Chapter 5

I awoke somewhat startled. “What a weird feeling…” then I remembered I was at her house on the couch.

“Holy shit, did I fall asleep?” I thought. “FUCK, is it Monday? What time is it?”

I stood up and looked around. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. I looked at my phone.

I was going to be late for work.

“I’d better call and let them know I fell behind this morning,” I told myself.

I called my employer and let him know I would be getting to work a little late, which he was fine with since I’m usually on time most other days. He was an old man, past retirement age, but he still liked to run the shop. He was very easy going and didn’t do much actual work on vehicles, mostly just paperwork and talking to customers. He and I have a good thing going, like if I need time off; anytime, even at a moment’s notice, he’ll let me have it, no questions asked. It’s a good deal for me, but I don’t take advantage of it very often out of respect for him, even though I know he’d let me take a few months off if I asked.

Knowing I had to get going soon, I briefly resumed my search for the shy girl. Maybe she went to bed after I fell asleep?

I decided to venture for the first time down that hall at the end of the counter. It wasn’t as long as I expected, and all I found was a large bedroom with an attached bathroom on the right side. It was a tidy room with a queen-size bed and lots of stuffed animals, posters of animals, and some pictures of her friends.

She wasn’t there.

Not wanting to snoop too much, I went back out to the main room. The dishes from our leftovers the day before were gone and everything was clean, then I noticed a little note on the big table.

I went over and picked it up.

“Hm.” I mumbled to myself. I didn’t want to stick around too much longer alone in her house, so I went back to my place, got dressed for work and headed off.

At work, I thought about her all day; the clothes she wore, the way she smelled, the fact that we almost shared a kiss—maybe. And the fact that I feel asleep there. I still couldn’t believe that happened.

That night I got home and messed around with that motor for the mill, thinking about the shy girl all the while. After a few hours —probably about 2am— I finished it up and tried the mill out. I cut a few test slots out of a block of mild steel and after I was satisfied that it was working well, I showered, changed and sat down on the couch in my ‘living room’.

I decided to check my phone to see if she had texted me. She hadn’t, but I had a message from an unknown number with a photo attachment. I opened it and did my eyes went wide, my chest seizing up at the sight of the image.

It was a picture of me, asleep on Fluttershy’s couch…and she was sleeping on me. One of her legs was sprawled across both of my legs, her arm wrapped around my waist and her head was on my shoulder. Her hair was spread across the both of us, partially hiding us in a fan of pink silk.

“Who took this picture?” I wondered.

I wanted to text the number back and ask who it was, but it was 2:00 am. They're probably asleep, whoever they are. After pacing for a few minutes, I gave in to my curiosity and texted the number that sent me the image.

ME: Who's this?

Surprisingly, I got an answer immediately.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: IT'S PINKIE PIE SILLY!

ME: Oh hi. Where did u get this picture?

PINKIE PIE: I TOOK IT! I WAS UP SUPER-DUPER EARLY THIS MORNING AND I HAD TO DROP SOMETHING OFF AT FLUTTERSHY’S SO I DECIDED TO GO TO HER PLACE CUZ SHE’S USUALLY UP EARLY TOO AND WHEN I GOT THERE I FOUND U 2 SLEEPING LIKE THAT SO I TOOK A PICTURE CUZ IT WAS SOOOOOOOOO ADORABLE!!!

“Oh ok, yeah…taking pictures of people sleeping, good thing that’s not fucking weird at all.”

ME: Oh OK well thanks for sending it to me. I'll see u later.

PINKIE PIE: BYE-BYE!

I sighed, then chuckled to myself a bit. “Well that solves that mystery,” I concluded.

*****

After a couple more days of work, I got a text from Rarity later on in the evening.

RARITY: Good evening, Golds! I am pleased to invite you this Sunday to join us for a day at the beach. A couple of the other girls are busy again this Saturday, so we’ve decided to move it to Sunday to go relax in the sun and have some fun in the water, if so desired. You will also get to meet our other two friends who are away at university in the big city. They are able to make it this Sunday so it will be a full house! So exciting! Hope to see you there. Ta-ta!

ME: Sounds good. Where is this beach?

RARITY: It is almost an hour drive from this area, so you can follow one of us or someone can ride with you who knows the way. Or you can ride with one of us.

ME: I’ll drive. I can figure out the way like u said. I’ll text on the weekend to figure out exactly what’s going on.

RARITY: Splendid! So excited to see you again! Ta-ta!

I put my phone down and started to walk out to the shop area of my home to start sorting some scrap metal, when I heard my phone buzz again. I went back and read the text.

RARITY: Could I ask you something?

ME: Sure. What is it?

RARITY: Did something happen between you and Fluttershy last weekend?

This message had me worried, and a little confused.

ME: What do you mean?

RARITY: Well I haven’t heard from her all week. I’ve texted her numerous times and have gotten no reply. None of us have.

I felt a twinge of concern for the shy girl when I read the message. What could be going on? Last I knew, she left me there sleeping so she could go to work, and I hadn’t seen her since.

ME: I can try texting her.

I switched to Fluttershy’s messages on my phone and sent a short message.

ME: Hey

I waited for a minute, watching the message send, then eventually change to ‘sent’.

In the meantime, I got a message from Rarity.

RARITY: If you could, please. See if she will respond.

As I watched for a reply, I saw the message status change from ‘message sent’ to ‘message read at 8:42 pm’, which was the current time.

After a few more minutes, there was still no reply. I explained this to Rarity and she texted back.

RARITY: Well at least she’s read it, so we know she’s OK. She’s probably just upset about something, she does this from time to time.

“What could she be upset about? Something I did?” I wondered.

ME: Should I go check on her? I actually live pretty close.

RARITY: Thats very sweet of you, but I think it best if we leave her be. I am certain she’ll be over whatever this is by the weekend.

ME: OK then. I’ll text you after work Saturday?

RARITY: Sure thing. Ta-ta!

I set my phone down and continued out to sort scrap, but my mind was on Fluttershy. What was her deal? Did I do something wrong? Was it something her friends did?

I was very tempted to go to her place to check on her since it was so close, but I decided to obey Rarity and stay home. The whole situation made me unambitious for sorting scrap, so I went back to my couch and watched TV for the rest of the night, though I wasn’t really paying attention to what was on anyway.

The rest of the week dragged on agonisingly slow. I just wanted Sunday to come so I could see what was going on with Fluttershy, and to make sure I didn’t screw something up.

Saturday I got home after work around 1:30pm. After cleaning myself up and changing, I sent Rarity a text to see what the plan was.

She was much more direct now.

RARITY: Meet me at Fluttershy’s house tomorrow morning at about 10:30.

ME: K

Did something go down between them since I talked to Rarity last?

I paced around restlessly all afternoon and night, watching as it got dark outside, then light again several hours later. 10:30 could not come fast enough.

When 10:25 finally arrived I hopped in my truck and headed for the shy girl’s house, nervous about what was going on.

When I pulled up to Fluttershy’s house, I saw Rarity’s car there, and she and Rainbow Dash were standing outside of the house. Dash was wearing a T-shirt and red shorts that had white stripes up the sides. Rarity, wearing her usual attire, was standing by the front door while Dash paced around, looking irritated.

I parked, rolled down my window and shut the truck off so I could hear the conversation.

“Let’s just go in and get her,” Dash said loudly.

Rarity shook her head. “Nonsense, darling. She’s upset enough as it is!”

“What the hell is going on here?” I thought.

“Fuck it,” Dash said. “I’m going in. Like you said, she’s already upset, so what difference does it make now?”

Rarity threw her hands up in the air. “Fine then, you do what you like. I’ll have no part of it.” The fashionista stuck her nose up and walked back to her car. She opened her door and was halfway in when she glanced over at me sitting in my truck, looking like she just realized I was there, so she gave me a forced smile before getting in and driving off.

“Well she’s pissed about something,” I thought.

In the meantime, Dash had run into the house, leaving the front door open.

“FLUTTERSHY!” I could hear her yelling.

I heard some commotion inside the house, I thought I could hear the shy girl talking back, a bit of thumping and more of Dash yelling. What I saw then caught me off guard…

Dash emerged from the front door with the shy girl slung over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Dash’s arm was wrapped around Fluttershy’s thighs to keep her from squirming too much, and the shy girl had a grip of the back of Dash’s shirt, quietly pleading to be put down. Dash, only holding her captive with one arm, shut the front door to the house with her other hand and carried the shy girl over to my passenger side door. The whole scene looked like a silly cartoon with the girl who was being carried was half a foot taller than the one who was carrying her.

“Damn, I knew that little chick was strong…”

Dash set Fluttershy down, who turned towards the truck and froze when she saw me through the window. Dash opened the door, saying : “Like I said, we’re going to the beach and you’re coming with us. Now GET IN!”

Fluttershy reluctantly climbed in as I flipped up my center console to make room for the two passengers. The shy girl shimmied over to the middle seat next to me and Dash hopped into the far passenger seat.

“Alright, lets go,” Dash ordered.

I started the truck, making Fluttershy almost jump out of her skin at the sudden noise. Dash just shook her head in response to the shy girl’s skittishness as I drove to the end of the driveway and stopped. I looked over at them; neither of them were speaking, and Fluttershy’s face was dark red.

“Which way?” I asked.

Dash perked up, “Oh shit, sorry, Golds. Turn right here. You’ll stay on this road for quite a ways. I’ll tell you where to turn next.”

I did as she instructed and we headed down the road in silence, aside from the perpetual chatter of the big diesel under the hood. Two or three awkward minutes went by before Dash finally spoke.

“OK Fluttershy, what the fuck? What is your problem?”

Fluttershy didn’t respond. Instead, she just sat there hugging herself in silence. I looked in my rear view mirror to see her pretty face contorted in a scowl, after which she met my eyes briefly and looked down immediately.

“Seriously, Fluttershy. I’ll have Golds drive us in circles all day until you talk,” Dash threatened.

After a few seconds, the shy girl pounded her knees with her fists. “You guys are mean! You embarrassed me!” Her voice was still soft, but with her anger, it carried much more authority. I found it a bit frightening, but kind of cute at the same time.

“Pfft! What are you talking about?” Dash asked, confused.

“Pinkie Pie snuck in and took that picture and passed it around to everyone! Even him!” she growled, pointing at me.

This was all new information to me.

“You guys were teasing me, and you embarrassed me! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on him, it was an accident! He wasn’t supposed to find out! Now he knows and he probably thinks I’m weird and creepy!” Fluttershy complained.

I shook my head a bit, “You can sleep on me anytime. I'm just sorry I missed it,” I thought to myself.

“Oh come on, Fluttershy! Don’t you remember Pinkie was supposed to bring those boxes of rope ‘n stuff out to your place? She found you guys there like that, took the picture and sent it to us because it’s AWESOME! “

“What do you mean, awesome?” Fluttershy asked.

“You and Golds! We meet this cool guy, you guys hang out, just the two of you and you hit it off! YOU! Fluttershy! You did it by yourself! And it's about time, after being alone for so long because you were too chicken-shit to talk to anyone. I have to admit, I thought it was going to be the same as every other time after the way you acted the first night he came over, but you totally turned it around! We’re all proud of you!”

The shy girl’s expression changed. She appeared to feel like she had misjudged her friends and started to look apologetic. “You guys are…proud of me?”

“Of course we are. And you scored big! Look at this guy…nice, awesome at stuff, good lookin...” Dash paused, then gave Fluttershy an elbow to the arm. “Come on, you deserve this!”

“Hold the phone, is that what they think about me?” I wondered to myself, not expecting Dash to say something like that.

“Well, “ Fluttershy started, “Did you guys really have to send him the picture?”

Dash leaned forward to talk to me past Fluttershy. "Hey Golds, did you think it was weird? That she fell asleep on you?”

Fluttershy looked at me while I answered. “Not at all," I said, "I didn’t mean to fall asleep either, I actually felt bad about that. But I don’t care that you slept on me. It made my shirt smell good,” I joked.

“HA!” Dash shouted. “You see? I told you! You need to stop worrying about what people think about you so much.”

Fluttershy's pretty face became flushed and she looked away for a moment, then she looked back at me with a warm smile. I was glad to see her like this again. Dash watched on with a smile of her own when she saw us gazing at each other.

I was really struck by Dash’s whole demeanor. The first night I was with them, Dash seemed really brash, vulgar and a bit arrogant. Not too arrogant, but definitely enough to notice. But here, she was being genuine. She was a good friend. I noticed this about all of them; even though they were so different from one another, there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other.

Fluttershy looked down at her lap again. “I’m sorry, Dashie. I shouldn’t have made assumptions about what you guys did.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Flutters. It was just the embarrassment talking. I know how you are and I knew I just had to drag you out here to face your demons,” Dash replied. “I’ve known you forever. I know what makes you tick.”

“Thanks Dashie,” the shy girl said after a pause and a smile.

I spoke after a minute or two of silence. “How did Pinkie Pie get my number, anyway?”

“Oh, she just asked Rarity for it. Who, by the way, knew you two were hanging out together,” Dash explained.

“Yeah,” I replied, “I texted her while I was there.”

“Oh my God, yeah!” Dash shouted, “Rarity would not stop going on about it! She was so excited…I must have gotten like 300 texts from her that afternoon.”

Fluttershy was still blushing. “Oh, I didn’t know you texted Rarity that day,” she said to me.

“Yeah, while you were changing. I was asking if her sister was feeling better and it kind of came up that I was at your place again,” I told her.

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, looking down at her lap. “Well, um, that was nice of you. Poor Sweetie Belle, she was really sick.”

We drove for a bit in a more light-hearted silence. After a moment or two, we began talking about different things. Dash and I talked for the most part, Fluttershy only said a few things. They told me about the band that they had back in high school, and I had a fun time trying to picture them playing. It must have been an interesting sounding group, and I was quite surprised that Fluttershy would get up on stage in front of a crowd of people like that.

It seemed like we got to the beach in no time with the conversations we were having. As we pulled up and parked, I saw Rarity’s car parked next to the other car I had seen at Fluttershy's the other week, and the group of friends was out on the sand, some running around and some relaxing in the sun.

I prepared myself, as there were two new members of the group there that I was about to meet.