Author's Notes:

The Temple of The Shy Maiden By TheCrimsonDM
Streaker(s) Anthro Fluttershy

Fluttershy hung upside down, her chest was bound by the thick slimy vines and her satchel lay only a few feet away. If only she could move her arms this would be no problem. She struggled and the vines grew tighter. The pressure against her naked flesh was almost too much to bear, and the vines pinched her nipples almost painfully. The ruins around her offered no visible salvation.

With a great sigh she resigned herself to her fate. Being stuck in these ruins while Twilight led her class around the jungle looking for artifacts. Would they ever find her? Would she be stuck here forever? Even if she was freed could she return the prize to Twilight in this condition?

Fluttershy let out yet another sigh as she thought back to this morning, when she was still fully clothed, outside of any scary ruins, and not looking for any priceless treasures. It was a safe memory to get lost in.

The campsite was nice and clean, and even with so many ponies running around Fluttershy felt comfortable here. With a book in hand she was busy reading about the local animals in southern Equestria. Sure she knew about a great deal of them already, but there were pictures in here of the little sweeties and she simply couldn’t pass up the chance to see those.

Twilight along with Rainbow Dash were already out and about doing things to help the many students here. Despite Fluttershy’s protests Twilight had come up with the idea of taking a large number of her students, somewhere around forty if Fluttershy remembered correctly, and to go out on an expedition to search for ancient secrets and lost artifacts. Though why Twilight took her students and not just her friends along, was still a bit of a mystery for Fluttershy. What kind of friendship lesson could she teach to all these ponies out here?

Starlight Glimmer walked up to where Fluttershy sat, the white shirt she wore somehow made Starlight’s breast stand out a little more. Or perhaps that was just Fluttershy noticing things that she was not supposed too again. She remembered how embarrassing it was to be looked at like that when she was posing for Photo Finish all those years ago, so she opted not to stare too hard.

Fluttershy closed the book just as Starlight took a seat. “Starlight, how are you doing?”

Starlight kicked her hooves up and wiped at her forehead. Her face was matted down with perspiration; clearly she was not used to the humid environment. “Ugh, this place sucks. I get that Starswirl was doing research here and all but why does it matter if he was looking into spells on friendship or not? Can’t we just sit at the castle doing nothing, like usual?”

Hearing about Starswirl actually made a lot of sense. Of course Twilight would bring an expedition here, especially if it had any connection to friendship at all.

“You look a little down yourself,” Starlight said.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no it’s nothing.” Just that Twilight is probably using this as an excuse for her collection.

“I know there are monsters here, but we’ll keep you safe.” Starlight slapped Fluttershy on the back between her wings.

“Ow…” Fluttershy rubbed at her back.

“Sorry, I forgot how sensitive you are. You shouldn’t do too much, you know just find somewhere nice and cool and uh… stay out of the way.”

Fluttershy frowned at her. “Twilight invited me personally… surely she had a reason.”

“Yeah your good company,” Starlight stood up. “But seriously don’t get hurt trying to do stuff that’s too hard for you. We don’t want to have to save you or anything.”

Fluttershy lowered her head. “Oh… okay.” She thinks I’m useless! That’s not fair, after all these years of me helping my friends out when they need it. I stopped a rampaging dragon once… but… that was so long ago.

Fluttershy watched Starlight walk away. I know I’m not the strongest, or the bravest, or the smartest, but surely I can do something… right?

She leaned back and looked up at the sky. Maybe I can’t. Maybe I’m just like Rarity and all they want is a pretty face to sit around and make them look good.

It took a moment but Fluttershy saw Twilight waving at her from over by a few dozen crates. She didn’t hesitate to jump up and walk over to her. There was a warm smile over Twilight’s lips as Fluttershy approached. “Good, Fluttershy, we need your help. Can you communicate with the local animals and see if they know of any ruins around here to investigate while I help these guys unpack things?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course.”

Twilight waved a hand and her horn took on a pink glow as the crates were surrounded by a similar colored aura. Fluttershy left as the crates lifted off the ground and floated over to a large tent. Her mind was full of thoughts on how she could best help her friend, especially if it involved her special talent.

She was going to do this; she was going to prove that she was useful too.

The jungle was thick with flora, and even with a machete she was having a hard time getting through it. For nearly ten minutes she thought that she would never get out of it. Then the way forward opened up and she stumbled a few awkward steps. The earth beneath her was broken up by pieces of stone and a small path was clear of most of the trees, vines, and other obstructions.

There was no hiding the smile that grew upon this discover. As small as it was, she felt like this was the right path to go on. So forward she went, into the unknown. Strange cries surrounded her, and although animal in nature she could hardly make out what was being said. For nearly another ten minutes she walked down the path until she reached an open square cave built into a moss covered hill.

For a moment she wondered at the shape of the entrance to this cave, for it looked purposely dug. The closer she got, the more she understood what she was looking at. The hill itself was jagged, and flat. Just under the moss she could see the stone it was made from. It looked odd.

She wiped away some of the moss. Her hand came back dirty so she brushed it off on her brown shorts. There, now uncovered, she could see the stone surface, covered in dirt and strange symbols. After peeking into the cave she realized that it was a long square tunnel, just tall enough for her to fit into. This wasn’t some old hill, it was a ruin! I did it!

“Oh found a new place to explore?” cooed a soft voice.

She looked behind herself and found a strange purple cat staring up at her with a pair of yellow eyes. There were stripes of lavender throughout its grape fur. Fluttershy knelt down and smiled. “Hello, my name is Fluttershy, who are you?”

“Me? Ah but alas I tire of giving countless names for my titles are many and my years many more.” It purred as it rubbed up against her leg. She pet the strange cat and giggled as its fur tickled the soft skin of her palm. “Do you seek to enter the Temple of the Shy Maiden?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, I have friends who will be interested in it though. Do you know what’s in there?”

“Mmhmm, it would seem that the old bearded unicorn had hidden a sacred text inside. He then made sure it would be filled with the most devious of traps designed so only the kind hearted and meek could overcome them.”

Fluttershy looked back at the temple entrance. “Kind hearted and meek?” That sounds an awful lot like me.

“Purrhaps your friends can find someone more qualified then you? Though I doubt it.” The cat walked away. “Should you find yourself in the Temple, do make sure not to make too much of a fuss. You’ll end up trapped if you can’t relax.”

Fluttershy stood up and blinked. She wanted to ask what the cat had meant by that, but it was gone before she could even open her mouth. Something told her that this meeting was not by chance, and may actually prove more useful than she gave it credit. Still she had promised Twilight to let her know if she found any ruins and so her next goal was to return to the camp. Maybe she could prove to everypony that she was not so useless after all.

The trip back to camp was an easy one, and Fluttershy’s experience with exploring forested areas helped. It also didn’t hurt that this was not her first foray into southern Equestria. The moment she got back she saw Twilight speaking with Starlight and approached them full with the knowledge that she had done something useful, albeit small.

“So you found a ruin?” Starlight asked.

“Yeah, the Temple of the Shy Maiden,” Twilight said. “Or something like that.”

Fluttershy’s heart sunk at hearing that. She had hoped that she had proved her usefulness but now it would seem that she was still as useless as ever. With a sigh she turned around and started walking away.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Did you find anything?”

“I thought I did, but I guess not…”

Starlight snickered. “Told you that bringing her along was a mistake. She’s way too nervous to help out in the big bad scary jungle. I bet she went five feet away from the camp and got scared.”

“Starlight, that’s rude. I know that Fluttershy is… not the bravest pony, and she certainly wouldn’t ever want to explore a dangerous ruin, but that doesn’t mean you need to be mean about it.” Twilight folded her arms over her chest and stuck her nose up. “You should apologize.”

Starlight groaned her displeasure, but a harsh look from Twilight straightened her out. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. You can stay here if you want, we’ll go explore the ruins for you.” She faced Twilight again. “Now about this temple you found, what about it?”

“I think it’s empty, it looks like Starswirl never touched the place. I mean the place doesn’t even have real threats in it from what I read here, just a bunch of weird stuff. So no, we are going to avoid that one until we run out of other options.”

“Tell you what, I can take a crew of five ponies to go explore the ruins later tomorrow?” Starlight said.

“If you feel so inclined.”

Fluttershy made her way back to her tent and climbed inside. After sitting down she let out an exhausted breath. One fact tickled the back of her mind though. Twilight doesn’t know what Starswirl put into the temple. Another idea, even more important came to her. Twilight also said that the dungeon wasn’t very dangerous, and that means that it would be really easy for somepony to get the stuff inside. Even I could probably do it… probably.

Fluttershy looked up at the roof of her tent and thought about it some more. After much internal debate she came to a conclusion. I’m going to go get that text for Twilight. Then both of them will know that I’m not useless and I’ll prove that I’m not just a hindrance. I can be more than just the scared little pegasus, I know it.

A giggle escaped from Fluttershy’s lips as she said, “I’m going to be brave!”

Brave; that was the one thing that Fluttershy was not feeling as she approached the temple entrance. Nervous from the strangeness of the landscape at night, fearful of the sounds all around her, and shaken by the shadows lurking just out of sight. She felt all of those things and not an ounce of bravery. Still she was determined to see this through.

Cute little brown shorts and a white t-shirt were little to ward off the chill in the night air. She felt her nipples poking out from the nip in the air and if she had been a little more thoughtful beforehand she would have had a blanket or jacket with her. Instead she simply had her satchel and a few sunrods and a machete.

She peered into the darkness of the tunnel and a chill ran down her spine. Twilight said it wasn’t very dangerous but, but it could still…

She shook herself thoroughly. “No, I must do this. I must prove myself to them.” Starlight wasn’t going to get the better of her, she could too be useful for more than just her ability to speak with animals.

Fluttershy snapped one of the sunrods and stepped in. The yellow light illuminated the walls and cast dark shadows all around her as she moved in. Soon she reached a staircase leading down and descended it. Each step brought with it an increasing sense of dread. Anything could be down here, hiding just behind the ocean of blackness surrounding her. Once she hit the bottom stair she stopped.

The purple cat sat atop a small pillar licking its paw. “So,” the cat purred. “You came after all.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Y-yes, and um… I… I’m going to get the book!”

The cat mewed. “Tis a perilous task that lies before you. This temple as you well know is designed to test the hearts of young maidens such as yourself. If you think you are brave enough then by all means go ahead, just know that should you turn back early, you will never fully leave here.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond but just as before the cat vanished before her very eyes. This time she didn’t even blink, the cat merely winked out of existence. The warning scared her, but she was already this far in, surely if she at least investigated to find out what the temple held for her, she couldn’t be in too much trouble… right?

She pressed onward, praying to whatever goddess might listen that she did not end up hurt, or worse.

The tunnel went onward for several long minutes, and with each step the halls grew less covered in foliage or moss. By the time she reached the first chamber the place looked clean, not new but clean. Not even an ounce of dust lined the room.

Several torches lit up with orange flames upon her entering the room. At the end of the room lay a stone door with a strange marking of two hills side by side. Four statues stood standing in the room, huge eyes of emerald stared into the room and the wide set grins placed on their faces made them look as if they could be watching her. An involuntary shiver ran through her.

“This is the first trial of Starswirl’s” the cat’s voice said from somewhere around her. “The door is locked to all those concealed, but to one who is free and unburdened by layers of secrets can pass freely. The statues eagerly await the young maiden bold enough to step through that door.”

Fluttershy walked further into the room. “W-what does that mean?”

There was no response.

Oh, if only I was Rarity, or Pinkie Pie, or Twilight. I’d figure this out in a hurry, but I’m no good at riddles. Pinkie had me stumped for a week with that one that one about how a raven is like a writing desk… I still don’t get it.

A retired sigh escaped her lips as she realized that this might very well be the end of her journey. The satchel slipped from her careless fingers and a giggling sound filled the chamber. Fluttershy froze once she realized it was the statues making the noise.

“Unburdened by layers of secrets?” Fluttershy asked herself. Does that mean my satchel because it can carry stuff? But so can my shirt, and my shorts … oh, no.

Fluttershy quickly spun around and began walking toward the exit. Twilight was right, this place was weird. Too weird for her.

“Don’t you want the text?” The cat said.

Fluttershy stopped. “B-but… I don’t want to…” She looked again at the statues, and their hungry emerald eyes. She knew that they were somehow staring at her. Inanimate as they may be they were staring directly at her.

“I c-can’t,” Fluttershy said meekly.

“They are but stone, surely a few stares and giggles won’t be enough to stop the young maiden brave enough to venture this far.”

“But… I don’t want to be naked.”

“Who said you had to be naked. Only things with which may conceal are not allowed.”

Fluttershy frowned. Well… my underwear doesn’t have pockets. Although I know Rarity keeps lipstick in her bra, and I’ve heard she keeps other things in her… panties, um that’s not their purpose. M-maybe I can keep them on? I refuse to be completely naked though.

She looked back at the statues and her heart sped up. The last thing she wanted to do was to strip, even for a bunch of statues. If anypony caught her here, she’d be dead. How could she live knowing somepony saw her almost naked?

“You could always simply quit, though it would ruin the image I have of you as the brave young maiden for sure.”

Fluttershy lamented over this, but taking quick peeks around to make sure she was indeed alone in here with an invisible cat and stone statues, she decided that she could do this. For Twilight, and to prove to herself that she was indeed the brave pony she wanted to be. Rainbow Dash would not hesitate for a second to ditch her clothes if she could help her friends… or for most any other reason to be honest. So Fluttershy could follow in her example, at least in part.

With shaking hands she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began lifting it slowly. Her belly button was exposed along with the soft buttery fur. The statues giggling increased. Her heart raced and she closed her eyes tightly as the shirt rose even higher. Once it was over her bra the statues began wooing her. Fluttershy stopped and very nearly threw her shirt down that instant.

The statues shouldn’t be wooing her. It was too much like what ponies would do. She couldn’t do this; she couldn’t expose herself like this. If she could tell Photo Finish to shove it she could do the very same to these statues. Her mind was almost entire set on leaving that instant.

Then she remembered the text. If it was indeed something secret of Starswirl’s then it would make Twilight so very happy. The thought of returning to the camp with nothing in hand and knowing that she could have very easily made Twilight’s life just a bit happier but failed to do so because she was scared of a bunch of rocks hurt. In fact it hurt more than the wooing.

She braced herself, clenched her jaw and threw her white t-shirt off with reckless abandon. Her pink bra was exposed to the world, even if her only audience was a bunch of perverted stones and an invisible cat. Her nipples poked out against the bra, and the cool air bit at her exposed fur. It took every ounce of her strength to ignore the statues around her.

Then it was time for the shorts.

The statues stopped their wooing and returned to a slight giggle as her hands moved toward the button on her shorts. Once the button was undone there were several gasps. Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she unzipped. Slowly she wound her thumbs around the inside of her pants and stopped at the hips. She tried pulling them straight down but they caught on her panties and she gave a tiny cry as she stopped.

The statues’ began oooing her and the stinging at the corners of her eyes told her she was about ready to cry. In order to get the tight fitting shorts down she had to wiggle her hips just right, and then they slid freely down as she bent over, revealing her pink panties and round buttocks to the statues. Several hollers and cheers filled the room as she stepped out of her pants. She looked back at the door and heard it click. The door swung open of its own accord and she quickly reached down to grab her satchel, much to the amusement of the cruel statues. She walked through the unlocked door.

The door shut just after she walked through it. The picture of a mare’s face was staring at her giving her a sly wink as a pair of large breasts hung beneath the picture. Suddenly the hills on the other side of the door took on a whole new meaning.

“Those weren’t hills on the other side of the door were they?” Fluttershy asked the open air.

“Mmm… what, oh yes, the picture. You are correct, it is in fact that ladies ass with which you mistook for hills,” the cat said. He sounded a bit distracted.

Fluttershy was well past ready to go home now, but she couldn’t give up just yet. The text of Starswirl’s was just around the corner. She could feel it.

There was no light in these tunnels save for the yellow light coming from her sunrod. Slowly she advanced through the darkness, not seeing but fully believing that the cat was somewhere besides her the entire time. The further she went the more the tunnels returned to nature as vines and dirt began to spill in from the surrounding walls. The tunnel was also at a slight decline, leaving her to wonder just how far she had gone underground. It felt like forever before she finally hit a dead end.

The wall of vines that stood in her way looked half dead and brittle. If she hadn’t packed her machete into her bag she would have been stuck here. She hacked away at the vines until a path was cut. Through it she could see the tunnel dropped about four feet into orange slimy water, and then went on for another twenty feet before going back up to yet another door.

“Oh it looks like we finally arrived at the second trial,” the cat said joyously.

“What… what is that stuff?” Fluttershy said, pointing a hoof at the liquid. She didn’t dare touch it without first knowing.

“Why that’s the trial. Ahem, in this trial the young maiden must shed any doubts that may weigh down her chest before entering the soup of purity.”

“W-what?”

“You need to go into the water,” the cat explained frankly.

“How is that a trial?” Fluttershy asked. “Um, I mean, not trying to say that it’s a bad trail just that I don’t get how it… how it’s supposed to be hard.”

The cat mewed in response.

Fluttershy let out a sigh and choosing not the get her sunrods wet she lifted her satchel over her head and jumped in. The liquid was thick, and clung to her fur. It was also warm and tickled ever so slightly. For a moment it tickled ever so pleasingly at her cold breast, warming up her already hard nipples and the wonders it did to her marehood she could hardly believe. It was like taking a nice hot mud bath, only less embarrassing because nopony was around.

Fluttershy took the first step forward and gasped. The liquid moved through her slit without any resistance. Hot, wet, and a little too pleasing. She took another step and had to bite her lower lip to keep from moaning. A third step forced her to stop and catch her breath. It was just too good.

Then she looked up at the ceiling.

There were holes in the ceiling, holes were hungry eyes watched her. Her heart froze in place as she stared into the many eyes looking down upon her. A few of them blinked.

“NOOO!” Fluttershy tried to turn around but the slime surrounding her sent waves of pleasurable heat through with every motion. The eyes were staring down at her, and she was trying her best not to move, not to feel pleasure, and to fight away all the shame and fear building up inside of her.

“Wow,” A stallion called from above her. “Take a look at this, there’s some cute chick down there.”

“Stop ogling pictures and get to work, were already here a bit too early and I just want to get this done,” A mare called back to him.

A voice whispered into Fluttershy’s ear, it was the cat. “Pay no heed to them, they are only interested in your beauty, maiden.”

Fluttershy bit her lower lip, and a few hot tears ran down the sides of her face. I just wanna go home. Please let me go home.

“Just a few more steps maiden, and you will be at your treasure,” the cat promised.

Fluttershy opened up her eyes. Everything looked a bit blurry through the tears. She knew that the cat was right, she had to push forward, for Twilight, for herself. If she couldn’t prove that she was indeed worthy of going on this trip then she should just pack up and go home.

Her heart hurt with how much shame ran through her veins at this moment, but at the very least she was covered up to her chest in the orange liquid. Slowly she pushed forward, each movement brought with it another surge of pleasure, but she no longer secretly enjoyed it, she now despised the goop for making her feel such things with ponies watching.

After about half way through the eyes had stopped watching her and left. The sounds of hooves leaving made her relax. The rest of the trip was just a shameful bout of sensations that she tried her very best to ignore. It wasn’t fair that this slime could make her feel things, at least not anymore.

Once she was finally at the other end of the tunnel she pulled herself up and noted that the slime fell off of her body as easily as water would. As well as the tattered remains of her bra and panties. She stood there, completely exposed to the elements and soaking wet. The chill did nothing more than make her nipples even harder. The lips of her vagina were opened slightly, begging for more of the liquid. She forced those feelings down.

The real battle wasn’t her arousal, it was her shame. She had stripped her clothes off in order to enter the temple, and now even her underwear was taken from her. If anypony saw her like this, saw her naked out in the open anywhere, she… she wouldn’t know what she would do. Run away, change her name and live under another identity?

That was a thought.

Fighting the swelling embarrassment in her chest she opened the next door and walked into a small room with a few lit torches and a single pedestal. Upon the pedestal lay a closed leather bound book with a gray tassel running down its middle. Fluttershy walked up to it and studied its cover. Long cresses ran through it, and the cool book was somehow lighter than she expected. The title was very simple, and something that she knew Twilight would be very interested in.

She slid the book into her satchel and turned around, prepared to leave when she saw the cat standing at the doorway. Smiling. “Oh dear, maiden. You found the book at last, and though your suffering was great, it was survivable.”

Fluttershy nodded, and threw an arm over her chest while crossing her legs awkwardly. Somehow seeing the cat changed her opinion on whether it was okay or not for this animal to see her naked. “Y-yes it was. Um, thank you.”

“Oh but don’t thank me yet. I haven’t even shown you the best part.” The cat’s grin grew impossibly wide. “Why I am an emotion feeder. Think of me as being related to the changelings, though instead of love I feed on shame, embarrassment, and all the delicious energies that come from humiliation. That old unicorn was right to make me this temple’s guardian. Though there has never been such an opportunity to feast such as this one. When the others catch you in this position, your suffering will feed me for the next century!”

A hard lump formed in Fluttershy’s throat as she took a step back. “W-what do you mean?”

“Oh do not worry, I won’t hurt you. For I do not feed on pain.”

The ground beneath Fluttershy’s hooves crumbled as the ground gave way to a darkness below. Fluttershy let out a terrible, breathless scream as the cat watched her fall. The last thing she saw was the cat’s devilish grin.

So that’s how Fluttershy ended up hanging above a large chamber filled with lit torches, tied up like an exposed piñata and trying her darndest to get free so she could at the very least retrieve her book. Things were looking quite pitiful for the wannabe heroine. If only somepony would come to save her from her predicament.

A series of voices were heard from somewhere below her. Fluttershy kicked, and tried to struggle once more. The vines grew ever tighter around her chest and waist. She quickly took back wanting to be saved, she would rather die here than have anypony see her like this.

For several minutes she struggled, only to restrain herself more and more. Finally she gave up. The torches below her were already lit, and cast up light over her body like some sort of trophy. Though she could hear the voices below her, she could not see anypony down there. The chamber below was either so very large that they were just out of sight or they had yet to actually enter.

Finally her heart gave up and she resigned herself to the humiliating fate. She could only hope that they didn’t stare at her, or worse yet, laugh. Maybe if she was lucky somepony would be kind enough to help her down. Despite whatever happened next one thing was for certain; she could never show her face around Twilight’s students again.

The vines loosened up and she slipped out a little. She blinked and stared at them. For a moment she dared not move for fear of tightening them all over again. Then she gingerly moved one of her arms and slid it out of the top of the vines. The words that the cat spoke before entering took on new meaning. Something about relaxing.

She closed her eyes and hummed quietly. Focusing all her intent onto relaxing her muscles as she had done in so many yoga sessions. The transition was almost instantaneous. She slipped out of the vines complete and caught herself with her wings just before falling. Her breasts jiggled uncomfortably as she flew to her satchel and grabbed it. She looked up, wanting to out the way she came in. The hole had collapsed in on itself above her, chocking it with rubble. That left only one way out of here.

Fluttershy swallowed hard at the realization of what she would have to do. Gently she lowered herself to the ground and slung the satchel over her shoulder. She was still completely naked and this small bag did nothing to conical the most intimate regions of her body. She threw an arm over her chest, and a hand over her crotch as she walked forward on bare hooves. Years of practice had led her to being able to move virtually without sound.

She neared the entrance to the room, still blocked off by a pair of shut heavy doors. Since she was alone in this chamber and the voices had seemingly vanished she put both hands to the door and began pushing for all she was worth. Her muscles burned as the door budged ever so slowly, and with a grunt of exertion she managed to push it open all the way.

Six ponies stood on the other side of the door all staring at her. Starlight was in the lead, her eyes bugged out of her skull as she looked Fluttershy up and down, stopping to admire both Fluttershy’s gracious breasts and her curvy waist. The other five, both guys and girls alike stared with similar interest.

For one brief and horrible moment Fluttershy’s heart stopped dead. Her mind blanked, and she stood there, arms dropped at her side, naked body fully exposed to all. Then all of a sudden her heart started again, and her mind raced to find someway to save herself from this moment. Her mouth opened only to let loose a blood curdling shriek of terror as she ran past them, doing her best to cover up her body as she did. The group simply stared at her ass as she ran away and through the halls.

She continued running. Her blood pumped hot. Mind trying to figure out anyway to cover up more of herself. There was nothing she could do though, she was naked, running in a random direction that led upwards. The tears that streamed down her face fell off of her cheeks as she continued as quickly as she could.

She rounded the corner and saw daylight at the end of the tunnel. How long had she been down here? Hours? Days? She couldn’t rightly tell anymore. Nor did she truly care, for she just wanted to be free of the shame she left behind and of the embarrassment still chasing after her.

She leapt out of the exit way and into a large clearing. The sun blinded her for a moment causing her to throw up her hands to shield off the dawn’s burning rays. The gasps surrounding her made her freeze a second time. She closed her eyes, covered herself with shaking limbs and tried her best to hide her naughty bits. The perfect curves of her ass were impossible to keep hidden though, and her tail although pressed tightly down in a fearful gesture did little to hide what was clearly now seen.

“Oh, Fluttershy, what happened?” Twilight asked in a soft, caring voice.

She opened her eyes only to find that nearly the entire expedition was surrounding her. Rainbow Dash stood by a group of pegasi, her wings fully erect as she ogled Fluttershy’s naked form. Most of the students were looking shyly away, though a few cast nervous glances at her and one or two were brazenly leering at her.

Twilight spread her hands as her horn lit up with a pink glow. A light blue blanket appeared out of thin air in between her outstretched hands. Twilight wasted no time in covering Fluttershy up and wrapping a wing around her friend.

“Come on, I’ll get you inside and you can have some hot coco,” Twilight promised. She shot a glare at the two ponies still leering. “And you two! I am going to allow Starlight to come up with a fitting punishment for your behavior.”

They quickly straightened up and looked away. They attempted an apology but Twilight cut them off with a second look. Twilight led Fluttershy back to camp and into the tent. It took much pushing, and prodding on Twilight’s part but she finally got the story out of Fluttershy of what happened, and worse yet, why.

When it was all done Fluttershy was no longer shaking, but she refused to even look outside the tent. Twilight sat down sipping at her cup of hot coco. Finally Twilight set the cup down and let out a tired sigh. “I’m so sorry that you were put through all of that. Especially because you just wanted to prove how brave you were… but… you know I never once doubted your skill. You’re my friend, and even if you had been here just to keep me company I would always value you. Furthermore, your skills will be invaluable… should you choose to stay here. I won’t blame you for leaving if you don’t.”

Fluttershy didn’t answer right away, instead she passed the satchel over to Twilight and tightened the blanket around herself as if it would shield her form all the shame soaking into her very bones. Twilight took one look at the cover and her eyes brightened up, and as soon as she opened it and read from it her chest began moving up and down rapidly. Her cheeks grew as rosy as Fluttershy was sure hers were already.

“Oh… oh my…” Twilight closed the book and looked away. “I… I probably shouldn’t read this in public. It’s um… it’s really private information about Starswirl and um… Celestia.”

Fluttershy looked down at the ground. “D-do you like it?”

“Like it?” Twilight asked. “I love it! Nopony has ever found out about Starswirl’s love life before. It’s been a subject of many discussions and much debate over the course of the past several centuries.”

A small smile grew over Fluttershy’s lips. “So… I did good?”

“Did good? You just found something that ponies have been searching for, for over a thousand years! You didn’t do good, you did fantastic.” Twilight hugged the book to her chest and beamed up at her. “You are going to be so famous for finding this!”

“Uh, um actually c-could we not mention who found it… or how.”

Twilight’s smile faded a bit. “If that’s what you really want. I’ll keep it a secret.”

The flap to Twilight’s tent opened up and Fluttershy flinched away. Starlight entered and wore a worried expression. “Look I know you’re busy comforting Fluttershy after her… incident. But I’ve got a serious issue here. We just caught a purple cat thing that can talk sneaking around outside the camp. It was apparently looking to feed on somepony called ‘The Maiden’. I think it feeds on emotions.”

Fluttershy’s face grew serious; lines showing both her frustration and her exhaustion were made more pronounced upon her face. “That thing is talking about me. It… it made me…” She looked away and whimpered. “It made me go through all those trials.”

Twilight nodded. “Starlight, you have my permission to do any and all experiments you wish to on the cat.”

Starlight grinned. “Oh that’s good, because I just got a new recipe from Rainbow Dash on how to make a vomit inducing tonic and I really wanted to test it out. I guess I won’t have to prank anypony now will I?”

“Not anymore,” Twilight replied with a smile.

Even if it was mean, Fluttershy’s lip curled up just the slightest at the edges. With all she had been put through she could at least take solace in the fact that the cat was going to get its just rewards for all its help.