As Fluttershy’s call announced her immediate presence, Pinkie Pie’s eyes began to dart back and forth in near panic. She couldn’t escape, not just yet. She had to wait for the right moment, when the pegasus’ attention was fully focused on the entangled rabbit.
“Ohmygoodness ohmygoodness! What happened?” she heard, listening as her friend’s voice began moving quickly from some point across the front yard to where the rabbit sat not so patiently at the side of the house.
The earth pony quickly made her way to the door, intent on using the opportunity to escape around the other side of the house and back towards Ponyville before Angel could be loosed from the snare. She was just about to slip out when one last desperate thought sprang to mind. If Fluttershy had any precious belongings, she might be the only one to know where they were, and if she became aware that someone had been in her house it was more than likely that she would check such belongings first. This might be the last chance Pinkie had to discover Fluttershy’s treasure.
The earth pony briefly debated whether the risk was worth it. If she failed, she would likely be found out, and everything would be revealed. Success might be even worse, as she would probably instill a sense of paranoia within the meek pegasus that would haunt her until such time as Pinkie could explain what had happened... which she could not do until after the party.
But oh, what a party it could be!
With that last thought, Pinkie knew: The risk was well worth the possible reward.
“A—Angel, hold still please! I can’t—I can’t untangle it if you’re thrashing like that.”
Fluttershy would have the bunny free in moments. Pinkie left the doorway, dashing further inside. With so little time she had to be fast. What was the best way to ensure that Fluttershy would know someone else had been in the house?
“Just hold on Angel… just a little more… There! Wait! Angel, where are you going?”
Time was up, there was only one option left. In a burst of movement, Pinkie went to work.
Five seconds later, the bottom half of the front door was kicked inward to reveal an extremely angry rabbit standing on the porch steps. Angel dashed into the front room, followed closely by his caretaker; a little too closely.
“Angel, slow down, what’s going o—“
Whump!
As Fluttershy had tried to follow the speedy bunny into the home she had failed to react in time when the top half of the door failed to open.
“Owwwwww…” the pegasus moaned, rubbing her head with her forehoof and crawling through the lower opening after the rabbit. “Angel, why are you acting like th—“
Again she was unable to finish her inquiry as she finally caught sight of her living room. Immediately she could tell that something seemed off, but she was unable to determine just exactly what it was. She looked around blankly, not quite making the connection. Angel, for his part, was darting from place to place, as if he was searching for something.
Fluttershy set her saddlebags down and slowly made her way to the loveseat across the room, continuing to look about her home in a daze. Reaching her destination, she flopped down on top of it, only to land heavily upon the hardwood floor with a dull thud.
“Huh?” More surprised than hurt by her unexpected drop, Fluttershy looked again at where her couch sat—or rather, where it was supposed to be sitting. It was another moment before she realized that it had somehow moved itself against another wall. In fact, now that she thought about it, everything seemed to have been moved. Her home had been completely rearranged!
“A-Angel?” she said, her voice wavering as she did so. The combination of so many strange occurrences was wearing away at the pony’s fragile nerves. A deep feeling of dread began to creep into her heart, and her only reaction was to curl into herself with a terrified squeak.
Normally, the temperamental bunny was never one to respond eagerly when called, but there were certain things that he did listen for as far as Fluttershy was concerned, and her tone at this moment caught the rabbit’s attention instantly. He poked his head back into the main room and saw his caretaker lying on the floor, eyes darting everywhere and looking as if she were on the verge of complete panic. He slowly hopped over to her and rested a comforting forepaw on her leg.
The contact seemed to create an escape from her deteriorating state of mind, and she pushed all her focus onto the figure before her, trying her hardest not to let her attention turn to the circumstances surrounding her.
“Angel,” she whispered, and even he had to strain to hear it, “please tell me what’s going on?”
The rabbit looked up at her, a look of uncertainty on his face as he slowly shook his head. He didn’t really know either.
“Wa—was there someone in our home?” she breathed again, trying her hardest not to break down completely.
Angel’s expression became almost apologetic as he nodded in affirmation..
Fluttershy managed to swallow loudly and emit a soft squeak all at the same time. She was truly frightened now. A stranger had invaded her home; it was no longer safe here. Angel knew he had to act quickly before that thought sank in and she broke down completely. If it did, she would never be able to sleep here again.
Elsewhere in the home, another pony was also nearing a panicked state. Pinkie Pie strained against a terrible thing: The simple thought that she was causing undue distress to her friend was wreaking havoc with her inner nature. It was all she could do to prevent herself from flying out of her hideaway and performing a comedy routine that would have every pony within two hundred kilometers laughing their flanks off whether they were able to see it or not!
In a last desperate attempt to achieve her goals she gave a few final instructions to her body before closing her mind completely to any and all external stimulus, allowing only a single word to flash through her head.
PARTY!
Partypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartypartyparty…
Angel’s ear gave an involuntary twitch.
The rabbit, however, was thinking too hard to notice it; his mind working furiously to solve the problem that was growing before him. Striking a possible idea, he leapt atop Fluttershy’s head and began to thump her noggin with his large rabbit foot.
Goal number one was achieved as Fluttershy momentarily forgot her larger problems to address the small one that was more immediate.
“H—Hey! Angel! Wh- what?”
Having gotten her attention more fully, the bunny jumped down and grasped a fore hoof in his paws, tugging at it. She subconsciously took his cue, and climbed back to her hooves; her body obeying his command from muscle memory before her mind could even think about it.
“What is it?”
Without bothering to give a response the rabbit ran into the next room, causing Fluttershy to temporarily forget her own situation and chase after him.
“Angel, wait!”
As they left the room Pinkie’s head poked out from the chimney, her body relaying only enough information to her cognitive sense to let her know that Fluttershy was on the move, and her plan just might be working.
Partypartypartypartypartyparty—Yes!—partypartypartypartypartypartyparty…
Angel, however, could not afford to ‘wait’ as Fluttershy had requested. He had to keep her focused on something else, and if that something else happened to be him, then so be it. Personally, he was well aware that whoever had done this was no real threat, and the combination cake, cardboard box confetti, and rearranging of the furniture gave him a fairly good idea of who, exactly, that pony was, but first things first.
Angel hadn’t given Fluttershy much time to give him a once over after she had freed him. He had rushed into the house immediately, knowing that someone had been there, and though everything was quite out of place, he’d been unable to find anything outright missing. That was just further proof of his suspicions.
Still, as he walked, he was becoming increasingly aware that the snare he had been caught in had not been entirely harmless, and his ankle was starting to cause him a bit of trouble. He growled as much as a bunny could. This was the last thing he needed right now. If Fluttershy caught wind of his wound he’d never be able to—
Wait… That was it!
Fluttershy was distraught. She needed a distraction, something else to focus her attention on, and there was no better way to get Fluttershy’s attention than to be a small critter bearing an injury, but he had to play his cards just right. As the pegasus followed him into the room he rushed to and fro, inspecting every corner of every nook. Fluttershy could only stare at him in confusion before it began to dawn on her that each mad dash was just a tad slower than the previous one. Once he slowed down enough to display a visible limp, she made the connection. The pegasus wasted no time, but intercepted the darting ball of fur, plucking him off the ground with her mouth and carrying him over to a nearby bench, where she gently set him down.
Fluttershy offered no explanation, but tenderly held the bunny still as she inspected his feet, giving a small gasp upon recognizing the mark that had been left by the snare.
“Angel, you’re hurt! Why didn’t you say something sooner?” she chided him.
Angel moved as if he was about to shake it off and jump back to his feet, but a hard look from Fluttershy prevented him from completing the maneuver.
“You stay right there, mister.” the mare commanded. The rabbit willingly obliged. Fluttershy’s bouts of true presence were not something that could be controlled and directed reliably, but after all these years he had learned a thing or two about bringing it out of her. He didn’t like doing it. It seemed so... uncharacteristic for the normally shy, meek pegasus; but in situations such as this it was a means of giving her a sense of confidence that she desperately needed, and when she calmed down again she wouldn’t be quite so frightened as before.
Angel watched as Fluttershy walked away. Once she was no longer visible he began to glance around the room some more. With his attention diverted, he only caught a glimpse, but he nevertheless gave a start when he saw a flash of pink that slipped past the archway in his peripheral vision, and into the room Fluttershy had just entered. It was only visible for an instant, but it was enough.
Fluttershy’s command was all but forgotten as Angel made a break from his bench to the next room, intent on catching the culprit before they could disappear, but as he was about to pass under the connecting doorway he ran straight into a hoof coming the opposite direction. The rabbit bounced off the hoof, coming to rest on his back. Scrambling to his feet he made to continue his search, but was stopped once more as a yellow hoof slammed into the floor right in front of him. Angel slowly looked up to meet the eyes of a now rather upset Fluttershy.
“And what do you think you are doing?” she said, her earlier fear gone and her voice not wavering in the slightest. “You get off that foot right now!”
Angel felt fear of his own, and simply dropped to his seat, unable to move under the penetrating gaze. He usually never let it go this far, but that flash of color he’d seen that resembled his possible suspect had caused him to momentarily forget himself, as well as her orders. Fluttershy’s stare, however, immediately convinced him that he had imagined the whole thing, and it was forgotten. Fluttershy truly could be intimidating when she wanted to be.
“That’s better,” the pegasus said, her stern glare disappearing instantly, to be replaced with an easy smile. She quickly got to work constructing a small bandage for his wounded leg.
It didn’t take long before Angel found himself perched on her back, his leg neatly wrapped in a healing poultice as Fluttershy moved about the house, checking random stores and supply closets to make sure nothing was missing. True to form, she was no longer quite as afraid as she had been, and Angel breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, I don’t see anything missing, and it looks like whoever it was never got past the main room,” she was saying, mostly to herself, “the rest of the house looks fine.” She turned to regard the bunny on her back, “Do you know who did this Angel?”
The bunny pondered his next move. He’d already had a fairly clear idea of the culprit... and knowing the Earth Pony, he was certain she had meant no harm in whatever excuse she had for invading their home. So he debated. Did he tell Fluttershy who he thought it was, thus possibly driving a wedge between them? Or did he feign ignorance, in hopes that this would all be swept under the rug and never mentioned again? It only took a moment to decide. Pinkie Pie usually knew enough not to prank the shy pegasus... so what was she up to now? He tried to reason with himself, but in the end, he knew he could not keep his suspicions from Fluttershy.
Angel pointed over to a nearby shelf, indicating his desire to be carried over to it. Fluttershy did so, and Angel quickly scanned the shelves before grabbing a book and pulling it from its perch. The pegasus only had an instant to catch the cover of Desserts and Delicacies for Everypony and Friends before he flipped the book open, rapidly scanning through the pages. Finding what he was looking for, he showed the book to Fluttershy and indicated a picture.
“Pie? A pie did this?”
Angel nodded vigorously.
“Oh Angel, that’s just silly.”
Angel’s fervent nods slowly lost their enthusiasm as what Fluttershy had just pointed out sank in. Realizing she was misinterpreting him yet again he began to shake his head instead, and started to point out various things on the page that resembled a certain color, particularly in the pastry department.
“Wait… do you want a pie? A strawberry pie? No? A grapefruit pie? Oh! A rhubarb pie? …Raspberry lemonade?”
Angel threw his arms out wide in frustration before smacking a single paw into his large forehead. He then proceeded to slam the book shut, it was time to try something else. Desperate, he grabbed at a tuft of Fluttershy’s mane.
“Hair? A hare did this? Another rabbit?”
Angel shook his head again.
“Not a hare?” Fluttershy concluded, trying to determine another use the bunny could have for her mane. Hair, mane, locks…
“…Pink?”
The rabbit nodded fiercely and threw open the book again, pointing first at her hair, and then at the picture he had shown her earlier.
“Pink. Pie? A pink pie? Pinkie Pie?”
Angel indicated a very enthusiastic affirmative.
***
As Fluttershy’s heart had slowly returned to her, Pinkie found her body was relaying more and more information to its inner self as it kept close tabs on the activities of the home’s primary occupants. Thus far very little had been revealed as to the pegasus’ true valuables and treasures. Fluttershy had first made her way through her medical supplies and attended to her friend. Once that had been taken care of, she checked her stores, tools, and supplies, making sure everything else was in place. Unfortunately it was nothing that Pinkie had not already discovered and her hopes were beginning to wilt, which was likewise having some adverse affects upon her focus.
Party—darnit—party—darnit—party…
With no other course of action open to it, her body decided to sit and listen as Fluttershy began to speak with Angel, and caught the moment the pegasus finally discovered the rabbit’s conclusion.
“Pinkie Pie?”
A warning signal flashed through her consciousness. This was a key phrase, an indication that her cover might possibly be blown. If Fluttershy was calling her... either she needed help, knew she was there... or maybe she just wanted to party! Pinkie had to come back now.
The pink earth pony barely managed to keep from revealing herself entirely as full sensory input was instantly restored. She gave a brief spasm and inhaled sharply, then held her breath, hoping the motion hadn’t been discovered. Fortunately, the building’s other inhabitants were too distracted to notice, and Pinkie quickly readjusted herself to pick up on the conversation that was being carried on across the room.
“Oh Angel, don’t be silly. Pinkie Pie would never do something like this.”
An almost imperceptible scuffling sound followed
“Did you see her?”
There was a long pause, and Pinkie couldn’t quite make out what was going on. She shifted slowly, attempting to get a better vantage so she could actually see something, but wasn’t able to succeed. She looked up at her curls and silently cursed them. Maybe if her hair wasn’t so poofy she’d be able to peek around a corner without being so obvious about it.
“Well if you didn’t actually see her, than I don’t know why you would think it was her,” Fluttershy was saying. Pinkie’s expression became very relieved; she didn’t dare sigh though. Another scuffling sound was heard, this one quite vigorous.
“Now Angel, we have no proof that it was Pinkie Pie. I’m not going to run over to the Sugarcube Corner and start throwing accusations around, just think of what that would do to Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Or Pinkie Pie herself!”
Pinkie felt a twinge of guilt as she listened to Fluttershy defend her against the vengeful bunny, despite the fact that he was quite correct. However, her ears perked a bit as the conversation soon turned in another direction.
“Besides, we don’t have any time for that, remember?” Fluttershy continued. “It’s almost time to leave.”
Leave? Where was she going so late in the day?
“Yes, I know you don’t like it, Angel, but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I would never force you to—… Yes, of course I appreciate your company… Angel— Angel please slow down. I can’t understand you when you’re upset!”
Pinkie was curious now. What in Equestria were they talking about?
“No, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I have to go… Yes, I spoke to her earlier, they’ll be fine… Tell my friends? Oh I couldn’t do that. They wouldn’t understand, and might even try to stop me. Oh now stop it, Angel, they probably won’t even miss me. Yes, I know you’re worried, but I can’t stay here. Not after what happened. I can’t ignore this, It’s something I have to do.”
“Yes, I am glad you’re coming with me. I’ve always enjoyed your company, Angel, and I appreciate your willingness to help me. Now go and get your things. We have a long night ahead of us, and we need to prepare.”
As Angel scurried off, Pinkie could hear Fluttershy moving about the cottage, gathering up several items and packing them away into the Saddlebags she had left beside the door. Bags that had already been nearly full to the brim when she had entered.
Pinkie puzzled over the one sided conversation she had just witnessed, momentarily ignoring the bustle that had commenced around the home. There were pieces here, and as she worked to put them together they were slowly revealing a picture that settled like a rock within her gut. She didn’t like rocks; they were hard and tasteless, and reminded her too much of her farming days. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that something was drastically, dreadfully wrong. It didn’t take long for her mind to filter out anything but the worst-case scenarios.
She... she’s leaving! She’s going away! And she’s going to be gone for a long time!! I... I need to stop her! I need help! She can’t leave us! We’re her friends! I need her friends! They need to be here!
As her brain flew through one awful situation after another—throwing reasons and excuses into the brainstorm while slowly settling upon its foregone conclusion— Pinkie slowly began to tremble. He tail twitched, her sides shook, her eyes darted; she became so focused in her thoughts that she didn’t even realize when Fluttershy picked up the saddlebags from beside the door, and stepped outside to leave.
***
“Well, I still thought it was hilarious when you threw that cake in his face! I’ve never seen a stallion recoil like that from a pastry!”
Twilight chuckled as the other two other mares accompanying her recounted the events of that fateful night, grateful that the reminiscing had taken a decidedly different tone than it had initially.
“Yes, well, it was obvious he hadn’t gotten a good taste of it. It was really quite delicious!” Rarity replied to Rainbow Dash with a distinctly ladylike giggle. “Though I must say washing the sugar out of my mane was quite the chore, let me tell you.” Both ponies shared a good chuckle, but Rarity soon sobered up again as they neared their destination. “You know... we look back at this and laugh- and in reality it was all quite humorous to be certain, but... I’ve never been able to get Fluttershy to tell me what really happened that night.
“Huh?” Dash asked her, puzzled at the sudden change of tone, “Whaddya mean?”
Rarity gave a light scoff, “Oh come now, Rainbow Dash, you’ve known her longer than any of us. Sure she can be forceful in extreme situations, but have you ever known her to be in anything but the utmost control?”
The pegasus seemed to be at a momentary loss of words, “Well... no, I guess not. But c’mon... it’s not like we’re by her side all the time. Who knows what happens when she’s taking care of all those animals?”
The lady pursed her lips, “I suppose that’s possible,” she said, drawing out the second word for emphasis, “but I’m still concerned. When we find her—and I do hope we find her this time—I won’t be satisfied until I receive a full explanation of what happened that night, and why.”
“Well, brace yourselves, girls,” Twilight chimed in as they finally approached the cottage on the outskirts of town, “because now’s our chance... I hope.” Twilight’s face fell a little as she looked at the home. Even here, in the early evening, the home looked abandoned. Rarity had been right. There wasn’t a critter around. It was eerie. Still, Twilight was as determined as the rest of them to get to the bottom of this, once and for all. With a breath she approached the lifeless, quiet cottage, and raised her hoof, knocking curtly but forcefully upon the door.
Only to be greeted by more silence.
“Well... drat!” Rarity cursed her luck, “She’s not home after all, and I have simply wasted this day!”
Twilight, however, had moved to press her ear up against the door, “Now hold on girls... I think I can hear something inside.”
Rainbow Dash had flown over to a window. Her muzzle pressed against the glass as she raised a hoof, trying to shield her vision from outside glare. “What does it sound like? I can’t see anything.”
“It’s... it sounds like...” Twilight pulled away from the door in puzzlement, then pressed her ear against it again to listen some more. She did this a few times. “It sounds like something’s... shaking. Or... or vibrating in there. It seems pretty powerful, but I don’t hear any voices.
“Oh dear... do you think she can’t hear us?” Rarity offered in suggestion.
“It’s possible,” Twilight said as she stepped back and shoved at the door, which refused to budge, “but it’s locked. If she’s in there, she doesn’t want anypony else coming in.”
Rainbow Dash had re-joined the other two, and upon Twilight’s declaration, she rolled her eyes. “Pffft!” she scoffed. “Forget that! I didn’t go through all this trouble just so I could be ignored now.” With a flurry of wings, she pulled away from the door a fair distance; enough for her to pick up a decent speed. “Stand back, Twilight!” she called out, “Cause I’m going through that door whether she wants me to or not!”
Twilight and Rarity exchanged an uncertain glance, but knowing that Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to be convinced otherwise both mares beat a hasty retreat from what was soon-to-be ground zero. Waiting just long enough for her friends to get clear, Rainbow Dash sucked in a deep breath of air, and with a moment of hesitation, took off towards the cottage’s main door. Forelegs outstretched before her, squinting her eyes as she approached, wings beating faster helping her pick up speed. Nearing unsafe velocity, she screamed towards the beleaguered doorway. Of course, with her primary goal simply being ‘get through the door’, she wasn’t really thinking about how she was going to stop once she was actually through the door.
In the end, it didn’t matter.
“APPLE-”
Dash was inches from the door when the cry was heard from within. Her eyes went wide in surprise, but there simply wasn’t time to react as the door suddenly sprang open, catching her full in the face and carrying her with it as it slammed into the opposing wall. Luckily, the pain didn’t register... immediately.
From inside the cottage, a pink blur zoomed through the doorway, headed on a direct course towards Sweet Apple Acres at a speed that most ponies wouldn’t think was possible. A loud scream washed over them, heard almost throughout the entire town.
“-JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!”