TerrariShy

by PaidStraw8

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Fluttershy, Adventure, Crossover, Human
Length: 6017

While staying in the palace in Canterlot, Fluttershy's curiosity gets the better of her and she ends up in everyone's favorite game of mining, building and crafting.

We all know that every thirty moons the magic mirror in Princess Celestia's castle takes you to an alternate reality. But where else can it take our protagonists? When the world's shyest pony takes a trip to Canterlot to visit Princess Twilight Sparkle, she finds out.

Published 2013-10-17 01:20:11 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-17 00:26:28 UTC

My Name Is (Fluttershy)

She saw it. A single eye. Eyes. She hated eyes. Watching her every move. Circling, waiting. It turned to look at her. It's pupil opened to reveal a gaping maw, and then it flew at her at such a speed she had no time to react.

"Ahh!"

Another nightmare. But this time, she did not wake up in a lavish chamber in a palace. She woke up in a bed. The covers were made of soft blue silk. The mattress was firm, but not hard enough to be uncomfortable. She surveyed the room. The room was lit by a torch on the wall above her head. On the far wall there was another, and their light illuminated the dirt floor, giving the whole room a sort of reddish brown glow. Two windows on the wall in between her and the other torch let her know that it was twilight, the last rays of light fading over the forest outside. On the fourth wall lay the door, very plain and simple craft. But there was beauty in that simplicity.

Next to the door lay tools. A woodcutting axe, and one she'd never seen before. A curved metal head, attached to a long wooden handle. It looked very heavy. Then she turned her gaze closer, to a table next to the bed. The table itself was simple, wooden. But it was what lay on the table that caught her eye. A blade, too long to be a kitchen implement, but not long enough to be a sword. Fluttershy had never enjoyed the sight of weapons. They made her cringe, because she knew what they were for. Killing. She hated that word. It just sounded...evil.

But this particular dagger was something to behold. A wooden handle, leather wrapped, with a small yellow gem in the center, where the handle met the blade. The blade, like the door, was beautiful in it's simplicity. It was copper-colored, about two hooves long, and ended in a sharp point. It captured her attention, and she reached out a hoof to pick it up. No, not a hoof. Something else. A...hand. She suddenly perceived herself in this new environment. She felt larger. Her front hooves felt longer, and were segmented in the middle. Her actual hooves were now five- What had Twilight called them? Fingers? This must be what she had been talking about after she came back out of the mirror. Being a human. She fluttered her fingers, getting used to the feel of these new appendages. She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the knife, and looked at her reflection in the blade. She gasped. Her mane was the same, long and pink and curled at the tips, but her face was different. Her snout was gone, replaced by a small, round nose. Her face was round and her skin was a pinkish tan color, not furry but smooth. She pushed back her hair to reveal two small ears, rounded, not pointed like her pony form's. Her eyes were the same though- big and blue and full of unspoken emotion.

She stood up and fell. She grabbed the edge of the table and pulled herself up to stand. She tried to balance on her new legs, and succeeding, took a tentative step forward. It was easy, she thought, just like walking on your hind hooves. She realized she was wearing clothes. She hardly ever wore clothes- only on special occasions. She started to take them off, a yellow sweater with a butterfly pattern at the waist, just like her cutie mark, a pair of jeans, and some fuzzy-ass boots, then remembered Twilight saying that humans always wore clothes. She didn't want to start off socially unacceptable, so she decided to keep them on. She waltzed toward the door, wrapped her fingers around the knob, and pushed forward. She was greeted by a blast of cool air from outside.

The outdoors were generally unremarkable, a plain forest just like the ones outside Ponyville, excluding the Everfree. But what caught her eye was the creature, bent over picking mushrooms, a few metres away. The human stood, placing the mushrooms in a knapsack, and turned. His mane was brown, and unkempt, strands of hair everywhere. His face was spattered with freckles, and his eyes were a startling green. He wore a brown shirt with green pants, his bag and a dagger sheath (for the knife she's seen inside, she s'posed) at his waist. He walked over to her and held out his hand, a smile on his face.

"Hi. I'm Dylan."

"I'm...Fluttershy."

Save The World

Fluttershy and Dylan walked back inside, the sun silhouetting their figures along the ground. As they re-entered the house, Dylan slid the table behind the door.

Fluttershy gasped! What was he going to do? Kill her? Something worse? She started to panic.

"Relax, I'm not goin' ta hurt ya. Sometimes at night we get...unwanted visitors."

"Oh." She sat down on the bed, dangling her legs off the edge, an inch from the floor. "Like...what?"

"All kinds of nasty things. Zombies, giant floating eyeballs-" At this Fluttershy yelped and dove under the bed.

"Zombies!? I thought they were just a story to scare little colts and fillies."

"Oh, they're very real. Why do you think I carry this around?" He held up the dagger, the blade glinting in the torchlight.

"You- you fight them?" She was starting to like this Dylan guy.

"When they get in. Which is to say, not very often. But me dad, 'e used to hunt them for sport. He was a real warrior, me dad. He protected our homestead to his last breath, literally."

"Your dad is...dead?"

"And me mum. We used to have a nice li'l town on this plot of land, but after the Corruption started to spread, and the goblins started raiding our town for supplies to fight it off, the villagers fled. I 've been trying to rebuild and get people to come back, but it is a difficult job alone. I need to find certain things, you know? Go out and...adventure. But I was always the scholarly type, not one for fighting. But my dad, he told me that I would help save us, nonetheless. To this day I've been trying to figure out what he meant. But enough about me. What's your story?"

"Well-" In the next few hours, she told Dylan all about her life with her friends, leaving out the bits she didn't care to talk about(the fall in flight school, Twilight's new title and her subsequent envy, and such).

As she finished her tale, the first rays of dawn shone through the window, and stood up, stretching her aching muscles. Dylan stood and began to slide the table back to it's original position.

"Well, you certainly sound like her."

"Who?"

"Before me dad went out to fight the Goblin Army, he left me that sword-" He pointed to the dagger- "And some wise words. He said, 'Dylan, I will not be coming home. But one day, another hero will come take my place, and with your help, she'll finish what I could not.' And now, five years later, I find you laying in the woods in the middle of the day. Maybe your the hero me dad was talkin' about!"

"Me? Oh no, you must be mistaken. I've never been on an adventure before. It was always one of my friends, or-"

She was cut off by Dylan.

"But, what about the stories ya tol' me? About Discord and Nightmare Moon. You beat them, right? So what makes you think you're not qualified to beat them goblins, or- or the Corruption?"

"Well- that was always my friends. I was never important." She kicked the dirt with one fuzzy-ass boot.

"But you are important. They could never have done it without you!"

"Well, I suppose-"

"S'pose nuttin!" She was shocked by Dylan's sudden outburst. "You are the Hero of Terraria, you've got to be! Why else would fate bring you here?" Seeing her fright, he immediately tried to relax. "I'm sorry. I just... I've been wanting so bad for a hero, y'know? And now one shows up on me doorstep, and-" He burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't. I need to find a way home."

But she wanted to help, she really did. She didn't see how she could help- she was just a shy girl with a penchant for care. What could she do? She didn't know how to swing a sword or shoot a bow. And she'd never killed anything before, let alone a sentient creature. He stood up.

"I'll be back around noon. If you've changed your mind since then, great! If not, well, it's your choice, isn't it? Leaving an entire world in the hands of the most destructive evil Terraria has seen in a thousand years?"

And with that, Dylan slammed the door, stormed off into the woods, and left a very distraught Fluttershy to think.

Speed of Sound

Fluttershy cried. She laid down on the bed, and pulled one side of the covers up over her. And she cried. And cried some more. She let sleep take her, and drifted away.

In her dream she was back in Ponyville. No, not Ponyville- she didn't know these people. They were all human, and they took no notice of her presence. She looked down at herself- and realized that her body wasn't there. She was like a ghost, floating in the ether of time and space. Suddenly she was on top of a building, looking down into a mineshaft, cut into an adjacent cliff. A mass of white flew out, forming a shadow over the village. She realized they were birds, and looked up in astonishment. She'd never seen so many birds, flying so fast. The townspeople turned to watch, awed.

And then she heard the horn. A low, long boom, accompanied by the frenzied beat of drums. The goblins poured out of the cave, steel flashing in the sunlight. They broke into homes, stole food, and- killed. She tried to shut her eyes, but couldn't. She was forced to watch as they burned the town, and murdered men, women, and children like it was nothing. And then, as quick as they came, they were gone, moving west. The smell of blood and smoke, iron and fear, lay in the air, sickening. But the house she stood upon remained unscathed, the house on top of the hill. She realized then that it was Dylan's house, or rather, his father's. A man emerged. He looked like Dylan, but much older, with a short beard, and brown eyes that stared into nothing, broken. He carried a woman in his arms, limp and without life. He let out a scream of anguish, the pure sound of hatred and vengeance, and laid the body down on the grass. A boy, who she assumed was Dylan, stepped out of the house, carrying a shovel. He handed it to the man, who began to dig. He dug a hole, and set the body inside. He covered the body with dirt, then turned to his son, who had been watching the whole time, tears streaming down his face. His father said something to him, too quiet to make out, and then walked away, following the goblin's path of destruction, leaving his twelve year old son holding a dagger in one hand, and a tattered paper in the other, covered in writing. Then time passed, as it often does in dreams- without a warning.

Suddenly the boy was older, the Dylan she knew now, standing proud beside her. He said something, and motioned for her to look. She turned, and couldn't believe her eyes. Another village stood in the old one's place, full of life. Children frolicked in the streets, people strolled along, smiles on their faces. It was an amazing sight, the town, and she instantly felt as protective of this town as a mother hen did of her chicks. It was her town. It needed to be protected. she needed to protect it. And then she knew. She knew what she would tell Dylan when he returned. She sat up, awake and alert- and ready. The door opened, followed by Dylan's now calm voice.

"Well? Have you decided?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"So...staying or leaving?" He asked, hope in his voice.

"I'll stay. And plus, I have no idea how to get back home anyway, so I might as well..."

Her voice drifted off. Then Dylan's excited cheer split the air.

"Yay!"

How To Save A Life

And so it began. Dylan showed her everything her knew about swordplay, archery, and survival in the wilderness. They started to work on the homestead, too- in those three short weeks they erected a general store, a small tavern, and a medical center, which Fluttershy used to take care of sick or injured animals. Dylan brought back a rabbit or two for dinner at night, but Flutters refused to use her newfound archery skills to hunt. She didn't understand how Dylan could kill an animal that had never even threatened him, but her human body wasn't complaining. After trying to eat grass and making herself sick, she learned the hard way that humans dietary habits are much different than a pony's, full of meat and bread along with vegetables.

Nevertheless, she was excited to see the town growing so fast, but was concerned about attracting new inhabitants- how would they even know the town was here? Dylan assured her they would find her, as long as the right conditions were met. And this was why they ended up in out in the woods at midnight.

"What d'ya mean ya can' do't? You're a right good shot with that bow. We need to find fifty silver coins if we want a merchant to move in!"

"I...I just can't."

"Listen, Flutters. Zombies ain't human no more. All the life's gone out of 'em! They carry a silver coin apiece, most of the time, and I can only get so many on my own with this dagger." He gestured to his knife belt. "We could do this in half the time if you'd just help!" He was persistent, she gave him that, but she just couldn't. Killing? That was a lot different than shooting a tree in practice. She looked at him, those cyan orbs pleading. He sighed and started to walk further out into the forest.

And then her hand was forced. A zombie leapt upon Dylan, knocking him to the ground. He was ten yards away, too far to reach. She saw it all- the dagger knocked from his grip, the monster's remorseless eyes. He cried out, and it leaned in, preparing to finish him, the stink of blood on his breath. Then he went limp, rolling off of Dylan like water off a stone, an arrow buried in his skull.

"YOU DO NOT HURT MY FRIENDS! You got that?"  Dylan had never heard Fluttershy raise her voice. Her rage was tangible, fearsome in it's intensity. He made a mental note not to ever put her friends into any danger. "I...I'm sorry. I just don't know what came over me. I hope I didn't frighten you..."

"Sorry? Don't apologize! You saved my life!" He wrapped her in a bear hug and she cringed, unready for the sudden display of emotion. He reluctantly let go, and they shared a smile before Dylan walked away again to continue his hunt, stooping over to check the body for coins.

That night she and Dylan collected twenty seven silver coins, and added to their previous stock, this equaled forty three coins, almost enough to attract a merchant to the homestead. The next day, tired from the hunt, they took a break. Dylan napped, and Fluttershy went out to the forest again to practice shooting. But her aim was off. She was plagued by a single thought- what if she hadn't been able to kill it? What if she hadn't saved him, if she'd let that zombie tear him apart because she was too weak? She sat down on a stump, shoving her fears to the back of her mind, and realized then, that to be rid of this evil, she would have to kill. To make sure that the people she loved were never put in harm's way. Only now did she see the full truth- that the road ahead was long and shrouded in darkness, and was a road that would not always take her where she wished to go, and she doubted she would live to see it’s end, but she would travel down it nonetheless. For at her side walked hope. In the face of all that insisted she turn back, she would carry on. For this, this was her adventure!

Violet Hill

Fluttershy walked through the forest, stepping lightly to avoid crunching the leaves under her fuzzy-ass boots. Dylan had been teaching her about the history of Terraria, about the Corruption and the Underworld, the Goblins, all the threats she would have to face. She was fearful, but at the same time intrigued- and that was why she was trying to be silent. She'd told Dylan she was going out to the forest, which was not really a lie, because she didn't want him to follow her. She was headed to the Corruption.

As she walked, she saw less and less animals. Rabbits, birds, and slimes became scarce. The light from the sun diminished, and she looked up. No, not night yet. It was as if a blanket of darkness lay over the land, suffocating, blocking out the light. It was at this moment Fluttershy became fearful- as if a voice was whispering in her ear. Turn back, it said. Go home. You do not belong here. She continued on. As she emerged from the treeline, she saw, not twelve feet away, that the grass was a light shade of violet. Rolling hills, forests of that same ominous color- purple, a sickly shade, like poison. That's what it was, she realized. A poison. Killing Terraria, sapping it of life.

As she walked along, she saw something overhead. A huge brown beetle with massive pinchers floated about seven feet off the ground. This must have been one of the monsters Dylan told her about, an Eater of- Worlds, was it? No, Souls. An Eater of Souls. As it flew by, it's single eye swung it's gaze towards her, and it spun around, gnashing it's horrible pinchers. It was headed right for her! She began to panic. Then she remembered her Hurtful Copper Bow, slung across her body. She pulled it over herself, and nocked an arrow. Suddenly everything was crystal clear. She saw the Eater, perceived herself in the endless fabric of the ether, felt the weight of the cool metal in her hands. She pulled the string back, her feet anchored to the ground, and shot. Suddenly the world was moving again. The arrow sailed through the air, as graceful as a bird, and hit the Eater square in the eye. She expected him to fall. He didn't.

The beast gave a guttural, inhuman roar, and continued to charge, only slightly hindered by his loss of vision. He could still smell her, the scent of flesh driving him forward. She did the only thing she could at that point- screamed and ran. She sprinted through the Corruption, fear coursing through her. Her run came to an abrupt halt when, suddenly, she felt a pain in her foot, at first piercing, then an acidic burning. She screamed in pain and fear, pure terror, the fear of death. She hit the ground hard and slid forward, into the purple grass. She had stepped on a Corrupt Thorn. And there she lay, helpless, covered in dirt and blood and sweat, as her pursuer closed in. She struggled to pull out the thorn, at this point too pumped full of adrenaline to notice the pain. He flew towards her, thirty feet, twenty- and it came out, accompanied by a sharp gasp. She struggled to her feet, and ran, pushing through the agony. Then, her feet met slick stone and she fell into darkness.

Fluttershy free-fell, attempting to grip the black walls as she did. But it was too smooth, and she could not get a grip. Then she hit the ground.

Still Alive

Fluttershy stood in Dylan's house again.

"Am I...dead?" She shuddered. But she wasn't dead- she was perfectly intact, all her clothes back as they were, the tears gone, no longer covered in dirt. She lifted her leg, looking at the sole of her left fuzzy-ass boot- the hole from the thorn was gone. Her bow was slung over her back again, as it had been. All her arrows were in the quiver, untouched.

She opened the door and walked outside. She didn't see Dylan, so she figured it was safe. He'd just assume she came back from her walk, or-

"Fluttershy!" An excited British accent called out from the door of the tavern.

"Oh no!"

"What's wrong, Flutters?"

"Umm..." She couldn't take the interrogation. She spilled the beans.

"IwenttotheCorruptionandtherewasthismonsteranditchasedmeandIfellintoachasmand...died..."

"Wait, you went to the Corruption, got chased by a monster, fell into a chasm and died?"

"Yes..."

"You...died?"

"Umm...yes...I think..."

"That is so cool!" He wrapped her in a hug again, but this time she didn't mind. In fact, she was filled with a warm feeling she couldn't place. They held the embrace a little longer, then Dylan awkwardly stepped away to continue putting up wood walls. She stumbled off, her legs made of jelly. What had that feeling been? Was it...love? No, she thought. It couldn't be. She'd never loved anybody like that before. She pushed those thoughts away. She had a job to do, not get all starry eyed over some boy who wasn't even a pony.

The work went by quickly the rest of the afternoon, as they put up Tiki Torches in between the houses, to give off some light at night. They finished the tavern, all four buildings in a neat row. Dylan slept on the floor, letting Flutters take the bed. But she couldn't sleep. She was plagued by nightmares about the Corruption. She kept reliving that moment, the impact, the fall. But this time, there had been no one to help, nothing to break her fall. She had died! Died. But finally, she was able to drift off to a deeper, more restful sleep, and dream.

Fluttershy stood in a field, stars and planets floating above her. She laid back, watching the stars. Then she heard a voice, beside her. Dylan's. She turned, and saw him. He looked so amazing, standing there beside her, clothes and hair rippling in the wind, looking so...heroic.

"Oh..." They stood there for a second, looking at each other. Then he kissed her. It was so sudden, it took her off guard. But she enjoyed it, closing her eyes and just savoring the moment. His hands moved down, caressing her body...

***

Dylan was awoken by a sharp blow. The bed against which he was resting his head was shaking back and forth, and he could hear little squeaks coming from under the covers. He adjusted his pillow on the floor, and pulled the covers back over himself, but could not help but wonder what Fluttershy was dreaming about under there. He rolled over and drifted off to dreams of his own.

Iron

Fluttershy rolled out of bed the next morning, clothes wrinkled, hair disheveled, feeling very awkward. She stumbled out the door, snatching up her bow and quiver as she went. Dylan was already up, smelting some ore he'd got out of the old mineshaft in a furnace in the back room of the tavern into neat orange and gray bars. She leaned against the doorway, twirling a strand of pale pink hair between her fingers. He turned to look at her, his image warped by the heat from the furnace.

"Good morning, Fluttershy. Sleep well?"

"Um...yes...?"

"Great! Would you mind heading out to the mine and getting some more ore? I'm already running low, and who knows? Maybe you'll find some treasure or something."

"Uhhh...okay..." She blushed, unable to force last night's dream from the forefront of her mind.

"Thanks, mate. I really appreciate your help." He used his foot to slide the copper tool she'd seen before, the one she hadn't been able to name, towards her. But she knew what it was now. A pickaxe. She picked it up with both hands and walked out of the bar, a wide, uncontrollable grin on her face. He'd called her mate. Back in Ponyville, your mate was your mare/coltfriend. Did he think of her that way too?

By this time, she was at the entrance to the mineshaft. She walked inside, dim torches lighting the dirt shafts carved into the hill. She headed into one, without really thinking, still daydreaming. She started to chip away at the brown ore deposits in the walls,little blocks of raw copper falling at her feet. She picked them up and stuffed them in her knapsack, moving on to the next deposit. She did it again, and again, enjoying the repetition. Soon, she began to tire, and she sat down to rest on a rock. She crossed her arms, laid them down on her knees, and bowed over, sleeping peacefully.

She was awoken suddenly, a wet, slimy feeling against her leg. But when her eyes shot open, they...didn't. She blinked, but still could not see! She stood up, panicking. She was blinded! She grabbed the wall, hoping if she followed it, it would lead her back out. She slid her hand along the stone, walking, trembling with fear. And then, for the third time, she fell in a hole.

"Not again!" She yelped, falling. Her body landed in a soft pile of sand at the bottom of the hole, and after she recovered from the shock, her vision began to clear. It was still dark, but she could see torchlight from the cavern above. Around her was cold, wet darkness, and she began to cry. Pull yourself together! said something inside her. You can do this! This cave has to have an exit somewhere, she thought. She stood up, wiped the tears from her lashes, and walked down, further into the cavernous belly of Terraria.

Iron, Part II

Again, she walked with one hand gliding against the slimy, wet wall of the cavern, trying to keep herself oriented. She chided herself. Why? She had fallen into a bored daydream, a stupor while she was mining. She should have paid attention! Not just mindlessly mined! Fluttershy tried to focus. Focus! She squinted in the darkness, taking it one step at a time, and her fuzzy-ass boot knocked into something round-a terracotta pot. It made a hollow noise, and rolled around (would it fall?) once, twice, three times- and then it stood still. She figured she might be able to find something inside, so she raised the pickaxe above her head, holding on with both hands, and swung downward, shattering the pot.

A bright light flashed before her eyes. A lit torch-lit?- popped out, along with a few coins, one silver and a few copper. She scooped up the coins, putting them in her pockets, and held the torch aloft. Fluttershy was beginning to feel more confident. She held the torch aloft, her eyes adjusting to the light. A silver sparkle caught her eye, on the wall to the left. She dug up the ore quickly, wondering if it would ever be of use, and hurried down the tunnel once more. As she surveyed the cavern, she noticed a hole in the floor up ahead, and stopped. It was a very large gap, and the other side was higher up than hers. Still, the only option was forward. She took a deep breath, body crouched low like a sprinter, ran, and jumped. She glided across the chasm-and then hit the wall on the other side. The impact knocked away her breath, and she fell, screaming, into the darkness.

Kerploosh! Fluttershy hit the water feet first, her torch extinguished. She clambered out of the pool, soaking wet, and lay on the turf, panting for breath. The blue grass glowed faintly, and mushrooms were growing out of it. Mushrooms, some tiny, some towering, pervaded the landscape.

"Oh my Celestia..." she breathed. On the far side of the cavern stood what appeared to be a house. This adventure just gets weirder and weirder, our heroine thought, as she trudged through the carpet of 'shrooms to reach the door of the shack. She pulled the wooden door open, knocking some mushrooms free of the dirt, and stepped inside, closing it behind her. It was a simple shack, wooden, with planked walls, save for one thing. In the center of the room sat a small, golden chest, slightly ajar. She walked over, marveling in the beauty of the box itself. She pushed open the lid, and inside found a few items. Money, firstly- five silver coins. A small red ring, engraved with arcane symbols, rested on top of two glowing green potion bottles, shaped like stars. She slid the ring onto her slender middle finger, and instantly felt a difference. She felt connected with the world around her, as if she was a part of Terraria itself, from the tiniest pebble to the largest slime. She felt strong, confident- powerful. She stuck the potions in her bag, and under them discovered another piece of fine loot. A little blue mirror, silver around the edges, lay on the velvet lining the floor of the chest.

Fluttershy gazed into the mirror, examining her reflection. Her face was dirtied and bloody, but in her eyes power was written. But when she looked up, she was back in Dylan's cabin, standing next to the bed. She gasped, amazed at her luck. The mirror had taken her home! She made a mental note to bring that mirror next time she went exploring, then headed back out to into town to find Dylan, as the sun set on the horizon.

Gifts

She found Dylan in the general goods store, dusting off the shelves.

"Umm, hi...Dylan..." He spun around, startled, but then realized who it was. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you..."

"It's okay. I'm just jumpy. It's almost nighttime, and those zombies are going to be out soon. But hey, while you were gone, I made you something." He pointed to a wooden chest in the corner of the room. "Open that up."

Fluttershy hesitantly walked over to the brown box. She bent over and opened it, revealing two pieces of wooden armor, a breastplate and leggings. They were crafted of simple oak wood, and the insides were padded with soft rabbit fur. Leather connected the wooden plates to each other at the joints, keeping her range of movement wide.

"Thanks, Dylan. I really appreciate you helping me..." She blushed.

"Oh, it's nothing, mate. I do what I can to help." They stood there for a second, silence pervading the scene.

"So...what should I do next?" Flutters asked, breaking the quietness.

"Well, to traverse the chasms of the Corruption, you'll need a Graveling Hook."

"Umm...isn't it...Grappling Hook?"

"What in Terraria is a Grappling Hook? No, mate, I mean a Graveling Hook. A long, iron chain, with a three pronged spike on the end. You shoot it out of a little metal...launcher...I suppose...and it stabs into a wall and pulls you over. We have the iron to make the launcher and chains, but I need you to find a Hook. Piranhas in the Jungle have 'em, and skeletons underground. But they're pretty rare, so you may have to fight quite a few."

"Umm..." Fluttershy didn't really like the idea of hanging out in a hot, wet jungle for hours, shooting fish, but she supposed that she had to do it, for the good of everyone.

Later, she retired to the woven cot in Dylan's shack, drifting off to peaceful dreams, of ponies and rainbows, rabbits and friends. In the morning, she put on the wooden armor and slung her bag and quiver over her shoulder, heading east. She walked through the forest, admiring the sight of the flowers and the brightly colored slimes rolling past. After about three hours of walking, the temperature began to rise, causing sweat to bead on her forehead. The grass was a sickly shade of green, and the trees were tall. Vines hung from them, and bats nested in these vines.

She crested the hill, and was greeted by a beautiful sight: huge, glistening pools of water, each full of green fish, swimming frantically. She slid down the muddy incline, coming to a rest at the edge of the first pool. She walked up and down the ponds, searching for a flash of silver. There- three pools down, a small piranha swam with a little metal spike tied to his tail. She slung the bow off her back, and shot six arrows in quick succession, killing all three fish in as many seconds. She waded into the pond, untied the Hook, and, frowning, stuck it in her bag. She put the metal bow back over her shoulder, and headed back the way she came.

It's Time

She was there again. In that instant she could see the racers, Rainbow, the noise, the crowd. The fear. She swung the flag. They all raced by. And she fell. No one tried to stop her. You know that song by Phil Cloppins, "In the Air of the Night," about that one colt who could save that other colt from drowning, and he didn't, then Phil saw it all and had a show and found him? It was kinda like that. They could have saved her from drowning. No one cared. Did they even realize? She doubted it. She fell. And fell. And fell.

And woke with a start. She often had dreams about that day. What would have happened if those butterflies didn't break her fall? Would anyone have cared? Would anyone have remembered that shy, clumsy mare who never seemed to have a partner during group work, who never showed up for school games or activities? She had never told anyone. She was too shy. Social anxiety, said the psycologist. You'll get over it. She never had.

Fluttershy slid out of bed, onto the stone floor. It was cold and smooth, with indentations and streaks of color throughout. She slowly opened the door, and trotted down the hall. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness of the halls. As she walked, she remembered her day,how Twilight was enjoying life in the castle, how much Twilight had grown. Twilight had been socially awkward once, too, but now look at her. A princess! And Fluttershy? Still as shy and clumsy as ever. Twilight was destined for greatness. Flutters was not.

These thoughts raced through her mind while she walked. No light shone in through the windows. Tonight was a new moon. But by now her eyes were adjusted to the dark, and a glimmer of light caught her eye. The mirror. The same one Twilight had used to find Sunset Shimmer and return the crown. It was usually solid, reflective. Now it wavered and wobbled, almost liquid. She could still see herself in it, but distorted. She tentatively poked a hoof at it, admiring the beauty of the mirror. That was a mistake. As soon as she touched it, she could feel a force. A strong one. Pulling her in. Not a physical force, but one of curiosity. What was behind that mirror? All of her awkwardness was gone, replaced with one thought: move. She could only do that one thing. She opened her wings, hooves set into the ground, and jumped.