The sky above Ponyville was as pristine as anypony could hope; the brilliant blue interrupted only by the occasional puffy white cloud. The mid-day sun cast its light down upon Ponyville's residents, warming them with its gentle glow. Indeed, most of the ponies couldn't imagine a more perfect day.

A multicolored blur streaked across the sky, leaving a rainbow trail behind it. Clouds were vaporized as the pony-sized bullet shot through them without even a pause. Gentle breezes were whipped into heavy winds as the object dipped low enough for the odd passerby to get a glimpse of it, before it was out of sight again. One little orange filly actually had the gumption to try and make contact with it.

"Hi, Rainbow-" the blur whizzed past the filly, leaving her spinning in place, before continuing on its way "-Dash?"

"Sorry, squirt, can't talk," Rainbow called over her shoulder. Climbing higher into the air Rainbow Dash continued to scan the streets below her. Come on, come on, where are you?

"Rainbow Dash!"

Recognizing the voice Rainbow veered into a tight spin and came back around. Catching sight of a familiar purple unicorn below her she quickly made for the ground.

Twilight Sparkle trotted up to meet her herd mate. "Any sign of her?" she asked.

"No," Rainbow said, with a huff. "This is getting ridiculous, Twilight, I mean, I've swept Ponyville three times now and still haven't spotted her."

"Yeah, we haven't had any luck down here either; nopony we've asked has seen her." Twilight paused to scratch her chin, "Is it possible that we just missed her somewhere?" she asked.

"Come on, Twilight, she's a human; it's not like you can lose her in the crowd," Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well then, we've got to keep looking. I don't want to think about what might happen if we don't find her." Twilight took off running, before even saying goodbye.

Rainbow took to the air again. Great, this is exactly what he needs right now. I swear, if she does anything stupid I'm gonna… I'm gonna... "Darn it, where are you!"

****

Lero was oblivious to the call ringing out over town, despite the familiar voice. His focus was on the street that he was currently jogging down; slowing only to glace down any side streets, or allies, he came across. It was mid-afternoon and Lero was doing his best not to panic, despite his efforts, however, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering. What if she's lost? What if she's hurt? What if she's been kidnapped? As each new image forced its way into his head Lero's pace quickened, first from a jog, then to a run, and finally to a sprint.

A sudden pull on the back of his shirt stopped Lero in his tracks, and almost sent him sprawling onto the dirt road. Just before he hit the street a sudden pressure on his shoulder, as well as his ankle, spun him back upright and had him facing the opposite direction he had been heading, as well as a pair of impatient looking golden eyes. "Lero, will you please stop trying to run off on your own like that?" Lyra pleaded.

"Sorry, Lyra," he offered, as he adjusted his shirt.

"That’s the third time, Lero. I know you're nervous, but running around in a panic isn't going to help things." As she caught up with him, Lyra could see the tension in Lero, the heavy breathing and darting eyes were a dead giveaway in any species, and she hated seeing her stallion looking so frantic.

"But, what if something happened to her, Lyra, what if she's hurt."

"All the more reason for us to find her quickly, but you're not going to get anywhere if you're trying to go in every direction at once." Lyra moved to stand next to Lero, "Now, take a moment to calm yourself," she instructed.

Lero forced his eyes shut and tried to slow his breathing, but his mind kept racing to the worst possible scenarios. "I'm trying, Lyra, but it's not working."

"Place your hand on me."

Glancing down at his mare, who had closed her own eyes, Lero slowly reached out and placed his right hand on the top of her head, before closing his eyes once more.

"Now, what do you feel?"

Lero let his hand roam over the top of Lyra's head, feeling her hair pass under and between his fingers, and her ear twitch as they brushed past it. Finally, reaching the front of her forehead, Lero's hand stopped as it bumped her horn, his thumb and index finger wrapping partially around it. Then he felt it, it was faint but it was there, her pulse.

"I can feel your pulse around your horn," he offered.

"Good, focus on that. Push everything else to the back of your mind and focus on the rhythm."

As he stood there, Lero tightened his grip around the horn and tried to match his breathing to the pulse he felt. It took a minute, but he managed to get the timing right- quick breath in, quick breath out.

"Good, now listen to me, Lero, you can't keep letting your imagination lead you on like this, you need a clear goal in mind. Now what do we know so far?" Lyra consoled.

"We know that Apple Bloom and her friends were the last ones to see her, and they came to get me after they left the hospital."

"Good what else?"

"It's about a half-hour walk from the library to the hospital, so she can't have more that an hour lead on us."

"So, that narrows the search area down to a few streets of Ponyville, which are..."

"Back the way...we...came..." Lero looked down at the smiling face of his mare, before moving his fingers to scratch behind her ears. "What would I do without you, horny?"

"Probably run through town all day," she replied, leaning into his hand.

As one the two of them took off back in the direction of the hospital; Lero with a renewed sense of determination, and Lyra pleased to have her stallion thinking straight again.

****

The sound of galloping hooves echoed of the narrow side street as Applejack made her way between buildings. She had been searching the back alleys of Ponyville for the wayward woman for the better part of an hour, after getting fed up with asking the populace if they had seen her. Three times. Three, dadgum, times they pointed me right back to Lero before they realized I was saying 'human mare', then they just looked at me like I dun sprouted a second head.

As she came to the end of the alley, Applejack's path was suddenly blocked by purple and white blur. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, as she dug her hooves into the ground and skidded to a halt.

As a cloud of dust was kicked up, a familiar voice rang out, "Applejack, do you mind, I just visited the spa earlier today." There was little doubt in Applejack's mind as to who she had almost plowed into.

"Rarity, ain't there more important things to be worryin' about right now?" Applejack asked, fanning the dust away with her hat. Once the cloud was gone, Applejack realized that Rarity was not the only pony in it. Crouched behind Rarity was a very startled looking Flutershy as well. "Hey there, Fluttershy, don't suppose you two have seen our missin' human have you?"

"Oh, no, Rarity and I just bumped into each other a moment before you showed up," Fluttershy responded, getting to her hooves.

"Indeed, she's still on the run, it would seem," added Rarity, continuing to dust herself off.

"Well, where have y'all looked so far?" Applejack asked.

"Well," began Rarity, "I've checked the spa, my boutique, even Patchwork's Coveralls."

"Rarity, why in the hay did you check the spa, and the only two clothing stores in town?" Applejack asked, bemused.

"Well, darling, you know how dear Lero gets when it comes to clothing. Who's to say she won't seek out something to cover herself with on this little outing of hers, especially if she's still wearing one of those hideous hospital gowns," Rarity finished, with a shudder.

Applejack sat for a moment, rubbing the bridge of her nose and shaking her head, before turning to Fluttershy. "Honey, please tell me you've been looking someplace a little more... practical for our missing friend."

"Oh, well, Twilight asked me to circle the outskirts of Ponyville, and ask all the animals if they had seen her leave town," Fluttershy offered. "I was about halfway done when I bumped into Rarity."

"Good, keep on it, Rarity, why don't you come with me to the marketplace? There ought to be plenty of ponies there by now, maybe one of them has seen her."

"Got it." Rarity and Fluttershy nodded.

As her friends departed Fluttershy took to the air and headed back toward the edge of town, keeping low to the ground. Once back on the outskirts of Ponyville she spotted a pair of squirrels, as well as several ducks, and a badger.

"Oh, excuse me, but have any of you seen a human come by here recently?" The animals shared confused stares before turning back to Fluttershy and shaking their heads. "Oh, okay, thanks anyways." As she prepared to take flight once again, something small and soft bumped into her left hind leg. Turning around she was surprised to see her pet bunny Angel laying on the ground panting. "Oh, Angel, what are you doing here?" In response angel let out a series of short squeaks. "You found her?" Fluttershy asked. Angel nodded. "Well, quick, we need to tell the others," she exclaimed, getting ready to take off once again, only to feel a slight tug on her tail. Looking back she saw that Angel had grabbed her tail, and was doing his best to keep her from flying off.

"Um, Angel, we really should get going," Fluttershy began, only to be cut off by another round of squeaking from her rabbit. "What, you saw her where?" more squeaking, "She was doing what?" Panic began to grip Fluttershy as Angel's words sank in. She knew she didn't have time to gather her friends, but the thought of what she might find held her in place until, finally, a light thumping on her leg pulled her back to her senses. Looking down, she saw angel pounding his foot against her hoof. Come on, Fluttershy, you can do this. No time to be scared. "Alright, Angel, hop on," she said, as Angel jumped onto her back. As they rose into the air, Fluttershy couldn't stop herself from trembling as they headed to the northwestern edge of Ponyville. "Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay," she chanted as she flew.

****

Ponyville was a popular town. Between the elements of harmony's recovery, and the discovery of sentient alien life, many ponies who would have gone their whole lives without even hearing about the place were suddenly paying attention to it. This fact was still rather strange to some of the residents, who were used to living in quiet anonymity, as was the sudden appearance of tourists in their town. Many of these tourists had been surprised to find that, despite being located in south central Equestria, there were few ways to actually reach Ponyville, aside from the main railway.

Having been settled only a few generations ago by pioneers heading south from Canterlot, there were few other towns nearby; the nearest settlement of any size was Appleloosa, which was several days away by train. The land around Ponyville was still quite wild as well. To the west, the town was bordered by the primordial forest known as Everfree, while to the east and north the town was surrounded by the milder, but still quite dense Whitetail Wood. The woods were not the only natural border to the north of Ponyville, however. Heading out of town in that direction, on would quickly find the ground falling out from under one's feet, as they came to what was arguably Ponyvilles most impressive natural border; Ghastly Gorge.

Stretching from one end of the horizon to the other, and spanning over two-hundred body lengths in some places, the gorge was an effective barrier to all but those who could fly. Even some who could fly disliked crossing the windy canyon, especially if they already had trouble staying in the air. So it was that Fluttershy cruised along the lip of the canyon, doing her best to not look over the edge, as Angel urged her onward.

"Oh, Angel, are you sure you saw her around here? I mean, why would she even come out here?" As these and many other questions spilled from Fluttershy's mouth, Angel continued steadily taping his foot against her shoulder to indicate that she should keep going. As they flew, Fluttershy scanned the woods for anything out of the ordinary before spotting a break in the undergrowth, as if something had cut a path through the plant life. Checking the area, she soon came upon a stout branch, covered in sap and stained green, laying to the left of the recently broken trail. Realizing that she was on the right track, Fluttershy picked up speed as she gained altitude. Surveying the area below her, Futtershy's attention was grabbed by the unmistakable color of furless skin.

Coming to a halt in the air, Fluttershy let out a breath of relief as she spotted the one that she and her friends had been looking for, and was even more pleased when she saw that she was not standing at the edge of the gorge like Angel had said she was. Instead, she was sitting at the base of a tree a few dozen feet from the edge of the gorge. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, which were folded up in front of her, and she had her face buried in her knees.

Landing some distance away, Fluttershy made her way to within a few body lengths before making her presence known. "Um, excuse me?" The words were barely a whisper, but they did the trick. The woman stirred just enough to glance over her arm at Fluttershy before going back to her original position. Taking a few steps closer, Fluttershy cleared her throat and glanced at Angel before motioning toward the woods. Taking the hint, Angel hopped off her back and headed into the woods as Fluttershy turned her attention back to the woman in front of her.

"Um, are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm fine," Rebecca mumbled.

Fluttershy didn't believe it. Between the tattered hospital gown she was wearing, and the fresh cuts and scrapes on her arms and legs, Rebecca didn't look anywhere near fine. "Are you sure? I mean, you've been out here for hours, maybe we should get you back to the hospital so they can get you cleaned up... if you don't mind, that is." Fluttershy did her best to sound reassuring, and even managed a small smile, but her words didn't seem to have any effect.

"What's the difference?" The words were little more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry?" Fluttershy asked, concern growing in her voice.

"Here, there, what's it matter?"

"Well, you must be getting cold out here by this windy gorge," Fluttershy offered, noting the early spring chill still in the air.

"Don't you get it!?" Rebecca snapped, turning to finally face Fluttershy, "It doesn’t matter where I go, I can't get home!"

Fluttershy stumbled backwards, shaking. She was suddenly very aware of how alone she was with this human, and even more so of the fact that, even when sitting down, Rebecca was still as tall as she was. She also noticed something else. It was only fore a moment, before Rebecca buried her face back into her arms, but Fluttershy had seen the tears. It suddenly dawned on Fluttershy just how little of Lero's initial arrival into Equestria she had been privy to. Despite being the pony that found Lero, tattered and bloody, at the edge of the Everfree, Fluttershy had not actually been able to spend much time with him. No sooner had she gotten him to Twilight then a letter had been sent and a squad of guards had shown up to whisk him away to Canterlot; with Twilight in hot pursuit.

The next time she had seen Lero he was nothing but sunshine and smiles. It had simply never occurred to her, until now, just how hard the initial transfer from his world to her own must have been. She also realized that she had no idea how to console somepony going through such a loss, and so decided to try falling back on what she knew best.

"I'm sorry that this happened, is there anything that I can do to help?" she asked, as she moved closer and sat down in front of the woman.

Rebecca didn't say anything for a for a few moments. Truth be told she wasn't sure she had heard the little pony right. "Help?" she said, looking Fluttershy in the eye. "Can you get me back to my world?"

"Well, maybe not me but..." Fluttershy began.

"Can you get all the other ponies to stop staring at me?" Rebecca's words were getting harder.

"I'm sure they don't mean too..." Fluttershy's ears folded back.

"Can you get rid of the thirty-odd pounds of bird I've apparently put on?" Rebecca snapped.

"N-no." Fluttershy did her best to hide behind her mane.

"Then tell me, what exactly can you do to help?" Rebecca asked, in exasperation.

"I-I don't know, but there has to be something," Fluttershy offered, fighting back sniffles as the familiar feelings of shame and inadequacy crept back into her.

"Maybe you can do something for me?" Rebecca asked, causing Fluttershy to look up. "If I go stand at the edge of that canyon, maybe you can do me a favor and give me a push." The words fell out of her mouth with such little sarcasm that it surprised even her, though not as much as what came next.

The blur of motion in front of her didn't even give Rebecca time to turn her head before a pair of hooves struck her shoulders, and pushed her back against the tree behind her. Rebecca's whole body felt like it was twisting. As the contact was made, all the anger and sorrow that had been stewing inside her came to a boil, "Don't touch me-huh," and died in an instant. Staring back at her was Fluttershy, but something had changed. The tears and meekness were gone; replaced by a cold stare that drew Rebecca in, tore away any desire for confrontation, and left a strange longing for submission; as well as a subtle chilling fear of what would happen if she did not.

"Don't ever joke about that again. Do you understand me?" The words barely registered with Rebecca, but they didn't have to. As long as those eyes were upon her it didn't matter what Fluttershy asked, Rebecca would do it. She tried to reply, but her voice caught in her throat, so with great effort she did her best to nod her head.

Fluttershy removed her hooves and took a step back, then blinked. As eye contact was broken, the world seemed to spin out from under Rebecca as she planted both hands on the ground, her breath coming in short gasps. "What... what was that?" she asked, turning to Fluttershy, only to find that the hard visage she had been wearing had disappeared just as fast as it had arrived.

"That was the stare," Fluttershy offered, rubbing the top of her nose. "It happens to me sometimes, but its never worked on anything but animals before, are you alright?"

Rebecca didn't know what to make of the pony in front of her. Just seconds ago she had been all but terrified of her, but suddenly she seemed as gentle as a lamb. "I'm fine." It was all Rebecca could think to say after almost being floored by a stare.

"Oh, that's a relief, but I mean it, don't even joke about something like that," Fluttershy stated, having recovered some of her fleeing confidence.

"Why not?" asked Rebecca, laying back against the tree once more as the shock of what had just happened began to wear off.

"Because, all that would do is hurt everypony who cares about you," Fluttershy retorted.

"Like who?" Rebecca asked, puzzled.

"Everypony! Twilight has been waiting for you to wake up sense winter. Why, you're practically all she and her herd have talked about. Pinkie really wanted to meet you too, she's been looking forward to throwing you a party for months. And of coarse there are the doctors that took care of you all winter while you were asleep. But, most of all, there's Lero." Fluttershy paused at the mention of his name. "Before you showed up, I doubt he thought that he would ever see another one of his kind again. You have no idea what you being here means to him; he visited you in the hospital almost every day you were there, and now that you're awake he doesn’t have to live with the thought of being the only one of his kind anymore." Fluttershy stopped to catch her breath, searching Rebecca's eyes for any hint that what she was saying was getting through. "Please, please don't take that from him."

"Alright." The word rolled out of her mouth so quickly that even Rebecca was surprised by it.

"Pardon?" Fluttershy asked.

"Alright, I won't do it," Rebecca said, again.

"Oh, thank goodness." Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief at Rebecca's words.

"But, what am I supposed to do now though? I've got no money, no home, and no job. What do I do now?" Rebecca asked, as the weight of the situation she was getting into started to sink in.

"Don't worry about those right now, we'll help you deal with that when the time comes," Fluttershy assured. "For now, why don't we get you back to the hospital and get you cleaned up. I'm sure everypony is worried about you."

Rebecca couldn't explain it, but there was something about this pony that made her want to believe her. Whatever it was, the more she talked to Fluttershy, the more she could feel herself pulling back from the edge she had almost been ready to leap from, and wondering if it would really be so bad to live in Equestria.

"Alright," Rebecca said, getting to her feet.

****

"Look! There they are!" Rainbow Dash's voice rang out over the ponies assembled in front of the hospital. She, Lero, and the rest of their herd, as well as the remainder of the elements of harmony, all looked to the north to see two figures approaching from Whitetail Wood. As one the group rushed toward the two, closing in with a barrage of questions.

"Are you all right?" Lero asked.

"Where have you been?" Twilight added.

"How in Equestria did you get so filthy," Rarity demanded.

Looking down at Fluttershy, who only offered a reassuring smile, Rebecca turned to face the group. "Alright, alright, look, I'm sorry I worried all of you, but I needed some time to myself to do some thinking."

"Well, you've have been gone for hours, what was so important that you needed to run off into the woods to think about?" Applejack asked.

As she was about to respond, Rebecca noticed one pony in particular. Pinkie Pie stood toward the back of the group, mane still deflated and what looked like a small barrel with a big blue bow on the front still hanging from her neck. "Pinkie," she said, getting the glum pony's attention, "I think I'm ready."

Pinkie's eyes slowly widened, as realization took hold, before her mane burst back to its normal volume. "Finally!" she cried, putting the small barrel on the ground and pulling the bow until it came undone. A low rumble shook the barrel before the top blew off in a shower of pieces as the contents took of into the air, leaving a trail of smoke and sparks. A deafening boom ripped through the air as a cascade of fireworks ignited in a series of colorful blasts, each one forming a different letter until they spelled out the words 'Welcome To Ponyville' in a multicolored lights.

As her friends stared at the spectacle in amazement, Pinkie was the only one to say anything, "Maybe it's best that that didn't go off in the hospital."

Author's Note

Well, this finally ends the hospital arch of the story, and now we can get into the real fun of any human in Equestria story: Social Interaction.

P.S. Thanks to Lanners for giving the chapter the once over for me.