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The Infection

The Beginning //REVISED//

Angel Bunny shook the brightly coloured recipe book in front of Fluttershy, the page displaying a rather pleasant looking fruit salad, the information on how to make it written neatly next to it. Smiling down softly at her bunny friend, she gently took the colourful book from Angel’s little paws, her eyes flickering over the recipe and its ingredients. Angel had been ever so patient recently, which was very welcome when it came to the bunny’s usual behaviour. He hadn’t caused even the slightest lick of trouble lately, something which Fluttershy though at least deserved a treat.

“Of course, Angel. I can make this for you.”

Watching him react excitedly brought a loving smile to Fluttershy’s face. Despite having him for years, she could never get over just how adorable he was. Sure, taking care of him had ups and downs. He could be moody, yes, and had hurt her feelings more than she cared to admit. But, she knew that Angel loved her just as much as she loved him. It was strange, as they were exact opposites and in theory wouldn’t have gotten along. The kind, gentle Fluttershy and the brazen, moody Angel Rabbit. Yet, they were the best of friends. Fluttershy brought her eyes and mind back to the recipe sheet, reading over exactly what she’d need. The day was still bright, and the markets were definitely still open at this time. Apples, tomatoes, oranges and all of the basic things that when put together would make up a delicious fruit salad.

Fluttershy slung her saddlebag over her shoulder, checking to see if anything was in it first so she didn’t run out of space. Today, the markets would most likely be bustling, but she had gotten better with crowds and she liked to imagine she was a much braver mare than she had once been. Fluttershy turned towards the door, opening it and turning to wave goodbye to Angel before walking out and shutting the door behind her, trotting off in the direction of the marketplace with a spring in her step and a soft hum on her lips.
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Throughout the warm summer air, the crack of hooves against bark broke the silence out on the orchard. With a heavy grunt, Applejack struck the tree again, gaining purchase. The tree gave in and littered the ground with ripe, delicious red apples. A satisfied smirk played on her lips as she gathered the crisp fruits into a basket, which lay next to many more full baskets. She didn’t mind having to do most of the bucking herself, seeing as Big Mac was currently tending to ploughing the soil and making way for new seeds to be planted. She took great pride in being able to handle many strenuous tasks by herself. Being hard at work made her feel complete, and while many ponies hated it, she greatly enjoyed physical labour. It was a great excuse everyday to train her muscles and grow strong, as well as keep her family afloat. The apples this year looked plump and crunchy, so she had no doubt they’d sell well. If there was one thing Sweet Apple Acres was good at, it was knocking competition out of the water. Nopony could deny that their apples were simply the best, possibly in the whole of Equestria. She gave the basket a small shove so it was closer to its companions, setting her eyes on the next tree. It was a large, imposing tree, housing many apples among its twisted branches. Applejack grinned at it, cracking her neck in anticipation.

“You think yer real tough, don’t’cha?”

She asked, to no response. She began to stretch her back legs in preparation. This tree in particular was stronger than the others, and had always given her trouble. Applejack didn’t see this as a slight, but instead as a challenge.
While she was stretching, however, something came closer. A small, fat insect buzzed lazily through the air, unnoticed to Applejack as it buried itself amongst the vibrant green leaves of the apple tree she was standing under, in an attempt to escape the warm sun that was washing over its small, fragile body. It rested its wings, but soon found itself staring contemplatively at the juicy red fruits littered throughout the tree. The primal instinct to eat surged within the tiny bug’s mind, and it flittered over to the nearest apple it could find, burrowing into the juicy flesh of the fruit and starting its feast.
Applejack finally straightened up, and made her way over to the tree. She turned her back to it, and summoning all the strength she could muster, pulled her back legs inward and then bucked the tree hard, sending shivers along her body. The tree shook violently, the fruits wobbling precariously, but it held fast. She prepared herself again, this time determined to strike them down. She bucked the tree again, and the branches trembled, their fruits snapping free and tumbling to the ground below with a small series of thumps, some rolling but others staying in the place they had landed in. With a pleased huff, Applejack gathered up the fruits she had brought down and piled them into the empty basket. Just a little more and she’d be ready to move on to other tasks around the farm.
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Fluttershy handed over the needed amount of bits to the kind salespony behind the stall, scooping up what should have been the final item for the fruit salad, an orange. Popping the tangy fruit into her saddlebag, she pulled out the crumpled shopping list again, holding it in her hoof and peering at it. She seemed to have everything, except, she soon realised a beat later, the apples. Oh dear, she had simply forgotten. It was a good thing, she remarked to herself, that she had checked the shopping list or she would have forgotten otherwise. She trotted in the direction she was sure the apple stall was, enjoying the warm summer atmosphere and the heat from the sun that was gracing her back. It was just the right kind of warm today. As she walked, she turned her head to look at the scenery around her at the marketplace. Many interesting stalls beckoned to her. Beautiful dresses, small toys and games, excellent vegetables and gorgeous hoofmade ornaments. Several fillies rushed past her, giggling happily and then squealing and sprinting off as antique stall owners yelled at them to be more careful around their stalls, only for them to begin giggling again a few seconds later.
Today was such a beautiful day. Once she would have been incredibly anxious of going to somewhere like the market, but today was such a lovely day. The pleasant atmosphere of the market had eased her to the point where she felt relaxed. Perhaps she could even stay a little longer to look at the many other stalls, to see if something interesting caught her eye. She did have a few spare bits, after all, though she supposed how much she spent on the apples would dictate how much spare she had left. She felt her worries, as quickly as they had come, evaporate into the sky and join the bright, puffy clouds as they danced across the great blue. Today felt like the kind of day where nothing could go wrong.

“Oh no!”

She gasped, as instead of tasty apples lining a bright stall, her eyes were greeted with a simple sign reading in large black text, “SOLD OUT.” How was she supposed to make a good fruit salad for Angel without apples? They were such an essential ingredient! She panicked a little, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. Where else could she get apples?
Her eyes brightened as she came to a realisation. Applejack was her friend, maybe she would be willing to lend her a few apples from one of her trees. They would be nice and fresh, and certainly to Angel’s liking. It would be the greatest fruit salad he’d ever have. Fluttershy turned and began to quickly trot through the crowd. Ponies bumped into her at all angles, so she disregarded walking, flapping her wings and hovering above the crowd before ascending more, away from the thrum of buyers and bartering salesponies and into the calmer skies. She felt the tension melt away as she flew, sighing softly.

The air was cool and fresh, and smelled faintly of trees and apples the closer she got to Sweet Apple Acres. When the many silhouettes of trees began to appear underneath her, she scanned for Applejack. Spotting the orange dot amongst some trees and next to several buckets of apples, she smiled to herself, descending gradually and soon coming to a soft landing on the grass. She made her way over to Applejack, softly coughing to catch her attention. The orange earth pony looked up quickly from what she was doing, smiling warmly when she caught sight of who had made the noise. She approached her timid friend, genuinely happy to see her.

“Well howdy there, sugarcube! How are ya?”

The friendly nature of Applejack had always served to put Fluttershy at ease. She was like the straight mare of the group of friends, always level-headed and easy to talk to. Fluttershy never felt like she had to say certain things or act a certain way around Applejack. You could just be yourself and she’d accept you either way. She smiled in turn, greeting the orange mare with a soft flap of her wings.
“Hello, Applejack. I’m great, thank you for asking. Isn’t it a lovely day?”
Applejack wiped some sweat from her brow, before nodding enthusiastically.
“It’s a great day for apple bucking. Really gets the sweat goin’”
She spoke, adding a small “phew-wee” just to emphasise her point. Fluttershy lifted a hoof towards the many baskets laying dormant, filled to the brim with apples.
“You’ve really been busy. Um, Applejack, if it isn’t too much trouble could I have some apples. Only three or so. They’re for a special fruit salad I’m making for Angel.”
Applejack happily agreed, plucking out three of the juiciest apples she could find, the sun glimmering on their shiny red surface as she gave them to Fluttershy to put in her saddlebag with the other ingredients. Fluttershy thanked her friend as she departed, waving before disappearing through the trees. On the way back home, Fluttershy jolted upon hearing a noise. She stopped in her tracks, listening out again. A rumbling noise. It occurred to her that it was her own stomach. She looked around to see if anyone else had heard that, finding herself walking alone on the path. She turned red-cheeked regardless, looking down at her saddlebag hungrily. Those apples had looked oh-so delicious when Applejack was giving them to Fluttershy, and they had smelled even better. It had been a while since she had last had a Sweet Apple Acres apple. Maybe she could have…just one. Angel wouldn’t notice if she didn’t make a big deal out of it. He wasn’t particularly observant anyways. Fluttershy opened her saddlebag, her mouth watering as she picked out the biggest one which sat at the top.

She grabbed it out from the depths of her bag, lifting it to her mouth and taking a bite. The apple crunched under her teeth, the sweet juices spilling out onto her tongue. She savoured the bite before swallowing, preparing to take another bite. Her teeth sank into the apple, and a buzzing noise erupted into her ears. Gasping in surprise, she bit down, taking in a large chunk of apple. Something flew down her throat, wrenching around violently as she coughed and gagged, gasping for air as whatever it was wriggled its way down until the sensation stopped as it presumably landed in her stomach. She sat down on her haunches, breathing deeply and shakily. When she finally came to her senses, she sat for a while more, contemplating what had just happened. Had she imagined it somehow? That couldn’t be the case, she had felt it.

Shakily getting to her hooves, she stumbled, setting back down the path to her cottage. Her movements were twitchy and anxious. She kept looking down at her stomach, eyes wide and threatening to spill with tears the more she thought about what had happened. Once she reached the door to her cottage, she wiped at her teary eyes, not wanting to worry Angel. Taking a deep breath, she tugged open the door to her home, stepping inside to an excited Angel bunny. He had waited, something which temporarily distracted her from her distress and made her smile.
“Hello, Angel.”
She greeted in her usual soft tone, reaching down to pet his fluffy head.

"Hello, Angel"

Fluttershy stepped into the kitchen, when she felt a light tingling sensation in her stomach. Twitching in discomfort, Fluttershy made an attempt to ignore it, an attempt which got gradually harder the more the tickling ramped up. It was like a flurry of tiny legs running circles in her gut, a thought which unsettled her greatly. It actually felt like it had moved a little more downwards, she could feel it further down in her body. Anxiety plaguing her mind, Fluttershy tipped the ingredients onto the kitchen counter, washing them until the cool water than ran from the kitchen sink. Another pang caused her to flinch for a moment.

“What did I eat…?”

She muttered softly to herself, yet again turning her head downward to stare at her midsection, almost as if she expected it to look any different. It did not. She hurriedly began to cut the fruits in a nervous silence, attempting to take her mind away from the horrible feeling in her gut. Making a rather impressive fruit salad despite her worrying, she placed the bowl down in front of Angel. He was happy, and didn’t notice the missing apple, but Fluttershy couldn’t shake the event from her mind. She wondered if she should go to see a Doctor, maybe they could do some sort of x-ray to see if anything was inside her. That idea dissipated as soon as it had come. If she went to the hospital, her friends would inevitably find out and visit, and Applejack would never forgive herself for giving her friend a strange apple. Plus, who would take care of all the animals while she was gone? It wasn’t that she didn’t believe her friends were capable…it was just that they knew nothing about each animals specific preferences and needs, especially for the injured ones. No. She couldn’t see a Doctor, not yet. Whatever had flown down her throat, she reasoned with herself, couldn’t possibly survive in there much longer and would be dead the next morning. It did upset her to think of a creature dying due to her, but there was nothing she could really do about it.

She filled the sink up with warm, soapy water, and moved to grab the knife so she could wash it, when she yelped softly. She withdrew her hoof, bringing it back to her body as she inspected the small cut now on the underside of her pale yellow hoof. Her first thought was to go find the medical kit she kept in the bathroom cupboard for emergencies, but upon closer inspection she realised something strange. There was no leak of crimson, not even a drop came out of the wound. Instead a small, clear liquid slowly oozed forth. Tentatively, she reached up to inspect it. It smelled…odd. A smell she couldn’t even find the words to describe.

She blustered through the main room of her cottage, past the faces of a few concerned animals until she got to the bathroom. Her first intent had been to get the medical kit, but she found herself leaning over the toilet bowl, staring down into the water as her throat chucked, a sickly yellow liquid splattering down. She took a moment to steady herself, breathing hard and slow. Nothing else came. Stumbling away again, she felt a heavy tiredness descend over her like a quilt, numbing her senses and making her eyelids droop as though they were being weighed down.

Fluttershy was vaguely aware of stumbling to bed and collapsing at some point, where she inky blackness took over her body and left her sprawled on the bed, limbs splayed in many directions. She soon awoke many hours later, in the middle of the night when the sky had gone dark and the cottage had gone quiet, the animals presumably having gone to sleep by now. She lay there, unsure of her environment for a few minutes before she fully came to. Lifting her head, she peered at the wide open window, the wooden sides creaking softly as cold night air poured in through it. She could faintly hear the sound of crickets outside. The cool air washed over her sweating coat, making her shiver as she tossed her head, pushing herself to get up. The movement caused a pang of agony in her midsection, causing her to groan in pain. Her thick pink hair fell limp over the side of the bed, dragging on the floor. Get up. It was as simple as that, and yet she couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t push herself to move. Any time she did try, a thick heavy feeling would permeate her senses and she’d be forced to flop back down.

She had never felt such a piercing pain in her entire life. It felt like something was stabbing her repetedly, but from the inside. From the inside…Fluttershy jolted at that thought, looking down at her stomach where she soon pinpointed the source of the pain. It looked slightly swollen, bloated with something underneath. She ran through thought after thought of what she could have swallowed? A large insect? Maybe, but surely that couldn’t cause so much damage. A small creature? No, she would have noticed. Another thought troubled her. Why would any living thing CHOOSE to get as far down into her system as it could? It didn’t make any sense. She whimpered as another harsh pain ripped through her, spreading the width of her whole body now. Whatever it was, it was causing her a whole load off trouble. That settled it, she had to get to the Doctor, and fast. She wobbled to her hooves, wavering for a few moments before she set off towards the bedroom door, hobbling only about an inch a minute as new waves of pain coursed through her limbs. She fell back onto her haunches, gasping with the effort of walking as she laid on her back.

Her vision was taken up entirely by the ceiling, something which she didn’t look at often, a thought which drifted as her head rushed with many other thoughts, much more panicked ones. Her stomach felt like it was being ripped apart, and a warm feeling spread across it like a great split, trickling down her sides. She turned her head to the side almost lazily in her haze of pain and confusion, to notice a thick liquid, red and deep. Her eyes widened at the sight, and she could only slowly look in horror towards her stomach. It was freakishly distended, and discoloured to a slight brown. A deep cut ran across her stomach, exposing layers of the deep red flesh and fat within, blood oozing from the crevasse. What appeared to be the same clear fluid she had seen earlier lay at the edges of the cut. The skin underneath bulged, and then moved of its own accord, like a figure moving around underneath a blanket.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to scream, taking in the appropriate amount of air before she fell short, her head collapsing with a loud thump against the ground as darkness overtook her.