//------------------------------// // Morning Rush // Story: Flutterella and the Grand Galloping Gala // by lemmingluv //------------------------------// “Oh Angel, please eat your food.” a familiar yellow pegasus asked timidly. “I haven’t got time for this today…” The bunny spun on its toes and faced the opposite direction, lifting its little nose obnoxiously into the air. Apparently Angel was too proud to eat a simple carrot. Fluttershy had intended to cut it up as he sometimes preferred, but she had simply lost track of time and didn’t want to waste any more of it. That had ended up being a more time consuming choice. Fluttershy took a deep breath, then scooped her pet up in her hooves. “Angel,” she began, trying to keep a gentle firmness in her voice. “You know that I’m travelling to Manehattan with Rarity and Twilight today. I cannot take time to prepare you anything special for breakfast. But I promise that for supper tonight I will make you anything you want.” Angel opened one eye and gazed at her, clearly wanting more than just that. A small humph noise came from the fluff balls throat. “I’ll even Pinkie Promise.” Fluttershy said, her eyebrows merging together hopefully. Angel didn’t look very pleased, but slowly nodded his head anyways. Fluttershy smiled and cuddled the little bunny for a moment before setting him gently down on the floor. “Oh, thank you Angel! You’re the best little bunny a pegasus could ask for!” With that, Fluttershy hoisted her saddlebags onto her back, waved quickly to Angel, and trotted out of the cottage. The saddlebags bounced with each step, but it didn’t bother Fluttershy much. She’d packed light, only carrying a purse full of bits, an umbrella and scarf, and a plastic bag with a few slices of bread. Twilight had promised the pegasus that they would be stopping in the famous park in the heart of Manehattan, and Fluttershy was hoping to feed some birds while they were there. The crisp autumn air brushed through the animal whisperer’s feathers, welcoming her into the late morning. A slight shiver arose from her yellow fur, but it was still warm enough to go on without a scarf. Fluttershy slowed to a walk as she entered Ponyville, not wanting to attract any attention to herself. Her moderate cyan eyes wandered down to the path before her, causing her head to tilt a bit and her pink mane to flow in front of a good half of her face. Lately Fluttershy’s timid nature had been getting better, but this morning there was an overwhelming amount of ponies wandering the streets between her and the library. Fluttershy couldn’t help but cringe as she entered the street lined with market stalls. She’d had one too many run-ins with the dishonest and sometimes rude merchants. She found it strange how those who dealt with so many ponies in a day were always the meanest of the population. Most of the Ponyville ponies were polite, but when put side by side with the merchants, Fluttershy felt like anypony could be the Element of Kindness. Just then, Fluttershy slammed into what she thought was a wall. “Oh my goodness!” she cried, falling to the dirt. She quickly dusted herself off, and noticed a familiar hoof in front of her face. She looked up slowly, her eyes meeting living emeralds. Her cheeks flushed bright pink when she realized she had run right into none other than Big Macintosh. “Oh dear, I am so sorry, Big Macintosh!” she said, quickly rising to her hooves without his assistance. Part of her wished she’d stayed on the ground until he walked away, being this much closer to his face was making her nervous. “I should have been watching where I was going…” Big Macintosh simply smiled at the mare. “No problem, Miss Fluttershy.” he said with a smile and a tip of his head. With that, the red coated stallion continued along his way. Now it was just Fluttershy and all these other ponies in the street she barely knew. Now she began feeling lucky she’d ran into Big Mac and not some angry merchant. As a distraction from the crowds, Fluttershy remembered how she’d been offered a chance to go to Manehattan. It had been a regular trip to the spa with Rarity, and it happened to be one of the times that Twilight had tagged along. Twilight had been late (not that anypony minded), and explained that she had lost track of time inquiring at the train station for a schedule. “Where are you going, darling?” Rarity had asked, interest glittering in her eyes. “Are you off to visit Princess Cadence and Shining Armour?” “I wish!” Twilight sighed. “Ever since the Coronation, I’ve been getting letters from bigwigs all across Equestria! I’ve managed to get the designers off of my back, who kept ‘offering’ to be my personal stylists, but it seems like now that I’ve gotten rid of one problem, three more have popped up in its place!” “Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “What does that have to do with the train schedule?” Twilight sighed and climbed into the hot tub. “Right, sorry. I keep getting letters from Equestria Publishers Ltd., they are insisting I pay a visit to their headquarters in Manehattan and get a tour of the place. They’re trying to butter me up to appear at a book signing for some mare I’ve never heard of before! I guess they think they can skyrocket her into popularity if the Bookworm Princess shows up at her signing! Ugh!” “There there, Twilight.” Rarity said, gently rubbing Twilights upper back with her hoof. “I’m guessing you finally said yes to the tour?” Twilight sighed. “I had to. I’ve been getting letters from them twice a day since I got settled back in Ponyville, and yesterday morning it increased to four! Spike can’t take much more of this.” the purple princess’ ears drooped. “But I’ve never been to Manehattan before, and my navigational skills in big cities aren’t the best.” Rarity immediately perked up. “Oh, darling! Why on earth didn’t you say so in the first place? I’ve been to Manehattan several times in my life! Why, I went there just a few months ago to have lunch with Fancypants. I’ll gladly be your tour guide!” Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again when Twilight burst into a grin. “Oh, you will! Thank you, Rarity! It’ll be so much more fun with you coming along! Especially since Spike will be staying here due to the nasty stomach ache he got because of the publishers.” the alicorn cried gleefully. “Anything for a friend, Twilight!” Rarity said happily. Fluttershy was quiet for a long moment, then grinned at her magical friends. “I hope you two have a wonderful time in Manehattan.” “Oh, Fluttershy! You should come along too!” Twilight said with a smile, pulling the pegasus closer. “M-me?” she asked, glad she’d suggested it but also a bit surprised. “Yes!” Rarity said with realization. “We three could paint the town red! Oh, and I could take you two to Manehattan Park Zoo! There are all sorts of interesting and exotic animals you could see there, Fluttershy!” “That does sound awfully nice…” Fluttershy murmured, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Okay, I’ll come with too then!” “Great!” Twilight said. “The train for Manehattan leaves at noon sharp! I’ll pick up three tickets tonight, and you two can meet me at the library before we go, okay?” “There you are, Fluttershy!” Twilight called. Fluttershy looked up in surprise, realizing she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she’d made it through the marketplace and all the way to the library’s front door. Her cheeks flushed as she wondered how long she’d been standing there before Twilight had opened the door. “Oh, hello Twilight. Forgive me for not knocking right away, I was…sidetracked.” the pegasus murmured. “It’s alright; I was actually just about to call out for Pinkie Pie. She was sitting in the living room one second, and the next second she’d disappeared into thin air!” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “I searched the entire library, even the basement lab, but she’s nowhere to be found.” “I’m sure she had a really good reason for taking off like that.” Fluttershy said with a quick nod. “Well, anyways, I’m glad I caught you on my way out!” “Out?” Fluttershy asked quizzically. Had she dreamt the entire spa conversation? “Yes, I have to run to the post office! An important shipment of books has arrived early from Canterlot, and I need to pick them up before we go to Manehattan, or else they’ll send the books back.” Twilight said. “Rarity should be here any minute, why don’t you relax a bit in the library until then?” Fluttershy felt relieved. “Oh, alright Twilight. I’ll be here when you get back.” she said with a smile. “Great! Try to stay quiet though, Spike is napping.” Twilight paused. “Oh, what am I saying, you’re never disruptive and loud, Fluttershy!” The pegasus smiled at the compliment, then stepped to the side so Twilight could head on her way. The two exchanged waves, and Fluttershy stepped into the library. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Fluttershy felt the hushed atmosphere wash over her. Her ears twitched slightly, and the very soft sound of a baby dragon’s snores reached her. She sighed contently and trotted quietly into the living room. The animal caretaker had always appreciated the quiet of libraries, especially Twilights library. It was so cozy and welcoming, as if the walls and floors themselves were eagerly inviting you to snuggle up to a good book. This library was more than just a place full of books, it was a sanctuary; a friend. That’s when Fluttershy noticed something different. In the corner of the room was a red, plush armchair, with a small table beside it. The pegasus recognized the table from upstairs, it usually had a lamp on it. She didn’t really recognize the chair, but came to realize that Twilight had probably moved them both down to the main floor so she could read as much as she pleased without disturbing Spikes sleeping. That, and his snoring was probably annoying after a while. Curiously, there was only a single book on the small table, and it was open. Even more curious, it had only been cracked open to the first actual page. Fluttershy figured Twilight wouldn’t mind if she took a small peak at what the alicorn had been reading, it was a public library after all. Fluttershy gently closed the book to peer at the hard surfaced cover. Her face lit up with glee when she read the title. “Ooooo, Cinderella!” she said softly. “Oh, and it’s such a pretty copy too!” Indeed, it was. The cover was a vivid shade of indigo, with lovely swirled patterns of light lavender all over it. The title itself was written in a delightful, white storybook cursive that was breathtaking just to look at. In the lower middle section of the cover, a mural that looked hoof-painted depicted a light brown earth pony with a fancy blonde mane, wearing a shimmering blue dress and donned the famous glass slippers. The more Fluttershy studied the cover, the bigger her smile got. She turned the book gently onto its side so she could take a look at the spine. Once again, Cinderella was printed in the same gorgeous text, and it looked almost as if the white text was glowing in the light of the sun. Then Fluttershy noticed something odd sticking out. At the top of the spine was a white sticker, with a bright pink star that looked an awful lot like Twilights cutie mark. Fluttershy pondered over what it could mean. Most of the books in the library had stickers on the bottom of the spine that were carefully placed, showing off the Dewhoof Decimal System that all libraries were organized by. But this sticker had been hastily slapped on. Fluttershy had quickly lost interest in the sticker and what its meaning could be; rather her thoughts were returning to the fact that she was holding a very unique copy of one of her favorite pony tales. As a filly, she’d read Cinderella every single night before bed, until she had lost her copy of it during her move to the cottage. The first few nights it was hard for her to sleep, but eventually she managed without the book. Giggling like a schoolfilly, she got comfortable in the armchair and opened the book back up to the first page of the story. Fluttershy gave in to the compelling urge to read the beautiful black text aloud, but quiet enough that she’d be the only one to hear it. “Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a young pony named Cinderella.” Fluttershy whispered, her wings twitching with excitement. “She lived with her stepmare and two stepsisters, whom of both were very wicked to her. The sisters made Cinderella do chores all day long, and when she was done her terrible stepmare made her sew together all of the dresses she had made… Huh, I don’t remember that part of the story. Must be a different version I guess.” Fluttershy squinted, wondering if there was something wrong with her vision. When she’d begun to read, the letters had been distinct and black. Now they seemed to be fading into the page. The pegasus figured it was all in her head, and continued on. “One day, Flutterel-” Fluttershy froze. Half of it was because she had just witnessed the name ‘Cinderella’ change to ‘Flutterellla’, right there on the page! The other half was because the text was next to non-existent, fading completely to white and giving off a soft glow. The pegasus squeaked in fear as the glow quickly intensified, causing her entire vision to fade to white. Fluttershy began to scream, but noise came out. Soon the glow died down, and the book was once more sitting on the table on page one, with nopony reading it.