A Dash of Shyness

by TM2 Dinobot


Chapter VII

Chapter VII

“FLUTTERSHY!” Rainbow Dash called.

It was no use, this city was huge. She’d managed to track her friend to east, the yellow dart headed for Cloudsdale. It had taken every skill Dash knew just to arrive in one piece. She’d been blown off course three times, her weight much less than what the wind normally tangled with. Her wings had locked up twice from the length of journey and speed required of them, and her stomach was now a continuous growl, letting Dash know that there would be no return trip until it was requited. She had no idea how Fluttershy had managed it.
Cloudsdale was everything Dash remembered it to be. The busy sky lanes were jammed with traffic, and the shifts changed every few hours or so at the Weather Factory, ensuring the walkways were always packed. Dash had to move faster than usual to keep from being stepped on. Stallions and mares walked right past her, uncaring and unconcerned that she was just a young foal. She wasn’t used to it.
But that didn’t matter. Dash had to find Fluttershy. The crying pony had beaten her to the city by minutes. Before the second time she tangled with the wind and lost, Dash was staring at they little yellow blank flank for almost ten minutes. She almost had her! But as soon Fluttershy she hit the sky lanes, it was over. That had been hours ago, and it was growing dark. Dash was cold and worried and, though she would never admit it to anyone, lost. She’d never been to Cloudsdale without her parents, and she needed guidance.
Inside the Weather Factory, unbeknownst to any pony outside, a silver Pegasi named Ditzy Doo was finishing up her shift hauling snowflakes. This was her third job in the factory in as many weeks, and the foreman had told her that if she messed up one more time, he’d stick her in the mailroom. It actually wasn’t her fault. Sure she’d spilled coffee all over the foreman, and dropped a bucket of hail on him, and accidentally pushed him into the rainbow vat. But it wasn’t her fault! She kept daydreaming about her ground-bound beau. He was so charming and preformed wonderful little tricks with his magic. He was a unicorn, and her parents didn’t really approve, but that made him exotic. At least her grandfather understood.
Sighing, she carried the snowflakes to the storage room. Passing by she bumped a wrench. It fell off the railing and harmlessly onto the floor below. Smiling, Ditzy resolved herself to finish her job, hurry back to pick it up, and then clock out.
Unfortunately for every pony, the wrench did not fall harmlessly to the floor. It landed on the foreman’s head, knocking him out cold. Ironically it actually did some good, because from that day on, all ponies in the Weather Factory were required to wear hard hats.
As other ponies gathered around to make sure he was all right, the wrench was kicked into the snow generator, which had been running at full capacity for the coming season. The generator, now blocked by the foreign implement, began to back up rapidly. No one noticed until the klaxons started, and by then it was too late; the emergency had reached critical levels. A high-pitched whine emanated from the generator, coalescing into a scream. One brave pony rushed for the emergency shut off, but it was far too late. The generator had reached critical mass, exploding with the force of a blue northern. Snow and ice were everywhere.
Pegasi, while in charge of the weather for all of Equestria, were notoriously fickle concerning their own weather. They hated walking in snow more than anything, and extreme temperatures could ice up their wings. They liked things hot and sunny. Therefore Cloudsdale itself hadn’t seen snow once in the past eighteen years.
This was their lucky night. Or, depending on how a pony chose to look at it, their unlucky night. A massive ball of snow and ice shot skyward from the factory’s tower, landing with a SPLAT and coating the entire city in a fine blanket of powder. It was known as the Freezing Factory Flub-up from that day forward. And no pony ever let the foreman forget it.
Ditzy Doo emerged from the thick walled freezer to see the factory floor in shambles. While not the most graceful pony ever, she knew to get when the getting was good. Ignoring the wrench, she quickly clocked out and left, promising herself that this would be the last time she ever messed up.
Rainbow Dash was clear on the other side of town when the alarms went off. While all the other ponies watched the giant ball of snow fly skywards, Dash decided to put the phrase ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ into practice, even though she didn’t know what it meant. Taking shelter in a trashcan, she cringed as the snow came slamming down on top of her hiding place. Now she was going to be cold, wet and smelly.
As last vestiges of day surrendered fully to night, Dash’s worry gave way to panic. She was now good and truly lost, and the northern winds blew through her like she was nothing but a pile of bones. Forced to walk, she shivered too much to fly now even if she’d had the energy.
That was when a miracle decided to grace Dash with its presence. Passing by on the snow-slogged sidewalk, Dash felt a warm glow from one of the shop windows. Something smelt delicious, and her stomach growled in agreement. Looking up, she practically salivated at the pastries presented in the window. Her breath condensed, fogging up the view and obscuring the yellow filly inside. Wait, yellow filly?
Dash cleaned two holes to peer through the window. There, at a table, hiding from the world behind her mane, sat Fluttershy. Dash yipped and tried to do a back flip, but it was too cold. Rushing inside, she didn’t even stop to wipe her hooves.

“Fluttershy!” cheered Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy’s ear twitched, but otherwise she didn’t move. “I’m so glad I found you!” she rushed up. Nothing. “Fluttershy?”

Dash reached for the trembling creature, pulling her mane back. Fluttershy was back to the way she’d been when they first met. Well, almost. Now she didn’t even have her eyes open. Before the tears had been an emotionless sadness. Now they were tears of fury, and she closed her eyes tight, lest she unleash some sort of impossible death stare on the entire world. She shivered with rage and it was all she could do to contain it.
Dash sat in the chair opposite, doing her own fair share of shivering, but that was more from walking in the cold than any type of emotion. There was a cinnamon bun and a cup of coffee left untouched in front of Fluttershy. Dash’s tummy rumbled again, but she muscled through, focusing on the emergency at hand. Dash, while not renown for her patience, always had a special place for Fluttershy. Except now she didn’t know what was wrong or how to help her.

“Fluttershy?” Dash said slowly, the voice of a concerned child. “Fluttershy, won’t you talk to me? Please?” If anything, Fluttershy’s silent fury intensified. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

Dash thought she might be getting somewhere, because now there was a high-pitched whine coming from her friend. Almost the exact sound the snow generator had made before it exploded. If Dash had recognized it, she might have left well enough alone.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked at last.

“YES! Yes I’m mad at you, Rainbow Dash! Didn’t you see what happened?! I’m so furious I could just SCREAM!”

Fluttershy was good for her word. She loosed her pent up, unbridled rage on her best friend, sending Dash into tears before her first sentence was even complete. It was a decibel level Dash had never heard from the pink-haired Pegasi before. Other pastry shop patrons looked on with great concern, but no one knew what to do.

“What-- What did I do?” was all Dash could stammer out, barely above a whisper.

“You left me standing there, humiliated! I called to you for help and you ignored me! I was so embarrassed in front of everyone one, and you just stared at me, right along with Ace! I am mad at the both of you.” Fluttershy was breathing now, regaining a sound closer to her old self. “But it’s not your fault. It’s mine. You’re my best friend-- you’re my only friend, and you’d never make me feel bad about myself.”

Dash nodded, grateful that whatever had happened, and she still didn’t understand what that was, it still wasn't her fault. Fluttershy’s words had missed their mark, because Dash was the mistress of taking her anger out on her friends. That was why she didn’t have any. Well, except for Fluttershy.
Dash had mostly stopped crying now, and it was again Fluttershy’s turn. The tears of fury hadn’t left, but they were replaced with embarrassment and a deeper pain that could never be healed, no matter how many buckets of tears fell.

“Except I do. I hate me. I hate these-- these-- Things!” Fluttershy spread her wings, glaring at them. “They're too big, and they have a mind of their own. All the colts stare at them! I didn’t ask for them. I don’t want them. I just wish they’d go away. I just want to tear them off!”

Fluttershy clamped down on the base of her left wing, drawing blood. Then she began pulling and tugging, tearing feathers loose by the mouthful but unable to even budge the appendage. Dash’s alarm was unequaled by any pony in the now-vacant café. How her friend could just try to tear off her own wings, the symbol of what it meant to be a Pegasi, the gateway to flight, Dash couldn’t understand.

“Fluttershy, stop!” Dash reached across the table to stop her, spilling the coffee.

Fluttershy turned, spitting out yellow feathers. She looked deep into her friend’s eyes. The younger pony didn’t get it. To her, wings were freedom. To Fluttershy, they were symbols that bound her to the clouds, ensuring every pony would always look at her in a certain way.

“Let’s go home.” Fluttershy sighed, walking for the door.

“Fluttershy?” Dash followed. That cinnamon bun looked so good, but there was no way she was going to lose her friend twice in one day.

Outside the night sky had turned Cloudsdale into a city of glistening ice. No ponies wandered the streets, and the weather wasn’t conducive for flying. What did the wind expect Pegasi to do, walk?! Fluttershy watched her winter breath for a moment, but even the simple pleasure of clouds couldn’t cheer her any. She turned briskly, the rainbow pony at her side.

“How do we get home?” asked Fluttershy.

“I… I don’t know.” Dash struggled to keep of the trot. “I… got lost.”

“Well, if we fly east we should be able to find the school.”

“Can’t fly… too tired…” Dash gasped.

Fluttershy turned. Rainbow Dash was on her last legs. While Fluttershy had been snuggled in the warm café feeling sorry for herself, Rainbow Dash had been wandering the streets of a dangerous city, alone, looking for the friend she’d sworn never to abandon. And Fluttershy, the klutz she was, had dragged her out of the café without even buying Dash a snack, let alone a proper meal. Now they were too far away to make it worthwhile.

“Oh, Dashie.” Fluttershy snuggled her neck for a moment. “You are the loyalist friend any pony could ever ask for. Thank you for coming to find me when I needed a friend so badly.”

“Hey, it’s no biggie.” Dash blushed as she blew it off. Those few words had gone a long way to repairing her bruised feelings. A warm meal wouldn’t hurt either. “So what’s the plan?”

“Um, I think we could get a taxi.”

“Isn’t that going to be kind of expensive?”

“I’ll pay for it.”

“No, I mean like, I only get a two bit allowance every month, and even I had it on me, I don’t think I have enough saved.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I’ll take care of it, Dashie.”

“How are you going to do that?” Dash was confused again.

“I told you, my father is a very important business pony in Manehattan.”

“So?”

“‘So,’ I’m rich.” Fluttershy grinned.

“Well. Well. Well. Ain’t that something’, boys?”

Dash and Fluttershy both gasped. Out of the shadows walked the three meanest looking stallions Dash had ever seen. Two were so blue they were almost black, most likely brothers. Wearing flight goggles tended to be intimidating, especially at night, and they both pulled it off masterfully. Both their manes had been spiked and dyed electric blue. Tattoos adorned their chests and legs, mirrored designs from the other.
The third, their leader, had a pelt as red as blood. His mane was unkempt but natural, like a black cloth wafting in the wind. He wore no facial protection, gladly showing off the long scars running down his head and across his defunct eye. Spreading his wings wide, Dash gasped again. Not content with tattoos, he’d pierced his wings, studs and chains adorning them like shrapnel from a flack cannon. Entire feathers were missing, adding to the effect.
They began approaching, spreading out and unconsciously herding the girls back into an alley. The red leader’s hooves clopped on the hardened clouds, making a sound unlike anything Dash had heard before. That was when she noticed his fore hooves. They had been drastically sharpened, filed into three deadly claws. A pony with talons instead of hooves. Dash shuddered visibly at the thought.

“I see you noticed the merchandize. They usually get the attention of the fillies. Would you like to feel them?”

“No! Go away!”

That Fluttershy was even able to utter that phrase was a testament to her bravery. She continued crawling backwards, making herself as small as possible behind Dash. Rainbow Dash, never one to back down from a fight, spread her wings and puffed her chest out, making herself as large as possible. It wasn’t very effective on either of their parts.

“Aww, now that isn’t very nice.” The ringleader replied with mock sweetness. “Allow me to introduce myself. My friends call me ‘Claw’. Well, they would if I had any friends. I’m the leader of the Sky Hawks. Perhaps you’ve heard of us?”

“Can’t say I have.” Rainbow Dash sounded braver than she really was. She was quite pleased with herself. “What do you want?”

“What a pity.” Claw examined his, well, claws. They didn’t move independently. They didn’t have to in order to kill. The two flankers continued to herd the fillies further into the dark alley. “It’s simple. My comrades and I were trotting along on this beautiful night, when we happened to overhear your friend’s comment. Now I, being somewhat of a business pony myself, thought her father and I could reach some sort of arrangement.”

“What sort of… ‘Arrangement’?” Dash was having a little difficulty tracking Claw’s line of thought through his thick Trottingham accent.

“Quite a simple one. He pays us my weight in gold, and I don’t send his daughter back to him in itty bitty pieces.”

“Ransom.” Dash figured it out. She bumped into Fluttershy who had stopped. Sparing a glance, their backs were now good and truly against the wall.

“Now you’re getting it.” If it hadn’t been for the evil grin on his face, Dash would have thought the stallion was genuinely happy.

“What about me?” She asked slowly, a sense of danger prickling at the back of her head, like a bogie on her tail.

“What about you?”

“Are you going to ransom me too?” asked Dash.

“Do you have rich parents?” asked Claw.

“…No.”

“Then no. Boys, she’s all yours.” Claw gestured.

One of the stallions blinked behind his goggles. “Boss, are you sure? She’s just a filly.”

“Gentle ponies,” Claw sighed. “Allow me to relay to you what my old stallion taught me concerning fillies and the age of consent. ‘If there’s sky grass on the field, play Airball. And',” he added with a smirk. “'Sometimes it’s alright to play on a sandlot.'”

Dash was now good and truly afraid. She’d never wet herself before, but she was considering it, given that Fluttershy had just decided to pursue that option. Dash was going to have to find a way out, and fast. She might be able to take both of the stallions on the sides, alight maybe just one, but that left Fluttershy with Claw. And if she attacked Claw, one swipe from those hooves and she'd be a ground-bound amputee for the rest of her life.
As the three giants loomed closer, Rainbow Dash growled for all she was worth. Her heart was racing near the point of cardiac arrest. With a moment of clear revelation, she made her decision. She’d tackle all of them at once, giving Fluttershy a chance to escape. It would be a glorious end to an otherwise lack-luster beginning. Dash only regretted not being able to see her mother one last time. No going back now.
Revving her exhausted wings for all they were worth, she opened her mouth to tell Fluttershy to run. Except, when she shouted, thunder erupted.
Dark clouds coalesced above the alley, shooting lighting like the original Devil’s Box itself. The three stallions stepped back, startled. One last thunder clap shot to the ground between them and the girls, a pinkish-blue bolt of fire; the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

Firefly had arrived.