The trek to the edge of the Everfree Forest was filled by the noisy chatter of Pinkie Pie—and her many apologies, as Twilight Sparkle predicted—but Fluttershy mused that she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
While Twilight Sparkle left to procure train tickets for her and Pinkie Pie to return home, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lingered in the snowy clearing where the forest met the village, and Fluttershy found that she was actually rather reluctant to see Pinkie Pie go.
“Welp, I guess I gotta bounce,” Pinkie Pie said, chewing on her thumb as she very, very slowly walked away from the forest, looking back at Fluttershy with every step.
The words ‘I’ll miss you’ were caught on Fluttershy’s lips, but she dared not to say them.
“It was a pleasure having you in my forest, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said instead, bowing politely.
“Hey, just so you know, I’m definitely gonna come back!” Pinkie exclaimed, spinning around and pointing her finger at a surprised Fluttershy. “I dunno, maybe in two or three weeks or something! I can’t stand a whole month this time, but I also got a shop back home, and I don’t wanna let Applejack down—”
“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy walked up to Pinkie Pie, knelt, and grasped her shoulders, “whenever you wish to return, you may do so. But don’t run yourself in circles over it. I enjoy my solitude, after all. I’ve been alone in my forest for a long time, it won’t kill me to be away from your presence.”
Fluttershy pondered a moment, and with a relenting sigh she decided to follow her instinct, even if she did feel very silly and childish doing so.
She gave Pinkie Pie a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll miss you.”
Fluttershy felt her entire stomach revolting against those three words, and she shut her eyes to make sure she missed Pinkie Pie’s immediate reaction. It was silly—it was stupid—of her to say that she would ‘miss’ Pinkie Pie. She had barely known her for, what, a day and a half?
But it was true. She enjoyed Pinkie Pie’s company, and she would miss it once she was gone.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to see the goofiest grin on Pinkie’s brightly blushing face, the short mare looking on the verge of tears almost.
“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked concernedly.
Pinkie Pie flung her arms around Fluttershy, and when Fluttershy rose to her feet to recoil from the touch, she found Pinkie Pie was still latching onto her, and that just made Fluttershy laugh as she wrapped her arms around Pinkie Pie.
“I’ll miss you too!” Pinkie Pie blubbered, nuzzling against Fluttershy with tears streaming down her cheeks. “And I promise I won’t fall asleep next time!”
“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy sighed and, after a moment’s hesitation, picked Pinkie Pie up in her arms to return the friendly nuzzle Pinkie Pie had graced her with. “You’ll only be gone a couple of weeks, right?”
“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie looked into Fluttershy’s eyes and smiled brightly, wiping tears from her face. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I Pinkie Promise I’ll come back for you in three weeks, and I never break a Pinkie Promise!”
“I remember,” Fluttershy said, “you said the same thing the last time before you left.”
“Then you know I mean it!”
“I know,” Fluttershy gently tapped her nose against Pinkie Pie’s before placing her back on the ground. “And just like last time, I’ll wait for you to return. I look forward to seeing you again, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie tried to say something, but it came out as very cute, inelegant blubbers, and before she could try and correct herself, she was interrupted by the voice of Twilight Sparkle.
“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight Sparkle called out as she joined Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in the clearing. “Are you ready to go? Said your goodbyes and everything?”
Pinkie Pie nodded, wiping her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Pinkie?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she bent down on one knee to check on Pinkie. “Are you just sad about leaving Fluttershy?”
“Mm-hmm,” Pinkie Pie nodded, latching onto Twilight Sparkle and hugging her.
“It’ll be okay, Pinkie,” Twilight Sparkle said as she embraced Pinkie Pie, “you’ll be back to visit Fluttershy before you know it, right?”
“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and nodded, pointing at Fluttershy. “Before you know it!”
“I can’t wait,” Fluttershy giggled, and Pinkie Pie pumped her fists and smiled.
Pinkie Pie rushed off toward the train station, turning back only one more time to wave to Fluttershy—who happily waved back at her— though Twilight Sparkle stayed behind for a moment.
“I like her,” Fluttershy said idly, and the embarrassment she felt at that statement was quickly soothed by the smile on Twilight Sparkle’s lips.
“She’s a really good friend,” Twilight Sparkle said, then she turned to Fluttershy and smiled right at her, “and if nothing else, I can promise you that she is completely genuine. If you’re at all worried that her enthusiasm or affection are an act, I can tell you that I’ve never met another pony as unashamedly herself as Pinkie Pie.”
“That’s… actually very nice to hear.”
Truthfully, Fluttershy had begun to pick up on that herself, despite her initial reservations. But hearing it from one of Pinkie Pie’s friends was still something of a relief.
“And also,” Twilight Sparkle said hesitantly, chewing on her thumbnail, “my offer to come to my library remains open.”
“And my offer to remain in my forest is open as well,” Fluttershy replied immediately.
“Well,” Twilight Sparkle said, visibly uncomfortable, “maybe I’ll see you around sometime? Here in the forest, or in my library? Either way, thank you for having us.”
Twilight Sparkle bowed politely, and Fluttershy reached out her hand, Twilight Sparkle looking at it hesitantly for a moment before affecting a warm smile and shaking it.
“I’ll see you around, Twilight Sparkle.”
As Twilight Sparkle ran off to catch up with Pinkie Pie and head home, Fluttershy returned to her home in the forest.
She found herself reluctant to transform back into her true form and elected to remain small for a time, if only to reflect on the day she’d had… or something.
It was an odd feeling, to not be relieved when guests left her forest. While she never begrudged having someone in her forest— unless they meant to do the forest harm, of course— she always felt a profound weight lifted off her shoulders whenever she was left alone again.
Not this time. This time she felt only sadness.
And while it was easy to chalk that up to her abnormal, bizarre, growing attachment to Pinkie Pie, which was an issue she would have to deal with at some point because it simply wouldn’t do for the spirit of the forest to become attached to a pony so pathetically easily, there was something else going on.
I’ll find a way that we can live freely!
Twilight Sparkle’s words echoed in Fluttershy’s mind.
A way that we can live in harmony with Equestria!
Fluttershy took a deep breath as she laid down on the grass of her forest, her many animal friends crowding around her to comfort her and make sure she was okay.
Perhaps, at the end of the day, she was simply tired of hiding. And she didn’t even realize until someone else reminded her that there was indeed a world outside her forest.