Longing For Harmony

The morning's unusual silence was broken only by the lonely echo of hooves against the earth. Just in time for the sunrise, Fluttershy had decided to go for a walk, trotting her way up a large, steep mountainous hill that she was unfamiliar with, one that was close enough to Ponyville that she could quickly fly home from if she wanted to, and wasn't as tall or intimidating as others in the area. Normally, she would bring a pet, or two, or more with her, but Fluttershy's mind was filled with somber thoughts, and she needed her space and solitude for now. Ever caring for her animals, she had made sure they had everything they needed and were still asleep before leaving, not wanting them to feel unfulfilled or abandoned. She would come back, of course. She wouldn't have done all those things if she wasn't going to. Though sometimes, she thought...

A chilling wave crept over Fluttershy's vessel, and she shuddered, as if trying to deter the idea. In merely three weeks, it would be the anniversary of the day Fluttershy and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements Of Harmony, whence they would meet to celebrate their victory and friendship. And one week after that was Fluttershy's birthday. It was a fact nopony else knew. It wasn't that they didn't care; she'd just never made mention of it. With all of the problems her friends had been having, Fluttershy saw her own concerns as unimportant. She would rather ignore her own birthday in favor of serving their needs somehow. Their circle had their fair share of ups and downs over time, as any group did, but lately it seemed to be getting worse than ever.

There were no threats to Ponyville, no giant monsters to confront, no dark forces at work, no catastrophes or disasters or anything of the sort. Merely personal disputes that gradually resurfaced repeatedly and festered with each return. Even after bonding closer at the Running Of The Leaves, Rainbow Dash and Applejack still bickered and competed fiercely on a regular basis. In spite of the Sisterhood Social, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were still at each other's necks night and day. And yet, although everyone reassured her the lack of constant punctuality would not be her undoing, Twilight Sparkle was still paranoid as ever about constantly pleasing and impressing Princess Celestia. It was one thing for everypony to relapse into an occasional bad habit only to break it again later, but this felt like sinking further in, more than ever before.

Fluttershy was well aware that nopony was perfect, let alone herself -- she still suffered the occasional, ill-placed angry outburst, or either spoke too softly or too infrequently, among many other things -- but being the constant mediator between every party was deeply exhausting her. What disturbed her the most, however, was how the meaning behind the recent Hearth's Warming Eve pageant seemed to fly completely over all their heads. Something Fluttershy was initially so afraid of and didn't even want to participate in ended up providing a profound discovery for her, a new appreciation of the bond she thought she had with her friends, and yet as soon as it was over, the arguments and the fighting already started again. It was... Embarrassing... Disgusting, even, somehow.

The downward spiral baffled her. Whatever happened to respect? To understanding? To sympathy? It seemed like these things were merely memories now, lingering ghosts Fluttershy wanted to reintroduce to the ones she cared about, but some invisible barrier prevented her from doing so. It wasn't fair. She knew they were all good people, with good intentions, wanting nothing but the best for each other, but differing perceptions and miscommunications were ruining it all. At this descending rate, how would their friendships and comfort with one another ever survive in time for the reunion? She feared soon their ties would be reduced to mere acquaintances who wouldn't want to be within each other's company.

Fluttershy squinted her eyes shut.

'I wish I could just stop time. That way I could get to everypony individually and work out all their problems one at a time. I'd really love to help them all at once, but that's just impossible. Or if I could turn back time to before all this fighting started and redo everything.'

She couldn't remember the last time she ever wanted something so badly.

Suddenly, something abruptly gripped her full attention. She wasn't sure what it was; just that she was aware of it somehow. It was as if Fluttershy was inside a room alone, and someone incredibly important just walked in. It made her fur slowly prickle and raise, standing on end, her now heavier heartbeat the only audible sound.

'It's like... Something's calling to me, somehow...'

Surveying her environment in bewilderment, Fluttershy simply continued to follow the strengthening internal sensations she was experiencing, with no apparent visual or auditory cues. Things only just started to make sense as soon as she stumbled upon a large, dark cave entrance; whatever this mysterious force was, it appeared to be beckoning to her from within there. She froze in place, knees quivering slightly as her paranoia took over for the moment.

'... What if something dangerous is waiting for me?...'

The pegasus took a deep breath, slowly inching closer, placing one hoof at a time in front of the other at a precarious, quiet pace. A strange glint was the first thing she noticed, thankfully not very far ahead; whatever it was, this was the source of her new predicament. Cautiously, Fluttershy reached out to gently lay her hoof on the object and roll it closer to her; it was a magnificent, piercing blue azure gem, in a towering diamond shape, almost the size of her entire wing. Blinking in surprise, she initially was unsure what to make of this find.

'Huh. Well, I suppose Spike would probably appreciate getting this, anyway...'

After a few moments of awkward fumbling and adjustment, Fluttershy managed to tuck the beautiful object beneath her wing, and started on her return back to Ponyville.

The rest of the trek back to town had so far been surprisingly pleasant. Fluttershy wasn't sure if it was getting to see the morning gloriously unfold on her way back down, or if the whole walk itself had helped her relieve some tension, or just the strange influence she thought this new object apparently had on her. It was like all of her problems were still there, and she could still worry about them, yet things were... Calmer... Somehow.

At least, they were until she spotted Rarity heading her way. Fluttershy groaned softly under her breath. She didn't dislike Rarity by any means, but right now she still wasn't in the mood to be around anypony; a few more hours at home, maybe playing with the animals or taking a short nap, should remedy that, she figured. It didn't help that her hooves were still quite sore (she would have flew all the way back down, but couldn't without discarding her discovery). Yet with what happened next, she almost wished she had.

As she drew closer, Rarity looked like she was in a desperate hurry. She was pulling a cart of some sort that was carrying a plethora of spectacular outfits that Fluttershy did not recognize; probably her latest works of art. It seemed as if Rarity was merely going to give her a glance and a smile while still frantically galloping, yet she gradually slowed to a stop before the pegasus, out of breath; Fluttershy stopped opposite of her, tilting her head sideways in legitimate concern.

"Good morning, darling!" Rarity chimed, just barely managing to hold back a sputtering cough.

"Good morning, Rarity. Is everything okay? You look pretty exhausted."

"Quite so," she replied with a brief sniffle. "I'm running late, I need to deliver this new clothing line I spent all of last week on to Photo Finish and -- "

Rarity abruptly stopped as soon as she noticed Fluttershy's parcel. Her eyes gleamed in deep interest.

"... What is that?"

"Oh, this?" Fluttershy looked back at the object wrapped in her wing. She extended it slightly so that Rarity could see it better.

"It's a jewel I found when I was walking this morning. I was going to give it to Spike, since he loves eating them so much, and this one seemed, well, special..."

Upon further inspection, Fluttershy noticed that even out of the shadow of the cave, it's magnificent blue shade remained the same, and was even dotted with moving, bright white specks, like stars in the night sky.

"Special? Special?!? You have no idea how special this is!!!" Rarity dropped her things and darted right in front of her, her eyes mere inches from the jewel. "Do you know how rare this is? How fabulous? How... How... How so utterly incredible I don't even know how to describe it in words? And you're -- going to feed it -- to Spike?!?"

Rarity sat on her hind legs, clasping her front hooves together as if in prayer, shaking them desperately in begging Fluttershy.

"Please, let me have this!!! I've been searching for it for years! I've looked everywhere and looked so hard, and finally, one morning, by dumb luck, you stumble upon it! Please, Fluttershy, this is VERY important to me! I would never be able to thank you enough! It's just the finishing touch I need on my masterpiece that's been incomplete all this time without it!"

Fluttershy was taken aback by this unexpected display of vigorous desire. Her ears lowered as she bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable with this dilemma.

"Well, Rarity, you know... I think... I think this time it might be nicer to just give it to Spike... Don't you remember the time he sacrificed that ruby he'd been saving for months to eat on his birthday because you wanted it? ... It was so nice of him, but I think he still feels bad about not getting to have it, even if he did like giving it to you... Oh, but, you did ask nicely, I guess, and -- "

"Exactly!!! All I want is this one -- and Spike can have all the other gems he wants!!! I'll even help find a whole bunch of them, if you just! Give! Me! This! One!"

Fluttershy grimaced in further discomfort, looking away bashfully. "W-well... Alright... You're right..."

Rarity soared into the air with a jump and an ear-splitting jovial cheer.

"Why, thank you!!! I'm forever grateful!!! Thank you so much, I --" she suddenly froze in place, remembering something.

"Oh no!!! I still have to get those dresses to Photo Finish!!! And --" she looked back at her cart, gasping in shock. "I won't have enough room to take it with me right now!" she groaned at this mishap, getting her things back together as she prepared to leave.

"Fluttershy, please be a dear and hang onto it for me until I come back. I'm afraid I'll be gone probably all day -- there's lots of business I have to take care of. I can count on you, right?"

Fluttershy nodded despondently. "Yes, Rarity. I'll look after it, I promise."

"Much obliged! I'll see you tonight, then!" with that, Rarity sprinted away, determined not to delay her work any longer.

Fluttershy sighed softly to herself, looking back at the object she had just given her friend.

'Poor Spike... He'll be very disappointed... Why does Rarity need this so bad, anyway? She has so many dresses and gems and everything, and... Ohhh, but she did say it was very important to her... Gah, this is so frustrating!!!'

With that, she began taking the quickest route home that she knew, avoiding everypony around her in an attempt to make sure she wouldn't be noticed. This failed when not too long after, she happened upon Twilight Sparkle, who herself was going home, apparently having gone out to pick up some breakfast for takeout from Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy breathed in the sweet aroma, causing her mouth to salivate and her stomach to rumble.

Perhaps on the way back she would get a meal there herself, even if she didn't want to risk bouncing into the endlessly energetic Pinkie Pie, which she'd be unprepared for this early in the morning. If anything, at least she wouldn't feel so guilty about not giving the jewel to Spike, since whatever Twilight had apparently gotten him smelled delicious. She thought it was apple pie, perhaps something Applejack had sold to Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight greeted her with a warm, radiant smile. "Hey, Fluttershy. How are you today?"

"Oh, well, um, okay, I guess... I don't know, Twilight. I'm just not really feeling good right now."

Twilight gazed at her in concern. "What's the matter?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, wanting to talk about how everything with Twilight and the others getting in endless fights was constantly tearing her apart, but did not want to start another dispute, especially now.

"... I'm not sure how to describe it... I... I'll tell you later..."

"Well, okay. You know where to find me when you're ready."

Fluttershy softly sighed in relief under her breath, grateful Twilight wouldn't press on the matter, for now.

"So, what's going on?"

Twilight grinned. "Well, today I'm receiving a bunch of new books from Canterlot. I've been preparing for it all week, rearranging things in the library to make room for them in the proper places. Spike and I will be spending a lot of time working hard to get it done, so I wanted to make sure we had a big, full breakfast before we get started."

Fluttershy nodded, genuinely glad for her friend. "Oh, very good... I... I'm so glad Spike will have something nice to eat this morning, because I was going to give him this, but, um, Rarity saw it, and really wanted it..." she extended her wing slightly to once again reveal the mysterious jewel.

Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. Her pupils magnified, and she tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Fluttershy was bewildered at her reaction.

"Th-that... That, that that that that!!! I can't believe you have it!!!"

"Have what, Twilight?"

"It's the Panacea Crystal!!! One of the most important magical artifacts in all of Equestria!!! For the longest time ponies have claimed it to only be a legendary myth, but I knew it was real, and now you have it!" she squealed in exuberance, rearing up on her hind legs. "I've wanted to study this for so long! It's vital to my research! Princess Celestia would want it preserved in the Canterlot Museum Of Magical History!"

Fluttershy recoiled, feeling embarrassed and regretful, fearing a confrontation. "B-but Twilight! Didn't you hear what I said? Rarity already made me promise to give this to her..."

"For what, one of her dresses? Do you have any idea how insignificant that is compared to this?!? This is a historical artifact, Fluttershy! It's of the utmost importance that it falls in my care! You can't possibly be serious about giving this to her!"

Fluttershy winced further. They were both silent for a long, intense, awkward moment, until she released a defeated sigh. "... I can see why you'd need this, Twilight... But... Can we please at least wait until we get to talk to Rarity about it? I think, if we explained it, she would be understanding, and would be okay with letting you use it for your work..." her ear flapped, trying to think of more ideas. "Maybe, if you and Princess Celestia are okay with it, Rarity can use it, a-after you're done?... I think she'd appreciate that, anyways..."

Twilight scoffed bitterly. "Fine. Fine! We'll talk it over with Rarity. But I'm really not sure about letting her use it later. In fact, it might be a definite no in that regard, not just with me, but with the Princess as well. The Panacea Crystal is far too vital to be used for something as... Trivial as that."

Fluttershy felt a pang of melancholy in her heart. She could obviously get that the Panacea Crystal could be put to better use than a dress decoration if it was indeed as magical and important as Twilight claimed, yet wished she wouldn't minimize Rarity's interests and feelings so carelessly. It was things like this that were causing her so much heartache over all her friends lately.

Twilight seemed to somewhat notice this, as she placed a front hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder in reassurance. "Trust me. This item's magic is so powerful that it could change all of Equestria as we know it for the better. Sickness and suffering could become things of the past. It's better this way. You'll make the right decision giving it to me." She nodded, nonverbally respecting Fluttershy's choice to have both of them tell Rarity about it later.

"Besides, I still have to get all those books with Spike and everything today anyway..." she added in a grumpy murmur; despite accepting what transpired, Twilight appeared to still be sore over the idea of even considering giving it to Rarity.

As she departed, Fluttershy remained in place, racked with guilt over everpony's feelings. She wanted to make them all happy, but in so many situations, like this one, it was impossible to meet their desires. She hung her head, stooping her shoulders as she slowly trotted back to her home in the forest, the Panacea Crystal still under her wing.

As soon as she opened the door, Fluttershy was greeted by the various chirps, squeaks, and numerous other noises of the several animals she so greatly cared for. Each of them undoubtedly loved her, taking every opportunity to play or cuddle alongside their affectionate owner. Yet, as of late, they could periodically sense when she had wanted to be alone; right now was one of those times, and soon their energy died down to a slow, contained buzz.

The very first thing she did was head into the living room to gently and cautiously place the Panacea Crystal down on a table. She had noticed many of her numerous pets nearby had already run out of food, and got to work on refilling their bowls. They clamored in want, both hungry and happy to see Fluttershy again. Not too long after that, Angel, the white rabbit she normally took with her most often when out and about with a pet, hopped by and gently tugged on one of Fluttershy's hind legs.

She looked back at him with a warm smile. "I haven't forgotten about you, Angel." her soft, soothing voice was even more so comforting now that she felt just a little better being home with her animals.

She went to retrieve one of the lush carrots Angel loved so much, the sight of which caused him to jump around excitedly. He hadn't noticed behind him was one of the bird cages for the blue jays, and upon accidentally knocking it, the latch came undone and it's door flew open. The startled birds flew out in a panic, chirping frantically. This gradually got the surrounding animals more nervous as well, and their combined noise grew.

"Now, now, please, relax," Fluttershy pleaded, raising her voice only slightly to try to be heard above the panic.

One of the blue jays had swept down and swiped the carrot out of Fluttershy's hoof, causing Angel to be angered as he started leaping after it, intent on retrieving his treat. Fluttershy noticed that the chase was nearing the table, dangerously close to the Panacea Crystal.

"Angel, be careful!" Fluttershy exclaimed in alarm.

Immediately after that, Angel was mid-air, tackling the blue jay; in descending they knocked over the Panacea Crystal, which fell off the table and broke open, much of the middle shattered to pieces while the two pointed ends remained somewhat intact.

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, NO!!!"

She desperately sled across the floor, prone as she tried to gather all the pieces back in one place, noticing that strange, glowing sands had flooded out from inside the crystal, adding to the broken pile. From everything that had happened, the animals all over the room were startled further, their loud complaints reaching a shrill volume.

'I'm such a klutz! I'm worthless! I promised two of my best friends that I would take extra special care of this crystal all day and as soon as I bring it home it gets shattered! My friends must think I'm so stupid and incompetent! I think they'll hate me and not want to be my friends anymore!'

Fluttershy felt tears start to freely flow from her eyelids. The moisture was blurring and clouding her vision. Each teardrop audibly hit the floor, one after the other in rapid succession, like a dripping faucet.

'Twilight Sparkle told me that this was really really really important! Even Princess Celestia wanted to look for it! Now she'll banish me somewhere in the Everfree Forest for sure! Maybe she'll even put me on the moon for hundreds of years like she did to her sister! I deserve it for ruining everything!'

Now she was sniffling, whimpering, trying to hold herself back from audibly crying, not wanting to distress the poor animals around her more than she already had. Her broken, choking sobs were trapped in her throat, struggling to escape her lips and clenched teeth.

'I'm so embarrassed, I can't stand it! I just want to disappear so I won't burden any of them ever again! Everything I ever try to do, no matter how much good I mean, I just completely mess it up and make it all worse! I hate myself so much, I have to be the worst pony in Equestria! I wish I could just be somepony, anypony but me, please! This can't be happening! I can't believe it, NO!'

The exclamations of all her pets were now reaching critical mass, to the point it was greatly hurting Fluttershy's ears, and she couldn't bear taking it for much longer. She hurriedly rubbed away her tears with a foreleg, eyes red and stingy, and tried to clear her throat as she stood back up, attempting to address them all.

"All of you, please! I'll take care of this! I promise!" With that, she started to sweep the glowing sand and broken pieces into the bigger open end of the crystal, resolving to attempt putting it back together the best she could later, after the mess was cleaned up and the pets calmed down. She closed  her eyes for a moment... And everything stopped.

Fluttershy blinked in confusion. The entire room was dead silent. She looked across every animal, each one frozen in their expression of alarm, completely still, even in the air. Soon, she noticed something nearby her; the glowing sands she had swept were stuck in place as well, a visible cloud above the table. Her mouth agape in bewilderment, she approached it, poking it softly with her hoof, a few of the particles moving where it touched and staying where they remained after.

'Maybe... Maybe this is all just some crazy nightmare. Yes, that's right. I'm still asleep in bed, and I dreamed up all of this, finding this thing at the mountain and seeing Rarity and Twilight and all this happening. Now that... Time stopped... I must be almost ready to wake up...'

She sighed in relief, closing her eyes. Soon she turned around, walking toward her bedroom, only for a thick, violet smoke to emerge, startling her as she yelped and backed away. The billowing gas started to contort and shift into what looked like an unnaturally large and strong colt, although strangely it's hind legs and such appeared to be missing, replaced instead with an odd, ghost-looking "tail". Soon, the shape it had taken on turned into what appeared to be a solid form, albeit transparent.

"Ahhh, finally!" The dark colt exclaimed, sounding as if he'd just arrived somewhere from an incredibly long trip. He looked around Fluttershy's living room, floating in place, nodding a few times, as if approving of the stranger's home.

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was seeing, shaking her head a few times. Weirdly enough, this all felt too real somehow to just be a bad dream. "Excuse me, but, who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I see." The colt cleared his throat. "My name is Vesper. I am a genie, and you are my new master. It appears that fate has chosen well for me, as from what I can see already, you are a pure soul, full of kindness and good nature. I would not have it any other way."

"... A... Genie?..." Fluttershy was taking her time processing all this. She had read and heard of fairytales involving genies before, but had never heard anyone claim them to be real, so she'd never expected to run into one, let alone know how accurate or not those stories were compared to the real thing. She beamed as she remembered something from earlier today.

"... Wait a minute... Earlier today, when I found your, uh, lamp, thing... I was thinking a lot about how I wanted to be able to help all my friends by, um, working with time... And... Well..." her glances darted around the room once more, with everything but her and Vesper completely stopped, "I can't help but notice that time has stopped, in this room, anyway... Was that... You making one of my three wishes come true, already?..."

Vesper seemed unable to help but chuckle softly. "No, no, it doesn't exactly work like that. Actually that had nothing to do with your wishes -- the time part, anyways. The sands that, as you've seen, were contained within my chamber, are responsible for various magical constructs that help make up the land of Equestria, one of them being what you ponies tend to perceive as 'time'."

Fluttershy nodded, still having difficulty completely accepting that everything happening to her right now was reality. "Oh... So... Why me?..."

Vesper was puzzled. "What? What do you mean, 'why you'?"

Fluttershy's eyes veered away bashfully. "I didn't just, find you... You were calling out to me, somehow... I was walking through the hills this morning, and, your, um... Chamber... Spoke to me, leading me to the cave it was in... That couldn't have been coincidence..."

Vesper rubbed his chin with a front hoof. "Hmm... Well, you're right, at least partially. My magical potential is so powerful that it can't be allowed to fall into the hands of just anyone. The only way that I can be found, or released, as you just did for me, is by experiencing strong emotions. My chamber sensed your heart crying out for the wellbeing of all your friends, and your deep, genuine care for them."

At this, Fluttershy felt a sense of relief wash over her. She always did really care about all of her friends, although her habit of trying to get everyone's side of the story lead to her being accused of picking sides or playing favorites. She never wanted to 'win' anything, she just wanted everyone to be happy. She'd gotten the feeling they thought that she didn't care about one or some of them for this, and sometimes she was even openly accused of it, which hurt even more, and caused her to somehow believe it herself, feeding her self-loathing. She shook her head, wanting to tend to the matter at hand.

"... And... Can I... Use the sands, to work around time, just a teensy, tiny, itty bitty little bit, pretty please, to help my friends?..." She wasn't even trying, but, Fluttershy's eyes had gotten large with her plea, fueled by her intense selfless desire.

For some reason, Vesper looked somewhat surprised by this. He stirred over this in his mind, as if worrying that it could be a bad idea somehow, but eventually nodded. "Alright. Well, technically, you're allowed to anyway, if you want that to be part of a wish or something." he groaned softly for a second, and rubbed his forehead. "Please excuse me... It's been so long since I've been out there, I'm getting headaches, and having trouble remembering things..."

Fluttershy's mouth slowly pulled into a large, ear-to-ear grin, her body trembling as a wave of blissful epiphany hit her.

'I can do it. I can really do it. Now I can.'

'I can stop time. I can go back in time. I can do anything. Do it so I can listen to everything all my friends have to say and talk about, help them do everything they need to, without any time passing at all, so everyone will be okay, all the time. This is great!!!'

"Be warned, though, to use the influence of the sands very cautiously. If you tamper with the world around you too much while experimenting with time, you could cause unforeseen ramifications. I would suggest not going too far in the past, no longer than a day at least, and leaving anything... Important... Generally untouched in such a state as this."

Fluttershy nodded in acknowledgment at Vesper's explanation, mulling over it in her mind.

'Okay... So who do we help first? Obviously I'll still need to talk to Twilight and Rarity about all this... Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Pinkie Pie? Ooh, so many friends, I can't decide!!!'