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// 1. The Holy Word 
// Story: Fluttershy's Path to Heaven 
// by Whisper The Saint 
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Chapter 1 – The Holy Word


There are many journeys a pony can make during his lifetime. A journey is nothing more, nothing less than a path, a hardship that ponies need to conquer in order to fulfill their objectives. Some of them made journeys desiring to find health, others to find treasure and others just for the thrill of adventure. Still, none of those journeys are more dangerous and terrifying than the search for the truth. Of course none of them is more rewarding either.

Everypony at a right moment of their lives gets into contact with the light. The light can come in many ways, but the truth that it leads to is always a single one. When the ponies see the light they have two choices: to pursue or ignore it. And many choose to ignore, because they desired to stay in the comfort of their lives, to live and do whatever they wanted to do rather than follow where this path could bring them.

Fluttershy's journey began the day she borrowed a special book in Twilight’s library. Her quest started when she was looking at the shelves of Ponyville Library, wanting to find a new book to read. It was then that a special book caught her attention: it was just waiting on the shelf to be borrowed. It was a bit dusty, showing that it had been some time since it was last borrowed. She looked at its cover: it was black, the words ‘The Holy Word’ written with silver colored words.

“The Holy Word?", asked Fluttershy, her curiosity being clear. She picked the book with her wings, bringing it near Twilight. "Twilight, what is this book about?”

“Fluttershy… I’m not very sure. The only thing I know is that there are some ponies out there who take it very seriously. I think they are called Silverians or something like that. They usually live on the borders of Equestria, so I don't really know much about them.”, answered Twilight, who was busy reading another book.

“Can I borrow it?”, the yellow Pegasus asked.

“Yeah, sure”, said Twilight.

As Fluttershy prepared to leave the room with it, a thought struck Twilight. She quickly removed her eyes from the book, looking at Fluttershy and saying with worry: "Wait a bit... I must warn you that this book... it kind of mess with ponies. Please remember that it’s only a book."

Fluttershy was confused by Twilight reaction. Why did she make this warning? Still, she just nodded in compliance before taking the book back to her cottage. And there she started to read about it…





"In the beginning the Master created the heavens and the earth", read Fluttershy loudly. She was sitting on her couch, wanting to relax after finally doing all her obligations to the animals. Angel bunny was sleeping soundly on his crib, so she would have a lot of time to continue her reading.

As she read the book, she got shocked: the book was harsh in its words, denouncing all the evil that plagued the world of the past. The Master showed himself as an implacable judge, one that would unleash vengeance upon his creation without remorse.

"I always knew that the times of the past were barbaric... so much that the Wendigos almost brought the end of our world. Still, I never expected that things would be like this", Fluttershy said, quickly closing the book with emotion.

Fluttershy put the book on a stand near her, unsure if she wanted to keep reading it. The mare had always been pretty emotive and seeing so much evil made her feel sick. Still... she felt like there was something else in the book, something that she needed to see. After thinking about it for a few moments, she remembered Twilight words 'It's just a book'. "Ah yes, that's right. It’s just a book. I shouldn't let it hold me over like that", said the yellow mare.

Decided that this was just a story, Fluttershy picked it up and continued reading. She was determined to read it until the end…





Time passed. Everyday Fluttershy would spare an hour or two to continue reading The Holy Word... and the more she read, the more questions started pouring at her mind.

The idea that a single, omnipotent and perfect creator made the world bothered her, making she wonder how could such a being even exist. The strangest thing about The Master is that he appeared like two completely different beings: one that was the bringer of love and mercy for all creation, the other was the bringer of divine wrath upon those who broke his laws.

And even through the book had several passages that made her feel uneasy, she just couldn't stop reading it. What started as something just for fun started to feel like an obligation, like she needed to go with it until the end... even if it did bring her emotions she would naturally avoid.

Things then changed when she entered in the New Covenant: it was there that she learned about the messiah, Silver Light.

Silver Light, the son of the creator… the one who took the ultimate price, dying so all the evil in the world could be redeemed. The book taught about his birth, his miracles, his teachings. The book told that his messages touched the hearts of thousands of ponies whenever he went... just like they had touched hers.

"He actually asked for forgiveness for his enemies? The ones who humiliated, tortured and brutally killed him?", Fluttershy asked in shock, tears slowly filling her eyes. She always considered herself to be good pony... but even she wondered if she would be able to do that, especially in the face of her own death.

"Love your enemies, because what value there is in loving those who are your friends...", Fluttershy said loudly again, wondering if she truly did all those things. Did she actually love others like Gilda and Discord for example? She did actually help reform Discord... but was it out of love? Was it really out of desire to help him? Or mostly because Celestia asked her too?

Fluttershy got confused upon her own feelings. She remembered how much hate, how much mean she could be... even to her friends when her buttons were pushed. And there was a stallion, one who simply let himself be taken to a slaughterhouse out of love for others.

While Fluttershy wasn't actually sure if what she was reading was real, she began wishing with all her heart that such a stallion existed. She wanted that a message like this would be relayed through the world. It was strange: she started loving the figure of Silver Light while wanting to dismiss his creator.

She read about how much his followers struggled to relay his word... and how gruesome their endings were. How could so many ponies be motivated to do something, even though they knew the consequences?

'It's just a book.', Twilight words kept going on Fluttershy’s mind. And even with all the evil she had read about in this book, she started to wish it was true. Because of him, just him... what he showed to be. She wished from the depth of her heart that a stallion like this truly existed. There were many ponies who actually preached love... but how many preached love against those who hates you?

She finally arrived at the ending of the book. In it there were promises of a new world, a perfect heaven for the ones who were saved and final punishment for those who weren't. The prospect of the world ending was a new one for the innocent mare, one that deeply worried her. What if a final judgment really existed? Would each of her deeds be put on a scale, for everypony else to see?

She finally closed her book. She truly started to wonder if it really was 'just a book'. Many ponies called the prophecy of Nightmare Moon just a story... and they were all proved wrong in the end. What if there really was a final judgement coming to her world?

The more she thought about it the more sense it made. How could a perfect world such as hers be created without the supervision of a supreme being? Some ponies stood that the alicorns were the ones who created the world, others that it was created in a concentrated mana explosion. Still, each explanation ponies came up with would always create even more questions, questions that would show the need of an external force, something else in order to deliver them. Was this force just 'chance'... or could it be the Master?

Wanting to know more, she decided to do something that the book suggested, something that she never had done before: she prayed.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, put her hooves together and said: "The Master, I am still not sure if you are real... but your book says: 'ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' Please then, show me the truth."

She suddenly felt relieved, like she had just gotten ridden of a heavy burden on her back. Feeling content, she closed the book and went to her bed…





That night Fluttershy had a very vivid nightmare: she saw Ponyville, Canterlot, Cloudsdale. She was standing on top of a mountain, a mountain so tall that it allowed her to see the entirety of Equestria. Suddenly, she saw the skies turning red and began hearing the sound of thunder falling.

Trumpets began to ring in a chorus, like an announcement of the end of the world. Fire started to fall from the heavens, destruction falling upon the entire world. Fluttershy quickly closed her eyes, trying to shield them from the horrifying images…

"Oh no, please no!" she screamed, not wanting to see anymore.

Suddenly the sound of destruction stopped. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the destruction the fire had brought. Tears started falling from her eyes to the ground, shocked for the destiny of her homeland.

She then looked through the burned remains of Everfree Forest: there was a ray of light cutting through the skies, showing a city who wasn't affected by the destruction.

The city was yellow like gold, releasing light through the horizon. Her vision focused on it, allowing her to see inside: the ponies which lived there were wearing white robes, all of them also releasing light. They were calm, protected from the fire by the light that bathed the city.

"Is this... the promised Celestial City?" asked the confused Fluttershy .

Suddenly she heard a voice, softly yet kind ringing on her ears: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

"All this destruction... is there a way I can save this world?" replied Fluttershy, using her hooves to clean her tears.

She then saw an earth pony standing before her: it was a stallion, strong and tall. He had the appearance of a hard farm worker, using a short, silver mane. His body was white and his eyes were silver too. Compared with other stallions, he didn't seem that special... but there was a huge light from heaven following him.

"Are you... him?" Fluttershy opened her mouth, unsure of which word she could say that would fit what she was seeing with her eyes.

"Follow me" the stallion replied with a smile.

The stallion then turned in pure light, looking like a star. It quickly started flying towards the Celestial City on the horizon.

"Wait, please! I have so many questions!" Fluttershy shouted as she started to run after him.

Not paying attention, Fluttershy accidentally tripped, falling from the mountain. As she fell, she heard his voice saying: "Know the truth, and the truth will set you free."





Fluttershy woke up. She was sweating... heavy. It was not everyday that she had a dream that was so livid… a dream which showed the end of all things.

At first she tried to disregard it as a simply nightmare, but the next night she had it again. What was the chance of having the same dream two consecutive nights? 

She decided that there had to be something wrong with her... or was it perhaps with the book? She needed to know more, so she started to search for more knowledge.

She started to visit Twilight library regularly. Twilight would often comment: "Wow, Fluttershy! I knew you liked reading... but not that much.". Twilight didn't bother to see what the yellow pegasus was actually reading.

She started picking books, maps and anything else that could show Silver Light and where he lived. While the mare succeeded in learning more about the areas taught in the Holy Word and their tribes, she just couldn't find anything about Silver Light. Nothing at all.

Feeling tired and down, she returned home. 'Well... I did what I could do. I guess there was nothing to find after all.', thought Fluttershy. Even saying those words to herself, she knew that this wasn't entirely the truth. Her dream… she knew where she had to go find her answers, but she was afraid of it. Even though she lived near the Everfree Forest, she knew that nopony had ever crossed it completely and returned.

Fluttershy decided to call off the day, going to her bed… and as she expected, there was the same dream of all those nights. She woke up, breathing heavily and sweating like in the other times. This night, however, she tried something different: she kneeled over the floor, closing her front hooves and praying: "Silver Light... I want to find you. But I am afraid of going into the forest alone. Please send me a light."

Upon saying those words, she felt relaxed. Just like when she prayed the first time. "Perhaps it was this that my heart was desiring...", she said quietly as she returned to sleep…





This was the first night in many that she actually slept well. In fact… she felt like she had never slept better. When she woke up, she was feeling great, highly motivated: she almost jumped out of her bed, quickly making up a list of all her chores, marking which tasks she had been delaying during her study of The Holy Word. 

Angel suddenly woke up from the commotion, watching what his keeper was doing. Fluttershy was working fast, setting her objectives of the day on a nearby table. She was thinking, seeing the most efficient way to accomplish them.

Angel reacted by giving a few steps backwards, terrified by how her owner was acting. What happened to the shy mare that he knew so well? While she had never failed to live up to her obligations, it was just so strange to see her acting confident and taking pleasure upon her menial tasks.

He could only watch as Fluttershy went straight into the kitchen, setting up breakfast for her and her house animals. After eating, she picked her list and went straight outside, determined to fulfill every last thing on it.





Her friends noticed through the weeks the difference in Fluttershy life, which kept reading about this single book and would sometimes even talk about it. For some reason they couldn’t see, each day Fluttershy grew more confident… not only in her personality, but also in her faith. Their friends decided to stay quiet about this issue, not wanting to upset her. That stood until one day, when Twilight finally decided to confront her about what was happening.

“Are you still reading that book, Fluttershy?” asked Twilight clearly worried.

“Yes. My heart… it tells me to keep going”, said Fluttershy, her wings touching the place where her heart resided.

“But didn't you say that book made you feel uneasy? If that’s so, you should stop reading it”,  replied Twilight, continuing: “I have many other good books on my library. You could also try them!”

“But Twilight… while there are things in this book that made me upset… there are other things that I have been feeling. Things that I have never felt before”, Fluttershy answered.

“What do you mean, Fluttershy?”, Twilight questioned. That last bit picked her interest.

“I… I had a vision, Twilight. I saw that a great fire is coming from the skies… and that it will destroy Equestria as a whole. And then there is this stallion that promises us that there is a refuge, a place where we can be saved from the fire. But we need to find it first!”, explained Fluttershy.

Twilight stared at Fluttershy, disbelief clearly in her face: “That’s… that’s impossible, Fluttershy! It makes no sense, why would fire come from nowhere and destroy everything? And who is this stallion that claims to know how to save the world?”

“He is… he is Silver Light, the son of the Master, our creator”, said Fluttershy, worried that Twilight wouldn't take her seriously.

Twilight looked for a whole minute at Fluttershy, thinking about what to say: “That’s… enough for me.  Listen Fluttershy, I don’t want you to read this book anymore. This book is just stories… fantasies, Fluttershy. It’s not real.”

“But…”, Fluttershy tried to argue…

“Fluttershy, the world has existed for millions of years. We have Celestia, our leader, and the elements of harmony to protect us. This is silly. The world won’t end… not in such a silly way, I mean”, Twilight continued.

“Twilight… I think I want to see it for myself. I truly believe in it, because what my heart is feeling can’t be an illusion. And I want to search for this place… and when I find it, I will bring you and all our friends so they can be saved too”, said Fluttershy, decided.

“Fluttershy, you won’t find anything. I… I lied to you before”, Twilight admitted, a bit of guilty in her voice: “Truth is… I had already read this book. And I too searched for this refuge, but I could never find it.”

“But Twilight, did you truly believe in it?”, asked Fluttershy.

This question pierced Twilight. She stood still for a moment, no reaction, before finally answering: “Listen Fluttershy… I am tired of arguing with you. You want to get in this dream hunt, fine. But I warn you, you won’t find anything. Because there is nothing to be found.”

Before Fluttershy could counter-argue, Twilight got up and left the house. Fluttershy could only look as her friend went away.

Fluttershy felt bad for the discussion she had with her friend, however she was decided to find the truth about the book. Every day she kept reading the book, and she started to meditate about what lessons she could get from it. But even with all her dedication, there were still passages she couldn't understand. She wished to simply move, to seek the city at the heart of the Everfree Forest… but she couldn't find how she should start her journey for the light. So Fluttershy choose to do what the book had told her to do: she starting to pray every night, wishing for somepony who could guide her in her journey.

As time passed, Fluttershy began to get unsure if her prayers were actually being received, because no matter how much she read for herself, she just couldn't find the right way to start her search.

But one certain day, during a moment of weakness, her prayers were answered. Fluttershy was alone in her bedroom, looking at the book:

“I keep trying and trying… but I just can’t find the way. Perhaps Twilight was right… but was everything I felt just a lie?”, Fluttershy asked, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

As doubt filled her heart, she heard someone knocking on her door. She went and opened it, seeing a stallion outside. He was white, his eyes and hair being black. He had a cutie mark of a silver cross and was an earth pony.

“Hello, miss. I need to ask you for some directions…”, he said, when he suddenly noticed the tears in her face. He then gave a worried look, asking:  “What’s the problem, miss?”

“It’s just… I have this book here; it’s named ‘The Holy Word’. I read and read it, trying to find the path to him… but I just can’t seem to grasp it”, answered Fluttershy, shame clearly in her voice.

“Do you really want to find the light?”, asked the stallion.

“Yes... please, you don’t know how much hard this has been for me!”, pleaded Fluttershy.

“Then I can help you. I know the way”, answered the stallion, his words comforting the yellow pegasus.

“Thank you, mister…?”, asked Fluttershy, waiting for his name.

“You may call me Evangelist, for I go from town to town preaching the word. Silver Light, the son of the Master, actually resides in this direction”, he answered, pointing with one of his hoofs to the forest. He continued: ”Far behind the mountains and the Everfree Forest. If you look with your heart you will see his shining light. Can you see it?”

“I…”, Fluttershy looked at the direction, trying to see something. After looking straight for a few moments, she finally noticed a ray of light shining on a very far place. Her eyes got wide, her voice softly replying: “I… can.”

“It was always there, Fluttershy”, answered Evangelist. He gave her a head nod, before continuing: “Those who look deep inside their own hearts can see it, but sadly very few ponies have the necessary faith to do so. This is why my work is important: all ponies have the capacity to see the light… they just need a little push to do so.”

“I see”, replied Fluttershy, still amazed by what had just happened.

“Then you are ready to go, Fluttershy. Start your journey, go now and don’t look back. And when you arrive you will find the door”, said Evangelist.

“The door?” asked a confused Fluttershy.

“Yes, and you will know how to unlock it. You should go quickly, because they are coming to try to stop you”,  answered Evangelist, pointing to the trail that went to her house.

Fluttershy looked where he was pointing, only to see Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash coming near her house.

“But I…”, said Fluttershy. Her heart was beating fast and her thoughts were flying like a rocket.

“They won’t believe in you. But your heart knows this is true. If they stop you, you will never be able to see it for yourself. Go before they catch with you”, said Evangelist, waiting for her reaction. He stopped for a moment before asking: “Do you really believe in the word?”

“I...”, Fluttershy was frozen. Now it was time to make her choice. She closed her eyes, thinking about everything that happened, everything she felt and did. She finally realized the truth, answering: “I do.”

“Then you know what you need to do”, replied Evangelist, using his hoof to touch his heart.

Having made her mind, Fluttershy quickly turned to the Everfree Forest, running towards it with all her might.

“Fluttershy, come back here!”, screamed Twilight.

“Fluttershy, darling, please don’t go!”, shouted Rarity.

“Fluttershy, we need you here!”, screamed Rainbow Dash.

“C’mon Fluttershy, what about your cottage?! Your animals?!”, questioned Applejack loudly.

“Fluttershy, is it because of the muffins? I promise my next batch will is far better!”, shouted Pinkie Pie, tears falling through her cheeks.

Upon hearing their voices, Fluttershy stopped for a second. She turned her head back, tears falling through her face. She suddenly shouted: “I am sorry… I really wish there was another way… but there isn’t! I have to do this… I have to do this for all of us!”

Upon saying these words, Fluttershy started to run with all her strength towards the darkness of the Everfree Forest. Her friends could only look in awe as the well known shy Pegasus disappeared from their view…