//------------------------------// // Chapter Nineteen: Sigh-Filled Conflict // Story: The Greatest Show of Kindness // by Sonik //------------------------------// The Greatest Show of Kindness Chapter Nineteen: Sigh-Fiilled Conflict As Fluttershy walked through the small stretch of woods between her cottage and Ponyville, she immediately knew what her strategy for getting through town would be. The only thought that ran through her mind was confrontation, as she had the sinking feeling in her heart and stomach that her “friends” were going to try and talk to her and convince her not to save her precious baby boy. She had already spent a couple of hours just thinking about a list of different scenarios that could happen. Hopefully, she could get through the town without much confrontation from the five ponies. After what happened the previous night, she was incredibly reluctant to meet them. She had a plan in case it did happen, however: Start out with her normal passive-aggressive attitude, and if she need to, attack each of their elements. Rainbow Dash and her ‘loyalty’, Pinkie Pie and her ‘laughter’, Rarity and her ‘generosity’, Applejack and her ‘honesty’, and Twilight and her ‘magic of friendship.’ Each of them had betrayed the critical trait that made them the ponies they were, and she was going to make sure that they knew it if they pushed her. She was a bit of a hypocrite in this situation, as she knew that the hard truths she was about to lay down would be smackdowns on all five of them, and not in the least bit kind. She knew in her heart, though, that to save Bumble, she would have to do this. When she thought a little harder about it, Fluttershy came to the realization that on top of acting against their characters, her “friends” were acting strangely hateful. She understood that they would have a dislike for the creatures, but for them to spark such intense hatred towards them… She knew that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. She had a quick flashback to earlier that morning, at about seven o’ clock, when she went to the jailhouse to go and break Bumble out. She went so early because she knew that it was before most ponies would be awake, and she would likely not be seen. She looked frantically and frustratedly through the jail cells, and she saw a lone guard doing his rounds through the holdings. She froze immediately, hoping that he wouldn’t see her. Of course, this failed, and he approached her. “Hey! What are you doing in here!” he yelled to her, coming closer. “Um… good morning, sir. I’m looking for a changeling that I saw being brought in here… He’s very young and sweet, and I was wondering where he was,” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane. “Oh, I believe that I met that changeling. Small, nervous, a bit jittery? About yay tall?” he replied, putting his hoof to his front knee, about three feet from the ground. “Yes, that describes him perfectly! Where is he?” “He’s in Canterlot.” Fluttershy’s mouth dropped, tears forming in her eyes. “In Canterlot!? Why!?” “He didn’t pass the individual interrogation, so he was sent up there for more… intense questioning. I’m sorry, Miss Fluttershy. If I could’ve prevented it, I would’ve, but Captain Shining Armor gave the green-light to send him up to Canterlot.” “Why would Shining Armor do something like that? He seemed so nice at the wedding!” “I don’t know, Miss. If you get to Canterlot before one o’ clock, you should probably be able to get there before any kind of harshness plays out.” “Oh, my goodness! That means I need to get my things ready! Thank you, sir! I’m in your debts!” With that, Fluttershy began her gallop back to her home, but before she got far, the lone guard shouted out at her. “Hey! I’ll meet you at the train station!” he cried, making her stop and listen. “I have some things to tell Princess Celestia about some suspicions that I have about this whole thing.” “Okay!” As she walked into the very outskirts of town, Fluttershy was immediately stopped by Rainbow Dash, who landed right in front of her. ‘Here we go already,’ Fluttershy thought, giving an exasperated sigh. “Hey, Fluttershy! What’s up?” Rainbow Dash greeted, taking a step closer to her Pegasus counterpart. “Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said, walking past Rainbow Dash and further into town. She felt a hoof on her right shoulder before looking back. “Hey, listen. How are ya doing?” Fluttershy’s anger had already started to rise. Every single time she thought of the events of the night before made her blood boil. “You know, after last night, I’m not feeling very well.” “You’re not? I thought that we got rid of that changeling’s magic!” “No, it’s not about Bumble right now. It’s about how you betrayed me.” The toxicity within that last phrase hit Rainbow Dash harder than a brick. “B-Betrayed? Flutters, we saved you! Who knows what the changeling would’ve done to you if we didn’t it out of there!” “Rainbow Dash, you didn’t listen to a single thing that I said! That changeling is the sweetest, most loving little boy in the whole world, and you cast everything aside, including my friendship, just to ruin his life!” Fluttershy’s sudden rush of anger was very surprising to Rainbow Dash. Why was she defending the changeling? Was she not at the wedding? “Fluttershy, why are you putting up for that nasty bug? He was probably part of the invasion! He helped hurt Cadence and-“ “I don’t care about that right now! He’s my baby boy! I need to save him, and you will not stop me from protecting him!” By this point, Rainbow Dash was physically preventing Fluttershy from moving forward by crossing her legs with Fluttershy’s, making it so that if Fluttershy moved, she would trip and fall. Fluttershy herself was trying to calm herself, but found herself becoming angrier and also confused that Rainbow Dash would be so hell-bound to stop her. “Rainbow Dash, please, let me go. I have to save him; he’s completely innocent!” “Fluttershy, he’s just a changeling! It’s not like he has more meaning than-“ “Rainbow Dash!” The sheer force of Fluttershy’s scream made Rainbow Dash recoil away from her, her eyes widening. The frustration… no, the ire in her eyes was unlike anything she’d ever seen before, like an even greater level than her infamous stare. “I don’t care that you don’t like changelings, and you will not hold me away from Bumble! Why are you being such a traitor to me and my feelings!?” Rainbow Dash just stood there, staring forward, shocked and hurt at Fluttershy’s words. She was no traitor! She was the most loyal pony this side of Canterlot! “Fluttershy, I-“ she started, but just frowned when she saw that Fluttershy had already galloped all the way into Ponyville by then. “Oh, mane…” As Fluttershy made her way through Ponyville to the trains station on the opposite side of the town, she sighed as she saw Applejack at a market stand with both Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom. It looked like a relatively slow morning out, and the marketplace was pretty desolate, with only five or six ponies out doing shopping. ‘Okay, just make it through, Fluttershy. You can do this. Just canter on-‘ “Howdy, Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled, motioning for Big Mac to take over the stand for her. Fluttershy once again sighed as her second “friend” trotted over to her. “Uh… Hi, Applejack. What do you want?” she replied, a tinge of rudeness remaining from her encounter with Rainbow Dash. “Sugarcube, is everythin’ alright? How’re ya doin’ after yesterday?” Applejack asked, putting her left fore hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m… okay, I suppose,” she lied, trying a different strategy. “I’m just trying to… get some exercise.” “Some exercise, huh? With yer pet rabbit?” Applejack bemused, suspicion and doubt rolling onto her face. “Well, I decided that he might like to get out and have some fresh air.” “Then, why do ya have saddle bags on that smell like kibble?” “It’s to weigh me down, so I can… you know… get the most out of it.” “Look, Ah know that yer lyin’ t’ me, Fluttershy. Where’re ya headed to?” “I don’t believe that it is in your business to know where I’m going right now, Applejack. Please, let me go.” By this point, Fluttershy’s frustration was almost at the same point that it was with Rainbow Dash. Why did everypony have to hold her hostage? Don’t they even have a little bit of regret or empathy for her after what happened last night? “Sugar, just be honest with me! What’re ya-“ Applejack started, but was cut off when Fluttershy shoved her hoof off of her shoulder. “Be honest? Why don’t you be honest? You’re the one who lied to me yesterday,” Fluttershy spat, taking a step back. Applejack’s mouth was agape, and she truthfully had no idea what her Pegasus friend was talking about. “What’re ya talkin’ about? Ah would never lie to you! Ya know that!” “No, Applejack. I knew that up until last night. You lied to me and betrayed me!” “Wha!? Ah never did anything of the sort!” “Oh, really? I remember you saying that you were only doing it for ‘my safety,’ and that ‘I would realize that he was just mind-controlling me,’ or things like those! Well, if it wasn’t clear enough to you, nothing you said was true in the slightest! C-Couldn’t you s-see my tears, or hear my c-cries?” “Fluttershy, everythin’ I said was the truth! You’re much safer now than yesterday! He was controlling’ you, Ah just know it!” “Can’t you tell that I love that little boy!? His safety is my safety! He’s not even eight years-old! He can’t use magic, especially not mind-control magic! You just want to lie to make yourself feel better about what you did! There’s no point in trying to talk to you!” With that, Fluttershy galloped off, rejecting everything that Applejack was saying. Was it all a lie? Was all this just a lie? These were not her friends! Her friends were loving, compassionate mares who would’ve listened to what she had to say, and would’ve definitely realized that Bumble wasn’t evil! Were this “Applejack” and this “Rainbow Dash” changelings as well? Her reality was slowly collapsing. Fluttershy was galloping so fast and was thinking so hard that she didn’t even realize how fast she was going, speeding right past Pinkie Pie and Rarity. They both tried to yell out to her, but Fluttershy didn’t hear them. Fluttershy quickly made her way to the train station, where she met the guard that she had met that morning. She stopped in front of him, gasping for breath. He looked at her, taking a step forward. “Hey, are you alright?” he asked. “Y… Yeah. Just… wanted to… get here sooner. I’m fine,” she huffed, letting her chest heave downwards. “Well, that’s good. You’re early. The train doesn’t depart until 10:45, and it’s 10:39,” he informed, looking up to the clock. “Oh… okay. How are you?” “I’m doing well right now. I don’t think that I properly introduced myself to you. My name is Word Twister, and I’m a private of the Solar Royal Guard.” “I’m Fluttershy.” “Oh? It’s a sure pleasure to meet the Element of Kindness!” Word Twister lifted up Fluttershy’s fore hoof and kissed it, causing a deep blush on Fluttershy’s face. He smiled slightly at her adorable red cheeks. “A-And it’s nice to meet you, too, Private Word Twister. Is the train ready to board?” “In a minute or two. I’ve already bought the tickets.” Word Twister handed Fluttershy her ticket, and then, the two sat down at the side of the train door for a few minutes until the conductor shouted, “All aboard!” Word Twister first got on, taking his seat to the left of the door. As Fluttershy started into the train, she heard a yell from behind her. “Fluttershy!” She turned her head to see Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all running up to her. ‘Oh, what now?’ she thought, sighing. “What do you want now?” she interrogated, annoyed that she must, once again, tell her friends to stop trying to convince her against saving Bumble. “Please, listen to us!” Twilight yelled, taking a step forward. “We think that you’re making a big mistake!” “Yes, I already know. You think the changeling is controlling my mind and that I’m in serious danger. I get it. I do not care. Leave me alone!” Fluttershy demanded, growling. “Darling, please! That dastardly changeling is going to absolutely ruin you if-“ Rarity started, but was cut off when Fluttershy aggressively stamped her hoof. “No, none of you understand anything! Know anything! You can’t say that he’s going to ruin me, because you don’t know him! If anything, you’re the one’s that are ruining me!” she screamed, making sure that all of them knew that she was speaking to the entire group. “What!? How am I ruining you?” Pinkie Pie cried, looking very hurt. Fluttershy had high tolerance to annoying things, but she couldn’t hold in her steam anymore, so she exploded. “Pinkie Pie, I haven’t cried more or been sadder in my entire life than in the last day, and I’m sure that changeling whose life you’re trying to take away and destroy would say the exact same thing! How do you call yourself the ‘Element of Laughter,’ when you’re just bringing a rain of tears from me and Bumble!?” Fluttershy raged back, shocking Pinkie Pie and leaving her speechless. “Darling, I believe you’re being-“ Rarity tried. “Oh, I’m not done. Rarity, why did you take part in taking Bumble away from me? What could you have gained from it? I see nothing that would’ve benefited you!” “Why, I was simply trying to help!” “The only thing that I saw you help to do was to fuel your own greed so that you wouldn’t feel the guilt of not joining in!” “What!?” “Rainbow Dash, Applejack, you two aren’t even worth my words anymore, so I’ll go straight to you, Twilight. What kind of-“ “Fluttershy, stop! You don’t need to-“ “Do not interrupt me! You stole my little baby boy away from me, even after I told you that he wasn’t bad! You are trying to make him suffer for no reason! The last time I checked, a friend wouldn’t try to steal her friend’s child away from her for no reason! What kind of ‘friend’ are you supposed to be?” “This is so unlike all of you that I think that all of you are changelings, as well, but not the kind that Bumble is. I think that you’re the evil kind of changelings, the kind that want to ruin other's lives!” “Excuse me, miss?” Fluttershy nearly slammed her hoof into the conductor’s face when he said that to her, but she stopped short. “What?” she said, calming herself enough to not scream at him. “The train departs now,” he informed, shrinking down under her anger “Oh, okay. Thank you.” With that, she didn’t even bother to say anything else to the five accused mares and just boarded the train without a single other word. She took her seat next to Word Twister and just sighed. Outside, she could hear Twilight telling the conductor to let her and her friends in, but he denied them because of the lack of tickets. “Hey, are you alright?” Word Twister asked to Fluttershy, rubbing her foreleg. “I guess so. I’m just tired now,” she said, laying down. “Do you want any water or anything?” “No, thank you.” As the train departed and started to roll off to Canterlot, Fluttershy took a moment to think about the recent conversation. She really lost herself when she yelled at them. In fact, she wasn’t even sure whether to think that she was just being angry at her friends, or whether the same influence that was controlling them had suddenly taken over her, as well. Was she a changeling herself? Was she as bad as them for yelling at them in such a rage? Either way, she was still going to get to Canterlot, save her little Bumble, and get to the bottom of why they were all acting so hateful towards the changelings.