The Burn
The morning sun was like a warm blanket as its rays fell across Fluttershy’s face. She stood outside her front door, the sweet smell of her garden flowers blew in from a gentle breeze. She looked out at the new day towards her destination, Ponyville, the quiet town just starting to awaken.
“Today is going to be special,” thought Fluttershy.
“Okay Angel.” The pegasus said as she turned towards her pet bunny, who thumped his foot impatiently on the wooden floor. “I’ll only be gone a short while. You promise to behave?”
Rolling his big black eyes, Angel crossed his heart, obnoxiously pretended to fly and then placed a paw over his left eye.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she smiled. “Oh, and before I forget...”
Angel had no time to move before he found himself snatched up and assaulted with a barrage of hugs, cuddles and kisses.
“Happy Birthday, Angel Bunny!” she cried.
Fluttershy skipped out of her cottage, leaving Angel thoroughly humiliated amidst the snickers and giggles of his fellow animal roommates.
---
“C’mon Twilight,” whined Rainbow Dash, hovering around her friend. “Let’s fire this baby up!”
“Will you calm down already? I need to go over the calculations one more time,” replied Twilight Sparkle, pouring over a scroll filled with equations, measurements and numbers that’ll would give Dash a headache. “I only need a few seconds.”
“A few seconds!? But that’ll take a million years!”
“Just...” Twilight loudly sighed, “Just standby. We’re starting the countdown and I need you ready.”
“Okay, fine. But you better not be pulling my wing like the last three times,” Rainbow huffed before bolting skywards.
The blue pegasus rubbed her hooves in anticipation as she gazed down at the massive storm cloud floating over the outskirts of Ponyville. Dash couldn’t help but shiver with excitement as a smile beamed across her face.
“So... totally... awesome!”
“Okay Rainbow! All set on this end!” shouted Twilight from below.
“Woo-hoo! Roger, Twilight!”
“All right then. Countdown in T-minus-- oh morning, Fluttershy.”
Her attention diverted, Twilight put down her scroll and trotted over to the yellow pegasus passing by.
“Good morning, Twilight,” said Fluttershy, looking skyward. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, not much,” replied Twilight, puffing up her chest. “Just the culmination of diligence, persistence, forward-thinking and good old-fashioned Ponyville elbow grease.”
“Oh. That’s nice,” smiled Fluttershy.
Twilight gave Fluttershy an extra second to realize the gravity of the situation. No dice. Twilight gave her throat a good clearing and pointed towards the sky.
“Ahem, heh heh. Let me show you what I’m talking about.”
The storm cloud Twilight pointed towards was three times bigger than what’s usually manufactured in Cloudsdale, not to mention it was shaped into a nearly perfect sphere. From Fluttershy’s perspective, the cloud looked like a large black boulder hanging in the sky. She could also make out Rainbow Dash in the distance, waving her hooves around and yelling for some reason.
“Well that’s... a very big cloud,” stated Fluttershy.
Twilight turned away just in time for Fluttershy to miss her eyes rolling. Taking a deep breath and fixing a showmare’s smile, she threw a hoof around her one-pony audience, waving the other toward the cloud like a presentation.
“This cloud, Fluttershy, is what’s going to put us on the map. This cloud has been meticulously researched and exhaustively engineered. After tomorrow night, this cloud will put Ponyville in the same breath as Manehattan or even Canterlot.”
“Oh,” cooed Fluttershy. “When you put it that way...”
“Yes?” said Twilight, grinning.
“That’s very...”
“Yes!?” Twilight jittered in place.
“... nice.”
And promptly stopped.
“Nice.” muttered Twilight, flatly. “Yes. I guess it is rather... hrmmph... nice.”
Fluttershy darted her eyes about, coming to grips with her slight social hiccup.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Um, yes. That’s a very... um, round... raincloud?”
“Rain nothin’!” Rainbow zoomed down between Twi and Fluttershy. “This sucker is a one hundred percent lightning cloud!” she boasted.
“Lightning?” gulped Fluttershy. “Like... lightning and, th-thunder?”
“Not just any lightning,” continued Rainbow, blind to Fluttershy’s trembling. “Ball lightning! Beyond sweet!”
“Beyond... scary,” squeaked Fluttershy as she sank closer to the ground.
“Aw, Fluttershy. There’s nothing scary about it,” reassured Twilight, putting a friendly hoof on her shaken friend. “Rainbow and I have reproduced an unexplained weather phenomenon that’s typically more luminous than your average lightning. It’s theorized that ball lightning is comprised of super-heated plasma, which is-”
Twilight’s scholarly explanation was punctuated, or rather thrown off track, by Rainbow as she swooped up and smashed the ground on all fours, leaving short but potent echo rolling over the hills. It left Twilight nearly tripping over Fluttershy who ducked behind her.
“Boom!” shouted Rainbow, loudly emphasizing the point. “Three times as bright and five times as loud!”
“Rainbow!” scolded Twilight.
“Ugh,” snorted Rainbow. “What?”
“I was in the middle of explaining everything to Fluttershy until you cut me off.”
“Yeesh, you call that explaining? You’re the only pony I know who can take something totally fantastic like ball lightning and make it totally boring.”
“Oh well pardon me,” sneered Twilight, with practised sarcasm. “Clearly, I’m speaking to the expert who did all the painstaking research and grueling calculations. Not the grunt pegasus who did some simple cloud work.”
“Oh yeah?” shot back Rainbow. “Well then... eggheadsaywhat?”
“... what?”
Rainbow gave a small snicker.
“I said... eggheadsaywhat?”
“Um... what?”
Twilight scrunched her face at Rainbow, who nonchalantly floated away until she heard Twilight finally reach an epiphany.
“H-Hey!” she blurted, causing to Rainbow to guffaw with laughter.
“Um, uh, why are you trying to make ball lightning?” asked Fluttershy, trying to defuse the growing tension.
Twilight signed before giving a half-hearted smile to the pegasus who wasn’t being a total jerk.
“As much as I’d like to say it’s for the good of science,” she replied. “The truth is we’re making the cloud for for the big concert tomorrow night.”
“C-concert?”
“Uh, yeah,” butted-in Rainbow. “The big Sapphire Shores concert in Ponyville! She’s wrapping up her big Equestiran tour and Ponyville just got added as a last minute show before she hits Canterlot.”
“Rainbow and I have been working for the past two weeks on building a cloud that can produce ball lightning for the light show,” added Twilight before giving Rainbow her best stink-eye. “And we’d be done sooner if somepony would stop rushing me when I’m trying to work on some very sensitive measurements!”
“Really? I’m stalling? By the time you’re done with your precious numbers, I coulda built this sucker solo, easy-peezy-shmeazy,” said Rainbow, clomping her hooves like she just finished a job well done.
“Oh now you’re just asking me to pop that overblown ego of yours, aren’t you?” asked Twilight with mean smirk and a crooked eyebrow.
“How’d you’d like end up scrambled, egghead!?” shouted Rainbow.
“Stop calling me-!”
“But don’t you need each other?” interrupted Fluttershy, quickly looking aside.
“Huh?” replied Twi and Dash.
“Well... Twilight, you’re one of the smartest ponies I know, so it makes sense that you’d do the technical stuff. And Rainbow, you’re one of the best weather ponies I’ve ever seen. So uh, really if you both wanted to make ball lightning, then it makes sense that’d you’d want to work... together?”
Fluttershy looked back at the bickering duo as neither one would meet anypony’s eyes. One could almost see the steam coming off of Twilight’s head as she calculated any possible outcome involving her not apologizing. Rainbow, simply crossed her hooves and gave another defiant snort.
It only took a second before they looked toward each other.
“Heh...,” chuckled Rainbow Dash. “Ha ha... she’s right.”
“Yes,” added Twilight. “I know. Rainbow, I’m really sorry for being so snippy. I know I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Yeah, I’m real sorry for getting in your face. This whole thing would be just a dream if it weren’t for that big beautiful egghead of yours. I’ll bet when it’s done you can see it all the way from Las Pegasus!”
“Thanks,” replied Twilight with an exasperated sigh. “But we’re adding to Sapphire Shores’ concert, not upstaging her.”
“Pffft! Not my fault when the so-called ‘pony of pop’ gets blown away when we light up the night.”
“Looks like you two still have a lot of work to do,” said Fluttershy.
“And not a moment to spare,” answered Twilight, looking to Rainbow. “Ready for testing?”
“You know it!” smiled Rainbow, as she blasted upwards.
“Good luck,” said Fluttershy as she trotted toward Ponyville.
“Yo Fluttershy!” called Rainbow. “Thanks!”
Turning skyward, the unicorn saw her blue cohort in a giddy holding pattern over their big weather project.
“Okay!” announced Twilight. “Counting down at T-minus thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six, twenty-five...”
Rainbow signed. “Hey! Twilight!” she yelled.
“Twenty-four, yes Rainbow? Twenty-three...”
Winding up her back hoof, Dash gave the cloud a sound kick right at its top. The sudden rumbling inside could be heard immediately, causing Rainbow to smirk.
Wide-eyed, Twilight stood mouth agape for a few seconds before catching herself.
“Rainbow!” she yelled, before taking deepest breath she could.
“Twentytwotwentyonetwentynineteeneighteenseventeensixteenfourteenthirteentwelveeleventennineeightsevensixfivefourthreetwoone!”
---
Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she should be thankful or worried that she didn’t hear Twilight and Rainbow’s giant cloud rumble across the land. She’d hate to see her two friends disappointed, but she wasn’t keen on spending the next few hours shivering behind a bush.
The town was abuzz with excitement. Makeshift vendors were selling Sapphire Shores t-shirts, records and glamor shots. Her high-energy pop ballads were heard from every sidewalk diner and storefront.
Fluttershy founder herself taken with the sweet, fluid vocals of Shore’s singing. Though the constant thumping beat felt a bit rough on her ears. All the sights and sounds were a major distraction for anypony coming into town. Yet, Fluttershy remained focused as she continued to walk to the marketplace.
It took a familiar yellow Earth-filly with big red bow in a terrible panic to fully grab Fluttershy’s attention..
“Fluttershy,” shouted Applebloom. “Ya’ll gotta come quick! Applejack and Big Macintosh ‘r makin’ a real ugly scene by town hall!”
“Applejack and Big Macintosh?” blurted Fluttershy. “Whatever for?”
“Ain’t got time to explain,” pleaded the little filly as she pushed Fluttershy from behind. “But ya gotta do somethin’, it’s gettin’ embarrassin’!”
Fluttershy ended up having to fly just to keep up with Applebloom as she scampered toward the town hall. The idea of Applejack and her big brother having an argument was as strange a thought as she could have. But she was too much in a hurry to ask questions.
As they arrived at town hall, Fluttershy could quickly notice the long winding line of ponies that started at the top of the mayor’s podium, wrapped around the hall and stretched endlessly down the nearest road. Each pony had with them a glamor photo of Sapphire Shores.
“Grr! Move those lazy hindquarters of yours Big Mac!” shouted Applejack.
“Nnnnope.”
At the front of the line, like an immovable rock, stood Big Macintosh. Tied to his back was a rope leading to a wagon filled to capacity with albums, posters and all sorts of merchandise sporting the name and likeness of The Pony Of Pop.
“I said move! Else you can forget about me making you your favorite apple fritters for the rest of the year!” bellowed Applejack.
“Nnnnope.”
Also at the front, like an unstoppable force, was Applejack trying to budge her big brother out of the line. Though she pushed and shoved with her famous buckin’ hooves, she may as well have been trying to move the town hall itself.
“If you don’t get to steppin’ right now,” gasped Applejack as she tried to put Big Mac in a headlock. “I’ll... I’ll... I’ll tell Granny Smith on you! Won’t you be in trouble then? Yessir!”
“Nnnnope.”
“Applejack!” begged Applebloom. “Please stop! Everypony’s starin’...”
“Well why wouldn’t they!? A grown stallion actin’ like some giddy little filly cause his favorite singer came to town. It’s downright humiliatin’, ain’t it?”
“Nnnnope.”
“Who asked you?!”
“Um-,” whispered Fluttershy, trying her best to play the peacemaker. She gave a startled jump when she was quickly accosted by Applejack as she leapt off her statuesque sibling.
“Fluttershy! Thank Celestia! Maybe you can talk some sense into this big lug brother o’ mine.”
“Uh-”
“Big Mac shirked all his chores this mornin’ just so’s he could burn’ perfectly good daylight waitin’ for some ‘ol crooners’ John Hoofcock.”
“Er-”
“Well y’all should know Big Mac’s the biggest Sapphire Shores fan in Ponyville,” interjected Applebloom. “Probably in all Equestria.”
“Yeeeup!”
“You keep otta this!” glared Applejack back to Big Mac.
Fluttershy coughed slightly for Applejack’s attention.
“H-Have you tried saying... please?” she asked.
“Please?” shouted Applejack, incredulously. “Please!? Why in the hay would I want to use ‘please’ on my stubborn sibling?”
“Well, they say you catch more flies with honey,” smiled Fluttershy.
“Yeah? Same goes for manure,” glowered Applejack.
Fluttershy tried to hide her wince.
“Well, in that case,” she continued. “It looks like Big Macintosh has his heart set on an autograph.”
“Yeeeup.”
“It must be a once in a lifetime chance if he’s here this early.”
“Yeeeup.”
“I’m sure he’ll come home right when he’s done.”
“Yeeeup.”
“Why you-,” growled Applejack. “Now whose side are you-”
“Applejack,” whimpered Applebloom. “Pleeeeeease?”
It’s hard enough to act the tough mare when Applebloom turns up the innocent filly routine. But it was doubly worse for Applejack to get the same pair of wide eyes from Fluttershy.
“Mrrrrph. Rrrrph. Eeeeeeeccchh... fine.”
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” signed Applebloom as she quickly hugged the pegasus then ran alongside her sister.
“You better be home ‘fore I start on the Southern fields,” shouted Applejack, stomping her backhoof. “Else yer backside’ll get an autograph courtesy of ol’ Kicks McGee!”
Big Mac rolled her eyes at her sister’s empty threats before giving a friendly nod to Fluttershy, who smiled back in return before she trotted off.
“Excuse me everypony!” said a stagehoof. “Ms. Shores will arrive in approximately one hour!”
“Yeeeup!”
---
“Fluttershy!” cried Rarity. “How fortunate of you to show up!”
“Heh, you know me...” signed Fluttershy, trying not to sound too exasperated.
The white unicorn bounded out of the front door of the Carousel Boutique and threw her hooves around Fluttershy. Though she’d been sidelined from the market errand for what seems like the whole day, Fluttershy was never one to turn down a hug from a friend.
“You couldn’t have arrived at a better time, darling!” beamed Rarity. “I’ve just put the final accoutrement to my latest masterpiece and I’m desperate for somepony’s opinion!”
“Oh Rarity,” smiled Fluttershy. “I’m sure whatever you’ve made will be stunning.”
“You’re far too kind, Fluttershy. But you simply must give me your thoughts on my newest conception. Oh please say you will!”
Feeling that pouts and puppy dog eyes were on their way, Fluttershy quickly nodded and headed inside the boutique with her fashionista friend.
Fluttershy immediately took note at the center of the boutique, where stood a small platform surrounded by a showcase curtain. Looking back, she saw Rarity close her front door and move from window to window, drawing the curtains and throwing the room into deeper and deeper darkness.
“When I found out that Sapphire Shores would be performing in Ponyville, why I had a wave of pure inspiration! Her endorsement last year left my business booming as you well know. So just imagine if the pony of pop steps out tomorrow night in my latest, greatest original work. Better yet, imagine her donning my masterpiece when she finishes her tour in Canterlot! Oh, I can hardly stand it!”
“That would s-sure be g-g-great...”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but shake a little as the final curtain was drawn, giving boutique and eerie feeling of nighttime. She felt a little better with Rarity standing close by, yet suddenly confused when the unicorn shoved something into her hoof.
“You’ll need to wear these,” she said. “To... let’s say, fully appreciate my latest work.”
“Are these... welder goggles?”
“Yeeeees. I may have gone a little overboard with the gemstones, but I think once you see it for yourself you’ll agree this dress perfectly encapsulates the radiance of Sapphire Shores.”
“Um, okay...” said Fluttershy as she slipped on the goggles along with Rarity.
“Also” added Rarity, her magic surrounding the curtain. “Try not to look at the dress for too long, alright sweetie?”
“Wha-?”
Unfurling the curtain, Fluttershy felt herself overtaken by an explosion of piercing white light...
---
“Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Po-ny-ville to to-day!”
And like statues, the small mob of cheery ponies stood in place with their front hooves in the air. At the center was Pinkie Pie, with the biggest smile of all, frozen hoof to hoof with her backup singers.
Fluttershy was still blinking the last few spot from her eyes when she realized the impromptu musical number was over. Realizing this, she lightly tapped the ground with her front hooves.
“Yay,” she muttered. “Um, bravo...?”
“Woo hoo!” whooped Pinkie Pie. “What did I tell ya!? She totally loves it!”
Pinkie bounded away from the other singers towards her friend, giving everypony else a chance to exhale and stretch out.
“Sooooooo,” cooed Pinkie, batting her eyes. “What didja like? What was your favorite part?”
Fluttershy gulped. She didn’t have the heart to tell her friend that, after visiting Rarity, she saw next to nothing. Much like how she didn’t have the heart to tell Rarity that, for the sake of her eyes, she didn’t see much of the fashionista’s masterwork.
“U-uh, well,” stuttered Fluttershy. “It was very... um... loud?”
The pegasus found herself scooped up by Pinkie in a crushing hug and spun around, leaving her feeling dizzy and short of breath.
“Thank you thank you thank you, Fluttershy!” beamed Pinkie. “You always know what to say!”
With an about face, Pinkie spun around and bounced toward her impromptu back up singers.
“Okay, everypony! Let’s go give a great big Ponyville welcome to our new guest!”
“Wow, Pinkie.” said Fluttershy. “I didn’t know you were such a big fan of Sapphire Shores.”
Pinkie didn’t even blink.
“I have no idea who that is!” she smiled. “Charge!”
Like the happiest little general on a battlefield, Pinkie led the stampede of showponies toward the town square, leaving behind a befuddled Fluttershy.
Fortunately, she was across the street from the market. More importantly, she was right across from the stand of Ms. Golden Harvest.
“Afternoon Fluttershy,” called out Harvest, seeing the pegasus approach her stand.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Harvest,” she replied.
As the carrot-topped mare set down the last bushel of carrots at her stand, Fluttershy said a silent thank you to Celestia as it looked like she’d get first pick of Harvest’s freshest crop yet.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” said Harvest, looking over Fluttershy. “But you look beat and it’s not even lunch. Have you been sleeping well?.”
“Oh, no no, it’s just been a... surprisingly busy day.”
“Well you’re in luck, hon. Big carrot yield this month, so I’m having a special sale.”
“That’s perfect,” gasped Fluttershy. “I’m making a carrot cake for Angel’s birthday. Won’t he be extra surprised when I make him carrot muffins too. He can even wash it all down with some carrot juice.”
“Hey, glad to help out,” smiled Harvest. “I’m sure the little rascal earned it this time.”
Before she could grab the first bunch, Fluttershy noticed Harvest looking past her.
“Um, can I help you?”
Fluttershy turned around to meet the eyes of another yellow pony, like her. Yet, unlike her, she was decked out in a dress made of blue sequin gems. Her blue hair was done up in a frilly bouffant with small crystals dotting her mane. With all of the sparkles of her wardrobe, it made sense that she also wore a pair of black sunglasses.
This level of fashion wasn’t typical Ponyville folk, as her dress reminded Fluttershy of the piles of fashion magazines she read at the local spa.
But it wasn’t the clothes of the mare that Fluttershy focused on. If she felt a little tired, the stallion behind the decked out mare looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles were under his eyes and his manes was an uncombed, sticky mess. Fluttershy doubted the hairstyle was the latest rage.
“Will this take long?” grumbled the fashionably dressed mare. “We’re sort of in a hurry.”
“We won’t have to wait long S.S., I promise,” meekly replied the stallion.
“S.S?” asked Harvest. “... Oh! Sap-!”
“Shhhhhhh!” hissed the mare, putting a hoof between her lips. “You wanna start a riot!? I just want to buy a carrot, okay!?.”
“It’s getting close to S.S.’s mid-morning snacktime,” gulped the stallion, prompting a glare from Sapphire.
Fluttershy, empathetic as ever, couldn’t help notice the stallion shivering under Sapphire’s eyes.
“Um,” she whispered. “Are you alright?”
“Well I-” began the stallion.
“Listen, kid,” interrupted Sapphire. “I am gracing this nowheresville for one night, so if it’s all the same to you, no questions, no autographs and absolutely no gushing, okay? I know, you’re my biggest fan. Yes, I write all my own songs. Sure, we can be friends. You happy now?”
It was one of those rare moments for Fluttershy where she felt she heard, what did Twilight call it? Too much information. From what she remembered from Rarity, Sapphire Shores sounded much, much nicer. Still, her little heart couldn’t help but reach out to the shivering stallion beside her.
“I don’t want you to be late, so why don’t you both go ahead of me?” she said.
“Wow. Thanks lady,” said the stallion, who looked like he was going to burst into tears.
“Appreciate it, kiddo” answered Sapphire, she looked like this was the first piece of good news she heard in weeks.
“Alright you two,” said Harvest as they both approached the stand. “What can i do Ms.- oh, I mean, S.S. Hee hee, so cool...”
“Hmmph. I can’t decide... I’ll take ‘em all.”
“What?” blurted Golden Harvest and Fluttershy.
“It’s hot. I’d rather pick my morning snack in my trailer,” said Sapphire to nopony in particular as she threw a very large bit pouch onto Harvest’s counter.
Harvest could barely lift the bag of bits. Her face shifted from a confused shock to a delirious smile.
“I... I think you just brought out my store three time over,” she laughed.
“Then it’s enough,” said Sapphire. “Let’s bolt, someponies are starting to notice me.”
As the stallion quickly hefted the carrot baskets on his back and staggered down the street after Sapphire, he could only give the briefest of pauses as he turned to Fluttershy.
“Sorry,” he whispered, before slumping away.
Fluttershy was left dumbfounded. She turned to Harvest who could only give a slightly guilty shrug and went back to happily counting her newfound wealth.
Turning back to the two ponies, they disappeared rounding the street. In her mind, Fluttershy saw all of Angel’s desserts vaporizing, one by one.
“I... I’m sorry Angel,” she whispered.
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
706 users online
906,937 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
She hurt D'awwww-est pony's feelings...
Equestria shall burn for this.
Oh, Pinkie Pie, you are just so Pinkie Pie.
So, this looks like it's going to be interesting.
I was also going to quote my favorite parts, but there are far too many. I love how cartoony your writing feels, it really fits the show
1431912
Thanks for catching those mistakes. And thanks for the comments everyone.
faux pas.
"Fortuitous" simply means by chance, not necessarily that an occurrence was a good thing, that's be more like fortunate. If that's what you were going for. But what do I know, I'm just an editor.
Keep it up there, bro.
She skipped 15!