“Bunny, you can’t die” Spike said.
“I can fake it if it does need to”
Not long after Bunny mentioned those words, there was a slight thud sound. Then, without warning, there a ray fell from the top of the inside of Fluttershy’s cage. In its socket, there was a large vile of green fluid. Fluttershy cringed from how near it was to her. Then, one of the walls of the room faded, and became some sort of window. Through the window, there watched Aero, and a stallion and a mare, both of which looked like scientists. The stallion had grey hair and bluish skin. The mare had orange hair and lavender skin.
“It’s okay, Slash Wing” Aero said through the glass. “Soon, you will remember everything I have erased from you”
Fluttershy cringed from the how near the tip of the ray was to her, it was so close that it cornered her. She felt fear deepen as the ray activated and shot her. She felt pain like never before flooding her head. It felt like the sharp pain from her blocked memories, only this time ten times more painful. She fell on the floor as she flinched and flinched from the pain. She was only able to hear different voices calling out her name, and somepony trying to hold her.
And then, she blacked out.
________________________________________
“But daddy, please! I don’t want to go to the Academy! I want to stay at Surtensia Scholarship with Poison Rose! Daddy!” a young filly with a pink mane and tail and yellow skin cried out to her father.
Her father, a stallion with a white mane and green body, just shoved her to the entrance. “Nonsense! You’ll love this Academy! And you’ll even show yourself as a good example for you little brother Zephyr Breeze, won’t you like that?”
The filly gave up; she loved her sister, but she also wanted to get to be a good example for her brother. She peered from her father’s back. She saw another filly, who looked exactly like her. She just nodded in approval.
The filly sighed. “Okay, daddy”
“That’s a good girl. You’re my good little…” the stallion looked into his daughter’s eyes, before saying her name. “Slash Wing"
________________________________________
Fluttershy woke up from the flashback, but all shaky. She tried to focus on staying strong for her friends, but she was shot again by the ray. She blacked out again.
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“Oh! Hello there!” the filly Slash Wing said to a young colt she found in the hallway. He had a cropped purple mane, and red skin.
“Oh! Hi there! Are you new here?”
“Yes, what’s your name?”
“I’m Aero. What’s your name?”
“I’m Slash Wing”
“Slash Wing? Oh, cool! I like your name”
“Thanks, I like your name too”
“Thanks. How did you get in?”
“My dad; he says it would be best if I transferred schools from my sister’s to my brother’s. What about you?”
“Griffon War. Guess they cropped your mane too, huh?”
Slash Wing giggled.
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Fluttershy woke up again, this time doing her best to fight off the strength of the ray and serum. She held onto Twilight’s hooves for support. She didn’t feel like backing down this time. She fought hard and hard, but the effects of the serum were too potent. She only heard Twilight’s voice before plummeting into yet another blocked memory.
________________________________________
“You’re leaving?” Aero asked as Slash Wing packed up her saddlebag. It’s been 7 months since she moved into the Academy.
“Yes, my dad is planning to send me to Summer Flight Camp so I can properly fly. I wish I could stay, but you know how my dad is”
Aero hung his head low. He grew to love Slash Wing, like love-love. And to hear that she was going to leave because of some instruction from her father, he knew it was now time to act. It was now or never.
“You’ll come back one day, right?” he asked.
“Maybe, why do you…” Slash Wing couldn’t finish her sentence when Aero kissed her. Her eyes stayed wide open as her face became almost the exact same color as her mane.
Aero finally pulled away after a few seconds. “If you feel the same, you have a reason why”
“Aero, does this mean…?”
“Yes, I love you, Slash Wing”
“I love you too, Aero”
________________________________________
Fluttershy shook off the memory’s pain and began the fight against the ray again. Her head hurt too much, but she didn’t feel like giving up so easily for Twilight. Twilight helped Fluttershy as she held onto her hooves. Her marefriend was in so much pain that she wanted to use magic to get out of the cage and free them all, but the cages were all magic proof.
Aero watched the scientists' slightly rough treatment of Fluttershy with an odd mix of disdain and relief. He didn't feel good about seeing her treated like this. Part of him even wanted to pry the ray away from Fluttershy. He watched his love struggle. It was a heartbreaking sight, but he knew in his heart that everything the scientists were doing to her was done for her benefit.
Fluttershy fought hard but couldn’t stop herself from falling again into the dark memories.
________________________________________
“Hey! You’re back, Slash Wing! Long time no see!” Aero greeted his marefriend with a hug. He expected that when he faced her, she would be smiling. Instead, he saw the exact opposite. She had grown, but she looked sad.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“My family died”
“Oh my! Slash Wing, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay; I just need to weep a little. I’ll be fine”
________________________________________
“How long until she gets everything back?!” Aero asked the scientists. He was getting really worried now for his love. She had just woken up and began the same process all over again. Wake up, fight, struggle, pas out again, repeat.
“We’re almost there, getting to the most important memory”
Aero flinched when he heard Fluttershy scream and pass out again.
________________________________________
“Aero, we have to get out!” Slash Wing yelled as she and the Pegasus struggled to stay awake. There was some fire that had just started out of the blue. Everypony else had already fallen from the smoke. Slash Wing had been getting weaker from the smoke, Aero could barely get up. Aero saw that he had only one option: Save himself or save his love. He chose the latter.
“Slash Wing, you know I love you, right?” Aero asked the mare.
Slash Wing nodded. “If we jump out the window, then we could…”
She couldn’t react when Aero forced some serum in her throat. Slash Wing felt her eyes roll over to the back of her head. Her memories, all of them, were being redone. She felt her life reprogrammed. Her personality changed. But what was strongest was the most important factor.
Her name.
“That’s a good girl. You’re my good little…” the stallion looked into his daughter’s eyes, before saying her name. “Fluttershy”
Aero pushed her out the window, and her safely landing on the ground, he braced his fate.
Don’t worry, my love. He thought to himself. If I make it out of this, I will find you
________________________________________
“MAKE IT STOP!” Fluttershy shouted as the pain deepened, her grip was so strong, it was practically strangling Twilight’s hooves. The Alicorn didn’t care; she knew she had to be strong for her marefriend. Bunny was getting angrier by the minute. The little alien was trying to break the cage; her little paws exerting all the force they could do. She didn’t care if she was gonna bleed after, she can’t feel pain anyway. Spike blew more fire than ever, he too was getting furious.
Fluttershy plunged back into the abyss one last time.
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After a while, Slash Wing returned to her small cottage. She still had to prepare for the night. She felt something for the Unicorn, she could feel it. She tried to shake it off, but it wouldn’t leave her. Eventually, she felt the feeling just shaken off by something…painful. She felt what was like a sharp needle going through her head. She shrieked in pain as she began to tumble around. The animals tried to go near her, but she made a run for it upstairs. She quickly locked her bedroom door as soon as she entered. She fought with the pain but soon succumbed. Her life was rewritten, from just meeting Aero to forgetting that she ever entered the Academy. Even the fire.
She woke up later, with no memory of her true past. The truth was all and certain.
Slash Wing had died. Fluttershy had been born
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“It’s done” one of the scientists said, turning off the ray. Aero nodded and ran hurriedly to the room.
Bunny whimpered from fear.
Spike watched from his cage.
Everypony else kept murmuring.
Twilight held Fluttershy’s head, as though that doing so would ensure she didn’t lose her. She immediately felt movement as the yellow mare began to open her eyes.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight tried.
Her response was the mare looking at her, blankly.