Too Shy To Say Anythingby Partycannon_ChaptersChapter 1: The Cottage Of BunniesChapter 2: Tidying UpChapter 3: Tightrope PanicChapter 4: Tired MindChapter 1: The Cottage Of BunniesA light casted over the cloud stage, a brown pegasus spoke into the speaker. He said name after name, each time a pegasus flew up to the stage with bright smiles. They would claim a paper and shake hooves with the ponies. “Fluttershy,” he spoke, yet nopony came to the stage. The crowd was silent and two ponies held their heads in shame. The speaker placed the paper to the side and continued. I jolted awake. I felt my heart beat quickly in my chest as sweat ran down my body. I heard my heavy breaths slow. My eyes darted around the dark room and my spread wings folded back to my side. I was in my room and once again the nightmare came back. Night after night it returned to torment me. No matter what I tried it always interrupted my dreams. It was starting to become a problem and the ponies around me noticed the bags under my eyes. Any attention was bad attention, pity was definitely the most common. It didn’t help that most of my days now stayed directionless. Most days began with the nightmare and ended with laying awake until sleep finally overtook me. I have no friends, well, except Rainbow but I haven’t seen her in years. So now I stay awake, staring at a paper on my wall that I received when I was a filly. What do you want to be when you grow up? The paper read. My answer was quick, I was the first one in class to write it. I want to be a confident pony. Afterall, it is the only wish I have ever had. “Fluttershy, dear. Are you awake?” my mom called from the other side of the door. My heart raced, I couldn't help it. I felt my face and noticed my large grin. It's just so exciting! I flew joyously as I giggled to myself. The air in my mane never felt this good. “I have the best parents.” I squealed aloud. I held up a set of keys and chuckled with excitement. Bliss flowed through me like a fallfish in a stream. It was the best gift that anypony could have given me. I can finally be on the ground and give my tired wings a rest. WHAM! I swirled in pain but I recovered quickly. I looked ahead to find a gray pegasus that I slammed into also regaining composure. “Oh no,” voiced the pegasus, she dove down. Finally I realized what had happened. Dozens of white envelopes floated down, aiming for the river below. Only freezing for a second, I dived down. Collecting the papers was far from difficult, adding one on top of another. The imminent dread of being yelled at entered my mind but I shook it out of my head and focused on the envelopes. We finished gathering all of the papers and the gray pony pointed her hoof to the grassy field which I followed shamefully. “Thanks a ton!” The pegasus smiled as she placed the envelopes in her bag using her wings.I answered with a light nod as she took the papers from me. “Sorry I crashed into you,” I recoiled slightly at that as my eyes dropped to the grass below. It didn’t feel like she gave off any malice but it was always so hard to tell. “My name is Derpy Hooves,” I watched the blades of green at my hooves and a small red and black insect appeared. “Um, can you not talk?” she sounded so genuine that I staggered. “Hm, wait a second, I can ask yes or no questions,” does she really think I can’t speak? “Where are you from? Wait, that isn’t a yes or no question. Do you live in Ponyville?” She seems nice. “I um, just m-moved here,” I managed to whisper as I watched the ladybug move. "Oh wow. That's great! That means you probably have," I hear her as she begins digging in her saddle. "Here it is," she said with something in her mouth. She gave me a pink envelope with my name on it. I looked for the sender but there wasn't one. "Who is this from?" I subconsciously ask. "One of my friends," I could hear the smile. "Oh, I need to get going. You live in the cottage outside town right?" I nod as I hear her beginning to flap her wings. "If you see me delivering your mail, come say hi," and with that she took off. I picked up the ladybug as I recovered. After a while it flew away and I suddenly felt a lot better. I very cautiously find my way to the outskirts of town, dodging every possible conversation and interaction. When I finally lay eyes on the small cottage I once again get filled with immense joy and I flap my wings like crazy. I can't believe it, my very own home. I land by the door and take out my keys as my heart pounded, quickly I turn the key in the nob and with a click it opens. With optimism I trot inside to find a cozy room, with a broken couch. Okay, that's a little odd. It also had some smashed windows... That's, hmm. But what stuck out most of all was a baby bunny, no more than a year old giving me a menacing stare. Well my parents did tell me they bought the cottage for pretty cheap, it just needs some tidying up. First I should probably talk to the bunny. "Why hello there Mr Bunny sir. Is there a rea-" The bunny held up his leg as I approached and once in range he threw his little foot into the ground causing the floorboard to fling up and slam into my jaw, I stagger back and the little bunny leapt forward and drop kicked me out the door before getting up and slamming it behind me. "W-What just happened?" I recovered quickly but my mind was struggling to keep up. I shake myself off as I jump up from the ground. I placed my hoof on the door and the resistance of the twist told me that the bunny locked the door. Now wearing a frown I take out my keys and open the door quickly. Being met with a very similar scene I make sure to avoid any loose floorboards. We stare daggers at each other. "That isn't any way to behave to a new friend my little bunny," I say in a low voice. Before I knew it the bunny jumped to me and began scratching my face. I reel back as I swiped at the white blur, attempting to catch the mean critter. Before I knew it the bunny jumped away and I noticed I was now outside, I looked to the door to find the small little bunny, with my keys and with his tongue out he slammed the door. I felt my roughed up face and found a small stream of red. "YOU ARE A DEMON BUNNY!" I shouted as I threw myself to the door. The anger consumed me for a short moment. "Calm down Fluttershy," I say to myself, resting my head against the door I sigh. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. Alright, now it's time to take care of the bunny, not to cry. I search the property, finding a nicely built chicken coop with some nice scenery. Finally stumbling across the back door I check if it's locked, it isn't and I smile mischievously. I open the door as silently as I can and trot inside just as quietly. Hm, that's odd. I think I just stepped in something. The lights flicked on and the bunny stood with an eyebrow raised. Looking down I find myself in a pile of flowers, but not just any flow- Achoo! Oh no... I bolted out of the building sneezing non stop as the little bunny rolled in laughter. I'm out of options, I HAVE to do this. With all of the courage I have, I speed trot into the shopping center with my eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of me. As I trot I hear the voices around me stop and the few hooves that I do see get out of my way quickly. Then I made it to the fish stall with a few breaths to spare. "Uh, Mam," the pony behind the counter starts. "Do you need medical help?" she asks dumbfoundedly. In a shake of my head I look up but still trying to avoid eye contact. The little stall sold a lot of tools for anything water related, some decorated cards, some alcohol, and finally a net. "Is that dried blood? Um, are you sure you're okay? You're shaking really bad," she asks but that doesn't matter right now. "O-O-OnE N-n-NEt... P-please," I raise my hoof to the net the best I could. Then looking at the mare I find the face of an incredibly worried pony. With the hard part out of the way now I just lie in wait. I found a small entrance the demon bunny didn't account for and all that was left was to find a hiding place. Until... I hear him, his tiny little jumps. Now he's sniffing, how cute but that isn't going to work on tired homeless Fluttershy, no sir, my dirt bath took care of that. Just a few more hops forward, and... SWOSH! "Got you," I grew a rather large smile. The demon rabbit doesn't lose hope just yet as he tries to bite the wire and after the failed attempt he quickly tried to swipe at me but his lack of footing made it very difficult as I held the net up. "I just wanted to get to my cottage and meet nice little animal friends. YOU HAVE BEEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST ADORABLE CRITTER I HAVE EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE OF MEETING!" I yell loudly in a huff. When my rage finally clears I open my eyes to find the small bunny cowering in the back of the net, his little heart beating so swiftly I can see where it pounded in his body. I was filled with remorse, even after all this little bunny put me through. Next I heard a door open and I looked up to find such a scene. A little bunny head poked around the wooden door then two more, then the room began filling with a community of bunnies. I was actually frightened before I noticed their sad faces. "Mr Bunny, promise you won't attack me ever again," I say to him in a low voice before he quickly nods and I drop the net. The demon bunny quickly bounced into the crowd while one older bunny hops in front of the group. "So Mr Bunny was protecting all of you, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I whimper. "I was just so excited to finally get a place to live, on the ground, with all the animals but I can't possibly live here with you all," my voice began to falter as the dam in my eyes started to break. The bunny in front began muttering in his cute little bunny voice. "What? You don't want to live here?" I repeat and the bunnies nod in unison. "Then why are you here?" I ask and the elder continues. "Something took over your homes? How terrible," the elder nodded his head in shame while another bunny dragged over a book and laid it in front of me. The bunny flipped to a page and at first glance the photo was that of a bunny but quickly I realized I was wrong. "Wait, they shouldn't be outside the Everfree Forest," I held a hoof up to my jaw in thought. "Then I know what I must do, I have to get your homes back," I stand as the bunnies begin cheering and I can't help but smile despite my rising dread. "This is the easy part, this is the easy part," I whisper once again, eyes planted firmly on the ground below me as I trot into the shopping center. This time I don't see any hooves and the voices stop long before I trot next to them. I once again reached the fish stall. I summon all the courage I can and look up to the mare. The look of pure bewilderment met my gaze. "Why do you have stovepipes strapped to your hooves now?" she asked, almost whining. "W-W-WhisKey... P-pleAse," I point to the jar. "No..." "B-but" I whimper. "Whiskey is not the answer," but it IS the answer, why can't I just say that? I looked away while cringing. "Listen kid, you must be going through a lot. Let me take you to the doctor, you don't look good." The dam in my eyes starts to crack again as I recoil. I shook my head and I began to run away. Why can't I just talk things out? I'm such a stupid pony. It'll have to do, I frown. Trotting back to the cottage I looked up as the sun began to set. I breathe calmly, this isn't going to end well, this will go terribly. I walk past my soon to be house and I enter the forest. During the day it isn't bad but at night... WHAT WAS THAT? I turned but nothing was there, but it could be there. What could be there? Calm down Fluttershy, breath in, breath out. I get the feeling that I'm being watched and I DO NOT LIKE IT! After only a dozen many heart attacks I found a small camp and when I mean small camp I mean it. A little fire made from a few twigs sat in the middle of a few dozen holes while many bunny lookalikes dance around it. Finally was a small figure sitting on a tiny throne also made out of twigs. Here they are, the dreaded Jackalopes. Long antlers jolt out of their ears, they sharpen them and ram them into each other. Shakely I move forward, courage Fluttershy, courage. They notice me and I freeze instantly. The collective hiss entered my ears harshly. I take out the bottle of a clear bubbly liquid and place it in front of me. One of the Jackalopes hop over and pick it up to take it to the one resting in the throne. "It isn't whiskey, but it's made of alcohol. It's for cleaning," I say cautiously in a gulp. The king opens the lid and puts a drop on his tongue and throws it to the back of his small throat. Instantly he began coughing. In between the wheezing the king threw his tiny paw in my direction and began grinding his teeth. And now I wasn't going to be seen again. They approached in teams and my eyes started to water. Why did I do this? Next time can I be a strong pony? One who doesn't cower in fear when a pony wants to have a conversation. Can I be somepony who isn't lonely all the time? My parents flash before my eyes and in an instant my fear turns into something else. "ENOUGH!" "MY PARENTS BOUGHT ME THE BEST COTTAGE IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA! I AM SLEEPING IN THAT COTTAGE TONIGHT! AND YOU ALL DO NOT BELONG HERE, GO BACK TO THE EVERFREE FOREST! NOW!" I stare so hard at the group my eyes feel like popping out. They all back up, almost in a trance, even the king trips over his throne. They scatter into the forest, presumably back to the Everfree. I felt beyond drained. I looked back to find a baby bunny with his jaw dropped. It was the demon bunny, I smiled. "Do you know the way back?" I asked in a gravelly voice. He nodded quickly and I followed him all the way to the cottage. It was night and I looked to Ponyville, it seemed like there was a party going on, was I forgetting something? I waited outside as the community of bunnies exited one by one, they all thanked me in their cute little voices. I smiled brightly and waved at each and every one. Then the last one was the demon bunny, he didn't thank me but instead he stared at me until reaching the edge of the forest. I never saw him enter the wooded area as I trotted inside. Closing the door behind me I noticed how much of a mess the cottage was. I went upstairs to the bedroom with heavy eyes. The bed was in ruins. The dam finally broke and my face was nothing but a river of tears. I fell to the wooden ground and curled up in a ball. I don't know how long I cried before sleep overtook me. I only remember two things after I fell asleep. First was a knock on the front door and second was a blanket being placed on top of me. Maybe an angel visited me while I slept. Author's Note Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This story has taken a lot of time to make and I hope it has been worth it. This story is sort of an obsession of mine and with all the time with it I certainly can't wait to be fully done with this chapter. This story will be updated every three weeks, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. The next three chapters have been made but still requires a bit of touching up. If you enjoy this story so far and are interested in becoming an editor for this story please send me a private message. Also please check my friend out for his awesome work on the cover art: PastaPower64 See you soon Chapter 2: Tidying UpMy head felt woozy, my body stiff. It was safe to say that I did not feel well. I sat up as my eyes slowly began to open. The blanket on top of me fell to the ground and I rubbed my eyes. What a horrible dream, then noticing that I was in my cottage, I reiterate. What a horrible night. During my yawning I stretch while flapping my wings. I know I should get up and get the day started but instead I just frowned. My loneliness seeped into me like a depression. My excitement the day before was completely zapped as I sat alone. Then my ears perked up as I started to hear a continuous sound. “Is somepony here?” I said more to myself than any possible intruder. Flapping my wings I got out from my rut and flew downstairs with the sound only growing louder. Making my way to the kitchen I was shocked to see none other than demon bunny cooking greens on the stove. The hungry home invader stood on a wooden stool and wore a white chef's hat. He held the pan in one paw and a wooden spoon in the other. “Um, Mr Bunny? What are you doing?” I ask softly. He answers with an eyebrow raised and tilted his little head to the pan. He then threw half of the pan’s contents on one plate nearby then emptied it on another. He turned the stove off and took one of the plates as he jumped down. “Is this for me?” I point to the plate still on the counter. He turned back and gave a simple nod, the bunny then continued to the living room. I pick up the plate and follow him into the room. Looking around I once again get reminded of all the broken furniture. Demon bunny placed his plate on the ground and sat next to it while throwing a small chunk of green into his mouth. With little other options I sat on the cold floor and took my first bite. It wasn’t bad, just flavorless. I really needed to get some seasoning. “Thank you so much my little friend but there really was no need to go through all this effort, wouldn’t you rather go home with all your friends and family?” I try to give a kind smile. The bunny looked at me with his small eyes and gave a firm shake to his head. I was really hoping he wouldn’t do that. “Oh come now, I’m sure they will miss you dearly if you decide to cook for me every morning,” I say, hoping there was truth in what I said. By his unimpressed face I could tell that he knew that wasn’t the case. Well, I guess it’s okay. Maybe he just thinks that he owes me, I’m hoping that he will stop soon. Demon bunny finished his plate quickly and then just looked at me. I finished my meal as fast as I could. “Yum! Super tasty, thank you,” I attempted to lie and I don’t really know if it worked as he simply picked up both of our plates and hopped back to the kitchen. Returning moments later he looked at me expectantly. “Well, thank you for the meal but I have to go pick up some new furniture. Sorry I couldn’t stay and chat, why don’t you go on and get back to your family,” I said kindly with a large smile as I closed my eyes. Then I felt a furry critter hop on my back, oh no. Hiding in my mane is usually not that hard, that is unless there is a super mean bunny holding your head up as you trot. Thankfully I can still have my eyes firmly planted on the dirt below but still. I’m my own pony, I shouldn’t have to deal with this. I turned my head the most I could and looked at the bunny, he crossed his paws as I opened my mouth. “Nevermind,” I give in and hold my head up. Every building we pass I quickly glance up at the sign before falling just as quick to the ground. Finally we made it to our first challenge, and when I mean challenge I mean- “Hello there, Miss, may I help you find what you’re looking for?” a brown stallion approached me. “Do you need a quill or a sofa?” I stagger back a little bit and he doesn’t seem to notice. “You look new to town, so I bet you're looking for the best sofas in all of Equestria aye.” This is too much, I could never deal with these types of ponies. I think it’s time to go back and cry in my bed… Go cry in my blanket on the ground. That's when my head moved up and down but it wasn’t me, demon bunny is in so much trouble after this. “Perfect!” He claps his hooves before pushing me inside. Before I get my bearings he quickly begins explaining the sofa in front of us. It’s way out of my price range and is definitely not what I’m looking for. I let him continue on and on, not knowing when to start listening. “I take it you want this awesome sofa?” The stallion got a bit too close and I backed up. “I-It’s a-a b-bit too e-expensive,” I touch my front to hooves together bashfully. “You can make payments monthly,” he proudly exclaims. “I-I-I d-don’t really want it,” I whisper. “You couldn’t ask for a better sofa,” he stated. “F-Fine…” I reached for my bag in defeat when I felt the soft weight from my back landing on my head. I started to hear grinding teeth and I began to panic. “No, no, no, Mr Bunny do not attack the sofa clerk he means well, really he does,” I start flying and trying to get him down from my head but he doesn’t budge. “Oh, um, uh, why don’t we move on, uh, how about this one over here?” from my panicked state I manage to look at the sales pony and notice a whole lot of sweat. The bunny calms and I give a sigh of relief. The next sofa was a little too big. The third was perfect, it was cheap too. Reaching for my bits I noticed the pink envelope in my saddle that I forgot to open from yesterday. I pushed it to the side for now and grabbed my money. “Thank you, it will be shipped by the end of the week,” the stallion said with a smile but was cut off quickly as Mr Bunny once again as he started to grind his teeth. “Um, it will be shipped tomorrow,” he faked a smile but the sound didn’t stop. “TODAY, it will be shipped today.” The rest of the shopping went the same way, even buying a simple haywich ended with a very delicious fruit salad being added for free. Finally we got to sit down with our order and Mr Bunny jumped to the seat next to me at our table. I slid the salad to him while beginning to chomp away at my haywich. I smiled brightly but I didn’t exactly know why. The food wasn’t that good, well atleast mine wasn’t, Mr Bunny’s face said otherwise. Was it finally getting the shopping done? No, that couldn't be it. Staring at Mr Bunny I noticed I was missing something, what was it? He finished his food quickly and I never saw a bunny so happy before. Mr. Bunny looked back at me and tilted his head. What was I missing? I was so close but I couldn’t put my hoof on it. “Mr Bunny, would you like to stay with me?” I asked wholeheartedly. He answered swiftly with a nod before hopping to me, he then gave me the cutest hug I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. I snatched him up in my hooves and returned the hug, of course I remembered to be gentle. I know what was gone, it was loneliness. I sat Mr Bunny down back to his seat. It’s been almost a whole day without the feeling of loneliness creeping up on me. The visualization of Mr Bunny kicking a dark fog far away made me chuckle. “No way, Fluttershy, is that you?” a very familiar voice came from above and I turned. “R-Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” I was genuinely shocked to ever see her outside Cloudsdale. “Well, it's sort of a long story. To sum it up they keep on asking me to lead the weather team someplace outside Cloudsdale but I don’t really want to leave the greatest city in Equestria, I always promise to check out the towns when Cloudsdale finds itself over them though. I was flying by until I saw you. It's been awhile, how’s it going?” She spoke quickly as she joined me and Mr Bunny at our table. “It’s going wonderful, meet my second friend, Mr Bunny,” I smile brightly as I present the bunny. He tapped his foot as he crossed his arms. Rainbow smiled the best she could. “Right… Hello there…” Dashie tried. “Mr Bunny, this is my very first friend, Rainbow Dash,” he wasn’t very impressed. “Is that his name? You didn’t think to name him something else?” Dash questioned and I guess I didn’t really think about it. “That’s just what I have been calling him, did you want a different name?” I turn to Mr Bunny. He gave me a very unreliable shrug. “Oh, but I’m just terrible at coming up with names.” “Well, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about him? How about ‘unremarkable’,” Rainbow grinned while Mr Bunny stuck his tongue out. I ignored them both as I thought. What comes to mind first when I think about him. I turn to Mr Bunny. “How does ‘Angel’ sound?” I asked curiously and he gave me a light smile with a nod. To be honest it wasn’t my first thought, to be frank it was the opposite but I know deep down that he is a very good little bunny, even if he does cause a lot of heartache. “Angel huh? Sure,” Dashie shrugs. “Anyways, I haven’t seen you in… Well, I don’t know how long,” her eyes moved to the sky. “It’s been four years. We finished middle school together, afterwards we had a choice to enroll in the weather team or continue with our studies,” I answered softly as I brushed my hair with my hoof. “That’s right. The choice for me was so obvious that I kind of forgot,” she gave a lighthearted laugh and I just nodded silently. “If that was four years ago that means that you finally got out of school, good for you,” Rainbow gave me a smile and I responded with the best grin I could muster, she probably knew that I didn’t want to talk about it. “Mom and Dad gave me a cottage here in Ponyville, we just got all the shopping done today,” I moved on quickly and it seems like I caused a little bit of conflict in her head. “Oh wow, you went shopping all by yourself. I guess you have really come out of your shell,” Dashie answered with shock. I think I blushed a little, I’m glad to hear that I’m improving even if it wasn’t entirely true. To some ponies Rainbow comes across as rude but I know she never means any malice. “Well actually, Angel helped a lot today. I don’t think I could have gotten through it if he wasn’t there,” I give my fluffy friend a smile and he looks away. Was he being bashful? That is so cute, I want to give him the biggest hug. “Relying on others is a strength too, I think. I don’t really need to, I’m sort of awesome,” Rainbow remarked and I couldn’t help but giggle. I think she might have actually blushed for a moment, no, there's no way. Our small table heard as a big group of ponies trotted past us. I’m not really sure what they were talking about but I hid in my mane as they got close, out of the corner of my eye I saw Angel staring daggers at the group and I felt Rainbow’s gaze from beyond my shell. After they pass I remember to breathe. “Fluttershy, did you hear what those ponies were talking about?” Dashie questioned with a straight face. I felt sort of put off by the question. “No, not a word,” I said, still in my shell. “Sounds like there was this awesome party last night,” I could hear the smile as she spoke. “I think so too, I saw lights,” I look back up to both of my friends and gave them a light grin. “Well, looks like I found a new home,” Rainbow said nonchalantly and I staggered in my seat. I sort of felt like she wasn’t telling me something but that didn’t really bother me especially because she said something completely unlike her. “Guess I should go and tell my boss, see you soon Flutters,” and with that she bolted off, leaving me completely dumbfounded. With a lot of sweat and tears me and Angel broke down all of the ruined furniture and threw it in a pile outside away from any trees and grass. I laid on the wooden floor, the cool boards felt nice on my back. Staring at the ceiling I panted with tired breaths. The good bunny he is, Angel placed a cold cup of water next to my head. It was difficult getting the cup to my lips on the ground however the refreshing liquid told me it was worth it. I felt like I could never get up from the ground again, my body too weak to lift a hoof. Well, at least it gave me time to think. This has been such a chaotic week so far, as soon as I entered Ponyville things have just been going crazy all of a sudden. Do I want to go back to living with my parents? I’m sure they would understand. Turning my head to the right my eyes land on a cute bunny curling up for a nap. No, I think I want to stay here, it's where my friends are after all. Hm, I never realized how quiet it is here. I think the new furniture is supposed to be here in a few hours, I should probably clean. Maybe after I close my eyes for a few moments… Somepony pounded on the door. With my eyes half open and my hair everywhere I get up from the ground. Wobbling to the door I opened it without a thought in my head. “Wow, you look terrible. Oh, sorry,” said the mare on the other side of the door. I couldn’t really see her as my eyes were completely unfocused and the sunlight flashbanged me but finally a thought entered my head. I am the stupidest pony ever. “J-J-JUST A M-MINUTE!” I yell with a full blush. Running to the washroom I threw water on my face and gave a quick comb to my hair. Hearing trotting downstairs I began to panic. I rushed out of the washroom and came to a stop as I saw a Pink mare brushing Angel. “You’re a cute bunny, yes you are,” she said in a cutesy voice. Angel purred loudly as I stood, shocked. “W-Who a-a-are you?” I asked as my heart raced. “Oh, sorry, you left the door open. My name is Pinkie Pie. I work at Sugarcube Corner but I’m also a party planner. Derpy asked me if I could help her deliver your furniture and I was already on my way over here anyways,” she smiled brightly while scratching under Angel’s chin. The bunny continuously kicked the ground in delight as his ears fell. I nod instinctively while staring at Angel. “Your name is Fluttershy right?” the pink pony darted to me with crazy speeds and t-touched our m-muzzzels t-together. I fell to the ground and my mind ran too fast to be able to register a single thought. “I actually came by last night but I figured you were probably sleeping. Derpy said you got my letter, did you read it?” Pinkie asked. I managed to slow down my mind just enough to remember the pink envelope. I shakily raised my hoof to my saddle across the room and the mare wasted no time picking up the pink envelope. Pinkie opened the letter and it shot out confetti, turning to me the mare laughed a little. “You’re probably going to think this is really funny but um, this was an invitation to last night's party. It was a ‘welcome to Ponyville, Fluttershy’ party and um, a lot of ponies might be mad that you didn’t show up because we couldn’t eat the cake until you got there. Then you didn’t show up. Funny right? Right Fluttershy?” my pupils went small and I sunk into the ground. It was crying time, there wasn’t actually a better time to cry other than right now. I hid my face and curled up slowly. “Um, Fluttershy? Are you okay?” my face became filled with tears. “I can fix this, um. Here, I can make all your furniture,” after a few moments of crying she came back. “Done, here I can move it in too,” the next minute was filled with swift sounds going from outside to inside. But I didn’t think about it as my fear overwhelmed me and that only made the floor more wet. “Done, all better?” her voice began to crack. I felt as she got close and I tensed up, only crying more. She sat next to me and picked me up slowly. Pinkie placed her hooves around me and I placed mine around her. “Sometimes everypony needs a hug.” “B-But I’ll make your fur all wet,” I sniffed. “Friend’s shoulders are meant to be cried over.” And I wept. The darkness faded quickly, yet I didn’t let go and the tears didn’t stop. I don’t know how long I stayed in my friend's hooves but my soft bed met me while I dreamed of my new friend. Author's Note Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals is what powers this story. I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite it being pretty slow. Next chapter should be more fun. Have a good rest of the day Chapter 3: Tightrope PanicFeeling warm I didn’t exactly want to wake up but decided I should all the same. I opened my eyes on a green hill overlooking a beautiful sunrise as all the stars in the sky slowly disappeared. Looking down I saw a group of animals surrounding me in slumber, many kinds of birds, a flying squirrel, and even a large bear. Their peaceful snores made such a large smile arrive on my face. It’s so cute I want to cuddle with all of them. “Psst!” I heard a noise and swirled my head to it. Upon seeing Pinkie Pie I jumped in excitement and flew to her over my animal friends. We smiled at each other and without a word we trot through the colorful forest. I showed her all of the wonderful critters I could name and she listened carefully and understood everything I said. CRASH! I looked back but nothing was there. Pinkie gave me a shrug and we continued along the path. She told me all about her life and how amazing it was. I couldn’t stop listening, it was such a gripping tale that I held onto every word. BANG! I rubbed my ears while Pinkie gave me a lighthearted smile. I smiled too, it was difficult to not smile with Pinkie Pie. “I did it,” Pinkie spoke in Rainbow Dash’s voice and I began being sucked away. I felt warm but only on the outside, I sat up in my bed as I rubbed my eyes. Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway to my room. “I got past Angel,” she spoke with pride as she wore bruises. “Get me out of this NIGHTMARE!” I threw the blanket over me and shook in my covers. Tears begin to flow. “Fluttershy, you're awake. This isn’t a nightmare,” I felt as she nudged me from beyond my cocoon. “That’s the problem Rainbow, real life is a nightmare. Nopony hates me in my dreams,” I cried to her but of course she didn't understand. “Fluttershy,” she whined. “It’s been a whole week, everypony already forgot about the cake. It isn’t a big deal,” she lied to me. “You’re right, it's a huge deal. Nopony will ever like me ever again,” I threw my blankets away as I tried to get her to see the truth. “That’s being unreasonable,” the unreasonable pony pointed at me with a frown. “No it’s not, you would never understand,” I threw the blankets back on top of me but Rainbow countered by flying in my bed and the blankets fell over both of us. “Wow, it does feel cozy in here,” she sounded surprised but that doesn’t matter right now. “Go away,” I said quietly as I grabbed my pillow and hugged it shamefully. “Before I go I just wanted to invite you to something,” I heard Rainbow say with a smirk. “It’s not another party that causes everypony to hate me is it?” I spoke into the pillow. “Nope, there is an animal show there,” I perked up and noticed that Dashie held something out but I couldn’t quite see it. I removed the blankets and saw her smirk as she gave me a pamphlet. “A very harry situation, a choir of beaks, and the skydiving nutcracker,” I read aloud curiously. “Yeah, it's a traveling circus. They have a whole bunch of animals doing cool stunts. You can wear a ton of face paint and no one will know it's even you and the best part is that I have the day off, I won’t leave your side, not for a single moment,” Rainbow spoke sporadically with a large grin. “I-I don’t know Dashie, I don’t do well in public and...” I hid in my pillow. “And, what?” she asked. “I’m sort of worried you’re going to run off and leave me alone,” I said really quietly into my pillow. “WHAT!?” she shouted in disbelief. “Who is the most loyal of all your friends?” “Angel,” I answered once again into the pillow. “H-Huh,” she said dumbfounded. “Well, outside of Angel, who is your most loyal friend?” “I really don’t know Pinkie Pie all that much,” I tapped my hooves together. “Wait, you’re friends with Pinkie? When did that happen?” she asked. “She came over to talk to me, then she called me her friend,” I grinned. “I think that pony calls everyone her friend, I don’t know if that really counts.” “SHUT UP!” I yelled. Looking up I saw Rainbow flying above the bed defensively and I cursed myself. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I reacted like that.” “No, no, it’s cool. Go rinse yourself off and I’ll go grab a lot of face paint,” she said cautiously in a nod. “Okay,” I dug my head into the pillow as I heard Dashie leave. “I’m such a stupid pony, why did I say that?” “Are you sure nopony will recognize me?” I played with my hooves as we flew, Rainbow was ahead of course. “Not a chance. I only know it’s you because I put it on the makeup,” Dashie chuckled. “Well, are you sure the wig is necessary?” I said as I held the large rainbow afro. “One hundred percent,” she gave an amused smile. “Only if you’re sure,” I tap my hooves together. Sure I was nervous, I really don’t like going to public events but also it took some effort to make sure I don’t touch my face. The layers of makeup made me want to scratch it off as it sat uncomfortably on me. I began hearing a crowd of voices as we approached, lights filled up the sky and as we made it over the hill we were greeted by a large circus with plenty of tents, a coaster, and a large line of ponies piled at the entrance. My fur stood on edge and I stopped mid flight. “Fluttershy?” Dashie noticed me and flew back. “Y-You know, A-Angel hasn’t s-stayed home by himself yet. I-I don’t think he’s r-ready,” I stammer my way through the excuse. That isn’t to say that I still didn’t worry about him. “Y-You should go on without me,” looking up I saw the unimpressed expression Rainbow wore and I started to sweat. “That bunny can fight off a manticore, I think he can manage watching the cottage for a few hours,” she stated and I wanted to object but it was clear she wasn’t going to let me weasel out of this one. “Sorry,” I whispered. We carried on and Dashie kept looking back to me with an indifferent frown. Finally she moved to me and grabbed my wig, she threw it to the trash below and I looked at her with confusion. “That wig isn’t funny anymore,” is all she said before we moved to the line in silence. I held my breath as we traveled through the line and stared directly into the soil below. As we got closer to the entrance I could see as Dashie got visibly more and more excited, shedding her odd mood from a few minutes ago. “Which event do you want to go to first?” She broke our silence as she impatiently tapped her hoof. “Um, I think I was going to go to the choir of beaks,” I spoke quietly, hoping only Rainbow would hear me. “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” she said quickly. Dashie shifted from standing to sitting, then to flapping an inch from the ground. Rainbow fidgeted more than I did as we waited until it was finally our turn. We both went up to the booth together, thankfully I didn’t need to say or do anything as the two ponies talked. After entering Dash gave me a small strip of paper as she tied an identical one around her hoof. I take it and do the same. Looking around we saw a couple dozen tents that all hosted small games or contests with adorable plushies. I wanted them but I always sucked at those types of games, even if I could get past talking to the pony behind the counter. Rainbow on the other hoof looked like she was about to explode, she bit her lower lip as we trotted. “Um, Rainbow?” She turned to me quickly. “YES!” Dashie got super close. “Did you want to play the games? We don’t have to be there until-” and with that she dashed away. I really was hoping she wouldn’t do that. Sighing deeply I noticed that I was now all alone in a public area and I decided reasonably that the best course of action was to run away quickly in a random direction. After a lot of hoping and some luck I managed to duck out of a crowd without running into anypony. Finally being able to breath I started to relax and began scanning my surroundings. I was in a darker part of the carnival that held a few tables, an empty tent, and two porta potties. As my nerves calmed I sat at one of the tables and pulled out the map. My ears perked up as I heard a faint muffling sound coming from one of the porta potties. I’m not sure why but I approached it. The sound continued and despite knowing it was a bad idea I opened the door. A pegasus fell out, he was tied up using rope and had black tape stretched over his mouth. The pegasus was yellow with red hair and had plenty of face paint, he seemed to work here. “O-Oh my goodness. What happened to you?” I ripped away the tape and he smiled. “The focus of everypony’s attention was trapped in a wretched box of terrors by his fellow carnival workers. Would you kindly untie me?” He spoke with pizzazz and plenty of self obsession. Silently I worked and set him free from his bonds. He got up swiftly. “Thank you for your kindness. I shall repay you if you ever need it. Now if you don’t mind I have to make it back and train Harry on the tightrope,” he stretched his wings while I brought my hoof up to my mouth in thought. “Y-You are training a bear to tightrope?” I asked as I started to get filled with mixed emotion. “Yeah, whatever keeps business running says our gracious host,” he rolled his eyes. “I-Is it safe?” say it is, just say it is. “As far as I’m concerned the tightrope is only safe if you have these,” the carnival worker flapped his wings with a solemn expression. “Anyways, the focus of everypony’s attention should be getting back. I don’t know how those ponies can live without me. Also you must show me how you did your face paint, it looks truly… Harsh,” he waved as he flew over a nearby tent. Everything about that conversation made me very uneasy. Now more than anything I wanted to go see the animal shows just to make sure they aren’t in any danger. I trot worriedly to the first event. The little concert of birds ended and they sounded wonderful. I almost completely forgot that I was here to make sure the animals were okay. I sat in the back of the room and most ponies are now getting up to leave but I stay seated, looking at my map. I glanced to my right at all the empty chairs and noticed I also forgot that I was supposed to be here with somepony, I frowned. Shaking my head I fidgeted with my hooves as I waited for everypony to leave. I wanted to go and say thank you to the composer and all the wonderful birds but my timidness made this a constant war in my head. After all there is no reason I shouldn’t go and say thanks but it isn’t like I had anything else to say. I fought with every fiber of my being to trot to the stage. Forget this, I need to go home. Then I heard the conductor's voice as I began to change my mind. “Good job everyone,” she stated in a static tone. “Except you Constance, no food tonight,” and upon hearing a sad tweet I trotted boldly up the small set of stairs to the stage, from there backstage wasn’t hard to get to. There were a dozen cages filled with the birds from the choir and the conductor standing with an uninterested face. “Hey, you shouldn’t be back here,” she stated coldly but that did nothing to stop my rage from building. “Do you think it’s okay to treat poor animals like that? Taking away their food for not performing well?” I tried my best to quell my anger. “Listen, lady, this is what I have to do. If you have a problem take it up with the boss, sorry, our gracious host,” she answered in an uninterested tone. “Then take me to him, RIGHT NOW!” I sat in a cramped wooden office, clearly meant for travel and not cozyness. I stared at the stallion, a large white unicorn with a dark green aura around his horn. “If my boys skip another business class then cut them off from the family fund,” he said to himself as he wrote. Finally setting the quill down he rolled up the scroll and sat it in a box nearby. “Sorry, I had to take care of that. Now, what can this gracious host do for such a lovely young mare?” The large stallion wore a lighthearted but fake grin. He knows I have been staring daggers at him this entire time. “Animals should always be led by the carrot, not the stick. You and your employees have no right to treat defenseless animals that way,” I state calmly but loudly too. “Oh, that’s what this is about. All my friends call me Hill, feel free to do the same,” his attempt to defuse my anger only made me more upset. “I, do, not, care,” my breaths grew larger, my exhales lasted longer. “Now, now, I see that this is really bothersome for you. What I am doing here is okay, if it wasn’t then by Celestia we would not own all of our furry little friends out there. I’m sorry that we deeply upset you. Here, take a few bits for your trouble,” he placed four bits on the table and he took them off as soon as he saw my face. “How much is it worth to you?” He took out a large bag and began rummaging through it. “What?” I ask. “How many bit-” I knocked the bag to the floor and countless coins clatter to the ground. The stallion looked genuinely shocked as I threw my hooves into his desk. “THIS ISN’T ABOUT BITS!” I yelled in anger, unable to hold it back. “It’s worth that much to you huh?” he grins. “I think I still have it around here somewhere,” the stallion dug in a pile of papers. “Found it! You see you are far from the first to come into my office about this but you are only the second to turn down bits,” he placed a contract on the table, facing me. “I offered the last pony a deal, a written contract. If they can ride a unicycle across the tightrope at the grand event with their wings and or horn bound then they will legally own the rights to every animal in my carnival,” he chuckled in my face. I stomped my hoof in a sponge of black ink and then replanted it on the contract. This caused the gross unicorn to laugh even more. “I’ll make copies,” he managed to spit out of his disgusting mouth in between his mirth. I fell to the rubber pad below just like many times before. I panted, anger beginning to fill me again. I got back up, I wanted to fly so badly but the black tape around my barrel made that impossible. An annoyance to add to the growing list of things I hated about this. I didn’t really notice how much I enjoyed having my wings despite their weak strength. “That time was a lot better, keep it up,” I turned to the yellow pegasus with a frown and he looked back with indifference. “Please stop. I just need to practice,”I said sternly. “No, I know why you’re doing this. Boss brings up that dumb contract weekly after all. There is no other reason why you would be trying so hard,” he stated reasonably. “Why are you trying to help me then? To get back at Hill?” I grabbed the unicycle. “That would be nice but there is another reason.” “What’s that?” “Haven’t you noticed the carnival workers are mostly all unhappy, the animal handlers to be exact. Look, what I’m trying to say is that we were never hired to train animals. We are all here to show our own stuff and bask in the glory. Sure, animals doing awesome tricks brings in a little bit more bits but he also has to pay for the trainers, the animal food, and even their shelter. The animals would be better off elsewhere, they don’t even want to be here,” he rambled on but I still listened. “And I thought you were obsessed with yourself,” I chuckled lightly. “Oh I definitely am. Sorry if the center of everypony’s attention broke character, he felt as though it was important to say a few things,” he spoke loudly and proudly. “So, ready to try again?” My heart beat swiftly, it was just so high. I peered down to the floor below. The yellow pegasus brought me up to the ending platform of the tightrope. I didn’t like the plan but I certainly don’t have an alternative. We sat on the platform an hour before the first ponies began piling into the huge tent. Knowing that Hill wouldn’t let me up to the platform in the first place didn’t change my hatred for him but it did make me smile at the idea of displeasuring him so greatly. “Remember, if you fall I’ll catch you,” he gave a light smile. “Just don’t fall, okay?” I nodded at him and my mind turned back to the floor below. I think he overestimated himself a little too much but it was nice to know somepony has my back. My gut dropped as the seats filled and not being able to hear myself think only made it worse. “HELLO EVERYPONY!” spoke an awful voice and the crowd’s noise shrunk. “HOW ARE WE DOING TONIGHT?” I froze as the crowd stomped so hard that the platform shook. “AMAZING! I AM YOUR GRACIOUS HOST TONIGHT AND WE ARE HAPPY TO BRING YOU THE FIRST EVER!” he paused, the lights went out and it created a great suspense. “TIGHTROPING BEAR! HARRY!” the lights suddenly turned on and they were all placed on the platform opposite us. On the wooden pillar were two trainers and a large brown bear. At this point I attempted to get on the unicycle but as soon as I sat I fell to the floor. My hooves shook and my heart beat as fast as a cheetah. I picked up the unicycle and tried again but the same result. I felt like puking as I laid on the platform. “Listen to me, calm down. Just breathe,” He said in a low voice. “If you can’t do this there is no shame in backing out now.” Calming down I managed to get to my hooves without shaking. I looked across and saw Harry shakily placing his first paw on the long white rope. “T-Turn the lights to me,” I grabbed the unicycle and got on. He nodded and dove into the wires above. Come on Fluttershy, you have been practicing all day. All the lights shifted to me and the crowd went silent. I WAS NOT PRACTICING TO BE BRAVE! My eyes began to tear and I wiped my eyes as soon as they appeared. I started to advance while my tears formed too fast to attempt to stop them. I felt the unicycle jerked as it moved fully onto the tightrope. “FLUTTERSHY?” Rainbow yelled from the silent crowd. Panic ran up my spine. “That’s Fluttershy?” I heard another pony ask and my mind swirled. Looking down to the unicycle I saw multiple cycles and they all rotated within my awful vision. Breath Fluttershy, breath in, breath out. My vision cleared slightly and I came back to only seeing the one unicycle. I continued despite my tears, and my heart, and my gut, and every other fiber of my being. “FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY!” they began to chant. WHY? My crying became an awful existence as I was unable to even see my hoof in front of my face. C-Calm d-d-d-down, I swallowed. H-Help, anypony. “Hey, ignore all of them and keep doing what you’re doing,” I heard soft words spoken to my close right. Wiping my eyes I opened them, Dashie flapped next to me with a smile. “I’m not sure what this is all about but this totally beats watching some bear trot across a line,” she smirked and I couldn’t help but smile too. I continued and finally reached half way, I saw shadows of ponies as they approached me. In a flash of rainbow they went flying. “GO AHEAD, TRY TO STOP HER!” Rainbow yelled. “GET HER, NOW!” yelled another voice. I really, really tried not to think about it. Flashes of light echo around me while I focus, only moving forward when I’m calm enough. I’m almost there, all I need is a little bit more. I thought of the animals, the cute tiny birds that sang magical tunes, the squirrel that glided through the air, and finally the large bear, scared to set a paw on a small line. My mind wondered, how terrible it would be for them to stay here. Then I thought of Hill and my blood boiled and my movements became unsteady. It wasn’t wise but I moved and I knew instantly that this was bad. My weight shifted to one side and I started to fall. I closed my eyes in fear, tears still running down my face. The crowd cheering my name stopped, there was no sound. My wings instinctively moved yet their binds kept them tied. It was almost peaceful. Flapping, I heard flapping. Opening my eyes I found more than a dozen birds from the circus holding onto me. They caught me right as I fell, the unicycle that I sat on still touching the tightrope. With their tiny wings they flapped so hard and I was overjoyed when I found myself balancing on the rope. Quickly I progressed and collapsed to the platform, the two trainers looked at me with shock and the bear pulled me into a soft hug. I stained his brown fur with my tears. Being thrown by another pony was an odd experience, the air time only lasted a second before I found a small bit of dirt in my mouth. I was truly exhausted. I brought my head up and the laughter to my left caused a chuckle from me as well. I rolled and faced the stars as I was filled with mirth. “That was awesome,” Dashie said with a bright smile. “I am never doing that again,” I mentioned with a grin of my own. “It was crazy, why did you even do all that?” A burst from the door greeted us with a large bear and many small critters followed by a very angry Hill. My tired smile grew, glad to have the deal not be argued with. Harry once again swept me up in his strong arms. “There, are you happy? Never show up to one of our events again, you two are banned for ten lifetimes,” Hill angrily slammed the door and left us alone once again in the dark. “I see you have some new friends,” Rainbow said lightheartedly and my eyes started to close. Harry’s fur is just so very soft but I attempted to give my friend a nod. “Get some shut eye bud, I’ll make sure you get home safe.” “I’m just glad to not be crying right before bed again,” I whispered, I didn’t know if anypony heard me and it doesn’t really matter right now. I happily find myself closing my eyes. Chapter 4: Tired MindAn animal snoring is one of the many pleasures in life. Watching a small friend as their body rises slightly just to fall, the cute noises that they make. I just can’t stop smiling and I most certainly can’t stop watching. On the other hoof when another pony snores I can’t help but to get immediately annoyed. My tired eyes awake and scan the dark room. My animal friends from the night before slept but they weren’t making a sound, so I grabbed my pillow and prepared to throw it. Finally I found the source of the noise, a rainbow haired pegasus snoring loudly on the ground in my room. I drop the pillow and silently but quickly fly out of the room. I closed the door and rubbed my eyelids as I sat. I was upset, not at Dashie but myself. Why was I such a bad pony? It’s not like she could help it and I was about to throw a pillow at her. All she did was want to help and I repay her by waking her up? Seriously, what is wrong with me? I felt a tap on my hoof and I removed my hooves from my eyes. Angel looked up to me with his head tilted, he didn’t even need to make a noise. I knew he was asking what was wrong. “Oh Angel,” I grabbed him and cuddled him gently. The heavy darkness that surrounded me vanished and was replaced by a gentle smile on my face. I pulled him away and he grinned, seemingly happy to help. Angel made some noises and I translated them rather easily. “I’m up because I’m a bad pony,” my head hangs low. The bunny continued. “Rainbow Dash helped me so much yesterday and I woke up ready to throw a pillow at her. I’m such a terrible friend,” Angel sighed before making more noise. “No, it is a big deal. It doesn’t matter that I never did throw the pillow, I was about to and that’s all that matters,” I hid my face from my small friend. The woodland creature continued. “I am not too hard on myself,” I whispered quietly. I felt Angel wrap his small paws around my hoof and I couldn’t help but to grin. There we sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Before my tiredness engrossed me there was a knock at the door. Me and Angel sat up and looked to the front door just out of view. I got up and made my way down the stairs before stopping at the front of the door. I looked sneakily through the window and the dead of night was very present, almost as much as a pink fluffy mane. Feelings inside of me twisted and melted, eventually I opened the door. “Hiya Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie smiled. “H-Hi, Pinkie,” I stammered out. The pink party horse stood outside, looking at me expectedly. Sweat began trickling down my face. What was I missing? Why isn’t she saying anything? Think Fluttershy, think. “W-Would you l-like to come in?” I asked with all the courage I could muster. “Absolutely!” in a smile, Pinkie hopped inside. “I got something for you,” she said quickly, digging her hoof in her mane. She took out a large bag of bird seed and I staggered back. How did she keep that in her mane? “I saw you at the carnival yesterday, I never ever thought you would do something like that. So then I thought to myself; why would you do that? Then I thought about Harry, the bear and thought that you probably did it for the animals. I asked my friends at the carnival and they all said that you did it to get ownership of all the animals. Then I thought; WOW! Fluttershy really loves animals and I didn’t know if you had any bird seed so I brought you some after I got a feeling that you were awake,” she rambled and my tired mind couldn’t keep up. “Wha-” escapes my tired lips. “I brought you a bag of bird seed. So, uh,” Pinkie fidgeted. “I was actually wondering about something Fluttershy,” she moved one of her hooves on the ground in a rotation. I knew how she felt in that very instant, actually I felt that way right now. The wavering voice, the unfocused fidgeting, she wants to say something but it can’t come out. No matter how hard you push yourself, it's always like this. Maybe I should say something? It’s always easier if somepony says it for you but what is she wanting to say? Will I even be able to say it if I know what it is? “Fluttershy, are you my friend? I’m really, really sorry about the party. There was no ill will I promise,” she said it, she said what she wanted to say. She isn’t like me, she is far stronger than me. “Of course you my friend, why wouldn’t you think that?” I got closer, my worried heart quickly thumped loud in my chest. “Really?” flashes of hope dance in her fantastic eyes. I nod and it felt as though time skipped, the ground met my back and Pinkie laid above me, her hooves wrapped around me. “I was so worried that you didn’t want to be my friend,” she smiled. My face began to heat up and my hooves didn’t know where to go. Finally I placed my forehooves around my friend. I am so weak, my mouth opened but I bit my lower lip. There was something that I wanted to say, my body yelled, screamed, begging to be said. What did it want me to say? My body didn’t answer however. “Hey Fluttershy, where is-” Rainbow Dash’s tired voice came from the stairs before halting. Pinkie jumped off of me and I shot up quickly. Rainbow’s face was bright red as she stared at both of us. “Hiya, you must be Rainbow Dash, right?” Pinkie started. “Y-Yeah and you’re Pinkie Pie,” Dashie stated. “Yes sir-e bob,” she laughed. “Fluttershy, you stay here. Pinkie, meet me in the kitchen,” the pegasus said as she flew to the other room. Me and Pinkie looked at each other and she gave me a shrug as she followed Rainbow. They were both out of view and I finally remembered to breathe. My face cooled off and my brain started to work again. I don’t think that I ever saw Rainbow blush, did we do something bad? Was she just too shy to meet a new pony? I shook my head, come on Fluttershy, its Rainbow Dash. So, why was she blushing and what are they talking about? I want to talk to Pinkie Pie, why is Rainbow talking to her? They aren’t friends are they? I shook my head again, what are you talking about Fluttershy? Why can’t my mind just work, this always happens when I think about her. “Fluttershy.” What did I want to say to her earlier? My emotions are all over the place. I’m used to not being able to say anything but why is this so different? “Hey, Fluttershy.” So many unanswerable questions. Is life normally this complicated? Maybe Rainbow Dash would know what’s wrong with me, probably not. “FLUTTERSHY!” Rainbow yelled and I gave a small squeak. “W-W-What?” I asked worriedly. Dashie sighed. “You were stuck in that head of yours again.” “Oh, sorry,” I hung my head low. “Don’t worry about it. Me and Pinkie cleared up any confusion so we are all good now,” the pegasus said nonchalantly. “What confusion? Oh, did I do something?” I asked, already condemning myself. “What? No, Pinkie Pie was the- nevermind. Anyways, we should probably get a few more hours of shut eye before morning.” “The birdseed is in the kitchen Fluttershy. Have a good night you two,” Pinkie bounced from the kitchen out the front door. “Goodnight,” I whisper. I followed Rainbow up the stairs, she flew into a collection of pillows with content. I slowly got back into my bed but sleep was not at the forefront of my mind. “Rainbow, can I ask a question?” I ask cautiously. “Sure,” she answered tiredly. “Does it mean something when you can’t stop thinking about somepony and you get tongue tied when you meet them?” I asked as I tossed in bed. “Don’t you always get tongue tied when talking to other ponies?” she asked but I just stayed quiet with a frown. “Sorry Flutters, I don’t know.” “It’s okay. Thank you anyways.” Next thing I knew the week started to fly by. I found a nice cave nearby for Harry. Angel helped me buy some bird houses from a pony in town named Burnt Oak. The flying squirrel made himself a nice home in one of the nearby trees. Eventually more animals gravitated to my home and began settling in. I finally started to call the cottage my home and Angel started to help me keep track of all our new companions. Yet not a day went by that Pinkie Pie didn’t enter my mind. Not getting enough sleep was also a constant. I entered my home, feeding all the animals takes a lot of time out of your day. Now it was the odd part of the day, while most of the time I started to follow a schedule this was the one part where I had plenty of free time. I was always unsure what to do but if I don’t start doing something soon I’ll become trapped in my head until Angel snaps me out of it. I looked at the bookshelf built into the wall and noticed a few books that were left by the past owners. I finally picked out a book and started to read. It was a book that held many lullabies, while I could never admit to it, I loved to sing. There were many songs and most were childish but some held legends of the Mare in the Moon and other fairy tales, they usually held an almost sinister tone so I avoided them. Finally I landed on one called; Hush Now, Quiet Now. I repeated it over and over, with every word my body grew more relaxed. The relaxation was rather short however as the door to my house busted open. An orange mare flew inside with a dog gripped in her teeth. The dog whimpered and I shot up instantly. “Leave them there, go to the kitchen and get the first aid kit,” I said quickly and the orange pony laid down the dog on a pillow. “What’s wrong with them?” I asked worriedly as I scanned the puppy. “Ah don’t know, Ah found her limping and raced over here as quick as a whip,” she answered and I immediately looked to her legs. The orange mare spat the first aid on the ground next to me and I worked quickly to find where the pain was. Finally I found it and I started the tests right away to find out what was wrong. I might not have been living on the ground for very long but I did meet my animal friends whenever I could. This was far from my first medical emergency, I’m just glad to have first aid this time. I did feel the worried gaze of the pony behind me and it started to bother me as the adrenaline wore off. “Please wait outside, she is going to be fine,” I promised. It wasn’t a baseless lie but it was one nevertheless. She nodded and made her way outside. Finally being able to breathe I start to work. I finished caring for her, thankfully it wasn’t severe and will be able to heal in a few days. Now it was time, not for the most awful part but it was time for the most difficult. I left the cottage and right outside the orange mare stood, seemingly staring off in the distance. She seemed to be a farm pony, with apples for her cutie mark and a western hat dawning her head. One you tend to see at rodeos. She noticed me and glanced over, her pupils widened and she grew stiff. I wasn’t sure how to react, my terrible knowledge of social situations once again showing. Should I say something, well of course I had to. “Wow,” escaped her mouth. I froze, was something in my mane? Did I have blood on me? I looked like a wreck didn’t I? “Erm, sorry.” she coughed. “How’s Winona? Is she going to be okay?” “Yes, she is going to be alright. She needs a lot of rest and needs to stay off that leg. I’m more than capable of watching over her for the next few days if you need,” I hid slightly in my mane as I talked. For some odd reason I didn’t feel the same devastating weight on my voice as I spoke to her. Maybe I’m improving? No, is it because I’m talking about an animal? “I’d hate to be a bother more than Ah am already,” She looked away. “It’s okay, I love taking care of animals,” I answered. “Yeah, that’s what Pinkie said.” “You’re friends with Pinkie?” I looked at the orange mare as I stepped forward. “O’ course, Ah think everypony in Ponyville is friends with that mare,” she giggled slightly. “Then you have to let me watch Winona,” I said childishly. “I don’t have a lot of bits.” “I’ll do it for free.” “She is quite the energetic dog, are you sure you can handle her?” “That poor dog? She’ll be the easiest pet yet.” The orange mare kicked her hoof in the earth for a second before answering. “Alright, but if there is any problem whatsoever, please let me know.” “I will. Um, actually, where do you live?” I just realized I knew nothing about her. “Oh shoot, Ah didn’t even introduce myself. Hi, Ah’m Applejack. Ah live on Sweet Apple Acres, it’s actually directly north of here. Just over that hill over there is a white fence and a ton of apple trees. Just head to the big red barn in the middle if you need me” she said with a large smile. “I’m Fluttershy, it's nice to meet you,” I think I did that right? “Likewise, always good meeting new friends,” she nodded. “Y-Yeah, well, I better go back and watch Winona. Can never be too careful,” I said as I started for the cottage. “Wait… Can Ah come back tomorrow and check up on her?” she asked. I cringed slightly at the question. I don’t know Applejack, she seems like a nice mare but having somepony that I hardly know visiting always fills me with dread. With my answer clearly made, I spoke. “Of course,” I looked back with a smile. Every time Fluttershy, you do this every time. Why must I make life harder? “Great! Ah’ll see you then,” she waved. Admittedly I hardly sleep, so it wasn’t much different from the rest of the week but this time it was for a different reason. I didn’t think about Pinkie at all as my mind ran wild with crazy visions of my guest saying terrible things. I hardly knew Applejack so the fantasies were far fetched enough to almost be laughable. My silly imagination did let me know that I was scared of what the day had prepared, not that I needed any help figuring that out. Looking out the window it seemed that the day was starting without me. I began my morning routine which now included watching over Winona. It was almost startling how well the pup listened, of course she didn’t fully trust me right away but a bowl of juicy food fixed that rather quickly. It seemed that she really didn’t like to take medicine but downed it all the same, I only wish Angel would do that if he ever grew sick. I have a feeling I’d have to fight him tooth and nail to get even a small pill down his throat. The rest of the morning went rather well. Being able to keep the inevitable visit at the back of my mind was very helpful to keep the day going. Once my free time found me I swiftly began cleaning, the cottage wasn’t really messy but unlike reading, cleaning made it harder for my mind to wonder. Without a thought I started to hum a simple tune. The open windows found themselves quickly occupied with many of the birds from the circus and they all swiftly joined the song. The first time they joined in I was rather startled but I began to grow used to it after the fourth time. I never realized how many times a day I started to hum tunes until my feathery friends started to join. Everytime my friends manage to match my tune I add more notes, they actually add small notes themselves which I try to incorporate. It’s by no means a competition as we all have fun creating new songs. We enter a trance and our bodies enter auto pilot. I finished cleaning the bookshelf while in song so I turned to the rest of the room and noticed an orange pony. She stood completely still with her jaw agape, the door behind her was open, I then realized that I accidentally left it ajar. The orange farm pony held a basket of apples that dropped to the floor and I was too distracted to hear the noise. I subconsciously end the song as my expanded wings tied back to my barrel. My face suddenly turned very hot and I should probably go find a hole to hide in for the rest of time. “Wow,” Applejack shook her head in disbelief. “That was the best darn music Ah have ever heard,” she wore a large grin. "Sorry," I whimpered as I curled up in my hooves. “You should have told me to bring my guitar,” her joyous voice said. "Sorry," my voice cracked and my tears began to flow. “Sugarcube, are you? Consarnit Applejack,” with worry the earth pony pulled me into a hug. “Shh, it's okay sugarcube.” "Sorry," I repeated as I grappled my hooves around the farm pony. “There ain’t nothing to be sorry about,” she said in a relaxed but sure voice. "Sorry." “Shh, just let it all out,” her sisterly tone calmed me slightly. I felt oddly comforted by Applejack, within her hooves I felt better somehow. Like I wasn’t bothering her, like she wanted to be here. I was a silly pony for crying, of course I knew this but I have a feeling she wouldn’t think that. I soon stopped crying and rested my muzzle in her shoulder. She smelt like earth and for some reason I couldn’t help but giggle. “Are you feeling better?” Applejack pulled away in a smile. “Thank you,” I looked up to her. “Would you like to talk about it?” she offered a hoof to pull me up and it almost felt wrong not to take it. I shook my head from side to side. “Well, if you ever need to, just let me know,” in a grin she pulled me close. “Thank you Applejack,” I wrapped my hooves around her with a grin of my own. Author's Note Next chapter might take a little longer. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am preparing stories for October. Love myself some horror.
Chapter 1: The Cottage Of BunniesA light casted over the cloud stage, a brown pegasus spoke into the speaker. He said name after name, each time a pegasus flew up to the stage with bright smiles. They would claim a paper and shake hooves with the ponies. “Fluttershy,” he spoke, yet nopony came to the stage. The crowd was silent and two ponies held their heads in shame. The speaker placed the paper to the side and continued. I jolted awake. I felt my heart beat quickly in my chest as sweat ran down my body. I heard my heavy breaths slow. My eyes darted around the dark room and my spread wings folded back to my side. I was in my room and once again the nightmare came back. Night after night it returned to torment me. No matter what I tried it always interrupted my dreams. It was starting to become a problem and the ponies around me noticed the bags under my eyes. Any attention was bad attention, pity was definitely the most common. It didn’t help that most of my days now stayed directionless. Most days began with the nightmare and ended with laying awake until sleep finally overtook me. I have no friends, well, except Rainbow but I haven’t seen her in years. So now I stay awake, staring at a paper on my wall that I received when I was a filly. What do you want to be when you grow up? The paper read. My answer was quick, I was the first one in class to write it. I want to be a confident pony. Afterall, it is the only wish I have ever had. “Fluttershy, dear. Are you awake?” my mom called from the other side of the door. My heart raced, I couldn't help it. I felt my face and noticed my large grin. It's just so exciting! I flew joyously as I giggled to myself. The air in my mane never felt this good. “I have the best parents.” I squealed aloud. I held up a set of keys and chuckled with excitement. Bliss flowed through me like a fallfish in a stream. It was the best gift that anypony could have given me. I can finally be on the ground and give my tired wings a rest. WHAM! I swirled in pain but I recovered quickly. I looked ahead to find a gray pegasus that I slammed into also regaining composure. “Oh no,” voiced the pegasus, she dove down. Finally I realized what had happened. Dozens of white envelopes floated down, aiming for the river below. Only freezing for a second, I dived down. Collecting the papers was far from difficult, adding one on top of another. The imminent dread of being yelled at entered my mind but I shook it out of my head and focused on the envelopes. We finished gathering all of the papers and the gray pony pointed her hoof to the grassy field which I followed shamefully. “Thanks a ton!” The pegasus smiled as she placed the envelopes in her bag using her wings.I answered with a light nod as she took the papers from me. “Sorry I crashed into you,” I recoiled slightly at that as my eyes dropped to the grass below. It didn’t feel like she gave off any malice but it was always so hard to tell. “My name is Derpy Hooves,” I watched the blades of green at my hooves and a small red and black insect appeared. “Um, can you not talk?” she sounded so genuine that I staggered. “Hm, wait a second, I can ask yes or no questions,” does she really think I can’t speak? “Where are you from? Wait, that isn’t a yes or no question. Do you live in Ponyville?” She seems nice. “I um, just m-moved here,” I managed to whisper as I watched the ladybug move. "Oh wow. That's great! That means you probably have," I hear her as she begins digging in her saddle. "Here it is," she said with something in her mouth. She gave me a pink envelope with my name on it. I looked for the sender but there wasn't one. "Who is this from?" I subconsciously ask. "One of my friends," I could hear the smile. "Oh, I need to get going. You live in the cottage outside town right?" I nod as I hear her beginning to flap her wings. "If you see me delivering your mail, come say hi," and with that she took off. I picked up the ladybug as I recovered. After a while it flew away and I suddenly felt a lot better. I very cautiously find my way to the outskirts of town, dodging every possible conversation and interaction. When I finally lay eyes on the small cottage I once again get filled with immense joy and I flap my wings like crazy. I can't believe it, my very own home. I land by the door and take out my keys as my heart pounded, quickly I turn the key in the nob and with a click it opens. With optimism I trot inside to find a cozy room, with a broken couch. Okay, that's a little odd. It also had some smashed windows... That's, hmm. But what stuck out most of all was a baby bunny, no more than a year old giving me a menacing stare. Well my parents did tell me they bought the cottage for pretty cheap, it just needs some tidying up. First I should probably talk to the bunny. "Why hello there Mr Bunny sir. Is there a rea-" The bunny held up his leg as I approached and once in range he threw his little foot into the ground causing the floorboard to fling up and slam into my jaw, I stagger back and the little bunny leapt forward and drop kicked me out the door before getting up and slamming it behind me. "W-What just happened?" I recovered quickly but my mind was struggling to keep up. I shake myself off as I jump up from the ground. I placed my hoof on the door and the resistance of the twist told me that the bunny locked the door. Now wearing a frown I take out my keys and open the door quickly. Being met with a very similar scene I make sure to avoid any loose floorboards. We stare daggers at each other. "That isn't any way to behave to a new friend my little bunny," I say in a low voice. Before I knew it the bunny jumped to me and began scratching my face. I reel back as I swiped at the white blur, attempting to catch the mean critter. Before I knew it the bunny jumped away and I noticed I was now outside, I looked to the door to find the small little bunny, with my keys and with his tongue out he slammed the door. I felt my roughed up face and found a small stream of red. "YOU ARE A DEMON BUNNY!" I shouted as I threw myself to the door. The anger consumed me for a short moment. "Calm down Fluttershy," I say to myself, resting my head against the door I sigh. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. Alright, now it's time to take care of the bunny, not to cry. I search the property, finding a nicely built chicken coop with some nice scenery. Finally stumbling across the back door I check if it's locked, it isn't and I smile mischievously. I open the door as silently as I can and trot inside just as quietly. Hm, that's odd. I think I just stepped in something. The lights flicked on and the bunny stood with an eyebrow raised. Looking down I find myself in a pile of flowers, but not just any flow- Achoo! Oh no... I bolted out of the building sneezing non stop as the little bunny rolled in laughter. I'm out of options, I HAVE to do this. With all of the courage I have, I speed trot into the shopping center with my eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of me. As I trot I hear the voices around me stop and the few hooves that I do see get out of my way quickly. Then I made it to the fish stall with a few breaths to spare. "Uh, Mam," the pony behind the counter starts. "Do you need medical help?" she asks dumbfoundedly. In a shake of my head I look up but still trying to avoid eye contact. The little stall sold a lot of tools for anything water related, some decorated cards, some alcohol, and finally a net. "Is that dried blood? Um, are you sure you're okay? You're shaking really bad," she asks but that doesn't matter right now. "O-O-OnE N-n-NEt... P-please," I raise my hoof to the net the best I could. Then looking at the mare I find the face of an incredibly worried pony. With the hard part out of the way now I just lie in wait. I found a small entrance the demon bunny didn't account for and all that was left was to find a hiding place. Until... I hear him, his tiny little jumps. Now he's sniffing, how cute but that isn't going to work on tired homeless Fluttershy, no sir, my dirt bath took care of that. Just a few more hops forward, and... SWOSH! "Got you," I grew a rather large smile. The demon rabbit doesn't lose hope just yet as he tries to bite the wire and after the failed attempt he quickly tried to swipe at me but his lack of footing made it very difficult as I held the net up. "I just wanted to get to my cottage and meet nice little animal friends. YOU HAVE BEEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST ADORABLE CRITTER I HAVE EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE OF MEETING!" I yell loudly in a huff. When my rage finally clears I open my eyes to find the small bunny cowering in the back of the net, his little heart beating so swiftly I can see where it pounded in his body. I was filled with remorse, even after all this little bunny put me through. Next I heard a door open and I looked up to find such a scene. A little bunny head poked around the wooden door then two more, then the room began filling with a community of bunnies. I was actually frightened before I noticed their sad faces. "Mr Bunny, promise you won't attack me ever again," I say to him in a low voice before he quickly nods and I drop the net. The demon bunny quickly bounced into the crowd while one older bunny hops in front of the group. "So Mr Bunny was protecting all of you, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I whimper. "I was just so excited to finally get a place to live, on the ground, with all the animals but I can't possibly live here with you all," my voice began to falter as the dam in my eyes started to break. The bunny in front began muttering in his cute little bunny voice. "What? You don't want to live here?" I repeat and the bunnies nod in unison. "Then why are you here?" I ask and the elder continues. "Something took over your homes? How terrible," the elder nodded his head in shame while another bunny dragged over a book and laid it in front of me. The bunny flipped to a page and at first glance the photo was that of a bunny but quickly I realized I was wrong. "Wait, they shouldn't be outside the Everfree Forest," I held a hoof up to my jaw in thought. "Then I know what I must do, I have to get your homes back," I stand as the bunnies begin cheering and I can't help but smile despite my rising dread. "This is the easy part, this is the easy part," I whisper once again, eyes planted firmly on the ground below me as I trot into the shopping center. This time I don't see any hooves and the voices stop long before I trot next to them. I once again reached the fish stall. I summon all the courage I can and look up to the mare. The look of pure bewilderment met my gaze. "Why do you have stovepipes strapped to your hooves now?" she asked, almost whining. "W-W-WhisKey... P-pleAse," I point to the jar. "No..." "B-but" I whimper. "Whiskey is not the answer," but it IS the answer, why can't I just say that? I looked away while cringing. "Listen kid, you must be going through a lot. Let me take you to the doctor, you don't look good." The dam in my eyes starts to crack again as I recoil. I shook my head and I began to run away. Why can't I just talk things out? I'm such a stupid pony. It'll have to do, I frown. Trotting back to the cottage I looked up as the sun began to set. I breathe calmly, this isn't going to end well, this will go terribly. I walk past my soon to be house and I enter the forest. During the day it isn't bad but at night... WHAT WAS THAT? I turned but nothing was there, but it could be there. What could be there? Calm down Fluttershy, breath in, breath out. I get the feeling that I'm being watched and I DO NOT LIKE IT! After only a dozen many heart attacks I found a small camp and when I mean small camp I mean it. A little fire made from a few twigs sat in the middle of a few dozen holes while many bunny lookalikes dance around it. Finally was a small figure sitting on a tiny throne also made out of twigs. Here they are, the dreaded Jackalopes. Long antlers jolt out of their ears, they sharpen them and ram them into each other. Shakely I move forward, courage Fluttershy, courage. They notice me and I freeze instantly. The collective hiss entered my ears harshly. I take out the bottle of a clear bubbly liquid and place it in front of me. One of the Jackalopes hop over and pick it up to take it to the one resting in the throne. "It isn't whiskey, but it's made of alcohol. It's for cleaning," I say cautiously in a gulp. The king opens the lid and puts a drop on his tongue and throws it to the back of his small throat. Instantly he began coughing. In between the wheezing the king threw his tiny paw in my direction and began grinding his teeth. And now I wasn't going to be seen again. They approached in teams and my eyes started to water. Why did I do this? Next time can I be a strong pony? One who doesn't cower in fear when a pony wants to have a conversation. Can I be somepony who isn't lonely all the time? My parents flash before my eyes and in an instant my fear turns into something else. "ENOUGH!" "MY PARENTS BOUGHT ME THE BEST COTTAGE IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA! I AM SLEEPING IN THAT COTTAGE TONIGHT! AND YOU ALL DO NOT BELONG HERE, GO BACK TO THE EVERFREE FOREST! NOW!" I stare so hard at the group my eyes feel like popping out. They all back up, almost in a trance, even the king trips over his throne. They scatter into the forest, presumably back to the Everfree. I felt beyond drained. I looked back to find a baby bunny with his jaw dropped. It was the demon bunny, I smiled. "Do you know the way back?" I asked in a gravelly voice. He nodded quickly and I followed him all the way to the cottage. It was night and I looked to Ponyville, it seemed like there was a party going on, was I forgetting something? I waited outside as the community of bunnies exited one by one, they all thanked me in their cute little voices. I smiled brightly and waved at each and every one. Then the last one was the demon bunny, he didn't thank me but instead he stared at me until reaching the edge of the forest. I never saw him enter the wooded area as I trotted inside. Closing the door behind me I noticed how much of a mess the cottage was. I went upstairs to the bedroom with heavy eyes. The bed was in ruins. The dam finally broke and my face was nothing but a river of tears. I fell to the wooden ground and curled up in a ball. I don't know how long I cried before sleep overtook me. I only remember two things after I fell asleep. First was a knock on the front door and second was a blanket being placed on top of me. Maybe an angel visited me while I slept. Author's Note Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This story has taken a lot of time to make and I hope it has been worth it. This story is sort of an obsession of mine and with all the time with it I certainly can't wait to be fully done with this chapter. This story will be updated every three weeks, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. The next three chapters have been made but still requires a bit of touching up. If you enjoy this story so far and are interested in becoming an editor for this story please send me a private message. Also please check my friend out for his awesome work on the cover art: PastaPower64 See you soon
Chapter 2: Tidying UpMy head felt woozy, my body stiff. It was safe to say that I did not feel well. I sat up as my eyes slowly began to open. The blanket on top of me fell to the ground and I rubbed my eyes. What a horrible dream, then noticing that I was in my cottage, I reiterate. What a horrible night. During my yawning I stretch while flapping my wings. I know I should get up and get the day started but instead I just frowned. My loneliness seeped into me like a depression. My excitement the day before was completely zapped as I sat alone. Then my ears perked up as I started to hear a continuous sound. “Is somepony here?” I said more to myself than any possible intruder. Flapping my wings I got out from my rut and flew downstairs with the sound only growing louder. Making my way to the kitchen I was shocked to see none other than demon bunny cooking greens on the stove. The hungry home invader stood on a wooden stool and wore a white chef's hat. He held the pan in one paw and a wooden spoon in the other. “Um, Mr Bunny? What are you doing?” I ask softly. He answers with an eyebrow raised and tilted his little head to the pan. He then threw half of the pan’s contents on one plate nearby then emptied it on another. He turned the stove off and took one of the plates as he jumped down. “Is this for me?” I point to the plate still on the counter. He turned back and gave a simple nod, the bunny then continued to the living room. I pick up the plate and follow him into the room. Looking around I once again get reminded of all the broken furniture. Demon bunny placed his plate on the ground and sat next to it while throwing a small chunk of green into his mouth. With little other options I sat on the cold floor and took my first bite. It wasn’t bad, just flavorless. I really needed to get some seasoning. “Thank you so much my little friend but there really was no need to go through all this effort, wouldn’t you rather go home with all your friends and family?” I try to give a kind smile. The bunny looked at me with his small eyes and gave a firm shake to his head. I was really hoping he wouldn’t do that. “Oh come now, I’m sure they will miss you dearly if you decide to cook for me every morning,” I say, hoping there was truth in what I said. By his unimpressed face I could tell that he knew that wasn’t the case. Well, I guess it’s okay. Maybe he just thinks that he owes me, I’m hoping that he will stop soon. Demon bunny finished his plate quickly and then just looked at me. I finished my meal as fast as I could. “Yum! Super tasty, thank you,” I attempted to lie and I don’t really know if it worked as he simply picked up both of our plates and hopped back to the kitchen. Returning moments later he looked at me expectantly. “Well, thank you for the meal but I have to go pick up some new furniture. Sorry I couldn’t stay and chat, why don’t you go on and get back to your family,” I said kindly with a large smile as I closed my eyes. Then I felt a furry critter hop on my back, oh no. Hiding in my mane is usually not that hard, that is unless there is a super mean bunny holding your head up as you trot. Thankfully I can still have my eyes firmly planted on the dirt below but still. I’m my own pony, I shouldn’t have to deal with this. I turned my head the most I could and looked at the bunny, he crossed his paws as I opened my mouth. “Nevermind,” I give in and hold my head up. Every building we pass I quickly glance up at the sign before falling just as quick to the ground. Finally we made it to our first challenge, and when I mean challenge I mean- “Hello there, Miss, may I help you find what you’re looking for?” a brown stallion approached me. “Do you need a quill or a sofa?” I stagger back a little bit and he doesn’t seem to notice. “You look new to town, so I bet you're looking for the best sofas in all of Equestria aye.” This is too much, I could never deal with these types of ponies. I think it’s time to go back and cry in my bed… Go cry in my blanket on the ground. That's when my head moved up and down but it wasn’t me, demon bunny is in so much trouble after this. “Perfect!” He claps his hooves before pushing me inside. Before I get my bearings he quickly begins explaining the sofa in front of us. It’s way out of my price range and is definitely not what I’m looking for. I let him continue on and on, not knowing when to start listening. “I take it you want this awesome sofa?” The stallion got a bit too close and I backed up. “I-It’s a-a b-bit too e-expensive,” I touch my front to hooves together bashfully. “You can make payments monthly,” he proudly exclaims. “I-I-I d-don’t really want it,” I whisper. “You couldn’t ask for a better sofa,” he stated. “F-Fine…” I reached for my bag in defeat when I felt the soft weight from my back landing on my head. I started to hear grinding teeth and I began to panic. “No, no, no, Mr Bunny do not attack the sofa clerk he means well, really he does,” I start flying and trying to get him down from my head but he doesn’t budge. “Oh, um, uh, why don’t we move on, uh, how about this one over here?” from my panicked state I manage to look at the sales pony and notice a whole lot of sweat. The bunny calms and I give a sigh of relief. The next sofa was a little too big. The third was perfect, it was cheap too. Reaching for my bits I noticed the pink envelope in my saddle that I forgot to open from yesterday. I pushed it to the side for now and grabbed my money. “Thank you, it will be shipped by the end of the week,” the stallion said with a smile but was cut off quickly as Mr Bunny once again as he started to grind his teeth. “Um, it will be shipped tomorrow,” he faked a smile but the sound didn’t stop. “TODAY, it will be shipped today.” The rest of the shopping went the same way, even buying a simple haywich ended with a very delicious fruit salad being added for free. Finally we got to sit down with our order and Mr Bunny jumped to the seat next to me at our table. I slid the salad to him while beginning to chomp away at my haywich. I smiled brightly but I didn’t exactly know why. The food wasn’t that good, well atleast mine wasn’t, Mr Bunny’s face said otherwise. Was it finally getting the shopping done? No, that couldn't be it. Staring at Mr Bunny I noticed I was missing something, what was it? He finished his food quickly and I never saw a bunny so happy before. Mr. Bunny looked back at me and tilted his head. What was I missing? I was so close but I couldn’t put my hoof on it. “Mr Bunny, would you like to stay with me?” I asked wholeheartedly. He answered swiftly with a nod before hopping to me, he then gave me the cutest hug I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. I snatched him up in my hooves and returned the hug, of course I remembered to be gentle. I know what was gone, it was loneliness. I sat Mr Bunny down back to his seat. It’s been almost a whole day without the feeling of loneliness creeping up on me. The visualization of Mr Bunny kicking a dark fog far away made me chuckle. “No way, Fluttershy, is that you?” a very familiar voice came from above and I turned. “R-Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” I was genuinely shocked to ever see her outside Cloudsdale. “Well, it's sort of a long story. To sum it up they keep on asking me to lead the weather team someplace outside Cloudsdale but I don’t really want to leave the greatest city in Equestria, I always promise to check out the towns when Cloudsdale finds itself over them though. I was flying by until I saw you. It's been awhile, how’s it going?” She spoke quickly as she joined me and Mr Bunny at our table. “It’s going wonderful, meet my second friend, Mr Bunny,” I smile brightly as I present the bunny. He tapped his foot as he crossed his arms. Rainbow smiled the best she could. “Right… Hello there…” Dashie tried. “Mr Bunny, this is my very first friend, Rainbow Dash,” he wasn’t very impressed. “Is that his name? You didn’t think to name him something else?” Dash questioned and I guess I didn’t really think about it. “That’s just what I have been calling him, did you want a different name?” I turn to Mr Bunny. He gave me a very unreliable shrug. “Oh, but I’m just terrible at coming up with names.” “Well, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about him? How about ‘unremarkable’,” Rainbow grinned while Mr Bunny stuck his tongue out. I ignored them both as I thought. What comes to mind first when I think about him. I turn to Mr Bunny. “How does ‘Angel’ sound?” I asked curiously and he gave me a light smile with a nod. To be honest it wasn’t my first thought, to be frank it was the opposite but I know deep down that he is a very good little bunny, even if he does cause a lot of heartache. “Angel huh? Sure,” Dashie shrugs. “Anyways, I haven’t seen you in… Well, I don’t know how long,” her eyes moved to the sky. “It’s been four years. We finished middle school together, afterwards we had a choice to enroll in the weather team or continue with our studies,” I answered softly as I brushed my hair with my hoof. “That’s right. The choice for me was so obvious that I kind of forgot,” she gave a lighthearted laugh and I just nodded silently. “If that was four years ago that means that you finally got out of school, good for you,” Rainbow gave me a smile and I responded with the best grin I could muster, she probably knew that I didn’t want to talk about it. “Mom and Dad gave me a cottage here in Ponyville, we just got all the shopping done today,” I moved on quickly and it seems like I caused a little bit of conflict in her head. “Oh wow, you went shopping all by yourself. I guess you have really come out of your shell,” Dashie answered with shock. I think I blushed a little, I’m glad to hear that I’m improving even if it wasn’t entirely true. To some ponies Rainbow comes across as rude but I know she never means any malice. “Well actually, Angel helped a lot today. I don’t think I could have gotten through it if he wasn’t there,” I give my fluffy friend a smile and he looks away. Was he being bashful? That is so cute, I want to give him the biggest hug. “Relying on others is a strength too, I think. I don’t really need to, I’m sort of awesome,” Rainbow remarked and I couldn’t help but giggle. I think she might have actually blushed for a moment, no, there's no way. Our small table heard as a big group of ponies trotted past us. I’m not really sure what they were talking about but I hid in my mane as they got close, out of the corner of my eye I saw Angel staring daggers at the group and I felt Rainbow’s gaze from beyond my shell. After they pass I remember to breathe. “Fluttershy, did you hear what those ponies were talking about?” Dashie questioned with a straight face. I felt sort of put off by the question. “No, not a word,” I said, still in my shell. “Sounds like there was this awesome party last night,” I could hear the smile as she spoke. “I think so too, I saw lights,” I look back up to both of my friends and gave them a light grin. “Well, looks like I found a new home,” Rainbow said nonchalantly and I staggered in my seat. I sort of felt like she wasn’t telling me something but that didn’t really bother me especially because she said something completely unlike her. “Guess I should go and tell my boss, see you soon Flutters,” and with that she bolted off, leaving me completely dumbfounded. With a lot of sweat and tears me and Angel broke down all of the ruined furniture and threw it in a pile outside away from any trees and grass. I laid on the wooden floor, the cool boards felt nice on my back. Staring at the ceiling I panted with tired breaths. The good bunny he is, Angel placed a cold cup of water next to my head. It was difficult getting the cup to my lips on the ground however the refreshing liquid told me it was worth it. I felt like I could never get up from the ground again, my body too weak to lift a hoof. Well, at least it gave me time to think. This has been such a chaotic week so far, as soon as I entered Ponyville things have just been going crazy all of a sudden. Do I want to go back to living with my parents? I’m sure they would understand. Turning my head to the right my eyes land on a cute bunny curling up for a nap. No, I think I want to stay here, it's where my friends are after all. Hm, I never realized how quiet it is here. I think the new furniture is supposed to be here in a few hours, I should probably clean. Maybe after I close my eyes for a few moments… Somepony pounded on the door. With my eyes half open and my hair everywhere I get up from the ground. Wobbling to the door I opened it without a thought in my head. “Wow, you look terrible. Oh, sorry,” said the mare on the other side of the door. I couldn’t really see her as my eyes were completely unfocused and the sunlight flashbanged me but finally a thought entered my head. I am the stupidest pony ever. “J-J-JUST A M-MINUTE!” I yell with a full blush. Running to the washroom I threw water on my face and gave a quick comb to my hair. Hearing trotting downstairs I began to panic. I rushed out of the washroom and came to a stop as I saw a Pink mare brushing Angel. “You’re a cute bunny, yes you are,” she said in a cutesy voice. Angel purred loudly as I stood, shocked. “W-Who a-a-are you?” I asked as my heart raced. “Oh, sorry, you left the door open. My name is Pinkie Pie. I work at Sugarcube Corner but I’m also a party planner. Derpy asked me if I could help her deliver your furniture and I was already on my way over here anyways,” she smiled brightly while scratching under Angel’s chin. The bunny continuously kicked the ground in delight as his ears fell. I nod instinctively while staring at Angel. “Your name is Fluttershy right?” the pink pony darted to me with crazy speeds and t-touched our m-muzzzels t-together. I fell to the ground and my mind ran too fast to be able to register a single thought. “I actually came by last night but I figured you were probably sleeping. Derpy said you got my letter, did you read it?” Pinkie asked. I managed to slow down my mind just enough to remember the pink envelope. I shakily raised my hoof to my saddle across the room and the mare wasted no time picking up the pink envelope. Pinkie opened the letter and it shot out confetti, turning to me the mare laughed a little. “You’re probably going to think this is really funny but um, this was an invitation to last night's party. It was a ‘welcome to Ponyville, Fluttershy’ party and um, a lot of ponies might be mad that you didn’t show up because we couldn’t eat the cake until you got there. Then you didn’t show up. Funny right? Right Fluttershy?” my pupils went small and I sunk into the ground. It was crying time, there wasn’t actually a better time to cry other than right now. I hid my face and curled up slowly. “Um, Fluttershy? Are you okay?” my face became filled with tears. “I can fix this, um. Here, I can make all your furniture,” after a few moments of crying she came back. “Done, here I can move it in too,” the next minute was filled with swift sounds going from outside to inside. But I didn’t think about it as my fear overwhelmed me and that only made the floor more wet. “Done, all better?” her voice began to crack. I felt as she got close and I tensed up, only crying more. She sat next to me and picked me up slowly. Pinkie placed her hooves around me and I placed mine around her. “Sometimes everypony needs a hug.” “B-But I’ll make your fur all wet,” I sniffed. “Friend’s shoulders are meant to be cried over.” And I wept. The darkness faded quickly, yet I didn’t let go and the tears didn’t stop. I don’t know how long I stayed in my friend's hooves but my soft bed met me while I dreamed of my new friend. Author's Note Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals is what powers this story. I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite it being pretty slow. Next chapter should be more fun. Have a good rest of the day
Chapter 3: Tightrope PanicFeeling warm I didn’t exactly want to wake up but decided I should all the same. I opened my eyes on a green hill overlooking a beautiful sunrise as all the stars in the sky slowly disappeared. Looking down I saw a group of animals surrounding me in slumber, many kinds of birds, a flying squirrel, and even a large bear. Their peaceful snores made such a large smile arrive on my face. It’s so cute I want to cuddle with all of them. “Psst!” I heard a noise and swirled my head to it. Upon seeing Pinkie Pie I jumped in excitement and flew to her over my animal friends. We smiled at each other and without a word we trot through the colorful forest. I showed her all of the wonderful critters I could name and she listened carefully and understood everything I said. CRASH! I looked back but nothing was there. Pinkie gave me a shrug and we continued along the path. She told me all about her life and how amazing it was. I couldn’t stop listening, it was such a gripping tale that I held onto every word. BANG! I rubbed my ears while Pinkie gave me a lighthearted smile. I smiled too, it was difficult to not smile with Pinkie Pie. “I did it,” Pinkie spoke in Rainbow Dash’s voice and I began being sucked away. I felt warm but only on the outside, I sat up in my bed as I rubbed my eyes. Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway to my room. “I got past Angel,” she spoke with pride as she wore bruises. “Get me out of this NIGHTMARE!” I threw the blanket over me and shook in my covers. Tears begin to flow. “Fluttershy, you're awake. This isn’t a nightmare,” I felt as she nudged me from beyond my cocoon. “That’s the problem Rainbow, real life is a nightmare. Nopony hates me in my dreams,” I cried to her but of course she didn't understand. “Fluttershy,” she whined. “It’s been a whole week, everypony already forgot about the cake. It isn’t a big deal,” she lied to me. “You’re right, it's a huge deal. Nopony will ever like me ever again,” I threw my blankets away as I tried to get her to see the truth. “That’s being unreasonable,” the unreasonable pony pointed at me with a frown. “No it’s not, you would never understand,” I threw the blankets back on top of me but Rainbow countered by flying in my bed and the blankets fell over both of us. “Wow, it does feel cozy in here,” she sounded surprised but that doesn’t matter right now. “Go away,” I said quietly as I grabbed my pillow and hugged it shamefully. “Before I go I just wanted to invite you to something,” I heard Rainbow say with a smirk. “It’s not another party that causes everypony to hate me is it?” I spoke into the pillow. “Nope, there is an animal show there,” I perked up and noticed that Dashie held something out but I couldn’t quite see it. I removed the blankets and saw her smirk as she gave me a pamphlet. “A very harry situation, a choir of beaks, and the skydiving nutcracker,” I read aloud curiously. “Yeah, it's a traveling circus. They have a whole bunch of animals doing cool stunts. You can wear a ton of face paint and no one will know it's even you and the best part is that I have the day off, I won’t leave your side, not for a single moment,” Rainbow spoke sporadically with a large grin. “I-I don’t know Dashie, I don’t do well in public and...” I hid in my pillow. “And, what?” she asked. “I’m sort of worried you’re going to run off and leave me alone,” I said really quietly into my pillow. “WHAT!?” she shouted in disbelief. “Who is the most loyal of all your friends?” “Angel,” I answered once again into the pillow. “H-Huh,” she said dumbfounded. “Well, outside of Angel, who is your most loyal friend?” “I really don’t know Pinkie Pie all that much,” I tapped my hooves together. “Wait, you’re friends with Pinkie? When did that happen?” she asked. “She came over to talk to me, then she called me her friend,” I grinned. “I think that pony calls everyone her friend, I don’t know if that really counts.” “SHUT UP!” I yelled. Looking up I saw Rainbow flying above the bed defensively and I cursed myself. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I reacted like that.” “No, no, it’s cool. Go rinse yourself off and I’ll go grab a lot of face paint,” she said cautiously in a nod. “Okay,” I dug my head into the pillow as I heard Dashie leave. “I’m such a stupid pony, why did I say that?” “Are you sure nopony will recognize me?” I played with my hooves as we flew, Rainbow was ahead of course. “Not a chance. I only know it’s you because I put it on the makeup,” Dashie chuckled. “Well, are you sure the wig is necessary?” I said as I held the large rainbow afro. “One hundred percent,” she gave an amused smile. “Only if you’re sure,” I tap my hooves together. Sure I was nervous, I really don’t like going to public events but also it took some effort to make sure I don’t touch my face. The layers of makeup made me want to scratch it off as it sat uncomfortably on me. I began hearing a crowd of voices as we approached, lights filled up the sky and as we made it over the hill we were greeted by a large circus with plenty of tents, a coaster, and a large line of ponies piled at the entrance. My fur stood on edge and I stopped mid flight. “Fluttershy?” Dashie noticed me and flew back. “Y-You know, A-Angel hasn’t s-stayed home by himself yet. I-I don’t think he’s r-ready,” I stammer my way through the excuse. That isn’t to say that I still didn’t worry about him. “Y-You should go on without me,” looking up I saw the unimpressed expression Rainbow wore and I started to sweat. “That bunny can fight off a manticore, I think he can manage watching the cottage for a few hours,” she stated and I wanted to object but it was clear she wasn’t going to let me weasel out of this one. “Sorry,” I whispered. We carried on and Dashie kept looking back to me with an indifferent frown. Finally she moved to me and grabbed my wig, she threw it to the trash below and I looked at her with confusion. “That wig isn’t funny anymore,” is all she said before we moved to the line in silence. I held my breath as we traveled through the line and stared directly into the soil below. As we got closer to the entrance I could see as Dashie got visibly more and more excited, shedding her odd mood from a few minutes ago. “Which event do you want to go to first?” She broke our silence as she impatiently tapped her hoof. “Um, I think I was going to go to the choir of beaks,” I spoke quietly, hoping only Rainbow would hear me. “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” she said quickly. Dashie shifted from standing to sitting, then to flapping an inch from the ground. Rainbow fidgeted more than I did as we waited until it was finally our turn. We both went up to the booth together, thankfully I didn’t need to say or do anything as the two ponies talked. After entering Dash gave me a small strip of paper as she tied an identical one around her hoof. I take it and do the same. Looking around we saw a couple dozen tents that all hosted small games or contests with adorable plushies. I wanted them but I always sucked at those types of games, even if I could get past talking to the pony behind the counter. Rainbow on the other hoof looked like she was about to explode, she bit her lower lip as we trotted. “Um, Rainbow?” She turned to me quickly. “YES!” Dashie got super close. “Did you want to play the games? We don’t have to be there until-” and with that she dashed away. I really was hoping she wouldn’t do that. Sighing deeply I noticed that I was now all alone in a public area and I decided reasonably that the best course of action was to run away quickly in a random direction. After a lot of hoping and some luck I managed to duck out of a crowd without running into anypony. Finally being able to breath I started to relax and began scanning my surroundings. I was in a darker part of the carnival that held a few tables, an empty tent, and two porta potties. As my nerves calmed I sat at one of the tables and pulled out the map. My ears perked up as I heard a faint muffling sound coming from one of the porta potties. I’m not sure why but I approached it. The sound continued and despite knowing it was a bad idea I opened the door. A pegasus fell out, he was tied up using rope and had black tape stretched over his mouth. The pegasus was yellow with red hair and had plenty of face paint, he seemed to work here. “O-Oh my goodness. What happened to you?” I ripped away the tape and he smiled. “The focus of everypony’s attention was trapped in a wretched box of terrors by his fellow carnival workers. Would you kindly untie me?” He spoke with pizzazz and plenty of self obsession. Silently I worked and set him free from his bonds. He got up swiftly. “Thank you for your kindness. I shall repay you if you ever need it. Now if you don’t mind I have to make it back and train Harry on the tightrope,” he stretched his wings while I brought my hoof up to my mouth in thought. “Y-You are training a bear to tightrope?” I asked as I started to get filled with mixed emotion. “Yeah, whatever keeps business running says our gracious host,” he rolled his eyes. “I-Is it safe?” say it is, just say it is. “As far as I’m concerned the tightrope is only safe if you have these,” the carnival worker flapped his wings with a solemn expression. “Anyways, the focus of everypony’s attention should be getting back. I don’t know how those ponies can live without me. Also you must show me how you did your face paint, it looks truly… Harsh,” he waved as he flew over a nearby tent. Everything about that conversation made me very uneasy. Now more than anything I wanted to go see the animal shows just to make sure they aren’t in any danger. I trot worriedly to the first event. The little concert of birds ended and they sounded wonderful. I almost completely forgot that I was here to make sure the animals were okay. I sat in the back of the room and most ponies are now getting up to leave but I stay seated, looking at my map. I glanced to my right at all the empty chairs and noticed I also forgot that I was supposed to be here with somepony, I frowned. Shaking my head I fidgeted with my hooves as I waited for everypony to leave. I wanted to go and say thank you to the composer and all the wonderful birds but my timidness made this a constant war in my head. After all there is no reason I shouldn’t go and say thanks but it isn’t like I had anything else to say. I fought with every fiber of my being to trot to the stage. Forget this, I need to go home. Then I heard the conductor's voice as I began to change my mind. “Good job everyone,” she stated in a static tone. “Except you Constance, no food tonight,” and upon hearing a sad tweet I trotted boldly up the small set of stairs to the stage, from there backstage wasn’t hard to get to. There were a dozen cages filled with the birds from the choir and the conductor standing with an uninterested face. “Hey, you shouldn’t be back here,” she stated coldly but that did nothing to stop my rage from building. “Do you think it’s okay to treat poor animals like that? Taking away their food for not performing well?” I tried my best to quell my anger. “Listen, lady, this is what I have to do. If you have a problem take it up with the boss, sorry, our gracious host,” she answered in an uninterested tone. “Then take me to him, RIGHT NOW!” I sat in a cramped wooden office, clearly meant for travel and not cozyness. I stared at the stallion, a large white unicorn with a dark green aura around his horn. “If my boys skip another business class then cut them off from the family fund,” he said to himself as he wrote. Finally setting the quill down he rolled up the scroll and sat it in a box nearby. “Sorry, I had to take care of that. Now, what can this gracious host do for such a lovely young mare?” The large stallion wore a lighthearted but fake grin. He knows I have been staring daggers at him this entire time. “Animals should always be led by the carrot, not the stick. You and your employees have no right to treat defenseless animals that way,” I state calmly but loudly too. “Oh, that’s what this is about. All my friends call me Hill, feel free to do the same,” his attempt to defuse my anger only made me more upset. “I, do, not, care,” my breaths grew larger, my exhales lasted longer. “Now, now, I see that this is really bothersome for you. What I am doing here is okay, if it wasn’t then by Celestia we would not own all of our furry little friends out there. I’m sorry that we deeply upset you. Here, take a few bits for your trouble,” he placed four bits on the table and he took them off as soon as he saw my face. “How much is it worth to you?” He took out a large bag and began rummaging through it. “What?” I ask. “How many bit-” I knocked the bag to the floor and countless coins clatter to the ground. The stallion looked genuinely shocked as I threw my hooves into his desk. “THIS ISN’T ABOUT BITS!” I yelled in anger, unable to hold it back. “It’s worth that much to you huh?” he grins. “I think I still have it around here somewhere,” the stallion dug in a pile of papers. “Found it! You see you are far from the first to come into my office about this but you are only the second to turn down bits,” he placed a contract on the table, facing me. “I offered the last pony a deal, a written contract. If they can ride a unicycle across the tightrope at the grand event with their wings and or horn bound then they will legally own the rights to every animal in my carnival,” he chuckled in my face. I stomped my hoof in a sponge of black ink and then replanted it on the contract. This caused the gross unicorn to laugh even more. “I’ll make copies,” he managed to spit out of his disgusting mouth in between his mirth. I fell to the rubber pad below just like many times before. I panted, anger beginning to fill me again. I got back up, I wanted to fly so badly but the black tape around my barrel made that impossible. An annoyance to add to the growing list of things I hated about this. I didn’t really notice how much I enjoyed having my wings despite their weak strength. “That time was a lot better, keep it up,” I turned to the yellow pegasus with a frown and he looked back with indifference. “Please stop. I just need to practice,”I said sternly. “No, I know why you’re doing this. Boss brings up that dumb contract weekly after all. There is no other reason why you would be trying so hard,” he stated reasonably. “Why are you trying to help me then? To get back at Hill?” I grabbed the unicycle. “That would be nice but there is another reason.” “What’s that?” “Haven’t you noticed the carnival workers are mostly all unhappy, the animal handlers to be exact. Look, what I’m trying to say is that we were never hired to train animals. We are all here to show our own stuff and bask in the glory. Sure, animals doing awesome tricks brings in a little bit more bits but he also has to pay for the trainers, the animal food, and even their shelter. The animals would be better off elsewhere, they don’t even want to be here,” he rambled on but I still listened. “And I thought you were obsessed with yourself,” I chuckled lightly. “Oh I definitely am. Sorry if the center of everypony’s attention broke character, he felt as though it was important to say a few things,” he spoke loudly and proudly. “So, ready to try again?” My heart beat swiftly, it was just so high. I peered down to the floor below. The yellow pegasus brought me up to the ending platform of the tightrope. I didn’t like the plan but I certainly don’t have an alternative. We sat on the platform an hour before the first ponies began piling into the huge tent. Knowing that Hill wouldn’t let me up to the platform in the first place didn’t change my hatred for him but it did make me smile at the idea of displeasuring him so greatly. “Remember, if you fall I’ll catch you,” he gave a light smile. “Just don’t fall, okay?” I nodded at him and my mind turned back to the floor below. I think he overestimated himself a little too much but it was nice to know somepony has my back. My gut dropped as the seats filled and not being able to hear myself think only made it worse. “HELLO EVERYPONY!” spoke an awful voice and the crowd’s noise shrunk. “HOW ARE WE DOING TONIGHT?” I froze as the crowd stomped so hard that the platform shook. “AMAZING! I AM YOUR GRACIOUS HOST TONIGHT AND WE ARE HAPPY TO BRING YOU THE FIRST EVER!” he paused, the lights went out and it created a great suspense. “TIGHTROPING BEAR! HARRY!” the lights suddenly turned on and they were all placed on the platform opposite us. On the wooden pillar were two trainers and a large brown bear. At this point I attempted to get on the unicycle but as soon as I sat I fell to the floor. My hooves shook and my heart beat as fast as a cheetah. I picked up the unicycle and tried again but the same result. I felt like puking as I laid on the platform. “Listen to me, calm down. Just breathe,” He said in a low voice. “If you can’t do this there is no shame in backing out now.” Calming down I managed to get to my hooves without shaking. I looked across and saw Harry shakily placing his first paw on the long white rope. “T-Turn the lights to me,” I grabbed the unicycle and got on. He nodded and dove into the wires above. Come on Fluttershy, you have been practicing all day. All the lights shifted to me and the crowd went silent. I WAS NOT PRACTICING TO BE BRAVE! My eyes began to tear and I wiped my eyes as soon as they appeared. I started to advance while my tears formed too fast to attempt to stop them. I felt the unicycle jerked as it moved fully onto the tightrope. “FLUTTERSHY?” Rainbow yelled from the silent crowd. Panic ran up my spine. “That’s Fluttershy?” I heard another pony ask and my mind swirled. Looking down to the unicycle I saw multiple cycles and they all rotated within my awful vision. Breath Fluttershy, breath in, breath out. My vision cleared slightly and I came back to only seeing the one unicycle. I continued despite my tears, and my heart, and my gut, and every other fiber of my being. “FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY!” they began to chant. WHY? My crying became an awful existence as I was unable to even see my hoof in front of my face. C-Calm d-d-d-down, I swallowed. H-Help, anypony. “Hey, ignore all of them and keep doing what you’re doing,” I heard soft words spoken to my close right. Wiping my eyes I opened them, Dashie flapped next to me with a smile. “I’m not sure what this is all about but this totally beats watching some bear trot across a line,” she smirked and I couldn’t help but smile too. I continued and finally reached half way, I saw shadows of ponies as they approached me. In a flash of rainbow they went flying. “GO AHEAD, TRY TO STOP HER!” Rainbow yelled. “GET HER, NOW!” yelled another voice. I really, really tried not to think about it. Flashes of light echo around me while I focus, only moving forward when I’m calm enough. I’m almost there, all I need is a little bit more. I thought of the animals, the cute tiny birds that sang magical tunes, the squirrel that glided through the air, and finally the large bear, scared to set a paw on a small line. My mind wondered, how terrible it would be for them to stay here. Then I thought of Hill and my blood boiled and my movements became unsteady. It wasn’t wise but I moved and I knew instantly that this was bad. My weight shifted to one side and I started to fall. I closed my eyes in fear, tears still running down my face. The crowd cheering my name stopped, there was no sound. My wings instinctively moved yet their binds kept them tied. It was almost peaceful. Flapping, I heard flapping. Opening my eyes I found more than a dozen birds from the circus holding onto me. They caught me right as I fell, the unicycle that I sat on still touching the tightrope. With their tiny wings they flapped so hard and I was overjoyed when I found myself balancing on the rope. Quickly I progressed and collapsed to the platform, the two trainers looked at me with shock and the bear pulled me into a soft hug. I stained his brown fur with my tears. Being thrown by another pony was an odd experience, the air time only lasted a second before I found a small bit of dirt in my mouth. I was truly exhausted. I brought my head up and the laughter to my left caused a chuckle from me as well. I rolled and faced the stars as I was filled with mirth. “That was awesome,” Dashie said with a bright smile. “I am never doing that again,” I mentioned with a grin of my own. “It was crazy, why did you even do all that?” A burst from the door greeted us with a large bear and many small critters followed by a very angry Hill. My tired smile grew, glad to have the deal not be argued with. Harry once again swept me up in his strong arms. “There, are you happy? Never show up to one of our events again, you two are banned for ten lifetimes,” Hill angrily slammed the door and left us alone once again in the dark. “I see you have some new friends,” Rainbow said lightheartedly and my eyes started to close. Harry’s fur is just so very soft but I attempted to give my friend a nod. “Get some shut eye bud, I’ll make sure you get home safe.” “I’m just glad to not be crying right before bed again,” I whispered, I didn’t know if anypony heard me and it doesn’t really matter right now. I happily find myself closing my eyes.
Chapter 4: Tired MindAn animal snoring is one of the many pleasures in life. Watching a small friend as their body rises slightly just to fall, the cute noises that they make. I just can’t stop smiling and I most certainly can’t stop watching. On the other hoof when another pony snores I can’t help but to get immediately annoyed. My tired eyes awake and scan the dark room. My animal friends from the night before slept but they weren’t making a sound, so I grabbed my pillow and prepared to throw it. Finally I found the source of the noise, a rainbow haired pegasus snoring loudly on the ground in my room. I drop the pillow and silently but quickly fly out of the room. I closed the door and rubbed my eyelids as I sat. I was upset, not at Dashie but myself. Why was I such a bad pony? It’s not like she could help it and I was about to throw a pillow at her. All she did was want to help and I repay her by waking her up? Seriously, what is wrong with me? I felt a tap on my hoof and I removed my hooves from my eyes. Angel looked up to me with his head tilted, he didn’t even need to make a noise. I knew he was asking what was wrong. “Oh Angel,” I grabbed him and cuddled him gently. The heavy darkness that surrounded me vanished and was replaced by a gentle smile on my face. I pulled him away and he grinned, seemingly happy to help. Angel made some noises and I translated them rather easily. “I’m up because I’m a bad pony,” my head hangs low. The bunny continued. “Rainbow Dash helped me so much yesterday and I woke up ready to throw a pillow at her. I’m such a terrible friend,” Angel sighed before making more noise. “No, it is a big deal. It doesn’t matter that I never did throw the pillow, I was about to and that’s all that matters,” I hid my face from my small friend. The woodland creature continued. “I am not too hard on myself,” I whispered quietly. I felt Angel wrap his small paws around my hoof and I couldn’t help but to grin. There we sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Before my tiredness engrossed me there was a knock at the door. Me and Angel sat up and looked to the front door just out of view. I got up and made my way down the stairs before stopping at the front of the door. I looked sneakily through the window and the dead of night was very present, almost as much as a pink fluffy mane. Feelings inside of me twisted and melted, eventually I opened the door. “Hiya Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie smiled. “H-Hi, Pinkie,” I stammered out. The pink party horse stood outside, looking at me expectedly. Sweat began trickling down my face. What was I missing? Why isn’t she saying anything? Think Fluttershy, think. “W-Would you l-like to come in?” I asked with all the courage I could muster. “Absolutely!” in a smile, Pinkie hopped inside. “I got something for you,” she said quickly, digging her hoof in her mane. She took out a large bag of bird seed and I staggered back. How did she keep that in her mane? “I saw you at the carnival yesterday, I never ever thought you would do something like that. So then I thought to myself; why would you do that? Then I thought about Harry, the bear and thought that you probably did it for the animals. I asked my friends at the carnival and they all said that you did it to get ownership of all the animals. Then I thought; WOW! Fluttershy really loves animals and I didn’t know if you had any bird seed so I brought you some after I got a feeling that you were awake,” she rambled and my tired mind couldn’t keep up. “Wha-” escapes my tired lips. “I brought you a bag of bird seed. So, uh,” Pinkie fidgeted. “I was actually wondering about something Fluttershy,” she moved one of her hooves on the ground in a rotation. I knew how she felt in that very instant, actually I felt that way right now. The wavering voice, the unfocused fidgeting, she wants to say something but it can’t come out. No matter how hard you push yourself, it's always like this. Maybe I should say something? It’s always easier if somepony says it for you but what is she wanting to say? Will I even be able to say it if I know what it is? “Fluttershy, are you my friend? I’m really, really sorry about the party. There was no ill will I promise,” she said it, she said what she wanted to say. She isn’t like me, she is far stronger than me. “Of course you my friend, why wouldn’t you think that?” I got closer, my worried heart quickly thumped loud in my chest. “Really?” flashes of hope dance in her fantastic eyes. I nod and it felt as though time skipped, the ground met my back and Pinkie laid above me, her hooves wrapped around me. “I was so worried that you didn’t want to be my friend,” she smiled. My face began to heat up and my hooves didn’t know where to go. Finally I placed my forehooves around my friend. I am so weak, my mouth opened but I bit my lower lip. There was something that I wanted to say, my body yelled, screamed, begging to be said. What did it want me to say? My body didn’t answer however. “Hey Fluttershy, where is-” Rainbow Dash’s tired voice came from the stairs before halting. Pinkie jumped off of me and I shot up quickly. Rainbow’s face was bright red as she stared at both of us. “Hiya, you must be Rainbow Dash, right?” Pinkie started. “Y-Yeah and you’re Pinkie Pie,” Dashie stated. “Yes sir-e bob,” she laughed. “Fluttershy, you stay here. Pinkie, meet me in the kitchen,” the pegasus said as she flew to the other room. Me and Pinkie looked at each other and she gave me a shrug as she followed Rainbow. They were both out of view and I finally remembered to breathe. My face cooled off and my brain started to work again. I don’t think that I ever saw Rainbow blush, did we do something bad? Was she just too shy to meet a new pony? I shook my head, come on Fluttershy, its Rainbow Dash. So, why was she blushing and what are they talking about? I want to talk to Pinkie Pie, why is Rainbow talking to her? They aren’t friends are they? I shook my head again, what are you talking about Fluttershy? Why can’t my mind just work, this always happens when I think about her. “Fluttershy.” What did I want to say to her earlier? My emotions are all over the place. I’m used to not being able to say anything but why is this so different? “Hey, Fluttershy.” So many unanswerable questions. Is life normally this complicated? Maybe Rainbow Dash would know what’s wrong with me, probably not. “FLUTTERSHY!” Rainbow yelled and I gave a small squeak. “W-W-What?” I asked worriedly. Dashie sighed. “You were stuck in that head of yours again.” “Oh, sorry,” I hung my head low. “Don’t worry about it. Me and Pinkie cleared up any confusion so we are all good now,” the pegasus said nonchalantly. “What confusion? Oh, did I do something?” I asked, already condemning myself. “What? No, Pinkie Pie was the- nevermind. Anyways, we should probably get a few more hours of shut eye before morning.” “The birdseed is in the kitchen Fluttershy. Have a good night you two,” Pinkie bounced from the kitchen out the front door. “Goodnight,” I whisper. I followed Rainbow up the stairs, she flew into a collection of pillows with content. I slowly got back into my bed but sleep was not at the forefront of my mind. “Rainbow, can I ask a question?” I ask cautiously. “Sure,” she answered tiredly. “Does it mean something when you can’t stop thinking about somepony and you get tongue tied when you meet them?” I asked as I tossed in bed. “Don’t you always get tongue tied when talking to other ponies?” she asked but I just stayed quiet with a frown. “Sorry Flutters, I don’t know.” “It’s okay. Thank you anyways.” Next thing I knew the week started to fly by. I found a nice cave nearby for Harry. Angel helped me buy some bird houses from a pony in town named Burnt Oak. The flying squirrel made himself a nice home in one of the nearby trees. Eventually more animals gravitated to my home and began settling in. I finally started to call the cottage my home and Angel started to help me keep track of all our new companions. Yet not a day went by that Pinkie Pie didn’t enter my mind. Not getting enough sleep was also a constant. I entered my home, feeding all the animals takes a lot of time out of your day. Now it was the odd part of the day, while most of the time I started to follow a schedule this was the one part where I had plenty of free time. I was always unsure what to do but if I don’t start doing something soon I’ll become trapped in my head until Angel snaps me out of it. I looked at the bookshelf built into the wall and noticed a few books that were left by the past owners. I finally picked out a book and started to read. It was a book that held many lullabies, while I could never admit to it, I loved to sing. There were many songs and most were childish but some held legends of the Mare in the Moon and other fairy tales, they usually held an almost sinister tone so I avoided them. Finally I landed on one called; Hush Now, Quiet Now. I repeated it over and over, with every word my body grew more relaxed. The relaxation was rather short however as the door to my house busted open. An orange mare flew inside with a dog gripped in her teeth. The dog whimpered and I shot up instantly. “Leave them there, go to the kitchen and get the first aid kit,” I said quickly and the orange pony laid down the dog on a pillow. “What’s wrong with them?” I asked worriedly as I scanned the puppy. “Ah don’t know, Ah found her limping and raced over here as quick as a whip,” she answered and I immediately looked to her legs. The orange mare spat the first aid on the ground next to me and I worked quickly to find where the pain was. Finally I found it and I started the tests right away to find out what was wrong. I might not have been living on the ground for very long but I did meet my animal friends whenever I could. This was far from my first medical emergency, I’m just glad to have first aid this time. I did feel the worried gaze of the pony behind me and it started to bother me as the adrenaline wore off. “Please wait outside, she is going to be fine,” I promised. It wasn’t a baseless lie but it was one nevertheless. She nodded and made her way outside. Finally being able to breathe I start to work. I finished caring for her, thankfully it wasn’t severe and will be able to heal in a few days. Now it was time, not for the most awful part but it was time for the most difficult. I left the cottage and right outside the orange mare stood, seemingly staring off in the distance. She seemed to be a farm pony, with apples for her cutie mark and a western hat dawning her head. One you tend to see at rodeos. She noticed me and glanced over, her pupils widened and she grew stiff. I wasn’t sure how to react, my terrible knowledge of social situations once again showing. Should I say something, well of course I had to. “Wow,” escaped her mouth. I froze, was something in my mane? Did I have blood on me? I looked like a wreck didn’t I? “Erm, sorry.” she coughed. “How’s Winona? Is she going to be okay?” “Yes, she is going to be alright. She needs a lot of rest and needs to stay off that leg. I’m more than capable of watching over her for the next few days if you need,” I hid slightly in my mane as I talked. For some odd reason I didn’t feel the same devastating weight on my voice as I spoke to her. Maybe I’m improving? No, is it because I’m talking about an animal? “I’d hate to be a bother more than Ah am already,” She looked away. “It’s okay, I love taking care of animals,” I answered. “Yeah, that’s what Pinkie said.” “You’re friends with Pinkie?” I looked at the orange mare as I stepped forward. “O’ course, Ah think everypony in Ponyville is friends with that mare,” she giggled slightly. “Then you have to let me watch Winona,” I said childishly. “I don’t have a lot of bits.” “I’ll do it for free.” “She is quite the energetic dog, are you sure you can handle her?” “That poor dog? She’ll be the easiest pet yet.” The orange mare kicked her hoof in the earth for a second before answering. “Alright, but if there is any problem whatsoever, please let me know.” “I will. Um, actually, where do you live?” I just realized I knew nothing about her. “Oh shoot, Ah didn’t even introduce myself. Hi, Ah’m Applejack. Ah live on Sweet Apple Acres, it’s actually directly north of here. Just over that hill over there is a white fence and a ton of apple trees. Just head to the big red barn in the middle if you need me” she said with a large smile. “I’m Fluttershy, it's nice to meet you,” I think I did that right? “Likewise, always good meeting new friends,” she nodded. “Y-Yeah, well, I better go back and watch Winona. Can never be too careful,” I said as I started for the cottage. “Wait… Can Ah come back tomorrow and check up on her?” she asked. I cringed slightly at the question. I don’t know Applejack, she seems like a nice mare but having somepony that I hardly know visiting always fills me with dread. With my answer clearly made, I spoke. “Of course,” I looked back with a smile. Every time Fluttershy, you do this every time. Why must I make life harder? “Great! Ah’ll see you then,” she waved. Admittedly I hardly sleep, so it wasn’t much different from the rest of the week but this time it was for a different reason. I didn’t think about Pinkie at all as my mind ran wild with crazy visions of my guest saying terrible things. I hardly knew Applejack so the fantasies were far fetched enough to almost be laughable. My silly imagination did let me know that I was scared of what the day had prepared, not that I needed any help figuring that out. Looking out the window it seemed that the day was starting without me. I began my morning routine which now included watching over Winona. It was almost startling how well the pup listened, of course she didn’t fully trust me right away but a bowl of juicy food fixed that rather quickly. It seemed that she really didn’t like to take medicine but downed it all the same, I only wish Angel would do that if he ever grew sick. I have a feeling I’d have to fight him tooth and nail to get even a small pill down his throat. The rest of the morning went rather well. Being able to keep the inevitable visit at the back of my mind was very helpful to keep the day going. Once my free time found me I swiftly began cleaning, the cottage wasn’t really messy but unlike reading, cleaning made it harder for my mind to wonder. Without a thought I started to hum a simple tune. The open windows found themselves quickly occupied with many of the birds from the circus and they all swiftly joined the song. The first time they joined in I was rather startled but I began to grow used to it after the fourth time. I never realized how many times a day I started to hum tunes until my feathery friends started to join. Everytime my friends manage to match my tune I add more notes, they actually add small notes themselves which I try to incorporate. It’s by no means a competition as we all have fun creating new songs. We enter a trance and our bodies enter auto pilot. I finished cleaning the bookshelf while in song so I turned to the rest of the room and noticed an orange pony. She stood completely still with her jaw agape, the door behind her was open, I then realized that I accidentally left it ajar. The orange farm pony held a basket of apples that dropped to the floor and I was too distracted to hear the noise. I subconsciously end the song as my expanded wings tied back to my barrel. My face suddenly turned very hot and I should probably go find a hole to hide in for the rest of time. “Wow,” Applejack shook her head in disbelief. “That was the best darn music Ah have ever heard,” she wore a large grin. "Sorry," I whimpered as I curled up in my hooves. “You should have told me to bring my guitar,” her joyous voice said. "Sorry," my voice cracked and my tears began to flow. “Sugarcube, are you? Consarnit Applejack,” with worry the earth pony pulled me into a hug. “Shh, it's okay sugarcube.” "Sorry," I repeated as I grappled my hooves around the farm pony. “There ain’t nothing to be sorry about,” she said in a relaxed but sure voice. "Sorry." “Shh, just let it all out,” her sisterly tone calmed me slightly. I felt oddly comforted by Applejack, within her hooves I felt better somehow. Like I wasn’t bothering her, like she wanted to be here. I was a silly pony for crying, of course I knew this but I have a feeling she wouldn’t think that. I soon stopped crying and rested my muzzle in her shoulder. She smelt like earth and for some reason I couldn’t help but giggle. “Are you feeling better?” Applejack pulled away in a smile. “Thank you,” I looked up to her. “Would you like to talk about it?” she offered a hoof to pull me up and it almost felt wrong not to take it. I shook my head from side to side. “Well, if you ever need to, just let me know,” in a grin she pulled me close. “Thank you Applejack,” I wrapped my hooves around her with a grin of my own. Author's Note Next chapter might take a little longer. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am preparing stories for October. Love myself some horror.
