The Legend Of The Lonely Ladybug

Friendship Is Magic

Faith watched the horizon where the sun had begun to set, the fading light giving his motionless frame a resemblance of a green marble statue. The stallion had become distracted by his thoughts, keenly focused on the beautiful scenery, pondering about his future and the ponies he had met on the way.

He had not yet seen his pursuer who rested on the ground at the bottom of the hill.

Fluttershy found herself unable to move from her position of collapse. It's like she had seen a ghost and paralyzed in place by a strange fear.

Now that she had found him, what should she do?

Faith wouldn't stay around. Even if she would find the courage to go up to him Fluttershy wouldn't be able to sway the stallion to remain in Ponyville. Bringing across her feelings would only embarrass her to him. Or would it? A confusion and shyness prevented her from making up her mind. In any case the mare would have to act soon.

To her luck a part of the task was suddenly made easier when something made Faith's focus shift. As he looked down the hill the stallion saw her at the forest path. As soon as he did his face dropped in surprise. The two pegasus observed each other, divided by a span of neutral forest meadow.

He smiled after noticing the mare's worn state. She had gone through a lot of trouble to find him. A feel of pity moved his internals although Faith's overall calmness remained at the crust. Maybe he would wait for her to come over. As a contrast Fluttershy's tremble wasn't stalling. Despite it a warm though a tad wobbly grin appeared.

She had made it this far. She wouldn't let him leave. Not yet. Not that easily. All she'd need to do is gather herself from the ground and go up to speak with him.

The stallion's smile eventually began to fade. His mind had reached a reassuring conclusion; Faith would have no future in Ponyville regardless of what he feels. His own fate had been set years ago with the seemingly permanent memory loss and a monster that he knew had originated from his soul still lurking somewhere in the void, waiting at the chance to re-emerge thus repossess him. It remained all too unreal to him. Faith would not allow Fluttershy be among the ponies to suffer because of the ghosts of his past. He had created them, he would have to carry the responsibility for himself. If it came down to it he would fight to the end to fulfill his redemption.

Glancing back at the dawn seen in Ponyville's horizon, Faith perceived it as his last sunset at the neighborhood. Having decided to move on, the stallion smiled weakly and gave his friend one last inclining nod of farewell before continuing down the path that he had used. From Fluttershy's point of view his shape was shrinking as he became distant, starting to disappear behind the hill.

Her breathing gained rounds. Fluttershy was seeing her one chance slip away before her very eyes. Tears running down, the hooves of the mare shook powerlessly as she wrestled with the hesitation and stress.

Faith was leaving.

Then Fluttershy snapped out of it. There was still time to act.

“Faith!!"

Without hesitating any longer, the mare rushed forwards, wings spread. Rising to the air, Fluttershy swooped over the hill like a storm frontier and approached the other pegasus who still followed the path ahead. In a few seconds she had closed the distance.

Faith gasped as a weight landed on his back. Four yellow hooves wrapped around his mid-section, holding a tight grip on him. Fluttershy cried loudly, clinging on for dear life. Faith wobbled under her weight, caught by the intensity of the tackle but it didn't prevent him from moving.

”Let go of me!”, Faith exclaimed to the mare pegasus, trying to shake her off. It proved useless because she had stuck herself on like a tick.

“Faith! Please stay! Don’t go! Please don’t go!”, his assaulter whimpered in a greatly distraught state.

Faith sighed, slowed down by their combined weight. Another pony riding on his back was not going enough to sway his decision. ”

You have your own life, Fluttershy. I got mine," the stallion told her with confident sincerity while still marching forward.

“You can’t just abandon me, Faith!”, Fluttershy argued loudly and desperately.

Faith felt the mare's tears wetting his neck. A loud sigh signaled that none of it pleased him.

“Please, Fluttershy. Go back to your friends. They will look after you. I’ll be fine," Faith again expresses with the best politeness he can gather. It still doesn't hide his frustration.

Fluttershy slid down the stallion. This time her hooves closed around his back legs. Because of it Faith was forced to completely halt his progress.

“Fluttershy. Please let go of me," he half-whispered, now made upset by the mare's extreme antics with the desperation to walk away stronger than ever which Fluttershy had made all too difficult.

“You will have to kick my head in to get rid of me!”, she threatened, strongly locking his legs together to keep him from moving. Now ashamed and saddened, Faith shut his eyes to remain silent.

"Is everyone in Ponyville like this?", the concerned thought resonated inside his brain.

The feminine stallion returned eye contact to Fluttershy beneath him. The glassy eyes expressed desperation as they gazed up at him. To say the least, her state looked pitiful. Faith had made an impact that wasn't going away anytime soon.

He would have to discuss with her more to reach a better agreement.

"Why can't you just let me go?"

"Because I love you, Faith!"

“Get up on your hooves, Fluttershy.”

The stallion grabbed Fluttershy gently, starting to lift her from the ground, now sounding amused by her theatrics. Supporting her, he succeeded in getting her to stand back up. A green front hoof lifted up her fallen chin as soon as it had flopped down.

“Don’t stress yourself for my sake," Faith told her, "There’s plenty of stallions in Ponyville who are much better for you than I am. You'll get over me.” Sounding sincere, Faith secretly knew what he meant.

Why would Fluttershy fall for him out of all the stallions she had known way longer? The green pegasus rolled his eyes, not willingly buying it. “What does she even see in me?”, he pondered to himself quietly, a self-convinced loner toughened by long periods of isolation. None of what he had told her and her friends would justify such binds.

“You said earlier that you had learned about what it means to have a good attitude," Fluttershy recalled silently. Faith nodded his head in agreement, their preceding conversation not forgotten from his mind.

“It is indeed important," the pegasus admitted.

“You know what I’ve learned, Faith? Sometimes…………..things just happen."

As she spoke the mare drew herself nearer. Witnessing it strengthened Faith's growing unnerve. While the stallion's breathing shallowed a weird curiosity he hadn't felt for a living memory made him allow her approach.

Before he knew it Fluttershy’s hoof had already crept behind his neck. Faith jumped slightly upon noticing. Yet he remained in place, too nervous to make sudden moves.

He had barely known her for two days. Yet some emotion was driving them closer, something that felt good. Way too good to be true. Faith remembered being deceived by similar sensations during the younger years that he still had memories of. To him it was unclear why he still did while the rest of his recollections remained shrouded.

“This isn't happening! She wouldn't! What am I doing?!”, Faith's mind argued hesitantly in a internal struggle.

Yet Fluttershy's snout was slowly brought closer to his. Yet he too was drawn closer. Time slowed down around Faith. It had ceased from mattering. A kiss between the two pegasus was looking imminent.

At the last second the couple heard an explosion from the trail behind them. Snapping awake, it was all Faith needed to pull himself free from Fluttershy's grip, again showing strongly reluctancy. Their bind had been broken by an unexpected distraction.

A lonely tear formed to roll down his cheek. “No! No!”, Faith cried in stress. He wasn't going along with the illusion of romance. Not this time.

He stumbled back, not looking at Fluttershy's reaction from behind now tightly shut eyelids. What he did hear was a silent whimper indicating at the mare's own disappointment.

Without either pony noticing it, a deeply scared blue pegasus came flying at them from the forest, cruising at high speed. Rainbow Dash landed, out of breath. As soon as the mare had reached the ground she stumbled behind Fluttershy, looking like she had been through a hell. And now Rainbow sought shelter. The other mare was slow to note her presence, a wave-like motion disturbing her lips from the initial shock of her so far disastrous crush.

“You got to help me! She has lost her mind!”, Rainbow's terrified voice begged the other two pegasi.

“Rainbow Dash!", an ominous, high pitched scream called out deep within the forest.

As soon as she heard it Rainbow whimpered loudly. Nearly equalling Pinkie Pie's speed, she had already moved where Faith stood and collapses to her knees in front of him. The mare crossed her front hooves.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’msosorryI’msosorryI’msosorryI’msosorry for what I said to you, Faith! I’m so sorry! Please don’t kill me!”, Rainbow begged, speaking quickly.

The confused stallion returned a silent glance. He had not witnessed Twilight's conversation with the mare pegasus after exiting the house.

Another explosion rocked the ground which guided the focus of all three ponies to the forest just in time for them to witness a sight not too short from creepy.

Twilight sped through the air in a glowing aura that she used to carry herself, a feat rarely pulled off by unicorns because it can easily backfire with lost concentration and eats up a lot of energy. Despite it she didn't seem exerted or concerned, floating at speed that easily equaled Rainbow's with an expression so intense that it would scare a manticore turdless. She was looking for the mare pegasus, having located her quarry.

In a quick ironic moment Faith felt four hooves wrap around his mid-section a second time. Rainbow had jumped to his back, the mare's entire body shivering violently which Faith sensed clearly.

The other two ponies had not reached an agreement, Rainbow being the underdog. Even as the fastest pegasus in Equestria she had personally learned a valuable lesson; do not madden a unicorn with strong skills of teleportation and levitation.

Twilight halted before their eyes and took a descend, the glow surrounding her remaining as strong as ever. The entire space of her eyeballs was covered in solid white which gave the lavender mare a none too pleasant appearance.

"Well?", Twilight enquired coldly, having aimed her question to the other mare now glued to Faith's spine.

"I apologized! I apologized! I apologized!", Rainbow whimpered repeatedly.

Faith had become her last floating plank left from a sinking ship which she held on to desperately, none too sure about how far Twilight would go in her offense which greatly disturbed her usually bold stamina.

Having taken what she heard as a positive sign, the white in Twilight's eyes started to fade out. Along with it went her fury. She exhaled loudly as fatigue took it's place. The friendlier mare had returned to the presence of Faith, Fluttershy and Rainbow who still took excess time in convincing herself for it to be the case.

The pegasus finally tumbled off Faith's backside as she passed out in relief, her ordeal now over.

After Rainbow had recovered and was standing up from the ground she found Faith's attention upon herself. "There is nothing to apologize about," the green pegasus told the other, helping her as she scampered to all fours, "You were right. How can I establish unbreakable friendships if I distance myself to other ponies?"

Rainbow stared at him silently, the meaning behind what had been said fully sinking in. Faith's polite sincerity had impressed her yet again.

"You know what, Faith. You're not such a coward after all," the mare replied in admittance.

To her embarrassment she now found herself in a gentle hug, finding it awkward to her tough imago but reluctantly adapting. The mare's hoof tapped Faith's shoulder acceptingly, a shy flush going through her cheeks. The stallion eventually released her, returning a nod of respect. which Rainbow repeated out of principle.

As the interaction happened Twilight watched them from aside with a warm grin. The friendly affair between Faith and the Elements had so far remained intact.

Also observing the interaction close to Faith and Rainbow, Fluttershy had momentarily forgotten her heartbreak and smiled. Maybe there ws hope for him staying after all.

But was it certain? Fluttershy's mind went through the possibilities. Before Rainbow appeared they had almost............. No, Faith had been reluctant the whole time. Even at that critical moment she had felt it in his gaze, in the way he spoke.

What would have happened if they had gone through with it? Would one kiss be enough to change anything? Faith had disconnected himself with so little.

No, he wouldn't believe in such a bind. Faith was still going to leave.

The mare’s uncertainty returned with a vengeance. Squeezed by it's acidic grip, Fluttershy's eyes narrow. She would have to go the extra mile to ensure success.

It took a mere second for her to be in his plain frontal view. Faith only got a split second to face towards her to assess what she did before the mare's eyes started radiating.

Before he knew it her subject suddenly felt that he wasn't able to turn away. Faith was now held in place by a strong gaze that pierced the back of his head. He had fallen victim to Fluttershy's stare.

"I demand you to stay with me," she exclaimed loudly and confidently.

Rainbow and Twilight looked on, confused by what their friend was doing. By now both mares had realized that what they had interrupted wasn't just two ponies saying goodbye to each other.

Faith's eyes watered from the strain, finding it impossible to look away. His nerves were being squeezed far worse than during their previous contact. Somehow he had become tiny in an already larger world. Fighting back momentarily, Faith realized that he was literally swimming against a stronger current.

Then a simple ideal materialized.

Why fight it? All that Fluttershy had seemingly wanted was for him to stay a bit longer. Faith wasn't really a prisoner anymore. Twilight herself had given an oral promise about not using her magic. He was free to move around the vicinity. These ponies trusted him as much as they wanted him to trust them. He would have enough time to settle this clash of views without the need of excess force.

All that it would take was more time.

A shaken yet compassionate expression replaced his shocked look as Faith gathered some of his good self-esteem. The mare gasped as soon as she realized the meaning behind his facial language, her focus starting to break.

Faith slowly progressed forward to approach the keeper of his bind located a very short distance away, willingly keeping his eyes pointed at Fluttershy's instead of trying to look away from them. He had opened up completely, accepting the hold of her stare, that it existed and what had be done.

Fighting it was futile. Fearing it was even more futile. Regardless of how long it would last, Faith would have to treat their relationship as a journey.

He reached the mare. A sincere gaze answered the intense stare, neither of the ponies speaking yet what was seen from their faces explained itself; Fluttershy's half-open mouth warped from the wave-like motion going through her tear soaked lips. Faith's jaw shook, eyes teary from the inner turmoil. Regardless of their differences the ponies were sharing emotions.

A loud whimper went off. Fluttershy literally broke down, the stare withering as she dropped after having lost the strength from her body. Faith caught her fall before she hit the ground, holding her delicate frame gently against his own.

A weeping filled the air, coming from not one but two ponies. Time went by, minutes passing like an eternity.

Eventually the unease settled and a new eye contact was established. Looking deep in the blue sapphire eyes facing his own, an impulse zipped through Faith from the tip of the hooves to the depths of his very core. Almost simultaneously he felt the mare's body vibrate. She had undergone a similar sensation.

"I am so going to regret this....," Faith's deep inner voice uttered to itself.

The snouts of the two pegasus came together as Faith bended over to kiss Fluttershy. Another eternity rolled by, the surrounding world closed outside their senses.

Then their lips released. Pulling back, Faith and Fluttershy still remained bound from their eyes, unwilling to break the exchange until Faith finally remembered the other two mares. Thoughtfully the stallion turned his attention to where Twilight and Rainbow were standing.

Both mares had not prepared for what they had witnessed between Fluttershy and Faith, having seen it in what to them was only a short moment. Two stretchy mouths now hung limp below baffled faces, a rather amusing look on two ponies.

Holding back a chuckle the best he could, Faith grinned at their reaction. Fluttershy seemed to be having less success, muffling a giggle behind her hoof.

"I have changed my mind. I think I could stay a bit longer in Ponyville after all," Faith told to the mare unicorn.

The eyes of Twilight and Rainbow shrunk to an almost invisible size before their limbs gave away. The now unconscious mares took a simultaneous plunge to their sides.
***

The vast meadow housed an ocean of yellow flowers spanning as far as the eye could see. Bees and butterflies had taken the air for themselves in a task that concerned the lively colored sea, adding movement to the mostly passive environment aside kinetic waves created by a weak summer wind pushing against the plants. The insects were scattered as individual swarms, landing to the golden petals to collect the important nectar that ensured the yearly survival of their colonies. The swarms were talking amongst themselves by a pitch and a language so alien that no pony could translate it to words.

Almost no pony.

Somewhere amidst the yellow surface a lonely green pegasus had stationed himself, resting low to the ground with his spine kept horizontal, back limbs crossed in a meditative sitting stance.

Faith ignored the visual details of the beautiful phenomenon surrounding him. He already acknowledged it's existence in perfectly self-accepting harmony. The stallion felt the soft wind swaying the summit of his reddish brown mane, enjoying it's brush against his green coat. He was listening to the conversation of the tiny beings occupying the air above his head, eyes closed to help him focus.

One of the bees landed against his cheek, curiously exploring it. It found no traces of nectar to collect from this peculiar unflower. Faith's lip formed a grin from the tickling sensation of it's tiny limbs. He had his place in the larger world and allows himself to co-exist with the tiny stinging insect without evoking it. Instead of instinctive repulsion the pony deeply admired what had landed on him, having spent years of his life amongst tiny living beings like it.

"Keep working, little one," Faith told the bee, "There are plenty of good flowers for you and everyone else in your family. You're doing a good job."

The insect lifted to it's wings. "Thank you for the compliment," it answered as it flew away, having understood what he had said. Faith sighed, relaxed in his position. Nothing could possibly be better than this and he was wishing for it to last eternally.

The pegasus was forced to open his eyes when something disturbed his senses.

The gentle breeze had abruptly died down, no longer massaging him. Even the insects sensed the disturbance, scattering away. The air instantly became standing. A powerful fear had been aroused by something not related to the weather. Faith turned his head to try and locate this new presence only to find himself without a clue about where it was. To make his fear worsen, a calm yet monstrous growl was heard.

What ever it was, the creature was coming closer to Faith who was hopelessly exposed. A chill went through his spine like a sixth sense warning about the presence of approaching danger. Yet he saw nothing.

"You are mine now........," a deep raspy voice spoke out from somewhere near him.

Faith recognized the voice. When his eyes shot themselves wider the pegasus felt another chill shaking him to the bone.

It had returned for him!

He jumped up from his meditative position to scan the field for the invisible being now stalking him while trying to remain confidently cool headed.

"Show yourself!", the pegasus shouted to the empty looking field.

A throbbing pain and a tightening around his chest made Faith press a hoof against it. The sensation quickly worsened to a searing burning of hot needles, twisting the stallion's face from agony. Faith winced, barely staying on all three legs that still kept him upright.

A morbid cackle began to ring from every direction like the entity gripping him had been divided everywhere yet was nothing more than an echo crossing the area. Panic took over Faith's mind, freezing him with a third chill. Along with it the pain increased, tearing at him akin to a stinging knife.

"Not my heart! Not my heart!", Faith screamed, the tone of his shout upset by fear and agony.

The cackling laughter didn't show signs of ceasing, unbearable to listen.

A new hurtful throb forced Faith to keel down and he collapsed when his now senseless limbs gave away. The pegasus realized that his heart was failing him, kept under a tight corrosive grip by the supernatural assaulter. Pressing his chest with both hooves, the stallion went to a violent twitch like a fish out of water.

The strength in his body failing along with his heart, Faith was witnessing himself slip away to the other side, the invisible beast tearing into his physical essence like a potent predatory parasite. The pegasus became limp as he went into cardiac arrest, flailing powerlessly as it happened.

"Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!, a voice in his mouth by now drained from it's strength brought along one final scream as darkness swallowed him.


"No!!"

Faith jumped up in the dark, hyperventilating, cold sweat already pouring down his forehead. The stallion held a hoof against his chest, afraid for the heart that was beating at quick rate deep under his coat.

"What's wrong, honey?" he heard Fluttershy's soft voice ask from right next to him.

She too had been asleep before his abrupt awakening had woken her up as well. They had been sharing the same bed in his apartment mostly due to her insistence after Faith had returned there. Finally remembering where was, the stallion sighed loudly to fall back against the soft bed sheets.

"I just had a horrible nightmare," Faith eventually revealed after his shock has died down. Fluttershy snuggled closer, stretching out her front limb to stroke the other pony's brown mane.

The hoof then turned his face so they could exchange looks. “Relax, darling. It was just a dream.”

"Thankfully," Faith replied silently, "It felt too close for comfort."

Sensing his tenseness, Fluttershy tickled his neck. "What was it about? You can tell me."

Instead of explaining right away Faith rewinded through the nightmare in his head. He had never dreamed of It before, not even once after banishing it from his soul many years ago, still feeling strong rejection towards the creature that had once lived in him. Yet It had easily overwhelmed him in the dream.

What would that mean to him in reality? Faith didn't believe to predictive nor prophetic meanings of dreams. The pegasus decided to forget the enigma to get better sleep for the rest of the night.

"The bitterness shattered my heart," he eventually revealed to the mare lying at his side.

Fluttershy reacted in shock when learning it, holding a hoof against her mouth. Quickly snuggling tighter against him, she stroked the stallion's mane again. "Poor Faith," her voice cooed comfortingly, "Let me try and fix that broken heart."

She leaned over to gently kiss Faith's chest, resting down against him to rub his green coat, a gesture that made him flush entirely. It's like his heart had exploded. In a good way.

"Just what a broken heart needs," he whispered with a shy grin and a gaze stuck in the mare's blue eyes.

"Come visit my home tomorrow. I think you will get along well with my little friends," Fluttershy whispered.

Faith closed his eyes, hearing Fluttershy sigh emotionally as he quickly drifted back to better dreams in the comfort of her company.

***

The next morning Fluttershy and Faith departed his apartment to go to the animal nursery cottage that she called her home, taking a shortcut through the town square while they did so to stop by the local market. With her consumer experience Fluttershy located a vegetable stand.

"Stay here if you're too shy in interacting," she told Faith awkwardly before walking over to make a purchase.

The other pegasus remained stationary, curiously eyeing the other town locals passing by him, by now much calmer and more confident even at the relative loudness of the crowd. As the stand keeper handed Fluttershy a bag of groceries a short distance away she quickly thanked the other pony before returning to Faith who had not moved.

"Can you manage?", the mare asked him with a warm smile.

Faith gave her a wink and a grin of his own. "A few ponies making a racket, that's all there is. I actually think this place isn't half-bad." He now noticed the large cabbages hanging from Fluttershy's saddle bag among a few other vegetables. "Are your little friends addicted to cabbage by any means?"

"Most of them eat all sorts of food," Fluttershy giggled, "I got these for little Angel, my white bunny. Fresh cabbage helps keep him satisfied. It comes in use, he can be rather pestering and hot headed."

The mare intentionally walked right past her companion to gently brush against him as she trotted past. "Come on, darling. I can't wait to introduce you to my house. Some more peace and quietness.......just for us," Fluttershy cooed with a hint of seductiveness.

Almost blushing, Faith gathered himself to walk in her trail after managing a cooler mindset.

Passing the city square, Fluttershy and Faith were suddenly forced to stop again when she spotted an individual squirrel limping alone besides a tree growing at the street and headed over to inspect. Faith stuck by her side despite hearing some obnoxious voices shouting loudly a distance away. The squirrel squeaked at the two pegasus tensely, not showing willingness in letting them get too close.

"Awwwww, you poor little fellow," Fluttershy communicated to it calmly, "Let Fluttershy have a look at you."

The squirrel went quiet as it picked the calming tone of her voice, curiously limping closer. It sniffed the tip of her hoof as she outstretched it to prove her helpful intention and jumped on it after deeming the mare harmless. Fluttershy examined the squirrel's bent limb after bringing it beside her.

"Did you dislocate your paw? We should take you to my home so we can have it treated at once so you can get back to your search of acorns as soon as possible," she explained which the rodent nodded at in seeming understanding as the mare placed it to an empty saddle pocket at her other side.

Faith watched it happening from aside, smiling warmly at how she treated the animal.

"I like your talent. If more ponies had it the natural world would remain more harmonic," the feminine stallion commented.

Fluttershy giggled nervously, a flushing going through the cheeks. "Oh my, that is so kind, Faith."

Before her uplift lasted too long the mare's face dropped upon the understanding of the reality that surrounded her life. "I really, really wish that were the case. I'm mostly by myself......aside my five friends of course. I'm too shy to find others. It's even harder to find ones who share my point of view about nature. I think you're one of the few who I can truly relate with."

She led the way as the duo continued down the street with the injured squirrel now for company. Faith saw it scamper to the middle of Fluttershy's back from the saddle bag when it's sharp senses got alerted to the approach of more ponies.

Three stallions crossed the same street from the opposite direction, heading where the two pegasus had been moving from, speaking at each other with excessively loud drunken voices, their attitude indicating at spoiled backgrounds. These ponies had been making the racket during Fluttershy's discovery of the squirrel.

As the two parties passed each other one of the stallions noticed Faith.

"Look, guys! That's the infamous mare stallion that everypony's been speaking about," the obese pony barked under slobbery laughter.

The other two stallions, a long skinny one with pimples and a hunk with a reddish brown coat now took note and started laughing mockingly.

"That's not a stallion at all! What a joke to his gender," the thinly built pony cackled an insult.

"What do ya reckon, is he a redhead or a brunette?", the hunk snickered, a grin revealing a cluster of three poorly maintained upper teeth inside his mouth, the rest apparently lost to some sort of dental rot.

"I dunno but he sure looks green from envy," the fat pony remarked which caused all three stallions to keel over from synonymous laughter.

Listening them made Fluttershy look like she had a lump embedded to her throat. At her side Faith's expression tightened regarding the insults directed at him which made him look behind calmly.

If he had taken Rainbow's outburst the way he had these three jerks wouldn't be a bigger challenge to overcome despite how different they obviously were be to the mare pegasus. Faith would have to teach himself to accordingly face the more difficult ones if he was to get along with anyone.

Making up his mind, he had already stalled and turned around to move back towards the three ponies still rolling at the ground before Fluttershy saw it. Coming up to them, Faith prepared for his greatest test yet as the mockers noticed him and stood calmly in front of their viewpoint.

"Or maybe, just maybe, green is a natural color," Faith expressed with self-restrained confidence, returning eye contact with the adult bullies.

A hoof covered her gasp. A short distance away Fluttershy too had now taken notice to what Faith was doing. His decision could get him to trouble if it got out of hand. On the mare's backside the squirrel was squeaking loudly, jumping up and down.

The mockers were momentarily left speechless at the bold approach until a louder laughter had them keel over again. The three stallions then got to all fours and pressed closer to him. The brutish hunk with a poor dental hygiene came nearest, his two friends sticking by his both sides, grinning deviously when he towered over the pegasus to size him down.

"Well, well, well, what do ya know, a tough buck defending himself."

"Loser! Loser! Loser! Loser!" The two other bullies almost synonymously started chanting at Faith to emotionally oppress their target.

Spending time with Twilight and her five friends had already done miracles to Faith's formerly shattered self-esteem that now withstood the oral abuse thrown at him. Watching the stallions without surrendering to grief nor fear, Faith calmly maintained eye contact, visibly showing to the three stallions that he wasn't the succumbing type.

"Have a nice day," the pegasus told them almost indifferently before heading back.

"Keep failing, green loser," the toothless hunk closest to him threw his final insult. Not looking back, Faith went where he had come from without a hint of worry regarding the stallion's childish behavior.

He had passed the test.

Fluttershy's eyes were standing when he returned by her side, the squirrel on her back still squeaking angrily at the direction of the stallions who had mocked Faith.

"Ignore those fools, Fluttershy. They're harmless," Faith expressed when he passed by, gently brushing against her.

Blushing yet again, the now taken Fluttershy moved on with him. The squirrel had not stopped venting it's anger, jumping up and down on her saddle, finally making her focus on something aside her surprise as she gestured a hoof over her shoulder and spoke to the tiny animal assuringly.

"Calm down, little fellow. We have to get your paw fixed."

The squirrel settled after hearing her. Having succeeded at calming down her patient, Fluttershy moved quicker to keep up with her green companion.

"That was amazing! And reckless! Dangerous even! How could you?! They might have harmed you," Fluttershy exclaimed loudly after catching up with Faith, sounding aimless in her fear for him.

A questioned expression appeared on the feminine stallion when he looks back at her. Fluttershy cleared her throat, once again sounding awkward.

"Sorry, Faith. I got a little concerned for you there. Forgive me for snapping like that, it's not something I do too often."

She remained silent for a moment to look him in the eyes before a grin of compassion from the other pegasus melted her poor self-esteem which allowed her to speak again. "You handled those jerks well. I couldn't have gotten anywhere near it without Iron Will."

"Who's that?", Faith asked his companion who once again became quiet for a few seconds.

"Never mind it. You wouldn't need a coach like him anyway," Fluttershy said, willing to push away the subject matter of her past experiment conducted with a minotaur's overkill teachings at self-esteem that had almost cost her two friends.

***

A familiar group of five mares and a purple baby dragon crossed the dirt road that ascended the flowery hill before Fluttershy's cottage. Soon coming upon the front door, Twilight knocked it with her hoof. For a moment nothing happened.

"Wasn't she supposed to be home?", Applejack asked.

"I don't know why she wouldn't be after telling me and Rainbow where she would bring Faith," the lavender mare replied before knocking a second time, rewarded with nothing but a new moment without answer that made the unicorn sigh.

"If she isn't home where could they be? I doubt they stayed at Faith's apartment," Rainbow pondered.

"Maybe they are napping," Spike theorized with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I think they would have heard us coming if they were," Twilight chuckled.

"Perhaps we can come again later. Big Mac could use mah help back at the Acres," Applejack mumbled, becoming bored at hanging in the doorway. It didn't last long when her sharp eyes located something out of the ordinary which made the work horse curious. "Scratch that, let's take a look at the backyard," she dismissed her previous statement with a hat flip before circling around the cottage, "There's something going on in there."

The other mares and Spike stuck behind her, now similarly aware of a strange presence behind Fluttershy's home. Reaching the backyard side of the cottage, they came upon a strange sight which made them stare silently.

A herd of all sorts of big and small forest animals had gathered to an organized formation that was moving in unison, repeating a fine array of movements, shifting from one pose to another, even the four legged ones standing on two legs.

In the midst of this strange herd the mares saw Fluttershy and Faith moving the same way, most of Faith's green coat covered by yellow butterflies that for some reason were being attracted to him. What the pegasus and animals alike were doing appeared to be a morning exercise akin to taiji or yoga.

The exercise came to a stop once the animal herd scattered upon noticing the mares and the baby dragon. Fluttershy gasped before she also stopped. Holding a hoof on her mouth, the yellow mare pegasus started to giggle at the awkwardness of the situation. The humor of the moment caught on to the others who started laughing.

Faith remained well focused, calmly gazing the blank space straight ahead of him and forming a ball with two front hooves as he took a simultaneous step to the left, the butterflies on his shoulders and mane hinging their wings. The entire exercise appeared to be his invention or something that he had learned a long time ago.

The five mares approached the duo.

"Seems like you're having fun," Twilight said with her chuckle still going.

Fluttershy looked excessively happy as she came up to meet them. "Yes, it has been a fun day." The mare pegasus glanced behind her at Faith who continued his activity at the background, a blushing having appeared to both of her yellow cheeks.

"A truly fun day indeed........"

***