The Equestrian Venture

by TheCrimsonDM

Chapter seven: scar tissue

THE EQUESTRIAN VENTURE
Chapter seven: scar tissue
Written by TheCrimsonDM

A few days have passed since Rita first entered the portal, and now she found herself living with Fluttershy. It was nice living with Fluttershy she truly was a nice pony. Rita had spent a lot of free time drawing up schematics for her portal, and attempting to figure out what had gone wrong. She didn’t dare attempt to rebuild it only to have it send her to a world even more dangerous than Equestria, although considering how peaceful this world was…that wouldn’t be a difficult task to complete.

Night had claimed this world once again causing Rita to feel a little paranoid. She always found that unless she was inside at night she became anxious. The night was not her friend, or at least it hadn’t been in a long time.

Rita sat on the couch inside Fluttershy’s living room staring at the white bunny rabbit. Angel Bunny was peeking his devious little head out from around the door frame to the kitchen watching Rita. Rita knew that he was planning something, but what It was she didn’t know. The pair continued the silent staring contest for a while before Fluttershy walked in and said. “Oh my, Angel you shouldn’t stare. It’s rude.”

Rita watched at Angel turned his head and left. She gave a happy smile to Fluttershy, who returned the smile. Rita then through her arms up and dramatically falling on the couch she said. “I’m feeling beat after all the walking we’ve done the past couple days. I’m thinking about going to sleep soon.”

Fluttershy then asked. “Um…maybe you should take a bath first.”

Rita scratched the back of her head and said. “Pfft I’m good, I took one last week.”

Fluttershy’s expression became one of pure horror as she asked. “You haven’t bathed in how long?” Rita began to felt a little embarrassed from Fluttershy’s reaction. Fluttershy then added. “Um…I…you need to take a bath.”

Rita gave a small nervous laugh and asked. “Why, I don’t smell that bad, yet.”

Fluttershy then stared at Rita with a serious expression and said. “You are taking a bath right now.”

Rita was feeling a little rebellious and stuck her nose in the air while saying playfully. “Make me.”

Fluttershy continued staring and said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Rita gave Fluttershy a wide grin and said. “Hmm…maybe if you should stop staring, and try a new tactic. May I suggest bribery?”

Fluttershy stopped looking so serious and relaxed before asking. “Fine…What do you want?”

Rita grinned and said. “Oh well…let me see. How about…you take me out to Sugarcube corner. Buy me some chocolate delights and I’ll take that bath of yours.”

Fluttershy gave Rita a small frown for a few seconds and then suggested. “How about I treat you to Sugarcube corner once a week, but only if you take a bath once every day.”

Rita sat there and considered it for a few moments. Weekly treats at Sugarcube corner would be fantastic. But a bath everyday, that’s time better spent elsewhere…doing things…like science. Who was she kidding, she was only being lazy. Rita reluctantly said. “Okay…I’ll accept your terms, you rogue.”

Fluttershy gave Rita a very confused look prompting Rita to explain. “It’s a saying from my world.”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves and thought for a moment. She finally said. “It’s also a phrase from this world…that’s just a coincidence right?”

Rita considered the idea for a moment, that perhaps this world was actually an alternate universe to her own. But if that was true would she should have transformed into a pony or something when she came here? Furthermore there would’ve been a terrible war that had just ended, not to mention a Rita pony somewhere out there all alone with no real friends left.

Fluttershy walked up to the couch and gave Rita a slight push with her muzzle saying. “Enough with the distractions, you can contemplate this in the bath missy.”

The more time Rita spent with Fluttershy the closer Fluttershy became to her, acting increasingly bolder and open to Rita. It also seemed that Fluttershy was taking on a caretaker role with Rita, although this bothered her a little bit, it was also kinda nice.

***

Fluttershy had led Rita to the bathroom, making sure that Rita wasn’t going to skip out on the bath. The two of them stood inside the bathroom and although Rita had already been in here before, she still found the idea of ponies having fully functional facilities to be both a blessing and a little comical.

Fluttershy’s bathtub was crafted of stained wood, and matched her cottage. Fluttershy also kept an assortment of shampoo bottles and lotions next to the bath. Fluttershy explained how the faucets worked, and even pointed out which of the bottles was shampoo and which ones was conditioner. Since Rita couldn’t read Equish it was a kindness for Fluttershy to point those out. Rita already knew how a bathtub functioned but she didn’t want to interrupt Fluttershy, so she patiently let Fluttershy finish.

After Fluttershy finished explaining she turned the faucet on and began filling the tub with hot water. Rita began to take her jacket off and stopped as she realized that Fluttershy was not leaving the room. Rita looked at Fluttershy and felt a little embarrassed as she asked. “What are you doing?”

Fluttershy only stared at her blankly for a few moments before finally saying. “OH…oh my, I’m sorry. I forgot how shy you were.”

Rita waited until Fluttershy had left and shut the door behind her, before began undressing. First she took off her red and black jacket. She always wore a light gray T-shirt underneath it. Rita took a good look at the scars on her wrists which rung around like bracelets. She gave a shudder after looking at her wrists. The memories of what caused them were still fresh and still painful for her, even if it happened five years ago.

Next she took off her T-shirt leaving herself standing there topless with a bra wrap around her chest. Truth was her bra always reminded her more of a bandage wrap then an actual bra. That was because she had more experience with the later.

Rita was always a little angry with her small chest size. It simply wasn’t fair that she was so tiny when she found herself surrounded by almost nothing but voluptuous women.

Rita examined her right shoulder and felt her heart sink as she stared at the nasty scar laying there. She had once been shot in the shoulder during the war, she was lucky to have survived. Rita looked in the full body mirror for a second and then turned away refusing to look any further.

She never wanted to see what her back looked like again. Rita fought with the urge to not look for a few moments and finally gave up. She turned her back towards the mirror and looked in to it.

Her back was covered in scars, most of them were long lines stretched across her back. But there were also spatters of scar marks, and even a few burns. “That was five years ago, your fine now.” Rita whispered to remind herself that all her pain was over.

Rita took off her long socks next. Truth be told they were a lot closer to stockings in length, but she didn’t like the term stocking, so she stuck with calling them socks. Scar tissue littered her legs just a few inches under the knees and stretching down to her feet. The worst was the pair of scars rung around her ankles; these were a matching pair to the ones on her wrists. Rita closed her eyes and began to shake; she forced herself to stop and continue undressing with her eyes closed.

Rita spent most of the bath simply not looking down at her own body. She was ashamed of what she looked like underneath all of her cloths, and even though she was inside a world full of ponies. She still feared anypony seeing her body. Rita simply relaxed in the bath praying that this night would be over already.

The war had been rough on everyone involved and Rita was only one victim of it. So many people were hurt and killed, when they started drafting children into the battle…that’s when Rita was forced to grow up and her innocence was destroyed. Looking at her hands, she could still make out some of the light scaring on them, her hands were covered in the blood of her enemies, of her allies, and of her friends.

Just as Rita was about to cry she heard a small knocking sound at the door. Her thoughts now disrupted she heard Fluttershy’s voice from the other side asking. “Um…Rita…are you decent? I-uh…I need my Allergy lotion from inside there…would you mind grabbing it for me?”

Rita looked over to the bottles next to her and with terrible realization called back to Fluttershy. “What does it look like, I can’t read Equish.”

Fluttershy responded by saying. “It’s um…a pink bottle. It’s right next to the bath tub.”

Rita looked at the bottles sitting on the shelf next to her and then said flatly. “There all pink.”

Fluttershy was silent for a moment and then said. “Oh…that’s okay then. I…um…Oh my.”

Rita was becoming a little worried now, she had never considered horses having allergies, and if it was a lotion then that meant that Fluttershy might be breaking out in hives. Rita knew how bad those could get untreated. Rita really didn’t like this, but she hadn’t washed her hair yet and she Knew Fluttershy would be upset if she didn’t do that before bed tonight.

Rita clenched her eyes shut and forced herself to say. “You can come in…but only you.”

The door opened a second later and Fluttershy walked in and closed the door behind her. There were red bumps all over Fluttershy’s legs and even a few on her muzzle. Rita felt a little scared and sat up straight asking. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer but didn’t speak. Her eyes shot wide as she took in the sight of Rita’s body. Fluttershy then asked in a terrified voice. “Are you okay?”

Rita looked down and realized that Fluttershy could see all of her scars. Rita’s face began heating up from embarrassment, and shame. The shaking fear began to come back now. Rita covered herself up as best she could with her arms and said flatly. “I’m fine. I just…the war was bad.”

Fluttershy walked up to the bath tub and reached over it with her muzzle, she grabbed one of the pink bottles in her mouth. She then sat down and began applying the pink gel substance from inside the bottle over the affected parts.

Fluttershy didn’t look at Rita as she applied the lotion with her hooves. Fluttershy then said. “Mmmm this feels better already. I usually need to keep some Star Swizzle on hoof for allergy break outs.” Fluttershy then said in an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry.”

Rita kept her head hung low as Fluttershy sat next to her. Rita began to feel warm tears running down her cheeks. For a few moments Fluttershy was quiet, and Rita had wondered if Fluttershy was going to leave her here all alone. When she felt a feathery wing brush some of her tears away Rita looked up and upon seeing the caring face of her friend she knew she was alone.

Rita screwed up her face while trying to fight the pain back and not cry. She eventually managed to ask. “Do you think I’m ugly?”

Fluttershy answered her in a kind and soft voice saying. “No I don’t. I don’t have to know what humans usually look like to know just how beautiful you are. I don’t care if you’re covered in scars, or fur, or anything at all. You’re a beautiful person Rita and you’re my friend.”

Rita looked up and sniffled a little before saying. “Do ponies get scars too?”

Fluttershy smiled and said. “Of course we do, most of the time we can cover them up with our fur. But sometimes the scaring is so serious it’s…scary. We have really good doctors though, so scars are truly a rare thing to have like that.”

Rita let the tears stream down her face before saying. “It’s not fair. I…I never wanted any of this. War, fighting, death, I didn’t want any of this. Why does life have to hurt so badly.”

Fluttershy draped a wing around Rita’s shoulder and said. “I promise I won’t let you be hurt anymore. I’ll protect you Rita, I swear.”

Rita looked up and saw something new inside the kind sensitive pony. Fluttershy had a strong spirit inside of her, a protective and loving spirit. At that moment Rita truly believed that Fluttershy would fight an army to protect her, and she also believed that Fluttershy would win that fight. Rita hadn’t seen anyone like this since her father…and with that final thought Rita let out a wail of pain as she cried out with all her inner pain a single word. “DADDY!”

***

That night Rita barely managed to dress herself before crawling into Fluttershy’s bed. Fluttershy held her carefully but tightly as she cried into Fluttershy’s chest. Rita had been keeping all of her pain locked up inside for so long now. Since she was finally somewhere safe and sound, all her emotional wounds were being violently ripped open and all she could do tonight was cry. Rita couldn’t even contemplate what she would do without Fluttershy in her life. Fluttershy had become an invaluable part of Rita’s heart, something keen to that of a big sister and a mother. Rita finally didn’t feel alone, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t broken.

Comments

[Texus]

I would actually like that if she would become a mother figure for Rita, i think i really like that girl.
I maybe got the feeling, that she was a bit, well weird at the beginning, but i really start to like her. I think it helps that Fluttershy is one of my top ponys too.

[amiamera]

Umm, how much time has passed since her arrival? This feels like it all happened in essentially two days which feels too fast for her to develop THIS level of dependence. I can understand she's broken but the writing hasn't made me feel like enough time has passed.