Chapter 7: Market time

The path quietened down a bit until it seemed I was the only one using it, that's when I heard a familiar voice coming towards me. "Oh dear, where is he? I hope nothing bad happened to him" Fluttershy! Thank god I thought, but she flew straight past me! I began shouting her name "Fluttershy! Down here, wait!" she didn't take any notice, I picked up a small loose stone from the path and hurled it at her, but my throwing strength at this size was pathetic, hell it sucked anyway, it dropped to the floor before it even reached halfway to her.

However the sound of the stone daintily hitting the ground made her flinch and look my way. I began to jump up and down, waving my hands above my head and shouting her name, thankfully she took notice and swooped down, picking me up by my clothing in her mouth and placing me on her back "Oh thank goodness you're safe, I thought something terrible might have happened to you, when I realised you were no longer on my back I feared the worst" I could easily tell how sorry she was, the tone of voice was a huge giveaway.

"Im so happy you came back to get me! Thanks." I replied, grateful my life was potentially saved, Fluttershy looked at me worried now "What?" I said

"How did you get a black eye?" she said with a sympathetic tone.

"Oh that was probably from when I FELL off your back, PLUMETED through the sky and CRASHED into Rarity!" Anger was evident in my voice, and I touched my eye to confirm what Fluttershy said "Ow" I winced, Fluttershy looked really upset, perhaps I overdid it a bit with the anger I thought, Fluttershy stopped flying and began to trot along the ground with her head hanging low, man, this isn't gonna help I reached out and began to pet her mane.

I looked over to her face, seeing if I was making it any better. She raised her head and looked happier. "Im sorry I got angry at you Fluttershy, many humans tend to lose their temper easily, I guess im one of them…" I finally said to break the silence. Fluttershy did not respond, she simply closed her eyes and smiled, satisfied I had apologised.

We reached the market, which by this time of day was bustling with ponies, the sheer amount of colour was enough to give me a headache. I didn't want anymore of the "what is that thing" from anyone so I cautiously slid under Fluttershy's mane, parting a small bit so I could see what was going on. Nothing eventful happened during the time at the market, we met with some pony called Pinkie Pie, who I recognised as the first pony too see me since I came here, at her cake stand, worth it for the free samples and Applejack at her apple treats stand. We also saw Rainbowdash clearing the clouds above, well by saw I mean we caught a glimpse of the blurred rainbow every now and again.

"I just need to get one more thing and we can head home" said Fluttershy, we approached a stall selling heads of lettuce, there was only one remaining but fortunately Fluttershy got there in time and asked for the lettuce, as she turned her head to reach into her purse, another pony ran in, light magenta in colour with a light green mane. She put money on the counter and stuck the lettuce in her bag before running off.

Fluttershy turned back to the counter "I think this is enough… hey, where did the lettuce go?"

"Sorry, all sold out, catch ya later!" said the pony behind the counter, and it began to pack up the stall.

"Oh, no problem" said Fluttershy, but there obviously was a problem, she looked upset.

"Fluttershy, I'll meet you back at your house, its just down that path right?" I said,

"Uh, yes, but why are you-" Fluttershy didn't finish, I climbed down her mane and planted my feet on the ground. I ran off after the pony which just bought the lettuce.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" I called back as I carried on running, I knew she wouldn't try to stop me, she turned around and reluctantly headed home.

I was approaching the magenta pony, I had took two gold coins from Fluttershy's purse, one in each pocket which was the price of the lettuce. Ponies were still looking at me, confused as I ran past them, but right now I didn't care. I caught up to the pony I was pursuing, running along side her I jumped and grabbed for the bag around her back, I missed but kept trying, I touched it a few times but could not get a firm grip. The pony was walking at a normal pace, I studied the way the bag rose and fell with each step and timed my jump accordingly. I immediately got a solid grasp on the strap and began to haul myself up, at the top I squeezed into the bag and landed on the lettuce. "Sorry about this, whoever you are, but Fluttershy had it first"

I dropped the two coins in the bag and pushed the lettuce out of the flap, the drop was quite far so I decided to jump out before the lettuce and let it land on me to save it from being damaged. I grabbed hold of the lettuce and fell out backwards. I hit the ground with a hard smack and I was squashed between the weight of the lettuce and the path. The lettuce was surprisingly light so It did not hurt as much as I expected. Fortunately we were out of the market by now so no-one witnessed me technically steal, I began to roll it towards Fluttershy's house.

If the market was a 10 minute walk from Fluttershy's house, this should only take 20 minutes… I was in my train of thought again, being alone I tended to do that from time to time, I didn't notice I was being followed. I was snapped out of my thoughts when a voice shouted "Hey!" behind me. I quickly spun round with my back against the lettuce

"What? I didn't steal it!" I replied before noticing who it was "Oh, Pinkie Pie! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, DUH! Skipping, playing, laughing and all kinds of other stuff I love to do, then I saw you and I thought what's Fluttershy's friend doing out here all by himself with a lettuce and then I figured you could use some help with it!" she said, barely pausing for breath "so can I help you with anything, do you need a lift somewhere because I know its hard for you to get around cos your so small."

"Actually, yes" I was so thankful "could you please take me to Fluttershy's?"

"Certainly! All aboard the Pinkie Pie express to Fluttershy's!" she said and she grabbed me by my clothes and tossed me up into the air, I landed in her soft, messy pink mane. I was then hit by the lettuce which she also threw into the air "alrighty, lets go!" and we sped off.

As we headed back we passed through the town again, no-one seemed to care that Pinkie had a lettuce on her head. I was hiding inside her mane, peeking through the various partings of the messy entanglement. She was asking me heaps of questions about general things such as "Do you like cake?" and "are you having fun?" I responded to most with simple yes's and no's, trying not to elaborate too much. She also asked me questions such as "Where do you come from?" which I had to elaborate on.

We eventually arrived at Fluttershy's about 10 minutes later, the door was already slightly open and I could see Fluttershy's sad face in the window next to the door, I climbed out of Pinkie's mane and said my thanks and goodbyes. Fluttershy took no notice of me, she just sighed and left condensation on the glass. I rolled the lettuce do the door and knocked, however the door was already open and the knock just pushed it.

"Hey Fluttershy, im back!" I said, panting from rolling the lettuce

"Your safe! I didn't think you would make it back, I thought you might have got lost or something. Is that a lettuce?" She was ecstatic.

"Sure is! I saw how upset you were when you couldn't get one so I went and… acquired one" I responded, hoping she didn't ask how I got it. "It might need a wash, its been through allot" The outer layer of the lettuce was muddy and a bit battered but just peeling that of and giving it a good wash would be fine.

"Oh, I can't thank you enough! Some of the animals are very picky eaters so I have to get everything they might want."

"Awww… no problem Fluttershy" I was embarrassed

There was a knock at the door a few minutes later, Fluttershy hovered over and opened the door slightly. By the voice I could tell the visitor was Pinkie Pie but I had no idea what they were saying. I lay back down on the chair and went back to sleep. It was the most peaceful sleep I had since my arrival here, my thoughts were pretty much blank apart from the odd event from the day. A little while after I felt like I was on a train, the bumpy track moving my body, after a violent bump I was shook awake to discover I was lying on Fluttershy's back.

I wearily sat up, the bumps were a result of her walking, I was not sure where we were going, but my eyes were met with the familiar sight of Ponyville. "Ughhhhh…" I groaned "wha- where are we going?" I said drearily

"Oh , you're awake, we are heading to Rarity's boutique, we're all having a slumber party!" she seemed pretty excited

"A- a wha-, like a sleepover? Cool, wake me when we get there" I was drunk with fatigue, I didn't really have any control over how I responded

"No need, we're here already." She replied, giggling.

I looked up, the boutique was like a big carousel. Pink and white in colour with yellow and blue finishing on windows etc. At the front were two large oval windows, I could see Rarity working through one of them. It finally hit me what we were doing. "Wait, you mean a slumber party, like with you 6 and me?" I felt sick to the stomach

"Yea" Fluttershy replied with a smile "what's wrong, are you feeling ok?"

"Uh, y-yes, just fine…" This evening was going to suck.