Six Surprises
Just one tiny sperm cell. That was all it took. Sunset Shimmer smirked to herself as she used her incredibly dexterous power to guide the tiny cell under the sleeping mare's bed sheets, behind her rear legs and into the moistness inside. Fluttershy didn't feel a thing. She didn't even roll over as Sunset negotiated her intact hymen. Oh, this is just too much fun! Sunset thought to herself as she guided the cell into Fluttershy's uterus. She detected the ripe ovum there and dangled the sperm beside it. It squirmed in her microscopic grasp and strained towards the egg. She let it go. Nopony detected a thing. Not even the pegasus' little rabbit friend, who slept on as soundly as the mother-to-be herself. Sunset grinned to herself once more and turned away from Fluttershy's twee little lodge. xXx Twilight Sparkle directed the other ponies as they all helped out with her quarterly bookshelf-cleaning. She appreciated Rarity's help in keeping the books super-organised even while they were off the shelves, and Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm for cleaning the bottom shelves that she could easily reach. Hey, she appreciated all of them!
Rainbow Dash hovered along the top shelf and polished haphazardly as she went, and Twilight quietly kept her displeasure at the pegasus' lack of fastidiousness to herself. She might want every square inch of the shelves spotlessly clean but Dashie didn't care that much. And they weren't her shelves, so why would she? The compromise, and the fact that Rainbow had offered to help in the first place, was all in the spirit of friendship. But Twilight felt disappointed for another reason. Rainbow Dash might not be an enthusiastic cleaner but Fluttershy always had been. The yellow pegasus, however, wasn't up there. Instead, she kept to herself and slowly, carefully scrubbed at the dust on a bottom shelf. Twilight thought to herself about how to get Fluttershy in the air and up cleaning the top shelves. Applejack or Twilight herself could clean these lower shelves. She headed over. "Hey Fluttershy," she said gently. Fluttershy paused and tensed, but didn't turn around. Or speak. That was strange. Fluttershy always answered when somepony spoke to her. "Is... Everything okay?"
"Mm hmm," came Fluttershy's quiet, tight reply. And then Twilight noticed. There was something different about Fluttershy and she tried to figure out what. Something in the set of her wings? Yes, that was it! They slumped a little. Maybe she was tired or had pulled some of the muscles around them? But once Twilight looked at Fluttershy's flank she noticed something else: her breathing. It was a little laboured. Was she sick? "Fluttershy, what's wrong?" she asked, even more gently. Fluttershy turned and looked at her then, and Twilight
noticed the sweat on the pegasus' forehead, the slight lack of focus in her eyes. The tremble and the almost indetectable sway. Oh, she was sick! Twilight was just about to reassure her, tell her that if she was sick she didn't have to do any cleaning, when Fluttershy's eyes bulged. She gulped hard, looked alarmed, and galloped out the door. They all heard coughing and retching outside. Everypony else watched after her with surprise. Then Twilight and Applejack exchanged a concerned glance and led the others after her.
Fluttershy was there, trying and mostly failing to be discreet about the fact that she was vomiting by the tree-house wall. "Hey there peach-blossom," Applejack said with that mix of forthrightness and sympathy only Applejack could pull off. Heedless of the smell of vomit she approached and rubbed Fluttershy's back with her foreleg. "Y'eat somethin' that disagreed with ya?" "I think so," came Fluttershy's tiny, roughened voice. "Oh darling, we simply must get you cleaned up," Rarity said. "Come on, let me get you a towel and some water." She used her magic to gather up the trembling Fluttershy's long hair to stop her dragging it through the puddle and herded her towards the house. She gave the vomit one, distasteful look and followed her charge indoors. Soon they'd coaxed the yellow pegasus onto an array of cushions where she could watch the others clean - or dash for safety if she felt sick again. That happened several times. xXx Towards the evening Fluttershy's mysterious illness improved a lot. By the time the sun started to go down and Twilight got to put her books back in place, she looked almost better.
"You know when I was a little Little Pony one of the ponies at the barn got sick and we gave him water and hay and he got getter but he was really sad when he was sick because he felt so bad and his mom had to get him medicine but he got better real quick and I bet you will too!" Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie Pie's enthusiastic monologue. She hadn't needed medicine, as it'd turned out. Just rest and the occasional sip of water - and somewhere to be sick again a few times. "I think I'm okay now." She stood up and stretched her legs and wings. "Thank you for looking after me." "Hey, it was nothin'!" said Rainbow Dash with the familiar hint of smugness that somehow managed to say, That illness was no match for us. Let it try again! Fluttershy didn't want it to try again, but she was glad she felt so much better, so soon. But now she really didn't want to impose on Twilight's hospitality any more. And she needed to sleep. Right after she'd put the birds and rabbits to bed. She left, enjoyed the sunset's shimmering rays, and went home.
xXx Rarity's workshop, as always, was
crammed full of beautiful fabrics and thread and gems, the raw materials she used to make her beautiful couture. She always kept everything well-organised so that she barely had to think about where things were when she was working on a piece and in the zone, but as she waited for Fluttershy to arrive she re-tidied her spools of ribbons anyway. Once she'd finished that she took one more look at a set of designs for a Canterlot customer and added a few more diamonds to the saddle. But by the time she'd finished updating the design Fluttershy still hadn't arrived. The white filly decided not to wait any more and headed over to Fluttershy's home herself. She pegasus wouldn't be late without a good reason so it made sense to call on her and check that she was all right. She passed the bunnies sunning themselves outside of their burrows (wouldn't they usually have had their carrots by now? wondered Rarity. They were empty-pawed, which was unusual at this time of day) and the birds in the branches (who also looked a little forsaken) and knocked on Fluttershy's door with her hoof.
There was no reply. She knocked again. "Darling?" she called. "It's me, Rarity." She was met with more silence - especially since the local animals seemed to be watching and holding their breaths. Rarity began to wonder just what was happening. Just as she thought she wouldn't get an answer she heard hooves on the other side of the door - dragging, if she wasn't mistaken - and the door opened. A baggy-eyed, trembling Fluttershy faced her, wobbling unsteadily on her legs. Comprehension began to dawn on Rarity. "Oh, is it still that horrible sickness?" Fluttershy nodded. "Yes," she croaked after a few moments and backed away so that Rarity could go inside. Rarity took the initiative and bustled around the house to prepare a refreshing damp face-cloth for her friend. She dabbed the sweat from Fluttershy's brow with it and looked at her carefully. "Have you been to the doctor, sweetie?" "Oh - I... I couldn't," Fluttershy demurred. Rarity gave her a puzzled look. "They're always so busy." Rarity looked unconvinced.
"A-and it always goes away in the evenings." "And it always comes back in the day," Rarity pointed out, and then relented when she saw Fluttershy's shamed look. She pushed a lock of the pegasus' beautiful pink hair away from her face and peeked at Fluttershy's sad eyes. "I don't think you can go to the spa," she said, making sure that her voice was full enough of sympathy that Fluttershy knew she wasn't blaming her. But Fluttershy hung her head and her wings slumped anyway. "I'm sorry, Rarity." "Oh don't be silly, dear. I was going to suggest we hold a spa day here instead." She felt energised by the need to nurture her friend and ready to arrange this - to
go home and find her mud packs, the seaweed wrap she'd been holding on to and her essential oils, and then come back. But she kept a discreet eye on Fluttershy's reaction in case she really didn't want it. Fluttershy looked neither disappointed or particularly encouraged. But Rarity had already booked a day away from the workshop and couldn't possibly leave Fluttershy all by herself today. She would guide her friend through a gentle day of pampering in the comfort of her own home!
xXx However, the spa day wasn't as much of a success as Rarity had hoped. Fluttershy timidly refused the seaweed wraps that were meant to wind around her hooves and leave them nourished and strengthened, mentioning that they might cause her to trip when she dashed to be sick. She put on a face pack but it never quite settled on because of all the sweat, and the combined mess when inevitably Fluttershy was sick was just ghastly. The essential oils achieved nothing more than increasing Fluttershy's already debilitating nausea. Despite her best efforts, the nearest Rarity had managed to get to a spa day was pampering herself while looking after a dejected and barely-participating Fluttershy. "I'm sorry my dear," she said with genuine regret as she used her magic to pack the spa things back into her saddlebags. "I really hoped I could cheer you up. I think we have a lesson to report to Princess Celestia about looking after sick friends," she added and offered Fluttershy a companionable smile. "But you are looking better."
And it was true - once again, the evening had brought about a change for the better and Fluttershy actually seemed to be taking some interest in her surroundings. In particular she looked restless and keen to be getting on with something. Probably her duties to her animals, Rarity guessed. So she made her excuses and left. Fluttershy saw Rarity to the door and the white pony began the walk home, wondering quite why this illness was following such a strange pattern. Worse, then better, then worse, then better again. So strange. She'd have called it morning sickness if she'd seen it in any other pony. She paused with a sudden sense of surprise and glanced back over her shoulder. Was Fluttershy preg- No, not Fluttershy! She frowned to herself, shook her head and carried on along the way home. Surely not. xXx Dear Princess Celestia, wrote the white mare. I learned today that when a friend has basic needs, we should offer basic help - water, food, warmth and a bedside manner. As much as we might want to give her luxuries to make her feel better, what that pony truly needs is the basic things in life. Maybe offering luxuries to a sick pony is really only our way of making ourselves feel better.
She paused with the quill over the paper for a moment,
battled against the impulse to write a gushing sign-off to the princess, and in the end simply wrote, Signed, Rarity.