There were few things that Fluttershy truly hated. It was hard for other ponies to imagine, being Fluttershy such a kind and gentle spirit, that she would truly hate something but, what they ignore is that there´s a difference between being scared and hating something; and Fluttershy hated cages. That´s why she refused to have her bird friends on them, unless they were sick and needed special care; otherwise, she trembled at the mere mention of bars and had nightmares at night about being in such a confined place.

So, right now, she wasn´t scared as anypony would expect of her, she was angry. She had been tossed inside a dark and smelly dungeon, that resembled a cage too much for her comfort. She now understood Rainbow´s annoyance with remaining still and not being able to fly. The thing she wanted the most was to leave this suffocating space and spread her wings. She wasn't the best flier but, like any pegasus, the urge of flight was inside her and she needed it. She needed the skies.

Fluttershy got tired of trying to reason with the guards. They didn't understood a single word of hers and she couldn't understand them either. She wished her friends will be there. Twilight will surely find a way out of the cage with Applejack´s assistance, no doubt. Rarity will probably figure out how to talk to the guards while Spike could find a way to make this cell more comfortable, improvising a bed or something. And Pinkie Pie could make her smile. She always made her smile.

A pony with a brown coat and light yellow mane approached the cell door and stared at Fluttershy. She didn´t liked the way this pony was looking at her.

“Who...are...you?” the pony said.

“Oh my Celestia!” Fluttershy said, recovering all her strengths. She flew over to the door at such a speed that even Rainbow will envy her. “I can understand you! You can understand me?”

“You...use...our...words. How?”

“It´s...Equestrian. Everypony speaks Equestrian. You...don´t?”

The other pony looked at Fluttershy and tilted her head, obviously struggling to understand. Fluttershy got nervous, trying to figure out some way to communicate. She sighed, remembering how bad she was at charades, something that always ruined Pinkie´s parties.

Another pony, this one with purple coat and dark blue mane, suddenly appeared and start yelling. Ar argument started between these two ponies and Fluttershy could only guess what they were saying.

*****

“Why are you speaking with her?” the purple pony asked.

“She can understand me. Barely. I think I can communicate with her,” the brown pony replied.

“Communicate? With a pegasus?”

“She uses some words from our language. Maybe she is a merchant or was raised around earth ponies.”

“How dare you suggest any of our tribe will let a pegasus learn our customs? These barbaric brutes can never live among us!”

“With all due respect, Chancellor, I disagree.”

*****

“Wait. Did she said Chancellor?” Fluttershy wondered.

*****

“Smart Cookie, don´t contradict me! And don´t speak to the prisoner!” the Chancellor ordered.

“But how else can we know who she is and where she came from?” Smart Cookie replied.

“I don´t care who she is and you saw very well where she came from! She came from that haunted forest. You and me both saw her appeared from that glowing door. A portal to Tartarus, no doubt.”

“That I saw but I refuse to believe she came from Tartarus.”

“What other explanation could it be?” the Chancellor yelled.

“Magic, perhaps. Maybe the actions of an unicorn sorceress?”

“Nonsense. What unicorn will ever even speak to a pegasus? They do nothing but hide on their mountains.”

“As always Chancellor, you´re not really listening to me…”

****

“Wait I did heard that! You are Smart Cookie!” Fluttershy said, interrupting their argument. “But you don´t look anything like Applejack. Makes sense, I guess…”

Fluttershy pondered for a few seconds, trying to remember something. “Their language is not Equestrian because there´s no Equestria yet. Each tribe has their own language, I think. Uh Twilight, I need you. I´m not good at history.”

Fluttershy looked up and saw the two ponies, looking at her with confused expression. “Umh, I need your help. I need you to contact Clover the Clever. She or maybe he, is a powerful unicorn wizard. He can probably help me contact my friends and sent me back to my era.”

At the mention of that name, both ponies started arguing again. Fluttershy could only make out half of the worlds, like “right” and “questioning” and “forbidden”. Finally, the Chancellor let go a loud “No!” and ordered something to the guards, who take Smart cookie out of the room. The Chancellor glared at Fluttershy before leaving, ignoring all of her pleas.

Fluttershy sighed, praying to Celestia for strenght. The strenght to endure until her friends can find her. She turned around a few times, very much like her dog friends, and lay down on the cold floor of the cel, trying to get some sleep.