Chapter 1
A fine mist was clinging to the ground, the result of the rain shower the weather patrol had orchestrated the previous night. The mist lent a dreamlike aura to the early hour, when most of the population of Ponyville was still asleep. One pony in particular, though, was already wide awake.
The huntress stood, silent like a deadly predator, crouched behind the wheelbarrow. She kept her cold gaze fixed on the wooded area that bordered the field. In the silent air of morning, the early birds sounded like chimes or bells hidden in the woods.
Suddenly they grew silent. The huntress tensed in anticipation: her quarry was approaching. A twig snapped, breaking the silence and causing birds to fly away in protest. The huntress held her breath and willed herself not to blink, afraid to miss her prey.
The beast appeared from the mist like a ghost. White as a cloud, it stood, and with eyes that betrayed a sinister and calculating intelligence, it scanned over the silent field. The prey’s muzzle twitched, hoping to catch the scent of any enemy, but the huntress had been prepared and stood downwind from her quarry.
With a majestic leap that surprised the silent observer, the creature sailed over the hastily-erected barbed wire barrier encircling the field. Like a conquering king, the white intruder strutted down the field and chose its own target. Muscle tensed beneath wild white fur as it began to pull at its unsuspecting victim to claim it for itself.
The huntress could no longer wait, for the white intruder was about to run off, once again, with ill-gotten loot!
“Angel!” shrieked Carrot Top as she leapt over her wheelbarrow, galloping toward the bunny while gripping a large butterfly net in her mouth.
The white bunny turned to look at the enraged pony, and his little eyes grew slightly. With one last effort, the bunny plucked his prize from the earth and ran off with one of the farmer’s carrots. He just as easily as before avoided the barbed-wire line, unhindered by the carrot he was carrying, and hopped back into the mist between the trees. Carrot Top was hot on his little heels, even if, she hated to admit, the little guy was pretty fast for his size. She was at full gallop when she too leapt over the barbed wire.
For a tense minute she weaved between trees, straining to keep up with her agile target. While the mist was thicker in the forest, affording the white bunny a modicum of camouflage, he was still carrying a bright orange carrot. It flickered in and out of view as he ran behind trees.
Suddenly Carrot Top saw her target duck through a hole under a large root that jutted from the ground, and she made another leap to avoid tripping over it.
She landed in a puddle and immediately slipped on the mud. With a wail of confusion, she slipped backward, landing on her back, while her momentum propelled her forward. With a thud, she slammed bottom first into a tree trunk. The discarded butterfly net landed on her face, covering her muzzle with the net.
“Ow,” she said, defeated.
My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh...
My little pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My little pony
But you're all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
How'd I ever make so many true friends?
Carrot Top was muttering under her breath as she came down the path to Ponyville. Her little adventure that morning had left her with nothing but mud splotches to clean and a bruised backside. Now she was clean again, but her bottom still hurt.
It was still fairly early in the day, and, as she had expected, she ran into Cheerilee just as the Element of Laughter was about to walk into the schoolyard of Ponyville Elementary. The teacher waved at her farmer friend when she spotted her.
“Hi Carrot! What brings you into town this early in the morning?” she asked, putting on a smile as bright as the sun.
“Nothing good,” Carrot Top replied in a sullen tone; “nothing very good. Cheerilee, have you ever spoken to Fluttershy?”
Cheerilee brought a hoof to her cheek. “Miss Fluttershy? I’m afraid not. From what Dinky tells me, she’s so shy she only speaks to Rainbow Dash, Ditzy Doo, and Dinky herself. Why?”
Carrot Top sighed; her friend’s response had been what she had expected, but not what she had hoped for. Ditzy and Dinky were both out of town for the week, gone with Trixie, Lyra, and Bon Bon to enjoy the beaches of Cayo el Bayo down in the south. Trixie had extended the invitation to all her friends, but Raindrops, Cheerilee, and Carrot Top herself all had duties to attend to. With the Doo family out of town, Carrot Top would have trouble talking with Fluttershy; the poor mare would hide at the first sight of a stranger. Carrot Top wasn’t on speaking terms with the weather patrol captain either, not after the incident with Gilda.
“Her bunny stole one of my carrots today. It’s been going on for a several days, but I only caught sight of him two days ago. He comes every morning, like clockwork, and makes off with a carrot.”
“Oh my, that’s bothersome,” said the other mare, blinking in surprise.
“It’s just so strange … Angel’s never done anything like this before. For Luna’s sake, the little guy does Fluttershy’s grocery shopping for her!” explained the farmer.
“Really?”
“Yes. Every week or so, Angel and one of Fluttershy’s bigger animals walk into the market place pulling a cart, lugging a bag of bits, and carrying a shopping list made of drawings. It’s quite hilarious to watch Angel convince the other merchants to drop their prices. He usually spends five minutes picking the best carrots from my stall. Not only do I want to talk to her to stop this, I’m kind of worried this might hide another problem,” explained the orange-headed mare.
Cheerilee smiled at this. “Angel’s a nice pet then, if he does all that for Fluttershy. I understand your concerns, though. Sorry to say this, Carrot, but you might have to track down Rainbow Dash.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. Thanks, Cheerilee; I’ll see you later,” replied Carrot Top before resuming her walk into Ponyville.
It was a little later, after a trip to the post office, that Carrot Top found herself in front of the weather patrol headquarters. The pony at the post office had explained to Carrot Top that all of Fluttershy’s mail was being forwarded to Rainbow Dash’s address while Ditzy was on her well-deserved vacation, and as such nopony else could have had contact with the reclusive mare. The farmer was now hoping against all hope that Rainbow Dash would be behind the door.
Carrot Top didn’t like Rainbow Dash. She felt she was a lazy jerk who always caused problems for her friend Raindrops. The pegasus and her griffin friend had also threatened her livelihood before, nearly destroying her reserves with their thoughtless prank. At the time, she had been too worried about her stock to properly get mad, and she now felt like that anger could burst forth at the worst moment. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Dash, but it looked like she had no choice.
She entered the cavernous building that was the Ponyville weather station and looked at the crowd of pegasi flittering about. Seeing no sign of the polychromatic speedster anywhere, she waved Thunder Lane over.
Thunder Lane was the pegasus usually in charge of the corner of the Ponyville sky above her farm, at least when Raindrops was busy elsewhere, and the two had become friends over the years. A while ago, they had entertained thoughts of going out, but that had led nowhere, and both, in common accord, had decided to simply remain friends. The way he was looking at Blossomforth these days seemed to hint that he had gotten over the farmer by now. Carrot Top was happy for her friend.
“Hey, CT!” said the stallion, landing in front of her.
“Hey, Thunder Lane. Have you seen Rainbow Dash today?” she asked.
He shook his head before speaking. “Nah, she changed her schedule at the last minute again and took off for a week long vacation. I haven’t seen her around town since.”
Carrot Top frowned at that. “You wouldn’t happen to know where she would hang out?”
“She’s probably hanging out with Fluttershy,” said Thunder Lane, shrugging a little before he began to hover slightly.
“Thanks, Thunder Lane. I won’t keep you longer; see you later!”
“See ya, CT!”
Carrot Top turned back to leave the weather station. If Rainbow Dash were indeed at Fluttershy’s cottage, it would make things easier for her. Feeling no need to postpone the confrontation any longer, she headed for Fluttershy’s rustic home on the other side of town. On her way, she realized that, as fast as Angel might be, the trip there from Fluttershy’s house must be quite the journey for a little bunny. That was another detail that made his recent behavior so strange. Hopefully this whole thing would be behind her soon.
Carrot Top had been looking at Fluttershy’s cottage from the path below for at least five minutes by now. She wasn’t sure how to approach, and whether she should do so silently or with enough noise to warn the socially awkward pegasus that lived within. She was also wondering if Rainbow Dash was inside. Finally, she decided to give an advanced warning and began to whistle a happy tune she had heard Lyra perform before. She whistled for half a minute before making her way toward the door of the rustic home. She was about to knock when the door opened and Rainbow Dash’s multicolored head poked out, glaring at her.
“What do you want, ginger-face?” she asked sternly.
It took a few seconds for Carrot Top to find her voice. “I need to talk to Fluttershy.”
“No! Fluttershy doesn’t want to see anypony!” replied Rainbow Dash, shutting the door.
Carrot Top started knocking on the door, calling out, “Rainbow Dash! At least let me tell you what’s going on!”
“Stop it! You’re scaring Fluttershy!”
“Rainbow Dash! Please, this is important!”
“Go away, ginger-face!”
Carrot Top’s cheeks puffed in anger, and she glared angrily at the blank wooden door. When it failed to catch on fire, she turned around and walked away in a huff.
“Jerk,” she muttered to herself.
“You know what your problem is?” began Raindrops. “You’re a doormat. If it was me, I would have knocked on that door again. Probably until it broke.”
Carrot Top glared at her with enough force that she felt she was about to shoot lightning bolts from her eyeballs, but the pegasus only took satisfaction in the fact her friend didn’t outright object. A part of Carrot Top had to admit her friend was right; sadly, it was also the same part of her that was a doormat. The irony wasn’t totally lost on the farmer.
“You’re right; I need to learn to be more assertive,” she said, letting her head hang low and her ears droop.
The pair had met up for lunch at a local sandwich shop during Raindrops’ break; they were sitting outside under the shade of a large purple tarp. There was a soft breeze, and the sun had dried up what was left of the nightly rain shower, making it a great day to eat in the shade. Carrot Top had been a bit too bothered about her encounter with Rainbow Dash to finish her meal just yet.
“Raindrops … did you miss out on the trip to the beach because Rainbow Dash took off for a week without warning?” asked Carrot Top, looking back up.
Raindrops shook her head. “No, I had already volunteered for Everfree watching duty for this week before Trixie’s invitation came; I would have been busy anyway.”
“Do you think Rainbow Dash is a jerk?”
“Sometimes, but I try not to let it get to me; she’s still a darn good weather pony, even if she doesn’t take it seriously. Either way, you still need to confront her. This is your livelihood we’re talking about, and she still owes you for that stupid prank,” said Raindrop, getting up from her seat. “Well, it was fun, but I have to get back to work. You go back there and demand Rainbow Dash let you settle this bunny problem, you hear? See you around.”
“Have a nice day!” said Carrot Top; then she hung her head again, her ears flat against her head.
She stood like that for a few seconds, wondering how she could face off against Rainbow Dash, when a voice brought her back to the present.
“Why the glum look, my dear? A beautiful mare such as yourself should never look so depressed,” said Rarity, walking toward Carrot Top.
“Oh! Thank you, Miss Rarity; it’s kind of you to say I’m beautiful,” replied the farmer.
“Well, I only speak the truth; your mane has such amazing volume, such sheen! Whatever do you use to make it look so gorgeous?” asked the fashionista.
“Vitamin B, like in carrots,” answered Carrot Top, blushing a little.
“Of course. Now, allow me to lend you an open ear, and tell me what is bothering you?”
Carrot Top sighed and told her about the carrot theft, then finding herself faced with Rainbow Dash at Fluttershy’s cottage. Rarity took the empty seat across from the earth pony, seated with her chin resting on her hoof, and listened to the full story. When it was finished, she allowed herself a short moment before speaking.
“You know, I don’t know Fluttershy personally—in fact I find it hard to recall when the last time I even laid eyes on the poor thing was—but I know Rainbow Dash.”
This declaration made Carrot Top’s ears perk in surprise. “I didn’t think you two had much in common.”
Rarity let out a little laugh, like rain falling on crystal. “Oh, not at all. However—and this is not something I want you to go around repeating—every year when Fluttershy’s birthday rolls around, Rainbow Dash comes to me to help find the perfect gift for her oldest friend. She has done so ever since the two arrived in Ponyville.”
“They arrived at the same time, didn’t they?” said Carrot Top.
Rarity nodded in agreement. “Oh, yes; Rainbow wouldn’t be here otherwise. The point is, Fluttershy is a soft and fragile flower, while Rainbow is anything but. The poor dear is simply out of her depth when it comes to finding a gift for her soft-spoken friend, so she came to me for help. I could tell it cost her some measure of pride to do so. You see, Carrot Top, Rainbow Dash is brash, proud, and braver than any pegasus has any right to be, but she is also wracked with insecurities and doubt.”
Carrot Top blinked. “How can someone so … over-confident be insecure?”
“That’s the thing, my dear,” said Rarity, making a wide hoof movement to punctuate her point. “She is such a braggart because she’s full of doubt. She is not so much assuring other ponies of her skill as she is reassuring herself. Rainbow Dash fancies herself Fluttershy’s protector, and she is quite loyal to her, there is no doubt. She is, however, terribly ill-equipped for the task. If I had to take a guess as to why she chased you away with nary a chance to leave a message, it is because she is currently dealing with something. Something she can’t handle alone.”
Rarity stepped down from her seat and walked to put a hoof on the other mare’s shoulder. “You are the Element of Generosity, my dear; the least you could do is give Rainbow Dash the benefit of the doubt. If you want to solve your problem, I advise trying to get her to open up to you, rather than confronting her head on,” she said, removing her hoof. “If you try too hard, she’ll only take it as a challenge and will want to prove you wrong, no matter what. To win, so to speak, you have to be on her side.”
“Thank you, Miss Rarity; you’ve given me lots to think about.”
“Think nothing of it, my dear. If you ever need help making your inner beauty radiate, you can find me in my shop.”
And with that, the unicorn left Carrot Top to mull over her situation. Finally, she stood up and stamped the ground. She was going back to Fluttershy’s cottage and getting this situation resolved!
This time it would be different!
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Aha! It's up.
Oh, that reminds me, with this story, we've passed "Boast Busted" chronologically, right?
692536 Eeyup!
I've set this two weeks after Boast Busted (or so). I'm also thinking of setting a story roughly at the same time centered on Trixie and the other's trip to Cayo el Bayo
Hee, I actually like this version of Rarity, she comes off a lot nicer than the Cannon one
692690 Really? I actually wanted to make her feel like her generous Maneverse self
well whatever makes her sympathetic works for me!
A Fluttershy prominent story where a character worries about being an unassertive doormat?
Will we see what Lunaverse Iron Will is like? Because that would be awesome!
Well, at least Rainbow Dash is consistent. Most of what she is is someone who's trying to psych herself into believing that she's not totally worthless. Hmmmm. If she had actual self-confidence, she'd be less of a jerk.
(Hint, when writing the "Ditzy tries to get Fluttershy out of her alcove" thing, allude as to how grateful Ditzy is that RD only superficially resembles her past self.)
Looking good! It certainly would be nice to see L!Iron Will, it's good to see L!Rarity displayed in a positive light and the idea of Angel doing Fluttershy's shopping is great!
intresting
Quite nice, there. *Readies shotgun* Here Angel... Striker's got some nice twelve-gauge for you...
Even though she's not the Generosity of this world, it's quite interesting that Rarity was the one to talk to CT. :)
AAAAAANNNND we have a CT story! Poor Carrot~ she needs more stories! Anywayz write moar or i'll unleash my Photo Finish/Tilda/Octotrope army on you!
i find it odd that rarity doesn't know fluttershy in cannon it seemed like they'd known each other for quite awhile before twilight came to town. still a good read.
728664 Lunaverse Fluttershy is much more of a recluse than Maneverse Fluttershy. It's been established in previous stories that she only interacts with Rainbow Dash, Ditzy and Dinky.
Rarity and Carrot Top talking is inherently funny to me (Element of Generosity and all that). More so than any of the other counterpart elements somehow, maybe because they totally don't seem like counterparts at first glance.
Question: If this is supposed to be set at the same time as your Cayo el Bayo fic, how exactly is it Rarity talking to her? If I recall, a certain white fashion pone is using her feminine wiles to learn more about a certain general...
Wait . . . I thought Rarity is in Cayo el Bayo with the others???? Are there like two Rarities or something??? The mean one that Trixie knows and the nice one that CT knows????!!!!!!!
1071558 What do you mean by "learn about a certain general" . . . or am I going to learn about that later in the story????
I think this doesn't count as irony, the opposite of what you think or what is expected. To me seems more like zen, a paradox.
...
I would like if we have a emoticon which gives the idea of "thinking". It would help some comments don't look too dry or superior. Oh well...
728465
It's actually Tilde and Octothorpe, dearie.
*Narrator* This time, however, it was not different.
I really love Rarity here. That's the Rarity we know and love. Lunaverse does enhance the worst aspects of the Main 6 but it keeps them the same at their core. At that core is still good ponies.