“You want me to what?!”

Fluttershy recoiled from Nurse Redheart’s exclamation.

“I-I was just hoping you could, um… maybe possibly consider letting me-”

“That was a rhetorical question!” Putting her hoof down, the white nurse pony was clearly not amused by her idea.

Fluttershy flinched and looked deliberately at the floor between her front hoofs. Her eyes trailed the sharp turns of the square tiles until she found herself looking at the bottom of the door to room 6.

Pinkie had cried on her shoulder for a solid ten minutes before settling down. She hasn’t spoken a word since and Fluttershy had a pretty good idea why. Twilight always said she needed to be more assertive, and Pinkie needed her to now more than ever.

With a deep breath, Fluttershy looked back at the white nurse pony and tried again.

“Please Nurse Redheart, Pinkie’s afraid of hospitals. If you’d just let me take care of her at my cottage…”

“She seemed fine when the twins were born, and when visiting her friends.” The nurse pony was quick to poke holes in Fluttershy’s argument, but the butter Pegasus refused to deflate.

“Yes, because she wasn’t the –patient- then.” Fluttershy looked down and mumbled the last part “just because you’re scared of something doesn’t mean you’re scared of everything…”

Redheart clicked her tongue in agitation. Fluttershy was the last pony she expected any kind of argument out of over anything. She had dealt with stubborn and emotional ponies before, but this was like arguing with a hyper sensitive brick wall with really pretty cyan eyes.

“Look Fluttershy. I know you want to do everything you can to help, but it takes more than just a big heart to take care of something like this. Pinkie’s going through a complete lifestyle change right now.”
Fluttershy knew exactly what was being forced onto Pinkie. For as long as Fluttershy had known Pinkie, the bouncing earth pony had devoted herself to two things: fun and baking. Pinkie was always eating, or making herself something to eat. She always had some sort of sugary snack or baked treat. When Pinkie talked about chocolate –anything- she did it with the same enthusiasm and arousal Rarity got when she went on to Fluttershy about some particularly handsome colt. Fluttershy thought about what it would be like if somepony were to take away her animals…

Fluttershy rose from her slump, eyes bright and determined. “That’s exactly why I should help her! I know better than anypony how to help her!”

Averting her eyes, the nurse pony cleared her throat. She had heard something about Fluttershy’s eyes from Twilight once, and had no intention of entertaining the purple equines wild theories.

“I’m not saying you don’t… Ahem. But do you know how to take care of somepony who’s diabetic? Do you know how to teach her to take better care of herself?”

Pathos was a lost cause in any argument against Fluttershy, so good old logic and medical know how should throw a wrench in the persistent Pegasus’ pestering.

Fluttershy simply smiled at the new challenge. Twilight was right as always, being assertive was a good thing. With a deep breath Fluttershy proved Rainbow Dash wrong, taking AP Health and Nutrition was NOT a waste of an elective at Flight School.

“She’s insulin dependant so she’ll need injections three to four times a day at the shoulder, depending on meals. We’ll keep a food journal of everything she eats, no sweets for the first week until her body becomes used to the injections. After her attack she needs to stay off her hoofs for three days, I can go rent a wheel chair in the lobby. Then light regular exercise every day and regular hoof washing and inspections. For the first three weeks she needs checkups every two days. And I’ll need to check her blood sugar every four to five hours.”

Fluttershy flashed a toothy grin while allowing for a tiny triumphant squee to escape her parted lips.

Stunned and deshelved, the white Nurse pony just stared at Fluttershy in disbelief and frustration. With a heavy sigh she hung her head and surrendered.

“Ugh, fine… I give up. She is stable, so technically we –can- discharge her…”

Fluttershy let out an excited gasp and spread her wings, hovering above the floor.

“But!” Her hoofs clopped back onto the floor, victory flutter interrupted.

“We’ll only discharge her into your care under her consent. Go get a wheelchair and I’ll talk to her.”

Fluttershy nodded gratefully as the nurse pony approached the door to room six.

“If she consents, I’ll write a prescription you can pick up on the way out later today.”

Both ponies parted before the nurse could change her mind. Skipping at first, Fluttershy slowed down to an excited trot, then a reluctant stroll as she started to feel the weight of what she had volunteered for.

With a dry gulp, Fluttershy realized she had no idea what she was really getting herself into.

The three mares in room 6 looked towards the door as a wheelchair pushed through it with a light grunt. Fluttershy shortly followed after, taking a moment to make sure the door had closed behind her. The yellow Pegasus peered over the back of the wheel chair only to be greeted by the steely glare of to bright blue eyes. Pinkie had not returned to her usual appearance during Fluttershy’s absence. The frizzy pink cloud that pillowed her friends head was still wilted in long, heavy locks. Her fur was still a dark shade of pink, and her normally perky ears lay flat. Fluttershy had hoped the blue and yellow balloons she had tied to the handle of the wheel chair would have made the chair a little more inviting… clearly she was wrong.

“I can walk just fine.” Pinkie seethed through her clenched teeth. Taking away her second favorite thing in the world was bad enough, now they were trying to make her look totally helpless!

“You need to stay off your hoofs for at least two more days, Pinkie.” The nurse pony scolded softly before turning to Fluttershy. “She gave her consent, and agreed to stay with you over the next few days while she recovers.”

Mrs. Cake put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder “I’ll bring Gummy over to Fluttershy’s tonight, dearie.”

Pinkie just turned her head away and kicked her covers off. “Can we go now? This room is creepy.”

Fluttershy hid her face behind her hair and pushed the wheel chair close to the bed. Nurse Redheart tried to help, but Pinkie just shrugged her off. She was clearly having a little trouble walking, but she made it to the wheel chair without incident and sat back. Crossing her front hoofs across her chest, she gave one last accusative glare at the nurse pony as she handed a slip of yellow paper to Fluttershy.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this… Give this to the pony at the Pharmacy; she should have a saddle bag ready for you. Remember to use the blood sugar reader on the tip of her ear.”

Fluttershy nodded and tucked the paper into the pouch on the back of the wheel chair. Bracing her hoofs against the handles she put her weight on her back hoofs and pushed forward. Rather than moving forward, Fluttershy’s hoofs slipped back out from under her. With a yelp she managed to stop herself from hitting the floor by holding on to the handle bars of the wheel chair.

“Yip! Oh, my.” Fluttershy corrected her balance and tried again, pushing with all her might and digging her heels in. Despite all her effort the wheelchair remained inert.

“Fluttershy” Pinkie turned her head back to give the struggling yellow equine an un amused glare.

“I’m so sorry! The-the floor is slippery!” Fluttershy braced her back against the wheel chair and pushed harder, sliding the chair forward along the carpet a few feet closer to the door.

“You left the brake on.” Pinkie pointed to the lever braced against the left wheel.

Cheeks glowing with mortification, Fluttershy unlocked the break. With a light grunt she pushed Pinkie out of the room while doing her best to ignore the poorly suppressed bemusement Mrs. Cake and Nurse Redheart were enjoying at her expense.

The two remained quiet for the rest of the trip through the hospital. Fluttershy was scared Pinkie had thought her struggle with the break had been a joke about Pinkies weight. As she pushed she rehearsed a lengthy, carefully worded apology and explanation. The Pharmacy drew close and Fluttershy steeled herself. It was now or never, time to shine and show Pinkie she really cared.

“’m sree” Fluttershy whimpered at the back of Pinkie’s head.

“Did you say something?” Pinkie glanced back through the locks of her hair draped over her shoulder.

“Uhm… oh look we’re here.” Fluttershy quickly stuffed the prescription paper in her mouth and set it on the desk. A young colt with a light blue coat and a short smoothed back strawberry blonde mane wearing thin rimmed glasses spun the paper around to read it before looking up at Fluttershy. His name tag read ‘Party, Pharm’.

“Registration number?” His glasses slid down his face just so, eyes peeking above them.

“P-pardon?” Fluttershy looked around in alarm. Had she forgotten something back at the room?

The pharmacist pony sighed “The number on the chair, miss.”

“14-6” Pinkie reported impatiently, looking at the tag on the handle bar.

“Thaaank yoou~” The pharmacist pony turned his pill bottle adorned flank from Fluttershy to disappear behind a shelf.

“I’m sorry” Fluttershy said dejectedly to nopony in particular.

The door around the side of the pharmacy window opened, and the blonde colt backed out from it pulling a white saddlebag with a red cross on each side. He set a clipboard on the counter with a pen, and began unceremoniously strapping the heavy bags to the intimidated Pegasus.

“Sign your name and date on the blank lines. There’s a twenty bit down payment for the chair.”

“Tha-erk!-ank you…” Fluttershy gasped against the tight saddlebag straps, but still managed to maneuver the pen in her mouth to sign where appropriate. She reached back to the base of her tail where she had tied her coin purse, and emptied it onto the counter next to the clipboard. To her absolute horror she counted nineteen bits.

“Oh… oh no! I-I thought I had enough! Ohh what now what now?” Fluttershy pranced around in place, edging on hysterics.

With a roll of his eyes and an impatient tone in his voice, the pharmacist pony picked up the clipboard and walked back through the door into the pharmacy. “Have a nice day, miss.”

“But I… I!” Fluttershy sputtered.

Appearing on the other side of the counter, the colt scooped the bits into the register one by one and counted aloud.

“One, two, three… seventeen, eighteen, nineteen” He reached into the register with his mouth and lifted out one bit. “Twenty” with the last number, the bit fell back into the register with a soft metallic jingle. “Have a nice day, miss” He repeated with a soft smile before turning to disappear back behind the shelves.

It took Fluttershy a few seconds to realize he had let her off without paying the extra bit, and her “thank you” wormed its way out long after he was gone.

Returning to her post behind the wheelchair, Fluttershy gracefully carted Pinkie towards the exit. The front doors parted with a chime as they approached exposing them to the harsh beauty of the low evening sun. Squinting against the light Fluttershy pushed Pinkie towards the south where her cottage rest, allowing their eyes a more comfortable angle in the setting light.

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie spoke up as they approached the road. It wasn’t harsh or impatient like before… no, this time she sounded almost frightened.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy leaned over the back of the chair, her head next to Pinkies. The pink pony shrunk into the seat in a way all to familiar to the yellow Pegasus.

“Can we… not go through the main roads? I don’t want anypony to see me like this.” Pinkie hung her head in shame at the admission.

Heart heavy with sympathy, Fluttershy nuzzled her friends head and kept her voice low.

“Alright Pinkie, it’ll take a little bit longer to get back though.”

Pinkie wiped her face with her arm behind her hair. “Thanks.”

The two continued down the lane without saying anything further. Taking the extra turns and back paths to get to Fluttershy’s cottage had added an extra twenty minutes to their walk, but it had worked. The only Pony they had run into was the blonde mail pony, and it didn’t seem ether of her fields of vision had been on the two quiet travelers she had passed over on her last delivery for the day.

Dusk had settled by the time they reached the cottage, and Fluttershy was glad they had gotten so close to home before nightfall. She knew being brave while having Pinkie depend on her might have been too much for her to handle. Thankfully that misadventure had been avoided.

Pinkie looked around the cottage as Fluttershy wheeled her in. “You know… I’ve never been inside your house before.”

“I um… I hope it’s not too boring. I don’t usually get visitors so um… I don’t have all that much to do.” Fluttershy blushed when she realized Pinkie was actually in her home, but duty came before wild fantasy. Fluttershy slid the heavy saddlebag off and sat down to give her aching hoofs a short rest.

“What would you like for dinner, Pinkie?” Fluttershy dug into the saddlebag and pulled out the food journal. She had gotten the one adorned with balloons on it.

“I’m not hungry.” Pinkie got up from the wheel chair and wobbled over to the fainting couch by the stairs. She was actually starving, but she knew what would come with her meal. She would sooner buck the Princess than let that happen.

“Uhm… How about some noodles with alfredo sauce?” Fluttershy tried to recall her health class notes. Pasta was on the list of good foods for diabetics if she recalled right. Or at least it wasn’t on the list of problem foods.

Pinkie’s mouth said “No” but her stomach voiced otherwise quite loudly.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle a little at the noise, and the embarrassed look it caused Pinkie to make. “I think your Pinkie sense says its dinner time.”

Pinkie groaned and crossed her forelegs as she reclined on the couch. Once Fluttershy disappeared into the kitchen Pinkie had a chance to really take in her surroundings.

Fluttershy’s cottage was very plane and homey. The walls were painted a soft and unimpressive brown. The furniture and decorations were all comfortable earth tones while the floor was painted a shade of green reminiscent of spring grass. The scent of pine and tulips was on just about everything, and a good portion of the room was draped in various vines and non native plant life. Pinkie took a slow breath when the smell of alfredo sauce wafted into the room. The cottage wasn’t just comfortable, it felt like home. It felt like -her- home, back with her parents and her Granny Pie. But at the same time it felt new, because she could see Fluttershy in just about every part of the room. The butterflies carved into the oak door frame, the picture of a spring meadow hanging above the dresser, even the mouse hole in the wall with a feed bag resting conveniently next to it.

After waiting with that agonizingly tempting smell for what was probably close to forever, Fluttershy pushed a dinner cart into the room with two steaming plates of pasta draped in a creamy white sauce. With food in front of her now, Pinkie exerted all the control she had in her body to not dive in face first.

“I said I… *gulp* I wasn’t… hungry.” Pinkie felt the drool at the corners of her mouth, but she wasn’t about to give up. She looked away from the meal and held her breath to defy the aroma.

“Oh, um… could you maybe just try a little bit, please? I’m not nearly as good at cooking as you. I hope it’s alright.” Fluttershy stared down at her own plate, ashamed at the simple meal.

Pinkie’s heart stung her chest when she heard her friend’s crestfallen plea. Could she really turn her nose up at the first meal Fluttershy had ever made her? No, she could never refuse Fluttershy like that. Not even if Celestia herself threatened to banish her to the sun.

“I… okay, one bite.” Pinkie resigned, and leaned down to take the first bite of the pasta meal. One bite was all it took.

Fluttershy sat at the other side of the cart and enjoyed her own dinner. Her portion wasn’t as big as Pinkies, but she still couldn’t compete with her voracious friend. Half way through her meal Fluttershy looked up at her friend while they both ate, and she nearly choked on her mouthful.

I’m eating a private dinner with Pinkie! And in my home!!

Trying to control her sudden dizzy spell and ignore the elated nausea, Fluttershy deliberately continued eating to keep herself from saying something dumb or making any awkward noises. She was horrible in these situations, and she wasn’t about to let herself ruin her first dinner date… even if it wasn’t actually a date.

Dinner ended on a somber note however. Neither pony could look up from their empty plates as the trepidation grew thick between them. They both just sat motionless in dread of what had to come next.

Fluttershy broke the silence first… it was her responsibility. “Pinkie, I-“

“No!” Pinkie squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head back and forth “No no no no NO!”

“Pinkie, we- we have to. Oh Celestia I don’t want to but if we don’t you’ll get sick again!” Fluttershy stood on lead hoofs and shuffled over towards the saddlebags. She pulled out a box and opened it.

“Please no!” Pinkie was trembling all over now, her face lightly bleached from fear.

Fluttershy pulled a small disposable injector from the first box, and looked to her friend pleadingly with it in her mouth.

Pinkie’s eyes widened when Fluttershy took the first tentative step closer. In full trypanophobic panic, Pinkie bucked the dinner cart. Fluttershy barely had time to yelp before the metal and wood cart struck her square and knocked her off her hoofs with a hard thump as the cart barreled over her and into the cupboard behind her.

“Oh- Oh my Celestia, Fluttershy!!” Pinkie was torn, she had just injured Fluttershy, but there was still the injector laying next to her. Tears streaming down her eyes she looked around hoping somepony could help… but of course they were alone.

Fluttershy quivered on the floor, then began to pick herself up. She managed to prop herself up into a half sit before cooing in a soft voice.

“When I was just… ah. Just a filly, and the sun was going dooown~”

“F-Fluttershy?” Pinkie sobbed behind her hair, wanting desperately to help but frozen in place by the proximity of the injector.

“The darkness and the shadows… would always make me froooown~” Fluttershy continued, picking herself up. The cart had caught her head, and she had a small gash above her left eyebrow.

“Fluttershy… puh-please stop…” Pinkie cried quietly.

“I’d hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw.” Fluttershy picked up the injector in her mouth, and limped close to her friend.

“Buh-but Granny *sniff* Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way… The way to deal with fears *sniff* at all” Pinkie continued the song she knew all too well, squeezing her eyes shut.

Fluttershy set the injector on the couch and continued, taking the cover off the needle.

“She said Piiiinkiie, you’ve gotta stand up tall.” Fluttershy brushed her head on Pinkie’s shoulder comfortingly.

Pinkie hiccupped, eyes still squeezed shut. “Learn to face *hic* face your fears… You’ll see that they ca- can’t hurt you…!”

Fluttershy whispered before picking up the needle again, tears in her eyes. “Just laugh and make them disappear.”

Pinkie took a deep, trembling breath. “Haw… *sniff* H-haw… HAAA!” Pinkie screamed but held still as she felt the injector slide into her shoulder. She pushed the syringe in to administer the medicine, then quickly removed it and threw the needle across the room. As soon as it was gone Pinkie latched onto Fluttershy for dear life, hyperventilating and quaking in her hoofs. The two fillies sat there holding each other tight, trying to wash the horrible ordeal away with their tears.

“I’m soooo *gasp* sorry Fluttershiiiiie!” Pinkie wailed, feeling the trickle of blood from Fluttershy’s forehead against her temple.

Fluttershy simply shook her head and held on tighter. They both sat there in each others arms until nether had the strength to shed another tear.

~To be Continued.