Eventually Miss Doo decided she was going to let me go into Ponyville as long as I was with Speedy. She preferred me being alone with a friend of the opposite sex than if I was alone without anyone I knew. In our trips to Ponyville I beheld many awesome things, and my whole perspective on the world changed. I felt the cobblestones beneath my feet, smelled hay in the air, tasted freshly baked pastries, heard the sound of ponies conversing, and most of all I saw lots of other ponies. I had not seen this many ponies in years. They were of all sorts of ponies: big ponies, small ponies, blue ponies, pink ponies, girl ponies and boy ponies. Speedy introduced to me several of the ponies around our age and they talked. He said I was his fillyfriend, and I met so many friendly ponies.
However, not all of the ponies were nice. I heard some of them whisper when they thought I was out of earshot, commenting on my eyes. Some ponies didn’t even have that much tact and just laughed when they saw me. I discovered while watching bubbles and dust that if I tried hard enough I could make my eyes align properly. It took a lot of effort, so I only did it when I needed to observe something closely. Now that I was around other ponies I wondered if I should try to hide it all the time. When I brought it up to Speedy he told me not to mind what the other ponies said, that I shouldn’t change for anyone, and that he found my eyes beautiful just the way they were.
Speedy also taught me many other great and wonderful things. He taught me that sometimes ponies say one thing and actually mean the opposite, and taught me signs to pick up on to see if they were meaning something else. He also taught me that by paying attention to how other ponies move, how they speak, and how they move the muscles in their face it is possible to make assumptions about what the pony is thinking. Speedy said this came to most ponies naturally, but he tried to teach me what he could. I wasn’t very good at this, but the subject fascinated me. The whole world of ponies in Ponyville fascinated me.
***
It was another ordinary day, and today I decided to bake muffins. I got out the flour, butter, sugar, blueberries, oil, eggs, milk, and baking powder out and lined them all up. I then added the appropriate measures of flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a bowl. As I was mixing them together I fell over and spilled powder everywhere when I heard a loud boom coming from outside. I ignored the mess that I had just made and rushed outside. I saw what appeared to be a rainbow expanding rapidly across the sky. After the spectacle passed I went back inside so I could try to clean up the mess I made before Miss Doo returned home from inside the forest.
***
Miss Doo came home later that night, but she was not alone. Tailing behind her was a yellow pegasus filly. She had long pink hair, teal eyes, and three pink butterflies as a cutie mark. She was several years younger than me, and she stayed behind Miss Doo and kept her head turned down. Since she was yellow and yellow is my favorite color I took an instant liking to her.
“Hey Ditzy, look who I found. I found her all alone in the forest, just like how I had found you. Oh, she reminds me so much of you, it’s really a bit scary. She’s hasn’t said anything, she’s the same age as you were, and she is a pegasus just like you. My, she hasn’t even told me her name yet. Here, go show her to your room.”
She gently nudged the little yellow filly towards me. She then headed off into the kitchen to cook up something, and thankfully she did not notice that I had failed to completely clean up my mess.
“Why, hello there. What’s your name?”
The filly mumbled under her breath, but I understood her.
“Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy. That’s a nice name. My name is Derpy, but most people call me Ditzy. Now come follow me and I’ll show you to your room.”
She followed me as I lead her into the bedroom. As she plodded up the stairs behind me she hardly made a sound. Once we arrived she just stood there for a moment, staring at the ground.
“Well, here is my bed. You can go sleep in it tonight. “
Fluttershy got up onto the bed, and then just sat there. I decided to leave her be and go down to help Miss Doo.
***
After I finished helping Miss Doo cook up some sort of casserole made from various plants she found in the forest I carried a bowl of it up to Fluttershy. As I came up I heard her voice from within and I figured she must be talking to herself, but once I looked inside I discovered she was actually talking to a small red bird.
The bird was now perched at the foot of the bed. I figured it must have came in through the window. It appeared to be listening patiently as Fluttershy gave it a lengthy lecture on the techniques of sewing and historical fashions. While these subjects bored me I managed to stay focused on her as the whole spectacle had me mesmerized. Finally she began to reach a conclusion.
“Thank you for listening to me. Nopony ever listens to me. Instead they just make fun of me. They make of fun of me when I talk, when I try to fly, and when I cry. Then even used to make fun of me when I walked, but then mommy made me take classes to improve my posture, and now I’m graceful even when I’m not trying. Why do they have to make fun of me?”
At this point I decided I was going to speak. I wasn’t just going to drop off her food and leave her with those thoughts.
“Oh, Fluttershy,"
When I started speaking she squeaked and the bird flew away. After a second I continued.
” I’ll never make fun of you. Let me tell you something. People often make fun of my eyes. It bothers me, but then I remind myself that it doesn’t matter what they think. I remember that I like myself just the way I am. My friend Speedy Hooves tells me that my eyes are beautiful. Do you have any friends?“
Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She just turned her head down. I then realized that maybe asking that question wasn’t such a good idea.
“Well, I brought you some food. I hope you enjoy it.”
I placed the bowl in front of her, and then turned around to leave.
“Good night, Fluttershy.”
As I was heading out the door she finally spoke.
“Wait, Ditzy, don’t leave.”
I stopped, and turned back towards her.
“Except for the animals, I really only have one other friend. There used to be this group of fillies who would look after me and help me, but I drifted away from them over time, and now only one friend is left. Her name is Rainbow Dash, and while she is loud and rough, I still like her and now she is the only pony who would ever stand up for me. “
She paused for a moment, then continued.
”Ditzy, will you be my friend?”
I smiled at her.
“Yes, I will.”
***
Over time I was gradually able to get the story from Fluttershy about where she came from. Apparently she was from Cloudsdale, and she was in what was called Summer Flight Camp on that day. She was being bullied by a group of colts because she couldn’t really fly, then Rainbow Dash came in and defended her. The colts challenged Rainbow Dash to a race, and during the race Fluttershy fell from the clouds and plummeted because she couldn’t fly. She was rescued by a cloud of butterflies near the ground, and there she met many animals. There was then a large explosion and a rush of color across the sky, scaring all of the critters. She coaxed them out of hiding, and that caused her to earn her cutie mark. She spent the rest of the day in the forest with the animals, whose connection with her seemed to stronger than that of any pony, except maybe Rainbow Dash. After she was with the animals for a while and it started to get dark, she started to get scared as she was all alone in a strange place, but then Miss Doo came.
We now knew more or less where Fluttershy lived, which was be somewhere in Cloudsdale that could be located with her help, but there was still the problem of actually getting her there. Miss Doo couldn’t fly there as she was an earth pony, and being a recluse and all she didn’t really know any other pegasi. I couldn’t fly her home as I couldn’t fly. If we really wanted to we could have found a way for her to be returned home, but neither Miss Doo nor Fluttershy were particularly motivated at the time. While Fluttershy missed Rainbow Dash and her family, she didn’t want to leave the animals on the surface behind. There isn’t a lot of animals in Cloudsdale. Miss Doo just found Fluttershy too adorable to let her go, so Fluttershy was here to stay, at least for a while.
Speedy continued to come over sometimes, and he said he found Fluttershy cute. He said there's different types of cute, and while there was some overlap in the cute I had with Fluttershy, I was also a different type of cute than Fluttershy. I tried to get him to elaborate on what he meant by that, but all he said was the Fluttershy was filly-cute and I was mare-cute, and I remained slightly confused.
During her stay with us I showed Miss Doo’s extensive collection of books to Fluttershy. Knowing Fluttershy loved animals, I figured she would enjoy Miss Doo’s works on nature. Fluttershy appreciated them greatly, and she often read them when she wasn’t playing with actual animals. While we had numerous books on animals, there was absolutely none on her other passion, sewing. While Fluttershy did sew a few things when we got her the materials she needed, she seemed more interested in learning as much as possible about sewing and discussing it than actually sewing. I decided I’d return the favor and discuss aerodynamics with her. This of course led to the inevitable discussion on flight.
***
“You keep talking about all of this flying stuff ,and you seem to know a lot about how things move around in the air, but I’ve never actually seen you even try to fly. Are you broken like me?”
This struck me. Did Fluttershy just say she was broken?
“Fluttershy, you’re not broken. You just need a bit more time and practice to get strong enough to fly than the other fillies do. Yes, Fluttershy, I’m like you in that aspect. I simply haven’t learned to fly yet. You know what, we can practice together now. I promise that once I learn to fly I will take you home. Got that?”
Fluttershy nodded her head, and then spoke.
“But Ditzy, am I going to have to get older than you before I finally become a good flier?”
“I’m sure you are going to fly well at younger age than I will. If your story is true you already fly slightly better than me, and you have all the ponies teaching you how to fly and making you practice at Flight Camp. I never had anything like that, I’ve never been to sky or around a lot of other pegasi before.”
“Is that because you mom doesn’t have wings?”
I turned away from Fluttershy and turned my head towards the ground.
“Miss Doo isn’t my mother. My mother and father are pegasi just like us. I don’t know where we lived, but it wasn’t here or even in Ponyville. We stayed on the ground because I couldn’t fly at all, and they weren’t expecting me to fly anytime soon. We were separated from each other years ago, and at that time I could barely even talk.”
Now I turned back to Fluttershy, my vigor renewed.
“Look at me now! I can speak very well, just like any other pony! I will learn to fly, and I will find my parents. I will then show them how far I have come and how much I have learned! I will show them that I am not weak, I am not helpless, that I am a proper pegasus, not a retard!”
At this point I noticed that Fluttershy was giving me a weird look. She was also sort of cowering away from me. After a second I realized that this is one of the more obvious signs that Speedy told me might mean a pony was scared. I then realized that I was practically yelling at her just a moment ago.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean frighten you.”
Fluttershy was still giving me a weird look.
“Oh, nevermind. Can you go show me how you practiced up there in Cloudsdale?”
Fluttershy smiled, and I sighed in relief.
“Okay, come follow me.”
***
So we began to practice flight. Fluttershy was actually significantly better than me, as she could sort of fly. It was more of just a light hover a few feet above the ground that she couldn’t hold for very long, but I’ve seen her go up higher on occasion, and it was apparently enough to survive in Cloudsdale. That made it all the more more apparent why I lived on the surface, and couldn’t live in the sky with the other pegasi. She actually wasn’t that bad in my opinion, and I guess the reason why it appeared she couldn’t fly earlier was simply that she was too nervous when she was around other ponies. Apparently knowing that I was an even worse flier than her boosted her confidence, but it sure didn’t help me.
As Fluttershy flew, I closely studied her movements. I had never had such a chance before, and the flight movements of pegasi was significantly different from that of a butterfly or a bird due to the different distribution of mass. After studying her for a while I was finally able to lift myself off of the ground for few seconds. I was overjoyed.
***
I rushed inside and shouted for Fluttershy and Miss Doo.
“Fluttershy, Miss Doo, I’ve finally done it! I got myself in the air!”
After I got their attention I headed back outside. Once they followed me out and they were watching me I showed them. Miss Doo delivered her praise.
“Way to go! How did you manage to do it?”
“Well, I’ve been studying the motions Fluttershy has been making when she flies, so then I figured out what they were and copied them.”
I then gave a very technical explanation about what was going on. Fluttershy was simply dazed with wonder.
“I’ve been doing that for years and I’ve still don’t think I can explain all the motions involved. How did you do that?”
“Well, I’ve been studying how things move through the air since....”
I trailed off as I had an epiphany. It was since that day in the forest where I was playing with bubbles after I was separated from my mother.
“Find Speedy! I’ve figured out the true meaning of my cutie mark!”
***
While I managed to propel myself in the air by flapping my wings, I still couldn’t fly. As it turned out following a strict series of motions was not natural for a reason, and trying to calculate how to adjust them to the circumstances through higher mathematics simply didn’t work. I needed something to drive me farther, something to push me so I’d be able to sustain it for longer. This passive, intellectual method simply wasn’t working. I needed instinct to kick in.
Oh, I was going to get that push all right.
***
On that fateful day Fluttershy was upset. The anxiety she was getting from being separated from everything she knew for too long had finally gotten to her and after a trigger was set off she exploded. Fluttershy is like that. She tends to be passive most of the time, and as far as I can tell she doesn’t show too much emotion, but once she gets pushed too far she snaps and her entire demeanor changes, turning from the sweetest pony around into a force to feared if she’s angry, otherwise she just bursts into tears.
Anyway, it all started with breakfast. I was frying up some daffodils for us to eat, and I ended up slightly burning them. I tried to fix them as best as I could before I served them, but I wasn’t able to remove all the excess char. As I gave Fluttershy her serving even I could tell she was displeased.
“Fluttershy, if you want I could cook up some more so they won’t be burnt.”
Fluttershy just hung her head and slowly stirred her daffodils.
“No, I’m fine. You really don’t need to bother with me.”
“Well, if you say so, but if you need anything just tell me. I’ll be outside”
Fluttershy said nothing. I headed out and attempted to practice flying. I really wasn’t getting anywhere, but I still tried. After a while I just gave up, collapsed onto my belly, and watched insects. Later I came back inside. Fluttershy had abandoned her daffodils. I went upstairs into the bedroom and I found Fluttershy pouting on the bed. I came up to her and sat next to her on the bed.
“Fluttershy, what’s wrong?”
This is when Fluttershy snapped. She turned and shouted at me.
“What’s wrong? I want to go home! I miss my mommy! I miss my daddy! I miss Rainbow Dash! I’m tired, and hungry and you burned my daffodils! And now I’m stuck here because you can’t fly, and probably never will!”
Hearing this come from Fluttershy made it sting all the more. I had no idea how I was supposed to react to this, so after I just froze up for a few seconds I reached out to hug her. That was a very bad idea. She swatted my hoof away, then continued screaming at me.
“Don’t touch me!” Please don’t touch me....please...”
She burst into tears, jumped off the bed, leaped out of the window, and flew off. This was not like Fluttershy. I just sat there, my jaw dropping in disbelief. After I was able to get my thoughts together I realized that she had just flown off into the Everfree Forest. Miss Doo had often warned me that the forest was a dangerous place for fillies and we were both very lucky to have gotten out unharmed, and with Fluttershy in her current emotional state she was sure to attract some unwanted attention. I had to do something. I jumped out the window after her and managed to pull off a glide as I followed her.
***
After running through the forest for a while I still hadn’t found her. I was beginning to lose hope, but then I heard a roar and the sound of a filly screaming. I was about to head off in the direction of the sound, but then I heard her scream again, coming from a different direction. I made a few quick calculations and estimated where Fluttershy was heading, then headed off towards there as fast as I could, hoping to intercept her.
“Fluttershy, I’m coming!”
After running for a while I found her. She was screaming her poor head off and her flank appeared to be singed. Something large was chasing after her. I ran along beside her, then managed to scoop her up onto my back. She held tight as I ran faster and faster in a mighty gallop. I felt that we were starting to outrun what ever that thing was, but then we came across across a gorge. I turned and started to run alongside in hopes that I would find a way across it, but I did not and the change in direction was making it easier for the beast to reach us. I realized I had no choice. I was either going to fly or die.
I stopped running and tried to think through the motion I did when I hover, but I couldn't think properly in this state. I heard another roar, this one louder, and I knew I was running out of time. This method didn't work any other time, and it wasn't going to work now. Even though it was getting harder to think through the process of flight it seemed other parts of my mind where getting clearer. I could feel Fluttershy breathing on my back, her breath growing faster and faster as her fear rose, and I just had to do something to save her. Some I just knew to start running again, I flapped my wings, and I felt something funny going on in my mind. I just knew what to do without even thinking. As I took to the air I went over the gorge, then rose over the trees. I was flying.
As I broke through the canopy I began to circle around, looking around the area. I look behind me and I saw large large green thing sailing through the air, fire coming from it's mouth. As it turned out our pursuer was a large green dragon, and he could fly as we. A dragon was pursuing us, one of the deadliest creatures in Equestria. It was both majestic and terrifying. The thought of the beast made me just want to fall from the sky and hide, but my mind was working well enough now to know that wasn't going to work. The dragon might have been able to fly, but it was a slow fligher, and if I could keep this up we could out fly it. Our only hope was to flee the forest through flight.
After I located the edge of the forest I headed towards it as quickly as possible. I knew I had to put in all of my effort to get through this. Flight was absolutely exhausting, but stopping simply was not an option, so I had to hold in for just a little bit longer. With the dragon and the exhaustion on my mind I could feel my wings getting heavier as I sunk into despair, thinking that I would never made it. As I felt myself falling I realized that it was all in the attitude. I had accomplished many great feats that I thought were impossible, and if I just changed how I was thinking I make it.
So I thought about Fluttershy. If I failed now she would never be reunited with Rainbow Dash and her parents. If I failed I would never be reunited with my parents. Learning to fly was only half the battle. In order to show them all I had learned I needed to find them first, and I wouldn't be able to find them if I were dead. I thought about Speedy. He was impressed with my improvements, and if I showed him that I could now fly he would be even more impressed. I thought about Miss Doo. She was going to be so proud of me for coming this far, but she would only know of my accomplishment These thoughts gave me the strength I needed to continue flying, and with my thoughts on other things the pain went away. Before long we managed to lose the dragon, and I found our cottage. We landed, and Fluttershy got off of my back.
“Thank you. Ditzy, all the things I said earlier, I...I didn’t really mean them. W-will you forgive me? Are you mad at me?”
“Fluttershy, I’m not mad at you. It alright. I’ll tell you what, tomorrow, I’m going to fly you home. I just need to talk with Miss Doo first.”
***
Like usual, Miss Doo came home at night. I waited upon the roof for her, positioning myself so that she wouldn’t notice me. The moment I saw her I launched myself into the air and yelled to get her attention.
“Look, Miss Doo, can you believe it? I did it! I learned to fly!”
As I rose I swirled around and danced among the clouds. As Miss Doo looked up tears came to her eyes.
“Ditzy, I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.”