Love Letters

Chapter Eight:

Carrots! Carrots everywhere! Angel hopped around in the seemingly endless fields of fresh carrots, carrots topped with cream and cherries and all other delicious things! A booming voice called out from over the meadow, the boom turned to a heavenly choir which pierced through the clouds, ''Angel, where are you? Come to me.'' The bunny forced himself away from a bowl of butter pecan ice-cream.

''Yes! Yes I'm right here!'' The rabbit shouted, I've never talked before, that was weird, but I want to talk more!

''Angel Bunny, wake up, you must wake up.''

''Wake up? What do you mean wake up?'' Confusedly questioned Angel, the hevanly voice deteriorated into a squeal.

''Angel! Wake up, wake up, wake up!''

Fluttershy nudged the slumbering Angel as softly as she could, voice matching the strength of the brushes. ''Angel?'' The white rabbit jumped from his slumber, and in an unwitty rage kicked the yellow pegasus' hoof. ''Oh I'm sorry! Sorry, Angel! I w-was,'' The pony began to tear up immediately, ''Just- just waking you b-because I was'tsh- wasn't home two nights ago and I couldn't find you yesterday, because my-myself and T-twilight-'' Angel's face lit up almost immediately, he jumped up and waved his mistress' head towards him, having shied away to hide her tears. The rabbit started signing erratically, the pink maned pony wiped away her tears and began reading, ''I- it's telescope.... telescope K? Oh, it's okay be..... because it's import...... important. It's okay because it's important? But you didn't think it was important a few seconds ago.'' Huffed the animal keeper. Angel pointed at Fluttershy, I'm important? Fluttershy pointed to herself, the rabbit nodded vigorously and put his paw to his forehead, one finger pointing up. And the unicorn.... The pegasus grabbed the white bunny and nearly squeezed his eyes out of his head. ''Oh thank you Angel! Thank you, thank you, thank yooouuuuu! Do you want to hear how it happened?''

Angel, with his job professionally done, sat back in his bed and rested his head on his left forepaw, he prepared for what would be the longest winded story ever told. The talking began like a wave, and continued like that. The wave was a droning; Angel was interested, to a length, but soon fell back asleep.

''-it was just so amazing, and then she dropped me home and she gave me a kiss at the door, it was almost like a dream, oh I'm just so happy!'' An almighty squee woke Angel to the pegasus still talking, there was a bowl of diced cucumbers and chilli flakes in front of him, Fluttershy was blind with love. The white rabbit had had a bad itching on his lucky foot two nights before, when his carer told him she was going to dinner with the pony who'd made her cry so many times. Angel had hid from the pegasus the morning after, too afraid to fulfil his obligations, she almost caught him, coming home so early in the morning. Then the pink maned pony woke him and he got angry with her, but the pony was happy, and she had pre-made the rabbit his breakfast, everything went better than expected.

''-oh! I've talked an awful lot, I have work to do! Oooohhhh, Okay, I need to wake all the animals and feed all of them, and I need to return some animals! Thank you for listening Angel!'' Fluttershy hugged the bunny once more and begun her daily routines. Up and around sixty-two animals were awoken, quietly, and fed, all in the space of two hours. The pegasus was rushing around like a mad pony, she made breakfast for herself only after she had tirelessly fed every living creature in her house. Sitting down for a rest for the first time in two days, with a bowl of porridge, Fluttershy gathered her thoughts. It's so nice to be off my hooves, I was so worried about Angel, I wonder where he was yesterday, I spent my entire day looking for him..... I'm sure he had something he had to do. And I'm so glad he's accepting of myself and Twilight's relationship, I was starting to think he wouldn't like Twilight because of what I've put him through, and that is why he is the best Angel Bunny in the whole of Equestria, I could just hug him and hug him! I wonder how Twilight done with Spike, I do hope she didn't scare him, he probably doesn't understand, at least he should now.

The pegasus finished her porridge and resumed her work, frantically tending to her zoo, okay, I need to return Lockjaw, Coco, Coca, Diamond, Scales and Red Tie. The yellow pony was quick to round up a doberman, brown Bird, otter, birman cat, Gold fish and penguin, formally injured critters left in to recover in the care on the pegasus. ''Okay everyone, we need to stay together, is everyone okay with that?'' The animals gave their unique affirmations, ''Good, now let's go little friends.'' Fluttershy's feathery command had the pets marching out the door of the cottage, she hoisted Scales' fish bowl onto her back and followed the brigade. The bizarre gathering of newly nursed animals followed the pink maned pony to the first delivery spot, a happening the pegasus noticed happening with ever increasing frequency.

Although Ponyville had a full-time vet with two professionally trained veterinarians staffing the premises, the yellow mare sometimes found herself confronted with injured animals. Fluttershy specialised in animal care, keeping and sickness, which she had told many ponies before who had come to her with pets bearing serious, and even life threatening, injuries.

The herder knocked on the door to an elderly pony's house, a few slow steps scuttled towards the door and a myriad of locks and latches were undone. The old mare leaned out her door and squinted at the pegasus, ''Fluttershy! Please, please! Tell me why your beautiful face has graced me dis morning!'' The kind earth pony beckoned Fluttershy into her house.

''Oh, thank you very much Miss Spokes.'' The yellow pony blushed and put her hoof to her mouth, ''But I can't come in, I have to return these animals, thank you very much for you offer though.'' Fluttershy signalled the white cat into the house.

''Hello Diamond, thank Fluttershy for making you better. You didn't have to bring her back, I'm only twenty hooves from your house and I'm still well able!'' Sturdy Spokes grabbed her chest and coughed out a horsey laugh.

''Really, it was no trouble at all, I must be going, I have other things I need to do today too.''

''I won't hold you up!'' The earth pony opened the drawer to a side table beside her, pulled out ten bits, and gave them to the pegasus. ''It was a pleasure speaking with you, and thank you once again for taking care of Diamond, and don't even think about trying to give any of those bits back!''

''Thank you but you don-'' And the door was closed, hysteria heard from the other side.

Fluttershy only asked anypony for money in the most extreme cases of injury, but everypony always ended up tipping her, she didn't mind, only because it was her main source of income other than the occasional grant for volunteer work. The mare only got by on her years of experience and vast knowledge of animals and animal anatomy; she had even discussed the matter with Ponyville's head vet, Lovehoof. The two agreed that it didn't matter who treated the animals as long as they were being treated. The yellow pegasus was always afraid of when she had to treat injury, or any other major occurrence, lacking both the schooling in toxicology needed to administer the majority of medicines, and the equipment and nerve to operate if the need ever arose. The only theory that Fluttershy could muster was that ponies thought her special talent translated into an infinite knowledge of animal care, if only her special talent let her say no to an animal in need.

''Come on little friends.'' The pegasus steered the troop towards another house. Red Tie waddled ahead of the group and jumped for a doorbell which he could not reach; Fluttershy trotted over to the struggling penguin, put her nose under him and lifted him level with the button. A bright red mare opened the door with one hoof, the other fruitlessly rocking a foal to sleep.

''Pengun!'' The foal cooed,

''Shh, shh, Bolt, pen-guh-win. Penguin.'' The mother rocked her baby more, she had heavy purple lines under her eyes, ''Oh, um, Fluttershy, I wasn't expecting to see you calling up- um I mean, to see you calling up so early.''

''I just wanted to return all these animals to their homes as soon as possible, go on Red Tie.'' The penguin waddled past the mother and into the house, ''Am I too early? Oh I'm sorry if I'm too early.''

''No, no, you're okay, I've just got my hoo-'' A bowl crashed to the ground from behind the red earth pony, some beans splattered across the floor of what must have been the dining room, a colt called into the hallway,

''Sorry mom, I uh, I can clean this up. Where are all my shoes?''

''I've got my hooves a little full,'' Peaking head out the door and looking both ways, ''Thank you for your services.'' The pony said, placing some bits in the hoof of the pegasus and closing the door.

''Oh no, yo- well, okay...''

Lockjaw took head, running up to and smelling the posts and walls of Ponyville's bridge. The doberman's ears stuck right to the sky as he reached to end of the bridge, he sniffed the air for familiar scents and began bounding away from the bridge, snarling. ''No! Wait, Lockjaw!'' Fluttershy begged, lifting a ferret onto her back beside a very confused goldfish and breaking into a run. ''Please come back!'' The dog making easy work of his getaway. The pink maned pony slowed, seeing the dog had stopped. Lockjaw was running lines, jumping and snapping at something in the trees just beyond the bridge.

The increasingly frequent sight of a grey coloured pegasus came into view, although hung upside down from a tree branch high above the enraged canine. ''You must be Pencil Pusher's dog, aww you're so cute!'' Fluttershy joined the dog under Derpy and compelled him into submission. The mail mare gracefully lowered herself to the ground with her wings and took a look around, the yellow pony joined the ambiguous search, seeing nothing of interest; nopony was out. ''Thanks Fluttershy, uhh, I gotta go, only a few more houses to go.''

''You are welcome, Lockjaw gets very excited sometimes, and he just needs to calm down sometimes.'' Scratching the doberman in-between its ears. The grey pony had her everyday smile, if only a little smaller, and her eyes looked a little off, other than their normal laziness.

''I gotta go, thanks again!'' The grey pegasus took to the air with a powerful leap, the wind from the blast off pulling some hair from in front of Fluttershy's face, the pegasus had performed magic, and vanished.

Despite a slight confusion bearing on the pegasus, she found her way to her next destination, ''Okay, everyone stay here and don't stray from the group, come on Coco. Don't worry little friends, we won't be long.'' The yellow pony and the brown bird flew into the sky, coming level with a small cloud house. Tapping the door, the house was opened up by a lilac coloured pegasus, she smiled warmly, and screamed into the house,

''Flitter! Door for you!''
Another mare screamed from above, ''Okay, I'll be there in a sec!''

''She'll be with you in two minutes.'' Mouthed the first pony,
The pet owner came charging down the stairs and took the place of her almost identical house mate, ''Thanks, sis, Fluttershy! How are you! Are you here to return Coco?'' Said the pegasus, the most tender voice Fluttershy had heard that day. The bird darted to her keeper and playfully danced in circles in front the lilac pony's face. ''Oh I missed you too Coco, your wing okay now? Give me a sec.'' Returning her attention to the yellow pony, ''You're a star Fluttershy; I really don't know how you do it.'' And hoofing a small pile of bits to the pegasus.

''I can't accept these bits!'' Fluttershy said, as she always did.

''What friend would I be if I didn't pay you!'' Insisted the pet owner,

''Well..... okay....'' The yellow mare subsided, remembering her living cost, or rather, the cost of her pets.

''Thank you Fluttershy, have a lovely day.'' The two parted ways.

Returning to ground, Fluttershy found the very enthusiastic doberman being taken away by a blue unicorn; the pegasus swooped down into the dirt, picked up the gold fish bowl and the otter and quietly called after the dog napper, ''Hey! Wait, you can't do that! Come back, please?'' The confused Pencil Pusher turned around, her face immediately turned ice-cold. Fluttershy came to a halt just before crashing into the unicorn, ''Oh, Pencil Pusher? I told you I'd drop Lockjaw back to you.'' Blinky-eyed.

''Oh yeah, well, my office is close by and I was going out for lunch....''

''....Umm............. do you..... do you want to take him back now?''

''I was more just, kinda, checking up on him..........'' The blue pony softened her words and took a look at the surrounding buildings of Ponyville, why does everypony keep doing that? Four ponies went about their days. Fluttershy could feel her voice becoming breathy, with an uncertainty she did not know the reason for.

''Well he's okay now, so-''

''I'm sorry; I can't be seen around you Fluttershy.''

''Wh- what?'' The yellow mare said, taken aback. Pencil hastefully pulled a small purse from her Pinkie-Pie-poofy level mane and tipped the pegasus accordingly before grabbing the dog by its collar and galloping away.

‘’What? No, wait!’’ Fluttershy said above normal levels, hoping to prompt information from the unicorn. The noise had drawn the attention of the ponies around her. Did it just get darker? The ponies looked fearful, almost cowering behind one another. The female of a couple was staring, staring, the male whispered into the ear of his partner, who put her hoof to her mouth and looked away from the pegasus. The remaining two animals had become slightly frisky, the yellow pegasus hoped they were acting on some past experience of a corrupt owner or bloodily injured limb. The yellow mare whispered to the duo, leaning more so down to the otter, ‘’Let’s go, friends, come on coca.’’ Slowly the otter began to touch ground, using his movements to pull the paralysed pony along the pavement. Fluttershy said hello to the small handful of ponies she seen, the few replies which her nerves had been graced with were shaky, short or suppressed. Oh I so hope I haven’t hurt anypony or done something to offend somepony. I just want this day to be over, maybe I can go over to Twilight and she can tell me if she has heard about anything. I just need to finish up work and then I can call up to the library, that’s all I need to do, just finish work.

The pegasus gathered her breath and composure and found her next destination, the water in the bowl on her back began sloshing in recognition of the large red door of the big house the trio had arrived at. Fluttershy pressed the doorbell but no chimes sounded. Confused, the mare went to push the button a second time but a small portion of the door slid open before she did, only big enough to see out of, ‘’Leave the bowl on the ground.’’ Commanded a seemingly androgynous voice. The mare, baffled, followed the pony’s orders, just as she did a few bits were posted through the slot, the door opened, a brown pair of hooves grabbed the fish and the door slammed closed ferociously. ‘’Take your pay and leave.’’

Some ponies from behind began to stare at the yellow mare, she could feel their stares. Fluttershy turned from the door and ran, with the otter on her back. The pitter-patter of rain slowly started up, the pegasus covered Coca with her wing to protect him. As the yellow pony ran through Ponyville, searching for her last destination, she had begun to cry. Ponies called after her, saying things, Fluttershy didn't stop for them, she didn't want Coca to her what they had to say, she knew because of a cretin anger in the shouts of the Ponyvillians. Fluttershy knocked on the door of the final house she had to visit, hoping the pony who would greet her would be friendly, that what had become frightening was simply a dream or another hallucination of loneliness. The prayers of the pink maned pony were not answered; a very grubby unicorn stallion opened the door and immediately started shouting. ''Coca, get in here you dirty rat!'' What did he just say?

''Excuse me, it's not ver-''

''And what do you want? It's not very what?''

''Well, I'm- I'm bringing...... back......'' Come on Fluttershy, no little critter deserves to be talked to like that, not by other little critters, or some big meanie or anypony. ''I don't think it's very nice that you talk to your pet like that, it's just not- it's just-'' The pegasus wanted, with the purpose of defending the animal, to tell the stallion his wrongs, but she wasn't able to assert herself over the engulfing belly-laugh of the unicorn. The stallion leaned out his door, grabbed his pet, and shoved Fluttershy back two hooves.

''It's just NOTHING, I heard yesterday, about you, how you're a dirty fiddler.''

''Wha- I'm- I-'' The yellow mare stuttered, bubbles blocking throat.

''Ha! Can't even defend yourself, take your tip and get off my property.'' The pegasus didn't hear the gruff stallion, Fluttershy was galloping away from the house at full pace into an even more hostile citizenry. Yellow hooves made splashes in the small puddles forming in the dips of the path; Fluttershy started hearing the ponies comments and wished she hadn't. The Ponyvilian assessment of the yellow pony ranged from simple statements to bitter passings of unchallenged hatred. From 'Look, there she is!' to 'Dirty feather ruffling street walker'. The base and unheard voice of Ponyville had begun to peek its hairless head from under the floor boards, something Fluttershy had only seen happen once before then. But why the town had taken such a large shift in behaviour was a mystery to the pegasus.

Fluttershy's legs burned after only a few minutes of running, trying to block out what had become the first flames of a great fire. The drizzle turned to rain and the ponies shouts only grew in volume, the yellow mare's consciousness was swamped in negative stimulus and let the pegasus run straight into another pony. ''Hey! Why won't everypony just leave me alone!?'' That voice, I know that voice! Twilight was suited without her usual full yellow rain gear and a multi-coloured umbrella hat; she had small, light, black rings under her eyes. Still crying hiccups, the pegasus hugged the unicorn, ''Sorry Fluttershy, I didn't mean to get angry with you, some weird things have been happening, what are you doing out?''

''I wa- was out delivering animals back to their owners and everypony started saying mean things to me and now they're shouting at me, it's just awful Twilight, just awful!''

''Oh no...'' The unicorn hugged Fluttershy harder, ''I didn't want you to find out like that, I was just going over to tell you. Fluttershy, they- Ponyville somehow knows about our relationship.''

''W- what? How? When?!'' Twilight broke the hug, unknowing until then that a circle of ponies had formed around the two,

''I don't know, but I've never noticed how fast news travels around a small town.''
The pegasus quietened her voice so only Twilight would hear her, ''Twilight, we- we have to go.''

''We don't want you here anyway!'' Stated a black Pegasus,

''Yeah, what kind of filthy ponies do things like you do?!'' Questioned a lime earth pony.

Fluttershy was screaming in tears now, having grabbed back onto the purple body for protection, the same body that was questioning the mob that grew more rowdy by the minute. The rain picked up even more, the pegasus' mane was soaked, the circle grew and drew closer, Fluttershy feared the worst, not knowing what the worst was. I'm sorry Twilight, I'm such a coward and a foal. The yellow mare ran.

The growing group of ponies were offensive, hurtful; Twilight was ready to teleport herself and her lover away from the atrocious scene of which they were the main actors of. The growing circle took a hoof closer, it has to be now. The purple mare readied herself mentally but a change threw off concentration. The pegasus, once clutching for dear life, had fled, flying over the crowd and towards the Everfree Forest. ''No! Fluttershy wait!'' Please don't leave me here. Alone.... A few ponies snorted and cursed with glee that the yellow pony had split. The unicorn slowly turned three-hundred and sixty degrees, getting a good look at all the faces of those she called friends, once, the same faces that slandered her for having the audacity to love. Twilight's initial fear of the small town's finding out turned to rage at how the ponies could make cry the soul which embodied kindness itself, the unicorn knew her anger would only fuel the fires of the ponies but she seen no other choice, she was sightless with anger. ''Will everypony be quiet?!'' The mob hushed, the rain kept the ambiance, Twilight readied herself for what she had to say, knowing it would not end well, ''I've lived here for five years, Fluttershy even longer. You are good friends to both myself and Fluttershy, and you start harassing us over something that has no effect on you? The most natural thing in the world! Something I see many of you have already found, something so wonderful! Not all the books and knowledge in the universe could describe. What is wrong with you ponies? I am ashamed!''

''The better question is what is wrong with you?'' A vaguely similar voice said from behind the crowd. ''And I have proof, I seen the heathen couple kissing outside the yellow pegasus' cottage only yesterday morning.'' Heathen? A strawberry coloured pony pushed through the barrier of mares and stallions, brow ruffled and motherly grin turned into an antagonistic frown,

''Ruby Scoop? Wh- you did this? We only met two days ago! How could you have done this?''

''I did nothing but spread news, like anypony would.'' The ice-cream pony smarmily defended.

''But how can you turn the entire town against us just because you don't like same sex relationships? That's completely ridiculous!''

''Oh, I didn't turn them against you, I just informed them. Everypony is independently opposing of heathen couples much like yourself.''

''Heathen? Again? The situation is completely nonreligious! And I think 'opposing' is a bit of an understatement, it's only been a day and you've abused Fluttershy enough to make her cry.''

''Oh? So when did this include religion? Are you irreligious?'' The crowd gasped in shock and resumed its rabbles, louder than before.

''What? That's compl- you ponies ca-'' The purple mare flattened her ears against her head; the mob would not subside to reason.

Ruby Scoop leaned in close to Twilight, nose-to-nose, close enough for a kiss, and whispered below the rain, ''Hatred is like a fire, and Ponyville is the best and most expensive fireplace on the market. We won't tolerate dirty and sick fiddlers like you.''

''You can't do this, you won't, it's just not right.'' The unicorn breathed out, Ruby's mouth curled into an incredulous smile,

''We'll see about that.'' The strawberry coloured pony took a step back, Twilight stared at her, she could feel her lip twitching. Ruby's make up was slowly being washed away by the rain, the purple pony could see the deep hatred in her eyes, Twilight could feel the deep enmity between herself and the pony standing two hooves from her. The unicorn took one final look at the mob around her and poofed herself outside the circle, making a dash in the direction Fluttershy had fled; the mob didn't follow.

''Fluttershy!'' The purple mare shouted to an empty street, the storm answered by increasing its ferocity. The rain penetrated the unicorn's thick coat, who wandered randomly down the street, straining her vocal cords calling for a pony who had vanished between the rain drops. After ten minutes of searching Twilight reached the bridge at the fringe of Ponyville, the rain stopped mere hooves from the end of the bridge; the mare sat down against the stone wall and put her hoof into the dry. I guess Rainbow was careful about it raining in Ponyville, the purple pony laughed to herself softly. Where are you, Fluttershy? You're probably at home packing your bags to leave Ponyville, I don't blame you, you shouldn't have to suffer because of me. The storm loosened a little bit, the waters below the bridge raged a little softer and the heavy breathing and sobs of a pony became louder, am I crying? No, I'm not crying, who is doing that? How could anypony be crying? I'm not crying and how could anypony be sadder than I am? The moans sounded familiarly, but stopped abruptly before the unicorn could place a name. Twilight leaned over the slippery edges of the bridge and seen that the grass and some dirt had been removed on the small decline leading to the banks of the river, as if somepony had slipped down the slope. At the bottom was a yellow and pink shape, covered in mud, lying motionless.

''Fluttershy?'' The unicorn said, voice violently shuddering. Why did she stop crying? ''Fluttershy?'' Was I imagining her crying? Twilight stood up and walked across the bridge again, knees jerking and twitching with every step, she stopped at the top of the decline. ''Fluttershy?!'' A little more volume, no response. The mare could feel the salty tears rolling down her face, she stood there. The hill was a little torn; it defiantly looked like a fall. The unicorn tenderly touched ground and made her way down to the bank of the river. Twilight stood a leg length from the body, she didn't know what to do, ''FLUTTERSHY!'' No response.

The storm sent a gust and the wind kicked up a small wave from the river, crashing down on the two ponies. Twilight kept her hooves but the dirty water took her by surprise and blinded her, she more feared that the body might have been swept away than for herself. The purple pony rubbed furiously at her eyes, taking visionless steps towards where the pegasus was. As she cleared the watery debris from her face Twilight hit something soft which squeaked as she tripped over it. Sight regained, the unicorn seen that the only other reaction the yellow mare gave was burying her face into a different spot in the mud. Twilight scuttled from her back and to the side of the pegasus, grabbing her head, pulling it out of the ground and checking for injury, ''Fluttershy! Fluttershy thank Luna you're okay, are you hurt? Please don't tell me you're hurt, please, please, please...''

The yellow pony's face was covered completely in mud; her eyes were drowsy and bloodshot. She put her left hoof to Twilight's cheek and smiled, ''T- Twilight, I ran away, what are you doing here?''

''I don't care, are you hurt? Is there any blood?!''

''No, I just came down here, I'm okay. Twilight, why did you follow me? I'm a big scardy cat.''

''Oh thank Celestia, oh thank the gods. I won't let them take you away from me, not now, not in a million years.'' The unicorn was pawing her lovers face, checking over and over to see if she was really there.

''So you still love me?'' Said the pegasus, beginning to cry once more.

''Yes, yes, more than anything.''

''B- but how can I be sure, how do I know you're not just saying that to make me feel better?''

''Please don't say that, please!'' Said the purple pony, joining her lover's weeping.

''I'm a bad pony, and a terrible partner, I'm sorry that I couldn't have been better to you!''

Twilight looked to the river; I can show you how much I love you. The unicorn charged up her topmost appendage for a painfully long time, summoning her greater magic, achieved from years of study. The clouds over the unicorn and the river thinned and ceased their hail of rain, the river calmed. Fluttershy stopped crying, the river slowly started to change colour from a hazy dark-blue to crisp lavender. Bright yellow hearts rose in a heart's pulse from the river bed and to the surface, the message in pink letters 'My heart is yours, Fluttershy. -Twilight' circled the hearts. The fish danced to and from the hearts, piercing the water's surface as the beats did, dancing in couples.

The purple pony looked to her handy work, wow, that's really bright, and then to the pegasus who lay next to her, ''Is that a good enough answer?'' Speaking softly. Fluttershy lay still, awestruck, shaking from the drying rain taking heat away from her body, trembling from the river of emotion flooding her mind. Twilight magicked herself to cuddle the pink maned pony, the shaking and trembling stopped, the staring continued,

''What about the other ponies? Won't more ponies find out?''

''I couldn't give a flying hay seed about what those ponies think, if more want to find out they can. All that matters now is that you're happy.''

''It's- it's motley!'' The pegasus said, inspired by the colours, ''It's beautifully, wonderfully amazing! It's you!'' The unicorn chuckled,

''It's me? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.''

''It's beautiful and clever and it just makes me smile looking at it and it's a gift from the gods and I-''

''Oh my gosh, Fluttershy, you're making me blush! Oohhh, I wish I could compliment you like you do me.''

''It's not hard; you just say what's true.'' Said Fluttershy, calmed down and rubbing her nose against Twilight's neck. Okay, just say what's true....

''Fluttershy...... you have two wings and four hooves.'' Shoot....

''That was um.... a start... but don't feel bad, I've had a lot more time to think about it.'' Reassuringly.

The unicorn threw the yellow pony a confident smile, ''Wellllll, I've only had two days but since you challenge me....''

''Oh well, um, that's quite all right Tw-''

''I quite like your two ears,'' Nibbling the tip of the pegasus' ear, ''And I do love your hair, and your majestic wings, and your forever-and-ever kindness. But I think most of all..... hmmm..... I don't know......'' The purple pony had her trademark thinking face.

''Oh Twilight, you don't need to tell me what you like about me.... but I would like to know.....''

''Hmmmmmm...... it must be......'' The yellow mare was gawking at Twilight, the same pony that was attempting to stretch the silence as long as possible without smiling and cracking up, ''No, no, no, no........''

''Oh, I'm sorry, please tell me Twilight; I really, really want to know, sorry.''

''Okay, but you have to tell me something.'' The unicorn said, quieting down below the levels of the rain behind them,

''That you won't run away, like you did. That you can trust me that I will keep you safe and that everything will be okay. I felt so alone in the middle of that circle, all those angry faces, all those hurtful comments. And it's not that I'm angry at you, it's that getting through something is a lot easier if there is another pony standing beside you.'' The pegasus nuzzled into Twilight a little more, flicked her hair in front of her face and looked away.

''I'm- um... I- I just got..... I just got so scared and, um, the other ponies were just so angry and- and I wanted to stay but I- I.... I'm sorry, Twilight...''

It's okay. The magic faded, the rain soon started on the two mares once more. The mud which had dried and knotted the coats of both ponies started to turn back to slop and re-knot the hair. The light show, being a more practised magic by the unicorn, persisted. Twilight felt an uncomfortable tightening of fur on her knees and chin, Fluttershy must be much less comfortable, she's covered in mud. She's probably too scared to suggest moving because she thinks I'm angry at her.... ''Come on; let's go get you cleaned up.'' Said the purple pony, scratching her mate between the ears. Both ponies slowly stood up and climbed the hill. The walk back to Fluttershy's cottage was done shoulder-to-shoulder and in silence.