//------------------------------// // Heartbreak & Treachery // Story: A Happy Accident // by ScriptScrolls //------------------------------// Heartbreak & Treachery ~~~~~~~~~~ A Happy Accident by ScriptScrolls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fluttershy smiled as Caramel looked straight at her, tilting his head slightly to one side. She did the same, beginning to close her eyes. The yellow mare could feel the stallion’s breath on her cheeks as he moved in slowly for the kill. ‘This is it!’ she thought. Yet as quickly as the phantasm arrived, so did it leave her. The clear image before her now faded to blackness as she felt a small patting on her hoof. “Curse you, Angel Bunny,” she whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The white rabbit stared at Fluttershy impatiently, pointing at the invisible watch on his wrist while slapping her forehoof with his paw. Angel evidently wished to be fed some breakfast. Fluttershy lazily turned her gaze to the window adjacent to her bed only to meet with blinding sunlight. Fluttershy squinted her eyes shut and let out a soft groan. Angel remained adamant in his desire for a morning meal and proceeded to poke her repeatedly in the ribs. “St-op it Angel! Th-at tickles!” Fluttershy said, giggling uncontrollably. Angel smirked in amusement and continued to jab the pegasus in the underbelly. “S-seriously! I can’t -- I can’t breathe!” Angel ceased his attack on the pegasus and let his ears droop back in a pathetic display of sadness. “Awwwww... Don’t be sad Angel; I’ll be right up to fix you some breakfast!” Fluttershy smiled at him. At this, her furry friend’s ears perked up, and he jumped into her hooves. Angel nuzzled the yellow pegasus, sliding his fluffy head and ears under Fluttershy’s soft chin. Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled widely. “Come on, let’s feed you.” As Fluttershy floated downstairs, she could hear a light snoring emanating from the living room. ‘Awwww. He’s so cute when he’s sleeping,’ she thought to herself, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. As Fluttershy came closer, however, it became evident that Caramel’s sleep was not peaceful. He was shaking his head quite violently, softly whispering in his sleep, “No.... no.... no.” Tears ran down his cheeks, leaving stains on his face in their wake. ‘Oh my,’ Fluttershy thought to herself, ‘he must be having a horrible nightmare!’ She frowned, upset that the stallion (literally) of her dreams was enduring such a frightful sleep. The yellow mare resolved to end his torture by waking him and proceeded to nuzzle Caramel’s neck. “It’s okay,” she whispered, “you’re safe.” The earth pony snapped awake, eyes wide, the sound of Fluttershy’s desperate screams still ringing in his ears. Caramel turned to see his victim nuzzling his neck and jolted backwards, causing the pegasus to emit a small “Eep!” He could only manage to stare at her, more tears coming to his eyes. ‘I’m a monster,’ he decided, ‘a horrible, sick monster.’ “Caramel, w-what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked him, confused and even somewhat frightened. ‘Everything,’ the stallion thought to himself. “Nothing,” Caramel lied with a small cringe. This made it the second time he had told a complete aspersion to the pegasus, and it caused him to feel far worse. Even more disappointing for the stallion, Fluttershy wasn’t buying it. Her eyes shot him a despondent look -- yet she still retained kindness in her smile. “Caramel... you were having a nightmare... Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Caramel immediately shook his head. Nothing could prove a more horrible resolution than talking about how he was going to violate her and do Celestia knows what else. Fluttershy looked even more concerned than before. “I-I find it helps to talk about things,” she said quietly. Caramel couldn’t feel more like a mule if somepony asked him to tow a boat down a canal. He could see in her sympathetic gaze that Fluttershy desperately wanted to help him. “Not this,” the brown stallion said, shaking his head with his eyes shut, “... not this.” Fluttershy felt completely useless -- something she hated to be called her entire life. Bullies at flight school would frequently remind her what a waste of pony life she was because she could barely even fly. Their words stung her, but she always found solace in making others happy and believed her kindness could prove useful on its own. Finding herself unable to help a pony, much less somepony she cared deeply about, was unbearable for Fluttershy. “O-okay, then,” she whispered. The yellow pegasus trotted her way back over to the couch and resumed nuzzling Caramel’s neck. He sat completely frozen, staring up at the ceiling. ‘The mare I’m going to -- ,’ he panicked, unable to even think the word, ‘is nuzzling me!’ Caramel tensed up, his entire body was quaking. Fluttershy felt him shaking and stood upright next to him. “What’s wrong?” Caramel’s behaviour concerned and even vexed the pegasus slightly. “Caramel... I’m r-really worried.” ‘You should be,’ he thought to himself. “Y-you can tell me anything.” ‘Except this.’ Fluttershy bit her lip and stared at the floor. She started to paw at it, softly running her hoof over the same invisible line. “U-um...please Caramel, I-I...I really care about you.” Caramel’s heart was tearing at the seams. Every ounce of him wanted to tell the kind pegasus how much he liked her, how much he cared for her, how much he loved her. Alas, he knew he could do no such thing; it would only prove to make matters worse. Allowing Fluttershy to become more attached would only increase the risk of fulfilling Caramel’s worst nightmare. A single tear fell unnoticed from the brown stallion’s eye. He knew what he should do, what he needed to do, what he hated to do. “Don’t,” he commanded simply and sternly. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, but no image could ever possibly retain the power of a single word between two ponies in love. Caramel knew that his one, well-chosen word could destroy the connection that he and Fluttershy had built. All that remained for him to do now was to lie there -- lie there and watch the link crumble -- lie there and mourn what he had just lost. ‘I really am a monster,’ he thought to himself, ‘a cold, heart-breaking, nefarious monster.’ Fluttershy’s previously nervous demeanor slowly faded as she deciphered what Caramel had just said. The yellow mare ran his one-word message through her brain several times to verify she hadn’t gone insane. Fluttershy’s mind was spinning, her emotions losing their bearings. ‘Did he -- what? -- but yesterday -- huh? -- I thought he, he liked me,’ she thought, sniffling. One emotion, misery,  took command in the confusion, inducing sniffs from the broken pegasus. ‘But my dream!’ she mentally objected, ‘What about my dream?!’ Nothing could uplift Caramel’s spirits as he witnessed Fluttershy’s strife. He desperately desired to reach a hoof to her, take back his one word, declare his love for the pegasus, and put her in a tight embrace. Yet, he did not do so; he could not do so; Caramel had to push her away... for her own safety. ‘If only you understood,’ he explained silently, ‘If only...’ Fluttershy was barely able to stammer between the incessant sobs, her voice cracking like her heart. “I-I.... th-th-think I’ll go g-get you... some m-medicine...” With that Fluttershy bolted out the door as fast as her wings could carry her. As soon as she left, the floodgates opened; all pent up agony poured down her rosy cheeks as she exploded into uncontrollable despair. The miserable pegasus was blinded by her own tears, but gave it no thought. Fluttershy didn’t care if she crashed headfirst into a tree; in fact, a part of her wanted to. She soared at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud, dodging tree trunks at the last second. A bright red rectangle appeared in her vision. ‘Perfect,’ she thought, accelerating to a ramming speed. Fluttershy was preparing for the impact of solid wood, certain it would be lethal at her velocity... Only seconds before impact did she see it was the door. ‘Oh buck!’ A huge bang erupted as the doors gave way to the yellow and pink missile. Applejack and Big Mac jumped with fright and looked toward the distant barn. They logically assumed the usual had occurred. “Darnit, that Rainbow maniac scared me half ta death!” AJ complained, clearly peeved. She figured it had to be the third time this month Dash had “dropped in” which, as it turns out, is more accurately “rocketed through”. “Eeyup,” Big Mac confirmed, chuckling slightly at how badly the sound had alarmed them. “Why for Celestia’s sake, I’m gonna give that pegasus a piece of my --” “Jeez what was that noise?” Applejack looked behind her to see none other than Rainbow Dash. She blinked her eyes a few times in confusion, but came to terms with the fact that the pegasus could not have physically appeared behind her if she had indeed crashed into the barn. “Wait a second! If y’all didn’t crash into mah barn, then what pegasus did?” Applejack asked her quizzically, still unsure of whether or not it was her. “That’s not possible; I just sent out all the flight crews to fetch birds!” Rainbow reasoned. “There’s not a single pegasus left in town, except... except...!” Dash’s jaw dropped as she and AJ stared at each other for just a fraction of a second, both of them having reached the same conclusion. “Oh, no! Fluttershy!” Applejack panicked, looking left and right. “Big Mac, go ’n’ get the medical kit! We’ll make sure she’s ah’right!” Rainbow took flight in the direction of the barn with AJ sprinting close behind. Even after a minimal distance, their hearts began racing for fear of what might be left of their beloved friend. After a seemingly endless few seconds, the pair arrived panting at the barn doors, both of which now lay ajar. Rainbow Dash was the first to recapture her breath and speak. “Fluttershy!... Are you okay?” A grumbled moan came from behind a hay bale. Fluttershy was still conscious, but very short of comfortable; scrapes and bruises outlined her sides and her wings were covered in splinters. She tried standing up on her hooves, but her limbs throbbed. The injured pegasus fell back onto her haunches and cried quietly, only moaning slightly from the pain. “Sugarcube, where are ya hurtin’?” Applejack was deeply concerned for the delicate, yellow mare. Unlike Rainbow’s strong build, Fluttershy’s frail composition was especially vulnerable to damage from an impact of that magnitude. “Right here,” Fluttershy whispered, a hoof pointing towards her heart. Both AJ and Dash scrutinized the spot she indicated, but it didn’t have so much as a scratch. The two ponies exchanged confused glances before looking questioningly back at Fluttershy. “Uh... there’s nothin’ there,” Applejack observed bluntly. “Exactly...” sighed Fluttershy, knowing AJ would not get her meaning. Rainbow proved herself to be quicker on the uptake, however, and frowned knowingly. “AJ, I think I should talk to Fluttershy alone for a few, okay?” Rainbow knew this injury didn’t require Applejack’s assistance. Although she was a kind pony on the whole, AJ did have a tendency to act brusquely, especially on such an emotional topic. Applejack merely nodded and walked off, yelling at Big Mac to cancel her order. ~ Caramel couldn’t weep anymore; he was far too exhausted. This, however, didn’t prevent him from mentally berating himself. ‘I can’t believe I did that.... She showed me nothing but kindness, and I turned around and threw it at her... I should be sent to the moon; maybe the icy cold of space will match that of my actions towards Fluttershy... Not even close.’ Caramel’s insult session with himself was interrupted by a knock on the door. He rose from the couch, surprised to find no surge of pain from his back, and opened the door. “Hi, I’m Nurse Redheart. I heard there was an injured stallion here?” The white mare looked around, as if searching for one. “Uhh, yeah. I guess that’d be me,” Caramel told her sheepishly. “I don’t feel pain anymore, maybe I should --” “Nope! Sorry, but we still need to make sure you’ve healed correctly.” The pink-maned earth pony evidently took her job very seriously, perhaps even more so after being away for a day. Caramel opened his mouth to ask if they should depart, but a patting on his hoof distracted him. He turned around to see a white bunny with a grumpy look on his face and his arms crossed. “Is it okay if I feed the animals quickly? I guess F-Fluttershy forgot to feed them before she left...” Caramel gulped, knowing he was only telling a half-truth. ‘... because I broke her heart in fear of ending up raping her if she got too close to me,’ he finished mentally. “That’s very unlike her...” Nurse Redheart thought out loud. Caramel began to sweat, hoping she didn’t press the issue further. “I guess she’s not used to having a handsome stallion in the house. I bet you distracted her quite a bit,” she said, giggling. Nurse Redheart meant nothing by it; she was older than Caramel by a few years and wouldn’t really date him. That, of course, didn’t stop her from playing the “naughty nurse” role and flirting with him. The promiscuous nurse’s compliment had the desired effect as Caramel’s face began to turn a bright scarlet. “I-I’ll just g-go feed them...” he stuttered embarrassingly. Caramel began making the food rounds about the house. Few animals in the house needed feeding seeing as most were currently hibernating, but he didn’t want the few that needed a meal to go hungry. The light brown stallion made sure to mimic Fluttershy’s feeding procedure exactly, surveying each bowl to ensure it had the right amount of food. After he had finished distributing breakfast to the various creatures, Caramel took a short moment to watch them eat, finding satisfaction in his small act of compassion. “Ready to go?” Nurse Redheart interrupted his daydreaming. Caramel nodded and began walking to the door. “Ap, ap, ap,” she said, signalling for him to halt. The pink-maned mare walked out the door and came back in with a wheelchair and a blanket. She smiled and pointed at the seat, directing Caramel to where he should place his flanks. Caramel merely furrowed a brow at her. “Is this really necessary? I can walk just fine!” he objected. Nurse Redheart’s friendly grin morphed into an adamant glare. Caramel gulped -- fearing she might resort to restraints -- and immediately planted his haunches in the chair. The white mare smirked at his obedience and wheeled him outside. ~ “What in Equestriah is goin’ on?!” Braeburn muttered to himself. He had been taking a pleasant nap up against an apple tree when a sudden bang had sent him jumping head-first into a low branch. The stallion was now trying to overcome the effects of his concussion by forcing the two blurry apple trees he saw drifting in front of him to merge into one. Such a task would have proven easier if Braeburn hadn’t been swaying side to side. “Stay still darnit!” he yelled at the tree. The earth pony eventually regained his balance and sight, and proceeded to check himself for injuries. He ran his hoof through his mane and found to his displeasure a very large bump. “Ah guess ah’m a unicorn, now,” he chuckled to himself. Braeburn proceeded to scan Sweet Apple Acres for the source of the commotion, his eyes resting on the barn a few hundred yards away. The bright red building had dust coming out of the doors -- or more accurately, the lack of doors. He saw two ponies racing to the barn at top speed, the cyan pegasus barely in the lead. ‘Somepony must be hurt somethin’ bad,’ Braeburn fretted, ‘Ah better go ’n’ help!’ The amber earth pony began trotting quickly, taking care not to run in case somepony asked him to hastily fetch something from town. Braeburn’s ability to think clearly in emergencies went unnoticed by many ponies, largely because he acted foalishly most of the time. When the apples hit the fan, however, he was always the stallion to call. By the time Braeburn reached the barn, Applejack was trotting out, waving off Big Mac who held the first aid kit in his mouth. He began to turn around when he overheard a conversation through the barn window. “So what did Caramel do?” Rainbow asked, her hooves crossed as she hovered in midair. ‘Caramel?’ Braeburn’s curiosity got the better of him, so he crouched behind a bush near the open window and listened closely. He typically didn’t eavesdrop, but Caramel was his best friend after all. The yellow pegasus with eyes puffy from crying spoke next. “Well, *sniff*, last n-night he told me he l-liked me... B-but this morning... Oh, Rainbow! He was a completely different stallion! He got so distant and frightened! And then... when I t-told him I cared, *sniff*, about him... he -- he just -- said not to!” Fluttershy broke back into tears, her face buried into her hooves. Rainbow floated over to her and placed a foreleg around her shoulders. Braeburn couldn’t believe his ears; Caramel was the gentlest pony he had ever met. There was no way he could have behaved so harshly, especially not to such a lovely pegasus. It just wasn’t like Caramel. Braeburn made a mental note to have stern words with him afterwards, but he carried on listening. “Aw, Fluttershy... You two barely even met; how did you expect to trust him? He is a stallion after all,” Dash emphasized, the sexism cutting through her words. “You remember the bullies from flight school,” she continued, cringing at her own mention of them, “and what they tried to do to you?” Fluttershy closed her eyes and nodded slowly before objecting. “But... he’s such a kind pony,” she objected in a soft tone. “Why would he suddenly change like that?” Fluttershy shook her head, trying in vain to rattle her mind for an answer. Braeburn did the same outside the barn, baffled at his friend’s supposed change in attitude. ‘Not like Caramel at all... Somethin’s gotta be up with him.’ Rainbow Dash brought Fluttershy in closer, cherishing physical contact with the mare. She blushed slightly, and although Fluttershy failed to notice, the spying stallion did not. ‘Odd...’ he thought, rubbing his chin with his hoof. Dash seemed to act a bit too sympathetically for a friend. Rainbow pulled away after a few seconds. “They’re all the same, Fluttershy! All colts want is to get us into bed. They can’t be trusted, and I’m sure how nicely Caramel was acting at first was just a big facade which he couldn’t keep up.” The cyan mare’s words lit a fire under Braeburn’s flanks. As a member of the Apple family, he could immediately tell the pegasus was lying through her teeth. ‘She’s tryin’ to pull somethin’,’ Braeburn thought angrily, ‘and that somethin’ seems to be the wool over Shy’s eyes...’ The amber pony withdrew from the bushes and began to canter his way into town. He knew he had to do something about Dash poisoning Fluttershy’s mind that way and figured he would ask Twilight first. Braeburn presumed she wouldn’t have a wealth of experience in drama or relationships with the way Applejack had described her, but also deduced she was the most logical of the group. Twilight would surely have a plan. Author’s Note: Well it took longer than expected, but here it is: the fourth and once again longest chapter I’ve ever written. I do hope you all enjoy it thoroughly as it took a lot of energy to complete. None of this, of course, would have been possible without my chief editor: Criticul94 And it wouldn’t be as good as it is now without the help of my ex-girlfriend (who, interestingly enough, is my personality basis for Nurse Redheart XD) thereare.uselessmachines: It seems like that memory would be painful to remember. Maybe, Fluttershy could 'cringe'.