Disclaimer: I do not own MLP: FIM. They belong to Hasbro and their respective owners. This fanfiction is written for non-profit and falls under Fair use.
Author's Note: Hello! I hope I did the disclaimer right but welcome to my first story! So bear with me. :D This story is rated M for injury descriptions later on in the story. Though this chapter doesn't contain any of those injury descriptions and I will post a warning when that chapter comes. Anyway, enjoy it!
"Come along little ones," Fluttershy said quietly. A large group of bunnies slowly hopped towards her. She was walking backward towards a large red schoolhouse.
"You guys are doing great!" She cheered, though her cheer didn't get much farther than her audience. She received a little chatter from the white and grey bunnies she was leading. She smiled and continued to walk towards the building. Once she reached the front door she stopped, and the bunnies also stopped.
"Alright little ones, you all be on your greatest behavior," Fluttershy said gently. After watching all the critters nod, she knocked on the schoolhouse door. She heard some excited chatter from the other side and smiled when the door opened up.
"Fluttershy! Glad you could make it." A dark magenta colored pony answered the door. A bright smile mimicking her smiling sunflowers on her flank.
"Glad to be here," Fluttershy said calmly. She was definitely getting better at talking with other ponies but a small part of her still wanted to be left alone. She mentally sighed. Twilight had arranged a meeting with Cheerilee to help her acclimate and that had seemed to help a lot. She didn't have that much issue with the children in the school building. She was older and knew that they wouldn't tease her like her younger peers back in-flight school. Adults her age was another story though. She knew most wouldn't but there was always a thought in the back of her mind that told her to be cautious.
She mentally shrugged off the thoughts but failed to completely shake them off. When was she going to be able to talk to everypony like a normal pony? She felt a tug on her mane and saw her bunnies giving her encouraging looks and gestures. She smiled. Her animals always knew how she felt and was always willing to help her deal with her irrational fears. Something she was always willing to help them with as well.
Cheerilee started to talk and drew the attention of the room to her. "Alright everypony! Fluttershy is here to help us learn the actions of bunnies in their environments."
"After we are done learning can we play with them?" A small pony asked.
Cheerilee looked at the yellow pegasus who looked at the furry creatures. They nodded and happily chittered. Fluttershy nodded and smiled. She had tried to say something, but the words died in her throat.
The next couple of hours she spent helping Cheerilee teach the kids the behavior of her little friends. What they did with food. How they would grab food and nibble the carrot down rather than biting chunks off and then chewing it.
"It's because their mouths aren't built like ours." Fluttershy explained, "We have similar, but different teeth growth."
The little fillies around her began to ask her questions but Cheerilee helped pull their attention away, smiling as she did so. Fluttershy gratefully pulled her nerves together and returned the smile. She began to wonder who smiled more: Cheerilee or Pinkie Pie? She had no idea.
Time seemed to pass quickly as she shared her knowledge about the little critters that had started to become comfortable with the little fillies. The foals had been warned to be gentle and Fluttershy only had to intervene a couple times. Though after all of Cheerilee's students had finished the assignments that had come with the bunnies; Fluttershy suggested to take the group outside to have more room to play.
Cheerilee agreed and assembled the group together and started outside. Fluttershy followed with all the bunnies piled on her. One of the fillies mentioned that she looked like a cloud. The comment made Fluttershy glow and a small smile appeared on her face. She walked down the steps and noted that working with children wasn't all that bad. She watched Cheerilee with interest. How good of a teacher would she be?
As she continued to watch, two ponies came into view from the path to the schoolhouse. They were both a light brown and were pulling a large wagon behind them. The black brimmed hats on top of did little to conceal the fact the wagon had a large cover obscuring whatever was inside. Though Fluttershy took one look at the wagon and was immediately suspicious. Though she was not sure why. She got one look from a large distance away. Probably just some ponies on a delivery with weather-sensitive items inside. Though the alarms in her head kept going off. Something in her mind told her to grab every filly and bunny, rush into the schoolhouse, and lock the door. She blinked and realized that's almost what she'd do with everypony else. She would run to her closet and cuddle up with her teddy bear till she felt safe to go outside. Though her gaze remained glued on the ponies closing in from a distance.
She tore her head from the two and turned to Cheerilee. She had gathered the fillies and bunnies who were playing together. Cheerilee was watching Fluttershy with a confused look. She started to say something but Fluttershy gently shook her head. Motioning to the path with a gently controlled face.
Cheerilee followed her gaze and saw the duo and stared at them for a moment. "Okay everyone!" She said loud enough for every creature to hear. "Stay by the schoolhouse. Looks like me and Fluttershy have some ponies to meet!" She said this all cheerfully. Though Fluttershy was acutely aware Cheerilee was also worried about the visitors. Noting this carefully, she walked down to Cheerilee and the two strode off a little farther down the path. They stopped when they were just within earshot of the students and could see every detail of their environment.
The two down the path noticed they were waiting for them and one of them waved. Cheerilee smiled and waved her front leg. Though Fluttershy didn't move a muscle. She wouldn't normally draw attention to her anyway, but her attention was glued on the wagon. It looked normal even though it was made of a multitude of wood types. Dark shades and light shade mixing with each other while keeping in square boundaries. Two dark wheels turned methodically on either side pulled along by the harness connected to the two ponies in front of it. A large tan fabric was draped on top but elevated by an invisible frame. It reminded her of a balloon. Just a balloon that was overinflated and held in place with a wireframe. Each segment of the cover swayed gently with the movements of the wagon.
"Is it just me…" Fluttershy said quietly. "Or does that wagon, feel suspicious?"
Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. "No, I was more focused on the ponies." She stayed quiet for a second seemingly studying the vehicle. "No… It looks like a normal wagon. Even if it is made of different types of wood."
Fluttershy merely nodded.
"I have a very bad feeling about the ponies though."
Fluttershy nodded once more. She took a deep look at the ponies. It seemed to be a male and a female pony. Their brimmed hats hid their faces from afar, but they had kept their heads up after waving. The male had saddlebags as well. It seemed odd to have a wagon harness and saddlebags on but that wasn't too unheard of. The male also had a single black band on his left foreleg. It was higher up, just above his knee. He was too far away to see what the band was, but she was pretty sure it was made up of fabric. The female had no such burdens other than the wagon harness. The thought struck her that both were pulling the wagon. Maybe the burden was heavy but Fluttershy was very sure that that wasn't the case. Why? She hadn't the slightest idea.
The two ponies waited quietly for the duo to reach them on the path but when they did the duo smiled and greeted the two in a cheery but out of breath fashion.
"Hellllo! We are the Reception 'ception! And we heard you need a reception planned!"
"uhh," Cheerilee said but shook her head a bit, "This is the wrong place. This is a schoolhouse."
"Uh," The female of the duo was talking now, "This isn't the first time we done our thing at a school."
"I can see that. But school is in session right now and I would have been notified of any reception. I'm the teacher and I would appreciate you not interrupting class."
The female nodded, "I realize we are a bit early, but we've got the request right here." She held out a piece of paper.
Cheerilee nodded and took the leaflet. "Seems legit. Though I'm not sure why I was left out of the mix."
"May I take a look?" Fluttershy asked turning to Cheerilee. The pony nodded and handed her the paper. She grabbed it with her wing and looked over the page. It was indeed a request for the Reception 'ception to plan a reception for a pony she didn't quite recognize. Though that didn't alarm her. She didn't know the names of most of her town. She was too shy to ask and even more shy to endure the small conversations that would spawn. She was getting better at it, but nor would she be surprised that she had missed half the town. That was Pinkie Pie's job and passion. The thought wrinkled her brow. Why wasn't Pinkie in charge of the reception? She was Ponyville's resident party planner. Wouldn't she at least be there to help with the décor?
She looked at the note again trying to find an answer. She found it but didn't agree. "You two are taking over for Pinkie?"
The female pony nodded, "Yep! She was bit tied up at the time of the reception and the Mayor was pressed to request help from us two."
Fluttershy shook her head, "Well, I know that's not right. Pinkie's been bored out of her mind because this week was the one week of the year with no birthdays, anniversaries, and no holidays of any kind. She would have jumped on the opportunity to plan a reception."
The two brown ponies gave her a dark, annoyed look. "Should have known that her friend would have kept close tabs on the party pony." The male pony said in a deep voice.
"So, what are you doing at our schoolhouse while students are here?" Cheerilee demanded. Fluttershy noticed that the Fillies seemed to take heed of their teacher's voice. They merely turned in their direction and stayed quiet.
"Well…" The female said, dropping all sense of cheer. "I'm sure you two have already figured that out."
"Everypony! Get to the schoolhouse! CMC! Round up the bunnies and get a head count. I want every creature in that building, stat!" The magenta teacher shouted. The students immediately took heed of their teacher's words and started to run to the safety the schoolhouse provided.
"All those innocent little children." The female said quietly. "It makes me quite h—" The phrase was cut off by Cheerilee who shoved the female back pulling the other still connected to the cart.
The male grunted and the two shrugged off the harness. Hitting the back of the wagon with his hoof, the cover sprang down and revealed what was inside. Large stands had metal contraptions that looked like the shape of a pony's face. Leather straps hung down jumping gently from the sudden disturbance.
"You little…" Cheerilee growled.
Fluttershy didn't truly understand why the teacher was so bent up but when she took a defensive stance, Fluttershy cautiously took a stance as well. The metal contraptions purpose suddenly clicked inside her head. They were restraints!
"You see we do plan receptions. Though not the type you think of. We go around the lands and take young innocent ones and their caretakers." She added after a pause, "And sell them to the highest bidder! Some we take for our own, purposes. But it's a very lucrative business and-"
Cheerilee shook her head, "You two aren't some reception planners you two are slave traders!"
"Eh." The male one said. "We don't care who want 'em. Some customers are dragons, some are griffons. They pay we give."
"D-d-d-dragons?" Fluttershy whimpered. There was only one reason she could think of for a dragon to want a pony.
The look on Cheerilee's face reddened, turning her color to a red completion that looked like it would stain her skin. Fluttershy on the other hand was bit surprised. She wasn't running away or hiding behind Cheerilee. A small smile pulled at her face with a small glow of pride heating her soul.
"Cheerilee!" A small voice shouted.
The teacher whipped her head around turned quickly to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy. Hold them back a bit. Carl has high anxiety, it makes him lock in place at times."
Fluttershy paled. "What?!"
She turned to the duo in front as they moved to the wagon. Cheerilee ran back to the school and Fluttershy immediately wished that she were back. The stallion had grabbed a metal studded bat and the mare had a whip firmly grasped in her mouth; the grin not impeding her grip in the slightest.
"You wanna do this the hard way?" The stallion asked.
Fluttershy took a step back and looked back. Cheerilee was sitting next to a light grey colt with dark blue hair stuck to his face. The filly was stuck staring at the Reception 'ception with a scared, no, mortified look on his face. Cheerilee was talking to him with a stern but gentle look crafted on her face. She looked back at Fluttershy and her face fell a bit.
This was her time to shine. The spotlight was on her and she felt terrified. Though there was young ones and her bunny friends counting on her to save them. She steeled herself against the spotlight she was in and turned to the intruders to the school grounds. She flared her wings and glared at the two brown ponies in front of her. Her spirits cooled a bit when she saw them chuckling.
"Why lookie here. Someone found their spine." The female taunted. "To save the little innocent fillies? Maybe some nice eagle food?"
She frowned. She knew that she was talking about the fillies and the bunnies. Regardless, she didn't change her stance nor her facial expression. She heard some hoof steps behind her and noticed the female looking behind her. Both her and his stances were relaxed and obviously didn't see her as a threat.
"Ooh. That's where that filly went. He escaped last time, but, not this time." The female smiled devilishly. Fluttershy heard a filly scream behind her. A gasp of air escaped her throat as she resisted the urge to turn around. Cheerile was there. They would be fine. Not that she'd be any help…
"Now if you'd move and let me do my thing; I'll let you go do your thing." The female said. The whip in her mouth didn't impede her speech in the slightest. She walked forward in a slow loping motion.
Fluttershy frowned and held her breath as she moved in front of the pony. To which she frowned.
"Move." The pony said in a dark whisper.
Fluttershy shook her head.
"Fine. The hard way." The female looked at the male who smiled with the bat in his mouth.
With a burst of speed that Fluttershy was not expecting, the male jumped forward and spun around on one leg. The bat came around at an un-comprehensible speed. It came down and connected with Fluttershy's left eye.
A burst of pain accompanied the sound of a crystalline crack. The blow was completely absorbed by her neck, but she shook it off. She looked at the pony holding the bat. Something was in her eye. It hurt like something had etched a design in her seeing orb.
Wait, there was something in her vision. A spider webbed pattern that reminded her of a broken window. She shook her head and something fell from her eye. The pattern was slowing fading. She did this a couple times and the pattern faded completely disappeared. She turned her attention to the two pony offenders and squinted a bit.
The two looked at her in morbid fear. "What—" The female asked but her voice stuck in her throat. Her jaw opened and closed several times but nothing came out.
"What are you?" The male pony asked. The strong confident voice was gone. In its stead lay pure, cold fear.
The yellow pegasus raised her eyebrows. She noticed that she couldn't blink her left eye. But she responded none the less, "I'm a pony. And you aren't getting past me." She growled and leaped forward. The two brown ponies yelped in surprise.
Cheerilee ushered every pony back into the schoolhouse and looked back at Fluttershy just in time to see the male pony smash Fluttershy's head with a bat. Her neck seemed to snap to one side and Cheerilee swore she head a cracking noise. Fear and guilt immediately swelled in her chest; why did she ask Fluttershy to stay back?! What did she hope for—
Her thoughts stopped dead as she watched the butter yellow pegasus turn back to those who had hit her. She shook her head in various intervals while the Reception 'ception looked as horrified as Carl had been when he had seen the two first arrived. After a few secounds Fluttershy pounced forward and tackled the two down to the ground. The struggle that ensued brought up a cloud of dust that seemed to barely conceal them enough for Cheerilee to secound guess the situation.
"Cheerilee! We're missing Angela!" Applebloom's voice shrill from the schoolhouse. Cheerilee frowned and looked towards the playground. She galloped over to the slides and gently coaxed the filly to come down. Once she had gotten her down, she herded the little one to the building. She then started to rush to Fluttershy's aid but found that she didn't need to.
The shyest pony she knew was pulling some rope that was tied to the male pony's legs restraining him entirely. The other female turned out to be a unicorn but had one of the metal restraints tightly on her face a similar rope was also around her legs. Though no magical glow was manifesting itself from the female's skull. It looked like it she wasn't even trying to undo the restraints which seemed very odd to Cheerilee.
She ran over regardless and greeted Fluttershy. "Well, it seems you have everything handled."
The pony merely nodded in reply.
"That one seems to be a unicorn," She said pointing to the brown female. "Why isn't she trying to escape?"
The reply come slowly, "I'm not sure…" Fluttershy replied quietly. "Though I think it's the restraints. I think they restrict magic of all types. So with it on unicorn magic won't work, earth ponies lose their innate strength, and pegasi lose their ability to fly."
Cheerilee gaped, "What? How do you know that?"
Fluttershy only gave her a hopeless look, "I don't know."
Cheerilee was confused. How did Fluttershy not know her own knowledge? She shook her head at the confusing thoughts rummaging in her head.
She frowned, "But she may have a headache or something, but she doesn't seem to be at full strength. Which may be the reason I was able to overpower her. Sorry about that by the way." She added directing the apology to the ponies on the ground.
The female only shuddered in anger and a turquoise glow started to emanate from her whole body. Though it seemed to pop, and the female could only sulk in anger. The male didn't respond in any form that Cheerilee could see.
"Why do you say that?" She asked directing her attention back to Fluttershy.
"She was able to fire energy beams, but she couldn't lift me up…" Fluttershy frowned, "Which should honestly be the easiest thing…" She trailed off and gave a look up to Cheerilee.
Cheerilee noticed that Fluttershy had some nicks from the struggle. Some were bleeding but not too heavily to be of any worry. The only thing that worried her was her leg. It had a sizable burn on the shoulder that extended a little down her foreleg and when she took a step, Cheerilee noticed that she had a limp, "You okay?" Cheerilee asked mentally noting the location of the first aid kit in the school.
Fluttershy lifted her leg a bit, "Other than this, yeah I think so."
"I'll get the first aid kit." Cheerilee galloped away. Once she had convinced the students to stay inside and she had gotten the first aid kit she galloped back over to the pegasus who was sitting down vigilantly watching the two restrained criminals.
Fluttershy looked up at Cheerilee's return and it made her stop dead in her tracks. The med-kit fell from her mouth and it bounced open on the roughed up dirt path. In front of her was the yellow pegasus that she knew decently well. Though her left eye was not what she was expecting. Rings of little blue squares neatly occupied the space where she expected the iris to be. In the center of the little squares that seemed to light up in certain amounts depending on how big the iris was supposed to be, was a shutter like device that shrunk a little while she was examining it. Around the squares and shutters were shadows hiding different colored wires and other devices that did not strike her as biological. She shuddered as she watched the right eye blink but the left eye remain open, keeping its watch that seemed to see through her.
"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked gently but firmly.
Cheerilee did not answer but thought about the mirror she kept in the first aid kit in.
"You're acting like those two." She said pointing a hoof at the two on the ground.
Cheerilee was vaguely aware of the question that was posed to her, but she found the object she was looking for. "Okay, don't freak out okay? Well, I mean you probably already know what—" She started to stumble over her words trying to find a good way to say it.
"Freak out about what?" Her voice was still gentle that was tinted with confusion and fear.
Cheerilee waited to hear Fluttershy say something like, oh my eye? That's normal just something I had put in to help me with my animals. Yet that explanation never came. So she sat down and gently raised the mirror.
Fluttershy blinked in confusion and watched in horror as she felt and saw her reflection's right eye blink but the technical abomination in the left socket remained un-blinking. She felt her breath quicken and her lungs seemed to tighten in her chest. She began to feel her heart beat in her head as she began to struggle for air. "What—" She couldn't get the air to talk.
"So much for you knowing." She heard Cheerilee mumble as she lowered the mirror. Though Fluttershy lunged forward and brought the mirror closer to her face. Close enough to have only her left, thing be able to use the mirror.
Yet she was seeing what she couldn't believe. Whatever was in her left socket was her eye. She still could barely breathe trying to understand what she had depended on her entire life.
"Hey. Relax." Cheerilee's strong but gentle voice cut through her thoughts pulling her attention to the magenta pony. "Whatever your eye may be, I know you need to breathe." The smile on the teacher's face seemed to unlock her lungs and she gasped for air; now realizing that she wasn't breathing at all in the last few seconds.
"There you go." Cheerilee said, the smile still on her face. Fluttershy couldn't see any confusion or disdain in the pony's eyes which made her feel better.
"What happened to me?" Fluttershy asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"I don't know…" Cheerilee replied. Fluttershy half blinked, but then realized that Cheerilee was a teacher and probably had some experience dealing with extremely shy ponies to a point to where she could hear even Fluttershy's normal voice. "Though I think I may know some pony who would."
Fluttershy knew the answer immediately, "Twilight?" The name rose her spirits a bit. If anypony could figure out what was wrong with her that was the pony. Even if she didn't know right away, Fluttershy figured the two would be late into the night to figure it out.
"I'll make sure your bunny friends get home safely you just go a see Twilight. Promise!" Cheerilee said sincerely.
Though Fluttershy shook her head. "If you don't mind I would like to take them myself. Even if," the words died in her throat. Even thinking about it made her seize up. What was she anymore? Was she a pegasus? Was she some terrible monster? Or ma—
"Hey." Cheerilee's hoof was gently laid on her shoulder. "That's fine but let's get you an eye patch. After an explanation about what happened, no pony would question it. And don't worry about these two," She gestured to the two still restrained on the ground. They looked like they hoped their light brown coats would help disguise them with the dirt below. "I'll be sure to get them to the guards."
Fluttershy nodded and allowed Cheerilee to fasten an eye patch over her left eye, if it was an eye anyway. Half her vision went dark and she felt better knowing that it was covered up.
"There you go all better! Though you may have to explain yourself to Twilight, I don't think you've ever had a—OW!" Cheerilee had stepped back and was now examining something stuck in her hoof.
"You okay?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
The teacher nodded, "I think so?" She grasped the clear object with her teeth and pulled it out of her hoof in one solid movement. She spat it out on the ground. "Glass? What's that doing here?" She looked towards the schoolhouse suspiciously.
Fluttershy meanwhile took a closer look. It looked indeed like glass, but it looked, more clear than normal glass. If she didn't watch Cheerilee put it on the ground, she would have missed it. The only other marking was a slight dust on the material. Though it wasn't nearly as dirty as it should have been as it was sitting in the dirt. She took a look at Cheerilee and noticed she was closely inspecting the school to, what she guessed, make sure there was no broken windows.
"Cheerilee? I don't think that this is any normal glass." Fluttershy said, drawing the attention of the other pony.
"Why?" The teacher's face was curious, not at all worried that she was next to a pony that might not be a pony. Which made Fluttershy confident enough to speak about her findings.
"This seems to be more clear than normal glass. Look, it's not even that dirty even though it's in the dirt."
Cheerilee blinked, both eyes hidden for just a second. Something that Fluttershy never thought that she'd be jealous for. "You're right." The pony responded, "Take it to Twilight. It may offer a clue to your left eye."
"Huh? You think that it came from me?" Her voice was in a fearful whisper.
Cheerilee nodded carefully. "Yes. I'm not sure hooves can make glass this fine."
Fluttershy frowned, "Magic?"
"Hmm, that's not what I meant but it could be. I meant that nature is much more able to make something this fine than us earth ponies and pegasi."
Fluttershy nodded and gently picked up the shard and placed it in a hidden pouch strapped to her wing. She opened and closed the appendage and was pleased to feel no poking notion.
"Alright, I'll go with you to the schoolhouse. We'll get your little friends and you go right off to Twilight. Be sure to tell me about what you find. I'd be happy to help."
"Even if I'm not a pony?" Fluttershy asked sadly, expecting a different answer to what she heard.
"Of course." The pony beamed, "I just love to learn new things and teach them to young ponies."
Fluttershy looked dumbstruck, "Thanks… That means a lot." Her expression morphed to a smile.
Cheerilee returned the smile and the two walked back to the schoolhouse so Fluttershy could round up her bunnies. The children immediately started to pelt the two mares with questions but a stern look from Cheerilee silenced them. Fluttershy knew she had the eye patch on, but she had covered the left side of her head with her hair just to be safe.
"Alright every pony. It's time for Fluttershy to be heading off. There is some business I have to attend to outside. So, I need every pony to stay inside. If I catch wind of any filly outside it'll be double homework." The class groaned and nodded, "But if you all stay inside there will be double recess tomorrow."
At that the class perked up and Fluttershy was easily able to collect her bunny friends. Now that she looked like a cloud again, the pegasus said her goodbyes and walked out the door with Cheerilee. The two ponies checked on the restrained Reception 'ception and found the two were still there.
"I've got these two. You just get home and go straight to Twilight. Just be sure to keep me in the loop." Cheerilee said taking a letter and a glass bottle from the saddlebags she had brought. She wrote quickly and rolled it up. Then she placed the paper in the glass bottle. She gave it a shake and the letter shimmed and disappeared.
At Fluttershy's inquisitive look, Cheerilee replied, "In case of an emergency, this bottle was link to another bottle to give me the ability to quickly send for help."
"Does it work kind of like Spike?" Fluttershy asked.
Cheerilee pondered on that for a second, "Well, I'm not sure if that's entirely true but it's a similar concept at least."
Fluttershy nodded and jumped when the bottle again shimmered, revealing the letter to have reappeared. She assumed that Cheerilee had gotten a reply.
"Alright, they are sending some ponies over," Cheerilee said relieved. She gave Fluttershy a look, "You 'ought to be going. The sooner you see Twilight the better."
Fluttershy nodded and started down the path, turning only to wave. The wave was returned and Fluttershy was left to her thoughts and bunnies. She talked to the fluffy creatures to help pass the time but her mind was thinking about Twilight's possible reaction. How would she react to seeing Fluttershy with an eye that wasn't an eye?
Would she freak out and run off screaming? Would she take her to the scanning room and give her a ton of tests and scans like she had Pinkie do a while back? Or would she just stare in amazement and confusion?
She had no idea. She just focused on the path in front of her trying to keep her breathing level and her heart rate down. The path slowly transitioned to cobble and then to stoned path as she walked to her cottage. The only ponies that passed her were the guards that Cheerilee had requested. They barely gave her a sideways glance as they galloped past. Something that she was glad for; she didn't want any more attention than normal which was very low to begin with.
She reached Ponyville in little time at all. Though with her absent mind she was still surprised that she had reached it so fast. She took a deep breath and released it. She started to then go into a light gallop which wouldn't be too abnormal. She didn't realize, however, that the wind blowing past her started to reveal her eyepatch that would surely draw attention. She slowed down to a trot and hoped that her hair had hid her eye from view.
She looked around and was glad to see that the others around her only looked and smiled. She returned the smiles hoping no small conversations would begin.
"You look like a cloud!" an excited but shrill voice suddenly existed behind her.
She jumped and a small, "eep," escaped her mouth as she desperately tried to find the source. To her relief, it was just a filly looking at her with subtle curiosity. She couldn't see the filly out of her left eye but she hoped to her lucky stars that the curtain of hair would conceal it.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Carl! What did I tell you about sneaking up on ponies?" A mare rushed over and started to scold her young.
The light blue colt looked down, "To make yourself seen before you ask a question."
"Now what do you say?" the mother pushed.
The little colt turned to Fluttershy and said in a remorseful voice, "I'm sorry for scaring you…"
Fluttershy smiled and braced against the urge to edge away, "That's okay."
The colt smiled and looked overall happier. His mother looked to the pegasus as well, "Sorry about that. Carl has a nasty habit of scaring ponies with random comments and questions. Hopefully, he didn't scare you too badly."
"Uh," Fluttershy paused, how did she respond to that? She was scared of a lot of things. Even her shadow was still on the list of top fears. "It's alright. To be honest, I may have jumped even if he had been in my vision in the first place."
The mother smiled understandingly, "Ah. Well, I wish you well. Got to take this youngling to the market. First time at the market." She added hesitantly. The colt looked ready to jump out of his horseshoes. "I really hope that he can contain his energy for that ice cream I promised him." She placed extra emphasis on the last part and the colt seemed to steady himself, but his face gave away his excitement.
"uh, well, I wish you luck too." She smiled the best she could, her shyness was showing, and she hated it. But the mother seemed to understand and left gently with a smile.
Fluttershy took and released another breath then started off again to her home, hoping for no more interruptions. To which she received none and she couldn't have been happier. The cottage door rushed open as she walked in with a little speed in her pace. She'd have to go through town again if she wanted to get to Twilights castle. Something she wasn't too eager about and was ready to get it done as soon as possible. A quick look at the time made her stop. The visit to Twilight would have to wait for mealtime.
There were a lot on animals to feed as Fluttershy took care of a plethora of both number and types. Though that was not an issue for this determined pony as she had been taking care of the little critters for years now. She also had Sweet Feather Sanctuary to look after but her veterinary friend had been a great help.
The task of feeding her friends had become second nature to her and normally she would just let her mind wander if no animals were asking for extra attention. Though this time she was hesitant to think and was jumpy to help any creature that asked for it. She was a little lenient about the exact food portions which made every creature smile. Fluttershy knew she may pay for that later on but whatever could keep her mind off her—
Stop. She told herself and shook her head. Twilight would know what to do but this was not the time to panic about anything. Her bunny, Angel, noticed and made a small comment about her reaction but Fluttershy merely smiled and brushed it off. Angel gave her a look and asked about her hair.
"My hair?" She replied. She was expecting a pirate comment about the eye patch covering up her… She stopped the thought before it could continue.
The white bunny nodded and motion around his face and head indicating that her hair was messier than usual. Angel also added with a mix of signs that Fluttershy's hair almost never got messy.
Fluttershy frowned and thought of a reply. She wasn't sure that she wanted quite yet to tell her friends that she may not be a pony. "Well, I'm just in a rush to see Twilight that's all."
Angel didn't look convinced.
Fluttershy sighed and put the bag of food back in the food closet and grabbed another. Though the animals seemed disinterested in their meals. Instead, they were intently looking at the pony with inquisitive stares that only Fluttershy could understand. Every creature in the cottage seemed to agree with Angel and wanted a better explanation. Fluttershy sighed, knowing that animals also had a canny ability to sense distraught emotions within ponies. That's why many had pets to help calm them on stressful days. Though at this time, Fluttershy didn't want to reveal the reason why she was so distraught. She pushed her response further by measuring out the next food bag for the next batch of critters but they didn't dive in as usual. They barely even noticed the food drop.
Angel made a gesture that said, Come on, we are all waiting.
"Well, I'll be able to tell you after I visit Twilight," She said only pausing a little.
The animals frowned but seemed to accept her response without much fuss. But Fluttershy knew her friends well. After the visit to her purple friend, they'd be pressing for an explanation. She sighed and started to get some more leafy greens.
It would be another hour before she was once again on her way to Ponyville. She thought about going to the skies as it would be faster, but she was worried about her eyepatch being revealed. The thought made her stop dead in her tracks. Why did she care? If she flew above the clouds, then only pegasi would be able to see her and she was sure that not as many ponies would be in the sky vs the ground. So, she jumped up and flew into the warm summer sky. The breeze felt nice, but she noticed that she couldn't see anything on her left. She shrugged. The worst that could happen would be running into a cloud.
"What's up Fluttershy? Why are you so high up?" a familiarly loud voice sounded to her left.
Or she could run into another pony.
The sudden lack of wind turbulence in her ears made her seize up in fright and she tumbled into the clouds below. Luckily for her she was a pegasus so the clouds were solid. Unluckily for her, the clouds were solid and she skidded to a stop and got her head stuck in the cloud.
She could hear Rainbowdash laughing but she also heard her telling her that she was coming to help. She felt a tug around her middle and with a pop the two ponies tumbled over sending rain droplets skyward.
Fluttershy still couldn't see as some of the cloud stuck to her head and she started to brush it away. She felt a gust of wind and her vision was suddenly of Rainbowdash who seemed to have generated the gust that blew the cloud off. "Thanks." She mumbled as the sudden sunlight blinded her.
Though as her vision adjusted, she saw Rainbowdash staring at her with a curious expression on her face, "What's with the hair?"
Fluttershy blinked, "What?" Was her hair that bad? Bad enough to be commented on it twice?
"It's sticking to your face like you glued it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Can't see your left eye at all! No wonder you didn't see me come up."
Fluttershy put her hoof to her left eye and felt her hair in the way but it was surprisingly solid.
"Here let me help." Rainbow walked up and raised a hoof to help push the strands away. Though Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to stop her but a surprised face is what she saw.
Rainbow tried to push the strands of hair away, but it felt as if she was pushing her head and not her hair. Fluttershy watched as the pony tried to brace two hooves to her hair but to no avail.
"The hay? Did you seriously glue your hair to your face? Where were you going anyway?" The multi-colored pony exclaimed in surprise.
"I was going to see Twilight."
Rainbow pondered that for a second. "You sure you are going to be able to fly alright with that hair in your face?"
"Yeah, I think I'll be alright."
"Well, as much as I would love to see Twilight pry that hair off, I've got to go and perform some cloud busting duties. Let me know how it goes alright?"
Fluttershy sat speechlessly but nodded.
The blue pony grinned and flew off. Fluttershy traced the rainbow for a few seconds trying to understand what had just occurred. She shook her head and moved the clouds to see below. The castle was not too far away so she made the hole wide enough for her to slip through and glided over to the front door of the massive crystal castle.
She knocked twice and saw the doors open after a couple of minutes. Though it was Spike who opened the door.
"Hey Fluttershy, what do you need?" Spike asked in a slightly out of breath voice.
"uh, hey Spike. Is Twilight there?" Fluttershy asked in a low voice. Spike was eyeing her oddly but she hoped it was just her hair.
"Uh, yeah. But she's with the Princesses at the moment. They are having a monthly meeting to try to talk about what is happening in Equestria."
"Oh. Um, when will that be over?"
"Twilight said that it'll probably take all day, so I loaded up with comics and ice cream. Best day ever."
Fluttershy smiled but then frowned. As much as she didn't want to intrude. She had to get answers. What happened if her leg was metal? "This is really important Spike. Is there a way you could get Twilight?"
Spike eyed her with concern, "Is everything okay?"
She let out a breath and replied, "I'm not sure."
Spike immediately ushered Fluttershy into the large building. She then followed the dragon down a couple of hallways and the two arrived at a door where Fluttershy could hear three familiar voices on the other end.
"Wait here. I'll bring Twilight out." Spike said hurriedly and rushed into the room.
Fluttershy heard Twilight protest at Spike's appearance but the voices quickly died down to where Fluttershy couldn't make out words but could hear only sounds of ponies talking.
Twilight burst out into the hallway her face contorted into concern and worry but it mellowed slightly when she saw Fluttershy. Her mane was still settling from the sudden gust it was subjected to. Her wings were also slightly flared in the sudden distress.
"What's wrong Fluttershy? I'm in the middle of an important meeting." She asked, voice thick with concern.
"Well, it's hard to explain," Fluttershy said quietly. She went to push her hair away but paused when she remembered the solid touch from earlier.
"Well, I'm willing to listen," Twilight said her concern still in her voice. "It's not you to interrupt anything without any good reason."
"I know. It's a lot easier to show than explain." Fluttershy started to push the hair from her face and was surprised it moved with ease.
"What happened?" Twilight exclaimed seeing the eyepatch, "Did everything go alright with the students and the bunnies?"
"Yes, it went fine. Just some complications, after the visit." Fluttershy said quietly. She was trying to figure out how to take off the eye patch.
"You really should go to the hospital!"
"I'd rather not to," Fluttershy replied feeling the clip to the patch. "Just don't freak out okay?" She added as she carefully began to remove the eyepatch.
"Why not? I'm good with magic but medical magic has its downsides. It's a lot better to assist the natural healing…with…the…the…" The words died in Twilight's throat as she stared at the change in Fluttershy.