Nestled outside the borders of Ponyville just on the cusp of the Everfree Forest rests Fluttershy's Cottage.  Home to the aforementioned Pegasus herself, this cozy little nook by the brook also houses a wide variety of woodland creatures in her care.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Sat 14 Apr 2012.

Enter from Ponyville Town Square!

It took her a little bit of time to make her way all the way to the edge of the Everfree Forest, especially at her graceful and calculated pace, but it was well worth it. Rarity had been making weekly spa visits with Fluttershy for quite some time now, and even though they had a few missed ones during Fluttershy's modelling career, they've been attending religiously ever since then. Hopefully she wouldn't mind another pony joining them, especially an Alicorn as prestigious as Luna herself.

Humming a little tune, she made her way all the way up the path, over the bridge, and to the door of the little cottage. All around her was the sound of little woodland creatures, rushing water, and the gentle breeze of fresh air. What a lovely morning.

Knocking twice on the door, Rarity patiently waited for one of her closest friends to respond.

From beyond the door Rarity could hear a lot of noise following her knock -- apparently she'd startled some of the various critters that shared Fluttershy's home.  She could also hear her friend's melodic voice hurrying to try and calm them down.  It took a few moments of patience but soon all the hub-bub died away back into peacefulness.

"Oh, Rarity~!  Good morning.  I was starting to wonder if you hadn't gotten side-tracked.  Just a second." was the meek Pegasus' greeting as she pulled open her door.  She stepped outside and peered back indoors long enough to call "Now all you cuties be good while I'm gone, alright?  Don't let Angel hog the couch all to himself again."

With that, Fluttershy closed the door behind herself and turned to offer her friend a fond smile.  "It's almost time for our appointment.  Shall we?" she asked, though soon blinked curiously.  "You look really pleased... did something good happen?"

Rarity was a bit put back by the noise that her knock had caused, but it was a pretty common occurrence. How Fluttershy could ever live in a house with so many animals was far beyond what Rarity would be able to handle herself, not to mention the fur that would be absolutely -everywhere-, but the mare seemed to have herself well under control, and her cottage wasn't entirely disastrous.

"And a good morning to you, Fluttershy," Rarity responded with a bright smile, "I do apologize if I've been keeping you waiting."

As soon as Fluttershy indicated that they should get going, Rarity nodded securely and began walking, still keeping a bit of happiness in every step. She hummed lightly as they went, possibly prompting the question.

"Oh, it did! It did, it did, it did!" Rarity exclaimed bouncing up dramatically, "You see, I would have come earlier for you, but I had an appointment this morning with none other than Princess Luna herself! She absolutely adored one of the dresses I made for her, and paid me quite a bounty, though I adamantly refused, of course. Even better than that, she's staying at -my- boutique for a few days! Can't you just imagine my good fortune?! Now, everypony is talking about it. Absolutely everypony."

Fluttershy kept pace with Rarity and listened raptly as she spoke, though her expression shifted quickly.  Curiosity, being startled, piqued, then finally accepting and smiling once more.  The mention of Princess Luna had gotten her tail standing on end but she quickly calmed herself all the same.

"Oh my... I'm happy for you, Rarity.  Just think of what this will do for your business." the demure mare practically whispered as they trotted along.  It bothered her that Princess Luna would be staying in town though.  Well, she had plenty of food stored up... she could just keep away from Ponyville for a few days until after Luna left.  That would work out just fine.

"Oh, I have! I'm just glad that I finished my new pegasus line so soon. They'll just be flying off the shelves, as it were. You may pick an outfit for yourself, if you'd like, Fluttershy. Free of charge, of course!" Rarity continued to ramble on, hogging the conversation like she tended to do, unintentionally, "Speaking of business, I've been having a bit of trouble deciding what to do with the payment the Princess gave me for her ensemble. It is far too much to use for myself! I was thinking of something special for you and the girls? Did you have any ideas?"

Waiting for a response to her questions, Rarity took a moment to look over her friend closely. While her tone of voice and face spoke of the gentle mare that Fluttershy was, something was going on under the surface. Though Rarity's attention was almost completely focused on herself during her ranting, she did notice her friend's tail standing on end for a moment or so.

"Fluttershy, is everything alright?" she asked, pausing their walk for a moment and tilting her head questioningly.

The talk of business and money took Fluttershy's mind off her own anxiety, though she was put into an even more bashful state over the idea of somepony spending money on her or offering her free dresses.  Even if she and Rarity were best friends she never wanted to take advantage of the sophisticated pony's generous nature.  They'd all learned that lesson before with those hideous dresses they'd forced her to make... a thought which still made the Pegasus's ears droop shamefully when she recalled it.

"What?  Oh... um... I'm fine, Rarity." Fluttershy shook her head as she was put on the spot.  "I was just thinking, is all.  You shouldn't spend your money on us though.  It's really... well, generous... of you to offer, but I'm sure you could put it to better use than spending it on us."

She quietly pondered that notion for a moment, tapping her chin in thought.  "Maybe you could expand your shop, or replace your old sewing machine with something more modern?  Or if you really want to spend it on somepony, why not treat Sweetie Belle to a day out?  I'm sure she would be ecstatic to spend time with you."

Rarity paused for a moment, going over Fluttershy's suggestions in her head. While she did want to do something for her friends, it didn't have to be done with the money she had earned, or even have anything to do with her business. If she wanted to do something nice for them, she could just to something nice!... Though the timid mare was often very quiet, she possessed a wisdom that was beyond her years, at times, and had the unique ability to talk through Rarity's own ramblings and strike at the very heart of the unicorn.

"Well, maybe you -do- have a point," Rarity mused, putting a hoof to her chin in gentle thought before placing it down on the ground again, "As for my boutique, I believe it is the perfect size for my needs at the moment, and opening another shop would be much too much for one pony to handle all on her own. And!... Despite it's age, and, well.. antiquity!.. my sewing machine adds a certain charm that more... modern appliances couldn't hope to match. A personal touch, almost."

As her mind drifted to Sweetie Belle, she started to walk again with Fluttershy at the same relaxed pace, the two of them almost reaching the town. While she loved her sister immensely, she was very much a bother at more times than one. Always wanting to help, she'd often slow down projects or even outright ruin a few. However, she had been ignoring Sweetie Belle a bit lately with all of the work she had been going through, and the last time she saw her, she had gotten a bit snippy. Maybe Sweetie deserved a nice day with her sister!

"Sweetie Belle, mm..." Rarity pondered quietly to herself before exclaiming, "Yes, Fluttershy, that is an excellent suggestion! I'd have to think of somewhere she'd like to go, of course, but all the same. We could use some bonding time, I think. Ever since that Gabby Gums incident... things have been a tad distant."

Fluttershy brightened up a fair deal as Rarity took her advice to heart, giving her friend a reassuring nod that sent her long, pink mane swaying aside gracefully as ever.  "I'm glad I could help.  Try talking to her and see if there's somewhere she wants to go with you, or something the two of you can do together.  She'll love it."

That bit of positivity helped ease the poor Pegasi's heart quite a lot.  She tended to worry far too much and let it all weigh down on her, but if she couldn't relax on a weekend with her best friend, then when could she?  Fluttershy's trot had a little more bounce in it as she started along again, picking up the pace so that they wouldn't be late for their appointment.

--> Exit to Ponyville Spa

"It's settled, then! I'll find her as soon as she gets out of school, if I'm not too busy with you or the Princess," she nodded, happy to see that Fluttershy had lightened up from their little conversation.

Noticing her best friend's slowly quickening pace, Rarity followed suit, not wanting to be late. On top of that, she just realized that she hadn't told the Princess were the spa was, nor did she inform Lotus and Aloe that she would be adding an extra guest onto their scheduled appointment. Things had the potential to get awkward quickly!...

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind if the Princess is joining us. I know it's our special get together, but poor Luna has never been, and has been positively missing out," Rarity added before speeding up to a gentle trot, careful not to blow her hat away in the wind.

Exit to Ponyville Spa!

----> From Moon Raising Festival

Fluttershy lazilly floated back toward her cottage. It had been quite the exciting night, even if she had tried to stay out of sight. Moonsong had been very nice to her and she was happy she would be getting to know Luna better.

It was relatively uneventful, tucking in alll of the animals. She got everyone together, said gooodnight, put them all in their respective sleeping spots. Hugs and kisses went to those who wanted them.


In time she snuggled into her own bed beside Angel. She hoped tomorrow would be as fun a day as this had been. She hummed Hush Now Quiet Now to Angel, lulling both he and herself to sleep at the same time.

Day End For Fluttershy

BEGINNING OF DAY 2

Fluttershy awoke from the previous day's festivities. The animals were waking up around her. She felt like she slept in maybe a few minutes too late... After feeding everyone and tidying up she stepped outside to smell the fresh air. It was a good day outside and, briefly, she thought on Luna at Rarity's. Perhaps she should go in and say hello. Surely they wouldn't mind and, after all, Fluttershy was supposed to be meeting Luna today anyway.

She took note of all of the critters, left Angel in charge as usual and then set off. All of the animals would be fine.

--> Exit To Carousel Boutique
This message was last edited by the player at 03:57, Fri 25 May 2012.

Beginning Day 8

The yellow pegasus mare floated around her dwelling, cleaning this and arranging that. To be fair she'd been up for some time but she hadn't yet bothered to leave her home, for living with a throng of transient animals who changed out on the daily led many tracks through her home. It got easy for animals to muck up traffic areas in her home. Needless to say she'd never be able to get her home clean to a standard like Rarity's. The white unicorn was habitually clean while Fluttershy loved cleaning and couldn't keep up past her calling; Animal Care. It was a dirty job but it completed her.

Singing a high calling as she tidied up she was reminded about Rainbow's contest. She was to be the referee wasn't she? Thinking about it, she let herself be tugged back into cleaning, feeding, watering, tending, fixing, rebandaging and otherwise caring for the lovely critters than filled her home. Hopefully one of her friends would stop by at some point. It wasn't rare for Fluttershy to go days without leaving, basking in the glory of doing things back home that needed to be done.

Having done quite the load of work Fluttershy brushed herself off. Nopony had come and visited herin the morning so she'd, for once, had the free time to get everything done without the need to conscript Angel or one of the regulars. A bear had stayed over the previous night so the morning work had been more difficult than usual. Catching fish for the otters, pellets for the fish, carrots for the bunnies. Deluxe super salad with cherry on top for Angel. Yes, it wasn't an easy job being Ponyville's Animal caretaker but Fluttershy was so much happier doing this than anything else she would be able to think of doing with her life.

Having finished her morning duties Fluttershy took the time to quickly wash up and take her leave. She wondered what sort of thing was going on in town.

------>To Ponyville

---------->From Summer Song Cafe

Fluttershy landed gracefully from her flight in from Ponyville proper. The animals around her home were already coming in to meet her as she touched down. She had some chores to do yet, and was quick to start setting out dishes to feed them, filling each one, making sure nobody started first, making sure everything was just right and... "Okay everybody, time to eat."

The feeding frenzy began. Fluttershy had already established good eating manner, but there were animals, after all, that were being fed, animals of all sorts. Some of which weren't naturally friendly toward each other. Needless to say, feeding time was always a busy, difficult time to keep under control. She was happy she knew how to keep things like this in order.

--> from Summer Song Cafe

Rainbow Dash flew with purpose towards Fluttershy's cottage. There was only this left to do and then the contest could begin. She had to admit, she was getting nervous now. That, and the piercing was throwing off her aerodynamics a little. It was subtle, but she could feel it. Oh, well, need to adapt and move on... in both circumstances.

She landed near the gate and trotted inside, seeing the open door. "Fluttershy! Hey, Fluttershy, you home...?"

The familiar sound of her childhood friend hit the ears of Fluttershy. She stuck her head out the door and trotted to meet Rainbow half way through her yard. "Is your wing feeling any better?" She asked sweetly. "I bet you'r excite-EEAH!" She went rigid and fell back with a bleat at the sight of Rainbow's new piercing before getting up quickly

"Oh Rainbow, what happened?" she asked, "Did you want this? Won't it get in the way of flying?" She knew, at the speeds rainbow went, even a little thing like that could rip itself free if she wasn't careful... And think of her crashes. It could get caught on something!

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but let out a chuckle as Fluttershy did her fainting goat routine. She reached a hoof down to help her back up. "Of course I wanted it!" she laughed again with a nod. "I wanted something new and different to make an impact at the event, so this is what I thought of. If I'm doing any serious flying, I can always take it out. It is taking some getting used to, I admit... and it still aches a little."

She walked over to check out the animals a moment before remembering why she was there. "Oh, hey, speaking of the contest, it's about to start soon. I wanted you there to be a contest official. You did such a great job the other times, so I'd like you there again."

Posted for Fluttershy

Even though Fluttershy knew what she was getting into with the whole matter she still couldn't help but quail a bit on the spot once she was faced with it directly.  She'd noticed some of the crowd on the way back from Rarity's place... there were going to be so many Ponies there!  At least all the attention was going to be on the contest itself though...

"R-right... the contest." she agreed with what she hoped was a confident nod.  Normally getting Fluttershy out of her cottage to do something she was nervous about was a fight and a half, but this time she steeled her own nerve as best she could.  This was important to Rainbow Dash!  She couldn't let her friend down just because there was going to be a huge crowd... with lots of Ponies watching her... and she had to make judgment calls that might make or break a contestant's chances at romance...

"_...eeeep!"

"It's even bigger than I thought when I flew over the crowd on the way here." Rainbow Dash commented with a chuckle. "Merriweather even has her staff out there selling some food and-- oh, Fluttershy relax. Come on, deep breaths." She finally realized she was likely scaring the poor mare to death and tried to calm her.

Dash gave her a soft hug as she began to panic. She couldn't put her hoof on why, perhaps it was the mood of her contest, but she was certainly in a huggy mood.

"Come on, I need you." she smiled warmly. "There's going to be lots of competitors and I can't keep track on them on my own. And who knows, maybe one of the competitors will fall for you instead, huh?" she grinned.

Fluttershy, prone to coddling fuzzy animals both small and large on a regular basis, was certainly more of the huggy sort.  She was also more of the 'death clench when scared' sort, which Rainbow would have to deal with as the yellow-bellied Pegasus clung to her tightly.

"I know... I p-promise I'll try and be brave..." she squeaked out.  "But... um... are you really sure about all this?  It's not too late to back out... um... if you want to..."

Dash winced and gasped as she was death clenched. "Fluttershy... I kinda... need to breathe..." She panted as she was let go and looked the timid mare over. Huh, she was surprisingly strong.

She looked Fluttershy over a little closer, poking one of her legs with a hoof. Surprising muscle tone. Dash shook her head, to get back on track. "I know you won't let me down. And as for the contest... well..." she paused and thought a moment. "I still have a lot that I am unsure about. But that's life I guess, right? I'm not going to back out now though!"

Fluttershy wibbled under Rainbow's scrutiny but didn't seem to realize what exactly her friend was taking into consideration.  She didn't consider herself a strong Pony, after all... quite the opposite, really.  She was weak and helpless most of the time.  Though her friends knew from experience that the animal caretaker could actually be surprisingly strong when it got right down to it.  She just didn't seem to realize it herself.

"I'm not sure I could ever do something like this if I were looking for somepony to be with." she had to admit as she hid behind the drape of her mane.  "It's actually really brave of you, Rainbow.  Looking for love..."

She gestured for the door -- they didn't need to delay any longer then necessary and she was frankly worried that she'd lose her nerve if they didn't get a move on.

Rainbow Dash smiled as Fluttershy complimented her bravery like that. "Thanks, Fluttershy." she smiled with a blush as she moved back outside with the timid pegasus. "That really means a lot to me. I get the sense that everypony else isn't quite so thrilled with the idea. It's caused quite a lot of controversy in town it seems." she shrugged a little sheepishly. "I didn't know that my life could be the topic for so much debate."

She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky towards Ponyville. "Race ya!" She shouted as she took off with a gust of wind.

to Ponyville and the event! -->

"Wait, shouldn't you save your energy for the... oh... already gone..."  Fluttershy tried to protest at first but Rainbow was very quickly out over the horizon before she knew it.  The Pegasus mustered up what little bravado she had and took off after her friend as swiftly as she could... which wasn't saying much.

--> Fluttershy exits to Special Event in Town Square

---------------> From Special Event Town Square

Fluttershy landed near her cottage, tired from the days events. Even the yellow pegasus could get tired watching one of Rainbow's events, despite not being directly involved. Just watching those contests could be exhausting, depending on who it was that competed and Applejack... well it could be very tiring watching those two compete, especially when there was another couple competitors involved as well.

She lay down on her couch and cuddled some of the animals nearby. Relaxing the mare let herself slip off into a small nap. she'd wake up in an hour or so when it was time to feed some of her other friends and check up on Hummingway. he's suffered a wing break recently and Fluttershy was eager to help him get back up and moving.

Naturally all of the woodland critters Fluttershy tended to were happy to see her and give her space to relax while she napped, though one in particular had notably less patience than the rest.  He quietly waited and bided his time while the Pegasus slept, though no sooner did she rouse from her nap than she was set upon.  The familiarly nonplussed expression of the one animal she would reasonably call a 'pet' greeted her as Angel Bunny leaped up onto the side of the sofa and mutely demanded Fluttershy's attention.  He didn't look happy... but then again, the bothersome bunny rarely did even when he was in a good mood.

The Yellow mare slowly woke and blinked a few times, smacking her lips drowsily. She noticed Angel trying to get her attention and smiled lazily, "Oh, Hello Angel. Is it that time already?" She grinned as she stood wobbling from her nap with a long but quiet yawn.

"What is it?" She asked clarifyingly.

It did indeed seem it was 'that time', as Angel was so intent on indicating as he pointed at the cuckoo clock on the wall, then pointed at his little furry tummy.  The majority of the animal friends who lived with Fluttershy were content to let her prepare their food at her own pace, but Angel was never quite so undemanding.  In fact, he was very demanding.  He deftly sprang up onto the Pony's back, scampering up her mane to perch atop her head, and pointed her in the direction of the kitchen with all of his usual subtlety.

Well... at least he'd stopped demanding exotic salads...

Fluttershy looked into the kitchen with a small smile and nodded dimly as her pet rabbit directed her toward the kitchen. Couldn't wish for miracles. "Okay, Angel Bunny, I'm going." Another long yawn from her nap as she dolled out Angel's food and then the rest of the animals, each with food dishes and the like.

"Okay, little friends, time to eat." She called out, ringing a little bell to alert all of the creatures to come. Like usual there was a brief chaos but Fluttershy didn't need to throw her stare around for things to fall into the normal build of things, every animals going to a food dish and that being that.

Begin Day 9

The Yellow mare awoke in her bed with a yawn, Angel still asleep next to her. It wasn't surprising that she'd woken a bit early. She'd come home early the previous night. Yesterday had been so full of... well many things. It had been a very busy day, nonetheless.

As she stretched and yawned she stumbled through her home, taking care of her own morning schedule; Bathe, relax on the couch for a moment to wake up, set up food dishes and fill them, slowly wake the early risers, etc. Just another morning in the life of Fluttershy.

As the critters ate after a short break she lay on her couch, taking in the sunny morning as she relaxed at her own business; thinking about the day, blinking away the sleepiness with a satisfied sort of glazed over look in her eyes.

The yellow mare, after some time of extended relaxation, decided that staying on her couch all day couldn't be too productive... if extremely comfortable all the same. Finally she got up from her couch and settled things, putting away what she had been relaxing with and fluffing the pillows she'd lain her head on before giving a brief stretch and setting out, saddlebag worn with some snacks and sundries within.

"Today's going to be a wonderful day." She told herself confidently as she stepped out the door. Her stomach rumbled ominously and she blushed as some of her animal friends looked over at her as they ate, some even offering their own food. "Awww. Thank you sweet little friends but no thank you. I'm going into town for breakfast today."


----> To Summer Song Cafe!

This message was last edited by the GM at 03:03, Tue 23 June 2015.