Heartache: Cursed Destiny {Book the Second}

“Now, come here!” Fluttershy breathed, reaching for the small badger at the corner of her old, weather-beaten cottage. It hissed at her and waved its long claws.

“Come on,” Fluttershy whispered in her soft, extremely weak voice, “I had to get a look at your hind leg. Just look at it! It’s twisted at a strange angle.”

The young, aggressive badger hissed again in response and swap at the air warningly with its sharp claws. Fluttershy frowned. She thought that her life of 36 years will still be filled with joy and content of having a strong connection with animals, but it seemed that her so-called connection was wearing off. She can’t interact with animals the same way she had when she was in her early twenties. But she knew that she and her friends will all age. They can never stay in their twenties, even if they wanted to, and that is that. Their lives will change as well. Still, Fluttershy wish she can interact with the stubborn badger as easily as she had when she was younger.

She reached out a yellow hoof to try to carry the badger and bring it to a table so she can see its twisted leg. It growled ferociously and swapped at her foreleg. The long claws raked the soft skin right above her hoof. Fluttershy yelped as a sharp pain ignited, soon followed by an intense stinging. She jerked her hoof away and began to suck on the deep, nasty scratches. Her mouth filled with the blood from the wound. Her eyes watered, and soon tears trickled down her cheeks just as the blood trickled down her hoof. She carefully set her hoof down on the floor. Through her tears, she glared at the badger.

“How could you, you stupid piece of waste!” she shouted, tearing her weak, soft throat. Her age was a great disadvantage for her vocal chords, even if she was only 36. The badger merely hissed. Fluttershy was turning extremely desperate and angry. She backed away from the badger and walked over to a drawer at the other side of the cottage. She opened it and found a pair of thick gloves. As she started to put them on and walk back to the badger, she caught a glimpse of a room. The room where her friend Discord usually slouch in a couch.

Used to slouch in a couch, Fluttershy thought sadly. Oh, how I wish he had stayed. She continued to walk back to the badger. It had not left its spot at its corner because it had been watching her warily the entire time. She reached her good hoof to the badger. It growled and swapped at her hoof. The thick glove protected her skin. She snatched the badger off the ground. It hissed and growled fiercely in protest as it slashed at the air and her hoof with its dangerous claws. Fluttershy ignored its struggle. Even though the badger was small, it felt heavy. Perhaps it was just Fluttershy’s lack of strength. She lifted it a bit higher.

It was a mistake. Lifting the badger was a mistake. Carrying the badger was a mistake. Attempting to help the badger was a mistake. Having the badger in the cottage was a mistake. The badger took a mighty slash aimed at Fluttershy’s face. The claws raked her eyebrow, dug into her left eye, sliced her left cheek, and continued to graze her skin down her throat. She let out a blood curdling shriek. She dropped the badger, and it slammed painfully onto the wooden floor. It let out a loud scream before struggling to scramble away with its injured leg. Every creature in the cottage quieted, staring.

Rainbow Dash paced across the waiting room impatiently, anxiety and concern etched onto her face. Her best friends, minus Fluttershy, were seated in chairs, fidgeting nervously.

“I can’t believe it,” Rainbow muttered, pausing every now and then to paw at the ground.

The others didn’t reply. A doctor stepped into the waiting room. Immediately, the five mares trotted over to him to hear anything concerning Fluttershy.

“Well?” Applejack asked, beginning to grow as impatient as Rainbow. The doctor simply stared at her blankly with tired eyes, as if he could use a break from his career at the Ponyville Hospital. After a moment of silence, he replied, “Fluttershy is in the room in the far end of the hallway at the left, the nurses will tell you what will become of her.” He walked away, without bothering to tell them the exact number of Fluttershy’s room.

The mares merely stood there in silence before begin searching for Fluttershy’s room. It took them awhile because the hospital was rather complicated; they had to ask many staff members where a yellow pegasus with pink hair could possibly be held in. Eventually, they entered Fluttershy’s room.

Some of them gasped. Some of them began their shrill screams before forcing a forehoof into their mouths. Some of them just stood there gaping. One of them is in the bed, breathing slow, heart rate low. They did not need a nurse to tell them what had happened and what will become of Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness.

“Why did she have to go?” Rainbow whispered, staring blankly at the coffin. She and her remaining friends were gathered at Fluttershy’s funeral along with Fluttershy’s other friends and family members. Rarity was crying at the back of the group, wiping her eyes with a hoofkerchief. The cloth was stained with her tears and mascara. Pinkie had a hoof draped over Rarity’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort the unicorn, staring at her in sympathy and sadness, her blue eyes becoming an ocean. Applejack was completely silent, staring at the ground, trying to fight the pain to no avail. Twilight was just as grief-stricken as her friends, and Rainbow’s question was not doing anything to make her feel better. In fact, it was now nagging at the back of her mind.

Why did she have to go? she thought. Fluttershy was a kind, sweet, and sensitive friend who had suffered and shared great memories with the rest of the group; her sudden death by a simple little badger was shocking and depressing. Twilight thought back to the image of her yellow friend lying in the hospital bed, half of her head bandaged. She and her friends were sitting by her bedside, sharing a few words with her and their goodbyes as Fluttershy took her last breath.

Stupid blood loss, taking away my best friend, Twilight thought bitterly as the coffin was lowered to the ground.

She wonder if her life, along with the lives of her friends, would continue to be haunted by the question, Why did she have to go?