New Determination

The slumber party of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was turning out well so far. After the fillies played dress-up with their costumes (which had brought an awkward moment for Dusk, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie), they were now enjoying the candy that came from the surprise piñata that Pinkie Pie had brought.

"Is it really okay for them to be having this much sugar at night?" Dusk asked a little worried, seeing the three fillies eating.

"Don't worry, I have the solution." Pinkie Pie replied with a confident smile, which reassured the lavender unicorn a bit.

Then Dusk looked at the clock that was on the wall and was startled to see the time, then he looked out the window and saw that night had fallen.

"Geez, it’s getting really late." Dusk said concerned, approaching the door and opening it to leave the house.

"Late for what?" Fluttershy asked confused.

"Remember when I told you that I wanted to take advantage of visiting Zecora to return this book to her?" Dusk said levitating the book that he had brought with him. Then Dusk's eyes widened to remembering something. "Although, there is something I want to do first before I go."

Dusk called the three fillies, who followed him outside the house, with their mouths covered in candy. He then made his horn shine and he threw some magic sparks over the heads of the three fillies, who just remained static, looking expectantly at what Dusk was doing.

"I told you I would have a surprise for you for the slumber party." Dusk said after casting the spell on the fillies, next looking skyward until he found what he wanted. The colt used his magic to lower a cloud from the sky until it was level with the ground. "Come on, get on it." Dusk added smiling at the fillies.

The three fillies looked confused, but then they understood what that spell that Dusk used on them must be for and all three jumped on the cloud. As they did so, the three fillies widened their eyes in amazement as they saw that they could walk on top of the cloud. Then the three fillies looked at each other and began to jump full of excitement for that new and great experience.

"I wanted to do something fun for this slumber party, so I thought I'd use the cloud walking spell so the fillies can use a cloud as a bed tonight." Dusk said smiling, satisfied to see that the fillies were enjoying their gift. "Plus, they only need blankets now, so we don’t have to worry about not having enough beds." Dusk added looking at Fluttershy smiling.

Dusk began to levitate the cloud with the three fillies through the doorway of the cottage and arranged it neatly in the living room. He then levitated the extra blankets to the side so that the fillies could use them when they when to bed. At that moment, seeing the fillies having so much fun jumping on the cloud, Pinkie Pie also asked Dusk to use the spell on her. After Dusk agreed and casted the spell, the pink pony joined the fillies, the four of them jumping happily and eating all the candies that Pinkie Pie had brought with her.

After being thanked by the fillies for their prize, Dusk finally left Fluttershy's house to go to Zecora's house. However, Fluttershy ran after him before he left.

“A-Are you sure you want to leave now? It's already night and… and the Everfree Forest is very dangerous." Fluttershy said very concerned.

Seeing his dear friend so scared, Dusk smiled as he thought about how cute Fluttershy looked when she cared for others.

"I'll be fine. It’s not very far to Zecora's house from here. I'm just going to deliver the book and be back for the slumber party soon." Dusk said with a confident smile.

After assuring his friend, Dusk turned and continued on his way, walking along the path that led to the Everfree Forest. Meanwhile, Fluttershy just stood there, with fear in her heart, unable to help but worry about her beloved colt as he entered what seemed to be a very dangerous situation.

After losing sight of Dusk, Fluttershy finally lowered her head and slowly made her way home. Once inside, Fluttershy's concern faded into surprise at what she saw. The three fillies were running swiftly back just and forth, like when they first entered Fluttershy's house. However now they seemed to be with much more energy and causing much more disorder, as if they were running and playing at twice their normal speed. And as the three fillies ran back and forth, Pinkie Pie ran after them, trying and failing to calm them down.

"What’s happening?" Fluttershy asked scared looking at Pinkie Pie.

"I don't know! We were eating candy and then they started saying they wanted to get their cutie mark for this and that, and they started running around and doing a lot of things!" Pinkie Pie answered with concern. Pinkie was usually the one that caused lots of commotion, not the one in charge of keeping order, so now she was worried that she had lost control of the little fillies.

Seeing how the fillies kept running from one place to another without paying attention to Pinkie Pie or her, Fluttershy realized what was going on.

"Maybe it was too much candy... I think I once heard that it’s not good for foals to eat too much sugar before going to sleep... it makes them hyperactive." Fluttershy said thoughtfully, who wasn't sure about that, since like Pinkie Pie, this was her first time taking care of fillies. "But they ate the candy from the piñata only a few minutes ago… How are they this hyper already?"

"Yeah, I don't think that's it... After all, I've been giving them candies all afternoon and this hadn't happened." Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully as she scratched her head.

"What!? Have you been giving them candy all afternoon!?" Fluttershy repeated scared.

"Well yeah, how do you think I was able to convince them to stop running when I got here?" Pinkie Pie said with a shrug.

It was then that Fluttershy remembered how she and Dusk thought Pinkie Pie had a gift for controlling fillies, when in fact what Pinkie Pie had done was bribed the with sweets.

"That's why they are so hyper now!" Fluttershy said, annoyed with Pinkie Pie. "Besides the candy from the piñata…. Wait, now I remember! You told Dusk not to worry, that you could solve the problems caused by the candy in the piñata." Fluttershy added looking closely at Pinkie Pie.

"Yes! I can totally fix it… with this!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile and a proud pose, lifting a small box on her hoof. Then Fluttershy came over and read what the box said.

"Floss?" Fluttershy said confused, looking at the box Pinkie Pie was holding.

"Yepperoni! That way no matter how much candies they eat, they won't get cavities." Pinkie Pie replied proudly. "You see? I had it all sorted out."

"Dusk didn't mean that candy gave cavities! He was referring to that they could be hyperactive!" Fluttershy said annoyed.

During that time, the excess energy of the fillies had caused them to go from curiously exploring Fluttershy's house, to start doing different 'crusades' to discover their talents and thus their cutie marks. They tried to get their cutie marks in carpentry, causing them to smash a table and repair it in a horrible way. Then they tried to get their cutie marks in coal miners, so they had made a mess in the chimney of the house and left the whole floor stained with soot marks. Then they had tried to get their cutie marks from playing catch and ran back and forth without stopping while playing. And after all that, the three fillies were still full of energy from Pinkie Pie's candies, and ready to go on with their crusades.

"Girls... Girls!" Fluttershy tried to yell at the fillies to get their attention, but none of them paid attention to her. "They don't listen to me... Pinkie, do you have any more candy to convince them?"

"N-No... I ran out of sweets..." Pinkie Pie said slowly going from worry to sadness.

Pinkie Pie didn't know that giving fillies a lot of candy made them act like that, and now she felt guilty. She had gone to that slumber party with the intention of getting closer to Dusk Shine, and she hadn't paid more attention to what she would have to do to take care of the three fillies. She thought it would be easy, but now she realized her big mistake. And the worst of it was that she had thought that even in the future she might’ve been a good babysitter to help Mr. and Mrs Cake with their baby. But now she saw that she was a terrible babysitter and that as much as she wanted it, Mr. and Mrs. Cake could never trust her to take care of their precious foal..

"Pinkie! What do we do?" Fluttershy asked scared.

"I-I don't know..." Pinkie Pie said sadly as she was still lost in her depression.

"When you feel lost, don't get depressed… Just smile and you will find the answer." Pinkie Pie remembered a phrase that somepony very dear to her had told her once and always remembered when she was in trouble.

Then Pinkie Pie shook her head to shake off the depression she felt, forced a small smile and looked around as she tried to think of a solution to the problem she had caused, until her eyes stopped at Fluttershy's kitchen.

"Whenever I come here and you ask me for tea, I feel very relaxed after drinking it..." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look, looking at her friend. "Maybe that could work."

Then both mares went to the kitchen to make some chamomile tea while the Cutie Mark Crusaders kept running around the room with their inexhaustible energy. After they finished making the tea, Pinkie and Fluttershy went to the main room and tried to get the fillies to drink the calming beverage. But it seemed that nothing they were told caught their attention and they were just ignored.

"They don't want to listen to us… Dear Celestia! How can they be so restless?!" Pinkie Pie said frustratingly as the fillies kept running around like crazy, not realizing the irony that she would say something like that.

Seeing that nothing caught the fillies' attention, Fluttershy gave a thoughtful look as she tried to figure out what she could say that could possibly work. Eventually, she did think up of one idea, but it might lead to embarrassment for the poor mare. Nevertheless, Fluttershy figured that she would try anyway just so that Dusk wouldn’t have to return back to a house of three hyperactive fillies.

"Girls... Would you like to know my biggest secret?" Fluttershy said speaking quietly, hoping her idea would work.

Hearing the word 'secret', the three fillies raised their ears high and looked at Fluttershy intently, then the three of them ran and sat in front of her, expectant at the thought that they might know a big secret.

"A-Alright… let's sit down. Let's drink a cup of tea while I tell you my secret." Fluttershy said with a smile, relieved to see that her plan seemed to have worked.

So, the five ponies sat on the floor and each had a cup of tea. And although the three fillies were finally still in one place, it seemed that their eyes were vibrating with all the energy they still had. Fluttershy realized that she would have to speak quickly, otherwise the fillies would lose interest and play around the house again. So, the yellow pegasus sighed and thought that since she had reached that point, perhaps it would be best to be truly honest.

"Tonight has been very difficult for me... Not only because I had never cared for fillies like you, but also because... I saw how you, with your imitations of your sisters, were able to… make the colt I like nervous." Fluttershy said sheepishly as she blushed.

"The colt you like?" Apple Bloom said confused. "But then..." The red-headed filly muttered as her eyes widened, as did her two friends, who also understood what that meant.

"That's right... my secret is... I love Dusk Shine." Fluttershy said blushing, but with a serious look.

Hearing that confession, the three fillies blushed and covered their mouths in astonishment. Since each one could have suspected that there was a certain nervousness in Fluttershy when she saw Dusk, but that she was able to say 'I love Dusk' was something that none of the three had expected to hear so directly. And after the surprise, the three fillies realized something else and gave astonished looks.

"Then that mean’s my sister has a love rival now..." The three fillies said at the same time.

Saying that at the same time, the three fillies looked more astonished and looked at each other with concern. Then an awkward silence hung in the air for several seconds, until finally Sweetie Belle decided to break it.

"Y-Yeah, well... it's pretty obvious that Rarity likes Dusk... I thought everypony already knew..." Sweetie Belle said scratching her head in confusion.

"I thought she just liked his appearance, or that it was just a little passing fancy?" Apple Bloom said looking at her friend.

"Nope, I may have…peeked in her diary. And I've never seen her act like this with any other colt before. I'm sure she’s head-over-hooves for Dusk." Sweetie Belle replied, also staring at Apple Bloom. "What about Applejack?"

"Well... it's kind of the same. Everyone in the family knows that she likes Dusk, me included... I’ve just been quiet about it because Big Mac isn’t that fond of Dusk and I don’t want him to find out that I support their relationship..." Apple Bloom said a little worried, then turning to look at her other friend. “So, Rainbow Dash has a crush on Dusk Shine too!?"

Seeing her two friends staring at her, Scootaloo looked away, but then lowered her head in resignation.

"If Fluttershy could tell her secret, I guess… I should tell one too…" Scootaloo said sadly. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash is definitely in love with Dusk. She even told me that they were dating. But... now I think maybe she told me that just to keep her secret that she’s in love with him...."

"Wait…so does that mean all the friends Dusk made when he got to Ponyville has a crush on him?" Apple Bloom asked looking at Fluttershy, who just blushed and pursed her lips. Then the three fillies realized they were leaving someone out of the equation, and all eyes turned to Pinkie Pie, who also blushed at being discovered.

"Yeah…I may also have an itty-bitty crush on Dusk Shine..." Pinkie Pie said blushing, being a bit surprised at how shy she herself had become when talking about love.

"Wow...! And I thought for a second that it would be difficult for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to be in love with the same colt…" Scootaloo said surprised and thoughtful. "And now I find out that there are not two mares that are after Dusk Shine, but five!"

"Six! You forgot about me!" Sweetie Belle added, glancing at her friend.

"I thought you said you would try asking out Spike?!" Apple Bloom said raising an eyebrow.

"Yes... but I'm not completely decided yet." Sweetie Belle replied, getting serious and then putting a goofy smile on her face. "Besides, it's fun to imagine two boys fighting over me... hehe..." Sweetie Belle added laughing at the image of Dusk and Spike donned in armor and fighting like ancient warriors while she waited for them in a tower dressed as a princess.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say..." Scootaloo said deciding to ignore her infatuated friend. "But now the important question is, who will Dusk end up with in the end?"

"Hmm... We should ask him when he comes back!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly.

"No! W-We can't do that. He doesn't know that we’re all in love with him." Fluttershy said quickly blushing.

"Well, you all should tell him. I don't think it's fair that everyone is suffering for love while Dusk doesn't make a decision." Apple Bloom said thoughtfully, being the most mature of her friends. "You all just have to tell him what all you feel and let Dusk do the rest. He just has to make a decision, it's not very difficult to do." Apple Bloom added, thinking that Dusk would obviously choose the best mare, which was her older sister. Similar thought to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with their respective older sisters, and the same as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy thought with themselves.

"Listen, your sisters and I already know that Dusk has to choose one of us, but the four of us reached an agreement not to pressure him." Pinkie Pie said with a weak smile.

"Five of us." Fluttershy corrected her looking seriously at Pinkie Pie, realizing that she once again hadn’t included her among her rivals in love.

"Uh? Oopsies! Sorry Fluttershy. I didn’t include you because you would never pressure Dusk, hehe." Pinkie Pie added with an awkward smile. Meanwhile Fluttershy just stared at her annoyed.

"I don't understand... How is it that five mares end up falling in love with the same colt?" Scootaloo said scratching her head in confusion.

"That's it! Tell us how you fell in love with Dusk!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly, finally taking a few sips of the tea that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had made.

Seeing Sweetie Belle drinking the tea, only then did Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie remember that the end goal was calming the fillies, something they almost forgot as they told their love secrets. Then Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked at each other and smiled, deciding to tell the fillies what they were asking for, so that they would drink their tea and their sugar high would finally go down.

What followed was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy telling the fillies how they met Dusk the first time, what they had experienced with him in the days leading up to the Summer Sun Celebration, and the events that occurred the night when Nightmare Moon was released. Each of the mares told their point of view and the moment they began to fall in love with Dusk, and since it was a story that the five friendly mares had talked about several times, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also told the fillies how Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had started to fall in love with Dusk.

At first the three fillies thought that love had been at first sight, but slowly they began to understand that many things had happened between Dusk and the mares to get to where they were and how the feelings of the mares had gone from feeling a certain attraction for Dusk, to then liking him, and finally feel in love with him. Where the fillies paid the most attention, however, was when they recounted the kisses they shared with Dusk, from Applejack's accidental kiss, Pinkie Pie's stolen kiss, Rarity's kiss after the fashion show, Rainbow Dash's kiss over the lake, and then finally Fluttershy's kiss after driving the dragon off the mountain.

"So, that part of the story about Fluttershy managing to scare a dragon with her terrifying stare was it true? Hahaha." Scootaloo said laughing at imagining something so bizarre.

"Haha, yeah, that’s kinda hard to imagine." Sweetie Belle added laughing as well, while Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, you should be careful when Fluttershy gets mad. She becomes a completely different pony. You know, all strong and determined…" Pinkie Pie said smiling, but seeing Fluttershy blush with embarrassment, she thought that maybe her friend didn't want the fillies to fear her. "But don't worry, Fluttershy’s normally calm and shy, so you shouldn't be afraid of her." Pinkie Pie added while lovingly hugging her dear friend.

As Pinkie Pie hugged Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus understood that Pinkie Pie had said that with good intentions, but she couldn't help feeling again undermined at the thought that Pinkie and her other friends thought that way about her.

"'You shouldn't be afraid of her'… Would they think that of me even with Dusk?" Fluttershy thought a little anguished, remembering how neither Rarity nor Pinkie Pie were afraid that she was alone with Dusk.

After taking the last sips of the chamomile tea, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were glad to see that the three fillies were calmer based on the lack of subtle vibrations in their eyes. However, that didn't mean that the fillies were completely void of energy.

"And now... How about we all go to sleep?" Fluttershy asked kindly, who unlike the fillies, was already feeling a bit tired and wanted to lie down.

"Nooo..." The three fillies moaned at the same time, with scolded puppy-dog eyes.

"It's not that late, and Dusk still hasn't come back." Sweetie Belle added.

"Let's continue our costume party!" Apple Bloom said, jumping and running towards the costume box, followed by her two friends.

Seeing that the fillies still had energy, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at each other with tired looks and only sighed in resignation, both thinking that taking care of three fillies was much more difficult and tiring than they had thought.

The three fillies then proceeded to persuade Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to dress up and play with them. This time, Pinkie Pie put on the toy tiara and imitated Diamond Tiara, while Fluttershy put on the glasses and imitated Silver Spoon. While Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made messy hairstyles and goofy looks to appear like the clumsy colts Snips and Snails, Apple Bloom changed her hairstyle, put a picture of a flower on her flank and imitated her teacher, Miss Cheerilee. Thus, the fillies and mares enjoyed their time playing out a typical day at school all while playfully making fun of each other’s antics.

Finally, after quite some time, the chamomile tea finally took its sleepy effect, however, not with the ponies it should have. Since Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also drank the tea and their adult bodies had much less energy than the fillies, they ultimately fell asleep first without realizing it while they were playing with the girls. The Crusaders noticed this and were touched by those funny mares who had cared for them and had played with them, and they put a blanket over them so that they could sleep better.

"So, what can we do now? I'm not sleepy yet." Sweetie Belle said looking at her two friends and shrugging.

"Don't you think it's strange...? Dusk Shine said he'd be back soon, but it's super late and he's still not back." Apple Bloom said looking at the time on the clock.

"Maybe he just decided to go home instead." Scootaloo replied sadly.

"No way! Dusk said he would return, and he’s a true gentlecolt. He would never break a promise." Sweetie Belle said immediately.

"Hmm... Maybe something bad happened to him... I heard he told Fluttershy he was going to the Everfree Forest to deliver something to Zecora." Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

"I know! We could go find him!" Scootaloo said excitedly. "It’ll give us a good excuse to explore the forest like we wanted to earlier!"

"I-I don't know if that’s a good idea… It's night now and it can be dangerous." Sweetie Belle said fearfully.

"Hah! I laugh in the face of danger!" Scootaloo said laughing recklessly. "Plus, Fluttershy lives near the forest. Do you think that a shy mare like her would live near a dangerous place?"

"Yeah! You're right!" Apple Bloom said, also getting excited about the idea of ​​going on a little adventure. "Let's go find Dusk Shine!"

Then the three fillies inhaled loudly to make their classic battle cry, but at the last second they remembered that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were sleeping next to them, so they stopped and put their heads together to whisper.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders to the rescue!" The three fillies cried out in a whisper. And then the three of them quietly left Fluttershy's house and walked in the direction of the dangerous Everfree Forest, having no idea of ​​the great danger they were exposing themselves to.

Fortunately for the fillies, there was only one path on that side of the forest, so if they wanted to find Dusk, they only had to follow that route. Also, as it was the edge of the forest, the trees were not so leafy, and the moonlight was enough to illuminate the landscape. But as they advanced, the forest became denser and therefore darker. Despite all the darkness and the gloom of the forest, the three fillies walked calmly, lost in their conversation and in their anxiety for adventure.

"I still think it’s kinda silly for my sister and the others to wait for Dusk to realize that they’re in love with him." Apple Bloom said as she kept walking, since the three of them had been arguing about what they had discovered about Dusk and their sisters. "The easiest thing would be for them to tell Dusk and force him to choose one."

"Yeah, what’s so difficult about choosing one of them to be his marefriend? The right choice is pretty obvious to me." Scootaloo added.

"Hmm... Maybe they’re scared to think about what would happen if Dusk doesn’t choose them." Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully. "But anyway, maybe we should just tell Dusk that-" Sweetie Belle suddenly stopped talking to seeing a figure in front of them.

Seeing the figure, the three fillies stopped and narrowed their eyes to see better. They soon recognized that it was the figure of a pony, with an appearance that they knew very well.

"Dusk!!" The three fillies shouted excitedly, running towards where Dusk Shine was.

As the fillies latched onto the colt with a hug, they realized that something was very wrong. Instead of feeling Dusk's warm fur, they felt a cold and rough surface. Then the three fillies looked up to see Dusk better and saw that the colt was motionless and pale, with a shocked expression on his face. Just at that moment a ray of moonlight filtered through the branches and the three fillies were shocked to see that it was a statue, a perfect stone statue of Dusk Shine.

"It's... it's a statue..." Sweetie Belle said completely terrified.

"I-It can't be… Dusk… He turned to stone!?" Apple Bloom said just as scared.

Then a noise was heard in the bushes, and the three fillies hugged each other tightly and screamed in terror...

Meanwhile, at Fluttershy's house, the two mares slept peacefully next to each other. And everything was going well until Pinkie Pie's snoring woke up the yellow pegasus.

As soon as Fluttershy opened her eyes, she was surprised to see everything around her slightly blurry, then she realized that she was wearing glasses, and remembered everything that had happened at the costume party. She must have fallen asleep while still wearing the glasses. Remembering everything, Fluttershy looked around for the fillies, but she didn't find them anywhere.

"Where are the fillies!?" Fluttershy said as she jumped up in scared shock. This caused Pinkie Pie's head, which had been perched on her shoulder, to fall and hit the ground, causing Pinkie Pie to wake up as well.

"Hmm? What's going on? It's morning already?" Pinkie Pie said sleepily.

"The fillies! The fillies are not here!" Fluttershy said scared.

After hearing Fluttershy's words and seeing her terrified face, Pinkie Pie just stared at her with the same sleepy eyes. It took her brain a few seconds longer for her to realize the gravity of the situation and cause her eyes to widen in horror.

"Calm down… They can't be far. They're probably playing hide and seek." Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, trying to look calm so as not to worry Fluttershy more.

"I don't think they are playing." Fluttershy said while having a bad feeling.

"Don't worry, we just have to think like them." Pinkie Pie said, who then shook her mane and crouched down to be as tall as the fillies were, starting her show of impersonations.

"So, what can we do now? I'm not sleepy yet." Pinkie Pie said with Sweetie Belle's manestyle, mimicking her perfectly. Then she quickly changed places and shook her mane quickly to change her manestyle.

"Dusk Shine said he'd be back soon, but it's super late and he's still not back." Pinkie Pie said, this time imitating to Apple Bloom. Then Pinkie quickly switched places again and changed her manestyle again.

"I know! We could go find him!" Pinkie Pie said, this time mimicking Scootaloo's manestyle and attitude as she pointed towards the door.

When Pinkie Pie pointed to the door of the house, it was only then that she and Fluttershy realized the door was open, and they both gave terrified looks as they discovered where the fillies had gone.

"They went into the forest!?" Fluttershy shouted terrified, who then immediately ran to find the fillies.

As she ran out of the house, Fluttershy realized that her vision was still blurry, and she realized that because of how scared she was, she still hadn't removed the glasses with which she had fallen asleep after imitating Silver Spoon, just like that like Pinkie Pie kept her toy tiara on her head. Then Fluttershy touched her glasses and started to take them off.

"D-Don't take your glasses off." Pinkie Pie said suddenly, who started shaking suddenly. "I think... My pinkie sense says we should keep them on." Pinkie Pie said after shaking.

Fluttershy looked at her friend confused, but she had long learned to trust her friend’s mysterious sixth sense. So she did what she asked, and they both kept running into the Everfree Forest. It didn't matter that both of them, especially Fluttershy, were terrified to enter that forest, especially at night. The only thing that mattered to both of them now was the well-being of the three fillies, who didn't understand how dangerous that forest could be.

"Fluttershy… Did a chicken get away?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly, stopping when she saw a mark on the ground.

"Uh? Why do you ask that?" Fluttershy said confused, stopping next to Pinkie Pie and looking at the mark her friend was seeing.

On the ground were a pair of footprints that closely resembled the feet of a chicken, but these were larger than a normal chicken. When Fluttershy saw them, she went pale when she recognized which animal those footprints were from.

"That's why she asked me if I had a rooster..." Fluttershy muttered in terror, remembering what the mysterious zebra had asked her that very morning. And finally understanding why that zebra had asked her that strange question, Fluttershy opened her mouth in horror as she confirmed her suspicions. "We must find the fillies right now!" Fluttershy screamed in terror, starting to sprint down the forest path.

"What's wrong? Why did you mention a rooster?" Pinkie Pie asked scared, who immediately ran to her friend's side, very worried since very few times she had seen Fluttershy this scared.

"The crowing of a rooster is the only thing that drives away a cockatrice. That is why I have a chicken coop next to my house." Fluttershy said as she continued to run.

"A cockatrice?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"It's a beast from the Everfree Forest." Fluttershy replied terrified. "Normally the beasts of the Everfree Forest don't leave the depths of the forest, but a long time ago the cockatrice came to hunt near the edge of this area."

"And did you see that monster!?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise.

"No, I only... saw what it did to my bunnies... You can't look into a cockatrice’s eyes, because otherwise..." Fluttershy said terrified, shutting up at the last second, because she didn't want to imagine what would happen if some of the fillies saw such a beast in the eye.

Meanwhile, moments before, the three fillies had jumped in shock upon encountering a petrified Dusk Shine and then hearing a strange and scary sound from behind a bush. And as soon as they saw something peek out of that bush, none of the three waited to see what it was and quickly ran out of there completely terrified.

Heading into the forest, the three fillies made their way through the trees and bushes trying to get as far away from the main path as possible. After breaking some branches, none of the three realized they were heading into a small ravine. Scootaloo and Sweete Belle suddenly slipped and fell, but luckily they were saved at the last second by Apple Bloom, who was behind them and managed to throw herself so that each of her friends could hold onto one of her hooves. The three fillies stayed on the edge of the ravine, only being supported by the yellow filly, who little by little was giving way, since the weight of her two friends was too much for her to bear alone.

"H-Hold on!" Apple Bloom cried terrified looking down, where her two friends saw her. The ravine below appeared bottomless as it was so deep that no light reached the bottom.

"Apple Bloom... Let go of me... You can't hold us both." Scootaloo said totally scared, not only because she was about to fall, but because she knew that if she didn't sacrifice herself, her other two friends would also fall.

"Don't do it! Let go of me! Save Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said through tears, understanding that her pegasus friend was sacrificing herself for her, something she would not allow.

As the three fillies struggled between life and death, to make matters worse, the strange sound they had heard behind the bush before running sounded like it was slowly approaching them. Apple Bloom glanced back in terror as she saw the shadow of a strange beast, with a hen-shaped head and elongated snake-like body slowly rose above them, ready to devour its prey.

"What do I? What do I? What do I do!?" Apple Bloom thought completely scared, not knowing what to do. Understanding that with each passing second, she and her friends had less chance of surviving, but… She couldn't make up her mind! There was no correct decision!

The land under Apple Bloom began to give way, and Apple Bloom began to fall down the ravine. But just at that moment, Pinkie Pie appeared from behind and managed to hold Apple Bloom, who also didn't let go of her friends for any second. With a lot of effort, Pinkie Pie slowly managed to make the fillies rise and not fall through the ravine.

As soon as the three fillies were safely up the ravine, they hugged each other tearfully for what they had just lived through, but the shadow of a strange creature quickly reminded them that there was still a terrifying beast there near them.

"Pinkie! Don’t let the girls look the cockatrice in the eye!" Fluttershy screamed immediately before the fillies could see what was there.

Following what her friend was telling her, Pinkie Pie quickly lowered her head and made the fillies do so too. The only thing that they could see was Fluttershy’s hooves, who was standing right in front of the strange creature that had chicken legs and the scaly body of a dragon.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie and the fillies were startled to see that, although they only saw the bottom of Fluttershy and the beast, they could see that Fluttershy's tail began to slowly turn to stone.

"Fluttershy!" Scootaloo said scared.

"Don't move!" Fluttershy yelled loudly.

Then the beast seemed to try to get past Fluttershy to get closer to the fillies, but Fluttershy quickly got back in the way.

"Don't you dare! Look me in the eye when I speak to you!" Fluttershy yelled in a commanding voice.

Fluttershy was still wearing the glasses that Pinkie told her to keep on. But even though her sight was slightly blurred, she could perfectly see the beast in front of her, a creature like she had never seen before. Part dragon and part bird, but what Fluttershy was most terrified of was its eyes, intense, glowing red orbs that could intimidate even the bravest Canterlot Palace Guard. However, Fluttershy knew that she couldn't give in to fear, because the stakes were high... And although those eyes were terrifying, she had already faced a much more terrifying pair of eyes once before. She had already imitated it once when she expelled that dragon a few months ago, and now all her senses made her relive that memory to use that stare again, a stare so fierce that no animal or beast could resist.

The cockatrice stared at the seemingly weak pony and her intense stare. That beast had never seen such an intense stare look at it in that way, and after a few seconds, the beast felt the power of its stare languish before that of the pony. So, the cockatrice began to slowly crouch before that 'beast dominator' pony and her intense stare.

"I don't want you to go near the edge of the forest ever again, do you understand!?" Fluttershy said keeping her fierce stare, not blinking at all.

Finally, the cockatrice closed its eyes and quickly crawled away from there. As soon as the beast moved away, for a few seconds everyone froze in a long silence, still fearful and surprised at everything that had happened.

"Fluttreshy! That was awesome!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, who started to approach the pegasus with her friends.

"You three! I told you not to go into the forest! I’m very disappointed in you! What would your sisters think if they found out you got seriously hurt, or even worse?!" Fluttershy yelled angrily and maintaining her fierce stare with which she had controlled the cockatrice, only this time she stared at the three fillies for disobeying her.

Seeing Fluttershy's fierce stare, the three fillies froze and lowered their heads as their eyes filled with tears, knowing that they were to blame for everything that happened. As soon as the fillies started crying, Fluttershy closed her eyes and hugged them tightly.

"I don't want to use this stare on you... please don't do something so silly ever again." Fluttershy said already calmer.

"We promise... We'll never disobey you again..." The three fillies said crying, this time, without crossing their back hooves, simply making a true promise.

Seeing the tender hug of Fluttershy and the fillies, Pinkie Pie also joined in and hugged them all, so the five of them stayed for a long while until they were all able to calm down completely.

"Fluttershy! Your tail!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly, remembering that Fluttershy's tail had been turned to stone but was now slowly returning to normal.

"Yes… that happens when you scare a cockatrice. Everything that turns to stone returns to normal." Fluttershy said with a small smile, deciding to explain herself better, since everyone was surprised to see that she knew such things. "It's not the first time that a cockatrice approaches from these sides. Some years ago, I found some rabbits turned to stone. It was then that I looked in books until I found out that a rooster crow scares away the cockatrice. That time, after the rooster crowed, the bunnies became unpetrified."

"Wait, I almost forgot! Dusk was also turned to stone!" Apple Bloom said, suddenly remembering the poor petrified colt.

Then they all went quickly to where the statue of Dusk was. Upon arriving at the place, they saw that Dusk was indeed unpetrified, lying on the ground passed out.

"I don't think Dusk will wake up until tomorrow." Fluttershy said a little worried, remembering how that time with the petrified bunnies, the bunnies had slept a whole day after being unpetrified.

Then Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie accommodated Dusk between the two of them and both carried him on the way back, while the three fillies got very close to the two of them, since now they finally understood how dangerous the Everfree Forest could be. Although they knew everything would be good as long as they were with those two mares who had saved their lives.

"By the way, you can take those glasses off now." Pinkie Pie said with a smile as they walked, seeing that her friend still had her glasses on.

"Thank you… it was very helpful. I think your pinkie sense saved us." Fluttershy said smiling.

"My pinkie sense was useless... It just warned me to keep wearing our costumes." Pinkie Pie said with a sad look, remembering how Dusk had told her that perhaps her pinkie sense was not a curse, but a gift. "Was it really helpful to you to wear your glasses all this time?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely." Fluttershy replied. "From what I read, the stare of the cockatrice has an immediate effect, but I suppose that thanks to the glasses it didn't affect me all at once."

"You mean only your tail turned to stone?" Pinkie Pie asked confused.

"Yes, and besides, I wasn't affected by the curse either. That was what worried me the most." Fluttershy replied with a nervous smile.

"The curse?" Pinkie Pie asked even more confused.

"Yes. If someone sees the cockatrice straight in the eye, they turn to stone. But if you look into its eyes for long time, then the curse-" Fluttershy said with a concerned look but stopped when she saw the fillies looking at her with scared looks. "I-It doesn't matter, it's nothing important." Fluttershy quickly added with a nervous smile.

"These little girls have already suffered a lot tonight… I don't want to scare them with more scary things… It's best not to tell them about that curse." Fluttershy thought worriedly, looking askance at Dusk, who was being carried on her back.

Once they got to the cottage, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy carried Dusk up to the second floor to take him to Fluttershy's bed, since it was the most comfortable bed to rest on. Meanwhile, the three fillies settled into their cloud bed, ready to finally sleep.

"What is that?" Scootaloo asked seeing that Apple Bloom was reading a book.

"It's the book that was near Dusk when we found him. I think he wanted to give it back to Zecora." Apple Bloom replied, putting the book down so her friend could see it. "I think it's a book about beast from Equestria… Look! Here is the cockatrice!"

Then Apple Bloom pointed to a page in the book, where was the drawing of a cockatrice. Scootaloo saw the picture and also saw the one on the page opposite it.

"What’s a basilisk?" Scootaloo asked looking at the page that was before the cockatrice.

"That's what I was reading. Although the basilisk is more like a snake, it's very similar to a cockatrice." Apple Bloom replied reading. "The basilisk is born from the egg of a snake incubated by a hen, and the cockatrice is ​​born from the egg of a hen incubated by a snake. Furthermore, both beasts can turn ponies to stone with just one glance."

"So, they’re almost the same." Scootaloo said scratching her head.

"Yeah, although their curses are different." Apple Bloom said, reading the book carefully. "If you force your gaze towards the basilisk and look at it for a long time, its curse is that you will die at that very moment... On the other hoof, if you look very intently at a cockatrice, its curse will be... that you will see how you will die."

"Gosh... then the basilisk is much worse than a cockatrice." Scootaloo said in surprise.

"I guess." Apple Bloom said closing the book, ready to finally sleep. "Hey, where's Sweetie Belle?" The filly added suddenly when she saw that one of her friends was missing.

Just at that moment, on the second floor, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had finished putting Dusk on the bed.

"Will he really be alright?" Pinkie Pie asked worried, seeing that Dusk didn't react, as if he was passed out.

"I hope so." Fluttershy said also worried. "I think it'll be fine as long as he can rest properly tonight."

"I'll watch him!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly, jumping on the bed next to Dusk and hugging him. "I'll sleep next to Dusk so that nothing bothers him."

"Of course not!" Fluttershy said immediately annoyed, grabbing Sweetie Belle and pulling her off the bed.

Seeing that Fluttershy had taken her away from Dusk when she only wanted to take care of him, Sweetie Belle prepared to argue. But immediately she saw that Fluttershy was looking at her seriously, and she remembered Fluttershy's fierce stare, so she finally lowered her depressed head and went back downstairs to sleep with her friends.

"Dusk needs to rest. I don't want anyone to bother him." Fluttershy said closing her eyes and sighing, thinking she was about to use 'her stare' again.

"Yeah, Dusk needs to rest, but you know... What Sweetie Belle said isn't such a bad idea..." Pinkie Pie said, looking away and blushing slightly. "I could stay and take care that no one bothers Dusk tonight. Maybe-"

Suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped talking as she glanced at Fluttershy and saw that she was staring at her with big eyes. It wasn't Fluttershy's fierce stare, but it wasn't the normal shy look that she used to have either. If Pinkie Pie had to guess, she would say it was a middle stare, a stare without anger or intimidation, but full of determination and assurance.

"This is my house and I'll take care of Dusk Shine tonight." Fluttershy said without a hint of hesitation, which made Pinkie Pie very surprised at this new attitude from her friend.

Slowly and unconsciously Pinkie Pie was pushed by Fluttershy's stare, and once she was out of the room, the yellow pegasus slammed the door in her face. With only Fluttershy and Dusk left in the room, the pegasus sighed exhausted and approached the bed where Dusk was resting.

For what seemed like very long seconds, Fluttershy stared at Dusk. Then she slowly opened the covers and lay down next to him.

"Very good... You finally take the initiative..." The little vampire Fluttershy said in Fluttershy's imagination, which appeared flying over her. "Now is the time! You can do whatever you want with Dusk and no one will ever know!" The Little vampire Fluttershy added with a look full of lust.

"No... This is all my courage allows me to do for now." Fluttershy whispered responding slowly, without taking her gaze from Dusk's face. "I'm sorry... I can't change my personality and become aggressive, because... Because I want you to fall in love with the real me!" Fluttershy added blushing.

"Gosh... you're so boring. Well, I’ll be back. Probably when you have another…naughty dream." Fluttershy's little demon said, disappearing with a 'Poof!' in the air when she saw that she was being ignored.

Then Fluttershy remained silent lying next to Dusk, not even daring to touch his body, but feeling a pleasant sensation just by feeling the warmth of Dusk next to her. Furthermore, she smiled tenderly when she realized that now she had also shared a bed with Dusk, just like all her other friends did. And as she thought about it, Fluttershy also recalled what had happened to the filly's declarations when they imitated their sisters.

"Rainbow Dash can give you adventures, Rarity can give you romance, Applejack a big family, and Pinkie Pie a lot of smiles…" Fluttershy whispered blushing. "I'm not sure what I could give you... more than my love... and swear that I will always protect you..." Fluttershy added with a tender smile as she finally fell asleep next to her beloved Dusk.

The next morning, Futtershy woke up with a smile on her face. She didn't know why, but she had slept more comfortably than she had ever remembered. Then she opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was lying on the same bed with Dusk, hugging him. Only then did Fluttershy begin to remember what had happened the day before.

After blushing and shaking her head to calm down, the yellow pegasus brought her head closer to Dusk's to see him better, and she could see that he was still unconscious, but unlike the night before when he seemed simply passed out, now he seemed to be sleeping comfortably, which made Fluttershy smile in relief and slowly get out of bed to let him sleep peacefully.

After getting out of bed, Fluttershy went down to the first floor, where her eyes widened to see that her kitchen was in a mess, and in the middle of the kitchen was Pinkie Pie sitting, calmly eating some fried hay and a glass of milk.

"Oh! Good Morning." Pinkie Pie said with a smile. Seeing that Fluttershy looked scared at the mess in the kitchen, she understood her confusion. "Sorry, as soon as they woke up, Apple Bloom and the others insisted that they wanted to make us breakfast as a way to apologize for yesterday." Pinkie Pie added, showing Fluttershy some badly burnt pancakes that had the drawing made in syrup of the three fillies and said: 'We're sorry'.

"And where are the girls now?" Fluttershy asked concerned.

"They're playing with the chickens." Pinkie Pie said pointing towards the window.

Fluttershy walked to where Pinkie Pie indicated and saw out the window that the fillies were chasing a chicken around the chicken coop. It seemed that they had returned to their idea of ​​playing dress up, only now Sweetie Belle wore a manestyle similar to Fluttershy's, Scootaloo had stuck some candy on her flank to resemble Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark, and Apple Bloom was completely still, probably imitating Dusk turned into stone. All while the poor chicken had had to play the role of the cockatrice.

"Stay away from the fillies and Dusk! I'll save them all!" Sweetie Belle yelled, widening her eyes and staring intently at the chicken. It was clear that they were doing a very exaggerated performance of how Fluttershy had saved them the night before.

Seeing the fillies mimicking her and making her look like she was a hero, Fluttershy blushed and smiled, thinking how happy it made her to see that the fillies now finally respected her.

"By the way... did you sleep well last night?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly, as she feigned disinterest and drank her glass of milk.

A seeing that look in her friend, Fluttershy was surprised because she didn't remember Pinkie Pie having seen her in such a way before, with a look of suspicion on her. It was then that Fluttershy realized why.

"So... Now do you take me seriously as a rival?" Fluttershy asked thinking aloud. Who immediately realized what she had said and blushed at saying something so blatant.

"Take you seriously as a rival?" Pinkie Pie repeated confused, then she widened her eyes as she understood what her friend must be referring to. "Oh… No, I always considered you as a rival in love, it's just that… I thought that you only took the initiative in extreme cases, like with the dragon." Pinkie Pie said a little embarrassed.

Then Pinkie Pie put on a more thoughtful look and looked at Fluttershy with a little concern.

"I... I thought that, but yesterday, when you said that you would take care of Dusk and you kicked me out of the room, I realized that you can be more determined if you put your mind to it..." Pinkie Pie said looking sadly at Fluttershy. "Sorry if I made you feel so insignificant, I didn’t mean it like that." Pinkie added ruefully.

Just as Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer, they both turned when they saw Dusk Shine slowly walking down the stairs with an exhausted look and walking awkwardly, affirmed from the edge of the stairs.

"Can someone explain to me what happened yesterday?" Dusk asked when he finally reached the first floor, holding his head for the headache he had.

Seeing that Dusk was staggering and still looking weak, both mares quickly approached him, helped him to sit on the couch, and each of them sat next to him. Then they both explained to him what had happened the night before, about how they had found him petrified, the escape of the three fillies, and their encounter against the cockatrice.

"A cockatrice?" Dusk said in amazement after hearing the story. He put on a thoughtful face while trying to remember. "Everything is so confusing… I remember I was on my way to see Zecora, then I saw a chicken and then… I don't know… everything’s still fuzzy. Although I think I can remember more if I think hard enough." Dusk said confused, still with a headache.

"Perhaps it's the effect of the petrification. Don't worry, you just have to rest." Fluttershy said smiling kindly when she saw that Dusk had no major sequelae other than his headache.

"Yeah, I hope so..." Dusk said sighing, throwing his head back to support it on the couch. "It's strange, I can't quite remember what happened last night, but I vividly remember the dream I had last night."

"A dream?" Pinkie Pie asked curious.

"Yes… I remember that I was in a very dark and cold place. But then an angel came down from heaven, hugged me and told me that she would always protect me…" Dusk said remembering, blushing when he remembered that beautiful faceless angel who hadn't only sworn to protect him, but also to give him all her love.

Hearing that, Fluttershy also blushed, since she didn't think that Dusk could have heard what she had whispered to him at night, although he seemed to believe that it had all been a dream.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie stretched her hooves and hugged Dusk tightly, putting her head close to Dusk's body.

"I won’t give up." Pinkie Pie whispered as she hugged Dusk, but not looking at him, but at her pegasus friend, looking at her with a defiant look.

After the surprise upon hearing Pinkie Pie's words, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel happy and satisfied to see that finally Pinkie Pie saw her as a worthy rival just like with her other friends. Then Fluttershy put on a stare of determination and although she was very blushing, she hugged Dusk in the same way that Pinkie Pie did, leaving both mares facing each other while hugging Dusk's belly.

"I'm not going to give up either." Fluttershy replied with the same challenging look as she looked at Pinkie Pie. Then both friends smiled and stared at each other like great friends and rivals in love.

While both mares understood that now the competition for Dusk's love would be fiercer, Dusk turned his face away, completely red with shame at seeing his two mare friends hugging him so tightly.

"I know I should tell them that this isn’t appropriate, but… it feels great." Dusk thought ashamed, thinking about how good the soft and warm fur of his friends felt hugging him.

While Dusk and the mares were hugging on the couch, from one of the windows, three fillies were watching carefully what was happening.

"Look at that... Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed to hug Dusk!" Sweetie Belle said with surprise, as her jealousy made her want to go and ruin that moment, but since she felt indebted to both mares, she barely controlled herself and decided not to.

"That just proves that everything they told us was true... They’re all in love with Dusk!" Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

"That’s all the proof we needed..." Scootaloo said, observing her friends with a grim look.

"It seems there is no other option..." Sweetie Belle said with the same grim look as Scootaloo.

"That's right..." Apple Bloom added with the same look as she remembered what she and her friends had discussed moments before.

When Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie told them that they were also in love with Dusk, the three fillies had thought that they should force Dusk to choose. After all, it was simple, Dusk only had to make one decision. However, when they went to the forest the night before and were about to fall down a ravine, they understood that there were cases in which choosing an option wasn’t so easy, especially if there were feelings involved that complicated everything. It was thus that the fillies understood that in this war for love, they could never all be happy, and even if Dusk chose one, there would be four other mares that would be unhappy, and that included their sisters. So, after arguing for a long time, the three of them had come to a conclusion...

When making their decision, the three fillies put on dark glasses at the same time, the kind they had brought in their costume box, and looked decisively towards Dusk, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"Looks like it’s time for 'Plan H'!" The three fillies said at the same time, while striking a cool pose and making serious faces.

"By the way... 'Plan H' stands for 'Hentai', right?" Sweetie Belle asked confused.

"Of course not! Stop making up words!" Scootaloo replied, blushing for some reason. "What does that even mean?"

"I don’t know?" Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I just keep hearing that word from some of the mares that read those comics that Lyra Heartstrings sells."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and then corrected her friend. "'Plan H' is for 'Harem'!"

"That's right... We'll support all of them..." Apple Bloom said seriously. "We'll make Dusk Shine stay with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at the same time..."

While the three fillies made the decision to support the five mares to win Dusk's heart at the same time, Dusk was still sitting on the couch, not even imagining all the shenanigans that would lie ahead now that those three fillies had made the decision for whom he should confess his love to.

End of chapter 50

Author's Notes:

Many thanks to 'Scribe of the Nightwings' for his help