Evaporation

by Firefly Crescent

Worry

She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept that heavily.

In some ways, the deep, dreamless slumber had been a blessing. In others, it had been a curse. Despite the fact that she hadn’t lost her sanity via nightmares, she was still despairing, and sweet dreams would, at the very least, have been nice. Of course, maybe they wouldn’t have been nice. Maybe they would wake her up with a cold, jarring shock as she would have realized that the dreams were only a fantasy.

In some ways, Fluttershy was relieved that she didn’t have to keep resting anymore. Her body was in good shape again, and she could continue flying. So, as if spurred on by some invisible force, she continued. She thought about things as she flew, which she did more slowly this time; and, as she contemplated events that had taken place previously, she realized that the ivy may have started spreading all over Equestria. The pegasus knew, somewhere deep down, that this was true, but instead of feeling urgency, she felt somehow calm. Calm, still, and serene. Fluttershy reckoned that she was losing her sanity, and at the thought, a shock of fear punctured her heart. She didn’t know how this was possible; just the day before, she had been happy, sane, the average villager of that little town she inhabited. She had felt peaceful among the flowers, the animals, and just being home.

Wait. Her animals.

She needed to get back to them!

Flying as fast as her wings could carry her, Fluttershy spread towards the direction of her cottage. Branches smacked her in the face as she flew, trying desperately to reach her non-pony friends. If she didn’t care about anything else, she cared about her animals.

One branch smacked her eye, poking it with one of its sharp branches. The little pony stopped, holding her eye, a cry of pain escaping her lips. Fresh blood seeped from a small cut of the white of her eye.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea overtook Fluttershy. She threw up in the swamp, vomit landing in the murky water. The yellow pegasus, resisting the urge to faint, tried to carry on. She could hardly breathe, thoughts clouded, lungs malfunctioning, painfully deflating as soon as she tried to suck in a breath. Her eye continued bleeding, and desperately, she tried to stop the bleeding with a cobweb on a nearby branch. After slapping it over her eye, the pegasus could hardly fly. Her wings seemed to weigh her down, screaming in protest for her to stop. Fluttershy couldn’t take it. She frantically landed.

***

After a generally long trek, the pony collapsed near the village, shocked from exhaustion. Her little body could hardly take this treatment; she was over exhausting herself, treating her body as if it were a machine. Under such conditions, the small pony might have died, if not for a certain, derpy-eyed mare. The young mail-mare had been lost on her way to deliver letters, when she spotted Fluttershy through blurry vision. Fluttershy could faintly feel Derpy poking her a bit, then picking up her scruff and trying to drag her to the hospital. The pegasus could hardly feel a thing.

After what seemed like a moment later, the pony woke up to find herself in a hospital bed. Her hooves were numb, and she had no clue why, but she had the haunting suspicion that the hospital workers had done something to her hooves. Holding them up gently, she could see stitches around where the hoof was connected to her leg. Hoof replacement surgery only happened if the circulation to the feet had been cut off. Fluttershy could faintly remember lack of feeling in her hooves before she collapsed. Was this what had happened to her? Was her original tissue--the one she was born with--really gone?

The thought made her visibly shudder.

Aside from her newly added hooves, Fluttershy could see that she was wearing a violet hospital gown. She was next to a table with a tray on top, which held a dandelion sandwich and some custard. The pony pushed the small dish away, lack of appetite threatening to spill any content she attempted to digest back up. Any craving for food she had even once had had evaporated long ago, turning to air that she had released as she breathed.

Nurse Redheart entered the room.

Fluttershy muttered a quiet hello, a bit shy, and not very happy.

Redheart looked at her, smiled, and said hello back before scribbling something down on a sheet of paper.

Fluttershy gently sat up, looking to observe her surroundings a bit more. All of a sudden, it hit her like a bat against a baseball.

“My animals!” she cried out, covering her mouth as she realized she had said this aloud. She saw Redheart look at her, and the other pony asked,

“What’s the matter?”

Fluttershy looked at her. The nurse probably wouldn’t let her go. But she needed to. She had to protect her animals, no matter what.

So she jumped out of the bed and ran.

As she rushed past Redheart, a sound of surprise came from the earth pony’s lips. The yellow pegasus continued. After opening up the door, she ran down the hall, feeling returning to her new hooves. She swerved around one of the doctors, another nurse, and a tray filled with books lying out in the hall. The pink-haired pegasus pushed open the front doors as she ran out of the lobby and into town.

The pegasus sighed, then remembered she was running back to her cottage. She had to protect her animals from that... plant. It was the least she could do, after... after...

She bitterly swallowed, then stretched her wings and flew.

Up in the clean air, she could feel the air stretching her wings out, rushing through her feathers. While she should have felt good, worry kept her from feeling anything but fear, and she needed to protect her animals, anyway.

She wondered if Angel was all right. She had left him in charge of the other animals while she was gone, and she hoped to almighty Faust that he wasn’t hurt in any way. She couldn’t bear the thought of him hurt like her friends had been.

***

A short time later, Fluttershy reached her cottage. It looked all right, and she quickly ran back around the small house to her backyard.

Thank Celestia, she thought, gazing upon the multitude of creatures. At least they were all right; but she wasn’t sure they would be for long.

It was at this point she remembered that she was still wearing the hospital robe.

After going inside and changing, the pony grabbed some tools, wood, and water, and set to work building a fence around her house. She knew that it probably wouldn’t work; why in Equestria would it?

It was the only option she had. That’s why it had to work.

It HAD to.

Desperately she set up a couple posts and attempted to nail them together. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no ability building fences.

Boarding up doors, she could do.

Building fences? Not so much.

If only one of her friends were still here. They could have helped her...

Could they?

Fluttershy sat down and began to cry again. It was all her fault. She was pathetic. Idiotic. Gullible. Weak-willed. And the worst part was, she could be the meanest pony ever, and not even realize it. The was no reason to continue living like this, without her friends to help her.

She felt a tiny paw pat her shoulder.

Looking over, she saw Angel. He wasn’t usually nice to her, and he certainly didn’t comfort her very often. He was still trying to now, though, which she didn’t get. What had she ever done for him? What could she ever do to redeem herself even the slightest bit?

She had no clue.

***

Suddenly, she remembered.

Spike.

He... he didn’t know...

It was the next day. Fluttershy didn’t realize that she had to tell him before now. She HAD to tell him. There was no one left to do it for her.

So, in the depressed atmosphere of the next morning, the yellow pegasus set out towards the tree. She didn’t know if he’d be there or not. She could only hope that he would be there, and understand.

To be honest, she seriously doubted the latter.

There was no good reason he would forgive her. She was useless. Unfeeling. That’s what she felt he would think of her, anyways.

So with a heavy heart, she trudged along.

Comments

[Wolf Counsler]

Epic

[MarshmallowSundae]

It would really make sense for Fluttershy to have told someone what happened before now, alert the police, warn the Princesses, get some professionals down there to figure out what the plant is so they can deal with it. She's lost in her own little world right now.

I'm really hoping this is a FlutterSpike ship, because that's a great pairing that rarely ever shows itself.

[Firefly Crescent]

1562061

Well, I can't say, but it MIGHT be.

Just MIGHT be.

[Kenshi]

Come on! next chapter >.<!!!

PD: nice story :P