“Fluttershy!”
The yellow pony made her response in the form of a scream—pulling her head up from her hooves all the while. It was as if somebody had caught her in a net and pulled her out of an ocean of misery. What just happened? she asked herself, realizing she was back in her house.
Her whole body trembling, she took a look to her right and saw Angel—witnessing as he peacefully slept at the corner of the room, plugs shoved in his long bunny ears.
A knock at the door startled her.
“Fluttershy!” It was Twilight. “Are you awake?” she called from the other side of the door.
Almost as if by magic, Fluttershy ceased trembling. Without a word, she picked herself up on her hooves and slowly sauntered up to her front door.
Standing behind her was the black rock. It watched Fluttershy’s every last move as it stood beside her bed.
Letting out a yawn, the pegasus opened her front door—finding Twilight at the other side. “Good morning, Twilight,” she murmured, her voice sounding very sleepy.
“Morning, Fluttershy,” Twilight responded, a perky smile on her face. Not even giving her friend a chance to respond, Twilight continued, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I just wanted to talk to you about your—” She wrinkled her nose and took a look behind Fluttershy's shoulder. “Your rock."
A pause came between them before Twilight remembered, “Oh—and one of your chickens escaped again.”
Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Fluttershy let a sigh escape from her mouth when she asked, “Well, what do you want to know about my rock?” It was as if she hadn't heard Twilight's last statement.
Her ears flattening against her head, Twilight murmured, “I just feel like—”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. Go on.
“I don’t know if—” Twilight sighed. “How should I say this without upsetting you?” After all, the last thing anypony wanted to do was upset Fluttershy. “I don’t feel like that rock is good for you.”
Obviously confused, Fluttershy blinked.
But before she could have responded, Twilight explained, “I mean—I just think there’s something—” She choked on her words once again, “—something unusual about that rock.”
A pause slipped between them before Twilight asked, “How exactly did you say you came by it?”
Taking a look over her shoulder and at the black stone, Fluttershy responded, “Well—I don’t really remember even saying where I got it.”
Impatience causing her blood to draw to a slight boil, Twilight rolled her eyes when she continued, “The question still stands: where did you find it?”
“I—” In confusion, the pegasus shot a look over at Twilight, staring into her deep, purple eyes. “I really—oh, don’t be mad—I can’t remember!”
Fluttershy was such a sweet creature—but at that moment, Twilight couldn’t help but feel absolute aggravation toward her. You forgot? she silently screeched. “You don’t know where you got it?”
Fluttershy gave a curt nod. Please don’t be angry, she wanted to say, but lacked the courage for the words to pass her mouth.
A stern—yet determined—look on her face, Twilight began, “Well, if you don’t know where you got it, could you at least tell me why you’re keeping it?”
It was at that moment when Twilight stepped into the house, shooting a glance over at the rock as she did so.
Closing the door behind her friend, Fluttershy responded with a sigh, “I just—I feel so much safer whenever I’m near it.” A light smile showed on her face when she continued, “I know that sounds kind of silly, but—that’s just how I feel. It's like a teddy bear you sleep with every night. As long as you have it with you, you'll be fine."
Barely even heeding Fluttershy’s words, Twilight pulled herself closer to the rock. Her nose barely an inch from it, she wondered through a murmur, “I wonder if there’s a specific name for this type of rock.”
“Teridax.”
Her ear twitching, Twilight faced Fluttershy when she asked, “What?”
“The rock’s name is Teridax.”
How does she know this? wondered Twilight as she faced the rock once again.
Menacing eyes and a frowning mouth pointed into Twilight’s eyes, making her feel the same dread she had felt the day before. Something about this rock—something almost personal—seemed to dwell within its core, seeping into the minds of whomever came too close.
Simply by looking at her friend, Fluttershy could tell Twilight was confused. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
A pause drew before Twilight replied, “At the risk of something stupid, I think there’s something—something spiritual about this rock.”
“What do you mean?”
Twilight stood up straight and looked Fluttershy right in the eye. “I think this rock is alive.”
I knew it! thought Fluttershy, letting out a gasp.
Witnessing the pegasus’ false awe, Twilight continued, “It’s almost like this rock is a living, breathing, thinking thing. And the most amazing part about it: it’s just a stone!”
She began pacing Fluttershy’s floors. “How is it that something made out of solid rock can be alive? It doesn’t even move! Then again, plants don’t move—and they’re considered living creatures. Could it be possible that all rocks are living creatures? If so—”
In the midst of her rambling, Twilight felt as Fluttershy stuffed a hoof in her mouth. “I think I get it,” she muttered, pulling her hoof away from Twilight.
“Sorry,” the unicorn chuckled, feeling a blush cross her face.
How she loves to get carried away, thought Fluttershy. Tossing the thought aside, she asked her friend, “So why are you here, again?”
“Because,” Twilight began, touching her horn to the stone. “I think Princess Celestia would be very interested to hear about this—this Teridax you’ve acquired.”
Twilight’s reflection showing in her light blue eyes, Fluttershy whispered, “You’re not going to take it away from me—are you?”
Seeing her obvious dilemma, Twilight hushed her friend when she explained, “Oh no, no, no, no, no. You can come with me—with Teridax—to see the princess.”
With a single blink, the reflection in the yellow pony’s eyes went away. “Oh,” she murmured, feeling a little better. “Okay then. Let’s get going!”
“Wait,” said Twilight, pressing a hoof against Fluttershy’s chest. “Shouldn’t you get somebody to babysit them?”
“Oh, no,” explained Fluttershy. “I don’t need a babysitter for them. They’ll do just fine on their own!”
“Uh—Fluttershy?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“I don’t think all your animals can do just fine on their own. There’s gotta be at least a hundred of them.” The unicorn continued, “Plus—if your animals could take care of themselves, why did you ask Spike to babysit Angel last week?”
Her face glowing red like an apple, Fluttershy stammered, “Well—I, uh—I guess—I—” She choked on her own words, uncertain of how she was to express herself. Feeling as if her tongue had just forgotten how to move, Fluttershy sighed in surrender.
I don’t know, she wanted to tell Twilight. I guess I’m just dumb is all. Did her friends view her as a dumb pony? As one without any real idea of how the world worked? Fluttershy—listening to such thoughts as they bounced about in her head—looked down at her front hooves in regret.
Then she flicked her gaze upward and gasped. “Wait a minute!”
Surprised by her friend’s sudden outburst, Twilight gave a minute jump into the air when she exclaimed, “Gah! What?”
More awake than she had been all day, Fluttershy asked, “Did you say one of my chickens snuck out of the coop?”
“Yes.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I said that about five minutes ago.”
“Oh no, oh no! This isn’t good!” Panic taking over her thoughts, the yellow pony rushed outside, pushing Twilight out of her way. “Which way did it go?”
Cries of bwuk bwuk emanated from her coop—the likes of which looked like somebody had recently tried to break into it.
Feeling sorry for her friend, Twilight admitted, “I don’t know which way your chicken went. All I know is that it’s gone.”
In contempt and fear, Fluttershy turned her head toward Twilight—revealing a troubled, furious stare. “It’s not gone,” she whispered. “It won’t be gone until I say it is.”
Was that a tear forming in her eye?
Her blood frozen, Twilight violently shook her head. Purple eyes rolling in her head, she muttered, “Um, Fluttershy—maybe we’re getting just a teensy-tiny bit out of hand; would you agree?”
Standing nose-to-nose with Twilight, Fluttershy growled “No—I would not agree!” Her feet stomping against the ground, she marched into her home and continued, “We are not going to any princess until we find my lost chicken. Then we can take the train to Canterlot!”
Oh boy, thought Twilight. If this keeps up, we’ll never get to the princess any time soon.
“Come on, Angel,” Twilight heard Fluttershy command. “We’re leaving.” The purple unicorn stood outside as Fluttershy came ever-closer to the exit. She yawned as Fluttershy slammed the door behind her.
“Let’s get going,” the pegasus commanded.
“Oh, sure,” responded Twilight, still stuck in her gape. Upon recovering from such a big yawn, she opened her eyes, surprised to find the Teridax rock sitting upon Fluttershy’s flank.
It behaved almost like it was glued to her—which only escalated Twilight’s suspicions of its spiritual nature. Twilight shook her head once again before following her friend. Dragging just behind Fluttershy, she stared down at the stone and stated, “I thought you were getting Angel.”
“Hm?” asked Fluttershy, her ear twitching. A scarlet glare flashed in her eyes.
“You know that’s your rock—right?”
In response to Twilight’s question, the haughty pegasus snorted, “Oh, what’s the difference?”
Such words were almost enough to draw Twilight to a complete halt. “Well, Angel’s a bunny, and—” She decided to stop herself right there.
Careful, Twilight, an inner voice warned, You don’t want to drive Fluttershy away, do you? Realizing she needed the pegasus for the task at hand, Twilight held her tongue. But even so, she couldn’t help but think, Why is she acting like this so suddenly? I know Fluttershy has a bunch of animals to care for and that she loves them all very much—but does she have to lose her temper with me?
She let out a sigh before realizing, “Where are you taking me, anyway?”
“To the town,” replied Fluttershy. “Someone there has to know where the chicken went!”
It didn’t take long before Fluttershy and Twilight made it to the Ponyville market place. Elation swept over the ponies’ heads at such a sight.
However, before either pony could receive answers of the whereabouts of the chicken, a yellow filly jumped in the way. “Hi, Twilight! Howdy, Fluttershy!”
“Applebloom!” exclaimed Twilight, a smile on her face. “Whatcha up to?”
Letting out a sigh, Applebloom responded, “I’ve been spending the whole past hour lookin’ for your chicken, Fluttershy!”
Her ears perked in slight surprise, the pegasus asked, “You knew?”
“Yup!”
Fluttershy didn’t know whether to feel absolutely infuriated or pleased with this filly. Yes, she was making an effort to find the lost chicken—but she had made absolutely no effort to simply tell Fluttershy about the chicken’s absence. Her shyness was the only thing keeping her from snapping at Applebloom.
Despite Fluttershy’s silence, Applejack’s sister could tell something was peeving Fluttershy. Her ears flattening against her head, Applebloom wondered, “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing,” Fluttershy immediately replied. “Just—nothing.”
Silence came between the three ponies before a small growl filled their ears. Giggling in response to such a noise, Applebloom put a hoof over her belly when she explained, “Haven’t had breakfast just yet.”
“Oh,” muttered Twilight, “Neither have I.”
A small pause slipped in before Fluttershy admitted, “I just woke up.”
“Not to worry, everypony,” Twilight chimed. “I have all the bits we need.”
“Oh boy, oh boy!” cried Applebloom, ready to sink her teeth into a carrot pancake. “Thanks, Twi!”
A smile on her face, Twilight responded, “You’re welcome. Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”