You are going to FEAR ME

Hoops and Dumb-Bell looked down at the top of the Everfree Forest hundreds of feet below them, from the spot where they had dropped Fluttershy from the day before. “She's been down there a long time,” Hoops worriedly mused to his accomplice.

“Whadd'ya think happened to her?” Dumb-Bell asked. “Ya think she may have...”
“No!” snapped Hoops. “No, I don't think that happened, but...” he gulped, “it...it may have.”
Deep in thought, Dumb-Bell stared at the trees below, hoping that Fluttershy wasn't speared on the top of one. “What happens if she is?” he finally asked.

It was Hoops's turn to think. After a few seconds, he nervously started. “Well, expulsion from Flight Camp for sure, and life in prison at best should Princess Celestia catch word. We should do our best to not be caught.”

“Hoops, soon as somepony notices that Fluttershy's gone, we're gonna be the first ones ponies point at,” Dumb-Bell observed. “Everypony knows that we pick on her pretty much daily.”

“It's a good thing, then,” Hoops began to counter, “that nopony really cares for or notices Fluttershy. Thing'll be no different with her gone, if she is...gone.”

“Rainbow Dash'll prob'ly notice,” lamented Dumb-Bell. “She's stuck up for her a couple'a times before, so she'll prob'ly say something after a few days. Ya think that maybe we should look for her? Even if she ain't dead, she could still be to hurt to fly.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hoops reeled, surprised. “You want to go down there? To the Everfree? To look for a scared filly who should have been able to help herself in the first place?” He then scoffed. “Have you lost your mind?”
With a defeated sigh, Dumb-Bell relented. “Well, I'm not goin' in there alone, and if you're not gonna go with me, then it looks like she's on her own.”
“Not that that's anything new for her,” Hoops scoffed. “C'mon, lets go, or we'll be late for camp and ponies'll think we're plotting something.” Downtrodden and a little bit fearful of the days to come, the two bullies flew off to their Flight Camp.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It had been a peaceful night of sleep for Fluttershy, in part to having been weary from the previous day's trials and in part to Angel Bunny's comforting presence. Still in the hollow log that she had taken residence in the day prior, she awoke to the gentle sounds of the forest. Her eyes fluttered open and she let out a long yawn before stretching and attempting to stand, only to hit her head on the wood above her. Clearly she'd need a new place to rest.
Angel, it would seem, had already woken up and gotten out of her mane, which the rodent had used as a mattress and pillow, and was currently working on something, though his back was to her, concealing his actions. He didn't seem any bit startled from the noise Fluttershy made when she hit he head, though it did alert him to her being awake. “Good morning, pony. How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Oh, um...good, I guess,” Fluttershy answered, crawling out of log before finally standing completely upright. Immediately she noticed that, standing a few feet away from Angel, watching what he was doing with a sorrowful look, was a squirrel. “What are you doing, Angel?” she asked, approaching the bunny.

“Making you breakfast,” he replied. And indeed he was, making a simple salad with lettuce, apple slices, and nuts, the first two of which seemed to be odd plants to come across in a forest.
“Where did you get lettuce and apples?” Fluttershy asked him, suspicious.

“From a nearby pony settlement. Some foolish farmers put their orchard right next to the forest, so their fruits are easy to get your paws on.”
That was what Fluttershy didn't want to hear. “You stole them? That's not right, you know; that food wasn't yours to take,” she scolded.

To that, Angel merely rolled his eyes. “We're animals here, Fluttershy, not ponies; your way of doing things isn't exactly applicable here. Rule number one of the forest: if you take it, it's yours, unless someone else takes it from you.”
“And I suppose you stole those nuts, too?”
“Nope,” responded Angel. “Mr. Cheeks, here,” he gestured to the nearby squirrel, “generously offered them for your breakfast.”
Fluttershy looked to the squirrel, who was in turn continuing to stare longingly at the various nuts sitting beside the crude wooden bowl which contained the salad Angel was preparing.

“I know you ponies don't usually eat nuts whole like squirrels do,” Angel continued, “so I was thinking of instead crushing them up and sprinkling the powder on top, which should add a bit of flavor and additional nutrition.”

“Angel, give the nuts back,” she said, continuing to watch Mr. Cheeks, who perked up and looked at her with a hopeful expression upon hearing her statement. Angel, on the other hand, looked at her dumbfounded.

“I'm sorry, pony, I think I misheard you. What?”

Glaring now at Angel, she repeated, “I said: 'give Mr. Cheeks his nuts back'.”

“He's offering you free food, you know. Free. F-r-e-e. You're really gonna turn that down?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy answered confidently. “It's obvious that he wants them more that I do, and he probably needs them more, too so he should have them back.”

“Pony things,” Angel muttered, rolling his eyes. “Well, the pony doesn't want them, so take them back, I guess,” he said to Mr. Cheeks. Said squirrel ran over to Fluttershy and hugged her leg before collecting his nuts and retreating, chirping happily all the while. “You're kind, Fluttershy. Maybe too kind; it's not going to help you last in here.”

She cocked her brow at him, saying, “I'm not planning on staying here, Angel. What would make you think that I was?”
“If you weren't going to stay, then why haven't you flown off yet?”

“Um...” Fluttershy tried to start, but Angel interrupted. “Based on what you told me yesterday, it seems that you'd me missed here more than you'd be missed in your little pony place.”

“That's not true!” she defended. “There are plenty of ponies who'd miss me up in Cloudsdale!”
“Including...” Angel prompted.

“Um, let's see...” she began, pausing to consider her own point. “Well, there's Hoops and Dumb-Bell-”
Again, Angel was dumbfounded. “Aren't those two the bullies that dropped you here? Why would they miss you?”
“Because, um, well, I'm the only one they pick on., unless Rainbow Dash gets in the way. She'd miss me, too, because she likes to use standing up for me as an excuse to beat Hoops and Dumb-Bell in a race.”
“Anyone else?”

“Of course! There's, um...” She stood there for several second trying to think of someone who would miss her if she were to not return. But, despite her efforts, no names came to mind. After about a half-minute, Angel spoke up again. “Note how the three names you said wouldn't miss you for reasons pertaining to actually liking you. Ponies would miss you for their own selfish reasons; because they would no longer be able to take advantage of you. Now, consider here: you've already made two friends here in the forest; that's two more than you purport to have made in your entire time in...what'd you call it? Cloudsdale? Mr. Cheeks and I would both greatly miss you if you were to go.”

“That's...that's true, I guess,” Fluttershy agreed, bringing her head down in shame. “But still, I don't belong here; a forest, let alone Everfree, is no place for a pony.”

“One day,” Angel proclaimed. “Give me one day to convince you that this is the place for you, and if I can't, then go, with no hard feelings from me.”

She considered the proposition. i]I really should be going...but considering all he's done for me so far, it'd be vary rude to say no. I can grant him this favor; it's only one day; one day won't hurt. “Sure; I can give you a day of my time,” Fluttershy consented with a smile.

“Wonderful! Now,” Angel pushed the bowl of salad towards Fluttershy, “you might want to eat up; today might be a long day.”