//------------------------------// // No More Fear // Story: The Past of a Shy Mare // by Songbrony //------------------------------// "How many times have I told you?" my dad shouted at me, hitting my back. "Huh?! What have I told you?" "Stop!" I exclaimed, tears streaming down my face. "I don't know what you mean!" He hit me again across the face, not liking my answer. All I did was go to my room after school to start my homework. He had never beat me before for doing this, and I didn't know what he was so upset about. "You're nothing! You're filth, you're garbage, nobody could ever love you!" he shouted. "Not even that little Rainbow maned 'friend' of yours." he said. I stopped my crying. "She doesn't care about you. She's only trying to make you comfortable around her so that way she can put you down and destroy your confidence." I looked at him. "Take it back." I whispered to him. "Aww, did I hit a nerve?" he said in a baby voice. He hit me across the face again. "She will waste you into nothing." I screamed and jumped on him. I retaliated. Five years of constant battering and constant emotional abuse that I've built up have finally returned the favor. "I'll kill you!" I shouted at him. He laughed the entire time as if he didn't feel anything. "You'll be perfect. Finally, you are ready." he said. He disappeared from under me, but his laughter still haunted the room around me. I jumped as somepony nudged me awake. "It's okay. Don't worry." a spikey haired pony asked me. "What's going on? Who are you two?" I asked, scared to death of the two ponies standing over me. "I'm the Doctor." he said with a wide smile. "And this is Rob Glotham." His red maned partner rolled his eyes. "How are you tonight, Fluttershy?" he asked. "Um...I'm okay. I guess." I said quietly. "Um...What are you doing here, Mr. Doctor?" "Just Doctor if you don't mind." he said. He began to walk around the room picking up some of my toys. He's a little...weird. I thought as he sniffed the toys that he picked up. "I just need to ask you some questions." "What kind of questions?" Rainbow Dash asked. He looked at Rainbow Dash with a confused look. "Just about a certain pony." he said. "And you are..." "I'm Rainbow Dash." she said, beaming with pride. "Ah yes! I've heard about you. You were the one that made the Sonic Rainboom, right?" he asked. "The one and only!" she replied happily. He walked over to her and pulled out a metal stick of some sort. He pointed it at Rainbow's wings as it made a low buzzing noise. "Hey! What gives?" she exclaimed. He popped it open and gave a quizzical look. "Incredible. Your bone structure is incredibly strong for such a small filly." Rainbow Dash looked at me confused. What did he do to her? I thought. "I guess so..." she said. The Doctor walked over to me and kneeled down to eye level. "Now, tell me about your father, Fluttershy." What?! I thought. Why is asking about my father? I kept a straight face like I always did when somepony asked me about it. "Oh, well he's very nice and kind." I said. "Does he drink a lot?" he asked as his partner took notes of what I said. I looked to Rainbow Dash, worriedly and quickly back at the Doctor. "Not often." The Doctor's face seemed to lose some of its color. "Has he ever hit you or had someone else hit you?" he asked quietly. I felt my heart start to race. I shrank back a little, trying to hide the bruises underneath my wings. "No." I said, probably a little too quickly. The Doctor looked confused. "Ah. I see. Well, the thing is...your father... he was out drunk flying." he said nervously. "He flew into a storm cloud and was knocked unconscious. He fell to the ground..." the Doctor tried to finish but couldn't. I saw him look to Rainbow Dash, who just shook her head. The Doctor nodded his head. My eyes widened as I knew what it had to be. As I put the pieces together, it was all becoming clear. I didn't need the Doctor's explanation. I already knew. He died. He fell to the ground and died. I didn't show any emotion. Rainbow Dash had walked over to me and looked at me. I didn't even know if the Doctor was talking to me or not, but I didn't care about anything more he said. I'm free. I don't have to be scared anymore. I thought. I was so relieved. No more beatings, no more bruises, no more hiding. I could finally be myself. "Are you okay?" I heard the Doctor's partner ask. I simply nodded my head. "Yeah. I'm fine." I said. I was completely calm and relaxed. I hadn't felt like this in a long time. Then I thought of something. I dreamt that I was beating him. I was going to kill him. But he disappeared from underneath me, saying I would be perfect. I thought. I didn't understand what he meant by that. I shook the thought from my head. It was only a dream. Nothing more. "Fluttershy? You're starting to freak me out." I heard Rainbow Dash say. I realized that she had been talking to me earlier and I didn't hear any of it. Maybe I can show her now... I thought. I picked myself up and walked to the bed. I reached underneath and grabbed the journal. "Rainbow Dash, you're my only friend. If I show you this, you have to promise me, no, swear, to not say a word to anypony else. Not a single soul." I said sternly. She looked at me worriedly. "I swear, Fluttershy. You're, like, family." I took a deep breath. Now or never. I thought. I opened the book up to the first page. I had a picture of one of the bruises my father left me. It had made it difficult to walk that day and many of my teachers were asking questions. "This is why I'm so calm and relaxed. This is why I'm not bawling my eyes out." I said, turning to another page, one with words on it. ""Today was my birthday. My parents did something amazing today. They only hit me once! I was happy when they said I could go to my room. It meant I would be able to fly the next morning. Tomorrow's a big day too. It's my first day of flight school. I learned to fly pretty early on, but I wasn't old enough to actually go to a flight school. I'm so excited!" Rainbow Dash read with her mouth wide open in shock. I flipped to one more page that had a picture on it. She couldn't look at it, and who could blame her? We had gone on vacation and when we missed our train due to my parents sleeping in, I got beat for it. My wings were bruised badly and legs were turning an ugly blue and black color. It was in the middle of winter, so they made me wear a coat to hide all the bruises. I think they planned that purposefully. "I never wanted him to die. He was my father and I still loved him. But now I know that all of this," I said, lifting one of my wings to reveal a bruise, "is over. I don't have to live in fear anymore." "Why didn't you tell anypony?" she asked. I closed the book and placed it back underneath the bed. "I didn't want him to get in trouble." I said. "He told me that if I said anything to anypony he'd beat me harder and if I ran away he'd hunt me down and wish I was dead." I said. I let a tear form in my eyes. I knew he was gone, but just imagining all that still upset me. "And your mother?" she asked. "She never hit me." I said with a smile. "She was always the one who sat in the back and egged my dad on." I rubbed my foreleg as a memory of my mom telling him where to hit me passed through my head. I shuddered. "Well, why didn't you at least tell me? I'm your best friend for ponies sake!" she said. "I couldn't. You would have told someone." I said. I knew her personality. If she didn't tell someone, she would act herself. And then everyone would know about it. I heard voices in the other room. Oh no. My mom must be hearing about what happened. I thought. I heard her scream. She burst through the door and shoved herself right in my face. My eyes went wide. I had never seen her so mad at me like this. She generally didn't care what happened to me. I was so scared I couldn't move from her gaze. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE REASON HE DIED!" she shouted at me. I curled up into my protective ball again as she raised a hoof. "Hey!" I heard Rainbow Dash shout. No! Rainbow Dash! Leave! I thought. I wanted to shout it, to tell her to go, but I was so scared my voice seemed to have left me. "LEAVE! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME AT THIS HOUSE! GET OUT!" my mom shouted. From the look on Rainbow Dash's face, I could tell she was as scared as I was. She zoomed out the window and headed out as fast as she could. I smiled as she left, knowing that she was safe. And then it came. A beating that seemed to last forever. "YOU'RE THE REASON FOR THIS! YOU'RE THE REASON WE WEREN'T ABLE TO LIVE HAPPILY! NOPONY COULD EVER CARE ABOUT YOU NO MATTER WHAT FAMILY YOU HAD!" she shouted, hitting me harder each time. The last thing I remember is the Doctor and his partner pulling off of me before she broke free and punched me right in my face.