Author's Note

Apologies for the long chapter! This is alot of content I know, but it's fun to read, trust me. It's not like I update often anyways, which thank you for not rubbing it in. I really do my best. I hope you enjoy the chapter, I threw in alot of action to keep it interesting. There is a twisty series of events coming up! You can count on that!

'Tis But a Flesh Wound

I fumbled around my back, finding my rifle resting on my side. I held it at the ready, slightly upward and ready to fire.

"What the Sam hell are you doing? We're not trying to kill her!" Applejack sped up to a cautious jog, approaching the door.

Fuck I do not need this right now.

"Wait! Shh! Get back here quick! You don't know if that's her in there!" I attempted to whisper, forced to settle for a low shout at the distance she put between us.

"The hell I don't..." She ran inside, turning a corner and escaping my sight.

I rolled my eyes, and slowly crept up to the door, leading with my rifle and doing my best to sweep both sides. I was really not supposed to be alone, and was not not not supposed to be breaching alone. This was against my instincts, but if there was a chance of finding this one, it may increase my affinity with the others and hopefully settle some of the antagonizing.

Leading room through room, there were various small prints around the floor. As if from paws or small feet. I wasn't quite sure what the tracks were, that boy scout opportunity might have been important after all...

There was a loud crash, and some tinkling that sounded like half-empty shampoo bottles hitting a hard surface.

I slammed the butt of the rifle into my shoulder, aiming above the scope, prepared to hit the trigger on a hair-pin notice. Looking to my left, I'm greeted by a hallway that seemed unnaturally dark. The smeared trail appeared there, gliding into a room with a half-closed door.

I slowly set each foot in front of the other, gliding smoothly over the floor at a snail's pace. Reaching the door, I leaned in.

The inside produced a shuffling noise and heavy breathing, somebody else was indeed inside this room. I had to be prepared for a panicked enemy to fire back, having followed the same trail I was.

Tossing open the door, I sweep the walls. There wasn't much to see, it was a very small bathroom with blue tiled walls. The floor was clearly once tile, but had become a mess from the scene unfolding before me.

It was the one I was looking for alright. Base coat of yellow, with a cool shade of Pink flowing from their head. They had been become a horribly gruesome mess from the long enduring of a clear wound somewhere near the side. They were sprawled across the floor, similar to how Wile E Coyote looks in Loony Toons after a long drop. She was half clinging to the counter-top near the sink, desperately clambering for the medicine cabinet. She instead, however, knocked a series of them down and collapsed back onto the floor the moment I opened the door.

My heart stopped, rocketing up into my throat. I'd never been expected to save a life, rather than take one. Neither have I ever seen that much blood from anything still alive before. And I didn't know how much more it could lose.

"Yo! Get in here!" I yelled, walking around the crimson soaked floor to get to the figure now folded inward, shivering. "Hurry up! Will you?!"

The clopping of hooves stopped short behind me, completely hitting a wall in their tracks. Totally frozen.

I moved on top of the creature, she didn't seem to be stopping me, so I leaned in for a better look. She was curled into a fetal position (or as close to it as you could get walking on four legs) and was holding one wing close to her chest, the other one sprawled out over the floor. It looked like the blood wasn't even hers, there was so much. As if it had been painted over her, rather than produced by.

I shut my eyes and thought to myself, trying to remember any Hollywood scenes that might possibly hold any sort of help for me in this situation. I had nothing but a gun and the single layer of clothing on my back. No bueno. I needed some sort of way to stop the bleeding, or this would be a very, very short job.

"Move! Look out!" I yelled, not thinking straight as I pushed the Orange one aside, blasting past her back into the kitchen. I threw open the fridge and peeked around. Nothing but salad and dressings out the ass. So I began tearing the shelves from their place and tossing them aside. Half to comfort myself, half to see deeper inside.

Opening the bottom drawers, I moved a bowl aside, beneath it was a bottle. About the color of a Bud-Wiser one, almost the same shape as well, albeit a little taller. I looked at the top, it was intended for a bottle-opener, which was promising. I read the label.

'Papa's Champagne

Limited Edition!

Green Apple'

I flipped it around, looking at the back, just to be sure. Surfing the nutrition label, I looked for the key word.

'7.5% alcohol' I read. 'Weak as it is, I've got to find if more of this is lying around sometime.' I wasted no more time to sprint back to the bathroom where they were waiting.

Applejack was no longer standing in her position from before, she was no closer, yet no further. It seems as though the only change was her stance. She was now crouched, and slumped against the door. Covering her mouth, slightly wide-eyed. Probably about as shocked as I was feeling.

I again knocked her to the side, I heard the door 'thud' as her body impacted it. I no longer cared if my feet were soaked, I ran back to Fluttershy, who hadn't moved a muscle.

Slamming the beverage's top against the counter, I attempted to beat the top off of it, instead of doing so I only shattered the top off of it. Realizing my mistake, I reached down and shredded off a piece of my shirt, which tore with more ease than usual, and wrapped it around the top to prevent larger glass from seeping in.

"Oy, you, get over here! I need you for a second!" I wove my hand frantically at Applejack.

"I..." She looked around the bathroom, then stepped back and checked the hallway. "...I'm not so sure I'm useful here." She looked to the side, most likely to break her line of sight from the scene.

"Look, it's easy. All I need is for you to talk. It's clearly something you're good at anyway." I pleaded. She most likely would have given me a dirty look in circumstances not so gloomy. "But you need to be over here, closer. Do anything to distract or comfort her, I'm pretty sure she's still awake. And if that's the case, there's no other way in hell I'm going to be able to do this."

She shifted around, a little awkwardly, before slowly setting each leg in front of the other. It was more of a slow fall forward than a walk. When she was right next to me, she walked past and sat down next to her friend, grabbing at her available hand without question. She leaned close at that, and began to whisper to her. Nothing I could hear, my ears were screaming at me.

Nodding to myself, I grabbed the wing and attempted to move it, to which she jumped and gasped, before curling back up. She moved her hand for just a moment, offering me a glance at an injury that took up the center of the wing. It seemed to be what was bleeding the worst.

I had to act fast, so I threw the hand to the side a little less calmly than planned, and tipped the jar upside down and emptied a portion of the bottle over every drop of blood on the wing I could find.

I expected a scream, or a yelp, or a cry, or some response of any sort. But there was none, she simply lifted her head, took a deep breath in, and her head fell. Making a thumping noise against the floor that would've made me cringe on any other occasion.

'Holy Jackson, I'm out of time.' I threw the wing up and aimlessly emptied the rest of the bottle onto the side, making sure to also splash the inside of the wing. Once the bottle emptied, I threw it to the side and went up to her head. I had no idea how to stop the bleeding, you can't tourniquet to the center of a body, and I don't have any quick-clots lying around. This might have been my S.O.L. moment.

She was absolutely out cold. Her eyes were shut, and she didn't twitch at all. Even the shivering had ceased. The only sign of life was a stuttering and slow series of inhales and exhales.

I froze up, my brain fizzling it's last energy for something I could possibly do.

"You! Run as fast as your stubby legs can take you! Get everyone! Anything, one, or object needs to be in here ASAP go!" I shouted, lifting Fluttershy's head. Another Hollywood teaching. Not really sure what the purpose was, but I'd feel worse not doing anything.

Applejack, scrambled up, but slipped half way and landed on her side. Painting her an almost equally disturbing color. She didn't hesitate, and jumped back up on her feet and bolted out the door.

I looked back at Fluttershy, slowly shaking her. I took a long look at her belly to watch for breathing, but it wasn't coming through. So I stuck a hand in front of her face, no warmth, nothing.

Fear blasted through my veins, it felt as if every muscle in my body was suddenly ready to explode in panic. I placed my hand against her chest, where I assumed their hearts were. And there was nothing.