Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shamefully walked through the castle halls of Canterlot, being escorted by Celestia’s Royal Guards. Normally they would be enthusiastic about this visit, but not today. Everytime a door opened within the castle, their hearts’ sank further down their body. At times, they had to close their eyes before they could pass a door.
”We still have to attend our meeting with Princess Celestia.”
Rainbow’s voice played in Fluttershy’s mind. She took another look at the saddle she was carrying, reminding her why she had to attend. Despite her heavy heart, she continued.
”We’ll stay behind to keep searching for her. You two do what you need to do.”
Twilight’s voice playing in Rainbow’s mind didn’t ease her heart. There was something else in her mind that she was trying to block. Something about Miley. Something that she never told Fluttershy about. But she didn’t want to remember it. She didn’t know what it meant either. And she was afraid if this meeting would give her that answer.
The last doors in the castle, leading to Celestia’s throne room had opened. The Royal Guard escorts turned to the two pegasi and gave their nod, signifying that they were clear to enter. Slowly but surely, they entered. The atmosphere in this room hadn’t felt this tense in a long time.
But their tension was nowhere near as high as the one hiding in the bag Fluttershy held without their knowledge. Miley’s body was twitching in her own fear, trying desperately to not reveal her presence. This was the last place she wanted to be. The only thing maintaining her sanity for the moment was the heartbreaking yet loving comforts that her parents were emitting with each other.
And then, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped walking forwards. Miley could barely see outside the bag. But… her presence was very clear to her. The large white body. An aura-like mane that continued to flow as if the wind continuously blew on it, along with the tail. Very large, majestic wings and a horn. But most importantly, the Celestial Cutie Mark.
Every presence of this princess chilled every fiber of Miley’s blood. Her pulsating eyes felt like they would pop out of her head. She found it very difficult to breathe now. And now, their speech had started.
“Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy started. “We’re sorry that we came to you on troubling matters…”
Miley could hear their voices. She tried not to, but it wasn’t possible at this state. “What has got you two troubled?” The voice of Princess Celestia felt like it crawled through her skin, biting at her.
“It’s our daughter, Miley Heart,” Rainbow Dash spoke. “We made this appointment so that you could take a look at her.”
“She had just earned her Cutie Mark. And when we saw it, we had high hopes for her…” When Fluttershy mentioned Cutie Mark, Miley’s heart ached even more. It reminded her why she was here today, why she was hiding.
“But when we mentioned we were gonna take her to meet you, she... flew away.” Rainbow’s voice was as painful as Fluttershy’s was. But Princess Celestia didn’t lose her composure. She was neither smiling, nor angry. Just… fully listening.
“She was afraid to visit me?” Celestia said. Both pegasi took a glance at each other.
“We’re not sure…” they said.
“She was saying things like… ‘I won’t’, and, ‘I don’t want’. But she could never finish what she was trying to say.” Fluttershy rubbed a hoof against her other fetlock.. “After she flew away...” She pointed her head to the saddle she held. “We tried to look for her… But this was all we could find.” She stopped talking for a moment, shedding a few tears from her eyes. “I... don’t understand… She was always so happy… so free spirited. She enjoyed everything we did together. And now…” Fluttershy sat herself down as she tried wiping her eyes. Rainbow Dash move closer to her and started patting her back, trying to hide her tears.
“Tell me, when did this happen?” Celestia asked.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and answered.. “Yesterday… a few hours after she earned her Cutie Mark.” She stopped for a moment to rethink what happened. “It was also the day she skipped class in front of everypony. I mean, sure, we were glad to see her Cutie Mark, but we were still kinda upset about her doing that. So we… um… sent her to go home, alone.” Rainbow stopped talking for a moment to see if Celestia would respond. The fact that she didn’t gave her a bit of fear. She continued. “We were doing it so that we could make our appointment with you. And… we didn’t exactly leave her alone. We had Fluttershy’s animals watching over her.” She lowered her head as she remembered which animal was in charge of that. “I hope they didn’t treat her too badly…”
Fluttershy took a glance at Rainbow Dash during that comment, wondering if she should ask something. But before she could, Celestia started talking again.
“Your daughter cares about you, yes?”
“Very much,” both pegasi said in unison.
“She was very open to doing activities with us. Even-” Fluttershy silenced herself when Celestia raised a hoof in her direction.
“Has she experienced any other times of trauma?” she asked.
Fluttershy drag her hoof along the ground with her ears flattened. Thinking about that moment made her sick to her stomach. “Well…-”
“Actually, no.” Rainbow Dash’s sudden interruption shocked Fluttershy. The look on Celestia’s face made it look like even she didn’t expect it.
“But… what ab-” Rainbow interrupted Fluttershy again.
“There was a time where she was attacked by one of our animals. And it wasn’t something to take lightly. If we didn’t arrive when we did, we could’ve lost her.” Rainbow Dash stopped to inhale her breath for a moment to ease her nerves. Even now, she still found it hard to believe. “But the next day, she was up and about as if that attack had never happened. Like, not even a little hesitant to go outside.” She mashed a hoof against her head. “I mean, sure she was scared, but she didn’t seem tormented at all, like her mind was as hard as a rock.”
Fluttershy’s mouth fell open somewhat, having a hard time believing what Rainbow said, despite being there. Then Celestia started speaking and she quickly turned her head to face her.
“Perhaps your daughter has a more sensitive mind than you believe,” Celestia started. “But it didn’t show itself until now. However…” There was a short pause. “Why her torment came about now, I am not certain.”
Fluttershy bowed her head down. “We wish we could find her… When we do, we’ll talk to her, ask her what’s wrong.”
Rainbow Dash bowed her head as well. “We’re sorry we had to come to you like this. We only wanted to surprise her.”
Celestia also lowered her head. “It is no trouble, my little ponies. You only meant the best for your daughter.” After all three ponies raised their head back up, Rainbow and Fluttershy were about to turn to leave. “Before you go, Fluttershy, can you tell me about what happened to your wing?”
It felt like a sample of the celestial sun conjured by Celestia had entered Fluttershy’s body. It was a subject she didn’t want to bring, not because she was afraid, but for Miley’s sake. She didn’t want to talk blame on her daughter like this.
“Miley happened…” Rainbow Dash answered instead, making Fluttershy release a sad gasp.. “Ya see… after we told her about her appointment with you… she didn’t just fly away from us.”
“Rainbow…” Fluttershy pleaded.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. It wasn’t her fault.” Fluttershy couldn’t say anything more and let Rainbow talk. “Before she flew out, the clouds surrounding her started going berserk. She didn’t even have to touch them for them to activate.” Celestia’s expression changed, like she was surprised by this. “I don’t understand why it happened. It all started right after she was shouting and screaming. But the weirdest thing is, it even activated the clouds that were suppressed to never spark lightning again."
It was clear now that Celestia’s eyes had widened upon this new information. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what this meant, but when Celestia’s eyes focused on her, she felt like she was undergoing a stare more powerful than what animals experience with Fluttershy’s. A huge chill ran along her spine. Celestia was checking on her as if searching for something. She was afraid Celestia would find it too. There was something in the back of her mind that she was still too afraid to bring up.
But then, Celestia’s eyes switched to Fluttershy. Rainbow’s eyes constantly switched between Fluttershy and Celestia. But the comparison she saw with the two was shocking. Fluttershy was nervous, that was understandable. But the way Celestia was focusing on Fluttershy was different from hers. She couldn’t tell how, but it was.
And then, Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn that Celestia gasped inside. This was more confusing to her than it was shocking. Perhaps it was just her imagination? But it still bothered her. She wondered if it was possible that Fluttershy had a secret deeper than hers. But why?
“That will be all. You may leave now.”
When Celestia answered that, Rainbow decided for no more questions and turned around. Fluttershy saw Rainbow leaving and went to join her. But their walk out would be cut short.
“Your daughter, Miley Heart,” Celestia started again. Rainbow and Fluttershy stopped to listen. “She does not wish to be found right now.” Fluttershy had to turn around for this, but Rainbow stayed still. “She is confused under her own fear. Let her have her time to think. If she cares about you as much as you say, she’ll return to you when she’s ready. She knows where you live correct?” Fluttershy was too afraid to speak, but managed to nod. “When she returns, perhaps a therapist can help her reveal her fear.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. This sudden change in tone from Celestia meant they should heed what was said more seriously. She may not have known why, but she didn’t need to.
“We will,” Rainbow answered. “Come on, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy took a glance at Celestia, then turned back to follow Rainbow. Nothing else was said until they left the room.
“Should I inform Princess Luna of these troubles?” one of Celestia’s Royal Guards asked.
“No,” Celestia answered. “I’m afraid her presence would only increase the issue.”
“Princess?” Celestia held a moment of silence. She was just staring in the direction Rainbow and Fluttershy exitted. Whenever this happened, there was something deep in her mind. This was confirmed when she spoke it.
“I only hope she tells them, before they find out the hard way.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Everything was silent minus the train chugging along its tracks. Miley’s body tried its best to stay as still as possible within the bag. Fluttershy was clutching said bag as close to her as she could. She was missing her daughter so much. Rainbow Dash was sitting right next to her, holding their hooves together against their seat.
The visit with Princess Celestia had terrified Miley the whole way. But it was odd. The princess herself didn’t seem as scary as she believed, but that was what frightened her. The pureness in Celestia’s voice as well as her parent’s willingness to her requests, it frightened Miley to what it could've meant.
But before she could think on that, the train had arrived at its destination, releasing a loud roar from its steam engine. Rainbow and Fluttershy went to leave the train.
Outside in the night, they found all their friends waiting for them. They all held a sorrow expression on their face. When they approached, Twilight stepped forward.
“We’re sorry you two,” Twilight said. “We couldn’t find anything more on your daughter’s whereabouts. We tried.”
Fluttershy could only respond with a sniff.
“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said. “She doesn’t want to be found anyway.” Four sets of eyes had grown upon that response. “All I know is, she’ll come to us.”
With that, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both walked past their friends and left the station.
Twilight wanted to ask how their visit to Princess Celestia went, but their response partially already told her. It was like they already knew what they were doing. She decided to give them time before she asked.
______________________________________________________________________________
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took a long look at their Cloud Garden, mourning over the state that it was in. With all the homes destroyed, Fluttershy had to get most of the animals temporarily moved somewhere else. Some of them ended up returning to the forest. And some of them insisted on staying, despite the state the garden was in. They wanted to do whatever they could to help.
Especially Angel, who was flying with Tank over to them. He was carrying a toy pony with him. A toy of Fluttershy, one of the toys Miley loved playing with. Angel put the toy down and dropped his ears in shame.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said. “You don’t have to look anymore.” Angel looked up at Fluttershy with concern. But they were already walking away. All Angel could do was carry on with Tank, keeping the pony toy with him.
Upon reaching their cloud home, they saw that the lower sections of the home was all but burned inside and out. The upper sections looked a bit more intact, although the clouds were no longer in their home-like shape.
Rainbow Dash offered a hoof to Fluttershy, which she took. Afterwards, Rainbow gently took to the air, carrying Fluttershy with her. Rainbow insisted that Fluttershy didn’t move her wings while she was being carried. She obliged, and they managed to reach the front door. After she was set down, Rainbow opened the door, allowing both of them to enter. But they didn’t stop there. Despite the state that their home was in, Fluttershy set Miley’s bag down and followed Rainbow somewhere. It was suddenly silent.
Miley soon realized that her bag had been left alone. Hesitantly, she peaked out of the bag again. She didn’t see them, but the fear in her heart was still strong. It was time for her to come out of hiding. But she decided to wait for a few minutes, just in case they came back. Seeing that a good amount of time had passed, she dropped her toy looking body out of the bag, activated her changeling magic, and transformed back to her filly pegasus form.
Still shaking in her hooves and breathing deeply, Miley took a look around the room. But the sight didn’t make her feel any better. The cloud walls were all crumpled down, no pictures hanging from them. Miley shook more and switched her view. Most of the furniture was burned to shreds and sunk within the cloud. Some of them probably fell through the cloud as the ground held multiple holes. Lowering her head and ears, she checked the direction of her room. Seeing the stairs were barely hanging made her slowly back away. The second floor of the house had nearly lowered to the first level. Even the windows were being covered up. And the atmosphere felt very soggy.
An audible thunk suddenly sounded in the house. After having finished replacing the bandages, Rainbow and Fluttershy were alerted to the sound. They left the kitchen to see what it was.
Miley had tripped over her bag due to her fear of the house’s state. Before she could pick herself up, she saw her parents at the kitchen entrance. Miley’s heart rate increased tenfold, both out of fear, and need. Her lips couldn’t stop quivering.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were staring back at Miley with utter shock. They were glad to see that their daughter had returned, but there was something about her that they didn’t expect to see. Miley was facing them, but her body was turned to the side. They thought they had remembered right, but now they were convinced they didn’t. They saw Miley’s Cutie Mark as a broken heart, without its bandage.
“Miley…” Fluttershy softly said. Fear had filled her heart not just from the Cutie Mark, but the sight in her daughter’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to go back to believing what she thought the other day.
“I-I caused this… didn’t I?” Miley hesitantly said.
Fluttershy wanted to say it wasn’t her fault, but that wasn’t the right thing to say. She had to say something else. “Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” she said. “It’s okay. We’re more worried about you right now. Are you okay?”
Miley’s breath began stuttering. She didn’t know the answer to that question. All she could do was look into the caring eyes of the mother that she had hurt. Slowly, she took a step forward.
“Miley…” Fluttershy took a step forward. When she started approaching, Miley stopped. But Flutteshy, just kept going.
Rainbow Dash continued to watch the exchange. Fluttershy was coming closer to Miley, softening her steps the closer she got. Miley’s body was shaking with each step, slowly getting less and less tense. Even her breathing was starting to settle down.
But when Fluttershy got half way to Miley, she stopped. She sat down, looking at Miley with hopeful eyes. Rainbow switched her focus to Miley, begging for her not to run away again. She was itching to spread her wings again in case she did, but even so much as moving them might ruin any chance they had that Miley wouldn’t want to run off again.
And then, Miley did. She started running, but not away from them. She ran, straight for Fluttershy’s open forelegs. And when she closed the distance, she released her tears and cried openly within Fluttershy’s embrace.
“I’m sorry!” Miley said as she sobbed her breath. “I’m so sorry!”
Fluttershy patted the back of Miley’s mane as she continued crying within her coat. “It’s okay Miley, it’s okay,” Fluttershy assured. “All that matters is that you’re here now. You really had us all worried.”
Miley pulled her head out of Fluttershy’s embrace, sniffing while blinking some tears away. “I-I thought you would hate me… Look at our home…” She sniffed again. “It’s… it’s a…”
“Hey, Miley,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Don’t worry about our home. It’s no big deal. We can replace it.”
Miley took a few more sniffs. “Replace? Does… that mean we have to move?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “No, of course not. We’re just gonna rebuild it, fix it up.” Miley’s sobbing was starting to calm down, but she held a slight look of confusion on her face. “Believe us, we’ve had to fix up damages far worse than this before. We’ll have our garden back in a cinch.”
“The only thing that matters is that nopony was hurt,” Fluttershy finished. But as expected, Miley turned to her bandaged wing which made her giggle. “You know what I mean. My wing will heal with time. And I’ll be alright, knowing that you’re okay now.”
Miley looked Fluttershy in the eye. She believed what Fluttershy was saying, but she still couldn’t smile. Her lips quivered before another flow of tears came in. But it was much more calmed this time. It made Fluttershy’s heart warm as she rocked Miley in her embrace.
Rainbow Dash was a bit relieved at the sight she was seeing, but something else still made her uneasy. She may have only seen it once, but she swore she saw correctly when she saw Miley’s Cutie Mark the first time. Her mind kept telling herself that she didn’t see it correctly. But no matter how much it did, it still bothered her.
Whatever it may have been, Rainbow did know one thing. She had to heed what Princess Celestia told them. The only question to that was how Miley would take it.