It was on the grounds of the Wonderbolts Academy that it all began. Bulk Biceps, the most unaerodynamic-looking pegasus to ever set hoof there looked up as teams of his fellow cadets rocketed past, their blue and yellow uniforms standing out against the white clouds.
“Cadet Bulk Biceps!”
He turned at the mention of his name. Spitfire was trotting over to him and she looked all business.
“My office. Now!”
He saluted. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
She led him to her office, closing the door behind him. He glanced around, his beady red eyes taking in the sight of countless medals, pictures, and memorabilia that adorned her wall.
“Got your results back, Cadet,” Spitfire said casually, placing Bulk Biceps’ file on her desk. She lowered her shades and raised one eyebrow. The huge pegasus with the tiny wings was stuffed into the biggest Cadet uniform they had. He honestly looked ridiculous, but he managed to not squirm or fidget, which was a feat considering how intimidated he’d been on the first day. Not bad, she thought, resisting the urge to smile.
“Okay, Cadet, enough suspense. You made the cut. You’re eligible for the Wonderbolts Reserves.”
“M-ma’am?” he asked.
She finally allowed herself to smile. “You made it. Congratulations.”
“THANK YOU, MA’AM! I WON’T LET YOU DOWN!” he bellowed, loud enough to rattle the pictures and medals on her walls.
“Okay, great, Cadet,” Spitfire said, wincing at how loud the guy could get. “But listen, I must temper my recommendation with a warning: those muscles of yours are impressive, but they aren’t doing you any favors in the air.”
“Huh?” he asked.
“Bulk Biceps, you’re the size of a house, and last I checked, houses don’t fly very well. Not even the ones made of clouds. Ever consider slimming down? You’d ease the strain on those wings.”
He shook his head vigorously. “No, ma’am! I’m going to try out for the Deadlift event at the Equestria Games! YEAH!”
Spitfire was impressed. “The Equestria Games, huh? Soarin, Fleetfoot, and I want to join the Aerial Relay. Guess I’ll see you there!”
He grinned that dopey grin of his. “Sounds great, ma’am!”
“Well, if that’s what you have your heart set on, I can’t blame you. Just be careful.” She raised one hoof in salute.
“Ma’am! Thank you, ma’am!” he exclaimed, returning the salute proudly.
***
Only a few weeks later, he was lying prone in a hospital bed in Ponyville General as a doctor examined his chart.
“You’ve got a sciatic rupture of your pteralateral tendons,” the doctor said.
“Huh?” he asked, grunting in pain.
“You busted one of the things connected to your wings.”
“Oh. AM I EVER GONNA FLY AGAIN?!” The doctor and nurses gave a start.
“Yes, yes, you’ll fly again! Heck, you can fly now… but it’ll take months to recover totally. You’ll be sluggish in the air in the meantime.”
“B-but,” he stammered, “BUT I WAS GONNA—”
“Indoor voices, please!” the nurse said, clamping down on his muzzle.
“Er, I was gonna be in the Wonderbolts Reserves!” he said, lowering his voice.
“That may still be possible, but you’d better avoid the sort of activity that got you here and focus on your flying. You were pushing yourself anyway, what with your wingspan and body weight, let alone trying to fly and lift weights at the same time!” He glared at him. “Totally irresponsible. What were you thinking?!”
“Um, well…”
***
“Come on, girls!” Scootaloo shouted to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Pull that rope!”
The three Crusaders had just found him in the street in Ponyville and asked him if he’d help them train for the flag-waving team tryouts. What holding a rope had to do with that was anypony’s guess, but then again he was too much of a softie to say no to three fillies who, like him, wanted a shot in the Equestria Games.
But standing in that green clearing with that rope in his mouth while they strained and he barely felt the pull from them… it was a little sad. If he’d pulled even a bit, the three of them would be yanked off their hooves. This was a waste of time for Ponyville’s biggest, toughest… wait, what was that fluttering?
He saw the small flash of pink filter down through the afternoon sun and then the thing was right there in front of him.
The spiky antennae. The veiny wings. The compound eyes, so big, black, and expressionless. That long, curving proboscis!
“AAUUUGGHHH!!” The high-pitched scream he let out could have very easily been mistaken for a mare’s as he dropped the rope and ran off as fast as his hooves would carry him. He saw the local market just ahead and dove under a cart filled with flowers. He was too big to really fit under it, so he ended up lifting it (and poor Rose, who was pulling said cart) into the air.
“Good gracious, Bulk Biceps, what are you doing?!” she asked, kicking her legs in frustration.
“HIDE ME!” he cried.
“Hide you?” she asked as the other ponies at the market began to gather and take notice. “From what?”
“THE BUTTERFLIES!!”
A silence fell. Then, slowly, it was replaced by the sound of chuckles. Then giggles. Then full-on laughter. And Bulk Biceps became aware that it was directed at him.
“Wait, he’s afraid of butterflies?”
“Pfft. Some big tough pegasus.”
“What a wimp!”
Cheeks burning, he pulled himself out from under the cart. “I’M NOT A WIMP!” he shouted. “I’LL PROVE IT!”
And before long, he was in front of a crowd of ponies lifting a 200-pound barbell with each of his forelegs. That alone had been impressive, but then he’d tried to up the ante.
“Check this out!” he yelled and tied his tail around another 100-pound barbell and then took to the air, muscles rippling all the while. This was a lot of strain, even for him, but a swelling cry went up from the crowd and he felt his pride being restored.
“YEEAAHH!!”
And then something snapped. The sharp pain in his back caused him to drop the barbells and come crashing down to the earth.
“Oh no!” an onlooker cried. “Someone run to the hospital! I think he’s hurt!”
***
“…And that’s what happened,” Bulk Biceps said, finishing the story to the doctor.
But then he saw that the doctor, nurses, and a few of the nearby patients were also laughing. The doctor at least had the courtesy to hold his in.
“W-well – snnk – the, um, the heh-heh, the trauma sh-should subside soon, but pffthahahaha!” He nearly choked getting himself under control. “Ahem. Just give it a few days. Then work on flying again. But no more weight lifting. Take it easy and you’ll be fine.”
“Unless you encounter ferocious butterflies,” one of the patients muttered, and the whole room erupted in laughter. Bulk Biceps just covered his head with a pillow and waited until either everypony stopped laughing or he just died of embarrassment.
***
The very next day, he was staring up at the banner above City Hall: “Equestria Games Ponyville! Sign-Ups Start this Weekend!”
He sighed. His dream of competing in the Deadlift competition were over. He could have been the first non-earth pony from Ponyville to ever win a medal in the event. But it was going to be hard enough to get back into flying shape for the Wonderbolts Reserves. Sure, they only called you for emergencies or backup, but it was a step toward being one of the most famous and respected pegasi around.
Respect. That was a laugh: he was a laughing stock all over town!
“Lousy butterflies. It’s not my fault,” he grumbled, trotting home. “Who needs the Equestria Games anyway?”
***
A few days later he heard Rainbow Dash talking to some other pegasi. He was resting on a nearby cloud and barely managed to pull himself up there to perch on it and was already sweating from exertion. He grumbled, thinking of how he’d once been able to help create the tornado Ponyville had used to transfer its Reservoir to Cloudsdale. He’d flown with the best in the Wonderbolt Academy. Now he could barely reach ONE crummy cloud!
But then he heard Rainbow mention a name he’d heard earlier: “Guys, you should have seen Scootaloo!”
He raised his head. That orange filly with the tiny wings? She and her friends asked me to hold that rope. He looked back at his own wings almost subconsciously.
“She was awesome! She got so worked up about not being able to fly at first, but then she got over it and she and her friends won that competition! I couldn’t be any prouder of my little sister!”
The other pegasi laughed and congratulated her. Bulk Biceps smiled as well and stood up from his cloud. If that little filly could get over something like that, then so could he! The first thing was to get rid of this butterfly phobia! And then he remembered somepony who could help. An animal expert…
***
Knock-knock!
He tapped on the door to Fluttershy’s sylvan cottage, flowers and birdhouses all around him. He remembered seeing her around town and from the tornado at the Reservoir. But he’d never really met Fluttershy before and he’d had to ask Rainbow Dash about her.
“Try to be careful,” she’d told him. “She’s... delicate.”
He nodded to himself. No problem. Delicate.
The door opened slowly and Fluttershy poked her head out, looking up at him unsurely. “Um, hello? Can I help you, sir?”
“Hello,” he began, calm enough. “My name’s Bulk Biceps. AND I NEED YOUR HELP!!”
He’d barely finished that sentence before she’d retreated into her house in terror and dove under a pillow on her sofa. Her head was buried like an ostrich’s, her flank in the air.
“Uh, sorry, miss,” he began, entering the cottage cautiously. He noted a very irritated rabbit as several animals scattered.
“Please go away!” she cried, her voice muffled under the pillow. “You’re scaring my animals! And me!”
“Sorry, I just—”
And then he saw her flank for the first time. Normally he was too much of a gentlecolt to stare at a lady’s backside, but in this case it wasn’t for the usual reasons. On that flank were three of the very monsters that terrified him.
“BUTTERFLIES!!” he screeched and bolted from the cottage.
Fluttershy raised her head. “Huh?” she asked, now more confused than she was afraid. “Butterflies?” She looked down at her cutie mark. Then she stared out the open door. Then it clicked. “Oh, the poor thing.”
She walked outside and found him cowering at the foot of a tree. No, not just cowering; sobbing at the foot of a tree.
“Um, Mr. Bulk Biceps?” she asked. “There, there. It’s okay.”
“IT’S NOT OKAY!” he cried. “I CAN’T FLY LIKE I USED TO AND I CAN’T ENTER THE EQUESTRIA GAMES AND I HAVE A DEEP-SEATED FEAR OF BUTTERFLIES DUE TO UNRESOLVED CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND THE ONLY PONY WHO COULD HAVE HELPED ME HAS BUTTERFLIES ON HER BUTT!”
She looked down to Angel Bunny, who just rolled his eyes. Seeing the macho, oversized pony before her breaking down like a foal was pretty sad. Some ponies would have thought it pathetic. Fluttershy, however, was the last pony to judge. She took a deep breath.
“Well, uh, I’m sorry if you’re afraid of my… butt.” She ignored the bunny giggling behind her. “But I can wear something over it while I help you.”
“Huh? Y-you mean you’ll help?”
“If you can try to keep your voice down a little more,” she said, smiling kindly.
He stood up, overjoyed. “YEAH!” He saw her flinch. “Er… yay?” he ventured cautiously.
She smiled. “We start tomorrow,” she said.
***
The very next day, he was with Fluttershy walking to a particular part of the outskirts of Ponyville he’d never seen before. She was wearing a dress somepony named Rarity had designed. It looked elegant, but the important thing was that it covered her cutie mark. The whole morning she’d had him over for tea and he’d told her almost everything about himself.
“So, you ran into a swarm of butterflies the first time you went flying as a colt?” Fluttershy had asked. “Oh my. If you hadn’t seen them before, I can see why that would be scary.”
He’d nodded, lip quivering. “Uh huh,” he said. He’d sipped his tea and smiled. “THIS TEA’S DELIGHTFUL!”
“Eep! Er, thank you,” she’d said. After hearing more of his troubles (and getting a shoehorn to pry him from her rocking chair), they’d walked to this place.
“Huh huh,” he chuckled. “Flowers. They’re pretty.”
They were indeed flowers. Hundreds of them in red, yellow, and white lined this particular grove of trees. The sweet aroma washed over them. The warm, sunny day, the sound of birdsong, and Fluttershy’s soft, calming voice all helped him feel much better.
“Now, just relax,” she said. And then he heard something. Faint, like leaves falling from a tree. But it wasn’t; there was something familiar about it. Something like… wings.
Slowly but surely, a veritable cloud of butterflies began to descend on the grove. Dozens. Hundreds. A thousand.
His eyes went wide and he turned to bolt when Fluttershy seized his face in her hooves. “Listen to me,” she said, staring at him intently with those soft blue-green eyes, “I know what it’s like to be afraid. It’s hard for me just to talk to anypony sometimes, but I still go out and I do it! But just look: these flowers you just said were pretty? They need the butterflies to pollinate them. For the butterflies, this is just their cup of tea. They can’t hurt anypony. Certainly not the biggest, toughest pegasus in Ponyville. Can they?”
He looked around at them all alighting on the flowers. He was tense and sweating. But he swallowed and answered uncertainly. “N-no?”
“What’s that?”
“No, they… they can’t hurt me,” he said, and his pulse slowed. He grinned. “They can’t hurt me. THEY CAN’T HURT ME!” he shouted triumphantly.
At this outburst, the butterflies flew off, leaving them behind. He bowed his head sheepishly. “Sorry.”
She put her hoof on his shoulder and smiled. “It’s all right, Bulk Biceps. You did very well today, and the butterflies will be back tomorrow.”
“If… if I don’t shout… can I watch them again?” he asked hopefully.
She nodded. “Of course. We’ll watch them together.”
***
A few days later while Fluttershy was feeding her chickens, Bulk Biceps burst onto the scene with his usual lack of volume: “FLUTTERSHY!”
She dropped her bag of feed and turned, raising an eyebrow in slight annoyance.
“Er, sorry,” he apologized. “But it’s the Equestria Games sign-up day.” He swallowed. “I wanna be in the Aerial Relay!”
“That’s a great way to improve your flying! Good for you!”
He swallowed. “And I want you to be my teammate!”
She gawked. “Me? Ohhh, no, I couldn’t! All those ponies staring—”
“YOU CAN DO IT, FLUTTERSHY!”
She flinched again, looking more timid than before.
He blushed and tried again, knowing he was terrible with words. “Fluttershy… some ponies make fun of you for your flying. They make fun of me sometimes too. They don’t take us seriously.” Fluttershy looked down for a moment, but he went on. “But you’re not a wimp! I’m big and loud, but you still helped me. You helped me not be afraid. So, uh, I think if we’re on a team together… then maybe I can help you not be afraid! We can show them at the Equestria Games!”
It was a clumsy speech, but still the most she’d ever heard him say without yelling. And he was right: she’d never been a great flier. Like him, she’d been laughed at. But if that big, silly stallion could face it, then she could too! It would be scary, but supporting one another, they just might have a shot.
“All right,” she sighed. “But you need three ponies for the Relay. And we’ll need someone fast. Rainbow Dash could help, but she said she wanted to do the 500 meter Air Dash. And she’ll probably win! I’m sure she’d help, but I don’t want her to change plans unless there’s something in it for her, too.”
Bulk Biceps grinned. “The Wonderbolts are gonna fly in the Relay.”
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh! They’ll be tough to beat, but just to fly against them would be a dream for… oh.” The two of them exchanged a knowing look and laughed. “I’ll go ask Rainbow Dash.”
***
Months later, on the train back to Ponyville, the delegation to the Equestria Games slumbered peacefully as the train lightly rumbled through the darkened countryside. Everypony slept, utterly exhausted from their respective events. All, that is, save two.
Sitting across from each other, still too elated to sleep, Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps looked out the window. The soft moonlight shined on their silver medals, reflecting a pale gleam outward, catching each other’s eyes. And the two smiled, placing a hoof to their hard-won trophies with pride.
They’d reclaimed their dignity, now forged in shining silver. No one could ever take that away. The last few months, the two of them had overcome a lot as teammates. As friends.
She spoke first. “Bulk Biceps, I… I don’t know what to say,” she said quietly. “I never thought I could do this. Oh, but hearing everypony cheer for me!”
He laughed that goofy chuckle of his. “Fluttershy,” he began, but in the end, what else could he say? “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Happy tears formed in her eyes as she placed a hoof to her chest.
“We really showed everypony, didn’t we?” he asked, flexing theatrically.
She knew exactly what to say then. She took a deep breath and blasted it forth with all her might: “YEAH!”
Unsurprisingly, nopony on board even stirred in their sleep.
Author's Note
My first foray into the world of pony fiction!
Hope you enjoyed it! If nothing else, consider it my take on answering questions about why Bulk Biceps can fly well before "Rainbow Falls" and how he and Fluttershy both ended up as competitors in the Equestria Games with Rainbow Dash.
Thanks for reading!
