Lead Hearts and Feathered Wings

by maddox078

Separation

“What do you mean you 'Just can't do this anymore'?”

“Exactly what I said, Rainbow.”

Despite the soft projection of those words, a harsh sting pervaded them.

“So....you're saying that-”

“I'm saying that I'm done with....'us'.”

A grim silence rang out, interrupted only by the sounds of passing ponies oblivious to the world enveloping the two mares.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat in mutually growing discomfort on the black stone terrace of a downtown cafe. The orphan words of nearby conversations made home in the exhaustive silence following the yellow pegasus' declaration.

After full minutes passed their silence was punctured, giving way to the prismatic mare's vocalized denial.

"Y-you're joking right? You can't be serious..."

Fluttershy merely lowered here gaze in response, coveting the isolated serenity of hiding behind her mane, meekly shaking her head in dissent.

Rainbow's response, as a result of growing indignation and authentic confusion, was far less subdued.

“What the hell?? What did I ever do but treat you as my whole world? I've stood up for you countless times, I've been there when you needed a shoulder to cry on; heck, I've even taken an interest in things I can't stand, simply because you love them!”

Fluttershy's previous expression of grim conviction softened at the rebuttal, her vision racing to every sight but the magenta eyes bearing down on her.

Taking note of the momentary collapse of her partner's resolve, Dash continued.

“So why would you take me out here to a public place, on an otherwise perfect day, and tell me you don't appreciate the things that I do for you?”

Somewhere on the ground beneath her, Fluttershy must have found her confidence once more, as she looked back up after Dash's words and attempted once more to bear down on her acquaintance.

“Not things that you do, things that you did,” she replied in both a hurt and shaming tone.

Her resilience did not last long though, for immediately following the retort her eyes began to water. A lone betraying tear carelessly matted down the fur on her face before leaping from the edge of her snout and bursting upon the cold stone ground below.

The pegasus attempted to continue on with her deliberation, but struggled against her own wavering voice.

“You used to do all of those things, you used to make me happier than I can ever remember being. You did stand up for me, you did comfort me, you did work to find common ground, and I know I was your whole world, and I loved that most of all.....”

The fragile mare shook under a heavy sob before continuing.

“But all that's gone now, and has been for a long time. Now I'm left with a strange mare that I don't know, and I don't love.”

Her confession became a borderline soliloquy as she did her best to avoid Dash's unreadable eyes, speaking almost solely to her quavering hooves.

“Ever since you started your own flying team here in Ponyville, I haven't seen much of you at all. And whatever I do see of you, isn't really even 'you' anymore. I seem like nothing more than a chore to you, an afterthought to your career with your team. You've come home late almost every night for the past two years, leaving me on my own at home, at least until you get back, tired and cranky. On a good night, I'll wait for you and rub your hooves when you flop down onto the couch, listening to you complain about all the things your recruits are doing wrong. But on a normal night....I'm already in bed when I hear you open the door, swearing loudly at the pain in your muscles as you rummage around the kitchen for some poor excuse of a meal. Then you clamber up the stairs to the room and pay no heed to waking me up, sometimes even having the audacity to proposition me for intimacy.”

The pain in her voice mixed with the recently infused venom of her last sentence, creating a tone so haunting the Everfree itself would not find it hospitable. Such juxtaposition of a lethal tone from such a calm and loving mare would've made anypony familiar with her cringe in abhorrent repulsion.

The curious eyes and ears of nearby patrons began to abscind their attention from their own conversations in favor of the shameful, voyeuristic pleasure of observing the death of one of Ponyville's most well-known and revered relationships.

“You never have time for me anymore, except to take advantage of the love I give you. You don't even talk to the girls anymore, unless you need something. Rarity told me about how awful you treated her after she designed and made your team outfits last month.”

The cyan mare looked immensely hurt at hearing such words from somepony that was supposed to be her friend. But anger soon overtook agony, as she slammed her hooves upon the patio table as an extension of her outrage.

“Is that who put you up to this? I knew it had to be one of the girls, and Rarity has always hated me. I knew she didn't think I was good enough for you, and that our 'conflicting personalities' would do nothing but breed trouble. That mare is nothing but a backstabbing bit-”

“For Celestia's sake, Rainbow! Rarity didn't tell me to break up with you, this was my own decision! At least, it was after the girls brought your behavior to my attention weeks ago. I thought long and hard on what they said about you changing and becoming so selfish. Only then did I see how you've been using me. Up until that point, I thought you were just needing extra attention to help you through your difficult time at work. But I can see past that delusion now.”

The small mare, with misting azure eyes hidden deep behind a long pink mane, slowly rose from her seat without ceremony. Seeing this, Dash immediately got up as well, jabbing a hoof into the mare's chest to prevent her vacation.

“Where do you think you're going?”

The pleading bitterness in her voice made her rhetoric clear, bluntly informing her 'friend' that there was no right answer to her question.

In a subtle twist of irony, the yellow pegasus ignored her former lover.

Fluttershy brushed Dash's hoof off herself and headed towards the small set of steps that led off the cafe's terrace and onto one of Ponyville's main thoroughfares. The haunting silence from before writhed its way amongst the two once more, existing as the only remaining bond between them.

“Oh,” the cream-colored mare exclaimed in sedated surprise.

“I almost forgot, the house is all yours. Celestia-knows you've paid more for it than I ever did. I'll be by later this week to get some of my bigger things out of there.”

“Wait!” Rainbow's previously brushed aside hoof rose once more in desperation. “Where are you going to live? Have you even thought this through?”

Fluttershy turned back to face Rainbow and deliver one last tepid look.

“Of course I have, Rainbow. My house never really sold when I put it on the market before we moved into our downtown place. I'll just go back there, the familiarity will do me well. Goodbye, Rainbow."

Her head hung low, the gentle mare trudged her broken soul down the cobbled streets under a late autumn sun.

Author's Note:

This is my second attempt at writing, well, anything. Feedback is of the utmost importance to me, so please leave a comment telling me what you like or dislike about the story, (only in regards to technical writing skill, not plot content please.) Overall, I plan for this story to be between 10,000 to 15,000 words upon completion, so this is just the start!