13

It hurt a lot more than she thought it would.

Twilight's attacker yanked the knife out of her body. She couldn't help but scream. Getting the weapon pulled out was a lot more pain than having it plunged in. She fell onto the path, unable to keep standing. She glanced around to make sure Spike ran away like she told him to. And he had. Which was good, as it meant he could get help quicker.

Almost immediately after she let out her scream, three ponies appeared, rushing over. Twilight's vision was still clear enough to recognize them--Pinkie, Fluttershy and Dusk. Dusk immediately backed away in fear, as his mother gasped and slowly stroked his dark grayish-blue mane. Pinkie took a few steps closer and lay down beside Twilight. "What happened? Where's Spike?"

"I told him to run. He's probably getting help." It took effort for her to speak. She was hoping that the blade hadn't pierced her heart. "Someone just came out of nowhere and stabbed me."

Pinkie reached out to touch the wound, but Fluttershy quickly whacked her hoof away. "Don't. It might make it worse." She seemed extremely worried as she looked down at Twilight. "Rarity has a cloak, doesn't she? If only she were here to--"

Pinkie pointed to something behind Twilight. "Speak of the Devil."

Twilight was able to turn her head to see Rarity had arrived, looking shocked to see her hurt. Fluttershy stepped over Twilight, careful to avoid physical contact with the stab wound, and grabbed the edge of Rarity's cloak.

"What are you--"

"She needs pressure applied to the wound to stop bleeding," Fluttershy explained before pulling off the dark gray cloak over Rarity's head. She lay down the cloak over Twilight. Since the alicorn was on her back, it was easy for Fluttershy to find the wound. She pressed down on it, causing Twilight to wince. She felt the cloth of Rarity's cloak start to absorb her blood.

"How do you know what to do?" Twilight asked.

"Because I've been stabbed before," Fluttershy replied. "So has Applejack." She didn't say any more about this. Instead she asked, "Does it hurt?"

Twilight nodded.

"I-I'm sorry." She lifted her hoof.

"The hospital. Is it still there?"

"Of course." Fluttershy glanced at Rarity. Twilight figured she was recalling the conflict between them last year. "I think all of us have been there at least once while you were, um, traveling."

"Is she going to sleep?" Dusk's quiet voice asked. He was keeping his distance, fear and uncertainty in his teal eyes.

Pinkie smiled down at him reassuringly. "If she does, she'll wake up." She turned to Twilight. "Right, Twilight? You're not going to die, are you?"

"As long as we get help soon enough, she should be alright." Rarity told her.

Fluttershy stroked Twilight's mane. "Did you see who it was?"

Twilight was losing her consciousness from the blood loss, but she was still able to answer. "No. Just his hoof."

"Was it gray?" Pinkie was standing close to Dusk, who was crying in fear.

Twilight nodded.

"It might take Spike too long to get help," Rarity sighed. "Perhaps we should just bring Twilight to the hospital."

"But then she'll lose more blood as we carry her," Fluttershy protested. "Look, she's already about to faint."

"Then I shall find him," Rarity decided. "He might have a bit of trouble finding Ponyville Hospital."

It was just after Rarity left when Twilight lost her consciousness.

-

They'd all decided to settle at Sugarcube Corner until the next morning. They'd see Twilight then--she'd made it to the hospital.

Most of them had fallen asleep. Pinkie had told Pound and Pumpkin about the situation when they'd arrived. The twins were up sleeping in their bedroom now, and Spike upstairs as well. The remaining four stayed downstairs. Pinkie had fallen asleep about half an hour ago. Fluttershy was clueless as to how she'd be able to sleep with this big of a burden.

Both Pinkie and Fluttershy were somewhat in denial of Sandy's death. Pinkie still had a lot of trouble believing she'd murdered someone, and Fluttershy had a lot of trouble believing that Pinkie was her husband's killer. They hadn't returned to Fluttershy's home since Sandy was poisoned. It was probably for the best.

Fluttershy still trusted Pinkie. And she was finally believing that Sandy's death was for the better. She realized now that Dusk had been hurt just by seeing his father harm his mother, and even attempt to kill her several times. How did it happen, anyway? she still asked herself. How did he change so dramatically?

Pinkie was softly snoring nearby, and Dusk was resting under Fluttershy's wing. The only pony besides her that was awake was Rarity, on the other side of the room. They were avoiding talking to each other. Fluttershy wasn't used to seeing the white unicorn without her cloak. Looking closer she noticed a faint scar across her side.

When Equestria was invaded, some of them had gotten into fights. Rarity and Rainbow Dash had fought side by side. They had done a pretty good job, even knocking out one and injuring another, until Rarity suffered a severe wound to her side. Fluttershy had been watching the two and had told Rainbow Dash to keep fighting while she got Rarity to help.

Now, in the quiet bakery, Rarity noticed the pegasus staring. Ashamed, she changed her position so that her scar couldn't be seen. Fluttershy felt heat rise to her cheeks and whispered, "Sorry."

Rarity didn't answer at first, then said, "It's fine." After another short silence she added, "You said you've been stabbed before."

"In battle, remember?" There'd been a certain pony whose method was simply stabbing all his enemies with his knife. Fluttershy and Applejack had both been victims. Fluttershy was able to recover easily, but Applejack had been stabbed in the chest, near her heart, just like Twilight.

Rarity nodded. "You fought well. It's a horrible shame we lost."

"I know." Fluttershy paused for a few moments, then asked, "Why did you hurt me?"

"I don't wish to discuss it."

"Please tell me." Fluttershy hated the memory, but wanted to know. "Why?"

"You know perfectly well why." Rarity seemed incredibly apologetic. "I was too unstable. And gambling to scrape up money pulled me further apart."

"Is that why you weren't arrested?" Fluttershy asked.

"No. I wasn't arrested because no one does these days. No one gets caught." Rarity sighed as she glanced at Pinkie's curled-up form on the wooden floor. "The Cakes were killed by the same pony who attacked Twilight, I presume. He never got caught."

"He wants to hurt the rest of us," Fluttershy concluded. "He'll do it any day now."

Rarity nodded. "We must be more careful. I can't seem to sleep, so I could stay up to guard you three. You should go ahead to get some rest, dear."

Fluttershy blinked. "I-I can't sleep."

"You must. You have a child to be strong for."

Fluttershy looked down at Dusk, resting in a comfortable position under her wing. His small breaths rustled his dark blue tail, resting on his muzzle. He looked so peaceful, and Fluttershy's heart burst with love for him. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll try."