Memories

How long has it been since Rainbow Dash was in her comatose state? Fluttershy has lost count. All she knows is that it has been much too long. In fact, Fluttershy can’t even remember a time in which she did not visit Rainbow Dash in the hospital. Now, most of her day was filled with taking care of the dying mare on the hospital bed.

The other remaining members of The Elements of Harmony have done all that they could, but it all proved fruitless. Pinkie Pie’s parties were met with silence. Rarity’s motherly gestures looked as if she was practicing with a doll. Even Twilight Sparkle, with magic charged at her maximum capacity, could do nothing but watch as Rainbow Dash sat there lifelessly.

Of course, The Doctor had warned them about this. He said that he tried every last method known to pony-kind, and some only known to dolphins. He was on the verge of going on a total breakdown trying to fix up the Pegasus. It got so bad that one day Derpy, his trusted assistant, asked him to just let Rainbow Dash go and let her die in peace.

“No…” The Doctor had said “I’m not leaving another one behind. I know I have the chance to help her!”

And thus continued on the useless attempts of The Doctor in trying to heal Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy was there whenever she was free. However, that was getting harder and harder to do as the days flew by. She still had her animals to take care of, and not to mention her own life. If anything, she was forcing herself to visit her dearest friend nowadays.

Today, Fluttershy was lucky because she could leave work as animal caretaker early. She was forever grateful to those three young mares who volunteered to help her take care of the animals. Fluttershy wondered if her friendship with the other Elements were going to e as strong as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Just as she entered the market area to reach the hospital quicker, a mare bumped into her.

“Oh my, I’m sorry…” Fluttershy squeaked when she noticed the blue Unicorn that had fallen onto the ground “I guess I wasn’t looking where I was-”

“No, it’s my fault” the Unicorn spoke quickly as she rubbed her throbbing head “Sorry, I’m sort of in a rush”

Fluttershy extended a hoof for the mare, and she agreed to take it without much hesitation. However, things started getting awkward when the Unicorn took a good look at Fluttershy. Her face was scrunched up, as if she was calculating some unseen math equation, but the stare made Fluttershy feel uneasy. She quickly tried to hide her face behind her long pink mane.

“There’s something missing in you…” the blue mare spoke

It was as if she was trying to pry out one of Fluttershy’s deepest secrets, the one in which she had lost all her memories of her past life. It wasn’t that it was embarrassing or anything, she just didn’t want to trouble other ponies. Instinctively, she clutched the cyan Pegasus wing she had tucked behind her ear.

“Your memory…” the Unicorn said once more which made Fluttershy gasp “You have lost the most important part of yourself, am I correct?”

Fluttershy shook her head, indicating her confusion in what the blue mare was saying.

“The memory is what makes a pony who they are” started the blue Unicorn “Without it, they are just an empty shell of what they used to be, unable to recollect on all the experiences that they have gone through. If somepony were to give up the thing they prised the most, and they stated that they had nothing, then the thing they would most likely lose is their memory”

Slowly, but surely, Fluttershy started to understand just what the mare was trying to tell her. Somehow, she felt as if she could trust this Unicorn, eventhough she had no idea who she was. Perhaps they were acquaintances in the past, before Fluttershy had lost her memory. No, she did not know Fluttershy either. That means that these two were total strangers to each other.

“How…” the Unicorn started to say, careful to make sure that her chosen words did not offend the timid Pegasus “How did your memory become lost?”

“I had a brain tumour…”

And just like that, Fluttershy spoke of everything that she could remember, which wasn’t much to begin with. All the while, the Unicorn stood silent as she tried to digest all the information thrown at her. Not even once did she even consider interrupting Fluttershy’s monologue.

“…and so, that’s what happened”

“Too early…” the Unicorn spoke

“I’m sorry?”

“A cure for memory loss like yours does not exist” the Unicorn said, making Fluttershy’s head droop “yet” she added

As quickly as it dropped down, Fluttershy’s head suddenly snapped back upwards. She looked at her new acquaintance with eyes filled with plea. Ever since the day she lost her memory, she wondered if she could ever get her memory back. Sadly, the doctors and nurses claimed that it was impossible. She was going to remain an amnesiac forever.

“The earliest record of a successful memory return after a stage IV brain tumour wouldn’t happen for at least 30 years, when technology has become more advanced. Even then… No, I’m gonna try!”

The Unicorn bowed gracefully in front of Fluttershy and asked for herself to be excused. She then zoomed off to Celestia knows where, disappearing within the crowd as quickly as she appeared. Fluttershy, realising that she was late to visit Rainbow Dash, trotted as quickly as she could towards the hospital.

As she reached the hospital, Fluttershy noted that the scene seemed to be less lively than before. It was as if all the ponies there were staying silent, paying their respects to an unknown pony. She considered asking somepony why it was so silent, but she thought that she had wasted enough time already.

As fast as her weak legs could take her, Fluttershy half-ran to the ward where she knew Rainbow Dash was being held. There was a nurse in front if the door, Nurse Redheart. Fluttershy kindly greeted the mare, who only replied with a solemn nod.

“No…” Fluttershy said as the reality of the situation struck her “Oh, please no…”

Was she too late? Would she be unable to see Rainbow Dash alive and breathing? Even if she did come in time, was there anything she could have done to help?

As Fluttershy’s mind was busy thinking of the worst case scenario on why the entire hospital was in depression, something else happened in a place not too far away from there. A place that was well known to all the residents of Ponyville.

“Spike, take a look at this” Twilight Sparkle said as she trotted to her dragon assistant as they sat in the library together “All of this… how could I have missed it?”

“Wha-?” Spike answered lazily

“I was reading back on the Elements of Harmony, and get this: Each wielder of the Elements has their own special ability”

“Like what?” Spike said, suddenly getting interested in the topic

Twilight levitated the book towards Spike and flitted through the pages. Somewhere in the middle, she stopped at a picture of a group of ponies: Two of each kind. The caption below the picture stated that these were the original wielders of the Elements.

Being the bookworm that she was, Twilight started to tell Spike on all of the Element wielder’s abilities, each one just as amazing as the last.

Magic

The wielder of Magic could easily be distinguished by their strong magical prowess. They have the ability to learn any form of magic in contrast to other Unicorns which could only use magic which has something to do with their profession. It is also noted that all the wielders are Unicorns, due to obvious reasons.

Laughter

Laughter’s ability is, to this day, questionable. However, one thing that stays true is that they could make anypony feel optimistic and joyful just by being around them. Most state that this is the Element’s ability, though it is still not fully approved.

Honesty

The ability that all Honesty wielders have in common is the ability to detect lies. Their sense of honesty and justice has caused them to become aware of a pony’s speech pattern and can discern lies from the truth.

Generosity

Truly a mysterious Element, Generosity’s wielders are said to possess Charm Speak, which is the ability to charm others just by using their vocal abilities. It is also noted that most Generosity wielders are female.

Loyalty

If one were to look closely, they would notice that none of Loyalty’s wielders are Unicorns. This is because their ability would be their great speed and stamina, used mostly to save loved ones and innocent ponies from harm.

Kindness

Questionably, the most useful of all Elements. Kindness has the distinct ability to increase the rate of healing of a creature, thus most wielders are the support unit for the Elements. In dire situations, they have the ability to fully heal a pony, but under certain unknown circumstances.

Spike looked at the pages with interest. When he thought back, most things actually do make sense now that he knows the article. All the unique feats that the group have done were assisted by the Elements of Harmony, who knew? All this time he thought that the Elements were only used as a rainbow beam of joy and light.

Twilight was always great at magic, there was no doubt about that. Pinkie Pie, when not depressed, is always fun to hang around with. There was no way Spike could lie to Applejack without her figuring out. Rarity could always get whatever she wanted by asking somepony else. Rainbow Dash was fast enough to do a Sonic Rainboom. And Fluttershy helped heal injured animals.

Fluttershy… healing…

“Hey, Twi” Spike said out of the blue “It says that there are some circumstances needed for Kindness to fully heal somepony, do you have any idea what that might be?”

“I’m sorry, Spike” Twilight responded with a heavy sigh “Even I’m not sure what that could be, though it could be really useful with our dilemma right now…”

As the two continued on their chat, silence filled another place. At the hospital, only the sobs and tears of Fluttershy could be heard echoing through the silent corridors. The electrocardiogram was making a long, loud beep as a straight line travelled across the black screen. Next to the crying Pegasus, a brown stallion and a grey mare stood silently, unsure on how to handle the situation.

“I’m sorry…” The Doctor said through gritted teeth “I couldn’t do it… I wasn’t able to help her…”

“Doctor, it’s not your fault…” Derpy patted The Doctor’s back as she tried to calm the stallion down

Fluttershy, however, still sat by the dead form of Rainbow Dash, her tears streaming down her cheeks like flowing rivers. She knew that her past self was in love with this mare, and Fluttershy was going to try and see if she could try and get the feeling as well. However, now it was impossible for her to ever love Rainbow Dash.

Her tears continued to flow, and at one part they started to feel warm. Fluttershy paid it no mind, she could be crying tears of blood for all she cared. All she wanted was for Rainbow Dash to finally be awake. Was that too much to ask for?

She was too busy crying that she never realised that somepony else had entered the room, a pony all three of the current inhabitants know albeit one of them does not even know her name. The mare in question slowly trotted towards The Doctor and gave a solemn smile.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t heal her” the Unicorn said

“There is nothing more to do now, right, Romana?” The Doctor answered

Beep

The noise made all heads snap towards the monitor hooked up to Rainbow Dash. No, it had to be a miracle. There was a heartbeat. Slow, but it was certainly a heartbeat. Dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events, The Doctor started muttering incomprehensively and Romana had her mouth agape.

“It’s Fluttershy…” Derpy suddenly said which made the two ponies’ heads look at the weeping mare

It was true, in a way. They could see a warm glow surrounding Fluttershy, and whenever her tears dropped onto Rainbow Dash, the heartbeat rate would slowly quicken. They were at a loss to how this could happen, but they didn’t mind. Rainbow Dash was going to survive after all.

“Romana…” The Doctor said at last “You came here for a reason, what is it?”

“Fluttershy” Romana answered quietly “I could help her regain her memories”

The Doctor suddenly snapped his head at the Unicorn, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. This made Romana hang her head as she contemplated on what she was about to do. They had just gained a dying Element, was it worth losing another? She was just about to take back what she had said when a silent voice piped up.

“You… you can?” Fluttershy said between sobs

“Theoretically, yes” Romana said woefully “There are a lot of risks, though. And since you’ve already had an operation to the brain, it could prove more fatal”

“But… I could remember again… right…?”

“… Yes, you can remember again”

“Then please, I… I would like to… to go through with it…”

There was silence for a while as the group thought of Fluttershy’s request. It was suicidal, no doubt. Romana even thought of forgetting the whole thing and letting Fluttershy be. But no, they had to try. And most of all, Romana had promised that she would attempt to heal Fluttershy’s memory. The least she could do is fulfil her own promise to herself.

“Romana” spoke The Doctor gloomily “You know I love you, and I care for the safety of all of space time, but this is risking too much”

“Rainbow Dash was just saved by a miracle!” Romana shouted, a little too loudly for her own good “What if a miracle could happen with Fluttershy as well?!”

“Doctor, just give her a chance…” Derpy chimed in, leaning in closer to the bewildered brown stallion “Even Fluttershy wants to go through with it”

The tension in the room was thick as The Doctor contemplated on the mares’ request. He knew what was best for space time, but maybe this could be an exception. Just this once. Quickly, before he could ever regret saying it, he approved of them going on with the operation. Whatever happens, he could always fix the time stream later.

Word of Rainbow Dash’s sudden healing travelled fast, and soon all of Ponyville knows about it. Many have come to the mare’s room, surprised to see the Pegasus slowly breathing. Of course, her mane was no longer a bright array of rainbow colours, and her wings were long gone, but at least she was okay. Even Pinkie Pie was in full swing when the Elements came to visit her.

Rarity had asked The Doctor and Derpy where Fluttershy may be, seeing as she was closest to Rainbow Dash. The Doctor simply lied, saying that he did not know where she could be. He wanted to keep Romana’s plan a secret, for now. Besides, The Doctor has lied many times before. He was not a stranger to the whole concept and so his lies were difficult to distinguish from the truth.

“Ya’ll know it ain’t so swell ta be lyin’ on us, right?” Applejack said nonchalantly, staring at The Doctor with a terrifying gaze.

Okay, maybe he can’t lie to everyone.

Against his own will, The Doctor told the group about what Fluttershy wanted to undergo. He had to gloss over several details as he was sure it would cause more harm than good to these ponies. As his explanation came to an end, he was prepared to be shouted at for allowing Fluttershy to be operated on once more, but it never came. Instead, he was faced with the shocked faces of four ponies and a dragon. Apparently, even they did not know how to react to this news. Rarity asked for the room where Fluttershy was being operated in, but The Doctor said that it was classified. They would be able to visit when the operation was done.

Another day has passed, and Rainbow Dash finally shows more signs of life. Her heart rate has become normal, and after a long time she finally opens her eyes. The four Element wielders, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike were there when she has finally regained consciousness, and they basked in the moment warmly. It took a good few hours before Rainbow Dash could respond back, but she finally managed to talk to her worried friends.

The group talked for a long time, and Rainbow Dash managed to keep up with what was happening with everyone since she was unconscious. Out of all of them, Scootaloo has actually changed the most. The rumours were true. She was, in fact, in love with Rumble. They had a good laugh together, and the visitors thought that they could get away with the absence of one of their own. However, Rainbow Dash seemed to be dying to ask that question herself.

“So… where’s Fluttershy?”

Deadpanned silence.

“Guys, where is she?”

Reluctantly, they told Rainbow Dash about her dearest friend. The news of Fluttershy wanting to undergo another operation made the cyan former-Pegasus’ jaw drop. As fast as she could, she asked them where Fluttershy was being held. No clue, of course. Even The Doctor didn’t want to tell them. Just as she wanted to take matters into her own hooves, a certain grey Pegasus knocked and entered the room.

“Oh! You’re all here!” Derpy gasped “I’ve got some news for you. Come on, follow me”

“What about me?” Rainbow Dash asked, motioning to the wires hooked up to her

“Right, you need to come as well”

After unhooking Rainbow Dash from all the wires, they all travelled slowly through the hospital corridors. Applejack and Twilight had to support Rainbow Dash since her legs were still weak. However, her getting to stand up is a miracle on its own. Twilight stated that her muscles were supposed to be too weak to be able to support her weight right now.

They finally stopped in front of an operation room, and they quickly realised who was behind the door. They wanted to burst in with all of their might, screaming the name of the butter yellow Pegasus and hug her with all their might. However, the fact that Derpy only said that she had news to say, and not state whether or not it was good news. The gathered ponies and dragon were worried as to what they would find behind the wooden double doors.

Before anypony got the nerve to enter, The Doctor and Romana came out of the doors with solemn smiles. They were aware of the group’s arrival. In fact, they were anticipating it. The Doctor nudged Romana, motioning her to explain what has happened to the Pegasus. The Unicorn hesitated at first, but the stares from the group finally made Romana talk.

“The operation to recover Fluttershy’s memory… was a success” Romana said with an awkward smile, one which was copied by the other guests “But…”

“But… what?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently

“Her brain tissue was too thin from the last operation. The continuous blood flow could cause inflammation to the brain. Fluttershy, she… she doesn’t have long to live…”

The entire group was dumbstruck as to the information handed to them. So dumbstruck, in fact, that they were sceptical in visiting Fluttershy in the room behind the two ponies. Still, they have too visit them. They are all friends, after all. And helping out each other is what friends do.

Spike and Twilight entered the room first, praying to Celestia that Fluttershy was at least presentable. They were followed suit by the other ponies. When they saw the Pegasus who lay resting on the bed, they all released a breath they never knew they were holding.

“Twilight, Rarity, everyone…!” Fluttershy said weakly through the oxygen over her muzzle “You came…”

“Fluttershy… why did you- you could-“ Twilight stuttered, unable to contain the sadness that hung at her throat

“Why did I ask for Romana to give the memory restoration operation to me?” Fluttershy said with a calm smile “Well, you could say I wanted to remember. It hurt me more than it hurt you all, knowing that I couldn’t remember all the fun times we’ve had together, all the pain we endured, so I told her I wanted to go through with this. And it worked. I remember everything now”

Tears welled up in the eyes of all the ponies present in the room. They were happy for Fluttershy, who was able to remember her past now. They were happy for Rainbow Dash, who was fighting fit and all better now. But looking at the weak, smiling form of Fluttershy, the pain of the situation struck them hard.

“Twilight, Spike… You both came to Ponyville during the Summer Sun Celebration a few years ago. That was when we became the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Thank you, for breaking me out of my timid shell”

“Pinkie Pie. You were always there to cheer me up with you jokes and parties. Even though you are sad on the inside, you smile and laugh on the outside. Sorry if I ever hurt your feelings. I know how sensitive your feelings are”

“Rarity, you were the first friend I made in Ponyville. I’m sorry that I could never go with you to the spa every Tuesday anymore. Please, cherish those memories for me, will you?”

“Applejack, you always work so hard at what you do. Your apples are and always will be the best that I have ever tasted. Don’t let sadness distract you from your work, and please don’t overwork yourself”

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo. I had such a fun time with you three. Even when you were still little fillies, you were always so lively, so filled with joy. Apple Bloom, you are a lot like your sister, don’t you ever change that. Sweetie Belle, don’t mindlessly follow what other ponies say. You are a very smart mare. Scootaloo, don’t blame yourself for whatever harm you’ve caused. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t want to see you sad. I promise I’ll greet them when I’m on the other side”

“Rainbow Dash…”

Nopony was trying to hold back their tears now. They all bawled, even the three ponies hanging around at the back of the room. According to Romana, Fluttershy didn’t have much longer to live. Only she knew exactly how long Fluttershy had, and she didn’t want to upset the others any more than they are now. Rainbow Dash stepped in closer to Fluttershy, holding her hoof and using another hoof to stroke her mane. Fluttershy tried to take off her oxygen mask, but Twilight stopped her.

“No, Twilight” Fluttershy said with a warm smile “Please…”

Twilight allowed Fluttershy to remove the oxygen mask.

“Thank you, Dashie, for everything you’ve done. When we met as foals, you were always around to protect me. That’s what I loved most about you: Your loyalty. When I couldn’t do something, you hung around to make sure I wasn’t left out. I want you to be happy, Dashie. Don’t hurt yourself over my loss…”

Dashie… Rainbow Dash hasn’t heard that nickname for more than a year. She wished she could record it, all of Fluttershy’s words and final speeches. But that was all it would be, a recording. It wasn’t the same as the real Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash noted that, even after all this time, Fluttershy still hung on to the feather Rainbow Dash had given her.

“I’ll never forget you, ‘Shy” Rainbow Dash whispered “Not now, not ever”

“Thank you, Dashie… I love you…”

“I love you too…”

The scenery was beautiful and picturesque, almost as if it was mocking the future loss of the last Pegasus in the Elements of Harmony. Still, a sudden warmth radiated in the room. The final gift of the Element of Kindness to her friends and loved ones.

It is said that kindness could heal all wounds. Today, that fact was proven true…

With only a glance, you opened my eyes

To so many wonders I never knew

An unwanted trance, and caught by surprise

The spell I am under is forever you

Through all the defense on my face

You gave me a sense of my place

With only a glance

You gave me my chance

With only the look that burned me inside

I woke and I found myself under your wing

The me that you took did not have the pride

To fly off the ground, or the heart to sing

I lacked the dream and the drive

You made me scream I'm alive

The glance I speak of

It showed me your love