//------------------------------// // Loneliness // Story: Fluttershy's Garden // by SilentWanderer //------------------------------// I do not know what I am doing here. The treetops filter the sunlight. It is dark, and cold. I am afraid. The wind makes howling noises while passing through the tree branches. I start walking. I do not want to get caught by an Everfree Forest beast. The wind shakes the leaves around me. The terrain is irregular. There is no trail here. I do not know where to go. The trees are scary. Their branches look like claws. I try to walk in a straight line. I do not want to get even more lost. I carefully step over a large tree's roots. How long have I been walking? I see movement ahead. I hide behind a bush. A large animal passes by. It did not see me. I wait to make sure it is gone. I resume walking. The terrain is easier now. I see a path. The path is dark, and cold. I choose a direction on the path. How long have I been walking? The path gets wider. I see sunlight. I walk faster. I exit the forest. I am near my house. I fly towards it. -*-*-*- My house is a mess. All the furniture has been upturned. The animals are all over the place. Some of them are fighting. “Are you all hungry?” They ignore me. I go to my kitchen to get them some food. There are boxes of food all over the kitchen. There is no food left. It looks like my animals ate all of it while I was away. I hear a knock on the door. “Fluttershy, are you there?” “I'm here, Rainbow Dash!” “Is there anypony home?” I fly towards the door. “Just a moment!” Out of the window, I see Rainbow Dash flying away. I follow her. -*-*-*- “She wasn't there, Twilight!” “I am worried. Pinkie is saying that something bad is going to happen.” “Girls? I'm right here.” “I will keep looking for her.” “Thanks, Rainbow.” “Twilight? Can't you see me? Can't you hear me?” Rainbow Dash flies away. “What's going on?” I say. “Twilight?” She does not react, even when I wave my hoof in front of her eyes. I decide to go to Sugarcube Corner. Perhaps Pinkie Pie can help me. I find Pinkie Pie in front of the bakery. Her whole body is shaking. “Pinkie? Can you see me? Pinkie?” She ignores me, and continues shaking. “Can anypony see me,” I yell to all the ponies walking on the street. Nopony answers. I walk in front of a passing pony. “Can you see me?” I try with another pony. “Can you see me?” I try with another. “Can you see me?” I sit in the middle of the street, dejected. “Why is everypony ignoring me?” -*-*-*- I see Rarity entering the Carousel Boutique, and follow her. “Please, Rarity, can you help me? Everypony is ignoring me. Is it something that I did? Did I do anything wrong?” She does not answer. Humming, she goes to a shelf and examines several rolls of fabric. She pauses for a moment on a green one, and continues. I sigh, and exit the Carousel Boutique. My last hope is Applejack. -*-*-*- “Please, Applejack. Tell me what I did, that was so bad that the whole town is ignoring me.” She kicks another tree. Many apples fall in the buckets arranged around her. She moves the buckets towards the next tree, aims at the correct spot, and kicks it. “Please, Applejack. Please. Please. Please...” I cry. Even then, she still ignores me, and continues to work on the trees. “Applejack!” Rainbow Dash lands next to her. “Did you see Fluttershy anywhere?” “No, I didn't. Why? Is something wrong?” “Nopony has seen her since before yesterday. Her house is a mess. Twilight is worried, and Pinkie has been shaking nonstop.” Applejack jumps at the last part. “Pinkie sense?” “Yeah, it is creeping me out too. Last time that happened, you guys faced a hydra, right?” Applejack abandons her work and runs towards the town, followed by Rainbow Dash. I fly after them. “If Pinkie is twitching, and Fluttershy disappeared, it must mean that something happened to Fluttershy!” “Girls? I'm right here. What is going on?” -*-*-*- They arrive at the library. Twilight is nervously walking in circles, while Rarity and Spike try to calm her. Pinkie Pie is still shaking, in a corner of the room. “Thank Celestia you two arrived. Any news?” “Nothing,” answers Rainbow Dash. “We have to find her. Does anypony have any piece of information, no matter how small it might look like?” “Last time I saw her was before yesterday at the market. She was buying some food,” says Applejack. “Yeah, that was when I last saw her too,” says Twilight. “The same for Rarity and Spike. Rainbow met her when she was leaving the market. She was walking in the direction of her home. There is nothing odd or unusual.” “What do we do, Twilight?” asks Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, you went to her home. What did you see there?” “I knocked on the door, but nopony answered. So I looked through the window. The animals took over the house, Twilight. They broke all the furniture, and they are angry!” “They are not angry, they are just hungry! And they did not break anything, they just moved it a little out of place. Why does nopony listen to me?” I say. “So she has not been there recently. Fluttershy would not let her animals behave like that,” says Twilight. “If Fluttershy did not go to her house, where did she go?” asks Rarity. “I have no idea,” says Twilight, walking in circles. “I talked with the Mayor, and asked her to tell the whole town to look for Fluttershy. If anypony saw her after she came back from the market, we will know. Then we will at least know where to start looking for her.” Pinkie Pie stops shaking. She runs to the door and opens it, surprising the Mayor, who has her hoof raised in preparation to knocking on the door. She enters, and Twilight closes the door behind her. She clears her throat. “We found her.”