//------------------------------//
// A hypnotic adventure 
// Story: Fluttershy's hypnotherapy 
// by Aether Spark 
//------------------------------//

Autumn, is the most beautiful time of year, especially to a certain yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy took a deep breath as she proceeded through town, she had been recently thinking about things, ever since the Iron Will incident.

She needs a professional opinion.

So she scheduled with her therapist Soft Vibe, he would know what to do.

Fluttershy entered the building and approached the counter.

“Excuse me? I-I have a scheduled visit with my therapist, Soft Vibe,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh yeah honey, I’ll get him…” The green elderly mare at the counter said… before shouting “SOFT! YA GOT ANOTHER CUSTOMER!” She said.

“I can’t see through walls woman! Send her in please,” Soft Vibe called back.

“OK!” The mare called back before turning to Fluttershy who had to cover her ears from the shouting “He’ll see you now,” She said.

“U-um, thanks again Mrs Tea Leaf,” Fluttershy said before trotting past her and entering the office of her therapist.

“Hello Mrs. Fluttershy, come come, sit,” Soft said patting a pillow.

“Thank you, I hope you can help with my problem,” Fluttershy said and she sat down, she cleared her throat as Soft Vibe meditated.

“I have been having problems with confidence as of late,” Fluttershy said.

“Ah, the ole confidence issue, speak your mind, this is a judgment-free zone,” The pink stallion said.

“Well, it happened a few months ago… I am sure you weren’t there to see it, and… well I became a real bully,” Fluttershy said.

“Do tell,” Soft said.

“I had gone to an assertiveness seminar hosted by a Mr. Iron Will… and I took his advice too literally, as a result, I became cruel, mean, and all around unpleasant to be around… as a result I hurt all my friends and even other ponies,” Fluttershy said.

“Ah, Iron Will, I’ve heard of him, he’s a bit… rough around the edges, and his advice turned you into a bully?” Soft asked.

“Yeah, I threw a pony into the distance because he was in my way, hurt ponies to cut the line, and even made Pinkie Pie and Rarity cry, I don’t want to be that mare,” Fluttershy said.

“You aren’t that kind of mare, but it seems your confidence issues are creeping up on you again?” Soft asked knowingly.

“I-I just don’t know what to do!” Fluttershy said letting some tears fall “I become confident, I become a jerk, I stay as I am, I’m a pushover, what do I do Soft Touch?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hey hey heeeey, listen Shy,” Soft Vibes said getting her attention “I hear your problem, believe it or not I had a similar problem once,” Soft said.

“You? Your one of the nicest ponies I know,” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, but unfortunately every vegetable garden had a rotten carrot at some point, I was too shy and let others walk over me, then I got some bad advice, and as a result, I became a terror to my town, until…” Soft said.

“Until?” Fluttershy echoed.

“I got help, you did the right thing coming here, I actually recently got a contact from my friend near Las Pegasus, in a town called Dead Gulch,” Soft said.

“Sounds like a scary place,” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Oh trust me, it’s not that bad at all, they just keep neglecting to change the town name so they don’t get that many tourists, anywho, there’s a stallion down there named Spiral Spinner, he’s a hypnotherapist,” Soft said.

“Hypnotherapy? That sounds a tad extreme for me, right? Besides, I’m not sure about that kind of therapy,” Fluttershy said.   

“He’s a hundred and one percent trustworthy, and his efforts helped me, maybe he can help you,” Soft said.

“Well… if you insist,” Fluttershy said.

“I do, and when you get there can you inform him he forgot to deliver back my coffee maker, he’s an extremely forgetful pony, and I have gone too many weeks without my expresso,” Soft said with a twitch of the eye.

“I will,” Fluttershy said.

“Here’s his card,” Soft said hoofing her the card “And do be careful, there’s some gang activity in that town,” Soft said.

“Ok, thank you,” Fluttershy said.

“Well then I look forward to our next meeting, Mrs Flutter-” They both jumped when they heard a groan and turned to see a burly green stallion napping in a bed in the corner.

“Um… who is that?” Fluttershy asked.

“My roommate… had to bunk here until the bed bug situation can finish back at the house…” Soft sighed and Fluttershy took a few steps away from him, just as a precaution.





A train stopped in Las Pegasus.

Fluttershy and her friends exited chatting amongst each other.

“Thank you guys again for coming with me,” Fluttershy said.

‘What are friends for?”  Pinkie cheered hopping around her.

“Now ya said somethin about hypnotherapy or somethin, frankly ah think that’s a ton of hoopla,” AJ said.

“Mr Soft Vibe was pretty certain he could help,” Fluttershy said.

“I met that Soft Vibe guy, he’s kind of nuts,” Spike said.

“Spike,” Twilight told him.

“What? He literally asked me how many eggs I could lay, I’m a boy!” Spike complained.

“Well if he suggested it I should at least try it,” Fluttershy said.

“Ok, where is this hypnotherapist?” Rainbow asked.

“Dead Gulch,” Fluttershy said trotting away from the entrance to Las Pegasus and towards a trail that leads behind some boulders where a sleeping stallion on a chair waited.

“Whoa whoa what?! Your crazy therapist suggested you go to a place called Dead Gulch?” Rainbow asked.

“He isn’t crazy, just… eccentric,” Fluttershy said as her friends followed her to the trail.

“I swear, this can only end badly,” Spike said.

“Come on Spike, Fluttershy wants to try this,” Twilight said as they got on the trail that led to the poorly named town.

“Excuse me, sir?” Fluttershy asked.

“Huh?” The stallion snorted as he woke.

“The card said there would be transportation to our destination?” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, fer ten bits,” The stallion said.

“Oh… it said it was free,” Fluttershy said.

‘Well indoor plumbing doesn’t pay itself, pay up,” He asked.

“I don’t have that much,” Fluttershy said.

“What a doormat, no bits no entry,” The stallion said.

“Hey! You can’t-” Rainbow began but Twilight stopped her.

“What about for me and my friends?” Twilight said spreading her wings.

“Oh! Uh… well fer a princess I guess I can make an exception,” The stallion hurriedly pulled a wagon out from behind the boulders.

“Thank you Twilight,” Fluttershy said.

“No problem,” Twilight said.





“Are we there yet?” RD whined.

“Rainbow….” AJ looked ready to hit her.

“I know it’s taking a while but be patient,” Twilight said.

“Ah’d be silent here, rumor is that there is an Ursa Major cave nearby,” The stallion said.

The group nodded as Fluttershy hid under a blanket at the sound of that.

“Let’s get movin,” Applejack said not wanting to linger here.





An hour later they arrived at the town.

Surprisingly it was more lively than they would have first thought, ponies and even some buffalo walked around doing business.

“It seems a bit more lively than I thought, no offense,” Fluttershy said.

“Shucks, it’s the cider festival, brings other nearby towns together, those that know this isn’t a ghost town at least,” The stallion said before stopping.

“Ok, that’s as far as ah can take ya, bye now,” The stallion turned the cart around and trotted off without another word.

“Well, if there’s cider I’m there!” RD said excitedly.

“Eeyup!” AJ said.

“Woohoo! Party!” Pinkie cheered.

“Alright dearie, ready to go?” Rarity said.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said.

“Alright, let’s ask around for this Spiral Spinner,” Twilight said and the group entered the town.





As the group trotted through town RD managed to stop at every stand handing out free samples of hard cider.

“Rainbow, maybe don’t get drunk this time, we’re here to help Fluttershy cure herself,” Rarity admonished.

“Yeah yeah, I got a strong metabolism, oooh this one has coffee in it!” Rainbow ran off and began paying for some.

“Eeugh,” Twilight said before she and Fluttershy approached a couple of mares talking over by a bar.

They were wearing biker outfits… odd.

“Pardon me,” Twilight asked.

“Hmm?” They looked disinterestedly at Twilight and Fluttershy.

“We are looking for the town hypnotherapist, is he here?” Twilight asked.

“What’s it to ya?” One mare said before spitting in the dirt, Fluttershy shrank behind Twilight.

“I was just asking,” Twilight said.

“Yer a long ways from home princess,” Another mare said.

“Alright, I can see this is going nowhere,” Twilight turned and left for the next more friendly mare that was on the other side of the bar entrance.

“Hey yellow!” One of the biker mares called.

“Huh?” Fluttershy turned and one of the mares drew a line on her neck “Eep!” Fluttershy ran over to Twilight as the two laughed.

“Don’t mind them Shy, they're just jerks,” Twilight said.

“I-I know,” Fluttershy said.

“Excuse me, mam?” Twilight said.

“Huh?” The mare looked at Twilight.

“I was hoping you knew where I could find a pony named Spiral Spinner,” Twilight said.

“Oh yes dearie, he’s just outside town, in a big building,” The mare said.

“Thank you,” Twilight said before gesturing to the group and AJ who had to drag Rainbow Dash away from the kiosks.





The group went to the edge of town and saw next to the dirt trail there was a building labeled ‘Spiral Spinner’s Hypnotherapy Office’

“Ok, there it is, let’s head in,” Twilight said.

“I-I’m nervous,” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry dear, we’ll be with you,” Rarity said.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said.

“T-thank you,” Fluttershy said.

The group headed inside the building and saw an office-like space, and Twilight rang the bell.
 
When nopony came she rang it a few more times and then Pinkie joined in, snatched it, and then rang it rapidly.

“Pinkie, put that back,” Twilight said.

“Aww,” Pinkie said before suddenly they heard an explosion elsewhere.

“Huh?” Twilight stumbled and looked up to see a white and black stallion stepping out of a smoking room with a cough.

“Whew! Forgot how many electrodes it takes to blow that thing up,” The stallion coughed some smoke.

“Are you alright sir?” Twilight asked.

“Oh! Hello! I didn’t know I had company! Hello again!” The stallion walked up to the group.

“Uh… hi?” Spike said.

“What can I do ya for?” The stallion said cleaning up his mane at a nearby sink.

“We’re here for some hypnotherapy aid for our friend here,” Twilight said and the stallion nodded and approached….Rainbow Dash.

“Ah yes, I can see it, she’s afraid of bats isn’t she!?” He said.

“What?! No, I’m fearless,” Rainbow said.

“Denial, I’ll go prep the machines,” He said.

“Nonono! It’s not her, it's Fluttershy,” Twilight said gesturing to Fluttershy.

“Ah I see, she seems fine,” The doctor said.

“What?! I get assumed on but she doesn’t?” RD snorted.

“Look Mr…” Twilight asked.

“Spiral Spinner… but just call me Spiral Spinner,” Spiral said.

Spike twirled a finger next to his head, trying to communicate that this guy was crazy.

“I was referred to you by your friend,” Fluttershy said.

“I have a friend?” Spiral asked.

“...Uhm… yes, Soft Vibe,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Oh the guy who keeps asking for my coffee maker… odd,” Spiral said before gesturing for them to follow him and they did.

“Anywho, explain the problem,” Spiral asked.

“I have low confidence and lots of fears, and I am what others would refer to as a doormat,” Fluttershy said.

“Ah, another one,” Spiral said.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

‘Nothing, so what do you seek with my hypnotic genius?” He said.

“Umm… the opposite,” RD said sarcastically.

“Rainbow, have a bit more respect,” AJ said.

“Nono, she’s right, I want to be confident, brave, and willing to do things I wouldn’t normally do because of my shyness,” Fluttershy said.

“I see, well you’re in luck, I recently fixed up my Hypno chamber, and this time the subject will have a ninety-five percent chance of not exploding,” Spiral said.

“Of what?” Twilight asked.

“Behold!” Spiral said opening a door, they found themselves in a colorful room with many devices around.

“Whoa…” Everypony said in awe.

“Yeah, whoa, magic can’t compare to technology,” Spiral said.

A hair twanged out of Twilight’s mane and her eye twitched.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Twilight said.

“Anywho, I expect full payment upfront after you’ve had a week to get used to the hypnotherapy,” Spiral said.

“How much?” Fluttershy said.

“Fourty bits,” He said.

Applejack whistled “That’s a bit high ain’t it?” Applejack said.

“Don’t you know how expensive therapy school is?” Spiral said.

“No,” Twilight said.

“Well probably pretty high, but like I said, we’ll work that out after you’ve had a week, payback guarantee,” Spiral said.

“Ok, so how will this work?” Fluttershy asked.

“The others must leave the room, first,” Spiral said.

“Why?” Rarity asked.

“You want to be hypnotized too? That room over there has protective glass that will protect you from the effects and block out noises to prevent nuro-side-effects,” Spiral said “Besides, I need to implant trigger words and the last time I trusted the client themselves with the trigger words, it got abused and it came back to bite me in the flank legally,”

“How will you not get hypnotized?” Twilight asked.

“I got anti-hypnosis glasses and earmuffs,” Spiral said showing them off.

“I see, well…” Twilight seemed a little unsure but Fluttershy put her hoof on Twilights and nodded.

“I want this, to be confident for once, let me try,” Fluttershy said.

“Ok,” Twilight said before turning to go into the booth with the other mares and Spike.

As they sat they saw him talking to Fluttershy.

“What are they saying?” Rainbow asked.

“I dunno, perhaps we’re meant to hear bout it afterward,” Applejack said.





“Ok, lay on this bed here,” Swirl said.

“Ok,” Fluttershy said.

“Put this comfy warm blanket on you to relax your body,” Swirl said giving her a warm blanket and Fluttershy hummed as she felt cozy.

“Ok, ready?” Swirl asked.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said.

“Okie dokie,” Swirl said before pulling a lever… and a toaster nearby popped.

“Oops… wrong lever,” Swirl said before pulling a different one and suddenly a giant screen lowered down over Fluttershy, she began to get nervous.

“Stay calm, I have it bolted, wired, and taped together,” Swirl said before pressing a button.

And a black-and-white swirl pattern appeared on the screen and it began spinning slowly.

“Whoa… it’s so… spinny….so…. Swirly….So………” Fluttershy quieted as she stared into the swirl, feeling it pull her in, and surrounding her very being with its presence.

“I know, now listen Fluttershy, listen,” Swirls said “I ask you are you hypnotized?” 

“Yes…” Fluttershy droned, her eyes also swirly.

“Good good, I now submit my command, when I clap my hooves you will no longer be shy, reserved, and a doormat, when you hear the trigger phrase, tough, you will become brave, strong, unstoppable, and most of all, confident, use the word small to return to normal… and… you’ll also not remember the trigger words… at all,” Swirls said… with his own eyes swirling as well, as the forgetful pony forgot to put on his protective glasses and earmuffs. 

He then clapped his hooves and Fluttershy woke up and he quickly pulled the switches to retract the screen.

“Whew, that went better than usual,” Swirls said before gesturing for Fluttershy’s friends to come in.

They did and approached Fluttershy, who got up onto her hooves and shook herself off.

“Well Shy? Do you feel different?” Rainbow asked.

“....Not really…” Fluttershy sighed.

“Had a feelin this wouldn’t work,” AJ said.

“Now hold on, I said I gave trigger words, so just use them,” Swirls said.

“...And they are?” Rainbow asked.

“Their…. Uh… oh dear… I don’t remember,” Swirls said.

“You don’t remember?” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“I think I forgot to put on my glasses and earmuffs before starting the hypnosis, whoopsie,” Swirls chuckled.

“How the hay do you- what do we do now?” AJ said.

“I don’t remember the phrases, so I guess you guys will have to find out for yourselves,” Swirls said.

“Oh dear… any word could make me become a different mare… what will I do?” Fluttershy said panicking a little.

“Don’t worry Shy, this shouldn’t be too tough,” Pinkie said patting her on the back while the others were chatting.

“Well, we should get… Shy?” Pinkie asked as Fluttershy’s head was bowed and she suddenly stood straight and looked towards Pinkie with a new expression.

Confidence.

“What’s there to worry about? We have this,” Fluttershy assured with a grin.

“Whoa… it worked after all,” Pinkie said.

“You bet it worked! I feel-” Fluttershy was about to cheer when she overheard the conversation nearby.

“Forty bits ain’t no small amount, and if we can’t get what we need then we-” Aj was saying.

“-Like maybe we should just head home and forget this ever happened… Angel probably wants his food anyways,” Fluttershy suddenly slumped again and looked upset.

“Huh?” Pinkie said, surprised by her shifting back.

“Don’t be so tough on me, it was an innocent mistake,” Swirls defended.

“And if he doesn’t like what I make then that ungrateful little rabbit can starve! I am not his doormat anymore!” Fluttershy straightened out again.

“Small solutions to the bigger problem first, let’s go find a motel for the night,” Twilight suggested.

“B-but we should be considerate too, so maybe he can have seconds if he asks nicely,” Fluttershy slumped again.

“My brain hurts,” Pinkie said.

“Come on then,” Spike said and the group took their leave.

“Let me know when you find the trigger words, so we can complete the transaction,” Swirl called after them.

“Can do,” Rarity called back as they made their way back into town.





They ultimately found the motel in the middle of town and settled in there.

“I-i don’t like motels…” Fluttershy shivered.

“You watch too many scary movies,” RD said.

“Well if it’s between here and sleeping on the streets it ain’t that tough of a decision,” AJ said.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she straightened up.

“C’mon! Let’s get moving,” Fluttershy said before confidently moving on in her stride.

“What?” Pinkie said being the only one who noticed the shift.





“Quartz, femur, lightbulb, angry, kamquat, pickle, anything new?” Twilight asked flipping through a dictionary at random.

“No…” Fluttershy replied.

“Tickle, flick, smile, frown, clown,” Pinkie tried.

“Nothing,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, we’ve tried everything possible, we’ll have to resume tomorrow,” Twilight offered.

“Yeah, I’m beat,” RD yawned falling back on her bed.

“Ugh, we couldn’t have picked a place with more stars?” Rarity asked.

“Best we could do right now,” Twilight said lying down in her bed.

“Oh, ok,” Rarity sighed dramatically.

“I guess we’ll get back to it later,” Fluttershy said before she joined the others in their sleep.





The next morning

The group exited the motel and began taking in the sights.

“Fer a place called Dead Gulch, It’s pretty lively here,” AJ admitted.

“I agree,” Fluttershy said.

“Alright girls, we’ll need at least a few eyes on Fluttershy, we don’t want her being triggered and causing trouble, no offense,” Twilight said.

“None taken,” Fluttershy said.

“Alright, well, I simply must find a local beauty parlor to locate some Las Pegasus beauty supplies,” Rarity said before trotting off with Spike in tow.

“I’ll come with you!” Spike said. 

“Ah could go fer some of that hard cider,” Applejack said trotting towards the setting up kiosks.

“I second that!” RD said following her.

“Aaaand then there were three…” Twilight sighed.

“Well, I wanna-” Pinkie said before Twilight shushed her.

“I said three,” Twilight said not wanting to be alone on this, and they went off towards the local bar.

“Why are we heading to a bar?” Fluttershy asked.

“I need some coffee and we need to continue working on finding those trigger words,” Twilight said.

“Very well,” Fluttershy said.

“I hope they got milkshakes!” Pinkie bounced towards the bar.





The group sat by the middle row and read off some menu options.

Eventually, a shaking stallion came by, as if he had the shakes bad.

“Hello… are you ok sir?” Fluttershy asked.

“Huh?... yeah? I’m very jittery and drink lots and lots of coffee, anywho, whatcha want?” The stallion asked.

“Coffee please, no cream,” Twilight asked.

“SUNDAES!” Pinkie cheered.

“A coffee for me too if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said.

“Two liquid courage’s and one brain freeze, comin up!” The jittery stallion said before trotting off.

“Alright, we’re going to start from the A’s and go down the list until we hit the Z’s,” Twilight said pulling out her dictionary again.  

“O-ok,” Fluttershy said.

A few minutes later the stallion came back, and he set the mugs on the table, he then began to pour coffee… all over the table.

“Um… need help, sir?” Twilight asked.

“Naw, I got it,” He said and he continued pouring until he had filled Twilight’s and Fluttershy’s cups [and half of the table] with coffee.

“An a sundae,” The stallion said as he deposited the sundae which by contrast was fine, somehow.

“How did-” Twilight muttered after the stallion trotted away.

“I-I’ll get that,” Fluttershy said using a napkin dispenser to clean the coffee off the table.

Afterward they began reading off a list of the words that could possibly be the trigger words.

They had to speak up a little as various stallions and mares occupied the nearby booths in biker wear, and they weren’t quiet with their conversations.

“Applesauce,” Twilight asked.

“Nothing,” Fluttershy responded.

“Mmm, applesauce,” Pinkie hummed, having somehow eaten her sundae already.

Three minutes later

“Ok ok, how about carrot?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not feeling anything,” Fluttershy boredly said.

Four minutes

“Fearful,” Twilight said, confident it was this.

“Nope,” Fluttershy said.

Six minutes

“Kindred,” Twilight said.

“Zzzzz….” Fluttershy was snoring.

“Huh? Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Twilight called and she jumped up.

“Yes!?” She yelped.

“Come on, we need to find out the trigger word before something bad happens,” Twilight said.

“Ok… sorry, c-can I go to the bathroom first?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sure,” Twilight said and Flutters left for the restroom, a minute later she was returning and she trotted back towards her friends.

“Alright, I’m ba-” She didn’t watch where she was going and she bumped into a larger stallion carrying a couple of coffees and it spilled all over him.

“AGH! Ow!” He grunted as the piping hot coffee spilled on him.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” Fluttershy said before the burly stallion turned to her with a snort of annoyance.

“Hey! Yellow, you blind!?” He shouted.

“S-sorry…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Hey, she already said sorry,” Twilight said trotting in front of her.

“Oh, your that annoying princess Barb and Red met the other day, buzz off, bein a royal means nothing here,” He said.

“Excuse me? I’m not going to pull rank or anything like that, please just walk away,” Twilight said.

“Hah, she said please,” Another biker chortled.

“Hey, alicorn! Pick your own fights,” A biker mare called from the booths before laughing.

“Sorry girls…” Fluttershy said.

“It’s not your fault Shy, let’s just go,” Twilight gestured for Pinkie to follow and she hopped out of the booth and left some bits before trotting up to them…

Before one of the mares grabbed her and held a knife to her neck.

“Whoa!” Pinkie yelped.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Twilight asked before another mare grabbed her and pulled her back with her.

“Can’t have anypony interfering with the beatdown I’m about to deliver here,” The big stallion said before picking Fluttershy up.

“Eeep!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Put her down!” Twilight tried to fire her magic but one of the mares slipped a ring on Twilight’s horn.

“Nice try! But the Roadburn Gang doesn’t give anypony any quarter, be they royal or not,” The red mare behind her chuckled.

“It was just coffee!” Twilight said.

“So? I don’t let anypony off easy for disrespecting me,” The stallion sneered.

“Get her Bruiser!” A mare from the booth cheered.

“I-I didn’t mean to!” Fluttershy whimpered tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Aw don’t cry puny, I ain’t gonna be too tough on ya,” He said with a grin.

….Ding…

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and then narrowed at him as she stopped trembling.

“Huh? What’s with the look? You got something you wanna say to me?” He chuckled.

“As a matter of fact… I do, put me down this instant you lumbering bloated oaf, or this will get ugly,” She said.

“...The hay did you just call me? Now you're going to get it!” He growled.

“I’m being generous here, you have two options,” Fluttershy said cool as a cucumber.

“Oh this’ll be good,” Another gangster said.

“What are my options?” The stallion asked smugly.

“One you trot on out of here and take your uncouth rabble with you, option two, I trot all over your face,” She threatened.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said confusedly, she’s like a whole different mare now.

“Oh that’s rich, she’s threatening me!” The stallion named Bruiser laughed “There’s like a dozen of us here and we got your friends hostage, what’s going to happen if I pick two?” He asked.

“I’ll break your arm, and then kick all of your flanks out of here,” Fluttershy said.

“Ok, my patience is up, time to kick your flank,” Bruiser said.

“Your choice,” She shrugged before he prepared to take a swing at her, and she drove her knee into his chin before he could react and she flipped off of him before landing gracefully.

“AGH! You little-!” Bruiser spat a tooth before lunging at her and punching at her, she smoothly dodged it and grabbed his arm before twisting her body and flooring him and his arm cracked.

“AAAAGH!” Bruiser cried.

“Bruiser!” a biker mare cried.

“Oh, that was a mistake,” A purple earth pony stallion said.

“No, threatening my friends was,” Fluttershy said before she saw a punch coming she moved her head out of the way and she bucked her hoof into the stallion's crotch.

“OW!” The stallion fell and she spun and grabbed him midfall and threw him at another stallion who got knocked over.

“Ooof!” they grunted.

“Get her!” A mare yelled and they came at her from every direction.

Fluttershy flipped over their grabbing attempts and she landed before bucking the mare in the back sending her flying into another one.

She then spun to meet a unicorn stallion who leaped at her and she caught him before rolling tossing him into a counter which made a cash register land on his head.

“Keep the change,” She said before several more ponies came at her brandishing knives and they swung at her.

Fluttershy dodged each swing before flipping onto the bar counter and grabbing onto a pair of metal cups and putting them on her hooves before she flipped over the attacking ponies and deflected their knife swings with the cups in a spinning fashion, she then struck the mare to her left with a metal cup to the face before hitting the stallion to the right in the face, knocking him out as well.

She then struck the knife out of the hoof of the last mare who stared fearfully and Fluttershy held her hooves up in a threatening gesture.

And the biker ran out of the bar.

“Good choice,” Fluttershy said… before a biker grabbed her from behind and tried to hold her while another came at her with a broken chair leg.

She bucked him in the gut before he reached her and then elbowed the stallion holding her before swinging her head into his face and breaking his nose.

He let go and she punched him and then she spun and clocked the other stallion coming at her.

“Wow… I didn’t think Shy had these skills,” Twilight said.

“She does, she’s just too shy to use them in self-defense,” Pinkie replied.

“Hold still you yellow-bellied chicken-” He was cut off as Fluttershy jabbed him in the crotch before tripping him.

“Nopony… calls me chicken,” She said before turning and seeing the last two charging at her, both mares.

“Hmmph,” Fluttershy leaped onto a wall and flew at the two.

They ducked expecting a double knockdown but instead, she grabbed onto a ceiling fan with her hindhooves and spun on it.

“Huh?” The blue mare looked up.

“Take this!” Fluttershy said before grabbing both mares by their manes and spinning them on a merry-go-round of pain before flinging them both.

One crashed into a soda machine and another landed on a table smashing it.

Fluttershy did a graceful flip onto the ground and stood amongst the defeated biker ponies… before turning and trotting towards the two terrified mares holding her friends hostage.

“U-uh… is this the same mare as before….?” One mare shivered out.

“She’s like a tornado of destruction…” The other said before they held the knives to their hostage's necks again.

“S-stay back! We’ll do it!” The one holding Pinkie threatened.

“Yeah, j-just walk away,” The one holding Twilight said.

“What are your names?” Fluttershy asked.

“H-huh?” the red one asked.

“Names, now” Fluttershy demanded.

“Barb…” the blue one said.

“Red knot,” the red one said.

“Barb, Red Knot, don’t be idiots,” Fluttershy simply told them.

“Hey! You wanna be insulting the one holding your friend at knifepoint?” Red shouted.

“Yes, because you both are making a bad decision here… because if I beat the hay out of those other members of your gang for getting up and personal in my face and hurting my friends… where do you think killing them will get you two?” Fluttershy asked.

“....” They hadn’t thought of that.

“Let me paint you a picture, you two kill them, and I make sure neither of you ever walk or fly or even be able to eat solid foods again, is that worth it?” Fluttershy asked firmly. 

The two looked terrified and without hesitation dropped Twilight and Pinkie and ran for the exit.

“A smart choice,” Fluttershy said watching them leave.

“Wow, Fluttershy… that was… scary to be honest but also amazing!” Pinkie cheered.

“So the hypnosis worked after all!” Twilight approached.

“It did, and for once, I was able to protect you guys, I’m so glad,” Fluttershy hugged them and they hugged back.

Before they heard a door open and they turned to see another had entered.

“What the hay is goin on here?” A deep voice demanded, the voice belonging to a tall and strong-looking black pegasus stallion with a blue mane.

“Get back guys,” Fluttershy said before trotting out to meet him.

“Huh? Shy,” Twilight wanted to go help her but Pinkie shook her head.

“Let her fight her own battles,” Pinkie said.

“O-ok,” Twilight said.

“Who are you?” Fluttershy demanded.

“The names Skidmark, but you can just call me Skid,” Skid said before looking around at his bested crew “Am I right to assume you did this?” Skid demanded.

“Yes, what of it?” Fluttershy replied.

“Not even gonna deny it, you got nerves, I’ll grant you that, I happen to be the leader of the Roadburn Gang, and I don’t take kindly to my crew being beaten down like this,” Skid said.

“To be fair, they brought it on themselves for threatening me and my friends over spilled coffee, maybe it’s your fault for not keeping better watch of your pals,” Fluttershy said.

“Heh… you’ve got spirit, how’s about we put it to the test,” Skid said approaching.

“You wanna go?” Fluttershy said narrowing her eyes.

“To be honest, I'm not liking my chances with somepony who could single-hoofedly thrash my gang, so I propose this, you think your tough stuff? Try beating me at the DGG, the Dead Gulch Gauntlet, tomorrow,” Skid said.

“And if I refuse?” Fluttershy asked.

“If you decide to chicken out, then one way or another, me and my crew will get revenge,” Skid laughed.

“I’m not chicken, what do I get if I win?” Flutters demanded.

“Protection from retaliation, and of course, the option to skip initiation and join my crew if you want, win this, and we’ll never bother you or your friends again,” Skid said.

“And if I lose?” She asked, her expression not changing.

“You pay for all my crew's hospital bills and join my crew, as our gear cleaner,” Skid laughed.

“Fl-Fluttershy, we shouldn’t-”

“Give it to me, what is the gauntlet?” Fluttershy asked unflinchingly.

“We start at the top of Mount Plummet, we fly around a specifically marked path around Cactus Grove, into the Ursa Major cave, without waking the bear, descend into the Black Bramble Bush Garden, and make it back, alive, no breaks, no aid, just pony versus nature, how’s that sound?” Skid asked.

“Hmmph, sounds good, see you there,” Fluttershy said.

“Heh, it’s rare to see someone hear all that and not even flinch, I’ll look forward to this,” Skid said gathering his crew up and walking out.

“You will,” Fluttershy said.

‘And don’t worry, even somepony as small as you will be able to participate,” Skid laughed on his way out.

And Fluttershy’s eyes widened before she fell on her haunches.

“Wh-what have I done?!” She gasped.

“Yeah Fluttershy, what were you thinking?!” Twilight ran up to her “I knew the hypnotism would make you reckless but this is bad, you could die out there!” Twilight panicked.

“Everypony calm down! Shy has this, did you not see her defeat an entire gang by herself?” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Pinkie, this is too dangerous, we need to flee, maybe we can-”

‘N-no,” Fluttershy said even though she was shivering.

“What?” Twilight responded.

“You heard him, they might hurt you or anypony I know if I back out now, I have to do this,” Fluttershy said.

“But Shy, what if you die out there, I could never forgive myself,” Twilight said.

“I’ll… find a way,” Fluttershy said.





“And that’s what happened,” Fluttershy said.

“Wow… you kicked a biker gang’s butt and your going to run a gauntlet now? Awesome!” RD said.

“This is NOT awesome! What if Fluttershy gets hurt?” Rarity complained.

“I’m sure tough Fluttershy can handle it,” Spike said.

“Not helping,” Twilight said.

“What are we going to do?” Rarity asked.

“We need to back out, ah’m sure we can settle this another way,” AJ said.

“We can’t, he said he’d hurt my friends if I backed out,” Fluttershy said.

“Then I can help you,” RD said.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“It starts tomorrow, right? You got time to practice with me,” RD said.

“I guess so,” Fluttershy said.

“I do admit Rainbow Dash is the most athletic of us, she could probably teach Fluttershy the tricks of the trade.” Rarity said.

“Alright, let’s go,” RD said trotting with Fluttershy following.





The next day

“Spiral and dive!” Rainbow called and Fluttershy nodded as she flew and she did a twirl in the air but almost lost her balance midair.

“Better?” She asked.

“Yeah, a little,” RD said as she flew beside her.

Meanwhile on ground level Twilight and the others watched.

“Do you think she has a chance?” Twilight asked.

“She hasn’t air raced professionally before, but perhaps beginners luck will be on her side,” Rarity said.

“But unless we can make her brave again, she’s not gonna last against this guy,” AJ said.

“But we haven’t figured out the trigger words,” Twilight said.

“Well we gotta, or else she’s toast out there,” AJ said which got a look from the others.

“Just bein honest, she ain’t a professional flyer, we’ll need to find a way to help her out,” AJ said.

“For now, we trust Rainbow can help her,” Twilight said.

“Ok.” the other two nodded.

In the sky, Fluttershy dove through several hoops but hit her wing on one and fell out of the air and RD caught her.

“Gotcha,” RD said.

“Thank you Rainbow,” Fluttershy said.

“No prob,” RD said setting her down and letting her shake off the wing pain.

“Doin good out there,” Rainbow said.

“Be honest… do I have a chance?” Fluttershy said.

“You got room for improvement but with your ingenuity, I bet you’ll smoke that thug,” RD said.

“Ok,” Flutters said with a smile.





Nighttime: Mount Plummet

Fluttershy stood at the top of the high mountain cliff and looking down she saw a certainly fatal drop.

“Ulp…” She gulped.

At ground level, her friends nervously stood with the other members of the Roadburn Gang, who were bandaged up.

“I hope she gets eaten by the Ursa Major for what she did to my arm,” Bruiser grumbled.

“Relax, the boss has never lost,” Red Knot said.

“Hey! Shut up! That’s our friend you're talking about,” Rainbow shouted.

“Oh, we got another tough girl?” Bruiser said back.

“You wanna go?” RD said.

“Rainbow! Calm down,” AJ said.

“Yeah listen to your pretty friend there,” Bruiser said.

“Come again?” AJ said sounding upset.

“Girls, focus,” Twilight said, hoping that Shy had this.





Fluttershy shook nervously as she stood atop this cliff, ready to begin this life-threatening gauntlet.

“Look who’s eager to race,” A familiar voice said and Fluttershy turned to see Skidmark.

“D-do we have to do this?” Fluttershy asked.

“Course, my crew disrespected you and you hurt my crew, far as I see it this bad blood isn’t gonna vanish until one of us crosses the finish line,” Skid said.

“I-It’s just that I’ve never professionally flown before,” Shy said.

“You’ll get it, now let’s begin,” Skid said.

“I’m scared…” Fluttershy said looking down at the steep drop.

“...You alright? You seem shakier than that bartender back in town, what happened to the brave mare willing to fight tooth and hoof for her friends?” Skid asked suspiciously.

“W-well the truth is-”

“Hey if this is too tough for you, you can withdraw now and join my crew as our gear cleaner, chicken,” Skid said with a smirk.

The word tough reached Fluttershy’s ears and triggered her hypnosis before she stood tall and donned her helmet.

“I told you, I’m not chicken, let’s do this,” Fluttershy said with a determined look.

“There she is,” Skid smirked.

“Yeah, now shut your yap and get ready to fly,” Fluttershy said getting ready to fly.

“Oh you’re going down,” Skid said getting ready as well.

On ground level, a mare with a megaphone shouted into it.

“On your marks! Get set! GO!” She shouted.

Both ponies blazed from their positions and took to the air, did a loop, and dove down the slope, spotting the first ring Fluttershy picked up speed and folded her wings, flying right through the center.

“Not bad,” Skid said before flying through there as well and circling Fluttershy several times before blazing ahead.

“Not so fast,” Fluttershy said before zooming up to him and flying upside down over him and he glanced up before she flew ahead through another ring.

“She’s bold,” Skid said flying through the ring as well.

The ponies at ground level cheered as they flew through another ring.

 “She’s flying a lot better than before, you don’t think she-” Rarity said quietly to Rainbow.

“Yep, that’s brave Flutters,” Rainbow said with a proud smirk.





As the two flew through another ring they entered Cactus Grove, which true to its name, was filled with large cacti.

“Keep watch here!” Skid said as he dodged a couple of cacti.

“I don’t need your advice,” Fluttershy said rebounding off of a wall to avoid a big cactus.

As they flew Skid looked towards a cliffside and nodded.

The bikers at the top bucked some boulders down the path at them.

“Heads up!” Skid said and Fluttershy looked up to see boulders descending towards them.

“What’s this?” Fluttershy said dodging some boulders.

“A way to make this challenge more fun!” Skid said as he swooped under a particularly big boulder.

They made their way around cacti and boulders nimbly and flew through another ring when they saw it.

“The Ursa cave is nearby!” Skid said.

“See you there!” Shy darted ahead.

“She really is fearless,” Skid said before flying faster as well.





Back at Dead Gulch

“THEIR ENTERING THE CAVE AREA!” The pegasus mare with the telescope shouted.

Fluttershy’s friends glanced at eachother nervously.

“Be safe Shy,” RD said.





Fluttershy arrived at the cave first and saw the rings leading into it.

“Hmmph, eat my dust!” Fluttershy called back to Skid as she entered the cave.

“Oh no you don’t!” Skid said flying in after her.

They flew through the darkness and went for the light-up rings, as they flew they entered a large open cave area and saw an Ursa Major with a Ursa Minor sleeping.

Skid grunted as he tried to keep up with Fluttershy and he found he miscalculated his speed and was approaching a wall fast.

Being experienced at this, however, Skid landed against the wall and dove through another ring.

“Ha!” Skid said before covering his mouth, realizing what he’d just done.

The Ursa Major grunted and woke and she saw the two ponies flying through her cave and roared.

“Good job,” Fluttershy said sarcastically before flying under a swing of the giant bear's claw and she flew through another ring.

“Tch! I ain’t losing!” Skid said as he flew through another ring and he dodged a bite from the Ursa Major who was determined to catch the two that invaded her cave.

The two flew through another ring and then went for the exit, the Ursa gave chase after them.

“This ain’t good!” Skid shouted.

“We’re faster, we’ll make it!” Fluttershy said.

The Ursa swung her paw and sent rocks flying at the two and while Fluttershy dodged Skid was hit by a rock in the back and he tumbled to the ground.

“Ooof!” Skid grunted.

“Huh?” Fluttershy looked back and saw him lying there groaning as the giant bear came towards him.

She glanced at the exit and then back at him before flying back and grabbing him and flying away just as a giant paw slammed where he was a moment ago and she flew out of the cave.

As she flew high into the air the Ursa got out of the cave and roared at them, seeing them heading back towards the trail she decided she’d had enough of her cave being invaded like this and she decided to head after them…





Skid woke up on the ground and looked up and saw Fluttershy.

“You… we made it?... Or we both died in there…” Skid guessed.

“No, I got us out,” Fluttershy said. 

“Then… you saved me? Why?” Skid asked.

“Our race isn’t over, and I won’t let some oversized bear take my glory,” Fluttershy smirked.

Skid smiled at this and chuckled “You're an amazing mare, now I gotta win if just to get you on my crew,” Skid said.

“Enough flattery, let’s resume,” Shy said and she took off.

“Let’s go!” Skid said and he took off as well and they headed for the Black Bramble Bush Garden.





“THEY’RE HEADED FOR THE BRAMBLE BUSHES! AND THE URSA IS ON THEIR TAIL?!” The mare flying overhead shouted.

“Oh no…” The other bikers muttered looking at one another.

“Shy!” RD said.





The two entered the Black Brambles and found it was a series of bramble bushes, along the walls and floors and with dangling thorny brambles.

“Careful! These brambles can tangle you easily!” Skid warned her.

“Got it!” Fluttershy said as she swooped around them.

Suddenly they heard rumbling and they saw the Ursa Major chasing them from the side of the bushes.

“What? This never happened before!” Skid exclaimed.

“I’ll bet all your races through her cave finally ticked her off enough,” Fluttershy casually said.

“...In hindsight that is probably the reason…” Skid admitted and they flew ahead dodging a giant blue paw that slammed down where they were.

“ROOOOARR!” The Ursa bellowed and she hopped atop the rock cliff to the side and ran along it.

“Look out!” Fluttershy called as the Ursa swatted some boulders at them.

“Crap!” Skid dodged around the rocks and brambles.

As they eventually got out of the brambles and back onto the main road Fluttershy saw a boulder in the Ursa’s path and got an idea.

“Follow me!” Fluttershy said and she flew high.

“Ok!” Skid flew high as well and they dove for the boulder and Fluttershy bucked it and Skid followed suit.

The Ursa leaned in and tried to bite them but stepped on the now loose boulder and it rolled causing the Ursa to tumble and the two flew away.

“Not bad,” Skid said.

“I’ve dealt with an Ursa once,” Fluttershy said “Now get ready!” 





The mare landed and announced to the others.

“They escaped the Ursa! And are headed back here! It’s the final stretch!” The mare said.

“GO SHY!” Pinkie cheered with pom poms.





The two reappeared on the trail leading back to town and they picked up speed.

“Hope you like leather jackets!” Skid said before zooming ahead at full speed.

“And I hope you like last place!” Fluttershy took off at top speed as well.

“C’mon!” AJ said.

“YOU GOT THIS SHY!” RD said.

“GO SHY GO SHY!” Pinkie cheered.

“Come on boss! It’s in the bag!” A stallion from the crowd cheered.

“Kick her flank!” A mare cheered.

The two were neck and neck and when they were nearing the finish line.

One was slightly ahead of the other.

“HAH!” Fluttershy yelled as she pulled ahead slightly.

“What?!” Skid said.

And they crossed the finish line with a powerful gust of wind and landed.

“I… lost?” Skid panted.

“YES!” Fluttershy cheered as her friends galloped to her.

“You did it Shy!” Pinkie glomped her.

“I knew you had it in you!” RD cheered.

“Ah’m thoroughly impressed,” AJ said.

The others who were cheering for Fluttershy clapped their hooves for her.

“Boss?” Another mare said as she approached her boss.

“I can’t believe he lost, but that was the sweetest race ever!” Another biker cheered.

“Heh, losing never felt so bittersweet,” Skid said with a chuckle looking at Fluttershy celebrating with her friends, with that he approached them.

When they saw him approaching they got in front of Fluttershy.

“She won, so beat it!” RD said.

“Yeah, meanies,” Pinkie said.

“Relax I’m just here to thank her for the race… and saving my life,” Skid said.

“I-” Rainbow Dash was about to chew him out more but Fluttershy trotted in front of her.

“You're welcome, you were a worthy opponent to the end,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join? You’re small but strong-willed,” Skid said.

Suddenly Fluttershy stumbled a little before reverting to shy mode.

“U-um… thank you but… I want to stay with my friends,” Fluttershy nervously said.

Pinkie noticed her change in posture and tone… could it be?...

Oblivious to her change in posture he continued, “You sure? My crew could use a tough-as-nails mare like you,” 

She straightened “I appreciate the compliment sir, but I have my own crew to be with,” Fluttershy smiled respectively.

Pinkie noticed this as well… there were more words but two stood out as the biggest possibilities…

Before they could respond the ground shook slightly and they turned to see the Ursa tearing out of the valley and charging at them.

“What? It’s still coming after us?!” A biker gasped.

“We’re screwed!” Another said.

“Oh no, we have to do something Twilight, or the town will be destroyed!” Rarity said.

“This is an Ursa Major, we can’t fight it, we’ll need to find a way to draw it away,” Twilight said, before she could form a strategy something flew past her.

Fluttershy.

“HUH?! FLUTTERSHY!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Is she crazy!?” Skid asked.

“We gotta help her!” Spike exclaimed.

“NO! I GOT THIS!” Fluttershy said as she flew at the Ursa.

When she reached the Ursa the Ursa slowed and stopped in front of her and roared at her.

Fluttershy responded by giving her the stare.

The creature's eyes widened and she backed up, her stare is usually pretty potent, but now it's been amplified by her boost in bravery.

“You think you’re big? You're too strong for me?! I may be the element of kindness, but I can be mean when I need to be! I may be small compared to you but… I……i-i…I…” She began to stutter as her accidental mentioning of the word small triggered her to revert back to normal and the fact that she was staring down a giant Ursa Major was scaring her.

“I-I… uh…” Fluttershy fell on her butt and began to crawl back in fear, sensing weakness the Ursa recovered and began stalking forward at her, ready to eat her in one bite.

“Oh no! Fluttershy!” Twilight called and she tried to run out there but Pinkie grabbed her “Let me go Pinkie! She’s gonna be eaten at this rate!” Twilight said.

“Send me in!” Pinkie said.

‘What?” Twilight asked.

“Teleport me to her, now!” Pinkie said.

“What? Why?!” Twilight asked.

“I know the trigger words!” Pinkie said.

“You do?” Twilight said.

“DO IT!” Pinkie said.

“O-ok!” Twilight flared her horn and teleported Pinkie.

She was right there next to Fluttershy who was frozen in fear but she noticed her.

“P-Pinkie! Run!” Fluttershy called as the giant bear opened its mouth to eat her.

“I hope this works! TOUGH!” Pinkie calls as the Ursa Major bit down where they were.

And a dust cloud covered the scene.

‘NO!” Twilight and friends cried.

“No…” Skid said.

The bear pulled back and looked around, they weren’t in her mouth… so where did they-

“Up here!” And the bear spun to see Fluttershy holding Pinkie and staring with great fury.

The bear staggered back as the power of the amplified stare made it lose the will to attack and she fell on her butt.

Fluttershy flew closer to her and looked her right in the eye.

“Go home, and don’t return, don’t worry, I’ll make them change the race course so you and your baby won’t be disturbed again, NOW GO!…” Fluttershy ordered.

The Ursa tried to glare back but she was helpless in her gaze and ultimately she slinked off back to her cave.

Fluttershy then returned to the groups and deposited Pinkie beside them.

“Woot! Again, again!” Pinkie cheered.

“I…I knew you were strong… but you scared off an Ursa Major… lady just who are you?” Skid said in awe of her.

“Fluttershy, plain and simple,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Lady if I didn’t want you in the crew before I do now,” Bruiser said with gained respect for her.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Fluttershy said 

“That’s unfortunate, but I’m willing to accept your decision, I’m a stallion of my word, we’ll never bother you again without your permission,” Skid said before hoofing her a card.

“What’s this?” Fluttershy asked.

“If you ever change your mind about joining my crew, we’re just a message away, later,” Skid said before turning to his group “Alright Roadburners, let’s ride!” Skidmark said and the group cheered and they galloped off.

“Thank you!” Fluttershy said before turning to her friends “Let’s go back to the motel, tomorrow we got one more thing to do before we go home,” Fluttershy said.

“And what’s that?” Twilight asked.

“Getting things back to normal,” Fluttershy said.





The next day

The group trotted back to Spiral Spinner’s Hypnotherapy Office.

“Are you sure about this dear? You finally gained the confidence and bravery you always wanted,” Rarity asked the shy Fluttershy.

“I-I am, the past day or two made me realize some things, that if I want to be brave, I need to get there myself, I can’t rely on hypnosis to get there, and also, my bravery made me cause trouble for you all,” Fluttershy said.

“That’s not true,” Twilight said.

“Twilight it nearly destroyed the town, I want to return to normal so I can be truly brave and not rely on an outside method of being brave, because then I’ll never learn the hard way,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight nodded “That would make a great friendship report, good job Fluttershy,” Twilight said.

“Can I… just ask one more favor?” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah?” Twilight asked.

“Can I be brave Fluttershy… one more time, if just to remember what it’s like?” Fluttershy said.

“Sure, tough,” Pinkie said and Fluttershy straightened and gave a breath of relief.

“Thank you, I will admit I will miss the feeling of not being afraid of anything, but I want to get there myself, now let’s get everything back to normal,” Fluttershy said before trotting off.





Fluttershy was once again under the hypno screen and her eyes were swirling.

“You are no longer the brave unstoppable mare I originally hypnotized you to be, you are Fluttershy, the element of kindness and brave when you need to be, now when I clap my hooves and say normal, you’ll return to normal and stay normal, ready, set, normal!” Spiral clapped his hooves and Fluttershy woke up.

“I feel… like myself again! Thanks, Doctor Swirl,” Fluttershy said getting up.

“No prob, and thankfully I remembered to put on my glasses and earmuffs this time, now to get your-... oh…” Swirl paused when he saw Fluttershy’s other friends were in the room too… and they were looking at the floor and having idle conversation.

“I forgot to tell them to go into the backroom….” Swirls said nervously.

“Uh’m… shouldn’t you fix them?” Fluttershy asked.

“You’re right, let me just-” Suddenly the devices short-circuited and powered down.

“Oh blast it! It happened again! Darn cheap fuses.... I really hope this doesn’t come back to bite me…” Swirls said trotting away with a nervous whistle while Fluttershy watched with a worried expression.





It showed them trotting back to the wagon out of town each one of the six now acting like Fluttershy.

“I… uh… hope Angel will be alright with this…” Rainbow said.

“Don’t worry, six doormats won’t cause too much of an issue,” Twilight said.

“A-and besides, the doc said he’d have the machine up and running in a month… or two…” Pinkie said.

“Yes, at least for now Fluttershy will have helping hooves at her house for awhile,” Rarity murmured.

“I think we should send a message to Celestia after we get back… alert her of the situation… if that’s alright with you guys,” Spike said.

“I hope she can help us sooner…” Applejack said.

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy said realizing this situation was going to be harder to clean up before it got simpler… she looked down at the business card Skidmark gave her and saw the Roadburners symbol on it and she found herself blushing fondly, remembering Skidmark…..

“Fluttershy! Hurry up the wagon is leaving… not to rush you or anything,” RD said shyly.

“Coming!” Fluttershy galloped to the wagon, ready to return home and work towards fixing yet another mess.

FIN