Plummeting. Descending. Crashing. There were many words for what Fluttershy did after she got bumped off of Cloudsdale by the whir of racing fillies, but none of them was flying. She screeched as masses of clouds tore past her and her flowing mane whizzed around her in an erratic flurry. Her eyes were stretched wide and her wings frozen, paralyzed by cowardice. She assumed she was to die that very moment. She assumed her body would splat on the ground below and her blonde fur would be stained red. She imagined Rainbowdash attending her funeral and her body being shot out a cannon with fireworks. Fluttershy, however, was interrupted from these images when she landed upon a bed of… something. They were small, colorful insects with wings and two antennae and, somehow, carried the young filly across the ground she almost splattered on.
At first, she was dumbfounded. She was certain this was her last day in Equestria. She already planned her funeral as she fell, after all. She began to overcome her confusion and soon the pegasus's heart was filled with wonder and awe. She'd never seen creatures such as these. The only animals in Cloudsdale were birds. She lifted herself off the strange winged beings to observe them and flew along beside them. She noticed that there were other animals around too; Buck-toothed things and fluffy packages of adorableness, birds of all sorts of colors and green water hoppers! The animals surrounded her, they were not afraid, and scurried around her in a sort of dance. This, though, came to a halt when a sounding BOOM resonated. The animals dashed off in all directions and hid.
Fluttershy only stopped a moment to wonder what that explosion was. She felt a surge of distress for the poor animals. She flew to their hiding places in the nooks and crannies of the meadow. She lured them out with her gentle, warm voice and they set beside her once more. It was at this moment Fluttershy earned her cutie mark, three butterflies.
As Applejack gazed at the rainbow that pointed to her family's orchard, she felt a desperate pang of melancholy. She missed her home so much, but had been pushing away the feeling to be accepted by the Manehattanites. She only realized how much she yearned for her ancestors' home when she saw that rainbow. Memories of her life on the orchard came flooding back into her mind and tears formed in her green orbs, causing them to glimmer like brilliant emeralds. She knew at that moment truly where she belonged, the Apple Family Apple Orchard.
She immediately began to stuff her things in the makeshift satchel she originally brought from Ponyville. As she did this, she happened to glance at herself in the nearby vanity. Her amber mane was tied up in a crown bun with only her straight bangs out. She frowned at her reflection and shook out the dumb hairstyle. It wasn't her. This life wasn't her. She needed to go home. She slung her bag over her back and trotted down the tall spiraling staircase to the family room in which the Oranges presided. She told them all the things she had been keeping locked inside her brain and by the time she was finished, she was out of breath. The Oranges seemed to understand, though they seemed a little disappointed. They probably were thinking 'once a farmer, always a farmer' in their heads, but Applejack didn't care. They could make all the assumptions they wanted about her and her family. All that mattered was how they thought about themselves.
The tangerine filly made her way out the door and down the streets of Manehatten. Soon enough, she reached a metal sign reading 'you are now leaving Manehatten'. Good riddance, she jested to herself.
A storm brewed overhead, the mounds of gray clouds morphing into a dark coal shade. The wind began to pick up, as well, and blew the trees around in furor. The timid filly only realized a storm was above her head when it began to rain. The rose mane of Fluttershy was tossed around and covered her face like a mask. Worry began to fill her mind as she wondered how she could get back to Cloudsdale- and if she wanted to go back. She thought about her parents and how panicked they would be, but it would be almost impossible for a weak flyer like her to get back home in that weather. She felt distressed and didn't know what to do. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Would she ever be able to get home?
Applejack's tied mane was soaking wet and tossed around like a tetherball. The only way to get back home from Manehatten was to go through a lightly forested field. It lied near the Everfree Forest, but was nowhere near as wild and unnatural. It was controlled by ponies like it aught to be. As Applejack made her way through the mead, she noticed the distinct sound of a pony crying. At first she rationalized it was only the gale, but as she drew nearer to the source, she realized it was what she originally suspected. The freckled earth pony viewed it to be very odd that anypony would be out in this weather, crying nonetheless.
Applejack called out to the mysterious pony, "Hey! Are you okay, ma'am?" An audible squeak came from a nearby berry bush, followed by a quiet sneeze. Applejack ventured further toward the place the pony seemed to be. She pushed the shrubbery aside. Behind the leaves was a small, gangly pegasus with a muddy, leaflet covered pelt and matted amaranth shag of hair. "Oh, sugarcube!" Applejack exclaimed, "Let me get you inside." The filthy mare looked up, tears spilling out from her mint eyes. "You look like you've been to hell and back. What happened to you?"
She sneezed again and answered in an exhausted slur, "I…I was, um, fall…ing…" Her eyes closed as if speaking wore her out.
Applejack came around and helped her up. "C'mon." she said. Applejack walked her all the way back to her house like this. Once they arrived, the long-traveled pony sat the weary filly on the ground. She could hardly keep her eyes open. Applejack set about to pick out the twigs, leaves, and mud blots from her mane, and once that was finished, went to the closet and pulled out a nice fluffy towel. She sat down beside the wet pony and began to dry her dripping coat. Applejack patted the pegasus with the towel, stroking the gold fur on her body and the blushing hair on her head. She realized after a while that the strange filly had fallen asleep by her closed eyes and slow breaths. Applejack didn't want to leave her on the ground. She thought about waking Big Mac up, but decided that it wasn't a very good idea. He's had to work twice as hard since she travelled to Manehatten. He needed his sleep. She sighed and lifted one of the mare's hooves and heaved it across her shoulder blade. She moved the rest of her limp frame over her back and carried her up the stairs. The delicate pony was heavier than Applejack thought she would be, considering the pegasus's slight figure. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle, though. Applejack padded into her room and set the stranger on her bed. The little filly's eyelashes, long as spider legs, gazed across her cheeks and her soft lips were parted gently. Her elongated locks sprawled around her in a cloak of dawn pink. She's… quite a looker… isn't she, Applejack supposed. She felt her face begin to flush and tip-toed out the door. Tonight she would sleep on the couch. Once she reached the first floor and retired to the sofa, three bright red apples appeared on her side.
