"YEEEE-HAAAW!"
Applejack's whoop of triumphant joy greeted the arrival of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow Dash planted Apple Bloom onto the powerful back of her big sister before taking a delighted Scootaloo on a soaring, looping flight. Applejack galumphed around the forestside meadow as Apple Bloom hugged her tightly and warmly.
Fluttershy gently set Sweetie Belle down on the grass in front of Rarity, who ran with flooding eyes to her younger sister and nuzzled her joyously.
"We didn't go deep into the forest, Rarity. Honest! We just ..." Rarity silenced Sweetie Belle with five shushing sounds, the last long, gentle and soothing.
Cheering and giggling, Pinkie Pie cartwheeled past Fluttershy, who was sitting on the ground with a dazed smile on her face, taking in what she and her friends had achieved. The pegasus slowly swivelled her gaze around until her eyes fell on Twilight Sparkle, the only one of the ponies who did not seem to be celebrating their victory. "Twilight, is everything okay?"
"Hmm?" Twilight looked up, suddenly aware of how lost in her thoughts she had been. She put on a painfully unconvincing smile. "Oh yes, everything turned out just right in the end."
"But?"
The alicorn grew apprehensive. Her friends had become aware that not all seemed well and were gathering around her, wanting to solve whatever was troubling the princess. "It's ..." She wanted to tell them it was nothing and she'd be fine but she sensed they would not believe her. "I let you all down."
A cacophony of incredulous voices erupted around her, asking what in Equestria she meant by that.
"You were all counting on me to maintain that holding spell, to do my part like you were all doing. But when that manticore started roaring, I mean it was just a noise, right? But I just, I can't explain it, I just ..." Twilight tried to continue but no words would emerge from her gaping mouth.
"Plumb near turned into a pony pop-sickle?" suggested Applejack.
"Exactly!"
Exactly. With a gasp of hope, Twilight turned to each of the other rescuers. All were nodding and wearing understanding smiles, unambiguously conveying that they had experienced the same instinctive, petrifying primal terror that she had.
All, that is, except for proud Rainbow Dash, who chose instead to conceal her feelings with some blunt words of motivation. "So you got scared in the heat of battle. You still stood your ground and did your duty, right? Hello-o? That's what 'courage' means, Princess!"
Twilight felt her shame lift from her like steam from a wet towel in the sun. "You're right. I just, I ... I thought I was the only one."
"Of course you weren't. Are you crazy?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who for some reason was suddenly wearing a pair of outsized, spiral-lensed novelty eye-glasses.
"And even if you had been, I for one would think no less of you, Twilight Sparkle. My precious little sister Sweetie Belle and her dearest friends owe their lives to that well-drilled rescue plan of yours."
Twilight beamed, a pink film rising to her lavender cheeks. "Oh Rarity, a plan's only as good as the team who carries it out. We all had our jobs to do and, if I say so myself, we did them awesomely."
"Applejack had the toughest job," boasted Apple Bloom, with all the unbridled smugness an adoring younger sibling could muster.
"Oh yeah? Tougher than taking care of you?" Rainbow Dash shot back.
As the good-natured banter continued, Twilight Sparkle excused herself and flew over to the enormous raincloud positioned above the stretch of undergrowth that the manticore had set alight. The fire was almost out now but Cloudchaser and Bulk Biceps continued to patrol their dense nimbostratus, periodically checking the progress of the drenching downpour, while Thunderlane swooped back and forth, dispersing the thick smoke with his powerful wingbeats. Through the smoky haze, Cloudchaser spotted the unmistakable silhouette of the approaching alicorn, and gave a reverent bow. Her two companions saw her actions and did likewise. Twilight extended her right forehoof in a gesture that simultaneously accepted the firefighting crew's gesture of respect and told them no further formality was required.
"Well, everything looks under control here. Once you've given the mayor the all-clear can you please pass the word to Fluttershy as well? Terrific job, team. This won't be forgotten."
As the pegasi thanked the princess for her words of encouragement, snow-white Bulk Biceps reared up, thrust out his barrel-like chest and flexed his brawny forelegs in a characteristic pose of triumph. "YEAAHHH!" he bellowed lustily.
The slightly built alicorn mimicked the gesture with a self-deprecating chuckle, then bade the fire crew farewell and returned to her friends. A princess by neither birthright nor marriage but magical accomplishment, Twilight felt somewhat uncomfortable with displays of formality associated with her title and wanted to keep them to a minimum. As far as she was concerned her magical talent, prodigious though it was, did not make her any more important than anypony else. So she felt gratified that Bulk Biceps, an acquaintance at best prior to her ascendancy, was prepared to be himself around her.
On her return, Twilight apprised Fluttershy of the fire situation. "I guess all that's left now is to clean up all those sugared almonds."
"I'll do it," cried Pinkie Pie excitedly, dashing with blinding speed around past the old shed.
"Um, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy called (in a manner of speaking) after her friend. "Maybe it might be an idea to let somepony else deal with the sugared ... almonds." Her voice trailed away as Pinkie Pie half-cantered, half-rolled back into view, her belly distended with the sweets.
"Too late," Pinkie Pie mumbled through her full mouth, "but why?"
"Oh, I guess it's okay now. It's just I was just hoping you and Applejack would help me get the food ready."
"Food? What food?" Applejack approached at the sound of her own name.
"Why, for the manticore of course! I said I'd help him find some other source of food, and who better to help me than you two?"
The two earth ponies exchanged uneasy glances as Fluttershy continued, oblivious to their discomfort. "Now I'm not sure what else the manticore could eat, so we'll need quite a variety. And he'll be extra hungry, what with the chasing and fighting and missing breakfast, so we'll need some pretty big helpings ..."
Applejack had heard enough. "Now just one apple-buckin' minute there, Fluttershy. Ah sure don't remember that part o' the rescue plan."
Fluttershy braced herself. For her, facing down an angry, ravenous, fully-grown manticore was a stroll in the park compared to a battle of wills with Applejack. Or with pretty much any other pony, she thought ruefully.
"Well, I was kind of thinking on my wings there. Caring for animals is my destiny and, dangerous or not, manticores need to eat too. What's more, if we can find some way to supplement his diet, it might alleviate the shortage of quarry in his territory, so he won't be tempted to stray into Ponyville again."
"That's all fine an' dandy but we just busted our hindquarters savin' family 'n' friends from that monster. Now we're s'posed ta drop everything and whup up a smorgasbord for him?"
Every instinct in Fluttershy's psyche screamed at her to shrink back, to avert her eyes, to whimper a pitiful concession and hope everypony would forget the exchange had ever happened. But she could not. For the sake of what was right, she absolutely could not. She stood to her full height, met her friends' indignant glares with her own winsome yet unflinching gaze, and determinedly kept her voice steady, without a trace of quivering.
"You're right. I'm sorry. It wasn't fair of me to load those expectations onto you like that. Showing mercy to the manticore was one thing but this is too much, too soon. Especially for you, Applejack, what with Apple Bloom almost ... This is my responsibility and I'll deal with it. I'll see you later. You both did a great job out there."
With that, the pegasus turned and headed back towards her cottage home, satisfied. She had done it. The earth ponies' mollified expressions had made that clear. She had given in not because she was too weak to argue any further, but because she had overstepped the mark and she knew it. She would not have her friends feeling any trace of remorse out of the mistaken belief that they had browbeaten her into submission.