Upon a throne amidst a void of chaos, there sat a distinguished equine of god-like proportions. This truly handsome, dashing, devilish rogue turned as if regarding somepony just beyond the field of mere mortal vision. His eyes lit up as though he recognized an old friend, “Oh, welcome back! It is so good to see you again! What, you don’t remember me? But I remember you... O yes.” The dark figure steepled his talons together, a single fang flashed in his smile as he grinned. He continued, “Well, I suppose time is just as subjective as reality, so maybe this really is your first time through. Either way, you’re in for a treat!” Discord threw back his head and laughed long and deep, lightning flashing from the ground and setting the clouds aflame. The stunning pyrotechnics fade as soon as they appear, a rather bored look crossed the Lord of Disharmony’s features as though he were annoyed by the show.
“Enough of that. Story time!” He produces a dark leather bound tome and leaned back in his throne, getting himself comfortable. The title of the story seemed to be burned into the cover, black charred, and almost impossible to read. It would probably help if the book were not upside down, but it was still possible to make out the word ‘Broken’ all the same. Discord licked a thumb and began to leaf through the pages of the book. “Lets see... Ah, here we are. Once upon a time, there was a young pegasus. Awkward and coltish, she found herself almost too timid to even fly. Her peers made fun of her, called her names, and laughed at her failures. Painfully shy as she was, there was no hope that this little filly could hope to defend herself from the cruelty that comes all too naturally to children. Yet she did have friends who were willing to defend her, and one day, one special friend stood up to the bullies.”
The draconequus turned a page and flipped the book sideways, “That day her friend challenged the colts who had been making her miserable to a race for her honor. Despite this fact, neither her friend, nor her persecutors noticed when their tremendous speed caused the awkward filly to lose her footing and plummet from their cloudy home. Over and over she tumbled, too shocked to do anything but scream, too frightened to remember that all she had to do was spread her tiny wings and glide to safety. No, she fell like a stone right up until the very last possible moment. Suddenly, a swarm of multicolored bodies were all around her. Their wings buffeted and lifted the light little pegasus as though she were a feather and bore her safely to the ground. The world seemed to open up around her! She’d never left her home in the sky before, too afraid to even imagine what the world beyond the one she had always known might be like. But that day, thanks to her new friends, she learned that the world was a magical place and a love blossomed in her heart for all living things.”
Discord closed the book, a look of disgust on his face. With exaggerated scrutiny, he stared close at the title of the tome he had just read, eyes narrowed in concentration. He chuckled slightly and turned the book right side up. “Well I suppose that is how the story goes, but that’s certainly not how it went.” The thick grimoire seemed to pulse, throbbing as though it were a living thing unto itself. The pages turned of their own accord, a new story taking shape upon their pages as freshly written ink seeped through the leaflets like blood. Discord’s grin broadened, “Shall we try again?”
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Summer flight camp had barely begun, and already Fluttershy missed her parents terribly. If they were here, perhaps she’d at least have somepony to talk to. The others were nice enough to her, but most of the fillies and colts at the camp were much younger than she was. Even if they weren’t, Fluttershy found it almost impossible to relate to other ponies. It wasn’t her fault that her parents had sheltered her for most of her life. They had kept her from attending the camp last year. She had always been a weak flier, but that year she had fallen ill around the time the camp was scheduled to begin. It wasn’t her or her parents fault really, but Fluttershy still felt cheated somehow, and to her mind only her parents could fix the mess she was in.
Without their presence, she found herself drawn to the camp instructors. At first, they had mistakenly tried to use her to instruct the other children on proper flying methods, thinking her extra year of age meant an extra years worth of flying experience. It only took one such failed demonstration to inadvertently make the awkward pink maned filly a laughing stock of the camp. They did their best to try and protect her from the worst of the jeers of the younger ponies, but that only seemed to have the opposite effect. When the other ponies saw the special treatment Fluttershy was given, they mocked her even further. In retrospect, that was the worst thing the camp councilors could have done, separating her even further from her peers and any hope of making friends.
Even if this had not been the case, there was an otherness to the yellow pegasus that the children picked up on. She was distant, withdrawn, almost as if she weren't really there. Some mistook it for an inflated ego, thinking that Fluttershy thought herself too good to associate with them. Others simply felt that she was strange, feeling it was odd that a pony her age should end up by herself so often. Fluttershy wasn’t aware of it herself but the more she withdrew from others, and the more the councilors tried to defend her, the more the resentment of her peers grew.
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It was lunch and Fluttershy felt very nervous. At home, she mostly ate meals with her parents. They’d gather around the table and talk about their day. The tables here had to be long enough to accommodate all the fillies and colts that were attending the camp and most of them were already full. The cafeteria was crowded with lots of cheerful ponies. The other children were so loud and rowdy, Fluttershy caught herself flinching involuntarily more than once. “Excuse me,” she asked one purple filly who was laughing at a joke her friend had just told,”Is this seat taken?” Is seemed as though she hadn't heard her, but the awkward pegasus excused herself all the same and moved on to try again. A similar scene repeated over and over as she worked her way down the tables, trying to find a spot that she was welcome. It never occurred to her to just sit down.
She was about to give up and eat standing up when she found a table that was almost completely empty, save for three colts. She put on her brightest smile and moved to an empty spot at the table to ask the three if it was vacant. Immediately they moved over to block her. “What do ya think you’re doing, Flutter-Cry?” She didn’t recognize the boy right away, but then one of his friends spoke up. “Looks like she wants to sit with us Dumbell. Maybe she doesn’t know that this tables reserved for the best young fliers...not the worst!” He laughed as if he’d just told the funniest joke in the world. His friends joined in, covering their belated laughter by being even louder than the pony who’d started it.
His name was Hoops. He already had his cutie mark even though he was younger than Fluttershy by about a year, and he lorded it over every pony that cared to listen to him. He was the de facto leader of his little group of friends and Fluttershy was beginning to realize trying to sit anywhere near him was a mistake. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’ll just...I’ll find somewhere else to sit...” A flash of annoyance crossed Hoops face and he nodded to his heavy set friend who had remained silent so far. The pudgy pegasus stuck out one hoof as Fluttershy tried to scurry away. She fell with a terrific clatter, her tray hitting the cloudy ‘floor’ so hard it caused a rumble of thunder and a few sparks to leap out and singe her mane.The cafeteria erupted in laughter and applause. Some ponies were whistling and calling the poor yellow pegasus names, while one or two others merely stared with a sympathetic look to their eyes as if they were remembering a time when it was they who had been on the floor.
“Aww, look at the little baby! She’s gone and made a mess! Better clean her up!" Dumbell lifted a juice box in his mouth and squirted the remainder of his apple juice all over her face and mane. She squealed, spitting as the cold sticky liquid left trails through the food plastered on her face. “I’m...I’m sorry,” she sputtered, “I didn’t mean to...I tripped and...” But the more she tried to apologise, the more they laughed. An angry shout came from across the hall.
“You brats cut it out!” It was one of the camp councilors, Lofty, and as she flew over the trio of bullies quickly darted away. Fluttershy wished she could just run away too, but she kept slipping in her spilt food every time she went to stand up. She was crying softly as Lofty managed to help her up and led her to the water fountain to clean herself. Everypony else went back to their meals and conversations, not willing to further draw the ire of the councilor. “Honestly girl, you should know better than to hang around with those hooligans. Those little terrors have been picking on everypony since they got here. You need to take better care of yourself!” She lectured as she wiped the sticky mess off of Fluttershy’s face. All the yellow pony could do was look down at her hooves, shame faced as a few fillies passed by giggling. They were most assuredly doing so at her misfortune.
Lofty helped the meek flier get another tray of food and sat her down at a table so that she wouldn’t have to go about the awkward business of finding one on her own again. This was the table where the youngest fliers sat, only two fillies occupied the table. Fluttershy looked down at her food without making eye contact until one of them spoke up. “That was a pretty wicked crash! Not as wicked as some of mine though!” Fluttershy looked up into a grinning face beneath an unkempt mane of rainbow colored hair. She couldn’t help but smile back, it was just that kind of smile. “My name's Rainbow Dash, whats yours!?”
Her grin died almost as soon as the question was asked and she looked down at her food again. She would have eaten some to keep herself from having to answer, but she'd suddenly lost her appetite as her stomach tied itself in knots of worry. “Flu...Fluttershy...” she almost whispered.
“Fluttershy? That’s a funny name!” Squeaked the pint sized flier, but not unkindly. “Guess you must be a pretty good flier since you’re older than the rest of us.”
“Not...not really...” A rosy blush came to the yellow pegasus cheeks. In its own way, this situation was almost as bad as having to deal with Hoops and his crew. For her part, Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice her new friends discomfort. She puffed out her chest and just kept talking.
“Well don’t worry, like I said, I’ve been in way worse crashes than that every day! I’m probably the fastest flier here but...heh...I’ve got a little problem knowing when to throw on the brakes." She rubbed the back of her head with one hoof, bashfully. "I’m getting better though.” She nodded to herself, as if reassuring herself of her own improvement.
“You want to see a real crash, I’m the master.” Fluttershy almost hadn’t noticed the grey filly sitting next to her. Dash was larger than life and had taken up her whole world since she sat down. Caught up in her own social anxiety and dealing with such an outgoing pony as Dash, it was understandable she’d forget the blonde maned filly next to her. “That’s why they call me Derpy! I can fly pretty good...but not always the right way up.” She laughed, her unique eyes bright.
“I don’t think that’s the only reason they call you Derpy.” Dash started laughing as well when Derpy tried to give her a look of consternation but her eyes drifted in two different directions. Dash’s laughter was contagious and the grey pegasus look of dismay turned back to grins and giggles. Even Fluttershy felt a laugh or two coming on. It was hard to be worried about her own problems looking at Derpy’s sweet little smile or listening to Rainbow Dash’s solid self assurance.
Inch by inch, Fluttershy began to creep out of her shell as she ate with these two. Despite the gap in their age, it seemed like they would be fast friends. Lofty smiled from a distance, a gleam of nostalgia in her eyes. But the job was only half done and she had other duties to see to.
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Night at summer flight camp was lit by hundreds of tame thunderclouds. Lightning roved like a hungry beast from cloud to cloud, but it barely rumbled. The light was a bit fitful, but constant enough to keep the grounds lit almost as bright as day. Between the more unsteady flashes, moonlight helped illuminate the path back to the sleeping barracks as the Mare in the Moon looked down knowingly upon Fluttershy’s tired little form. She’d worn herself out trying to keep up with her new friends. Dash had insisted on showing Fluttershy all of her coolest tricks that first day and Derpy had come right along with them to keep the shy pony company as they oo’d and ah’d at the chromatic daredevils antics. She’d never used her wings so much, and that was just from following Dash around. Now all she could think about was how nice a soft cloud bed sounded with a warm coverlet of mist. Her lids drooped over her aqua colored eyes as she moved slowly along the path, thankful for the chance to use her hooves instead of her aching wings.
Without warning, she was suddenly slammed into the side of the barracks. Two ponies held her against the wall, one shoving her face hard into it while the other twisted one forelimb behind her back. She cried out but was immediately silenced by one hoof over her mouth. “Shut up! You stay quiet or I swear my friend will break your stupid arm!” It was Hoops, from earlier. All the laughter and sneers were gone from his face, replaced only by a look of an emotion Fluttershy had never seen before. Hatred seeped from the colt's eyes in a manner that frightened the filly into silence.
“Do ya want me to break it anyways Hoops? It’s what she deserves after what she did to our bro!” Dumbell twisted Flutttershy’s foreleg hard into her back, crushing it against her wings and wrenching a fresh scream from her. Hoops smacked her in the back of the head when she did that, bouncing her forehead off the wall.
“I said shut up!” His teeth were ground into a harsh grimace as he said, “You got my buddy Score sent home from camp early you little fink. All because you were a clumsy little moron and tripped over his hoof when you were bothering us earlier. But would the councilors believe you were just that stupid? No, they said he did it on purpose!” He bounced her head off the wall again for emphasis, harder this time.
When the stars cleared from her vision, Fluttershy tried to speak, “I didn’t mean to get your friend in trouble. I’m really, really sorry.” She paused, panting for breath being denied her as they squeezed her tight against the wall of the barracks. “Please, I’ll tell them it was my fault. Just don’t hurt me.” Fluttershy unwisely tried to wriggle out of Dumbell’s grasp. He was smaller than her, but stronger, and he delighted in any chance he had to show his strength. He slammed her hard against the wall and then onto the ground, putting all his weight on the limb behind her back. She tried to hold back the scream, blinking through tears of agony, but she couldn’t help but cry out.
That was when Hoops started kicking her, each blow punctuated by a word, “Its...too...late...for that!” He yelled, kicking her one final time before leaning down so he could stare her right in the face. “He’s gone...and we’re going to make the rest of your time here at camp a living nightmare! Get ready Cluttershy, because this is just a taste of what you have to look forward to!”
“Hey, whatcha guys doin?” Derpy Hooves had trundled out of the barracks, dragging a blanket behind her and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Fluttershy gasped in relief as the pressure eased off her back. However, almost immediately a fresh wave of fear washed over her as she saw the two bullies move toward her new friend threateningly.
“We’re not doing anything, Derp-eyes. If you want to keep those stupid eyes of yours, you didn’t see us do anything either!” The two boys may have been smaller than Fluttershy, but they were much larger than the blonde filly. She backed away, uncertain of what was going on, holding her blanket up in front of her as though it could provide some defense from their harsh words and angry glares. Dumbell grinned at this and feigned as if he was going to come towards her, sending her scampering away. “That’s right, you better run!” The two turned their attention back to Fluttershy. So terrified was she that she hadn’t moved, trembling in place in a tight little ball of terror, hoping they would forget about her and just go away. “Now where were we?”
With a flash and a crack, a thick thunderbolt lashed out from behind the boys and struck the cloud at their hooves. Both boys jumped and whirled around, now almost as startled as their victim. Grinning as if she didn’t have a care in the world, Derpy bounced up and down on one of the little lightning clouds that lit the pathways of the camp grounds. The motion seemed to be agitating the thunderhead, as it quickly swelled and began to spit more angry sparks. They went in all directions, singeing her own mane, but a few errant bolts fried the bullies as well turning them into smoking black caricatures of themselves. They leapt into the air, spitting curses, and flew away. “This isn’t over you two!” Cried Hoops as they left, another lightning bolt lashing out and catching him in his retreating flanks.
Once she was sure they were gone, Fluttershy slowly uncurled from her defensive ball. She looked up into a tiny face contorted in a frown of concern. “You okay Fluttershy?” Derpy wrapped her blanket around her friend, nuzzling her mane to comfort her. The little yellow pegasus still hurt, but it wasn’t the pain that brought tears to her eyes this time.
“I’m fine, thank you...um...Derpy.” The blonde filly smiled and helped her friend to her feet. Together they walked into the barracks and out of the cold, frightening night. If only they could have stayed in that warm, drowsy den the next day. A lot of misery might have been averted.
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Fluttershy smiled bravely as she set out the next morning. Despite what those bullies had done to her the night before, the day spent with her friends had inspired her to give flying lessons her very best! Today she would fly through the cloud hoops that many of the other pegasus were already zipping and whirling through. Spreading her wings, she gave a tremulous little flutter, just enough to hover. She could feel her muscles straining as she used them harder than she had ever used them before. The aches from the day before felt oddly good somehow, urging her on. Her body felt heavy beneath her, dragging her back down to the fluffy clouds, but still she tried her best. Her breath came in ragged little gasps as she pushed...finally getting her little chin up over the lowest hoop. She was doing it! The realization gave her a boost of strength that carried her up and over the lip and through the circle of cloud! If only she were a year younger, her gawky legs might not have tripped her up. Her hooves caught on the lip of the wispy hoop, sending her tumbling through it with a little scream. She slid down the soft curve of the clouds below, crashing into one of the flags that marked out the course. As she went sailing ungracefully through the air, she brought the flag down with her, the ragged scrap of material landing on top of her head.
Fortunately the clouds were soft, so she wasn’t hurt. Sadly the fluffy clouds could do nothing to dampen the hurt of her feelings as, before she could even worm her way free of the torn flag, she could hear the derisive laughter of those who had surely witnessed the entire sorry affair. “Nice going Cluttershy! They ought to ground you permanently!” Laughed one as the other sneered, “My baby brother can fly better than you!” Fluttershy could feel the blood rising into her face as she blushed and pulled herself tight into a ball of misery. All her fears and doubts came flooding back. It was Dumbell and Hoops again. At that moment, she wished fervently that somepony, anypony would help her as Derpy and Lofty had done before. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flash of color streaked across the sky.
Rainbow Dash landed in front of Fluttershy, facing the bullies who had been laughing at her so derisively. “Leave her alone!” The shy pegasus was so surprised, she almost didn’t catch the rest of the conversation.
Hoops sneer never left his face as the bully replied, “Ooh, what are you gonna do Rainbow Crash!?”
“Keep making fun of her and find out!” Fluttershy couldn’t believe that Dash was sticking up for her and challenging the bullies directly. Despite the situation, she began to smile.
“You think your such a big shot, why don’t you prove it!?” Shouted Dumbell.
“Oh yeah, what did ya have in mind?” Rainbow Dash was never one to back down from a challenge. The argument went on further, but how it would end was a foregone conclusion. They would have a race and Dash would prove to them just what a big shot she was and how they couldn’t dream of messing with her or any of her friends. The word ‘friend’ sent a little thrill through Fluttershy’s heart. She had no idea why this filly would be standing up for her after only knowing her for a day, but she agreed to wave the flag to start the race. A crowd quickly gathered to watch what happened next. The pegasi took their marks, Rainbow Dash with a look of confidence on her scruffy face, the bullies with looks of grim determination. Fluttershy raised the flag in her mouth and gave it one powerful sweep, signalling it was time to go!
The racers exploded from the starting line, roaring past Fluttershy faster than the most powerful gale she’d ever experienced in Cloudsdale. All eyes were on the racers retreating forms...nopony noticed as Fluttershy spun around and around and lost her footing, plummeting into the open sky. She expected to feel the fluffy puff of a cloud any moment. The summer flight camps were a right of passage, but they were never intended to be dangerous. Huge, soft clouds floated all around the camp grounds to make sure that even should a weak flier fall, she’d have a safe landing. As her legs flailed for purchase, Fluttershy tumbled end over end. She realized, with dawning horror, that she couldn’t see the white safety of clouds anywhere. The world flashed by, green and blue, green and blue. She could see the other children darting and weaving in the endless azure sky above...but they were growing further and further away. She screamed as the shapeless green blob that was the ground beneath her swelled to fill her vision.
At the very last moment, she thought to try spreading her wings, flapping the tiny appendages frantically. All they did was flap uselessly in the roaring wind of her descent. She screamed herself hoarse, as though somehow the sound would save her. A cloud of multicolored bodies swelled around her, and for a moment she thought she was saved. The camp councilors had caught her, or maybe some of the less mean children had swooped down to save her. Maybe Rainbow Dash had thrown the race to catch her at the last moment! All she knew was the kiss of tiny wings all over her body. For a moment she felt like she was floating...then she slammed into the damp earth below. She lay in a circle of shattered, brittle, brightly colored insects. Her descent had ripped them apart, coating her in the fine powder from their wings and the guts from their broken bodies. She only had a moment to register the feel of slick mud and bug guts before darkness and pain overtook her.