Fluttershy sat in the warm sun on the porch of the strange abode, looking out into the trees with a distant expression. The night before she had spoken to Luna again, which was nice, but without any news of a way home it had been bittersweet. Telling the equine royalty about where she was now, some new world by the looks of it, had at least kept the dream from being awkward.
There had been a greater concern than sharing where she was now that had commanded the atmosphere of the dream she shared with Luna, several in fact. Chief amongst those, to Fluttershy at least, was that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had apparently gone looking for Twilight back home, something Luna had been reluctant to share. Getting the princess to inform her of the state of her friends had only been a few 'pleases' away from Fluttershy, though.
The other, and perhaps more distressing question that had been asked, was where Fluttershy had even been the last week. According to Luna, Fluttershy had been absent from Equestria for over two weeks now, but to her it seemed as if merely a few days had passed. The princess was convinced that the manner in which she had been taken from Equestria, and subsequently the desert world, may tamper with time itself. Or, that maybe it just took a long time to work—whatever it was that was happening.
For the time being, Fluttershy distracted herself from it all by thinking about Luna, and how she thought of the only other pony that she could talk to, period. After all, it wasn't often somepony received an audience with royalty every single night, even an Element of Harmony.
With little else to do on the sunny country home's porch, she had been thinking about Luna for some time.
It was Nightmare Night at the time though, and she did have her strange new mane, like Celestia's... Oh, I should apologize about behaving like that to her. I still haven't yet, have I? Oh, that was months ago, as well. Good going Fluttershy... and I guess that's just an excuse, too. Fluttershy sighed, ruffling her wings behind herself for the hundredth time that day while trying to pass the time. Reflecting was all she could do, really, other than go out and explore for look help. For her, the latter of those options was not an appealing thought. Her eyes traced the wood-line all the way to the strange road that passed for what seemed to be the primary way 'humans' got around.
Earlier, once the sun had risen, Fluttershy had gotten a look at what seemed to be very sleek looking versions of the magic driven carts and wagons that were used infrequently around Equestria. Mostly unicorns used them since they took a bit of magic on the go to work right.
Seeing those human contraptions gave Fluttershy some small hope that maybe, just maybe, she could convince somepony to use magic to get her home. It was a long shot, but Luna had told her of Rarity's and Pinkie's plan, that a man named Abhorsen was looking into ways to help their efforts. So, it seemed a little plausible that help may exist somewhere.
Another one of the loud cart things chose then to rumble by, drawing the attention of Fluttershy's sensitive ears. She stared as it drove by with a worried expression, hoping that it never stopped.
Beside Fluttershy, Root let out a growl that continued until it drove around the next bend. While meeting the strange beings may produce some results, or a way home, all she could think of was how frightening they and the other monsters of this world could be. Root nuzzled the pony's foreleg, reminding her that at least not everything was out to scare her.
The other creatures from the night before were quite friendly, too. Fluttershy reflected, then pictured the strange cat-bear and the even stranger cat-vehicle, both of which had ended up helping her the prior night. After that, she recalled that they were also long gone, not that she had been able to understand them in the first place. In a moment of defeat, she groaned and flopped over onto her side.
Fluttershy's flowing pink mane drifted slowly after her, obscuring her face entirely when it finally came to rest. She studied the pink strands that curved out, still bouncy enough to stay presentable despite being soaked by the rain. If Rarity were here, she would be having a fit over how nice my mane still looks.
The times when Rarity's mane would get wet and require hours of fixing to regain its own poofiness were many. Fluttershy never said anything about, figuring it wouldn't be nice if she did, but always enjoyed helping Rarity fix her hair after just such an event. That had been what started their going to the spa together, especially after adventurous outings to save Equestria.
I haven't had the chance to help Rarity fix her mane in a while, actually, now that I think about it. Fluttershy brushed a hoof under the hair, holding it up slightly before letting it fall again. I hope I get another chance to... She quelled the dour thoughts hastily.
Overhead, the sun peeked through narrow openings, giving her small glimpses of the grassy yard and field flowers.
Root's face suddenly poked in at her, nosing up under her thick mane.
Fluttershy giggled at him, but didn't move otherwise. "Hehe, hi there," she whispered, then moved her nearest foreleg to pet her little friend's side and relaxed more.
In return, the squirrel creature turned his head, like a dog might after getting a strange request for a trick. He began to paw at her front frantically, trying to get her attention.
Hm, I wonder what I should do next... the princess suggested I look for help, but... Well, I suppose that really is my only choice right this moment— Fluttershy was interrupted by Root, nipping her leg quickly.
"Ouch!" Fluttershy sat up and held the injured leg up to her barrel. "Root, why did you-" Her eyes tracked the animal as it spun in a tight circle then looked out into the field. She immediately looked up at the meadow of flowers and tall grass, following her friend's gaze. She asked in a strangled voice, "Is something there?"
Root rumbled a growl from deep in his throat.
Fluttershy gulped, rose up, but held her head low. She was ready to take flight, or hide, at a moments notice. For now though, she couldn't find the will to do either. "Root, w-w-what is it?" Her voice quavered out, even knowing she couldn't understand anything the little guy said.
There was a rustle in a nearby bush suddenly, the leaves trembling from some unseen force.
Fluttershy gasped, her wings flaring out behind herself and her eyes trying to look at both the bush and her little friend at once. Normally, nothing like this would scare her quite so much. Once she had taken care of animals for a few years, it became clear to her that most shaking bushes were caused by beavers.
Here though... images of the fighting, violence, and danger from the day before revisited her mind. The picture of all those humans fighting each other was—
Without warning, Root dove towards the bush in a flash of movement.
"Wait!" By the time Fluttershy called out, he was already entering the wild plant cover. Both of the pony's hooves covered her mouth to muffle a squeak of terror. She watched in helplessness at what could be unfolding before her. "Oh dear sweet Celestia, Root!"
Fluttershy soared across the ground, clipping the blades of grass just barely with her wings as she flew full force into the bushes.
Once in the thicket, Fluttershy cried out.
"Oh dear." As a result of her act of hurried aerobatics, Fluttershy's wings had become entangled in the thick underbrush, which were an odd combination of small, thin branches and thick vines. They held her about a stride off the ground, whereupon looking down she saw her clueless appearing friend, Root, staring up at her. "Oh, you're alright, thank goodness." She sighed and relaxed, still hanging above the ground.
Root's nose wrinkled as he watched his strange pony friend.
"Uhm, well this is embarrassing..." Fluttershy struggled briefly where she hung, thoroughly entangled in the plants embrace. "I don't suppose, uhm, if it's not any trouble, Root, but could you help me get down?" She gave the little squirrel creature a sheepish grin through the foliage... then gasped quietly.
On the forest floor Root still stared up at her, now with a confused appearing look, while behind him stood two strange little beings. They both looked like much, much smaller version of the bear-cat from the night before. The two creatures waddled up and stood still behind her friend, watching her with wide, interested eyes.
"Uh, ah, uhm, R-Root, behind you!" Fluttershy tried to stretch out and point a hoof, but the vines held her fast. "Oh dear."
Root did turn around, however, he saw nothing. Turning around once again, he blew air out of his nostrils, then began jumping nimbly up through the leaves towards his silly winged friend.
"Do- Do you think they're okay then?" Fluttershy didn't understand her friend's reaction, but continued to watch the two new creatures that sat happily, continuing to watch her. She could see that the slightly bigger one had an overly large sack over its shoulder. After it set it down, a couple acorns dribbled out of the top.
Meanwhile, after a few tactical nibbles, Root was able to free Fluttershy enough that she clumsily began to fall through the embrace of the entangling vines.
"Eep!" Fluttershy watched as the ground slowly came up to meet her while she crashed through the undergrowth, letting out an oof after her rough landing. "T-Thanks Root." She craned her head around shakily, smiling up at her friend that still watched her from high above. Once faced forward again, she jumped, surprised to see the little bear-cats were still there. "Oh!"
The two little guys jumped as well, holding one another, before scurrying back a few paces.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." Fluttershy sat up, and quickly calmed her features to a soothing expression, something she had perfected from long years of caring for animals and her friends. "I'm Fluttershy, who are you two little fellas?" She slowly reached a hoof out to them as a gesture of friendliness.
The larger of the little bear-cats peeked at the other, then walked forward until it reach her hoof. It studied it for a moment, then poked it.
Fluttershy giggled and pet his head before he could back away. The creature inched away, then stood its ground and closed its eyes in a pleased way. "Aw, you're just adorable." Beside Fluttershy, Root growled again, causing the pony to look over at him, and the two new creatures to scurry a little ways away. Quickly though, they returned and stood next to the pony's leg.
Fluttershy watched Root, and was about to chastise him, but noticed something peculiar. He wasn't looking straight at them. She looked from her older friend, to her two news ones with a thoughtful expression. The squirrel creature was sniffing the spot they had been, but cast his head all around as if looking for something.
"Root, can you not see them? They're right here." Fluttershy sat down, and pointed her muzzle at the strange little guys, who both began shaking their heads at her furiously.
Meanwhile, the squirrel glanced at the spot where she looked, then began sniffing the area again hurriedly.
Both of the creatures let out a sigh of relief. The taller looked up at Fluttershy, and without any fanfare whatsoever, vanished into thin-air from her sight, while the smaller of the two remained.
Fluttershy blinked in disbelief at the empty spot, and with just as little flare, the bigger of the two little guys reappeared.
"Ooooh," Fluttershy realized in wonderment, "I understand, I guess I can only see you when you want me to." She giggled and rubbed her hoof against the little guy's cheek again, to which it rubbed back. "So that means you like me. Well, I like you, too." The strange creature blinked up at her with its odd wide eyes, but rubbed back at her limb with what appeared to be a content look afterward. "I don't suppose you little guys can talk, can you?"
At this, the slightly larger furry critter looked up at her, then traded a glance with its friend. Then it shrugged.
"I see." Fluttershy didn't know what exactly that meant, but she felt that had been a good answer anyway. "Well, if you know anything about Equestria or how to get there, please come and tell me, won't you? I'm not sure if I'll be staying here long, but that's the one thing I need help with, if you would be so kind." She pet the creature's head again, wondering over its odd powers, then turned to go, her pink tail dragging behind her.
Fluttershy heaved a sigh and stared out across the crystal clear waters stretching towards the horizon. She had flown high up into the sky, intent on exploring, finding help, or maybe making contact with a human that didn't look so scary... But in the end she had spotted the ocean, and landed on a cliff to watch the waves ripple out in front of her.
It wasn't productive, but it was peaceful. Fluttershy was beginning to lean towards procrastinating things until she could speak to Luna about it again. Maybe if I... Maybe I'll feel better about it if she tells me everything will be alright. A realization came to her, and she groaned in dismay where she sat, not moving.
Root looked up at her from where lay on a rock, bathing in the sun and enjoying the wind.
Fluttershy caught the movement in the corner of one of her large, cyan tinted eyes. "It's nothing, Root." She stared back out at the ocean, fighting her moment of introspection. Nothing but me being helpless... leaning on others, and not being able to stand on my own. When I'm with my friends, I'm always the last one to act. Even now, and it's always been like that with me. Frustrated, she groaned and shook her head, tossing the pink mane hanging at her side to and fro.
No, that's not true, I'm not doing that. I am on my own right now, after all. Her front hooves dug a little at the slate-stone beneath her. Oh golly, I'm angry... But why? I never get angry. It was her rarest emotion.
Out in the bay, a human vessel creeped along. Around its massive, tall frame flew hundreds of white gulls and other birds. Fluttershy sort of wanted to join them for a peaceful glide, but held back, sticking to her thoughts instead.
Why couldn't I have gone where Rarity went, or with any of the girls? Actually, why couldn't we have stayed home? And how did this really happen? The news Luna had updated her with the night prior had been a reminder of how separated they all were. Still, the greatest fear remained to be Twilight's fate, rather than her own safety or loneliness. Twilight has to be alright. She just has to be.
Fluttershy's brow furrowed sternly in determination.
The human vessel made a deep, wailing sound, like that of a great horn being blown. The birds scattered and flew away, squawking their unhappiness.
I hope Luna is wrong about somepony being responsible... Fluttershy blinked back more tears, tears that fought to come every time she got too deep in her regrets. I wonder, is this my fault? Oh, but what if ponies get hurt trying to help me. That would be... awful. I wouldn't want to be found then...
Fluttershy sighed out and tossed her head into the wind. "Don't be silly Fluttershy," she spoke to herself. She straightened and looked resolutely out over the beaches. "Nopony's going to get hurt trying to rescue you. Why?" She flared her wings and began to rise higher into the air. "Because, you're going to get yourself home, Fluttershy." Her breath exhaled slowly, until she abruptly took to the air and swooped down off the cliff.
"I'm going to find somepony I can speak to, right away." Fluttershy was angled her wings and leveled out gracefully. She was already scanning the ground for a human to try and meet with, hoping that perhaps she could find out about a way home. There was the feeling that she was forgetting something at the back of her mind however.
Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she turned around with a few mad flaps of her wings in order to go back to the tall cliff she had dove from. "Root, darnitdarnit, you forgot Root, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy and Root eyed the human mare timidly from the tree they had perched in. Well, Fluttershy did.
Root, on the other paw, watched the creature with a scathing expression. Catching onto this, the pony spoke up.
"I need their help, Root. I don't have a choice but to try and...and talk to them." Fluttershy sighed again and refocused through the branches on the strange looking creature she felt rather conflicted over. On one hoof, they had shown kindness to her, as any good pony or animal would. On the other...
Her squirrel-like friend chittered up at her, then scampered across the branches where he pointedly sat down near the trunk. He must want nothing to do with them...I don't blame him. She was getting better at interpreting him.
"Well..." Fluttershy turned from him to wearily looked at the human again, sitting idly on a park bench. She heaved a breath, trying to build up her confidence. "Wish me luck Root!" Gritting her teeth and scrunching her face up in determination, she hopped from her perch and glided down to the ground.
The human sat relaxed, reading a book of some sort and not noticing her just yet.
The wind ruffled Fluttershy's feathers as she flew down and alighted on the ground. Unable to bare looking, she squeezed her eyes closed at the last second, the moment the human gasped and looked up at her. At that point she felt she couldn't open them again. She stood there had shivered, meanwhile, the human was speaking hurriedly in what she now recognized as Neighnese.
"Uhm," Fluttershy managed to start. She cracked open her eyes slowly to squint at the human. Unfortunately they were concealed behind her mane as well. Timidly she tilted her head and looked up past her mane at they human she had chosen to try and talk to. Their eyes were glued to Fluttershy, and they held a strange, grey little box in one of their hands.
Fluttershy shrank back under their now silent gaze, but tried to work up the will to say something. Come on Fluttershy, just... just do it. "Hello?"
"Ooooh, English." The human mare began smiling and nodding, the box she held making multiple more clicking noises while she laughed. "My English, not so good."
"Uhm, Equestrian, actually." Fluttershy bit her lip after correcting the stranger, but tried to move on. Uhm, okay, now what? Shakily she stood up to her full height, which was still a fair bit shorter than the human mare. At least she wasn't as tall as Yupa-sama had been.
The mare said more of the language Fluttershy couldn't understand, and crouched down quicker then she could respond to. Her eyes shut again, then opened when she felt something stroking her mane slowly... "Oh." She stared and grinned sheepishly at the overwhelmingly happy looking human. "Uhm, thank you but, there's no need for that- uhm..." She ducked her head, backing away a little while maintaining her smile. "I-I'm afraid I dont know what kah-weigh-eee neigh is, uhm, mam. Could, or that is to say, do you know somepony that speaks Equestrian? Uhm, English?"
The stranger wore the most rapt look of fascination Fluttershy had ever seen on another being before, pony or human. Once she was done speaking, they put on a serious look and nodded, then began spiritedly... pressed its finger against the box that it held in a pattern.
Oh dear, this is going nowhere. Fluttershy thought, then sighed and sat down, slouching her shoulders. She glanced up behind herself, towards where Root sat. He was staring intently at her. Don't worry little guy. I'm a big girl, and I'm very capable of taking care of my- She jumped and let out a shriek as something poked her shoulder.
Beside Fluttershy, the human did the same, and both of them fell over onto their backsides, watching one another.
The other mare began laughing and patted a hand on her leg.
Fluttershy blinked, and slowly smiled back weakly, letting out a few giggles that grew in strength after a moment. "Y-you scared me, I'm sorry, heh."
The human waved a hand, perhaps to say 'it's okay', then stood back up. Their expression changed when they looked down at the little gray box that now lay on the ground. It was broken. The human mare let out a gasp and knelt beside the strange device.
"Ooh no." Fluttershy held a hoof up to her mouth and flew over to the human girl, who was now talking loudly to herself and throwing her arms up in the air. "I'm sorry, that was all my... fault..."
The human was making a variety of gestures, and sounded equal parts distressed and angry. She looked at the grey box, then Fluttershy, groaning and pounding her head with one hand.
Fluttershy stared in confusion while the human continued to not make anymore sense. She backed away a few steps, then backed up a couple more. Behind her in the tree she could hear Root chittering. "Well, I-I'm uhm, I... Excuse me." Her nerve broke.
Fluttershy's wings flapped as powerfully as they could and she flew up into the tree where she snagged her little friend. Behind her, the yells from the human echoed after her. She wasn't sure if they were curses, or angry, or maybe even apologies. It didn't much matter right then to her.
Fluttershy soared in silence above the trees, hugging Root in her forelegs as she always did while carrying him. His little claws dug into her, but not so much as to hurt.
I can't believe I ran away... Oh, who am I kidding, nopony but myself, that's who. Fluttershy tossed her head and snorted in frustration, earning a worried wiggle from her furry passenger. I'll just try again tomorrow. I was able to speak to the human after all. Maybe I'll have better luck... and be more careful next time. She spotted the home that she had taken shelter from the rain in and circled lower to glide into its wide yard.
The wind rushing past Fluttershy lessened until she felt able to speak over it. "I'm not sure why I came back here, Root. I guess because it's as good of a place as any." A sigh escaped her while she surveyed the house and the grass growing around it. She stuck around for a couple reasons she supposed, one, being she felt bad for foraging food from the owner's pantry. The second, because there didn't seem to be anywhere else to go.
Just before Fluttershy landed on the ground, a noise caught her attention. Her wings began flapping again, while her hooves pedaled quickly underneath herself to try and help get her back in the air. The effort turned out to be for naught as she clipped the earth and began tumbling forward in a flurry of feathers.
"AAH!" She cried out as the ground rolled in a circle around her until finally coming to a halt.
"Owow... ow, Root? Are you-?" The fox squirrel was watching her from where he sat contentedly on the grass. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright, I am too. I think..." Fluttershy winced, but managed a weak smile while she clambered back up to stand on her hooves. "I'm so sorry about that. I heard a really pretty noise, and then I saw..." Her words drifted off, catching the sound of the noise again with her ears.
Fluttershy's head craned around to look at the singular, massive tree that grew in the backyard of the house she was staying in. Although she was heavily considering sleeping outside now that the weather was nicer. What caught her eye was the site of what lay at the top of the tree.
"Look, Root." Fluttershy stared at the bear-like creature that seemed to be sitting atop the tree. The wind blew around her while she studied the silhouette. Root scurried up her side to look as well.
The pony took to the skies again, shaking off the soreness she had acquired from her rough landing. A feeling had slowly been developing in her gut over the course of the day, and it drove her to seek others; it was anxiousness. As she glided up to the trees, the strange creatures all waved at her, the largest of them grinning widely.
Surprised, Fluttershy waved back, returning the gesture. "Hello again Mr.... uhm, whoever you are." She smiled weakly and alighted on the tree's thick foliage. Strangely, it was more than enough to support her, something that came as a curiosity to the nature loving pegasus. "And hello to you as well little ones." She smiled at the little shapes besides the larger creature, both of them looking at her with the same, wide eyed stare, yet expressionless.
The smallest of the bizarre looking animals bounded towards Fluttershy after she landed, while the largest started to do what may have been a yawn, but seemed to be some sort of greeting. It exhaled a large volume of air, rustling the trees and branches all around them. The act was strangely very... calming, and earned a series of giggles from Fluttershy as she bounced on the tree's canopy.
The wind calmed, as did Fluttershy, still smiling at the fun little reception she had been given. "I never did get any of your names... I wonder if you could tell me those at least." She gave the largest of the bear-cats a questioning look, holding its grinning attention. "Fluttershy." She said, pointing to herself. "I'm Fluttershy, what's your name?" She pointed her hoof next at his chest.
The creature's eyes seemed to widen to their fullest, perhaps in recognition. It slowly smiled wider as well, its whiskers twitching, then let out what could only be described as a yawn crossed with gargling.
The noise resounded and rumbled around the pony. Fluttershy felt her mane whip behind her from the wind of the response, but thought she may have heard him say something after all. She straightened up and blinked her own widened eyes, still caught by surprise from what had happened.
"Well... it sort of sounded like you said... Totoro?" Fluttershy tilted her head and quirked one eyebrow. The creature began to grin wider at hearing this, perhaps even nodding.
Huh, well it could be their species too, Fluttershy. Either way that isn't such a strange name for... whatever it is they are. Oh- Fluttershy looked down at the smallest of the three, who was jumping up and down in front of her, and may have been trying to get her attention the entire time.
The little Totoro was holding another of the strange gourds up towards the pegasus.
Fluttershy peeked up at the other two. The poofy critters all held the strange gourds between their claws and watched her gift. As one, they hefted their own instruments, while still watching the one that had been hoofed over to her.
Fluttershy looked down at the strange item again. "You want me to..."
The strange noise again hummed through the air once again, and Fluttershy immediately recognized its beauty. Looking back up, she caught sight of two of her new acquaintances blowing into one end of their own gourds. A pleasant, echo-like sound came from the ends. The two of them blended the individual notes they made together, and formed a very placid tune and simple song.
The pony's ears twitched to the ethereal rhythm they made, it wasn't anything soul changing, but it was very nice. As she watched the others, Root bounded off of her and landed on the largest one's head, climbing around it until he ended up dashing off into the tree.
Fluttershy watched him take up a spot nearby, looking every which way at once in confusion. She giggled, holding the gourd she'd been given up to her mouth, emulating the duo beside her. The smallest Totoro began playing as well, and then she did too. It took a few tries, but she fell in tune with them, getting the hang of the simple instrument clutched between her hooves.
Overhead, the moon rose as fell, full in all of its brilliant light. Clouds passed overhead, far higher than any seen in Equestria.
Fluttershy watched the countryside through the night, simply playing a song, and sitting with a few new friends.