A friend to the end

Fluttershy gasped as she struggled not to fall down, she was hurrying as fast as she could, but the weight of Bidziil was more than she could handle. How she was able to lift him at all amazed her. She was almost out of the forest and she knew she'd fall any moment now, her legs were aching like crazy right now, but she pushed on knowing Bidziil's life depended on it. He was losing blood heavily, and there wasn't time to take him to the hospital either.

She could see the entrance to the forest just up ahead, she could even see the back door to her house from here. she smiled hopefully as she forced herself to walked a bit faster, -there was no way she'd be able to fly with him on her back, she wasn't strong enough- she had to push through. “okay Fluttershy, you can do this, the back door is right there, you can make it”.

She sighed in desperate relief as she saw they were out of the forest and knew she was almost home.

                                                                      Ten minutes later

Fluttershy was finally inside her house. She nearly fell and killed both of them on the way up the stairs to her back door, but managed to regain her balance somehow. She walked over to her couch and laid Bidziil down as gently as she could, she wanted to fall over and rest, but knew it wasn't over yet. So she quickly walked upstairs and went into the bathroom and got her first aid kit, and quickly headed down stairs to Bidziil. She quickly pushed her sleeves up, and got into it and got out the things she'd need to put stitches in.

She didn't have any pain killers, so it was a good thing he was out cold, she only hoped she wasn't too late. Bidziil was in horrible condition, his left leg had a large gash that went down to the very bone- she could plainly see it through the tear in his pants. his shoulder was torn even more than before, the gash stretched down to his chest. How he was alive she didn't know, She knew he was though, because of his breathing. A bit of his left ear was also clipped.

She sighed as she first stitched up his leg, the tear was big enough to where she could leave his pants on, much to her relief. Then worked on his shoulder, he also had a large chunk taken out of the side of his neck. Fluttershy didn't think she could do much for that except clean it and patch it up. She quickly ran upstairs and into the bathroom and got a wash cloth, soap and a bucket, then headed back to Bidziil. she quickly put the bucket down on the floor as she sat next to him on the edge of the couch. She dunked the cloth into the water for a moment then took it out and let it drip a bit into the bucket so it wouldn't get all over the floor.

She nearly jumped out of her skin she was so surprised to as she heard Bidziil's voice as he asked, “Fluttershy....he grunted as he continued, where- where am....I.....”

She blushed a bit as she said, o-oh...y-your in my home, you were hurt and very near dying, so....please forgive me I know you didn't want to come here but I couldn't just leave you there to die....”she looked away nervously, scared of what his reaction may be.

He grunted in pain a bit as he said, “do not....worry... I am glad you helped me, I promise I....will not be a burden to you...for very long....as soon....as I am...able.... I shall..... leave for the....forest....”

Fluttershy blushed intensely as she said, “oh um.... o-okay, but you can stay longer if you don't have a home....”

Bidziil closed his eye's silently, mostly likely resting

A smile made it's way to her face at his kindness, and understanding as she quickly said, “oh, um.... I- I need to um...clean your um....” she pointed to the chunk taken out of his neck, Bidziil slowly brought his hand to his wound and touched it lightly, he quickly seethed in pain as he whipped it away, Fluttershy smiled sheepishly as she said, “s-sorry I should have warned you....”

Bidziil ignored this as he said, “I am ready...please....hurry and clean my wound.”

Fluttershy nodded as she quickly took the wet cloth and set it on his wound, pressing on it to stop the bleeding and scrubbed a bit. He seethed in pain as he shut his eye's tightly, but didn't resist any. Fluttershy soon was done cleaning it and patched it up, she smiled as she said, “sorry if I was too ruff with you, I'm sure your in a lot of pain right now.”

Bidziil sighed as he said, “I know.... that you did.... your best, there was no.....way you could have.....been....gentle enough for it….not to hurt.....thank you Fluttershy.....

Fluttershy smiled as she said, “do you want a pillow for your neck?”

Bidziil nodded as he said, “yes....please......”

Fluttershy smiled and quickly went into her room and got one of her many pillows form her bed. She had dozens of them. They made her feel safer for some reason and couldn't sleep with out being surrounded by pillows. She then headed back down to Bidziil. He looked at her with a hard face, but his eye's were filled with gratitude as Fluttershy gently lifted his head and placed the pillow under his neck.

She then asked, “do you want a pillow for your head also?”

He sighed as he said, “I won't make you go up to to get me another pillow, I'm fine, just one of these things is more than I am used to.”

Fluttershy smiled a bit as she looked at his stomach. His ribs were showing as though he were starving, she gave him a sympathetic look as she said, “okay, well, um...are you hungry?”

Bidziil nodded with sad, hunger filled eye's, in fact, his face even showed hunger, as he said, “a little.”

Fluttershy nodded as she said, “I'll go ahead and make dinner”. She then walked into the kitchen and got out four slices of bread and some lettuce, tomato, she also got some cheese and carrots then put it on both sandwich's. Except the cheese she only put cheese on one sandwich. She then brought them out on plates and handed one to Bidziil saying, “I didn't know whether your lactose intolerant, so I didn't put cheese on your sandwich.”

Bidziil stared at it with confusion in his eye's as he said, “what is this exactly?”

Fluttershy giggled as she said, “it's a sandwich silly, I told you I didn't put cheese on your sandwich, what did you think I meant?”

Bidziil looked at her as he said, “I....wasn't listening, I am sorry.”

Fluttershy put a hand on his and smiled as she said, “it's okay Bidziil”,  “wow even when he's hurt his voice is beautiful”. She blushed intensely at this thought then decided to change the subject as she said, “um.... I- I don't think you remember me, but....you and I were once friends when we were...um...foals”.

Bidziil sighed as he said, “I do remember you Fluttershy, your the Pegasus girl I taught about the animals, you came from Cloudsdale yes?”

Fluttershy looked at him surprised as she said, “y-yes, b-but I don't understand.....i-if you knew who I was, why did you keep walking when I told you like you didn't know me? I thought we were friends still...”

Bidziil sighed as he said, “Fluttershy, are we really still friends? We were foals then, things have changed so much, for me. I am not the same pony you once knew, things have changed in ways you will never understand. How can we be friends still when I am not the same pony I once was?”

At first she thought he meant that by changing and not being the same pony, he meant that he grew up. But now that she looked into his eye's, she thought differently. She saw that his face was full of rage, but his eye's were filled with pain and hurt, something happened to change him, and it wasn't growing up. She looked at him with sympathy as she asked, “Bidziil ...did....something bad happen to you?”

Bidziil looked away as he stared at the couch silently, so it was impossible for her to know his emotions as he said, “I am not hungry anymore.....”

Fluttershy looked at him sympathetically as she said, “Bidziil .... I'm your friend your can t-”

“you are not my friend Fluttershy....I told you, I am not the same pony you knew as a filly”. He sighed as he looked at her, his eye's showed more pain than she could imagine, yet his face was as hard as stone as he said, “I am sorry Fluttershy I was rude, in your own home no less, but what I said was true, I am not the same pony that you knew as a filly, so tell me, how can we be friends still when you know next to nothing of me, apart my name...”

Fluttershy sighed, not knowing what else to do, so she did the only thing she could think of. She gently wrapped her wings around and held him in a hug a moment as she said, “well, I- I may not know you anymore, but I want to get to know you again Bidziil, I want to be considered your friend again”.

She looked up into Bidziil's eye's, knowing it was the only way to know what he felt, and saw pure surprise at first. Then she saw something she didn't expect, he had tear's streaming down his face, they were light, silent tear's, he didn't even sniffle. But gave a weak smile as he said, “so do I  Fluttershy”, as he gently wrapped his arms around her back in a hug.

She smiled back at him as she hugged him more tightly. However he grunted in pain, she quickly released him and pulled away blushing in embarrassment  as she said, “oh, sorry, I forgot.”

Bidziil looked at her, his hardened face back in place, and tear's gone without a trace, making her wonder if he was truly crying or if she simply was hallucinating. He yawned as he finished and looked at her sleepily.

She smiled at him as she said, “you must be tired, I'll let you sleep”. She then went up stairs to her room and got a blanket from her closet and came back and put it over Bidziil, he looked at her uncomfortably as he said, “you didn't have to do that Fluttershy, I'm used to sleeping without these things.

She smiled a warm smile as she said, “then you should sleep like a new born foal now”, she patted his cheek with her hand as she said, “sweet dreams, Bidziil.”

She didn't get an answer for he was already deep inside the realm of dreams. She smiled as she walked up stairs to her room to go to sleep herself. She was exhausted from carrying Bidziil all the way up the stairs. As soon as she got into her room she threw all her clothes off -she normally slept in the nude anyway, so it wasn't a big deal- locked the door just to feel safe, and fell onto her bed and fell asleep soon after, not even thinking about showering or any other of her usual hygienic routines.

                                                                     The next day

Fluttershy yawned as she slowly arched her back in an upward stretch. She sighed as she finished. The first thing to pop in her head was to shower. So she torpidly got out of bed and arched her back in a deep stretch again. Then she headed to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and saw she had blood in her fur and mane, giving her a disturbing psychopathic image.

She shuddered as she quickly turned the shower on to wash her fur and mane and showered all the blood from Bidziil off. Once she was done she looked in the mirror again, she was sopping wetting, but was cleansed of all blood. She then dried off, and headed back into her room. She quickly put on a loose fitting yellow sweater, similar to her previous one, only a lighter shade, and blue pants. Then headed down stairs to make breakfast. When she got down there she was surprised to see Bidziil awake.

He was staring straight ahead at something, she couldn't tell what it was though. Or if it he was staring at anything at all for that matter. She slowly walked over to him saying, “good morning Bidziil, did you sleep well last night?” He was silent as he continued to stare at the wall. Fluttershy looked at him nervously as she gently touched his shoulder, instantly he looked at her with fear in his eye's as he said, “I had a dream.”

Fluttershy gently put a hand to her chest and sighed in relief as she said, “oh, I thought it was something bad.”

His eye's turned from anger to hurt to understanding, then he said, “you don't understand, my dreams are visions they don't normally happen, and when they do, they normally come true. He pointed to his hip as he said, this mark, I don't know what it is or why it's here, or what it even means. I have seen very few in the forest other than me with one, normally they have no marks on them other than scars. He said it as though he wished it had never appeared at all.

She smiled at him as she said, it's a cutie mark, I have one, she blushed, should I show him my own? A cutie mark was not simply something you showed off willy nilly, or at least if you were a mare. She sighed and lifted her shirt a bit and pulled her pants down a bit, just enough for him to see her cutie mark. Her face was bright red as she said, see? And everypony I ever met has one also. She then quickly hid it again, glad to have it over with. It's nothing to be ashamed of, in fact you should be glad you have one, I was bullied because I got mine later than most...

he looked at her with annoyance in his eye's as he growled, I should have known you wouldn't understand...

she looked at him confused as she asked him, what do I not understand? You have a cutie mark and.... oh.... I see, she then remembered that he said, few in the forest have the marks. Did... so ….you were the only one you knew with a cutie mark?

He was sighed and went silent a moment before saying, no, only healer ponies get the marks, but I am no healer pony, I am a warrior.... I have never seen a warrior with a mark like this before...

she looked at him sympathetically as she asked, were you... teased?

He ignored this question, obviously not wanting to speak of it.

She quickly thought fast and decided to change the subject as she forced a smile and sat on the floor next to the couch as she said, do you want to talk to me about your dream?

He looked at her with surprise as he said, you... actually want to listen?

She smiled warmly at him as she said, oh yes, very much.... I'm sure it's a wonderful dream, didn't anypony listen to you before.

He went silent as he went into deep thought, pain coming into his yellow eye's as he said, yes....there was one.... however he quickly shook himself and continued, no, it is not a wonderful dream, it was a terrible dream...

she frowned as she said in a serious tone, I promise to listen if your willing to tell me.

He looked at her, with gratitude in his eye's, and many other emotions that he seemed to be holding in as he said, very well. In the dream... you were walking down a dark road, and then a... dark shadow came over you.... When it went away.... it showed a town in the.... the dark of the night and aflame as screams were heard. And then in the middle of the street..... he gulped as he said in a tone that put concern Fluttershy's mind of him being sick.  There was a mound of.... of...  corpses at least ten feet tall....”

Fluttershy's eye's dilated in fear as she came very near shaking, but was silent and forced herself to be still as she nodded, and continued to listen intently to him.

“And then in front of the pile, I saw this pony like creature appear. It was like an Alicorn almost, only it wasn't a pony, it was blacker than the darkest night. Dark enough to stand out easily, and it was easily taller than the pile. It had large bat like wings and....and jagged knife like teeth, and horns on it's head stained with.... with blood, and pupil-less blood red eye's, and bone like claws protruding from it's hooves and fingers ,and then it burst into flames with a howl, burning to ashes, and in it's place.....”

Fluttershy gulped as she asked in a frightened voice, “w-what did you see?”

“In it's place.... was my own corpse, my body was mangled and bloodied gruesomely, and I heard a voice say, when the blood from the outcast stains the stone will there be peace in the land....”

Fluttershy gulped as she asked, “w-what does that mean?”

Bidziil looked at her with fear as he said, I.... I don't know.....

Fluttershy gulped as she smiled and said, “w-well I'm sure it was only a nightmare I- I bet you don't have to worry about anything.”

Bidziil was silent, he had fear in his eye's, he was thinking of something, he was hiding something from her. Of course he had every right to do so. Not only that she really didn't want to know anything more about it. Fluttershy quickly decided to change the subject as she said, “are you hungry? I'll go make us some breakfast”. Without waiting for him to answer she quickly walked into the kitchen and began making pancakes, to try and forget his dream.

Suddenly Fluttershy almost screamed because she felt a hand touch her shoulder as she jumped a foot in the air and whipped around to face Bidziil. She quickly looked him up and down, wondering how he was even standing. “B- Bidziil, wh- what are you doing up? How can you even stand?”

She could see amusement in his eye's as he said, “I heal quickly. Anyway I just wanted to know where I could clean myself at.”

She looked at him disbelievingly as she said, “come here and let me check your wounds real quick”. Bidziil submitted to her as she unwrapped his bandages. His wounds were checked thoroughly. He was telling the truth his wounds looked ten times better than before.

She looked at him mouth agape as she said, “o-okay.... come on I'll show you how it works and everything”. She then walked up the stairs to the bathroom, with Bidziil limping after her, she quickly showed him how to use the shower, and after a brief run over where everything was and what it's use was, she headed back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

She sighed a heavy sigh”, “how in Equestria did he heal so quickly? It should have taken at least a week for him to get to this stage of the healing process”. “She sighed as she made the pancakes. She made dozens of them because she planned to eat tons of them in an attempt to forget his dream.”

Before she knew it, she was jumping a foot in the air again. She quickly whipped around and sighed, it was Bidziil.

He had guilty amusement in his eye's as he said, “I am done with my….. my....  I am done cleaning myself.”

Fluttershy giggled a bit as she said in an amused tone, “a shower, it's called a shower”. she couldn't help but look over his body he looked very handsome. All the blood was washed out of his fur, and was a brighter yellow than before. Also his mane was no longer braided, his tail was still just as rugged as before, but beautiful in color none the less. His muscles also shone more clearly now from under his coat, and his mane was also a brighter color, it was still a very dark red, but not even close to black.

She blushed a bit as she said, “um...  you must be hungry right?”

Bidziil shook his head as he said, “no, I do not hunger yet, but thank you for the offer.”

She frowned and said, “you look starved, you must be a little hungry.”

He sighed as he said, I am not in the mood for eating right now. I will be outside if you need me.”

She flinched nodded as she said, “o- okay....”, “ I was only trying to help him, I didn't mean to make him angry...”