- Written By: EbonyPOV: Third person
After a "short" plane ride (I do have to wonder where in the world Ponyville is), Fluttershy arrives at K2. She can't see the top of the mountain, but she hopes that she'll be able to see the view from up there, like Jesus did when the devil tempted him (It's odd that she already knows about this despite hating Christianity, when the much more open minded and significantly more intelligent Twilight Sparkle didn't know). She also hopes to prove that she's more than just "a shy and ignorant pony."
Spike decides to speak up about the danger, and asks if Fluttershy is sure, worrying that his words will set her off, since she gets mad easily. Fluttershy firmly reiterates that she will do it so that people will not think of her as a coward, but it's not for the sake of pride. She does it so she can stand up to prideful people like Rainbow Dash, and notes that Pride can destroy people. Not only does this sound vaguely hypocritical to condemn pride while setting out to prove herself in the eyes of other ponies, but it's another case of her having an oddly Christian worldview. Spike gives in, believing it's better to go along with her than it is to argue with her and lose, but suggests that they turn in for the night.
Fluttershy and Spike find a house at the base of the mountain, and an old man, out of the kindness of his heart, gives them shelter and serves them hot cocoa (do they even serve that in Nepal?), saving them from a hail storm. The two guests need all the strength they can muster for the next day, although the man doesn't want to try, having known that the mountain has claimed over nine thousand lives, often in many unpleasant ways (which has to be quite a traumatic experience for him), and believing they'll be next. Fluttershy, however, doesn't listen to him any more than she did to Spike, saying that she doesn't believe the man's "mindless blathering," and does it to prove Rainbow Dash wrong and get a reward from Celestia.
With a Face Palm, the man warns her that if she disregards his warning, she will join the "many hundreds" (a far cry from the thousands he mentioned earlier) who died climbing the most dangerous mountain, and once they're in heaven, he will tell them that he warned her. Fluttershy turns red, and when Spike takes the opportunity to try to talk her out of it again, she explodes and decides to climb it now to prove that she's not just a shy pony. The old man tells her not to complain that he didn't warn her, and argues that it would be less embarrassing to back down now. Spike convinces Fluttershy to stay until the storm has calmed down, and Fluttershy agrees, deciding to leave the first thing tomorrow. The old man doesn't kick them out, since he'd feel guilty if they died.
Fluttershy has a nightmare, about the other ponies laughing at her for her failure, with Twilight also flirting with Rainbow Dash, Applejack hoping that she's crippled, Spike ending their friendship and Celestia banishing her. Fluttershy wakes up, saying she can't take it any longer, but Spike convinces her that she needs the rest. Fluttershy gets back to sleep and rests peacefully.
The next day, they eat breakfast quickly to get to the mountain, and the old man makes one last bid to talk them out of it. The man declares that "the blood is on my hand," quoting the Bible (although I'm not sure what passage it is, apart from possibly Pilate washing his hands of Jesus' fate).
The first day is uneventful, and they walk up to Camp 2(I'll number these, since it gets confusing otherwise). The next day, they climb the face of Lhotse, and reach Camp 3, which supplies oxygen. Between Camp 3 and Camp 4, there's a massive black rock and a layer of marble, but they're able to get past them with a rope, and reach Camp 4 by the second night.
Fluttershy has a nightmare about Spike dying, so he decides to comfort her as a friend.
On the third day, they continue climbing, reaching a terrace that has a view of the south peak and is en route to the east peak- their final destination- after an hour. They climb over rocks with a rope and "dodge avalanches" (which doesn't seem remotely feasible), and soon reach the south summit before long. They then climb a bottleneck cliff, and reach the east summit.
Spike, evidently having put aside his (albeit well-founded) skepticism about Fluttershy's chances, congratulates her. Fluttershy suddenly reaches an epiphany- she wants to help people lead healthy lives- and Spike is glad to hear it, saying she owes her success to Jesus. Fluttershy wishes that her friends had come along, and Spike suggests that they "will be Jesus." Fluttershy's glad she proved her friends wrong, and Spike, after sharing a bit of Bible wisdom from her, suggests that she become a Christian. Fluttershy is willing to consider that, and also thinks about climbing Mount Everest.
After a night camping, and possibly another three days descending the mountain, Fluttershy finds the old man again, laughing at him, promising to post a picture on her blog and leaving before he can reply, none of which seem like appropriate behavior toward someone who provided crucial assistance and a well-intentioned warning. Spike then happily declares that it's time to go home.
In the first author's note we've had in a while, Ebony says that she proofread the fanfic so that it won't be reported again for poor spelling and grammar. Given that it takes incredibly poor spelling and grammar for people to report a fanfic for either, I have to wonder whether it says more about the previous fic, the author or those reporting it.
Next Installment: With Fluttershy now a Christian, the Prayer Ponies turn their attention back to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, as the former of the two pops the question.
