Memento Mori
Applejack breathed.
It was a simple task that had recently become far more difficult. Every breath was slow, ragged, uneven. Sharp bolts of pain shot through her chest when she inhaled, as if her lungs might burst, followed by equally sweet relief when she exhaled. It was a wet, rasping rattle of a noise, and that was when she wasn't having a coughing fit.
The bedroom door creaked as it opened and shut. She'd always meant to have Mac fix that blasted thing. Not much point in it now. “Are they gone?” she asked. Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Not gone,” came the answer. Twilight's voice, so unlike her own. Strong, regal, authoritative, like usual. She hadn't always been that way, but that was before she wore a crown. It all seemed so long ago. “They're waiting downstairs.”
“Waitin',” Applejack repeated, dryly. “Waitin' for me to die.”
“They're your friends, Applejack.” There was no amusement in Twilight's voice.
“Ah know,” Applejack sighed. “Best Ah could ever ask for. Just don't seem right, standin' around, waitin' for the end to come. Should be off doin' somethin' more important.”
“Nothing is more important than this.” Twilight's tone was gently chiding.
“Says you.” If she had the strength, Applejack might have felt like arguing the point. But she didn't, so instead, she laid her head back upon her pillow, lifting her eyes to the ceiling, and staring at nothing. “Do they know what it is?”
“Yes.” Twilight moved closer to the bedside. Applejack could hear her wings rustling in the darkness, and the clomp of her hooves upon the floor as she moved. “Cancer, just as we thought.”
“An' I thought an apple a day would always keep me healthy.” Applejack chuckled; it left her lips in another burst of fitful coughing, leaving her hunched over the edge of the bed. She heard Twilight approaching, and held up a hoof to ward the princess off. When she had sufficiently recovered, she slumped back into bed, gasping for breath. She didn't feel feverish, but her hair was damp with sweat. “Anythin' we can do?”
Twilight shook her head. “No,” she said. “I'm sorry. It's too advanced for surgery.”
Applejack nodded weakly. “What about magic?”
“The procedure is very delicate,” Twilight said. “We can't just wish it out of you. The tumors have to be removed carefully, one at a time, or else we'd risk accidentally teleporting out one of your organs, like your heart, or your stomach. It requires a great deal of precision, too much for unicorn magic.”
Applejack regarded the ceiling of the bedroom with a kind of fascination. White was such a boring color. Rarity wouldn't like to hear that, she was sure, but it was true. She remembered hearing somewhere that it wasn't even a real color, anyway. If she had the time, she would paint it a more interesting color. Red, maybe, like apples. “But not for alicorn magic,” she said.
Twilight was silent. “No,” she replied, after a moment, “not for alicorn magic.”
Applejack gave another wry chuckle. This time, at least, she managed to avoid coughing her lungs out. “They won't let you do it,” she said.
“I begged them, Applejack.” She could hear the emotion creeping into Twilight's voice. It was unusual, coming from one who tried so hard to be disciplined. “I swear to you, I threw off my crown and begged them on my hooves. They refused outright.”
Applejack smiled faintly. That certainly sounded like her luck. “Did they say why?” she asked.
“Oh, some garbage about not interfering in the natural course of events,” Twilight groused. “If it was an illness we knew how to treat, they'd just give you medicine, but since it isn't, they choose to do nothing. What good is having the power of an alicorn if you aren't going to use it to help anypony?”
“S'okay, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed. “Like Granny used to say, 'Horseapples happen.' Ah guess she was right.” She was unable to keep herself from laughing, and that was a mistake; the sensation caused her to bolt upright in bed, hacking and coughing violently. She pressed an arm against her mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound, and felt one of Twilight's wings pressing against her back. After a long moment, she straightened her posture, looking down at her arm. There was fresh blood upon her hoof.
Applejack turned her gaze to her friend. Moonlight streamed in through the open curtains, casting its glow upon the princess's face. Judging by her expression, Applejack supposed that she must have looked even worse than she felt, if that was possible. “How long?” she whispered.
Twilight frowned. “It varies from one pony to the next,” she said, “but given your condition, I think it'll happen tonight.”
“Good,” Applejack muttered. “No sense in drawin' it out. M'tired. Tired of feelin' weak. M'not used to it.” She leaned back against the head of her bed with another sigh, drawing in a deep breath, and then letting it back out again. It was the first one she had taken in a long time that didn't hurt. “Y'know, Twilight, it's funny,” she murmured. “After all we've been through, Ah always thought it'd be a changeling invasion, or a dragon attack, or the sky fallin', or whatever the buck else that'd do me in. Ah have to admit, Ah never thought it'd end like this.”
“It doesn't have to.”
Both Twilight and Applejack abruptly turned to face the new speaker. Neither of them had ever heard the window open. Fluttershy hovered outside it, her leathery wings beating in the cool night air.
“Hello, girls,” Fluttershy continued, her crimson eyes glowing in the darkness. “May I come in?”
“You're always welcome here, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “You know that.”
Fluttershy smiled warmly, a gesture that exposed her gleaming fangs. “Sorry,” she said. “Old habits die hard.” The batpony glided in through the window, alighting upon the floor without a sound. She drew up to the bedside opposite Twilight, looking down upon the orange mare. “You're looking well.”
“Can't lie to Honesty, darlin'.” Applejack mused. “Ah was startin' to wonder if you'd show up. We missed you.”
“Well, I would've been here sooner,” Fluttershy said, lifting her scarlet eyes to Twilight, “but I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be... wanted.”
Twilight scowled. “I never said that you couldn't be here,” she said.
“No,” Fluttershy admitted, “but you didn't invite me, either.”
Applejack lifted a hoof. “No fightin', girls,” she mumbled. “Mah house, mah rules.”
Twilight had been preparing to offer a retort, but at Applejack's prodding, she fell silent, although her scowl deepened. Fluttershy merely nodded.
“No fighting,” she agreed. “Do you know why I'm here?”
“To see me off into the great beyond, Ah imagine. Same as everypony else.”
The batpony canted her head to one side. “Not if you don't want to go,” she said.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “What d'you mean?”
Fluttershy bowed her head forward. The soft strands of her long, pink mane made a whisper of a sound as they pooled upon the bedsheets. “I am here to offer... an alternative.”
“No,” Twilight snorted. “Absolutely not.”
Fluttershy turned toward Twilight once more. “It is her choice to make, not yours.”
Twilight grimaced. “The other princesses do not approve of that,” she said, “and for the record, neither do I.”
Fluttershy sneered, exposing her fangs once more. “Says the immortal,” she snapped. “When was the last time any of them had to stare the Grim Horseman in the face? When did you?”
“No fightin',” Applejack whispered. Silence fell once more. She turned toward the batpony. “What choice?”
Fluttershy paused. Applejack could see that she was considering her words carefully. “You can become like me,” she said. “No more sickness. No more pain. Only strength, and vitality, and a kind of freedom that you have never known.”
Applejack nodded slowly, then turned to face the princess. “Twilight?”
Twilight bit her lip. “It's unnatural, Applejack,” she said. “You'd be substituting one disease for another.”
“It is not a disease!” Fluttershy hissed. “I am still the Element of Kindness! Have I ever once failed in my obligations to you, or to Equestria?”
Twilight grit her teeth together. “No,” she growled.
“Then let me save our friend,” Fluttershy replied, her tone softening. “Please.”
Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. She was trembling upon her hooves, whether with grief, or some other emotion, Applejack could not tell. After a time, her eyes opened again. “As she said, Applejack,” Twilight whispered, “it is your choice.”
Applejack turned to Fluttershy. She hesitated, for a moment, and then nodded. Fluttershy nodded in turn, and bowed her head closer. Her breath was warm upon Applejack's face.
Applejack lifted a hoof, as best she could manage, giving the batpony pause. “What'll Ah tell mah family?” she whispered.
“Tell them the truth,” the batpony murmured in reply. “Tell them that you chose life over death.”
Fluttershy tenderly nuzzled Applejack's neck, and bit her.
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Wow...pretty damn good.
Two things.
1 - Memento Mori basically means "Remember your mortality." I don't really see how that has much to do with AJ getting a chance to live longer/forever (Vampirism. The cover art makes it quite obvious). That is, of course, unless the story is about the phrase itself and how everything has an end.
2 - There is already a story called Memento Mori. You may want to change the title to avoid confusion. Perhaps change the title to the English meaning of the phrase?
Twilight sounds like a bitch and a uncaring person she trys to sound nice but it doesn't work to me, and the reason fluttershy is a batpony is because of a spell by twilight, plus they become freindemies honestly I hate that.
I need more! I NEED AN ENDING!!!!
A word count limit like that is grueling. Having to account for every single word. Not being able to go in depth behind anything. Scary.
I guess it's a lesson to leaving things to implication.
Then again, I guess it's the Writer's Training Ground for a reason.
I think it's cute. And one can't help but like a Fluttershy that can shut Twi up on an argument point. I wish it was ten thousand words and went into why Twi and Flutters are at odds, and why 'Shy is back to being a bat. And I certainly wish we had time for proper AJ uncertainty and arguments. Because I really love the flow of the dialogue in this little vignette.
...Also, I demand that this happen, now that you're done with the prompt. Proceed with the extended director's cut.
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FiMFiction is littered with duplicate names. No surprise, given how many stories there are.
There's probably a dozen named 'Diamond in the Rough'.
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I agree, bring out the rest of the story!
Give me more or I will organize a mob and bring out the pitchforks and torches!
I agree. I would love to see more of this story, especially what happened afterwards.
There definitely needs to be more, It feels a bit cliffhanger-y (pardon the grammar), if you know what I mean...
I second the cliffhangery nature...and, to an extent, ANYONE being not-nice to Flutterbat is a bit...off. Their main problem seemed to be, you know, the uncontrollableness...
Okay, that was a poor excuse. Twilight should just ignore them and heal Applejack. I see no sense why alicorn power would mean interfering with natural order.
I think Twilight being able to heal her should not be mentioned, because the excuse why she should not is just out right terrible.
How is Twilight using her magic to heal Applejack bad but Fluttershy offer legal ?
Hi there. I hope you don't mind, but I liked this fic so much I have put together an audio version on YouTube.
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derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/3/19/274317__safe_rainbow+dash_animated_sonic+rainboom_ohmygosh.gif
Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!
Thank you so much! I'm very flattered that you liked the story, even moreso that you decided to make a full-blown audio adaptation! I'm actually kind of embarrassed; I don't think the story is that good (due chiefly to how clipped and short it is; a significant amount of material was cut for the sake of meeting the word count for EQD's writing prompt), but other people seem to like it.
But yes, I'm completely blown away by this. I still can't believe you did it, or that you did it so well!
Sound effects! Individual voices! Clocks! 
You have a lovely voice! I intend to update the fic to point people toward your reading. I hope you don't mind!
Due to positive reader response, both from you and others, I've decided to rewrite Memento Mori as it was originally planned, in a fully-expanded "Director's Cut" that will be added to this story as a new "chapter." It will be significantly longer than the original text, and might be less well-suited to a dramatic reading, but I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks again!
I don't understand why the other princesses don't let Twilight heal Applejack.
It's not their business and to imagine that they say it would be against nature while they live much longer than the average pony seems off.
Also, that doesn't sound like the kind Celestia and Luna we know.
Otherwise, great story!
MORE
WE NEED MORE.
I read the story and listen to the audio at the same time. I can tell you, I nearly cried at the end. Nice work, very well written. And Scribbler, bless her soul, did a great job narrating and adding sound effects. I hope you both are able to collaborate together on more stories.
Um... what? The princesses refuse to allow Twilight to save her best friend and fellow Element of Harmony?
Fluttershy is still a bat?
Twilight hates her friend?
Elements of Harmony still work even though they obviously aren't friends anymore?
Um... yeah, no. Sorry. Well-written and all, but the lack of logic makes me nopenopenope out the window.
I wouldn't expect Applejack to accept. Nor Twilight to withhold help from her friends after all she's learned. Cute story, however.
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It never says they arent friends anymore. And the elements of harmony are only 'working' in the sense that they still represent thr elements. The princesses wont let twilight help for a reason, the procedure is delicat and it could cause a worse death than the one before her if she is to mess up. Celestia has faith in her, but she still needs to teach twilight the concept of letting go; sometimes the best move to make is to lrt things happen. Even if twilight could successfully remove the tumors, applejack would probably contract it again. Twilight doesnt hate fluttershy, she just had more pressing matters to attend to. She was most likely too busy trying to research a cure for her friend that she couldnt take the time to walk out to the forest to invite fluttershy personally. She may have met the others in town and they just tagged along because they just happened to find out.
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Who said Fluttershy's option was legal? Twilight seemed to indicate it wasn't. It's basically being presented as Fluttershy being willing to do something illegal (and more expressly forbidden by Princess Celestia) and Twilight not. That's the difference here.
Mind you, I agree that the 'natural order' thing is pretty weak. I can think of several better reasons for Celestia to prevent Twilight from healing her, like offering miraculous healings having led to problems for her in the past or Applejack just being too old to survive such surgery even done perfectly and Twilight trying just going to be killing her friend.
Very good, though I think Twilight would, if asked, perform the procedure, and damn the Princesses anyway. (And the Princesses probably wouldn't have said no anyway.) But then, given you only had a very limited word count to play with, certain liberties had to be taken. So, that said, it was very nice, and I am agreement with some of the above, it should get an extended version without the prompt limits at some point, if you ever feel up to it.
An interesting tale on the choice between death and undeath, except showing Fluttershy's vampirism as a sort of melding of traditional vampire stories and her canon magical mix-up with apple-devouring fruit bats. She wouldn't be the sort of vampire that consumed blood, but in this particular case, I suppose it was Apple juice.
5281701 *ba dum tssss*
I lol'd
Um, If you read this please tell me if you will make a sequel to this, because it's really good.
I've listened to scribbler's reading and... wow. Chilling, yet heart breaking at the same time. A very good job, sir/ma'am (i don't know your gender so i'll just hit both bases).
I watch Scribblers audio tale like thing and REALLY hope you countine this because its interesting and cliffhangery
I always love a good vampony story. Unfortunately, hardly any ever get finished. Pretty much my only gripe with this one is the lack of background information. I understand it's difficult to squeeze enough information into a word cap, but perhaps you could expand on this someday? Like... What happened that caused the falling out between Twilight and Fluttershy? Does she just blame herself for Fluttershy's condition (since I assume it was a mutation of her own spell that caused it) and is just projecting?
I came across this through the Audio adaption and neglected to give the positive review here. Its a great story and the Author deserves recognition for a job very well done.
Ive heard several comments over the years that stories don't answer all the questions or tie everything together at the end.
I thourally blame modern television and movies for the belief that absolutely everything has to be answered in a story. This is a cancer that prevents the growth of storytelling in future Authors. The proof of a good story is that it makes you think. When your done reading it, the reader spends real time pondering questions about that story. What could have happened before, what could have happened after. This thought and imaginings are the soil that new stories grow from. When an Author answered all the questions they provide dead soil to future generations. Thought and imagination is a muscle. The more its used, the stronger it becomes. The poor excuses we have for movies and TV shows, the reliance of reusing old stories from the past may be rooted in this sad fact.
My 2 cents.
The Monk
“To say that Twilight Sparkle went bugfuck would be like saying the Incredible Hulk had some mild anger management issues.” -DustTraveller