Broken Wings

by Lt_Voss

Cutting Loose

The funeral for the late Big Macintosh didn't make it past customs when it arrived at the gate to my memory. All I remembered of it was that I had arrived and sat where I was supposed to, stood at the appropriate times, sang a few songs, and left. I do remember hugging Fluttershy, but that just because my voice kept getting on my case for it. You know you've been waiting to do that for a long time, Will.

I didn't go far from the monastery. I found a tree with lots of shade and sat down to lean against it, crossing my legs at the ankles. The tree wasn't wide enough to press against my wings and pin them to me, which would be painful, but it had loose bark that kept snagging on every feather I owned, making it a welcome rest under unwelcoming conditions.

I pulled out my spare two-way transmitter. It looked like an ear bud you'd use to listen to music. In the military, many times, especially during deployment, you get bored real fast. This leads to top-notch cleanliness in weapons, clothing, and berthing, as to pass the time you'd clean whatever looked even remotely dirty. But when that was done, you were left with nothing to do but closely inspect every piece of equipment you had issued to you.

Which was why I began examining the ear piece. It wasn't the first time I'd looked at it this way, but it passed the time and I thought it was interesting. It was matte black, with a serial number etched into it. The number was painted over in white so you could see it easily. It read 391-1038-5878-216. Quick, Will. What do they mean?

Easy, I replied. 391 was the category of equipment that was non-combat. 1038 was the subcategory of non-combat equipment titled “Personal Devices.” This ranged from nail clippers to portable power generators. 5878 was the subcategory entitled “Audio/Video transmitters.” 216 was the designated serial number for these two-way radios. Effective range.

Twenty miles. Rules of Use under Combat Conditions. Communicate with squad members, other squads, or higher chains of command if and only if squad-issued radio was disabled, destroyed, or inaccessible. Rules of Use under Non-combat Conditions. Practice operations, private communications between squads or platoons, communications between companies or larger is disallowed. Rules of Use for Communicating with Civilians. Only usable if, A, contact with civilians must be established and squad-issue radios are disabled, destroyed, or inaccessible; or B, when contact with civilians will prevent or lessen effects harmful to the well-beings of soldiers or other civilians in military circumstances. Good job, Will.

I felt relaxed for the first time in days. But that made me stop; what day was it? When was I due back to the company? I frantically attempted to remove my mission log from one of my uniform's pockets. Slow down, Will. Slow down. Taking several deep breaths, I slowly slipped the log out from my right breast pocket. Pressing the power button, my eyes met with a large timer at the top of the screen. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a day and a half to go. And I knew from my time in the air over the Everfree Forest that my company was located well within a few hours' travel time using wings.

Rest easy, Will. That's an order. And, while you're at it, why don't you name me? As much as I thought that notion was stupid, I gave serious thought to it. Maybe personifying it would make it friendlier. I strived for that if for no other reason. Immediately I came up with a name. Bill. Yeah, REAL clever. Think yourself a creative person, do you? Don't answer that. I like it, Will and Bill. Two different names of the same person. I don't know why, but I was glad Bill liked his new name.

Hey, love bird. Hot tamale, four o'clock. Apparently naming him didn't stop my voice... Bill, from teasing me. I turned to look anyway, craning my neck almost until it hurt. I saw Fluttershy walking towards me, her wings tucked firmly by her sides, her head low, hair down, and feet barely leaving the ground. She really looked sad. Understatement of the week, Will. As she neared, she raised her head slightly. Seeing me looking at her, she let out a short eep, but continued trudging until she came to sit by me.

Her dress was a wonderful green, accentuated by floral decorations and patterns. Along with her teal coloured eyes, her outfit and getup matched and emphasized her natural beauty. Not trying to hide it now, are we Will? My, my, you are predictable. “Leave me alone.” I said aloud, which I instantly regretted.

“What?” Fluttershy looked at me in shock and sadness, tears already welling up. As she tried to get up and do what I asked, I quickly jabbed out a hand and grabbed her collar.

“Please forgive me, Fluttershy. I didn't mean it, and it wasn't meant for you. And I'm sorry for ruffling up your dress. I rather liked it.” And I did indeed ruffle it up. Surprisingly, just grabbing the collar wrinkled the dress in many places, and I began to question the designer's choice in stitch locations. “Please, please forgive me.”

I saw a couple droplets roll down her cheeks, which made my eyes water as well. I hated to see her cry. The day Big Mac died was one of the worst for me; I had to sit and comfort a bawling Fluttershy. It made my chest hurt and my heart felt heavy. As I tasted the salt of my own tears and still not having heard anything from her, I began to fear the worst. I was terrified of facing the possibility that I'd ruined our friendship with a single careless remark. So, you like her enough to admit it sometimes, but you still only call it a friendship? Will, she clearly likes you back. But I paid no heed to Bill at the moment.

After several heart wrenching moments, moments which racked my body with emotional pains, Fluttershy said a single word. “Yes.”

I didn't process the meaning of her word just then. I began analyzing. Was she forgiving me as I'd asked? Was she accepting my apology? Or could she read minds and was telling me our friendship was ruined? Careful, Will. Don't say or do anything yet. Maybe she'll explain. And she did.

“Yes. I forgive you. I'm sorry, when I heard you say that, I thought you didn't...” a barely stifled cry interrupted her sentence. “Didn't want to look at me anymore...” And when the thought was finished, the dam was breached and the tears gushed out at an alarming rate.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, please, don't cry. I hate to see you cry, please don't. It makes me cry! Please, stop!” I pleaded with her, not entirely sure if she could hear me over her outcries. Will, you'd better hurry. These pipes are ready to burst, and unless you work fast you're going to be weeping too. And I do NOT want to be seen crying in public. Got that? I took special care in making sure I didn't say this next thought aloud when I said 'Shut up, Bill.'

I wrapped my arms around Fluttershy, rubbing her back with my right hand. A single interjection from Fluttershy made me pull my hand away. She'd said “ow.” Now why would she say that? I then realized that I still held the transmitter in my right hand. Rubbing her back had pushed it into her, digging into her skin while not drawing blood. “Oh, god, I'm sorry Fluttershy. Lord, I'm making this worse, aren't I?” I tried to say with a laugh, but it came out as more of a nervous chuckle.

Despite her crying, Fluttershy managed to give a small titter. “Should I be, um, honest with you?”

Holding her out at arms length, I stared directly into her eyes, but thinking about it made me wonder who was doing the staring: her eyes were so mesmerizing, I doubted I'd be able to look away. Get it together, Will. “Yes, Fluttershy. You should always be honest with me. I trust you. I just... hope you can, um, well, trust me... trust me not to hurt you on purpose.”

“Oh, I trust you! I don't mind, whatever you want to do is fine.”

I smirked. “The problem, well, Fluttershy, comes when I know things. I know you didn't, um, particularly enjoy what I said, and I am truly sorry. But weren't you going to, well, say something?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I, uh, guess I was.” She frowned in thought. “Oh, right. Um, well, since you want me to be, um, honest, you are, kind of, making it worse.”

I couldn't help it. We'd gotten too far off track for me to keep up with our original lines, so I'd forgotten why we started talking about honesty. But being reminded of it, of how I'd done something dumb to make someone else feel better... I couldn't help it. I guffawed, right there in front of a teary eyed Fluttershy. I started rolling around on the ground, which hurt my wings a bit, but I didn't mind much. You don't mind taking pain for those you love, do you, Will? 'Can it, Bill.'

But it wasn't totally fruitless. Seeing me laugh at the awkwardness of the situation, and seeing how carefree I was, ready to laugh or make bad jokes to comfort someone in need, Fluttershy couldn't help but burst out either. She started rolling on the ground, and to be honest I think we must have looked like a couple of fools. Hey, hey, I think you can “fool” around when- 'I said shut up!'

Well, if I thought our previous predicament was awkward, what happened next took the cake. Eyes closed, tears slipping past the lids, something really embarrassing happened. We bumped into each other. I opened my eyes, and I saw hers were open as well. We both blushed slightly, me feeling the heat flow into my cheeks. Seeing her blush, and being face to face and so close together... just made my cheeks flare up more.

Thinking quickly, I quickly scrambled away to somewhere less uncomfortable. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fluttershy do the same thing. I rapidly did a three hundred sixty degree turn to check for any onlookers. Every thirty degrees or so I snapped back to double check. Satisfied that I could see no one was watching, I turned back to Fluttershy, both of our inflamed cheeks still bright red.

I cleared my throat several times, saying, “Uh. Um. Yeah. Er, sorry... about... that...” You both like each other, if red is the colour of love. Go on, say it! Shout it to the world! Ignoring Bill, I shook my hair down to cover my eyes. With my last clear vision, I saw that she'd done the same. Come on, you two are even doing the same things! At the same time, no less! Tell her! I didn't know what had gotten into Bill, nor did I want to know. I guess thinking of Fluttershy this much overrode his own actionable will.

I didn't hear what Fluttershy said in response. She spoke in a series of unintelligible squeaks and eeps. It sounded like that time I tried playing the clarinet. I always was a trumpeter. “I-I-I'm sorry? Fluttershy? I didn't quite... catch that bit...”

She raised her voice ever so slightly and, I hope at least, repeated what she said. All I heard was something like “amporyimabeooucuterble.”

I shook my head. “I'm terribly sorry, Fluttershy, but I'm just not getting it.”

“I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable...” She said in her whisper of a voice.

I sighed. “It isn't your fault though. I should have been more careful.”

She looked at me as if she were about to say something, but apparently thought better of it. How are you gonna make it up to her, Will? 'I don't...' I was about to reply to Bill, but my eye caught the transmitter still in my right hand. 'I'll give her a present.' Good choice, but what'll she think of it? Is it too sudden? Think it through first. And I did.

On the one hand, we were trying to stay out of a relationship. That much was apparent. Awkward moments unsettled us. Neither of us were frontal characters. Something as sudden as a gift would probably be taken poorly. But on the other hand, it was blatantly obvious there was something between us. You think? A gift might be seen as something that starts it all. My problem was I didn't know whether to risk it.

This whole thing is a risk, Will. Might as well give it a shot. The worst that can happen is that she says no, right? 'But coming from her, it might have a worse effect.' How so? What makes her different than the other broads you've met over the years? 'She's different because she isn't some hooker looking to make a quick buck. She's something special.' So you see in her someone to spend your never ending life with? 'Yes.' Then you'll have eternity to patch things up. If she says no, give it time. At the risk of sounding clichéd, distance yourself. If you still like her this way after a while, you'll know she's the one. 'You seem to know a lot about what might happen if she says no.' The problem is that you won't take the chance. For all you know, she'd accept a gift. If she does, hooray. If she doesn't... well, we can't cross that bridge if you won't go through the woods. Bill had a point. I always do. I mentally sighed.

“Fluttershy... I... have, something for you.” I said hesitatingly, sickeningly nervous. Calm down, Will. Puking won't make this go any better.

“Like... like a present? Oh, no, I can't accept one. I don't deserve one. I made you uncomfortable!” She protested. Inwardly, I felt the barriers around a certain part of my mind weaken. I did NOT want that part loose. It'd end badly for me.

That wasn't a no, Will. That's normal. Press her a bit. “You know that wasn't your fault. If it was anyone's, it was mine. I want to apologize, Fluttershy. I want to say sorry, and I can't give you anything else other than this. Please, take it.” I stopped, but I added, “For me?”

She looked away then. I hung my head. 'Now I've blown it, Bill. I've ruined it.' Wait for it. Wait for it... there! Look! I looked up to see what had grabbed his attention. I took a step back. Fluttershy was hovering in front of me. “Fluttershy? What are you-” But I didn't get any farther. She put her hoof over my lips.

“Shh.” She said. “You don't have to say anything. I know how much this means to you. Could you show me what you wanted to give me?” And she smiled. Maybe it was what happened earlier, but her smile seemed to be much more beautiful than it was before. Her eyes were a warmer teal, and how that was possible, I didn't wonder about it. I knew my own eyes changed colours every now and then.

My mouth opened and shut, but no sound came forth. I brought up my right hand, still holding the transmitter even after all that had happened. “H-here.” It was all I could manage. I placed it on her outstretched hoof.

“What is it?” She asked, looking at it closely.

“It's a two-way transmitter. What it does is it lets someone else who has one talk to this one. Put it in your ear, let me show you.” She did as I told her while I fished out my other one. I put it in my ear as well. I pressed a small button on it. “Hello, Fluttershy, can you hear me?”

“Oh my gosh!” She said, evidently surprised but still in her whispery voice. “I can hear your voice coming from it!”

I gave one of my crooked smiles. “That's its job.” She looked at me and gave me a grin. “Well, go ahead, try it out.”

“Um, but I don't know how...” She said, the grin gone.

I shook my head. “Here, I'll show you.” I stepped closer to her to find the earpiece. I gently grabbed a hoof and brought it up to the button. “There's a button, right here. Do you feel it?” I leaned my head to look at her. She nodded. “Press it.” She did. I stepped back, saying, “Say something.”

“Um... hello, my name is Fluttershy.” She whispered, but it registered clearly through the radio.

I clapped. “Very good!” It was getting dark. I looked at my watch. It read half past seven. “Oh my, so late already? It feels that just five minutes ago we were mourning. Huh. Time flies when you're having fun, eh Fluttershy?” I looked back at her and gave her another crooked smile. She grinned back.

“Yes, it does.” She said. “So... I can keep it?”

“Sure. Don't lose it, though. My gift to you. I'll come up with a story later.”

“Story?”

“Well, I'm supposed to keep both of these. But, I'll say I lost it in a fight or something. It's nothing. I can't really be punished anyways.”

“Oh, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of me.” She began taking it out of her ear. “Here, take it back.”

I feigned a pained expression. “I'm hurt, Fluttershy. I give you a gift, knowing the chance I was taking, and you decline.” She looked very sad, and instantly I regretted pulling the act. “I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't mean it. I'm touched, actually, that you'd be ready to help me out. But no, keep it. I'm not one to accept returned gifts.” Assert yourself! Show her who's boss! 'No. If I'm going to make this work, I'm going to be on equal footing. Now, patch up that wall. I don't want to slip into there.' Sigh. On it, chief.

“Will?” Fluttershy's question broke through my thoughts.

“Yeah, Fluttershy?”

“Do you have a place to stay?” Oh, getting it on quick, are we now, Will? 'Shut up, Bill. You don't know that.'

“I have a tent I've been sleeping in. It's actually quite cozy. Well, it's better than sleeping on tree roots.” I said with a chuckle.

“Oh, well. Um, I was wondering because, um, I could offer you somewhere to sleep, if, um, only for the night.” She scuffed a hoof on the ground.

What did I tell you, chief? “That's okay, Fluttershy. I wouldn't want to impose.”

“Oh, no, it's okay! There's plenty of room, if you don't mind the animals. They're friendly, but if they aren't fed-” And she broke off. “Oh no! I haven't fed them today! Will, can you come help me feed them? There are a lot, and I can't do it by myself before it gets dark. Please?” And she widened her eyes, looking very much at me with puppy dog eyes. They glinted once. That's what broke my stance.

I sighed. “Fine. And I guess that since I'd already be there you'd want me to stay?” I asked with a small grin.

She looked at me sheepishly, her puppy act having done its job. “Well, maybe, if that's okay with you.”

I shook my head, saying, “You got me good, there, Fluttershy. Alright. But only for tonight. We'll see what happens later.”

She rushed up to me and wrapped her front legs around my upper arms, pinning them to my sides. This caught me off guard, which seemed to be happening a lot around Fluttershy lately. “Oh thank you so much, Will!”

I stood there, at a loss for words. With some help from Bill, I'd managed to form a few words. “Uh, no problem, Fluttershy.”

We both took to the skies and headed north towards her cottage. The sunset from high up looked absolutely wonderful. I noticed Fluttershy edge a bit my way. I passed it off as an effect of the day's events and the simple beauty of nature. It was a perfectly reasonable reaction in my eyes. You know she's doing it because she likes you, why do you try to hide it? 'Because I can.' What are you, four? Grow up, Will. 'Have you finished making sure that wall is structurally sound?' I actually heard Bill sigh this time, instead of saying the word. Just about finished.

In about fifteen minutes, and looking at my watch confirmed it, Fluttershy's cottage became visible in what little light there was left in this part of Equestria. It was a small yellow structure, with what appeared to be an animal pen next to a garden filled with vegetables, grown and growing. In the pen I saw what could have been a chicken coop, but there were definitely several birdhouses. Some were on the ground, but that was supposedly because I could see no more space for perches. I imagined there'd be more inside.

We landed outside the front door, by the road. We began walking towards the door when a chivalrous part of me took over. I quickened my pace to arrive at the door before Fluttershy. I opened the door and held it open for her, saying, “After you, miss.”

She giggled, placing a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from bursting into outright laughter. “Thank you, sir.” She responded. She walked inside, acting as if she were a noblewoman.

We must have ridden in a time machine. We seem to be in the “old times,” as I remember you putting it once. I think it was for a school paper, but I can't remember the grade you got for it... what was it? Oh yes, a C. And that was because the teacher liked your details. 'Go away, Bill.' No can do, chief. I'm a little stuck here in this trash can you call a head. 'I run a tight ship, Bill. My head is not a mess.' Believe what you want, Will. I say it's a dump. And we know I'm the more credible of the two here. 'Keep your thoughts to yourself for tonight, okay? I don't want to hear from you for a while.' I'm hurt, Will. But he stayed silent for the rest of the night.

“Uh, Will? Are you coming?” Fluttershy asked just as I finished with Bill. I hadn't realized I'd stood outside for so long until I looked at my watch, which told me I'd been outside in the cool night air for five minutes.

“Uh, yeah, Fluttershy. Sorry, just thinking is all.” I walked inside after her. “So, where are the animals?” I asked. I saw several birdhouses, as I'd predicted, but there also a few other wooden structures that looked like doghouses. Before Fluttershy could answer, a small white rabbit came out from the house nearest the door and walked up to me. There was a scowl on its face, which surprised me. It folded its arms across its chest as if in impatience, which freaked me out. This rabbit was using expressions I thought only usable to humans and ponies.

“Oh, hi there, Angel. Will, meet my friend Angel. Angel, meet my friend Will.” Fluttershy introduced. The rabbit... Angel, stuck his tongue out at Fluttershy when she said to meet me, and then he looked at me with what seemed to be impatience. He tapped his foot on the ground.

“Uh, hey there, friend. Wanna, see a bit of magic?” I asked, hoping to get by with showmanship.

It grunted in response, then sat down. Doing a quick bit of detective work, I spotted a pile of carrots by the door to his house. I began my trick.

To set up a distraction, I wiggled the fingers of my left hand and rose it above Angel's head, as if sprinkling something onto him. He looked nonplussed. While this was going on, I snatched out with my right hand and grabbed a carrot of the top of the stack. I slipped into my sleeve. I stopped moving my left hand and brought the two of them together. Interlocking my fingers, I proceeded to pop the bones outward, as one would do when doing chest compressions in CPR. Interlocking my fingers again, but this time facing me, I placed my hands close to my chest. Using the index finger and thumb of my left hand, I discreetly withdrew the carrot. With a bit of showmanship, I flashed it out as you see magicians do with flowers, and handed it to Angel.

His eyes opened wide, and he snatched up the carrot and ran inside. If he noticed that one was missing from the pile, he didn't acknowledge it. Fluttershy looked at me in awe. “I didn't know you could do magic, Will. I thought only the princesses and unicorns could do that.”

I grinned sheepishly at her. “I can't.” I lowered my voice, paranoid that Angel might overhear. “Look over at the pile of carrots.”

When she did, she gasped, then looked back at me, a mischievous smile on her face. “I didn't even see that go. You're very good at being stealthy.”

I playfully swiped at her shoulder. “It was nothing.”

“Oh, well, I think it was great! And I think Angel liked it too. He doesn't normally like visitors, but...” She trailed off.

My first thought was that the relationship between the two was a little strained. Well, I thought, if you didn't have anyone real close to be with but animals, you might go a bit loopy. And obsessed. But something told me Fluttershy could hold her own with other people and ponies. She must not always have been what humans would think of as a crazy cat lady. I laughed to myself. I could imagine Fluttershy being one.

“Well, I'm glad I made a friend. I wouldn't want to be on the bad side of your guard bunny!” I joked.

“Oh, no, Angel isn't a guard bunny. He's just-” But I cut her off, shaking my head.

“It was a joke, Fluttershy.”

“I'm sorry...” She said sadly, hanging her head.

My only response was to look at her dumbly. I imagine it must be the same look I'd used the first time I'd met Rainbow Dash, because when she looked up to sneak a peek at me, she giggled. I looked downward towards the floor, a very confused look on my face. I didn't want to try to puzzle out everything that was happening to me. I was in way over my head.

That didn't stop me from asking a question, though. “Fluttershy, why do you say you're sorry all the time?”

She took in a small gasp. “Oh, I'm sorry-” I looked up when she suddenly stopped. She was shaking her head. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-” She stopped again, and I saw her eyes widen. “This is going very badly. Not very good at all.” She said sadly, hanging her head.

My brain was working overtime to try and form words I could say, but in the meantime I was quietly looking confusedly at Fluttershy. Eventually, I managed to come up with four words, my mind then moving on to what I'd say after them. “Fluttershy, look at me.” She looked up, but slightly to the left, as if she couldn't actually bring herself to look directly at me. Getting a headache, I said one word on my own, sparing my mind with having to do more work. “Please?”

She visibly hesitated. She gasped ever so slightly, but then turned to look at me. She wasn't looking at me eye to eye, but at least she was facing my direction. “Yes, Will?” She said softly. Her voice wavered.

Like a batch of baked goods gotten out just in time, my brain pressed words into my mouth, which I then voiced aloud. “Fluttershy, it's okay. I wasn't thinking when I asked you that question. Don't hurt yourself over it. In fact, I, uh, kind of think, well, that it's kind of... cute, when you do that.” To which I pressed my hands over my mouth, afraid I took this train a little too fast around the bend.

She looked at my face just then, and seeing my expression, ducked down, but I could see her face flushing red. I blurted out, “I've made you uncomfortable, haven't I? I'm so sorry, Fluttershy.”

She squeaked, which I was taking as a confirmation. Changing the subject, I said to her, “Well, uh, how about we, er, go feed those animals!” And I put on my best smiles, which of course looked like my signature smirks.

She nodded, saying, “Um, s-sure. Could you feed the ones outside? It's chilly tonight...” She handed me a key.

“Say no more.” I said, preventing her from saying more. If she wanted a bit of alone time, I'd give it to her. Hell, I'd talk a bit with Bill while I was out there. I walked towards the door to the animal pen. Looking back, I noticed Fluttershy foregoing the animals downstairs and heading straight upstairs. 'Maybe she's like a housekeeper, you work from the top floor down.'

I stepped outside into the cool but not chilly night air. I always loved the night. I stopped to gaze at the wonderfully starry night, remembering that here in Equestria the night was allegedly controlled by the Princess Luna. I chuckled at the choice of names. Celestia controlled the celestial body of the sun, while Luna controlled the lunar body of the moon and its regents, the stars.

Setting my mind back to my job, I noticed that a locked box was sitting next to every dwelling. With a bit of detective work, I deduced that it contained the food for the animals and that they were locked so no midnight snackers could pilfer a bit. I took out of my pocket the key Fluttershy gave me and inserted it into the first box, which was next to a pen holding several chickens. It fit.

In it I found a whole lot of corn. I nodded. 'Bill, this world isn't so much different than ours.' True. So, had a bit of falling out with Fluttershy, Will? I'm sorry. Bill sounded sincere. I am. I'm a part of you. I know you want this, and to see it spiral before it has even started... He trailed off. Well, Will, you have forever to patch it up. Don't worry. It'll be fixed. Somehow. At “somehow,” he sounded less confident.

I opened up the chicken coop, darted inside and closed the latch. If the chickens behaved like they do on human worlds, then they'd be rambunctious and try to escape. I had no idea how much they got to eat, so I pulled about enough corn to fit a quarter of my hand and plopped it down in front of them. As I gave them the corn, they looked up at me, and by god, just like Angel, they showed expressions. Their eyes showed blatant thanks. “Uh, you're welcome.” I said to each.

Quickly leaving the coop, I set the box down and latched it. I proceeded to do the same with every animal Fluttershy had in her pen. The number of animals surprised me. I knew her job was to take care of animals, but the sheer amount of them that needed such care dumbfounded me. 'So many...' I thought to Bill. Yeah. She must have seen some pretty bad things by the looks of some of these animals. Look at that falcon over there. I looked. Reddish bandage on its torso. Must've had a pretty bad gash. Fluttershy's got guts, pardon the terrible pun. I knew no harm was meant, so I said nothing.

I had just finished putting the last box away when I felt an urgent tugging at my pant leg. I turned. It was Angel. “What is it, pal?” I said. Then I noticed his expression.

His eyes were wide, almost panic-stricken. He pointed to the house four times. Then he made a motion with his two paws. My own eyes went wide, and my heart began beating so fast I felt like I'd die right there. WILL! GO! GET IN THERE! HELP! I ran inside as quickly as I could, and, taking the stairs three at a time, ascended them.

Angel had made the motion of slitting his wrists.

Comments

Why did Big Mac have to die just because he had tetanus? I've never heard of putting down like that before. As far as I know it is survivable.

[Lt_Voss]

Second chapter done.

After finishing this one, I decided to scrap the whole "interlude after each chapter" thing. I found that I was writing more or less to my constraints of actual chapters, so you'll probably only see chapters in this story.

Lots more voices in our heads in this one! I tried to distinguish different voices and speeches as best as I could. Normal speeches are set normally, in double quotes. The thoughts of the main character, regardless of whether or not he's "speaking" to his voice or not, are now determined by the single quotes. His voice's speech is denoted by italics. The difference between italics used as emphasis and italics used as the voice are that emphasis will only be on one to three words maximum.

Don't worry guys. Things can only get better from here, right? Right?

[Lt_Voss]

36834 Tetanus spreads, and while I guess I could have done more to show time lapse, there was a good deal of time spanning the original infection and the arrival at the hospital. I probably also should have mentioned that Mac couldn't move at all, being locked into place.

Also, remember. At the time of its writing, I hadn't seen Cutie Pox, so I had no knowledge of the supposed "modern wheelchair." Because of this, based off my previous knowledge of the series, placed the setting of Equestria as comparable to the 1800s. Face it, they don't even have steam engines... or coal ones, for that matter. Another thing to note is that these ponies are, quite simply, horses. And when horses in the 1800s (heck, tetanus was a problem for horses in World War 1) were infected with tetanus and thus lost their usefulness, there was no treatment. They had to be put down.

[Mr Popo]

Fluttershy is going emo? WTF?!
Whatever, man. It's your story, after all.

[Lt_Voss]

36851
I don't know why it makes you lol, heh. I don't find it all that amusing. Maybe it's some sort of reference I'm not getting...

36875

Maybe it's a failure on my part, but I just now realized that in both parts there are times when Shy seems as if she doesn't hold herself to a very high standard, as if she were depressed (who wouldn't be with only animals to talk to?). I'm not ashamed to admit that my mind (IRL) is not a place most people would like to be. It's full of... certain things. I admit somethings in this story reflect upon me personally. No, I haven't slit my wrists, but I did almost do something involving a knife and my chest.

On a lighter note, no worries. Fatalities are going to be kept in as minimal as possible when possible.

[soundblast]

Hey buddie can you explain what bill is