Fluttershy used her yellow wings to drift high into the clouds, where the rain lighted up the higher she got. Rainbow Dash’s home was still white and puffy, despite any weather. Fluttershy gingerly set foot on the clouds that held it in the sky. Those able to fly were light enough to walk on clouds without falling through. She gently knocked on the door. No response.
“Hello? Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked aloud. Still nothing. She jiggled the doorknob, which creaked open in the stormy wind. Fluttershy entered quickly and shut the door, in nearly total darkness. The only source of light was a lantern sitting on a desk in the middle of the room. The dim light cast by the lantern only created a circle of illumination, not lighting up the walls, just the desk. A typewriter also sat on the table, next to lantern. Why would Rainbow Dash have a typewriter? She didn’t strike Fluttershy as a literary type.
Fluttershy slowly stepped closer to the desk, the sound of her footsteps echoing around the empty house. Perhaps Rainbow’s writings would be a window into her pained psyche.
Fluttershy held her breath as she leaned over the typewriter. There were only three two words typed on the paper.
Feelin’ fine.
Fluttershy sighed, relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought Rainbow Dash was going mad.” She said to herself.
But she spoke too soon. Thunder crashed around the house, startling Fluttershy. The lightning flickered, several times, illuminating the rest of the room where the lantern did not. All over the walls and floors, the lightning revealed words and phrases scribbled madly with ink.
NO LOVE. THERE’S NO LOVE
I feel like a monster
NO MORE TEARS TO CRY
Disconnected, SO ALONE
No one needs you after all
I WON’T BE IGNORED
And the biggest and most frequent phrase: DON’T TAKE THEM FROM ME.
These were but a few of the writings on the wall. Each one changed style and accent, making them lack consistency and there was absolutely no rhyme or reason.
“This is less encouraging...” Fluttershy whimpered. She heard the sound of a door opening. A door she was sure she left closed. She turned, and saw Rainbow Dash’s silhouette in the doorway.
“Hello, Fluttershy.” She growled.
Fluttershy flinched. “AH! Rainbow Dash! You scared me...” She said nervously.
Rainbow Dash looked around her own house. “What do you think, Fluttershy? All I need is a title. I was thinking along the lines of ‘Don’t something them from me’.” She said, like she didn't already know the answer.
Fluttershy began to panic. Rainbow Dash had bags around her eyes and her hair was a mess. Rainbow's knuckles were white and her face twitchy. “Uh... would that happen to be ‘Don’t take them from me’?”.
Rainbow smirked. “Yeah. That’s it.” She said, more malevolent. “So, do me a favor and just not leave me like those damn whores.” She growled.
Fluttershy was trembling. “Y-You mean Rarity and Applejack?” she squeaked. She could practically smell the alcohol in Rainbow’s breath.
“Don’t you dare mention them. They’re nothing but dirty, backstabbing whores! They think they could just toy with me. Make me feel with garbage with their love. It sickens me.”
“B-b-but they haven’t done anything wrong...”
“HA!” Rainbow cackled, making Fluttershy flinch. “You just wait! They’re gonna leave me, leave you and Pinkie and everyone!” Rainbow’s eyes filled with the unmistakable trace of hatred. “And soon enough, you’ll leave me too. Friendship only builds itself up just so someone can watch it burn down again.”
“Rainbow, I would never do that! If Rarity and Applejack love each other, so be it! They’re still our friends, and nothing will change that!” Fluttershy replied.
“You know what happened to the last person who told me that?” Rainbow hissed.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she knew Rainbow was referring to Pinkie. She backed away, slowly approaching the corner of the room. “Rainbow... stay away from me...” she whimpered, as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Rainbow Dash slowly advanced, picking up the red-hot coal poker from her fireplace. “Sorry, Fluttershy. But I’m not letting you walk away from this. Not without a warning.”
Fluttershy ducked down as Rainbow Dash jammed the poker straight forward, but it missed Fluttershy, and left a searing hole in the drywall. This allowed Fluttershy to dive out from the corner, before Rainbow pulled the poker from the wall. As Fluttershy scampered away on the floor, Rainbow took another swing, grazing Fluttershy’s left wing. Fluttershy let out a blood-curdling scream of pain as a fiery agony filled her wing. She tried to get to her feet, and hurried up the stairs, with Rainbow Dash on her trail. Fluttershy ran into a bedroom, and slammed the door. She quickly locked it and held it shut as Rainbow slammed on it.
“Come on out, you coward! I want to hear you beg for mercy!” Rainbow shrieked, and jammed the red hot poker through the wooden door, missing Fluttershy by mere inches.
Fluttershy looked around the room, looking for anything to help her hold off Rainbow Dash. Tears were dripping down her cheeks as the pain of her burned wing and scarred mind tore through her. Her only salvation was right in front of her. A window. Fluttershy raced towards it in a full on sprint before Rainbow tore through the door, peeking in through a hole in the wood.
Fluttershy hit the window. She burst through the glass, feeling a few pieces lacerate her skin.
And then, time slowed to a crawl for her.
She fell down and down, but her mind was somewhere far, far away.