It all happened so quickly. Fluttershy was always so happy, so thrilled and blissful to be around her friends, but she found herself in a situation that restrained her from being around them as often as she liked to. Her parents had moved down to Ponyville when she was no longer able to pay her own bills. She hadn't wanted to turn to them; they were honestly her last resort. But the reason why hadn't been completely because she didn't want to be a burden on them. It was also because her childhood with them wasn't exactly grand. They weren't bad ponies. They weren't even bad parents. They were just angry. All the time. They weren't sure how to handle their daughter's sensitive ways, and became frustrated every time she cried as a child. But honestly, Fluttershy knew she would be okay. She was a fully grown mare, and she had friends. As a child she moved around a lot, and her only friend was Rainbow Dash, which made things tough on her when she felt lonely, but now she had many, and never felt lonely. It also wasn't for long, Fluttershy planned to pick up another job so that she could support herself enough for her parents to move back to Cloudsdale. She snuggled with Angel as she planned her next 6 months. "Everything's going to work out," she told herself out loud.

One afternoon, a month later, Fluttershy was outside cleaning her parent's bath towels. She didn't mind cleaning, but the day had been boring. She was eager to spend time with her friends again. She hadn't seen any of them in a week, and Rainbow Dash, as usual, stopped by that afternoon to invite her to hang out, Today it was to watch some new tricks she came up with.
"Oh, I'm really sorry, Rainbow Dash. You know I want to come, but my parents need me to do chores for them now,"
"Yeah, yeah, like usual with you lately," Dash complained, "You need to be getting your chores done faster so you can hang out!"
"Oh, I know, it's just that they have so much for me to do."
"Yeah, well, whatever," the rainbow-mane pony replied.
"I'll try what I can, I'm really sorry," she apologized. Rainbow Dash bid farewell to her friend and dashed away. Fluttershy sighed when her friend left. She really did have a lot to do, and she hated being away from her friends for so long. The weeks passed and she still didn't have a single visit with any of her friends, and was forced to reject each one to do chores. Sometimes she could even see her friends together in the distance while she stayed home alone. But it didn't compare to when her friends stopped inviting her altogether. But one evening she managed to get her work done, just as the sun was setting, and made a quick trip to Twilight Sparkle's library. Twilight was delighted to see her pegasus friend, although it was just a tad late.
"I'm really glad I was able to catch you," Fluttershy exclaimed, just a bit louder than her normal speaking volume, "So, um, if it's okay, I was wondering if we could all get together tomorrow and go shopping or …something?" Twilight hesitated for a moment.
"That would be great, Fluttershy, but first let me check with everypony. Sometime around noon would be best, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes! That would be splendid," she pink-mane pony agreed.
"Well, it was nice seeing you,"
"Oh, yes, goodbye!"
"Talk to you soon, bye, Fluttershy!"

When she got home for dinner, Fluttershy asked her mother if she could go out the next day around noon. Her mother gave that dark moment of thought every child spends in dreads when a parent thinks something over. But finally, an answer,
"I suppose it's fine, since you don't really get to spend time with your friends and all, just get your chores done, first." That, unfortunately, wasn't quite the answer Fluttershy was hoping for. But she mustered up a plan to wake up early enough to get her chores done by noon. The next day her plan proved well thought, and she found herself done at about 1PM. She was surprised that she hadn't heard word from Twilight, though. She trotted over to Twilight's and knocked on the door. Spike answered.
"Oh, hey, Fluttershy. Are you here for Twilight?"
"That's right, Spike, would it be okay if you got her for me?"
"I would, but she isn't here right now." Spike answered.
"She isn't?"
"Nope.
"O-oh. Did she say where she was going?" Fluttershy asked, hoping she could catch up.
"She said something about hanging out with Rainbow Dash and AppleJack around the Farmer's Market."
"Oh, I see, well, tell her I dropped by," Fluttershy blurted quickly before turning and leaving. She couldn't believe what she heard. Her friends got together like she wanted, but without her. She trotted quickly, contemplating on heading over to the market, but ultimately deciding not to. She just went home. She felt so lonely, so angry, and confused. She went through so many emotions, pacing, wondering what happened. It must have been a mistake, she decided. She looked up at her calendar. It was October, almost Nightmare Night. Surely she would get to see her friends then! Fluttershy was beyond excited! She was finally going to get to spend a good amount of time with her dear friends. She flew in circles with joy! She giggled like a silly filly. But what was coming to her was an unexpected dark cloud that would overshadow this moment of hope and joy.