Chapters It was a beautiful morning in the lovely town of PonyVille. The day was busy, the Filly’s were at school, the Cake’s were making sweets that filled the air of this small town, and Pinkie Pie was taking her daily walk around PonyVille to say hello to all the residence. Everyone was happy. A Pegasus Pony named Fluttershy was making her breakfast for her and her animals. A little white bunny marched up in anger and demanded food, but he couldn’t talk, so he just showed pictures of what he wanted.
“Oh Angel, We discussed this. You can’t have carrot cake for breakfast.” Fluttershy said.
Angel got mad. He threw the book at Fluttershy and stomped off. Fluttershy knew that Angel wasn’t going to eat anything she made, so she let him go. He’ll get hungry and get whatever he can from Fluttershy soon.
Fluttershy sighed. “Oh well… I guess I’ll go get some food from Sugar Cube Corner.”
Fluttershy walked to Sugar Cube Corner. Everything seemed different. An hour ago when she looked out the window it all seemed perfect… But not now. It did all look the same, but it felt different. She couldn’t explain it. But then all the sudden everything paused. Everything went gray.
“Wh-What’s going on!?” Screamed Fluttershy.
Whispers started to stir up. “You remember. You started it. It’s your fault.”
It was terrifying. She had no clue what was happening! Was she being punished? What did she do wrong!? This was all news to her… What did she do!?
“Calm down… It’s… just a bad dream? I… I’m scared…” Fluttershy was now curled up on the ground.
The whispers became more clear. “Why can’t you remember? Just remember what you did!”
“I.. I don’t know what you mean! I have always lived safely here in PonyVille! Leave me alone! Please!”
The whispers got louder. “You’re lying… You must remember or be punished.”
“I can’t remember if I don’t know! Just leave me alo-“ Fluttershy stopped talking. She was now floating in midair. What was happening? If she did something wrong, couldn’t the whispers just tell her what she did wrong, or what she must remember!?
“We will be back… Don’t forget… you must remember…” The whispers when away, and everything started to brighten, and
regain color. Once again, all the sudden, time started back up. What just happened? All the other Ponies hadn’t even noticed. They continued on what they were doing as they were before it all happened. Fluttershy seemed zoned out.
“Hey Fluttershy? Are you okay?” Asked a purple Pony. It was Twilight Sparkle.
“Um, oh, what do you mean?” Fluttershy was staring forward. Not looking at the Pony who was speaking to her.
“I mean, you look like you just saw a ghost! Are you okay?” Twilight was worried.
“I’m… fine, Twilight. Thanks for worrying. I’ll be on my way.” Fluttershy walked off, leaving Twilight still confused.
Fluttershy walked to Sugar Cube Corner, for that was her original plan. Was all that just a dream? Was it her imagination? Maybe some sweets will take her mind off of what had just happened.
“So what’ll it be, Sweetie?” Asked Mrs. Cake.
“I’ll take, uh… A Super Chocolate Strawberry Supreme slice.” Fluttershy answered. She chose the sweetest thing on the Sugar Cube Corner menu to get and keep her mind off of things.
“Wow, Fluttershy! That’s some really sweet food. The sweetest on our menu!” Exclaimed Mr. Cake, who has just walked into the seating area of the store, where Fluttershy was ordering.
“It’s just to help me with something…” Fluttershy said.
“Really? What’s up Fluttershy?” A voice came out of nowhere. It was Pinkie Pie. She must’ve been eaves dropping on her conversation.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Said Fluttershy, for she really didn’t.
“Oh c’mon! We’ve been friends for a really long time! You can tell me anything!” Exclaimed the pink Pony.
“Here’s your cake, Dearie.” Mrs. Cake gave Fluttershy her cake and walked off.
“Please, Fluttershy? I want to know! I can’t stand not knowing!” That Pinkie Pie was persistent.
“Um, I really don’t want to talk about it…” Fluttershy said, who was now starting to get annoyed.
“But Fluttershy…!” Pinkie wouldn’t just leave her alone!
“I SAID NO!” Fluttershy was now screaming. She threw her slice of cake at Pinkie. Pinkie started to cry.
“I thought… we were friends, Fluttershy…?” Pinkie ran upstairs crying. What had she done? She just made one of her best friends cry, and now everyone in Sugar Cube Corner was looking at her in disgust.
“What have I done…?” Fluttershy said sadly, and ran out of the store.
“What’s up with her?” Said Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
Once again, time froze. The whispers started back up. What the heck is she supposed to do!? What’s going on!?
“Please, whoever, or whatever, is doing this, just leave me alone!” Fluttershy was now crying. This was terrifying…
“You haven’t remembered. Just remember, and all will be clear.” The whispers spoke about remembering again.
“Remember what!?” Fluttershy was still crying. What was there to remember!?
“Just remember! You did it, you can do it again.” What was happening!? She did what!? Why was this happening to her!?
“Please! Just tell me what I did!” Suddenly, after saying that, Fluttershy was struck with a surge of lightning.
“Do you remember?” Said the whispers all at once.
A long pause took place. “Well?” Asked the whispers. Fluttershy just sat there. Then she finally answered.
“Yes…”
“Do you know what you must do?”
“I do…” She walked towards her house, and prepared for what was to come…
Fluttershy walked home. She knew what she must do
.
“Hey, Fluttershy! What was all that about back at Sugar Cube Corner?” A light blue Pony walked up. She must’ve been at Sugar Cube Corner.
“Oh… Hey Lyra… You saw all that?” Fluttershy said, ashamed.
“Who didn’t! You had like a spasm back there! It was sort of mea-“ She stopped and froze. What?
“Not again… Time is freezing again… I remembered, why doesn’t it leave me alone?” Fluttershy got mad.
Only one whisper spoke. “Do not let anypony get in your way. End her.”
“What!? I’m not like that anymore! I won’t kill an innocent Pony! She’s not doing any harm!” Fluttershy raised her voice.
“No harm? She is delaying you. End her.” The whisper was demanding, but Fluttershy trusted it.
Time slowly began. Lyra continued her talking. “-n. So why’d you do that?”
“Oh, um, Lyra… Do you mind coming back to my place?” Fluttershy didn’t want to, but she had to obey the whispers, or they wouldn’t help her escape the memory.
“Oh, sorry Fluttershy. But Bon Bon and I were going to have a romantic dinner tonight. It’s been awhile since we had a nice dinner with each other, y’know?” Lyra said, happily.
“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy said sadly.
“Well, see ‘ya later!” Lyra left.
Fluttershy walked back to her cottage by the Everfree Forest. Time to prepare. What did she need? Warmth for the mountains, water for the desert, fire for the caves, and dark clothing for hiding in the shadows of the facility she once called home. This journey was going to be a long one.
There was a knock on the door. Who was it? Only one way to find out, and that was to answer it. Fluttershy walked towards the door. Another knock was heard. Whoever it was, they sure were impatient. She opened the door to find that it wasn’t a Pony, but her dear baby dragon friend, Spike.
“Oh hey, Spike! What are you doing here?” Asked Fluttershy, worried what the Whispers would tell her next.
“Twilight told me you were acting weird. She said she didn’t get any answers from you so I came to find out what’s up with you. So, what’s up?” Spike was a curious one. Always wanting to know what’s up.
“I’m just tired. I want to go back to sleep.” Fluttershy said.
“Well, okay then. Seeya around!” Spike said, leaving her cottage. Little did Spike know, he wasn’t going to see her around. Not for a while, that is. She still has to prepare, but she should be able to leave by nightfall. Just thinking about it made Fluttershy cry. She had to leave her friends for something she never wanted to do. Her friends wouldn’t know where she went. Worst of all, they might not consider her a friend anymore. Why was this happening to her? Why now? Why not earlier, or later for that matter? Why…
Angel showed another picture of food that he wanted to Fluttershy.
“Not now, Angel…” Fluttershy sighed. She had left this life long ago, and now it’s catching up to her…
“Time to get what I need.” She said, picking up a canteen. She started to pour water into it and set it down on her counter. She then put a few satchels on her back to hold the essentials, and the canteen.
“What kind of food...?” She asked herself, while looking through her pantry. Carrots, tomatoes, apples and potatoes? They all sounded perfect, so into her satchels they went. What else? A dark suit, into her satchel. A rubber poncho incase of rain, into her satchel. Some flint and some steel to rub for fire, into her satchel. She stopped. A picture of her and her friends… It wasn’t essential, but it sure was needed. She put the picture into a satchel of its own, with no other items to break it.
“You guys… I’ll miss you… Don’t forget about me like I might about you…” Tears rolled down Fluttershy’s eyes and soon onto the floor. She didn’t want to lose her friends. Her friends won’t even know she was gone…
“Why do I have to go…?” Hey eyes were overflowing with tears…
“Time to leave… I have what I need.” She said, walking out the door. It was now dark out…
----The Next Day---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ponies were knocking at Fluttershy’s door. No one had seen her all morning, and it wasn’t like her to just not show herself.
“Hello? Fluttershy? Are you there” Rarity was shouting hoping for an answer.
“Are you sure she stormed off to her house, Pinkie?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, she got mad and threw cake at me! She ran this way! I saw!” Answered Pinkie Pie.
“Do y’know where else we can ask around for answers?” Apple Jack asked.
“Well, Spike came here to ask and he said that she was just tired! Maybe she’s asleep.” Twilight was trying to make reason with all of what was going on.
“What about Rainbow Dash? I haven’t seen her today.” Rarity questioned that maybe Rainbow knew about all of this.
“Yeah, those two were always close to each other. Maybe they do know!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Well lets go find out!” Twilight said walking towards Rainbow Dash’s house.
“How are we goin’ to get there? She lives in the sky, Twilight. There ain’t no way we can just simply walk up to her door. I ain’t never even been to her house before!” Apple Jack put up a good point, but Twilight had a solution to that problem.
“Remember that spell? It lets us walk on clouds for a short period of time. We’ll use that!” Twilight said.
“Well, how do we get up there once we have the spell?” Asked Rarity.
“We use the hot air balloon! This won’t be a very hard task, guys. Now let’s get to it!” Twilight began to walk towards her house.
“Can I have some of those glimmering wings you gave me once? Those were amazing!” Rarity asked.
“We’ll only be up there for a short period of time. It would be useless.” Twilight said.
“Awww…” Rarity sighed…
“Okay, girls, who wants to get the spell first?” Asked Twilight.
“Oh! I do! I do!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who was jumping up and down.
“Ok then. Hold still…” Twilights horn glowed up and zapped Pinkie.
“There! Who’s next?” One by one, the Ponies were struck with Twilights magic, which let them walk on the clouds like a Pegasus Pony.
“Ok, Pinkie Pie, go get the balloon started.” Demanded Twilight.
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” said Pinkie Pie.
“And stop saying that!” Shouted Twilight as Pinkie walked towards the balloon.
Fluttershy walked onwards, to a hill far enough where she could see PonyVille, but PonyVille couldn’t see her.
“Goodbye…” She said, and this time not shedding any tears. She walked down the hill on the opposite side she came up. Fluttershy didn’t know where it was, or how long it would take to get there, but she knew one thing. It was in one direction. She just had to walk in one direction for a while and she would get there.
After a few hours of walking, Fluttershy came across a town. In the town was a sign that read “Welcome to: Fyrtown!” Fluttershy knew this town. One of her friends said she lived there. She was also released when Fluttershy was released from the facility.
“I’m going to go see if she’s here.” Said Fluttershy, triumphant. She walked into the small town and it was also pretty lively, just like PonyVille. Ponies out in the paved courtyard talking with one another, others in the shops smiling and purchasing things. Maybe if she were to find her, she could help her back to the facility.
“Excuse me, have you seen a Pony with red hair and red fur?” Asked Fluttershy to a group of Ponies.
“Um, you mean Shining Heart right? She’s probably at home crying herself to death.” One of the Ponies answered, in an “I’m better than anypony” tone.
“Yes, where is her house?” Asked Fluttershy in her nice soft voice.
“It’s that way.” The snood Pony responded, motioning her hoof down a street. “Her house number is 265”
“Thank you.” Fluttershy said, walking away from them going towards her friend’s house.
“263, 264, 265! There!” She said, walking towards the door. She knocked on the door, and didn’t get a response. She knocked on the door again, and got a response.
“Go away! Can’t you hear that I don’t want any company right now?!” A voice from the inside yelled out. It was her.
“I’m sorry, Heart. I just wanted to say hello…”
“Fluttershy!? Is that you!?” Shining Heart slammed the door open to greet her old friend. “Oh it is you!”
“Um, yes…” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Well!? What are you waiting for? Come on in!” Shining Heart was happy to see her old friend.
“Why were you crying Heart?” Asked Fluttershy.
“Oh, my no good boyfriend left me without a goodbye! I don’t know where he went…” She started to tear up again.
“Who was your boyfriend? Why would he leave you?” Fluttershy was curious.
“Just FireBurst. You remember him, right? The pyro at the facility? He left me! Something about a cure, oh I don’t know!”
“When did he leave you?”
“Just yesterday… I just can’t stand it… See, look…” She shows Fluttershy a golden hoof bracelet. “We were engaged!”
“Oh that’s terrible…” Fluttershy truly felt sorry for her friend.
“I know…!” Shining Heart soon stopped crying and asked Fluttershy a question.
“*Sniff* Anyways, why’d you come to see me?”
“I had a question…”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Where is the facility…?”
“The facility!? Why on EARTH would you want to go back there!?” Shining Heart was pretty much yelling now. “We played our part there, and the whispers won’t bring us back.”
“The whispers! You had them too!?”
“Well, yes. Me, you, and Cloud Kicker all received the microchip. Remember?” Shining Heart was right. Though Fluttershy cringed at the word “remember”, she was right. The microchip, the tests. It all came back clearly to her.
“I need you to come with me then.”
“Are you crazy!? I’m not going back!” Once again, Shining Heart was yelling.
“But I can’t go alone!”
“Maybe you’ll come across Cloud Kicker… She was always the gullible, was she not?”
Time began to freeze. This time it wasn’t for Fluttershy. It was for Shining Heart.
The whispers spoke. “You remembered easily. You will go with your friend.”
“O-Okay… Just don’t hurt me again!” Shining Heart was crying as time slowly began to start.
“I’ll go with you, Fluttershy.”
“Really!?”
“Yes… For my own reason. I have no use being here… Now that FireBurst left me…”
“Oh, thank you!”
The four Ponies all hopped into the hot air balloon as Pinkie heated it up. It started to float.
“Good, Pinkie, now how do we steer this darned thing?” Asked Apple Jack.
“I didn’t think about that” Said Twilight “We usually use a Pegasus Pony…”
“Well, how ‘bout Derpy?” Said Pinkie Pie.
“You dimwit! Derpy’s sort of… Well, Derpy! She can’t fly straight, or even think straight.” Said Rarity.
“Girls, calm down. We could simply float over there. It’ll be slow, but we will get there in a few minutes. Not everything has to be instant.” Said Twilight.
The Ponies had now floated to the cloud where Rainbow Dash lived. Rarity knocked at the door.
“Hello? Rainbow? Open up! It’s Rarity!” The door opened.
“Oh, hey Rarity! I was just going to see you guys. I have some news for you.” Said Rainbow Dash.
“What is it? Good news, or bad news? I like good news! How about you?” Pinkie Pie was being annoying again.
“For me, it’s good. But not for you. I’m leaving.” Rainbow Dash stated.
“What!? You can’t just leave us! Why are you goin’!?” Asked Apple Jack.
“I’m just leaving, okay!? I heard there was some kind of strange infestation in Canterlot, and I don’t want to take any risks, considering we’re pretty much right next to it..” Said Rainbow Dash with a sigh. There was no convincing her to stay.
“Wait, before you leave, have you seen Fluttershy?”
“No. I haven’t. I have to go now. Bye guys, I hope we can see each other again soon and that the rumors in Canterlot are just fake…” Rainbow Dash left.
“Looks like we ain’t getting anything from her…” Said Apple Jack.
“She’ll be back.” Said Rarity.
“Definitely.” Said Twilight.
“Well what do we do now?” Asked Pinkie Pie.
“We can always find her ourselves?” Responded Apple Jack.
“I have a better idea. How about we hire some people to find her?” Said Twilight.
“Like who?” Asked Rarity.
“Like them.” As she said that, Twilight motioned her hoof over to two buff Ponies. They could do the job. But it will take quite a lot of Bits. But anything to save Fluttershy…