Chapters An Unstoppable Force of Destruction
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Just make sure you stay safe, Mr. Greenhooves."
"Understood, Princess Celestia." Mr. Greenhooves replied hastily, before turning and striding out of the room, humming happily. He stopped when he saw Princess Luna, who stopped to regard him with a friendly smile as he bowed to her on his way out.
"What was that about?" Luna asked as she approached her sister.
"Vacation leave. Can you believe that? Without any warning whatsoever." Celestia muttered irritably. "We're going to need a temporary caretaker for the Canterlot Gardens..."
"I trust you already have somepony in mind?"
"Oh, yes, I've requested for Fluttershy of Ponyville to take on the responsibility, if she is comfortable. Greenhooves wasn't THAT short notice, after all. "
"Fluttershy...the name is familiar..."
"For Equestria's sake, Luna...she's the Element of Kindness! Of course the name is familiar!"
"Ah yes, the pantophobic pegasus." Receiving a harsh glare from Celestia, Luna continued cautiously. "I seem to recall her destroying the garden and part of the dining hall, the last time she attempted to control the animals."
"Oh, you worry too much, Luna. The animals were simply edgy because of all the company. They are really quite docile."
"And your phoenix? Didn't she almost murder him?"
"Element of Kindness, Luna. The name seems to contrast your suspicions of her competence in these matters. I imagine she is thrilled at the chance to make more animal acquaintances.."
"Whatever you say, Celestia."
Fluttershy paced her cottage nervously, occasionally stopping to reread the letter she had just received.
"Oh...what should I do? I don't want to let Princess Celestia down...but..."
The yellow pegasus cast a glance at her animals, who were regarding her with a concerned expression. Angel Bunny rolled his eyes and tapped his foot, evidently irritated by his masters plight.
"I can't do all this work alone! What if I fail? What if something happens to the animals? It would be my fault...and Celestia would never trust me again! What if I'm banished? What if..."
With a great sigh, Angel hopped up to Fluttershy, grabbing the letter and pointing to a passage of writing near the bottom.
"Your own animal friends are more than welcome to accompany you to Canterlot.. ." Fluttershy read aloud, looking back at Angel. "I....I don't understand, Angel..."
Bringing a paw to his face in an irritated gesture, the bunny motioned towards Fluttershy's animals and back to her. Fluttershy had to contemplate what this meant for a few seconds, before suddenly understanding.
"You mean...you mean you guys would help me with all the other animals in Canterlot?" Her question was met with a collective nodding from her animal friends, the concern in their faces gone, and replaced with supportive grins. Fluttershy was taken aback by the kindness of her animal friends. "But...but, they were so...uncontrollable! I don't think I could deal with animals so...stubborn..."
An insulted look shot across Angel's face, and Fluttershy noticed this, smiling playfully.
"Well...yes, I suppose I have dealt with stubborn animals before..." Fluttershy looked at the faces of her animal friends who were willing to help her, and finally made her decision. "You're right, Angel...Princess Celestia is counting on me...and I won't let her down! Thank you so much, my friends!"
The yellow pegasus tore into the air happily, grabbing Angel and embracing him as she flew. Angel regarded her with a mixture of embarrassment and happiness, while Fluttershy continued to express her appreciation of her friends gratitude, repeating her thanks as she flew upstairs to get her affairs ready for Canterlot.
"Admit it, Celestia..."
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Luna." The Princess of the Sun sighed as she walked alongside her sister through the Canterlot Gardens.
"I think you do...I looked through Greenhooves's vacation logs and found that you recommended he took one." Luna turned her head slightly to regard her sister with a suspicious glance. "In other words, it was not short notice at all...so why are you so keen for Fluttershy to come to Canterlot?"
Celestia chuckled, returning her sister's glance of suspicion with one of playfulness.
"What exactly do you think is between me and Fluttershy, Luna?"
"Oh, shut up!" Luna laughed awkwardly. "I wasn't suggesting that! I'm just curious why you would enlist Fluttershy when there are surely more competent ponies right here in Canterlot. And I think the reason is because you know she will fail."
"Luna! What sort of sadistic tyrant do you take me for?"
"I hardly called you that. I simply think you find it funny to see ponies embarrass themselves, as long as it is all in the name of fun. I'm hardly attacking you, Celestia..."
"Oh, I know...But, it just so happens, you're wrong about why I chose Fluttershy." Celestia looked across the vibrant garden, at the beautiful flowers and the birds fluttering carelessly through the air, their multicolored bodies contrasting the clear blue morning sky.
"Well then, enlighten me, Celestia."
"I simply asked her to come because I know she would love to have another chance to befriend the animals here in the Canterlot Garden. Is that such a crime?"
After a few centuries on the moon, it had taken Luna awhile to grasp the concept of a rhetorical question, but since her sister was so fond of them, she decided to answer her directly.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see, Tia...because I am certainly not looking forward to the repairs after the castle is nearly destroyed."
"Yes, because sweet, kind Fluttershy is certainly an unstoppable force of destruction--"
"Oh...umm...I am?" A soft voice cooed out from behind the two alicorns. Celestia stopped talking suddenly, whipping around to face a nearly-crying Fluttershy. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Princess!"
"Nicely done, Celestia." Luna giggled, as her sister frantically searched for the right words to explain what could only be interpreted as an insult by Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was on the verge of tears, and Celestia had reason to believe that if she hadn't been in the company of royalty, she most certainly would have broken down. Behind Fluttershy was a magnificent multitude of birds, mice, beavers, and even a bear, with a white rabbit sitting on Fluttershy's back and gazing at his owner.
"No, no, no...you misunderstand me, my little pony!" She began, attempting to mask her guilt in the form of a regal, dignified voice. "Please...disregard what you may have heard, and understand that me and Luna have utmost trust for you."
"Umm...alright..."
"My, it has been a long time since we have seen each other, Dearest Fluttershy!" Luna cut in, before Celestia could have a chance to speak, and confuse the poor mare any further. "Unfortunately, me and Princess Celestia have some royal duties to attend to. You need only speak to a Royal Guard, and they shall bring you to your quarters promptly."
Fluttershy whispered a nervous 'thank you' as the two alicorns strode from the garden. Celestia turned suddenly and called to Fluttershy.
"Thank you, Fluttershy, for coming on short notice. Thank you for helping us...help you...to help all of Canterlot!" She stammered, still lost for words.
"Smooth, Celestia." Luna whispered between suppressed giggles.
"Oh, would you stop it..." Celestia retorted, and the two alicorns exited the garden, leaving a particularly bewildered pegasus standing amongst the flora.
"Well...that was certainly strange..." Fluttershy whispered to Angel, who nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I guess we should set up a meeting for all the animals to let them know I'm going to be taking care of them for a few days. I was sorta hoping Celestia or Luna would tell them that, but I guess they're much to busy to be talking to animals."
Angel responded to this with an insulted glare in the direction the Princesses had left, while Fluttershy hunted the courtyard for the best possible meeting place. After a few seconds of searching, she found a tall, lonely branch overhanging a relatively large clearing. She called softly to her own animal friends and in time she had a small audience of familiar animals looking up at her in the clearing. Angel was leaning on Fluttershy's side and yawning.
"Hello, Canterlot Garden Animals! You don't have to be shy...or afraid of me...my name is Fluttershy, and I'm going to be your caretaker for the next few days. Could you maybe join my friends in the clearing, so we could meet each other?" Fluttershy spoke hopefully, her voice a mixture of kindness and moderate assertiveness. After a few minutes of waiting, with no Canterlot animals appearing, she called out again.
"I know you poor things must be scared, but I love all animals very, very much! And I brought some of my own animal friends here to Canterlot, so maybe you can at least listen to them."
To Fluttershy's delight, a small number of birds and critters shyly crept into the clearing, tiptoeing into her line of sight. They began to chatter softly with Fluttershy's animals, before running back into the woods swiftly.
"No...wait...!" Fluttershy called desperately, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm supposed to be 'caretaking' you!"
The pegasus was about to take to the air in pursuit of the animals, when Angel tapped her side and motioned for her to settle down. Fluttershy looked down at him, confused, but he simply motioned towards the clearing, as if telling Fluttershy to watch closely for something.
Sure enough, in time, an even greater multitude of Canterlot animals strode confidently into the clearing, and Fluttershy let out a gentle squee of delight as she hugged her rabbit companion. She was now being observed closely by not only her rodent and avian friends, but by foreign monkeys, magnificent toucans, squirrels, and even a panda bear which easily doubled her in size.
With so many curious eyes trained on her, Fluttershy felt a sudden nervousness overtake her, but cleared her throat and began.
"Good morning, everybody! As you probably already heard, my name is Fluttershy, and I'll be taking care of all of your for the weekend." Fluttershy unfurled her wings and motioned for Angel to hop on her back as she flew down into the crowd of animals, who thankfully did not flee from her as she landed amongst them. She then wasted no time in introducing all of her animals, laughing cheerfully as they befriended each other almost instantly.
"See, Luna..." Celestia said matter-of-factually as the two alicorns watched the commotion from a window overlooking the garden. "They are getting along perfectly fine. If this works out, maybe Fluttershy can assume the role of Animal Caretaker here in Canterlot more often...I'm sure she would love that."
Luna scoffed softly. "Perhaps you're right, Celestia...but I think it is unwise to think that far ahead after seeing her interact with the animals for a mere minute."
"You are too cynical, Luna. She does this every day. She'll be fine."
"You certainly must be disappointed, if that is the case." Luna muttered to herself, although Celestia heard her quite clearly.
"For the love of Equestria, Luna, not everything is a cruel prank with me!" Celestia said defensively.
Luna laughed innocently. "Oh, Tia, I'm just kidding. Stop being so melodramatic."
"Me? Melodramatic? Nonsense!" Celestia replied furiously. "Anyways, I think we should leave Fluttershy to her affairs."
"Agreed. Although maybe one of us should check on her tonight to make sure everything is still alright."
"She isn't a filly, Luna. But I suppose you're right. I'll speak with her tonight."
Fluttershy sang a brief, familiar melody before calling out to her new friends.
"Feeding time! I hope you're all hungry!"
In almost no time at all, the clearing (which Fluttershy had established as her official 'event plaza') was populated by dozens of animals of all shapes and sizes. Fluttershy continued to sing happily as she distributed the various foods to their respectful animals, who devoured it hastily. The yellow pegasus then withdrew her own dinner from her saddlepack, a meticulously made hay sandwich and a salad. She sat down amongst the animals and ate happily.
The sun was beginning to dip of the trees, and Fluttershy realized she had spent most of her day in the courtyard. She hadn't even been up to see her room, although she decided upon arriving she didn't want to impose to much on the hospitality of the Princess anyway. Sleeping in one of those royal, fancy castle rooms made her feel rather guilty, considering she was neither fancy nor royal.
A sudden rustling made Fluttershy jump in surprise, and the mare whipped around to face the noise. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Princess Celestia, but her mind re-entered panic mode when she contemplated why the Princess would be here in the first place. The animals behind her darted into the bushes at the sight of the Solar Princess.
"Oh my...I'm sorry!" The Princess chuckled softly. "I see things are coming along nicely."
"Oh, yes!" Fluttershy said happily. "Thank you so much for asking me to come, Princess Celestia!"
"Nonsense, my little pony, it is you who deserves the thanks." Princess Celestia looked at her sun and back to Fluttershy, and noticed the yellow mare was shivering ever so slightly in the growing night. "The guards took you to your room, I trust?"
Fluttershy shuffled nervously and beat the ground absently with a hoof. "Umm, well, actually...I think I'll be sleeping here in the courtyard tonight."
"Really?" Celestia said with surprise, before realizing that that had sounded nothing like the way a Princess should. "Ahem. Well, it is your choice, but it is rather cold..." Seeing the guilty look on Fluttershy's face, Celestia decided it was probably better to change the subject. "When you are ready to turn in, you may return the animals to their respective sleeping area."
Fluttershy blinked in confusion. "Respective sleeping area? Like...a kennel?"
"I believe so, yes." Celestia suppressed a yawn and smiled at Fluttershy. "Well, I suppose I should return to the castle. Have a good evening, Fluttershy."
"Umm...thank you..."
With that, Celestia turned and unfurled her wings, flying through a large skylight that led to what Fluttershy assumed was the Main Hall. Shortly after the disappearance of the Princess, the animals crept back into the courtyard and resumed eating their dinners. Fluttershy looked at them thoughtfully.
She had heard about ponies keeping animals in kennels before. While she wasn't particularly opposed to the idea, she had always been able to keep her animals close to home using a simple system of respect and trust. She saw no reason why it wouldn't work here, either. Fluttershy flew up to the overhanging branch and softly tapped the wood for attention. When most of the eating animals were paying attention to her, she began.
"So...umm...I guess you're normally used to being kept in a kennel when you go to sleep. However, I think I trust you guys enough to let you sleep here in the courtyard tonight." Angel suddenly looked up at Fluttershy with surprise, and began bouncing up and down, trying to reach Fluttershy on the branch.
"I'll help you in a minute, Angel." Fluttershy whispered gently, before looking back at the rest of the animals, who were chattering happily, some even clapping. When she spoke again, her voice was lined with its familiar kindness, but also of an almost threatening assertiveness. "Just...please make sure you stay here in the courtyard. I'm trusting you guys, but the second I feel that you are betraying my trust, I will not be happy."
Fluttershy smiled and flew back down to ground, the excited chattering amongst the animals all but halted.
"I'm sorry about that, Angel. What seems to be the problem?"
Angel pointed at the animals, and shook his head frantically at Fluttershy. He repeated this gesture several times, until he was sure Fluttershy understood.
"Oh, Angel! Don't be so pessimistic!"
Angel brought a paw to his face and stormed away from Fluttershy.
From Fluttershy's perspective, these animals were hardly untrustworthy. Sure, they were a bit edgy, and they were definitely mischievous, but Fluttershy knew she had gained their trust, and she in turn trusted them.
"I mean...what's the worse that can happen, right?" Fluttershy said to herself as she lied down on the grass and looked up at the stars, letting sleep overtake her.
An Unstoppable Force of Destruction
Celestia set down her book with a sigh and rose from her spot in the library. Luna was facing out the window, her eyes closed as she scanned the subconscious minds of her subjects for nightmares, a mug of coffee levitating idly beside her.
"Good night, Luna. As always, the night is yours." Celestia said drowsily.
"Thank you, Celestia." Luna replied, smiling at her sister. "Have a good sleep."
Left to her own devices, Luna quickly became increasingly bored with the library, and after swiftly finishing her coffee, the Princess of the Night set out on a directionless journey across the empty castle. Not even a guard stirred to interrupt Luna's thoughts, though at one point she thought she could her the faint laughter of a mare in the distance, but she dismissed this as her own sleep-deprived imagination. In time, Luna found herself in the main hall, at this hour void of life, her own hoofbeats the only sound to break the serene night.
Suddenly, Luna noticed something near the center of the main hall that certainly looked out of place. Tip toeing cautiously towards the objects, Luna picked it up with her magic as she got closer, levitating it towards herself.
It was a feather.
"What in Equestria..." Luna muttered, confused. It wasn't unusual to find pegasus feathers lying around (although it was greatly demeaned to not preen oneself carefully) but this was most certainly not a pegasus feather. Luna's mind raced furiously. There was an intruder within the castle...and it wasn't a pony. Should she awaken her sister? Princess Luna was ready to sprint to her sister's sleeping chamber when a light rustling from above caused her to whip around. The room was flooded in darkness as one of the overhanging lights were suddenly extinguished. Above her, the large chandelier was moving ever so slightly, the glass fixtures pinging together like the cadence of wind-chimes.
"Who goes there!" Luna called out harshly. "Show yourself, thou villainous avian coward!"
Suddenly, without warning, a dark shadow descended upon Princess Luna.
Fluttershy awoke with a start as she was repeatably assaulted by some manner of terrifying monster. She whipped around to face her imminent demise and was shocked to see Angel Bunny kicking her side frantically.
"A...angel?" Fluttershy stammered, sighing in relief. "Oh my...you scared me! What's wrong, honey?"
Angel Bunny furiously forced Fluttershy onto her feet and bounced frantically around the empty courtyard.
"I...I don't understand what you're afraid of, Angel...there's nopony here--"
A sudden wave of realization shot over Fluttershy as she looked across the empty branches rustling in the midnight breeze.
"There's nopony here!" She screamed hysterically. "Where did all the animals go?"
Fluttershy was crying now, while Angel sighed and brought his hands to his side in a 'told you so' gesture.
"I trusted them!" Fluttershy cried. "I didn't want them to feel scared and lonely...and I trusted them! We don't have time to loose, Angel! We need to find those animals, before something terrible happens!"
Angel nodded, and hopped on Fluttershy's back as the pegasus took of into the air. Suddenly, she caught a quick glimpse of movement as she flew and she darted back to the earth quickly. Angel grabbed onto her mane as she landed hard on the ground, dashing towards where she had seen the movement. She wasn't far from the clearing where she had slept, and she silently cursed herself for not checking around here at first.
Lying down in the grass was nearly a dozen familiar animals, and Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw all her animal friends had remained where she had told them to. Angel was awakening them now, much more gracefully then he had awoken Fluttershy, and they all looked from him to Fluttershy expectantly.
"Ahem." Fluttershy began nervously. "There has been an...incident. Everything is perfectly under control, but I need you all to stay right here no matter what, and if you see the Canterlot animals, make sure they do NOT leave the clearing where we first met. "
The animals instantly began chattering loudly, obviously not satisfied with Fluttershy's vagueness.
"I don't have time for this!" Fluttershy asserted. "I'm sorry, my friends, but I need you to trust me. Do not leave this spot, because if you do, I will be VERY angry. I'll see you guys soon."
With that, Fluttershy tore back into the sky, Angel frantically grabbing her tail and crawling onto her back. The two scanned the courtyard for signs of life, and suddenly Angel was jumping up and down and pointing at a black and white figure in a tree.
"Oh! It's the panda bear!" Fluttershy screamed happily. "He's just...sleeping..." She knew from her research that pandas were usually rather lazy animals, and did not travel swiftly or frequently. Right now, he was the least of her concerns, and she instead flew higher above the courtyard. Soon, she was above Canterlot Castle, landing on one of the taller spires overlooking the courtyard. Across from her was the main hall, which she could only assume was void of life at this hour. If she didn't find the animals before sunrise...Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of Princess Celestia discovering that each and every one of the rare, exotic, endangered animals had escaped, and Fluttershy was entirely to blame. No more Element of Kindness, no more Equestria, no more friendship.
"No. I'll find them!" Fluttershy said aloud.
The main hall ahead of her was completely dark, but Fluttershy noticed a glimmer of light coming from the roof. Squinting her eyes in an attempt to see it more clearly, Fluttershy realized she was looking at the moon reflecting off of an open skylight that led into the main hall. Angel Bunny had apparently noticed it too, and pointed towards it while tugging Fluttershy's mane.
"Yes honey, I see it. You think we should check it out?" Fluttershy knew better than to doubt Angel's judgment now...if she would have listened to him earlier, she wouldn't even be in this mess. Motioning for him to hop back onto her back, Fluttershy spread her wings and sailed across the midnight sky, touching down quietly on the main hall roof. The open skylight was surrounded by what Fluttershy quickly deduced as flamingo feathers. She let out a quiet exclamation of joy and hugged Angel happily, before peering into the main hall from the skylight. As she had predicted, the room was empty.
Wasting no time, Fluttershy lowered herself through the skylight and hovered in the empty room, the regal red carpeting beneath her easily 60 feet down. Even from her great height, Fluttershy could make out several brightly colored flamingo feathers dotting the floor. Suddenly, Fluttershy noticed something she hadn't before, and cried out happily when she did, her laughter echoing in the main hall. Angel sprang to life, shoving his paw onto Fluttershy's mouth to silence her.
"Look, Angel!" She whispered, as she flew towards one of the many immense overhanging chandeliers. Perched on top of the delicate fixture were several brightly colored flamingos, sleeping peacefully. Fluttershy landed on the fixture next to them, and shuddered when she heard the chandelier creak audibly under the stress of so much weight. Angel jumped off her back as soon as she landed, and rudely awoke each of the flamingos, much to Fluttershy's dismay. They all looked at her innocently, and it took the best of her resolve to fall back on her anger.
"You...you bad birds!" She whispered. "You aren't supposed to be here! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
The innocence was gone from their eyes, replaced by guilt. But Fluttershy wasn't done yet. Widening her eyes and staring straight into their own cold avian irises, Fluttershy spoke again.
"Now, you will return to the courtyard immediately, and if I EVER have to come looking for you again, you will certainly be sorry!"
Hypnotized by the supreme power of Fluttershy's stare, the flamingos nodded absently and flew off through the open skylight. Angel nodded approvingly at Fluttershy, and just as Fluttershy was about to take off after them, his eyes grew wide and he frantically shook his head and motioned for her to be quiet. Fluttershy complied without question, and quickly realized what it was the rabbit had heard as Princess Luna strode into the room.
Fluttershy couldn't quite see where she was from within the light fixture, but she was rather certain Luna would be able to see her clearly by the light of the chandelier. As quietly as possible, the pegasus blew out the flame and huddled in fear as she heard Luna breathing heavily underneath her. Suddenly, the Princess of the Night spoke, causing Fluttershy to jump in fright.
""Who goes there! Show yourself, thou villainous avian coward!"
Fluttershy didn't remember how exactly she had wound up falling from the chandelier, but before she knew it, the ground was quickly approaching her, and Fluttershy knew there was no way she would be surviving a fall from this height. Unfurling her wings, Fluttershy glided to safety, Angel almost falling of his owners back at the sudden inertia. Flying now, Fluttershy turned to face Princess Luna, who was almost unidentifiable in the darkness. With a gasp of relief, Fluttershy realized it was entirely possible Luna had not even realized it was her that suddenly dropped from the sky and was now flying rapidly towards the long corridor at the end of main hall. Behind her, she could hear heavy wingbeats and knew she was mere seconds away from what would surely be banishment.
At least the flamingos were safe.
With ease, Luna used her magic to slam the door to the main hall, instantly cutting off the fleeing pegasi's escape. The villain skidded to a halt as it instantly stopped flying to avoid slamming into the closed door. Whipping around, terrified, the pegasi was facing her now, and Luna thought she could see another creature sitting on its back.
"And just where do you think you're going, thou wrongdoer?" Luna said proudly, her horn glowing with magic.
"P...please..." A shy voice cooed fearfully. "Please don't hurt me, Princess Luna."
Luna stopped flapping abruptly, hitting the ground hard and stumbling to maintain her balance. Using her magic to illuminate the room, she gawked in disbelief as she found herself face to face with the Element of Kindness herself, cowering in fear on the floor of the main hall.
"Fluttershy?!" Luna said in surprise as she shook her head and regained her regal posture. "Care to explain what exactly you are doing breaking into the royal castle in the dead of night, and why I shouldn't just have you escorted from Canterlot immediately?"
Despite what logic could possibly dictate, Fluttershy looked even more terrified as she met Luna's eyes.
"I...I'm so sorry..." She cried softly, the sound of her tears echoing across the otherwise emotionless main hall. "I...I'll go right now...I'm a terrible pony..." Fluttershy turned to flee, but Luna stopped her dead in her tracks with her next statement.
"No! You will explain to me why you are here, what this feather I found belongs to, and finally, why it was found within this castle!"
Fighting back more tears, Fluttershy explained the situation through panicked sobs, staring at her hooves and doing her best to avoid eye contact with the Princess of the Night. Luna nodded absently through Fluttershy's story.
"...and...I heard you come in...and...I..." Trying desperately to get the words out, Fluttershy suddenly burst into tears as her rabbit friend tried to console her. Luna blinked in bewilderment.
"That...that's it?" She began slowly. "Well, I'm sorry, Fluttershy! And here I thought I was looking at some sort of serious security threat! Well, the castle is yours, although I'm sure I would have noticed animals running about within these walls."
Now it was Fluttershy's turn to be confused. "You're not angry? You aren't going to banish me? Or take my animal friends away from me? Celestia is going to be furious that I let her down!"
Luna laughed innocently. "Oh come now, it isn't that serious! As a matter of fact, Celestia doesn't even need to know about this."
Fluttershy wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Princess Luna. She thought about how terrified she used to be of the Princess of the Night...how she had thought of her as a heartless, murderous beast. A sharp tinge of guilt shot through her as she looked into the eyes of such a kind and forgiving pony.
"Between you and me, Fluttershy..." Luna whispered, before convincing herself not to. It was odd enough she was conversing with a commoner so casually, she most certainly was not going to let her in on her sister's intentions for a cruel practical joke. "Ah, never mind. Good luck finding your animal friends. I'll give you a shout if I find anything."
Fluttershy was speechless, but managed to mouth a timid thank you. Princess Luna chuckled lightly and used her magic to open the door in front of her, and Fluttershy turned and sprinted away faster than Luna had ever seen a pegasus move.
Luna watched the empty hall for a long while, when a loud yawn alerted her of her sisters presence in the room. Turning around, she saw Celestia blinking sleepily as she walked through the door.
"What in Equestria is going on, Luna? Did I hear you shouting a few minutes a go?"
"Umm..." Luna stuttered, blushing. "No, Tia. You must have been dreaming."
"Mmm hmm." Celestia agreed sleepily and left the room to return to sleep, leaving behind a relieved Princess Luna and failing to notice a particularly troublesome flamingo feather.
An Unstoppable Force of Destruction
Fluttershy dashed through dark corridors, skidding to a halt around each entrance-way to ensure there were no guards around. She was surprised by how empty the castle was, but with Luna to watch over it at night, she supposed it was rather unnecessary to keep them from their families.
That isn't to say the castle was completely empty, however. Occasionally, Fluttershy would find herself hiding swiftly in the shadows when she heard approaching hoofbeats. Luckily, they had never come close enough to see her in her obvious hiding places.
After the encounter with Princess Luna (and after she was certain she wasn't going to pass out in the aftermath of what was undoubtedly the most panic she had felt in a long time) she had seen none of the remaining Canterlot animals, with the exception of the smaller birds, which she understood were free to roam the castle anyways. The longer she hunted for the others without avail, the more fearful she became, until she found herself sprinting frantically without a destination in mind, simply trying to cover as much of the castle as possible before sunrise.
"I've...I've been here, haven't I..." She panted, finally coming to a stop. "Oh, Angel! I've been everywhere! They aren't here..."
Angel hopped off Flutttershy's back and shook his head slowly, obviously disagreeing with her statement.
"But we have! There isn't a room in this castle we haven't searched...except..."
Nodding his head, Angel hopped back onto Fluttershy's back and gazed at her expectantly.
"Angel! Are...are you sure about this? Seems awfully dangerous..."
With a sigh, Fluttershy knew her rabbit friend was right. She had to exhaust all her options, despite how unsafe it might be.
"Alright, Angel. Let's do this."
Fluttershy gazed downwards into the dark room from her vantage point high above. Another chandelier hung above the Princess of the Sun herself, asleep peacefully. The room was otherwise empty, and in the darkness, Fluttershy couldn't see anything. She did, however, feel exceedingly like she was inches away from the fury of the sun itself as she opened the skylight wider as silently as possible and lowered herself onto the chandelier. The fixture was some distance below her, and she flapped her wings as quietly as possible to cover the small gap.
"What in Equestria am I doing..." Fluttershy whispered to herself as she perched over the room from the chandelier. A light thump next to her informed her of her rabbit companion's presence, and the two scanned the room for signs of life. Directly below where the pointed end of the chandelier hung was Celestia. Above them, Fluttershy noticed the ceiling arching in odd, criss-crossing frames. She had seen the architecture before in the castle, but never so prominently. The wooden frames extended across the ceiling, stopping short of the wall underneath and leaving a small gap.Fluttershy realized they continued further on through the castle, connecting the rooms through tiny holes in the frames, too small for a pegasus to fly through.
But not too small for an animal to climb through.
"This is it..." She whispered to Angel, who nodded in agreement. Fluttershy began to lift off the chandelier, when a loud creaking sound caused her to freeze in her tracks.
"Uh oh..." She heard herself whisper, as the chandelier above her groaned against her weight. Leaping off the fixture with Angel, she hovered silently beside it, but knew it was too late. With an audible crack, the entire fixture came loose from its moorings.
"No!" Fluttershy screamed frantically, knowing full well what the fixture would be colliding with if she allowed it to fall. The yellow pegasus grasped the chandelier and flew upwards as forcefully as she could. The chandelier was incredibly weighty, and it took the majority of her flying ability to keep it from immediately dropping to the ground and impaling the sleeping Princess beneath her.
Fluttershy never was a strong pegasus, and the heavy chandelier was quickly proving to be too much for her. With the last of her strength, Fluttershy flew the light fixture as far away from Celestia as she could as she finally lost control of the chandelier.
In slow motion, the chandelier struck the polished hardwood floor, shattering it easily and sending shards of wood and glass across the room. Fluttershy flew as swiftly as she could through the skylight, tearing into the night and hearing the commotion from outside.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.." She repeated between panicked sobs. Beneath her, she could hear the shouting of guard ponies as they tried in vain to ascertain exactly what had happened.
Fluttershy knew better than to stick around the castle now. She knew exactly where she would be able to find the remaining Canterlot Garden animals, but there was no way she could search the castle now, not with it crawling with activity.
Touching down in the castle courtyard, she was met with the frantic chattering of her animal friends. Angel hopped off her back and promptly looked at her with genuine concern in his eyes.
"I...I guess we'll just...have to wait until morning, Angel. I'll explain what happened to Celestia in the morning..."
Setting her head down sadly in the grass, Fluttershy closed her eyes, but sleep simply wouldn't come to her. She knew it would be dawn soon, so she simply sat on the grass and watched the stars slowly traverse across the dark sky. She was surrounded by her own animal friends and a few of the Canterlot animals, all sleeping soundly around her.
"I made a big mistake..." Fluttershy thought to herself as she looked back at the Canterlot castle, now blazing with activity. "I should never have disobeyed Celestia. I should have just used the kennels..."
The more she sat and pondered her actions, the more she realized it would incredibly simple to undo them. She knew exactly where the remaining animals were hiding, all she had to do was fly in there and retrieve them. Nopony would suspect the chandelier incident had been her, and she could pretend she had been asleep the whole night.
Motivated, the pegasus took off back towards the castle, leaving Angel behind. Reaching the skylight overhanging Celestia's sleeping quarters, Fluttershy could hear voices coming from within the room, and stopped dead in her tracks.
"...and I simply don't understand how you haven't noticed any intruders when the damage they have inflicted is so blatantly obvious!" Celestia was ranting.
"Sister! Are you calling me inept?" Luna screamed in defiance.
Celestia sighed loudly. "I'm sorry, Luna. Of course I'm not. But you must admit, it is quite odd..."
There was a long pause, through which Fluttershy couldn't tell if Luna had replied or not.
"What was that, Luna?" Celestia snapped suddenly, and Fluttershy realized Luna had muttered her irritated reply.
"I simply said the chandelier was hideous anyways."
Deciding she had no more time to waste, Fluttershy tiptoed towards the skylight and took in the scene beneath her. Luna and Celestia were alone in the room, standing next to a huge crater in the wooden floor. They were both rather caught up in their personal debate regarding the appearance of the chandelier now, and Fluttershy knew she would have no better chance. Flapping her wings as quietly as possible, she soared through the still-open skylight and across the room, touching down on the overhanging wooden rafters. The sound of the bickering royal sisters was deafening to the stealthy pegasus, and she felt like they would look up at any moment and see her crawling quite literally through the wood-works.
Ahead of her, yellow light signaled the gap to the outside corridor, and Fluttershy increased the speed and urgency of her crawling in her excitement. She could faintly see movement on the other side and let out a quiet cry of relief,
"Did...did you hear that?" Celestia interrupted her sister mid-sentence and looked around the room frantically.
"Hear what?" Luna asked obliviously, gazing directly at Fluttershy but apparently failing to see her.
"Huh..." Also seeing nothing of particular importance in the darkness of her ceiling, Celestia shrugged and returned her attention to her sister.
Cursing herself internally for her impulsiveness, Fluttershy proceeded with even more caution as she attempted to squeeze her way through the impasse between the two rooms. Her head and forelegs through, Fluttershy could clearly see the remaining population of Canterlot's Garden, sleeping soundly in the rafters. She suppressed the urge to cry out again and instead whispered as quietly as possible.
"Hey! Monkeys and squirrels!" She hissed quietly. Celestia and Luna were too caught up in their conversation now and she increased the volume of her voice just enough to get the attention of the animals, who looked at her with obvious irritation at being awoken.
"Oh, don't look at me like that!" Fluttershy whispered impatiently. "I've had a very long night searching for you guys, so don't think you're the only annoyed one here!"
Her stare kicking on the last sentence, the animals were now eying the pegasus with a hypnotic glare.
"Now, I want you all back in the courtyard NOW! Do you understand me?"
Complying without question, the animals dashed urgently further through the rafters, where Fluttershy assumed they must have come from. Deciding it would be best to follow them to be certain they reached the courtyard, she squirmed further through the gap in the rafters.
"Oh...my..." Fluttershy whispered frantically as she tried harder and harder to make it through the impasse that was most certainly too small for her. Panic setting in at the thought of becoming trapped, and she tried desperately to free herself, her direction no longer relevant.
"You've got to be kidding me..." The pegasus whispered to herself, finally giving up on her fruitless attempt to escape. What a fool she had been, impulsively darting about, wreaking havoc and destruction everywhere. Beneath her, Celestia and Luna had temporarily halted their debate as they discussed a slightly more pressing issue.
"I believe the sun is due to arise soon, Tia." Luna was saying. "My, this has been a long night."
"Indeed. Yes, well, I'll leave you to your business, Luna. I plan on checking on our animal caretaker promptly anyway. Hopefully she at least had a peaceful night."
"...ah, yes." Luna replied hastily after a short yet obvious pause. "I'm sure she did."
"Indeed..." Celestia said again, and Fluttershy heard her hoofbeats as she left the room. Luna did not follow her however, and Fluttershy desperately wished she could see just what she was doing as the seconds crept into minutes. Suddenly, Luna spoke.
"Well, I've seen quite a few odd things in my centuries of ruling this land, Fluttershy, but I think tonight is officially the most odd night I have ever seen." Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat.
"Good heavens, Fluttershy...you certainly are disaster prone when you're here, aren't you." Luna chuckled lightly.
"I...I'm...I didn't...oh, Princess Luna..." Fluttershy stammered nervously. "I'm sort of...stuck here..."
"I gathered." Luna's voice came from much closer, and Fluttershy could faintly hear her wingbeats from behind her. Suddenly, a loud pop was heard as the room was flooded with white light, and Fluttershy found herself lying on the hardwood floor of Celestia's bedroom.
"Teleportation." Luna explained simply to the bewildered pegasus."Now then, about the chandelier...."
"Oh, Princess! I swear it wasn't on purpose. I didn't even want to be in here, it was Angel's idea...and I tried to fly with the chandelier...but it was just so heavy...I'm a terrible pony, aren't I?"
"Well, as I said before, you certainly are disaster prone. As for the chandelier..." Luna turned to look at the shattered pile of glass in question. "I've always hated these wretched things. So tacky."
Fluttershy chuckled at Luna's surprising lightheartedness considering the situation.
"In all serious, though, Fluttershy..." Luna's tone changed quickly, and took on a more commanding form. "It really did mean a lot to my sister. I do think you should apologize to her for what happened."
Fluttershy nodded simply. She knew Luna was right. What she had done tonight was wrong, she had caused havoc and she was solely responsible.
"I'll go talk to her." Fluttershy agreed sadly.
"Really, Tia, it was all an honest mistake..."
"That doesn't make it any less infuriating" Celestia screamed, whipping around to face her sister. "Sometimes I think I'm too trusting. Never again. Never again will I have conviction in anypony except Greenhooves!"
"That isn't what you said to Fluttershy, not even five minutes ago." Luna scoffed, before raising her voice in a mocking tone that sounded nothing like her sister. "Oh, don't worry about a thing, Fluttershy! Mistakes happen, Fluttershy! Do come back soon, Fluttershy!"
Celestia gazed quizzically at her sister. "Well, obviously I couldn't just SAY what I felt about the situation to her! With my luck, she'd swirl into some sort of depression and I'd be solely responsible. That makes me look terrible!"
"You ARE terrible." Luna replied humorously. "Terribly volatile. Do you intend on making her pay for the damages?"
"I've considered it...but our monarchy already pays her so little for her duties in Ponyville...I doubt she'd be able to compensate me for a century old antique--"
"Well, what then?" Luna interjected, sick of hearing her sister rant about the infernal fixture.
"I don't know. Aren't situations like these what tax-hikes are for?"
"And you wonder where the tyrant rumors come from." Luna muttered under her breath. "Will Fluttershy be returning the next time you think Greenhooves should take a vacation? I mean, we don't really have another option, and I still stipulate that she only made one tiny mistake."
Celestia sighed. "I guess you're right, Luna. I suppose she has learned her lesson on...oh I don't know, tolerance or something. Yes, she will."
Fluttershy watched the trees whip by from the train window as Ponyville approached and she left Canterlot far into the distance.
"It's all over now, Angel." Fluttershy said, relieved. "Let's hope we never have to go back there again."