//------------------------------// // Pains // Story: Independence Eternal // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// Day Seven Pain greets Fluttershy the moment she wakes up. Her whole body aches, a dull throbbing radiating out from her bruised back, and her head is on fire. Over all of that, though, is the deep, sharp pain in her right front leg. She groans as she remembers everything that happened. She’s back in Twilight’s bed again, surely making it dirty past the point of use this time, with the sheets draped lightly over her. I guess Dusty carried me back again, she thinks. I wonder if— Her thoughts run dry as a realization hits her. That was Rainbow Dash. Then her mind is racing, questions flying by too quickly to be answered. Why is she here? Why was she hiding? Why change her name, why wear the hood, why—” Tears well up as she lands on the final question. Why would she do this to me? Rainbow Dash loved me, she thinks. She looked out for me. She never would have scared me or trapped me in a library or… Or run away from me.  Memories of her old friend play in her mind, a reminder of how things should be. Every piece of advice, good and bad.  All the times Rainbow Dash protected her from ponies with bad intentions. She hurt me so much. She plays through their fights too. The times Rainbow Dash had gone too far in trying to get her to do something, or times that Fluttershy scolded Rainbow Dash too harshly for some mistake.  Never like this, though. She wouldn’t… Fluttershy must have been sobbing, because she’s jolted out of her thoughts by a hoof resting gently on her side. She doesn’t turn to face Dusty, and instead pulls the covers up over her head. There’s a long silence. Dusty keeps her hoof on Fluttershy’s side, but doesn’t say anything. Fluttershy sniffs as she fights to stifle her tears. Eventually, the hoof leaves her side. “I’m here if you need anything.” Dusty’s voice is tiny and dry, a nervous whisper that barely pushes past the ringing in Fluttershy’s ears. Then there’s the sound of wings flapping as Dusty goes back down to the library. Fluttershy finds a clean spot on her leg and dries her eyes off on it. Why didn’t you leave me? She wants to ask, but her gut tells her that she already knows the answer to that. After all, no matter what may happen, Rainbow Dash is still Rainbow Dash. She would never leave somepony behind. Even one she doesn’t know. Tears threaten to flow again, but she bites them back. Instead, she finally pulls away the covers and tries to leave the bed. Her body protests the whole way. From pain, from exhaustion, and just from an unwillingness to do what she wants. It’s a struggle to even turn over, her body screaming at her to just go back to sleep, but she pushes through it and drags herself into the waking world. “Aah!” Her hoof isn’t on the floor for even a second before she crumples, wracked with pain. The stabbing in her leg increases tenfold from putting any weight on it, and suddenly there’s an inferno inside her. Instantly Dusty is back, crouched beside her, and the pain is drowned out as Fluttershy is hit with another wave of emotion. It’s shrouded under the hood, but she knows Rainbow Dash’s face. She recognizes the look of care and concern behind Dusty’s aged eyes. She can still hear her friend’s voice, faded as it is, as Dusty asks if she’s okay. “Rainbow Dash…” Dusty frowns and looks away. “I’m—” She cuts herself off and shakes her head. “You can’t stand on that leg, Fluttershy.” Hearing that voice say her name is more painful than Fluttershy could have imagined. “I don’t need help,” Fluttershy mumbles. With a tremendous amount of effort, and by gritting her teeth through a tremendous amount of pain, Fluttershy manages to stand back up without letting her leg bring her down again. Then she stretches out her wings and gives them a quick test flap. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dusty tries to tell her, but Fluttershy is already off the ground. Every flap of her wings jerks her around just enough for another ripple of pain, but she fights through it and floats down to the library to sit at a table she can rest her leg on. Hesitantly, Dusty flies into the kitchen and grabs a first aid kit before sitting across from her. “We should really—” Fluttershy grabs the kit and pulls it to herself. “I can do it,” she says as she awkwardly opens the box with one hoof and starts to dig through it. “Fluttershy…” “You’ve hurt me enough.” Fluttershy manages to find a rudimentary splint to use. It isn’t much, she’ll have to go to the hospital if she wants a more robust one, but it’s at least enough to keep her from bending the injured joint. She grunts and winces as she struggles to strap it onto herself. It’s meant to be possible alone, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. After several painful failed attempts, she tosses the splint away in frustration. “Fluttershy, please,” Dusty says again. “Don’t let yourself get hurt more just because of what I did.” “...Fine.” Fluttershy stretches her hoof out on the table and rests her head on her other leg, looking pointedly away from Dusty. Putting the splint on is a slow, cautious process, but it gets done without much more pain. “Hopefully that helps,” Dusty says as she finishes. Fluttershy looks over at her leg. The injury caused by her own contraption. She groans. “How am I supposed to get to Canterlot now?” “I’ll make sure you get there,” Dusty tells her. Fluttershy jumps, having not realized she asked the question out loud. Fluttershy stares at Dusty’s soft, sad face. She gazes into her friend’s guilty eyes, and can no longer hold herself back. “Why…” Tears well up again as she tries to choke out the question, but the words won’t come to her. “Just… Why?” Dusty frowns and pulls her hood down over her eyes. “Like I said, I didn’t know I was hurting you.” “How could you not know?” Fluttershy can’t stop herself from crying anymore, and tears stream down her cheeks. “You’ve known me your entire life.” “No I haven’t!” Dusty snaps at her before wincing and folding back in on herself. “Sorry, I just… I haven’t.” “Then what happened? You just forgot about me?” “I tried to remember!” Dusty holds her hooves out, pleading to Fluttershy. “I tried so hard.” Fluttershy sniffs and closes her eyes tight. “Did you even remember my name?” Dusty’s legs fall to the table as she sits, stunned and speechless. Eventually she recovers enough to turn away from Fluttershy and hide in her hood. “Of course I did,” she mumbles. Fluttershy can’t handle any more. She wipes her eyes and pushes herself away from the table before taking to the air and floating towards the basement, her leg complaining the whole way. “Fluttershy?” Dusty asks. “I need to tell them what’s going on. Please, just… Let me be alone.” With that, she floats downstairs and does her best to get comfortable on the ground in front of the communication machine. It takes her a bit to catch her breath. Flying with an injury is infinitely more exhausting than normal, so she lays down in the quiet dark as her body calms down. After a few minutes of meditation, she feels good enough to stand up and turn the machine on. It flickers on as usual, and she gives it a moment to connect, but there’s nothing new. They probably think I’m on my way. She types up a short reply, although it’s slow and difficult with only one hoof. I hurt my leg and can’t travel. It will probably be a while before I can get to Canterlot. Then she lies back down on the cold, hard floor. It’s difficult to get comfortable with her injured leg sprawled out awkwardly, but eventually she manages to find a position where she at least feels okay. She closes her eyes, relaxes, and soon enough is once more asleep. A few hours later, Fluttershy is woken up by a gentle nudging. She cracks her eyes open and sees Dusty, doing her best to wake Fluttershy without hurting her. In her tiredness, all she manages to get out is a muffled “Rainbow Dash…” Dusty frowns and sets a tray in front of her. “I brought you some food,” she says, “since you haven’t eaten today.” Dusty made her pancakes. Fluttershy stares at them, their aroma enveloping her, and tries to decide what to do. “Thank you,” is what she eventually mumbles before setting into them. She ends up just picking them up with her teeth since her hooves are so dirty. It’s not the most endearing way to eat, but there’s not exactly anyone around to impress. They’re absolutely invigorating. After a week without a hot meal, anything can taste like heaven, and soon the plate is completely clean. Dusty smiles at her. “At least I didn’t ruin your appetite.” She picks up the tray and starts to head back upstairs. “Oh, and uh, I think you got a reply on the thingy,” she calls back behind her as she disappears. Fluttershy scrambles to her hooves, fast enough that her leg almost brings her crashing back down, but she leans on the machine to stay upright and read the new message. How did you manage that? Oh well. I’ll gather up some stuff and come to you instead, just wait in the library. I’ll be there asap. Fluttershy sighs in relief, and tension flows out of her. She just about collapses back to the floor, but then an afterthought convinces her to write another message. Oh, there’s a second pony here too, so make sure you bring enough of whatever you need for us both. Then, deciding she’s tired of the darkness, Fluttershy trudges her way slowly back upstairs. She’s getting a little used to the pain of flying, but it’s still always there. Dusty is washing dishes and doesn’t notice her show up, which doesn’t bother Fluttershy. She floats lazily over to a soft chair in a far corner and slumps down hard into it. Her body thanks her as it begins to settle, and she leans her head back and closes her eyes. I can’t believe it’s over, she thinks. I’m safe, help is on the way, and I’m not even alone anymore. Or, well… She sighs. This is just too much. “Fluttershy?” She pries her eyes open to look as Dusty approaches with a pair of mugs. She puts one beside Fluttershy, as well as a straw, before taking a seat nearby with her own. “I think I remember you like tea, right?” Fluttershy eyes the straw, then looks at her injured hoof and sighs. “I do.” She takes a sip, letting the warm, calming drink seep into her. They sit like that in silence for a minute, both sipping their drinks, until Dusty finishes hers. “Umm…” Dusty hums in thought as she searches for what she wants to say. “Do you, uh… Hate me?” Fluttershy frowns and looks at Dusty. The blue pegasus she’s known her whole life, who’s always been there for her, who she wouldn’t give up for the world. Except she isn’t. She’s a different pony in the same body. Fluttershy shakes her head. “I don’t want to,” she says. “No, I don’t think I do. I just don’t know if I’ll ever trust you.” “What can I do to fix this?” Dusty asks. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash.” Dusty hums sadly. “Will you at least let me try?” It takes Fluttershy a minute to respond. “Okay,” she says eventually.  Dusty lets out a deep breath. “Thank you. Really, thank you so much.” Fluttershy finishes her tea in silence. The library is completely still, and not even the wind can be heard outside. The only noise is the breathing of the two ponies. “Um, Fluttershy…” Dusty says eventually. “Hm?” “I know it’s probably a lot to ask, but… Could you please not call me Rainbow Dash?” “Oh.” Fluttershy looks into Dusty’s face and sees years of pain etched into it. “Of course, Dusty.” “Thank you.” Dusty nods to her and gets up, collecting the mugs to take back to the kitchen. She stops for a moment in front of Fluttershy. “Um, this is a little awkward, but you should probably go take a bath.” “Oh.” Fluttershy looks down at her filthy body, covered in mud and grime, and it’s nearly enough to make her laugh. She doesn’t, though. Instead she just nods and starts to push herself out of the chair. “If you need help—” “No,” Fluttershy snaps. She waves away the offer, but the gesture sends her another wave of pain that gives her pause. “...Okay. Fine.” Dusty is eager to help, but there’s not much she can actually do to make short trips more comfortable. So, instead, she goes ahead of Fluttershy to get everything ready, drawing a bath, grabbing a towel, flying to a nearby house to find a brush so Fluttershy doesn’t have to contort herself painfully. Fluttershy spends the time limping cautiously to the bathroom, and reaches it just as Dusty finishes preparing for her. “Um,” Dusty awkwardly mumbles as she turns off the water, “are you, uh, going to be able to actually… Get in?” Fluttershy wants to glare at her, but she holds it back. “I don’t need you to do everything for me,” she says instead. “That won’t fix things.” “I’m not trying to—” Dusty sighs and shakes her head before flying out to give Fluttershy the room. “You’re right, it won’t, but I’m still here if you need me.” Fluttershy isn’t sure how to respond. She stares at Dusty, as Dusty stares at the floor, and tries to find some words, some feeling. Anger or gratitude or sadness, anything, but either she’s feeling too much to register it, or she’s so exhausted that her feelings aren’t able to sprout. Either way, she has nothing to say, so instead she just closes the door between them. A few hours later, as Fluttershy soaks in lukewarm water, there’s a knock on the door that drags her out of her half-asleep trance.  “Fluttershy?” Dusty’s raspy voice is barely audible, muffled by the door. “I don’t wanna bug you, but it’s getting kinda late and I need to go home and sleep. Are you going to be okay?” Fluttershy sighs. “I’m fine, Dusty,” she calls out. “Alright, well if you need anything, I’ll…” Dusty’s voice turns into white noise as she nervously lowers her voice. “What?” Fluttershy asks. “I- Dusty, just come in here.” “Huh? I can’t do that! You’re in the bath!” “I don’t wear clothes, Dusty.” There’s a moment of hesitation before the door slowly creaks open and Dusty inches inside, pulling her hood down over her eyes awkwardly. Fluttershy doesn’t move, lest she disturb the delicate position she’s found to be comfortable. “You don’t have to avert your eyes,” Fluttershy tells her. “It isn’t like I’m a princess or something.” “It just feels like too much,” Dusty says. “I already hurt you so much…” Fluttershy looks over at Dusty, staring into the wall, and frowns. “Please don’t do that,” she says. “Don’t… Hate yourself because of what happened. That won’t fix things, and neither will treating me like I’m somehow above you. It’s just going to take time. So, please, just treat me like a normal pony until then.” Dusty gives an unsure hum and shifts around on her hooves, still looking away.  Fluttershy groans and thinks for a moment. Then she lifts her good hoof out of the bath and, without warning, flicks a volley of water at Dusty that splatters across her hood. “Wh—” Dusty jumps back, staring at Fluttershy in disbelief. “Hey!” A tiny, prideful smirk graces Fluttershy’s face for just a moment. “There,” she says. “You looked at me.” Dusty’s cheeks flush red. “Come on, Fluttershy! I’m just trying to make up for what I did.” “But I don’t want you to!” Fluttershy snaps. “That’s what I’ve been saying all day. It won’t fix anything, and I don’t want to go from a pony with no friends because the only other pony in the world is tormenting me, to a pony with no friends because the only other pony in the world won’t look me in the eyes. So please, Dusty, just treat me like I’m Fluttershy.” Dusty sighs and nods. “Okay. I’ll just… Try to be your friend?” Fluttershy nods back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dusty smiles weakly. “Yeah.”