Disclaimer:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro and associations and are used without permission for the sole purpose of entertainment for no financial gain of any kind.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and remains the property of his surviving family, even though international law states that it is old enough to be public domain.
Moonlight Verse is my intellectual property, but Lauren Faust can make me an offer if she wishes.
Background and setup:
Alice in Wonderland is one of the best stories ever created. It is what happens when normal people are faced with abnormal decisions. Finally, the so-called normal person is forced to realize that the situations are actually normal…it is the person who is abnormal. The letting go of one’s own preconceptions is an act more intimate than any sharing of body or possessions can be. It mistakenly feels like we must give up a piece of ourselves to change and that would lessen us.
Aside from Alice’s personality, Fluttershy does match the need to travel to Wonderland. Any character can have an adventure there, but only those who need to go often have the most enlightenment when they come out.
Fluttershy in Wonderland
It was a warm summer day in Ponyville. On this clear day, many things were possible. Three friends were busy preparing the library for the guest speaker the next night.
A certain purple unicorn discharged the magic in her horn to levitate several streamers to hang across the tops of the bookcases. The bright yellow fabric was studded with white rhinestones.
Twilight said, “Thanks for making the decorations for tomorrow night, Rarity. I really want to make a good impression.”
The white unicorn concentrated on adjusting the vase on the central table to be perfectly in the center. It just wouldn’t do to have an askew vase for a distinguished visitor.
She replied distantly with a smile on her face, “Think nothing of it, dear. It is the very least I could do when a celebrated poet comes all the way from Canterlot. Frankly, I still cannot believe that you know him personally!”
Twilight replied lightly, “Oh, yes. We go way back. In fact, we had all of our literature classes together and we even both tried out for the drama club. He got accepted, but they didn’t like my recitation of the lead for Antig-filly. I told him to go ahead without me. I understand he did well.”
The yellow pegasus continued sweeping the floor and mentioned, “Wow, Twilight. That was very nice of you to encourage him. I mean, it must have been disappointing to not be able to act together.”
The purple unicorn just smiled and stated, “It was all right. Drama wasn’t really that interesting. I just wanted to join an after-school club. Somepony suggested that I try out. I wound up joining the chess team instead.”
Rarity snickered, but then hid it behind her hoof. She apologized, “Ahem! Sorry, Twilight. It’s just that I just guessed a while ago that you were…you know…a little…”
Nonplussed, the purple unicorn asked, “…a little nerdy?”
The white unicorn smiled and said, “More or less. Anyway, how did he take it? Was he disappointed?”
Mollified, Twilight said, “I don’t know. You can ask him when he gets here today.”
Suddenly, there was a knocking on the library door. Twilight walked over and opened the door. In the doorway was a tall, lean stallion with a yellow coat, white mane, and blue eyes. His flank symbol was two crossed brown quills in front of a full moon.
He said brightly, with a soft, low voice, “Twilight! I thought the palace was mistaken when they said you were the Royal Representative here. How are you?”
Twilight led him back to the others, responding brightly, “Very well, Moonlight Verse. Come in and meet my friends. This is Rarity. She made the decorations.”
The white unicorn trotted over, flicking her mane and flashing a dazzling smile.
She said, “I am sooo glad you could give a poetry recital here, Mr. Verse. Ponyville is very friendly, but they could use a bit more refinement. Tell me, what’s been going on in Canterlot lately? Any new fashion trends pop up?”
Moonlight Verse involuntarily stepped back and said, “Um, I…don’t know. I don’t really pay attention to the fashion scene. I just read books and write poetry.”
He re-shifted his hooves in place nervously and then looked away from Rarity. His eyes sought out something more neutral in the library.
Rarity looked to Twilight in confusion.
The purple unicorn explained, “Moonlight is kinda…shy. Don’t misunderstand.”
The white unicorn nodded, satisfied.
The stallion’s gaze settled on Fluttershy. His eyes opened a little wider and he smiled a bit bigger.
He slowly walked closer and introduced himself, “Hi. My name is Moonlight Verse. I write poetry for fun.”
The yellow mare looked up form sweeping the floor, shocked. Somepony was talking to her? A stallion was talking to her?!
She tilted her head away, covering her face with her mane. She mumbled something quiet.
Rarity and Twilight shared bemused looks.
Rarity whispered in a sing-song voice, “Looks like somepony has an admirer.”
Twilight winked back.
Moonlight Verse stepped forward and asked, “I didn’t quite hear you. What’s your name?”
The yellow pegasus just whimpered and walked away, sweeping the floor.
The stallion just hung his head slightly and walked back out of the door.
He mentioned sadly, “It was nice seeing you, Twilight. The decorations look nice. I’ll see you tomorrow at lunchtime to go over the schedule.”
After the door closed, Twilight looked back at the yellow pegasus and said, “Fluttershy, that was rude! He’s a sensitive soul, like you.”
Rarity fussed her mane and said, “It certainly looked like you were giving him the brush-off, dear. Why did you do that?”
Fluttershy quietly responded, “I’m sorry. It’s just that he came up so suddenly.”
The white unicorn asked with concern, “Well, did he scare you or something? Maybe you could apologize.”
The yellow pegasus replied, “Oh, no. He’s not scary. In fact, I think his eyes are a really nice, deep blue.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open. After a moment, she closed it and said, “Well, if you like him then why didn’t you say anything?”
Fluttershy felt a wave of anxiety as she blushed.
She flew over to the door and opened it, saying, “I’m sorry!” She then flew outside and towards her cottage.
That night, Fluttershy had made the rounds of feeding all of her animal friends. Finally, she gave a pair of carrots to Angel, who sat with her at the dinner table. Fluttershy finished her soup and bread while her pet bunny tossed the green tops of his carrots into her soup.
The yellow pegasus had been relating the day’s events to her closest confidant. The bunny rolled his eyes. He just wanted some playtime before bed. Still, he felt that the yellow pegasus would be lost without him. So, he listened impatiently.
She stated, “…and even though he was really nice, he just walked up to me without warning. I was paying attention to the neat little pile of dust that I needed to sweep up and he was suddenly there.”
She heard the rapid thumping of angel’s foot upon the table. She looked over to see him staring intensely at her. He pointed his fingers at his eyes, then hers.
Fluttershy shook her head and stated in panic, “Oh no, no! Angel, I couldn’t just walk up to him, look him directly in the eye, and tell him that he’s handsome! It would be sooooo embarrassing! I’ll just stay out of his way…”
Angel interrupted her self-demeaning tirade by growling his frustration. He leaped off the table and raced back into his hole.
The shy pegasus called after him, “Angel? Angel bunny, where are you going?”
Seeing that her friend was not returning, she sighed. She cleaned the table of the dishes and threw the green carrot tops into the compost.
She flew upstairs, blowing out the lights as she went.
As she settled into bed, she wondered to herself why everypony was so nosy. If she wanted to takes things extra slowly, then what was the big deal? It’s not like anything will go wrong.