Friends of a Feather
Fluttershy sneezed.
It was another radiant Saturday morning in Ponyville. All the clouds had been cleared away allowing the sun to smile down on all of the towns denizens. Fluttershy had gotten up at her usual time to start her daily routine of taking care of her animals. But something had been… off when she awoke this morning. It had taken her much longer to get up from bed, and when she did her movements felt sluggish and her head, heavy.
Fluttershy sneezed again.
She had been sneezing all morning and couldn't stop. Her sinuses felt clogged and her throat was beginning to feel like sandpaper whenever she swallowed.
It’s probably just a small little cold, Fluttershy reassured herself. Besides, she had a duty to her animals first. She had to make sure they were well taken care of before she worried about herself. Wings beating at an abnormally slow pace, Fluttershy took the bag of bird feed she was holding and began to refill her bird feeders. As she tried to reach the higher ones set into the roof of her cottage, she began to feel inexplicably tired. She flapped her wings as hard as she could but made little progress upwards eventually falling back to the ground.
Angel Bunny hopped over to her and gave her a concerned look while twitching his nose. Sniffling, Fluttershy smiled and said in a rather congested voice, “No Angel, I’m fine. Just a little under the weather, it’ll pass I’m sure.” She looked up at the topmost bird feeders she couldn’t reach. Well, I guess the birdies could just share the food in the lower ones for today.
The yellow pegasus climbed to her hooves and wobbled, the world suddenly feeling off-balance. She took a few steps forward, resolute to finish her chores before she lay down. But the more she walked, the more the world seemed to fade away. Fluttershy felt like she was spinning around and around in circles, quickly becoming nauseas as everything dimmed to black. She took another step forward and felt herself fall into a chasm of darkness. She thought she heard someone call her name, but by then the darkness had swallowed everything including sound.
******
Fluttershy awoke to something wet and cool sitting on her forehead. It was incredibly soothing, as the rest of her body seemed to fluxgate between the extremes of hot and cold. She slowly opened her eyes and saw something blue with chromatic colors swirling behind it. After blinking several times, her vision finally focused and she was able to decipher the shape as Rainbow Dash who was wiping down the groggy mare’s forehead with a wet towel.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak but instead let out a series of raspy coughs. She cleared her throat and asked, “Rainbow Dash—*cough*—what are you doing here?” In her drowsy and disoriented state, Fluttershy hadn’t been entirely sure where “here” was until she looked beyond her friend and could make out the details of her own room. The pink wallpaper, the small writing desk and vanity mirror and the soft bed she was lying in led Fluttershy to believe that someone, probably Rainbow, had brought her in from outside.
Rainbow had a concerned look on her face as she spoke, “I was gonna come over and ask if you wanted to hang out, but then I saw you just collapse outside! You really scared me ‘Shy.”
Fluttershy sniffled again and said weakly, “Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow. I thought I just had a small cold. I was going to lay down when I was done with my chores, but I guess I’m sicker than I thought.”
The blue pegasus nodded her head solemnly. “Yeah, you were burning up when I brought you back inside so I took your temperature; it was 103! I’m pretty sure you’ve got the flu Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy slumped further into her bed. “Oh—*cough*—my.”
“Don’t worry ‘Shy, I’m gonna take care of you until you feel better,” Rainbow pledged.
Fluttershy smiled at her confident friend. “Rainbow, you don’t have to do that for me. I’m sure I just need some bed rest.”
But Rainbow’s mind was already made up. “What kind of friend would I be if I just left my best buddy lying in bed sick? Nope, I’m staying with you until you’re better.”
The sick pegasus felt her heart warm at her friend’s sentiment. Fluttershy knew she could always count on Rainbow Dash when she needed her. “Thanks, Rainbow, that really means—” Fluttershy stopped and threw a hoof over her mouth, her cheeks turning a shade of green.
Rainbow’s eyes widened in panic as she picked up on what was about to happen. With her quick agility, she sprung from her seat by Fluttershy’s bed and grabbed the trash can in the corner of the room, bringing it to Fluttershy just in time for her to be sick.
******
After cleaning up Fluttershy’s mess, Rainbow went downstairs to fix her friend a light meal. She knew that having the flu meant Fluttershy’s stomach would try to reject most solids, so Rainbow was only going to make a light broth for now.
Angel Bunny hopped over to her and began tugging on her colorful tail. Rainbow looked down at him and the bunny met her look with large, curious eyes, no doubt asking if Fluttershy was ok. Rainbow nodded and said, “Don’t worry rabbit, she just needs some rest.”
Angel let out a visible sigh of relief and bounced away to relay the information to the rest of Fluttershy’s animals. Meanwhile, Rainbow prepared the broth using the hearth in Fluttershy’s living room. She poured a small bowl and set it on a tray along with a small glass of orange juice and brought it up to Fluttershy’s room.
The yellow pegasus sat in bed with the towel still on her forehead trying to bring her fever down. Her cheeks were flushed and her nose was bright red, much like her eyes. A pile of used tissues had accumulated by her bedside. Fluttershy smiled meekly as Rainbow set the tray on the table next to her bed. “Thanks again for taking care of me, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said in a very congested voice.
Rainbow tried to shrug it off like it was nothing but couldn’t help but blush a little. “Of course ‘Shy, you know I’d do anything for you and the girls.” She lifted up the bowl and took a spoonful; blowing on it to make sure it wasn’t too hot and held it out to Fluttershy. The sick pony sipped the hot liquid which sent a soothing warmth down her throat and into her upset stomach. She allowed herself to be spoon fed by her best friend until all of the broth was gone. It hadn’t been much but it had left Fluttershy feeling content and sleepy.
She snuggled up against her pillow and yawned, “You’re a really good caretaker Rainbow.”
Rainbow beamed and drew the covers up over Fluttershy, tucking her in. “Nah, I’m just doing everything you would do if someone was sick. I’ve seen the way you take care of all your animals, you’re the really good caretaker ‘Shy.”
Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled. As she drifted off into sleep she whispered, “Maybe, but you’re a really great friend.”
******
Rainbow Dash had spent the night on the sofa downstairs, checking on Fluttershy halfway through the night. The bedridden pony had thrown-up her soup and orange juice and Rainbow had had to dispose of the contents of the trash can. The rest of the night passed without incident and Rainbow had made a quick trip into the Everfree Forest early in the morning to get medicine from the local shaman, Zecora.
While Fluttershy was sick, Angel had taken it upon himself to keep the rest of the animals fed. Rainbow had returned from Zecora’s hut to find the bunny evenly distributing food amongst the other animals. Rainbow knew he could be a real pain sometimes but when it counted the most, he really cared about his owner.
Rainbow made some more broth hoping that it would stay in Fluttershy’s stomach this time and mixed some of Zecora’s medicine into it. She brought it upstairs to Fluttershy only to find that she was still sleeping. Wanting her to get some rest, Rainbow left the bowl on the table and traveled back downstairs just as someone knocked on the door.
Rainbow pulled it open to find Pinkie Pie bouncing on the doorstep. “Hiya, Dashie, how are you?”
“Pretty good, thanks,” Rainbow replied; her eyes following Pinkie’s constant bouncing. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, we all heard Fluttershy was sick so we made her a get well card, see?” Almost from thin air, Pinkie pulled out a colorful card with Fluttershy’s name on it encircled by a large heart.
“Wow, that’s pretty awesome of you guys! ‘Shy will really appreciate this,” Dash exclaimed taking the card from Pinkie.
“I sure hope so! So how is the patient?”
“Sleeping.”
Pinkie frowned. “Darn, I was hoping I could help her feel better by making her laugh. You know laughter is the best medicine.”
Rainbow snickered, “I know, Pinkie, but I think she’ll be fine with just the card.”
The pink pony bobbed her head in response and said, “Okie doki loki nurse Rainbow Dash! Tell Fluttershy I’ll throw her a party as soon as she feels better!” With that, Pinkie skipped down the path back towards Ponyville proper while Dash headed back inside.
When Rainbow returned to Fluttershy’s room she found her friend quietly sipping on her soup. She floated over to Fluttershy and presented her with the card Pinkie had brought over. Fluttershy set the bowl aside and examined the card.
“The girls made a get-well card and asked me to give it to you,” Rainbow explained. “And Pinkie promised to throw you a party when you got better.”
Fluttershy opened the card up and was treated to a collage of different pictures from her friends, ranging from Rarity’s magnificent artwork to Spike’s childlike scribbles. All of her friends had written a small get-well message (except for Pinkie who had written almost an entire page worth) and signed their names at the bottom. Fluttershy’s eyes grew misty with the affection her friends had given her. Just knowing that they were thinking about her made her feel better.
Rainbow coughed and mumbled, “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to sign it too Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy looked up at her and beamed saying, “Don’t be silly Rainbow, you’re right here taking care of me. I don’t need a card from you to know how much you want me to get better. You’re one of the best friends a pony could ask for!”
Rainbow Dash could feel herself blushing again.
******
True to her word, as soon as Fluttershy could step out of the house, Pinkie threw a small party to celebrate. Seven friends gathered in Sugarcube Corner to partake in games and sweets. Now that Fluttershy had her appetite back, she ate a copious amount of sweets to make up for the fact that she hadn’t eaten properly in a few days.
She was on her fifth piece of chocolate cake when Applejack chuckled and joked, “Slow yer roll there Sugarcube or yer gonna make yerself sick again.”
Fluttershy blushed and said, “Sorry, I’m just really hungry today.”
“Ah’m just jokin’ with ya, ‘Shy. You eat all the cake ya want, Ah’m just glad yer feelin’ better.” Her friends around the table nodded in agreement,, enjoying their own slices of cake.
“It was very nice of you to take care of Fluttershy like that Rainbow Dash,” Rarity praised.
Rainbow waved a hoof and said, “It was nothing, I’m just glad she’s feeling better.”
Fluttershy hugged her warmly and whispered, “It wasn’t nothing, it was one of the nicest things anypony has ever done for me. Thanks Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash returned her hug and said, “Anytime, ‘Shy.” She then felt a tickle in her nose and pulled away from Fluttershy just in time to sneeze.
She sneezed a second time and tried to inhale through her nose only to find it congested. She coughed and moaned, “Aw man, I think I caught your cold Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy draped a wing over her. “Don’t worry; I have a bowl of soup with your name on it.”
Rainbow couldn’t help but grin, “Thanks Fluttershy.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Author's Note
A very simple story I wrote for a writing contest. Again, very simple. Ironically enough, it was harder to write than my complex stories but I think it came out okay.
