Two Ponies and a Picnic
The sun began to rise ever so slowly as the sky began to change to a bright blue. Fluttershy woke up, her eyes feeling rather crusty, and squinted as the sunlight began to peer into her window. She slowly crawled out of her bed and opened the front door, feeling a warm breeze rush across her. The sounds of nature were like a symphony to her ears, relaxing her mind.
Fluttershy thought that today would be a great day for a picnic. All of the elements were just right to make it a memorable experience. She quickly returned inside her humble abode and began writing letters to her five close friends that might enjoy some relaxation. Fluttershy asked for her friends to respond as soon as possible and to meet her by the giant tree by the river. Satisfied with what she had wrote, the pegasus stuck her letters in the mailbox and waited.
The waiting went on for what felt like hours. During that time, Fluttershy had cleaned up all around her tree cottage and fed the animals in her garden. When she was finished with her chores, she looked at the mailbox and nothing had returned. Fluttershy frowned and let out an audible sigh. As she slowly trotted back to her home, she heard hoofsteps getting louder.
"Mail for Miss Fluttershy," said a cheerful voice.
Fluttershy turned around and saw the mailmare known as Derpy standing there with a pile of letters scrunched in her hoof. She accepted the letters from the mailmare and as Derpy bowed, Fluttershy waved goodbye. Derpy smiled, turned around, and flew off into the afternoon sky.
Most of the letters were of the usual sort, advertisements for businesses specializing in home improvement or body products, but six of the letters had to do with the picnic invitations she sent out, which was unusual because Fluttershy had only sent five of them. She opened each letter, starting with the ones sent by those she invited, and all of them had the same common themes. None of her friends had any time available to have a picnic with her today. They were too occupied with whatever job they had for that day. Fluttershy dropped the letters and frowned, but remembered the mysterious sixth letter. She looked at it and noticed it was sent by none other than Celestia. Did Twilight notify Celestia of her picnic? Fluttershy eagerly opened the letter, not knowing what to expect, and gasped upon seeing its contents.
I'm sorry that none of your friends have the time to go out with you on this wonderful day. To salvage your plans, I have sent over one pony who could learn a lot from you about kindness. She should be waiting by the place you mentioned in your invitation.
Fluttershy scratched the top of her head, wondering who Celestia had sent in the place of her friends. She hoped that it wasn't anybody too cruel, but she also knew Celestia wouldn't do something like that. Fluttershy gathered her picnic basket and a silk blanket and flew towards the large tree by the river, nervous, but excited at the same time, as to who would be waiting for her.
The flight was a short one, as the large tree by the river was only a few hundred yards away from Fluttershy's cottage. The pegasus landed next to the tree and waiting for her was a solitary pony. This pony seemed somewhat familiar to Fluttershy. She had a flowing white mane, a light blue body, and magenta eyes. The mare was also wearing the instantly recognizable Wonderbolts uniform and had her goggles hanging around her neck. Fluttershy meekly approached the mare.
"Um, hello," said Fluttershy, whose eyes began shifting around all over the place. "Did Celestia send you?"
"She did," the mare replied. "What's your name?"
"I'm, um, Fluttershy."
"I'm Fleetfoot. It's nice to meet you." The two pegasi proceeded to shake hooves.
Fluttershy then remembered who Fleetfoot was. She was the mare that got into trouble with Rainbow Dash back at the tryouts for the Equestria Games. She wondered if Fleetfoot remembered who she was, but instead of telling her, Fluttershy sat down and set up the picnic.
"What kind of food did you bring with you?" Fleetfoot slightly smiled and looked over to Fluttershy.
"Um, I brought some sandwiches, some water, and some apples," said Fluttershy, who was still in the middle of setting things up.
Fluttershy handed a sandwich over to Fleetfoot, who accepted. She took a small bite and could taste the cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce that made up her sandwich. The flavor was rather plain, but it still tasted good, which is all anybody could ask for.
"Are these ingredients all natural?"
"They are. You have some, um, smart taste buds." Fluttershy shrugged a bit and closed her eyes.
"Can I have an apple?"
"Um, sure." Fluttershy spoke too quietly for anyone to hear.
"Say Fluttershy, is everything okay?" Fleetfoot's smile turned upside down into a slight frown.
"Yes. Yes it is."
Fleetfoot raised her left eyebrow and glared at Fluttershy.
"Okay fine, I'm a little nervous given our history," Fluttershy said quickly.
"What do you mean?" asked Fleetfoot.
"Do you remember the Equestria Games tryouts? I do, and you took Rainbow Dash away from Team Ponyville for a brief moment. I was a part of that team, and your actions hurt my feelings."
Fleetfoot looked down at the blanket she was resting on and then back to the frowning Fluttershy. She saw how upset Fluttershy was and leaned over to give her a soft, warm hug. Fluttershy could feel Fleetfoot's mane rub along her face.
"I'm sorry for what I did," said Fleetfoot. "I should have thought about your feelings, not just mine. Will you please forgive me?"
Fluttershy looked back at Fleetfoot, whose eyes were filling up with tears. Fluttershy was also teary eyed. "I accept your apology."
When the two released each other from their hug, they looked up and saw the sky lit a beautiful orange. Fireflies began dancing around the two, the leaves rustled from the slight gust of wind, and for the first time on their picnic, both of them had wide smiles on their faces.
"Now that we're friends, why don't you tell me a little about yourself," said Fleetfoot.
"Okay," said Fluttershy. "I'll tell you the story of how I got my cutie mark."