//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Silent Ponyville 2 // by SamRose //------------------------------// Chapter 7 The heat finally got to her. Once she had cried what felt like all she could cry, she moved slowly out of the burning room. Her only path was to exit out of the door she had come in through. She pushed open the surprisingly cool door and walked through, the door closing shut behind her. The cool air struck her coat, causing her whole body to feel a bit of relaxation as her temperature cooled. She wiped her face, sniffing as she continued to try and regain her composure. Dash’s words still had a strong grip on her heart. “I…I can’t stop now…” Fluttershy gulped back more tears from spilling. “I have to move forward.” She looked into the room at the end of the hallway, expecting to see the pacing nurse. However, the room wasn’t the same one she had just come from. The room before her was a small, square room, with a staircase going up before her. Fluttershy blinked at the sight, but the twisting, warping rooms had become something she was accustomed to by now. She stepped across the room, quickly reaching the staircase. She slowly began her climb upwards, feeling a sense of déjà vu upon the climb. Her hooves nearly slipped on the slick steps as the stench of mildew hit her nose once more. Water dripped down the walls and she felt a sense of dread. Suddenly, as she reached the top of the stairwell, she knew where she was. She was back in the cloud home she had entered when she was first separated from her friends…only it wasn’t a random cloud house anymore. It was her home from when she was a filly. The room she had just entered…was her mother’s room from when she was young. The same bed sat next to the window so she could look out it, the bookshelf that contained the books she’d read in her bed, the bedside table that held her personal belongings, a desk and a chair, the bathroom just a short walk away, everything she’d need for living in her room while sick. Fluttershy was drawn towards the bed; a force felt like it was guiding her, telling her to go near it. Her mind felt like a haze flew past it, as she stepped back. She saw blood flash before her eyes on the bed and on the carpet, as if her mind was trying to reject the images; but there would be no stopping them. Her head began to ache with pain but she couldn’t stop the memories. Her attention was drawn to the bed, as the memories that she had lost came back in full force, making her remember what happened in the room so long ago… “Mother?” Filly Fluttershy called out, walking into her mother’s room. Her mother sat on the bed, a knife in her hoof as if she was playing with it. Her hair was messy, unkempt and uncared for. Bags were under her bloodshot eyes and she seemed to be glaring at the knife, as if unhappy with it. “…M-Mother…” Fluttershy whimpered, walking further into the room, “W-What would y-you like to eat tod-” “Hahahahahahaha!” Her mother suddenly burst out laughing. Fluttershy halted her movements forward, looking up at her mother in shock. The older mare just seemed to have found some funny. “Oh…yes…that’ll do nicely…” The older mare smiled once she’d finished laughing, turning her head to grin at her daughter. Fluttershy couldn’t move, afraid of what her mother was about to do. “Come closer my daughter.” Her mother said, twisting her body closer to the edge of her bed. Fluttershy began to hesitantly move closer to the bed. “I SAID CLOSE-” Fluttershy’s mom began to yell, but suddenly fell from the bed, hitting the ground with a thud. “Mother!” Fluttershy cried out as she ran to her mother’s side, trying to ensure she was okay. Her mother groaned, but slowly rolled over onto her other side so that she was facing her daughter. Once she could see her face, a wicked smile crawled onto her face. “My dearest daughter…oh you came just at the right time…you see…I finally figured it out…I figured out how to cure myself.” Her mother gave another short laugh. “R-Really!? O-Oh mother, t-that’s good news! I-I have to tell fathe-” “No, you can’t tell your father yet.” Her mother hissed. “W-Why not?” Fluttershy asked confused. “Because…only you…can administer the treatment right now.” Her mother laughed, carefully holding the knife up to Fluttershy, “And you’ll need this to cure me.” Fluttershy gingerly took the knife in her hooves, staring at it confused. “I’d do it myself…but I’m far too weak to administer the treatment properly…but you…oh, you can do it just fine.” Her mother laughed, “And you want me to be cured right? Cured…and happy?” “…O-Of course I do…b-but…w-what do I…” Fluttershy began to ask in confusion, but her mother seemed ready to answer. “That’s simple my dear child…You take the knife…and you strike me with it.” Her mother smiled. Fluttershy froze. That didn’t sound right at all. She knew that something as sharp as a knife hurt when you grazed its edge, why would striking her mother cure her illness? “B-but…mother…that…” “Are you questioning me?” Her mother glared at her. Fluttershy’s skin jumped at the glare. “N-No b-but-” “That SOUNDS like your questioning me!” Her mother growled. If she could move with any decent strength she’d have smacked her daughter, “I need you to do this for me! Only you can do it right now! You do love me right?” That pulled on Fluttershy’s heart. “O-Of course I do mother…” “Then strike me!” Her mother demanded. Fluttershy took a gulp as she shakily raised the knife up over her head. She didn’t want to bring it down; her mind was telling her that doing this was wrong; the knife hovered in the air, unable to strike it down. “Fluttershy…” Her mother spoke quietly, coldly. “Y-Yes?” Fluttershy whimpered still holding the knife up. “You said you loved me…but you haven’t struck me with the knife yet…so you lied to me…” Her mother said bitterly. “N-No, I-I do-“ “Then strike me!” Her mother yelled at her, making Fluttershy almost jump, “Strike me! Love me! You’re going to LOVE ME!” Her mother’s head snapped up off the ground, her mouth open as if to bite down on Fluttershy. The knife sailed through the air, imbedding itself into her mother’s side. Her mother’s eyes went wide for a moment, before the wicked grin returned. “Yes! YES YES! DO IT AGAIN!” She demanded with a yell. Fluttershy pulled the knife out and slammed it back down into her mother. “DON’T STOP.” Were the last words Fluttershy heard from her mother. The knife rose and sank down into the body before her, again and again. Each strike sent blood flying, her fur was being coated, and her mane was drenched. Each strike sounded deafening, yet it was one of the quietest sounds in the world. It was as if the very knife was screaming at her, but only she could hear the screams of the blade. She plunged the knife in one last time. She panted, she cried, she shook. Her mother wasn’t moving anymore, she wasn’t speaking, she wasn’t breathing, and she wasn’t warm anymore. Fluttershy didn’t know what this meant, had she cured her mother like she had asked? Hadn’t she put her through a lot of pain? Was she going to be alright? “Fluttershy, haven’t you gotten that answer from your mother ye-” Her father walked into the room. Fluttershy slowly turned, tears streaming down her face, still holding onto the knife, covered in her mother’s blood, sitting before the corpse of her mother. The air was silent. Then, her father drew closer. “F-Father…I…” Fluttershy hiccupped, trying to say something, anything to explain the sight before her father. However, she was silenced. Her father’s hoof struck her, hard. Her small body was sent sailing across the room and smashed into the wall. She let out a yelp of pain before hitting the ground. Her father picked up her mother’s head in his hoof as he began to cry. Tears streamed down her face. “I…I killed my mother…” Fluttershy whimpered, “I…I killed…” She cried. She couldn’t believe she had done it, but she had done it, all because her mother had yelled at her, because she had been too weak to disobey her mother. Fluttershy felt her stomach twist, she felt like she was going to be sick. She turned and ran into the bathroom, wanting to escape the room for even a moment. However, her brain assaulted her once more, a vision of memories forgotten appearing before her once more. There was silence as her father scrubbed away at her coat, washing away the blood that had begun to cake onto her fur. The hot water was managing to get most of it away, but some of it was being stubborn. He was being hard with the brush, harder than he had ever been before. Fluttershy didn’t speak up though, she couldn’t speak up against it, her heart felt like it was in a million pieces. “…Do you know what you’ve done?” Her father finally asked. Fluttershy whimpered her response, she couldn’t say any words. “…You took your mother from us.” Her father said, as if he was breathing was becoming more ragged, the brush stopping its cleaning. “You took…the most wonderful mare I’d ever known…out of this world…” Her gripped the brush harder, he started to speak through gritted teeth, “You did it so quickly too, I sent you in to help her…and you killed her.” Fluttershy’s eyes burned with tears. Her father’s words made her heart sting worse. “…You’re a monster.” He growled. Without warning he pushed her head down under the water. Fluttershy scrambled at the unexpected movement, her mouth and nose filling with water as air escaped her lungs. Her hooves flailed as she tried to push herself up out of the water, but the hoof holding her down was too strong. The air escaped her quickly and her lungs began to burn. She reached for air but it wouldn’t come. Suddenly, she was lifted up into the air. Instinctively, she took in a big gasp of air, only for her head to be shoved back under the water. She lost her air almost instantly again, her whole body beginning to feel like it was burning from the movements. This repeated several times, getting a short breath of air only to have it painfully taken away by the water once more. Her struggling had lessened and now she was too weak to push against the water, too tired to try and get air. The hoof was holding her under the water for good now. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head as her limbs stopped moving. She couldn’t stay awake any longer. She was pulled out of the water. Her body gasped and took in the fresh air, before coughing up water that had filled her lungs. She puked slightly as her body tried to reject the water that had attacked her body. “…No…no just killing you would be too easy.” Her father growled, watching her sputter and gasp for breath, “You need to understand the misery you’ve caused with your love.” Her father let go of her mane, Fluttershy instinctively catching herself on the edge of the bathtub, still recovering as her father walked out. Fluttershy shook as she stared at the bathroom. Her father had tried to kill her. He could have killed her, but he didn’t. Though, she felt like she deserved it at the moment. She had killed her mother in cold blood, death sounded exactly like what she deserved. She backed out of the bathroom slowly. She didn’t want to be in that room anymore. She turned to the door to the hallway and quickly exited. She panted heavily outside her mother’s bedroom as her tears refused to stop. She slowly hobbled forward, having difficulty even seeing where she was going. She reached a hoof up, touching what felt like a door. Without thinking she pushed it open, stepping inside. “So, you sewed it back together huh.” Her father said, looking at the sloppy sewing job her daughter had done with her favorite doll. “Y-Yes sir…” Fluttershy replied meekly, lowering her head as her father held it. He wasn’t impressed at all. All the stitches were visible, the stuffing was still hanging out of spots not sewn close enough, and the fibers easily would come loose if tugged on. “Unacceptable.” He said before grabbing the doll and tearing it apart. Fluttershy snapped her head up in shock as she watched; he tore apart all the seams and stitches. She had worked so hard making the doll one piece again after he’d torn it up the first time. Soon the doll lay in pieces of cloth and stuffing before her again. “If you love it, I shall destroy it.” He said sternly, “Then it will be your job to put it back together. And if you can’t do it perfectly, then you don’t deserve it at all.” He said as he walked over to his book shelf. Fluttershy whimpered as she began to pick up the pieces of her favorite, most beloved doll, her doll Ashley. A book slammed itself before her, making Fluttershy almost jump. But she read the title carefully, ‘The Mastery of Sewing’. “If you don’t want to see your doll destroyed, you will make it look perfect.” Her father said before returning to his desk, going back to his work. Once she had all the pieces of her doll, Fluttershy carefully picked the book up with her mouth, careful not to stain it with her tears, as she quickly left her father’s study. Fluttershy whimpered. She was in her father’s study, she had wandered in there by accident, but now she had seen more of what she had forgotten. She swallowed back more tears, as she began to calm herself down. Her mind began to put things together. ‘I…I wanted to see this…’ She breathed heavily, reminding herself that she had chosen to come here, that she had told herself that there was no turning back now. ‘I…I have to see every memory…for my sake…’ she took a deep breath as she wiped her face of tears, before pushing back on the door to her father’s study, exiting it. She stumbled out of the study a little, finding the kitchen that lay just on the opposite side of it. She steadied herself, before walking into the kitchen. The haze returned as another memory surfaced. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?” Her father yelled loudly. Fluttershy dropped the box of cereal she had picked up from the top shelf of the counter, her wings snapping shut to her sides as she fell a few feet before landing on the ground with a thud. Her father was furious, as he stormed up to her, Fluttershy trying to back away out of fear. Her grabbed her hoof and forced her to eye-level with him. “What have I TOLD you about FLYING without permission!? You’re NOT allowed to do it even in the house!” He yelled at her, gripping her hoof hard. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She cried out as tears streamed from her eyes, her hoof hurt like crazy as he gripped it hard. “I’ve told you before! Bad filly’s who DON’T listen to what their told get eaten by Dragons! Do you WANT to get eaten by a dragon!?” “No! No!” Fluttershy cried out, struggling against his grip. “Well you’re ATTRACTING a Dragon by flying as a Bad Filly! You MUST want to be eaten by a Dragon! Why else would you be flying without permission!?” His screams made her ears feel like they wanted to burst. “No! I don’t want to be eaten by a dragon! I’m sorry!” She cried harder. “Well, you know what? I think I can HEAR a dragon! He’s already pretty close because you’ve flown! Maybe I should just throw you outside so he can eat you right now!” He hissed and growled. “NO! NO DADDY PLEASE! I DON’T WANT TO BE EATEN!” Fluttershy wailed, afraid for her life. “Well, if you don’t want to be eaten, then there’s only one thing I can do.” He said tossing his daughter to the ground. The wind escaped her body as she tried to scramble to her feet, only to have her father’s hoof step on her holding her down. His mouth reached down, gripping down hard on her wing, forcibly extending it despite all of her efforts to shut it. “NO! NO DADDY PLEASE! STOP!” She cried out as pain shot through her back. But it was too late, he wasn’t going to stop. CRACK Fluttershy cried louder than she ever had before as her father snapped her wing. “There, now you won’t be flying for a while, and you won’t attract any dragons.” He simply said stepping off of his wailing daughter, “I snapped it carefully; you’ll be able to fly once it’s healed, but we’ll have to get you to the hospital to put a cast on it.” He said though a grin formed on his face, “Though, only once the Dragon has left.” Fluttershy barely heard her father’s words past her own screams of agony from the burning pain that echoed from her wing. Fluttershy gulped down more tears, trying to hold herself back from crying. She slowly backed out of the kitchen. ‘My father…he was…cruel…’ She whimpered softly to herself. ‘I…I can believe that I made myself forget all this…it’s…it’s all painful to remember.’ She shut her eyes, another tear escaping despite trying to force herself not to cry. She struggled with her hooves, to make herself continue forward. Past the kitchen was the living room. She could see the front door from there, she knew that was where she needed to head; her instincts told her so. However, the living room held one more memory that she had to see. The haze returned, as the memory came to her once more. “…Where did you get that?” Her father asked as filly Fluttershy walked through the door, carrying a candy bar in her mouth. “Oh…a colt at school gave it to me.” She said quietly, “He said he liked me and wanted me to have it.” She said gently chewing on the end of the bar, savoring the sweet taste. “Oh…he did, did he?” Her father said walking up to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked up at her father, taking a step back from him getting so close. Fluttershy fell to the ground as her father’s hoof hit her hard across the face. The candy bar slid across the room. “Let me tell you something about boys loving you.” He growled, grabbing Fluttershy by the mane and picking her up, eliciting yelps of pain from the filly, “Colts will only hurt you. They only think of themselves and they want nothing more than to see you suffer.” He grinned wickedly, “After all, look at me. I love you and here I am hurting you.” He said before tossing his daughter across the room, her landing hard against the floor. Fluttershy cried as she tried to curl up into a ball, not wanting to be hurt anymore. “But I suppose you must really like being hurt, if you’re going to let a colt like you.” Her father grinned walking up to his daughter, kicking her in the back, causing her to cry out in pain, “Any colt that gets close to you will do nothing but hurt you. So I hope you enjoy this for the rest of your life. I’m sure you’ll find a colt who loves you even more than I do.” Her father laughed before walking off to his study. Fluttershy whimpered and cried where she curled up, remembering the colt from school who had given her the candy bar. Suddenly, her mind filled with anger, hate for the colt who had given her the candy bar. All he wanted to do was hurt her, he wanted to get close to her so that he could make her cry and suffer, just like her father did. “I…I hate colts…” Fluttershy whimpered out loud. She vowed to herself that she would never like a colt, or let a colt like her, for as long as she lived. Another lump came to Fluttershy’s throat. ‘…My father…he…he made me…hate colts…’ She thought to herself. ‘…But I…I don’t…hate them…’ she knew better now. Not all colts were like her father, not all of them would hurt her just because she got close to them. But…she still had never had interest in being with a colt, the only pony she had fallen in love with… Was Rainbow Dash… ‘Do I…Do I love Rainbow Dash…for her…or because…she was the only pony who got close to me…that didn’t hurt me…’ Fluttershy found herself confused by her own feelings now. Everything she had believed had turned upside down in a single moment. It felt like she had just been lying to herself all this time and that everything she had done might have been a mistake. “…No…” She suddenly said firmly to herself, “Because of Rainbow Dash…I came to Ponyville…I escaped from my father…I…I met the best friends I’ve ever had…friends who…who care about me more than anything else…I…I fell in love and…had a wonderful relationship.” She said looking up at the ceiling, as thoughts of her friends came to mind. She remembered so many wonderful moments together with her friends. Picking flowers, going to parties, playing games, sleep overs, tea parties, hanging out, adventuring… She’d done so much with her life now, even though she had forgotten about her foalhood because it was painful, it hadn’t stopped her from moving on in her life, from experiencing all the wonders life had to offer. If anything…because her father pushed her away, she found her way into the embrace of the ponies that truly loved her. She took a deep breath as she calmed down. A small smile formed on her face. “Yes…even though all this happened…I still have my friends.” She said, a warmth sparking inside of her heart. It gave her legs strength. She walked through the living room up to the front door of the house. She could see the lock on the door, the lock with the symbol of a doll on it. She carefully reached into her bag and pulled out the key with the doll symbol on it, the key she had picked up a while ago and still had. She carefully placed the key into the lock, the door letting out a click to let her know it had worked. She carefully pushed the door open and walked through the door. On the otherside was a large open room, almost like a small gymnasium. She walked forward to the middle of the room, when she stopped. A black fire was burning on the opposite side of the court. The fire slowly grew, rising up into the shape of a pony, before red eyes appeared on its face, a white mouth opening. It was the dark creature. Fluttershy stared at the creature. She didn’t feel a heavy, overbearing presence this time. The creature was still drawing fear from her heart, but it wasn’t overwhelming her now. She could stand before this creature now. The creature slowly turned itself around, showing its back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked at the creature curiously, not sure as to what it was doing. Then, as it turned around, she could see that hanging from its mouth, was the body of Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy let out a gasp, as the creature flicked its head, tossing the body towards Fluttershy. It landed right before her, hitting the ground with a thud. Fluttershy reached a hoof out and gently nudged the body. It was cold. Rainbow Dash was dead, killed by the creature before her. Fluttershy stared at the body for a long while, the creature watching her, grinning as it waited. Fluttershy moved her hoof away from the body, a sad look appearing on her face. She turned her head upwards, to look at the dark creature. “…Father…” she spoke softly, “I…understand now.” She made sure she spoke clearly, “I’ve done a horrible thing…and…it’s likely that I can never be forgiven for what I’ve done. I can’t bring the dead back to life…and the blood of my mother is on my hooves.” Fluttershy closed her eye for a moment, taking a deep breath, before she continued. “I probably deserved all the punishments I received. No foal should ever do what I did. Though it may have been tough living with what I did and receiving the punishments for my deed…I lived with everything.” She smiled softly, “And…I’ve grown up to have a wonderful life now. I’ve…left behind all the things that made me sad, that hurt me, that made me miserable living at home. “I have wonderful friends, animals that depend on me, a home I take care of myself…I found love that didn’t hurt me.” She smiled softly. Fluttershy carefully stepped over the body before her, walking up closer to the dark creature. The smile of the creature faded as it looked down her, as if not amused. Fluttershy came to stand just inches before him, looking up at him smiling. “You…brought a lot of pain to me…but…I forgive you.” She leaned in and nuzzled the chest of the dark creature. The creature let out a roar. “I forgive you for everything…and I thank you. Thank you for letting me find a wonderful life.” An orb of bright white light appeared in the air above the two, floating down towards Fluttershy. The dark creature roared out in pain as the light gently floated past him, reaching Fluttershy’s chest. The light engulfed her body, filling her with a pleasant warmth. The bandages that covered her body began to unfurl. Each bandage was pulled away from her body, pooling around her as her body recovered. Her wings extended out, she stood on all her legs, she opened both her eyes to look up at the roaring dark creature, which seemed to be fading away as the light shined. The very existence of the creature seemed to be fading away, burning up in the bright light that surrounded her. The last bits of the darkness that made up the creature disappeared, as the light began to slowly fade. Fluttershy smiled softly as she looked down, seeing on her chest, in place of the lantern, was now a golden necklace with a pink butterfly shaped jewel. For a moment her necklace glowed once more, a beam of light shot out, creating a doorway of light before her. Fluttershy looked at the doorway of light, knowing what it was. “So…this is my way home now…” She said looking at the door. Once she passed through that archway of light, she would leave this world. She’d go back to Ponyville, she’d be able to take everything she had learned and live a better life than she had before… “I can’t leave just yet.” She smiled at the doorway, before turning around and running away from the light. “I have two friends who are lost and need my help.” Pinkie Pie lay on the ground, panting in pain and exhaustion. “Haha…you’ve been running away oh-so-well…you’re very good at it.” The Other Pinkie smiled walking towards Pinkie, “You’ve killed me three times…and yet here I am again. You must really want to be a part of my parties.” The other Pinkie laughed. Pinkie Pie could only sob. This other Pinkie wanted to kill…and she couldn’t stop her. What was the point of trying to stop her? She let Fluttershy go get separated twice now, she was probably dead with how injured she had been. And Rainbow Dash hated her, what was the point of trying to stop her other self from killing…when she was just as guilty of it herself. “I’m sorry Bellamina…” Pinkie sobbed, closing her eyes. “Oh well, guess I’ll just have to take my time playing with you.” The other Pinkie smiled, picking up her Butcher’s knife as she drew closer. “Now just hold it right there for one minute!” Came a motherly demand. Pinkie and the Other Pinkie snapped their heads to the doorway to the room they were in. There stood a yellow Pegasus pony with long pink hair, wearing a golden necklace. “Hasn’t your mother ever told you it’s not nice to hurt other ponies?” Fluttershy stomped across the room towards the other Pinkie Pie. The normal Pinkie Pie was just staring with her mouth agape. “Well, yea, but I’m not really hurting them, I’m playing with them!” The other Pinkie laughed, putting down her butcher’s knife to talk to Fluttershy. “That’s NOT how you play nice with other Ponies!” Fluttershy stood right up to the other Pinkie, looking her straight in the eye, “You were going to seriously hurt my friend! You don’t use knives or sharp objects when you play, you play nice games! Like pin the tail on the pony or bobbing for apples! You should know better than this!” “But-“ The other Pinkie began to protest. “No buts! You should be ashamed of yourself. I have half a mind to tell your mother the kind of games you’ve been playing with other ponies!” The other Pinkie seemed to be shrinking back under the scolding of Fluttershy, “Now you’re going to take your little things, and get rid of them, and I never want to catch you doing this again, you got that?” The other Pinkie could only nervously nod her head rapidly, before picking up her butcher’s knife and turning, running away from Fluttershy. “That’s a good…second Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy smiled happily seeing the other Pinkie run off, before turning to the Pinkie who was staring in shock at Fluttershy. “How was that? I was so assertive.” Fluttershy softly chuckled as she felt a happy shiver go down her back. Pinkie Pie stared. It took a long time for her to even register what was going on. But once it dawned on her that Fluttershy had just scared her other self away…a smile formed on her face. It quickly began to grow, before a sound escaped her lips. “Pffft…pffft…aha…ahahah…AHAHAHAHAHA” Pinkie Pie began to laugh. She laughed hard, rolling over onto her back as her hooves flailed in the air. Fluttershy had scared away the very thing that scared her to her core. And she’d done it by just being Fluttershy. Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh as her hair poofed out into its usual curls. It was one of the funniest things she’d ever seen. “Thank you.” Fluttershy said smiling, giving a small bow to Pinkie Pie, accepting the laughing as a compliment. “Ahahahaha…Oh…Oh Fluttershy!” Pinkie laughed, finally rolling back onto her hooves and rushing up, hugging her friend dearly, “You’re all better! And you saved me!” Pinkie laughed joyously. “Hey, what’re friends for?” Fluttershy grinned, returning the hug. “Oh! Speaking of friends, have you seen Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie said, looking at Fluttershy with concern again. “Don’t worry, I found you first, but we’re not leaving till we find her.” Fluttershy smiled. “Right! Operation Locate Dashie is go!” Pinkie Pie smiled happily, saluting Fluttershy. “It really is for the best.” A cold voice said. “Yea…it’s what I’ve always wanted after all.” Rainbow Dash tilted her head, closing her eyes as she agreed. “I’m glad to see you’ve been able to follow your true heart then.” The voice laughed. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to look at the pony that stood before her. She looked just like one of the Shadow Bolts, the flying team she had seen in the Everfree Forest the day they had taken down Nightmare Moon. “It’s what I’ve always done…no point in changing that now.” Rainbow said slowing looking around. The two of them were sitting in the middle of a burning building, the fire staying just far enough away to not burn them. “Good, then just take my hoof, and everything will be made clear.” The Shadow Bolt said, holding out her hoof to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked at the hoof hesitantly. It didn’t feel good, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do, but she felt it was the only thing she could do anymore. She slowly raised her hoof, reaching out to carefully take the Shadow Bolt’s hoof. “DASHIE!” Came an insanely cheerful voice as suddenly Rainbow Dash was suddenly tackled from behind, flattening her against the ground. The Shadow Bolt gasped loudly. “What the-Hey! Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow shouted annoyed, still being embraced by the pink mare. “Oh my gosh I thought I’d lost you! After you’d ran off I was so worried that I tried to find you and Fluttershy, only I started running into the monsters I ran into before. Man, I was so depressed because of what you said that I couldn’t help but start to relive the nightmare here, but that’s all okay now cause I forgive you! And now I’ve found you again!” Pinkie cried out happily all at once. “Yea, that’s great Pinkie Pie, but your crushing me!” Rainbow groaned as she tried to sit up, Pinkie finally sliding off of her. “Oopsie, sorry about that.” Pinkie laughed. “And what’re you doing here anyway!? I told you we were supposed to find Fluttersh-“ Rainbow Dash stopped herself as her eyes went wide, “Fluttershy! Oh my gosh, I TOTALLY FORGOT!” Rainbow Said looking around rapidly, “What am I doing here!? I have to find Fluttershy!” “It’s okay Dash, I’m already here.” Fluttershy smiled happily, walking into the burning room from the hallway Pinkie had just ran through at blinding speed. “Fluttershy! You’re okay!” Rainbow said galloping over and hugging Fluttershy, “What was I thinking!? You were right in front of me not too long ago and I completely forgot I had to protect you!” Fluttershy laughed, hugging Rainbow Dash back, “It’s okay Dash, this place does weird things to a Pony.” “Hey!” The Shadow Bolt yelled, standing up, glaring at the three mares before her. All three turned their heads to look at the Shadow Bolt, “What about your dreams!? You won’t accomplish them if you don’t come with me!” she growled. Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, Fluttershy smiled back at her, before Rainbow Dash grinned and turned to look at the Shadow Bolt, “Tell ya what, keep it for now. I’ll find a way to achieve my dream on my own.” The Shadow Bolt yelled, before turning into a puff of black smoke and disappearing into the burning building. “And don’t come back!” Pinkie yelled happily, waving at the puff of black smoke. “Fluttershy…I’m so sorry.” Rainbow said again, “I shouldn’t have let this place get to my head and forget about protecting you…” Dash then turned to Pinkie Pie, who was smiling at Dash, “And Pinkie…I’m…I’m sorry I yelled at you. That wasn’t right of me when you were only trying to help.” “That’s okay Dashie, I forgive you!” Pinkie said giving Rainbow another hug. “Let’s just focus on getting out of here!” “I can handle that.” Fluttershy smiled happily. She turned herself towards the hallway and stood proudly. Her golden necklace began to softly glow, before releasing a beam of light that shot out before them. A doorway of light formed, their exit home. The necklace around Fluttershy’s neck, having served its purpose, turned back into an orb of light, floating up into the air before disappearing. “Alright! Let’s go home!” Pinkie smiled happily. “Yea, I’m kind of tired of this place.” Dash grinned. “All of us are.” Fluttershy smiled. The three mares walked through the doorway of light together. -To Be Concluded in the Endings-