We sat on the bed for a few minutes. "Rainbow...I-"
"I know it's your dad Fluttershy. He's the only one who I think would be capable of killing my dad. Your mom was awful, but your dad was blood thirsty." Rainbow said, cutting me off. She pulled me in and I rested my head on her shoulder.
I just nodded my head. I didn't really know what to say. My dad had just killed Rainbow's dad and there really wasn't any way to start a conversation after hearing that.
"Why did he do this?" I heard her ask. "We didn't do anything to him."
"I don't know, Dash. Maybe it's because we took care of Fluttershy. You know how her father is." Felix said as he stared over the balcony.
"Myabe it's because of my mother? You know, after she yelled at me and how you defended me?" I said, the memories rushing back to my head. I saw her face shouting back at me as she blamed me for what had happened.
"But that doesn't make sense. He 'died' before we took Fluttershy in. It was about a week after he supposedly died since her mom damaged her wings." Rainbow pointed out.
"Maybe he wants to finish the job, but make it more painful." Felix said. "Her mother liked to harm her emotionally while her father wanted her to feel more physical pain."
I started to shake as I remembered the number of times that my dad had beat me, injured me and treated me like trash. Rainbow gave me a kiss on my forehead though. I held onto her tighter, knowing that she wasn't going to leave me. And I wasn't going to leave her. We were both facing the Devil, and we needed each other in order to beat him.
Felix walked away from the balcony and to the door. "I'm going on a walk. I need to clear my head."
"Aren't we supposed to stay here until the Doctor says we can leave?" Rainbow asked.
"I work at the Equestrian Stock Exchange. I'm sure they'll let me out if I tell them I need to get there for work. Besides, we were advised, not forced." he said, and left us alone in our room.
I looked to Rainbow. "I can't believe he's back." I said as she wiped my eyes. I hadn't even known I was crying.
"He can't hurt you anymore. He's getting what he deserves." she said.
"Do you really believe that?" I said, pulling out of the hug. I was getting mad. She hadn't been living with him for a number of years, had to be tortured by his abuse, and mentally screwed with so she was thankful for a light beating.
"I believe that if he tries to again, he'll have to deal with me. And I won't let him hurt you again." she said. She gave me a long kiss and looked me in my eyes. "You're safe with me."
I knew she only wanted to reassure me and to protect me, but she didn't know what it was like to have someone hate you so much and wish you so much pain that no matter how much he inflicted pain, it was never enough. But when I was with her, I did feel safe, like he couldn't harm me. "Just promise me one thing." I said.
"What's that?" she asked.
I put my mouth up to her ear. "Don't ever leave me." I whispered.
"I'll never leave you hangin', Fluttershy. I promise." she said reassuringly. I smiled and gave her another kiss.
"Thank you." I said, leaning my head against her chest.
"You want to see if we can find out anything that happened?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's see if we can ask one of the guards if they know where they took your dad. Maybe we can fly off the balcony and eavesdrop a little." she suggested.
"But what if we're caught? Wouldn't we get in trouble?" I asked. "I don't want to get thrown in a dungeon some where." I said, jokingly.
"Don't worry, we won't. No go out there and ask about the room your dad is in." she said, motioning to the door.
"Why me?!" I exclaimed. "Why don't you? I'm too nervous and I'll mess it up."
"Because it would be too obvious. They'd think I wanted to go out and hunt him down. With you, you're just a worried pegasus who wants to find her father. Just look adorable like you always do." she said.
"Oh. Okay then." I said quietly. I walked to the door and opened it, grabbing the guards attention. Look adorable, and see where dad is. Look adorable, and see where dad is. I reminded myself over and over in my head. "Um, excuse me, but I was wondering, um, if it's okay with you, could you tell me where my father is? I haven't heard from him in so long." I said. I felt my eyes water a little as I recalled him calling me worthless and unloveable. I couldn't believe I was saying this about him.
"Well, I'm not sure I can." he said.
Gotta try harder. I thought. I pushed down my feelings and tried to come off as innocent and adorable. "Oh, please. I just have to know. I won't do anything. I promise." I said, mustering the best innocent little filly voice I could muster.
"I'm sorry, kid. I can't let you know." he said and returned to his post.
"Oh, okay." I said. I closed the door and walked back to Rainbow. "I tried." I said with my head low. I wasn't ashamed that I wasn't able to find any information, I was trying to block out the images running through my head.
"It's okay, Fluttershy. You did your best." she said, walking to the door. She placed her head against the door, like she was listening for something. I thought about the Doctor and what he was doing to my dad. I hoped it was something that would make him regret ever hurting me.
"You ready to get some answers?" she asked me.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I wasn't able to get any information from them."
"Yeah, well the big mouth guards can't help but talk about it." she said.
"Where are we going?" I asked as she walked to the balcony.
"Canterlot Castle!" she said as she leapt from the balcony.
"Wait! Don't leave me here!" I shouted. I took flight from the balcony and followed Rainbow Dash who had already gained a large distance ahead of me. I flew as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast with my wings. I don't how long we flew, but I was getting tired with how fast I had to fly. I was a slow flier to begin with, and then with the damage my mom had done to them, I was even slower.
"Rainbow Dash....Can we please...take a break?" I asked between breaths. She landed on a cloud and I took a seat right next to her, breathing heavily. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. But let's not wait too long. I don't want to miss our chance to see what's really going on." she said.
I groaned. "Can't we just go back? I don't think I can stand to see him again..." I said, my breath returning to a slightly regular pace.
"He's with the Doctor, Fluttershy. He can't hurt you anymore." she said.
I sighed. I knew she was right, but I also knew that it wouldn't help me if I saw him. He may not be able to hurt me physically, but he was definitely going to do some mental damage. "Okay. I hope you're right." I said, flying ahead of her.
"Hey! Wait up! I thought you said you needed to rest."
"I did." I said, sternly. I didn't want to wait and dilly dally. I just wanted to get there and get out.
"If you say so." she said. We flew to the top of the castle. There weren't a lot of guards around, so it was fairly easy to fly up to the top. We hovered next to a small window that gave us a clear view of the room inside.
"Let's see what we got." she said. We peered in and saw the Doctor with the Princess. They were talking about something that I couldn't make out. I didn't see my dad anywhere, so they must have finished whatever they were doing.
"Rainbow Dash?" I heard a voice behind us. I jumped and gave a little squeak. "What are you doing here?" Felix asked.
"Me? What about you? I thought you went for a walk?" Rainbow asked.
"You shouldn't be here. How'd you even know where to look?" he asked, flying up to the window and peering in. "And why'd you bring Fluttershy? You know who's in that room."
"It doesn't matter how I found out. All that matters is that I'm here to see why he killed dad." she said, looking to me. "She came with me because I kind of threw her into the middle of it." she admitted.
"Well just get back to the hotel." Felix said, turning back to us. "If the guards know we're all gone, they'll know something is up."
"Hello there! I hate to interrupt your conversation, but you wouldn't happen to have any apples now would you?" I heard the Doctor say behind us. "You know, before you leave a perception filter you should always leave with garlic in your pocket."
"Garlic? That doesn't make sense." I said, confused.
"I know! Isn't it wonderful?" he exclaimed. "Now come in, the Princess would like a word with you three."
We flew into the room cautiously and landed in the center of the room. The Princess looked at us with a frown as we bowed. "This is no time for formalities." she said as she turned to look at a pony tied to a chair. "Fluttershy, I believe you know this stallion?" she asked. The stallion looked up at the sound of my name.
I whimpered in fear as he gazed at me. I saw his hate for me and for Rainbow Dash. "Yes...I..I do." I said quietly.
His eyes changed and his demeanor switched from hate to being afraid. "Fluttershy! Please help me! I'm sorry for what I've done in the past, but I've changed!" he pleaded. "Please give me a chance."
A chance? Like all the chances you gave me? Like all the times I begged for you to stop but you kept hitting me harder? I thought. I grew angry. He hadn't just ruined my life, he had ruined Rainbow's life. I had to get out of here. If I didn't, I'd hurt him far worse than he hurt me. I closed my eyes, trying to push everything out, trying to not hear anything.
I put myself back in the place I would always go to when my parents yelled at me. I was in my room playing with my books. I didn't have many toys, so I had to use my imagination with what I had. My red books were dragons and my blue books were the ponies who went out and protected all the imaginary citizens I had.
"No!" the Doctor exclaimed as he grabbed Rainbow Dash. "That's what he wants. He wants to prove you're more like him than you think." he pulled her to the side where she gripped me. She wasn't the one to cry, but I knew she was holding back tears. It added to my anger and hate towards him.
"You were dead." the Doctor said as he walked back to my dad. "You fooled the sonic screw driver. Not an easy thing to do. So tell me, how are you alive?" he asked.
He chuckled. "You really think they would've let me die?" he said.
"Who?" the Doctor replied quickly.
"Смерть принцессы." he said in a language I had never heard.
The Princess looked at the Doctor shocked. "What did he say?" Felix asked.
"Death to the Princess." the Doctor replied. "I thought they disbanded a long time ago after Luna's banishment?" he said.
Luna? I thought. Who's they?
"How is it possible that they were able to find a new leader? I thought everypony who was a part of them vies for power and is unwilling to give it to anypony else?" the Doctor continued.
"Doctor? What's going on? Who's 'they?'" Rainbow asked.
"They went by the name Shadows of the Night. They were a terrorist group that formed roughly 1000 years ago. Their main goal was to kill the Princess so they could rule over Equestria." he said quickly.
"Their leader at the time led a coup against me. She was defeated and the group was disorganized. They disbanded and haven't been heard from since." Princess Celestia said.
"But she will return! The signs, Princess. You see them, don't you?" my dad asked with a smile.
"Those are just old ponies tales." the Doctor said. "Besides, there are more important things. Like why they've sided with the Griffon Kingdom." he said.
"Wait. I thought you said the Shadows of the Night were disbanded 1000 years ago? How are they back?" Rainbow asked.
"They aren't back. Well, not exactly. The group themselves aren't back, but their ideas have always been around. They were a group that liked to play things solo. So, why are they sided with the Griffon Kingdom?" he asked my dad.
"We are small in number. We don't have the resources to keep ourselves functional. We need the Griffons." he said.
"Pretty cowardly if you ask me." the Doctor said as he started to walk around him. "But why attack Rainbow's parents?"
"They found information on the Griffons. They had to be dealt with." he said and turned to her. "Her father got what he deserved."
No. I thought angrily.
"Don't antagonize her. She knew nothing, she caused nothing." the Doctor said.
He looked at me. "But she did. She taught my daughter cowardice."
"Shut up." I said, barely audible.
"I helped her!" Rainbow shouted at him. "I helped her while you beat her and hurt her!"
"Shut up." I said, a little louder, but still not lout enough for the others to hear.
"Rainbow, calm down." the Doctor said.
"You made her weak!" my dad shouted back.
"Stop..."
"I made her more confident in herself! Gave her somepony who loved and cared for her!"
"Stop." I said again.
"If she is so confident, then why can't she speak for herself?" he asked.
"STOP IT!!" I shouted as loud as I could. The room grew quiet. Everyone had their eyes turned towards me. I was furious.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked quietly. I looked at her. "Are you alright?"
"Of course she is. Seeing me is bringing up some tight nip anger down." my dad said with a smile. "Go ahead. I can see it in your eyes Fluttershy. You want to hurt me for what I did to you and Rainbow. You want to kill me. Well, what are you waiting for? Do it!" he shouted.
I'm going to kill him. I thought. I ran up to him screaming.
"No!" the Doctor shouted at me, running in front of me. "Don't do this Fluttershy. I know you. This isn't you. Whatever he did to you in the past, I'm sorry. But killing him won't help." I ignored him. "Fluttershy! Listen to me, he wants you to do this. He wants you to kill him. Don't give him what he wants!"
"Do it! I beat you, abused you while you say cowardly in the corner! I took advantage of your weakness. I killed your mare friend's dad! Now kill me!" he shouted at me.
"Fluttershy, please." she whispered to me. "Don't do this."
I turned my anger towards her. "No Rainbow! You don't know what's it's like to live in fear of your parents, to wake up each morning praying you only get a light beating! You've had the perfect life, the perfect parents who always cared for you! I've always wanted that!" I shouted.
I knew I was scaring her. I saw it in her eyes. "I don't have the perfect life with perfect parents. If I did I wouldn't be here with the one who killed my dad."
"Oh, boo hoo hoo. Your childhood was a dream I wish I had! I lived each day in a hell hole while you lived in paradise!" I screamed. I was angry. Angry at my dad, at Rainbow, and myself. "Your parents always cared for you. Your mom helped you with school work, your dad helped you build confidence, heck, even Felix was there when your parents left." I said, quieting down. I knew it was wrong for me to yell at her. She had done nothing wrong and I was here screaming at her.
My dad laughed. "Good job Fluttershy. Your mother would be proud of you. In fact, I think she might have brought you into the group if she saw you do this to your mare friend. Maybe her poor old mother will find a way to 'protect' her." he said.
The Doctor looked at him. "So that's your plan! Turn her against the one she loves the most! That way, maybe Rainbow's mother might come out and help her." he said sternly.
"Doctor, I'm impressed. You were able to figure it out so easily." he said.
"That's because I'm clever. Now you listen here. You will never hurt either if them again. And if you do, if you somehow are able to hurt them, I will hurt you." the Doctor said.
He smiled. "пять лет. остановить нас, и она умирает" he said and looked to us.
"You try that, and I'll make sure you pay." the Doctor said.
Princess Celestia called for the guards. "Take him to the crystal catacombs with his wings clipped." They took him out of the room with him laughing while I cried into Rainbow's chest.