Fluttershy in Wonderland

by LCranston

Rating: everyone
Tags: Angel, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity, Fluttershy, Adventure, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6670

Fluttershy has some very interesting dreams

Fluttershy has a problem with courage. Even the simplest things are scary to her. Eventually, even her own mind is fed up with this behavior. After a new stallion comes to Ponyville for a visit, her mind decides to take charge and explain things to her in a way that only dreams can do.

Published 2011-12-18 15:33:06 UTC
Last updated 2011-12-18 15:33:06 UTC

Chapter 1 - First Class Ticket

Disclaimer:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro and associations and are used without permission for the sole purpose of entertainment for no financial gain of any kind.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and remains the property of his surviving family, even though international law states that it is old enough to be public domain.

Moonlight Verse is my intellectual property, but Lauren Faust can make me an offer if she wishes.

Background and setup:

Alice in Wonderland is one of the best stories ever created.  It is what happens when normal people are faced with abnormal decisions.  Finally, the so-called normal person is forced to realize that the situations are actually normal…it is the person who is abnormal.  The letting go of one’s own preconceptions is an act more intimate than any sharing of body or possessions can be.  It mistakenly feels like we must give up a piece of ourselves to change and that would lessen us.

Aside from Alice’s personality, Fluttershy does match the need to travel to Wonderland.  Any character can have an adventure there, but only those who need to go often have the most enlightenment when they come out.

Fluttershy in Wonderland

It was a warm summer day in Ponyville.  On this clear day, many things were possible.  Three friends were busy preparing the library for the guest speaker the next night.

A certain purple unicorn discharged the magic in her horn to levitate several streamers to hang across the tops of the bookcases.  The bright yellow fabric was studded with white rhinestones.

Twilight said, “Thanks for making the decorations for tomorrow night, Rarity.  I really want to make a good impression.”

The white unicorn concentrated on adjusting the vase on the central table to be perfectly in the center.  It just wouldn’t do to have an askew vase for a distinguished visitor.

She replied distantly with a smile on her face, “Think nothing of it, dear.  It is the very least I could do when a celebrated poet comes all the way from Canterlot.  Frankly, I still cannot believe that you know him personally!”

Twilight replied lightly, “Oh, yes.  We go way back.  In fact, we had all of our literature classes together and we even both tried out for the drama club.  He got accepted, but they didn’t like my recitation of the lead for Antig-filly.  I told him to go ahead without me.  I understand he did well.”

The yellow pegasus continued sweeping the floor and mentioned, “Wow, Twilight.  That was very nice of you to encourage him.  I mean, it must have been disappointing to not be able to act together.”

The purple unicorn just smiled and stated, “It was all right.  Drama wasn’t really that interesting.  I just wanted to join an after-school club.  Somepony suggested that I try out.  I wound up joining the chess team instead.”

Rarity snickered, but then hid it behind her hoof.  She apologized, “Ahem!  Sorry, Twilight.  It’s just that I just guessed a while ago that you were…you know…a little…”

Nonplussed, the purple unicorn asked, “…a little nerdy?”

The white unicorn smiled and said, “More or less.  Anyway, how did he take it?  Was he disappointed?”

Mollified, Twilight said, “I don’t know.  You can ask him when he gets here today.”

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the library door.  Twilight walked over and opened the door.  In the doorway was a tall, lean stallion with a yellow coat, white mane, and blue eyes.  His flank symbol was two crossed brown quills in front of a full moon.

He said brightly, with a soft, low voice, “Twilight!  I thought the palace was mistaken when they said you were the Royal Representative here.  How are you?”

Twilight led him back to the others, responding brightly, “Very well, Moonlight Verse.  Come in and meet my friends.  This is Rarity.  She made the decorations.”

The white unicorn trotted over, flicking her mane and flashing a dazzling smile.

She said, “I am sooo glad you could give a poetry recital here, Mr. Verse.  Ponyville is very friendly, but they could use a bit more refinement.  Tell me, what’s been going on in Canterlot lately?  Any new fashion trends pop up?”

Moonlight Verse involuntarily stepped back and said, “Um, I…don’t know.  I don’t really pay attention to the fashion scene.  I just read books and write poetry.”

He re-shifted his hooves in place nervously and then looked away from Rarity.  His eyes sought out something more neutral in the library.

Rarity looked to Twilight in confusion.

The purple unicorn explained, “Moonlight is kinda…shy.  Don’t misunderstand.”

The white unicorn nodded, satisfied.

The stallion’s gaze settled on Fluttershy.  His eyes opened a little wider and he smiled a bit bigger.

He slowly walked closer and introduced himself, “Hi.  My name is Moonlight Verse.  I write poetry for fun.”

The yellow mare looked up form sweeping the floor, shocked.  Somepony was talking to her?  A stallion was talking to her?!

She tilted her head away, covering her face with her mane.  She mumbled something quiet.

Rarity and Twilight shared bemused looks.

Rarity whispered in a sing-song voice, “Looks like somepony has an admirer.”

Twilight winked back.

Moonlight Verse stepped forward and asked, “I didn’t quite hear you.  What’s your name?”

The yellow pegasus just whimpered and walked away, sweeping the floor.

The stallion just hung his head slightly and walked back out of the door.

He mentioned sadly, “It was nice seeing you, Twilight.  The decorations look nice.  I’ll see you tomorrow at lunchtime to go over the schedule.”

After the door closed, Twilight looked back at the yellow pegasus and said, “Fluttershy, that was rude!  He’s a sensitive soul, like you.”

Rarity fussed her mane and said, “It certainly looked like you were giving him the brush-off, dear.  Why did you do that?”

Fluttershy quietly responded, “I’m sorry.  It’s just that he came up so suddenly.”

The white unicorn asked with concern, “Well, did he scare you or something?  Maybe you could apologize.”

The yellow pegasus replied, “Oh, no.  He’s not scary.  In fact, I think his eyes are a really nice, deep blue.”

Twilight’s jaw hung open.  After a moment, she closed it and said, “Well, if you like him then why didn’t you say anything?”

Fluttershy felt a wave of anxiety as she blushed.

She flew over to the door and opened it, saying, “I’m sorry!”  She then flew outside and towards her cottage.

That night, Fluttershy had made the rounds of feeding all of her animal friends.  Finally, she gave a pair of carrots to Angel, who sat with her at the dinner table.  Fluttershy finished her soup and bread while her pet bunny tossed the green tops of his carrots into her soup.

The yellow pegasus had been relating the day’s events to her closest confidant.  The bunny rolled his eyes.  He just wanted some playtime before bed.  Still, he felt that the yellow pegasus would be lost without him.  So, he listened impatiently.

She stated, “…and even though he was really nice, he just walked up to me without warning.  I was paying attention to the neat little pile of dust that I needed to sweep up and he was suddenly there.”

She heard the rapid thumping of angel’s foot upon the table.  She looked over to see him staring intensely at her.  He pointed his fingers at his eyes, then hers.

Fluttershy shook her head and stated in panic, “Oh no, no!  Angel, I couldn’t just walk up to him, look him directly in the eye, and tell him that he’s handsome!  It would be sooooo embarrassing!  I’ll just stay out of his way…”

Angel interrupted her self-demeaning tirade by growling his frustration.  He leaped off the table and raced back into his hole.

The shy pegasus called after him, “Angel?  Angel bunny, where are you going?”

Seeing that her friend was not returning, she sighed.  She cleaned the table of the dishes and threw the green carrot tops into the compost.

She flew upstairs, blowing out the lights as she went.

As she settled into bed, she wondered to herself why everypony was so nosy.  If she wanted to takes things extra slowly, then what was the big deal?  It’s not like anything will go wrong.

Chapter 2 - Rough Landing

Just as the sun rose, Fluttershy awoke.  Something wasn’t quite right.  She got out of bed and smoothed out her dress.  The blue fabric was sturdy and a single piece.  The yellow pegasus adjusted the white apron over the blue dress as she walked down the stairs.  After making sure that her wings remained snugly folded against her body and that there were no holes for them to slip through, she looked over towards the bunny hole against the far wall.

She called out sweetly, “Angel!  Angel bunny, time for play!”

Rapidly, the white rabbit ran out and blazed up to her hooves.  He was wearing a black vest under a red coat.  He pulled a large pocket watch and showed it to Fluttershy.

To her point of view, the pocket watch’s face didn’t have any readable numbers on it.

She smiled and said, “Yes, it’s time for play.  What game would you like to play today?”

He replaced the watch into his coat pocket and ran out of the doorless entrance.  The path in front of her home seemed a little overgrown, but still bright and inviting.

Fluttershy followed after him, humming a song in time to her hoofbeats.  After seeing him sprint around a corner, she increased her pace.

She tried to sing, “Cha-sing a raaaaaab-biiiiiiit!  Cha-sing a raaaaaaab-biiiiiiit!  I’m rac-ing An-gel through the…um, no that doesn’t rhyme.  What rhymes with ‘rabbit’?”

She spied her pet standing impatiently in front of a rabbit warren.  He was drumming his foot rapidly and staring at her.

Fluttershy giggled and said, “I’m gonna catch you, Angel!”

The bunny dashed into the hole and disappeared.

Suddenly, Fluttershy stopped trotting.  She looked at the dark hole in trepidation.

She called out, “Angel?”  When no answer was forthcoming, she added, “Angel, we shouldn’t play near the hole.  It’s a place that’s not nice.  I don’t want to tear my dress.”

The fearful pegasus whimpered a little and then took a step backwards, away from the hole.

A sudden squeak of surprise echoed from the hole.

Suddenly, a different kind of fear flooded Fluttershy’s mind.  It was a kind of fear that she was not comfortable with.  It was fear for another’s safety.

She squeaked out shrilly, “Angel?!”  When no answer came, she dashed right into the hole.

The ground sloped down away from her hooves, giving way to a pit.

Fluttershy fell down through the darkness, tumbling end over end, wishing that she could fly.

Objects passed her as she fell for minutes.  Chicken coops, trees, bowls of soup, house doors, broken clocks, phoenix feathers, and stone statues of cockatrices all passed by her, just barely not touching her as she fell down, down, down…

THUMP!

Fluttershy landed upright in a grassy meadow in what looked like the Everfree Forest.  It was somewhat dark, but there was plenty of light to see.  There were several paths to follow, and all but one seemed overgrown with prickly vines that actually moved.  They undulated like snakes, waiting for prey.

She called out, “Angel?!  Where are you?”

The forest did not answer.  Deciding that not moving would not bring her closer to her pet bunny, she walked along the only safe path.

The forest was bright but overgrown.  Trees were all gnarled and twisted in seemingly every direction.  It was quiet, too quiet for a healthy forest.

She glanced around, trying to see if there were any animals for her to talk to.

Everywhere was a strange conglomeration of the normal and the impossible.

There were normal small birds like sparrows and finches.

There was a small family of living horns with soft, bulbous bodies that would honk with every step they took.  They acted like water birds.

There was a large red bird with a birdcage for a body.  There was a pair of small birds inside, trying to get out.

Fluttershy stepped up and said, “Um…excuse me?”  All of the birds looked at her expectantly.  She asked, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to disturb you, but I need some help.  I need to find…”

All of the birds turned away from her.  The yellow pegasus went wide-eyed at the action.  No animal ignored her!  That goes against her special talent.

She said a little louder, “Excuse me, but I need some help.”

The group of birds all flew and ran away from her, trying to get away from the mare.

Sadness welled up within her like a fountain.  She sobbed a couple of times, not understanding what to do.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from above her.

“Fluttershy!  There you are!”

She looked around herself, then above her.  She saw a thick white cloud hovering a dozen feet above her.  The cloud had half a dozen speakers built into it like a powerful stereo.  Standing upon the techno-cloud were Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell.  Apple Bloom was waving to Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus called up, “Girls?!  How did you get here?  Are you in trouble?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders shook their heads with smiles on their faces.  Scootaloo stomped on the cloud, causing it to emit a double-beat over and over.

Fluttershy asked, “Well, what are you doing…here?  Where is here?  Have you seen Angel?”

Sweetie Bell smiled widely and answered back, “Well, isn’t it obvious what we’re doing here?  We’re…”

All three fillies bellowed, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER RAPPERS!!!”

Fluttershy’s jaw hung wide open in surprise, her brain having locked up from all of the illogical things she’s experienced so far.  As she closed her mouth, the fillies began to rap in time to the cloud’s beat.

Apple Bloom chanted, “Poor ‘Shy walk-in’ through the woods,

She can’t find her friends…”  Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo shouted, “That’s not good!”

Sweetie Bell stepped forward and rapped, “Her courage has fled and she can’t fly,

“No matter how hard that…”   Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted, “She will try!”

Scootaloo rhymed, “No one can see her cu-tie mark.

“No tal-ent left; she’s…”  Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom shouted, “In the dark!”

The cloud then began to float away, carrying the fillies beyond Fluttershy’s vision.

She called up, “Girls, that’s not nice!  How would you like it if I taunted you when you fail to find a cutie mark?  You shouldn’t tease others about their talents that way.”

Realizing that the fillies could no longer hear her, she sighed and kept walking along the path.

Fluttershy erupted into a clearing with two elegantly dressed mares.  The one on the left was a tall, heavy-set mare with a brown coat, white mane, and yellow eyes.  She was wearing a poofy yellow dress with a brown wide-brimmed hat upon her head.  The other mare was a short, stocky mare with a gray coat, yellow mane, and green eyes.  She was wearing a long, trailing, green ball gown and a gray, narrow hat.

Both mares sat upon the grassy ground, listening to their rumbling stomachs.  Between them was a wooden pole stuck into the ground vertically, ten feet tall.  Balanced on top of the pole was a wide silver tray with a teapot, plate of cookies, napkins, cups, sugar bin, and spoons.

The mares looked wistfully at the tea tray and then at the newcomer.

The brown mare shouted, “You there!  Can’t you do something about this?”

Fluttershy asked politely, “Um, what do you want me to do?”

The gray mare snidely retorted, “What do you think we want?  We’re starving!  We want our tea!”

The yellow pegasus walked up to the pole and placed her hooves upon it.  She tried to pull herself up, but there was simply no grip to the pole.

She let go and morosely stated, “I can’t do it.  I’m not strong enough to climb up.”

On reflex, she tried to flap her wings, but her dress prevented any movement.

The brown mare whined, “But I want my tea!  Can’t you do anything?!”

The yellow pegasus suddenly got a bright idea.  She offered, “Well, what if we all take turns bumping the pole?  The others could catch the tea tray.”

The gray mare chastised her, “That’s ridiculous!  No lady bumps into poles!  Ladies get served!  Do you want to ruin your pretty dress?”

Fluttershy just looked up at the tea tray.  She wanted to make the mares happy, but she didn’t want to ruin her dress.  It was such a nice dress made by…somepony.  It would disappoint that pony if she ruined it.

The gray mare demanded, “Well, aren’t you going to do something to help?”

The shy pegasus hung her head and walked off to the opposite end of the clearing and mumbled, “Sorry.  I’ll…try to find somepony better to help.”

She left the huffing mares behind, following the path deeper into the forest.  The thickening cover of the tree canopy decreased the ambient light available.

The sound of drumbeats came from above her again.

Looking up, she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the cloud, ready to start rapping.  She dreaded what they would say this time.

Sweetie Bell chanted, “Shy, so shy, just can’t ev-en see,

How po-wer-less to…”  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted, “Help the hun-gry!”

Apple Bloom stepped forward and rapped, “Without even trying she just chose to fail,

“She should stick her head…”   Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo shouted, “In a pail!”

Scootaloo rhymed, “Wear-ing that dress she just can’t fly.

“We can’t un-der-stand…”  Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom shouted, “Don’t even try!”

Fluttershy sniffled and said back, “That’s not fair!  It makes no sense to rip my nice dress that was made by…somepony.  How would they feel if I tore it all up just to fly?  They’d feel just awful.”

The fillies glared back at her disapprovingly.  The cloud floated away out of sight.

Fluttershy kept walking along the path until she thought she heard a yowling like an animal in pain.

Chapter 3 - Leveling Out

The timid yellow pegasus quietly called out, “Is anyone there?  Hello?”

Suddenly, a screeching sound came from around a bend just ahead.  Wincing with the noise, she peeked her head around some trees to see what the matter was.

On one side of the path was a brown snake, singing off-key very loudly.  The sound was unpleasant to anyone’s hearing, including the snake.

On the other side of the path was a green snake, singing off-tempo even louder.  The snake had to pause once in a while as his own head was aching from his efforts.

When the green snake had to stop, the brown snake re-doubled his efforts, causing the green snake to start up again.

Fluttershy trotted up and asked, “Excuse me?”  The snakes did not stop.  She asked, a little louder, “Um, excuse me.  Could you stop for a moment?”

The snakes just began to yowl even louder at each other.  The sound was causing the pressure to build up in Fluttershy’s head.  The pain was unbearable.  She could not take it anymore.

She bellowed powerfully, “SHUT UP!!!”  The forest shook as if a massive earthquake had quickly come and gone.  Her eyes opened wide as she gave The Stare to the two snakes.

The snakes immediately ceased their little war and gazed fearfully at the yellow pegasus.  Her eyes went back to their normal appearance.

She smiled gently and stated, “That’s better.  Now each of you take turns and tell me what’s wrong.”  Before either could take the initiative, she pointed her hoof at the green snake and ordered, “You start.”

The green snake proudly declared, “I live here.  I’m the best singer so I should be heard.  This tone-deaf moron keeps drowning me out with his miserable excuse for singing.  I will not be outdone!”

The brown snake hissed dangerously and replied, “I also live here!  I won’t be bullied by any grass-colored excuse for a snake.  I’ll show you who’s the better singer!”

Fluttershy asked, “Why don’t you two both sing together?  That way, you could help each other out and be twice as good.”

The snakes glared at her as if she were crazy.

The brown snake acidly said, “Sing together?  Why would I buckle under to that waste of scales?  He started it and I am not gonna surrender!”

The green snake proudly declared, “That unskilled hack won’t ride on my talent to make himself sound passable!  I’ll show him that I’m better than he is!”

The brown snake yelled, “No, I’m better than you!”

The green snake screamed, his eyes bulging out, “No, I’M BETTER THAN YOU!”

Fluttershy ducked her head and trotted off between the two snakes along the path.

She mumbled, “That’s okay…I’ll just leave you alone to settle things.”

She left the two snakes behind her, hearing them start up their dreadful songs again.  She galloped away, feeling relief as the volume died away.

As she rounded a bend in the path, she could no longer hear the terrible wailing of the snake.

She sat upon the ground and caught her breath for a moment.  She smiled and reveled in the silence.

Suddenly, there was the sound of drumbeats from above her head.

She moaned, “Oh no, not again!  Please girls, I just want to find Angel and go home.”

The cloud descended and the Cutie Mark Crusaders began to rap again.

Scootaloo chanted, “Sound, sweet sound, is great to be-hold,

Sing it out loud, you…”  Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell shouted, “Must be bold!”

Apple Bloom stepped forward and rapped, “Takes no tal-ent to scream and screech,

“So our ‘Shy has no…”   Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo shouted, “Right to preach!”

Sweetie Bell rhymed, “This situ-ation was just not fun-ny.

“Could-n’t teach snakes about…”  Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shouted, “Har-mo-ny!”

As the cloud floated away, the yellow pegasus called up, “Hey, you try getting those snakes to cooperate!  They didn’t care the least bit about harmony.”

She sighed and then decided to keep walking.  She reasoned that eventually, things have to get better.

The sound of rustling came from the forest in front of her.  Quivering at the prospect of coming across a predator, she crept up to the end of the trail.  The sight of a large stone cliff came into sight above the trees.

Fluttershy followed the sound of rustling up to the base of the cliff.  The cliff ended the expanse of the forest entirely.  The cliff itself had been split down the center by some past cataclysmic event.  The crack was easily wide enough for a pony to walk through.

Suddenly, she saw Angel at the entrance to the crack.  He raced into the crack in the cliff and sped through to the other side.  The yellow pegasus ran up to the cliff to follow him.

Out of the corner of her eye, a huge bear leapt from the nearby shrubbery and landed in front of the cliff.  He turned to face her and sat down decisively.

Fluttershy felt upset.  Here she was, all about to catch up to her pet bunny and this mean bear intentionally blocks her way!  How rude.

She felt the urge to fly and tried to flap her wings.  Her dress kept her wings pinned to her body.  She grunted in aggravation.

The yellow pegasus looked up at the bear and politely asked, “Pardon me, Mister Bear.  I’d like to get through, please.”

The bear grunted and turned his head away from her in response.

She insisted, “It’s rude to block my way.  Please just move for a moment and then you can go back to sitting there.”

The massive creature growled, “You know what’s really rude?  Those two fancy mares!”

Fluttershy’s mind tickled her, signaling that something was important.  She asked, “What about them?  What did they do?”

The bear snarled, “Those insensitive ponies!  They called me fat!!”  The bear kept his fierce visage, but a tear rolled down his cheek.

The pegasus’s heart melted at the creature’s pain.  She wondered about those high-born mares.  There was a problem with them and a problem with the bear.  How could she…

A crazy idea formed in her mind.  She smiled with satisfaction.

Fluttershy offered, “Well, since you’re so big…and clearly not fat…you could reach up to grab the tea tray on top of the pole.  Then you could offer the tea tray and the goodies on it in exchange for a full apology from each mare.  That would teach them manners.”

The bear’s eyes shot up in recognition.  He began to smile and stand up.

He said, “You know, that’s a great idea.  I think I’ll do that.”

Fluttershy encouraged him, “And don’t you give them a crumb until both have apologized fully.  You deserve it.”

The bear grinned and then grunted in agreement.  He stomped off back along the path.

Proudly, Fluttershy pranced into the crack in the cliff, smiling and humming.  She began to feel must better about herself, seeing that a lack of wings was not being crippled.

For no other reason than to be free and random, she began a little rap of her own.

The cloud with the Cutie Mark Crusaders descended from above.  The beats were pulsating strongly from the cloud and Fluttershy followed the beat unconsciously.

The fillies rapped along with the yellow pegasus with smiles on their faces.

The green and brown snakes were on the cloud, swaying together to the beat and singing backup lyrics in perfect harmony.

Fluttershy and Scootaloo chanted, “Vic-to-ry, it’s a vic-to-ry,

Now she can leave the…”  Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell shouted, “Land of tree!”

Both snakes sang together in perfect synch, “That pegasus has got it going on!

“She never ends, she goes on and on!”

Fluttershy and Sweetie Bell stepped forward and rapped, “Walk-ing through the crack, not a-fraid,

“She’s hap-py as if…”   Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted, “She got paid!”

Both snakes sang together in perfect synch, “That pegasus has got it going on!

“She never ends, she goes on and on!”

Fluttershy and Apple Bloom rhymed, “Now to the cas-tle she must trot.

“And face the mas-ter…”  Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell shouted, “Ready or not!”

Chapter 4 - Ascension

As the song ended, the cloud floated away again and the yellow pegasus came through to the opposite side of the cliff.  It was actually a hollowed-out mountain with the top knocked off and a castle built in the middle.  The crack in the cliff led right up to the massive front door.

The castle was covered in clouds, shading it from most of the sunlight.  The structure was made of a dark gray stone with black mineral vein deposits running all over it, giving the impression that the stone was cracked and fragile.

The windows were all covered by black curtains even though the frames were painted a stark white.  The glass of the windows was clear and unbroken, but dusty.  The castle stood over a dozen floors tall, with many old towers in disrepair.

The front door stood slightly ajar.  The yellow pegasus reasoned that Angel would most likely go inside.

She poked her head inside and called out, “Angel?  Are you in here?”

She heard the echo of a calm squeak.  Walking inside, she looked around.  Strangely, she was in a throne room, with plush red carpets and a golden throne of red velvet cushions.  The inside was light by hundreds of golden candles on candelabras and chandeliers.  Twin spiral staircases led upstairs to the rest of the castle.

Fluttershy said to herself, “I’ve never seen a castle built like this before.  Walking right into the throne room?  What if an army attacks?  The ruler would be captured right away.”

After checking behind the throne, she called out, “Angel?!  Where are you?”

The front doors slammed shut behind her.  BANG!

The yellow pegasus’s courage shattered and she began to shake.

An eerily familiar voice sounded from the staircase.  The sound of something heavy being dragged and then dropped echoed up and down the throne room.

“Hello, dearie.”  SCRAPE, THUMP.

“It’s so nice of you to come by for tea.”  SCRAPE, THUMP.

“We’re going to be the best of friends.”  SCRAPE, THUMP.

Fluttershy looked up to see an Earth pony.  She had the same coat, the same mane, and the same eyes as Fluttershy.  She also dragged a huge weapon.  It looked like a long pole with an axe blade on it.  She had seen weapons like that depicted in the artwork of Canterlot castle in the portraits of ancient warriors.  It was called a halberd.

The armed mare had wild, bulging eyes, a patchy coat that revealed spots of skin infections, and was breathing very heavy.  Her forelegs were visibly more powerful than her hind legs.  She also smiled a wide grin that somehow showed relief.

Fluttershy immediately galloped up to the throne and stood opposite to the armed mare with the throne in between them.  The armed mare began to circle the throne, dragging the halberd with her.  The halberd screeched as it was dragged across the smooth stone floor.

The yellow pegasus began to circle the throne, trying to get away from the unbalanced pony.

Fluttershy asked, “Wh-wh-what do y-you want?”

The armed mare hissed a laugh and bared her teeth, which were each filed to a sharp point.

She answered, “You’re coming with me to the tea room.  We’re going to have a nice cup of tea and a chat.  You’re going to stay with me a long time.  The others didn’t stay, but you’re going to stay.”

Unwisely, Fluttershy asked, “They d-didn’t s-stay?  Where did the others go?”

The crazy mare lifted the halberd above her head and declared, “They left the tea room without permission.  I had to punish them…then put them in the closet!”

She slashed downwards and diagonally at the interceding object.  The throne shattered into pieces that scattered all across the floor.

In a panic, Fluttershy commanded her mind not to figure out how multiple guests could fit into a single closet after they’ve been ‘punished’.  She then galloped at full speed at the near staircase.

As she reached the fifth step, the staircase creaked, cracked, and then collapsed to the floor.  She didn’t have time to contemplate anything as she heard the fast-moving sound of metal on stone behind her.

SCREEEEEEECH!

She leapt up on her hooves and raced away from the sound.  Looking over her shoulder, she saw the crazy mare swing her halberd at the pile of debris.

SMASH!  Pieces of staircase flew in every direction.  A large piece of stone struck Fluttershy in the right hind knee.  The pain was searing as she felt the joint twist and swell.  Fluttershy limped backwards up against the wall for protection.

The insane pony frowned intensely and ordered, “Don’t run away from me!  Everypony ran away from me and they were bad!  I never did anything bad and THEY LEFT ME!”

Shaking in fear, Fluttershy asked, “Well, why did they leave?”

The crazy mare leveled the head of the halberd at Fluttershy’s chest and snarled, “They wouldn’t wait for me!  They were all off doing these amazing things…and they wouldn’t wait for me to get ready!  I just…”

The yellow Earth pony hiccupped and trembled.

She finished her thought, “I just wanted…more time…to get ready.  Couldn’t they understand?  I just…needed…more time…more time.  They were all so courageous.  They could do anything.”

She stood up boldly on her hind hooves and gripped the weapon powerfully.  The muscles in her forelegs bulged out menacingly.

She screamed, “Anything but WAIT!!!”

Fluttershy desperately wished that she could fly away from this crazy mare, but her dress prevented her from flying.  She didn’t want to ruin her pretty dress.  She had made this dress with a lot of hard work.  She wanted to be presentable.  She wanted to be respectable.

The insane pony swung the halberd powerfully horizontally at her head.

Fluttershy ducked, feeling the air rush just an inch above her.  The stone wall cried out in a wail of metal grinding against stone.  Sparks showered the pegasus, burning her coat down to the skin.

She panicked and raced along the wall to escape.  After a few hoof beats, she came to the corner of the room.  She turned to race along the next wall.

CRACK!  The head of the halberd chipped the wall in front of her.  Fluttershy backed up, her flank bumping against the corner of the room.

The crazy mare blocked any means of escape and readied her halberd to swing horizontally again.  This time, she aimed for the waist. The swing would be too low to duck.

The yellow pegasus looked up into the eyes of her tormenter.  Her own eyes glared back in hatred.  The crazy mare seemed to hate her for being too scared to obey.  The yellow pegasus thought about the choice she had been avoiding since she arrived in this twisted world.

Fluttershy stated flatly, “Screw this.”  The yellow pegasus reached up and ripped her dress off her body.  She flexed her wings powerfully and shot upwards into the air.  The halberd swung powerfully and imbedded itself into the stone wall.

The crazy mare tugged and tugged but could not pull the weapon from the deep cut into the wall.  She wailed a hellish scream of frustration.

The kind-hearted pegasus looked down with pity.  The insane pony looked to be in all kinds of distress.  Her coat was slowly falling out, her skin was irritated from infections, she looked like she hadn’t slept in days, her strings were all knotted in the joints…

Strings?!

Fluttershy’s gaze traveled up the strings to the ceiling above.  There was the cloud that had been following her through her adventures.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders each had a pair of the strings gripped in their hooves and were jerking and twisting the strings wildly.

Sweetie Bell waved her hoof and said, “Hi, Fluttershy!  Isn’t this fun?”

Scootaloo griped, “It’s about time you figured it out.”

Apple Bloom explained, “Now normally this would be too weird to remember, but we think you need to remember this one.”

All three fillies glared at Fluttershy with intense faces of determination and shouted, “Now DON’T forget what you learned here!”

The cloud sped downwards and moved under Fluttershy.  It began to rise, catching Fluttershy on its surface.  The castle disappeared entirely.  All three ponies rode the cloud higher and higher into the sky.  The cloud began to emit loud drumbeats as the Cutie Mark Crusaders surrounded Fluttershy with mean looks on their faces.

Sweetie Bell chanted, “Up, up, up, don’t you think to fall,

Hey, ‘Shy this is your…”  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted, “Wake-up call!”

Scootaloo stepped forward and rapped, “Re-call all you saw here to-day,

“Or else you’ll be back…”   Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom shouted, “Here to stay!”

Apple Bloom rhymed, “Don’t think you’ll harm your-self ne-ver.

“You’ll have your cas-tle…”  Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell shouted, “FOR-EV-ER!”

Sweetie Bell crossed her front hooves in front of her chest and declared, “Word.”

The cloud suddenly disappeared and the yellow pegasus felt the sensation of falling.  She began to panic and scream.

Chapter 5 - Soaring Heart

Fluttershy shot up in her bed, sweat dripping off her face.  The sun was just coming up over the eastern horizon.

Suddenly, she remembered the entire dream.  She flew out of bed and downstairs.

Knocking loudly on the wall in the living room, she called out, “Angel?!  Angel are you home?”

After a moment, the bunny stomped out of the hold, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Fluttershy grabbed the surprised bunny and hugged him powerfully.  She cried to herself, “Oh, thank you, thank you!  I was so worried that you were gone!  I had a bad dream about you running away and I almost got my head chopped off getting you back!”

The bunny growled a complaint about being woken up too early and crushed by a sweaty mare talking nonsense.

The yellow pegasus proclaimed, “With my darling bunny as my witness, things are going to be different from now on!”

Angel wondered what the odds were of find a new owner who catered to him just as well with less sweaty hugs.

Later that day, around lunchtime, Twilight was talking to Moonlight Verse in her library.  They were going over several pages of Moonlight Verse’s poetry in preparation for his recital that evening.

Twilight conjectured, “I suggest you recite the poem about the balloon race at this point, followed by the one about the mother’s sacrifice.  That leads the audience in a general upward trend.”

The stallion countered with, “But then all that’s left is the one about facing the darkness.  I don’t think the audience would understand the astronomical implications of such an arrangement.  I think we should start with facing the darkness and then the mother’s sacrifice.  That has the trend of the time-order of life instead.  That’s more relatable.”

The purple unicorn objected, “The poem about mother is about loss of one for the profit of another.  Not everypony lost their mother at birth.  I don’t think that’s such a positive way to grab the audience.”

Moonlight softly said, “That’s how my life started.”

Twilight patted him on the shoulder and said, “I know.  I’m just saying that if you want to relate to the audience then you should choose a theme that they are familiar with.  Very few have the same experiences you had.”

A knocking on the library door was preceded by Rarity opening the door and trotting inside.  She flaunted her new hat, which was a short, wide-brimmed hat of purple felt and a gauzy blue veil.  A single black feather graced the front band in a sideways position.

She called to the library in general, “I’m heeeeeeere!  I just had to give you both a sneak peek of my beautiful new hat before the recital tonight.  Be honest now, just how ravishing and mysterious is it?”

Moonlight and Twilight both snickered at the unicorn’s antics.

Twilight mumbled, “It’s…very nice, Rarity.  I’m sure everypony will like it.”

Shocked, Rarity pouted, “Like it?  ‘Like’ it?!  My dear, a hat is not something to be ‘liked’.  It is either loved or hated!  Do I need to throw this away and start again?”

Moonlight came to her rescue by saying in an exaggerated Canterlot accent, “My dear, it is simply smashing!  It is so dark and inviting that everypony is going to want to know ‘who is that mare?’  I think it will bring a sense of intensity and intrigue to my recital.  You simply must sit up front so everypony can see you!”

Rarity practically sang with delight at the praise.  She slid over to nuzzle the stallion for the compliment.

She stated imperiously, “Why, thank you, sir.  Twilight has exquisite taste in friends.  I guess we shall have to decide to keep you.”

Twilight and Moonlight chuckled, smiles on their faces.

A familiar yellow pegasus emerged from the open doorway, her head held up high.  She trotted in a sassy way right up to Moonlight Verse.

She looked him directly in the eye and said, “Hi, I’m Fluttershy.  I’m sorry I was a little rude yesterday.  I was…kinda sick.  I’m much better now.  Welcome to Ponyville.”

Moonlight looked into her blue eyes and stepped closer to her.  His smile widened and he said, “Oh, that’s all right.  You should have just said so.  Do you like poetry?”

Twilight and Rarity quietly back off, surprised at the forwardness of their friend.

Fluttershy answered, “I do.  In fact, if you have some time before the recital, I’d like you to have lunch with me.  Please say ‘yes’.”

The stallion’s heartbeat caught in his throat and he said, “Uh…um, yes!  I love to have lunch with you.  How about right now?  I hear there’s a great deli just down the street.”

The yellow pegasus turned around to stand very close to the stallion.  She said, “Okay.  I could really go for a foot-long daisy and rose sub with dressing.  What’s your favorite sandwich?”

Moonlight thought for a moment and said, “I’m not much for actual sandwiches, but I could go for a toasted daffodil bagel with raisins.”

As the pair walked together towards the door, Fluttershy could be heard saying, “Mmmmm!  That sounds nice.  Maybe I’ll try that next time.  If you’re still in Ponyville tomorrow, you should stop by my cottage for tea and meet all my animals.  I’m sure you and Angel will get along famously.”

Rarity backed off a little more, recognizing an intimate moment when she saw one.  However, her flank bumped the table in the center of the main room of the library.  The vase placed in the middle knocked over and then rolled off the table.  When the vase fell to the floor it broke with a crash.

Instantly, Fluttershy lost her composure and jumped into Moonlight Verse’s hooves.  She squealed in surprise and hugged the stallion tightly for protection.

The stallion smiled gently and said, “It was just a broken vase.”

The yellow pegasus looked up into his deep blue eyes and blushed furiously.  She whispered, “Sorry, it kinda…startled me.”

Moonlight said, “I understand.”  He gently set her on the ground and leaned against her as they walked together out of the library door and towards the deli.  The pair had smiles on their faces that could light up the night sky.

Twilight and Rarity stared after the pair of ponies.  Their jaws hung open freely for a solid minute.  After remembering to close their mouth out of manners, they looked at each other in gleeful confusion.

Twilight smiled, “What has gotten into her?”

Rarity grinned a knowing grin and replied, “I’m sure I don’t know, but I hope she keeps it.  This might be good for her.”

THE END