Moving On Part 2

Twilight let out a moan of dread as Celestia’s sun peeked through her window to her tired eyes. “Can’t the sun wait five more minutes...” The young mare yawned and rolled out of bed. She turned and quickly made her bed with her magic before glancing to her guest bed and remembering last night. “Wake-y, wake-y!” Twilight attempted a playful voice as she approached the bed, ‘I hope she slept well, I would really like to explain-...’ her thoughts were halted with the realization that the bed was empty.

“I’m already up, Twilight.” a slightly confused Spike said. “Oh and I sent that letter for you, still no response though, anything particularly important in that scroll?” Spike asked half interested.

“Oh. Thanks Spike, but I don’t think it’s something for baby dragon’s ears, at least just yet. Did you see Fluttershy?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you seen Fluttershy? She stayed the night here... and who unlocked the window?” Twilight approached the window noticing the latch was off.

“I don’t know, I’ve been up a while and I haven’t seen her. Maybe she woke up early and had business to take care of? She does watch after a lot of animals after all.” Spike said, beginning to take care of his daily chores since his boss had awoken.

“Maybe. I’m going out to look for her, if a scroll comes just set it aside for me, I’ll be back as soon as I find her.” the lavender pony began towards the door. “Oh, write a letter to Princess Celestia saying Fluttershy has gone missing, it could be nothing but I’d prefer she knew.”

The purple and green dragon raised an eyebrow at his, now leaving, caretaker “Uh.. alright Twilight. Whatever you say.” he said a bit confused as to why Fluttershy’s whereabouts were apparently important to the sun goddess.

‘OhnoOhnoOhno, please be safe Fluttershy. I hope she just went out to tend to the animals, I hope I’m not the reason she left...’

*Burp* “Alright then, on to the chores,” the dragon said as a scroll burst into flames in front of him, “see ya later Twilight.” Spike began picking up a pile of books and climbing the ladder to their respective spots.

‘Where would she go without telling me. Who am I kidding after last night she probably thinks the worst of me, if I was in her place I’d think my friend was trying to take advantage of me, and she probably thinks that about me now.’ Twilight felt more and more angry with herself for how she acted, ‘But it was a wonderful ki-...’. The unicorn shook her head as a blush came to her face. ‘I needed to focus on the present if I’m to help Fluttershy’ Twilight thought as she galloped towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

~~~~

It had been a long flight for Fluttershy, she never was very strong at it in the first place and the cottage seemed much farther in the night. Soon after entering her house and sitting on the sofa the timid pony’s mind began to betray her. As Fluttershy sat she began staring at the door and constantly thinking of new and more creative ways that Rainbow Dash would enter and beat her for what she had done last night. ‘Rainbow knows that I went with Twilight. She has to know, she always knows when I’ve made a mistake and betrayed her.’

The longer she sat the more she dreaded that she had kissed Twilight, and the more she feared what would be coming through that door.

At.

Any.

Moment.

“OUCH!” Fluttershy fell off the sofa and began looking around terrified and uncertain which direction she should start running. Soon she located the little white bunny who had always belittled her, yet pushed her in the right direction whenever she would listen to his silent reasoning. He was holding a carrot top with another one lying next to him, no doubt what he had thrown to get her attention, and he had a worried look on his face.

“O-oh. Hello Angel.” Fluttershy said trying to calm herself having found what had struck her.

The white bunny ran over to the pegasus and pointed at Fluttershy then to the door.

“I should leave? But where should I go?”

The bunny scratched his chin for a moment before wiping his arm in various lines across his body.

“I’m sorry I don’t-”

The bunny pretended to stir a cauldron of some kind.

“I’m not one-hundred percent-”

Angel facepawed and pointed towards the EverFree forest through the window and hopped up to a shelf with pictures. He tossed a few down to the ground before finally finding one of a Zebra. He held up the picture.

“Oh, Zecora’s? That’s a great idea Angel, thank you.”

Angel hopped down and gave the yellow pony a hug before ushering her out the door.

As Fluttershy found herself back outside she realized the entirety of what she had accepted doing. While she did like Zecora, and she had visited a few times since they officially met, she had only gone on her own once thus far, and there was a reason for that, the forest was far too scary to go alone. The yellow pegasus looked to the path that lead to Zecora’s hut and gulped. “I suppose it is safer there than at home...”

~~~~

Princess Celestia lay on her throne of pillows in the main hall as she normally did for a break after raising the sun. ‘Another day another rise.’ she thought with a rather cheery smile as she glanced behind her through the window.

‘POOF’ A scroll popped into existence before Celestia’s muzzle.

“Oh, a letter from Twilight this early?” Celestia took a grasp of the letter with her magic before it could begin to fall and unfurled it before her eyes.

A full minute passed as Princess Celestia read and re-read the letter to make certain she had understood it correctly. *Sigh* “Why must this always happen to the best of ponies...” The white alicorn thought for a moment to consider if she was talking about Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash.

“Guards.” The princess said in a moderate but authority bearing tone. Two armoured pegasus walked in. “I need multiple search parties sent out now to apprehend a ‘Rainbow Dash’. She is to be taken into custody here and I am to be alerted when she arrives.”

The pegasus guards bowed  and walked back out of the royal hall. “Oh Twilight.”

Princess Celestia pulled out a fresh scroll and began writing her reply as another scroll ‘poofed’ into existence. “Another?”

As the goddess read the much shorter scroll she felt her heart sink as worry hit her, “Oh...Please be safe.” The alicorn had begun to think of the elements as a family of hers, and having such a horrible thing happen was taking its toll. She rolled up the scroll with her magic and wiped a tear away as she finished her reply, ‘The poor pegasus, she must be hurt and confused by all this, its no wonder she disappeared.’ Celestia frowned.

“I hope you are able to keep Fluttershy safe until we find Rainbow Dash...” the goddess whispered as she returned to her throne. She had many meetings to tend to today and she needed to clear her mind if she was to be of any use to anypony.

~~~~

“Hello? Helloooo, Anypony home?” Twilight had arrived at Fluttershy’s house, the door was locked which seemed strange to Twilight.

“I’m coming in if anyone is home!” Twilight said as her horn glowed and the door unlocked and opened before her. The house looked dark and was quiet. Twilight entered the door and instantly found her face hurting as a carrot was thrown at her. “Whaa!-” Twilight’s horn glowed and the nick knacks around the house began to float before she was able to see her attacker. A beaten bloody bunny with white gauze wrapped around his right arm and another carrot in his left, all tied together by his equally shocked face.

“Angel Bunny, why are you attacking me! And where is Fluttershy? For that matter, what happened to you?” Twilight went from rage to an empathetic tone.

The bunny stared at Twilight and lost his shocked face for a glare as he raised the carrot higher. “Wait! What happened here and why are you attacking me,” Twilight’s horn glowed as she raised the bunny into the air before her “I won’t let you down until you agree to answer my questions, Fluttershy could be in danger right now!” The white bunny stared at Twilight with angry eyes for a moment before nodding slowly. As he was lowered to the ground he winced in pain as his injured feet came in contact with the floor again.

“What happened in here anyway? “ Twilight looked around at the disaster of a living room, pictures thrown around the room, a small amount of sickening dark red could be seen staining the ground and furniture here and there. This all along with ripped curtains and knocked over bird cages left Twilight’s heart pounding in her chest. “Oh no... Please say Fluttershy is safe!” the unicorn yelled.

The bunny looked around the house as if for the first time in ages and then back to Twilight, he looked sad but nodded to the lavender pony’s last question. “Thank Celestia, what happened to you?” Angel bunny began to mimic kicking at the door and shouting at a toy mouse sitting in the room. After he yelled for a while he smacked the mouse and ran over to it pointing to a picture of Fluttershy laying on the ground nearby while shouting. “Did Rainbow do this to you?” The bunny nodded furiously and then stopped suddenly with another wince as he rubbed his neck. “She came here for Fluttershy then? You didn’t tell her where Flutter was did you?”

The bunny shook his head and pointed to a picture of Fluttershy, then to the door. The bunny began to flap his arms like wings and pointed to a cloud outside. The bunny then turned back to the mouse hitting it again and pointing to himself. Twilight sat staring for a second before the pieces clicked, “You told Rainbow she went to Cloudsdale? Is that it?” The bunny nodded again before staring a bit suspiciously at Twilight. “Oh. I need to know where Fluttershy went, I’m trying to protect her from Rainbow...”

Angel Bunny hopped over to Twilight and stared at her with his beady black eyes. He seemed to be deep in thought as the scowl on his face changed to a much more neutral composure and he pawed at his chin. “Please tell me, I’m afraid she could be in true danger out there. Even if she finds a safe place to go, if she stays anywhere too long Rainbow could still find her...” Twilight’s mind reeled through possibilities that would likely ensue from an angry Rainbow Dash finding Fluttershy after being sidetracked to Cloudsdale, she shivered.

The bunny closed his eyes and waved Twilight away with his good arm and began to clumsily hop away. “No! You have to tell me anything you know about Fluttershy! I care too much to have her in danger on her own, “ tears swelled in Twilight’s eyes as she hovered the white bunny over to her and stared at him face to face.

Angel stared into her eyes and sighed. The bunny looked down defeated for a moment before looking into Twilight’s eyes again and pointing to the EverFree forest and repeating his gesture of a cauldron being stirred. “Zecora?” The bunny nodded as he was placed back on the floor. “Thank you, “ Twilight said as she wiped away a tear and made for the door, “I promise to do my best to keep her safe,” ‘Oh, right...’ “Hey Angel?” Twilight turned back to look at the battered bunny, “Would you mind heading into town and staying at the library? It’s the large tree in the middle of town. I’m worried Rainbow might return before tomorrow and she might...” Twilight frowned as she thought of what could become of the bunny Fluttershy adored so much.

Angel stared at Twilight for a moment, then glanced to his injured feet. Surprisingly he looked back up with a determined face and nodded.“Thank you, Angel. I know Fluttershy would want you safe.” Twilight picked out a misshaped shred of paper from a pile of broken pictures and rummaged through the mess until she found a pencil.

Spike,

Help Angel as best you can, and send

Princess

Celestia a message saying to look through Cloudsdale for Rainbow.

Signed,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight handed the ‘letter’ to Angel and they went their separate ways.

~~~~

EARLIER THAT DAY

~~~~

Fluttershy walked through the EverFree forest, head low to the ground and eyes closed. Every few seconds she would ‘peek’ out of her mane to make certain she was still on a path of some kind but she always found her eyes meet with an unnatural shadow or a movement in her peripheral. Each horrifying vision lead her to sink lower to the ground, eyes sealed shut until she could work up the nerve to ‘peek’ again.

‘CRACK’

“EEEP!” Fluttershy jumped back and began shaking in a ball at the stick she had just stepped on. ‘Oh... silly me.’ Fluttershy tried to calm herself down but even knowing it was just a twig didn’t help the timid pony stop shaking. ‘I have to keep going, Zecora can protect me. I have to get to her.’ With that the pegasus raised to her feet and swiftly fell right back on her haunches with her forelegs covering her face as an owl hooted.

‘This might have been a bad idea.’

After five minutes of covering her face the yellow mare moved her forelegs and looked around. The forest was dark, as always, but it looked like she was alone. Nothing could be seen except trees, darkness, and the stick she had stepped on still sitting in front of her. ‘OK. I can do this. I HAVE to do this.’ Fluttershy raised herself to her hooves with a sigh as she looked at the stick yet again. ‘I’m such a scaredypony...’ The pegasus began down the path again, careful to not step on the same stick twice.

The yellow mare found herself repeating her previous mistakes. She had her head a mere inch off the ground and her eyes hadn’t opened in nearly a minute. Fluttershy began talking to herself, “I need to be a brave pony, I need to be a brave pony, I need to be a bra-AAAAAAH!” The pegasus’s mind was overcame by fear as she walked into a bush and screamed for whatever held her in place to let go.

The pony broke free from the dark bush and began to sprint screaming into the darkness, eyes clenched shut harder than she had ever closed them before.

“AAAAH! NO! GO AWAY! DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” Fluttershy screamed louder each time. Soon she found herself colliding into something yet again, but this time it wouldn’t let go of her.

“Let go, let go, let go!” Fluttershy yelled as she struggled, but whatever it was it was holding her steady. The pegasus opened an eye about to scream another protest when she found herself staring at a rather confused Zecora holding her in her hooves.

“Oh.... umm.. Zecora, I-I w...was looking for y-you...” Fluttershy began to blush as she realized she had been yelling at Zecora to let her go, the adrenaline making talking steady impossible.

“Hello Fluttershy; nice of you to come by.

But might I ask just one thing, what business could possibly- you -bring?” Zecora said with a slight frown of worry on her face.

“I-I...” Fluttershy took a deep breath trying to ease her shaking body and still terrified mind.

“Here my friend please come inside, once we are safe and warm you can confide” Zecora motioned to her hut. ‘Have I been this close the entire time?’ Fluttershy thought as she nodded and followed the zebra to her home.

Once inside Fluttershy’s heart began to return to a normal rhythm. She took a seat on a chair Zecora motioned her towards and tried her hardest to slow her breathing from its current state of shock.

“Here you are, have some tea. Now tell me what you need of me.” Zecora handed the scared pegasus a cup and gave a reassuring smile as if to say ‘I’m eager to help’. Fluttershy sipped her tea with a shaking hoof and placed it down on the table.

“I need a place to hide for a little while, somepony might be looking for me and I don’t want them to-...” Fluttershy stopped mid sentence and silently wished Zecora would believe that was the end of her thought. If Zecora knew she showed no sign of it, to her it didn’t matter if the reason wasn’t explained as this pony of all ponies wouldn’t come out into the EverFree forest for anything less than a ‘life and death’ situation, at least not alone.

“Say no more timid one, consider this matter done.

If you need a place to stay, then in this place you may.” Zecora tried to cheer up the pegasus with a smile and gave her a short hug before continuing.

“Now please tell me, when was the last sleep for thee?” the zebra said seeing the bags under Fluttershy’s eyes.

In truth Fluttershy had forgotten her exhaustion once she had reached her cottage as her mind began to fill with fear and adrenaline to ignore her tired body and push through the forest. As her heart rate fell to a normal beat and her mind was able to exit its ‘Fight or Flight’ response she felt wave after wave of sleep depravity hit her. She hadn’t slept since the night before last, and it was now nearing noon, not that you could tell this deep into the EverFree forest.

“It has been a while..” Fluttershy said with a soft yawn.

“If you would follow please, I’ll take you to a bed that should appease.”

“Thank you, Zecora.” The pegasus said with another quiet yawn. Next Chapter: Part Three Estimated time remaining: 53 Minutes