It was a rainy day in Ponyville. The pegasi had scheduled the rain about a week before, but it would still be a few more days before the sun would shine once again.

On this particular rainy day, Discord finally convinced his wife, Fluttershy, to get out of their cottage and go for a nice walk. Hoping that the fresh air and bright sunshine would lift her spirits and cheer her up, but the weather proved to be anything but pleasant. For it only seemed to have dampened her already darkened mood.

The last couple of years have been worse than a living Tartarus for Fluttershy, and after everything she’d been through, she finally built up enough courage to leave the safety of her home and return to the outside world once more.

She was a strong mare, and no pony knew that as much as Discord did. Everypony in town sympathized with her, and although they showed nothing but kindness and compassion toward her since she returned, none of them had truly known what she had gone through.

Discord held a magical force field around them to keep them out of the rain as they walked toward the Ponyville Clinic, but it did nothing to lighten the somber mood the couple was already in. It was a silent, yet awkward walk for the two lovers.

As their destination drew closer, Fluttershy found it harder and harder to walk toward the towering, almost intimidating, white and pink building. However, the stitches on the scar of her recently operated wound on the side of her barrel hindered her every movement, making her stiff with each step she took. She felt like she was just getting farther and farther away from her destination, then closer to it. Approaching it not only felt a little frightening for her emotionally but physically uncomfortable as well.

Seeing her start to struggle both physically and emotionally, Discord broke the silence between them and softly asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to teleport us to the doctor?” Feelings of worry and care for his wife deeply entwined into his words and voice.

“Nurse Redheart said that walking would help heal my wounds. I can do this,” Fluttershy answered, giving him a small smile.

Discord could hear the strain in her voice. He didn’t want her to go through more pain than she already had. “Let me carry you on my back at least, you may hurt yourself,” he offered kindly, dropping on all fours so she could climb on his back.

Fluttershy gently placed her wing on the worried draconequus’ shoulder, trying to reassure the former Lord of Chaos. “I’m okay.”

Upon reaching the hospital, a nurse quickly guided them to the psychiatric ward of the clinic. After a few minutes of sitting in the waiting room, a beige colored earth pony with an orange mane and wearing a white medical coat, approached the couple to introduce himself. “Hello, Mrs. Fluttershy. I’m Dr. Tranquility, your designated psychiatrist. Please come in.”

The psychiatrist room was very similar to all the other hospital rooms Fluttershy had spent time in the last weeks, the same dull white walls, however, had motivational posters hanging everywhere. A nice beige carpet covered the rooms floor, its welcoming softness underneath Fluttershy’s hooves reminded her of the grass on her cottage garden, setting her mind more at ease. A comfy red chair sat next to a glass table with the classic psychiatrist sofa right in front of them. At the back of the room, the doctors’ dark wooden table and chair held a vase with a single white tulip in it. Its leaves swayed in the cool breeze coming through a nearby open window.

Despite still being part of the hospital, the room emanated a calming and relaxing feeling. It had to, for it was in this room that the patients would endure the pain of recalling and sharing their horrible memories, in hope of finally achieving peace once again.

As the couple entered the pleasant room, the doctor dragged an additional chair with his mouth for Discord to sit. “Please, make yourselves comfortable,” he said, placing the new chair beside the sofa.

Once everypony had settled, Doctor Tranquility shut the door and grabbed his notebook and quill. “So, Mrs. Fluttershy, we’re here today to try and help you with the PTSD you developed after your… horrible experience, correct?”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

“Well, it is my belief that the best way to face, and eventually overcome any kind of problem is sharing it with supportive friends and family, so I’d love if you could share your experience with us,” the doctor said, gesturing to Discord and himself. “But don’t worry, if you find it too difficult and don’t want to recall any specifics events, we can take a break and skip that part, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded again, swallowing the nervous lump in her throat

“Alright, we can begin whenever you’re ready.”

It was a pleasant, cool night in the coastal city of Baltimare. I was attending the annual meeting about sea life preservation and marine biology. The meeting had dragged on a bit later than intended, but it was a pleasant event nonetheless. I left the meeting room around twelve pm. as I waited for all my fellow wildlife lovers to leave as I greeted them at the door.

The big city felt like a maze to me as I only have been here a couple of times before, and I soon found myself lost. I was about to fly and try to find any recognizable landmark when I heard somepony call me from a distance.

“Excuse me, are you Fluttershy?” A light grey pegasus asked me from the other side of the street. His cyan blue mane and cutie mark of three silver stars seemed vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t really remember him.

“Y-yes?” I replied as I landed in front of him.

“Thank Celestia, I need your help!” The stallion pleaded.

“What’s your name?” I had to ask.

“You don’t remember me? I’m Star Struck. I was one of Photo Finish’s assistants when you worked for her as a fashion model.”

That’s why I recognized this stallion!

Now that I was familiar with this stallion, I let myself relax a little. “What’s the matter?”

“My pet cat is sick, I tried calling a vet but everypony is asleep! You’re good with animals, right? Could you come with me and help my cat?” He asked desperately.

I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to follow him, but it would be hard for him to find a vet this late. After pondering for a few minutes, I decided to help him.

“Alright, but I should go home and tell my husband first…”

“No! There’s no time! You must come now!” he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away.

“I should at least write a note...he’ll be so worried…”

“My cat doesn’t have that kind of time! Please! Time is of the essence! He will die if he does not get medical help!”

With some hesitation, I relented and let him guide me away. The grey stallion led me toward a somber neighborhood, the tall apartments of the central district leaving way for smaller, crumpled up houses. As we reached the end of a dead end street, we arrived at a simple, yet cozy looking house.

The stallion grabbed his keys with his wings and opened the door, beckoning me inside with a hoof. “He’s in the basement, I left him there next to his scraping post and toys to make him feel better.”

As I navigated through the dark house, I found my way to the stairs that led down into the basement. I descended the stairs and looked around the room but couldn’t find any trace of the sick cat. “He doesn’t seem to be down he...” The sound of a door slamming shut took over the words I was speaking, but then I figured that Star Struck just shut the door to prevent the cat from leaving, from wherever he was hiding. As I continued to walk around, looking through shelves or anywhere a frightened sick cat might hide, I was approached from behind and felt a soaked piece of cloth was pressed against my muzzle. I tried to fight back but his grip only got tighter and tighter as my mind slowly slipped away...

Author's Note

And here is the 3° and final request for January! I'm 7 days late but I managed to do it!

Shout out to fluttercordlover232, who not only helped me editing her request but also contributed with some cool ideas as well, earning the title of co-author!

I hope the dark themes addressed in this story doesn't upset anybody, but if they do... Well, I warned you in the story description

See you next time!

-A.M.