//------------------------------//
// Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie 
// Story: The Chaos of Disharmony 
// by Silver Melodies 
//------------------------------//

     The sky was a clear blue, perfect weather for anypony. Fluttershy enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her cheeks. It was warm, comforting, and just nice. There were barely any clouds in the sky, and those that were there were a welcome, providing the occasional rest from the suns warmth for those who tired of it. Not Fluttershy, of course. She wished every day could be like this one.
She approached the stalls at the bazaar. Today was Sunday, so there was sure to be a lot of shoppers and a lot of bargains. She didn't really like the shoppers, but she did enjoy the bargains. After all, parts to repair an airship could be expensive.
She took her time to examine each stall selling the parts she needed. She wanted to make sure she got a fair price. One time, she had bought a part she needed, only to fin it for about half what she paid at a different stall. Each stall was different. Some claimed to be the best, trying to draw a large crowd, while a few just sat back and let their customers come to them.
It was in one of these quiet stalls Fluttershy found what she needed. She approached the vendor, a stallion with a brown coat. “I'll need two cogs, some wiring, and a piston.”
The shop keeper gathered the items. “Alright, that'll be... eighty bits ma'am.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. Eighty bits was a good deal, but she knew she could get a better one. “How about fifty bits?”
The stallion's eyes widened. “Fifty? That's outrageous! Eighty is a fair price.”
“Oh, come on.” Fluttershy said. “I know you just want more money. Tell you what, I'll up my price to sixty bits.”
The stallion bit his lip. Fluttershy knew she got him. It was the same with every shop owner. Haggle enough and you can get a better price. She learned that years ago.
“Alright, how about seventy bits?”
“Sixty five.”
The stallion chewed his lip. There was no way he could say no. Otherwise, he'd lose a customer. With a resentful sigh, he nodded his head. “Alright... sixty five bits.”
Fluttershy happily gave the bits to the frowning shop keeper. He mumbled as he handed over the parts and stashed his money in his lock box.
Fluttershy headed back to Pinkie's garage. Now she had all she needed to finish her work. That said, she still had a lot to do. She had to cut into the ship and rewire a few parts, replace some stuff, and then put it all back together. Some might have said that shouldn't take long, but it did. It wasn't easy to cut through three inch steel, nor rewire a very delicate system.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she came across a big stallion dressed in royal armor. Who was this guy? He looked important.
He held up his hoof. She stopped, not wanting to anger a royal soldier. “A message, from her Highness Empress Celestia.” He handed her a piece of paper and then took off, back to wherever he'd came from.
Fluttershy looked at the paper in her hand. What was written on it? Was it an arrest warrant? No, she wasn't a criminal. But she had heard of ponies being arrested for no reason. Maybe it was an invitation? Why would the Emperor invite her to something? She was just a mechanic. Oh! Maybe it was some money! That'd be nice. Or maybe...
She should just open it.
She took the paper and opened it up, carefully reading the words that had been penned onto it.


 My Dear Subject Fluttershy,

Something of dire importance has come up, and I now require your assistance. Please arrive at the castle in two days. It is of utmost importance. 
And do not worry, I really mean you, and there will be others as well I have called.

Sincerely, your Ruler,
Empress Celestia


Fluttershy turned the note over. Me? The Empress wants me? A mechanic? That wasn't possible. There must be a mistake.
She read the note again, then again. Well, the Empress said me, and that it wasn't a mistake. But what could the Empress want? What happened? How important is it? Why me?
She closed the note and finished the walk to Pinkie Pie's house. The same though continued to spin through her brain. Why me? Surely there are more qualified mechanics the Empress could use. What made her so special?
Her musings were cut short when Pinkie Pie bounced into her. “Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy looked up. She was still a whole mile away from the house. She could see it, up on a hill. Why was Pinkie here? “Uh, hi.”
“Wow! I never thought I'd see you here! What are you doing? Oh! Right! You're here to help fix Old Drifter! I'm glad you came, I can't wait until he's back up and running. Well, more like flying, have you ever seen a airship run? I haven't. That...”
Pinkie's mouth didn't stop moving until they reached her garage. Fluttershy finally turned to Pinkie. “Please, I can't work with you... distracting me.” She pointed a hoof at Old Drifter. “If you want him to get fixed, please, you need to be quiet.”
Pinkie closed her mouth and bounced away. “Okay, I need to go to the market anyway. Gotta get some food!”
As Pinkie bounded out of sight, Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god she was gone. The sun was still rising, indicating it was about nine o'clock. She retrieved her tools from the work bench, grabbed some wiring, and began to work on the airship.
The process was a long one, just trying to cut to the motherboard. She had to slowly, but surely, cut a square into the side of the airship with her welder, repeating the process until she was able to slide a huge chunk of armor off of the ship.
She slid herself inside after the cut had cooled off. She grabbed some pliers and wire and began to rewire the whole thing. She was baffled as to how this thing even flew before. The wires were all off, some of them weren't even attached. Sweat began to form on her head as she performed the delicate task.
Finally, it was done. She slid herself out and looked at the sky. It was now about three in the afternoon. She was about to get out when a large pink face materialized in front of her. “HIYA!”
Fluttershy jumped up, smacking her head on the inside of the ship. “OW!” She rubbed her head. “Pinkie, don't do that.”
Pinkie stepped back. “Oh, sorry. I was just going to bring you food, but you seemed so 'in the zone', that I didn't want to disturb you.”
“Um, how long have you been waiting?”
“About two hours.”
“You just stood there for two hours?” That didn't sound like Pinkie Pie at all.
“Uh, no! Of course not! I was playing checkers with myself for a while, then I began to go inside when I noticed you looked almost done. Then I sat there for... three minutes. It was so hard! Then I saw you getting out, so I surprised you!”
Fluttershy shook her head. She'd never understand Pinkie Pie. She walked over to her workbench to put away her toolbox and tools. Pinkie followed her. Would that mare ever learn the concept of personal space? Time alone? Any of that stuff?
She dropped a bag onto the workbench. “Here, you go, your lunch!” She then hopped away to eat her own food.
Fluttershy opened the bag to fin a hay sandwich. At least Pinkie got what she liked. As Fluttershy ate the tasty morsel, she thought about the letter she got. Just what was going on? What could be so urgent that the Empress needed her, of all ponies? A lowly mechanic, not even that well known. What singled her out? She wasn’t even the sociable one, like the kind that makes friends with a lot of people. How did the Empress even know about her?
All these thoughts stewed in her mind as she bit down on her lunch, yet she couldn't make sense of them at all.





Pinkie Pie awoke to a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the clouds were sparse. She bounced out of bed and got ready for the day. It wasn't hard. She brushed her teeth, fluffed up her hair, and... that was about it.
She bounced down to her living room. Now, what was on her list today? She knew there was something really important going on. Oh! Right! Fluttershy was coming over to continue working on Old Drifter. Other than that, she only had some shopping to do. But that could wait. As much as she knew Fluttershy liked her company, she didn't want to bother her friend while she was working. So the shopping could wait until then.
So what should she do to kill the time? She could play outside, but that seemed kinda boring alone. She could play a game, but again, seemed boring alone. How about she get to cleaning up the inside of Old Drifter? Yeah, that sounded good. The inside was still dirty from the crash.
She grabbed a duster, a trash bag, and a broom and dustpan. Old Drifter sat in her garage, looking old, but ready to take on the world. She knew the opposite was in fact true, since he was in no condition to fly yet. She pulled open the roof to let in the sunlight.
She entered the cockpit. It was still dusty, despite all the shaking he had done earlier. She began to dust everything off, onto the floor. It didn't take to long. She then swept it all up, and stuck it in the trash bag. She then picked up the trash that was still scattered about. Not much, but she wanted this place to be as clean as possible. She looked outside to see it was about nine in the morning. Wasn't something going to happen?
She put everything away and dashed out onto the road. Maybe it was out on the road. She looked around and saw her friend, Fluttershy.
She bounced right into her friend. “Fluttershy!” 
Fluttershy looked around a bit, then turned back to Pinkie. “Uh, hi.”
Pinkie began to ramble on. “Wow! I never thought I'd see you here! What are you doing?” Then it clicked in her head. “Oh! Right! You're here to help fix Old Drifter! I'm glad you came, I can't wait until he's back up and running. Well, more like flying, have you ever seen a airship run? I haven't. That...”
She continued to talk, just like she always did, until they got to her garage. Fluttershy turned to her. “Please, I can't work with you... distracting me.” She pointed a hoof at Old Drifter. “If you want him to get fixed, please, you need to be quiet.”
Pinkie closed her mouth and bounced away. “Okay, I need to go to the market anyway. Gotta get some food!”
She bounced away, all the way to the market. Any other pony would be exhausted then, but not Pinkie. She was still up and running full steam, like she had an endless energy source.
She looked around for something to eat. She wasn't too low on food, but she always made to stock up when she could. She searched for what she needed. Some fruit, some sugar, some flour, some butter and cheese and milk, and...
She looked around for some sandwiches. Since Fluttershy was working on her airship, she figured she should get her something to eat. Then she found the stall she needed. She hauled her bag of groceries toward the stall.
“Hiya!”
The vendor turned towards her, a mare of a light green coat. “Oh hey... uh, Pinkie, was it?”
Pinkie nodded her head vigorously. “Yep, you got it!”
“Yes, I remember you from a few days ago, gave those extra bits.”
“Well, you needed them. Anyway, could you get me two hay sandwiches?”
“Sure.” The mare grabbed two bags and placed them in front of Pinkie. She pointed at her bag. “That's a lot of stuff.”
“Yeah, just my weekly shopping.” She tossed ten bits at the counter and grabbed the bag. “Thanks!”
The mare wore a confused look. 'Wait! It's only six bits for the sandwiches!”
“Go ahead and keep it!” Pinkie grabbed her bag of goodies and bounced away, back to her house, unencumbered by its weight. The walk was peaceful, with only birds and other forest animals to greet her. Until she ran into a royal guard.
“A message, from her highness, Empress Celestia.” He handed her a piece of paper then flew back into the sky, doing whatever it was royal guards do.
Pinkie wasted no time opening the letter.


My Dear Subject Pinkie Pie,

Something of dire importance has come up, and I now require your assistance. Please arrive at the castle in two days. It is of utmost importance. 
And do not worry, I really mean you, and there will be others as well I have called.

Sincerely, your Ruler,
Empress Celestia


Her mouth opened in shock. The Empress wanted to see her? Pinkie Pie? No way! She read the letter again. Sure enough, the Empress wanted her.
“Oh... my...” She never finished the last word because she burst out laughing. This was going to be awesome! They were going to have so much fun! Maybe this was the adventure she always wanted!
She bounced back home, happy as could be. This was so awesome! The Empress, of all pony, wanting to see her! On a matter of great importance! What was going on? Maybe bandits! Or Minotaurs!
She got home to find Fluttershy still working on her ship. Well, it was only... one in the afternoon. She would just wait. She didn't want to interrupt Fluttershy's work.
Now what to do? She put her food away and grabbed a game of checkers and stepped outside, to keep an eye on Fluttershy. She proceeded to play five consecutive games, in which she lost to herself all five times. She was about to enter her home when she saw Fluttershy exiting the hole she cut.
Pinkie bounced over and stuck her face right next to Fluttershy's. “HIYA!”
Fluttershy jumped up, banging her head on the hole she had made. “OW!” She rubbed her head. “Pinkie, don't do that.”
Pinkie stepped back, a little sorry for causing her friend to get hurt. “Oh, sorry. I was just going to bring you food, but you seemed so 'in the zone', that I didn't want to disturb you.”
“Um, how long have you been waiting?”
“About two hours.”
“You just stood there for two hours?”
“Uh, no! Of course not! I was playing checkers with myself for a while, then I began to go inside when I noticed you looked almost done. Then I sat there for... three minutes. It was so hard! Then I saw you getting out, so I surprised you!” Pinkie laughed inside. There was no way she could stand still that long. That was just crazy.
Fluttershy shook her head as she grabbed her tools and put them back on the workbench. Pinkie grabbed her sandwich and dropped it in front of Fluttershy. “Here you go! Your lunch!”
Pinkie bounced away to eat her own sandwich. She chewed thoughtfully, wondering on all the magnificent things that could be in store for her at the palace.