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Of Wings and Horns

by palaikai

Chapter 1: 1. Late Arrival

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1. Late Arrival

Fluttershy, normally so reserved, couldn't fight off the muzzle-splitting grin that broke out across her face as she crossed the threshold into her little cottage, enjoying the feel of the hard wood floor on her worn hooves; getting home at the end of a hectic day was a treat for anypony, but this one in particular liked to savour the moment as much as possible. She caught sight of herself in the gilt-edged full-length mirror that adorned the wall beside the coat-rack, and she laughed goofily at the ghastly simulacrum reflected back at her, scarcely able to believe that it was her. Her pink mane, usually well-kempt and held in place by a plethora of Rarity's secret concoctions, was in complete disarray, whole clumps sprouting off in random directions after an evening spent tearing through the Everfree Forest rounding up fickle manticore cubs. Her butter-yellow coat was covered in a hundred different types of muck, too, but she didn't care in the slightest.

        I'm just so happy to be home at last!

        As much as Fluttershy loved caring for and tending to the needs of Equestria's diverse array of wildlife, it was exhausting, and mostly thankless, work. While she knew in her heart that they appreciated what she did for them, it could get a little bit trying at times. Especially when the adorable little monsters were feeling mischievous.

        Rapidly coming to the conclusion that it was simply too much effort to go to all the trouble of unpacking her bags right now, particularly in light of the fact that all she wanted to do was make a nice hot cup of mint tea and put her hooves up, Fluttershy carefully stowed her saddlebags away in the closet. The second she closed the wooden mesh door, she let out a loud yawn and felt her neck stretching to its limits in order to work out the kinks in her spine; ever her wings took the opportunity to spread themselves out, and a cursory inspection of the feathers there told her that they were in need of some serious preening.

        Tomorrow, she silently promised them, much too tired to even consider going through the arduous process of wing-maintenance right now. Nurse Redheart had remonstrated with her more than once about the fact that she neglected to exercise them often enough, and she could only imagine what the irascible doctor would say to her about ignoring basic hygiene, too.

        An audible crack in the small of her back snapped Fluttershy out of her reverie; though the sound of her joints popping sounded worse than it was echoing as it did in the dark, quiet hallway, she nonetheless uttered a strained whimper at the dull note of pain there. One of these days, I'll have to get a proper massage. I just wish I wasn't so nervous about other ponies touching me.

        Her first instinct had been to head toward the bathroom and prepare for bed, but some impulse – a faint noise, perhaps, though she wasn't sure, and it's not as if strange sounds were at all unusual with the litany of animals that made the cottage their home also – made her turn into the living room first and what she found there startled her enough that she let out a soft, “Eep!”

        Lit by the soft amber glow of a lantern, Fluttershy could just about make out a purple figure with stars adorning their flanks draped across the sofa in front of the fireplace. Though they stirred slightly from their sprawled position on the couch at her sharp intake of breath, the figure made no attempt to join Fluttershy in the land of semi-wakefulness.

        Fluttershy was still more surprised by the buffet of different foods – each one a favourite of hers – sitting on the table, and a pang of regret thrilled through her when she realised that they had all long since gone cold. Even Pinkie Pie probably doesn't know how much I love Trottingham Truffles. I can't believe that you went to all of this effort for me, you silly unicorn. “Twilight?” she said quietly, nudging her shoulder gently with the tip of her hoof.

        She felt absurd when she realised that she was trying to wake somepony up by not waking them up. Slowly, she walked around to the front of the couch and knelt in front of the unicorn; hoping that she wasn't being too forward, she leaned in and brushed her lips ever so softly against the tip of Twilight's horn.

        “Mm,” said Twilight, a slight tremor rocking her body as she drew the word out into a purr in her insouciant state; sleepily, she extended her forelegs to encompass the pegasus in a tight clinch, caressing her neck gently. For a long moment she did nothing else but revel in the warmth and softness of Fluttershy's body against hers, inhaling deeply the pungent earthy aroma that she radiated. Her natural lavender scent was hidden underneath a layer of dirt and grime, but Twilight didn't care. Fluttershy's smell was wonderful as it was. It was the scent of nature, and the pegasus was as natural as they came. “I'm so glad that you're home,” she added groggily, blinking a few times in sharp succession to try and clear the sticky film from her eyelids.

        Fluttershy broke free of the hug and looked at Twilight Sparkle lamely. “I'm so sorry,” she said, quickly averting her eyes from the unicorn's inquisitive expression.

        “For what?” asked Twilight, rubbing her eyes with her hooves and sluggishly pulling herself into an upright position.

        “If I'd known that you were going to do this-” she gestured in the direction of the banquet that Twilight had prepared for them “-if I'd known that you were going to go to this much trouble, I would've made more of an effort to get back here on time.”

        “Hey, shush,” Twilight said, offering the pegasus a reaffirming smile; she put a hoof on her back and started rubbing it slowly, a reddish tinge darkening her muzzle. “To be honest, it's my own fault, anyway. I wanted to surprise you because it's, uh, well ...”

        “What is it?” asked Fluttershy, enjoying the back rub in spite of her annoyance at herself for not being able to make it home earlier.

        “It's, um-” Twilight couldn't help feeling silly “-it's been three months since we, you know, starting dating.”

        “Oh,” replied Fluttershy flatly, scarcely able to believe it. Has it really been that long already? It feels like nothing at all. A frown creased her muzzle as the searched her memories; it was all a blur, a whirlwind of scenes that bore about as much relation to each other as a wyvern did to a hydra. After the strain of some thoroughly wretched adventure or other, when they had finally returned home they'd ended up entangled in the embrace of each others legs, holding each other tightly with neither one willing to release the other for fear of losing them. It had been as if a pressure valve had finally been allowed to blow off its accumulated steam: something that had been building for a long time, and it had taken coming close to the brink for them to realise just how much they cared about each other.

        Both intensely private ponies, they still hadn't informed their closest friends of the new circumstances of their relationship; it was always possible that they knew, of course, but if so they were respecting Fluttershy and Twilight's desire to keep things quiet. “I didn't realise,” Fluttershy finally said after a long moment. Her eyes had trouble meeting Twilight's. “I'm sorry.”

        Dragging herself up off the couch and on to all four hooves, Twilight shook her head languidly, her bedraggled violet mane falling over her eyes. “Don't worry about it, Fluttershy,” she said, her eyelids feeling heavy as she drowsily made her way  to the bathroom. “I read in a book that some ponies like to mark such anniversaries, but not all of them do. Mostly, I just wanted to show you a little bit of kindness in return for everything you've done for me in the past.” Stifling a yawn with her hoof, she added from the doorway, “Anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay. I'll clean all of this up-” she gestured dully toward the spoiled food “-in the morning, so just leave it, okay?”

        “Twilight-” said Fluttershy, but she winced when the bathroom door slammed shut.

Next Chapter: 2. Partner's Complaint Estimated time remaining: 36 Minutes
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