Rarity rushed through the streets of Ponyville, the speed of her dash picking up specks of mud of the soft, freshly rained upon earth, covering her pristine white fur with the little brow droplets. Her full fledged gallop startling a pair of window shopping mares as the fashion forward unicorn sped by. Rarity was barely recognizable appearing only as a blur of purple, white and brown.
“ Oh this is dreadful!” Rarity wailed as she realized her flanks were beginning to sweat, her breakneck pace now carrying her out of the main part of town in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
“ Fluttershy! Fluttershy!”, Rarity cried, pounding her front, right hoof on the door of the yellow pegasus' cottage. “ If you don't open this door immediately I shall have to force it open!” the frantic mare demanded.
Within the cottage, Fluttershy flinched at the harshness of her friend's call, and, peering out one of the windows, noticed her animal friends had found the yells offensive to their ears as well, since there was not a single one remaining to be seen. She let out a sigh, not exasperated, but certainly rather resigned.
As she made her way down the stairs to the ground floor, she noticed that Angel was rolling around on the floor, pulling her large, rabbit ears under her chin like the strings of a bonnet.
“ Sorry,” Fluttershy apologized to the bunny, despite not truly having anything to do with the ruckus outside.
As she neared the door, and was about to open it, the door flew open on its own, and she noticed the distinct aura of unicorn magic around the inner knob. Fluttershy let a small shriek of surprise escape her lips at the sight before her. The voice she'd heard before was definitely Rarity's, and being a unicorn Rarity could obviously have used her innate magic on the knob, but the thing which now stood in the open portal to her home looked nothing like Rarity. The royal purple mane was disheveled and out of place, with an assortment of leaves and branches mixed into the flyaway mop. The white covering the body may once have been the correct color, but now it was caked in mud with a dotting of small pebbles and miscellaneous grit mixed in.
“ Oh Fluttershy! Thank goodness I've caught you at home!” a voice gushed from the mess of a mare before her, definitely confirming it as being Rarity. “ I should dread what would have happened if you'd been out! Oh it's awful! Simply awful!”, Rarity continued, her speech becoming faster and faster as she went. “ It's Apple Bloom! Why earlier she was trying to find her 'super special talent' and she thought she'd try herbal remedies, so she went out to Zecora's and there she did something wrong and when she drank it it did something terrible to her manners and so when she came back to my boutique she made an absolute mess of things! She ruined one of the new dresses I was working on! Oh the humanity of it all! So then I found Zecora and she said she couldn't do anything about until Apple Bloom at least sat still! Oh Fluttershy you must come help me! You must!” Rarity finished her lengthy, super sonic speed explanation with a sharp intake of breath.
“ Umm... How could I even help Rarity? I'm not very good at forcing people to obey me,” Fluttershy stated in her soft, timid voice.
“ Well it's so simple! Just use the Stare! That should at least keep her in place long enough until Zecora can fix this mess! Oh please Fluttershy! Won't you please come try?”
“ I guess I will Rarity, I might as well at least try,” Fluttershy stated.
“ Oh thank you darling, thank you!” Rarity rhapsodized. “ Come now, we've not much time to waste!” the alabaster unicorn continued, grabbing Fluttershy by the hoof and whisking her out the door in the blink of an eye.
- - -
Upon reaching the glamourous boutique, the docile pegasus gasped as she entered the building. The sight before her was one she never wanted to see. Apple Bloom was in frenzy, knocking over mannequins, sending racks of dresses crashing to the floor, ripping and tearing fabric, both that which was unused, and that which had already been stitched into apparel, tossing it haphazardly throughout the space.
“ Aah! Oh this is dreadful! Simply dreadful!” Fluttershy heard Rarity screech. She turned about to see what had cause the other mare's outburst, expecting it to be over her relatively trashed shop, but instead found that Rarity was looking at herself in a cracked mirror which had at some point been tipped over. “ I look absolutely awful!” Rarity continued, confirming her suspicions without a doubt.
“ Fluttershy! You must do something about this now!” Rarity implored, now seeming to be brought back to reality in the sense that her business was of the most immediate concern.
“ Okay Rarity... I'll do my best,” Fluttershy replied. “ Umm, Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom,” the pegasus called meekly.
Despite the fact that the attempt to catch the filly's attention was palfrey at best, it actually succeeded, and with a smug smirk on her lips Apple Bloom sauntered over to the pegasus.
“ Oh hiii there Fluttershy, what brings ya'll over to these parts a town? I'm guessin not your wings, since everypony in town knows ya can't fly,” the yellow filly remarked, her voice dripping with uncharacteristic malice.
“ I umm... I... Y... You need to-to stop ruining Rarity's shop now, please,” Fluttershy stammered.
“ Oh I ain't runinin it, I'm makin it look a lot better, not that that's hard,” Apple Bloom replied.
Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy saw Rarity steaming at the remark as she said, “ Well... Whatever is it you're doing... you... you really need to stop it, right now.”
“ But ah need to get mah cutie mark, ah wonder what it'll look like if super special talent is removin eye-sores,” the young pony mused maliciously.
Seething, Rarity grabbed Fluttershy and spun her around. “ I told you you need to use the Stare,” Rarity whispered, “ Just talking to her isn't going to work!”
“ Okay Rarity, if you say so,” Fluttershy replied, wheeling about and locking eyes with Apple Bloom, using the powers of her stare to make the filly listen to her. The end result was Fluttershy making Apple Bloom comply to sit still while Rarity fetched Zecora.
“ Ah! So this is where that troublesome little one has gotten to!” Fluttershy heard the rich, accented voice of Zecora say, making the return of the other two mares, “ I have just the thing to cure you of your terrible behavior!” Zecora added, before tossing a pinch of sparkling blue powder on the small Apple family member.
As the powder hit her face, Apple Bloom let out a small, high pitched sneeze, before her eyes drooped shut she hit the floor, snoring in a content, medically induced sleep. In the time Apple Bloom slept, Rarity tracked down Rainbow Dash, who flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres to retrieve Big McIntosh so he could bring Apple Bloom home, as Applejack had gone to Canterlot for an apple convention with Granny Smith. Simultaneously, Zecora explained to Fluttershy how, in an attempt to make a relaxation draught, Apple Bloom had confused the similar extracts of Hypertoni and Hypotonus roots, which instead of lowering stress, had had the affect of raising Apple Bloom's negative mannerisms. The zebra remarked that she considered an interesting fact, as the roots, which normally caused polar opposite affects, had simply caused different ones.
Shortly after explaining this, Zecora bid farewell to Rarity and Fluttershy, leaving them alone with the still sleeping Apple Bloom.
“ Oh! My hair is so awful! You don't mind if we move our spa trip up to tomorrow morning do you Fluttershy?” Rarity inquired.
“ No, not at all,” came the soft spoken reply as the pegasus shook her head lightly to accompany her words.
“ Well, I'll be upstairs for a minute to see what I can do about it in the meantime,” Rarity said as she started up the stairs. “ Oh Fluttershy, be a dear and if Big McIntosh comes explain what happened. Oh, and do say 'hello' on my behalf as well,” Rarity added, pausing as she said before continuing up to her room above.
Within five minutes of the unicorn's departing, Fluttershy saw the usually steady paced red stallion gallop down the block, much the same as Rarity had earlier. The only difference being he was racing towards the boutique, instead of away from it. His blonde mane glinted in the now noon-time sun, his charging heightening the appearance the his hair was made of liquid gold. Fluttershy couldn't help but notice as the powerfully built earth pony racing along, oblivious to the many mare's heads which turned to face him as he dashed by.
As he came to the door, Big McIntosh pulled it open with great and easily mustered force, and walked into the effectively desecrated shop. Fluttershy watched as his normally half lidded eyes opened fully, revealing those beautiful green irises, his sweeping around the space to take in a panoramic view of the carnage. She couldn't help but notice the splendor of those emerald orbs, as gentle and caring as his disposition. Goddesses was he perfect! Stop! Why was she thinking like this? Big McIntosh was her friend, just a friend! Why was she having these thoughts about him!?
Unknown to Fluttershy, the concern she saw in his eyes had nothing to do with worry for Rarity's shop, at the moment, the well being of Apple Bloom was of the utmost importance to him.
“ H-Hi Big Mac,” Fluttershy faltered, snapping the crimson colored stallion out of his nervous stupor. “ So I guess Rainbow Dash told you what happened?” she continued.
“ E-Eeyup,” came the trademark response from the mild-mannered male of the Apple family.
Aww, it's so cute when he says that. Wait... What! Cute?! Did she really just think it was cute?! Celestia what was happening to her?! Why was it so warm all of a sudden?
“ So I guess you came to take Apple Bloom home then?” Fluttershy asked redundantly.
“ Eeyup,” Big McIntosh said again.
There it went again! That feeling in side her when he talked! Oh no! Maybe she was sick! She should probably go see Twilight about it, she'd know if there was something wrong with her.
“ I'll umm... I'll go get her for you,” Fluttershy said sheepishly, turning around and walking only a distance of about five feet, where she got behind the sleeping filly and pushed her over towards Big McIntosh.
As Big Mac bent down to grasp Apple Bloom's tail in his teeth, his red furred nose came into gentle contact with Fluttershy's. Surprised at the touch, the two share an awkward stare for a moment where neither one breathes. Fluttershy broke the fleeting second of togetherness they shared, closing her eyes and turning her head to the left as a pink blush rises in her cheeks. Unbeknownst to her, Big Mac blushed, uncharacteristically, as well, and if his coat didn't match the color of his heated cheeks so well, it would have been extremely obvious.
As they drew apart, their heads resuming a normal height and distance from each other, Fluttershy managed to get out, “ I-I don't think she's hurt at all, at least not from what I could tell when I looked her over, but if she is, well... You know where to find me," breaking the thin layer of awkwardness which hung in the air. Continuing slightly shyly and awkwardly to say, "Well I guess I'll umm... see you later then, Big Mac.”
In reply, Big McIntosh let out a , “ Eeyup,” the sound now muffled due to the fact his mouth was full of his sister's tail fur.
As he was about to leave, Big McIntosh turned his head and fixed the butter colored pegasus with his gentle stare,
" Thanks for this, Fluttershy... Ah'm not sure what Ah'd do if she got herself hurt," he said in his pleasant, deep voice, still muffled by the clump of magenta fur in his mouth.
" N-No problem," Fluttershy said with timid smile, retreating into her mind as she thought about how Big Mac so perfect in every way she could imagine.
He's just so handsome, his coat and his mane and his eyes, just so generically gorgeous! And then there's his kindness too, I don't think I've ever seen him be mean to anypony, and then he was so worried about Apple Bloom, Fluttershy was drawn out of her private musing as she heard the sounds of a muffled 'good-bye', and the door opening before his hoofsteps crunched on the dirt outside the boutique.
As the door closed behind the red stallion, Fluttershy let out a breathy sigh. In her mind, her thoughts were primarily dominated by two things: the regret she'd severed that lovely, blissful, heavenly contact so quick and secondly, that she was glad no one had been around to witness that other than the two of them.
Unknown to her, from the staircase, a pair of sparkling blue eyes had watched those last few moments of the awkwardly romantic interaction.
Interesting, the purple maned unicorn thought to her self, containing her excitement for the moment, Very interesting...