Author's Note

Last chapter, guys! I wanna thank you all for reading the story. I hope you've enjoyed it! Coming up next: The Princess's Library! Get ready, y'all, 'cause next week, 10 ponies are being dumped into Twilight's fire.

The Quiet Taketh Their Revenge

Fluttershy suddenly rose to her feet, blanketed by a thick layer of anger. She no longer felt the enormous pain shooting through every pore. All of her nerves seemed to play a secondary role as she walked towards her father. She was determined to defeat him, by any means necessary. In fact, she no longer saw him as a father. Because, after all, fathers are supposed to behave in certain ways. He had never treated her with love or care. He’d never supported her dreams of going to veterinarian school and helping animals. His eyes had never graced her with the type of affection fathers normally bequeath upon their daughters. He’d always been a cynical, sniveling wretch of a human being, and now she was going to make him pay for it.

While violence did not come naturally to her, she did possess human emotions. Yes, there were times when she laughed, times when she cried, and times when she felt rage’s somewhat impenetrable grip on her spirit. This was one of those particular instances. A fire burned deep in her stomach, rising to her heart, and exploding in her mind. Even though she’d definitely experienced anger before, this was a new, frightening, yet rather emboldening sensation. It was burgeoned by a lust to kill. But at the same time, she also knew of the importance of capturing her father alive. He could provide every bit of intel the police needed to shut down the entire operation. So, she quickly decided that, as satisfying as it would be to see her father dead, she’d use nonlethal force.

Her father, never one to shy away from emoting, laughed in her face. “Oh, dear,” he said sarcastically, “my worthless wimp of a daughter is coming at me. Ahhh…whatever shall I do?”

“You can start with this!” Fluttershy growled.

She then latched herself onto his arm and twisted it. A satisfactory crunch came with her maneuver, and her father howled in pain. What he didn’t realize was that Fluttershy had been secretly learning how to fight. She felt a need to defend herself when her friends weren’t around, so she’d begged Sunset to show her a few moves. The former villain was very keen on the idea and had set up an entire training area inside her apartment. In almost no time at all, Fluttershy had learned how to properly spurn the advances of evil. The offensive strike she used on her father was the same one Sunset had used in the infamous “arm breaking” incident. She felt a sense of pride that this maneuver, once used to bully her, was now being used to defeat a bully.

“OH! FUCK!” Her father cursed, spitting in anger, “how can you do that to your own father?!”

“Seriously?!” Fluttershy asked, wrenching the hold in harder, “are you kidding me?! You slaughter two of my best friends, maim the others, nearly destroy me…and you’re asking ME about ethics?! Oh, give me a break!”

“I thought you were kind!” Her father howled, “I thought you didn’t have a strong, tough bone in your body! You were the two things I hate the most: weak and intellectually inferior!”

Fluttershy wrenched the hold so tight that her father’s arm almost came off and he went to the ground immediately. “I guess you’ve learned a valuable lesson!” She hissed in his ear, “NEVER mistake kindness for weakness!”

With those words, she released her hold on his very broken arm and turned her attention to his legs. She grabbed them and yanked them with a great deal of force. Feeling her way to where a pressure point was, she jabbed into it, causing even more suffering for her villainous patriarch. These were incredibly satisfying moments for the typically quiet girl. She’d left her shell behind, transforming into something both fierce and beautiful. Her friends, looking on as they nursed their wounds, were in shock at just how violent things had become. Yet, it was also incredibly inspiring. To see Fluttershy, after so many years of torment at the hands of this man, take out all her frustration was insanely satisfying.

After reducing her father to a pulp, she turned to her friends with an odd look. It became apparent that her violent outburst had drained her. She was used to being kind and loving, not physical and hateful. But all the same, a huge part of her was rejoicing. She was finally liberated from the chains this man and her family had created for her. Now, she was free to go out and pursue what she wanted. She could reunite with Tidal Wave and fall in love all over again. She could realize her dreams of becoming a vet and caring for creatures great and small. But most of all, she could be free to live her life in peace. This feeling overcame her doubt, and she broke out into a smile…before everything went black.

“Is she awake?” A voice asked as Fluttershy’s mind, much like a computer, began to reinvigorate itself.

“I don’t know,” a second voice answered, “no-wait, she’s opening her eyes!”

“Mm…” Fluttershy groaned groggily as she began registering things around her, including the white walls and the sheer amount of bandages and casts her friends were wearing. “…what the…where am I?”

“You’re at the hospital, Fluttershy,” came the soothing voice of Twilight Sparkle, “you’ve got many broken bones, multiple lacerations, and some of your internal organs were severely damaged. They took you into emergency surgery and, thankfully, saved your life. You’ve been in a coma for two months!”

“Two months?!” Fluttershy asked as her mind began to panic and flood itself with memories of her battle, “what about my dad? My family? Did they hurt anyone else?”

“Don’t ya worry, Sugarcube,” Applejack said from a nearby wheelchair, “they’ve all been taken care of right peaceable like.”

“They surrendered to police after you beat your dad to a pulp!” Dash said victoriously, “your mom and brother spilled the beans about the entire operation. All three of ‘em are here until your dad is…ugh…healed, and then they’re all gonna have their asses tossed in the slammer!”

Fluttershy looked down at her sheets. This caused a modicum of concern to pass through some of her friends. Surely, she felt some sense of thrill, right? After all, she’d just helped put an end to one of the biggest secret crime syndicates in American history. The news was all over them, and the president wanted to award all the girls the Presidential Medal of Freedom. True, Fluttershy did not know this yet, but just the simple fact of gaining closure in her situation with Mr. Shy should have brought a smile. Yet…it did not.

“Flutter…are you alright?” Dash asked.

“Yeah, aren’t ya happy about takin’ that bastard down?” Applejack queried.

“I’m happy that they’ve been neutralized, and that they won’t be harming others anymore,” Fluttershy said, “but all the same, he’s still my dad. That’s still my family. I know they don’t give a rat’s ass about me, but…I still care about them. Perhaps, while they’re in prison, I might be able to help guide them on the paths of kindness and respect.”

“Maybe,” Dash said doubtfully, “though I’d find it incredibly hard to believe that your family could show actual kindness to anyone.”

“It might take some time,” Fluttershy responded, “but I’m sure I could do it!”

“So am I,” a new voice said.

Fluttershy’s face broke into a humongous smile as Sunset walked into the room. Only, she wasn’t alone. Tidal Wave was with her. Tears came to Fluttershy’s eyes as he walked over to her and embraced her. Warmth flooded the two, and it felt like no time had passed at all. It was apparent that they’d both been heartsick, and were still very much in love. This was confirmed by the small, tender kiss they shared.

“I’ve missed you terribly,” Fluttershy said.

“I’ve missed you more,” Tidal responded, “when I heard that you’d taken your father out and were in a coma, I had to come see you. Thankfully, I ran into Sunset downstairs. She introduced herself, said she recognized me from the descriptions in your diary, and brought me here.”

“Oh…Tidal…I…I…I love you,” was all Fluttershy could muster before passing out in his arms.

“Should we be concerned about this?” Dash asked.

“I don’t think so,” Twilight said, gazing adoringly at the young couple, “the doctor said that she might be in and out. Besides…I think this is a perfect ending to this adventure.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Sunset said, “my friendship with Fluttershy is rock solid…and I feel more forgiven and loved than I ever have before.”