The Following Night

by WadaGod

Awakening

Fluttershy sobbed into her hooves, unsure of how to handle the news. She knew something was wrong the moment she awoke. She watched it happen. She was the one that did it. Fluttershy didn’t want to believe her nightmares. Though, turns out, her nightmares had become her reality. Applejack was going to die. Fluttershy had killed her.

Fluttershy had to see her. She struggled to stand up. Her legs were weak. The motivation to move no longer flowed through them. She had to get up. Fluttershy had to see Applejack. Her legs were shaking, but she stood. She shambled through the house, more zombielike than anything. Her mind was blank, numbing the pain of losing her friend. She wasn’t gone yet, there was still time. Fluttershy stumbled to Applejack’s closed bedroom door. She stopped and stared at it for several moments unsure of whether or not to go inside.

“It’s ok,” Nurse Redheart began, “you can go inside.” The nurse had followed Fluttershy inside from the porch. Fluttershy hadn’t noticed. The guilt blocked out everything but what was right in front of her. Now all that was in front of her was a large, red door.

Fluttershy reached out a hoof in front of her to knock on the door, still uncertain whether she truly wanted to see what was on the other side. There was only a brief moment or two of hesitation before she knocked, but to Fluttershy it felt like a lifetime. She wondered how twisted and mangled her friend was going to be, whether she was even going to be recognizable as Applejack, one of Fluttershy’s best friends, one of the six Elements of Harmony, the Element of Honesty. Would Applejack remember that it was Fluttershy that attacked her? More importantly, would Applejack live up to her element and tell her friends that it was Fluttershy that had almost killed her? Fluttershy’s heart nearly stopped, she had to stop thinking of the worst possible scenario. She reached forward and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” a voice called from behind the door. It was female, though it was muffled and unrecognizable. Fluttershy opened the door. In the middle of the room was a bed. Surrounding the bed were three ponies and various pieces of medical equipment. Fluttershy’s vision was blurred, though it began to clear. She recognized the ponies in the room, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Applebloom. They all had the same miserable expression on their faces as they stared at Fluttershy. Granny Smith was on the right of the bed; Big Mac on the left and Applebloom sat at the foot of the bed, the fur under Applebloom’s eyes were still wet and matted. Fluttershy faced the left side of the bed, unable to see its occupant due to Big Mac’s size and position. She knew who was in the bed. She just didn’t want to see.

“Its ok dearie,” it was the voice from earlier, it belonged to Granny Smith. “We can give you two some space.” She motioned to the others to leave the room.

“No,” Fluttershy began. Granny Smith stopped, a confused look glued to her face. The others had similar expressions. “You’re visiting her now. You are her family, not me. You need more time with her than I do.” A tear ran down her face dripping to the floor as she fought the urge to completely break down.

“We’ve spent all mornin’ with her, she would like to spend some time with her friends too.” A caring smile spread across Granny Smith’s face as she led the others out of the room.

“Thank you.” Fluttershy whispered staring at the floor as the grieving family passed by. Big Mac acknowledged her with a gentle pat on her shoulder. Another tear fell to the floor.

“I’ll inform your other friends of the news,” Nurse Redheart began, “It will only be a few moments.” The nurse tried to bring any sort of comfort to the pegasus, but to no avail. She shut the door behind her and began to trot out of the house to find the other Elements of Harmony, leaving Fluttershy and Applejack in the room alone.

Fluttershy stared at the ground, unable to lift the weight of her own head, the guilt weighed her down. Another tear fell to the ground, and another. The tears began to flow freely down her face like opening a floodgate. She stood there and wept quietly to herself. Unsure of what to do or say, she decided to lift her head. She stared blankly at the bed. Applejack lied there, unmoving. She wasn’t mangled or mutilated. She was just lying there, lifelessly. Her color had faded slightly to more of a greyish orange. There was a heart monitor hooked up to her that beeped slowly, slower than it should. Applejack was weak. There didn’t seem to be any actual damage to her body, there was only a bandage that covered the left side of her neck.

Fluttershy’s eyes welled up again. She approached her incapacitated friend, tears flowing freely down her face again as the guilt smashed through the dam Fluttershy so desperately held up. She buried her face into Applejack’s unbandaged shoulder and continued to weep, sobbing uncontrollably into the greyish orange coat of the motionless pony. Applejack’s warmth brought a sense of calm to Fluttershy. It reminded her of better times, happier times. Fluttershy smelt apples on the earth pony’s coat. The orange fur dried the eyes of the yellow pegasus. All Fluttershy wanted was to lie by her friend for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to leave Applejack’s side. Fluttershy wanted to stay by the warmth, the smell of apples, the soft fur, the memories of Applejack she never wanted to forget, and the one from last night she desperately tried to forget.

The warmth grew stronger. Fluttershy buried her face deeper into the soft, orange fur. Her friend brought comfort to her even when she wasn’t awake. Fluttershy took a deep breath, the smell of apples filling her lungs. That was always her favorite smell. She should’ve spent more time at the farm helping Applejack with her chores. She should’ve spent more time at the farm. She should’ve been with Applejack more while she was still here. Fluttershy took another breath, filling her lungs with the warm scent of apples once again. Calm washed over her. She thought for a moment she could actually taste apples. Her heart fluttered slightly. A smile slowly crept onto her face. Fluttershy’s entire body was warm, deep down into her stomach. She was so entranced with the warmth her friend provided her she didn’t notice the heart monitor slowing until it became a steady hum. She didn’t notice the door open behind her. She didn’t even notice the shrieks of terror coming from her friends or how they tried to pry her off of the helpless earth pony. The warmth just tasted so good.

Author's Note:

Yay! Chapter 3! Told you guys it wouldn't take as long. I love to hear your feedback whether its good or bad. If you guys liked it make sure you hit that little like button, makes me more motivated to keep writing! Hope you enjoy!

Comments

[UfUnNyF1r3nd]

O fuck.

[OreoKookie]

Well, she went bat mode and drank up, what can I say?

~OreoKookie

[Fluttercheer]

Yes, I did enjoy it!
It wasn't recognizeable first that she had begun to suck Applejack's blood again, when she cried at her unconscious body, very well played!
I hope you release the next chapter soon and that you haven't lost your motivation, seeing how much time has passed since the last one!

[MehWasAlreadyTaken]

Aww, poor AJ.

[Ivancreeper]

This is a good story I really hope it's not dead.

[PixelMoon]

Oh my.

[DramaQueen07]

Continue PLEEAAASEE?! This is a good story and I really want to find out what happens to AJ. Really. You can’t just leave it here!