A Tree and A Butterfly

Ponyville was in sight, or at least it looked like the town Fluttershy described in her letters, there was a massive oak tree that doubled as the town library, as well as Princess Twilight's home, a little ways to the right of that there was a school house where the children learned their lessons, and beyond that there was a humongous apple farm that stretched for hundreds of acres. While those three landmarks served to cement her belief that this was Ponyville, it wasn't until Red Wood gazed eye on the famous Sugar Cube Corners that this town's identity was beyond reproach, the establishment truly was everything Fluttershy said it was, Ponies of all ages came in and out ad nauseum, and the sweet smell of pastries, cakes and other baked goods could reach Red Wood, despite her being more than half a mile away. Smiling happily beneath her iron helmet, Red Wood proceeded towards Ponyville, her pace ever quickening as she pondered over all the new experiences she was about to face, and all the exciting Ponies she was bound to meet, and hopefully befriend. Red Wood's trot soon evolved into a full blown run, her steel and leather, lamellar armor provided little resistance to her speed, and even the titanic kanebo she had slung over her back may as well have been made of air for its weight didn't encumber her in the slightest. Giggling to herself uncontrollably, Red Wood came charging into Ponyville with the speed, power, and finesse of a freight train, the ground shook with every trot she made, buildings nearly jumped off of their foundations, and young and old Ponies alike were knocked off their feet as if they were jumping on a trampoline.

"Greeting and salutations citizens of Ponyville, my name is Red Wood, and I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you," Red Wood said cheerfully, albeit it a tad muffled since she still had her iron helmet on; an iron helmet that had the effigy of frightening, demonic pony face etched into it.

For a moment there was absolute silence, until Pinkie Pie had to scream at the top of her lungs, and get the crowd thinking the wrong idea. Before Red Wood knew what was happening, Ponies were scampering away like ants before an ant eater, children cried, parents panicked, and many more were just running every which way like chickens with their heads chopped off; it was chaos worthy of Discord himself.

"Wait, no, don't run, I mean you no harm," Red Wood tried to explain, but the damage had been done, and nothing she could say would convince anypony otherwise. "Oh, not again."

Red Wood couldn't believe it, in less than a heart beat she just totally screwed up her chance to make the best impression she could, to show others from another town that she wasn't some kind of monster, but no, just like before, and every other time after that, she turns it all into a train wreck. Sighing deeply, Red Wood fought back the urge to cry, and instead calmly turned back the way she came with her head held low. However just as she reached the city limits a voiced called out to her, it was faint, but Red Wood could still make it out to be Fluttershy's, and as quick as a whip, Red Wood turned on the balls of her feet to meet her friend face to face. Unfortunately, since she was still wearing her demonic pony helmet, when Red Wood turned to face Fluttershy, the latter was frightened to such a degree that she went all stiff, and fell down to the ground like a sand bag. Quickly reaching out and catching the falling Fluttershy with her left fore hoof, Red Wood immediately removed her helmet, the house size piece of steel and iron crashing down onto the ground with enough force to cause a minor tremor, and completely obliterate a small cluster of trees, unfortunate enough to be beneath the helmet as it smashed onto the ground.

"Sweet henrietta, Fluttershy are you okay!?" Red Wood asked, her orange eyes shouted wide open, and unknowingly bit down on her lower lip.

"Yeah, sorry, but that mask is really scary," Fluttershy said, her face all a fluster from embarrassment.

"Mask?" Red Wood retorted, as she gazed down at her discarded helmet. "Oh, you mean my helmet...Hmm, perhaps that explains why everypony reacted the way they did."

"Actually this tends to happen a lot now that you mention it," Fluttershy said, as she rubbed the back of her head, and nervously chuckled with a matching expression.

"Oh? Do tell," Red Wood said, as she gently placed Fluttershy on her shoulder, so as to pick up her helmet more easily.

"Well about a year ago there was this stampede of bunnies, bunnies mind you, and everypony ran around as if it were the end of the world; one mare flat out fainted," Fluttershy said laughing under her breath as she recalled the incident.

"I see, doesn't take much to rile this town up, huh?" Red Wood inquired, as she too had a laugh, imagining just what a bunny stampede even looked like.

"Not in the slightest," Fluttershy replied, a tad embarrassed at how easy it was to admit such a shameful fact. "Though at the same time, you have to admit that your attire is quite foreign, borderline monstrous. No offense."

"None taken, and I concur," Red Wood replied as she took a long hard look at herself, and just flustered at her lack of foresight. "In this era of piece it certainly would be scary to see a giant, armored figure just waltzing into a town as if it were natural. Please forgive my ignorance."

"It's okay, no harm meant," Fluttershy said with a smiling expression. "But perhaps you would do well to just take off your armor, or at the very least not wear your helmet."

"That would be for the best," Red Wood agreed cheerfully. "So, now that we've met up, what did you have in mind for us today?"

"Oh yes," Fluttershy recalling the whole reason Red Wood was here. "Well I guess the first order of business is getting you settled in. Follow me to my cottage, please, and we will work out your accommodations for the week."

Red Wood nodded in agreement, as Fluttershy flew prompting Red Wood to follow, like a moth seeking a flame, down a road that bypassed Ponyville, so as to let things cool off before they attempted to greet the towns folk again. The walk to Fluttershy's humble abode was quite short, given the long strides of Red Wood, and Fluttershy fluttering on the breeze. Despite its size the cottage was rustically charming, a perfect unity of contemporary and old style architecture, using the very environment in the aesthetics, and overall feel of the structure, radiating a welcoming aura for any weary soul. However for all the positives, the cottage was still small, even for normal ponies, but for Red Wood it was a veritable doll house; not to say that she was expecting a roof to sleep under, no she was more than contempt to have Equestria's starry skies serve as her roof. In any event the house was still very beautiful to gaze at, and she hoped that Fluttershy wouldn't feel bad about not being able to offer proper lodging as she would to any other of her friends.

Following Fluttershy around her house into the backyard, Red Wood was greeted with a zoo of sorts, animals of every kind, from tall to small, reptile to mammal, swimmer to land walker, and everything else in between.

"Awwww, how cute!" Red Wood said, as she walked up to a fully grown, brown bear, and then proceeded to hug it and pet it as if it were some teddy bear; the bear had no idea of how to respond to this.

"Do you like animals? " Fluttershy asked with stars in her eyes.

"Oh I love animals! Especially big ones like Elephants, Whales, Sphinxes, Dragons, Timberwolves, and, of course, Ursa Majors!" Red Wood happily said, as she hugged the confused bear ever more tightly.

"I'm glad to hear that, because this, I'm afraid is where you will have to sleep during your visit. I'm sorry," Fluttershy said with a shammed expression.

"Now, now none of that. I'm larger than the average house, so I will take what I can get, and beside..." Red Wood said as she let go of the bear, who immediately high tailed it out there, then pulled out a large wool blanket she kept folded under her armor, and then lay it out beside Fluttershy's house. "I'm no stranger to sleeping outside, it is quite soothing believe it or not."

"If it doesn't bother you, feel free to make yourself at home," Fluttershy said raising her head up, bearing a smiling grin. "So, are you hungry? Thirsty? Or maybe you would like to rest after your long journey?"

"A nap does sound good, if you don't mind that is?" Red Wood replied, honestly feeling exhausted.

"Not at all, I'll be inside getting dinner ready. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Fluttershy retorted, as she disappeared into her house.

Alone again, Red Wood wasted no time in taking off her armor, and resting it alongside her helmet and kanebo. Once free of her steel and leather armor, Red Wood's radiant alabaster, crystal coat glistened in the afternoon Sun, her teal mane and tail flowed elegantly with the curve of her body, and further emphasized her beauty; a beauty not widely known due to her constant wearing of her armor. Taking a moment to allow the cool spring breeze to brush across her exposed body, Red Wood preformed a few mild stretches, and then rested upon her comfy, wool blanket, sleep immediately whisking her off from the conscious world. From her kitchen window, Fluttershy could see Red Wood sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world, and that brought a smile to Fluttershy, it also made her totally anxious, she had so much in store for Red Wood that she wondered if seven days and nights was enough to get through it all.

"An yet, that's all she brought?" Fluttershy pondered out loud, as she noticed that Red Wood only had four items to her name, her armor, her helmet, her kanebo, and her blanket; nothing else. "Hmm, I wonder if she even has a nice outfit to wear, or anything other than that clunky and heavy armor?"

These questions and more flooded Fluttershy's mind, and she couldn't help but muse what Red Wood's story was. Why she seemed to live so simply, not that that was a bad thing, but this seemed quite extreme. An the more she pondered on it all, the more she grew concerned about her friend, and perhaps that beneath that calm, innocent surface, there was something sad and dark.

"No," Fluttershy firmly said out loud. "That's her business, and whatever is, or isn't wrong with her isn't for me to know. All I need to know is that she is a friend visiting, and I am her humble hostess. If she does bring something up then we'll talk about it then, but not before. Now then, enough day dreaming, dinner won't cook itself."

An just like that, she pushed all those questions to the back of her mind, and got back to preparing supper.