It was a nice morning that fateful day. I woke up by the sun’s rays as it flooded Fluttershy’s bedroom. Why was in Fluttershy’s cottage? Well, it was just a simple sleepover. Spike came along too, practically because he wanted to spend time with Bunny. Anyway, I woke up to see a pair of beautiful, cerulean looking at me. I smiled at the sight of my marefriend.
“Good morning, Twi” Fluttershy greeted me.
“Morning, Flutters” I greeted back. “Are you ready for a new day?”
“When you are” she said before getting up and I followed suit.
When we came downstairs, we saw the cutest thing after last night. There, on the couch, were a sleeping Bunny and Spike! Both of them were in a sitting position. Bunny’s head was pillowed on Spike’s shoulder. Spike had a book on his lap. From what we could tell was that they must’ve fallen asleep while reading the story. The least they could do is say they finished it before falling asleep.
“Hey, Flutters?”
“Hmm?”
“Wanna wake them up?”
I heard her chuckled. “I’ll get the camera”
Believe it or not, Bunny always makes me and Fluttershy blush from embarrassment when she says a joke for us. She is afterall, mischievous at times. And she sometimes seems to do it because she can show off that she doesn’t have to be embarrassed since she can’t feel it. And this pose she and Spike were in, totally priceless! Atleast we have a way to make them feel red in the face for once. And if they fell asleep mid-way in the story, it’s payback time!
“Spike? Spike, wake up” I whispered, tapping the dragon.
Spike groaned from the tapping. But when he heard something flashed, he opened his eyes. He was staring with eyes wide because Fluttershy just took a picture.
“What’s with the picture?” he asked.
My marefriend giggled, “Look who’s on your shoulder”
Spike raised an eyebrow, before his went wide from the purring sound Bunny made. He looked to his side to see the alien, sleeping on his shoulder. He blushed from embarrassment as me and Fluttershy broke into laughter.
He tried to shake Bunny awake, “Bunny! Bunny, wake up!”
She just opened her beady eyes, and rubbed one of them. “Yes, Spike?”
Before long, she noticed the position she was in. She immediately got off, and scampered to the other side of the couch. “Oops! Sorry about that, Spike!”
“No worries! You fell asleep while I read the story and I didn’t even bother!” his face was now as red as a tomato.
I knew it!
After that, we all had our breakfast. Fluttershy fed the animals while I kept laughing at the picture she took of Spike and Bunny. Spike kept rambling and making up excuses, even with his face already red. Bunny just watched the whole scenario while she fed Angel. Oddly enough, Bunny didn’t even have a hint of blush on her. Maybe another side effect of being Love Immune?
________________________________________
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you later then, right?” I asked Fluttershy when we approached my castle.
“You know it” she said before giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m still getting used to your new confidence”
“I love you, Twilight”
“I love you too, Fluttershy”
We both shared a good kiss before pulling away, considering that since Bunny and Spike were just here, guess who’s gonna throw up? I and Spike went back into the castle. Fluttershy walked Bunny with a leash on their way to the Police, Bunny’s new part-time job here. I gave Fluttershy the idea because it may be nice for Bunny to use her abilities to fix things around here. It was quite easy, as she passed the test well and is now a Sniffer Rabbit. But due to her uncommonness, she was put in charge of rookies. I just hoped I may see Fluttershy later at the meeting with the others later. Oddly enough, when I thought of Fluttershy, I had a weird feeling. It felt like something bad was gonna happen. My head snapped back to reality when I noticed Spike staring blankly at the road my marefriend and her apprentice took.
“Aww, you like her, don’t you?” I snickered at him.
He blushed from that. “No, she’s just my best friend”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Really?”
“Twilight, you know I love Rarity! Bunny’s just a friend”
I chuckled.
He tried to change the topic. “So, what’s the schedule today?”
“Well, we already had breakfast so that’s off the list. Now, we clean the library and start getting ready for the meeting today. Remember, we’re looking for a way to fix the Cutie Map completely”
“Got it” Spike said as he took that down on the scroll he was carrying. “Well, if you need me, I’ll be in the Throne Room”
“Thanks, Spike”
For the rest of time, I just went to unpack what we took last night. Nothing much, just the usual; scrolls, notepad, quills, the book we took. When I asked Spike if he and Bunny finished the story, he just nodded quickly before resuming to his sweeping. I knew he would do that; he was afraid to tell me they fell asleep mid-way. I just decided to move to the other room to add in the notes I got from Bunny that night. Yep, I had a book to keep what I learn about her. Don’t worry; it’s in a very secure place that Bunny enchanted to make sure the cat is not out of the bag.
Last night, we just learned about Dazes and how a Servant acts in it. I just hope that since they were different Visions, they would be atleast kept to a minimum if it happens in public. Dazes were a whole more different than Visions. Visions cause Servants’ eyes to turn white while they chant in Latin the prophecy. Dazes make their eyes turn black while they tend to act what they saw. Visions stop and make a Servant faint, but in Dazes, you have to hit her on the head to make them normal again.
________________________________________
By the time I was almost finished with summarizing the notes I took from Bunny, there was already a knock on the door. I quickly went to it to see who came first. I opened it to see that it was Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Heya, Twilight!”
“Howdy, Twilight!”
“Hey girls, so glad of you to come”
“No problem! Are we late? Rainbow took a while to wake up”
The cyan Pegasus blushed. “Hehe?”
“No, in fact, you’re just first ones who came. Please, come in” I said.
“Thank you, Twi. How was the sleepover with Fluttershy?”
“It was fine, but you should’ve seen what we came downstairs to” I giggled at the memory.
“We were asleep, okay?!” Spike’s voice echoed through the entire castle.
________________________________________
I finally finished transferring the notes to the book and hid it where it would be protected. I went to the Throne Room to see that there were only four of us inside; Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie.
“Where are the others?”
“Rarity and Fluttershy may be at the Spa today” Applejack said.
“Don’t you think she would send Bunny ahead of them to tell us they may be a little late?” I asked
“Bunny’s got a part-time job at the Police Department, remember?” Spike mused.
“Says the dragon who woke up with her sleeping on the shoulder”
Spike blushed again.
“Ooh!” Pinkie chimed in. “Does our little Spikey-Wikey suddenly have eyes for Bunny-Wunny? Why didn’t you tell us, Spike? It would be fun to see this for the first time, a dragon and an alien! Wait, isn’t Bunny Love Immune? Are you cheating on Rarity?”
“Bunny’s just my friend, and I love Rarity. I was just reading a story with her when we fell asleep, okay?! Case closed!”
Everypony giggled.
Just then, we heard a door open. Was there an intruder? Was somepony sent by Celestia to give an urgent message? Was there an emergency? We looked to see who came inside. There, at the entrance, was Bunny. She looked very upset, her uniform collar still on and tears in her eyes. She looked like she was going to a funeral.
“Bunny?” Spike called as her approached her. “What’s wrong?”
“Why would she do this?” the alien said between the sniffles.
“Why? Bunny, what’s wrong?”
“Fluttershy…almost killed…bleeding…hospital…terribly” Bunny choked through the sobs.
My head jerked at that. Fluttershy was almost killed? No wonder she’s so upset.
“What?!” Spike exclaimed. “But…but who did…” he was about to continue, but the state in which his friend was in made it clear she wasn’t okay to speak.
“You can tell us along the way when you can” I said, levitating both her and Spike on my back. “Spike, you help her calm down”
Spike nodded before he hugged Bunny, rocking her to atleast try to get her to stop. “Shh, it’s okay, Bunny” he cooed, petting her. “It’ll be fine”
Worried about my own marefriend, I ran with the others heading to Ponyville Hospital. I could tell everypony had their own reactions aside from Bunny’s outburst and Spike’s tearing up. Pinkie wasn’t looking like her normal, poofy self. Applejack was wide-eyed. And Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to explode with anger when she gets her hooves on who did something so cruel to her sister. I, of course, was getting both upset and enraged. Who would do such a thing to Fluttershy? Making her cry is one thing, but killing her?! Boy, when I get my hooves on who did this, I’m going to send them to Tartarus! We burst through the door, and Spike and Bunny got off my back.
“Where’s Fluttershy?” I asked out loud.
Rather than an answer, an ambulance arrived and out came a yellow mare in a stretcher; she was pushed by the orderlies into the E.R. From the sight, I could tell why Bunny was so upset. Fluttershy’s thighs were bleeding; the skin was gone. There was a gas mask on her muzzle, and a life support system showing her vital signs. Her eyes were closed, and dried tears were evident on the sides of her face.
“Sorry, misses. You can’t pass through here”
“But my friend is in there! You have to let me through!” Rainbow cried as she was held back by one of the orderlies. I just stood there in shock, tearing up from the state my love was in.
“I’m sorry, miss Dash. But all you can do now is let the doctors do the work, and hope for the best”
“Hope for the best?! She’s bleeding badly!” I could hear Rainbow’s voice booming for her sister’s fate.
“Sorry, but you must wait in the Waiting Room. We’ll do the best we can”
I could see that Dash was about to charge, but Applejack held her back. It took quite a while of restraining, but Dash finally gave up as the doors closed and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing hysterically. Applejack hugged her, and tried her best to comfort her.
“Twilight, are okay?” Spike asked me. I didn’t answer as I just broke down in tears.
“Why?” I sobbed. “Who?”
________________________________________
For the next few minutes, we all just waited there in the Waiting Room, hoping Fluttershy would be alright. Everypony had their own way of showing their worry. Applejack held Rainbow Dash close in a hug to make her stop crying about her sister for a minute. Rainbow just passed out from her sobbing a while back and was now just asleep in Applejack’s hooves. Pinkie tried her best to make us be optimistic that she would be alright. Spike just kept comforting Bunny until she stopped and looked at the floor blankly. I just kept thinking about what Fluttershy was going through.
I finally broke the silence. “Bunny, do know what happened before you reached the castle?”
Bunny nodded. “I was just having a normal day with Thunder Cloud, the one I’m working with. All of the sudden, I heard Fluttershy blowing the whistle I gave her and immediately reported the others and lead them to the source. What we saw in Rarity’s basement horrified me”
Spike’s eyes shot up. “Wait, Rarity?”
Bunny nodded. “Rarity was the one who tried to kill Fluttershy”
I was shocked to hear that. “Are you sure? That’s not like her to hurt her best friend”
Bunny shut her eyes tightly. “I saw it with my own eyes! She had a scalpel in her hooves, dripping with Fluttershy’s blood!”
I noticed she was about to break down again. “Go on”
“We fought her off; I bit her to make her sleep. The police called the ambulance while the chief allowed me to go tell you girls, knowing I was close to her. He said I can come back later if I found something. Then, I just ran to the castle crying. And you know the rest”
I nodded, patting Bunny to keep her from crying again. Spike seemed to be in shock. Finally, the door opened and Nurse Redheart’s head poked out.
“Please, tell me, is she gonna make it?” I asked her as I approached.
She looked down. “We don’t know for sure if she lives or not. She lost a huge amount of blood, and her skin is ghostly pale. We did our best, now it’s up to her”
I nodded.
“We did however; hear her whispering something while in operation. I don’t know if I got it right though, but I guess it was…” she paused for a minute before remembering. “Rarity, why?”
Everypony gasped in surprise. Rarity was the killer? That just can’t be true; she was Fluttershy’s best friend.
“Can we go see her?” I asked as Bunny hopped to my side.
“Sure, she’s in Room 7B, but still unconscious”
“Thank you. You coming, Spike?”
He shook his head. “Not until she wakes up”
“Okay. Bunny, what about you?”
She nodded. “While we’re there, I’ll try to see her memories to see if it’s really true”
We were escorted by Nurse Redheart to where Fluttershy was. All the while, we walked by and noticed the other rooms with other ponies in various conditions. Some were serious, others were minor. Some were just sick, but others were injured. Some even were about to be discharged, and others just came in. Some others were even dying. But none of them had the same situation Fluttershy was in.
We finally got to Fluttershy’s room. She was lying on her back, the bedsheets covering her from the waist down. I didn’t even dare to look under the sheets to see the damage. One of her hooves had an IV drip attached and another one hooked to a device that showed her heartbeat. Her eyes were still closed.
The nurse left us alone to take care of some other things. I immediately walked to Fluttershy’s side. I have to admit, even asleep she’s cute. I held her hoof and noticed her skin was indeed paler ans she was a bit cold, like that time with the demon. I began to tear up at the sight of my marefriend. I began to pray mentally that she would survive. She didn’t deserve this.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Bunny gasp. I guess I was so caught up with Fluttershy that I didn’t notice Bunny looked through the memories already. I looked up to see she was on the bedpost, just above Fluttershy’s head.
“Well, what did you see?”
“Rarity really did it!” Bunny gasped out. “She was gonna turn her into a coat!” she then turned from shocked to angry. I was in confusion with her behavior when she jumped from the bedpost to the floor. She then marched to the door. “I’m gonna go to the police now that I have more info. You stay here and guard Fluttershy. Tell the others to not go the Spa anymore!”
“Okay” I stopped. “Wait, why?”
“Aloe and the other spa ponies were in on it!” she yelled before she stormed out.
“Okay” I whispered before looking back to Fluttershy. The Spa ponies were in on the plan? What’s going on here? First, Fluttershy is in a fatal state. Then, Rarity is revealed to be the killer. Now, the Spa ponies were the ones who assisted Rarity in the plot? Things are going from bad to worse. I just stayed and wept for my marefriend, praying under my breath for her life.
________________________________________
For a long time, I just stayed, my head on the bed, waiting for any sign of Fluttershy waking up. It was just too much to bear with. Bunny already came back inside. She said nothing as she headed to the corner in the room and placed a cross there to begin praying. I noticed her uniform collar now had a badge. I said nothing as I continued my wait. I felt small movement, before I felt a hoof caressing my mane.
“T-Twilight?” I heard a familiar voice whisper my name.
My ears seemed to perk up at that. I turned her head up as I saw a miracle. “Fluttershy, you’re alive!” I hugged my marefriend, but with care.
“Mistress!” I heard Bunny’s voice call out as I felt her hug her too. “Oh, praise the Lord. I’m gonna go call the others”
I watched as Bunny disappeared down the hallway. I looked over to Fluttershy, but I noticed her cringe a bit. Those made me wonder why she cringed. Did she feel afraid?
“Is something wrong, Flutters?”
She looked up to me.
“See girls?” Bunny’s voice rang out. “I told you she made it!”
Fluttershy and I turned to see the rest of the gang.
Spike wiped a sweat of fear from his head. “Phew! For a second there, I thought you were a goner! You should’ve seen how upset everypony was!”
Rainbow flew right above us. “Oh I’m so glad I didn’t lose my little sister”
“Ya’ll should’ve seen how soft Dashie got when she thought ya’ll were about to die” Applejack smirked.
“I would’ve cried for a week if you went bye-bye!” Pinkie cried out.
Fluttershy seemed shocked. “What do you mean, I was about to die?”
Bunny seemed to just appear to my side. “Well, about that, you see…”
________________________________________
“…and then that was when we all got here” Bunny finished.
“Well, that explains it all. Aloe and the others were part of it all along?” Fluttershy asked.
Bunny nodded. “Now, Ponyville Spa has been closed down for good and all the employees went to jail along with Rarity, all lost their license for spa duty. My guess is that there are gonna be a lot of ponies who are gonna be cranky for a massage”
Everypony giggled at Bunny’s joke.
“One thing I don’t get though, WHY DID SHE TRY TO TURN YOU INTO A COAT?!” the alien raised her arms wide to express.
Fluttershy looked down at that; did Bunny scare her?
“Oh! I’m sorry about that”
“No, Bunny it’s okay”
“Fluttershy, what’s wrong? Do you know why?” I asked Fluttershy.
She looked away as to try and avoid the question.
I knew something was wrong. I used my hoof to make my marefriend look at me. “Fluttershy, please. You can tell us”
She sighed. “She said that she was gonna turn me into a coat so she can wear me and get you love her”
I couldn’t believe what I heard. “WHAT?!”
“She told me you only love me because I was the only single mare left who was color yellow. And that you only loved me for my color because it reminded you of Princess Celestia”
“Fluttershy…”
“I’m trying to believe that it’s not true, but it keeps ringing in my head”
“Fluttershy…”
She finally stopped her rambling and faced me, a sad look in her eyes. I couldn’t believe Rarity said to her that I only loved her for her color. That was not true; Celestia may be my mentor, but I love Fluttershy for who she is. I’d even love her even if she wasn’t yellow. Without warning, I pulled Fluttershy in for a kiss. I closed my eyes and wouldn’t let go. I knew she hesitated for bit, but she finally kissed back. I don’t even care right now that Bunny was covering her eyes or that everypony else was watching. After a few seconds, we pulled away from the kiss.
“She’s wrong, Flutters” I said, my hoof caressing her mane. “I love you for who you are, not just how you look. I love every part that makes you you. You’re sweet, you’re caring, and you’re kind. If anypony just tells you I love you physically in any way, they’re just jealous”
She blinked some tears off. “Thank you, Twi”
“Are you guys done?!” Bunny’s voice rang out, catching our attention. We looked to see she was still covering her eyes. “I don’t want to puke again!”
Shy chuckled at her apprentice’s behavior. She moved her hoof to her, until she was within reach of her neck. Without warning, she scratched the back of Bunny’s neck. She flinched a bit, but began to enjoy it. She rubbed against her neck, then the back of her ear, before she went in an area under her head. When she did, Bunny’s eyes went wide and she fell on her side. She purred as her eyes closed and she smiled, she looked like she was taking a nap.
“What did you do?” I asked, trying not to giggle.
“Oh, that? It’s just a little thing I just recently found out about her. I gave her a belly rub one time and tried to see how she reacts in various spots when scratched. Eventually I found that if I rub on her on the neck, the back of her ear, and then a certain part of bellow her head, she goes into that Happy Limbo for a while. She’s fully conscious, and can sense Visions when needed”
Spike seemed to approach the now Happy Limbo Bunny. “Can you show me how to do that?”
“Maybe some other time”
“Um, excuse me?” Nurse Redheart’s voice rang out. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No, it’s fine” I said.
“Good. Miss Fluttershy, may I check your wound?”
She nodded a little. She went over to the yellow Pegasus and slightly lifted the blanket. I can tell she gasped a little.
“Everything okay, Nurse?” Rainbow asked.
“One second” she said before darting outside. A moment later, she came back in. “Miss Sparkle, may talk to you for a moment?”
I nodded. I gave Fluttershy a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
“Yes, Nurse, what is it?” I asked.
She looked down; I could tell something was wrong. “In your opinion, how do you think Miss Fluttershy will fare?”
“I think she’ll be fine. Why? Is there something wrong?”
“We’re still unsure if Miss Fluttershy will live or not”
“What? But, she’s fine now”
“For now, that is. But we just found that a major nerve has been cut in her left thigh. It’s nice to see she’s awake now, but we’re not sure if she’ll be fine for so long. She may have about an average of a few weeks left before it’s determined. I suggest you enjoy the time left”
“But…but…”
“I’m sorry, but it may be better if you don’t let her know so she may be happy until she knows”
I held back tears as I put a hoof to my mouth. “How will we know?”
“When she starts to cough up her own blood”
I nodded.
“I’ll leave you to her”
She left me there in the hallway. It was just too much to bear. My marefriend was dying, and I couldn’t stop this. I sighed in sorrow. It took a while, but I finally stopped the sadness and headed back to the room. What I saw next was Bunny in a Daze, pinning Spike to the bedpost beside Fluttershy. She looked like was going mad.
Spike struggled. “Bunny, listen to me! Fluttershy’s fine! You must be having a…”
“DON’T YOU GET IT?! WHEN YOU CUT HER IN THE THIGH, YOU CUT A VITAL NERVE AND NOW SHE BLED TO DEATH WE THOUGHT SHE WAS FINE UNTIL IT GOT WORSE AND MADE ITSELF KNOWN! IF YOU DIDN’T LET YOUR JEALOUSY GET THE BEST OF YOU, SHE WOULD BE FINE AND NOW…” Bunny’s fangs began to show themselves, and grew larger and sharper. “…YOU’LL HAVE TO TELL HER WE SAY HELLO!”
Fluttershy then hit Bunny on the head really hard, causing her to drop Spike and fall on the bedside. The trick worked as expected; Bunny let go of Spike and held her head and groaned for a few seconds in pain. Spike just shook off the fear as he seemingly prayed that she would go back to normal. It took a while, but she finally opened her eyes. They were back to their normal cerulean. She got back on her paws and shook her head as though she came out of a dream. After a few seconds, she looked at Spike in confusion, and then just panicked.
“Oh my goodness!” she said, back in her normal tone. “Spike, I am so sorry!”
Spike quivered in response, he didn’t even answer Bunny.
Bunny looked down. “Oh, he’s scared of me now, isn’t he?”
Spike snapped out of his fear-induced trance. “B-Bunny? Is that really you?”
“I just hope you can forgive me. I was in a Daze! I’m sorry!”
“Yep, that’s definitely you” Spike said, picking the alien up and pulling her in for a hug. “Only the real and normal Bunny gets that emotional when she does mistakes”
“Does that mean you forgive me?”
“You’re too cute for me to stay mad at you, and like you said, you were in a Daze. What is a Daze in your speak anyway?”
“A Daze is when a Servant is in Happy Limbo for a moment, senses a Vision, and starts to whimper. If it gets provoked like somepony tries to wake them up, their eyes turn black and their voice goes weird. They also tend to act as though it was real and that they were there. One way to wake them up is by bonking them on the head” I said upon going back inside the room. “In this case, it was about Rarity and she thought you were her”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you mistaken me for Rarity”
“You smell a bit like her”
“And how does she smell like?”
“Mostly gemstones”
“What did the Nurse say?” Fluttershy asked.
“She said that you may have to stay here for a while, and they have to make daily check-ups on you to avoid accidents. You had a really deep cut”
She nodded. “Bunny, what did you see?”
My apprentice just looked down. “I’m not supposed to say”
________________________________________
“I’m sorry, everypony” Nurse Redheart said upon entering the room. “But visiting hours are almost over”
I was disappointed, but I nodded to her to assure it’ll be okay. I knew it would not be since she was dying. With a sigh, I gave me one last kiss on the cheek before leaving with the others. “See you tomorrow, Flutters”
“Okay, Twi”
________________________________________
I closed the door as me and Spike entered the castle. I noticed he was still shaken from the experience earlier. “You okay, Spike?”
He nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be? I just got mistaken for somepony that my best friend saw in a Daze and she nearly bit me”
“Right and the bite from an alien can kill a dragon”
He nodded again. “But it’s fine. How about you? Are you okay?”
I looked down, thinking back to what Nurse Redheart said about Fluttershy. She was gonna die, and there’s no stopping it. I wanted to deny it, but Bunny’s Daze confirmed it. I felt my eyes tear up as I was about to cry.
“Twilight?”
“I’m fine” I said before running to my bedroom. I just locked the door, and jumped on my bed. Spike kept knocking on the door as hard as he’d dare. I just didn’t stop. I cried the whole night. It wasn’t fair.
________________________________________
Over the past few weeks, everything seemed fine. I and the others made their visits, there were regular check-ups to make sure things were fine, and we hadn’t heard from Rarity in a long time since. I just decided to hold back my sorrow in my marefriend’s presence and cry it all out at home. Bunny didn’t leave Fluttershy unless I was to take over for her job. But she didn’t leave her Mistress’ side at night. Things look like they were just alright, well, until one day…
“If I don’t make it, Twilight, do me a favor” Fluttershy said to me.
“Yes, Flutters?”
“Take care of Bunny for me”
I looked at her in confusion.
“When the Master or Mistress of the Servant dies, the Servant must return to E-arth, whether they finished their mission or not. And I don’t want Bunny to leave like the way she did with Poltrust. Servants can still stay if another one, who is close to the Master or Mistress, takes them in. Poltrust didn’t have anypony to watch her after he died so she had to leave”
I looked at Bunny, then back at Flutters.
“Please, Twilight” she said, holding onto my hoof. “My animals will leave if I die, but I want that Bunny finishes her mission”
I just looked at her, before I finally decided. “Okay, I’ll make sure she’s safe”
“Thank you, Twi”
I kissed my marefriend as if she would die tomorrow. She was surprised at first, but gladly kissed back. We were in that for a while as Bunny covered her eyes. When we pulled away, we just stared deeply into each other’s eyes.
Then it finally happened. She coughed a little, but it became worse. She coughed out what I feared. It came out to be my own blood. We stared in horror at what was happening. What’s happening? I tried to calm down, but she kept coughing up her own blood.