Pinkie was feeling pretty dang sleepy, but as Twilight Sparkle carried her through the nearly empty neon-lit streets of Canterlot, there was a nagging feeling in Pinkie’s gut that was keeping her awake still. Even though she wanted to be snoozing! Very rude of that nagging feeling, if Pinkie was being quite honest!
“Twilight” Pinkie said groggily, resting her head on Twilight’s shoulder.
“What’s up, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, a brightness in her tone that made Pinkie feel really good; like Twilight was just taking a sword to that queasy feeling in Pinkie’s gut.
“I gotta ask you something,” Pinkie said dourly.
“What is it, Pinkie?” Twilight said calmly, but Pinkie could tell Twilight already knew the kinda question Pinkie needed to ask.
“How much of what we saw tonight, do you think, was really Fluttershy?”
“That’s an interesting question, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight hummed. “I’m still working through my theories of how that magic we saw tonight works, and I don’t have any concrete details yet, but here’s what I do know.
“Fluttershy was definitely under the effect of some kind of mind corrupting magic, but it wasn’t ‘controlling’ her so much as it appeared to be amplifying her worst instincts. Though I have a theory that she was being directly controlled by the end, I still need more facts to work with to be sure.”
“So…” Pinkie mumbled. “What are you saying?”
“What are you asking?”
“I guess—”
Pinkie huffed. She took a deep breath and really mulled it over. She knew what she wanted to ask, but she was terrified to put her thoughts into voice words.
“Should I be scared?” Pinkie asked coldly, feeling the bitter winter chill on her body as she clung to Twilight like a life raft. “Of Fluttershy?”
“Are you scared of Fluttershy?” Twilight answered, speaking very plainly and casually. Pinkie really appreciated that about Twilight; she really knew exactly how to cut through all the rigmarole and get to what was actually important.
And Pinkie had to consider. Was she afraid of Fluttershy?
The question immediately brought a giggle to Pinkie’s lips.
No! Of course she wasn’t! How on earth could she be afraid of dear, sweet Fluttershy? Fluttershy who had treated her with so much kindness, whose voice brightened her day, and whose presence she cherished so much?
There was a part of Pinkie that was scared still. There was a part of her that wanted to run and hide and cut Fluttershy out, and maybe there was a reason to listen to that voice. But considering Pinkie’s history with anxiety and trust issues, she wasn’t so sure.
What she was sure of, is what she felt in her heart.
“I love Fluttershy,” Pinkie sighed contentedly. “I’m not afraid of her. I just hope I’m right.”
“Pinkie Pie, I’ll tell you this,” Twilight said. “I’m going to put my faith in Fluttershy, and keep being her friend. Cuz I genuinely believe in her, and I don’t think she meant to do any of the awful stuff she did tonight, and I don’t believe she would have done it without that magic’s intervention.
“Mind altering magic like that, it can amplify a person’s very worst impulses. Anyone would become a monster like that, even you and me.”
“That’s reassuring, I think,” Pinkie said with a soft smile. “Thank you, Twilight. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Tomorrow we’re gonna talk boundaries and stuff, and if she can respect those boundaries, we won’t have a problem, right?”
“Right,” Twilight nodded confidently. “And if nothing else, you can always come to me, and I’ll help you out of any jam.”
“Thank you, Twilight,” Pinkie giggled. “You’re the best.”
“Mm, and one more thing,” Twilight said.
“Yeah?” Pinkie chirped.
“Don’t forget that my girlfriend, who I love very much, stabbed me a bunch of times in the head with a sword.”
Twilight snorted into a laugh and Pinkie laughed alongside her.
“We all make mistakes, I guess,” Pinkie laughed.
Talking with Twilight made her feel a lot better. That queasy feeling in her gut was now more of a butterflies in her stomach situation.
She couldn’t wait to talk to Fluttershy again tomorrow.