> Quiet Strength > by Learnor > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A theme with theme parks > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a long day for Fluttershy. Together with her friends, she had spent most of Friday afternoon in the new theme park.  While the day had been fun, it had also been long.  That wasn’t a problem for energetic types like Pinkie Pie or her childhood friend Rainbow Dash.  Applejack didn’t suffer from it either. With her helping on her families’ farm first thing in the morning many weeks each year, she showed no sign of exhaustion or even tiredness, rather going along with the flow of the day.  Rarity had been a bit less enthusiastic throughout the day, mostly because she couldn’t out her new fashion ideas in any way in a theme park, excluding the one she wore already. But watching all the people around and their attire had kept her more busy than the attractions themselves, somehow. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was exhausted. Luckily, she managed to spot an empty bench near the place where the gang had agreed to meet again at the end. She checked her phone. 17:14. Still a while before they had agreed to take one last bite together at the pizza joint and head home. Flopping down on the bench, she let her tired feet rest. Well, it weren’t really her feet that hurt, although they were sore too. Mostly she felt her head, her mind reeling with everything that had happened. While letting out a sigh, she reviewed in her mind again how they’d agreed to go to a theme park of all places. It started with a message from Rainbow: RD: Hey guys, check this out! A new theme park is opening next week in Canterlot! You guys wanna come with? Pinkie: THEME PARK? YOU MEAN HIGHQUESTRIA? ALREADY BOUGHT TICKETS THREE MONTHS AGO! Oops all caps. Sorry. BUT THIS IS EXITING! Applejack: Pinkie, we get it. You’re mighty excited for this. But when do you propose to go to this Highquestria place? Pinkie: That’s silly AJ! Opening day of course. RD: Already got a leave from coach Spitfire! Rarity: Rainbow Dash! Why do you already get leaves for a thing that we haven’t even planned yet? RD: What Rares? You can’t come? Or won’t you because you’re scared? Pinkie: YOU GOTTA COME RARITY. FUN DEMANDS IT! AJ: Now, hold your horses Pinkie. She hasn’t confirmed anything yet. Let her answer before accusing her of somethin’. That counts for you too RD. RD: Whatever. Rarity: I’m appalled you think I wouldn’t spend time with my friends darling, especially when two of you already seem so excited. Of course I’ll attend. Are you also available Applejack? AJ: I am sugarcube. Though only from 11. Work needs to happen first. RD: No biggie AJ! 11’s perfect! Pinkie: PERFECT FOR BAKING CUPCAKES! GOTTA BAKE! RD: Flutters, you reading this? Please tell me you wanna come with? Fluttershy: I’m ok with going Fluttershy: But I can only go until 18. I have work on Saturday. Rarity: Of course darling. AJ: I ain’t got no problem with that. RD: If that means you’re in? Fluttershy: I’m in ~~~~~~~~~~ When she put in the request for them to go around 18, she knew that she wouldn’t have work the following day. Applejack would disapprove of this white lie, she was sure, but she needed an excuse to go earlier than her friends would accept. Under normal circumstances, she would have been fine until 18. Unfortunately for her, this time hadn’t been normal. Or rather, there had been more people. Upon hearing that Rainbow and Pinkie got extra tickets between them, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or the Canterlot Movie Club as others called them, had convinced their (surrogate) sisters (and Pinkie) to let them come as well. While Applebloom and Sweetie Belle could have had their sisters drive them to the theme park, they had insisted upon going together as a group. It was a bad kept secret between the circle of friends that Applejack and Rarity had feelings for each other, though they didn’t realize that it was mutual, so it came as no surprise that they insisted upon traveling with each other. Their younger sisters had no intention of seeing the pair skirt around the issue even more than they already did, and since Rainbow Dash already had agreed to drive Scootaloo, the CMC’s had picked Rainbow’s car to travel in.  And who had asked for a pickup by Rainbow? Her own stupid self.  To her defense, she had no clue that the Crusaders would be going with them until she spied Scootaloo in the back seat. That should have given her pause, but Rainbow was already on the late side for having to pick up the other two, so she had to endure the trip with way more noise than expected. And when all of them were together, obviously, the noise got worse. The Crusaders told of their latest adventures, which mostly happened in school breaks and in hallways between classes. It was mostly Scootaloo who did the talking, trying to impress Rainbow, who she looked up to as a sister. All the attention which Rainbow didn’t put to actually driving, which wasn’t a lot by the way, was put on the stories that the purple-haired member of the CMC told her. She didn’t so much as glance toward the passenger on her right side, who got increasingly more annoyed by all the talking, but stayed quiet. Or rather, she lamented now that she didn’t speak up back then. They’d obviously enjoyed all the talk about the adventures the CMC’s had experienced, but most of them didn’t really earn the label of adventure. Really, how adventurous was it that they had to clean the school’s bathrooms twice after not doing it right the first time? Or that one time they’d managed to get stuck inside a locker and had to call the janitor to get them out? Apparently, it was enough to last them the whole ride to Highquestria. Named after their biggest attraction, the High Fall of Equestria, it was promising to be one of the biggest theme parks in the vicinity of Canterlot. Something about budget cuts had the grand opening delayed, but now all was open for business. Probably why Pinkie already had tickets for three months. She sat on that bench for a few minutes, thinking about everything and nothing until the thoughts reeling in her head came screeching to a halt when she heard an enthusiastic voice proclaim her name. “Fluttershy? Is that you?” Looking up and around, she saw a bundle of pink, fluffy hair coming her way. Unprepared as she was, she nevertheless braced herself for the onslaught of words and energy the other pink-haired member of their group could bring. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in like alllll day. Have you tried the High Fall yet? You should reallllly do it, it’s like the best thing ever!” All those words in five seconds. When Pinkie paused to breathe, Fluttershy quickly answered before another barrage of words could overwhelm her: “Yes Pinkie, the High Falls was nice. B-But I need to find a restroom, if you don’t mind?” Pinkie answered her with her giant, almost trademarked, grin. “Well, don’t let little ol’ me hold you up for that Flutters. The restrooms are on the second street from the right, if you didn’t know that already. See you later!” Another flood of words, this one done in three. Fluttershy didn’t know where Pinkie got the energy for all of that, considering her family had a more… grim outlook on life, so to speak. But, thanks to that energy, she knew where to find a restroom. Not that she particularly needed to go, but now that she’d used it as an excuse to get away, she felt the need arise anyway. She dashed behind Pinkie, who already seemed to have spotted someone else, and headed for the restroom in a sedate pace, giving her weary feet not too much of a workout after the tiring day.  On her way, she came across a multitude of people. Many parents with their kids, or groups of friends going together. There were quite a few couples mixed in as well. As she crossed into the right street, she noticed the mood around her change from fun-loving to wary. She looked around to find out the cause. One couple in particular sprang out to her; because a man with blue hair and white skin, and by extension the female with purple, rose and gold hair next to him, glared after a girl with amber skin and crimson-gold streaked hair, who ran away from them, and dashed through the crowd towards the same restrooms Fluttershy was after. Fluttershy could have sworn she saw tears stream from the other girl’s eyes, as she ran ahead of her. The female seemed to calm her apparent fiancée down with a glance and quickly after, the joyous mood returned. No trace of the wariness remained, as all continued to go wherever they wanted to go, the couple seemingly turning toward the exit. Fluttershy still liked to have that privy break, so she headed inside the building towards an empty stall. Or rather, she tried to find one, only to find out that there was only one stand in this compartment, and it was already full. As she waited outside for it to open up, she thought about the girl who had fled in the same direction. The glimpse Fluttershy saw of her face, though tears were apparent in her eyes, was of a person who had few things left. The more she pictured it, the more apparent the desperation and desolation of her gaze became.  Hearing the stall in front of her open, she walked towards it, not really seeing ahead of her. A collision of faces followed. Fluttershy’s kind nature immediately apologized: “O-o, my. A-are you alright? I’m so sorry for bumping into you.” Only after that apology did she look up into whom she had bumped. It was the girl who was already on her mind. Light aquamarine eyes, a shade lighter than Fluttershy’s own, looked down upon her. Though it was a defiant gaze, it was more desperation than strength that held it together. The rest of her posture, from amber-colored hands to perfectly done crimson-golden hair held none of that weakness. The girl said nothing and moved towards the exit with a grim pace. Rallying her courage, Fluttershy managed to shout before the other girl could leave. “Wait!” What was supposed to come out as a scream was nothing more than what most people would consider a slightly above average volume-spoken word. Still, the other girl stopped and turned around to look at her. She made to speak, but no words came out. Instead they looked into each other’s eyes. Whereas before the aquamarine eyes held defiance, now they threatened to burst into tears. Her strong posture slackened and the amber-skinned girl awaited what the other girl would say, terror mixing with all the other emotions her eyes sent out. In that instance, the kind heart that Fluttershy possessed wept for the untold desperation she saw in the eyes of the other girl. Despite her exhausted state, she resolved to show the girl in front of her the kindness one needed to have in such a state, all consequences be damned. Rather than saying anything, she leapt towards the other girl, giving her the fiercest hug her exhausted body could produce. The terror and desperation and all other emotions in the other girl broke, she burst into tears as her body slumped under the weight of all that had happened in such a short amount of time. She clung onto Fluttershy with all her strength, bawling her eyes out while trying to get something of a thanks across to the other girl. Fluttershy wept as well, feeling the torrent of emotions inside and outside the other girl and led them towards the ground, so that neither had to stand. Quietly shushing the girl in her arms, she made comforting sounds and led one of her hands into making soothing circles on the other girl's back. Very, very slowly, the amber-skinned girl calmed down under Fluttershy’s touch. Slowly the tears subsided, as Fluttershy slowly rocked the other girl back and forth. Not a word was spoken between them, until a rumble from Fluttershy’s belly surprised them both. Both let out a giggle, and Fluttershy helped the other girl up. Aquamarine eyes shone with overflowing gratitude to the light rose-haired girl, prompting the slightly darker-eyed girl to speak up. “There, there. Better now?” The other girl, still a bit overwhelmed from letting all her emotions out, could only nod in quiet thanks and gratitude. “I-I’m Fluttershy. What is your name?” “Sun-”. The other girl had to swallow in order to speak after letting out this many tears. “Sunset Shimmer.” The opal eyes looking at her shone with a kindness that few others possessed. “N-nice to meet you, Sunset Shimmer. I hope you are doing better now.” Her eyes fell as she spoke next. “Um, w-would you mind getting some food now, if you don’t mind?” A soft rumble from the crimson-haired girl spoke for itself, as did an up-and-coming smile, yet she reaffirmed her answer vocally:  “I could use something myself.” Her exhaustion and need for a privy break forgotten, Fluttershy led the other girl towards one of the restaurants on the main street, choosing a place in an empty corner, away from prying eyes, despite the bar being near empty. Both girls sat in a comfortable silence, neither wanting nor feeling the need to speak up.  When a waitress came to collect their orders, Sunset took the lead, ordering water for the both of them.  Said girl’s posture had changed when the waitress had appeared, not betraying any weakness nor any sign that she had wept not five minutes ago. Her eyes shone with confidence again, though still a bit bloodshot. Still, there was gratitude in her eyes when she looked over the light rose-haired girl, but it was gone when she looked anywhere else. Fluttershy understood such a mask, often having employed one when dealing with her friends when she was exhausted. Her friends had never called her out on it, proving Fluttershy’s growing suspicion that her friends didn’t see that what she was showing wasn’t the entire truth. At the moment, she was still very tired, but having a heart-to-heart with a stranger did somehow not only lift her spirit, but her exhaustion as well. After the waitress had come and brought their water, she made to speak, but then her phone went off. It was Rainbow Dash. “Fluttershy, where are you? We’ve been waiting for you outside the pizza joint!” Fluttershy answered: “O, um, hi Rainbow. Is it already time for that? W-where was it again?” “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice the time, Flutters! We’re outside Joe’s Pizza Hut.” Looking at the menu in front of her, she saw the same name printed on it. Sharing a glance with Sunset, who had stayed quiet but could hear Rainbow clearly, she gave a small smile and answered:  “O-oh. It appears I’m already there, Rainbow.” “What? Why did you go in without us? Come on AJ, Pinkie, she’s already inside.” The last part was clearly said to the other girls, but Fluttershy (and Sunset) could clearly hear it before Rainbow hung up the call. Now fixing her eyes on the entrance, she saw her friends entering, Rainbows eyes a bit annoyed and Pinkies energetic. As the other girls looked for their rose-haired friend, Fluttershy saw Sunsets posture hardening again. A defiant and slightly angry glance came into her eye as the incoming girls spied Fluttershy sitting next to an unknown face. Unknown to all but one of them. Pinkie let out a gasp, her smile turning quickly into a serious frown. The girls around her noticed this change and their gaze became more wary as well. That’s when Pinkie spoke up:  “Fluttershy, what are you doing over there with her? Get away from our friend you fiend!” Where previously the other girls' eyes had been wary, they became furious now, with near-hatred to Sunset. They knew Pinkie knew almost everyone, and was friends with most of them. To hear her denounce someone in the first sentence spoken, they knew she was bad news. Applejack's smile at seeing Fluttershy quickly became an angry frown at Sunset, cracking her knuckles as if getting ready to fight. Rarity’s eyes turned from appreciating the outfit of Sunset to almost hostility, as if criticizing the clothes she wore could be an attack. And Rainbow’s face became worried, her loyalty to one of her oldest friends immediately declaring the other girl hostile. She rushed at Fluttershy, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her from her seat, away from the still sitting Sunset. Said girl’s hardened eyes never wavered in their expression, still glaring at the other girls who had just come in. When Rainbow moved in, the glare became part anger, but she made no move to stop her. Fluttershy was overwhelmed, both by the speed of her best friend, as well as her taking in Pinkie’s outright hostility against Sunset, something which she, to her recollection, had never done. As such, she did not resist Rainbow’s effort to get her away from Sunset. And so Fluttershy got dragged to the bar, where Rainbow placed her behind AJ, and put herself as an extra human shield between the apple farmer and Sunset. With Pinkie still glaring at Sunset, Rarity took it upon herself to order their pizzas. While Rarity did this, the silent glaring match between Rainbow and Sunset continued. While Applejack and Pinkie were glaring at her as well, Sunset had apparently chosen Rainbow Dash as her main opponent. Neither spoke and neither looked away. To do so would be to admit defeat, and their pride would not allow it. What once was just defiance, now became a matter of honor. The silence between the group and the single girl carried across the bar. The easygoing murmur that existed before had been transformed into an uneasy silence, the only sounds being Rarity ordering the pizzas for her friends.  Now standing in the middle of the almost-circle of friends, Fluttershy’s already overwhelmed mind raced on instead of slowing down. Why had Pinkie been so outright hostile? Couldn’t her friends have seen that both of them had just cried? Based on the reactions of her friends, she dismissed that possibility quickly. If they couldn’t see through her masks, they couldn’t see through Sunset’s either. But the why of Pinkie's reaction remained. With all these thoughts swirling through her head, she felt her exhaustion returning, whereas the silence between her and Sunset had subsided it somewhat. Any further such thoughts came to a halt when she noticed a new person entering the bar. The cap and dark blue uniform let all in the bar know this was a park security guard. Whether the guard had noticed the unnatural silence or just came in to order pizza, no one knew. But the guard blinked once and became professional quickly. “What is the matter here?” No one spoke up. The guard noticed Rainbow was still glaring at Sunset. Sensing this was probably the reason for the silence, he called her out: “Hey you! What is going on?” Rainbow had noticed that the guard had come in, yet she continued her glaring at Sunset. When the guard addressed her though, she had a bit of an internal dilemma. While the most logical thing to do would be to address the guard in return, her pride forbade her to end the glaring match prematurely. Catching a glance from Applejack from the corner of her eye, she intensified her glare for one last second before breaking eye contact and addressing the guard. Sunset meanwhile, silently celebrated her victory over Rainbow Dash, an almost unnoticeable smirk gracing her mask for a millisecond before hardening again. She had recognized the guard’s voice. Focusing her attention on the guard, she was sure. Blue hair with orange skin. Uniform crisp and freshly ironed. This was Flash Sentry. The good mood of having won the glaring match of Rainbow Dash evaporated instantly. Sunset’s mask was back in full force, but it was threatening to slip. After the victory on Fluttershy’s friend, the sight of Flash was an immediate downer. On top of that, she suddenly felt her emotional exhaustion rushing in, which had been quieted by Fluttershy’s presence. Despite the exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her, she resolved to not break her mask in Flash’s presence. While Sunset had recognized her once lover quickly, Flash didn’t have the chance yet to do the same, especially since Rainbow chose that moment to answer him. “Well… ehm, sir, ehm…” Rainbow couldn’t really find the words to describe what had happened, still silently fuming that Sunset had won the glaring match. But that’s when Applejack saved her athletic friend. “Well, sir, that girl over there just forced our friend to come in here without her permission. She’s no good, that’s what!” None of the other girls could have said it better, under the circumstances. From the few sentences they had picked up from Fluttershy’s conversation with Rainbow Dash over the phone and the declaration of hostility from Pinkie Pie, this was the only conclusion they could draw that made any sense. And with Applejack being the one who spoke it, the honesty within the spoken words convinced everyone in earshot. The farmer’s statement made Flash look at Sunset. While he instantly recognized her, he was a bit baffled at seeing her and therefore couldn’t help himself slip out a quietly asked “You?” Sunset’s impassive mask cracked for a second, fading into nothing for a moment, and then became sultry. An almost predatory smile answered: “Something wrong sir?” While the wording was innocent, everyone in the room knew there was more to her statement. The tension that was hostile moments before the guard arrived had changed again in seconds. In the back of her mind somewhere, Sunset screamed. She had vowed to herself to not give into her old ways of dealing with men, but in this moment of extreme emotional exhaustion it had reared up to be her only defense mechanism against old pain and a once lover. Meanwhile, Flash knew the tone his once girlfriend used. She had used it way back when they were together to control him, and he had fallen for it many times. He knew he could not fall for it now, and besides, he still had to restore the situation, and therefore his request came sharp and quick:  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, miss.” When the response came in the same manner as her previous statement, Flash knew he hadn’t made progress on dealing with that. “As you wish.”  While Sunset stood up and made to leave the pizza hut, everyone knew that it was of her own volition that she left, not the guard’s. As she left the building, she stopped for a second to give one glance to the group of girls, totally ignoring Flash. While the others saw satisfaction and victory, Fluttershy could see how fragile the sultry smile was when she and Sunset locked eyes for a millisecond, before Sunset walked out of view. ~~~~~~~~~~ Fluttershy let out another sigh.  After the event with Sunset and Flash, the girls decided without many words that they would eat their pizza’s quickly and call it a day after.  Fluttershy refused to answer any questions about Sunset, preferring to eat her vegetarian pizza in silence, despite Rainbow’s constant questioning about it. Once Applejack had stood up for her, Rainbow calmed down a bit and started to wolf down her pizza in an effort to outrace Applejack, which was a close race but was not won by the speedster. Rarity meanwhile, had a lot of comments about the guard’s handsomeness, to which only Pinkie seemed to really care about, with the other two being locked in their eating contest.  When the CMC’s came to join them afterwards, Fluttershy braced herself for another loud ride home, but in a stroke of luck, her mom called her and agreed to pick her up, so her ride home was nice and silent. The rest of the evening she spent thinking about everything that had happened. Firstly, she had seen she was not the only one who was using masks to hide, but she was certain for now that her friends couldn’t see through them. On one hand, this made her a bit uncomfortable, seeing that she had not always been totally honest with her friends, but on the other, it had saved her many times from being questioned when she was very tired, getting her through the rest of the day instead of breaking down in the middle of them and having to explain everything.  But more importantly, she was certain that Sunset had been hurting and she was becoming more and more certain her intervention had not only been the kind, but also the right thing to do. She had no idea where Pinkie had gathered the information of Sunset somehow being evil, but at the moment she didn’t care. She knew within her heart that Sunset needed a friend, and she had found one in Fluttershy, if only for a moment. That thought made her pause. She had no way of contacting Sunset again. Their contact had been so brief, there hadn’t been time to exchange any information other than names. Granted, after what had happened, Fluttershy knew Sunset at least heard, if not remembered, many of her friends’ names, but that was no guarantee of ever speaking with each other again. Yet despite all of that, Fluttershy knew that they would meet again.