//------------------------------// // Fluttershy's Empty Sky // Story: We Were the Ones You Used to Make Fun of // by EpicGuy //------------------------------// Note~ A bit of a shorter update this time, mostly because I'm working on a new story that should be up sometime this weekend. Don't worry, I'll still update this one, but the breaks between the chapters might be a little longer than before. Ye be warned~ Fluttershy sniffed and wiped a shimmering tear from her cheek. Her captor growled and shouldered her in return, mumbling something in an accent and tone she couldn't understand. She flicked a pink strand of hair from her face and put it nicely in line next to the rest of her vibrant, soft hairs. She rested her hooves on the bottom of her fabric cell and pushed slightly. Instead of the fabric going down with her gentle force, it stopped at a hard surface. She gasped as her captor dropped her in a grassy field void of anypony else, the only thing in sight a long, leaning tree. The pony grunted and blinked behind its mask and suddenly it disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Fluttershy gagged and coughed before realizing that she could simply push up and the makeshift knapsack would collapse around her and she would be free. And so she did. The cold moonlight made her shoulders shiver and the newfound light blinded her. She instintively dashed for the tree and hid under the damp leaves that fluttered at her touch. She shivered and made herself a leaf blanket out of the surrounding foliage, her characteristic pink mane getting stuck in the limber branches. Where's Pinkie? Where am I? She wondered, shivering against a gale that nearly picked her up and took her away. Soon a dark cloud passed over the moon and Fluttershy eagerly, but slowly, climbed out of her hiding spot. The grass felt springy and soft benath her hooves, reminiscent of a trampoline. Pinkie Pie has a trampoline. She remembered. She growled in anger and kicked a nearby stone with her hoof. "Where in Equestria are you, Pinkie?" She muttered. The pegasus thought about flying away to find her pink friend, but when she tried to flap her wing it screamed in pain and refused to move. "Shoot." She whispered. Fluttershy felt a tear well up in her emerald eye. She felt helpless- she was in a place probably far away from Ponyville, her wings wouldn't work and she had no idea where her best friend could be. "Please, Pinkie! Answer me!" She screamed in her high-pitched voice. "Where are you? Come back! I thought you would never leave me!" She couldn't contain herself anymore and finally Fluttershy collpased in the grass and cried. She cried for the pain in her wing, the emptiness in her heart, the horror of not knowing where she was. From inside the tree came a family of crimson birds with pure white beaks, who landed by her side and began to comfort her. Do not cry, Fluttershy, they cooed, we are here for you. She sniffled and brushed them away. "Not now, my friends." She wept. They sang a short tune and from the same tree came two more bird families, one bright green with white beaks and one vibrant yellow with white beaks. They all began to sing a lovely song, but Fluttershy didn't notice. From benath the tree came a squirrel couple and a jet black bunny, a dark green toad with a red tongue. All the animals walked, hopped, and flew over to her and snuggled into her side. She didn't look at them. The topmost leaves shivered and one last bird came out, this one hot pink. It cawed and landed on Fluttershy's head, pecking it curiously. Its feathers were fluffy and bounced as it moved, the ends of each a little darker than the beginnings. It looked like Pinkie might look if she were a bird and not a pony. Fluttershy looked up at this. "H-Hello, friend." She greeted it with a slight smile. It seemed to smile and cawed back. "Do you know my friend, Pinkie Pie? You look just like her." She rubbed her nose with a yellow hoof. The pink bird held out a wing and rubbed it on her head. "You're silly." It seemed to laugh at this. "Like Pinkie. I can't seem to find her. Do you know where she is?" The bird cocked its head and blinked. Then it cawed and flapped its wings excessively. "Really?" The bird crowed to the others and they took off in a V formation away from her. Fluttershy smiled and waved to the pink one, who lead the way. "Come back soon, my friends!" There was a loud pounding and a puff of smoke and the masked cruasder was in front of Fluttershy. "I'm so sorry, Mister... But I just wanted some fresh air..." The pony growled beneath its mask and its tail twitched. It shifted slightly to the side and in the spot it was before fell a bird egg that splattered into a million white shards. The unborn bird flew through the air and landed in Fluttershy's open hooves. She examined it quickly and noticed it was just about to come out of its shell. It was still alive, but shivering and coughing. Fluttershy made sure her captor was looking the other way and stuffed the bird in her sleek mane. When it turned back to her, the pony grunted and somehow got the picnic blanket although it was a long ways away from them and in a flash covered Fluttershy with it once more. She kicked and flared her wings, but it continued its work as if she wasn't there. Before her vision was engulfed in the painfully familiar red and white checkered blanket, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of an object that made her gasp aloud- A sliver of fluffy pink fur through the mask's dark fabric.