//------------------------------// // Part 2: Old version // Story: Forever free // by Pumpkin-dreams //------------------------------// Fluttershy and Twilight stepped out of the Everfree forest as Celestia's sun dipped over the edge of the world, both hearts heavy with the tale Zecora had told them. The purple unicorn was glad to be away from the gravesite, the whole place had given her a persistent feeling of gloom. Thoughts of a different kind plagued her pegasus friend, who had for a fleeting moment knew what it must feel like to be truly free. Remembering the rush of elation the colt had given her, Fluttershy felt a pleasant shiver run down her back. Compared to those few seconds, her shy demeanor and nervous disposition had been a waste of so many years. All those chances to live, lost because she had deemed them too dangerous. Hay, even being out at night was putting her on edge. She would do almost anything for another chance to feel the relief from those bindings. Almost anything; Ember's grave was likely the only place for that purpose, and it was deep in the foreboding wood. I really shouldn't go back in there unless I have to... she thought, images of angry Hydras and grumpy Dragons filling her head. This didn't stop her from peeking over her shoulder to look back, heartfelt longing in her blue-green eyes. Pinke pie's energetic voice interrupted the pegasus's reverie, "Twilight! Fluttershy! I was so worried!" Fluttershy was wrapped in the pink mare's hug before she could register her presence, Twilight pressed next to her by the embrace. "Pinkie!" Twilight laughed, trying to lighten the vice grip, "We're fine." Pinkie released her two friends, letting them fall on their rumps. "Oh goodie! I just got a little nervous, 'cause my knee got all pinchy, and that meant something scary was gonna happen, and it was coming from the Everfree forest. At first I told myself 'Silly filly, something scary is always happening in there!' but then I remembered you were in there, Twilight, and then Fluttershy wasn't home, so I guessed she was with you, so I got doubly-worried! And I got all our friends to come find you two, except you were already here, so we found you!" the party pony explained, making different faces to accompany her little speech. True to her word, the rest of the gang was present. Rarity went to Fluttershy, fretting over the mare's state as she pulled stray leaves from her pink mane. Rainbow Dash was hoofing a couple of bits to Applejack, muttering something about the lack of Hydras. "Ah get why you were in ther', Twi, but how'd ya get Fluttershy to go in?" the cowpony asked, pocketing her bet winnings. "Heh, she actually walked in while telling me why it was so dangerous." "We should remember that next time there's a dragon in town." Rainbow jested. Pinkie pie perked up, bouncing back to Ponyville. "Come on everypony! We need to have a 'Hurray Twilight and Fluttershy are safe!' party!" "Please Pinkie, it is far too late for one of your parties. Perhaps a simple slumber party would suffice?" Rarity offered while meticulously examining the yellow pegasus for the smallest hint of dirt on her coat. The group turned towards Ponyville, ready to put the haunting trees behind them. "Okey dokey lokie!" cheered the bouncing pony, the five friends following in her springy step. *** Luna's moon was high in the night sky, the ponies still wide awake in the midst of their get-together in Twilight's library. They had managed to convince the studious unicorn not to pull out her 'Slumber Parties 101' list, and so left to their own plans Rainbow Dash and Applejack had been in a game of truth or dare for the last forty minutes, both choosing nothing but dare. The blue pegasus was still working her way out of the knot she had been tied in for the last dare; escaping from one of Applejacks rodeo ties. Pinkie had somehow gotten herself in a similar position without the other earth ponies assistance, but was too busy rolling in her rope cocoon to fix it. Rarity and Fluttershy had declined the invitation to join, one having no taste for the athletes style and the other being, well, Fluttershy. Twilight herself was having an inner debate about the wisdom of letting her two competitive friends have free reign in their game-turned contest. Hopefully things would stay in control, but past lessons had taught her not to hold her breath. Rarity spoke up, "You never did tell us what happened in the Everfree forest darling." Rainbow stopped her awkward one legged hopping for a moment, "Uh, they went to Zecora's and got tea?" she answered with a shrug. Her balance wasn't up to the demands however, with a yelp she was back on the floor. Applejack snickered and began untying the dazed pegasus. "Yes, well, I don't see any tea leaves." the white mare retorted. Twilight came out of her thoughts when she noticed the four pairs of eyes on her. "We met Zecora, but she was preoccupied with a special occasion of hers. She offered to take us with her and we said yes." Three pairs of eyes turned to Fluttershy, who offered a nod of her head. As the attention went back to the unicorn, she felt a new, indignant spark in her mind. Did her friends really think so little of her that even following somepony else in a forest was cause for surprise? No, no of course they didn't mean it like that. They were just... concerned about her, like good friends. "Zecora took us to a poor colts grave, telling us about how he had escaped from Discord to live free in the forest. And how," Twilight's voice cracked, after finding such great friends she didn't want to imagine how the colt had felt in the end. "How he died, alone." The group was quiet for a moment, Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanging a look, Rarity dabbed the corner of her eyes with a napkin. Pinkie pie was the first to break the silence, "We shouldn't be all mopey, this is a party!" Seeing that she wasn't getting the right reaction, the pony unwrapped herself from the rope in a blink and gathered her friends close. "Sure, it makes me sad to hear that somepony didn't have any friends, but we beat Discord! No pony has to make that choice anymore. Besides, we have each other! We should be happy for now, not sad for then!" "Ah'm glad there's somethin' other than parties in that noggin o' yers, Pinkie." Applejack said, giving the pony a friendly nuzzle. Pinkie giggled, giving the bunch a last squeeze before letting them back on their own four hooves. "She's right, this is a party! Somepony get the vanilla lemon drops!" exclaimed Rainbow. The rest laughed, the dark mood lifting away from the merry companions. Fluttershy smiled as the festivities picked up once more, joining Rarity on an array of carefully dusted cushions, the unicorn getting her mane products out for anypony who would take her offer of a light make-over. Something nibbled at the edge of the pegasus's thoughts though, a certain line from Pinkie. 'No pony has to make that choice anymore.' she had said. As the levitating brush began to run through her pink mane, that phrase took on a different meaning. Just because no pony had to choose it, didn't mean the choice was gone. The offer was still there, she thought, all a pony had to do was find it. Fluttershy sighed, her own thinking was beginning to sound different. She was happy here, surrounded by friends, nothing to disturb the peace that had come to Equestria after Discords defeat. The doubt still lingered though; the ghostly brush of the freedom she had felt in the Everfree. Caught in her turmoil, the yellow mare drifted off to sleep under Rarity's gentle minstrations. *** Where was she? Fluttershy couldn't see anything, the world was pitch black. A surge of panic struck her, was she blind? Did Nightmare Moon return?! The mare turned in tight circles, trying to see in the void and tripping over her own hoof, falling on a cold and hard surface. She clenched her eyes shut, scared to open them and confirm her continued sightlessness. Like the morning sun, a glow began to cover the scene, Fluttershy could even see it behind her closed eyelids. Slowly opening one eye, her breath caught in her throat. Fluttershy was trapped in a metal cage, the bars too close to let her hooves through as she hung from some point in the sky. Looking down, she could see Ponyville highlighted by the reddish tint of dawn. It looked normal except for the ponies, each one of them was in a similar cell to hers. They didn't seem to notice their confinement however, trotting down the dirt roads and attending to their everyday business. The pegasus tried to call for help or make them notice their own entrapment, but her voice died off as nothing more than a weak squeak. "Oh dear, oh what do I do?!" she whispered to herself, pacing around the tight space. There wasn't even enough room to spread her wings! Fluttershy wasn't as attached to the sky and flying as Rainbow Dash was, but right then she desperately wished to be free to spread those feathered appendages. The word 'free' rang in the air like a bell, making the mare jump. Ponyville melted away, leaving her hanging in the darkness once more. She saw nothing for a short time, then there was a flash of red and gold, spinning around her prison. Faster and faster it went, creating a band of glimmering flames. Fluttershy was trembling now, terrified that the fires would consume her. 'Not free' the invisible bells chimed, disappointment in their sharp voices. She cringed away from the sound, frightened tears dripping down her muzzle. A pair of brilliant burning blue dots peered at her from the ring of sparking red, moving to meet her teary eyes. She tried to look away, but the orbs held her still with a will of their own. The longer the stare held, the more that bright blue grew until she could nearly see their cores. There was not malicious intent in their depths, like Nightmare Moon, but a key to her cell. A promise, a temptation of freedom. Entranced, Fluttershy took a step towards them before the vision vanished with a 'pop!'. The pegasus awoke with a start, blinking her eyes to relieve the after sleep from them. A cheerful pink face was smiling down at her. "Wakey wakey, cupcakes and cakey!" Pinkie sing-songed, bouncing back to her hooves as Fluttershy got to her own. "I told you Pinkie, we are not having any pastries for breakfast." chided Rarity's melodic voice. The smell of cooking food drove the pegasus into wakefulness, her stomach edging her on. "Aw c'mon Rarity! A little frosting in the morning never hurt anypony!" laughed Rainbow. Spike was at the oven, whistling as he cooked the ponies breakfast. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity sat around a table, steaming mugs in front of each. Pinkie Pie was hopping around the chef, trying to sneak some sugar into the pans, much to Spike's chagrin. "No offense Pinkie, but Ah'm gonna have ta side with Rares' on this one." Applejack said, taking a hearty gulp of her black coffee. "Ah don't think sugars the best thing fer wakin' up." The party pony, forcefully removed from the cooking area, pouted. "Everything's better with some sweets!" Twilight groaned with patience only a pony meant to never see the light of early morning could have. Fluttershy took her seat next to Rarity and Applejack, just in time for Spike's batch of hay pancakes. The small dragon offered the white unicorn her plate with a special flourish, saying "Your breakfast, m'lady." Rarity smiled at him and patted the dragons head. "Thank you Spike, spoken like a true, hm, gentledragon I suppose." Theoretically, if one looked at the purple dragons eyes, they would see a pair of cupid hearts. The other five ponies giggled. When the morning meal concluded, each pony went off on their ways to begin their days duties. Fluttershy trotted through the familiar streets towards her cottage, a shy smile still on her muzzle. That look faded when she spotted the first trees of the Everfree forest ahead, remembering the events of yesterday and her horrible nightmare. The pegasus lowered her gaze to avoid looking at the border to the forest, still dark as the sun shone brightly everywhere else. Her pace quickened until she was at the door, opening it to see a rather annoyed looking white rabbit. "Oh Angel! I forgot to tell you where I was going. You must've been so worried about me..." the yellow mare started, the rabbit responded with a huff and a paw pointed towards the food closet. Fluttershy realized her mistake, she hadn't fed her animal friends today! She galloped past Angel, who dusted his off paws and hopped away, his mission accomplished. Fluttershy went outside to feed the animals in her care, every hummingbird, squirrel, turtle (Tortoise! a nagging thought corrected.) and other various creatures. Spitting out a mouthful of worms to a nest of blue jays, she lingered on the somber forest as she tried to get the taste of slimy dirt off her tongue. The offer was still there, for anypony to take. It wouldn't hurt to go in there and just check it out. She gasped at another thought; what if that colt needed help! With new determination, Fluttershy descended to land before the edge of the forest. She could do this, just a short walk back to that clearing, if she couldn't find the colt then she'd have to ask Zecora or come back another day. With a deep breathe, she stepped into the grim forest. Nothing bad could happen to her as long as she was careful. Right?