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                    The Sunset Fantasy                     
                    -by Learn for Life-                    
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                  The Selfish Consequence                  
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The Selfish Consequence
Chapter 1: The Selfish Consequence
She watched as many different animals zoomed about inside, skittering hither and thither while the mare inside the cottage used her unicorn magic to juggled bags, cans, pots, pans, trying to prepare an early breakfast for those around her. She could visibly see the mare sweat and pant, and the mare’s eyes squinted every time she looked in the direction of a lit lamp. The animals were yapping and growling for their much-demanded breakfast; even she hadn’t ever seen them that rowdy and angry. She wanted to help the mare inside, but she knew she couldn’t go anywhere near there.
She was a monster.
She lowered her head, took a deep breath, and sighed. It had been hours since she first hobbled over to the patch of dirt at the border of the Everfree Forest, lying down to watch the cottage. There she remained, occasionally swinging her sharp tail around and stretching her webbed wings. It was at this time, while watching the animals move around inside, that she looked to the sky; she smiled as dawn was nearly over, and the sun’s rays would soon hit her golden scales.
It was almost time.
Then a large amount of noise could be heard from the cottage: the clanging of pots and pans, the thud of bags, the scream of the mare, and chirping of various pitches.   
Some of the birds flew out of the cottage, and then flew right back in; none paid her any mind, and she watched quietly. Her attention was then fixed on the mare, stomping her hooves in frustration.
“Will you all just be quiet!” She heard the mare groan loudly, now panting. The animals didn’t stop. “Trixie cannot concentrate with all of these disTRACTIONS!” Trixie yelled as the sound of a can hitting the ground echoed throughout the cottage. The monster craned its neck to see that Trixie was staring at something out of her sight.
“Why you—“but Trixie stopped herself short; there was a period of thinking, and then contorted her lips into a smile. “Get whatever you wish; Trixie has no time to deal with you.” The creature saw the tops of two bunny ears hopping away, and she had no doubt that Angel was making his way to the carrots.
Trixie tried to sort the pots from the bags, but the many birds flying and chirping about kept taking her attention. The lights from the lamps glared brighter, forcing her to squint. Her body was covered in sweat, and at this moment the monster noticed that her cape wasn’t on (she figured that a certain mouse’s midnight meal with it forced Trixie to hide it). Trixie opened a window and stared out at the Everfree Forest, forty-five degrees from where the vigilant currently lay.
“I bet you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Trixie growled. “I bet you’re enjoying me being tortured by your pests while you go around doing Celestia-knows-what!”
The monster flinched.
“Well, you listen to me: nopony makes a fool of Trixie!” With that, she used her magic to grab a random can, remove the cap, dump the contents into a random bowl, throw the can, and roll the bowl into the middle of the room in the blink of an eye. “There you go, you vermin. Have at that!”
Then, suddenly, every animal began to crowd around her. The food likely remained untouched as birds flew in her field of vision, and Trixie jumped every-so-often; the creature saw a chipmunk latched onto Trixie’s hoof.
The monster began to growl.
“AAAAAAAAH!” Trixie soon lost her balance and fell on her side, suddenly being bombarded with animals of all types. Her entire body was soon covered by little paws, with Fluttershy’s number-one friend watching from his bed, laughing his little head off. “That’s it!” The creature witnessed all the animals suddenly flying across the room, a magenta Trixie fuming smoke from her nostrils. “Trixie does not have to deal with such ungrateful, dirty, disgusting—“
For a second she stopped talking, and then, before she knew it, she swung it full force at the source. In a split second, Angel was defenestrated, and landed with a thud onto the ground outside.
All the noise stopped. Animals scurried to their holes and houses; birds flew to their retreats. The lights went out in a second.
For at that moment, outside, in the Everfree Forest, the beast roared, and the cottage shook with fear.
At that point, it made its way clumsily towards the fallen rabbit, rustling the trees and bushes it hid in. She saw Trixie race out of the cottage, fear in her eyes. The beast gained control of its two legs before running full speed to Angel.
“Are you alright, rab—“ but Trixie was cut off as the beast used its wing to pin the frightened mare to the ground, its claws digging at the ground under her. White smoke fumed from its long snout, and its dark purple eyes glowered from behind it. It growled at her, fully intending on intimidating the brash mare.
She was, after all, a monster.
“Now see here,” Trixie began between gasps for air. “You don’t understand! I was trying to help him.” The beast’s snout came closer to her, and Trixie began to see the monster’s gold-hued scales. “I-I’m telling the truth!”
The monster’s shifted its gaze to Angel, who had by now gotten to his feet. With a slow movement she picked the bunny up with her tail and brought him to her face. Her features softened as Angel hopped onto her snout. Angel brushed himself off before he began stroking her snout. The monster sighed and imitated a giggle.
“You know,” Trixie began, sounding as angry as possible; the monster resumed her glaring. “This wouldn’t have happened if your animals didn’t act all crazy.” The monster growled; Trixie ignored her. “They made my job of taking care of them excruciating!” She stopped growling. “They were really mean to me.”
Her attention shifted to the bunny resting on its snout. Angel shook his head and crossed his arms. The beast then looked back at Trixie, who was well prepared.
They misbehaved? The monster thought to herself.
“You shouldn’t have lost your temper like that,” she said, “before having all the facts.” The beast’s ears pinned against her head. “I’m only trying to help, as always.” She whined. “You could’ve hurt somepony, you know?” At this, Trixie knew she had won; the beast lowered her head, unsheathed her claws and made the smoke from her nostrils disappear. Trixie, now fully confident, looked up at the sky. “And might I add,” she said, a bit of haughtiness edging its way into her voice, “that you picked a horrible time to strike.”
Angel and the monster looked towards Sweet Apple Acres, watching an increasingly-bright light coming over the hill. Angel deftly hopped down from her snout while the beast, knowing what would come next, hung her head and waited.
The first rays of Celestia’s sun hit the beast’s tail, and it began to shrink. The golden scales on the monster’s body began to disappear, and her entire body began to shrink. The webbed wings began to lose their membrane, forming into a single wing with what appeared to be hair appearing. The dark violet eyes began to change color, turning into a midnight blue and becoming brighter. The toes began to shrink, soon melding with her entire legs.
The heavy, scaly tail soon became one made of long hair. Her legs shrunk to about one-fifth their size, sprouting hooves at the end. Her fangs, which had protruded even from her closed mouth, flattened and became hidden with a much smaller, much rounder snout. The wings became one unit on either side of it, covered in feathers. The scales were soon gone, replaced with a light yellow coat, and those dark violet eyes soon became as blue as the morning sky. A head of long, pink hair hung over her face.
And three butterflies with pink wings appeared on her flank.
Trixie resisted the urge to laugh at the now-mopey mare that stood in front of her. “Well,” she sternly said. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” The mare in front of her didn’t make a sound. “Well?”
The mare didn’t make eye contact with her when she whispered, “I’m-I’m sorry, Trixie. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”
Trixie refused to smile. “And why is that?”
“Because you’re taking care of my animals every night.”
Trixie harrumphed. “Trixie forgives you, Fluttershy. Now take care of your animals before I kill them!”
Fluttershy didn’t utter any noise of protest; she walked past Trixie into her cottage.
“It’s okay, everypony,” her demure voice sounded from inside. “You can come back out now.” Slowly, heads popped out of their beds, and creatures crept out, keeping a wary eye on their beloved owner. “Now, you really shouldn’t treat Trixie like you did,” she began; the creatures lowered themselves. She looked to the uneaten food in the bowl Trixie had left out earlier. “Kitt, this is yours,” she said looking at her cat. “You need to eat this.” The cat gave some signs of protest before a pleading look from his owner brought him to the bowl and his breakfast.
She turned her attention back to the other animals. “You should be grateful for what Trixie does for you after what she—“
“Ahem!”
“. . . After what I did. After my selfish actions, Trixie took time out of her busy schedule to make sure you all were taken care of.”
It was obvious that Fluttershy’s speech didn’t do anything for them, but as Trixie entered the room, the animals went their own way, not making any eye contact with her.
“Are they fixed?”
“They’ll be fine,” Fluttershy replied. “They shouldn’t bother you . . . I hope.”
“You hope?”
“I promise” Fluttershy blurted out. “I promise.”
Trixie smirked. “Good.” She then levitated a piece of paper on the table and shoved it in Fluttershy’s face. “Now then, here’s what I’d like for you to fetch from the market.”
“Okay.” Fluttershy took the list without even glancing at it. “I’ll get my saddlebag and my bits.”
“And also,” Trixie cried, shoving another, more colorful piece of paper in front of her. “Give this to the Mayor of Ponyville for me.”
Fluttershy looked at this new piece of paper, which had a picture of her new guest with the words, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie returns for another show’ on it. That was all it said on the page. “Um, Trixie, are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Trixie feigned concern. “Perhaps not . . . tell her to hold onto it, though, and not to post it everywhere. I’m afraid Trixie shall need more time.”
“Okay,” was all Fluttershy said before departing for her room.
As Fluttershy walked over to her saddlebags, she overheard bits of Trixie talking to herself downstairs. “Vermin . . . I can take . . . must begin soon . . . little more prodding . . .” Not hearing any more of it, Fluttershy swung the saddlebags onto her back and left.
Fluttershy emerged with her saddlebags, the sound of bits clinking in them. “Okay, Trixie, I’ll be back.” She turned her attention to Angel. “You be good now, Angel,” she said with a bit of anger; the bunny sighed exasperatingly, and nodded. “You all behave yourselves.” The others replied in kind. “Angel, please take care of everyponies’ breakfast.” Angel scowled, and began hopping to one of the bags on the floor.
“Right, then,” Trixie huffed. “I shall see myself to bed then.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy whispered while opening her door.
“Oh, and Fluttershy?” The pony looked back at her; Trixie chuckled and smirked. “Be back before sundown.”
Fluttershy nodded, holding back a tear, and dragged herself out the door as Trixie made her way to her new bedroom.

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                     The Preparations                      
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The Preparations
Chapter 2: The Preparations
Celestia hadn’t yet raised the sun over the distant mountains to the east, but Fluttershy was already tracking its progress across the sky. Approaching the main area of Ponyville, she quickly took note of a large amount of noise near the town hall. Taking a glance at the first item written—in smushed small print—on Trixie’s list, and realizing that it would cost her over a hundred bits, she decided to investigate the commotion.
As she trotted off the dirt path and onto the regular cobblestone streets, the noise became louder and more varied, resembling a haphazard conversation. Fluttershy trotted a bit more before seeing a crowd of ponies surrounding the tall building, ignoring the frantic foreleg-waving of Mayor Mare at her podium. She slowed to a walk, listening to some of the separate discussions on the outskirts of the crowd.
“Ferocious it was loud Spike sleepwalking I heard it too Woke me up in the middle couldn’t have been Spike coming for couldn’t sleep after know you didn’t see lock our doors warn Princess Celestia not that big he was once near the Everfree Forest dragon migration was last weirder things have happened!” Lyra, Bon Bon, Colgate, Amethyst Star, Doctor Whooves, Derpy Whooves and Nurse Redheart said in some order; who said what didn’t matter to Fluttershy, as she knew exactly what they were talking about.
“Oh my,” she whispered. She began backing away before the Mayor’s voice, with the aid of a megaphone, overtook everypony’s.
“Attention, everypony!” The noise died down, and the Mayor rubbed her eyes and readjusted her spectacles. “Now, I know that all of you are worried about the mysterious monster from last night, and the roaring it did to wake us all up.” At the word monster, Fluttershy’s ears pinned back. “I assure you, I am doing all I can to find out what it was, so I need you all to remain calm.” The townsponies collectively raised an eyebrow. “Twilight Sparkle has assured us that once Spike wakes up from his nap—“
“Wait a minute,” Caramel yelled. “You mean Spike isn’t here now? That crazy dragon could be wandering around?”
Murmurs went out through the crowd; Fluttershy shrank away from them. “Now, everypony, please!” Mayor cried, but everypony kept on talking. She saw the frazzled pony turn towards another pony next to her and speak to her; Fluttershy decided that now would be a good idea to trot away.
“Goodness,” Fluttershy spoke aloud. “I hope nothing bad happens to Spike . . .” Her trotting stopped in front of the local jewelry store. “If Spike could be in trouble, that means that . . .”
“Fluttershy?”
“EEEP!” Fluttershy bolted into the air and whirled around. Below her stood Doctor Whooves and Nurse Redheart. “Oh, sorry,” she said through gasps for air. “You startled me.”
“No trouble at all,” Doctor Whooves replied with a chuckle. “My fault actually, so terribly sorry. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“E-excuse me” Fluttershy asked while bringing herself back to ground level.
“You live near the Everfree Forest, correct? Right near the border?”
Fluttershy pawed at the ground. “Yes.”
“Well,” Doctor Whooves continued, lowering his gaze to Fluttershy’s and continuing to smile. “You must’ve heard the monster very close to you.”
Fluttershy winced. “Um, well, I did. I didn’t see it, though,” she blurted.
Doctor Whooves nodded. “Right, so it didn’t attack you or your animals?”
“Oh no,” she replied hastily. “We’re all fine.” She pawed at the ground again. “If I may ask . . . was anypony hurt?”
Nurse Redheart placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s wither and smiled at her. “Everypony’s fine, Fluttershy. Nopony was hurt and nothing was damaged.”
“You sure do represent the element of kindness, eh?” Doctor Whooves chuckled again and also placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s other wither. “Worrying about everypony and whatnot. Well, don’t fret; what happened last night has, at worst, just given everypony a fright.”
“As far as we know, of course,” Redheart added.
Fluttershy sighed. “What a relief!”
“Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said. “Well, I suppose I shall be on my way, then. Take care of yourselves, ladies!” With that, he cantered away from them.
“I should be on my way to the hospital,” Redheart said after a while. “Where’re you headed off to?”
“Oh!” Fluttershy looked back to where she was going. “I was about to go into the jewelry store.”
Nurse Redheart looked shocked for a moment and said nothing. “Oh . . . well then, I’ll leave you to that, then. See you later,” Redheart said with a hug, and trotted away.
Fluttershy stood there for a moment before she turned around. “Was it something I said?” With another sigh, she walked into the store for the first item on the list.
With the necklace around her neck, Fluttershy looked to the sky: the sun had risen a bit above the mountaintops. Oh my goodness, she thought to herself. “I must’ve wasted a whole hour! I better hurry!”
Her next stop was the library, which was currently surrounded by a myriad of ponies. Fluttershy hovered a bit to see the inside of it; Mayor Mare, Cheerilee, Zecora and a few of Princess Celestia’s royal guards were inside looking at a very panicked and stuttering Spike. Fluttershy couldn’t get any closer.
“I-I’m sure I didn’t go out last night!” Spike cried to the ponies inside.
“Just calm down, Spike,” Cheerilee crooned. “Now, can you say for certain that you weren’t doing anything at all last night? That there was no possibility of you sleepwalking and roaring?”
“I’m sure!” Spike screamed.
Poor Spike. Fluttershy moved around the crowd, craning her neck.
“Well, Spike,” the Mayor began firmly. “We cannot exclude you from being a possible cause of last night’s ruckus, so we will be keeping a close watch on you for a while.” Spike groaned. “Sorry, Spike, but that’s what has to be done to keep everypony safe.”
“M’kay,” he mumbled.
The Mayor turned her attention to the currently-blocked doorway. “Alright, everypony, back to your business!” Soon the entire crowd broke away, leaving Fluttershy to trot into the library.
“What did I do, Twilight?” Spike looked to his sister-figure.
“I’m not sure, Spike,” Twilight mused. “But this isn’t an average investigation, that’s for sure.” She watched the two guards trot out the door. “Whatever it was has the Mayor on edge.”
“Excuse me, Twilight.”
The unicorn turned from her assistant to look at the now-sweating pegasus. “Oh, hey Fluttershy. Sorry about all of this. It’s been a busy morning.”
“It’s alright,” Fluttershy replied, pawing a hoof on the floor.
“So what’re you here for?”
Fluttershy didn’t look up. “A-actually, I came to see if I could, if it’s not too much trouble, borrow a book for a little while.”
Twilight smiled. “Of course. That would bring some normality to an otherwise-crazy day! What would you like?” She used her magic to grab a thin light-brown leather-bound book. “You want to borrow the ‘Equestrian Fairy Tales Every Foal Should Know’ again? I know your animals just love these.”
Fluttershy shook her head. She reached for a hardcover blue book; on the front was the image of a ghost. “I’d actually like to borrow this one . . . if you don’t mind, of course.”
Twilight brought the book to her face; once she saw the title, she gasped. “’Ghosts, Goblins and Ghoulish Figures’? Good heavens, Fluttershy, are you sure you want to borrow this?”
“Yeah,” she shouted. “I’m sorry, but I was hoping to, um, read something a bitoutofmycomfortzone!” She giggled almost breathlessly.
Twilight raised an eyebrow before managing the book into Fluttershy’s saddlebag; it was at that point that she caught sight of the new necklace. “Oh, this is lovely!” She levitated the diamond gem to her face. “When did you get this?”
Fluttershy cringed away from her. “Oh, it’s just . . . something I . . .” she trailed off, not even sure what she was saying.
“What was that?”
“Sorry Twilight, but I have to go!” Fluttershy galloped out of the library and headed straight towards Sugarcube Corner, not looking back at all, but instead looking at the sky to see the sun had moved a bit more.
The rest of the morning was not as eventful as it had been earlier: she soon remembered that she needed to get to Sugarcube Corner to buy three dozen chocolate-chip-and-petunia cookies, to Sweet Apple Acres to acquire some cider (after finagling through a very frenetic Apple family), and finally to the Carousel Boutique (taking caution to hide the necklace) to borrow a sketch booklet. As Fluttershy looked at the list, checking off the last item, she could only wonder what Trixie would want with all of this in the first place.
Of course, she thought, with Trixie being so kind as to watch my animals while I’m . . . gone, it’s probably the least I could do.
As the sun reached its midpoint above Ponyville, Fluttershy reached her cottage door and, balancing a barrel and three pink boxes on her back, knocked lightly.
She was very surprised when the door swung open and, instead of Angel waiting to greet her, there stood Trixie with a blank expression. Her hat and cape were not on, and her mane and tail were not disheveled.
Upon glancing at all the Pegasus before her was carrying, Trixie smiled and levitated the barrel and box off her. “Let Trixie help you with these.”
Fluttershy looked at her quizzically. “Um, are you okay?” Trixie paid her no mind as she removed her saddlebag and explored the contents. Trixie first took the book out, then the sketch book—both were placed on the nearby table—and finally gazed at the necklace floating before her.
“So,” Trixie said a bit louder than normal. “You caught that bit I added at the top of the list?” Fluttershy only nodded. “Well, truth be told . . . Trixie did not expect someone as meager as you to be able to afford something like this.” She levitated it around her head and let it drop to her neck. “Hmm . . .”
“If you don’t mind, Trixie,” Fluttershy piped up. “I’d like to tend to my animals.” Indeed, a gathering of paws began pawing at her hooves. “It’s their lunchtime.”
Trixie levitated one of the cookies and began to eat it. “You may.” She then levitated everything Fluttershy brought home towards the bedroom. “As for me, I shall continue resting for today.”
Before Trixie could disappear into the bedroom, Fluttershy asked “Did the animals wake you, Trixie?” She didn’t answer as she and the goods disappeared into her room.
With a heavy sigh, Fluttershy walked to the storeroom (where everything scattered from last night had been placed away properly) and grabbed a bag of bird seeds.
The rest of the day was spent quietly, and although Fluttershy felt a pit in her stomach, she felt relief. She finally served the final bits of general-rodent-food to the small critters sitting around her, and looked outside. The sun was currently climbing down behind Canterlot.
“Well, guys,” she began, placing the box in the storeroom. “It’s time for me to go out.” The animals began chattering and chirping; Fluttershy shushed them. “Trixie may still be asleep. Now, please behave for her, and don’t worry: I won’t do anything scary like I did last night.”
All of the animals nuzzled against her. Silently, she broke away and headed for the door. “Good night, everypony.”
She closed the door and trotted towards the Everfree Forest. A light flicked on in Fluttershy’s room, and she could barely see a quill hovering and flailing about.
“Oh, Trixie,” Fluttershy whispered. “Thank you.” She didn’t say anything more as a tear fell to the ground. She continued to trot as the final rays of the sun disappeared behind the mountain. It was at this time, when Fluttershy was trotting along the Everfree Forest’s trail, that her cutie mark disappeared. She stopped and waited as her forelegs disappeared, her body grew and became covered in scales, her mane and tail turned to spikes and a much sharper tail, her wings lost their feathers and became webbed, her hind hooves bore claws, and her muzzle bore sharp teeth that jutted from her closed mouth.
She was once again a monster.

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                        Close Call                         
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Close Call
Chapter 3: Close Call
The night passed without incident. Fluttershy had taken her place back in the patch of dirt under the dark looming trees and behind the bushes, and had watched her cottage for the entire night. When Celestia raised the sun, Fluttershy went through her transformation without much trouble; having her scales retract and her body shrink no longer hurt her. With a sigh and a smile, she left her nighttime hiding place and trotted over to her home.
She opened the door to see the early birds and the early critters stretching themselves out and moving about. Few of them made any noise at all, and when Fluttershy entered the cozy cottage, they nuzzled her without the normal chattering that usually accompanied it. She sighed, both with relief and with sadness.
“I guess I’ll have to get used to a quiet morning,” Fluttershy mused out loud, “while Trixie’s still here.” She rubbed her eyes; two whole nights without sleep had put bags under them. “I know Trixie needs a place to stay, and she did grant me my wish, but I wonder if it’s even worth it anymore.” A familiar stomping at her hoof brought another smile to her face, and she didn’t hesitate to bring Angel into a tight nuzzling. “Of course, as long as you guys are safe, it doesn’t matter right now.”
Angel hopped over to her table, and Fluttershy could see a book and a piece of paper on it. She trotted over to inspect them; the book was the “Ghosts, Goblins and Ghoulish Figures” she had borrowed for Trixie, and the piece of paper had a note:
Trixie needs you to return this book; it did not hold what I was looking for. That’ll be all for today. Make sure Trixie is able to have a good day’s sleep.
Fluttershy read the note with a smile. “I can do this! This won’t be too difficult.” Angel hopped onto her back and nuzzled her nape; she turned her head and nuzzled him back. The animals were beginning to chatter.
“Alright, everypony,” Fluttershy singsonged in a raspy tone, watching as the rest of the creatures awoke and ran to her. “Who’s hungry?”
A chorus of tweets and chitters answered her; Fluttershy shushed them, stifling a fit of giggling in the process. She ambled to the storage room, grabbed an assortment of grass, nuts and berries, and let it fall in the middle of the room. She then set herself to distribute a special treat apart from the regular breakfast to every little critter surrounding her, smiling the entire time.
Once everypony received their meal, she made to lie down on her couch; Angel, however, with a concerned express
ion, held the book up to her face.
“Oh, Angel.” Fluttershy tossed the book aside and lay down on the couch. “Can’t I spend some time with my animal friends?” Before he could answer, Fluttershy brought him into her embrace. Angel sighed, and brought himself under her chin, nuzzling her neck.
Soon other animals joined in, squeezing into her forelegs, laying themselves against her sides, or flying on top of her. Fluttershy let out a giggle as she nuzzled each creature, and then rested her head on the couch, content with every nuzzling on her body.
They stayed that way for an hour, with barely a peep heard from any of them. A gang of small, calm, content breathing ran across Fluttershy’s coat; although she wasn’t sleeping, her breathing slowed and her eyes closed, a smile resting on her face. The sunlight warmed her fur. She couldn’t help but sigh again every five minutes.
And then Fluttershy rose, the critters leaping off the couch, and she slowly set to straightening everything up; Trixie left an empty box and a few mugs of finished cider strewn around the room, and then there was the typical mess left by the animals. Fluttershy cleaned everything with a smile on her face.
After cleaning everything, she took a look around, lay down on her couch (joined by Angel, of course), and fell asleep.
It was 3:30 when she awoke, and the first thing she did was jerk up and looked at her hooves; they were still hooves, bringing a sense of relief. With a glance at the clock, her eyes widened.
“Oh my,” she gasped, looking around before Angel shoved the book in her face. “I need to return this!” She jumped up and, with book in mouth, flew out the door. She didn’t say she’d be back soon; Angel shook his head.
Even though it was approaching sundown, Fluttershy didn’t rush. She had had a good nap, and she felt so rejuvenated that she didn’t feel panic. She actually slowed down, letting her hooves hit the ground before trotting through Ponyville.
The scene was much calmer than it was yesterday: everypony was either going about their regular business or closing down their booths. It’s a little early to be closing, Fluttershy thought to herself. Maybe today was just a busy day. Or maybe . . . Fluttershy’s trotting slowed to a walk.
Before she knew it, she was looking at the door to Twilight’s library-house. Fluttershy looked to the sky, and saw that her trip had only been five minutes. “Oh, well that’s . . . nice.” With another smile forming, she pushed the door to the library open . . .
Hitting another pony in the process.
“Ow!” He cried, rubbing a hoof to his now-red face. “Hey, watch it!”
“Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy said as she went into the library. She looked down to see Snips rubbing his face. Snails was behind him, carrying a book in his saddlebag. “I, um, didn’t see you.
Snips looked up, and immediately smiled. “Why, hello, miss Fluttershy. How are you today?”
Fluttershy shied away a bit. “I’m-I’m fine, Snips. Are you okay? Do you need—“
“Nope,” Snails interjected, nudging Snips. “We need to get going, Snips.”
Snips, still rubbing his face, nodded. “We don’t have time to be slowed down, even by pain!” He exclaimed this with a raised hoof, which quickly returned to his swollen face. “See you later, Fluttershy!”
“Um, okay,” Fluttershy waved to them and turned her attention to the pony that had been watching them. “Hello, Twilight!”
“Hello, Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted. “What brings you here?” Her lips curled into a smirk. “Here to explore the world of Equestrian prisons?” They both chuckled.
“Um, not today, Twilight,” she joked. “I’m actually here to return this.” She handed the book over to her friend.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’re already done with it?”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy replied sheepishly. “It wasn’t to my liking.”
Twilight only nodded, and set it on one of the nearby reading tables. “I kinda figured it wouldn’t take long for you to return it, but then again I didn’t expect you of all ponies to want to read this. Why’d you pick it out, anyway?”
Fluttershy began to sweat. “Er, I, uh, um, just wanted to see . . .” she trailed off.
Twilight stared at her for a moment. “. . . Okay. Anyway, how’s your day been?”
Fluttershy beamed. “Oh, it’s been wonderful! I got to be with my animals, and I got to pet them and love them and lay next to them . . .” She sighed.
“Wow,” Twilight said. “Sounds like you had a pretty good day.”
“And how was yours, Twilight?”
Twilight chuckled. “Spike’s been being kept under surveillance, and it’s been a bit hard to study and work while my number-one assistant isn’t here, you know? But other than that, I’m having a good day, too.”
Fluttershy pawed the ground. “Speaking of Spike, has there been any news of the monster today?”
“Not that I’ve heard of,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “Everything was fine last night, nothing out of the ordinary happened. If it is Spike, then he behaved himself pretty well last night wike a good wittle dwagon.” They both laughed again.
Just then, two other ponies zoomed past them, crashing into one of the library shelves and sending most of the books on that shelf onto the floor.
“Woohoo,” one of them cried. “I win!”
“No way,” a blue-coated pegasus replied, hopping out of the mess. “I beat you by a whole second!”
“What!” A pink-coated earth pony stood, sending books flying everywhere. “There’s no way you beat me!”
“Ahem!” Rarity and Applejack entered the library. “You know, without little Spikey-Wikey to help Twilight, she simply can’t have this sort of mess to clean up.”
Rainbow and Pinkie looked at the pile of books, then to each other, and then to Rarity. “But—“
“No buts,” Rarity chided. “Now clean this mess up!”
“Fine,” Rainbow Dash grumbled; Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically.
“And make sure they’re put in alphabetical order,” Twilight piped up with a chuckle.
“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow Dash spread the books out and began to sort them.
And then, to Fluttershy’s relief, everypony began to talk. They talked about how their day was, their plans for tomorrow, what they’ve heard of about the monster (the only new information was gossip), and much more. It was so casual, Fluttershy didn’t worry about how long it would last, and took a seat and listened. Once Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie finished reordering the books, they joined the conversation as well.
They continued to talk for well over three hours. They laughed and occasionally sang, over what Fluttershy didn’t really know. She just relaxed in their company and listened to them talk their hearts out. Twilight would occasionally direct her gaze to her and smile at her, and Fluttershy would smile back. At that moment, nothing could go wrong.
When she tuned back in, it was Applejack who was talking. “We’ve sure been talkin’ fer a while now.”
Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yeah, can you imagine if we talked throughout the whole night? That would be super-duper-fun!”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy muttered. “The whole night . . .” She looked out the window at the sky.  
Fluttershy froze. Now the sun was behind Canterlot. It would be, at most, fifteen minutes. She jumped up. “Um, I’m sorry, but I really need to go now.”
“What?” Pinkie Pie yelled. “But it’s not even late, and we planned to talk the whole night!”
Fluttershy walked toward the door. “I know, but I need to get back home to, er, feed my animals! It’s their dinnertime.”
“No it’s not,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ve been to your house when you feed your animals, Fluttershy, and you usually feed them later than this.”
Fluttershy opened the door. “Yes, well . . .”
“Fluttershy,” Twilight, said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “What’s going on?”  
“I, um, I really can’t say.”
“Now, Fluttershy,” Rarity began sternly. “You shouldn’t hide anything from us. We’re your friends. You can tell us if anything’s wrong.”
A group of expecting eyes fell on her. “It’s . . . um . . .”
“What’s goin’ on, sugarcube?”
“Sorry, guys, I have to go!” Before any of them could protest, Fluttershy sped out of the library.
She flew as fast as she could, and soon she was flying above the town. Her pounding heart and quickened breath helped her ignore how unusually high up she was. No tears came to her eyes, though, which surprised her.
Fluttershy landed just past the creek that ran in front of her cottage just as Celestia began to bring the sun behind Canterlot. She was sweaty and panting, but she was smiling. It would only be a few more minutes of being a pony that day, but it was a few minutes she could spend with her animal friends. It’s not so bad after all.
Once her panting subsided, she pushed her door in and was greeted by a chorus of chirping and chattering . . .
And a very angry Trixie.
Fluttershy froze as the now-magenta mare stomped over to her and brought her gaze right in front of her.
“Where have you been?” She seethed through steam-emanating snorts. “Do you know how loud your animals were while you were gone?”
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry, T-“
“You’re sorry?” Trixie pressed her forehead against Fluttershy’s and pushed her against the wall next to the door. “Trixie had to deal with a house of obnoxiously-rancorous beasts while you were out dillydallying Celestia-knows-where and you’re sorry?”
Fluttershy’s hind legs were dragging, and her body was shrinking to the floor. “Um . . . I was at Twilight’s.”
“And what were you doing there?” Trixie leaned back, allowing Fluttershy to rise a bit.
“We were talking—“
“We?”
“Yes,” she whispered in reply. “Me and Twilight—“ Trixie scowled. “—And my other friends were talking about the book you had me return, and how our day was going, and the monster—“ Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth, but it was too late.
“Monster?” Trixie shrieked. “You mean what you are? Don’t you forget that this is what you wanted, to be an animal, and I’m the one who granted you that wish! And you have the gall to say that The Great, Powerful and Benevolent Trixie made you into a monster?”
“No!” Fluttershy squeaked. “I don’t mean that at all!”
Trixie’s lips curled upward for a millisecond. “And I bet you told Twilight that Trixie was behind this! And you’re planning to ruin Trixie’s plans to be accepted in Ponyville because you’re not satisfied!”
“No!” The frightened mare shouted.
Then Trixie’s voice grew quiet. “Trixie thought you would be kinder to her.” She turned from her.
Fluttershy slowly approached her, choking back tears. “Please, Trixie, forgive me! I didn’t mean to make you upset, honest! I was just—“
“Silence!” Trixie yelled, and Fluttershy felt Trixie’s hind legs connecting with her chest. Fluttershy fell to the floor, gasping for air.
When Fluttershy regained her breath, she looked at the scene before her: every animal in her care was attacking Trixie. Trixie tried swatting them away with her hooves, but for every animal she knocked away, another two latched on with their teeth. Trixie was screaming and fumbling around on the floor, and they swarmed and ravaged her coat. Soon blood began to flow from her.
“Somepony help me!” She screamed.
“Stop!”
Everything stopped. The animals gazed at their owner, who was bringing herself to stand, gasping for air.
“This . . . is not . . . Trixie’s . . . fault.” She panted, legs quivering below her. Angel rushed to her side in case she fell. “It’s . . . mine.” A cacophony of noise ensued from them, but a laboriously-raised hoof quieted them. “I’ve . . . been ungrateful . . . for what she . . . has done. She . . . granted me my wish . . . and is taking . . . care of you . . . while I’m gone . . .” Fluttershy regained her breath. “Don’t hurt her anymore.”
A tear fell, and the animals slowly backed away. Trixie slowly rose, bleeding only from two small holes in her skin, and badly scratched. Trixie’s shocked expression was soon replaced with a glare.
“You can stop this, Trixie,” Fluttershy wept. “You can take away what you’ve done, and I won’t be mad. I’ve hurt you a lot, and I can only say I’m sorry. You won’t have to deal with me or my animals anymore.” She hung her head. “And I can repay you for your pain. Just please forgive me.”
A moment of silence ensued. Fluttershy waited for an answer, but after a minute she looked up. Trixie wasn’t angry, or smiling, or even bewildered.
It actually looked like she was deliberating.
Fluttershy’s stomach was turning. “Um . . . Trixie?”
Then Trixie looked at Fluttershy; her expression could only be described as enraged. “Get out.”
Fluttershy backed toward the door. “Uh-“
“GET OUT!” Fluttershy raced out of the cottage, tears now streaming from her face, not covering her wailing. She looked at the sky, and saw that it would only be seconds before the sun disappeared. She passed her watching spot and ran straight into the Everfree Forest.
She glanced back to see Angel hopping quickly after her. “Stay out, Angel. The Everfree Forest is a place for monsters like me!” She continued to run, and as she continued to look back, she saw her cutie mark disappearing. She didn’t stop running as her form changed, and she didn’t stop crying as they turned from wails to screeches.
Not familiar with her monster’s movement, she fell face-first into the ground. She didn’t know where she was, but she didn’t care. She curled into herself and cried.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  You Have Our Attention                   
//-------------------------------------------------------//
You Have Our Attention
Chapter 4: You Have Our Attention
A large, well-secluded tree an hour’s gallop from Ponyville hung its long arms over the monster. There was no more moonlight, and the sky was a dark blue. The gentle hanging arms of the tree let the monster be, not stroking the scales of the beast. The silent night let its inhabitants listen to the monster’s sobbing.
It was an unnatural sound, coming off as quick rhythmic wheezes more than heartfelt cries. I’m a monster. She continued to cry with her eyes closed. I’m a monster. No noise interrupted the sobbing. I’ve probably scared all the creatures away. It’s for the better.
I’m the monster.
She curled into herself, tucking her face into her underside and using her wing to mask herself from the rest of the world. Trixie’s never going to forgive me. Ponyville will never forgive me. My friends will hate me . . . I can’t go back. I can’t make them worry about me. I can’t risk hurting them.
She sighed. The Everfree Forest is a place for monsters.
THUNK!
Fluttershy raised her wing, peering through to see what had just hit her. There, standing right next to her, was Angel.
Wha- She fully lifted her wing, taking her head from out of its hiding place. Angel, what’re you doing out here? How’d you find me? He hopped onto her snout. What are you doing?
Angel hopped to right in front of Fluttershy’s eyes and, with a smile, began to stroke the base of her snout. She recoiled, pinning her ears back.
Why? I’m a monster, Angel. Why can’t you understand that? I’m only going to end up hurting everypony, and that means you too. He proceeded to nuzzle in between her eyes. I can’t go back, Angel. I’m nothing but a monster. I don’t want to hurt anypony, but that’s all I can do.
“I’m a monster.”
Her voice surprised her, and Angel had to jump off before she sent him flying. She looked back at herself: she was a pony again. She didn’t notice Angel nuzzling her leg as she absentmindedly walked to the trunk of the large tree and curled up against one of its many large roots.
Angel hopped to her, but she held her hoof up. “Go home, Angel. I must stay here.” He placed a paw on her flank. “I can’t go back, Angel. Everypony’d be in danger. I don’t want to hurt anypony anymore.” He tugged at her mane. “I’m a monster, Angel. Nothing more. Go back home.” He tugged again.
“I said go home!” Before she knew it, she was staring at Angel, who cowered back. Fluttershy’s stare didn’t waver as Angel disappeared behind another large tree. Then Fluttershy closed her eyes and cried.
Oh, you’re just awful, Fluttershy. Making him walk all the way back after he came to see you, and in the Everfree Forest where he could be hurt! You don’t deserve to be loved ever again.
A tap on her snout interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see Angel petting her snout, smiling, staring at her. Without hesitation she pulled him into a hug. “Oh, Angel Bunny, I’m so sorry I sent you away where you could’ve been hurt or worse! Can you ever forgive me?” He hugged her, and she nuzzled him. “I’ll get you home. Everything will be all right.”
Placing him on her back, Fluttershy rose, walked out of the tree’s protection, and flew above the forest and in the direction of the rising sun.
Over an hour later, Fluttershy reached her cottage but didn’t go past the shade of the Everfree trees. Angel urged her on, but she merely set him down, patting him. They heard nothing from where they were.
“Go on, Angel.” She nudged him, but he wouldn’t move; instead, he grabbed her mane and pulled. “Angel, I can’t go home. I’m a monster.” Angel continued to tug. “Angel . . .” she hung her head.
He wouldn’t stop, and without any more resistance, she dragged her hooves to the cottage. She could hear a small clinking inside, but as she neared the door that was the only noise that came out. Fluttershy stopped in front of her door, no longer pulled by Angel.
He opened the door and continued to lead Fluttershy inside. Once in, Fluttershy looked up to see Trixie pouring food out of a can; her face was deadpanned—though her eyes were baggy—and her diamond necklace was around her neck. She winced as Trixie’s gaze fell on her.
Trixie put the food down, levitated a bag from the table, and placed it in front of Fluttershy. It hit the ground with a THUNK!, and she could see something gold inside.
“Trixie—“
“You didn’t have any bits,” Trixie croaked, massaging her throat and fiddling with her necklace. “This is to help you with shopping.” While Fluttershy was still looking at the bits, Trixie nuzzled her cheek. “Trixie is . . . sorry about last night.”
Fluttershy nuzzled and hugged her. “I’m the one that should be sorry! You’re only trying to help me—“
“Enough,” Trixie whispered. “Trixie forgives you. Let’s just move past this, okay?” Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, then. Your animals have been fed. I’d just like silence today; Trixie’s dealing with a hangover at the moment.” With that, Trixie began ambling towards the stairs. Fluttershy walked to her side and supported Trixie as they haphazardly walked up to the bedroom.
“Thank you,” Fluttershy whispered. “For the bits and the animals.”
Trixie made no response. As she opened the door and ambled to the bed, she turned and spoke two words.
“Cherries, please.”
And then the door closed.
Fluttershy stood there for a moment before trotting back downstairs. Angel waited for her with a worried look, and she sighed.
“I guess everything’s all better now.” She rubbed her hoof in between his ears. “Do we have any more cherries?”
Angel scurried into the storage area. After a few minutes, he returned and shook his head. Fluttershy nodded and picked up the bag of bits.
“I guess I’ll be gone for a while, then.” She ambled to the door again. Animals began to crowd around her, but she didn’t stop walking. “Be, um . . .” She walked out the door, not closing it, and began walking to the market.
The town was abuzz with conversations about the monster. Stalls were crowded by ponies buying food in bulk, while places like Sugar Cube Corner and the jewelry store were closed. At least a dozen royal guards walked around the streets, interrupting conversations or looking about. Mayor Mare was bombarded by ponies left, right and above.
Nopony paid any mind to Fluttershy, which was well with her; she didn’t think she could say anything to anypony that day. With an occasional glance up, she trotted past everypony until she reached her destination: Ponyville’s cherry stand, attended to by a rough-looking pegasus.
“Well, well,” the vendor singsonged with a growl, causing Fluttershy to stop walking. “You’re back. Hopefully you’re not such a doormat as you were, eh kid?” He chuckled.
Fluttershy remained emotionless. “Two dozen cherries, please.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Hmm . . . no foolin’ around today, kid? Eh, it’s just better for business, I suppose.” He counted out the cherries for her. “That’ll be 24 bits, kid.”
She lay the bag of bits on the table, allowing him to take his payment. Fluttershy looked around to see a guard talking to Applejack and Apple Bloom not too far from her. Apple Bloom had bags under her eyes, and Applejack’s were bloodshot. Fluttershy sighed.
“Ahem!”
She turned to the vendor. “Yes?”
“Would ya care to explain this?”
Fluttershy looked down and gasped. There lay two halves of a bit.
The vendor began stepping out from behind his stand. “D’ya really think you could get away with payin’ with fake bits!” Before she knew it, she was face-to-face with the larger stallion.
She scurried back. “I-I didn’t know they were fake!”
“Uh huh, sure!” He stomped towards her; a few onlookers gathered around. “Ya thought you could play a fast one on me, eh? A li’l payback for makin’ ya miss your cherry last time?” He knocked her to her back. “Huh!”
In an instant, Fluttershy stopped cowering. Looking into the eyes of the stallion, all she saw was anger. At that point, Fluttershy stopped resisting; she closed her eyes and waited for whatever would come.
“Guards! Gua—“
“Excuse me,” a calm voice spoke. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Doctor Whooves standing in between her and the vendor. “So sorry for interrupting, but is it really necessary to get the royal guard involved in such a petty squabble, now would we?”
“Ne—“
“Of course not!” Doctor Whooves chuckled and brought a bag out. He tossed it on the table, where it hit with a CLINK! “There are thirty bits in there. You can count them all out and check their authenticity.”
“Er—“
“And, of course, keep the change. For your troubles.” He turned his attention to her. “Are you alright, dear?”
Fluttershy raised herself from the ground as the vendor was checking each individual bit. “I guess so,” she mumbled. “I didn’t know they were fake.”
The Doctor nodded. “I understand, Miss Fluttershy. You were just given counterfeit money, that’s what happened.”
“I’m a monster.”
“Excuse me?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” The crowd had dissipated, and the royal guards had no interest in the matter.
Doctor Whooves nodded. “I must ask you to come with me, Fluttershy. There’s something I wish to discuss with you.” He didn’t wait for an answer as he began walking the other direction. Fluttershy silently walked after him.
“Your cherries, dear.”
Fluttershy turned around to grab her cherries. The vendor said nothing as he put the bits away and tossed the fakes ones. Fluttershy walked after the Doctor.
When she refocused, she found herself walking down the hallway of the Ponyville Hospital. Doctor Whooves continued to walk with a grin, and Fluttershy still had her head to the ground. None of the staff paid them any attention, as they had frantic ponies clutching onto them.
Doctor Whooves knocked on the farthest door. It opened a moment later to reveal Nurse Redheart.
“Oh, Doctor.” Her eyes were bloodshot. “Did you bring her?”
“Yes, dear.” Doctor Whooves signaled her inside; Fluttershy wordlessly walked in and turned to face the other two.
Nurse Redheart looked worried, but Doctor Whooves was still grinning. He locked the door. “Right, then,” he began, his voice stern. “Now there is something I wish to discuss with you. I think it’d be a fair trade for helping you avoid a counterfeiting charge.”
Redheart’s eyes widened. “She was counterfeiting?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But that’s unimportant right now.” He turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, dear?”
She set her saddlebag on the floor as looked at them. “Y-yes, Doctor?”
“What in Equestria did you become last night?”

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     The Selfish Wish                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
The Selfish Wish
Chapter 5: The Selfish Wish
Fluttershy was frozen in place. Doctor Whooves and Nurse Redheart stared at her. They could hear hoofsteps a ways away from them.
“E-excuse me?” Fluttershy's breathing became heavy.
Nurse Redheart hesitated to speak, while Doctor Whooves dove right in. “I mean,” he began in a low voice, “What was that thing you transformed into last night when you ran off into the Everfree Forest?”
Fluttershy began to sweat and instinctively back away. Neither of the other two advanced toward her. “How do you know what happened last night?”
Doctor Whooves grinned nervously. “I saw you flying towards your home in a rush yesterday. I trotted after you to see if you were going to prepare for a monster attack—who better to know if there is one that you, eh? Anyway, then I saw you run into the Everfree Forest, crying. And then you suddenly turned into a giant beast!”
Nurse Redheart nodded. “He told me about it soon after. Now what happened last night?”
Fluttershy backed away even further. “Um . . .” she couldn't force the words out.
Doctor Whooves sighed. “Fluttershy, we know this may be difficult for you to talk about—“
Nurse Redheart took a small step forward. “But we really need to know what's going on.”
“Why?” Fluttershy squeaked.
At this, Redheart's face hardened. “This whole mess may be limited to panic now, but I have no idea whether this will become a serious threat. For all I know, ponies could be hurt!”
Doctor Whooves nodded. “I do apologize if this is hard for you, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy lowered her body. “But we need to know what we're dealing with.”
Fluttershy sighed. “You're . . . could you please not tell anypony about this?”
Nurse Redheart looked like she was about to shout, but Doctor Whooves stopped her. “We'll see what we can do. Now, why don't we start with questioning you?”
Fluttershy nodded, and sat down in front of them. She stared at the floor.
“Now then,” the Doctor began, venturing to step closer to Fluttershy. “Why don't we start with what happened last night.”
Fluttershy didn't look up. “I became a monster.”
Doctor Whooves stepped closer, and Fluttershy backed away. “We know that, dear.” Fluttershy winced. “What exactly did you become last night?”
“I don't know exactly,” Fluttershy said. “All I know is I became a monster.”
The other two looked at each other. “Okay,” Nurse Redheart said. “Has this happened recently, or this is something that came around in the past?”
“It first happened four nights ago.”
Nurse Redheart began to pace. “So this isn't something you're familiar with?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Okay, so we're dealing with you as a creature that doesn't know how to control itself.”
Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hair. “I'm-I'm learning how to control it.”
“Really!? Well then, I suppose everything's fine, then!” Nurse Redheart huffed and turned away from Fluttershy, putting a hoof to her face.
Doctor Whooves rubbed her shoulder. “Settle down, dear. Maybe this isn't her fault.”
Fluttershy mumbled.
“I'm sorry dear, what was that?”
“It . . . it is my fault.”
For a few moments nothing happened. Nurse Redheart was taking deep breaths, and Doctor Whooves stood with concern on his face.
“Fluttershy.” It was Nurse Redheart who broke the silence. “Why don't you tell us what happened? Maybe we can sort this out.”
A smile from the nurse and the doctor made Fluttershy sit up straight. “Alright, then.” Doctor Whooves took a seat to Fluttershy's left, while Nurse Redheart sat directly at her right.
Well, it all began when I was preparing dinner for my animals. Everypony was behaving themselves-well, actually, Angel was picking a fight with Mrs. Badger again, and they wouldn't stop bickering. They usually settle it quickly and fightlessly, so I left them alone.
And then they all went quiet and looked into the Everfree Forest. I was somewhat afraid right now, because I couldn't see or hear what had their attention. They didn't seem afraid, though, and when there was yelling, they didn't run away.
So I went to see what was going on (of course, Harry came with me, so I felt safer)--
“Wait, who's Harry?”
“Oh! He's a bear.”
“...”
Anyway, me and Harry went in to see what was going on in the Everfree Forest. We followed the voice of the screaming, and I could soon tell that it was a pony making those noises. We soon found Trixie tangled in a bush.
“Trixie . . . why does that name sound familiar?”
“She performed a show a while back.”
“Oh, right! The Great and Powerful Trixie.”
Yes. She was tangled up in a bush. When she saw us, she screamed.
“Please don't be afraid!” I blurted out, even though I was hiding behind Harry. “We're not here to hurt you.”
“Who's saying that!” She was looking at Harry. “Was is you, bear?”
Looking back, I suppose it was silly for me to hide behind Harry; he was so confused! I came out of my hiding place, and she calmed down. “Here, let me help you.”
She was reluctant at first, but I was able to untangle her. She was a mess. Her cape was torn, her coat dirty, and her mane frazzled. Her hat, though, was unharmed.
“Trixie thanks you,” she said. “I must be on my way now.”
I didn't want her to go out on her own, so I stepped in front of her. “You could stay at my place.”
Trixie looked at me, and then at Harry, and then shuddered, creeping Harry out. “I'd... rather not impose on you or your, er, friend.”
Harry tried telling her it wouldn't be any trouble, but Trixie didn't understand. After a few more minutes of reassuring her it wouldn't be any trouble, I took her back to my cottage.
Let me skip a few scenes: Trixie came over and was at first scared of my animals, but once I explained to them that she was a guest, and that she needed some space, they left her alone. Angel and Mrs. Badger had stopped fighting.
And then she took a bath. She talked to herself a lot, but I couldn't understand anything she was saying. Not that I was spying or anything!
“Relax, Fluttershy. Please continue.”
And then she came downstairs for dinner. It wasn't much, just a light vegetable salad, but she dived in and ate voraciously. It was quiet for a while, and then she decided to begin a conversation.
“So,” she began. “You like to take care of animals?”
I of course answered yes! And I began to tell her how I got my cutie mark and how I take care of the animals—and I told her about this one time where I was out flying and I saw a goose plummeting towards to the ground and I had to swoop in and—
“Fluttershy, I think you're getting sidetracked.”
Oh, sorry. Anyway, Trixie was surprisingly patient as I continued on and on about how I loved taking care of animals. At the end, Trixie had finished her salad, and she had finished off my bowl while I wasn't looking. I didn't mind, though.
“So,” Trixie said with curiosity. “You're very close to your animals?”
I nodded. “Oh yes, very much.”
She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was more like a smile of somepony that wants to do something bad. “Well, what if I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, could somehow help you become an animal?”
I hadn't suspected anything bad at that time; I was confused. “Excuse me?”
“Well,” Trixie began, leaning closer. “After Trixie's . . . last show, she's been practicing some new skills. I could transform you into an animal if you'd like.”
I was unsure about it at first, so she used Angel Bunny to show me how safe it was.
“...safe.”
...Er, somewhat. What she did with Angel was safe, and kinda funny: she turned him into a chicken! He ran around so angry, and I thought something was wrong. Then Trixie used her magic and he turned back into his normal bunny body. I couldn't help but laugh.
I'm sorry.
“There's no need for apologies, dear. Please continue.”
Seeing this demonstration, I felt a lot more comfortable.
“So,” Trixie said. “Are you interested?”
I didn't feel too afraid about it; I thought it would be fun to be a dog or a bird for a day. I told her I'd be okay with it.
“Wonderful!” she shouted. “Step outside and we can begin.” So we both left the table and went to my chicken coop. “And don't worry about repaying me,” she added. “Your taking me in is enough.”
And so she cast her spell on me, and . . . and . . .
“And then you became that thing?” Doctor Whooves asked. Fluttershy nodded. “So this entire thing is Trixie's fault.”
Fluttershy shot up and shook her head. “Oh, no, it's all mine!”
Doctor Whooves remained calm. “But she's the one that decided that you needed to be a monster!”
“You don't understand,” Fluttershy sighed. “I'm the one that didn't tell her what I wanted to be; Trixie was so distraught that I wasn't satisfied, since she put a lot of effort into what she did.”
Nurse Redheart shook her head, confused. “But that doesn't explain why you're still going through with this. Why don't you just ask her to stop?”
“She can't stop i—“
“Oh, my flank she can't stop it!” Nurse Redheart shouted. “Darnit, Fluttershy, have you even asked her to stop it!?”
“Settle down, dear,” Doctor Whooves whispered.
“Why haven't you told anypony about this?”
Fluttershy bowed her head. “This is my fault. Trixie can't stop it until her strength's restored, and so I've been trying to get past this quietly.”
Nurse Redheart huffed. “Unbelievable. So when does this happen?”
“When the sun sets behind Canterlot.”
Nurse Redheart's eyes widened. “Er, I need to go check something.” With that, she ran out of the room. The other two ponies looked at the slowly-closing door for a second before the Doctor turned to look at her. “I'll be right back, okay dear?”
Fluttershy nodded and lowered herself to the floor. The Doctor gave her nape a nuzzle. “Hey, everything's going to be fine. Alright?” He got no response; he silently left the room.
Fluttershy just lay there with her eyes closed, sobbing. Nurse Redheart deserves to be angry. I'm a monster who's endangering Ponyville because I'm too selfish and stupid to do anything right! I-I can't think of anything I could do to make this right except waiting.
But why is she so mad at Trixie?
The doors burst open, and both the Doctor and Nurse Redheart ran in. In an instant, they both gasped; Nurse Redheart had to cover her mouth to stifle a scream. Fluttershy lifted her head . . . to find that it rose much higher than it should've. She looked down at her body, and realized that she had just transformed.

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                 Very Simply, Destructive                  
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Very Simply, Destructive
A low rumbling breathing was the only noise inside that room. Outside, frantic nurses and doctors were galloping about, some crashing into each other. Outside still, the voice of somepony giving a speech pervaded. Inside, the two ponies and now-monster stared at the massive form that now took up a good portion of it.
Redheart was trembling, and a scream was building up. Her mouth quivered open and it began, and Fluttershy shrank back, but Doctor Whooves clamped it shut.
“Quiet, Redheart!” he barked. “We can’t have everypony panicking!”
Redheart slapped his hooves away. “But there’s a monster in the storage room!” she hissed. “Now she’s an immediate threat!”
“Keep calm,” he said. “We can’t have her frightened.” They both looked at Fluttershy, who was cowering. “I think it would be much worse for everypony if she ran around in a frenzy.”
Nurse Redheart looked at Fluttershy for a moment before giving a heavy sighing. She slowly approached her. “Fluttershy, dear?”
Fluttershy looked up.
“Please relax,” Redheart said in a quavering voice. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Fluttershy was about to protest with a whine, but Redheart began to nuzzle her hard neck. “Shh… everything is going to be fine. We’ll find a way out of this, and you’re going to be all better. Okay?”
Fluttershy perked up. Yes, everything will be okay. I just need to wait this out. But how am I supposed to get out of here until then? When she opened her eyes, she saw Redheart with a frown.
“Is that better, Doctor?”
He approached Fluttershy. “It would appear so.” He pondered for a moment. “Perhaps I can get Twilight to help—“
Redheart’s eyes widened. “Twilight? Are you insane? She—“
There was a knock at the door.
Doctor Whooves and Redheart froze, and Fluttershy began to whimper. Redheart slowly approached the door while the doctor ran to the monster and began stroking her snout. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.” Fluttershy could tell that he was nervous.
Redheart cracked the door open. “Yes?”
A light-voiced mare answered. “Is everything alright in there?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
“Well, I need in there—“
“Why!?” She cleared her throat. “Why?”
“I need a sedative.”
“Which one?”
“Relax. Nurse Redheart has everything under control.”
“Any of them. We just need to put these ponies at ease!”
“Right. Just wait here.” She went and grabbed a bottle with light-blue liquid in it. “Here.”
“We need more bottles than this!”
“Now now, don’t panic, dear. If you panic, it’ll be much worse.”
“Who’s that?”
“It’s just Doctor Whooves.”
“Relax, rela—just Doctor Whooves?”
“Oh, goodness, Doctor! Maybe you can help us.”
The door began to open, but Redheart slammed it on her.
“Ow!”
“Sorry Coldheart, but, um, er, it’s top secret! He needs to use this room, top secret stuff and… stuff.”
“Breathe.”
“But why does he need the storage room?”
“Excuse me, Redheart.”
“Oh, crap!”
“I need some guaze. What is that noise?”
“It’s top secret experimental gizmos, Nurse! Please, Fluttershy, please calm down.”
“What’s the gauze for?”
“One of the foals scratched themselves pretty badly while playing at the playground.”
“You don’t say. Wait right here.” Redheart looked to Fluttershy’s left, and then to her right. “Oh, darn.”
“What is it?”
“The gauze is right behind her.”
Fluttershy whined, and both of them clamped her snout shut. Oh no, I’m going to be caught! And they’re going to be in so much trouble!
“What’s going on in there?” The door began to open, but, in a desperate move, Fluttershy threw her neck out and slammed the door shut with her snout.
“Jrst ah meenith!”
“Shhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“What in Celestia’s name was that?”
“Super top-secret stuff, doctor!” Doctor Whooves looked at Fluttershy. “You can’t speak. Ponies will know about you if you do.” He said all of this very slowly, and Fluttershy calmed down.
“Er, right.”
Nurse Redheart climbed over the mass that was Fluttershy and reached into a cupboard. She grabbed a roll of gauze and the rest of the light-blue stuff. “Well, here you go!” Without so much as waiting for an explanation, she shut the door. She then turned to the both of them.
“What in Equestria are we supposed to do now!?”
“Well, first we need to re—“
“Don’t you tell me to relax!” Nurse Redheart pointed at Fluttershy. “Do you realize how close we were to being caught just now? What would happen if ponies found out she’s here? I’ll sum it up in one word: pandemonium!”
Doctor Whooves, meanwhile, remained calm. “Yes, and it won’t do any good for us to panic and draw attention to ourselves.” Doctor Whooves thought for a moment.
“Perhaps we should get Twilight,” Nurse Redheart said.
“No,” Doctor Whooves said confidently. “I’ve got a better idea.” He dashed out the door. “Keep her calm for a few minutes. I need to get something.” With that, he galloped away, and the door closed behind him.
That left Fluttershy alone with Nurse Redheart, who looked at her with as if she had been spooked. Fluttershy didn’t like being a bother to her, so she turned away, curled up into herself, and lay still, silent save the growling breathing.
I’ve messed everything up, she thought to herself. I’m such a bad monster. Maybe I should turn myself in after this, let everypony know I’m the cause of all of this worry. Perhaps Trixie will understand if I just end it.
“Hey, Fluttershy.” She felt a hoof being placed on her neck. “Listen: I’m sorry for yelling earlier. I’m just so stressed out by all of this panic, and I’ve gotten no sleep from it.”
It’s my fault, Nurse Redheart. You don’t need to be sorry for any of this. You deserve to be angry at all of this, at me.
“I know you’re trying not to hurt anypony.” Redheart began petting her neck. “But I don’t understand why you don’t hold Trixie accountable for any of this. She’s done something awful to you.”
But it was my fault! I didn’t tell her which animal I wanted to be, and I’m the one who’s taking her gift for granted.
Redheart sighed. “The sooner this is over, the better. The sooner everything will return to normal, and the sooner I can get some sleep.”
One long sigh that traveled along her scales made Fluttershy stir, and then she turned and gave a startled Redheart a nuzzle. Her snout stretched from the mare’s ears to her rump, and she pulled her into her. Redheart started, and then relaxed, resting her head against the thick neck. Fluttershy lifted the mare onto her body, where she went limp and began to snore.
Fluttershy rested her head against the door, so nopony would disturb them. All the while, she thought about Redheart, and about Ponyville. Yes, the sooner this is over, the better. And then she thought of Trixie. Everything will be better soon. And then Trixie can be on her way and nopony will have to get hurt. Trixie shouldn’t suffer; it’s my fault in the first place.
These thoughts carried on for a half-hour, and then there was a knock. “Nurse Redheart? It’s Doctor Whooves. Let me in.”
Redheart didn’t stir, so Fluttershy lifted her head and allowed the doctor to enter. His eyes fell on the sleeping mare. “Oh? I guess she was exhausted by this whole ordeal.” He patted Fluttershy on the snout. “Still, if she’s asleep, that means nothing’s gone wrong, right?”
He proceeded to drag in a large white sheet, and once he was able to close the door he began craping it over her body, beginning with her tail. Fluttershy made an inquisitive sound. “Don’t worry about this,” Doctor Whooves said. “Everything will be alright. Could you perhaps set Nurse Redheart on the floor?”
Fluttershy nodded and gently tucked Redheart on her snout. Once the mare was safely asleep in a corner, the Doctor finished covering every part of her except her eyes and snout.
“Now, Fluttershy,” he began, looking her directly in the eyes, caressing a cheek. “You won’t be able to see anything for a while; don’t panic. If all goes according to plan, you’ll be out of here safe and sound, and nopony will get hurt. You just need to do exactly what I say, okay?”
Fluttershy’s stomach churned. She gulped and nodded.
“Relax.” He finished covering her face, leaving no part of her exposed. “Relax. Relax.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath and let her head rest on the floor.
“Now then… blockthedoorblockthedoorblockthedoor—“
Fluttershy panicked. Oh no oh no oh no! She threw her head forward as hard as she could.
The first thing she realized was whatever she hit—it felt a lot heavier than the door—was demolished. The second thing she realized was that there were startled shrieks and gasps from ponies outside. The third thing she realized was that Nurse Redheart had bolted upright when the crash came. Finally, she realized, with a sickening sense, she was exposed.
“What in Celestia’s name?” A stallion croaked.
“Sorry about that,” Doctor Whooves replied. “I just need to get my invention out of here.”
“What are you doing?” Nurse Redheart hissed. “You just demolished an entire wall!”
Fluttershy began breathing faster. Oh my goodness!
“Yes, well, none of your equipment is harmed, so you can still access everything. Besides,” he continued, tugging on Fluttershy’s neck. “You can get your equipment twice as fast now!” He chuckled.
“Are you insane?”
“Ah, Redheart! Just the pony I was looking for!” He trotted behind Fluttershy. “How’s about you help me with moving my invention outside?”
Redheart was silent for a moment, and then groaned. “Fine!” she barked, taking Fluttershy by the neck and yanking it. Fluttershy growled with discomfort, causing the two ponies to freeze.
“What was that?”
“It’s a hitch,” Doctor Whooves replied, pushing gently on Fluttershy’s hide. “I’ll get it fixed. Nurse Redheart, please be more gentle with it.”
“Y-yes, Doctor,” she stuttered. “Come on, Fluttershy,” she whispered. “Just be calm and move.”
Fluttershy, for her part, had no idea where anything was, so she slid her legs on the ground and did her best to slink out without bumping into anything. Ponies complained left and right, getting out of the way of her massive form, and moving equipment inside rooms they weren’t needed. Redheart continued guiding forward, pulling her head one way and then the other as it brushed against a pony; Doctor Whooves looked like he was pushing the entire thing, grunting and chatting with doctors and nurses.
They made their way down the stairs, Fluttershy having no choice but to tiptoe down. Once, she tripped and fell, tangling herself in the sheet. Several ponies offered to help the two ponies, but they both insisted that they had it under control. Soon, they were moving again, trying once again to keep as silent as possible.
Then they made it to the bottom floor, and all they had to do was get out the front doors. “Okay, Fluttershy,” Redheart whispered. “We’re almost out of here.
“Uh-oh.”
Fluttershy and Redheart stopped. “What do you mean ‘uh-oh’?”
“Guards.”
Fluttershy chanced a peek from the sheets and saw four royal guards in front of the entrance. They were facing away from the trio.
Oh my goodness. We’ll never make it out now!
“Fluttershy, calm down!” Redheart squeaked. “What do we do now, Doctor?”
“Hang on a moment.” Doctor Whooves trotted away from them.
Fluttershy lowered her head to try and see what was going on, but Redheart peeked under to meet her gaze. “Don’t move,” she said. So Fluttershy stopped.
A minute passed, and three sets of hooves returned.
“Gentlecolts,” Redheart greeted in as calm a voice as she could muster.
“We have been informed that this machine will help aid in the mission to find the monster,” one of the guards said gruffly.
“We would like to see what it is,” another one said with less of a growl.
“We can’t do that yet,” the third pony, Doctor Whooves, said. “It’s extremely volatile and unpredictable, and if I were to uncover it, the slightest disturbance could cause a catastrophe in this very hospital! We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” No verbal response. “I must take it to my lab as soon as possible.”
“Then allow one of us to escort you there.”
Silence.
“I don’t think that would be necessary—“
“An unpredictable machine like this could possibly hurt civilians. We need to be there in case it goes haywire.” The gruff one took a step forward, sending Doctor Whooves stepping backward. “Now please follow me, and I shall escort you and your machine to your residence.”
There was no complaining. They slowly made their way out the doors and into the open. Fluttershy heard Nurse Redheart being called away for an emergency, and so she departed, leaving her with the doctor and guard.
Along their walk towards Ponyville Square, everything was silent. Nopony was outside as far as she could tell; they were probably in their homes, getting ready for any attack that may come that night. No animals sounded in the forest to their right, and no wisp of wind blew. The only sounds were hooves on the ground and the splashing from the water fountain, which was some ways away.
“It would be to the left, gentlecolt,” the Doctor said when they reached a fork in the road. They went left, towards Doctor Whooves’ residence and away from the safety of the Everfree Forest. They continued on this route, passing the water fountain and some houses that dared have their lights on, including Town Hall.
Finally, they reached the place. “Well, my dear gentlecolt,” the Doctor said to the guard. “Thank you very much for helping me get her here. I can take it from here.” The Doctor began to push her inside, but stopped.
“Hang on a moment,” the guard said. “Why don’t I help you push it inside?”
Fluttershy immediately began to panic. No, that’s okay. Just please leave!
“I mean, it’s such a small space to fit something so large,” he commented.
She heard the Doctor gulp. “Um, yes, well, I know how to handle that.”
“It’d be no trouble,” the guard continued, a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. “Here, let’s get rid of this sheet—“
Oh no!
“No!” The Doctor yelled, getting in his way. “I’ve told you, chap, I’m perfectly capable of getting her in by myself.”
“Hold on a minute,” the guard growled. “You need to get inside as quickly as possible, and I can help you do that.” He approached them. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“Well, I just don’t like other ponies tampering with my things, is all!”
“Under the order of Princess Celestia, we are ordered to protect the citizens of Ponyville. That includes you, sir, and this machine has the potential to hurt ponies.” Fluttershy cringed. “It’s going to be quicker if I help you get this thing—“
Fluttershy felt the sheet being pulled off, and did the only thing that came to mind: she swung her head in that direction and hit the guard. The sheet came off, and the guard went spiraling off into the distance, going straight through a wall at Town Hall.
“Fluttershy!” Doctor Whooves yelled. “What are you doing?”
She didn’t know. At that moment, the only thing she knew was that she had to run.
So she did. She reared up on her two legs and began sprinting to the west, towards the Everfree Forest. She encountered two pegasi guards along the way and rammed into them before they could react, sending them into some bushes. She didn’t think anypony was watching from their windows; she hoped not.
At last, she made it to the dark trees and cold darkness of the forest, but she didn’t stop there. She was panicked, and she wouldn’t stop. She continued to run blindly, hitting trees and rocks along the way. A few creatures were prowling about, but they darted away as soon as she came through.
When her mind calmed, the first thing she thought was, I hurt somepony. She continued to run. I hurt three ponies, maybe even the Doctor! I might’ve even killed them! Way to go, Fluttershy. You really are a threat to all ponykind, you stupid worthless filly. You really are a monster!
She looked up, and saw too quickly a large rock collide with her face. The forest spun around her, and she fell. She felt blood flow down from her forehead; she lay there, unconscious, hoping she would bleed to death.