"—uncertain that we should be shouldering so much risk."
"But is it not worth the risk, sister?"
"…"
"Are we not indebted to her? To all of them?"
"I don't deny that! But the risk to us—to Equestria—should anything happen to the Elements… I do not know if one pony can be worth that risk."
"…"
"Please, don't look at me like that, Luna."
"How should I look at you, sister?"
"…"
"…"
"You know where our responsibilities lie. It is not as though nothing is being done. I have top minds looking into it. They simply need time."
"More time than we have, sister."
"Luna?"
"I had aeons, sister, aeons of memories. It took years for it to affect me and years longer for it to take over. You couldn't have known before you did."
"…"
"I doubt she has more than a decade or two’s worth. She will not last as long as I."
"How long?”
"Perhaps a few days, perhaps even a week. She is a bearer and perhaps that may aid her."
"I… I will see that their efforts are redoubled."
“…”
“…”
"Celestia?"
"I know you believe yourself indebted, that you must do all in your power to aid her, but we must think of Equestria. Please do not think me cold for saying such."
"I… I do not."
"…"
"But if these top minds have no answers?"
"…"
"…"
"Then we will trust in the Elements."
"…"
"…"
"Sister?"
"Yes, Luna?"
"Thank you."
"…"
"…"
"You should rest, Luna. The sun shall rise soon."
"Just a bit longer."
"…"
"…"
"Good night to you, sister."
"And good morning to you."
"…"
"Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t know anypony was in here or I would have knocked."
"You needn’t apologize. You perhaps have more claim to be here than I."
"Princess?"
"She is your friend after all."
"And yours too… in a way."
"You’ve been studying the Elements again?"
"How did you… nevermind. Yes I have. Anything that might help."
"My sister still seeks to understand them as well. They reside in the hooves of her most trusted advisors as we speak."
"Princess Celestia believes that they can help?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. She is merely being diligent in her caution. As is her duty as ruler."
"Caution?"
"You know what afflicts your friend, do you not, Twilight Sparkle?"
"No. Actually I don’t. I have guesses and theories, but nothing concrete."
"…"
"Why haven’t you told us?"
"…"
"…"
"I am sorry for this, Twilight. I should have seen to it that you of all ponies were informed, but the risks this information carries—"
"Princess, I’d much rather you tell me than explain why you shouldn’t."
"…"
"…"
"I see Lady Applejack has influenced you a great deal. Rather blunt in your dealings with royalty, are we not?"
"Princess—"
"Please, let these formalities fall aside. ‘Luna’ shall suffice our need for expediency."
"Alright."
"…"
"…"
"I fear embarrassment may rob me of my tongue… but may guilt allow my conscience speech. Twilight, your friend's affliction is somewhat my own doing."
"What?!"
"Not my own creation, but certainly of my own doing. My own will… or lack thereof."
"You’re not making sense, Luna."
"I’m certain you have a theory, wise though young Twilight Sparkle."
"…"
"…"
"Nightmare Moon."
"In a sense… I was Nightmare Moon… she was—is—a part of me. The darkest part of myself."
"I… I still don’t understand."
"Do you know why I became Nightmare Moon? Do you recall the legends?"
"Uh… just that you became jealous of Princess Celestia… that you were angry that ponies would play in her day and shun your night. But I assume it wasn’t that simple… was it?"
"Indeed not, though what you said does not ring false. Even now I shoulder some… resentment for my sister’s place in the hearts of our ponies. But I would not be so careless and callous as to rend from our subjects her life-giving sun. An eternal night is careless at best, a damning of the world at worst…"
"…"
"And still I attempted it not only once, but twice."
"You… or Nightmare Moon?"
"We are one in the same, Twilight."
"But she wanted eternal night…"
"And to some extent, so do I. But I know what insanity it is. I have the wisdom to be satisfied with the way things are."
"But… not then?"
"No, I ceded control to another. Of my own free will, I allowed my mind and body to be corrupted by the nightmare’s ancient power. And it is this same power that afflicts your friend."
"Then surely the Elements of Harmony—"
"Could save your friend?"
"Yes."
"It is possible. I believe as you do, but with a bearer the befallen one…"
"But couldn’t it? Even with—"
"I do not know. Celestia does not know. I scarcely hope that even her brightest minds could ever truly know without trying. Even if we had the time."
"Had the… How much time does she have, Luna?"
"I fear not much longer. I have seen the affliction from the other side. Its curse is insidious and swift. Even weakened as it is."
"But you survived it… and if it's weakened then—"
"I am an alicorn, Twilight Sparkle. I have lived for thousands of years and become stronger over those many millennia. I do not wish to be so blunt, but, compared to me, she is but a newborn foal unsteady in her first steps. It moves so quickly and—I am afraid—it will devour her if left unchecked."
"I… I…"
"There is little more to say, Twilight. We can only wait and hope for now."
"But we have to do something."
"I agree… and we shall. I promise you at least that."
[o.0.o]
It was a sunny day.
The last morning before their performance at the Summer Sun Celebration and Fluttershy found herself wondering how exactly she’d let herself be talked into performing before the whole town. Not to mention in front of the Princess of the Sun herself!
She’d have to learn to be more assertive when it came to Rarity’s requests. Just a Rainbow had been telling her for years.
But for once, she wasn’t nervous. Anxious to be certain, but brimming with confidence in her avian friends. They had worked so hard and so long to prepare.
Even if there were still a few well-intentioned show-offs among them.
Off-key and off-rhythm, one in particular, an adolescent blue jay, belted out his part of the song with far more gusto than necessary, desired or remotely tolerable.
"Oh my," Fluttershy mused quietly to herself, nervously glancing aside before addressing the songbirds. "Um, stop, please, everyone."
The birds fell immediately silent, but Fluttershy could see the little blue jay puffing out his feathers, proud and wholly ignorant of his aural malfeasance as Fluttershy flew up and hovered before him.
"Um, excuse me, sir," Fluttershy began, shocking him from his proud stance with surprised chirp. "I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off."
The bird nodded happily, Fluttershy smiling at the gesture before hovering away from the tree.
He was a good bird, too prideful at times, but she knew his heart was in the right place.
"Now, follow me, please. A one. A two. A one-two-three—"
"Hello!"
A voice broke in, shaking her concentration and sending her birds scattering away as she gasped in surprise.
As Fluttershy turned, she found an unfamiliar, purple unicorn on the ground below, a sheepish grin now forming on her face as the birds’ screeches slowly quieted.
"Oh my. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten your birds," the interloper explained nervously. "I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful."
The unicorn’s sheepish grin became a reassuring smile as Fluttershy floated to the ground, her heart still beating from the shock.
She was thankful for the compliment, but found herself actively avoiding the unicorn’s eyes, pawing at the ground nervously for want of something to occupy herself as she glanced up sparingly.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn stated, friendly grin hiding an obvious nervousness that Fluttershy took no comfort in. “What's your name?"
"Um… I'm Fluttershy," she mumbled in reply.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Uh…" Fluttershy began softly, instinctively shrinking away from the unicorn before repeating herself even more softly.
"Didn't quite catch that."
She veritably squeaked her name from behind her long, pink mane, letting it cover the blush she felt burning her cheeks.
"Well, um, it looks like your birds are back," Twilight stated nervously, soft chirps filling the silence behind them. "So I guess everything's in order… Keep up the good work."
Fluttershy squeaked out a thanks, standing stone-still as though her body had solidified into a yellow statue.
As she watched, Twilight retreated to talk to somepony—no someone—by a bush. A tiny, adorable—
"A baby dragon!" she cried out excitedly, nervousness forgotten as she rushed over, knocking Twilight out of her way. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute."
"Well, well, well," his smug voice echoed, but there was nothing there.
There was no baby dragon.
There was just a empty spot beside the bush.
As she looked back, the tree was empty despite the trills and chirps she heard… distantly.
But still, there was a purple unicorn on the ground, picking herself up in a daze, as she stood a blankness seemed to fill Fluttershy’s vision, the unicorn fading until—
[o.0.o]
"Fluttershy!"
She awoke with a start, eyes wide as a pair of hooves shook her mercilessly.
"Wh-wha—Twi-ilight?" she stuttered confusedly as she took in her surroundings.
They were at the cottage again.
It was empty now. The walls were completely bare of everything that was supposed to be, only the barest essentials left.
Fluttershy lay on the ground as the purple hooves lifted off her flank, snapping back to their very frightened and frazzled looking unicorn owner.
"Oh, thank Celestia. You’re awake." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course I am. You woke me up," Fluttershy stated bluntly, staring up at Twilight from her side. Slowly, she rolled to a more comfortable position on her belly as the unicorn trotted over to the front window. "You were shaking me really hard too…"
"Oh, sorry about that," Twilight muttered distractedly, staring out the front window before moving on to the next and then the next. "It's just I could feel it happening and I got kind of well… terrified."
"Feel what happening?"
"I was just… fading away. Like a candle about to be blow out in the wind. I don't know how else to explain it," her voice echoed from the bathroom before the unicorn darted towards the cottage's back windows in the kitchen.
"That's…" Fluttershy hesitated to call the explanation insane if only for reasons of propriety. "I don't even know what that is, Twilight."
"That's fine." Twilight flopped to the ground next to the pegasus. "I think we ought to be confused. None of this really makes any sense. I mean, it's not exactly normal, right?"
"No… it’s not."
"But as long as we're still here, there's still a chance to fix it."
"But what are we trying to fix? It seems like everything that's wrong is wrong in my head!"
Twilight was silent a moment, her eyes darting around the cottage as if the answers would be found there, mixed into the woodwork.
"You… may be onto something there, Fluttershy. I think you might’ve gotten it."
"What? Gotten what? I feel like I understand less than ever!" Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow at the purple unicorn, Twilight grinning at her with an almost maniacal look of excitement.
Maybe Twilight really had cracked, but—
"Exactly!"
"Exactly what?"
"That! What you were just thinking. You think I've cracked. You might even say that I've gone 'loco in the coco,'" Twilight explained, her voice twisting strangely at the last word as she rubbed her forehooves together, "And it's true. We have gone crazy. Together!"
"Twilight you're making… sense."
"No, Fluttershy, you're making sense! You get it, right?"
"I… maybe? I think so… but…" Fluttershy grimaced at the mere thought of it. It seemed even worse than if everything was real. "I don't know any other way to explain it."
"And neither do I!" Twilight yelled with a triumphant jab of a hoof. "And that's why it fits! I don’t have a single idea that you don’t! Doesn't that make you just ecstatic?"
Fluttershy chuckled. "You're just glad that you understand it. Isn't that right?"
"Exactly!" she declared, throwing a hoof around Fluttershy. "I am Twilight Sparkle after all! well, sort of her."
"But if this is all in my head then—?"
"What's going on out there?" Twilight finished the thought, excited smile fading away. "I don't know, but I don't think that we're alone in here. Can you feel it?"
"I… No, I don't think so." Fluttershy looked down, trying to think back over the past few days, but only able to manage a few disparate images, little more than distinctly colored blurs. "I don't remember much of the last few days. I just have a strange feeling about them."
"Do you remember me?"
"Well, of course I do, Twilight."
"Right. Right. Otherwise I wouldn't be here… probably."
"I… suppose so."
"Okay… let's just think about this logically then."
"That sounds like Twilight."
"Yes, well, thank you for that. But on to more pressing things," Twilight stated with a confident stomp of her hoof.
"I… I guess we start with what we know."
"Yes! We should, shouldn't we?" Twilight intoned happily as she took up a quick pace, back and forth in front of Fluttershy. "So what do we know so far?"
"Well, this is all in my head somehow."
"So we're in the subconscious… maybe a dream of some kind."
"But things are off and I've been having headaches. I do remember those…"
"Alright, headaches and things being different than they should be. The obvious symptoms."
"Symptoms?"
"Well, assuming this is some kind of illness," she stated matter-of-factly, taking a wayward glance out the window.
"Um, I don't really know anything else."
"C'mon, Fluttershy, think!" Twilight snapped her head around, glaring at the pegasus.
"I'm trying to!" Fluttershy cried out, closing her eyes as she rubbed her hooves against her temples.
"Okay… okay. Well just… think about what you do remember."
Fluttershy was very silent for a few moments as she tried to relax herself. She simply focused on her breaths. In and out. In and out.
"I remember the…" She didn't want to say it, but it was the clearest one she had. "I remember going to her… her…"
"Her funeral. Rainbow Dash's funeral."
"Yes," Fluttershy whispered quietly. "I remember you being there. You and some other ponies. A…"
A pink earth pony with a balloon, quiet for a moment, laughter subsumed by sadness.
An orange earth pony, trying her best to console her friends, comforting without empty words, with only honesty.
"But I can't see them…"
"Just try, Fluttershy. That's all I'm asking," Twilight whispered as she set a hoof on the pegasus's back.
"Okay."
A unicorn, her tears would come later, for now she would be generous with her strength.
And there was Twilight, prepared as always, even when nopony could be for the loss of a friend.
"Twilight, it's not working…" Fluttershy trailed off into silence as she found them no longer in her cottage, but in a familiar field, her voice choked by the lump in her throat.
"I think we may have stumbled onto something," Twilight muttered from somewhere to her side, but the pegasus wasn't listening.
There, far below the willow beneath which the pegasus lay was the funeral, just as she remembered it. Only—
"Twilight… they aren't there."
"Yes they are! They're just… oh…"
Down below, there was a group of ponies.
Five ponies.
Only they were like no ponies that Fluttershy had ever seen before.
They seemed to the barest shadow of a pony—no mane nor tail nor coat of fur—just a body and the base structure of a pony left.
"Wh-what are they?"
"I don't know."
As Fluttershy rose nervously to her hooves, the purple unicorn began to trot down the hill.
"C'mon, Fluttershy, just… stay close."
"Okay," Fluttershy replied in barely more than a whisper as she followed close on her friend's hooves, peering around the unicorn as they descended.
As they drew closer, more details of the strange ponies became visible. Moving to the left of the shadow ponies' side in a slow circle, they could see only gaping white eyes on their otherwise featureless faces.
One shadow had a pair of wings that seemed to be in a constant state of disintegration, filtering away in the breeze only to reform the next moment to be blow away again. Another pair of them had horns that followed suit, the unicorns appearing to lose and gain their horns with each gust. The last of them had hooves that seemed to leech into the soil before returning with quiet crackle in perpetuity. Really their only means of distinction between one another.
"Um… hello?" Twilight called out as they approached the group, Fluttershy's eyes darting between her friend, the shadow ponies and the familiar casket. "Anypony home?"
"Tw-twilight…" Fluttershy squeaked audibly as the shadow ponies turned to stare at them in unison. They remained silent, however, looking with eyes that pulsed gently with that strange white light.
"They don't seem particularly aggressive." Twilight swayed from side to side, watching the five sets of sightless eyes following her every move. "I'm not sure they even have the capacity for aggression. They seem kinda… dumb."
"Oh, you shouldn't make fun of ponies like that…" Fluttershy stated simply, eyes refocusing on the casket.
"Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"I don't think they're actual ponies," Twilight stated as she waved a hoof, the shadow ponies following her hoof-tip. "I don't think they'll be offended."
"Twilight, can we go somewhere else… please?"
"Hm?"
"I… I really don't like it here. I want to go somewhere else," Fluttershy spoke in barely more than a whisper.
"They aren't going to hurt us, Fluttersh—" She glanced over her shoulder at the trembling pegasus, following her gaze to find the heart of her perturbation. "Oh…"
"I hate this memory."
"Fluttershy…"
"Why couldn't I forget this one?" Fluttershy asked, glancing up expectantly at the overcast skies above before burying her head in her hooves, screwing her eyes shut. "Why can't things just go back to normal?"
"F-Fluttershy?"
"What?!"
She opened her eyes to find that the grassy valley they had been in had been replaced by something new.
"Fluttershy, where are we?" Fluttershy looked to find Twilight standing over her.
Twilight seemed smaller than usual. Her voice higher.
They were in a room that was familiar to the pegasus. The comforter, the bed, the windows, the door, even the voices just outside…
"Fluttershy, you okay?"
"Twilight, why are you a little filly?" Fluttershy asked dumbly, the unicorn cocking an eyebrow as she took a step back.
"What do you mean, I was always a…" Twilight looked down to find that she was no longer a full-grown mare before she glanced up. "Huh. You're different too."
"What?" Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder to find that she’d been affected as well. Her body was that of a young filly, gangly, awkward legs and all. Slowly she stood on her disproportionately long legs, wobbling slightly as the bed bowed beneath her.
"Er… can I touch the floor?" Twilight asked nervously, eying the cloud floor of the room, reaching over the side of the bed to test it with a hoof.
"You should be fine, I think. This isn't real after all," Fluttershy replied before watching as Twilight hopped tentatively off the bed. As her hooves contacted the floor, the unicorn bounced slightly, a smile forming on her face.
"Oooh… it’s all squishy and nice." She let out a rather juvenile squeal of delight as she gave an experimental hop.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy watched the little unicorn bounce up and down.
"Oh, I almost wish I was born a pegasus. You guys get to do this stuff all the time!"
"Twilight, are you feeling okay?" Fluttershy was used to the unicorn being somewhat excitable at times, but this seemed excessive, especially as the unicorn bounced about, delighted squeals filling the room. "Twilight?"
"What's up, Fluttershy?" She landed with an enormous smile on her face, body buzzing with filly energy.
"Um, well, you seem a little… excitable. If you don't mind me saying so," Fluttershy muttered as she lowered herself off the bed, a knot reforming in her stomach as the pair of familiar voices bickered outside.
"Oh! Serious business. Right. Sorry," Twilight muttered, grinning sheepishly as she halted her momentum.
"It's okay. I don't think it's your fault."
"Yeah, it's just that being like this," the little unicorn gestured to her now more diminutive form. "I just feel so excited! I don't even know why."
"Maybe it's the way you told me your cutie mark story"—Fluttershy’s brow furrowing in concentration—"I remember when you finished the story you wouldn't stop jumping around the table. I didn't think you'd ever stop. Seemed as though you were probably a pretty excitable little filly."
"Well… okay… but where are we?"
"This…" Fluttershy paused as she looked around the room.
The voices from the next room were muffled by the walls, but she knew what they were talking about, she knew what came next.
"This is where I grew up in Cloudsdale… with my parents…"
"Oh, so this is what a cloud house looks like on the inside?"
"Pretty much, not all of them are so nice though…" Fluttershy hopped off the bed, but made no move to go further.
Twilight didn't reply as Fluttershy stared at the floor, idly manipulating a bit of cloud with a hoof, shaping it into a little pony reared up on its hind legs, wings flared behind it before she pressed it back into the floor with a quiet sigh.
"Do… do you want to talk about it?"
"There's not much point. I'd just be talking to myself anyways." She sniffed a little before stepping to the door. "You'll hear soon enough anyways…"
"Fluttershy?"
"Just follow me…"
"Oh. Um, okay then," Twilight muttered submissively as they slipped into the hall.
The voices were more distinct now. Her bedroom was upstairs and the voices down, but the tone was undeniably one of frustration. As they neared the end of the hall and the top of the staircase, they could finally distinguish the voices as belonging to a male and a female.
As Fluttershy peered down from the top step, she could see her parents…
Just as she remembered.
The living room below was mostly empty—a dining table and a long flat couch the only furniture—as they faced each other.
On one side, there was a male pegasus with yellow-cream fur and with a short brown mane, a pair of turquoise eyes stuck in what seemed a perpetual weariness that belied his age.
On the other side, there was a female pegasus with an almond colored coat, auburn mane and tail flowing nearly to the floor, a pair of red-brown eyes glaring angrily at the other pegasus as her tail flicked in agitation.
"It isn't fair! You know it isn't. None of this is right!" she growled, jamming her muzzle directly into his face.
"Of course it isn't fair, but that doesn't make this wrong, Sky," he replied in a soft tone, nearly bending backwards as she pressed further towards him still, perhaps a step away from bowling him over proper.
"This isn't about that. You know it isn't…” she trailed off with a huff, stepping away as her wings trembled at her sides.
"But how can't it… It always comes right back to it."
She cursed under her breath, head lowering. "Don't make this about that. We tried and we're still trying…"
"We are. You even said it was for the best…"
"I know what I said. You don’t have to tell me. This isn't about her anyways."
"Then what is it?"
"I—just… sit down, okay?" She put a hoof to her head.
"Are you ready to talk then?"
"Just—give me a second…"
He did as bidden, sitting down on the couch.
"Alright, all the time in the world," he said with a wry smile, drawing a soft half-chuckle from her.
"Dammit, Dewy, at some point you're going to have to just let me be angry."
"No… I don't think I will," he smiled genuinely at her as she turned with a wry smile of her own. "I don't like you angry… or sad."
"Yeah, well, ain't you just a sweetheart…" she muttered, blatant sarcasm undercut by her soft smile.
"I'm yours, Sky."
"Will you just stop being so nice and sweet?" She stomped a hoof in frustration as she turned to face him fully.
He simply stayed silent this time as she stared at him.
Her eyes were filled with frustration and an odd, radiant sadness.
"Ready to be quiet?" she asked with a trembling voice.
He didn't answer with words, he simply nodded, sitting up on the couch as straight as he could as she let out a soft sigh.
"I had… I had dreams, Dewy. Lots of dreams…"
"I—"
A hoof found his mouth as soon as it opened. He stared at it a moment before slowly nodding his head, the hoof leaving his mouth as she stared him down.
With a sigh, he drew a hoof across his lips before crossing his heart with it.
"Good," she stated simply before she sat down next to him on the couch.
Both were silent for a spell before she continued.
"I know you know,” she began, “but I had dream dreams. And not one of them included any of"—she paused a moment to wave a hoof at the sparsely furnished room—"this. This wasn't in the plans! I wasn't supposed to be settling. I mean, someday, yeah, but now?"
"I…" A quick look silenced him once more.
"This wasn't supposed to happen like this. I wasn't supposed to be settling down with a foal… and a stallion to take care of me. I had… I have dreams. Dreams I'm never going to see through and it's eating away at me. It feels about that way too…"
"That way?"
She didn't hush him this time, merely chuckled sadly at the question.
"It feels like I've got something inside, eating away at me. Like you could cut me open and there wouldn't be anything there any more. I feel hollow, Dewdrop. I feel empty and it's killing me." She glanced up at him as his forehooves trembled nervously, unsure of whether to wrap around the mare or stay put. Eventually he drew her close, wrapping a wing around her for good measure.
"You shouldn't feel empty, Sky. You shouldn't have to," he muttered, seemingly unsure of his words.
"I know… and that feels like the worst part of it."
He merely cocked his head, staying quiet as she pressed her head against his chest.
"Heh… you smell like soup," she laughed a trembling, sad mockery of a laugh.
"It's ready any time, y'know," he shared in the laugh, looking down with worried confusion.
"I know it is and I know you are," she muttered. "And that's what makes it so terrible. As much of a screw up this all is, I should probably be thanking my lucky stars. A beautiful little filly… a loving stallion for the both of us… and all I can think of is my stupid dreams."
He bit his lip, glancing away for a moment, wing shuffling her closer as he turned his gaze to the floor.
"Am I a bad pony?"
"What? No…"
"Then why do I feel like this?"
"I… I don't know," he admitted, keeping his eyes on the floor as she tilted her head up. "I think it just means you're a pony. Not a bad pony. We all have dreams…"
"Yeah… sure…"
"Hey, I have dreams too."
"Dewy?"
"Yeah?" He looked down, their eyes meeting as she gave a soft grin.
"All this"—she motioned to the room with a wing—"is your dream. You're the one who's cut out for this life. You're the one who wanted the Equestrian dream, two foals, a wife, a nice house and a good job. All we need is a pet and a convertible chariot and we're good."
"Isn't—”
"Ain't it enough?" she supplied the rest and he simply nodded. "I wish it were… I just feel like I'm suffocating here. I want to spread my wings, but I can't… I'm a pegasus… meant to be free in the sky."
"I'm a pega—"
"I didn't mean it like that… I wouldn't anyways. It's just too… claustrophobic." Slowly she slipped out from his wing, dropping to the floor and striding uncertainly for the door. "I… I just need to go stretch my wings or something."
"When will you be home?" he asked in a soft voice, wing still stretched over the empty space where she had been.
"Soon. I'll… I'll be home soon," she whispered, glancing up the stairs and freezing as her eyes met the soft turquoise of her daughter’s. "Hey there, Shy-Shy."
"Momma?" Fluttershy whispered, staying at the top of the stairs, her hooves wrapped around the top railing.
"You… you should be getting your rest, Shy. Little fillies need their rest," she muttered, hoof on the doorknob as she smiled up at her daughter.
"Are you leaving?"
"Just for a little while. I'll be back before you wake up tomorrow," she promised as the door cracked open, the glow of the streetlight casting a soft orange glow over her. "Jus’… just go back to bed and Daddy'll be right up to tuck you in."
"I'll… I'll be up in just a moment, Fluttershy." He nodded along as she slowly edged the door open fully.
"Oh… okay…" Fluttershy murmured, the tears in her eyes invisible in the shadows as she retreated out of sight, still listening.
"By morning, right?"
"Just need to stretch my wings. Don't worry so much. I know what I have. Not gonna do anything too stupid. I can't be that much of a screw-up…"
A half-hearted chuckle filled the air, trailing into silence before Fluttershy heard the door click shut.
"See you in the morning… Sky Skimmer…"
Hurriedly, Fluttershy dashed back to her room, yanking the covers over herself. She lay in bed, quietly listening for her father's hoofsteps. Eventually she heard him before her bed sagged with his weight.
"Daddy?" Fluttershy choked out in a quiet voice.
"Hey, Shy," he whispered as he rubbed a hoof on the little pegasus's back, trying to massage away the tears.
"Is Momma mad at me?"
"Oh, Fluttershy… Nopony could ever be mad at you. Mom's just a little confused right now. She just needed some air."
"Is she coming back?"
"Of course, she will. She loves you, Fluttershy. Couldn't keep herself away if she tried."
"Y-you pr-promise?"
"I promise, Fluttershy. Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"
"…Of course, Fluttershy," he murmured in response, rolling off the bed before flaring his wings, quietly hovering over her. He gathered the trembling filly in his forehooves, blanket and all, before hovering down the hall, setting her down on his bed before crawling in himself.
"Th-thanks, Daddy."
He was quiet for a moment as he shifted around beneath the comforter, freeing his forehooves to wrap around the bundled up filly, drawing her close. She could feel his soft breaths on the back of her mane as he leaned down to softly kiss her forehead.
"Sleep well, Fluttershy. Tomorrow will be a better day."
The air seemed suddenly cold, his warm breath vanishing as she felt a pair of eyes watching her, the comfort of the bed lost as she shuddered.
"Fluttershy?" a familiar voice echoed in the room.
The pegasus twisted around to find the purple unicorn looking at her with sorrowful eyes.
"She didn't come back did she?" She looked on the verge of tears.
"No… she didn't…" Fluttershy set her head back down, closing her eyes as warm tears stained her cheeks. "H-he lied…"
[o.0.o]
"—ajesty?"
"Yes… I am quite sure."
"But, if only we had a bit more time to examine the dangers."
"Time we do not have, councilor."
"Your majesty, with all due respect, I hope you are looking at this as a Princess of Equestria."
"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"
"Merely suggesting that you are not looking at this objectively."
"Oh?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"…"
"You are the regent of Equestria, your majesty. The leader of all ponydom in fact. To act so rashly is… is…"
"Unbecoming."
"Perhaps worse than that."
"Perhaps… perhaps…"
"Then can we call off this foolishness. To so willingly risk the elements… even for a conduit."
"A hero, I believe you mean."
"Even for a hero, Celestia."
"Ah, dropping pretense, you're finally learning."
"Celestia, please, as your friend, I only ask that you think long on this."
"I have, my student, I have."
"Former student now, Celestia."
"We are never truly more than students."
"A wonderful sentiment, I am sure."
"Then let us speak without pretense or sentiment then."
"Yes… let’s."
"…"
"This is stupid."
"Oh?"
"This is stupid and foolish. Even for you."
"…"
"…"
"You know I could send you to the moon for that."
“Bylaws may even require it."
"Indeed."
"…"
"…"
"Please… think! Think carefully. As a friend, I ask you."
"…"
[o.0.o]
"Fluttershy?"
A worried voice echoed in the darkness as Fluttershy stared into the shadowy abyss. She could feel a hoof shaking her gently, trying to break her from her mental stupor, but she simply lay there, unmoving.
"Fluttershy?"
"He lied…" Fluttershy murmured, no joy nor sorrow in her tone as she spoke.
It was simply a fact to be stated and recognized.
"He couldn't have known, Fluttershy."
"He lied…"
"He couldn't have known what was going to happen… he didn't lie."
"He promised she'd come back… she didn't…"
"Fluttershy…" The hoof left the pegasus as she drifted into the darkness, closing her eyes.
"Snap out of it!"
"Whuh?" Fluttershy felt a set teeth grasping at her wing, pulling her head from its place buried in cloud in a less than gentle manner.
"C'mon! Everypony's already left!"
As she trembled she felt the frustrated glare of the cyan pegasus on her back. "I-I'm s-sor—"
"I-I'm s-s-sowwy…" the rainbow-maned filly mocked her. Eyes narrowed, she stared at the trembling Fluttershy.
"B-but…"
"No. I don't care if you're sorry. I don't care if you're scared!" she paced around Fluttershy, ruby eyes always on her. "Nopony cares! Don't you get it?!"
"I… I…" Fluttershy stammered, tears welling up her eyes.
"Oh, don't even start that!" Rainbow pressed her muzzle to Fluttershy's as if to stare the tears right back into their ducts.
"Rainbow… It's just so…” Slowly, Fluttershy peered over the edge of the cloud before skittering back immediately as she saw the ground so far below. "High."
"But you, for Celestia's sake, you're a—uugggh!" Rainbow cried out in frustration, doing a short loop in the air to burn off some of the built-up aggravation. As her hooves made contact once more with the cloud, the rainbow-maned pegasus stood still, the frustration in her eyes replaced by confusion as the pair fell silent.
For a moment there was only the soft howl of the jet stream, Fluttershy's pink mane blowing in front of her eyes as she peered out from beneath her hooves at her disappointed wingpony.
"I'm sorry…" Fluttershy muttered quietly, turquoise eyes staring out from within the protective shelter of her hooves.
"Yes… yes you are," Rainbow replied coldly. She glared at her fellow pegasus a moment longer before sitting down firmly on the cloud, entwining her fore-hooves in a clear sign of frustration.
Fluttershy merely looked down at the fluffy white beneath her, digging out a small hole through which she could spy the ground so far below. With quiet meep, the yellow pegasus curled into a tight ball, burying her face into her hooves and mane.
"You are sorry, Fluttershy… so… so sorry."
With a gentle gust, she felt the other pegasus take off and suddenly she was alone on the cloud, the idle winds her only companion.
"Fluttershy?" A hoof, pressed to her flank, shook her gently. "Fluttershy, where are we now?"
"Twilight?" Fluttershy lifted her eyes from the protective darkness of her hooves to the softly smiling face of her unicorn friend.
"Yeah… still here, Fluttershy. I'm not going anywhere." She paused for a moment to look around and, as the unicorn stepped away, Fluttershy found herself in a familiar place. "Though, it looks like we have. Where are we now?"
"It's… it's Cloudsdale."
"Well, I guessed that much, but which part. This isn't the coliseum or the weather factory. Kinda looks like a school," Twilight mused as she examined the building in front of them.
"Well, it is a school. It's where they hold Summer Flight Camp every year too. And it's where I…" Fluttershy trailed off into silence as she looked over her body. She was still a filly rather than a mare.
It felt strange to be so young again, all the ancient fears and worries flooding back. She could see the gate where she'd been dropped off for the first day of flight camp, the thought of that day sending a shudder through her.
"Fluttershy? You okay?" somepony asked, but they seemed distant as she stared at the gate.
"Oh, you must be Fluttershy. Pleasure to meet you," a large pegasus mare intoned, smiling as she peered over a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.
Fluttershy shrank back from the mare, burying herself into the auburn mane beside her, refusing to meet their gaze.
"Fluttershy," came a slightly shocked voice, Fluttershy following the mane's motions as the pony attached to it sat down, wrapping a hoof around her. "Sorry… she's just a bit… well, shy."
"Fitting name."
"Yeah…"
"It's a very pretty name too. Wouldn't you say so, Fluttershy? It's quite a lovely name."
"M-maybe…?" she mewled quietly from within the protective curtain of her mother's mane before she slowly found herself lifted up.
"And she's a pretty lovely one too, isn't she?" Her mother stared at her with a bright smile and shining eyes, drawing out an elusive smile on her daughter’s face.
"Okay, Momma."
"I'll be just inside when she's ready, Miss…?"
"Sky Skimmer."
"When she's ready, Miss Skimmer."
"Okay," Sky muttered in reply as she rocked her daughter back and forth in her forelegs. "You're getting way too old for this, ‘Shy."
"Nu-uh."
"Yuh-huh," she replied, a soft nuzzle belying her disagreement. "Momma bird can't have her babies in the nest their whole life."
"But I'm not a baby bird, Momma."
"No, but you are my baby," she declared before attacking the filly's belly suddenly with a devastating raspberry.
"M-mom!"
"Remember, never leave your belly exposed or the raspberry monster'll getcha!" she mare warned before diving back in, a fresh round of stuttering laughs filling the air.
"Momma!"
"What?"
"We're at school…"
"Hey, if you're gonna be a foal, Shy-Shy, you're gonna be my foal," she smiled gently as she set Fluttershy back down on her hooves and stood up.
"I'll always be your foal, momma."
"Of course you will, but you still got to be your own mare."
"Bu—"
"No 'buts' about it. Every pegasus goes through flight school. I did it, your dad did it and now you're gonna do it. It's just a part of growing up, honey."
"I know…" the little filly muttered dejectedly, staring at her hooves.
"Don't worry, ‘Shy. I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends."
The voice faded as Fluttershy glanced up to find the shimmering image of her mother fading away into the darkness.
"Momma!" she cried out.
Fluttershy lept for the mare, but her hooves were left grasping nothing as she fell hard onto the compacted clouds beneath. The image twisted away like smoke in a breeze as a sudden cold took hold of her.
"Momma, come back…"
"Fluttershy?"
"What is it, Twilight?" The pegasus sniffled as she turned to look at the unicorn.
They'd been left alone by the fence.
The school now lay shrouded in an infinite darkness. The sky and ground below Cloudsdale had vanished with the memory, the hollow structure of the school all that remained as a frigid wind coursed over them, her tears cold as they drifted down her cheeks.
"I… I don't think we can stay here, Fluttershy," Twilight stated nervously, eyes fixed on the school as it began to crumble and tear.
"Why not… it's as good a place as any…" Fluttershy slumping to the ground.
"We need to go. Right now."
"Why?"
"Because if we don't go—”
The unicorn was cut off as the building shifted with a thunderous crack, the front of it falling away and through the cloud ground before the rest tilted into the newly punched hole, disappearing into nothingness.
"Go where?"
"I don't know!" Twilight yelled out before sinking down next to the pegasus. "I… I don't know, but we can't just stay here. It's coming."
"Let it… maybe then this will all make sense."
"Look around!" Twilight commanded, waving a hoof towards the gaping hole as the far end of the fence slowly peeled away into it with a rattle. "There won't be anything left when it gets here."
Fluttershy stayed quiet, watching the fence as it slowly slipped away into the hole.
What is wrong with me?
"I don't think it's normal, Fluttershy," Twilight answered. "I think it's doing this… whatever it is."
"But why?"
"I don't know, but you can't let it. We both know that."
"O-okay…" Fluttershy mumbled as she rose unsteadily to her hooves. "But how do we get out of here?"
"Just give me a second to think," Twilight replied, trotting over to what remained of the fence before running a hoof thoughtfully over the gate, bits of the cloud that formed it peeling away in her hooves before drifting lazily away.
"What are you thinking, Twilight?"
"About what you were thinking…" she mused mysteriously before turning. "What were you thinking about, Fluttershy?"
"It was… um…" A gentle pain at the back of her head made her wince as she tried to remember. "I think it was… it was mom… and my first day at flight camp."
"What else?"
"And… and…" The pain only increased as she thought back.
"Snap out of it!"
The words were like a slap of cold water against her face.
"The first time I met Rainbow Dash…" Fluttershy visibly winced as Twilight set a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "It, um, wasn't a very nice memory…"
"That's okay, Fluttershy, but I think we have a plan now."
"We do?"
"Yep!" The unicorn trotted away with a visible bounce in her step. "Tell me, what's been consistent this whole time, Fluttershy?"
"Um… nothing really. Just some… unhappy memories."
"Exactly!"
"Exactly what?"
"Memories, Fluttershy, memories! They're the key. That's what’s been off… that's what's missing! That's why you can't remember—"
Fluttershy buried herself into her hooves at the high-pitched scream the came from between Twilight’s slowly moving lips. The blinding pain split the pegasus's skull as the world blotted out for a moment, nothing but pain and a yawning void of darkness as her vision swam.
"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked worriedly, grabbing her as Fluttershy shivered in pain, breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"N-n-no… I'm not… it hurt…"
"It's okay, Fluttershy. We'll sort through this. We'll get them back somehow."
"A-all our friends?"
"Yes, I promise…"
"O-okay…" She struggled back to all fours, Twilight nudging her up. "S-so we kn-know it's memories n-now… wh-what do we do with them?" she asked, voice coming out in halting stutters as she prayed for the throbbing pain to fade.
"Think about it. We're in your head. This is your mind. These are your memories. Even me!" She punctuated each statement with a gentle nudge of her hoof, a smile growing on her face as she hefted the pegasus up.
"So… whatever it is—"
"Is playing on your terms."
"Okay… so what do I do?"
"Er… I don't know? We use that somehow…"
"Oh… right. Well, we keep visiting memories, right?" Fluttershy lowered her head in thought as they walked slowly away from the growing chasm behind them.
"Yes."
"An-and we end up following them. So, maybe I just have to remember someplace… a better place."
"A better time might be good too," Twilight said, head twisted to watch the ever-expanding void. "I don't think we have all that much left in this one."
"Okay… just give me a moment."
Fluttershy leaned heavily against Twilight as they continue their slow walk, closing her eyes as she tried to think of a memory. She thought back to that morning, to waking up in the emptied cottage, to the all-encompassing darkness…
"Fluttershy! Don't think about that! It just makes it grow faster!"
"Oh… sorry…"
With a grimace on her face, she tried to think back to her fillyhood, her foalhood ever, a scattering of memories coming out in a jumbled mess of images and voices. She could feel sweat beading on her brow as she tried to sort through them.
She was standing behind a rock, terror coursing through her as bits of it fell away to reveal—
The pain returned at the mere thought, not as strong, but enough to drown out her thoughts, driving her back to the present.
“Something earlier maybe…”
“Okay…”
“You're pathetic… I can't believe I got saddled with pegasus that's afraid of heights… what kind of pega—”
“Not that one either!”
“Oh… um…”
She screwed her eyes shut, before opening them again. Glancing back, she stared at the gate, watching as it crashed into the abyss, the clouds behind them beginning to sink into it as they trudged slowly away.
But her thoughts weren't on the gate… they were on the comforting scent of her mother's mane… of boiled carrots and celery… of a soft, loving embrace…
[o.0.o]
She had come home from flight school to find her father alone, the door to their cloud house left slightly ajar. He'd lept up excitedly for a moment before settling back down onto the couch.
"Sorry, Shy. Thought you were your mom for second…" he trailed off, but his excited grin never left his face as he patted the cushion beside him.
"I'm not that big, daddy." Fluttershy replied, hopping up onto the couch and pushing into a hug.
"You so sure?" He looked her up and down, a look of incredulity on his face. "You look like you're almost full-grown mare to me."
"Daddy…" Fluttershy laughed before giving quick a quick, familial peck on the cheek. "I'm not full-grown."
He paused a moment, running a hoof through her mane before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "How's school been, ‘Shy?"
"It's been… alright."
"How's your flying?"
"It's getting better… Rainbow's been teaching me!" she exclaimed, a sudden excitement in her voice as she flapped her wings hard, launching herself into the air somewhat unsteadily before rising into a hover. "See, Daddy?"
"I see you, Fluttershy," he replied with a smile, watching the violent beats of her still-developing wings as she buzzed around the house. "Just be careful of—"
Fluttershy found herself in a sudden daze as her head smacked into the light fixture that dominated the center of the ceiling.
Birds dancing around the corners of her vision, the little pegasus felt her wings beat out of rhythm before halting their motions as she fell a few feet right into a pair of careful hooves.
"Gotta watch where you're flying,” he whispered, face contorted in worry as he hovered them into the kitchen. Setting the stunned filly down on the kitchen table, he dug through the icebox and emerged with a bag of ice clutched in his teeth.
"I'm… I'm okay…" the filly pegasus stated as she shook her head, trying to clear away the birds that pirouetted merrily at the edges of her vision.
"Well, let's do this just in case then…" He placed the ice bag gingerly onto a rather sensitive part of her skull. "Doesn't look too bad…"
"Th-thanks, Daddy…" she whispered as her vision slowly cleared, head throbbing distantly. Taking her forehoof in his own, he placed her hoof atop the bag.
"Alright, now just keep on that for a bit… should get the swelling down…"
"Swelling? What happened?" a worried voice asked, causing her father to flair his wings in surprise, nearly knocking the ice pack off.
"Sky?" He turned to the mare, soft bags ringing her eyes as they peered into the kitchen with worry.
"What happened to Fluttershy, Dewdrop?" she asked curtly, stalking over to the table.
"Sh-she just got a little over excited about flying… bumped her head on the ceiling light," he replied, withering a bit beneath the power of the mare's focused glare.
"S-sorry…" Fluttershy mumbled softly, adjusting the ice pack. “I didn't mean to…”
"It's not your fault, honey. We all get a little excited sometimes," he hushed the little filly, giving her a soft nuzzle as the stare slowly softened.
"Your daddy's right. We all get a little too excited sometimes." Her mother fell silent a moment, Fluttershy watching as they shared a curious look. "Are you okay?"
"I feel a little better already," she muttered, lowering her eyes the floor before returning them to her mother, glowing with excitement. "Oh, but you should have seen me!"
"She's got a bit of her mom in her, that’s for sure," the male said, putting a hoof on the filly's back. "Think she's got a natural flier in there… shoulda seen her buzzing around like a hummingbird."
"It was great, Momma!"
"I'm sure it was, baby," her mother replied with a forced grin as she brushed Fluttershy's mane away from her face.
"How"—her father bit his lip before continuing—"how did the try-outs go?"
"Oh… that can wait for now," she answered with a soft chuckle, lowering her head slightly as if trying to duck the stallion's gaze. "How was school today, Shy?"
"It was good… Rainbow's been helping me out lots!"
"Rainbow seems like a good sort. You ought to invite her over sometime."
"Really, that'd be wonderful," Fluttershy said, a face-straining smile now thoroughly plastered on her face.
"Yeah, how about this weekend maybe?"
"Really? This weekend, this weekend?"
"Of course." Her mother nodded, the same half-smile on her face, but the filly couldn't see it through the sudden wellspring of anticipation that flooded through her.
"I'll ask her first thing tomorrow!" Fluttershy declared excitedly, the pain of her head forgotten as the ice pack was quietly lifted away.
"Alright, doesn't look like anything major… you're good, Shy." Her father helped her off the table and to the floor. "Just be extra careful when you fly indoors, okay, little lady?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"Alright, why don't you go sit in the living room while your mother and I make something for dinner," he said, nudging her towards the living room with a not so subtle brush his wing.
"Okay," Fluttershy replied, trotting into the living room and plopping down onto the couch, grabbing a magazine from beneath the table.
Wild Equestria it was titled, the cover a picture of a mother manticore nestled with her young, a rather adorable sight considering the creature's reputation. As she began to leaf through the magazine, the kitchen remained quiet for a few minutes.
Soon enough, however, it was filled with the sounds of clanging pots and pans, a steady rhythm of cupboards opening and closing. Fluttershy lay on the couch, half-reading, half-resting as the smell of boiled vegetables began to fill the room.
With the smell, however, came the hushed voices as she listened in without really meaning to.
"So… how did the try-out go?" he broke the silence, keeping as casual and nonchalant as possible.
"How do you think?" she hissed back.
The kitchen fell quiet again save for the sounds of cookware, a knife striking a cutting board in a steady rhythm.
"It… it didn't go well. I’m sorry. I don't mean to snap like that," she answered herself with a soft sigh.
"I know you don't."
"Yeah, well… I still shouldn't be like that."
He didn't reply, seemingly focused on preparing the food.
"Dewy, say something."
"Just… just don't worry about it so much. We'll be alright."
"I know we will. It's just… nevermind…"
"No, tell me."
"It just kills me, y'know?"
"No… I don't. I really, obviously don't."
"I… I don't know how to explain it. At least, not without sticking my hindhoof in my mouth six ways from Sunday." She laughed a nervous, stuttering laugh.
"Still aren't getting out of talking. You can't keep on keeping on like this…"
"I know I can't. One day things'll get better and everything will be sunshine and rainbows… some manure like that, right?" Her voice cracked, seeming on the verge of tears as she tried to chuckle at her own words.
"Yeah… something like that."
"Y'know… before all this, I wasn't all the happy."
"And now?"
"Gettin' to that…"
"Alright."
"Before all this, I wasn't happy. Didn't much care to think on it."
"Then…"
"Then I was scared. Terrified. Not so much about it… but about everything besides it. I had a plan. I was gonna follow in Daddy's hoofprints. I was all set to too…"
"First in your class, former co-captain of the Junior Speedsters… all lined up… I know…"
"Then I messed up… messed up bad…"
"It wasn't so bad…"
"Not talkin' about us, featherbrain." A laugh belied the insult. "No, I messed up before that. That’s why I ended up meeting you in the first place. Betcha didn't know that part, didja? Huh, smarty-smart-smarty?"
"One point to Sky."
"Yeah, well, I think I damn near got myself blacklisted. Turned out I didn't, but now…"
"…it feels like it's too late."
"Something like that."
"So, what were you thinking when…"
"Complete terror, what else?"
"Ah…"
"It's not like that, Dewdrop. It hurts that you think so."
"I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, well, the silence is damning and all that rubbish…"
"Shh! ‘Shy's right there… language."
"Don't shush me, Dewy… just don't."
"Just… keep it down…"
"I don't have any regrets there. Get that through your skull… No. Regrets."
"Then why do you do this to yourself?"
"Do what?"
"Set yourself up for disappointment. You're gonna be moping around here for days."
"Hey, at least I'll be around for Fluttershy."
"That isn't fair."
"No… it ain't."
Their voices disappeared, the sound of the tea kettle going off blotting them out for a time as Fluttershy read through a rather horrifying description of a dragon that had made its den in the mountains near Fillydelphia.
"Heck, I don't know… could do me some good."
"What do you mean?"
"Sunshine and Rainbows, Dewy. If ‘Shy's friend lives up to her name, I'll have both over the weekend. We can make a day of it. Go to the fair or something. How come we don't go to the fair anymore? Shy's always liked the animals…"
"Yeah, she does, but you remember why we don't.”
"Oh, right…"
"B-but… I dunno, maybe things will be better now… we're all a little older."
"Yeah… more mature or something, right?"
"Something like that… Hey, Shy!"
"Daddy?" The filly jolted up from her half-sleep on the couch, peering over at the kitchen to find the table already set.
"Time for dinner, honey."
Fluttershy simply stared at the pair as they sat down around the kitchen table. The perfect tableau of a pony family before her.
But something lingered there, formerly unseen… formerly unheard.
"Fluttershy…?”
Formerly unnoticed.
“Hey… Fluttershy?"
Formerly ignored.
[o.0.o]
"Hey, Fluttershy?" A voice broke her concentration as she stared at the empty kitchen before her, Twilight off to the side, waving a hoof in front of her face. “Fluttershy? You there?”
"What happened?"
"Well… I think it worked… but I think this one might be only a temporary fix," she stated, pointing a hoof behind the pegasus towards the front end of the house.
As Fluttershy twisted around to look, she gasped.
Behind her, where the front of the house should have been was a blank white. Not a white cloud wall nor even the lack of a wall and overcast sky outside, but just a lack of anything.
It was empty space and, as her eye drifted to the edges of this patch of non-existence, it appeared to be growing. As she looked, the corners of the room bled away, tiny grains of existence whipping away into the white abyss.
"My goodness," Fluttershy said quietly, darting from the couch to hide behind Twilight, the unicorn merely giving a soft snort at the pegasus's antics.
"Fluttershy, we've got part of this puzzle now. We don't need to be afraid of that."
"We don't?"
"No, we don't," she reassured the trembling pegasus. "We just have to figure out a way to use this to our benefit… then figure out a way to get her back."
"Rainbow Dash?"
"Precisely."
"What do I do then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked, eyebrow cocked as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Um… no?"
"A memory of your parents brought us here… so if you can grab a memory of Rainbow Dash—a fresh one—maybe—"
"Maybe we'll find her!” Fluttershy interrupted, eyes glowing with hope. “You really think so?"
"I do, but who knows?" She shrugged, looking at the pegasus with a different pony's familiar, devil-may-care grin. "It's worth a shot, right?"
Fluttershy summoned all her courage as slipped out from behind Twilight, staring at the crumbling memory in front of her.
“Okay… Let's go.”