"Are you sure you don't us to come with you, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight Sparkle, as the rest of the Mane 6 gathered round the shy Pegasus. They were all stood outside Fluttershy's cottage. "I'll be fine, Twilight," whispered Fluttershy, as she pulled her bag strap around her tightly. "I'm just going to my old home to gather some things." She said and opened up her wings. "If you need me, I'll be there in 10 seconds flat!" said Rainbow Dash, as she flapped her wings extra fast so that they made a humming noise. Fluttershy gave a small smile. "Of course you will, Rainbow." She said and began to flap, more like flutter, her wings.
All of her friends waved goodbye as Fluttershy flew off. As the Pegasus approached Cloudsdale, she gulped as the more agile Pegasus flew around her. "Hey, it's Klutzershy! Is Rainbow Crash not with you today?" came the voices of the bullies as they flew into view. "U-m… N-no, she's n-n-not…" spluttered Fluttershy as she flew around them and landed on the clouds that led to the main town of Cloudsdale. The bullies flew off as somepony called them. Fluttershy trotted towards a group of houses as other Pegasus's called out to her. Fluttershy froze, as she heard her name being called. "Fluttershy! Welcome back!" cried some mares as they flew over to her. Fluttershy gave a wobbly smile, as they chattered to her like they were old friends. She only knew them from flight school and that was before she fell. She assumed they had forgotten all about bulling her as they waved goodbye as she carried on.
Fluttershy gave a small gulp as her old house came into view. She took a nervous, shaky breath then slowly trotted up to the front door. Fluttershy opened the front door and stepped into the hall way. The house was in darkness and the hallway was filled with dust. Fluttershy assumed that the rest of the house was dusty as well, due to her not being back for years. Fluttershy floated up the stairs to her bedroom. She flicked on the light. Her room was exactly how she left it. Her small bed was still neatly made, her stuffed animals were on the shelf, her small pink desk that was covered in dust and the pictures of her and Rainbow Dash as fillies were littered around on her walls. Fluttershy smiled as she looked at the photos. There was a few where Rainbow had surprised her and took a few photos of her, with Fluttershy desperately trying to hide her face in her mane. Fluttershy gave a small giggle as memories came flooding back of when Rainbow showed her the camera.
"Fluttershy!" Fluttershy jumped as she heard her name being called. She turned as she saw a rainbow – like blur flying towards her at breath taking speed. Fluttershy squealed and dropped to the fluffy 'ground' as the blur came to a stop in front of her. "Look what my pops got me for my birthday!" cried Rainbow Dash as she hovered in the air and held up a new camera. It was a small grey one and there was a strap on it, so that it can be put around somepony's neck. "O-oh… R-r-rainbow…" spluttered Fluttershy as she wobbly stood up. "Y-you surprised m-me and…" Fluttershy trailed off as Rainbow shoved the camera in her face and yelled, "Smile!" A blinding flash went off, and Fluttershy shook her head a few times to get rid of the floating colours that surrounded her vision. "Great picture!" cried Rainbow and for the rest of that day, Rainbow and Fluttershy took photos of each other…
Fluttershy smiled as she looked at the first photo on the wall. Her eyes were wide open and a look of terror was plain to see on her face, as the camera was suddenly shoved in her face. Fluttershy carefully pulled off the pictures and untied her bag. She carefully placed them in. "I'll show them to the others when I get back. Maybe Rainbow will remember taking them." Fluttershy thought, as she tied the bag back up. Fluttershy trotted over to her desk, opened it and lifted out a small box. It was a little dusty, Fluttershy noticed as she blew of the dust. A golden lock was shining dully as Fluttershy picked up a golden key. Fluttershy placed the box on her bed and pushed the key into the lock. Fluttershy turned the key and was just about to open it when a voice came from behind her. "Fluttershy? Is that you?" the voice asked. Fluttershy gulped and turned around. With a shaky voice, she whispered, "M-m-mother?"
The older mare's mane was a dull light pink, almost grey, which was unlike how Fluttershy remembered it to look, as she remembered it to be the same colour as hers, if not a shade or two brighter. The mare's yellow coat was almost grey as well; with a hint of colour of it used to be. The mare took a few steps forwards, her dull yellow wings dropping as she tried to stretch them out. Her cutie mark was a grey cloud, with raindrops falling. The mare's eyes filled with tears. Her eyes were a vivid dark purple. Fluttershy got her eye colour from her father. "Y-you've come home." Whispered the mare, and she went to nuzzle Fluttershy's neck. Fluttershy took a step back and fell onto her bed with a small thump, as dust floated into the air. "I'd thought I would never see you again." Continued the mare, oblivious to the look of horror Fluttershy was giving her, and that she had gone to the far side of her bed, just to be away from her. Fluttershy gave a small nod. "…And then I heard that you had fallen to the bottom! Imagine that! So, where have you been hiding all these years? Hiding away? I highly doubt you've been on the ground! You can hardly fly! Anyway, look how big you've got! You've got your cutie mark too! Three butterflies!..." The mare rambled on, oblivious to the fact that Fluttershy had spaced out, due to a memory resurfacing.
Fluttershy wobbly flew home, dreading the mood her mother would be in. Fluttershy was always the last to leave Flight school and would fly slowly home to avoid her mother. Sometimes her mother would be in a happy mood and Fluttershy loved that mood and had happy memories of when she would come home and freshly baked cookies would be waiting for her and her mother would tell her funny stories of when she was younger, what her father looked like and what Fluttershy was like when she was younger. Other time, she was in a frightful mood where she would scream that the dragons would come and eat them all. Her mother would tell her that dragons are 3 times the size of a house and have scales as hard as diamonds and sharp teeth and claws to slice her and other ponies up. Fluttershy became terrified of dragons because she would be told those kind of stories of scary dragons coming up to Cloudsdale and kidnapping ponies to eat – mainly fillies her age. Fluttershy flew over to her house and opened the door. She took a deep breath and shouted nervously into the house. "M-mother? I-I'm home!" There was silence. Fluttershy stepped into house and called into the hallway. "M-m-mother?" Again, she was met with silence. Fluttershy slowly trotted into the kitchen. The table was upturned; plates and cups were on the floor, smashed. The cupboard doors were wide open and a few of the doors were ripped off and on the counter. "W-what happened he-here?" gasped Fluttershy, as she floated up to look at the damage. A rushing sound came from behind her and Fluttershy found herself on the fluffy cold floor, with her mother stood over her. Her mother's eyes were crazy and her breathing was ragged short breaths. Fluttershy gave a whimper as her mother's wings stretched out. "The dragons are coming! They're gonna eat us all! We need to hide!" cried her mother, as Fluttershy struggled to get up. "Wh-what's going o-on?" cried Fluttershy as her mother easily picked her up and tossed her onto her back. Fluttershy gave a small squeak. "We're going to hide from the dragons!" announced her mother as she bolted over to a small door by the cupboards. Fluttershy knew that door. "T-the ce-cellar?" she asked out loud, even though she already knew the answer. Her mother began to speak quickly, as she flung open the door. "We'll be safe in here! I won't let them hurt you!" she cried as she bolted down the steps, slamming the door shut. This became a regular occurrence for Fluttershy and it happened regularly over the years. That's the reason why Fluttershy loved going over to Rainbow Dash's house and staying over. She didn't have to face her mother. Even though Rainbow Dash was her best friend, Fluttershy never told her about what was happening to her…
"…shy? Fluttershy? Are you alright?" asked her mother, as she stood over her, which made Fluttershy squeak. "Y-yes. I'm f-fine." She said, wobbly rising to her feet. "Now, that you're here, I'm guessing your coming back home?" asked her mother, as she moved back a couple of steps to allow Fluttershy to shake the dust from her mane. "I'm not coming back, I'm just getting a few things…" whispered Fluttershy, so quiet, you would of hardly been able to tell she spoke at all. "What was that?" asked her mother. Fluttershy picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a small red jewel and a piece of paper. She untied her bag and placed them in her bag before tying it back up. She placed the box back on the bed. "I-I said, I'm not c-coming b-back, I'm j-just getting a few things…" Fluttershy trailed off when she saw the look on her mother's face. "You're not coming back home?" her mother's voice was low, but Fluttershy could hear the anger in her voice. Fluttershy gave a squeak and flew out of the door as her mother flung the box after her. It smashed to pieces against the wall. "You get back here!" screeched her mother. Fluttershy flew down the stairs and flew out of the door. "You're worthless! You have nopony!" screamed her mother, as tears formed in Fluttershy's eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have come back!" thought Fluttershy, as another memory resurfaced as she flew down the path.
"You're worthless! You can't fly! You have no friends! You don't even have your cutie mark yet!" Fluttershy whimpered as her mother flung a plate at her. It missed and smashed against the wall. "You'll never leave this place!" screeched her mother, hovering above the ground, her dark pink mane flying out behind her. The kitchen was a mess and Fluttershy was backed up into a corner, tears flowing down her face. A loud humming noise was heard and a rainbow – like blur flew into the kitchen. "Fluttershy!" cried Rainbow Dash, as she flew over to the corner. "C'mon, let's go!" she cried as Fluttershy stood wobbly. Fluttershy gave a small squeak as Rainbow grabbed her by the hoof and flew out of the door and out of the house. "R-r-rainbow!" spluttered Fluttershy, as houses flew past them. "Oh right… I'll slow down now." Shouted Rainbow over the wind and slowed to a complete stop outside the flight school. She gently set Fluttershy on the ground and hovered above the ground until she dropped in front of Fluttershy. "H-how… W-what…?" Fluttershy started to ask, as Rainbow pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and a small red jewel out of her school bag, which was wrapped tightly around her body. "Here, I want you to have these." She said, as she pushed the gifts towards Fluttershy. "T-thank you, R-rainbow." Muttered Fluttershy as she scooped up the gifts…
Fluttershy slowed to a stop as she flew onto a cloud, her mother's voice ringing in her ears. "You're worthless! You have nopony!" Fluttershy shook her head to get rid of the voice. Fluttershy opened up the bag and took out the rolled up piece of paper. She had kept it in perfect condition all these years. Fluttershy placed it on the cloud and unrolled it. On it, written in wobbly writing, were the words;
You're my best friend, Fluttershy! Don't you ever forget it!
Was what it was supposed to say, but it was written as:
Your my beset firend, Flutershy! Don't you evre forgot it!
Underneath was a picture of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, hooves wrapped around each other in a hug, smiling at the camera. Fluttershy smiled as she looked at the picture. That was taken at Rainbow's eight birthday party. Fluttershy could remember it like it was yesterday…
Rainbow had come round personally to ask Fluttershy's mother if she could come round to her party. "Of course she can." Smiled Fluttershy's mother. "Fluttershy has been a good girl this week. She can go." Rainbow gave a huge smile at Fluttershy, who gave a small smile back. "Awesome! See you Saturday, Fluttershy!" cried Rainbow as she zoomed out of the house. Fluttershy looked at her mother, who smiled. "It's nice to know you have one friend." Said her mother, a tone of disappointment in her voice, making Fluttershy wince. "It's a shame you don't have more. Maybe you can make some more friends at Rainbow Dash's party." Said her mother. Fluttershy nodded and then retreated to her room.
Saturday came by slowly and at last it was time for Rainbow Dash's party. Fluttershy's mother dropped her off and waved as Fluttershy entered the house. "You're here!" yelled Rainbow as she zoomed into the hall way to see Fluttershy. "Come on through, dear." Called Rainbow's mother, through the back garden. Fluttershy allowed herself to be dragged to the back garden, while Rainbow Dash talked excitedly about how amazing her party is going to be now that Fluttershy was here. As Rainbow and Fluttershy entered the garden, Rainbow's mother and father were stood around a table and placing food out. Rainbow's father was a light purple stallion with a rainbow coloured mane, which is where Rainbow got her mane colour from, while Rainbow's mother was a cyan coloured mare, which was where Rainbow got her body colour from. Rainbow's fathers cutie mark was a thunder storm, which was what his name was, Thunder Storm and Rainbow's mothers cutie mark was a hurricane, which ironically, was her name. Fluttershy smiled at them as they waved at her. Fluttershy looked around, but she could see no other pony. Fluttershy tugged on Rainbow's mane. "W-where is everypony?" she asked, as Rainbow Dash giggled. "It's just you! I only wanted you to come!" cried Rainbow, as she flew into the air, doing a loop – de – loop before landing on the seat, leaving Fluttershy standing there with her mouth open. "Come and eat!" cried Rainbow as she patted a seat next to her. "Er… alright." Whispered Fluttershy, as she stepped slowly over to Rainbow. Fluttershy took her seat next to Rainbow as Rainbow's parents placed cake onto their plates. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." Cooed Hurricane, as she ruffled her daughter's hair. "Thanks mom." Said Rainbow, her voice slightly muffled, as she dug into the cake. The cake was rainbow coloured that Hurricane explained she got from below especially. Fluttershy gasped. She has never heard of a Pegasus going down below. Her mother told her that only bad Pegasus's go below and are never heard from again. Fluttershy nibbled on the cake as Rainbow chatted to her about school and she answered questions that Thunder Storm asked her questions about school and how Rainbow was excited that Fluttershy was coming over to her party. This made Fluttershy smile. After the party, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy played games until it was time for Fluttershy's mother to pick her up.
"Oh, one last thing before Fluttershy goes." Said Hurricane and held up Rainbow's camera. "Yeah! We need to take a photo! It'll be awesome!" cried Rainbow, hurrying to Fluttershy's side and wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy, making her squeak. "You do the same Fluttershy." Said Thunder Storm, as Fluttershy's mother frowned. Fluttershy hesitantly hugged Rainbow back and smiled. It was a little wobbly at first, but Rainbow tickled her with a wing feather, which made Fluttershy giggle. Hurricane snapped the photo of Rainbow grinning widely and Fluttershy smiling shyly…
Fluttershy smiled as she thought of the party. It had been one of the best times of her life. Soon after that she had fallen to the ground. Fluttershy shook her head as if to clear the thoughts of falling to the ground would happen again if she fell off the cloud she was on. She could fly better now. "I have been getting better at flying now! Mother was wrong to say I couldn't fly!" thought Fluttershy determinedly. She rolled back up the paper and placed it carefully into her bag. As she closed the bag with her wings, Fluttershy nervously trotted over to the edge of the cloud. "I can do this." She said out loud. "I flew to Cloudsdale, so I can fly back home…" Fluttershy trailed off as she thought of her wings freezing up in mid-flight. She shook her head. "Why am I getting doubts now?" she thought. Fluttershy took a deep breath and jumped off the cloud. Her wings snapped open, as a group of birds flew up to her. "Oh… my friends." Said Fluttershy, as the birds flew around her, leading her back to her home. Once they got nearer to her home, the birds left Fluttershy, as she called goodbye and thanked them for helping her. Fluttershy gave her wings a few extra flaps as she saw the Mane 6 waving at her. "Whoo hoo! Flutteshy! You're back!" yelled Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down on the spot. Apple Jack sighed. "Geez, she was onl' gone for a few hours, Pinkie." making the rest of the gang giggled. "Welcome back Fluttershy," said Twilight smiling at her. "How was your trip?" she asked. Fluttershy landed on the ground and smiled. "It was wonderful Twilight. I-I went back home a-and I saw a-all my stuff from my c-childhood."
"Awesome!" cried Rainbow, as she spun around in the air. "I bet I was just as amazing in the photos I took!" This made Fluttershy giggle. "Would you all like to come inside? I'll show you the stuff I brought back." Said Fluttershy as she opened the door. Everypony nodded in agreement and walked into Fluttershy's cottage. As Fluttershy went to trot into her cottage, she took a look back at Cloudsdale. "Your wrong, mother," whispered Fluttershy. "I'm not worthless. I've done much more things down here than you can ever even imagine…"
She paused as a wind blew through her mane. That was her mother's speciality. Using wind to clear the clouds in the sky. Fluttershy began to speak again, her voice clearer:
"I do have somepony... I have my friends. They're the best friends I could ever ask for!"
"Hurry up, Fluttershy! I wanna see my awesomeness!" called Rainbow from inside the cottage. Fluttershy smiled, and with that she trotted into the house, with a call of, "Coming Rainbow!"
A/N: This idea was floating around in my head for a while. I've always thought about doing a story about Fluttershy's childhood, so I'm glad this idea decided to pop into my head and stay there for a while. Anyway, please read and review.