//------------------------------// // 19 - Bedlam and Bloodshed // Story: Blink Again // by Amarandream //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle half tumbled-half galloped down the mound of bodies, her sister's screams chasing her down. As tears stung her face, she tried desperately to think on the move. What would she do? Where could she go? It had all happened so fast. Twilight was dead before any of them knew what was going on—ended mid-sentence by one of their own darts—and then Light had come next, struck down before Sweetie couldn’t even fully process that they were under attack. Light... her horn had exploded when Fluttershy's cudgel crashed down directly atop it. A tiny shard of shrapnel still dug into Sweetie's shoulder, piercing pain crying out for attention at every movement. Somehow, that wasn't even the worst of it. After she'd dealt with both Twilights, Fluttershy had turned and stared at her, rooting Sweetie in place with terror as she drew an axe from under her wing to replace the now-broken cudgel. That axe... coated with an unmistakable black, the signature of a venom so potent Sweetie couldn't properly remember how much pain it caused her. And then Rarity shoved Sweetie Belle off the pile, breaking that baleful gaze as she charged forward to buy her sister even just a few more moments. Oh, Rarity... The filly wanted to do nothing but cry until it was all over, pretend that her parents would come and comfort her one last time. Instead, she summoned the will to keep moving—even if, in the confusion, she'd become just as lost within the pocket dimension as she felt within her own thoughts. It wasn't long until Rarity's screams died off. She'd been screaming for Sweetie Belle to escape, to somehow live, but the filly couldn't see how. Starlight Glimmer and Princess Twilight were supposedly still in Ponyville, working to get them out, but from the way Light talked about it, escape sounded like it was still a couple of days off at the earliest. Perhaps she'd just find a bloated corpse and hide in it. That couldn't last her nearly long enough, could it? Well, it had worked for Fluttershy, but that was perhaps a special case. Sweetie'd go crazier than her attacker if she had to do that for long. Besides, her shoulder burned, and she couldn't treat it from inside a corpse. Sweetie screeched to a halt upon realizing that the echoes of her hoofsteps were the only sounds left. It had grown eerily silent, and for a moment, she'd been transmitting her location as clear as Scootaloo's yelps would after a bad scooter crash. Her breath and pounding heart became alarm bells, screaming at her, telling her death was coming for her next. Of death itself, there was no sign. Despite Sweetie Belle's frantic scanning of the area, Fluttershy might as well have been invisible. Of course, that was true immediately before the attack too. It suddenly struck her that she was deader than dead could be if she stayed put. She had to move. Or hide. Probably both. Come on, Sweetie Belle, just pretend it's a game of hide and seek. You never had any problem hiding from Apple Bloom or Scootaloo, why should you with Fluttershy? Her attempt at self-deception did little to calm her nerves, but she made for the perimeter regardless, creeping along slowly so as to maintain the silence. She wasn't sure how much time passed in her search for concealment—seconds? hours? It was all the same to her racing mind and hammering heart—but eventually, she found it. It was a perfect little nook, very dark, and sheltered by several cut up bodies. They had used those bodies for food once, but now, with a little luck, Sweetie would use them for concealment. Luckily, given their arrangement, she wouldn't have to actually burrow inside any of them as she'd initially feared. The minutes dragged on as she lay trembling within her hiding place. Had she just heard something? The faint echo of a distant hoofstep, perhaps? No, it was just her imagination. Wasn't it? Though the adrenaline dulled the pain somewhat, her shoulder was beginning to hurt progressively worse. That tiny shard of Light's exploded horn seemed to be digging further into her, though Sweetie knew that was impossible. There was only one thing to do: she had to get it out. Even with her idea of what true pain was being significantly increased by the snake incident, she couldn't tough it out forever. She took a deep breath, then reached toward her shoulder with her teeth. It was an awkward angle, but doable, even if it hurt her neck. The worst part was actually trying to get a grasp on the stupid thing. Before long, she had a mouthful of her own fresh blood as frustration and stabbing pain coursed through her, the piece of horn repeatedly slipping out from between her front teeth—incisors, she recalled from Cheerilee's most recent lesson. She froze at the sound of another hoofstep’s echo, this one from near the opposite end of the pocket dimension as the last. That meant she had been imagining the first hoofstep, didn't it? Nopony could move so quickly in silence. Either way, she definitely wasn't imagining it this time. Fluttershy was on the move. After waiting a moment to make sure her direct vicinity was still clear, Sweetie Belle got back to work on her shoulder. Before long, she finally had a proper hold on the shard. Taking only a moment to try and convince herself that it was just like pulling a splinter, she yanked. Nope! Definitely not like pulling a splinter! A new wave of pain pulsing through her body, she reflexively locked her jaw. Which, of course, meant that she chomped straight down on her tongue. Tears welled in her eyes as she forced down a whine. Oh, why was this happening to her? It wasn't fair! Not fair at all... The sound of clattering bones rang out, same direction as the last sound but closer this time. Fluttershy drew nearer. Sweetie Belle hunched down even lower, pulling herself under the wing of a dead Twilight Sparkle. Maybe if she was quiet enough, Fluttershy would move on right past her. Drip. Drip. Drip. Sweetie Belle's ears perked up. What was that? It was coming from... oh, no. Drop by drop, Sweetie's lifeblood was slowly but steadily escaping her shoulder onto the ground. Had removing the horn chip made the bleeding worse? How much blood could she afford to lose? Sweetie Belle hadn't the faintest idea. Anatomy at that level wouldn't be covered for two more school years. Maybe there was a way to patch it. How did that work again? Rarity would know. Of course, Sweetie would never see Rarity again. Well, not unless she survived long enough for help to arrive. Sweetie's heart throbbed. Help. Even if help did come, she'd be alone. The Crusaders would never understand what she'd been through, and they didn't need another Sweetie Belle. The same went for her family. They already had a version of her, a version not broken by the stupid, stinking, black pit she was slowly dying in. Her Rarity was dead. The one still in Ponyville would try to help, but would never know what to say. Sweetie would probably end up avoiding her out of guilt—guilt because she knew she’d only ever be a burden as she was. Besides, no matter how hard that Rarity tried, she would never be the one who whispered stories in her ear to help her sleep, or the one who held her in her hooves every night to make her feel safe in any small way she could, or even the one who joked with her about purple pantalooned stallions searching for the Fountain of Couth. And she definitely wouldn't be the one who forced on a positive disposition despite being surrounded by nightmares, doing everything in her power to make Sweetie Belle believe they'd be just fine, even if Sweetie secretly knew better. It was all useless, she decided. No matter what happened, her life as she knew it was over. Either dead here, or making life harder for those she cared about back home. And for that reason, she elected not to treat her wound. Well, that and the fact that she had neither the materials nor the skill to do so. If she bled out, that would just have to be fine. At least it would be better than getting caught by Fluttershy. Though she still wasn't certain if the injury was even that bad. Sweetie Belle heard another sound, this one at least halfway across the pocket dimension from her. She was safe for the time being then. She could close her eyes and rest. At least until— "Of course, little angel. You're right. We'll tell them one of the others went crazy. Fluttershy was just defending herself." Sweetie's eyes shot open, her body frozen in horror. That was Fluttershy talking to herself, no, whispering, and she could hear her clear as day. Princesses, but she couldn't have been more than a few pony-lengths away! "Oh where, oh where, do butterflies fly? I say, I say, they're not in the sky!" Was Fluttershy... singing? And there was something odd about her voice. It was casually confident in a way Sweetie could never have imagined on that pony. "Oh where, oh where, do butterflies fly? Oh me, oh my, they've all gone to die!" Sweetie Belle held her breath, silently begging every benevolent force she could think of in the hopes that the insane pegasus would simply pass her by. "Say, do you see that? The little chit thinks we don't know where she is!" Sweetie nearly fell into a panic on the spot. Fluttershy couldn't really see her, could she? Maybe she was just bluffing. She had to be bluffing. Unless she wasn't. Could she really risk trying to call her on it? No, she decided, she could not. Before Fluttershy could get any closer, she bolted out from her hiding spot and as far away from that voice as her legs would carry her. But it wasn't far enough. The pounding of a grown mare's gallop sounded behind her, growing louder and angrier with every breath. If she looked back, she was sure she would see that poisonous axe swinging just shy of her tail, those cyan eyes ever watching, never blinking. But she didn't look back. She couldn't. It was all Sweetie Belle could do to keep her eyes focused forward as she bobbed and weaved into places and past obstacles that a larger pony would struggle to get through. Or at least, that was the hope. No matter what she did, no distance ever seemed to be gained, and she was quickly growing tired. Another half-minute, maybe less, and she'd be caught. Dead. Something tugged at her tail, and she shrieked in horror as it pulled her back. It was all over. She was a goner. Please, please, please, please, noooo! And then her blood-slicked tail slipped between its grasp. With a stroke of luck, the chase was back on. A few seconds purchased at the cost of a heart attack and a half. Tears ran down her face as she galloped on. This was not how she thought it would end. Bleeding out, starvation, illness: those were the ways she had depressingly envisioned. Not being bludgeoned into a bloody pulp. That was, if Fluttershy didn't just let the poison do its work. That would be worse—screaming in familiar pain for who knew how long. Her ears pricked up as she came to a startling realization: the pounding of the hooves behind her were gone. Was she no longer being chased? Did she dare look back? She threw a glance over her shoulder and... found nothing. Like a shadow meeting light, Fluttershy had vanished. Sweetie Belle skidded to a sudden stop, throwing glances every which way. Ponies didn't just disappear like that. Moreover, Fluttershy had no reason to change tactics. Another few seconds and it would have been over. Sweetie nervously licked her lips. Did she gallop on? Change directions? Hide? The squelch of somepony sticking their hoof in gunk sounded off to her right, and she resolved to go left. That was, right up until a scraping sound emanated from that direction. Two sets of noises? That makes no sense! Fluttershy couldn’t possibly cause both of them, could she? Sweetie suddenly wasn’t sure that Fluttershy couldn’t do exactly that. Just then, she wouldn’t put anything past the pony. Maybe the pegasus had even taking to toying with her, like her sister's cat with a ball of yarn. Well, you have to do something, featherbrain! Sweetie Belle steeled herself, then picked a random direction, going off the idea that there was no action worse than inaction. And yet, just as she placed a hoof forward, Fluttershy burst out from behind a nearby corpse with an almost gleeful snarl. Sweetie screamed as she leapt back—scrambling to get herself moving in the opposite direction—but it was too late, she'd already looked right where she shouldn't have. Those cyan eyes locked onto hers, holding her in place with the force of a single, heart-stopping stare. Sweetie’s legs stiffened mid-stride, sending her sprawling to the ground. Even then, she was unable to look away from those eyes. As every instinct screamed to flee, she could not move. She could hardly even think. A wicked smile curled at the edges of Fluttershy’s blood-smeared lips. That pony knew the same truth Sweetie did: the chase was over. It began with a single, slow step—a second and a third following after at an almost leisurely pace. Fluttershy was taking her sweet time, her hooves ringing off grayish-reddish ground with no attempt to remain quiet, her oddly strained smile growing until blackened teeth were bared. And all the while, those big, bright eyes never blinked, never deviated from Sweetie Belle's face. Move! Stupid legs, get going! Please, don't let it end like this! Not without a fight! Sweetie Belle's attempts were useless, pathetic. That stare may as well have been a cage. Fluttershy stopped just short of her, then reached one hoof forward to rest upon Sweetie Belle's tail, pinning her in place. It was calm, methodical, uncaring. Sweetie tried shrinking into the floor to no avail, still not able to force out a proper fight or flight response. The pegasus loomed over her, an ever-darkening shadow, axe raised high—and Sweetie did nothing. Something flashed in Fluttershy's eyes. She appeared almost conflicted. Was that guilt? It would explain why she'd been taking so long to finish her off. Sweetie Belle's hopes rose. Maybe some part of the real Fluttershy was still in there, maybe she could be reasoned with. Maybe if Sweetie could just convince her mouth to work properly she could beg for her life. A whistling sound rushed through the air behind them, a familiar dart flying over Sweetie and directly at Fluttershy. And then it missed. What had undoubtedly been aimed for the center of those cyan eyes instead tangled itself in what was left of a pink-red mane. Still, that was enough to distract Fluttershy, breaking her gaze. Sweetie Belle turned and tried to leap away, only to smack her muzzle on the ground when her tail was pulled taut, Fluttershy's hoof still resting on it. The sound of galloping hooves charged toward her, prompting a dazed Sweetie Belle to turn her head up for a view of the newcomer. She only got the briefest of glimpses before Rarity, bleeding from numerous cuts but still alive, leapt over her and crashed directly into Fluttershy. Rarity's alive... My sister's alive! The weight on Sweetie's tail abruptly disappeared, sending her sprawling forward. Even in her awkward position though, she could see Rarity on top of Fluttershy, trying to press a large, crudely sharpened bone into the chest of her adversary. Unfortunately, Rarity's wounds seemed to have weakened her greatly, leaving Fluttershy the stronger of the two. Sweetie Belle pulled herself to her hooves, watching in horror as Fluttershy headbutted her sister then used the surprise said action created as an opportunity to flip the two of them over, Rarity's weapon now pinned beneath them. Fluttershy was on top now, and she still had that poisoned axe. Sweetie didn't hesitate: she charged forward, lowering her horn at the crazy mare. She'd already thought she lost her sister once, and she wasn't about to lose her for real. Even if that meant she'd be forced to kill Fluttershy herself. Determination meant only so much though. The moment she got close, Fluttershy batted the filly aside with a wing, sending Sweetie tumbling backwards without even so much as diverting her attention from Rarity. "Sweetie! What are you doing? GO! HIDE!" Rarity yelled as she dodged an axe blow, pulling up a nearby dismembered leg to block a follow-up. "No! I'm not leaving you!" Sweetie charged again the moment she righted herself, adjusting her approach to avoid the wings. This time, she caught a hoof to the face. The head-pounding pain was nothing next to the feeling of helplessness. Her sister could take an axe to the head at any moment, and she could hardly delay it, let alone stop it. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity screamed whilst trying to avoid blows. "If you don't flee this instant, I swear I'll tan your hide in the afterlife!" Despite herself, Sweetie almost wanted to laugh at that. Or cry. She'd easily accept death and a tanned hide over living with the knowledge that that her sister needed her and she did nothing. But what could she do? Fighting Fluttershy clearly wasn't an option, and she doubted she was strong enough to throw one of those darts with lethal force. Besides, if even Rarity missed, she doubted she'd fare better. The last thing she wanted was to accidently strike her own sister. Just then, something occurred to her. Light had struck Fluttershy with a knife—a knife that, since it was no longer in the pegasus, had to still be on the central corpse pile. And if Rarity needed anything, it wasn't Sweetie Belle's feeble attempt at a charge, but rather, a real weapon. "Hold on, Sis! I'll be right back!" Sweetie bolted off, galloping as quickly to save her sister as she had to save her own life. "What? No! Don't come back! Stay away! STAY AWAY!" Rarity's pleas went unanswered. Sweetie Belle wouldn't let anything stop her now. Just hang in there, Sis. I'm coming. I'll save you, and then we'll get out of here together. Happily ever after.