//------------------------------// // Suffering Of The Mind. // Story: Striped Scars // by ezio dementay //------------------------------// Dim starlight shone through the blinds that covered Fluttershy’s windows, slightly illuminating the darkened bedroom in which the two were slumbering that night. Every being that lived in the forest was vast asleep by now, except for one troubled zebra. Zecora simply couldn’t sleep, the pain of the silken sheets running past her wounds was too much for her to bear. She lay with her back pressed into the bed below, gazing up towards the wooden ceiling. She had counted the planks for Celestia knows how many times already that night. She just wanted to go to sleep, and start anew the next morning. Her mind did what it would so often do when she got bored, contemplate. She thought about the fire, her home, and how she nearly died that night, it was.. unnerving to say the least. She could hear Fluttershy’s soft snoozing, coming from the other side of the large bed. She shifted underneath the covers, her face pointing towards that of the slumbering pegasus, the pegasus who had saved her life, it was all still sinking in. She owed this pony so much, yet she had nothing to offer in return. She kept wondering what the morning would have in store for her. Where would she go? How would she go on without a home to call her own. Zecora grabbed the blanket that covered her with her hoof, throwing it over her head as she turned in the bed, in an attempt to escape from the thoughts that haunted her, but to no avail. She let out an annoyed sigh as she felt her eyes get heavier with each passing moment. She peered into the darkened room from beneath the warmth of the blanket, looking through the window, into the raging snowstorm that blew outside. Her thoughts threatened to get dominion over her head once again. Zecora kicked the sheets off of herself in a fit of anger, allowing the frigid winds that flowed through the slightly opened window to get a hold of her body. “I have to get some air..” she thought to herself as she slowly climbed out of bed, making sure not to disturb the snoozing pegasus. She could hear the floorboards creak in protest as her hooves hit the floor. She flinched as she quickly turned her gaze towards Fluttershy, hoping that she hadn’t disturbed the mare from her sleep. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the pegasus, snoozing happily in her sleep. The zebra moved into the hallway, closing the door behind herself. Fluttershy heard the muffled sound of bubbling water in her ear. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded by water from all sides. She felt the pressure on her body, the slight stinging pain in her eyes. She looked up and noticed that she lay several feet below the surface. Suddenly, she noticed that she was beginning to run out of air. She desperately tried to swim, hastily flinging her forelegs through the water as bubbles of air escaped her muzzle, but it was no use. She could hear the muffled sound of a screaming filly above her. She looked up to see the faded image of a young pony, standing at the waterside looking down at her, screaming. The filly lowered herself, reaching for Fluttershy with her hoof beneath the water. The terrified pegasus extended her reach upwards, nearly touching the filly´s hoof. She raised her shoulder towards the surface, extending her reach even further. She could nearly grasp the filly´s hoof. Suddenly, Fluttershy felt something pull at her legs, dragging her down into the darkness. She could hear the filly´s screaming intensify as she descended into the depths. Her mane flowed upwards as the surface seemed to get farther and farther away. She could feel her last breath escape her muzzle. Her eyes slowly closed as her body went limp. Zecora could hear the snow crack beneath her hooves as she continued her lonesome march through the snowy fields that surrounded Fluttershy’s cabin. She could feel the snow hitting her face as the wind raged into her ears, but she couldn’t care less, anything was better then having to suffer the torture of her own mind. It gave her mind some rest at least. The lonesome zebra reached the top of a small, snowy hill that stood on the edge of a very wintry version of the Everfree forest. She simply allowed fatigue to take over her body as she collapsed into the frigid snow. Zecora hadn’t had a moment alone since the faithful night that her home burned down. The night that she had almost lost everything. She shivered as the cold winds blew past her head, rustling through her mane. It all started to sink in. “My home is gone..” she whispered in the cold. “Everything is gone..” everything that she worked so hard for, gone. Free from judging eyes, she could finally let her guard down. She buried her pale face into the white snow as tears started to escape from her eyes. Fluttershy’s eyes shot open in fear, darting out of her lying position. She suddenly became aware of the sound of her own frantic breathing, filling the darkened room. She sat upright in her bed, her forelegs pressed into the mattress below, beads of sweat ran down her face. She looked to her side, and the first thing she noticed was the absence of a certain zebra. The sheets were a mess, and the storm, beating against her window was the only sound that accompanied her heavy breathing. Wondering where Zecora had gone, she tiredly climbed out of bed, causing the sheets to shift. Weary eyed, and with a dry throat, Fluttershy moved towards her window, peering into the snowed down forest. She could vaguely see something on the hill that lay at the edge of her vision. “Is..” she though to herself as she took a closer look at the trembling figure. “Is somepony outside.. in the storm!?” her eyes shot open in realization. “Zecora!?” Nearly falling over her own hooves, Fluttershy scrambled out of her room. She galloped down the stairs, thinking what could have possibly come over Zecora to do something so careless. Zecora’s body was starting to feel numb as the icy currents pierced her coat. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open due to the fatigue and the snow hitting her face. She sluggishly kicked her legs about in the snow as she fell to her side, her head hitting the freezing ground. She knew that she wasn’t going to last long out here, but the feeling in her legs had long since disappeared. Sheer willpower can only keep one awake for so long. The raging snowstorm blowing in her ear was the only thing she heard as her eyelids closed ever so slowly. A small heap of snow lay on her back and legs, chilling her to the bone. “Zecora!?” Fluttershy yelled, trying to make herself audible through the savage storm. The zebra’s eyes blinked dully at the sudden sound invading her mind. She dimly opened her eyes, seeing only snow, floating in the night. Suddenly, she felt somepony’s muzzle in her side, pushing her on to her back, revealing the world to her eyes. Fluttershy stood above her, her long pink mane dancing in the wind. Zecora could see a deep look of worry in Fluttershy’s eyes, the rest of the world being nothing but a blur to her weary eyes. She nearly got lost in her cyan eyes. Fluttershy moved out of Zecora’s gaze, causing the zebra to snap out of the dreamy state she was in. She wished nothing more but to look into those eyes for just a few more seconds. The last thing she felt was Fluttershy grabbing her by the legs and dragging her through the frigid snow, before her world went black. The soft sound of crackling wood lingered in the zebra’s mind as a new-found warmth enveloped every inch of her cold body. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking dully for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room. She felt the hard, wooden floor lying beneath her as consciousness crept back into her mind. Zecora saw a burning fireplace, standing in the wall, just a few feet away from her. Suddenly, her body was shrouded in a warm blanket, causing her to turn her gaze to the pony standing beside her. She was unprepared however, for the same gorgeous eyes, looking down at her. Fluttershy stood above her, wearing a caring smile on her face. Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide at the zebra’s sudden movement. “You’re awake!” she exclaimed, enveloping Zecora in another fuzzy cover. For the first time, Zecora was thankful that she could not speak, for she was speechless at the sight that stood beside her. It stirred something inside of her that she had long since forgotten. Visions flooded her mind, visions of past regrets, of a love long forgotten. “she looks just like..” this thought became too much for Zecora to handle. She let out a stifled cry as a single tear streamed down her cheek. Fluttershy noticed the Zecora’s sudden change in demeanor, she couldn’t stand to see the zebra cry. She lowered herself unto her knees, lying next to the sniffling mare. “Shh..” she cooed to her friend. “It’s going to be ok..” she tried to comfort her, but to no avail. The zebra buried her face into Fluttershy’s shoulder, her tears staining the pegasus’ coat. Words could not describe the amount of compassion that Fluttershy felt for her friend that night. She simply took her hoof and brushed it through Zecora’s mane. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.” she assured her, but the zebra seemed inconsolable. Fluttershy didn’t know what thoughts plagued Zecora’s mind, but it didn’t matter right now, all she cared about was making her friend feel better. Without thinking, Fluttershy buried her muzzle into the zebra’s neck, nuzzling it lovingly. Suddenly, Zecora’s crying came to a halt as a furious blush crept across her face. “Fluttershy?” she rasped, trying to conceal her crimson flush. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness..” she whispered to Zecora as their tails intertwined.