Seeing Sanguine

by Winged Cat

10: "Hello", Manty

It was the mewling that caught Fluttershy's ear.

At Applejack's insistence, Sanguine had proceeded on the ground, but she continued to move so quietly - keeping to soft ground when possible, stepping gently otherwise, and avoiding terrain that could easily rustle or snap - that only Applejack's and Fluttershy's steps could be heard. There had been little conversation, and that confined to suggestions of places to search. So when Fluttershy straightened up and began moving with purpose, the others fell in flank formation immediately, a three-pony chevron that would have impressed many drill instructors.

But unlike the world in which drill instructors existed, places like the Everfree Forest made no pretense of being fair or just.

As they rounded a bush, Fluttershy saw her friend lazing in a sunbeam. A lion, proud as any of his kin, with bat-like wings colored to match his fur and a scorpion's tail. Something seemed wrong about that long, red tail - it seemed a bit melted, drooping in puddles of itself on the ground - but she paid it no mind. For some reason her two companions stopped to gasp in unison, so she took a step back to whisper at them quietly, "There he is. He knows me; try not to surprise him. Let's move around where he can see us."

"I didn't touch him," Sanguine protested. "I swear I've never seem him before in my life!"

"Of course you haven't." Fluttershy lead the trio around the clearing and cleared her throat. "Oooh Manty!"

Applejack cocked an eye. "You...named 'im."

"Of course I did! It's not my most creative name, but I only see him once in a while." The cream-and-pink pegasus stepped closer. "Maaanty, I brought a treat, just for you!" She reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a large strip of jerky. Applejack had a source, less expensive than Fluttershy thought importing from the griffon lands should have been; Fluttershy did not care how Applejack got it or what type it was, though she suspected it was pork jerky based on the color and scent. What mattered was that some creatures, like Manty, could only digest meat.

Manty looked in her direction, sniffing. Surely he should have been able to see her by now. Why wasn't he standing up?

Fluttershy dismissed her nagging worries and stepped closer still, carefully watching Manty for signs of reaction. Carefully she laid the strip at his feet - not that she could see them. They must have been hidden under his red mane, which had gotten a bit large and spread out on the ground but surely that was just due to his age.

"I...I can't watch." Sanguine was clearly choked up about something; Fluttershy wondered what it could be.

"Y'all 'ave to," Applejack advised. "Ah reckon you're gonna see much worse than this."

Sanguine gulped and breathed audibly. "You're right. I can do this. I have to do this."

Manty perked up and licked the treat right off the ground, chewing it.

Fluttershy peeked at his gums in the moments his mouth was open. "Manty? Where are your teeth? What happened to them?"

"The same thing that-" Sanguine answered, before being cut off by what Fluttershy recognized as the sound of a knee gently to the ribs, often enough applied by Rarity to various ponies. But Rarity was not here, so it must have been Applejack.

"There, there." Fluttershy stroked a hoof over his mane and neck - a bit sticky, he must have been sweating. Her hoof came away red. "Eat it right up, there's a good Manty, can I get a purr, yeah, there's a purr!" She smiled as the manticore did indeed begin to purr, nuzzling and licking her.

"A-Applejack." Sanguine steadied herself. "I think I need to..."

"Yeah, ah think you do." Now even Applejack's voice seemed a bit upset. "Once she's done, sugar."

The back of Fluttershy's mind tugged, as a knot formed in the back of her throat for some reason. "Now you say hello, Sanguine." She wandered back to the others.

"Right." Sanguine exhaled. "'Hello'." Trembling, she walked past Fluttershy up to the manticore.

As Fluttershy returned to Applejack's side, the insistent prodding at the back of her mind broke through. In seconds she found herself bawling into her friend's mane.

She cried, to drown out the purr.

She cried, to wash away the memories.

She cried, until her voice was the only sound left.

Sanguine examined her work to make sure, but the purr's abrupt termination had been signal enough. "It's done. I made it as painless as I could."

"Ya did good." Applejack held Fluttershy. "But ah think we need a break. There's a zebra, livin' not too far from here. Zecora."

"Oh! Rarity said I should talk with her too." Sanguine examined her forelegs, grateful that their new coating was hard to see against her fur. She was mildly surprised that the manticore had survived this long with severe wounds all over its body, leaving it to bleed out. Perhaps whatever had done this had left Manty to die, intent on returning to devour the corpse. If that was what happened, at least the manticorn no longer had to suffer - and Sanguine did not want to be around when whatever it was, returned for its meal.

"Well, now's a good time. C'mon." Keeping one leg around Fluttershy, Applejack guided the others away from the scene, unable to move fast on three legs but eager to literally put this behind her.