//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Spirit of Loyalty // by Matthew Penn //------------------------------// There was not a soul that was out under the moonlight, save for one. Fluttershy flew from her cottage until she at the park entrance, then she travelled the rest of the way on hoof. She carried a rose in her mouth. Despite the darkness, she knew where she was going. She walked until she found what she was looking for - Rainbow Dash’s memorial.         She gazed at the sculpture, still wondering how it has come to this. Fluttershy placed the rose on the ground with the others. She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t get the words out. There was nothing to say. Too weak to stand, she sat on the grass. Out of the darkness she noticed a little stuffed animal among the pile of roses. She took it and held it close to her as though it were her foal.         It was just her and Rainbow Dash now, just as she wanted it. She can stay out half the night if she wanted to. If she could, she’d sleep on the blades of grass. Flight Camp Fluttershy tried to hide herself from the world she only knew, but the laughter did not cease. The colts pointed and laugh, their sharp words piercing the heart of the filly. She wanted to yell, but the pressure put on by the bullies made it impossible. Again and again the taunting rang loudly like church bells. Fluttercry, Fluttercry, Fluttercry can’t hardly fly!         “Stop it,” she whispered. “Please stop.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The colts formed a circle around her, blocking her path to freedom.         The noise grew louder to the point where Fluttershy couldn’t take it anymore. She flapped her wings but she couldn’t hover herself off the cloud surface. They wouldn’t stop. They didn’t see her moist eyes. The insults continued, and Fluttershy wept under pink mane.         There was stomp of hooves. Everypony was quiet.         “Leave her alone!” a brash voice yelled. “Why do you guys always pick on her? What has she ever done to you?”         Fluttershy looked up and saw a blue filly with her back toward her. She couldn’t see her face, but the back of her mane and her tail were of many colors. The blue filly positioned herself like a bull ready to charge. “You want a piece of this? Go ahead, I dare you!”         The bullies backed away and departed, then her demeanor soften. With sympathetic eyes she reached out to Fluttershy, who was hesitant to take her hoof. “You okay?” she asked. “Don’t worry, I got rid of those dumbbells.”         Fluttershy slowly took her hoof, then the blue filly helped her to her legs. She was baffled when she gazed at her new savior. Why did this filly came to her rescue? Fluttershy was too intimidated to look her in the eye, so she looked away.         “Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” the blue filly asked.         “... Thank you,” Fluttershy said in a low voice. She concealed her face with her mane, which caused the blue filly to snicker at her.         “Relax kid, I won’t bite,” she said. The blue filly gently brought Fluttershy’s eyes to hers, then she brushed her pink mane to the back of her yellow ears so she can see her face. “What’s your name?”         “... Fluttershy.”         “Fluttershy, eh? My name’s Rainbow Dash.”         Rainbow Dash extended her hoof to her. Fluttershy gradually held her own hoof out and they shook together. “If those mouth breathers ever mess with you again, just let me know. Sound good?”         “Okay.”         Rainbow Dash launched herself straight into the sky to join a little griffon who waited for her. Fluttershy watched her take off with tears in her eyes, forever thankful for the blue angel from heaven. Five Years Ago The nurse led Fluttershy through the halls of the hospital, scanning the doors until she found the right number. The silence of the halls was unsettling for her, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from doing what was right. They walked passed a few more doors until they’ve reached room 206.         “Thank you for doing this,” the nurse said. “I know he’s going to be very happy to see you.”         “I know,” Fluttershy said with a smile. The nurse unlocked the door, and Fluttershy let herself in.         Inside the room was a colt, no more than seven years of age. His eyes were closed, slumbering away. Stuffed animals surrounded his bed, along with colorful balloons with text on them such as “Get Well Soon” and “Hope You Feel Better.” Fluttershy approached him by his side, and gently stroked his golden mane.         The little colt opened his eyes, and his face beamed with joy. “Fluttershy!”         “Hi Sunspot,” she said pleasantly. They embraced each other, and Fluttershy dug through a bag she was carrying with her. “I have something for you.” Using her mouth she grabbed a toy from her bag. It was an action figure, a stallion in a blue suit and a red cape, with a capital A inside a diamond-shaped pentagon on his chest. Sunspot’s jaw was agape, then he bounced on his bed in excitement.         “It’s Captain Amazing!”         “I knew how much you wanted it, so I searched every toy store in town. Luckily I found the last one.”         “Oh thank you, thank you, Fluttershy!” Sunspot hugged her tightly once more, and she returned the favor.         “You’re welcome. You deserve it.” Early fillyhood It’s a fact that no child enjoys the first day of school, especially if that child is Fluttershy. She couldn’t wait to get out of that building. It was nothing but full eight hours of torture from the other children. Although when the bell rang she was in no rush to get leave her desk. The children pushed and shoved while making their way to the door, so she stayed in her desk until the way was cleared. After the long walk across the halls she was outside. There, a white pegasus mare with a pink mane just like hers was waiting at the front gate.         Fluttershy wasted no time running to her. Upon impact, she hugged the mare, then she began to cry.         “Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” the mare asked.         “I hate school, mommy!”         The white mare stroked Fluttershy’s mane. She looked across from her and saw that many of the children had their own circle of friends, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. She sighed. Fluttershy had her face buried into her chest.         “Calm down, sweetie. It’s only your first day.”         “I don’t want to go back! I hate it! All the kids made fun of me!”         Flutterheart knelt to her daughter’s level. She held small yellow head in her hooves. She saw the tears that ruined her perfect eyes, so she wiped her face clean.         “Please don’t cry, Fluttershy. It breaks my heart when you do that.”         “But I can’t help it,” she whimpered. Fluttershy buried her head again. In times such as this, Flutterheart took her young daughter out for snow cones. They walked away from the awful school and went to town. They found a vendor, and she ordered snow cones for the two of them, but that wasn’t enough to make Fluttershy feel better about the first day of school.         “Fluttershy, can you tell me what happened on your first day of school?” Flutterheart asked nicely.         She was hesitant to answer, but she didn’t want to upset her mother. “All the kids made fun of me because I didn’t like to talk. A filly called me a mouse and everypony laughed. They didn’t want to play with me during recess. And when I cried they all called me Fluttercry.” The snow cone was still in her hooves, but she didn’t take another lick. Her eyes didn’t stay dry for long. “Why are they so mean to me, mommy?”         “Maybe they’re mean because they don’t know how special you are,” Flutterheart said. “You are a wonderful filly, Fluttershy. Don’t pay attention to what those other kids say about you. Just continue to be who you are.”         It wasn’t the advice Fluttershy wanted to her. She had her head down. How was that going to stop the kids from bullying her. More than anything, being herself will make them bully her even more.         “Fluttershy, can you do something else for me?”         “What is it, mommy?”         “I want you to smile more. You’re too pretty to be sad all the time. I want you to be happy.”         “I’ll try.” Flight Camp The bullies had done it again. They harassed Fluttershy once more, even after Rainbow Dash stood up for her. Now, Fluttershy had to watch from the sidelines as she and three of the bullies raced each other. Fluttershy still couldn’t believe that this filly she only met just a few days ago would go to lengths to defend her honor.         But why did they chose her to wave the flag?         There were pegasi all around, watching. They weren’t paying attention to her, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel that they were silently judging her. She saw Rainbow Dash in position to race. She had determination in her eyes. For a moment, Fluttershy wanted to know what it was like to be Rainbow Dash. To have no fear of anything, to scare off bullies just by looking at them, and to be well-liked by almost everypony. If only she could be Rainbow Dash for just one day.         An impatient pony called for the race to get started. Fluttershy wave the checkered flag, and the speedsters flew past her before she blinked an eye. Unfortunately, the force of the fliers pushed her off the cloud she was standing on.         She fell to earth. Nopony came to her rescue. This was it. She was going to die, and nopony will even care. She closed her eyes to think about her mother one last time.         Something caught her.         Fluttershy opened her eyes. She was hovering above the trees, but she wasn’t flying. Who could be doing this? Was it the guiding hoof of The Presence? She looked down, and it was strangest sight. A swarm of butterflies carried her to safety. The butterflies gently placed her on the ground.         The ground. The earth. It was so foreign. She felt every inch of the grass beneath her hooves. She never seen so many trees in her life. Everything was so green and rich. Fluttershy looked up and saw the heavens above her. There was something about this place that seemed to give her a peace of mind. She was safe here.         A furry creature dashed by her leg. It had a tail as big as its body, and it was carrying an acorn. It stopped when it noticed the yellow giant standing over it. It was the most wonderful thing she laid eyes on. Many other creatures appeared from the bushes and trees, and even the sky. Rabbits hopped, frogs croaked, squirrels climbed the trees, the birds flew over her head. They all sang their forest song to her. The earth was such an amazing place, she thought. For the first time in her life, she was truly happy to be alive. Fluttershy wanted to stay here forever.         Then there was an explosion.         She looked up, and there was a magnificent ring of colors in the sky. It spread throughout the clouds. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Besides the earth, the rainbow was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Fluttershy was brought back to earth to find that the animals were in frenzy, and many of them hid behind the bushes.         Fluttershy went up to a tree where the squirrels were hiding. “It’s okay, you can come out,” she said softly. The squirrels were hesitant to leave their tree, but for some reason they knew they could trust her. Then she went to the bushes where the rabbits took cover. “It’s safe now. There’s no danger.” Just as the squirrels, the rabbits seem to trust her. Fluttershy managed to get all the animals to come out of hiding. Something was stirring inside her. With all the woodland creatures surrounding her, she might have that she was able to understand them. Could it be fate that brought her to earth?         Maybe it was an accident, maybe it was destiny. She will never know, and she didn’t want to. At that moment Fluttershy made her decision. She wanted to stay here forever. Some Years Ago Fluttershy’s world has just grew darker. She sat alone on a park bench, let the tears flow down her face and drip onto the letter on the ground. She didn’t know how long she was crying, but she couldn’t stop once she read that horrible letter. The words in that letter ripped a good piece of her soul away. Her pink mane, along with hooves, covered her face.         “Fluttershy,” a familiar voice called. From out of the sky Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed next to her. Not even seeing the face of her friend was enough make her feel better, so she continued to cry. “Fluttershy, what’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash asked.         She forced herself to stop crying so she can speak. However, the words were too unbearable to say.         “... My mother… died.”         “Oh my gosh. Fluttershy I’m so sorry.”         Fluttershy’s wailing grew louder. She thought she might die herself if she had to say those words again. Rainbow Dash sat next her then held her in her arms. She stroked her pink mane gently as any mother would do. Rainbow saw her pegasi friends she was flying with earlier. They wanted to know if she still wanted to race.         Rainbow shook her head. Her friend was more important than any race. Present Why must fate be so cruel to her? What she done to deserve such harsh punishments? Fluttershy thought about this as she sat on the grass under the moon. Why must the ponies she loved the most have to be ones to leave her? Maybe she wasn’t meant to be happy. That’s why she’s so shy all the time. At least she was reunited with her best friend.         She wanted to say something. Fluttershy wanted to make it count. But how do you speak to a tombstone? What could she say?         “Rainbow Dash,” she said. “It’s me, Fluttershy. I just want to say that… I’m sorry for not coming to your funeral. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. You were my best friend in the whole world. You were my only friend when I had nopony else.         “When I was little, everypony used to pick on me because I was shy. I didn’t think I’ll have any friends. That’s the one thing I don’t like about myself. My mother said that there was nothing wrong with being shy, but I never believed her. And whenever I try to make friends, everypony just push me away, or don’t even notice me. I felt really horrible about myself.         “Then my mother decided to enroll in flight camp. She thought it would help build my self-esteem. I… hated it there too. The bullies made fun of me because I couldn’t fly like they can. Never in my life I wanted to be invisible. And then you came. You stood up for me. Nopony ever has done that for me.         “I’ll never forget that sonic rainboom. When I fell down from the sky I thought I was going to die. Then I was saved by butterflies. Standing on the ground was the greatest moment of my life. There were trees, animals, the sky was blue and the sun was bright and warm. I never wanted to leave. And when you made that sonic rainboom, I knew wanted to spend the rest of my life here.         “And then… and then a sonic rainboom killed you.” Her eyes were tingling. A single tear rolled from her eye. “I never thought I’d lose you too,” she said with a cracked voice. Fluttershy tightened her grip on the stuffed animal. “You were the only one who understood me. You came when I needed you the most… and now you’re gone! I don’t want you to go!”         She pleaded for Rainbow Dash to come back. The thought of continuing life without her caused her to breakdown. She let go of the stuffed animal, to emotionally weak to hold it any longer. Ponyville General Hospital “Excuse me ma’am, may I go to room 206,” Fluttershy asked. The secretary gave her a weird look. “I’m here to see little Sunspot.”         “Oh… yes, I’ll let the nurse know you’re coming,” the secretary said. Fluttershy furrowed her brow by the tone of her voice, but she shrugged it off. She walked down the long white halls while humming a pleasant tune to herself. When she was out of sight the secretary pressed the button on the intercom. “Nurse Redheart,” she said with a voice filled with sorrow, “Fluttershy’s here. She’s coming to see Sunspot.”         “Did you tell her?”         “... I couldn’t.”