//------------------------------// // Restoration // Story: Little Choices // by Skijarama //------------------------------// After what felt like ages, Rainbow finally managed to calm down her cries. Soon, her wails had died down to little more than shaky breaths and the occasional whimper. All the while, Twilight held her and said nothing, just letting her let it all out. Finally, Rainbow slowly pulled out of the hug, sniffling slightly. She couldn’t quite bring herself to meet Twilight’s gaze, her ears still flat against her head. “You okay, now?” Twilight asked softly, patting Rainbow on the shoulder reassuringly. Rainbow sniffled again. “I… I’m not okay… b-but I will be. I’m good enough to help stop Discord, though.” she managed, her voice weak and rough. Twilight’s lips pressed together into a thin line and her brow furrowed, unconvinced. “Are you sure, Rainbow? If you need some more time you can wait at the library while I get the others-” Rainbow cut Twilight off with a shake of her head. “No, Twilight. I’ve been sitting around doing nothing for t-too long already,” she slowly got back to her hooves, Twilight coming with to make sure she was stable on her hooves. She took a long, deep breath and wiped a hoof across her eyes to get rid of the excess tears still staining her cheeks. “I won’t leave Ponyville hanging. Not anymore. Let’s go.” Twilight smiled tenderly at Rainbow before giving her another, more friendly hug, one which Rainbow gladly returned. “...It’s good to have you back, Dash.” “It will be even better once we’ve got the others. What’s the plan?” Angel Bunny was a harsh and mean individual. Often times he had been referred to as a jerk or ‘a demon in an angels’ body.’ Now, stuck inside of Fluttershy’s cottage with his legs still much longer than he was used to, he had to admit that those sentiments might be very accurate. He was observing Fluttershy parade around the cottage, taunting, insulting and ridiculing every living thing she saw. A bossy, mean and sadistic Fluttershy was not something Angel was used to, but it did give him some insight into how he acted on a daily basis. And he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. “Oh, what’s the matter? Gonna cry?” Fluttershy asked with that same snide sneer on her face while slowly circling the group of terrified animals that were huddled and quivering in the middle of her rug. “Go ahead, then. Cry it up. Give me something to smile at.” The biggest animal in the huddled group, an otter, did it’s best to comfort the other assorted creatures. A few mice that were struggling to pull deeper into the group for comfort let a few tears visibly slip out, small squeaky whimpers filling the room. The otter reached down to pat them on the back of their heads, looking to Fluttershy with wide and fearful eyes. “Aaaww, you’re so cute when you’re sad and helpless.” Fluttershy cooed cruelly before strutting by, flicking the group with the tip of her tail as she passed. Then a knocking came to her door. Fluttershy paused and looked at the door over her shoulder, her brow creasing and her eyes narrowing. She then trotted up to the door, pausing briefly to send a horrible grin down at the huddle of frightened critters. As soon as she reached the door, she pulled it open. Her smile turned into a dry frown. “Oh. it’s you.” “Kind of a harsh way to greet your fillyhood friends, don't ya think?” Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow, Twilight standing next to her with an already annoyed frown on her face. Fluttershy snorted and went to close the door. A cyan hoof reached out and pressed itself onto the door, holding it open. Rainbow shook her head slightly and began to trot in. “Wow. Rude.” “I didn’t give you permission to enter my cottage,” Fluttershy hissed angrily, backing up while the other two walked in. “Get out; unless you want me to sic my animals on you.” “What animals?” Twilight asked leadingly, raising an eyebrow with a small, victorious smirk appearing on her face. “These animals- huh?!” Fluttershy began while turning back to look into the center of the room. Every single animal that had been huddled there was gone, and one of the windows on the wall was conspicuously more open than it had been a couple of minutes ago. Fluttershy grit her teeth and scowled at the other mares. “WHERE ARE MY TOYS?!” Rainbow smiled. “Pretty sure they ran away on their own. I know I wouldn’t stick around if somepony just started treating me like garbage for no good reason.” “And besides,” Twilight added, the two of them gradually advancing on the now retreating yellow pegasus. “I’m pretty sure you never got Fluttershy’s permission to enter her cottage.” “I am Fluttershy, this is my cottage!” Fluttershy snapped, a vein bulging in her throat, though her eyes were now darting left and right, looking for an exit. “Wrong,” Rainbow said bluntly before shooting forward in a burst of speed. Fluttershy cried out in surprise when Rainbow’s hooves hooked under her forelegs and yanked, sending her onto the floor back first. She grunted and began to struggle, but Rainbow was infinitely stronger and stopped any and all escape attempts before they got anywhere. Rainbow looked into Fluttershy’s eyes sharply. “You aren’t Fluttershy. You’re not our Fluttershy, anyway.” “Right,” Twilight added while setting herself down next to Fluttershy’s head. “Our Fluttershy is the kindest, sweetest and most understanding pony I have ever met. A pony I’ve known since I was a filly who put herself in harm’s way to help her friends by pacifying a raging manticore with an act of gentle kindness,” Twilight’s horn lit up with magic before she pressed it into Fluttershy’s head. “And we want her back.” Fluttershy gasped as the memory spell set to work, recalling her fillyhood memories of Rainbow and Twilight, their adventure on the night that Nightmare Moon came back, and of all of the wonderful experiences they had shared since then. Immediately the color returned to her coat as her true personality restored itself. Twilight pulled back when the spell ended. For a moment, Fluttershy’s eyes stayed screwed tightly shut. Then they snapped open at the same time she gasped loudly. “OH NO!” her eyes looked to Rainbow, who had backed off a bit, then to Twilight. “Girls, I’ve just had the worst dream!” “Not a dream, Flutters.” Rainbow said flatly before helping her up. “It… it wasn’t?!” Fluttershy asked in almost a yell, her eyes widened and her ears falling flat. “Then… then I really-” “Not you, Fluttershy,” Twilight reassured the pegasus gingerly while nuzzling into her. Rainbow joined them, draping a wing over the two with a sigh of relief. “We know you’d never act like that if you had a say in it.” “I know, but…” Fluttershy whispered before shivering somewhat. “Hey, it’s okay,” Rainbow said softly while repositioning herself to look into her friend’s eyes. “None of us blame you, and we all forgive you. Alright?” Fluttershy didn’t quite meet Rainbow’s gaze. “Alright?” She finally nodded slowly. Twilight slumped slightly on seeing Fluttershy so dejected looking. “Uh… Rainbow and I are going to go get Applejack, next. Once we’ve got her restored we’ll need to get Rarity and Pinkie. Being a unicorn, Rarity may be the bigger hurdle, so I say we get her first. Do you think you can go and have a look around her boutique?” “Um… I don’t know…” Fluttershy answered before quivering a bit. “Hey, you could use the distraction,” Rainbow reasoned lightly while gently ruffling Fluttershy's mane. “And to be fair, Applejack is probably gonna be a hoof-full. No offense, but you’re probably not up for something like that yet, are you?” Fluttershy sighed and then nodded. “Okay. Um, where should I meet with you? I mean, if that’s part of the plan. If not, that’s okay, I can just-” “Meet us at the intersection the Boutique sits off of,” Twilight cut her off gently while resting a hoof on her shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Fluttershy. We believe in you.” “But what if I don’t believe in me?” Fluttershy asked meekly. Rainbow chuckled lightly before pulling the other pegasus in for a tight hug. “Yup, you’re Fluttershy, alright.” “And when ah got down an’ dirty to fight Discord, not one of mah so-called ‘friends’ even lifted a hoof to try and help.” Applejack lied bluntly to Big Mac, who listened to her words with a tilted head and his tongue hanging out while he panted excitedly like a dog. He then looked to his left, barked and gave chase to a squirrel that was now running away from him in a confused fright. Sweet Apple Acres was twisted in so many ways that, even with her first-hoof exposure to such things, Rainbow Dash, who was presently spying on the farm from high in the air, found her brain unable to process most of it. She cringed, wavered for a second and then shot back down to join Twilight at the entrance of the farm property. As soon as she landed, she looked to Twilight with a bemused expression. “All I can tell ya is AJ is lounging in front of the barnhouse and Big Mac is a dog.” Twilight blinked, the bemusement on Rainbow’s face quickly joining her own. “...A dog?” “He barked and is chasing a squirrel while wagging his tail,” Rainbow said flatly before shuffling in place. “I guess Discord thought it’d be funny.” Twilight just stared blankly at Rainbow for a good few seconds longer. “A dog,” she repeated, less of a question. Rainbow sighed before her expression hardened somewhat. “Look, can we just go save the cowgirl and get a move on? Discord isn’t gonna defeat himself, you know.” Twilight shook herself a bit to clear her head and then nodded sharply. “Right. Let’s go.” With that, the two began to canter for Sweet Apple Acres. More specifically, the barnhouse, where, true to Rainbow’s assessment, Applejack was still lounging. A pile of freshly un-eaten apples was off to one side, while a partially eaten apple still rested in her hoof. She pressed her teeth against it, eyes closed as if savoring some taste, and then pulled away while opening said teeth. Whatever chunk of apple had been missing before was restored. Twilight momentarily balked before shaking her head and focusing on what made sense. As she and Rainbow approached, Applejack opened an eye and peered at them from beneath her hat. “Oh? Ya found Rainbow, did ya?” she asked dryly before chucking her now perfectly good apple back onto the pile. “Yes, and then I found you,” Rainbow answered simply before trotting forward. “Now get up, Applejack. We need some help taking Discord down and we can’t do it without all of us.” “Oh, now ya wanna tango with Discord?” Applejack snorted derisively. “Where were ya when ah battled him earlier?” “In a cloud with my head in the clouds,” Rainbow growled before reaching down and grabbing Applejack’s tail in her teeth. “Kinda like you, right now.” “What the- HEY!” Applejack shouted when Rainbow unceremoniously chucked her at Twilight. The farmer thumped into the ground on her back, grunting in pain. She then shot a peeved look at Rainbow. “What the hay was that for?!” “For lying.” Rainbow shot back. “It’s time to tell the truth, Applejack,” Twilight added before her horn lit up and she pressed it into the back of Applejack’s head. Applejack’s eyes widened as memory after memory of the last nine months raced through her mind. Gradually, the facade Discord’s manipulations had placed into her mind fell away, along with the dullness smothering her body. In short order, her coat, mane, tail, and eyes regained the color they had been missing. Twilight pulled back upon the spell’s completion, a hopeful look on her face. Applejack looked up at her, her eyes unfocused. “Twilight… Rainbow?” she mumbled before Twilight helped her back to her hooves. “Wha… what happened?” she asked before her eyes went wide, no doubt as a result of her recalling how horrible she had been being. “Oh no…” immediately her hoof reached up to her hat and removed it, holding it respectfully over her chest. “Ah… ah’m sorry… ah saw a vision of all of us feudin’ and fightin’ and… Ah couldn’t accept that. Ah started tellin’ lies. Can ya ever forgive me?” Twilight smiled warmly. “I already have.” “Same here,” Rainbow added before jabbing Applejack in the ribs. “Besides, what kinda friends would we even be if we let something like Discord have a say in our friendship?” Applejack, a relieved smile spreading across her face, nodded and returned her hat to its place atop her head. “Ah’m glad. What’s next?” “Rarity’s next,” Twilight said, wincing slightly. “We’ve got Fluttershy's scouting it out,” Rainbow explained with a small nod. “She’s still kinda shaken up. Looking at the boutique while we got you seemed like a good enough way to let her calm down and get her head together.” Twilight nodded curtly before smiling at Applejack. “To be honest, we were kind of expecting you to be harder to get.” “Like, ‘epic chase’ hard,” Rainbow confirmed before snickering and lifting into the air on her wings enthusiastically. “Now, let’s go!"