The Collection

by Churchy

Churchy

This chapter was written by Churchy

o----o

Rainbow Dash scurried down the old dirt road that led to Fluttershy’s little cottage at the edge of the Everfree. She cradled the bucket of paint close to her chest, like a mother would her foal. Passersby watched with interest as the mare speedily trotted down the dusty path. It was not uncommon for them to see her around, oh no, but what was the paint can for?

Nopony asked. It was best not to ask Rainbow Dash questions.

Bugs buzzed to life in the flowers and the trees that Dash passed as she neared the outskirts of town. Birds chirped merrily to one another in the branches, harmonizing perfectly in a cacophony of bright, uplifting music. Dash hated it. She never did find it nice at all, and she didn’t like birds, either.

Stupid birds.

But enough of that. She tried to think back to what Applejack had said to her as she trotted. It hadn’t been entirely clear to her in the first place, and with the wonderful assistance of the nuisance emanating from the branches, an even denser fog clouded her mind. What was it again? Something about Twilight finding something in the sky last night? Is that what Applejack was talking about? What could Twilight have possibly found in the sky?

Stars, probably. It was Twilight Sparkle, after all.

She shouldn’t worry herself over the matter.

Dash swiftly came upon Fluttershy’s cottage. Up to the front door, she went. She rapped her free hoof on it, the other held firmly the can of paint. There, she whistled pleasantly to herself while she awaited her greeting.

There she waited.

And waited.

Those damn birds were beginning to numb her brain, either Fluttershy or Twilight had better open the blasted door promptly. But the moment never came.

Dash knocked again. She could hear nothing stir from inside the cottage. Odd behavior, even from the recluse that was her friend Fluttershy. And didn't Twilight just come this way?

Dash decided it would be her duty as a friend to investigate the matter. This, as Dashie began to over-think things, would require strength, cunning, stealth, and a sharp mind.

Dash bucked the front door down with a very powerful kick from her hind legs.

“Fluttershy!” Dash called into the vacated cottage. “Fluttershy, Twilight, are you here?”

Dash gently set the can of paint she had been carrying down among the shattered remnants of what was once the front door. She spun in circles there in the center of the room.

“Fluttershy, this is no time to play games. Do you have your bucket of paint?”

The cottage solicited no response other than a slight groan in the floorboards as Dash shifted uncomfortably about its surface.

“Hm,” Dash uttered.

The pegasus hopped up into the air and hovered there in thought. Slowly, she drifted into the kitchen. No Fluttershy or Twilight there. From there, she wandered into the bedroom. They weren't there, either. But they could not have left her house. Fluttershy said she would meet Rainbow Dash here at precisely this hour. Well, precisely one hour ago. But she knew well by now that Dash was never on time. Something was wrong.

Dash had to think. Things didn’t add up. Twilight told Applejack that something was in the sky last night. Dash was sure that she hadn’t seen it. She had been asleep. But now she was concerned. What was in the sky last night? What was so important, so amazing about what had been in the sky?

More importantly, where were Fluttershy and Twilight?

As she so fervently paced back and forth, she noticed something that she had failed to spot before. It was hiding behind the sofa. Fortunately, a sliver of sunshine had shone into the improperly lit room, and it struck a gleaming metal surface there. Dash immediately rushed to the metallic thing that had been concealed, placed by hoof, behind the couch.

It was Fluttershy’s paint can. On it, was a note:

“Rainbow Dash. Gone fishin’ with Luna. Be back later.
- Fluttershy”

Well, buck.

There was something terribly off-putting about this entire ordeal. One- Fluttershy despises fishing. Even watching the monstrous, barbarous sport is enough to drive her to tears. Two- the note wasn’t even written in her own hoof.

Dash decided it would be best to take the note to Twilight... wherever she was. She was the one that had seen whatever it was in the sky last night. Perhaps that was a clue as to Fluttershy’s whereabouts?

Dash floated listlessly back to her paint can, where she snatched it up and hauled it away, out the front door, or where the front door had once been, and into the remarkably warm sunshine.

“Gone fishin’,” Dash said aloud. She idled near the entrance to the cottage.

Suddenly, brilliance. Dash knew just what to do.

A visit to Twilight would have to wait. A visit to Applejack would have to wait as well. She could find out about whatever had been roaming the skies upon her return. Or, she could find out as soon as she had found Fluttershy. She had a hunch. Fluttershy had been there last night. These events were related somehow. Dash’s theories were indeed far-fetched and indefinitive, but she had a hunch.

And so, Rainbow Dash, self-proclaimed best selling novelist and adventurer extraordinaire, came round the side of the quaint little cottage, into the backyard. She stopped and looked to the bucket of paint she was still lugging around. A deep breath was taken, a sturdy breath. She exhaled. Then, eyes ahead, she followed the path that stretched out before her...

which led right to the Everfree Forest.