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.
Adrift in a field of stars, words blossom and die, writ large across the heavens. It is peaceful in the eye of the storm. She sits hunched over the book, eyes wide, glued to each page as they flutter passed. The tome seems incredibly large beneath her, as though it was swelling by the second. The unicorn's horn glows brightly as she manipulates six writing tools at once, inscribing words in rich dark ink upon blank pages. She has been doing this for so long now, she can’t remember when she began, she can’t imagine when she might stop. For her, this is what she has always been.
Even so, as she comes to one line of text, she hesitates. Each pen and brush hovers uncertainly, twitching over a page that positively begs for words, yet she feels herself suddenly unable to oblige. A memory stirs in her mind and for a moment brief as the heart beat of a dying child, the swirling madness leaves her eyes. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes tear up as a sudden clarity dawns. She is free to go whenever she wishes...yet she dare not. Being here is necessary for the greater good of all. Even as she stares at the blank page, words begin to appear there that were not of her own making.
“You’ve been kind for far too long, my dear. It’s time to be cruel.”
The words burn across the page in acidic yellow and pink that chews into the paper, branches of color leaching into the page and spreading through the book like the roots of some invasive and deadly plant. Tears turn to grins as the madness comes back to Twilight’s eyes. Her writing tools move furiously, futilely trying to minimize the damage. But sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
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The first sense to return was her hearing. Sound crashed against her ears in a high pitched whine, the auditory equivalent of a shard of glass in your eye, the noise punctuated by sobbing. It took her a moment to realize the origin of those heart wrenching wails. When she discovered she was the source of the sound, a ceaseless low keening, she tried to stop...but the noise was automatic. Everything hurt. She couldn’t move. Struggle as she might, her muscles did nothing but shudder and spasm, sending waves of hot agony searing through her with every jolt. She had no idea just how lucky she was to be feeling anything at all. Her mind was too clouded with pain to appreciate the fact that she was still alive, though broken. She lay, splayed out in a soft indention of mud, hind legs bent at unnatural angles, one of her wings wedged tight beneath her. Her forelimbs scrabbled uselessly in the muck, but all she managed to do was smear more fully the mixture of filth and blood across her body. Her chest felt like it was on fire as broken ribs shifted with every shuddering breath. Blood pooled beneath impact wounds where her flesh had burst open from the trauma of her sudden, forceful landing. As she sobbed a steady trickle of crimson gushed between her teeth. She’d bitten her tongue. She could feel a chunk she had almost, but not quiet, bitten through. It moved around in her mouth but she could only register it as a terrifying foreign object trapped behind her teeth. She tried to spit it out, but only managed to spew more blood and one or two broken fragments of teeth. She could barely breathe, she could hardly think.Tears came, hard and fast.
With a powerful spasm she shifted her weight to one side at last, dragging herself to drier ground and freeing her trapped wing. That was a mistake. The pressure was all that was keeping the ruined appendage in place, keeping it numb and bloodless. As she wrenched herself free of the mud hole, a high sharp scream escaped her lungs as the pulpy mess that had been her wing flopped uselessly at her side. Little more than wet sack of shattered bone and feathers held on only tenuously by a few scraps of flesh and unbroken tendon, her wing suddenly became a beacon of pain that overshadowed all other hurts. The pain was worse, far worse than anything she had ever felt before. Still she struggled, a mad idea in her mind that she could somehow get away from whatever was causing the agony lancing down her back and side. As she drug her broken body along the earth, leaving a trail of blood in the grass, her cries never ceased.
The wailing would have been enough to wake the dead. Fluttershy couldn’t have known that all that noise making was the worst thing she could have possibly done. She didn’t know much about the world on the ground, having spent all her short life in the clouds. If the smell of blood didn’t draw predators, her shrill screams would. Most of the other animals hid away from the terrifying sounds she was making. Fortunately for her, at that moment she was the most terrifying thing in the forest. All the other creatures hid out of sight, terrified by the monster that had fallen among them.
With the adrenaline from her frenzied panic spent, Fluttershy collapsed beneath a towering oak, its shade little comfort as daggers of pain ceaselessly tore at her. After a time, her cries subsided to a low keening, her throat too hoarse to manage much more than a rattling wheeze. Beneath the sun dappled leaves, she saw shadows moving against the green canopy. What was that above her? She could just barely make out the sound of...wings? They were! Fluttershy was so thankful, so over joyed that someone had at last come for her, she tried to drag herself out into the open.
The pain in her wing had subsided...too many of the nerves had been severed by shards of bone for her to truly register the ruined appendage as anything more than a weight on one side of her body now that it had been allowed to bleed out. Her other wing fluttered instinctively, trying to lift a body that would probably never know flight again. Her mane was a mess, streaked with mud and blood, and her eyes were so crusted with salt from crying, they stung too horribly to gaze clearly into the sky. But rescue was here. She could hear them descending now! Soon there would be an end to the agony, to the burning pain.
Sharp talons scrabbled over her tender flesh as a heavy weight descended on her. She cried out weakly, not understanding as a warm, wet sensation trickled down her spine. Fresh blood welled up sluggishly from the new wounds as Fluttershy craned her neck to try and see what was going on. Why were her rescuers so silent? Why weren’t they carrying her away? Large black wings brushed the grit from her eyes as she stared into the ugliest face she’d ever seen. The buzzard’s beak was partly open as it stared the shattered pegasus in the eye. It gave a low croaking noise, perhaps surprised that this particular morsel was still alive. Fluttershy was too startled to scream as she looked up to see more black shapes circling above her. The buzzards talons slipped along her back as it repositioned itself on her spine. It had already laid claim to this prize...it could afford to wait for the meat to grow soft with putrefaction before feasting.
She shook herself to try and get rid of the scavenger, but only managed to hurt herself in the process, the buzzards talons clamping tight. He couldn’t be budged. She started to cry again, tears almost as thick as blood. About to give up hope, a sudden piercing scream echoed loudly from the undergrowth nearby, shocking her into silence. The buzzard squawked in terror as a shape surged from the brush, all fangs and claws and angry burning red eyes. With a sharp kick it sent the buzzard flying, its form clumsily trying to climb into the air to rejoin its fellows, its claim to the first portion of flesh forgotten in its sudden terror. Blind fear filled Fluttershy’s eyes as she saw this new creature's shape draw nearer. She’d never seen an animal like him before. She struggled to try and rise, but it was no use. When his twitchy nose touched hers, however, she stopped struggling. His fur was so white and soft...just like a cloud. Blinking the tears from her eyes, Fluttershy looked upon the creature...a cute little bunny. She laughed, a thin hysterical sound, but far better than the screaming she had been doing moments before. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she knew the world no more.
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Something wet and cold pressed against her muzzle, bringing her sputtering back to life. She panicked, not aware of where she was. There was no light. It was so dark and cold, like the heart of a thunder storm, yet she’d never been allowed near one so inky black as this. Slowly, her eyes adjusted and she could just barely make out the ghost of the world around her thanks to a few watery beams of moonlight that danced through a canopy of leaves above her. Leaves...leaves meant trees. She was on the ground! She wasn’t allowed to be on the ground! The thought stirred her into a frenzy of fear once more, but when she tried to stand, all that greeted her effort was a wave of pain. With the anguish, at last, her memory cleared. She had fallen and was now stuck on the ground, barely able to move. She was thankfully no longer in the same amount of agony she had been in before and if she held still the pain was only an angry ache.
Somepony had been kind enough to set her bones and bind her wounds. She looked close at the bandages that were used on her and realized that they were actually strands of long grass, the splints nothing more than twigs. It was amazing how well the makeshift first aid seemed to have worked, though tears still stung Fluttershy’s eyes as she gazed at the ruined remnants of her right wing. It was a pulpy mess...she must have landed on it hard, for it was clear every bone in it had been shattered. She couldn’t move it at all, but thankfully she couldn’t feel it either. It was bound tight against her body by the same make shift bandages as her limbs. Suddenly there was another splash of wetness against her muzzle. She looked down into the beady eyes of a baby bunny. His nose twitched impatiently as he shoved a large leaf full of water towards her once again. It was clear he wanted her to drink.
“Did you do this for me little guy?” His ears twitched knowingly as he stamped one foot, impatient for her to take a drink. Obliging, she put her mouth into the cold pool and slurped up the scant moisture. It had a funny, earthy taste, very different from the rainwater she was used to, but not at all bad. Once she was finished the bunny hopped away with the leaf and came back with a cluster or two of berries. Understanding immediately, Fluttershy began to eat, carefully at first because her tongue still hurt and one or two chipped teeth were sensitive, but soon she was eating with gusto, surprised at just how hungry she was. When she finished, she looked on the bunny with happy, watery eyes. “Oh thank you so much...your just a little angel, aren’t you?” The pegasus thought for a moment, “Is it okay if that’s what I call you? Angel?”
The rabbit cleaned one ear thoughtfully and shrugged. It was clear he didn’t care what she called him so long as she stopped bleeding all over the place and attracting predators. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, took his dismissal as acceptance and smiled brightly. She was still very tired and very hurt though. It was also the middle of the night. She yawned, in spite of the pain the motion caused in her ribs, and the bunny Angel hopped away to return with paws full of leaves. He scattered the mass on top of Fluttershy and went to get more. After he had done this a few times, Fluttershy realized he was creating a make shift blanket for her out of the leaves. Before long she was warm and snug against the night chill, and her eyes drooped in sleep rather than mere unconsciousness. She was hurt and in the middle of nowhere, but she could deal with that in the morning.
After all, she had her Angel to watch over her.
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Time passed fitfully, in jerks and starts and stops. She’d wake to the light of dawn, the howl of distant wolves, or the dying glimmer of twilight. Always she was alone, save for her Angel. Always she was a broken thing that could barely move, barely even able to work up the energy to speak. Had any pony noticed she was missing? Surely there was a search party, even now, dispatched to find her. Or was there? Though she had fallen far and wasn’t sure where she was, Fluttershy should have still been under the camp...should have still been at least somewhat visible from above. So why then did it seem like weeks had passed without her ever seeing another pony? What about her new friends? Surely they'd notice that she was gone. Was she really awake or was all of this just a fever dream brought on by her injuries? The inability to mark time with anything but hunger and thirst, and other bodily needs, was slowly driving poor Fluttershy up the proverbial wall. She had begun to have waking dreams where her parents would walk out of the forest, pretty as you please, come to scold her for worrying them so...come to take her home. Those moments always ended the same painful way. She would try to stand...to go to them, to join them, to be reassured that everything was going to be alright...only to have broken legs falter beneath her, sometimes with the horrible sound of bone grinding on bone, and watch them fade from her sight in a wave of pain and a sudden surge of despair. Her eyes and ears might be fooled by her dehydration and pain, but it was also that pain that kept her grounded in reality. It was hard to tell if this was a blessing or a curse.
Worse, though her injuries were starting to mend, she was sickening as the long days stretched on. She knew it wasn’t just pain from her wounds when she woke one night and coughed up a black lump of...something, that had been lodged in her throat. From that moment forward her throat was too raw for much more than water to pass, and even that had to be sipped gently. If she didn't get out of the elements and back on a more familiar diet soon, chances were it wouldn't be her injuries that did her in. Still, Angel did what he could for her and she appreciate the bunnies administrations. It seemed he didn't really have anyone either. Fluttershy might have wondered more about that if she didn't have her own worries to vex her.
It could have been a month or years, she had no way of knowing. She did know it was close to mid-morning when she saw her, however, as the pegasus was a silhouette against the sun. She was flying by so quickly, Fluttershy almost didn’t register what she was seeing until it was too late. She yelled as loud as she could manage, “Down here! I’m down here!” she called...or tried to. It actually came out as little more than a harsh whisper, only the word ‘here’ being all that clear. If she had been older she would have cursed. Her illness may have cost her a rescue. She found herself crying again, softly, lest she wake the rabbit sleeping snugly next to her. It wasn’t all bad...Angel had kept her company through the long hours of her delirium. She was quiet sure she would have died a long time ago, an afternoon snack for a flock of buzzards, if it weren’t for the fearless little guy.
She was settling in to try and join him in sleep, when she heard their voices. Not believing for a second that it was anything more than her imagination, she was shocked when instead of her parents or her friends, the image of two pegasus boys came from the underbrush. “I told you I heard it coming from over here...” They stopped as if stunned once they saw her. They seemed almost as shocked as Fluttershy. What new, horrible dream was this? Dumbell was still dumb founded, but Hoops had the most terrible, awful grin spreading across his face that Fluttershy had ever seen. There was no way this could be a figment of her imagination. She could never conceive of a smile like that, it was too evil for words, let alone visions. Without realizing it she began to tremble violently.
“Oh me, oh my. Can you believe just how lucky we are Dumbell? Days of searching...and we’re the first to find her! This is just...too...perfect!”
Angel woke at Hoops exclamation, rubbing sleep from his eyes with tiny paws and looking up at the two intruders. A flash of anger and fear registered in his eyes as he began to make a soft barking noise in the back of his throat. What the broken pegaus by his side meant to him, who can say, but it was clear he was dedicated to her protection. The sight seemed to snap Dumbell out of his daze and he laughed as the furious little bunny scurried towards him. “What's this? Did you get a little boyfriend while you were down here Cluttershy?” One well placed smack of his hoof sent Angel skidding in the dirt.
“No!” The word was little more than a whisper, though she put all her effort into it, “Don’t hurt him...he’s just a baby. He doesn’t know what he’s doing!” The effort to speak left her almost panting. Those were the most words she’d strung together in days.
“Did you hear that Dumbell?” Said Hoops, the evil smile on his face never leaving. “Her baby doesn’t know what he’s doing. Just like she didn’t know what she was doing starting trouble with us. Just like her parents didn’t know what they were doing when they sent such a clumsy piece of trash to our flight camp.” He trotted casually over to Angel's prone form. He was just getting up when Hoops slammed his hoof down on the rabbit's hind legs, causing a thin high pitched shriek to explode from the bunny's mouth. “I guess we should teach him the same lesson we’re about to teach her, huh?”
Fluttershy didn’t understand what he was talking about until he lifted his hoof again, stomping Angel over and over. Each blow awoke another shriek, a fresh wail of pain and fear from her would be protector. “No...stop it...he didn’t do anything!” She tried to move, to drag herself to intercede on Angel's behalf someway, somehow. How could their be so much blood in his little frame? Hoop didn’t even notice when Angel stopped moving. Indeed, he seemed to be surprised when his friend Dumbell pulled him away, shaking him to get him to come back to his senses. He looked down at the rabbits unmoving form and giggled hysterically.
“Is that it? Really? Is that all it took? What a weak, pathetic little animal. Dumbell’s right Fluttercry, he was the perfect boyfriend for you!” His laughter was cut short as he looked into her face. Fluttershy had managed to drag herself to Angels shattered body. She was breathing heavily, but she wasn’t crying.
Her words were so quiet, yet it seemed every other sound in the forest had died...as if the world had gone silent just to hear her speak.“Pathetic animal. You call this...stupid, brave little angel a pathetic animal?” She looked up at Hoops, eyes blazing with malice. “The only pathetic animal here IS YOU!” Her words rang throughout the forest, echoing from tree to tree. More than her words, it was the look on her face that chilled the pegasus colts to the bone and froze them in their tracks. She was stained with blood, covered in cuts and bruises, her legs were clearly bent at wrong angles and yet she stood, hatred and rage wafting off of her like wild fire. In a flash she had Dumbell’s throat between her teeth, and with one harsh motion hurled the younger pony away. He didn’t understand what was going on, even as his head slammed into the nearest tree, putting his lights out instantly. If he had a moment to spare a thought for his friend, it would have been to tell him to run, that there was something horribly wrong.
But there was no running for Hoops.
Fluttershy reared up on hind legs that audibly cracked with the strain and brought her flailing hooves down hard on Hoops head, rattling his teeth and ripping one of his ears open on impact. He tried to run, but she was relentless, pounding him with her hooves as fast and hard as he had the only friend she’d known here on the ground. Her hooves pounded his skull, sending him to his knees, a stream of bloody spittle streaming from his mouth. She didn’t stop until he was prone on the ground, writhing beneath her hooves. His belly literally burst as she stomped him repeatedly in the stomach, rips weeping blood in the tender flesh of his belly. Fluttershy heard his ribs cracking as she slammed her hooves into his chest. “Stop...stop!” He begged, not quite understanding the fury, the rage his actions had unleashed. There was no stopping her now.
“Aww...you want me to stop. You want me to show mercy?” She said, smashing the smaller pegasus teeth in with one well placed hoof. “Was that the ‘lesson’ you were going to teach me?” She said through teeth clenched in pain and hatred. “NO...I DON’T THINK IT WAS!” She didn’t let up, shattering his ribcage further as she trampled and stomped him into the ground. Hooves soaked in blood, some of it hers, most of it his, she finally cantered away from the bully to pick something up in her teeth and carry it over to his face so he could see it. What was left of Angel she set gently next to his muzzle. “That’s not the lesson you taught him.” Hoops wings struggled vainly against the dirt, instinctively trying to get him airborne, get him away from the beating he was taking. He was already too far gone. All he managed to do was drag his bloodied body across the unforgiving earth.
“Please...” he wheezed through clenched teeth. “Don’t kill me...don’t kill me!”
Fluttershy watched him with cold detachment. All the hatred, all the rage she had felt moments before was suddenly gone, replaced by an icy hollowness where a fragile heart had once been. In that moment, there was no pain or sadness for her, only an all consuming numbness. “Why would I bother killing something as pathetic as you?” She sneered. Fluttershy stood over him, watching him struggle, studying his broken and battered body. None of it phased her, she felt nothing. She watched him like that for some time, cold as ice, still as placid water. It was only when the shadows began to circle him that she moved again. She didn’t bother to watch as the scavengers descended. They had been waiting on a meal deferred for so long, it didn’t matter to them that this was a different morsel. They had been patient and that patience had at last paid off. His screams did nothing to change the void in Fluttershy’s heart. She merely whispered as she walked away, "Death is a kindness you don't deserve."
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Tears spiraled from Twilight Sparkle's eyes, floating globules of sadness and disbelief. This wasn’t right, this was far too cruel. This was not how she remembered Fluttershy’s story of her childhood, how she’d gotten her cutie mark, or what had taken place afterward. It should have been years until she met Angel. It should have been a decade until she would become the monster depicted by these words, and then only at the machinations of the Lord of Chaos. Was this real? Was this really happening? The part of her that was one with magic knew the words of this book to be true on a level more fundamental than reality. Try as she might she could not erase them, she could not write over them, she could barely alter them. She was fighting a losing battle. This wasn’t like with the others...this just didn’t make sense!
“Make sense? What fun is there in making sense?” The words blossomed and died beneath her pen, a thin chuckle escaping her own lips. Her color was draining faster now, spiraling out of her in thick lashes of purple and midnight to soak her words....and others into the hungry pages. Twilight was losing herself and she knew it...but just a little longer. She could put things right. She struggled on, but was the book actively resisting her, or was it something else? There was another magic out there, she could sense its presence. There was something about this story that made it unalterable. What monstrous force could withstand the level of magic this ancient book employed?
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They had been searching for nearly two weeks now. The others were beginning to give up hope, but not Rainbow Dash. She was ashamed that she hadn't been the first to notice Fluttershy missing after the thrill of her sonic-rain-boom, but when Derpy had come to her in tears, unable to find the shy pegasus she'd gone immediately to the camp councilors. While most of the children and a few of the adults had already given up on Fluttershy, thinking her weak and a lost cause likely already dead, Dash just couldn't believe that about the sweet girl who had become her friend. She sensed a strength in Fluttershy, buried deep beneath doubt and uncertainty, but there all the same. If anypony could survive being lost like this, she could. Even with that confidence, however, Dash knew that they were running out of time. The forests of Equestria were fairly gentle, but an injured pony could still die of exposure and the elements if no pony knew where she was.
In her desperation, Rainbow Dash had broken off from the others, flying swiftly through a patch of forest that had already been combed several times from the air with no success. She hadn't noticed when Hoop and Dumbell had followed her, nor did she catch a glimpse of Fluttershy when she flew passed her. Just like every other pony, she had completely missed the spot that the young pegasus had fallen and remained since she had disappeared from flight camp. But Rainbow Dash did hear it when Fluttershy cried out, her voice echoing through the forest. Dash did a quick turn in mid-air towards the shout, but almost lost her again...that is until Hoops started crying for his mother.
When Rainbow Dash at last landed in the clearing it was to a sight out of a horror show. The ground and trees all around the clearing were splashed with blood, both fresh and old. Hoops himself was busily struggling beneath a pile of feathers and talons as a flock of hungry buzzards attempted to make a meal of him. They weren't used to live prey, but they were hungry enough to give it a try. As much as she may have disliked the bully and his friends, she couldn't stand by and watch him be eaten alive. The birds were stubborn, but a few well placed kicks sent the creeps squawking angrily into the air, though it appeared one had found something else to eat and was struggling away from his fellows with its prize of tender rabbit.
"Th-thank you! I thought I was...I thought I was going to die." Hoops was barely conscious. It was no exaggeration to say that Dash had probably saved his life.
"What happened to you?" The young chromatic flier looked over the colts wounds. She'd never seen someone so battered and beaten. He couldn't have gotten this way from a few scavengers.
He grabbed her and pulled her close. The stink of blood was terrifying, but Dash listened closely. "F-Flutter...shy..." was all he managed before passing out.
Laughter, strange and high pitched wafted from the forest, not far away. It was a ghastly, frightening sound devoid of even the slightest traces of humor. Dash was brave, but still very young. She cautiously walked through the woods, following a trail of bloody hoof prints. She had no idea what to expect. Could timid little Fluttershy really have done that to Hoops? She rounded a bend in the path and gasped aloud at what she saw. Fluttershy sat half submerged in a shallow pool of tranquil of water, gazing down at what Dash could only assume was her own reflection. It was clear this is where her legs had given out as they lay at strange angles to her body, turning the clear water cloudy with gore. As Dash drew closer, she found that Fluttershy was cradling a broken tree limb in her hooves, the jagged end pressed hard against her own throat, but it wasn't sharp enough to do more than break the flesh. It seemed as though the little yellow pony had tried to end her own life. Rainbow Dash took a step back as the pegasus that had been her friend turned towards her, tears streaming down her face and blood on her lips. Her eyes were wide and wild as her mane as she smiled and laughed again, bizarrely pitched and guttural from the hole in her throat.
"Well if it isn't Rainbow Crash! Long time no see!" She tried to stand but her body wouldn't allow it, so instead she drug herself out of the water towards her friend, mane and tail dragging limply through the mud. "Did you have a good race? Did you win?" She cackled loudly, the words coming confusingly fast as fresh blood pumped from her neck. Rainbow Dash took another step backwards, unsure of what to do. Fluttershy's limbs were moving in strange jerks and twists, bones cracking and popping as a low groan constantly rattled from the wound in her throat "Don't go! You finally came for me. Are you here to teach me a lesson too? I wonder what about? A lesson about friendship? A lesson about kindness? I already learned my lesson."
With a surge of manic strength Fluttershy slithered up from the mud fast as a striking viper and slammed the smaller pegasus against an old ash tree, her hooves pressed tight against Rainbow Dash's throat. She leaned in close, her breathing ragged as the harsh words were whispered nightingale sweet into Dashie's ear, "The world is a terrible place....and I owe it all to your stupid race." She brought her face as close to Dash's as she could manage with broken limbs in the slippery mud, staring deep into her eyes as she growled, "And I...hate...everything!" A flash of magic as brilliant as the sun, and Rainbow Dash felt Fluttershy's grip loosen.
"That's enough of that I think." Her friend had left streaks of mud and blood across her azure frame, but the young flier didn't notice, too in awe of who stood before her. Princess Celestia's horn glowed brightly as she spread her wings. "Time to put things right."
