//------------------------------// // 1 - A very special book // Story: Little critters // by Sealcake //------------------------------// Fluttershy stayed in the bathroom, the tub was filled with water. She had to do this, it was the only way to make the pain stop. She climbed on the tub, a knife grabbed in one of her wings. Yes, she will end this. She took the knife with her mouth, tears making her way in her cheeks. She had left a note to her friends, but still, she felt sad about them. Fluttershy felt the warm water around her, then took a deep breath and plunged the knife in her foreleg, making a vertical cut. She bit the handle of the knife in pain and closed her eyes, then do the same to the other foreleg. She dropped the knife, and waited to die, but she felt nothing. Slowly opening her eyes, she glared at the two large cuts in her forelegs, they weren't bleeding. "What the hay?". She rubbed her left foreleg with her right hoof. "Why I am not bleeding?". She took again the knife, a sadly and furious frown marked in her face. She plunged the knife more and more deeper in her left foreleg, but the blood didn't come out. Fluttershy was crying. "Die! Die die die!", the knife touch her bone, and she let out a scream, "Agh!". She rapidly released the knife and forced it to make the way out of her foreleg. After that, she rubbed her foreleg, it was hurting like hell. She bit her right hoof desesperately, crying for the pain. "I only want to be with Angel!", she yelled, "I only want to see him again!". She used her hoofs to hide her face, crying and sobbing, the water flying everywhere for her movements. Then, she remembered something, Discord. Her breathing turned fast, she knew Discord would do everything to don't lose a friend, and she was her only friend, the only in millenias. It was obvious, Discord had made her deathless without her consent. Thinking of it, Discord had reason in his actions, he was inmortal and he didn't want to lose his dear friends, so, why Fluttershy had to support the death of her friends? Fluttershy blinked a few seconds, realizing what she had to do, making a plan. She had heard about a book, a very special book who detail exactly that the pegasus and the earth ponies can use magic, but mainly, dark magic. She didn't believe it, but if she wanted her friends to be inmortals, she would have to swallow all the lies and myths to do so. Fluttershy stood up, tacking a towel and drying her body. She needed to do this, because if she don't, her friends would die. She left the bathroom, if she would do this, she needed to saw and remember why. Fluttershy stared at the little tombstone, written roughly was the name of her best critter friend, Angel. She glared at it for minutes, the cold making her shiver and the coming rainstorm making her more sadly. Tears streaming down her face and falling to the ground. After what felt like hours, she looked to the small graveyard who occupied the cottage's courtyard. There were a few tombstones, like seven or eight, all of them small, except for one, who belong to a dog. Fluttershy sighed. She knew it. All of her friends will die. All. Of. Them. The pegasus entered her house and pick up two saddlebags, settling them in her back, and took a look to herself in her mirror, she looked awful, but she have no time to clean her, so she left the house. Letting out a small breath, Fluttershy trotted to the small town, to visit her friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. A softly hit in the door of the library, then another, and another. "Spike!", a voice yelled, "Open the door, please! I'm reading a very interesting book and I don't want to stop!". "Coming!", was the response. Spike opened the door, gasping at what he saw. There, outside, was a yellow pegasus, her eyes red by her constantly crying, her pink mane a mess and a sadly look in her face. "Hello, Spike", said the yellow pony, then took a deep breath, "Can I pass?". Spike was paralized for a few moments, this wasn't the Fluttershy he know, this was a really sadly pony who had took her place and was waiting outside to enter in the library. "SPIKE! WHO IS??", said the voice again, shocking Spike. "IT'S FLUTTERSHY!...I guess". Spike stared at the pony, huge bags were under her red eyes. "Spike...can...can I enter, please? If...if that is okay". Spike nodded and the pegasus entered the library, carrying two saddlebags in her back. For a few seconds, Spike saw two cuts in her forelegs, but said nothing. "Fluttershy!", said a happy alicorn trotting downstairs, "What a surprise to se-!", she stopped, looking at the emotionally broken pegasus. A terrible knot hit her in the stomach and no sound came out of her mouth for four tense minutes, until she managed to speak, "You...you still don't overcome it, do you?" Fluttershy stared at the floor, her eyes started to getting wet. "No" she whispered, "I...I still miss him". "I'm...I'm sorry Fluttershy...but bunnies are not ageless". "I...I knew that that would happen", said the broken pegasus, "but I wasn't prepared...I wasn't prepared to see Angel die". Fluttershy put her head in her friend's shoulder and started to cry, Twilight wrapped a warm wing around her, cuddling her kind friend. "Sshhh, Fluttershy, it's okay". "No...it's not okay...", she whispered. Fluttershy separate the hug and stared at her friend. "I...I came to buy a book", she smiled a little, but still looked broken. "Oh, no no no, you won't buy a book, for you, they are free". Fluttershy glared at her friend and, for the first moment since Angel's death, she was truly happy. "Thanks, Twilight". "Can I help you with that book?". "Oh, don't worry, Twilight, I'm sure I can find it for myself", said the yellow pegasus, walking to the bookshelves. Twilight stayed there, and when she saw that her friend has disappeared in the forest of books, she said something to Spike. "She...she is still shattered". "I know...is kinda...scary". "I'm worried Spike, I don't want her trying to...commit suicide". There was a moment of silence, until Spike broke the ice. "She is not that kind of pony, Twilight, you know", he knew he was lying, he has just seen two cuts in Fluttershy's forelegs. "Then...what kind of things...will she do?". No other word was spoken between the two, because the two of them were staring at the bookshelves, waiting patiently. Fluttershy was trotting furiously, a frown of anger was marked in her face. The book she was looking for had to be near, but she can't find it. After walking in circles, she stopped and sat in the floor, punching it with her hooves. Why? Why this kind of things had to happen to her? First, Discord made her secretly inmortal, or so she thought, because when she tried to cut her veins and die, no drop of blood went out. And, in second place, Angel's death. Thinking of it, Fluttershy felt her eyes starting to get wet and, in the verge of tears, she remembered her plan. She took a deep breath and stand up, riping the tears away. "It's have to be here". She started walking again and, suddenly, she shook a bookshelve. Rubbing her head, she was going to insult the bookshelve, but something fell to the floor with a thud, leaving dust in the air. Fluttershy closed her eyes until the dust dissipated, and then took a look to the book, smiling when she saw that that was the book she was looking for. She blew the dust cautiously, and when the title "Magic and Ponies" appeared, she stopped and sighed. "Finally", she said. She took the book and saved it in one of her saddlebags. So Twilight won't notice it. "Now I won't lost any of my friends". Walking to the main room, she remembered that if she left the house without a book, probably Twilight would notice it, so she took other book, titled "Pets: Maintenance and feeding", she knew everything on it, but it would work like a scapegoat. Twilight sighed in relief when she saw her friend exiting from the bookshelves. She and Spike hadn't moved since Fluttershy left to find that book. "There is, I said to you that I can find it for myself", said the yellow pegasus, happy. Twilight smiled, but looked a bit strange when she saw the book. "So...that's the book?". "Uhm...yes, sometimes I forgot things so I need to re-read it to remember". "Uh, that's okay...I guess". Fluttershy saved the book in her empty saddlebag. "So, the book is "Pets: Maintenance and feeding", no?", said the purple alicorn, levitating a notepad, an inkpot and a quill. "Yes". "And today is...", said Twilight, trying to remember, "Bah, nevermind, I will see later". "Thanks, Twilight", said the yellow pegasus, coming close to the exit of the library, "Goodbye". "Goodbye and see you later", that was the only thing who Twilight has time to said, because in the moment Fluttershy put a hoof out of the house, she started runnning towards her house. Twilight gave her a last look, and then turned to face Spike. "So...it's true...", she said, remembering the two cuts she had just saw. She closed the door, a worried frown in her face. "I will visit her later". "You think she will be okay?". Twilight looked at him, then looked away from her glare. "Fluttershy..." Fluttershy entered her cottage, all her precious fur was wet, so she went to the bathroom and dried her body with a towel, it was dark and was raining, but she managed to found a lamp and turn on the candle with a match. After that, she went upstairs, she left the lamp in her bed, opening the saddlebag where the book was in with her wing, she climbed on to her bed and opened the book slowly, the yellow pages looked really old and the dust flew everywhere. She made her comfortable in her bed, and took the book, laying next to the lamp. Before reading the first page, she was still confused if ponies who weren't unicorns can use magic, she has heard about the book, but never believed it was actually true. "Well, Zecora can use magic, no?". But that wasn't important, she didn't need normal magic, she needed something more powerful, not to revive her precious bunny, but to don't lost any other friend. She read the first page, the letters a little blurred by the pass of time. It's looks like a diary entry from a disappeared pony so much time ago. "As opposed to the popular though, every race of pony can use magic, not only unicorns and alicorns, but pegasus and earth ponies. Over the years, this kind of secrets were censored and the books destroyed in the sun's fire. I really hope, with all my heart, that this book will survive to the princesses' fury." Fluttershy stopped reading for a moment and took a deep breath, she really wanted to use magic to make sure that her friends won't die, but what if her friends don't want that? No, her friends wanted to be with her! To be inmortals like her! SHE WON'T LOST ANY OTHER FRIEND, NEVER!! "N...never", she said to herself. "Never", she repeated. "NEVER!!!", she yelled. Yes, her friends will be with her, they will be happy, none of her animals will die. She had seen the death of her little buny, but, in Angel's eyes, she had seen that he wanted to be alive, to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, to run and play with her. She had to do this, it was the only way to secure her happiness. She smiled and continued reading the book that will maintain her friendship.