"Oh, Angel, I'm so glad we got to go on this picnic...I hope we didn't upset the Cakes too much by not baby sitting their new foals...I just couldn't stand the thought of it. I hope I can babysit for them in the future to make up for it." Fluttershy heard a steady thumping noise and noticed Angel, her snow white bunny, tapping his foot at a brisk pace, the universal sign of an impatient bunny losing his losing temper. The frown and furrowed brow Fluttershy could only guess at , but the foot thumping was a dead giveaway to the bunny's impending annoyance.
"Oh, I apologize, Angel. I was worrying again. I promise to never do it ever again." Angel cocked his head. "Well, today, anyway." Fluttershy smiled and produced her trademark squee. Angel sighed and flattened his ears. The squee was the end all of any argument. It was the one thing he was powerless against. He sat down on the checkered table cloth and began to dig out the picnic supplies out of the picnic basket, for he was ready to get this picnic underway, hence his incessant foot thumping only moments before.
Fluttershy suddenly had a strange feeling. This all seemed very familiar. Not the picnic itself because she and Angel had gone on many picnics before; picnicing was one of the few things Angel enjoyed doing most of all, although he would never admit it. No, it was this particular picnic. Angel's thumping, her worrying about the Cake's new foals, because hadn't Pinkie Pie explained her adventure in responsibility to her and the other girls at length just the other day? That's right...Pinkie's stand up routine, the bags and bags of flour wasted, Pumpkin and Pound's rapid potential as a future magic user and a professional flier? Yes, she was sure that had all happened before...but what was that burning?
She hadn't remembered bringing a hotplate or a crock pot with her on this picnic, if it was indeed the same picnic on the same day the Cakes had asked her to babysit...she had just made some dandelion sandwiches with thin apple slices and some carrots for Angel. Absolutely nothing that could burn...except for Angel, who appeared to be the source of the smoke. A bunny on fire was a sight Fluttershy had never seen before, and for once she could understand his annoyed look. Fluttershy, not the quickest pony in the race, finally realized that her beloved bunny was, in fact, ablaze. "Angel, umm...are you on..." Angel coughed, still seething, both figuratively and literally.
~ ~ ~
"FIIIIIIIIIIIRE!!!" Fluttershy awoke screaming. She started to pant, looking around the nice and serene meadow she had been having a picnic in and slowly discovering she was actually in her bed, having a nightmare. It dawned on her that she had already had that picnic, and that Angel hadn't spontaneously combusted. She caught her breath and started to giggle slowly. Bunnies don't catch on fire, you silly filly. You know better...than...that... Her eyes grew wide as her train of thought was derailed by another flaming bunny that happened to look an awful lot like Angel. He (she assumed it was a he, because it looked exactly like Angel) was sitting on the end of her bed, signature disgruntledness scrawled across his fuzzy white face, and he was engulfed in flames.
Fluttershy slammed her eyelids shut, sharply inhaled and began to yelp but, as in the dream, Angel coughed. She slowly opened one eye, and as Angel coughed again and started to thump his foot, Fluttershy saw that the fire that appeared to be erupting out of the bunny's head were actually feathers. A familiar beaked head rose to its full height behind Angel, displaying its solar brilliance.
"PHILOMENA!" Fluttershy's face lit up as bright as the creature who now sat perched on her bedpost. Philomena perked up at the sight of the pony she had once played games with for a whole day being in such a positive mood after her apparent nightmare. She hadn't meant to scare the pink haired pegasus pony, but that had been the result. She had absolutely terrified her.
"What is it, Philomena? What are you doing here? And this late at night?" Philomena turned her head towards the open window from whence she entered Fluttershy's house and made a soft cooing noise. Fluttershy turned towards the window and noticed the orange glow immediately. She got out of bed and gasped. The Everfree forest was on fire! "Oh, my goodness! The forest! How did this happen?" She turned back to Philomena who had lowered her head and seemed to be examining a rug. She kept stealing glances back at Fluttershy. Fluttershy noted the odd behavior but had more urgent things on her mind. She flapped her wings and flew out her window to better observe the blaze. "This is just terrible..."
"It is at that, my little pony."
Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to find Princess Celestia standing on her roof. "Princess? You're here, too?" Celestia's serious look suddenly turned to one of puzzlement.
"Who else is here?" Celestia's puzzlement turned to surprise when Philomena stuck her red head out of Fluttershy's window. "YOU!" The phoenix and the yellow pegasus darted back into the safety of Fluttershy's room at the sound of Celestia's outburst. Celestia floated down through the window and began to look around the room. "Young lady, you come out this instant!" Fluttershy peeked out from underneath her covers, shaking like a leaf.
"Y-yes, ma'am..."
"Oh, Fluttershy, I didn't mean to startle you..." Celestia blushed. "That was directed towards my mischievous little pet, Philomena." Celestia continued to peruse Fluttershy's bedroom, looking under this and that. "Well, that can wait. We must address the fire now. Philomena, come out. I'll scold you later." Philomena slowly pushed back Fluttershy's wing and revealed herself. She had a nervous you-caught-me look in her eyes. "Fluttershy, come with me. We must put out the fire. You will accompany me to the forest and tend to the animals and get them out safely. Can you do this for me?"
Fluttershy, eyes moving this way and that, suddenly snapped to attention when Celestia mentioned the word 'animals.' "Yes, Princess!" The two ponies and the bird of fire flew towards the Everfree Forest, intent on stopping the blaze before it did irreparable damage to the surrounding area.
~ ~ ~
An hour or so later, the fire was out and the animals made safe. The fire was surprisingly easy to contain. Most of the fires were limited to the very highest branches of the tallest trees. From a distance, it appeared that the whole canopy was ablaze but upon close inspection the fires seemed to have started at a great height. A few smaller fires had started from falling branches but were dealt with in a timely fashion. Fluttershy was glad that the fire wasn't as bad as it had appeared. She had had second thoughts about going into what she thought to be an inferno and was grateful when it turned out to be an almost controlled fire. In all, Fluttershy had gathered just over two dozen furry friends, about twice that many birds and flighted animals, and two manticores to hoof.
"Well done, my little pony. You did well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sun to raise. Go home and get some rest. A few hours from now, we will begin to search for the cause of the fires." Philomena, perched on Fluttershy's back throughout most of the ordeal, tightened her grip on the young mare's shoulder. Fluttershy glanced back at Philomena and then towards the princess.
"But Princess, what could cause fire on this scale..." Fluttershy's pupils suddenly shrunk and her eyes doubled in size. "No no no...the only thing that could have done this is a d-d-d..." Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"Dragon?"
Fluttershy let out a screech and dove behind a tree, leaving Philomena flapping in midair. "Dragon? Where?! HEEELP!" Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes. Philomena flew towards her and landed on her outstretched hoof.
"Fluttershy, you are the best pony in Equestria when it comes to animals. Your expertise will be invaluable in finding out who started this fire. I have it under good authority that there are currently only three dragons residing in the Everfree Forest..."
"Three? One is more than enough for me. I'll be seeing you later, then. Bye!" Fluttershy began to fly away but was enveloped in a glow that only a magical horn could produce. She continued to flap her wings for a time but stopped moving altogether.
"Oh, Fluttershy, don't be like that. Twilight Sparkle told me of your dealings with the last dragon that threatened Ponyville. I daresay you acted with utmost bravery during the situation." Fluttershy stopped trying to flee. She blushed and lowered her head.
"Oh, Twilight was just being nice. I just did what anyone would have done. I'm nothing special..."
Celestia finally conceded. "Alright, Fluttershy. I'll make a deal with you. If I get somepony else to accompany you, would you consider fulfilling my request?" Fluttershy paused briefly then nodded sheepishly. Celestia smiled. "Good. I'll leave Philomena with you, just in case the dragons become...belligerent. She's quite helpful when it comes to warding off fire."
Fluttershy's eye twitched. "Fire? Belligerent...three dragons?" She promptly fainted. Fortunately Celestia's magic held Fluttershy aloft. Celestia turned towards Philomena and the two giggled.
~ ~ ~
Fluttershy awoke to a gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth. "EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" She flapped her wings as fast as she could and got a bump on her head from the ceiling for her trouble. Ceiling? Wasn't she in the Everfree Forest with Princess Celestia and Philomena? What was going on? Her self preservation was still in full swing as she was still flapping for all she was worth. She was still pushing against the ceiling when she heard yawn along with a familiar voice.
"Jeez, a good morning to you, too, Fluttershy..." The pink-haired pony looked down to see Spike, Twilight's number one baby dragon assistant, staring up at her with a quizzical look on his face. Twilight's room...that's where she was. But how? Fluttershy slowly descended to the floor, red glow growing on her face. She had embarrassed herself quite a bit in the last few hours.
"Oh, Spike. I'm sorry. I woke up and I guess you were yawning and I saw all your sharp teeth and I just...panicked." Spike just shrugged.
"Twilight's had a similar reaction a time or two. No biggie." He stretched his arms and yawned again. "So, what are you doing here? I'm sure you weren't here when I went to bed last night." A purple aura surrounded Twilight's bedroom door. It opened and in strolled the purple unicorn herself. Spike waved. "Morning, Twilight." Twilight smiled.
"Good morning, Spike. Good morning, Fluttershy." Fluttershy returned the greeting. "Princess Celestia brought you here last night. She said you had fainted and explained what had happened in the Everfree Forest." A frown took over her features. "Its just awful, isn't it? All those animal's being displaced like that? Well, Fluttershy, don't you worry. I'm volunteering."
"Volunteering? Volunteering for what, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"Why, tracking down these dragons and finding out why they caused all the fires, of course." Twilight now sported a determined grin on her face. "We should leave as soon as possible. Last time I was in the Everfree Forest at night I was turned to stone. Hopefully during the daytime I'll be able to see any danger that comes our way." Fluttershy had begun to shake. "Umm, Fluttershy? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine...T-T-T-Twilight...just a little...nervous."
"What have you got to be nervous about? You can't possibly be scared of dragons, can you? You showed that one who's boss back when its smoke threatened to cover all of Equestria."
"Yes, well, that was different. He was being mean to all of you, and my courage just appeared out of nowhere. I don't think I could do that again..." She was on the verge of tears at the responsibility that had been thrust upon her. A small purple hand patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll come with. I know a thing or two about dragons. I am one, after all." Spike beamed at the prospect of being helpful to two of his pony friends. Fluttershy smiled. Spike sure was brave for being such a little dragon.
"Alright, Spike. If you're there I think I'll be fine." She patted him on the head with her hoof. "So, Twilight, it will be just the three of us, then?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Most of the other girls are out on business. Pinkie's babysitting, Applejack is in Manehattan visiting her aunt and uncle, and Rarity is in Canterlot for a client." Fluttershy noted that Twilight had only mentioned three of their four friends.
"What about Rainbow Dash?" Twilight let out a sigh and walked out of the room. Fluttershy followed. Outside of Twilight's room was a small staircase that led to the library proper, and at the foot of these stairs was the rainbow maned pony that Fluttershy had just mentioned. She was hunched over with her nose buried deep in a book. Twilight sighed.
"She hasn't been able to put down Daring Do since she left the hospital. She's already on the forth book. She's practically living here..."
"Am not!" The cyan pegasus defended herself. "This is just the only place that has every copy of Daring Do EVER! Might as well be where I can have easy access to the greatest story of all time!"
"Just wait until she reads Mare Wars: A New Hope...Hoof Solo and Chewbarka are just as likable as Daring Do and Echo*..." Twilight whispered to Fluttershy. "So, you're not going to help us on this mission the princess gave us?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin in thought.
"Nah, I think I'll start the next Daring Do once I get done with this one. Besides, if she's just sending the two of you, how hard could it be?" Twilight grinned an I've-got-you-now grin.
"There are dragons involved..." Rainbow Dash stopped reading and placed a book mark her current page. She flew up the stairs until she was face to face with Twilight.
"Oh, its on!" Twilight smiled. The two ponies bumped hooves. Rainbow Dash suddenly flew back down and popped open her book again. "Right after I finish this Daring Do!" Twilight let out a combination of a sigh, a groan, and a scream. "What?" Rainbow protested. "I've only got about one hundred more pages. I'll catch up to you in no time. An hour and a half, tops!" Twilight lowered her head in defeat, groaning again.
"Fine, we'll be in the Everfree Forest. I'll use my magic to somehow give you a signal to where we are. You got it, Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow, not looking up from her book, waved up at Fluttershy and Twilight from the stair case. We're counting on you. An hour and a half, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha." She waved more fervently, still not taking her eyes from her book.
“Let’s go, Fluttershy. Come along, Spike.” The trio descended the stairs, passed the reading Rainbow Dash, and out the front door of the library. To Fluttershy’s surprise, none other than Philomena awaited them on the other side. “Philomena! What are you…” Spike burped suddenly, producing a magical parchment. Twilight used her unicorn magic to unroll the scroll and began to read it aloud.
Dear Fluttershy,
I have sent Philomena to aid in your quest to discover the culprit of the fire in the Everfree Forest. I wish you luck. Please, send word of your discoveries.
Princess Celestia.
Philomena flew onto Fluttershy’s shoulder. "Oh, that's right. The Princess mentioned to me last night that Philomena would be accompanying us. I guess I had forgotten."
"Oh, well. The more the merrier." Twilight and her three friends left for the Everfree Forest. It was time to hunt some dragons.
~ ~ ~
“Just for the record this was a very bad idea!” Spike yelped as he narrowly avoided a swipe of a huge clawed hand and hopped onto Twilight’s back. The group of four was now running from their second dragon of the day.
Their initial encounter was nothing short of uneventful. The first dragon, as it turned out, had a cold, and had had it for some time. When asked about the fire, the dragon simply let loose a phlegmy laugh. He explained, looking at Spike as if for back up, that dragons couldn’t produce fire when they had a cold. Spike thought about this for a moment and nodded, confirming the dragon’s innocence. The second dragon however…”He’s gaining, Twilight! Step on it!”
“I don’t know what he’s so upset about! We just asked him about the fire…its not like we outright accused him of anything!” Fluttershy was flying above Twilight and Spike, Philomena flying close by. She was having trouble finding her courage this time around. The last dragon she had stood up to was a real softie at heart, and he had just begrudged the girls because of Rarity’s love of jewels and Rainbow Dash’s hotheadedness. This dragon was just downright mean.
Strangely enough, this dragon hadn’t once in its three minute chase of the two ponies, baby dragon, and phoenix, let loose a breath of fire. It was strange…the second dragon of the day and they had seen no fire save for their feathered friend, Philomena. “Twilight, we need to do something,” Fluttershy whimpered to Twilight.
“I know, I know! But what CAN we do? He’s out of control! Spike? Can you…”
“Don’t look at me! I can’t reason with THAT!!!” Spike was right. They needed a miracle.
As if on cue, Philomena turned and dove straight for the rampaging dragon. The dragon, caught unawares, didn’t see the red comet before it was too late. Philomena slammed right between the dragon’s eyes. Dazed, the dragon didn’t have time to react and plowed headlong into a small grove of trees. Very thick trees, judging by the slow speed of his recovery. Philomena wasted no time. She swooped down in front of the concussed dragon and flared up. She puffed out her chest, raised her wings, and suddenly became a second sun.
Flames covered Philomena’s lithe body. She was swathed in a golden fire, as radiant as the sun itself. Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy all stopped in their tracks and averted their eyes. They hunkered down and covered their heads. They felt a powerful warmth radiating from Philomena, but it was somehow soothing rather than painful. She was protecting them; the dragon was the only one who seemed to feel any pain from Philomena’s display of power. After a few seconds, she lowered her wings, and her brilliance with them. Philomena’s three companions slowly opened their eyes and gathered near Philomena. The rage had left the dragon. Philomena’s display had clearly cowed him. Twilight was the first to speak.
“So, um…Mister Dragon. Now that you’ve calmed down a little, we’d like to ask if you know anything about the fire in the forest last night.” The dragon was clearly shaken.
“I’m sorry I lashed out at you…its just…just…”
“Just what?” The dragon’s lower lip started to quiver. Tears welled up in his eyes and soon started to flow.
“I can’t breath fire, okay! I never learned how! BAW HAW HAW!!!”
The four companions eyes became as big as saucers. They regarded each other for a moment and then looked back at the blubbering dragon. This one didn’t breath fire, either? Well, two down, one to go. “Well, sir, have a nice day. Sorry for all the trouble we caused you…” The group left the crying dragon behind, who hadn’t bothered to respond Twilight’s apology. Fluttershy flew up to Philomena, intending to thank her, but then saw some smoke coming from the top of one of the trees that Philomena had been near when she had shown off her power. Fluttershy flew towards it slowly, curiously.
It suddenly caught fire. Fluttershy gasped as the flame grew bigger. Philomena bolted between Fluttershy and the fire, smothering it under herself. She looked at Fluttershy, with what appeared to be…guilt? A realization dawned on Fluttershy, and when Philomena avoided her widening eyes the truth hit Fluttershy like a bolt of lightning. “Philomena, was it you? But how? Why…”
“Fluttershy! Come on! We still have one more dragon to look up! We’re almost finished!” Twilight was looking up at Fluttershy and Philomena, but judging by her tone and statement, she hadn’t seen the small fire at the top of the tree. Only Fluttershy knew the truth. Philomena had caused the fire in the Everfree Forest.
~ ~ ~
Fluttershy’s anxiety grew as they approached the location of the last known dragon in the Everfree Forest. She and Philomena flew above Spike and Twilight in silence. She knew she had to convince Philomena to tell the truth, but she didn’t want to see Philomena get punished for something that was a natural side effect of being a phoenix. She reasoned that if you were made of fire, that you would eventually accidentally burn something. Fluttershy was most distraught about asking these dragons, who in all likelihood, hadn’t started any fires in the area in quite some time that she was aware. Dragons just had a bad reputation for being greedy, and the fact that they breathed fire only added to their being though of as troublemakers.
Upon arriving at the third dragon’s lair, Fluttershy was put somewhat at ease. Scrawled across the stone wall at the entrance of a cave was a note. It informed whoever could read it (in this case, Spike) that the resident of this cave had moved away from the Everfree Forest to the land to the south. Nothing was left in the cave except some crushed shards of jewels which Spike readily licked up to the others disgust. At least now Fluttershy didn’t have to awkwardly accuse someone of a crime she knew they hadn’t committed. But how was she going to explain this to Twilight? More importantly, how was she going to explain this to Princess Celestia?
“How are we going to explain this to Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy started. Twilight had read her mind, but not the context of what she was really thinking. “None of the dragons we found could have started the fire last night…and none of the other animals in the forest can conjure fire…lightning, maybe?”
“As if!” Rainbow Dash’s cocky voice echoed from the entrance of the cave. “I cleared all of the clouds around Ponyville yesterday, and I didn’t notice any clouds above the Everfree Forest when I was done, either.” The rainbow maned pony had finally decided to join them, albeit after the action was over and done with. She settled at the mouth of the cave. “So, how’s the dragon hunting been going?”
“Not well, as a matter of fact.” Twilight lowered her head and gently kicked a rock in front of her as she wagged her hoof back and forth. “None of the dragons we found could have done what they’re accused of doing. We’re at a dead end. How'd you find us, anyway?”
"I saw this big dragon crying his eyes out. He saw me and began to run, but I caught up and asked him if he had seen you guys, and he pointed in this direction. What did you guys do to him?"
"It's a long story..." Twilight didn't really want to explain at that moment.
Fluttershy was ready to put an end to the whole ordeal. She stepped forward and was going to remedy the situation in her own way.
“Well, no sense in over thinking things. We should get back and inform the Princess of what we found out. None of the dragons in the Everfree Forest were responsible. The fire’s been put out and no harm was done, right? Let‘s head back to Ponyville.”
Twilight sighed. “I guess that’s all we can do. Spike, take a letter.” Spike tapped Twilight on the shoulder.
“Umm, Twilight, I don’t have a quill with me, never mind paper.” Twilight blushed.
“Oh, right. Guess I forgot.” She chuckled, a bit of embarrassment mixed in.
“If its all the same with you, I wonder if I could write the Princess?” Fluttershy knew how much Twilight enjoyed conversing with the princess, but if she did, she could try and explain Philomena’s situation. Besides, she was the only one who knew the truth. She didn’t want the other ponies thinking ill of Philomena. If Philomena wanted them to know, she could tell them. Fluttershy didn’t think it was her place to do Philomena’s talking for her. If Philomena wanted to keep it a secret, that was her business. Fluttershy didn’t want to burn any bridges, no pun intended.
“Sure, Fluttershy. It was your assignment, after all. Just drop by the library with the finished letter and Spike will send it to Princess Celestia. Right, Spike?”
“Sure will!”
Fluttershy smiled at Spike and Twilight, then looked over her shoulder to Philomena who smiled back at her. Things had worked out after all. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Rainbow Dash sounded exacerbated. “I flew all the way out here and there’s not another dragon to deal with? I could have been halfway through another Daring Do story by now! Argh!” Fluttershy, Spike, Twilight, and Philomena shared a laugh at the expense of their late arrival. She certainly had a flare for the melodramatic.
~ ~ ~
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I discovered that when you're confronted with a mystery, you shouldn't always round up the usual suspects. We found two dragons in the Everfree Forest, and neither of them started the fire. The third had moved away months ago. Dragons can be scary, my goodness can they be scary, but that doesn't make them responsible for everything bad that happens. I also learned when you discover someone you know made a terrible mistake, you should let them own up to it, not tell other ponies yourself.
It turns out it was Philomena who started the fire. Please don't punish her too severely. Everyone has an accident every now and then, and I'm sure if she understands that what she did caused problems for some of the woodland animals of the Everfree Forest that she will be more careful in the future.
Your faithful student,
Fluttershy.
Princess Celestia was pleased with Fluttershy's letter. Fluttershy had learned a valuable lesson. Philomena leaned over Celestia's shoulder and pecked her on her cheek. Celestia smiled and laughed. "Well, done, Philomena. Our little experiment worked. Fluttershy rarely sends us a letter about her findings on friendship. Its her shy and timid nature, I guess. All we had to do was introduce a little conflict and Fluttershy came through with flying colors!" Philomena let out a series of coos.
"Oh, of course, Philomena. We'll have to reward the dragons as well as the other Everfree animals for all their hard work. They played their roles well. You didn't hurt the second dragon too much, did you?" Philomena nervously stroked the back of her head with her wing, eventually shrugging her shoulders. "Oh, you bad little firebug!" Celestia started to chuckle, as did Philomena. Thus endeth the lesson.
* Echo the Diamond Dog OC of Rust