Fluttershy's Tail Extension
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!”
Said butter-yellow pegasus covered her ears with her hooves, squeezing as tightly as she could in a desperate bid to block out the mocking laughter.
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy!”
Okay, the desperate bid was just that: desperate. And things done desperately generally fail.
Fluttershy sped away as quickly as she could, leaving a stream of tears in her wake. All she wanted to do was to escape from the horrible mocking.
Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!
No use. They were in her head, too.
Fluttershy’s wings beat faster, propelling her forwards with as much force as she could muster. Which wasn’t much, actually. Thankfully, the physical exertion sufficed in order to drive the voices in her head away. The pegasus was finally left in blissful peace.
Fluttershy looked up after a few minutes of resting and catching her breath, and took in the sight of a large, green field, dotted here and there with colourful flowers that danced in the breeze. As she gazed at the peaceful scene, her mind slipped into its recollection of the recent events that led up till now.
Her memories came back in small bits and pieces, as her mind was still trying to hold back the traumatic recollections. Another flight lesson. So high up above the ground. Falling. Falling…
Without warning, the floodgates were forced open, allowing the remaining undesirables to rush in and fill the empty void that Fluttershy was desperately trying to preserve.
She had failed to fly even a few metres during her flight test. As usual, her wings had clenched themselves tightly to her side, and she had fallen onto a waiting cloud below, where everypony had promptly assailed her with mocking laughter that seemed to come from everywhere and echo off invisible walls.
Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves and began to cry.
Every breath was ragged, and the occasional gasp for air made her seem very weak. Not to anypony else, but to herself. She was disgusted that she couldn’t even fly a measly ten metres, when pegasi half her age were flying twice that distance.
Why can’t I just fly like every other pegasus I know?
Fluttershy remembered all the ponies present at the examination. Even Derpy flew further than I did. she thought, recalling that the wall-eyed pegasus had flown about half the distance required before proceeding to ram into a stray cloud.
Acting upon the new wave of self-loathing, the voices returned. Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!
“No… no… stop it!” The butter-yellow pegasus screamed, flailing out at everything around her.
“Um, are you okay, Fluttershy?” A voice, not a figment of her imagination this time, pierced the bubble of solitude that the pegasus had unintentionally constructed around herself. The shy pony opened her eyes, revealing a prismatic-maned pegasus filly with a cutie mark of a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt and a cloud looking at her, eyes filled with concern.
“Yes… yes, I’m okay.” She recognised the filly instantly. It was Rainbow Dash, her only real friend. (Well, the only one who didn't laugh at her). “Is there anything you need help with?” Due to her recent bout of self-hatred and her subsequent outburst, that came out a little harsher than she’d meant it to be.
If Rainbow noticed her tone, she didn’t show it. “Me? I’m not the one who needs help. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Fluttershy sniffled once before nodding. “I’m fine. No need to worry about me.”
The cyan pegasus looked at her uncertainly, but seemed to realise that pushing the issue any further was a stupid idea. However, Rainbow’s discontinued path of conversation caused a very uncomfortable silence.
“Uhh…” In the absence of any dialogue, Rainbow finally remembered what she meant to ask Fluttershy after the flight examination. “Oh yeah! Can you help me with my kite? No matter what I do, it doesn’t seem to be able to stay in the air for long like those over there. I asked Gilda, but she isn’t interested in kites. So I decided to ask you.”
For the first time, Fluttershy noticed the small kite perched on Rainbow’s back, as well as others of similar design performing what looked like complicated aerial manoeuvres in the sky. “Um, Rainbow Dash, why are you suddenly fascinated with kites?”
The prismatic-maned pegasus scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “Well, I just like kites now!” Just as she finished saying that, a slip of paper, buffered by the wind, blew out of her enclosed wing and floated to the ground.
Fluttershy trotted up to it and bent her head down so that she could read it. “…competition… grand prize… six hundred bits-”
“Give me that!” Rainbow snatched the sheet of paper off the ground with her wing and back into the comfort of the feathered appendage.
“Rainbow Dash, are you trying to learn how to fly a kite just so that you can win a competition?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, I need the money! My parents hardly give me any!” The cyan pegasus defended herself.
“I’m sure that Gilda would be able to help you more than me. I don’t know anything about kites.”
“If I told Gilda that there was a competition, I’d have to split the money!” Rainbow countered. “Please, Fluttershy! I need your help!”
The butter-yellow pegasus sighed. “Fine, I’ll help you. Can I see the kite, please?”
Rainbow nodded gratefully and delivered her tiny creation into Fluttershy’s waiting hooves. Fluttershy scrutinised the kite for a few minutes, trying to find a flaw in its construction. Unable to identify any defects, she grabbed the end of the kite string and began to gallop. The kite began to rise into the sky, but as soon as she stopped moving forward, the diamond-shaped piece of fabric fluttered around in the air erratically for a short period of time before nose-diving into the ground. Fluttershy glanced at the fallen kite with dismay. It was a stark reminder of that morning’s catastrophic failure. Pushing that thought out of her mind as violently as she could, she began to compare it to the most similar one that she could find in the sky.
The kite she selected was mostly similar to Rainbow’s, the only noticeable difference being an altered colour scheme. Fluttershy scanned that one and tried to ascertain why her friend’s kite wasn’t able to soar like its counterpart could. After about a dozen minutes of staring at the sky like an idiot, Fluttershy was about to attribute the other kite’s success to a combination of skill and luck until she hit upon the answer.
That’s it! she realised.
Perhaps this wasn’t the end of just Rainbow’s problems. It could be the end of her flying problems, too!
With only a “stay here, I’ll be right back”, Grabbing the kite as she went, Fluttershy sped off, leaving her friend behind in the field.
“Hey, what gives?” Rainbow shouted. She was about to follow Fluttershy before she realised that the butter-yellow pegasus was possibly the only pony capable of helping her win the competition- with the prize money, of course- and that it was a very, very bad idea to anger her benefactor. Not that it was likely for Fluttershy to get angry, but Rainbow decided that it was stupid to try to push Fluttershy past her breaking point. The rainbow-maned pony sat down on the grass with an annoyed hmph and tried to get comfortable while awaiting her friend’s return.
It took only half an hour for Fluttershy to return with Rainbow’s kite resting on the yellow pegasus’ back- with one noticeable addition.
“That’s your great idea?” Rainbow laughed, before she remembered just how sensitive Fluttershy was. This time, however, her shy friend didn’t seem to be offended. In fact, she seemed… for lack of a better word to describe it, euphoric.
“Yes, it is! Look!” Fluttershy grabbed the kite off her back with her mouth and grasped the kite string. She began to gallop, dragging the diamond-shaped piece of fabric along behind her. It was flying exactly like it had previously- until Fluttershy stopped galloping.
Unlike the previous tries, the kite stayed in the sky this time, dancing in the wind without falling. The look of surprise and delight on Rainbow’s face sent a warm rush of happiness into Fluttershy’s heart, but it paled in comparison to her anticipation.
“Wow!” Rainbow gasped. “Who knew that one little tail would make such a big difference! Thanks, Fluttershy!” The kite’s tail, replete with tiny ribbons, waved happily in the breeze.
Fluttershy grinned bashfully. “You’re welcome, Rainbow. Do you like it?”
“Like it? I love it!” The prismatic-maned pegasus took to the skies. “Now I’ll win the competition for sure! See you later!” She immediately dashed off, trying to locate the windiest spot nearby to practice.
Fluttershy, for her part, didn’t hear most of Rainbow’s farewell. She was immersed in her thoughts. A tail to fly…
The voices in her head remained unnaturally silent.
****
One building in Cloudsdale, a hairdressing salon to be exact, was moments away from getting a new potential customer.
Those moments passed, and a soft clink of the wind chimes at the door announced the presence of a new arrival. One of the hairdressers who was not preoccupied styling somepony’s hair or reading any of the magazines stowed under the reception table looked up to see just who had entered the establishment.
A small yellow pegasus filly with a luscious pink mane trotted up to her with tiny hoofsteps. When she got closer to the reception table, she stopped dead in her tracks. It was as if she had been overcome by a wave of uncertainty, and her eyes widened in… was that fear?
The hairdresser spoke up. “Welcome to Cumulonimbus Hair Salon. Can I help you?”
Snapped out of her stupor, the yellow pegasus shook her head before looking up at the hairdresser with two adorable eyes that could melt even the most stubborn heart of stone. She opened her mouth to speak- and promptly closed it.
This time, the hairdresser mouth curved downwards into a frown, one of concern. “Are you all right?”
The small filly began to tremble the moment she saw the hairdresser’s frown, and it looked like an internal war had just begun and neither side was winning.
This mental stalemate seemed to be able to continue indefinitely, and so after a few minutes, the hairdresser decided to act before the yellow pegasus began to starve. She put on as friendly a face as she could, and smiled at the small filly. “Do you need my help?”
“Huh?” The poor pegasus finally stopped quivering and looked up at the hairdresser.
Well, at least that’s an improvement. The hairdresser thought.
“My name is Mane Curl. What’s ours?” Maybe the filly would talk if she tried being friendly.
“My name is… F… F…” The filly seemed to be unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Your name is?” Mane Curl prompted.
“M- M- My name i- is F- F- Fluttershy.” The small pegasus finally forced out. The effort of doing so seemed to take a great deal out of her.
“Okay Fluttershy,” Mane Curl continued, “do you need anything that we can provide?”
“W- Well,” The timid yellow filly seemed to briefly enter another internal conflict before continuing. “Do you… well… have anything to… lengthen my tail?”
“Lengthen… your tail?” Mane Curl repeated, confused.
“Um, yes?” Fluttershy squeaked.
The hairdresser knew that the salon did not have anything like that- in fact, she doubted Cloudsdale had anything like that, not yet at least- but she had been taught never to deny a customer a request, so she had to check, just in case.
Well, there was also the fact that a portion of the money from this possible sale would go into her paycheck, but that wasn’t on Mane Curl’s mind at that point in time. Or at least that was what she would tell herself later.
“Let me check.” The hairdresser trotted over to the storage cabinet at the back of the salon and began to rummage through it. “Hmm… no, that’s not it… what’s this doing in here anyway?... that can’t be it… no…” When Mane Curl finished digging through the contents of the cabinet, she reluctantly returned to the very eager looking filly.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy, but we don’t have any in stock right now.” Might as well lighten the blow by letting the poor filly think that she still has a chance elsewhere in Cloudsdale. Mane Curl thought.
“Oh.” Fluttershy visibly deflated. Only a few moments later, she suddenly perked up. “Do you know when they will be available?”
Mane Curl’s breath caught in her throat. There was no avoiding it now. “Well, you see, tail lengthening… hasn’t been invented yet- well, at least in Cloudsdale.” She paused for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
Now Fluttershy looked inconsolably crestfallen. “Um… well, t- thank you.” She turned and galloped out of the door, leaving Mane Curl alone.
The hairdresser sighed and rubbed her head with her hoof. Well, that was very, very awkward.
****
Fluttershy galloped through the streets, not paying much attention to where she was going, which resulted in a few unexpected meeting with walls that she didn’t see coming, but clouds didn’t tend to hurt a pony much. No the pain came from inside, the agony of failure. Not an unfamiliar ache, but it cut deeply all the same.
I was so close! Fluttershy screamed as loudly as she could in her mind, trying to drive away the voices that had once again decided to make their presence known. I even managed to overcome my shyness for once!
Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted as she galloped straight into another pegasus wandering through the floating city. The yellow filly was flung back a few paces, whereas the other pegasus didn’t even seem to be affected. Nonetheless, he decided to chastise Fluttershy, as most adults usually do when a foal does something stupid, instead of inquiring as to why she had acted like that.
“Watch where you’re going!” He bellowed. Fluttershy immediately curled up tightly into a quivering ball in response. The stallion wanted to continue, but when he saw how petrified the poor filly was, he decided that to be satisfied that his reprimand had elicited a fearful reaction from the ‘troublemaker’. The stallion trotted off, leaving Fluttershy to cower in the middle of the street.
After a few minutes, when the poor yellow pegasus was sure that the pony she had bumped into had disappeared, she opened her eyes and took a few glances around her. Ponies trotting about in the streets were giving her odd glances, some looking at each other and muttering a few words. Fluttershy’s shyness kicked in immediately, activating her wings and hooves which propelled her into the nearest dark alleyway she could find.
Despite the scariness of the incident mere minutes ago, Fluttershy began to think in a logical manner, for the first time since she left the salon. If I want to be respected, then I have to earn everypony’s respect. If I want to succeed, then I have to try as hard as I can. She dipped her head through the clouds, trying to see what lay below. She had only been on the ground once before, when she had fallen off that cloud during Rainbow’s race, but since then, between school and trying her hardest to train for her flying examinations, she hadn’t been able to spare any time for her beloved animals.
Just another reason to see this plan through. Fluttershy thought.
Searching the ground, she found what she was looking for: a small village, not too far away from Cloudsdale. Ponyville.
If I can’t find what I need in the sky, then I must look towards the ground.
Fluttershy took in a deep breath and dove through the clouds.
She was instantly assaulted with what felt like gale-force winds, which Fluttershy thought she would have been used to by now, due to her many falls from high altitudes. However, she soon discovered that falling through the air like a rock was different from rocketing towards the ground like an arrow. Ignoring the wind stinging her eyes, she frantically tried to pull up, flapping her weak wings as she did so.
For a moment, it seemed as though she had succeeded; her descent rate slowed, and the ground appeared to approach at a much more leisurely pace than before. It took a few more seconds before Fluttershy realised that despite her achievements, she was still falling much faster than was safe for an ordinary pegasus. Once again she began to panic, flailing all six of her limbs hysterically.
Just as she thought that she was doomed, she suddenly stopped, just a few centimetres above the soil. Peeking through her almost-closed eyes, she noticed that everything was tinged a light-blue hue. Abruptly, the tint of blue disappeared, allowing Fluttershy to fall the rest of the way to the ground.
Finally daring to open her eyes all the way, the timid yellow pegasus saw her saviour; an elegant white unicorn filly with a perfectly kept curly purple mane and a trio of gems as her cutie mark.
Noticing that Fluttershy had opened her eyes, the unicorn reached out a hoof to help her up. “Are you okay? I just barely caught you.”
Fluttershy sighed as she accepted the helping hoof. This was the third time within a few hours that she was asked if she was all right. “I’m fine. Thank you for saving me.”
“No need to thank me. I just did what anypony else would have done in that situation.” The unicorn suddenly gasped. “Where are my manners? I am Rarity. What is your name?”
“My name is Fluttershy.” For some reason, the nigh-chronically shy pegasus didn’t seem to feel the urge to flee and hide. In fact, for some reason, she felt like old friends with this white unicorn she had met mere moments ago.
Maybe it’s because she saved my life. Fluttershy mused.
“Fluttershy? That’s an adorable name! May I ask where you live?”
Despite the fact that Rarity was asking some very personal questions (by Fluttershy’s standards, at least), the yellow pegasus felt no apprehension at telling her these details. “I live in Cloudsdale.”
“Well, that’s where most pegasi live, right?” The unicorn giggled. “Good thing I came out here to gather a few flowers for my dresses, otherwise I wouldn’t have been here to catch you.”
Fluttershy nodded absently. Now that she was safe and had recovered from her shock, her mind devoted itself fully to completing her quest once more. Her mind occasionally paid attention to the unicorn’s rambling, trying to filter the speech in order to obtain any snippets of important information.
“Why, if I’d spent any more time preparing my mane and tail before I came here… I don’t even dare to think of what may have transpired!”
That caught Fluttershy’s attention. “Preparing your mane and tail?”
Rarity chuckled. “Of course! One always has to look presentable before one does… well, anything!”
“Yes, but what do you use to prepare them?” Fluttershy had lost all traces of shyness, now actively pursuing her objectives.
That lasted about three seconds, before the yellow pegasus realised how rude she had been and backed down. “I’m sorry.”
The unicorn laughed. “There’s no need to be apologetic about wanting to look fabulous!” Rarity had misunderstood Fluttershy’s intentions completely. “Here, let me show you to my house.”
The timid filly followed Rarity obediently, keeping her mind occupied with thinking about her endeavour. She didn’t even flinch when she entered Ponyville, where she came under the (not so intense) scrutiny of the tiny village’s many inhabitants. A few ponies realised that there was a new pony in town, but that little piece of information was soon lost amongst the hassles of their daily lives. Fluttershy reached Rarity’s house mostly unnoticed by the general populace.
“Well, this is where I live.” Rarity lifted a hoof, pushing the door open. It was only after she entered the building that she noticed Fluttershy standing outside, looking hesitant.
“What are you waiting for, Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.
The pegasus shook her head. “I can’t just come in like that, Rarity. Won’t your parents be mad?”
“Don’t worry, my parents are never around at this time of day. And either way, how will they find out?”
Fluttershy wasn’t very convinced. “But, how can you trust me so much? We only just met.”
The unicorn smiled. “I can tell, just by looking at you, that you wouldn’t even hurt a fly’s feelings, let alone a fellow pony. Come on in.”
Part of Fluttershy was telling her that this was, on a certain level, the wrong thing to do, but the much stronger and far more persuasive part of her convinced her that it was completely worth it if she was never laughed at again.
One of her yellow hooves crossed the boundary that separated the inside of the house from the town of Ponyville, followed by the other three.
So close…
She dashed into the building, pulling the door shut as she did so. Rarity nodded and began to trot up the stairs at the far end of what appeared to be the living room of the house, followed by an extremely eager Fluttershy.
The little yellow filly clambered up the grey, dull staircase, her clumsy movement a stark contrast to Rarity’s elegant strides. Graceful or no, though, both fillies reached their destination at the same time.
The room at the end of the landing looked as if it wasn’t even part of the house itself. Its brilliant shades of purple and white stood out against the dull grey walls of the house, with its occasional splotches of white. Rarity nudged the door to her room open, and Fluttershy entered a new world- no, a new universe was more like it.
A large princess-sized bed took precedence in the middle of the room, its mosquito net draped around it, protecting the interior from any pests. The rest of the belongings surrounded the centrepiece like satellites; a chest, full to the brim with precious gemstones of varying hues, as well as a bedside table, with numerous objects resting on its oakwood surface, a few cosmetics and a small mirror among them. A quick look at the cosmetics told Fluttershy that what she was looking for was not on the table. Rarity didn’t stop at the table, though; she stepped around it and trotted to a plain wooden door at the far end.
Of course! Fluttershy realised. The bathroom!
The yellow filly manoeuvred around Rarity’s various trappings, ensuring that she did not disturb the belongings of her kind host, and followed the white unicorn into the bathroom.
The purple colouring of the previous room turned to pure white as Fluttershy moved stepped through the door. The colour of the room, however, caused the shy pegasus to squirm a little. She was reminded of the clinic in which she had spent many hours in, all after some form of flying accident. She quickly quashed those memories. She was too close to success to hesitate now.
Fluttershy kept her gaze on Rarity, watching as the white unicorn opened a white cabinet next to the sink with her magic. The door of the cabinet, engulfed by a blue glow, swung open, revealing the glory of its contents to Fluttershy.
Its three shelves were packed extremely tightly with dozens of bottles, all with multicoloured labels declaring its purpose. Fluttershy eagerly launched herself into the air with her wings and began to search the cabinet for what she wanted.
“My, you sure are eager, Fluttershy!” Rarity giggled. “Take your time. Whatever you need is in there!”
Despite the fact that Rarity probably didn’t know what Fluttershy was looking for, the yellow pegasus’ confidence was boosted, and she began to rummage around the cabinet with even more vigour.
Two shelves and about a hundred bottles later, however, Fluttershy’s spirits were about as low as they could go. There were only a hoofful of cosmetics and make-up remaining, and the timid filly doubted that any of those canisters contained what she wanted.
She searched through the remaining bottles. One after another was grabbed by Fluttershy and subsequently tossed aside thoughtlessly, accumulating in a steadily growing pile beside Rarity.
“Uhh…” The white unicorn was unsure of how to respond to this.
Finally, Fluttershy reached the final bottle. Raising it up to her face, she read the words on its label. Printed on the tiny slip of paper, were the words:
Hair Dye
Fluttershy sighed in despair. Another unsuccessful attempt to add to her already long list of failures. She tossed the last bottle onto the pile, which created a series of clink sounds as it tumbled down the hill.
“Hey, that’s where my tail lengthener went!” Rarity exclaimed.
Fluttershy suddenly froze. “What?!”
Whipping her head around, the yellow pegasus caught sight of Rarity, cradling the bottle which Fluttershy had just tossed aside with both of her hooves.
“But… but that’s hair dye!”
“Huh?” Rarity gave the label a look. “Oh! It’s just the wrong label!” The white unicorn chuckled amusedly when she saw Fluttershy’s confused expression.
“Look!” Gripping the label of the bottle with her magic, she ripped it off the container completely, revealing its true label beneath.
Tail Lengthener
Fluttershy nearly squealed in delight, but managed to contain herself as she reached out a pair of trembling hooves to grab the bottle.
Rarity noticed her euphoric mood, and then realised that she was gazing at the bottle of tail lengthener. “Oh… you wanted the tail lengthener! Why didn’t you just say so?” The container floated out of Rarity’s hooves and into Fluttershy’s. “Here, you can have it.”
“R- Really?” This is almost too good to be true.
“Of course! I don’t need it anymore.” Rarity laughed. “Come to think of it, I never really needed it.”
“Thank you so much!” Fluttershy immediately trapped the white unicorn in a bear hug, which ceased moments later when the pegasus stepped back, a blush visible on her cheeks.
“No need to thank me, darling! Your happiness is all the reward I need.” Rarity’s horn lit up as she began to levitate the fallen containers back into their original positions on the shelf. Fluttershy suddenly realised how big of a mess she had created during her frantic search.
“Oh… oh my! I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy rushed over to help Rarity rearrange the bottles.
“Nonsense! So long as you’re happy, I’m happy. Besides, this won’t take long to clean up at all.”
True to Rarity’s words, it didn’t. Only ten minutes had passed when the floor was clear and the cabinet was filled with its charges once more.
“But really, how can I thank you for this?” The shy pegasus asked Rarity as she cradled the bottle of tail lengthener. “I can’t just accept a gift like that and not give anything in return.”
“Just be happy with my gift, Fluttershy. That would make my day.” Rarity grinned as she looked at her new-found friend. “I have a feeling that the two of us will be great friends.”
Fluttershy was about to respond, but a series of knocks coming from the door to Rarity’s room interrupted her. “Rarity, we’re home!”
“Oh no! My parents are here!” The white unicorn’s horn glowed as she opened the window at the top of the wall with her magic. “Quick!”
The yellow pegasus gave Rarity one last smile before she flapped her wings and flew- albeit unsteadily- through the opening, aiming for the soil just a few metres away.
Fluttershy landed on the ground safely, raising a tiny cloud of dust upon contact with the ground. She turned around to see the window being closed, the tint of a blue aura revealing the identity of the pony shutting it.
The yellow pegasus trotted through the streets of Ponyville, completely absorbed in revelling in her victory. She was triumphant! She was victorious! She was… not quite sure what to do next.
What do you think? Apply it! A part of her urged. The other part of her, having nothing to object to, remained silent.
Fluttershy decided to do so- how could she argue with herself?- but somewhere more isolated. When she hit upon that thought, it suddenly occurred to her that she was in the middle of a very busy street, being greeted by ponies that she had never met before.
A few seconds later, the street had one pony less treading on its surface.
In a wedge between two buildings, Fluttershy was gasping for breath and occasionally looking out from her hiding place to see if anypony had followed her.
“That was close.” She muttered under her breath.
Checking once more to ensure that she was alone, Fluttershy lifted the bottle up to her face so that she could read its’ label.
Application of 0.3 litres of this solution will yield an average of 10cm of tail growth.
“Hmm… that’s quite a lot.” Fluttershy examined the bottle, looking for an indication of its capacity. She found what she was looking for at the bottom of the label.
This bottle contains 0.3 litres of solution.
“Well, that’s not fair. I have to use the whole bottle just for my tail to grow a little.” The pegasus huffed. “But I suppose I have to use all of it if I want to get better at flying. Maybe Rarity has more of these with her somewhere.”
Fluttershy unscrewed the cap, allowing it to drop into a dustbin that was nearby. Twisting her body uncomfortably so that she could pour the contents of the bottle onto her tail (These kinds of containers were always a great inconvenience to ponies who were not magically inclined), she upended the entire bottle, allowing the viscous purple fluid to flow out and drip onto her tail. As more and more drops of tail lengthener touched the pink hair of her tail, the pinkness slowly changed to a dark lavender, which contrasted strongly with the rest of her.
Simply put, it looked really, really weird.
Fluttershy began to grow concerned about the new purple hue her tail had taken on. Once the container was empty, she grabbed it in her hooves and lifted it up to her face so that she could read more of it.
“List of ingredients… no, that’s not it… Imported from… no, that’s not it either… Aha! Side effects!” She turned the bottle just enough so she could read that section.
Solution may cause temporary purple staining. This will fade within a day’s time.
That’s a relief. Fluttershy began to grin. Without another thought, she tossed the bottle into the bin, allowing it to suffer the same fate as its cap. She flapped her wings and took off into the sky.
To her, it was far more welcoming than it had ever been before.
Jarred by its second impact of the day, a small piece of paper stuck onto the bottle’s label finally separated, floating to the bottom of the bin. What it had been hiding previously was revealed, though there was nopony around to see it.
Application of 0.03 litres of this solution will yield an average of 10cm tail growth.
****
“Mmm… huhhh… okay, okay, I’m awake.”
Fluttershy silenced the alarm clock on her bedside table with a gentle tap. It was, as it always was, very irritating, but Fluttershy couldn’t bear to damage it. Well, she could always turn the alarm off, but then she would be late for school.
She yawned as she sat up, pushing the blanket away from her at the same time. Normally, it would take her a few more minutes to get up, but she was eager to see how her new tail looked. It had taken quite a lot of explaining to get her parents to accept the temporary colour change of her tail. Thankfully, they bought the story that it was a mishap during art class, and the colouring would come off after a bath or two.
When the blanket slid off the bed, what Fluttershy saw was a far cry from what she expected.
Her tail didn’t just grow ten centimetres. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be at least a hundred centimetres longer! How she hadn’t noticed it pushing against her legs before baffled her, but the numerous coils of pink hair that now dominated the bed were definitely not a dream.
“Oh… oh my…” Fluttershy was now very unsure of what to do. On the up side, a tail this long would allow her to fly very well, but it was quite possible that she could become a laughingstock because of it. Not only that, but how could she hide this from her parents?
“Fluttershy!” A voice called from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready!”
The yellow pegasus gulped.
“Are you going to come down here? Because if you don’t, I’m going to cut your food up into tiny chunks and feed it to the birds!”
One of those words echoed in Fluttershy’s mind. Cut…
Of course! It was so obvious! What do you do when your mane or tail grows too long? You cut it!
Fluttershy rushed to her bedside table and opened the drawer in which she kept most of the items that she owned. Those which were small enough to fit inside, at least. Their sizes ranged from that of a dust particle (okay, the only things that small were the dust particles themselves) to that of a kitchen knife. Fluttershy removed one of those kitchen knife-sized objects, namely a rather large pair of scissors, from the drawer, before shutting it quickly. Positioning the excess length of her tail between the two blades, she used all of her strength to slam down on the scissors.
The screeching sound of steel being bent echoed throughout the room, startling Fluttershy tremendously. She instantly fled from the sound and hid under her most favoured and most often used hiding place- the bed.
When she looked at the spot on the floor where she had originally been standing, she was- to say the least- very shocked to see that the scissors had been bent and twisted beyond repair. She then turned around to observe her tail, and was very, very shocked to see that it was still whole, without even the smallest of signs to prove that the scissors had even tried to sever it.
“But… but that’s impossible.” Fluttershy breathed.
“Fluttershy? What was that noise?” The voice that she had previously was now even closer.
Oh no…
The door creaked open, revealing a yellow pegasus stallion with a well combed green mane. One look at the mangled scissors on the ground told him all that he needed to know.
“Downstairs.” He stated simply. “Now.”
Fluttershy had never moved faster than she did right then.
****
“So let me get this straight: You have absolutely no idea what happened.”
Fluttershy nodded silently.
“I see.”
Fluttershy’s parents, the stallion from before and a white-coated pegasus mare whose pink mane strongly resembled her daughter’s, sat at the breakfast table, exactly opposite the timid yellow filly. Her breakfast still sat in front of her, completely untouched.
The two adult ponies conferred for a few moments before turning back to their foal.
“I don’t believe you.” Fluttershy’s father said.
The filly’s heart sank.
“However.” her father continued. Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “You need to go to school now, and it is evident that you do not wish to open up so quickly. So we will give you time. When we come back tonight, I want this fixed, or you will tell me the whole story. Understand?”
Fluttershy nodded silently.
“Good.” Her parents’ harsh expressions softened. “Have a good time in school. Okay?”
Once again, Fluttershy nodded, though what she thought was entirely different. She had no doubt that school would be terrible.
Well, at least she would be able to fly well now, right?
****
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!”
She didn’t understand it. How? She had been so sure! With such a long tail, she should have been able to fly spectacularly, or at least better than she could before. But during her retest, she had somehow done even worse than her previous attempt. It probably had something to do with her tail weighing her down.
For the first time, she considered that ponies might not work the same way as kites did.
Well, that didn’t go well. Fluttershy thought. I can’t believe that I went through all that effort and mockery for this!
The whistle of her instructor signalled the end of the lesson, and since that class was the last of the day, the end of school as well. The ponies surrounding Fluttershy decided that their time was better spent playing than laughing at a poor, defenceless pegasus, and soon the timid yellow filly was left alone in blissful peace once more.
I have to fix this. Fluttershy thought. There’s only one pony who can help me now.
She was about to dive through the clouds when a voice stopped her. “Hey Fluttershy, um… you did great out there?” That sounded more like a question than a statement.
The butter-yellow pegasus lifted her head. Before her stood Rainbow Dash, her idol and friend. While she looked up to Rainbow in many things, being comforting was not one of those qualities that the prismatic-maned pegasus possessed. The look on her face told Fluttershy volumes about how unsure she was.
“No. No, I didn’t do well.”
“What?” Rainbow was taken aback.
“I didn’t do well.” Fluttershy repeated. “You don’t need to try and make me feel better. I know that I messed up. Again.”
“No! You didn’t mess up!” The cyan blue pegasus thought that Fluttershy was descending into the depths of self-loathing again, but she couldn’t have been further from the truth. The only thing that filled Fluttershy’s heart was determination.
“I did. But this time, I can fix it.” Fluttershy looked at the cloud-floor. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Rainbow, but I can’t solve this simply by being comforted. I’ve got to make things right myself.” Without another word, Fluttershy plunged through the clouds, leaving the rainbow-maned pegasus alone.
Rainbow was about to follow her friend, but remembered what Fluttershy said just in time. “I’ve got to make things right myself.”
The blue pegasus sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Fluttershy.”
****
When she wasn’t plunging towards the ground at fatally fast speeds, flying was almost enjoyable.
Almost.
Ignoring the ache in her wings, Fluttershy flapped her feathered appendages as quickly as she could, reducing her rate of descent to a reasonable, non-lethal velocity. The last time she approached the ground, she was trying to change her life. Now, she just wanted it back to normal.
To Fluttershy, it seemed like an eternity before she reached the soil, but it was probably only ten minutes. Those ten minutes were probably enough to weaken the yellow pegasus’ wings so much that she probably wouldn’t be able to use them for a few hours, though.
Once she touched down, Fluttershy immediately set off for Ponyville, but unlike the last time, she wasn’t totally immune to the stares of the tiny village’s residents. She shrunk noticeably every time she was greeted, but at least she didn’t duck into an abandoned alleyway this time.
She remembered what Rarity had said the last time she had come to the unicorn’s house. ”Don’t worry, my parents are never around at this time of day.” Going to her house was safe, at least for now.
It wasn’t long before Fluttershy arrived at the white unicorn’s dwelling. She raised a hoof to knock on the door, but a familiar voice alerted her to another’s presence in the building.
“Don’t cause any trouble, okay, Rarity?” The voice, a female one, said.
“Yes mother.” This one was Rarity’s voice. “Have a good time.”
Fluttershy quickly sidestepped into the row of bushes growing alongside the house. Just in time, too: The door swung open moments later, revealing a pink unicorn, with a meticulously well-kept mane and tail. A saddlebag rested on her back, and one side seemed full to the brim with… something. Bits, maybe?
“Goodbye, Rarity.” The pink unicorn said, turning her head to direct her farewell to the pony in the house.
“Farewell, mother.” The white unicorn’s horn was now visible; Fluttershy could just see it from where she was. Thankfully, as the pink unicorn trotted ever further from her daughter, Rarity stayed at the door, watching her mother leave. Now Fluttershy didn’t have to attract extra attention by knocking at the door.
When Rarity’s mother was far enough, Fluttershy rose from the bushes and tapped the unicorn on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Rarity?”
“Aargh!” Rarity whipped her head around, her face a mask of shock. After a few moments, she identified the pony behind her, and her shock dissolved into relief, although Fluttershy noticed that she was still breathing heavily.
“You startled me, Fluttershy!” Rarity gave a nervous laugh. “Is there anything you came here for?”
Without another word, Fluttershy trotted further out onto the street, revealing the full length of her tail to Rarity.
“Why, dear, what are you… doing…” The white unicorn realised what Fluttershy was trying to show her. “Oh…”
The yellow pegasus nodded. “I need your help. Please?”
“Come on in.” Rarity gestured to the house. “I’ll see what I can do.”
With a brief nod of appreciation, Fluttershy trotted into the house. She already knew which way to go. By the time Rarity had shut and locked the door, she was already halfway up the stairs.
When Fluttershy reached Rarity’s room, she decided to await the white unicorn’s arrival. It would have been extremely impolite to enter her host’s room without permission.
That, and unlike last time, the door was locked.
When Rarity finally climbed up the steps and arrived at the door to her room, she inserted her horn into the small hole in the door. With a few creaks, the locking mechanism retracted, and the white unicorn pushed the door open. Fluttershy silently followed her into the room. The sheer difference between this room and the rest of the house never ceased to amaze her, but this time, she was far too concerned about her tail to admire the beauty of the room.
Shutting the door behind her, Rarity turned to Fluttershy, who was gazing at her extended tail, seemingly deep in thought.
“Did you try cutting it yet?” Rarity asked. “I have a pair of scissors here if you want try.”
“No use.” Fluttershy shook her head. “For some reason, my tail seems indestructible. I don’t know why. This wasn’t listed under side effects. Do you know anything, Rarity?”
The white unicorn wore a contemplative frown. “Well, that shouldn’t be one of the side effects. What did you do after I gave you the bottle?”
“Well,” Fluttershy began. “I went into a dark alleyway and applied the entire bottle to my tail, just as the instructions said.”
“What?” Rarity gasped. “Fluttershy, you’re only supposed to use a tenth of the bottle at a time, not the whole thing at once!”
“A tenth? Oh… oh no, what did I do?” Tears slowly gathered in Fluttershy’s eyes.
“Wait here, let me go and get another bottle. I should have more somewhere in my bathroom.” Rarity rushed off to her bathroom, leaving Fluttershy alone in the middle of her room.
Am I going to have to live with this long tail forever?
After a blessedly short period of time, Rarity returned, levitating a bottle before her. She was reading the label of the container aloud while trotting, somehow managing not to trip over anything despite her divided attention.
“Yes, it isn’t listed under side effects… oh wait, what’s this?” Rarity squinted her eyes, trying to read the small script on the side of the bottle. “Warning: if applied improperly, solution may induce unexpected effects. The company will be in no way responsible for this… refer to ‘List of Ingredients’.” The container, surrounded by Rarity’s light-blue aura, rotated in mid-air. “Sodium hydroxide… no… cooking oil… why would they use that?… essence of… oh my.” The bottle, suddenly and unexpectedly freed from Rarity’s telekinetic grasp, tumbled onto the floor and came to rest at Fluttershy’s hooves.
“What is it?” asked the timid pegasus anxiously. She lifted the container that was on the floor and brought it up to her face to read. “Essence of… diamond?!”
“I’m afraid so.” Rarity shook her head sadly. “In small amounts, it wouldn’t affect you, but since you used the entire bottle, your tail is now as indestructible as one of the hardest gemstones in Equestria.”
Fluttershy was in full-blown panic mode now. There has to be something I can do… something, anything! The tears accumulating in her eyes began to flow as the situation looked even more bleak.
Maybe one of my animal friends can help me! I’m sure one of them would have something tough enough to break through diamond… but… what kind of animal can do that?
And then it struck her. “It… it’s so obvious! How come I didn’t think of this before!”
“What’s so obvious?” Rarity asked, curious.
“There’s only one animal I can think of that can break diamonds!”
“And that is…” Rarity trailed off. “You don’t mean…”
“Yes. The ones that eat gemstones for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
“A… a dragon?!” The white unicorn gasped.
“Yes!” Fluttershy cried. “I’m sure I can get them to help me.”
“I don’t know…” Rarity said uncertainly. “I don’t know much about dragons…”
“Well, neither do I.”
“…but from everything I’ve read so far, dragons are fearsome creatures who eat ponies like you and I!”
Fluttershy smiled. “Oh Rarity, surely all dragons aren’t like that. I’m certain that there are some nice ones out there!”
“Um…” Rarity didn’t know how to rebut that one.
“Besides, I know there’s a dragon not too far from Ponyville…”
****
“Are you sure about this?” Rarity asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Fluttershy looked- or tried to, at any rate- past the forbidding wall of ominous trees that represented the borders of the Everfree Forest.
“Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”
“You have my word.” With a nod, Fluttershy stepped into the forest and passed the point of no return.
“Wait!”
The timid pegasus turned around. “Yes, Rarity?”
“I should come with you.”
“You can’t.” Fluttershy turned back towards the heart of the forest. “If it really is dangerous, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“But-” The white unicorn tried to interject.
“Rarity.” Fluttershy gave her one last look. “I won’t let anypony hurt my friends.”
“Still-”
“Rarity.”
The white unicorn backed down with a sigh. “Alright. I just wanted to make sure that you would be safe.”
“I will be safe. Just trust me, Rarity.” Having said her piece, Fluttershy trotted further into the forest, leaving her friend behind.
It wasn’t a very long trek, so the timid yellow pegasus decided not to bring anything with her. Surely her kindness would be enough to persuade the dragon to help her.
Right?
Banishing all doubt from her mind, Fluttershy continued onwards. She had to succeed. She couldn’t stay like this forever. She was now an even bigger laughingstock than she had been previously, all because of her ridiculously long tail.
Aside from the occasional critter, the forest seemed to be completely deserted. Either that, or the animals seemed to be avoiding her. Fluttershy caught a few glimpses of chickens' heads and snakes' tails, which she conscientiously avoided.
What the forest lacked in animals, though, it made up for in trees. Stray vines and branches threatened to trip her up at every turn, and sharp thorns leered at her from the side of the trail. Nevertheless, Fluttershy was not deterred by them. Her goal was far too important to give up because of incredibly minor irritants.
After some time, the barely recognisable trail filled with pebbles, rocks and roots evolved into a relatively easy to discern dirt path that was shaped like a… footprint?
That must be the dragon’s footprint. Fluttershy realised. I’m getting closer.
True enough, she reached a rather large cave after a few more minutes of walking. The glint of gems, vaguely visible from where Fluttershy stood, gave away the species of the animal who called this cave home.
The yellow pegasus walked up to the side of the cave and knocked. Nopony (or dragon, for that matter) responded. He must be out.
Fluttershy decided to wait for the dragon to return to its home. Unfortunately, since she hadn’t brought anything along with her, she had no choice but to sit and wait.
And wait.
And wait.
By the time the gigantic green dragon arrived at the cave about two hours later, Fluttershy was half-asleep from boredom. Thankfully, it was hard to sleep through the colossal boom that the dragon caused while landing, nor the loud roar that it let out upon its arrival. Fluttershy was abruptly jerked awake.
Due to its massive build, the scaled creature’s head was too high up to notice Fluttershy. The timid yellow pegasus decided to (politely) get the dragon’s attention.
“Ahem.” Fluttershy tapped the dragon lightly on its foot. “Um, my name is Fluttershy. I was wondering if you could, maybe, help me with my problem, please?”
The dragon turned his eyes downwards. “What are you doing at my cave?!” Its voice echoed across the forest, causing Fluttershy to wince.
“Well, I just wanted to… ask you… for… help?” She squeaked the last word, withering under the dragon’s fierce gaze.
“Get out of here!” The creature roared, spitting red-hot flames at the pegasus as it did so. Fluttershy reacted just in time, rolling out of the way as the flames scorched the ground where she had been previously. She could feel the hair of her mane being scorched off, but sadly, yet predictably, not the hair of her tail.
Her survival instincts kicking in, Fluttershy took flight, trying to escape the vicious creature who wanted to kill her. Despite her best efforts, however, the weight of her tail dragged her downwards, too heavy for her weak and tired wings to accommodate while trying to accelerate. The dragon opened its huge jaws and snapped them shut, just where Fluttershy’s rump was.
Her mind screamed at her to move forward at least a little bit, to avoid the dragon’s attack. The yellow pegasus obeyed the mental command, flapping her wings so quickly that they were like a blur. The sudden burst of speed saved Fluttershy’s skin- but not her tail.
A sudden yanking sensation caught the pegasus off guard, causing her to tumble and spin out of control for a few seconds before righting herself.
That’s strange. It seems so much easier to fly now.
Fluttershy discovered the reason when she turned around to see how much damage had been caused.
All that remained of her tail was a small tuft of pink hair.
Part of her wanted to rejoice, and the other part wanted to cry. That isn’t what I wanted at all. She sighed. Well, at least it’s cut now. I can deal with everything else later.
A sudden surge of heat reminded Fluttershy of her current situation. She rolled to the side clumsily, narrowly avoiding a blazing column of fire. Her wings were already overused, but she didn’t stop flapping them until the dragon was out of her sight, too far from her to do any further damage. Thankfully, no more flames followed the last attack.
Her flight pattern became steadily more erratic as her feathered appendages became ever more exhausted. Finally, when Fluttershy was sure that she was safe, her fatigued wings clenched themselves tightly to her side in relief, causing her to fall the remaining few metres to the ground. Luckily, the timid pegasus was out of the Everfree Forest by then, and a field of flowers embraced her as she executed her crash landing.
A certain white unicorn, standing at the entrance of the Everfree Forest, heard the thud a dozen metres away, and rushed to her friend’s side.
“Fluttershy! Are you okay?” Rarity inhaled sharply. “Look at you! What happened?”
The yellow pegasus smiled tiredly, despite the fact that she was still trembling with fear. (That, and the admittedly very high probability that she would have dragon phobia for the rest of her life.) “I’m alright. See, look?” She waved the short tuft of hair that was her tail.
“Oh my goodness! That’s one of the worst fashion disasters of all time!” Rarity began to fret. “How do I fix that?”
“Don’t worry. A little bit of tail lengthener will make everything better.”
“It will probably still be a bit longer than your old tail was.” Rarity warned.
“Well, it’s not like anypony will notice, right?” Fluttershy chuckled. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Rarity was about to begin fussing about Fluttershy’s burnt mane, when a sudden voice from above interrupted her. “Was that Fluttershy? Fluttershy, where are you?”
Both ponies looked towards the sky, but only one recognised the rainbow-maned pegasus flitting about in the sky.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried.
Instantly, Rainbow’s head jerked downwards. “Fluttershy!” The prismatic-maned pegasus swooped towards the ground and landed next to Fluttershy. “Are you okay? What happened to your tail? I heard a dragon roaring! Were you there?” Rainbow suddenly noticed Rarity. “And who is she?”
The white unicorn huffed. “I am Rarity. And who, may I ask, are you?”
Fluttershy interrupted before the two could get into a fight. “Rainbow, this is Rarity. She’s my new friend from Ponyville.” Gesturing towards Rainbow, she said, “Rarity, this is Rainbow Dash. She is my good friend and classmate from Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy used her hooves to bring Rarity’s and Rainbow’s together. “Since you’re both my friends, could you just shake hooves and be friends too?”
The cyan-blue pegasus eyed Rarity warily. “Fine. I wouldn’t do this if anypony else asked me. Well, maybe Gilda.”
“I will just shake hooves. That’s all I can promise.” Rarity looked at Rainbow with just as much wariness.
Rainbow spit on her hoof and held it out. “Let’s shake.”
“Eww!” Rarity backtracked several steps. “I am not shaking hooves with that… that spittle on your hoof!”
“Whatever.” Rainbow shrugged. “I tried.”
Fluttershy sighed. This might take a little while, but it’ll be worth it if I can get my two friends to be comfortable around each other.
All of a sudden, she remembered her extremely short tail. “Um, Rarity, could we go and apply the tail lengthener now?”
Rarity, who previously kept all of her attention on Rainbow’s hoof, flinching every time it got closer, turned to Fluttershy and smiled. “Of course, Fluttershy.”
While the white unicorn was distracted, Rainbow lunged into action and planted her spit-filled hoof on Rarity’s side. “Tag!”
“What?! Why you-” Rarity immediately began to chase Rainbow Dash, who was high up in the sky by the time Rarity reacted. “Get back here!” Rainbow laughed as the white unicorn continued her fruitless attempts to get her to land.
Fluttershy smiled at the display. Well, everything’s alright now.
What about your tail? The indignant part of her demanded. Your parents are still going to be angry with you! And your flying is just as bad as it was before!
Oh shut up.
****
Memories of the past…
As the string of memories came to a close, Fluttershy snapped back to reality. She found herself in Sugarcube Corner, sitting in a private section of the well-known bakery. When she saw her closest friends talking with one another, she tried to remember why she had begun reminiscing instead of socialising with her friends.
“Everypony, please! She’s just a harmless school pony engaged in a little idle gossip. You’re really making too big a deal out of this.”
That’s right. They were too busy arguing with each other.
“But it’s all lies!” Twilight retorted. “Gabby Gums prints whatever she wants. She doesn’t care whose reputation she destroys!”
It isn’t all lies. Fluttershy thought. After all, pictures can be only taken if whatever happened really happened.
What Twilight said next made her freeze in shock. “Fluttershy has tail extensions.”
Both Twilight and Rarity turned their heads to look at Fluttershy.
The timid yellow pegasus decided to postpone her fainting spell to when she got back home so that nopony else would worry about her.
For the rest of the day after Fluttershy left Sugarcube Corner, nopony noticed that she was conspicuously absent.
****
A puzzled Angel Bunny looked on as his caretaker pushed the door open, trotted into her house, and promptly collapsed. Shaking his head, he dragged Fluttershy over to the couch and left her there while he tended to the pegasus' chores.
He sighed. Ponies.
The End
