Fluttershy's New World

One morning, Fluttershy awoke in her bed, feeling lazy and sleepy. She opened her eyelids gently and stretched her body under the soft white blanket.

“Today I could spend all morning in bed,” the lazy pony thought, “but I must get up, and start to prepare breakfast for Angel and the rest of the animals. They don’t know how to feed themselves, after all. They aren’t like those creepy and scary animals that live in the Everfree Forest that have to hunt and kill other animals to survive…” she realized with a chill up her spine. “Oh, and I can’t forget to prepare my own breakfast, like the last few times. Let’s get started.”

She got up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her pink mane. Then Fluttershy left the room and went the kitchen to prepare breakfast, while she whistled a melodic tune. A few chopped carrots later and a bowl filled with them, Fluttershy called her bunny.

“Angel. Breakfast’s ready”.

Silence…

No bunny was seen anywhere. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t even hear or see any animal in her house.

“Hmm, that’s strange, I wonder where are all the animals.” thought Fluttershy while checking the places where they used to sleep. “Angel, I’ve made your favorite cherry topped salad that you love so much.”

Again, silence...

Not even a cricket was heard, as they usually are in these awkward silent moments. But the small white bunny was nowhere to be seen. She went outside through the front door and called him again, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Fluttershy looked down and noticed a small single bunny track on the dirt, in the direction of the nearby trees.

“Hmm, why would Angel go to the forest alone? And he’s never late for breakfast… Oh my, and what if he’s lost in there, maybe hurt, and can’t return home by himself?” she asked herself, worried. “Don’t worry Angel, I’m coming to rescue you, no matter what dangers might lurk in the forest!” shouted Fluttershy, while she galloped to the forest. “I just hope you’re not a prisoner of a dragon, a diamond dog, or a really nasty monster.” she thought to herself, remembering the dangerous animals that use to lurk in the forest.

Fluttershy followed the track for a while and gasped when she realized that it led deep inside the woods, right into the middle of the Everfree Forest.

“Oh Angel, why did went to the forest alone?” she asked herself, as she found no other kind of animal or pony track on the trail.

Strange and creepy sounds were heard around her, while she carefully walked deeper into the forest. The light from the sun barely breached through the canopy of the tall darkened purple bark trees, with distorted trunks and branches. Fluttershy avoided looking at these trees while she tracked the small bunny paw prints in front of her, because most of the trees resembled strange and scary monsters stretching their arms to attack somepony.

“Now Fluttershy, be brave. Think of Angel, he might be lost, injured and needing your help. Remember Pinkie Pie’s song, you have to giggle at the ghostly and the scary trees will turn to normal, without scary faces or creepy branches trying to catch you.” she thought, while feeling goose bumps all over her body. The moment she finished her introspection, something, or somepony, suddenly bumped on her buttocks.

“AAAHH!” Fluttershy screamed, while she turned around to face whatever scary monster was about to attack her. “Oh please don’t eat me, I just want to find my bunny Angel and I will be out of your way, I swear!” Fluttershy cried while she washed herself in tears, knelt on the dirt.

In front of her, stood a hooded adult pony sized creature and not as scary as Fluttershy thought it would be.

“Do not worry about me eating you, my dear friend. As if I ate any kind of meat, it would be my end.” replied Zecora, in a calm and reassuring tone, as she removed the hood over her head.

“Oh, I thank dear Celestia that it’s you and not one of those big and scary monsters that wander in the dark forest!” replied Fluttershy, feeling more confident and secure. “I’m in desperate need of your help, Zecora! I believe my frail and defenseless bunny Angel is lost in the Everfree forest. And I can’t find him anywhere, as I lost his track a few minutes ago.”

“I do believe that your bunny is not the only animal missing in the forest. Since you’ve entered it, have you seen or heard any animal, even a bird, at best?” asked Zecora.

“Well, now that you mentioned it, I can say that I haven’t heard or seen any kind of animal, not even a big and scary monster. Besides those dark purple scary trees, I mean. Oh, but those aren’t animals, so I guess they don’t count.” answered Fluttershy, as she reminded her excursion to the woods.

“Then it is as I feared.” Zecora said in a worried voice. “The ancient portals reappeared.”

“But, what do you mean by ancient portals? How are they related to the missing animals?” questioned Fluttershy.

Zecora answered with a worried voice, “I do believe that when your battle with the Lord Tirek took place, an old unicorn magic technology has resurfaced with haste.”

“You mean when we used our new Rainbow powers from the magic box of the Tree of Harmony? But how do the-” asked again Fluttershy, but Zecora interrupted her questioning by raising her hoof to the mouth and then she whispered.

“Lower your voice as here in the forest, we’re not safe. Follow me to my hut and then I will tell you how all this took place.”

“Oh, you’re absolutely right Zecora. It’s better to talk in the safety of your hut than here in the middle of the Everfree Forest, with animals or scary monsters missing or not!” replied Fluttershy, without second thoughts.

***

Half an hour later, Fluttershy was safe and sound at Zecora’s hut, as her host had provided her with a hot and invigorating tea. Then Zecora took a seat and started her tale.

“This story is as old as the foundation of Equestria itself, maybe even older then Princess Celestia herself.”

“Wow, that’s really a long long long time ago, as Pinkie Pie would say… Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting your tale. Please continue.”

“Do not worry about that my dear Pegasus friend, I have time to tell this tale until its end,” replied Zecora with a grin. “It is told that even before the pony tribes were united, an ancient and forbidden magic was reignited. With this old magic some powerful ponies from the unicorn kind, could cast portals to places far beyond the imagination of your mind. And only one record of this ancient magic survived to this date, written by Starswirl the Bearded, whose knowledge was great.”

“Wait, that’s Twilight’s favorite wizard and idol,” Fluttershy interrupted again, “and she even disguises herself as him during Nightmare Night. She never forgets to mention how great he was and how his prodigious knowledge in magic had influenced young and old unicorns all over Equestria to create and perfect their own spells.”

“Well, in one of my visits to Twilight’s library, I came across with a copy of his diary. There it was written that during Pre-Equestrian times, these powerful unicorns used this forbidden magic to do their crimes. They could use it as a really fast mean of transportation, or to gather evil forces from places on the other side of this universe, or dimension…”

“That’s so nasty of them. Why couldn’t they all be kind and nice to each other? Didn’t they know the existence of the Elements of Harmony?” Fluttershy asked.

“The most likely, the location of the Elements of Harmony was not yet known precisely. But there were some limitations with this portal casting magic, as the spell could only be cast on a reflective surface, otherwise the consequences could be tragic. And this spell it is so difficult and potent, that only the most powerful (or foalish) unicorns could cast it in just a moment!” answered Zecora.

“You’re not telling me that during the battle with Tirek… the Rainbow powers from the box!” said Fluttershy surprised.

“That was the very same spell the ancient unicorns used, a Rainbow spell in its most powerful form, deadly if abused. But not all was bad with this kind of magic, because other unicorns at the service of good, could also recruit noble and righteous friends from other dimensions, as fast as they could. And this conflict escalated to full-scale wars, which reached even the Pegasi kind of yours. Starswirl referred to this period as the Portal Conflict, and little more is known as there are no more records of it!” finished Zecora.

“So, you believe that these portals are all active again because of the Rainbow spell that we cast on Tirek. But what does that have to do with the missing animals? You think that they went through the portals? But why would they…?” asked Fluttershy, confused.

“Maybe they were taken by the people from the portals that opened recently, but there is no way to know with certainty…”

“And how would this portals look like? Hmm, usually there are no reflective surfaces in the forest, it’s all dirt, trees, grass, etc. But, the spell should be possible to be cast on the surface of lakes and such. And there is only one pond in the area where the tracks of Angel ended. If he went through one of these portals, it must be that one!” said Fluttershy with a more confident voice.

“You don’t mean that you plan to-? It’s too dangerous what you desire to do!” replied Zecora surprised and suddenly uneasy.

“If Angel went through that portal, he might be in danger and needing my help. And I will stop at nothing to help my friends, even if it means to cross into an unknown dimension, or if those from the other side are whether friends or foes. I will go through that portal no matter what!” shouted Fluttershy with determination in her voice.

“Well, I can’t stop your determination, but at least you should have some help with this mission.”

“Oh, yes, you’re right, I suppose. What was I thinking? I shouldn't venture into an unknown world all by myself. But Angel is gone for so long, I fear for his safety by each minute that passes. And to rally all my friends together could take some time…” replied Fluttershy, who started to feel anxious.

“There is no need to worry about that. I have a way to warn your friend Twilight, as a matter of fact. She gave me this artifact that allows me to send her a message fast, much like the dragon magic your friend Spike can cast,” Zecora said, “You can go to the pond right now, if you must. I’ll make sure your friends meet you there before dusk”.

“Oh, that would be great. That way I will feel a lot safer crossing through that portal, with the help of my dear friends, and also six ponies have a better chance at finding Angel than only one. I will wait for them at the south margin of the pond!” said Fluttershy with a more confident voice.

“I only wish that you find your bunny friend quickly, beware that the magic that keeps the portal open might expire suddenly!” Zecora warned.

“Ok, I will keep that in mind.” Fluttershy left the zebra’s cottage, with the thought that she needed to reach that pond as fast as she could, to rescue her friend Angel.

Fluttershy opened her wings and flew upward, looking at the sky. “Well, at least the day is still bright enough to fly safely to my destination. I should arrive there in half an hour.”

Suddenly, a few miles north of her position, she saw a distant bright light. Fluttershy realized that this light came from the pond, which reflected the sunlight in an unusual way, like if it had its own sun glowing on its surface. She flew in direction of her destination, this glowing pond, flapping her wings really fast, while the thought of her dear friend being in danger in an unknown world all by himself, filled her mind.

***

Fluttershy arrived to her destination, and she landed near the south margin of the pond. Its surface glowed with a bright light, like the water itself was filled with a million stars from the sky. She looked beneath the surface, searching for something that explained the origin of this strange light. Deep below, she saw a spiral shaped object, rotating slowly around its center. It was similar to the shape of a galaxy that Fluttershy saw once in a poster on one of Twilight’s library walls.

Suddenly the surface of the water vibrated, along with the ground where she stood. The spiral in the bottom of the pond changed its shape into a dark blue ellipse with a bright red border, and emitted a strange humming sound.

Fluttershy thought to herself, “Oh my, this is starting to scare me. I wish Twilight was already here, along with the rest of my friends, so we could all enter the portal before it closes. And what if the portal closes before they get here? What if the portal never opens again? Oh, what should I do? Angel, what should I do?”

The humming sound suddenly became more intense, and she felt a strange pull on her body, like somepony pushed her in direction of the dark blue portal. Fluttershy struggled to stand her ground, but then she noticed that she didn’t have control of her body anymore. She couldn’t even open her wings to fly away. Scared as a filly in the Everfree on a Nightmare Night, Fluttershy screamed for help, shouting the name of her friends.

Her hooves were already beneath the surface of the water, the strange pulling force became stronger by the second. In about half a minute, only her head was above the surface and Fluttershy screamed once more as loud as she could.

“HELP! Please somepony HELP ME!”

Suddenly she heard some familiar voices nearby.

“Zecora said that Fluttershy was waiting for us somewhere near this pond. I just hope that she’s here. I have to warn her about the dangers of crossing the portal, especially alone!” said Twilight Sparkle worried.

“I will take a look from above, maybe I can find her faster. She must be close!” replied Rainbow Dash, while she flied upward in order to have a greater view of the pond. She took a good look at it, and noticed a glowing dark blue shape on its bottom. Rainbow Dash shouted to her friends, “I think the portal is already open, I can see it deep inside the lake.”

“Oh no, we have to find Fluttershy and fast, I hope it’s not already too late!” said Twilight Sparkle with a desperate voice.

“Already too late for what, Twilight?” asked Spike.

“If she enters the portal by herself, she cou-” Twilight answered, being interrupted by a scream above her, from Rainbow Dash.

“I’ve found her, she’s underwater and really close to the portal. I’ll dive to get her!”

“Go as fast as you can Rainbow, she can’t cross that portal alone, no matter what!” shouted Twilight.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and dived as fast as she could into the pond, and swam rapidly in direction of Fluttershy. But she also felt the intense pull force caused by the portal. Fearing that they could both succumb to it, Rainbow Dash grabbed a nearby rock and stretched her hoof, as she tried to reach her friend. But Fluttershy couldn’t move her hoof towards her savior, not even an inch of her body, and she was being pulled even closer to the portal.

“But why doesn’t she move? If she just stretches her hoof, I could grab her and pull her away from the portal!” thought Rainbow Dash confused.

Fluttershy’s back hooves had already crossed through the dark blue void of the portal. She looked straightly to Rainbow Dash’s eyes, and saw in them the despair of being powerless to help her. Then she sadly looked down to the sandy bottom of the pond, facing the fact that not even her friends could save her now.

“You did your best, Rainbow Dash. No matter what happens to me in the other side, I will always remember you, your courage and loyalty to your friends. Goodbye, my dearest Pegasus friend!” she cried in her mind, knowing that her friend couldn't hear her underwater.

When only Fluttershy’s head was on the underwater side of the portal, Rainbow Dash realized that she needed to do something, and fast.

“Fluttershy, don’t worry. Probably you can’t move because of the force pull of the portal, but you won’t cross it alone. I won’t leave you alone, NEVER!” and Rainbow let go the rock that kept her safe from the gravitational pull of the portal and swam as fast as she could in its direction. Fluttershy had already fully crossed the portal, and it started to shrink slowly.

“Oh no, it’s already closing. I need to cross that portal NOW!” she screams to the back of her mind. The portal is already half of its original size, barely fitting the body of an adult pony. “I’m almost there Fluttershy, hold on just a few more seconds, pal. I’m coming to get you!” thought Rainbow Dash when she was just a few meters away from the closing portal.

The second that she touched the portal, an intense bright multi-colored light emanated from it, along with a loud noise, similar to the one of a sonic rainboom. A huge explosion of light and sound took place in the entire pond, and projected the water in all directions, which flooded the forest around it.

Then, only silence remained.

***

“Cough, cough… Girls, are you all ok?” asked Applejack as she tried to get up, with her body all wet from the water of the pond.

“I’m ok, thanks for asking. Although my coiffure is ruined!” said Rarity as she looked to her reflection in a small puddle on the ground.

“Wow, who could know that ponds could explode just like that, with a loud boom and a light as bright as the Sun!” replied Pinkie Pie, as her pink wet and straight hair instantly curled into its normal state.

“Girls, where are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash? Did they manage to escape the explosion?” asked Twilight Sparkle worried, and then she galloped to the margin of the pond.

Twilight gasped as she realized that all the water from the pond was gone, along with the dark blue portal. The three remaining ponies also reached the margin and her hearts skipped a beat as they all looked at the empty pond.

“They’re gone!” exclaimed the four breathless ponies, as they gazed upon the empty place where the portal and their Pegasi friends were last seen.