Book four of "Who We Become".
After discovering the magic of friendship, Sunset Shimmer's senior year was one of the happiest times of her life. But it's been almost two years since graduation; all her friends have moved on to studying abroad, to pr...
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If there was one thing that was nice about being back at the cottage, it was that Fluttershy was closer to the town's animals. She didn't really mind the walk through town from the castle every morning, or even that she had to wake up a half hour earlier to start the day. But as she stretched out in bed, she felt comfort in knowing that all her animal friends were only a short walk away.
At least she'd managed some sleep, and it wasn't exactly the worst night's sleep she'd had recently. In fact, despite what Rainbow had told her, she probably slept more soundly than she had any other night since the kiss. Apparently, after Fluttershy left the castle, Rainbow stopped by to visit Sunset and they'd gotten into an argument. It wasn't too surprising, but Fluttershy couldn't help but be a little disappointed in both of them. She resolved not to let it bother her too much, and asked Rainbow to just leave Sunset alone until Twilight returned. It was, after all, exactly what Fluttershy planned to do.
She took a minute to roll around the bed and wake up a bit. Once she did, she stood up and walked over to a mirror. Examining her reflection revealed what she already knew; she still looked tired and her mane was a mess. She shook her head and walked to the bathroom, where she washed her face and brushed her teeth, gradually feeling more awake.
As she began working out the tangles in her mane, she wondered, not for the first time, why she kept it so long. She smiled, remembering how Twilight had reacted to an offhoof comment she'd made one day about cutting it. Twilight did her best to pretend that she wouldn't mind either way, but it was pretty obvious she was against the idea. Fluttershy sighed and her smile fell as she thought about it. She wanted Twilight to be back, even if she was still mad at her.
She gave up partway through brushing her mane, deciding she just didn't feel like working on it. She walked downstairs and debated if she wanted to make breakfast for herself or just wait for lunch.
Before she could decide, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was too early to be Rainbow, but she supposed her other friends might have heard what happened, or at least that something had happened. She wasn't actually sure whether she wanted company or not, but it didn't really matter since she wasn't going to turn anypony away.
She opened the door to find Spike on the other side. "Good morning, Fluttershy."
"Good morning, Spike." Fluttershy was happy to see the little dragon, but wondered what he was doing up before the sun. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, uhm..." He looked down and twirled his claws together, confirming Fluttershy's suspicions.
Fluttershy smiled comfortingly. She recognized his bashful behavior; he had something he needed to tell somepony, but he didn't really want to talk about it. Spike would often go to Fluttershy first with difficult situations, even over Twilight. She joked that Fluttershy stole her little brother, and Fluttershy could tell sometimes she actually was a little hurt by it.
