friend to comment on the tackiness of the scarf in question, or talk about how the glasses she picked out clashed with nearly everything Twilight had. Instead Rarity almost seemed too distracted to even critique either accessory. Furthermore, Rarity seemed to dismissive over Fluttershy, normally she would have loved to gossip about such things. Twilight remembered one other time in which her fashion-minded friend had behaved in a similar manner; it was when Fluttershy had accidentally become a famous supermodel.

"Hmm she probably just had little sleep, because she spent all night on some order,” Twilight said, deciding not to think on Rarity’s behavior any longer, besides the studious unicorn was preoccupied at the moment with Fluttershy’s potential stalker and tonight at Applejack’s she knew that would need her full attention. Twilight then trotted up the stairs to her bedroom to finish packing for that night’s endeavors.

…

Fluttershy stood calmly outside, the early stages of twilight setting in. The sun had begun its descent below the horizon, and the late summer air was cooling down surprisingly quickly. It would not be long before autumn would be in full-swing, and almost everypony seemed to be that night enjoying the perfect evening. Fortunately such amenable weather allowed Fluttershy the luxury of dressing up without having to worry about excessive perspiration. Her outfit for the date was simple, a light green shawl that covered her back, along with some ballet flats on her forehooves, which she had kept from her brief modeling days. She had only been there a few short minutes; she always preferred arriving early, before she heard a voice that penetrated the ambient noise of the surrounding crowd.

“Fluttershy, hey Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy was more or less startled, but turned around to see the mare she had been patiently waiting for, though she looked remarkably different in casual wear rather than her usual vet scrubs. Her baby blue mane was actually down rather than up in a ponytail, and she wore a simple black dress that went well with her tan coat. Fluttershy, she looked quite beautiful.

“Oh hello Dr…”

“Fluttershy, we talked about this, you don’t have to call me doctor, just Flo is fine, since I also can’t stand the name my parents gave me, but what can ya do?” The other mare interjected, following with a warm laugh.

Fluttershy quickly felt more relaxed and returned the laugh, “Oh umm OK Flo, well it’s nice to see you, and if you don’t mind me saying, I think you look lovely.”

“Oh, thank you Fluttershy, you look great too, but I think we should go ahead and get our tables, we can complement one another inside,” said the mare as she walked towards the front door of the restaurant, but not before turning to Fluttershy and giving her a playful wink.

Returning the wink with a blush, Fluttershy followed her date and headed for the door. However, unbeknownst to the both of them, two pairs of eyes watched them from a distance, the ponies they belonged to ready to enter into the restaurant for what would certainly be a most interesting evening.