Lost and Found

Joy slept rather soundly in the hospital bed. Derpy watched over him, looking at all his wounds and silently crying. The doctor, a handsome young zebra, appeared next to Derpy.

"I don't think he's going to make it.", he said.

"You are doing everything you can?"

"Everything I can think of. Luckily for Joy, Rain did not appear to have gone for his jugular during his assault. See these marks?" The doctor pointed to some red marks on Joy's throat. "My guess is that these are the result of Joy's hood chafing him. Based on the shape of the marks,  Rain was probably holding him by the neck for the majority of the assault. That is my best possible explanation as to why those marks are there." Derpy sighed.

"I am so glad Fluttershy hasn't seen what Joy really looks like yet. I was able to convince her against seeing him like this."

"Joy would have thanked you for that." Derpy looked at the doctor, her eyes still wet.

"Would he have, Maxwell? Tonight, he could possibly die, and his lover will have never seen what he actually looked like until he was about to go six feet under. Would he have thanked me for putting Fluttershy through that?" Maxwell seemed to think for a second.

"There's one more thing I can try, but Fluttershy will have to consent to it."

"To save Joy?"

"Yes, but the process will be difficult."

"What are you going to do?"

"Most of the wounds are superficial, excluding that gash and the broken snout. I can and have replaced the bandages Sun put on him with stronger ones that will retain the blood better. However, the blood already lost from them is what is giving me a grave outlook on this."

"So he needs-"

"A blood transfusion. Now." The color drained from Derpy's already pale face.

"What if you use mine?" Maxwell turned to Derpy, green eyes dark with worry.

"Your blood isn't compatible. Joy and Sun had you blood tested before, as they both have been tested also. I found all three tests in the hospital's records. It was how I found out about you guys."

"So we have to use Fluttershy's."

"That is correct."

"But what if hers isn't compatible? Doesn't a test take a little bit of time to get results?"

"Then Fate decides."

"What?"

"We aren't testing. We are just going for it." Derpy went slack jawed as she gasped.

"What!?"

"We don't have time for a test. By that time, Joy will either be dead or recovering. All we can do is go for it."

"But-"

"If Fluttershy is incompatible, Joy gets sick and possibly dies a faster death. If she is compatible, he makes a quicker recovery."

"And if Joy dies because of her, the regret-"

"Who says Fluttershy has to know it was her fault." Derpy felt a chill go down her spine.

"You weren't going to tell her the risks..."

"Sometimes, having false hope is better than having no hope at all. If she thinks that this could possibly save Joy, without risk of killing him, then she will do it much more willingly. It's either that, or wait to see what happens. Pretend that you don't know the risks, and put yourself in Fluttershy's hooves. What would you do?" Derpy opened her mouth to argue, but could find no argument.

"I would go for it..."

"Exactly."

"But what if he dies because of this?"

"Then he will just have been put out of his misery faster." Derpy sighed. "I'm sorry. It's all I can do."

"Okay. I understand. Go and tell her."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." With that, Maxwell walked out of the room. Derpy looked back at Joy, and listened to Maxwell and Fluttershy converse in the other room. Fluttershy agreed, much too quickly for Derpy's liking. After about ten minutes, Maxwell walked back in, a small bag of blood in his mouth. He set it on the bed-side table and got quickly to work, hooking up tubes and other things to feed the blood slowly into Joy's system. When he was done, he sat next to Derpy, and put a hoof around her.

"That's that?", she asked, leaning against him and nuzzling into his pelt.

"That's that. Now comes the hard part.'

"Which is?"

"Waiting, of course."

Dawn

Fluttershy didn't understand exactly what was going on in her groggy haze. The fact that the moon was still in the sky did not help this fact. Derpy was running around, swearing and muttering to herself. Maxwell kept calling out things that were apparently addressed to Derpy, because everytime he said something, Derpy picked up another object and brought it into Joy's room. Fluttershy got up, and moved toward the door. She peeked inside hoping to catch a glimpse of sanity on anypony's face. She found none. All she found were two faces filled with worry and stress. Derpy turned and saw Fluttershy in the door, and rushed out, pushing her away. She closed the door and turned to Fluttershy.

"Not now Fluttershy."

"What's going on?", Fluttershy asked. Her bright eyes desperately searched Derpy's face for an answer, but were only met by stone rigidity.

"We're losing him." Fluttershy gasped.

"What!? I thought if I donated blood-"

"It was worth a try, but results weren't guaranteed." Derpy hated building upon Maxwell's lie, but she had no choice. Maxwell was right. Fluttershy simply could not know that she had caused this, though unintentionally.

"Oh Celestia..." Fluttershy just about crumpled to the ground. She swayed, and her legs went out under her, but Derpy caught her.

"I know it's hard to take in, but there's nothing else we can do." Fluttershy wept bitterly, but she still was able to speak sensible words.

"I wish I could have had just one more day with him...just one more day to tell him that I loved him..." Derpy felt her heart breaking, and had no choice but to set Fluttershy down and walk away so she could cope with her own broken heart. She sat and breathed heavily for a few minutes, crying her own tears as she listened to Fluttershy cry hers. It took some time, but Derpy found her voice again.

"I think we both do." Silence greeted her, and didn't leave. Finally, Maxwell walked out of Joy's room, a tear in his eye (once Maxwell had known Joy's secret, it had not been hard for them to become close) and a sad frown on his face.

"He's gone..." Fluttershy's crying, which she had barely managed to silence, flared up again. Maxwell went over to the sobbing mare. He grabbed her hoof, and led her over to Derpy, where they managed to all embrace each other. "Today, we all lost someone close to us. A friend, a lover, a family member. Joy was a good pony, through and through. We must always remember never to forget him, but know that what has happened has happened, and nothing can be done. We must move on, though it will be hard. Today, we are united in the death of a loved one, and we must hope that this unification never falls apart. Together, we will pull through this. I know we will." All three ponies let go of each other, and simply stared for some time. Derpy finally lost all her composure, and fell sobbing into Maxwell's hooves. He caressed her and kissed her forehead, holding her close to him. Fluttershy, on the other, had nopony now. Nopony except Pinkie, but she knew that could change in an instant. Then she remembered something Rain had said, and even though she hated him for ever saying them, they would always ring true.

Why kill yourself when you have so much to live for? Or something like that. Fluttershy couldn't fully remember the exact words, but the meaning still got across nonetheless. She would keep living. She would keep pushing. Even if her sadness killed her on the inside.

Derpy and Fluttershy were asleep. Maxwell was cleaning up his tools. He looked at Joy's body, hooves folded over himself in preparation for burial.

"I am sure going to miss you, my friend." He sighed, and put a hoof on Joy. He jumped when he felt something bump against his hoof. Then again after a short time. And again. It was a heartbeat. Maxwell couldn't believe it, but even as disbelief coursed through his mind, the heartbeat began to speed up. "Celestia...thank you for this miracle..." Maxwell got to work quickly, trying to keep Joy stable. It was a mad dash, and more than once Joy's heart almost stopped beating again. Finally, Maxwell got him to a stable, livable pulse, and sat, exhausted. He saw a little movement under Joy's eyelids. Come on buddy...almost there...

"Mother! Let me die!", Joy cried out before his eyes snapped open and he took in a deep breath, and lurched forward as if almost to exaggerate the effect of a rude awakening. He stayed forward, holding his chest and breathing heavily. When he began to calm, he turned to look at Maxwell.

"Are you really alive? Am I just dreaming?"

"I don't want to be..." Joy looked reproachfully at the roof, though a hint of fear had entered his eyes.

"But why? This is a miracle, sent from Celestia above!"

"This was no miracle, and Celestia above had nothing to do with it. Mother said my time was not now. She said that I still had more to do in my life..."

"But...you are alive now! You can go back to Fluttershy, and-"

"I don't think you understand, Makai. I was ready to die. Being thrown back into my body like this hurts more than you would think." Maxwell was silent for a second.

"First of all, I told you a long time ago not to call me that. I prefer Maxwell, if it would do you fine." Maxwell took in a deep breath, and calmed his nerves. "Now what are you going to do? Kill yourself?"

"Perhaps." Maxwell grew angry, and barely contained his anger from his voice.

"Fluttershy is out there, sleeping, hoping that when she wakes in the morning that this will have all been some bad nightmare. Don't let her wake up to that. Be there to surprise her in the morning. Your mother obviously brought you back for a reason." Joy looked back down from the ceiling, meeting Maxwell's eyes with his own.

"If I die again, she will never have to know I woke up in the first place."

"You are really going to do that to her?" Joy went dead quiet, face twisted in thought. In response to Maxwell's question, he got out of the bed and walked over to him. He sat, and held out a hoof.

"Because you are urging me to obey my parents, I will do so." Maxwell took Joy's hoof, and shook it.

"Atta boy. Now go out there and be there for your lover." Joy began to walk out. "Wait." Joy turned to see Maxwell holding his cloak and hood. "Forgetting something?"

Fluttershy felt a light tap on her shoulder, and she turned to it. Her initial reaction was to screech, but then overwhelming emotion came over her, and she burst into tears.

"J-Joy? A-are y-you really th-th...there?", she asked between her sobs. Fluttershy felt the warmth of Joy's smile cover her, wrap her up in its comforting hold. Joy climbed into the bed with Fluttershy, and pulled her into his his chest, wrapping his hooves around her.

"I ain't leavin' yet...", he whispered, which caused Fluttershy to cry more, and bury herself deeper into his cloak. This is all a dream...in the real world, Joy is dead...I know he is...but this a good dream...and I will make it last as long as I can...

"I love you Joy..."

"I love you too Fluttershy. I love you more than anything in the world. I would give up everything I had if it were just to be with you."

"Oh Joy..." Fluttershy locked lips with him, determined never to ever let him go again.

Parents

Mother smiled and looked to Father.

"Are you sure you made the right choice?", Father asked her.

"Positive."

"Well, you better be. We just broke so many rules of magic by doing that."

"Trust me."

"I am doing so as we speak."

"Good, then we are on the right track."

"What is it exactly that you foresaw that made you come up with the idea of resurrecting our son in the first place?"

"I saw blood, but not his own. The blood of a naive vulture who pecked at the wily fox."

Joy limped slowly out of the hospital, supported by Derpy and Fluttershy now that the anesthetics that had numbed the pain had worn off. Maxwell waited outside a smile on his face. He laughed joyfully when they neared him.

"I don't know how in the world you are still alive, (I was so convinced I was dreaming I tell you what), but you are. Now go on, BUT BE CAREFUL! Those bandages will hold up, but not if you do anything crazy. Walk, rest, nothing extreme alright.", he said to Joy.

"I understand Doc.", Joy replied. Maxwell came forward and embraced his friend. When he backed up, a tear was in his eye.

"You go and make the most of your life, my friend."

"You too, Maxwell." Maxwell turned to Derpy.

"You too, little one."

"I'm not little anymore...", Derpy said.

"You're still a little filly to me.", Maxwell replied.

"Oh hush Uncle..."

"And likewise, I am not your uncle. I am just a family friend, that's all."

"Whatever." There was silence for some time, as everypony just stood around awkwardly, waiting for somepony to say something to end or begin conversation. Finally, Fluttershy spoke up.

"Let's go home.", she said quietly, with a smile. Joy smiled within his hood, and kissed her head.

"Let's." The trio turned toward Ponyville, or at least the path leading to it, and began walking that way.

"Keep them safe, Derpy! You know the way!"

"I will!" Maxwell watched them disappear into the trees before turning back to the hospital. Just then, two nurses (twin sisters, it got annoying at times to remember who was who) were arriving.

"Who were they?", asked one.

"Yeah. I've never seen them before.", commented the other.

"Doesn't matter. You'll probably never see them again."

"And why is that?", they asked in unison, their exceedingly high pitch voices combining into a whine that made Maxwell's head hurt.

"Because they are going home now. And home is where I hope they will stay."

The last rays of light had long disappeared from the sky, which was now an eerie dark with the new moon. Joy, Derpy, and

Fluttershy had finally set down for the night, and all slept soundly, Fluttershy in Joy's hooves, Derpy curled around herself. In their deep sleep, they were not aware of the motion around them. Something was stirring in the brush, like a predator who has just cornered its oblivious prey...

When Joy woke up, he felt a weight on him. Thinking perhaps Fluttershy had somehow rolled on top of him in her sleep (How she did that, he had no idea), he shifted and turned, prepared to catch her head. Except, it wasn't her head he saw. It was Derpy's. Instantly panicking, Joy backed up and smacked his head on something hard enough to see stars. He let out a yelp of surprise, which woke up Derpy. Her eyes flickered open, and then widened. She moved closer to Joy, and wrapped her hooves around him.

"Are you okay!?", she asked. Her eyes searched Joy for any kind of fresh injury.

"Yeah...yeah...what did I hit?" Derpy looked behind Joy's head, and then the realization that they weren't where they used to be hit her.

"You hit a window..."

"A what?", Joy asked, opening his eyes and turning. He saw the window, and then looked around where they were. It was a train, and it was moving. Just then, a pony walked down the aisle, and saw them.

"Hey, are you okay?", she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. By any chance do you know what's going on?" Joy thought of stopping there, but then realized that it might sound strange to stop with that. He needed an excuse to ask. "I hit my head really hard, so I can't really think straight right now." Derpy looked up at Joy with a well played look in her eyes.

"Oh, okay, no worries. We will be arriving in Manehatten in less than an hour.", the mare replied.

"Thank you." The mare nodded and smiled, and continued down the aisles, probably to tell others the same thing. Joy and Derpy locked eyes, and one thought passed between them. Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stirred, and rose slowly up. She didn't feel Joy's hooves around her anymore, but that didn't worry her. She yawned and stretched.

"I told you that you couldn't run, Fluttershy.", Rain said from behind her. Fluttershy froze and spun on her hooves. Rain was leaning casually against a tree, chewing a corn stalk. He spit it out, and looked at Fluttershy in the eyes, a horrible smile on his face. "You will never be able to run. Oh, and their gone. Gone, on a nice one way trip to Manehatten. I do hope they enjoy their stay." Fluttershy, regaining her senses, screamed, and took flight. Once again, like the night she first escaped from him, his voice followed her departure. "I will just keep finding you Fluttershy! You will never escape me, and I will get what I want! NEVER DOUBT THAT!" Fluttershy didn't listen. She just flew. Flew and flew, hoping to find her way home, back to Pinkie, back to Summer, Angel, her friends. Back to normality. But deep inside her mind, she knew that things would never be normal again. They were never ever going to be normal, ever since the day that Rain showed up behind her. She knew it was only going to get worse. She was more right than she wanted to be.