On the train back to Ponyville, Twilight couldn't help thinking something was amiss. Did she forget something at the castle? No, everything was where it should have been in her saddle bag, organized alphabetically and by size and/or convenience of not needing to shuffle things around too much, was there something she was supposed to do? No, everything on the checklist for this trip was checked and double-checked, especially making sure to check everything herself with Spike having remained home. She could have sworn he'd done a good job with Owlowiscious and the rest of her friends' pets, but when she mentioned that the convention would primarily focus on animals, he became really insistent that he stay behind and polish the crystals (which was a LOT of the place!) in her new castle.

She really hoped he wasn't eating the walls or anything.

That reminded her, she'd have to get back to the map project she'd started to navigate the place easier (why did her new home have to be so BIG?!) once they returned. Or maybe in the morning, when she'd had some time to contemplate whether the Tree of Harmony had somehow badly miscalculated her body fat content and decided to house her accordingly. Discord had only made that joke once, but she started to wonder... Regardless, something felt weird. She looked to Fluttershy sitting next to her, whose expression, though smiling, was just... off, somehow.

"Hey, Fluttershy?"

She jumped, startled. "Y-yes?"

"Are you ok? You look just a little bit..." She drew a hoof to her chin looking for the right word while simultaneously trying to riddle out whether her friend's fright had more to do with the perceived off-ness, or that it had gotten dark out while they were on the train, meaning they'd be walking home a little longer after nightfall than initially anticipated.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, eyes locked on Twilight, started to sweat. Can she tell?! I was sure I got good and clean, I-OH NO! Are there rope marks?! Even if I didn't have fur to cover up, nothing should be visible by now, what if-

"A-ha! I've got it!"

Pleasedon'tsayitpleasedon'tsayitpleasedon'tsayit!

"You went to the spa!"

Blink.

Twilight giggled. "You go once a week with Rarity, right? I always kinda thought it was more to spend time with a friend, but I guess you'd need it after all that happened. That's why you look so peaceful!"

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. "...Y-yes, that's it exactly!"

Twilight nodded, smiling herself. "I'm glad you could get past what happened with Blueblood. With any luck, he'll forget all about it too." Not noticing Fluttershy's increasingly flustered look, her thoughts returned to her giant, crystal tree-house.

Wait, the Tree couldn't have misread my weight, my chair in the meeting chamber is normally-sized! Ha! Take that, Discord!

Armed with that data, she'd have between now and the next time she saw him to think of a sufficiently witty comeback.

The next morning, in the throne room of Castle Canterlot...

"Urgent business?"

"Well, not urgent, I suppose, but well overdue, don't you think, Auntie?"

Celestia sat looking over the changes implemented to gemstone trade laws around a decade ago. There wasn't much need to get it signed by Mayor Mare due to the lack of much activity in the gemstone business around Ponyville, Diamond Dogs thought to occupy the area thickest with jewels to be dug up, but she supposed not having it filled out technically meant they'd be ignoring a hole in the boat, so to speak. "It would seem so, Nephew. Whom did you wish to send to get it signed?"

Blueblood smiled a little. "Actually, I think I'll go myself."

There weren't a lot of ponies in the throne room at that time, but Celestia was pretty sure even the guards at the door turned their heads in shock. "Um... To Ponyville?"

He nodded. "You tell me all the time that it is not a-"

She couldn't help a faint, amused grin. "Filthy, run-down den of madness, a town-wide asylum dedicated to the preservation of inanity and bad ideas?"

It was a rare moment that she'd seen him looking the tiniest bit abashed about something. "Y-yes, that. It occurred to me that if I never actually go out and challenge that assertion, I'll never really know, and it won't be a long trip, a day at most. What's the harm?"

It was also a rare moment that she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying or doing something unwise, like loud laughter followed by a list of possibilities in order of likeliness and potential for bodily harm. Twilight wrote her one once. Still, as this was a golden opportunity to get perhaps the second or third stuffiest still-living pony she knew to give a humbler town than his own a try, she wasn't about to ask questions. She smiled warmly. "Very well, take care, Nephew."

As he headed out, she pondered what she'd witnessed the other night, keeping a perfect Princess of Equestria mask the whole time.

Ropes. They were using ropes. Is it an earth pony thing? Is that why-

A number of thoughts clicked in her head at once as she again fought the urge to grin. She saw him with a mare tied up in an extremely racy way, he suddenly had the urge to visit a farming community, and...

One of Twilight's friends was known to be good with a lasso.

Had Applejack come to the recent convention too? Maybe to speak her piece about trees, particularly those that produced food, possibly meeting Blueblood in the process? Now she did grin just a little, trying to imagine how a romance between the prince and the apple farmer might play out if he grew to like her for more than the physical aspects of their apparent relationship. She whispered. "Good luck, Nephew."

"Indeed," said a voice at her side.

Suddenly aware that she wasn't alone, Celestia turned to her aide. "Hm?"

Raven smiled. "You said 'good luck', right? If he's going to Ponyville, he may need it."

The alicorn kept her voice gentle, but firm. "Ponyville isn't visits-from-Cerberus and Party-Pony-silliness-competitions all the time."

Now Raven frowned a little. "Do you remember the time it was overrun in fictional characters because of a magic worm?"

Twilight had written to her about that. "Yes, but-"

"And the time that a pony wielding dark magic encased the entire area in a fishbowl?"

"Trixie was from out of town, so I think it-"

"I heard once," she said in complete deadpan, "that the Element Bearers were sucked into a comic book."

"They were in the old castle when that happened, which is technically in Everfree, so-"

Raven was one of few ponies brave enough to take a stern tone with her. "Princess."

Celestia smiled sheepishly. "He'll... He'll be fine?"

Raven sighed. "I certainly hope so."

There was a long pause, the alicorn raising an eyebrow inquisitively at the sentiment.

"Raven?" She's a unicorn, but still...

"Yes, Princess?"

"Are you at all skilled with ropes?"

She blinked, confused. "R-ropes?"

Celestia looked away. "Nothing, nevermind!" Come to think of it, Raven didn't look the least bit uncomfortable when Blueblood was present, so either there was nothing going on there or she had a truly formidable poker face.

Raven scratched her head. Royalty could be so weird sometimes!

Having gone straight home after arriving in Ponyville, Fluttershy hadn't seen much of anypony but Twilight since they got back. As such, it would be nice to see her friends again at the little get-together organized by Pinkie Pie to celebrate the nature convention's conclusion. As with the Going-Away-But-Coming-Back-In-Like-Three-Days party held before they left (Pinkie had such an easy time with names), it'd be taking place in Sugarcube Corner.

Very gently pushing the door open, she peered through the crack to immediately find a large, black spot circled by a blue ring. It almost looked like-

"HI, FLUTTERSHY!!"

The door swung all the way open with the booming sound of Pinkie's greeting, startling Fluttershy considerably. "Oh, goodness! You st-"

Pinkie grabbed a foreleg with her own. "No time for that," and lifted her through the air to bring her to the table the rest of her closest friends had gathered around, "gang's all here!!"

They all smiled at her.

"About time you showed up!"

"Mornin', Sugarcube."

"Hello, Fluttershy."

"Good to see you, Darling."

She smiled back. "Good morning, how is everypony?" Conditions, temperaments, and some other small-talk was exchanged before everypony was seated with a plate of waffles.

"So," began Rarity, "how was the convention?"

Fluttershy grinned. "Ohh, it was wonderful! The squirrels, the dogs, the cats, the parasprites, the elephants (well, it was really just the one, but still), the birds, the fruit bats the-" She froze, her mouth hanging open and eyes wide as she involuntarily recalled her first meeting with Blueblood. Before her mind could drift to the second or third, Applejack's waving hoof caught her attention.

"You okay there, Sugarcube?" She and the others looked concerned, Twilight most of all.

Fluttershy forced a perfect replica of her normal smile. "Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you. How is the vampire fruit bat sanctuary doing?"

Applejack scratched her head. "Kinda hard to tell. Them critters only really move around when Ah'm fast asleep, but most of 'em are keepin' to themselves..."

As the details of the fruit-bat behavior over the last few weeks were shared, Fluttershy smiled a little more genuinely, though she noticed Twilight still giving her a worried look.

The party was winding down. Fluttershy took a drink of punch as she watched Rarity give Rainbow and Pinkie blindfolded waltzing lessons, Applejack setting the mood with the most eloquent banjo-playing she could manage. It was a compromise between trying something new and pin-the-tail on the pony, but it looked like they were all having fun anyway.

"Got a minute?" She turned to see Twilight, who looked just a little concerned, her voice quiet. "I just wanted to say that it's okay to still be a little rattled after what happened, and I'll be checking up on you every now and then until we know what caused the transformation. Okay?"

Smiling a little, Fluttershy nodded. "Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll be sure to... um..." She scratched her head. "W-well, I don't know what not to do to make it not happen again, but, um-"

Twilight smiled sympathetically. "I think you'll be okay. If this is the only time it's happened since the vampire fruit-bat incident, we probably don't have to worry about regular Flutterbat sightings." Unless it was a delayed reaction, a mixture of whatever remnants of the bat still lingered and Fluttershy's anxiety from when she had to speak in front of a large number of ponies, but she did that on the last day of the convention and nothing happened at all. Curious. The closest thing Fluttershy might have to do to public speaking around here is singing with the Ponytones, and they rarely get together. "Just promise you'll take it easy for a while?"

She smiled a little wider. "I promise."

It would be easy enough to keep, there wasn't usually a lot of reason to exert herself here in town.

A little later that day, Blueblood stepped off the train at Ponyville Station. To avoid being mauled by Twilight's merry band of maniacs for showing his face in their territory, he'd come lightly disguised. Trenchcoats scream suspicious, but a long tailcoat and slightly obscuring top hat were probably fine. Then he got a good look around and remembered that Ponyville was a town of mostly-naked hicks. Regardless, very few of them gave him a second glance as he followed the map of the town he'd procured for his errands today. First stop; a tree cottage on the edge of town.

I wonder how much she'll like somepony knocking at her door for slightly illicit reasons... He knocked, the door gently opening a moment later.

"Y-yes, what is-" Fluttershy's eyes practically grew to the size of dinner plates before she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him -lifting his entire body and throwing him- inside, slamming the door shut.

Well, he thought, lying upside down on her couch, She apparently likes it quite a lot!

Leaning up against the door while standing on her hind legs, her face was crimson. "W-w-what are you doing here?!"

Or not. Having been thrown into a cushy sofa did surprisingly little to addle his brain. He sat up in a more dignified position than 'landed head-first', looking around for where his headwear landed. "You said if I was ever in town to pay you a visit, did you not?"

"...Oh... Yes."

Spotting the hat on a nearby table, he smirked, donning it again telekinetically. "As it happens, I'm in town on business. While I'm here, however, it'd be criminal not to exercise my talent for one of the few who can appreciate it, don't you think?"

Her nervous grin returned, along with about half the heat in her face from the other day. "W-well, I-I-I-I-" Her heart stopped as a knock sounded at the door directly against her back.

"Fluttershy, Darling," came the slightly muffled voice of her fashionista friend, "are you home? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

She looked at Blueblood, pupils shrunk to pinpricks before leaping across the room in a manner he found weirdly familiar, picking him up, flinging him into another room of the cottage as his hat flew off again, and closing the door before racing back to answer Rarity. The second she flung open the door, a thought emerged. Wait, wasn't that the room Harry the Bear likes to read in?

The second white unicorn to visit her that day smiled. "Ah, good, you are here! May I come in?"

"O-of course!"

Rarity gave her something of an odd look as the door closed behind her. "Uh, Fluttershy, are you... Are you quite alright? You're sweating and your mane is a little out of sorts."

Eep! Despite the sudden, quick efforts of hauling a grown stallion even the short distance she did getting her blood running and making a slight mess of her hair, she forced a fairly convincing smile. "Oh, I was j-just, uh, out flying! I have to stay in shape if I'm ever needed for the rainwater gathering again."

Rarity's face was mostly impassive. "I see... Well, please don't overexert yourself, especially after-OH!" Her eyes widened, the pegasus's heart stopping for a terrifying second. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually! Something that happened while you were in Canterlot?" She drew a hoof to her chest, eyes full of concern. "While I don't approve of what happened, I want you to know that neither I nor anypony else thinks any less of you, we'd all understand how hard it must have been to resist that kind of influence."

She knows?! Fluttershy felt herself sweating even more. But how? Not even Twilight knew! At least, I don't think she did, was it obvious? I was sure there was no sign of-

Rarity looked apologetic, stepping closer to wrap her in a full foreleg hug. "There, there, Darling, everything is fine, I know you didn't mean to bite anypony."

...Bite?

Something in Rarity's tone turned harsh, but it still sounded like she was trying to comfort her. "Even that lout, Prince Blueblood..." She winced. "Pardon the last syllable, Twilight tells me it was a horrible scene."

Oh! Of course... She felt a wave of relief, though she'd have to find out just what the others knew later. Somehow. Fluttershy hugged her back. "I think I'm over it now, but thank you." A thought occurred to her, raising an eyebrow. "Twilight told you what happened that night?"

Rarity took a step back, smiling apologetically. "W-well, I might have pried a little-" she held up a hoof, "but in my defense, when I casually asked if anything interesting happened on the trip, she hesitated and began looking anywhere but at me, a tell so obvious I'd feel dishonest if I didn't ask what it was. I do apologize if it was meant to be a private matter."

Fluttershy smiled, the private matter she wanted to stay that way apparently not out in the open, at least. "It's ok."

Rarity nodded. "Good, good..." Her eyes locked on something behind Fluttershy. "Uh, Darling? Why is your couch wearing a top hat?"

"Huh?!" She whipped her head around, catching sight of Blueblood's hat atop her sofa at a jaunty angle. "Um, that's, uh-"

The clothes-horse stepped closer, her expression calm and analytical. "It's very well-made, if a little plain, is it your-"

Fluttershy quickly popped it on her head. "YES! I-I was, uh, thinking of adding something the next time I sang with the Ponytones, what do you think?" She beamed widely, emitting a tiny squeeing sound.

It took nearly all of Rarity's lady-like composure not to laugh, but she did smile at the strange sort of dapperness the hat added to her shy friend. Oh, Fluttershy, you really are too adorable sometimes! "I-I think," she managed to say with only a light chuckle, "we might want to maintain a sort of uniform. Besides, I'm not sure I could convince Big Macintosh to wear a hat that didn't have at least a decade of wear and tear visible."

Fluttershy nodded, glad to remove the faintly embarrassing accessory from her head. Still, if it was feeling a little silly or mentioning the hat's real owner, (or that he was in the house, most likely for scandalous reasons) to Rarity of all ponies... "R-right, I like the original outfit better anyway."

Clearing her voice of residual giggles, Rarity moved toward the door. "I should probably be going now, but don't hesitate to let me know if you'd like to talk about it, or anything else, really."

They exchanged goodbyes and Rarity left, Fluttershy waiting about four full seconds before speeding towards the room she'd thrown Blueblood into. The one with the grizzly bear. When she flung open the door, they were sitting calmly in chairs, Harry the Bear sipping tea, the prince speaking calmly with a smile.

"-which is why I sometimes wonder what could have been, though dragons are quite a different kettle of fish to buffalo." He chuckled. "Or, fish, I suppose."

Harry nodded sagely. "ROAAAR."

"Indeed, Mr. Bearington, indeed." He looked over at Fluttershy, apparently just having noticed her entrance. "Ah, hello again! We were just discussing politics, would you care to join us?"

She stood dumbstruck. Very few ponies seemed comfortable with Harry, fewer still engaged in his love of social commentary.

Before she could manage a reply, Harry stood up, setting his teacup down. "ROAR, ROAAAR."

"Oh," Blueblood said, "you need to be going? Fair enough, we can pick up with sea-ponies next time."

Harry gave a low growl akin to a chuckle and left, there were some trees he wanted to scratch his back with.

Fluttershy, standing perfectly still the whole time, finally managed to speak about a minute later. "Um... W-what just happened?"

Blueblood seemed to take the question at face value, smiling. "I had an interesting chat with Mr. Bearington, he's quite the ursine erudite."

"How did you understand what he was saying?"

"He was a well-spoken individual, of course."

She gave an awkward smile. "O-of course..."

As they returned to the living room, he cleared his throat, smirking at her. "Now then, as I was saying..."

Glancing around, Harry should have been the last animal in the house, as Angel was usually out frolicking at this time. Meeting his eyes, she turned florescent pink. "Exercising your, um... t-talents?"

Blueblood put his hat back on only to tip it at her. "If the lady would permit it, of course."

She smiled sheepishly.

In an almost perfect reversal of events, it was Blueblood using Fluttershy's shower when they were finished, stepping out to find her brushing her mane back into line while sitting on a cushion. He raised an eyebrow. "Still sore?"

She grinned contentedly. "Yes."

Blueblood chuckled. "Well, good thing in this case, I suppose. I should be off now, I actually do have a bit of business in town."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Oh?"

He nodded, donning his coat and top-hat once more. "Some paperwork that never got around to Ponyville's mayor. Nothing of particular importance if you don't plan to open a gemstone operation in town, but something that should probably be squared away regardless."

"Oh, um, o-ok then." As he was halfway through the door, she fired something out with what little courage she had at the moment. "C-come again soon!" The look on his face as he turned back toward her, an eyebrow raised, immediately made her regret it.

"Pardon?"

Fluttershy averted her eyes, hastily brushing her mane over her face. "T-to Ponyville, I mean, it's a really nice town a-and, I, uh," she gulped, the rest of her statement coming out in a long squeak. "youcouldvisitagainifthat'sokwithyou?"

Taking a few seconds to decipher that, Blueblood snorted, smiling a little. "If you're in need of my services regularly, perhaps I could make time, once in a blue moon."

She glanced up at him, her own smile serene and heart-felt. "I'd like that."

He stared back at her passively, lost for a response until he remembered the paperwork he'd supposedly come to town for. "Right, well, I wouldn't count on it, very busy and all, take care now, farewell!" And out the door he went.

Alone, Fluttershy sighed a little, though her smile hadn't faltered. It would have been unrealistic to think he could come all the way to Ponyville all the time, moreso if they were to keep their meetings secret, but their... time together was nice all the same. Maybe I could visit Canterlot a few- She shook her head to cast off the scandalous idea. Even if she'd had the money for regular train-rides, there was no way she could go to a big city, alone, walk up to the palace, alone, talk to the guards, alone, and explain what she was there for, even with all the support in the world.

It was as she considered the irony in that last part being the only one she could do alone, if even the guards weren't there, that Fluttershy noticed Angel Bunny, sitting on the couch and smiling at her. "A-Angel! I'm sorry, I was a little lost in thought, do you need something?"

He shook his head.

"Oh. Are you hungry?"

He shook his head.

"Oh. Then, what is it?"

Angel smirked, nodding at the door through which Blueblood exited.

Fluttershy felt her insides get cold. "Angel," she whispered, "h-how long have you been...?"

He held up a paw and shook his head. They shared a long look as he smiled at her before putting on a tiny pair of sunglasses.

"Angel?"

"!"

"Y-you're glad? Why is that?"

"..."

"About time I f-found a what?!"

"!, !"

"H-he is not a-"

"?"

"Well, yes, we did-"

"~?"

"A-actually, that was the second ti-"

"!!!"

Fluttershy again felt her face burn. "ANGEL!!" Mortified as she was about the situation, at least Blueblood had Angel's approval... Which would make two animals that she was shocked to hear actually seemed to like him.

Later that evening, Fluttershy learned that Angel, one way or another, wasn't the only one among her animal friends that knew as quite a few of them gathered in the living room, all donning little sunglasses at the same time. Angel would have clarified that they were all happy that she'd finally found a mate, but she had already fainted in embarrassment.

Author's Note

I like the interpretation that Angel really just wants to look out for Fluttershy, even if he does it by being a foil to her in the (possible) hope she'll stand up for herself more often.