//------------------------------//
// Day 2 
// Story: Why Did Equestria Shrink? 
// by Monsieur-Flatterer 
//------------------------------//

Day 2

Fluttershy let out a long sigh as she lay. She stared up at the blue sky, spread out on the grass. She turned her head, to let her gaze fall on her spread out wings, which fluttered slightly. She turned her head back up, to gaze in to the sky. Today seemed different. Spera wasn’t here, where could she possible have gone to? Normally, she’d be waiting for Fluttershy here, but today she wasn’t. Today Fluttershy had to wait for her instead. She was hoping nothing bad would’ve happened to the fox. She was so curious to what strange planet they would’ve gone to. But there won’t be any traveling if the fox wouldn’t show up. As Fluttershy waited, she was sinking deep in her thoughts. This realm was so much better. Here she was free, and away from the hospital. Her eyes followed a cloud as she thought, gulping as a certain idea suddenly caught her mind. What if this was the reality, and the hospital was the dream? Traveling to other planets on a fox was very unrealistic, but then again, Fluttershy found the fact that her own friends dropped her in a mental hospital rather unreal too. They just wanted to help, they said. But did they really?

This reality was so much better. Fluttershy sighed as she thought of a way to stay here. She didn’t want to go back to that hospital, to the therapy with Doctor Terryn or to her friends, who abandoned her. But she shouldn’t be so selfish. What if the hospital was indeed the reality? If Fluttershy could escape to this place, her friends would miss her so much. Or would they? She thought back to the gifts she recieved. The blanket, the photo and the plushie. And to be honest, She hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash cry like that in...well...ages. But dreams were meant to bring out the unreal, weren’t they?

Fluttershy lifted a hoof, sighing as she gazed at it. A ladybug had crawled on to it. She gazed at the insect, its red shield with black spots. The bug had a choice; it could fly away or it could stay on Fluttershy’s hoof. But which ever choice the insect made, it would impact its life differently. If it would fly away, it would be free and able to do anything it wanted. If it stayed with Fluttershy, it would end up in a jar, or being kept in captivity. It would be taken care of. Then Fluttershy realised she had the option to stay in this world and be free to do anything she wanted. But if she stayed in the hospital, she would be held in captivity, at least until she would be ‘cured’. However, she would be taken care of. And in that reality, she had her friends. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy sniffled as the ladybug’s shell opened, transparent wings spreading out of it before the beetle took off. Fluttershy’s eyes followed the insect. The mare sighed and turned to her belly to get up, but squeaked as she saw somepony standing not too far from her. The pegasus quickly stood, narrowing her eyes. She gasped as she recognized the pony as the brown-coated stallion with black mane and blue eyes. However, she forgot his name. And wasn’t he an earth pony before? Because a horn was decorating the stallion’s head. Fluttershy was scared, but purely because she was surprised seeing the stallion here. However, she felt like he could be trusted.

“Is something bothering you, miss?” The stallion asked, approaching Fluttershy. The mare backed away slightly, not sure of what to think of this appearance.

“Umm...D-Do I know you?” Fluttershy asked quietly, her voice very soft. Yet it had a hint of fear in it. Fluttershy knew this pony, yet she didn’t. Wasn’t he the lonely pony on the water planet? But just his name escaped her memory.

“I don’t think you do...My name is Dubitair...” The stallion spoke. Fluttershy was still backing away from the brown-coated stallion. Or, as he called himself, ‘Dubitair’. Wasn’t he called something else the previous times? She couldn’t remember the names, because he only told his name once. But she was sure it was different. Were all the names he claims his lies? Or are all these his twin brothers? Fluttershy didn’t know, but now a second question was added to her life; Who is the brown-coated stallion? And why was he in her dream? Fluttershy’s only logical answer was that he was part of her mind. Maybe a friendly part, because with every encounter she’s had with this stallion, he’d been very friendly and she had helped him out every time.

“You don’t have to be afraid, miss. I’m not planning on harming you.” The stallion spoke. His voice was soothing, much like Spera’s aura. Fluttershy still wondered where the fox was. She was starting to get worried something might have happened to her. But a big, magical fox like that would be able to fight her way out of anything. “I was just trotting around and I saw you lying here in the grass, deep in your thoughts. And I was wondering if something was bothering you?” Dubitair asked Fluttershy.

“I-I was just...uh...thinking...” Fluttershy muttered. She didn’t really think it was the stallion’s business what she was thinking of. It was personal and she wasn’t planning on sharing her personal thoughts with just somepony. She shuffled her hoof over the grass slightly, a squeak leaving her lips as her cheeks turned a slight pink. The mare was never good with meeting new ponies, especially not when she has the feeling they’ve been stalking her. But she helped him before. Fluttershy’s cheeks went even redder from confusion as a squeak rolled out of her mouth.

“You don’t have to be scared, you know. I’m a friend. I just want to help you.” The stallion spoke. Fluttershy gulped at his voice. It was soothing. Too soothing. She didn’t like this at all. It was like he was going to lure her in to something. “Is a choice you have to make bothering you, miss?” He asked. Fluttershy gasped. How could he possibly know? But maybe it was a wild guess? The mare nodded slightly, gulping. “I won’t ask what choice. But you always need to pick what you feel best with. The choice you’re the most happy with.” The stallion suggested.

Fluttershy was now just thinking of quickly running or flying off. She simply murmured something inaudible as an answer, which turned in to a high-pitched squeak at the end of her sentence. But when a certain shadow casted itself over the grass field she and the stallion were on, she looked up and held her breath, releasing said breath in relief as she saw a fox descending, by using the clouds.  She pretty much squeaked in excitement and, as soon as the silver fox had landed on the grass, rushed towards it to give it a gentle hug. She snuggled in to the fur, Spera’s soothing aura being the only one Fluttershy accepted. The mare looked back behind her, frowning as the stallion was nowhere to be spotted. Did he run off when he saw Spera? Or was he simply her imagination talking to her? She shook her head, it was all a bit too confusing for her. She spread her wings to fly on to Spera, clinging on to her back. Fluttershy gulped and shivered slightly, but she felt safe. She opened her eyes again as the fox leaped up to the first cloud, repeating the process she’s been doing since the very beginning. And soon, the two were in space.

But as they flew further and further, Fluttershy turned her head to look at Equestria. It was smaller, again. She sniffled and clung to the fox. How had it shrunk while she was on there? She didn’t feel a thing! She dug her face in Spera’s fur and let out a small sob...

...and another one as she woke up.

The mare curled up as she sobbed lightly. The tears strolled down her cheek and on to her pillow and fox plushie. She pulled the blanket close to herself. She felt so alone. So alone and confused. And above all, scared. Terrified even. She squeaked slightly as the door opened again, letting in a bright stray of light. In came nurse Redheart, with a tray.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Redheart asked, bringing the tray over and placing it on the bed. She opened the curtains and the window, before bowing over to Fluttershy and stroking her pink mane. “Bad dream?” She asked. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here. And your friends are visiting today, they’ve really missed you...” Redheart said. Fluttershy simply nodded and sniffled, letting out one last sob before she sat up and wiped her eyes.

As the mare looked down to the tray, her stomach grumbled. She licked her lips slightly at the breakfast in front of her. Three slices of toast with peanutbutter, some hot chocolate milk, a grapefruit and a vanilla pudding. She blushed and looked at Redheart, who walked to the exit of the room. Fluttershy still liked her more then her doctor, Terryn. Fluttershy took a bite out of the toast, chewing carefully. Breakfast was pretty much the only thing she ate in this hospital, because the patients are required to eat lunch and dinner in the cafeteria. Fluttershy didn’t want to, she didn’t want to meet all those other ponies. She’d probably be sitting at a lonely table in the corner of the room anyway. Fluttershy has also heard that hospital food tends to be rather nasty, too.

As she ate her breakfast, Fluttershy started thinking about her animals. She hoped her friends had thought of having someone care for them. But what was bothering her the most at this moment, was only one question. One question that strayed around her mind as she devoured her breakfast...

Why did Equestria shrink?

-

Fluttershy sat in her room, waiting to be called to meet her visitors, Applejack and Rarity. She had been told that visits are met and talked with in the lobby. And that the visitors had the option, and right, to talk to her doctor before they met me. Nurse Redheart had already told her that Rarity and Applejack had arrived and were talking to Doctor Terryn right now. Luckily, Redheart offered Fluttershy some paper and pencils to draw, just to kill her time. She had also been giving some sticky tape, to decorate the blank walls of her room with her own drawings.

And so the mare had taken a brown pencil in between her teeth. Fluttershy didn’t consider herself an artist, but she wasn’t lacking any skills in drawing. She started drawing lines across the paper, drawing the first thing she thought of. She had a brown pencil in her mouth and she was quickly drawing the body of what seemed to be a brown pony. Once she finished drawing out the body, she replaced the brown pencil with a black one, adding a mane and tail to the unfinished pony. Once that was done, Fluttershy took out a blue color, finishing the pony off. She sat up to take a good look, gulping. It was the brown-coated stallion from in her dreams, but she forgot his name again. She also wasn’t sure whether she had to add wings or a horn. This character confused her more then a little. With a gulped, she took some sticky tape and pasted the drawing to her wall, next to her bedside table. She stood and took a good look at it. The stallion was just holding a simple pose, looking at Fluttershy with his blue eyes and casting a friendly smile.

Fluttershy sighed. Why was he in her dreams all the time? She didn’t know, really. She shrugged it off and sat on her bed again, smiling and grabbing her blanket as she snuggled it. She wanted to thank Rarity, a lot. She looked at the cutiemarks on it, a hoof carefully tracing the balloons of Pinkie’s cutiemark. But that’s when Fluttershy frowned and looked back at the drawing she just made. She took a good look at his flank, blushing slightly as she did. But she couldn’t find any sign of a cutiemark. Maybe she forgot how it looked like or she’s never noticed it? Or maybe he doesn’t even have one? She gulped, having to remind herself to look more carefully in her next dream, if he would be there.

But the question of who this stallion was wasn’t the biggest question floating around in her head still. The biggest question that was still bothering her was why Equestria shrunk. Why would a planet become smaller? Fluttershy held the blanket tighter and whimpered slightly as she sunk in her thoughts, trying to find a reason. But sadly, she couldn’t. She sniffled slightly, already feeling the tears come.

“Fluttershy, your friends are ready to see you now...” A voice suddenly spoke. It was Redheart, who was standing in the doorpost of Fluttershy’s room. The nurse trotted in as Fluttershy stood up. Redheart had noticed the drawing on the wall, taking a close look. “That’s nice. Who is that?” She asked, beaming a friendly smile, much like the stallion in the drawing. Fluttershy whimpered something shyly, leaving Redheart with a frown. “Oh, it’s okay darling. I shouldn’t keep you waiting, anyway. Go ahead, to the lobby.” Redheart said. Fluttershy squeaked and trotted in to the hallway. As she stepped through, she saw some of the other patients. They were all pretty normal looking, another reason why Fluttershy thought this hospital was limited to only the mentally ill, like herself. She blushed as one of the patients, a blue-coated stallion with a white-greyish mane, waved at her with a smile. Fluttershy squeaked and bit her lip, waving back slightly. The stallion was a pegasus and his cutiemark seemed to be a quill writing on some parchment. She wondered why he was here, but there wasn’t much time for wondering as she was already past the stallion. She sighed and pushed the door to the lobby open. She smiled as she saw Rarity and Applejack waiting for her at a table, talking to each other.

Fluttershy’s eyes then drifted off to look at the exit. A large, male nurse with visible muscles was standing there. She was immediately terrified of this pony. Redheart had noticed her sudden scare and soothed Fluttershy.

“Don’t worry, that’s nurse Grunt. He won’t hurt you.” She said with a smile. But she forgot to add ‘unless you make an attempt to flee’ to her sentence. But the yellow pegasus decided to ignore this nurse Grunt for now, rushing towards Rarity and Applejack, her eyes watering. Not because she was sad, no. Because she was happy. Applejack got up and caught Fluttershy in a tight hug, sniffling slightly.

“Hey there Shy. How have ya been?” The pony asked. Fluttershy just replied with a soft sob, clinging to Applejack. As if she was trying to beg the applebucker to take her back home. But Fluttershy knew Applejack couldn’t do that. And she doubted Applejack could take on nurse Grunt. Fluttershy didn’t even think Big Mac could take on nurse Grunt. “C’mon, don’t cry now. Ya'll make me tear up.” Applejack added. But as Fluttershy clung and sobbed lightly, she could hear the southern pony sniffle and hold up her tears. She tried acting though, but Fluttershy didn’t care. She was just happy she was there. Fluttershy pulled back and moved to Rarity, who had a handkerchief floating in front of her, drying her cheeks off. The unicorn happily accepted Fluttershy’s hug, and the pegasus sobbed more. however, Fluttershy was able to mutter out a short sentence.

“T-Thank you...for the blanket...” The pegasus whimpered softly. Rarity sniffled and smiled. This was actually the first thing she had heard Fluttershy say in days. it made her happy to hear her voice again.

“It’s nothing, darling. Really.” Rarity said in response, feeling a tear drip down her cheek. “We miss you a lot. All of us.” Rarity pulled back from the kiss and smiled to Fluttershy, who sniffled and dried her cheek. Fluttershy sat down in front of the two, gulping. “Also, you don’t have to worry about your critters. Spike’s taking care of them again.” Rarity said with a smile. Fluttershy nodded and sniffled.

Fluttershy sat there as Rarity and Applejack talked to Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn’t say much. Almost nothing really. Just the eventual question or answer. Fluttershy liked to listen, but most of all, she was happy her friends weren’t forgetting her. Well, at least, not yet. She cursed herself for such thoughts. Her friends would never abandon her, would they? Fluttershy listened to Rarity and Applejack’s stories. Rarity talked about how her boutique was getting popular and she was getting more and more requests to make dresses and costumes. Fluttershy was happy for Rarity, she may be on the breakthrough she had been waiting for. But Fluttershy was still here, stuck in a hospital. it made the corners of her lips drop slightly as she though about it, but she shook it out of her mind. Applejack told Fluttershy about how Applebloom had fallen off the barn, thinking her special talent would be paragliding. She broke one leg, that was about it. Lucky for Applebloom. Applejack also told how they had a great applebucking season this year.

But as Rarity and Applejack told their stories, Fluttershy had nothing to tell. She felt like she had been in this hospital for ages, but in truth, this morning was only the second time she had woken up in her room. Her blank room. She had much to go through. Therapy, visits, meeting with the patients, avoiding nurse Grunt. Fluttershy sniffled slightly, now getting jealous of Applejack and Rarity. They could go home now, if they wanted. But she had to stay here. Because she was ill.

An hour had passed and Rarity and Applejack seemed to have finished their stories. They got up and Fluttershy whimpered, also getting on her hooves.

“P-Please...I want to go home...” She whimpered, clinging to Rarity. The unicorn gulped and hugged Fluttershy back. The pegasus’ body jerked in her sobs as she cried on Rarity’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry darling...But I can’t take you home.” Rarity said in response, holding Fluttershy close to her, trying to calm her. “When you’re healthy again...then you can go home with us.” She told Fluttershy, but the sobbing pegasus shook her head and clung to Rarity more, squeezing some air out of the unicorn’s lungs. Applejack, who had promised herself to stay strong, wiped a tear away. She couldn’t bear the sight of the sobbing Fluttershy. Soon enough, Rarity sobbed with Fluttershy. She apoligised, claiming she missed Fluttershy a lot. But it’s only been two days since Fluttershy was put here.

But as nurse Grunt aproached the bunch, Fluttershy released Rarity and whimpered. She looked at Grunt, shivering and whimpering. Fluttershy’s friends glared at the big nurse, but were too scared themselves to complain.

“We’ll visit again, darling. Don’t worry...” Rarity said with a smile. Applejack sniffled and wiped her eyes, gulping. Soon, the two left, waving at Fluttershy slightly. The pegasus broke out in tears, crying on to the red carpet of the lobby. Redheart appaered, yelling something at Grunt before gently helping Fluttershy up. The pegasus followed Redheart back towards her room, glancing around to see the other patients move to the cafetaria for dinner.

And one of those patients was a blue-coated pegasus, who casted a smile at Fluttershy...