//------------------------------// // Fillies and Flustered Fluttershys // Story: Equestrian Writers' Convention // by HiddenBrony //------------------------------//         Twilight Sparkle had to find Fluttershy.         The cream-colored pegasus had fled the panel hall following a compromising situation involving two authors and their genre of choice. Ignoring Twilight’s shouts to come back, Fluttershy had very quickly disappeared into the gentle wave of pastel ponies. Now, as she rounded another bend of the convention halls, Twilight slumped over next to the wall.         “Well that’s just peachy.” Twilight’s eyes landed on the multitude of ponies, perfect for anypony to be lost in. Trying to catch a pink mane or a butter yellow coat was useless in a place where your eyes were drawn to the magnificent. Or, in the case of one Blueblood cosplay, horrifying. Picking herself back up, Twilight took to the halls of the convention, her scanning gaze combing over crowds and looking for telltale signs of her friend.         “Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?” The purple unicorn paused briefly as she looked about, soon noticing the mint and peanut butter mare from the panel room. As she approached, Twilight felt a pit sink in her stomach, the pony being familiar somehow to her. “Hi, um, I don’t know if you remember me...”         “From the panel room,” Twilight said, opting for the obvious answer. “Sorry about bolting so quickly,” she apologized, her eyes tearing from the mare long enough to do another sweep of the area,”it’s just that I really need to find my friend.”         The pony nodded, her eyes averting from Twilight’s as she responded. “O-oh, right. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for her. Fluttershy, was it?”         Twilight smiled, nodding her head. “Yes, that’s it. Thank you, miss.” She couldn’t help but feel her dialogue was a bit wooden with the other mare, but she couldn’t help it. She hardly knew the other pony, and she certainly didn’t have a full understanding of her style of literature. “D-don’t you have a panel to run, though?”         “Mm? Oh, yes,” the white unicorn piped up, her head turning back to her room. “I-I’m sorry, just... needed to make sure you were alright, Twilight.”         “I’m not the one you need to be worried about. Trust me,” Twilight chuckled, waving her hoof. “Have, um, fun then! With your panel.” Twilight’s stomach turned to ice as the minty-socked pony slowly left her, the lavender pony releasing a pent up sigh. “Mare on mare literature, huh?” Twilight mumbled, her eyes shifting from side to side. “I really do need to get out more. Heh.” Laughing in spite of herself, Twilight began her search anew for her yellow friend.         -----         Twilight sat in front of a large sign looking over panels and times as she considered halting her search, even just for a little while. Origins of Equestrian Literature caught her eye, but it went on rather late. Twilight chuckled to herself as she realized she likely knew everything there was on the subject, having had full access to the Royal Library for years. “So what’s going on now...?” As she looked, a small filly walked past her with a look of intent on her face.         Peeking past the sign, Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her. “Excuse me, what panel is going on right now?” she asked, getting the teen looking filly to turn about. Her coat was exactly like Snarkle’s, but her mane was a fiery orange that she admitted was exceptionally well groomed.         “Oh, um...” she started, her teal eyes rolling upwards in some mental debate. “Just my daddy’s.” Twilight’s eyes widened just so, but she kept her expression as unassuming. “You’re wondering why an adult would run a panel and leave his filly to wander, aren’t you?”         “N-no!” Twilight hurried, her composure breaking as her eyes darted from side to side. “I would never assume that.”         The filly smiled, rolling her eyes. “It’s alright. This isn’t exactly my first convention,” she smiled. As Twilight nodded her head, a stallion with a raven black mane peaked his head out, catching sight of Twilight and the filly. Immediately recognizing the pony, Twilight raised an eyebrow as she called out to him.         “Snarkle?” Twilight bleated, her eyes shifting between the two.         “You two know each other?” the filly mused, Snarkle trotting up behind them.         Coughing uneasily, Snarkle’s eyes scanned the crowd carefully for signs of pink before he addressed his company. “Ah, yes. Briefly, honey.” Twilight’s head looked between the two as she connected the dots, a sly smile appearing on her face. Trying to ignore it, Snarkle introduced the ponies. “Twilight, Siraj. Siraj, Twilight.”         “I didn’t know you had a daughter, Snarky...” Twilight teased, the stallion turning red.         “I’m adopted, actually.” Siraj cut in, a smile on her face that was filled with her father’s snark. Looking up toward Snarkle, she took delight, watching as small beads of sweat surfaced on the stallion’s face. “This big lug just had so much love in his heart he couldn’t bear not to give it out.” Her sickeningly sweet smile shined up at the stallion. Batting her eyelashes, the filly poured on the sweet, innocent filly that so embarrassed her father. “Isn’t that right, papa?”         “Oh, Is that so?” Twilight stressed the last word out. She could feel her muscles pulling her face tighter and tighter into a smile she couldn’t get rid of. “What can you do with all of that love?” Twilight’s tongue clicked through her smile. “Well it shows, Snarkle. You’re such a big softy~”         Snarkle’s sweat trickled down his mane, his neck spasming into a chorus of coughs as he made to clear his throat and interrupt the mares. “Yes, well, Twilight. Good seeing you again. I see your friends must be off enjoying the convention then?” Taking a long step backwards, the filly at his feet giggled as she trotted into the room behind him. “That’s... good. That’s very good.”         “Oh I don’t know Snarkle, I may just gather them to see your panel. What’s it about again?”         Snarkle propped the door open with his back hoof, backpedaling swiftly until all but his head had disappeared behind the door. “Oh, erm. Stuff.” The door closing behind him, Twilight giggled. It was nice to have a reprieve from searching, but alas, it could not last too long. Turning about, Twilight faced the swath of ponies that coursed like a river. Taking a deep breath, she plunged in.         ----- Hours passed, so much so that Twilight had lost track of time. In between searching for Fluttershy and making sure the preliminary work at the bar was finished for the VIPs to start to filter in, the last few fleeting rays of Celestia’s sun grazed Twilight’s horn, the mare watching the testament to the Princess’ power set just over the countryside. Canterlot, framed just so by the large fireball, stood in majesty overlooking her. Nosing the window open, Twilight drank in the cool, dusk air, feeling it tickle and tingle down her mane. Enjoying the fresh air for a few fleeting moments, the unicorn returned to her task.         Raising her head up, Twilight noticed another unicorn, jade green with an auburn mane, enjoying a cup of what she assumed to be tea. A steamy mist flowed out of it, the red aura of magic heated the cup up, the stallion taking a small sip from the mug. Looking sideways, the pony noticed that Twilight was looking at him, and carefully put the cup down. “Hello there, miss. Can I help you?” Twilight’s cheeks flared at being caught staring at somepony, but regained her composure quickly. “Uh, hi there,” she began, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Fluttershy anywhere?” Twilight Sparkle asked, exasperated, tilting her head. By the look on the stallion’s face, Twilight realized that this pony hadn’t a clue who that was. “Oh! Sorry,” Twilight clarified, shaking her head, “she’s a yellow pegasus with a pink mane.” Twilight punctuated her description by making motions with her hooves to signify a long, flowing mane and flapping her hooves like wings. After taking in the comic display, the green stallion took a sip from his small cup, taking just a moment to warm it again with his magic. “Fluttershy?” he echoed, contemplating the answer as he swiveled the teacup, watching the colors within swirl. “Mm, does she squeak and hide behind curtains at any given sound, or when a purple unicorn comes walking around?”         Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The demure mare had been missing for almost six hours. “Yes! You’ve seen her?” she relaxed, letting her neck crane low.         The unicorn gave Twilight a once over, and sipped a bit of drink from the levitating cup, awash in his own orangish-red aura. Bringing a hoof to his chin, he shook his head automatically. “Can’t say I have, no,” he said simply, pointing his attention towards one of the long curtains nearby.         At first, Twilight groaned loudly, slamming a hoof on her face. “Then how did you even-” Without warning, his hoof poked her horn. Opening a free eye, Twilight suddenly noticed that the stallion was currently gesturing toward the gently wafting crimson fabric near the window. And just peeking out from under its edge were four yellow hooves, pressed together in some vague hope they’d continue to go unseen. Twilight turned to the stallion, silently thanking him as he took one final sip from his cup. “Y’know,” she interjected, peering at the bowtie that adorned the pony’s neck, “you should probably get back to work.” Having concluded the unicorn was part of the wait staff, Twilight trotted toward the red curtain while the green stallion’s face slowly contorted into an indignant scowl.         “I am not... I just like bowties,” the stallion muttered under his breath before taking off himself. Approaching the curtain, Twilight cleared her throat, which only managed to elicit a high-pitched ‘eep’ from behind the curtain. Playing it by ear, Twilight made as if she had merely given up looking for the pegasus, resting on her haunches next to the curtain. A sharp gasp escaped her as she sat, the cold tile that bordered the halls biting at her rump. “I really do hope Fluttershy knows that we really don’t care about what we heard in the panel room,” she tried, her voice awash in mock distress. Several hours of tireless searching had left the unicorn in a bit of a sour mood, having sacrificed much of her day and panel opportunities in order to find her missing friend. It was times like this that the odd detective pony she had seen earlier would have been severely helpful. He did mention something about lost ponies, after all.         Despite being lost in her thoughts, Twilight had yet to earn a response. Sighing through her nose, the unicorn prodded the curtain, her hoof coming in contact with the soft wing that belonged to her friend. She silently scolded herself for not giving the pegasus more time, but dagnabbit, she was tired! “Fluttershy, come on out, please.”         “No!”         Twilight took the sentiment, regardless of the negative, as a small victory. “Nopony cares that you read, um...” Twilight trailed off, putting her hoof to her chin. Erotica? Clop? Twilight suddenly wished she had actually taken the time to rehearse. Given the time it had taken to find Fluttershy, Twilight sighed at her lack of foresight. “Please, Fluttershy?”         “N-no. Not in front of you...” A small whimper drifted beyond the fabric wall, blasting Twilight’s heart. Her friend was distraught, and she wasn’t doing so hot with the comforting. As she considered her next move, she reached a tentative hoof out, pausing just before the maroon fabric. Sighing deeply, Twilight let her hoof fall, her head with it.         “Twilight! There you are!” Twilight raised her head up and over towards the sound of the voice, belonging to none other than the pony who accidentally dropped the bomb which started this mess - Butterscotch Sundae. Chocolate-colored with natural yellow socks, the ‘well-rounded’ pony came trotting up with a small smile on her face. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for you and your friend after the panel. I hope you’ve had some luck in finding her?”         There was a brisk nod from the purple unicorn as she gestured lightly with a hoof. The pegasus behind the curtain was having a difficult time controlling herself at this point - every breath was exhaled with the shyest of ‘eeps’ that was as adorable as it was heartbreaking. “Some, yes,” Twilight admitted slowly, shaking her mane as she faced Butterscotch. “Listen, I don’t want you to think this is your fault, I mean, we were in your panel room. I should have checked the schedule before hanging around there.” Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, before her head fell and her voice became weaker. “We could have avoided the whole thing...”         “No, no, don’t apologize, Twilight! It was just an awkward moment. Anypony in her situation would have reacted the same.” Butterscotch tilted her head a bit toward Fluttershy’s shaking hooves, her eyes darting from them to Twilight’s lavender orbs. “You um, don’t mind such stories, do you? You didn’t really stick around for mine and Sunset’s panel.”         Redness flushed into the student’s cheeks as she reeled back, the question striking her in the chest. “Well, um...” Her mind flashed to the multiple books that were hidden under the floorboards of her home. “Not... your kind. N-not exactly.” As memory served, Twilight had never purchased a single book on the subject of fillyfooling. She practically lived in a library all her life - she had no time to let her mind consider the idea with all the traditional romance novels and novellas at her hooftips. However, as the words fell out of her mouth, she knew she was distancing herself from the solution. “But. Ah. I’ve never really tried. At least-” It took Twilight a moment, but she was standing in clear view of the panel room in which Fluttershy had vacated hours prior.         A schedule was posted there which detailed all the panels shown throughout the day at the writer’s convention. Even now ponies lined the hallways waiting for another author to take the stage. However, Twilight’s eyes focused on the timeframe that had found herself and the others in the room.         Scotch at Sunset: A Mare’s Guide to Writing, Reading, and Loving Mares.         “-Oh dear.”         “What is it?” Butterscotch asked, raising an eyebrow. The chocolate mare followed her compatriots gaze, only seeing the panel board. “Is there somewhere you need to be?”         Twilight snapped out of her gaze and looked hurriedly toward Butterscotch. “What? No! I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”         “I didn’t...” Butterscotch’s mind started to tick, rolling what she was seeing into one coherent idea. However as soon as she fathomed what was going on, Butterscotch was convinced her ability to assist would be better served while not under the unwavering oppression of sobriety. Suddenly finding herself looking around for a sign that led to a alcoholic respite, she nudged the other unicorn gently. “Twilight, um, if you’ve got nowhere you need to be, perhaps you could direct me to the nearest...”         “Nearest whatnow?” the mare asked, her eyes never straying from the yellow hooves behind the curtain. The squeaking breaths had mostly stopped, but Twilight was relieved the pegasus hadn’t slinked away in the middle of her conversation.         Butterscotch made a very strained face. “The bar, filly. I was under the impression panel guests were allowed entrance to an exclusive bar. I’m at my best when I’m at my, um, worst.”         Twilight could feel a facehoof coming on, but the allure of a drink to loosen up her own mind and relax her nerves sounded all too tempting. Staring in the direction of the bar, Twilight felt her hooves yearn to join Butterscotch at the oasis. Swallowing in defeat, Twilight directed the fellow unicorn down the hall, Twilight motioned toward two imposing guards. “Beyond those two giants. I’ll see you down there in a bit.” Not wishing to lose what company she had so quickly, Twilight asked, ”Say, where’s your friend? I saw her earlier... before your panel.” Butterscotch smiled. “Well, knowing her she’s likely already found her way there.” Following Twilight’s hoof, her eyes narrowed on the guardsponies that defended the bar. “Oh, thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I hope you have luck in bringing your cute yellow friend around!” The chocolate unicorn gave her a wink and a smile, thanking Twilight as she moved through the crowd of ponies toward the open bar. Twilight’s gaze followed her a moment, considering just what the wink was for. Perhaps she expected some sort of drinking game? Or maybe... her ears fell against her face. “O-oh...” Feeling warm in the cheeks, Twilight tore herself away from the ice-cream pony and back to the curtain, periodically asking Fluttershy if she was alright.         It took some time, but it finally dawned on her that all most ponies were seeing was Celestia’s prized student... talking to a wall. As she spun her back to the curtain, Twilight planted her flank on the ground, looking wearily about. The green stallion that had been nearby was nowhere to be seen, probably off to work the bar as a waiter. Unfortunately, she had sent the last pony who thought she was sane off to get plastered. Sighing deeply, the poor purple mare cast a forlorn look at those teasing hooves. “Fluttershy...” she breathed, waiting for the pink mane to peek out of the corner.         -----         Some time had passed and Twilight had only removed herself from the curtain once to visit the little filly’s room. Confirming the presence of four butteryellow hooves under the tassels of the fabric, Twilight sat herself down, her hooves starting to grow tired just standing there. As soon as she sat down, though, she heard somepony calling out to her. “Excuse me?” Twilight groaned aloud as she spun around, a new pony calling for her attention. She was about to chew somepony out if it hadn’t been... “Hello, I’m looking for the Knights’ panel, could you help direct me?”         The mare in question looked like a fun house mirror reflection of herself. Same hair style, coat color, although her mane was awash in blonde and purple. In place of Twilight’s purple eyes were a mismatched pair of hazel and violet, which blinked unevenly at her.. “Ah-ah...” Twilight stammered, looking the pony down from head to toe. Even the pony’s cutie mark was a bunch of sparkles, and the longer Twilight stared the more she felt her mind melt. “N-no! Sorry!” she gaped, shaking her head repeatedly, hoping that it would somehow make the pony before her go away somehow. Twilight, you’re going insane.  Spinning about, Twilight stuck her head behind the curtain, taking absolutely no time in shattering the tentative situation she had going with Fluttershy. “Fluttershy! Heeeelllp meeeee! I’m going to be replaced!” Her face pleading, Fluttershy studied it for a moment. Quickly forgetting her own issues for the moment, the pegasus peered out around Twilight, catching sight of the curiously similar unicorn.         The color clashed mare raised an eyebrow at the two ponies’ antics, taking a few steps back, surprised that a pegasus had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Averting her attention elsewhere, the pony made it her mission to get out of there quickly. “N-nevermind, I’ll go ask somepony else, th-thanks!”         Fluttershy was dumbfounded. However, she wasn’t allowed to dwell on it long as Twilight moved to peer into the crowd from under the pegasus’ mane. “I-Is she gone?”         “Um,” Fluttershy began, unsure of who ‘she’ really was, “I-I think so...” Looking down toward Twilight, the studious unicorn sighed with relief as her scans proved the pony to be gone. Forgetting her earlier trauma, the pegasus still had an eyebrow raised. “Who was she?”         “I-I dunno, but she looked just like me. She even had my hairstyle. And a really bad dye job.” Twilight started to draw herself to her full height, coming out from hiding behind the pegasus - the irony was not lost on her - and she quickly threw her hooves around her friend. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she sighed, wearing a bashful smile. “I... know I was acting a little bit crazy, but that pony just... threw me for a loop. She looked like a clone.” Fluttershy could feel the accelerated heartbeat of her friend, and quickly threw her hooves around Twilight to comfort her.         There was a small silence surrounding the ponies as the issues from before started to resurface in their minds, Fluttershy slowly letting Twilight drop from their embrace. “I um...” she began, her cheeks turning red. “I’m sorry I was hiding for so long. I, um, didn’t...”         Twilight breathed in deeply, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “So you like reading stuff like that. I don’t really mind. I mean...” A small red tint appeared on her features as she averted her gaze just slightly. “You should see the lengths I’ve gone through to hide my books from Spike. Some of the books are in the walls.” The two girls stared at each other with blank expressions, sharing a silence.         And of course, they broke into a chorus of giggles.         After a short while, the two calmed down enough to begin talking again. “Twilight,” Fluttershy started, looking about, “where is Pinkie? I heard you were looking for me for hours but I haven’t seen her for just as long...” Twilight was ready with an answer. “I sent Pinkie to the afterparty room to get things set up after she attended a few panels. I gave her some instructions and to always abide by Pony Joe’s instruction... so she’s probably enjoying a drink and some company while attempting liquored versions of various party games.” Fluttershy’s stark silence and vacant expression was likely brought on by the thought of Pinkie Pie within the general vicinity of alcohol, to which Twilight added, “She’s been a lot more docile about it than you might think.”         “Twilight,” the pegasus blinked, her attention sliding from the far door of the afterparty room to her friend, “you drink? With Pinkie?”         Twilight chuckled, shaking her mane as she flashed Fluttershy an appreciative smile for her friend’s apparent naivety. “Fluttershy, you’ll learn that every pony who pens the written word needs a little... mental lubricant, from time to time. Pinkie probably treats the stuff like sarsaparilla. If you ask me, that pony can hold her own against anyone. Although I’ve never really seen her drink.” Twilight paused, before relating, “Applejack is the only pony I’ve heard of who has drank with Pinkie before, and then she said it was an accident involving some hard milk. She didn’t say much about it, except that you would not believe how much of a lightweight Rainbow Dash and Rarity are. One drink and they’re all over everything.”         -----         “So then I tell ‘em, ‘Yeah, I got a list of cloppy authors in my collection, but if you wanna see ‘em; It’s gonna have to cost ya.’” A clean voiced unicorn stallion was in the middle of relating a work experience as Twilight and Fluttershy made their way through the massive crowd of legs and hooves. “He asked what, and I said, ‘yer dignity!’” The pale yellow stallion whooped as he jabbed the air to punctuate his story. He wore a tweed vest, which accomplished nothing in terms of fashion nor functionality, as Twilight quickly noted the vest’s lack of pockets. His listener, on the other hoof, wore a much more functional nothing, as ponies were apt to wear.         “Come on Dusty, you didn’t!” A purple colt laughed, the two unicorns blocking the friends’ path. He himself sported a brown mane, like his yellow friend, and Twilight was quickly coming to terms with the fact that a pale yellow was a popular color amongst stallions, this purple colt being the exception that nearly proved the rule. “Um, excuse me,” Twilight tried, but was ignored as the stallion continued. “Oh yes, I did. Now, I’ve got no problem with those erotic types myself, and I’ll admit to enjoyin’ a few of ‘em on my more lonely evenings, but to just walk up to a gentlecolt and ask him where he keeps his stash?” he asked incredulously. Twilight grumbled under her breath about the local population’s tendency to talk about the most adult of activities, which actually had the unintended effect of capturing the male unicorn’s attention. “Oh, excuse me, ma’am. Can I help you?” Twilight’s eyes lit up as she was spoken to, having since given up trying to get their attention through any traditional means. “Um, yes. I’d, um, like to get through here, please?” She punctuated her words by motioning to the entrance to the afterparty’s room.         The two males turned to look where she was going, and noticing the guards, they looked back to her in unison. “No use, I’m afraid. Only VIPs can get in there. Shame too, I hear it’s an open bar,” Dusty muttered, licking his lips as if they were dry.          Twilight huffed in annoyance, throwing a hoof up so she could properly stick her face in it. Yet before she could accomplish it, Fluttershy’s own hoof held hers still, the shy pegasus throwing a soft smile toward the gentlecolts. “Oh, um, y’see, we’re on that list,” she informed them, touching heads against Twilight for effect. “The, um, VIPs.”         The purple colt eyed the girls for a moment as the wheels in his head started to spin, but the time it took for him to form words gave Twilight ample opportunity to push onwards, walking purposely between the two with a disgruntled yet mildly placated expression. “Yes, well, now that you two know we’re allowed in, I just need us to squeeze right past you, thank you, come on Fluttershy, I need a drink.”         The pegasus quickly followed suit after her friend, muttering apologies to the two colts as she trotted past, giving Twilight a precarious look. “You know you could have asked to be let through, Twilight.”         “And they would have asked to be our ‘dates,’ so they could get into the open bar,” Twilight pointed out, as if her sudden introduction to the colts had gleaned her some hidden insight to their base natures. “That or just try to hit on us...”         “O-oh,” squeaked her friend, averting her gaze as she considered the prospect. The phrase ‘hit on’ surprised her, coming from Twilight’s mouth, and as the ponies pressed on towards Twilight’s oasis, she quietly thanked Twilight, sending a pleased smile toward her friend. She could be surprising rough and tumble sometimes, but the mare was unquestionably driven. Passing the Royal Guard, Fluttershy took the effort to pass them without flinching, their cool gazes passing over her as she walked along. “Do you really think they would have?” she asked, “I don’t think I’d like that...”         Twilight scoffed, but immediately rebuked her own reaction as she considered it. “I dunno, I’m just in a hurry,” she admitted, a bashful smile crossing her features. Shaking her mane, the unicorn continued, “I wouldn’t want to give random ponies special privileges, or it might suddenly be expected of me.” Kicking a hoof in contemplation, the doors to the afterparty opened at the whim of her magic, awash in the signature aura that accompanied her spells. “Besides, if it really got hairy I’d just say you were my date and get them off our backs,” Twilight joked. Behind her, Fluttershy went stark red, her eyes planted firmly at the ground.         While the party decorations screamed Pinkie Pie’s party cannon, the atmosphere that greeted their senses was that of a posh, traditional Canterlot party that was struggling, and subsequently failing, to stay sober. Without paying mind to exactly where she was going, Twilight’s hoof made connection with an unconscious slump on the ground, which happened to be a boozed up pony splayed out at the doorway. “Ahhck!” Stumbling over her hooves, Twilight tripped up over the puce colored pony, landing in a heap of tangled limbs and hair. Limbs flailing, Fluttershy quickly fussed over the unicorn as her legs struggled to find the ground, her eyes falling upon a sickly green color her face was leaning on. “Uhh! It’s puke! Ew! Aagh!” Making a complete scene of herself, Twilight found herself pushed upright and to her feet as she struggled to wipe the vomit color from her face, only to find it completely free of stomach debris. Pausing mid-freak-out, the mare stared down at the horrid color that had run itself into the carpet. “I thought...” “Twilight! Are you okay?” Fluttershy breathed, looking over her friend head to toe. “You didn’t hurt anything, did you?” Snapping to attention attention, Twilight’s dumbfounded expression moved from the slowly disinterested congregation of ponies to the pegasus to her side, her eyes seeing a pink blur off on the other side of the room. “I uh...” Looking back down at the discarded body, Twilight shook her head slowly as the guards from outside quickly beset upon the sickly green-maned pony. “I think his mane is coated in dry spew...” Twilight gaped, her stomach churning in response.         Fluttershy was silent a moment, shaking her head. “Um, Twilight, I think that pony’s natural color was that green.” Twilight’s gaze met her own, and Fluttershy managed the smallest of smirks. “Yeah, it’s natural.”         Twilight couldn’t help but giggle just a little bit. “Oh Celestia...” she breathed, taking in the stale ale air. “That poor pony.” Even without the guidance of Rarity to lead the fashion stunted unicorn’s decision, the student couldn’t help but understand the plastered stallion as he was picked up by one of the guards and slumped onto a stretcher. “With a mane that color, it’s no wonder why he drinks.”         Fluttershy giggled, her wings outstretched as she followed closely behind Twilight.