//------------------------------// // Metamorphosis // Story: Digital Harmony // by Zennistrad //------------------------------// Fluttershy awoke to the sound of a rooster crowing loudly outside her cottage. In the few short weeks that followed ENEIGHAC’s malfunction, her dreams had been filled with the same visions of the Digital World’s myriad landscapes. Stretching her legs and wings, Fluttershy rose from her bed and walked down the stairs, past the numerous small animals living in the cottage, and towards her kitchen. Reaching into her pantry, she pulled out a bag of feed and began pouring it onto the floor in several large piles. The animals stared at the pile hesitantly. “What? I gave you your food, what are you waiting for? Eat!” The animals glanced at each other briefly. Their caretaker had been acting unusually cold lately; while she still technically treated them with care, her heart simply didn’t seem to be into it to the same degree. Angel, realizing that this was another opportunity to get more food than usual, hopped towards one of the piles and began chowing down greedily. “That’s more like it,” said Fluttershy, “you all take care of yourselves, I’m going to the market to run some errands.” Angel briefly paused and looked up from his meal. Again!? he thought, What happened to staying to make conversation? This is the twelfth day in a row she’s left without talking to us! Fluttershy picked up her saddlebags from a nearby counter and headed towards the door. She looked briefly at the calendar on her wall before heading out towards the town, and took note of the date marked on it. She had been dreading this day for a while now, as it was a day that had usually spelled bad news for her in the past... April the First, otherwise known as April Foal’s Day. ———————— Fluttershy cautiously wandered out towards the town in the early morning daylight, hoping to avoid being caught up in somepony’s cruel idea of a joke. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had pinkie promised her last year that they wouldn’t prank her again, but she couldn’t help but dread their pranks regardless. Nevertheless, she continued trotting towards the town at a leisurely pace, stopping every now and then to make sure nopony was trying to catch her off-guard with an April Foal’s joke. She wouldn’t let that happen, no. She wasn’t going to be the pony that let other ponies push her around because they thought it was funny! “Easy there Fluttershy,” she said to herself, recalling the incident with Iron Will’s assertiveness seminar, “you don’t want to go down that road again.” Fluttershy took a deep breath and continued down the road, enjoying the scenery as the first few buildings of Ponyville proper came into view. Winter Wrap-Up had proceeded smoothly, albeit with Twilight taking a different role than before. Twilight had taken a break from her seemingly endless work on ENEIGHAC to supervise Winter Wrap-Up for the greater Ponyville area, and as such had mainly been involved in higher-lever management rather than the more hooves-on organizing work in earlier years. As she approached the town, Fluttershy’s thoughts drifted towards Twilight. She and the others had seldomly seen her in the past several weeks, and when they did it was only for a very brief time. She kept saying that she was simply very busy and would make time for them later, but after the fifth or sixth time the words began to lose much of their meaning. The other Bearers of Harmony had grown rather dissatisfied with Twilight’s behavior, but despite how neglected they felt they couldn’t help but regard her fondly in conversation. Every time the five of them got together, the discussions always drifted towards Twilight. How much they missed her, how much they cared about her, how special she was... ...And Fluttershy was completely and utterly sick of it. Why did Twilight have to be the center of attention at all times, even when she wasn’t around? The Elements of Harmony are equally important to one another, so whatever happened to being equals? Why did Twilight do that was so special that she got to be a princess? Was she the one who convinced the greatest force of evil known to Equestria to reform his ways? If anypony deserved to be royalty, it was... “'Scuse me.” Fluttershy’s train of thought was interrupted by a stallion pushing past her forcefully. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t seem to notice that she’d made her way into the bustling market of the Ponyville Town Square. “Hey!” she said, “That wasn’t very—” “Pardon me.” “Oof!” Fluttershy exclaimed, being pushed to the ground by another passerby, knocking her saddlebags aside and scattering the bits held inside. “I swear,” she muttered, picking herself of the ground and gathering the spilled bits, “the nerve of some ponies these days...” ———————— Fluttershy stood in line before a small produce produce stand. The vendor, a stallion with a faded green coat, was selling various vegetables, including radishes, tomatoes, beets, and celery. In front of Fluttershy was a mare with a cream-colored coat and three wrapped pieces of candy for a cutie mark, purchasing five of the tomatoes. “That’ll be five bits,” said the owner. The cream-colored mare placed her bits on the counter, and then took the tomatoes and put them into her bag before trotting off. “Thank you,” said the owner, flatly. After the cream-colored mare left, Fluttershy approached the vendor and made her selection. “Um, I’ll have five of those tomatoes, please.” The vendor gathered the tomatoes from the crates behind the stand and placed them on the stand in before Fluttershy. “That’ll be seven bits.” Fluttershy did a double-take. “Um, hold on, you just charged five bits for the last pony...” “Well, this is a different order. Seven bits.” “But it’s the exact same amount of tomatoes! You can’t charge me more than other ponies for the same product!” “Look, Shutterfly—” “Fluttershy.” “Whatever. In case you didn’t notice, this is my shop, and I set my own price. You’ve been buying from me for years, so don’t act like this is anything new.” Fluttershy clenched her teeth in anger, and her eyes lit up with rage. “Fine!” she yelled loudly, reaching into her saddlebag and placing her bits on the counter, causing the stand owner and several of the ponies in line to flinch. “Go ahead and extort me, then! See if I ever come back again!” With a swift motion, she placed the tomatoes into her other saddlebag, before lifting off the ground with her wings and flying away. The stallion stood still for a moment, shocked by Fluttershy’s brief outburst. He quickly got over it, however, and he soon found himself rolling his eyes. “You’ll come back,” he muttered under his breath, “you always come back.” ———————— Fluttershy hovered several feet off the ground, continuing her daily errands. While she normally didn’t spend much time flying, she somehow felt a lot more comfortable with it now than she did in the past. Much to her relief, she’d so far managed to avoid any “hilarious” pranks. As she continued her daily errands, all of the vendors continued to inflate their prices when dealing with her specifically, same as they always did as soon as they realized they could get away with it. She’d always been somewhat bothered by it, but it wasn’t until now that she was starting to feel truly angry about it. Still, she didn’t want to repeat the incident with Iron Will, so she gave them what they charged, though always with an accusation of extortion or price-gouging. An observer would have described it as extremely passive-aggressive. After finishing of the rest her errands for the morning, she made her way towards one final destination: a stand set up by none other than the Element of Honesty herself. Now there’s somepony I know won’t overcharge me, thought Fluttershy. She approached the end of the line, which was one of the longest in the market; Applejack’s honesty didn’t make her any less of a shrewd businesspony, many customers appreciated it, in fact. As time passed, she eventually made her way towards the front of the line. A stallion tried to cut in front of her once, but a glare from Fluttershy was more than enough to get him to back off. When she reached the front, she was greeted familiar accent of one of her closest friends. “Well howdy there, sugarcube. What can Ah get for ya?” “The usual, a bushel of apples.” “Alright, that’ll be ten bits.” Fluttershy reached into her saddlebag with her right hoof and pulled out the last of her bits, placing them into her left and counting them. “Let’s see, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...” Fluttershy’s eyes widened suddenly when she realized that there weren’t any more in her hoof. “No, that can’t be right!” she exclaimed, “I was sure I had more!” “Something wrong there, Fluttershy?” “My bits! I only have eight! I must’ve dropped the rest when I got knocked over earlier!” Applejack blinked. “Sorry to hear that, sugarcube,” she said apologetically, “but Ah’m afraid Ah can’t charge you anything less than ten bits. Them’s business, you know?” “What!?” said Fluttershy, practically shouting. “But Applejack!” she pleaded, “You’re one of my best friends! Can’t I get a discount just this once?” Applejack winced briefly. As much as she sympathized with Fluttershy, she knew couldn’t alienate her other customers by giving special treatment to her friends. “Sorry sugarcube, as much as Ah’d like to help you out, that just wouldn’t be fair to the other customers. If there’s anything else you want for less than eight bits, Ah’ll gladly get that for ya.” Fluttershy frowned. “Forget it,” she said, “I don’t need any of your stupid apples.” With that, she took to the air and flew down the road, away from the center of the town. Applejack stared incredulously at Fluttershy at as she left. She’s been acting mighty strange lately, she thought, Ah wonder if something’s bothering her? ———————— Fluttershy flew hurriedly through the town, being sure to remain above the crowds that would so easily push her aside just to get their way. She couldn’t help but be annoyed, no, infuriated, by the way they treated her. Everypony thought that, just because she was the Element of Kindness, that she was also soft. She was sick of it. Fluttershy paused mid-flight, and took a deep breath. Easy, calm down, she said to herself, no need to get upset, you don’t want to get mad. Come to think of it, she had been getting mad. She’d practically snapped at the first vendor she went to today, so much that he actually flinched in shock. Why am I being so hostile lately? She thought to herself. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a water balloon it her, bursting on impact and leaving her drenched. “What the hay!?” “April Foal’s!” said a pair of young voices nearby. Fluttershy turned her head towards her attackers, a pair of young unicorn colts. She recognized them immediately as the ones who brought the Ursa Minor to Ponyville during Trixie’s first appearance. “You little twerps!” she shouted, eyes glowing with anger. The two unicorns gulped nervously as Fluttershy swiftly flew down towards them, her rage-filled face appearing mere inches before their own. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” pleaded the shorter of the two, “It was Snails’ idea! Blame him!” “What! No it wasn’t!” exclaimed the taller unicorn, “You’re the one who said—” “Both of you, shut up!” The two colts were immediately silenced by Fluttershy’s forceful yell, their faces both going pale. “Now you listen here, and listen well! If you two think you can go about playing your so-called pranks on me like that without consequence, then you are mistaken!” “We’re sorry! We’re sorry!” “We won’t do it again, we promise!” The two unicorns shivered as Fluttershy focused her infamous Stare on both of them. Finally, after several painfully long seconds, she spoke. “You two better not even think of pulling that sort of thing on me again, understood?” “Understood,” they both said simultaneously. “Good,” said Fluttershy, turning her gaze away from the pair. Still scowling, she took to the air and flew down the road towards her cottage. ———————— Fluttershy soon arrived at her cottage, still frowning and sopping wet from the water balloon. The numerous animals inside made way for her as she headed straight towards the bathroom and toweled herself off. As she exited the bathroom, she headed straight for the kitchen pantry, as was her routine, and grabbed a bag of feed from the pantry. The animals watched carefully as she unceremoniously dumped the entire bag on the ground, not even bothering to separate the feed into different piles. “Lunchtime,” said Fluttershy wearily, “Eat.” The animals could only stare incredulously at Fluttershy and the messy pile of feed before them. Even with her recent behavior, she was never this cold. Several seconds passed before Fluttershy spoke again. “Fine,” she said, “don’t eat, then. I’m going to rest for a bit. Don’t disturb me.” Walking out of the kitchen, Fluttershy made her way down the hall, into the living room. She floated into the air and plopped herself onto the couch, lying on her stomach. Despite only being around noon, Fluttershy was already exhausted. Sighing, she slowly closed her eyes and began to doze off... Thump thump thump. Fluttershy opened her eyes to find the source of the thumping noise that disturbed her. Standing on the couch in front of her was Angel, crossing his arms and tapping his foot angrily. “Angel, I told you not to disturb me, what do you want?” We need to talk, thought Angel. Though Fluttershy couldn’t hear him, her connection with animals gave her an understanding of what Angel was trying to say. “What do you mean?” You’ve been treating us like complete crap, that’s what! Fluttershy was momentarily taken aback by this. “W-what?” she stuttered, plainly shocked. For the past two weeks you’ve been leaving without talking to any of us! You just dump food on the ground three times a day and then leave us alone for the rest of it! And I haven’t had my tail fluffed at all this month! Fluttershy cringed. It was true, she had been acting rather cold to her animals lately. Pangs of guilt began to form in her heart as she looked back at Angel, who was still fuming. Why had she been acting so negligent? “I... I’m sorry, Angel,” she said, sadly. “I didn’t realize I was being so uncaring. I promise I’ll make it up to all of you later, okay?” No! Later’s not good enough! We deserve better now! Especially me! Fluttershy sighed wearily, and closed her eyes. “Angel, please, I’m really tired right now. Can I please just rest for the moment?” *SMACK* Fluttershy’s eyes snapped wide open at the sensation of being struck across the face. She saw Angel holding his front paw aloft, frowning at her angrily. No resting! Angel raised his paw and slapped Fluttershy across the face once more, causing her to wince as it left reddened mark on her cheek. Fluttershy was speechless. Angel had slapped her before, but he had never done it twice in a row, and never so that it would actually physically hurt her. Fluttershy felt her chest tighten a sickening feeling began to form inside her stomach. Angel had hurt her. She had raised Angel since the very day he was born, caring for him as though he were her own child. And Angel hurt her. Fluttershy began to sweat profusely. She covered her eyes, her heart pounding and her breathing became more ragged. She felt sick to her stomach, and her forehead throbbed with a dull pain. Her entire being felt violated. A sense of guilt washed over Angel as he realized what he’d done to his caretaker. Mama? Are you alright? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you! Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice. As she continued to lie on the couch, her vision became filled with scenes from her own past experiences. She watches as moments of her own life played before her, as though she were watching her own memories, haphazardly cobbled together and played on a film. “Ha! What a wimp! What good is a pegasus that can barely even fly?” “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but you failed your flight exam again. Honestly, at this point I’m not sure we’ll be able to graduate you...” “Don’t you dare call me your father, you worthless waste of a pony! I can’t believe I wasted my genes on you!” Fluttershy watched helplessly as the worst moments of her life played before her, reminding her of her of the pain she’d endured throughout her life. All of her failures, all of her inadequacies, every time she’d ever suffered because she was weak. The weight of reliving these scenes became too much for her to bear, and she began to cry into the couch cushion. Angel’s ears drooped visibly as he looked in horror as his caretaker, who continued to sob uncontrollably. He quickly hopped over to Fluttershy’s side and hugged her, tears beginning to fill his own eyes as well. I’m sorry, Mama! I-I didn’t mean it! Please forgive me! Fluttershy responded to the sudden warmth by her side, her sobs quickly dying down. Uncovering her face, she opened her eyes to see Angel clinging tightly by her side. Angel looked up at his caretaker, his ears still drooping, and his lower lip quivering visibly. Fluttershy looked down at Angel, her eyes still reddened from the crying, and sniffled slightly. And then something within her snapped. Her left eye began to twitch uncontrollably, and her face contorted into a visage of pure, unbridled rage. “You wretched little worm!” Fluttershy yelled, “How dare you!” Rising to her hooves, she lifted her front leg and smacked Angel straight across the face, sending him flying multiple feet across the room. Angel struggled to his feet and looked up at Fluttershy helplessly, with a look somewhere between disbelief and heartbreak on his face. Fluttershy rose into the air on her wings, and grimace angrily at Angel, causing him to flinch in fear. “I’ve had it with you and your attitude! I’ve had it with everyone! I’m tired of being pushed around like and tossed aside like some sort of ragdoll! From now on I’m going to show everypony who’s— Huh?” Fluttershy’s train of thought suddenly interrupted itself, as she noticed Angel lying on the ground, shivering in fear of Fluttershy’s sudden outburst. Fluttershy’s anger faded completely as she lowered herself to the ground, tears forming in her eyes once more. “I-I’m sorry, Angel!” she exclaimed, approaching him slowly, “I didn’t mean—” Before she could finish her sentence, Angel skittered away fearfully, leaving her alone in the living room. As she watched Angel abandon her, the intense guilt that she felt began to dissipate, giving way to hurtful anger. “Fine!” she yelled. “Go ahead and reject my heartfelt apology! I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone!” Turning back towards the couch, she sighed inwardly, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions. Sadness, anger, regret and frustration gnawed away at her from the inside as she collapsed onto the couch once more. What am I going to do? She thought to herself. I’m so tired of being pushed around all the time! But if I let my frustration get the better of me, I’ll hurt everyone I care about! I wish there was some other way... Suddenly, an idea began forming in her mind, seemingly without any sort of provocation. An idea that could prove to be exactly the answer she needed. The Digital World... She recalled the world that ENEIGHAC had showed her, and the mysterious voice that had spoken to her. A simulated world created through ENEIGHAC... That was it. A simulated world. Nothing she would do would hurt anyone there. She could vent her frustrations of the world without affecting anything. But how was she going to get there? Fluttershy smirked. I have an idea, she thought, it’s crazy, but it just might work!