Just outside of Ponyville, a young-looking stallion Pegasus was pulling a large cart, covered in a large sheet. This certain pony was a shade of light turquoise, with a dark blue mane and tail; his cutie mark was a paint pallete with seven different colours on it; purple, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and brown. And in front of the pallet was a paint brush. His mane was slightly messy, but clearly, it naturally looked like that, and the same was with his tail.
"I'm so tired of moving... But it's for the safety of everyone here that I keep it safe..." The pony moaned, as he continued to head towards Ponyville.
Over in Ponyville, Pinkie was jumping up and down, setting up party decorations.
"Okay, this goes here, here and here! Ooh! What about here? Yes! Perfect!" Little did the pony wonder, that there was someone watching her.
"He he... The perfect candidate..." As Pinkie turned around, she dropped to the floor. "Fell just like a fly..." The mysterious figure grinned evilly.
Fluttershy was just outside of Ponyville, waiting patiently for Rainbow Dash to join her picnic she had planned.
"Do you think she forgot? What if she got lost? No... Rainbow doesn't get lost..." Fluttershy was worrying so much, that she hadn't realised somepony behind her.
"Hey, Flutters!" Fluttershy jumped, and turned around.
"You made it! I thought you forgot..." Fluttershy then lost all worry as she hugged her.
"Why would I forget a picnic with my best friend? I know I'm forgetful, but even I'm not like that!" As they pulled away from the hug, Fluttershy began unpacking.
"So, how are you, Flutters? Anything exciting happen lately?" Rainbow asked, as Fluttershy thought of an answer.
"No, not particularly... Anything new happen lately for you? I-if you don't mind me asking..."
"Well... Not really... I mean... It's nothing really... Um... Different..." Rainbow was staring at Fluttershy, but she shook her head.
"You okay, Rainbow? Is something the matter?" Rainbow was silent once more; and didn't understand why she was doing that.
"I... I don't know..." She couldn't take her eyes off of Fluttershy for some strange reason. "I- I... I gotta go! I... Umm... Just remembered something I need to do..." Rainbow flew off, leaving Fluttershy behind; confused and shocked.
"Oh... Ok, Rainbow..." Fluttershy sighed, staring at her picnic basket; a feeling of loneliness filled her. "What's up with Rainbow, lately? She's not acting her usual self..."
Up in a cloud, Rainbow Dash was sitting down, her head in between her hind legs facing down in sorrow.
"Uugghh... Why is this happening to me? This is the third time it's happened!" Rainbow stared at her hooves, completely oblivious on what she was feeling. "I need help... Someone whom I can trust..." She then headed towards the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
Back down with Fluttershy, she was looking at all the food that she had worked hard to make; which was now going to waste. She sighed sadly.
"What a waste..." She muttered under her breath. She then got distracted by a noise, which sounds like a pony struggling. "I wonder who that could be..." As she peeked over the hill, she watched as a blue pegasus was close to collapsing from pulling an unearthly amount of weight in a single cart. She flew over to help the other pony. "Um... H-hey, there... Do you need a hoof?" The pony looked up to see a caring smile, plastered onto a yellow mare.
"Uhh... Thanks... But I've got this." He continued to pull on the heavy cart. Fluttershy was surprised at the young pony's strength. It was incredible.
"Oh, but you look exhausted! Come and at least take a break from pulling that thing... My friend needed to leave before we started a picnic... You're welcome to join me... If that's alright with you..." The stallion smiled at the pony's kindness.
"Sure, I guess just ONE picnic won't hurt..." He then took his harness off, and started to move his muscles about. "I've been pulling that thing for days, now!" He tried to rub his back, but it was too far for him to reach.
"Oh, let me help you there... Your muscles must ache from all that weight..." Fluttershy offered, and the pony just looked at her funny.
"Are you alright? You're being awfully nice to a pony you've never even met before..." He mentioned, which made her blush in confusion.
"Sorry... I'm just trying to be helpful..." Fluttershy just stepped back from him slightly. "I don't even know your name, and I'm offering to give you a backrub..."
"My name's Speedpaint. I'm just a traveler..."
"Well, Speedpaint, I- uhh... My name's... Um... Fluttershy..." She had been practising with Rainbow Dash to build up courage, which has helped her a lot.
"Well, Fluttershy, it's a pleasure to meet you, but I just can't accept these offers. It wouldn't feel right."
"Oh, but it's no problem! This food was just going to go to waste anyways..." Speedpaint couldn't say no to her face; so innocent and kind. Who in Equestria could say no to her?
"Oh, alright then!" He gave up, not wanting to upset the mare. "I think I might accept that backrub too..." He admitted, falling flat to the ground. Fluttershy smiled, and slightly giggled at him; really out of character for her.
"He he... Tell me if it starts to hurt, okay?" Speedpaint nodded.
As Fluttershy placed her hooves on his back, the first thing she noticed was that his muscles were actually very strong; unlike anything she had ever seen. Not even Snowflake's were this strong.
"Oh my... Your muscles... They're like... really tense! There's no way they could possibly be naturally that tough..." Speedpaint then got up quickly, before she got too suspicious.
"On second thought, I'm actually feeling a lot better now!" Speedpaint spoke quickly, as Fluttershy looked at him suspiciously.
"Oh... Okay then... We can still have a picnic..."
"Yeah..." As he sat down, he noticed Fluttershy looking at his cart. "I'm guessing you want to see what's underneath the sheet?"
"Well, I... Um... It's probably nothing anyway..." Speedpaint got up anyways, and moved up to the cart.
"It's just my art supplies... I'm not trying to Bragg.... But I'm one of the best artists in Equestria..." Fluttershy slightly smiled at his statement.
"Really? That's pretty impressive!"
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was lying next to a tree; it was her break, and she was having a little nap in the shade.
Rainbow slowly approached Aj, trying not to wake her up in a shock. She then saw her eyes open slightly.
"R- Rainbow?" Aj moaned, whilst rubbing her eyes with her hooves, she focused on her. "Oh, howdy there, partner! What can ah do fer ya?" Rainbow sighed lightly.
"I- I need to talk to you about something..." Aj's attention grew towards the rainbow mare as her ears perked up.
"Y'all right, Rainbow? You seem upset 'bout somethin'..." Rainbow breathed in deeply, whilst moving closer.
"Aj... I- I... I need advice..." Rainbow sounded a lot sadder than usual.
"Advice 'bout what? Rainbow, what are ya talkin' 'bout?" Rainbow sat next to Aj, and made sure nopony was around.
"I think I'm in love..." Aj stared at her for a second before speaking.
"Well... Um... I wasn't expecting this..." Aj breathed in. "Who be this pony you've fallen fer? What's his name?" Rainbow closed her eyes, and sighed quietly.
"It's... It's not... It's not a 'he'... It's... With a mare..." Aj was taken back for a moment, but then gently sighed.
"Ah... Never thought ya went that way..." Rainbow looked down in shame. "But ah ain't judgin' ya fer who you are... Who's this mare then?" Rainbow breathed in, making sure she thought her next words carefully.
"Okay, this mare... Who I... You know... Her name is... It's..." She gulped deeply, and breathed out calmly. "It's Fluttershy..."
"Fluttershy, huh?" Rainbow nodded.
"Applejack, I have no idea what to do... I'm so confused..." Rainbow sniffed slightly, and tightened her eyes closed. "She's the best friend I've ever had! She means too much to me for her to get hurt by me..." She then turned away from Applejack, and tried hiding her face.
"Rainbow... Look at me..." She refused to comply. "Rainbow! Ah understand-" Rainbow snapped violently.
"YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND! YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOVE YOUR BEST FRIEND... That's... The same gender as you..." Rainbow looked back at Aj, who looked shocked, and upset by her outburst. She ignored, and flew off in a burst of speed.
"Ah understand more than ya realise..." Aj spoke silently, and shed a single tear which sank into the ground, drying up almost immediately. She then made her way back to her barn, slowly pacing each step she made.
"So, Fluttershy, what do you do for a living? Anything exciting?" Speedpaint asked, hoping to start a proper conversation. Fluttershy was taken back slightly, but then she cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Well, um... I- I look after animals... Not much, really..."
"Not much? I think a vetarian is great! Helping animals is important!" Fluttershy looked away slightly.
"Yeah..." She then cleared her throat. "So, um... What is it that you do? I-if you don't mind me asking..."
"Well, I- I um... I'm a traveling artist" He said smoothly. "I travel from town, village, city... You name it! I've been everywhere in Equestria, and the lands beyond it."
"Really? That's pretty cool! How long have you been traveling?" Speedpaint then awkwardly coughed.
"A long time... It's been a while." He spoke sadly.
"Why do you travel? I'm sure you have family that miss you..." He stared off into the distance.
"All my family is dead... I can't say anything else... Too many memories..." Fluttershy felt really bad now, and wanted to lighten the mood.
"Oh... I'm sorry to here that..." Fluttershy sighed, thinking what to say. "To um... Lighten the mood... C- could I look at your paintings? If that's alright with you..." He smiled at the innocent mare, as he stood up.
"Sure thing." As he went towards his cart, he slightly lifted up the cover, hiding the large lump that was underneath, and took out a bunch of canvases. Fluttershy wasn't too curious about what the lump was, but was too shy to ask. "Here's some of my latest pieces."
When Fluttershy gazed upon the canvases, she could see very fine detail had been put into each one. Although they were just of hills and fields, it was still very impressive.
"Oh my... These are spectacular; truly impressive!" He felt warmed by her compliments. They were so genuine, and true; she obviously meant every word of it.
"These are just some of my fast pieces. Didn't spend much more than few days on them." Fluttershy then looked surprised.
"A few days? I guess it does fit your name..." He couldn't stop smiling at her. Her voice was so innocent. He felt really bad not being able to tell her the truth about him.
"Hey, it's actually quite easy! Using the brush is just as simple as breathing! Well, not that simple..." He put on a face as if he said something silly, when he saw Fluttershy smirk slightly.
Fluttershy then saw a shape of another canavas under the covers of his cart.
"Hey... What's that portrait of?" Speedpaint then looked to where she was pointing, and sighed.
"It's... It's best if I just showed you..." Fluttershy was then taken back by his mood change.
As Speedpaint pulled the canvas from his cart, she saw that it was of a Pinkish, purple pegasus mare, with a mane that looked as if it had taken some time to prepare; the colour was a light brown, with lines of reddish-pink; her eyes looked similar to hers, but they were a light blue, with a touch of emerald; she wore a golden necklace, that had, in the centre of the design, a sapphire flower with golden petals, highly detailed. She was incredibly beautiful; she could kind of tell who this was.
"This is..." He sighed deeply. "She was my fiancée..." He put the portrait away, as if he felt guilty for something.
"I'm so sorry..." She could see tears begin to appear in his eyes, but he wiped them away quickly.
"It's... Fine..." He breathed in deeply. "I shouldn't let it get to me..." He then saw a hoof on his shoulder.
"It's okay to cry. There's no need to hide your sadness..." Fluttershy spoke soundly, as she didn't expect what to happen next.
Speedpaint had suddenly hugged her tightly, and began crying loudly into her mane.
"It's alright... Let it all out... It doesn't make you any less of a stallion..." She comforted, as she slowly rubbed his back in a caring manner as he was letting out possible years of sadness that he had locked up inside him.
Inside a floating cloud house just above Ponyville, a slight sound of crying was heard.
Inside the house, in a specific room, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane had her face shoved up against a pillow as she cried her eyes out.
She lifted her head up from the pillow, and began to calm down.
"Why can't I just tell her how I feel? I thought I was meant to be the brave one..." She huffed silently as she stared lonesomely at the window.
As Rainbow blanklessly stared at the frame, she slowly closed her eyes, and laid back on her bed.
"All I need is to get my mind off of it..." Rainbow muttered to herself, and shook her head. "I need to fly." She strongly demanded to herself, and then shot out her window and flew past the clouds almost instantaneously.
Back with Fluttershy, she was lightly hugging Speedpaint in hope he'd calm down; once he did, he breathed inwards deeply then breathed outwards slowly.
"Thank you... I really needed that." Speedpaint smiled happily at his new relief.
"Hey, we all need a good cry now and then. It's not healthy holding it all in like that." Fluttershy had seen how much pain he had been in, and didn't want to let him go until he was fully recovered.
"Anyway... I should really get heading on now. It's not safe for me to meet new ponies.
"Why's that? I thought it'd be a good thing to meet new ponies." Speedpaint then mentally face-hoofed himself at his choice of words.
"I- uh..." He wasn't entirely sure on how to respond.
"Where would you even sleep? In a cave?" He then smiled like she had got it right.
"Yeah... About that." He then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck in angst.
"You need a real bed! You could come down with something!" Speedpaint was finding it hard to argue with Fluttershy without telling her why he really couldn't stay.
"One night; two at tops!" He sighed, giving up.
"It's for your own good. I have no idea how long it's been since you've had a warm bed, but you'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
"Oh Fluttershy, I know you're just trying to help me; I'm grateful for it! And I really want to tell you why I can't stay, but if you knew the truth, it'd put you in danger." He thought to himself, but put on a thankful smile. "Thank you, Fluttershy. I'm grateful for your hospitality."
"It's really no problem! You can stay in my cottage, if that's alright with you."
"Yeah, that's great!" He said as convincingly as possible. "Why can't I say no to her?" He thought annoyingly.
As Speedpaint was about to put his harness on for his cart, Fluttershy stopped him.
"Please, you've been pulling that thing for days now. Let me help." Speedpaint sighed, knowing she could never pull this.
"If you think you're strong enough... Feel free!" Fluttershy then looked at the cart, thinking it didn't look too heavy.
"O- Ok..." As she put the harness on, she tried pulling, but it wouldn't budge. "It's heavier than it looks." She then tried pulling even harder.
"You're going to pull something other than the cart. Please, I don't want you to hurt yourself." Speedpaint then stopped Fluttershy, then took the harness off gently.
"Well, I must say that you're stronger than you look." Fluttershy slightly giggled.
"He he... Just pack up your things... It's starting to get dark..." Clouds then suddenly moved over the sun's path, making it darker. Fluttershy then looked at the sky.
"Oh my, we must have been outside for a few hours!" She could swear it had been sunny not too long ago. She just shook it off, thinking it was probably Celestia lowering the sun.
When everything was packed up, it was actually beginning to become night. They then proceeded to walk towards Ponyville.
Speedpaint hadn't even muttered a word, and they had just entered the Ponyville market.
So, umm... My house is this way..." As Speedpaint was about to speak, a female voice came out from behind them.
"Fluttershy! Who's this new stallion? You just HAVE to introduce him!" A rather sophisticated accent was spoken, and Fluttershy recognised it instantly.
"Oh, um... Hi Rarity..." She then realised how it looked to her. She went bright red.
"Sooo... Who's your new friend? Are you two... You know..." Fluttershy went super quiet now.
"I... Um... N- no... We're... Um... I'm just offering him a warm bed- wait, it's not like that! Um... I-" She wimpered, hiding behind her hair in embarrassment. Speedpaint interrupted.
"I'm a traveler. Fluttershy here, offered me a place to rest for a few days. Any suspicions that you are thinking are indeed false." He spoke smoothly, hoping no misunderstandings would take place.
"Oh, very well then. I've just never seen Fluttershy with a stallion, and got excited."
"Please... Can we drop this subject? I- it's getting dark, and I don't want to give him any wrong ideas about my offer to help..." She whispered to Rarity, hoping Speedpaint couldn't hear.
"Of course, Dear! I'm sure you'll be awfully busy when you get back!" Rarity then coughed. "You know... Um... I'll just stop talking. Toodlehoo!" She waved, making her way back home.
Speedpaint rolled her eyes. "Jeez... Some ponies; they just assume too much from all that dribble the media feed them." He huffed.
"Rarity's not that bad... She doesn't mean any harm..."
"I know... Let's just get some sleep. You look exhausted." Speedpaint noted, as he saw Fluttershy slowly blink.
"Y- yeah... I kinda am..." They then proceeded to move towards Fluttershy's cottage.
Up in a cloud, just on the outskirts of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash had made a little hide-away so no one could see her.
"Okay, Rainbow... What are you gonna tell Fluttershy?" She asked herself strongly. "How I feel!" She replied to herself. "Good! Now pretend that you're talking to her now!" She then made a quick model of Fluttershy out of clouds.
Rainbow breathed in deeply.
"Fluttershy, I- I... I think I..." She suddenly coughed loudly, destroying her train of thought. "Argh! This is hopeless! I'm hopeless!" She sighed sadly, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Ugh... What's the point?" She then lyed on the soft cloud. "I should just... Get some rest... See how things are like in the morning..." She then gently closed her eyes, and drifted off into a sleep.
Speedpaint and Fluttershy were now both at the cottage, and Fluttershy had just unlocked her door.
"Hey, um... Fluttershy..." Speedpaint muttered, getting Fluttershy's attention.
"Yes, Speedpaint?" Fluttershy answered, as Speedpaint breathed silently outwards.
"I'm sorry if I seemed a tiny bit ungrateful for you offering me a roof to stay under..." He then gluped, making her put more focus on him. "I'd just like to say thank you for being so kind to me. You didn't have to help, but you chose to do it anyways..." Fluttershy smiled happily at him, as if he just saved a bunch of kittens from a burning building.
"I couldn't have just let you sleep anywhere unsafe. It was the right thing to do." Speedpaint had felt a warm feeling inside from hearing her genuinely wanting to help, so he let out a single tear of joy.
"I've just not had this much kindness happen to me since before... 'It' happened... I was just too afraid to accept your offers..." Speedpaint then shook his head. "Anyway... We should just get some rest... It's getting really late..." He quickly changed the subject.
"That's a good idea..." After they had entered the cottage, Speedpaint followed her into the living room. "I- if it's alright with you, you can have the sofa... I'll get you a spare blanket to sleep with." After getting the blankets, Speedpaint was lying on the sofa ready for some rest.
"Thank you again. I really appreciate your kindness."
"It's really no problem. Really! You should just get some rest."
"Y- yeah... Rest..." Speedpaint watched as she silently made her way upstairs to her room; so silent and timid, so peaceful. She smiled caringly, just before she came out of his sight. He then closed his eyes, drifting off into a sleep.
In Speedpaint's dream, he was walking in a field with the mare that was in the painting.
"Oh, Ruby... I'm glad we got this time to spend together in piece." He happily spoke, with his wing around the mare.
"Yes, this is just wonderful! Just think; we'll be married in little over a month!" She cheerfully told him.
"I'm just so excited!" He then stopped, looking at her face. "Ruby? Is everything alright?"
"Speedpaint, who's that?" As he turned around, he saw a dark, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes that screamed hatred.
"Run! Don't ask why, just get out of here!"
"What do you mean? Who is this?"
"Just run! I'll explain later!" He screamed in horror.
"What about you?" She worried.
"I'll be fine! I just don't want you to be hurt!" Just then, he was attacked, the dark cloud morphed around him, consuming his body; his fur and mane went darker, and his eyes became a brilliant glowing red. He then spoke in a deep, echoed voice. "Run"
"Speedy! Please, what's happening?" Everything then turned black, and the next thing he heard was a loud scream just before he woke up.
"RUBY, NO!" He screamed, as he woke up suddenly to see Fluttershy watching in worry.
"Speedpaint, you were screaming in your sleep... Were you having a bad dream?" Fluttershy asked, as Speedpaint layed back down.
"It was nothing... No need to worry..." He didn't want to talk about it; but most of all, he didn't want her to get involved.
"It was obviously something..." She glanced at his sad expression. "Who's Ruby?"
"Ruby Shine; the one in the painting... The dream was her death..." Fluttershy didn't know how to respond.
"I... Sorry for asking... It must've been hard for you..."
"I watched her be murdered... Right before my eyes... I literally couldn't do anything to stop it from happening..." Fluttershy just gazed in shock at his story.
"I- I don't know what to say..." The only thing she could think to do is give some support. And he needed it. "I'm here for you if you need anything, or just someone to talk to..."
"Thank you... You sure are something, Fluttershy." Fluttershy slightly blushed, but tried hiding it with a smile.
"He he... I'm not that special."
"You've been nothing but kind to me all day! You are one to be admired!" Fluttershy cleared her throat, signaling him to stop.
"Just call if you need anything. I won't mind." He nodded, and was about to speak, but paused. "Yes?"
"Nothing... Goodnight, Fluttershy."
"Goodnight." She then made her way upstairs.
It was now morning, and a single cloud was stationary in the air, and inside that cloud was Rainbow Dash sleeping. Upon awakening, she realised she had just slept in a cloud all night.
"Jeez... I need to stop doing this..." She moaned, hoping she hadn't drifted off too far.
But when she looked outside, the only thing she saw was an old shack; nothing really unique about it, except that it was the only thing around for miles. She decided to investigate.
As she approached the shack, a strange feeling was felt in her gut that was telling her that she wasn't meant to be here. She ignored it, and continued on.
She had made it to one of the windows where she peeked in carefully, but then got the shock of her life at what she saw.