"Hey, Flaky! Come over here!" Flippy called, from his position on top of a rabbit shed. "Look how cute she is!" Flaky looked up from the chicken walking between her legs and smiled.
"Okay, just a second." They were all currently at Fluttershy's house, looking at her animals. It's been three days since they got to Equestria, and they were all getting used to their new bodies. Rainbow Dash and Handy were inside, practicing wing strengthening movements, since he'll be constantly flying for the next five months. Lumpy was trying to un-stick one of his antlers from the chicken coup, Lammy was enjoying a picnic with the Mole, Rarity and Mr.Pickles, and Splendid was hiding in a tree branch, hoping that the twins wouldn't find him. They had been targeting him more than usual, now that they were all equines, and he couldn't get his laser-eyes to work to defend himself. Cuddles and Giggles were cuddling on Fluttershys' couch. Petunia was hiding in the bathroom. The Mime was having a juggling contest with Pinkie. Rainbow dash attempted to move her eyes fast enough to judge. Nutty sat in the kitchen, eating out of the sugar jar while Fluttershy made small attempts to stop him.
The overall fact was that everyone was happy. Flaky noted this as she looked around, before trotting over to Flippy and looking at the young rabbit he was stroking with his hoof. He had the biggest smile on his face. Flaky smiled at the serenity of it all. Peace was such a rare thing back at home.
...She only hoped it would last.
The days moved by quickly, and Flaky found herself quite happy with this new place. She loved the peace they had here. Even the occasional craziness was enjoyable, rather than painful. She really liked it here.
However, the day of the one-week mark, things got out of hand. Or, rather, out of hoof.
Early one morning, Pinkie burst into the barn with a shout. "Good morning everypony!!!!" Pinkie yelled, hopping over Flippy, who woke with a start. She nearly landed on top of the Mole, practically bursting with excitement. "Today, I'm holding a party for you all! Isn't that exiting?!?!" She yelled, bouncing up and down. "Since I didn't get to throw you one when you first got here, I thought, hey, why not throw one now? You absolutely HAVE to have a welcome party! Its practically my job to throw them for every new pony that comes into town! So, at noon, You all can home down to Sugar Cube Corner for a great big welcome party!!!" The pink mare was vibrating by now, a grin splitting her face in half. "Well, I've got to go invite Applejack, so, see you there!" She yelled again, before bouncing out of the barn.
All of the tree friends sat around in confusion. "Uhmmm..." Flaky began, quietly. Her voice still stood out in the post-Pinkie silence. "A party does sound pretty nice, its been a long time since we've had one." Everyone nodded.
"I'm loads of fun at parties!' Splendid boasted, from the rafters where he slept.
Flaky rolled her eyes, but laughed at the same time.
Breakfast went as normal, and Applejack led all the Tree Friends into town to go to the party. It was a mostly private thing - Twilight forced Pinkie not to invite the whole town because she didn't want to have to explain the strange group's arrival - so only the six they had originally met would be there. Flaky was okay with that, though - She had never been to good at making new friends, and the six ponies - plus the baby dragon - were plenty new friends for her.
As they moved through town to get too Sugar Cube Corner, Flaky couldn't help but feel a bit worried, but pushed it into the back of her mind. This couldn't possible go as bad as the last party she had went to. But still...She found herself glancing back at Flippy a couple times, who was in an animated conversation with Splendid. Maybe bringing him to a party wouldn't be a good idea...?
A loud crash interrupted her thoughts. She, out of instinct, flinched and hunched down. She peaked through her eyelids and discovered that a nearby flower selling cart had broken. She peaked at Flippy. He was walking over to help the tan mare pick her flowers up. Flaky stood back up and smiled. Maybe coming here had desensitized flippy. She didn't seem to have anything to worry about.
The setback was only momentary, and they soon reached Sugar Cube Corner. They came through the front doors to find everyone there, and quickly began to spread out and socialize.
"Ooh, Ooh! They're here!" Came a yell from the stairs, where pinkie just dropped the cake she was carrying. Everyone looked up at her. "I have to go get my party cannon!"
For a single moment, time stopped in Flaky's eyes. "No, ahh, Pinkie, please!" She yelled, running towards the stairs. "Not a cannon!"
"Relax, Flaky." Twilight said, "its not a real cannon. It can't hurt anybody."
Flaky shook her head. "No, you don't understand..."
But it was too late.
There was a loud BANG, a louder POP, and confetti flew across the room. Flippy froze. The rest of the Tree Friends froze as well, except for lumpy, who was still eating cake.
His eyes changed color, his mane spiking out slightly and his teeth getting sharper. He let out a deep, dark laugh, spreading his wings wide and preparing for a leap.
Twilight suddenly remembered what Flaky had told her about him.
In a flash, Fliqpy had leaped over the food table and grabbed the cake-cutting knife - The large kind, often used for pizza. He landed square on Lumpy's back, filling the room with the sound of a sickening crunch. Lumpy let out a scream, but was quickly cut off when Fliqpy ran the knife in his mouth across the blue throat. Blood sprayed across the cake and punch bowl, splattering on the opposite wall.
He turned and ran across the room, slashing the knife across Fluttershy's leg as he did so. She let out a pained scream and fell backwards,. straight into Twilight, who had been starting a spell to restrain Fliqpy. Twilight's head hit the corner of a table, knocking her unconscious.
The next one in his path was the Mole, who couldn't figure out what all the commotion was. The knife, ironically enough, went straight through his eye and into his brain, killing him near-instantly. He slumped over, knife still inside.
Flaky was hiding in a corner, nearly hyperventilating out of fear. He was coming her way. She tried to crawl under the table, but it was bucked aside before she could. Yellow eyes, once so kind, stared down at her in crazed excitement. Time slowed down as she saw green forelegs rear up in front of her, powerful hooves ready to crash down into her skull...She closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.
Only to find that it never came.
She opened her eyes to see Flippy slumped down in front of her, a blue-wrapped punch bowl floating above him. Rarity had saved the day, from across the room using her magic.
Flaky stood up slowly, whimpered, and then proceeded to faint straight back onto the floor.