//------------------------------// // Finding Fluttershy // Story: The Broken Mare // by darkangel_31314 //------------------------------// "Hey, Fluttershy..." Twilight murmured quietly into the crying Pegasus's ear. "Good to see ya." The mare in question pulled from the hug and smiled, tears still flowing as she began to look the Unicorn over. "It's so good to see you too, Twilight. And you don't look the worse for wear." Her soft hooves gently caressed over her belly. "... except for this...?" She glanced at Applejack who simply shook her head. "I... I don't remember what happened." Twilight sighed and laid back on the bed. "The last thing I remember clearly is returning from Canterlot and my brother's wedding... doing some research at the library... then Applejack came in... " She shook her head. "Everything after that is just confused blurs." "But... that was..." A soft gasp. "I know." Another heavy sigh as she turned over, facing away from them, and curled up on the bed, leaving the other two mares and the nurses to look on in concern. "Flutters, hun, we need to get word to Canterlot. The Princesses will want to know she's back. Especially the Royal Guard." The purple mare twitched an ear, listening as Fluttershy passed orders to the Nurses who quietly left. When the door closed, she looked back over her shoulder. "The Guard? My brother?" "And Dash." Applejack nodded sagely. Twilight sat up. "Okay... I need some explanations. What happened after... after I was taken?" The farmer pony pulled up a chair and sat, rubbing her sore leg. "I'll tell ya. Just let Flutters do her thing, okay?" When the unicorn nodded, Applejack began while Fluttershy opened a bag and began to examine Twilight. "You said you remember me visiting you. From there we went to the castle in the Everfree Forest. You wanted to see if there were any records still there. Me an' Dash decided to go with you - none of us had a real track record with prancin' through the forest alone, after all." She gave a weak smile before continuing. "Well... you were by the altar where we fought Nightmare Moon when this... ghost... emerged from behind it and whisked you off. We caught up with you and the... ghost... or whatever that darned thing was, you were layin' there weak and helpless." Her smile faded. "It was doin' something to yas. We didn't even think about it - we charged, and fought it the best we could. But ya know we ain't good against magic users. We got our tails whupped good and proper. I took the brunt of it, thought I could last longer in a physical fight, but I found out what the far side of several nearby walls looked like." When she paused and looked down at her leg, Twilight just nodded slowly for her to continue, ignoring the blood pressure cuff the Pegasus doctor put on a foreleg. "Well... I was still conscious while Dash began taunting it, but was hurt too. I could see her limping and favoring a wing. The .... creature... was whispering to yas. Telling ya lies and such." "What kind of lies?" "It was telling ya to give up, that it only wanted what was best for ya, going on how it loved ya and wanted ya to go with it. But I could see it in yer eyes that you didn't want to believe a thing. You were worried for us. Finally fed up, I heard it tell you that if you wouldn't go with it, it would pick one of us, and that as hurt as we were, we wouldn't last as long. Yer eyes got real big at that." Twilight closed her eyes and thought on this, trying to picture it, seeing if any of her memories came back. None did. "I... I went willingly?" "Twilight, sugarcube, we told you not to go. That we'd fight, as we were yer friends..." Applejack leaned close to put a hoof on one of hers. ".. we tried... you sacrificed yourself for us..." She looked at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Twilight..." Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and hugged Twilight. "... I can believe that, A.J. I know you tried your best... and I believe in my heart that I would willingly give my life to save yours." Twilight's horn glowed, pulling the chair even closer so she could embrace them both in a hug. It lasted for nearly a full minute before they released. "What happened afterward, Applejack?" With a heavy sigh, the earth pony in question sat back. "Well, after... you know... Dash pulled me onto her back and limped out of there. I could tell she wanted to go after you, she was crying, but I was hurt pretty bad. I spent the next three months in a room just down from here while the doctors put me back together." She removed her brace and flexed her leg with a wince. "... I can't buck apples anymore, but the mind's still sharp as a tack. Big Mac's guiding Applebloom along - ya couldn't see it for the stand but she's got 'er Cutie Mark now, by the way - and she's workin' on keeping the farm runnin' so he can focus on bucking while I tend to the books and the stand." "And Rainbow?" "Not two days and she broke out of the hospital to join both Princesses' and half the Royal Guard led by yer brother in pulling that castle apart to find yas. Once that was done, they started uprooting every tree within a mile. They searched for ya for close to three months, before Princess Celestia started to scale the search back because she had to run the country." She sighed. "Dashie hardly slept a wink during that time. She felt she failed us... let us down." "How can she think that?" Twilight asked with an arched eyebrow. "Not sure, hun. She's the Element of Loyalty, after all... and she felt pretty down. So when the Princesses took Spike back to the castle to take care of 'im, she went with 'em." Fluttershy adjusted Twilight's pillow. "Last letter I got from her said she was made one of Shining Armor's Lieutenants." "She joined the Guard?" Both mares nodded as Fluttershy answered; "She gave up her dreams of joining the Wonderbolts. She didn't want to risk letting any of us down again. She wanted to be true to her Element." Twilight laid back as Fluttershy tucked her in. "Okay... go on." Inwardly, she smiled, enjoying Applejack flowing back into - what she would call 'normal' - accent. Somehow, hearing that familiar voice seemed to make this whole nightmare bearable. Applejack collected her thoughts. "Well... Pinkie was adamant that you'd turn up. She kept goin' on about this big party that she'd throw when you got back. But ya could see it in 'er eyes. Each day she'd go to the edge of the forest to watch the Guard Ponies flitter about in their search patterns, but when they stopped she just... deflated. Then went back to her party planning. She canceled other parties to work on yers... then..." She trailed off as Fluttershy sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the tale. "... I found her sitting in her room one day. She had made a stuffed version of you out of balloons and streamers. She had a crazed look in her eyes and told me that she know you'd come back... " The look in the Pegasus mare's eyes showed true sadness. "... when I tried to tell her that you were gone she..." A familiar blush. "... I ran to get the guards that Princess Celestia left in town just in case." Twilight held the mare close. "What happened to her?" Fluttershy held her friend close, speaking quietly. "She's here, up in the mental ward. I came to see her every day, and finished my schooling so I could take care of her. I sent my animal friends off... somepony had to take care of Pinkie... with everyone just ... breaking up or leaving or unable to... I guess it had to be me." "You're a good friend, Fluttershy." Twilight gave a weak smile. "How is she doing?" "She still is schizophrenic, becomes violent whenever someone mentions the fact that you are gone, but no longer has to be restrained. She refuses to believe that you were gone, and thinks that we all abandoned you. I've been working with her whenever the Psychologist needs someone she can trust to be there." Twilight nodded and smiled weakly. "And Rarity?" "She left." Applejack finally found her voice. "The weekly get-together she and Flutters had at the spa was canceled again and again as she helped take care of Pinkie. And as Dash was in Canterlot training, Spike had moved back to the Castle with the Princesses, and I was at weekly appointments with the Docs, she took a big contract from some frau-frau company in Canterlot then opened a second store there, and moved her office to it." "So that's everyone..." "'bout does it, Twilight." "I can't believe it." She looked from one mare to the other. "I know were were close, so what happened? I get kidnapped and you guys just fall apart like that?" "It hurt us, Twilight." Fluttershy hid half her face behind her mane. "I know Dashie felt that she wasn't a good enough friend that she couldn't protect you when that thing had you in it's clutches." "I'm sorry, Fluttershy... this has just been a walking nightmare since I woke up. One minute everything's fine, the next... It's like Discord got loose and ran rampant through our lives again!" Applejack winced - and not because of her leg. "Yeouch, Twilight... had to mention that? Princess had us in counseling for a month after that." "I know, and it looks like we'll be in it again." She flung off the covers and stood shakily to her feet. "Make sure that message was sent to the Princess, Applejack. There's another friend I have to see." "Twilight! Who knows what you've been through, you should be in bed!" Fluttershy jumped to her feet, wings flared. "The nightmare is still plaguing me, Fluttershy, and will until I discover what happened to me, and get my friends back." Twilight glared at the Pegasus, cutting off any response. "... take me to Pinkie..."