//------------------------------// // A Loss // Story: The Past of a Shy Mare // by Songbrony //------------------------------// The few weeks after Hearths Warming were some of the best moments of my life. Rainbow Dash and I were dating and I had a newfound self confidence that I hadn't had before. I was still shy around some of the ponies at school, especially those who didn't look to kindly to two mares being together like we were. But despite what they say, I don't regret being with her. My social status has also grown since Rainbow Dash and I openly started dating. While a handful of the other ponies still thought I was uncool, they gave me a different sign of respect. Rainbow and I only had every class together this year, except for one. When she had her Professional Aerial Study class, I was taking Medicinal Recipes for the Health of Animals. It was our one elective course that we were allowed to take and I wanted to increase my knowledge on the subject of animal health. Rainbow Dash loves flying so it came to no surprise when she wanted to take her elective. "And that, class, is why you should never use Poison Joke as a means to relieve tension in an animals emotional state." my teacher, Mr. Bud said as he finished his lecture on the dangers of plant use. The bell rang, signaling it time for us to move on to the next class. "Remember that tomorrow your essays on Doctor Hoofard's breakthrough on animal health is due at the beginning of class." I stood up from my desk, gathered my books, and placed them in my saddle bag. As I put it on, I looked out the window and saw a figure standing in the distance. I couldn't tell who it was, but they gave me an eerie feeling. They waved their hoof at me and slowly walked away. Who was that? I thought. I had a bad feeling about them, but I didn't think too much about them. I had to get to my next class with Rainbow Dash. I ran out of the room and made it halfway through the hallway before being pushed into a corner by a group of bullies. These were the only ponies in school who still treated me this way. "Hey Fluttershy! Where's your queer friend?" the leader of the group asked. He had a basketball for a cutie mark. I knew him from my early years at flight school where I first met Rainbow Dash. "She's, umm, at her class." I said quietly. "Oh, she's at class. Well it seems like your plot was too slow to catch up with her. How could someone like Rainbow fall for your ugly face?" he said. "Um...well we've known each other for-" he cut me off. "She didn't! She just feels sorry for you." I started to shrink back into the corner. "She's always-" "She feels sorry because of how weak you are, sorry that you have no friends, and sorry that your parents have always hated you." he said. I closed my eyes as my parents bragging about Rainbow Dash and how good she was. She had everything they wanted, and I had none of it. I felt a tear fall down my face. "Aww, is poor wittle Fwuttershy cwying? I think we may have hurt her stupid little feelings." he said as the group laughed. "Hey!" I heard Rainbow Dash shout from down the hall. "What the hay are you doing to her?" she said, flying above them. "What's it to you, Rainbow Crash? Are you scared that your mare friend might hurt your reputation?" the jock asked her. "Why would she? Are you afraid that I'll become more popular than you, filly-fooler phoebe?" she asked. "Oh, please. Like you could ever achieve a higher status than me." he said. His posse behind him started to give shouts of agreement. I sat there, still crying. I hated being bullied. It wasn't uncommon for me by these ponies, but it always hurt nonetheless, especially when they bring up my parents. "So, you boys think you're tough because you can push around a shy, defenseless, beautiful pony? Well, how about you try to push somepony your own size!" Rainbow shouted at him, right in his face. For a second I thought that she was going to bite his face off with how angry she looked. "Alright, Crash. I'll see you after school." he said and then turned to me. "You're lucky your mare friend was here to save you, Flutters." He and his posse left laughing. Rainbow helped me up from the ground. "You okay Fluttershy?" she asked. I was still crying, but she wiped the tears from my eyes with her hoof. I pushed it against my face and held her hoof there. It was reassuring. "Yeah, I'm okay." I said quietly, trying to get myself together. I wanted to stop acting weak and helpless in front of her. I wanted to be strong, brave, and not afraid to confront someone like she did. "Thanks for helping. Are you really going to fight them, though?" I asked. "Heck yeah I am! Nopony pushes you around." "But won't you get in trouble?" I asked. She had gotten in trouble before for skipping classes and getting in a fight already this year. She couldn't afford another one. She drew her in for a hug. "Maybe, but it'll be worth it if you stop being bullied." she said. The bell rang, telling us that we had to be in class. "Oh no. That's the fourth time in two days, Rainbow. You really shouldn't keep me held up like this." I said with a smile. I gave her a quick kiss and we ran off to our next class, Weather Patterns. When we arrived to our class, the teacher had already started his lecture. "Ah, Ms. Dash. Fluttershy. Mind telling us why you're late to class? Again." he said, sternly. "They were probably making out again." somepony said. The entire class started laughing, but was quickly silenced by the teacher's glare. "Take your seats you two. We were just discussing about the times when one should make it rain and when they should let the sun shine. But I'm sure that you know that all too well Ms. Dash. The weather has been absolutely marvelous since you took over as Captain of the Weather Team." he praised. It was true, we hadn't had an accident weather wise since she started out years ago. She taught me all the secrets and techniques to keeping the weather in check, so we were both passing the class with high marks. I sat at the side of the class closest to the door, while Rainbow was completely opposite of me by the window. I knew she loved the window side of the class. It took away the sense of being confined. I preferred the door simply because it allowed me to get to my classes on time most days. I took notes and copied graphs and charts so that way I could do well on the tests. Just because I knew a lot of the material because of Rainbow Dash, doesn't mean I know absolutely everything. "Ms. Dash. I understand that you may feel as if this class means nothing to you, but that doesn't mean you should be passing notes." the teacher said. I looked over to her and saw a look of fear and worry, something I rarely saw come from her. The teacher came up to her and took the note. What's on the note? I thought. I looked to Rainbow who just mouthed, "I'll tell you after school." I nodded my head. Usually, I'm always on top of my notes. but after what I saw on Rainbow's face, I wasn't able to concentrate. She rarely showed fear, and when she did, it couldn't be good. It was almost as if something had struck her right down to the bone. Before I knew it, the bell had rung, and it was time to go home. "Enjoy your weekend, class." he said. "And Ms. Dash? A word please." I looked to Rainbow, worried. "I'll be right out. Hold on a second." she said, reassuringly. I nodded to her and waited outside by the flag pole. It's probably about that note she had. What was it? Did some pony in class threaten to hurt me? No it couldn't be that. She wouldn't have been afraid, she would have been angry. Maybe they threatened Felix? That's not likely it either. Again Rainbow would have shown more anger than fear. I thought. I couldn't place my hoof down on what it could possibly be. I noticed a crowd growing. News must have gathered about a fight happening and everyone wanted to see who would become top jock. "Hey, Scardyshy? Where's your mare friend? She ditch you again?" he shouted. I shrank back again. I knew Rainbow wasn't afraid to fight. She thought it was humiliating not to show up. I would never join a fight. I always did my best to avoid getting caught up in one. I looked back to the entrance of the school and and saw Rainbow Dash walking out. She ran over to me. "Sorry about that. He wanted to ask me about the note." "What was on it?" I asked. "I'll tell you after the fight." she said, and dropped her bag. She walked up to the flag pole where the other jock was standing. Please be careful. I thought. "You ready to lose?" she asked the bully. "Lose? Please, when I win, you're going to be nothing here." he said as his posse faded back into the crowd. "Okay, then. Prove it." Rainbow said and kicked his leg from out under him. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he fell to the ground. "I wasn't ready!" "You sounded like it." she replied. He jumped up at her and swung at her face, but she dodged it. I winced whenever he swung at her. He was much stronger than her. I was afraid that if he hit her, she might break something. Luckily, Rainbow was faster than him. She ran to his left and kicked his back leg. He quickly recovered and swung at her, barely hitting her. "You call that a hit? Feels like I'm fighting a fly." she taunted. He kicked at her chest but she easily dodged pit. "I'm going easy on you since you're a mare." he said. He swung as Rainbow dodged to the right, but then he swung with his left hoof and made contact with her face, sending her to the ground. "Rainbow Dash!" I shouted, afraid that he may have broke her muzzle or jaw. I saw blood running down her muzzle. She spit blood out of her mouth and readied herself to fight again. "Oh, she's still got some fight left in her." he said. She chuckled. "This is nothing. I've suffered worse." she said. Now that I thought about it, she really had. Her getting a bloody muzzle every week was common with how often she tried a new trick. The worst injury she had was from when she crashed into a rock while practicing after school. She had a concussion and we forced her to avoid flying for as long as we could. I saw her try to punch his face, and when he dodged, she kicked his legs again, flew behind him, and kicked his backside. He fell on the ground and grabbed it in pain. The crowd that had been cheering suddenly got quiet. He was grabbing his rear and crying. I didn't know much about fighting at the school, but I knew if you cried during a fight, you lost any respect you previously had. I felt bad for him. I mean, sure he was a jerk and probably deserved it, but he didn't need to have his rump bruised. I rushed over to him so I could help him. "Did you really have to hit him so hard?" I asked. "I don't need your help Fluttershy!" he shouted at me. He groaned as he stood up and walked towards his posse. They shut him out though and I saw him hang his head low as he walked home. "Well he was a jerk. You only wanted to help him right?" Rainbow asked me. I nodded my head. "Oi! What's going on over here?" I heard a voice say behind me. I turned and saw the Doctor walking towards us. "Hey there Doctor. What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked. "Well I came here because the police called me to come here. Something about a prank." he said. "But what was that fight about?" "Just me defending Fluttershy and being awesome." she gloated. "And yet you look like you took a beating." he said, pointing to her face. I didn't really get a good look of her face after the fight, but now that I saw it, you wouldn't have thought that she had won. There was blood all over her face and the right side of her face was bruised and her eye black. It was a horrifying sight. "I may have, but I won." "Only because you kicked him so hard he won't be able to sit for a week." I reminded her. I'm glad she stood up for me, but I didn't want anyone getting hurt, especially her. I felt bad that Rainbow had her face hit and bruised because of me, even though it was of her own accord. "It worked though!" she said, defending herself. "Anyways, Doctor, I have something I think you should know about." she told him. "Is this about the note?" I asked. "You two need to come with me. You aren't safe right now." he said. "Why aren't we safe?" I asked, scared. "The note was a message from someone. I'm not completely sure who, but I recognized the writing. It said that they knew where they were and that they couldn't hide forever. Tonight he'll die and then she'll follow and that I shouldn't think of myself as safe. They know where I am too." she said. My eyes grew wide. Who are they? What do they want with us? I thought. "But how do they know where we are?" "I don't know, but right now, I'm taking you to Canterlot for the weekend. Felix is already there." he said. He led us to the train station and we took the first train out of Ponyville. Rainbow had gone to the restroom to clean her face up as best as she could. I sat on the train across from the Doctor who was gazing outside the train window. "Doctor?" I asked him. "Hm?" "Who are these ponies? I mean, the ones who know where we are?" "Ah, don't worry about that Fluttershy. You're safe now. As long as you're with me, I'll make sure that you and Rainbow are both safe." he said. "But you're not always here." I pointed out. "Does that mean when you leave we won't be safe anymore?" "Oh no, you'll be safe. I'm never truly gone from a place, what with the TARDIS being a time machine. I could be here and back in less than 10 seconds and have travelled for years across the Universe. Besides, you're never truly alone." he said. "I feel like it sometimes." I said. "We all do at some point in our lives. Feeling alone is a natural part of life. But you have friends and a family that cares for you. Rainbow Dash will always be here to protect you. Felix would too if he needed to. They may not be related to you by blood, but they're still your family nonetheless." he said with a smile. I smiled at that. It was true that I had Rainbow Dash and Felix if things became too rough for me. "What about you?" I asked him. "What about me?" "Do you have a family? Or someone who can protect you if you need it?" I asked. "Nah. My family was killed long ago. My only friends are the ones who I find in my travels. Now that I think about it, I only have a few friends nowadays." he said. "What about Jack?" He chuckled. "Jack is a one of a kind. I never know if he's trying to be helpful or trying to find a new 'friend' to share his fantasies with." "He seems like a nice guy. I think he considers you his friend." "I suppose so. But when you've travelled with me as long as he has, you tend to get a little comfortable, and you have not seen Jack when he's comfortable with you." the Doctor said with a laugh. I heard the door from the restroom open and saw Rainbow Dash walk out. She had wiped the blood off her face, but there wasn't much she could do about the bruises. "How much further until we get to Canterlot?" she asked, taking a seat next to me. "Just a few more minutes. I've never taken a train to Canterlot before. They're nice, fast, smooth, relatively quiet when you compare it to the TARDIS. Maybe I should make the TARDIS look like a train when I fix the Chameleon Circuit." he rambled. We arrived in Canterlot and began walking to a hotel in the center of the capitol. "Are you sure they won't find us here?" Rainbow asked. "They shouldn't. Princess Celestia is going to have guards patrolling the area." he said "But won't that look odd and out of place?" I asked. "Not if they have a perception filter." "A perception filter? What's that?" Rainbow asked. "When you have one, other ponies can't see you." he explained. "So it makes us invisible?" I asked. "Well not entirely. It just bends the light in a certain way. They see you, but they don't see you." he said. He turned to us with a questioning look on his face. "Don't they teach you that in school?" he asked. We shook our heads. "What has the world come to." he whispered to himself. We arrived at the hotel and walked in. I looked around and saw the beautiful designs and architect that encompassed the walls. It was gorgeous. We walked into an elevator and were taken up to the top floor. "Go down the hall and take a left. Your room is the fourth one on the right." the Doctor said, giving us a key. "Where are you going?" Rainbow asked. "I have some timey wimey important business to take care of. Don't worry, you'll be fine." he said as the elevator doors closed. We walked down the hall like he had instructed and came to our room at the end of the hall. I heard crying coming from inside and before I could say anything about it, Rainbow opened the door and walked in. "Felix?" she called out. He was sitting on the bed and turned to us. He wiped his eyes. "Hey there, Dash." he said, trying to hide his tears. "What's going on?" she asked worriedly. "Come here." he said, motioning towards her. She walked ahead of me and crawled into his arms. "You know I love you right?" "Of course. I love you too. What's going on, Felix?" she asked again. He looked to me and motioned for me to come over too. I walked over to the other side of him and sat down next to him. "Fluttershy, you're basically family. You've been great to have around." he said, choking on his words. "Felix. Please. What's happening?" Rainbow pleaded. He looked to the floor and sighed. "Dad isn't coming home." I saw Rainbow's face in a state of shock. It wasn't natural for her to be like this. I knew her dad wasn't going to be home, he was running with her mom from my parents. I had no idea what she was so shocked about. "What do you mean? He has to come back." she said. "He won't be. Mom is safe though. She said she'd try to come home in a year." he said. "Don't tell me that!" she shouted at him, leaving his hold. "Don't you dare say that to me! He will be back!" Her shouting startled me as it suddenly hit me what Felix meant. It wasn't that her dad wasn't going to be back soon, it was the fact that her dad wasn't going to be back ever. "Rainbow?" I said, tears already streaming down my face. "You're scaring me." I said quietly. For the first time since I can remember, she wept. She looked so helpless. She was always so strong and brave. It made me cry even more that she was like this. I walked over to her and hugged her tightly. I whispered to her comfortingly, doing whatever I could to try and make her feel better. The door behind us opened. I looked over and saw the Doctor walk in. "Felix." he said. Felix stood up and walked over to him. They whispered something to each other and the Doctor walked over to us. "Hey you two. I'm so sorry about your dad. He was a good pony." "How'd you know him?" Rainbow asked through her sniffs. "We were partners years ago. Normally I don't become close friends with those who I work with. Bad things tend to happen to them. But, we became friends rather quickly, and look what happened." he said. "It's my fault..." "No it isn't. You did what you had to do." Felix said. "What happened?" Rainbow asked. The Doctor sighed. "Fluttershy, your father isn't dead like we thought." "What?! But how?" I asked. "We don't know." he said. He started to continue again, but Rainbow cut him off. "Who's we?" "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we know who killed your father and we have him in custody with Celestia." he said. "I think I deserve to know!" she shouted at him. She was right. She had every right to know who had killed her father. But I already know who had killed her dad. I didn't tell her now though. She wasn't acting like herself and I wanted to calm her down. I put a hoof on her shoulder, showing her that I was there for her. "Rainbow, it's okay. Maybe we'll find out later." I said, and looked at the Doctor. "Right?" He nodded his head. "As soon as this is all over." He looked to Felix, gave a nod of his head, and turned to leave out the door. "Wait." Rainbow said. He turned back to us. "Make sure they pay." she said. He nodded his head and closed the door. He's back. My dad's back and he's hurt Rainbow Dash. I thought to myself. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been before. I just hope I don't see him again. I don't want to do something I'd regret...