It was dark in Ponyville. Lights were off all around the normally busy town, leaving one thing visible: the top half of Sugarcube corner, still bursting with light and noise. Ponies were walking away in all directions, weary from a night of partying hard.
Inside the top floor of the building were party balloons, streamers and a variety of recreational activities. Games and equipment were strewn across the floor, somewhat abandoned, and the room was dominated by a makeshift karaoke bar. This wide, roomy part of the building normally functioned as the bedroom of Pinkie Pie, a well-known party animal, who marked the end of each week with a celebration that lasted well into the night.
Rainbow Dash looked at the clock, her eyes opening groggily. The short hand was somewhere between three and four, and the long one as far away as it could get, but Rainbow was too tired to read the exact time. She had woken from a power nap sitting beside another pony by a table, covered in food and board games. Her friend Ditzy Doo was asleep, practically passed out next to her.
Pinkie Pie was humming happily to herself, having bid goodbye to every guest but the two tired pegasi laying by a nearby table, jamming out to a song near the karaoke equipment. Every other moment she caught a glimpse of her "pet rocks" out of the corner of her eye, set on a small stool near Pinkie's bed. Even as she danced and hummed, her mind wandered to thoughts of her cherished toys. They had once given her a lot of fun times when she was a filly on a farm that cultivated many such stones, and the long, powerful storm kept she and her sisters from traveling outside for days. She'd painted them in simple colors, given them names, and even faces. Each stone was very round, and only about the size of the bottom of a hoof. A light blue stone with rosy eyes, labeled "Quicky" on its underside sat in the center, with a happy face drawn on...identical rocks were placed in a circle around it, but with different eye colors painted on, and different names on their underside. There were five more in all..."Applekicker" was yellow, with emerald eyes. "Purplesmart" was...purple. Very purple, in both primary coloring and eye coloring. "Dazzle" shared its rosy eyes with Quicky, but had a grayer shade of blue painted onto it. "Sharp Eyes" was a bright silver, with golden eyes. Lastly, "Surprise" was as pink as Pinkie herself, with the same bright blue eyes. They had all brought Pinkie and her sisters much cheer as they imagined the stones going on many adventures.
Pinkie panted a little, finally getting slightly tired and sweaty, her head clearing and recovering from her nostalgia trip, walking over to pick up a slice of pizza from the box on the table right next to Rainbow and Ditzy.
"Pinkie... how do you do this for so long?" Rainbow mumbled. "I think I've had my second wind by now..."
Pinkie giggled happily, looking down at Rainbow. "Probably something to do with my cutie mark. I guess I really am the best at parties, hee hee..." She chuckled softly, moving a little closer to Rainbow. "You can use my bed if ya want, it's probably better than the floor, heh...we could even move Ditzy there. I reeeeally don't think I'll be sleeping for a while yet."
Tempted by her offer, Rainbow looked at the bed longingly, as if it were her own.
"Maaaybe later... Ditzy needs it more than me. Besides, I'm still finding my way around town..." Rainbow yawned, standing up. "Oh, that reminds me... didn't you say you wanted to show me something? It's been a while since you showed me around."
"Oooh yeeah!" Pinkie said cheerfully, even as she stood on her hind legs and used her front hooves to gently drag Ditzy to the bed. "Did I introduce you to Cheerilee yet? Or her sister? 'Cause they've got this secret stash of some reeeeally nice tasting drinks. I don't really know what they put in 'em, but they're super sweet tasting!" As she finished talking, Pinkie tucked Ditzy into bed, and hopped quickly next to Rainbow, grinning a huge toothy grin.
"Are those the kind that keep you awake at night?" Rainbow asked as she peered over at Ditzy, watching her sleep and contemplating giving her mane a friendly ruffle, but not wanting to disturb.
Pinkie giggled, noticing Rainbow looking over Ditzy. "Sleeping like a foal...buuuut yeah, they've got pleeeenty of caffeine from what I heard, and taste like all kind of fruits. I think one of them even tasted like pineapple!"
Rainbow coughed a little, her throat a little dry.
"Sounds just what I need." she replied, heading for the door, her voice croaking a little.
Pinkie smiled as she watched Ditzy sleeping, seeing the pegasus' belly bob up and down under the sheets.. She then looked back at Rainbow, patting her gently on the back as she noticed how thirsty she was. "No worries! We'll be there in a jiffy!"
"Let's hurry, before I fall asleep!" Dash exclaimed weakly with a faint smile, mocking her own physical state.
Pinkie nodded with a smile and a wink, singing to herself at little as she lead Dash out the door. "My Little Pony, My Little Pony, la la la, forgot the rest of the words..." she sang sweetly before humming the tune of the song to herself, taking a look every now and then at Dash to make sure she wasn't asleep.
Rainbow trotted swiftly along, careful not to space out, as she looked around her, observing the town and how different it looked and felt to anywhere she had lived before, even in the dead of night.
"It's really cozy here. Which is kinda funny, 'cause the town's got tons of houses in it, and it seems so big 'cause of that, but...there's not much else here but houses and stores, ya know? And it's so easy to walk to where you wanna go! Well..if you know where you're going." Pinkie blushed, and made a slightly embarrassed smile as she looked at Rainbow. "But that's what I'm here for! We should reach Cheerliee's place after just a couple more turns."
Snapping out of her dazed state as she walked, Rainbow replied on the words she could catch.
"Oh yeah... pretty easy to find your way around, better than Canterlot... Cloudsdale was pretty confusing too."
"You've really been around, Rainbow. Sounds like a real adventure to travel that much, especially when you're so young!" Pinkie exclaimed with a giggle. "I think we're just a few more houses away from our lovely destination," Pinkie said, keeping up her energy as she pointed a hoof forward, enjoying her current role as a tour guide.
"Yep, this pegasus loves to travel!" Rainbow replied gleefully, unaware she was going the wrong way before noticing Pinkie was heading away from her, and turning to face her again, disoriented and smiling nervously at her poor example of travel skills.
Pinkie giggled softly, patting Rainbow gently on the back again. "You're kinda cute when you're a little out of it. But you should be back to your old self in no time...It's a good thing I know everypony in town!" Arriving at a wooden door, Pinkie knocked on it firmly. "Hey Cheerilee, ya home?"
"Coming, Pinkie," a voice from inside cried out.
Yawning, Rainbow closed her eyes and let herself drift away for a moment, finding herself convinced that it would take some of the fatigue away, conserving what energy she had.
A purple earth pony, her mane two different shades of pink, open the door, looking over her visitors.
"How I can I help-" Cheerilee stopped speaking as she noticed how tired Rainbow was. "Um...Pinkie, is she okay?"
Pinkie winked at Cheerilee with a grin. "It's all right. That's what we're here to fix...we just need to see Berry about those 'special drinks.' "
Cheerilee blushed, still surprised at seeing the newcomer, but quickly nodded to Pinkie with a smile. "Right this way."
Rainbow nodded weakly and followed suit.
As Cheerilee walked along through the modest, but clean and nice smelling home, she lead Pinkie and Rainbow closer to the door to her sister Berry Punch's room. Open the door, Berry could be seen by a large shelf full of several levels of drinks in metal cans that she had brewed, trying to pick out one to drink.
Rainbow looked around the room, impressed at the vast array of colors and ingredients and flavors, before bringing her focus back to the warm pink Earth pony in front of her.
"Hi there, sorry to distrurb, but Pinkie and I just came from a party, and I heard you make really... interesting and neat drinks." she smiled awkwardly, her focus trailing off as she yawned. "I'm a little whacked... got something for that?"
Berry looked behind her, smiled at Rainbow, and then turned her whole body around. "Sure! I can get ya a can of what I call "Genki Griffon," it'll really knock your socks off!"
"Cool!" Rainbow smiled politely.
Pinkie giggled as she looked over Rainbow's face, while Berry grabbed a light gold colored can from her shelf, walking back over to Rainbow with one of her front hooves wrapped around it. She then used her teeth to pop open the tab, a fizzy noise filling the room. "Enjoy! And don't worry about having to pay me, I'm just glad you're interested in my work!"
"Thanks!" Rainbow looked at it, peering into the dark hole, wondering what was inside, and pulled up a chair, sitting down to drink it, looking back at Pinkie and the others. "You guys thirsty?"
Berry chuckled, winking at Rainbow. "Well, I am. You Pinkie?" Pinkie hugged Berry spontaneously as soon as Berry finished speaking. "You bet I am!"
After a few moments, Pinkie and Berry sat down with cans of the same drink Rainbow had been given. The taste was very sweet, and seeming a mix of about a dozen fruits all at once.
Rainbow took a swig, tasting its strange, fruity flavor.
"Hm, reminds me of drinking Red Wing back in Cloudsdale. I miss those..." she noted, taking another swig and gulping down a few mouthfuls. "It's really great, thanks a lot!"
Berry smiled wide, happy that Rainbow was enjoying what she'd made. "You're really, really welcome! I kinda figured you might have come here from somewhere else, somehow, ya know? You must have a really interesting life!"
Pinkie giggled as she took sips from her can. "Yeah, Rainbow tells me she's gotten around plenty!"
"Aw, well...!" Rainbow smiled modestly. "I guess I've been around a bit, yeah." She looked at her unique tasting drink. "Back in Canterlot they never used to serve any fun energy drinks... not sophisticated enough or something. Twilight always used to make me cups of coffee... glad I don't have to drink those anymore, I guess." she started into the drink, thinking solemnly. "I miss having her around, though. I bet she'd love these."
Berry chuckled, taking a swig of her can with a content smile. "Yeah, I hear ya. Coffee's pretty bitter, which is why I'm glad I can provide an alternative. Your friend...her name was Twilight, you said? She sounds interesting...I'm glad she'd be into my stuff, even though it's, you know, not all fru fru and stuff."
"Oh, yeah... Canterlot's a weird place, but not everypony is obsessed with being fancy." Rainbow replied. "Since I came to Ponyville to work and study, we've had to become pen pals, but we used to have loads of fun adventures together. She's studying pony magic, and I sort of am too." Rainbow took another swig. "I think I'm feelin' better, this is great stuff! Uhm... what was your name?"
"Berry Punch, at your service, Ms.-"
"Rainbow Dash," Pinkie said with a nod and a giggle to Berry.
"Right," Berry remarked with a chuckle, looking back towards Rainbow. "Wait, if...you used to live in Canterlot...and you're studying magic...and your friend is too...does that mean you've met Princess Celestia? Are...are you guys like...her personal students or something? I don't know what I'd do if I met the Princess, I think I'd faint as soon as I laid eyes on her!" Berry leaned against the table with a big grin and wide eyes, eager to hear more.
"Ohhhh, yeah, we've met a few times, heh heh!" Rainbow chuckled, fondly remembering her mentor. She thought about whether to explain what caused her to live a curious double life in Canterlot and Cloudsdale, before moving into town. "To think, I would never have even met her or Twilight if I hadn't got lost in that storm..."
Pinkie rubbed her chin, curiously, between sips of her drink. "A storm...why does that sound familiar..."
Berry chuckled softly. "Lots of ponies know about the storm, Pinkie, I'd be more surprised if you didn't." The thirsty earth pony leaned back in her chair, smirking playfully at Rainbow. "Maybe you getting lost in that storm was like...fate or something. I mean, it had to be if you got to meet the Princess herself!" Leaning her cheek on one of her hooves, Berry gave Rainbow a wink. "You know, I hope your old pal does come here. I'd love to chat with her, if she's as fun as you."
"You bet!" Rainbow replied enthusiastically, taking another swig. "Maybe one day we'll be able to get back together, when I'm an ace flier or something! I'm not old enough to try out for the Wonderbolts yet, but maybe someday."
Pinkie giggled and looked to Rainbow happily, picking up her can with a hoof and swinging it through the air a bit playfully. "Maybe you'll get in if you show them a Sonic Rainboom! I mean, you've got the hair for it!"
Berry smirked, taking another sip from her drink. "That would be amazing, Pinkie, but that's just a legend...I'm not sure anypony can actually do one of those. But I'm sure Rainbow here will come up with something to impress 'em. She's got plenty of time."
Rainbow wondered if anypony would reasonably believe her if she told them that a Sonic Rainboom lead to her getting lost in the storm and ending up in Canterlot.
"Aw, you never know... maybe someday somepony will do one... I remember seeing a pretty big rainbow during that storm."
"Yeah, one day...!" the rainbow-colored pegasus looked back sentimentally at Pinkie and her new friends.
Pinkie giggled, hopping over to hug Rainbow tight as Berry chuckled while looking cheerfully upon the two of them.
Nuzzling back, Rainbow looked at her can and took another swill of the sweet, tasty juice inside, emptying the can and setting it down on the table.
"Now that I'm pumped and wide awake again, why don't we explore the town for a while? You can be my personal tour guide, Pinkie."
"Oh sure, Rainbow!" Pinkie said as she emptied her can, plopped it on the table, and leaped towards Rainbow. "Leading the way around here's what I do!"
"Never a dull moment with you, Pinkie," Berry said with a chuckle as she finished her drink as well.
"Maybe one day I can lead you around, on some awesome adventure! But for now, I need to find my way around." Rainbow replied, trotting towards the door. "Thanks for the hospitality, Berry!"
Pinkie bounced towards the door as she waved goodbye to Berry.
"Anytime Rainbow!" Berry called out, waving to the departing duo.
Trotting out the door, Rainbow looked back to Pinkie Pie.
"Who was that purple pony we met, with the white hair? Those two seemed pretty nice, anyhow."
"Yep, they're real awesome!" Pinkie said as she hopped outside.
"Oh that's Cheerliee, Berry's sis, and the most popular teacher in town! She's reeeeally smart!" Pinkie said, slowing down a little as she hopped and chatted with Rainbow.
"And Berry Punch's cutie mark is for brewing drinks, I'm guessing?"
"Yep! Yep!" Pinkie replied energetically. "I really think she's onto something, she might even be able to make some bits off of exporting her creations to other parts of Equestria!"
"Sounds good..." Rainbow looked around. "Where d'you wanna go?" she emphasised the 'you', as if offering her to think of somewhere interesting.
Pinkie stopped for a moment and rubbed her chin.
"Weeeeelll...there is this one place just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. I dunno if you'd wanna go there, given the reputation that place has, but if you do wanna go, I can promise we won't die from a monster attack. People go there all the time to relax...I'm not sure why, but maybe it's just a tradition around here, hee hee."
"Oh, sounds kinda boring... but makes a good start. Maybe we can find something from there. Let's go!"
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie blurted out as she hopped ahead, leading the way for her friend.
Trying her best to follow behind without knowing where to go, Rainbow trotted beside her pink friend, looking at all the street and night lights around town, keeping her sense of direction.
"We should be reaching the special spot reeeeal soon. Ya know Rainbow, it's funny, this spot is safe and all, but people used to say that the Mare in the Moon used to haunt the place all the time. Pretty crazy, huh?" Pinkie rambled as she lead Rainbow down all sorts of corners through the night, leading her further out of civilization.
"Mare in the Moon, huh?" Rainbow repeated the name. It sounded familiar to her, like an old fairytale read by Twilight back in Canterlot. "Maybe we'll meet her along the way."
Pinkie smirked playfully, looking at Rainbow. "Maybe we will. Maybe she's not as bad as they say...sometimes rumors get out of control, ya know? Oh, we're here!" Pinkie remarked as she stopped in front of a large open clearing surrounded by many trees.
Rainbow looked around at the somewhat boring clearing, noticing a couple of park benches and a statue of a tall, powerful alicorn leaping with her front hooves in the air and wings spread.
"Rumors that have been going for a pretty long time, a thousand years is long enough to get all the details wrong, I guess..." she rambled, half to herself.
Pinkie's jaw dropped, as she looked upon the statue, walking up to it, and looking over it carefully. "Wow...I can't believe I never saw this before. She looks kinda scary, and...sort of angry, but...I dunno. To me she...almost looks sad somehow."
"Yeah, sad like no-pony remembers her... just left alone forever, like a statue that nopony cares about and walks by without noticing." Rainbow stared at it, wondering if she could suddenly empathise with this inanimate object for any meaningful reason. "Pretty depressing to look at." she noted.
Pinkie nuzzled Rainbow reflexively, after listening to her carefully. After frowning sadly for a few moments, she perked up and smiled. "You seem to care. Maybe you can be her friend someday."
"If she exists..." Rainbow trotted slowly up to the statue, examining it closely. "I don't even know if she does, I just feel a presence, looking at it. Twilight and Celestia used to tell me to be aware of what I'm thinking, when something's enchanted it's like a crazy mood swing that somepony else wants to take you on."
Pinkie blinked in amazement.
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you were studying magic. I kind of...feel like you're enchanted in a way, you know? I guess...what I mean is...I feel...safe around you. Kind of like when I saw that big random rainbow way back when. I just...feel like everything's going to be fine when I see you. Even though I haven't know ya that long. Even though I don't really have a reason for it. But I don't really care either. I've done pretty well going with my gut, every since that big splash of color came into my life." Pinkie blushed a little, feeling kind of strange, talking to seriously about her feelings to this newcomer.
Rainbow looked stunned. Her new friend was certainly affectionate. She smiled and turned her attention away to their exploration.
"D'you think anypony's used this place to hide, to get away?" she said, trotting ahead. "Feels like the perfect hiding spot."
Smiling back with a soft giggle, Pinkie followed Rainbow, thinking to herself as she listened to the blue Pegasus. "Ya know, I wouldn't doubt it. Out in the middle of nowhere, nopony expecting anything to happen here...I bet somponies could stay out here pretty much forever if they really wanted to."
A rustle in the trees was heard as a creature slipped back into the shadows, its large, piercing eyes watching the two ponies from afar.
Looking back at the forest, Rainbow quickly shook her head and blamed it on the wind. She trotted ahead further, coming up to a bridge leading back into town and a river, its water glistening in the moonlight.
Pinkie looked down at the reflection of the moon in the water curiously, then looked up at the moon itself. She rubbed her eyes a bit, surprised at the strength of the moon's light.
"Moon's really bright tonight, huh, Rainbow?"
Rainbow rubbed her eyes, as it almost hurt hers to look at, like a sun against the pinkish purple night sky. She nodded.
"Ready to head home, or d'you wanna hang out a little longer?" She looked over at the bridge, thinking for a moment. "Feels like a great night for a drink by the moonlight!"
Pinkie smiled happily at Rainbow, getting an idea. "Why don't I get us a six pack of something? Whaddaya like?"
Rainbow chuckled, fantasizing about being old enough to get drunk.
"Heh... anything's good with me!" she flew over to the bridge, and held her arms behind her neck, relaxing.
"Great!" Pinkie said, pushing an arm into the air triumphantly. She took a moment to admire how peaceful and cute Rainbow looked relaxing under the moonlight. "Welp, I'll be back as soon as possible! See ya in a bit...feel free to do whatever ya want until then...Dashie!" Pinkie said with with a wink and a smirk, before hopping off into town.
Rainbow watched her go, that last word sticking out. When was the last time anypony called her 'Dashie'? It reminded her of getting a patronizing pat on the head from her teachers and older ponies at flight school.
She looked back at the forest, deciding to walk back into the clearing to have another look around. It looked darker and more foreboding from a distance, but she controlled her nerves and trotted over anyway.
A rustling could suddenly be heard in the bushes. The longer it went on, the longer a voice seemed to be calling out from behind the leaves, just barely audible beneath the whistling of the wind.
"DaShiE...DaShiE...HeE HeE..." the voice seemed to taunt.
As she entered the opening in the bushes, her ears picked up.
"Hello...? Is that the wind? It's the wind, right...?" she smiled awkwardly, her heart racing faster. She stood in the middle of the clearing, looking around, hoping she just simply heard her old nickname in the breeze.
Soft noises continuing to fill the air, sounding almost like crazed laughter. A few more moments, and a few more rustled leaves and-
"RAR!" a soft, yet very loud voice cried out from right behind Rainbow Dash.
"Gah!!!" Rainbow squealed, gasping for air and jumping backwards. Turning back, she looked back into the clearing, and her eyes went wide.
A yellow furred pegasus pony stood across from Rainbow, grinning wildly and excitedly, long pink hair in her face. She spread her wings and rose to her back legs, throwing her arms in the air with a cackle as she continued to stand in front of Rainbow. "It's ever so long since I've seen you, Dashie...I think we should play a while, don't you?" She smiled lopsidedly, her face a bizarre mix of maternal compassion and some sort of deranged arrogance, as if this strange pony thought she was queen of the forest.
"F-fluttershy!" Rainbow's voice croaked, falling on her back. "What happened to you?"
Fluttershy fell back on all fours, stretching out her arms a bit as she used to support herself once more, folding her wings gracefully in the process. She seemed a bit calmer, as if her little game was over, though something still seemed a bit odd about her smile, as if she were drunk simply on her own feelings.
"I've been living out here for a while. You'd think I'd be dead by now, but I have few friends in places, " she said in her soft, soothing, voice that had a strange air of cockiness to it. "It's been good living. I enjoy the company here. I guess I just...changed more than I thought I would, you know?" As she finished her sentence, Fluttershy walked a bit closer to Rainbow, her smile windening and her face getting closer as if she wanted to rub her face all over the blue pegasus as she would might on a enormous bunny rabbit.
Rainbow looked at her with a mixture of excitement and horror, like seeing the ghost of someone she knew to be dead.
"You're okay...?" she muttered. "When the race happened, and I got my cutie mark, and the storm..." she paused, catching her breath. "We thought you were a goner! You've been living out here, in the wilderness, for all this time?"
"Most of it." Fluttershy said with a tilt of her head, raising her eyebrows a little, staring almost unblinkingly at Rainbow with a smirk glued to her yellow furred face. "I had some help getting here from a friend. Well...she wasn't my friend at first. We fought a lot, but...there was something about me she seemed to like. We went through a lot, nearly...um....well, you know, nearly died and all since we were so lost...but now I'm here. And everything's fine." She stopped smirking for a moment, a little worried for the first time about how she'd come across, then smiled, this time with more gentleness and less cockiness. "I know I must not seem normal, but maybe I'm not supposed to be...I feel really nice around animals...I'm just kind of a wild child, you know? It's how I got this..." Fluttershy moved her body around a little, showing a set of pink butterflies emblazoned on her flanks.
The thought of her nearly dying was scary to Dash. An aspect of her reality she couldn't control, that only came right because of luck.
"I should have been able to find you, but things got messed up. That storm got me all lost... ended up chasing a light all the way to Canterlot. I met a few ponies there, and some pretty close friends..." she stopped in the middle of the update on her life. "...but if you could find your way all the way to Ponyville, why didn't you get help from anypony?"
Fluttershy nodded to Dash, listening for a while, but then turned her head away as she realized he was being questioned. "I um...um..um..." Fluttershy suddenly made a very long, very frustrated sigh, grinding her teeth angrily as she tried to come up with an answer. After bending her arm to bury a hoof in her face for a moment, she took another deep breath and looked Dash right in the face with an apologetic look. "Look Dashie- Rainbow Dash, sorry- I'm...I've been away from everypony else for two long. I like the way I am, but...everypony else will look at me and think I'm screwed up, Dash. They don't want some creepy giggling girl who talks to snakes."
Looking back at the bridge, Rainbow wondered where Pinkie was.
"There must be some way you can live here... maybe some ponies will be okay with you. I'm pretty sure Pinkie Pie will." she thought hard. "I'd better go meet her soon."
Fluttershy rubbed her chin, wondering if Rainbow was right, then looked up and tilted her head n confusion, getting a strange vibe from the name Rainbow had mentioned. "...um...what...or who...is 'Pinkie Pie'?"
"A friend, you'll like her..." Rainbow looked at her with a nervous smile. "Honest!"
Fluttershy rubber her chin again, then smiled softly for a moment, before putting a cocky smirk. "All right then. I'll trust you."
"HI!!!!" Pinkie screamed as, suddenly, for no logical reason, she was behind Fluttershy.
"GYAGH! How in the name of the Sun did you even-" Fluttershy started, completely confused as she stared at Pinkie.
"Earth Pony thing." Pinkie said with a calm smile. It turned out she was standing on her back legs, carrying many sodas stacked on top of each other in horizontal rows. "I find these little...tunnels in nothing, if I relax enough, and listen for these little 'chirps,' and-"
Fluttershy's jaw was still dropped as Pinkie walked past her. "Don't ignore me!" Fluttershy yelled as she looked back at Pinkie, turning towards where Pinkie was walking.
"Oh, sorry about that. Don't worry, I've got you covered." Pinkie said with a smile and a wink, before cheerfully looking towards Rainbow Dash. "I've got all the Pegsi Colas, Rainbow. I thought you might be meeting somepony, so I bought two six packs instead of one. There's a good dozen here for us, hee hee!"
"Yeah, great...!" Rainbow responded, turning to Fluttershy and speaking softly. "Sorry 'bout this... she's a little... hyper."
Fluttershy blinked in surprise, before raising and eyebrow and rubbing her chin. "Hmm...I...see. I take it...this is normal for her? At least she seems...open minded, I suppose."
"Pretty normal." Rainbow Dash took a drink and opened the can of a Pegsi Cola. "Soooo.... Pinkie, this is Fluttershy, she's an old filly friend of mine from Cloudsdale. Fluttershy, this is Pinkie Pie, she's kind of a... I don't know, what are you, community leader, party organizer?" She looked at the pink pony quizzically as she made her formal introduction.
Pinkie opened a can herself, holding it in one arm, before smiling and offering Fluttershy a can from the stack she held in the other arm. Fluttershy stared blankly for a moment before grabbing a can with a hoof and opening it with her teeth. "Uh...thanks."
Pinkie giggled softly, winking at Rainbow Dash. "Both of those, Rainbow! I pretty much make the town go round...well, at least I do all the things the mayor doesn't have time to do, hee hee."
Rainbow nodded, her head feeling heavy. She took a swill of her drink.
"What d'you wanna do, Pinkie? I'm starting to get tired again, better sleep on it."
Pinkie yawned, for the first time in seemingly ages, taking another swill of her drink. "Welp, I thiiink maybe nappy time might be a good thing for all of us pretty soon...do you think you'll be okay sleeping out in the Everfree, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy smirked playfully, sipping her drink as she realized she was slowly getting used to the strange pink apparition. "I'll be great. No place like home."
"Great!" Rainbow nodded happily. "We'll meet you tomorrow, 'kay?"
Fluttershy chuckled, raising her can with a smile, one a bit cuter than the smirk she'd just made. "All right. Cheers, you two."
Rainbow lead Pinkie away, over the bridge connecting their path back to Ponyville.
"Y'know Pinkie, I don't have to go home, Derpy's already crashed back at the Corner. I could come back with you, sleep over at your place. Maybe figure out what to do about Fluttershy."
"Of course, Rainbow Dash, my home is your home," Pinkie said with a giggle, walking along with her full load of drinks, sipping from time to time.
Rainbow trotted off, on her way back home.
"You know Pinkie, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."
Pinkie looked into Rainbow's eyes, surprised. "Hmm...you know...maybe you're right...Dashie." She blushed a bit, smiling in a rare moment of slight embarrassment. "Hee, sorry Rainbow. I never did really ask if you wanted a nickname, huh? I have ta admit though you...look like a 'Dashie' to me. Somepony who's...exciting in a way that makes me get the giggles. Well, more than normal."
"Hmm... okay." Rainbow nodded. "It always used to bother me, 'cos it was used by older Pegasi to talk down to me, like I'm their little baby sister or something." she looked around at the town, the few lights that were still on as they entered.
Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she walked into the building with Rainbow. "Really? That's really weird. I mean, I know at least that if I were a pegasus, and I met a filly who looked like you, I'd think I was meeting Princess Celestia's kid or something. And it's not just the hair, either, it's just...I get...a vibe from you, you know? Real strong one. Feels...real great, too. Maybe you're...enchanted, or somethin' like that?"
Dash chuckled a little, trying to sound modest.
"I'm not enchanted. Maybe just lucky... or maybe I give off waves of awesome?" she grinned. "You really think I look like the Princess, though?" she asked. "That's... cool, I guess."
Pinkie nodded happily. "Waves of awesome...I like that! It's fun! You're the first pony with a mane like the Princess that I've seen...just like hers, yours looks like it belongs right in the sky!"
Rainbow nuzzled her companion softly.
"I'm so glad I met you... this place doesn't seem too bad after all." she suddenly had a random thought. "What's it like around Hearth's Warming Eve? This town's so rural and community-based... I bet you all have loads of fun every year."
Pinkie nuzzled back with a soft giggle. "I'm real glad I met you too! Everything feels so much more fresh and alive since you got here...I love making new friends!" Pinkie then smiled softly, thinking about the holidays. "We sure do have a lot of fun, heh heh! There's songs, and dancing, and snowball fights, big old pine trees grown fresh by real earth ponies, tons of candy, and...oh that's right, heh heh...I get to make the giant 'Here comes Hearth's Warming Eve' candy cane and put on the roof of town hall every year! I'm not abso-total-lutely sure what happens to it afterwards, but I think the Mayor eats it, hee hee."
Rainbow was about to knock on the door, looking to see if it was locked.
"Do we need a key to get in, again?" she couldn't remember how security in Ponyville worked, whether it was considered important here to lock up at night.
Pinkie smirked with a wink. "Nope, we can can just waltz right on in. The town's small enough that we don't worry about burglers...everypony here is connected in one way or another...I should know, since I know everypony in town, hee hee."
Rainbow nodded and went in, heading straight back to the party room and Pinkie's bed, yawning.
Setting the drinks down on a table, Pinkie noticed that Gummy was already sleeping in the basket and blanket he called a bed. She stretched her arms a bit, returned to all fours, then got comfy in a baby blue sleeping bag near the bed Rainbow Dash and Derpy were in. "Mmm, num num...g'night Dashie."
"G'night Pinkie." Rainbow muttered back.
It was several hours before Dash began to wake up. Somewhere in between dreaming and waking up, her thoughts quickly turned to Fluttershy, and the dangers she had been put in for all these years.
'Was that because of me?' she asked herself. Turning it over in her head as she turned around in bed, she tried to imagine her falling from a cloud outside Cloudsdale as she and her rival fillies raced by, leaving her alone in the forest below. 'Did I do that??' The pony she met last night in the forest was so unlike the shy little filly she knew, a pony who was in her first stages of growing into a mature mare. Her life had gone in such an unexpected way.... Rainbow didn't know whether to blame herself or not. It was an accident, but it seemed like she could have gone back and done something about it, if she had only thought about her old friends in Cloudsdale as she started making new ones in Canterlot. As she pondered guiltily what she'd done to the pegasus, she began falling asleep again.
"Wakey Wakey Dashie!!!" Pinkie's unmistakable voice shouted through the room. Shouted very, very loudly, in fact. On the plus side, the smell of something tasty and edible seemed to be slowly floating through the room.
"Whuh-buh-HUH?" Rainbow woke with a start. She looked back at the other side of the bed, not feeling Derpy's sleeping body against hers anymore. "Where's Derpy?"
"Oh, she's been down in the kitchen helping me make waffles and pancakes. We should have breakfast in bed ready for you within a few seconds!" Pinkie said, looking down at Rainbow with a smile as she stood over Rainbow on her hind legs.
"Breakfast in bed, sounds good!" Rainbow smiled. "For who...? There's only me here."
"Exactly!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "Derpy and I will be eating a little later, we decided it'd be more fun if we focused on giving you a great big surprise first, a little something to help you settle into living in Ponyville better. I know it's been a little while since you got hear, but a little extra hospitality couldn't hurt! Hee hee hee!"
"Thanks, Pinkie Pie." Rainbow said in her most heartfelt, grateful tone.
"Any time, Dashie!" Pinkie said with a smile and a wink, hopping back down to the kitchen to help Derpy put the finishing touches on Rainbow's meal.
"Hey, Derpy!" Rainbow called over to her. "You feeling alright? You sure got zonked out last night!"
Derpy chuckled, calling back to Rainbow as she flipped some pancakes over. "Yeah, I'm doin' juuuust swell, Rainbow Dash! All rested up now, ready to face the day!"
Rainbow nodded instinctively, for lack of a better response. Her thoughts were still on Fluttershy, but for the time being she was content with keeping up appearances until she was ready to start talking about it again.
Derpy suddenly fluttered to the side of the bed Rainbow was laying in, her smile soft, and her gaze attentive despite her eyes looking in slightly different directions. "All right, Dash, here ya go. I was...really worried I'd burn something, but Pinkie's a great teacher." Derpy landed, reached out with arms, and laid the tray in her hooves gently in front of Rainbow, a stack of ten pancakes on one plate, and ten waffles on the other. Both stacks were covered in generous amounts of maple syrup and butter.
Rainbow looked at them for a second, then began eating amazingly quickly, finishing her first one in seconds.
"I'm usually a fast eater." She remarked. "I couldn't get through them all though... want some?"
Derpy blushed, then chuckled softly with a soft, innocent smile. "All right Dash, I'll help." She leaned her neck over and began chewing at a bit of food contently.
"I'll sit this one out, I'd eat waaaaay too fast for you guys...I'm a bit of a pig sometimes, I gotta admit," Pinkie said with a chuckle, switching back and forth from quadrupedal and bipedal stances repeatedly in an odd, silly sort of dance.
"Yeah, don't wanna ruin my physique, not good for flying." Rainbow added. "It's a great gesture though, thanks." she looked over at Pinkie, wondering if she would do anything and hoping for a chance to discuss what happened.
Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie noticed Rainbow and looked at her curiously, tilting her head. "Something on your mind, Dashie?"
Derpy blinked curiously as she chewed a bit, then gulped. "Oh, uh...yeah...that's right, you guys went out...somewhere, I dunno. Right, I wassss sleeping. So...uh...how did that go? The night life and everything?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie noticed Rainbow and looked at her curiously, tilting her head. "Something on your mind, Dashie?"
Derpy blinked curiously as she chewed a bit, then gulped. "Oh, uh...yeah...that's right, you guys went out...somewhere, I dunno. Right, I wassss sleeping. So...uh...how did that go? The night life and everything?"
Dash looked at Derpy and back at Pinkie, at a loss for an explanation without giving anything too risky away.
"Oh... fine, just fine." she looked at Pinkie, gesturing for support with her head titled.
Pinkie noticed what Dash was onto, then smiled somewhat nervously at Derpy before making a full blown grin. "Oh yeah, nothing too special...we walked around, got into some conversations with each other, did some some sightseeing, drank some soda pop, um, passed somepony on their way home...that was about it, I think!" Pinkie concluded with a chuckle.
"Y-yeah, that's it." Dash said nervously.
Derpy smirked playfully, continuing to help Dash eat. "Well, if you guys are happy, so am I."
Rainbow ate her food in silence, thinking about if and how to approach her about the situation. If she needed to know, she probably could be told in time.
Pinkie started hopping off on all fours towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna get you guys some orange juice, kay?" She felt very relaxed and cheerful at that moment, glad that she had so many opportunities to feel that way from day to day, but felt a bit worried, all the same, about how to introduce Rainbow's old friend to the community. She brushed off the thought quickly, though, figuring that it wouldn't be too difficult to find a way.
Before long, Rainbow and Pinkie were on their way to the forest again, to see their friend. It was a Saturday, and Rainbow had been woken earlier than usual this morning, so their shedules were nothing to worry about just yet. Rainbow took a look back at Sugarcube Corner, wondering whether Derpy was becoming curious about them yet.
Pinkie mimicked Rainbow Dash, taking a look back at the bakery as well, but fortunately, there was no sign of the yellow maned pegasus in sight. She looked back where she and Rainbow were going, skipping forward happily in anticipation of visiting Fluttershy again, hoping to convince her to come to Ponyville this time.
Fluttershy flailed all four of her her limbs wild and screamed as she plummeted towards the ground. She'd seen a pegasus colt zip by her, and then the next moment, she was terrified for her life. No matter how hard she tried, her wings would not obey her and lift her back up to the cloud she had fallen off of. As the wind blew through her face and her mane, the hard brown surface below her grew closer and closer. Everything suddenly went dark...and as it did, she wondered what the afterlife would be like, if indeed there was one.
She found herself opening her eyes once more, looking to the sky. She wondered how long she had been asleep, or, indeed, if her previous life had all been a dream. Her eyes shot to her arms, having heard stories of unusual people from alien worlds suddenly waking up from long delusions of ponyhood that were indistinguishable from reality.
She half expected to see five, or even six ape like digits wriggling from the ends of her wrists...but her usual hooves floated right there in front of her, bending back and forth as she stared at them, gazing as if she were seeing them for the first time. Fluttershy wasn't sure if she should be relieved or disappointed.
Remembering that she had been falling, the yellow filly looked around frantically, noticing a legion of pink winged butterflies below her. They set her down carefully, and she quickly smiled in gratitude, glad that they had saved her life.
The peace of the moment was quickly broken for the young pink maned girl, as an enormous explosion of color filled the sky...the deafening sound it made as it's blinding spectrum flooded her vision made her entire body tremble, and soon the world grew dark again.
Slowly, but surely, Fluttershy came to. She hoped nothing would knock her out again once she open her eyes this time. Cold rain dripped on her sensitive face, the sky a mass of gray clouds. Nopony was around...not Rainbow Dash, not the boys who had teased her. She slowly lifted herself off her back and onto all four legs, feeling them tremble as she struggled to fin her balance. She flapped her wings, trying to get any sort of lift she could, but still she was unable to rise above the wet dirt she was standing on. Fluttershy then found that her stomach was rumbling...she tried searching for something, anything to eat, but found nothing for minutes on end...finally she found a bush lying beneath two of the tallest trees around her, and ravenously tore into it, quickly devouring all of the leaves of its branches. The taste was incredibly bland, but Fluttershy was glad she at least would be starving yet.
As the rain continued to pour, the yellow filly tried keep herself under the cover of the trees, to avoid getting wet as much as she could, but a few drops still reached her from time to time. Every now and then the frightened, timid young girl would look to her hips as if she expected to see something there...eventually giving up when she decided that she must slowly be growing mad, and that she needed to keep her wits about her.
Days passed. It was harder to tell the night from the day, since the clouds never went away, no matter how hard Fluttershy wished they would. She was, fortunately, still able to count the passing days by watching the color of the ever present rainclouds, watching as small, yet visible shades of light passed through them from hour to hour. Every now and then, she'd find another bush, or a patch of grass...they barely had any flavor at first, but as time when on, her imagination reflexively transmogrified them into the sweetest candies.
The filly suddenly realized just how long she'd been alone...just how long she had been thinking, thinking endlessly, not allowing herself much time to truly feel all the horror she felt deep down. She could not take it any longer...reaching a clearing where no tree would protect her from the frigid water any longer, she broke down and wept.
Miraculously, her friends, the butterflies suddenly returned...along with a host of soft, friendly rabbits, and even a throng of squirrels. She smiled softly as she began to feel warmer, and calmer, even as the tears flowed down her face faster than the rain. It was amazing...she had a gift, Fluttershy thought to herself, one that could make all manner of creatures love her. After a few hours, the animals began returning to their own lives, but Fluttershy felt more hope than she ever had in her life as she waved farewell to them.
Fluttershy stood once again, thinking she was only living being left in the rainy clearing...She noticed, for the first time, that she was surrounded by food in this place...she wondered how much of the grass she could consume before she needed to try and make her way to civilization again.
Before she could take a bite, Fluttershy eyes a bright green snake in front of her, strangling a mouse with it coils. She stared in horror for what felt like ages, until the snake finally consumed the corpse of the rodent.
"Murderer!" she spat out with an enraged frown, chocking on a sob. To her surprise, the snake's jaw dropped in deep fear and remorse...Fluttershy could even see tears welling up in its eyes. She suddenly felt terrible about herself...any need for vengeance leaving her. Fluttershy's head shook as she gently reached out a hoof and stroked the snake's tiny head.
"No...no...I...I'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't really mean it. I just...I'm not used to being out here, you know?"
The frightened, confused reptile leaped into the equine girl's arms, as her slowly rubbed her cheek against. "It's okay, it's okay...it's all going to be just fine." Silently, Fluttershy wondered what would drive somepony to kill and eat another being...she hoped she never had to find out.
"HUUUUGH!"
Within the Everfree, Fluttershy woke to the present...her foalhood days still haunting her. She wondered what trials today would bring...she wasn't sure she was looking forward to them.
Rainbow trotted ahead quickly, leading Pinkie back to the clearing just outside Ponyville. She recognised the way they came back from there to Sugarcube Corner last night, even though her geographical memory of the town was still patchy. She looked around, trying to find signs of the pegasus.
"Hmm..." Fluttershy stumbled out of some bushes awkwardly, yawning as she rubbed her eyes, and then looked upon her returning visitors. "Hey guys...heard your steps a few minutes ago." She stared for a few seconds, as if lost in thought, though nothing seemed outwardly different about her compared to the night before. She then slowly smiled, speaking in her slightly cocky, but unusually soft and soothing voice. "Nice to see you both back. I don't normally get many...well, any visitors, heh."
Pinkie giggled, hopping in place a bit.
"Well, it's really nice to be back I'd say!"
"What do you wanna do, now that you're living so close to Ponyville? Is there anything we can do, y'know... to make you feel more welcome?" Rainbow asked. She realised straightaway she was implying living in Ponyville, something she hadn't seemed willing to do so far.
Fluttershy stared long and hard in front of her, as if she was looking straight through Rainbow and Pinkie, as if she had forgotten they were even there.
Pinkie frowned a little, worried. "Uh...Fluttershy? Are...you okay?"
"I'M UGLY! UGLY!" Fluttershy screamed, standing on her hind legs grabbing stones in her hooves and tossing them towards her only companion, the young griffon girl whose head she was narrowly missing.
"Shy, chill out, it wasn't that bad! You put up a good fight, and-"
"GO! JUST GO AWAY ALREADY! I'M SICK OF YOUR CONSTANT BABBLING! I'M SICK OF YOU MAKING ME TAKE THESE STUPID RISKS! AND MOST OF ALL...I AM SICK...OF YOUR SUPREME...ARROGANCE!!!
The griffon backed away, shocked, trying to not to let the tears welling up in her eyes. "F-fine! Be that way. I...don't care about you either! Everyone betrays me in the end anyway, and I'm fed up with it!"
The griffon flew off, and for the first time in a long, long while, Shy was alone again. She glumly looked over her wounds, and the corpse of the hydra that had given them to her, and wondered if today truly was her last day.
Weeks past. They didn't pass as slowly as Shy thought they would...life was like walking in a dream now.
Suddenly, she saw a familiar face drop down in front of her. A familiar set of gold eyes.
"You...you came back." Fluttershy spat out weakly.
"Shy...look, I'm sorry for-" the other girl struggled to say, rubbing the back of her head.
"You...should have left me...I don't deserve-"
"You...gave me a lot of things I didn't deserve, Shy. Maybe...blame's not that important in the long run, ya know?"
Fluttershy just stood there in disbelief, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
"Look Shy, I...I'm going to let you in on something. I...I hate being a griffon. I hate a lot. I just...never mentioned it, to anyone. I didn't want to dishonor my friends and family back home...but I never thought I could fit in with ponies, either. You...treated me like a pony. Like one of your own. I didn't feel...like a monster anymore. Like a killer. I'm...I'm sorry that I made you a monster...a killer. I can't make things the way they were, but if you give me a chance...I can at least help you be the best damn monster in the whole forest.
Fluttershy stared long and hard, before choking back a sob and smiling. "All right...I think I'm...I think I'm ready for that haircut now."
Fluttershy closed her eyes, then slowly opened them, giving a long belabored sigh as she came back to reality. "Pinkie...Rainbow...that...is...a generous offer. I...cannot accept it, though. I'm so sorry. I'm ever so sorry...I wish it were different. The truth...the truth is...this isn't what I really look like. I'll...show you if you want...but I have to warn you...it's not pretty. At all."
Rainbow looked aghast, confused and unsure what her reaction should be. She suddenly pictured an emaciated or horribly burnt pony standing before them, and cast those thoughts to the back of her mind. She nodded regardless, too late to back out now.
Pinkie felt like a little frightened, but remembered her grandmother's words from long ago, and slowly smile. "It's okay Fluttershy, go ahead."
Fluttershy shifted both her front and back hooves uncomfortably, then stopped dead in her tracks, rising to her hind legs. "All right...this is what...this is who I am."
A flash of golden light sudden filled the clearing, blocking out all sight of everything else. As the luminous flood dissipated, Fluttershy was still there standing atop her back legs, her appearance drastically altered. Her body was thick with muscle...not quite as much as an earth pony in top shape, but still showing formidable bulk, while still somehow appearing slender and agile. Scars were all over the sides of her torso, many many cut marks that had left red, mangled flesh where once soft fur had grown. Her face was similarly damaged, bright red streaking across patches of yellow. Fluttershy's mane was now much shorter...messier, uneven as if it had been cut with a dull knife. It barely touched her forehead and neck...and a single, golden brown feather hung within it, tied tightly within the jagged pink mass. Adorning Fluttershy's chest was a golden metallic breastplate...in stark contrast to her body, it was flawless, without a scatch shining almost as brightly as the light it had given off mere moments before. A red gem resembling the face of an eagle was embedded in its center...and one of Fluttershy's hoof rubbed the gem, slowly, as if trying to comfort herself. Her face had not moved at all since the illusion had been dispelled...but she suddenly found the courage to speak once more."
"This is why I am the monster of Everfree Forest. I have killed-and consumed-many here. It was for the purposes of survival...but...they were people too. They were just...trying to survive like I was. Guys...I...I can't go back. I'm a dangerous predator, and I look the part. I won't be trusted. I'm...I'm sorry." Fluttershy hung her head as she returned to all fours. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed in herself, or the universe in general. Even after all these years, the world still didn't quite make sense to her.
Staring at her, Rainbow wondered how many fights and accidents had caused such an oddly scarred pony. She was so unlike the filly she remembered, her long legs and thin body replaced with a bulkier, stronger frame. She walked up to her slowly, placing her head below hers in a sympathetic nuzzle.
Pinkie watched Rainbow walk up to the other pegasus carefully, the pink earth pony slowly realizing she felt no fear towards Fluttershy...and that her desire for the yellow pony would accept the offer to come to Ponyville had only grown stronger. Silently, she hoped being reunited with Rainbow and finding a new home would heal Fluttershy's soul.
Fluttershy shook for a moment as she felt Rainbow below her chin. For a moment, she felt like she was in her old body, only a child who was little more than skin and bones. She rubbed her head back against Rainbow's as tears ran down her scarred face, not caring about anything else in that moment then being close to her long lost friend.
Derpy rubbed her chin curiously, chewing on a bit of a bran muffin.
"It sure is boring around here...hmm...well, if the fun won't come to me, I'll go to the fun," Derpy said to herself with a mischievous grin. She walked out the front door of Sugarcube Corner, closed it, then took flight...she felt worried about her relatively poor sense of direction for a moment, but then remembered that Pinkie and Rainbow hadn't traveled far...she could go almost in a complete straight line with minimal difficulty. Smiling to herself, she let her unusually wide field of vision lead the way as she flapped her way out of Ponyville.
Thinking hard, Rainbow finally broke the silence.
"Anything we can do for you, now that we know you're out here? Anything we can secretly provide or something?" she asked, looking back up at her. She sat down quietly, ready for the next answer.
Fluttershy rubbed her chin, thinking to herself, then looked up at Rainbow. "Well...nothing from back where you come from. There's...something I've been meaning to get, but haven't been able to find yet, in this forest, though."
"Hey, that should be easy peasy, lemon squeezy for me!" Pinkie Pie cried out with a giggle. "I've got a bit of a sixth sense from being an earth pony and all, so it should be real, real easy to find what you're looking for! Rainbow's super fast and has a great sense of direction, so that's a huge help too!" Pinkie nodded as she finished her sentence, making a toothy grin at Fluttershy.
"Hey guys," Derpy suddenly spoke out of nowhere. Pinkie jumped and looked behind her, surprised that she hadn't sensed, or at least heard Derpy coming.
Fluttershy just stared in bewilderment, wondering how many friends could possibly be following Dash to this very spot.
"Derpy!" Rainbow sounded disapponted. "What is it with ponies sneaking up on me here?" she shook her head. "Oh, well... Fluttershy, this is Ditzy Doo... or Derpy Hooves, that's her nickname."
Derpy blushed with an embarrassed smile, looking at Rainbow Dash. "Oopsie doodle. Sorry Dash." She then looked over to Fluttershy, examining her closely, tilting her head from time to time. Fluttershy started sweating a little, worried that this blond newcomer would be terrified of her.
"You know, Fluttershy, I really like your look!" Derpy suddenly said with a smile.
"...what." Fluttershy said flat, thoroughly confused.
"It's got a great punk rock feel to it! It's totally cool, I can see why Dash is hanging out with you," Derpy remarked cheerfully.
"...uh...thank you...Derpy," Fluttershy said, staring blankly at Derpy, not sure how to handle the sudden overwhelming positivity the scarred yellow furred pegasus was now facing.
"Neat armor, did you make it?" Derpy asked, looking closely at Fluttershy's chest.
"Uh...well, a friend did. No, actually...she kinda...conjured it. I guess that counts as making it," Fluttershy stammered out.
"Oh neat, it's magic! I think you and me are gonna get along real well!" Derpy said with a smile and an enthusiastic nod.
"Hmm...you know, I...think so, too," Fluttershy said as she slowly felt comfortable smiling.
"Did you guys know each other back in Cloudsdale?" Rainbow suddenly asked, losing track of the conversation. "It was so long ago, I can't remember if I'd met both of you yet."
Derpy chuckled, smiling innocently, rising to her hind legs and shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry Dash, never met her," she said simply.
"Actually, I think we've met once before," Fluttershy said as she rose and eyebrow, looking over Derpy curiously. "I ran face first into you in the hallway one time in flight school...the day before...well, I went missing."
"Oh that's right! Now I remember, silly me!" Derpy said, another embarrassed smile on her face as she rubbed the back of her head before returning to all fours. "You know...you looked pretty back then...but I think you look even prettier now."
"W-hat You can't possibly mean that!" Fluttershy said with such startled astonishment that she wound backing up three steps.
Derpy smiled innocently, nodding sincerely. "I do. I like your scars the best...they make you look...special. I bet you're a special person. You seem really nice."
Fluttershy started to calm down, even with her jaw dropped. Slowly, she smiled a gentle warm smile, and hugged Derpy close. "Thanks...thanks a lot. You're...you're not so bad yourself."
Rainbow simply watched, sitting and thinking to herself. They were going to do something, but she totally forgot.
"Uhhh...." she murmured to herself, rubbing her head.
Pinkie giggled, whispering into Rainbow's ear. "It's okay, Dashie, I couldn't remember either. But I did one of my little squinks while everypony wasn't looking, and figured it out. We just need to ask Fluttershy what she needs to find in the Everfree, and then we'll be well on our way, hee hee."
Rainbow stood up and went over to Fluttershy to ask her the same question.
"Hey, Fluttershy... you mentioned something you're looking for...?"
Fluttershy looked over to Rainbow as her embrace with Derpy ended, blinking her eyes as she collected her thoughts, then relaxed, speaking with the more confident tone she had been using before the awkward arrival of the blonde maned pegasus.
"Right. I'm going to need help finding a patch of 'Poison Joke' flowers. Once we find them, I'm going to need you all to stay back...these plants are known to cause strange mutations. My armor makes me immune, but I can't say the same for the rest of you."
Rainbow nodded.
"Derpy, you wanna come along?" she turned back over to the grey pegasus, now that she was here she might as well come along if she really wanted to.
Derpy smirked playfully, trying to look cool. "Sure, Rainbow Dash, I can't think of anything more fun!"
"Let's go!" Rainbow replied to the whole group. "Uhm... where are we going?"
Pinkie felt her tail twitch, and point itself towards a group of trees. "Apparently, we're going this way, hee hee," she said with a soft laugh as she looked in the direction her tail was facing.
"How d'you know that?" Rainbow looked at her tail. she thought she saw it twitch but didn't know that was a sign.
Pinkie smiled and winked at Rainbow excitedly. "Sixth sense, Dashie. Another earth pony thing. I use my squinks to focus my mind, and my Pinkie sense to give me these neat little vague predictions whenever I really need 'em!"
"Whatever works for you." Rainbow nodded. She had plenty of time to learn about her extra sensory abilities later. "I'll follow you."
Pinkie giggled and hopped off, stopping from time to time to check where her tail would point next. Derpy, meanwhile, followed behind Rainbow, innocently smiling, totally excited to be going on a trip.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, walked beside Derpy, inwardly even more confused than Rainbow was at seeing Pinkie's strange clairvoyance. At least, she assured herself, everything was peaceful for now.
Trying to be patient, Rainbow walked with her vision focused squarely on the road ahead, just beyond Pinkie's head.
Pinkie suddenly stopped, looking at a patch of dark green bushes that were in front of the group, far down the road, just barely in Pinkie's field of vision. Her nose was twitching furiously.
"We're reeeeeeally close. We don't need to make any more turns...it's just a hop, skip, and a jump straight ahead, past those bushy little...uh, bushes." She giggled proudly, her nose still twitching to indicate that the flowers Pinkie had been looking for had been found, looking with a smile towards Rainbow.
"That...was surprisingly swift." Fluttershy remarked, blinking in amazement.
"Yeah, that's our Pinkie," Derpy said with a chuckle.
"Great, I can just..." Rainbow took off into the sky. "...be right back while I scout ahead for them!" she took off, flying over their heads. She flew over to a purpleish-red patch she could see ahead, treating it as though it was a handy landing pad. She trotted around, getting a feel of what she had landed in.
"That's weird... it's like ivy..." she moved one hoof through the plants, kicking it gently.
Fluttershy's jaw dropped as she watch Rainbow take off, suddenly realizing that the sheer speed of the cyan pegasus was enough to take Rainbow out of speaking distance.
"Uh...Fluttershy, is something wrong?" Pinkie asked with a concerned frown. Derpy stared innocently and attentively at Fluttershy as she waited for the yellow pegasus to speak.
"Well...these plants have been known to cause...issues if you touch them. Nothing lethal, but...very...very...very inconvenient. I...don't think Rainbow will do that, though, she's just...scouting ahead...I hope."
Pinkie smiled nervously. Derpy quickly did the same, figuring that something must be wrong if Pinkie of all people was worried.
"Well...things do look scary, but I'm sure Rainbow knows what she's doing. Even if these things make her sick, I'm sure she'll figure a way around it. She just seems like the go getter type."
"Go...getter type?" Fluttershy said with a confused eyebrow raise.
"Yeah, the sort of gal who think quick on her hooves!" Derpy offered helpfully, calming down and smiling more softly. Pinkie nodded in approval to Derpy as the three mares waited for Rainbow Dash's return.
Rainbow trotted back, looking healthy as ever.
"Hey guys. I found some ivy up ahead... is that what you were looking for?"
Pinkie and Derpy smiled wide, happy to see Rainbow all right. Fluttershy stared in disbelief for a few moments before smiling softly, and walking closer to Rainbow.
"Yes, that's exactly it. I'm glad I had you three keeping me company...it would have taken me much longer if I hadn't had a warm smile from Derpy, your speed and skill, and um...whatever Pinkie does," Fluttershy remarked, rubbing her short hair with a hoof as she made an embarrassed smile towards Pinkie.
"Hooray, I'm useful!" Pinkie cried out, hopping up and down frantically.
"Yeah... why don't I take you to it right now?" Rainbow asked, anxious to keep moving.
"That sounds great! Lead the way, I wholeheartedly trust you, Rainbow," Fluttershy cried out excitedly as her scarred face beamed with what was, for Flutterhy, an astonishing amount of joy and hope.
Rainbow's path lead straight back to the purple ivy in a matter of moments.
"Here it is, I think. I landed in it when I checked it out." she told them as she showed it to them, pointing and touching it with her hoof.
Derpy and Pinkie smiled obliviously at Rainbow, while Fluttershy's face suddenly stared in a moment of horror as she saw Rainbow touching the flower, all positive emotion draining from it for a moment, before she slowly managed a small smile again, thinking that perhaps she was worrying too much.
"Th...thanks Dash. I'll...um...start gathering them, I guess." As she flew towards the patch of purple ivy, she hoped that Rainbow had some sort of protection that Fluttershy simply didn't know about.
"I hope this is safe... what are you gonna do?" Rainbow suddenly asked.
"Oh, it's pretty simple. My armor will protect from any ill effects, and I'll carry as much of the plant as I can on by back. I'll need to make return trips, but it shouldn't be difficult to make it back now that you all have shown me the way," Fluttershy explained.
"Ill effects...?" Rainbow repeated. "I did land in it."
Fluttershy started sweating a bit in fear, suddenly realizing that Rainbow was in fact not immune, and her old friend truly didn't know the dangers of the strange ivy. She managed to calm herself again quickly, however.
"I'm sorry...I should have warned you well in advance. We can come back for the plants later...right now I need to get you help, and make up for this. If you have any of the oil on you, my alchemist friends Zecora should be able to remove it. Don't worry you aren't in danger of dying. The oil just causes...very unpredictable changes in body shape. Or so I have heard."
"Body changes?" Rainbow now looked horrified. She wasn't looking forward to any weird magical side effects. "How long...?" she began to ask. "How long have I got?"
Fluttershy stared blankly in sudden realization as she immediately answered Rainbow's question.
"About thirty seconds."
Already Rainbow was looking panicked. She didn't know if it was a side effect of the ivy, or her sudden awakening that morning, but she was quickly starting to feel faint. A numb, dull pain crept up her hooves and into her legs like her skin was burning.
"Gah!!" She yelped. "Anypony need a lift?" she looked back at the group. Fluttershy, Derpy and herself were pegasi, so flying over the dangerous vines shouldn't be a problem. But she turned her eyes to Pinkie with concern, realizing she couldn't get across on her own.
Pinkie stared at Rainbow for a moment, worried, but quickly decided she'd try and remain cheerful for everyone else. She allowed herself to relax, feeling a smile come to her face as a warmth inside her flowed from the center of her body out towards the rest of her, even to the tips of her hooves. She then leaped towards Rainbow, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"Sure! I'm ready when you are, Dashie!"
"I guess I'm with you then...just follow me and you should be fine," Fluttershy said calmly.
"Whatever you say, fearless punk rock leader!" Derpy said with a confident, cocky smile that reminded Fluttershy of Rainbow a bit, much to the pink maned pegasus' surprise.
"Um...yeah. Here we go!" Fluttershy remarked before taking wing, Derpy immediately following behind her.
"Hop on!" Rainbow called out to the pink earth pony, the only wingless member of the group. Her wings were spread out and her body poised ready to take flight.
"Wheee!!!" Pinkie cried out with joy as she hopped on top of Rainbow's back, clinging tightly to the cyan pegasus' body as she stared excitedly ahead past Rainbow's brightly colored mane.
Whether from carrying the earth pony's larger frame or her rising feeling of faintness, Rainbow flew quickly over the Poison Joke plants blocking the road and landed clumsily on the ground, her legs weakly giving way.
"Not one of my best landings, heh...!" she chuckled awkwardly.
Pinkie chuckled back, winking at Rainbow.
"It's all right, I thought it was fun! Thanks for the ride, Rainbow Dash!" She then sensed Rainbow was still feeling not quite well, and gently ran a hoof through her main as she gave her a warm smile.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy had landed...with Derpy crashing into her immediately afterwards.
"Um..whoops. Sorry, this...happens to me sometimes." Derpy said as she jumped off of Fluttershy, and gave her a nervous smile.
"Unnngh..." Fluttershy moaned before rising to her hooves. "It's all right. I know what it's like to make mistakes...we'd be better check on the others, though."
Fluttershy began walking in Rainbow and Pinkie's direction, and Derpy, feeling relieved, smiled innocently as she followed her.
Sensing the group's attention was on her, Rainbow picked herself up having dropped off her passenger, straightening herself out with a stretch. Before she could take another step though, dizziness took control over her body, making her sway from side to side her light-headedness grew worse. The effects of the Poison Joke had had plenty of time to set in.
"F-fluttershy, is it suppose 'ta..." Rainbow mumbled, toppling to the ground and lying there. her eyes were closed and there was a distinct lack of movement.
Fluttershy ran up to Rainbow, putting a hoof to her neck, and an ear near her face.
"Is she-?" Pinkie stammered out, suddenly worried for Rainbow's life. Derpy simply frowned sadly as she struggled to control her emotions.
Fluttershy looked back at the other two ponies with a serious expression, but at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay...the good news is, like I'd suspected, she's still breathing, and she still has a pulse. But, well...we're going to all need to take a few steps back. Give her body time to shift into...whatever the toxin is making it into. She'll be fine up here," Fluttershy said as she pointed a hoof at her forehead before setting it down again, "but she's...definitely going to look a lot different. Don't worry, it's easily cured, we just have to make sure we're able to transport her."
Pinkie and Derpy then walked back a few steps, keeping their eyes on Rainbow's unconscious body, Fluttershy doing the same.
A quite snore came out of Rainbow's mouth. Physically, she looked the same as ever.
"Okay, here's the deal. The toxin is acting slower than I thought. That's a good thing. If we play our..." Fluttershy struggled for a moment to think of a proper saying, then finally remembered one. "...cards right, we should be able to get to Zecora and back, and cure Dash before she even wakes up. Pinkie, can you still do that...thing you were doing?"
"I sure can!" Pinkie cried out with a giggle. She alternating once again between moving ahead and following the directions her tail pointed her in. Derpy quickly followed, happily floating behind her. Fluttershy gave one last concerned look at Rainbow before flying off after Derpy.
As they left, Rainbow snored, and no one saw her stomach rise and fall with each breath as it grew slowly bigger.
Pinkie eventually stopped in front of a large tree with, bizarrely enough, a large door carved into it, her nose twitching rapidly, signaling that she had reached her destination. A slightly spooky looking mask hung above the door, and various empty bottles were hung in decoration from its branches. Pinkie silently mused that whoever lived here must drink almost as much soda pop as she did, before looking back at the landing Fluttershy and Derpy.
"Well...this is the place. Uh...what do we do now?" Pinkie said simply and curiously."
"I'll go ahead and knock...Zecora will recognize my voice." Fluttershy flew in front of the door, rose to her hind legs, raised an arm, and tapped gently on the wooden portal with her hoof, calling out for her friend. "Zecora, it's me, Shy."
Slowly the door opened, Fluttershy falling back to all fours as it did. A person with an interesting mohawk mane style walked out, smiling softly, something in her eyes showing a great inner peace, yet a sense of mystery at the same time, a sense that she knew a great deal that others did not...her ears were adorned with golden hoops, and many gold rings were worn around her neck. The woman- Derpy and Pinkie could definitely tell she was female, and she seemed at least a few years older in appearance then everypony else present- looked a lot like an earth pony mare in terms of her general size and build, and even had a cutie mark that looked some sort of unique, stylized star. However, the striped pattern of her gray and white fur was like nothing the pink earth pony or the blonde maned pegasus had seen before. Derpy smiled a wide open grin of awe as she looked upon the new being, but Pinkie remained a bit skeptical, not entirely sure that this "Zecora" lady wasn't something dangerous spawned from the tree itself.
"How glad I am to see you, my dear Shy, if my eyes, they do not lie!" Zecora remarked in a deep, mature sounding voice, a bit of a sing song rhythm in her voice as she playfully rhymed her sentence.
Pinkie stood there, smiling nervously, while Derpy flew up next to Zecora and hugged her immediately. "I really like your mane, m'aam!" Derpy cried out excitedly.
"Um..." Zecora said, as she tried to recover from the surprise embrace. "I am grateful for your kindness, young pegasus!" Zecora calmly stated as she calmed down, and Derpy slowly slid away from her, giggling. Zecora then noticed Pinkie, still standing far away and grinning in an attempt to hide her fear.
"Um...she's never seen a Zebra, before, has she, Fluttershy?" Zecora said with a worried look on her face, forgetting to rhyme momentarily.
"Sadly, no." Fluttershy said, rubbing her hair in slight embarrassment.
Zecora walked up to Pinkie, smiling and placing a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, and began to try and comfort the earth pony. "Young lady, you have nothing to fear from me...I am as harmless as can be. To be a zebra is my lot...I am at once a pony and not."
Pinkie seemed to snap out of her trance immediately as Zecora finished talking. "Oh, okay...so you're not a tree monster. Gotcha!"
"...tree monster?" Zecora said in confusion as she backed away from Pinkie a little. She was, at least, glad that the pink pony was no longer afraid of her.
"My name's Pinkie Pie! And my friend is Ditzy Doo, though people tend to call her Derpy Hooves!" Pinkie said with a grin, hopping in place cheerfully.
"Hmm...well, a friend of Shy's is a friend of mine as well, you two are pure of heart, I can tell." Zecora said with a gentle grin, walking back towards her house.
Once Pinkie, Derpy, and Fluttershy were all gathered around her door, and Zecora was standing right beside it again, Shy began describing the situation.
"A friend of ours touched the Poison Joke...do you think you'll be able to make an antidote if we provide you with what you need?"
Zecora thought for a moment, closing her eyes, deep in thought, before opening them with a smile. "A single flower is all you must bring, when ground in a hot bath, it shall make your friend's heart sing. Run along now on your quest...I wish you all the best."
The trio nodded to Zecora, and flew- or in Pinkie's case, bounced- back to Rainbow's location, and the patch of purple ivy.
Rainbow woke with a start. She remembered her condition, remembering the panic and fear that set in when she found out something was supposed to happen to her after being exposed to the Poison Joke plant. She checked around, looking back at herself and breathing a sigh of relief. Whatever this Poison Joke was, it hadn't done anything as bad as she might have thought, given enough time to imagine the consequences.
As she lifted herself up, she felt heavy somehow. Like she had eaten something bad, or eaten too much of something recently. Struggling to right herself, she walked a few paces before her tummy growled, worrying her.
'What's wrong with me? Am I sick?' she asked herself. She felt something strange and odd about her condition, especially around her waistline. She stood up on two legs to try and see what the problem was, and that was when she saw it.
"Aaaaaaaaaaghhh!" she yelped, a noise loud enough to be heard by the ponies and Zebra not far away.
Rainbow fell over backwards, sitting in the dirt with her tummy exposed. It was bigger and rounder than ever before, and her limbs seemed thicker and fatter as well. She rubbed it with her hooves protectively, before standing up and looking for a direction, any direction to take in order to find her friends. She hoped they were still searching for Fluttershy's forest friend, and took off beyond the Poison Joke plants and into the forest. She didn't know it, but she was heading the wrong way, and getting further and further from her friends. But the panicked pegasus wasn't giving it much thought.
Zecora stared into space anxiously as she heard the scream rustling through the leaves. She walked inside her treehouse and tried to brace herself, fearing that things would only become much more awkward in the near future.
Fluttershy and Derpy suddenly landed as they heard Rainbow's voice, Pinkie's jaw dropping in a panic as they did.
"What do we do now?" Pinkie cried out.
"We'd better get back to the patch!" Fluttershy said as she took wing, zooming towards the Poison Joke plants as Derpy and Pinkie struggled to keep up with her, flying and bouncing as fast as they could.
"She's...not here!" Fluttershy screamed as she landed in front of the plants, completely confused.
As Derpy landed, she suddenly had an idea. She realized it was strange idea,but in a moment like this, it seemed crazy enough to work.
"Pinkie, how good is your sense of smell?" Derpy asked urgently.
"Uh...I've been told it's better than most dogs!" Pinkie spat out quickly.
"Sniff out Rainbow Dash, and lead the way!" Derpy shouted.
Pinkie nodded with determination, sniffing the air as she ran off in the direction her nose took her, the two pegasi flying behind her.
Rainbow took to the air, flying in the air. But her new weight started draining her strength, and she landed on the ground, running briskly in search of her friends.
"Darnit..." she muttered to herself. "How can I fly while I'm like this?" she panted, looking around. She was starting to feel lost.
Suddenly, something large crashed into Rainbow from behind.
"Ack, owies," it cried out in a cutesy, high pitched voice, not unlike a certain curly maned pink pony.
"Ow! Ow ow ow... my head!" Rainbow complained. As she rubbed it, she looked up at what she crashed into. "Pinkie Pie...?"
"...Dashie?" She looked below her, noticing something different about Rainbow that she couldn't seem to fully comprehend yet. She quickly smile wide. "Boy, am I ever glad to see you!"
Fluttershy and Derpy landed behind the cyan and pink ponies, slowly walking closer to them to investigate the situation further.
Rainbow took a few steps back, not looking behind her.
"Pinkie... do I look normal to you?"
Pinkie tilted her head, examining Rainbow closely. "Hmm...you look mostly normal, but you look...bigger somehow. Like...more around my size."
"I thought so..." Rainbow sighed unhappily, still walking slowly backwards. "That plant made me... I mean I'm... I'm fat!!" she wailed, sitting on the edge of a ravine and tumbling backwards with a gasp, landing in a heap a meter or so below. She climbed back up, shaken and bruised. "Is there anything you can do to help me?"
Derpy walked closer to Rainbow, looking worried. Pinkie nuzzled Rainbow's bruises softly, hoping to help her feel better. Fluttershy shifted her eyes awkwardly for a few moments, then managed to find the courage to speak.
"We should be able to cure you by taking one of the plants to Zecora. She told me that was all she needed for an antidote."
"Won't that affect you if you touch them?" Rainbow asked. She liked the plan, but couldn't see how it would work just yet.
"No. It's no trouble for me...my armor's magic makes collecting the plants a simple matter," Fluttershy said, smiling confidently.
"you sound like a unicorn." Rainbow noticed, looking at her with curiosity. She got up and prepared to follow her out. "I hope you're right about this."
"Huh...I suppose I do," Fluttershy said, placing a hoof to her bottom lip, surprised at the realization. She smirked playfully at Rainbow as she began to walk off, Pinkie and Derpy preparing to follow her just as Rainbow had. "Zecora's never failed me. It's all right...you're in good hooves, Dash," Fluttershy said, keeping the cocky, friendly look on her face before looking forward once more to make sure she could see where she was going.
As she walked, Rainbow looked down at her belly, wondering if it would be possible to give somepony a cuddle before getting cured, and why the feeling was so nice to imagine.
Pinkie began walking closer to Rainbow, noticing the direction of the pegasus' gaze, becoming very curious.
"Something on your mind, Dashie?"
Rainbow's gaze turned to her slowly, blushing.
"N-nothing..." she stammered.
Pinkie smiled gently and nodded, seeing the blush on Rainbow's face. She knew that Rainbow was hiding something, but knew better than to pry further...whatever exciting feelings Rainbow was exploring within herself would blossom on their own sooner or later. Pinkie continued following Derpy who was a little ways in front of her, and Fluttershy, who was even further ahead, leading the way, but kept close to Rainbow Dash, secretly admiring the pegasus' changed form from time to time, finding a certain beauty in it that reminded her of herself.
Rainbow looked at her, thinking hard about what she wanted to say. She finally whispered in her ear.
"Pinkie.... this feels kinda nice." she revealed, looking away with embarrassment.
Pinkie felt like giggling, but managed to keep from doing so, whispering back in Rainbow's ear. "I'm real glad you think so, Dashie, but I understand why you wouldn't want to admit it. Most ponies wouldn't. But maybe...those plants aren't so bad after all, in a way at least. Maybe they don't so much curse people as show them things about themselves they wouldn't normally see."
"Maybe..." Rainbow admitted in a soft, husky voice. "But what do I do? I don't want it to affect my flying. The sooner this is over the better. But... it's starting to give me a new appreciation for your..." tactfully she whispered what she hoped were the right words. "...body type."
"I think it's better you go back to normal for now," Pinkie whispered gently in a happy go lucky tone. "If you ever get curious about it again, you'll know how to change back and forth from being like that in the future." Pinkie then thought a bit about Rainbow's final statement, and nuzzled her softly. "And if nothing else, I'm really, really glad you know a bit more about why it's so fun to be me, Dashie."
Suddenly, Rainbow nuzzled her cheek against Pinkie's. She saw an opportunity to continue this discussion later, but now wasn't the time.
"Let's talk about this later, okay?" she smiled and winked.
Pinkie smiled wider than she had been, nuzzling back at Rainbow's soft, pudgy, fuzzy cheek, winking back happily. "You bet."
When Rainbow looked up, she saw a strange looking tree, with a doorway carved into it.
"Are we here?" she asked.
"This is the place, " Fluttershy said, knocking on the door once more. Derpy flew close to the door, happy at the chance to see Zecora again, and Pinkie remained by Rainbow's side.
"We're back, Zecora," Fluttershy said calmly. Zecora opened the door, smiling at Fluttershy, and then Derpy, then looked at Pinkie and Rainbow, her cheerful face turning to one of curiosity, walking closer to them slowly.
Noticing the strange striped pony's appearance, Rainbow looked at her quietly with stunned amazement.
After examining Rainbow closely for a few moments, Zecora smiled cheerfully...having no idea what was wrong with Rainbow, since she had no preconceived notion of Rainbow Dash's appearance. Nonetheless, she set about questioning the pegasus to find out what effect the plants had had on her.
"Greetings, noble pony with fur of blue, what may this humble Zebra do for you?"
"I've come about a... weight loss problem." the blue pony smiled uncomfortably in response. "Side effect of the poison joke."
Zecora stared in surprise for a moment, but quickly calmed herself and smiled softly.
"Not to worry my friend, your troubles are almost at an end." Walking back to her door, she saw Fluttershy offer a single purple flower in her mouth to her, which Zecora gladly accepted in her own mouth...with Derpy and Pinkie suddenly realizing that something must be magic about Zecora's jewelry for Fluttershy to be giving the plant to Zecora without worry. Walking inside her house once more, shutting her door behind her, Zecora took to grinding and cooking the plant, crushing and bubbling sounds loudly escaping the confines of the tree house.
Rainbow looked around the room, thinking hard. Eventually she looked at Pinkie.
"Hey, Pinkie, come with me." she looked back at the other two as she was about to leave. "We... forgot something, we'll be right back."
Pinkie nodded gently to Rainbow, smiling to Derpy and Fluttershy briefly before following her cyan friend.
Rainbow trotted outside slowly, watching to see if Pinkie was following as she lead her out.
Pinkie bounced along behind Rainbow, looking really excited, wondering what Rainbow could be looking for.
Rainbow lead her out into a private part of the forest, hidden from the treehouse that Zecora lived in, and stopped, sitting on a fallen log. She looked at her stomach sadly.
Pinkie slowly walked up to the log, at on it, and looked over at Rainbow with concern.
"Are you all right?," she asked gently.
"I don't know if I'm ready to get cured yet. I wanted to try something first." she stood up on two legs, letting her chubbiness hang out in the air. She held her arms out, offering Pinkie her embrace. "Mind if you hug me?"
Pinkie rose up to two legs excitedly, cheering up rapidly, admiring Rainbows body for a moment before stretching her arms out as well.
"I'd love to, Dashie." She tend hugged Rainbow slowly, but tightly and warmly.
The chubby pegasus felt Pinkie's touch against her belly, savouring the moment happily. Eventually, she let go.
"I'm glad I found out what that felt like." she sighed.
"Glad to be of service," Pinkie said cheerfully, giving a big toothy grin to Rainbow.
Meanwhile, in her tree house, Zecora was nearly finished with her alchemical potion, smiling upon the boiling pot her handiwork resided in.
Rainbow walked into the room, looking for sign of Zecora.
Zecora stood in the center of the room, standing over a bubbling, steaming cauldron, smiling down into it as she watched and listened to it, preparing to collect some of it in a cup within mere minutes.
"Ooh, is it ready yet?" came Rainbow's enthusiastic voice as she entered.
Zecora rose to two legs, grabbed a tall stone drinking mug from a nearby table, grasped the handle in a hoof, then scooped a large sample of the potion into it.
"Yes Rainbow, it is just as you think, your remedy is now fit to drink!" She walked over to Rainbow, still on her back limbs, her usual calm smile on her face, gently reaching her arm out to offer the hot, steamy mug to the pegasus. "This shall help a lot, but be careful, for it is very hot!"
Rainbow took it and blew on it gently, watching the steam rising from it. She seemed to space out, wondering about what to do when this was over.
Zecora chuckled softly, returning to all fours. "The potion is incredibly fast acting, for potency it is not lacking."
"Cool." Rainbow sipped, feeling the hot liquid burn her lips and licking at it. Eventually, after a few blows it cooled down and she started drinking until the mug was empty. As soon as she did, she felt herself shrink and struggled to keep her balance. She sat on the floor and admired her physique. "I'm cured!"
Zecora looked over Rainbow in awe, amazed how how slim the pegasus had become. "Rainbow, now that your treatment is complete, I see that you are quite the athlete.
"You bet!" Rainbow stood up. "I'm learning magic thanks to Princess Celestia, but maybe one day I'll do it for a living, in the Wonderbolts or something like that!" she exclaimed. "Or just kick clouds in Ponyville and look for adventures to come up. Whatever I decide to do."
"You have much fire in your eyes, I hope that your dreams will soar to the skies," Zecora said with a wide smile and a nod.
Just then Pinkie was behind Zecora.
"Hi" said Pinkie in a surprisingly calm voice.
Zecora turned around in shock. "Oh my, how did...oh." Zecora then slowly smiled in realization. "You used an earth pony trick to be silly, did you not, Ms. Filly?"
Pinkie giggled and nodded to Zecora cheerfully.
"Thanks for your help, um.... what was your name?" Rainbow asked. She looked anxious to get out the door, like she wanted to do something urgently, or was just being impatient.
"Zecora, dear," the alchemist Zebra said gently to Rainbow as Pinkie hopped up and down around the room. "Feel free to come back when you need something...I am a seasoned expert with mixing. Go in peace."
"Oh, right... sure." Rainbow nodded and headed out the door. "You guys coming?"
Pinkie hopped out the door right behind Rainbow, immediately noticing Derpy preening Fluttershy's feathers, and Fluttershy having a confused look on her face as if she felt comfortable but didn't want to show it.
"Um...sure Dash. Glad to have to back to your old self," Fluttershy said simply as Derpy continued nibbling at Fluttershy's wings.
Rainbow simple trotted forward briskly, forgetting she was meant to be followed.
Pinkie continued hopping behind Rainbow, as Derpy finished preening Fluttershy, and floated near Pinkie, walking alongside the earth pony as she landed. Fluttershy followed suit and flew forward a bit until she landed on the other side of Pinkie.
"So, where to now, everypony?" Pinkie said with a giggle. Fluttershy struggled to think of an answer, while Derpy calmly walked along with a smile, waiting to hear suggestions from the others.
"I need a nap." Rainbow yawned. She looked at Fluttershy for a moment thinking. "Have you thought about whether to come with us to Ponyville?"
Fluttershy rubbed her chin for a moment, thinking hard. It would be nice to spend some time in civilization for a while, now that she had somepony available to keep her company, with one of her old friends among the group. She decided to accept the offer, but also to be cautious.
"I think...I'll go ahead and come for a visit. Thanks to you all, and Zecora, my armor's charged up with enough potion to keep me disguised for a good week, but after that, I'll need to gather more plants so people won't know I...well, look like this" Fluttershy explained with a slight bit of nervousness, while still being able to remain calm for the most part.
"Okay, cool. Pinkie, you want to have a party for her tonight?" Rainbow then asked.
"DO I EVER!" Pinkie shrieked while doing a somersault forward, landing perfectly on her hind legs.
"Woohoo, we're gonna have a great time tonight!" Derpy said, rising to her back legs as well, hopping forward, and landing behind Pinkie, whose current bipedal stance made it easy for the gray pegasus to hug her from behind and give her a quick belly rub.
"W-wait, a party? Is...is anypony going to be there besides us? A-are there...going to...be...lots of people...watching me?" Fluttershy stammered out, staring blankly in horror at the rest of the group.
"Oh. What do you think, Pinkie?" Asked Rainbow. "Think it could just be four of us?"
"Oh, a smaller party would be just fine! What matters is that Shy will be having fun!" Pinkie exclaimed with a giggle, as she and Derpy returned to all fours.
"Okay! Better prepare for it, y'know how tired I get at night if I don't have my beauty sleep." Rainbow told Pinkie.
Pinkie winked and nodded to Rainbow, grinning widely, with Derpy chuckling herself, awaiting the future party.
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to meet so many new people so fast, or walk into a huge crowd.
Before long, Rainbow was tucked up in Pinkie's bed at Sugarcube Corner.
While Pinkie and Derpy made ready for the party, Fluttershy walked silently up to Pinkie's bed, looking down at Rainbow.
"Um...uh...Dash...if you're not too busy right now...I was wondering...I think I might...need a nap, and...I'm not sure where I should sleep. Uh...sorry if...you are busy now...though" Fluttershy realized that it had been years since she'd felt this out of place...it was oddly nostalgic in a way. Rainbow snored. She was long gone, and had left her sleeping body on the bed while her mind wandered off to distant places.
Under the night sky, Fluttershy looked down into the lake at her new haircut, not quite sure what to make of it yet. While Gilda had cut through the pegasus' mane with her claws carefully, Flutteshy saw that the end result was still a mass of short, pink hair that was jagged and uneven at the edges...the realization caused Fluttershy to see that her form as a whole now seemed just as jagged and uneven as the way her hair had been cut. She wasn't sure whether to feel awe at this latest turn of events, or fear at the sight of her own reflection.
Fluttershy suddenly felt something on her shoulder, and immediately turned to see what it was, startled. It turned out to be Gilda's familiar front paw, with it's usual odd mix of avian and feline anatomy.
"...Hey," Gilda said while smiling sincerely, if somewhat weakly, her rows of feline teeth shimmering beneath her bright yellow beak.
"...Hey." Fluttershy said, slowly managing a smile of her own.
Removing her paw and placing it at the back of her head, Gilda's expression turned to one of concern, and slight embarrassment. After a few moments, she managed to make words once more, placing her paw to the ground as she tried to speak as gently as she could manage. "So...how you feelin'?"
Fluttershy paused for what seemed like hours to her, looking into Gilda's eyes, before sighing deeply and beginning her answer. "It's...it's a good mane style, Gilda. I mean...it fits the way I look, I just...don't...know how to feel about...how I look. I don't even recognize myself with all these...whatever these are," Fluttershy finished weakly as she place a hoof one of her facial scars.
Gilda shifted her eyes uncomfortably for a moment, before giving a small, playfully smirk and patting Shy's head softly. "You don't have to worry 'bout it yet. Just...wait til we've eaten. I already got us some grub ready, anyways."
In spite of everything, Fluttershy began to feel much better, listening to Gilda's words, and laughed softly as she hugged her closest friend. Gilda's jaw dropped, not having expected Shy to be quite so...enthusiastic, but nonetheless, she found herself to content to return the embrace.
Within a half hour, the duo had prepared a campfire. Gilda had killed a Timberwolf, a strange, half plant, half animal canine, with ease, just shortly before reuniting with Fluttershy. Timberwolves were the first species that Gilda had taught Fluttershy to feed upon...the yellow pegasus had been, and remained, adamant that if she must consume meat, she would only consume that of predatory animals. Gilda had been fortunate enough to stumble upon one that, for whatever unknown reason, was partly made up of tree matter. At first, the creatures were a rare find, with Gilda and Fluttershy having to rely on smaller kills to get by, but as time passed, they learned to pick up on the scent of the Timberwolves, and follow their pawprints. After that, the two were able to hunt the creatures instead of simply waiting for them to appear, and they became the primary food source of the friends.
Fluttershy had always had a harder time taking the wolves down, but with time, a bit of careful dodging an several dozen rapid, hard punches to the skull proved to be almost as effective the single slash to the neck that Gilda employed. Tonight, however, Gilda had made things easy for Shy, as a peace offering.
The two sat on opposite sides of a campfire as they began their meal...the wolf had long since been stripped of all its meat, thanks to Gilda's claws and the usual sharp torn off strip of tree bark that Fluttershy had been taught to use, save the flesh of the head and lower legs, which had been tossed with the bones and most of the organs for other creatures to devour. Nothing ever seemed to go to waste in the Everfree, for better or worse.
Fluttershy watched hungrily as she held a tree branch in a hoof, watching the meat roast quickly, alongside Gilda's own roasting chunk. She wondered momentarily why she and her friend didn't just eat the leaves on the branch, but quickly remembered that the leaves of the trees in this bizarre forest happened to be nearly as hard as stone. The surprises in this place had been beyond frustrating, but Shy was glad that she didn't have to bare them alone anymore.
After several minutes of cooking and chewing, the duo had finally eaten most of the meat they had acquired. All that was left was their traditional "dessert"...the one internal organ that Gilda had always told Fluttershy was worth keeping, the animal's brain. Gilda picked it up, and, as was the custom between them, cut it in half and gave one half to Fluttershy. Shy savored the flavor as she always did, feeling the strange creaminess in her mouth, as if she were gobbling a chunk of butter.
"Mmph. Just...like old times, huh?" Fluttershy remarked with a soft blush and a smile, licking her lips.
"Has it really been that long?" Gilda replied with a smirk, between bites.
After much more biting and chewing, the meal came to an end. Fluttershy walked over to the lake, sucked some of the water into her mouth, then walked back to the fire and doused it, putting it out. She thought to herself for a moment, staring at the ground, feeling like she was forgetting something, then, as she stood, looked into the eyes of the still sitting Gilda. "Gilda...um...I just...wanted to...say I'm sorry for-"
Gilda smiled awkwardly, waving a paw in the air dismissively. "Shy, I'm sorry too, it's no biggie."
"But still, I started it, and...I...well." Fluttershy quivered a little, looking as if she might cry.
Gilda rose to her back legs, walked over to Fluttershy, and looked down into her eyes, frowning sadly, but seeming somehow calm and confident. "Shy...I...honestly think we're even. We'd both be dead if we hadn't met each other...and even if it wasn't that crazy freaking storm, I...I don't think I would have had any friends if it weren't for you. Or maybe I'd have some, but...I don't think I would've been able to keep any of them."
Fluttershy stared in disbelief as she looked at Gilda's face, seeing a softness in it that she'd never quite seen before. She rose to her hind legs, walked to Gilda, and stood face to face with her. "You...really think that highly of me, Gilda?"
"Yeah." Gilda said simply, looking away for a moment, still having a hard time fully letting out the emotions she'd kept long hidden, even after all that had happened. Looking back to Fluttershy, she managed another smile. "Look, Shy...you've kinda...you've totally...you've taught me something. I guess...I can't completely quit bein' kind of a monster, you know? But I don't have to....I ain't gonna keep on acting like I don't know what l...l...what's the word I'm looking for? I'm bad at this. Sorry." Gilda rubbed the back of her head nervously once more.
"Love?" Fluttershy said with a smirk.
"Y-yeah. What love is. I don't...really mind bein' nice after how nice you've been to me...I always...I always wanted to be nice, ya know, I just...didn't think I could do it. That I was allowed to do it. You...made me realize I don't have to hate myself. And 'cause of that, I want you to know...the guilt from eatin' these critters...these people...I know it hasn't gone away for you. You've started to enjoy hunting. We've enjoyed the taste of so many animals from this forest together...but the pain doesn't go away, does it? Maybe someday it will...but I know...it'll take a long time. 'Cause it ain't...gone away for me yet. But...I can help ya out...I can help you have some fun bein' a monster Shy. Even if it ain't what you'd like to be. I've...got something I wanna show you in the morning, 'kay? Just remember, whatever we look like...we're still pals...and we're still...ponies. And...we're just kids, still. Things can get better for us."
Gilda stared at Fluttershy long and hard, feeling a little like she'd lost her mind, but then realized...that what she was feeling didn't feel wrong...that the young griffon was feeling closer Fluttershy than she ever had been. Shy embraced her, and wept deeply...but the tears falling into the fur and feathers of the griffon's torso were shed in joy.
The following morning, Fluttershy and Gilda were sitting across from each other under the light of the sun, struggling to find words. Fluttershy was the first to speak up.
"So...you'll be gone for a few years."
"Yeah Shy."
"But...you have...ways of making it feel almost like you never left."
"...Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but...there's one small thing I wanna give ya, and one really big thing."
"...Okay," Fluttershy said simply.
Reaching to one of her wings, Gilda shivered a bit as she plucked out a brown feather. She then rose to her hind legs, walked beside Fluttershy, and began tying the feather into Fluttershy's hair, tying the pink locks into a tight braid, the feather hanging from the end of it.
Fluttershy chuckled softly. "A memento, huh?"
"Heh, yeah...sappy, but it works," Gilda remarked. She then closed her eyes, and concentrated, and with a flash of blinding golden light, a small, yet sturdy looking metallic vest was now held in her paws, a red gem depicting a griffon's face in its center.
"Wh-what is-?" Fluttershy stammered out.
"When I turned around to come back to you after our...disagreement...this showed up. Out of nowhere. It was like...something was rewarding me for an epiph...epipha...a realization or somethin.' I hid it away, somehow, like I was some kinda unicorn...and now it's here again. 'Cause I want you to have it. Because as long as you're wearing this, you'll be stronger. You'll kill those wolves with one shot instead of twelve, and no hydra will ever tangle with you and live. And you'll always have a very real part of me wrapped around you. All the time."
Gilda walked around to the back of Fluttershy, fastening the armor in place. It was like nothing Fluttershy had ever felt before...it was if a piece of Gilda's soul was warming her, empowering her.
"Gilda, I...I don't know what to say." Fluttershy said, rising to her hindlegs, and making eye contact with her friend.
"Well...I know that feeling. It's...hard for me to do this mushy stuff. I'm...out of practice. But it's worth it for you."
Fluttershy walked to the lake, looking over herself. She still felt ugly, but she also felt...special, somehow. The scars, her hair, and Gilda's gift...As much as she wished her life had gone differently, something about her felt overjoyed that she was now shouldering the same burdens as Gilda...and gaining the same strengths.
Fluttershy turned back to Gilda and smiled softly. "I understand...everything about you now Gilda. Your hopes, your dreams, your pain, your fears...I...I truly love you, my friend."
"S-Shy, I" Gilda stammered, not sure what to say at all, and hoping Fluttershy wouldn't notice the happy tears in the griffons eyes.
Just then, a flash appeared on Fluttershy's flank, startling her and causing her to drop to all fours once more. Gilda followed suit, all four of her limbs running to Fluttershy's side.
"Huh...butterflies. Fits ya. You've gone through a lot of changing...maybe you've got more ta do."
"Maybe I do," Fluttershy said a with a chuckle, admiring her new cutie mark.
"Well...stay safe. I know you will anyway, buddy...You're the warrior of the Everfree now." Before Gilda knew it, she was hugging Fluttershy tight, amazed how quickly and easily the action had come to her.
"I'll do everything to make you proud Gilda." Fluttershy rubbed her nose against Gilda's beak, and smiled at her. Gilda smiled back, no longer able to control her tears.
"I'll...see you soon enough pal." Gilda zoomed off, leaving her best friend behind for a largely unknown future.
As she watched Gilda soar into the sunny sky, Fluttershy sung the lullaby she'd sung to her friend so many times before, when Gilda had been far too deep into sleep to hear.
"...Fly over me, evil angel..."
Fluttershy's eyes popped open, staring at the ceiling. She'd been remembering so much...she wondered how long she had been out.
The night of the party rolled around in only a few hours, after Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash scrambled around setting things up and deterring politely any curious ponies wondering why Pinkie was throwing a private party all of a sudden.
Fluttershy smiled softly, watching Pinkie and Derpy trying to sing a duet together. The pizza wasn't bad either, though she wasn't sure if she thought it tasted better than Timberwolf.
Rainbow held a fizzy drink, sipping occasionally as she watched Fluttershy, wondering what she was thinking.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Rainbow sided up to her, smiling politely.
"Come on now, try and understand, the way I feel under your command! They can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now" Pinkie cried out, doing a twirl on her back legs before dropping to her head and spinning on it.
"Because the night belongs to lovers, because the night belongs to us!" Derpy sang happily, doing a figure eight in the air just above Pinkie.
Fluttershy looked over to Rainbow, smiling reflexively as she noticed her old friend's face, glad that her disguise was working for the time being. "I'm really happy to have such friendly company...you guys are so generous."
"Hmm... I wonder who that Zecora was, and what her story is. I guess we'll find out. At least she seems friendly." Rainbow replied.
Fluttershy chuckled softly. "Yeah. She may keep a lot of things to herself, but she's really easy to work with."
Rainbow looked out the window at the ponyville's distinctively purple night sky.
"I wonder what Twilight would have to say right now.... my friend, back in Canterlot. We used to read a lot together."
"You must miss her terribly," Fluttershy remarked gently, looking at the sky as well, noticing the strange markings on the moon, like that of a face.
Rainbow nodded. She was already thinking of her adventures and the things they read together. She stared out at the sky, looking at the strange equine face on the moon.
"Yeah, but maybe one day we'll all be together in one place. My very own circle of friends."
