“Hey Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called.
“Oh…hello Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy replied.
“So how did your day go with Starlight?”
Fluttershy didn’t respond.
“Look, I’m sorry I had to stick my muzzle in your family’s business, but I was really worried about you. I actually got the others to help with this. “
Fluttershy hid behind her mane and whimpered.
“I know your past may be………uncomfortable…..we all just really want you to feel better about your problems. So I asked Starlight to come to Ponyville while Pinkie and Rarity got her a sweet deal at the Inn for her to stay in."
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow through her mane. “How did you even get Starlight to come here?” she said, “I don’t even know where she lives.”
Rainbow hesitated and then said, “I…. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“You guys really want me to go. Don’t you?”
“You can’t keep your past behind you. Even though you aren’t the same pony as before, you still need to confront your mom and get your problems over with”
“Well I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I’m still not going! You don’t even know the abuse that MONSTER gave to me and Star during our childhoods! There is no way I am going to MOURN the death of the monster from my childhood!”
With that, Fluttershy took off into the night.
Rainbow Dash’s heart sank. “What have I done,” She said to herself.
. . .
Fluttershy ran into her cottage and slammed the door behind her. Her eyes filled with tears, she ran into her bedroom and leaped onto her bed. She closed her eyes as tears ran down her checks and slowly wet her pillow.
“……….Skydancer. Don’t cry. Everything is going to be ok.”
‘That voice,’ she thought, ‘It sounds so familiar.’ Fluttershy slowly lifted her head from her pillow and opened her eyes. The wetness from her eyes had caused her sight to be blurred. She tried to look around but all she could see was a blurred figure next to her bed. She then blinked a few times to reveal a figure of a pony next to her bed. Her heart started to beat furiously.
“Don’t be afraid Sky”
She then noticed that this small pony was actually a pegasus, but with only one wing. Wait, one wing? Could it be?
“……………Storm? It c-cant be. St-Storm?” Fluttershy stuttered.
“Hey Sky. I’m sorry…….I…haven’t been around.”
“You..you’re alive?”
“Um….no actually.”
“Oh…so so you’re a ghost?” Fluttershy asked.
Stormchacer looked at Fluttershy and slowly gave a nod. Fluttershy didn’t feel fear though. She actually felt sort of calm. It was like she’s being visited by her best friend. Stormchacer spoke again.
“I came here to say…..”
Stormchacer looked at the ground and gave a sigh.
“I’m…..I’m sorry Sky. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. For what I started.”
Fluttershy looked at him. She could notice tears coming from his eyes. Without hesitation, she lifted herself off the bed and gave her long deceased brother a hug. Despite being a bodiless spirit, he was tangible enough for her to wrap her arms around.
Stormchacer cried in his sister’s arms for a few minutes before Fluttershy said, “It’s ok Storm. I forgive you.”
“But, your suffering. It was because of me. Because of the stupid, stupid thing I did to myself. It was all my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault Storm. You didn’t know. Don’t blame yourself.”
Tears started to fade away as they released their hug.
“I…I also think you should reconsider not going to Dad’s funeral.”
“But……”
“I know he has been hard on you Sky, but remember how bad the situation got when I left this family. Imagine how much pain the three of us caused to Mom.”
Fluttershy just looked at Stormchacer’s translucent face.
“I know Dad was hard on you back then, but even though it doesn’t seem like it, Mom cares about you so very much. In fact, I think you were her favorite child.”
“But she doesn’t love me. She just stood aside while Dad abused me.”
“Do you remember, before my death, when she would make you your favorite soup every night before you went to bed?”
“………..yes”
“And remember when you lost your favorite stuffed animal and Mom spent weeks searching the house for it?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“Remember how she would sing a lullaby every time you had a nightmare to make you feel better?”
Yes, she remembers. That sweet tune has been in her memory for all these years.
“She loved you Sky. Just imagine how she felt when she lost you. Please go. Do it for her.”
Fluttershy looked up at her brother and gave him another hug.
“Alright………I’ll do it.”
Suddenly Fluttershy’s eyes shot open. She could feel the sunlight shining into her room from the window.
‘Was all that a dream?’ Fluttershy thought to herself.
She got up out of her bed and looked at herself in the mirror. Her appearance was a mess. There were tear stains on her cheeks and her mane looked like spaghetti rolled up on a fork. But despite her appearance, for the first time in a while, she actually felt relaxed. She herself didn’t know why, but she felt good. She went over to her bathroom to freshen up. “Poor Mom…” she thought to herself.
After taking a shower, she looked at the time and prepared herself to meet her sister for breakfast.
. . .
A few hours later, Rainbow Dash was on her way over to Fluttershy’s cottage to apologize for the previous night. When she walked closer to Sweet Apple Acres, she saw a yellow figure in between the trees of the farm.
“That’s strange, is that…..Fluttershy? Why is she at Sweet Apple Acres?”
Keeping her distance, she walked closer towards the figure and realized that the pony’s mane was black instead of pink. It must be Starlight! What’s she doing here?
Rainbow followed Starlight as she walked through the trees and up the hill. She eventually led Rainbow to a small house built on a tree outside of the farm. Starlight walked up the ramp and knocked on the door. When the door opened Rainbow saw Applejack standing in the doorway. Starlight gave her a hug and walked inside shutting the door behind her. Rainbow quickly, but quietly, flew over to the door and pressed her ear against the wood. She could hear faint sounds of the two ponies talking.
“So, were you followed?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to talk,” Starlight replied, “You sure your sister is gone? I mean, this is her clubhouse, isn’t it?”
“Apple Bloom is out with Big Mac shopping for baskets. She’s not gonna come home for a while.”
“Ok that’s good.”
“How did breakfast with Fluttershy go?”
Starlight sounded suddenly frantic. “For some reason, she’s decided that she needs to go to the funeral! She says that she feels bad for Mom and that she needs to make everything right. I-I tried to convince her not to, but she wouldn’t listen!”
“How can this happen?!” Applejack responded, “Didn’t you tell me last night that she was convinced not to go?!”
“She wasn’t going to go! But she then told me she had a dream last night about Stormchacer and now it’s impossible to convince her not to.”
“No! Ah can’t let this happen! Not to Fluttershy! There must be a way to convince her not to go without getting her involved.”
“I’m sorry Applejack but I tried everything. I’m starting to get the feeling that she knows something’s up.”
“You are right! Something IS up!” a voice called from behind the two.
Applejack and Starlight looked over to see an angry Rainbow Dash standing in front of the door.
“RAINBOW DASH!!” Did y’all follow us or something?!” Applejack yelled.
“So you are the one who sent me the letter….” Starlight said. “How do you know where I live by the way? Sky never gave you my address.”
“My friend Twilight found your address on an envelope in Applejack’s room when she went out to look for her,” Rainbow replied.
Applejack’s face cringed. “Why on EARTH were y’all muddling with mah STUFF?!!!!
Rainbow flew over to Applejack and glared at her face to face.
“Why on EARTH did you ditch us when we were trying to help Fluttershy, and why on EARTH did you lie to us all and never let us know what was up with this bucked up situation?! Some Element of Honesty you turned out to be!!”
Applejack looked at those red, fiery eyes for a moment. She pulled back a little and put her hat over her face.
“………………………Ahm……………sorry Rainbow.” Applejack said.
Starlight and Rainbow faintly heard the sound of sobs coming from the hat. After a few seconds, Starlight walked over to Applejack and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“It’s ok Applejack,” she said, “I think it’s best if you tell her what happened. She’ll understand.”
A few moments passed and Applejack eventually placed her hat back on her head. Her eyes were still a little damp. She looked at Rainbow who still seemed to have an angry look to her face.
“You remember me telling you how I got mah cutie mark?”
Rainbow nodded.
“Ah left Ponyville as a filly so that Ah could live the sophisticated life with my Aunt and Uncle Orange in Manehattan. During my time there, pretty much all the ponies Ah met were just acquaintances. All except for one. Starlight was the only real friend Ah met during my time there. She told me that she ran away from home because of her abusive father. She also told me that her sister fell off a cloud and that she would probably never see her again. It wasn’t until our conversation in the library a couple of days ago when Ah found out that Star is actually Fluttershy’s sister. Anyway, shortly after Ah became friends with Starlight, Ah asked if my Aunt and Uncle were willing to adopt her. They didn’t, but they knew a couple that was willing to take her in.”
Starlight smiled at Applejack as she remembered the first time she met her foster family.
“Shortly after Starlight got settled with her new family, Ah saw your Sonic Rainboom out in the distance and decided to go home. Ah haven’t been back in Manehattan since, but Ah made sure to keep in touch with Starlight through letters. Over the years, she told me about her family and I told her about mine. Eventually I found out that her foster parents owned a bar and that she started working there. Ah remember sending her a family recipe for hard cider that she named after me. For a while, it seemed like life was going really well for the both of us. But that was soon gonna change.”
Applejack took a deep breath before continuing.
“About a couple weeks ago, I got a letter from Starlight telling me that her dad found her when he randomly walked into the bar one day. When he-“
“Let me take it from here AJ,” Starlight said.
Applejack nodded.
“When Dad saw me, he gave me a hug and told me that he has been out searching for me for weeks. He apologized for getting angry causing me to leave. I had to tell him the truth, that I will never be able to forgive him for his actions. I mean, he used to beat us and humiliate us to the degree that was unforgiveable, even after all these years. With that said, he tried to convince me to give him another chance, but I still said no. Eventually he gave up and walked out of the bar. I thought that was it, but for the next few days, he kept coming back. Every time was the same. He would walk in, ask for my forgiveness, and then order one of our Applejacks to drink. This is all he ever drank. I guess that was pretty good stuff."
Applejack blushed.
“One day, two stallions walked into the bar and asked me if I knew a Lunarshine Moonlight. So I said yeah and pointed to my dad sitting at one of the tables across the room. The two of them walked up him and dragged him out the door. Immediately, I ran out the door to see what was going on. I caught up with them and asked them what was going on. One of them came up behind me, grabbed me by the flank and threw me to the ground. I lay there and watched my Dad get dragged away screaming for help. I tried to get back up but I noticed that I got this painful gash on my flank. Before I knew it, they were gone. So I limped back inside and went back to bartending. A few ponies asked what happened, but I didn’t feel like answering them. I just wanted to forget all about Dad and just continued my work. The next day I got an anonymous letter saying that my dad has this huge debt on the family and is being held hostage until it could get paid. The amount was four million bits.”
“FOUR MILLION?!” Dash exclaimed.
“Yes,” Starlight said, “There was no way I could pay them the money. My family, my bar and my life will be completely ruined if I try to pay off his debt. I……um….also thought that he didn’t deserve my help due to what he did to me and Sky when we were kids. So I ignored the letter for a few days until another one got sent to me. This one said that they killed my dad and are now going to kill the rest of my family if the debt doesn’t get paid. I knew Skydancer was safe due to the fact that she changed her identity to Fluttershy. The problem was Mom. That was when I sent Applejack a letter to try to help me repay these ponies.”
Starlight sighed.
“That was also around the time I got the letter from you Rainbow Dash. You told me that Fluttershy needed help and I could only assume the worst for her. So I came to Ponyville to see if everything was okay only to find out that Mom sent Fluttershy a letter asking her to go to Dad’s funeral. The letter said that it was going to be held at Sweet Passings Funeral in Cloudsdale. The problem is that, that place doesn’t exist anymore. I remember it closing shortly before I left the family. The funeral isn’t real! It’s a TRAP!!"
Rainbow Dash couldn’t even breath she was so in shock. It took her a little while to process everything Starlight told her.
“Ahm sorry for not telling you guys earlier,” Applejack said, “Ah didn’t want anypony else to know ‘bout this except me and Starlight. Fer Fluttershy’s safety.”
“B-ut But, if Fluttershy is in danger, WHY IN CELESTIA’S NAME DIDN’T YOU TELL FLUTTERSHY THE TRUTH?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“I was afraid she would do something drastic. Plus it’s hard to admit to my sister that I inexplicitly killed our father.”
“Well what are we waiting for?! We have to tell Fluttershy! She could get killed!” Rainbow said.
“Ahm afraid Rainbow’s right Star. Wouldn’t you want your sister to be safe? Ah promise she’s not going to overreact.”
Starlight hesitated for a moment.
“Ok let’s go find her before it’s too late,” she said.
. . .
Rainbow Dash flew over to Fluttershy’s cottage. Applejack and Starlight galloped close behind her. When they reached the cottage, Rainbow flew up to the door and gave it a knock.
After a moment of waiting, the door finally opened. Unfortunately, instead of Fluttershy appearing in the doorway, Twilight Sparkle was there instead.
“Twilight! Is Fluttershy home? I need to talk to her right away!” Rainbow asked.
"Fluttershy isn’t here. She-“
Twilight lost her train of thought as she saw Applejack and some mare she didn’t know heading towards the door.
“Applejack!!” Twilight called, “Where have you been?! We’ve been looking everywhere for-“
“Not now Twi!” Applejack interrupted as she walked past her and into the house. Starlight and Rainbow Dash walked in after her.
“Who’s this?” Twilight asked as she saw Starlight follow her two friends into the house.
Rainbow turned to face Twilight.
“This is Starlight. You know, Fluttershy’s sister.” She said.
“It’s nice to meet you Ms.-“ Starlight said as she shook the purple pony’s hoof.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, “I have no clue what’s going on, but Flutt-“
“FLUTTERSHY!! IT’S APPLEJACK!” Applejack called from in the house, “WE NEED TO TALK TO YA! IT’S AN EMERGENCY!”
“I’m sorry Applejack, but Fluttershy’s not here. She’s left to go to her father’s funeral.” Twilight explained.
The three of them looked at Twilight.
“The funeral is TODAY?!” they all asked in unison.
“Apparently. I’m here because she’s asked me to take care of her animals while she was gone. She left about a half an hour ago. What’s the emergency? Why are you all freaked out?”
“This can’t be happening! No No No!” Starlight said. “Sky never mentioned that the funeral was today!! What are we going to do?!”
“WOULD SOMEPONY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON?!!!” Twilight screamed.
Applejack faced Starlight.
“Alright here’s what we’re gonna do. Ah'll stay here and get Twilight up to speed. You and Dash find Fluttershy. She can’t be far from here.”
The two pegasai nodded and flew out the door. Applejack then walked up to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Twi, there’s something that you need to know…”