You are going to FEAR ME

Fluttershy looked to Angel with an uncertain look and gave an audible gulp. “Y-you want me t-to go in th-there? In that...big, dark, sp-spooky cave?”
It had been about fifteen minutes since Fluttershy had finished eating the food that Angel had prepared for her. She wouldn't deny that it had tasted good, but there was some residual guilt from having knowingly eaten stolen goods. Angel hadn't given her time to dwell on that, though, since as soon as she had finished, Angel had ferociously insisted on moving out and to the cave they now stood in front of.
The mouth of the cave was massive, and Fluttershy could have sworn that a full-grown dragon could enter and still have a good amount of space between them and the ceiling to spare. Like most ponies, Fluttershy was terrified of dragons, and knowing that one could easily be lurking in this cave made her that much more reluctant to enter.
“You're three times my height, pony, and I don't find this cave big,” angel retorted. “There's nothing dangerous in there, so pony up and get going.”
Of course Angel isn't scared; he lives here an knows what's in there, Fluttershy mused. “Could you just...tell me what's in there?”
“I could, but...” Angel started, thinking up a mischievous plan, but decided instead to just cooperated. “Yes, I could,” he sighed. “Firefly, lights please!” Angel suddenly shouted into the cave.
In response, a deep yawning sound reverberated from within the cave, followed by several short grunts. Then, without warning, a pillar of fire shot out, scorching one side of the cave wall and billowing only a few feet above the pony and rabbit, who each ducked as close to the ground as possible to escape as much of the heat as they could. It was over in a second, though, and when Fluttershy looked back into the cave, and she saw that several crude torches mounted on the the wall, now lit thanks to the fireball, illuminated the space.
And laying in the middle of the shallow cave was a blood red dragon.
Terrified, Fluttershy leapt behind Angel and tried her best to cower behind the ridiculously undersized piece of cover.
“No need to fret, pony; she won't harm you,” Angel assured as he strolled into the cave. “This is my friend, Firefly.”
“I'm curious as to why you're with a pony, Angel, and more importantly, why you've brought said pony to my cave,” Firefly said. Her voice was powerful despite its controlled volume, but even so, it still carried a soothing tone to it.
In the absence of Angel to shield her from the dragon, Fluttershy had covered her eyes with her forehooves and trembled in fear. At the sound of the dragon's voice, though, she chanced a quick peek at her.
Firefly's primary scale color was a deep shade of crimson, while her underside was an orange color. The spines running down Firefly's long neck and back were an even darker shade of red than the scales around them, reaching an almost black color. To Fluttershy, though, the dragon's most interesting characteristic was her size. Clearly small for a dragon, Firefly was only about double Fluttershy's entire size.
Both Angel and Firefly watched with with expectant expressions as they waited for Fluttershy to finish sizing Firefly up and actually enter the cave. It was another half-minute before Fluttershy was confident enough to just stand. The process was going to take a while.
Losing patience, Angel finally hopped out of the cave and behind Fluttershy, then ferociously rapped his foot against the back of Fluttershy's leg. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to prod Fluttershy forward a little bit, however reluctantly. Finally, though, Angel had manager to shepherd Fluttershy into the center of the cave.
Scattered around the perimeter, not visible from the mouth of the cave, was a large collection of various jewels of every color of the rainbow. Firefly's horde, no doubt. And a collection that large resulted in a dragon only twice Fluttershy's size, she shuddered at the thought of the size of a big dragon's horde, and what kind of trouble one would have to have stirred to accumulate so much.
“Pony,” Angel called from her side, immediately garnering her attention. “This is my friend, Firefly,” he introduced, pointing to the dragon, “the only dragon here in Everfree. She can mean the difference between life and death here in the forest, so if you're staying, Firefly is definitely someone whose good side you want to be on.”
“Not many of your kind venture here, pony,” Firefly stated. “What is your name?”
Fluttershy was still for several second, staring up at the lumbering dragon, before finally mustering up the courage to whimper, “Fl-Fluttershy.”
“And why does Angel bring you to me, Fluttershy?”
“That would be because,” Angel began, “I believe Fluttershy here is the foretold one.”
“Really?” Firefly asked, snaking her head down so that she was eye-level with Fluttershy. For every pace closer Firefly got, Fluttershy would scramble back two. “However adorable she is, Angel,” she said, disappointment clear in her tone, “this one is not queen material.”
Angel nodded in agreement. “Right now, no, she's not. But she can learn. The signs are there that Fluttershy is to take up the mantle of the ancient Queen Butterfly, though. Like the ancient Queen, this pony can converse with the animals.”
Fluttershy's confusion quickly replaced her fear. This sudden talk of foretold ones and ancient queens was so sudden and demanded explanation. “Um...I-I'm a bit lost here; would you c-care to explain, please?”
“There is a prophesy in these woods, Fluttershy,” Angel began, “a prophecy that foretells the coming of a pony who will rule the forest as Queen Butterfly had many hundreds of years ago, and this new queen will be destined to root out the evil sister when she returns from her thousand year banishment.”
“That's right,” Firefly agreed. “Two thousand years ago, the reign of the spirit Discord had been ended by your Princesses, and they established the land of Equestria. A forest grew here after that; not a twisted , evil one like the Everfree, but a normal prosperous one. However, soon after, your Princesses decided to construct a castle in the middle of this forest. To make room, they had to annihilate a good portion of the forest.”
Firefly paused to grab a gem from her horde and began to idly twiddle it around her claw. “The Princesses faced resistance, though, through Queen Butterfly, a pony who could communicate with the animals. She rallied them together to oppose the castle's construction, but ultimately failed. She was outcast from pony society for opposing her rules and forced into exile in the forest, where she spent her reign maintaining balance in the forest as the other ponies invaded.
“There wasn't much left of the forest after the ponies had had their way with it.” She popped the gem into her mouth and began crunching on it. The dragon swallowed before resuming her story. “Not long after that, the night Princess Luna betrayed her sister, and the two fought, leaving tremendous wreckage in their wake. Their full skirmish destroyed nearly all of what was left of the forest, and unfortunately Queen Butterfly has been fatally injured as some of the collateral damage.
“It was then that the sun Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon and abandoned her castle. But her corrupt sister's vile influence changed the forest as it grew back, turning it into the Everfree that you ponies rightfully fear today. The only way to cleanse the forest of its corruption is for the forest to get its revenge on the evil sister upon her return from her banishment. For that, though, we need a leader; a true Queen of the forest to lead us against this powerful foe and against the influence of all outsiders who hope to ruin these woods.”
“And I believe that leader to be you, Fluttershy,” Angel concluded.
Firefly, however, shook her head in disagreement. “I'm not convinced.”
“What, exactly, do you want me to do?” Fluttershy asked, much more relaxed than before, but still ready to bolt away at any sudden move from the dragon.
“Stay here and learn the ways of the forest,” answered Angel. “Your fellow ponies don't appreciate you for your great destiny, but the forest is here for your taking.”
Queen. They wanted her to become their queen; their ruler and their idol. They wanted her to abandon everything she had once known to become one from the forest. The allure of power was tempting, but asked a steep price. For this opportunity, she'd have to surrender...
Nothing. There was nothing for her among her fellow ponies. More hassle came from having her around than anything positive. She had no friends, and the only ones to ever bother approaching her came to mock her or otherwise take advantage of how pathetic she was for their own benefit. There was nothing for her among her fellow ponies.
Her answer, then, came quickly and without hesitation. “I can...try.”
Angel beamed at her while Firefly looked away with disinterest.
“I can't thank you enough,” Angel said with gratitude.
“Like I said,” Firefly cut in, “I'm unconvinced. I'm open to the idea of you becoming the Queen Butterfly of Everfree, but you'll have to prove yourself to me before I'll accept your rule. But I like you; you're cute, for a pony. So I'll let you and Angel share my cave for as long as you don't have a shelter of your own.”
Angel was admittedly surprised to hear Firefly's gracious offer, considering how against Fluttershy she had been sounding. “Thank you very much, Firefly. I have this feeling you won't be disappointed with Fluttershy.”
“I hope not, 'cause I don't want the evil sister coming back before we're ready with a queen of our own.” She then looked down to Fluttershy with a light smirk. “I said I'd house you, but I'm not feeding you. If you're going to be our queen, you best learn to forage for yourself.”
“Yes, that's a good idea,” agreed Angel, already making his way to the cave exit. “Come along, Fluttershy. I'll help you learn your way around what's edible and what's not around here. Consider this your first true lesson of the forest.”
Fluttershy didn't argue, quickly getting up and leaving the cave with Angel by her side.