We Were the Ones You Used to Make Fun of

Chapters

It Feels Like Yesterday
Placing Blame and Escaping Fear
Hush Now
People Love to Tell Me No
Fluttershy's Empty Sky
Apples to Diamonds
Too Late For Second Guessing
Too Late to Go Back to Sleep
Roasted Grass
Kinks
My Pinkie Pie
My Fluttershy

It Feels Like Yesterday

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sat one on top of the other, nestled in a plush blanket by Fluttershy's roaring fire. Both held a clay cup, engraved with each other's names, with some of a dark brown concoction made by Pinkie.

The pegasus took a sip and her mouth gaped in a wide smile. "Wow, Pinkie," she began, eagerly swallowing gulp after gulp, "what do you call it?"

The earth pony snorted and drank all of her cup in a single drink. She burped, getting up and refilling her cup from a crystal punch bowl. "I call it 'Gummy's Favorite'! Because it is!" She dug the spoon deep into the bowl and yanked upwards, pulling a toothless baby alligator out of the liquid. Gummy smiled and licked his chops free of the delicious punch before diving in and covering the usually pink mare with the sticky brown substance. Fluttershy gagged, spitting her mouthful back into the cup. "Oh. It's... Lovely, Pinkie." She said quietly.

Pinkie Pie, still motionless by the punch bowl, laughed at her predicament and began licking herself clean. In no time at all she was back to her normal magenta hue. She looked behind her shoulder and almost jumped when the shy pegasus appeared by her side. "You silly filly." Fluttershy cooed. "You missed a spot."

She leaned in and kissed Pinkie Pie on her candy lips, and the pink pony gasped in response. She then let her gasp turn to a purr, and the two fell back on their blanket, side by side.

"You know, Flutters," Pinkie Pie said, reaching for her partner's hoof, "it feels like we've been together for only one day."

Fluttershy nodded solemnly.

"We've been through a lot, you and I." The mare went on, pointing at the memories they hung on the wall. On one was a painting of them as fillies, done by a certain Blank Flank that called herself Rarity. It wasn't the best, but it signified that point in their fillyhood nicely. Across from that, over the fireplace, was a pressed pink flower with long, silky petals that dropped beyond the lime green stem. "Do you remember that, Flutters?" Pinkie Pie asked. "When you gave me that flower during our picnic?"

Fluttershy nodded again and snuggled herself deeper into the blanket. "Yeah, and it accidentally had a bee in it. S-sorry about that."

Pinkie nudged her playfully. "You kissed it and made it better, so you're off the hook." They giggled and played I Spy with the rest of their prized possessions. Hanging over a wooden table were a pair of green socks, stitched with great cae by Rarity and almost demolished by none other than Pinkie. Next to them was Fluttershy's pale green hoodie that she stitched herself, and her very long sleeved shirt that went down to the tip of her tail. A technicolor pictire of Pinkie Pie's recent birthday party hung over the pink flower and stood guard over the other artifacts.

"Hey Flutters!" Pinkie laughed, getting up and grabbing a folded piece of parchment in her jaw. There were two different hoofprints, one yellow and one pink. At the top it read "Sugar Cube Corner, Summer '11." "Remember this? We got frosting all over us and you looked like me and I looked like you for the entire day!"

"Everypony got pretty confused." She commented from the blanket she had tried to stitch without Rarity's guidance. As a result it wasn't top-notch, but it hadn't fallen apart yet.

"Yup, it was pretty funny!" Pinkie Pie prioved her point by convulsing in a fit of laughter, legs twitching and stomach going all over the place. Normally anypony would have called Nurse Redheart by now, but Fluttershy was quite used to this and simply stretched her wings and folded them neatly, awaiting Pinkie's recovery. Soon enough a moment later the mare had (semi) contained herself and resorted to giggling every few sentences to get the laughter out of her system.

"We've had a lot of good times, Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy began quietly, "but a bunch of bad ones too." Her eyes got wide and her nose twitched with sadness. The one-stop party pony bounced over and rubbed Fluttershy's chin. "It's okay, Fluttermuffin, your auntie Pinkie Pie'll make it all better." She patted her head and Fluttershy flattened her ears in what was the closest the shy pony could get to frustration. "I'm a year older than you." She murmured.

"So what? I know what will turn your smile upside down!" She paused and shook her head. "I got that wrong didn't I? A frowny face means you're not happy, and I want my Fluttermuffin to be happy! So you need a smiley face to be happy! So let's turn that frowny face upside down!" She twisted her head so it was upside down. Her fluffy, curly hair fell from her shoulders in a frizzy mess. She frowned, and from her position it looked like she was smiling. "Come on, Fluttermuffin! This is fun!"

Fluttershy wiggled a hoof and squeaked. "No, thank you." She rejected her offer polietly. Pinkie didn't take no for an answer, though, and pulled her partner over to her side and tried to manually twist her head. "Pinkie, what in the name of-" She shot out her back hoof, which hit Pinkie's tender foot. The pink pony shrieked, hopping around on one hoof while Fluttershy apologized softly, but accidentally hit a loose floorboard that held up the table which in turn held the punch bowl. The table buckled and the bowl went flying, Gummy's happy face peeking out the side. Pinkie gasped as she saw the bowl heading towards Fluttershy, who was facing opposite the flying punch, and the earth pony galloped forward in order to push her friend out of the way. She was too slow, and both of them were splattered with Pinkie's drink. It seemed into the floorboards, staining it, and the crystal bowl hit Pinkie's head with a crack, snap, and pop. It exploded on impact into a million shards, but unusually the pony that took the blow was fine. A green head with curious eyes popped out of Fluttershy's heart-shaped mane, and Pinkie Pie sighed now that she knew where her pet was. "Gummy, where did your manners go? Flying out of the punch bowl?" She tugged on his body, but the baby alligator clamped his toothless gaws around Fluttershy's mane and didn't budge. She pulled harder and the poor pegasus whinnied in pain. "Gentle, please!" She pleaded. Pinkie didn't listen and pulled until the pegasus wailed pathediclyand a huge clump of magenta fur came out of Fluttershy's mane, along with a certain alligator.

"Pinkie!" Fluttershy rubbed her mane tenderly and a tear welled up in her emerald eye. "W-w-why did you do that?"

Pinkie patted her head again and set Gummy in his bed before lighting a spirit lamp above the fireplace mantle. She screwed up her face and puffed out her cheeks before blowing a blast of hot air on the fire, and it retreated into the coals. The mare bounced happily across the room and pulled Fluttershy into their shared bedroom before she could say anything more. "Sleepy time, you silly filly! We can chat in the morning, okay Flutters?" Pinkie Pie shoved Fluttershy into the bed and plopped herself in as well, drawing the sheets up over their necks. "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the parasprites bite! Or else I'll have to get the trombone and tuba and polka band again!" She blew out a candle in the room and promptly began to snore like a moose.

Fluttershy, too dazed to think straight, simply blinked once and fell onto her pillow, fast asleep.

Placing Blame and Escaping Fear

Fluttershy dreamed. She dreamed of fuzzy bunnies that ate tiny carrots and brightly colored birds that sang to her in the morning. She dreamed of woodland critters coming out of hibernation to see a gorgeous spring day with thawed lakes and green leaves on all the trees. She dreamed of her chickens frolicking in the warm grass during the summer and the active pegasi flying high overhead her humble cottage, working hard to clear the sky so all could enjoy it. She dreamed of animals loving her and beautiful landscapes and flying in a deep blue sky. But tonight, she didn't dream of critters or birds or pegasi.

She dreamed of herself.

She remembered back to when she was a young filly in Flight School and Pinkamina just came out of diapers. She was resting on a cloud after a long practice when a burly orange pegasus came up to her and kicked the living daylights our of her poor cloud. She dropped like a stone onto thr ground below, which fortunately wasn't that far down. All she had to show for it was quite a big scare and a bruise on her bottom. Scared of who might find her, whether it be her instructor or another Ponyville citizen, the filly galloped out of the open and ran towards Town Square. She saw many ponies there that were very unfamiliar- some with sticks coming out of their heads and some that looked just like her but without wings. She saw no other pegasi in the crowded mass of ponies that huddled together like one huge, mountain-sized pony.

When she tried to back away from an unfamiliar face she always hit another. And another, and another. The more she hit others' legs, the more they noticed her and began to yell at her. "Get outta here, ya pegasus scum!" A skinny stallion with a light gray mane that curled around his face shouted as she bumped into his also light gray tail. "I- I didn't m-m-me-" She began, her long, limber legs shaking.

"Be quiet and get ya winged bum outta here! There's a reason ya got wings, ya know!" Was all he said.

Fluttershy whimpered and backed up from the scary old stallion. But once she put her hind leg out she caught the leg of a unicorn mother carrying a foal in her mouth and three others without even holding them. She fell on her face, squashing the light purple unicorn foal she was carrying along with dropping the other three multicolored ones. She quickly regained her balance and franticly managed to catched each one with her strange powers before they hit the floor. "Wow, miss." Fluttershy managed to say, not noticing the evil stare the mother plastered on her face. "How did you do that? And why do you have a stick on your head?"

The mother, with a coat of very light purple (almost white) and a much darker mane sneered at the pegasus filly in disgust. "Do you mean this?" She tapped the stick, which was the same color as her body.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, miss."

She smiled and somehow levitated her foals and set them on her back in a line with the other one hanging in her mouth by her/his tail. "Oh, I just do this." Her stick glowed the same color as her eyes, a dark and iridescent blue. The same blue glow appeared around Fluttershy's body, and somepony gripped her shoulders quite hard. She whipped around, but nopony was grabbing her. The unicorn mother laughed and her stick glowed a little stronger. Fluttershy was flung into the air by somepony's hoof, but once again nopony was there. The same blue glow encircled her body and crept across her legs, immobilizing them. "Help me!" She cried out.

The mother laughed again. "I thought you wanted me to showq you how my 'stick' worked!" She grunted slightly and the glow dispersed, as did Fluttershy's glow. The filly was flying through the air towards a brick wall when she remembered Coach Cumulonimbus saying that if you ever are in the air and you don't have the slightest clue why, flap like the wind. So she did, but to no avail.

Just as the tip of her nose touched the tough brick, a light orange glow swallowed her in one gulp and moved her away. She hesitantly looked below her, and everpony in the crowd was watching her every move. "H-h-h-i." She whispered. Directly below her was another pony with a strange stick on its head- but this one was a cherry-ish color with a light pink mane and an orange glowing stick. His eyes were narrowed and the same peach-ish color of his horn. "Enough, Magia. I know she is a pegasus, but that doesn't mean that you can treat her like pony crap. She's a pony, just like you are." His voice was smooth and hard.

Magia sniffed and put her head in the air. Suddenly she whipped it back around her shoulders like a scarf and glared at the opposing unicorn. "I treat her the way her kind treats us!" She snarled.

Other voices joined in, chanting threats against the pegasi.

"To them we are nothing but little spots on a map!"

"Why do we still provide food for them?"

"What shall we do with the accursed filly?"

"ENOUGH!"

The male unicorn roared at the arguing ponies and instantly all stopped. He huffed and puffed and snorted before he had everypony's attention.

"We aren't doing anything to her." He kept Fluttershy suspended in the air. "And we arn't doing anything to the pegasi people."

"Since when did I die and make you mayor?"

Out of the shadows another unicorn, this one with a light cyan body and a ragged, multi-colored mane, came out and stood on a hickory stage with her magenta eyes narrowed. She snickered. "I asked you a question, Cheerilee."

Cheerilee growled and the grip around Fluttershy hardened. "I said," he began warily, "we aren't touching a feather on her body. And we aren't doing anything to the pegasi."

There was only silence to greet him. "Does my answer satisy you, Rainbow Blitz?" He mocked.

Rainbow Blitz's nose twitched and her stick glowed a dark magenta. Cheerilee was pushed backwards by a wave of energy, and Fluttershy's orange cage shuddered. A hint of pink crept into the orange and Fluttershy was being dragged towards the stage. "Cheerilee!" She squeaked.

Rainbow Blitz kept a straight face while her strange magic fought hard against Cheerilee's. His face was contorted in pain and his stick was faltering.

"Oh, my dear, dear Cheerilee." She cooed, pulling strongly against the stallion. "We'll do more than just pluck her precious feathers." She looked devilish and serious, but there seemed to be a mask of regret semi-hidden behind her eyes. She froze for a moment, and Cheerilee grunted loudly and yanked Fluttershy away. "You-won't-t-t-t-touch-her." He stuttered. Rainbow Bliz recovered from her pause and her stick flashed red and magenta. She pulled so hard and cast a wave of telekinectic force so fast that Cheerilee shrieked and flew across the Square, letting go of Fluttershy. The young filly screamed and began to fall, but a magenta field surrounded her and she was instantly by Rainbow Blitz's side. The mare smiled and lifted Fluttershy above her head and moved her into a position that revealed her vulnerable stomach. Fluttershy instinctively unfolded her wings, but they were grabbed by Rainbow's grip and pulled almost out of their sockets. "Look down here, you self-absorbed pegasi!" Rainbow Blitz screeched towards the sky. She sounded dreadfully mad, but there was a twinge of... Perhaps sadness in her voice.

"Look down here, because this one is the first casualty of the war!"

Hush Now

Fluttershy's eyes widened and she squirmed in her telekinectic grip. What war was the rainbow-maned pony talking about?

"We will lead the new revolution, the new era!" Rainbow Blitz continued. Unicorns and earth ponies alike cheered wildly.

"An era free of the winged crusaders that corrupt our fragile lives!" She crowed. The writhing mass of ponies voiced their opinions as well, mostly yells of justice and hope for the ponies that were forced to walk the Earth instead of fly with their head in the clouds. The young Fluttershy trembled and shook with every word her magical holder said. She didn't know what the enchantress' charming words meant. But her voice was strangly lulling, and against her will the filly felt herself slowly nodding off. But then she thought of Rainbow Dash, her best friend from Flight School, and her eyes snapped open and she willed herself to stay awake. For Dashie.

Rainbow Blitz's eyes were extremely dilated and she was even beginning to foam at the mouth. It was a gruesome, awful sight to behold. She whipped the purple and blue strands of hair from her face and set them back by their friends at the other end of the color spectrum, basking in the cruel glory that was a war promise. Ponies chanted her name and her words over and over until it became a hurricane of sound, each word blending with the end of the one next to it and that one blending with the beginning of one a few sentences away. A young and bolsterous unicorn of a few months, not even having a cutie mark yet, roared his war cry and reared onto his back hooves with victory before thrusting them down violently, the ground shaking at his touch. Although she didn't understand why they would do such a thing, Fluttershy couldn't help but thinking what a move like that could do to an enemy pegasus. Like her.

Her heartbeat thump-thumped against her chest and begged to be free. What would they do with her? She just hoped whatever it was that it would all be over soon and she could go back to her normal lifestyle.

The supreme unicorn tightened her magical grip a little, mostly around Fluttershy's neck. Her windpipe began to collapse on itself, and she tried to cry out but nothing came out from her forced-shut mouth.

"Now, to start the war we've all been waiting for!" Rainbow Blitz announced. She smiled a toothy, snarky smile and her stick began to not only glow, but sparkle as if a box of glitter was dropped on her head. She winced slightly, but regained her sadistic smile again and watched her magic take its course. Suddenly there was a clap of thunder and from the clear sky came a funnel of pitch-black storm clouds with lightning licking the edges. Once the mistly tendrils met at the center of the sky a strong gust of wind picked up and whipped everyponys mane. A flower of lightning bloomed at the very center and curled its way out and into the clouds, where it erupted with a sharp crack and sparked. Everypony gasped at this display and eagerly asked questions about it, saying "Only pegasi can control the weather!"

"That's what you thought, citizens of Ponyville!" Rainbow Blitz fired a magenta spark from her stick and the clouds began to twist and twirl in endless spirals. "With a little help you too can control the weather when you wish!"

Her stick sparkled again and a cloud of glowing matter the same color of her crazy eyes appeared under her hooves. She rode it up to where she was keeping Fluttershy hostage and stroked her chin with a telekinectic finger. "With a little help... And encouragement."

The grip tightened around Fluttershy's throat again and she struggled to breath. "P-please, m-m-miss Rainbow B-b-b-b-li-" A wave of energy washed over her and she stopped abruptly to gasp and whimper. "Blitz... I'm sure with a l-l-ittle love and t-t-olerance we can all get a-"

Rainbow Blitz pulled at her wings and gently caressed them with her mind. Unlike her previous actions, the unicorn was actually very gentle with the procedure.

Then she cawed and pulled Fluttershy's hooves towards the ground and her wings upwards towards the sky. She was slowly being torn apart at the mercy (or lack of) of Rainbow Blitz. She didn't try to fight- it wasn't in her kind nature. The filly simply hung her head, pink curls falling upon her shoulders, and wept.

The audience hissed. They wanted more action, more will to survive. And Rainbow Blitz would not disappoint.

She yanked Fluttershy's wings outward and her head backwards. Her tail was forced down with her hooves, and soon all parts of her body were being held at different directions and pulled mercilessly. The smallest drop of blood fell from a wound in the fold of her front leg and splattered onstage. The small unicorn desperate to prove himself raced to the tiny puddle and smashed his face into it. A red blob stained his groomed white fur and the crowd praised his actions with cheering. At this Rainbow Blitz got a surge of pride and pulled harder.

"STOP!"

Rainbow Blitz froze and her eyes momentarly resumed their normal size. She watched with frustration as a line of ponies in the audience were jostled and moved about by something too small to see even from her aerial view. After a while the offending pony emerged- but it was not a stallion, nor a mare. It was a small pink filly, with frizzy pink hair that bounced as she walked. Her blue eyes were huge and narrowed as she spread her hooves apart and snorted angrily at the much larger unicorn. "You're not gonna put your smelly hoof on her, meanie pants." She yelled up at her. Rainbow Blitz winced and folded her ears down. For such a young filly, this one had a squeaky voice that stang the ears.

She tisk-tisk and lowed herself from her magical cloud, stepping off and lowering her head to the filly. "And how to you plan to stop me, little one?" She cooed. Her telekinectic grip still held taut to Fluttershy far above her.

The pink pony snorted again and her tail twitched slightly. "Like this, you big old pony hurter!" She leaped with suprising height high above Rainbow Blitz's head and reached Fluttershy's spot in no time. The unicorn smiled. There wasn't any way that she could release her magic on the pegasus filly.

Suddenly the pinky pony touched the other filly and the magic faded into nothingness. "Wha-" She grabbed Fluttershy by a front hoof and sailed downwards, landing square on Rainbow Blitz's head. The unicorn looked fazed, but didn't give up. She gasped as the pink pony bucked her in the chest, and Rainbow Blitz doubled over in noticable pain.

The pink filly stood over the pegasus filly now, eyes wild and snorting like a mad cow. "Don't mess with Pinkie's friends!" She growled.

Pinkie turned to Fluttershy, still laying on the ground with her wings splayed to the side. "Hey. You. Are you okay?" She prodded her until a single emerald eye opened and fluttered slightly before settling on the earth pony. "Wha- who are you?" She asked, exausted.

"I'm Pinkie Pie. My pa calls me Pinkamina Diane Pie, but I think that's a silly name." She smiled down at Fluttershy. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

Fluttershy snapped awake and blinked in confusion. "Why would I want breakfast?" She asked.

Pinkie Pie snorted and blinked her huge eyelashes that were far too big for her eyes. "Because its breakfast, silly! Do you want pancakes, or waffles?"

"Why in Celestia's name would I want breakfast at a time like this?"

"Oh, maybe you want muffins. Everypony likes muffins, especially that mail-mare down the street. She always runs into our mailbox. So, muffins or pancakes or waffles? Your choice, I don't care as long as it's tasty!"

"What?"

Fluttershy awoke to see a full-sized Pinkie Pie glowering at her by the bedside. She had a silver pan in her mouth and was trying to balance a bag of flower on her head. "So pancakes or waffles or muffins?" She asked again.

Fluttershy kicked off the sheet and blushed. "Oh, Pinkie, I've been wanting some-"

There was a crash and a thump and an explosion of white, grainy powder. Fluttershy coughed and gasped, shaking the particles off her as best as she could. When the dust cleared she saw White Pie standing in front of her, blinking hyoperactively.

"What a nice Suprise." Fluttershy murmured, and Pinkie Pie smiled. The pegasus wrapped her hooves around her pink partners neck and pulled her into the bed, where the two lay basking in the sunlight until the hunger of lunch creeped in.

People Love to Tell Me No

"Pass the butter, please!"

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and handed Pinkie Pie the half-eaten canister of fresh butter from Sweet Apple Acres. "Don't forget that once the butter runs out you'll still have to eat the rest." She murmured.

Pinkie laughed and snorted a yellow projectile out her nose. It sped through the air like a bullet and hit the ground with a soft splatter. The party pony giggled and another round of bullets were shot, all missing their target. "Silly filly! Why wouldn't I?" Pinkie Pie took a long silver knife from her pink knapsack and eagerly stuck it in the canister engraved with an apple. She pulled down and the knife shot back up with a huge mound of butter somehow balancing on the top. She carefully walked it over to the gigantic muffin basking in the sunlight and dumped her load onto it. The heat climbed over the lump and it quickly began to melt and seep into the grains of her freshly made muffin. Pinkie drooled at the sight.

The petite pegasus carefully picked up another muffin, this one blueberry. She closed her emerald eyes and bit into it gently, as if it were sleeping and she might wake it if she were too rough. She chewed, slowly, then swallowed forcefully and her eyes popped open with a start. She let out a happy purr around another mouthful of delectable muffin goodness. "Wow, Pinkie Pie. These are better than the last batch. And those were amazing." Fluttershy exclaimed. She finished the blueberry muffin in no time and set to work on the next in line, one made with apples bucked from the same orchard that supplied the butter that Pinkie loved so. The pastry pony licked the butter from her lips and smiled, an apple peeling stuck between her teeth. "Wowza! You said the last batch were the bestest in Equestria!" Pinkie shouted, crumbs flying off her lips. She grabbed the butter knife once more and pulled out almost half of what remained of the butter, then slid it tenderly onto the drenched muffin.

Fluttershy squeaked as her hungry teeth mashed together- the apple muffin was gone. She yanked the wrapper from her mouth and blushed, setting it aside and grabbing yet another one from Pinkie Pie's knapsack. This one was filled to the brim with ripe, delicious strawberries.

The two were having a picnic in the park, surrounded by vibrant flora and active fauna- and about 30 other ponies.

After over an hour trying to find a spot large enough to spread their checkered blanket, their calm, quiet neighbors, a couple of unicorns, were replaced with a large group of rambunctious pegasi that tried constantly to make the two do inmature dares and eat the random items they found. Fluttershy knew enough not to do such a thing- but Pinkie Pie had already eaten a plastic barette, whos original use was to put in young fillies manes, a handful of candy wrappers, and a pair of wire-rimmed spectacules. She had also done about 5 dares, including digging a half-eaten cupcake out of a chest-deep pile of garbage. Fluttershy shook her head at the thought.

She soon realized that if you left the pegasi alone, they would get bored with you and go harass another poor couple. So whenever they came over, she covered Pinkie with the blanket and looked away. "Hey! Fluttershy, is it?" A small, ragged white stallion alighted by her shoulder and folded his tiny wings. "Where's the pink one? Um... I know this.. Pinkie Cake?"

Fluttershy's hind hoof shot out and hit Pinkie's waving hoof. The pink pony shuddered, but didn't complain as Fluttershy tried to keep her under control.

The yellow pegasus lowered her eyes and ducked below the other pegasi's sight. "She had to leave. She works in Celestia's Castle as her majesty's faithful pastry chef." Fluttershy mumbled. He snorted and ruffled his wings. "A pony named Pinkie Cake working in Canterlot of all places? You've gotta be kidding me, Flutterpie."

Fluttershy sighed slowly and got her frustration under control. "That's her pseudonym. Her real name is Princess Trinket."

Another pegasus landed next to the white one, this one the same color of the apple peeling between Pinkie's tooth. His eyes were huge and carmel-colored. "Woah, that pink chick was a princess?! I wish I didn't dare her to eat that stale cake Mrs. Cake left out." He exclaimed, swooning. "She was a pretty one."

The white pegasus huffed and looked Fluttershy straight in the eye. She tried to lower her head but his hoof caught it and brought it up to his nose. "Wait a minute, Flutterfly. Celestia and Luna are alicorns, they got wings and horns. But your friend there didn't have either, yet she's a princess. How do you explain that?"

Fluttershy squeaked and the gears in her head chimed trying to come up with an excuse. "W-w-well..." She began. The rest of the group had surrounded her.

The wite pegasus thrust her head up again. "Well what? We've got things to do today and one of them isn't teaching a filly to talk."

Fluttershy swallowed. "Princess Trinket is an alicorn with her horn ground off and her wings cut off." She said softly. The small pegasus in front of her blinked, but didn't say anything as he took her excuse and through some secret wing language led his posse up, up, and away.

Fluttershy sighed and picked up the picnic blanket. "You can come out, Pinkie." She whispered. There were no pink earth ponies under the blanket. Fluttershy cocked her head and crawled in. "Pinkie Pie? Where are you?" As the tip of her magenta tail disappeared, somepony slammed the top and bottom of the blanket together and made the cute blanket into a knapsack, flinging Fluttershy over their shoulder. "Help me!" She screeched.The crusader didn't answer, just calmly began walking away from the park with the pegasus stuck in the checkered bag.

Love is a cruel element
on cloud nine and in the doghouse
up in the sky
do we fly
to all our strangers beware
do we even dare
to see the future of the pegasi in the alicorn's hair

Twilight paced nervously in Rarity's glamorous botique. The plush carpet purred at her hooves and she was blinded by the glimmer and dazzle of her unicorn friend's newest hairstyle. Her normal purple curls were interlaced with fine sparkles and the occasional blue gem, along with her tail including some blue jewels of a darker shade.

"Tell me again, dear," Rarity began, trotting down the stairs, "what has gotten your tail in a knot?"

Twilight grimaced and she pawed the ground anxiously as Rarity slowly made her way down the many stairs. "Could you go any slower?" She asked, her lavender horn aglow. Rarity was engulfed in a pinkish glow and she was dragged down the rest of the stairs and dropped at Twilight's hooves. "What in Celestia's name was that for?"

The purple unicorn moaned and dropped into a crouch. Stray hairs flew up from her mane and her ear twitched.

Rarity sighed and shook her head. She grabbed Twilight's cheeks with a telekinectic grip and vibrated them. "Twilight, dear. I am not letting you go until you tell me what the fuss is about." She cast her a hard stare. The purple unicorn spasmed, but nodded. Rarity released her and helped Twilight to her hooves.

"Its-its just that sometimes-" she twitched violently- "when I know something big is going to happen- and soon-" she gasped for breath and her eyes dilated- "I get these s-strange t-t-witches."

Rarity cocked her head sympathedically. "How can Mommy Rarity help?"

Twilight's face was flushed with relief and before she could explain her horn erupted in a spectrum of magenta and purple, sparks flying about the store. They spread once they hit the floor, and formed a ring of lavender fire around the two mares. Rarity squealed in fright.

Twilight grunted and the fire seemed to join into one large flame in front of them, flickering wildly. She gasped again and a snippet of the future was played upon it-

It was an abandoned alley, void of life. Suddenly from a shadow came a masked creature that walked on four legs and carried a checkered knapsack on its back. The sack squirmed and struggled, but the holder did not withdraw. "Stop it! Whoever you are, stop it right now!" A soft, sharp voice crackled from the bag. The crusader shhed the pony and walked on, leaving the alley behind.

The flames disappeared and Rarity tried to make sense of what she had seen.Twilight, meanwhile, collapsed in the corner. "Oh my, you have no idea how good that felt." She cooed.

Rarity blinked. She knew the voice in that supposed future. If only she could put the pieces together...

Then it hit her. She grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and gasped. "Oh no, darling!" She exclaimed, eyes wide. "Fluttershy is in trouble!"

Note-
Yes, Fluttershy's lie was a reference to VoodooPony's Pinkie Pie is Actually a Unicorn song. Link here, if you haven't heard it-[url=-
I got Pinkie's fake name from a name-generating website. Also here-Name Generator

Fluttershy's Empty Sky

Note~
A bit of a shorter update this time, mostly because I'm working on a new story that should be up sometime this weekend. Don't worry, I'll still update this one, but the breaks between the chapters might be a little longer than before. Ye be warned~

Fluttershy sniffed and wiped a shimmering tear from her cheek. Her captor growled and shouldered her in return, mumbling something in an accent and tone she couldn't understand. She flicked a pink strand of hair from her face and put it nicely in line next to the rest of her vibrant, soft hairs.

She rested her hooves on the bottom of her fabric cell and pushed slightly. Instead of the fabric going down with her gentle force, it stopped at a hard surface. She gasped as her captor dropped her in a grassy field void of anypony else, the only thing in sight a long, leaning tree. The pony grunted and blinked behind its mask and suddenly it disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Fluttershy gagged and coughed before realizing that she could simply push up and the makeshift knapsack would collapse around her and she would be free. And so she did.

The cold moonlight made her shoulders shiver and the newfound light blinded her. She instintively dashed for the tree and hid under the damp leaves that fluttered at her touch. She shivered and made herself a leaf blanket out of the surrounding foliage, her characteristic pink mane getting stuck in the limber branches. Where's Pinkie? Where am I? She wondered, shivering against a gale that nearly picked her up and took her away.

Soon a dark cloud passed over the moon and Fluttershy eagerly, but slowly, climbed out of her hiding spot. The grass felt springy and soft benath her hooves, reminiscent of a trampoline. Pinkie Pie has a trampoline. She remembered.

She growled in anger and kicked a nearby stone with her hoof. "Where in Equestria are you, Pinkie?" She muttered. The pegasus thought about flying away to find her pink friend, but when she tried to flap her wing it screamed in pain and refused to move. "Shoot." She whispered.

Fluttershy felt a tear well up in her emerald eye. She felt helpless- she was in a place probably far away from Ponyville, her wings wouldn't work and she had no idea where her best friend could be. "Please, Pinkie! Answer me!" She screamed in her high-pitched voice. "Where are you? Come back! I thought you would never leave me!" She couldn't contain herself anymore and finally Fluttershy collpased in the grass and cried. She cried for the pain in her wing, the emptiness in her heart, the horror of not knowing where she was.

From inside the tree came a family of crimson birds with pure white beaks, who landed by her side and began to comfort her. Do not cry, Fluttershy, they cooed, we are here for you.

She sniffled and brushed them away. "Not now, my friends." She wept.

They sang a short tune and from the same tree came two more bird families, one bright green with white beaks and one vibrant yellow with white beaks. They all began to sing a lovely song, but Fluttershy didn't notice. From benath the tree came a squirrel couple and a jet black bunny, a dark green toad with a red tongue. All the animals walked, hopped, and flew over to her and snuggled into her side. She didn't look at them.

The topmost leaves shivered and one last bird came out, this one hot pink. It cawed and landed on Fluttershy's head, pecking it curiously. Its feathers were fluffy and bounced as it moved, the ends of each a little darker than the beginnings. It looked like Pinkie might look if she were a bird and not a pony.

Fluttershy looked up at this. "H-Hello, friend." She greeted it with a slight smile. It seemed to smile and cawed back. "Do you know my friend, Pinkie Pie? You look just like her." She rubbed her nose with a yellow hoof.

The pink bird held out a wing and rubbed it on her head.

"You're silly."

It seemed to laugh at this.

"Like Pinkie. I can't seem to find her. Do you know where she is?"

The bird cocked its head and blinked. Then it cawed and flapped its wings excessively.

"Really?"

The bird crowed to the others and they took off in a V formation away from her. Fluttershy smiled and waved to the pink one, who lead the way. "Come back soon, my friends!"

There was a loud pounding and a puff of smoke and the masked cruasder was in front of Fluttershy. "I'm so sorry, Mister... But I just wanted some fresh air..."

The pony growled beneath its mask and its tail twitched. It shifted slightly to the side and in the spot it was before fell a bird egg that splattered into a million white shards. The unborn bird flew through the air and landed in Fluttershy's open hooves. She examined it quickly and noticed it was just about to come out of its shell. It was still alive, but shivering and coughing. Fluttershy made sure her captor was looking the other way and stuffed the bird in her sleek mane.

When it turned back to her, the pony grunted and somehow got the picnic blanket although it was a long ways away from them and in a flash covered Fluttershy with it once more. She kicked and flared her wings, but it continued its work as if she wasn't there.

Before her vision was engulfed in the painfully familiar red and white checkered blanket, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of an object that made her gasp aloud-

A sliver of fluffy pink fur through the mask's dark fabric.

Apples to Diamonds

Applejack ran as fast as possible to the Town Circle, a load of freshly-bucked apples in tow. In her hurry she hadn't weighed the cart, so it took a lot more effort to get it up and out of Sweet Apple Acres and into the heart of Ponyville.

Finally her hooves reached cement and she stood in the busy Farmer's Market. Her hat was flung forward by her sudden stop, and the earth pony raced to fetch it. But she hadn't remembered to unlatch the cart from her flank, so it tumbled and tossled with the farm pony as she tried to retrive her faithful hat from the ruthless crowd.

"Get back 'ere, hat!" She yelled as some unicorn decided to pick it up and throw it across the Circle to an awaiting pegasus. The pegasus simply laughed at her attempt to jump to his cloud and get it, and he set it atop his head and put a fake wheat stalk in his mouth. "Well HOWDY do there, little varmin!" He crowed in a pitiful excuse for Applejack's accent. He practically rolled off his position in the sky laughing, and far below Applejack hoped he would. "Gimme that back, mister!" She shouted. Her legs were getting antsy for some buckin', and they didn't want just apple trees.

The pegasus gasped for breath and mouthed her words before falling into another fit of laughter. Suddenly he was toppling over the edge while a rainbow streak soared past him, and Applejack's hat began to gently fall down. She held out her hooves and waited.

Another unicorn had different ideas and snatched it before Applejack could reach out. "Applejack in the middle!" He cried. He threw her hat to another waiting earth pony, who sneered at the farm mare and tossed it at yet another pegasus. He, in turn, got ready to hurl her hat, but another rainbow streak went by and the hat was falling once more. That rainbow streak caught the poor hat in midair and landed swiftly on the dirt by Applejack's hooves, hat in her mouth.

"Thank ya kindly, Rainbow." Applejack said as she adjusted her hat.

Rainbow Dash dusted some dust off her wings and tried to look humble. "Oh, it was nothing," she said, "I just happened to be here at the right time."

Applejack snorted at her pathetic attempt and told Rainbow Dash to help with setting up the Apple Family stand. Gladly the pegasus helped her friend back up the cart into their slot (beside Roseluck's roses and some pumpkins for sale), then unlatched the cart and unloaded the apples into her desired position.

"Ya know, I haven't seen Pinkie nor Fluttershy lately." Applejack said as she stacked apples.

"Neither have I. But you know those lovebirds, always off together. Makes me sick." Rainbow replied, sticking out her tongue.

Applejack looked a little suprised at this. "Ya thing that kinda thang's gross?" She stopped stacking a row of Red Delicious.

The cyan pegasus looked as confused as her earth pony friend. "Um, of course! Why would somepony want to spend all day with another pony when they could be doing something else with their life? Perhaps something not so mushy." She continued where Applejack left off.

Applejack looked taken aback by her friend's comments. She flattened her ears and her cheeks shone red under her orange fur. "Yeah. Right." She bashfully kicked a stone with her hoof.

Rainbow Dash didn't notice her voice and moved on to stacking a load of Granny Smith's.

Soon with both of them helping the Apple Family had a neat and tidy cart ready for selling. Applejack curtly thanked Rainbow Dash for her help and told her she owed her one.

"Whatever you say, buddy. If you need me, I'll be practicing." Rainbow Dash took off and left a rainbow trail behind her. Instead of taking to the sky, though, when she was sure Applejack had looked away the airborn mare had settled down for a nap on a cloud.

Applejack giggled and went to stand behind her cart, keeping one eye on her hat.

Twilight Sparkle galloped as fast as she could to Rarity's lavish home at such an early time in the morning. Her mane was not the best looking, and she had some mats in her fur, but she didn't care about fashion at this time when there were more important things to be worryed about.

She almost slammed into Rarity's door and began to pound as rough and hard as she could. "RARITY! THIS IS CRITICAL!" She shouted at the wood.

After a long time the door opened and a hag of a pony stepped out. She had a light gray coat that was covered with straight ends and mats, a dark purple mane that was hanging in different directions (one part was standing straight up), and a fluffy pink bathrobe along with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "I had to have my coffee first, darling." It croaked, taking a sip.

Twilight Sparkle was taken aback by her friend's appearence, but figured she looked the same way and let herself inside. She immediatly began closing any windows, shutting the lights off, making sure there was no way anypony could hae r them.

"Where's Sweetie Belle?" She asked.

Rarity had taken a spot on her couch and was keeping her coffee mug telekinectically in the air beside the morning comics. "At school, like all fillies should be." She took another sip and turned the page lazily.

The other unicorn sighed and yanked the comics away. "Rarity, this is serious! Can't your coffee wait?"

Rarity pouted. "But I was reading Ponyfield."

"I don't care! We need to talk!"

"One more sip."

Twilight Sparkle groaned and reluctantly took a seat. Then she looked up at her friend and squee-ed slightly. "Is there a chance you have some more-"

Rarity waved her question away. "In the fridge. If there isn't any there's some more grounds in the second shelf, third semi-shelf, first shelf inside of that, and it shoud be on the very top. Sweetie Belle left here filly stool in there if you need it."

"Shut up, Rarity."

The unicorn laughed and took another large sip of her dwindling supply. "Twilight, if you could be a dear and bring me some more as well..."

"I would be happy to, Rarity. Anything else? Perhaps a new yacht and some fancy Canterlot doughnuts?"

"I'll think about those doughnuts. They do sound good right about now."

Twilight came back with two cups along with some creamer, sugar, and a stirring straw. She concentrated on her creamer packet, using her magic to open it ever so carefully. A beat of sweat formed on her purple brow.

Rarity couldn't help herself- it was the caffeine. She moved around Twilight's vison and got behind her back. "BOO!"

The lavender mare squealed like a foal and jumped onto the ceiling. She was shaking like a wet dog and breathing as if she was having a heart attack.

"You look like you're having a heart attack, darling."

"I AM!"

Twilight eased herself down and poured her contents into the cup and stirred it vigorously until not a drop of creamer was in sight. Then she took a sip and purred, slouching in the plush chair. The two were silent for a few moments, simply drinking the coffee in silence and peace. Finally Twilight rubbed her mouth with a napkin and began. "So Rarity, I got this special dream last night... About Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, being in trouble."

"Yeah, dear. Just keep talking." Rarity used another straw to stir in a fair amount of Hazelnut creamer. She took a small drink and shook her head and began to put more of the creamy liquid in.

"They... They were trapped in a dark basement, bound by their hooves with some type of rope."

"Eyup."

"And they were screaming. They were screaming for somepony to help them. They said once or twice where they were, but I didn't catch that part."

"Uh-huh. So which came first- the chicken or the egg?"

Twilight Sparkle sighed and quickly got a bucket of freezing cold water. Without thinking twice she doused Rarity with it, rinsing the dirt off while soaking the comics.

Rarity held the ruined comics and cried. "No, not the Funnies!" She wept.

"RARITY! Did you hear anything that I said?"

The unicorn sniffed and picked up her cup once more. She shyly looked over her shoulder at her friend. "No?" She murmured.

Twilight Sparkle snorted and cast a spell that momentarily hid her friend's cup. "Rarity- listen to me. I had a dream about Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy-"

Rarity's eyes grew huge and she gasped. "I had a dream about them as well!"

"What was it about?"

"They were trapped in some type of dark room... Perhaps a basement? And they were screaming, and bound by their hooves... Poor things."

"Do you know why they were screaming?"

Rarity shook her head. "Twilight dear, if you were trapped in a room, bound by rope and hopeless, what would you scream for?"

Twilight facehoofed.

She began to circle Rarity. "If we both had the same dream... It must mean that it's true, somehow."

Rarity, now fully awake, nodded. "We must tell Applejack and Rainbow Dash, along with Pinkie and Fluttershy. They may have gotten the same peculair dream."

With that the two galloped out the front door (but not before Rarity got her coffee cup).

Too Late For Second Guessing

Suddenly the picnic sheet was torn away and Fluttershy was flung into a dark alley void of life. The only light was that of her bright pink mane, but even that wasn't much against the cold nothingness of her current enviroment.

She yelled out and tried to move, but whoever had captured her also bound her by the hooves. Her wings were free, but as of late they were not responding correctly. She felt like she was back in Flight Camp- she could barely get her hooves off the ground and she felt like those appendages attached to her back were useless and weak.

"Somepony! Help me!" She cried. She squirmed against the rope that held her hooves together tightly, but to no avail to free herself. "Where in Equestria am I?" Nothing answered her calls.

The pegasus wailed and thrashed about on the cold floor. This went on for a while until she realized there was probably no hope for her getting out, and reluctantly Fluttershy dipped her head and fell unconcious.

"Where did I put those darn spectacles?"

Cranky Doodle Donkey was hunched over, eye to the dirt, trying to find his wire-rimmed glasses he had somehow lost while making a trip to Canterlot. It was hard to not see the glasses- they were abnormally huge and spotless- but still the donkey had a hard time finding them. He stuck his nose in the rough dirt and tried to sniff out his prized possession.

Within a few minutes he realized he was getting nowhere. "Where in Equestria are those dang glasses?! I had them just a day ago!"

Suddenly his nose bumped a brick wall and he yelped in suprise. "Who-wha-where-when-why?!" He stumbled about in confusion and ended up tripping on a stone and falling backwards onto his back. "Yeow!" He exclaimed.

Before getting up the donkey looked up at the brick wall. It was quite tall- maybe Celestia's height- and unusually dark colored. There was a little hole by it, as if it was a tunnel of some sort.

Very curious, Cranky Doodle Donkey got up, brushed himself off, and began to walk clumsily towards the tunnel. Then he stopped and began to sniff a peculiar fluff of fur caught in a bush by said tunnel. "What in tarnation?" He stuck his nose in it and moved it around before sneezing and pulling it back out. "Pinkie?" He looked at the pink fluff and cocked his head. "What are you doing here?"

The donkey carried on a conversation with the fur for a while before he got bored and moved into the dark tunnel.

"What do we have here?" He asked himself, stopping at a peculiar looking feather. It didn't look like a natural color for a bird- it was bright yellow, streaked slightly with lighter yellow. As blind as he was without his faithful glasses, Cranky was still a sucker for fine art.

"So pristine..." He mused, reaching out to touch the fine feather. It felt soft and fine, as if it were perfectly groomed by its owner. Calmly the donkey put the feather in his satchel and carried on down the tunnel.

"Get ya fresh apples 'ere!" Applejack yelled.

Her cart was surrounded by multicolored ponies of many colors, bartering over shiny apples. She took time from her unicorn customer to wave at the pegasus colt that just flew off with two large bags of Red Delicious, saying "Thanks ah lot, come back soon!" The pegasus turned around as well and smiled, an apple already in his mouth.

Suddenly from the line came two unicorns in particular who decided that they didn't want to wait for the tempting apples that were only a few dozen ponies away. They dashed up to the stand, their horns glowing as they flung random citizens out of the way. One of the unicorns held a coffee cup with her magic, for some reason Applejack didn't know or didn't care to know.

"Heyah! Stop right there, lil'-miss-ah-can't-wait-in-line! Ah gotta lotta customers who-ah fine waitin' for me to get to em', and two uni-corns who-ah' got ants in their pants!" Applejack protested as the duo reached her cart. "Now get back in line, or else no apples fo you!"

The two unicorns stopped in their tracks and Applejack could no make out their faces. Her stone-cold stare instantly softened and the earth pony motioned them up to the counter.

"Well howdy do, Twilight en' Rarity! Whatcha doing out this early?" She asked.

Rarity, who's mane was still disheveled and sticking out of many places, brought her coffee cup closer and took a large sip of the hot liquid. "Just for the record, my dear Applejack, this was not my idea of what to do on a beautiful morning." She yawned and scratched her back with a nearby stick.

Twilight Sparkle sighed and rolled her eyes at her unicorn friend. "We've got a little problem.' She began. "Apparently Fluttershy and Pinkie are in trouble."

Applejack reared onto her hind hooves and whinnied. "Pinkie an' Fluttershy? What 'ere we waitin' for?" She looked ready to leap into action no matter what her friends said to calm her down.

The purple unicorn did exactly that, grabbing the earth pony with her telekinesis and setting her gently behind her cart once more. "Applejack- listen. We don't know where they are, and-"

The farm pony gasped and her hat bounced wildly. "What in the hay are we waitin' for? We gotta find 'em!"

"APPLEJACK."

"Sorrah."

Rarity finished her coffee and sadly tossed the cup aside. "We haven't the slightest clue where our friends might be, but there might be somepony who can held speed up the process." She flicked her head at a rainbow tail falling out of a pure white cloud.

Applejack cocked her orange head. "Rainbow? Really? Why, she was just 'ere ah hour ago! But how're we gonna get 'er down 'ere?"

The unicorns were silent as if they hadn't though that part through.

"Well?"

Rarity fashioned a makeshift brush out of the stick and began combing her luscious mane into its signature curls. "I have an idea." She pronounced.

Cranky Doodle Donkey emerged from the dark tunnel into an even darker alley, if that was even possible. Determined to stay focused the donkey kept going forward, not caring if he ran into anything or broke something.

"I'm gonna find you, glasses." He vowed.

His hooves clicked on the brick floor as he tried to find his prized glasses. There were no glasses in sight, but he didn't notice. Suddenly his nose bumped something soft and- feathery? He backed up to get a better look at what he had ran into, then smiled slightly. It was a bright yellow pegasus, with a creamy pink mane and pleading eyes. She seemed to be bound with rope at her hooves, which were delicate and small.

"What are you doing down here, Missy?" He asked gently, nudging her slightly folded wing. It shivered and tucked snugly behind her back. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The poor pegasus squeaked and hid her emerald eyes with her hair. "I-I-don't know." She whispered, still hiding behind her mane.

Cranky Doodle Donkey studied her knots. "Who did this to you?" He said as he examined.

"I don't k-know."

He frowned at the incredibly tight rope wrapped around her hooves. As he tried to move it the skin beneath was revealed, blistered and bleeding. "How did you get this tied up? Even I couldn't tie this-"

"I DON"T KNOW!"

The pegasus collapsed on the hard floor, crying a pool of tears. "I don't know how I got here, where I am, how this happened... I just want to go home!" She managed to say.

The donkey felt a pang of sympathy for the poor pony, and decided that he couldn't let her stay like this. "What's your name, miss?"

The yellow pegasus sniffed and awkwardly wiped a tear from her eye. "F-f-luttershy. My name's Fluttershy." She choked.

Cranky puffed out his chest. "Well, Miss Fluttershy, I promise you're not gonna be like this any longer." He smiled and carefully picked her up, nudging Fluttershy up his back until she was in a spot she wouldn't be able to fall off in. With that he headed off for the entrance of the tunnel, Fluttershy sleeping peacefully on his back as the sunlight warmed her cool face once more.

The masked crusader's breathing was quite heavy. Despite his/her supreme strength and speed, it was tired after completing one long task. "But it'll be all worth it." The pony thought happily. Their hooves rounded the corner and leaped off of the wall, catapulting it into the clearing where it had left it's passenger.

But there was nothing there except for a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and a hoof-full of yellow feathers.

"What?!" It gasped aloud, thankful nopony could her its familiar voice. The pony angrily threw itself upon the evidence, thinking of all the possible causes of her captive's disappearance. It recognized the glasses, fortunately- they were those of a new citizen of Ponyville it had seen a couple of times around town- a donkey, it thought.

The feathers were soaking in a pool of clear liquid, water, maybe. A closer look revealed it to have the salty stench of tears.

"Tears? I know Fluttershy's stronger than that." The mare had faced a dragon, defeated a cockatrice with only her eyes, and even flew past Rainbow Dash! How could she be reduced to crying?

The pony groaned, unhappy that her prisoner had escaped, and gathered out the feathers and glasses sadly. It stuffed them down its dark suit, then with a face of stone hopped out of sight.

Too Late to Go Back to Sleep

The walls were dark and dreary, evoking sadness and depression to those within. The colors were mostly muted, even the brightest of yellows looking clouded and overcast. A single window on the top of the tall tower was the only portal to the real world, the world of plentiful pinks and luscious limes and ripe reds. The night, though mysterious and darkened, was still gorgeous and lucid compared to the chamber of shadows and unpleasant thoughts.

There was only one prisoner of this heartless cell, this sunless solitary that was kept away from civilization. Only one captive, only one who had to face its undivided, unholy wrath. One pony, who, out of a horrible stroke of "luck", ended up being the sole member of the inky palace.

That prisoner was a pink earth pony, with luminous blue eyes and a mane like fresh cotton candy.

That mare was confined to her prison, bound by the hooves in tight rope that scraped her skin and blistered the topmost layer. The dark crimson of the blood blended in with her now foggy magenta fur, and to the blind eye nopony would ever know this pony was bleeding.

"Fluttershy?" She croaked. "Where are you?"

Nothing answered her words- only the silent air which surrounded her.

"Actually- where am I?"

Not a voice was heard.

The poor pony stifled a cry and glanced dejectedly down at her hooves. She was utterly trapped- no way out, and probably no way in.

She winced as she tried to bring her head up so it was parallel with the window. It had no glass, surprisingly, so it let wind and various debris flow freely inside. A cool blast of breeze struck her ears, and they flattened instinctively although her body enjoyed the sensation. It slightly chilled her stinging wounds, and the pink pony sighed in relief.

Suddenly from the open portal came a dark figure- graceful, but so dusky that the earth pony below couldn't tell who was overhead. The wings flapped, sending the pony forward and wind downward. She let out a happy purr and her eyes narrowed.

The figure stopped short at his sudden sound, then flew back a couple of wing beats and hovered above the empty window. It was clearly a mare, perhaps her age, but even against the moonlight she couldn't tell where the mane began and where the body ended. But there was one characteristic available for her viewing- the pegasus' flight was wonky, disoriented, and often stuttered as one wing accidentally alternated with the other one. It called out to the earth pony, but her words were slurred and as noticeable as her mane color. Realizing the prisoner below couldn't hear, the mare began to turn towards the sky and prepared for another getaway.

From behind it came another pegasus, this one much lighter on its hooves and swift. It dashed by the prisoner and the other pegasus, dropping a suspicious object from its mane. Both pegasi rushed out of her view, and she focused on the bird. It was quite special, not only because it was entering her realm but it was he only object that had color- a bright pink, much like her mane.

The bird circled a few times over her head, then landed on the ground next to her hooves. Before she could open her mouth to speak, the feathered friend (or foe) put its wing on her mouth and shook its head. It then did a most peculiar thing- it spoke.

Well, not exactly 'spoke", but it mimicked the words of somepony- a special somepony.

"You're silly."

Fluttershy!

"Like Pinkie."

The pink-maned pony's heart burst with happiness.

"I can't seem to find her."

"I'm right here!" Pinkie Pie ran her eyes up and down her body as her hooves were unable to do so.

"Do you know where she is?"

Again she motioned at her body.

"Really? Come back soon, my friends!"

Pinkie Pie's heart swelled with joy and relief. Wherever she was, Fluttershy was safe. But she was also looking for her.

The magenta mare looked at the bird. It had no intention of leaving.

Sadly, she decided sleep was very important. She wrapped her fluffy mane around the bird, who sighed happily, and both of them fell asleep with thoughts of Fluttershy dancing in their heads.

Roasted Grass

Fluttershy kicked in her sleep, trying to run away from a creature in her nightmare.

A dark figure, clad in black and shades of gray, ran after her and nipped at her heels. A mask was over the creatures face, as well as a stretchy film of sorts that covered the tail and mane. Its hooves were swift and quick, and although Fluttershy was running as fast as she could, the pony caught up to her easily without breaking a sweat.

"What do you want from me?!" She screamed back at the racing pony. It didn't answer.

She was about to yell at it again, but suddenly in a new burst of speed it leaped on top of the pegasus and rolled her over in the dirt, holding her firmly with a hoof at the chest. Fluttershy could hear the pony's breathing, it was so close to her face; she could see the flitter beneath the mask of eyelashes hitting the fabric. It came even closer to her, more specifically her ear. The fabric above the mouth moved, and it began to sing in a voice eerily familiar to her-

"Come on everypony smile, smile, smile...
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine...
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile...
From these happy friends of mine..."

Fluttershy gasped and thrashed about on the ground, trying to block out the wonderful song from her ears. The pony pressed her hoof down harder and pressed the slightest bit closer.

"Yes a perfect gift for me...
Is a smile as wide as a mile...
To make me happy as can be...
Smile, smile, smile, smile, smile...
Come on and smile ...
Come on and smile.."

"No!" She yelled against the pony's growing volume. "It can't be..."

The pony seemed to smile and it released its grip on Fluttershy slightly. She didn't move, so paralyzed with fear was she. One of the crusader's hooves flew to it's flank, usually where a pony's Cutie Mark is located. It grabbed the fabric around it, yanking so hard the fabric ripped off from the rest of the suit. A glimpse of the fur beneath was revealed, along with the Cutie Mark, and Fluttershy wailed in confusion, terror, and sadness in the same breath. She stared in shock at the pony's flank, her eyes as wide as moons.

The pony's Cutie Mark was three balloons.

Cranky Doodle Donkey was awoken by kicks and screams of a terrified passenger, who nearly fell off his back in a fit of shuffling. "Hey, kid, be careful back there!" He called, stopping so she could re-adjust.

Fluttershy moaned and fidgeted, still stuck in the clutches of the pony who once loved her so.

The donkey snorted and started back up once he felt that she was secure, speeding up the slightest bit. Their deal, which was discussed before Fluttershy had fallen asleep, had been that Cranky would take her to the nearest town (which was a small one called Mareistee) and she could find her way back home from there. As much as Cranky enjoyed helping those in need, the once light pegasus had gotten quite heavy over the hours and carrying her had become a hard job.

A line of slender willow trees and a small wooden sign greeted them with the words "Welcome to Mareistee" and a smiling earth pony. Most of the paint had been worn off over time, so instead it was "Wecome Marestee" and had only a bright smile. Behind the swaying willows was the tiny town, built around a large and fast river. Cranky could see from his position only a few stores, and only the ones that were most needed like a Town Hall, Quill Store, and a bakery. Enough to satisfy such a small town without all the frills and sparkles of the bigger, brighter cities.

"Kid- Fluttershy, is it?- we're here." Cranky whispered, gently setting her down in front of one of the willow trees. He smoothed some of her smooth pink mane behind her ear, smiling at her sleeping form. She had calmed down once they had cleared the hill, which lay above them, and came into the wide valley that held Mareistee.

She didn't answer him; only twitch an ear.

He grinned and thought about Matilda, who was probably still waiting for him for breakfast. The thought of her signiture eggs, the way he liked them with a sprinkling of pepper, made his mouth water. Leaving Fluttershy to wake up on her own, Cranky Doodle Donkey began a quick gallop up the hill and towards Ponyville where his love was eagerly waiting.

The yellow pegasus finally awoke at the smell of roasted grass, crisp as a summer day, being prepared only a few yards away. She struggled to get up, and once she got to her hooves she tried to get that horrid dream out of her head. "It's just a dream, Fluttershy..." She told herself as she searched her surroundings. "Just a little dream. Pinkie would never do that to me."

Her large eyes caught the sign, and once she read it she looked behind the trees to see the town coming alive as the sun came up. "It's beautiful!" She exclaimed.

"Cranky, we're in Mareistee-" Fluttershy looked around for her donkey companion. The only clues available were his hoofprints; she was about to search for him when she remembered the deal they had agreed upon. As she began to walk into Mareistee she noticed how utterly lonely she truely was.

The roasted grass was being cooked by a light blue unicorn with a yellow mane, who was holding multiple items at once while looking at the recipe, which was laid out on the picnic table. "Two cups of crushed black pepper..." He read off, measuring exactly two cups of the ingrediant onto a glass plate. His eyes, which were as blue as the water behind him, were narrowed in concentration.

His partner in crime, a lavender pegasus with a flowing electric blue mane, sat at the table and cocked her head in confusion. "Wouldn't the pepper go on top of the grass?" She asked.

The unicorn looked at the instructions again, then groaned. He poured the pepper back into the canister, which brought on a few laughs from the pegasus.

Fluttershy watched them from a tree with admiration and depression in her expressive eyes. "I remember when me and Pinkie were like that..." She sighed, thinking of the magenta mare every chance she got.

She wondered if the fiend that captured her had gotten Pinkie as well. Would she fare better than Fluttershy? Fluttershy found that hard to believe, factoring in Pinkie Pie's love of laughter and smiles. The painful and stoic time that she was captive was not fun at all, and from experiance she knew that if you talked you got a slap or worse. If she was quiet most of the time (which outside of that time, she was), and Pinkie was one of the most talkative ones of the bunch, she wouldn't stand a chance.

The was the sound of fur catching fire and Fluttershy turned back to see the unicorn getting too close to the flame which roasted the grass and burning a small patch of hair on his head, much to the pleasure of the pegasus. "Aww, it likes you so much it wants to be near you!" She cooed.

The unicorn laughed and rearranged his mane so that the spot was partically concealed. "Stop it. It's happened to you once, remember?"

The pegasus stopped and her face dropped. "That was different; my entire mane got burned off!"

Her male counterpart was now rolling in the grass, having a great time.

She rolled her eyes, and not wanting to be left out of the party joined in.

Fluttershy blinked. How lucky they were to have a strong relationship were both were there for each other.

In her thinking, Fluttershy had begun tipping forward. Her hooves lost their holds, and she squeaked as she fell to the ground and rolled towards the suprised couple. "What was that?" The pegasus looked around.

"I have no idea; maybe a bird." The unicorn shrugged it off and looked towards the blazing fire again, this time lifting the grass magically and setting it on the glass plate.

The purple pegasus was still confused; she walked towards Fluttershy's spot and looked down. Her face lit up, first in fright but then in delight. "Well, hello there!" She greeted Fluttershy warmly, shaking her hoof and helping her up.

Fluttershy couldn't meet her happy gaze. "Umm... Hi." She answered.

"What's your name?" The pegasus asked cheerfully.

"F-Fluttershy."

"What?" She cupped a hoof over an ear.

"F-F-luttershy.

"One more time?"

"[bFluttershy.]" The shy mare managed to say.

"Fluttershy? I'm Saltwater," she pointed to her cutie mark, which was an ocean wave, "and the grumpy one over there is Gingersnap."

"Hey!" Gingersnap shouted. He was trying to evenly spread the pepper across the grass, getting an even ratio between that and the other spices he would need.

Saltwater laughed. Fluttershy thought it sounded like rain hitting her roof during a storm. "Heh. Well, do you want some of this roasted grass? We're definetely not gonna eat all of it."

Fluttershy ruffled her wings and put on her sweetest smile. "Sure, if it's okay with you."

"The more the merrier! Right, Ginger?" Saltwater put a hoof around Fluttershy.

"Fine." Gingersnap grumbled from his spot.

He brought to the picnic table the glass plate, almost overflowing with delicious roasted grass, and set it down carefully in the middle of a placemat he set earlier. "Breakfast is served!" He announced in a goofy French accent. Saltwater giggled and blushed, earning a smile from her lover.

Fluttershy reminded herself to watch her manners as Gingersnap gave her a napkin and a paper plate. The dish seemed to be calling her...

Eat us, Fluttershy! We taste soooo good! How can you resist?

"I can't!" Fluttershy answered.

The couple, who were already digging in, lifted their heads in confusion. Fluttershy blushed and squee-ed, getting herself a plateful and eating the delicious meal up.

"So, where are you from?" Gingersnap asked from behind a large stalk of grass.

"Ponyville."

"Ponyville? Not too far away, then."

Fluttershy pricked her ears. "Are you two from here?"

Saltwater swallowed a mouthful of stalks and wiped her mouth with the napkin. "Well, Gingersnap's from here, but I was born in Cloudsdale. One day I decided to fly over here, and I saw him just sitting here, watching the clouds. We talked a little, and a few days later here we are!" She nuzzled him affectionatly.

"That's nice." Fluttershy smiled.

The grass was quickly devoured, but Gingersnap wasn't in the mood to whip up some more. He rubbed his bald spot carefully.

"What's your cutie mark, Flutterfly?" Saltwater asked as she cleaned up her dirty hooves.

"Fluttershy." She corrected. "It's some butterflies; I watch over almost all the animals in Ponyville." She said, puffing out her chest.

Saltwater got up and turned so that her wave was visible. "I got this beauty by flying under a wave during my flight class' field trip to the Equestrian Sea. Turns out not many ponies can do that without falling in."

Gingersnap reluctantly got up and put his cutie mark, a spoon and a fork crossed over eachother, out on display. "I'm a professional chef over at the Sea Pony Grill, right across the river. One time, a representative from the Canterlot kitchen offered me a job cooking for the Princess. For the Princess! But I turned it down so I could stay with Saltwater." He looked sheepishly at the mare.

Fluttershy looked at the two, admiring each other, and thought of herself as intruding on their peaceful day. "Um... Can you tell me where Ponyville is? I need to get home, and quick." She said.

Saltwater put a hoof in the air. "Keep flying straight until you get over the hill, then turn right and go until you see- well, you know what's there." She shrugged.

The yellow pegasus got up from her seat and yawned. "Thank you ever so much." She called out as she lifted off.

"Come back soon!" Saltwater shouted. Gingersnap waved alond with her, and Fluttershy wished the two good luck with their relationship as she headed towards the hill.

Kinks

Fluttershy stared at the floor aimlessly, her eyes blinking solemnly. Although she appeared to be in a stable condition on the outside, her heart was palpitating rapidly and her mind was racing a marathon on the inside.

"I've always liked Pinkie..." she said softly to herself, gazing at one plain gray tile against a sea of darker slabs of stone. Immediately she fumbled over her words and she blushed heavily. "Not like as in love, though... I mean, I really really like her, but a mare with a mare... Wouldn't that be odd?"

The butter-coated pegasus chuckled, more so to assure herself that her way of thinking was true. "That's just silly, Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie knows that, as do I. It's just not natural..."

Silence screamed in her ears. "...Right?"

She squealed loudly and collapsed on the floor, unannounced and unexpected tears beginning to flow. "I just don't know!" she wailed, her voice shrill with sadness. "I don't know these feelings, I don't know what to do, I don't know-"

She sniffled. Her mind darted to the memory of her and the friendly pink mare sharing a sundae at the local parlor in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie, grinning like a madman, had swiftly twisted her own striped straw into a heart and eagerly presented it to her. Could that seemingly harmless meeting over ice cream really be something more?

"No." replied Fluttershy bluntly. There were no subliminal messages in any of their multiple "dates," as the earth pony had called them. She was sure of it.

Her ever-curious consciousness couldn't resist the temptation, and she dug deeper still into their meetings. Once, Pinkie Pie had playfully disappeared into a bush at the park and reappeared, mere moments later, with a bright crimson rose between her jaws. She looked as perky and peppy as could be, yet Fluttershy winced as she noticed the bountiful thorns across the emerald stem.

"Doesn't that hurt, Pinkie Pie?" she had asked quizzically.

Pinkie wriggled her behind and deposited the gorgeous flower in Fluttershy's silky mane, just behind her ear. "I can ignore the pain for you, Flutters!" she had responded cheerfully.

"How could I have thought nothing of it?" the shy pegasus pondered. Her hooves sounded like sleighbells as she raised herself up.

There was the time that she had witnessed a faithful bird fly in the huge hurricane a year back. Even though the storm still raged on, she had bounded into the rainfall to retrieve the fallen blue jay.

Gales with the strength of ponies thrice her size battered at her weak wings and threatened to pull them out of their sockets. Thunder screamed in her ears, warning her to turn back while she still had a chance. But Fluttershy had seen the poor, brave bird collapse at the strike of a lightning strike- her resolve could not be shaken, her sight could not be swayed by the elements.

After hopping over toppled trees and flooded ponds, Fluttershy had the creature in her peripheral vision. It was strung over a branch, charred and smoking slightly, its eyes blank as moons. She carefully lifted him into her mouth, and darted back to her home as swiftly as possible, ignoring the flutter of his downy feathers against the roof of her mouth. The sensation was annoying, yet manageable considering her dire situation.

Once Fluttershy had entered her home, she immediately lit three candles and slammed the door shut, racing towards a cabinet stocked with bandages and gels. She didn't notice the magenta mare sneak in, quiet as a dormouse, and slip into the shadows beyond the candles' flames.

Fluttershy gazed into space, remembering her fond friend sitting, waiting, as she tended to the blue jay. She had applied multiple soothing creams made from fresh aloe to his severe burns, plentiful cloths soaked in rainwater to his hot-to-the-touch wings, but his condition seemed to be at a standstill. Fluttershy seriously considered giving up and letting the pitiful creature spend his last minutes peacefully on the windowsill, watching the hurricane that snatched his life roll by, when her pink aquaintence spoke.

"Maple, sugar cane, and ruby shavings, Flutters." Pinkie Pie had said quietly.

Fluttershy had not dwelled on the thought of Pinkie entering her domain without her knowing- she simply took to collecting these strange, seemingly random ingredients and setting them on the same wooden table as her precious blue jay. Within minutes, a maple leaf full of chopped sugar cane rested beside him. It took her a few moments of soul-searching, but the pegasus had remembered Rarity's present to her for her latest birthday (A stunning ruby amulet, coincidentally) and confusedly shaved a few centimeters off it by grinding the item into the table.

"Now what?" she had asked the earth pony.

"Stir everything with water and a feather." Pinkie Pie said cryptically. Her grin shone through the shadows like a beacon. "Then dunk 'em in it."

Bemused, Fluttershy had plucked a feather from her primaries and stirred her strange concoction together with more rainwater, something that wasn't in short supply. Squeezing her eyes shut, she slowly submerged the unconscious blue jay into the dazzling mixture.

She remembered the following events as clearly as day. The room had flashed a brilliant scarlet, the shriek of a bird echoing in her worried mind...

And once the light had diminished, she glanced towards the table to see a perky blue jay sitting upright in the bowl, fit-as-a-fiddle as it splashed around in the chilly water.

"Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy had carelessly flung herself unto Pinkie, burying her head in her friend's soft chest. "You're amazing!" The soft thump-thump of Pinkie's heartbeat becalmed her, even a year later...

She had been utterly surprised when the pink pony had wrapped her hooves around her shy friend, slowly pushing her closer. "No problem, Fluttershy." she had whispered gently, embracing her once more. Usually a hug from Pinkie meant a bone-crushing squeeze that you'd feel for days, and occasionally a trip to Nurse Redheart, but this one could not have been more different. It felt warm. It felt loving. It felt... Passionate.

Fluttershy couldn't comprehend this. "Does Pinkie Pie... Like me?" she wondered aloud. "Roses, hugs, little heart-shaped straws... It all adds up."

Slowly, she got to her hooves, stretching her long legs with a newfound drive. "You know what? Pinkie Pie likes me, and I like Pinkie Pie. Nothing will ever change that-"

Suddenly, she was plunged back into another memory- one the yellow mare almost wanted to forget. She remembered it lividly-

They had been jogging together through one of Ponyville's secluded trails, enjoying the company of the festive birds and other fauna. The sunlight was practically blinding for Fluttershy, so she had opted to style her mane over her eyes in a stylish sweep of pink hair.

"Flutters?" Pinkie Pie had asked softly.

"Yes, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy had replied, focused solely on the fluttering leaves above her head.

"I..." Pinkie Pie stammered. Her hooves sounded like cowbells on the musty ground, as if they were twelve pounds heavier than normal.

"Yes?"

"I... I just wanted to, um, confess something..."

"That doesn't sound like you at all, Pinkie! You can always talk to me." She smiled sweetly- little did she know that her pretty little grin made Pinkie Pie's heart melt, and her chest yearn to be beside her. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie hit her stride again, hopping in front of Fluttershy then leaping to her side. She was the prime example of bliss, an entity of happiness. "Duh!"

"Well, what did you have to say, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked again, engrossed in examining a bird's nest that had fallen onto the trail.

"I just wanted to say... That..." The pretty pink party pony looked as if she couldn't bear to keep her secret any longer. "I love you, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy prodded the firm branches of the nest, pushing a few stray fronds of dried grass back into place as she worked. "That's nice," she responded, not even listening to her friend's endearing words.

Blinking away the beginnings of tears, Fluttershy stood agape and whimpered. "I can't believe I couldn't see it..." she whispered quietly to the stoic stones beneath her hooves. They listened intently for her, something she herself should have done all those months ago. "Pinkie... Pinkie loved me. She didn't just like me. And..."

Her eyelashes flashed across her misty eyes, and Fluttershy blushed of the point where there was no yellow pigment left in her cheeks. The earth pony's adoring gaze from across the table at Sugarcube Corner had been just that. There was no denying it now.

"You know what? I love her too. I love Pinkamena Diane Pie, and nothing can nor will ever change that."

Eagerly, the pegasus whipped her wings to attention, unfurling them to their full span. Her eyes twinkled deviously in the delicate light. "Now, to rescue Pinkie!" she howled, beginning to slowly flap her wings.

Before she could take off, reality whacked the mare upside the head, and she was suddenly grounded once more. For the first time in a while, she began to survey her environment- cold, dark stone walls, a single skylight covered with intersecting, rusted bars, and not a door to speak of.

"Umm... Maybe I should get myself out first." she gulped.

My Pinkie Pie

When Pinkie Pie awoke, she found herself in a familiar cave, sewn across the floor, with the slightest bit of smoke swirling around her strangely tired body. It took all her effort to keep her heavy eyelids open, and it seemed beyond her capability to comprehend what had just happened.

Sleep, she thought through a thick haze, sleep is good. Sleep sounds nice, I should really sleep...

Heaving a deep sigh from the depths of her chest, Pinkie Pie thrust her head into her hooves and shut her eyes tight. All she could think about was sweet slumber, and its warm embrace.

A warm embrace. Her mind reacted quickly, painting a perfect mental image of the shiest, prettiest pegasus in Equestria. Quite possibly the prettiest mare in Equestria, too. How she longed to feel the soft touch of her hooves again, to collapse under her gentle hugs...

For all she knew, the pegasus was oblivious of her unrequited adoration for her. That was a complete possibility.

Beneath her eyelids, Pinkie Pie's irises flashed from side to side, as to avoid the oncoming flood of tears. Her love was so strong, so visible- she often thought of it as an aura of sorts, a perky shade of magenta, that constantly twisted and swerved around her as long as she thought of her very special somepony- how could she not see it, too? Fluttershy wasn't as thickheaded as some of her other dear friends (Not that she meant that in a bad way, though), so surely she'd see the numerous hints she had dropped?

The whole situation bemused the earth pony more than her surroundings, which was saying something about her current mental state. Her breath came in ragged gasps as the inevitable tears came unto her, and Pinkie Pie yearned for sleep to finally come. "This world is confusing," she whined pitifully, "I wanna know what to do! I want Ponyville back, I want my life back, I want...

"...I want Fluttershy. She's all I want now. S-she may not see my love, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to show her."

Finally, she saw the sly shadows of sleep beginning to close in on her. Usually she would have fought for her right to be awake- to party harder, to play longer, to chase her dreams some more. But today- she thought it was still day, but her aching psyche wasn't completely sure- today, she didn't give a flying feather. She was in an utterly different region than that of Ponyville, she was frozen and hungry, and her special somepony might not return the favor as kindly as she expected. At the moment, the pink mare didn't know whether or not going on was worth it.

A flash of magenta light blazed before Pinkie Pie's eyes, and despite its unparalleled beauty, she almost began to weep. "Augh, why can't I do anything right?" she yelled, throwing her hooves into the air. "The universe doesn't want me to sleep!"

After calming down some and wiping tears from her eyes, the earth pony took a long look at what had awoken her. It was the smoke from a few minutes earlier, but now with a magenta hue. It seemed to grow stronger, as if the air around it was electrified with an unknown power beyond her own. She fondly thought of her fictional aura, and grinned slightly. "Heh," she remarked, "maybe if Flutters could see me now, she'd really know how much I love her."

Her tail began twitching rapidly, and Pinkie Pie saw her hoof began to tremble against her chest. Instinctively, she sneezed.

"A combo, eh?" she asked the cave's walls. From underneath her rump Pinkie pulled forth a leather-bound book, most likely around since her birth, and flipped to a seemingly random page. At first her eyes lit up with a devious delight, but then her eyebrows merged into a look of pure confusion.

"Huh! It says a tail twitch, hoof shake, and out-of-the-blue sneeze means that somewhere, somehow," Pinkie Pie read, "Twilight's about to do something magical!"

The appearance of the strange magenta smoke suddenly made sense, but before she could question it further the mist pooled together into a sphere and promptly exploded, sending currents of magic through Pinkie Pie's mane.

"IT TICKLES!" she shouted as the magical orb's blast blew her backwards, into a solid wall of stone. Still she smiled on, despite the pain, as was her nature.

Once the explosion became wisps of magenta mist again, Pinkie Pie stole a glance at what was within it. Her eyes widened to the point where they took up her entire face, and her trademark smile took the place of the frown that was there for so long.

In the mist, dazed and frazzled, stood a pony. Her mane seemed to be a little singed, but overall she wasn't in any serious condition. A pony with a coat the color of fresh butter, right after you've churned it to perfection

To be precise, a pegasus.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie took off at the speed of light itself, a beam of pink following her flopping tail.

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes and moaned, coughing up some magenta smoke and taking a look around. She recognized this cave- the absence of a dragon and its hoard make it a little harder- but she certainly didn't know the pony-like entity that was barreling towards her. It was a bright, almost fluorescent pink, but that was all she could make out.

A stray gust of wind blew the mane out of its eyes, and realization hit Fluttershy like an arrow. She knew that characteristic smile, those eyes that were the color of a robin's egg, the bounce of that fluffy mane... Usually when she saw Pinkie Pie rushing towards her, a smile as wide as a mile on her face, she'd hide under the nearest object and pray to Celestia that she would make it out alive.

This time, she grinned herself and spread her front hooves towards the mare.

"Fluttershy! I've missed you so so so much!" Pinkie Pie squealed.

Fluttershy smiled as the earth pony crashed, head-on, into her. "I've missed you too." she replied over the sharp cracking of the stone wall (And her spine).

They hugged, forgetting about the world around them. Fluttershy’s tired wings flapped against the wall in an instinctive fashion, but she didn’t pay it any notice. They didn't even flinch as a second burst of magic, much more controlled than before, appeared in the threshold of the cave. A sodden unicorn with water dripping from the tip of her horn, which glowed fiercely as the fire within slowly began to disappear, stood at the gate between their fantasies and the real world.

"I hope I'm not interrupting..." she said softly, trotting in and shaking her fur. Droplets flew off her body and onto the floor with a dull pop.

Pinkie Pie was the first to notice their unexpected visitor. "Hi, Twilight!" she exclaimed cheerfully. After turning to a surprised Fluttershy, she got to her hooves and straightened herself, blushing furiously. "Where in the name of Ponyville did you come from?"

Twilight chuckled, using a simple spell to expel the rest of the moisture from her body. "Ponyville, actually. Ever since Fluttershy told me that you had disappeared, I was hard at work looking through a few ancient documents for a long-distance teleportation spell. The author didn't say how to configure a location-" she blushed as well- "But a cave is a better shelter from a storm than a meadow, right?"

"I didn't think it was raining that hard..." Fluttershy whispered, glancing towards the cave's mouth. Torrents of rain flew by the threesome, accompanied by the occasional crack of thunder or ray of lightning.

"Oh, it is." Twilight responded bluntly. Although she wasn't wet anymore, her mane and tail still kept their flattened state. “Just take my word for it.”

Pinkie Pie smiled. "Hey, Twi..." she began slyly.”You must've been pretty worried about us, to go through all the trouble to find a spell and all..."

The unicorn shuffled her hooves. "You're my friends. I couldn't sleep knowing you- and Fluttershy- were missing. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even Rarity were looking for you, too."

"Rarity?" Pinkie Pie couldn't help but guffaw. "Ha!”

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy reprimanded harshly from her seat on the ground. Her legs were still spread from her earlier collision with the pink pony. “That’s not very nice.”

The serious look in her friend's eyes made Pinkie immediately shut her mouth. "Everybody was worried beyond belief about you, Pinkie. We didn't know where in Equestria you were, or even if you were in Equestria." The dark haze that covered her eyes disappeared, and Twilight Sparkle grinned once more. "Everypony's going to be so glad that you're here!"

"Well, I am." Fluttershy whispered, her voice barely audible against the furious pounding of the rain.

Pinkie Pie turned to her friend, her body language both loving and calm- a first for her. "That reminds me, Flutters..." She took a step forward.

Twilight Sparkle, confused, took a step back. Perhaps I should stay out of this, she thought.

"Yes, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes wide. The way her eyelashes flowed over her eyes made Pinkie’s heart melt.

"I-I've wanted to tell you something for a while..." the magenta mare murmured. Her hooves danced as she walked.

"Go on..."

The petite earth pony's body trembled with love, and she could barely wait to get her words out. Perhaps now, her special somepony could see the aura of adoration that constantly circled her. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she could see the same mist around the pegasus, too. Now wasn't the time for beating around the bush- her love was unwavering, her heart true, and she knew that whatever happened next, she knew which pony she wanted by her side. She was surrounded by two of her closest friends, and deep down Pinkie Pie knew they understood her feelings and understood them.

"I've meant to do this for a while, but I haven't gotten a chance!"

"Mmhmm?"

"Right when I'm about to tell you, I get whisked away or ponynapped or fall or get distracted because we both know that happens a lot-"

Fluttershy put her hoof over Pinkie Pie's mouth, giggling slightly. Pinkie licked it casually. Tastes like buttercream, she thought gleefully.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, her shy demeanor slipping away like an African swallow in the wind, "I'm going to put my hoof down, and you're going to get to the point. Do you understand?"

The pink mare nodded, causing Twilight Sparkle to chuckle in the background. As promised, the pegasus removed her hoof and listened intently.

"I love you, Fluttershy. More than anything in the world. Even more than buttercream!" Pinkie Pie responded, bracing for the worst. She heard Twilight gasped quietly, but she couldn't bring herself to see Fluttershy's expression. She expected either shock or anger- possibly both.

Long moments passed. Pinkie gulped. Suddenly, she found herself pressed into a familiar yellow chest. Hooves tightly woven around her body squeezed with all their might, but she didn't care.

"You big goofball." the pegasus murmured. "Getting ponynapped, getting taken halfway across Equestria… You worry me, Pinkie."

Pinkie's laugh was like sleighbells on a cold Hearts Warming Eve, the ones that greet you immediately as you walk out of your house and put a huge smile on your face. A smile that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get that silly grin off your face.

She couldn't care less that Twi was watching- she knew that the unicorn was probably enjoying herself- or that her mental stability was in question. She nuzzled into Fluttershy's warm fur as she spoke the words she had been waiting to hear for a year or more- with unrequited love, time was a fickle beast to comprehend.

"But that's why I love you, too."

My Fluttershy

As the moon rose in the sky, Fluttershy set off once more on her quest to find the peculiar pink mare. She paid no mind to the dangers lurking in the bushes, or the eyes that followed her.

"I wonder where she could be..." she murmured. "Pinkie is a hide-and-seek expert, after all!" She chuckled slightly.

"For all I know, she could be outside of Equestria! Maybe in the Griffin Kingdom... Or the Dragon Kingdom... Oh, I do hope she's safe!"

Something somewhere stepped on a branch. The pegasus jumped, frightened, at the resulting sound.

"I bet it's nothing. Maybe a little squirrel out for a late-night stroll."

Insect-like clicking sounded to her left. "Who's there?" she asked, opening her wings in a futile attempt to seem menacing.

Whomever it was, they were laughing at her. Menacing laughter, cold like daggers, hit her ears.

"Stop that!"

Surprisingly, they stopped mid-guffaw. She turned to face the source of the horrid giggling, and saw two bright green eyes standing out from the woodland. Then two more. Soon, there were five pairs of eyes, with no pupils to speak of, before her. Fluttershy readied herself to fly away.

The creature in the front hissed, catching her attention before she could take off.

"You're not going anywhere..." it whispered cruelly, and Fluttershy's world went dark.