Fluttershy Can't Find Her Bong

The sun rose high enough for light to begin streaming through the window, and Fluttershy's eyes slid open. She rubbed them, then yawned loudly as she stretched her forelegs and wings.

She took stock of her surroundings, and was surprised to find that she wasn't in her bed, but was instead on the couch in her living room. How did that happen?

She tried to think back to the night before. As far as she could remember it had been a pretty normal evening. She fed Angel, and sat down on the couch to read a book. But after that…

Fluttershy's memory got a little fuzzier after that. She remembered eating dinner, but wasn't sure exactly what time it had been. Did she take that break after Chapter 4?

Her eyes settled on the small table in front of the couch, and her memory started to piece back together. On the table sat an ashtray, a lighter, and a small plastic bag.

The memory started to return. She had felt a touch of anxiety the night before. It might have been the stress from having to run the sanctuary; in any case, she had taken a couple of puffs from her bong to help calm down.

Fluttershy must have fallen asleep sometime after dinner, and she now spied her book resting on the floor. She climbed off of the couch and reached down, scooping up the book with her forehoof. She hadn't marked her page, so she was going to have to spend a little time trying to find where she left off. But that could wait for later.

She walked to the front door, and with a sweep of a wing she scooped up her saddle bags and slid them across her back. The animal sanctuary needed to be tended to, and she was already behind schedule.

Before walking outside, she did one last scan of the living room with her eyes. Something didn't seem right. Her eyes fell onto the table next to the couch again, and it clicked.

Ashtray, lighter, plastic baggie. But not her bong.

That was strange. For a glass pipe to get up and walk away from the table would be… unusual. Had she set it somewhere else in a stoned haze? She didn't think she had smoked that much.

Fluttershy retraced the order of the previous night's events in her mind. She fed Angel, grabbed her book, and settled into the couch. She read a chapter or two, then made the trip to her bedroom closet to retrieve her smoking implements. She read another chapter, then fixed dinner.

Dinner! Maybe she had carried the bong to the kitchen with her! She looked up to the clock. She was behind on her sanctuary chores, but could still catch up, and this was turning into too much of a mystery for her to ignore. She trotted into the kitchen.

The kitchen table was empty. Which it should have been, Fluttershy remembered cleaning up after dinner. She searched the counters and came up empty. It wasn't in the sink either, which made sense since she didn't remember cleaning it.

She suddenly got a weird hunch. She pulled open the door of the icebox and peered inside. Milk, eggs, veggies… but no bong. She was flabbergasted, but out of time. She would have to look for it after her chores were done.

Fluttershy never failed to be awestruck by the beauty of the animal sanctuary in the spring. Grass had grown back, trees had sprouted leaves of deep green, and flowers were in bloom. Birds flew through the air, and critters of all types scurried about. Everything looked and felt wonderful. It even smelled great.

The smell. Among the scents of pollen and soil floating through the air, she was able to pick out a distinctly familiar smell, one that wasn't typical to the sanctuary. It was somehow floral, smokey, and skunky all at once.

She felt both confusion and a sense of excitement. Tree Hugger hadn't said anything about visiting, but she couldn't think of anypony else who would be smoking at her sanctuary. It would be wonderful to catch up.

She trotted down the path to the edge of the pond, and the smell got stronger as she went. Finally, she spotted a wisp of smoke coming from behind the reeds. She poked her head through. "Oh, hello Tree Hu…"

Fluttershy trailed off as she saw the pony smoking on the other side of the reeds. She was a pegasus, with a coat of sky blue and a mane and tail of every color in the rainbow. She was taking a pull from a small, blown glass water pipe. The glass was clear, save for some swirls of opaque purple at the bottom. Fluttershy's bong.

Rainbow Dash exhaled, then turned behind her at the sound of Fluttershy rustling the reeds. "Oh, busted!" she said, then started to giggle uncontrollably.

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "I didn't know you smoked, Dash," she said.

Dash struggled to get her laughter under control. "You won't tell anyone, will you? If Spitfire finds out…" she began.

"Not a word," Fluttershy replied before Dash could finish. "Look, Dash, it's fine if you smoke here, but why do you have my bong?"

"I was just going to borrow it," Dash said, speaking slowly. "I broke mine, so I came by the cottage and you were asleep on the couch."

Fluttershy trampled through the reeds to the other side and sat next to Dash on the bank. "Well you shouldn't take other ponies' things without asking," Fluttershy said. "And it's going to cost you."

Dash's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she asked, sounding anxious.

Fluttershy took the bong and the lighter from Rainbow Dash. "Since you took it without asking, I get to smoke some of your weed!" Fluttershy said before sparking the lighter and taking a puff. Dash started to giggle again.

"So, like, do you ever think ponies will go beyond the sky?" Rainbow Dash asked. She and Fluttershy had been sitting on the bank of the pond for about half an hour, chatting and enjoying the scenery.

Fluttershy was confused by the question. "Beyond the sky? Like, what does that even mean?" she asked.

"Well, like… okay, get this," Dash started. "You don't have to fly nearly as high as I do sometimes. But it's like, just when you think you can't possibly fly any higher, you can still go higher."

"Wow… that must be so exciting!" Fluttershy said with a giggle. "I don't think I'm strong enough to fly that high."

"Yeah, but… it is exciting, but it starts to get, you know, a little scary. It gets really cold. And harder to breathe," Dash said. "Eventually you have to stop."

Hearing Rainbow Dash's words, Fluttershy had an epiphany. "But what if you could be warm, and you could breathe? Like if you had some kind of air suit?"

Dash's eyes lit up. "That's exactly what I mean! If you had that, you could still go higher! What do you think that would be like?"

Fluttershy thought deeply for just a moment. Just how high could a pony go? Could one go until she couldn't see the world anymore? "Whoa…" Fluttershy said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied.

A couple of hours passed, and the sun was high in the sky. Her buzz was wearing off, and Fluttershy still hadn't started her chores.

"Hey Dash, this was fun. But I have a lot of work to catch up on," she said.

"I feel ya," said Rainbow Dash, yawning. "I'm going to get a nap before I have some weather jobs to do."

"Well feel free to come back here anytime," Fluttershy said. "Just, next time, ask first if you need to borrow my pipe."

Dash nodded. "Thanks, Fluttershy. And you're still not going to tell anyone?"

"Not a word."

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