And SCREAMING And SCREAMING And SCREAMING And SCREAMING
The pegasus set down on the grassy plain as she gave a last flap of her wings, steadying herself.
“Mm… nice,” Fluttershy said, once sure of her landing. Her eyes set off, surveying her unfamiliar surroundings. Though barren plains like these all have the same features—that they were, well, barren and plain—the pegasus still felt exposed. It was far from her usual spot, literally as well as figuratively. Nonetheless, she beat back the anxiousness crawling up her spine.
After taking a deep breath of the splendid fresh air, Fluttershy dropped her saddlebags to the ground to fish through them, but not so much as to ruin her organization. Her care for its order may have been misplaced, however, considering she only ever took one thing out of it; the rest were “in case of…” supplies. After snatching up her canteen, she wasted not a second in washing down a few gulps. Celestia knows she would need it.
Estimating it to be half empty, Fluttershy returned it to its place in her bags. She couldn’t help but steal another glance around her. The field may have been miles from her home, but the paranoia that someone would see her always nagged on her mind. Every time. And like every time, she cast it aside.
Closing her eyes, Fluttershy set her hooves apart, drew in a breath of the air, and then let it out in the form of a soft hum. She repeated her little cycle of breathing and humming for a minute, each variation slightly different from the rest. One would be as soft as the first, another much deeper and harder, and another harsh. Simply harsh. She opened her eyes.
With a nod to herself, she filled her lungs full of air, much more than the last times. Then she opened her mouth and screamed.
Far from the beauty of her singing voice, her scream became the harsh hum, only this time unrestrained by closed lips. As soft as her natural voice may be, Fluttershy shoved all her strength into her raw shriek. If it didn’t echo across the plains, it was no good.
She ran out of breath in… six? Seven seconds? Her personal best currently stood at nine, but she had no idea how she ever managed that. She wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d just counted wrong in her head. Still, she considered wailing like a mad banshee for seven seconds to be impressive on its own.
Fluttershy let a few giggles fly before she stole another breath of air and screamed again. This time, she let herself be a bit tamer, but that didn’t scratch the rough surface of her shout. Then she screamed again, then again, then again, time after time. Mirroring her humming, she made different yet connected variations of her voice
As she bellowed out the next scream, her voice caught, causing her to hack for a few seconds. After it passed, Fluttershy let out a sigh, knowing that was her cue to stop. The last thing she needed was to damage her vocal chords.
Gulping down the rest of her canteen, the pegasus stuffed it into her saddlebags and spread her wings, ready to set off on the flight home. Even as she left behind her little field, Fluttershy couldn’t help but darn a soft smile.
Sometimes you just needed to scream.
Author's Note
This chapter is an entirely separate story from the first and is not related. It's a short tale added on to reach the 1,000 word requirement for posting. Expect nothing special other than it being an add-on to the main story.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Twilight sipped at her coffee, humming a tune as she watched the day go by at her window.
She couldn’t help the smile that played at the corners of her lips. Today, she thought, Will be a good one. She had no doubt about it.
She grinned at the familiar “pop!” of the toaster signaling that her toast was ready. Lighting her horn, she magicked it under her spreading knife, butter already opened and primed for action. Within the minute, she was munching away without a care.
“I’ll just keep it small today,” Twilight thought aloud as she dropped off her plate and silverware into the sink. After taking a last gulp of her apple juice, she turned tail and left for the door as a list of errands ran through her head. First up…
She paused.
Oh, right. Rainbow.
A sigh escaped her breath as she went out the door. “I do hope she’s alright. I’m sure she just needs some time is all.” With a shrug, she headed toward the first of her errands—mailing that latter to the Canterlot Library. Her castle was a bit lacking in the book department at the moment.
“She said no,” Rainbow gasped, “She said no. Oh Celestia, she said no…”
Feeling the dampness of the bed pillow underneath her head, she rolled onto the next one. She didn’t care that it was just as damp.
“She said no… Why’s she have to say no?”
Her hoof slammed against the bed sheets as a choke crawled up her throat.
“You know why…”
She shook her head. “But it’s not… not…”
“Fair? Life’s not fair.”
Rainbow shook her head, trying to throw away her own thoughts. Despite the flaring protest in her body, she flung her creaking legs up onto all fours and stumbled her way to nowhere in particular, ending up against her dresser. She couldn’t say she was surprised at the sight that greeted her in the mirror. Hair ragged and tangled, eyes redder than her irises, wings ruddled and misaligned…
“Stupid…”
She snapped her head away. I don’t need this. She turned, but her anger whisked itself away in moments. Only the cold chill creeping up her spine once again remained. Rainbow hung her head as a new stream of saltiness began falling down her cheeks.
As she collapsed across the bed once again, her mind rang like a bell as it lead her through a rhythm of tormenting memories. Her plan, her action, her proposal… all wasted. Was Twilight even into mares?
Oh, who cares?! She already refused!
“…She said no,” Rainbow said. The love of her live had said no.
Twilight grinned at the setting sun, thinking of how her mentor must be working her magic at that very moment.
She couldn’t help the smile that played at the corners of her lips. Today, she thought, Was a good one. She had no doubt about it.
She grinned at the familiar sound of freshly bought books shifting around in her saddlebags. Lighting her horn, she magicked them open, her personal favorite already opened and primed for reading. Within a minute, she was lost in literature without a care.
“I’ll just stay up a little later tonight,” Twilight thought aloud as she dropped off her bags on her bedroom desk. After taking a last glance to check the remaining books, she turned tail and left for the bed as a mile of thoughts ran through her head. First up…
She paused.
Oh, right. Rainbow.
A sigh escaped her breath as she glanced away from the book. “…I do hope she’s alright… I’m sure she just needs some time is all...”
…Right?
With a shake of her head, she found where she’d left off on the page—halfway mark, three lines down, and second sentence.
