Part 2/2 - "A Twinkle in the Sky"
Hours after the group had made it to and (unfortunately) rebuilt their campsite, they were finally able to relax as they all gathered around a warm, roaring campfire in the cool, crisp forest night. Today had been unexpectedly stressful for everyone involved - what with each of them having supposedly acted like the complete opposite of their true selves - but that didn't matter anymore; everyone was just happy to get along once again and hopefully regain some form of normalcy for the night and the rest of their retreat.
Well, mostly everyone was happy.
As Pinkie stared longingly at the fire while the rest of her friends were currently occupied with a round of campfire stories and other playful conversations, the pink pony began to remember those haunting words her doubt had plagued her with.
"How can you two be best friends?"
"...you'll only end up hurting her..."
"It's for the best..."
Pinkie's soul began to freeze over as she was constantly barricaded with those constant vocal jabs. How could Fluttershy say they were best friends? They were so different - she was sweet and kind and Pinkie was just a silly pony. How could she...?
Her mind began to trail off so much, she almost didn't notice the slight yell accompanied by a hoof frantically waving in front of her face.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow exclaimed, snapping the earth pony back to attention as she noticed all her other friends had ceased their conversations to regard her with concerned expressions.
"Wha..? Oh... Hi Dashie." Pinkie spoke with a fraction of her normal enthusiasm as she tried her best to conceal her pain.
"Pinkie, are you ok? You've been really quiet and you were just staring in the distance..." Starlight Glimmer explained as the others collectively nodded their heads in agreement.
"Y-yeah. Just some thoughts about stuff that happened today." Pinkie stated. She didn't want her friends to know the exact reason but she also wanted to remain as close to the truth as possible.
To her surprise though, it was a very worried looking Fluttershy who decided to speak next, which didn't do well to quell her anxieties.
"Pinkie, would you like to take a walk with me? We can go somewhere quiet to talk about what's bothering you." she offered so sweetly it almost made Pinkie cry. The pegasus sounded like she was very worried. Worried for her.
Pinkie flinched with pain as she felt her insides crawl.
"Why does she care so much? I'm usually the one who scares her the most..."
"N-no thanks." she stuttered a bit. "Though, I think I'm going to go explore a bit by myself."
"Pinkie..." Rarity softly whispered.
"It's fine!" Pinkie all too quickly explained before she relaxed a bit.
"It's fine..." she spoke quieter as she gave a bitter smile to her friends. "I just need some time is all..." she finished as she slowly trotted away from the campfire and into a clear trail through the woods.
The rest of the gang couldn't help but look at each other with mental skepticism. They knew Pinkie wasn't acting like herself and they wanted to help, but it didn't seem like Pinkie was completely hiding everything - she at least was honest about what may be troubling her and if some alone time helped with that who were they to judge?
For now, they all decided to somberly return to their conversations - making the decision that they would become more involved if the problem worsened. Everyone decided that this was the best they could do for now.
Except Fluttershy.
The pegasus noticed the minor indications that her friend was truly troubled. The long, silent distant stares, the small shaky smiles that she knew weren't completely genuine, the echo of a stutter in her voice, and...
"...the way she flinched when I spoke to her."
Realizing that her best friend may be upset because of her, Fluttershy slowly rose up from the log she was sitting on, staring out into the direction of the trail with a hardened look on her face as she began walking towards the path.
"Fluttershy?" Applejack called out, noticing her friend march her way towards Pinkie's whereabouts. "Where are ya going?"
The pegasus in response looked over her shoulder at her questioning friends with a slight spark in her eyes.
"To find Pinkie." she boldly stated before she increased her speed off into the distance.
The group only looked at each other with more concern than before - now two of their friends had ventured out into the night with very little context as to what exactly was going on.
"Should we go after them?" Starlight turned and asked Twilight.
The alicorn was about to respond before she took notice of the way she found Pinkie and Fluttershy hugging and consoling each other earlier. While she had originally assumed that the earth pony had made their friend upset, she now knew the opposite held true as she saw the way the two seemed to care for each other.
As the sight of that moment lingered in the lavender pony's mind, she turned to address the others with a slight smile on her muzzle.
"No. I know they'll be fine as long as they're together." she sagely reasoned as the fire in the middle cracked a brilliant orange glow.
A small pink bundle of mane and limbs sat ever so quietly - perched at the top of a majestic hilltop view - as she gazed profoundly at the brilliant illustration of the moon and stars that danced the night sky.
As she awed at the shimmering aura that the moon gave off, she delivered a long sigh as she glanced dejectedly at her own hooves.
"Am I really a bad pony? I've probably hurt someone who means so much to me and yet she still calls me her best friend."
As she internally monologued alone, she failed to hear the quiet, elegant hoofsteps of a yellow pegasus slowly approaching her.
Thankfully for Fluttershy, finding her friend proved to be a simple objective. On her trek up she had met some of the animals from earlier in the day, which she apologized profusely to in the event that she had upset them. Thankfully, the animals began to realize that this pony was not the same 'heartless monster' from earlier and accepted the kind mare with open paws, claws, wings, whatever may be.
After asking the creatures of a pink pony potentially walking by, they happily pointed the pegasus in the direction of the traveler, which she thanked in sincere appreciation before eventually finding her intended target where she currently sat.
Fluttershy slowly waltzed up to the pony until she was a few feet away before softly clearing her throat.
"Pinkie?"
The earth pony jumped in surprise from her seated position before she swiftly tilted her head around to address the newcomer.
"What are you doing here?"
The pegasus delivered a soft tender smile.
"I'm here to check on you. I wanted to make sure you're alright."
Pinkie's eyes shifted downwards as she brought her head back to the direction of the hillside, her back facing the mare.
"You should go back to the campsite. You have a lot of best friends down there to spend time with."
Fluttershy's smile immediately vanished at that; a thin concerned frown replacing it instead, as she slowly moved so she was standing right beside the sulking pony.
"What about the best friend I have right here who's clearly upset? I'm worried about her."
Pinkie paused for a moment before sighing in response.
"You can have much better friends than me." she firmly stated as she gazed back up at the stars overhead.
The pegasus now began to sit cautiously right next to the pony as she began extending a wing and rubbing her friend's shoulder.
"Pinkie, now you're scaring me. What's going on?"
The pony made no effort to remove the wing from her body, yet she tensed at the touch as she began feeling the cascade of tears dripping down again. She still refused to look directly at the pegasus.
"We can't be best friends..." she weakly muttered as she bowed her head in shame.
Fluttershy could feel her heart plummet as the wing stopped its comforting motions. She felt her eyes water in sadness and fright as she moved her head closer to the other form.
"What?! Why not?!"
Pinkie paused as her doubt reared its ugly head.
"Because you'll hurt her."
"Because you're too different."
Then her eyes sobbed at the last one.
"Because she deserves better."
"Because... we just can't!" Pinkie finally exclaimed externally.
"Why can't we?" Fluttershy retaliated as her nerves began to quiver.
This definitely wasn't the normal Pinkie. The pony who always loved to laugh and smile and hang out with her friends. Seeing her friend this sad and upset only made her heart weep. And now she was saying they couldn't be friends?! The pegasus wanted to help and resolve the situation, but she didn't know what to do if the mare was refusing to open up.
"Please... just... we can't." Pinkie slowly choked as she felt each word was like a poison cupcake in her mouth. She didn't want to turn away the soothing voice but what other choice did she have?
"Pinkie, you need to tell me what's going on. I can't help you if you don't tell me." Fluttershy calmly explained, wanting nothing more at the moment than to fully embrace her friend and tell her whatever fears or concerns she had weren't necessary.
Pinkie finally stared directly at the opposing pony as her eyes trickled in despair.
"You shouldn't want to help me!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Now, Fluttershy was floored. She was quickly becoming frustrated with her failure to understand the situation. First Pinkie said that they couldn't be friends and now she was being told that she shouldn't want to help her.
"Pinkie Pie, now you're just being silly! Of course, I'm your friend and I want nothing more than to help you with whatever is going on. I'm not going to leave you alone until you are ready to tell me what's wrong because that's what friends do!" the pegasus retorted triumphantly, her brows slightly narrowed as her voice was laced with a touch of frustration - though it was mostly a result of her worries for her broken down friend.
"How can we be friends?! I don't get it!" Pinkie exclaimed in frustration as the tears roared down now.
"What do you mean how?! What are you trying to say?" retaliated Fluttershy.
Finally, like a bag full of air that had just popped, Pinkie's turmoil all came flooding out.
"Because I'm a bad friend!" she cried, suddenly collapsing onto the rocky terrain in a fit of sobs.
Fluttershy remained utterly speechless. She had never seen Pinkie break down like this before; to see this bundle of energy and laughter transform into a pool of tears and hysteria lurched at the pegasus's heart like a puncturing arrow.
"She thinks she's a bad friend?! How can she..." she silently thought as tears wept for the heartbroken Pinkie Pie.
The mare finally received a form of instincts as she scooted herself closer to her emotional friend before picking her up with her front hooves and wrapping her in the tightest hug the pegasus had ever performed.
"Pinkie, please stop! You are not a bad friend! You're one of my best friends and I'll always love you!" she sputtered out as she began nuzzling the bouncy pink mane in an attempt to console her.
"H-how?" the pony shakily replied.
"I'm still not sure what you mean by that." Fluttershy softly spoke. "How about we just take a few moments to relax and then we can work this out?"
Pinkie's mind began racing. On one hoof, she felt like she wanted to run as fast as she could and escape the pegasus before she discovered the full truth - before she inadvertently hurt her. On the other hoof, slowly looking up to see the tearful, yet nurturing smile on the mare's face gave Pinkie an odd feeling of comfort that told her to go ahead and try anyway- to push through the doubt no matter what and have confidence in her. Have confidence in herself.
After a moment of internal debating, Pinkie glanced up at the pegasus and weakly nodded her head.
"Ok..."
Fluttershy smiled at this and gently pushed Pinkie back into the warm embrace as she began rubbing her mane.
"Shhh... it's alright. I'm here. I want to help you. I'm not going anywhere."
Having Pinkie's sobbing eventually dwindle down into nothing more than a few light sniffles, Fluttershy slowly removed herself from the embrace before she used her wings to lightly tickle the pink pony's stomach.
"Hee hee. Stop it, Shy-Shy! That tickles!" Pinkie roared out in laughter as her trademark bouncy smile soon found it's way home where it belonged.
The pegasus resumed the tickle attack for a moment before she folded back her wings with a beaming grin on her face.
"There's the happy Pinkie I know! Now, are you ready to talk?" she asked as she sat herself on a nearby rock on the hill before motioning for the pink pony to take a seat directly across from her.
Pinkie's laughter naturally dwindled down as she looked at the rock with curiosity.
"If I don't, you're just going to tickle me again aren't you?" she asked knowingly.
The pegasus adopted a sly smirk as she nodded her head in confirmation.
"Alright, but... this isn't going to be easy to talk about." Pinkie warned as she cautiously took her place.
"Well, why don't we start from the beginning and work our way there? That's what you did with me when I was upset earlier." Fluttershy offered.
As Pinkie looked back at her butterscotch friend, she couldn't help but marvel at the kind pony's natural gift for comforting others. Whether it be an animal or another one of her friends, Fluttershy had this presence about her that let everyone know that she was there to listen and everything would be ok. Her warm inviting smile and the offering, yet non-confrontational way she spoke to others to get them to warm up was a treasure that very few ponies could possess.
While both mares found their talents in the caring and cheering up of others, Pinkie had to admit that the pegasus's internal beauty allowed her to console even the most tortured or damaged spirits with a grace that contrasted from her own overly bubbly persona. While Fluttershy took a little longer to let that aura of hers open up, it was a power which could help more ponies than a simple party or joke could ever do. To say Pinkie respected the similar yet also different style of compassion that the spirit of kindness held was an understatement. Heck, if she didn't work with animals, perhaps she could've had a career as a therapist.
Pinkie smiled at her friend in appreciation before she gave a quick sigh.
"Okey-dokey. Well, remember back in the forest when I found you crying and then I comforted you?"
Fluttershy gave a fond smile at the memory of her friend being so warm and kind. She nodded silently, prompting her friend to continue.
"And then I said you were one of the most amazing ponies I ever met?"
Fluttershy developed a small blush on her cheeks as she quickly turned her head away from the other pony, though still adorning a rather cute smile.
Pinkie inwardly smirked at the timid pony's bashfulness. "Some things never change."
"Y-yes I do - and thank you by the way. That made my day." the pegasus meekly responded.
"Anytime, Shy-Shy." Pinkie closed her eyes in delight before the attention was re-focused on the topic at hoof.
"Anyways, after I did that, you began to hug me - which I always enjoy a nice Flutterhug..."
Fluttershy blushed again.
"...but after that, you said I was 'one of your best friends'."
Fluttershy nodded, seeing Pinkie's expression transform into a more neutral thin line.
"And you absolutely are. But why is that upsetting you? Why do you think we shouldn't be?" the pegasus persuaded in a motherly manner, allowing the conversation to proceed.
"Well, once you did that a new voice appeared in my head. They said their name was 'doubt'." Pinkie began.
"Aw, yes." the yellow pony sagely nodded. "I'm quite familiar with that one."
"You are?" the earth pony tilted her head quizzically.
"Oh yes." she responded, "Doubt will always try to make you question things even if you felt confident about something before. Doubt tries to make you worry about things, even if they're not true - in fact, I struggle with that every day. Doubt told me everyone hated me earlier."
"Really, it did?"
"Oh, yes. But a certain sweet pony named Pinkie helped show me doubt was just being silly." Fluttershy added with a wink, causing said sweet pony to giggle.
However, the giggling soon stopped as Pinkie developed a new question.
"But what if doubt's telling the truth and not being silly?"
The pegasus respectfully thought for a moment before responding.
"Well, what was doubt telling you?"
Pinkie sighed again, before finally working up the nerve to explain.
"Well, doubt told me that the two of us can't be best friends because we're so different from each other."
Fluttershy paused her calm demeanor at that as her eyes widened in realization. Everything was slowly starting to make sense and her guess as to exactly what was happening made her heart wince in sympathy.
"Really?" she asked worriedly.
Pinkie sadly nodded.
"Mmm hmm. Doubt made me realize that the two of us really don't do a lot with each other because we have very different lives. I mean, you're a gentle and quiet pony, while I'm a loud and silly pony..."
Fluttershy nodded as a touch of guilt slowly enveloped her with a frown.
"We really haven't spent that much time together, have we? I had no idea she'd want to..."
"...then I began thinking about all the ways in which we've struggled in the past. I mean, you're not too big into parties, that's a given - but there's also other things like how my balloons sometimes interfere with your animals, how my loud nature frightens you, that time where I made you cry about your stage fright..."
` Pinkie and Fluttershy both winced upon that particular memory, both having regrets.
"...heck, even this morning I gave you a near heart attack with hide and seek; and that made me think, 'how can we be best friends if all I do is constantly frighten and/or hurt you?'"
Pinkie felt her tears begin to creep up on her again as Fluttershy felt her own sadness overcome her in sympathy and heartache for her friend.
"Pinkie..." Fluttershy softly uttered as Pinkie carried on.
"So doubt told me that you had other, better best friends waiting for you once you guys made up and I didn't want to argue... because... because..."
"Because why, Pinkie?" the pegasus asked as a tear fell down her cheek.
"Because I'm a bad friend!" Pinkie sobbed. Immediately, Fluttershy flew over to the rock Pinkie was sitting on and wrapped her up in another hug, trying in vein to conceal her own tears.
"Pinkie, you are not a bad friend. You're a great friend, a wonderful friend in fact!" Fluttershy cried as she nuzzled the pony close.
"No I'm not!" Pinkie countered. "I'm scared that if we became best friends, I'd end up hurting you or driving you away, and I don't want to do that! I'm a bad pony, Shy! You should stay away, I don't want my silliness to hurt you!"
At that, Fluttershy froze for a split second before her tears nearly doubled as she quickly lifted the pink pony's head up with her hooves so that the two were directly staring (/sobbing) at each other.
"Pinkie, please don't ever say that! Don't ever think you'll make me leave you, because I won't! I love you just the way you are!"
"Please don't lie to me!" Pinkie cried as she clenched her eyes shut in emotional pain.
"Pinkie! I'm not lying to you! Just like you weren't..." she suddenly stopped as she remembered what the other pony had done earlier to make her trust her words.
The pegasus gently lifted the earth pony's head again so that she would open her eyes.
"Pinkie, I'm going to make a Pinkie Promise that what I tell you now will be the complete and honest truth. 'Cross my Heart and Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye'."
Pinkie's eyes glimmered in response. Those who knew about the 'Pinkie Promise' were smart enough to never break one.
The pink pony wordlessly nodded.
"I love my Pinkie just the way she is. Yes, there have been plenty of times where I struggle to keep up with your energy, but I've honestly grown to love your silly quirks over the years - I couldn't imagine you without them."
Pinkie gave a tearful smile as her lips quivered at the sentiment.
Fluttershy returned said smile as she pressed on.
"And yes, I can get scared easily, but let's be honest a lot of things frighten me. And I know we haven't spent a lot of one-on-one time in the past, but I was never really sure how to approach you on it or even if you wanted that - but now since I know you do, we can work together on finding activities that we can both comfortably enjoy doing. That's why we have Buckball isn't it?"
Pinkie gave a soft laugh as she drew memories of the ponies' recent introduction into the world of Buckball and how surprisingly good of a team the two plus the chill Snails made.
"Just because we're different doesn't mean we can't be best friends; In fact, our differences help encourage our friendship. You always know how to make me smile in the long run and you've always encouraged me to come out of my shell and try new things, while I'm sure there are ways I've helped you, right?"
Pinkie sniffled as she eagerly nodded.
"Of course! I would've never held such an awe for wildlife or tea without you!"
Fluttershy smiled at that as she wiped her own puffy eyes with the use of her wing.
"So how about the two of us work on improving our friendship together? Because I want you to be and to know that you're my best friend, and I want the two of us to get to know each other better and become closer than we ever have before - sound good?"
The pegasus however barely had any time to process exactly what happened as a pink blur nearly tackled her, nuzzling its mane onto her cheek.
"I'd love that, Flutter-Butter."
Fluttershy smiled as she nuzzled the pink pony's cheek back in a warm, friendly display.
"Me too, Pinkie."
Both earth pony and pegasus were currently lying down on their backs, peacefully watching the shimmering stars swim ever so daintily across the night sky. After a rather emotionally-intense day, both ponies found the relaxing activity of stargazing to be the perfect accompaniment to the promise of their new friendship.
Pinkie stared lazily at the sky as she blissfully sighed.
"Today sure was crazy, even by my standards."
Fluttershy didn't look up but she did give a soft laugh as she smiled up at the sky.
"Yeah. But somehow everything worked out in the end. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
Pinkie just gave a soft murmur of agreement before an angelic voice spoke up once again.
"Hey Pinkie?"
"Yeah?"
"I was just thinking - We both still have issues with our self-confidence and we both agreed we would work on finding new activities together, so I had an idea... what if we agreed to meet up once a week so we can help each other with any issues, and then afterwards we could do something fun - just the two of us."
"You mean like a therapy/bonding session?" Pinkie questioned as she tilted her head.
"Mmm-hmm. Something like that."
"Are you sure? I really don't want to take up too much of your time with the school and the sanctuary."
Fluttershy turned her head to meet Pinkie's as she gave a small smirk.
"Even with all that, I still have plenty of time to spend with each and every one of my best friends."
Pinkie couldn't help but return the smirk.
"Hide and Seek?"
"Only if you actually let somepony else find you first."
Pinkie couldn't help but laugh out loud at that, which Fluttershy soon found herself joining in.
"Now I'm going to have to call you Flutter-sly."
"I wouldn't be opposed to it." Fluttershy iterated with a bashful shrug.
Pinkie went back to thinking for a moment as an idea cracked in her head.
"How about board games? I love board games!"
Fluttershy immediately cracked a wide smile as her tail managed to wave a little bit in excitement.
"I love board games too!" she exclaimed before she realized her volume, "If that's ok with you, I mean."
Pinkie laughed once again.
"I guess we're already finding things together."
The two leaned back and mindlessly watched the stars for a little while longer before both ponies simultaneously got up to begin heading back to the rest of their friends - knowing it was starting to get late.
"Shall we head back? We have a whole day of activities planned for tomorrow." asked Fluttershy.
"Indeedy we shall, Flutty-Buddy - but I have an idea before we head back." she announced, capturing the pegasus's interest.
The remaining group at the campsite continued to eat marshmallows and trade stories as they all noticed the fire begin burning out.
"Where in Celestia's sake are those two?" questioned Applejack starting to get worried.
"I say, they've been gone for a while." Rarity agreed as the others started wondering what they should do.
Then, like a prayer that had been answered - only to deliver a bunch of questions as well - came the form of a happily sprinting Pinkie Pie, carrying a giggly pegasus on her back.
The two soon reached the gawking stares of the rest of their friends as a still giggling Fluttershy slowly made her way off of the party pony's back.
"Oh, sorry we were gone for so long." she quoted bashfully.
Twilight was the first one to recover from her shock.
"Oh, that's fine. Is everything ok?"
"Yepperooni!" chirped a grinning Pinkie Pie as she bounced her way over towards one of the tents.
"Don't worry. She's ok now." Fluttershy assured as she soon plopped a marshmallow in her mouth.
The rest of the group could only playfully shrug with collected smiles on their faces. As long as everyone was happy again, the friendship retreat was back in full swing.
And indeed as Pinkie slowly got in one of the sleeping bags, she soon found herself dozing off into a peaceful slumber. Dreams of the exciting adventures she and her friends would have on the retreat filled her head as she couldn't wait to partake in another great day tomorrow.
No matter the struggles or the doubts that attempted to bring her down, Pinkie knew she had the best friends in the whole wide world; and whatever happened next, they would never be separated.
As Fluttershy and the others quietly made their way to their respective sleeping arrangements for the night, a light snoring could be heard from a single tent, making the pegasus smile.
"Good night, Pinkie..." she whispered as she made her way to her own tent.
"...and thank you... for being you."
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Now I really want to see a story where Fluttershy is a certified therapist...
10366543
Considering how she's always mean to her brother, I'm gonna have to disagree.
Shouldn't there be an alternate universe tag, then?
ok i’m back. i think i posted my first comment just as you uploaded the second chapter!
oh! my! goodness!
SO GOOD! SO! FREAKING! AMAZING!
It’s like you’ve combined the perfect amount of fluff and friendship! I was beaming the whole damn time!
and uh! let’s not forget this ending!!
because it’s all so cute, and pretty, and absolutely worth the read.
i know that’s a whole lotta compliments in one, but i think you deserve it. my mind has been pretty heavy recently and a nice light fic like this is exactly what i needed tonight - you’re a godsend 💖
so thank you (once again), i hope you’re staying safe, and that your day is filled with sunshine :) - bluebelle
10366639
I have placed the AU tag.
And I have to disagree on the whole “brother” thing. I know “Flutter Brutter” is a pretty controversial episode but it’s honestly one of my favorites in the whole show. Fluttershy’s not necessarily mean to her brother - he’s very clearly taking advantage of his doormat parents by throwing his own life way and living off theirs.
So seeing this, Fluttershy steps up to both help her parents and to help her brother succeed (because he’d honestly never be fully happy as a freeloader and we see this later in the woods). Sure, she may be a little hard on him as she pushes him through jobs but she does this because (and this is a quote from the episode) she knows “he’s smart and talented and he can do anything he wanted to if he just tried”.
And when he finally does finish something and succeed, she’s instantly the happiest for him as she even says how proud she is of him. She knew that he needed a soft kick to help him grow and kindness works in that sometimes being firm is the way to go.
Sorry, I know that was a long rant to your short reply but I think Fluttershy was actually great in that episode (plus seeing her be both kind and assertive was a nice treat) so I think she could actually be a therapist knowing that there’s different methods to helping others.
10366663
Thank you so much for your comments, I really appreciate your kind words (they made my day). Hope everything is getting better for you and I hope you stay safe.
10366709
💖💖💖
And the kiss to reinforce the friendship? xd
Yooooo! This is so wholesome and now I’m crying🥺