Hardy meets Fluttershy, a timid pegasus who loves animals. They converse for a while, when Fluttershy tells him about her family, and he's overwhelmed with mixed emotions. (Takes place one month after Stopping The Colt) (Includes a few quotes from Silent Ponyville 2 used in flashbacks in chapters:6-7, 9, 11,13-14)
It was a nice day in Ponyville, Fluttershy was singing to herself as she happily was picking flowers. Hardy was near her but he was quietly listening to her singing happily. He thought her singing was amazing, he approached the yellow pegasus.
“H-hello, I-I’m Hardy, what’s your name?” He asked, Fluttershy jumped and gave a small, quiet squeal dropping her flowers in the process.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The young colt said. He levitated all of the flowers with his magic and put them back into the basket, he then returned the basket of flowers to Fluttershy. She was pleased he helped pick up the flowers she dropped.
“I-It’s okay, and thank you for helping me pick up the flowers I dropped, you didn’t have to do that for me.” Fluttershy said smiling at him. Fluttershy had forgotten to introduce herself, the young colt didn’t mind that. He was just happy to help.
“Um, m-my name is Fluttershy. I take care of animals at my house.” The yellow pegasus responded, true to her name, she was shy, she barely managed to tell Hardy her own name, his ears barely picked it up, but she seemed to speak up when she talked about animals. He held out a hoof for Fluttershy to shake, and she shook his hoof with her own.
“I actually befriended the Cutie Mark Crusaders on my first day of school, including Applejack. I even met Twilight Sparkle, and Starlight Glimmer.” He explained, he seemed embarrassed about it. Fluttershy was surprised, he met her friends, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“I’m glad you made so many friends, Hardy. Your parents must be proud of you.” Fluttershy replied. Hardy’s smile faded. Fluttershy didn’t know about them, she was trying to compliment him.
“W-what’s wrong, Hardy?” She asked, she noticed his smile had faded, when she mentioned parents, he was hesitant to tell her.
“Fluttershy... I have a confession to make, my mother died when I was an infant, my dad killed her and made her into a cupcake, he also killed Bellamena, Pinkie’s younger sister and did the same thing to her. I advenged them both and brought them back. It’s something that will stick to me forever that my father was a killer.” He said before looking down ashamed, Fluttershy gasped, his father was a murderer, she was glad that he had his mother back.”
“You poor thing, I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy said, before embracing him in a hug, he returned the hug before shedding a few tears, he wiped them away.
"I've lost my mother, and I had recently cured my nightmares about it."
“Fluttershy, I’ll bring your mother back, I promise.” Hardy said with determination in his voice. Fluttershy was happy that he would do that for her, she wasn’t aware that her father had angered him.
The next day, Hardy was flying through the skies. He enjoyed feeling the wind in his mane, he always warmed up his flight muscles at the start of the day. When the day is done, he preens himself, he taught himself to do this. He had heard Scootaloo ramble on about Rainbow Dash, who did a sonic rainboom as a young filly. She also told him about Rainbow’s dream to become a Wonderbolt. Even about Dash’s oversupportive parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. Hardy was close to Cloudsdale, where his uncle grew up, he had done a sonic rainboom as an infant. A cyan pegasus dashed by him, he saw a rainbow mane and a cutie mark of a rainbow.
“I’m right behind you!” Hardy called as he propelled himself rapidly towards the cyan mare. He's fast flyer because he practiced often as an infant. He passed by Rainbow Dash which had looked like a blur to her. He then closed his wings and fell a few feet then opened them like a parachute he flapped his wings slowly and landed on the ground. Rainbow Dash was impressed, she had never seen a foal whizz past her, she landed close to him. She got a look at the foal who sped past her, she was shocked to see an alicorn, but wanted to congratulate him.
“Hey, kid. I saw you race past me then landed. That was so awesome, I saw a sonic rainboom a few years ago, you must’ve done that as well”. Said the cyan pegasus mare, her reddish-pink eyes, gazing into his crimson eyes.
“Yeah, that was me as an infant.” Hardy claimed, Rainbow Dash was speechless, she was only a filly when she did the sonic rainboom.
“The name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer around and a huge fan of the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow Dash claimed.
“I’m Hardy, I was born an alicorn, my uncle, Frostblaze helps out Cloudsdale Weather Patrol and was an average Wonderbolts fan as a colt.” Explained Hardy, he offered Rainbow Dash a hoofbump, the pegasus mare hoofbumped him.
“Scootaloo often goes on about you, I guess she’s a fan of you. She’s amazing on her scooter as well.” Hardy said, Rainbow nodded.
“My parents are also huge fans of me, they’re over supportive, and can be embarrassing sometimes, but they’re well meaning and enthusiastic ponies.” She replied. From what Scootaloo explained, they seemed like great ponies, just a bit over enthusiastic.
“My aunt, uncle, and mother are good ponies, they can be embarrassing sometimes, my older cousin shares your confident personality with a heart of gold.” Hardy said.
“You know something, Rainbow Dash, my mother actually was killed by my dad. Her torso was cut off and made into a cupcake, Pinkie’s younger sister experienced the same fate, I’ve ressurected them. He explained. Rainbow Dash was horrified, the young foal has to live with his father murdering his own wife and an innocent filly. He hadn’t told the Cutie Mark Crusaders, this, it would’ve been too much for them to hear.
“Also, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy told me that her mother died.” Rainbow nodded.
“Yeah...she’s recently gotten over her nightmares, try not to worry about it too much.” Rainbow said hesitantly.
“Okay, Rainbow Dash, I’ll let it slide.”
“I’ll see you around, Rainbow.” Hardy said as he began to fly away.
That night, Hardy fell asleep feeling a mix of emotions. He thought about Fluttershy’s mother, she seemed like the best mother anypony could ask for, it reminded him of his own mother’s passing. The young alicorn knew that he had resurrected his mother. He no longer had nightmares of his father, the Colt, he had killed his father to avenge his mother and Bellamena. He could hear an older mare speaking to a young filly, along with a music box playing a single melody. It sounded a little sad but the young filly didn’t seem to mind. Smudger watched as the filly hugged the older mare, it was heart-warming to see.
Please never forget. . . That I love you . . .
“ The older mare said as her voice grew quieter, Hardy realized who the older mare and filly were. The young filly was Fluttershy and the older mare was her mother. The last memory Fluttershy had with her mother, he saw a young Fluttershy covered in blood, and saw a dark creature approach the little filly.
The memory faded away and he heard the sound of hooves coming near him. He turned around and saw who was approaching him. She looked almost like Fluttershy, the only differences were that her mane was styled differently and her eyes were lavender, she also looked worried.
“Are you okay?" Asked the mare. Hardy nodded as he calmed down. The mare’s voice was full of concern, like a worried mother. It was also soothing to hear after what he saw.
“That thing who loomed over Fluttershy before the memory faded. What was that?” He asked.
The mare just shrugged as she didn't know.
“I'm confused about seeing...what I saw." He was confused as to why he saw a memory of Fluttershy’s foalhood.
“I don't know either, but it seemed that something bad happened." Replied the mare.
Hardy understood, it had stuck with him ever since today and he was fully aware of this.
The next day, Hardy was walking around Ponyville. It was a perfect day and he thought nothing could ruin it. He looked up thinking Cloudsdale’s Weather Patrol had done a great job, but when he did, his jaw dropped. He saw a huge black dragon. It had huge yellow eyes with black slits for pupils, the inside of its ear was blood-red, and its scales were smokey gray. The scales looked like huge fangs starting from the top of the dragons head to its neck. It almost made Smudger faint because he had never seen a dragon that big before. He shook his head and when he looked back up there was no dragon. He thought he was losing his mind because nopony else saw the dragon.
“Hello, Hardy.” Said a voice. He turned around fast and saw Fluttershy, she startled him because of what he thought he had saw. He gasped in a breath of air through his nose and exhaled it slowly.
“Um, Hardy. Are you alright? You seem startled when you heard me saying hello.” Said Fluttershy looking at him worriedly. He might have never noticed her until now. Fluttershy didn’t like drawing attention to herself, which was why he could barely hear the sound of hooves behind him.
“I’m fine, Fluttershy. I thought I saw a huge black dragon in the sky, then after I shook my head and looked back up, the dragon was gone. You scared me a little when you said hello."
"O-oh, dear... I'm sorry I scared you, I didn't really think I could scare somepony."
"It’s okay, Fluttershy, I forgive you.” Hardy said. Fluttershy was happy that he forgave her, she never meant to frighten him. Fluttershy shuddered, catching the attention of the Hardy.
“Fluttershy, are you okay? You seemed to shudder when I mentioned the dragon.” He said. He was worried about Fluttershy and wanted to make sure she was okay.
“I’m fine, Hardy. It’s that when I was a filly, my father didn’t allow me to fly around the house. He told me a dragon would eat me if that happened.” Explained Fluttershy. Hardy wondered how it was possible that he could see her fear of dragons, he was going to ask her mother about this.
“I had a dream that your mother spoke to me, I saw a memory of you as a filly. You and your mother were listening to a music box, it sounded bittersweet. I watched as your mother struggled to say to remember that I love you before going silent. You started to cry and I saw you covered in blood. A dark figure approached you then the memory faded. She told me it was how you saw your father when he became abusive towards you. I then promised her that I’d reunite you with her, I gave her my word.” He explained. Fluttershy was speechless, she wondered how her mother spoke to him in a dream. She felt a mix of emotions and she started to sniffle.
“Fluttershy, please don’t cry. I’m sorry.” He said before embracing her in a hug. Fluttershy wiped away her tears and smiled.
“Hardy, I don’t know what to say. Pinkie told me about how you had nightmares because of your own father, he killed your mother and Bellamena. And you avenged them and brought them back. It'll make me the happiest pony in Equestria to see my mother again.” Fluttershy explained, she hugged him back.
Hardy had heard Fluttershy mention that she was going to the spa with a friend. He was curious about who she was talking about. Sweetie Belle had told him that she had an older sister named Rarity.
“Who are you going to the spa with tomorrow, Fluttershy?” He asked while walking beside Fluttershy, he had seen the Ponyville Day Spa, but never had been inside it. From what he had heard from Fluttershy, it seemed relaxing and the two spa ponies work hard to help their clients relax.
“Her name is Rarity, she’s a good friend of mine, she works at Carousel Boutique, she lives there with Sweetie Belle. Rarity is a fashionista and seamstress.” Explained Fluttershy.
The two ponies made their way to Carousel Boutique, he wondered if Sweetie Belle was home or not. It had been a while since their last visit. Fluttershy also wanted to introduce Sparkling to Rarity, she thought they might get along quite well. Some time had passed and they saw the boutique, Sparkling thought it looked amazing. The two doors had diamond shaped windows, and the flag on top danced gracefully in the breeze. Fluttershy knocked on the door and was greeted by an white mare with a stylish purple mane and tail, her cutie mark was three diamonds, and they suited her blue eyes.
“Hello, Fluttershy it is nice to see you on this gorgeous day.” The mare said cheerfully.
“It certianly is a nice day, Rarity, I hope I’m not interupting your work.” Replied Fluttershy.
“It’s quite alright, Fluttershy. I had just finished and was getting some fresh air.” Said Rarity reassuringly, she then noticed Fluttershy had brought a visitor.
"And who's your new friend, his eyes are like rubies" She asked as she gazed in to Hardy's red eyes.
“Hello, my name is Hardy.” Hardy said.
“My name is Rarity, Ponyville’s fashionista and seamstress." Rarity explained.
“Do you know if Sweetie Belle’s home, Rarity?” Asked Hardy.
“Sweetie Belle’s with her friends. I asked her to run along and find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, I wanted to give her something to keep her busy while I work, I didn’t want her to be bored. I’ll tell her you stopped by and said hello. She’ll certianly be happy to hear that." Explained Rarity.
“Speaking of stopping by, would you like to come in and have a look at my dresses?” Asked Rarity. She wanted to let him see what she had made. He wasn’t into fancy stuff, but he wanted to admire the time and effort Rarity put into each dress she made.
“Sure, Rarity. I’d like to see your dresses.” Hardy said. Rarity led Fluttershy and Hardy into her boutique. The room was full of cream colored mannequins displaying various dresses and clothing. The dresses seemed to be adorned with multiple jewlery.
“I think they’re amazing, Rarity. You worked hard on each and every one of these dresses.” Hardy said. Rarity was glad that Hardy thought her displays were amazing.
“Why, thank you, darling. I appreciate your compliment very much.” She was happy that Hardy liked her work. Fluttershy also had admired Rarity’s dresses as well, all six of her friends had been to the Grand Galloping Gala and Rarity had offered to make dresses for all of them.
Rarity had left to pick up Sweetie Belle because she had finished her work. Hardy saw a mannequin that stood out from the rest. It was white and had stitches all over its body, the most noticeable and disturbing part is that it was headless. It also seemed to be standing upright even without the stand attached to it. This sent a chill up his back and Fluttershy noticed this.
“Hardy i-is everything okay? You seem to be looking at one of the mannequins in a horrified way.” Asked Fluttershy. Hardy knew mannequins were inanimate objects, but it seemed that one of them was facing directly towards him. He shook his head, he assumed he was hallucinating again. When he looked back up, it was just a normal mannequin.
"Yes, Fluttershy. I'm fine, just hallucinating again." He replied. Fluttershy knew that hallucinations were normal from time to time. However, it could be serious if it happens frequently.
"You seem tired, Hardy. I want you to head home and take a nap, you probably didn't sleep well last night. I'll let Rarity and Sweetie Belle know that you were a little tired." Fluttershy said with a motherly sense. She was worried about him, he seemed to have not been feeling well. Hardy nodded and headed out of Carousel Boutique and headed home.
Hardy was walking towards the main part of Ponyville when he saw a little filly crawling away from him. The filly did so at limping speed. It looked like there was flesh over top where the eyes should be, the front legs were attached along its back by flesh, the back legs seemed to scoot along dragging the creature away. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head and when he looked back, there was nothing there.
Hardy thought he was losing his mind, he picked up the pace a little. He then seemed to catch sight of a nurse. It wore a pink jacket and a matching hat with a red cross in the center it also had same pink shoes and white socks covering the two hind legs. What was off about the nurse is that it had no mane, bandages covering up the face, and a muzzle where the mouth should be. However, the most disturbing feature is that its pink jacket was stained with blood.
Hardy rubbed his eyes and shook his head again and once again, there was nothing there when he looked back. He had his wits scared out of him, he teleported into his room and panted heavily. Once he caught his breath, he went downstairs to tell his mother.
Hardy was extremely tired. He had been hallucinating all day, it tired him out. He just wanted to take a nap and hopefully the hallucinations will stop after a long nap. His mother noticed how tired he was, and decided to ask why he was so exhausted in the middle of the day.
“Hardy, is everything okay, sweetie?” Asked his mother. She was worried about him, and she knew that what happened a month ago would stick with him forever.
“I had been hallucinating all day, maybe if I rest the hallucinations will leave.” He said with a yawn. His mother understood, for a foal to have five hallucinations in one day will leave them exhausted.
“I hope you feel better, Hardy. I’ll let Red know you’re a little unwell. You head to bed and rest, I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She said. Hardy nodded and hugged his mother, she kissed his cheek and smiled.
Hardy went into his room and got straight into bed and fell asleep. He was going to tell Fluttershy’s mother everything he saw. He approached Fluttershy’s mother who was waiting for him.
“Is everything okay? I hope everthing is alright.” She said. Hardy looked at her sadly she knew something was wrong.
“I’ve hallucinated four more times today, the first hallucination was a headless mannequin, the second hallucination seemed to be a filly crawling crawling away, the final was a nurse with a blood-stained jacket, a muzzle and bandages where the eyes were. Fluttershy also said that the music box would buzz when she was in danger.” He explained.
"I gave her that music box, but I don't remember it making that sound." Replied the mare.
Hardy found himself in Cloudsdale Hospital, where a filly Fluttershy and a nurse were. The nurse was fixing Fluttershy’s injury, she seemed to have broken her wing. However, she seemed to be very angry at Fluttershy. He saw and heard a lound smack and Fluttershy crying, he listened to what they were saying.
”Now tell me again...how did you break your wing?” She snapped at Fluttershy who was crying.
”I...I...” There was a pause as the filly gulped and breathed in, ”I...f-fell while t-trying to fly...” She choked out as the nurse sat her upright.
”That’s right.” She said bitterly. Hardy knew that tone wasn’t of concern. It sounded hostile and uncaring towards the filly. ”You broke your wing while trying to fly, you silly filly.” She said. ”You really should be more cautious while flying. Flying isn’t as easy as it looks.” She explained in a bitter tone as she examined the cast. ”Now let’s freshen up that cast on your wing.” She continued. Fluttershy was still crying as the cast seemed to dig into her skin. The memory faded and he now saw Fluttershy’s mother.
"That nurse...I can't believe she just hit Fluttershy while her wing was broken." Hardy managed to say after being speechless.
Fluttershy's mother gasped in shock at what Hardy just explained.
“I’ve heard from Fluttershy that she had been under some spell that allowed her to see her memories. However, those hallucinations I saw posed a threat to her. She had told me she had almost drowned, she had been injured very badly and she bled often.”
He said as Fluttershy’s mother listened to what he was telling her, she became very worried but allowed him to finish his explanation. “She had fell from a high distance and landed in a blank room. She somehow wasn’t injured despite falling down a grate and landing on solid concrete.” Fluttershy’s mother put a hoof to her mouth and gasped. “She collected items that helped her progress and cure those nightmares.” He explained.
“I...I don’t know what to say. That’s just horrible.” Fluttershy’s mother replied.
When Hardy entered the door, he was greeted with a beam of light. It was so bright that he covered his eyes with his hoof. When he opened his eyes, he saw Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash they seemed to be near a quiet lake, it seemed peaceful. However, Hardy could see Rainbow Dash was hesitant about swimming, he decided listen on what they were saying.
“Come on in, Rainbow Dash. The water is fine. Said Fluttershy as she was floating around in the lake, she seemed happy to be in the water.
“Uh…sure, I’ll be right there, Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash said hesitantly. She made her way towards the water and dipped her hoof in. She then went into the water and stopped when she was half the length of her legs.
“Do you not feel like swimming?” Asked Fluttershy, “We could do something else, if that’s alright with you…” Fluttershy said, slowly swimming next to Rainbow Dash, she looked up worriedly at her friend.
“It’s not that, it’s just that…” Rainbow looked away, as if embarrassed, “I can swim…but I’m not very good at it.”
“Oh, is that all, Rainbow? Well I could teach you how to swim better.” Fluttershy smiled as she swam up towards her friend before standing up in the shallows.
“Well…I’ve never really been much on practicing my swimming. After all, I’ve always been a fast flyer by nature. Water just seems slower in comparison, it’s too heavy to get a good momentum going.” Rainbow furrowed her brow as she kicked the water.
Fluttershy thought about this for a moment, before smiling at her friend. She had an idea for Dash.
“Well, I could teach you how to use your wings underwater so that it’s similar to flying in the air. You can actually get a good momentum and go fast in the water if you do the technique right.”
“Really? There’s a way to do that?” Rainbow asked. She was interested in this technique.
“Of course. However, it takes a lot of practice to get right. There are a lot of subtle movements and you’ve got to position your body correctly so the water will drag less as you swim, but it’s possible to “fly” underwater.” Fluttershy smiled proudly, feeling good about knowing something Dash was interested in that she didn’t know about yet.
“You HAVE to show me, Fluttershy! I could incorporate swimming into my awesome tricks if what you said is true! I’m ready for this challenge!” Rainbow grinned eagerly.
“Of course I’ll show you, Rainbow. That’s what friends do” Fluttershy said confidently, “Now watch carefully, Rainbow Dash. When I’m done, I want you to practice what I’ve did. If you do this properly you’ll be an exelent swimmer” “Here I go...” Fluttershy swam out towards the deeper parts of the water and opened her wings as she prepared to show Dash how to “fly” underwater.
The memory faded and Hardy was back in front of Fluttershy’s mother. “That was so sweet of Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy’s mother smiled. “Tell her that I’m proud of her and I’ll always love her.”
The next day, Hardy decided to ask his aunt, Red, about Fluttershy’s mother. Surely she knew about her because she knew about her husband, but not how he treated Fluttershy after her mother’s death. When breakfast was over, Hardy and his aunt were cleaning up the table. His aunt noticed he seemed bothered by something. She decided to find out why.
“Hardy, dear. Is something the matter? You can tell me what’s bothering you, I’m here for you.” She said kindly. Hardy and his aunt have a close bond with each other, he also shares this bond with his mother as well. He knew about how she was friends with Fluttershy’s mother and was devastated when she passed away.
“Well..., what was Fluttershy’s mother like. I’m just curious.” He said. Nopony had mentioned Fluttershy’s mother to her in years, she seemed to be taken back he knew her friend’s passing.
“Hardy..., Posey was one of the best friends anypony could ask for. She had been there for me when I’d lost my sister to your horrid father. She had a big heart and was an angel, her passing left a stain in my heart. I only had my mother and father to support me, they were found dead next day when Chilly introduced them to your father. When they died, I just had Rose. Frostblaze’s parents were already dead so it was basically just the three of us. I didn’t want to loose Rose, so I took amazing care of her.” She said. She motioned for him to come see what she was looking at. Hardy looked at the picture, it was two young fillies smiling at the camera. Red Velvet stood beside Fluttershy’s mother as she wrapped a hoof around her.
“I see you two got along very well, she seemed like an absolute angel.” Hardy said. He was trying to give his condolences to his aunt after he realized she lost a friend. Little did she know, that her nephew was planning to bring her back to reunite a friend and a daughter.
Today wasn’t an eventful day for Hardy. He was tired and ready to go to bed. He had school tomorrow and he didn’t want to be in a bad mood. He got ready for bed and fell asleep. Hardy appeared inside another one of Fluttershy’s memories, this time it was mostly about her marefriend, Dash. He could hear Rainbow Dash sqealing exitedly and showing Fluttershy a poster of some sort. Wondering what was going on he decided to listen in on what Rainbow was so exited about.
“THIS IS IT! I COULD HAVE A CHANCE!” The cyan pegasus squealed as she held up a poster to Fluttershy. “The Wonderbolts are having OPEN AUDITIONING in THREE MONTHS! This is the FIRST time they’re doing this. Apparently some of talent the upcoming fliers had amazed them. They’re personally inviting the best of the best to see if they’re eligible to become a Wonderbolt!” Dash gave another squeal of joy and was practically as happy as a foal on Hearths Warming.
“Oh. Rainbow Dash, that’s great!” Fluttershy cheered for her friend. “I hope your dream of becoming a Wonderbolt comes true!”
“I know! I’ll have to practice hard and perform all new tricks that nopony has ever seen before! The most awesome and amazing tricks that nopony has ever attempted to do this will be a challenge, but I think I’m up for this!” The athletic pegasus contemplated on what tricks she could show the Wonderbolts that will make her Wonderbolt material.
“Don’t forget about the Sonic Rainboom, you’re the only known pony in Equestria who can perform it! They ought to let you become a Wonderbolt when they see that amazing trick!”
“...The Sonic Rainbom huh...” Dash scuffed a hoof on the ground ainxiously.
“What’s wrong, Rainbow Dash?” Asked Fluttershy. The behavior change took Fluttershy by suprise.
“Well, Fluttershy...I haven’t performed the Sonic Rainboom ever since the best young flyers competition.” Dash grimaced at her mentioning failing to perform a move.
“Did you forget how to perfom it, Rainbow?”
“It’s not that I forgot how I did it…just for some reason I feel that I might ruin it. Sometimes, I think the ground gets too close or I worry about not controlling my speed, or it should only be saved for special occasions or-”
Dash's rant was cut off by Fluttershy as she kissed her marefriend on the lips. The cyan pegasus went red as the red streak in her mane.
"I believe in you, Rainbow Dash. Give it your best shot." Fluttershy smiled warmly at her marefriend who was still red in the face.
"Well...I guess I could give it another shot." Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "Here I go!" She skyrocketed upwards towards the sky blazing fast. Fluttershy gave a smile, she loved how Rainbow flew.
The cyan pegasus perched herself on a cloud overlooking the world. She inhaled and went even higher into the sky picking up momentum as she went. Fluttershy was watching Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be feeling the air first before she shot upward like a firework and was almost invisible against the sun.
Then she saw the descent. Rainbow was zooming towards the ground faster than any bird could fly. Fluttershy watched in anticipation. She could see the cone of air start to form around her marefriend's body. Fluttershy held her breath.
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, Fluttershy noticed the change in her marefriend's flight pattern, she hesitantly put a hoof to her mouth knowing that she might go flying backwards all those years ago...
But at the final moment Dash seemed determined as her body stretched foward and then suddenly-
BOOM!
There was a huge explosion in the sky as a rainbow shot towards the ground, it seemed to turn right almost at the ground then skyrocketed back upwards, sending a massive rainbow across the sky. Rainbow had did a Sonic Rainboom, she was proud of herself.
The last thing Hardy heard before the memory faded was Fluttershy cheering for her marefriend.
Hardy woke up feeling confident, he opened and closed his wings a few times, he stretched and went into the kitchen. He got a small mixed berry fruit pie for breakfast and put it in his pack, he drank a cup of orange juice and was on his way.
As he walked towards the school, he ate his mini pie. It was one of his favorites, he had just finished when he was at Ponyville Schoolhouse. He disintegrated the empty wrapping of his breakfast and headed inside.
After school, Hardy caught up with the three fillies. They talked about how relieved they were when school was over. Then, Scootaloo started talking about Rainbow Dash, it was his chance to ask Scootaloo if she was busy.
“Hey, are you three busy this afternoon?” Hardy asked, he wanted to see if they weren’t occupied at the moment. If they were he’d write down a note to remind himself.
“Ah’ve got to help with the chores, Ah’d promised Applejack to help her out this afternoon. Sorry, Hardy.” Apple Bloom explained. Hardy waved goodbye to his friend, he understood how she does chores around the farm.
“Rarity’s making a new fashion line, so I plan to go to the clubhouse.” Sweetie Belle explained as she smiled warmly at Hardy.
“I’m heading there too, Hardy, you wanna come with us?” Asked Scootaloo.
“Sure, Scootaloo. I’ve got nothing better to do.” Replied Hardy.
Scootaloo put on her helmet and got on her scooter, and in an instant she sped off like a rocket towards the clubhouse. Sweetie Belle and Hardy followed behind. He thought that Sweetie Belle was an amazing friend, along with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
When Hardy and Sweetie Belle reached the clubhouse, Scootaloo was already inside waiting for them. She had been looking at them through the window and when they made their way to the entrance she opened the door for them.
“Alright, Hardy. It’s been a while since you last visited, what’s up? Asked Scootaloo. It had been weeks since Sparkling visited the clubhouse, and he wanted to catch up with Scoots and Sweetie. They’d tell Apple Bloom later on what he told them.
“Well you two, last night I had a dream about Rainbow Dash performing a Sonic Rainboom. She had gotten a poster saying that the Wonderbolts are seeing young flyers she was as happy as a foal on Hearth’s Warming.” Scootaloo was extremely interested in hearing about Hardy’s dream. She looked up to Rainbow Dash as an idol and an older sister. “She told Fluttershy the news, Fluttershy was happy that her friend’s dreams might come true. Of course, Dash had a ton of tricks in mind, but the one that stuck out was....the Sonic Rainboom.”
He paused to emphasize Sonic Rainboom, making Scootaloo eager to hear how it went. “She went up into the air with a whoosh and very close the sun. She soared downward towards the ground...and BOOM! A giant rainbow erupted from all around her, Rainbow Dash had done it. She did the Sonic Rainboom. Fluttershy cheered for her friend.” The two fillies were amazed at what they just heard. Scootaloo was the first to comment.
“T-that was AWESOME, Hardy! I’m jealous that you had that dream, you must have been amazed at that.” Scootaloo said. She couldn’t blame him if he was amazed, it was an amazing sight.
“Wow, Hardy that’s an amazing dream you’ve had.” Sweetie Belle added. “I’ll make sure to tell Apple Bloom the story the next time I see her.” Hardy smiled, it was so thoughtful of Sweetie Belle to let her friend know about what she had heard.
“Good night Hardy. I'll see you in the morning.” Said Quarry.
“Good night Quarry.” Replied Hardy. He gave her a hug, Quarry returned the embrace and left the room. Hardy fell fast asleep.
Hardy seemed to be in another one of Fluttershy’s memories. He seemed to be in a school of some sort, he saw many pegasi talking and flying to and from classes. One filly stood out in particular to him, it was Fluttershy. She was talking with her father.
From what he could tell about their interaction, it sounded like Fluttershy’s father was intimitading. Hardy listened to what they were saying...
“Now you listen to me.” Her father said gruffly as the two of them stood outside of the Flight School in Cloudsdale, “It’s required for you to go to school so you’ll go everyday they have it. You’ll do everything your teachers tell you, and you’ll come straight home unless you ask permission to do otherwise. And if you’re good, I’ll likely allow your request.” He sounded very stern, “But every other rule from home still applies. You don’t talk unless spoken to; you don’t tell anyone anything unnecessary; you obey everything the adults say unless I overrule them. Do you understand?
“Y-yes sir…” Filly Fluttershy squeaked her response, never looking her father in the eye, keeping her head low.
“If you understand then I’ll see you at home later tonight.” He said turning away from her, opening his wings and flying flying away. For the first time, Fluttershy lifted her head to look at her father flying away. Even from there she could see his scalpel cutiemark.
Fluttershy made her way into Cloudsdale’s Flight School as the memory faded...
Hardy woke up and headed downstairs to have breakfast, Rose was already there drinking coffee. She stopped when she saw him and smiled.
“Good morning, Hardy Hope you slept well.” Rose said before sipping her cup of coffee.
“I did, Quarry. I hope you two slept well too.” Replied Hardy as he poured himself a cup of orange juice and sat down to have his breakfast.
After breakfast, the two cousins washed the dishes. As soon as they finished cleaning up. They discussed what they were going to do.
“I’ll probably help out at Sugarcube Corner mom taught me about baking.” Rose said.
“Sounds like a plan." Hardy said.
The two cousins made their way to Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie lives. Hardy opened the door and held it open for his cousin. The doorbell rang and Pinkie Pie was at the counter where she usally works.
“Hey Rose Hey Hardy.” Pinkie said cheerfully. The pink mare seemed to enjoy working at Sugarcube Corner, probably due to her love for sugar.
“Hello Pinkie, is Mrs. Cake around?” Rose asked.
“Okey dokey lokey. I’ll be right back.” Pinkie said cheerfully and bounced away. She returned with Mrs. Cake, who runs Sugarcube Corner along with her husband Mr. Cake.
“Rose, what a suprise. Pinkie told never told you about Pound and Pumpkin Cake did she, dearie?” Asked Mrs. Cake. She’s motherly affectionate toward others often referring to them as “dearie”.
"I'd like to help out, is that alright?" Rose asked.
"Sure dearie, I'll tell them we've got company." Mrs. Cake replied before heading upstairs. A few minutes had passed and Mrs. Cake returned with two foals, a light goldfish gray pegasus with brown mane, dark gray tangelo eyes, and a cutie mark which is a brown pound cake. The other is a unicorn with a light yellow coat, light brilliant orange mane with a small cyan bow on top, brilliant azure eyes, and a cutie mark of a pumpkin pie. "Pound and Pumpkin, this is Pinkie's younger sister Bellamena, and you've met Hardy and you've met Bellamena, Pinkie's sister." Mrs. Cake said.
Hardy had a busy day, he played with Pound and Pumpkin, he and Rose ran errands for Mrs. Cake and it made him exhausted. He had just finished preening himself when his cousin came in to say goodnight.
“Mrs. Cake was proud of us I bet all that must’ve tuckered you out, huh?” Rose asked before ruffling her cousin’s mane with a smile.
“Yes... It did, but it was fun.” Hardy responded. He covered up a yawn that escaped him and stretched.
“I can’t blame you, I’m exhausted as well.” Rosesaid before a yawn escaped her. “Goodnight Hardy, I’ll see you in the morning.” She added before hugging him.
“Goodnight Rose.” He replied before returning the hug.
Rose left the room as Hardy fell asleep. Hardy saw two doors in front of him one said “Patching up” the other read “Fluttershy’s New Home” He made his way towards the first door which automatically opened and he was greeted with a bright beam of light...
“Augh.” Filly Fluttershy squeaked as the nurse applied the alcohol to her wounds.
“Oh don’t be such a crybaby.” The nurse rolled her eyes before removing the cotton ball and placing a Band-Aid on the wound. “You really should be used to this by now; you’re always coming in here with some problem. Honestly, I don’t know why your father doesn’t just take care of you at home.” The nurse said begrudgingly as she walked away from the table Fluttershy sat on to the counter.
The nurse turned back and glared at Fluttershy, Fluttershy instantly went silent. She shrunk back into the table, trying to avoid the glare of the nurse. The nurse, once satisfied that the filly wouldn’t say anything, turned back to the counter organizing her items.
The door to the room clicked open, as Fluttershy sat up straight, her whole body turning stiff as her father strolled into the room, before closing the door.
“Is everything fine with my daughter?” Was the first thing he asked. The nurse pony instantly turned to him, her whole face lighting up, as if his mere presence brought her joy.
“O-Of course sir. You know I ALWAYS do the finest work I can when you’re asking me to.” The nurse said, batting her eyelashes flirtatious at the doctor, smiling almost as if her life depended on it. Fluttershy’s father didn’t look impressed by the flirtation and turned to look at his daughter. His daughter sat up straight, shivering as she sat on the table, afraid of what her father might do or say.
“Have you recovered from your ‘accident’?” Her father asked with the stern, overbearing tone, as if he didn’t actually care that she had recovered.
“Y-Y-Yes sir.” Fluttershy stuttered and squeaked, her whole body shaking as she stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with him.
“If you are then leave. You can do as you wish, just be in the lobby by 9 and I’ll take you home.” Her father almost growled.
“Yes sir!” Fluttershy instantly jumped off the table and practically bolted out of the room. Closing it behind her. She panted a little outside the door as her heart beat inside of her chest.
“Oooh…Doctor~” Fluttershy heard the nurse almost moan from inside the room. She didn’t stick around to hear more, she ran away from the room. She’d be in the lobby when her father told her to be there, but she’d be as far away from him as she could be till then.
The memory faded and Hardy couldn’t believe what he had heard. The ‘accident’ seemed to cover up something done on purpose, Fluttershy’s dad didn’t seem to care about her at all. The nurse never acted caring towards Fluttershy when she mentioned her father, and the “Oooh...Doctor~” the nurse made when Fluttershy left the room meant that she fell in love with Fluttershy’s dad.
“I hope this is better than the other one.” Hardy said before approaching the second door as he entered it...
“Well, this is the best place I can think of.” Rainbow Dash said while flying with Fluttershy to the outskirts of Ponyville to a small empty cottage stood close to the edge of the Everfree Forest, an old ‘For Sale’ sign stood before the property. “Nopony wants to live here since it’s so close to the Everfree Forest, but with your love of animals that might work out for you.”
“Wow…its looks great.” Fluttershy smiled quietly, walking up to the house.
Fluttershy opened the door and looked inside. The house was dusty from disuse, but everything appeared to be in good condition. It even came with furniture wrapped in cloth, waiting for somepony to unwrap them. Fluttershy wandered the home as Rainbow Dash entered the house after her.
She could see everything she could do with the home, she could make spots for animals to live, she could set up the closet to hold her supplies, she could set up several soft chairs for resting and tables for eating, the kitchen seemed to have everything she’d need to cook the perfect meals and water was still running in the bathroom.
“Oh Rainbow Dash…it’s perfect.” Fluttershy smiled happily returning to the living room.
“You like it huh? Alright, then I’ll buy it for you.” Rainbow grinned. Fluttershy looked at her speechless.
“Oh, no, I could never ask you to do that! It’s so much money…I-I can work to pay for it myself.” Fluttershy fumbled her words.
“Don’t worry about it. This house is like, dirt cheap right now and I make plenty of money from my job here. Heck, there’s even talk of promoting me!” Rainbow waved her hoof at Fluttershy, trying to dismiss her worries.
“B-But…s-still, I couldn’t ask you to do that for me.” Fluttershy frowned, not wanting to take so much of Rainbow’s charity, it was a huge investment just for her, she didn’t feel worthy of it.
“Hey, just think of it as my apology for running out on you at school.” Rainbow weakly smiled, “So in return, you make this house your perfect home, alright? I know you had one in mind, you used to speak about it all the time when I last saw you.” Rainbow chuckled.
Fluttershy stared at the mare before her, still stupefied. She slowly looked around at the house once more.
‘The perfect home…’ she thought to herself, ‘Something I never had as a filly…but…I have the ability to make come true now.’ She smiled softly as she felt tears begin to form gently at the edges of her eyes.
“…I will…” Fluttershy wiped her eyes gently, turning to face Rainbow Dash, “I’ll make this…my perfect home.”
“That was thoughtful of Rainbow Dash” Hardy muzed.
About an hour later after Rose left to greet her parents and aunt, which Hardy didn't seem to mind being alone. Rose called him down when she returned with her parents and aunt.
"Hi mom, I've missed you very much." He said before levitating his mother's suitcase and setting it down and hugged her.
"I've missed you too, Hardy." Chilly replied as she hugged him and kissed his cheek.
"I'll take your stuff upstairs, mom. I'll be back down to help out aunt Velvet and uncle Frostblaze." Hardy offered.
"Thank you Hardy, that's very thoughtful of you." His mother replied. Hardy picked up his mother's suitcase and went upstairs to his aunt and uncle's room. There is a single bed that his mother sleeps in as well as the double bed where his aunt and uncle sleep.
"Here, aunt Red, I could take your stuff upstairs for you." Hardy offered again.
"How sweet of you, Hardy." She replied before Hardy carried up their suitcases upstairs and putting it across from his mothers."
"Hardy, the stallion I dated apparently has a daughter named Starlight Glimmer. You've met her before, right?" Asked his mother.
"Yes, I've met her when I was taking a stroll around Ponyville. But, this was about a few weeks ago. What's his name?" Hardy asked out of curiosity.
"His name is Firelight, apparently he can be embarrassing to Starlight, but he seemed like a nice stallion. I'll tell him about what happened a month ago when I feel like it." She replied.
“Aunt Red. How was your trip to Manehattan?” Hardy asked. He was curious about how his aunt and uncle stayed in Manehattan. It seemed to be simalar to Canterlot as it was busy, bustling, and big.
“How about I tell you in the morning, Hardy? We’ll both be well rested by then.” Replied his aunt before yawning.
“Good idea, aunt Red.” Hardy agreed before letting out a yawn. “Good night, Aunt Red.” He added before giving her a hug good night.
“Good night my dear.” She replied before returning the hug and turning off the lights.
Hardy fell fast asleep because it had been a very busy day for everypony.
“Well... This is it. The final memory and why Fluttershy’s mother had passed.” He said out loud before approaching the only door labeled ‘Final Memory’ it opened as soon as he approached it and a bright light greeted him. When he opened his eyes...
“Mother?” Filly Fluttershy called out, walking into her mother’s room.
Her mother sat on the bed, a knife in her hoof as if she was playing with it. Her hair was messy, unkempt and uncared for. Bags were under her bloodshot eyes and she seemed to be glaring at the knife, as if unhappy with it.
“…M-Mother…” Fluttershy whimpered, walking further into the room, “W-What would y-you like to eat tod-”
“Hahahahahahaha!” Her mother suddenly burst out laughing. Fluttershy halted her movements forward, looking up at her mother in shock. The older mare just seemed to have found some funny.
“Oh…yes…that’ll do nicely…” The older mare smiled once she’d finished laughing, turning her head to grin at her daughter. Fluttershy couldn’t move, afraid of what her mother was about to do.
“Come closer my daughter.” Her mother said, twisting her body closer to the edge of her bed. Fluttershy began to hesitantly move closer to the bed.
“W-why does she have a knife?” Hardy thought.
“I SAID CLOSE-” Fluttershy’s mom began to yell, but suddenly fell from the bed, hitting the ground with a thud.
“Mother!” Fluttershy cried out as she ran to her mother’s side, trying to ensure she was okay.
Her mother groaned, but slowly rolled over onto her other side so that she was facing her daughter. Once she could see her face, a wicked smile crawled onto her face.
“I don’t like where this is going.”
“R-Really!? O-Oh mother, t-that’s good news! I-I have to tell fathe-”
“No, you can’t tell your father yet.” Her mother hissed.
“W-Why not?” Fluttershy asked confused.
“Because…only you…can administer the treatment right now.” Her mother laughed, carefully holding the knife up to Fluttershy, “And you’ll need this to cure me.”
Fluttershy gingerly took the knife in her hooves, staring at it confused.
“I’d do it myself…but I’m far too weak to administer the treatment properly…but you…oh, you can do it just fine.” Her mother laughed, “And you want me to be cured right? Cured…and happy?”
“…O-Of course I do…b-but…w-what do I…” Fluttershy began to ask in confusion, but her mother seemed ready to answer.”
“That’s simple my dear child…You take the knife…and you strike me with it.” Her mother smiled.
'This has to be a side effect of the medicine.' Hardy thought as he couldn't believe what Fluttershy's mother just said.
Fluttershy froze. That didn’t sound right at all. She knew that something as sharp as a knife hurt when you grazed its edge, why would striking her mother cure her illness?
“B-but…mother…that…”
“Are you questioning me?” Her mother glared at her. Fluttershy’s skin jumped at the glare.
“N-No b-but-”
“That SOUNDS like you're questioning me!” Her mother growled. If she could move with any decent strength she’d have smacked her daughter, “I need you to do this for me! Only you can do it right now! You do love me right?”
That pulled on Fluttershy’s heart.
“O-Of course I do mother…”
“Then strike me!” Her mother demanded.
Fluttershy took a gulp as she shakily raised the knife up over her head. She didn’t want to bring it down; her mind was telling her that doing this was wrong; the knife hovered in the air, unable to strike it down.
“Fluttershy…” Her mother spoke quietly, coldly.
“Y-Yes?” Fluttershy whimpered still holding the knife up.
“You said you loved me…but you haven’t struck me with the knife yet…so you lied to me…” Her mother said bitterly.
“N-No, I-I do-“
“Then strike me!” Her mother yelled at her, making Fluttershy almost jump, “Strike me! Love me! You’re going to LOVE ME!” Her mother’s head snapped up off the ground, her mouth open as if to bite down on Fluttershy.
The knife sailed through the air, imbedding itself into her mother’s side.
Hardy could do nothing but look in horror.
“Yes! YES YES! DO IT AGAIN!” She demanded with a yell.
Fluttershy pulled the knife out and slammed it back down into her mother.
“DON’T STOP.” Were the last words Fluttershy heard from her mother.
Hardy muffled a scream of horror by putting a hoof over his mouth.
The knife rose and sank down into the body before her, again and again. Each strike sent blood flying, her fur was being coated, and her mane was drenched.
Each strike sounded deafening, yet it was one of the quietest sounds in the world. It was as if the very knife was screaming at her, but only she could hear the screams of the blade.
She plunged the knife in one last time. She panted, she cried, she shook. Her mother wasn’t moving anymore, she wasn’t speaking, she wasn’t breathing, and she wasn’t warm anymore.
Fluttershy didn’t know what this meant, had she cured her mother like she had asked? Hadn’t she put her through a lot of pain? Was she going to be alright?
“Fluttershy, haven’t you gotten that answer from your mother ye-” Her father walked into the room.
Fluttershy slowly turned, tears streaming down her face, still holding onto the knife, covered in her mother’s blood, sitting before the corpse of her mother.
The air was silent.
Then, her father drew closer.
“F-Father…I…” Fluttershy hiccupped, trying to say something, anything to explain the sight before her father.
However, she was silenced. Her father’s hoof struck her, hard. Her small body was sent sailing across the room and smashed into the wall. She let out a yelp of pain before hitting the ground.
Hardy gasped in shock, he just witnessed the death of Fluttershy’s mother, and Fluttershy being abused.
Her father picked up her mother’s head in his hoof as he began to cry.
There was silence as her father scrubbed away at her coat, washing away the blood that had begun to cake onto her fur. The hot water was managing to get most of it away, but some of it was being stubborn.
He was being hard with the brush, harder than he had ever been before. Fluttershy didn’t speak up though, she couldn’t speak up against it, her heart felt like it was in a million pieces.
“…Do you know what you’ve done?” Her father finally asked.
Fluttershy whimpered her response, she couldn’t say any words.
“…You took your mother from us.” Her father said, as if he was breathing was becoming more ragged, the brush stopping its cleaning. “You took…the most wonderful mare I’d ever known…out of this world…” Her gripped the brush harder, he started to speak through gritted teeth, “You did it so quickly too, I sent you in to help her…and you killed her.”
Fluttershy’s eyes burned with tears. Her father’s words made her heart sting worse.
“…You’re a monster.” He growled.
Without warning he pushed her head down under the water.
Fluttershy scrambled at the unexpected movement, her mouth and nose filling with water as air escaped her lungs. Her hooves flailed as she tried to push herself up out of the water, but the hoof holding her down was too strong.
The air escaped her quickly and her lungs began to burn. She reached for air but it wouldn’t come.
Suddenly, she was lifted up into the air. Instinctively, she took in a big gasp of air, only for her head to be shoved back under the water. She lost her air almost instantly again, her whole body beginning to feel like it was burning from the movements.
This repeated several times, getting a short breath of air only to have it painfully taken away by the water once more. Her struggling had lessened and now she was too weak to push against the water, too tired to try and get air.
The hoof was holding her under the water for good now. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head as her limbs stopped moving. She couldn’t stay awake any longer.
She was pulled out of the water. Her body gasped and took in the fresh air, before coughing up water that had filled her lungs. She puked slightly as her body tried to reject the water that had attacked her body.
“…No…no just killing you would be too easy.” Her father growled, watching her sputter and gasp for breath, “You need to understand the misery you’ve caused with your love.” Her father let go of her mane, Fluttershy instinctively catching herself on the edge of the bathtub, still recovering as her father walked out.
“I can’t wake up until this is all over.” Hardy managed to say after being at a loss for words.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?” Her father yelled loudly.
Fluttershy dropped the box of cereal she had picked up from the top shelf of the counter, her wings snapping shut to her sides as she fell a few feet before landing on the ground with a thud.
Her father was furious, as he stormed up to her, Fluttershy trying to back away out of fear. Her grabbed her hoof and forced her to eye-level with him.
“What have I TOLD you about FLYING without permission!? You’re NOT allowed to do it! NOT even in the house!” He yelled at her, gripping her hoof hard.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She cried out as tears streamed from her eyes, her hoof hurt like crazy as he gripped it hard.
“I’ve told you before! Bad fillies who DON’T listen to what their told get eaten by Dragons! Do you WANT to get eaten by a dragon!?”
“No! No!” Fluttershy cried out, struggling against his grip.
“Well you’re ATTRACTING a Dragon by flying as a bad filly! You MUST want to be eaten by a Dragon! Why else would you be flying without permission!?” His screams made her ears feel like they wanted to burst.
“No! I don’t want to be eaten by a dragon! I’m sorry!” She cried harder.
“Well, you know what? I think I can HEAR a dragon! He’s already pretty close because you’ve flown! Maybe I should just throw you outside so he can eat you right now!” He hissed and growled.
“NO! NO DADDY PLEASE! I DON’T WANT TO BE EATEN!” Fluttershy wailed, afraid for her life.
“Well, if you don’t want to be eaten, then there’s only one thing I can do.” He said tossing his daughter to the ground. The wind escaped her body as she tried to scramble to her feet, only to have her father’s hoof step on her holding her down.
“NO! NO DADDY PLEASE! STOP!” She cried out as pain shot through her back. But it was too late, he wasn’t going to stop.
CRACK
Fluttershy cried louder than she ever had before as her father snapped her wing.
“There, now you won’t be flying for a while, and you won’t attract any dragons.” He simply said stepping off of his wailing daughter, “I snapped it carefully; you’ll be able to fly once it’s healed, but we’ll have to get you to the hospital to put a cast on it.” He said though a grin formed on his face, “Though, only once the Dragon has left.”
Fluttershy barely heard her father’s words past her own screams of agony from the burning pain that echoed from her wing.
The moment that Fluttershy’s father broke her wing, Hardy felt like he could just shout at Fluttershy’s father until his voice was gone.
“…Where did you get that?” Her father asked as filly Fluttershy walked through the door, carrying a candy bar in her mouth.
“Oh…a colt at school gave it to me.” She said quietly, “He said he liked me and wanted me to have it.” She said gently chewing on the end of the bar, savoring the sweet taste.
“Oh…he did, did he?” Her father said walking up to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked up at her father, taking a step back from him getting so close.
Fluttershy fell to the ground as her father’s hoof hit her hard across the face. The candy bar slid across the room.
“Let me tell you something about boys loving you.” He growled, grabbing Fluttershy by the mane and picking her up, eliciting yelps of pain from the filly, “Colts will only hurt you. They only think of themselves and they want nothing more than to see you suffer.” He grinned wickedly, “After all, look at me. I love you and here I am hurting you.” He said before tossing his daughter across the room, her landing hard against the floor.
Fluttershy cried as she tried to curl up into a ball, not wanting to be hurt anymore.
“But I suppose you must really like being hurt, if you’re going to let a colt like you.” Her father grinned walking up to his daughter, kicking her in the back, causing her to cry out in pain, “Any colt that gets close to you will do nothing but hurt you. So I hope you enjoy this for the rest of your life. I’m sure you’ll find a colt who loves you even more than I do.” Her father laughed before walking off to his study.
Fluttershy whimpered and cried where she curled up, remembering the colt from school who had given her the candy bar.
Hardy was extremely furious he wanted to make that Fluttershy’s father suffer and beg for forgiveness.
Suddenly, her mind filled with anger, hate for the colt who had given her the candy bar. All he wanted to do was hurt her, he wanted to get close to her so that he could make her cry and suffer, just like her father did.
“I…I hate colts…” Fluttershy whimpered out loud. She vowed to herself that she would never like a colt, or let a colt like her, for as long as she lived.
That morning, Hardy teleported to Lance Strongshy’s house. He made sure that Fluttershy’s dad wasn’t able to notice him before finding the grave that read. ‘Here lies Posey Blossom Strongshy. A wonderful mother, wife, and murdered by her retched daughter.’ He pointed his horn at her grave and let out a burst of magic which had hit the grave, destroying it instantly.
“H-huh?” Posey said before looking around and blinking a few times. Her head stopped spinning and she could see that she was behind her own home. She also noticed there was a young colt a few feet from her. She walked towards him with a confused expression. “W-who are you?” She asked.
“My name is Hardy, my Aunt’s name is Red Velvet.” He replied. Posey knew who this colt was reffering to, he was reffering to her foalhood best friend.
“Y-you’re Vel’s nephew?” She asked. “Nice to meet you Hardy, I’m Posey Strongshy, Fluttershy’s mother.” She shook his hoof smiling.
“Speaking of Fluttershy, where is she? I would like to see her again, I need to apologize for everything.” Asked Posey curiously.
“She moved out and bought a house, a cottage close to the Everfree Forest. I’ve walked close by there.” Replied Hardy. Fluttershy’s mother nodded and flew until she was out of sight.
“W-what the...?! Hey!” Lance Strongshy noticed the young colt and he was furious, Hardy teleported away from him instantly.
That morning, Hardy was happy. Even more so than he normally is, his aunt decided to ask him why he is in such a great mood.
“Hardy you seem very happy with something. Could you tell me why you’re very happy?” Asked his aunt as he ate his breakfast.
“You’ll see, Aunt Red.” Replied Hardy as he was cleaning up the table.
“I understand, you’re going to suprise me with something.” Guessed Red as she rolled her eyes.
“I’ll be back, I’ve got to get your suprise.” Hardy said.
“Okay Hardy, be safe and make sure to come back soon.” His aunt reminded.
“Okay, Aunt Vel, I’ll be back soon.” Replied Hardy. His aunt wondered how he knew her foalhood nickname given by Fluttershy’s mother.
Hardy made his way towards Fluttershy’s cottage, he flew as to not waste time. When he saw Fluttershy’s cottage he landed nearby and approached the door. Hardy knocked and was immediately embraced in a hug by Fluttershy who was happy.
“Hardy... thank you so much.” Fluttershy managed to get out.
“We both apologized and made up. She told me everything that happened all those years ago. I still owe her father an apology as well.” Posey explained.
“Well... would you like to see my aunt?” Hardy asked though it was strained by the timid pegasus’s suprisingly strong hug.
“Of course, Hardy. I’ve missed Vel so much, I would love to see her again.” Logan Replied.
“Follow me.” Hardy said as Fluttershy broke the hug and waved goodbye to her mother.
“Goodbye mother, I've missed you very much.” Fluttershy said as Hardy flew into the air.
“I’m proud of you, Fluttershy.” Posey replied as she hugged her daughter.
Posey and Hardy flew to Ponyville. Once Hardy had landed, Logan did the same.
“I won’t be long” Smudger said as he opened the door.
“Aunt Red, I’m back with your surprise.” Said Hardy happily.
“Good job, Hardy. But how do you know my foalhood nickname?” She asked.
“You’ll see.” He responded. His aunt closed his eyes and opened the door. Posey was waiting and was happy to see her friend. “Okay, you can look now.” Hardy said. His aunt couldn’t believe it, her foalhood friend was standing across from her smiling. Her eyes welled up with tears of joy.
“Posey... I missed you so much.” His aunt said before embracing her friend in a hug.
“I missed you too, Vel.” Posey replied as she hugged her friend back.
“What’s going on here?” Chilly asked.
“You must be her big sister, Chilly. My name is Posey, your son brought me back.” Posey said and shook Chilly’s hoof.
“Posey... Red told me all about you as a foal. When I died you gave Red a shoulder to cry on.”
“Your son is truely an amazing young colt.” Posey said as Hardy blushed.
“He is. I’m lucky to have a son like him. Didn’t Red tell you how I died?” Asked Chilly.
“No she didn’t.”
“Well, my ex-husband killed me and made me into a cupcake, however... He also took the life of an innocent filly named Bellamena. Hardy avenged us both so his nightmares would stop.” Chilly explained. Posey was shocked that Hardy’s dad was a murderer.
“I hope you find a better father for him, Hardy must have missed you very much.” Said Posey.
“He’ll be suprised when I tell him the news.” Chilly whispered in Posey’s ear.
