The Other World

by FlimsySpark

A life on earth

Fluttershy was still a little filly, when one night, she had a strange dream. Deeply asleep, her breath appeased and her mind lifeless, she suddenly felt some sort of peculiar consciousness returning to her. The untameable swirl of dream seized her mind.

She saw herself in an obscure space, surrounded by a deep night. Maybe she was in a forest, maybe she was in a town, it was hopeless to determine. A disturbing glow started to throb in the night. Fluttershy cried out of terror. She turned back, but the glow was still behind her. She tipped again, panicked, and the greenish light's source shirked from her sight once more. Breathless, concerned, she ended realizing that the pulsating light was coming from her flank. A drop of cold sweat flew along her spine, freezing her body. A pressure rose into her chest, the anguish was stifling. The pale green that emanated from her flank was winking, letting run for an instant that weird colour on her young pegasi's face, diving her the next instant into the most complete darkness. Paralyzed, Fluttershy saw the butterflies – those so precious butterflies which came to save her, and free her from her fears – disconnect their wings from her body, slowly, as if they were tearing from her flesh. Then, they were now there, fluttering in front of her eyes in a way so unreal. On her flank only remained a shadow, like a memory of their shape. The butterflies's wings flapped in a strangely slow manner, like a heart beat. The glow which emanated from them didn't wink anymore, allowing to see them graciously ascend in height.

Suddenly they left posthaste, letting her in the dark. « Fluttershy... Fluttershy... » A rough and almost inaudible whisper echoed in the shadow. Fluttershy started running after the butterflies, too frightened to stay in the boundless obscurity, too scared to stay alone among the whispers. « Why ?! » she said with a crying. « Come back ! My friends, come back ! I don't understand ! » The butterflies went so apace, they were far ahead, tremulous gleam. All of a sudden, the light seemed to finally bind on the night's veil, and smoothly, started to twinkle, spilling a bit more of greenish clarity around. « Fluttershy... » The voice was sweet but blackness made it distressing. It wasn't a familiar voice, it seemed light, but ancient, and weary. Fluttershy, trotting on her little hooves which sounded like a ripple on the ground, watching ahead, behind, all around her with a panicked look, arrived finally below the luminous butterflies. Her legs shivered out of control. She shriveled on the floor, and hid her face under her soft pink hair. She wimpered with her little voice in her mane. « My friends... My friends... » Calming down a little bit, she raised her head and thanks to the phosphorescent butterflies which were fluttering in circle six feet above her, she could see a wooden door, closed, in front of her. The work was beautiful, inscribed with elegant interlacing, and natural patterns. Some round nails showed a few reflections.

The whisper resonated again, more pressing.
« Fluttersshy ! Flutterssshy ! » and in one horrible creaking the door opened, breathing in a huge amount of air. The wind was whistling, deafening, the small pegasi had her heart beating like a drum. While the door in opening slammed a deafening blow, she glimpsed what was behind it, it was a row of weird and twisted trees, and she fancied seeing...
« Eeeeek ! » Breathless, Fluttershy had straightened in her bed. Close to her, a little patched plush, in the shape of a rabbit, had fallen on the floor. The pony picked it up briskly and hugged it against her heart, the eyes full of tears. She huddled under her blanket covered with pink and yellow small peas, hiding her face. Appeased by fabrics's softness, and her bed's warmth, she ended up dozing off, the cheeks warm, and the muzzle close against the small rags rabbit smell.

The next day, a sweet sun came warming the cheek of the small yellow pegasi. Everything seemed quiet. The tree which was her house clattered a creak. Fluttershy opened her eyes. Her little straw bed was disorderly. The quilt was almost entirely on the floor. There wasn't much things in that large wooden hollow. A small pink stool where she put her rabbit during the day, was standing in front of the straw bed, and beside it, a flower pot contained three withered daisies. On the wall, was hooked an old cracked parchment. It could be read « My darlings, I am gone picking some flowers, I will be back when the sun will be at its highest. Angel will look after you Fluttershy. » Outside the chirping of the birds could be heard, and the swish of the leaves. The forest was lively and pleasant. A woodpecker suddenly came perch himself on the edge of the round aperture which served as entrance. At that height, only birds and squirrels could sneak up to the hollow. Quick and restless, the woodpecker knocked with its beak some small hits with a pleasant sound on the wood. « knock knock knock, knock knock ! ». Still a bit drowsy, the small pony opened wide and inquiring eyes toward the little bird, and sat up straight using her two front hooves. « Oh ! Angel ! Look ! » she said with her little child's voice. She grabbed the plush by clamping it with one of her hooves, and walked at the aperture which was two steps away from the bed. Doing this the blanket completely fell on the floor. « Good morning » said Fluttershy to the bird with a jolly smile. The bird whistled two lovely notes. « Say hello to our friend, Angel, be polite. » She raised with her hoof the old plush, with its small embroidered pink muzzle, and two black buttons for the eyes. Sadly the bird flied away at the moment when the patched rabbit came nearby him. « Oh... Goodbye... »

The pony was once again alone. Outdoor the sun shone, but her small wooden hollow suddenly seemed gray to her, and awfully empty. It has been several days since she had carried with her, her most precious things, and decided to live into the forest. She couldn't resolve herself to return up in the clouds with the other pegasi. It almost seemed crazy to her, wanting to stay up there among the winds, the storms, under the hardness of the sun, lost into the sky's limitless blue. She often wondered why she was born with wings, why the fate mocked her so much ? That time when shaken by Rainbow Dash, she had tumbled out of control toward the ground, she had almost died. Her first thought has been for her mother, and then she remembered having said to herself « Provided that heaven will not be in sky ! » The next moment, a myriad of fragile, soft and powdery wings, had from everywhere brushed against her body, and without really knowing how, Fluttershy had flied, at a few inches barely from the ground, carried by a hundred of butterflies. Or maybe she suddenfly started to levitate ?

Fluttershy put back with a bite the blanket in its place, and arranged it with her front hooves, so that it will be well flattened. Like every morning, she strived to gather the straw and compact it so that it will keep in shape her makeshift bed. A hot air fraught of green redolences rushed into the wooden hollow. The parchment on the wall fluttered for a moment, making a sound of slapped sheet. Fluttershy took in her maw the patched rabbit, and pushed the small pink stool at the center of the room. She sat on it facing the wall, and took her plush under her arm. « Mommy... » she thought. And a sob broke into her throat. She remembered, when, as a baby, her mother cought her by her diapers and laid her on the small stool to make her eat. She always had her mane undone in the morning, her long silvery blue mane. Unlike the other babies, the little Fluttershy didn't wag her wings trying to fly. Each morning, she liked to make fall what her mommy served to her, and crawl on the floor to eat. Once, her mother had found her asleep on the house's floor. The kid had kept grass's strands from the dinner and had made a little makeshift bed for herself. Starling Shy, that was her mother's name, had woken her up the next morning bringing her by a small white plush with long ears. « Look Fluttershy, his name's Angel. It's a little rabbit, and just as you he likes grass a lot, and also the trees and... » « Angl ? Gwass ? » Starling Shy had smiled like only a mommy knows in front of her drooling baby, and had kissed her daughter on the forehead.

Some big salty tears flew along the pegasus's cheeks. She hadn't notice, and wiped out her face with a backhoof. Why ? Why did she disappeared ? Fluttershy recalled how much her mother loved to go on earth, and see the nature and... This day like always she was out to bring her back wonders of the world downwards. Colours like there isn't in the rainbows, with fragrances soft and sweet, fresh and delicious verdancy, and also, she narrated her how was the little critters she met. It was the stories she preferred. Here, in the sky, not much animals could be seen besides some birds. Seated for hours on the cloud where lied her house, Fluttershy, wrapped in diapers, looked downwards and dreamed about what her mother could be doing. This one day, the sun had risen very high in the blue, and she had waited, waited. Her father, asleep, a newspaper on the face, gently breathed in his hammock. But her mother didn't come back. It had taken a few hours more before her father wakes up and starts worrying. He dropped her to the Wonderbolt's basement, because he worked here, and with one or two of his friends, he left to search for Starling Shy.

Fluttershy had seen the sun set down, and the night fall. Alone with a secretary who was typing out, mechanically, she was afraid. And outside all those great outfielders sunk, at full speed, rushing in the void, leaving, appearing again, in an endless stream. She was scared. Where was daddy ? Where was mommy ? She was hungry, but she didn't dare say anything. She didn't dare crying, because she didn't know that place. And in her moist diapers, she hugged very hard Angel against her heart. The lady was smiling at her sometimes, and Fluttershy each time was about to burst into tears. But she refrained herself. She refrained herself, because she was going to see again her mommy, wasn't she ? And her mommy would take her into her arms, and would drive her to take a bath, and she would finally, sleep, and she would hear her mommy sing...
When the stars appeared in the sky, she was already sleeping like a log. They hadn't found her mommy. And her father that day, barely dared looking at her when he came back, late, covered with leaves, some twigs stuck into his mustache, and gloomy eyes. He gave her food without saying anything, the kid chewed and swallowed, but she didn't know if she was hungry anymore. He put her in bed, he kissed her on the forehead and closing the door, left her in the darkness and the silence. She couldn't see the hanging butterflies' mobile that spinned above her cradle. And there wasn't her mother's voice. There wasn't her odor. There was only the round and steady head of the little white rabbit. « Mom... » said the so small pegasi with pink hair, before falling asleep again, exhausted. She didn't had the time to think about the muffled sobs which echoed behind the door of her bedroom.

« What good can it be, thinking about that ! » Fluttershy left the small pink wool. She reset it in its spot, and placed Angel over it, well leaned to the wooden wall. She smiled at it gloomily. It was her mother that had sewed her the coverlet. And when her father had carved in wood the toy stool, her mother had painted it pink. It was her favourite colour.
Fluttershy realized that she needed to go out for a little breath of fresh air, to forget she was here alone, and to recover the forest's magic, teeming with life, and adorable creatures, so comprehensive and so mild. She had finally discovered everything her mother told her about, the greenery, the squirrels, the flowers... It was time to make the dream come true, whatever would say her father. Fluttershy kissed Angel on the forehead : « I will tell you everything when I'll be back, I promise. And after, I will make a rose tea. Besides, I am going to pick some ! ». Her little voice was gleeful and soft. She would always keep herself away from staying dismal. She drew near the aperture which faced the forest, and as always had a bit giddy while looking toward the ground. But it was that or else risking to be found out by somepony. Over here at least, she would not bump into a pegasus, but neither would she bump into a pony. Fluttershy started to flap feverishly her wings, and slipping on the side along a nearby branch, came out in broad daylight. The sun dazzled her a bit, and one of her hooves skidded. « Aaaaa... » the small pegasus fell like a ragdoll. But right down, in the direction of her free falling body, was a little snail, innocently crawling on the soil. « Ho ! No ! » thought Fluttershy. Being scraped by the branches which cross her course, she drew out all the strenght she could find, and tried again flapping her wings. It was just enough to alter her path, and to crash at one inch from the little snail.

All red, her head topsy-turvy, and spread out on the ground, the small pegasus said to the snail : « Excuse-me Mister. » The snail simply smiled kindly as all reply, and slowly crawled toward the pegasus. It rubbed friendly its head against the yellow haired cheek. « Ho. How nice it is. » thought Fluttershy. She recalled how much good it did to her, having left the flight school. No more laughters. No more faces distorted by a grin. No more hooves pointing at her. She sighed. Maybe she had sorrowful memories, and maybe she felt terribly ashamed having ran away far from home, but even her father harshly gazed at her, making her feel how much the flight was a vital matter, and that taking an interest in terrestrial life was foolishness. That's what every pegasus made her feel. Maybe she could fly ? How to know that ? Each time she started flapping her wings, she remembered her father's proud look on the Wonderbolt's runway, and the look he glanced when she would talk about earthly life, and yet appeared her comrades's hilarious faces. Flying, but to do what ? It didn't interest her, and yet for the others pegasi, it seemed to be the most important thing in the world. « Mister snail, why would somepony in this world prefer running through the sky's void rather than enjoying wonders of the earth ? Up there it is blue, white, grey, sometimes black, well there's a few rainbows, but down there, safe on the ground, you can see it too. I don't do it on purpose, truly, I try... but I cannot understand. I mean, I know that it makes all the pegasi felicitous, and that they feel special this way but... ». The snail had gone back into its shell, all against the young pony, and seemed evidently to have fallen asleep. Fluttershy put a hoof on her mouth to stifle a small amused laugh, in order to not waking it up. « It's so marvelous being able to be happy thus, without really caring about world, explanations, other's thoughts... » she said to herself inwardly.

She had placed the small shell under cover of a root so that nopony inadvertently crush it, and she had left scampering through the woods, on the path of a slightly denser spot, where grew one or two rosebushes. She would bring back for the tea some bouquet of flowers in her maw, and after that, maybe she would take Angel with her to enjoy a sunny glade. She often hesitated to take it, because, a bit of rain or wind would suffice tearing once more the fabric. Once more, and the so precious gift, the lifelong best friend, would be no more than shreds and pieces of cotton. She was trying to sew, clumsily, with a spool shortly emptied, and a needle, on large leaves. She hoped someday to be enough capable in order to stitch her friend, and give it a makeover. It was one of these petty dreams which mattered for her, but that nopony seemed to understand. Her father would often say « You look so much alike your mother... » and he sighed, watching his little baby devouring picture books full of terrestrial animals, trying to sew two pieces of fabric together with a spaghetti, and leaning at the edge of clouds to look downwards. Fearing for her life, he had planted wiring all around their cloud, and the small Fluttershy frolicked in that space, without ever trying to fly away.

All that time spent dreaming to have her four hooves on the earth finally took shape, and the young pegasus hadn't felt so light since numerous years. This forest was quiet, there had never been any visitor, it was paradise. She often wondered why the touch of others was hurting her that much, why loving them with strenght, taking an interest in them, even envying them, didn't suffice to arouse one ounce of kindliness for her. Her tender nature had been many a time exploited, mocked, and the fear, little by little, had seized her. The reproachful gaze of her father had something to do with it, but above all were all those silent nights where she kept her eyes open, unable to fall asleep, seeing shadows surrounding her. Since Starling Shy had disappeared, the poor kid had little by little lost any sense of safeness, and the distance which was born between her father and her, made her roughly discover loneliness.
A lot would have say that she was lucky. It was true that her father made good meals, asked her if her school grades were good, helped with her homework, looked after her if she went out to have fun, and always bought what she needed. But she didn't have the right to talk about what she liked, what she didn't like, she didn't have the right to evoke her mother, nor the terrestrial life, and it was absolutely necessary that she became an ordinary pegasus. That she learnt to fly, that she had ambition, and her father maybe, would smile again. Yes, maybe that would be the last way to draw a smile on the ex-Wonderbolt's face, retired in order to take care of his daughter, a smile of pride and love.

Fluttershy was walking peacefully along the woods, thoughtful, feeling sometimes a few sunrays warm up her mane, smelling without thinking about it the moss's moisture and the green perfume of some crushed wild grass under her hoof. This life without anypony seemed so simple to her, so free, that she began to dream that her past no longer existed, nor the people she knew, nor her father, and that she will go on thus treading the quiet ground, for eternity. « Forgive me, my sweet daddy... » she tought. « I don't want to hurt anypony, but... but... it's me who's hurt up there. » A big growl broke the course of her thinking. The pegasus stopped. A heavy and leisurely step was getting close to the spot where she stood. A hoarse breath resounded, and bushes started to stir. Fluttershy realized that she was holding her breath since the beginning, and started gasping for air. At last, the bushes didn't stir anymore, and there was no more sound. The young pegasus let escape out a little sigh. Then a great brown bear straightened up just at her left, arising roughly from the bushes, while uttering a terrible growl.
« Ho well I... so to speak... » stammered Fluttershy, pressing herself against one tree's trunk.
The bear heavily dropped his body on the floor, and started sniffing suspiciously the pegasus's mane. He opened a great maw getting ready to utter another terrible grunt, and to give her a paw whack, but the small pony had undertook strumming his chin's bottom with her hoof.
« I am sure that you are a very kind bear, I am delighted to meet you. ». Popeyed, the bear held his motion, and ended up relaxing under the effect of the rough hoof that was now scratching his neck, and in one glance, back on the ground, the bear allowed himself to be scraped on the belly. Any aggressiveness that could have run through the bear's body, had evaporated in an instant.

The pegasus was so small that she had to use her two front hooves to rub down the brown monster's tummy, who had the relaxed face of a baby. Fluttershy had been of course very afraid at first, but at the sight of the beautiful brown coat, she remembered how much all the creatures of this earth were wonderful beings, shaping their own way through nature in order to live a life of peace and beauty, like her. It was like this since she knew how to dream, even before knowing how to speak or walk, she felt close to all these wild earthly beings. A lot would say that it was dangerous to consider every earth's being as nice, and to treat them as such without caring about their teeth, their claws, but Fluttershy had the intimate conviction that every thinking being had perforce a heart, and that every heart could only want its own happiness. So, why not bring it that happiness, to these creatures, instead of imagining things about them ? « Everyone has the right to get some goodness » she said to herself. It didn't mean that she was never afraid, but her determination to be more fair and more generous in her actions toward every Earth's being, often surpassed the fear she could feel. The brown bear wasn't confounding her : the animal displayed a smug smile, and half closed eyes, trustful and relaxed. The firm scraping of his coarse hair, where a few bugs often went tickling him, was a pleasure and a relief for him. He didn't know well who was this small pony with wings, but he said to himself that following her could prove wise if he wanted again enjoying her care. It was the first time that an animal didn't try to flee from him, or to give him way while shivering, or simply to defend itself tooth and nail. It was new for the bear. The all small yellow pegasus had a sweet and pleasant voice, which add to her charm.

« There, there. A bit of itches under the arms ? » said Fluttershy merrily. The bear stretched out his heavy killer paws and let himself be scratched again. The pegasus gently stopped and lied her four hooves on the floor. « In fact, I was going to pick some roses in order to make a tea. Would you like to have some tea with me ? Ho, and of course I will introduce Angel to you. » The pegasus was radiant, friendly. She suddenly pulled herself together. « Ho, but maybe that you don't like tea... ! And it is out of doubt unmannerly, as we don't know each other, isn't it ? But hum... you may not even know what is tea... Then... In that case... After all, if you don't mind, or at least, you would even enjoy... Me I would appreciate naturally... But hum... You know... » The bear watched agape the small pink and yellow being get blushing cheeks and lose herself in speculation with a constrained face. He lifted up and scratched his head, not hearing Fluttershy's last sentences. « So... would you like ? » she said, with wide shiny eyes, and a begging pout, followed by a large smile. It was the bear's turn to feel constrained. For the first time in his life, he was even a bit scared. Seemingly the young winged lady was inviting him, he didn't really get why, and she was now staring at him with a lovable face. The animal had never been prepared answering such an invitation. Ho, of course, he had some great days in this forest, where he felt hearty toward the woods's others dwellers, and where he had even smiled at a badger family which was passing by, but there, he was trapped. The brown gawk nodded while twirling his big clawed fingers. The wide blue eyes of the pegasus got him right.

Fluttershy, delighted, feeling less alone and more overjoyed than ever, started trotting, accompanied by the bear, speaking about the woods's beauty, and about the pleasure it was to see the mosses's colour, the shape of some holes in the trees where were hiding birds and rodents, and about how much the berries's and flowers's fragrance was deeper, and more bewitching in the forest. The bear, a bit distraught, was nodding, and discovered again, surprised, the forest that he had travelled through since his younger years without wondering all of these questions and without seeing all of these things. He started to actually like the small pony, and her amazed and soft nature. He was being enthusiastic without noticing it.
« Ho, we have arrived. » Our two friends were standing at the edge of a small luminous clearing, covered with clovers and wild grasses, dotted with some flowers, where a cork oak covered with apricot coloured roses majestically sat in state. It was one of these sarmentose rosebushes, the ones that form into climbing lianas, that had risen along the oak so as to reach the sweet sunrays. Fluttershy was lost here at first, before finding a suitable shelter, and she took care remembering the path leading to this little piece of heaven. « It is beautiful, isn't it ? » she shaid. « If you want to, you can help me picking roses, but not too much of course, four or five should suffice. We must not hurt the rosebush. » The bear, curious, came closer to the oak, and began sniffing one of the rose within his muzzle's reach. The scent pleased him. Fluttershy nodded. « The smell is very delicate, isn't it ? » She crunched one tie of a rose, seizing thereby the floral booty she had came picking for the tea. But the flowers were quite high, and rather than flutter, she wanted to encourage her new friend. She put the flowers in front of her hooves. « Can you pick three of these for me, please ? » A sweet growl meant « yes » and the bear started to quietly choose the roses before picking them.

Fluttershy had a smile at the sight of the brown bear sniffing, observing the flowers, as an expert, but her smile was troubled. There, at the clearing's border, that she could see behind the tree, the air seemed to undulate as the surface of water. The small pegasus blinked, but the vision persisted. A white shape seemed to come closer from the inside of the forest, slowly, strangely, but the dim air impeded her from discerning it. Fluttershy left for a moment her friend focused on the roses's perfume, and as mesmerized, she drew near the border step by step. Behind the dim and wavelike screen, the trees didn't looked like the others around, and the white shape was getting closer, more, more...
Finally, the young pegasus was very close to the distortion, and she could see. A white rabbit seemed to stand right in front of her, and was strangely staring at her, from the other side of the air's liquid surface. He had a grumpy look, and had a pink nose. He seemed somewhat familiar...
« Grrowwwmm ? »
Fluttershy jumped, and the next moment, the ripple of the air, as the rabbit, had disappeared. It was her new bear friend which was calling her. He held four roses in his big paw, by the stem, and was waving them to show Fluttershy he had accomplished his mission.
« Ho... Of course, I'll be right there. » she said, her mind lost.
The small pegasus went back trotting, disturbed, to the brown bear which was still relaxed and friendly. He had fallen for the roses's scent, and seemed to find back his kid bear's soul. Fluttershy smiled at him, and picked up the roses in her maw, gently. But what had she saw ? Was she dreaming awake ? The trees she believed she had seen reminded her of something... Was it something she had saw in a dream ? But she didn't remember having dreamt. The feeling was elusive, hard to hold. The memory itself of what she had just seen seemed to vanish from her memory, to slip off her hooves and get back into the forgotten parts of her mind. The two friends started to walk in order to get back to the woods, to the tree where Fluttershy had settled. She was pensive, thoughtful, and when the glade wholly disappeared from their sight, she forgot everything. As they were peacefully sinking in the woods, to a rose tea which was the promise of an earthly life, pleasant, calm and without adventures, in the sweet clearing decorated with roses, just at its border, the white rabbit was waiting.

Author's Note:

Dear readers, as this story has been originally written in french, there may be some mistakes or misuses in that english translation. Don't hesitate to report anything that sound odd or inappropriate.
Enjoy your reading, and tell me what you've felt or thought, I'll be glad to hear your feedback.

If you're hooked by this story, and want to read the next chapter soon, don't be shy : there's already three chapters written, two are just waiting to be translated. I'll be delighted to translate the next ones faster if the English readers want me to.

French version : 3/5 chapters are out
English version : 1/5 chapters is out