The door to the brightly lit room slid open with a soft pneumatic hiss, the sibilant noise pulling Fluttershy out of her idle thoughts. She watched the slab of shifting metal rise into the air. Out of the yawning mouth strode a thin stallion of brown and grey, a clipboard and pen floating in the air before him. She shied away from the newcomer, watching him with one eye as she did her best to hide behind her pink mane.
When Fluttershy moved to stand up the stallion gestured for her to remain still. “Please, stay where you are. There is no need for you to get up.”
She averted her gaze. “Oh. Okay.”
“So, how are you feeling today?” the stallion asked through his white surgical mask, the soft clip-clop of his hooves echoing around the tiled walls. His labcoat was a perfect match to the room: cold, clinical, and painfully white. The bulbs strung along the ceiling banished every shadow with harsh chemical light, making the pristine fabric positively glow under the ceaseless glare. “Do you… feel any different?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered as she pawed at the floor with one of her hooves, looking everywhere but at the strange stallion. The room was imposing in its simplicity – a simple rectangle, the tiled surfaces only interrupted by the thick door of polished steel and the dark mirror beside it. Catching sight of her reflection, Fluttershy squeaked again and quickly did her best to fix her mane, her hoof having little effect on the loose strands of hair. Her efforts only made things worse. She whimpered as she met the stranger’s gaze. “I’m s-sorry… I must look terrible.”
“Don’t worry Fluttershy. We wouldn’t expect anypony to look their best in your situation,” he said, giving her what she assumed was a gentle smile from beneath his mask.
Despite herself, she found the gesture reassuring. She returned it with a faint smile of her own before she burst into another bout of coughing, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment as she tried to clear her lungs. “S-Sorry!” she apologized again, wiping some of the spittle from her lips. “I’m just… not feeling so good, and, um…”
He nodded in understand as he jotted something down on the clipboard. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’ve seen much worse. Besides, you’ve had quite the ordeal.”
“Really? I can’t… I mean, I don’t remember much,” she admitted.
“What’s the last thing you remember, Fluttershy?”
“Um, I was… I was feeding all my animals like always and… Oh!” Her head jerked up, her eyes wide with alarm. “My animals! Has someone been feeding them while I’ve been away?” she said as she struggled to lift herself up off the floor.
The doctor’s ears flattened against his head as he backpedaled. “We need you to remain calm, Fluttershy. All your pets have been taken care of. You don’t need to worry about them. So please, just stay where you are.”
She blinked at him a few times before smiling. “Oh. That’s good. Thank you. I was… I was really worried for a moment,” she said as she settled back down on the bare tiles. “And they’re not my pets. I mean, not really. They’re my friends. I just look after them. I hope they’re okay. Oh, they get so worried sometimes when I’m not there to look after them.”
He coughed and took took a few measured steps closer to her. “Now, you were about to tell me what the last thing you remembered was.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry,” she said, her apology almost lost beneath the hum of the air conditioning as it burst into life. “Um… I was at home like normal, taking care of my friends. I think.” She averted her gaze and shivered. “It’s… Sorry, but my memories are all fuzzy. I feel… I feel cold. Can I get a blanket?”
“We’ll get you a blanket once we’re done. Focus, Fluttershy. Try to remember exactly what happened.”
Some of the color drained from Fluttershy’s face, but she managed to nod. “Okay. I remember having to take care of a few injuries in the evening. It was… Thursday, I think. I don’t really know how many days it has been. What day is it today?” The doctor continued to stare at Fluttershy silently. She blushed. “Oh, s-sorry. It doesn’t matter. Some of my friends get injured now and again, but I remember that these were pretty nasty. They showed up with bites and scratches from one of the timberwolves from the Everfree that had been acting aggressive.”
Fluttershy lifted her gaze long enough to watch the doctor jot down something on his clipboard before she busied herself examining the nearby tiles, her hoof tracing along the grout that was stained with a hint of green. The cold, empty room was as far removed from her home as any place could be. She sighed.
“This was just before sunset, correct?” His voice was flat, as if he were simply confirming what he already knew.
“Y-Yes…” She gulped. “Can I, um, get some water? I’m thirsty.”
“Once we’re done here, we’ll get you something to drink. Now, please, continue.”
“Oh… okay. Uh, I was… I was treating my friends with some of my bandages when I heard something loud outside my house. The chickens were squawking really loudly, so I rushed outside and saw the… the timberwolf.” She swallowed again, her mouth suddenly dry. “Are you sure I can’t get any water? I mean, if it’s not too much of a bother.”
“I said once we are done here,” the doctor said, his eyes narrowing a fraction. “Now, there was something wrong with the timberwolf, right?”
Fluttershy flinched. “H-How did you know that?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Yes,” she squeaked, hiding her eyes beneath a hoof. “T-There was… he d-didn’t look normal. He was… sick. The wood was gnarled and lumpy, and had these growths all over him that made him… made him much bigger than any timberwolf I’d ever seen. It looked like he had parts of a dead trees growing out of him, sharp branches and limbs going off in different directions that just pushed straight out through his bark.”
Fluttershy inhaled sharply. Her lips quivered as her ears dropped down, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as if electrified. “There were bits of other timberwolves in there too, trapped in the branches. I don’t even know how he could walk! He looked like he was in pain. These jagged branches were pushing out of him in all different directions, like a big wooden porcupine was growing up inside him. And he… had b-blood on his muzzle. And feathers. I didn’t… please, I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Fluttershy, you need to tell us what you saw. We need to know exactly what happened that night.” His voice softened. “It’s important, and we don’t have much time. There are a lot of ponies counting on us.”
Fluttershy nodded, her head bobbing heavily. “Okay… I’ll do my best.” She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, wheezing faintly as she tried to fill her lungs. “The timberwolf was… he w-was attacking the chickens. There were f-feathers and b-b-blood and…”
“Did he kill any of them?”
She flinched. “Yes,” whispered Fluttershy, eyes clenched tight against the harsh memory.
“Was he eating the chickens?”
“I don’t… I think so.”
The stallion leaned forward slightly, staring at Fluttershy from over his clipboard. “Did you actually see the timberwolf consuming the chickens? Or was it simply attacking them?”
“I don’t… I’m not sure. Sorry, but it happened so fast, and my memories are all hazy, and, um… I guess I can’t say for sure. He had to have been, though. What else would he have been doing?”
The doctor marked something down on his notes, ignoring her question. “What did you do?”
“I… I tried to get him to leave. I tried t-to stare him down, but… but it didn’t work, and he charged me and he bit and scratched me before I could fly away from him and then…”
The doctor’s pen hovered above the clipboard. “And then?”
“T-Then he… he… he killed the rest of the chickens!” Her howl echoed around the room, her whole body wracked with her violent sobs. She slammed a hoof down against the tile. “I should have s-saved them! B-But I was too scared and weak and I couldn’t and I j-just watched as he k-killed them all!”
The doctor tapped his pen against the clipboard urgently, the steady click like a metronome underscoring Fluttershy’s muffled cries. “What happened next?”
Deep down, the part of Fluttershy that had found comfort in Iron Will’s lessons wanted to shout at the stallion, to scream at his uncaring tone, to berate him for showing no concern for those animals that had been murdered right in front of her. Instead, she glanced back down at the floor, sniffling and wiping her tears away. “Then… then I w-went back inside and s-shut all the doors.”
“Did the timberwolf try to get in after the initial attack?”
“He… he scratched at the doors all night. I don’t know… I don’t know when he stopped, though. I couldn’t get any sleep. I wasn’t feeling well, and after what I had s-seen, I… I didn’t want to go to bed. Plus, I had to take care of all my friends, to keep them calm. But by morning, he was gone…”
He paused in his note-taking. “You weren’t feeling well? How soon after you were bitten did you notice that?”
“Oh. Um… I'm not sure when it all started. About an hour after the attack is when I first noticed that I had a bit of a fever, though. And I couldn’t keep any food down.” She hid her face behind her mane. “Seeing what he had done to the chickens…”
“Did your injuries get any worse?”
“My injuries?” Fluttershy looked herself over. “Well, um, they hurt, but you can see they’re fine now.” She lifted her left foreleg to display the frayed bandage that clung to her yellow coat, the grimy ends barely attached anymore. “See?”
The doctor glanced between the proffered arm and Fluttershy’s face expectantly. Fluttershy blushed, but remained silent. The silence stretched on until he grunted to himself and nodded as if confirming something. His pen resumed its furious scribbling. “Did you seek help?”
“Oh yes!” she said with a quick nod. “As soon as the sun came up, I called for Applejack to come over and help me. At the time I was, um, not feeling as well as I am now, and I was worried she might not want to get involved, due to her past experiences with timberwolves. Sure, she was pretty nervous at first, but she was so happy once I brought her into my home and showed her how much help all my friends still needed. She's a good friend and a great pony, and she really helped me when I needed it most."
The doctor flipped through a few sheets of paper on his clipboard, his eyes scanning from side to side as he read something there. Fluttershy rubbed her back with her hoof, trying to work some sensation into a particularly cold patch of numbness as she politely waited for the doctor to continue.
“Ah, okay,” he said, correcting something on the paperwork. “Applejack was the earth pony mare, the first pony you came into contact with after the attack.”
Fluttershy frowned. “She’s… she’s not in any trouble, is she? All she did was help me. I don’t think that’s a crime… I don’t want her getting into any trouble for something I did.”
The doctor let the pages fall flat as he looked over them to stare at Fluttershy, his jaw working silently as if chewing on a stalk of wheat. “Do you remember what happened to Applejack?”
“She helped me.”
“What happened to her after she helped you?”
“I… I don’t understand. She helped me.”
“And after she helped you, what happened to her? Where did she go?”
“But… she helped me. That’s what she did. I n-needed her help, and she helped me. Did she do something wrong? Did… something happen to her? Oh no… Oh please, no!” The wrinkles on Fluttershy’s face deepened as she began to hyperventilate. Unable to stand, she pulled herself forward with a jagged scraping noise instead. “Please! If my f-friends are hurt, you have to let me know! We’re the elements of harmony! We could… we could do something!”
“Applejack is not in any danger, Fluttershy,” the doctor said as he backed away from her until his tail brushed against the sealed door. He froze still, his eyes opening wide for a fleeting moment before he narrowed them, puffing himself up and injecting as much authority into his voice as he could. “Now, I told you before, stop trying to move! You must remain where you are! All your friends are fine, and there is no reason for you to come any closer. You just need to focus on telling us what happened.”
She hesitated. “Are… are you sure? Could you check again? I’d really appreciate the help. I mean, if it’s no trouble–”
“I promise, they’re fine. Now, remain where you are, Fluttershy, or I’ll leave you alone again.”
Fluttershy gasped. “Please, no! I… I don’t want to be alone again. I’ll stay still.” She glanced back down at her hoof, timidity mixing with doubt. She let herself lay back down on the tiles, trying to find a comfortable way to rest her bulk. “Sorry. I’m just worried about my friends. I need their help.”
Only once Fluttershy had laid back down did the doctor take a step away from the door. “I understand,” he said stiffly, sparing another glance behind him at the dark mirror before clearing his lungs. “So, after you contacted Applejack and brought her into your house, what happened?”
Fluttershy rubbed her chin, wiping up some of the tears and spittle that had dried there. “I… um…” She blushed. “I’m sorry, but it’s all so hazy. Could you help me? I’m really c-cold and tired. I just… if I could just take nap, I'm sure I'll be able to remember."
“You can sleep in a few minutes, Fluttershy. Now, do you recall getting another pony to, ah, help you? A pegasus by the name of…” He checked his notes. “Rainbow Dash?”
“Oh! Yes, I remember now!” Fluttershy said as her friend’s smiling visage filling her thoughts. “After Applejack helped me, I saw Rainbow Dash outside and asked her if she could help me too. I couldn’t move that well, and even after Applejack I still had so much to do.” She frowned. “Rainbow was really worried too, though. I think all my friends were just nervous about the scratches I’d received, but they were still happy to help in the end. So happy.” Fluttershy’s frown vanished as she gave the doctor a big smile. “I have some really great friends.”
The doctor didn’t respond, which seemed a bit rude to Fluttershy. Still, she remained silent as he took a few steps to his side to look at the rest of her body. “Now, do you still feel any pain? Do you feel sick at all? Headaches? Upset stomach?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No. I feel alright, I guess. I mean, I do still feel pretty cold… and thirsty. Actually, um, if it’s not a bother, I do have this cut on my side that still kinda hurts.” She gestured at her flank with her left arm. “Could you… could you look at it? I think I need help. You’re a doctor, right?”
He made no move to get any closer. “So, besides the cold and your thirst, you feel what you might call normal?”
“Well, I guess…” she admitted, turning to hide as much of her face as she could behind her mane. “I do still have this cut though. I really would appreciate some help looking at it, if that’s alright. This… this is a hospital, right?”
“It is,” he confirmed, his pen working hurriedly. “Is there anything else about that night or the next day you’d like to tell us?”
She shook her head. “That’s about all I can remember. Sorry.”
“How about your other memories? Can you remember when you were a foal? Your school days?”
She blinked. “Yes, of course I can. I mean, they’re… they’re blurry, though. I can’t… it’s hard for me to focus on them. Um, could you help me to stand up? Please? I… I can’t get up very easily.” She reached out with her left hoof. “Please? I, um, need some help.”
The doctor remained where he stood.
“Well Fluttershy, I think we’ve had a good day today. Why don’t you stay there and try to get some sleep. We’ll talk more later.”
“Wait!” she cried as he turned back to the door. Her sudden outburst sent her into a fit of wet coughing, but she gestured with her hoof for him to stay there. She spat out a something when she finally managed to clear her lungs and wheezed. “P-Please… don’t leave me alone! I know I said I’m feeling okay, but I still have this cut I need you to look at! Could you please give me some help? I don’t… I don’t feel right. Just a little ill, I mean. Do you… do you have any medication for that?”
He half-turned his head as the door began to lift into the air. “We’re working on that right now, Fluttershy. Now, you stay calm and just sit there. We’ll talk later.”
“No! Please! I need your help!” she cried out as she tried to close the distance between them, her bulk scraping along the tiles as she used her good hoof to haul herself forward. Her muscles strained as her single hoof tried to find purchase on the smooth floor.
“Fluttershy, I said remain still!” the doctor shouted, his ears going flat. He pressed himself up against wall she drew closer, his eyes darting from Fluttershy to door and back again. Sweat glistened on his brow, twinkling like diamonds in the harsh light.
“But I need help! Please!” she groaned, one of her wings flapping anxiously. She cried out even louder when the doctor ducked beneath the bottom of the door, disappearing into the darkness beyond. The door closed behind the doctor with a pneumatic sigh that was lost beneath the cacophony made by her hoof banging away on the polished steel. “Please help me! I need help!”
There was no response. Fluttershy sighed in defeat, collapsing back to the floor. A low moan escaped her stained lips as she stared up at the ceiling. The echoes of her protests quickly faded away. After the doctor’s questions, the soft hum from the air vents did nothing to mask the deafening silence.
Fluttershy yawned, her exhaustion catching her off guard. Along her sides, the mouths of a dozen small animals – along with the muzzles of two other ponies – yawned as well, their faces subsumed into her bloated flanks. A third pegasus wing fluttered erratically atop the mass of meat and detritus of her tumorous lower half. The strips of her flesh intertwined with the root system that made up her left hind-leg, resembling the stump of a long dead tree that had been pulled violently from the earth. What yellow fur that could be seen between the chunks of gnarled bark and twisted plantlife writhed with the activity of the thin green vines that swam through her flesh like fish through water, popping up at random to sway in the air.
Fluttershy’s remaining eye wandered around the room, the other lost when a sharp branch had pushed out of her skull, obliterating the eye socket. She caught sight of her reflection again and winced. “I hope my friends don’t see me like this,” she said to nobody as she tried to fix her mane with her good hoof, doing her best to straighten out her pink hair. Some of the spars of wood made it hard for her to get it just right, but she did her best with her only working leg. Her friends wouldn’t judge her for being a little less than pristine when she was stuck in a hospital, but that didn’t make the idea of being seen in such a state any less mortifying.
Once she was satisfied with her work, Fluttershy gave herself a small smile, wiping some of the sap that dribbled from her lips. Never one to be vain, Fluttershy was confident that she was at least presentable.
“Rarity might be a bit upset,” she told herself, giggling at the thought. The branches that protruded from her spine swayed with her amusement. Although they kept her from rolling over onto her back, they weren’t too much of an annoyance, even with the puckered wounds at their bases that never seemed to heal. She hardly noticed them.
Resting her head against the sealed door, Fluttershy let out a long, wet sigh, her lungs already filling with more of the congealed liquid that sometimes leaked from her unhealed injuries. Despite how well she felt, she knew that she still needed help. The tendrils that drilled through the back of her skull pulsated slightly as if in agreement, thin vines digging further into her brain. Her memories were fuzzy and indistinct, but still, she wasn’t worried. She just needed a little help, is all. Just a little help. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had already helped her, and what was left of their bodies twitched in time with the vines. Fluttershy just hoped the doctor would help her too.
It was nothing to be worried about.
All she needed was a little bit of help, and everything would be fine.
