The Pink Haired Woman

by Seran


Dream land hustle

The silhouette of a castle filled the night sky. A light was lit in one of the towers with an equine silhouette at the window. Inside, a dark blue alicorn paced back and forth beside the window, worried and frustrated at the news she just received.

She mumbled to herself as she paced the floor. Suddenly, she was alerted by a knock at the door. “Come forth,” she stated.

The guards opened the large palace doors and lead in a group of five small ponies of different races, and a baby dragon.

“Princess Luna,” said Twilight Sparkle, jumping ahead of the crowd. “We came as soon as we got your message. Did something happen?”

“There has been some further development with the situation of your friend Fluttershy.” The Princess said. “But they bring worry to us.”

“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Did that ape try to harm her?”

“Not exactly, Rainbow Dash.” The Princess explained. “’Tis not Fluttershy’s safety I am worried about.”

“You mean…” Rarity interjected, “You’re worried for this ‘John’ creature?”

“John is the primary caretaker for Fluttershy in this world,” the Princess continued. “If something were to happen to him, Fluttershy would be left alone with nopony to care for her. Earlier today, John started to go through a self-destructive spiral and broke down to near-suicidal tendencies.”

“What!?” the group shouted in surprise.

“He felt low self-worth after hearing some bad news and… almost killed a visitor.”

“What the hay is wrong with this guy?” Applejack exclaimed. “It’s just not right to harm a visitor.”

“And how dare he put our dear Fluttershy in danger,” Rarity interrupted.

“There is more.” The Princess stated. The crowd stopped their bickering. “In the midst of looking to harm himself, Fluttershy walked in.” The crowd paid closer attention. “He seems to look at her as something called a ‘Guardian Angel’. It appears her presence creates a form of calming spell on him, making him confess his grief and feel better about himself.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight questioned.

“Duh, it means mister sourpuss gets cheered up by Fluttershy’s kind nature and he forgets his troubles when he gets close to her!” Pinkie pie stated with her rapid speech.

“How would you know that?” Rainbow asked suspiciously.

“Well, I do like making ponies smile…” Pinkie replied with a grin. “Just call it my expert opinion.”

“That’s enough, girls.” Twilight stated. “We have to focus on how to help Fluttershy.”

“Yes.” Declared the Princess. “However, there is an issue. We have no way to communicate with her. The stone’s power will only let us go so far as to peer through and have a minute magical presence. But we haven’t a way to speak to her directly.”

The crowd stopped to ponder how they could communicate to Fluttershy. Pinkie sat on her tail poking her head repeating ‘think, think, think’. Twilight held her chin as she looked up at the ceiling. Rainbow Dash drew circles in the carpet before she answered.

“What about her dreams?” She suggested.

“Dreams?” Rarity asked.

“Scootaloo told me about how the Princess can go into a foal’s dreams to help them overcome their fears.” Rainbow Dash explained. “It can’t be different to try with Fluttershy, can it?”

“Rainbow, are you sure about this?” Applejack retorted.

“Rainbow Dash is right.” The Princess interrupted. “I have the power of the night to enter dreams. But adult dreams are a different matter.”

“How?” Applejack asked.

“Adult minds have a stronger willpower which makes it difficult to control their dreams. I may appear, but in the form they choose. Lucid dreaming may result in strange outcomes for this reason.”

“Are we able to follow you through, Princess?” Twilight asked. “We need to talk to her ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “I want to have a chat with this ‘John’ character.” She hit her hooves together in a way that scared Pinkie Pie.

Using her magic, Princess Luna pulled a book out of a nearby bookshelf labeled in their own language, ‘Dreams and Nightmares: Book of Advanced Spells.’ She began to flip through the pages.

“When we learned this spell from the Grand Unicorns we learned there was an addition to bring other ponies along.” She stopped on the page that carried the spell. “There is a chance this may not work through the barrier. Are you willing to go through with this?”

“I’m ready.” Rainbow Dash answered the question. “I want to talk with this ‘John.’”

“Count me in.” Applejack stated.

“For Fluttershy.” Rarity stepped forth.

“Me, me! I want to go into a dream!” Pinkie bounced with glee.

“I want to see this for myself.” Twilight joined the group.

“Well then,” the Princess declared. “We shall do this.”

___________________________________________________________________

John and Fluttershy sat silently on the couch, letting the television run cartoons. The awkward aura filled the air as the show ran into its conclusion. Fluttershy payed heavy attention to the show, but grew more tired as the show pressed on.

Suddenly, Fluttershy broke the silence with a loud, tired yawn. John noticed and looked at the clock on the cable box.

“I guess we should go to bed.” John turned off the TV. “It’s getting late.” John stood up, stretched his back, and began preparing for bed.

John turned to Fluttershy, looking at her half shut eyes. He gestured to her to help her up. Fluttershy looked at him with a confused look, not knowing what the gesture meant.

John let his hand drop in impatience. With his hands at his sides, he looked at her. “Are you coming then?”

Fluttershy slowly lifted herself from the couch with another yawn surfacing. She walked down the hall, stumbling as she walked to the bedroom. John watched her go and lightly smiled, covering his mouth as to not be seen. She quietly made her bed and set herself down to sleep.

Fluttershy slowly thought of what John stated earlier. His deep self-destructive spiral worried her. As her mind ran through these thoughts, she grew more tired and fell asleep.

John headed to bed, dropping into it with a plop. He let out a sigh as he counted the mistakes he made that day. He couldn’t stand how much of an idiot he was. He laid in the dark, thinking of how things could have gone better. He fell asleep slowly, his last thought being his brother’s words, ‘He’s dead.’

___________________________________________________________________

“The preparations are set, Princess.” Twilight said as she set the potion on the table.

“Excellent, Twilight Sparkle.” The Princess replied, “your friend and the human have just fallen asleep. Our window of opportunity has opened.” She set down the book and with the magic of her horn, she enchanted the potion. The dark blue glow stirred the potion until it boiled and changed from a dark orange color into a light tan drink. “The potion is ready,” the Princess called, “you must drink it and quickly get in your bedding. The potion acts fast.”

They each took a sip of the potion, feeling drowsy as they swallowed. Then they quickly they made their way into the prepared bedding. Within seconds, the ponies were asleep.

The Princess stepped close to them, her horn glowing , and connected her subconscious with theirs. Soon her eyes glowed and the spell set into motion.

___________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy was trotting down a field, her hooves clopping on the dirt and stones that lay beneath. She was glad to have her familiar equine body back. She lifted her wings and stretched them out. As she passed by a river she heard some sobbing. Her ears twitched towards the direction of the noise.

She paused to search for the sound and found a ferret cub crying on the river bank. She peeked over the bank and watched the ferret cry over two older ferrets which lay ahead of him. Fluttershy covered her mouth as she saw the motionless ferrets.

She was about to contact the ferret when a voice called over from the treeline.

“Fluttershy!” called a female voice.

Fluttershy couldn’t believe the voice she heard.

“Fluttershy,” a second voice said.

She rejected the voice as just a figment of her imagination..

“Fluttershy. Over here.” The third voice sounded.

She turned to see her friends waiting over the hill.

“Girls!” Fluttershy fluttered lightly and galloped to her friends. “Girls, I’m so glad to see you!”

Rainbow Dash flew up to her half-way through a step and tumbled Fluttershy down with a mighty embrace. “I missed you so much!” Rainbow Dash shouted in glee. “Don’t scare us like that again.”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy replied as she got out from the embrace. “How did I get home?”

The mares fell silent, hoping not to tell. It took Rainbow Dash great strength to tell the truth.

“You’re not home” Rainbow slowly said.

“W– what?” Fluttershy gasped in disbelief.

“We are in your dream.” A much louder voice came from behind. The larger winged unicorn came regally out from behind the tree. “There is much to discuss.”

“Umm... How did you girls get here?” Fluttershy asked.

“The Princess found a way to get us into your dream so we can talk.” Applejack said.

“We’ve been watching you from our world to make sure nothing bad is happening to you.” Rarity explained.

“You’ve been watching me.” Fluttershy blushed.

“We’ve also been watching that John character. He’s a real interesting stallion.” Pinkie Pie giggled.

Fluttershy rubbed her foreleg, saddened at the thought of John’s suffering.

“So you… saw him…?” She asked, suggesting his breakdowns.

“We saw one time.” Twilight answered. “We were absent for tonight’s… fit.”

“He’s such a crybaby.” Rainbow Dash stated with a smile.

Fluttershy paused and looked at her. Walking up to Rainbow, she looked her in the eye.

“How could you say that about him?” She said angrily. “You only saw him through a looking glass. He has been through a lot. Today he said his father died and he didn’t know about it for a while. He took me in when nopony wanted to and took time out of his own life to keep me happy.” She came closer to Rainbow Dash. “He may be a carnivorous, violent stallion, but he is going through much and you would go through the same in his hooves.”

The group was silent. Rainbow Dash fell on her rump in surprise.

“Fluttershy.” The silence was broken by Twilight. “Where did that come from?”

Fluttershy covered her face with her hooves. “I’m sorry, girls.” She said, tears running down her face. “I just… He’s… in a fragile state. He needs somepony to help him. Sorry I got upset.”

The Princess walked forward and looked down at the saddened pegasus. “You appear to be fond of this ape.” She said, as she put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“He’s really nice once you get to know him.” Fluttershy sniffed back the tears. “He reminds me of an injured animal.”

“Be wary of the friends you make in this world.” The Princess continued. “Over the years, we had made many expeditions into their world. All we learned was the languages from the old land and their ability to destroy each other.” She looked down with a frown.

“The ponies… I mean people, as they say, are nice and willing to help me. Except for one.” Fluttershy recalled.

The Princess looked at her with displeasure. “Well you must be wary,” she warned. “We may have powerful magic in our world, but it does not work in theirs. The mark that makes humans special is their ability to adapt and destroy anything they see as a threat.”

Fluttershy fell silent, taking in what she said.

“You must find a way to keep safe. You are trapped there until the next full moon. The stone will give you a twenty-four-hour window to get home again.” The Princess explained.

“I’ll stay with John. He’ll keep me safe.”

The Princess raised an eyebrow. She looked at the yellow mare with curiosity. “Are you sure you can trust him?”

“Well, I…” Fluttershy thought of how to explain his situation. “He’s a nice stallion and has given me everything I needed so far.” She took a breath to continue, “He knows he has to care for me and I have to care for him in return.” She looked at the ground, thinking of what mess she was in.

A hoof fell on her shoulder to calm her down. “We know you feel attached to him,” said Twilight. “We’re just worried for your safety.”

“I… I wish you could talk to him.” Fluttershy protested. “Maybe you can see how safe I am with him.”

The Princess looked at her deep in thought. The other equines looked at her as he turned her frown of thought into a smile of pleasure. “We’ll give you ten minutes to do what you wish. Then we move on.” The Princess announced.

“Move on to where?” Pinkie asked.

“We will move on to John.”

The group was surprised by the announcement. Fluttershy in particular was relieved by the fact.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” Shouted Pinkie, “let’s play a game while we still can.”

The group then galloped onto the field and chased one another, playing a game of tag. The Princess walked over to the riverbank to rest. She looked into the creek and saw the ferret making itself comfortable around the two older ferrets on the ground.

_______________________________________________________________________

John opened his eyes to a large desert landscape. The sun’s glare was dim and red with the pollution in the air. John stood in the wind walking forward towards the silhouette of a town crumbled in its own weight. Entering the town, his eyes came across a street littered in bodies. John saw one familiar face and refused to inspect more.

Deep in the ruins he could hear a soft crying coming from the center of town. As he listened closely he sensed some familirity. He proceeded to follow it. Following the noise, he found its source, a church with a hole in its roof.

He walked inside only to see the figure of a large wings sitting down in the front row. John slowly moved ahead to investigate.

Step by step, the crying grew more familiar. Slowly, he realized who it was.

“Fluttershy?” he called. He received no response.

“Fluttershy!” he called much louder this time. She uncovered her face and looked at John. The face was hers, yet John was more worried of the large white plumage that came out of her back. He grew worried of what may come.

“I’m sorry, John,” she said without turning to see him. “I have to leave now.” Spreading her wings, she headed underneath the hole in the church.

John grew depressed at her decision. “Stop!” He shouted, tears coming down his cheeks. “Don’t leave me!”

Fluttershy didn’t listen. Slowly, she began to ascend through the hole.

“Don’t go!” John kept shouting, “I don’t want to be alone!”

Once she went out of sight, John fell to his knees and began to cry. His heart couldn’t take another loss.

As quickly as Fluttershy left, he saw the shadows of angels coming overhead. New voices fell onto his ears. One seemed to be arguing about not being as big as the others.

John looked up to see six angels hovering over the church. The intense bright light coming from the sky impeded his view. He could only make out the shapes. The one in front had long smoky hair. The other five had medium length hair with varying shapes and styles. Their motions felt like silent bickering amongst the five in the back.

“Mister John.” Said the foremost angel in a booming voice. “Do not be afraid.”

John could not believe what he was seeing. He covered his eyes, blocking the excess light. “Who are you?” He asked with much confusion in his head.

“We are friends of Fluttershy’s, the mare you took into your home,” she continued.

“What do you want from me?” John was slightly confused with the equine terminology.

“We want to assure your care is best for her.”

“Under m– my…” John mumbled in confusion “What do you mean?”

“We’ve been watchin’ you taking care of our friend.” One said in a Southern drawl.

“And I gotta say, we’re not impressed.” The short one declared.

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to this. Don’t curse me!” John fell to his knees and pleaded.

The group stopped to mumble amongst themselves. They then followed by looking back at him.

“We are not that kind of being,” the foremost one continued, “we just care for the safety of our Fluttershy.”

John thought for a moment. “Why is she here?” he asked them. “Why did you send her to me?”

“She came here by accident.” the front one continued, “She is trapped with you until the next full moon.”

“Why the next full moon?” John asked.

“That is when the portal will reopen and passage home will open again.”

“Home…” John whispered to himself coming into an understanding for this. “I just have one question. Is Lucia Grimmer with you?” He asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

The group mumbled amongst themselves again. Finally, one responded. “We have so many ponies here that we probably haven’t met them.”

John felt relieved but confused. “So, when we die, we turn into horses?”

The group was now confused.

“Please, just take good care of our friend.” The front one said.

“Or we’ll have to punish you if you don’t,” the short one said, punching her hand.

“Rainbow.” One of them scolded.

Suddenly, the scenery gave out and the group quickly ascended into the sky, disappearing in a flash.

______________________________________________________________________

John awoke, vividly remembering the events of the Dream. He sat up in his bed and looked at the door. He continued to look without knowing what to expect. One thought was in his head. ‘That was a strange dream.’