Everypony Loves
Chapter 1: Everypony Meets
It was a rather beautiful day in Ponyville, the sun was shining and even though there were a few clouds hovering above the sun’s rays still shone through and warmed the citizens below. It was the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration and this year Ponyville was the city chosen to host it. Everypony was busy doing something to get ready for the festivities; the princess of Equestria herself was going to be making an appearance. Princess Celestia had sent her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, to ensure that everything was going according to plan.
There was one pony who knew everypony in Ponyville, and little did she know she was about to make a new acquaintance. Pinkie Pie was a genuinely cheery pony, and there were very few, possibly none in Ponyville who had ever seen her so much as frown. Her entire body was pink and she had a beautiful poofy pink mane. On her flank she had a cutie mark composed of balloons to show her area of expertise which happened to be parties. She was walking down the street a huge smile plastered on her face.
“Come on Twilight, just try.” The voice broke Pinkie from her daydreaming and she opened her eyes to find out where the voice was coming from. The speaker had been a baby dragon named Spike; he had purple scales and a faded green underbelly. Standing beside the dragon was a purple-bodied unicorn pony. Her mane went in front of her face and just barely covered her eyes; it was a combination of blue and purple with a brilliant rose streak going down the middle of it. The purple mare smiled awkwardly, as though she wasn’t even sure what she was doing and then she spoke. “U-um…Hello?”
Pinkie Pie tilted her head a little as she observed the two in front of her. She’d never seen them before, so that must mean that they were new to Ponyville. She jumped into the air and gasped loudly; her mouth hung wide open before she dashed forward and disappeared, leaving a cloud behind her.
Twilight turned around and watched the pink pony run off. “Well that was interesting all right.” She rolled her eyes towards her baby dragon and made her way down the street to begin checking on the preparations for the festivities to come.
**
Twilight had already inspected the food, in fact she felt as though she had eaten more than half of it. Next on her list of things to check though was the weather. There was a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash who was supposed to be keeping the skies clear for the event, yet clouds drifted lazily overhead. Twilight was just making a snide comment about what a poor job said Pegasus pony was doing when she felt as though she were rammed in the side by a train. She was face down in the mud and her head was spinning. She wasn’t even sure which way was up anymore and she groaned. She didn’t even bother moving, today was not going well.
Twilight could feel the weight of somepony else atop of her but the weight was quickly lifted followed by an unapologetic laugh. “’ ‘Scuse me?”
Whoever this pony was she did not seem very apologetic and Twilight groaned before lifting her face from the mud. She was not amused in the slightest. There was more laughing followed by an offer for help. She’ll probably only make it worse Twilight thought to herself. Twilight sat up and by the time she had the Pegasus pony had returned with a cloud and held it above Twilight. She began hopping on it, and it got rid of the mud on Twilight but completely ruined her mane. Twilight was not like some ponies who were obsessed with their manes but this on the other hoof was just ridiculous.
Twilight slowly looked up, glaring up at the Pegasus pony who was only now noticing the effects that little shower had had on the purple mare. There was a little more giggling.
“Oops I guess I overdid it. Um..How ‘bout this?” Twilight opened her mouth wide and wanted to shout out a protest but it was too late. The Pegasus began flying around her in a rapid circle, around and around, faster than anypony she’d ever seen fly before. She couldn’t even make out what was in front of her anymore and could only faintly hear the unhelpful Pegasus talking. She’d only caught the last few words though.
“…Rainblow dry.” If only that was all the pony had had to say.
Her eyes were closed as she placed herself back on the ground speaking smugly. “Now, now don’t thank me. You’re quite welcome”
How smug can somepony get?
Twilight’s mane was completely ruined. It was messy and all poofed up, not straight like it should be. Whatever the mare had done it had had the same effect on her tail, and once she had noticed it she seemed shock for a moment, and Twilight thought she was going to apologize, but no. She began laughing, she laughed so hard she fell to the ground and Twilight had even seen tears form in her eyes. Once Spike saw the effects he joined in too. Twilight had, by now, noticed the mares appearance and with the addition of having her “Rainblow dry” it was a fair conclusion to assume this was the Pegasus in charge of the weather. She glared down at the Pegasus.
“Let me guess. You’re Rainbow Dash?”
“The one and only!” Her reply was instant, and she quickly stood up proudly, lifting a hoof up to her chest, almost as though she was showing herself off. Her body was a light blue, similar to that of the sky and she had one of the most unique manes Twilight had ever seen. It was Rainbow colored and consisted of various colors, as did her tail. On her flank rests a Lightning Bolt. “Why? You heard’o me?”
“I heard you’re supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Twilight sighed and turned towards Rainbow Dash. “I’m Twilight Sparkle and the princess sent me to check on the weather.” Well Twilight had been talking Rainbow Dash had found a nice comfy cloud and settled herself upon it, hardly even paying attention.
“Yeah, yeah. That’ll be a snap. I’ll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I’m done practicing.”
“Practicing for what?”
“The Wonderbolts! They’re gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow and I’m gonna show ‘em my stuff!” Rainbow Dash loop-de-looped and landed on another cloud.
“THE Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked smugly.
“Yup.”
“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”
“That’s them”
“Pfft, please. They’d never accept a Pegasus who can’t keep the sky clear for one measly day”
“Hey! I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat!”
This was exactly the reaction Twilight had hoped for. She narrowed her eyes and grinned. “Prove it.”
In that exact second Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and began flying around, kicking all the clouds. Twilight and Spike watched below in disbelief as Rainbow Dash soared from Cloud to Cloud, knocking each of them out of the sky one after the other before finally landing and grinning. “What did I tell ‘ya? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I’d never leave Ponyville hangin’!”
Twilight and Spike didn’t move. They were in utter disbelief and what the rainbow-maned pony had just managed to do.
“You should see the look on your face.” Rainbow Dash said as she drifted around the two.“You’re a laugh Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait to hang out some more!”
And with that Rainbow Dash disappeared leaving the purple unicorn dumbfounded.
**
Rainbow Dash soared above the clouds, her powerful wings keeping her adrift. From the ground people would barely be able to make out her blue body, which almost blended in with the color of the sky, but there was never mistaking her mane. She didn’t know of any pony in the world that had a mane like hers, and she was proud of it. It set her apart from the other ponies. That wasn’t the only thing that separated her from them, but she would never admit that to them. There was only one other pony in all of equestrian who knew her secret and Rainbow Dash was determined to keep it that way.
Dash noticed a pony below, somepony she would never mistake for anyone else. She was almost as unique as Dash in a sense, but they were also the same in another way too. This was the pony that knew her secret and Dash knew hers. Her closest, best friend and so much more. Even from so high up she could tell that down below she wasn’t walking as the other ponies did. This pony had a habit of bouncing everywhere she went, and no matter where she went or who she met up with she always brought a smile to their faces. It was Pinkie Pie, the happiest, most fun-loving mare in all of Ponyville, possibly in all of Equestria. Not only were her and Dash extremely close but she was also Dash’s pranking partner. No one could pull a prank like Pinkie.
Dash decided now was as good a time as any to visit her friend. She sped up in the air going much farther in front of her before extending one wing and pulling the other in against her body. She turned and once she’d completely turned around she tucked both of her wings against her body and went into a dive towards the ground, leaving a rainbow trail behind her, it was practically her trademark. She landed in front of Pinkie Pie standing tall and proud, one of her front hooves was lifted, almost as though she were posing.
“Dashie!” Pinkie shouted, jumping forward to give her friend a hug.
“Hey there Pinkie Pie.” Came Dash’s reply. “What are y-“
“Come with me!” Pinkie cut Dash off mid-sentence.
Dash tilted her head curiously but before she could ask what that was all about Pinkie had already taken off, bouncing joyfully along. Dash rolled her eyes. She knew there was no point trying to reason with Pinkie Pie. She was just so random. She flapped her wings and lifted herself from the ground and followed Pinkie. They engaged in meaningless chit-chat until they reached Sugar cube Corner. It was the best bakery in Ponyville, not to mention Pinkie Pie’s home and job. She worked there as a baker with Mr. And Mrs. Cake. It was the perfect job for Pinkie Pie, since she was so obsessed with sweets. They entered, Mr. And Mrs. Cake were nowhere to be found. They were probably getting ready for the festivities. Dash and Pinkie made their way up to the pink earth pony’s room and shut the door behind them.
“Why did we come all the way here Pinkie?”
“I need to get some party supplies!” Came Pinkie’s reply. She was zooming around the room, collecting streamers and balloons and other such party accessories. She’d put a large, pointed party-hat on and was grinning towards Dash, a grin which Dash quickly returned.
“And here I thought you just wanted to be alone with me”
Pinkie Pie giggled at Dash’s response and bounced over to her, nuzzling herself into her friends colourful mane. They had never meant for it to happen but after a while they couldn’t deny it anymore. They knew that they shouldn’t have been feeling that way about each other but the heart wants what it wants and they wanted each other. They’d never shared their secret with anypony, and they probably never would. They’d never heard of two mares being together or falling in love, and they shuddered at what their friends would think of them if they found it. It was easier this way, for them and for everypony else. Sometimes it was hard, hiding who they really were from their friends, but it was necessary and at the end of the day they always got through it together.
“Of course I wanna spend time alone with my marefriend, but I have a party to plan!”
Dash laughed at their made up word for what they were to each other before responding. “Are you throwing a party for all the ponies to get together and watch the sun rise?”
“No. Yes. Kind of! I hadn’t thought of that before but now that you mention it that sounds like a super, spectacular wonderifical idea! Every pony in Ponyville is invited anyway so we can do that too and it’ll give everypony a chance to meet the new mare here.” Pinkie seemed pleased with the new idea.
“New mare?”
“Oh right! I forgot to tell you, Dashie. On my way home I ran into a purple unicorn and she said hi to me but I’d never seen her before, and I know everypony in Ponyville, and since I’d never seen her before then that must have meant that she was new! Since she’s new to town she probably hasn’t had the chance to meet many people so I had the brilliant idea to throw her the bestest, biggest, funest party ever! By the end of it she’ll have lots and lots of friends!”
Dash tilted her head; her marefriend must be talking about Twilight. “You mean Twilight Sparkle?”
“Oh you met her too? Maybe she already has friends then.”
“I just crossed her in the street. I showed her what I can do! By the time I was done she didn’t even know what to say!” Dash struck another proud pose, and Pinkie giggled again.
“Silly Dashie” She nuzzled herself into her again. “I’m gonna throw the party anyway, I love making new friends and I wanna find out all about her. I hope she likes parties! Do you think she’s gonna like parties Dashie? I hope so! Maybe she’ll like pranks too. I bet she comes from somewhere reaaaally interesting and she’ll have lots and lots of stories to tell us about her hometown!”
“Maybe.” Was Dash’s short reply. She averted her gaze, thinking for a minute. Pinkie was rather interested in this mare, but Dash shouldn’t say anything. She knew it was nothing, Pinkie would never do anything to hurt her. Sometimes she got jealous, but she’d gotten better at it. If people knew that Pinkie was hers she’d probably feel better, but it wasn’t worth exposing their secret because of a bit of jealousy. She’d get it under control.
Pinkie giggled because she her the rainbow-maned pony all too well. She bounced over Dash again and again until her giggles subsided. “Aww Dashie, are you jealous?”
“What! N-no!” Dash turned her head to the side and firmly sat her rump on the ground.
Pinkie laughed, and kissed her marefriend on the cheek. “Silly Dashie.”
This calmed Rainbow Dash down a little bit and she smiled. She always had to have the last word though. “Yeah well...I could make you jealous too you know.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened as she seemed to have one of her bright ideas. “Oh like a game? Dashie, that’s a great idea! We’ll see who gets the most jealous! I wish I could stay longer but I gotta go plan the new mare’s – Twilight you called her? – party! I’ll see you there Dashie!” She kissed her on the cheek again before bouncing out the window, a box on her back was filled with everything she would need to get the party ready. She’d get the information she needed from other residents of Ponyville and enlist some of her friends help to decorate and all that. She bounced down, planning the party in her mind without a care in the world.
Dash was stunned, and as she watched her pink-bodied friend bounce away she couldn’t help but feel a little angry, and then a little upset. She wished Pinkie hadn’t turned this into her game, her feelings for Pinkie weren’t a game, in fact they were far from it and she wasn’t pleased with this turn of events. On the other hoof though she couldn’t refuse a challenge. She sighed as she left through the same window, taking to the skies. She had a feeling somepony was going to end up unhappy with this game.
**
“Wasn’t she wonderful?” Came Spike’s voice from his resting spot atop Twilight’s back. He was referring to the fashion obsessed pony they had just met. Her name was Rarity and she was in charge of the decorations for the evening. She seemed to care more about appearance than anything else. As soon as she had seen Twilight’s mane that had been destroyed by Rainbow Dash it had seemed almost as though she would die. She had insisted on fixing up Twilight’s mane, and if that was not bad enough she forced Twilight to try on outfit after outfit. Twilight had quickly made her way out of there while Rarity had gone to collect a ribbon. It may have been a bit rude but if she ever ran into Rarity again she would make up some excuse about being busy with the Summer Sun Celebration. She wasn’t expecting to see anyone ever again though. Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow she would be back in Canterlot, back with her precious books. It would obviously take a while before Spike forgot her though.
“Focus Cassanova. What’s next on the list?” Twilight said as she turned her attention to Spike. She was just itching to finish everything up. She suspected something bad would happen tonight, and luckily the princess had made arrangements for her to stay in a library tonight. The perfect place to do some research, no distractions, no noise, and nopony to keep trying to befriend her.
“Music, It’s the last one.”
Twilight was pleased to hear this, and it showed too. A large smile was on her face as she made her way down the dirt roads of Ponyville. She had come to a large clearing, trees everywhere, and it was clear tons of animals lived here. From a short distance away she could hear birds singing, in rhythym, a pleasant melody. She made her way towards where the sound was coming from.
It wasn’t intentional but when she reached where the sound was coming from her and Spike were partially hidden by a bush. A large tree was before them, and on the branches were birds of every color and kind. It made a beautiful rainbow of colors, not much different from Rainbow Dash’s mane. A lovely yellow pegasus pony hovered in front of the tree, directing the birds. Waves of pink fell along her neck, and a strand of pink hair covered part of her face. This was clearly the pony in charge of music and Twilight simply observed for the moment.
All the birds sang in unison, except for one. A regal blue-feathered bird was singing rather off key. For what seemed like the longest time the yellow pegasus hovered without saying anything, but cringed every once in a while so she was clearly aware of the problem, yet said nothing. Eventually something had to be said. “Oh my...Um stop please everypony. “ Her voice was low and sweet and held no ill intentions. She seemed to genuinely feel bad to have to criticize anyone at all, even if it was for such a minor problem. She flew up a little higher, to reach the bird above her.
“Um..Excuse me sir, I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeeeny tiny bit off.” She hovered back to her original position, seeming relieved that the confrontation was out of the way. “Now follow me please. A one. A two. A one, two three-“
“Hello.”
Her greeting did not have the effect Twilight had expected. The yellow pegasus jumped, and screamed. All the lovely birds that had been on the branches flew away and the yellow pony turned to see who had greeted her. She hovered a few feet above the purple unicorn and was looking down at her with an awfully concerned expression. Maybe a little encouragement would help Twilight thought to herself.
“Oh my. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds. I’m just here to check up on the music and it’s sounding beautiful.”
The yellow pegasus slowly landed in front of Twilight. Twilight hoped she hadn’t angered her by scaring her birds away. She didn’t seem mad or frustrated or anything really. She still seemed more worried than anything else. She was looking away from Twilight, and the side that faced the purple unicorn was the side that her bright pink mane covered. She shuffled with her front hoof, digging at the dirt. She glanced, only a quick look into the purple unicorns violet optics before quickly looking away.
Twilight wasn’t sure what to do, this was the first genuinely interesting pony she had met in Ponyville today, but it seemed as though she wouldn’t be able to get a single word out of her. Twilight just forced a smile. Things were getting awkward, time continued passing but the yellow pegasus did not say anything, and Twilight now doubted she would.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight paused expecting a response but none came. As Twilight spoke the pegasus’ wings were brought in tighter against her back. Her bright sky-blue eyes glanced at the purple unicorn quickly but just as fast she pulled them away to aimlessly glance at the ground. She adjusted herself so her pink face prevented Twilight from seeing her face.
“What’s your name?” Twilight continued when she realized the other pony was not going to respond.
The yellow Pegasus shuffled on her hooves some more and kept her eyes firmly planted on the ground. She began stuttering out, and since she wasn’t facing Twilight it was hard to hear her, her mumbling didn’t make it easier. “Um...I’m Flutter..” The last part of her name was lost as she only mumbled it out.
Twilight smiled awkwardly again glancing from side to side. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
“Um..I’m...F...” The mumbling got worse. The yellow Pegasus frowned now and she backed away, looking afraid. Her mane covered her face more, as she practically cowered, her knees bent slightly maker her seem smaller than she really was.
“Didn’t quite catch that.” Despite the pegasus’ ridiculous shyness Twilight couldn’t help but find something cute, and endearing about the whole thing. Not to say it wasn’t ridiculously annoying, but still.
The yellow Pegasus moved another step back and her eyes narrowed more fearfully. This time there weren’t even any words that left her lips, simply a loud squeak. There seemed to be nothing that Twilight could do, she couldn’t get to know this pony without even knowing her name.
All the birds that had flown away at Twilight’s appearance had fluttered back now, and Twilight knew that it was time for her to leave. “Well it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything’s in order. Keep up the good work.” It had all sounded so fake and cheesy but Twilight felt as though there was nothing more she could do. The pegasus offered another audible squeak in response, but nothing more. “Ooookay...” Twilight turned on her hooves and made her way back to Spike, who had decided to stay behind during this whole incident.
“Well that was easy” Twilight said to Spike as he checked off the last of the items on the checklist. It was finally over there was nothing left to do, all of her tasks were complete so Twilight could finally head on to the library and continue her research on the tale of the mare in the moon.
“A baby dragon!”
At first Twilight was confused, she hadn’t realized it was the yellow pegasus’ voice, because she had hardly heard it. She’d barely had time to turn around when she felt her hooves leave the ground. She was hit so hard her entire form went flying over first and she landed belly first in the dirt. Her legs spread out on either side of her and everything seemed to be spinning. The yellow pony had pushed her hard enough to do this? Twilight was still recovering, but she still heard what the yellow pegasus was saying.
“Oh! I’ve never seen a baby dragon before! He’s soooo cute!”
Spike turned around, placing his claws proudly on his hips and grinned at Twilight. “Well, well, well.” Spike then turned his attention back to the pony in front of him.
“Oh my. He talks. I didn’t know dragons could talk. That’s just so incredibly wonderful I...” The yellow Pegasus began hovering in the air from her apparent excitement. She brought her hooves up before her, no longer looking afraid, or concerned, only pure joy. Her wings flapped slowly, keeping her airborne just a little above Spike. “I just don’t even know what to say!”
During the time that the yellow mare had been obsessing over Spike Twilight had recovered and made her way past her. She rolled her eyes at Spike who was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, obviously enjoying the reaction to him. She didn’t want him getting too full of himself now. Her horn sparkled, and a purple aura surrounded it and Spike’s eyes widened as he was unexpectedly lifted from the ground, and placed on Twilight’s back. She’d used her magic to carry him there, magic is something all unicorn ponies possessed.
“Well in that case we’d better be going.” Twilight started walking off.
“Oh, wait, wait! What’s his name?” The yellow Pegasus began following behind them at a steady pace, close enough to be able to talk to Spike clearly.
“I’m Spike.”
“Hi Spike, I’m Fluttershy.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. To Spike she gives her name without any problems. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little hurt at this. She’d been having a horrible day. The first pony she’d tried to speak to hadn’t said anything and had run away. She’d gotten along rather well with the second, but nothing extraordinary, just lunch. Now on the pony she’d actually made an effort to speak to, not only had she been able to get any words out of her, making it effectively the second time she’d been ignored, but she’d seen Spike and could talk to him without any problems. It’s not fair Twilight thought to herself, and she honestly wondered why she had thought that. To her surprise it wasn’t just rejection she was feeling but underneath it, ever so slightly, she felt a pang of jealousy, and she couldn’t figure out why. Sure the yellow pegasus seemed like a nice enough mare, but to get jealous over her ability to talk to Spike without any problems? It just wasn’t logical.
“Wow, a talking dragon. And what do dragons talk about?” Fluttershy continued, her interest only seeming to increase.
“Well what do you want to know?”
“Absolutely everything.”
Twilight sighed. It was going to be a long walk to the library.
During the entire time there she was forced to listen to Spike talk from the very moment she had hatched him as an egg at her entrance exam, up to today. He had effectively gone through his entire life story and the entire time Fluttershy seemed to not lose interest at all, not only that but not once had she addressed Twilight or asked her a question. After a while Twilight had just shut them out, trying not to listen and even thought it worked for the most part the whole time it was like an unpleasant buzzing in the background. She just wanted some peace and quiet after the day she’d had. Finally she could see the library she would be staying at. It was a lovely place, a large tree that had been hollowed out and turned into a library.
Spike was just making an offer to tell Fluttershy about the day he had had today, and Twilight couldn’t handle another moment of this. She had half-expected the mare to decline but she should have known better with her rotten luck. Fluttershy gladly agreed, but enough was enough. She turned around and faced the Mare.
“I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast? This is where I’m staying while in Ponyville and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep.” Twilight said dramatically. Spike started to protest but she kicked her back hooves up, knocking him down into the dirt. “Awww, wook at that. He’s so sweepy he can’t even keep his widdle balance.” She gave a false smile towards Fluttershy, not expecting her to believe it.
Faster than Twilight had expected Fluttershy swooped forward and picked Spike up in her arms, cradling him against her chest as she hovered in the air. “Poor thing.” Fluttershy cried out. “We must get him to bed.” Without any second thought Fluttershy flew into the library, carrying Spike with her. Before she could get to far Twilight ran ahead of her. She used her magic again to remove Spike from Fluttershy’s arms and place him on the ground and placed her head against Fluttershy’s body and quite literally pushed her out the door.
“Yes, yes. We’ll get right on that. Well, goodnight!” Twilight slammed the door in her face and made her way into the oddly dark library. She couldn’t even see one step in front of her.
Spike was standing with his claws on his chest again, but not proudly this time. He glared at Twilight, not that she could see it. “Rude much?”
Twilight did feel a little guilty. “Sorry Spike, but I have to convince the princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we’re running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where are the lights?”
No sooner had Twilight spoken those words that the lights flickered on. A large yell of “Surprise!” was shouted and she jumped. She definitely was surprised. Balloons and streamers decorated the room. A table filled with cupcakes and punch was at one extremity of the room and she was in the middle of a circle of ponies. She recognized some of them: Applejack, the mare in charge of the food, the pony in charge of decorations, Rarity. Rainbow Dash was also present, as was the pink mare who hadn’t spoken to her this morning. Even Fluttershy had crept her way back in. It was a surprise party, for Twilight. Something she’d never had before and only one thought came to mind.
Oh no.
**
The party had been going on for quite some time now and Dash had been observing from afar. Right from the moments the light had flickered on Pinkie Pie had been stuck to Twilight like glue. She’d followed her around, spoken to her every second since the party had started and truth be told Rainbow Dash could not be more jealous. If this were in fact a game, she was losing big time. She’d decided she wasn’t going to play this game, a lot of things she could handle but turning feelings into a game was not something she could do.
Dash had attempted to talk to the purple mare a few times but without success. She didn’t seem very interested in talking to anypony, it seemed more like she wanted to be alone. Maybe this party wasn’t a good idea? Dash thought to herself. It was true Pinkie Pie could be pushy sometimes, but usually after throwing a party for somepony they warmed up to her right away, but not this time. Twilight was spending her time avoiding the others. Dash sighed.
“Rainbow Dash?”
Dash turned, and sitting where there was the least action, all by herself was Fluttershy. The timid pony was also trying to avoid everypony. Dash had gone to flight camp with Fluttershy and had known her since they were fillies. Fluttershy’s attitude was nothing new, and a lot of the other ponies in ponyville often got annoyed with her but Dash always tried her best to be patient with her, it wasn’t her fault after all. Rainbow Dash had witnessed the other fillies’ cruelty first hoof. Fluttershy was always the target of their abuse and jokes and it was a habit for everypony to mock her flying abilities.
“Hey there Fluttershy. I didn’t see you there.”
“O-oh um...I hope I’m not bothering you...” Came the quiet reply.
“Nah. It’s okay Fluttershy.”
“You just seemed a little sad and I was hoping there was something I could to help...”
Dash couldn’t help but smile. Uncomfortable but still willing to help others. Fluttershy’s kindness knew no bounds. “Don’t worry about it ‘Shy. What about you? You met the new pony in town yet?”
“Oh yes, she seemed very nice. She had a baby dragon with her. He could talk, and he was sooo cute.”
There was absolutely, positively no way Fluttershy would ever say this out loud but she felt bad about what had happened earlier. Twilight had tried to talk to her and she hadn’t even said hello. She wished she had to. Not many ponies tried to talk to her, and she was very grateful that Twilight had. She’d been so nice and polite to her. It almost made Fluttershy feel like crying. She hadn’t been any better on the walk to the library either! She spent the whole time talking to Spike. Again she wanted to talk to Twilight but she was too afraid. Fluttershy had always been more comfortable talking to animals than other ponies. They never said mean things to her, or judged her, or made fun of her because she couldn’t fly very well. She had secretly hoped to make friends with Twilight, but now she’d ruined any chances of ever being friends with Twilight Sparkle and there was nothing she could do about it now.
Then she realized there was something she could do about it. She could go talk to Twilight now. But oh...How would I approach her? Fluttershy thought to herself. She’d worry about it once she was done talking to Rainbow Dash.
Dash began to laugh at her friends words, but turned when she heard a loud noise. Twilight had tears coming out of her eyes, but she didn’t seem upset over anything. Her cheeks were puffed out and she was coughing. Twilight ran off and disappeared, and Pinkie Pie was left alone. Dash wanted to go talk to her but she had so much on her mind she wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“I’m gonna go take a quick fly to clear my head. Try and have some fun, alright Fluttershy?”
“Okay, but Rainbow Dash...If your sad you can talk about it.”
Rainbow Dash smiled a little, and only nodded towards her foalhood friend as she made her exit. She took to the sky and instantly forgot all her troubles.
Fluttershy retreated back to her corner, where there were less ponies, less noise and less chances of somepony she didn’t know talking to her. She was alone again, Rainbow Dash was gone and she’d lost her chance to make friends with Twilight Sparkle. Sometimes she realized how her shyness limited her, but it was who she was, and there was no getting around it, but sometimes it would be nice to have pony friends too, not just her animal friends.
**
Twilight was coughing, and her tongue still burned. What kind of crazy pony leaves hot sauce where drinks are served!? She was already irritated at the day she’d had, and now things had only gotten worse.
Twilight took a seat and sighed. Her hooves hurt from the walking around she’d done all day and it was good to finally have a seat and relax. She did feel a little bad about abandoning the party Pinkie Pie had worked so hard to throw for her, but in the end it didn’t really matter. She’d be gone tomorrow and would never see any of these ponies again. It was for the best anyway, all she needed were her books and she’d feel comfortable. She’d never needed other ponies, and she liked to think she never would, her studies came first.
Her mind did keep going back to Fluttershy though. She spent a long time trying to figure out what she’d done wrong. She’d actually tried to engage Fluttershy in conversation, she’d been polite and talkative but nothing had worked. When Fluttershy had seen Spike on the other hoof she instantly opened up, so therefore Twilight had to conclude it was something she did. Maybe she was just unapproachable. She sighed again and crawled into bed. Tomorrow it wouldn’t matter, she would leave and never have to even think about Fluttershy ever again, everything could be back to normal.