Fluttershy is sick

The door to fluttershy's cottage slammed open. "I got here as soon as I could!" said Twilight Sparkle, who came barrelling in clutching a bag. She looked around frantically. "Fluttershy? Where are you?"

"Over here," said Fluttershy in a hoarse voice. She was curled up on a sofa, wrapped in blankets. Her eyes were droopy and her face pale. She looked up weakly at Twilight and sniffled. "I'm glad you came…"

"Aw, you poor thing…" said Twilight as she leaned down to stroke her friend gently. "You look miserable… how long have you been like this?"

"Only since last night," said Fluttershy. "It's just a bad cold… don't worry, it's no big deal." Fluttershy moaned and rolled over, gripping her head.

"Oh no…" Twilight opened up Fluttershy's mouth and peered inside. "Headache, sore throat, congestion… you have it pretty bad. Do you need someone to take care of your animals today?"

"Already on it!" called out Applejack. She entered the room carrying a heavy bag of seed on her back. "Don't you worry a bit, I'm taking care of everything. I've got some hot apple cider brewing on the stove to help soothe your throat, Fluttershy." She turned around to go back to work. "It was nice of you to stop by, Twilight. Keep her company, will you?"

Applejack left the room, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy alone again. "I can do better than just keeping you company…" She reached into her bag and pulled out some potion bottles. "Don't you worry, Fluttershy, I have just the thing to make you better!"

Fluttershy looked over drowsily. "You brought medicine?"

"Well, kind of…" said Twilight. "I skimmed through some medicine books before coming over, but all the methods seemed too slow, so I decided to come up with my own magical solutions!"

"Really? That's great," moaned Fluttershy.

"Here, drink this," said Twilight, handing Fluttershy a potion. "If my calculations are correct, this should make your illness disappear right away!"

Fluttershy shakily sat up and sipped the potion. After downing the entire bottle, Twilight was surprised to see that Fluttershy was fading away and becoming transparent. She disappeared and the bottle fell to the floor.

"Fluttershy?!" exclaimed Twilight in a panic.

"Um." Fluttershy's blankets shifted, indicating there was still someone there. "I… I don't think that worked."

"Ehehe… sorry," said Twilight sheepishly. She cast a quick spell to remove Fluttershy's invisibility. "I guess I didn't calibrate that one correctly… instead of making your illness disappear, it made all of you disappear!"

"It was a nice try…" said Fluttershy, who laid back down and sniffled.

"Wait! I brought a backup, in case that one didn't work." Twilight held up another potion. "This one isn't as strong, but it should at least reduce your symptoms. In theory."

Fluttershy rolled over. "Are you sure? I don't know..."

"Of course! Instant reduction, guaranteed! If this doesn't work, I don't know what will! Now drink up."

Fluttershy took the potion thrust into her hooves. After a short sigh, she drank down the whole thing… but this time, after finishing the potion, she began to shrink! "Eeep!!!" she cried, as she shrank down to the size of a bunny and hid under her blankets.

"Aaah!! Sorry!" Twilight used a spell to bring Fluttershy back to regular size. "I guess that reduced more than just your symptoms…"

Fluttershy curled up in her blankets and said "well, thanks for trying, Twilight, but I think I'll just need to wait this one out."

"No, wait!" Twilight pulled out a book from her bag and started frantically flipping through the pages. "I'm sure I can come up with something that will work…"

"Twilight?" Applejack called from across the room. She was standing in the kitchen door. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, who was still tossing and turning. She anxiously got up and walked to the kitchen. Applejack was tending the stove. "Twilight, I know your heart's in the right place, but you need to ease up a bit with the magical solutions," she said.

Twilight hung her head low. "Maybe you're right… but I can't stand to see her so miserable! I came over right away because I thought I could make her better…"

"And that's exactly what we're gonna do." Applejack poured some steaming apple cider into a mug. "You want to know how to make Fluttershy feel better?"

"Yes!"

"Stay with her. Let her know you're there for her. Bring her everything she needs. Be a source of comfort, not a source of stress. Her body will get better on its own time, but what she really needs right now is a kind heart." Applejack handed Twilight the mug. "And a little cider never hurts."

Twilight looked down at the drink and felt its warmth travel from her hooves straight to her heart. "Wow… thanks, Applejack. How do you know all this?"

"Heh, I've had to care for a sick little sister more than a few times…" She poured another mug and handed it to Twilight. "Here. I reckon you could use some warming up, too."

Twilight carried the hot apple cider and flapped gently over to Fluttershy. She sat on the floor and leaned against the sofa. "Something to help your throat," she said, offering a cup to Fluttershy. "If you're feeling up to it…"

Fluttershy slowly rolled over, sat up, and took the cup. She looked much more content as she sipped the cider. "Thanks, Twilight," she said softly. "This is just what I needed."

"Of course!" said Twilight. She rested her head next to Fluttershy and looked up at her. "I'm sorry for trying too hard to fix you… instead, I'm going to stay by your side until you're all better. How does that sound?"

"Oh, Twilight, that's so sweet…" said Fluttershy. "I know you're always so busy, I don't want to keep you from your work…"

"Nonsense, I can always make time for you…" Twilight gently stroked Fluttershy, causing her to purr in delight. "Now, just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Fluttershy put down her drink, and laid back down on the sofa. "Well… maybe there's one thing…"

"Oh?"

Fluttershy gently scooted over, leaving some extra space in her blanket nest. She looked up longingly, causing Twilight to blush. "Oh… of course!" Twilight climbed up next to Fluttershy and made herself comfortable. The space was tight, but Fluttershy immediately snuggled up and clinged onto Twilight.

"Mmm…" Fluttershy moaned softly, eyes closed. "I don't want to give you my cold…"

"Don't worry about it," said Twilight reassuringly. She rested her head on Fluttershy and the two of them dozed off together.