It was daytime when Fluttershy found herself awake, still groggy with sleep. Dazed, she quickly sat up and scanned her surroundings. How long had she been walking, she had no idea, nor how long it took before sleep finally came and she collapsed with exhaustion, glad to finally take some rest after two days of arduous labour.
Slowly and cautiously (for the Everfree forest was known for being just as dangerous during the day) she crept from her hiding place which she had taken shelter in and began to trudge home, knowing full well she would have to face the anger of her animal friends at not having gathered anymore food for them.
She sighed wearily as she reflected just how much of a failure she had been in her short yet miserable life.
She could do nothing well, unlike her talented friends who each had a talent they would never be out competed in.
Applejacks strong hooves and hardworking attitude made her the best farm hand for miles around. Sweet apple acres would not be a fraction of what it was today without her.
Rarity's unfailing eye for fashion never failed to impress her ever growing line of clients for her dress shop, and made her the subject of many, many magazines and many influential and renowed critics, each of which who praised her to the skies.
Twilight. Princes Celestia's personal student in magic. It didn't take a genius to realise that Princess Celestia, the ruler, didn't just teach anypony.
And Pinkie. The one of a kind super duper party planner of Ponyville (and probably all of Equestria too). Her parties were summed up in one simple word. Incredible. Be it a simple birthday party, or a party commemorating an important royal event. Marriages, peace conferences, gala's you name it.
But Dash took the cake. Dash was the piece de resistance. Dash, was everything good Fluttershy was not and that made them as different as night and day. Dash's flying skills were top notch by Equestria's standards, while Fluttershy's were bottom of the barrel.
Dash would forever receive nothing but admiration from his fellow brethren in Cloudsdale, Fluttershy's beautiful birthplace. Fluttershy, nothing but scorn.
Fluttershy sighed helplessly. There was no point in trying to deny her lack of talent, or the hard fact she could not do anything right.
Her Cutie mark stated her talent with animals, but what kind of animal caretaker was she when she couldn't even find enough food to keep her animal friends from starving to death. Even that, was something she failed at.
She had no talent. Not even in animals and certainly not as a flyer. It was time to stop pretending she did and maybe the cold world around her would develop an inkling of respect for her.
She trudged and trudged, partly in a trance, still lamenting her uselessness and futility. Her friends despite their best efforts, could not change that.
She stopped suddenly, shocked. How long had she been walking she had forgotten but this was not the way back to her cottage.
In fact she did not know where this was, but this was definitely not the right way.
She anxiously glanced around, desperate to reclaim her bearings, when a loud noise which seemed to come from nowhere in particular filled her already fearful heart with dark terror.
Her eyes widened, her breathing quickened, and she ran. Sweat coated her mane as she continued to gallop aimlessly. It did not matter where she was heading, all that mattered to her was that she was alone and lost in the middle of nowhere she knew and the ringing in her ears only seemed to get louder and louder by the second.
Fear silenced her scream, and her wings clamped together rendering her flightless though she would have wanted nothing more than to fly up and away at this moment. Why oh why had she come out here into the Everfree, when she should have known better than anypony the risks.
Time did not exist for Fluttershy as she continued to run.
Her chest was on fire, her heart beating like a maddened drum when something tripped her and she tumbled head first onto the hard, unforgiving earth. And then she was down, flailing her hooves wildly, trying to ward off, trying to cry for mercy as the world turned black around her.
Darkness had fallen by the time Fluttershy came to her senses.
She tensed for more dangers, and for several minutes lay still as a statue trying without success to hold her breath.
When she was certain she heard nothing, slowly she got to her feet and gingerly walked forward, one step at a time out of the silent thicket still sweating heavily.
And that was where she saw in the blackness of night, that tall, forbidding edifice.
It was hidden obscurely by trees which surrounded it on all sides. A tall metal fence surrounded the building, which in the darkness of night seemed to have almost no life.
A small lamppost near what seemed to be a large set of doors, threw a small globe of light around the only lit part of the building and two figures dressed in black stared coldly into the night, oblivious to Fluttershy's presence. Not that they looked like ponies Fluttershy would announce herself to. Something about the looks in their glittering eyes, which gleamed even in the dark night, simply didn't seem right.
Something about the way they stood, frightened her.
Just what was this place. It looked like no building Fluttershy had ever seen before.
Curiosity got the better of Fluttershy, and careful to make as little noise as possible, she crawled silently to the back of the building.
There were no doors in this side of the building, just windows. Barred windows, Fluttershy noted.
Through one of the small, barred windows, Fluttershy saw a small flicker of light. Her heart was in her mouth as she crept closer to the tall metal fence, part of her asking herself why she ever thought this was a good idea.
As she crept closer still, she saw a face. Steeling herself to the gruesome knowledge that this pony might just be one of those daunting figures she saw earlier, she pressed on.
She crawled up to the fence, and the fear on her expression turned to confusion as she took a brief glance at the sad miserable figure she could now see clearly, staring blankly out of the window like some disconsolate prisoner.
The confusion soon turned to disbelief as she realised that this was no stranger. This was a familiar face. This was the pony in Rainbow Dash's anecdotes. This was the pony Rainbow Dash had been warning her time and time again to avoid contact with. The one Rainbow Dash ranted on and on about, and labelled a reckless and immoral sociopath blind to the fact that her actions could and did harm those around her.
"Those that she pretended to care about" said Rainbow Dash angrily during his rants "Those that she shared fake laughter with. Those she pretended to cry for. To think that I ever associated with such a reckless, selfish smart-ass who thought that pushing oneself forward was the only important thing and didn't give a damn about her teammate, let alone others"
And there she was. The sociopath, the know it all, the selfish,reckless smart-ass sat staring into the blackness of the night wearing a mask of guilt, sorrow and regret. Completely oblivious to Fluttershy's presence.
No actor, artist or writer could have done a better job of portraying a remorseful and guilty conscience than the selfish reckless smart-ass who Fluttershy now faced.
Then her disbelief turned to pity and then utter shock as she noticed three large scars on her bleeding face and how she clutched her nose in agony.
They reflected horrific abuse.
At first Fluttershy thought the other pony had not seen her, but as she sadly began to turn away, a desperate voice called to her.
No louder than a whisper, but it did not lack in emotion nor genuineness. It shook and was spoken in a shaky, broken voice.
"I, I'm sorry" said the pony behind the window. "P, please forgive me".