Unrequited

Chapters

Feelings discovered and broken
Who could be following me?
The confession
Confession, check, save a life, *gulps* pending.
H-h-hello, Mr. Timberwolf...
A Timbering Problem.
The Competition, and a minor problem.
A rather Murky situation
Bad Kitty
Tricky with Trixie, and a lovely ending.

Feelings discovered and broken

"oh no, oh no, Angel, I'm going to be late!" said Fluttershy in a hurry to get all her things, "I need to be leaving soon, but I can't seem to remember what I am missing, Angel, you have to help me, from what I have, what am I missing?"

Angel glares at Fluttershy, almost as if to say 'Shouldn't it be obvious?' but all the same, Angel hops over to a drawer and grabs the mane brush and hands it to Fluttershy.

"Oh thank you Angel, you're right, I do need to brush my mane, its a mess." soon after brushing her mane, Shy looks outside and sees Twilight Sparkle, but for reasons unknown to even her, she starts feeling a throbbing feeling in her chest, dismissing it she continues to get ready, though in the back of her mind, she was curious about that feeling she had.

"Shy! we are waiting for you!" said Twilight, but Fluttershy still felt like she was missing something, but no matter how much she looked around, she couldn't seem to figure it out.

"Coming!" she said as loudly as she could bring herself to do. As she walked outside she looked around, almost as if seeing the world as a new thing altogether "Oh boy, I can't wait to get to the gala, its going to be so much fun, I just want to see all those little furry animals." She finished saying just to realize that nopony was listening, dejectedly, she looked toward Angel, who in which decided to tag along this time, and found that not a single soul was paying attention to her at that moment, not even Twilight, but as she thought that she felt the throbbing in her chest again, and found herself staring at Twilight, almost as if hypnotized by her stunning mane and how magnificent her wings looked, was this feeling because she was now an alicorn? Was she really all that interested in the existence of alicorns that it could make her feel this way? This feeling never happened when she saw Spike though, and she loved baby dragons, so why all of the sudden is she feeling it now?

"Uhh, Shy? You okay?" asked Twilight, "You look like you are distracted by something." Fluttershy shakes her head realizing how intently she was staring, and quickly cowers.

"S-s-sorry, I must just be really tired, I'm okay." She knew somehow that what she was telling Twilight was far from any truth, but she didn't even know what the truth was, maybe the answer would come about soon enough.

The more Fluttershy thought about the feelings she had, the more confused she was, and she would wonder to herself if she felt this way the whole time. Surely it couldn't have gone out of notice to herself this whole time. She looked out the window of the train on its way to Canterlot, desperately trying to think of other things, but the only thing she could think of was Twilight. She decided to lie down for a bit, and quickly fell asleep, but what she saw in her dream only made everything she was feeling that much more complex. In the dream she was trotting along the beach next to her was Twilight, her mane glistening in the sunlight, wings extended, and looking so beautiful, Fluttershy saw all sorts of animals around the area, but in the dream all she cared about was Twilight. She was wondering why she did nothing with the animals when suddenly she saw Twilight turn and tackle her. Standing above her, Twi had a glimmer in her eye, and she said so delicately and sweetly, "I claim you, Shy, I will never--" and just like that she found herself stopping Twi with a kiss, waking herself in a start she looks around to see that nobody noticed that she had been frightened awake, at least that was a relief to her, she just didn't know why she had that dream, but when she thought about it, she did want to be near Twi more often than usual. She was about to finish the thought when Angel jumped on her head alerting her that they had arrived at Canterlot. She was still confused, but was much closer to understanding her feelings.

During the gala, Fluttershy would find herself thinking about her dream while she lay in the garden, wanting to explain to Twilight what she had felt and seen, but too afraid to do so, but she knew what it was she felt, finally after the whole day, she needed to just lay in the garden and think to figure it out, she fell in love with Twi, not only that, but she felt a sort of obsession. She felt it kind of weird though, of all the people she could fall in love with, it was Twilight, it wasn't even a stallion. She sighed to herself, and heard a snap in a bush behind her, knowing it wasn't any animal, she quickly turned around "Wh-who's t-there?" she demanded in a low squeak "I-i-i'm not afraid of y-y-you." There was no reply, only silence, she quickly moved on, somehow knowing somepony was there, and they were following her. She ran into the main ball room of the gala, and sought out Twilight to tell her about her feelings, but when she found Twi she saw that she was nuzzling noses with, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, with a broken heart, fell to the floor, realizing that her feelings were unrequited, and began to cry quietly to herself in a corner, somewhere nopony would see her, or even notice she existed, there she stayed until the gala was over.

On the way back home, she could only stare out the window, she couldn't even bring herself to look at Twi, nor acknowledge the other pony watching her from the car behind them, because she knew it would do her no good, she just wanted to tell Twilight how she felt, but at the same time, she wanted to be loved back. She laid her head down and said quietly "What am I supposed to do now? I cannot just forget these feelings, I am lost, like I have never been before, but I don't understand why I could be this lost already, I mean, I just realized my feelings, but I don't really know how long they have been there either." She sighed to herself, and continued to watch out the car window, waiting to get home and go to bed.

Who could be following me?

She was finally almost home, but there was still another mare in the back car watching her, she could almost tell who she was from the corner of her eye, but not quite, so she left that a mystery to herself for a while, but she still felt angry at herself, no, she was ashamed that she could have ever fallen in love with Twilight, no, to her it was not possible, she didn't feel that way, she couldn't, and now she would never think about it again. Or so she told herself over and over, but the more she told herself that, the more she wanted to cry.

The train finally stopped, and Fluttershy slowly trotted off toward her house, consciously aware of the mare still following her, but she payed her no attention, hoping that she would go away. What if it was some sort of psycho killer? A pony napper? Somepony who wanted to steal her away and put her in a cage taking away all her freedom. She finally lost her senses and started to run home, terrified that something bad was going to happen, when she got home she closed herself in and locked the door with all the locks she could find in the house, in which was a surprisingly large amount that even she didn't know she had. At least here she felt safe from such possible monsters that could put somepony in a cage for their whole life! She cowered in her bed under her blankets, not even peeking at the window, and keeping all her hooves on top of the bed, under the blanket, and lay awake hoping that she was safe, wishing that Twilight would save her. "Wait, why am I wishing Twilight would save me?" she asked herself, "That makes me so ashamed of myself, of all the ponies I could have fallen in love with, why did it have to be her? I should love a stallion, not a mare like myself! But why does she love Dash, and not me?" Kicking herself she started to cry at the possibility that she will never have a lover of her own, and as she was about to fall asleep something started her back to full consciousness.

"I will love you" Said a familiar voice, "Oh please, please, please, please, please let me love you! I know everything you like to do, I know exactly how you brush your mane, I know EVERYTHING about you! So please let me love you!"

"Wait, you're the one who has been following me?" she asked the mare that sounded so familiar but she couldn't place the voice, "you have been following me this whole time, just because you love me, but I don't even know who you are?"

"You don't? Oh well if you open the window more than-- woah!" Having dodged a bird the mare lost control of her flight and went crashing through the window, "Oops, my bad."

"Derpy Hooves?" Fluttershy asked, "You are the one who loves me? But I'm a mare like you, you shouldn't love me, you should feel ashamed, like I have been."

"But Shy, thats not true, you can't control your heart" Derpy said while slowly crossing the room to Shy's bed, "You have to allow yourself to follow what your heart wants, and if it wants a mare, then love that mare, we are all a little different after all, and I, love the differences in you."

"Oh, well, I don't know, I don't really know you, and I can't say that I love y--" she began to say but was suddenly interrupted by Derpy putting her hoof to Shy's cheek.

"I know, you don't know me, but I know you, and right now, you just knowing that I love you, makes me happy, even if you don't love me back" Derpy started and continued to say in a sort of, derpy, way, "But I still love you!" Then she flies out the window, but too late realizing it was the wrong window goes crashing through and as she regains her balance Shy could hear her saying "I could have sworn I came through that window, oh well" then raises her voice so Shy can hear it, "Sorry, my bad!"

Shy, exhausted, and, no longer so ashamed, lay down to go to sleep now, the only thing she was worried about was why she still felt so attached to Twi, she just now experienced what it was like to have somepony confess their love to her, although the way it was brought about she didn't think was very traditional, after all, not everypony crashes through your window to tell you they love you, and then leaves through the opposite window. No, Shy felt lucky to have experienced that, so she could finally go to sleep, with only one weight on her heart rather than two, but she still had to do something about this, how was she going to tell Twi how she felt, she can't just go up to her and say 'Hey I randomly fell in love with you' can she? Whatever the answer was, she was certain that it would come to her soon, she just hoped it would go okay when she did tell Twi about it.

Just then, as she was zoning off to sleep, she came up with the perfect confession, the way to let Twilight Sparkle, the mare of her dreams, know how she felt, even if the love was not given back, she wanted Twi to understand her heart. With that final though running through her mind, she slipped into a gently sleep, one she would wake from, like any other day, and feel just as rested as ever.

The confession

Shy woke up with nothing much on mind, but seemingly more energetic, instead of crawling slowly out of bed, today she was up and about, of course it could have something to do with Derpy trying to water her flowers and getting water through the window, in which she paused in her kitchen to put a note about fixing the windows. "what are you doing?" Shy asks Derpy, "I usually water those myself, plus it is a little too early to water them."

"I'm just trying to help the love of my life" replies Derpy, "I figured it would be very kind of me to do." All this time saying it she doesn't even look once toward Shy, but when she does, asks "Why are you all soaked?"

"Well, you kinda got the water on me when it went through my window" Said Shy, "I also want to water the plants on my own so--" At that moment, Derpy was giving her a sad look that made Shy stop in her own words, and she was trying so hard to say no, but finally she gave up, "Okay, you can do it, just be careful not to get it where it can cause trouble for my little animals."

"Okay!" said Derpy, instantly becoming the happiest pony alive, "I wont let you down!" She continued to water the plants, shortly after she finished the plant watering, she started to make Angel her favorite food.

Shy was a little nervous about the idea of somebody else taking care of her things, but she looked around and saw that the animals liked Derpy fairly well, so she allowed it. then she thought about her confession she had to make, "It must be today" She said, "Or maybe tomorrow?" She paused thinking about it for a moment, "No, I cannot put it off, I have to do it."

"Do what?" Asked Twilight from down the road startling Shy to the point she took off with over 18 wingpower, "Woah, Fluttershy, that's the fastest I have ever seen you move on your wings!"

"I-i-it is? Well I can move fast, I just don't like to, you see, it draws too much attention, and I don't like being looked at by a lot of people, so I try to move slower than I need to." Finishing that sentence with her voice raising in pitch very quickly and causing her nervous habit to kick in, she then hides behind the nearest object, in which happened to be Derpy, who was, for no real reason in particular, sweeping in front of the house. "Don't tell anypony I can move that fast, please?"

Twi sighs, "Okay, I wont, I just don't think its a good idea to hide the truth like that, but I am sure you have many other reasons for it." She turns and starts to walk away then she hears a small thumping sound and a tugging on her tail, she looks back to see Angel trying to pull her back, pointing at Shy. "What is it Angel, is something wrong with Fluttershy?"

Angel starts to make motions referring to a confession of love, but is quickly interrupted by Shy, who says "Umm, yea, can I talk to you later Twilight, its important."

"Sure, ill just stop by your pla--" when suddenly she gets interrupted by Shy.

"No, I, umm, want it to be somewhere special, how about that field out there" Shy says while pointing out behind her house, "That looks like a good place."

"Okay, I guess I will meet you out there then" Twilight looks at Shy with a confused look but nevertheless continues, "I'll drop by the moment I am available." She then walks on to her original destination, in which Shy couldn't help but wonder where it was, shrugging it off, she heads into town to do a little bit of shopping. She had only just arrived when she noticed that everything was quieter than usual, the only people that were out and about were the merchants. She asked around as to what it was that had all the people indoors on a beautiful day like this, but none of them seemed to know.

Suddenly out of the blue she saw another pony wandering out of their house, she approached them and asked what was going on, and they only told her that a sickness is going around, and it be best if she stay at home. On her way home, she realized that Twilight had gone into The Everfree Forest, could that be why she went in there, maybe to talk to Zecora about a possible cure. Wondering if Twilight had gotten sick, she then decided to chase after Twi, and see if she could help, by the time she got to her house she saw Twilight emerging from the forest and ran up to her. "You went in there looking for a cure for the sickness going around didn't you?" she asked urgently, "Did you get sick too? Are you okay?"

"Fluttershy, I'm fine, and yes I went to Zecora for a cure, and the only illness I know of is one Spike has, though it is not contagious at all, so I have no clue what is going on in town." She looks at Fluttershy, wondering why she was so worried, "What had you so worried?"

"Oh, nothing, I had just noticed that all the ponies in Ponyville were inside rather than out enjoying the weather and somepony told me an illness was going around, but I had no clue about it, then I remembered you were walking past my house so I came to check if everything was okay." Fluttershy pauses to take a breath, realizing that was the most she had ever said in one sentence. Or at least, in a long, long time.

"Uhh, yea, its all fine" She said, kind of hesitantly thinking Shy might get upset at her for no reason, "I gotta get back to Spike, he is probably miserable."

"Yea, you do that, I'll just wait for you to have time to come visit me" Said with a sigh of relief, "Tell Spike I hope he gets better soon" With that Twi had nodded and walked away, and Shy walked over to the field, and lay in the spot she imagined it would happen, the confession she wanted to make so badly, but she was worried that it may not go as well as she wanted it to, only time would tell.

Shy woke up from a dream of her having the perfect confession, but she woke up saying "I love you" although, when she opened her eyes, the moon was high in the night sky, and Twi sat there beside her, just watching the stars.

"Having a good dream Shy?" Twi asked her, and her heart skipped a beat, "You were so peaceful while asleep"

"You were watching me sleep?" Shy asked, "How embarrassing, I normally don't sleep during the day."

"I know, but since you were so close to the forest already, I figured I would stay by your side until you woke up, after all, you did want to meet me" Shy sat up, and brushed debris from her mane, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Shy, you said it was important."

"Yea, it is, and I wanted to tell you sooner, but I had felt ashamed, but I have to at least let you know." Shy paused for a long while, took a deep breath, and then said slowly as a gently breeze passed through, making the moment seem perfect, "Twilight, I love you."

Confession, check, save a life, gulps pending.

"You, what?" Asked Twilight, shocked, "I, don't know what to say, I mean, it is sweet that you feel that way, but, I just don't"

Shy looked up at the night sky, she knew the answer already, she was prepared, and she simply replied with "I know, you love Rainbow Dash, and I don't want to come between that, I just wanted to tell you how I felt, because it was starting to hurt with you not knowing, I hope you understand."

"Oh, well, I guess that is okay, it just took me by surprise." Twi looked a little anxious, but she didn't try to prevent Shy from feeling this way, "I am glad you were able to tell me, may I ask why you feel this way?"

"Well," Fluttershy started, "It all started quite a while ago, but at first I didn't understand it, I would find myself marveling at you, and would not know why, and then I had a strange dream that told me about how I felt." She then told Twi about what happened at the gala, and then after when Derpy crashed through her window, twice, but she also explained that she told Twi about her feelings because she thought that even if the feeling was not mutual, the could be happy that Twi knew about it.

"Wow, I never realized that you felt that way, I guess it bothered you a lot more than most people." Twi seemed to relax more than she was before, "I think you should give Derpy a chance, you two would make a cute couple." Twi had said that giggling a little, then went on to say, "I hope that you can find happiness elsewhere, I can only be a friend, and I am sorry about that."

"Yea, I know, and I think I will give Derpy a chance, it may be hard though, I mean, I can't just stop feeling for one pony and put those feelings onto another, anyway, I'm just glad you heard me out." Shy then went to lie back down and enjoy the night sky, but realized that Twi may not have gotten any sleep yet. "Hey, you want me to walk home with you?"

"Sure." Said Twi, "But promise me you will give Derpy a chance."

"I promise" Shy replied, and got up, she continued to talk to Twi about random things like how the stars were so beautiful, and how many different night animals were around, and before she knew it, they had arrived at Twi's house, she said good night and left, when she got back home, she saw that Derpy had fallen asleep on her sofa, she decided to cover Derpy with a blanket and went to bed herself.

Shy woke the next morning, somehow before Derpy, and got ready for her day, but while getting ready she saw that Derps was waking, yea, Derps, that's a good nickname for her, she then went over to her and said, "Good morning sleepy head, did you have a good dream?" Derpy rubbed her eyes and looked around, her face went red when she realized she was sleeping in Fluttershy's house.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to fall asleep in your house." She said almost in a panic, but seeing as Shy was just going through her normal routine she was fine with it, after she had put the blanket back where it belonged, she then started to do some of the chores, like watering the plants, and even, although rhetorical, sweeping the dirt path in front of the house.

Realizing Derpy's genuine heart, and kind composure, she starts to warm up to her, and realized that she is actually quite beautiful, she, like Shy was unique in her own way. They were able to relate on what made them different, as both in a way were mental, Shy being, well, shy, and Derpy, well you get the clue. They soon found a quick connection through their weakness, and took advantage of it to make each other stronger, Derpy was Shy's courage, and Shy was Derpy's crash pad, and everypony knows, she needed one, but it was in a good way, as Shy was always gently with Derpy and taught her how to cope through her kindness, Derpy was able to help Shy be a little more outgoing, but not so much she would become, you know, a monster.

Before Shy knew it, she was falling in love with Derpy, she was becoming happier, and she thought that it could never be taken from her. But what she didn't know was that Derpy's curiosity was to soon get her into her own trouble, in fact, it already has started to, as from the forest, Derpy has been being watched, an targeted.

It was later that night that she heard the first sign of a hunt, a long piercing howl, but Shy knew it wasn't Zap apple season, so it had to be a hunt, of the Timberwolves. Shy was about to warn Derpy to stay away from the forest because of how dangerous it was, but when she looked around for her, she was nowhere in sight, it was then she heard a scream from within the forest, and she panicked not knowing what to do, she ran blindly into the forest, hoping to save her new love before it could slip through her fingers. She could be too late already, but she had to try, she just had to. She closed her eyes and charged into the forest with no clue how to find Derpy, but she knew she just had to, no matter what.

Shy was running around the forest for what felt like ages, and saw no sign of Derpy, she looked and looked, but couldn't figure out where she could have gone, then she remembered something spike had said, 'the thing that gave you away was the breath, if it were a real Timberwolf you could smell the breath a mile away.' So she turned her attention to the smells around her, and found a vague smell of the Timberwolves, and thus with renewed vigor she continued her search, only hoping she was not too late.

H-h-hello, Mr. Timberwolf...

Shy was running through the forest, following the smell of the breath when she heard a crash just ahead of her, and the closer she got, the more intense and large the crash seemed to get. Just when she thought she couldn't get any closer to such a large crash, she hears one howl, but so large, and so loud, she knew that there was going to be trouble, she quickly ran dead ahead, and burst through the brush, to see Derpy dodging a giant timber wolf, she wondered why she didn't just fly away, when she saw that her wing was in an odd position, Shy thought that Derpy could hold out on her own for a while, so she started to think of a way to stop the Timberwolf.

Shy was desperately thinking of something to do, when she heard a loud crack and a thud, she looked up to see that Derpy had been hit, and was lying on the ground unconscious, the Timberwolf walking over to her about to deliver the final blow when Shy found herself shouting at the top of her lungs "STOP!!!!" How loud it was even surprised her, but the Timberwolf stopped and looked back at her, wondering who wanted to play next, Fluttershy, still terrified of what to do, quickly tried to look brave and said, "H-h-hello, Mr. Timberwolf, uhh, w-w-would you please l-leave, my friend alone? I would greatly appreciate it," The Timberwolf looked at her like she was crazy for a second and growled at her, she then continued, "Well, only if you really want to I guess."

The Timberwolf, looking confused looked between Shy and Derpy, and gave a look as if asking 'Which one would you choose?' but getting no reply to its silent question it looks at the both of them, then decides it wants both and starts to charge at Shy. Now normally anypony getting charged at by a GIANT Timberwolf would turn and run screaming in terror, but Fluttershy, well, she was so terrified that she literally could not move, which made the Timberwolf think this was going to be an easy hunt, but all this time, the only thing that ran through Fluttershy's mind was 'How did I think I could save her?' Scolding herself she thought herself useless against an animal like this one, she was just no match, not even-- Just then, as the Timberwolf was nearly on top of her, she realized, she was not hopeless, as long as she could do this one thing.

The Timberwolf raised its wooden paw and was about to strike when a sudden overwhelming fear took over its body, and it stopped suddenly as Shy looked it dead in the eye, she was so angry that her lover was hurt that it almost seemed like spears were shooting from her eyes. This time, her stare could work on anything, pony, animal, even Discord, who was not affected the last time she used it, but this time, it had sheer hatred shown. After about four or five seconds of a deadly stare, she simply says "Leave." and the Timberwolf does, quickly with its tail between its legs.

Once her opponent was warded off, Shy then carried Derpy on back to her house, she was only glad that she got there when she did, she would be crushed if anything were to happen to Derpy, especially since this is the first time she felt she could live a life of love with her. As Derpy lay unconscious, Shy kept watch over her, making sure she didn't catch fever, and waited for her to awaken, she heard a knock on the door. "Angel, can you go get that?" She said quietly to Angel, who humphs and does so anyway. The moment the door opened not only does Twilight burst into the room, but so does the rest of the crew, all clearly worried for Shy.

"Uhh, hi there guys," Shy says wiping tears off of her cheeks, "What are you all doing here?"

Twilight noticed Derpy laying on the couch and knew instantly why, "Is she the one the Timberwolf we heard was after?"

Shy nods, "Yeah, I was able to get there in time to stop it, but she hasn't woken up yet." Shy starts to cry again, "I'm so useless." She then lays her head down on Derpy, wanting her to wake up, when Applejack walks over to her and puts her hoof on Shy's shoulder.

"It's gonna be all right sugercube, she'll wake up in no time." AJ says, and pitching in Rarity places her hoof on Shy's other shoulder.

"Yes, what Applejack said, I am certain that Derpy will wake up and be back to her old self." Rarity however didn't seem as certain as Applejack did, but it cheered Shy up a little nevertheless.

Just as they were finishing discussing what happened in the forest, Rainbow Dash started going on about a time when she took on a similar situation, and Twilight started to push her out the door and insisted they leave Shy and Derpy alone for now, and that they don't need to put anymore on her mind, and so all the friends left, Pinkie hopping all over the place talking, clearly more to herself, about the kind of dream Derpy would be having right now. Once all the friends were gone, Shy turned around and sat by Derpy again, hoping she would wake up soon.

Night came sooner than Shy though it would, it was a long day for her after all, so she went to bed, making sure Derpy had a blanket on her. Shy kept telling herself that Derpy would wake up soon, but she was also afraid she might jinx it, so she tried not to think to hard about it. She fell asleep surprisingly quickly, though, her dreams brought her no comfort. She dreamed that Derpy never wakes up again and Shy is always by her side making sure that she gets food and water as best she can, and always cries at her bedside every night wanting her beloved to get better, but it never happens. When she woke, she went down to Derpy and prepared a rag to make sure that she didn't catch any disease by being dirty, and as she starts to wipe the dirt off of Derpy, she sees a muscle reaction, and does it again, this time a full on twitch in her leg. Shy tried a third time, however, nothing happened, so she finished cleaning Derpy off, and went to clean the house.

A few hours passed and Shy finally finished her chores, she went inside to get a drink and saw Angel hopping and thumping at the front door trying to tell Shy something, but she didn't want to listen to what anypony, or anybunny, had to say, she continued into the kitchen, and nearly passed out at what she saw. "Y-y-y-y-you're, awake?" She said in shock to Derpy and without thinking jumped at her, hugging her tightly, but Derpy pushed her off and looked at her weirdly.

"Do you have any muffins? Wait, where am I?" Asked Derpy, "And who are you?"

A Timbering Problem.

"You don't remember me?" Fluttershy asked, tears welling up in her eyes, "Like at all?"

"Nope, in fact, all i remember is waking up here and wanting muffins." Said Derpy, completely oblivious to Shy's tears.

Shy decided in that moment, that all was lost to her, but she wasn't going to completely give up, no, this gave her a chance to make a better relationship. "Derpy, yesterday, you were attacked by a large Timberwolf, and it knocked you out, I brought you back here and lay you on my couch." Shy said, hoping that her sweet voice and words would remind Derpy of some of what happened.

"Uhh, if I was knocked out by a Timberwolf, then why would you, of all ponies, be willing to take me back to your place? I mean I am greatly appreciative, but, wouldn't a hospital be a better place to bring somepony injured?" Asked Derpy, somewhat confused as to why anypony would do something like that.

"Well the thing is, you were the one who taught me a very important thing about love, and how you can love somepony, and even if they don't love you back, knowing how you feel about them can set your heart at rest even if you know you have to move on eventually." Fluttershy said, and starting to cry again continues, "And you were the first pony to tell me that you loved me, and just as I started to love you back, the Timberwolf took your memory--" Shy was crying so hard now that she couldn't even finish what she was going to say. Derpy however decided that because she didn't like to see anypony cry, she would comfort her as best she could.

"The thing is, I can't remember anything like that, I mean I wish I could, but, I just don't." Derpy started to say, and continued, "Do you think there is a way to get my memories back?"

Thinking for a little while, Shy only comes up with one conclusion, she had to go see Twilight. "I have one idea, I only hope it works." She said, and started to pack some stuff for the walk, "We have to go see Twilight about it." And with that, they walked out the door, Derpy then tries to spread her wings, but to her surprise, one of them was broken, and with a yelp of pain she decided quickly to put it down. before even asking Shy what happened to her wing she got an answer, "That happened when the Timberwolf attacked you, I think it may have gone for your wings first, and managed to break one so you couldn't fly away." Having heard the explanation Derpy couldn't help but feel there was something picking at the back of her mind, she just couldn't remember what it was, only a sliver of it was left, an image that was left in her mind, a magic using pony, ordering the Timberwolves, but she didn't retain the memory long enough to tell Shy.

When they arrived at Twilight's house, the Treebrary, Derpy thought it also seemed familiar, "Somehow I recognize this place, but it is all very vague." She said to Shy, who instantly had a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but somehow that glimmer only made Derpy feel worse but she couldn't quite tell why she felt worse.

"Oh thats great, that means that not every single one of your memories have gone." Shy said, and knocked on the door of the Treebrary, to which Twilight answered shortly after. "Hi, Twilight, I need your help, you see, Derpy woke up, but lost almost all of her memories, including the ones of me."

Twilight's eyes widened at that and urged them both inside, "You mean to tell me that after the Timberwolf attack, Derpy lost her memory, but is wanting to recall them?" She went shuffling through her things, looking for a book, muttering to herself about some weird spell. "Ah hah, here it is." Using her magic to pull the book out, Derpy jumped back what seemed to be 5 meters, though it was more like 2, and this time the image of the pony that used magic to control the Timberwolves stayed. "Are you okay Derpy?" Asked Twilight.

"There was a magic user, controlling the Timberwolves, I don't remember who it was, but I definitely remember there being one there." Derpy said, trembling, she then made her way back to Shy's side, who in which was staring wide eyed at Derpy. "what?" asked Derpy.

"Y-y-your mane." Shy started, obviously terrified, "I-i-its, turned to t-t-timber." she said, and Derpy, in disbelief finds a mirror, and nearly screams at the tight. Her mane completely changed into that of a timber based mane, and not only that, but so did her tail.

"My mane, and my tail, are timber now? How could this happen?" Derpy, suddenly in a panic, asks Twilight who is reading through her books looking for any explanation she can find.

"According to what I have in my own books," Twi begins to say, "I have no idea!" She then calls spike down and has him send a letter to Celestia about this, as well as constantly reminding him to ignore the wooden tailed pony, Twi also decides she is going to go to the old castle's library to find something if she can and teleports away immediately.

"Oh dear" says Shy, "I wonder what Twilight is going to be able to do, I hope she can fix this." She looks over and nearly screams.

"I hope so too" says Derpy, "Because this is working fast." Her legs halfway turned into timber with claws sprouting from the ends of them.

It was no time before Twilight returned and saw what was happening. "Woah! What happened!" She exclaimed, "This is not good, not good at all, if we don't find a way to fix this, it looks like Derpy will be turned into, a Timberwolf."

"Well how much time do we have?" Asked Shy looking extremely worried about the situation.

"I would give it a day, at most." Replied Twi, "I really hope Celestia is on the ball to find this one, because at this rate, we just might lose Derpy!"

The Competition, and a minor problem.

After a couple hours of pacing, Twilight and Fluttershy, both extremely worried, began to think there cannot be a way to fix this, that Shy may lose the one person that loved her so much, that she could love back. Twilight was at the verge of snapping at the stress of thinking while waiting for any possible reply, when a letter slid under the door. Twi picked it up before Shy could even think of looking that direction, and began reading it.

Dear Fluttershy,

By now, you have found out what my spell has done to your beloved mare, and if you have any hope of saving her, you will answer to my demands, and quickly. I want you to forget about loving her, and instead turn your love to me, for I have loved you long before she has. This means, I will have you, and nopony else. So if you wish to see Derpy normal again, you will do as I say.

P.S. Twilight darling, you will not be able to break the spell, it is one of ancient origin, and I have the book that contains the spell in my possession. Have fun!

Your Lover, The Great and Powerful T.

"T?" Fluttershy wondered, "Who could that be?"

Twilight began to look over the words that were crossed out, and realized who it was. "Trixie." The moment that word came out of Twi's mouth, Shy knew that there was going to be pain, Trixie had messed with the ponies of Ponyville before, but never has she gone so far to turn one of them into a Timberwolf.

"But why would Trixie do this?" Shy asked, spacing the fact that it was a threatening love letter, "I don't see any reason to turn Derpy into a Timberwolf.

"Shy, Trixie has, somehow, fallen in love with you, and she got jealous of Derpy, and when she was looking for ways to get you all to herself, I guess she ran across this spell." Twi paused for a few seconds, "Yea, that sounds like something she would do. But I never expected her to fall for somepony other than herself."

"Oh, I see, but she still didn't have to do this do Derpy, that was just mean, and I don't like it when people are mean to my friends." Shy said, sounding confident in herself, that is until she ended up plastered on the ceiling when there came a knock at the door. Twilight opened the door to see Celestia herself come in.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight said while kneeling, Fluttershy and Timber-Derpy following suit, "What an honor to see you at my house."

"No time for pleasantries Twilight, this is an ancient magic that I cannot dispel unless I have the book that contained the spell, it was once in my royal libraries, but when I went to check it, it was missing, I am afraid that somepony has stolen the book, and used the spell on Derpy, and before too long, she will be that of any other Timberwolf." Celestia paused, looked at Derpy, and at Fluttershy, then back to Twilight. "Do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"Yes, I do, it was Trixie." She said, offering no other evidence to Celestia.

"Are you sure?" Asked Celestia, not quite convinced, seeming more confused than ever, "I see no reason why Trixie would do such a thing."

"Yes princess, we received a letter from her just before you got here." She passes the letter to Celestia as she continues to say, "She inadvertently wrote The Great and Powerful, then crossed it out, and wrote T. Trixie is the only one I know that says The Great and Powerful about herself, so I am convinced that it was her, attempting to come between Fluttershy and Derpy."

"Ahh, I see, love can be a powerful thing, but when somepony wants somepony else to love them instead, of their true love, they can be truly dangerous." Celestia said, "Trixie has not mastered the spell, so it will not be as fast as you may have feared, Derpy will first become a Timber-pony, before she becomes a Timberwolf, but the second transformation will take much longer, so worry not, you have more time to find Trixie and retrieve the book."

"Uhh, Celestia, exactly how long do we have then?" Asked Twilight, "Because I don't want to go into this blindly and accidentally hit the deadline."

"I would say you have 4 days to retrieve the book, and I fear you may need to move quickly to get it, because the Everfree Forest is not forgiving to those who move slowly." Celestia said, "I have complete confidence in you Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy. Just do be careful."

With that, Twi and Shy packed and left immediately, Celestia however told Twilight of a spell that would help to track the location of Trixie's magic. When she cast the spell, she realized why they needed to hurry, it was across a large swamp, to which is extremely dangerous for anypony to cross, and it would take a day alone to cross it, even with wings because the swamp lets out a gas that curiously blocks all forms of magic, and the farther up somepony were to fly, the more toxic it would become, too high would result in complete paralysis.

As they left Fluttershy thought to herself how it was weird that Derpy would have any competition, but now, Shy herself was facing it head on. She had to do it quickly though, or she would lose her love forever. Swallowing hard, Shy speeds up her own pace, wanting to get there as soon as possible. Though she quickly slows down remembering that Twilight was not a fast flier yet, as she had only recently gotten her wings.

"We are going to need to keep our eyes open when we get to the swamp, the same could happen there as happened in Froggy bottom pond, but worse." Twi said, she herself sounding nervous, in which made Fluttershy even more afraid. Now not only worried about getting to the location on time, she was worried about getting there at all.

A rather Murky situation

It was only a few hours after Twilight and Fluttershy had left, when they started to feel noxious, "Why is this happening?" asked Shy, fighting to keep her lunch.

"It is the swamp, the gasses it releases are less toxic the closer to the ground we go," Twi replied, looking for an opening in the treetops to land through, "so we need to land soon." She was still scanning the trees when she saw a small opening, pointing it out to Shy they both began their descent.

Upon landing, Fluttershy got a uneasy feeling, like they were being watched, probably because they were, and not just by simple predators either, she knew they were vicious ones that would take advantage of her weakness as soon as they got the chance, so she tried to stay near Twilight without seeming pathetic. "I don't think I like it much here." She said, burly refraining from stuttering in fear. "I really hope we can get through the swamp soon."

Twilight grimaced at that, then she began, "Yeah, about that, just past this swamp, there happens to be a dragon breeding ground, and I don't think you would much appreciate their welc--" Just as she was about to finish that statement, she stepped into the first part of the swamp, in which happened to be deep enough to nearly fully submerge Twilight instantly. Fluttershy slightly giggled at the look on Twilight's face, but then heard a deep growl from within the swamp, and following it was an odor far worse than that of a Timberwolf breath, and that's saying something.

Shy gulped, realizing they were in a lot more trouble than she had originally anticipated. She helped to pull Twilight from the pool of slimy water, and cowered behind her, and, though hesitantly, continued to follow her through the swamp. Aside from all the creepy sounds and murky water the swamp brought with it, there was a lot of interesting critters, beetles the size of ones hoof, mosquitoes that you swear to Celestia could suck you dry in one gulp, and, above all else, birds, lots and lots of birds, large, small, and medium, though mostly large, and not too friendly looking. Some of the birds had multiple colors, some of them not so colorful, like this one that took a particular liking to Twilight's horn, it was jet black, sleek, and very proud looking, almost like that of the Phoenix Celestia owned, put, instead of fire, it seemed to be producing smoke, but not a lot.

"It's a Shade Hawk, they thrive on that of darkness, and prefer to nest very near a magical source, but not just any magical source, it has to be a strong one, likely this Shade Hawk is just effectively bathing in the magical presence of my horn. Regardless, they are harmless toward ponies like you and I, but are very proud animals." Twilight said, paused for a little while, and then added on, "Curiously though, they are very rarely seen, so this is quite a treat, and they only go to places they feel are safe, or that they could escape from easily, so for now, we know we are in little to no danger."

"Wow, I never knew about these beautiful creatures, but wont these birds get sick from the gasses the swamp lets off?" she asked genuinely curious about it, though seeing as most of them are magical, its is very unlikely.

"Well Fluttershy, this gas is of a magical origin, and since these birds are magical in and of themselves, they repel it from themselves, I mean sure I could repel the magical gas from myself with my magic, but then we would get hopelessly lost, since I cannot do two spells at one time, especially since this tracking spell is a mid level spell, and so is the repelling spell." She finished, almost sounding disappointed in her own abilities.

They continued on in silence for a few more minutes, when the Shade Hawk decided to fly away, though it seemed to be in a panic, noticing this Shy clutched close to Twilight, who at that point realized that they were completely surrounded. The way the creatures surrounded them in a circling motion reminded Fluttershy of what Timberwolves do when hunting, but they do it from a far, so she did not understand what these creatures were up to, that and these ones did not smell of the breath that she was so used to smelling. The longer they sat there the more Shy felt like screaming, then one of the creatures pounced, only exposing its fur temporarily. Fur? Shy wondered what kind of a creature it was exactly, they were perfectly silent, and they didn't appear to be hunting for the kill, no, they wanted Twilight and Fluttershy alive for some reason.

As the unknown creatures tried to corral Twilight and Fluttershy, Twi decided she was going to try to step out of line, but the moment she did, a black furred paw with razor sharp claws swung at her, burly missing her, thus making her jump back into the allowed path. "Well I guess we are going this way." Said Twilight, not liking the fact, but going along with it, although, Shy knew exactly what kind of creature was being the predator, and she didn't care to be caught between this kind of hunt, as they only see it as a game. Cats, large black cats, and being caught between them feels like being a ball of yarn, just a toy. A toy to sink their claws and teeth into. "Leopards." Said Twilight, "They only see us as new toys that are trying to get away, like mice to be battered around."

That confirmed Shy's fears, it looked like there was going to be little chance to get out of this, and if they did, they would be lucky, but only if. So not only did they get themselves caught in the middle of a swamp full of toxic over time gas, but now they were the mice in the middle of a game of cat and mouse, but, with four cats, to one mouse. Things didn't look to good, and Shy wanted out.

Bad Kitty

There was only one positive thing about the Panthers escorting them along, they stopped hearing mysterious sounds that didn't appear to belong to anything, and well, at least they were still headed in the right direction, but it almost seemed intentional. As Twilight began to concentrate on the Panther's movement over her magic, in which if they were still going the right direction, she didn't need the spell, so she waited for a moment when the Panther's were all looking away, even for a split second. Seeing it, she nearly instantly changes her spell channeling on her horn to a high level concussion spell, and realized that her alicorn magic was able to better handle it than her normal magic. This made it easier for her to continually channel it into a stronger spell.

Shy, unlike the Panthers, saw the spell stop and start, and she knew it was a new one, so she wondered what Twilight was doing, nevertheless, she kept walking without complaint. It was about five or ten minutes before there was any signs of a new spell being done by her, but even then, they weren't obvious, Her horn started to glow slightly brighter, but not enough to cause the Panthers to worry. Shy looked over to Twilight, and saw she had started to sweat, meaning it was a higher level spell than she was used to casting for long periods of time, but she showed no physical signs of exhaustion or strain. Shy said nothing, nor did she make any motion to the new spell, knowing Twilight had a plan.

About 5 minutes after Shy had noticed the change, Twilight finally started to look exhausted, and the Panthers looked agitated, knowing something was off now, and Shy noticed that Twilight's horn almost looked like a fountain firework with how powerful the spell had become, so seeming to decide now was as good a time as ever, Twilight let the spell complete its effect causing a massive wave of kinetic force to blast outward, somehow avoiding Shy altogether, but blasting every panther, and any other object within twenty yards, at least another twenty or thirty yards away. The sheer immensity of the power surprised Shy, but she took it as a hint to run, and having twenty yards of clear land was nice for once, so she took full advantage of it.

They were almost out of the range of the Panther's recognition of which way they would have gone when one of them pounced onto Twilight's back. Fluttershy, freaking out of course yelled "BAD KITTY!!" and kicked the panther off, and began to run even faster than before. To their surprise, they were actually at the edge of the swamp and began to fly away. Shy looked down and saw that the Panthers were sitting at the point they had taken off, and shy couldn't help but to laugh a little. "Are you okay Twilight? That Panther didn't hurt you did it?" she asked hoping that nothing happened to hurt her.

"Yes, I am alright Shy, the Panther was unable to hurt me, and it is all thanks to you kicking it off of me." Twi said, genuinely great full, "Though, I don't think that 'bad kitty' liked it so much" she finished, giggling a little, in which made Shy giggle a little bit as well, "On the bright side, it helped us move faster, and we are going to be able to make it to Trixie sooner than we originally thought."

"That is true, I am just glad I was able to see some of those amazing creatures, especially that Shade Hawk." Shy said, very pleased with herself, flying with her head held high.

"Shy, I wouldn't fly that high if I were you." Twilight said, obviously concerned, "This is the area dragons are known to fly about, mostly breeding, but very hungry."

Hearing that, Shy instantly decided she would fly lower than even Twilight, but still swiftly moving through the area. They were almost there, almost to the point of saving Derpy, and as it looked, they were going to make it earlier than necessary, but that made Shy happier, so they continued on, when Twilight stopped suddenly, looking around as if lost. "What is it Twilight?" Shy asked, confused, "You have the spell going, so why are you looking around?"

"Because, the spell is telling me we have arrived, but it is also saying to go back, now forward, now up, it just keeps changing." Twi said, with a very confused look on her face.

"Maybe if we keep going the original way, and watch the ground?" Shy suggested, feeling hopeless after such a long trip to suddenly get lost, when she suddenly saw the Panthers from earlier going into some sort of distorted field on the ground, it looked like a cave, but the fact that the Panthers simply disappeared means it was being hidden by magic. "Down there, that cave, I saw the Panthers go into it, but suddenly disappear before getting inside, like magic."

Twilight glared in that direction, and with a flash, she cast a spell at the cave, causing it to shimmer and show a light flowing through, and for a split second, Twilight's spell could tell that Trixie was down there. "She is in there. Lets go and teach Trixie the same lesson we taught those Panthers, that she has been a bad kitty."

"Umm, Twilight," Fluttershy said, "She has been a bad pony, only the kitties can be bad kitties, and ponies can only be bad ponies." She was trying to rationalize the statement when she decided to just leave it alone. "Yea, whatever, she has been a bad, bad, kitty. Pony? Whatever you want to call her."

Twi looked at Shy, blinked, and shook her head. "Yes Shy, she is a pony, but I was using the phrase metaphorically." and before giving Shy a chance to think about it she dives into the cave.

Shy came tumbling in behind her, and trying to sound big and bad she quietly yells "Bad kittie! Time to put you in your place!"

Tricky with Trixie, and a lovely ending.

Oddly enough, there was nopony in sight when they entered the magic barrier, torches filled the cave with light, exposing all the little cracks that one would not see if it were dark, and two tunnels branched off of the main one, Shy, after her moment, was blushing in the background trying not to be noticed because she said something that she regretted, and she wished she could have unsaid that, but, now Twilight had to know that she tried to sound tough with an extremely odd line. Nevertheless, she looked for clues as to which direction Trixie might be awaiting them from. There were claw marks down the left tunnel, and it looked somewhat dark and aerie, the second one had a smell of burning cloth and, hair?

"Well, I think Trixie is down this direction, by the smell, I would assume that her practice acting didn't go as planned." Twilight said, and they trotted down the tunnel, noticing glimmering gems every now and then, but urgently wanting to get out because of the idea that those panthers were still in this cave. After about 30 meters, the tunnel opened up into what looked like the night sky over a vast ocean, and Twilight couldn't help but marvel at the sight. She soon regained composure when she heard a noise coming from a wagon, in which was also slightly scorched by the looks of it.

"Ow, ow, ow ow ow ow, that hurts! Next time, less fire, more works, but how? I need fire to light the fireworks, gah, nevermind, I need to prepare for my soon to come guests." Trixie was saying to herself, when she turned around, mane slightly charred and her cloak half gone from burning. "Oh uh, you don't see anything yet." She said in a hurry, running into her wagon to get a new cloak, and a quick flick of magic removing the charred part of her mane and repairing it. "Ahh," she said returning from her emergency, "I see you have come to visit The Great, and Powerful, Trixie! But I would have been certain only Fluttershy would have come, but no, YOU have to come and spoil all my fun Twilight Sparkle, and now, The Great, and Powerful, Trixie will destroy you!" She finished saying, but only seeing blank faces becomes angry. "Fine, what do you want Twilight?"

"I want you to turn Derpy back into a normal pony!" Twilight said, looking extremely frustrated. "I don't like it when you mess with not only my friends, but their friends too."

"Y-yeah, what Twilight said." Shy chipped in and cowered immediately to which Trixie couldn't help but to laugh at.

"You know, with as cute an expression as that, I was almost tempted to just let her go, but I cant do that unless I know for a fact that Fluttershy will be staying." Trixie said, and then whistled, calling the Panthers in, who in which line up behind Twilight and Fluttershy. "So, what will it be, Fluttershy stays here, and Derpy gets turned back to normal, or Derpy becomes a Timberwolf forever?"

"Neith--" Twilight started to say, when Fluttershy stepped forward, and without second thoughts she started to cry.

"Please, just let Derpy be normal again, I will stay if you do, I just want all my friends to be safe, and if I must stay to let that happen, then so be it, I will." Fluttershy said, paused, looked at Twilight, and continued, "Make sure Derpy knows that I saved her, please."

"But Fluttershy, you would just give up that easy?" Twilight began to say, but looked into Shy's eyes and knew instantly what she had in mind, and going along with it, she bowed her head, "Fine, whatever you say."

Fluttershy walked over to Trixie who at this point was laughing like a maniac while the Panthers escorted Twilight out of the cave. Once they were all gone, Shy looked at Trixie questioningly, who in which rolled her eyes and cast a spell, and said "There, its done." to which Fluttershy felt relieved, and without hesitation, started humming a melody, one that had no specific pattern to it, but Trixie thought was familiar for some reason, but before she could place it, an animal of some kind, Trixie could not tell at that moment, swooped in and took the book that was stolen, why she would have it on the shelf in the open, nopony could ever know, but it was safe, as Shy remembered the call of the Shade Hawk from while they were walking in the swamp, and was able to form a bond with it with silent communication.

By the time Trixie recovered her senses the bird was already gone, and Shy smiling at Trixie, "Sorry Trixie, but I cannot allow you to keep me here, ever. I do not love you, I never will, my loyalties lie with Derpy, and all my other friends." She started to walk out of the cave, when Trixie started laughing, which brought confusion to Fluttershy.

"You think I have lost, just because I cannot cast the spell any longer, because you told me you will never love me." Trixie started to say, a psychotic look in her eyes, "I can never lose, for I am The Great, and Powerfu--" Trixie got suddenly interrupted as she was swinging her hoof and happened to hit her wagon, in which started to roll, and though it stopped suddenly, one of the cooking pans flew off and with a loud clank knocked Trixie unconscious. And Fluttershy, being super kind and all, decided she would carry Trixie to safety with the help of the Shade Hawk.

Shy was about halfway through the swamp when she saw a bright light approaching her position, but having Trixie on her back made it difficult to do much, so she waited and tried to get out of the way of the light, when she realized it was Twilight with the rest of her friends. Who in which had surprised looks on their faces when they saw Shy carrying Trixie, the Hawk long since gone by now. Though they were relieved to see Shy was okay, they all had to get out of this swamp fast, so they all, as friends trotted through the swamp together, laughing, talking, and the occasional scream from Rarity as she discovers a new stain on her mane.

"Shy, why did that Shade Hawk bring me the book?" Twilight began to ask, but then thought about it, "Oh, wait, that's right, it seemed to take quite an interest in you, I assume you formed a bond with it?"

"Yep, that I did, it was such a pretty bird too, though it was mostly shadowy, it was still pretty!" Shy said. When they finally got home, Derpy was waiting for Shy, who was no longer carrying Trixie. Shy saw Derpy back to normal, and almost started to cry, she jumped at Derpy and hugged her tightly. "Oh I missed you so much, don't you ever go in that forest again, its far too dangerous for som--" She started to say, but was interrupted by Derpy kissing her.

"I promise to stay close to you, forever" Derpy said after she finished kissing Fluttershy, who seems to have lost her balance.

Trixie was soon after sent to The Pony Psychiatric Help Center, or The PPHC, and was going through counseling for her over obsessive behavior, in which happened to be a mental instability amongst ponykind, so they knew she was going to be getting the help she desperately needed, and the book that caused the little mess, well, Celestia herself demanded it be burned, so nopony could do something like that again, as the Timberwolves were already a problem as it was. And needless to say, Derpy and Shy had a happy relationship starting, and it didn't look to be ending any time soon.