PinkieShy

by PatRoison

First published 31st of October, 2011

PinkieShy or FlutterPie whichever you prefer. A series that aims to remain cute and light.

After an unfortunate accident resulting in a mistimed prank, Fluttershy is left temporarily blinded. Pinkie offers to take care of her.

Cover art by: Teknibaal [Link]

You can find an awesome comic version of "A Sight for Really Sore Eyes" was on DA by SpeccySY but can still be found here: [link]

A Sight for Really Sore Eyes

Sweet Apple Acres was cool this time of year and as usual Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were in a pranking mood. Normally, they would aim for Applejack, but this time they were targeting her older brother Big Macintosh. They had set a surprise for him on a path they knew he would take eventually. The prank was that once he hit a tripwire they had set up a pulled back branch would be released and hit him in the chest. For Pinkie and Rainbow it was set at face level, but Big Mac was taller not to mention that his yoke would protect him so he was not in danger. They only wanted to surprise or scare the quiet stallion. What happened was still a surprise but was not fun.

Fluttershy was walking along Ponyville square when a sudden craving for an apple pastry came over her. She immediately headed to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie Pie. The town bakery was alive with happy activity and smelled wonderful to the pegasus who was used to the simple quiet smells of nature. Fluttershy walked to the counter and waited to be pounced by Pinkie. She would always be startled no matter how much she knew that it would happen. She never told Pinkie to stop because that was the few interactions the two would ever have. 'Why can't I just tell her,' Fluttershy thought to herself. After a minute of no surprise pouncing she relaxed and then immediately braced herself thinking that Pinkie was waiting for her to relax. Still nothing happened, so she rang the little bell that was on the counter.

Mr. Cake was in the kitchen and walked to the counter with a smile said, "Why hello there Fluttershy. What can I get for you today?"

"Oh hello Mr. Cake," Fluttershy said softly, "Is Pinkie here?"

"Nope," Mr. Cake said, "I gave her the day off. She could really use it. I think she's with your friend Rainbow Dash. Would you like me to get you something?" Mr. Cake was a salesman and knew that Fluttershy required a soft sell.

"Well I would like an apple fritter," she said softly as usual, "um, if that's alright."

Mr. Cake laughed happily. He never met a pony as shy and polite as Fluttershy. "Of course it's alright," he said, "let me just grab it for you."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said. She reached under her wing and pulled out her change purse, fished out the four bits, and placed them on the table. Mr. Cake returned and said, "Oh no Fluttershy. You get the family discount! That'll be two bits!"

"Oh no," Fluttershy squeaked, "I insist. I can't take a discount. That would hurt your business."

She pushed the bits over to Mr Cake who sighed defeated knowing once again that Fluttershy would not take the discount. "All of your other friends only pay half," he said, "Why is it so hard for you to accept it?"

"I just don't want to take food out of your mouths," Fluttershy said softly, "I know things are tough for you this time of year. When business picks up again, I'll take you up on that discount." She smiled warmly and received one in return.

"Well," Mr. Cake said smiling, "You can't blame an old colt for trying."

Fluttershy giggled, enjoyed her pastry, and left for home. Back out in the cool air, she had a change of heart. 'It looks like a nice day for a walk,' she thought to herself. Pointing herself in no particular direction, she found herself walking towards Sweet Apple Acres. She kept her pace at a quick trot by her standards, but she still managed to get to the Apple family farm by lunchtime.

Rainbow Dash was waiting impatiently for Big Mac to spring the trap. She did not have the patience for this like Pinkie did, and secretly hoped that anypony would spring the trap so they could move on to more fun things. She would soon get her wish.

"Um, Dashie," Pinkie said softly, "Can you keep a secret"?

"Sure," Rainbow said.

"Promise you won't laugh at me," Pinkie asked.

"Can't promise you that," Rainbow said giggling, "That might be my natural reaction."

Pinkie's face became solemn and asked, "Then promise me that you won't hate me if I tell you."

"Um Pinkie," Rainbow said, "Whatever it is there is no way I could hate you for it." The rainbow maned pegasus turned her body so she was facing her pink friend, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Pinkie said, "It's just that. I. I mean, I'm. I'm a." Pinkie was stammering for words then after a sigh said, "Forget it. It's not important."

"No," Rainbow said, "This is really bothering you, and if you don't let it out it will eat you up. I promise that whatever it is I'll help." She gave her friend a warm smile that seemed to relax the pink earth pony.

"Ok," Pinkie said, "It's just that I don't want you to think I'm weird."

"You're Pinkie," Rainbow said, "You are the definition of weird."

"Fine," Pinkie said trying to sound angry but was clearly hurt, "then I guess you don't have to hear it. I'll just let it eat my 'weird' little heart out."

"Pinkie," Rainbow said softly, "I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant that you are so random sometimes and, yeah, can come off a little weird. I'm sorry. Please tell me what's bothering you."

"Ok," Pinkie began again, "There is a certain pony that I really like."

"And," Rainbow asked.

"That's it," Pinkie said.

"That's it," Rainbow asked, "That's it? All of that suspense and all you have to say is that you have a crush on some colt? C'mon Pinkie!"

"Rainbow," Pinkie said, "The secret isn't that I like somepony. It's that it's not, um a colt." The last part was a quiet whisper that Rainbow could not understand.

"Not a what now," she asked.

Pinkie sighed and repeated louder, "Not a colt." She waited for the axe to fall. For her friend to call her a 'freak' and laugh at her.

"So what," Rainbow asked, "you mean an older stallion? Is this pony married?"

Pinkie sighed, "No. It's not a colt or a stallion." She motioned her forelegs towards Rainbow clearly trying to give her a clue.

"Yeah I'm not following you here Pinks," Rainbow said, "If it's not a colt and it's not a stallion. That only leaves..." She trailed off the pieces clicking into place, "You like fillies?"

"No," Pinkie said, "Well just one specific filly."

"Who," Rainbow asked, "And for how long?"

"Well this you absolutely have to keep secret," Pinkie whispered.

Rainbow nodded.

"Ok," Pinkie whispered, "It's..."

At that time there was a snap of the tripwire, followed by the sound of air being cut by the pulled branch, and the satisfying smack of it hitting its target. Rainbow was about to give a sigh of relief when the following sound was screaming and crying.

Both ponies looked back to their trap and were shocked to find Fluttershy rolling on the ground, her hooves covering her face, screaming and crying in absolute agony. They bolted to the pegasus and tried to calm her down.

"That's not Big Mac," Rainbow said slightly still in shock.

"You think," screamed Pinkie, "What have I told you? Fluttershy is off limits to pranks!"

"I know," Rainbow said. She was holding the writhing pegasus and tried to calm her down, "It's ok Fluttershy! I'm here and I'm gonna take you to the hospital!" She turned to Pinkie and said, "Get the tripwire and tie Fluttershy's rear legs to my waist. I'm going to hold her on my back with my forelegs."

Pinkie hoisted Fluttershy who kept crying, "Ow! Ow ow ow! It hurts!" Each 'ow' broke the pink pony's heart to see the kind pegasus in such agony, and it was made worse since the prank was her idea. Now the pony she loved most was badly hurt and could possibly be blind.

In no time Rainbow was off in the air and there was nothing but a rainbow streak in the sky. Pinkie galloped after her as fast as she could hoping to reach the hospital in time. "Please be ok Fluttershy," Pinkie said softly as she ran following the rainbow streak in the sky.

Rainbow was flying as fast as she could and needed to fly faster. Her wings were beginning to strain and she just pushed herself faster. Fluttershy had her forelegs around Rainbow's neck and wanted them to her face. The wind was not helping and Rainbow caught a glimpse of her friend's face and saw that she was bleeding from her eyes as well as crying. Her wings were hurting more, but she would risk a temporary strain or muscle tear if it meant saving Fluttershy's eyes. 'We should've been paying attention,' she scolded herself, 'This is all Pinkie's fault. The prank was her idea, and she was talking about liking some filly when Fluttershy sprang it.' Suddenly, Rainbow felt a sharp stab in her right wing. She lost altitude and with a scream of determination forced the pained wing to keep flapping. She reached the hospital and crashed to the ground. The nurses saw Fluttershy's face and heard her cries and immediatly placed her onto a gurney and wheeled her inside.

About fifteen minutes later, Pinkie ran into the hospital panting heavily and nearly collapsed. Rainbow was standing in the waiting room, and her wing was bandaged. Pinkie slowly walked up to her and fell over exhausted.

A nurse gave her a glass of water and Pinkie asked, "How is she?"

"I don't know," Rainbow said softly, "I think she may be blind."

Pinkie shot to her feet and fell back over dizzy. From the floor she asked with her eyes full of tears, "What do you mean, Dashie? How do you know?"

"I don't," Rainbow said, "It's just that on the way over here I caught a glimpse of Fluttershy's face and she was bleeding from her eyes. That can't be good. I think we blinded her." Rainbow's eyes were also full of tears.

"No," Pinkie said, "Not Fluttershy." She looked to the emergency room doors and whispered, "Please, not her. Blind me. I deserve it."

"Pinkie," Rainbow said, "It was an accident. Yeah we should've been paying attention, but it was still an accident. I feel terrible, but why are you so..." Rainbow looked at the doors and back to Pinkie and she knew, "Pinkie." Pinkie looked up to Rainbow. "Is Fluttershy the pony you like?"

Pinkie nodded slowly and began to cry, "Now she'll hate me forever!"

"This is Fluttershy," Rainbow said, "She'll forgive you. In fact, I bet she already has. She's just in too much pain right now." She cringed immediately after saying that knowing it was the wrong thing to say. Tact was never a trait of Rainbow's.

Pinkie began to cry even harder now, and buried her face into her mane which had become quite straight. Rainbow nudged her and Pinkie saw the doctor standing in front of them. She ran up to him and asked, "Is she ok?"

"Yes," the doctor said, "Your friend is in stable condition, and it does not look as though the damage to her eyes is permanent. She will need to stay overnight so we can treat her eyes. I see no reason why she won't make a full recovery."

"Thank you," Pinkie said softly her mane now slightly wavy, "Can I see her?"

"Yes of course," the doctor said, "but remember that the room will be darkened to protect her eyes."

Both ponies nodded, and made their way to the room where Fluttershy was resting. She stirred when she heard somepony enter the room, "H, hello," she said softly her voice full of fear, "Who's there?"

"It's me Fluttershy," Rainbow said, "Pinkie's here too."

"Hey Fluttershy," Pinkie said softly, "I'm so sorry I hurt you. I know you hate me now." She began to tear up again and moved closer to Fluttershy when she motioned for her.

Fluttershy put her hoof to Pinkie's face and leaned forward and hugged the pink pony. Pinkie began to cry and Fluttershy said softly, "It's ok. It was an accident. I don't blame you." She pulled away gave a small smile, to the window. Pinkie nudged her chin to face her. Fluttershy giggled and said, "I'll have to get used to that. At least it will only be for one night."

All this time Rainbow was thinking and suddenly had an idea. She quietly left the room and looked for the doctor. She found him looking over a chart and she asked, "Hey, are you keeping her here so you can routinely wash her eyes?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes. She will need to have her eyes cleaned every six hours, or the pain could return and cause more damage."

"Is it possible for someone without medical training to do it," Rainbow asked.

"I don't see why not," the doctor said, "but I would rather she stay here. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Rainbow said, "You know that the accident was the result of a prank that did not go as planned, and my friend is feeling really guilty about it. I was thinking that she could take care of her as a way to make it up to Fluttershy."

"Is she reliable," the doctor asked.

"When her friends need her she is always there," Rainbow said confidently.

"Then if Fluttershy agrees," the doctor conceded, "I have no problem releasing her from our care."

"Great," Rainbow said excitedly, "I'll tell Pinkie!"

Rainbow ran back into the hospital room and saw Pinkie stroking Fluttershy's mane gently. "Hey Pinkie," Rainbow called, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Pinkie whispered to Fluttershy, "I'm gonna talk to Rainbow. I'm not going to leave the room. If I do I will let you know."

Fluttershy nodded, "Thank you, Pinkie."

Pinkie felt a strong pang of guilt and walked over to Rainbow, "Yes Dashie?"

Rainbow gave the pink pony a big grin and asked, "you wanna make this up to Fluttershy?"

"Of course," Pinkie said softly, "Why? What do you have in mind?"

"Well," Rainbow said, "The doctor told me that the only reason they want to keep her here is to wash her eyes every six hours. That way they'll ensure there is nothing left to damage her vision. Now here's the best part, anypony can do it, and that means you!"

Pinkie looked at Rainbow and then got a big smile, "I can take care of Fluttershy?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yup and if you happen to let it slip that you like her..."

"Dashie," Pinkie scolded quietly looking back to see if Fluttershy heard Rainbow, "After what I did to her, I don't have the right to tell her." She looked to the floor and sighed, "I wish that I never thought of that prank."

"Maybe it's for the best," Rainbow said.

Pinkie looked back to her friend confused, and knew what she meant. Even though Pinkie felt guilty about hurting Fluttershy, she still had a chance to make it right. She nodded and said, "You're right Dashie. I'll take good care of her, and maybe one day I'll tell her how I feel."

Rainbow sighed knowing that there was no convincing Pinkie, "Ok. Just take good care of her."

Pinkie nodded, "I promise. I will take really good care of Fluttershy."

The doctor returned and walked to Fluttershy and said, "Your friend's offered to provide you with the medical care for your eyes. If you agree then I can release you."

"Um," Fluttershy said softly, "Who will be taking care of me?"

"I'll take care of you Fluttershy," Pinkie said softly, "I have to. I need to make this right."

Fluttershy gasped slightly and Pinkie felt bad. She did not know that Fluttershy was really excited to have Pinkie be the pony to take care of her. She was after all in love with the pink party pony.

"I know you're mad at me," Pinkie said softly feeling terrible, "but I will take really good care of you. I promise!"

The doctor had Pinkie fill out the proper forms and Pinkie put the pen in Fluttershy's mouth, blushing slightly as their lips were close together, and helped her mark an 'X' on the signature. After that, Fluttershy was placed onto Pinkie's back and they made their way back to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly, "You, um don't have to carry me. I can walk."

"I hurt you," Pinkie said sadly, "I have to do something."

"And you are," Fluttershy said with a small smile, "I know you will take good care of me Pinkie." Fluttershy hugged Pinkie gently with her forelegs causing the pink pony to blush and her heart to skip a beat.

"Thanks Fluttershy," Pinkie said, "It really means a lot to me that you aren't angry with me."

They arrived at the cottage and Pinkie gently helped Fluttershy into her bed and covered her in a sheet. It was almost time for Fluttershy's eyes to be washed, and Pinkie went about darkening Fluttershy's room. She placed heavy blankets on the windows and covered the cracks above and below the door. Soon, the room was so dark that Pinkie had to move the blankets slightly just to get her bearings. 'I think that would work,' Pinkie thought proudly.

She carefully made her way to the kitchen and poured the eye wash into the bowl, and read the instructions to make sure she got everything right. First, she was to carefully remove the gauze bandages around Fluttershy's eyes and then even more carefully remove the cotton pads that covered them. After that, she was to use warm water and a soft sponge to clean the area around the eyes to ensure that no foreign material or dirt could get into Fluttershy's eyes. She was then to carefully pour the eye wash onto Fluttershy's eyes to rinse them out. Pinkie was told that the first time would be very painful for Fluttershy and Pinkie needed to be prepared for it. The washes after that should be considerably less painful. She read the instructions two more time to make sure she had it right. She compared it to a cupcake recipe, and it stuck that much easier.

She gulped knowing that this wash would hurt Fluttershy, but it had to happen. She placed the fresh bandages, warm water, a cloth to dry Fluttershy's face and the eye wash onto a tray, and made her way up the stairs to Fluttershy's room.

Pinkie opened the door and tried to memorize where everything was so she would be able to find it in the dark. She slowly placed the tray on the table next to the bed, and closed the door. Carefully she made her way to the bed, and fantasized about how she perfect this have been if the circumstances were different. In her mind, she would slowly walk over to Fluttershy and carefully lift the shy pegasus to a sitting position, and tilt her head back and gently give her a soft kiss.

Today however, she walked to the bed, carefully helped Fluttershy to a sitting position, tilted her head back and gently removed the bandages around her eyes.

Fluttershy remained calm and trusted Pinkie to take care of her, but she was nervous since the doctor told that the first wash would be worst of the three washes. Her heart was beating faster and faster as Pinkie set herself behind her and wrapped her forelegs around the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy let her head rest against Pinkie's shoulder and that allowed her bandages to be removed easily. Once the pads were removed from her eyelids she tried to open them, but Pinkie stopped her.

"Not yet," Pinkie said, "I still need to wash your face." Pinkie dipped the sponge into the warm water, she made certain was in a square container so she would keep track of it in the dark, and began to gently scrub Fluttershy's face. She scrubbed around her eyes, her nose and while she was scrubbing her snout their lips briefly met. She quickly moved the sponge to Fluttershy's other cheek and if the room were not darkened she would seen Fluttershy's blush match her own.

She reached for the round bowl that had the eye wash and said, "Ok I'm going to wash your eyes now. The doctor said this will hurt so I'll be as gentle as I can." She felt around Fluttershy's and when she thought she found her eye she leaned closer to apply the medicine. She stopped when she heard a muffled voice.

"Um," Fluttershy said, "That is my, um mouth."

Once again Pinkie's face flushed crimson and she moved in the proper direction and found Fluttershy's eyes. She gently and slowly poured the medicine and Fluttershy let out a cry of pain and squirmed causing most of the medicine to spill. "It's ok Fluttershy," Pinkie said softly, "I'll be more gentle." She poured the medicine again and Fluttershy let out a soft whimper. Once it was over, Pinkie use the cloth to dry Fluttershy's face and applied the fresh bandages. "Get some sleep," Pinkie said softly, "I'll be here when it's time to wash your eyes again."

"Are you leaving," Fluttershy asked scared.

"No," Pinkie said, "I just wanted to take a little nap, and didn't want to wake you with the alarm."

"Well sleep here," Fluttershy offered surprised at herself for making such a bold offer. 'Silly Fluttershy,' she thought, 'Pinkie is just being nice. She doesn't feel that way about you.'

"Well," Pinkie said, "I suppose since we have to get up at the same time it would make sense." In truth, if the situation were different she would have dived into that bed already. She made her way to the bed and laid down next to Fluttershy making certain to keep the covers seperating the two of them.

Both ponies selpt soundly and when the alarm clock sounded Pinkie groggily hugged Fluttershy and immediately let go when Fluttershy gasped, "Sorry about that Fluttershy. I'll get the medicine ready." She quickly left the room, 'Nice work Pinkie,' she scolded herself, 'You are supposed to be taking care of her not taking advantage of her.' She got the medicine ready and returned back to the room.

The medicine application went much smoother and quickly this time, and Fluttershy only felt as though the medicine was just too warm. Once she was cleaned up again her stomach began to growl. She blushed, "Sorry. I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Okey dokey," Pinkie said happily, "I'll fix us up some grub!"

"Thank you Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly, "I mean it, and I forgive you. It was an accident, and I'm glad that you're taking care of me."

Pinkie felt much better knowing for certain that Fluttershy was not angry with her. She opened the door and closed it behind her. She stopped to think about what to make for dinner, and slowly opened the door again when she heard Fluttershy talking to herself.

"Nice going Fluttershy," she said sofly but with annoyance, "Pinkie is right here, and still you can't say it. Four simple words, 'I love you Pinkie,' it's not that hard, is it?"

Pinkie was stunned when she heard those words, 'she loves me, too,' she thought. Pinkie wanted to run in there and tell Fluttershy that she loved her too, but was stopped by Fluttershy's next words.

Fluttershy laughed softly, "Who am I kidding? Pinkie isn't like that, and even if she was she wouldn't settle for a nopony like me." She sniffed a little and continued her personal attack. "She should have an adventerous pony. Somepony that can keep up with her and not drag her down. No, I'll never tell her how I feel. She'll think I'm weird, but I'll just tell her to keep it a secret. She won't tell a secret. Not Pinkie Pie, but I really do love her." She was about to continue, but a small knock on the door stopped her short.

Pinkie walked in tears in her eyes, and planned to tell Fluttershy that she would love to be with her. Instead, she said, "You know what, I forgot to ask what you wanted to eat."

"Oh anything you want is fine," Fluttershy said softly.

"Okey dokey," Pinkie said and left the room to the kitchen. 'She loves me,' she thought, her heart swelling in her chest. She wanted desperately to tell her, but for some reason she couldn't say the words. There was too much fear, but Pinkie was content that one day soon she will be able to confess to Fluttershy, and they could be together.

Dinner was simple. A daisy sandwich and some tea, but it would sustain the timid pegasus. Pinkie helped her eat and a few times their lips met again, and both want to kiss each other but never did.

The final washing of the night was a simple chore, and Fluttershy was able to sleep the rest of the morning. Pinkie told her that she would return that afternoon to remove the bandages and then take her to lunch to celebrate.

Once Pinkie left Fluttershy's cottage she ran as fast as she could to Rainbow Dash's house. When she arrived she screamed, "Rainbow wake up!"

Rainbow flew down immediately worried that something was wrong with Fluttershy, "What is it? Is Fluttershy ok?"

"Oh she's fine," Pinkie said.

"Pinkie," Rainbow groaned, "I was trying to get some sleep. What do you want?"

"Well," Pinkie said, "Remember when you told me to tell Fluttershy how I felt?"

"You did," Rainbow said with a smile.

"No," Pinkie said, "but I overheard her talking to herself and I found out that she likes me too!" She was blushing and had a large smile on her face.

"Really," Rainbow asked, "Well if you both like each other then what's stopping you two from being together? I mean sure I have to give you the 'if you hurt my oldest friend I'll make sure they never find your body' speech, but that's really just a formality. I know you'll be good to her, and the rest of the girls will just be glad that Fluttershy will have somepony that makes her smile. In case you haven't noticed everything just seems right with the world when Fluttershy is happy." She looked at Pinkie and said, "Try to keep her that way."

"I want to Rainbow," Pinkie said, "I really do, but I can't say the words. I just can't."

"Hm," Rainbow mused, "There are other ways to say it."

That gave Pinkie and idea. A few hours later Rainbow and Pinkie were at Fluttershy's cottage, and Rainbow began to slowly remove the bandages. "Wow Pinkie you did some really good work taking care of Fluttershy."

"She really did," Fluttershy said blushing.

"Ok just need to take the pads off of your eyes and I want you to open them slowly," Rainbow said.

Fluttershy did as she was told and opened her eyes slowly and adjusted to the light. Once her vision cleared she gasped, her eyes were twinkling, and a huge smile appeared on her face. The cause, was Pinkie sitting at the end of the bed with a bouquet of roses on the bed and a note in her mouth. She was blushing and the note contained four simple words. Four words that Pinkie could not say, but wrote down easily, I love you, too.

Start Spreading the News

Fluttershy was sleeping soundly unaware that she was being watched. It had only been a week since her accident that resulted in her accidentally confessing her feelings to Pinkie while she stood outside Fluttershy's bedroom door. As the first rays of sunlight shone through her window waking her, she stretched and smiled warmly as, for the last seven days, her first sight was the same as when those bandages were removed. On her nightstand was a picture frame, and inside it was the note Pinkie Pie had written telling her that she loved her as well. With a smile on her still sleepy face, "I love you, Pinkie." A small squeak escaped her with what she heard next.

"I love you too, Fluttershy." Pinkie smiled as the yellow pegasus spun around, became tangled within the blanket, and tumbled over the side.

Fluttershy was on her back with her hind legs on the bed and looking up to the ceiling. She smiled softly when Pinkie's head looked over the edge.

"Wow Fluttershy, are you testing new ways to get up in the morning? I like it, but it looks a bit uncomfortable." She crossed her forelegs and looked around smiling as her gaze caught sight of her note. "You still have this?"

Fluttershy managed to wriggle herself out of her blanket prison and stood up. After a quick stretch said, "of course Pinkie. That's the sweetest thing anypony has ever given me." She got closer to Pinkie and gave her a nuzzle and a kiss on the cheek. Smiling as Pinkie became slightly flustered, "would you like some breakfast?"

Quickly regaining her composure, or as close as composure is for Pinkie Pie, Pinkie laughed, "oh I already ate, but I could always do with some more."

Smiling, Fluttershy made her way to the kitchen with Pinkie right behind her. Pinkie sat at the table and watched Fluttershy begin to make breakfast. Fluttershy was humming a tune as she cooked up some grasses and made certain to sweeten them somewhat. 'I hope I don't over sweeten this.' She looked back to her marefriend and noticed Pinkie was getting bored. "Pinkie are you alri- Ow!" Some boiling water splashed onto her hoof and after she turned down the heat on the stove she ran to the sink and began to run cold water on her hoof.

Pinkie was next to her, "are you ok Fluttershy? That looked painful." She gently grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and looked it over.

"Oh it's fine Pinkie. I'm sorry for worrying you." Fluttershy's voice became sad as she said that, "I just noticed you were becoming bored." After Fluttershy dried her hoof she set their breakfast, some grass sweetened with some honey and topped with oranges.

"Ooh, oranges," Pinkie beamed, "I didn't know you could get any around here."

"Shh," Fluttershy said softly with a smile, "my parents have them delivered from Cloudsdale. Don't tell Applejack that they're my favorite fruit."

"Well, yeah! I can only imagine how mad she'll be." Pinkie stood up and said with an exaggeration of Applejack's accent, "Ah can' buhleev this! One a mah own friends would buhtray me! Ah'll keel you!"

"Pinkie stop," Fluttershy said crying and holding her side from laughter, "Ow." She finally managed to get Pinkie seated again and both began to eat. The meal was enjoyed by both ponies, much to Fluttershy's relief, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Pinkie. I know it's not as sweet as you're used to."

"It was really good Fluttershy. I liked it. Let's get these dishes cleaned up." Pinkie gathered the dished, but Fluttershy stopped her when they were in the sink.

"It's ok Pinkie, I'll take care of the dishes." She smiled and hummed a tune as she washed the dishes. Once they were finished, she entered the living room where Pinkie was sitting on her couch. "Um, Pinkie? Did you have any plans for today?"

Pinkie shook her head, "Nope. Dashie wanted to go pranking, but I told her that I wanted to spend time with you. We have all day!" She bounced around the room before landing right in front of the yellow pegasus, "so what do you wanna do Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy thought for a moment, "I don't know. Maybe we can go for a walk?"

"Hm, or we could have a party!" Pinkie started bouncing around, "yeah that way we can let everypony we're together."

The thought of anyponyelse knowing about them stunned Fluttershy, "Um, Pinkie. I don't know."

Pinkie stopped bouncing, "aww, I really want to throw a party."

"I know, and I love your parties, but what if ponies stop liking us. What if our friends stop liking us?" Fluttershy began to tear up and smiled when Pinkie hugged her.

"Fluttershy, I know our friends will still love us, and besides Dashie is happy that we're together." Pinkie lifted Fluttershy's chin with a hoof, "and if we lose all of our friends then we have each other. Will that be enough?"

Fluttershy began to cry, "I'm sorry Pinkie. I'm just being selfish. We should have a party." She gave Pinkie a big smile, "a big party, but um, not too big, please."

Pinkie laughed, "You got it Fluttershy! It'll be the biggest small party ever."

"But Pinkie?"

"Yeah?"

"If it's ok with you, can we tell our friends first? I mean one at a time?" Fluttershy looked into Pinkie's eyes, "I'm sorry but I don't think I could handle telling them all at once and them hating us."

Pinkie held Fluttershy, "Okie dokie, we can tell them one by one. Who should we tell first?"

Fluttershy looked down, 'who should we tell first? I think Rarity would be happy for us, but she keeps telling me about eligible colts that she wants to introduce me to. Oh my, what if she becomes disgusted with me?' She began to shake as tears fell from her eyes again.

"Hey," Pinkie said wiping Fluttershy's tears, "we'll just talk to Applejack first."

"Applejack? Why?"

"Well, if we put them in order, Applejack is first. Then it's Rarity and then Twilight. Easy!"

"Oh ok," Fluttershy wiped her eyes, "Let's talk to Applejack."

"That's the spirit, Fluttershy!"

Both ponies left the cottage and made their way to Sweet Apple Acres. The walk was quick and Fluttershy was able to keep up with Pinkie's bouncing speed. About halfway to the farm, Rainbow Dash spotted them. "Hey, how're the two lovebirds doing?" She landed in front of the pair and smiled.

"Oh hello Rainbow," Fluttershy smiled, "we're doing alright." She stepped closer to Pinkie.

"Yup we're doing great," Pinkie hugged Fluttershy, "we're on our way to tell Applejack that we're together now."

"Really? Cool. Want some backup?"

"Um, do you think she'll be upset with the news," Fluttershy asked beginning to panic again.

"Dashie is just joking, right?" Pinkie glared at Rainbow.

"Well, yeah I'm joking. Seriously Fluttershy you have nothing to worry about. AJ will treat you guys right."

Fluttershy nodded, "you're right. Thank you Rainbow, but I think we should do this on our own."

Pinkie nodded, "It really means a lot to Fluttershy."

Rainbow smiled, "ok. I'll see you two later." In an instant she was off leaving a rainbow streak behind.

"I hope she's right."

"I know she is. Don't worry Fluttershy."

With a small nod, Fluttershy and Pinkie continued to the Apple Family farm and began to look for the hardworking earth pony. It did not take long as they simply followed the trail of empty apple trees and the faint sound of trees being bucked.

They quickened their pace and saw the orange mare collecting some stray apples that missed the buckets.

"Hey Applejack!" Pinkie bounced up to their friend and started looking through a bucket, "can I get an apple? I'm a little hungry."

"Pinkie, we just ate breakfast," Fluttershy said with a smile. She knew that Pinkie's constant energy required her to eat much more than she ever could. "Um, Applejack, if it's a problem I can pay for some apples."

"Nah, don't ya'll worry none. Pinkie always stops by and helps herself to a couple of apples. Don't bother me none. Especially, considerin' that she's always throwin' the best parties."

"Oh right," Pinkie beamed, "speaking of parties..."

"Oh yes," Fluttershy interrupted, "I'm sorry Pinkie." She smiled and looked at Applejack, "can we talk to you, um in private? Please."

"Uh, sure ah guess," Applejack said, "but only if it don' take too long. Lots more apples to buck."

"Oh I promise it won't take any time at all. It's just, um personal."

"Ok sure. We can talk in the barn."

The three ponies entered the barn and Fluttershy tried to begin, but her panic was returning and was on the verge of tears when Pinkie hugged her.

"It's ok Fluttershy. I'm here to help. We can do this."

Applejack became very concerned. She had seen Fluttershy become nervous on many occasions, but never had she seen her act this way toward her. "Fluttershy just take it slow like. Whatever it is I promise to be here for you."

Fluttershy took a deep breath, "remember my accident last week?"

"Yeah," Applejack looked to Pinkie, "Ya'll really need to be more careful with your pranks. What if Fluttershy were blinded permanently?"

Pinkie looked down, "I know. I still feel awful for it." She looked to Fluttershy when she felt a hoof on her cheek.

"It was an accident Pinkie. I forgave you for it already, and besides you took great care of me." She smiled as Pinkie blushed and Fluttershy turned back to Applejack, "well, we found out something very important."

"And what's that," Applejack asked, "Sorry to rush ya but I am in a hurry."

"It's ok." Fluttershy turned to Pinkie and when the pink pony nodded she said, "Pinkie and I are together now. We're a couple." She leaned and nuzzled Pinkie gently to accent her point and calm her nerves.

Seconds, which felt like minutes, passed before Applejack said anything. "Ah see. Uh, well, that's great. Glad to see a happy new couple."

"Applejack, what's wrong?" Fluttershy was feeling panic beginning to set in again, "I understand if you don't approve, but I hope you will still be our friend." She felt as though she were about to cry and leaned into Pinkie's shoulder.

"It ain't that," Applejack said, "it's just a bit of a shock. I'm not saying that I'm jumpin' for joy here, but ya'll are two of my best friends and ah owe it to you to be here for you."

"So are you ok with us dating," Pinkie asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok with it. I think." Applejack looked confused, "sorry ya'll I'm gonna need to think on this. Ah promise you this, ya'll are still mah friends and I ain' about to risk losing that. Just give me some time."

"Sure. Besides we still need to tell Rarity and Twilight," Pinkie said with a large smile.

"So, Rainbow already knows?"

"Um, well, she was there when Pinkie told me that she loved me," Fluttershy recalled the memory and blushed.

"Ah see. Well, ah best be gettin' back to work." Applejack stood up and before she left the barn she turned back, "ya'll do make a pretty cute couple though." She smiled and ran back to her cart.

"That went well." Pinkie smiled at Fluttershy. "I told you she wouldn't hate us."

"That's true. Thank you Pinkie." Fluttershy leaned into Pinkie's shoulder, "I was so worried that Applejack would hate us. I'm glad that you were there."

"I'll always be here, silly." Pinkie gave Fluttershy a kiss in the top of her head, "Ok. One down two to go! We're off to Rarity's. This'll be easy."

"Yes, if anypony will be happy for us she will." 'At least, I hope she'll be happy for us.' Fluttershy smiled and trotted beside Pinkie, "Do you ever get tired of bouncing everywhere?"

"Nope. I love bouncing." Pinkie noticed Fluttershy getting a little winded, "want me to slow down?"

"Oh no it's fine," Fluttershy flapped her wings and glided next to Pinkie and both made good time to Carousel Boutique. When they arrived Pinkie immediately pounded on the door, with her face.

Fluttershy cringed, "Pinkie doesn't that hurt?"

"Nope," Pinkie said absentmindedly rubbing her forehead.

Fluttershy was still hovering just above Pinkie and she leaned down and kissed the pink pony where she was rubbing, "better?"

Pinkie nodded.

"Uh hi guys," a small voice said.

"Oh," Fluttershy squeaked, "hello Sweetie Belle. Is your sister home?"

"Yeah," the white filly said, "did you hurt yourself Pinkie?"

"Oh no I just knocked on the door."

"Ok. C'mon in." Sweetie Belle ran inside and went back to her coloring. She was singing something under her breath, but it was impossible to tell what it was as she kept changing the song. Soon, Rarity entered the main room.

"Oh hello girls, what brings you by today?"

"We got something to tell you," Pinkie shouted.

"Oh really," Rarity asked, "Well, then business is slow as of late, so I have all day."

"Well, if it's alright, can we talk in private?" Fluttershy was feeling very nervous again.

"It must be very important for you to be so uncomfortable. Let's talk in my sewing room." Rarity led Pinkie and Fluttershy into her sewing room and pulled up a chair for each of them. "Now you simply must tell me what the big news is. By the way Fluttershy, you look well. I suppose your little 'accident' left no permanent damage?"

"I'm fine, and it really was an accident." Fluttershy put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder and smiled.

"Well, that isn't surprising. You would forgive just about anypony." Rarity looked off as she tried to remember something, "Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Do you remember the colt I told you about last week at the spa?"

Fluttershy looked down, "Um, no. Rarity I really need to tell you something."

"Doesn't matter that you don't remember, since we're going to have lunch with him this afternoon. Really Fluttershy, you need a pony in your life." Rarity gave Fluttershy a concerned smile.

"That's what I need to tell you. I have a pony in my life. It's..."

Rarity turned to Pinkie, "of course you're welcome to come along Pinkie. I wouldn't dream of not inviting you though it may be a bit awkward."

Pinkie sighed, "Well, yeah. Seeing as how you're trying to set somepony up with my marefriend."

"Eep," Fluttershy squeaked and her face flushed crimson.

"Excuse me," Rarity looked at Pinkie, "I'm sorry Pinkie but I don't understand the joke."

"What joke," Pinkie asked, "Fluttershy and me are dating now." She grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and held it gently, "see? We are a couple."

Rarity shook her head in disbelief, "no that's not possible. Fluttershy isn't like that."

"Rarity it's true," Fluttershy said softly, "Pinkie and I are dating now." She looked down, "I know you want me to be with a colt, but I love Pinkie. I can't change that and even if I could, I wouldn't." She looked Pinkie in the eye and smiled.

"I see," Rarity said softly, "are you certain about this Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy nodded and smiled, "of course I am. Pinkie makes me happy and she's very sweet."

Rarity smiled at the sight of Pinkie beginning to blush and squealed, "well that's just wonderful. Oh, I hope you two are very happy together." She turned her attention to Pinkie, "of course Pinkie, you do know that I am rather protective of Fluttershy."

Pinkie laughed, "Yeah, you and Dashie." She hugged Fluttershy, "who wouldn't want to take care of Fluttershy?"

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said blushing, "thank you."

"You two are simply adorable. Now you have to tell me how this happened. I imagine it was while Pinkie was taking care of you." Rarity was beaming with anticipation.

Fluttershy nodded and was about to speak when Pinkie stopped her.

"No, Fluttershy! You can't tell her. We should wait for the party!"

Rarity laughed, "of course. Pinkie would never pass up an opportunity to have a party. Very well, when is it?"

Pinkie smiled, "tonight at Fluttershy's cottage." She turned to Fluttershy, "It'll be great Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled, "I'm sure it will be wonderful." Smiling to Rarity, "Excuse us Rarity, but we have to see Twilight and tell her the news."

"Certainly, I look forward to the party and hearing the story." Rarity stood and went back to her sewing machine. Before the couple could leave she was back working on her designs.

As Fluttershy and Pinkie were leaving they passed Sweetie Belle and the filly was smiling at them. "So you two are a couple now?"

"Yup." Pinkie was beaming with a large smile on her face. "We just started dating a week ago."

Fluttershy was smiling, "that's right. I'm sorry that we can't stay and talk Sweetie Belle, but we must speak to Twilight."

The filly just smiled, "that's ok." She ran back to her coloring book still singing under her breath.

Once outside Fluttershy hugged Pinkie, "that went so much better than I thought. Were you nervous at all?"

Pinkie nodded, "of course I was. I would be so sad if we lost any of our friends, but we're ok. Twilight will be happy for us."

Fluttershy smiled and playfully nudged Pinkie, "then let's get going."

"Okie dokie."

The library was not far and both ponies were there quickly, "Fluttershy if we want to have the party tonight we should make this really quick."

"Oh, ok Pinkie. We'll tell Twilight that we're together and that we'll see her tonight at the party."

Pinkie nodded and was about to knock on the library door, but she stopped and raised her hoof. After a moment, she smiled and pounded on the door with her head. She turned to Fluttershy and smiled as she rubbed her head with a hoof.

Fluttershy giggled and kissed Pinkie on the head, "don't make a habit of that. I don't want you to get hurt."

Pinkie laughed, "I won't."

Spike answered the door, "hey guys. Need to see Twilight?"

"Um, yes. If she's not too busy." Fluttershy began to feel very nervous. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had reacted positively to the news of their relationship, and Twilight was the last one on the list. 'What if she doesn't like us anymore? What if she turns us in to the Princess?'

Spike noticed Fluttershy' growing distress, "Fluttershy are you alright?"

Fluttershy snapped out of her train of thought, "oh yes, Spike I'm, um fine."

"Ok," Spike said, "well, c'mon in."

Both ponies entered the library and saw Twilight Sparkle reading some tome. Pinkie bounced up next to her.

"Hey Twilight, read any good books lately?"

Twilight looked at Pinkie, "hey Pinkie. Oh, I'm just reading up on some magic formulas." She turned and saw Fluttershy stand near the door. "Hey Fluttershy, what brings you here?"

"Oh, well, Pinkie and I have something to tell you, and it's very important." Fluttershy's gaze slowly dropped until she was almost looking at her hooves.

"Ok," Twilight said closing her book, "What's up?"

Pinkie bounced next to Fluttershy and nudged her gently.

Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie and took a deep breath, "well, Pinkie and I wanted to tell you that we, um well, we're dating now."

Twilight looked at Fluttershy and then at Pinkie, "Uh, ok. I don't get it."

"What's to get? Fluttershy and me are a couple now." Pinkie put her leg around Fluttershy's shoulder to calm her down.

"Ok," Twilight said, "but why?"

Fluttershy was beginning to shake like a leaf, so Pinkie took over, "well, I've always liked Fluttershy. She's super nice and sweet." She looked down, "my head gets all crazy sometimes and I can't think straight, but when I'm near Fluttershy it's different. I want to make everypony feel happy, but Fluttershy really wants me to be happy." She turned to Fluttershy and nuzzled her gently.

Twilight smiled, "aww that's so cute. Have you told the others yet?"

"You were our last stop, and you're invited to our party tonight. It'll be at Fluttershy's cottage." Pinkie smiled, "are you ok with us dating?"

"Of course, and even if I had a problem with it, you two are my friends. I have to support you." Twilight smiled as she levitated the book she was reading and placed back on the shelf, "I'll see you two tonight."

"Thank you Twilight. It really means a lot to Pinkie and me." Fluttershy and Pinkie left the library and Fluttershy hugged Pinkie, "that went much better than I expected." She looked at Pinkie and blushed, "um, Pinkie, did you mean what you said?"

Pinkie laughed, "of course I meant it. You're the sweetest thing ever." She bounced ahead, "we really need to get everything ready for the party." Pinkie kept bouncing until she suddenly found herself on the ground.

Fluttershy was now on top of Pinkie and giggling. She lowered herself and kissed Pinkie on the cheek, "Let's play. I mean if you want to." Fluttershy blushed and gently rested her head on Pinkie's chest.

"Sure, I'd love to play." Pinkie considered moving Fluttershy and she had the strength to do it, but she just lay there smiling into Fluttershy's eyes.

"Yay," Fluttershy cheered, "um, ok. Catch me!" She took off towards her home.

Pinkie smiled and ran after her. She did not know why Fluttershy was in such a playful mood, and she was not about to question it. Pinkie chased Fluttershy and even though she was faster, she made certain to only slowly catch up. When she was about reach Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus took to the air. "Hey, no fair!"

Fluttershy landed next to Pinkie, "I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?" She nudged Pinkie gently and let out a squeak when Pinkie tackled her.

"Gotcha!"

"Um, that wasn't very fair. I thought you were mad at me."

Pinkie smiled at the pony she had pinned down, "I could never be mad at you." She stood up and helped Fluttershy to her hooves, "we better get your cottage ready for the party."

"Yes, um I'll get started. Can you invite Applejack and Rainbow Dash, please? I'm sure you'll be able to tell them faster than I will."

Pinkie nodded, "will do. I'll stop by as soon as I can to help out." She gave Fluttershy a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek and sped off to find Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy flew back to her home as quickly as she could in hopes that she will be able to get most of the decorating done before Pinkie arrived. Of course, by the time she got home Pinkie was inside hanging up streamers and balloons. 'How does she do that,' Fluttershy wondered as she saw the pink pony expertly decorate the living room. Knowing that she would only slow her down, Fluttershy decided to at least feed her marefriend, "Um, Pinkie, would you like some lunch?"

At the sound of both the offer of food and Fluttershy's voice, Pinkie's ear perked up, "I'd love some food." She ran into the kitchen and sat Fluttershy down, "you took care of breakfast. I'll get lunch." She turned to the kitchen cabinets and began to make a simple lunch.

Fluttershy watched as Pinkie made them a daisy sandwich and some tea, "um, Pinkie? Isn't that what you made when you were taking care of me?"

"Yup," Pinkie said proudly, "daisy sandwiches are the only thing I know how to make that doesn't require baking."

Both ponies ate the lunch and soon the house was ready for the party. Fluttershy was feeling both excited and nervous. Pinkie had left to Sugarcube Corner to pick up a cake and various treats while Fluttershy remained to take care of the refreshments. The hours ticked by slowly and after Pinkie returned they put the finishing touches on the living room.

Rainbow Dash arrived first, and she had a present with her.

"Rainbow Dash, you didn't have to bring a present," Fluttershy said as she hugged her friend.

Rainbow set the box down, "of course I had to bring a present. It's not every day that two of my best friends start dating." She laughed as Fluttershy blushed and placed the box next to the punch bowl.

The other girls arrived and the party was soon underway. Fluttershy's nerves were calmed quickly as she saw her friends having such a good time. She noticed that something was bothering Applejack. Fluttershy nudged her gently and asked, "Applejack is something wrong?"

Applejack looked into Fluttershy's eyes and tried to smile, "ah'm ok. It's just ah'm still not used to the idea of you two datin' is all."

Fluttershy thought for a moment, "Let's talk outside. Um, if you want to."

"Yeah, ah think ah would."

Both ponies stepped outside and Applejack looked up to the sky, "Fluttershy, when did you notice you had feelin's for Pinkie?"

The question took Fluttershy by surprise as she was expecting to have to defend her new relationship. "Um, well, I don't know. It feels as though I've always felt this way, but I know when I realized how important Pinkie is to me."

Applejack nodded, "When was that?"

"When we were helping you deliver Bloomberg to your family. When Pinkie took off to follow Rainbow Dash into the desert, I was so worried and scared that I would never see her again."

Applejack laughed, "Yeah I never seen anypony tackle somepony like that before. She must really mean a lot to you."

Fluttershy nodded, "She really does." She looked at Applejack, "are you alright?"

"Ah'm fine. Really. Ah'm just glad that ya'll are happy." Applejack sighed, "Thanks sugarcube. Now let's get back to the party."

Fluttershy nodded and both ponies joined the party. Pinkie bounced up to them, "hey you two. You're missing out on all the fun!"

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said softly, "Applejack just needed to talk."

"Okie dokie! C'mon Fluttershy, Rarity wants to hear the story."

"Oh ok," Fluttershy said becoming nervous.

Applejack nudged her gently, "it'll be ok. I'm interested in hearing this."

Fluttershy smiled and entered the house. The girls were sitting in a semi-circle and Pinkie was in the center waiting for Fluttershy. She walked to Pinkie and took a deep breath, "you all remember that my eyes were hurt in an accident last week?" The ponies nodded and Rainbow looked guilty. "Rainbow and Pinkie know that it was an accident. I am not angry with either of them. In fact, if it wasn't for that accident," she nuzzled Pinkie gently, "Pinkie and I would probably not be together."

Pinkie cleared her throat, "yeah, I was feeling so bad about hurting Fluttershy that I thought she would hate me forever, but Dashie had an idea. She asked the doctor if I could help wash her eyes and take care of her. Fluttershy agreed and I carried her home."

"Yes, I remember telling Pinkie that she didn't have to, but she insisted." Fluttershy blushed, "I really wanted to tell her how I felt, but all I could do was give her a hug. Once I was in bed, Pinkie had to wash out my eyes. It hurt, but I knew Pinkie was being very careful." She hugged Pinkie and whispered, "You were the best nurse I could ask for."

Pinkie blushed and continued the story, "well, after that I knew that it was still six hours before the next washing, so I was going to leave to take a nap. Fluttershy seemed to be nervous about being left alone and invited me to sleep with her to keep her company. When I woke up, I found myself hugging Fluttershy and I quickly ran outside to get the medicine ready. That wash went much better and Fluttershy's tummy started growling." Pinkie starting making growling sounds and caused Fluttershy to blush and cover her face with her hooves to stifle her laugh.

"Yes, um after Pinkie left to make something to eat, I got upset at myself. I really wanted to tell Pinkie how I felt, but I couldn't. She was so close, and I was scared that I would never have a chance to tell her how I felt again."

"It was a good thing that I was still outside her room. I heard that she loved me too, and I was so happy." Pinkie gently stroked Fluttershy's cheek, "I was sad that you felt you weren't good enough for me. You're a wonderful pony." She smiled, "I went back into the room and really wanted to tell her that I felt the same, but it didn't feel right. Instead, I asked what she wanted to eat. After that, we took another little nap and then I washed her eyes for the last time. I told her to get some sleep and I would be back to take her to lunch."

"Yeah, I remember you waking me up," Rainbow said slightly annoyed, "jeez Pinkie, I was worried about Fluttershy. I thought that she was hurt, but I'm glad that you learned how she felt about you."

"Yeah Dashie," Pinkie said happily, "I told you that I wanted to tell her how I felt but I couldn't." She turned to the rest of the ponies, "she gave me the idea."

"Yes, and it was wonderful," Fluttershy began to blush, "Rainbow removed the bandages from my eyes, and I saw Pinkie on my bed with a note in her mouth and a bouquet of roses." Fluttershy ran upstairs and brought down the picture frame. She proudly held it up, "This is the note that she had."

There was a collective 'aww' from the girls, and soon the party was once again in full swing. They all danced the night away. Eventually, Fluttershy began to get sleepy along with the others. Once the others had gone home, Pinkie and Fluttershy got to work cleaning up. It was simple and it gave them time to be alone.

"That was a wonderful party, Pinkie."

"Thanks. I'm super happy that you liked it."

Fluttershy hugged Pinkie and yawned, "Oh, I'm sorry. I better get to bed." She kissed Pinkie on the cheek, "Good night Pinkie."

"Good night, Fluttershy." Pinkie happily walked outside and turned around when Fluttershy called to her.

"Pinkie."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Fluttershy smiled as she said those words. They never felt truer.

Pinkie smiled and blushed, "I love you too." She gave Fluttershy a kiss on the cheek and began walking home.

Fluttershy made her way up the stairs and, just as she did for the past week, she smiled at the note. The same thought passed through her mind as she fell asleep, 'I'm the luckiest pony in Equestria.'

Interview With a Fillyfooler Part 1

“Um, can I take the blindfold off now?” Fluttershy was being led down a hall and had no idea where it would lead.

“Not yet,” a cheerful voice said stifling laughter. Pinkie’s voice did comfort the shy pony even if she sounded slightly off.

It was not long before Fluttershy heard a door open, and she was led inside. She heard giggling and asked, “Who’s there?”

“Shh,” Pinkie said, “We’re almost there.”

Fluttershy was stopped and the blindfold was removed.

A collective voice shouted, “Surprise!”

Fluttershy opened her eyes and her joy was quickly replaced with confusion. The room was sloppily decorated. In fact, the room was her home, and it was trashed. There was a large banner that read, “Happy Loser Day, FlutterCry!” She looked around and saw a table that had a stack of pies with flies swarming around them. All of her friends were laughing at the sight of the yellow pegasus, and she soon began to cry.

“It’s alright Fluttershy,” Pinkie said happily as she walked to the table. She carefully balanced a pie on a hoof before she threw if full force at Fluttershy’s face.

Fluttershy staggered and continued to cry, “Pinkie?” She tried to shake the pie from her face and Pinkie grabbed her.

“What?”

“I thought you loved me?” Fluttershy began to cry harder.

Pinkie simply laughed harder, “That was the whole point, silly.” She turned to Rainbow, “You were right, Dashie. I didn’t know she would fall for it this easily.”

Rainbow joined in the laughter, “I told you. She’s always staring at you and sighing. What a loser!”

Fluttershy was now cowering in a ball and soon she felt as though she were falling through the floor. She kept falling and not once did she think of using her wings. All she could hear was her friends laughing at her and a strange ringing sound.

Fluttershy was safely back in her bed. There was no party and nopony was around to laugh at her. She rubbed her face and noticed that she was crying. Suddenly the dream came rushing back to her. Fluttershy shuddered and felt tears begin to run down her face again, ‘She wouldn’t do that to me.’ It took a moment, but she began to feel confident that Pinkie would never be mean to her.

Giving her wings a quick stretch; she made her way downstairs to get her breakfast ready. Her living room was still a bit messy from the party the night before. ‘It was great that the girls were happy for us.’ Her eyes looked over the room, and she saw Rainbow’s present. Fluttershy opened the small box and smiled at what she saw.

Inside the blue box were two gold pendants. One in the shape of a balloon and the other a butterfly. Also, there was a note tucked inside. Fluttershy carried the box to her kitchen and set some water to boil. She opened the note and read it.

Fluttershy,

You know I’m not good at these kinds of things, but this is important. When you read this come straight to my house. It’s about Pinkie.

Rainbow

Fluttershy looked the note over again and poured herself some tea. ‘Breakfast can wait,’ she thought. After she drank her tea and closed the box back up, she lifted the box with her mouth and opened the door. She took a step forward and staggered backward when she was struck on the head.

“Ow!”

“Oh, Fluttershy! Are ya’ll ok,” Applejack asked, “Guess ya opened the door just as I was about to knock.”

“Good morning, Applejack,” Fluttershy said rubbing her head with a hoof. “I’m sorry, but I can’t invite you in. I’m headed to talk to Rainbow about Pinkie.”

Applejack sighed, “Yeah. I kinda want to talk about Pinkie too. I guess we can talk while you walk over to Rainbow’s.”

Fluttershy nodded and both ponies began to walk to the blue pegasus’s home. ‘She’s angry that we’re together,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘Should I ask or wait for her to say something?’ She was becoming visibly nervous, so she decided to lighten the mood, “It’s a lovely morning isn’t it?”

“Yup, it sure is,” Applejack replied. She stopped and sighed, “Listen sugarcube, I don’ know how to say this, but I weren’t entirely honest with Pinkie and you.”

Fluttershy turned to Applejack, her fears becoming more pronounced, “You’re not happy that we’re together.”

Applejack nodded slowly. “It’s not that I’m against ya’ll being, well, a fillyfooler and all. To be honest, I’m mighty impressed that you’re brave enough to admit it. It’s just that, I’m not so sure if Pinkie would be a good marefriend for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, listen. I don’ mean to judge, but Pinkie can be kinda...” Applejack trialed off as she tried to find the proper words. After a moment, she asked, “When was the last time you saw Pinkie take something seriously?”

Fluttershy tilted her head and looked at her friend, “Applejack, Pinkie can be silly and, um odd, but I don’t think she’ll take my feelings lightly.” She looked away as her dream came back to her mind, “At least I hope she won’t.”

“See? That’s what I’m talkin’ about. How do ya know she won’t just get bored with ya?”

Fluttershy lowered her head and began to cry, “I don’t. Please Applejack, it’s hard enough being scared that I’ll mess something up, but thinking that she may stop liking me isn’t helping.”

Applejack sighed, “Ah’m sorry sugarcube. I never meant to make ya cry.” She hugged the yellow pegasus softly, “Now ah know your heart is in the right place, but there’s just something ah can’t shake. Listen, I know that you’ll be the perfect marefriend for Pinkie. Just remember, if you need anypony to talk to, you can come talk to me. Ah’ll be there for you.” Applejack smiled and headed back to her farm.

Fluttershy arrived at Rainbow’s home; her thoughts still on the conversation she just finished with Applejack. ‘I hope she’s wrong,’ she thought to herself as she gently knocked on the door. She did not hear anything, so she let herself in. Inside was Rainbow Dash, and she was standing in front of her dresser. She was holding a letter and staring at charred piece of metal.

Fluttershy walked up to her friend, “Rainbow Dash is everything alright?”

The blue pegasus shoved both the letter and the object into a drawer and turned to Fluttershy with a big smile said, “Everything is great. I’m glad that you’re here.”

Fluttershy nodded, “Ok Rainbow, but if something is wrong, please tell me about it.”

Rainbow shook her head, “It’s not important, really. What is important right now is you and Pinkie.” She motioned to her cloud couch, “Take a seat.”

Fluttershy obliged and set the box down next to her, “Oh, thank you very much for the pendants. They’re lovely.”

Rainbow smiled, “Don’t sweat it, and they’re not pendants. They’re lockets.”

Fluttershy opened the box and looked the balloon shaped locket over and sure enough there was a small latch. She opened it and there was a picture of Pinkie. “Oh Rainbow. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“No problem. That one is yours. The other one is Pinkie’s.” Rainbow sat down next to Fluttershy. “Now, what I have to talk to you about is really important. Do you remember when we gave Pinkie that surprise party?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Yes. I still feel bad that she thought we stopped liking her.”

“Well, that wasn’t the only time that’s happened.”

Fluttershy looked at her friend, “What do you mean?”

Rainbow looked around the room, “Well, all that energy has to end sometime. I remember the second time I saw her like that. I went to her house so we could go pranking, and she wouldn’t answer her door. I flew up to her window and saw her curled up on the floor just crying.” Rainbow looked back at Fluttershy, “She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but she seemed to be really happy that I was there. There wasn’t much I could do but hold her as she cried.”

“Um, Rainbow? How many times has this happened?”

“It doesn’t happen a lot, and I doubt she’ll get sad anytime soon.” Rainbow smiled, “After all, she has a marefriend now. You need to talk to her about it because this really should be something between the two of you.” She put a hoof to Fluttershy’s cheek, “I’m still going to be there to help however I can, but you need to pony up and be there for her.”

Fluttershy looked away, “I. I don’t know if I can...”

“Hey!”

Fluttershy turned back to see Rainbow becoming angry.

“This isn’t about you, Fluttershy. Pinkie will need you to be there for her. This is the one time when you can’t be shy.” Rainbow calmed down a bit, “I know you’re worried that you’ll mess up, but you have a good heart. You’ll never leave one of us hanging when you know we need help.” She laughed and added, “Unless of course there’s a dragon involved.”

Fluttershy smiled, “You’re right, Rainbow. I don’t want to see Pinkie sad, but I promise to be there for her.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow got up from the couch and was about to let Fluttershy out when Fluttershy stopped her.

“Um, thank you again for the lockets. I’ll go to Pinkie and give her hers right away.” She smiled, “Where did you get the idea for it? You never were very sentimental.”

Rainbow sighed, “Well, yeah I’m not. I got the idea from Gilda.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, she was my best friend once.” Rainbow looked down, “I just don’t know what happened. She really changed.”

“Um, Rainbow, she didn’t change.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I know you two were very close, but she was always mean, and well, you were kind of mean too.” Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably as she told Rainbow.

Rainbow sat down on the cloud floor, “What do you mean Fluttershy? I wasn’t that mean to you, was I?”

“You were never as mean as Gilda, but you did do some mean things.”

“To you?”

Fluttershy nodded slowly.

Rainbow shook her head, “No way. I would never be mean to my friends. That’s not cool, and if I’m anything, it’s cool.”

“Well,” Fluttershy shifted again, “We weren’t exactly friends back then.”

“What do you mean? We’ve been best friends since we were fillies.”

Fluttershy sat back down on the couch, “We’ve been friends for years, but we were never close until we moved here to Ponyville.”

Rainbow joined her on the couch, “No, I remember us being close when we were younger.”

Fluttershy smiled, “That’s very sweet of you Rainbow, but think about it. Can you name a single time we spent any real time together before we moved here?”

Rainbow tapped her chin with a hoof, “Well, no but that doesn’t mean anything. I know we hung out together.”

“Rainbow, we have completely different interests. You spent all of your time at the track and at the speedster school that we rarely got the time to see each other.” Fluttershy nodded, “You always greeted me warmly when we did run into each other. Unless of course you were in a mood for pranks.”

Rainbow cringed, “How bad were they?”

Fluttershy laughed, “They weren’t too bad. You would scare me a lot and laugh as I cried, but now that I’m older, I can see the humor in it.”

“Sorry bout that.”

“Oh it’s alright. It’s all in the past, and I think of you as one of my best friends now. That’s what I meant. We grew closer while you and Gilda drifted apart. It happens, Rainbow.”

Rainbow sighed, “I guess so.” She walked over to the dresser and took out the letter and the charred piece of metal. She sat back down and said, “I got this letter a few days ago. It was from Gilda, and she said that since we were no longer friends that I should have this back in the shape I deserve.” The blue pegasus had tears in her eyes as she handed the piece of metal to Fluttershy. Now that she could get a better look at it, she could see that it was shaped like a cloud.

“We wanted something to remind us that we were friends. Gilda would have to go home, so she came up with the idea of the lockets. She tried to play it off as being super cool, but I knew that it meant a lot to her.” Rainbow flapped her wings and flew to her nightstand, and she took a locket out from the drawer. This one was in the shape of a lightning bolt, “Since griffins don’t get cutie marks, we decided to split mine. She got the cloud and I got the lightning bolt.” She looked at the lightning bolt locket and laughed, “It’s a good thing I’m telling you. If it were anypony else, I’d have to say that we were just friends.”

Fluttershy hugged Rainbow, “I’m so sorry that Gilda doesn’t want to be your friend anymore, but you have friends here.”

“It’s not the same, Fluttershy. We pushed each other to be the best. I know that AJ and I compete a lot, but it’s just for fun. With Gilda, we had a goal and we never stopped until we passed it.” Rainbow sighed, “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. She doesn’t want to be my friend.”

“Um, Rainbow, why don’t you just write to her and apologize?”

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, “You sure? Remember how she treated you?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I remember, but my feelings are not as important as your friendship. She’s clearly hurt by this, and maybe there’s a chance that you two can be friends again.”

Rainbow smiled, “Do you think there’s a chance?”

Fluttershy nodded, “There’s always a chance.”

“Cool. Well, you better get off to Pinkie’s so you give her locket to her.”

Fluttershy hugged Rainbow, “Thank you so much for the lockets. I love them.”

“Yeah, you always were a softy.”

Fluttershy turned to leave and remembered her dream, “Um, Rainbow, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Well, do you think Pinkie is with me as a prank?”

Rainbow tilted her head, “What do you mean?”

Fluttershy sighed, “Well, I had a dream last night where Pinkie threw a surprise party for me and everypony was there. There was a big banner that said, “Happy Loser Day, Fluttercry”, and Pinkie hit me with a rotten pie. She then told me that she was with me as a prank that you two came up with.” Though she tried to stay calm, tears were streaming down her face.

Rainbow hugged her until she stopped crying, “I have something to show you.” She walked to her dresser and pulled out a small book. She tossed it to Fluttershy.

“What’s this?” Fluttershy looked at the cover and it read, “No Prank List”.

“Read it.”

Fluttershy opened the book, “F?” She looked at Rainbow who just smiled and motioned for her to keep reading. Fluttershy flipped the pages reading each out loud, “L. U. T. T. E. R. S. H. Y.” She closed the book, “It’s just my name?”

Rainbow nodded, “Yup, anypony in that book is off limits to any and all pranks, and you’re it. Pinkie will never prank you because she knows how sensitive you are.”

Fluttershy smiled, “Thank you Rainbow. I feel so silly now for thinking she would do something like that.”

“Don’t sweat it. Now, I gotta go. I’m gonna help AJ out with some project she’s been putting off.”

“Oh ok. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure.”

Both ponies left the cloud house and flew off in different directions. Fluttershy’s thoughts were still on what Rainbow told her, ‘I hope they’re able to patch things up.’ She took off towards Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie Pie.

---

“I’m super sorry Mrs. Cake. I didn’t mean to mess up the recipe.” Pinkie was covered with cake batter just like the walls of the kitchen.

Mrs. Cake laughed, “It’s alright Pinkie. You’re mind hasn’t been on your baking lately.” She nudged Pinkie playfully, “It’s wonderful that you finally told that sweet pony how you feel.”

Pinkie blushed, “I’m sorry, but I’ve been thinking about her a lot. She’s so sweet and nice.”

“Yes well, why don’t you take care of the front counter, and I’ll clean up this mess.”

“Really? You’re not mad?”

“Of course not dear. Now run along.”

Pinkie went to the front counter and saw the shop was empty, so she grabbed a rag and began to clean the counters. She was at it for a few minutes when Twilight walked in.

“Good morning, Pinkie. Are you busy?”

Pinkie smiled at the purple unicorn, “Of course not silly. What’s up?”

Twilight smiled and pulled out a parchment and quill, “Well, I was thinking about you and Fluttershy, I thought how great it would be to study your relationship.” She wrote down some notes and looked up, “With your permission of course, and Fluttershy’s as well. I promise I won’t be intrusive.”

Pinkie became uncomfortable, “You’re not going to hook Fluttershy up to anything are you?”

“Oh nothing like that. This isn’t like the time I tried to figure out your Pinkie Sense. I just want to ask you and Fluttershy some questions. I don’t want to sound mean, but it does seem a little, well unnatural.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry. I said that wrong.” Twilight became flustered as she tried to come up with a nicer way to say what she wanted, “I meant that it’s not really all that normal.” She waved a hoof in front of her, “No. Wait! That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. I’m just really curious why you were interested in her in the first place.” She lowered her head, “You must think I’m awful.”

Pinkie laughed, “No silly. I don’t think that. I’ll answer anything just promise that you won’t hook Fluttershy up to any machines.”

Twilight relaxed, “I promise.”

“Pinkie Pie promise.”

“What?”

“Please. It’s for Fluttershy.”

Twilight sighed, “Ok. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my... ow!” Once again, she jammed her hoof right into her eye.

“You know Twilight, you need to close your eye before you do that part, but that’ll do. What would you like to know?”

Twilight laughed as she rubbed her eye and took another parchment from her saddlebag and opened it, “Ok well, let’s start with how you two met.”

Pinkie lit up, “Oh that’s a gem!”

“Wait a second. This isn’t going to end with ‘and that’s how Equestria was made’ is it?”

“Nope. Well, I met Fluttershy and Dashie at the same time. They just moved to Ponyville from Cloudsdale, and I saw them walking down a road. I waited behind a bush and when they got close enough I pounced on Fluttershy.”

Twilight stopped taking notes, “You pounced on Fluttershy?”

Pinkie nodded, “I didn’t know how sensitive she was. She fainted, and after the fight we all became friends. Well, after that...”

“Hold on a second. There was a fight?”

“Sure. You know how protective Dashie is of Fluttershy. She thought I was a bully or something cause she socked me but good.” Pinkie laughed, “Well, sometime during the fight, Fluttershy woke up and tried to break us up. We didn’t notice and we both accidentally hit Fluttershy at the same time.”

“Wow, I bet she was out cold,” Twilight said having a hard time figuring out if Pinkie was being honest.

Pinkie shook her head, “Nope. She was hurt, but I don’t think she cried. Dashie hugged her and apologized for hitting her. I apologized too, and that was when Dashie told me that she thought I was a bully picking on Fluttershy. I made sure that they knew I was no bully.”

Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof, “Well, that’s very interesting, but can you tell me when you learned you liked, um fillies?”

Pinkie shrugged and continued to wipe the counter, “I dunno. When did you learn that you loved reading?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always loved to read.”

“Exactly. I don’t when it happened, it just did.” Pinkie looked at Twilight, “Are you sure that you’re not mad at us?”

“Oh absolutely. I’m happy that my friends are happy together. I just want to know more about this.”

“More about what dear?”

Pinkie smiled at Rarity who had just walked into the shop, “Hey Rarity! Twilight was just wondering why Fluttershy and me are so weird and unnatural.”

Rarity turned to Twilight, “Twilight Sparkle, I am ashamed of you! Just because it may not be the status quo does not change the fact that they are our friends.”

Twilight became even more flustered, “I didn’t mean that. Well, I said it, but I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean anything by it, honest.”

“There aren’t many ways to interpret ‘weird and unnatural’.” Rarity walked up to the counter and smiled warmly to Pinkie, “I, of course, encourage your love to flourish, but like I told you yesterday, I am rather protective of Fluttershy.”

Pinkie nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t dream of hurting such a sensitive pony.”

Rarity smiled, “Wonderful. Now do you two have any plans for tonight?”

Pinkie shook her head, “Nope.”

Twilight, “So you two haven’t gone out yet?”

Rarity sighed, “Twilight you really must learn to be more tactful. I’m certain that their busy schedules prevent them from going on a proper date.” Rarity looked lost in thought and then squealed, “Oh Twilight, I just had the most marvelous idea! Please come with me to my boutique. I don’t want Fluttershy to hear what I have planned.”

“Oh ok, I’ll just go home.” Fluttershy turned to leave when she was tackled by Pinkie.

“Fluttershy! I missed you.” The pinkie pony noticed the box Fluttershy set down on the floor and the locket she was wearing, “Ooh, is that the present Dashie gave us?”

Fluttershy nodded and turned to their unicorn friends, “Rainbow felt she needed to give us something, but she really didn’t have to.” She smiled and then frowned, “Not that I want you to get us something. I mean, if you want to that would be wonderful, but you don’t have to. Oh. My.” She shielded her face with her mane and blushed when she heard Pinkie’s high pitched laugh.

“Fluttershy, you are too cute!” She hugged the yellow pony and the two of them made their way to the counter.

“How are you Fluttershy” Twilight asked.

“I’m fine. I just wanted to visit Pinkie,” Fluttershy squeaked quietly.

Rarity smiled at her timid friend, “Of course dear, I’ll just pick up Sweetie Belle’s cake and be on my way. Do come and visit later.”

Fluttershy smiled, “Certainly, Rarity.”

“Oh Fluttershy if you have some time, I’d like to ask you some questions about you and Pinkie.” Twilight wrote down notes on her parchment, “I would really love to learn more about this.”

“More about what,” Fluttershy asked.

“About how you fell in love with Pinkie and your relationship,” Twilight laughed as she was becoming more excited about learning something new that she lost all sense of tact, “I mean it’s just so bizarre that I have to know why anypony would do this...” She immediately shut her mouth with her hooves and after a moment said, “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just, well, don’t understand this.”

Fluttershy asked softly, “You think I’m bizarre?”

“And weird and unnatural,” Pinkie added happily, “But she doesn’t mean anything mean by it.”

Fluttershy tilted her head, “So Twilight thinks we are bizarre, weird, and unnatural in the nicest possible way?”

“Exactly!”

After a few tense moments, Fluttershy began to giggle softly. Soon the other ponies joined in and Fluttershy said, “I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, Twilight.”

“Great! Can you two stop by the library today around lunchtime?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Certainly. I will be there after breakfast.” She turned to Pinkie, “Would you like to eat here?”

“Sure. We can eat and then head over to the library.” Pinkie went back to the counter and began to wipe it down and smiled when Fluttershy walked up to her.

Twilight smiled at the two ponies, “Ok I’ll see you two later. I might be a little late since Rarity wants to see me about, um something.”

“Twilight, I heard Rarity. She wants to plan something for Pinkie and me.”

Twilight smiled awkwardly, “Right. Well, I better get going. Bye everypony.”

Fluttershy looked at her marefriend nervously, “Um Pinkie, can I talk to you in private please?”

“Oh ok. We can talk in my room.” She set the rag down and both made their way upstairs. Once inside, Pinkie motioned for Fluttershy to sit on the bed. When they both sat down Pinkie smiled at Fluttershy and opened the present. Her face lit up when she saw the locket, “Oh wow, Fluttershy this is so pretty.”

Fluttershy helped put the butterfly locket on Pinkie and smiled when she opened it, “That one is yours and this one is mine.”

Pinkie began to shift a little bit, “Fluttershy, can you close your eyes?”

“Um, why?”

“Do you trust me,” Pinkie asked with a slightly hurt tone.

“Oh, of course I trust you. I’m sorry.” Fluttershy closed her eyes.

Pinkie inched closer to Fluttershy, ‘I can do this.’ She slowly leaned over and gently kissed Fluttershy on the lips. She slowly closed her eyes when Fluttershy kissed her in return. The kiss only lasted a moment, but both ponies were blushing and breathing heavier.

“That was wonderful,” Fluttershy said. She leaned over and hugged Pinkie.

“It really was,” Pinkie beamed happily, “What did you want to talk about?”

Fluttershy looked down, “Well, I went to visit Rainbow this morning, and we talked about you. She told me that you get sad sometimes.”

Pinkie immediately frowned, “She promised!” She jumped off the bed and was about to storm out of the room when she felt Fluttershy grab her.

“I’m sorry Pinkie. She told me that you get sad because you get tired, and since I’m your marefriend now, I need to help you. Please don’t be mad at her.”

Pinkie turned around and saw how sorry Fluttershy was, “What did she tell you?”

“Well, all she told me was that the second time she saw you sad; you were in your room crying.”

Pinkie looked around nervously, “Did she tell you how she made me feel better?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“And you don’t mind?”

Fluttershy laughed, “Of course not. If it helps you feel better, then I’m glad she helped you.”

“Well, she was a little mad. I was just so happy that I had a friend here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I kissed her.”

Fluttershy stared at Pinkie with her mouth open. She tried to say something but no words came out. After a few moments, she was able to find her voice, “Y-you kissed her? She told me that she held you until you felt better.”

“Oh Fluttershy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened, and she didn’t kiss me back.” Pinkie hugged Fluttershy, “You hate me now.”

Fluttershy shook away from Pinkie’s hug and saw her lower her head. Fluttershy lifted Pinkie’s chin with a hoof and smiled warmly at her, “You did nothing wrong, Pinkie. Um, maybe this will make you feel a little better.” She leaned forward and kissed Pinkie gently. The pink pony eagerly returned the kiss and this one lasted a bit longer. When they broke away, Fluttershy smiled and asked, “Was that better?”

Pinkie hugged Fluttershy again, “That was the bestest kiss I ever got!” She led Fluttershy back to the bed and sat down, “Sometimes I get sad, and I feel all alone. I don’t know why, but I also feel really tired when I get sad.”

Fluttershy interrupted her, “Then I will be here to cheer you up, spend time with you, and make sure you get plenty of rest.”

Pinkie rested her head on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “Thank you Fluttershy. I mean it.” She saw that something was still bothering Fluttershy, “Is something wrong?”

Fluttershy tried to smile but was unable to, “I’m sorry, but I was thinking about a dream that I had. You played a mean prank on me. I spoke to Rainbow about it, and she told me that you would never prank me. I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?”

Fluttershy sniffed, trying not to cry, “I’m scared that I won’t be good enough. I’m not brave. I’m weak and helpless. I’m afraid that I’ll only bore you.”

Pinkie hugged Fluttershy, “I’m scared too. I’m scared that I’ll scare you away, and move too fast.” She looked Fluttershy in the eye, “I love you for who you are. You’re such a sweet and sensitive pony that I would love to be with you.”

Fluttershy smiled and wiped her eyes, “Thank you, Pinkie. Let’s get some lunch before we go talk to Twilight.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Both ponies went back downstairs and enjoyed a simple lunch. While they enjoyed their sandwiches, Fluttershy asked Pinkie, “Did Twilight ask you anything?”

“Not much. She was curious about how we met, and when I noticed I liked fillies.”

“I hope she doesn’t get mad at my answers.”

Pinkie suddenly smiled, “Oh, don’t tell me anything. I want this to be a surprise!”

Fluttershy laughed, “Ok Pinkie. I won’t tell you anything.”

Once they finished they headed out to Twilight’s house. Along the way they passed the post office and saw Rainbow Dash leaving.

Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow, “Hello Rainbow Dash. What brings you to the post office?”

Rainbow smiled at her friends, “Hey you two. I just mailed off a letter.”

Fluttershy hugged Rainbow and whispered, “Are you try to make up with Gilda?”

Rainbow glanced to Pinkie, “Yeah, I invited her to stay at my place. I hope she’ll respond soon.”

“That’s wonderful. Oh, I hope you two will be friends again.”

Rainbow shifted uncomfortably, “Well, I’m not holding my breath, but it would be awesome if she visits.” She turned to Pinkie, “See ya, Pinkie.”

“Bye, Dashie,” Pinkie replied just as Rainbow took off. She looked at Fluttershy, “What was that all about?”

“Oh, she sent a letter to Gilda. I hope they can be friends again.”

“Gilda? That mean bully that made you cry? Why would Dashie want to see that meanie again?”

“Pinkie, they were best friends once, and it would mean a lot to Rainbow if she accepts the invitation.”

Pinkie shook her head, “But what if she’s mean to you again?”

Fluttershy smiled, “I have you.”

Pinkie blushed and Fluttershy hugged her. Both ponies made their way to the Ponyville Library.

Interview with a Fillyfooler Part 2

“Now Twilight, this must be perfect. This will be their first real date.”

Twilight Sparkle finished placing new curtains on the windows of the shop, “I get that Rarity, but I still don’t understand why you’re being so insistent on having the date here at your boutique.”

The white unicorn turned to her friend and laughed, “I have my reasons, but rest assured that it is for Fluttershy.”

Twilight tilted her head, “Why?”

“You know how timid the little creature can be. Just imagine the amount of stress she’ll be under on a date.” Rarity waved a hoof in front of her face, “No. I will not allow my dear friend to suffer any stress. She will be worried enough on making a good impression on Pinkie.”

Twilight stopped decorating the table, “Ok, now you’re going to have to explain that one to me. They’ve been friends for years. How could there be a first impression?”

Rarity walked to her friend and playfully squeezed Twilight’s face with her hooves, “You are simply adorable sometimes, Twilight Sparkle.” She let the purple unicorn go, “There will be a first impression because this will be the first time either of them will see the other as more than a friend. The first date will tell each other a great deal, and I know that they are both stressing out over every tiny detail.”

“If you say so.”

---

“But you’re allergic to raspberries.”

“I am?”

Fluttershy nodded as her and Pinkie made their way to Ponyville Library, “I remember the time you made a batch of raspberry tarts; you were sick for a week.”

Pinkie sat down and scratched her head, “That’s right. You stopped by every day to make sure I was feeling better.”

Fluttershy looked down blushing, “Well, I did have other reasons for wanting to visit, and I love taking care of you.”

Pinkie arched an eyebrow, “Really?” She lifted her forelegs to her face and gave two soft fake coughs. “Oh no I think I’m getting sick.” Pinkie fell over and put a hoof over her face, “I need to be taken care of!”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy put her ear to Pinkie’s chest, and Pinkie could not see that Fluttershy was grinning. Lifting her head from Pinkie’s chest, Fluttershy said, “She needs a tracheotomy!”

Pinkie looked up, “What’s that?”

“Oh. It’s where we take a knife and...”

“Ok, enough of that!” Pinkie jumped to her hooves, “Look at that! I’m all better!” She laughed nervously.

Fluttershy hugged Pinkie, “Good.” She looked down, “You know I was only playing, right?”

“Of course I knew.” She hugged the shy pegasus, “It’s so much fun playing with you.”

Fluttershy fought her instinct to struggle free from the hug, “It really is. We really should go to the library. Um, do you know what Rarity has planned for us?”

Pinkie scratched her head, “Well, she did say it was a surprise.”

“Oh ok. If you promised not to tell...”

“That’s just it. She never asked me to keep it a secret, so I think it’s ok to tell you. I think she wants to plan our first date”

Fluttershy blushed, “That sounds wonderful. She probably wants us to have a quiet dinner.”

“Quiet? That sounds kinda boring,” Pinkie scratched her chin, “I know! We can go dancing too!”

Fluttershy’s face lit up, “I love dancing.” She flapped her wings, balanced herself on her hind legs, and began to gracefully dance around Pinkie. She took a leap into the air, used her wings to glide over the pink pony, and gently kissed her on the head before landing.

Pinkie clapped happily, “That was amazing Fluttershy. Where did you learn to dance like that?”

“Oh, I taught myself really. I didn’t think anypony would like it, so I keep it to myself.”

“I like it a lot. Oh boy, we should make a list of all the things we can do together.”

“Ok, but after we visit Twilight. This sounds exciting.”

Both ponies continued to the library to wait for Twilight to return from Carousel Boutique.

---

“Thanks for the help, RD. Whenever I need something smashed, ya’ll are the first pony I call.” Applejack slid a tray with a sandwich and glass of apple juice over to the blue pegasus.

“Don’t sweat it, AJ. It’s what friends are for.” Both ponies sat down and enjoyed their meal under the shadow of what remained of an old tool shed.

The afternoon was enjoyable for Applejack, but she was still bothered by the new events in her friends’ lives. “Say Rainbow, mind if ah ask you somethin’?”

“What’s up?”

“Ah don’ know how this’ll sound, but what do ya think about Fluttershy and Pinkie?”

“What about them? You mean, how do I feel that they’re together now?”

Applejack took a bite from her sandwich, “Well, yeah. I love both of ‘em. They’re like family, but there’s somethin’ that I can get my head around.”

“I think you need to get your head out of your flank and stop judging our friends.”

“Ah ain’ judgin’. Ah’m just not sure Pinkie’s the best choice fer Fluttershy is all.”

“Oh, and you are?” Rainbow grinned at Applejack, “What happened? Did seeing Fluttershy together with Pinkie stir up some hidden feelings?”

“Hardy har. Jus’ forget it then.” The orange pony slouched as best she could on the bench, “Never thought it would be wrong to be concerned for a friend.”

Rainbow moved closer to Applejack, “AJ listen. There is a simple way to settle this. Do you trust Fluttershy?”

Applejack stared at Rainbow for a moment, “Of course ah trust her.”

“Ok. Now, do you trust Pinkie?”

“Well, yeah, I do.”

“Good. Then trust both of them to take care of each other.” She patted Applejack on the shoulder, “Let me tell you something about Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash grabbed an apple, “Now. Pinkie Pie is a lot like a bomb of happiness that is always exploding...”

“A bomb?”

Rainbow shrugged, “It’s either a bomb or a tornado.”

“Ah guess explosives suit her better. Not sure why though.”

“I know. Anyway, she’s just explosively happy, and she wants to hit everypony possible with shrapnel of joy.” Rainbow and Applejack stared at each other for a moment before bursting out in fits of laughter.

“Are ya’ll picturing her dressed as a commando chuckin’ bombs at ponies too,” Applejack managed to ask while clutching her sides.

“Yeah, and she’s screaming, ‘It’s happy time!’” Rainbow sat back up wiping her tears from her eyes, “Ow. Anyway, the point is that her entire focus in life is to spread happiness. Now that she has a marefriend, she’ll start focusing on Fluttershy. Trust me. She will shower that pony with so much happiness that we’ll be sick of it in no time.”

“Ah guess you’re right. Ah’m just worrying fer nothin’. Now c’mon. This mess ain’ gonna clean itself up.”

Rainbow groaned, “Cleanup isn’t nearly as cool as demolishing.”

“Yeah, but we gotta do it. I tell you what. We get this finished before the sun goes down, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

“Deal!”

With that, both ponies began the long task of cleaning up Rainbow’s impressive destructive display. Though the blue pegasus regretted causing so much debris to fly so far away.

---

Spike’s nap was interrupted by a knock on the door followed by somepony saying something. He trudged his way to the door and smiled when he saw Fluttershy kissing the top of Pinkie’s head.

“Fluttershy, I think you better get used to that. What’s up girls?”

Fluttershy let out a small squeak and looked down, “Oh hello, Spike. I know Twilight isn’t home, but can we wait here until she returns?”

Spike rubbed his eyes, “Of course you can. Come on in.” He led the ponies inside, “Would you two like something to eat?”

Fluttershy smiled, “I’m fine, thank you, but I think Pinkie might be a little hungry.” She smiled at Pinkie and playfully rubbed her side.

Pinkie giggled, “That tickles.” She playfully nudged Fluttershy away and made her way to the kitchen. “Don’t worry about making something for us, Spike. I’ll take care of it.”

The baby dragon stretched and yawned, “Ok Pinkie. I’m going back to sleep. Where’s Twilight anyway?”

Fluttershy walked over to Spike’s bed and finished making it for him, “Oh, she went to Rarity’s shop to set up a surprise for us.” She smiled as Spike’s eyes lit up at the mention of the white unicorn. Fluttershy gave him a hug, “Sweet dreams.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Spike laid down and soon drifted off to sleep.

“Fluttershy. Can you come into the kitchen?”

The yellow pegasus walked to the kitchen and smiled at the sight of Pinkie eating a sandwich, “Maybe I should have made your lunch. You can’t just eat sandwiches all the time.”

“I don’t. Sometimes I eat hay.”

“Cooked?”

“Nope.”

Fluttershy sat down next to Pinkie, “Then I promise to make sure you always have a real dinner.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to. I want to spend time with you.” Fluttershy looked up at the clock, “I wonder what Twilight has in mind for us.”

“Well, I know that she won’t be hooking you up to any machines.”

“Um, what?”

“Oh, nothing,” Pinkie finished her sandwich, “Let’s go back the living room.”

Fluttershy nodded and they returned to the main room. She looked around and sighed, “Twilight must be behind on her studies.”

Pinkie nodded, “Either that or she’s taking Spike’s advice about using the floor as a shelf.”

Fluttershy giggled, “I don’t know how she manages to find anything. She keeps changing the order of the books.”

“I know! I remember last week they were sorted by word count.”

Fluttershy shrugged, “How does she do that?”

“I dunno.” Pinkie began to pick up book off the floor, “Let’s tidy up some. It’ll be a nice surprise for Twilight.”

Fluttershy nodded and the two began to clean up the library.

---

The boutique was finally finished and ready for the date. Both unicorns looked over their work pleased with the results. Twilight was proud to help and knew that she needed to get back to the library to learn more about the nature of her friends’ new relationship.

“Rarity, can I ask you something?”

“Certainly. What is it?”

“I don’t know how to ask this, but how are you able to, you know, be comfortable with Pinkie and Fluttershy being together?”

Rarity looked to her friend and saw genuine intrigue in the studious pony’s eyes. There was something there that she could not place, but she knew that it was not malice. “What is it about their relationship that bothers you?”

Twilight sat down, “I know I’m being an awful friend, but I just don’t get it. Why would two mares want to be together? I know that it’s not uncommon, but what can they possibly gain from it? I just don’t understand.”

“Is that why you wish to ask Fluttershy about her feelings for Pinkie? Just remember that she is your friend, not some thing to study.”

“I know. I don’t want to scare her or make her feel bad. Believe me. I’m happy for them. I just have questions. They’re among the first friends I’ve ever had, and now they’re dating. This is a big change for all of us.”

Rarity nodded, “You’re right. It will take some adjustment, but I look forward to teasing them to go somewhere more private once in a while.” She giggled softly, “I can picture the two of them confused. They’re so innocent.”

“Right, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Twilight wanted to ask Rarity to clarify what she meant, but she noticed the time, “I gotta go. Pinkie and Fluttershy are probably waiting at the library.”

“Of course Twilight. Remember to be patient with Fluttershy. Don’t pressure her.”

Twilight nodded, “I promise.” She left the boutique and made her way home. On the way, she spotted Scootaloo riding on her scooter.

“Hey, Scootaloo. Headed to see Sweetie Belle?”

The orange filly stopped, “Yeah, I’m gonna pick her up and head over to the clubhouse.” Scootaloo nervously kicked at the ground before looking back to the purple unicorn, “Twilight, can I ask you something?”

Twilight nodded, “Sure, ask away.”

“Is it true that Fluttershy, well, you know...”

Twilight waved a hoof in the air, “Ok, stop right there. Maybe you should ask her yourself.” She tapped the hoof to her chin, “Then again, it’ll be public knowledge soon enough, so I don’t really see the harm.” She nodded, “Yes, it’s true.”

Scootaloo’s eye lit up, “Really? That’s awesome! Once I get Sweetie Bell I’ll go over to her cottage. Maybe she’ll let me join in.” She kicked off and took off on her scooter, or at least, she tried to.

Twilight used her magic to stop the orange filly, “What? Why would you want to join in? Are you like that too?”

“What do you mean like that?”

“Well, you asked about her and Pinkie.”

Scootaloo took off her helmet, “Pinkie? I thought she did it with Rainbow.”

“No, Fluttershy is dating Pinkie Pie.” Twilight knew that she made a mistake when she saw the stunned look on Scootaloo’s face, “I take it that wasn’t what you wanted to ask?”

It took a moment, but Scootaloo soon found her voice, “Uh, no. I wanted to know if it was true that Fluttershy will sing whenever somepony asked her to help them find a new pet. I was hoping she would let me practice my singing with her, so the CMC could rock out that much better. Fluttershy and Pinkie are, dating? Why?”

“I have no idea. In fact, I’m on my way home to ask Fluttershy about it.” Twilight began to head home when Scootaloo stopped her.

“Wait. You can’t just ask Fluttershy something like that. I mean, is it even any of your business?”

Twilight shifted nervously. She was so interested in unlocking the mystery behind this new relationship that she never stopped to think if she even had a right to. “Well, Fluttershy said it would be ok.”

Scootaloo put a hoof to her face, “Well, duh. Fluttershy can’t say no to a friend. Do you really think she’ll be comfortable talking about something like that?”

Twilight looked at the filly, “I think I understand what you mean, and I promise that I will do my very best to keep Fluttershy comfortable. Besides, Pinkie will be there with her, and she made me promise to be careful.”

That seemed to satisfy Scootaloo, “Ok, but be nice.” She turned to take off, but once again was stopped by Twilight.

“Hey, why are you so concerned about Fluttershy?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I noticed that almost everypony seems to be protective of Fluttershy.”

Scootaloo shrugged, “I don’t know. She’s just special. Do you want to see her sad?”

Twilight thought about it. True that she did not want any of her friends to be sad, but the idea of Fluttershy being sad seemed wrong to her. “I see what you mean.” She gently ruffled Scootaloo’s mane, “I promise, that I will treat Fluttershy with respect.”

Scootaloo smiled, “Cool. Well, I gotta go. See ya, Twilight!”

Twilight waved goodbye to the filly and continued her way back home, ‘I’ll have to think up some good questions to ask Fluttershy. Maybe I’ll ask Pinkie some as long as she’s there. It couldn’t hurt.’ Excitement quickly began to build inside her, and she went from a quick trot to a full run. It was not long before she was home, tire, but ready to begin the interview.

“Spike, clear a table, and get the recorder.” Twilight could not help but smile at the sight of the sleeping ponies, ‘They really are cute together.’

The baby dragon rubbed his eyes, “Sure thing Twilight.” He began to clear out a table making sure to stack the books neatly on the side. Once that was finished, he went to the basement.

Twilight knew that he would be a while, so she decided to wake up the sleeping ponies. She carefully nudged Pinkie who was currently being used as a pillow by Fluttershy, “Wake up. It’s time for our little interview.”

“Huh? What?” Pinkie rubbed her eyes and smiled at Fluttershy.

“Just a couple more minutes, Angel Bunny,” Fluttershy grumbled as she wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie’s waist giving the pink pony a squeeze.

“Hey, that tickles.”

Fluttershy’s eye shot open, “Pinkie! Oh, I’m sorry.” She quickly jumped off the couch and began to look Pinkie over.

“I’m fine, silly.” Pinkie gave Fluttershy a quick hug, “Now, we have an interview to do, and then we have a date.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Yes. I look forward to that.”

“Great. I see you two cleaned up a little. Thank you. I think Spike will be back with the recorder soon.” Twilight levitated a parchment and a quill from her bag.

Pinkie’s ears twitched nervously, “Recorder? I thought you said that there would be no machines.”

“I promised not to hook Fluttershy up to any machines. You have nothing to worry about Pinkie. All this machine does is record sound waves, so I can study them later. It’s a little experimental, but I’m confident that it’s safe.”

“How confident?”

“Pinkie. If Twilight says that it’s safe, then I trust her.” Fluttershy’s soft smile eased the pink pony’s mind for the moment.

“Okie dokie,” Pinkie said quietly before sitting down next to Fluttershy.

Spike entered the main room from the basement, “Ok Twi, I got it. I’ll get it set up.” He placed a curious device on the table, and carefully inserted a blue crystal.

“Hey Spike, doesn’t that make you hungry?”

“Um, Pinkie. I think that’s a crystal, not a gem.” Fluttershy quickly blushed, “I mean, I could be wrong, but I think it’s a crystal.”

“Yup, it’s a crystal. Twilight made it so it would have the right reso-something.”

“Resonance. Thank you Spike.” Twilight smiled as the baby dragon made his way up the stairs, and she turned to the recorder. With a spark from her horn, she activated it. It hummed slightly, but did nothing else. She turned to Fluttershy, “Ok, now just so we can get a baseline, can you please state your name?”

“Why? Did you forget her name?” Pinkie began to panic, “Did you forget your name? What’s my name?” She frantically waved a hoof in Twilight’s face, “How many hooves do you see?”

“Pinkie, I remember Fluttershy’s name. I only asked her to state so I can have a record of it. It’s so I can sort it easier.”

“Oh, ok. I still don’t trust that machine.” Pinkie sat down and pouted crossing her forelegs, but she immediately smiled when she felt Fluttershy hug her.

“Thank you for looking out for me.” Fluttershy held her embrace of Pinkie and turned to Twilight, “My name is Fluttershy.”

Twilight smiled, “Great. Now, is there anything special about you?”

“Um, no not really.”

Twilight sighed, “Just say that you’re the Element of Kindness.”

“Oh ok. I’m the Element of Kindness.” Fluttershy let go of Pinkie turned completely to Twilight.

“Alright. Now we get to it. How long have you had, uh feelings for Pinkie?”

Fluttershy blushed, “Oh, well, I uh, I’m not sure. I mean, it feels like I’ve loved her forever, but at the same time, it feels brand new. I’m sorry that I can’t be more specific.”

Twilight wrote something down on her parchment, “That’s alright. You’re being honest, and I appreciate that. Can you tell me when you first wanted to tell Pinkie how you felt?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Ok. Well, it was a while ago. Pinkie was helping Rainbow Dash pull off some pranks, and I really wanted to join them.”

Pinkie’s ears perked up, “You want to go pranking with Dashie and me?”

“Well, no not anymore. Not since that accident.”

Twilight tilted her head, “What accident?”

Fluttershy gave her a small smile, “Well, I followed them to a nearby grove where they were painting a bunch of tennis balls different colors and attaching paper to them. They were making pretend parasprites and...”

“Ok I remember the time you’re talking about.” Twilight turned to Pinkie, “I nearly fainted when I saw all of those things. I was worried that we had another infestation.”

Pinkie smiled, “Yeah, but you were laughing with us.”

Twilight nodded smiling, “Yeah, I was. It was pretty funny when I calmed down.” Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof, “I remember something else about that day.” She clapped her hooves together, “That was the day you went missing!”

Pinkie snapped to Fluttershy, “You went missing?”

“Um, well, not so much missing as I was just not ‘here’.”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight stopped writing, “Yeah, I’d really like to know what happened to you. I remember when you came back you were a little shaken.”

Pinkie put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “Were you hurt?”

Fluttershy smiled, “No, I was more scared than hurt.”

“Ok, so what happened?”

“I’m not sure where to begin.” Fluttershy looked down and tried to remember. She looked up and smiled, “I guess I’ll start when I died.”

---

“Let’s take a little breather,” Applejack offered.

“No way,” replied the smug pegasus, “There is no way you’re getting out of getting me dinner.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Rainbow, if by some miracle we can’t get the rest of this done by sundown as a result of this here break, then I’ll still treat you to dinner.”

The blue pegasus raised an eyebrow, “Promise?”

Applejack smiled, “Ah promise.”

That was more than enough for Rainbow, “Alright then. I’m gonna take a nap.” She took off for a nearby tree branch, and Applejack followed her.

She shifted nervously but still wanted to talk to Rainbow, so Applejack carefully gave Rainbow’s tree a kick.

The kick was hard enough to jar the pegasus loose, but it was not hard enough to keep her from regaining her bearings. Rainbow looked down, “Hey AJ! What gives?”

“Ah’m sorry, but ah still wanna talk.”

Rainbow groaned, “Is this still about Fluttershy and Pinkie?”

“Ah’m sorry, but ya’ll can’t expect me to just start acting like everything is fine when it isn’t.”

“Just what the hay are you talking about?” Rainbow jumped down and looked Applejack in the eye.

“Now simmer down Rainbow. I meant what ah said. I love Pinkie and Fluttershy. They’re like sisters to me, but I just can’t stand by and let them go through with this.”

Rainbow stared at the orange pony, “Go through with what? They’re in love. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“You may think it’s ok, but do you really think everypony will?”

“What do you mean? If you plan on hurting them...”

Applejack rubbed her face with a hoof, “I ain’t out to hurt anypony, but I know that there ponies out there that hate ponies like them.”

“Like them? Are you saying their freaks or something?”

Applejack looked away, “I’m sorry Rainbow. I want them to be happy, and if it means being together, that’s great.”

“Then what’s wrong? What do you mean about other ponies?”

“You know them ponies, Lyra and Bon Bon?”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Ok, well, they make it their business to stay out of everypony’s way, but still everypony knows who they are.” Applejack placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, “Can you imagine what that kind of attention will do to a pony like Fluttershy? In spite of what you think, I don’t hate them or any other pony for who they love.”

“But you’d rather have them lonely and safe? How does that make sense?”

Applejack sighed, “Ah know ya think ah’m the worst friend ever, but I just don’ wanna see them hurt.”

Rainbow smiled, “I get it. You’re looking out for them. You sure have a weird way of looking at it.” She looked up, “Tell me the truth, AJ. Is there anything else about their relationship that bothers you?”

Applejack shifted nervously, “Ah’m not keen on them being together.”

“Why?”

“Ah’d rather not say.”

“C’mon AJ. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous of Pinkie.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Alright, but keep it to yerself. I always thought that Fluttershy would fall for Big Macintosh.”

Rainbow stared at her friend for a moment before falling over laughing, “That’s rich, Applejack! I never thought you would play matchmaker.”

“Alright, laugh it up. Ah just thought it would be nice for Mac to find a nice pony like Fluttershy.” Applejack smiled, “Let’s get back to work. If’n we can’t get this done by dinnertime, ah’ll finish it in the morning.” She nudged Rainbow, “After all, ah still owe you a dinner.”

The blue pony smiled, “Right, and Applejack?”

Applejack turned to her friend.

“I wouldn’t stress too much. Pinkie will make sure that Fluttershy is safe, and besides, they have you looking out for them.”

Applejack smiled, “Thanks Rainbow. Well, let’s get to it.”

---

“Ok Fluttershy, you’re going to have to be a little more specific. What do you mean you died?”

Fluttershy shifted slightly, “Well, I guess ‘dead’ isn’t the right word” She kicked the ground softly as she tried to think of the right word, “The best way I can explain it is, one moment I was walking in the forest, and the next moment I was looking at my body.”

Pinkie hugged Fluttershy, “Were you hurt?”

Fluttershy smiled, “I think I was fine. Um, let me start again.” She rested her head on Pinkie’s lap, “Well, earlier that day, you and Rainbow were at the lake. I was there too, but I don’t think you saw me. While I was feeding the ducks, I heard a loud horn followed by a splash. It scared me, and when I looked across the lake, I saw you getting out laughing with Rainbow.”

Pinkie smiled, “I remember that. Dashie used the air horn while I was drinking some water, and I fell in.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Yes, well, I watched you leave the pool, and I remember every detail. The way your coat was darkened by the water and your straight mane and tail. I had to run away because something embarrassing, um ‘popped’ up.” She looked at Pinkie and smiled that the pink pony seemed to be oblivious about what she was referring.

She cleared her throat, “Anyway, I ran away scared that you saw me, and I found myself in the Everfree Forest.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Twilight asked sarcastically not looking up from her parchment. “If it weren’t for Zecora, I’d say nothing good ever came out of that place.”

“So what happened?”

Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie, “Nothing bad happened. After I discovered I was in the forest, I sat down to catch my breath.” She frowned slightly, “I became angry at myself. The fact that I could never tell you how I felt because of how scared I was, hurt. I felt so worthless, so I decided that I should try and get your attention somehow.” She rolled onto her back so she was looking up at Pinkie and continued, “I thought that if I could think up a good enough prank, then you would notice and I could finally tell you how I felt.”

A bizarre hum broke her train of thought and turned to the recorder.

“The crystal is full,” Twilight said, “Just sit tight while I grab another one.”

Pinkie tilted her head, “They don’t last long.”

Twilight shrugged, “It’s a new medium, so it’ll take some time before I can perfect the lattice structure of the crystals. Be right back girls.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie smiled as she gently rubbed Fluttershy’s chest with a hoof, “So you were trying to come up with a prank?”

Fluttershy smiled, “I didn’t want to do anything mean, but I felt that I had to do something.”

Pinkie nodded, “I really wanted to tell you too, but I was scared that you wouldn’t like me.” She grinned, “Say, wanna try a little prank now?”

Fluttershy looked into Pinkie’s eyes, “Nothing mean?”

“Of course. It’s all in good fun.”

Fluttershy smiled, “You’re right. You would never do anything mean. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You’re too sweet.” Pinkie gave Fluttershy a hug, “Ok so here’s the plan, when Twilight comes back just start talking about what you did the last time you a nap. I’ll play along.”

“Ok, I’ll try.”

Pinkie gave the yellow pegasus a little squeeze, “Yay! I can’t wait.” She heard Twilight walk up the basement stairs, “Ok here we go.”

“Ok, I’m back. I figured that it might be best to just bring the box up here.” The purple unicorn smiled at the sight of her friends together but instantly frowned when she heard the conversation.

“After I woke up in the forest, I walked home. Angel Bunny was waiting for me and he was angry. I forgot to set out his food for the day, and he was really hungry. But after that I knew that I had to tell you...”

Pinkie turned to Twilight, “Hey Twilight! Fluttershy just finished her story, and boy what a doozy. Well, we should get going.” She started to giggle but stopped as Twilight grew angry.

“Fluttershy, how could you? You know I was only going to be gone for a little while. Why couldn’t you wait until I got back?” Twilight threw the box onto the table, sat down, and crossed her forelegs glaring at the pony pair.

“Twilight, I’m sorry. I didn’t finish the story, honest. It was just a little joke. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at us.” Fluttershy tried to sit up but stayed laying down confused when the unicorn started laughing.

“I know. I saw Pinkie about to start laughing, so I figured she roped you into playing a little prank on me.” She smiled at Fluttershy, “I couldn’t get angry at you Fluttershy. You wouldn’t be mean; at least not intentionally.”

Fluttershy smiled, “I guess I’m not very good at pranks, but that’s alright.” She nuzzled against Pinkie’s lap, “Are you ready for me to continue?”

The purple unicorn nodded, “Yup, it’s ready to go. Just continue with the story.”

Fluttershy nodded, “I was in the forest trying to think of a prank that I could do so Pinkie could notice me.” She looked up to Pinkie, “If I knew how you felt I probably wouldn’t have worried so much. Still, I thought I needed to do something. I sat there for a long time trying to think of what I could do, but I couldn’t think of anything. I felt so worthless that I started walking to get my mind off it. I didn’t know where I was, but I found some old ruins. I wanted to go back home because I knew that I was deeper inside the forest than I cared for, but I kept hearing something. It sounded like a small creature was hurt, so I slowly looked around to try and find the poor thing.”

Twilight looked up, “Was it a trap?”

“No. Well, at least I don’t think it was. I soon found a baby bunny that had a bad cut on his tiny foot. He saw me and ran deeper into the ruins. I followed him because his foot needed attention. I quickly lost sight of him, and I knew that I was lost inside the ruins.”

Pinkie felt Fluttershy beginning to shake, “You’re safe now, Fluttershy. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you.”

The yellow pony smiled, “It’s alright Pinkie. I wasn’t in any real danger at the time. I tried to go back the way I came in, but there were tunnels that I didn’t recognize. It felt as though I walked around in circles, but eventually I found my way out. I remember looking up and seeing the sky. I wanted nothing more than to be free from that place, so I flew up. That was when it happened.”

Twilight looked up from her notes, “When you ‘died’?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I was almost at the canopy when I felt something hit me from the side. I quickly fell back to the ground, but somewhere along the way. I became separated from my body.” She rubbed the side of her head, “I don’t know how to say it, but I felt myself stop falling and I heard my body hit the ground. I also felt nothing. The forest was humid that day, but at that moment, I didn’t feel it anymore. I spun around and saw my body on the floor.”

Pinkie kissed Fluttershy on her head, “I bet you were really scared.”

“I was. I never saw anything like that before, and it scared me. I flew down and I heard a voice.”

“Hold on Fluttershy,” Twilight levitated the crystal and placed a new one into the recorder, “Now, this voice, do you remember what it sounded like?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I can’t say for certain, but I think it was a sad voice. They said that they were lonely, and they just wanted somepony to talk to. That’s why they did what they did. I was leaving and they panicked, so I understood, at least a little.”

Twilight set the quill down, “Fluttershy, do you think you can remember where these ruins are?”

“Why?” Pinkie became nervous and stroked Fluttershy’s mane, “You want to send her back in there?”

Twilight waved her hooves in front of her, “Not by herself. I was thinking that we all could go together, and explore it. Besides, the princess has been asking me if I could map out portions of the Everfree Forest, since most maps at the castle are out of date.” She looked down to Fluttershy, “Only if you’re ok with it. I’m not pressuring you, so don’t worry.”

Fluttershy looked up to Pinkie and smiled, “I know that I’ll be safe with you there. It’s alright.” She turned to Twilight, “I think I can find it on a map, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Why?”

Fluttershy pointed at the clock on the wall, “Because, um we’re almost late for our date.”

Pinkie looked up, “You’re right! We can’t miss our own date. That would be embarrassing!”

Twilight smiled as she turned off the recorder, “Alright. Well, have fun you two, and we’ll pick this up again tomorrow. Fluttershy?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“I’m just curious; you were missing a few feathers when you came back that day. Are you sure you weren’t harmed?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I was fine, and I used some feathers to keep track of where I was. I just used feathers that were about to molt anyway.”

Twilight nodded, “Oh ok, I was just wondering. Back tomorrow? Same time?”

Fluttershy nodded, “That sounds fine. Um, can Pinkie come too?”

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving her out.” Twilight smiled at the two, “Now go on. Rarity and me spent a long time setting the boutique up for your special date.”

The two ponies left the library and Pinkie thought they would walk to Rarity’s home, but Fluttershy had other plans.

With a flick of her tail, Fluttershy hit Pinkie’s flank and took off running.

Pinkie laughed and took off after the yellow pony, “I’ll catch you this time!”

“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy replied and kept running.

It was not long before Pinkie leapt to the air and tackled Fluttershy, “Gotcha!” Fluttershy struggled a little and Pinkie gave her a quick kiss on the nose, “Now let’s get going.”

Fluttershy smiled and shook the dust from her coat, “I guess you’re too fast for me.”

Pinkie laughed, “Playing with Dashie helps keep me in shape.”

The pair continued on their way to the boutique, and were stunned at the sight of a very annoyed and very wet Rarity.

“Sweetie Belle, how could you? Twilight and I spent a very long time working on the decorations.”

“I’m sorry, sis. I really am.”

Rarity rubbed her face, “I know you are, but Pinkie and Fluttershy will be here soon and now their date will be ruined. Honestly, what possessed you girls to try and be pirates today, and in my bath? You could have tried at the lake.”

Sweetie Belle just kept her face down, but Rarity still saw the steady stream of tears coming from the filly’s eyes.

She lifted Sweetie Belle’s chin with a hoof, “I’m sorry. I will think of something to make up for their date.” Rarity suddenly smiled, “I got it! There is a new restaurant that opened up and the chef owes me a favor.” She turned around and saw the ponies of the hour standing before her. Embarrassed, she asked, “You heard all of that?”

Pinkie shook her head, “Only most of it, so where is this restaurant at?”

“Oh it’s near the town square. Just tell the greeter that I am cashing in the favor they owe me.”

“Thank you, Rarity.” Fluttershy smiled at her friend, “This really means a lot to us.”

Pinkie nodded, “Yup it sure does. Let’s go Fluttershy!”

The two made their way to the town square where they would run into another pair of friends.

---

“So where should we grab some grub?”

Rainbow shrugged, “I don’t know. You owe me a dinner. Just don’t get all cheap on me and stick me with a hay smoothie. I want a real dinner.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Ya’ll think ah’m made of bits or somethin’?”

“You owe me,” Rainbow replied with a grin.

“Fair enough. Now let’s see what’s open.”

The two entered the town square and saw Pinkie and Fluttershy on the other side. Applejack felt her stomach tighten at the sight of the two ponies and instantly felt guilty for it. “You know what; let’s just head back to the farm. Nothing beats a home cooked meal, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Rainbow Dash was about to turn back to Sweet Apple Acres when she saw her friends. “Hey, there’s Pinkie and Fluttershy.” She flew over to the pair, “Hey you guys. What are you doing here?”

Fluttershy smiled at the blue pony, “Hello Rainbow. Pinkie and I are going to a restaurant.” She nuzzled Pinkie’s side gently, “It’ll be our first real date.”

“That’s awesome. AJ owes me a dinner for helping her clear out an old tool shed.”

“That sounds nice.” Fluttershy walked over to the greeter, “Hello, um, Rarity said that she is cashing in on a favor. If that’s ok.”

The greeter smiled, “Of course, for how many?”

“Two please.”

“That might be a problem. The only table that is free is for four.”

“Idea!” Pinkie squealed and looked over to Applejack, “You owe Rainbow a dinner, so we can all eat together. It’ll be a double date!”

Applejack staggered back, “A double-what now?”

“Hey the thought isn’t exactly exciting for me either,” remarked Rainbow, “But it sounds like fun.”

Applejack sighed, “Fine, but this ain’t a date.”

Rainbow Dash laughed, “You say that now.”

The ponies laughed and went inside the restaurant to enjoy their meals completely unaware that there were eyes on them that were less than favorable.

Interview With a Fillyfooler Part 3

“This is going to be so much fun! Come on Fluttershy, let’s get to our table.” Pinkie Pie bounced along with Fluttershy following behind. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were behind the happy couple.

Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack and said, “Look at them, AJ. How can you be against that?”

Applejack sighed and when she saw Rainbow smiling at their friends said, “You know I agree with you, Rainbow.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just messing with you. C’mon, let’s eat.”

The four ponies arrived at their table and Fluttershy was about to sit down, but was stopped by Pinkie.

“Allow me,” Pinkie said as she slid out Fluttershy’s chair.

“Oh, thank you, Pinkie.” Fluttershy blushed and took her seat.

Pinkie sat next to Fluttershy and placed a hoof on hers.

“Well, if this is a date, then let me get your chair for ya, Rainbow.” Applejack slid Rainbow’s chair out and grinned at the blue pegasus.

“Hey, I’m the one that’s supposed to do that-“

“Too late, sugarcube. Ya’ll are the girl on this here date.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Fine. Just keep those hooves where I can see them.”

Applejack laughed as Rainbow sat down and took the seat next to her. She looked over to Pinkie and Fluttershy and asked, “So, anything interesting happen to ya’ll today?”

Pinkie nodded, “Yup. Fluttershy was telling Twilight and me about this time she found some really old ruins. Well, it’s not like you can find new ruins. Though, those would probably be cleaner. Hey since Fluttershy’s cottage is empty right, does that mean that it can be called a ruin?” Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, “You live in ruins!” Pinkie rubbed her hooves together, “I’ll have to check out your cottage for any traps that might be there before-“

“Pinkie, there are no traps in Fluttershy’s cottage,” Rainbow Dash said trying as hard as she could to keep from laughing. “Why would there be?”

“Because she lives in ruins! Obviously, once a place becomes ‘ruins’ somepony comes in and installs death traps in weird places.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, “Applejack said. She scratched her head and asked, “You ok with telling us about what happened to ya, Fluttershy?”

“Um, I’m sorry, but I haven’t finished telling Twilight what happened.”

Rainbow waved a hoof in the air, “Don’t sweat it, Fluttershy. You’re here for a date, not to talk about some creepy ruins.”

Pinkie gave Fluttershy a hug, “Exactly! We’re here to have fun.”

The waiter arrived at the table, handed the ponies the menus, and asked, “May I offer you a drink?”

Pinkie smiled, “Fluttershy can pick my drink.”

“Oh, ok.” Fluttershy looked over her menu and said, “I will have a glass of apple juice and my…” Fluttershy turned to Pinkie and smiled, “and my girlfriend will have the spiced apple cider.”

“Ooh, I love cider!”

Rainbow groaned, “Yeah, we know.”

The waiter cleared his throat, “Are you two together?”

Fluttershy began to shrink in her chair shaking like a leaf, but smiled when she felt Pinkie stroke her mane.

“Yes, we’re together,” Pinkie said with a grin.

The waiter nodded, “Very well, one apple juice and one spiced apple cider.” He turned to Rainbow Dash and asked, “And will you be ordering for your date as well?”

“Hey now! This isn't a date!”

“Settle down, AJ,” Rainbow said. “At least try to have fun.”

Applejack leaned to Rainbow and whispered in her ear, “I know you’re being supportive of Fluttershy and Pinkie, but I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t imply that I’m the same way.”

“Well, I'd appreciate it if you’d stop saying that likes it’s some kind of disease,” Rainbow whispered.

Applejack leaned back and sighed, “Go ahead Rainbow. Order away.”

Rainbow cleared her throat and said, “Ok. I will have a glass of thunder punch, and my date will have,” She grinned at Applejack, and said, “My date will have a tall glass of orange juice.” Rainbow laughed when Applejack groaned.

The waiter nodded, “Very well. I shall return shortly with your drinks.”

Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack and said, “Hey, I’m sorry. I just want you to loosen up a little.”

“I know.” Applejack looked at Pinkie and Fluttershy, “This is your first date, and I don’t wanna ruin it. Let’s have fun tonight.”

“Thank you Applejack,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

The waiter arrived with the beverages and after each pony got her drink he asked, “Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?”

Pinkie said, “I’m ready to order. Want me to order for you Fluttershy?”

“That sounds nice.”

Pinkie smiled, “Great!” She looked over the menu, “I will have the honey glazed hay fries, and Fluttershy will have the wild picked fruit salad.”

“Excellent choices,” The waiter said before turning to Rainbow Dash, “And for you?”

“I’ll have the roasted wildflower panini.” Rainbow turned to Applejack and smiled when the orange pony gave her a small nod, “And my friend will have the stuffed apples. Oh, and could you bring her a glass of sweet apple cider?”

Applejack smiled, “Thanks, RD.”

The waiter collected the menus, “Thank you. I’ll place your orders.”

Fluttershy smiled, “Thank you very much, sir.”

The ponies set about enjoying their drinks. Fluttershy took small sips of her apple juice while Pinkie finished her cider in one gulp.

Applejack drank her orange juice quickly and smiled at Rainbow, who was enjoying her thunder punch. “Excuse me girls, but I need to use the little fillies’ room,” Applejack said. She nudged Rainbow as she got up.

“I’ll go with you, AJ.”

The two ponies made their way to the bathroom, and once inside Applejack turned to Rainbow and said, “I know this’ll be mighty hard for you, but I need you to slap me-“

Rainbow slapped Applejack hard across the cheek and smiled, “Anything else I can do for you?”

Applejack rubbed her face, “Ow. Ya could’ve at least asked why I wanted you to slap me.”

“Fine. Why did you want me to slap you?”

Applejack sighed, “To remind me that this is Pinkie’s and Fluttershy’s night.”

“Applejack, would you relax? You’re a good friend, and this is gonna be a fun night.” Rainbow smiled and asked, “So, how was your orange juice?”

“It wasn’t bad. Thanks, by the way, for ordering something I’d like. Must’ve been awfully tempting to order something I’d hate.”

“Hey I want you to have a good time too. Now come on, let’s get back to our table.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

When Rainbow Dash and Applejack returned to the table, the waiter was setting the food on the table. Pinkie kept trying to sneak a bite of her hay fries, but Fluttershy would keep giving her a playful swat on the snout. Pinkie would rub her nose and Fluttershy would kiss it.

Applejack walked up to Rainbow’s chair and slid it out.

“Thank you AJ.”

“Happy to do it, sugarcube.” Applejack sat down and cleared her throat so the other ponies would look at her. She smiled at Pinkie and Fluttershy and said, “Nopony takes a bite until we see a kiss from you lovebirds.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie turned a deep shade of red. Pinkie looked to Fluttershy and the shy pony gave her a small nod along with a squeak. Pinkie gently turned Fluttershy so they were facing each other and leaned forward. Fluttershy leaned forward and gave Pinkie a kiss on the lips. The kiss lasted a second and Fluttershy leaned against Pinkie’s neck after.

Applejack quietly clapped her hooves and said, “That plumb adorable. Alright, let’s eat.”

The four ponies enjoyed their meals, and when they finished the waiter arrived with a sealed note. “Please give this to Rarity along with our regards.”

Fluttershy took the note and said, “I’ll deliver it myself.”

“Thank you very much.”

The girls made their way out of the restaurant, and stopped at the entrance.

“That was fun,” Fluttershy said. She noticed Pinkie was getting sleepy and asked, “Pinkie would you like to go dancing some other time?”

Pinkie yawned, “That sounds good to me.”

Suddenly a voice shouted, “Hey you!”

Fluttershy turned towards the voice, but a blinding white flooded her vision. When her vision cleared, she saw pink.

Pinkie was standing on her hind legs in front of Fluttershy and her forelegs spread out to her sides.

Fluttershy looked to her side and smiled at what she saw. Applejack jumped in front of Rainbow, and she shielded the pegasus from the flash.

“You guys are weird,” Applebloom said. “I don’t think we’ll get our cutie marks like this.”

Pinkie laughed, “Oh, oops.” She turned to Fluttershy, “It’s just a picture, not a mean meanie pants.”

“Thank you, Pinkie.” Fluttershy gave Pinkie a kiss on the cheek causing the pink pony to blush.

“Uh, AJ, you mind letting go of me?”

Applejack let go of Rainbow, “Sorry bout that, Rainbow. Guess I just reacted is all.”

“Yeah, my hero. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, Rainbow. I didn’t mean nothing. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Hurt? You calling me weak?”

Applejack shook her head, “Of course not. You ain’t weak, and you know it.”

Pinkie ignored the arguing ponies and looked at the picture Applebloom took, “The picture looks nice. The earth ponies are protecting the pegasus ponies.”

Rainbow turned to Pinkie, “Pegasus ponies don’t need protecting, and we don’t need earth ponies to do it.”

Applejack nudged Rainbow, “Rainbow will you relax. I’m sorry if I implied that you needed protecting. I just reacted.”

Rainbow grumbled something and looked at Applejack. She smiled at her friend and said, “Alright Applejack. Let’s just drop it.”

“Sounds good to me. Now I think we should get you home. Remember, you’re the girl on this date.”

“You’re not gonna let me live this down are you?”

Applejack smiled, “Nope.” She turned to Pinkie and asked, “You’re gonna walk Fluttershy home?”

“Yup,” Pinkie hugged Fluttershy.

Applejack nodded, “Alright. Well, good night you two. I’m sorry for being a jerk.” Before Pinkie or Fluttershy could say anything, Applejack said, “Ya’ll are adorable together, and I know that you’ll take care of each other.” She turned to Applebloom, “You best be home by the time I get there.”

“Fine,” Applebloom grumbled and headed home.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash began walking towards Rainbow’s house. Applejack was thinking back to the dinner and her behavior. “Rainbow, can I ask you something?”

“Ugh, what is it now?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Rainbow stopped and faced Applejack, “Look. I know what you’re gonna ask, so let’s skip ahead to the answer. You’re a good friend. You don’t want to break up Fluttershy and Pinkie, you want to look out for them.” She put her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, “We’re lucky to have you as a friend. Now can you please drop this?”

Applejack smiled, “Ok, consider it dropped.” She looked up and said, “Well, that was quicker than I was hoping.”

“Hoping?”

“Um, I like hanging out with ya.”

“Yeah, you’re fun.” Rainbow flew up to her house.

Applejack saw her friend, and she saw the rock sail through the air. Before she could shout a warning to Rainbow, the rock struck the pegasus in the head.

Rainbow let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground.

Applejack ran as hard as she could, and she felt relieved when she saw Rainbow stirring and trying to get up. Her relief ended when she heard somepony shouting.

“Get them!”

Once again on instinct, Applejack threw herself on the wounded pony, and braced herself for what was about to happen. Nothing happened for what felt like minutes. All Applejack could hear was her breathing and Rainbow’s attempts to keep from crying. Applejack was about to say something comforting to Rainbow when the first rock struck her hard on her back. Applejack protected her head with her forelegs, and she made certain that as much of her body covered Rainbow’s.

The rocks just kept striking Applejack and she gritted her teeth focusing on protecting her friend. As much as the rocks hurt, Rainbow’s occasional whimper when parts of her were exposed were struck, hurt Applejack much more. After an eternity, the rocks stopped. Applejack tried to get up and make certain these ponies would never walk the same way again, but the pain kept her down. Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard one of the ponies speak.

“That’s enough for them. Let’s get the other two. I think the yellow one lives in that tree cottage outside of town.”

Applejack heard the ponies run off, but she couldn’t tell how many there were. She groaned and rose to a seating position. A quick glance at Rainbow told her that she was spared the worst of it. Rainbow was bleeding from her head and she was struggling to stay conscious. She had bruises and cuts on her hip and hind legs. Applejack helped her up to her hooves.

“What happened,” Rainbow asked.

“Someponies decided to prove me right.”

Rainbow tried to reply, but she lost her balance and fell over.

“Now stay with me Rainbow. Go to Twilight’s house. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What’s going on AJ?”

“Those ponies are headed to Fluttershy’s.”

Rainbow jumped up and stumbled into Applejack. She took a good look at the earth pony and gasped. Applejack was covered in bruises and cuts. “Applejack you’re really hurt. We need to get you to the hospital.”

Applejack shook her head, “Sorry. No can do. I have to get to Fluttershy’s.” She turned to run, but Rainbow grabbed her tail.

“Applejack, let’s go together.”

“You can’t go, RD. You hurt her head.” Applejack hugged Rainbow and said, “I have to get to Fluttershy’s and warn her and Pinkie.”

“The hay I can’t! They’re my friends too, and I’m not gonna-“

“Rainbow, please,” Applejack shouted tears falling from her eyes.

Rainbow looked into her friend’s eyes and sighed. “Ok Applejack. I’ll head to Twilight’s, but you bring those two over, got it?”

“Got it.”

Applejack ran off as best she could, and Rainbow made her way toward the library. She stopped, “No way. I have to help Applejack.” Rainbow turned and ran after Applejack hoping that they will arrive in time to save their friends.

---

Fluttershy sat outside her front door with a smile on her face. Pinkie insisted on checking her cottage for any death traps that might have been installed.

“Fluttershy, I don’t trust this thing.”

The yellow pony giggled and said, “Pinkie, that’s only Angel Bunny. I don’t think he’s a bomb.”

Pinkie leaned out the window, “I don’t think you should take that chance.”

Fluttershy walked up to Pinkie and gave her a hug, “I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so. Here’s your bunny bomb.” Pinkie passed Angel Bunny to Fluttershy but accidentally dropped him.

Fluttershy ducked down and caught him just as a rock hit the windowsill. She spun around and saw four ponies, each levitating rocks. Fluttershy stumbled back and tried to call for Pinkie who was whistling a tune as she continued her search for traps.

“Now it’s your turn.” One of the ponies hurled a rock at Fluttershy and it was stopped before it struck her. Fluttershy saw a shimmering form in front of her and recognized it.

The shimmering form moved away from Fluttershy, and time slowed to a crawl. The form flew away from her and began attacking the four ponies.

It lifted two in the air and dropped them to the ground. Another threw their rocks at it and, she was rewarded with the very same rocks thrown back at her. The last pony stumbled and fell to the ground. He stared in fear at the shimmering form before him, and his eyes grew wide when the brick he planned on using on Fluttershy was now poised overhead. The brick hovered for a moment then slowly tilted back. The pony closed his, but they snapped open when he heard a pony cry out.

“Stop,” Fluttershy screamed as she jumped in front of the pony. She looked to the form and said, “Please, don’t do this.” She felt something in her head, almost a scratching, but she understood it. Fluttershy shook her head, “Yes, I know he planned on hurting me, but he didn’t. You saved me, so you don’t have to hurt him.” She smiled as the brick dropped to the ground, “Thank you.”

Pinkie stood at the door and ran to Fluttershy. The form sensed this new ‘threat’ and flew towards the pink pony.

Fluttershy ran as fast as she could and screamed, “No! Not her!”

---

“Dang it Rainbow. I thought I told you to go to Twilight’s house.”

Rainbow grinned at Applejack, “I know you did. I just ignored you.”

The two ponies were almost at Fluttershy’s cottage, and when they arrived, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Three ponies lay unconscious, and Fluttershy was standing between Pinkie and what looked like a blue ball of energy.

“Is that a ghost,” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know, but Fluttershy can’t take it on by herself.” Rainbow tried to run forward but fell to the ground. Her vision blurred, and she nearly lost consciousness. She knew that shaking her head would make things worse, so she just motioned for Applejack to help her up.

The orange pony obliged, and supported Rainbow as they made their way to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy,” Applejack shouted, “Ya need any help?”

The ball of energy seemed to turn towards Applejack and suddenly flew off towards the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy turned and gave Pinkie a hug.

“Were those ponies about to hurt you,” Pinkie asked.

“Yes. I tried to call for you, but I was too scared.”

Pinkie gave her a hug, “I’m sorry. What was that thing?”

Fluttershy scratched her head and said, “I think that was the voice I met in the ruins.”

“Well just to be safe, Fluttershy should stay with Pinkie for tonight,” Applejack said. She helped Rainbow stand on her own, and said as she saw her trying to stay awake, “I’m gonna take Rainbow over to Twilight’s and get her patched up. Fluttershy, can you do anything for her?”

“I’ll try.” Fluttershy looked Rainbow’s injury over carefully and sighed, “This looks really bad. I don’t have the right medicine right now. I was hoping to go to the hospital and restock my first aid kit.”

“It’s alright sugarcube. Let’s just head to Twilight’s.”

“Why Twilight’s,” Pinkie asked, “And what are we gonna do about these meanies?”

“Twilight’s house is closer than the hospital. If she tells us that Rainbow here needs to get to the hospital, then I’ll head straight there. Besides, I reckon that she’ll want to know about this ghost thing that saved you. As for these three, tie em up. I’ll have Twilight send a letter for a guard to pick em up.” Applejack carefully placed Rainbow Dash onto her back. After Pinkie and Fluttershy tied the ponies up, the three ponies began walking towards the library.

The walk was quiet, but Fluttershy was worried about Applejack. “Um, Applejack?”

“Yeah, Fluttershy?”

“I know you’re worried about Rainbow, but you’re hurt too.”

Applejack sighed, but didn’t stop walking, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurting, but Rainbow was hit clean in the head. On top of that, she hit her head again when she hit the ground.”

Pinkie nodded, “Yeah, but what happened to you?”

“When I heard the ponies shout, I threw myself on top of Rainbow to protect her. I made sure my head was ok, but the rest of me took a beating.”

“Ok, I’m sure Twilight has a proper first aid kit at the library. I’ll take care of your wounds there.”

“Rainbow’s injury’s more important.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “Twilight can take care of her. I can take care of you.”

Applejack sighed in defeat, “Ok, you win. Just don’t blame me if I call you some unpleasant names when you hit me with that iodine.”

Pinkie laughed, “That stuff stings, but I’m sure Fluttershy will be gentle with you.”

Soon the ponies arrived at the Ponyville Library, and Pinkie pounded on the door.

The lights came on and Spike opened the door. He stared at Applejack for a moment before turning around and shouting, “Twilight, get up! Applejack’s been hurt.”

Soon, Rainbow Dash was on the couch and Twilight was tending to her injury. “It doesn’t look serious, but it’s a good thing you brought her here.”

“Thanks, Twi. I was plumb worried about her.” Applejack was pacing back and forth with an annoyed Fluttershy trying to clean her wounds.

“I can tell. You might want to let Fluttershy take care of your injuries.”

“What? Ow!” Applejack stopped and Fluttershy bumped into her. “Oh sorry sugarcube. I guess I’m a lousy patient when I’m worried.”

Fluttershy smiled, “It’s alright, Applejack. You’re worried about Rainbow Dash.” She waited for Applejack to sit down and she began treating the orange pony’s wounds. Applejack was lucky since most of them were scrapes and a few cuts. “I’m almost done.” Fluttershy carefully placed bandages on the worst of Applejack’s cuts, and soon the workpony was looking much better.

“Thanks Fluttershy. You sure do good work.”

Before Fluttershy could reply, she was in a tackle hug from Pinkie who said, “She sure does.”

Applejack smiled and sat down next to Rainbow Dash, “How’re ya holding up?”

“She’s a little drowsy from the medication and needs to rest,” Twilight said.

“If you think that’s for the best, Twi.” Applejack looked around the room, “Would it be alright if I stayed the night? It’s just that if I go home, I’ll be tossing and turning with worry.”

Twilight smiled, “Sure thing Applejack. I’ll bring you my sleeping bag.”

“I appreciate it Twi.”

Spike entered the living room with a tray of cookies, “Here you go girls. Oh, and I sent a letter to the princess letting her know about those ponies you tied up. She said that she sent some pegasi to collect them.”

“What’ll happen to them,” Fluttershy asked.

Spike shrugged and said, “I don’t know. They’ll go to jail for sure. I mean, look what they did to Rainbow and Applejack.”

“Not to mention they were planning on hitting ya’ll with a brick too.” Applejack put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “Don’t be feeling any sympathy for them, ya hear me?”

Fluttershy nodded, “You’re right. They hurt my friends and were about to hurt me too.” She turned to Pinkie who was nervously playing with her tail, “Pinkie you didn’t know. Don’t feel bad.”

“I don’t know why my Pinkie sense didn’t sense it.”

“It was probably because nothing fell, but you yourself have said that it’s vague,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy smiled, “I’m fine, and I know you would have helped me.” She turned to Twilight, “Would it be alright if we stayed here too. Pinkie’s sleepy, and I’m too scared to go back home. I mean if you don’t mind. I can help Pinkie home. I’ll do that-“

“All of you are welcome to stay. I’ll head to the basement and gather some more sleeping bags.”

“Oh and bring that recorder-thingy,” Pinkie shouted.

Twilight turned around, “Why?”

Pinkie said, “Well, I’m too nervous to get any sleep, and since we’re here, Fluttershy should finish her story.”

Twilight nodded, “That sounds like a great idea, but only if Applejack is ok with it. She and Rainbow both need their rest.” She turned to Applejack, “Are you ok with me finishing my interview with Fluttershy?”

Applejack wasn’t paying attention as her focus was on the now sleeping pegasus. She was holding Rainbow’s hoof and carefully stroking her mane. Twilight tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around. “Sorry Twi, what’s up?”

“I asked if it’s alright if I finish my interview with Fluttershy.”

Applejack nodded, “Sure. I don’t mind. I’m interested in what happened.”

“Great! I’ll get the recorder and the sleeping bags. Applejack can you give me a hoof?”

“Sure thing,” Applejack said and followed Twilight down to the basement. Once they reached the foot of the basement stairs Twilight stopped Applejack.

“I think the spare sleeping bags are in these boxes.” The unicorn searched through a box and said, “Here we go.” She levitated the recorder along with extra crystals into the box and placed it on her back.

“Twi, if you don’t need my help, why’d you ask me to come down with ya?”

Twilight looked at Applejack, “Well, I want to ask you something.”

“Ok, I take it that it’s pretty important if you want to ask in private.”

Twilight nodded, “It is. I noticed how you’re behaving around Rainbow, and before you say anything, I’m sure you’d be concerned about any of your friends. The thing is, you seem to be beating yourself up over the fact she was hurt.”

“Twi, I saw the rock flying to Rainbow, and I froze. I tried to warn her, but I wasn’t fast enough.” She turned to Twilight and asked, “What’re you smiling at?”

“I might be reading too much into it, but it seems your concern for her is more than as a friend.” Twilight nudged Applejack gently, “Well?”

Applejack looked Twilight in the eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “I’ll be upstairs.”

Twilight shrugged as best she could, “I guess the easiest way to keep from lying is to say nothing at all.” She quickly made her way up the stairs and soon had the recorder set up. Twilight smiled at Fluttershy, “Ok now where were we?”

“I was talking about what happened after I was separated from my body.”

Applejack was already by Rainbow’s side and resting her head on the couch. She turned to Fluttershy and asked, “I know you already talked to Twilight about some of this, but can you fill me in?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Of course, One day, I was in the Everfree Forest and stumbled into some ruins. I was scared, but I found my way outside. When I looked up, I saw the sky. I flew up and something hit me, causing me to get separated from my body.”

“Were ya hurt?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No I was fine.”

Twilight looked at Applejack, “It’s getting late, so we should finish this.”

“Sounds good to me.” Applejack turned so she could keep a better watch on Rainbow.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and said, “Well, after I saw my body hit the ground and I heard the voice-“

“I’m sorry, but did the voice say anything?”

“I don’t remember, Twilight. I only remember what it felt like, and it felt lonely.

Twilight jotted something down on her notes, “I see. I’m sorry, please continue.”

Fluttershy nodded, “I floated down to my body and-“

“Sorry, but how did you know how to float?”

Fluttershy scratched her head, “I don’t know. I guess it was like when I glide down to the ground, I didn’t think about it.”

“I see. Ok sorry, I promise not to interrupt.”

“It’s alright. I took a look at my body, and I felt the voice tell me how to get back.” Fluttershy frowned and said, “I wish I could tell you exactly what happened, but I don’t remember it all.”

Pinkie gave Fluttershy a hug, “It’s alright. What happened after you got your body back?”

Fluttershy leaned against Pinkie’s neck, “After that, I flew up to the canopy, and-” She turned to Twilight, “I just remembered something!”

Twilight jumped at the sudden outburst, “What? What did you remember?”

“Before I got back to my body, I saw something. It was a room. I remember that it was a big circle, and there were five circles in a semi-circle with a sixth one between the points. It looked like a Princess Luna’s cutie mark.”

Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof, “Ok, I better let the princess know about this. The ruins may be linked to Princess Luna.” She turned to tell Spike to write the letter, but saw that he was asleep. “I guess it can wait until morning.” She turned back to Fluttershy, “What happened after that?”

“That’s it. I got my body back, and I flew out of the forest back home. You were waiting for me and you asked if I wa alright.”

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened?”

“I was still scared. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Twilight levitated a map to the table. “Can you point out where the ruins are?”

Fluttershy looked at the map and after a few minutes pointed to a spot, “I think it’s there, but I’m not sure.”

“Ok, we can check it out tomorrow.” Twilight marked the spot and rolled up the map, “Good night, everypony.”

“Good night, Twilight,” Fluttershy said before she rested her head on Pinkie’s side. The pink pony’s soft breathing did a world of good to comfort the terrified pony. Fluttershy turned to Applejack and asked, “How is she?”

“I think she’ll be ok.” Applejack laughed and said, “Ya know, Twilight actually asked if I worry more about Rainbow than I do the rest of ya’ll.”

“Well, do you?”

Applejack turned to face Fluttershy, “I care for all my friends.”

“I know, but do you think there might be something special between you and Rainbow?”

“Ok, just stop. I ain’t like that, and neither is she. She’s my friend and I want to make sure she wakes up in the morning.”

Fluttershy looked away, “I see. I’m sorry that I’m like that.”

Applejack reached toward Fluttershy, but she didn’t want to let go of Rainbow. She lowered her head and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, but I’m not like you and Pinkie. I’m gonna marry a colt, raise a family, and keep Sweet Apple Acres going. That’s me. It’s who I am.”

Fluttershy nodded and said with a small smile, “I forgive you. I guess it’s hard to say that you aren’t like that without making it sound bad.”

“You have no idea, sugarcube.”

The two ponies shared a laugh and soon both fell asleep. Each one close to the one that helped them greet each new day with a smile.

Into the Depths Part 1

The moon shone through the curtains in the library, and five ponies slept soundly. One began to stir. Rainbow Dash groaned and lifted her head. "Ouch," she mumbled. She touched the bandage on her head and winced. As Rainbow Dash’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed two ponies sleeping nearby. She smiled as she realized who they were.

Fluttershy and Pinkie shared a sleeping bag and were lying alongside each other. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help smiling at the sight of the yellow pony covering Pinkie with one of her wings. Pinkie had her face close to Fluttershy’s ear, and she ruffled her mane with almost each breath. Both ponies slept soundly with smiles on their faces.

Rainbow touched her head and thought, ‘It’s worth it to see them happy.’ She knew that she wouldn’t be able to get any more sleep tonight, so she tried to get off the couch. The floor felt strange and when Rainbow looked down, she was confused for a moment.

Underneath her, curled up and sleeping, was an orange figure. It took a moment for Rainbow to recognize Applejack. “I thought she would be back on her farm,” she whispered. The previous night rushed back to Rainbow’s mind. She still considered the date to be a success even if some jerks decided to try and ruin things. Once again, her gaze fell upon her sleeping friends.

Fluttershy slept soundly which, for the shy pony, was a minor miracle. Rainbow knew that on any other night if the same thing happened, she would be sleeping at Fluttershy’s cottage to reassure her that she was safe. ‘She feels safe in her hooves,’ Rainbow thought. The thought made the blue pony sad for a moment, but she shook it off. As Rainbow looked out the window, she saw that the sun was about to rise, and in rare form, she decided to make everypony breakfast.

Rainbow Dash quietly took flight and entered Twilight’s kitchen. After opening the cupboards, Rainbow checked her options, “Soup or oatmeal? Oatmeal it is.” She got oats down and set the water to boil, and she waited, he heard a familiar squeak. Without even thinking, Rainbow lowered the heat to the stove and made her way to the living room where the girls were sleeping. She knew that sound, Fluttershy was having a nightmare. The moment she entered the room however, she knew that there was nothing to worry about.

Pinkie had placed Fluttershy’s face into a hoof and snuggled closer to the sleeping pegasus. Fluttershy’s squeaks settled down to a happy sigh, and she buried her nose in Pinkie’s mane.

Rainbow returned to the kitchen smiling, and got back to work on breakfast. It was a simple task to cook the oatmeal, especially since Rainbow mimicked, as best she could, what she saw Fluttershy do countless times before. Not long after Rainbow set the oatmeal to cool, she heard the sounds of ponies rousing from their sleep. Twilight was the first to enter the kitchen.

“Morning, Spike,” Twilight said half-asleep, “You didn’t have to make breakfast.”

“It’s no problem, Twilight,” Rainbow said.

Twilight walked to the table and rested her head on it. Still in a daze she said, “You sound different.”

Rainbow grinned and said, “Well, I told you not to practice your spells when you’re sleepy. Now I’m stuck as a pegasus for the rest of my life because you messed up a spell.”

Twilight’s head shot up, “I didn’t mess up any spells.” She turned to ‘Spike’ and asked, “Did I?”

Rainbow let Twilight suffer for a few moments longer before saying, “Nah, I’m just messing with you, Twilight. I got up early and made some grub.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good. How’re you feeling?”

Rainbow shrugged, “Head hurts. My legs are a little sore, and I’m mad.” She turned to Twilight, “Those ponies are lucky to be in jail, cause I would hunt them down for what they did to Applejack.”

“Applejack’s fine. She brought you here since Fluttershy didn’t have the right medicine.”

Rainbow turned away and began mixing in the fruit into the oatmeal, “She didn’t deserve to be attacked like that. None of us did.” She shuddered, “I don’t want to think about what would have happened if they got to Pinkie or Fluttershy.” Rainbow turned back to Twilight and said smiling, “Have you seen them?”

Twilight shook her head, “I just got up and stumbled in here.”

Rainbow motioned for her to look in the living room.

Twilight smiled and said, “Ok Rainbow, I’ll take a look.”

Rainbow leaned against the counter and waited for the inevitable reaction as the purple unicorn made her way to the living room door.

“Oh that’s just adorable,” Twilight squealed.

A little too loudly since Fluttershy began to stir from her sleep. The shy pegasus stretched her forelegs and gave Pinkie a soft kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, Pinkie,” she whispered as she rested her head on the pink pony’s side.

Pinkie groaned, but once she opened her eyes and saw Fluttershy, she gave her girlfriend a hug. “Morning Flutters.” She stretched and helped Fluttershy to her hooves. “What smells so good,” Pinkie asked. She smiled at Fluttershy and said, “Besides you I mean.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Thank you, Pinkie. I think it’s oatmeal.”

“Ok that’s enough you two.” Twilight waved the ponies over and they joined Rainbow in the kitchen.

Rainbow just finished pouring the oatmeal in the five bowls, and noticed that Applejack wasn’t there. “Is AJ awake?”

Twilight shook her head, “She’s still asleep. I think it might be best to let her rest. She was pretty banged up.”

Rainbow winced, remembering the events of the previous night. “I’d better go check on her.” She took off her apron and walked to the living room. She felt something bump next to her. It was Fluttershy, and she was holding a bowl of oatmeal.

“Um, in case she would be more comfortable eating there,” she said.

Rainbow Dash smiled, “Thanks Fluttershy.”

Both ponies entered the living room and Rainbow turned the lights on. Applejack didn’t look good. The orange pony was covered in bruises. Rainbow tried to remain calm, but the sight of her friend hurt was hard to bear. “Let’s let her sleep,” she said.

“Not until I get some of that oatmeal.”

Rainbow laughed and said, “Good to see you’re awake. C’mon, let’s eat in the kitchen.”

“That sounds like a fine idea,” Applejack said. She stretched her forelegs and slowly made her way to her hooves. Once standing, she took a few steps, wincing with each one, and walked toward Rainbow. “How’re you doing, Rainbow?”

“I’m fine. Are you ok?”

“Hurting, but I’ll live. You sure you’re ok?”

Rainbow nodded, “I’m fine. Head hurts, but it’s not too bad.”

“I’m sorry, but the oatmeal will get cold.”

Applejack smiled at Fluttershy, “You’re right. Let’s eat.”

The three ponies went back to the kitchen, and sat at the table. Twilight had finished pouring the oatmeal into the bowl, and Pinkie was garnishing them. The pink maned pony looked up and smiled at Pinkie.

“Hey, Flutters! Come sit over here.” Pinkie pulled Fluttershy’s chair out and hugged her when she sat down. She turned to Applejack and said, “Morning Applejack. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Applejack turned to Rainbow and said as she handed the blue pony her oatmeal, “It’s not as bad as it looks, I promise.”

“Thanks, AJ.”

Applejack smiled and said, “Don’t mention it, sugarcube. Now eat up before-”

“No. I mean it. Thank you.” Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a hug and said, “I’m glad Fluttershy and Pinkie are ok, but you shouldn’t have gotten hurt for me.” She put a hoof on Applejack’s mouth so the orange pony couldn’t interrupt. “You know that I would fight anypony for my friends.” She sniffed back some tears and said, “I’m not any good at this stuff. Thank you, Applejack.”

Applejack hugged Rainbow and gently stroked her mane, “Hey now. You’re my best friend. I’d fight anypony too, and like I said, I reacted.” She tightened her hug and said with tears in her eyes, “I don’t want to think of you being hurt.” Applejack pulled away and smiled at Rainbow. Neither pony said anything. They just looked at each other until a quiet voice spoke.

“Pinkie, stop staring.”

“Shh, Fluttershy. They’re gonna kiss. I just know it.”

Fluttershy blushed and said, “Um, don’t mind us.”

Both Rainbow and Applejack rolled their eyes and sat down.

“Oh come on,” Pinkie groaned, “Give your fans what they want!”

Fluttershy nudged Pinkie, “Maybe we should leave them alone.”

“Aww, but I just know that they’re gonna start smooching-” Pinkie was cut off when Fluttershy nuzzled her gently. Pinkie smiled, “Ok, let’s eat.”

The five ponies ate their meals in relative silence, and Spike soon made his way down stairs.

“Morning everypony,” he said. “Twilight, you got a letter from the princess.”

“I hope it’s news about those ponies that attacked Rainbow Dash and Applejack.”

Spike turned to Applejack, “Morning AJ, how’re you feeling?”

Applejack smiled and said, “Nothing that a good old spit shine and a hot bath can’t fix.”

“I’m sure Rainbow Dash can help with-,” Pinkie began to say before she received a playful swat across the snout. She rubbed her snout and said in an overly sad voice, “Ouchies.”

Fluttershy blushed and leaned forward kissing Pinkie on the snout. “Better,” she asked.

Pinkie nodded, “Yup.” She turned to Spike, “So where are those meanies?”

Twilight read the letter silently and said, “The princess doesn’t know.” She looked up at the confused faces and said, “When the royal guard arrived, the three ponies you tied up were gone. The ropes were cut, and the tracks led to the Everfree Forest.”

Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together, “Good. I’ll find them, and when I do, they’ll wish they never thought about hurting my friends.”

“I’m with you,” Applejack said.

“No you’re not. The princess wrote that she wants the Royal Guard to focus on catching these ponies, and we’re to focus our attention on these ruins.”

“Wait. The princess really expects us to just wait for the guards to catch those ponies? What if they get away?”

Applejack put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and said, “I ain’t happy bout being cut out of the loop either, but if that’s what the princess wants, then that’s the way it’s gotta be.”

Rainbow looked at Applejack, “Fine. But if we find them first-”

“Sugarcube, if we find them first, they’ll sorely wish they stayed tied up.”

Rainbow nodded, “Good.” She turned to Fluttershy, “You sure you’re ok with going back into the Everfree Forest?”

Fluttershy trembled a bit, but she quickly relaxed when Pinkie hugged her, “I think I’ll be ok. I mean, as long as all of us are going.”

“That’s the plan,” Twilight said. “We’re going to head there immediately.” She turned to Spike, “Spike, get Rarity, and we’ll head out.”

The baby dragon lit up and said, “Oh boy! I’m on it.” He ran out the door, but a few seconds later a familiar belch was heard. Spike ran back inside holding a new scroll.

Twilight levitated the scroll and read it over. “Ok, change of plans. Spike I still want you to bring Rarity over, but we’re not heading into the forest.”

Spike scratched his head, “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to Canterlot.”

---

The sun’s morning rays entered Carousel Boutique, and the sleeping white unicorn stirred from her slumber. With careful grace, she left her bed, stretched her legs, and jumped into her sister’s bed.

“Good morning, Rarity!”

Rarity groaned, “Sweetie Belle. I’m trying to sleep.”

“I know sis, but it’s already morning.” The unicorn filly tapped her chin with a hoof and said, “I know. I’ll make you breakfast.”

Rarity removed her eye mask and smiled uneasily, “That’s alright Sweetie. I’m getting up, and I’ll get breakfast started.”

“Sure thing Rarity.” Sweetie Belle ran out of the room and down the stairs.

Rarity groaned and levitated her robe. After a shortened grooming, just under fifteen minutes, Rarity made her way downstairs. She was almost to the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Before Rarity could react, Sweetie Belle was at the door.

She opened the door and said, “Good morning, Spike. What brings you here?”

“Morning Sweetie Belle. I’m here to get Rarity. Twilight and the girls are headed to Canterlot castle, and they’ll be leaving soon.”

“Ok, I’ll tell her. Wanna come in?”

“Sure.” Spike entered the house and smiled as he saw Rarity on the staircase. “How much of that did you hear?”

“All of it,” Rarity said smiling, “I do look forward to spending the day in Canterlot.” She turned to Sweetie Belle and said, “Just cereal for today. We must be off.”

Sweetie Belle sat down frowning, but she quickly smiled and asked, “Can I hang out with Scootaloo and Applebloom today?”

Rarity nodded and said, “Of course, I imagine you’ll have a full day of crusading ahead of you.”

“Yay,” Sweetie Belle squealed. She quickly ate her cereal and ran out the door.

“She is such a dear,” Rarity said with a sigh. She packed a small breakfast of toast in a small basket and said, “Very well, Spike. Let us depart.”

“Sure thing Rarity.” Spike opened the door and hopped onto Rarity’s back. He gave Rarity an awkward smile when she glanced back at him. “Uh, I hope you don’t mind.”

Rarity smiled and said, “Of course not Spikey-Wikey.” She looked up to the morning sky and said, “It certainly is a lovely morning. Is this an emergency?”

“Well, it’s about Fluttershy and-”

Rarity began running, “Oh I must simply find out how her and Pinkie’s first date went.”

Spike hung on for dear life, but he had a huge smile on his face. The path to Ponyville Library was short, and Rarity didn’t run too fast. Once they arrived, Spike ran inside, and Rarity followed.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity called, “Where are you?”

“I’m in the kitchen, Rarity,” Fluttershy said.

Pinkie ran out of the kitchen, and Rarity gasped at the sight. “Pinkie darling, why are you covered in oatmeal,” Rarity asked. Moments later, she received her answers.

Rainbow Dash exited the kitchen holding a bowl of oatmeal. She saw Rarity and said, “Hey Rarity. Nice to see-” Rainbow Dash was hit by some oatmeal, and Rarity heard a familiar laugh.

“Sorry, sugarcube, but ya’ll were too slow.” Applejack entered the living room, and smiled at Rarity. “Hold on girls. I’m calling a timeout. Good to see you, Rarity.”

“I see you are having a good time. Now, where is Twilight? I’m curious about... Applejack what happened to you?” Rarity noticed Applejack’s bruise, and she looked at Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. That was when she noticed the bandage on Rainbow’s head. “Rainbow Dash, what happened? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Some jerks tried to ruin our double date, and I-”

Rarity’s eyes lit up, “Double date? Does that mean you and-”

“Now calm down Rarity. We just wanted to make their first date the best it could be, but that’s not why you’re here.”

“Yes, yes, I know. We are off to Canterlot. Oh, I look forward to seeing the princess.” Rarity walked up to Applejack and took a closer look at the pony’s bruises. “Applejack, are you certain you’re alright? Those bruises look awful.”

“Listen Rarity, we’ll tell you on the way to the castle. I promise.”

Rarity looked into Applejack’s eye, but she didn’t question it. She knew better than to doubt the Element of Honesty. “Very well Applejack. That gives me plenty of time to ask Fluttershy how her date went.” She squealed with delight and ran into the kitchen.

Fluttershy was clearing the table of dishes while Twilight washed them. She saw Rarity enter the kitchen and knew what was on her mind. Fluttershy handed the last bowl to Twilight and said, “Excuse me Twilight, but I think Rarity would like to speak to me.”

Twilight saw Rarity and smiled, “Morning Rarity, I guess you’re curious about the date?”

“Yes, but don’t think me heartless, Twilight. I’m also concerned for the Rainbow Dash and Applejack. What happened to them?”

Twilight sat down at the table, “I’m not sure what happened. All I could get from Applejack was that four ponies attacked Rainbow Dash and herself. Rainbow Dash had a bad head wound, and Applejack was pretty bruised up.”

“Well, it’s good that they’re safe now. Are those scoundrels in custody?”

Twilight shook her head, “No. They managed to get away, but the princess wanted to assure Applejack and Rainbow that the Royal Guard will pursue them.”

Rarity tilted her head and asked, “That’s odd. I find it strange that those two would be comfortable leaving this in the hooves of the Royal Guards.”

“I know, but the princess wants us to go to the palace.” Twilight looked out the window and smiled as she saw a carriage arriving at the library. “We should get going.” She entered the kitchen, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy, and smiled at the sight in the living room.

Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were all piled on top of each other, and they were splattered in oatmeal. Applejack saw Twilight and said, “Heh, sorry about the mess, Twi. We’ll get this all cleaned up.”

Spike entered the living room and brought a hand to his face, “Don’t worry about it Applejack. Just leave it to me.” He turned to Twilight and said, “Princess Celestia’s carriage is here.”

Twilight nodded, “Thank you Spike. I hope to be back by tonight.”

“Ok, I’ll just cook up some leftovers if you don’t get back.” Spike began cleaning up the oatmeal and utensils.

“Let’s go girls,” Twilight said. Before she left, she looked back to Spike and said, “Once you finish, go ahead and take the rest of the day off.”

Spike’s eyes lit up, “Really? Awesome!” He picked up his pace cleaning up the mess. “Have a nice trip,” Spike said as he ran into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

“Thank you Spike,” Twilight said as she left the library.

The six ponies boarded the carriage. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight sat on one side, while Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity sat on the other. They all sat in silence for a few minutes. Rainbow Dash stared out the window, her thoughts on the night before. Rage built up inside her as the thought of those ponies free. She glanced over to Pinkie and smiled at the sight.

Fluttershy slept quietly as she rested her head on Pinkie’s lap, and the pink pony stroked her mane. Pinkie smiled at Rainbow and whispered, “I’m happy, Dashie.”

Rainbow nodded, “I can see that, but you’re always-”

“No, Dashie. This is different.” Pinkie looked down at the sleeping pony, “I can’t describe it, but I feel like I did when I first saw a rainbow.” She giggled and said, “I guess she’s my rainbow now.”

“That’s awesome, Pinkie. I know you’ll be great together.” Rainbow absentmindedly put a hoof to her head and rubbed the bandage until Applejack grabbed her leg.

“Don’t mess up the bandage now.” Applejack gently tightened the bandage around Rainbow’s head and asked, “Still hurting?”

Rainbow shook her head, “Nah, it’s just sore.” She rubbed her head and looked at Applejack. She gave her friend a smile and a nod that said, thank you.

Applejack smiled and tilted her hat in response.

“Who were those ruffians that attacked you,” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know,” Applejack said, “All I know is that they attacked Rainbow first, and then they planned on going after Fluttershy.”

Rarity gasped, “That is just awful. I certainly hope the guards bring them in.” She glanced at Rainbow and noticed the anger in her face, “Though, I wouldn’t feel too awful if I were to find out that you managed to get your hooves on them.”

Rainbow grinned at the idea.

Silence once again fell over the carriage. Only Fluttershy’s soft breathing could be heard. Rarity turned to Twilight and asked in a soft whisper, “What business do we have in Canterlot?”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, “You see, Fluttershy was telling me about some ruins she stumbled onto when she feeling bad about not telling Pinkie about how she felt. I wanted to go explore those ruins, but the princess wants to talk to us about it first.” Twilight rubbed her head, “There must be something about those ruins that must be really important.”

“Well, of course they’re important, silly,” Pinkie said, “Only important buildings last a long time. That’s why you never hear about somepony digging up an ancient bathroom.”

Twilight opened her mouth to form a rebuttal but couldn’t say anything.

Pinkie smiled and continued to stroke Fluttershy’s mane. “How much longer till we get there?”

“Shouldn’t be too much longer,” Twilight said. She looked out the window and noticed they were nearing Canterlot. “You may want to wake Fluttershy up.” Twilight looked at Pinkie and said, “I think it might be best to keep your relationship quiet.”

“Why,” Pinkie asked, “Will the princess hate us?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s just, just... I just think it might be best to focus on the ruins.”

“Twi, I think we should just leave them be. Princess Celestia don’t strike me as the kind to condemn love.” Applejack turned to Pinkie and said, “But I do agree with Twilight that you two keep things under wraps. I know the princess will be happy for y’all, but what about others? We know how some ponies feel, and I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

Pinkie looked down at Fluttershy and smiled. The yellow pony was awake and looking up at her. “Hey sleepyhead. I think we should do what they say.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, “Ok, Pinkie.” She hugged Pinkie and said, “I wish we didn’t have to.”

“Me too, but I bet once we’re in the palace, things will be fun again.”

“Promise?”

Pinkie smiled, “I promise.”

Fluttershy smiled and sat up as the carriage landed. She leaned and gave Pinkie a kiss on the cheek. “Now we can pretend.”

“Oh, that’s mean,” Pinkie said.

Fluttershy turned around to apologize, but she saw Pinkie smiling. She nuzzled her girlfriend gently, “I don’t ever want to be mean to you.”

“I know. I was just playing.”

Fluttershy smiled and the two followed their friends towards the castle. She remembered the note she was given, so she ran to Rarity and said, “Rarity, I’m sorry, but I forgot to give this to you.”

“What is it?”

“A note that the waiter gave me.”

Rarity levitated the note and read it. She laughed and said, “Thank you Fluttershy. I guess my dress made a better impression than I imagined.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I was worried that it was the bill.”

Rarity smiled, “Even if it were, I would gladly pay it to see you happy. Honestly, Fluttershy you deserve to have a happy and caring pony in your life like Pinkie.”

“So much for keeping the relationship quiet,” Twilight groaned.

“Well, if it weren’t a secret before, it sure ain’t now thanks to you,” Applejack said.

“Aren’t you listening to them?”

“I sure am, and all I heard was that Fluttershy is lucky to have Pinkie in her life. Most ponies would think friendship first.” Applejack smiled at Twilight, “Since we know about it, we jump to the right answer.”

“Still, it sounds pretty obvious to-”

“Ok, how about this then?” Applejack tilted her head to Rainbow Dash, “That pony is my best friend. I’m lucky to have that pony in my life, but you wouldn’t say that we’re involved now would you?”

Twilight turned to Applejack and said awkwardly, “No, I wouldn’t?”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed and she said, “Last time. It ain’t like that.” She didn’t wait for Twilight to respond. Applejack just picked up her pace.

“Sorry, Applejack,” Twilight whispered. ‘Why is she so bothered by it,’ she thought. She shook her head and continued her trot to the palace. Twilight looked at her friends. Rarity enjoyed the displays in the windows as she passed, Rainbow Dash, in a strange change of form, walked alongside Applejack, Pinkie walked close to Fluttershy. Once in a while, Fluttershy would lean over to Pinkie and give her a quick nuzzle. In spite of her concerns about their safety, Twilight enjoyed the sight.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the palace. Twilight stopped and looked at the group. “Alright, now I don’t know why the princess wants to talk to us about these ruins, but I think it might have something to do with the pedestals Fluttershy told me about.”

Rarity turned to Fluttershy and asked, “What pedestals are those?”

”Oh, I’m sorry. I remember seeing five pedestals in a semicircle with in standing in between the points.”

“So they formed a crescent shape?”

Fluttershy nodded and said, “At least I think it did. I hope I didn’t make a mistake.”

Twilight smiled at Fluttershy, “Don’t worry Fluttershy. From the letter, I would think that if you made a mistake, Princess Celestia would be happy.” She shook her head, “There must be something about that place that has her worried.”

“Then let’s not keep her waiting.”

Twilight nodded at Applejack, “You’re right. Let’s go girls.”

The ponies entered the palace, and though they’ve been inside it on a few occasions, the sight still impressed them. The main foyer arched high above them, and pegasus guards patrolled all along the palace grounds. At the ground level, unicorns and earth ponies patrolled in pairs. The sight made Twilight nervous, but she didn’t voice her concerns.

Rarity didn’t hold her tongue, “I wonder why the princess increased security so much?” She turned to Twilight, “Could this have anything to do with our meeting with the princess?”

Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know, but I hope it’s nothing more than a drill.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Rarity said.

The staircase leading to the throne room was before them, and the ponies stopped and bowed their heads. Princess Celestia stood at the top of the stairs smiling down at the Elements of Harmony.

“Good morning Elements of Harmony. Please come up, we have urgent business to discuss” Celestia turned around and entered the throne room.

“She doesn’t refer to us as the Elements unless there’s something really dangerous,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That’s true. Well, we can stand here and wonder, or head on up these here stairs and find out,” Applejack said. She began walking up the stairs along with Twilight, and the other ponies followed suit.

Upon entering the throne room, they saw Princess Celestia eating at a round table. There was a surprise waiting for them.

“Princess Luna,” Twilight stammered and quickly bowed her head, “It’s good to see you.”

Luna stifled a yawn and replied, “Please rise. I have a reason to be here at this meeting.”

The ponies walked to the table and were about to sit down, but a look from Twilight told Pinkie and Fluttershy that they shouldn’t sit together. Pinkie switched seats with Rarity, and they all sat down.

“It’s good to see you, Twilight,” Celestia said with a smile, “How have your studies been?”

Twilight smiled, “They’ve been going great. I’m working on improving my teleport spell in order to accommodate larger groups. Right now the formula is rough, but I think I can manage.”

Celestia nodded, “That’s a bit ambitious, but still practical. What purpose do you plan for this spell?”

Twilight blushed and said, “Well, I plan to incorporate multiple unicorns to cast the spell. This way if there’s a catastrophe, we can evacuate the entire population of Ponyville with a single spell.”

Luna smiled at Twilight, “That is rather bold. I never thought my sister’s pupil would wish to attempt such a powerful spell.”

“She is free to pursue her spell casting as she chooses,” Celestia replied, “All I ask is that she exercises caution.”

“You do realize sister that caution rarely leads to discovery.”

“Yes, but reckless abandon harms more than it will ever save.”

Luna smiled and said, “That sounded almost personal.”

“I wasn’t referring to you...,” Celestia saw the smile on her younger sister and said, “I still need to get used to your teasing.”

Luna yawned and said, “I only tease in jest, sister. I understand the importance of tempering eagerness with patience. A lesson I learned.”

“I know, but right now we need to discuss this temple.”

“Temple,” Twilight asked, “So you know what this place is?”

Celestia shook her head, “I am only going with what you described. Though the term temple is closer to a nickname than-”

“Are you certain there are spirits trapped there,” Luna asked Fluttershy. The concern in her voice was clear.

Fluttershy recoiled a bit, but she was able to find her voice, “I, there was one there.”

Luna shook her head, “They did not deserve this.”

“Deserve what, Princess,” Applejack asked, “What happened?”

Celestia put a hoof on Luna’s shoulder and said, “The ‘temple’ was more a place of learning than worship. For centuries, Luna and I had separate temples where our pupils could study.” Celestia laughed and said, “We differ in our philosophy on how to advance magic. I taught my students the wisdom of prudent planning and focusing on scientific methods.”

“My students were scientific as well sister.”

Celestia smiled, “Sister, if I recall correctly, your students were often accused of ‘throwing magic at the wall and seeing what would stick’.”

Luna smiled, “I preferred to give my students the freedom to experiment however they wished.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Twilight said.

Luna nodded, “It was, but in order to advance, we also must be willing to take risks.”

“And that, dear sister, is where I doubt we will ever find common ground.”

“What does this have to do with the ruins,” Rainbow asked.

Twilight gave Rainbow a quick glare and said, “I apologize princess, but she’s right. Is this temple associated with Princess Luna?”

Celestia nodded, “I believe so, and if there are souls trapped there, then this is cause for alarm.”

“Why,” Rainbow asked, “When Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon, she was kinda mean. I bet those ponies weren’t any better.” Rainbow failed to notice Luna’s pain expression and said, “They probably got what they-”

“Enough,” Celestia said loudly slamming her hoof on the table.

Rainbow recoiled but said nothing.

“The students who lived at the temple were not evil. They were studying when our conflict began. In fact, the students from both our temples joined forces to come up with a solution.”

“Is that how you decided to use the Elements of harmony,” Twilight asked.

Luna nodded, “Yes, the students discovered that the Elements could bring me back to my senses, and they set out to recover them.”

“Weren’t they in your possession,” Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head, “No. After our battle with Discord, the Elements were separated. Lost until we needed them again. I never thought I would need to use them against my own family.”

“Now hang on a second,” Applejack said, “This here temple is really Princess Luna’s school, and the students teamed up with Princess Celestia’s students to find the Elements of harmony. What I’m wondering is, how come we never heard of this temple, or why are these poor ponies still trapped there?”

Luna shook her head, “I do not know what happened to them-”

“I do,” Celestia said. She turned to her sister and said, “I am so sorry. After our battle, I was very weak. All of Equestria knew what you did, and many blamed the students from your temple.”

“What did they do to them,” Fluttershy ask in growing terror. She wished Pinkie was next to her. She looked at Pinkie and saw the pink pony look at her. She gave Fluttershy an assuring smile, and that calmed her a bit. This wasn’t lost on the princesses, though she made no sign of it.

“I’m not proud of this. I may have had the power to stop them, but...” She looked into her sister’s eyes and said, “An angry mob stormed your temple and killed your students. I never found out who was involved.”

Luna was stunned for a moment, “All, all of them?”

Celestia nodded her head, “I am so sorry. Those were good ponies. Honorable ponies. They did not deserve the fate that was given to them.”

Luna lowered her head, “It’s my burden to carry sister.”

“You couldn’t have-”

“If I didn’t succumb to jealousy, then those ponies wouldn’t have died,” Luna snapped at her sister. She allowed herself a moment to calm herself and she said to Fluttershy, “If at all possible, please help the spirits find peace.”

“I, I don’t know if I-,” Fluttershy began to say until the memory of what Rainbow told her just the day before came back to her. This is not the time for you to be shy. Fluttershy shook
her head and said, “I’m not sure if I can, but I promise I’ll try.”

Luna smiled, “Thank you Fluttershy. I greatly appreciate it.”

Princess Celestia smiled at Fluttershy and said, “Something isn’t quite right,” Celestia said looking right at Fluttershy. Before the pony could respond Celestia said, “Rarity, I know this might sound strange, but could you switch seats with Pinkie?”

Rarity bowed her head, “Certainly princess.” She stood and changed seats with Pinkie.

Now that Pinkie and Fluttershy were sitting together, Celestia said, “There. That’s much better. Tell me, how long have you two been together?”

Fluttershy lowered her head and glanced at Twilight. The purple pony kept a straight face, so Fluttershy said, “I, I’m sorry Princess.”

Celestia smiled and asked, “Sorry for what?”

Pinkie put a leg around Fluttershy and said, “We’ve been together for almost two weeks.”

Luna smiled and said, “That’s wonderful news. It certainly brings some light to these darker dealings"

“Well, I guess we should get to those ruins,” Twilight said. She bowed to the princesses and said, “We wish we could stay for a bit longer, but if there are spirits trapped, then we should hurry.”

Luna nodded, “And I am grateful for your haste. My sister has a fine student.”

Princess Celestia smiled and said, “I’ve had little to do with her character. All I have ever done is provide her with options and point her in the right direction. She’s done the rest.”

Twilight smiled, “Thank you, Princess.” She looked at her friends and said, “Well, let’s get going.”

The other ponies agreed, and the girls left the throne room. Once outside, Twilight looked at Fluttershy and said, “I’m sorry. I thought that the princess might have a problem, but she saw right through it.”

“I understand Twilight, and it’s nice that she’s ok with it,” Fluttershy said smiling as Pinkie gave her a hug.

“Alright, enough of that,” Applejack said, “We got some ruins to explore.”

With a nod of agreement, the girls ran to the waiting carriage that would take them to the edge of the Everfree Forest. There they would find out if the spirits could be freed, and if they were all friendly.

Into the Depths Part 2

The group made their way through the palace. Pegasi and unicorn guards continued to patrol the palace in large numbers.

“I hope there is nothing wrong,” Fluttershy whispered.

“I bet they’re having one of those military parties,” Pinkie said as she bounced around Fluttershy.

“Military Parties,” Twilight asked, “Don’t you mean drills?”

Pinkie stopped bouncing and shrugged, “Close enough.”

Twilight sighed and looked around for somepony who could help them figure out what was going on.

Her eyes lit up when they fell on a familiar sight. “Stay here, girls,” she said.

"Shining," Twilight shouted.

A white unicorn looked away from a pegasus patrol and smiled, "Twily, How have you been?"

Twilight embraced her older brother and said, "I've been well."

She looked back toward Fluttershy and Pinkie and said, "We're on a new assignment."

Shining Armor laughed and said, "Another adventure for my baby sister, and I'm stuck with preparation drills."

"I thought it was a drill, but what exactly are you preparing for?"

"I have no idea," Shining Armor said with a laugh, "but Princess Luna wants The Royal Guard to be ready, and I have no intention of letting her down."

He sighed and looked over the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and smiled, "I see there's a new couple among us."

Twilight looked at the group and groaned at the sight of Pinkie nuzzling Fluttershy, "I don't know what you mean."

Shining smiled, "You're not a very good liar, Twily."

He nodded toward the group and said, "You can see it in their eyes. There is more than simple concern, and notice how one won't let the other mess up their bandages?"

Twilight shook her head, "Bandages? Oh, no Rainbow Dash and Applejack aren't a couple."

Shining Armor smiled and said, "Well you could've fooled me."

He looked up and shouted, "Keep a looser formation."

Twilight looked up and spotted the pegasus captain Shining Armor shouted at and whispered, "Loose formations."

She took a closer look at the earth pony and unicorn guards, "Advanced combat training."

"It looks like you're preparing for an invasion."

Shining Armor tensed and quickly said, "I already told you, Twily. We're just practicing so we can be ready if there's another incident."

Twilight smiled and said, "You're also a terrible liar."

She pointed towards the group of earth pony and unicorn guards, "Those guards are using advanced combat techniques, and those spells are more advanced than normal."

Twilight looked up and added, "Having ponies fly in a loose formation means that you want to ensure that if one is injured, the entire formation isn't lost. And I see you have a medic flying with each group."

Her eyes locked onto Shining's, "What are you planning?"

Shining Armor sighed and whispered, "Promise me that you'll keep this quiet."

Twilight nodded, "Of course. Is Equestria in danger?"

Shining Armor shook his head, "No, we haven't heard of any impending invasion, and the added security measures are in place."

He rubbed his face with a hoof and said, "I don't like this, Twily, but the changeling invasion really shook up the citizens of Canterlot."

"Do you need any help?"

Shining smiled and said, "We'll be fine. The Guard will keep up the drills, until the nobles find a new problem to focus on. I might keep some of these drills as standard practice, but for now, we'll be fine."

Twilight nodded, "Okay, just be sure to let me know if you need any help."

Shining Armor laughed, "What kind of BBBFF would I be if I left my little sister out?"

Twilight hugged Shining and said, "A pretty bad one, but still the best big brother ever."

"So," Shining began with a smile, "Are you going to tell me who the new couple is?"

Twilight whispered, "Keep this to yourself?"

Shining laughed, "Twily, a new couple isn't something to keep secret. C'mon, just tell me."

Twilight shook her head.

"Fine," Shining said, "I promise that nopony will find out."

"Even Cadance?"

Shining Armor shrugged, "Fine don't tell me."

He turned away and stopped when Twilight called after him.

"Okay," Twilight said, "It's Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie."

Shining Armor looked back to the group and smiled, "Yeah, those two are in love. Wonder why I missed it?"

He shrugged and said, "Love isn't my specialty."

"Yeah, and those two are not exactly a match," Twilight said

She smiled and said, "Well we have to go. See you later big bro."

"Take care Twily, and remember, Cadance and me aren't exactly a match either."

Twilight nodded before returning to the group.

"So," Applejack asked, "What's the word on those patrols?"

"Shining Armor said that it's just training drills," Twilight said.

"So there's nothing to worry about," Fluttershy asked.

"Of course not," Pinkie said.

She nuzzled Fluttershy and said, "Nothing can go on because we're gonna be busy with those scary ruins."

"Pinkie, I don't think that's how it works," Rainbow said.

Pinkie smiled and asked, "Then how come we're never busy when something big happens?"

"We were all rather busy before that changeling invasion," Rarity said.

Pinkie laughed and said, "Yeah, but we were all here so we could have the big changeling bash."

"Pinkie," Applejack said, "The invasion was all over Canterlot."

"That's why I called it a bash."

"So random," Rainbow said as she absentmindedly rubbed her bandaged head.

“Leave it alone,” Applejack said readjusting the bandages.

“I can’t help it,” Rainbow said, “This thing is itchy.”

Applejack sighed and asked, “Where’s the problem?”

“I got it.”

Applejack shook her head and said, “Sugarcube, you keeping messing up your bandages with the way you’re scratching.”

Rainbow groaned and tapped the side of her head just below her left ear.

“All right then,” Applejack said.

She lifted a hoof and scratched the bandaged area while using another hoof to hold the bandage in place.

Rainbow’s ear twitched and she let out a content sigh. Her eye widened and whispered, “I hope you didn’t hear that.”

“Don’t you worry none. Ain’t nopony paying us any attention right now.”

Applejack put her hoof down and asked, “Feeling better?”

Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, thanks AJ.”

Applejack nodded and turned only to be almost muzzle to muzzle with Rarity.

“Oh, I’m sorry Applejack,” Rarity said with a smirk, “I didn’t mean to interrupt you two.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Applejack said.

Rarity winked and said, “I’m sure you don’t, but I’ll leave you two lovebirds be.”

She trotted away to Pinkie and Fluttershy, while a flustered Applejack stood there.

Once she found her voice she whispered, "It's not like that."

She turned to face Rainbow, who was still adjusting her bandages, and shook her head.

"And how are you two darlings doing," Rarity asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy smiled and said, "Oh hello, Rarity. We were just talking."

"Oh," Rarity said, "About what?"

"Just that it's a good thing Princess Celestia wasn't mad at us," Pinkie said.

"Pinkie," Rarity said, "You know that neither princess would condemn anypony because of who they love."

"I know," Pinkie said, "but I was a little worried."

She leaned into Fluttershy and said, "But that's okay because Fluttershy made me feel all better."

"And how was that," Rarity asked.

"She-"

"Pinkie," Fluttershy whispered, "Don't tell her that."

Pinkie smiled and said, "Fine. I won't tell her that you gave me a kiss on the cheek."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide and her face became red as she gasped, "Pinkie!"

In her embarrassment, she buried her face into Pinkie's side, causing her girlfriend to provide a gentle nuzzle.

Rarity giggled and said, "Really, darling, there must be a law against being so adorable."

She smiled at Fluttershy, "Still, it's wonderful that you found your Special Somepony."

Fluttershy continued to rub her head against Pinkie's side and said as she blushed, "Oh it's wonderful."

Her eyes fell on Pinkie and smiled, "You really are special."

Twilight saw the two ponies and said, "I thought we-"

"Sugarcube," Applejack said, "Isn't it about time you give up on trying to keep those two quiet."

Twilight rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "I guess you're right."

“Now, what’s the plan for those ruins?”

Twilight stopped, causing the group to stop as well, and said, “I think we should settle this as soon as possible.”

"Are you certain that is a good idea," Rarity asked.

"We shouldn't delay," Twilight said.

Rarity lifted a hoof to her chest and said, "I'm not suggesting that we dawdle, but it will be nightfall before we arrive at the ruins."

Rarity looked back to Fluttershy and whispered, "And don't forget about a certain somepony's fear of that forest."

Twilight nodded and said, "I understand Fluttershy's reluctance of entering the forest."

She rubbed her chin with a hoof, before returning her attention to Rarity, "What do you suggest?"

"Perhaps we should leave from Ponyville tomorrow morning."

"We can't afford to wait," Twilight said, "I know you mean well, but these ponies have been trapped for far too long."

"Yeah, but what's one more day," Rainbow asked.

"If it was you, I wouldn't want to wait," Fluttershy whispered.

Rainbow sighed and said, "Yeah, I know Fluttershy, but we don't know these ponies. They can wait one more day."

Twilight nodded and said, "Well, Fluttershy knows where the ruins are. I think we should let her decide."

She smiled at Fluttershy and said, "Today or tomorrow. Whatever you decide, we'll support you."

"Keep in mind, darling, that should we leave now, it'll be nightfall before we arrive," Rarity said.

"Going into the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy whispered, "At night?"

Her breath became ragged, and her pupils began to shrink. She began to look for Rainbow when she felt a warm embrace.

"It'll be okay, Flutters," Pinkie said, "You're not going into that forest alone."

Fluttershy closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. After a moment, she looked at Twilight and said, "Um, we should go today. Those poor ponies have been there long enough."

"Alright then," Twilight said, "That settles it. We leave now and head straight into the forest."

Applejack adjusted her hat and asked, "Twi, don't you think we should stop in Ponyville for some camping supplies. Not all of us are comfortable sleeping under the stars."

Pinkie jumped up and down waving a foreleg in the air, "Oh, and we're gonna need something to eat. We can't go freeing ghost ponies on empty stomachs."

Twilight nodded and said, "Good point, we're going to need our strength, and I'll need to do some research."

She turned to Applejack, "Applejack, you'll take care of the camping equipment."

"Pinkie," Twilight said, "I guess you can handle the food."

"Oh boy," Pinkie shouted, "I'm going to make the tastiest cupcakes we've ever had."

Rarity sighed and said, "Pinkie, perhaps it would be best if you made proper food. As much as we adore your treats, we can't live on sweets alone."

Pinkie stopped bouncing and said, "Well, I guess so, but that's so boring."

"Well, maybe you could make some treats, and Applejack could make the food," Fluttershy said.

She blushed and added, "I mean if that's okay with you, Applejack."

Applejack nodded and said, "I can see that working."

She turned to Pinkie and asked, "Sound like a plan to you?"

Pinkie tapped her chin and nodded, "Yup, that sounds like fun."

Twilight nodded, "Okay. So we have food and supplies handled. What else do we need?"

"Let's just figure out what we need when we get back to Ponyville," Rainbow said.

"I agree," Rarity said, "It would be best if we decide on what we need back home."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Let's go home."

The group nodded in unison and began to head toward the palace entrance. As they made their way, Rainbow stopped and began to rub the side of her head.

"You all right there," Applejack asked.

"I'm fine," Rainbow said with a slight hiss as she rubbed her head.

"If you need medicine, just ask. You don't need to hide it."

"I said I'm fine."

"And I know you ain't, so I'm not gonna argue with you." Applejack reached to her saddlebag and produced a small bottle.

She set it down next to Rainbow and said, "Here. This'll help."

"Ugh, fine," Rainbow said as she lifted the medicine bottle in her mouth and took a drink. "Ugh. This better not be a prank."

Applejack tipped her hat, "Wouldn't do that to a hurt pony, and you know that."

"Yeah," Rainbow said as she looked away, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Is everything all right," Fluttershy asked.

"Everything is just peachy," Applejack said.

Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow and back to Applejack. One of her ears twitched and she nodded, "Oh, okay. I hope you feel better soon."

"Quit worrying," Rainbow said, "We're gonna be fine."

Fluttershy flinched and whispered, "Oh, okay."

Rainbow sighed and continued to follow the group.

Fluttershy followed and turned when she felt a light nudge.

Applejack smiled and said, “Rainbow’s just being Rainbow. Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on her too.”

“I know. I’m just worried about her, and, um you too.”

“And I appreciate that, sugarcube, but I’m doing okay.”

Applejack shrugged and added, “Sure I’m sore, but it’ll pass.”

Fluttershy gave Applejack a slow nod before returning to Pinkie’s side, and Applejack made her way to Rainbow Dash.

Before long, the group arrived at the carriage platform.

“All right,” Twilight said, “We’ll be landing at the library, and we’ll split up from there.”

Rarity nodded and asked, “Very well, but should we meet at the library again?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to meet at Fluttershy’s cottage? It is closest to the Everfree Forest.”

“And it’ll be a shorter walk to carry all the camping gear,” Applejack said.

Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof and said, “That does make sense. All right, we split up at the library and meet at Fluttershy’s.”

All ponies nodded and boarded the carriage.

"Well, at least we will be returning home in style," Rarity said.

She shuddered and added, "The thought of spending a night in that forest is almost too much to bear."

"Then stay home," Rainbow said.

Rarity gasped and said, "And abandon our dear friend? Rainbow Dash, I would never."

"Then stop complaining."

Applejack chuckled and said, "Sugarcube, that's like asking apples to stop being delicious."

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, "I'm merely stating my displeasure of having to endure some discomfort."

"I think the ponies trapped in Princess Luna's temple are even more uncomfortable," Fluttershy said.

Her gaze remained locked outside the carriage window and she said, "I'm sorry Rarity. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Pinkie giggled and said, "You didn't snap at her, silly."

Rarity nodded and said, "I agree, and I suppose my concerns are being expressed a tad too harshly."

"You mean that you're complaining more than usual," Rainbow asked.

"Then fine," Rarity said in a huff, "I'll just keep my-"

"Rarity," Twilight said, "It'll just be one night, and, as you said, you want to support Fluttershy."

"Yes, darling. I suppose I can bear the slings of a certain pony."

Pinkie jumped out of her seat and began hopping up and down asking, "Is it me? Oh, is it? Is it? I might have a sling in my party trunk, but I can make one."

"I was referring to Rainbow," Rarity said with a bemused smile.

Pinkie sagged and said, "Aw, I was hoping to be it."

Fluttershy nuzzled her and said, "You always be-"

"I will fly home myself if you two keep up being mushy," Rainbow said as she motioned a gag.

Applejack nudged her and said, "Just let 'em be."

Rainbow groaned, but she nodded, "Fine, but if the mushy level gets any higher, then I'm flying home."

"You can use my window, Dashie," Pinkie said giggling.

The group enjoyed a good laugh, and Twilight said, "Sorry to bother you with this, Fluttershy, but is there anything you remember about the temple that we should know."

Fluttershy looked down as she tried to remember before shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but I told you all I remember."

"That's all right," Twilight said, "I guess it's for the-"

A book materialized before the group before falling with a solid thud on the carriage floor.

For a moment, nopony dared to breathe. All eyes remained locked on the tome, until a lavender glow surrounded it.

"It's alive," Pinkie shouted as she jumped from her seat.

She tried to run, but Fluttershy held onto her.

"It's alive and it's got me," Pinkie cried.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, "I have you."

Pinkie turned and smiled at Fluttershy, "Oh, that's much better than a book."

She smiled at Twilight, who had the book within her grasp, and asked, "You okay, Twilight?"

Twilight's eye twitched but she said nothing.

"I think she's upset about what you said about books," Fluttershy whispered.

"Oh that," Pinkie said, "But it's true."

She held up a sign with a drawing of Fluttershy drinking from a juice box on one side and a stack of books covered in cobwebs on the other. In between was a drawing of Gummy in the shape of a greater than sign.

"See," Pinkie said, "Flutters is greater than books. It's just math."

"But-"

"Twilight," Pinkie said, "You can't fight math."

"Still-"

"Math. You can't fight it."

Twilight sighed, placed the book in her lap, and said, "I like books."

"And we like you, too," Pinkie said.

Twilight shook her head and opened the book.

"There's a note in here," she said.

She read the note and said, "It's from Princess Celestia. She says that this book has information about their temples that can help us out."

"Well that takes care of the research," Applejack said.

"Yeah, now we don't have to wait," Rainbow agreed.

"I wasn't going take that long," Twilight said.

The nervous glances among the group told her otherwise.

"Seriously? I try to get as much information as possible."

Rarity placed a leg around Twilight and hugged her. "We know that you want to be as informed as possible, but you do tend to go a tiny bit overboard."

Applejack laughed and said, "Well you would know all about going overboard there, Rarity."

Rarity huffed and said, "Well, someponies just don't understand, but I promise that we appreciate your efforts. It's just..."

Twilight turned to face Rarity and asked, "Just what?"

Rarity looked away lost in thought before saying, "It's just that for all your planning, we tend to, um-"

"We always save the day with a last minute plan," Rainbow said.

Twilight flinched and said, "We can't go in uninformed."

"Yeah, but you get so much information that most of it we don't need."

"I don't know what we'll need-"

"Darling, all we're saying is that, as much as we adore your studious nature, you could stand to study a little less."

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "You have no idea how much I've cut down on my studying since I moved to Ponyville."

"I like that Twilight studies so much," Fluttershy whispered. "Um, I mean, she always has an answer, and that's, nice."

Pinkie nodded, "Yup, if Twilight doesn't know something, it doesn't exist."

She tapped her chin with a hoof and said, "Unless..."

"Anyway," Rainbow said, "Is there anything else in the note?"

Twilight read over the note and said, "All it says is that information has something to do with Fluttershy and Pinkie's situation."

"What does that mean," Rainbow asked.

"I don't know. Any ideas?"

"Well," Applejack began, "It could be on account that... Never mind."

Rarity gave Applejack a curious glance before she said, "Perhaps it could be their love the princess is referring to."

"That makes sense," Twilight said.

Rainbow scratched her head and said, "Okay, you lost me."

She looked around the carriage and said, "They're girlfriends. How can that be a bad thing?"

"Rainbow, nopony is saying that their love is a bad thing," Rarity said.

"I agree," Twilight said.

She scratched her chin and asked, "Rainbow, you know about the magic of friendship, right?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, we all do."

"Right. Now, what I think the princess means is that love is another kind of magic. It might be more powerful than friendship, or it could just be more focused. Either way, I think their feelings could cause issues while inside the temple."

Fluttershy moved closer to Pinkie and whispered, "Issues? What kind of issues?"

Twilight shook her head and said, "I honestly don't know, but very little is known about the Everfree Forest. Magic might not always be reliable, and I don't know what exactly will happen."

Pinkie nuzzled Fluttershy and said, "Don't worry, Flutters. We'll be fine."

"Yeah, anything messes with us will regret it," Rainbow said.

Rarity smiled and said, "I agree. Together we will succeed."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and waited as the carriage continued its flight toward Ponyville.

Soon, the carriage landed in front of the Ponyville library and the ponies disembarked.

Twilight looked around and said, "Okay, so the plan is-"

In a sudden rainbow flash, Rainbow Dash took off in the direction of her home.

"Uh, where is she going," Twilight asked.

She glanced at Applejack and asked, "Do you know where she's going?"

"And just how would I know," Applejack asked.

"Uh, no reason," Twilight said with an awkward smile.

Applejack sighed and said, “I’m going to Sweet Apple Acres to get the food ready.”

She turned to Pinkie and asked, “You ready, or do you need some more time with your girlfriend?”

Pinkie stopped nuzzling Fluttershy and asked, “There’s a choice?”

“Pinkie,” Applejack said, “We gotta go.”

“Okay,” Pinkie said before she gave Fluttershy a quick nuzzle.

She hopped to Applejack and said, “Let’s go bake the best treats ever!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack said.

She turned to the group and said, “Well, we’ll see you girls over at Fluttershy’s.”

Pinkie waved a farewell and hopped alongside Applejack toward Sweet Apple Acres.

“Twilight, would you like to come with us to Fluttershy’s cottage, or do you need to collect some things first?”

“I still need to get some stuff, and I have to tell Spike where I’ll be going.”

Twilight smiled and said, “You two should go on ahead. I’ll stay here and wait for Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity giggled and said, “Do you think she forgot to go to Fluttershy’s cottage?”

Twilight smiled and said, “She seemed really excited about something, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it slips her mind.”

“Oh, then maybe we should wait with you,” Fluttershy said.

“Nonsense darling,” Rarity said as she nudged Fluttershy, “Twilight can wait for Rainbow Dash. We can enjoy a nice spot of tea as we wait. Oh, and we can finally catch up.”

Twilight smiled and said, “Well you two have fun. I’ll be fine here. I promise.”

“Oh okay,” Fluttershy said.

“Wonderful. Now let’s be off.”

Rarity and Fluttershy began to walk toward Fluttershy’s cottage, and Twilight watched them go.

Before she entered the library, she said to herself, “Always looking for juicy gossip.”

"Spike," Twilight called, "I'm home."

Spike climbed down the stairs and asked, "How did everything go?"

"Everything went fine. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be home tonight."

Spike scratched his head and asked, "Want me to make you something to eat?"

"No. Applejack and Pinkie are going to make the food for the trip."

"Okay, be careful."

Twilight nodded and said, "We will. I don't want to take any chances."

She sat down on her couch and opened the book Celestia sent her.

"Okay," she said, "Let's see just what we need to know."

Twilight flipped the book to the first marked passage and began to read.

The students of the Lunar Temple enjoy more freedom in their studies than their Solar counterparts. This freedom comes at a cost.

Their methods of study favor intuition over logic, and this method has led many to suffer from various accidents.

While the teachers of the Solar Temple point out the accidents as a means to reign in the methods of the Lunar Temple, the students of the Lunar Temple enjoy reminding the Solar Temple of the many magical advancements that have been made there.

Teleportation is a common example the Luna Temple often provides.

A sudden noise brought Twilight out of the book.

"Sorry," Spike said as he set a cup of tea on the table. "I thought you might want a cup."

Twilight smiled and said, "Thanks Spike. I guess I was too focused on the book."

Spike shrugged and said, "Nothing new there. Learn anything good?"

Twilight shook her head, "No. I already know what's in the marked passage."

"I know you'll find something useful, and, if you don't, you always come up with something."

Twilight sighed and asked, "Is it that bad?"

"Uh, what are you talking about?"

Twilight shook her head and said, "Nothing. It's just something the girls said on the way home."

Spike made his way next to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder, "What was it?"

"They said that I study too much, and that it doesn't matter since we always find a last minute solution."

"They said that it doesn't matter?"

"Well, not exactly, but they said that my research..."

She cast her gaze away from Spike and looked over her books as the world began to blur.

Spike jumped onto the couch, hugged Twilight, and said, "I don't think they were trying to be mean. They just think that you depend on your books so much that you don't look to your friends."

Twilight wiped her eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Spike said tapping his chin, "Let's say Owlowiscious was sick, what would you do?"

"I would first examine him, and then I would look over my veterinary books to find-"

"And when you can't find what you need, you'd go to Fluttershy, so why not just do that first?"

Twilight sighed and said, "Fluttershy knows a lot about animals, and she does have the medical expertise."

Spike smiled and asked, "So why don't you just ask Fluttershy? You don't have to know everything."

Twilight blinked and stammered, "Wh-what?"

"You don't have to know everything. You have friends that can help you. That's why you girls always come up with a last minute plan. You do the planning, but you think that you have to know everything."

He tightened his hug and said, "You trust your friends, but you don't think about their strengths."

"I guess you're right. I do trust them, and I know their strengths. I guess I just don't want to go unprepared."

Spike smiled and said, "Then study. That's your strength, and nopony makes a better book fort than you."

Twilight laughed and said, "Thanks Spike. I guess it might be better to get as much information as I can, and then form a plan with the girls."

"Exactly," Spike said as he headed back to the kitchen, "I'll make you a snack."

"Thanks Spike."

Twilight returned to the book and turned to the next marked passage.

The Everfree Forest is an area of great interest to magical scholars. The woods, as a laypony would put it, absorb magic from the very air, and few scholars can find a more accurate description of the phenomenon.

Unicorns from all across the Equestrian Territories come to the forest to test their skills. In fact, it is from these pilgrims that the both the Solar and Lunar temples recruit their students.

While there are few students accepted into either temple, their criteria differ so much that it is rare that both schools would approach the same unicorn.

The only known instances are Starswirl the Bearded and later his apprentice Clover the Clever.

Twilight shook her head, "Interesting, but I already know that the Everfree can affect magic."

"Here you go," Spike said as he set down a small plate with a daisy sandwich.

"Thanks, Spike."

Twilight took a bite from her sandwich and turned to the final passage.

The heart will choose what it will. This wisdom, while a source of inspiration for poets, has proven problematic to the teachers of the Lunar Temple.

One of the main tenets within the Lunar Temple is the belief that true knowledge comes from total freedom. In truth, the teachers of the temple are there to provide guidance and ensure that the temple remain standing.

It is in this regard that certain measures were implemented. Among them were measures designed to keep relationships between ponies as professional as possible. The measure in question reacts when a pony’s love for another is at a point of being distracting. When this occurs, the measure separates the two.

Twilight took a sip of tea and whispered, “That doesn’t sound right.”

She glanced over the rest of the passage until she found another mention of the measures.

Honest students are something of a rarity at the Lunar Temple. In fact, many believe that the only reason that the temple was able to maintain its discoveries was through pride. The pride of being in direct competition with the Solar Temple kept the majority of students from selling temple secrets.

Not all students were able to be kept in check, and, as a result, strict security measures were implemented. These measures still allowed the students to continue their experiments, but any and all unicorns whose unique magic signature hadn’t been registered would be dealt with.

The temple never had a curfew, so there was no need-

“What,” Twilight said as she read the section again, “How were they dealt with?”

She sighed and closed her book.

“At least Rarity was right. Pinkie and Fluttershy’s love could cause problems.”

Twilight rubbed her eyes and looked out the window.

“I wonder what that pony had to get.”

---

The Apple family homestead glowed in the late afternoon light, and the scent of apples made the old home feel as welcoming as a loving parent's embrace.

"What are you planning on making," Applejack asked as the pair arrived at the front door.

Pinkie stopped bouncing and said, "I dunno. I'll think of something."

"You really should take this more seriously," Applejack said with a shake of her head.

Pinkie giggled and asked, "What's to take seriously?"

"Yeah and that's the problem."

Pinkie stopped bouncing and said, "What do you-"

"I'm sorry, sugarcube," Applejack said.

"Okay," Pinkie said, "What did you mean?"

"It's not important."

Applejack tried to walk away, but Pinkie stopped her.

"Jackie, it's important to you, so it's important to me."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"But, why?"

Applejack walked around Pinkie and grumbled, "I don't want to be a bad friend anymore."

Pinkie ran in front of Applejack and said, "Well you're not being a good friend right now. Let me help."

Applejack sighed and said, "I wanted to say that I was right about you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's your attitude that's the problem."

Applejack sat down and said, "We're on our way to free some poor ponies who've been trapped for hundreds of years, and you're asking what's to take seriously?"

She shook her head and added, "How can I expect you take being with Fluttershy seriously if you can't take anything seriously?"

Pinkie sat down and looked away from Applejack.

Applejack tried to hug Pinkie, but she was pushed away.

"Sugarcube, I'm-"

Pinkie raised a hoof to stop Applejack. She sighed and said, "You're right, Jackie. I love Flutters, I really do, but..."

Applejack put a leg around Pinkie's shoulder and said, "I feel just awful, but I just don't want to see either of you hurting."

Pinkie sniffed and said, "I know, but I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Every time somepony takes something seriously, something bad happens. I just don't want anything to happen to Flutters."

Applejack nodded and asked, "Well, that's a mighty fine reason to worry, but don't you think Fluttershy is worth the risk?"

Pinkie stopped sniffling and stood up. She turned to Applejack, and, with a slight narrowing of her eyes, said, "Of course she is."

"That's what I've been waiting to hear," Applejack said with a big smile, "Now let's get inside. We got to fix some grub."

"Okie dokie," Pinkie said as the pair entered the home.

---

"It certainly is a lovely day," Rarity said.

Fluttershy shook her head and said, "Yes it is."

She glanced around and asked, "Rarity why are you in such a hurry to get to my cottage?"

Rarity smiled and said, "Darling, I merely wanted a chance to catch up. It's been so long since we've had talk, what with your new found love."

A warm blush rose from Fluttershy's cheeks and she said, "Um, it would be nice to talk, and it had been too long. I'm sorry."

"Nonsense," Rarity said, "There is nothing to apologize for. You have found a special somepony, and that is simply wonderful."

She nudged Fluttershy and asked, "And just how are things going with Pinkie?"

The blush on Fluttershy's cheeks grew deeper and she said, "Everything is going fine."

Rarity giggled and said, "Well that blush on your face tells me that something special happened."

Fluttershy shook her head and her face continued to grow red to the point that she could feel her cheeks getting warmer.

A sharp squeal left Rarity's lips and she jumped in front of Fluttershy.

She grabbed Fluttershy's face with her hooves and said, "Oh darling, you must simply tell me everything."

Fluttershy managed to get Rarity to let go of her face and said, "Um, there's nothing to tell."

Rarity grabbed onto Fluttershy and cried, "Oh, please tell me."

"Rarity," Fluttershy whispered, "Please let go."

"Not until you tell. Me. Everything."

Fluttershy shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to say anything without Pinkie knowing."

The mention of her special somepony made her blush return.

"Ooh," Rarity pouted, "Could you at least give me a hint?"

Fluttershy stepped back from Rarity and took a deep breath.

Rarity smiled and rose to her hooves, and stared blankly as the yellow pegasus leapt over her.

Fluttershy resumed her walk home and only glanced back when she felt pangs of guilt.

"What-," Rarity stammered before she ran to catch up with her friend.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I should never have pressured you."

Fluttershy shook her head, "No, it's alright."

Rarity smiled and asked, "Could I at least guess?"

"I can't say anything."

"Oh that's quite all right darling. I'm merely going to guess."

Rarity nodded as she said, "Whatever this secret is, it's important enough to you that you wish to keep it secret. Also, even though you're blushing, you aren't embarrassed by it. Lastly, you seem to be happy about it."

She stopped and a moment later let out a delighted squeal.

Fluttershy turned around only be caught in a vice-like, though still very lady-like, embrace.

"You had your first kiss," Rarity said as she nuzzled Fluttershy.

"That is simply adorable."

Fluttershy smiled as her face regained its red glow yet again.

She smiled and asked, "Um, could you not say anything?"

Rarity nuzzled Fluttershy one last time before the pair resumed their way across Fluttershy's stone bridge.

"Of course I won't say anything," Rarity said.

She looked away and stopped before they arrived at Fluttershy's door.

"What's wrong," Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rarity said with a slight strain in her voice.

Fluttershy shook her head and said, "It's important to you, so it's important to me. Um, if you want to tell me..."

Rarity couldn't help smiling at her friend's insistence. She sighed and said, "I just thought I would be the first one to find love."

She laughed and added, "I know you and Pinkie will be happy together, but I can't help feel left out."

Fluttershy hugged Rarity and said, "I'm sorry."

Rarity sighed and said, "Darling, you have nothing to apologize for."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Yes I do. I never though about your feelings when-"

"And there is nothing wrong with that," Rarity said as she took a step back from Fluttershy. "You are so head over hooves in love that the entire world disappears when you're near Pinkie."

"Yes," Fluttershy said, "That's exactly how it feels." She blushed and added, "Whenever I see Pinkie, she's the brightest thing in a room. Even brighter than Celestia's sun."

She ducked slightly and whispered, "I hope the princess isn't mad that I said that."

"Of course she won't be upset," Rarity said with a giggle.

She gave Fluttershy a gentle nudge and said, "I certainly could go for a spot of tea. Would you like a cup?"

Fluttershy's eye widened and she said, "Oh my, how rude of me! I'll make the tea right away."

She darted into the home leaving a bemused Rarity at the entrance.

"Oh, Fluttershy," Rarity said as she entered the cottage.

---

"Why don't you ever try reading backwards?"

Twilight looked to Spike and asked with an arched eyebrow, "What? Why?"

Spike shrugged, "I dunno, it might be better than reading the same book three times."

He tapped Twilight's shoulder and said, "And you never learn anything after the third time."

"How do you know that?"

Spike smirked and said, "A number one assistant knows."

Twilight sighed and closed the book. She finished her daisy sandwich and said, "That really hit the spot."

"Glad to be of service," Spike said with a slight bow, "Did you learn anything?"

"Not much, Spike. The best I could find was that their love could affect things at the temple."

Spike scratched his head and asked, "What kind of things?"

"I don't know. The book the princess gave me doesn't have anything about specific reactions, only vague warnings about unauthorized magic being used in the temple."

"Is it safe?"

Twilight stared at Spike and said, "I don't know. From what I learned, the temple was a school, but there is nothing specific about the security measures that were put in place before the temple fell. I don't know if they're still in place or how unstable they could be. All I know is that Pinkie and Fluttershy can't be together."

The front door closed and Twilight stared into the eyes of an angry Rainbow Dash.

Twilight waved her forehooves in front of her and said, "Wait Rainbow, you got it all wrong."

Rainbow glared at Twilight for a few seconds before she began laughing. "You should have seen your face," she said between her laughs, "Oh that's rich."

Twilight sat down and ask, "So you're not mad?"

"Nah, I know you didn't mean it like it sounded, but tell me anyway."

"Okay," Twilight said, "The book Princess Celestia sent me gave me some information about the temple."

She felt her face grow a bit warm and said, "It seems that there was a problem with students become a little too friendly with each other."

Rainbow looked at Twilight for a while before the meaning dawned on her. "Oh," she said.

Twilight cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, in order to keep the students honest and keep unwanted ponies out, they installed security measures."

Rainbow frowned and asked, "What kind of-"

"Don't bother," Spike said, "She doesn't know."

"Spike," Twilight said.

"What," Spike asked with a shrug.

"Oh never mind," Twilight said, "Anyway. I just think it might be a good idea to keep Fluttershy and Pinkie apart while we're inside the temple."

Rainbow nodded and said, "That makes sense. Did you learn anything about the ghosts?"

Twilight shook her head, "No I didn't."

"That's okay. We'll figure something out. We always do."

Twilight let out a groan.

"Are you okay," Rainbow asked.

"I'm fine," Twilight said, "We should get going."

She stood up and took a good look at Rainbow Dash.

The blue pegasus wore a khaki shirt with a compass around her neck, and on her head was...

"Is that a pith helmet?"

Rainbow grinned and said, "It sure is. I'm ready for adventure."

"Well that's good," Twilight said while giggling, "But we should get going to Fluttershy's."

She turned to Spike and said, "Be careful, Spike, and don't stay up too late."

Spike smirked and said, "I won't."

Twilight rolled her eyes and opened the front door to let Rainbow out.

As the pair exited the library, they saw a crowd of ponies gathered.

Rainbow Dash grumbled, "Great. At least I'm ready for them."

Twilight stepped in front of Rainbow Dash and said, "Rainbow wait."

"Wait for what?"

A voice spoke up from the crowd, "Perhaps an explanation is in order."

"Mayor," Twilight asked.

The Mayor of Ponyville nodded and said, "I didn't mean to cause any distress. I merely wished to express my concern. I heard about what happened to Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

She turned to Rainbow, "A pony from the royal guard arrived and informed me of what happened. I just wanted to reassure you that those ponies are not from Ponyville."

"How do you know that they weren't from Ponyville," Twilight asked.

Mayor Mare smiled and said, "Let's just say that I know the citizens of Ponyville, and none would attack somepony because of who they love."

Rainbow Dash nodded and said, "That's good to know, but AJ and me aren't a couple."

The mayor took a step back and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, but you could have fooled me."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately," Rainbow said, "Anyway, we gotta get going.”

"Oh? Where are you going?"

"The Everfree Forest," Twilight said.

A shiver ran through the ponies gathered in front of the library and Mayor Mare said, "I see. Please be careful."

Twilight nodded and said, "We will."

The group began to part so Twilight and Rainbow Dash could pass, and Twilight stopped next to Mayor Mare.

"Mayor," Twilight asked, "Did the royal guard tell you anything else?"

"All he told me was that the ponies escaped into the forest."

"Well, they're the ones that need to be careful," Rainbow said.

Mayor Mare swallowed and said with a weak laugh, "I certainly don't doubt you."

Twilight smiled at the mayor and said, "Thank you again. I'll let Pinkie and Fluttershy know that they'll be safe in Ponyville."

Mayor Mare laughed and said, "Oh the hearts that were broken when news of the new couple spread."

Twilight shook her head and said, "I didn't know Fluttershy was so-"

"Oh not just Fluttershy. Many a stallion had their eye on Pinkie."

Rainbow turned around and asked, "Pinkie? Really?"

Mayor Mare nodded and said, "Oh yes. There is a, um, specialness to her. Fluttershy as well."

"Well that's true," Rainbow said, "Sorry but we gotta go."

"Oh of course. But please be careful."

Twilight nodded, and the pair began to walk toward Fluttershy's cottage.

The afternoon's warm air was beginning to give way to the early evening's cool breeze, and the two ponies made good time walking.

As they walked, Twilight asked, "Rainbow, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Okay. Um, why are you so adamant about reminding ponies that you and Applejack aren't a couple?"

"Well, how would you feel if everypony thought you and Rarity were dating?"

Twilight slowed her pace and said, "Well, I don't think I'd like it very much. I mean, I love all you girls, but to have ponies think that would hurt."

Rainbow Dash nodded and said, "Exactly. I don't care, and AJ's got thick skin."

Twilight stopped and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"What was that," Rainbow asked.

"I said that I'm so sorry. I. I never thought about how this could be hurting you."

Rainbow shook her head and said, "Don't sweat it, alright? It's not like you were trying to hurt our feelings."

"But that's just it," Twilight said, "I never even considered your feelings. I really am a terrible friend."

"No you are not. You're great friend."

Rainbow Dash sat down next to Twilight and said, "Yeah, it's weird how everypony is so hung up on AJ and me, but that doesn't mean you're a bad friend."

She nudged Twilight and added, "So how about we just drop this, okay?"

Twilight nodded and said, "Okay. I promise to never say that again."

"Good," Rainbow said with a nod.

"But..."

Rainbow sighed and asked, "But what?"

Twilight smiled and said, "But you two would make a cute couple."

"Are you still on that?"

Rainbow laughed and said, "Hey, AJ. Don't worry, she promised to drop it."

Applejack laughed and said, "Well that's good to hear."

Pinkie bounced up to Rainbow Dash an let out a sharp whistle. "Where did you get those super duper cool clothes, Dashie?"

Rainbow puffed out her chest and said, "This is an officially certified Daring Do Adventure Safari Outfit."

Pinkie jumped up and said, "Oh boy, now this is a real adventure."

Applejack nodded and said, "Well you certainly do look mighty sharp there Rainbow."

Rainbow adjusted her helmet and said, "Thanks Applejack."

Twilight gave Rainbow a passing glanced and noticed a slight red on her cheeks. "That's just the sun, right," she whispered.

Applejack chuckled at Rainbow and asked, "Think the great adventurer could give me a hoof with one of these saddlebags?"

"Sure thing," Rainbow said as she took the extra saddlebag.

Twilight noticed that Pinkie also had two saddlebags on and asked, "Pinkie, do you need any help carrying one of those bags?"

Pinkie shook her head and said, "Nope, I totally got it."

She continued admiring Rainbow's outfit until she felt something missing.

"My bags are gone," Pinkie screamed, "Somepony stole them."

"Pinkie," Twilight called with the bags held in a lavender glow, "I have your bags."

Her calls landed on screaming ears as the pink pony began to run in circles.

"Help," Pinkie cried, "Somepony stole my bags."

She grabbed Rainbow Dash by her shirt and screamed, "I had a super special treat made just for Flutters, and now..."

"Oh no you don't," Rainbow said as she shot up into the sky.

Her timing was perfect, as just a moment later, Pinkie began crying.

Twilight set the bags down on the ground and hugged Pinkie, "I have your bags."

Pinkie sniffed and looked to see her bags on the ground.

"Pinkie," Twilight said, "I thought that they way you bounce around, that it would be best if I carried your bags."

Rainbow landed and added, "Yeah, and the food would be ruined before we even get to Fluttershy's cottage."

Pinkie rubbed her eyes and said, "I never thought of that."

She hugged Twilight back and asked, "Can I have one of the bags?"

Twilight nodded and said, "Of course you can."

Pinkie stood up and smiled when she felt the familiar weight of a saddlebag on her back.

"Sorry I freaked out," Pinkie said, "I was just worried about Flutters' special treat."

Applejack laughed, "And it sure is a treat. I think it's the best thing Pinkie's ever baked, and that's saying something."

"What is it," Rainbow asked, "Let me see it."

"Dashie, you'll have to wait," Pinkie said as she stuck out her tongue.

"Fine, but let's go."

The other three ponies nodded, and the group continued toward the cottage.

Applejack walked alongside Twilight and asked, "How far do you think we'll get into the forest before nightfall?"

"If we don't take too long, we should get fairly close to the temple."

"Sounds good," Applejack said before she turned to Pinkie, "I think I see Fluttershy's bridge up ahead."

Pinkie began hopping up and down and said, "I can't wait to see Flutters."

Twilight laughed and levitated the saddlebag off of Pinkie's back.

The moment the bag was off, Pinkie took off toward the cottage.

The remaining ponies had a good laugh and made their way across the bridge. Once they arrived, they found Pinkie nuzzling Fluttershy.

"We're all ready to go," Pinkie said.

"Oh, okay," Fluttershy said, "Um, I just need to take care of one thing."

She turned to Angel Bunny and said, "Angel, you're in charge of the cottage until I get back."

The bunny nodded and gave Fluttershy a quick salute before lying back down.

"Well, now that we have that taken care of," Rarity said, "Let us depart."

Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy left the cottage, and Rarity began to giggle.

Rainbow shook her head and said with a wave of her hoof, "You just can't handle this level of cool."

"Well, I think you look nice," Fluttershy said.

Pinkie ran to her saddlebag and began to rummage through it. After a few moments, she returned to Fluttershy.

"Here you go, Flutters. Just for you."

Fluttershy looked at the paper bag and removed the ribbon. She used her snout to open the bag.

"Oh, my," she said, "Pinkie, this is wonderful, but..."

Fluttershy reached into the bag and pulled out a large cupcake. She blushed and said, "I couldn't eat this by myself."

She returned the cupcake to the bag and said, "Maybe we could share it?"

"That's a great idea," Pinkie said as she bounced up and down.

"Maybe you should wait until we eat dinner," Twilight said.

"Spoil sport," Pinkie said.

Fluttershy giggled and said, "I can't wait to eat it."

"Well," Applejack said, "We had best head out."

Rainbow Dash nodded and took to the air. She pointed and said, "It's time for adventure. We head to the north"

Twilight grabbed Rainbow by her hind leg and turned her north. "Rainbow, we're going to the southeast."

Rainbow landed and shrugged, "All great adventures go north."

She turned around and said as she pointed, "To the southeast."

Twilight sighed and corrected her leg again. "Is everypony ready to go?"

The group nodded and began to walk to the Everfree Forest. As they made their trek, the sun continued its own journey towards the horizon.

Rarity smiled and said, "It certainly is a wonderful breeze blowing this evening."

She glanced to Rainbow Dash and asked, "Do we have you to thank for it?"

Rainbow smirked, but a gentle nudge caused her to say, "Uh, no. That's probably just some wind blowing down from Cloudsdale."

"Did you have to nudge me," Rainbow asked Applejack.

Applejack laughed and said, "Hey, somepony's gotta keep you honest."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and continued to walk alongside Applejack.

As the ponies walked, the air continued to lower in temperature. This caused Fluttershy to step closer to Pinkie Pie.

"It's gonna be a cold night," Pinkie said, "but we'll be okay in the forest."

Rarity nodded and said, "Oh yes, darling. Why I think the forest will help keep the cold away."

Pinkie nuzzled closer to Fluttershy and added, “I’ll be your sweater, Flutters.”

She hopped up and down, “Oh! Or I could be your jacket! Or Pullover! Or Hoodie! Or-”

Fluttershy nudged her and said, “How about you just be my Pinkie?”

She stifled a giggle as she heard Rainbow Dash make a retching sound.

Twilight stopped and turned around.

Rainbow landed next to her and whispered, “What’s up?”

“I should tell them about what I learned about the temple.”

“Can’t you leave them be?”

Rainbow motioned with her head for Twilight to continue walking.

Twilight resumed walking and said, “It’s important that they know. We can’t take any risks.”

“Yeah, I know, but do they need to right now?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, it isn’t absolutely necessary that I tell them right now.”

Rainbow smiled and said, “Thanks, Twilight.”

Applejack’s eyes scanned the edges of the path and only looked away when she heard Fluttershy.

“Do you see anything?”

“Nothing yet, but I ain’t taking any chances.”

“Applejack,” Rarity said, “You’re being overly cautious.”

Twilight looked back and said, “I agree with Applejack. There’s just too much that we don’t know about the forest to take it lightly.”

Rarity nodded and said, “That is true.”

She turned to Applejack, “I do apologize.”

“Nah,” Applejack said, “Got nothing to apologize for.”

Her eyes returned to the sides or the path, and she smiled when they fell onto Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Thank you for staying close,” Fluttershy said.

A giggle escaped her when Pinkie nuzzled her.

“Any chance to nuzzle you,” Pinkie said with a smile.

The sharp sound of a branch breaking caused the group to stop in their tracks.

In an instant, they formed a line facing the direction of the noise with Pinkie and Fluttershy behind.

Silence passed and the ponies relaxed.

“We should check it out,” Applejack said.

“I’ll go with you,” Rainbow said.

“No, go on up. You can be our eyes in the sky.”

Rainbow nodded and said, “Okay, but I won’t be able to see much past the canopy.”

Applejack tilted her hat and said, “We’ll make do.”

Rainbow took off and began to look around.

Pinkie stood next to Applejack and called to Rainbow, “How’s the traffic out there?”

“Quiet down,” Applejack said.

She glanced to Pinkie and said, “Come on. Let’s check it out.”

“No way,” Pinkie said, “I’m not leaving Flutters.”

“I’ll stay with Fluttershy,” Rarity said.

Twilight stepped forward and said, “Splitting up is a bad idea.”

“What should we do,” Applejack asked.

“We keep going,” Twilight said.

She began to walk and glanced when she heard Rainbow land next to her.

“Think it might be a trap,” Rainbow asked.

“No. It’s probably just an animal.”

“Ponies always say that it’s an animal, and it’s always the rival treasure hunters.”

“Ooh, we’re on a treasure hunt now,” Pinkie asked with a happy bounce.

“We aren’t on a treasure hunt,” Twilight said.

She shook her head at Rainbow Dash and said, “Somepony’s been reading too much Daring Do.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed and said, “No such thing.”

The group came into a clearing and Applejack said, “This looks as good a place to set up for the night.”

“We can keep going,” Twilight said.

“It’s getting too late, and we need our rest for tomorrow.”

“I can light the path when it gets too dark to see.”

Applejack nodded and asked, “And when you get too tired? You expect Rarity to take over?”

“I agree with Applejack,” Rarity said, “We should find a place to rest.”

She glanced around the clearing and added, “Preferably somewhere else.”

“Why,” Twilight asked.

“This looks a little too exposed for my liking,” Rarity said.

“We’ll be fine,” Twilight said.

Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow set their saddlebags down and began to make camp.

Rarity stood next to Twilight and asked, “You can’t be serious. Surely you don’t expect us to sleep in this clearing?”

“Of course I do,” Twilight said.

She stifled a giggle, “And don’t call me Shirley.”

The group stared at Twilight, except for Pinkie who let out a high pitched giggle.

Applejack shook her head and asked Twilight, “Are we on the right path?”

Twilight nodded, “If we rest now, we can reach the ruins by noon.”

She glanced at Rarity and noticed she was scanning the edges of the clearing.

“Hold on girls,” Twilight said.

When the group stopped, she asked, “Is everypony comfortable camping here for tonight?”

Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy nodded, though Fluttershy nodded slower than the others.

Rarity sighed and said, “We shall be fine.”

Twilight smiled and said, “Thanks Rarity.”

The ponies finished making camp just as Luna’s moon rose ahead, and they were sitting by the fire.

“Let’s get the food ready,” Pinkie said to Fluttershy.

“Okay.”

The two opened the saddlebags and began to pass the food around.

“This looks really good,” Twilight said.

“Thank you,” Applejack said with a tip of her hat.”

Everypony ate their food and Twilight waved Rainbow Dash over.

“What’s up?”

“Think I tell Pinkie and Fluttershy?”

“Tell us what,” Pinkie asked.

Twilight spun around and saw Pinkie’s smiling face.

“Oh, uh, that you and Fluttershy can’t be together.”

Rarity dropped her plate and the others just stared at Twilight with slack jaws.

“Wait,” Twilight said, “I can explain. It’s that- I mean. There’s this thing with the ruins-”

She turned when she heard Rainbow laughing.

After a while Rainbow said, “She doesn’t mean it like that.”

Twilight regained her composure and said, “I read that there is a security system in place at the ruins, and it might be affected by the feelings between Pinkie and Fluttershy.”

“Really,” Rarity asked.

“I’m not absolutely certain, but I do know that we should limit our use of magic.”

Rarity tilted her head and asked, “Why?”

“Because of another security system. One designed to only allow authorized ponies access.”

“I see,” Rarity said, “Well, magic is really more your style, but I shall try to remember.”

“Just how far apart should they be,” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, “But I think we might be okay if they don’t stand next to each other.”

“We could split up,” Rainbow said.

Twilight nodded, “Good idea. Let’s see, how about-”

“Let’s decide that in the morning,” Applejack said.

“Fine,” Twilight said as she walked to her sleeping bag.

“I guess that means it is time to turn in,” Rarity said as she entered her tent.

Rainbow flew to a nearby tree and rested on a branch.

Applejack sat down underneath and said, “I’ll get the first watch.”

“Okay,” Rainbow said, “Get me up in two hours.”

“Sounds good,” Applejack said.

She settled in her spot and checked on her bandages. With everything in order she moved her gaze to the edges of the clearing.

Though she didn’t care to admit it, Rarity had a point. They were exposed in the clearing, but she’d spot any danger that came close.

On the far side of the clearing four ponies nursed their wounds.

“Let’s rush them,” one said, “I can’t believe they got the drop on us like that.”

“Don’t be stupid,” another said.

She looked around and said, “They didn’t get the drop on us. Some ghost attacked us.”

“Fine. Then let’s follow them and see what they’re up to.”

One unicorn who was laying down sat up and said, “Let’s just get out of here. Why are we even following these ponies?”

“Because of those freaks.”

He rolled his eyes and laid back down, “Well get some sleep. The forest will deal with them.”

“No,” the other unicorn said, “We will deal with them. They’ll learn not to mess with the way things are supposed to be.”

Silence fell and she glared at the sleeping ponies and whispered, “Soon. Soon you will pay.”

Author's Notes:

Here we are with a new chapter in my PinkieShy. It's not dead, though on lifesupport for a while.

Even though this chapter is finished, PinkieShy will remain on Hiatus status. I'm focusing on my AppleShy series, but I have a clear idea of where to go before continuing my PinkieShy.

Your patience is so appreciated that I know I can't truly repay it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to sharing more in the future.