“Oh Angel, please eat your food.” a familiar yellow pegasus asked timidly. “I haven’t got time for this today…”
The bunny spun on its toes and faced the opposite direction, lifting its little nose obnoxiously into the air. Apparently Angel was too proud to eat a simple carrot. Fluttershy had intended to cut it up as he sometimes preferred, but she had simply lost track of time and didn’t want to waste any more of it. That had ended up being a more time consuming choice.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, then scooped her pet up in her hooves. “Angel,” she began, trying to keep a gentle firmness in her voice. “You know that I’m travelling to Manehattan with Rarity and Twilight today. I cannot take time to prepare you anything special for breakfast. But I promise that for supper tonight I will make you anything you want.”
Angel opened one eye and gazed at her, clearly wanting more than just that. A small humph noise came from the fluff balls throat.
“I’ll even Pinkie Promise.” Fluttershy said, her eyebrows merging together hopefully.
Angel didn’t look very pleased, but slowly nodded his head anyways. Fluttershy smiled and cuddled the little bunny for a moment before setting him gently down on the floor. “Oh, thank you Angel! You’re the best little bunny a pegasus could ask for!”
With that, Fluttershy hoisted her saddlebags onto her back, waved quickly to Angel, and trotted out of the cottage. The saddlebags bounced with each step, but it didn’t bother Fluttershy much. She’d packed light, only carrying a purse full of bits, an umbrella and scarf, and a plastic bag with a few slices of bread. Twilight had promised the pegasus that they would be stopping in the famous park in the heart of Manehattan, and Fluttershy was hoping to feed some birds while they were there.
The crisp autumn air brushed through the animal whisperer’s feathers, welcoming her into the late morning. A slight shiver arose from her yellow fur, but it was still warm enough to go on without a scarf. Fluttershy slowed to a walk as she entered Ponyville, not wanting to attract any attention to herself. Her moderate cyan eyes wandered down to the path before her, causing her head to tilt a bit and her pink mane to flow in front of a good half of her face. Lately Fluttershy’s timid nature had been getting better, but this morning there was an overwhelming amount of ponies wandering the streets between her and the library.
Fluttershy couldn’t help but cringe as she entered the street lined with market stalls. She’d had one too many run-ins with the dishonest and sometimes rude merchants. She found it strange how those who dealt with so many ponies in a day were always the meanest of the population. Most of the Ponyville ponies were polite, but when put side by side with the merchants, Fluttershy felt like anypony could be the Element of Kindness.
Just then, Fluttershy slammed into what she thought was a wall. “Oh my goodness!” she cried, falling to the dirt. She quickly dusted herself off, and noticed a familiar hoof in front of her face. She looked up slowly, her eyes meeting living emeralds. Her cheeks flushed bright pink when she realized she had run right into none other than Big Macintosh.
“Oh dear, I am so sorry, Big Macintosh!” she said, quickly rising to her hooves without his assistance. Part of her wished she’d stayed on the ground until he walked away, being this much closer to his face was making her nervous. “I should have been watching where I was going…”
Big Macintosh simply smiled at the mare. “No problem, Miss Fluttershy.” he said with a smile and a tip of his head. With that, the red coated stallion continued along his way. Now it was just Fluttershy and all these other ponies in the street she barely knew. Now she began feeling lucky she’d ran into Big Mac and not some angry merchant.
As a distraction from the crowds, Fluttershy remembered how she’d been offered a chance to go to Manehattan. It had been a regular trip to the spa with Rarity, and it happened to be one of the times that Twilight had tagged along. Twilight had been late (not that anypony minded), and explained that she had lost track of time inquiring at the train station for a schedule.
“Where are you going, darling?” Rarity had asked, interest glittering in her eyes. “Are you off to visit Princess Cadence and Shining Armour?”
“I wish!” Twilight sighed. “Ever since the Coronation, I’ve been getting letters from bigwigs all across Equestria! I’ve managed to get the designers off of my back, who kept ‘offering’ to be my personal stylists, but it seems like now that I’ve gotten rid of one problem, three more have popped up in its place!”
“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “What does that have to do with the train schedule?”
Twilight sighed and climbed into the hot tub. “Right, sorry. I keep getting letters from Equestria Publishers Ltd., they are insisting I pay a visit to their headquarters in Manehattan and get a tour of the place. They’re trying to butter me up to appear at a book signing for some mare I’ve never heard of before! I guess they think they can skyrocket her into popularity if the Bookworm Princess shows up at her signing! Ugh!”
“There there, Twilight.” Rarity said, gently rubbing Twilights upper back with her hoof. “I’m guessing you finally said yes to the tour?”
Twilight sighed. “I had to. I’ve been getting letters from them twice a day since I got settled back in Ponyville, and yesterday morning it increased to four! Spike can’t take much more of this.” the purple princess’ ears drooped. “But I’ve never been to Manehattan before, and my navigational skills in big cities aren’t the best.”
Rarity immediately perked up. “Oh, darling! Why on earth didn’t you say so in the first place? I’ve been to Manehattan several times in my life! Why, I went there just a few months ago to have lunch with Fancypants. I’ll gladly be your tour guide!”
Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again when Twilight burst into a grin.
“Oh, you will! Thank you, Rarity! It’ll be so much more fun with you coming along! Especially since Spike will be staying here due to the nasty stomach ache he got because of the publishers.” the alicorn cried gleefully.
“Anything for a friend, Twilight!” Rarity said happily.
Fluttershy was quiet for a long moment, then grinned at her magical friends. “I hope you two have a wonderful time in Manehattan.”
“Oh, Fluttershy! You should come along too!” Twilight said with a smile, pulling the pegasus closer.
“M-me?” she asked, glad she’d suggested it but also a bit surprised.
“Yes!” Rarity said with realization. “We three could paint the town red! Oh, and I could take you two to Manehattan Park Zoo! There are all sorts of interesting and exotic animals you could see there, Fluttershy!”
“That does sound awfully nice…” Fluttershy murmured, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Okay, I’ll come with too then!”
“Great!” Twilight said. “The train for Manehattan leaves at noon sharp! I’ll pick up three tickets tonight, and you two can meet me at the library before we go, okay?”
“There you are, Fluttershy!” Twilight called. Fluttershy looked up in surprise, realizing she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she’d made it through the marketplace and all the way to the library’s front door. Her cheeks flushed as she wondered how long she’d been standing there before Twilight had opened the door.
“Oh, hello Twilight. Forgive me for not knocking right away, I was…sidetracked.” the pegasus murmured.
“It’s alright; I was actually just about to call out for Pinkie Pie. She was sitting in the living room one second, and the next second she’d disappeared into thin air!” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “I searched the entire library, even the basement lab, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
“I’m sure she had a really good reason for taking off like that.” Fluttershy said with a quick nod.
“Well, anyways, I’m glad I caught you on my way out!”
“Out?” Fluttershy asked quizzically. Had she dreamt the entire spa conversation?
“Yes, I have to run to the post office! An important shipment of books has arrived early from Canterlot, and I need to pick them up before we go to Manehattan, or else they’ll send the books back.” Twilight said. “Rarity should be here any minute, why don’t you relax a bit in the library until then?”
Fluttershy felt relieved. “Oh, alright Twilight. I’ll be here when you get back.” she said with a smile.
“Great! Try to stay quiet though, Spike is napping.” Twilight paused. “Oh, what am I saying, you’re never disruptive and loud, Fluttershy!”
The pegasus smiled at the compliment, then stepped to the side so Twilight could head on her way. The two exchanged waves, and Fluttershy stepped into the library. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Fluttershy felt the hushed atmosphere wash over her. Her ears twitched slightly, and the very soft sound of a baby dragon’s snores reached her. She sighed contently and trotted quietly into the living room.
The animal caretaker had always appreciated the quiet of libraries, especially Twilights library. It was so cozy and welcoming, as if the walls and floors themselves were eagerly inviting you to snuggle up to a good book. This library was more than just a place full of books, it was a sanctuary; a friend.
That’s when Fluttershy noticed something different. In the corner of the room was a red, plush armchair, with a small table beside it. The pegasus recognized the table from upstairs, it usually had a lamp on it. She didn’t really recognize the chair, but came to realize that Twilight had probably moved them both down to the main floor so she could read as much as she pleased without disturbing Spikes sleeping. That, and his snoring was probably annoying after a while.
Curiously, there was only a single book on the small table, and it was open. Even more curious, it had only been cracked open to the first actual page. Fluttershy figured Twilight wouldn’t mind if she took a small peak at what the alicorn had been reading, it was a public library after all. Fluttershy gently closed the book to peer at the hard surfaced cover. Her face lit up with glee when she read the title.
“Ooooo, Cinderella!” she said softly. “Oh, and it’s such a pretty copy too!”
Indeed, it was. The cover was a vivid shade of indigo, with lovely swirled patterns of light lavender all over it. The title itself was written in a delightful, white storybook cursive that was breathtaking just to look at. In the lower middle section of the cover, a mural that looked hoof-painted depicted a light brown earth pony with a fancy blonde mane, wearing a shimmering blue dress and donned the famous glass slippers. The more Fluttershy studied the cover, the bigger her smile got.
She turned the book gently onto its side so she could take a look at the spine. Once again, Cinderella was printed in the same gorgeous text, and it looked almost as if the white text was glowing in the light of the sun. Then Fluttershy noticed something odd sticking out. At the top of the spine was a white sticker, with a bright pink star that looked an awful lot like Twilights cutie mark. Fluttershy pondered over what it could mean. Most of the books in the library had stickers on the bottom of the spine that were carefully placed, showing off the Dewhoof Decimal System that all libraries were organized by.
But this sticker had been hastily slapped on.
Fluttershy had quickly lost interest in the sticker and what its meaning could be; rather her thoughts were returning to the fact that she was holding a very unique copy of one of her favorite pony tales. As a filly, she’d read Cinderella every single night before bed, until she had lost her copy of it during her move to the cottage. The first few nights it was hard for her to sleep, but eventually she managed without the book.
Giggling like a schoolfilly, she got comfortable in the armchair and opened the book back up to the first page of the story. Fluttershy gave in to the compelling urge to read the beautiful black text aloud, but quiet enough that she’d be the only one to hear it.
“Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a young pony named Cinderella.” Fluttershy whispered, her wings twitching with excitement. “She lived with her stepmare and two stepsisters, whom of both were very wicked to her. The sisters made Cinderella do chores all day long, and when she was done her terrible stepmare made her sew together all of the dresses she had made… Huh, I don’t remember that part of the story. Must be a different version I guess.”
Fluttershy squinted, wondering if there was something wrong with her vision. When she’d begun to read, the letters had been distinct and black. Now they seemed to be fading into the page. The pegasus figured it was all in her head, and continued on.
“One day, Flutterel-”
Fluttershy froze. Half of it was because she had just witnessed the name ‘Cinderella’ change to ‘Flutterellla’, right there on the page! The other half was because the text was next to non-existent, fading completely to white and giving off a soft glow. The pegasus squeaked in fear as the glow quickly intensified, causing her entire vision to fade to white. Fluttershy began to scream, but noise came out.
Soon the glow died down, and the book was once more sitting on the table on page one, with nopony reading it.
Author's Note
I'm personally not much of a Fluttershy fan (she's my least favorite of the main six), but I'm willing to take on the challenge of writing her character.
Gently, Fluttershy began to open her eyes. She was surprised to realize that she was nestled comfortably under a blanket, on a slightly lumpy mattress. Fluttershy glanced around her. She was not in her home, but somehow this room felt very familiar to her. Across the room was a door, and next to that was an older looking vanity desk. The mirror looked to be well-polished, but the rest of the structure was not in the best of shape.
“Oh goodness…what happened?” she murmured to herself, propping herself up on her elbows. She cringed slightly, the springs of the mattress digging in. She resorted to sitting up completely, resting her back against the old pillow that she’d been resting on.
Out of the blue, a flash of white whizzed up the side of the bed and stopped to nestle into Fluttershys lap. The yellow mare squeaked in surprise, until she noticed that it was a very familiar rabbit. The pegasus quickly scooped him up in her hooves, a smile donning her face.
“Angel Bunny!” she cried with happiness. The bunny affectionately rubbed his face against her chin in response. “Oh Angel, where in the world are we?”
The furry companion tilted his head, appearing confused at his caretakers question, as if she should know the answer. He hopped from her gentle grasp and bounded across the room to the open closet area where many dresses hung. After a quick glance, Fluttershy noticed that there was a pattern of the dresses; they were very plain and had dim coloring.
The mare pushed her blanket off of her, realizing that she was wearing a pale blue nightgown. She was a bit confused at this, but her attention was diverted by a small picture frame that was propped up on the vanity table. She squinted at the dusty glass as she drew closer. Angel watched her with a slightly anxious look from the closet.
Fluttershy gingerly pushed away the dust with a hoof, then brought the hoof to her muzzle as she gasped slightly. The image depicted a golden brown pegasus stallion, smiling happily at the camera. Resting on his back was a yellow pegasus filly who had a more willowy physique than most fillies her age. Her pink mane was pulled back with a hairband, and she was grinning and hugging the blue haired stallion around his strong neck.
This was a picture of Fluttershy and her father.
Fluttershy was agape for a few more moments, until she realized that she had no memory of this picture. In fact, she didn’t remember ever feeling brave enough to wear a hairband to keep her mane out of her eyes. It was true that being around her father made her feel much braver and more confident, but not by that much. Gently picking up the frame, Fluttershy turned it over. She carefully opened the back, and gazed at the hoofwriting on the other side of the photo.
Keep smiling, Flutterella!
Love you forever, Dad.
Angel Bunny hopped across the room and jumped on Fluttershy’s back. After getting no response, he bounced forcefully a few times. The pegasus let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in the first place.
“F-Flutterella? That’s what the book sa-”
Then it struck her. The memories from Twilight’s library. She’d opened a beautiful copy of Cinderella, noticed a few oddities and then was engulfed by a brilliant glow. Had she somehow ended up inside of the book? Was that even possible?
After a few moments of thought, Fluttershy came to the conclusion that almost anything could be possible in the library of an Alicorn Princess. Now that she really considered it, she’d faced stranger than enchanted books.
Angel thumped a foot impatiently against Fluttershy’s back.
“Oh! Sorry, Angel. I was just…lost in thought…” Fluttershy said, trailing off slightly as she gazed at the photo again. She hadn’t seen a picture of her father in such a long time. She looked up, only to be greeted by the vanity mirror.
The mare in the mirror had weaved her mane into a side braid, a few locks sticking out here and there. There were slightly dark circles under her eyes, and her coat looked like it hadn’t been properly groomed in a while. Fluttershy sighed, remembering the beginning of her childhood cherished story. She was beginning to realize that she would probably have to live as Cinderella, which meant the heartbreaking beginning of a nasty stepmother and rude stepsisters.
“FlutterELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
As if on cue, a scream echoed into the yellow mares room. Her ears flattened against her head. “Oh dear, I better hurry up…”
Angel quickly jumped off of Fluttershy’s back and began digging in one of the vanity’s drawers. Fluttershy quickly pulled off her nightgown and picked a pale green dress to change into. The moment she had pulled the gown over her head, Angel had a grip on her mane. In seconds, the little bunny’s paws had unwoven her braid and pulled it up into a loose bun. He then quickly tied a bandana over her hair that was the same color as her dress. A bit of her bangs flopped stubbornly out of the bandana, but she didn’t mind much as they covered her left eye pretty well. She snuggled her beloved bunny once more, peeped a thank you, and rushed out of her bedroom.
In her hurry, she had almost fallen down the stairs! The pegasus’ wings flared open, saving her from the long fall. She sighed, then quickly began to trot down the steps. As she began to near the bottom, she caught a glimpse at a framed picture of her father and a white coated mare.
“Hurry up, you bumbling pegasus!”
“I-I’m coming!” Fluttershy squeaked as she finally made it to the ground floor of the house. Standing before her, a good foot taller than her due to her heels, was none other than a certain white unicorn with a stunning purple mane, dressed in a ravishing dress.
“R-Rarity?” Fluttershy murmured.
Clearly, Rarity didn’t hear her. Or was choosing to ignore her. “Flutterella!” she exclaimed, glaring at the pink haired mare. “What did I tell you about sleeping in and loitering in your room! You only get between sunrise and breakfast time to yourself, and then you must come down and prepare our most important meal of the day!”
“Perhaps we should get her a rooster, Mother!” chimed in a snide voice from the left. “After all, she is an animal-loving freak!”
Fluttershy’s head snapped in the direction of the new voice. Standing before her was none other than the infamous Trixie Lulamoon, bearing the most obnoxious smile Fluttershy had ever seen. She too wore an extravagant gown, made of shining royal purple silk and decorated with tiny stars that twinkled in the light.
“I-I…”
Fluttershy’s stutters were cut off by Raritys laughter. “Hahaha! Good one, my dear Trixilene!” she snorted.
Fluttershy trembled. It’s not the real Rarity, remember that. Rarity would never encourage someone like Trixie…. she thought, trying to reassure herself.
Rarity turned back to Fluttershy, once more glaring. “Now then, since you’ve slept in and not prepared our breakfast, I am behind schedule!” she snapped. “Trixilene, come along, I need your help with some dress orders I’ve gotten in. Pinkamena can tell our precious little Flutterella what we desire for breakfast.”
“But, Rar-”
The unicorn shot a poisonous scowl that instantly silenced the pegasus mare. Fluttershy quickly looked down, finding comfort in the floor as her bangs swished down in front of her eyes, obscuring the two unicorns from her view. She listened to their hoofsteps as they left the room, and only then did she dare to look up.
Only to see a pink mare sitting before her. “Hiya, Fluttershy! I see you got curious and read the book too, huh?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Pinkie Pie? Is that really you?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah, it’s me!” the cheerful mare grinned. “Best keep your voice down though, I guess the book characters hear different things from me than what I actually say since I’m supposed to be a meanie step sister and all!”
Fluttershy pondered this for a moment, adding it to things she didn’t understand about this place. “What’s going on, Pinkie? What’s happened to us?” she asked.
Pinkie started talking a mile a minute. “Well, you see, many years ago when I was just an itty bitty twinkie Pinkie, I moved to Ponyville! And I was staying with the Cakes at Sugarcube corner, when one day you walked in! You were so quiet and Mr and Mrs Cake couldn’t hear anything you were saying, so they brought me out to see if you felt more comfortable talking to a filly your age! But you weren’t, so I had to become your friend! So I took you upstairs to my room and introduced you to all my plushies! There was Mr Plumpkin, Sir Pearbottom, Madame Yo-”
Fluttershy sighed. “No, Pinkie, I mean how did we end up living in Cinderella?”
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!” Pinkie Pie said with a single nod. “I see! Well, I think that the copy at Twilight’s library was an enchanted book! That’s usually what that little pink star sticker means when it’s on books in her library, it means that the book has magical properties. I guess you didn’t see it!”
Fluttershy looked away. “Actually, I did… But I didn’t know what it meant. The book was just so pretty, and the story is one of my favorites, I just had to read it!”
“I know right?! It’s one of my favorites too! Though I’m kinda bummed I had to be a step sister, they’re so mean! You’re lucky you got to be Cinderella!”
The pegasus looked from Pinkies shiny pink and cream colored gown, then at her own dress. “Are you sure about that, Pinkie Pie?”
The pink mare nodded so hard that a few curls went flying out of her updo. “Of course! Do you know how much it stinks to have Trixie as a sister?! Plus, it may look rough for you now, but that just makes the fairytale happy parts even happier!”
Fluttershy considered her pink party friends outlook. “I suppose you’re right, Pinkie. Thank you.”
“No problem, Flutters! Oh, by the way, the boss lady want’s hash browns and haycakes with syrup for breakfast. Don’t worry; it’ll all change in a day or so! And the montages are the best!”
“Mon…what?”
“Pinkamena! Quit entertaining the help and get in here!” called Raritys voice.
“Coming Mooooom!” Pinkie called back. “Duty calls!” And with that, the earth pony bounced off into the other room.
Fluttershy sighed and slowly trudged into the kitchen. She wasn’t going to enjoy this.
Author's Note
This chapter is a little shorter, but I've never really been able to write a whole lot on character establishment.
