Nothing Left
To Rainbow she had been an Angel. A flawless picture of beauty in a physical form, always taking her breath away every time she saw her. Now it seemed, it was all gone.
~ ~ ~
It had been a beautiful Spring day across Equestria, with nothing but clear skies and a gentle breeze planned for the entire day. A certain cyan pegasus was zipping her way through the skies, twirling, rolling and dive-bombing any unsuspecting squirrel in her way. Her laughter rang out as she laid back and crossed her hooves. Life felt so carefree in the Spring, and she always spent it flying either solo or with her marefriend Fluttershy. That butter yellow pegasus' voice could melt anypony's heart, she figured. Her kind eyes and soft mannerisms ensured she was often pinned under Rainbow Dash's wing being nuzzled or licked. Her soft fur always tasted like heaven to Dash. She felt and smelled like home, and each night she'd just float outside watching her sleep for a while. Luckily she hadn't been caught or she might've had a few things to explain.
She continued gliding, much into the evening, until she saw Shy's little cottage in the near distance, picking up speed as she neared the humble, yet still rather beautifully decorated home. She giddily raised her hooves and knocked on the door in her usual pattern. After a few seconds of hoofsteps, the door was opened and Dash rushed in to embrace her marefriend. Both stood there like that for a good minute, both inhaling the scent of the other as if they were the most expensive perfume in the world. In fact, they were their perfumes and they wore each other proudly, regardless of anything that was said.
"Hello sweetheart. Howya been today?"
"Hey Dashie. I've been, um, rather good today, but, I was wondering if you were even going to show up, you were taking a little while longer tha-"
Dash nuzzled her cheek against Shy's, savoring the way her soft fur felt rubbing against hers, stopping the yellow pegasus in her thoughts. Her hooves had found their way to rub against Fluttershy's back, eliciting a sigh of content as she returned the favor for a moment. Then, Shy let up and smiled. "I'm glad you're here."
"I wouldn't miss being next to you for every award in Equestria. I wouldn't miss it for ANYTHING else under Celestia's sun."
As the sun began setting in the sky, they made their way upstairs to Fluttershy's bedroom, squeaking as Dash tossed her up upon the covers and flew over on top of her, planting a soft, gentle, loving kiss on the other mare's surprised lips. Both shared the affectionate gesture for quite a while before finally slipping under, snuggling up close and tight as sleep overtook their minds.
~ ~ ~
The next morning, Dash had awoken to find the Fluttershy had already made them both breakfast. She smirked; the gentle little mare was good at figuring her out. What made her laugh, what made her happy or sad. She knew it all and Dash knew she was the only pony she'd ever tell that much to. She walked up and planted another kiss straight on her lips before sitting, causing the shy yellow mare to blush and squeak as she placed the food down.
As they ate, Fluttershy brought up why she'd been so reluctant to come out of her cottage. She sipped on a glass of tea almost completely still. "Late at night, for the past few days or so, I'll, um, feel these pains in my chest and, it feels like something's gripping me there. Around my lungs and my heart and all that."
This worried Rainbow and she started to say something, but Fluttershy was able to cut her off for a minute. "Now I've went to the doctor and they said I should go back today or tomorrow if it was still going on. Dashie, do you wanna come with me so you don't worry?"
With a silent nod, both got up and helped each other with the dirty dishes. The whole room felt strange to Dash now. Hearing what Shy had said to her was making her head spin, and as soon as she was done with her share she bolted out to the front door, back against the wall. "Is she going to be okay? She better be okay. It's just a slight aching feeling she said, it'll be fine."
Fluttershy, in that time, had also finished and was grabbing her saddlebag to head out the door, looking around for her lovemare. She spotted Dash shivering against the wall and stepped over to nuzzle her neck, flapping her wings. "We better head there if we want to hear it sooner than later."
As they lifted off, gusts of air pushing leaves and dirt around in a circle like a protective shield, Dash felt a jolt of fear. She positioned herself under Fluttershy and instead carried the yellow mare on her back, ignoring the sigh from her quiet friend. She flew as fast as she could manage all the way to the office, setting a dazed Shy down on the floor as they waited for her name. Half an hour went by in that cold room. Every time Rainbow Dash looked at another pony their faces became blurred, as if looking through a foggy lens. They spent the majority of the time just snuggling up against one another, ignoring the glances that came from a few less-than-happy looking colts.
"Miss Fluttershy?" said a rather calm, soothing voice from the door. Nurse Redheart stood patiently waiting as the two got up and made their way over across the cold floor. They stepped in at the request of the nurse and sat down, their hooves wrapped around each other.
Redheart explained to them, quite slowly and methodically, that they had no idea what was making her feel like that. Perhaps it was a simple case of nausea or a cramp, therefore she needed to drink plenty of fluids and eat foods that didn't crunch too much. They sat for a good ten minutes, nodding every time she told them something, and soon enough they were out of the office again. Dash had intentionally kept very little as she had wanted to escape that place as quick as she could. Hospitals always made her cringe. As they flew toward Rarity's boutique, Dash couldn't take her eyes off Fluttershy.
~ ~ ~
A week had passed, and every day they would take a short flight out to a rather secluded lake Fluttershy always liked to visit. She had set up a sort of lounging bed there over time, and Dash wrapped her hooves around her, warmly snuggling and licking her ears, a slight frown still on her face.
Fluttershy, despite Dash's tries, had managed to notice. "Dashie? What's wrong? You look kind of... out of it."
She only sighed and looked down. Could she keep nothing a secret from this mare? "I'm just... worried, that's all. How can they not know what's wrong with you? They're supposed to be some of the best doctors we have and they still couldn't find out what's wrong."
The yellow mare turned and licked her lover. "Rainbow, I'm going to be fine. Maybe it really is just a simple cramp or, um, my food not going all the way. But no matter what happens I promise you we'll stick together and find it out. Shoot, Daring Do wouldn't give up, would she?"
She knew exactly the response this would get. Dash lifted her head and slowly shook it side to side, hugging her closer. Both sat there, yet again in each other's loving embrace, as the sun slowly, gently and colorfully set over the horizon, casting rays of gold, red and purple all across the sky. Rainbow lay there stroking Flutters' mane until they both fell asleep to the sounds of their heartbeats.
~ ~ ~
It was still dark outside when Rainbow Dash stirred from her slumber, immediately looking around to see where Fluttershy was. She was relieved to see her still laying there, fast asleep, a cute little smile on her pretty face. Dash loved the way she looked in the moonlight. She got up and stretched her legs out, walking down to the water with her wings spread, and dunked her head in the cool, clear liquid. It surrounded her, engulfed her face, and she shook her head off before pulling back up with a quiet gasp for air. She repeated this again and again, trying to fully get the sleep from her eyes, before being pulled back up forcefully. Fluttershy had awoken, and gave her a kiss before wrapping her wing around her. "Are you o-okay?"
"Yeah... just washing my face. Did you sleep okay?"
She nodded and licked Rainbow's face. "I slept fine. Do you wanna come back home with me tonight?"
Without hesitation Rainbow nodded, and the both of them slowly began heading back to the little cottage with their wings like blankets over the other, their necks pressed together. Up above them, the last stars glittered overhead as the moon began to lower beyond the horizon.
~ ~ ~
Rainbow Dash had actually managed to sleep in to the evening. The blankets felt so good as she cuddled up against her marefriend, grooming the back of her neck with a silent giggle. After doing this for several minutes, listening to the yellow pagasus' soft breathing, she stood up and went downstairs to attempt to cook. It was only fair if she did it this time. She found a package of hayburger meat and decided she should add it up with a few other things in the pan.
Her ears perked up when the door had opened and closed again. Fluttershy had exited the house and was now simply standing, taking a deep breath of the air. The evening was nice and mild, wind caressing her mane and tail, with the normal, comforting scents of her house filling her. Dash soon came out and saw her, eyes closed, before wrapping her wings around her tightly. They sat there with their bodies pressed together for what felt like hours, before Fluttershy finally let out a quiet, exhausted sigh.
"I know that y-you realize I won't last much longer. If you want to come with me, you may, Dashie."
These words sparked something in Rainbow Dash she didn't know she'd had until then. She pressed her face against Shy as her eyes filled with tears, her entire body shaking and shivering at the soft mare's side. "I don't want to see..."
"You don't have to, but I want you to... be there when it happens. I l-love you, you know."
With a nod from the prismatic pegasus, they both began their journey from the house down to the lake again. The air had turned colder in the time they were snuggling and the sky was now much, much darker. Their hoofsteps, quietly rhythmic on the ground, sent a hard shiver up Rainbow's spine. To never again hear her lover's heartbeat, or her hoofsteps, or her sweet angelic voice, was a sliver away from making her break down. Both mares sat by the edge of the water, with Fluttershy producing a small vial of a soft blue colored liquid. "I went to Twilight the other day and asked if she had something, for this. I think she understood."
For a moment, that felt like forever, they exchanged glances. All their time spent together, laughing, crying, cuddling, listening to their breathing and their heartbeats. From standing up to Fluttershy at flight school, to Shy cheering her marefriend on for her Sonic Rainboom. From Discord to Tirek and Nightmare Moon. Every single time Dash had teased the yellow mare, to every time the cyan pegasus went to her to talk about her day or vent about her problems. Every word said to each other burned themselves in their minds. Tears dripped from their eyes and they gave each other one last embrace, a deep kiss on the lips, and a whisper of "I love you" to their ears. They pressed their heads together and tilted their heads back, feeling the cold, bitter liquid coating their tongues and rushing to the back of their waiting throats. They laid side by side on the ground, facing each other, as their bodies began to shut down.
Just before they felt the breath leave their lungs, Fluttershy let out a few soft notes of song to the air. It was the first song that she and Rainbow Dash had ever been introduced to in their lives. And that note carried on the wind as the two loving pegasi died by each other's side under the night sky. Nothing could tear them apart ever again for they were joined in an eternity.
