That

by James Pwyll

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Random, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Fluttershy
Length: 1196

After her ordeal on the dragon mountain, Fluttershy has something she needs to ask Twilight

Having succeeded in their task of convincing the dragon to leave his mountain home, Twilight and her friends are of course delighted that things are getting back to normal. But shortly after their return to Ponyville, the young unicorn gets a surprise visit from the heroine of the hour, Fluttershy, who has something she needs to ask her.

Published 2019-11-26 05:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-11-26 05:00:01 UTC

That

"Phew! And that's everything!" Twilight smiled as she looked upon her work. The contents of her saddle-bag all neatly laid out on her table in the Golden Oak. They'd been organised when they went in, and now they were organised upon their return. A satisfied nod from the mare was followed by the expected lighting up of her horn, as she levitated each and every object back into its appropriate place.

Spike watched, looking over their list of chores for the day, before glancing up to his lifelong friend. "So how big was he? The dragon?"

Twilight looked out of the nearby window, towards the mountain they'd all just come down from. "He was really big, Spike. Imagine the town hall, only twice as tall, at least."

Spike gulped. "Gee, sounds terrifying." Then he pondered that, looking down to his comparatively tiny body. "Think I'll get that big one day?"

Twilight smiled to him, walking over and giving him a friendly pat on the head. "Not for a very long time, my little friend." The two laughed together over that, but before either of them could say anything else, they were kept from doing so by the sound of somepony knocking on their door. Turning to it, Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Huh, who could that be?" She trotted over, Spike close behind, and opened her door, after which she smiled when she realised who had come over to visit. "Fluttershy! Hello!"

The frequently-meek pegasus mare smiled back to her. "Hello, Twilight. I hope I'm not interrupting?"

Twilight shook her head, taking a step to the side to allow her friend entry. "Not at all! Please, come in!" Fluttershy gave a quick bow of her head, showing her appreciation, before entering the library in earnest. Twilight, after closing the door behind her, looked over to Spike. "Would you mind getting some tea, Spike?" The young dragon gave her a dutiful salute before heading off for the kitchen, leaving the two mares alone. "Well, quite an adventure we had, eh?" Twilight remarked.

Fluttershy giggled. "You could say that. I hope Mr Dragon found someplace else he could sleep."

Twilight waved her off. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Dragons are pretty tough after all." A sly smirk came to her. "Unless they're facing you, apparently." Fluttershy blushed, but she and Twilight turned together to see Spike re-entering the room, complete with the tea that had been requested. Setting it on the table, he offered cups to the two mares, who graciously accepted them, before taking one of his own. All three of them, at least for a time, contented themselves on the enjoyable taste of their drinks. But after a while, Twilight looked to her unexpected guest with some curiosity. "So, what brings you over? I wasn't expecting you here today."

Fluttershy thought on that, then looked to her magical friend. "Well...um...I was wondering about something. Something you mentioned before we left for the mountain."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What?"

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, to the window. "Before we left, you were going over the map that led us there, and you mentioned one spot that we really didn't want to go to. You said we needed to avoid that." After a pause, she looked back to Twilight. "What was that place? What was...that?"

Twilight giggled. "That's what you're curious about?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Oh, certainly! I mean, we were facing a dragon, Twilight! A big, fearsome fire-breathing dragon that would have probably wanted to cook us if I hadn't stopped him. Yet that was no issue for any of you to go and face. So, what could have been on that map that you wouldn't have wanted to face? What could have been worse than facing a dragon?"

Thinking on that, Twilight nodded back, understanding her friend's request. "Ah, I can certainly see the confusion. Well, that was just the Pit of Horror." She took a sip of her tea, and apparently not noticed Fluttershy's reaction to that declaration, because when she glanced back up, she saw her friend's pupils had shrunk to pinpoints. "...What?"

Fluttershy had been utterly paralysed by the mere mention of such a name, yet she still mustered enough courage to get her words out. "Um...the Pit of Horror?"

Twilight nodded. "That's right. You haven't heard of it?" When she saw Fluttershy shake her head, she continued. "Well, it's basically a big hole that used to be owned by a stallion from way back when. Mr Horror? He was trying to make a mine at the time."

Instantly, Fluttershy relaxed. "Oh! I see! So the person who made it was called Horror? There's no actual horrors in it?"

Twilight giggled. "No, certainly not!" The two shared a laugh together, continuing their tea for a time before Twilight continued. "Well...not unless you count the decades-old curse that's on it."

Again, Fluttershy halted. "Er...what?"

"The curse? The one that Mr Horror had such a bad time with? I'd have thought that was pretty famous around here."

Fluttershy shrank back a bit. "Meep! You mean there's a scary old curse out there just beyond Ponyville?! Like from an evil sorcerer?!"

Twilight looked to her with confusion, then once more understood where she was going. "Oh! You mean...no, Fluttershy, it's just a really dirty word that was written on a wooden sign in that area. You know, a profanity?"

As before, Fluttershy sighed, feeling relaxed yet again. "Goodness! You nearly gave me a heart attack, Twilight! I'd have thought it was much worse!"

Another laugh from Twilight. "Yeah, I can see that. But you really shouldn't get so worked up. Unless you were, say, actively trying to look for the Cold-killers out there, you've got nothing to worry about."

Cue Fluttershy pausing, as expected. "...What?"

"The Cold-killers? You know, the herb that's said to help cure the common cold? But which really causes a big allergic reaction in ponies?"

A sigh from Fluttershy, and a long one at that. "Phew! I swear, everything about this place just seems so...harmless so far."

Twilight looked to her with a smile and a nod. "It certainly does." She then brought her cup to her lips, ready to take another sip of her tea, only to suddenly remember what it was she was going to tell her back in the first place. "Oh! Except for the pony-eating Great Old One that lives in the area. Sloggosh-Maggoth, I think it's called."

Fluttershy, who was about one-hundred-and-ten percent done with all this, just took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Twilight?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I thought you said the Pit of Horror has no horrors in it?"

"It doesn't. The monster just lives next to it, not in it."

"...Please just tell me about ancient cosmic pony-eating abominations before all the others things next time, okay?"

Blinking a couple of times, Twilight nonchalantly took her final sip of tea. "...Okay."

Spike, glancing from one mare to the other, smirked a little before gulping down the last of his own drink. "Well, this was nice, right?"

Author's Note

I think this might, quite possibly, be the silliest thing I've ever written :pinkiehappy: