Fluttershy paced nervously before the border to the dark forest, worry etched on her soft features. Without the welcome company of friends, her mind had hastened to fill with thoughts of freedom. The taste from that first night still lingered, so palpable she subconsciously licked her lips more than once. The dirt here was beginning to form a rut under her hooves, every glance towards the forest met with a wince and her eyes returned to the ground.
The typical, ever persuasive arguments against going into that horrid wood were waning. There could be Dragons lurking nearby, so what? Even if they did want to bother a lone pony, she could stare them down. The Manticores, Cockatrices, and dangerous beasts? If they wouldn't move, make them move. They should know better than to pester the butter yellow pegasus.
Two sides of Fluttershy competed against each other, her demure mantle against a newfound and temperamental anger. Each turn in her pacing seemed to match the twists in their jostling. But her old face was losing ground in her minds arena, incapable of matching the pent up passion of those angry thoughts.
Stopping her frantic trot, Fluttershy looked at the Everfree, biting her lip. Catching Ponyville out of the corner of her eye, the losing side put up one last defense: What about her friends? She couldn't abandon them like this, no explanation.
Some friends, the anger tainted her recollections of the five. Rainbow Dash didn't want to wait for her, they both knew the ground-bound pegasus would hold back the sky loving cyan mare. Rarity, for all her gifts, was possibly the most stuck up and self loving pony in Equestria. Applejack pitied her, she was so easily frightened while the cowpony could face a raging Manticore without batting an eye. Twilight was so reclusive, she often wondered if the unicorn thought of their friendship as a assignment more than a companionship. And Pinkie Pie, well, she was the opposite of Fluttershy in every way. It was a surprise the party pony could keep up the facade of closeness for so long.
Fluttershy's eyes narrowed as the bitterness swam in her veins. Snorting in subdued annoyance she dived into the forest, hooves stomping in defiance of her old reservations. Something howled in the distance, but the pegasus barely noticed. Her goal was set, and everything else had become meaningless.
When she passed Zecora's hut, the zebra was resting on her stomach at the side of the path. Seeing Fluttershy coming down the path at a quickened pace, Zecora wasn't surprised. She merely closed her eyes and yielded to something she couldn't change.
"I'm sorry dear Fluttershy, I should never have shown you were those secrets lie.
Fluttershy passed her without a second look, continuing on to the clearing. The zebra gave a despaired sigh and stood, following the pony. Zecora said nothing, knowing that it would be a wasted gesture; she thought she should perform this last respect for her friend, whom she had in all likelihood doomed.
The clearing was as barren as before, the slab resting in the center. Zecora and Fluttershy stood on either side, the forest din growing silent. Their eyes met, Zecora could see the indignant spark in the ponies wide blue-green eyes. "Leave, zebra." the pegasus said in a low voice.
"There is still time, you have not yet crossed the line."
"I wasted enough time, so please leave me alone."
Zecora bowed her head sadly and consented, her hooves heavy as she left her friend. Fluttershy barely acknowledged her exit, only one thing held her attention. The granite slab, mirroring the sky roughly in the noon light, blurred inscription glowing like Nightmare Night lanterns.
Ember Hoof was there, waiting for her. His spectral coat brushed around hers like smoke, and she hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace. The colt smiled like a father to his children, and raised his hoof to her.
Fluttershy took it.
***
She was reborn like a Phoenix from the ashes, rising into the air with radiant wings. Uplifted, soaring, the wind caressed her body, the flames fanned by the breezes. The smell of earth and tree and wildness. The feeling of life-filled dirt, smooth and moist beneath her hooves. Her eyes gazed into the world like a newborn foal, the colors crisp, fresh, lit with the glow of her own rejuvenation.
Fluttershy took in the world anew, distinctly aware of everything. Blood pulsed beneath her yellow coat, the low bass beats mixing with the symphony she heard. She reared, her hooves twisting in the air, purposeless, perfect. She stomped them back to earth for no better reason than to feel the reverberations of the world itself in her bones.
The smile that crossed her muzzle was wide, uncaring for the darkness, mocking the thought of worries. She was free! What need did she have of petty nuisances like fear?
Laughing with the heartbeat of the forest, Fluttershy walked. Then she trotted. At last she galloped, hooves leaving their marks on the grass, every blade tickling her fetlocks. Her breath came fast and heavy, the lightheaded feeling making her feel above the world. Muscles bent and stretched, crying in a primal ecstasy she had never known.
When she grew thirsty from the exertion, she stopped by a lake. Without a thought she leaped into the crystal blue, sending pygmy waves to the shores. The water was chilled at the bottom, and the mud tugged on her legs when she pressed into it. It was wonderful.
Fluttershy came back to the surface with a gasp, long pink mane plastered across her back. Giggling like a filly she paddled around the lake, watching mesmerized as ripples spread when she broke the mirror-like surface. She thought the sun was dancing in the waves, and broke into a full bodied laugh. It was loud, exuberant and unrestrained. The noise echoed through the trees, no longer imposing to the pegasus.
Sensing her companion was left out, she drifted to the shore and clambered out. The water dripping from her hair chimed like winter bells as they detonated below. Ember Hoof greeted her with a grin, his form waving like a candle on the wind.
Feeling a bout of childish elation, Fluttershy jumped at the colt. He dodged her, laughing with his noiselessness. The mare tried again and again to grab the flickering flame; she didn't bother making words anymore, they were restricting. Instead she opted for odd animalistic cheers as they played their game. The butterfly to the flame, prancing like foals beside a crystalline lake.
At last tired with their play, they lay beside one another, watching the day trade with the night. Pinpricks of light and inky blackness as their blanket, warm and pleasantly pointy grass as their bed, the two slept.
***
This was an odd dream...
Fluttershy was moving somewhere, but she didn't feel connected to her body. No, wait, she wasn't moving. She was being dragged. Up some rough surface, rocks digging painfully into her wings. Somewhere above, she heard something roar and terror dragged through her blood.
Then she remembered; Applejack had to drag her up the mountain so she could face a dragon. Locked by her stupid fears, she had been a burden the whole time, making her friends work harder because she couldn't stand on her own hooves. Her dream self twisted in disgust. 'Pathetic!' she screamed at the whimpering, demure mare, over and over, a scorn on all she had and hadn't been.
'Pathetic, weak, useless...'
***
Fluttershy woke up in the grace of slender trees, bending gently in a cool wind. The dream was quickly forgotten, she turned and stretched herself on the soft grass, a satisfying ache filled her muscles as they were pulled and flexed. Arching her back, she rolled into the grass bedding and wiggled, letting the strands poke into her skin.
Eventually, the mare stood and gazed into the sky. The sun was high in the sky, the brilliant orb without contenders in the cloudless sky. Free, just like she was. Fluttershy laughed exultantly, trotting away with a spring in her step.
Her stomach protested, devoid of a meal since yesterday morning. The pegasus swiveled her head to examine the bushes that littered the Everfree, finding plump purple berries that hung from slim branches, pulled down by the fattened fruits. Biting off a mouthful, she sighed in bliss as the bittersweet juice burst alive in her mouth.
Eating her fill, she trotted through the forest. Fluttershy saw things hidden by the shadows, and laughed at them. It wasn't that bashful chuckle of old, it was a mocking noise for the worms that would seek to frighten her now. Didn't they see? She was free from their little tricks, to the moon with them. The Everfree was her forest now, they would learn to share it with the reborn mare. They would have no other choice.
Ember came soon, red and gold and brown bounding through the flora with careless abandon. Fluttershy followed, flapping her wings to gain on the colt, playing a game of cat and mouse in the dark forest. She didn't know which of them was the cat, which the mouse, but her life was simple and complete in the strange game.
When their play ended, Ember guided Fluttershy far deeper into the wood, where the air was damp and pungent. Through the swamp, balancing delicately on rocks that strained up from the mud, and past trees that had played sentinels for centuries. The flora stopped suddenly, a homage of respect to their patron; an ancient willow, bleached white by its uncountable eons. The leaves had fallen from the dizzying branches long ago, their dust had fed the dirt, making it rich and musty. The roots of the thing were gigantic, big enough to hold a den of wolves in their archways. The two ponies leaped from the hulking lumps, the bark was hard and smooth, almost like satin. They took their rest beside it's grand trunk, the night sky twinkling from between the gracefully hanging branches.
***
This time she was hidden behind a bush, string held tight in her mouth. She was half crazed, muttering to herself. Fluttershy felt bitter, angry, and most of all worried in the shell of who she had been.
She had just wanted the animals to love her, like her friends in Ponyville. Anxiety ripped through her, what if they didn't love her after this? She was a mass of aimless concern, unable to see how absurdly she was acting.
Another moment where she was not free, constrained by her own self. So what if they wouldn't love her? They didn't deserve it, and she didn't care about them anymore. Free, free, free at last, and there was nothing those pestering creatures could do to stop her!
Her dream self opened her mouth to cackle maniacally, and the new Fluttershy laughed at her. Soon, it would all go so horribly wrong, and she'd be back in her cage hoping that something would love her in the morning. But that wasn't true now, she loved being free and needed nothing in return.
***
This time, Ember led her to a cave chiseled deep in the rock, hidden away by tangled, wiry shrubs. Fluttershy brushed past the thicket, following the wavering colt ahead of her. The cave darkened quickly, the echoes of dripping water bouncing around the wide walls. She ignored her lack of vision, just keeping Ember in her sight.
The two stopped on a balcony, overlooking a sphere of carved stone, dimly lit by fey lights emanating from crystal placements. Light blues, dark maroons, elegant purples and shining yellow mixed in the air. It was like a kaleidoscope built by whimsical gods, content to whittle their eternities watching the colors dance.
Ember Hoof grinned, watching the translucent lights reflect in Fluttershy's pupils. Then he covered her eyes with a foreleg and pushed her onwards till they were standing in the middle. Checking to see that everything was in place, as it had been since the creation of this cavern of lights, he gave Fluttershy back her sight with a flourish.
Surrounding the two were shadows of elder beings created by the crystals, seeming to dance to some eldritch orchestra. Their forms slipped and poured around each other, Equestria's never ending rainbow gala. Fluttershy watched them in amazement for awhile, then Ember offered her his hoof. She took it, and was swung amidst the phantoms.
They found their rhythm soon enough. Closing her eyes, the pegasus could pretend to make out the lullaby they danced to, haunting and alien, beautifully foreign. Humming along to it, she dipped and pranced with a ghost in the hall of dancing dreams.
That night they bedded down in front of the cave, Fluttershy exhausted, Ember as sprightly as ever. As sleep crowded around her conscious mind, Fluttershy tried to hum out the discordant melody from the cave. Instead, her weary voice came out with an older song.
"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy heads..."
***
Fluttershy was stuck someplace dark that smelled thickly of hay and dust. Somepony jostled her side and whispered an apology. They were waiting for something, what was it...
The door was kicked open violently, an exhausted cyan pegasus dragging a disgruntled pink pony by her tail. Dropping Pinkie in the barn, Rainbow collapsed with an air of triumph. Pinkie's hair was straight, her colors looked like they had been washed with dirty water. Fluttershy exchanged an anxious look with the other three hidden ponies. This wasn't how they expected things...
The dream skipped ahead, the five friends were crowded around Pinkie with hopeful smiles, having explained the situation to her. The party pony looked around, unsure, until she perked up suddenly with a sound like inflating balloons. Each of them was pulled next to her in a back cracking hug, Pinkie smiling brilliantly.
The party finally started, her dream body prancing shyly to the upbeat music. The older Fluttershy couldn't stop seeing that moment as she disconnected from her remembered form. Pinkie had been nearly insane with despair when she thought her friends were abandoning her. And, faster than Rainbow Dash, they had given her back her joy.
They had made a pony almost blindingly happy just by being there...
***
Fluttershy stood on the precipice of a mountain, the snow drifts catching the midday light and flashing like stars in the blue sky. All the world was lain out before her, the north wind shrouding her in it's icy covering. The peak of Equestria sang it's own mix on the symphony. It wasn't heavy and bone shaking like the beat of the earth. High, piercing whistles came in sharp bursts. It was like sitting front row, witnessing the strings and wind instruments of the universes ensemble, playing in all their glory.
Looking down, Fluttershy could see the dark green path of the Everfree, bands of sparkling teal running in tiny streaks down it's surface. To the left was a sparser land, trees less packed. Far in the distance, Canterlot sat royally on the side of a lesser height, a speck of light and white.
She swung her head to the right, taking in the endless fields of muted gold. Even from here, she could see the ocean waving in soft breezes. Fluttershy breathed in deep, letting the cold bite of north wind nip along her lungs before exhaling.
Even as Fluttershy took in the magnificent view from the peak of the world, something squirmed uncomfortably inside her. That feeling of absolute perfection had altered; forgotten memories tainting the glorious freedom Ember had blessed her with. Equestria seemed to feel it too, the colors gradually dimming with her discontent. The world wasn't as vibrant as it had been when she started this, more than a week ago, it just felt empty.
Ember looked at her worriedly, was this sight not great enough? Fine, then he would find new heights, deeper depths, sights long left behind by the waking world. Anything to keep the pegasus in her state of ecstasy. If his world wasn't satisfying, then he would change it, simple as that.
Very close by, a Dragon made of gleaming emerald flew above their heads, the wind rushing behind it. Fluttershy's pink mane flew into her face as she watched in awe, the enormous wingspan twisting with untamed strength. Liquid grass-green jewels rained from it's sides, a shower the likes none living could ever see. Ember cheered silently, assured that he could keep Fluttershy entranced.
Then the pegasus cringed away from the winged serpent with a squeak.
***
Fluttershy faced a terrifyingly regal alicorn, the darkest components of night incarnate. Raw power flowed around it, creating a void that she dared not look into. She was sure that the creature would turn on her in an instant; crush her with a thought. End her brief existence with a glare from those horrible, hardened blue eyes, the irises nothing but a darker gash in their frozen centers.
But Nightmare Moon didn't, because Fluttershy wasn't alone. Standing on all sides of her were four ponies she had only just begun to know, and her childhood protector. She floated in the air, fear flooding every inch of her being. Despite her deeply ingrained and well respected sense of when to run, she stood, or flew, firm. They had come this far together, when Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and her had come into this chamber, they knew what would happen. For better or worse, they would not abandon the purple unicorn.
They had placed their lives in Twilight's hooves, and their trust was not unrewarded. With their elements sparkling around them, they purged the twisted mare, and set free the princess so long imprisoned as the Nightmare. As she fainted from exhaustion, the magic finished, she felt safe next to her newest friends.
She was in Ponyville, listening to the princess of the sun while a bashful Luna stood next to the taller alicorn. "- to study the magic of friendship." Celestia finished, and her student beamed. Fluttershy practically squealed in excitement and joined the other four ponies as they welcomed the new Ponyville resident, and their new friendship.
***
The mare didn't wake up this time, instead the dream collapsed with the sound of breaking glass. Ember's world was replaced with an empty void; Fluttershy turned to face the colt, her thoughts no longer clouded by the thrill. Like his illusion of Equestria, the borrowed body was gone, leaving a wraith that matched his colors with two burning sapphires set in the glimmering tongues of fire. They stared at each other, the butterfly and the flame, both understanding that something must change.
Behind the phantom colt was the Everfree forest, bright, alive, promising the perfection of release. Fluttershy turned her head, knowing what would wait on the opposite side of Ember Hoof. A cell door, the lock in the shape of three pink butterflies.
"The choice is yours," Ember said, the flames of youth gone in his long suffering rasp. "Your new life and blissful freedom, or..." his voice turned vehement, and he stopped himself. Or her old life, and all it's miseries, and all her friends. The mare closed her eyes, concentrating deeply.
Vistas beyond imagination, the freedom to run like her wild ancestors, to never be held back by herself. Or a crowd of grinning ponies, the warmth and welcome of home, and fond memories. Exhaling slowly, the mare made her choice.
Fluttershy took that first determined step, and the other way shut forever more.