Previously on "Who We Become" (Coda edition) · 3:57pm Feb 7th, 2021
For people who want to read Coda, but don't want to read everything that comes before it (or for people who want a refresher). Obviously, this is nothing but spoilers for earlier WWB stories (namely Playing House and Thicker Than Water) so take caution if you haven't read those and plan on it.
Trigger warning: Sexual assault, alcoholism, suicide attempt.
When Fluttershy was fifteen, her mom died. Her alcoholic stepfather abused and eventually raped her. She put up with it for years until Sunset Shimmer learned about the abuse (though not yet the sexual assault) and got her out of his house. Fluttershy moved in with Sunset, and the two started a relationship. Unknown to them at the time, Fluttershy was already pregnant. When they found out, Fluttershy decided to keep the child, and Sunset decided to support her in this, the two of them planning to be moms together. Fluttershy got a job at the animal shelter she volunteered at, and the couple were happy with the family life they were building. Upon learning they would have a girl, they settled on the name Sky Shimmer.
A car crash saw the end of their dream, as Fluttershy miscarried. The two turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism, both of them drinking heavily and withdrawing from their friends. Eventually they broke up, with Fluttershy moving in with Rainbow. During this time, Fluttershy began working as the manager for Rainbow's new punk band, Bitchette. The band consisted of Rainbow on lead guitar and vocals, Lightning Dust on bass, Lemon Zest on drums, and Windfall (a middle school friend of Rainbow's) on rhythm guitar. Fluttershy, who had taken guitar lessons with Sunset, would occasionally play and write songs with the band in addition to managing them.
Although Fluttershy and Sunset got back together around the holiday season, they would break up again a few months later due to Sunset not supporting Fluttershy's decision to leave her job and college career to be a full time band manager. Fluttershy secured a tour and recording time for Bitchette, and the band left Everton. With their departure, Sunset went back to Equestria where she started a new relationship with Princess Twilight and Fluttershy, who were already engaged at the time.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy continued touring with the successful Bitchette. Although Lightning Dust would leave the band – to be replaced by Gilda – the band continued to have success, and Fluttershy made a highly successful career herself as their manager, producer, and occasional co-song-writer. Despite her success, she increasingly turned to alcohol and casual sex as coping mechanisms for her depression.
For a time, things improved when the Dazzlings join Bitchette on tour. The sirens had discovered that there was a source of Equestrian magic, and touring with the band allowed them to search the country for it while it gave Rainbow and Fluttershy the chance to keep an eye on them. Although initially wary of the sirens, Fluttershy and Sonata enter a casual relationship of sex and emotional support, without ever defining themselves as a couple. With Sonata's help, Fluttershy begins to lift herself out of her depression, but one day, Sonata and the other sirens disappear without warning, causing Fluttershy to rebound into a more serious depression than before. She overdoses on alcohol, needing to be brought to the hospital, and after that stops going to Bitchette shows, choosing to instead wait in the hotel while the band plays.
One night when she checks on Fluttershy, Rainbow finds Fluttershy working on music. The two decide to start their own project together, both of them singing and writing the music while Fluttershy writes all the lyrics as an outlet for everything going on with her. Their sessions give Fluttershy a new sense of purpose, and she begins to do marginally better. During this time, she develops a closer friendship with Lemon Zest, who regularly sleeps in the same bed as Fluttershy and cuddles with her. During a trip back to Everton while Rainbow has a date with Flash Sentry – who is himself in a band called The Washouts fronted by Lightning Dust that Bitchette takes on tour – Fluttershy goes out with Lemon Zest. She interprets it as a date and kisses Lemon Zest at the end, which prompts Lemon Zest to admit she just thought they were friends. She explains that she has a lot of trouble seeing the line between friends and lovers, but that she's actually asexual and aromantic. Fluttershy leaves, and grows distant with Lemon Zest as a result.
In the following weeks, Fluttershy's condition worsens again, and she habitually avoids Lemon Zest. Both Bitchette and The Washouts come together to stage an intervention for Fluttershy, and they propose she goes back to Everton to focus on her mental health. Fluttershy agrees and asks to be alone. In the morning, Rainbow finds her passed out next to her bed with an empty bottle of pills nearby. They rush her to a hospital.
While she's unconscious, Fluttershy has a vivid dream about a life where Sky Shimmer lived and she and Sunset never broke up. Although it's not without problems, she's genuinely happy. At the end, she meets with Sky, who tells her that she has to choose between her two lives. She realizes that even if she's happy in the dream life, there are people who still need her, and she decides to go back to her usual waking life. She wakes up to find Rainbow and the others in the hospital room, and they discuss their future. They agree that they're going to stop allowing alcohol backstage, and that Fluttershy will go into therapy once they're back in Everton. In exchange, Fluttershy will continue to be on the tour, which she sees as the only thing in her life holding her together. She's reminded that the band is her family, and that they all love her, and she resolves to get better for their sake as well as her own.
That sums up the major events leading up to Coda! Go read it here!
What the fuck is a coda
5449565
It's the end of a song, also called an outro
5449568
Ok
Thought it was a meme or something
Honestly, thank you so much for the recap. I've been really looking forward to Coda, but at the same time I don't know if I have the emotional fortitude to go back and re-read Thicker Than Water.
Even though, like many of your fans I'm a member of Team It's Mostly Fluttershy's Fault I can't help but really hope Coda represents a positive change for Fluttershy. She does deserve to be happy! If you disappoint me, so help me I'll... uh... keep reading cuz I can't help myself.
Seriously, though, very hyped for the new story! Can't wait to see what happens!
5449601
Yeah, I always try to do these recaps. It's a long series, and I want people to feel comfortable jumping in at any time, plus it's easy to forget things.
I hope this story helps you see Fluttershy in a different light. She's the character I relate to more than anyone else in this series, and I admittedly get really burnt out on reading the hate for her...
Even though your stories are usually far from happy, I'm always excited to read them! You're a terrific author and I really appreciate the emotional depth you put into them.
I know not everyone likes what you're doing with human Fluttershy, but I refuse to put her on a pedestal. From my POV, you're making her a real, authentic person. With character flaws just like the rest of us. She's made some bad decisions, but I can also see what pushed her to that point.
5449624
That's exactly what I try to do with my characters, Fluttershy included. It means a lot to hear from people who get that, so thank you, this comment cheered me up
As someone on Team It's Mostly Sunset's Fault i'm super hyped for this thank you.