Fluttershy and Treehugger are in a small clearing on the outskirts of a forest. They are surrounded by trees. Fluttershy is lying on her stomach, looking around her. She is on the left. Treehugger is on the right, and laying on her back, her legs in the air. She has her eyes closed. Both have sticks and leaves in their manes.
Implied drug use (weed, other hallucinogenics), morning after breakdown, enbyphobia (born from confusion and fear for child, happy ending where nonbinary character is respected and cared for)
Fluttershy awoke to a pounding headache and the lingering smell of weed. Her muscles were sore, as well as her eyes. Actually, scratch that. Her whole body hurt, not just those two things.
The smell of weed was what brought her to full awareness. She hadn’t smoked since adopting Velvet La-... Daisy. Since she’d adopted Daisy. But the smell was unmistakably emanating from herself. Although, it seemed to be coming from next to her as well.
“Heeeey...” Treehugger’s voice broke through Fluttershy’s worried thoughts. “You seem to be confused Flutters.”
Fluttershy perked up. “Yes, well, um... I am confused Treehugger. How did I... You... We. How did we get here?” She glanced sideways, checking for an audience, “And er, why do we smell like... This. We haven’t done this in a long time.”
The air stilled, and Treehugger smiled. “Ah, so you don’t remember much of last night. That’s okay Flutters, I’ll fill you in.”
And so Treehugger told Fluttershy of how she’d found her at home, paralysed in fear and confusion, having the worst trip of her life (Fluttershy groaned in affirmation at this statement), and how she chose to take Fluttershy to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, close enough to a payphone in case Fluttershy's trip took a turn for the worse.
"I mean, I knew you'd had some weed but you seemed to have been on something else entirely, like, something waaaay unsafe without supervision-" Treehugger glanced sideways at Fluttershy, suddenly serious, "-Like morning glory seeds."
"Oh... Was it that obvious?" Fluttershy mumbled, looking embarrassed, "I thought I had them hidden well."
An uncharacteristic frown developed on Treehugger's face, "Not well enough to keep away from a greened out Flutters. I found a packet of them on your counter when I checked in on you." She sighed, and rolled onto her back while dropping her head back on the grass. "You really shouldn't keep stuff like that in the house when you have a kid."
Fluttershy spluttered, and shot up. "Daisy! Is sh-"
"They're fine dude, but I'd suggest stopping before you use the wrong pronouns for your kid again."
Fluttershy sat in stunned silence for a few moments, her thoughts racing. "Wh-what do you mean?"
A breeze slipped through the trees, rustling the leaves above them. Treehugger smiled sadly at Fluttershy, before reaching her hooves up to the boughs above. "You see these trees, Shy? When you look at a tree, what's the first thing you think of?" Upon further stunned silence, Treehugger attempted to push the conversation more, "Do you look at the tree, and think about it's gender? Or do you think about things like the texture of its bark, the colour of the leaves...?"
"I don't know what you mean..."
The trees seemed to shiver at Fluttershy's statement, and shade dropped over the two of them. She let out a small cry, and shifted towards Treehuggers side.
"Do you think about how they move in the wind, how beautiful they are, the fruit some of them produce?" Treehugger's voice rose in volume to be heard over the wind. " Do you think of the shade they provide for us, and the respite they give to small animals...? Or do you ask yourself the silly question of what their gender is?"
A few moments passed, as Fluttershy frowned. "Well... I suppose I don't think about that. Although a lot of trees-"
Treehugger sighed, cutting Fluttershy off. "Listen Fluttershy. You're trans. You're a trans woman. Why is someone not having a gender or having a different gender so strange to you?"
Fluttershy flinched. "But... Won't Daisy be mocked for it? I just want h-them. Them to be safe."
"You're making Velvet's life unsafe right now my friend." The trees shivered, and the wind suddenly stilled. "You're hurting them."
The silence was oppressive, and Fluttershy felt her voice become small. "I am?" She seemed to pause to consider the statement, memories of Velvet's broken voice and magical outburst bursting to the surface. A few moment later, and Fluttershy felt tears glob down her face. "Oh my god. I am."
"You hurt them. But... I believe it isn't too late to make it up to Velvet. They love you Fluttershy, they just want you to love them too."
A sharp sob fell from Fluttershy's lips. "But I DO love them! I love them so much! They're my kid. I just... I don't know why I wanted them to-"
Treehugger rolled her eyes, and pushed her hoof against Fluttershy's lips. "I think you wanted them to be like you. But they're not. And that's okay."
They laid together a few moments more, the silence only pierced by Fluttershy's crying. The wind began to playfully dance amongst the leaves, indicating a new future ahead of Fluttershy, and her child, Velvet Lace.
Story End.
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Note: Sorry for the old art! I had this stuck in my drafts for a long time because I didn't know how to complete the story. I hope you like it!
