Lightbolt's heart skipped a beat. Did I really just hear that? He pulled away to get a grip on the situation.

Wow... So... What to do now? I guess just go on like I never heard it... Or not... Agh, I don't know. But I wouldn't be in this kind of situation if I wasn't such a stalker.

But on second thought, it is good to know, I guess. I like her and she likes me back... Wow, this is all moving so quickly. Just this morning, she was too nervous to speak to me...

As Lightbolt went deeper and deeper into his thoughts, he suddenly remembered he needed to actually get back to the person he was thinking about. I'll just go with the flow, I guess. Nothing stupid or crazy.
---
Fluttershy was all alone. Twilight was long gone, and she was standing there anxiously waiting for Lightbolt to come back. Looking down despairingly, she began to give up hope that he would even return as the minutes ticked by.

Well, I should have known it was all too good to be true. A pony like him wouldn't concern himself with someone as timid and weak as me. Heck, he's probably found somepony else already.

Fluttershy attempted to end her gloomy thoughts. Not now, not in public. Save it for when you're alone, you don't want to embarrass yourself. It was no use, however, and she could feel sorrow sweeping over her entire body. I thought for a moment... Maybe Lightbolt really cared about me. How could I be so foolish? Really...

A voice pierced through her depressive thoughts, one she recognized to be Lightbolt's. "Fluttershy? Are you okay?" Fluttershy looked up, tears nearly ready to swell from her eyes, to see it was indeed him.

She felt a mixture of surprise, happiness and embarrassment as she saw him appear before her. "Oh, u-um, I'm okay."

Lightbolt didn't know exactly what she was so sad about but he still felt sympathetic, so he walked up and imbraced her in a gentle hug. Fluttershy's heart warmed at his show of affection. She lifted her head up slightly and shakily brought one of her hooves up to hug him too.

"S-sorry," she murmured. That's all she could think of to say. It was the word she seemed to default to every time.

"You don't need to be sorry."

Fluttershy then really came to the sense that she was nearly crying at a party. "I think we s-should go outside. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Of course it is," Lightbolt said with a smile. They both walked to the door, Fluttershy's eyes plastered to the ground to keep people from seeing her red face. But as she walked, she did feel a little bit of contentment course through her body. You know, maybe I was wrong after all. Maybe he does care about me. Just maybe.

As they went out the door into the fresh air, Fluttershy felt relief. It was one of those cool, brisk evenings where everything was so quiet and peaceful yet full of life.

Fluttershy spoke once they were outside. "Sorry..."

No! Stop it! Stop saying that! She scolded herself. "I mean, um, I just got a little nervous, I guess. I mean, sad. I-I don't know."

“It’s alright,” Lightbolt said soothingly.

"Okay." Fluttershy paused. "I j-just... Thought y-you left me back there, for a second, but I was wrong of course. But never mind, there's really a bigger problem..."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to take so long to get back to you, I just got caught up in a little conversation. I'm sorry."

"Alright," Fluttershy said with a bashful smile.

Lightbolt started to feel really strange comforting her, considering just about a week ago he was terrorizing ponies like Fluttershy. He quickly brought himself away from the thought, however. That was the past, after all.

Feeling a bit more confident, Fluttershy spoke again. "So, do y-you want to go back into the party?"

"Sure."

The rest of the night went much more smoothly. Lightbolt and Fluttershy met up with the others and they talked and got to know each other. Fluttershy didn’t speak very much, but she listened actively and closely. The ponies conversed well into the night, but eventually the crowds started to thin out.

“Well, I suppose I better be hitting the hay," said Rainbow Dash with a yawn. "Lots of work to do tomorrow."

Twilight gave her a dubious look, knowing that the cyan mare spent much of her time napping instead of being productive.

"I should probably be getting to bed too, 'night y'all," said Applejack.

"Indeed, me too. Good talking to you, Lightbolt," chimed in Rarity.

As the others left, Pinkie Pie suddenly bolted her head up ecstatically, her grin growing bigger than normal. "Oh my... The party is going to have to end soon! I've got to go strut my stuff!" With that she hurried off, leaving just Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Lightbolt.

Twilight smiled nervously, unsure what to do next, unsure if she should even trust this newcomer with sensitive Fluttershy...

You know what, I'm being too protective, she told herself. "Um... Oh darn, I need to send a letter to Celestia! I'll see you two tomorrow!" She walked off gawkily, leaving the two alone.

"So, um, what do you want to do now?" Asked Fluttershy quietly.

Lightbolt raised a hoof up and scratched his head. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired.".

"Oh, I am too. Do you want head back over to my place now? I have a guest bed, of course," she said sheepishly.

"That would be great. Thank you."

But as they were about to exit the library, Pinkie Pie popped her head out in front of them. "You two are leaving already? But I never even got to ask you where you're from, Lightbolt!" She said enthusiastically. "I like to know about everypony!"

"Oh, right..." Lightbolt said weakly. "...I'm just in a bit of a hurry, I can talk to you tomorrow. Thank you very much for the party, though."

"Oh, pleeeeease stay!" Pinkie started bouncing around.

"I really wish I could, but..."

"Pleeeeeeeeease!"

Suddenly, Fluttershy's expression turned severe and her eyes locked on to Pinkie, seemingly forcing the pink mare to look at her too.

"He doesn't want to talk about it, Pinkie Pie." Her voice was still soft, but it possessed an unusually harsh, stern tone.

Pinkie Pie's huge smile started to dim. "Oh, of course," she said faintly, and slowly started to back off.

Fluttershy's expression then turned sorrowful and her voice even quieter than usual. "I'm sorry Pinkie Pie."

"It's okay," she said, walking off somberly.

Where the hell did that come from? Lightbolt thought, and then turned to Fluttershy. "Thank you for clearing that up... I don't really like talking about my past, it makes me uncomfortable."

"I-I don't like to either," she agreed.

---
The orange moon illuminated the narrow trail through the woods, guiding Lightbolt and Fluttershy to the cottage. The walk so far had been silent, as they were both enjoying the serenity of the forest at night. Well, at least Fluttershy was; Lightbolt was too busy contemplating how he was going to introduce her to his wolf friend, Scout. He could just see calling for the wolf and him coming through the trees with a dead animal in his jaws. Surely Fluttershy would break down at that sight. It was a pretty crappy idea to let the wolf roam free around the forest while he was with Fluttershy, now that Lightbolt thought about it.

But suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Scout's head peering up from behind the bush, winking. Then, the large gray wolf casually strided out in front of them.

"Ahh!" Fluttershy squeaked, her eyes widening in fear as she jumped behind Lightbolt, grabbing onto his sides.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, he's tame. Remember when he was in the square with me?"

"Oh, o-of course," she said. The wolf came up to the quivering pegasus and sniffed her contemplatively.

"H-h-hi," Fluttershy stuttered nervously, the wolf right up in her face. He gave her a big lick and then plodded back over to Lightbolt, Fluttershy mustering a nervous laugh.

"See, he's nothing to be afraid of." With the following sentence, he glared sharply at Scout. "And he won't hurt any of your animals." The wolf nodded.

"Alright. This may sound rude but, is i-it okay if he sleeps outside? My animals might be afraid of him."

"He'd be fine with that," Lightbolt said. The wolf sulked unhappily, and they continued towards Fluttershy's cottage.

Once they arrived, Fluttershy opened the door for her guest and he walked in. It was quaint, homey place with wood siding and light green floors. Around the walls of the living room were a stove, some couches, and what appeared to be little staircases for animals to come in the house. There weren't many pictures hung up, though.

“What a nice place you have here,” complimented Lightbolt.

“Oh t-thank you. It’s pretty humble, really,” she said. ”But please, come upstairs.” Lightbolt followed the shy mare up the stairs, through the hallway, and to a door.

"So, here's the guest room. I guess I'll, um, leave you to get comfortable." With that, she smiled shyly and walked to her own room. After her door clicked shut, Lightbolt could hear Fluttershy give out a small squeak of joy, causing him to chuckle lightly.

Lightbolt didn't realize how exhausted he really was until he lay his head on the soft, cushiony pillow. He smiled lightly, embracing the warm sheets, and quickly fell into a deep, long sleep.

___