//------------------------------// // Empty // Story: Butterflies // by Ghosttown Brony //------------------------------// Fluttershy Chapter 15 “No.” Her voice was as faint and quiet as the leaves, rustling in the newly calmed breeze. The sight before her made no sense, her mind couldn’t wrap around the situation, it was impossible. Rainbow was gone. “No. No! Rainbow please don’t!” she pushed back her left eyelid with a gentle hoof. Her magenta eyes, once full of light, were now lifeless, staring off into a distance far beyond her own world. The sun beamed through the clouds, light began to fill the forest, but Rainbow’s pupils remained dilated. Frantic, Fluttershy lifted herself placing her hooves against her blue chest. She pushed with force, compressing her chest. She couldn’t die, not here, not like this. Not her Dashie. She pushed and pushed, grunting, crying, trying to force life back into the mare, pausing only briefly to check for a pulse. She never found one. She stopped. The sudden lack of movement or sound jarred her. “Please don’t leave me.” Everything was quiet. The blue mare lay beneath her, the most silent and the most still. She lifted her left hoof, and brought it to the beautiful face of her angel. She slid her eye closed. Then she collapsed. Her sobs were uncontrollable, all her pain, all her grief spilled out of her. She lay back down on top of her lover. She buried her face in her multicoloured mane, the way Rainbow used to do to her as she slept. She wrapped her forelegs around her body, pressing her even closer. She was still warm, but soon that would leave her too, and then she would be gone, any trace that the body below her contained life would disappear. She looked down on the body of the pony she loved, in anguish. It was torture, she could feel her warmth, smell her scent, she could see her below her, plain as day. But she wasn’t there. The pony that loved her so had departed, leaving behind only a vessel, a shadow, a memory sweet as the light she brought to everyponies life, but still so painful. So painful that the recollection left her empty. Be brave for me Fluttershy. But how? How could she be brave? The sun shone down, the storm had ended, but the world was dark, her light had left her, and how could she be brave in a dark world? How could she go on? She’d gotten a glimpse of love, what life with a lover could be; but it was stripped from her, a tease, leaving her even more empty than her life before. No not empty, this was worse. She was full, full of dreams and memories so grand, but all of it out of her grasp. She cried, her tears soaking into her already matted Rainbow mane. She kissed her lips, again and again. She knew now that it wasn’t going to be a fairytale. She couldn’t wake her departed love, but maybe feeling the touch of her lips could help. It didn’t. Rainbow wasn’t there to reciprocate her love, and she never would be again What was there to do? She had a life back in Ponyville, she had animals to care for, friends who cared for her, who loved her. But it wasn’t the same, and it could never be the same. How could she go back, go to a home that would always feel empty, being surrounded by friends, and still feeling alone. And what would they think; would they still love her, the pony who killed Rainbow Dash? And how would the animals feel, having a mother, who was never happy? She thought about Dash’s fear; getting old. She’d said she understood now, she knew how the old ponies could stand to stay, because they had somepony to share love with. But what about her? Now she didn’t have love? What was the point in growing old without love? Maybe she should just stay here, lay down upon the one she had adored, until she too wasted away. That would be brave right? Dying for love. Rainbow did, so why couldn't she? She caressed her mane, each colour. It was ratty, but it still looked so pretty. Be brave for me. No, she couldn’t do it. She didn’t know how to be brave, but letting herself wither away wasn’t the answer. And no matter how much she wanted it, she knew it wasn’t what Rainbow would’ve wanted, and if the pony she loved always put her first, she should do the same for her. But she couldn’t go now not yet. Rainbow’s body was cooler now, a normal temperature after that horrible fever. Even though she wasn’t there, she still looked so beautiful. But in a few days she would be buried, and then every part of her would be out of reach, remaining only in memory and photograph. Fluttershy didn’t think she could bear to look at a photo. She wanted to stay, to feel her, to see her beautiful face in front of her for as long as she could. She brushed her hoof over her cyan blue feathers, attached to the wings she loved so much. She didn’t want to remember, but at the same time she did, because soon they would be all she had. She remembered the day they met, how happy they were to find friendship, she remembered that first birthday, handing her the hoof-drawn gift, all the times Rainbow had been harassed and bullied, and a few times even beaten up to save her. “I’m so sorry!” she would always cry, when the bullies had left, and Rainbow sat licking her wounds. Sometimes she looked hurt or angry, but as soon as she saw Fluttershy she would always break into a smile. And she would always say “Don’t be, I’d rather it this way than see you get hurt.” She remembered the times in Ponyville, and the Best Young Fliers Competition. Fluttershy stared at the feathers she was caressing so carefully. She remembered how much Rainbow loved to fly, but even that didn’t lessen her spirits being grounded this past week. The yellow pegasus, didn’t claim to know where ponies went when they passed, it was a thought that scared her too much to entertain especaly being a caretaker. But she hoped that wherever she was now, she was flying, soaring without care, free of the burdens that Fluttershy had cast upon her all these years. “I miss you already Dashie.” She whispered. “But at least now, you don’t have to hurt anymore.” She kissed her forehead. It felt very final. But she still couldn’t bring herself to stand. She shut her eyes tight, blinking away the tears to clear her vision. She stared down. She studied her face every feature, committing every little thing to memory. She had to make sure she could remember. Fluttershy was scared of a lot of things, and it changed all the time, but now nothing scared her more than the thought of forgetting the face of the pony she loved. She had to go now, if she didn’t she never would. She would carry her back. It would be long and difficult, but the only thing she wanted less than to be alone, was leaving her alone. Fluttershy lifted herself up, still crying. She didn’t feel as though she would ever stop but that was ok. Rainbow deserved a lifetime of tears. But as she was about to lift Dash, a bright light exploded a few feet away. Fluttershy rubbed her eyes, trying to get the purple spots out of her eyes. When she opened them, the sight made her gasp. There before her was a purple princess. “Twilight?” she asked, unsure if it was real, or a hallucination brought on by the grief. It was almost a relief to see her friend, but the moment was tainted. Happiness was just a memory; all her heart held now was sorrow. Her alicorn friend lifted her head, trying to gain her bearings after the teleportation spell. She carried a look of worry, but upon seeing the mare on the ground a look of shock replaced it. “No.” She said, her stare locked on the body of the pegasus. Her violet eyes began to water, and she squeezed them shut. “Twilight, she’s gone.” Fluttershy said between sobs “She’s gone and it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t tell what she was thinking, Twilight’s face was unreadable. She said nothing, and her face was still, and contemplating. Suddenly it contorted in anger, and her horn illuminated. Fluttershy let out a terrified peep, worried her friend had become angry with her, wanted to hurt her. She didn’t blame her. But Twilight shut her eyes again, and when they opened, the colour was gone, replaced with a glowing white, unsettling and powerful. The yellow pony gasped. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter, until a sudden outburst of energy engulfed the three of them. When Fluttershy could see again, they were no longer in the forest.