Thursday (September 15th); Fluttershy's POV

Today was the day Stella and I would try to get Light to go outside the cottage. Ever since we had brought him home, he hasn't left it. I had informed Lotus and she said she couldn't spare the work. She was going to have to start looking for somepony else.

Light's life was falling apart before my eyes. His sister's life was near it's end, he was losing his job, and he was beaten by his best friend. I felt terrible. Before he met me, he was a happy go lucky kind of pony, free of any reminders of terrible events. Now, everywhere I looked I could find some type of scar. His few encounters with love had gone disastrously. He was just a shadow of his former self. Knowing me had broke him.

Yet, he still clinged to me. That may have been the worst part. He didn't understand that knowing me had done this to him. He still wanted to be by me, even though it would cause him more pain. Stella was still the only pony who could get him to do something, but he still liked to sit next to me. Eat with me. A few times, talk with me.

He didn't want to leave me.

My heart ached with the guilt. Stella kept saying not to worry about it, but how could I not? I had realized I had loved him. In our short time together, he had captured my heart.

"Fluttershy, I need you to get through to him." Stella said, interrupting my emotional turmoil.

I looked up at her. "How?" I asked her. I could feel the tears in my voice.

"You need to show him that you love him, do whatever it takes. Make him notice you in a way he never has before. Make him notice you as a mare. Make him realize he loves you. Without this, it might be a good month before he gets over this." She explained.

She put her hand on my shoulder. "I know you can do it." She stood up and walked out of the house.

I took a few calming breaths and stood up. I made my way upstairs to Light's room.

I knocked on his door. "Light. It's Fluttershy. Can I come in?" I said through the door. I didn't get an answer.

I gripped the door knob and turned, opening the door. I peeked my head in and saw Light, awake, on his bed. He was staring at the wall next to the door. I entered the room and walked over to him. He didn't seem to register I was even there.

"Hello, Light." I said to get his attention.

His eyes flicked to me for a brief second then back to their original position.

I sat on the edge of the bed. "Can you sit up, Light?" I asked him. Surprisingly, he obliged.

I scooted onto his lap to make what I was about to do, easier. I wrapped my arms around his neck so he had to look at me.

"Light, please come back. I loved it when you smiled, when you laughed. You made my day better. You made me happy when you were around. You protected me whenever you had the chance and ability. You're strong and kind. I need you to come back to me, Light. Please." I looked him in the eyes. He didn't respond. He barely seemed to be breathing.

I decided to try something drastic. I pulled him to me and kissed him. He didn't kiss back. His arms stayed at his side and he didn't move.

I could feel my eyes tearing up. I let the kiss go and let my forehead droop onto his chest. I couldn't do this. I wasn't enough. I was never going to be. Stella was wrong, he couldn't love me like he did her. Or more. He just didn't want to. Didn't need to.

I felt the tears rush down my face, soaking his shirt. "I love you, Light. Please, come back to me." I whispered.

He didn't respond. He just let me cry into his chest. When I was out of tears, I went to move away, disgusted with myself for letting myself breakdown in front of him. But I couldn't move backwards.

It was then that I noticed a pressure on my back and something resting on my head.

"I am sorry, Fluttershy." I heard him say. It didn't sound like the same monotone he had been using. It sounded sad.

"Light?" I asked.

"I am very sorry, Fluttershy." He said again.

I managed to pull back a little and he looked at me. He looked sad, but he also had some of the old spark.

My arms were still wrapped around his neck. I pulled him down to me and kissed him like I had been waiting to do it for years.

This time, he kissed back. I don't think he knew why, but he did.

I could feel new tears running down my face. Happy tears. After what felt like forever, I reluctantly pulled away.

"Light...I love you." I told him. He looked surprised.

"Fluttershy loves me?" He said out loud.

"Fluttershy loves you very much." I told him. Mimicking his use of my name.

He looked a little confused. I laid my head on his chest. I felt exhausted even though I felt better than I had in days.

But I could still feel a kernel of guilt in my heart. I had still caused this, I just fixed my own mess.

I could tell Light was tired as well. He was slouching and his hands were shaking.

"Let's go to bed, Light." I suggested to him. I could feel him nod and we untangled ourselves to get under the covers. I nestled up my back against him and moved his arm over my stomach. I let out a contented sigh, and fell asleep.

Friday (September 16th)

I woke up next to Fluttershy. It took a minute for me to remember what happened yesterday. I had a hard time believing Fluttershy loved me. How could she love somepony who her brother hated? Rain always had a good reason for things, so he must have a good reason for hating me. Why does Fluttershy not know it?

After a little while, I noticed that Fluttershy was moving. She seemed to be moving her waist in a weird way. I soon noticed the evil thing was hard. Fluttershy was rubbing on to it.

"Fluttershy?" I asked. I did not understand what was going on.

"Light?...I'm so sorry." She got out of bed quickly and went out of the door.

As she left, I got a weird feeling in my stomach. Like I was hungry; but, I did not want food, I wanted Fluttershy. I had also caught myself looking at Fluttershy's body. I was very confused.

I got out of the bed and went downstairs. As I went to the kitchen, I heard Sister and Fluttershy talking.

"What am I going to do? I almost just pleasured myself with him. I've never done that before. It felt just like the heat, only it was different if not stronger." Fluttershy sounded worried.

"You want to mate with him, Fluttershy. Pure and simple. It's your body telling you to do it. Until you do, these feelings won't go away. Your body knows it's found a mate, and it wants to claim him." Sister said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.

Fluttershy jumped and Sister took a sip of her coffee.

"What do you mean claim? And what is a mate?" I asked them. Fluttershy had turned red and Sister did not look at me. I wanted to know. These seemed like important things.

I sat down at the table and looked at Sister. I would make her tell me.

"Sister, please explain." I asked her.

She looked everywhere, but at me.

After a few minutes, she sighed.

"Fine. A mate is somepony you love. Claiming is what you do when you love somepony."

I started connecting the dots. "Fluttershy wants to claim me?" I asked her.

"Yes." Sister answered.

"How do you claim somepony?" I asked her.

"It's better to show you than to tell you. And I, for the very reason that I am your sister, can't show you. It's all up to Fluttershy. Why don't you show him?" She asked Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked very pale.

"I would like to know how to claim." I told her.

She walked over to sister. I could only hear a few words. It sounded like Fluttershy was angry and scared.

Sister was getting annoyed. "Screw it. If you won't show him on your own, I'll just get you started." She stood up and grabbed Fluttershy's hand. Then, she pulled me out of my chair and brought Fluttershy's hand over and placed it on the evil thing. She grabbed my hand and placed it on Fluttershy's chest. Sister looked very angry. She was the only thing stopping me from moving away from Fluttershy.

"Now, brother, squeeze." She commanded.

"But-"

"Squeeze!" She yelled.

I did. Fluttershy let out a gasp. "Too hard, brother."

"This feels wrong." I said. I liked this and did not like this at the same time, but with sister here, it felt wrong.

"Stella, we are not doing this like this." Fluttershy said. Sister sighed.

"Fine, have it your way ya prudes." She said.

I did not feel like asking anymore questions.

Fluttershy started making breakfast.

"Well, now that you are on the road to recovery, I think I can take my leave now. Is that all right?" Sister asked me.

I nodded. I did not feel as sad as I usually did when sister had to leave for a long time. I wondered why.

Sister checked the clock on the wall. Her eyes widened and she stood up. "I'm sorry, Light. Fluttershy. I have to go. I've already missed too much work. If I leave now, I might be able to make it in today." She said. She did not wait for us to say anything. She galloped out of the kitchen and grabbed her things. I could hear her open and close the door.

"I don't think Aloe and Lotus need you today, so you can stay home with me." Fluttershy said. She sounded happy.

"Okay."

"Am I your mate?" I asked Fluttershy. I did not know why I was nervous.

She stopped moving. After a little while, she turned around and walked over to me. She looked like she did not know at first, but then she had a different look.

"Yes, yes you are. You, Light Weight, are my mate." She said. She sounded very sure of this.

"What does that mean?" I asked her.

"It means this can happen whenever you want it to." She said. She reached up and pulled my head down a little bit. Then she kissed me. Fluttershy seemed to be very confident right now. I did not know why that was the word that had come to my mind.

After she stopped, I had another question. "Is that all?" I asked her. I was happy I could do that anytime, but it did not seem like something that deserved a title.

"No, but we can get to that a little later in our relationship, alright?" She asked. She smiled at me.

I leaned down and kissed her again. It felt very good. I felt happy. Very happy.