Altering Harmony

The following day, after they'd returned to Ponyville, everything went just as always: Applejack bucked some apple trees since it was Applebuck Season, Rainbow Dash cleared the sky at a surprisingly quick speed, Twilight dove into book after book, Pinkie Pie hosted an immense amount of parties, Fluttershy took good care of her animals inside her cottage, and Rarity continued to make one fabulous dress after another.

Everything was perfectly fine.

It wasn't until Pinkie Pie invited Fluttershy over to Sugarcube Corner in order to taste some of her newly made cakes, though, that things really began to go downhill...

Ring! Ring!

Fluttershy opened the door to Sugarcube Corner, the bells above the door signalling her entrance as they rung a simple melody.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie embraced her friend in a warm hug as soon as she stepped inside.

"Hi, Pinkie," Fluttershy gave her a warm smile as they pulled apart from each other. "I heard you needed me for some tasting?"

"Yup!" Pinkie Pie nodded as she moved out of the way in order to let the yellow pegasus see the several multi-layer cakes located behind her. "I've got some amazing cakes that I want you to try! And I mean it when I say so; they're totally amazing cakes! Like, who wouldn't want to taste some amazing cakes? They're supposed to be amazing, right?"

"Y-Yes," Fluttershy stammered, shrinking down as she got the bearing of exactly how many cakes Pinkie had prepared for her. Five multi-layer cakes? I hope I don't get sick after eating all those, she thought, trembling slightly.

"Ooh! Ooh! Let's start with the smallest one: the Triple-Layer Really Awesome Cream Cheese Cake! It's full of flavor and filled with this special cream cheese filling that I know you'll love! I even named the cake myself! Awesome, right?" Pinkie Pie shoved her right in front of said cake, flashing her a huge grin.

"R-Right," Fluttershy chuckled nervously as she inspected the cake in front of her. "This certainly is quite a... large cake, Pinkie."

"Well, it really is nothing compared to the other cakes! They're even more awesome than this! Come on now, Fluttershy; once you finish this, I'll take you to taste every other one! They're super duper better!"

Maybe I could just eat a large piece, say I have a stomachache, and ask her if I can leave... oh, but what if she thinks I don't like it? I really don't want to hurt her feelings... okay, Fluttershy, you can do this. Just have to eat it all... for Pinkie... for a friend, Fluttershy thought as she gulped and took a large bite out of the cake's first layer, chewing slowly. As soon as she finished, she immediately became impressed at how delicious the cake tasted. Noticing her change of expression, Pinkie grinned.

"This tastes-" Fluttershy's words immediately trailed off as she heard what Pinkie urgently said next.

"Watch out!" Pinkie held out her hooves in alarm just as a purple fog seeped into the two top layers of the cake, causing it to topple down onto Fluttershy.

Fluttershy's eyes opened wide as she instinctively jumped up and into the toppling cake, the unexpected impact splashing lots of cake frosting on Pinkie's face. It didn't bother the pink mare, however, as she merely licked it off.

"Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy suddenly said, her tone full of hatred. "You should've warned me beforehoof! What kind of friend are you, not even bothering to tell me that it was going to fall?"

Pinkie froze, her mouth opened wide. "Uh... Fluttershy?"

"WHAT?" Fluttershy's yell was so loud that it caused Pinkie to plummet into the opposite wall.

"I didn't know it was gonna fall!" Pinkie whined in response. "I'm sorry, I really am!"

"Who do you think you are, Pi-" Fluttershy suddenly shook her head, a confused look on her face as she finally came back to her senses.

"P-Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy's voice had reverted back to normal, no longer the hatred-filled voice that had just spoke moments ago.

"Uh..." Pinkie straightened up and began cleaning up the mess with a mop that happened to be nearby. "Heh, heh..."

"Why are you acting like that, Pinkie? What happened?" Fluttershy asked, perplexed.

"Well..." Pinkie spoke quickly. "Well, the cake kinda fell on you and then you went totally cray-cray and scary... you were yelling so loud that I thought you weren't even Fluttershy! Other than that, though, nothing much happened... oh, yeah! Did you like my Triple-Layer Really Awesome Cream Cheese Cake?"

"Um," Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, too confused to respond to Pinkie's question. "I... yelled at you?"

"Yeah, you kinda did, but no worries!" Pinkie threw the mop away and began cleaning the floor via eating the cake instead. "Ooh! The cake's not that bad even when it's just a mess of frosting and cream cheese!"

"But Pinkie... I didn't even realize I yelled at all. I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy gasped, horror surging through her.

"It's alright, Fluttershy, we all have those moments!" Pinkie reassured her half-heartedly, continuing to clean the floor by using her absurd eating method.

"I don't, though," Fluttershy said, her horror growing.

"Wait a minute!" Pinkie lifted her head from the floor, the truth behind Fluttershy's words finally sinking in. "You're right, Fluttershy! You don't have those moments! You're the kindest pony in all of Ponyville... maybe even Equestria!"

"Maybe we should talk to Twilight," she suggested, trembling in fear as she thought about her strange outburst. I never do that, much less yell at one of my best friends... but even if I did, why can't I remember any of it?