"Ah, such a lovely day."
Fluttershy's smile was as sweet as ever, and she merrily walked down on of the halls of the school, carefully carrying a pile of books ready to be delivered to one of the classrooms. Many of her fellow students smiled back to her, waving in greeting as she passed them. It was just one of those things about her, that nobody was ever anything but happy whenever she was around, and she, in turn, was glad to have that effect on them. Time came however when she finally arrived at the classroom she was heading for, but she found, to her slight surprise, that the door was already unlocked. It was a small thing, but not really anything to worry about. What she did worry about though was the sight that greeted her on the other side as she opened it.
"...Pinkie?!"
Her friend was indeed within the classroom, and more than that, she was at the centre of a scene of utter devastation. Desks were flipped up, books and papers were strewn all over the place, windows were shattered, and even a few panels of the ceiling had broken and fallen to the floor. At the centre of it all was Pinkie, sitting down cross-legged on the one chair that was actually standing upright, arms folded, and looking very grumpy.
"Hey, Fluttershy."
Now, if anyone else were to have walked into a sight like this, they would most likely have run away screaming, or become so worried that they would comically back away slowly, closing the door behind them. But not Fluttershy, oh no. Instead, she took a deep breath, releasing an extended sigh, before entering the room in earnest. Closing the door, she carefully set her books down on the side for the moment, before slowly walking up to her friend. She knew Pinkie, and more importantly, she knew what this devastation must have meant. And as she finally reached her, she was sure to say it.
"So...still having problems with Mr Squirrel?"
Pinkie looked utterly incensed at the mention of the animal's name.
"He evaded me yet again! No matter how hard I try, no matter what I throw at him, he still manages to get the better of me!"
Fluttershy, who had her hands clasped together in front of her skirt, nodded patiently, before then gesturing to all the broken furniture around them.
"Yes...and I see you've thrown quite a bit at him."
Pinkie's hand balled into a fist, and she shook it at the sky angrily.
"This blood feud between my family and that squirrel has gone on for generations, Fluttershy! And I must see it through to the end!"
"Wait...how old is that squirrel?" Discord pondered.
"It's probably for the best if we don't find out," Celestia answered.
Fluttershy was a gentle soul, and though she clearly took some issue with everything that had apparently happened in here, her displeasure was never once reflected in her voice.
"Pinkie...I won't claim to understand how upset you are...but if I'm being perfectly honest with you, I think the time has finally come for you and the squirrel to come to terms."
Pinkie's eyes burst wide open, and she leapt out of her chair, astounded that her friend would say such a thing.
"But...but...but...but our war?!"
Gently, Fluttershy raised her hand and placed a single finger upon Pinkie's lips, silencing her.
"No buts, Pinkie. This has gone on long enough."
She turned, looking out of the very-much-broken window.
"Do you know how much trouble you've already gotten in with Vice-Principal Luna over this?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes.
"Pfft! She's just angry that I dented her car during one of our fights."
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.
"Pinkie...you split it in half."
Her friend faltered here for a bit, then shrugged her shoulders.
"I got her a new one, didn't I?"
Fluttershy's face remained utterly stoic.
"Yes...and then you ended up putting that one into a giant furnace. I wouldn't have minded so much except you weren't even fighting the squirrel that time! You just saw it sitting on the thing earlier that day and just decided then and there to melt it afterwards!"
Pinkie's eyes narrowed.
"All things touched by that beast must be purged!"
Another long and massively exasperated sigh on Fluttershy's part, after which she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"...Okay."
Here, she did not say anything to Pinkie, but instead walked over to one of the shattered window. She peered out of it for a bit, focusing on one spot outside in particular, then placed her thumb and forefinger into her mouth and let loose a loud whistle. Nothing happened for a minute, and then, out of nowhere, the squirrel in question merrily hopped onto the windowsill.
Celestia eyed Discord suspiciously.
"I thought you said that world didn't have magic?"
The draconequus snorted.
"Ha! This is Fluttershy we're talking about! Like she even needs it to get animals to come to her!"
"Hmmm, good point."
Unfortunately, while Fluttershy was more than happy to have that little squirrel ere, Pinkie suddenly gained a very literal fire in her eyes, leaping to her feet and pointing her finger furiously at her long-time enemy.
"MONSTER!!!"
The squirrel too gained a look of rage and violence, baring it's teeth and squeaking in an un-squirrelly aggressive way. The two readied themselves, preparing to leap at one another and continue their dangerous feud. But before they had the chance, Fluttershy raised both hands towards them, in a manner not dissimilar from a traffic warden halting a two-way road.
"Enough!"
The two stopped in their tracks, looking to their mutual friend, who took in another deep breath before starting to speak calmly.
"Now then...I think this has gone on long enough. Putting aside the fact that there's never a reason to keep fighting when the cause has been forgotten, this school simply cannot continue to endure all the destruction you two keep inflicting on it!"
Pinkie seemed almost amused by that.
"What? Come on, Fluttershy! We're not doing that much damage to the place!"
At the moment she spoke, one of the ceiling lights, which had been hanging on for dear life during all this, suddenly fell down, shattering into a thousand pieces upon the floor. All three looked to it, their faces utterly emotionless, with Pinkie ultimately turning to look to Fluttershy once more.
"...Continue."
Putting on one of her trademark smiles, the kind that would melt the heart of even the most stone-faced of enemies, Fluttershy looked down to her furry friend.
"Now then, Mr Squirrel. Would you please be willing to make peace with Pinkie? I'm sure you're very tired of having to fight her and her family for as long as you have."
The squirrel looked down like a child who's just been scolded by their Mother, complete with him clasping his claws behind his back. Next, Fluttershy looked to Pinkie.
"And Pinkie, what has this fight really brought you? Aside from years of non-stop anger and bitterness?"
Pinkie too pouted and looked away, leaving all parties refusing to look to one another. But, either through sheer force of will or through her unrivalled sense of "please be nice to one another", Fluttershy's words eventually managed to seep into their hearts and minds, and they slowly looked to one another. Fluttershy smiled as they did this, but she said nothing as, after a long minute of silence, Pinkie sighed, walking over and getting down to one knee before her old foe.
"So...truce?"
The squirrel hesitated, as though suspecting a trap, but after glancing to Fluttershy, and the angelic smile that came with it, he relented, giving a few tiny nods before stretching out his claw. Pinkie smiled too, taking hold of the claw and giving it a little shake. Fluttershy clapped her hands together happily.
"Oh, I'm so happy the two of you could get this sorted out!"
Pinkie giggled.
"Yep! I mean, yeah, who wants to spend their whole life fighting a squirrel just because that squirrel stole your great-great-great-Grandfather's walnuts?"
The squirrel, hearing that, squeaked a few times to Fluttershy, who nodded once or twice before looking to Pinkie.
"Um, Mr Squirrel says your Grandfather stole his nuts."
Pinkie blinked, then forced a smile and a laugh to the little creature.
"You know...probably best not to debate who did what to who. Wouldn't want to upset our dear and beloved friend Fluttershy, would we?"
The Squirrel, agreeing to that, gave an equally forced grin of its own, and the two gave another show of shaking hands, much to Fluttershy's relief.
"Well, here's to peace. It may have taken a while, and the school's infrastructure may never recover, but at least it's all over now."
Pinkie, placing her hands on her hips, gave a hearty nod.
"Yes indeed! Peace between Pie and Squirrel!"
A pause, and when she at last spoke again, it was with grim determination.
"Besides, now that this fight is over, I can focus all my efforts onto the thing that truly matters to me!"
Fluttershy looked to her, tilting her head slightly.
"Oh? What's that?"
Pinkie balled her hand into a fist.
"Fulfilling my family's feud with that one really annoying pigeon!"
As if on cue, a pigeon suddenly landed on one of the branches of a tree just outside one of the broken windows, leading to all three of those within the classroom to turn simultaneously towards it. Pinkie, glaring furiously, rushed to the window, shaking her aforementioned fist at the bird.
"You hear me, bird?! It's not over yet!"
The bird, cooing innocently, merely invoked further rage from the girl.
"Don't give me that! You know what you did!"
Taking yet another deep breath, Fluttershy merely turned around, walking back to the classroom door.
"One problem at a time, Fluttershy...one problem at a time."
Blinking slowly, Discord leaned over to Celestia.
"Just when you think you've got a handle on this world, suddenly something like that happens!"
Celestia smirked back to him.
"Yes...and I imagine you're enjoying it quite a bit."
Her colleague gave her a sly look.
"Oh, Tia, you know me so well."