And When The Wind Chime Rings, We'll Be Together Again
It was going to be a dreary rain filled night, devoid of any light. The sky would be dark, have no stars, as storm clouds had been scheduled for weeks, having been backed up in their delivery, and so, many Pegasi had implored any and all ponies below the clouds to stay in the more than safe confines of their homes. But, that didn't matter to much to a few, because no matter the weather, they had places to be, things to do.
Fluttershy had heard this early in the day from Rainbow Dash, instantly making for her house, regardless of it only being around early noon at the time she was informed. Her cottage was very sturdy; it simply shrugged off high winds and pelting rain, so she knew her animals would be safe, but many of them tended to fear when the thunder started coming about, crashing through the sky.
She would always be there for her animals, so she rushed through the door the second she could pull it open, shutting out the world and beaming a smile at a few of her rabbits when she turned to face their adorable little faces, Angel Bunny included, even though he'd bad a bad bunny and not eaten his breakfast this morning.
Fluttershy was always one to stockpile food. Considering the amount of animals she catered to and looked after, but she was missing vital food for the bigger creatures. Otherwise they'd get annoyed, and she didn't like upsetting her animals. She did also need some essentials for herself, her own food was running low. So she did what needed to be done for the critters she could sort, quickly donning a scarf as the rain was pouring now. She absently heard thunder strikes as she closed her front door, facing in the direction of Ponyville.
She could barely see in front of her ten minutes into leaving her home, the pounding rain was falling so heavily. It was beginning to sting the skin beneath her fur, it was nastily cold. She shrieked when she heard the close cry of thunder, seeing the brash lightning in the distance, but it was more simply out of instinct than fear. She didn't fear fully, this was all under control from the weather factories in Cloudsdale.
She pushed herself up against a shop wall upon entering the small town as a large stallion raced past, head obscured by big goggles to keep the rain out of his eyes. He'd only just seen her and turned to avoid the small pegasus.
"Sorry!" He belted out over the howling wind, continuing his run to Celestia knew where.
It was becoming foggy now as well... all this weather jam-packed in one go was certainly causing problems. Rainclouds, thunder and lightning, fog. The cold temperature didn't help matters either. She wasn't able to make out where she was, and she needed to find Rosie's Animal Emporium for the things she desperately required.
A surge of panic coursed through her when something grabbed her, but she immediately relaxed upon seeing her good friend, AppleJack. The southern pony had a stern look on her face that was also concerned. A hoof was firmly pressed against the stetson she wore to stop if flying off.
"Fluttershy!" She shouted, "What in th' name of Celestia are ya doing out here?"
"I need to get some things!" She replied back as loudly as her voice would allow.
"Are ya crazy?" Applejack questioned, "Th' weather's uprootin' trees, you gotta get home! Now!"
That was worrying. AppleJack being out here obviously meant she was helping ponies get safely to their own places of residence. That was her in a nutshell, always concerned for her fellow pony. Fluttershy simply nodded, only now fully realising that leaving the safe confines of her cottage probably hadn't been her best move.
AppleJack hugged her, told her to go home, and left to help a pony struggling to keep his cart upright.
She decided to forget her shopping idea.
Trotting as best she could, as the wind was forcing her pace, a realisation came to her that she wasn't going to get back to the cottage with the weather this bad, because it was hailing now, and it was painful. She'd go back to AppleJack again, ask if there was anywhere safe to go in town. Likely the town hall? That was a heavy building.
But then... as she crossed a bleary pathway, everything went horrifyingly hazy. It felt like she was flying.
There was absolutely no hint of sound in her ears when the feeling of flight suddenly broke, and so the panic was rapidly manifesting from her core, continuing to spread throughout her petite body, it was wordlessly consuming her mind. She lacked intuition, and was no more perceptive of her surroundings as a normal pony is aware of their existence. It frightened her to no end. Why couldn't she see? Had the weather taken a nasty turn and blotted out the sky?
The only thing she currently knew, was that she was lying down. Why was she simply lying down?
On top of that, she was really... cold. The rain must of numbed her. She'd get ill if she continued to lay down.
She tried to call for AppleJack, but to no avail.
Her words were soundless. Unheard and vacant in the din of climatic chaos. Rasped, strangled breaths were the sole noise issuing forth from her throat, while alarming hot rivulets of crimson weeped over her tongue, out of her mouth, messily dissipating into the sodden ground and mixing with the perpetual heavy downpour of hammering rain, only further seeking to splash the vivid scarlet colour that widened with each fleeting second. It only registered to her after what she believed was hours.
That pool of vermilion was her own blood.
She cried freely now, her eyes jaded by extending pools of blurring pink hued tears that effortlessly streamed over her blood soaked face, the fur matting with the constant supply of vital lifeblood and salty water.
It was then that feeling slowly ebbed back into her being. It was horrible, it was jarring. Her entire body was one fire. Her ribs felt like glass. She still wasn't sure why she was laying down. But she knew she must of been hurt. Wait a minute... she was... hurt. No, of course she was, her body was in the throes of agony. She felt her wings twitch with pain, her sides, her chest, burned with each breath she took. She couldn't see the extent of her condition, but... she knew it was bad.
With that dawning recognition, came further dread; the shock of the substantial catastrophe. It was only then by that knowledge, did she release a most resounding, blood curdling scream of incomparable agony. Hysteria set in, her forehooves flailing weakly in utter futility. The cold, slick mud coated her body with every move or spasm, washing in with the rainwater and encrusted gore. Her wailing was reduced to distressing, pathetic whimpers; what little of her energy or strength had remained was all but woefully, utterly consumed as the mare's little heart attempted to beat on and continue her life. She didn't want to die.
Whereas the majority of senses had dulled from the sheer amount of injury, her sensitivity had skyrocketed due to the extremely tormented, unstable condition her body lie in, and so she partly cried, partly gasped when mildly warming, wet hooves rested gently on her shoulder, further shrieking in rupturing torture as the pain shocked itself through every bone, nerve, and pore, no doubt accidentally set off by the sudden sense of touch that had shifted her ever so slightly in position.
Her stricken eyes shakily darted to and fro, searching desperately for the pony that had discovered her in such a wretched plight. The smallest flicker of hope ignited deep within her chest as her eyes came to wearily rest under two of her friends. A grim smile slowly etched into her features as she saw Twilight and AppleJack. It was all too soon, however, that the tiny little flame within her started to die and wink out upon noticing their features of unbridled horror and disgust. Twilight couldn't force herself to stare for some unknown reason, immediately backing off from the scene to unceremoniously vomit the contents of her stomach on the soggy ground.
Whatever minuscule amount of spirit that had built up from seeing the two had shattered irreparably. She knew she was in a bad way, the thought she was actually dying had been pushed back, but their expressions were essentially the icing on the cake. Her friends didn't clutch at hope from what she saw, therefore how could she? Sorrow welled up tightly in her form, the cold rain stinging as it hit her eyes, causing her to lose to her struggling inner turmoil unwillingly so that fresh tears streamed downward. In turn, this set Twilight more so on edge. She broke down, crying to her friend.
"Fluttershy... Why?" Twilight choked out, "I don't..." Was quite simply all the fading yellow pegasus could understand between Twilight's shuddering sobs and shouts. She could feel Twilight's hooves lightly holding her own protectively, as if keeping close would save her best friend and keep her from slipping into the howling void. AppleJack too, was spilling her tears more than unchecked, she was in disarray, beside herself and destitute for words.
She felt her hearing must have returned momentarily, because she swore she could hear the faint sound of galloping hooves, before her hearing waned again and everything was a simple hum of noise. She tried to crane her head around, only just managing to move it with extreme difficulty, fearfully sobbing as biting burning sensations rose up her neck, pounding through her skull.
"Twilight! Twilight! We heard screams!" Shouted Rarity through the bleak, hissing weather, her mane was free of it's usual splendour as she'd been running recklessly. Rainbow Dash was speeding in her wake, slicing through the torrential fall with determination. Pinkie Pie was following as well, although with a run, her usual jig forsaken due to the serious nature of the heard predicament. "We came as soon as we heard!! Is anypony hurt badl--" In an instant, her voice cut itself off when the fashionista's gaze fixed upon Fluttershy's prone figure, her mouth slowly hung agape.
Rainbow had abruptly halted her flight path and skidded to a standstill in the course muck. Folding her wings while the wind howled, she quickly trotted over to where Twilight knelt over their friend. "Holy Celestia! Somepony call a bucking doctor!! Call a doctor, now!"
Twilight simply didn't have the heart to tell Dashie, nor any of her friends, that poor Fluttershy's condition was far beyond help now. Doctors wouldn't be able to save her, and her magic could do nothing to seize the cold hand of death that was inevitably taking ahold of yellow pegasus. All they could do was... watch.
Make her comfortable.
Pinkie showed little emotion save for her worried-but-hoping smile that dwindled off from her pallid face, the over-bouncy mess of a mane that defied the rain as well as gravity, briskly deflating into a straight mop. Her stuttering wasn't properly able to form a coherent sentence. Eventually, all she did succeed in whispering was: "D-do something, Twilight..."
Again, Twilight said nothing.
Fluttershy couldn't do anything. She'd simply lost control of her motor functions now. Her arms and legs were dead weight. She could feel them however, feel her slow, weakened pulse throb through her being. But she couldn't move her hoof to hold her friends hooves. She couldn't sit herself up and speak to them. Her body felt leaden, too heavy for her to lift now. Despair had already taken its hold of her an age ago. But regardless, she didn't wish to pass on.
It was due to some miracle of Celestia, that she found her voice.
"G-gi... girls...." She choked while tears continued their stinging descent, even as she said it, a bubble of regurgitated blood pushed forcefully from her lips and spilled down onto her now soiled, bloody coat. In their eyes was endless sympathy, pure sorrow. "I... I don't want to d-die..." Her crying only intensified, pain causing her to stiffen every few nerve-wracking moments between her tearful episode. "P-please... please..." Fluttershy then shivered and her eyes opened wide, feeling as if her blood ran cold. This entire time she had the feeling her limbs were slowly numbing. She could barely feel her legs, but now, she couldn't feel them whatsoever. "Girls... I... I c-can't... feel... my l-legs..." She barely spoke the last word, voicing this in such a positively scared manner that all the girls started to cry.
Unbeknownst to Fluttershy, and not that Twilight, nor any of Shy's friend would tell her:
She had no legs. No lower body. Not anymore. Her beautiful yellow legs lay just a small way from her. And unknown to Fluttershy further still, her innards were spilt onto the earth, covered in the dirt they'd slid into. She was rapidly paling, from severe blood loss. Twilight and her friends had carefully maneuvered around Shy so that she couldn't see what had become of herself if she tried to move.
All of her friends were sobbing. She joined them as they crowded around her. Shy was scared, If anything could of been discerned, it was that there was no solace to be had in this situation, for to her, there was only one outcome, only a single absolute. It was the very definition of fear, the meaning of pure despairing nothingness.
"We love you, Shy." Twilight whispered. "Don't you forget it."
Fluttershy smiled. She had her true friends. Even up until her final breath as it hitched in her throat, and she choked, spasming while Rarity would hug the frail pegasus, regardless of the blood that flecked over her while Fluttershy convulsed. Twilight would scream, knowing it was pointless to try, but still attempting healing spells on her dead friend, sapping her energy until she passed out from the exhaustion. Rainbow Dash would rush to Twilight, tears blurring her eyes, knowing what Twilight had tried to do. In anger she'd break a nearby stand and split her hoof open, screaming at the top of her lungs for the loss of her fellow pegasus. AppleJack would simply sit in the mud, and stare at the dead, dismembered body in front of her. Pinkie Pie would follow suit for a few minutes, fainting from shock moments later.
It all but tore them apart inside.
It had only been a few simple mistakes.
It hadn't been a footpath Fluttershy had walked on. The fog had covered the ground. It had been a road. It was a steam carriage that had lost its traction on the slippery wet road. The driver hadn't seen her in the drizzling rain or dense mist. Fluttershy was too focused on going to AppleJack and not where she was walking.
Too many variables. Too many dangers.
All because of the weather.
And things were never the same for Ponyville.
Nothing ever would be.
Not since the day the Element of Kindness died.
Author's Note
The song I recommended reader listen to while reading was what prompted me to write something tragic. Anyone who has seen the Dead Island trailer with that little girl, or heard this music and felt its sorrow, knows how it tugs at your heartstrings. It pulled me to write something that in my mind, felt just as upsetting. So voila, I hope this goes hand in hand with the music.
Your thoughts and reviews are most appreciated.
