How to be Cruel

by Erisn

Epilogue: Home

Fluttershy stayed for a few more minutes to make sure Tirek was truly dead. Then she carefully stood up and prodded at her side. She winced, but decided that while she was badly bruised, there were not broken bones or cracked ribs. That was good.

Cerberus was next, and Fluttershy spent some time scratching his ears and whispering to him while he rolled happily on the ground. His muzzles were still stained with blood, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Fluttershy left him there, as the dog happily returned to his patrol of Tartarus.

She guessed it might be several weeks before any pony came to check on Tirek, but their conclusion would be the same regardless. The only thing that could foil her plan now was another visitor in Tartarus. But only Celestia or Luna would dare venture here, and Fluttershy knew that both were visiting Manehatten at the moment.

It took her several hours to maneuver through the maze of tunnels, but in the end, Fluttershy emerged into an evening’s sunset. She oriented herself to where she knew Ponyville to be and took off into the air. She was nowhere near as fast as Rainbow Dash, but Fluttershy flew doggedly, accomplishing with time and patience what Rainbow Dash could do with speed and skill.

It was nightfall by the time Ponyville came into sight. Fluttershy skimmed over the rooftops, and flew onwards towards her secluded cottage on the borders of the Everfree. Lights shone merrily from every window, and she could hear the sounds of animals chattering away as she approached.

The house went silent as soon as they sensed Fluttershy’s presence, but the silence lasted only as long as it took for her to move closer so the inhabitants could see who it was. Noise resumed and the cottage door swung open. A rabbit hopped out and held it open for Fluttershy, letting warm yellow light spill out into the night.

“Thank you Long Foot,” Fluttershy said as she trotted inside. “Have any of my friends come to call?”

Long Foot shook his head, and gestured to the other animals crowding Fluttershy’s house. Birds and rodents and other mammals and one bear greeted Fluttershy, and just for an instant, she remembered a similar scene, in a happier time.

“Well, thank you.” Fluttershy said again. “I appreciate your help. I don’t anticipate any more outings for the next few weeks, so we’ll take it easy. Get some sleep now, okay?”

Long Foot bowed and hopped back into the cottage to his cot on the floor. His fur was a beautiful white. That was one of the factors that had made Fluttershy choose him over other rabbits. He still had problems hitting Fluttershy when other ponies were around, but he had Angel’s expression and foot tapping down. Long Foot wasn’t nearly as aggressive as Angel, but he was a good actor and more importantly, he was reliable and serious. He just lacked the fire.

Fluttershy stepped around her cottage, greeting animals and tucking them in or seeing them off. They had gathered here, waiting for her return as she honored their concern with courtesy and respect. She waved goodbye as Matilda the bear walked back into the Everfree. It had taken some effort finding a bear that looked like Harry and was willing to stay in close proximity to Ponyville, but Matilda was one of his distant cousins and had understood the need.

When all of her animals were asleep of had gone back to their homes in the Everfree, Fluttershy opened her door again and stepped outside. The season had changed from summer to autumn in the last few weeks, and it was a cool breeze that ruffled her mane as Fluttershy carefully shut her door. Soon, the landscape would be full of falling leaves, and the vivid red and orange of the world preparing itself for winter, but not yet.

The garden behind Fluttershy’s house was not large, but still bigger than what most ponies cared to manage. Neat rows of carrots and heads of lettuce and cabbage poked out of the earth, but Fluttershy passed those by. They were growing quite well now, and Fluttershy wondered whether it was due to Chrysalis’s presence.

She reached the back of her garden, where it nestled right up against her cottage. No vegetables had been planted there. Flowers instead grew in a rough circle, not just the typical dandelions, tulips and other flowers native Ponyville but far more. Beautiful yellow marigolds and chrysanthemums of lovely shades of purple and vivid oranges grew here. Bluebells sat next to orchids and magnolias still in full bloom.

Fluttershy touched the flowers gently, and watched as the night’s breeze made them sway. They would be fading soon, as fall and winter took all the life from the earth. Soon, there would be nothing but barren ground here. She would deal with that time when it came. For now, it was enough.

Fluttershy lay down in the soft earth, and breathed out. She had no blanket, but the air wasn’t cold. She felt the rich soil beneath her, heard the sigh of the wind, and closed her eyes. She buried her face in the ground and felt as though something, someone was right next to her, pressing his furry face against hers.

She whispered into the earth.

“Angel? I’m home.”

Author's Note:

Thus ends How To Be Cruel, and with it, one of the hardest characters I’ve had to write. Evilifying Fluttershy is hard, and the only character I think would be harder to write as would be Rarity. Pinkie Pie is tough, but I think you could do interesting things with internal monologues.

I don’t usually feel the need to write any author’s notes, but in this case I feel it would help address any questions. Astute readers may have noticed that Fluttershy’s story hinted at her killing Sombra, dragons, and other villains from the show. However, I decided to just wrap everything up after Chrysalis. This is for two main reasons: one, I don’t really want to write any more in this story, and two, it just wouldn’t be as interesting.

Fluttershy resembles Walter White a lot in the way she acts. She’s an idiot, but brilliant at times. However, after killing Chrysalis she’s definitely more of a Gus character who’s scarily smart and ruthless. And while it would be interesting to watch her stomp every villain she meets, it’s not nearly as fun for me to write. This story went way longer than I expected, so I sort of ran out of steam near the end. Maybe someday I’d pick it back up, (after Season 5 perhaps if there’s a really great villain), but for now we have to just imagine the bloodstained road Fluttershy took until she met Tirek.

You may also be interested to know that there is actually some basis for this story from the show itself. If you look carefully in the scene where Shining Armor and Cadence send Chrysalis and her army flying, two changelings do indeed seem to fly into the Everfree. Coincidence? Probably.

Also you may have picked up on the fact that Chrysalis is indeed humming This Day before she dies. Try rereading that chapter with that song playing in your headphones.

Well, that’s about it. For all those reading this far, thanks for sticking with this story. Not sure if I’ll be writing anything more in the near future as I’m tired, but keep an eye out. I might be hit by sudden inspiration (or a brick), and churn out a few chapters. Maybe it's time to do some blogging or find some other amazing stories on this side. Thanks for reading,

--Erisn

Comments

[shyguy7829]

Bretty gud story, bra.

[Manual Control]

Posted right after I finished the last chapter... Lucky me! I was really wondering how she was going to cover up all the missing animals...

So if there is a sequel, will she talk about how she killed Sombra?

[Erisn]

5534575

Fluttershy brought in new animals to live in the Everfree and around Ponyville. She got a bear to pretend to be Harry and a rabbit to replace Angel, and the others animals just settled into the area. I didn't think it was too big a plot point so I skipped it.

Also, if there is a sequel, Fluttershy would talk about how she killed Sombra. It's too bad I'm out of energy for this one, because I had his death all figured out. It was gonna be diabolical. Also on her list was the hydra, the Ursula Major, Gilda, timberwolves, the adolescent dragons, Trixie, etc...she doesn't necessarily kill all of them, but she does take care of the threat. Glad you guys liked it.

[shyguy7829]

You know, now that I've had time to think about it, isn't there still a chance that Celestia or Luna could deduce who came and killed Tirek? I mean, they only know two others who know where Tartarus is. When they speak to Twilight, they just might be able to fit the pieces together.

[i_am_the_jam]

[aplauso]

[Twilight Kira]

I think that was a proper finale. The story was focused in how fluttershy become cruel, and the events you wrote were enought without un necessary fill the story with more gore.
It is perfect and you did good. This Go to my Exellent stories

[wlam]

I can't for the life of me make the character development in this story, the changes Fluttershy undergoes and nobody ever so much as noticing - quite work out to make complete sense, at least not without changing some major premises about how the setting, the elements, people in general or her friends in specific work. The idea is certainly interesting and the execution can't be faulted on technical respects, but it just doesn't really come together for me as a whole.

[Hot Blooded Hero]

It really does get tiring spending several paragraphs giving you utter, in-depth praise, and in hindsight, might not be too constructive, but I truly enjoyed this story. One of my favorite plot setups is the protagonist's journey to evil, and when the protagonist set up is taken as incredibly innocent, then the events and actions are driven home. While it does seem like an awful waste of potential to hand-wave the other villains' deaths rather than show a glorious, bloody power climb, and hell, even the tension building charade actually being revealed, I gratefully respect your decision for ending it on a light note rather than run yourself ragged scraping for ideas just as brilliant as the forest fire every few chapters with dying interest. Good show.

[alarajrogers]

Awesomely dark and very well thought out.

I'd really like to write a take on Fluttershy's relationship with Discord in this universe, given that this whole thing with Chrysalis happened pre-reform, though I don't know if I'll have time. But if I had the opportunity, would you be ok with that?

[Erisn]

5594116

Given that I don't know if I'll pick this one back up, go for it! I have my own idea of what interactions Fluttershy and Discord might have, but I'd love to see what other people think.

[Pyrotechnic]

This was perhaps the best Fluttershy story I ever read. Fluttershy is one of the more controversial ponies on the show. Always portrayed as meek, and generally helpless, this really showcases how far she will go for her animal (and secondary Pony) friends. I was expecting a last minute pony to discover what Fluttershy was up to, but I guess Fluttershy has the perfect (or close to it) alibi in that regard.

If this does become a series, will she eventually be caught? I don't want her to, as unlike in Secret Life of Rarity, she has a better motive, and while yes, Chrysalis did mention what she could have done, I don't think anyone cares as much as she only kills the villains that are an actual threat rather than ponies that just emotionally hurt her friends.

I really enjoyed this and I consider this the best Fluttershy Grimdark to be added alongside the greats. This includes, Secret Life of Rarity, Rainbow Factory, and I guess Cupcakes... haven't read a good Pinkie one yet. I don't like the ones for Twilight, and Applejack has very few good Grimdarks. You can't corrupt or make the Element of Honesty into a believable, in character villain it seems.

Good job!!!!

[Erisn]

"You can't corrupt or make the Element of Honesty into a believable, in character villain it seems."

...This be a challenge? Anyways, glad you liked the story! If it ever does get continued, Fluttershy's actions would probably eventually get found out by someone, but the question then is: what will she do to preserve her secret? Well, I'm waiting on season 5 to see if there are any amazing villains to add to Fluttershy's list.

[samstermlp]

Normally I hate anything even remotely dark, but I could not stop reading this. And spoken as somepony who reads many fanfics, this here is one of the best written.

[TailsIsNotAlone]

Unlike many stories I've read that try to be dark, this one is a truly harrowing journey and not the sort of thing I can read every day. But now and again I come back to it, and it's always just as frightening as it was the first time. The graphic violence and compelling plot still draw me in and the Changelings as you write them are almost evil enough to divert my attention from Fluttershy's growing insanity and bellicose machinations. Considering my distaste for most grimdark, I should find this story repellent but I don't. I enjoy it. What's more disturbing is that you make me believe every word.

I thought of leaving a comment here for a few years but the words didn't come until now. I'm planning to write an original story about a really kind character who goes bad, and if I go through with it, I'll have you to thank for a lot of my inspiration. Marvelous work.