I have little memory of the journey back to town. We were all in a daze, and it seemed that the timberwolves were avoiding us as much as we were avoiding them, since even though Fluttershy was in no shape to guide us, we didn’t run into any more packs. As soon as we reached the edge of the forest, we all dropped to the ground, crying and exhausted. I must have passed out, for I found myself being shaken awake what seemed like hours later.
I woke to find myself looking into Spike’s concerned eyes. “It’s getting really dark, Twilight. We need to get back in case the timberwolves find us.”
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and looked around. Applejack was sitting nearby, watching over Fluttershy, who was curled into a ball, either catatonic or sleeping. I couldn’t tell from where I was lying. Pinkie Pie was standing, watching the forest, a deeply serious look on her face. Rarity was sitting and staring at the ground, not really seeing what she was looking at.
“You’re right, Spike,” I replied, pushing myself up. I moved over to Applejack and kneeled down, glancing at Fluttershy. She appeared to be asleep. “How is she?”
“Not well,” Applejack replied. “She’s been in that position the whole time. Ah think she fell asleep a little bit ago.”
“Can you carry her?” I asked.
Applejack nodded. “Yeah, Ah can do that.” She knelt forward, slipping her hands under Fluttershy, carefully lifting her into her arms. I helped her up while she settled Fluttershy’s weight. I motioned to the others, who had turned to watch us, and we started back into town. There was a defeated air about us as we moved through town, though I felt the comforting weight of the element of Loyalty in my bag. We had lost one of our dear friends, and might lose another if Fluttershy didn’t recover.
We slowly approached the old library, dragging our feet from exhaustion. Suddenly, the door flew open, and Big Mac rushed out, followed by Cheerilee. “You’re back!” she exclaimed. They both stopped suddenly as they took in our faces, and looked confused. “What happened?” asked Big Mac. Looking around at us, Cheerilee asked, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
Unsure of how to respond, I just stared back at her, a heaviness in my gaze. She covered her mouth with her hands, gasping in terror. “Oh, my,” she breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
“As am I,” I replied. “Can we get inside? I’ll tell you everything then.”
The two of them nodded together, and held open the door for us to come inside and down the secret passage. Big Mac pulled the secret door shut behind us, sealing us inside. I shivered, even though the passageway was warm and comforting, and we moved down into the main meeting area. Applejack headed towards the sleeping areas with Fluttershy still in her arms and disappeared down the hallway. The rest of us slumped into seats around the meeting room, drained.
Big Mac and Cheerilee looked anxious. “What happened, Twilight?” Cheerilee asked.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the element. “We got it,” I replied. “But at a cost.”
Mac looked downtrodden, and Cheerilee’s eyes were welling up. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated.
“At least we’ve solved the timberwolf problem,” I continued. I explained about the mirror pool and about the timberwolf Alpha. Cheerilee seemed awed at Rainbow Dash’s abilities and willingness to sacrifice herself for us. I stared down at the element in my hand, conflicting feelings welling up in me. I felt awe for the element itself, joy at being able to retrieve it, and sorrow at the cost of our dear friend. As I stared at it, I suddenly thought I noticed a glint deep inside the element. Holding it close, ignoring Cheerilee’s queries, I inspected the element closely, looking for whatever it was caught my eye. Unable to find it, I shook my head silently and put the element away.
I looked back up at Cheeilee, who was watching me warily. I smiled slightly, trying to assure her that I was all right, while knowing in my heart that it wasn’t true. “We need some rest,” I told her. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
She nodded, and we both looked up to see Applejack return. “Ah got Fluttershy settled in,” she said. “But Ah think that someone should stay with her, just in case.”
I nodded my agreement, and looked around at my friends. “I’ll stay with her tonight,” I said. “We’ll see how tonight goes. If need be, we’ll take shifts with her.” My friends nodded, and we all stood, heading to the sleeping area. I left Rarity and Applejack to their room, Pinkie Pie went to stay with Spike, and I paused outside Fluttershy’s door. I listened at the door for a minute, much as I had a week ago, before gently pushing it open. The room was dark and silent. I could just make out Fluttershy’s form in her bed, silent and still. I nearly panicked before I saw her side rise and fall with her measured breathing.
Closing the door carefully behind me, I moved into the room and quietly got ready for bed. Slipping into the empty bed, I felt an odd sense of guilt as I settled into Rainbow Dash’s old bed, listening to Fluttershy’s breathing. Eventually, exhaustion claimed me, and I fell asleep.
I half-awoke sometime in the middle of the night, feeling a form slip into bed with me. At first I thought it was a dream, as I felt someone’s hands exploring my body, someone’s lips pressing to mine. It wasn’t until I tasted the blood on her lips and felt her breasts pressing against me that I realized what was going on. I woke up fully, pushing Fluttershy away from me. “Fluttershy, what are you doing?” I demanded.
I could barely see in the darkness, but I could see enough to make out Fluttershy’s form next to me. I pushed myself up on my arm, glaring at her as she lay there, wide-eyed and staring. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see that tears were streaming down her cheeks, and I immediately felt bad for my reaction. “Fluttershy?”
“I- I’m sorry, Twilight,” she stammered, shuddering. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok, Fluttershy,” I replied hurriedly. “Really, it’s ok.”
She curled up, her hair forming a curtain across her face. “No, it’s not ok, Twilight. It was my fault she died. If I hadn’t been so weak, she wouldn’t have had to save me again.”
“Fluttershy, we all knew what we were getting into.” I steeled myself, and continued. “We’ve all known that we could get hurt, even badly. It’s happened in the past.”
“B-b-but no one has ever died!” she cried, looking up at me. “I just wanted her to be alive so badly, I-I thought you were her, it was so dark, and I was so scared and lonely and I just wanted it all to be a bad dream…”
I silenced her with a hand to her lips. “Fluttershy, I’m not upset about that. I was just surprised, that’s all.” I took a deep breath. “But you have to remember that I’m not Rainbow Dash. I love you, Fluttershy, but not quite like that.”
She nodded, tears still streaming. “I know, Twilight,” she replied. “I know that.” She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and wiped away her tears. She sat in silence for a minute, then faced me with a deadly serious expression. “Twilight, I need to be strong. I won’t be the reason that anyone else dies. Will you help me?”
Taken aback, I stared at her for a minute. “Are you sure about this, Fluttershy? Aren’t you afraid you’ll lose yourself?”
She shook her head. “I’ll always be me, Twilight. I’m just tired of being so weak.”
I watched her, seeing a certain steel in her eyes that I had rarely seen before. I nodded. “I’ll do what I can for you. We all will.”
Relief spread across her face, and she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. “Thank you, Twilight. You’re so kind and honest.”
I smiled, hugging her back, my own relief welling up inside of me. It looked like we wouldn’t lose Fluttershy after all. I yawned, and she blushed. “Anyway, let’s get some sleep. We’ve still got a lot to do,” I finished grimly.
She nodded, then hesitated. “Twilight? Can I sleep here tonight?”
I paused, then nodded. “Sure,” I replied.
She smiled, and we lay down together. She curled up next to me, and I lay there, listening to her breathing becoming more and more regular until she finally fell asleep. I lay awake for a time, trying to work out the best way to help her become stronger, until I finally drifted off once more.