It was almost dawn in Ponyville, and for once that didn't mean that everything was silent and nothing happened. Today was the day that ponies circled on their calendars the day they bought them. Today was the first day of cider season, and with it came all of the early morning mayhem the day entailed. Ponies were packing and dashing off to Sweet Apple Acres so that they would get a good spot in line. And with every family that rushed down to the farm, another woke up to see a surprising amount of lights on at their neighbors' houses, starting the cycle again.
But far away from all the commotion was a sleeping pegasus who had no interest in the event. Sure, she loved cider and would always support her friend Applejack's hard work. And of course all of her animals would want to have a sip or two of cider that she would bring back. And of course all her friends would be there waiting for her. However, there was one deterring factor, and that was the crowds. So with a happy sigh, Fluttershy pulled her comforter up a smidge and contently slept, knowing the cider would be there after the crowds left. Probably. In about a week or so.
However, her slumber was not meant to be. A quiet patter came from her window, and she was dazedly woken up. If she had been awake, she probably would have reacted with panic. However, her not fully functioning faculties instead reacted slowly, not truly comprehending what was going on.
"Who could that be?" Fluttershy said as she rubbed her eyes. Her dozy, yet optimistic brain could only imagine it being one of her friends, which was lucky as her awake mind would have quickly assumed it was a dragon. Most unexplained things were a dragon to Fluttershy. Slowly, the tired pegasus tried to figure out who could be throwing stones at her window. It wasn't Twilight, she'd knock at the door. Same goes for Rarity. Applejack was too busy with cider season, and Pinkie doesn't use doors or windows. But it couldn't possibly be Rainbow, because she wouldn't just knock on the window. Rainbow would-
Fly right through the window into her friend's bedroom. Although her eyes were still a bit blurry, Fluttershy could clearly see a floating pony. Unless her family had gotten a lot more spontaneous suddenly, that meant it was most likely Rainbow Dash. That was nice, she never did get to see Rainbow so early in the morning. In fact, she had stopped seeing all of her friends during the night ever since...
In a flash Fluttershy pulled her covers up, concealing her exposed skin, but it was too late. Rainbow had stopped talking about cider or whatever she had been saying while Fluttershy woke up and was now instead staring with disbelief at Fluttershy. As a reflex Fluttershy blushed, letting the comforter fall down to reveal her blushing form. Hopefully the sheer cuteness of this image could placate Rainbow Dash.
"Oh come on!" Said Rainbow Dash, frustration clearly present in her voice. "Are you telling me I've been wearing Rarity's ridiculous pajamas for nothing?"
"Oh no no no! We have to wear those pajamas. It's just that, uhm, my dress, erm, pajamas are very fragile, and I thought that if I slept in it I might crease it. And it's such a beautiful ensemble."
"Your pajamas are fragile? I've been sleeping in heels and a rainbow corset for the past month!"
"Oh, but it looks very good on you." Fluttershy meekly let out as she slowly backpedaled away from Rainbow Dash.
Perhaps some back story is necessary. See, Rainbow and Fluttershy never used to wear pajamas. In fact, the very idea of pajamas was something only one mare in all of Ponyville entertained. Ever since Rarity had found out that the fashion elite of Canterlot wore their delightful ensembles both while awake and asleep she had decided she needed to make pajamas. And because when Rarity does something, everyone gets a prize she made sure to make PJ's for all of her friends.
None of her friends were really in need of pajamas, but they all agreed that after the dress fiasco they should just grin and bear it. None of them expected what they got however. After a week of work, Rarity had mailed them all their new pajamas, and they were at least twice as frilly and elegant as her dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala. It appeared that Rarity only really knew how to make dresses and giant hats, but had never tried anything else before. To quote Pinkie Pie, the situation was "awkward".
A group meeting, minus Rarity, was held the next day to decide what was should happen with the pajama dresses. Rainbow Dash was the most vocal, stating that she could barely breathe in her dress, let alone sleep.Fluttershy and Applejack shared that opinion, but didn't really speak up. Pinkie was having too much fun rolling around in her big poofy dress to say anything either way. It was Twilight however who made the final decision. Based on the lesson she had recorded prior, they would accept Rarity's gifts that were forced onto them without complaint. Even if that meant sleeping in formal dresses until they were eaten by moths. With a passing vote, they all swore to wear the dresses as a group. Afterwords, Rainbow made a second oath proclaiming that they would never talk about it again.
" I know that Fluttershy, I look like a freaking goddess in that dress. However, I haven't even had enough air coming into my lungs to snore for the past month, and that's sort of a deal breaker."
"Well, that must be good for tank.." Fluttershy said quietly, almost to herself.
"That's not the point! Okay look, today is cider season and we have to go now to get in line. But were not done here. I'm calling a group meeting, tonight in Twilight's tree house." Fluttershy had a slight impulse to correct Rainbow Dash, as a proud owner of a tree dwelling she wasn't a fan of the term tree house, but she easily held it back. "Tell everybody, and get them to bring their dresses"
"Pajamas?"
"Whatever." Rainbow snarled as she swept Fluttershy up, flying to Sweet Apple Acres in a futile attempt to find cider.
**********
Most ponies would have assumed that the worst part of Fluttershy's day would have been Rainbow yelling at her, but they were very far off. Obviously Rainbow wasn't going to stay mad at her, so her words packed a lot less venom then they could have. What truly terrified Fluttershy was transporting her dress to the library. Up until today it had been on display in her spare bedroom on a mannequin pony she had bought from Rarity, and Fluttershy hadn't even dared to touch it since.
It was so pretty, more beautiful than anything Fluttershy could have ever deserved. The fabric was a noble purple, hand stitched to perfectly accent Fluttershy's demure figure. Every inch was covered in sequin's that could even reflect the moon's light like it was a pure sunbeam. Covered in expertly placed gems, this dress was debatedly Rarity's finest ballroom gown to date. However, it was also her tightest. This wasn't the lacy, classical dresses that her friends had received, but instead a dress that would be much more appropriate in a cocktail bar. There wasn't a place in the world that Fluttershy felt comfortable wearing it.
But, it was without a doubt priceless, and she couldn't bear to fold it in any way. That left one option for moving it to the library, and that was rocking it down main street. For a pegasus who was known to occasionally jump into the bushes when she felt there were too many people around, this was not a happy outcome.
So she walked down main street, every eye on her. For once it wasn't all in her head, as every pony wondered who the lucky stallion was and where he was going to take Fluttershy. Or at least that's what the mares thought. The stallions were a lot less articulate, and could be most likely described as "hubba hubba", with a few "Whoas!".
Every step Fluttershy took was torture. Her face was contorted in a weird mix of perseverance and terror, her wings firmly planted to her sides. Even without the dress she wouldn't be able to fly. The only thing stopping her from fainting was her intense need to not scuff the dress.
"Looking good Fluttershy!" Pinkie said as she hopped on past, her dress nowhere to bee seen. "See you at the library? I'd stay and chat but Twilight keeps lecturing me about being late, so I'll see you in a bit. Bye!"
"Help..." Fluttershy squeaked as she trudged along. Looking back she sighed. One quarter down, three more to go.