The Lookby AnonyShyChaptersThe New BeginningCrueltySnapshotHomeFriendsLimelightEscapalBreakthroughThe New Beginning''Fluttershy! Fluttershy over here!'' Screamed a tall green mare as she held up her hoof to attract a little too much attention for Fluttershy's liking. ''Um, yes?'' The buttercream coloured Pegasus replied softly. ''Is it true that you haven't spoken to any of your friends for over five months?'' ''Well...'' ''Isn't that incredibly selfish of you?'' ''I try-'' ''Doesn't everypony in this city think that Fluttershy is the most selfish mare ever? Having all the fame, fortune and glory while her poor Ponyville friends suffer?'' The entire crowd nodded and shouted in agreement. Helpless, defenceless Fluttershy tried to speak up but she found herself backing away as the crowd proceeded to approach her furiously. The yellow pegasus felt fresh tears stream down her face as she felt a wave of guilt pass over her. She began to hyperventilate when she saw some angry stallions gallop towards her. If only they knew that none of this was her fault. Screams filled the air but Fluttershy knew how pathetic and defenceless she was as the sounds exploded around her. The delightful sunny day fell into a chasm of black. Beep! Fluttershy opened her eyes. A dream. No, a nightmare... again. The mare rolled out of her expensive yet tacky bed. Suddenly she became aware of where she was and the memories flooded into her, breaking her heart as she remembered that most of the nightmare rang true. She pulled on her 'incredible van-off-a-kind' outfit, well that's what Photo Finish called it anyway. Photo Finish, the mean mare who tormented Fluttershy. Who bullied her into touring Equestria on her fashion roadshow away from Ponyville, away from friends, away from her little bunny Angel. She thought of her dear Angel whom she hadn't seen for nearly half a year and sighed, a long sigh. She knew what her friends thought of Angel, she knew it every time they gave him that look of distain whenever he was up to no good. Her friends never saw the real Angel though, not how she did. Fluttershy revisited the time when she found out her awful 0.5 wingpower when the pegasi of Ponyville had to bring water to beautiful Cloudsdale. Nopony saw how she cried that day and nopony saw how Angel cared for his best friend Fluttershy. Through her stinging tears and pain she saw Angel's caring face as he softly brushed her pink grassy mane. She sniffed and smiled, if only Angel was here to brush her mane now. Fluttershy found that she had been saying that sad phrase plenty of times recently. ''If only.'' If only Rainbow Dash were here to sort out Photo Finish for her, strong Rainbow Dash would've had Fluttershy home in a jiffy. If only Applejack were here to take care of her, like when she helped her up the mountain to see that awful dragon long ago. If only Twilight were here so she could tell her all her troubles, she would've found a solution in one of her many books. If only Pinkie Pie were here to cheer her up or at least stop her from being so lonely, it did get lonely sometimes. If only Rarity were here. Rarity. Fluttershy would tell her so many things, like the truth. How she never wanted to be a model in the first place, she was just doing this for Rarity. ''You must Fluttershy, you must!'' So she did. She continued her awful modelling career with flashy cameras, interviews, endless fashion shows and sleepless nights. She had one opportunity to prevent her career from spiralling out of control, but the tiny spur of a moment had gone as quickly as it came and Photo Finish had whisked Fluttershy away on her tour. She had promised the shy pegasus that she'd be back within a month. That liar. Fluttershy knew she ws no longer at the stage where she could 'just quit', she had lost control of her modelling profession. She knew that she had to escape. CrueltyThe pink maned mare sighed as she stared herself down in her dainty mirror, her reflection was no longer her. It wasn't who she truly was. She had lost weight, at first she was joyful of this as Pinkie Pie's cupcake season always lead her to gaining a couple pounds. Then the real loss happened after an encounter with the other models. Fluttershy recalled the day clearly. The day she was finally going to meet some of Photo Finish's other models she had been helping to ''shine all over Equestria''. At first she was quite excited about the day but as soon as she saw three of the exquisite, expressionless models she thought otherwise. The first one introduced herself as Limelight, she sounded sarcastic and insincere as she spoke those words. She was light green in colour with a straight blonde and light blue mane. She wore an incredible diamond encrusted dress with satin bows, so beautiful that even a great designer like Sapphire Shores would be jealous of them. Secondly there was a deep blue coloured mare named Catwalk, Catwalk sounded very upper class and had a most gorgeous face. Fluttershy remembered how intimidated she felt when she saw Catwalk's cheekbones for the first time. Again, Catwalk looked Fluttershy up and down, then crinkled her snout in disgust. Fluttershy lowered her head so it had almost touched the ground that day, like the time she was bullied at flight school. She had never felt so unworthy to be in anypony's presence in her whole life than at that exact moment. Lastly there was Snapshot. This pony was different, she actually smiled a sincere smile at Fluttershy as she introduced herself. Snapshot had a luxuriously long purple mane and a violet coat, which reminded Fluttershy of her unicorn friend Twilight. That day, Snapshot was like Fluttershy's big sister. She showed her all around the place, cooked her up some fried hay and took her to her bedroom. She bought Fluttershy a huge plush teddy with her extra earnings and for the first time, Fluttershy didn't feel so homesick. Fluttershy loved Snapshot the most out of all the ponies in the whole institute because only Snapshot cared for her. However, she didn't just care for Fluttershy by buying things for her or showing her around. Snapshot was the only pony who informed Fluttershy about just what she had gotten herself into. She told Twilight how Photo Finish and the older models pressured her into losing weight dying her hair, going to places she didn't want to go to and that it would probably happen to Fluttershy too! And so it did. The light yellow coated mare stared at her sad reflection again, letting the memories flow. She flashed back and saw herself begging Photo Finish to let her see her friends again and how they would think of her as selfish if she didn't even get to see them. She saw herself trying to run out of the large doors of ''Photo Finish's Institution of Extreme Modelling'' but the tall, shady stallions grabbing her harsly and shaking and shouting and telling her to get back to her room. She kicked and screamed for hours. For hours and hours. She remembered how she couldn't escape then and how she still couldn't escape now. Unless she timed her escape, unless she waited for the right moment. Fluttershy drooped her ears slowly and sighed again as she stared at the bottle of mane dye on her dresser. It had a note scruffily taped on it which Fluttershy didn't bother to read after seeing the initials ''P.F'' on them. She knew what this meant as it had happened a hundred thousand times before. Quickly, she picked up the bottle and read the front, ''black ombre dye for extreme fashionistas''. When she had finished reading the gruesome instructions and following them carefully, Fluttershy wrapped her mane in a dark towel as she waited for the dye to take effect. She loved her pink flowing mane, she didn't want to turn it a different colour. After all, she liked mellow yellows and pinks! Black... it just wouldn't suit her, but she knew she had no choice. If she didn't dye it herself, Photo Finish would make her. She thought of Snapshot who had her mane force-dyed twice before. She thought of the ear splitting screams that Snapshot cried as the other models and Photo Finish tugged and yanked at her once beautiful mane. This gave her the shivers. After an hour, Fluttershy advanced out of her room wearing her usual assigned clothes and her new ombre mane. She was about to shut her bedroom door when she spied the crumpled note from Photo Finish again. The pegasus grabbed the note and read it. ''Just to... make sure she didn't want me to do anything else... l-like curl my eyelashes or something.'' She thought aloud. My prize model, Just to informing you zat I vill be travelling to Germaney zis veek so please be preparing yourself for ven I return. Photo Finish Germaney..? She was leaving for a whole week? Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as tears formed in her dazzling turquoise eyes. Maybe this was the opportunity she has wished and prayed for. Maybe she could finally escape this horrid institute once and for all... to see her friends again. She wiped away her tears, skipped down the large spiral stairs and called for Shapshot to inform her of the plan she was making to leave for good. She called ''Snapshot... umm... Snapshot?'' Only to be met with the response of a different mare altogether. ''Ah Flutters dear, there you are! Snapshot isn't... available right now and I'm here just to let you know that I'm boss while Photo Finish is away. So... what I say goes, okay? Teehee, bye now!'' Giggled none other than Limelight. Escaping with Snapshot was going to be harder than what naive Fluttershy had thought. SnapshotFluttershy cantered past the doors to the large auditorium when she found herself stopping to peek through the windows at the young and hopeful auditionees trying to ''shine all over Equestria''. She knew that none of them would actually be accepted though, as all the models here had one thing in common; Photo Finish had found them, they weren't looking for careers in fashion with Photo Finish. This made all auditions destined to fail and today was no exception as the yellow mare saw. As expected, the filly strutting her stuff on stage soon burst into tears after the judges all simulatenously gestured ''NO'' without any hesitation. The filly saw this as a terrible thing but for poor Fluttershy trapped in the Institute, she saw this as a blessing for each filly trying to model. After all, why on earth would any pony want to live their life in a dreadful, controlling place like this. ''You don't know how lucky you are,'' Fluttershy whispered, ''free to leave this place as you please. You shouldn't be upset, you're not the one trapped in here after all.'' As she went to grab her usual hay fries, Fluttershy darted her eyes about the colourful bunch of ponies enjoying their posh brunch, as expected, they were all unicorns and earth ponies. Why was that again? ''Oh that's right'', the pegasus mumbled to herself, ''Something about how pegasus ponies were meant to be athletic and strong, and I'm the only pegasus that Photo Finish has ever seen that is, um, delicate and demure enough to have the privilege of... living in this place.'' She sighed as she sat down to eat. Her mind drifted to Snapshot. Where would she be? Limelight said she was busy or something like that, but nopony in her right mind can trust what Limelight says. Fluttershy moved around the cafeteria in hopes of seeing Snapshot amongst the other ponies, but she couldn't see her purple mane or coat amongst the spectrum of hysteric colour. She flew out of the cafeteria but this only earned her cold stares from many of the wingless ponies seated at the silver tables far below. ''Snapshot...?'' She called softly whilst knocking on Snapshot's door, ''Um... it's me, Fluttershy.'' ''I guess she's not here either'' Thought Fluttershy as she turned to leave. However, her ears were super sensitive after listening to little creatures over the long years and she was certain that a little yelp came from Snapshot's door. It was a muffled yelp though, as if Snapshot's mouth was covered. ''Snapshot? Stay there, I- I'll go get help'' Fluttershy said loudly, but who was she kidding? She knew that nopony would help her, she was the outcast. Anyway, she was too shy and pathetic to ask those bully ponies. So Fluttershy did the only thing she could. ''C'mon Fluttershy, I watched the boring butterfly migration with you, now it's your turn to watch the dragon migration with me!'' Rainbow Dash hissed impatiently, which was the usual tone she used when dealing with ponies like Derpy and Fluttershy. ''I...said...NO!'' Screamed Fluttershy She smashed Rainbow Dash to the floor then jumped onto her harshly, pressing and sqeezing the air out of Rainbow's lungs, and dove for the window. She had never felt such power come from her back legs before. Fluttershy took a large breath of air in, readied herself and bucked the door so hard, a farm pony like Applejack would've been proud! The oak door slammed down to reveal Snapshot. She was bound, ropes tied tightly around her fore and hind legs. Her snout was completely enclosed in a mess of dirty rags to prevent her from squealing and indeed breathing well. Her mane was a mess, clumps torn out and strewn across the floor of her chic room. Two drops of blood poured down her forehead. ''Snapshot? Are you okay, are you hurt? Can you hear me?'' Fluttershy panicked as she hurriedly unfurled the cloth and ropes. ''Y- eah I'm... all good, Flutters.'' Snapshot croaked, gasping for air. ''Who did this to you?'' ''Usual lot'' Fluttershy knew exactly what this meant. Limelight and her posse again. Well, not this time. Fluttershy and Snapshot were on a mission to escape. ''Snapshot, Photo Finish is is Germaney all week, this is our one chance to really leave this place for good, so, well, here's what I think we could do...'' Fluttershy began to hatch her plan. HomePinkie Pie sat at a pink table, poking a cupcake. Her mind drifted to Fluttershy once again as she had given up checking the mailbox for a letter from the yellow pony. How could Fluttershy not write to her? She always looked kinda miserable when she was touring Equestria so surely a letter to her friends would cheer her up! Pinkie had sent many to her and had tried to visit, but she still wasn't able to visit her friend. She sighed deeply. Suddenly Rarity broke through the large doors of Sugar Cube Corner. ''Hello darling!'' Rarity chimed. ''Oh... hi Rarity...'' Pinkie mumbled, obviously this was not her usual tone. ''Everything okay dear? The unicorn asked. ''Well, no. I've been thinking about Fluttershy again and I really think we all could've tried super duper harder to try and see her! We haven't heard from her in six months and... and it's her birthday in three days!'' ''How did you-oh.'' Rarity began, realising that Pinkie of course knew everypony's birthday. ''Well, I'm sure she is having a great time, but if you really want to see her, we can try to visit again, I suppose.'' Rarity tried to hide her jealousy of Fluttershy but once again it failed. Most of her friends felt sorry for her as Fluttershy had departed with all the glory, leaving Rarity and her slightly failing fashion career to go nowhere. Once Rarity finished her my-life-is-pathetic stage, she developed a jealousy for Fluttershy. She knew that she shouldn't feel that way but... this was her dream. Rarity and Pinkie went to visit Sweet Apple Acres first to see if honest Applejack would also wish to see Fluttershy. ''Applejack? Applejack!'' Pinkie began. ''Oh howdy sugarcube, you're lucky that ah'm finished with this here apple buckin', I can finally relax. What can ah do fer ya?'' Applejack replied. ''Well, we've decided to take a small trip to visit Fluttershy, we believe that she's been so busy that she's been unable to contact us for the last few months. She may have been swept up in the moment, or has just needed time to settle in!'' Rarity explained. ''Fluttershy? Why ah've not seen her fer months! I'd be glad to try and see her again, we've got a mite t'catch up on! Only, ah hope she hasn't become too hoity toity...'' Applejack trailed off. A similar situation occurred at Twilight's library and Dash's cloud home, but the two also agreed to join them in visiting Fluttershy. The five set off to the Fashion Institute, exchanging ideas of how their shy friend had turned out after the months of modelling, wondering whether they really were prepared to see her again after she had tried so hard to ignore them. 3 months earlier. ''Limelight! Limelight please. I'm begging you. Just one letter p-please... one letter...'' Fluttershy begged, her figure lowered to the ground, one hoof slightly raised, eyes teary, like when Gilda the Griffon yelled at her publicly. Catwalk stood slightly behind Limelight, sniggering. ''Get out of my face, you worthless fat, ugly thing,'' Limelight began, ''you'll never be as beautiful as us, so why don't you just give up?'' Limelight ripped up Fluttershy's decorated letter and threw the shreds in her face before strutting off. ''But... I Pinkie promised'' Fluttershy sniffed. Some of her letter's shreds began to crumple as Fluttershy's tears soaked the ground. FriendsFive ponies trotted gently down to Ponyville train station, chatting loudly as they exchanged ideas. Rarity had decided to hide her guilt on this beautiful morning by chatting happily to the others. The bitter-sweet situation seemed almost too good to be true. And it was. One of the five, usually a loud, bubbly character had whittled down to a quieter character over the last six or seven months. She lowered her head in a sulk, contemplating. No pony had to ask what was wrong, as the answer was in plain sight. Although the pony would hate to admit it herself, she missed her friend a great deal. Her ears lowered as she flashed back to when she first became friends with Fluttershy. ''And what are you gonna do, Rainbow Crash?'' ''Keep making fun of her and find out!'' The daredevil recalled the race she won in defence of her friend's honor and smiled. It was the first nice thing she had ever done for a meek, timid pony like Flutters. She felt remorseful that she hadn't treated other timid ponies such as Derpy in the same way. The mare looked back and cherished the sweet memory of Fluttershy's face as she smiled, admiring the fast pony's newfound cutie mark. ''Wow Dashie I can't believe you got your cutie mark in that race, it must've been incredible!'' ''It sure was, but you got your cutie mark too!'' ''Yeah but I'm way older than you... I should've got mine way earlier and yours has awesome lightning bolts. Mine is just a couple of butterflies.'' ''Fluttershy, pal. Our cutie marks are equal, if it wasn't for you being so shy I wouldn't have even raced and then I wouldn't have got this amazing cutie mark. It's thanks to you that I have it, ya hear me? You're the cause of my sonic rainboom and both our marks, my awesomeness is all thanks to you! You don't realise how amazing you can be, you always try so hard to equal yourself to all the other fillies and colts but today I've realised that you're actually better than them in many ways. You're kind and sweet, you're the kindest pony I know and we'll always be the bestest of friends. I'm sorry I don't appreciate you as much as I should and forgive me for not saying this before. You're like the sister I never had, even if we aren't alike. So don't put yourself down. You have to stop beating yourself up about things, alright? Promise?'' ''Rainbo-'' ''Promise?'' ''I promise.'' The two fillies exchanged a tearful hug. Of course, it was only tearful for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash never cried. Something huge had to happen to make Rainbow Dash cry. Like right now, for example. Try as she might, Rainbow Dash just could not contain herself as a single, solitary tear trickled down her nuzzle. However, unlike usual she didn't attempt to snap out of it and wipe away her liquid pride - or in this case liquid sorrow. The cyan pegasus continued to allow her memories to flow. It was at that moment that she realised that it was not her that allowed her friends to find their destinies, therefore obtaining their cutie marks. It was Fluttershy. A wave of bitter guilt swept through her body as she recalled how awfully she had treated her 'bestest friend' after they had left flight camp. ''Er Twilight, are you sure you want to bring Fluttershy?! That pony is afraid of her own shadow!'' The pegasus interrogated impatiently. Rainbow Dash sighed, once again her impatience and arrogance had blinded her all day. Why had she not helped Fluttershy instead of bullying her and then allowing her other friends to step into a dangerous situation which she knew Fluttershy would easily be able to handle if she put her mind to it? All she needed was the right encouragement from her. The two pegasi pulled the carriage with all their might to try and catch up with Applejack, who had the upper hand with four earth pony stallions pulling her carriage through the plains. Applejack raced ahead, but the others were hot on her tail. They were about to catch up when a defenceless bunny which reminded Fluttershy of Angel hopped in their way. Fluttershy wouldn't allow the bunny to be killed. With all her might, she dug her hooves into the ground so hard that they stopped the cart, the three ponies in it and Rainbow Dash beside her, saving the bunny's life. The enormous effort made her hooves bleed slightly but she was sure that her heroic task made Rainbow Dash proud. But no such luck. She turned around to see anger, impatience and disappointment in Rainbow Dash's face. At this, she lowered her head. Rainbow Dash must value Applejack more than her. Dash kicked the ground. Why didn't she appreciate the gift of her friend? If she had just given Fluttershy some praise, they would have achieved so much more. ''Come on! You aren't gonna go quit because of that are you?!'' Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed. ''YES!'' Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears, they streamed down her face and she breathed heavy, helpless sobs. ''Rainbow Dash's face changed instantly from impatience to understanding. Only Fluttershy could move the cyan pegasus in this way. But still Rainbow Dash pushed her on, ''But I need you!'' ''I'm sorry Rainbow Dash,'' She tried to continue ''I just don't have the courage right now'' Fluttershy ran off. She remembered earlier, how she looked up at the sky to see the flight leader, brave, fearless Rainbow Dash who she looked up to with all her heart. She hoped Rainbow Dash had admiration to give to her too, but Dash just stood there. Dash looked upset for a second, but remembered her reputation and gave an angry kick to the ground before sulking off. ''Why didn't I help her?!'' Rainbow Dash had now burst into tears, much to the shock of her friends. She hadn't meant to say that part aloud, it must've made her sound insane, but she didn't care. It was almost instinctive to her, the pegasus has always known when something was wrong with Fluttershy and over the months, something didn't feel quite right. ''Rainbow Dash, what ever is the matter?'' Rarity inquired, confused. ''This is my fault. Fluttershy needed me, no. She still needs me. We have to get to her'' Rainbow Dash began. ''Why? Why does she need you?'' Twilight asked frantically. ''Be- Because,'' Rainbow Dash breathed in. She thought of the cheesy-sappiness that was about to be in putted in the sentence. The cheesy-sappiness which was all she stood against. But then she thought of her friend in need. ''But you do know something about Rainbow Dash.'' Twilight announced. ''I know that she's a true friend and I'll do anything I can to help her!'' Fluttershy exclaimed. ''Because she's always been like a sister to me.'' Finished Rainbow Dash. LimelightFluttershy was hard at work, cleaning up the many cuts and bruises on Snapshot's body whilst humming a comforting lullaby. Occasionally Snapshot winced, but she was very grateful for the help. ''So... you really think we can leave here?'' She asked ''Well, we know who knows the password. I don't see why not. I'm just afraid of what the other models will do if we're caught.'' ''I think we'll be able to do it. With you as our leader, we can't fail!'' Snapshot grinned. Meanwhile, the five friends were boarding a two day train to Fluttershy's destination. ''Rainbow Dash, are you feeling any better?'' Pinkie Pie questioned. ''Uh yeah. Kinda embarrassed actually. I can't believe I started crying like a little filly!'' The rainbow mare laughed nervously. ''Well, don't be! It's only natural! I hope my super duper yummy kiwi cupcakes helped make you feel better!'' ''They sure did, Pinkie'' ''Shh..'' Twilight mumbled as she pondered on which platform was theirs. The five finally managed to jump on the train, waving goodbye to Ponyville as it sunk below the horizon, looking ahead and wondering what was in store for them. At the institute, Fluttershy and Snapshot were hard at work, planning carefully. The next day, they put their plan into action. It all began by acquiring the door password and they needed Catwalk in order to do this. The two ponies had completely forgotten about Snapshot until the next day, when to their horror they realised they had left her tied up. ''Ok, ok. We can fix this. Limelight? Go untie her! I'm sure she hasn't starved to death yet! It's only been a day! But still..Photo Finish will kill us if she finds out we left Snapshot tied up!'' Catwalk ordered. ''On it!'' Limelight yelled as she galloped down the corridors. Limelight ran into Snapshot's room when WHAM! Before she could even wonder how the door had been bucked down she was hit hard in the face by a frying pan. By Fluttershy, who had hit her with the frying pan. The butterscotch pony dragged Limelight's unconscious body to the corner of the room, smiling at Snapshot. A few minutes later, Limelight awoke and was eventually 'persuaded' to give up the door code. Although she looked tough, over the months Fluttershy came to realise what a soft, background character she was. It didn't take much to break her. Two bottles of mane dye and a pair of scissors to be exact. ''I told you it's 2-3-6-4! Now leave me alone!'' Limelight cried. Fluttershy nodded at Snapshot, but Snapshot seemed distracted. The pegasus began to wonder why but suddenly... WHAM! Again, a frying pan. The same frying pan to be exact. But the pony who did the hitting and the pony who was hit were different. As the frying pan collided with Fluttershy's face, causing a large cut, she fell to the ground. She hit her head on the table nearby with a large thud. She could barely see, but she looked up to see the inevitable. But the inevitable was not seen. Instead, Snapshot held the frying pan. ''S... Snapshot.. w-why...?'' Fluttershy mumbled before passing out. ''Acting, Fluttershy. Acting.'' Snapshot's evil streak was released. EscapalFluttershy's eyed opened. She gazed out of a window nearby to see that it was the next day before realizing her situation. She was tied up in her room. Her door was fixed. Nothing was out of place. Everything was tidy. Then she looked up to see Limelight, Catwalk and Snapshot. Was it true? Had Snapshot betrayed her? ''Snapshot?'' ''Shut up.'' The pony replied. ''Couldn't you tell I was faking? Using you to make sure us superior ponies stayed above you featherbrains? Then again, you pegasi never were the smartest ponies, were you?'' The three ponies left the room, leaving poor Fluttershy alone to once again feel pathetic. Meanwhile, the 5 friends were almost at their destination. The train was warm, with butterscotch walls and little lanterns that illuminated the train when it became dark. It was mid afternoon and the ponies were enjoying tea on the train. ''Oh these scones are wonderful Pinkie'' Twilight began. ''Yes, simply marvellous'' Rarity agreed. ''Thanks! I can't wait for Fluttershy to try some! It's been so long. It... it's been too long'' The pink pony smiled sadly. Silence fell over the ponies. ''Do ya think she's fergotten us?'' Applejack asked. ''Of course not! She's simply too busy with her new wonderful career to have the time to speak to us. It's understandable. ''The white unicorn said. ''Maybe we just haven't made enough effort to contact her...'' Twilight said. ''I did send some letters and care packages... but I got replies that told me not to contact her at this time.'' The party pony confessed. More silence. ''Do you guys think... it's possible something happened to Fluttershy?'' Rainbow cried. ''What like she got a coltfriend, got married, HAD FOALS?!?!'' Pinkie exclaimed. ''No... I mean... something bad...'' The Rainbow pony frowned. ''Rainbow...is that why you were crying yesterday? Because you were scared something happed to Fluttershy?'' Twilight began. ''Look, Fluttershy is our friend too, I'm sure- ''You don't understand!'' Rainbow lashed out. ''She's my BEST friend. I've sworn to protect her and over this last year while we've all bonded I've been treating her more and more like dirt! She probably thinks I don't even care anymore! I feel like I'm the one who sent her away...'' ''I understand,'' Rarity replied, her deep blue eyes twinkling. ''I feel like I pressured her to great lengths to accept this career, all the while jealousy boiled inside of me.'' ''Ah think there's a lesson ta be learnt here,'' the stetson wearing pony replied. ''I think it's time we gave our quiet friend a voice.'' Evening was drawing near, and still Fluttershy sat bounded by rope in her room. Suddenly, something errupted inside her. She instantly felt a power, an urge to escape. An urge to break free. An urge to get revenge. She began to smile. ''Snapshot...'' BreakthroughIdiots... Fluttershy thought as she spread her wings. Of course they had forgotten to tie those up. She spread her right wing and buried it into her mane, pulling out her hidden pen knife with great difficulty. She slid it into her mouth and began hacking at the brown rope. It was going to take a while. The five ponies finished their very long walk up to the institute, approaching the large black gates. ''Looks more like an asylum than a place of fashion'' Rarity remarked. Pinkie was the first to press the gate buzzer, she smashed it multiple times excitedly. ''Hello?'' A voice called. ''Oh hi there! We wanna go in to see our friend, Fluttershy! Can you let us in?!'' Fluttershy had just finished tearing off the final rope pieces. She flared her wings in triumph and then paused to notice the large amount of blood the cut on her face had created. ''2-3-6-4...2-3-6-4....'' ''I'm sorry, Fluttershy is not available right now.'' ''What do ya mean she's not available? Can ya let us in, we'll wait?'' Applejack attempted to reason with the voice. The yellow pegasus began trotting at first down to the front of the building, Luna's moon had risen high in the sky and it was beginning to get very late. It was the perfect time to escape and only two grey guards were on patrol, nopony else was visible near the front entrance. ''Can you just let us in darling, this is getting quite nonsensical. I know Photo Finish you know. I'm Rarity.'' ''Who'' Fluttershy had found her advantage. Wings. She just had to fly along these three dark corridors and she'd be on the home stretch. ''One... two... three...'' She flew for it, but as she did two figures appeared in front of her. Catwalk. Limelight. ''You're dead, Flutters.'' Catwalk took out a large knife and ran towards the pegasus. Fluttershy's pupils constricted and her heart began to pound like a motor. Her veins ran ice cold and a shiver ran down her spine. The adrenaline suddenly kicked in, causing her to burst into flight in the other direction. Her mind was pacing back and forth searching for an answer that would never come. ''JUST OPEN THE GATE OR WE'LL BREAK IT DOWN. THIS IS STUPID! I'M NOT ONE TO GET MAD BUT...SERIOUSLY. WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?'' Twilight could no longer contain herself. ''Leave pl-'' ''WE'VE COME ALL THIS WAY. WE. ARE. NOT. LEAVING!'' Fluttershy burst through to a corridor connecting to the main hall, she made a break for it, her wings furiously flapping like crazy. She clumsily dropped her little knife as she flew. ''Oh no!'' She screamed and hurriedly sped back for it. She'd need it. She started to reach for it when both Catwalk and Limelight rampaged through the door. The pegasus spun around in the opposite direction, knowing they were furious, she would not survive this night if they caught her. They would make up an excuse to Photo Finish, she'd seen it before. Again and again. She would die ''accidentally'' according to Catwalk. She smiled as she almost reached the door when out of nowhere her betrayer, Snapshot, appeared. Finally, it was Rainbow Dash's turn as midnight drew near. ''I'm not asking for much here, I just want to see my friend'' ''I see you on the camera, your type is not welcome here'' Fluttershy was surrounded, her heart beat sped impossibly. ''Fine,'' she panted ''Kill me Snapshot'' Snapshot raised her knife. Fluttershy breathed out, closed her eyes, resigned. Snapshot handed the knife to her. ''I can't'' ''Snapshot?'' ''They changed the password. 2-3-1-1. Go'' ''Snap-'' ''GO!!!'' The last thing the yellow pegasus saw before flying off was Catwalk sink her knife into Snapshot's chest. ''Thank you Snapshot'' She was about to make it, she was reaching the door, she was typing the code in.. 2-3-1.... ''HEY'' A stallion's voice bellowed. The pegasus spun around to see herself surrounded by two guards. She sighed and looked up to the glass roof above. This was it, her plan B, the plan which was more likely to kill her but she was about to die anyway. Everything seemed to slow down as Fluttershy flared her wings for a final time. Rainbow Dash sighed, ''I'll give you to the count of three to open the gate and the door.'' Fluttershy screamed as she doged a guard and soared upwards. ''That sounded like Fluttershy!'' Twilight exclaimed. ''One'' Fluttershy was swooping upwards. She smiled, everything was going to be okay, they couldn't get her up her. She heard Catwalk's muffled screams from below as she beat her wings. ''Two'' The yellow pegasus had almost reached the top when she looked down and saw her worst nightmare. ''THREE!'' Twilight and Rarity blasted through the gate and Applejack bucked down the door with help from Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash spent ten seconds outside, whispering to herself. ''Please, please let Flutters be okay. Please, I promise I'll be good to her. Please...'' CRASH! Fluttershy burst throught the glass roof and raced off into the night, she was going to die. Why? The grey guards had spread their large wings which were hidden under their uniforms and had sped off after her. They were gaining on her and she knew it. She heard the clock from the institute strike midnight, she smiled a sad smiled and silver tears welled up in her big eyes. My birthday... She thought as she closed her eyes. This time there was no going back. She turned to face the guards, to face her fate. They were mere metres from her yet the world seemed to slow down in that brief moment. ''My friends, I'm sorry I never got to say good-'' BANG. Fluttershy was knocked back and began to plummet towards the ground, and as she fell she opened one eye. She smiled the biggest smile she could manage. It was her saviour, Rainbow Dash. Loyal, dependable Rainbow Dash coming to save her in the nick of time with a sonic rainboom. But she hadn't counted on the fact that Fluttershy was blown back so far that she was falling too fast, losing the ability to use her wings. ''Guys I think I see her falling!'' Twilight yelled ''Quick, Rarity, help me!'' Applejack and Pinkie Pie were busy ordering the Princesses to immediately aid in rescuing all the trapped ponies in the institution, and so Rarity was the only pony at hand. She nodded, they both knew what to do. Rainbow Dash had just finished her wonderful rainboom. She laughed in joy at the fact she had defeated the baddies and saved the day! Then she turned around and her face fell. Fluttershy wasn't behind her, cheering, she was falling. The yellow pegausus was very near the ground now and the unicorns began to focus their aura on her. ''Come on... come on...'' Twilight began to sweat. They had done it! Well, sort of. They'd managed to slow Fluttershy's fall but not stop it completely. ''Oh no...'' Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack all raced over to Fluttershy. ''Fluttershy! Fluttershy can you hear us?!'' It was no use. The four ponies all ran to retrive a medical pony from a hostpital in town as quickly as their hooves could carry them. Hopefully they would find one soon, unless it was already too late. ''Rainbow Dash! You stay here!'' Twilight yelled as she ran. Rainbow Dash was unresponsive as she sat beside Fluttershy. Her once sleek yellow coat was ripped and in tatters. Her delicate wings now bent, tired and worn. Her long shiny mane was now a black knotty mess with several parts ripped out. Her body was covered in rope burn and scars. Rainbow could do nothing but sit for a while, her unimaginable guilt resting on her shoulders. Then she walked over to her friend. ''Fluttershy, pal. I.. I-'' Her voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes. She turned her back on Fluttershy. ''God dammit Rainbow. The one time you couldn't act strong and brave and big headed. You failed to protect her, again'' Then she broke down. ''You didn't fail Rainbow. You saved me'' Fluttershy smiled.
The New Beginning''Fluttershy! Fluttershy over here!'' Screamed a tall green mare as she held up her hoof to attract a little too much attention for Fluttershy's liking. ''Um, yes?'' The buttercream coloured Pegasus replied softly. ''Is it true that you haven't spoken to any of your friends for over five months?'' ''Well...'' ''Isn't that incredibly selfish of you?'' ''I try-'' ''Doesn't everypony in this city think that Fluttershy is the most selfish mare ever? Having all the fame, fortune and glory while her poor Ponyville friends suffer?'' The entire crowd nodded and shouted in agreement. Helpless, defenceless Fluttershy tried to speak up but she found herself backing away as the crowd proceeded to approach her furiously. The yellow pegasus felt fresh tears stream down her face as she felt a wave of guilt pass over her. She began to hyperventilate when she saw some angry stallions gallop towards her. If only they knew that none of this was her fault. Screams filled the air but Fluttershy knew how pathetic and defenceless she was as the sounds exploded around her. The delightful sunny day fell into a chasm of black. Beep! Fluttershy opened her eyes. A dream. No, a nightmare... again. The mare rolled out of her expensive yet tacky bed. Suddenly she became aware of where she was and the memories flooded into her, breaking her heart as she remembered that most of the nightmare rang true. She pulled on her 'incredible van-off-a-kind' outfit, well that's what Photo Finish called it anyway. Photo Finish, the mean mare who tormented Fluttershy. Who bullied her into touring Equestria on her fashion roadshow away from Ponyville, away from friends, away from her little bunny Angel. She thought of her dear Angel whom she hadn't seen for nearly half a year and sighed, a long sigh. She knew what her friends thought of Angel, she knew it every time they gave him that look of distain whenever he was up to no good. Her friends never saw the real Angel though, not how she did. Fluttershy revisited the time when she found out her awful 0.5 wingpower when the pegasi of Ponyville had to bring water to beautiful Cloudsdale. Nopony saw how she cried that day and nopony saw how Angel cared for his best friend Fluttershy. Through her stinging tears and pain she saw Angel's caring face as he softly brushed her pink grassy mane. She sniffed and smiled, if only Angel was here to brush her mane now. Fluttershy found that she had been saying that sad phrase plenty of times recently. ''If only.'' If only Rainbow Dash were here to sort out Photo Finish for her, strong Rainbow Dash would've had Fluttershy home in a jiffy. If only Applejack were here to take care of her, like when she helped her up the mountain to see that awful dragon long ago. If only Twilight were here so she could tell her all her troubles, she would've found a solution in one of her many books. If only Pinkie Pie were here to cheer her up or at least stop her from being so lonely, it did get lonely sometimes. If only Rarity were here. Rarity. Fluttershy would tell her so many things, like the truth. How she never wanted to be a model in the first place, she was just doing this for Rarity. ''You must Fluttershy, you must!'' So she did. She continued her awful modelling career with flashy cameras, interviews, endless fashion shows and sleepless nights. She had one opportunity to prevent her career from spiralling out of control, but the tiny spur of a moment had gone as quickly as it came and Photo Finish had whisked Fluttershy away on her tour. She had promised the shy pegasus that she'd be back within a month. That liar. Fluttershy knew she ws no longer at the stage where she could 'just quit', she had lost control of her modelling profession. She knew that she had to escape.
CrueltyThe pink maned mare sighed as she stared herself down in her dainty mirror, her reflection was no longer her. It wasn't who she truly was. She had lost weight, at first she was joyful of this as Pinkie Pie's cupcake season always lead her to gaining a couple pounds. Then the real loss happened after an encounter with the other models. Fluttershy recalled the day clearly. The day she was finally going to meet some of Photo Finish's other models she had been helping to ''shine all over Equestria''. At first she was quite excited about the day but as soon as she saw three of the exquisite, expressionless models she thought otherwise. The first one introduced herself as Limelight, she sounded sarcastic and insincere as she spoke those words. She was light green in colour with a straight blonde and light blue mane. She wore an incredible diamond encrusted dress with satin bows, so beautiful that even a great designer like Sapphire Shores would be jealous of them. Secondly there was a deep blue coloured mare named Catwalk, Catwalk sounded very upper class and had a most gorgeous face. Fluttershy remembered how intimidated she felt when she saw Catwalk's cheekbones for the first time. Again, Catwalk looked Fluttershy up and down, then crinkled her snout in disgust. Fluttershy lowered her head so it had almost touched the ground that day, like the time she was bullied at flight school. She had never felt so unworthy to be in anypony's presence in her whole life than at that exact moment. Lastly there was Snapshot. This pony was different, she actually smiled a sincere smile at Fluttershy as she introduced herself. Snapshot had a luxuriously long purple mane and a violet coat, which reminded Fluttershy of her unicorn friend Twilight. That day, Snapshot was like Fluttershy's big sister. She showed her all around the place, cooked her up some fried hay and took her to her bedroom. She bought Fluttershy a huge plush teddy with her extra earnings and for the first time, Fluttershy didn't feel so homesick. Fluttershy loved Snapshot the most out of all the ponies in the whole institute because only Snapshot cared for her. However, she didn't just care for Fluttershy by buying things for her or showing her around. Snapshot was the only pony who informed Fluttershy about just what she had gotten herself into. She told Twilight how Photo Finish and the older models pressured her into losing weight dying her hair, going to places she didn't want to go to and that it would probably happen to Fluttershy too! And so it did. The light yellow coated mare stared at her sad reflection again, letting the memories flow. She flashed back and saw herself begging Photo Finish to let her see her friends again and how they would think of her as selfish if she didn't even get to see them. She saw herself trying to run out of the large doors of ''Photo Finish's Institution of Extreme Modelling'' but the tall, shady stallions grabbing her harsly and shaking and shouting and telling her to get back to her room. She kicked and screamed for hours. For hours and hours. She remembered how she couldn't escape then and how she still couldn't escape now. Unless she timed her escape, unless she waited for the right moment. Fluttershy drooped her ears slowly and sighed again as she stared at the bottle of mane dye on her dresser. It had a note scruffily taped on it which Fluttershy didn't bother to read after seeing the initials ''P.F'' on them. She knew what this meant as it had happened a hundred thousand times before. Quickly, she picked up the bottle and read the front, ''black ombre dye for extreme fashionistas''. When she had finished reading the gruesome instructions and following them carefully, Fluttershy wrapped her mane in a dark towel as she waited for the dye to take effect. She loved her pink flowing mane, she didn't want to turn it a different colour. After all, she liked mellow yellows and pinks! Black... it just wouldn't suit her, but she knew she had no choice. If she didn't dye it herself, Photo Finish would make her. She thought of Snapshot who had her mane force-dyed twice before. She thought of the ear splitting screams that Snapshot cried as the other models and Photo Finish tugged and yanked at her once beautiful mane. This gave her the shivers. After an hour, Fluttershy advanced out of her room wearing her usual assigned clothes and her new ombre mane. She was about to shut her bedroom door when she spied the crumpled note from Photo Finish again. The pegasus grabbed the note and read it. ''Just to... make sure she didn't want me to do anything else... l-like curl my eyelashes or something.'' She thought aloud. My prize model, Just to informing you zat I vill be travelling to Germaney zis veek so please be preparing yourself for ven I return. Photo Finish Germaney..? She was leaving for a whole week? Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as tears formed in her dazzling turquoise eyes. Maybe this was the opportunity she has wished and prayed for. Maybe she could finally escape this horrid institute once and for all... to see her friends again. She wiped away her tears, skipped down the large spiral stairs and called for Shapshot to inform her of the plan she was making to leave for good. She called ''Snapshot... umm... Snapshot?'' Only to be met with the response of a different mare altogether. ''Ah Flutters dear, there you are! Snapshot isn't... available right now and I'm here just to let you know that I'm boss while Photo Finish is away. So... what I say goes, okay? Teehee, bye now!'' Giggled none other than Limelight. Escaping with Snapshot was going to be harder than what naive Fluttershy had thought.
SnapshotFluttershy cantered past the doors to the large auditorium when she found herself stopping to peek through the windows at the young and hopeful auditionees trying to ''shine all over Equestria''. She knew that none of them would actually be accepted though, as all the models here had one thing in common; Photo Finish had found them, they weren't looking for careers in fashion with Photo Finish. This made all auditions destined to fail and today was no exception as the yellow mare saw. As expected, the filly strutting her stuff on stage soon burst into tears after the judges all simulatenously gestured ''NO'' without any hesitation. The filly saw this as a terrible thing but for poor Fluttershy trapped in the Institute, she saw this as a blessing for each filly trying to model. After all, why on earth would any pony want to live their life in a dreadful, controlling place like this. ''You don't know how lucky you are,'' Fluttershy whispered, ''free to leave this place as you please. You shouldn't be upset, you're not the one trapped in here after all.'' As she went to grab her usual hay fries, Fluttershy darted her eyes about the colourful bunch of ponies enjoying their posh brunch, as expected, they were all unicorns and earth ponies. Why was that again? ''Oh that's right'', the pegasus mumbled to herself, ''Something about how pegasus ponies were meant to be athletic and strong, and I'm the only pegasus that Photo Finish has ever seen that is, um, delicate and demure enough to have the privilege of... living in this place.'' She sighed as she sat down to eat. Her mind drifted to Snapshot. Where would she be? Limelight said she was busy or something like that, but nopony in her right mind can trust what Limelight says. Fluttershy moved around the cafeteria in hopes of seeing Snapshot amongst the other ponies, but she couldn't see her purple mane or coat amongst the spectrum of hysteric colour. She flew out of the cafeteria but this only earned her cold stares from many of the wingless ponies seated at the silver tables far below. ''Snapshot...?'' She called softly whilst knocking on Snapshot's door, ''Um... it's me, Fluttershy.'' ''I guess she's not here either'' Thought Fluttershy as she turned to leave. However, her ears were super sensitive after listening to little creatures over the long years and she was certain that a little yelp came from Snapshot's door. It was a muffled yelp though, as if Snapshot's mouth was covered. ''Snapshot? Stay there, I- I'll go get help'' Fluttershy said loudly, but who was she kidding? She knew that nopony would help her, she was the outcast. Anyway, she was too shy and pathetic to ask those bully ponies. So Fluttershy did the only thing she could. ''C'mon Fluttershy, I watched the boring butterfly migration with you, now it's your turn to watch the dragon migration with me!'' Rainbow Dash hissed impatiently, which was the usual tone she used when dealing with ponies like Derpy and Fluttershy. ''I...said...NO!'' Screamed Fluttershy She smashed Rainbow Dash to the floor then jumped onto her harshly, pressing and sqeezing the air out of Rainbow's lungs, and dove for the window. She had never felt such power come from her back legs before. Fluttershy took a large breath of air in, readied herself and bucked the door so hard, a farm pony like Applejack would've been proud! The oak door slammed down to reveal Snapshot. She was bound, ropes tied tightly around her fore and hind legs. Her snout was completely enclosed in a mess of dirty rags to prevent her from squealing and indeed breathing well. Her mane was a mess, clumps torn out and strewn across the floor of her chic room. Two drops of blood poured down her forehead. ''Snapshot? Are you okay, are you hurt? Can you hear me?'' Fluttershy panicked as she hurriedly unfurled the cloth and ropes. ''Y- eah I'm... all good, Flutters.'' Snapshot croaked, gasping for air. ''Who did this to you?'' ''Usual lot'' Fluttershy knew exactly what this meant. Limelight and her posse again. Well, not this time. Fluttershy and Snapshot were on a mission to escape. ''Snapshot, Photo Finish is is Germaney all week, this is our one chance to really leave this place for good, so, well, here's what I think we could do...'' Fluttershy began to hatch her plan.
HomePinkie Pie sat at a pink table, poking a cupcake. Her mind drifted to Fluttershy once again as she had given up checking the mailbox for a letter from the yellow pony. How could Fluttershy not write to her? She always looked kinda miserable when she was touring Equestria so surely a letter to her friends would cheer her up! Pinkie had sent many to her and had tried to visit, but she still wasn't able to visit her friend. She sighed deeply. Suddenly Rarity broke through the large doors of Sugar Cube Corner. ''Hello darling!'' Rarity chimed. ''Oh... hi Rarity...'' Pinkie mumbled, obviously this was not her usual tone. ''Everything okay dear? The unicorn asked. ''Well, no. I've been thinking about Fluttershy again and I really think we all could've tried super duper harder to try and see her! We haven't heard from her in six months and... and it's her birthday in three days!'' ''How did you-oh.'' Rarity began, realising that Pinkie of course knew everypony's birthday. ''Well, I'm sure she is having a great time, but if you really want to see her, we can try to visit again, I suppose.'' Rarity tried to hide her jealousy of Fluttershy but once again it failed. Most of her friends felt sorry for her as Fluttershy had departed with all the glory, leaving Rarity and her slightly failing fashion career to go nowhere. Once Rarity finished her my-life-is-pathetic stage, she developed a jealousy for Fluttershy. She knew that she shouldn't feel that way but... this was her dream. Rarity and Pinkie went to visit Sweet Apple Acres first to see if honest Applejack would also wish to see Fluttershy. ''Applejack? Applejack!'' Pinkie began. ''Oh howdy sugarcube, you're lucky that ah'm finished with this here apple buckin', I can finally relax. What can ah do fer ya?'' Applejack replied. ''Well, we've decided to take a small trip to visit Fluttershy, we believe that she's been so busy that she's been unable to contact us for the last few months. She may have been swept up in the moment, or has just needed time to settle in!'' Rarity explained. ''Fluttershy? Why ah've not seen her fer months! I'd be glad to try and see her again, we've got a mite t'catch up on! Only, ah hope she hasn't become too hoity toity...'' Applejack trailed off. A similar situation occurred at Twilight's library and Dash's cloud home, but the two also agreed to join them in visiting Fluttershy. The five set off to the Fashion Institute, exchanging ideas of how their shy friend had turned out after the months of modelling, wondering whether they really were prepared to see her again after she had tried so hard to ignore them. 3 months earlier. ''Limelight! Limelight please. I'm begging you. Just one letter p-please... one letter...'' Fluttershy begged, her figure lowered to the ground, one hoof slightly raised, eyes teary, like when Gilda the Griffon yelled at her publicly. Catwalk stood slightly behind Limelight, sniggering. ''Get out of my face, you worthless fat, ugly thing,'' Limelight began, ''you'll never be as beautiful as us, so why don't you just give up?'' Limelight ripped up Fluttershy's decorated letter and threw the shreds in her face before strutting off. ''But... I Pinkie promised'' Fluttershy sniffed. Some of her letter's shreds began to crumple as Fluttershy's tears soaked the ground.
FriendsFive ponies trotted gently down to Ponyville train station, chatting loudly as they exchanged ideas. Rarity had decided to hide her guilt on this beautiful morning by chatting happily to the others. The bitter-sweet situation seemed almost too good to be true. And it was. One of the five, usually a loud, bubbly character had whittled down to a quieter character over the last six or seven months. She lowered her head in a sulk, contemplating. No pony had to ask what was wrong, as the answer was in plain sight. Although the pony would hate to admit it herself, she missed her friend a great deal. Her ears lowered as she flashed back to when she first became friends with Fluttershy. ''And what are you gonna do, Rainbow Crash?'' ''Keep making fun of her and find out!'' The daredevil recalled the race she won in defence of her friend's honor and smiled. It was the first nice thing she had ever done for a meek, timid pony like Flutters. She felt remorseful that she hadn't treated other timid ponies such as Derpy in the same way. The mare looked back and cherished the sweet memory of Fluttershy's face as she smiled, admiring the fast pony's newfound cutie mark. ''Wow Dashie I can't believe you got your cutie mark in that race, it must've been incredible!'' ''It sure was, but you got your cutie mark too!'' ''Yeah but I'm way older than you... I should've got mine way earlier and yours has awesome lightning bolts. Mine is just a couple of butterflies.'' ''Fluttershy, pal. Our cutie marks are equal, if it wasn't for you being so shy I wouldn't have even raced and then I wouldn't have got this amazing cutie mark. It's thanks to you that I have it, ya hear me? You're the cause of my sonic rainboom and both our marks, my awesomeness is all thanks to you! You don't realise how amazing you can be, you always try so hard to equal yourself to all the other fillies and colts but today I've realised that you're actually better than them in many ways. You're kind and sweet, you're the kindest pony I know and we'll always be the bestest of friends. I'm sorry I don't appreciate you as much as I should and forgive me for not saying this before. You're like the sister I never had, even if we aren't alike. So don't put yourself down. You have to stop beating yourself up about things, alright? Promise?'' ''Rainbo-'' ''Promise?'' ''I promise.'' The two fillies exchanged a tearful hug. Of course, it was only tearful for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash never cried. Something huge had to happen to make Rainbow Dash cry. Like right now, for example. Try as she might, Rainbow Dash just could not contain herself as a single, solitary tear trickled down her nuzzle. However, unlike usual she didn't attempt to snap out of it and wipe away her liquid pride - or in this case liquid sorrow. The cyan pegasus continued to allow her memories to flow. It was at that moment that she realised that it was not her that allowed her friends to find their destinies, therefore obtaining their cutie marks. It was Fluttershy. A wave of bitter guilt swept through her body as she recalled how awfully she had treated her 'bestest friend' after they had left flight camp. ''Er Twilight, are you sure you want to bring Fluttershy?! That pony is afraid of her own shadow!'' The pegasus interrogated impatiently. Rainbow Dash sighed, once again her impatience and arrogance had blinded her all day. Why had she not helped Fluttershy instead of bullying her and then allowing her other friends to step into a dangerous situation which she knew Fluttershy would easily be able to handle if she put her mind to it? All she needed was the right encouragement from her. The two pegasi pulled the carriage with all their might to try and catch up with Applejack, who had the upper hand with four earth pony stallions pulling her carriage through the plains. Applejack raced ahead, but the others were hot on her tail. They were about to catch up when a defenceless bunny which reminded Fluttershy of Angel hopped in their way. Fluttershy wouldn't allow the bunny to be killed. With all her might, she dug her hooves into the ground so hard that they stopped the cart, the three ponies in it and Rainbow Dash beside her, saving the bunny's life. The enormous effort made her hooves bleed slightly but she was sure that her heroic task made Rainbow Dash proud. But no such luck. She turned around to see anger, impatience and disappointment in Rainbow Dash's face. At this, she lowered her head. Rainbow Dash must value Applejack more than her. Dash kicked the ground. Why didn't she appreciate the gift of her friend? If she had just given Fluttershy some praise, they would have achieved so much more. ''Come on! You aren't gonna go quit because of that are you?!'' Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed. ''YES!'' Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears, they streamed down her face and she breathed heavy, helpless sobs. ''Rainbow Dash's face changed instantly from impatience to understanding. Only Fluttershy could move the cyan pegasus in this way. But still Rainbow Dash pushed her on, ''But I need you!'' ''I'm sorry Rainbow Dash,'' She tried to continue ''I just don't have the courage right now'' Fluttershy ran off. She remembered earlier, how she looked up at the sky to see the flight leader, brave, fearless Rainbow Dash who she looked up to with all her heart. She hoped Rainbow Dash had admiration to give to her too, but Dash just stood there. Dash looked upset for a second, but remembered her reputation and gave an angry kick to the ground before sulking off. ''Why didn't I help her?!'' Rainbow Dash had now burst into tears, much to the shock of her friends. She hadn't meant to say that part aloud, it must've made her sound insane, but she didn't care. It was almost instinctive to her, the pegasus has always known when something was wrong with Fluttershy and over the months, something didn't feel quite right. ''Rainbow Dash, what ever is the matter?'' Rarity inquired, confused. ''This is my fault. Fluttershy needed me, no. She still needs me. We have to get to her'' Rainbow Dash began. ''Why? Why does she need you?'' Twilight asked frantically. ''Be- Because,'' Rainbow Dash breathed in. She thought of the cheesy-sappiness that was about to be in putted in the sentence. The cheesy-sappiness which was all she stood against. But then she thought of her friend in need. ''But you do know something about Rainbow Dash.'' Twilight announced. ''I know that she's a true friend and I'll do anything I can to help her!'' Fluttershy exclaimed. ''Because she's always been like a sister to me.'' Finished Rainbow Dash.
LimelightFluttershy was hard at work, cleaning up the many cuts and bruises on Snapshot's body whilst humming a comforting lullaby. Occasionally Snapshot winced, but she was very grateful for the help. ''So... you really think we can leave here?'' She asked ''Well, we know who knows the password. I don't see why not. I'm just afraid of what the other models will do if we're caught.'' ''I think we'll be able to do it. With you as our leader, we can't fail!'' Snapshot grinned. Meanwhile, the five friends were boarding a two day train to Fluttershy's destination. ''Rainbow Dash, are you feeling any better?'' Pinkie Pie questioned. ''Uh yeah. Kinda embarrassed actually. I can't believe I started crying like a little filly!'' The rainbow mare laughed nervously. ''Well, don't be! It's only natural! I hope my super duper yummy kiwi cupcakes helped make you feel better!'' ''They sure did, Pinkie'' ''Shh..'' Twilight mumbled as she pondered on which platform was theirs. The five finally managed to jump on the train, waving goodbye to Ponyville as it sunk below the horizon, looking ahead and wondering what was in store for them. At the institute, Fluttershy and Snapshot were hard at work, planning carefully. The next day, they put their plan into action. It all began by acquiring the door password and they needed Catwalk in order to do this. The two ponies had completely forgotten about Snapshot until the next day, when to their horror they realised they had left her tied up. ''Ok, ok. We can fix this. Limelight? Go untie her! I'm sure she hasn't starved to death yet! It's only been a day! But still..Photo Finish will kill us if she finds out we left Snapshot tied up!'' Catwalk ordered. ''On it!'' Limelight yelled as she galloped down the corridors. Limelight ran into Snapshot's room when WHAM! Before she could even wonder how the door had been bucked down she was hit hard in the face by a frying pan. By Fluttershy, who had hit her with the frying pan. The butterscotch pony dragged Limelight's unconscious body to the corner of the room, smiling at Snapshot. A few minutes later, Limelight awoke and was eventually 'persuaded' to give up the door code. Although she looked tough, over the months Fluttershy came to realise what a soft, background character she was. It didn't take much to break her. Two bottles of mane dye and a pair of scissors to be exact. ''I told you it's 2-3-6-4! Now leave me alone!'' Limelight cried. Fluttershy nodded at Snapshot, but Snapshot seemed distracted. The pegasus began to wonder why but suddenly... WHAM! Again, a frying pan. The same frying pan to be exact. But the pony who did the hitting and the pony who was hit were different. As the frying pan collided with Fluttershy's face, causing a large cut, she fell to the ground. She hit her head on the table nearby with a large thud. She could barely see, but she looked up to see the inevitable. But the inevitable was not seen. Instead, Snapshot held the frying pan. ''S... Snapshot.. w-why...?'' Fluttershy mumbled before passing out. ''Acting, Fluttershy. Acting.'' Snapshot's evil streak was released.
EscapalFluttershy's eyed opened. She gazed out of a window nearby to see that it was the next day before realizing her situation. She was tied up in her room. Her door was fixed. Nothing was out of place. Everything was tidy. Then she looked up to see Limelight, Catwalk and Snapshot. Was it true? Had Snapshot betrayed her? ''Snapshot?'' ''Shut up.'' The pony replied. ''Couldn't you tell I was faking? Using you to make sure us superior ponies stayed above you featherbrains? Then again, you pegasi never were the smartest ponies, were you?'' The three ponies left the room, leaving poor Fluttershy alone to once again feel pathetic. Meanwhile, the 5 friends were almost at their destination. The train was warm, with butterscotch walls and little lanterns that illuminated the train when it became dark. It was mid afternoon and the ponies were enjoying tea on the train. ''Oh these scones are wonderful Pinkie'' Twilight began. ''Yes, simply marvellous'' Rarity agreed. ''Thanks! I can't wait for Fluttershy to try some! It's been so long. It... it's been too long'' The pink pony smiled sadly. Silence fell over the ponies. ''Do ya think she's fergotten us?'' Applejack asked. ''Of course not! She's simply too busy with her new wonderful career to have the time to speak to us. It's understandable. ''The white unicorn said. ''Maybe we just haven't made enough effort to contact her...'' Twilight said. ''I did send some letters and care packages... but I got replies that told me not to contact her at this time.'' The party pony confessed. More silence. ''Do you guys think... it's possible something happened to Fluttershy?'' Rainbow cried. ''What like she got a coltfriend, got married, HAD FOALS?!?!'' Pinkie exclaimed. ''No... I mean... something bad...'' The Rainbow pony frowned. ''Rainbow...is that why you were crying yesterday? Because you were scared something happed to Fluttershy?'' Twilight began. ''Look, Fluttershy is our friend too, I'm sure- ''You don't understand!'' Rainbow lashed out. ''She's my BEST friend. I've sworn to protect her and over this last year while we've all bonded I've been treating her more and more like dirt! She probably thinks I don't even care anymore! I feel like I'm the one who sent her away...'' ''I understand,'' Rarity replied, her deep blue eyes twinkling. ''I feel like I pressured her to great lengths to accept this career, all the while jealousy boiled inside of me.'' ''Ah think there's a lesson ta be learnt here,'' the stetson wearing pony replied. ''I think it's time we gave our quiet friend a voice.'' Evening was drawing near, and still Fluttershy sat bounded by rope in her room. Suddenly, something errupted inside her. She instantly felt a power, an urge to escape. An urge to break free. An urge to get revenge. She began to smile. ''Snapshot...''
BreakthroughIdiots... Fluttershy thought as she spread her wings. Of course they had forgotten to tie those up. She spread her right wing and buried it into her mane, pulling out her hidden pen knife with great difficulty. She slid it into her mouth and began hacking at the brown rope. It was going to take a while. The five ponies finished their very long walk up to the institute, approaching the large black gates. ''Looks more like an asylum than a place of fashion'' Rarity remarked. Pinkie was the first to press the gate buzzer, she smashed it multiple times excitedly. ''Hello?'' A voice called. ''Oh hi there! We wanna go in to see our friend, Fluttershy! Can you let us in?!'' Fluttershy had just finished tearing off the final rope pieces. She flared her wings in triumph and then paused to notice the large amount of blood the cut on her face had created. ''2-3-6-4...2-3-6-4....'' ''I'm sorry, Fluttershy is not available right now.'' ''What do ya mean she's not available? Can ya let us in, we'll wait?'' Applejack attempted to reason with the voice. The yellow pegasus began trotting at first down to the front of the building, Luna's moon had risen high in the sky and it was beginning to get very late. It was the perfect time to escape and only two grey guards were on patrol, nopony else was visible near the front entrance. ''Can you just let us in darling, this is getting quite nonsensical. I know Photo Finish you know. I'm Rarity.'' ''Who'' Fluttershy had found her advantage. Wings. She just had to fly along these three dark corridors and she'd be on the home stretch. ''One... two... three...'' She flew for it, but as she did two figures appeared in front of her. Catwalk. Limelight. ''You're dead, Flutters.'' Catwalk took out a large knife and ran towards the pegasus. Fluttershy's pupils constricted and her heart began to pound like a motor. Her veins ran ice cold and a shiver ran down her spine. The adrenaline suddenly kicked in, causing her to burst into flight in the other direction. Her mind was pacing back and forth searching for an answer that would never come. ''JUST OPEN THE GATE OR WE'LL BREAK IT DOWN. THIS IS STUPID! I'M NOT ONE TO GET MAD BUT...SERIOUSLY. WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?'' Twilight could no longer contain herself. ''Leave pl-'' ''WE'VE COME ALL THIS WAY. WE. ARE. NOT. LEAVING!'' Fluttershy burst through to a corridor connecting to the main hall, she made a break for it, her wings furiously flapping like crazy. She clumsily dropped her little knife as she flew. ''Oh no!'' She screamed and hurriedly sped back for it. She'd need it. She started to reach for it when both Catwalk and Limelight rampaged through the door. The pegasus spun around in the opposite direction, knowing they were furious, she would not survive this night if they caught her. They would make up an excuse to Photo Finish, she'd seen it before. Again and again. She would die ''accidentally'' according to Catwalk. She smiled as she almost reached the door when out of nowhere her betrayer, Snapshot, appeared. Finally, it was Rainbow Dash's turn as midnight drew near. ''I'm not asking for much here, I just want to see my friend'' ''I see you on the camera, your type is not welcome here'' Fluttershy was surrounded, her heart beat sped impossibly. ''Fine,'' she panted ''Kill me Snapshot'' Snapshot raised her knife. Fluttershy breathed out, closed her eyes, resigned. Snapshot handed the knife to her. ''I can't'' ''Snapshot?'' ''They changed the password. 2-3-1-1. Go'' ''Snap-'' ''GO!!!'' The last thing the yellow pegasus saw before flying off was Catwalk sink her knife into Snapshot's chest. ''Thank you Snapshot'' She was about to make it, she was reaching the door, she was typing the code in.. 2-3-1.... ''HEY'' A stallion's voice bellowed. The pegasus spun around to see herself surrounded by two guards. She sighed and looked up to the glass roof above. This was it, her plan B, the plan which was more likely to kill her but she was about to die anyway. Everything seemed to slow down as Fluttershy flared her wings for a final time. Rainbow Dash sighed, ''I'll give you to the count of three to open the gate and the door.'' Fluttershy screamed as she doged a guard and soared upwards. ''That sounded like Fluttershy!'' Twilight exclaimed. ''One'' Fluttershy was swooping upwards. She smiled, everything was going to be okay, they couldn't get her up her. She heard Catwalk's muffled screams from below as she beat her wings. ''Two'' The yellow pegasus had almost reached the top when she looked down and saw her worst nightmare. ''THREE!'' Twilight and Rarity blasted through the gate and Applejack bucked down the door with help from Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash spent ten seconds outside, whispering to herself. ''Please, please let Flutters be okay. Please, I promise I'll be good to her. Please...'' CRASH! Fluttershy burst throught the glass roof and raced off into the night, she was going to die. Why? The grey guards had spread their large wings which were hidden under their uniforms and had sped off after her. They were gaining on her and she knew it. She heard the clock from the institute strike midnight, she smiled a sad smiled and silver tears welled up in her big eyes. My birthday... She thought as she closed her eyes. This time there was no going back. She turned to face the guards, to face her fate. They were mere metres from her yet the world seemed to slow down in that brief moment. ''My friends, I'm sorry I never got to say good-'' BANG. Fluttershy was knocked back and began to plummet towards the ground, and as she fell she opened one eye. She smiled the biggest smile she could manage. It was her saviour, Rainbow Dash. Loyal, dependable Rainbow Dash coming to save her in the nick of time with a sonic rainboom. But she hadn't counted on the fact that Fluttershy was blown back so far that she was falling too fast, losing the ability to use her wings. ''Guys I think I see her falling!'' Twilight yelled ''Quick, Rarity, help me!'' Applejack and Pinkie Pie were busy ordering the Princesses to immediately aid in rescuing all the trapped ponies in the institution, and so Rarity was the only pony at hand. She nodded, they both knew what to do. Rainbow Dash had just finished her wonderful rainboom. She laughed in joy at the fact she had defeated the baddies and saved the day! Then she turned around and her face fell. Fluttershy wasn't behind her, cheering, she was falling. The yellow pegausus was very near the ground now and the unicorns began to focus their aura on her. ''Come on... come on...'' Twilight began to sweat. They had done it! Well, sort of. They'd managed to slow Fluttershy's fall but not stop it completely. ''Oh no...'' Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack all raced over to Fluttershy. ''Fluttershy! Fluttershy can you hear us?!'' It was no use. The four ponies all ran to retrive a medical pony from a hostpital in town as quickly as their hooves could carry them. Hopefully they would find one soon, unless it was already too late. ''Rainbow Dash! You stay here!'' Twilight yelled as she ran. Rainbow Dash was unresponsive as she sat beside Fluttershy. Her once sleek yellow coat was ripped and in tatters. Her delicate wings now bent, tired and worn. Her long shiny mane was now a black knotty mess with several parts ripped out. Her body was covered in rope burn and scars. Rainbow could do nothing but sit for a while, her unimaginable guilt resting on her shoulders. Then she walked over to her friend. ''Fluttershy, pal. I.. I-'' Her voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes. She turned her back on Fluttershy. ''God dammit Rainbow. The one time you couldn't act strong and brave and big headed. You failed to protect her, again'' Then she broke down. ''You didn't fail Rainbow. You saved me'' Fluttershy smiled.
