[AiE] Bearing Burdens : Chapter I - PartyShy [WIP][07/07]

>Day party animal in Equestria.

>Beep.

>No, not yet.

>Beep.

>Just a little longer...

>BEEP.

>Fine! Fuck!

>Your arm lifts skywards and with all the strength your sleep-drunk body can muster, you bring it down to annihilate the offender of your peaceful slumber.

>With a minute click your alarm clock shuts off.

>An exaggerated groan serves to announce your return to the world of the waking.

 

>If, throughout the entirety of your live, there'd be one thing that would always remain consistent, it'd be one simple fact.

>You were not a morning person. You never were and you didn't intend on ever becoming one either.

>The most prominent reason behind that would be your undeniable love of sleep.

>Another thing that might be considered an archetype for you would be that you are not a very tolerable person before you had some caffeine injected directly into your arteries.

>Sadly enough, finding syringes suited for that purpose was harder than it seemed, so instead you had to resort to drinking coffee.

>Coffee that a certain bakery used to provide for you.

>Keyword: used.

 

>You are Anonymous — grumpiness incarnate.

>Yesterday had left you in a bad mood.

>Stupid cutiemarks.

>Stupid magic.

>All you wanted were pancakes.

>Was that too much to ask for?

>To simply have one nice, quiet day with a diabetes-inducing breakfast.

>Once again, your desires went unfulfilled.

>A heavy sigh resounds through your bedroom and shortly after, your blanket gets thrown in the air as you make your way to the bathroom to run through the morning routine.

>With emptied bowels, neutralized bodily odors and your facial hair properly removed, you step out of the bathroom.

>Grabbing a small bag of bits from the counter, you leave the relatively safe environment that is your house.

>Perhaps today you would be more successful in acquiring a hearty breakfast.

>A man can dream, can he not?

>Looking upwards, you see that the weather seems to be behaving as you'd come to expect.

>Who knows; maybe today wouldn't be a total disaster...

 

>The walk towards Sugarcube Corner goes a lot more smoothly than it did yesterday.

>After only a few minutes, you march through the door of the bakery again.

>Strange, it seemed like no one was here yet.

"Pinkie!" you yell into the empty room. "Customer in need of breakfast here..."

>At first, you are met with nothing but silence but then you hear rumbling coming from the kitchen.

>The door swings wide open and a frazzled looking Fluttershy steps through.

>"Oh, did I turn the sign to 'open'? I'm sorry, Anon, but we're closed today."

"What? Why? This place has never closed on weekdays before."

"Wait..." You blink, only now noticing the distinct lack of pink color adorning the pony in front of you.

>Already dreadful of the answer that would follow, you ask, "Why are you here, Fluttershy?"

>"I need to prepare for the party, Anon."

>She starts prancing around, though it seemed more out of nervousness rather than excitement.

>A worried look adorned her face.

>"Oh, I've still got so much work to do..."

"I didn't know you were throwing a party today."

>"Neither did I!" she shouts out. "Oh no, I still need to make invitations!"

>She turns around in panic, before turning back to you, before turning back around.

>Panicked, she kept running circles around herself, torn between whether she should be talking to you or rush back to the kitchen.

>You note the three balloons, trademark of Ponyville's premier partypony, still present on a set of vanilla-colored flanks.

"Calm down, alright?"

>You close in the distance between the both of you and crouch down.

>With your index-and middlefinger, you lightly scratch behind Fluttershy's ear.

>Soft cooing noises leave her after just a few moments and she calms down notably.

"Right, so... We are going to make pancakes together and then you are going to tell me exactly what's going on here, okay?"

>Whether she actually knew what you asked, you were not certain, given the fact that she seemed to be lost in bliss at your relaxing ministrations, but she nodded her head in acknowledgment none the less.

"Alright, come on then," you say as you walk behind the counter and into the kitchen with Fluttershy in pursuit.

 

                                                *       *       *      

 

>You were rather unimpressed as you stepped through the double doors that secluded Sugarcube Corner's kitchen from the rest of the shop.

>Though easily being three times as large as your own kitchen, you can't help but feel sort of underwhelmed.

>It made you wonder how they produced so much confectioneries in such a small workplace.

>Then again, the pink menace that usually roamed the perimeter of this room did not seem to care for any law of logic or rule of reason.

>Its current inhabitant however...

>"Uhm... W-we'll need... uhm..." you hear her mutter behind you.

"Flour, milk, eggs, butter, baking powder, sugar and salt," you decide to fill in.

>You are hungry and those pancakes aren't going to bake themselves.

>Or would they?

>How hard could it be to make self-baking pancakes with magic?

>You'd have to ask Twilight...

>Oh, what a wondrous day it would be.

>Self-baking pancakes.

>You'd never have to leave your house again.

>But for now, you'll make due with what you got.

"I know how to bake pancakes, Fluttershy. You get the flour,the baking powder, the sugar and the salt. I'll check the fridge for the rest."

>She gives a meek nod before trotting to the other end of the room.

>You set to your task with intent and soon find the ingredients you were looking for.

>Stacking the milk, eggs and butter on top of each other, you wobble back to the counter and carefully set them down.

>You note that you still lack over half of your ingredients and turn around to look at Fluttershy who stood staring at the cabinet in front of her.

"Ahem," you scrape your throat, causing her to jump up in surprise. "Waiting for that flour, you know..."

>She turns back towards the cabinet and points to the highest shelf. "I-It's all the way up there."

>An eyebrow lifts skyward to signal your confusion as you stare at her.

"And?" You can't suppress the growing sense of annoyance in your voice. "You've got wings, remember?"

>She glances over her withers and for a moment, she genuinely seems surprised that there were feathery appendages attached to her sides.

>"Oh... I do."

>She blinks and shakes her head, trying to reattain her bearings.

>"I... I kinda forgot," she quietly says, addressing no one in particular.

>Your brow quickly drops and you feel a sense of worry welling withing you.

"Hey, Fluttershy, you sure you're okay?"

>You're already on your way over to her when she turns around and gives you a big grin.

>"Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be just super?"

>Fluttershy beats her wings, fluttering up to the highest shelf where she begins dragging the giant sack of flour towards herself.

"Watch ou—"

>You rush towards her, but already know your efforts to be in vain.

>The sack of flour tilts over and Fluttershy simply lacks the power to keep it aloft.

>It slides out of her hooves and you watch it fall in almost slow-motionesque vision.

>And then white.

>Everything. Everywhere.

>White.

 

>Shaking your head, you blow a raspberry, trying to get as much of the flour off you as possible.

>Immediately, you began coughing as you get a good mouthful of the fine particles of dust by shaking your head like a wet dog.

>As you stand there sputtering, you hear a soft snickering coming from your side.

>It quickly turns into a giggle, before finally becoming a full-blown fit of fervent laughter.

>After having caught your breath a condemning glare is cast on the previously primrose pegasus, though for the moment, a thick layer of white powder covered her from head to... hooves.

>A thousands insults come to mind, but not a single one leaves your lips as you feel your flour-covered brow drop in confusion.

>Fluttershy sat on the ground, rocking back-and-forth as she pointed at you with a hoof, breathlessly and soundlessly laughing at the sight in front of her.

>Had it not been for the difference in their mane styles, you could've sworn Pinkie Pie was sitting there.

>Fluttershy kept swaying back and forth, but in time both her motions as well as her laughter died out, until her giggles went by nearly unheard.

>Slowly, she regained her breath, then looked at you and tilted her head ever so slightly to the side.

>Looking around, she took in her surroundings before feverishly blinking, as if she had fell from the sky mere moments ago.

>"Uhm... I'm... uhm... I'm sorry?" she stutters out an apology.

"Fluttershy?"

>Her head tilts again as she looks at you. "Hmmm?"

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? You're uh... I dunno. You're acting kinda weird, I guess."

>Demurely, she shakes her head. "I-I'm okay. Sorry f-for letting the flour fall on the ground..."

>She paws her hoof around on the ground, sending little tufts of flour in the air. Some of which reach her mouth which brings her to softly cough as well.

 

"That's okay, we can use the bit that fell on the counter. It's still clean."

>Her head sways as a bit as she looks at the floor, hiding behind her mane so she doesn't have to look at you directly.

>You step over to her and crouch down, placing your hand on her withers.

"It's alright, Fluttershy. Don't worry about it, okay?"

>Two teal eyes peak from underneath her ghastly white mane, burying themselves into yours as she looks up at you, trembling in what you assume to be fear.

>"Y-You're not mad at me?"

"No, of course not. It was just an accident." You give a quick shrug. "Accidents happen, no harm done."

>When you look around, you quickly correct yourself, "Well, maybe a little harm done."

"Listen, how about I make us some breakfast and you try to clean this mess up a bit?" you propose.

>A soft nod comes before Fluttershy shakes herself clean.

>Accompanying her reply is a gentle smile, "Okay, I'll go clean this up."

>She trots off back towards the counter in search of cleaning supplies, quickly looking back over her withers before she leaves. "I'm sorry, Anon."

>The double doors swing back and forth as she steps through and a sigh leaves you as you shake your head.

"So much for a 'normal' day, I guess..."