//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: To the Mountain! // Story: Dragonshyness // by Jordan179 //------------------------------// Were this a children's fantasy, especially of the morally-improving animated kind which became so popular some decades after the end of the Shadow Wars -- preferably one with cute yet oddly sober-toned talking hairless monkeys -- Fluttershy's decision would have been the end of her inner conflict. Her fear would have been conquered, the matter settled, and the rest of the story would have simply been about facing and fighting the monster. Things were, of course, not so simple in the real world of Equestria. To begin with, Fluttershy understandably wanted to seek some sort of safety. Unfortunately, she owned no suit of armor: what she managed to dig up was an old hoofball uniform from her Flight School days, complete with helmet, chest pads and foot guards. When Rainbow Dash saw this getup, her first reaction was to laugh. Not quietly and decorously -- this was Rainbow Dash, after all. Instead, she guffawed, clutching her sides, launching herself, tumbling repeatedly in midair, to sink to the ground rolling around, pointing and laughing uncontrollably. Thankfully, none of Fluttershy's other friends witnessed this. Fluttershy shrunk into a little ball, wishing she could somehow vanish entirely out of reality, perhaps to drop back in again after a millennium or so when everypony had forgotten this embarrassment. Instead, she simply dashed back off home, disposed of the hoofball gear. Which truth be told was a bit too heavy and confining to be ideal for a long march, and had the distinct disadvantage, as Fluttershy quickly realized, of being almost entirely useless against the formidable set of natural weaponry possessed by a fully-grown Dragon. When she returned, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had arrived, and she noticed that Rainbow Dash was looking at the orange Earth Pony with some resentment. Fluttershy also noticed that the rainbow-hued paint with which Rainbow had previously decorated her face, had been removed. "I still think it would have been awesome," grumbled Rainbow Dash, glaring at Applejack. "T'aint camoflague," pointed out Applejack. "You were standing out like some kind of Bird of Paradise." "Paradise has some really neat birds," observed Pinkie Pie. Nopony, including Fluttershy, had any idea to what Pinkie referred, and as usual they simply dismissed it. "Right," said Rainbow Dash sarcastically. "Like the dragon is going to overlook my mane. Want me to shave it bald?" "Naw," said Applejack with exaggerated good cheer. "Ah'll gladly clip it for you. I think I got some shears packed in mah travel bags," she continued. "Pinkie, you want to hold her down for me?" "Okey-dokey!" replied Pinkie Pie, taking a step toward Rainbow Dash, who immediately went airborne. "Touch my mane and I'll wallop you!" promised Rainbow Dash. "Jest funnin'," laughed Applejack. "You can keep your purty purty mane." Rainbow glared at her. Rarity stepped onto the scene. She was wearing a dappled-green hat, tipped at a jaunty angle and embellished with a bright red rose and pink and violet feathers. "I hope I'm not tardy," she said, "but I wanted to make sure that my camouflage hat made the proper splash, so to speak. Gets noticed." "Ah think yer missing the whole concept of "camouflage," said Applejack drily. "The idea's to not be noticed." "Oh no, darling," Rarity replied. "One always desires to be noticed." She looked at Fluttershy and smiled. " All ready for our great quest?" "Um, no?" Fluttershy said, in a very small voice. "Wonderful, said Rarity, smiling. She had obviously not even clearly heard Fluttershy's reply. "Yeah, this is going to be awesome!" shouted Rainbow Dash, pumping her right hoof into the air while balancing on both rear hooves with the aid of her wings. "Whee!" cried Pinkie Pie, bouncing about merrily. "Yee-haw!" shouted Applejack enthusiastically, rising on her hind hooves to kick her forelegs at the air. "Let's go!" The others whooped enthusiastically. Lost in the commotion was Fluttershy's opinion. "Um, let's ... not?" she squeaked. Nopony heard her. At that moment the door to the Golden Oaks Library swung open and Twilight Sparkle stepped forth. Her face was solemn, her whole manner very serious; she looked every inch a leader. Moved by some impulse they could barely name, Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood at attention in line as if they were Royal Guards; Rarity followed Applejack's lead, and Pinkie Pie, smiling happily, stood next to Rarity. Fluttershy, trembling every step of the way, crept up to join her friends' impromptu formation. "All right girls," Twilight said, "listen up. I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall." She had seen that they had instinctively assumed the role of her guards, and she as instinctively stepped into the role of their commander. Which she was, essentially. She was acting as a representative of Princess Celestia herself, who had ordered her to drive out this dragon; her five friends had volunteered to follow her, and thus were her deputies in this matter. Twilight had spent many hours watching her brother Shining Armor and the other Royal Guards in training, and she was of a class used to taking charge in a crisis. While she was not about to hold her friends to strict military discipline, she knew that firm leadership was their best hope of succeeding at their mission, without suffering any losses. Fluttershy, however, had noticed the key element in Twilight's statement. "M-m-mountain?" she stammered in fear, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints. Twilight pointed down the valley to the southwest, toward the nearest reach of the White Tail Hills and the huge mountain that towered above its companion heights. "The dragon is in that cave at the very top," she informed them. "Looks pretty cold up there," commented Applejack, frowning. "You bet it is," asserted Rainbow Dash, clearly happy to be in her literal element. "The higher you go, the chillier it gets." She grinned at Applejack, as if daring her to brave the frigid weather. "Good thing I brought my scarf," said Rarity smugly, opening her bag and withdrawing a long white-and-pink striped garment of the type mentioned. "Ooh!" said Pinkie Pie, acting almost mesmerized by the way the colorful woolen length waved in Rarity's grip. "Pretty!" Rainbow Dash laughed scornfully. "Oh yeah," she commented. "That'll keep ya nice and cozy." Fluttershy shivered as she considered how cold the climate might be atop a peak that high. She did not herself enjoy high flying, but she was well aware of the point Rainbow Dash had mentioned. She looked up at the smoke-wreathed summit. Way up. Way, way up. Fluttershy trembled. She had just realized that it was a long, long way up to the top. She gulped in fear as she considered the implications. Fluttershy was afraid of heights. This seemed silly for a Pegasus -- was silly for a Pegasus, but Fluttershy knew that in moments of extreme terror her wings would fold tight shut. Pegasi did this on the ground in social situations to indicate extreme submission. It was a gesture which was worse than useless when the entity to which the submission was being made was gravity -- gravity would still dash one against the unforgiving ground below, and with her flight field shut down by the closure of its radiating surfaces, such a collision would probably be fatal. Fluttershy had once in her life already almost died that way: that had been the time the butterflies had saved her and she had received her Cutie Mark. She could reasonably guess that if this happened again, there would be no swarm of butterflies to save her, and all she would receive would be massive and probably mortal injuries. She did not want to go up a mile-high mountain. Maybe if she voiced her fears to Twilight Sparkle, her friend would understand and decide that she didn't want Fluttershy on this expedition? Fluttershy looked over at Twilight. The lavender mage had just unrolled a map, suspending it in midair with her aura, and was comparing it to the terrain she could see stretched out before her. "Um ... excuse me, Twilight?" said Fluttershy, in what was almost a direct fashion by her own standards. "I know you're busy, but..." "Uh-huh," replied Twilight, in a minimum acknowledgement of Fluttershy's presence. She bent over the map. "Well, we could go this way ..." she muttered to herself. "But ... If I could just have a second?" asked Fluttershy in a friendly fashion, putting a little more energy into her voice. "Uh-huh," said Twilight again. She looked at another portion of the map. "No," she said decisively, "we want to avoid that." Her hoof poked at that part of her map, by way of emphasis. "So ... um ..." said Fluttershy. "I was thinking that ... uh ..." It was remarkably difficult to directly say it. She kept thinking back to her previous fears that all her friends would despise her ... but surely they wouldn't if Twilight told her to stay home? ... and what if her friends died ... but, no, they were in Twilight's capable hooves. "Maybe I should just ... stay here in Ponyville." The last she said quickly, and as she did she felt greatly ashamed. "Uh-huh," said Twilight casually, poring over another part of the map. She doesn't mind! "Oh!" cried Fluttershy in surprised relief. "Good." She turned and began walking slowly away. "I'll stay here, and --" Twilight did not react for a full second, then suddenly realized what Fluttershy had said. "Wait!" Twilight called out. "You have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy!" Fluttershy stopped in her tracks, caught both by the instinct to follow her leader, and more deeply by her own sense of duty. She turned around slowly. "I -- don't think I --" "Oh," Twilight added, "and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow. Spike's got it covered while you're gone." Fluttershy glanced down to see the little purple-and-green Dragon amiably looking back up at her, mild affection emanating from him.. He was carrying several of Fluttershy's animal friends, and being followed by several more. "You can count on me!" Spike said loyally, striking a dramatic pose. Angel Bunny climbed up on Spike's head and began drumming on his skull with one hind foot. "Hey!" cried Spike as he dropped the animals. "Hey!" a bit more frantically as they ran off in all directions. "Wait!" Spike ran off in pursuit. "I don't really think he's up to the task," Fluttershy pointed out doubtfully, as Twilight rolled up her map and replaced it in her travel bag. "Maybe... " She noticed that Twilight was already walking away. "But... But... no!" The last despairing squeak verged on the ultrasonic. Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight Sparkle and said something to her in a whisper. Fluttershy couldn't hear it, but from the looks they both shot back at her it was obvious that she was the topic of discussion. They probably both despise me now, Fluttershy thought in despair. She looked down morosely, and suddenly spotted an big shadow beneath her. If that's being cast by something airborne, she realized, it must be immense -- a Dragon! "Aaah!" she cried out, rearing away from it in terror, then leaping into a bush for its scant safety. As she poked her head out she noticed that Rainbow Dash was giving Twilight Sparkle an I told you so sort of look. She then realized that she had, literally, been spooked by her own shadow. Twilight Sparkle merely walked a bit ahead. Then she turned to her friends. "All right, girls!" Twilight called back with cheerful determination. "Move out!" They galloped off toward the moujntain, Fluttershy all the while uttering semi-articulate protests as she was borne along in the general charge, emotionally-unable not to follow her friends. "But ... but ..." she tried to say. Then she shrieked. Nopony listened.