Shy Away, Monarch.

by syrograph

Monolith

Everywhere they looked, ponies gathered in the streets. Canterlot was always so vibrant on New Year's Eve, strung up with enchanted lights and enormous silk ribbons. Dancers and revelers were out in force among the crowds, juggling, clowning, miming. Street vendors sold their wares, the many enticing scents of hot food stalls permeating the air. The atmosphere was electric; one gigantic party to wave off the old and to welcome the new.

Rarity trotted ahead of the pack, marveling at the many sights and sounds, eyes gleaming with the many multi-coloured lanterns that floated through the air. "Oh my, it's so beautiful!" Her excitement was infectious. Applejack drank it all in, catching up to her fashionable friend.

"You can say that again. This is just incredible." She held on to her hat as a group of excited foals ran by, chased by their father.

"I knew that New Year's Eve was big in Canterlot, but not this big!" Rarity stopped, turning to watch a group of acrobats performing tricks amidst a circle of tourists. "It's all so fabulous!" The rest of the party gathered round to catch a glimpse through the throng. "I wonder who tailored their outfits; the fabrics are simply divine!"

"It really is amazing." Twilight beamed, happy to be back in her hometown for this wondrous celebration. "I told you you would love it!"

"And you were absolutely right!" The crowd gasped as one of the acrobats lit a ring of fire, ready for jumping through.

The Ponyville crowd moved on, heading up the street towards the main square. The decorations and performances only grew more grand as they progressed, the ground now littered with sparkling confetti and streamers. "I can't wait to see who will be playing at the concert! I'm sure it will be incredible to witness." Rarity couldn't stop herself; it was all just far too exciting. Pinkie bounded along beside the group, her non-stop giggling adding to everyone's good mood.

All except one, that was.

At the back, and by quite some margin, walked Fluttershy. She plodded along the cobbles, keeping a distance with the crowd in front. So far, her place in the marching order had gone unnoticed, but it wasn't too long before Rainbow caught on.

"Hey, Fluttershy, you doing okay?" She kept her voice down in case she wanted to be left to her own thoughts. The shy pegasus nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Are you sure? You've not said anything since we got off the train."

"I'll be okay." she said. Rainbow didn't believe her, but she thought better of pursuing it any further.

"Hm, well, try not to get lost here, okay? It's super busy." Fluttershy waited until Rainbow Dash rejoined the pack before rolling her eyes.

Soon, they arrived in the city's main square; a huge crowd had gathered, all wearing some form of giant novelty item or ridiculous costume. "Darlings, I feel we may have come-" Rarity giggled, "- under-dressed."

Somewhere over the crowd, a loudspeaker hailed. "Fillies and gentlecolts! The opening act will begin in five minutes! Make sure you're ready, cuz this party's not gonna stop for anypony!"

"Sounds like we're just in time." Applejack spoke this time, removing her hat and dropping it on Rarity's head. It landed awkwardly on her horn and slid to one side. "There, that help any?" Rarity groaned and pulled the stetson off.

"You know I was joking, right?"

"And ye know I was joking too, right? Me, give you my hat? Not a chance in Tartarus."

They both laughed out loud, Applejack stomping the streamer-covered stones in amusement.

The group slowly filtered into the audience, finding gaps anywhere they could . "Excuse me darling, coming through."

"Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am." Applejack apologised as she stepped on somepony's hoof. Overhead, Rainbow Dash hovered over the audience to find a suitable spot. Twilight followed slowly behind her. Pinkie Pie watched them both flit by above; she almost wished that she was a pegasus or alicorn too.

Wait, something wasn't right.

"Hey, you guys seen Fluttershy anywhere?" she called up.

"What? Wasn't she behind us?" Rainbow turned to look, raising a hoof to her brow to shield her eyes from the bright floodlights.

"I don't see her either." Twilight added. "Hold on." She popped out of existence in a flash of pink light, sparks raining down over the other ponies' heads. When she reappeared, she shrugged. "I went back quite a way; I didn't spot her."

"Oh great, she got lost, didn't she?" Rainbow gave an exasperated sigh. "I told her to be careful."

"Fluttershy is missing?" Rarity was just within earshot. Spinning around and heading back to the group, she counted the heads; only five, including herself. "Oh dear, I hope she's not stuck behind some burly stallion or caught up in some sort of performance."

"Guess some of us better go find her." Rainbow started drifting back over the crowd, heading for the way they came in. "I'll check the streets."

"I'll go see if she stopped to get some food from the stalls." Pinkie bounced off towards the edge of the square, where many
bright canopies loomed.

"I suppose I'll go and ask if anyone has seen her." Rarity added, trotting over to one of the nearby taverns.

"You three go, we'll stay here and wait, see if she shows up." Applejack assured them. "Won't be any use us lookin' if she can't find us too!"

~<O>~

The crowds in the pub were densely packed, even moreso than out in the street. Rarity bumped shoulder to shoulder, flank to flank with anypony and everypony, trying to catch their attention. "I say, excuse me!" No-one heard her over the bluegrass group throwing a hoedown in the corner. "Anypony? I'm looking for a friend."

"Hey, babe, I'll be your friend!" A drunk somepony stumbled over his friend's hooves and lurched towards her. He puckered his lips, making a grotesque sucking kissing sound. Rarity grimaced, resisting the urge to scream.

"I'm a-afraid I didn't mean... that." She leaned away from his advance, eyes wide with shock. The lime-green fellow slipped on a spilled beer and tumbled over, landing flat on his face. A cheer went up from his friends.

"Smooth, Mojito!" one of them yelled. Rarity gave up, quickly ducking away from the rowdy stallions and making her way further in to the establishment.

The air was hot in here, humid with the many ponies and non-ponies alike, the smell of cheap cider and beer clinging to everything like some sour smog. "Fluttershy?" she called out, hoping that she would be heard. No reply. She forged on ahead, eyes darting left and right.

Then, in her peripheral vision, a flash of soft pink disappearing behind a gryphon. She moved to intercept, narrowly avoiding taking the avian lass out. "Hey, watch it!" she squawked.

"I'm sorry!" Rarity shot back instinctively. She weaved through the ponies surrounding the bar, turning past one particularly muscular peacekeeper and bumping headlong into something soft.

The soft thing peeped in surprise. Rarity shook off the impact, focusing her eyes. The soft thing was yellow. It had butterflies on it.

"Fluttershy! There you are, darling!" she smiled brightly, her teeth somehow whiter than her coat. "We were afraid we'd lost you, dear." The pegasus didn't respond, hiding behind her mane while she slid some bits across the bar. A large flagon of ale crossed in to her hooves. Rarity cocked her head. "Uhm, excuse me, Fluttershy?" Ignoring her again, she tipped the mug towards herself, sipping the foamy head off the top. "Fluttershy?" She reached out a hoof. Her wing shot out, catching her off-guard. Rarity squealed as she jumped back, surprised by the whipping motion. Before long, the feathery appendage was furled again, tucked against her body. "Fluttershy!" Rarity barked, cheeks now red with shock and just a hint of stifled anger.

"What do you want, Rarity?" Her turquoise eyes glowered from under the bubblegum-pink mane, shimmering in the dim lantern light.

"What is the matter with you?" Rarity puffed out her chest, feeling personally attacked. "Everyone thought we'd lost you in the crowd. Why are you being so... abrupt?"

'Such a bitch' might not have gone down very well. She shrugged, sucking down a little more ale. "I wanted a drink." Underneath her demure voice was a tiny barb of bitterness. "Is that okay with you, Rarity?"

"It's... perfectly fine with me." Rarity looked confused, concern overtaking her moment of defensive anger. "I'm sorry, darling. Did I do something to upset you?"

Yes. Yes, the worst thing.

"No. I'm fine." Turning her attention back to the bar, she blocked Rarity out with her mane again. "I'd just rather be alone right now."

"Oh, not on New Year's Eve, surely?" Rarity took a step forward. "The concert is about to start! It'll be wonderful; you won't want to miss it."

"I'm fine in here." Another step. "Please, leave me alone." Her voice was shaky, hooves beginning to tremble either side of her drink.

"Fluttershy, darling, please. You can bring your... beer-" she hadn't seen her drink in years. "- outside and-" As she reached out to place a comforting hoof on her shoulder, the pegasus whipped around. Her drink sprayed in a wide arc over the ponies around them, raining down in a fine mist.

"No!" she screamed, hot rage plain on her face. "Go away!" The anger faded. "Go away." Sadness. "Go..." Tears streaming, she dropped her now empty flagon on the bar and pushed past the irate patrons she'd just soaked. A flash of sterile fluorescent light signaled the opening of the bathroom door, then she was gone.

Stunned, Rarity debated following her in. "What has gotten into her?" She apologised on her behalf to the beer-soaked crowd, her heart doing backflips as she worried about the cause of this outburst. Her pulse pounded in her throat. She ducked under a bunch of novelty balloons, slowing down before she reached the toilet door. It loomed in front of her like a monolith, like something ancient that shouldn't be moved. Perhaps it was best to leave her by herself.

But what if she needs someone to talk to?

She took a deep breath, then shouldered through the heavy oaken portal. The bathroom didn't match the rustic pub aesthetic whatsoever; clean white tiles adorned every surface, a large mirror behind a row of basins reflecting the five empty stalls behind her. All empty, except one. The door was locked tight. As the exit back to the bar closed, she could hear the quiet trickle of the cistern overflow; the hiss of a hot water faucet, lazily left running, and the soft crying of her friend echoing off the hard walls.

Her hoofsteps joined the sobs in the choir of reverb, ricocheting off every surface with a metallic hum. They carried her to the last stall, where Fluttershy had secluded herself. She very quietly tapped on the door.

"O-oc...cu...pied..." came the reply, her sobs wracking every syllable.

"It's me, darling." Rarity murmured, trying to bring the tension down as best she could.

Silence.

"I just wanted to apologise for being so overbearing back there. It's just..." She sighed, leaning on the cold tile wall. "... everypony is so worried that you were lost. I just wanted them to know you were okay."

"Okay?" The sobbing started again, her breathy, pained voice joining it. "Do I look or sound remotely okay?"

"This just seems so out of the blue for you." She sighed, drawing a circle on the stall door with the tip of her hoof. "Nopony had any idea you were carrying something so painful here with you tonight." The circle came complete with a little frowning face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

More silence. It held on longer this time; Rarity didn't want to push. The red dot on the door lock flicked over to white with a click. The door slowly squeaked open. The hurt, tearful eyes of Fluttershy stared out at her, her messy hair draped over her face.

"There we go, sweetheart; that's the first step." Rarity tried to put on a smile, but the sinking feeling in her gut made her feel sick. "Now, why don't we go and find a quiet place to talk this out, hm?"

"It's quiet enough here." Fluttershy didn't seem much like stepping out of the safety of the stall. She continued to peer through the slight gap in the door. Rarity laughed nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"Well, uhm... would you want to talk about it here?" She saw the pegasus shrug. "No?" She sighed again, feeling frustration mounting. "Come on, we all care so much about you. Every one of us loves you." Fluttershy huffed, her long tail swatting the partition. "Why don't you tell me what the problem is?"

"You want... the truth?"

"I want you to be honest." Finally, they were getting somewhere. Rarity was ready for anything; she was going to make this right, and then they were going to have a lovely evening with their friends-

"You."

The sinking feeling turned into a singularity, the ground falling away beneath her.

"It was always you."

Author's Note:

_{Happy 2018 everyone.}