Love In The Adjacent Corner

Chapter 2

Fluttershy's eyes opened shortly after the sun came up. She woke up with a slight tweak in her back from the uneven ground she spent the night on. Lantana woke up stretching her hooves, followed by a yawn. Both ponies looked at the pile of rubble after waking, to confirm that it wasn't just a dream.

Lantana tugged on her mother's mane. "Do you know where we're going to live yet?" she asked.

Fluttershy had no clue what they we're going to do, but she tried to answer her daughter, while being as comforting as possible. "Not yet, but that doesn't mean we can quit either."

Lantana had a nervous look on her—one of her mother's classic expressions. She asked, "Will you think of something soon?"

Fluttershy brought her head down in order to be at eye level with her daughter. "Tell you what, while you're at school, I'll spend the whole day trying the best I can to find us a home." Fluttershy gave her daughter an affectionate hug.

"I still have to go to school?" Lantana asked.

Fluttershy answered, "Of course. The fire didn't go anywhere near the school. Besides, it would be good for you to see all your friends. Its not like you're going to miss out on anything fun over here."

Lantana nodded in compliance, but still had more to say. "Mommy?"

"Yes dear?"

"I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since before the fire."

Fluttershy felt her heart sink realizing that she had no food or money to buy food. "Well..." She thought hard about what she was going to do. "Go to school. I'll try to drop off a lunch for you if I find anything."

Lantana looked unsatisfied by her mother's response, but she nodded her head in agreement anyway. Lantana and Fluttershy exchanged goodbyes followed by another hug. Soon Lantana was at school, and Fluttershy was alone in Ponyville looking for money, food, and shelter.

Fluttershy hoped that she would run into Rainbow Dash again, but she was nowhere to be found. Fluttershy wandered through the Ponyville market to search for some food for her daughter. She tried to explain to the farmer working at an apple-stand, that she didn't have money, but she really needed food.

The farmer had green eyes, and wore an old western hat. She had a southern accent and a friendly face, but nonetheless, Fluttershy got no sympathy from her. The farmer replied, "Look sugarcube, I can't just give away free apples to everypony that asks. If you're looking for charity y'all best bark up another tree."

Fluttershy walked away with her head held low with shame. She tried to explain her situation to some other ponies, begging them for something: money, food, or just a simple act of kindness. Everypony gave the same reaction it seemed. They gave a sincere apology and, said that they couldn't help her.

Lantana was probably on her way home by now, and Fluttershy still didn't have any food for the little filly. Fluttershy didn't care whether or not she could manage to ease her own stomach. Just as long as her daughter had something to eat, her mind could be at peace.

No matter how much Fluttershy begged, no pony was willing to lift a hoof for her. Fluttershy had to return home a failure—empty hoofed. She would stay out longer—all night if she had to, except she didn't want to leave her filly home alone.

Fluttershy came home to see how her little filly was doing. "How was your day?" Fluttershy asked Lantana.

"I'm still really hungry. You never brought me any lunch like you said you would. I haven't eaten anything all day. I felt like I was going to faint during PE."

Fluttershy felt guilt weighing on her shoulders. "I'm very sorry, but I couldn't find any food."

Lantana wasn't so understanding like she was last time. Lantana's voice squeaked as she yelled out, "This is all those weather ponies fault! If they made it rain just a few hours earlier our house would still be standing!"

"It's not any pony's fault. No pony could have predicted the fire. The weather ponies are understaffed, and are having a hard time bringing in enough rain for the hot season." Fluttershy knew this as a fact from her prior knowledge. Before the fire, Fluttershy spent a lot of time looking for work. She saw an advertisement in the paper about how the weather pony services were looking to hire. Fluttershy thought it could be her chance to get a job, but sure enough they told her that she wasn't what they were looking for—that they wanted a pony that was a stronger flier.

Lantana respected her mother, but was still angry about the situation. "It's just that... I hate not having a home. When is that one pegasus going to come back. Maybe she could give us food."

Fluttershy answered solemnly, "I don't know where she is." It hurt knowing that she couldn't give her filly the things she needed. Seeing her daughter angry, tired, and starving, made her eyes water. "Just wait here, and try not to overexert yourself. I'll go back out to the market, and I promise I'll come back with food."

Fluttershy didn't like the idea of leaving her filly alone, but leaving her to get food felt like the lesser of the two evils. At least Ponyville is a safe town, she thought. The sun was beginning to set, and more ponies started to make their way home.

She was no longer looking at the food stands for food, instead she looked for ponies that looked like they had something to spare. No longer was she worthy of being labeled a consumer. Without money, she was a victim seeking refuge. After the sun went down, no pony looked familiar to her. Begging didn't do her any good. Soon all the other ponies were in their homes, while Fluttershy was alone crying in the middle of the road.

As the night grew, Fluttershy found her weeps to be interrupted by the loud, clopping hoofsteps of another pony coming down the road. The pony was large, and his silhouette in the moonlight looked muscular. The mysterious pony approached Fluttershy, and with a manly, low-toned voice asked what she was doing.

This is my chance, Fluttershy thought to herself. She explained everything to the pony. She told him about the fire, about her daughter, and most importantly, about her necessity for food. The mysterious pony's face was covered in the darkness, but Fluttershy knew he was pondering the situation with silence. She awaited his response.

The mysterious pony cleared his throat, and answered, "I have a few apples in my saddlebag left-over from dinner still." Fluttershy felt a rush of happiness when she heard this. Her eyes lit up as if she won the jackpot, but then he said something else. That he never really cared much for charity, but if she could return a favor, he would give them to her. Fluttershy felt that it was a strange thing to say, but she wanted those apples, and couldn't disagree that a small favor for a little generosity was fair.

Fluttershy answered the pony. Her voice was eccentric, but still maintained her quiet demeanor. "Of course! What do you need my help with?" she said. Fluttershy looked up at the tall pony eagerly, as if he was her hero. After all, a hero never came to aid her starving daughter.

The mysterious pony explained what he wanted. He went on explaining how there were certain things that his special somepony wasn't willing to do for him sexually. He was asking her for a blowjob, and was using the bag of apples as leverage.

Fluttershy was torn between two urges. One that wanted to run away, and the other that wanted to get the apples for her daughter. Her eyes watered from confliction. Fluttershy began to feel an adrenaline rush from fear. She had a hard time believing that the pony was really making this request.

Fluttershy felt that she had to keep her promise to Lantana, and without the apples, a little filly like her could starve to death. To Fluttershy the apples meant more to her than just a delicious fruit. It meant more to her than her pride, and self-respect. She shied back a little, and asked if there was anything else she could do for the apples, but the mysterious pony knew he had leverage, and he refused to any and all changes to his original proposal.

Fluttershy was scared, but she agreed to his terms—not out of morals, but out of desperation. The mysterious pony escorted Fluttershy up the path to an old barn—where the two ponies made the trade. Fluttershy wept during the exchange, but the stallion wasn't bothered the slightest by it.

After Fluttershy did her part of the deal, the mysterious pony gave Fluttershy the saddlebag of apples, then without hesitation, showed her to the door. He tossed her out on his front porch and slammed the door shut without looking back. As soon as the stallion got what he wanted, there was no need for him to keep her there any longer. Fluttershy was banished to the streets without even getting a chance to wash up after a sticky exchange.

Fluttershy used the back of her hoof to wipe her face clean as she could without water, before proceeding on her way back home. The lingering aftertaste residing in the back of her throat bothered the yellow pegasus. The shameful event made Fluttershy feel sleazy. Probably the way one should feel after whoring themselves out for a bag of apples, she thought.

Fluttershy felt awful as she continued her walk in shame. She felt guilty. It was like she was a disgrace against her own integrity, and everything else she stood for. Fluttershy never ceased crying until she got home.

Lantana greeted Fluttershy as soon as she saw her, and was happy to see her bring back apples. Even though Fluttershy was quite hungry herself, she didn't even think to take an apple. She didn't want any of them. Not any of those apples. Fluttershy told Lantana that the entire bag of apples was for her, and that she didn't want any. Fluttershy laid on her side, against the cold ground. She got ready for another nights sleep outside as she reflected to herself, Never have I done anything like that before. Never have I degraded myself so much.