Deep in the Everfree Forest, a shaggy brown body huddled in a shallow, somewhat damp cave, trembling with frustration. So close; it had come so very close. The presence had succeeded in soaking up quite a bit of energy from the blue pony, but not nearly as much as it could've had the yellow one not interfered.
The yellow one... the bear's body shuddered again at the memory. The wretched creature had fooled it, emitting such intense fear and anxiety while she trudged through its territory, enough that it was able to fuel itself on the fumes alone, only to shake it off so rapidly in defense of her companion. Just recalling the encounter sent a wave of anger so violent coursing through its body that the sullen creature took a few swipes at the cave wall, leaving an irregular pattern of light claw marks in the rock. At the moment just before it overwhelmed the doubt-ridden pegasus it had weakened, when the previously fearful pony knocked her aside, it had definitely felt the shift in atmosphere. And then she stood before it, commanding it to leave them be, and the presence found the tables turned as it was now the one held in thrall. Her eyes were the worst part. Those eyes, the determination within them when she turned her gaze on it... she'd radiated with some kind of vitality that shook its physical body to the core. The aura of confidence washed over it, overriding its efforts to infiltrate her thoughts. There was nothing to grasp at, and the look in those blue eyes... the look was familiar. The presence had seen that very defiance, countless years in the past before its confinement.
There was nothing to do but retreat, fleeing from that pony before she drained it of the moderate amount of energy provided by the blue one.
As expected, hooved ones provided a far better meal than any number of animals it could've frightened to death. Their emotions were so very complicated, and it did feel much stronger after its interrupted meal. The extra kick of energy had restored its ability to eradicate the natural stench of corruption it left behind, so it opted to venture closer to the exterior of the forest than it had in years. It couldn't leave, not yet, but perhaps there was something that could be done. It wouldn't be able to feed off the bounty of the forest any longer, but soon that would cease to matter.
Tucking the bear's legs in, the presence stilled itself, feeling the bear's heartbeat pick up the pace. The thick, furry pelt tingled unpleasantly, and agonizing pain shot through its body as its limbs lengthened, bones flattening and rearranging themselves, fur falling in clumps from its hide and giving way to a short, brightly colored coat. The bear's body shrank to a fourth of its size, trembling uncontrollably until the pain centered at a point on its forehead...
A few minutes passed, the forest outside the cave falling silent as an ear-splitting roar rang out from within, followed by silence. After a moment, the forest returned to normal, the incident forgotten. None of its inhabitants took notice as the small, svelte body of a unicorn mare with a light green coat crawled out of the cave, struggling to stand on unsteady legs. She shook her wavy, deep green mane out of her hazel eyes, reaching up to poke at the horn on her head. It was a useless protrusion of keratin with no magic flowing through it, for now.
Satisfied with her appearance, the unicorn set off shakily in search of water and food. It would be easier to sustain this form, physically, until an opportunity arose to feast once more.
------------------------------------
The tranquility that hung over the clearing was shattered as a loud "Yahoo!" rang throughout the air, followed by Rainbow Dash rearing up on her hindlegs in excitement and galloping straight for the lake. After the battle with the bear and hours of trudging through the forest she was far too thirsty to care about the pain at her side. She tried to halt at the edge but momentum carried her forward, sending the cyan pegasus plunging into the water.
Crisp, cool water flowed down her throat and over her body, instantly lifting the sheen of dust and perspiration matting her coat, mane, and tail. To her surprise, the throbbing sensation in her flank lessened considerably as well. She turned a few somersaults beneath the lake's surface; being a prime example of athleticism Rainbow Dash was perfectly capable of swimming, and she rather enjoyed doing so when she got the chance. She caught sight of Fluttershy, kneeling at the side of the lake and frantically scanning its depths for her friend. "Rainbow Dash?"
Dash grinned mischievously, propelling herself forward with her wings. "Boo!" she shouted, breaking the surface and splashing Fluttershy with a light spray of water from the lake. Fluttershy let out a characteristic squeak and fell backwards on her rump with her wet mane hanging over her eyes.
"You should've seen your face!!" Rainbow Dash howled, pointing at the dumbfounded pegasus in front of her. "That was priceless!"
Fluttershy picked herself up, squeezing the excess water from her mane as Rainbow Dash climbed out of the lake, shaking herself vigorously. "That really hit the spot," she sighed.
Thirst sated, she took stock of the clearing around them. Ringing the lake were thick stands of reeds, hiding small frogs that conversed among themselves. The healthy-looking grass beneath her hooves was soft yet springy; she snagged a mouthful, confirming that it was as good as it looked. A few of the rainbow-fruited bushes they'd encountered in the forest before grew along the edges of the clearing near the trees. The trees ringing the clearing were large enough that their branches stretched out to create a thin canopy that disappeared altogether towards the center of the clearing, where the lunawort grew its thickest, clearly flourishing in the undiluted sunlight. The place was absolutely beautiful, and that beauty was not lost on Rainbow Dash. She swallowed a few more mouthfuls of grass then took to the air, flitting about like an excited pegasus filly. "This place is amazing! Who would've thought something like this would be in the Everfree Forest?"
Fluttershy also seemed thrilled at the sight of the oasis amidst the deep forest. She delicately trotted over to the stand of lunawort and leaned down to sniff at one of the tightly curled blossoms. "I've never seen this many before," she said softly, eyes shining with unspoken happiness. Careful not to crush any of the flowers beneath her hooves, she waded out into the middle of the sea of blue petals. "I'm so glad we managed to find them."
Rainbow Dash landed beside her, a little less gracefully. She flinched when her right wing touched her injury, opting to avoid folding them in completely. "That bear got me good," she admitted, glancing over her shoulder at the offending area. "At least it didn't hit my cutie mark. That would've been seriously uncool."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'll fix that up right away." Fluttershy left her side and ran over to a vivid green patch of what Rainbow Dash assumed were herbs, gathering a mouthful and then heading for the lake. Once there, she dug a small, shallow hole in the muddy bank with her hooves and dropped the vegetation into it. Rainbow Dash watched uncomprehending as Fluttershy proceeded to mash the herbs and mud together.
"Uh, Fluttershy? Is this really a good time to be making mud pies?"
Fluttershy looked up, smiling shyly. "Oh, it's not a mud pie. It's for your back."
"You're putting mud on it?" Rainbow Dash asked, skeptically. "I mean, I know you're the expert and all, but I don't see how mud is gonna help."
"Well, I'm not applying the mud directly to the wound." Fluttershy left her handiwork and flew just high enough to grab a large leaf from one of the trees ringing the clearing. She hovered over Rainbow Dash, looking apologetic. "It's going to hurt for just a little bit, and then you'll feel better," she said, softly.
"It's okay. Do what you have to." Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and attempted to ignore the burning sensation spreading over her back as Fluttershy quickly lined the wound with a few herbs and placed the leaf over it, applying a liberal amount of mud to the area to hold the leaf in place. She finished her dressing up by turning a few rapid circles in the air around her patient to dry the mud.
"Wow, that already feels better!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, folding in her wings properly with little pain this time. Whatever the herbs were, they were definitely effective. Within but a few minutes the soreness subsided altogether. "You're really good at this, Fluttershy."
"Oh... it's nothing." Fluttershy looked away, a light blush coloring her face again. "I'm sorry you got hurt."
"Are you kidding? That scar is going to be wicked." Rainbow Dash grinned, raising a hoof triumphantly. "And I can say I got it fighting a bear."
Fluttershy brightened, looking as if she felt a little less guilty. She looked up at the sky, noting the time; the run-in with the bear had eaten up a good chunk of their time. "It's getting late. I need to get back to Angel before the sleeping draught I gave him wears off."
"Yeah, we probably need to grab the lunawort and head back before it gets too dark." Rainbow Dash approached the patch of flowers, leaning down to seize one with her teeth. "So how many do you need?"
"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Fluttershy darted over to where she stood before she could grab ahold of the plant to yank it free. "We can't just pull them out."
Dash poked one of the flowers; the stems weren't particularly thick, and it felt just as fragile as any other flower she'd encountered. "Doesn't look that tough to me."
Fluttershy surveyed the edge of the patch, picking out one of the isolated flowers. She began to dig lightly at the earth around it, concentrating intently on the job. "You have to be very gentle with plants, so you don't damage the root system. It could kill the entire patch."
Rainbow Dash watched her dig at the ground in a painstakingly slow manner with a look of disbelief on her face. Whereas the process would've been far easier with claws, as Spike had, with hooves it seemed like it would take forever. Rainbow Dash felt she should mention this before Fluttershy got any further. "You know that's gonna take forever, right?"
Fluttershy paused in her work, glancing over her shoulder at her friend with the kindly expression she normally wore while caring for one of her animals. "But it could also take forever to grow back if we harmed it somehow."
The sincerity on her face went straight to Dash's heart. She recalled, less than an hour earlier, being pushed out of harm's way by that same pony; the same timid pony that had forced herself to venture through uncharted woods to save a single rabbit. 'She really is the element of kindness,' Rainbow Dash mused. She'd never met another pony with so much love to give — and whose devotion extended to everything.
She heaved a heavy sigh, although she really wasn't as exasperated as she normally would've been. "Fine." Approaching an isolated flower the cyan pegasus eyed it disdainfully. "This shouldn't be too hard."
Rainbow Dash began to dig at the ground around the flower with her hooves, slowly making a shallow indentation in the earth around it. After a good five minutes she was still digging, and in typical Rainbow Dash fashion she grew agitated. She muttered a few choice words under her breath, increasing the speed of her digging until she was literally kicking up clods of soil.
"This... isn't... supposed to be hard!" Mind completely focused on the task, Rainbow Dash didn't stop and get a good look at what she was doing until she heard soft laughter behind her. Fluttershy had a hoof clamped over her mouth, trying to hide her amusement. Rainbow Dash looked down at her handiwork. Somehow, she'd managed to dig a perfect circle a few inches around the lunawort flower. The flower sat at the center of the circle, swaying slightly in the wind as if mocking her — and still firmly rooted in the ground.
Rainbow Dash coughed, averting her eyes from her friend. "I meant to do that," she lied. "I was trying to make it easier for you."
Fluttershy trotted over to her, beaming. "I know."
She began to dig at the ground closer to the flower. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. I can gather them on my own."
The cyan pegasus dismissed this idea with a wave of her hoof. "It's faster if I help you. I just need to go a little... " she sighed. "Slower."
After about an hour of work, the two pegasi had managed to safely extract ten flowers, roots and all. They were also both dusty, tired, and their hooves were a bit sore from the effort. After Fluttershy carefully placed the flowers in the empty side of her saddlebag she and Rainbow Dash both headed for the lake, flopping down on the bank.
Rainbow Dash scanned the clear blue sky overhead. By the position of the sun she could tell that Celestia would be lowering it soon. She wanted to be well on their way before that, considering they were looking at a good two hour walk back. "Did you get all the flowers you needed?"
"I think so." Fluttershy sounded uncertain. "I don't think we should disturb any more right now, though. If need be, I can come back, now that we know the way."
"Kinda." Rainbow Dash inspected her dirty hooves. She decided to hold off on washing them off, especially since they'd just get muddy again trudging through the forest. The idea of returning was both aggravating and enticing, all at once. The clearing was quite pretty, and the lake and clear sky above were perfect for developing and practicing some new moves. And save for the bear, the trip there had been fairly uneventful. Years ago she'd have never thought she'd be in the middle of the infamous Everfree Forest, much less strangely enjoying it. "We do still have the map."
The two pegasi rested in silence, listening to the hum of the frogs and the discordant melody coming from the trees ringing the clearing. As usual, Rainbow Dash broke the silence first. "So what's so special about Angel anyway? Is he your favorite or something?"
"I'm not supposed to have favorites. It's not fair to everyone else." Fluttershy mumbled, sounding ashamed. "But... yes. Angel's the first animal that came to stay with me after we left school in Cloudsdale and I came to live in Ponyville."
Her voice took on a faraway quality, as if she were reminiscing. "When I first moved here, it was pretty lonely. I didn't know anyone in town, and you hadn't moved in yet. None of the animals lived here yet, and I hadn't met any of the other ponies," she said. She refrained from stating the obvious, but Rainbow Dash was well aware of how nervous Fluttershy was around... well, everypony, especially ones she didn't know.
"A few weeks later, there was a really big storm."
"That's because I wasn't here to take care of things yet," Rainbow Dash interjected proudly.
"It was terrifying, because I was all alone. I was so glad when morning came." Fluttershy smiled sadly. "When I left my house in the morning, everything was wet, and my garden was ruined. It was awful. And all of the animals were still too frightened to come out of their hiding places. I was on my way to the edge of Everfree to check on a den of mice that lived nearby... and there was a tiny bunny in the grass. He wasn't moving, and he was soaked. I rushed him home and dried him off, and gave him something to eat. Angel was so small then. He was just a baby, and I didn't see any other bunnies when I found him. I don't know what happened to his parents, and he was all alone, too. He needed me, so I let him live here with me. And then I wasn't alone anymore..." She trailed off, staring off into the distance.
Rainbow Dash tried to imagine Fluttershy's cottage standing alone, without the chicken coop and numerous birdhouses, with a lonely pegasus inside. By the time she moved in Fluttershy was well on her way to having an all-out menagerie, and she'd somehow become acquainted with a few of the other inhabitants of Ponyville, as well.
She recalled the day she showed up at her old friend's house, wary of the many birds and other critters hanging around in the lush yard outside, walking right up to the door and pounding, as usual.
"Hey, Fluttershy! You there?"
Fluttershy had taken a few minutes to answer; she probably wasn't used to company, especially company as boisterous as Rainbow Dash. She'd opened the door ever so slightly, just a hint of pink mane and blue eyes that initially looked frightened... until she recognized the pegasus on her doorstep.
"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"
"I live here now. I-"
Before she could explain, Fluttershy had thrown the door open, face lit up brighter than Dash could remember. The shy pegasus threw herself forward, in a haze of yellow and pink, and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash's neck in an uncommonly tight hug.
"I'm so glad."
A couple of years and many more adventures later, Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to reach over and pat her friend reassuringly. It was very difficult not to. She'd felt like an outcast in flight school until she met Gilda; she couldn't imagine how lonely Fluttershy must've been all that time, especially after she took off. "That must've been hard," she said awkwardly.
"It was." Fluttershy brightened. "But now I'm lucky to have lots of wonderful friends."
Rainbow Dash smiled herself, although she made sure Fluttershy couldn't see it. She rolled over and pointed at the sky, indicating how late it was. "We should probably head back. The sun'll be down soon, and I've got cloud control early tomorrow morning." She was never pleased when work required being up at the first light of dawn, even though she knew she'd be finished almost as quickly as she began.
Fluttershy nodded in agreement. After retrieving her bags with the flowers safely enclosed inside and the clasp pulled as tightly as possible in case they ran into any more trouble on the way home, they took a final look at the clearing behind them. The late afternoon sunlight illuminated the area, casting an otherworldly glow on the patch of lunawort. Rainbow Dash did not want to leave.
Fluttershy must've felt the same way. "We can always come back," she said, gently.
"Yeah." The two mares then slipped through the curtain of leaves and back into the dense foliage of the Everfree Forest.
---------------------------------------
Only a moment of standing in the forest confirmed what the two pegasi had felt before — whatever presence had been corrupting the area was now long gone. In contrast to the oppressive silence they'd initially encountered, this section of the forest was now as lively, if not more than the rest of it. Birds perched in the branches, chirping joyfully, and the bushes rustled with the passing of any number of small creatures, some of which ventured close enough to watch the two ponies passing by. The entire forest was alive with sound; it felt as if its inhabitants were expressing their gratitude in the only way they knew how.
Whereas Rainbow Dash had been the excited one running around the clearing hours ago, it was now Fluttershy that brimmed with energy, greeting each furry head she saw cheerfully and almost bouncing in place with every step. Instead of being grating, her excitement was endearing. With a happy Fluttershy trotting beside her and Everfree bursting with activity around her, the trip back to Ponyville was rather pleasant. At first Dash remained somewhat tense, waiting for danger to rear its ugly head as it had earlier that day. However, after awhile the cyan pegasus relaxed like her companion and took to the air, twisting and turning through the obstacle course with a surprising amount of skill given that her exhaustion was now creeping up on her after a full day of work.
As expected, it took two hours to reach the edge of Everfree, close to Fluttershy's home. The journey back went smoothly and without incident. By the time they reached the bridge night was in full swing; a heavy full moon shone like a dollop of silver amongst a milky sea of stars. Fluttershy looked up at her friend hovering above her head. "Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash."
"Aw, it was nothin'." Dash grinned. "And I'm not the one that ran a bear off just by glaring at it. I told you that was cool, right? Because that was really cool."
"You did," as usual Fluttershy lowered her head, clearly embarrassed by the compliment. She glanced over at her house, still brightly lit the way she'd left it when she ran out that morning. "I need to go check on Angel, so..."
"Yeah, I need to get home too. Tank's probably wondering where I've been all day. And I need to get some sleep, too." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Maybe I can get Ditzy to cover for me tomorrow. Although knowing her, she'll lump 'em all together and it'll take forever to separate them. Like last time."
Fluttershy turned to leave, then suddenly rose into the air and hugged Rainbow Dash once more, tightly. Instead of backing away as she normally would she held on; and instead of telling her to knock it off, as she normally would, Dash returned the gesture wholeheartedly. After a brief moment, Fluttershy lost her nerve and broke away, whispering a quick "Good night" and making off towards her house with her flowers in tow. Rainbow Dash stared after her, feeling rather peculiar. It wasn't a bad feeling; she felt perfectly happy. Warm and fuzzy was more like it.
She shook her head frantically to shake the feeling free. She was approaching sentimental territory, and that was a definite no-no, although she felt happy for Fluttershy, and glad that she would be able to save Angel. It would've been terrible seeing her upset had they not been able to locate the lunawort. Of course, it felt wonderful realizing that Fluttershy clearly cared about her enough to put her own life, and Angel's, on the line to save her. She and her friends had saved each other numerous times, but usually on a grander scale, in the sense of saving Equestria itself instead of risking their lives for each other personally. The moments when they had to fight simply for each other didn't arise as often, but it was always amazing to see how strong she and her friends could be when it came to protecting their loved ones.
Rainbow Dash growled, pounding at her head with her hooves. "You are being a sap. Stop it."
She recalled Fluttershy pushing her out of the way, rigid with determination; standing up to Zecora's light criticism, unafraid of the consequences of her decision, and patiently digging up lunawort blossoms, unwilling to harm even a single one, despite the pain in her hooves. Devotion, determination, and sheer willpower, all in a fragile-looking, easily startled package. She had to admit — even though she'd taken Fluttershy for a weakling before, and of course she wasn't nearly as fast and skilled as Dash herself was, she was pretty awesome in her own right.
"Yeah... awesome," she muttered. The warm and fuzzy feeling intensified, and suddenly Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open, realizing that she had wandered into sentimental territory despite her internal warnings not to. "NO! Stop... being... lame!!"
Like a rocket she shot into the air, rainbow jetstream trailing behind her. She was tired and needed to get some rest before the next day, but perhaps some additional exercise would clear her head. She cared about her friends quite a bit, but dwelling on that fact was most definitely not her style.
Even after pushing herself through a tiring routine and finally arriving home completely worn out, a single thought continued lingering at the back of her mind, and it was hours before she managed to banish it altogether.
"Fluttershy is awesome."