Path of Kindness and Blood

by CommanderX5

Prologue

“Deja vu...” said a yellow pegasus with three sunflowers as a cutie mark, her voice tired and depressed. Grey was somewhat visible on the tips of her feathers.

“Deja-what?” asked a tall and old pegasus with a bowl full of bird food for a cutie mark. “Can you please repeat that, Sunflower? My hearing must be getting worse.”

“I said ‘De-ja-vu’... it’s a Prench saying. You use it when… when you feel as if something was happening again…” She rubbed the top of her head, “...or something like that.”

Little Seed nodded before looking around and examining his surroundings. Both he and his friend were perched atop clouds on a balcony attached to a restaurant. The sun shone brightly upon them just like every day in Cloudsdale, a perk of living in a floating city.

“Ah… I see what you mean,” he said before rubbing the small beard on his chin. “This is the same place where we saw Flutterbat for the last time, when she gave us her farewells before moving to Trottingham.” Little Seed massaged his back as the creaks from his old bones reached his friend’s ears, a clear reminder that his golden years were long behind him. “It’s been over ten years… if my memory serves right.”

“Ten and a half...” Sunflower corrected in a saddened tone as she stared at the empty cloud next to the table. Her imagination provided her with an image of a yellow pegasus with a long messy pink and grey mane smiling at her, the forced smile failing to hide her depression. “I just thought”—she coughed before continuing—“that this is the most suitable place... to talk about her.”

Little Seed took a deep breath and sighed as he lowered his head and curled his wings. “Let me guess… she stopped replying to your correspondence?” He noticed a firm nod from the corner of his eye. “She didn’t respond to me either… Do you fear the worst?”

“I do…” Sunflower said, her words striking Little Seed as if needles were piercing his heart. His throat suddenly became dry, so he grabbed the glass of water between his trembling hooves and satisfied his thirst.

Little Seed raised his head, and both elderly pegasi stared at each other in awkward silence. Minutes passed, and they started to play with their food, pushing vegetable salad around their plates, but not feeling up to eating. Little Seed was the first to speak, “Maybe… maybe she got sick, and couldn't respond.”

“For half a year?” Sunflower asked as she slowly shook her head. “She was always diligent with her responses.” She paused to take a quick breath. “If she is so sick that she can’t reply to my letters… then her illness must be really serious.”

“Don’t underestimate her. Flutterbat may look like a retired and fragile veterinarian, but she was strong and healthy,” Little Seed said before a weak smile formed across his lips. “Furthermore, she didn’t mention that she was feeling ill in her letters. Maybe a small complaint about her aching back, but nothing serious.”

Sunflower placed her forehoof on the elderly stallion's shoulder and shook her head in disagreement. “You should know better than that. Flutterbat often hid issues and insecurities from us so we wouldn’t worry about her. What if she was hiding some sort of deadly illness and didn’t tell us to the very end?”

Little Seed noticed the distress in her friend's breathing as he considered her words. He gently stroked Sunflower's foreleg and said with a tired but encouraging tone, “Give her time. I am sure that wherever she is, she is fine.”

“I hope you’re right. I hope you are…” Sunflower whispered.

“We’re here.”

Fluttershy tightened her hold against the pegasus’s neck and pressed her head against the pink puffy mane, feeling a weak trembling the moment her ride landed on the grass. After a moment to reassert herself, she stepped down onto the ground while still holding an open umbrella with her wing.

Next to her landed Rainbow Dash, who patted her gently on the back and asked, “How are you feeling Flutters? Are you tired?”

Fluttershy observed the shadow of the umbrella that protected her from the sun. Feeling a pleasant chilling breeze, she looked at her concerned friend and shook her head. “Not really.” She slowly turned towards the taller pegasus and said, “Thank you so much for letting me ride atop your back, Miss Rainbowshine, and for this lovely umbrella. It really helped me conserve my energy.”

“You’re very welcome,” Rainbowshine responded with a cheerful smile as she approached the disguised thestral. She knelt and nuzzled Fluttershy’s cheek with her muzzle before continuing, “I know it may be… no, I know it will be difficult for you to live on your own from now on, but know that you have our support.”

She retracted her muzzle and sighed before looking at Fluttershy with concern. “Still, I can’t help but wonder, why have you decided to move to Ponyville so quickly? Just a few hours ago, you were afraid to participate in my daughter’s birthday party, more or less leave the safety of our home.”

“I just...” Fluttershy muttered, “I just don’t want to put you in danger.”

“Danger?” the tall mare said with a chuckle. “A day or two wouldn’t make a difference, sweetie.”

“I know… but I couldn’t stay… After my talk with Ditzy, I felt motivated. I feared that if I delayed even an hour longer, my determination would be replaced with anxiety.” She pressed herself lightly into Rainbowshine’s wing. “I was afraid that I would refuse to leave. I just had to do this without delay.”

Rainbowshine stood up to her full height and stroke the top of Fluttershy’s head, who grimaced in return, but didn’t resist. “If you two ever need anything, just send a letter.”

“Thank you...” Fluttershy said hesitantly, lack of enthusiasm clear in her calm voice. She turned her head to the side and thought, It still feels so odd to be trapped in a body of a fifteen year old filly, and even more being treated like one. I wonder, how long this age altering spell is going to last?

Rainbowshine smiled awkwardly. “Oh, I’m sorry for being disrespectful. Sometimes I forget that you are older than me.” She slowly rounded the pureblood thestral and embraced her daugher.

“Mom, I am not a filly anymore,” Dash said as she struggled against the vice grip, somewhat annoyed that her mother added both wings into the embrace. After breaking free from the hug, Dash took a few steps back and stomped with determination. “From now on, I am a young mare. I am going to rebuild that old cloud house, get a job, and take care of Fluttershy, so please, no more embarrassing hugs.” She took a quick look around, making sure that no pony witnessed this humiliating scene.

Rainbowshine shook her head. “You will always be my little filly to me.” Before Dash could react, she delivered a swift kiss on the cheek and whispered, “Mom loves you. Stay safe.”

Dash wiped her cheek and frowned as her mom spread both wings and started to hover above the ground.

“You stay safe too,” Fluttershy said as she caught the mare’s attention. “Without a pureblood clan to oversee and claim Cloudsdale as their territory, it will soon become a battlefield for power between lesser clans.”

After taking a slow deep breath, she continued in a more subdued tone, “Just stay indoors at night, don’t display any combat-related skills in public, and avoid places with no witnesses, like dark alleys or empty warehouses.”

Rainbowshine nodded and said with a firm tone, “Fluttershy, you already told us this around four times. My husband and I will remember your advice, and we will stay away from this conflict as much as possible, so please, stop worrying so much.”

Fluttershy lowered her head as her mouth refused to add any words. How can she ask me to stop worrying? If something happens to Dash’s parents, to ponies that sheltered and took care of me during my darkest hour… if my friend suffers such loss, I… Fluttershy’s ears dropped as a quiet whimper escaped her mouth, I will never forgive myself.

She forced a smile, and upon noticing that Rainbowshine had waved her forehoof, waved back absentmindedly in a farewell gesture, waiting for Dash’s mother to fly away. The moment she and her friend were left alone, the smile on her face vanished with a depressed sigh. She slowly turned towards Ponyville, to look at the town that would become her hideout from all those who wished her harm. The small, old fashioned homes made of wood were a big change from the familiar houses made of clouds.

“So, what do you think of Ponyville?” Dash’s words reached Fluttershy’s ears as she felt a wing being placed atop her back.

“It looks… decent… I suppose.”

Dash frowned. “Come on, Flutters. I know this town doesn’t seem all that impressive compared to Cloudsdale or your parent's mansion, but this is going to be your new home! Show some enthusiasm.”

“Home? My home doesn’t exist anymore.” Fluttershy pointed at the town while refusing to look her friend in the eyes. “This place will never replace it.”

“Never say never,” Dash said with determination as she patted Fluttershy on the back. “It may be an alien environment with no cloudy roads and homes, we may not know anypony here yet, and it may take a long time before we get used to it. But one day, we will call this place our home.”

“You may, Dash, but not me.”

Rainbow Dash poked Fluttershy in the shoulder, careful not to put too much force into it. “Come on, Flutters, what happened with all that determination you had after my birthday party? What happened to finding a new path in life?”

Fluttershy slowly turned her head, now looking at her friend with a nearly lifeless stare, bringing Dash an uneasy feeling as she barely could look back into her pupils. “I’m determined to find a purpose to my worthless life. Anything that would give it some meaning…” Her ears dropped as she looked down at her own forelegs, and her voice turned to a whisper, “Something to distract me…”

She looked to the side, watching Ponyville once more. “However, home is more than just a place you live and rest in. It is a place where you feel safe, filled with those you care about and who care about you… Such a place is beyond my reach.”

The determination and enthusiasm that filled Dash’s heart waned with her friend’s every word. She rubbed her foreleg nervously and said in a much calmer tone, “Umm… you should… think more positive… it can get only better from now on. Come on, give me a warm smile!” Dash retreated her wing and sat in front of her friend as she gently raised her head, hoping against hope to see at the very least the fake smile which Fluttershy displayed in front of Rainbowshine.

“May I ask you a question?” Fluttershy asked.

“S-sure…”

“Could you smile if you lost everything that was the most valuable to you?” Fluttershy asked as her tone became slightly more hostile with each word. “Would you smile if somepony took it all from you in one day, in front of your very eyes, and you couldn’t do anything to stop it?”

Noticing that her friend looked to the side, speechless, she continued, “I know I promised Ditzy that I would face my future with a smile, that I would take her example…” she lowered her head and carefully touched a flower. “But to be honest, I don’t feel like smiling.”

The awkward silence lasted for several seconds as Dash looked at the sky, while Fluttershy just played with the flower absentmindedly. Trying to break the silence, Dash pointed at Ponyville and said, “Maybe we should… go?”

Fluttershy raised her head. “S-sure.” She picked up the umbrella with her teeth, freeing her wings. Upon noticing that her friend flew into the air at a slow pace, she followed her example.

I have to admit, flying is no longer a hassle when I have at least a bit of protection from the sunlight… She gave a comforting sigh. I would endure a century of attending flight school, flying under the sun day after day... if only everything would be like before...

She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lips. But that life is gone, and I will never have it back no matter how much I wish for it. I have to abandon my past and move forward… what other choice do I have?