A Dash of Shyness

by TM2 Dinobot

Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXIV

The world flowed, dancing in and out of colors. The breeze of yellow, the taste of wind, the vibrant pulse of life all worked to remind Rainbow Dash that she yet lived. All was well with the world. The muted and humble tones flowing through a veil of fog seemingly called her name, reminding her who she was. Go away, this was beautiful, and endless journey where she might fly forever. Wait, was she dead? No, this didn't feel like dead. This felt... peaceful.

The voice called her again, away from the light, into the fog bank of life. She didn't want to go, not after having seen such beauty. Open fields and glorious skies, where a pony could run forever. Then the tendrils of pain found her, pulling her faster, upwards into darkness.

That was her name being called, alright. She couldn't see anything yet, but she knew her name. But why did her head hurt so badly? It was as if her entire body groaned in protest at leaving paradise, and now she would pay for it.

"Dashie?"

"I think she's comin' around

"Give her some room, AB. Come on, girlie, wake up now, ya hear?"

She could hear, but she didn't want to wake up. Every step closer to consciousness was another moment of escalating pain. In vain she dove deep, trying to hide from life. Yet there was no respite from within, as she bubbled closer to the surface. The lights grew brighter, the voices more audible and the smells crisper until they all snapped into place.

Dash was staring up at the ceiling. Rough hune wood, not sanded, dusted nor polished since it was installed, but well loved and aged all the same. Indoors; she was back inside the Apple home. Not much time had passed given by the light in the window. The springs in the worn and frayed couch dug into her back as she shifted, a sharp pain rather than a dull ache, another indication of how little day she'd lost.

Turning her head slightly, Rainbow Dash stared into the three faces hovering over her. Granny Smith was there, her furrowed brow relaxing its wrinkles as Dash came around. Tiny Applebloom was there too, kicked up on her hind legs as tall as she could to see the excitement.

The last face was one Rainbow Dash would never forget as long as she lived. The fuzzy candlelight yellow complexion of her best friend, aqua eyes tinged red from recent tears.

"Oh Dashie!" Fluttershy cried, clinging to her with a relieved sob "I-- I thought I'd-- I'd-- You--"

"GAHK!" Dash was fully awake now, pawing at the couch beneath her.

"Oh, are you all right? Tell me what's wrong. Do you need me to get you something? Granny Smith made some nice tea."

"Get off my wing!" Shouted Dash. Fluttershy quickly jumped up, removing her knee from the bandaged blue wing, blushing with shame.

"Boy, am I glad y'er back." Applebloom chirped. "We though you was a goner fer sure!"

"We thought no such thing." Granny Smith leaned down, adjusting something on Dash's forehead while staring intently into her eyes, checking her pupils. Dash couldn't tell what she was doing; she couldn't feel anything above her neck except a fierce throb. "Y'er just a bit concussed is all. If I've learned a thing or two about Pegasus ponies in my day, it's that y'all have got hard heads. You should be right as rain tomorrow."

"Ugh. What happened?" Dash sat up with Fluttershy's help.

"Should have warned ya about my sister. She's got a mighty fierce temper."

"She tried to kill me!" Dash remembered the finishing blow.

"Nah, she jus' meant to rough ya up a bit. Y'er a lucky one; kids around town call her 'the Bone Breaker.'"

Dash's eyes went a bit wider. Fluttershy, sitting next to her friend on the couch, clung to her leg tighter, afraid of staying in a home with a psychotic thug. Memories of Claw's menacing threats and his subsequent fight, and demise, with Skystriker came gurgling back. Seeing two stallions tear each other apart in a life and death display of pure power was mesmerizing. But a little filly earning that reputation?

"That's quite enough, Applebloom. Go get your brother now."

"Yes, Granny." Applebloom tore up the stairs on legs half a foot too short for the steps.

"Now, sweet pea, can you recall what happened? AJ ain't said a word since Mac drug her back to the house." Granny pulled up a chair.

"Um, I think so." Dash gently touched her forehead. "I know I got in a fight with Applejack, but I can't recall-- I mean, I don't remember who started it."

"Start at the end an' work your way back." Granny suggested.

"Well, I remember her giving me that little love tap, that's for sure. And I remember Fluttershy screaming."

"I thought she was going to kill you." Fluttershy nuzzled her friend.

"Stop, that tickles!" Dash giggled. "I know we fought. Before that... I was mocking her. I don't remember what I said, but I know I was making fun of her accent."

"Oh, Dashie." Fluttershy scolded, giving her tongue a click. How could she? They were guests here.

"Yeah, not my finest hour." Dash rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry."

Granny Smith frowned, clearly not happy but willing to let it slide. "So you two exchanged words..."

"Yeah. Before that... I don't know. I woke up and you guys were gone. I found AJ while Fluttershy was singing. And then we started fighting."

"You were fighting over my singing?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yea-- No, that's not right. There was something else she was doing. Applejack was... crying?"

Little Mac reached the bottom of the stairs right then, pausing to hear the end of the story. Granny turned back to look at him as they exchanged a few glances and unspoken words. He never came in the room though; Fluttershy knew he didn't like to be around her. Yet another pony in the world who hated her.

"You sure 'bout that, young'un?" Granny asked Dash once more.

"Yeah, positive. She was listening to Fluttershy sing and was standing there crying."

"Inerestin'." Granny mulled, resting her hooves on top of her cane. "She ain't cried since 'fore--"

"I'm goin' back to work, Granny." Little Mac spoke more words than he had since the Pegasi arrived.

With that he swished his tail and left. Fluttershy glanced at the door after him, eyes darting from Granny, to the door, to the stairs, and back to Rainbow. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she wasn't about to leave Rainbow Dash's side; not again. This was all her fault. Another pony she loved had almost died because of her.

Granny sighed, rising to her creaky legs. "I suppose I'll get Sunday supper started. We'll have a short day today. Fluttershy, care to give me a hoof in the kitchen?" Fluttershy shook her head, pink locks swishing back and forth. "Suit yourself. Don't let that one fall asleep till bedtime." Granny pointed to Rainbow Dash, jabbing her lightly in the ribs with her cane. Both the girls grinned as Granny turned, heading for the kitchen.

"You could help if you wanted. I'm okay here." Dash held her friend's hoof.

"Nuh-uh." Fluttershy shook her again once more. "I'm not leaving you side." She leaned in, resting her head on Dash's shoulder, clinging tightly to her foreleg. "Not again. I can't let it happen again."

"What, you think AJ's going to come back for round two?"

"No, not that. I can't--" Fluttershy's voice trailed up the octave scale, cutting out with a shudder.

"Hey, what is it?" Dash noticed the tears.

"I thought everything would be alright since Apollyon died. He was a murderer, he killed ponies. He took my mother from me. He was this monster that let you put a face on evil. And with him gone, everything would be alright. But it's not, because I know the truth." Fluttershy could barely choke the words out through the tears. "I'm the evil one!"

"Fluttershy, hey! Don't say stuff like that."

"But it's true. Every pony I love dies, or leaves me, or hates me. I'm a worse monster than Apollyon ever was. I make Discord look like a cartoon villain!"

"Fluttershy, no. Come on, you're not evil. Please stop crying. I don't know what to say when you get like this." Dash stroked her friend's hair.

She didn't know what to say. When something was bothering Fluttershy, she fixed it. If a bully was teasing her, she beat their face in. If she had trouble with a flying exam, she gave Fluttershy an extra bump draft.

But how do you help some pony when their enemy was inside? How do you combat doubt, depression, and fear, when all you can see if fluff and feathers? When something was bothering Rainbow Dash she went to Fluttershy. So who did Fluttershy go to?

They lay there for a long time, Fluttershy sobbing gently into Dash's chest and shoulder, staining her cerulean coat a darker shade. It gave Fluttershy release; it gave Dash time to think. Finally the pastel pony cried herself out, and they huddled together like emotional life rafts.

"Feel better?"

"A bit." Fluttershy sniffed.

"I hate crying. But it makes me feel good sometimes, like when I think about mommy."

"I hope she's okay."

"She's fine. Just you wait and see; when we get back, we'll go and see her and tell her everything. And you know what she'd say?"

"What?"

"She'll agree with me. You're not evil, Fluttershy. Far from it. You're the kindest, most peaceful and innocent little pony that was ever born." Dash smiled.

"But things keep happening around me! Ponies keep dying! Or getting hurt. Or leaving." Fluttershy welled up again.

"'Every pony dies, Dashie.'"

"What?" Fluttershy pulled back.

"That's what you told me one time. 'Every pony dies.' you said. 'The solution is to live with enough love that you’ll never be forgotten.'"

"But I don't want them to die!"

"Well hay, neither do I, Fluttershy. Do you think I want my mommy to have cancer? Don't you think I'd trade a thousand careers as a Wonderbolt just to make her better?" Dash sighed, rolling over.

She pulled Fluttershy close, lying nose to nose. It gave her a few moments to put her thoughts together. She didn't understand this. Coach McHard Cheese talked about 'philosophy' sometimes, and most of it went over Dash's head. But sometimes he'd take the time to explain it to his students that were willing to listen. Dash didn't get it, but she listened anyways, trying to stay on Coach's very slim good side.

"But... I don't think life works like that. Ponies just die. Or get hurt. Or leave. Princess Celestia isn't going to do anything about it; I don't think she can. Not if she wants us to be free. There's more to life than just breathing. We have to make mistakes; we have to die. That's called living." Fluttershy just stared into her magenta eyes. "That's what Coach says, anyways.

The tears slowly dried as Fluttershy contemplated her own words fired back at her by a friend. Yes, every pony dies; she'd discovered this the hard way. But does that make their love any less? Even if Fluttershy caused their deaths, even if she were pure evil, does that make their lives any less meaningful?

Lives could be impacted by evil, sure. But couldn't they also be touched and leave them better? Wasn't kindness better than pain, small gestures better than grand? Fluttershy was just a little pony; she couldn't make that big of an impact anyways. It's not like she was capable of saving the world four times in a row and once as a doppelganger in another dimension.

There was still pain, though. There would always be pain. Fluttershy didn't trust herself. How could she? Though Rainbow Dash's words echoed a truth she'd once known to be true, the doubt in her heart would always whisper 'You're the one, you drove them all away.'

Peace and love; pain and anger. That question had yet to be settled in Fluttershy's own heart. The same for Rainbow Dash and Applejack as well. They all had a difficult and uncertain journey ahead of them, a path as blank as the cutie marks on their flanks, or as bright and wonderful as the future

But for one tiny pony, eavesdropping by the stairs, the answer was clear. She would love. Not because there was no other choice, but because love was worth sharing.

She didn't know what was going on most of the time. No pony wanted to talk to a three year old filly. Most of the time her sister treated her like she didn't exist. But Applebloom knew she was loved, even if they were no longer here to show it. And that was good enough for her.

Comments

[Theater Critic]

Is this... A fanfic that doesn't ship Flutterhsy and RD?

YES!

[Meepaa]

Friendship truly is magic. AND NOT IN A SHIPPING WAY! YESSSSSS!