“So, what do you do for a living Fluttershy? I remember you saying that you get called in to help at the vet’s office and you watch people’s pets while they're on vacation, but like, what else do you do?” D asked curiously as he lead her back to her cottage.

“Oh, um, there’s not really a whole lot that I do. Although I do have a little side business that brings in a bit of money.” Fluttershy said softly, her face barely visible in the moonlight.

“Really? Do you mind if I ask what it is?” Little D asked.

“Oh, um, if it’s alright with you, I’d rather not. It’s just a little personal is all.” Fluttershy replied softly.

“Yeah, it’s no problem.” D smiled. They continued on in silence for a bit, D struggling to think of something to say. “So....you....like animals?”

“I love animals.” Fluttershy said, slightly louder than her usual soft tone. “It’s my special talent, taking care of animals, I mean.”

“How’d you learn what your talent was?” D asked.

“Well, when I was a little I was the flag girl for one of Rainbow Dash’s races. She took off so fast that I was knocked off of the cloud I was standing on. I was so scared that I couldn’t even use my wings.” her grip tightened on D’s arm as she remembered her fall. "But I was saved by a swarm of monarch butterflies. I've never been on the ground before and everything was so beautiful and brand new to me." her grip loosened a bit. "I saw all kinds of animals that I've only seen in books like beavers, bunnies, otters, and all kinds of little birdies.” Fluttershy smiled as she remembered all the sights. “Then all of a sudden, there was this big rainbow colored explosion that tore through the sky.”

“I think I remember that day.” Little D commented. “Yeah, I was walking through Whitetail Woods when I saw that explosion in the distance.” he grinned. “Prettiest explosion I’ve ever seen.”

“You saw it too? The animals didn’t like it too much, the poor things. The explosion scared them all terribly and they all ran off to find someplace to hide. But I talked to them and convinced them that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.” Fluttershy looked at D with a smile on her face. “You should have seen how happy they were when I told them it everything was going to be ok. Then they all started chattering and it was like I could understand them all. That was when I felt a small tingle on my arms. I rolled up my sleeves and I saw three pink and blue butterflies.”

“That’s quite a story Fluttershy.” D smiled. “Something happened to me too when I saw that explosion. It filled me with a hope that I haven’t felt in ages. It made me feel like I was close to finding the Elements of Harmony, so I set out to find the source of the explosion. I got to Cloudsdale and I asked around about what caused the explosion, but instead of a straight forward answer, I got hundreds of assumptions and stories. Someone was saying that it was just some natural phenomenon caused by sunlight hitting oddly place water molecules in the air, resulting in an expanding prism-like explosion. Another person said it was Celestia experimenting with controlling the sun and the moon at the same time.” D smirked slightly. “But eventually I found out that Rainbow Dash caused the explosion.

“What did you do after that?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“Well, I could feel the Element of Loyalty inside of her, but I thought it best to leave her alone for a while, let her grow up a bit and find out she was an Element of Harmony on her own. I figured I could wait a couple of years before making myself noticed, so I made a mental note of coming back to Cloudsdale in ten years or so to seek her out and ask for her help.”

“Ten years?” Fluttershy gasped. “Did you really have to wait so long?”

“Well, she was, like, twelve or so, so I figured I could avoid legal problems by just waiting things out.” D shrugged. “Besides, the girl needed to have a childhood and I seriously doubt dragging her along with me as I scour the face of the Earth looking for something that may or may not be around anymore, would be a good idea.”

“Well that was very considerate of you Little D.” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Meh, it just felt like the thing to do.” D replied casually. They continued walking in silence, arm in arm, and simply enjoying each other's company for a few more minutes, until Fluttershy broke the silence.

“What’s it going to be like? The war I mean.”

Little D let out a low sigh. “I’m not gonna lie to you Fluttershy,” he began. “It’s not gonna be a war, it’s gonna be a slaughter fest. Hundreds of thousands are gonna die before I can stop Steele and whatever army he’s building.” he looked at Fluttershy sadly. “And I have no idea how it will end, or if I’m gonna get any help or not.” D frowned deeply. “I’m so sorry for dragging you and your friends into this mess, it’s just that I have no choice. I need you and the others to help me on my quest.”

“It’s ok D, I’d be more than happy to help you however I can.” Fluttershy smiled softly.

“Wow, you’re taking certain danger and possible apocalypse really well.” D said in disbelief. “Seriously, this news really doesn’t seem to be bothering you or your friends all that much.”

“Oh, my friends and I have faced all kinds of danger and apocalyptic threats already, we know how to handle these things. It is actually really scary for me, but I feel better knowing that we’re going to have a lot of help from someone as strong as you.”

“Eh, I’m not really that strong.”D said bashfully. “Well, not in my family at least, I’m just the most talented. Steele’s the strongest out of all of us Walkers. He once stopped a lighthouse from collapsing off of a cliff with just his bare hands.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked in disbelief. “How could he do something like that?”

“He just grabbed it, like this, then he just kinda’ pulled.” D let go of Fluttershy and wrapped his arms around a nearby tree and pulled. Fluttershy stared in awe as Little D tore the tree right out of the ground. D smiled briefly. “Then he threw it at me.” D demonstrated by casting the tree far away without even a grunt of effort.

“Oh my goodness.” Fluttershy gasped “How did you do that?”

“My strength is super enhanced by magic.” D said simply. “Sorry about the little distraction Fluttershy, but I kinda’ needed to send a message to someone this particular way.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, who did you have to throw that poor tree at?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Just had to get in contact with an old friend is all, now let’s keep going, if that’s alright with you of course.” Fluttershy nodded slowly and carefully took hold of Little D’s arm, slightly weary of his newly revealed strength, but D smiled warmly at her, erasing her fears, and the two resumed their walk back to Fluttershy’s cottage.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A young man in a brown jacket sat alone in front of a small campfire in the middle of Whitetail Woods. He casually strummed his guitar and whistled along with the tune as he watched the flames dance in the night.

“So why are we just sitting here in the middle of the forest?” a man in dark red tuxedo asked the guitarist.

“It’s simple Zach.” the young man replied, making the well dressed man shake his head indignantly.

“Who the hell is Zach?” he groaned, fearing it was some obscure reference.

“We’re just waiting for a message from a friend,” the guitarist responded, ignoring the question. “Also this is technically a woods.”

“Ha ha! A woodsen!” another man shouted gleefully. This man was dressed in blue jeans and a faded blue shirt.

“That’s right, and the message should be arriving any minute.” as if on cue, an old oak tree came crashing through the canopy of the woods and landed in the middle of the campfire.

"Well that seemed highly unnecessary." the man in red commented.

“Ah, one vital plot point, right on time.” the guitarist said with a smile, ignoring his companion's remark. “Looks like our old friend didn’t throw the file in the lake like they were supposed to, eh Zach?” he asked no one in particular.

“Man, finally we can get this show on the road.” the guitarist smiled and looked at his instrument, a beautiful, highly polished, cherry wood acoustic, and chucked it at the tree and left the campsite. "Come on guys, let's go wait somewhere else for a few chapters, k?"

"What are you going to do about the fire?" the man in the red tux asked concernedly.

"What fire?" the man in the jacket asked, turning around just in time to see the uprooted oak burst into flames. "Oh, that fire." he watched idly as the fire spread to the nearby trees. "I suggest we run."

Author's Note

Don't forget to look both ways before speeding through a red light.