//------------------------------// // Act I - 02 - Koyaanisqatsi // Story: Harmony's Warriors: Flutterhulk // by Avenging-Hobbits //------------------------------// Act One "Places I Remember" Chapter Two "Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance)" Banner Wing stepped outside the hospital and took a deep cleansing breath. He looked around. It was a beautiful clear day, not a single cloud in the sky to be seen. He sighed and readied himself for take off. He jumped into the air and began to lazily fly towards the local university. Ponyville University was by no means a large campus. In fact, it was basically one building with a fountain in the front lawn. Banner Wing had taken a teaching position there when he and his family moved into town, since the local university really didn’t have any physics studies. So now he functioned as the university’s chief reference on all things physics. Which usually meant that he spend most of the day in his office rearranging his pencils. He glided down and came in for a landing. He stepped inside the university. “Hello Keypad.” He greeted a slate grey unicorn pony mare who was hunched over a typewriter. “Hey Banner Wing. There was a call for you this morning. What kept ya?” “Well, my brother wanted to talk to me. You know how it is.” Keypad looked up from her typewriter. “He doin’ better?” Banner Wing shook his head. Keypad shook her head as well. “Shame.” She returned back to the typewriter, it’s keys making loud clickety-clacks as she typed away. “You said I got a call this morning?” Banner Wing said, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible. “Yup.” Keypad replied. “Something about research.” This caught Banner Wing’s attention. “Really? Did they leave a number?” Keypad nodded and levitated a small note with a phone number on it. “There you go.” Banner Wing took the note from Keypad. “Thanks Keypad. Have a nice day.” He said as he turned towards his office which was down the hall. /////////////////////// Fluttershy quietly shifted through her locker. Glued on the door were various small pictures of her and her family and the occasional doodle. On the middle shelf sat a small wire cage, where a small white bunny sat, eating the food Fluttershy just gave him. “That’s a good Angel Bunny…eat it up.” She whispered. Besides Firefly, Angel Bunny was Fluttershy’s only real friend at the school. Not that she wasn’t liked, actually most of the teachers liked Fluttershy, since she was quiet and didn’t interrupt their lectures. Of course, this very thing, her natural shyness and quiet nature is what made her a typical target for any student to pick on. So far, though, things were actually going amazingly well, with no trying to avoid being flushed down a toilet or anything of the sort. “I’ve been having a great day you know that don’t you Angel?” Fluttershy whispered. Angel Bunny looked up from his food, stared at her for a moment, and then hopped over and gently nuzzled her extended hoof. Fluttershy smiled. “Oh of course you do Angel. Now go finish your food for Mommy.” She beckoned him back to the food. “Hey Flutters!” a very loud voice suddenly said. “EEP!” Fluttershy ducked into her locker, utterly terrified. “Oh relax Flutters! It’s me, Firefly!” Fluttershy peaked out from behind her mane. Standing in front of her was a pink pegasus with a blue mane, with three blue lightning bolts as her cutie mark. “Oh hi Firefly, didn’t see you there.” Fluttershy said, stepping out of her locker. Firefly shook her head. “That’s okay Flutters. How’s it going with you?” Fluttershy smiled. “Very good actually, I didn’t get flushed down the toilet or stuffed into a locker or anything today.” Firefly beamed. “Awesome! Hey guess what.” “What?” Fluttershy asked as she straightened out her mane and tail. “I got into flight camp!” Firefly exclaimed, jumping a couple feet into the air in her excitement. “Really! That’s so cool Firefly.” Fluttershy said, but then her smile started to fade. Firefly stopped jumping and looked at Fluttershy. “Hey what’s wrong Fluttershy? Isn’t that cool.” Fluttershy nodded weakly. “Yeah…I guess.” Her voice dropping down to a barely audible level. “It’s just that now you’ll have to move to Cloudsdale right?” Firefly’s shoulders sagged slightly. “Oh yeah….” She looked at Fluttershy. “But I can still visit during the summer break, right?” Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, I guess. It’s just I’ll be without my only friend here, I mean, besides Angel Bunny.” She motioned to the cage. Firefly thought for a moment. “Well….maybe you can make a new friend.” She looked around at the passing school fillies. “Uh…” she searched the crowd for a potential candidate. “What about that unicorn over there?” Fluttershy looked up in the direction Firefly was pointing. An alabaster unicorn filly with a purple mane and a triple diamond cutie mark walked by, her noise in the air. She exuded an aura of snootiness that made Fluttershy feel uncomfortable. “Um…no thank you…she looks kinda stuck up…” Fluttershy quietly murmured. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” Firefly said, rubbing the back of her neck. She continued to scan the school hallways. There was a silence between the two for awhile as they both watched their fellow school ponies. *BRING* *BRING* *BRING* *BRING* “That’s the school bell.” Fluttershy said, turning around and closing her locker. “We’ve gotta go to class Firefly.” “Huh? Oh yeah.” Firefly turned, opened her locker and pulled out her backpack. “Look, Flutters, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you sad.” She said, putting a reassuring hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Oh that’s okay Firefly. I’m truly happy for you. I hope you have fun there.” She suddenly pulled Firefly into a hug. “I’ll miss you so much.” Firefly hugged her back. “That’s okay, I’ll miss you too Flutters. And hey, we’ve still got the rest of the school day. Right?” Fluttershy smiled. “Yeah, that’s right. When do you have to leave?” she asked, as they made their way back to glass. Firefly’s shoulders drooped. “Tomorrow. I’m really sorry Fluttershy, I really am.” “Oh that’s okay, I don’t want your time there be ruined because you’re thinking about me.” Fluttershy said as they entered class and went to their seats. /////////////////////// Fluttershy walked home quietly, feeling depressed. Today had started so good. She had had a nice warm breakfast with her mother and hadn’t really been bullied at all today. Then Firefly had told her the news. And none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that she would be alone, in a school where she didn’t fit in. She reached her house and knocked on the door. The knob jiggled and opened to reveal her mother. “Fluttershy darling, come here.” She pulled her into a gentle hug. “How was school today?” Fluttershy shook her head and sniffed. “Horrible.” Tree Flower raised an eyebrow. “Really? How, were you bullied again?” Fluttershy shook her head. “No.” she sniffed again. Tree Flower became concerned. She leaned down and looked Fluttershy in the eyes. “Honey, what happened?” Fluttershy let out a long sad sigh. “Firefly’s leaving.” “What do you mean?” Tree Flower asked, already having a rough idea as to why. “S-she g-got into flight camp.” Fluttershy had now fully begun to cry. “a-and she has to leave Ponyville now for Cloudsdale.” “Oh that’s okay.” Tree Flower pulled the crying filly in for a hug and gently rocking her back and forth. “Don’t cry…it’ll be okay…” “But it’s my fault. She doesn’t want to be around me, I’m too shy and small.” Fluttershy sobbed. “No, no, that’s not true. She has to leave because she can’t learn how to fly in Ponyville. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon and you can both go and play games together.” Fluttershy stopped crying and looked up at Tree Flower. “R-really?” she sniffed. “Really.” Tree Flower replied. “Now, you ready for dinner?” Fluttershy nodded gently. “Yeah, I guess…” “Okay then, now go say hi to your father.” Tree Flower gently nudged Fluttershy towards her father, who sat at the dinner table. “Hi daddy.” Fluttershy nuzzled him. “Hello Fluttershy.” Banner Wing replied, gently scooping up Fluttershy in his wing. Fluttershy nuzzled him again. “Daddy?” “Yes?” “Do you love me?” Banner Wing paused. He hadn’t quite expected such a question from his daughter. He looked at her. She was the light of his life, everything he held dear in one small, gentle yellow package. And yet, even though he couldn’t imagine her any other way, he still felt like she was missing something. He looked her over, observing her cutie mark, three pink butterflies, a symbol for her intense love of animals. His eyes drifted to her gangly legs and her tiny little wings. They were the source of so much suffering for her. To be constantly mocked and picked on because her body shape was something that Banner Wing couldn’t abide. He took a deep breath and pulled Fluttershy in for a tight hug. “Oh Fluttershy, you know I love you. I’ll love you forever and ever. Don’t you ever doubt that okay?” Fluttershy hugged him and gently nuzzled his neck. “Okay daddy. I won’t.” Banner Wing looked at Tree Flower, concern in his eyes. Tree Flower smiled a smile that seemed to say “Don’t worry, everything will be all right.” Before she quietly returned to the kitchen to finish dinner. But still, deep down in the very bottom of his soul, Banner felt that things might not be all right. He couldn’t bare the idea of Fluttershy being forced to suffer any more pain. And in that moment, he decided, right then and there that he was going to end Fluttershy’s suffering once and for all. And the phone call he had received was the key. /////////////////////// Banner Wing sat in his bed, staring at the photo of Fluttershy on the opposite wall. It was taken when she was only one year old. She wore an innocent smile as if she didn’t have a care in the world. His mind ran through the events of the day. He had received the phone call he had always wanted, a way to better his family’s life. He had also seen Fluttershy in pain and crying. He could only imagine the pain and hurt that Fluttershy must have been feeling. “Darling?” he turned towards Tree Flower, who was quietly reading a book. “Yes dear?” “Did you know I got a phone call today?” he asked. Tree Flower turned to look at him, looking over her reading glasses. “Really dear? What about?” “About my job.” He said, sitting up slightly. “Oh really?” Tree Flower said, curiosity in her voice. “What about your job.” Suddenly an expression of fear crossed her face. “Oh, no. you didn’t get fired did you?” Banner Wing shook his head. “Oh no. Not at all.” He looked back at the wall. “Well, then what?” Tree Flower asked, closing her book and taking off her reading glasses. “You know how a couple weeks back I sent out my resume to some universities?” Tree Flower thought for a moment. “Yes…yes I do. I distinctly remember disagreeing with your decision.” Her voice carried the slightest bit of playful sarcasm. Banner Wing smiled. “Well, it seems that Canterlot University decided to take me up on a research job there. Something to do with the government.” Tree Flower let out a sigh and looked Banner Wing in the eyes. “Banner, you know for a fact that you can’t take that job. Fluttershy just lost her best friend to Flight School and now we’re going to have to move all the way to Canterlot and get Fluttershy in a new school. She barely fits in here, how will she be able fit into a school where she doesn’t even know a single soul?” “Yeah, but I can’t bear to see her like this.” Banner Wing said, looking into his wife’s dark blue eyes. “And I think this new job provides a way for me to put an end to her suffering once and for all.” Tree Flower simply stared back, her face stern. “And what is that Doctor?” Banner Wing winced slightly at her use of his professional title. She only ever used that when she was angry with him. “Well, apparently the government wants me to work on something evolving growth hormones or something.” He said. Tree Flower raised an eyebrow. “Why in Celestia’s name would the government want you to research something like that? You’re a physicist, not a chemist.” “They said they needed my knowledge of radiation.” Banner Wing ironed out some invisible wrinkles in the bed sheets. Tree Flower let out a frustrated sigh. “And how will this help Fluttershy? Don’t tell me you were going to try and use our daughter as some sort of lab rat.” Banner Wing looked down at the bed and said nothing. “Damn it Banner, I can’t believe you.” Tree Flower groaned. “This is our daughter’s well being we’re talking about, not another random experiment.” “Don’t you think I know that?” Banner Wing suddenly snapped. “It kills me to see Fluttershy mocked like that at school. Her wings, they’re so small and her legs are too long. That’s why they pick on her. No other reason. All I want to do is see if I can fix that, and nothing else. No radiation or anything. Just some simple growth hormones.” Tree Flower shook her head tersely. “Doctor Banner Wing, I will not allow you to use our daughter for that.” She then reached out and put a reassuring hoof on Banner Wing’s shoulder. “Don’t you understand,” her voice was now kind and understanding. “The way Fluttershy is, with her legs and wings, that’s how she was meant to be. That’s how she was made. She’ll grow out of it. Let nature take its course and everything will be alright. Don’t think that just because science can do it, means that it should do it. I really don’t think you should tamper in nature’s domain.” She then leaned her head against him. Banner Wing let out a heavy sigh and leaned against her. “I just want what’s best for her…you know?” “Yes dear. I know.” There was a long pause between them. “How soon until you have to leave?” Tree Flower asked, joining Banner Wing in staring at the far wall. “They said they hoped I’d be there before month’s end.” He said. Tree Flower let out a heavy sigh. “Well…” her eyes wandered, taking in the bedroom. “Let’s sleep on it. We’ve all had a long day and we’re all tired.” She yawned and reached over and turned off the lamp on her bed stand. “Good night darling.” She yawned before nodding off. Banner Wing sat quietly in the darkness, his wife now snoring quietly. The moonlight poured into the room, bathing it with a bluish glow. His eyes drifted around the room, taking in the wallpaper and the carpet. His eyes eventually rested on the framed picture of his family next to his bed. Poor Fluttershy. He thought. What do I do? He suddenly got up, being sure to not wake Tree Flower. He quietly made his way out of the room, and walked down the hallway and stopped in front of Fluttershy’s room. It was open just wide enough for him to gently nudge open. He looked at Fluttershy, who was sleeping contentedly, a small smile her face, clutching a Smarty Pants doll tightly. The sight of his beloved daughter content and happy, with nopony mocking her made something click inside Banner Wing. He had to do it. It’s the only way. He had to take the job. He had to work there. He had to find something, anything to finally give Fluttershy true peace. He would take that job and find a cure for Fluttershy’s problem. Even if it killed him.