The Island

by Avagantam0s

The Truth

I’m so sorry.

Those three little words are more than enough to completely shut your brain down. No matter how hard you try, you can’t recall any reason for her to feel sorry. Does this mean that my memories haven’t completely returned? Or is it something far worse, something that she’s planning on doing later?

You’re not sure with thought terrifies you more.

Still wrapped in her embrace, you call out to her softly, trying to stop your voice from shaking and failing miserably at it, “Ditzy, look at me.” She completely ignores your words, keeping her eyes closed to avoid yours. “Why are you sorry? You have nothing to apologize for.” You lean forward and kiss her forehead, hoping that she’ll finally open her eye. Instead, your kiss causes her to immediately stiffen up and push away from you, causing her to sit a few feet away from you now. The pain in your face is clearly visible, mimicking a similar expression that she wore only hours ago.

“I…I’m sorry,” her face and shoulder drop as she focuses on the ground and apologizes yet again. “Could you please leave me alone for a little bit? I…I need to think some things through. I’ll call for you when…when I’m ready.”

You nod as you stand up, only to realize she’s still watching the ground. You trot past her without saying anything, not trusting your voice to hide your pain, only slowing down slightly to place a reassuring hoof on her shoulder as you pass her and head into the forest.
---------------

Once she thinks you’re out of ear shot, Ditzy finally lets her tears rush down her face as she loudly sobs into her hooves, trying her best to muffle her sobs. While her tears fall freely, she starts questioning her actions. Why did I drag this out for so long? I should have told him as soon as I found out last week and avoided all this hassle.

Ditzy lets out a pitiful sigh. “Hassle doesn’t even begin to describe this situation,” she says to the ground.

Eventually her tears slow down, allowing her to finally think about what to do next. I’ve known that I’d have to tell him eventually, I was just hoping it would be under better circumstances. Ditzy spends several minutes thinking about the best way to deliver the information. Eventually coming to the conclusion that it would just be best to get it over with, she calls out for you.

It’s time to tell him everything.
---------------

A few feet away from Ditzy you pace around impatiently. You can clearly hear all of her sobs, despite your distance from her. It takes every ounce of willpower you have to crush the impulse to charge through the woods and squeeze Ditzy into your warm embrace. She said she’d call for you when she’s ready. If you go flying to her before she’s ready, she might do more than push you away. Looking towards Celestia’s sun to distract your mind, you see something that shocks you.

The sun, which had only just begun its descent when you looked at it earlier, hasn’t moved an inch. You’re sure that between waking up, Ditzy’s story about meeting you, and your, “passionate” session, Luna’s moon should be high in the sky. While trying to piece this puzzle together, you hear a faint voice calling your name. Putting the issue of the sun aside, you head back over to Ditzy.

It’s time to hear everything.
---------------

As you exit the forest, you notice that Ditzy’s eyes are completely red and that her mane is completely disheveled. Your body naturally rushes to comfort her, but the look she gives you makes you stop. It’s not a look of hate, which you were expecting, but more a look of dread, which isn’t much better. Sitting opposite of her so that you’re facing each other, ask her a simple question get her talking. “Are you okay?”

“I’m far from okay.” She sighs deeply before talking. “Before I explain why, ‘I’m so sorry,’ I want you to promise not to say anything until I finish. Okay?” You nod weakly, suddenly very worried about what she’s going to say. “Okay. I…I want to apologize for lying to you when you first woke up. I told you we were ‘close friends’ when we’re obviously so much more.” You suddenly blush as you remember the events that took place earlier, which cases Ditzy to blush as well before she continues speaking.

“I also want to apologize for lying about this trip. I was planning on telling you everything once we arrived at our destination. When we crashed and I realized you didn't remember anything, I decided to lie to you.” Her eyes water up, somehow producing more tears. “I lied to you because it was easier then telling you the truth. I was hoping that once we got off this island, you’d…you’d forget about me and I would never have to tell you the truth.” Her tears slowly start to fall again, surprising both of you. After all those sobs you heard, you were sure she cried herself dry. “Even if you didn’t forget, I could just avoid you until it finally happened. By then, it would be too late.”

“Ditzy, what exactly is the truth?” You can’t help yourself and break your promise and interrupt her, your mind running wild with possibilities that fill you with dread.

She either doesn’t hear you, or chooses to ignore you and keeps talking. “I’m not proud about what I’ve done, and after I’ve already lied to you it wouldn’t surprise me if you don’t believe me now.” Her tears are now running down her face in full force, driving a knife through your heart. “But you have to know that I only lied to make it easier on you.”

This stops your wild thoughts cold in their tracks as anger replaces dread. “How could forgetting about you ever be easier on me? I love you, Ditzy!” You feel your anger reach its boiling point, barely trying to control it. “Forgetting about you would probably kill me! Even if I don’t remember, my heart would. I’d always feel the pain of losing something dear to me. Besides, what would happen when I finally did remember? If forgetting you didn’t kill me, being ignored definitely would.” Your voice slowly becomes quieter, your anger finally dissipating. Realization slaps you in the face as Ditzy looks up at you, somehow managing to cry even more. “Ditzy, I’m so sorry I blew up like that. I-” You stop talking as you realize that she’s smiling.

With tears streaming down her face and a huge smile on her lips, she says something that shocks you. “Don’t apologize. I agree with everything you said. It was foolish of me to think you’d ever forget about me forever. After all, my laugh is what triggered your memories to return.” Your blush returns as you realize just how embarrassing that sounds. “And just so you know, I love you just a much. When I pulled you onto the beach and thought you were dead, I was devastated. That should have convinced me to tell you the truth, to prepare you for when it happens. I almost did too.”

As much as you want to know what this “it” is she keeps mentioning, you can only ask one question. “What changed your mind?”

At this point, her tears have finally dried up. Whether she finally calmed down, or just ran out of tears to produce, you’re not sure. “Once I realized that your memory was gone, I realized I could spare you that pain. Instead of losing your special somepony, you’d only lose a close friend.”

You finally grasp what she’s talking about, and now it’s your turn to release tears. “Don’t tell me.” You know it in your heart that it’s true, but you don’t fully believe it until the love of your life says it for herself.

“I went to the hospital last week to get my eye checked out, just like I do every few months. The doctor noticed something weird and had me scanned just in case. I don’t remember exactly what the cause is, but there is one thing I do remember:

I don’t have long to live. I’ll be dead within a month.”

Even after preparing yourself for the words to come, the shock to your system is so strong that you have remind yourself to breathe. It takes only a few minutes to regain control of your body, but it feels like an eternity. She’s……dying? No. She won’t die. I REFUSE to let that happen, even if I have to go after the Deathpony himself. “Isn’t there some kind of surgery that can save you?”

“There is something they can do, but it has a very, very low chance of working. Not to mention it’s so expensive that even if it succeeded, I’d never be able to pay off the debt. And if it failed, I could never forgive myself for leaving Dinky with the burden of paying it off.” At the thought of leaving her only daughter behind, Ditzy breaks down once again.

You reach across the distance that separates the two of you and embrace her with all of your strength, tears streaming down your face to match the ones running down Ditzy’s. You hold each other for what feels like forever, until both of you are completely empty of tears. Please Princess Celestia, you think to yourself, looking towards the unmoving sun. If there’s anything you can do to help, do it now. If you need something in return, I’ll gladly give it to you; even if you require my life to spare hers.

“I will require no such thing, young earth pony.” You both jump at the unexpected voice, which seems to come from everywhere at once. You feel a sudden drop in pressure, causing your ears to pop, as the space in front of you begins to shimmer. Where there was once only empty space, the Princess of the sun stands before you. Quickly releasing each other, you both bow before one of your benevolent rulers.

“Princess Celestia!” Ditzy suddenly exclaims, “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m here at the request of your young friend, Miss Doo, to get you off of this forsaken island. Are both of you ready?” Both of you stare at the princess, dumbfounded at your amazing streak of luck. Taking your silence as a yes, Princess Celestia spreads her wings and begins to teleportation spell. “Brace yourself young ones, you’ll be safe soon.” As she finishes the spell, everything goes black and you feel yourself being pulled ripped apart atom by atom.
---------------

The spell only took a second, but it was the longest second of your life. As you gain your bearings and make sure Ditzy is okay, you hear a voice ring out from behind you. “Miss Doo, the OR is prepped for your surgery.” You both turn around quickly, and are surprised to see a nurse standing behind you. It takes you a moment to realize that while you’re off of the island, you’re not quite in the place you expected; the Ponyville Hospital. “Miss Doo, are you okay?”

Realizing that the nurse is talking to her, Ditzy finally answers her. “Uuummm…..this may sound weird, but what’re you talking about?”

The nurse barely blinks before answering. “It’s time for your surgery.”

“I don’t have the kind of money to pay for that. Besides, I never set up an appointment.”

“Nonsense,” the nurse says with a friendly smile. “Everything is already paid for, and we clearly have a record of you setting up the appointment for today.”

Ditzy looks at you dumbfounded, before a silent agreement passes before you. Princess Celestia not only took both of you off the island, she also took care of Ditzy’s surgery, but why? You can see that Ditzy is hesitating before going through with the surgery. You look her in the eyes and give her two words of advice.

“Do it.” You don’t know why you say it, but something tells you that it’s the right choice.

“But what if it doesn’t help? If it goes wrong, I won’t get to say goodbye to you, or my little Muffin. I can’t just do this without talking with her about this.” You see her contemplating the different outcomes. Somehow, you know that she’s supposed to do this.

Giving her a quick kiss, you look her in the eyes. “You’ll make it through this. I know it.”

Staring at you in surprise, she nods her head in agreement. The nurse, who was patiently watching the entire exchange, awaits her response. “I’m ready nurse.” Smiling, the nurse walks off, taking Ditzy with her. Right before the door closes, you see her mouth three words.

“I love you.”

Two hours later

You nervously pace around the waiting room. You were nervous right as they took Ditzy into the room. Now, you were beyond nervous. You’ve already been to the restroom twice, getting so nauseated that you vomit any food you had in your stomach. As you remember the not so fun memory, you feel a familiar presence behind you. Turning around, you see an alicorn you expected would stop by eventually. “Good evening Princess,” you say as you bow.

Not even bother with formalities, the princess jumps straight to the point. “How is she?”

“I have no idea. It’s been two hours and they won’t tell me anything.” The pain in your heart seeps into your voice, causing the alicorn to ask you a question you didn’t expect.

“Do you truly love her?”

“Of course I do,” you say, not even hesitating to answer, “More than anything else in the world.” The princess doesn’t say anything, so you take the opportunity to ask the one question that’s been nipping at the back at your mind. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you do all this? Not that I’m complaining.”

“I heard your heart,” she says with a warm smile, “or actually, I heard your hearts. Yours and Miss Doos, that is. I knew you both truly cared for each other from the bottom of your heart. The only reason I asked now was to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.”

You ask the other question that’s been bothering you, more out of curiosity than anything else. Also, because talking with the princess is a better way to waste time then with your head in the toilet bowl. “Why didn’t you lower the sun at the usual time?”

“You noticed that?” The princess blushes, a sight you never expected to see. “Well, mostly because I was busy trying to organize the whole situation without using my royal perks. Didn’t want anypony to wonder why the princess was so involved with a couple in love.” She ends the sentence with a wink, another thing you never expected to see. “As for the other reason, let’s just leave that a mystery, shall we?”

Before you can answer, you hear a door open. The princess suddenly vanishes as you turn to see who it is. As it turns out, it’s the head surgeon who was operating on Ditzy.

And he has tears in his eyes as he approaches you.

Comments

[Material Defender]

Could... could it be...?

[thewaffler]

dun, Dun, DUNNN.

It feels like this is a common cliche with Ditzy fics, Give her cancer. I do hope it works out for the best, because who doesn't love Derpy...well except that one bitch that complained that she was offensive.

Overall it's a good fic. It's well written, the pacing is good and it is a good example of this kind of story.

Peace Out.

[Avagantam0s]

503038

First off, glad you enjoyed the story.

Second, I honestly had no idea that this was a "common cliche", as you put it. I'm a little disappointed to find out my story isn't as unique as I thought, but if people still enjoy it then I guess it's okay.

[thewaffler]

503138
I feel bad for bursting your bubble. It's not necessarily a common cliche but I know of several other fics and one of which also had memory loss. To apologize for this action here's a gif.

chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-i-just-dont-know-what-went-wrong.gif

[Avagantam0s]

503289

Don't feel too bad about it, I'm already over it. And thanks for the awesome gif.