Lost in the Dark

Hige awoke to find himself still intertwined with Fluttershy.. He remained motionless, enjoying the rhythmical beat of her heart, her warm breath crashing against his coat, and taking the time to understand what had happened yesterday. ‘Fluttershy saved me, she actually helped me get out of one of my breakdowns… What woke me up? I just remember being afraid and then… then the only thought in my mind: Fluttershy… and when I woke up… She kissed me, she actually kissed me… But for some strange reason, for that very second, I felt happy… I wasn’t worried about another breakdown; I didn’t care about my fears, I didn’t even care about dying… The only thing in my mind was staying with her…’ Hige began to feel Fluttershy moving. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

        “Are you crying?” she asked with a worried tone.

        Hige suddenly felt the cold of one of the droplets of tears running down his face. “Oh… It’s nothing…” Hige said as he gave her a quick kiss. “I love you…” Hige murmured to himself, not meaning for Fluttershy to hear it.

        “What?” she asked with a small blush.

        “Um, uh, nothing…” Hige said as a furious blush covered his face.

        Fluttershy smiled as she dug her head into Hige’s chest. “I love you too…” she murmured, just loud enough for Hige to hear.

        “We should get up, Vinyl said the carriage should get here by morning. We need to feed the animals… and I want to get a chance and visit Twilight…” Hige said with a hint of sadness.

        “Okay”, she said as she let go of Hige and started to get up. “I’m going to check on Kiba”, Fluttershy said as she walked downstairs.

        Hige walked into the bathroom, turnedthe water on , and put his head in the stream. The water quickly woke him up. He turned off the valve and shook some of the excess water of his head. Hige then walked downstairs and asked: “How’s Kiba?”

        “He’s fine, but he is still going to have to rest on the carriage”, Fluttershy said as she shifted her attention from Kiba to Hige.

        “Remind me to give you all of the treats when we get on the carriage”, Hige told Kiba, who gave a happy nod in return.

        “Um… should we go to the cottage now?” Fluttershy asked.

        “Yeah, let’s go.”

They quickly made their way to the cottage, walking  at their normal pace now that Kiba was in better conditions. When they reached the cottage, Hige remained outside and fed the animals. He walked back inside and found that the animals haven’t been fed yet, and that Fluttershy was taking a shower. Hige quickly fed the animals inside, making sure he didn’t forget any of them. The bathroom door opened and hoofsteps were heard going upstairs. Hige sat on the couch and began to wait. ‘Should I take a shower? It would be a good idea… I don’t want to be the only pony that stinks… Do I stink?’ Hige took a quick sniff. ‘Okay… yes I do. I need to ask Fluttershy if I can use her shower…’ He heard hoofsteps walking down the stairs. Fluttershy began to look around.

        “Did you feed the animals?” Fluttershy asked.

        “Yep. You were taking a shower, and I was done with the animals outside”, Hige responded.

        “Oh… You didn’t have too…” she said with a small blush.

        “I know. By the way… can I use your shower?” Hige asked trying to make it seem like a casual question.

        “Sure… There should be an extra towel in the rack, you can use it.”

        “Thanks”, Hige said as he walked over to the bathroom door and walked inside.

        Hige looked around the bathroom and found the towel Fluttershy was talking about. He picked it up and dragged it to a table that was next to the bathtub. He got in and began to take a shower. Once he was done, he dried himself of and walked out with the towel around his neck. He walked into the kitchen and found Fluttershy cooking.

        “Where do I put this towel?” Hige asked.

        “There should be a basket in the entrance of the bathroom”, she answered.

        “How did I miss that!?” Hige exclaimed in frustration as he walked into the bathroom and saw the relatively large basket next to the door. He threw the towel into the basket, returned to the kitchen, and found Fluttershy putting two plates of food on the table.

        “Did you find it?” she asked.

        “Yep, it was hiding in plain sight”, Hige answered as he took a seat. They both got halfway through eating when a knock came on the door. “I’ll get it”, Hige said as he got up. He opened the door and found Vinyl standing on the other side. “Did the carriage get here?” Hige asked nervously.

        “No, it’ll be here in about an hour. Just making sure you guys are gonna be ready by then”, Vinyl explained.

        “We’ll be ready. Where do we go to meet the carriage?” Hige asked.

        “On the main road near the train tracks”, she answered. “I need to go check on Big Mac. Bye.”

        “Seeya”, Hige said as he walked to the kitchen. “We have an hour. We’ll have to be on the main road near the train tracks by then.”

        “That’ll give us enough time to see Twilight”, Fluttershy mentioned.

        “Yes it will”, Hige said with a smile.

They soon finished their food and began to make their way to the hospital. There, they were greeted by nurse Redheart, who made Kiba wait outside and who also kindly showed them to where Twilight was.  Fluttershy waited outside while Hige entered to find a conscious Twilight looking at him.

        “Twilight…” Hige started to say but was interrupted.

        “I’m sorry…” Twilight said in a sincere voice.

        “What?” Hige asked in confusion.

        “I’m sorry for what I did… for all of it. You had never shown any signs of being a bad pony and I should have not thought otherwise”, Twilight explained.

        “No... No, you were right. I do have some things that I’ve kept hidden and I-” He felt a hoof on his head. He looked up to see Twilight giving him a sincere look.

        “I believe you… That doesnt mean you’re a bad pony”, Twilight said in a soft voice.

        “Thank you… you have no idea how much that means to me…” he said with a big smile.

Soon after, Hige called Fluttershy to come in. Hige walked out and left the two to talk. Moments later, Fluttershy walked out of the room with a smile. The smile on her face quickly disappeared when she looked at the desk. Hige looked and saw a small clock. Upon closer inspection, the clock showed that they are supposed to meet the carriage in seven minutes. They ran out of the hospital, where Kiba had been waiting. The three of them quickly began to run in the direction of the railroad tracks. They soon saw the main road and began to gallop on it. They looked and were able to see the carriage stopping in front of Big Macintosh and Vinyl. The three of them quickened their pace and reached the carriage moments later. They walked into the carriage gasping for breath.

        “We… made… it…” Hige said between breaths.