Blown in on a Breezy [Reed]

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It was one of those painfully magical spring mornings, damp and cool with a soft fresh breeze. It had all the usual trappings, brilliant blue sky with the occasional white puffy cloud. Flowers practically exploding into blossom everywhere one looked, and birds and bees singing together in harmony. One of those dangerous mornings that make ponies of all ages lose their heads and senses and fall recklessly into love at the slightest provocation. Of course, inside Reed's Nooks and Needs, the charm of the morning was completely quenched. The store looked much the same as it always did. Products lining the shelves. The slanting sunlight shining on the dust motes. No soft spring breeze in here, just the familiar comforting scent of balsa wood and craft glue. It was quiet, too, for the winter was over ponies were looking for outdoor things to do. In fact, the only visitor that morning had been an elderly pony with huge coke-bottle frames and a walker, looking for a birdhouse kit. He had gotten stuck in the door on his way out, and had let in quite a quantity of that terrible spring air. But now things were back to normal. Or, almost. Shylette floated in the still air easily here. It seemed a quiet, peaceful place. the tiny faerie pony alighted on a shelf and looked around her. She thought how this would be the perfect place to begin a barrow, did she but have other breezies with her. Why, there were simply piles of convenient supplies to build with! It seemed so safe, too. Swooping, she alighted on the glass-case-counter near the register, looking at both her reflection in the surface, and the fascinating objects below. She sauntered about for a little bit, then sashayed up to a partially built model of Canterlot Castle somepony was working on. She went in!

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And in the corner of the room was a blanket, a blanket emblazoned with the Wonderbolts logo and an easily visible price tag, and beneath that blanket was a tired orange pegasus, hair a mess, bags under his eyes. It was his breakfast time nap. After the elderly gentlecolt had left Reed locked up the store and retreated to his living area and left the door open, oblivious to the terror that floats among him.

He let out a soft yawn and rolled over in his chair before returning to consciousness. "Uhh... that was a great nap..." he said to himself, even though he was alone, or so he thought.

*Gasp*

His weary eyes saw something as he peaked from behind the blanket. Giant see through wings, and they were moving. Oh sweet Celestia, what was that thing? It has giant bug wings! I've never seen a bug so large... The thing had crawled into his model castle... but what was it. He slowly lurched out of his chair and grabbed the ugly yellow flyswatter from his nearby table and tiptoed over to the round table.

Brandishing his flyswatter for the worst, he peaked into the castle entrance, ready for the beast that lurked inside.

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Shylette liked the look of this thing very much! While not exactly to scale for her, and certainly not big enough for a Breezy with a family, it was a comfortable shelter, and would make a fine home for her bohemian lifestyle. And although she didn't quite know it was a castle, she understood that its fancy shape was befitting of someone of her noble stature. Now all she needed to do was see about scrounging up some kind of comfortable bed and some food, and she would be set! She had no doubt she would find something pleasant to make a bed from nearby. As she placed one tiny leg out onto the drawbridge, she spotted a shadow that seemed... strange. She was sure it had not been then before. She froze, then veeeery carefully, Shylette peeked her head around the corner of the gateway. Eeep! There was a huge orange pony with a fly swatter! in a hideous yellow color! Instantly, the Breezy jerked back into the safety of her shelter! Oh no! She hadn't come all this way to goodness knew where, found a quiet place and a ready-made home, only to get swatted now! The breezie went up one of the towers and glared furiously out the window at Reed. She could wait! He'd get tired of holding that swatter long before she got tired of glaring at him!

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It was in there, whatever it was, some white thing with massive antennae. It didn't look dangerous, but the risk was too great to stay so close to where it entered, because bugs were icky, and scary, and he didn't want to have a face full of bug. So he brandished his fly swatter again and eyed over the castle, checking over the possible entrances and exits. It could get him from the entrance, the watchtower window, the unfinished roof in the library and the whole in the back wall of the princesses chamber.

What to do, what to do?! He didn't want to smash his model and he didn't want to get attacked. Maybe he could throw a table cloth over it and wait for it to die? Bugs don't live that long, do they? Leave a trap? Bugs like sugar... probably?

But then he saw it, the little creature in the watchtower window. Little white antennae poking past the windowsill and tiny, wide blue eyes staring back at him. Ooooohhhhhhhhhh, lookit the tiny little ears~ He was smitten by the little beast. She was so tiny and so adorable, and so... so... pony. He dropped his swatter at her glare.

"You're one of those bug ponies I've been hearing about, ya?" He held a hoof up to the window hesitantly, "You don't bite do you? Please don't bite me."

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Shylette glared. She imagined the intensity of her glare sending little needles of burning energy at Reed's big lumpy face. She concentrated on a point right between his eyes, trying to burn a hole in the fur there, just by the force of her angry stare. Any moment now, he'd start to feel it. Aaaaaaany moment now! Nothing happened, of course, except that he eventually noticed her at the window. Shylette blinked when the ugly yellow swatter was dropped. She had been concentrating so hard on that one point of his face that she failed to notice when his expression changed from one of panicked outrage to one of jaw-slackened, wide-eyed, disbelieving, wonder and admiration. Which of course, she quickly recognized, since it was the only proper and appropriate way in which to regard her! Her own expression softened from angry death-glare to a knowing, amused smile. That was more like it. Even a slightly-plain giant pegasus could recognize her perfection and majesty. "You're one of those bug ponies I've been hearing about, ya?" The orange pegasus held his hoof up to the window hesitantly. "You don't bite do you? Please don't bite me." Since he seemed sufficiently pacified by the completely natural adoration that ponies were overcome by whenever they actually looked at her, The little faerie pony tucked her wings tightly against her side and squeezed out of the window. She would have preferred a larger exit, but it seemed ungracious to move for the door when he so clearly wished for the honor of her perching upon his hoof. She would grant him this honor. As she alighted on his hoof, she flared her tiny chitin wings in a shimmery flash, fanning them slowly, as a butterfly does. This was not only so that he could admire their full size and rainbow-inducing shininess, but it also created a faint breeze to catch her luxurious tufts of violet hair, causing it to flow and wave in the the otherwise still air! She posed, triumphant!

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The tiny bug pony seemed sufficiently angry with him, probably for the swatter he had originally ready to whap it with, but it's expression changed to one of... well, not angry. It's face was too small to tell anything besides it's eyes but it seemed to trust him enough to squeeze through the tiny window and climb onto his hoof, tickling him in the process.

Such a tiny white pony, he brought it closer to his face to get a good look at it, noting the long flowing locks and beautiful wings, and even the big ol' eye lashes. "Well you're a pretty... filly? I can't say I've ever seen anything like you before. I really admire your mane, makes me a bit envious."

What was this creature? He heard of them before, but he had never heard what they were actually called, but they were bugs, right? He didn't want to hurt her. Bugs are fragile things, and she looked like she was made of sticks and plastic wrap.

"Hmmmmm... Do you like sugar water? I bet you like sugar water..." He slowly walked to the kitchen while trying to keep her safe and set her on the counter, grabbing a jar of sugar out of his cabinet and a cup. "Lets mix up a little treat for ya. I imagine you've been through a lot, since I've never seen anything like you before."

He put some sugar in the cup and turned on his faucet, filling it half full with water and mixing it with a spoon. "Here you go." he placed it next to her and smiled.

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Shylette eyed the cup suspiciously, hooked her forelegs over the side of the cup and gazed into the sweet liquid. It looked good. It smelled good! Cautiously, she dipped a foot into it and tasted. It tasted just as good as it smelled, and she could detect nothing harmful in it. the little faerie pony settled back on all four of her feet and beamed up at her host with a smile of serene and utter pleasure. Then, quite suddenly and with a sharp, rough movement, Shylette flipped the cup, sending its contents spilling all over the counter! Honestly! the breezie's impatient, frustrated movements seemed to say as she stalked into the spreading puddle of stickyness and dropped her head to drink. How did you expect me to use a cup? You might as well attempt to drink soup from a bathtub! Yes, Reed had a lot to learn about how to properly serve her. He'd know to serve this food in a more appropriate vessel, next time! Ah well. She'd have him trained in a few weeks, she was sure!

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Well that was sudden, such a small thing having that much strength. They must be like ants or something, able to lift many times their own weight. If he wasn't careful, he might get supplexed by the little faerie pony. She meant business.

Now with all the sugar water spreading along the counter, he knew it was gonna get sticky. Even if she was suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper thirsty, there was no way she would have been able to drink all of it, there was just way to much.

"Now look whatcha did..." he said as a mildly disgruntled expression took occupancy of his face, just like the bug pony had done with his home, "This is a mess... you little rascal. But you chipped my cup. I only have a couple of these things, I can't have angry bugs breaking them. What if I had other guests?"

He picked up the cup and looked it over, seeing that the chip was actually a crack all the way down it's side. He didn't splurge when he purchased them so they weren't very sturdy, and now he knew that. "Well... I guess this is junk..." He threw it in the near by waste bin. "You need to behave yourself." He scolded.

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The orange giant's scolding bothered Shylette not at all! She could see clearly that Reed adored her, why, he could barely summon up that tone of annoyance! Not troubling herself to even look at him until after she'd drunk her fill, the Breezie sipped up sugar-water until her tummy was nearly bursting! Ah! So sweet! So refreshing! So energizing! She would need to look into that mysterious white sand sometime! Find out what it was and where he had got it. Her snacktime over, the Breezy decided to get seconds on food for her vanity. So she looked up at Reed with huge, shining blue eyes, and fanned her wings, prettily. Then, deciding to go the whole hog, she stepped into flight with all the delicate grace and beauty she was capable of, and floated right in front of Reed's face, giving him her most charming smile and a tiny kiss on the end of his nose! There! Let him try to be angry after such a display as that! Why, she'd have his heart in her pocket by the end of the day! And she didn't even HAVE pockets!

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And with her kiss, that was it. He didn't know what to do about the bug. She was just so precious, and precocious, and pretty. She was a bunch of p words. But she still made a mess, and no number of eye flutters or muzzle kisses would change that, and even if he wanted her to clean it up, she was too small to take care of it.

He made a bit of an uncertain face, scrunching his muzzle as he thought about what she wanted. When they can't actually speak to each other, it makes interactions a bit... one sided? She showed how she felt, but it didn't really show what she wanted. She wanted to make him happy it looked like cause he had already done that. Was that it, or was he just dumb?

"Hmmmmm, what can I do for you?" He started cleaning up the mess with one of his spare hooftowels, "Do you need a home? I have some extra homes. Maybe somethings I could hang outside... Do you guys like bird houses?" Soaking up the rest of the water and wringing it out into the sink. "Do you wanna look at some houses?" He asked her, putting his hoof up to her to land on.

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Shylette may not have been willing to speak Reed's language, but that didn't mean they couldn't communicate. She understood him well enough, after all! He just didn't know that yet. He'd learn! Shylette floated dreamily about the room as Reed wiped up the water. Though most ponies would have considered Reed's backroom living quarters rather small, to the Breezy, it was a vast open space. She settled on the glossy, slippery surface of Robe Enthusiast Quarterly and looked at its cover. She considered the soft, comfortable garment that was prominently displayed upon a smug looking model, and decided promptly that she, too, desired a robe. She would have to tell Reed so he could get her one immediately. How grand she would look! How smug she would be! "Do you guys like bird houses?" Reed was saying, looking around for her suddenly. He put out his hoof and once again, she alighted there, looking brightly and charmingly into the Pegasus's blue-green eyes. "Do you wanna look at some houses?" He was such a silly stallion. Clearly, the only thing to do was to finish that model of a Castle that she'd investigated before, furnish it with many beautiful treasures and soft bits of things, and then put it on a shelf in this room, preferably a nice high one where she would have a wonderful view of the room from as many windows as possible. Where the windows looked out onto his plain wall... eh. She would put curtains over those windows.

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But little did the little breezy know, many more luxurious homes awaited in her. They just needed to be built by her stallion friend, she just had to tell him somehow. It wouldn't be any feathers off his wings, heck, there was probably even some dolls that would have a robe that fit her, they would just have to find it.

He floated over to the top shelf by his register where all of the really big bird houses were and looked in them, and then to Shylette. These massive things built for a King...fisher with a large open space and a single entrance. It wasn't fancy, but it was a big home. Maybe she would like them, she liked floating around... he thought, and there was plenty of space to float around in these.

"Any of these brown... plain... boxes catch your fancy? Hmmm... maybe not... Just look at your hair, you need something much nicer. Brown and purple aren't really good together... maybe something else..." he scratched his chin... "Did you like the castle in the other room? If you did I got lots of neat stuff, like... the crystal empire castle... or... the griffon kingdom capital? You ever been to either of those? I've only seen pictures of the empire... I wish I could go there someday. I would love to travel Equestria..." he stared at the floor for a bit.

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There was a strange feeling, a disquieting feeling, that Shylette got when Reed turned away from their happy talk about a home for her and looked gloomy. Honestly, the faerie pony was surprised that she didn't hear a dull thud, the way that gaze was dropped to the floor. She didn't know why she responded to that, but she did. Drifting up to Reed's face again, she put a fore-hoof in each corner of his mouth and tried to pull them upwards. Smile! she urged, silently. Don't be sad! You'll see them one day! The breezie smiled affectionately at her new friend butler. Yes, he needed training and yes, he certainly could get depressed in a hurry, but since her mind was made up, she was going to do all she could for him. It was her responsibility, as a Princess. And the best thing for him right now would be to get out of his self-contemplative gloom by serving others. Herself, specifically! she gave a gentle tug on his chin in the direction of the models.

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She was back in his face again, and she was smiling. What an adorable little creature. He was right that she didn't want any of those dull houses, she wanted something fit for a tiny queen! And she made it known by the tug on his face. "Well, what do you want..." He wondered, looking over the various big models he had in stock. "Hmmm... well, let's be a bit adventurous!" He grabbed all of the big ones! The Crystal Castle, the Griffon Empire, Canterlot Castle, Canterlot Gardens, Sweet Apple Acres for some extra foliage. It was kind of hard to carry it all, but he managed to get it all to the living room.

Now that all of the boxes were there, he needed to figure out what she wanted. He wasn't much of a designer, but if she knew what she wanted, then she could probably convey it to him somehow. Opening all the boxes and beginning to lay out all the pieces, he knew this was gonna be big, and it was gonna be a mess, but it was gonna be fun. "Now... where to start?" He looked back towards the Breezy. Trees, roofs, walls, windows, tons of furniture, a few tiny plastic pets, tiny toiletries, even a tiny fan. None of it worked, but it all looked nice, and hopefully she appreciated that. He went back to the kitchen, grabbed a sugar cube and set it on the table next to him for Shylette.

"Ahhhh, actually, this first." he said as he began walking back to his recliner and opening the end table drawer, he pulled out one more surprise, a large case, something that seemed to have no business being there, but was anyway. He opened it, pulling out a pair of glasses, a pair very different from the pair he was currently wearing. A pair that had various adjustable magnifying lenses that could be placed in front of the lenses through the use of various levers and magnets. Carrying them over to the table, he took off his regular glasses, and put on his working glasses, looking at Shylette, with with massive, blown up eyes.

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Distracted by the sugarcube Reed had set out for her, the tiny faerie pony didn't notice what Reed was doing over by the recliner. So when she looked up at him from trying to fit the entire cube in her mouth at once (a task at which she thankfully failed) she was quite frightened! Instantly, every strand of hair on her person stood on end, and the Breezy puffed up until she more resembled a parasprite than a pony! Frozen absolutely still, she stared until, with tremulous pluck, she sidled towards that strange face and bapped lightly at those lenses with a quick little foot. When nothing happened a moment later except that Reed blinked, Shylette seemed to relax and begin the all-consuming task of smoothing her fur down. Really! She hadn't been alarmed, her nonchalance seemed now to say. Only the bright pink blush that remained behind on the milky white face told of her embarrassment. It wasn't good to let your servants see you sweat. Still... her gaze flicked back to Reed's face and, now that she was no longer frightened, she giggled, a soft, tiny sound. He did look rather funny! The wealth of objects on the table was more than enough to divert Shylette's attention however, and she quickly got back to the important business at hoof. Which treasures would be exclusively hers? She began sorting among all the smaller trinket-y pieces. The Canterlot Castle came with full set of royal dishes (it was meant to be laid out in the dining room) and it was very fine. But the Crystal Empire Palace also came with a set like it, almost as good. In fact, Shylette liked the transparent plastic crystal goblets of that set better. It was such a hard choice that Shylette decided simply to take both! No pony would ever complain from having too many dishes, right? The tiny pony set all of these aside, in a clear 'I'm having this!' pile! See? She could make her wants known!