“Please calm down little one,” Fluttershy pleaded. A young injured ferret was squirming in her hooves. The ferret’s paw was broken and would not let Fluttershy heal him. It eventually freed itself from her grasp landing on the ground. It yelped in pain and fell to the floor.
“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy squeaked. “Are you all right?” Tears began forming in the ferret’s eyes. Fluttershy was on the brink of panicking. She needed to calm her friend down. She took in a deep breath, and began to sing. A gentle song drifted from her mouth and into the ferret’s ears, calming it down. It closed its eyes and drifted into slumber. Fluttershy kept singing, and the wind carried her song.
*
Applejack was in one of the many apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Baskets were around numerous trees, some filled to the brim with apples while others were empty. She bucked one of the trees causing the baskets to fill with her family’s namesake. A breeze passed by the farm pony, and with it came a song. Applejack closed her eyes to listen. She recognized the voice instantly, it was Fluttershy’s. She smiled at the tune. This smile wasn’t ordinary though. It was a sad smile, a smile one would find on someone who lost their love. She sighed and looked towards the source. Emotions were bubbling in the pony’s heart. Regret, pain, sadness, and most potently love resided there. There was no proper way to express how she felt. Applejack opened her mouth and a song came from it.
“How she sings, sweet as day,” she sang. “I could take her away. A fairy voice carries, I’d marry Canary.” A mist began forming around Applejack. Quiet laughter could be heard if one listened close enough. Applejack however, was too lost in her song.
“If only she could love me, if only she…”
“Could love me,” sang a different voice. Applejack’s eyes shot open and looked around. She was standing in the middle of a strange fog. Trees should have surrounded her, but she only found mist. Childlike laughter echoed around her.
“Where are you?” she demanded. “Show yourself!”
“Such anger coming from someone so young,” a feminine voice said. The voice was lyrical and smooth as honey. It reminded Applejack of Nightmare Moon.
“I’m not scared of you,” Applejack said.
“Nor should you be,” the voice said coming from above her. Applejack looked up and gawked. A forest green pony flew above her. Her mane and tail were a rust coloured red and at the base of her tail was a white bow with a gold trim. Although she was the size of an adult pony, this pony did not have a cutie mark. The most striking feature about the pony was her wings. They were butterfly shaped and a translucent shade of white. They sparkled as they flapped and gold coloured dust fell from them. The pony landed in front of Applejack.
“Who are you?” she asked. Applejack looked into the pony’s eyes. They were amber and her pupils shared the likeness of a cat’s. “What are you?”
“My race has had many names over the years,” the pony replied. “We have been called domovoi, ayperi, houris, faeries. I believe your people call us, flutter ponies.”
“What do you want?” Applejack asked. The flutter pony laughed. It was sweet and as melodious as a song.
“Dear child,” the flutter pony said. “This is not about what I want; it is about what you want.”
“What I want?” the flutter pony walked past Applejack.
“Yes, there is something your heart desires. Or should I say somepony.” The flutter pony waved her right hoof and part of the mist circled in front of her. It changed its colour to amber and an image appeared in it. In the mist was a butter coloured pegasus singing to a group of animals. Applejack stared at the sight in awe.
“Fluttershy,” she whispered.
“Yes,” the flutter pony said. “You love this one don’t you poppet?”
“I do,” Applejack replied. “But I can’t have her. No matter how badly I want it.”
“Who says you can’t?”
“Beg your pardon?” The flutter pony only smiled at Applejack. With another wave of her hoof the image changed. In it, Fluttershy was cuddled close to Applejack. The farmer was smiling down at the pegasus. Applejack stared at the image with wide eyes. The pegasus then gave the farm pony a deep kiss. Applejack’s eyes then became wider.
“I can make your desire come true,” the flutter pony said with a calm voice. “If you so choose to have it child.”
“Sure,” a bitter laugh left Applejack’s lips. “And I can raise the sun. What are you going to do? Sprinkle some fairy dust and make it happen? I don’t think so. Now if you excuse me, I have apples to buck.” She turned away from the flutter pony and started walking away.
“While that may be a vast simplification of my magic, that is correct,” she replied. Applejack stopped her trek. “I can make the impossible happen.”
“How?” Applejack asked facing her. “Not even Celestia can change a pony’s heart.” Laughter again came from the flutter pony.
“Oh my dear sweet child,” the flutter pony said. “Celestia’s power is infantile compared to what my people can do. If the price is high enough, we can do anything.” The farm pony smirked and turned around.
“Nice try,” she said walking away. “If you’re going to make a claim like that, make it sound realistic.”
“Are you really comfortable with the sorrow in your heart?” Applejack again stopped. “Do you really want the pain in your heart to stay with you? Time does heal all wounds, yes, but it does not help with today’s pain. Let me help you, I can remove the sadness you feel. I can make you happy.” If this pony was telling the truth, Applejack could find happiness. She could find love with the pony she had lost. She could have what was once hers. Tears began welling up in her eyes. The flutter pony smiled a malicious smile.
“Now, poppet,” she said extending her left foreleg. “Let us make a deal.”