//------------------------------// // Backstage // Story: Little Memories // by Skijarama //------------------------------// To say that Fluttershy had been nervous when she stepped out onto that stage in full costume for the performance would have been an egregious understatement. She had been all but ready to fly into a panic attack, all of her nerves screaming at her to flee from all of those staring eyes. But thanks to the reassuring nods and smiles her friends gave her between scenes, she was able to put on a brave face and get through it. And she even had to admit to herself, albeit within the privacy of her own mind, that she had found the whole experience surprisingly enjoyable. Maybe it was her friends being there alongside her or maybe it was the theatrics of it all that let her let loose a little. She couldn’t be sure. But when all was said and done, and she and her friends were bowing to an applauding audience as the play’s conclusion, the smile she wore at that moment was genuine and happy. Now the crowds were dispersing and Fluttershy and her friends returned to the backstage dressing rooms to remove their costumes and get ready to head out. They had rooms arranged at the castle, and it was pretty clear that Rainbow was eager to get a move on. “Come on, you guys, let’s hurry this along!” she urged from the air, having already discarded her costume of dark-colored pegasus armor. Her face was the picture of impatience. “Mom’s waiting for us in the lobby!” Applejack shot her a small glare while pulling off her jacket. “We know, RD. Hollerin’ at us ain’t gonna make it happen faster, though.” “I just wanna get a move on!” Rainbow protested, starting to pace back and forth in mid-air. “I haven’t gotten to spend more than an evening with her since before Discord turned up! I don’t wanna waste a moment!” Fluttershy smiled softly at that remark before softly speaking up. “Well, you could go on ahead without us,” she suggested. “We can catch up.” Rainbow turned to her with a thankful, if reluctant, look. “Heh, that’s nice of you, Fluttershy, but I don’t wanna leave all my friends here either.” Rarity rolled her eyes and, with a visible degree of care, picked up a discarded scroll from a nearby table in her magic and thwacked the back of Rainbow’s head with it. “Oh, go on and be with your family, darling,” she chastised playfully. “You said it yourself, it has been an age since you got to spend some meaningful time with her. And besides, she is your mother, not ours.” “That would be weird,” Pinkie Pie suddenly pointed out from her place by a chest against the wall where all manners of props were stored. She chucked the last of her garments in before turning to face the group. “All of us being Celestia’s kids, I mean. It’d be super fun, but super weird.” Rainbow cringed and drifted away from Pinkie. “Er… yeah, that would be weird…” she muttered before turning back to Rarity. The pearly unicorn fluttered her eyelashes and then gave a curt nod of her head. “Go on ahead, my dear. We shall follow along shortly.” Before Rainbow could offer another word of protest, Twilight’s voice joined in with a comforting smile. “I can go with you if you’d like,” she said, drawing the pegasus’ attention. She turned back to the chest and pointed to show that her costume, a plain brown cloak, had already been removed and stuffed inside. Rainbow hesitated for a second before shaking her head and releasing a relenting chuckle. “Heh. You girls dunno how to take ‘no’ for an answer, do ya?” “When it comes to family?” Applejack began with a knowing look. “Not a candle’s chance in a windigo’s nest.” Rainbow rolled her eyes at the analogy before shrugging. “Alright, if you’re all sure. Just don’t take too long, okay? We aren’t leaving the lobby without you! C’mon, Twi!” she declared before finally shooting off through the door and vanishing from view. Twilight rolled her eyes before setting off after her at a brisk gallop, Spike following close at her hooves. This left Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity alone in the changing room. Fluttershy giggled into her hoof at the display before moving on to the next part of her costume. It was the fake armored chest piece, one that shone like metal but was made of far less durable and far lighter material. Underneath the armored plates was a thick gambeson, and only when it was fully removed and her bare fur was exposed to the world again did she realize just how warm they could get. She sighed in relief before depositing the costume in the chest. “Whew. Those things are warm.” Rarity nodded. “So they are, though I suppose it makes sense. It’s supposed to keep the armor from chafing or harming the wearer, and it’s thick enough to be some light armor of its own,” she observed, giving the thick lump of discarded attire a cursory glance. With a flick of her magic, she deposited it back into the chest before turning for the door. “Shall we be off? We don’t want to keep the princess waiting.” Pinkie Pie, also out of her costume now, bounced up to the duo with an eager smile and nod. “I’m ready to go if you girls are!” Applejack kicked off the last of her costume with a small grunt before joining her friends by the door. “Yeh, Ah’m good to go. Let’s get a move on.” And with that, the four mares set off from the changing room. As they stepped back out, they saw that the curtains had been pulled closed and all of the environment props had been moved away. Only a few ponies remained on the stage, doing some checks of the equipment to ensure they were still in good working order for whatever performance came next. They gave the leaving group passing nods and quiet greetings as they went but otherwise focused on their tasks. However, there was an exception. Three of them, actually. Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw three ponies emerging from the exit she was heading for. Two of them were thestrals, one a little green filly and the other a tall gray stallion. Behind them, a dark blue earth pony stallion followed along with an expectant smile on his face. “Wind?! Squall?!” Fluttershy asked in surprise as it fully clicked in her mind. Some small part of her figured she shouldn’t have been surprised, but she still gawked. Wind’s eyes glued onto the dumbstruck pegasus, and a giant grin appeared on her face. “Fluttershy!” she shouted out before launching herself at her with a powerful flap of her wings.  Fluttershy didn’t have time to brace herself before the projectile of energetic bat collided with her chest, sending her sliding back a few inches before falling to her haunches. “Oof!” she grunted before her momentum came to a stop and she looked down. Wind was beaming back up at her, her eyes shimmering with joy. “It’s so good to see you again!” she practically squealed before resting her cheek against Fluttershy’s chest and snuggling up to her with a content hum. After a moment, Fluttershy collected herself and returned the affectionate gesture, resting her chin on top the filly’s head. “It’s good to see you, too. Have you been good?” she asked quietly. Wind nodded. “Mhmm! I’ve been super good, I promise!” Pinkie Pie hopped in place a few times, her grin growing. “Wow! I didn’t know you guys were gonna be here!” she shouted before zipping over and giving Squall and the earth pony a big hug. “Heya Squall! Heya Thorax!” Thorax blinked, nonplussed. “Huh? How did you know it was me? You didn’t see me talking with Twilight and Fluttershy earlier, did you?” he asked. Pinkie leaned back and looked him dead in the eyes. “Haha… please.” “Right, figures,” Thorax deadpanned before extracting himself from the embrace and shapeshifting back into his true form. Squall followed him out and nodded at the group with a friendly smile. “It’s good to see you all again. We saw the show; you all did amazing jobs,” he explained before his eyes focused on Wind. His smile went from friendly to amused, and he gave a hearty chuckle. “Wind, come on, Fluttershy isn’t your personal teddy bear.” Wind pouted and snuggled deeper into Fluttershy’s hooves. “No. Mine.” “It’s okay, Wind,” Fluttershy whispered to her in reassurance. “We’re going to be in town for a few days. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to hug me later.” Wind whined, stubborn in her hug. Applejack chuckled in amusement before approaching Squall. “Heh. That filly’s quite a joy, ain’t she?” she asked him with a sideways glance. “And a pain?” “Yes and yes, not that I would have it any other way,” Squall acknowledged with a laugh of his own. His eyes returned to Wind, and his smile faded a little. “Wind, come on, you can hug her later. Give Thorax a turn.” “He already hugged her earlier,” Wind shot back with childish defiance. “My turn.” Thorax rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Here, let me…” he said before coming to a stop beside Fluttershy. The two smiled at each other in greetings before he focused down on the filly who had brought him into her family. “Wind?” “What?” And then Thorax was consumed in a swirl of green flame. When the flames parted, a stuffed teddy bear fell to the floor with a soft thump. Wind immediately squealed in delight before hopping down from Fluttershy’s hooves and scooping the stuffed animal up. She held it close to her chest with a content hum. Fluttershy blinked. “...Oh.” “That is one way to solve that, I suppose,” Rarity conceded with a charmed expression before turning back to Squall. “It is good to see you again, Squall Dreamer.” “Likewise,” he replied while coming up to Wind’s side. “When we heard that you were all going to be performing here for the next few days, we just had to come and see you. And thanks to Thorax’s job here, we got front row seats.” Fluttershy’s smile returned and she hauled herself back to her hooves. “I’m happy to hear it! That’s so nice of him.” At about this time, Thorax lightly removed himself from Wind’s embrace, much to her dismay, and turned back to normal. “Eheh, it was nothing. I was just looking out for my new family, that’s all,” he tried to wave off the compliment, a tiny blush on his cheeks. “Whatever your reasons were,” Rarity cut in with a shake of her head. “An act of generosity is still an act of generosity. It’s a good thing you did.” “Yeah! Front row seats and a fun play put on by a group of best friends!?” Pinkie added emphatically. “That’s super nice!” “Glad we could give y’all some good entertainment,” Applejack pitched in while tipping her hat. Thorax mumbled something under his breath, shrinking back and turning an impressive shade of red with every bit of praise given. Wind giggled at him before reaching up and poking him on the nose. “Thorax is turning into a cherry again~” she announced in a teasing voice before scuttling back to her big brother. Fluttershy held up a hoof to her lips to try and keep herself from giggling too much at the changeling’s expense. Thankfully, Applejack served as the proverbial bell and saved Thorax from any more embarrassing praise. “Anyways, we were all about to head down to the lobby. We’re headin’ up to the castle with RD to spend some time with her folks.” Pinkie Pie lit up like a light bulb, an idea coming to her mind. “Ooh! Do you think these three can come with us? They were with us in the Empire and everything!” Wind went slack-jawed and wide-eyed before turning to Squall and relentlessly tugging on his wing. “Squall, can we? Can we, can we, can we, can we, can we!?” “Stop pulling on my wing and maybe,” he deadpanned in return, making the filly release his appendage with an apologetic squeak. “I am sure we can ask, but let us remember that Rainbow is visiting her family,” Rarity reminded them all. “As delighted as we would be to have you all join us, I believe the final decision rests with the princesses.” “That’s fine,” Squall acknowledged with a nod. “I know how important it is to see family after a long time away.” “Then let’s go!” Pinkie declared before sprinting off and through the exit. “Heh. After her, Ah suppose,” Applejack relented with a shrug and a shake of her head before trotting after the vacant party mare. Rarity fell into step by her side. Squall lifted Wind up onto his back and took off after them, keeping a respectable distance. Lastly were Fluttershy and Thorax, walking side by side after their departing friends. The two were quiet for a moment, their pace becoming rather leisurely as they went. Every so often, Fluttershy glanced over at him with a warm smile. “...You’ve really settled in with them,” she eventually observed in a hushed voice. Thorax glanced at her and nodded. “Er, yeah, I guess I have,” he said slowly. “They’re really good to me… I never knew until I started living with them what it was like to have a kind family.” Fluttershy’s expression soured just slightly, her memories drifting back to Thorax’s older brother, Pharynx. “Right… your big brother was mean to you alot, wasn’t he?” “Yeah…” Thorax nodded along, his ears drooping. “I thought that, maybe, just maybe he was starting to soften up around me after we saved Equestria and the Empire together, but… then he just disappeared.” Fluttershy’s heart withered in her chest and she looked at Thorax with a sympathetic look. “He hasn’t gotten back in touch with you?” He shook his head. “No. I don’t know for sure where he went. I keep telling myself he just went back to the hive, and he probably did. But…” he sighed and looked down at his hooves, his pace slowing. “...I don’t know for sure, and he never reached out to me. I miss him, Fluttershy, I really do…” Fluttershy stared at him for a few seconds, trying to think of something to say that ease Thorax’s discomfort. Sadly, she could think of nothing to say. Instead, she settled for leaning over and draping one of her wings across his back in a comforting side hug. “It’s okay, I’m sure he misses you, too. You’ll see each other again, someday.” Thorax tensed briefly under her wing before relaxing and leaning into the embrace. “Heh, I hope so. There’s so much I want to tell him about life in Equestria, about living with Wind and Squall, about not being hungry all the time,” he explained before looking to her with a warm, tender smile. “Heh… I really missed you. You always know just what to do to make me feel better.” She blushed softly from the praise and looked away. “O-oh, uh, I dunno about that,” she said quietly before smiling awkwardly at him. “You kidding?” Thorax asked incredulously. “Every time I doubted myself over Wind in the Empire, you were the first one to comfort me and give me advice. When my real identity came out to all of you, you were the first one to accept me for what I was. When I left to rescue Squall, you were the one who had arranged it so I would promise Wind that I would come back,” he listed off before his expression softened considerably. “I can’t even imagine how badly I would have done if it wasn’t for you. Thank you…” Fluttershy’s blush was so intense she looked like a particularly ripe tomato. She turned away from Thorax, her ears splayed to the sides and her eyes looking for anything else to look at. “U-uhm… you’re welcome,” she eventually squeaked, unsure of what else to say. “Hey, Fluttershy, Thorax, where are you?! Princess Rainbow says we can come!” Wind Whisper’s voice suddenly cut through the silent air around them, making both pony and changeling jump in their skins. They looked around, only then realizing that they had come to a total stop halfway to the lobby. The thestral filly who had called out to them was hovering about ten feet in the air, looking down at them with a dumbfounded look. “...why are you two hugging?” Fluttershy and Thorax looked at each other again, their blushes growing even worse. Wind blinked a few times before a predatory glint entered her eyes, her slit pupils widening out in delight. “Ooooh… I gotcha” she said slowly before turning and flying back into the lobby with a laugh that was not evil at all, no sir. Fluttershy slowly removed her wing from Thorax’s back and folded it up at her side. “We… should get back to the others,” she squeaked out before walking forward with stiff movements. Thorax nodded, following close behind her. “R-right… yeah.” Despite the humiliation they had just suffered, and the copious amounts of unjustified teasing Wind was no doubt preparing to dump on them, the pegasus and changeling couldn’t help but give each other one more smile as they slipped out of the theater and rejoined their friends and family.