I was falling again, though this time into a world full of fresh possibilities. Day had dawned, and the light illuminated every vivid color of its landscape. I could even see small sunflowers swaying in the wind far below. I imagined on each one a smile. I saw their smiles fade away, and the way the wind swayed them reminded me of shivering and fear. The ground came closer and closer, and in the seconds before we met time stood still. Seeing how fast I was falling, fear entered my heart. There was nothing to cushion our landing. And this soon... where would we end up? I surpressed the dread in my chest. Time resumed.

We hit it hard. All I could see were bright stars of white, and all I could smell were dewy blades of grass. Then blood covered my sight and my smell, and my mouth was filled with the taste of pain. In the last moments of my consciousness, I heard a gasp from afar. Only the rushing wind followed me into the darkness.

Yet you awoke. You opened your eyes when it nudged you, and you gritted your teeth when it picked you up. The sway of its step as it carried you caused you to fall asleep and dream.

I know you saw me there, waiting in the darkness. Did you hear my cry? Well, only you know. But soon...

Frisk! This is all just a bad dream...! Please, wake up!

You stirred in the sheets. Their warmth was welcoming until you regained your sense for pain. Something prevented me from calculating the damage accurately, but judging from the sharp aches which wracked your body, our fall had been a near-death encounter. We were going to live, but barely.

You opened your eyes.

The room was comfortably laid out, neither too spare nor too cluttered. The window was open, and sunshine streamed through it. The curtains were being pushed back and forth by a soft breeze. Paintings featuring forests and fauna hung from all four walls. Other than your bed, for furniture the room contained only a closed chest, a bedside table, and a standing closet.

“Oh, are you awake already?” sighed a soft voice. Your eyes fell on the small pony standing beside you. She patted you affectionately with one hoof. “There, there. Don’t worry, little creature. We’ll get you fixed up very soon. For now, you need to rest.”

“Where am I?” you said, though the words were harsh on your dry throat.

“Oh!” She looked at you. “I did not know you could talk?”

“Water...”

She made a sound of surprise again, then nodded to herself. With one quick motion she turned around and trotted away.

You laid there for awhile, waiting.

“Here.” She tipped a glass to your lips, and cool water trickled out and into your mouth. After two or three gulps, she withdrew the glass and set it on the table. “Sorry, sorry. Too much will make you sick. So, what is your name?”

“I don’t...” It hurt to think. But the memory from a moment ago flashed in your mind. “My name is Frisk.”

“Frisk, huh? That’s a nice name. My name is Flutter—riel...”

Your head felt like it was splitting apart. You sat up and screamed. This scared the pony, and she pushed you back down with her hooves.

“Please! You’re still really hurt. You have to lie down. Please, don’t move.”

The sound of her voice calmed you down. Your breath was heavy, and your face was covered in sweat. But the headache had left.

“What did you say was your name?”

“Oh, I said my name was Fluttershy.” She smiled. “But, call me whatever you’d like. I don’t mind.”

“Fluttershy,” you said decisively, determined not to forget it. “What... happened to me?”

“I don’t know, really. I found you out in the woods while I was walking. You must have fallen out of a tree. It looks like you hit your head quite hard. Can you remember anything?”

You closed your eyes and thought. But nothing else came.

“No, I can’t remember anything.”

“Oh dear...” She stared down at the ground, despondent. “Well, for now, let me heal you. Later we might be able to go see someone about your memory. I’ve never seen something like you before, so I have no idea where you might belong.”

There wasn’t much else you could do at the moment, so you only nodded quietly.

“Um, so... here.” She produced a small bell and set it on the table. “If you need anything, just ring this bell. I’ll be along to help you shortly.”

You looked at the bell.

“Well, then, be good.” She patted your head gently and left the room.

The wind kept blowing in, freshly scented with flowers and carrying the calls of birdsong. You breathed deeply and closed your eyes. The rest of the room grew dark. The pain in your body subsided, and again you were left in darkness.

Do you really hate me that much?

The corridor here was really dusty. If you stayed too long, you’d catch a cough. Why was everything always so dusty? Hee-hee. It was a pitiful laugh. You cried. You knelt on the floor and couldn’t stop laughing. The tears streamed down your face. It was so funny.

Wait, you didn’t do that? Maybe that was me.

Behind the purple door was darkness.

A nudge at your side let the light break through. The cottage room came flooding in, and the smile on her face brought the pain back to your body.

“Here, drink this.” She offered you a teacup. The smell inside made your nose scrunch up. “Trust me.” You lifted your head a bit, and she brought the cup to your mouth. A small sip entered your lips. The taste was so bitter it was a battle to keep from spitting it back out. With a queasy face you forced yourself to swallow it. “Just a bit more.” She tipped the cup to your lips again and more of the bitter elixir entered your mouth. This, too, you swallowed dutifully. However, you didn’t know how much more of this torture you could endure.

She set the cup on the table and looked back to you with an empathetic expression.

“Sorry. That should help with the pain.”

You eyed her skeptically. “Hey, Fluttershy?”

“Mm-hm?” she hummed, her bedside smile returning in a flash.

“You kind of remind me of someone. I think, when I see you, I remember my... Mom? You seem really similar.”

“Really? That’s nice, that you remember your mother, I mean. Do you remember where she lives?”

“I...” It didn’t hurt to think anymore, but the long corridor in your head didn’t lead anywhere. There was only dust and darkness. “No, but...” You looked up at her. “I think that I must’ve said something really mean to her, before I left, you know? And I...” Tears welled in your eyes. “I never got a chance...” Then you sat up and caught the sudden sobs with the palms of your hands. “To s-say, I’m sorry.”

“There, there,” said the pony, hugging you. A wave of emotion washed over you, covering your face in water. “Hush, hush... it’s alright. When we find her, you can say sorry. So don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

She would forgive you? But it hurt so much. It hurt so much to remember. It hurt her so much.

At last there weren’t any tears left in you. Your body still resounded with soreness, and your chest felt filled with emptiness. But the calm petting from the pony relaxed you.

“No, you’re right,” you said, taking in a deep breath. “I feel a bit better. Thank you.” She let go of you. “Hey, but, you’re going to help me find her, right? I’ll just be happy to see her again. It feels like I haven’t seen her in forever.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Hey, can you move around much without hurting?”

You shifted a little where you sat and streched out your arms.

“Ya, I can move around. Still a bit sore, but it’s much better than it was before. Thanks.” You were still a bit bruised, but there didn’t seem to be any bleeding. Nonetheless, a bandage had been wrapped around your head. Touching it with your finger caused a sharp spark of pain to pierce the side of your head and a shrill ring to enter your ear. You winced, though within a second the sensation went away.

“Okay, now we need to take a bath.”

“Eh?” You looked up at the pony. “A bath?”

“Ya, it looks like you really need one.” She giggled. “But don’t worry. I’ve done this with all kinds of animals. I’ve actually gotten really good at it.” Her reassurances don’t remove the look of suspicion on your face.

The bath was set just to the right of the corridor coming from your room. It was surprisingly spacious and contained quite a quantity towels and utensils. Little ribbons of steam evaporated from the pool of water before you while the smell of soap slowly filled the room. Fluttershy stood beside you, still smiling innocently. Standing side-by-side like this, your head only reached to her chest.

“Uhh...”

“Here, you can put your clothes in this.” She dropped a wicker basket beside you. “They’ll need to be washed, too. In the meantime, well, we’ll figure something out.”

“Uhhhh...”

“Is, um, something wrong?”

You continue to stare at her with the same nervous incredulity.

“Hey, you’re aren’t embarrassed by all this, are you?”

You crossed your arms and puffed out an indignant pout. “No, of course not.”

“Then...?”

Resigned, you remove your shirt and shoes, placing them in the basket.

“Those too,” she said, pointing at your pants.

Unable to phase her with your stoic indignation, you toss the pants into the basket as well.

“Oh, hey, what’s that?” she asked, eying you with an inscrutable expression.

You looked down. Around your neck was a heart-shaped locket. You held it between two fingers and stared at its silver surface where the words “Best Friends Forever” were engraved.

“Well, you wouldn’t want to get it wet—”

You clasped both hands around the locket and glared at her. This time, she relented.

“Oh, if you want to keep it on, that’s okay, I suppose.”

Relieved, though unsure of the source of this sudden surge of protective instinct, you let go of the locket and looked back at the warm water waiting for you.

Fluttershy did not lie when she said she had gotten quite good at bathing other creatures. And while your brain couldn’t tell you how long it had been since you last had a bath, your body informed you that it had been far too long.

You weren’t sure how she held the sponge she used to scrub you, nor how she held the small cup she used to pour out water over your head to rinse you off, but the sensation of untold days of dirt washing away left you little opportunity to ponder on such trivialities.

The vapors from the pool had gone, and the water was tepid.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” you said as she helped you out of the tub.

“Yes?”

“What happens when ponies die?” You were still sopping wet, and you made a small puddle on the floor while standing there.

This question completely stopped her. She looked down at you. You could see her slowly thinking through all the things she could say to you in response.

“Well...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Well, what my mother said when I asked that question was that it depends upon the pony. Those who were good, those who had a lot of friends and family who loved them, they would live on in the memories of those they left behind. But those that—”

“No, I mean, what happens to their bodies?”

If she hadn’t been uncomfortable before, she was surely well beyond it now. She stared down at you, slightly disturbed. “P-pardon me?”

You looked down to the ground. “Nevermind. It’s not really that important.”

Though still somewhat shaken, she stood strong and grabbed a towel in her mouth. After depositing it on your head she said, “Well, I’ve heard that each kind of pony returns in some way to the elements from which we were made. An Earth Pony would become the plants of the land, a Pegasus Pony would become clouds in the air, or a Unicorn Pony would become stardust in the sky. That’s what they say, at least.”

You dried yourself off. You don’t know why you had asked that question to begin with, but you were satisfied by her answer.

After drying yourself off, you looked up expectantly at Fluttershy.

“Oh, I suppose now you need something to wear...” She picked up a robe off a rack and gave it to you. You put on the far-too-large-for-you bathrobe and looked back up at her. She giggled and said, “Well, I guess that will have to do for now.”

You were filled with indignation.

Much later that day, Fluttershy returned to you while you were waiting in your room. She placed your clothes on the bed and stepped back out. The door closed with a creak.

The heart-shaped locket rested in your hands. Its weight on your palm recalled a memory locked deep in the darkness. You put the locket back on, right where it belongs. You dressed quickly, and the clean linens felt great against your skin.

You walked out of the room and found Fluttershy sitting in her living-room.

“Oh, hey, how are you feeling?”

You stretched your whole body. While your muscles gave a pang of resistance to the tension, the sensation of a good stretch refreshed your body. “I’m great. Thanks so much for all your help.”

She stood up. “Hey, Frisk.”

“Ya?”

“If you’re feeling up to it, I’d like to take you into town. I have a friend there who could help you find some clothes that fit you. And there are so many ponies I would like you to meet. While you’re here, you might as well make a few friends.”

You thought about it and smiled. Nodding eagerly, you said, “Sure. Let’s go.”

The village of the ponies was only a few miles away from Fluttershy’s house. She led you to what you could only assume was the main street of the village, where shops and stands and ponies selling so many things sat all in a row.

“Hey! Hey, care for a treat today?” said one of the ponies. The two of you came closer.

“Mm, Frisk, would you like something?”

“Who’s this you have with you?” The salespony stared down at you, smiling. He then said, “You’re new in town, aren’t you? Well, little fella, I’ll give you a cinnamon roll on the house! How’s about it?”

You looked between Fluttershy and the other pony. “Sure.”

The pony gave you the cinnamon roll. The smell made your mouth water. You checked Fluttershy, and she met your gaze with an encouraging expression. You bit into the cinnamon roll.

Recollection flashed in your eyes.

Human, it was nice to meet you, said a gruff voice standing there, smiling. Shadows shrouded him.

The smell of cinnamon filled the room. Mom walked up behind him.

Do you smell that? she asked. Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought me might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.

He was kneeling now, saying, Human, I promise you, from now on and for as long as you remain here, my wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories and eating butterscotch pie. We could be like a family...

“Hey, are they alright?” asked the pony who had given you the cinnamon roll.

Fluttershy gave a nervous shrug of confusion.

You wipe the tears from your eyes. “I’m just so happy.”

“You must really like cinnamon,” said the standpony.

“Ya!” you said. “I like cinnamon!” You smiled broadly, holding up the roll in one hand triumphantly.

“Oh, well, that’s good,” said Fluttershy. “Um, thank you, sir. For the free treat. They seem to have really enjoyed it.”

You ate the last of the roll and licked your lips in content. You grinned up at Fluttershy, eying her with expectation. She smiled back.

“Okay. Well, now we need go see my friend Ra—”

“Hey, what’s that?” you said, running up to a flower shop.

“Er...” Fluttershy said. “Oh, well. One more stop can’t hurt.” She trotted up next to you. “This is a flower shop. It’s run by my friends Daisy and Roseluck. They’re great flower-arrangers.” She frowned. “Why are you so interested in flowers, anyway?”

You entered without answering.

Fluttershy opened the door behind you. “Hey, Frisk?”

You gawked at all the flowers there. Some where still in pots. Others had been cut and placed in beautiful bouquets.

“Oh hey, Fluttershy. What’s the occasion?” said a pony behind the counter. She looked down at you. “Oh! Who’s this? Is this a friend of yours?”

“This is Frisk,” said Fluttershy, standing close and putting a hoof around your shoulder. “We were running some errands in town and they wanted to check out some shops in the meantime.”

“Frisk? Huh, well, if you see anything you like, just say so.”

You walked back and forth along the walls filled with flowers. All the different kinds filled your vision with a multitude of colors.

Howdy! said an upbeat voice.

You turned around to face the voice. Surrounded by its peers, a single sunflower smiled at you.

“Huh,” you said. Then you smiled back at it.

I’m Flowey.

“I didn’t know you had flowers that could talk here.”

“Huh?” said the shopkeeper.

Flowey the Flower, it said whilst bouncing on its stem and beaming a jolly smile.

“That’s really neat.”

You didn’t really think that you could kill me, did you?

“Wait, what?” You stared at the flower, utterly confused.

No, of course not. We’re inseparable, remember? I’m still a part of you, even after all this time. Its face contorted into an horrific visage full of grinning teeth and soulless eyes. A lolling tongue hung famished from its mouth, and its petals were shed on the ground.

You turned around to run to Fluttershy... but there was nobody there.

Hee hya hah. Vines grew all around you. All the flowers in the room prickled with thorns. One tendril caught your leg and lifted you up into the air. Oh, how much fun it will be to pay you back the misery I have endured.

“W-wait! This must be a mistake. I didn—”

It slammed you into the ground at full force. You could feel a sickening snap somewhere in your leg. Horrible pain filled your chest and stomach. It had knocked loose a tooth or two, too.

It dragged your broken body along the ground, lifting you up into the air covered in dust and blood.

“W-why are you doing this...” you managed to gasp.

Its glare met your stare.

Your body met with the ground again, this time making a most sickening crunch. You could feel your heart tearing into two pieces. You stared up at the ceiling until darkness consumed your vision, unable to say another word at the last moments of your life.

Then there was only the howling wind.

You could see nothing but blackness, but your whole body felt like it was being sucked into a whirlpool. Those unseen waters pulled you down, until you could feel yourself drowning in the darkness. At the bottom of the abyss, choked for air and light, and without even a shred of life left within you, all went white.

When you finally opened your eyes, it was staring back at you, the same as before.

Did you really think I would be satisfied with killing you only one time?

A tear rolled down your cheek. “Why are you doing this?” you cried.

More thorn-filled vines shot forward. You rolled out of the way, but one tore into your pants leg and cut the flesh. A trickle of blood came out and pooled in the sole of your shoe.

“Why is this happening to me?” you asked, desperate for some response from the abomination before you.

A dozen vines came at you from all directions. They caught you before you could find an opening to roll away. Their thorns twisted into your skin, and the vicelike vines crushed you in their grip. The very center of your being was ripped apart.

Darker still.

The white came quicker than before.

I can feel it. Every time you die, your resolve erodes. Little by little, I’ll eliminate your very will to live. Then what will you do? Will you finally accept your fate?

Seedlike pellets levitated around its face. They all shot at you. You managed to jump through the hoop. Those that missed thunked against the ground and walls, kicking up dirt and splintering the wood.

“I don’t want to fight you,” you said firmly.

Well that’s too bad. It sent another flurry of bullets in your direction. You dodged them one after another, your heart beating out of your chest. In this world, it’s kill or be killed. And by that I mean I can kill you or you can be killed by me. It cackled. A pellet whirred past you, grazing your face. It left a thin mark that slowly bled out.

“Someone...”

Go ahead. Call out for help. Scream out into the darkness, “Mommy, Daddy, somebody save me!” See what good it does you.

You looked at it.

No one will come.

Your eyes welled with water.

Because you...

“Shut up!” Your knees bent to the ground. Your palms touched the earth. You shook your head. “Mom and Dad love me! They’d never abandon me! You’re lying!” You reared up, eyes closed and crying, ready to strike its face with your fist. “You’re lying!” you screamed.

A jolt of electricity down your spine forced you to open your eyes. Sweat poured off your face as you sat upright. The echo of your cry still rang along the corridor.

It was Fluttershy’s house. This was the bed she had lent you.

“A n-nightmare?” you said to yourself.

You leaned back, shaken. Dread clung to your chest, and your breath was still nervous. After a few moments, you calmed down and looked around. Beside you was still that table, this time only holding the bell Fluttershy had given you.

You rang the bell.

But nobody came.

You got out from under the covers and stood in the room. Light still streamed through the window. The color hinted at a late afternoon.

“Fluttershy,” you said at the door. With a shrug you stepped into the hallway and walked around the house. “Fluttershy?”

Where was she?

You stopped in the kitchen. It was tidy, almost entirely too tidy. She either had a religious cleaning regimen, or she didn’t cook all too often. The floor and walls were tiled white. A stovetop and an island sat off to the side. A sudden shock sent shivers down your spine. You looked around, but the room was the same as before. It was only an ordinary kitchen. Your heart thumped, and your blood became chilly. You crossed your arms and bent your back, a feeling of sickness filling your stomach. There was a drawer in the kitchen, under the counter. It was by the sink. Silverware was probably inside.

You chuckled half-heartedly. There was no reason for this horrible feeling wracking your body right now. The drawer sat there. The drawer had a handle made of wood. You didn’t know why ponies made things that didn’t compliment their biology at all.

Your heart thumped. Your blood was so cold now. Your fingers wrapped around the handle. You had to see inside.

Like you expected, there were forks, several kinds of spoons, and...

I smiled.

A large knife lay there, still set securely in its safety sheath. I picked it up and unsheathed it. Still sharp. I pointed it out toward the air and slashed left and right several times. Just as good as the old one.

It felt good to be me again.

Fluttershy wasn’t home. Though, she might be outside. I decided to search there instead.

Fluttershy’s cottage was surrounded by well-landscaped gardens and a quiet forest to the side. From the position of the Sun and its light over the trees, twilight would arrive in around an hour.

Many animals lived here, it seemed. They approached me occasionally, likely out of curiosity. I ignored them all and walked on. The area around Fluttershy’s house wasn’t very large. It took only a few minutes to find that she was nowhere in sight.

She was in town, then. I didn’t want to get too deep into it so soon, and I was craving a quicker encounter that could whet my appetite. So I would wait for her to return. In the meantime, maybe I’d play with the animals. Surely they could provide a short period of entertainment.

As I planned out my next sequence of moves, I heard a merry hum coming from the forest boarder. Back so soon? I smiled.

After approaching the location of the sound, my good humor turned into curiosity. It was not Fluttershy humming, but the pony we saw while in the flowershop. She was filling her basket with small, cerulean-colored blooms and had not noticed my presence. I thought about how to engage her. Stealth was never an option before, but perhaps now...?

I shook my head and smiled.

“Oh!” she said when I walked up to her and tapped her with my hand. “Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there. Your name is Frisk, right? Are you feeling better?” She looked back to her basket full of flowers. “Ah, if so, I suppose you might not need these.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked, sitting down.

She sat on her haunches and looked over at me. “Well, when you collapsed in my store like that, I got worried. Fluttershy said you had a fever. But she ran out with you before I could say anything. I thought that you might have had an allergic reaction to my flowers. If that were true, I’d feel really awful.” She put a hoof on her basket full of flowers. “Then I remembered that these flowers grow right next to where Fluttershy lives. They’re well-known for being hypoallergenic. They grow here because there is a clear spring river that runs near these woods. So I decided to stop by and pick some for you. They’re not the prettiest, but I know even a small ray of sunlight can help when you’re feeling down.”

I could almost hear the rushing water which flowed through the forest far off in the distance. Insects sang all around us, and the smell of flowers mingling with freshly-cut grass filled up the air. The day was just temperate enough to be comfortably warm without causing me to sweat. It was a wonderful evening, and I breathed it all in.

I looked over the flowers. A single bee buzzed about them, collecting nectar. It was nearing nightfall.

“Hey,” I said to the first star to appear in the sky. “Do you think that even the worst person can change? That there is a glimmer of a good person inside everyone, and that they can do better if they try?”

Even though I was still staring up into the sky, I felt her wonder at my words.

“Ya,” she said. “I would say I believe that. I mean, no one is all-bad, right? Even the meanies and villains. Maybe they’re doing what they do because they’re angry or hurt. Or maybe they’re just all alone. Maybe they think that no one cares about them, so they stop caring about other ponies.”

I sighed, still smiling. “I have a better question.”

“Oh?” She perked up her ears, more curious than before.

“Do you think you’ll have what it takes to survive, once the time comes for you to die?”

She heard the question, but she hadn’t understood it. I saw that in her eyes.

“I’m sorry? I’m not—”

“When you meet someone who can’t feel remorse, will you continue to believe compassion can solve all your problems?”

She still hadn’t understood, but I had unnerved her.

“Even if I met—”

“Finally, if you never came home tonight... If today was the last time you got to see your friends, your last chance to tell those closest to you that you loved them, would you be happy with how your life had turned out?”

That had gotten her. I wasn’t as good at the psychological side. That was his preference. Still, I was satisfied.

“I’m sorry. I’m going home. It’s l—”

I stood up and brought out the knife I held in my hand.

“I’m sorry, but no, you aren't.”

Author's Note

Story Spoilers: I'm only an ordinary yandere desperate for Frisk-senpai to notice me. But in all seriousness...

...this story will be dark.

If you do not want your heart to be ripped apart repeatedly, read no further. This will be your one and only warning.

If you have any concerns, questions, or critiques, leave them in the comment-box below.

Thank you for reading.