Beating Death

by Your Friendly Neighbor

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Alternate Universe, Human, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance, Fluttershy
Length: 1676

A normal man gets his life crushed and tries to pick up the pieces.

A normal man gets his life crushed by the death of his bride-to-be. He's the shadow of the man he once was...

Published 2014-01-12 20:10:05 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-12 20:10:05 UTC

Story

My life of romance is at its climactic moment. The one that I fell in love with since we were young is finally going to be mine for eternity. popped the question and she said yes. A great achievement of mine.

It took nearly sixteen years to earn her trust. We were great friends since our kindergarten years. She was the shyest girl in the entire class; she was probably the shyest in the entire school! Her name was Sophie. Mine: Henry. Finally, I asked her on a date when I was the age of 22, she a year younger. She had not dated a single guy in her years. It took another two years to completely earn the spot where I am now.  I could not be happier.

She brought a certain joy in my life. Even though she barely spoke to new people, and spoke quietly when she did, she was always lighting up the entire room with a ray of sunshine. I, on the other hand, was a loud-spoken individual who was somewhat arrogant in my early years. I had outgrown that phase, and grew up to be semi-successful for being of my age. I held a job one would be 'proud' of: a white collar job in a cubical. But it was a job no less!

I always called her beautiful when I noticed, and always encouraged her when she was down. I'm surprised I haven't lain with her yet! She had always said "Be patient. I'll let you know when I'm ready." A girl of her figure, it was hard to ignore. Curvy, beautiful, but born so shy. Enough on that.

It was a few weeks that things started going sour. Our relationship was strong, that's not the problem. The problem was our financial side. My job required me to be in from 8AM to 6PM, a real drag for me and my fiancee, who is a bit paranoid of the night. I am too... My job wasn't paying well, and I was thinking about going to school again. I was to be a programmer, someone who could debug software and such for cash - make video games as a hobby. Then it all changed.

It was a few days before the big day. A few days away before I could finally say 'I do.' Then, everything turned to the worst. It was 5:30PM and I was on break when she called the office requesting me. I can still recall the conversation:

"There's a man outside! I saw him in the window... looking in!" She had said.

"What?" I replied, shocked at the time.

"I already called the police. I'm afraid..."

"Lock the doors and hide somewhere."

She murmured and replied "OK" before hanging the phone up. After convincing my boss quick like, I made my way home as fast as I could. I tried to call, but no answer. I calmed myself down by saying she's too afraid to move. I can't lose her... not like this. I expected the worst, and my gut burned with anxiety. I can't lose her... not like this. I live close by, that's enough time...

The police hadn't came yet, but only five minutes had passed. I walked up to the door of my house, checked the perimeter quickly, and found... the window smashed. I quickly opened the door and ran to the living room. I could hear each footfall, each breath, each pound of my heart. It took a few strides to reach the room, but it felt like a million.

There,in the center of the living room, was my bride-to-be. Lying in a pool of blood, face up, with a look of pure horror fixed upon her face. I rushed to cradle her limp form, an instant stream of tears flowed down from my eyes, soiling my cheeks. I heard sirens outside... a friendly sound in this modern society for a fellow like me - not now. I tried to whisper the words "It'll be okay." , but I couldn't bring myself to lie to her - even now. All I could do is close her eyes and kiss her forehead.

***

A few months after the incident that changed the course of my life. I am a depressed man. I'm still stuck in the dead-end job, following my dead-end life. I had aged a lot since then, stress does that to you. I had dreams, dreams of being with the person I care about. Dreams of making her happy. To raise a family, to retire one day. She had the same. Now what of it? Dead, gone. A wound that will not heal anytime soon.

I had the chance to speak with the big man himself. The man who killed Sophie. The man who took her life. I remember this vividly as well:

"Why did you do it?" I had asked him.

"Do what?" He replied through the prison's phone window.

"Kill my girl?" I said without hesitation.

"Oh her..." He said in an way that rubbed me raw. The look on his face as he tried to recall was repulsing. "I was on the rock at the time, maybe a little meth. I only remember how pretty she was"

"You... you killed her because of drugs? You ended her life because you were hyped on meth and crack! That's seriously fucked! You bastard" I swear, trying to keep my anger quiet. I stand up in a rage and punched the glass. I saw him recoil in fear. I didn't sleep much that night.

Two years after her death. I am a shadow of the man I once was. I'm 24, but I feel 40. Stress ruined me. I am still in the same job, and turned my life to gaming and heavy Internet use. I lay awake most nights and dwell on what might have gone differently. What might have been if I did something different. What if I had left early? I know what would happen then. What if the police got there faster? I know the answer. Nothing will change the past, but I can't stop dwelling on it.

I browsed 4chan a lot, a popular image-board on the Internet. It supplies the laughs that I sometimes get, a place to share the newest content. One day, while browsing, I came across the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." It had just announced and I was eager to give it a shot. I could use something to look forward to, to forget about the past. I would be what one would call a "brony."

I watched the first few episodes and fell in love with the show. The songs, the storytelling, the atmosphere of the entire show, all so... happy! My favorite pony: Fluttershy. She had reminded me so much of my love. The way she acted, the way she talked, the way she cared for others, even her eyes! It was weird, but in a good way. I watched every Saturday, sometimes watched episodes over.

I was three seasons in. I've recovered slightly from my brutal, unforgettable past. I still cry most nights, but others I dream. I've been dreaming vividly. Almost an uncanny vividness that I have never experienced before. I'm not an expert, but I guess it would be considered visions? Strange, they make some sense. My first few vivid dreams were pretty bizarre: I see Celestia, the princess from the show, followed by images of trees and wildlife. I hear the words "She's waiting..." over and over in Celestia's voice. I can't make sense out of it, and it happened every night on a Monday.

Then... they started to get more detailed. My dreams highlighted Fluttershy a lot, as if they were trying to tell me something. I felt a strange sense of importance from my dreams, but I could never put my finger on it - even today. The dreams would shower me with sensations of love and affection from a strong female presence, followed by calming scenes of the forest. One might call it insanity, and I would be the one driving the bandwagon, but in this situation: it was nice. Every time my mind strayed to negative thoughts, something would push it to a peaceful mode. I would hear "She is alive." in my head over and over during these sessions, in a calming tone from a presence unseen.

It happened: I kinda 'phased' out of my world. Slowly, as my dreams increased in length. I was not crazy, I knew that for a fact. I was healthy when I left. I remember laying in my bed, and the dream started happening. I am not greeted by voices or affection, but sunlight, growing in intensity. I awoke to find myself covered in leaves, light pushing through their thin layer. I rose and shook my head as leaves fell from above. I looked around: forest, just like my dreams. I came to my feet, which felt awfully strange. I remember looking down and seeing my new appendages: hooves. My flesh was covered with a rust-colored coat and my new hair was assumed to be the same. I felt around my face and found my new eyes, snout, and mouth. I 'trotted' around a bit and got the feel for my new legs.

Then, I found a cottage. I got a warm, fuzzy feeling in my gut that told me good things from here on out. Then, the cottage door opened, and a beautiful yellow mare, pink hair, blue eyes, curves, stepped out. As soon as she saw me, her face lit up with joy... Sophie. Fluttershy. She ran towards me and enveloped me in a grand hug, pushing me backwards. My eyes met with hers and I knew who I was staring at. "Sophie..." I remember saying.

Now, when I think of my horrible past, I wake up and see my love laying next to me. I wrap my arm around her and hug her tightly. Death was surely beaten.