Lost in the Dark

Fluttershy awoke in the carriage. She squinted her eyes at the rays of the morning sun. She gave out a low yawn and rubbed her eyes.Then, she looked to see that the carriage was empty, and proceeded to walk outside. Vinyl was waiting outside with a strange look on her face. She looked at the sunrise while in deep thought. The sound of the door closing caused Vinyl to snap out of her thoughts and change to her normal facial expression.

        “Good morning”, she said with a smile, “did ya sleep well?”

        “Yes...” Fluttershy answered as she looked around. “Where is Big Macintosh and Hige?”

        “Big Macintosh went to-” Vinyl began but was interrupted.

        “About an hour ago”, Big Macintosh said as he walked over to Vinyl. “The chauffeur said it was about an hour ago that he saw him leave.”

        “An hour...” Vinyl pondered. “We need to get going then, lets go.” She said as she began to pick up her pace.

        “Where are we going? Who are you talking about?” Fluttershy asked as she followed Vinyl and Big Macintosh.

        “It’s Hige. He wasn't here when we woke up”, Big Macintosh explained.

        “He’s missing!?” she asked worriedly.

        “We don’t know that yet. Maybe he’s just looking around”, Vinyl quickly said trying to calm Fluttershy down.

        “Oh... Okay...” Fluttershy said still feeling worried.

        “So, where should we check first?” Big Macintosh asked.

        “M-Maybe he’s in the hospital...” Fluttershy mentioned.

        “Right. Let’s go to the nearest hospital”, Vinyl said already being familiar with the town.

Vinyl quickly guided them through the town and to the only hospital in the area. It was not a very large hospital, and it wasn’t very modern either. They walked along the road and opened the doors to the hospital. The mare at the front desk took a quick look at them before she returned to her papers. They walked up to the front desk. The mare had a dark blue coat and a gray mane, she seemed aged, but still fairly energetic.

        “Um, excuse me...” Fluttershy said shyly.

        “Yes, dear?” The mare asked with a smile.

        “We’re looking for a stallion. He has a dark brown coat and an even darker mane, and light green eyes.”

        “Hmm... How old is he?” She asked as she walked over to the filing cabinet.

        “Well... sixteen... seventeen... I’m not really sure...”

        “S-Sixteen... He’s sixteen?” The mare asked in a shocked tone. “N-no... he can’t be...”

        “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

        “The stallion you are looking for...” she said as she got close to her desk. “Does he look something like this?” She picked up a picture frame. The picture in it was of her and a patient. The patient had a bandage covering the upper right portion of his head. They were both smiling at the camera, and the patient looked exactly like Hige, but younger.

        “Yes, that’s him”, Vinyl said as she walked up to the counter. Fluttershy was at a loss for words.

        The mare looked around. “Come with me.” She began to walk towards the entrance of the hospital. Once they were outside, she turned to the trio. “Hige... Was that his name?”

        “Yes. When was that picture taken?” Vinyl asked.

        “A few years back but...” The mare seemed too shocked to continue.

        “But what?” Big Macintosh asked.

        “But... He came in with a severe head trauma which caused him to develop an aneurysm. There was nothing we could do, and any form of rash movement would have made it burst... He... I knew him for a long time. He used to get injuries every once in a while, and at the time I worked at the public clinic, so I got to see him alot... He was such a nice little buck...

        “I got a few promotions, and I was bumped up to here, so I wasn’t able to see him that much. My heart sank when I saw his name on the list of patients from this part of the hospital... It had to have been severe for them to bring him here... My heart sank even deeper when I read why he was here.

        Like I said, he had a head trauma, and it caused an aneurysm... Problem was that it was too big, too sensitive for him to leave. At first it was fine, but it got worse. The doctors said that it was getting even more sensitive, and it would burst even if he didn't move. The medical staff knew that I was close with him from a long time ago, so they thought it would be appropriate for me to be the one to explain what was happening to him.

        He was so young... He always had a smile on his face... I thought that would change once I told him. The picture you saw was from the first few days he was here, when the aneurysm was still stable. By the time I was supposed to tell him the bad news... He’d been sedated, he couldn’t move as freely as he wanted.” Tears began to form in her eyes.

        “I walked in and sat down... He greeted me with a smile, but his expression changed when I didn't return it. I started to explain what was happening... I expected him to cry, or at least have some sort of reaction to the news... But he didn't... He just asked me how much longer he had. I told him what the doctors told me, two days at best. He simply smiled at me and said ‘I guess this is goodbye...’ with a smile.

        “I just wanted to hug him right then and there, but I knew better... I had to walk out of the room... I told him good night and gave him the biggest smile I could... And then he disappeared.”

        “H-He disappeared!?” Fluttershy asked in shock.

        “Yes. He finished... I never saw him again... But you're telling me he’s alive? How can that be?” She asked.

        “We’re not sure...” Vinyl said deep in thought.

        “But that’s impossible...” Fluttershy said

        “Not completely.” Big Macintosh said.

        “What?” Fluttershy asked in surprise.

        “Nothing... Where do you think Hige could be if he was back in town?” He asked directing himself to the mare.

        “Well he said he had a treehouse in the forest. Maybe he’s there”, the mare mentioned.

        “That’s the forest near the poor district, right? I know where that is”, Vinyl said.

        “Do... Do you want to come with us?” Fluttershy asked as she got ready to follow Vinyl.

        “No, I’d rather stay here for now...” The mare answered.

        “Oh okay then... C-Can I ask what your name is?” Fluttershy asked. Vinyl began to walk away, Big Macintosh waited for Fluttershy.

        “It’s Marie. You should really get going, don’t want to keep you”, she said with a smile.

        “Okay. Thank you”, Fluttershy said as she rushed with Big Macintosh to catch up with Vinyl.

Vinyl lead them through a maze of streets. The buildings seemed to become more decayed the farther they walked. They were slowly entering the poor district of town. As they reached the forest brush, Fluttershy began to rush at the sight of Kiba.

        “Kiba, have you seen Hige?” she asked, but Kiba had no response. He lay there and looked down the road.

        “Maybe he’s in the bush...” Big Mac mentioned as he walked closer to the brush. Kiba got up and rushed to block Big Macintosh from the brush. He began to growl angrily. “What’s wrong with him?” He asked keeping his distance.

        “He doesn't want you to go in the brush... Like he’s protecting something...” Fluttershy said as she observed Kiba’s body language.

        “You think Hige is in there?” Vinyl asked. Big Macintosh stepped back and Kiba lay on the ground once again.

        “Probably... I’m not sure Kiba would be this dedicated if he wasn’t.” Fluttershy pondered.

        “Then what do we do!?” Big Macintosh asked in frustration.

        “We wait... Let’s just trust that Hige know what he’s doing...” Vinyl said in a grim tone.

        “Facing a past I never wanted...” Fluttershy mumurmed.

        “What are you talking about?” Vinyl asked

        “Oh, well... It was a long time ago. He mentioned that one thing he needed to do was face the past he never wanted... I guess this is what he meant...” Fluttershy explained.

        “Let’s find some place to stay while we wait”, Big Macintosh said.

        “You aren’t worried?” Vinyl asked with a hint of frustration in her voice.

        “Hige knows what he’s doing”, Big Macintosh said with confidence.

        “That’s what I’m afraid of...” Vinyl said in a hushed voice.