“Bake the pie crust... mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon...”

In a small, brightly lit and cheerfully decorated room, a shape laid curled up on a large bed, hidden beneath some green, balloon-print covers. The lump shook slightly as a muffled voice came from within the thick blanket.

“Add the berries... pour in the pan and top with the crust... bake until brown, and....”

Without warning, the shape suddenly sprung up into the air. “The Pinkie Pie is ready- whoa!” The cheerful cry was cut off as it fell to the ground in a knotted heap of covers, a surprised shout coming from the pile as it hit the floor. The blankets shifted more as the pony inside struggled to untangle herself. Finally, the head of a pink earth pony popped out from underneath the bedspread, the rest of her body following shortly after.

Pinkie Pie looked back at her blanket and laughed out loud as she replayed the incident in her head. Grabbing the blanket, she threw it into the air and grinned as she watched it slowly settle down onto her bed, perfectly made with no wrinkles.

“Ah, nothing like a good tumble out of bed to get you up in the morning, right Gummy?” Pinkie asked, walking over to her pet alligator lying curled up in his bed. “Not to mention I need to keep my baking skills sharp! Maybe I’ll make some strawberry pie later on today! Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Gummy?”

Without waiting for an answer, she picked Gummy up and plopped him down on the floor, the little reptile barely acknowledging her as he stared blankly ahead with unblinking purple eyes. Regarding his behavior as normal, the earth pony giggled and trotted over to her window, pushed it open and popped her head outside.

“Good morning, Valimore!” Pinkie called out, waving at the ponies below as they went about their regular morning business. Many looked up at her and responded by smiling good-naturedly and waving back, a few giving their own greetings in return. A small number of ponies shook their heads in exasperation and turned away, but Pinkie was in too good a mood to care as she pulled the window shut.

Turning from her window, Pinkie went over to the side of her bed, where two pink saddlebags with blue balloon clasps were sitting. Grabbing them, she placed them in the center of the room and began picking up random objects around the room and stuffing them into the bag, with many of such objects being far bigger than what should have been physically possible to fit into such a small space.

“Oh Gummy, I’m so excited! You know what day it is, don’t you?” Pinkie asked as she pushed several cans of paint and a ball of yarn into one bag. The alligator gave no response, but she continued on as though he had. “It’s Sunday! That means it has to be fun, because Sunday rhymes with Funday! And there’s nothing more fun than going out pranking with my best friend, Rainbow Dash!”

Walking across her room to get something else, she cast a glance at Gummy and giggled. “Well of course parties are fun, silly! But I can throw a party anytime I want, while Dashie and I only get to go play pranks once every few weeks. It’s doesn’t happen as often, so it’s more special that way! You understand, right?”

The alligator blinked lazily in response. Pinkie turned to him, temporarily halting her efforts to fit a full-sized anchor into her saddlebags. She frowned slightly. “Yeah, you’re right; it’s Sunday, so I should be going to the Fellowship of the Golden Sun for congregation…but I can go later! It won’t take all day, so once we’re done we can go praise Celestia until the sun sets!”

Pinkie turned back to her bags and tried one last time to force the anchor inside, to no avail. She panted in exhaustion and sighed. “Maybe I’ll just leave this at home today. I probably won’t need it anyway.”

Closing her bags and slipping them on, she walked over to Gummy and crouched in front of him. “Hey, I have an idea! Want to come?”

The alligator opened his toothless jaws and bit down harmlessly on Pinkie’s manecurl. The pony giggled and stood up, watching as Gummy jumped along, biting her mane until he latched onto her tail. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

Laughing at her pet’s actions, Pinkie Pie bounced down the stairs to the first floor of the bakery. There, she saw Mrs. Cake, a plump blue earth pony and one of the owners of Sugarcube Corner, serving desserts to a long line of customers from behind the counter. Mrs. Cake turned and smiled as Pinkie came up to her.

“Hi, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie greeted, “You’re looking good today!”

“Oh, Pinkie! Good morning!” Mrs. Cake greeted back, smiling warmly. “Did you sleep well?”

“As snug as a bug in a rug!” Pinkie replied cheerfully, laughing. She placed her hoof on the bump in Mrs. Cake’s stomach, her smile growing wider. “I bet they’ll be here any day now! Are you excited? I know I am!”

Mrs. Cake let out a soft giggle. “Pinkie, you know full well they aren’t due yet! It’ll be another month at the least!”

Pinkie pulled her hoof away and nodded. “I know, I know, but I still can’t wait! I’ve always wanted siblings!”

“I know, dear, and I’m sure you’ll be a good…older sister…” Mrs. Cake said, hesitating uncertainly on the last part.

Pinkie didn’t take any notice of her hesitation. “So anyway, I’m going to go get some stuff from the kitchen now, okay?”

“Uh, sure, but don’t make too much of a mess...” Mrs. Cake said nervously. “Carrot’s in there right now.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie saluted and bounced off into the kitchen. She gave a happy greeting to Mr. Cake, a lean orange pony and the other owner of the bakery as he worked on icing a batch of cookies.

“Good morning, Mr. Cake! Just picking up some sweets for when Dashie and I go out to play pranks on the ponies of Valimore, don’t mind me!” Pinkie said, stuffing a pan of blueberry muffins into her saddlebags.

“Okay, but don’t cause too much trouble. Remember what happened last time...?” Mr. Cake warned her.

Pinkie sighed. “It was just one salamander, those fancy upper-class ponies so overreacted!” Her cheer quickly returned, however. “But don’t worry, it won’t be like that; we’ll stay away from the wealthy part of the city this time!”

“By the way, does Rainbow Dash know about this?” Mr. Cake asked, still looking unconvinced.

“…No…” Pinkie admitted, frowning slightly before putting her smile back on. “But I’m sure she’ll want to come once I tell her! There’s no way she’d pass this up!”

Stuffing one final cake into the bags, Pinkie slipped them back on and bounced out of the kitchen. “Bye, Mr. Cake! I’ll back in time to attend congregation!”

Leaving before she could hear Mr. Cake’s response, Pinkie walked past the long line of ponies and emerged into the streets of Valimore, capital of Solaris. Bouncing along, she waved and greeted the various merchants, shop owners, and passing ponies with relentless cheer and enthusiasm.

“Hi, Junebug! Those flowers you’re carrying look beautiful!” Pinkie said to a passing earth pony holding two baskets of daisies. She turned to grin at a blue unicorn. “Minuette, happy birthday!”

She looked up at the sky at two pegasi flying above her. “Flitter, Cloudchaser, you two did a great job of clearing the sky today! Oh, by the way, have either of you seen Rainbow Dash?”

The two pegasi stopped and looked to each other, shrugging simultaneously. Flitter looked down at Pinkie. “Sorry, Pinkie. We haven’t seen her.”

“Well, that’s okay. I’ll just keep looking, then! Thanks anyway!” Pinkie said, waving as the two flew off again. She continued her trip through Valimore, greeting and complimenting every pony she saw, but despite the clear skies, she couldn’t find Rainbow Dash anywhere. Eventually, she neared the city gates that separated Valimore from the desert of Solaris, and there was still no sign of the rainbow pegasus.

Feeling a hint of disappointment, Pinkie Pie lit up when she saw two white pegasus guards standing at the gates. Quickly hiding behind a barrel, Pinkie peeked over at the guards, then at the wooden stable that was still under construction right beside them. A devious plan began to formulate in her mind.

“I’m sure Dashie won’t mind if I do this without her, right Gummy?” Pinkie said quietly, looking at the alligator clamped to her tail, who, as usual, offered no response. Disregarding this, she snuck behind the stable and jumped up on top of it, staying low to keep the guards from seeing her. Crawling across the wood to a point where she was in line with them, Pinkie took off her saddlebags and reached inside, pulling out a large wooden washtub, a container of cake batter, two balls of yarn, and two muffins.

Pinkie giggled quietly to herself as she poured the batter into the tub, tied the yarn around the muffins, and then tied the yarn around the tub. She threw the muffins off the stable and leapt off, landing and running behind her barrel to watch as the muffins stopped and hung to the left of one guard. The pegasus caught sight of the hanging treats out of the corner of his eye and stared at them with a mix of surprise and confusion. He looked them over curiously as the other guard approached to take a look as well. Following the yarn, they looked up to see the tub clearly peeking over the edge of the stable roof, ready to tip over at the slightest disturbance.

Smirking knowingly at each other, one guard took his spear and carefully cut through the two strings of yarn, the other one catching the muffins as they fell. Triumphantly, the two toasted their treats together and took a bite. Behind the barrel, Pinkie’s smile widened as she kept a steady watch on their expressions.

Abruptly, the guard’s smug expressions shifted to ones of panic. Dropping the muffins, they both spat out large bursts of fire and ran around screaming in desperate search of water as the burning taste smoldered in their mouths. Several ponies ran up to them to see what was wrong, while Pinkie just laughed, congratulating herself on having added liquid rainbow into the recipe beforehand. As the guards ran around in panic, she tapped her hoof to the ground, counting quietly to herself.

“One…two…three…” On the third tap, one guard rammed face-first into the pole of the stable, though his helmet kept him from being hurt. The impact had, however, shook the stable, causing the precariously-balanced tub of batter to tip over. The tub fell, splashing batter onto everypony beneath it. Unable to contain herself, Pinkie burst out laughing, rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Her prank had worked perfectly.

A scream of terror suddenly rose up from the crowd. Cutting off her laughter, Pinkie looked up to see a batter-covered merchant pony running around blindly, shouting about a monster attacking her. Beneath the batter, Pinkie saw a toothless green alligator clamped onto the mare’s mane. She quickly looked at her own tail, and sure enough, her pet was gone. For the first time in a very long while, a jolt of fear ran through the pink earth pony.

“Uh oh…” Pinkie said. Getting up on top of the barrel, she jumped off and landed on the edge of a cart of oranges. The cart tipped over and oranges spilled over the ground as she leapt off and, rolling in midair, snatched Gummy from the head of the unfortunate mare. She landed perfectly and laughed as Gummy immediately went back to biting her tail.

“Well, that was fun, right Gummy? I can’t believe you even got in there without me noticing,” she said to her pet. Turning, her smile fell as she found herself staring into the face of an angry, batter-caked pegasus guard.

“Uh…heh…” Pinkie laughed nervously, then turned and bolted down the street, nimbly dodging the spilled oranges and jumping over the overturned cart without missing a beat. The two guards ran in pursuit, but they quickly slipped and stumbled over the oranges littering the ground. This only served to frustrate them further, as they spread their wings and took to the air after the earth pony.

Pinkie wove through the crowds of ponies filling the narrow streets. Up ahead, she saw two cart-pulling ponies blocking the road, arguing over something she couldn’t hear. Abruptly, she turned left and ran down a different road.

The angry guards were quickly catching up. As pegasi, they weren’t hindered by annoying obstacles like roads and carts and pedestrians, while Pinkie had to dodge and turn every time she saw her path blocked by some sort of obstruction, whether it be crashed wagons or construction. Soon, her retreat took her into the poorer, more run-down parts of Valimore, and she came to a dead end in an alley. Thinking fast, she rushed into an open house, past the shocked ponies within with a quick cry of “Sorry!” and jumped out the window on the other side. She continued running, the guards sighting her and giving chase moments later.

“Sheesh, some ponies just can’t take a prank!” she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Pranks were never any fun when the other pony didn’t enjoy them as well. Focusing ahead, her eyes widened and she slid to a halt at the edge of a sudden cliff. Looking down, she saw a barren, rocky landscape and a small muddy river flowing below. It wasn’t a particularly far drop, but landing on those rocks would be a very painful experience.

Two large shadows told Pinkie that the guards were right on top of her. Taking one more look at the river, she smiled and leapt off, swan-diving and landing in the slow-flowing river. The two guards landed and looked down at the river, waiting to see if she would emerge.

After a few seconds, one guard asked, “Do you think she’s okay? Maybe we should help her.”

The other pegasus shook his head. “Do you know who that was? That’s Pinkie Pie, remember? We could chase her all day, and she’d still give us the slip somehow. She’ll be fine. Now let’s go, we need get back to our posts before the Captain finds out.”

The two guards spread their wings and flew off. Down below, Pinkie emerged from the water, drawing in a deep breath and smiling at her pet as she held him in her hooves.

“Wasn’t that fun, Gummy? I haven’t had a chase like that in forever!” Pinkie laughed, climbing out and shaking the mud and water from her fur, her wet mane poofing back up again. “Hey, where are we?”

Looking around, all Pinkie saw was a grey, lifeless landscape of rocks and dead trees that marked the far outskirts of Valimore. A fair distance away, she could see a dull-looking barn, and when she squinted, some movement as well. “Ooh, ponies! Let’s go that way!”

Pinkie bounced off in the direction of the barn, humming a cheerful tune to herself. Soon, she could see a group of four foals. Two fillies and two colts, slowly pushing rocks around, solemn expressions adorning their faces. Their somber faces dampened Pinkie’s own spirits as she recalled the similar experience that was her own foalhood. Pushing away those upsetting thoughts, Pinkie put on a look of determination as she trotted toward the barn, deciding that she couldn’t let such young foals stay like this. As she got closer, Pinkie adopted the cheeriest demeanor she could and bounced up to the children.

“Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie! What are your names?” Pinkie asked the foals.

The children looked to each other, clearly confused at the sudden arrival of this stranger. Finally, the oldest one, a brown earth pony colt spoke up. “I’m Boulder. This is Quartz, Coal, and Shale,” he pointed at the white pegasus filly, then at the black pegasus colt, and then at the grey earth pony filly.

Pinkie giggled softly at the names. “Heh, rocks! That’s a fun theme! My family doesn’t have a theme, we all have really weird, really long names like Pinkamena Diane Pie! I mean really, who names a filly that? Is it any wonder I go by Pinkie nowadays?”

Pinkie laughed softly at the memories, but when she didn’t see any change in the foals’ serious expressions, she quickly switched topic.

“So, what’s going on, why the long faces?” Pinkie asked, giggling softly at her own joke.

The youngest, Shale, looked up at her, raising a suspicious eyebrow at Pinkie’s cheerfulness. “This is a rock farm, miss. We’re gathering rocks.”

“Really? I lived on a rock farm once!” Pinkie said.

Coal looked at her disbelief. “You did?”

“Yup, outside Valimore! When I got old enough, I left to come here instead,” Pinkie explained, “What’s the matter, though? You all look so sad and serious! Laugh a little!”

“Laugh? What’s there to laugh about?” Coal asked.

That stopped Pinkie dead in her tracks, her mouth agape in shock. “What’s there to laugh about? Just laugh because you can! Laughter makes ponies happy, and when ponies are happy, it spreads to all the ponies around them and makes them happy, too! It’s like a disease, but it’s also the best medicine, which is really weird in when you think about it... but anyway, that’s not the point! You don’t need a reason to laugh; just do it because you can!”

“How?” Quartz asked.

Pinkie grinned excitedly, “Like this!”

The pink pony began bobbing her head and tapping her hooves, bouncing slightly. Then she began to sing.

“It’s not very hard. I can make it very clear,
You can brighten up your life with a laugh, shout and a cheer!”

“Wait, a song? Are you really singing?” Quartz asked, looking mildly disturbed. Pinkie simply nodded and went on, still smiling.

“It’s an easy thing to do. There’s nothing here to fear,
Bring some color to your day with a laugh, shout and a cheer!”

“Come on, it’s fun! Look, watch this!” Pinkie said. Tipping over the little wheelbarrow the foals had been using, she took a round, good-sized rock and kicked it into the air. As it came down, she kicked it again with the same hoof, shooting the rock into the wheelbarrow perfectly and righting it again on impact. The foals were actually impressed by this, small smiles crossing their faces as they whispered to each other.

“A laugh, shout, and a cheer,
Like music to your ears,
Don’t cry a tear, happiness is near with a laugh, shout and a cheer!”

“See, fun!” Pinkie said, bouncing up to the children. “Come on everypony, just follow me!”

“A laugh, shout and a cheer,
A laugh, shout and a cheer,
A laugh, shout and a cheer,
A laugh, shout and a cheer,
A laugh, shout and a cheer!”

Pinkie’s grin never left her face as the foals sang the final verse with her. Hearing their laughter filled her with an indescribable sense of happiness and satisfaction. “Again, again! Let’s keep going until the sun sets! Or we get tired; whichever comes first!”

And so, Pinkie and her newfound friends sang, danced, and laughed until Celestia’s sun began to dip past the horizon, coming up with new ways to turn their boring routine of collecting rocks into a fun game. Eventually, Pinkie waved her goodbyes to them and made her way across the rocky, lifeless land, back to the sandy city of Valimore. By the time she neared Sugarcube Corner, the sun had set and the sky was lit up with the colorful hues of twilight.

Still laughing to herself and quietly singing her song, Pinkie stopped suddenly as she remembered something, “Oh, I forgot to attend congregation today!” Pinkie looked up at the darkening sky, knowing that it was too late now that the sun had disappeared. She turned to Gummy and smiled. “Well, I’ll just go twice next week!”

A flapping sound caught Pinkie’s attention, and she looked up to see a grey pegasus land before her. The mare wore a pair of saddlebags, and her unfocused yellow eyes concentrated on Pinkie.

“Letter for Pinkie Pie!” she said, pulling out a letter from her saddlebag and handing it to Pinkie. Pinkie took the letter and stared at it, eyes glowing with excitement.

“For me? Wow, thanks Derpy! I haven’t gotten a letter in a while! Who’s it from?” Pinkie asked.

“The Fellowship of the Golden Sun. See the seal?” Derpy answered, pointing to the gold stamp marked by a sun sealing the letter. The grey pegasus seemed ready to burst with excitement herself.

“Oh, right,” Pinkie said, giggling. “Do you want to hear what it says?”

“Sorry, I can’t stay. I have to get back soon and report,” Derpy said. She took to the air and waved down at Pinkie. “Bye Pinkie!”

“Bye Derpy!” Pinkie waved back, watching as Derpy flew off.

When the pegasus had gone, Pinkie tore open her letter and pulled out a scroll bearing the signature of Shimmering Ray, the Great Philosopher of the Fellowship of the Golden Sun. As she read through the contents of the letter, her smile widened as her excitement level rose.

She looked up from the scroll and grabbed Gummy, pulling him into a hug. “Can you believe it, Gummy? This is going to be so fun!”

---------------------

The yellow pegasus climbed out of bed and stretched, flapping her wings to ward off any weariness left over from the night’s sleep. She walked over to the window and pushed it open, looking out at the quiet meadow and enjoying the feel of the morning sunshine. Once done, she closed the window and walked down the stairs to the floor of her cottage.

When Fluttershy entered into her living room, she was greeted by the array of animals she cared for in her little cottage on the outskirts of Erinia. A white rabbit hopped up to her and pulled on her mane to get her attention. The rabbit tapped his foot impatiently, an annoyed expression on his face.

Fluttershy smiled softly and nodded, “Alright, Angel. I’ll get you your breakfast. Just wait while I get food for all the other animals, too.”

The pegasus flew into her kitchen and began rifling through her shelves and storages, pulling out bags of grains, vegetables and other foods she’d need to feed the numerous animals under her care and collecting them in one large bag. Returning to her living room, she poured out some seed for her birds and nuts and vegetables for the mice and squirrels. Angel came up to her once more, stamping his foot in a voiceless demand for food.

“Don’t worry, Angel. I haven’t forgotten about you,” Fluttershy smiled at the rabbit, picking up a large carrot from her pile and dropping it in front of him. “Here you go. Please eat it all up this time, okay Angel?”

Fluttershy turned and walked out the cottage door, going around to the backyard where many more animals waited. She pulled her heavy bag to the middle of the clearing and let it drop, its contents spilling out on the ground. Immediately, a large group of animals rushed in to snatch up the food before the others could. Fluttershy smiled and gave them a quiet command to play nice before walking over to the stream that ran through her yard. Her home was on the outskirts of Erinia, Nocturne’s capital city, which was settled in the middle of the Riverlands. This gave her an abundant source of fish close to her home. Snatching up the fishing net laid over a rock, she threw the net out and waited for some fish to come along so she could feed the carnivorous creatures she cared for.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and sat in blissful silence, listening to the sounds of her animal friends behind her and enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze that blew through the air. Times like these were always appreciated by the pegasus, who welcomed the chance to reflect on the day’s events and what was to come. The soft patter of approaching feet caught her attention, and she opened her eyes to see Angel standing beside her, an angry glare on his face and an uneaten carrot in his paw.

Fluttershy sighed in mild exasperation, “Angel, you have to eat your carrot; you need your vitamins. I can’t make you salads every day.” Well, technically she could, but Fluttershy didn’t think it would be a good idea to pamper the spoiled rabbit too much.

Angel continued to glare as he threw the carrot into the water, the vegetable landing with a loud splash. Fluttershy sighed once more as she realized she wouldn’t catch any fish to feed her animals like this.

“Please, Angel? You don’t want me to use the Stare on you, do you?” Fluttershy asked, somewhat jokingly, but the stubborn rabbit remained unmoved by her pleas. Suddenly, his ears perked up, and Angel turned to stare off toward the dark forest a fair distance outside the small cottage. After a moment, he hopped off as fast as he could, squeezing through the fence in moments and running off.

Fluttershy stared at the rabbit as he ran, frozen in shock for several seconds. Finally, she snapped out of it, confusion and worry adorning her face. “A-Angel? Where are you going?”

Abandoning her attempt at fishing, Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew off after Angel, climbing high into the air in an attempt to overtake him. As she swooped down to catch him, Angel leapt up into the air, out of reach of her hooves, and landed on her head, immediately pushing off again to continue his escape. Thrown off by the sudden impact, Fluttershy lost her balance and fell to the ground, landing hard in the grass. Though the crash didn’t leave any injuries, it did give Angel the time to reach the forest. Stopping at its edge, he turned and beckoned with his paw, then hopped off into the dark foliage.

Fluttershy picked herself up and flew up to the forest’s entrance, landing and staring into its dim, foreboding interior with fear. This was the Softlands, a marsh-like forest that existed outside the ponies’ control of nature and which was home to all matters of dangerous, feral creatures. Most ponies made sure to stay far away from it, only venturing in if they were well prepared and armed, neither of which described Fluttershy right now.

But even so, she needed to find Angel and get him out before something else got to him first. Gulping loudly, Fluttershy steeled herself and trotted into the forest, her fear and urgency helping her to move faster. The further she walked, the more the ground turned into moist mud beneath her hooves, and it wasn’t long before it became hard to walk without her hooves sinking into the ground and squelching loudly as she pulled them from the muck. Finally having had enough, Fluttershy spread her wings and took to the air to search. Several minutes passed, and Fluttershy was beginning to despair at her failure to find Angel when she suddenly saw a flash of white up ahead. Looking up, she saw Angel standing a short distance in front of her on a tree stump, staring at her expectantly. Surprisingly, the white rabbit’s fur was much cleaner than that of his mud-covered owner despite having surely hopped the entire way into the marshy forest.

“Angel!” Fluttershy cried out in relief, swooping in and grabbing the little bunny. She hugged the rabbit tightly, much to his obvious displeasure. “I’m so glad I found you!”

Awareness of the situation returned suddenly to Fluttershy, along with her fear. “Angel, we need to get out of here! There are no guards here, and anything could-!”

She stopped suddenly, her breath catching in her throat as a ferocious roar sounded behind her. Her wings froze up, pinning themselves to her sides, and she fell to the forest ground as a burst of fire shot right where she had been a moment before. Fear taking control, Fluttershy quickly recovered and jumped out of the way as a massive creature pounced at her, missing her tail by mere inches.

Turning around, Fluttershy froze when she saw what the creature was. A large lioness stood before her, growling threateningly. A goat head grew out of its neck, smoke billowing from its mouth, and instead of a tail, a green snake hissed at her, fangs bared for attack. One of its front legs was held awkwardly off the ground. As strange as it was, Fluttershy recognized the creature instantly.

“C-Chimera…” she breathed, shaking with fear.

The chimera roared and pounced at her. Fluttershy screamed and spread her wings instinctively, shooting into the air and out of reach of its claws. The goat head brayed and fired another blast of fire at Fluttershy, who once again tumbled out of the way as the fire hit the tree above her instead. The dampness of the Softlands would likely keep the fire from catching onto anything, so Fluttershy didn’t worry about that as the creature kept firing blast after blast at her. Finally, one jet of flames caught the end of her tail, and the startled pegasus’s wings froze up, sending her crashing into the muddy ground, the wet muck extinguishing the small flames as she laid there.

The chimera’s shadow loomed over her, and she looked up to see it, the lioness baring its fangs to sink them into the vulnerable pegasus. Fluttershy closed her eyes and waited for the end, but at the sound of confused braying and hissing and no sensation of pain, she opened one eye to see what had happened. Her eyes opened fully as she saw Angel grabbing the goat’s ears, pulling on them in order to distract it. The frantic goat shot fire harmlessly into the air, and Fluttershy watched in awestruck silence. Suddenly, though, her eyes landed on the snake head, which had reared up behind the unsuspecting rabbit, mouth open wide and fangs gleaming in the dim light.

“Angel!” Fluttershy cried out, shooting into the air and flying toward the bunny as he realized what was about to happen. The snake struck just as Fluttershy reached Angel, and she curled around the rabbit to shield him. The serpent’s fangs sunk into her right hind leg, and she bit back the urge to cry out in pain.

Angel, seeing his owner hurt, leapt out of her hooves and kicked the goat head in one of its eyes. As the goat let out a pained cry, he grabbed the neck of the snake and pulled it around into a knot, the serpent hissing in surprise. Jumping back to Fluttershy, he hurriedly pointed further into the forest. Fluttershy nodded and swept the rabbit up in her hooves as she flew off. She tried not to think about the numbness slowly spreading up her leg already from the snake’s venom.

The furious chimera roared and bounded after her, though it moved more slowly than Fluttershy had expected, allowing the pegasus to keep ahead of it. All too soon, the muddy ground suddenly ended as a wide lake came into view. Fluttershy put on one final burst of speed to clear the distance and fly out over the water, where the chimera couldn’t reach her. The creature came to a stop at the bank, roaring and spraying streams of fire that Fluttershy had plenty of time to dodge. When it finally stopped and seemed to calm down somewhat, she sighed in relief and silently thanked Luna for her fortune.

Just as she was about to fly up into the clear sky above and leave, the unstable ground beneath the chimera’s feet gave way. It fell and landed in the deep, muddy water, crying out in panic as it struggled to stay afloat. Fluttershy stared in horror, fear for the drowning creature taking hold of her.

“Oh, Angel! We have to do something!” Fluttershy said. Angel pointed down toward the one of the trees, where a thick vine was hanging off of its branches. Without hesitating, Fluttershy rushed in and yanked at the vine, pulling it down from the tree until it snapped off. Grabbing one end, she flew back to the chimera and landed before it, trying to catch its attention. The chimera’s lioness head looked towards her, its eyes wide with fear.

Fluttershy tossed the vine into the water in front of the chimera and called out to it, “Please, calm down! We’re here to help you! We can help you if you calm down!”

Fluttershy’s urgent words seemed to get through the panicking monster, who bit down on the thick vine and stopped struggling. Fluttershy grabbed the other end and tried to walk backward, only to nearly lose her balance as her hind leg completely failed to respond to her commands. Realizing with a jolt of horror that the chimera’s venom was acting fast, she hovered in the air and pulled with more urgency. The vine held under the weight, and slowly but surely, the massive chimera was hauled out of the water to collapse on the bank.

Breathing heavily, Fluttershy limped over to make sure it was okay while Angel watched for any hostile movement. The chimera growled softly as she neared, but the pegasus ignored it as she cradled its lioness head in her hooves, gently whispering words of comfort.

“There, there. Its okay, I don’t want to hurt you; I want to help. You’re hurt, aren’t you?” Fluttershy asked softly.

The chimera let out a low growl and lifted up its right foreleg. Looking at the bent, matted limb, Fluttershy could tell that it was broken. She looked around and saw that none of the plants nearby were useful for healing. Realizing that she needed to both help the chimera and get treatment before its poison spread further, she smiled and said, “Come with me back to my cottage. It’s not far from here, and I can give you better treatment there. Will you come back with us?”

The chimera nodded its head after a moment and slowly got to its feet. Fluttershy flew into the air and grabbed Angel, and the three set off for Fluttershy’s cottage. As the minutes passed, Fluttershy’s thoughts wandered to her numb, poisoned leg. She now felt grateful that she had built up an immunity to snake venom over the years of tending to such animals so that the deadly effects of the poison were slowed and negated. She knew that her own resistance would keep the poison from killing her in the time it would take them to get out of the Softlands, but regardless, it would be necessary to return to her cottage as soon as possible to properly treat both her wounds and the chimera’s.

Even at their injured pace, they made it back in under half an hour, much to the pegasus’s silent relief. She flew into the cottage and retrieved her medical herbs and supplies, then set to work on making an antidote for the poison. As chimera venom was remarkably similar to common snake venom, the antidote was prepared quickly, and the seeds of a magic plant known for healing poison added in would ensure that her injury did not worsen. She cleaned the wound out and ingested the potion, savoring its soothing, honey-like taste. As she wrapped a bandage around her leg, she lamented the fact that, even though the antidote would remove the rest of the venom, her leg would be stiff and unresponsive for days to come. She was going to be flying everywhere for a while.

Taking her supplies, she flew back out to where the chimera rested in the middle of her backyard. Fluttershy suddenly felt grateful that she lived so far out from Erinia, as anypony seeing her with a full-grown chimera would have surely panicked and perhaps even alerted the guards. She took a hold of the creature’s injured leg and prepared to set the broken bones into place.

“Now, just hold still. This will only hurt for a moment, and then you’ll feel much better, I promise,” Fluttershy comforted the creature. Taking a deep breath, she wretched the bone back into place without a moment’s further hesitation. The chimera’s three heads cried out in pain, but then calmed down as the agony passed. Fluttershy smiled warmly.

“There, that wasn’t too bad, was it?” she said, supporting the leg with a splint as she began wrapping a bandage tightly around it. Once she had finished healing its injury as best she could, Fluttershy bathed the chimera and then fed it with the fish she caught from her small river. At Angel’s persistence, she finally relented in making the rabbit the cucumber salad he liked so much. She considered scolding him for running off into the Softlands alone, but then she realized that if he hadn’t, she never would have been able to help the hurt chimera. She settled for firmly telling him to not go off and get himself into any trouble again, though inwardly, she doubted he would actually listen.

Fluttershy resumed caring for her animals and the chimera well into the day. By the time she was finally finished, the sun was beginning to set and the moon was rising over in the direction of Erinia. Lying next to the chimera to watch the moon slowly ascend into the sky and the stars spring to life, Fluttershy put her hooves together and closed her eyes, praying to Princess Luna.

“Oh Princess Luna, mother of the moon and stars, grant thy blessing to this creature so that she may fully recover from her injuries and return to her home, and so that such misfortune never strikes her again,” Fluttershy prayed, smiling at the chimera when she finished. The animal purred and affectionately licked her face, prompting a giggle from the soft-spoken pegasus.

“E-Excuse me!” A voice caught Fluttershy’s attention, and she looked up to see a lanky pegasus mail-carrier hovering in the air above her. He looked nervously at the large chimera, especially when smoke began to drift threatening from the goat’s mouth, but Fluttershy placed a hoof gently to the chimera’s side to calm her. Fluttershy took to the air to reach the stallion, looking very uncomfortable despite her attempt at a warm smile.

“A-Are you miss Fluttershy?” The mailpony asked, still glancing nervously at the chimera every now and then. His gaze was drawn to the bandages around Fluttershy’s leg once or twice, but he quickly averted it to avoid being rude.

“Yes, that’s me,” Fluttershy squeaked. She was never good at speaking with ponies; it was why she moved so far out from Erinia in the first place, so that she could be as far away from them as possible.

“I have a letter for you, from the Church of the Moon,” the mailpony said, pulling out a scroll from his bag and handing it off to her.

Fluttershy took the scroll with clear surprise. She had never received a message from the Church before, but the dark blue seal with a crescent moon on it was all the proof she needed to know that it was legitimate.

“Well, great then, I’ll be off now! Have a good night!” the stallion said abruptly, turning and flying off before Fluttershy had the chance to say anything. She moved to ask him about the letter, but he was already too far gone for her soft cries to reach him.

Fluttershy sighed and descended back to the ground next to the chimera. Angel hopped up to see what was happening, and Fluttershy broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. To her further bewilderment, it bore the signature of Starlight Eclipse, the Popess of the Church of the Moon. Again, she wondered why the Popess would send a message to her, of all ponies. She hardly ever went to Erinia except to restock on supplies, and even then, she mostly just had such things delivered to her cottage or grown in her garden instead.

Deciding that she wouldn’t learn anything by just pondering it, Fluttershy began to read through the scroll’s contents. When she reached the end, she suddenly froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. She read it over again to make sure she hadn’t made some mistake in interpreting its message, but there was no mistake. An icy chill spread through her body, and the paper slipped out of her hooves. Confused, Angel grabbed the scroll and began reading through it himself, similar horror crossing his face, along with a hint of anger. He looked up at Fluttershy, and saw tears beginning to well up in the pegasus’s eyes.

Fluttershy looked around the backyard at all of her animals, then at the chimera, and then finally down to Angel. She picked the little rabbit up in her hooves and sobbed quietly, her friend trying to provide what little comfort he could.

Finally, Fluttershy managed to get out a few words.“Oh, Angel, what am I going to do?”