Fluttershy: Confidence and Kindness

by Silentblaze

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Adventure, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 9859

On vacation, Fluttershy must overcome her fears and shyness in order to find confidence in herself.

While visiting a fancy island resort, Fluttershy faces an enemy even more sinister than the dreaded Gilda, but is she as evil as first appears? Can Rainbow Dash and the others help Fluttershy out of her time of crisis, or will Fluttershy have to stand on her own this time?

Published 2012-02-21 06:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-21 06:14:02 UTC

Fluttershy: Confidence and Kindness

Kindness and Confidence: The Fluttershy Story

In all directions, water spread out before them. Endless as time, it appeared to the ponies looking on from high above. From sea level, the hot air balloon could only be viewed as a tiny purple dot drifting lazily along the air currents: a speck floating across a cloudless ocean of sky. It hung in the azure ether, as balloons normally do, with the grace of a butterfly—its spacious cabin of ponies well seated beneath the spread of fabric and hot air. Two unicorn heads poked out from the lip of the wicker basket, and their eyes turned wide at the scene of boundless, sparking ocean.

“Absolutely magnificent!” fawned Rarity, her lavender mane billowing slightly in the breeze. “I could just stare at this gem of a view for my entire life.” Beside her, Twilight Sparkle tore her gaze from the ocean long enough to roll her eyes.

“Yes, I suppose it is pretty,” she said, “however I wouldn’t get used to it, Rarity. The island should be coming into view any moment, and then we’ll be landing.” Twilight’s hoof idly caressed the note by her side, a small papyrus scroll filled with the elegant hoof-writing of Princess Celestia herself.

“I don’t know how we will be able to thank the princess enough for this,” continued Twilight, “A vacation. Three whole days on a tropical island…wasn’t that nice of her?”

Rarity’s head shot up. “Nice?” she whispered aghast. “Darling, three whole, all-expense paid, days in the most beautiful and luxurious vacation spot in all of Equestria is not nice.”

“Err, it’s not?”

“No!” Rarity slumped with inexpressible, and dramatic emotion. “It’s divine!”

Twilight and the others grinned lightheartedly beside her. The six of them were certainly all indebted to the princess for the opportunity. After a solid year of sending reports on the magic of friendship, Princess Celestia had decided that the girls’ work should be rewarded and granted them all this free vacation from their studies. Rarity was, of course, beside herself with the promise of an escape to the higher echelons of living that she had been craving for so long. From her dreamy expression, it was clear that images of handsome stallion waiters and penthouse suites filled her imagination.

Applejack was also grateful for the invitation. “Yeah, Twilight! This here’s a heapin’ big surprise for all us in the Apple family. Granny Smith nearly broke her other hip when she heard the news I was goin’ to a tropical island! I guess I just didn’t think our reports were good enough to deserve this kinda gift.”

Twilight laughed and shook her head. “Don’t be silly. Princess Celestia is grateful to all of you for the hard work put into those letters. It really means a lot to her, so this is simply her way of thanking us.”

A bubblegum pink blur suddenly bounced its way into Twilight’s field of vision.

“Ooh! Isn’t this just exciting! I can’t wait till we get there,” Pinky Pie exclaimed boisterously. Her little pony body seemed to overflow with rambunctious energy, and she was hopping lightly around the cabin as though springs were attached to her hoofs. “Oceans and islands and free balloon rides! Oh my! I wonder what we’ll do? There are so many things: like kite flying, or sand castles, or fire juggling,” Pinky Pie gasped. “What if we built a sand castle while juggling flaming kites! That would be so much fun! I bet that—"

“Pinky Pie! Stop bouncing!”

“Why?” she asked. The wicker cabin lurched again sickeningly, as it had been doing for the past minute with every jump Pinky Pie expressed. “Oops!” she apologized. Her jumping ceased immediately and the cabin returned to its normal, non-lurching state.

“Sorry everypony! I guess my hooves are so excited that they want to just jump out of the balloon and start partying already!”

From the opposite end, Rainbow Dash gave her a disgruntled look. “Really, Pinky. This balloon ride is already bad enough without all of your hopping. With everything wobbling like that I was starting to get sick.”

“Oh, don’t be such a frumpy, grumpy pants!” returned the pink pony elatedly. “This balloon ride has been amazing! I mean, think back to all the stuff we’ve seen: that seagull, the sky, the ocean, the…” A moment passed as Pinky Pie thought, “…the sky.”

Everypony laughed. Even Rainbow Dash, who was originally the object of mirth, chuckled modestly. In all of the commotion, a delicate, petal pink-maned Fluttershy lifted her head out from under the blanket she had been hiding underneath.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, her whisper-like voice only barely loud enough to catch the attention of the others. “I heard a noise. Did we land? Are we on the island?”

“Everything’s fine, Fluttershy,” returned Twilight. “We haven’t landed yet, but I expect it won’t be much longer. Why don’t you come out from under the blanket already? You’re really missing a great view of the ocean.”

“Oh, well, I…” Fluttershy was already crawling back into the safety of her blanket. “I really shouldn’t…I mean, it’s just so high. I don’t think I could…”

But Rainbow Dash wasn’t having any of it. “Fluttershy, you’ve been under that sheet ever since we took off. What’s wrong? You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Fluttershy's body was already covered, but her head poked out suddenly from the blanket. She shook her head.

“The ocean?” ventured Rarity.

Again, another shake.

“Hot air balloons!” interjected Pinky Pie.

“No,” whispered Fluttershy. “I’m afraid of…falling.”

There was a silence amongst the group, and for a while, the ponies seemed stunned. Twilight was the first to regain herself. She cleared her throat as politely as possible before speaking.

“Fluttershy…err, you know you have wings…right?”

“Yes, but…well.” Fluttershy’s body appeared to shrink under the covers, making her already smallish build seem even more diminished. “I’m not really a good flyer.” Her head vanished under the sheet. “Sorry,” she added.

There was a slight ruckus as Rainbow Dash snorted loudly. “Fluttershy, what are you talking about? I’ve seen you fly dozens of times, and you were absolutely fine,” she pointed out.

“I mean, you know, you weren’t awesome like me, but you don’t crash into buildings and stuff like that klutz, Derpy.”

Fluttershy mumbled something from under the blanket.

“What was that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy lifted the corner of her sheet.

“I said, ‘that’s different’,” she explained. “Ponyville wasn’t several thousand feet below us and swimming with mare-eating sharks, and giant squids, and poisonous jellyfish, and deadly eels—and it certainly wasn’t made of water.”

She disappeared back underneath the fabric as the other ponies glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Rainbow Dash groaned.

“Fluttershy, you can’t be such a scardey-pony all the time. You gotta be confident, like me! A pegasus pony afraid of flying is, well, not a pegasus pony!” She trotted over and lifted the cover off of her friend. Fluttershy tried to grope for it back, but it was no longer within her reach.

“Come on, Fluttershy! Get your game-face on!” encouraged Rainbow Dash. “Let me hear ya growl!”

“G-growl?” asked Fluttershy, fear in her eyes.

“Yeah, you know,” Rainbow Dash elaborated, “Snarl, gnash your teeth, ‘grrr’! Come on!”

Fluttershy appeared terrified by the idea. Her chin tucked in, and she tried to look to the others for help.

“W-well, I…” she stalled.

“Just do it, Fluttershy! Let me hear a big one!”

“Oh, umm…okay.” She took a moment to mentally prepare herself. Her chest ballooned with air. “…grr.”

Rainbow Dash was not moved.

“No, no, no,” she said. “All wrong. Totally un-spectacular. Put some aggression into it! Get angry! Do it again, but louder.”

Fluttershy rubbed her hoof nervously. She wished Rainbow Dash didn’t make her do these kinds of things: they were so embarrassing. She took in her second gulp of sweet tasting air, bracing for another losing battle against her shy nature, when Rarity gasped.

“Ooh! It’s simply bea-you-tiful! Does my mane look good?” she suddenly demanded. “Please tell me my wonderful curls withstood these ghastly winds!”

“What is it, Rarity?” asked Twilight. “Is there something wrong?”

“There certainly is!” she exasperated. “My mane is all frazzled, and we’re landing on the island! Oh, this is terrible, just terrible. Just the worst, possible—“

But her words were drowned out by all the ponies rushing to the lip of the basket, eager to see the the object of their fascination. Quickly, their faces broke out into big, excited grins.

“Wow!”

“Well, hot dog!”

“Awesome!”

“Whoopee! Or is it ‘whoop-see-doodle’? Or ‘whoops’? Wait a minute, are those even words? Aww, who cares. Hooray!”

“Grr,”

The island beneath them was indeed as tropical and spectacular as any of them could imagined. It was oblong in nature, decorated with many green hills and valleys that most likely housed a pleather of exotic birds and wildlife. From the edge of their vision, a steep, rocky cliff was carved extravagantly into the southern side of the isle—a sight which both seemed dangerous and romantic beyond measure to the unaccustomed eye, and promised of sparkling sunset watches and secret, debonair flirtations with one’s special somepony. To the east lay a beach of snow-white sand so fine and beautiful that, even from their high altitude, the ponies could already feel the therapeutic sensation of sand between their hooves.

The hot air balloon began its descent, and the ponies experienced the tell-tale awareness of their stomaches floating in tandem. Immediately, the island opened up, and now they could see the sloping outline of the resort town. Villagers who had long ago made this island their home, were beginning to look up at the approaching balloon with mild curiosity, their tan visages much different than those in Ponyville. Slowly, their balloon sank into the island, finally coming over their designated landing target, a specially modified pier just off the coast of the town, and touching down with all the grace of a ballerina. They had arrived.

Rainbow Dash was out first, getting rid of her earlier feelings of containment with an assortment of daring loop-de-loops and spins.

“Free! Free!” she called out happily.

The other ponies decidedly ignored her and exited the basket with a little more restraint. That is, all except Rarity, who absolutely refused to leave.

“I can’t just walk outside with my mane like this!” she implored to Twilight. “Just give me a minute.” Frantically, she began to pat down the wind-tussled remnants of her mane. Twilight rolled her eyes.

As the girls waited for Rarity, Fluttershy decided to walk a little along the pier. Already, she felt quite taken with the place. The waves softly lapping on the shore, the far-off chatter of seagulls nesting in palm trees, the tantalizing scent of salt on the breeze; everything was so peaceful. Fluttershy looked down into the clear ocean water and saw a school of fish swimming by. They flickered and flew under the waves, darting about with both speed and versatility.

Fascinated, she knelt down and tried to examine them further. They were unusual fish, she saw, with small, blimp-like bodies and absolutely black. They were more shadow than fish, she thought to herself, for how dark they seemed it certainly appeared that they were nothing but blackness—vacant of form, save for their blimpish outline.

One suddenly darted from the group and swam toward her. It surfaced, bobbing its little, black head at her.

“Hello, little fishy,” she said. “Do you live around here?”

The fish stared at her stupidly, its tiny mouth making slight gasping motions.

Fluttershy hadn’t expected any better. She knew that fish weren’t very good at conversation, but felt it was still nice to talk to them sometimes.

“I’m Fluttershy,” she told it warmly. “What’s your name?”

“Thaddeus,” said a voice from behind her. “Although most prefer to call me Mr. Gabe.”

The shock of actually hearing somepony answer her question, nearly sent the shy pony into cardiac arrest. She jumped nearly a foot and a half in the air, emitting a high-pitched scream, and rushed back to her friends utterly terrified.

“Fluttershy! What’s wrong?” asked Twilight in alarm, as the pony had hid behind her flank.

“Yeah, what happened?” asked Applejack.

“Ooh!” piped Pinky Pie, “Who’s that?”

The grouped looked. Approaching them from the other end of the pier was a very tan looking gentlecolt. His mane was like that of wheat at harvest, and he wore a white, loose-fit dress shirt, making his appearance seem very casual and relaxed.

“Oh, dear,” he spoke. His weathered voice made it unmistakably clear that the pony before them was much older than he looked. “I do think I scared the poor thing.”

Obviously he was referring to Fluttershy.

“I am Thaddeus Gabe,” he told them, “owner and proprietor of the resort here on the island. Judging by your…ahem, entrance,” he eyed the hot air balloon, “you must be our newest guests from the Mane-land.”

“The what-land?” asked Applejack.

“Forgive me,” apologized Mr. Gabe. “It’s simply a term us island ponies call the larger continent of Equestria. You are the ones who were reserved rooms here by Princess Celestia, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” said Twilight. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle, and this here’s Applejack. The one flying around over there is Rainbow Dash. Dash, get down here already! Sorry. This one here’s Pinky Pie…”

“It’s nice to meet ya!” Pinky Pie shouted at him.

“Nice to meet you, too,” returned Mr. Gabe kindly.

Twilight continued. “The one still in the balloon is Rarity.”

“Don’t look! I’m still not ready!” she called out.

“Annnd…this here’s Fluttershy,” finished Twilight, stepping to the side and revealing the quivering mass of pony behind her. “But I can tell you’ve met already.”

Mr. Gabe nodded appreciatively at Twilight’s introduction. “Yes, very good,” he said. “Everything appears to be in order. Now, since all six of you are accounted for, lets…”

Rarity suddenly burst from the balloon’s cabin, her mane beautifully preened and stylized. “I’m ready!” she announced jovially.

“Marvelous. You look ravishing, darling,” said Mr. Gabe off-hand. Rarity beamed at him. “Now,” he continued, “that we’re all here, I’ll escort you to the visitor’s sign-in. It is simply down this pier and in that building over there.” He pointed modestly to a very impressive structure just a ways off.

The girls ooh’d and ahh’d with delight.

“Come along, come along,” he said gently, “No use in just staring at it, now is there?”

At once, they began to set off along the wooden pier, their hooves clattering against the boards. Fluttershy decided to hold the rear, wanting to hang back and look a little longer at the fish. Her pace slowed, and the others began to gain distance in front of her, but before she could enjoy the quiet of solitude, Mr. Gabe came up beside her.

“Enjoying the view?”

Fluttershy started, wary. “Oh…umm.” She looked away. “Y-yes, I suppose.”

“Black Durgon.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, momentarily forgetting her shyness.

“The fish you were looking at,” he explained. “Usually, they are hard to spot amongst the coral that grows around here, but you seemed to locate them rather quickly. I was impressed.”

“T-thank you, I mean…” she fought against herself for a minute, “I’ve never seen fish like that where I come from.”

“They’re quite lovely, aren’t they?” he asked.

Fluttershy finally felt like the conversation was entering familiar territory: Animals.

“Oh, yes!” she said. “They look so cute and small. I wonder, are fish like that common in other parts of the ocean?”

“They are fairly common among the tropics, yes,” he replied. For a second, Mr. Gabe paused.

“I wanted to make an apology for scaring you earlier,” he told her, “I should have realized that you were occupied at the—Oh! There’s one now.”

A Black Durgon had just swum up beside them, its dorsal fins kicking up a little water as it broke through the surface. Fluttershy couldn’t help but stop and look at it.

“Hey there, fishy,” she said.

Again, the fish merely stared at her with the same lack of understanding as before. Fluttershy wondered if it was the same one. From aside, Mr. Gabe was looking at her with a mixture of interest and amusement.

“You seem,” he said with a lighthearted chuckle, “more open towards animals than you do ponies, Ms. Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy gave a shrug. “Well, I don’t know about that,” she began, “I mean, once you get to know them they aren’t so bad. If you’re kind to them, then they’re kind to you. It’s simple, really.”

Mr. Gabe nodded wisely. “Very true. That is indeed the common law with most animals, however,” he added with a raised brow, “forgive me if I appear to be stepping out of line, but you seem to have a hard time applying that principal to other ponies, like myself, for instance.”

Fluttershy glanced back at him, and rubbed her hoof nervously. “Ponies are different from animals,” she said quietly.

“Oh?” said Mr. Gabe. “Well, I suppose that’s understandable, but you should really loosen up. Your here to relax, correct?”

“Umm…yes?”

“Splendid!” he said. “Then just enjoy yourself, have fun, do what you like to do on your time off.” He turned his head and noticed the empty pier. “Oh dear,” he said. “It seems like we lagged behind a little too long. Come on now, you still need to check in at the desk.”

With a fleeting gaze at the Black Durgon, Fluttershy nodded and the two started on their way. The sun was high and bright, bearing down on the island with its cheerful disposition, and the faint sound of laughter could be heard from the nearby beach, yet despite all of this, Fluttershy’s head hung low.

Although Mr. Gabe meant well, he had inadvertently touched on a rather sensitive issue. She didn’t like being reminded of her lack of confidence with other ponies. Besides her friends, there weren’t many others that she could talk to openly.

Perhaps it was the fact that animals were simpler creatures. She could understand how they felt, and that animals were more likely to reciprocate kindness than ponies, and this was the underlying point. Deep down, Fluttershy was often too timid to approach others of her own species, or the equivalent thereof, out of fear of rejection.

She never enjoyed doing anything big—not shouting, or cheering, or even “grr”ing. Her own fear of performing something wrong, especially in front of others, inhibited her of ever accomplishing it in the first place.

Fluttershy could remember starkly of one griffon that she would never forget: Gilda. The meanest creature she had ever met, and perhaps had been most afraid of in her life, Fluttershy had never even seen coming. It all happened so fast.

It was just another day. Actually, it had been a rather nice day. She had been escorting a line of baby ducklings and their mother through town, having finally worked up the courage to take the shortcut through the plaza instead of going all the way around Ponyville itself, when it happened.

She bumped into something large and feathery. Before she could even apologize instinctively, a torrent of anger was being shouted at her with tremendous volume. In fact, so harrowing was the experience, that in a matter of minutes, Fluttershy had been reduced to nothing but tears.

In the end, her friends had come to her rescue, but not before Fluttershy had missed her chance to stand up for herself.

However, she thought, perhapts it wouldn’t be so bad if she just forgot about all that and enjoyed herself. She was with her friends, surrounded by beautiful scenery, and most importantly, nowhere near that awful Gilda.

—————

“Yes!” cried Rainbow Dash, holding a surfboard. “Waves! Rad, surf-making waves! Oh man, I can’t wait to try this puppy out!”

They were all getting set up on the beach, preparing themselves for some relaxing R and R. After signing in, Mr. Gabe had pointed the girls in the direction of the beach and given them the key to their room. He then said goodbye and went to perform his normal, managerial duties, leaving the six to pursue whatever pleasures they wanted. After a moment’s consideration, the verdict was unanimous: beach time.

They took the neat, cobbled walkway that Mr. Gabe had pointed to earlier, admiring the spectacular scenery as they went along. Rows upon rows of strange and exotic flora greeted their eyes with a bedazzling pallet of color. Flowers of every shade of the rainbow it seemed resided in the botanical paradise, and the aromas which permeated the sea breeze wafting over them were nothing short of heavenly. The intense floral smell of birds of paradise, of ginger, of orchids and daffodils, seemed almost too sweet to bear. To those who had never been anywhere outside of the sheltered valley of Ponyville, it was as though walking into a different world—a world filled with humidity-less sunshine and the scent of coconut from the palms and the crashing roar of waves hitting the sand.

They arrived at the beachside where a pony in white allowed them access to free beach towels and umbrellas, yet before they could get accustomed to the glaring reflection of sun on white sand, Twilight noticed that there was something very striking about their surroundings. It was absolutely vacant, or at least nearly so, with only two or three groups of ponies visible among the mile and a half of conceivable beach line.

She asked the pony in white about why there were so few beachgoers, and the pony told her. Apparently, the resort in which they were staying at cost quite a bit of money, and that not many were able to afford more than a few nights on the island without either moving entirely, or emptying their life-savings accounts.

When Twilight returned from her conversation, she found the others already pitching the umbrella, and Rainbow Dash holding a surfboard.

“Rainbow Dash,” she asked. “Where did you get that surfboard from?” They hadn’t packed anything like that for their trip, and Twilight couldn’t remember ever obtaining it along the way.

“Found it,” she replied, sounding suspiciously innocent. “Anyway, I’m off to catch some waves. Later!” And she flew off to the ocean before Twilight could question her further.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” spoke up Fluttershy, who was currently busy laying down the beach towels. “Dash didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Then where did she get it?”

Fluttershy nodded over to a small, wooden shack near to where the walkway back to the resort was located. “That shack over there has some surfboards that resort guests are allowed to borrow. There’s no charge, or at least, that’s what the sign said.”

Twilight was beginning to understand. “Okay…but why was she acting so secretive about it? I mean, she didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

“Yes, but Rainbow Dash didn’t read the sign.” Fluttershy laughed demurely. “She was too impatient.”

Twilight sighed. She should have guessed. A shrill, bouncy voice suddenly arose from next to them. It was Pinky Pie.

“Rainbow Dash! Hey, Rainbow Dash! Woo! Yeah! Surf that wave! Yay!” she cheered from the shore.

The others looked up. Surfing on the chalky, brutal waves just off the coast was none other than Rainbow Dash, and doing a pretty amazing job by the looks of things. She was gliding along the water as though it were nothing, shredding with uncanny agility, perfectly keeping in rhythm within the wave’s sweet spot as to not capsize or overcompensate. It looked like she was having the time of her life.

At this point, of course, they were all cheering for her. It was a wild moment. Rainbow Dash was clearly reaching the crest of her run, the wall of water just about to run out. The drop-off point. The ponies on land could see their friend focusing hard, each of them wondering what she would do at that critical point. Would she wipe out? Try a flip? Or simply exit the wave with a satisfactory, but rather anti-climactic finish.

But Rainbow Dash was not to disappoint. Suddenly, as though inspired by the inner daredevil inside of her, Rainbow Dash started to beat her wings. Using the thrust that she normally got from flight, Rainbow Dash was soon rocketing down the wave with incredible speed. The end was coming up fast, however, and it seemed as though Rainbow Dash had lost control. Being so fast, her direction was clearly limited. There was no way that she would be able to turn, lest she lose her balance and crash, but despite this, Rainbow Dash was going faster and faster, speeding along the water without restraint.

And then she was over the drop-off. The water gone from beneath her, Rainbow Dash found herself sailing weightless over the sea. Inertia had carried her on, and with that momentum, the daring pony drew the surfboard around her and made a mid-air flip, before landing in the water with a splash. It was epically astonishing, and the ponies were all cheering and waving with ecstatic praise until Rainbow Dash surfaced, carrying her surfboard back onto the shore.

“Did…did you see that?” she asked, her chest heaving with exhilaration and pride. “Now, that’s an awesome wave!”

“Wow, Rainbow Dash! You were like super-amazingly amazing! I mean, that wave was all like: ‘whaat?’, but you were just totally in the zone!” said Pinky Pie.

“I gotta admit,” said Applejack. “Those were some pretty slick moves…for a pony that’s usually just all talk,” she added kiddingly.

“All talk!” returned Rainbow Dash, her eyebrow cocked. “AJ, did you even see me out there? I was born for stuff like this. Just me and danger, kickin’ it between twenty feet of water and wave. I tell ya, that wave didn’t have a chance against a pro-athlete like me. Especially, one that’s going to be in the Wonderbolts someday.”

Rarity, who had been watching the conversation smiled and took a seat on one of the laid out blankets. “So you’ve told us,” she said, hinting lightly on the fact that Rainbow Dash mentioned the Wonoderbolts almost every single day.

“Oh, yeah!” affirmed Rainbow Dash. “I mean, that wave was just cakewalk. Compared with my awesome air prowess, this was just a warm-up. You guys should come on in. The water’s great!”

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” agreed Twilight. “You girls in?”

“I’m in!” said Pinky Pie happily.

“Heck, I guess I’m in, too,” said Applejack.

“What about you, Rarity?”

Rarity looked at Twilight like she was a mad-pony. “And get this mane, wet? No, no, no. Of course not. I’d rather stay nice and dry on the beach. Soak up some sun, work on my tan, you know. That sort of thing.”

“Of course.” Twilight shook her head. “I should have realized. How about it, Fluttershy? Wanna go swimming?”

Fluttershy appeared hesitant. “Oh, umm…if it’s okay with you, Twilight, I’d rather just stay on the beach with Rarity. I kind of want to just make a sand castle or two…I mean, you know, if it’s alright.”

“Aww, come on, Fluttershy. Are you sure you don’t want to just take a little swim? It’ll be a lot of fun,” she pursued.

For a fleeting moment, the persuasion looked like it worked. Fluttershy seemed almost ready to accept the minor swim with her friends, even if she did have to be in the water, but it was as though she were suddenly pulled back by an invisible force.

“Well, I….no…no, umm, i-it’s okay, Twilight. Thanks, but, I’ll just stay on dry land.”

Twilight looked a little sad. “Alright, but join us if you feel like it. The water’s always open.” After that, she and the other’s went into the sea, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy to themselves.

As the noise of her friends began to become washed away by the sounds of the ocean, Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel as though the beach had gotten a lot quieter without them. Rarity was already spread out on her blanket. To Fluttershy, she looked immensely relaxed, most likely enjoying her peace and quiet very much.

She turned to walk a few yards down the beach. She could do that too, she thought to herself. It wasn’t too hard to have fun, just a sand castle away, she reasoned. Fluttershy reached a good-looking spot and set herself down, sinking her hooves into the comforting, warm sands.

For a good, long hour, Fluttershy worked on her castle in diligent silence. She crafted the base with care, made a decent supporting structure, and made certain to bring in water every now and again to keep the sand nice and compact. Her little building project was going quite well, and Fluttershy could feel herself starting to enjoy herself properly. Once in a while, she would look in on Twilight and the others, and they appeared to be having fun, playing in the water and laughing. A part of her ached whenever she saw that, but at the same time, she felt glad that her friends were having so much fun. The truth was that she did want to go and join them, but for some reason, she kept holding herself back. She’d just get in the way or mess something up, she thought. Doing something like that felt way beyond her comfort zone, and Fluttershy just wanted to relax and not have to worry about something like that at the moment. For now, it was just her, and this sand castle.

Gently, Fluttershy began to carve out the drawing bridge, fashioning it sot that it would perch over a neat moat that she had constructed earlier around the structure—something she hoped to fill with water when she was done—when a group of shadows suddenly cast themselves over her and her castle and Fluttershy looked up to see who it was.

Three ponies stood above the meticulously crafted house of sand, their faces hard to register with the sun in her eyes. The one on the left was decidedly shorter than the other two. He was wide and stocky, like a small boulder, and his eyes appeared as though rough cut shards of flint were in place instead of pupils. The pony on the right looked somewhat droopy. He was built stocky like the other, but now rather large as well, almost like a larch tree, and his vacant expression might have indicated the slow nature in which his mind worked had it not already been for his slack jaw and pooling saliva—two things which generously provided enough imagery to get along with already. To be succinct, he looked like a complete idiot.

The middle pony, however, was much different than either the boulder or the larch. Her eagle-like eyes seemed to preside over everything around her. The lesser mortals, the inadequate, the mundane pieces of life frolicking carelessly on the beach. The way in which she held herself transmitted a strong sense of superiority in all directions, but it was so diverse from the norm that at first, Fluttershy could not identify what she was feeling. It was a sensation that could never stem from such a simplistic notion as arrogance or hubris brought on by youth, but rather it was the feeling of seeing somepony with absolute confidence in themselves. The pony’s tan physique testified that she was a local, a villager perhaps, and the wings by her side indicated that she was a pegasus pony as well, but these minor traits seemed to only be pushed away by the more pressing details. The pony’s black mane seemed to furl around her like a cloak, and the her eyes were staring unsettlingly deep into Fluttershy’s. For Fluttershy, it came as a shock that the eyes before her were as dark as burning coals, and (was it her imagination?) twice as hateful.

“Hey, Arla!” said the boulder-looking pony with unmistakeable hostility. “A mane-lander is playing in our sand. Now that’s no good, is it?”

“Heh heh. Our sand! Our sand!” chanted the larch pony dumbly.

The pony named Arla looked down coldly at Fluttershy, but didn’t say anything. Her gaze flickered towards the sand castle Fluttershy had been building.

“A sand castle,” said Arla sardonically, “How…childish. You must be with the resort,” she told Fluttershy, hardly even taking the time to look back at her. “On vacation, are we?”

“Oh…umm,” stuttered Fluttershy, her shyness returning with full force. “Y-Yes. I’m on…vacation. My…m-my name is…Fluttershy,” she finished very quietly.

“Don’t mumble around me, mane-lander,” snarled Arla, her eyes snapping onto Fluttershy with terrifying swiftness. “If I ask you something, I want it answered with articulacy and respect. Or are you mane-lander ponies so socially inept that you can’t even form a coherent sentence?”

Fluttershy was cowering visibly now. The pony before her was so formidable and intimidating. It was as though Gilda were yelling at her all over again. In a panic, Fluttershy tried to apologize, but so shaken was she that all that came out was a series of incomprehensible squeaks. Arla seemed amused.

“My, my,” she belittled. “Did you hear that boys? We have a squeaky-toy on the island.”

The two laughed stupidly behind their leader, and Fluttershy could feel herself drawing even further into her shell. She just wanted these ponies to go away. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she could just see her friends on the beach. They were so close…if only they would just look up, then…

“I’m talking to you, squeak-toy!”

Fluttershy whipped around and saw Arla towering above her. Immediately, Fluttershy backpedaled with fear.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said instinctively. “I mean, I really should be going. It’s nothing to do with you, it’s just that…”

“Oh no!” Arla mimed cynically. “You can’t leave yet, squeak-toy. I thought we were just getting to know each other. I really feel like we’re connecting.”

Fluttershy backed up a little more. She felt like she had gotten to know Arla enough to satisfy a few decades, when suddenly she hit a stocky, boulder-like wall.

“Going somewhere, manelander?” said a voice.

Fluttershy squealed, and jumped with fright. Arla’s two friends had circled her without her noticing. They were keeping her from running away.

“P-please,” pleaded Fluttershy, wishing that she were anywhere else but here right now. “Could you just move aside for me. I-I really need to leave right now.”

“Please, I really need to leave right now,” Arla mimicked. There was a smile playing on her lips, inimical and taunting. She walked casually over to where Fluttershy had built her sand castle. “This is a nice little castle you’ve made, squeaky-toy.”

A dull, aching fear nestled in the pit of Fluttershy’s gut. Arla was leering at her as she paraded around the sand castle.

“It’s got nice, high walls, a few turrets, some seashells, and…oh, look. You’ve put in a little moat. Now that is adorable.”

“C-Could you just please let me go?” asked Fluttershy waveringly. She knew what Arla was about to do. It was just a stupid sand castle, but even so, Fluttershy could feel tears beginning to surface. “I-I’m very, very sorry if did something wrong. Please, if you could just—”

“It looks very well built. Maybe we should test its…durability?” she sneered. Arla raised her hoof threateningly over the arduously-made sand castle.

“Wait, no—eek!” cried out Fluttershy, as Arla brought her hoof down on her sandy creation. She flattened it into the beach. Murdered it, really. Her stomping motions crushed it with such a brutal efficiency that it made even her two accomplices wince. After a full minute, the execution was complete, and what remained of Fluttershy’s sand castle resembled nothing more than a few hoofprints and some broken seashells.

A shocked Fluttershy merely looked at the carnage without moving. She couldn’t fathom why this cruel pony, who she didn’t even know, was doing these things to her. Tears began to spill onto her cheeks. She hadn’t done anything to antagonize this pony. She hadn’t done anything at all. The only thing she had wanted to do was simply enjoy herself on the beach, without worrying about anything, but it seemed as though even that was to be deprived from her. Where were her friends? Why couldn’t she do anything except cry?

“Aww,” simpered Arla. “Don’t be upset, squeakers.” She slowly approached Fluttershy, her eyes glaring with dark intentions. “How ‘bout I make it all better by telling you a little secret about me.”

Fluttershy tried to back away, to run, but she was stopped by the other two ponies chuckling fiendishly behind her. “No,” she cried out. “Please, just go away!”

Now Arla was close enough to make out every hair in her mane. She lent in, putting her face right next to Fluttershy’s tear-stained one.

“I don’t like you, squeakers,” she whispered in her ear. “I hate ponies like you. You’re spineless. You’re weak, pitiful, and always so, so sorry. It makes me sick seeing mane-landers like you coming to my home and treating it like you own personal playground. In my opinion, you and the rest of the Mane-land can burn to the ground. I wouldn’t care. It’d finally mean you and all your mane-land friends won’t ever come back, and leave my home alone. Every day it seems more and more of you wealthy ponies are coming in, waltzing around the island with all of your money, lording it over the rest of us poorer villagers, not a care in the world.”

Fluttershy was so frightened she couldn’t even let out a sound. She turned away from Arla, but cried out suddenly, as the island pony pulled her mane to force their eyes to meet again.

“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you!” screeched Arla. “All of you mane-land ponies think you’re better than us island ponies? Is that it? Huh? Well, I beg to differ. I think you’re scum! I think you’re more worthless than that disgusting castle I just demolished. What do you think about that? Are you going to cry again? Why don’t you answer me, squeakers? Too good for words now?”

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing to Fluttershy?” shouted a voice from across the beach. The wall of ponies suddenly opened up, and Fluttershy whirled about.

“Rainbow Dash!”

The rainbow-maned pony was by her side as quick as lightning, staring down her antagonists with a raging glare. Following her were the rest of her friends, each of them looking furious and riled. Fluttershy felt all of the stress and fear from earlier evaporate in an instant. Her heart was bursting with joy. Her friends had finally come to her rescue.

Arla’s two sidekicks seemed a little overwhelmed at the sudden change in numbers, but Arla herself only smiled mockingly. “Ah, it’s the calvary,” she said humorlessly. She then glared viciously at Fluttershy. “Aren’t you lucky, squeakers.”

“Fluttershy, what happened?” asked Rainbow Dash, putting a comforting hoof on her friend. “Why are you crying?”

“Oh, sorry about that,” said Arla with a self-satisfied smirk. Everypony turned in her direction. “That was me.”

“You?” said Applejack. “Well, why did ya do that?”

“Yeah, what are you? A big meanie?” accused Pinky Pie. She, too, seemed inexpressibly angered at Fluttershy’s distress.

“Dear me,” scoffed Arla with contempt. “A country hick and a pink eyesore are yelling at me. Now I’ve seen everything.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What did you jus’ call me?” she said, her voice low and powerful.

“I say we beat these guys to pulp!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Hold on!” called out Twilight. “Rainbow Dash, Applejack, don’t do anything crazy.”

“The only thing crazy on this beach,” growled Applejack, “is this ‘high-an-mighty’ pony right here. An’ I intend to rectify that with a good ol’ fashion butt kicking.”

“Yeah!” rallied Rainbow Dash.

“No. Stop.” Twilight looked at Arla. “Just who are you? What do you want?”

Arla cocked her head. “I thought that was obvious?” she said condescendingly. “I want you off of my island. Is that too hard to understand for you thick-skulled ponies?”

“Your island? It’s not your island,” said Twilight. “If anything, it’s Mr. Gabe’s island. He’s the one that runs the resort that supplies the island with revenue.”

Arla’s mocking smile transformed into that of an angry grimace. “Don’t you dare mention that traitor’s name to me,” she snarled. “He sold his home out to tourists! Snooty, inbred ponies like yourselves, who should just stay away and quit meddling on our land. That pony, Mr. Gabe, he owns nothing.”

“Twilight, can I please just punch her lights out?” begged Rainbow Dash. “I mean, look at what she did to Fluttershy! She needs to pay.”

“Dash, we are guests!” hissed Twilight. “We can’t just start beating up ponies just because we feel like it.”

“Oh?” mused Arla. “You think you can take me on? That you’re scraggly, Mane-land rump can beat a superior island pony like myself?”

“You bet your wings I can!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, no!” called Twilight, but the rainbow-maned pony wasn’t listening. There was flank to kick.

“Fine,” said Arla her wings spreading out dauntingly. “Let’s have a race around the island. The winner gets to stay on the beach. The loser, takes a hike.”

“You’re on!”

Twilight was at the end of her rope: “Rainbow Dash, no! Stop trying to pick a fight!”

“Good. We’ll start the race first thing in the morning at this spot. One lap, no do-overs,” continued Arla in a goading voice.

“Why not just do it now? Are you scared or something?”

Arla laughed, a sound that was both provocation and mockery all in one. “You don’t expect me to beat you without an audience do you?” She flew up into the air. “Don’t flatter yourself, paint stain. If I’m going to win, I want to do it so the whole island can see how much better I am than all of you. Tomorrow morning. Right here, no excuses. Ta-ta, mane-landers.”

And with that, Arla flew off to the village—the girls looking on in disgust and her two thick-headed escorts chasing after her on foot.

——

“Rainbow Dash, are you sure about this?” asked Fluttershy, holding the silver hoop. “I mean…you don’t have to race just for my sake.”

“Relax, Fluttershy,” she replied down to her. “Just throw up the hoop on my mark. Once we beat that jerk Arla, then we’ll get back to our vacation.”

After their encounter with Arla, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had wanted to simply chase after the pompous pony and kick her out of the sky, but Twilight absolutely refused it. She persuaded that they needed to find out just what was going on with this island before they did anything stupid, and begrudgingly, they all agreed.

However, as the other ponies were packing away the umbrellas and towels, Rainbow Dash went over covertly to Fluttershy.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” she implored. “Let’s go!”

Fluttershy looked uncertain. “But, but what about the others?”

“Forget about them for a minute. Fluttershy, the sun will be going down in an hour or so. Now is the time for some flying practice! I need to be at the top of my game if I’m going to beat that stupid, island pony.”

“Arla,” whispered Fluttershy timidly.

“Yeah, whatever. You’re the only other pegasus pony here, Fluttershy, so I need your help. You in?”

Fluttershy looked back towards the others for a moment. She wanted to beat Arla just as bad as anybody. Rainbow Dash had looked so angry when she saw her tears. It had touched Fluttershy beyond anything else to see how much she meant to her friends.

“Okay,” she decided. “Let’s go.”

Silently, and when the other’s backs were turned, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took off into the orange sky. The sun was already beginning to set, so they had to hurry. They procured a hoop, and flew into a remote area of the woods for their training session.

The training was simple. Fluttershy would throw the hoop in a random direction as hard as she could, and Rainbow Dash would try and fly fast enough to make it through while dodging trees and branches along the way.

“Okay…ready?” called out Fluttershy. She held the hoop aloft, ready for its release.

“Ready!” commanded Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy nodded, and without hesitation, flung the hoop high into the air. It glittered and shone above the treetops for just a moment, before disappearing back into the dense of green. Rainbow Dash charged after it: ducking, weaving, spinning around the protruding obstacles until she found her mark. With a ‘whoosh!’, Rainbow Dash cleared through the hoop with jaw-dropping ease, catching it on her tail.

“One to nothing!” called Rainbow Dash from the forest.

“One to nothing,” repeated Fluttershy. She made the note in her head and soared over to retrieve the hoop for the second go. For a full half hour, they did the same routine. Fluttershy would throw the hoop, it would shine and sing above them, and then Rainbow Dash would fly through it every time. She never missed.

The sun was almost down by that point, and Fluttershy was getting worried that it would be too dark to practice soon.

“Yeah, we’ll call it quits after a few more,” Rainbow Dash assured her when she made the observation out loud. “What’s the score again?”

“Fifty-two to zero.”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “We’ve got this race in the bag!” And for once, Fluttershy felt her friend was right to assume so. After seeing her in action, Fluttershy was certain that nopony in Equestria could beat her in a race. She was simply too fast, too agile. There was no way she could lose.

“Alright, Fluttershy. You set?”

“Yep,” she called out. “Ready?”

“Oh yeah!”

Fluttershy looked around, chose her direction, and threw. For a moment in time, the silver hoop reflected the light again, sparkling in mid-air: a halo in the sky—before hurtling to the ground. Fluttershy saw Rainbow Dash charge after it, quick as the wind. She ducked a low branch, evaded the second. The hoop was within a few meters distance, and it glittered tantalizingly before her. But just before she reached it, something unexpected happened.

Just as it looked like she would complete another run, Rainbow Dash appeared to stop in mid-air. From Fluttershy’s perspective it looked like she had simply run into an invisible wall. The hoop clattered to the forest floor.

Fifty-two to one, she thought in her head.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash began yelling out in pain. With a snap like a twig, Fluttershy saw her friend come crashing out of the trees, breaking branches and scattering nettles, eventually hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Fluttershy flew toward her with a speed she never new she possessed. Rainbow Dash, she saw was curled up on the ground, groaning piteously in agony.

“Rainbow Dash, what happened? Are you hurt? Are you okay? What happe—eek! You’re wing!”

From amidst the mess of twigs and leaves, Rainbow Dash’s left wing looked slightly bent and ill-placed. Dash looked at it with a pained, cavalier expression.

“It’s nothing,” she grimaced. “Just a sprain. I’ll be fine.”

She stood up shakily, and for a moment she looked a lot better. “See,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.” But when she tried to flex her wing to prove it, Rainbow Dash’s eyes watered in unmistakable pain.

“You’ve sprained you’re wing!” said Fluttershy, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. “We need you to get back to the others. There might be a doctor somewhere on this island.”

“Oh…oh alright,” assented Rainbow Dash. “I just wish I knew what I hit. Whatever it was, I didn’t even see it coming.”

Fluttershy helped pull Rainbow Dash up and into a position so that she could help her fly back, but before they left the woods, Fluttershy took the opportunity to look up and examine the place where Rainbow Dash had crashed.

From up in the canopies, at the exact altitude where they had been training, were a multitude of crisscrossing black ropes tied to the trees. In the fading light, they were nearly impossible to see, and a cold chill snaked down Fluttershy’s spine. Somepony had set those ropes up…for them.

——

They landed not ten minutes later. The girls, upon seeing Dash demanded to know where they had gone and what had happened, and Fluttershy told them. She told them without much heart about the training they had gone to go do, and its consequential finish; and about the black rope trap that had been set up.

There was no time to reflect, as Rainbow Dash was rushed to the resort doctor’s office. The girls followed their friend to the nearby medical tent, all except Fluttershy, who chose instead to wait behind.

She felt painfully hollow inside. Deep down, she knew it was her fault, this whole situation. It was obvious that one of the island ponies must have left that rope trap for them, just in case, or perhaps Arla herself had done it while they were practicing. She would never know.

The only thing that Fluttershy knew for certain was that if she had stood up to Arla in the first place, instead of letting her friends keep on trying to rescue her, then none of this would have happened. Arla would have backed off, they could be enjoying a wonderful evening of Arla-less fun, and Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have gotten…

No. She didn’t want to think about the pain she had caused her friend. In fact, she didn’t want to think at all. Tomorrow their vacation would end, and in front of an audience, too, if Arla was telling the truth. They would be packing their bags after only one day, and it would all be her fault.

With a somber heart, Fluttershy exited the resort building and began to walk. She didn’t know where she was going. In truth, she didn’t care. If anything, Fluttershy wished that she could walk away from herself, so that she wouldn’t feeling so worthlessly wretched. She walked for what seemed like hours, until a familiar voice called her name.

“Ms. Fluttershy, it’s you,” said Dr. Gabe. “What are you doing out here on the pier at this hour of the night?”

Fluttershy looked up. Dr. Gabe was sitting idly on the boards a few feet away. Indeed, her legs had carried her all the way back to the pier where this whole vacation had started. Further down, she could see the hot air balloon waiting on the landing pad. They’d be boarding it tomorrow morning, she reminded herself depressingly.

“Nothing.”

Mr. Gabe raised an eyebrow. His gaze lingered long and thoughtfully on the mare in front of him. “Come here, Ms. Fluttershy,” he said at last. “There is something that I would like you to see.”

Gloomily, Fluttershy accepted the elder colt’s invitation. She took a seat next to him, and for a while, they simply stared at the moon-lit sea.

“I have heard about tomorrow,” he said.

“Hmm,” replied Fluttershy unfeelingly.

“I’m sorry to hear that Arla has challenged yet another of my guests to that silly match of hers.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “You mean, this isn’t the first time?” she asked.

The gentlecolt gave a heady sigh. “Oh, no. Arla’s been doing the same thing to almost every one of my guests for the past few years, and everytime, she wins, and the guests are forced to leave for good. She wasn’t always so hostile towards newcomers though. If you can imagine it, there was actually a time when she was kind and gentle.”

Fluttershy looked at him in wonder. “Really?” she asked. Mr. Gabe glanced at her an nodded. He resumed:

“When she was little, Arla actually loved to come and visit the guests and the hotel. She had never been anywhere else except the island, you see, and she loved to hear stories about the Mane-land. To her, it was like a whole new world, I suppose. She kept on telling everypony that when she was old enough, that she would go to the Mane-land herself, and then come back one day with loads of stories for the villagers to hear. Stories of adventure and great, exciting things, she promised.” Mr. Gabe smiled in the dim light of the moon.

“But then one day,” he began, and his face darkened, “A very wealthy pony from Manehattan was coming in for a week-long stay. She…she wasn’t the same after that.”

“What happened?”

Mr. Gabe looked at Fluttershy, and then away again. “He was, of course, the most influential customer I had ever had. I spared no expense in making sure the resort was in perfect condition for his arrival. If he liked the resort, then it would mean a great opportunity for more business and revenue for the island. Arla…she…she was so excited. The day came, and he arrived. Everything was in order, and he seemed to like the place immensely. I told Arla to stay out of the pony’s way, and for the most part, I’m glad to say she listened.”

“He was charming. Always laughing when I spoke to him, and his personality oozed with wealth. So far, things were going smoothly. The last day came, and soon it was time for the pony to leave back for Manehattan. He was just about to leave—walking out the door in fact, when Arla came up to him at last. The gentlecolt looked down at her puzzlingly, and then Arla asked him a question: ‘Will I ever be as successful as you someday?’”

Mr. Gabe’s face contorted with a deep, sorrowful anger. “The guest just laughed at her,” he said. “He told her: ‘Of course not! Don’t be ridiculous! As if a pathetic island pony like yourself could ever make it off this rock in the first place.’”

“Oh my goodness,” said Fluttershy. “That’s horrible!”

“Yes. Yes it was. Arla’s dream shattered I think that day. She never wanted to hear another story about the Mane-land again, and she absolutely hated me and the resort for bringing the mane-landers to her home. As her father, you can’t imagine how terrible I felt after that.”

“You’re her father!” exclaimed Fluttershy, completely shocked.

Mr. Gabe gave her a little grin. “What? Don’t we look alike?” he asked. Fluttershy shook her head and he sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “No one else did either. Heh heh.”

Fluttershy sat there in amazed silence. She honestly didn’t know what to say. “Then…,” she began, “then what do I do about tomorrow? What about the race?”

Mr. Gabe stared hard out into the moon-lit sky. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said. “Win.”

——

Arla and her cronies were waiting on the beach early the next morning. She didn’t expect anypony to show, however. After that trap she set up for that rainbow-klutz, she doubted the pony would be able to fly for a few days.

But then she saw something that surprised her greatly. It was Fluttershy, flying down to meet her, alone.

“You?” sneered Arla. “Squeak toy? What are you doing here? Where’s your big-talking friend?”

“My name’s Fluttershy,” she replied, unusually cool. “And Rainbow Dash isn’t coming. She got hurt. Where’s your audience?”

The sneer from Arla’s face vanished. “Mind your own business,” she said. “Are you going to race me?”

Fluttershy nodded and looked down. A line had been carved into the beach: the start line.

“Then start here, she said. On his ‘go’ we take off. Remember, if I win, you lot kick on out of here.”

“And if I win, you leave the island,” stated Fluttershy.

Arla smirked. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Are you ready?”

Fluttershy marched up to the starting line, somehow more determined and confident than she’d ever been in her lifetime. “Ready!”

A pause followed the moment of waiting. It seemed to last an eternity, as though time itself had crept in to watch the show for itself. Then, in a flash, one of the ponies shouted the signal, Fluttershy would never be able to tell which, for she felt herself kicking off faster than a bullet out of a gun.

Suddenly, they were zooming around the island at breakneck speeds. Fluttershy only had one thought coursing through her mind, pounding in her blood: to win. They swept around the hairpin turn of the cliff, Fluttershy just missing the sharp edge of rock as it flew past her. Both her and Arla were neck and neck. She looked over and could see the pegasus pony swearing under her breath, sweat coursing over her face. They were nearing the finish line. The homestretch. Both Arla and Fluttershy dove to the ground from their dizzying height, leveling out just before their bodies came into contact with the brutal earth.

As they crossed the line, a flash went off. A camera. As soon as it had started, the race was over. They landed on the soft sand with exhausted thuds, but before Fluttershy could regain her breath, Arla was already calling out to the world.

“I won! I won!”

“Not so fast, Arla,” interjected Fluttershy. Arla glared at her ferociously, but Fluttershy merely pointed up the way.

At the finish line, was an elderly gentlecolt with a camera. Mr. Gabe. As he cantered over to them, Arla appeared thunderstruck. Her tan face had turned white and she was shaking with some inexpressible emotion.

“I believe I have the winner on this,” said Mr. Gabe. He looked over at his daughter with bright eyes. “Hello, Arla,” he greeted warmly.

“What…what are you doing here, traitor,” said Arla, white lipped, but absolutely furious to see the man she hated so much.

“Just to give my friend here this photograph.” Mr. Gabe took the picture out of the camera and handed it to Fluttershy. “Good job,” he said to her with a wink.

Fluttershy took one look at the photograph and smiled. She handed it to Arla, who yanked it from her grasp with shaking hooves. It was plain as day: Fluttershy had won…by a nose.

“Looks like you get to come with us!” Fluttershy said brightly.

Instantly, Arla’s eyes shot up, but they were surprisingly not filled with anger. “W-what?” she asked.

“Well, you lost, so you get to leave the island, right? So, why don’t you just ride with us back to Equestria?”

Fluttershy was looking at Arla with a warmth in her eyes that couldn’t be expressed with mere words. Arla looked from her to her father, almost dumbfounded.

“I get to…leave?” she said, hardly believing herself.

“Yes, Arla,” returned her father, Mr. Gabe. “You get to leave.”

And it was at that moment that something truly, and utterly spectacular happened. Arla began to sob. And then she began to laugh. Her dream had finally come true. She was going to the Mane-land: Equestria.