The Filly with the Purest Heart

The night was slowly transitioning into dusk as Princess Celestia was beginning her daily task of raising the sun, as she had always done. The transition into the morning hours were especially peaceful at Sweet Apple Acres, or rather, they normally were. Applebloom laid in her bed, still tossing and turning, nearly falling onto the floor at separate occasions through out the night. In her dream, she was standing in a moon-lit grassy plain, opposite Diamond Tiara.

The tiara-clad filly stared back at her with a troubled expression, and seemed to back away from her whenever she attempted to get closer. “Diamond, what are ya’ doin’ here?” asked Applebloom, as she was sort of aware of the fact that she was dreaming, but was still unsure of what exactly the meaning of this dream was.

Diamond Tiara did not respond, but merely directed her gaze towards the moon, and the hundreds of stars that twinkled all around it. Applebloom attempted to close the distance between herself and Diamond again, but just as before, Diamond Tiara backed away, moving herself further from the confused pony.

All the while, she returned her gaze back to the farm filly, before she began to shed tears from her frightened eyes, which glowed with the moon light, the reflection seeming to turn her tears into a silvery color.

“Diamond, why won’t you answer me, what in the hey is wrong wit’ ya?” pleaded Applebloom as she was making a conscious effort to remain still now, as to not disturb Diamond any further.

Again, Diamond refused to respond in any way, except that now, she had suddenly fallen onto the grass below her. She rolled over onto her back, and was now clenching her chest with one forehoof, and her stomach with the other. Diamond seemed to be in immense pain, as she was now emitting groans and wails consistently.

This disturbed Applebloom further, as she galloped with haste towards the suffering filly before her. She laid down right next to Diamond, who was still rolling and writhing with pain.

“Tiara, please, tell me what is wrong wit’ ya?” cried Applebloom as the sight of Diamond’s suffering had began to emotionally effect her.

Diamond was clenching her chest with a much tighter grip that before, her fur itself was wet from the midnight dew that was scattered all upon the grass that she was rolling in. Applebloom placed her muzzle onto the side of Diamond’s face, in an attempt to comfort her.

“Calm down Diamond Tiara, calm down, it will be okay, I promise ya!” soothed Applebloom with a gentle whisper into Diamond’s right ear. No sooner had Applebloom uttered these words, that she then noticed Diamond Tiara reaching for two jagged pieces of rock that were laying next to her.

“Gyaahhhhhh!!!!” screamed Diamond with a piercing sound of anguish and misery. This caused Applebloom to jump back onto her hooves, inadvertently putting more space between the two again. She could now only stare back with an unadulterated horror in her eyes, as she was standing witness to the grisly act that Diamond was now committing onto herself.

“Oh my goodness, no, no!!!” shrieked Applebloom as her mouth dropped open, her eyes as wide as they could physically manage to be.

Diamond Tiara was clawing into her throat and stomach with the two sharp pieces of rock that she had found earlier. She held one jagged piece in each forehoof, all the while still lying on her back. She began the abhorrent act without any sort of warning or provocation.

“Agghhh, please help me Applebloom, please help me!” wailed Diamond as she seemed to finally acknowledge the distressed farm filly’s presence. She then began to saw one of the jagged pieces of rock back and forth on her stomach. It had quickly sawed into Diamond’s abdomen, as blood and stomach acid began to flow out of the wound rather quickly.

“Diamond, quit doin’ that to yerself, what has happened to ya?” cried Applebloom as she noticed that blood was now beginning to flow from the areas that Diamond was clawing into herself.

“Applebloom, don’t let me die, please, please, PLEASE, guahhh!” screamed Diamond, as she had now sawed the other piece of rock deep into her throat. Blood was spilling exceedingly quick from the filly’s neck, as she had cut her jugular during the macabre act. The most disturbing part of this, however, was that her words quickly turned into gurgles and unintelligible babble. She had sawed through her vocal cords as well.

Her fur and skin turned pale, her tears flowing from her eyes as quickly as the blood was from the self-imposed wounds.

Applebloom stood back with an almost catatonic look upon her. She was in complete shock at first, but instinct had kicked in at this point. She had tried to approach Diamond Tiara, and pull the sharp rocks out of her hooves.

However, when she had approached the filly to try and save her, Diamond merely increased the force and intensity that she used to saw into her own flesh.

Applebloom stood frozen in her tracks, as Diamond Tiara, with one final swipe, had completely beheaded herself. Her intestines had fallen out of her stomach, and her severed head still had tears flowing from each eye.

“Why, why did this have to happen?” asked Applebloom to herself with a whimper as she could feel her stomach begin to churn violently. The young filly then proceeded to vomit upon the grass below her. She grew light headed, stumbling to the ground and doing her best to not look at what remained of the massacred filly beside her.

Applebloom took one look up at the moon, noticing that the former white body of rock had now turned red. The crimson moon shined rather menacingly upon the unholy scene below it. The whole atmosphere of the situation causing Applebloom’s heart to race at an abstain level.

She felt as if her heart could burst out of her chest at any moment, as her breathing began to die down. With one last tear strolling down her cheek, she suddenly saw a flash of bright light above her.

Before she could make out the source of this light, she had abruptly awaken from the nightmare, and found herself sitting in her bed, with cold sweat pouring down her forehead.

Her bed sheets were slightly dampened from the sweat, and her throat felt dry. She was almost dehydrated from the vast amount of sweat that she had produced as a result of her nightmare.

With some difficulty, Applebloom managed to climb out of her bed, taking a moment to glance out of her bedroom window.

She noticed that it was morning, and with a sigh of relief, she realized that the horrible event that she had witnessed was only a dream. Yet, she couldn’t help but comprehend, how real and despairing that it truly felt.

“Phew, calm down girl, it was only a dream, that is all.” thought Applebloom to herself as she opened her bedroom door and began to trot to the bathroom at a moderate pace.

“Yet, if it was only a dream, then why do I suddenly fear for Diamond’s life?” asked Applebloom of herself as she entered the bathroom and approached the sink.

She turned on the faucet, and began to drink from the trailing water, only stopping to take a breathe every now and then. After what seemed like hours, she had decided that enough was enough, and turned the water faucet off.

“I need ta’ talk to somepony, anypony, just to get mah’ mind off of this bad stuff.” lamented Applebloom as she trotted out of the bathroom. She ventured downstairs and saw Granny Smith sitting at her usual spot, the rocking chair in the living room.

She was sitting by a fireplace, as the cold autumn air was beginning to set in all around Ponyville. Granny had a book in her hooves, as she seemed rather focused on the reading material before her. She did not seem to notice that Applebloom had arrived in the living room at first, until the little filly spoke up.

“Hey Granny Smith, how ya’ doin’ this morning?” asked Applebloom as she slowly approached the old mare, with a bewildered look on her face.

“Good mornin’ there little filly, what seems to be the matter, school will be startin’ soon and you have not even had breakfast yet.” declared Granny Smith as she laid her book down on the coffee table beside her.

“Oh nothin’ is wrong Granny, I just had a rough time gettin’ to sleep last night, say, do ya happen to know where Applejack is?” asked Applebloom as she took a seat on the couch that sat beside the rocking chair.

“Your sis, oh, some of her friends came by this mornin’ before you woke up, they asked that she go with them to tha’ hospital.” said Granny Smith as she glanced over to Applebloom, noticing the look of despair upon the filly’s face.

“H-hospital?” stammered Applebloom as the horrible nightmare that she had just awoken from began to play back in her head.

“Oh yeah that is right, Rarity is the one who came and told Applejack about needin’ to go to tha hospital.” chimed in Granny Smith as she started to remember more of the details that she had heard earlier.

“Did Rarity say anything about who was in the hospital, Granny?” asked Applebloom as her mind could only think about what had happened to Diamond Tiara in her nightmare.

“I think she said it was... Fluttershy, yep that is who was in tha’ hospital, Rarity told me and your sis that she was not feelin’ well yesterday.” recounted Granny Smith as she slowly got off of her rocking chair. She approached Applebloom, realizing that the little filly was not feeling quite herself.

“Fluttershy is in the hospital, w...wh....why?” stuttered Applebloom, as she was under the assumption that Fluttershy should be doing just fine.

“Rarity said that she did not have enough time to explain in detail, but she assured me, before she left with ya’ sister, that Fluttershy would be okay.” assured Granny Smith as she gave a warm hug to her distraught granddaughter.

“Are ya’ sure Granny, that Rarity said that?” asked Applebloom as she hugged her grandma back as tight as she could.

“Trust me youngin’, there is nothin’ to worry about, now ya’ sister has already packed ya’ lunch for the day, so don’t worry about anything, just go have a fun day at school ya hear.” comforted Granny Smith as she pointed towards the kitchen where Applebloom’s saddlebag was.

“Oh alright, I will try.” insisted Applebloom as she waved Granny goodbye, before grabbing her saddlebag and trotting out the front door.

The morning sun’s rays glistened over Applebloom as she took a moment to appreciate how pleasant they felt. She took a look around her farm, looking at the piles of leaves that were gathering around the various trees that dotted the landscape.

“Boy, it sure is pretty out here this time a’ year.” said the farm filly to herself as she began her journey to the school house.

“I hope that Fluttershy will be okay, but even more right now, I.... I just wanna see ya’ Diamond Tiara, to know that you are okay too.” thought Applebloom to herself as a single tear had fallen from her cheek, and on to the dirt road below her.

Fluttershy had finally awoken from her sleep, and she noted that it was only twenty minutes after eight in the morning. She was surprised to see that all of her friends were in the room with her, including Nurse Redheart. She took a moment to look at each of them, paying close attention to Rainbow Dash. She was the last pony that Fluttershy had seen before she had fallen into the coma, and, for some reason that she could not grasp at the moment, was the only pony that Fluttershy felt comfortable around.

“Fluttershy are you feeling better?” asked Twilight Sparkle as she had a look of relief on her face, after fretting about the whole situation the night before.

“Umm, yes, I am feeling okay now, thank you Twilight.” replied Fluttershy with a polite, and gentle tone.

“Thank goodness girl, you had us all worried sick, am I ever grateful just to see you awake right now!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she found herself wiping a few tears from her eyes.

“We are going to throw you the biggest party later today, to celebrate your recovery!” laughed Pinkie Pie as she could not help but bounce around the room with joy.

“Thanks Pinkie, but I am not feeling in the mood for that right now, I... I just want to go home, if that is okay nurse.” said Fluttershy with a saddened tone in her voice.

“Yes, you are free to go, but only if you feel that you will be okay.” said Nurse Redheart as she still held a look of worry on her own face.

“Oh, you do not want a party, well okay, I don’t want to do something if it makes you feel uncomfortable.” said Pinkie who seemed perplexed at Fluttershy’s response to her party.

“I am sorry Pinkie, I do not mean it in a disrespectful way, I just don’t feel right at the moment, and it will take some time before things feel normal for me again.” responded Fluttershy as she did not want to upset her friend for merely trying to cheer her up.

“Before things feel normal again, what do you mean?” asked Rarity who seemed worried about the statement that Fluttershy had just made.

“No, I assure you girls, I am okay, but it will take some time before I am ready to join in on any kind of party.” insisted Fluttershy who did not want her friends worrying about her anymore.

“Are ya’ sure sugarcube, do ya’ really feel okay?” asked Applejack with concern, as she remembered how upset she was just an hour and a half earlier, when Rarity had told her about the whole ordeal.

“About as sure as I can be at the moment.” said Fluttershy as she slowly removed herself from the hospital bed, before trotting over to stand in front of her friends directly.

“You do not have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to, but do you at least want one of us to escort you home?” asked Twilight with concern.

“Well, maybe Rainbow, she was the one I was at the flower shop with, there is something that I want to tell her anyway.” said Fluttershy as she turned her attention to Rainbow Dash.

“What, me?” asked Rainbow Dash with confusion, not sure of how to feel about Fluttershy’s statement.

“We can all meet for a gathering tomorrow, but for now, I just want to go home, and I want you to walk with me there, Rainbow Dash.” replied Fluttershy as she held her gaze down at the operating floor below her.

The rest of her friends stared at her with looks of confusion, sadness, and worry, but they did not want to make Fluttershy feel any worse, so none of them decided to deny her request.

“If that is what you want darling, then that is fine, we can talk later.” soothed Rarity as she looked at Fluttershy with a smile of approval.

“I agree with Rarity, whenever you feel most comfortable, that is when you can tell all of us about what is bothering you.” said Pinkie as she ceased her hopping for the moment, in order to give Fluttershy a hug.

Twilight and Applejack both gave her a warm and comforting smile, which made Fluttershy sigh with relief. She was pleased to have such trusting and understanding friends.

However, she felt that Rainbow Dash was the only pony that she could talk to at the moment, and that nopony else would understand her more than the friend who had been by her side since foalhood.

“I will see you later then Fluttershy.” said Twilight as she, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity all exited the operating room, with each pony waving Fluttershy goodbye one final time.

“Thanks girls.” replied Fluttershy graciously as she turned herself to face Rainbow Dash directly.

“I guess I’m ready if you are.” said Fluttershy, staring into Rainbow Dash’s eyes with a look of uncertainty.

“Yeah, let’s head off then, but just to be sure, she is cleared to leave, right nurse?” asked Rainbow Dash towards Nurse Redheart.

“Yep, she is good to go, as long as she feels okay now.” replied Nurse Redheart with a chipper tone.

“Well, you heard the nurse, let’s go.” said Rainbow with a smile that made Fluttershy blush.

“Thank you, thank you so much, Dashie.” gushed Fluttershy as the two pegasi exited the operating room.

They made their way down through the admittance hall, before finally trotting out of the hospital itself. Fluttershy was happy to no longer be in the hospital anymore, as the fresh air of the outside world began to fill in her lungs once again.

“Now, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” asked Rainbow Dash as she decided against flying for the time being, opting to stay beside her friend instead.

“I want to tell you what I saw the night before I came to Sugarcube Corner, about what had made me upset in the first place.” began Fluttershy as Rainbow Dash noticed the sudden change in the timid mare’s mood. “Then, I want to tell you what I saw in the flower shop, about the thing that put me in the coma.” continued Fluttershy as she turned her gaze to meet Rainbow’s.

She had a look of somberness in her eyes, but she knew that somepony had to know about this, and she decided that Rainbow Dash should be the one.

“Alright, I am listening.” said Rainbow Dash with both anticipation, and fear in her mind. She was not sure if she was ready to hear this story, but for Fluttershy’s sake, she was going to listen nonetheless.

Applebloom had arrived at the playground of the school house, where she saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waiting for her.

“There ya two are!” exclaimed the excited farm pony as she gleefully galloped to meet her two friends, the three of them embracing in a group hug beside the swing set.

“I am glad to see you Applebloom, did you hear about Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle had already told me just a few minutes ago.” said Scootaloo, who was upset at the fact that one of the kindest ponies she knew was hurting.

“Yeah, Granny Smith told me, but she also said that Fluttershy is okay now, so don’t worry about it Scoots.” declared Applebloom as she began to look around the playground, trying to see if she could spot Diamond Tiara.

“Me and Silver Spoon were actually at the hospital last night, we did not get to see Fluttershy then, but I am relieved that she is okay now.” said Sweetie Belle as she began to notice a frown forming under Applebloom’s muzzle.

“Wait, why were you and Silver Spoon at the hospital last night, how did you find out about Fluttershy then?” asked Applebloom with a sudden haste in her voice.

“We were looking for Diamond Tiara, remember?” asked Sweetie Belle as she began to explain her situation to Applebloom. “We had searched all over Ponyville, and the last place that we looked was Sugarcube Corner.” said Sweetie Belle. “We were going to ask Pinkie Pie if she had seen Diamond Tiara at any point in the day, but she was not there.” continued Sweetie Belle as she tried to figure out the reason behind Applebloom’s sudden change in mood.

“Why would Pinkie Pie know anything about Diamond Tiara?” asked Scootaloo with a tone of curiosity.

“Because Diamond usually goes to Sugarcube Corner when she gets upset, but we did not find her there either, however Mrs. Cake told us where Pinkie Pie had gone, and had said that she might know where Diamond Tiara was.” chimed in Silver Spoon as she had suddenly trotted up towards the three Crusaders.

“Oh Silver Spoon, hi.” said Scootaloo, who was still thinking about the event that had transpired between them yesterday.

“Hi Scootaloo.” responded Silver Spoon as she glanced over towards Applebloom, before resuming her part of the story.

“Anyway, we decided to go to the hospital, in hopes of finding Pinkie Pie.” recounted Silver Spoon.

“Mrs. Cake had told us about Pinkie going to the hospital, and that was when we found out that she had gone there because it had been Fluttershy who was in the hospital.” explained Silver Spoon to Applebloom.

“Then, the next thing I know, we are at the Ponyville Hospital, standing face to face with Diamond Tiara!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she was still shocked about having met Diamond Tiara in the waiting room last night.

“Wait, you met Diamond Tiara at the hospital?” asked Applebloom with a confused and surprised tone in her voice.

“Yeah, she arrived with Twilight a bit after we got there, I can’t remember why she was with Twilight, but after seeing us, she did not stick around for long.” lamented Silver Spoon, as she could still remember the words that Diamond had said to her and Sweetie Belle in the waiting room.

“It turns out that she was purposely avoiding us the entire time, she did not want us to find her, she yelled at us and ran right out of the hospital.” mumbled Sweetie Belle with a saddened look in her eyes.

“She must have went home after that, I guess she was still upset about what happened yesterday.” said Applebloom as she put Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon’s stories together in her mind.

“I guess, but I have not seen her at the playground yet, she is probably not even going to come to school today.” sighed Silver Spoon as she knew how Diamond Tiara could get when she was upset.

“Wait, she is not here yet?” asked Applebloom as the memories of her nightmare started to seep back into her consciousness yet again.

“No, and class is about to start, I think we should head inside.” replied Scootaloo as she was not too concerned with Diamond Tiara’s current whereabouts, given her animosity towards the rich filly.

“Relax Applebloom, I am sure she will be here tomorrow, she can’t stay mad at us forever.” assured Sweetie Belle, trying to cheer the farm filly up.

“It is not her being mad at us that I’m afraid of, I’m just worried about her, that is all.” said Applebloom as the school bell began to ring.

“What do you mean, Applebloom?” asked Silver Spoon, confused at Applebloom’s prior statement.

“Oh nothin’, it’s just a feelin’ I have, but forget about it, let’s just get to class now.” replied Applebloom as she followed her other classmates into the school house.

In the back of her mind, she could only see the weeping, severed head of Diamond Tiara from her nightmare. It was engraved in her mind, and her own stomach began to churn at the thought.

“After school, I’m goin’ to Diamond’s house!” declared Applebloom to Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Silver Spoon just before the four fillies had arrived at the classroom door.

“I need to see her, I just gotta!” insisted Applebloom as panic and despair had taken over her mind. The three other fillies stared back at her with confusion plastered across their faces.