Her Royal Highness: Fluttershy
The Royal Palace of Friendship loomed close in front of Fluttershy. She felt like her legs were going wobbly and weak the closer she got. She had done many things in her life, especially since meeting Twilight Sparkle and all of her wonderful friends, but taking on the responsibilities of a princess sounded so overwhelming. It was only the comforting weight of her darling Angel Bunny on her back that kept her from whirling around and running back home.
“I don’t know about this Angel… being a princess, even for one day a week, sounds so… scary.” Fluttershy lowered her head. “What if I do a bad job? What if I make Princess Twilight look bad? What if I give somepony bad advice and their whole life is ruined forever and ever?”
She jumped when she felt a little furry foot beat against the back of her head, drawing her attention back to the bunny who was giving her a stern look. “Yes, I know I should be more confident… I wouldn’t be an acting princess if Princess Celestia and the others didn’t have faith in me…”
She stopped in front of the palace double-doors and took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay… confidence, Fluttershy. You belong here. You earned your place here with all of your friends. Every single pony in Equestria is going to look up to you and-oh Goddess I can’t do this…” She whirled suddenly and tried to escape, but froze in her tracks at the sound of the doors opening behind her.
“Fluttershy, I’ve been expecting you.” A kindly older mare’s voice spoke from behind her.
“Mayor Mare?” Fluttershy turned with a pleased smile.
“Care Mare. Ponyville doesn’t have a mayor anymore.” Care Mare smiled. “Twilight hired me on as a royal advisor, and I thought you could use some company. Won’t you come in and take your throne?”
“Well, as long as I have a good friend along to teach me how to do things, sure…” Fluttershy blushed and stepped inside past Care Mare, who closed the door behind them before following her to the throne room.
“Anything you need, you need only ask, and I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you, so much.” Fluttershy pushed herself onto her throne, where Angel leapt off of her shoulder to the arm of the chair, glanced over at Spike’s empty seat, then turned to kick Fluttershy’s hoof in irritation. “Oh, I’m sorry Angel. I don’t know why the seed made a seat for Spike and not you. I guess it must have been an accident.”
Angel huffed and dramatically clutched his chest, falling to his back on the arm of her throne.
“Oh you’ll be fine, I prefer to have you sitting with me anyway.” Fluttershy pulled her bunny friend into her lap with a smile, where he seemed to relax a bit into her embrace.
With her little friend settled in, Fluttershy turned to Care Mare. “Um, I was just wondering, what exactly are my responsibilities here?”
Care Mare tapped a hoof on the floor as she counted them off. “Keeping an eye on the peace of Equestria, hearing any complaints that come in, dispensing advice to ponies who are confused on matters of friendship, and passing new laws in times when we’re in dire need of one.”
“Oh gosh, that’s more than I thought,” Fluttershy whimpered.
Care Mare smiled reassuringly. “I know you’ll be able to handle it, Fluttershy. And if you need help, I’ll be right here by your side all day.”
“Oh, thank you so much…” Fluttershy smiled, then jumped at the sound of hooves clopping on the ground outside the castle.
“It’s probably your first visit of the day. Please wait here and I’ll get it for you.” Care Mare turned to head toward the front of the castle, leaving Fluttershy sitting on her throne with Angel in her lap.
“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, Angel…” Fluttershy giggled softly. “I wonder who has come to visit us…”
A few moments later Care Mare emerged back into the living room with a soft cough. “It seems a protestor has taken up position outside the castle.”
“A protestor? What are they protesting?”
“I don’t know, but you can’t take such things lying down. You should go deal with this personally, to show the ponies of Ponyville that you’re willing to take charge of a situation.”
Fluttershy lowered her head. “B-but I’m really not…”
Care Mare straightened up as her tone hardened. “Fluttershy, you’re an acting princess. You should behave like one.”
“Maybe I could go upstairs and get Twilight.”
“Fluttershy! Go outside and take charge! Right now!”
“Oh, okay… if you say so…” Fluttershy slinked out of her throne and made her way toward the front doors under Care Mare’s piercing glare.
The doors of the palace creaked open just enough for Fluttershy to peer through. There was a lone pony marching back and forth to a crowd that didn’t exist. It was very early in the morning to be trying to make a scene; most ponies were still asleep at this hour, or at least eating breakfast. Still, Fluttershy supposed she had to admire the pony’s dedication to whatever cause had brought her here.
Seeing that there wasn’t a big crowd, Fluttershy nudged the door the rest of the way open to get a good look at the protestor, a mare with a deep yellow coat and a streaked aqua-colored mane. In fact, now that she got a good look at her, Fluttershy recognized one of her best friends from outside her circle of six.
“Mane Cureall?”Fluttershy stepped outside.
Ponyville’s resident, and most experienced, veterinarian whirled back to her with a look of surprise on her face, then held up her sign. “Fluttershy! I’m angry and I need to be heard!”
“Oh, okay. I’m listening.” Fluttershy nodded.
“You are? Just like that?”
“Um, yes. In fact if you’d like you can come in and tell me what’s bothering you. You don’t need to walk around out here.”
“Oh…” Mane Cureall rubbed the back of her neck. “But I spent most of yesterday making this sign and all.”
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. You can protest a little more if you’d like, then you can come in and we can talk about what’s bothering you.”
“That would be swell, thanks. I’ll be about an hour.”
“Take your time, please.” Fluttershy smiled warmly and turned to head back inside, approaching her throne again just past Care Mare. “She’ll be in when she’s ready.”
She just barely heard the sound of hoof meeting forehead.
___
Fluttershy eyed her guest curiously as she entered the throne room, glancing around at the large sloped walls glittering in the light that shone in through the many windows high above. A soft whistle of appreciation echoed through the room as she approached Fluttershy’s throne.
“I’ve never really been in here before. It’s amazing on the inside…”
“Thank you, we’re really proud of it.” Fluttershy smiled. “So, um, what are you angry about, Mane Cureall?”
Mane Curealll huffed and approached Fluttershy’s throne. “Ponyville! The place is full of insensitive ponies!”
“Insensetive? Oh my…what do you mean?”
“Ever since you six came on this here throne with your pets ponies all over Ponyville have been getting pets of their own just because you all have ‘em! But they haven’t the foggiest idea how to take care of them! Those pets are being neglected and abused and I haven’t seen anypony doing anything about it!”
“Neglected pets!?”Fluttershy gasped. “Oh my gosh! I never knew! Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure! I’ve been a veterinarian for twenty-five years! It’s my life’s passion! I know neglected animals when I see them, and because of you there’s more of them than ever!”
“N-now I don’t think that’s fair…” Fluttershy blushed. “I mean, we take care of our pets, we most certainly don’t do anything to neglect them. Do we Angel?”
Her little rabbit friend shook his head furiously in agreement.
“But it’s your responsibility to make sure your actions don’t result in harm to the animals, but that’s exactly what’s happening! How did nopony in this palace notice before? Is Princess Twilight Sparkle just that lazy and self-absorbed?”
Fluttershy gasped. "Of course Twilight is not lazy or self-absorbed! Twilight Sparkle cares about all-”
Fluttershy trailed off at the sound of hooves clopping through the palace toward the throne room. Fluttershy and Mane Cureall turned to watch as Twilight appeared in the rear entrance with a tired smile on her lips, a mane full of tangles, and her eyes half-closed.
“Don’t mind me…” Twilight yawned on her way through the throne room toward the front hallway, where she disappeared into the palace kitchen. It was only a few moments later when she reappeared again with a steaming mug floating in the air in front of her. “Coffee. Mmmmh.” Twilight flashed them another smile before taking a sip from the mug on her way into the back.
Fluttershy blushed at Mane Cureall’s next glare. “It… it’s her day off.”
“Fluttershy, we need to do something about this. We need tougher laws so that ponies can’t just buy a pet they’re not prepared to take care of and let it get hurt.”
“Well, I’m always looking for ways to make things better for my animal friends…” Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, I’m sure if we work together, we can come up with something.”
“Now we’re talking!” Mane Cureall planted herself on the floor in front of her with a bright grin.
“Are you sure about this, Fluttershy?” Care Mare spoke up from her position beside the throne. “Making new laws to punish ponies should never be taken lightly.”
“You told me to take charge, and… and Mane Cureall’s right. We need to make sure our pets and friends are well taken care of. Neglecting a pet is one of the worst things you can do to them.” Fluttershy nodded. “Let’s do it. We can’t let those poor animals suffer because we didn’t want to do anything after all… just some teeny ones to make sure they’re well taken care of…”
“That’s the spirit!” Mane Cureall grinned. “First we need a new law that ponies can’t do mean things to their animals outright! I mean honestly, how does that not exist yet…?”
___
“Go long, Winona!” Applejack whirled a long branch in her tail, holding it firmly in the loop at the end of her short lasso. With a quick flick of her tail the rope loosened and sent the long stick sailing through the air.
Winona barked and took off after the branch with her tail wagging furiously behind her.
“That was quite a throw.” The gruff voice of an Earth Pony royal guard moved up beside her with a kind smile. “She seems like a fine pet.”
“Best pet a filly could ask for.” Applejack peered at him curiously. “Um, no offense, but there ain’t usually a lot of guards wandering around Ponyville.”
“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just monitoring the town at the behest of Princess Fluttershy. There are some new laws in place we need to look into.”
“New laws huh? That’s strange, I didn’t think Fluttershy would do something like that on the first day. Must’ve been about something pretty important.”
“I should say so.” The guard nodded sternly. His stern demeanor faded however as Winona returned with the stick between her jaws, her tail wagging happily behind her.
“Good girl, Winona!” Applejack grinned and grabbed the branch from her mouth with one hoof. “You wanna go again? I bet you do!”
“Wait!” The guard plucked the stick from her hoof to peer at it suspiciously.
Applejack cocked her head curiously. “Is something wrong, officer?”
“This branch is dangerous!” The guard held up the branch.
“It… uh… is?”
“Look at these thorns! If that dog licked it the wrong way one of these thorns could scratch up her tongue and make her unable to eat for days!”
Applejack gasped. “Oh my gosh! I never thought of that!” Applejack took the branch from him to peer at it worriedly. “I reckon you’re right, I’m sorry girl.” Applejack ran a hoof over her head. “We’ll go find you a nice safe branch and-“ Her words were cut off when a piece of metal slapped around her forehoof. “What in tarnation!?”
“I’m sorry miss, putting animals in danger like this for your own amusement is against the law! You’re coming with me!”
“Against the law? But I just didn’t know! I promise from now on I’ll be more careful!”
“Ignorance is no excuse! You’re coming with me!” The guard clapped the other cuff on the startled filly and turned to lead her toward the jailhouse tugging the chains behind him like a leash.
Applejack gulped. “Oh boy… this ain’t gonna go well at all…”
___
“Go long, Tank!” Rainbow Dash spun through the air with her pet tortoise clutched in her forehooves, holding him tightly in her spin before suddenly launching him through the air like a whirling disc. The bare shell whirled through the air rapidly on its way to the ground, but suddenly the contraption attached to its back sprang to life with a glint of magic, and a propeller popped out of the top to halt the creature’s rapid descent a few feet from the ground.
“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash streaked up to her pet as his head slowly emerged from the hollow depths of his shell. “I think that was our best distance yet! Way to go, buddy!” Rainbow lightly clapped her hoof against her pet’s slowly emerging foot.
“Halt, criminal scum!” Rainbow Dash blinked and looked down as a unicorn dressed in royal body armor trotted up underneath them. “How dare you mistreat that poor creature!?”
“Mistreat? Come on, he likes it!” Rainbow patted his shell.
“Turtles are not meant to fly!”
“He’s a tortoise!”
“They’re not meant to fly either!” The guard pointed to the ground. “Come down here, now!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Or what, are you gonna come up here and get me?”
The guard narrowed his eyes as his horn glowed. Suddenly Rainbow found herself being dragged down toward the ground by a set of hoofcuffs attached to her forehooves.
“Hey! Let me go!” Rainbow grunted and struggled. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Encouraging innocent animals to do things that are dangerous or unnatural is against the law as of today!” The guard looked up, suddenly dragging the tortoise toward the ground where the machine on his back lifted from the top of his shell.
“Let go of me you jerk!” Rainbow tried to get away, but found herself soon pinned to the grass by the girth of the guard on top of her. “Gak! Tank! You have to go get help! Quickly!”
Tank gasped a slow puff of air and turned to run as fast as his legs could carry him, waddling across the ground at a pace fit for a sleepy sloth.
“That’s right little guy! Go be free! Like you should be!” The guard encouraged him before turning back to Rainbow. “As for you! You’re coming with me!”
Rainbow Dash sighed after her pet on his panicked several hour trek back toward Ponyville. “Just get it over with…”
___
“Lyra!” Rarity called into the back of Carousel Boutique. “Lyra, please come here! I need your assistance, darling!”
“I’m coming, Your Highness!” Lyra Heartstrings trotted out of the back of Carousel Boutique, approaching Rarity with Bon-Bon by her side. “What can we do for you?”
Rarity gestured grandly to the bathroom beside her, whose door was occupied by her faithful furry friend, Opalescence. “Opal is in need of a bath! I’d like you to give it to her.”
“A bath?”Lyra glanced down at the cat, who was glowering back with a deep, threatening growl. “Um… are you sure we can’t just spray her with a hose?”
Rarity waved her hoof. “Come now, you’re not going to disobey a royal request are you?”
Lyra stared at her for a moment, then turned her panicked eyes on Bon-Bon.
“You heard the lady.” Bon-Bon nudged her forward. “This is your job.”
“Right… it’s just a bath.” Lyra forced a grin as she approached Opalescence, gently lifting her into one hoof to carry her into the bathroom. “There’s a good kitty… it’ll be nice, and warm, and soothing…”
Rarity sighed wistfully. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your assistance lately, Bon-Bon. I feel like a tremendous weight has just been lifted off of my shoulders.”
“Think nothing of it Rarity, we’re happy to help.” Bon-Bon smiled as the sound of bathwater running emanated form the next room.
“Still you’ve been so helpful I feel I really must do something for you…”
“Really, it’s-"
“Aaaaargh!” Bon-Bon’s eyes darted to the bathroom where the sound of wailing and hissing could be heard. “Oh Goddess! No! Aaaahhhhh!”
“Oh hush now darling, surely you’ve earned something nice… aha!” Rarity clapped her hooves together. “What would you say to me making you both some complimentary dresses?”
“That sounds very generous of you but-" Bon-Bon hesitated again at the sound of wailing from the bathroom.
“Wait, please, no more, no mobbblugbbhglbubh!” Lyra’s voice faded away, replaced by faint burbling noises.
“But nothing! I insist!” Rarity grinned. “I’ll get started on them at the earliest opportunity!”
“Well… um… thank you, Rarity. We really appreciate it.” Bon-Bon’s nervous grin faded when a sopping wet green pony flopped onto the floor between them from the bathroom.
Rarity and Bon-Bon stared down at Lyra curiously as the green unicorn lifted herself up slowly on her forehooves, trying to pull herself upright. Her eyes went wide as her hooves began to grind against the floor, being pulled slowly back into the bathroom and out of sight once again.
“Do remember to wash behind her tail.” Rarity called after her.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”
“What is going on in here?” The gruff sound of a royal guard’s voice interrupted as a burly-looking Pegasus guard approached with a sharp look in his eye.
Rarity whirled on him with a smile. “Oh! My goodness, I didn’t even hear the door open! Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every outfit is-“
“AAAAHHHHHH!”
The guard rushed to peek inside the bathroom. “By the Goddess! What are you doing!?”
“Oh, she’s just giving my precious cat a bath.”
“You don’t treat cats that way! Forcing animals to do things against their will is against the law!”
“It… what?” Rarity gasped as a pair of hoofcuffs were slapped onto her hooves, with another smaller cover on her horn. “Hey! What are you doing!? Do you know who I am!?”
“Silence, criminal scum!” the guard forced her onto the ground. “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will-“
Lyra slammed into the floor in front of them suddenly, crawling up toward them. “Arrest me, please…”
“Oh, you’re all under arrest! This is practically a conspiracy!”
“Oh thank Goddess…” Lyra crawled up to the guard and nestled into his side, turning to look fearfully back toward the bathroom.
Bon-Bon rolled her eyes. “Seriously Lyra, how many times are you going to get us arrested…?”
Rarity grunted and stuggled against her cuffs. “You can’t do this to a princess! Unhoof me this instant! Or I shall-"
___
“-have you locked in a dungeon and have the key ingested by a wild badger!” Rarity banged her hooves against the bars of her cell as the guards walked away. “Are you listening to me!?”
“So what brings you three in here?” Applejack asked lazily from the back of the cell.
“Hmph, that guard has a problem with feline hygiene!” Rarity exclaimed.
“I got mauled by a cat…” Lyra groaned.
Applejack cocked her head. “And you got arrested for that?”
“Uh-huh…”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward from the side of the cell and shook her head. “This is ridiculous! Whatever these new laws are that Fluttershy is passing, they’re going to get everypony in trouble!”
Rarity stamped her hoof on the ground. “I agree! I have never been so insulted and disgusted in all my life!”
“Yeah! We need to break out of here!” Pinkie Pie screamed shrilly from the back of the cell.
“Gyah!” Applejack whirled in surprise. “Pinkie Pie!? Oh for goodness’ sakes, not you too! What are you in for?”
“For killing a pony! So don’t you come near me! I know how prison works!” Pinkie Pie growled menacingly.
“I… wouldn’t dream of it, sugarcube.” Applejack backed away slowly.
“We’re not in prison, we’re in jail, there’s a difference.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “I do agree though, we must get out of here. I’m certain if we could reach Fluttershy we could get her to repeal all of these laws and set things back to normal.”
“Yeah! So use your magic and get us out of here, Rarity! Bend the bars or something!”
“Pardon me?” Rarity huffed. “For one thing, I am not your slave and I do not obey commands! For another, they obviously will make the bars of a jail magic-resistant, and who knows what it will do to me if I even tried it? It could wipe out my mind, suppress my magic forever, or all kinds of horrible things!” She blinked for a moment, tapping her hoof against her chin. “Lyra, be a dear and try to open the door for us.”
Lyra blinked. “Do what now?”
“It would mean ever so much to us.” Rarity smiled cutely.
“Er…” Lyra looked up at her then shot her panicked gaze over to Bon-Bon.
Bon-Bon grunted. “You heard Her Highness. I’m sure you can do it.”
Lyra gulped and turned toward the bars, taking a deep breath. “Okay Lyra, just click the lock open, how hard can it be…?” She narrowed her eyes at the cage door, her horn beginning to glow.
The magical aura began to cover the door lock… but then Lyra’s horn popped off.
“What…!?” Rarity reared back.
“What the hay!?” Applejack echoed.
“Lyra! Are you okay!?” Bon-Bon rushed up to her as the horn rolled further away across the ground. “Say something.”
“… AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”Lyra screamed and charged forward past her, snatching her horn off the floor and holding it in her hooves like a child. “AAAAAHHHHHH!AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Rarity cleared her throat and rubbed her own horn as if to make sure it was still there. “Well… do we have a plan B?”
“Uh… wait for Princess Twilight to notice what’s happening and not get any other body parts popped off?” Bon-Bon suggested.
“I second the motion.” Rarity raised her hoof.
“Pfft, cowards…” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, though she held her wings a bit tighter around her body for a moment.
Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I s’pose you’re right. It’s just a matter of time before everything gets set right. How much damage can these laws do in one day?”
___
Fluttershy wiped at her forehead with a small washcloth as she stared down at the small stack of papers between herself and Mane Cureall. “Gosh, I never knew ponies were allowed to do so many terrible things to their animal friends! It’s really quite shocking!”
Mane Cureall huffed, “tell me about it! I’m glad we finally have a princess like you, who genuinely cares about non-ponies, in some sort of power. I’m sure we’re going to make the world a much better place now.”
“Gosh, that would be lovely.” Fluttershy smiled. “For now I think we’re all getting a little hungry, though.” She giggled and plucked Angel off the floor, where he was lying on the ground, clutching at his throat and making exaggerated gagging noises. “Maybe we should break and get some… oh my, supper? Has it gotten so late already?”
"Heh, time flies when you're making the world a better place." Mane Cureall stretched her hooves over her head with a satisfied groan. "Alright, I could use a break myself. There's a little place just down the road I love."
"That sounds lovely. Come on, Angel. Let's go get something yummy to eat." With a kind smile Fluttershy laid her bunny friend on her back and turned to head outside with Mane Cureall.
The sun was just going down, and the streets were rather empty... very empty, Fluttershy noted with a curious gaze. So empty she could see the other end of town just by glancing down the main roadway that led away from their tree palace.
Fluttershy tugged lightly on her friend's tail. "Um, Mane Cureall, is it me or are the streets a little bit... empty?"
"Hmm... maybe a little, but it is getting late. Maybe-" Mane Cureall drifted off at the sound of approaching hoofsteps.
"Halt!" A unicorn stalllion galloped quickly up to them, skidding to a halt and fixing them with a death glare. "You're both under arrest!"
"Under arrest!?" Mane Cureall blinked in surprise. "For what!? Walking outside!?"
"For starving that poor, innocent creature!" The guard jerked his hoof toward Angel, who was still sprawled out on Fluttershy's back and groaning in hunger.
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, no no, we're not starving him I promise! We're going to get him some dinner right now!"
The guard narrowed his eyes. "Tell it to the princess, criminal scum!"
"But I am-"
___
"-The princess..." Fluttershy pressed her hooves against the bars of her cell as the guard turned to march callously away from them.
"Well, this is a bit of a pickle, isn't it?" Mane Cureall shook her head angrily. "He can't arrest us, we're the ones who are trying to help the animals!"
"Yeah well good job." Rarity mumbled from the next cell over. "Now my poor darling Opalescence isn't going to get her cat food tonight!"
"Rarity!?" Fluttershy whirled to look into the next cell, seeing almost all of her friends sitting around leaning against the bars. "Oh my goodness! Girls, what are you doing in here?"
"The same thing you are, I reckon." Applejack smirked. "Also the same thing they all are." Applejack pointed her hoof toward the other side of Fluttershy's cell.
Fluttershy looked back curiously, then squeaked in shock when she saw rows and rows of cells filled with angry-looking ponies, all glaring right at her. She hadn't been met with this much disapproval since flight school.
"Um... um..." Fluttershy sank into a sea of blushes and stammering, speaking in a soft, barely audible whisper, "hello, everypony..."
"What are you all glaring at?" Mane Cureall stepped in front of Fluttershy. "You're all here because none of you know how to take care of your pets! If you had any good sense, or even a heart that wasn't full of your own selfishness, you wouldn't be in here!"
"Hey now, I don't think that's fair..." Fluttershy stepped between her and the large group of ponies. "My friends are good ponies..."
Mane Cureall glared back. "If that were true they wouldn't mistreat and neglect their pets! They would take the proper care of them, instead of treating them like things to be purchased just because a couple of princesses do without even looking up how to take care of them! That's just cruel, and they should all be ashamed!"
"Maybe they made a mistake..." Fluttershy trailed off for a moment, then looked up at Mane with a sad look in her eye. "But did you ever correct them?"
"What!?"
"You're right..." Fluttershy approached the side of the cell toward the townsponies, who looked shocked and hurt by the accusations. "Maybe a lot of these ponies don't know how to take care of their pets... but instead of educating them and teaching them, you held it over them, and tried to get them punished just for not knowing as much as you do." Fluttershy took a deep breath and whirled on Mane Cureall now. "You have the knowledge and education to make things better for everypony, and instead of using it to make things better, you used it to make things worse. And I went along with you..." She hung her head. "I'm a terrible princess..."
"Fluttershy, it's not like that, I mean..." Mane Cureall trailed off slowly.
Rarity spoke from her cell. "Fluttershy, darling, you're not a terrible princess..."
"Of course I am..." Fluttershy turned back toward the townsponies. "I'm sorry everypony... I promise not to take the throne again..."
"I think we're going to need to talk about that before you say it." Twilight's voice cut through the silence as she approached the cells flanked on either side by the royal guards. "Please let them all out, I'm exonerating them all of their crimes against the animals."
"Yeah! finally!" Rainbow Dash darted out of her cell the instant it was opened, along with all of the other ponies.
"Oh... oh crap!" Lyra squealed in excitement when her horn reappeared on her forehead with the opening of the cell door. "I'm healed! It's a miracle! I'm healed!" Lyra charged for the exit, and immediately embedded her horn in the concrete wall beside the stairs with a cringe-inducing crack.
Bon-Bon approached her with a sigh. "Well, you WILL heal, anyway..."
Fluttershy approached Twilight demurely. "I'm sorry I made a mess of things Twilight, I thought I was doing the right thing..."
"I have no doubt you had only the best intentions Fluttershy." Twilight smiled and patted her shoulder with one hoof. "We'll discuss this with Spike and our journal..."
The other ponies jumped when the cell clanged shut, leaving only Pinkie Pie inside.
"What are you doing?" Twilight approached the guards. "I told you to let out everypony accused of crimes against animals."
The guard turned toward her. "She's not in there for crimes against animals."
Applejack hesitated. "Then... what is she in there for?"
Pinkie Pie grinned with a nervous squeak. "Won't you let me out? I made cupcakes..."
___
"Dear diary. I learned today that sometimes it can be really frustrating to realize that others don't see what you can see." Fluttershy approached the window of the high palace tower, where she could watch Mane Cureall standing by the road handing out a small pile of pamphlets. "Maybe you think you're right... and maybe you really are right, but that doesn't make it right for you to pass judgment on others. It's far better to inform them, and tell them what you feel like they could do better, using your knowledge to make the world a better place."
"I couldn't agree more." Twilight threw a comforting hoof around her friend's shoulders with a wink. "I think you had a big day today... and I think next week might be even bigger."
"Oh gosh, Twilight, I don't know if I can..."
"I do." Twilight smiled warmly. "Just trust yourself and use your own knowledge. Right?"
Fluttershy smiled with a soft blush. "Okay, Twilight... I'll do my best... for you..."
to Be Continued