Where I Realize I'm a Horrible Person
A/N: Pre-read and Edited by frieD195 and BronyRanger! Also, this is idea is not taken from ernestgoestocamp. Also, a good portion of the fic was written while sleep-deprived. Onwards!
It was just another warm, beautiful, cliché day in Equestria. The weatherponies had done their job perfectly, and were now relaxing and helping some of their friends with... Whatever they were doing at the moment.
Everypony was busy working on something, as they were at the moment making themselves ready for the winter to come. But in the shabby streets of Manehattan, other... jobs were being done. I refuse to go into detail. It’s messy though. Ask your parents about what I meant with that.
But in a familliar town, a now very familliar butter-yellow pegasus was helping her animal friends set up their nests for the winter to come. It was a hectic time of the year, as she had to construct new nests for the animals who’s families had grown due to some... activities which made the pegasus blush when she thought about them.
At the moment, she was building a new nest to two birds who were being awfully friendly to eachother. Fluttershy, however thought that it was adorable when a pony who wouldn’t have as much experience with animals would deem it to be ‘gross’. Fluttershy on the other hoof didn’t care about such things. It was just nature, after all. But nature was horny. And nature is a scary thing when it’s horny. I’ve seen some shit.
But even with all these critters running around the house, raising all sorts of hell, she was not bothered by it. After all these years with having so many animals around her, she has become used to the stress. She avoided stepping on any tails, paws or any other limbs with practised ease. Her grace when she walked around the small woodland critters was truly awe-inspiring.
But every rose has its thorns, that’s a lesson the poor mare would have to learn in a truly horrid manner. As she was navigating herself amongst the animals, she never noticed one of the smaller animals. It was an insect who had been trying to avoid certain death for the entire day.
The crusader was none other than the Glorious Lord Anthony of the Ants. Anthony was one of the most courageous ants to ever grace Equestria with his unbreakable presence. The only thing he didn’t really like about himself was his size. Anthony could be recognized by all of the ants in Equestria, as he was the only one wearing a tiny top hat. Because top hats are awesome. That’s why. He had ventured into the abode of the meek pegasus in search for sugarcubes to feed his family and friends as the harsh winter was coming closer and closer every single day.
Fluttershy accidentally bumped into a table, making her squeak in surprise and make the table teeter. In her rush to salvage the table from falling over, she paid no mind to check for a certain top hat-wearing crusader. Anthony turned around and tried to run away as fast as his six legs could carry him. But sadly, he was much too slow to evade his doom.
It felt like time itself slowed down for the poor insect. He stopped and accepted his faith. He lifted his top hat from his head and held it to his chest, humming the Antional Anthem silently as his entire life flashed in front of his eyes. The giant hoof of the butteryellow pegasus was now much closer than what it was mere seconds ago. He felt the hoof crush down onto him, he screamed in agony as his gooey entrails burst from his stomach. And with that, the Brave Pioneer of the Northern Anthills met his doom.
From Fluttershy’s point of view, she was still stressing to keep the table containing about ten bird’s nests from falling over and make her grueling work useless. When she was just about to reach out with her forelegs and save the table, she heard a tiny squeak and a squishing sound coming from beneath her left forehoof. But she still reached out with her right foreleg and pushed the table back onto its proper place and stance. She sighed in relief and decided to inspect what she had accidentally stepped on.
To her horror, she saw a tiny black spotch lying on the floor with yellow-ish goo spread around it. Its legs were twitching from time to time. Poor Fluttershy felt her heart just in the back of her throat. Upon closer inspection, her horrors were confirmed. There, lying squished on her very floor was a tiny, innocent ant who had been trampled to death in her rush to save the table from falling over. Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her pupils became barely noticeable pinpricks. She started panicking, and with panicking came hyperventilating. She started breathing rapidly and from time to time, hitched. This couldn’t be happening... she had... killed an innocent ant.
She threw herself onto the floor just besides it and brought her head over it, to try to hear if it was still alive. She was about to lift her forelegs onto it and commence CPR, but then she realized how stupid that would be and only make it worse. The critters inside the hut all stared at her curiously to see what had happened. Angel Bunny hopped forward to take a closer look, but what he saw made him lift a tiny paw to his forehead and fall onto his back, unconscious. Fluttershy noticed the white, fluffy critter lying beside her with a look of pure horror stretched over his tiny face.
The weight of the situation had crashed down upon her shoulders. Fluttershy started feeling lightheaded, but she couldn’t pass out now! She just couldn’t! She had to clean up this mess so nopony would know what had happened here today. She shakily rose to her hooves and stepped cautiously over the mangled insect. After rummaging through a few drawers, she found a tiny box suitable for an ant to be buried in. She scooped up the fallen lord ever so carefully and placed him on the table that had made the situation arise in the first place. She cursed the table and its wobbly legs to the pits of Tartarus. But there was no time to contemplate about such things. She had evidence of her deed to hide and remove.
Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf in the wind as she wiped off the yellow goo from her floor. She had to think fast to avoid anypony to notice what had happened. Fluttershy felt tears build up in the corner of her eyes as she glanced at the gorified box who had become a coffin for the tiny lifeform she had killed.
’’No!’’ She exclaimed heroically, but it was still pretty quiet. ’’It was an accident, and accidents happen... I didn’t do anything wrong... It was just an accident... Accident...’’ The timid pegasus started hyperventilating again. She had to calm down. She closed her eyes and started thinking happy thoughts. She envisioned a nice spa-appointment with Rarity, drinking tea and reading a nice book with Twilight. As she opened her eyes again, she was completely calm now, her formerly panicked expression had been replaced with a picture-perfect imitation of serenity formed into an expression.
She had to deal with this as a professional and accept that an accident happened and continue without a second thought. She could worry about it later. There’s not much she could have done to help the poor ant. Fluttershy felt her lower lip quiver. She gulped and took a deep breath. She could continue working without being bothered by it.
...Right?
Twilight Sparkle was trotting down the path leading to her timid friend’s hut. On her back was a saddlebag filled with books the butteryellow pegasus had requested to bring to her. They were books that the pegasus could read during the winter when she didn’t have to work as much as she does during the other seasons. The books were about newly discovered animal species, knitting clothes for animals and a... *ahem* romance novel from the restricted shelves... Not because there’s anything wrong with reading that, mind you.
As Twilight came closer down the path, she couldn’t help but to stare at the immense beauty of the leaves slowly falling down. Pinkie Pie was right; she really had to come out from the library more often! The small cabin was now coming closer and had now entered the bookworms’ vision. She started trotting a little faster.
As she opened the door, she couldn’t help but to notice how quiet it was inside. It was an eerie silence which unnerved the lavender pony greatly. She took a few cautious steps inside, nervously scanning the room she entered for any sign of danger.
’‘Fluttershy?’’ She called for her friend. No answer was heard. Twilight gulped and looked around. She didn’t like this at all. She took slow, tense step towards the kitchen while holding her breath. If something would happen, she would be ready to act in an instant. As she walked inside the kitchen, she saw her friend sitting by the table stiff as a board and a very fake grin on her face. ’‘Fluttershy!’’ She ran up to her friend and gave her a quick hug. ’‘What are you doing?’’
’‘Nothing!’’ Fluttershy shrieked, but she realized that she had raised her voice significantly. ’’Oh, um... Nothing...’’ She grinned sheepishly. Twilight arched an eyebrow from the sudden outburst.
’’...Right.’’ Twilight shook her head and looked around the room. ’’So, are you finished with helping your animals?’’ She asked as she levitated the requested books from her saddlebag and placed them on the table. Fluttershy smiled and nodded. ’‘You sure stepped on it to finish it so quickly!’’ Fluttershy flinched and bit her lip when she said about stepping.
’‘You can say that...’’ Fluttershy strained a smile. Twilight noticed how unethusiastic her friend was being. She shrugged and dismissed it as just being another part of her shy friends’ demeanor.
’‘Hey, what’s this?’’ Twilight lifted the small box from the table with her magic. Poor Fluttershy gasped in such a manner that you could expect her lungs to burst from the suddden intake of air. With a powerful flap of her wings, she soared towards the tiny box and snatched it from the purple aura. Twilight stared at her friend with her jaw almost touching the floor. How do they do that? I mean, do they unhinge their jawbone or anything..? Okay, back to the actual story.
’‘It’s um... Nothing.’’ Fluttershy grinned sheepishly. Her eyes darted from side to side in an impressive pace. Twilight was now certain that Fluttershy was hiding something from her. But in order to find out what it was, she’ll have to get a hold of that box.
’‘Fluttershy, can I have that box please?’’ She asked as innocently as she could. Fluttershy stared at her for a couple of seconds and then at the box. Fluttershy shrugged and reached out with her arms. But just before Twilight grabbed it with her magic, Fluttershy realized what was about to happen and yanked her arms back to her chest. Clever girl... Twilight would have to try a different technique. She pursed her lips and glanced through the kitchen window. ’’IS THAT DISCORD TAPDANCING UPSIDE-DOWN WITH PRINCESS LUNA?’’ She shouted and pointed a shaking hoof towards the window. Fluttershy arched an eyebrow. There was no way that that was really happening.
’‘Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal~’’ Okay. Maybe there was a slim chance. Two voices sang from her backyard. Fluttershy didn’t believe her eyes when she saw that Discord was indeed, tapdancing upside-down and Princess Luna was happily cantering next to him. The two ponies shrugged and returned to their own ordeal.
’’I just want to help!’’ Twilight half-whined. Fluttershy glanced down at the box again and thought of the contents of the small box and bit her lip. She could do this, as Twilight is one of her best friends. She wouldn’t judge her, right? Right?!
’’Um... I’m not sure that you could help me with this, Twilight.’’ Fluttershy whispered and shrunk back. This did nothing but to encourage Twilight even more to help her friend. Twilight took another step forwards. Fluttershy backed away when her unicorn friend came closer to her. She unconsciously gripped the box even tighter. ’’On second thought, Ireallythinkyoucan’thelpme!’’
Twilight snortled, making small puffs of smoke escape her nostrils. Fluttershy gulped and started looking for the easiest way to escape from the scholar. But silly Fluttershy forgot that students of Twilight’s calibre never stop their research for anything. Never.
’‘Give me that box. Now.’’ Twilight warned. She was sick of playing around. With a loud cry, she dashed forward. Time appeared to slow down for the bookworm. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that she was moving in slowmotion. Strangely enough, that was exactly what happened. The pegasus sighed and tapped her hoof impatiently while waiting for the hit. She didn’t bother to wait anymore, so she took a leisurely step to the left. Twilight Sparkle cursed epic slow-mo effects as she crashed into the wall.
Being the ever-caring friend she is, Fluttershy went and helped her friend onto her hooves. She momentarily placed the box on the floor as she reached down with her foreleg and helped Twilight stand up. During this brief moment of thoughtlessness, Twilight used it to her own benefit. She focused her magic on the box and as swiftly as she could manage, she pulled the box open and brought it to her face for a close-up view. Fluttershy saw this happen with wide eyes. She couldn’t stop what was about to come and broke down while clinging to a lavender foreleg while begging for forgiveness.
Twilight, however was not very amused.
What she had anticipated to be something big, turned out to be something very small. Both in significance and size. There, lying in that box was something she guessed to be a former ant of some sort. Its tiny black body was crushed and was barely holding together. She should have seen this coming from the butteryellow pegasus at some point, but for now, she just facehoofed with an audible smack and dragged the hoof down her face. ’‘Fluttershy... Did all of this just happen because of a dead ant?’’ She said through gritted teeth. Fluttershy was one of her best friends, but this was just so aggravating...
’’Y-Yes...’’ Fluttershy sniffled and wiped her face with her right forehoof. Now she just had to wait for when Twilight would chastize her for such a horrible deed. Twilight groaned and dropped the box. Fluttershy squealed and dove to prevent the box from dropping to the floor. She was just able to catch it.
’‘It’s not a big deal, you know... I think I may have stepped on a bug or two on my way here.’’ Twilight pursed her lips as she contemplated on how mane bugs she had accidentally stepped on. ’’No, I think it was three...’’ She smiled. Fluttershy’s jaw dropped and she propelled herself up to the ceiling.
’‘Monster!’’ Fluttershy shrieked and pointed an accusatory hoof at the librarian, who sighed and realized that she had to approach this in a different way. She rolled her eyes and sat down with a thump.
’‘Remember when Pinkie told us that we were being watched by some kind of hairless monkeys?’’ Fluttershy nodded cautiously, not really understanding why Twilight had to bring that up. Pinkie Pie had been sitting and staring at a wall for at least a week, making both her friends and family worried sick. ’‘Good, because I can sense some similarities between your situation and her gibberish.’’ Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she would be offended or not, so she just shrugged it off and continued listening. ’‘First, nopony else would see this exactly as you do. Second, both you and Pinkie overreacted. Third, it makes ponies question your sanity.’’
Fluttershy scrunched her nose as Twilight implied that she was crazy, when she’s clearly not crazy. Hell, Fluttershy’s probably the most normal pony in Ponyville. Except for when Iron Will came to town, or if alcohol is involved. ’’So... I should just... let it go?’’ She fluttered down to the floor and gave her friend a quizzical look.
Twilight nodded and smiled, this was what she was striving to accomplish as soon as she knew what was going on. That’s when she realized that she had wasted a good portion of the day helping Fluttershy solving her issue. She levitated the books out from her saddlebags. She blushed as she caught a glimpse of the romance novel, which Fluttershy snatched immediately and placed it beneath her wing and her body while glancing nervously from side-to-side. Twilight then levitated the saddlebags to herself and strapped it tightly.
’’I have to get back to the library and make sure that Spike isn’t playing around with my chemicals in the basement labora-’’ She was interrupted by a loud boom coming from the town. Her eyes widened as she realized that this wasn’t good. At all. ’’-tory...’’ She gave Fluttershy another quick hug before she bolted through the door and down the path leading into town. Fluttershy followed her friend with her eyes, sighing as she looked away from the window.
As Fluttershy walked slowly back into the kitchen, where the tiny, tattered form of the ant was still lying for everypony to see in all its squished glory. She placed the lid back onto the box and turned away, just to see Angel bunny glaring at her. ’‘What is it, Angel?’’
The ball of fluff took a deep breath and then started doing some very advanced mimeographs with his tiny paws. He flailed his arms up and down, then continued to hold a paw to his nose and point his other paw at an otter who was acting innocent. He then made a tiny vomiting noise. If I’d guess, it sounded like something similair to ‘BLEEEAAAUUURRRGHHH’
’‘The otter can’t help that he has gas, Angel!’’ Fluttershy said sternly, or what could be described as stern. ’’He can’t help having a very sensitive stomach, you know.’’ The bunny waved a tiny paw dismissingly. Fluttershy pouted at the bunny’s childish behaviour. The fluffball rolled his eyes and set them on the box lying on the table. He hopped up onto a chair, and then onto the table. He creeped towards the box, ever so slowly. When he was standing just by it, he stood up, puffed his chest out and saluted. A single manly tear of manly manliness rolled down his cheek. He thumped his hindleg to the table, making Fluttershy turn her attention to him.
He pointed down at the box, then gestured that he was digging. Finally, he laid down on the table completely still while holding a tiny flower to his chest. After his performance was finished, he stood up and bowed to the audience which consisted of three birds and an obese squirrel Fluttershy had put on a diet.
’‘You want me to... bury him?’’ She asked cautiously, ready to duck if the bunny would decide to chuck a carrot at her for being wrong. To her relief, the bunny nodded and saluted again. ’’I guess it’s the least I could do...’’ She had been the cause of the poor insect’s passing, after all. But Twilight had advised her not to be bothered by it anymore. A sudden carrot hitting just between her eyes made her decide that it would be better to do it. She shrugged and picked up the box. She had some preparing to do.
Twilight Sparkle was yet again walking to Fluttershy’s house, but this time she was accompanied by a now polka-dot coloured drake. After finding out that Spike had indeed, played around in her basement and turned into that peculiar color, Twilight had decided that walking through Ponyville in his current predictament would be punishment enough for the young dragon. Spike, however, was not pleased. At all.
’‘This was such a bitch move, Twilight...’’ He muttered as he tried to forget the stares he had been given and also tried to ignore the fact that he had made Rarity faint from the shock of seeing dots on him. He would have to explain it later when she isn’t unconscious and probably expect a rant on just how awful dots are...
’’It probably was, but how are you supposed to learn if I’m not a little stern from time to time?’’ She gave him a crooked smile, which made the young dragon snicker. ’‘Besides, I’m still older than you, and that means that I get to call the shots.’’ She chuckled to herself as the drake grimaced. Even with him being an entirely different species than what she is, they are just as close as a brother and sister can be.
’‘Why are we going to Fluttershy’s place again? You were already there earlier today...’’ He crossed his arms and hopped up onto his sister’s back. Twilight bit her lip. She couldn’t say the real reason, as Fluttershy would become so embarassed that she’d probably disappear until its over. It wouldn’t feel good to lie about it to Spike, though...
’‘I-uh... I promised Fluttershy to come over for tea when I had finished my work for the day.’’ Spike’s eyes narrowed and Twilight gulped nervously. She sighed in relief as Spike waved a dismissive claw. ’’Oh look, we’re here!’’ Spike jumped off her back and grumbled something incoherent. As Twilight opened the door, she couldn’t help but to notice that it was the same eerie silence from earlier today. She groaned and walked inside with Spike in tow.
’‘Weird...’’ The dragon remarked as he walked inside. He was used with the hut being overrun by critters which only just got in his way when he was going somewhere. Twilight was surprised when she noticed that Fluttershy wasn’t in the kitchen anymore. A shiver went down her spine as she heard two birds sing a sad, almost depressing song in the backyard. She surpressed a facehoof and walked to the door leading to the backyard. Spike refused to fall behind, so he jumped onto Twilight’s back again.
When she opened the door, her jaw dropped as she witnessed the sight before her.
Almost all of the animals who had been in the house when Twilight was there earlier were now all dressed in something black. The most noteable of them all was of course, Fluttershy. She was dressed in a simple black dress with a black jacket. On her head was a small, black hat. As Fluttershy noticed the interruption, her eyes widened significantly. Angel bunny was standing just next to the tiny box, which was lying on a small, simple table. Flowers were spread around it. Angel was appearantly leading the ceremony and was making a speech without speaking.
Spike climbed down from Twilight and stared at the event unfolding in front of his very eyes. His lower lip quivered and he balled his left hand into a fist and thumped it to his chest twice, then extended his arm toward the box and made a peace-sign. Twilight facehoofed, she had to know why Fluttershy went through with this. Fluttershy cleared her throat daintily.
’’Um... Angel made me do it.’’ She grinned sheepishly. Angel placed his right paw to his hip and twirled his left paw in a ‘aww hell naw’-esque fashion.
Twilight stared at her friend blankly. Her right eye twitched two times. She couldn’t believe this... This was... was... ’’Oh, I give up...’’ Twilight said miserably. ’‘Let’s finish this thing already, I want to go home...’‘ Twilight sat down and waited patiently for the whole thing to blow over.
’‘Note to self;’’ She thought. ’‘establish a chart of my friends’ mental status as soon as possible...’’ She listened without interest as Fluttershy walked forward to make her speech.
Here Lies Anthony, beloved son, brother, lover and guardian.
’‘Hey, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Being stepped on? Not gonna happen.’’
And it happened. Hate to say I told you so...
Moral of the story; Never let Symphony write any kind of fiction at 2 in the morning again.
