Somepony's would kill to fly, others would rather kill themselves than set a hoof into the clouds. What becomes of those who don't wish to fly, or rather- can't? They're tormented. Bullied, some beaten for being different... Fluttershy for one was most affected by being a weak flier, she'd rather live on the ground, but no... As a young filly, she lived in Cloudsdale as the shyest of outsiders; Rainbow Dash would try to help, but alas her efforts were fruitless. The yellow pegasus would have to find solutions to her own problems.

All was fine in the city of clouds today, almost, that is. To one side of the Cloudsdale Academy of young fliers sat Fluttershy, of whom had a certain tune cycling through her head. "Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy can hardly fly..." Small tears welled in her eyes, which were already puffy and bloodshot. She began to watch the other children play, zipping around with their wings and laughing amongst themselves.

"I-If only..." She muttered under her breath, feeling her wings and letting them droop to her sides. The occasional pony would pass, whispering something about her tear-stained face... So dark, and blotched. Fluttershy would merely hide behind her mane, now matted and frizzled from shaking and running away earlier today.

Soon enough the vibrant school teacher walked outside, announcing the end of the school day; whilst others would be going home with friends, Fluttershy would be walking home alone... Again.

As she continued home, a rather-bold pegasus named Cloudchaser passed by with her sister Flitter, yelling out to Fluttershy as the two passed. "Why do you even have wings?! They should have ya cut 'em off already!" She snickered and left Fluttershy to fall into a depressed state once more.

This would be her breaking point.

Within the confines of her pink bedroom, Fluttershy stared at the ceiling, clutching a stuffed cat to her chest. Thoughts of the previous week occupied her mind, the names, the jokes, the insults... Her heart ached. She could hardly fly, and she knew it. Why treat her wings so tenaciously?

Getting up, she dropped the cat to the floor; her eyes no longer contained tears, or sadness... They were empty, wide open and staring at nothing in particular. Fluttershy walked slowly out of her room to the kitchen down the hall, the house was empty much like her being. All was quiet, nopony there to question her; very gently she opened a drawer and pulled a rather impressive butcher knife.

Fluttershy stared at the stainless-steel reflection for quite some time, not a single clear thought stopping her actions. She held the handle in her mouth and wandered towards the bathroom across her room, her hooves making a light click-clack sound against the wooden floor. As the yellow pegasus entered the room and locked the door, that same tune played in the back on her head. "Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy can hardly fly!" She did not cry, nor shed a single tear; she merely stared at the mirror, gazing into the abyss of her own pupils.

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy..." She began to sing, taking the knife into her right hoof. Very lightly she pulled her left wing around herself, her hoof shakily holding the knife up to the base of the wing. "F-Fluttershy, Fluttershy... Fluttershy will never fly..." She began to cry as the knife dug into her wing, sliding back and forth causing her to yelp in pain. With each stroke, it dug deeper, and the blood began to seep out and run down her side, covering the bathroom floor.

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy will never fly!" She became more aggressive, sealing her eyes shut and continuing to hack away the deemed-useless wing. The knife reached the bone, and she screamed.

Blood covered the floor, and the pegasus herself. Her fur was soaked, darkened and stained with the fresh blood... All the while she screamed and sung.

With a final slide of the knife, the wing fell off; straight to the floor, it landed with a thud. Fluttershy dropped the knife, and stared blankly at her now detached wing, tears running down her face interminably. She tried to move the small stump that was now her wing, and yelped in pain... The blood continued, feathers lying in a dark pool surrounding her.

"W-what have I done...?" She choked out, poking at the dead wing that was once her's. She carefully moved around, unlocking and leaving the bathroom... She trips on the way out from the imbalance, hitting the floor hard. Instead of getting up, she merely remained there and sobbed from the pain.

"F-Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy will never fly..." She sang to herself, closing her bloodshot eyes. Her mane laid lazily across her face, covering it from whoever entered the house.

"SWEET CELESTIA!" Screamed a familiar voice, likely her mother... Fluttershy couldn't tell at this point, she began to pass out from blood loss.

"FLUTTERSHY! Honey call 911! She's cut off her wing!" Screamed her mother. In her blurred vision, she could see her father darting about, from the bathroom to the kitchen. She didn't care.

She felt her body being cradled by her mother, rocking back and forth slowly... By now, all she could hear was the older pegasus crying over her body as she slipped into darkness. Shortly after the ambulance would arrive, the EMT taking the shy pony away from her parents, along with her lifeless wing.

A siren played, flashes of images went through as she struggled for consciousness. A puddle of blood, and feathers... Her crying mother, startled father... It was all a blur.

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy will never fly..." She muttered, the EMT's stared at her, mouth's agape as the ambulance pulled away from her home. Her parents were left to spiral into depression, much like Fluttershy herself did that same day.

Author's Note

I don't consider this the core, but merely the beginning of what I have in store... Please stay tuned, and have a nice flight.