When Sassaflash had first arrived at the Gala, she was so excited about the festivities and so nervous about meeting the Princess that she could barely keep herself from shaking. Now that she had been here for over an hour with nothing to do, she could barely keep herself awake. It was a strange occurrence for her. Normally she wished that Rocinante's adventures had less excitement, now she found herself wishing for more.
She had tried her best to look attractive and, with Rarity's dress, she felt that she was one of the prettier ponies present, yet she couldn't hold anypony's attention for long. It wasn't that she couldn't start any conversations, in fact, most of the Gala ponies had been interested in talking with her when she entered any particular room, but the moment that the conversation turned to what she did for a living, or worse, what she did as a squire, everypony would excuse themselves quite abruptly and, in her opinion, quite rudely.
Snorting as she kicked the grass in front of her, Sassaflash looked around for anypony she could talk to past the initial introductions. The Grand Galloping Gala wasn't grand at all. Everypony was out for themselves and the entire castle seemed more like a prison to her than a party.
For a brief moment, a flash of hope came to her as she saw Applejack pushing some form of cart filled with apples and apple goods along the green path. Sassaflash waved and tried to catch her eye, but Applejack was so busy muttering to herself about the quality of her apples that she didn't even notice her.
With another sigh, Sassaflash looked to the path that she noticed led towards the gardens. If nothing else, the gardens should be relatively empty and free of the nauseating political air that the rest of the Gala had. As she walked down the path she found that it was indeed quiet and empty. Pausing to take a sniff of a nearby rose, Sassaflash breathed a sigh of relief.
“That's better... Much better.”
Nodding to herself, Sassaflash continued down the path a short distance before she decided to sit down on the grass. It wasn't the best thing for her dress and it certainly wasn't the proper ladylike action to take, but after standing around and walking all over the Gala, Sassaflash was exhausted and when compared to the so called ladies of the Gala, she was quite content with the title of squire.
After being very careful to minimize any grass stains that would no doubt find themselves on her dress, Sassaflash was finally able to relax and enjoy the cool night air. There was a gentle breeze that made the flowers wave in an almost hypnotic manner and soon Sassaflash felt herself getting sleepier and sleepier. She almost felt guilty for how she relaxed she was feeling, considering that her cousin had been called here for a specific task and here she was lounging about in the gardens while he took care of the Princess, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if Rocinante would have it any other way.
Sassaflash yawned as she slowly placed her head on top of her hooves.
“I'm sure he's enjoying every... every minute of it.”
As her eyes began to close, Sassaflash heard something that sounded like whispering on the other side of the hedgerow. It was barely audible, but it was just loud enough to cause her to open her eyes and soon it became louder and louder.
“...touches this net...You'll be mine! MINE!”
Before the words could even begin to fully register in Sassaflash's mind, a cruel and malevolent laugh cackled from the other side of the hedgerow. Sassaflash bolted upright, wide awake from this terrifying sound that was halted suddenly by an unexpected yelp of surprise.
Her first instinct was to run and fetch her cousin. Had evil infiltrated the palace? Was darkness about to reach out from the depths to strike at the heart of Canterlot? As the questions that were far more suited for her cousin began racing through her mind, Sassaflash realized that she couldn't just barge in to his conversation with Princess Luna with no more detail than what she had, she would have to get a closer look.
Carefully peering through the rosebush revealed Fluttershy, trapped inside of a net suspended from a tree. She was silent, though that was far from uncommon, but she had upon her face a depressed and melancholy expression as she swung slowly back and forth in her prison.
“Fluttershy! Are you alright?”
Fluttershy looked up to Sassaflash before turning a bright red. Looking away, Fluttershy sighed and said something so quiet that Sassaflash couldn't make it out, however she was so concerned about who or what did this to Fluttershy that she didn't even notice.
Sassaflash scanned their surroundings as she lowered Fluttershy down and helped her out of the net.
“I heard somepony laughing. Are you alright? Is somepony picking on you or... or... worse?”
Immediately Sassaflash's mind filled with the same kind of villains and fiends that her cousin would be looking for in this kind of situation. But crazy as it was, Sassaflash couldn't imagine who else would be so bold as to lay a trap in the Royal Gardens.
Fluttershy was desperately trying to find a way to cover up what she had done, but her voice only grew quieter as Sassaflash began to lead the way back to the ballroom to find her cousin.
“We should get out of here. Let's... Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy said nothing as she looked back towards the animals now peering out from behind the bushes at them. If only she could get one more chance with them. She promised herself that she wouldn't lose her temper again. Sassaflash stopped to see what Fluttershy was waiting on and shook her head when she noticed the critters peering out from under another bush. If Fluttershy had one fault in Sassaflash's eyes, it would be that her heart bled too easily over creatures that should be able to take care of themselves.
“They'll be fine. We need to go!”
“I... I don't want to leave them behind... I'll be more careful from now on... Don't worry about me...”
Sassaflash sighed as she looked around again for any villains. She could tell moving Fluttershy would take longer than finding Rocinante and bringing him out here. Besides, Fluttershy lived next to the Everfree Forest, if anypony could last in this environment, it would be her.
“Alright, I'm going to go get some help. Be careful.”
Fluttershy merely shook her head and said something inaudible as Sassaflash sped off in the direction that she thought was to the ballroom, but in fact was towards the gate.