>>141033
^Check 'em
>"Well, no…I was thinking we could have a little chat. You see, I'm a tad concerned about Anonymous. Something seems to be bothering him, and I was wondering if you might know what it was. I just want him to have a good time with us today."
>"So you've noticed it, too? At first I thought he was still homesick, but now I'm sure that can't be it."
>"And why is that, darling? I don't think he's homesick, either, mind you, but it seems strange that he wouldn't be, doesn't it?"
>"That's just it, Rarity. The first night he spent at my cottage, he had a nightmare and woke me up. I told him that he might be homesick and he agreed, and I think he meant it at the time, but…"
>Fluttershy pauses contemplatively for a few moments, her mind on the cusp of some realiziation.
>"Go on, Fluttershy. What is it?"
>"I don't know. Since then, he hasn't seemed too worried about being stranded here. He hasn't talked about his girlfriend Chloe, either. He must have loved her an awful lot to leave home forever for her sake, but he doesn't seem too interested in finding her. In fact, he told me that today's outing would be a chance for him to take his mind off of her."
>"Oh, well of course he wouldn't want to be reminded of his two biggest problems, darling! Surely you can see that?"
>"I know…it must be really painful for him. Yet, he doesn't act that way. He seems more concerned with trying to fit in in Ponyville. Maybe he took my words to heart, after all."
>"What did you say to him?"
>"When he woke up from that nightmare, I told him that even though he couldn't go home, he could try to make Ponyville his new home. That seemed to make him feel better for a while. But then earlier today he started acting…strangely." Fluttershy looks very uncomfortable, as if she doesn't want to continue.
>"However do you mean?" you plead, a note of concern in your voice.
>Fluttershy paws the floor nervously. "I was making breakfast, and I turned around to say something to him, and I found him, umm, staring. Not at me, I don't think. More through me." Fluttershy's blush belies her words, but what she's implicitly suggesting is too silly for you to countenance at the moment. You let her continue. "Anyway, he had obviously been lost in thought about something. It wasn't his look that was strange, it was how he reacted to me catching him thinking about whatever it was he was thinking. He said he had been thinking about his girlfriend, and I started to suggest that if he was feeling badly that we could postpone our outing today, but that seemed to upset him somehow. That's when he said that he'd like to get his mind off of his girlfriend."
>You blink. "And you don't believe him?"
>"It's not that. It's the way he said it. But oh! I'm being silly. I can't read his mind. I've never met a human before, and even if I had, I can't guess what he's thinking after only two days. This whole conversation is silly." The abashed little pegasus allows her mane to fall over her eyes.
>"Please understand, Fluttershy darling, I'm not asking for gossip. You don't have to tell me anything private. I just think that perhaps there's something wrong with Anonymous that he's not telling us. As his friends, I think it's our job to help him if we can."
>Fluttershy perks up semi-indignantly. "Of course it is! I just don't want to go making guesses about what he is or isn't thinking, when we hardly know him at all!"
>A few dignified-looking ponies turn their heads questioningly in Fluttershy's direction. She utters an "Eeep!" and falls silent.
>"You're right, dear, of course you are. Just promise me one thing, will you? Keep an eye on Anonymous. If something is bothering him, I want him to feel like he can talk to us. You understand?"
>Fluttershy nods, and the two of you enjoy a companionable silence for quite some time before going back to check on your new human friend.