//------------------------------// // In Which Fluttershy Gets Her Cutie Mark- And Regrets It. // Story: The Element of Kindness // by Hoshii Niisan //------------------------------// The big moment was here. That day, the race with Rainbow "Crash" and some bullies was here. Rainbow Dash had called them out, and Fluttershy was the one who started the race. She anxiously held the flag with her hoof, but she was shaking with it in her nervous attack. She lowered the flag, and the force of the flight starting shocked her so much that she spun in a circle about a thousand times. She landed down on ground. Ground. What was it? Up above, Rainbow Dash had done it- a sonic rainboom. Down below, the critters of the earth were frightened. What could she do other than try to comfort them? This is what she did, and suddenly she burst put into song, feeling all the emotions associated with happiness. That day, she received a nice wing injury from mommy. Only her stuffed animals knew of the incident with Rainbow Dash. ------------------------ It was a sunny day that afternoon, but despite the birds singing a cheerful song, the pegasi keeping the clouds at bay, and even the ice cream pony giving away sweet treats, Fluttershy huddled in a corner of her room, in an afraid and melancholy mood. It was there she spoke to Chirpy, one of her stuffed birds. "Does anyone love me?" She asked Chirpy. "I do." He replied. Fluttershy knew that when Chirpy talked to her, it was the lonely equivalent of her talking to her. It was because of this she cried. She cried and cried, knowing there wasn't anyone who really cared for her. Yet, through a breaking voice, Chirpy spoke to her once more. "What about that teacher?" She remembered Ms. Magnolia Petal, who was her teacher. She only cried harder- school had just let out for the weekend. She went to her mirror to look at herself. She did this every time she questioned who she was. But her breath dissappeard when she saw it. Her cutie mark. It contained three butterflies, all of them with pink wings and a blue abdomen. Fluttershy was excited. Her cutie mark was finally here! Wait until her friends... That's right, she thought, I have no friends. I am unloved. Her father burst into the room, holding another empty bottle of alcohol in his hoof. "Fluttershy! Dear!" She wanted to scream, but she knew she had to hide. His vision was impaired when he was drunk. She hid under the bed, considering herself lucky that she always cleaned under it. "Dang it, Fluttershy! Get out here NOW." Fluttershy remained under the bed, no matter how many times he yelled. It wasn't long before her mother was in her room as well. "FLUTTERSHY!" She remained under her bed, crying silently as they started searching. They searched everywhere, until they found her. "I told you, girl," said daddy. "GET OUT HERE NOW." He grabbed her by her back hooves and tail, and this made Fluttershy howl with pain. Daddy stopped when he noticed her cutie mark. "Well well well... what have we here? Butterflies?" He started to beat her on the flank, but didn't stop there. He beat her on the head, the stomach, and even asked mommy to help beat her on her hooves. Fluttershy wanted to scream, to fight back. But the pain was too much. She silently cried until he grabbed at her neck, causing vases to break with her scream. When everything was done, Fluttershy was somehow alive, but not fully awake. Before she drifted off, she heard daddy say, "Useless girls like you don't deserve to come out of their room. You can stay there a little longer. A little longer meant a week.