Written by Poison Cure
***
Blood: the crimson essence of of life. It was now, as it had always been, the only comfort, the only feeling of warmth she found in these cold days. She stumbled along the beaten path, eyes half closed, mane hiding her face, teeth grinding from her pain. This was same path she took in her youth. The same one she walked with her friends.
She exhaled, shaking herself from the thoughts. They were no longer important, nothing in the past did. Nothing, but a single memory. A face, a mare she knew as a filly. It was the only thing that had kept her alive, the desire to see her once more.
Her large, blood drenched trench coat hid most of her figure aside from the large wings on her back. The bands and belts hung undone and loss as the long ends dragged in the dirt. A canister of liquid was on her side, swishing back and forth, bearing a foreign symbol on it. A single shoulder plate rested over the coat’s left sleeve.
Behind her, wrapped in chains and to her right hoof, was a large blade being dragged, forcing up dust and dirt as it was pulled.
The trees overhead looked so different, yet so similar. The leaves slowly fell slowly, blissfully to ground in shades of red, brown, green, yellow... They danced in a fall much like a faded rainbow. It was too peaceful to have know the pain in her eyes. She did not stop, she wanted to make it to her destination. That was all that mattered to her. See had to see her.
The animals of forest watched her from a safe distance, to afraid to come close. She reeked of death, decay, violence. What she had done was unknown to them, but the smell of blood was strong, almost overpowering to a scent... of flowers. Such a bittersweet combination.
A few of the of the smaller animals began to follow behind her, but fearfully. She pause, turning back only to see the creatures flee from sight.
“I saw... thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.” She muttered, “and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony... and because of the word...” She tumbled onward, her tail twitching at every other word. Her long mane draped her eyes. She could feel something on her face. Where they tears? She could not remember. The mare wanted to, but did not.
At last, she saw an end to what looked like the infinite forest.
“They had not worshiped the beast,” she continued her muttering walking towards the edge of the forest and a single tree with a sheet of paper nailed to it. She was so close it, almost able to touch it. “... Or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hooves... They came to life and reigned...!” She froze, looking at the paper. It was worn and tattered, but the words were clear.
Missing
Name: Fluttershy
Age: 17 (24 as of this year)
Appearance: A female mare with a yellow coat and a rosey pink mane.
Last seen: The Everfree Forest
If anypony as any information, please contact Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, or Rainbow Dash. A reward of 2300 bits as been agreed upon to be paid to anypony that has any information regarding our friend.
-Twilight Sparkle
She read it over, then again, and again. This picture on the of the mare on the missing poster, it looked so familiar. Did she know her? And that one name... Rainbow Dash. She knew it. It was was important to her. It was then she realized that was was mare she came to see! Her face, her form, all of it was so clear in her memories. She was cyan mare, with a polychromatic mane. She was wild, fun, and loyal. Rainbow Dash was indeed the mare she come so far to see. She must have been.
But there was the picture, the yellow mare. Why did it bother so much to see it? It was so odd. Quickly pulling the chain, she grabbed her bloodstained blade and forced it into the poster. She violently pulled it out, leaving a large gashed where the mare picture once was. She sighed heavily as she walked out of the forest.
The air was chilled, cold, unforgiving. However, it was mattered not to her. She wanted nothing more than to find Rainbow Dash. Walking out into a open field, she spotted something on a hill. A cottage home. Something about it looked so familiar, so warm. Almost against her will, she found herself walking to it.
A small creek ran nearby with a tiny bridge connecting over it. Many of the trees had birdhouses on them, but most were beaten, battered, and almost destroyed. The house itself look abandoned, deprived of life. As she made her way to the door, it became clear it was rotting off its hinges. With a swift kick, it was broken and two parts fell to the ground.
She looked about the home silently. Nothing, the home was empty of everything other than a few pieces of furniture. But, something about the home felt odd, it made her feel something in her chest. It hurt. Taking the bottle on her side, she began to pour out a small amount of it onto the floor of the living room and trailed it outside. Standing in front of the broken door now, outside once more, she dug something out of her coat’s pocket with her wings. A box of matches. sparking one to life, she tossed it into the fluid, setting into motion a larger flame.
It tore through the home, burning away everything it touched, spreading faster than the mare had thought. She slowly began to back away from the home, refusing to look up. Once more yanking on the chain to retrieve her blade, she viciously swung it at doorway, forcing it to collapse. She stared at the home, as the odd feeling on her face returned.
“But the cowardly...” The mare spoke into the wind, “the vile, the murderers and all the liars...they will be consigned to the fiery lake... of burning sulfur. This is the... second death." She wondered why she did that. Why had she felt this way once more? Why did she want to see this Rainbow Dash? Why was she here?
It hurt. All of it.
“Why? Where is my light...? Where is my angel...? Where is my rainbow...?”
A noise from above caught her attention. Wings, powerful ones. It was pegasus and she was panting. Landing a few feet, the mare caught sight of her appearance. A cyan mare with polychromatic mane. It was her, Rainbow Dash. The mare she wanted to see.
‘And then, I saw an angel descend from the heavens.’ The mare thought.
“Just what the buck do you think you’re doing!?” Rainbow shouted enraged, forcing her tears back. “You... How dare you! Do you even know who’s house that was!? What gives you the right to do that?! Just who do you think you are?!”
The mare turned away, unable to look at the pegasus. “I... don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I just-”
“You just what?!” Rainbow felt her body tease. “You burnt down Fluttershy’s house, you bastard! You...! You...!”
“Who’s Fluttershy?” The mare asked with curiously. The name hung in the air and raised so many questions for her.
Rainbow Dash felt numb to her this question. “Who’s... Fluttershy?” Again, she could feel herself becoming angry. All the years of bottling up her emotions was finally broken. “Who’s Fluttershy?! She was my best friend! My first friend! And I was idiot! I... I lost her! I don’t know what happened on that day... But it was my fault! And I...”
“You loved her?” the mare asked almost in a monotone voice.
Dash’s eyes snapped up to the mare whose face was hidden in her mare. “... Yes I did! I loved her, but I never said a thing...! I swore I’d tell her how I felt when we found her! But that was almost six years ago...”
“So, you gave up?” The mare asked.
Rainbow Dash was almost at the point of being in a frenzy. “Never! I will find her, ya hear me! And you... You burnt her home down! You burned it down! Why?!” She was so mad, so emotional. This stranger had taken something away from her, the memory of Fluttershy home. Something about this stranger made her so lose it. Years of hiding it was over. “Answer me!”
“You... should have moved on...” The mare said, looking back to the burning home. “It would have been easier for you if you did... No pain.”
This was final straw. With every single ounce of rage Rainbow had, all the years of pain, everything, she let out all at once. She rushed the strange mare, tackling her to the down to ground and down the hill. She was grunting, jabbing at the mare’s sides, half screaming. At the bottom of the hill, Rainbow Dash landed on top, grabbing the collar of the coat with her hoof as the blade slide nearby.
“Don’t you dare talk to me like you know me!” She shouted. “Like you know her! You don’t! You don’t have any idea who she is or what she means to me! And I swear, if you ever say that again, I will kill you, you son of-”
Just like that, she stopped. Rainbow Dash felt something inside of her she thought she would never feel again. The mare she had tackled had a yellow coat of fur underneath the coat she wore. Her mane was gentle, faded rosey pink stained red in some parts. Her face was soft, with bandages covering one of her eyes. The other, was slightly dazed looking, and yet, held a loving look to it teal’s color. Rainbow Dash knew who this was.
She felt her tears finally flow for first time in years. All those day of looking, praying, hoping that she would see her again were not wasted. Her body trembled and felt weak.
“F-Fluttershy?” Her voice was all but give out.
“For what’s it worth, I’m glad... you waited.” Fluttershy, felt her lips curl slightly. Was she smiling? She had not smiled in so long, she felt odd, but she welcomed the feeling. She finally knew why the name, “Fluttershy,” was so familiar to her. It was her name.
Dash did not dare move away, she wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy. “Oh, thank Celestia! Fluttershy! I... I missed you so much! I.. I-”
“I love you...” Fluttershy muttered sweetly. This was why she came here. This is why she wanted to see Rainbow Dash. This was her quest. Her destination. Her purpose.
She could feel her heart beating with joy, a joy she thought was lost to her. Six years of pain, sadness, torture, and loss , it all felt worth it to be in this moment here. It was this day she had her revelation...