Fluttershy woke up in the hospital, her body feeling hollow and empty. This feeling was not new to her, in fact it was what she almost always felt whenever she woke up. She groggily opened her eyes. The bright light of the midday sun broke through the blinds, giving the stark white room a faint glow effect. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, she took a look around to see what else the room contained. There sitting in the chair, just as she had been the last time she woke up, was Rainbow Dash, looking at Fluttershy with concern in her eyes.
“Hey Fluttershy, are you ready to head home?” Rainbow asked, watching the timid mare closely. The fact she was doing this was not unnoticed by Fluttershy. She felt every one of her moves being watched, as if Rainbow Dash was worried that Fluttershy would do something drastic. Fluttershy just nodded her head, ready to get away from the hospital. Rainbow helped Fluttershy get out of the bed, just barely touching her, as if she was afraid that Fluttershy would break if she was touched any harder.
Slowly the two mares made their way towards the exit of Ponyville’s hospital. Upon seeing the empty streets, Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh, glad that there was nopony else there to see her like this. Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy with a confused look before focusing back on the street. The two mares continued walking towards the edge of Ponyville, neither of them saying a word. Fluttershy didn’t mind, she really didn’t want to have to say anything. She was tired of being hurt, and no matter what she did, she wound up being hurt. It wasn’t like she tried to get hurt, or even looked for a reason to be hurt, it just kinda happened. Unconsciously, she began to hide behind her mane, trying to hide from all that caused her pain.
“You OK, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked, the concern etched on her face as she watched her friend shrink away from the world without an apparent reason. Fluttershy nodded meekly, not trusting her voice not to fade away. Rainbow Dash stared at the pastel mare before she slowly turned away, focusing on the path ahead of them. Fluttershy sighed softly, glad that Rainbow had not pushed her for answers. The two of them continued down the road silently, walking towards Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy kept glancing at the cyan mare next to her, trying to build up the courage to say something, anything really, just so that the awkward silence between the two would disappear. Right when Fluttershy had built up enough nerve to say something, they had reached her cottage.
"Well here we are. Would you open the door Fluttershy?" Rainbow said, smiling at Fluttershy. She meekly nodded and opened up the door. The two walked into the cottage before Rainbow shut the door behind them. Fluttershy turned around, facing her long time friend. The two stood there for a bit before the tension became a bit too much, causing them both to look away. Feeling the need to break the silence, Fluttershy quickly thought of a reason to leave the room.
"Would you like something to drink?" Fluttershy mumbled, hoping to get an excuse to get out of the room and maybe get a chance to gather her courage to talk to the weatherpony currently standing in her living room. Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, pondering on the implications of letting her friend be alone, no matter how little distance or time she would be away from her sight. After nodding, Fluttershy quickly walked out of the room, glad that she hadn't had to spend too much more time in there. As she made some tea for the two of them, she slowly thought of what she could say to explain what she did. She wasn't sure what to say though, because if she was to say the truth, then she might lose the the thing that was holding her together. If nopony had been there when she woke up, then it would have proved some of her darkest fears all along. As much as she liked to hope that there was always somepony there for her, her past told her otherwise.
A sharp whistle of the teakettle broke the Pegasus' train of thought. She quickly got to mixing in the tea leaves before she put it all on a tray. She set the tray on her back before she timidly began to walk back to her living room. Laying on the couch was a sleeping Rainbow Dash, her limbs spread in all directions, as if they were trying to escape from her body. Fluttershy quietly set the tray down on the table before looking around her house. The place looked almost exactly the same as the night she tried to end it, with the exception of the note and the noose. She then looked outside, at the bright sunny day that was in progress. Deciding to check on the happenings of her animal friends, Fluttershy walked outside.
Once outside, Fluttershy found herself looking for the animals that normally lived within her yard. After looking in the nearest burrow, she found it surprisingly empty. She quickly checked the next one, but it was also empty. Fluttershy frantically searched each hole, burrow and house, searching for any critter. But as she moved from dwelling to dwelling, she found nothing. After she had checked all the empty bird houses, Fluttershy collapsed onto the ground.
All of her precious animal friends, gone. She sat there as it began to sink in. In all of her dark moments since the day she fell from Cloudsdale, the animals were there for her. All the times she had broken down crying, a sweet little bird or mouse, or even Angel Bunny, would come and comfort her, chasing away the tears and bringing in a small smile. But now? Now she felt more alone than ever. Fluttershy began to cry, her body shaking as quiet sobs wracked her body. She cried her heart out, then cried some more. Above her, the sky darkened droplets of water began to fall, as if the world had sensed her pain and was crying with her. A crack of thunder echoed around her, but none the less she cried more.
"FLUTTERSHY! YOU NEED TO GET INSIDE!" A voice yelled over the rain. Fluttershy looked over and saw Rainbow Dash staring directly at her. Fluttershy looked down at the ground before slowly standing up and trudging to the door. Rainbow quickly moved aside to let the drenched Pegasus get inside. Fluttershy quietly walked in with her head down and made her way to the sofa. She sat down on the floor near the sofa, her eyes never leaving the ground. Rainbow Dash sighed, before taking in a decent sized breath.
"Fluttershy, look at me," The cyan mare said as paused for the wet mare in front of her to meet her eyes," You've gotta let go of whatever it is that's making you act like this. You're better than that. Where's the mare who soothed a raging manticore, who stared down both a dragon and a cockatrice? She wouldn't be doing this, she would be out there with her friends. Look, we all go through tough times, but you can't let that get to you. I completely agree that what AJ did was cruel, but you have to keep moving on." The whole time Fluttershy sat there staring at the ground. At the mention of Applejack, she lowered her head and began to cry again, sobs that were just louder than a whisper shaking her body. Rainbow Dash stood there, her heart breaking at the sight of this. She slowly sat down in front of the sobbing mare, and put a hoof on her shoulder. Fluttershy lunged forward, clinging onto the weatherpony as if she was about to disappear. Rainbow sat there awkwardly for a moment before tentatively putting a hoof on her sobbing friend's back. And they sat there like this for a long while, no sound going through the cottage except for the soft sobs of a broken Pegasus mare.
As time went on, Fluttershy's sobs weakened, and her tears began to slow. She slowly leaned back to look at the rainbow maned pegasus who's coat she had just soaked. Rainbow gave her friend a small smile. Fluttershy looked back at the cyan mare, her eyes bloodshot from all the crying she had done.
"Thank you," Fluttershy whispered as she looked down, tears staining her muzzle. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. All she wanted to do was disappear. The pastel pony slowly started to make herself shrink, laying closer to her floor.
Fluttershy slowly looked up at her friend, the one who had always been there, the one who had always held a place in her heart, and thought that she might see something more in the look in the cyan Pegasus’ eyes, something that she had not noticed before. Abandoning her shy self, she lifted her head up to Rainbow’s muzzle and stole a quick kiss.
The kiss was quick, nothing more then a peck. It was less of a romantic outburst and more of a question. A question of hope, of a reason to keep on fighting. Fluttershy leaned her head back, she stared into Rainbow Dash's eyes, looking for some sort of confirmation, a sign that what she did is right. But as she looked, she saw shock, surprise, and confusion. Fluttershy slowly lowered her head, choosing to stare at the ground instead of her friend.
"Why did you do that Fluttershy?" The cyan mare asked. There was no malice in her voice, there was no anger. It was just cold, like Rainbow Dash had gone onto autopilot. Fluttershy cringed at the sound of Rainbow's voice.
"I...I do-don't kn-know. I th-thought th-that you might ha-have felt someth-thing more, but it's OK th-that you do-don't. I... I wasn't th-thinking." The pastel pony whispered, eyes never leaving the ground, her head hung in sadness. As soon as she finished, she felt her friend move away from her. Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was now standing above her, the weatherpony's face expressionless. Her eyes were staring straight ahead, as if she could see something that wasn't there. Slowly she opened her mouth and spoke.
"I'm going to go now 'Shy. I'm not sure what that was about. You know that I do not feel about mares that way. I’m sorry ‘Shy, I do care about you, I really do, but as a friend. You obviously need some space to think, and I'm going to give that to you. See ya later 'Shy." Rainbow Dash said in an expressionless voice, the look on her face never once changing. When she finished speaking, she quietly walked out of the cottage and shut the door behind her.
Fluttershy just laid there, her thoughts weighing her down. She felt the pain, the loneliness, the hurt creep back into her mind. She felt so alone, her crush had rejected her, calling her a freak and a sin against nature. Her animals left her, without her knowing why. She chased her best friend away, scaring the only pony who had been there when she needed help the most. All she could do is lay there. She couldn't find the will to move, nor the drive to do anything drastic. She couldn't cry, because she was all cried out. So she sat there, staring at the floor, consumed by her thoughts. That's how she remained for who knows how long, until she slipped off into the bliss of unconsciousness.
[A/N] Hey everybody, thanks for being so patient about this. I realize that this took forever to get out, and I'm sorry for that. You all are much better readers than I could ever ask for. Feel free to comment or message me. I'll try to do better on producing faster for the next one. This is BL signing out.