BloodLust

by The Mountaineer Brony

Epilogue: Eternal Love

Fluttershy sat upon her freshly made bed surrounded by flowers, gifts, and cards full of get-well wishes from her friends and family. They'd all been very understanding about the whole situation, and while plenty of them (namely Twilight and Applejack) wished that Rainbow had simply come and gotten them to help, they were sympathetic about the position Rainbow had been put in, and of course, felt terrible for what Fluttershy had to suffer through. Zecora came by regularly to redress Fluttershy's wounds - fortunately, they were the only reminders of the incident, since a full course of the potion had removed any traces of vampirism within a week. And of course, Rainbow Dash stayed by her side constantly to provide whatever she needed. In fact, she was just now bringing her her lunch; since Fluttershy had regained the ability to taste pony food, she'd developed quite an appetite.

"Here you go, miss." Rainbow playfully curtsied as she placed the plate on Fluttershy's lap. "Carrot sandwich with clover and daisies. Do you need any more water?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy gave her characteristic warm smile in return. Reaching a hoof to her side, she gently patted Angel Bunny, who was sleeping next to her. Both Pegasi were also glad that Fluttershy's animal friends were quick to return once they sensed that all was right in the world again.

Rainbow carefully leaned on the bed near Fluttershy. "Sure was nice of everypony to give you all this get-well stuff. Heck, Rarity even made you those super-soft nightclothes to sleep in."

Fluttershy glanced down at the long nightshirt she was wearing, a lovely teal green and soft as a duckling's down. It certainly helped pad her injuries against the bed when she slept, but mostly it served to remind her of her friends' love and support, something which she was even more grateful for now.

"Yeah... hey, um... Rainbow?" Fluttershy replied, partially hiding behind her mane. "I-I just wanted to say I'm s-"

"No, don't say you're sorry, Fluttershy." She curtly interrupted, but quickly adopted a gentler tone. "You've got nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't you that hurt me. I know you weren't fully in control. You told us yourself; you don't remember anything that happened before waking up on Zecora's floor."

"That may be so, but..."

"And hey, you had no idea any of this was going to happen anyway. So don't worry about it, okay?"

Dash finished that thought with a smile that always made Fluttershy's heart melt a little. It felt so good to have a friend so devoted, so willing to risk it all for one's own good...

No... they were more than friends now, weren't they, she thought.

"Um... Dashie?" she gently piped up "Can I say one other thing?"

"What's up?"

"...You know I love you, right?"

Rainbow gave a small chuckle. "Of course I do."

She took one of Fluttershy's hooves in her own.

"You know I love you too, right?"

She nodded giddily. "I do."

The two brought their muzzles together in a sweet, intimate kiss, witnessed only by the sunshine. When they pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes, and without saying a word, they knew. They knew that their love was eternal. No matter what happened, that feeling would always be there.

Fluttershy had her Dashie to make her brave, to help her through the hard times, and to inspire her to step outside her comfort zone. Rainbow had her Flutters to make her slow down and think, to enjoy the simple things in life, and to be a more considerate mare. And whenever they embraced, felt that warmth between them, all felt right with the world, especially after having nearly lost it all.

They didn't need to say it for each of them to know. They knew they loved each other, and they knew they each looked forward to spending forever with each other. So many exciting avenues in life lay before them. But before they could travel Equestria or raise animals together, or even slip beneath the covers and explore the feelings her illness had intensified, Fluttershy needed to rest and recover. So, after a few minutes of chatting and kissing, Rainbow Dash glided out the bedroom door and quietly closed it behind her.

Author's Note:

I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have stuck with me during this journey and followed this story to the end. It's been a long time coming. When I started writing this story, shortly after discovering MLP, I wasn't entirely sure what direction I wanted it to go in. Then, of course, I had other ideas and went off to explore them. Over time, I started to write off BloodLust as an early experiment that had withered, and it sat here for a while as an albatross around my neck... but I didn't want to give up on it. I remembered being so proud of publishing my first fanfiction and the positive reception it had gotten. I believed, for myself and everyone else, this story deserved a proper ending. And now, it has one.

It's hard to find the time (and especially, the motivation) to write anymore, but it feels good to know, A, that when I do manage, I can still produce something I'm really proud of, and B, that at least a few people will get something from reading it. I want to extend my special thanks once again to Hyreia, who has helped me focus and bring out my best for these last few chapters. I'm not sure how much I would actually accomplish without her around, so she deserves credit for helping this little book find its back cover. With her motivation and friendship, I hope to eventually cash the checks my brain has been writing for the past 5 years and finish all of my loose-end stories.

Thank you all once again for reading and enjoying BloodLust - what began as an awkward first attempt at pony fiction but eventually turned into so much more for me.

Comments

[RushingWind-01]

Awww, what a sweet ending. Also, it's so good to see that Fluttershy survived. I don't know what would've happened if she didn't...

Great story, mate! I really enjoyed reading it.

[zachary12]

nice

[Rexy]

This was such a good read! Thank you for making it :D