//------------------------------// // Day 4 // Story: Why Did Equestria Shrink? // by Monsieur-Flatterer //------------------------------// Her hooves stroked over the fox’s fur. A big smile was on her face as she admired the large canine, the hairs flattening as she pressed it down in her gentle rubbing. She slowly rose herself up to place herself on the silver fox. She kept stroking the animal softly as she sat on her back. Oh, how happy she was to see her again. And after staying on Equestria twice, she figured it would be fun to go exploring again. The pegasus looked up at the sky, smiling and letting out a sigh. She just wished this was reality. She gently lay herself on to Spera, closing her eyes and rubbing her fur, a small tear leaking onto the silver fox as she sniffled slightly. “I don’t want to go back to the hospital...” She whispered softly to the fox, clinging to her fur now. “I miss this...I miss traveling...I miss you...I miss the brown-coated stallion...” She said softly. She couldn’t believe herself, but she did miss that mysterious stallion. Even though he scared her, he was something that always returned in this realm, and when she saw him, she felt safe. Like nothing could hurt her. He may be nameless and he may be changing forms, but he’s what shows her that she’s safe here. Maybe that’s his intention, but she can’t be sure. He’s just so mysterious, and she’s just so curious about him. Fluttershy sat up, wiping her eyes with her hoof as she sniffled. “Alright...I’m ready, Spera...” She whispered softly. She held on tightly to her coat as the fox jumped up on the clouds, climbing the white puffs until she reached the atmosphere, before leaping out. Fluttershy was used to this, being in the nothingness of space while wind was still blowing through her mane, while she was still warm and while she could still breath. Even though she still hadn’t figured out why, she had gotten pretty used to this. The pegasus blushed as she suddenly spread her wings slightly. However, she gasped as the wind in her wings made her lift of the fox slightly, but her hooves were still tightly clinging to it. She bit her lip and squeaked in both surprise in fear as she was now practically flying above Spera. She needed a moment to get used to it, but after a few minutes she actually quite enjoyed the flying. The young mare glanced at the stars, smiling. A particular set of stars caught her eyes. In the distance, a group of stars was lined up to form the image of three balloons, next to each other. Fluttershy was more than sure that this was Pinkie’s cutie mark. She blinked and gazed at it, still concentrating on keeping her wings stretched and holding on to Spera’s fur. She was doing a pretty good job and holding her balance. Fluttershy looked ahead in course again, sniffling. She missed her friends, too. She was really happy that Pinkie would visit tomorrow. But as she looked ahead, she spotted a planet approaching. It was a brown planet, this time, and it seemed to be fairly large. Not as large as the ocean planet, but still much larger than the sky planet. As the fox came near the new planet, Fluttershy sunk in to thoughts once more. She mainly wondered what could be there for her to explore. But, what if something’s bad on it? What if a monster lives on that planet, that devours everything? She shook her head, that was just ridiculous. She was sure there were only nice ponies on that planet, and no monsters. And so the canine landed on the first cloud gently, with Fluttershy hanging on tightly to her fur. The fox carefully descended, cloud after cloud, until Spera softly touched the ground. Fluttershy sat up and glanced around. A beautiful large landscape, full of fields, barns and farms. But nothing seemed to be growing in the fields. In fact, as Fluttershy looked around, there were no plants anywhere to be found. Fluttershy gulped and frowned, hanging on tightly to her fox. “L-lets go to that farmhouse...” She whispered softly, pointing to an old, wooden house at the end of the path they had landed on. Fluttershy relaxed on Spera’s back as she walked, even though she found the lack of plants on this planet quite disturbing. Once at the front door of the old farmhouse, Fluttershy flew off Spera’s back and landed on the porch, slowly knocking on the front door three times. She took one step back and waited for the owner, or anypony, to answer the door. And somepony indeed did. The door opened, and there he was. Brown coat, black mane, blue eyes...It was him again. But this time no wings and no horn, he was just an earth pony, like last time. Fluttershy was just staring at him, in to his deep blue eyes. For a moment, she felt like she could just fall into them, like they were hypnotizing her. But she was scared, terrified even as she stared. Then came some words, finally, as the stallion spoke. “Hello miss, can I help?” He asked, looking at her. He didn’t seem to break eye contact at all, as if he wanted her to just stare into his eyes as he spoke, like some bad hypnotizer. “U-Umm...” Fluttershy mumbled, turning her head away and letting out a slight sigh of relief as those blue eyes were gone. “W-What’s your name? I-If you don’t mind...” She whispered. “Oh, my name is Klaus.” The stallion said with a smile. “And what is yours, if I may ask?” “F-Fluttershy...” The mare softly whispered. She looked around, to the fields and the lack of plantation. “W-Why isn’t anything growing...?” She asked softly, looking back to Klaus but not directly into his eyes this time. “If only I knew. We’ve been trying to get crops growing for ages, but it’s just not working. Maybe it’s something under the soil? I just don’t know...” Klaus told the pegasus sadly, his head hanging down slightly. “I think it’s something to do with the cave behind the fields... But I can’t investigate right now...” Klaus told, gesturing to his left hind leg, which had plaster around it with a plinth that made sure it stood straight. “O-Oh my.” Fluttershy mumbled as she saw the broken leg. Not questioning how it got broken at all. “M-Maybe I could investigate?” Fluttershy whispered. “I-I can help...” She quickly added. Klaus put a thoughtful hoof on his chin, sighing. “Well, that would be lovely, miss.” Klaus answered, going inside and returning quickly with a lantern. Fluttershy accepted the lantern and smiled slightly, flying back on to Spera and placing it on her back. She looked behind her to Klaus, waving slightly, before hugging Spera. “To the cave.” She whispered to the fox. The canine hopped over the fence and across the field. Fluttershy glanced around, holding on to the lantern so it wouldn’t just fall off Spera’s back. The surroundings were beautiful, and would be even more beautiful with plants. The endless fields, as far as the eye could see, with small paths running through them. Fluttershy wouldn’t mind living here. But then she thought of something. That stallion was about to answer her question the previous time, but she was rudely awoken and she wasn’t able to actually hear it. But this time, when she would get back after solving the problem, she’d ask him again. She begged to Celestia that he would give her the answer she’s been waiting for for so long. The mare smiled as she rode her fox, already looking forward to it. But she saw the cave approaching, and it was a rather large one from the looks of things. A large entrance was just outside the fence of the field they were currently in, but it was already dimly lit. Fluttershy held the lantern up, to provide themselves with more light. As the two entered the cave, they only saw one thing in a large chamber; A hole leading down, with a faint purple glow emitting from it. Fluttershy whimpered as she gazed at the passageway, but she whispered to Spera to climb down. And so the canina did. in one smooth jump, the fox made her way down. The way down was long, very long, but eventually, they landed. Now, Fluttershy could see what the purple glow was coming from. Huge purple crystals were floating in midair in a giant cave, glowing a faint purple. She thought about how Rarity would love this place, as she smiled while gazing at the crystals. Spera had noticed these too, as she jumped up to one and landed on it to take a closer look. But as soon as her silver paws touched the crystal, the light coming from it suddenly shined much brighter. Fluttershy squeaked and looked away, but as she looked at the ceiling, she saw something wondrous happen. Plants started sprouting on it. Or at least, some roots were showing. Spera, however, jumped back off the crystal, and as soon as she touched the soil, the light went dim again. Fluttershy sighed and frowned, trying to figure things out. “T-Try activating all of them... B-but don’t touch the ground...” She whispered. The fox nodded and jumped up once more, her touch activating the crystal she leaped on. The fox then leaped for the next one, and the next one...until she reached the last crystal. And upon the touch, the whole cave lit up, showing plenty of plants growing on the ground, ceiling and walls. Fluttershy let out a squeak of happiness, now she only had to go back to the surface and ask away! And so they did. The fox found her way out of the cave, and Fluttershy smiled. Crops, trees, bushes and flowers everywhere, grown in mere seconds! This place looked even more beautiful than before! The fox rushed over a wheat field back to the farmhouse, which was now decorated with Ivy, roses and a large, nice willow tree. The pegasus knocked on the door with a smile, but as it opened, her smile quickly disappeared. The door didn’t lead to the interior of the house...no...It just showed Equestria, and Fluttershy could just see how the planet shrunk. She whimpered and held a hoof in front of her mouth, before falling forward past the door frame... ...and bursting awake with a loud scream. She was sweating heavily, and the blanket of her bed showed she’d been squirming about in her bed. The door burst open, showing a worried nurse Redheart. “Fluttershy! Are you alright?” The nurse exclaimed. But Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. Behind the nurse, in the hallway... he was standing there. Brown coat, black mane and blue eyes. Fluttershy couldn’t say anything, she just pointed with a shaking hoof. He was here too? In the hospital? She’d never seen him here before. But as Redheart turned her head, she frowned. “What are you pointing at, dear, there’s nothing there...” She whispered, sighing and entered the room with a platter. Fluttershy frowned, he was indeed gone. The pegasus started sobbing once more, letting her head down. “Aww, poor Fluttershy... Did you have a bad dream again?” Redheart asked, softly stroking Fluttershy’s back, who merely nodded. The platter was placed in front of Fluttershy, her usual breakfast. But she wasn’t hungry. Well, she was, but she didn’t want to eat, nor did she want to talk to anyone... She just wanted to know...Why did Equestria shrink? - Fluttershy sat in the lobby, waiting for Pinkie Pie. Her stomach grumbled, but she simply ignored it. She gazed at the wooden table, thinking. She had looked around to see if she could find the brown stallion, but with no luck. She hadn’t even seen Cobalt. Fluttershy guessed she owed him an apology, because the previous -and only- time they spoke, she ran off without saying a proper goodbye. The mare sighed and glanced around, suddenly blushing. There was Cobalt, sitting alone at a table. Only now Fluttershy’s ears perked up to hear that the stallion was crying softly, his face buried in his foreleg. Redheart then walked up to him, sighing as she softly stroked his shoulder and said something inaudible. Cobalt nodded and stood up, following Redheart towards the sleeping quarters. Fluttershy felt the tears in her eyes, what was wrong with Cobalt? Was he waiting for somepony to visit? She gulped, feeling even worse about her behaviour towards him than before. But, she couldn’t let the moment sink in for long... “Fluttershyyyyyy!” A voice yelled, before the pegasus was pounced upon. “I miss you so much! It’s not fun without you back in Ponyville, and Angel misses you too! Everypony misses you! I hope you get better soon so we can play games again and have fun, because I don’t know how much longer I’ll hold out without you! I baked you some cookies but I ate them, I’m so sorry but they just looked so yummy. I’ll be sure to bring you more next time!” “Uh...Pinkie...?” Fluttershy whispered, looking at the pink fur in front of her. “C-can you get off please?” She whispered. Pinkie Pie jumped onto her hooves, allowing Fluttershy to stand up. Pinkie stared straight into Fluttershy’s eyes, before suddenly the tears came. But they weren’t exaggerated tears like Pinkie Pie is used to perform. No, these were small tears, dripping from the corner of her eyes one by one as they moistened her cheeks. The pink pony’s smile turned upside down as she let out a sniffle, before suddenly hugging Fluttershy. “I miss you...” She said with a soft voice. Fluttershy was surprised, she wasn’t used to seeing Pinkie like this. Her tears were so real, her voice so soft and sad...This was completely unlike her. Did Fluttershy really have an effect this big on her always so cheery friend? She couldn’t really believe it, but yet the tears making her shoulder slightly wet were proving the fact that Pinkie was really concerned about Fluttershy. The embrace seemed to last for ages, but Fluttershy didn’t mind. She missed it, in fact. It made her eyes well up too, but she tried staying strong, not every meeting with her friends could be a sobfest, could it? When the two finally broke the hug, they both sat down at opposite sides of the table. Pinkie started telling what she’d done the past couple of days, but Fluttershy didn’t really catch it. Mainly because Pinkie was talking in her own way, making one half of her story too fast to actually understand what she’s saying, and the other half was just complete gibberish, unfortunately the only half Fluttershy could actually tell the words apart. Fluttershy didn’t say much, again. She just sat there and listened. Her stomach made a grumble, those cookies would’ve been delicious, but another part of her couldn’t help but worry about Cobalt. Why? She didn’t know. Maybe because Cobalt was the closest thing she had to a friend in the hospital. The pegasus looked over to the table Cobalt was previously seated on, sighing. After a long talk, Pinkie Pie got off her chair and gave Fluttershy a hug, saying goodbye. The pink mare sighed and snuggled Fluttershy slightly, before pulling back and saying a soft goodbye, trotting away through the lobby, past Nurse Grunt and leaving the building. Fluttershy slid off her chair, and looked around as she walked towards the sleeping quarters. On her way, she met with Nurse Redheart, and she squeaked as she called out for her softly. Redheart had heard the soft cry for attention and turned to Fluttershy with a smile. “U-Umm...W-What was..uh...wrong with...Cobalt?” She asked softly, her cheeks turning to a deep blush. Redheart’s smile vanished and she sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you that...but...” She started, sighing. “His family just left him here...No sign of where he came from, who his family was, why he was here...they just dropped him off...” Redheart told. “He thinks that they’re going to pick him up...someday...so he waits in the lobby for one hour, everyday, waiting for them to return. But we don’t think they will. he’s completely alone... An outcast...” Redheart told. “Where he gets the strength to keep waiting...and turn out heartbroken every time...It’s just a mystery to us. He just keeps believing, I guess...” Fluttershy was silent, taking in the story. She wasn’t the only one to have it so bad. Cobalt is in as bad as a condition then her, if not worse. At least Fluttershy has her friends to visit, Cobalt has no one. That’s when she decided she wanted to make Cobalt happy, she would dedicate herself to be his friend! She would attempt to make him happy. She promised, even though she wasn’t happy herself. “Thank you...” Fluttershy whispered to redheart. The pegasus made her way to her room, slowly entering. She sat down on her bed, grabbing the blanket and hugging it to herself, gazing at the group picture she was once given. A soft sigh left her lips as she closed her eyes. But in the darkness, she saw two blue eyes, gazing at her. Two deep blue eyes, seeming as if they were trying to hypnotize her. Fluttershy’s eyes started watering as she mentally gazed into the set of eyes, starting to cry heavily as she could not escape the gaze. Fluttershy felt as if she was gazing straight into a nightmare. but she was able to escape the evil gaze, opening her eyes and letting out slight sobs. She turned on the light and looked around. She had a strange feeling of paranoia, she had the feeling somepony was in the room with her. She hugged the duvet close, glancing around. She didn’t like it one bit, the doubt of whether the brown stallion was to be trusted or not. But he was somewhere in the hospital... He was actually real. But where could he be in the hospital? She lay down and sighed, not daring to close her eyes again. She was scared...Terrified, even.