//------------------------------// // Sore // Story: I'm Still Here // by Ribe_FireRain //------------------------------// Fluttershy's Cottage The cottage that Fluttershy lived in was peaceful and quiet. Well, at least as quiet as a house is when you live with many various species of wild and domesticated animals and creatures, some with stranger characteristics than others. Fluttershy, a timid, fragile pegasus with a big and soft, yet strong heart, took in these creatures, her destiny being that of a unique and treasured ability to talk to animals, as well as being able to understand what they're saying. She didn't own these animals, in a sense, she merely provides shelter and warmth from the elements of the outside landscape. Why she chose to live in a cottage directly on the very rim of the Everfree Forest was beyond anypony's guess, yet be that as it may, most and many who knew the pegasus assumed it was as a symbol of her quiet nature as a pony. She didn't talk much nor say much to anypony, and no pony from nearby would venture close enough to the Everfree Forest under any circumstances, so hence the reason of her being further away than most of the general population, although, not enough to be referred to as 'isolated'. Her living room was nothing short of quiet, the only break in the silence being that of either a wall clock ticking away or a bird or two chirping and singing. There was walkways, perches and stairs, all designed for the purpose of the design of different creatures and animals alike, built to support their bodies and mass. She even had around a few birdhouses and bird tables set up around the house, both hanging gently from the ceiling by 'C' hooks or simply by a stand. Scootaloo sat across from her host on one of her comfy, green and plush sofas, a warm but not scalding cup of hot chocolate in her hooves. Yes, that's right. Hooves. Not only was Fluttershy a miracle worker to some extent with animals, with being able to understand their language and all, but she was also self-trained as a veterinarian for when her animals required medical care, ranging from skills to aid critters with simple ailments like a cold or itches or lice all the way up to the top-step of the ladder towards fixing and supporting bones, including breaks in the skin. Once completely inoperable and temporarily disabled, her left hoof that she broke during an accident on her scooter was healed. Or at least, enough so that it could be moved like normal. After a small amount of ointment to sooth the injury and healing agent that was rubbed into her skin, a warm radiance could be felt, almost like a tingling sensation, akin to when a fuzzy, fluffed-up dog rubs up against one's body. Of course, being the expert that Fluttershy is, she advised that, while the limb could now be moved freely and normally to the most extent, she should work around using it and consider not using her hoof as much periodically. It may not have been to bad of an injury, but regardless, it would need some proper time to fix up completely to release the tension and stiffness it was given by being propped up in a sling. Animals came in all different shapes, sizes and builds, and, thankfully, the training and knowledge gained and provided by the butter pegasus herself proved to be much more than useful in terms of pony anatomy, with her being familiar with simple and complicated bone structures of animals and having probably the sharpest eyes she has ever seen on a pony when it comes to judgement and diagnostics on a situation or circumstance. Of course, not as sharp as the eyes of the one and only Rainbow Dash, whom had eyes as sharp as crafting knives that never lost their accuracy or strength. Ha, nopony beats my sister so easy! Scootaloo giggled internally to herself with that thought in mind. She glanced up, catching sight of the tail of what she recognized as a hummingbird, the vibrant aqua-blue feathers heard rustling as it made its way to a nearby perch by the wall, landing with petal-soft precision. It ruffled its glorious, luminescent feathers before it began preening them with its long, smooth black beak. Scootaloo smiled at the bird for a moment. She took in its beauty and could understand why the mare across from her adored and loved these creatures so much. It was her passion and her life, her destiny. Who she's meant to be in this world. Scootaloo pondered on that for a few moments, staring blankly down at her mug of hot chocolate, feeling the warm radiance transfer from her mug to her hooves, sending a pleasant tingle down her spine and body. I wonder what my destiny is, now. She pondered. I mean, the only thing I have in life besides my own self is my scooter and Rainbow Dash. The only friends I've ever had was and are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. What's my purpose in life? What am I meant to do now that I'm practically all alone and...useless? ''Is something the matter, Scootaloo?'' Fluttershy asked gently, finishing taking a sip of herbal tea before placing it back on its respectable saucer before setting it down on the small, wooden table sitting between her and the filly. It would appear that the sharp eyes of the pegasus mare caught on to her quiet behavior, an anomaly in the usual pattern of the brash filly's personality. In some ways, Scootaloo actually reminded her of a younger Rainbow Dash. She noticed the filly's ear twitch slightly, and her purple eyes traced up from the steam rising from the hot drink in her hooves to meet up with the butter pegasus's turquoise orbs, that caring and warmth annoyingly inviting. Under any other circumstances, Scootaloo would simply disengage acknowledgement to the conversation and brush off her emotions as if they were nothing more than dust particles that meant nothing. However, as much as that was in her usual demeanor, her thoughts traced back to the conversation she and Dash had that night at her cloud mansion, when she asked her about her parents. Her eyes flattened in feeling a pang of pain in her heart at the emotion that flushed through her at the thought. With an awkward scratch of her neck with a hoof, she used her other free hoof to set down her own mug before mustering her now steeled nerves to look backup to the older pegasus. Her mouth opened, about to speak, but, however, before even a single sound, let alone a sentence could be uttered, the door to the cottage was heard opening, followed by a soft slam that signaled its closure. Both ponies present in the room glanced over to the door, finding none other than Rainbow Dash standing with a bewildered expression so deep on her face that it was haunting. Draped over her back was what the small, orange filly recognized instantly as her cape, easily distinguished from the other two by the visible tear in its fabric on the side. Further along her back, slightly overlapping the cape and keeping it held down, was Scootaloo's sleeping bag. All the while, Rainbow never took her eyes off of the filly, and when Fluttershy took a brief moment to glance from her life-long pegasus friend to the now almost cringing and tensed filly, she noticed that that haunted look from the face of Rainbow has now found a place on Scootaloo's own. Dash stopped a short couple of inches away from the edge of the table and shrugged off the sleeping bag from her bag hearing it plop on the floor with a heavy thud from its weight, followed by using a front hoof to pick off her crusader cape and hoofing it over to the filly. From her seat, Fluttershy scanned her over, immediately piecing together that something was indeed wrong. Was what she needed to go talk to Applejack about a bad time? She pondered thoughtfully, but her thoughts aside, she was mainly focusing her attention to her friend's mood and expression behind her eyes. They were like glass. Glazed over, slightly-blurred glass. A clear and obvious indication of crying. A frown crawled its way to Fluttershy's lips. She wanted to ask then and there what happened, but decided against it, for the sake of Scootaloo, whom still held a mix of gratitude for having her personal belongings returned to her, combined with some fear and sadness in her heart after meeting eyes with Rainbow Dash. Her face seemed to be paled over, her normally rosey eyes reddened and puffy. ''So...um...th-thanks, Rainbow.'' Scootaloo said placing her cape aside on the couch next to her. Rainbow didn't respond. She couldn't respond. As a matter of fact, it seemed that her voice has disappeared entirely. She barely even managed to acknowledge the filly. Instead, she turned around, keeping her head down as she turned and walked straight passed Fluttershy on the sofa behind her, heading towards the stairs. Her steps were almost limp, at a slouch as she trudged her way up the stairs. Both ponies downstairs could have sworn they heard a failed attempt at her hiding a sniffle. Within a short period of time, a door was heard closing softly, the soft 'click' of its closure echoing quietly through the cottage. Taken largely aback, both remaining pegasi could only stare at each other in shock and worry at what they both witnessed, although the gears in Scootaloo's head were grinding together what really happened at the farm, and she barely needed to ask to know what happened. This was her fault. ''I'll go check on her.'' Fluttershy said, picking herself from her seat and heading towards the stairs. Scootaloo was alone now. She slouched back heavily in her seat, sighing out loud with her head resting against the back of the sofa, her hoof pinching the bridge of her nose. ''Why'd I have to be so stupid!?'' She said, agitated. Her voice wasn't at a shout, but it was loud. ''This is all my fault! What's wrong with me?'' She let herself fall forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she held her head in her hooves. ''I'm such a dodo.'' She glanced momentarily to her CMC cape and frowned. ''Who am I kidding?'' She touched a hoof to the patch of the cape, tracing over the logo. ''I'm no Crusader. This isn't Dash's problem, and certainly not anypony else's problem, either. No wonder my parents left me.'' She rubbed her eye with a hoof, feeling a tear tingle in her ducts before breaking free and stroking her cheek in a bell-drop and landing on her hind leg. ''I suck.'' Upstairs - Fluttershy's Bedroom Meanwhile, upstairs in her bedroom, a yellow and cyan pegasus sat on the edge of a bed. Fluttershy had her wing draped across Rainbow's shoulders and hanging loosely over her side. She found it as the most fitting gesture, seeing as this is what Rainbow used to do for her when they were both in flight camp and was given a hard time by the bullies and other ponies who teased her mercilessly. Currently, Rainbow had her rump sat on the bed whilst her body was hunched downwards, her hooves rubbing her temples. To the touch, she was cold, but the warmth from Fluttershy's body and wing fought against it, much to her comfort. ''H-how can they not know?!'' Rainbow said through gritted teeth, leaning up to face her friend. ''I just don't get it! For over two years and nothing! How in Equestria can anypony be so oblivious to something like that?! HOW?!'' A small trickle of tears slid down Dash's face, and she made no effort to hide them from sight. ''I don't know what to do!'' Fluttershy leaned her cheek into the crook between Dash's shoulder and neck. ''I'm really sorry, Rainbow. The poor girl's been through so much. No filly deserves that kind of life, no matter who they might be.'' She said softly and sympathetically. Dash turned her body to her, holding a front hoof to Fluttershy's shoulder. ''That wasn't even the worst of it.'' From beneath her right wing, Rainbow raised it up and reached a hoof under, Fluttershy's eyes following her hoof to fall upon something made out of leather. Upon slowly pulling it out from under the security of her wing, Rainbow held the object in her hooves, showing it to Fluttershy and causing her to gasp. Her eyes fell over the front of the diary belonging to none other than the filly downstairs. This was Scootaloo's personal diary. ''Rainbow! You can't just take things that don't belong to you! You're invading somepony's privacy and thoughts! How do you think she would feel if she knew?'' Fluttershy asked in shock, her usually measured and angelic voice amped up to a serious whisper. ''Where did you find this?'' Rainbow ignored the last question. ''If that was your sister down there, her life in tatters, what would you do?'' Rainbow protested, her own raspy voice taking on a much more serious and dedicated tone. Fluttershy's mouth sealed shut, completely gotten there. She couldn't argue, nor could she bypass her on that one. If she had a sister with the same problems, she would do the same thing, for the sake of her well-being. She was true to her Element, I can at least give her that much. Fluttershy thought. Opening up the diary and holding it between the two of them in a position that Fluttershy could read what was in it, she only read the first few sentences from the first paragraph before her eyes began to well up with tears of sympathy and a pang of anger was felt heating up her heart like a small furnace in disgust once her eyes landed on the line about her parents. I wonder if they left because of me. Of all the things she could have heard from either the mouth of a foal or by their writing, this was by far the worst thing she has ever read. What kind of monster abandons and neglects their own children? ''O-Oh, my...'' Fluttershy whispered like a ghost, her hoof touching her lower lip in disbelief. Her eyes fell on the date written at the top of the page. August 7th. It was entered a year ago. On the inside, Fluttershy could feel her stomach tie in a knot and her lungs shiver with her shaky breaths, dressed heavily in disbelief and disgust. A tear fell from her eye, lightly rolling from her eyelid and down her cheek. With her hoof, Rainbow wiped it away and looked her in the eyes, a sad, helpless appearance visibly shown. ''What do we do? Heck, what am I meant to do with her? I can't just something like this slip my attention! It's not in my blood or my Element!'' Rainbow said, frowning. ''What can we do?'' Fluttershy tapped her chin thoughtfully. ''Well, does she at least have somewhere to stay and sleep?'' She asked, to which Rainbow nodded. ''I found her at the hospital and took her in after we had a little...chat.'' Rainbow said, placing her words carefully and delicately. ''She told me about her parents and that they abandoned her, and they haven't been seen around since.'' She explained. ''Did she write anything else?'' Fluttershy asked, feeling a little bit guilty at asking the question, but curious to know if there was any more evidence that could prove helpful in fixing the problem with Scootaloo's family. With a tug of her lips, Rainbow pulled a frown and turned the page. There, written at top in the left-sided margin on the page, was the date. August 9th. A couple of days after the previous entry. The two pegasi shared a glance before reading. Last night, I couldn't sleep. No idea why, but I couldn't. My thoughts were giving me a headache. I keep thinking about what's going to become of me in the future. Look at me - alone, defenseless and almost friendless. I've never dealt with this kind of stuff before, and I barely feel like myself. To clear my head, I went out into the fields at Sweet Apple Acres and did some star gazing to take my mind off of things. Rainbow Dash recommended it to me a while back, and as surprising as that sounded coming from somepony as awesome as her, it helped. Watching the stars was something I never considered to be relaxing or stress-relieving. It seemed more like something as mushy as a thing two ponies would do on a first date. Ew, talk about sappy. ''Poor kid.'' Rainbow said quietly and leaned her cheek into Fluttershy. ''I've gotta do something for her, 'Shy.'' Rainbow said pulling herself from the bed. Not a moment too soon, as her hooves touched down on the floor, did she feel a painful surge course through her hind legs and through her nerves. Clenching her teeth, Rainbow fell backwards and back onto the bed, the impact causing her friend to jump and cry out in surprise at the accident, her body bouncing on the bed as vibrations ran through her like a small stampede. ''Ow,ow!'' Rainbow cried out, rubbing her hind legs with her hooves. ''Are you alright, Dashie? Anything hurt too badly?'' Fluttershy asked in concern, eyeing her bandages. She never did ask about how she got them. Dash scratched at her cheek momentarily. ''Y-Yeah, fine, 'Shy. Hurts a little, that's all.'' ''Let me see.'' Her friend asked, moving down to the bandages wrapped firmly by gauze and supportive bandages. On her knees, she gently pulled at the top of the bandage where it was secured on Rainbow's hoof with medical tape and slowly and carefully unwound the bandages and gauze, peeling it off like how an apple sheds its skin when put into an apple peeler, shedding off in a spiral-like pattern. She did the same with the other hoof once she was done and placed the used, dirty bandages aside. Finally able to get her first look at her friend's hooves, she could see why she was in pain. Cuts, bruises and even small gashes that were held together by small strips of medical tape adorned her legs, giving off the impression that the injuries definitely weren't earned by something as simple as tripping or falling over. Knowing Rainbow Dash since she was a foal herself, Fluttershy could remember many times in which Dash managed to hurt herself performing tricks and air stunts. She giggled to herself at some of the memories playing in her mind. Honestly, I don't know how she keeps on going with the way she ends up in hospital all the time. She thought innocently to herself. Oh, well, it's just Dashie being Dashie, I suppose... Expertly inspecting her wounds, she noticed that they weren't cleaned as good as they could have been, and although she could see that they didn't show any signs of infection, they seemed to be healing well. With the softest touch she could manage, Fluttershy lightly touched Rainbow's leg. It would appear that without being able to fly to stay off of her hooves, she was left with no other alternative to get around, and the resulting strain she put on her hind legs from moving around too much has caused quite a fair amount of tension in her muscles and left her feeling stiff. Carefully, Fluttershy's hooves gently touched to the top of Rainbow's hoof, a touch off of where her leg started, and applied gentle yet firm pressure to it, moving her hooves in a small, smooth circular motion. She could practically feel the heat from the blush that ignited on her friend's cheeks, although she wasn't looking up, and she smiled. Her tensed muscled got even more tense at the touch of her hooves to her leg. She knew all too well that Rainbow never liked anypony near her hooves or make contact with her in any way that may invade personal space or where she doesn't like being touched in particular. (Don't comment on that.) ''Try to relax, Rainbow. You're really tense.'' Fluttershy asked calmly. As she started moving her hooves down her hoof. The tension in Rainbow's leg seemed to rub straight out with the correct pressure and motions of expertly-trained hooves. Although Rainbow wouldn't ever admit it, she thought to herself, man, 'Shy gives awesome massages. Why she never chose to work at a spa, I have no idea. Repeating the process on her other leg to relieve her tension, Fluttershy made a quick trip downstairs to grab a small bottle of healing liquid, the very same one she used on Scoot's leg. It was in a small, blue glass bottle with hexagonal patterns and a cork lid. Whenever a bottle like this is used, it is usually crafted by none other than Ponyville's friendly neighbor in the Everfree Forest, Zecora, a female zebra whom practices potion brewing and uses her knowledge to conjure up helpful medicinal potions to sell to ponies that need it. It may have been brewed by a zebra that ponies thought to have been some type of witch (a few still do, to the present) and don't trust her brewing, but those who knew her personally, such as the Main Six, did trust her. As a matter of fact, Fluttershy found that her potions work wonders for treating animals with both physical injuries and ailments. Pulling out the cork with no effort, Fluttershy held out a hoof and used her other hoof to tip the bottles contents onto it. Rainbow's nose scrunched at the sight - and smell - of it. It wasn't a foul smell, but it was still strong enough to make one think their nose just disintegrated from the inside out. It was almost like a sour apple aroma, mixed with a medium concentration of fish oils and something else that Rainbow couldn't quite put her hoof on. However she may think about it, at a random guess, the apple scent was to probably try and mask the original smell of the liquid. Quite clearly, it didn't work its magic. As a matter of fact, it made it smell somewhat worse. Following up from the scent leaving the bottle, the liquid eventually came out. The liquid itself was almost resembling the texture of gel or putty, although it was hard to specify what exactly. It was a thick red in colour, almost the same hue as blood, and, in the light in the room coming from the window, a green tinge could be seen reflecting from the surface of the liquid. Collecting enough to cover her hoof in a very thin layer, Fluttershy requested that Dash sat still as she rubbed it into her leg. Upon contact, it felt freezing, but soon began to tingle and even burn in the slightest. It felt akin to what the sun hitting your cheek felt like on a hot Summer day. Thankfully, the small hoof full of the smelly gel was enough to cover all wounds on both her legs. They were tingling with actual heat at first, but it calmed down to a soft, pulsing tingle, then eventually, nothing. Staring down at her legs, Rainbow couldn't believe her eyes. Most of her wounds were gone! Zap! Gone! Non-existent! They were actually healed in a matter of seconds! The remaining wounds were only the larger ones, turned numb from the effects of the gel, which Rainbow was more than thankful for. She stared at her legs with wide eyes, giving them an experimental wiggle, feeling no pain, whatsoever! This is amazing! I can actually walk again! I could kiss Fluttershy right now! She blushed at the thought. Did I really just think that? She thought to herself. ''Rainbow? Are you feeling alright?'' Her fellow pegasus friend asked after noticing her embarrassed blush. ''Do you need to lie down?'' Rainbow shook her head dismissively, grinning warmly in thanks. ''You kiddin'? I can walk again! I feel great!'' She said with a beaming smile. Come on, 'Shy, buy into it, already, my freakin' jaw hurts! Fluttershy stared at her confusedly but then smiled. ''Happy to hear it. Now, don't you think we should get back to...this?'' She pointed to the diary laying on the bed, slightly sunk into the comfy mattress from its weight. Rainbow's ears dropped and her happiness buried itself twelve-feet under. ''Oh. Yeah, right.'' Rainbow picked up the diary, tucking it away under her wing. ''Fluttershy.'' She held onto her friend's shoulders. ''Please don't tell anypony else about this. For Scootaloo's sake, we should keep quiet for now until we at least figure out what to do with her, starting with her parents. Besides, I think she needs to have some time to clear her head.'' Fluttershy nodded slowly. ''I agree. She's lucky to have a sister like you, Dash.'' She said with a gentle smile. Dash could only smile back. ''We should go back down, now. She's probably waiting for us.'' Fluttershy's Living Room Returning to the living room of the cottage, the pair found Scootaloo on the sofa, laying on her back with her Crusader cape over her body, her head sticking out at the top and her left hoof dangling motionlessly from the side. Her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open, a small, soft snore emanating with every slow, relaxed breath she took, her slowly rising up and down as she did so. They both smiled at the sight. ''Looks like somepony's worn out her batteries for the day.'' Rainbow said in a whisper, not wishing to wake up her peaceful sister. ''She deserves a rest for once.'' She said, gently sitting beside her, making sure she didn't wake her up in doing so. ''I can't imagine what she feels like.'' She touched a hoof with care to Scootaloo's mane, giving it a small stroke. Fluttershy took her place on the sofa across to Rainbow. She didn't speak, but instead nodded. ''You know, if you'd like, you can stay here. I-If you really want to...'' She said in her casual, shy yet angelic voice, hiding half of her face behind her pink curtain of mane. ''I'd like that,'' Rainbow said with a smile, but then waved a hoof dismissively. ''but I wouldn't feel right about it. I mean, we don't want to be in the way or anything.'' Fluttershy only pouted. ''Pfft! Not at all, Dashie. I'd be delighted to host the two of you! Besides, we don't really see each other as often as we used to, so I'd see this as an opportunity to catch up some more, including with Scootaloo.'' She motioned to the sleeping filly. ''Poor dear has been through so much lately, and it seems like she could do with her mind being taken off things for a change.'' ''You sure we're not a problem?'' Dash asked, brow raised. Her friend only shook her head. ''Well, then, what would you say to hanging out together around town tomorrow? You know, once this lil' squirt has finally woken up?'' Rainbow rubbed the filly's head gently, ruffling her mane a little. Fluttershy giggled quietly. ''I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, Dashie.''