Reign of the shy-pony

by The_Swedish_Horror

Released from prison?

Fluttershy stared at the old goat in front of her. For he was in fact a real goat, just like the two goats that Iron Will had brought with him to Ponyville for over a year ago. He was the prison warden, and that was indeed something for a goat to achieve. He looked like he was in his eighties and he had a beard and a white tonsure of hair around his bald head.
"You'll have to be recorded before you're officially released," the goat said in a bleating voice.
"Um... okay..."
"There are a few way we can do this, and the choice is yours."
"It is?"
"Ah, yes... On a clear day you chance upon a strange animal, its leg trapped in a hunter's clawsnare. Judging from the bleeding it will not survive long. What do you do?"
"Oh no! That's horrible!"
"This is only a routine question to test how prison life has affected your moral compass, please answer it correctly."
"I... I will try to help it and take it home and nurse it back to health," Fluttershy said, almost breaking down in tears at the thought of this poor, suffering animal.
"Interesting. I was hoping you would draw your dagger, mercifully ending its life with a single thrust."
"Oh, no I couldn't... But if I didn't it would suffer. No! I would have to kill it... But I can't do it! I don't know what to do... And I don't even have a dagger. I only have some kitchen knifes and the are really dull so that no animal can accidently hurt itself on them."
"Take your papers and go see captain Gravius," the goat concluded.
And a very confused Fluttershy left the room.

In the next room an elderly pony with sunglasses waited behind a counter.
"Prisoner number two. Step forward," he yelled.
Fluttershy walked up to the counter and the old pony put a cardboard box in front of her.
"Her is your belongings; Two pairs of hoofboots, black and silver plated. One crown, black and silver plated. One gorget, black and silver plated. Two saddle bags, standard army issue."
The sight of her old crown made Fluttershy's heart tremble with guilt. It was the most glaring evidence of her many crimes. She vowed to have it melted down as soon as possible and donate the precious metal to charity. Without making eye contact she scooped everything up and turned around to leave the room. With trembling hooves she opened the saddle bags and shoved down all of her evil regalia. When she did that, she noticed that there was something stuck in the folds of one of the bags. She felt it with her hoof and she immediately noticed what is was; a thick wad of banknotes!

"Oh, my!" she gasped.
The elderly pony looked at her.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Eh... um... no. Not at all! He he, I'm just... just very delighted to... to... feel the inside of a saddle bag. I really like... um... saddle bags. They are so... um... delightful."
The captain gave her a very awkward look.
"I see... May I suggest you go and feel the inside of your saddle bags somewhere else?"
"Um... okay..."

Fluttershy opened the door and slowly walked towards the prison gates. The sun was shining very brightly on a blue sky and the autumn had painted the threes in wonderful colours of yellow and orange. Celestia's sun smiled towards Fluttershy and she smiled back. She felt a sudden burst of joy in her heart and she couldn't believe that she'd finally been released from prison. Fluttershy had only been kept here for a few months but it felt like she had been jailed for eternity. She smiled like only a happy pony could smile. Now her life would soon be back to normal, she thought.
When she passed the guards at the gate, she showed them her papers. The guards gave her a quick look and nodded silently.
"Thank you," she said and proceeded through the open gate.

When outside the prison Fluttershy found herself on a road that went through a little forest of beech trees. This was a very calm place and she turned around and took one last look at the High Security Prison. She hoped that she'd never see that place again. But there was one thing that bothered her... Where were her friends? Fluttershy had hoped for them to be here and greet her as soon as she was released. But nopony had shown up. That was strange... Perhaps they didn't know that she would be released this day?
"Where are they? Where is Rainbow Dash and where are Twilight and Applejack and Pinkie and Rarity? she asked to herself.
Fluttershy felt very confused and lost. She didn't know her way in Baltimare and didn't know in which direction she should walk to get to the centre of the city. She could go back to the prison and ask for directions, but Fluttershy really didn't want to do that in fear of somehow getting dragged back in and thrown into a cell.
"Fluttershy, I presume?" a voice suddenly asked from behind.

Fluttershy turned around. She saw a pony with sunglasses and a trench coat. Her mane was red or possibly orange and she wore some kind of name tag.
"Agent Sulky, Equestrian Bureau of Investigation."
"Oh... my..."
Fluttershy knew that the EBI was a government agency under Equestria's Department of Justice. It investigated crimes, probably, but nopony knew exactly what it did since there were not many crimes in the magical land of Equestria. Until recently, of course...
"Come with me," the agent said and pulled Fluttershy with her towards a black carriage that was drawn by a mule in a similar outfit. He introduced himself as "Agent Muleder". Those two would really stand out from a crowd, had there been a crowd here. But there was no crowd and the three of them were the only ponies (or mules) present.
"Wait! Please! Where are you taking me?" Fluttershy cried when agent Sulky pushed her into the carriage, using her head as a battering ram in the same way as Pinkie Pie had done when she made a fool out of herself at the grand galloping gala, as Rarity had told her.
"To safety! Now, get in!"

* * *

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was impatiently waiting in the kitchen of the small hostel where she and her friends rented their room. She was baking a sponge cake in the oven and as soon as it was ready she would wrap it in tinfoil and fly with it to the prison.
But the cake wasn't ready yet! The baking dragged on... She was very annoyed and for the seventh time she opened the oven hatch and scanned the cake with her gaze. It STILL wasn't ready! It wasn't even warm yet!
"I have had it with you, you stupid cake!" she cried and slammed the hatch shut. "Why can't you be DONE yet?! You... you... BUCKING piece of mule-dung! Be done! Even my old Tank is faster!"

Rainbow Dash sat down on the floor and shook her hooves in silent frustration towards the old oven in front of her. The worst thing about baking was that it was clear for everypony that all of her friends were more experienced than her in this art. And that made her feel like an unskilled rookie. A feeling that she deeply dreaded.
Yet she had, in a weak moment that she had often regretted, baked a cake to Fluttershy. And Fluttershy seemed to love the cake for some reason, despite that it was horrible. This had led Rainbow Dash into believing that she somehow over time could master the art of baking and this was the reason for her constant attempts.

What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked from behind.
"The stupid cake won't do as I want! I hate baking! And I'm already late for my visit to Flutters!"
"I'm sure she won't be going anywhere soon," Twilight said.
"Well... that's true, but I still hate baking. It's boring, lame and definitely uncool! said Rainbow and threw her apron on the floor. (It was in fact Spike's apron that she had borrowed without asking him. One could wonder why in the name of Celestia a pony like Rainbow Dash wore an apron, but she had somehow gotten the impression that an apron was absolutely vital to all forms of bakery. To her it was just an overly complicated and mysterious process like Twilight's magic.)

"Is the oven warm yet?" the unicorn asked.
"No!"
"Well... perhaps it's broken in some way? If you want, I could easily disassemble the oven to see if the mechanical, or even more likely, the electrical components are damaged?"
"Thanks, Twilight... But wouldn't that stuff take like forever?"
"No. It could be done in one or two hours. I have read a book about electric equipment and I'm eager to study it in detail. There are almost no electric appliances in Ponyville, you know, and I find it fascinating to..."
"Two hours?! I don't have two hours for this lousy cake!"
"Or perhaps it could be done in a much shorter time. This oven is not turned on."

"Screw this! I'm outta here!" said Rainbow Dash and grabbed the cold baking tin from the oven. She spilled some of the mixture on the floor but was to busy to notice. "I'll just tell her it's supposed to be this way, like a cake-soup."
"Cake-soup?"
"When cake isn't black and charred, it can usually be eaten from a bowl just like soup."

* * *

Many kilometres from Baltimare a certain princess was greeting the emissaries from the Democratic Republic of Western Griffonia. Applejack's old barn was lit up by several chandeliers that hung from the beams in the ceiling. Over the straw a pair of big, red carpets had been placed. And in the middle of the room stood Celestia herself. She wore so much make-up that her sister had asked if there would be a lion tamer too, since the clown had already entered the circus. For this comment Luna had been banished to her room.

The emissaries all wore suites in a dull, greyish colour. Celestia had left her shabby tin-can-crown and instead she had decorated her mane with a few gems that she had claimed in a sudden and improvised taxation of Rarity's boutique. She and Luna had furiously, and in the middle of the night, rummaged through the unicorn's drawers when she was away and found a crude picture of Rarity and Sweetie Belle adorned with blue gems. Those gems now sparkled in the princess's mane.
"I wish you a true, honest and warm welcome from the bottom of my heart!" said Celestia with a very wide smile as the emissaries bowed their heads.

Featherweight's unwashed snout suddenly poked in trough the window of the barn and he pointed his camera towards the scene. A pink glow of magic gently pushed it away.
"I want no pictures of this meeting whatsoever, thank you. Now, leave us please."
Celestia then carefully shut the window and pulled the curtains over it.
"Gentlecolts... Eh, I mean gentlegriffons, we have some important matters to discuss. As you may know, my castle in Canterlot is undergoing a somewhat complicated renovation process... This is a necessary investment to help carry the tradition of pony architecture into the next century and to preserve it to our grandchildren. Also, this will stimulate the job market and thus provide a well needed growth to our economy. I would like to offer Western Griffonia a chance to be a part of this exiting journey by providing your glorious nation a very lucrative investment opportunity."

The griffonian emissary, an old griffon with a big birthmark on his forehead, coughed. Perhaps he didn't appreciate the four centilitres of perfume that the princess had doused herself in? Celestia really wanted to look and smell as best as she could but now she began to realize that she perhaps had overdone it.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked.
"No... I am just a bit... cough... I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm just a bit confused by this overwhelming friendliness... Not that I disapprove of it, of course, but it's a bit... how do you say... unused to me."
"Really?" Celestia asked with an even wider smile. Little pearls of sweat began to emerge on her brow. West Griffonian cooperation was a vital part of her plan since the many copies of her younger sister had already invaded Eastern Griffonia.
"I do want to promote the peaceful cooperation and competition between our glorious nations," the emissary said.
"Of course. And what is your opinion of the matters at hoof? Might your leaders be interested in joining our impending economical growth?"
"Perhaps."
"I can assure you that it is a great opportunity," Celestia said, smiling so hard that she almost began to feel a cramp in her face.
"Perhaps."
"If you lend us money we will repay you at an interest rate of ten percent. How do you like that?"
"Perhaps. The Griffonian economy has already many commitments that needs to be fulfilled..." said the emissary.
"Ten percent every MONTH!" Celestia boasted with a twitch in her eye.

The emissary's jaw (or rather, the lower part of his beak) dropped.

Comments

[Reeve]

this really should be a separate story

[The_Swedish_Horror]

3185674

Hm... maybe I'll split it up later, or just change the chapters in a way that makes it clear to the reader that there is a Part One and a Part Two.

[Seether00]

Umm... Celly, that may be a bad move. And where is Flutters going? Why don't her friends know about her release?

[Commander Jenna Cipher]

So awesome... MOAR!!

[The_Swedish_Horror]

3185704

That's one of the many funny things about MLP... Even the villains are adorable

(with a possible exception for Diamond Tiara, of course...)

[NocturneD85]

Do I smell an X-files reference?

[The_Swedish_Horror]

3187339

Yes. (I'm a huge fan of 90s television)

[The_Swedish_Horror]

3189577

Thanks

Hmm... yes, I'm starting to think that one could be needed for my next chapter or maybe the chapter after that. I don't know when the episode will be ready, though.

[HJSDGCE]

If this was a separate story, I bet it would be called something like "Reign of a Shy Pony: Rehab-NOT!"

Of course, I don't know what might happen.

[Divine Path]

Interesting.
I smell a political scheme taking place!
Wherefore must the evil be so traumatized?!
Fluttershy shall prevail! With her evuhl, adorable lethal magic!

Awaiting further releases.

[Namara]

X FILESSS
And I think I may smell a portal one...