A chance meeting brings Fluttershy and Trixie, two ponies of opposite natures, together.
"All anypony needs is a touch of kindness." ~Fluttershy "Kindness is a luxury not everypony can afford." ~Trixie Lulamoon
After the events of 'Magic Duel' Fluttershy can now once more visit Zecora and restock on medicinal herbs that she had run out of. But something comes up on the way there inside the forest. A mare she thought long gone, now in front of her helpless and wounded. Fluttershy not being able to stand the sight brings the pony back to her cottage and nurses her back to health, learning some very special things about the mare.
“Some of the biggest moments in our lives happen without planning and sometimes without our notice.”
"Just be still for a few more seconds." Fluttershy calmly whispered into the mockingbird's ear, while carefully wrapping a cloth around its damaged wing. "And there. Your wing is clean and bandaged up my little friend. Try not to fly for at least a few days. Can you do that for me?" The yellow mare received multiple elated chirps as a reply. "Oh you're welcome little guy." Fluttershy slowly made her way to one of the cabinets, humming a soft tune. With her hooves she parted the doors open and took out a bag of bird feed. The yellow mare poured the contents onto a small plate before neatly placing it back to its original place. She walked back with the plate resting on her wing to the hungry mockingbird, humming a different tune. "You must be hungry, have some food to keep your energy up." Gently she put the feed in front of the bird, immediately causing it to rush into its meal. "Now now, slow down. You don't want to choke on your food do you now." She gave it a motherly look, one containing both concern and happiness. The bird looked up at her with a smile and nuzzled the part of her mane that drooped down over her eye, chirping happily at the same time. "Oh thank you for the compliment mr. Dee."
Fluttershy flew back to her cabinets and checked through the drawers to see if she could find any more medicine. After treating her latest patient she realized how long it had been since she had last restocked. She had planned to go a few days ago but a certain mare had other plans with the entire town. I don't have much left, and I don't want any animal to deal with the pain. She looked out the window to make sure she had enough time. It was only a few hours after noon, the sun showing no signs of its upcoming slumber. I still have plenty of time. The yellow mare trotted to her closet and took out a standard small brown saddlebag, no fancy trinkets or gems, nothing special, just how she liked it. She wore the saddlebag quickly and tightly fastened it, but not enough to cause her any pain. "I'm going out for a little bit, try to be careful, especially you La Bestia. We don't want a repeat of last time." Fluttershy said, giving the bear a warning before she made her way outside. Once out she slowly closed her door, leaving it unlocked. It had become a bad habit of hers to do so unless she was leaving for a long time as opposed to her childhood where she would lock the door, double checking before leaving. Cloudsdale wasn't the worst place to live in regards of crime but there was still a fair share of it, especially around the neighbourhood where she lived. Ponyville was a much safer place in comparison and she knew that full well, so she developed the habit out of instinct and even if somepony did manage to get in, well there's always the bear.
She trotted slowly towards the forest path, taking a very objective look into the dangerous Everfree. I really hope there isn't anything on the path or around it. Fluttershy thought to herself, silently praying that her hopes would not be ripped to shreds. Once at the forest edge, the yellow mare hesitated. I could always go ask somepony to come with me and come back with them later. Fluttershy shook her head rapidly, disagreeing with herself. You've went to Zecora's and back many times with no problems, you are brave, nothing ever happens to the brave ponies and the animals need you to be strong. Imagine what would happen if you had no more medicine and someone got hurt. Fluttershy steeled herself until she looked once more at the forest and gulped. Trying to be as brave as she could, she took her first few steps into the forest. See nothing to be afraid of. Fluttershy released a large portion of the tension she put on her shoulders and walked calmer than before, her fears sedated for the time being.
Even with all her courage, Fluttershy would still glance at every bush, shrub or openings in the forest that led off the path, checking for any possible threats that could come her way. Just because she was being careful doesn't mean she's not brave. Okay, see Fluttershy nothing... The pegasus stopped and strained her ears, wanting to rehear what she had heard. She did not close her eyes, fearing that something would attack her and she would have no time to run. The sound was very, very faint but she was sure that beyond her own heartbeat, heavy but also weak breathing was what she heard. "Hello? Is anypony- the yellow mare tried to take slow steps, but something stronger and with a more defined shape than a vine, snagged her hoof, causing her to tumble onto the dirt ground. -Eeep!" She squeaked, taken completely by surprise by the mysterious obstacle. Immediately without hesitation, she jumped to her hooves, preparing herself. Her eyes darted in every direction, hoping that no creatures were alerted because of her misstep. Luckily she was still within a rather close distance to the border and most of the dangers the forest contained required you to go deeper inside. When the mare was absolutely sure nothing was going to pounce on her and inflict pain, she focused her vision back to the spot that she had tripped. Her eyes immersed themselves into the task, but nothing out of the ordinary was there. Just a bush Fluttershy. There must have been some sort of tree root underneath it. But the mare, despite her thoughts knew that she was deceiving herself. The unknown object hidden behind the bushes was much too weak and soft to be part of a tree. Fluttershy's curiosity caused her to take very precise steps towards the bush, patiently waiting at every step for any noise. The same breathing as before came from the bush. "Hello?" The yellow mare said, trying to interact with the mystery in front of her. She received no reply, just the very same noise she had heard since the beginning. Once again the yellow mare spoke, taking another few steps closer. She was now only a few centimetres away and decided to push the bushes away. "Hello? Is any- She stopped, her heart rate turning irregularly fast as she put a hoof to her mouth, slight tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
The scene that lay before her was one she would never have anticipated seeing. In front of her was the obstruction, no, pony that caused her to fall. Bare of her regular outfit, mud covered multiple places on her body. Her once pristine blue coat was now devoid of its cleanliness. Cuts and scratches littered a good portion of her body; a horrendously large laceration that seemed fresh, covered most of her right leg, missing the femoral artery by an inch. The blood had leaked out from the wound, staining her legs with a fair amount of blood, giving it a more reddish tone. The mare's mane and face had also taken a rough blow, her mane was caked with dried and wet mud and on her left cheek was a small sized cut, not bleeding as bad as the cut on her leg, but bleeding nonetheless. She was still alive, her body was moving up and down very slowly in a basic rhythm, indicating that she was breathing. But the question that came to the yellow mare was, for how long?
"Life can be short. It's best to make the most of it before it's too late."
"Get away from me!" The blue mare yelled, shooting magic bolts in one direction whilst running in the other, trying to escape her pursuers. One of her bolts hit one of the many timberwolves, only for two more to leap over and replace it. Will these things ever give up? Trixie thought to herself, unwilling to believe they could last much longer. Being creatures birthed by magic gave them irregular abilities. In this case, it gave them an overwhelming amount of ferocity that frightened their enemies into submission and stamina for long distance chasing of those who didn't.
Hoping for the best, Trixie swerved to the left and jumped between two trees, the gap barely large enough for her to fit through. To the mare's misfortune, most of the timberwolves were not so stupid as to follow the same route, instead choosing to go around and accelerate back to their original speed. Come on Trixie hurry up! It isn't- The blue mare could not finish her thoughts as one of the timberwolves decided enough was enough.
"AHH!" Trixie let out a blood curdling scream as she felt the hard wood tear through her skin. Going as far as exposing the muscle to the outside air. The mare could not run any farther and slipped in the mud before she could stop. She fell hard on her right side, the side without much injury. Trixie could think of nothing but the exposed flesh on her leg, and the copious amounts of pain that followed directly behind it after landing. Even the timberwolves, who caused her pain were fazed out of her thought process partially before the heavy sounds of their breathing could be heard. Trixie closed her eyes, giving up on life entirely but not wanting to see the sight of her predators finish her. It's over. This is how the Great and Powerful Trixie Dies...
It's been an hour, or has it? I can't really tell anymore, space and time have lost all meaning to me. All I can see is an empty void of darkness in all directions. I really wish those timberwolves had finished me off now that I think about it. All I can do now is wait for the inevitable, hopefully nobody finds my body once I'm dead. All they'll do is cheer. I'd rather stay lost than found if that's the reaction my death will cause. Maybe the universe has given me a chance before the angels take me away. A chance to make right and go to paradise, instead of the nether realm like many of the ponies have threatened. As much as I hated Mary, she might have been right about one thing.
"Trixie stop playing with your little toys and start practicing. You have a recital tomorrow and you must be the paragon to their eyes." Mary, her mother scolded the blue filly, wanting the filly to start acting the way she wanted.
"But I'm-
"No buts! When I come back from the meeting I expect you to play Empty’s void." Her mother spoke harshly, silencing any rebellious thoughts or ideas she might have had instantly.
"Okay..." Trixie said as her mother left the room, defeated by her sharp tone. There was nothing she could do against her mother. Her word was law in the house. Always has and always would be.
"Cheer up Trixie!" A feminine voice came from her bed a few seconds later, uplifting her spirits slightly. "I'll help you practice.” Her sister jumped off the bed, fluttering her tiny wings to try and slow her descent even if by just a little. The filly in question was a seven year old butter yellow pegasus with a short magenta coloured mane. Compared to most fillies and colts her age, Priscilla was rather tall, only under her older sister by a few centimeters.
"Thanks but I don't even want to be a stupid violin player. I want to do magic as a living, not wasting my time with this." Trixie complained, lazily making her way to her violin case.
"You know mom said she wouldn't let you. She said that if you became anything but a digni- digin di-
“Dignified character, I’ll turn up dead somewhere on the streets." Trixie corrected and finished her sentence. Their mother had always been one about threats, never about delivering physical punishment. She believed that attacking from the inside was a better tactic than outside. "I know but she doesn’t even know what I want to be. Being a violin player is a waste of my potential, Mrs. Finch even said so.”
“It's not so bad. Just try it a little longer, maybe you’ll start to like playing it.” Her little sister threw her an idea that she would never take up.
“I’m never going to like playing the stupid violin.”
Priscilla. I haven't found you yet have I? That was what I wanted to do before settling down. Meet you one last time. I guess I lied to you all those years ago. I never could do what I promised.
"Goodnight Priscilla, I'll see you tomorrow morning." She called out to her sister, walking out the door with a smile.
"Trixie?" Her little sister quickly called her out before she left. Slight fear flowed from her voice. It was rare that she would ever show real fear unless it was something bothering her quite profusely.
"What's wrong Priscilla?" She turned around and looked at her, showing signs of concern. The yellow filly was holding her blanket as if it were a shield, sitting instead of lying down.
"I think there's a monster underneath my bed can you look?" The bright yellow filly pointed underneath her bed, her hoof shaking slightly.
"Priscilla there-
"Please Trixie." Her sister interrupted her, giving her a pouty face that always worked wonders for her. “I’m sure I heard something but i’m too scared to look."
“Okay fine.” Trixie walked back from the door and towards her younger sister, a smile on her muzzle. Once at her bedside she bent her knees slightly and gave the underneath of her bed a thorough observation. "There's nothing here but a hairpin."
"Could you check the closet please?" The yellow filly spoke again with fear, but this time it wasn't as great as before she checked underneath the bed.
"Last one, I need to sleep too you know." Trixie replied, her smile wavering. The closet where the young filly had all her pristine clothes fit for proper occasions on the rack while all her toys neatly placed on the floor in their respective boxes. She slid the doors open and gave a just as thorough check as the underside of the bed to find nothing out of place. "See, nothing's here." Trixie closed the double doors tightly.
"Thanks. I'm sorry to bug you." Priscilla looked down, radiating a depressing aura. Trixie looked at her younger sister and saw that she felt bad for making her do this. Out of nowhere the blue filly conjured up an idea that put a smile on her face. She walked towards the door and closed it, leaving both fillies with privacy in the room. While walking back to her little sister she spoke.
"You don't have to say sorry; I don't mind it that much." Trixie sat beside the bed, facing the yellow filly. "You're scared and I get that but you don't need to be."
"But what if a monster shows up?" Priscilla questioned her, the fear that left returned just as strong. She knew her younger sister would ask that question or something very close to it and was prepared with an answer that would quell her fears.
"I'll protect you no matter what. It's my job as your big sister. Even if the monsters get you I'll go across Equestria if I have to and bring you back safe and sound.” Trixie declared, bringing her young sister the peace she needed to calm her nightmarish thoughts.
“Do you promise?” Priscilla asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear the words regardless. Even in the darkness Trixie could see her sister’s grin shining like its very own light source.
“I promise.” Trixie gave her word and motioned for her sister to move over to which Priscilla nodded happily and slowly moved farther to the right, leaving a plentiful amount of room for her big sister. The blue filly took the prompt and climbed underneath the blanket, filling up the space. “Let’s get some sleep now; we have to go early tomorrow morning.”
"Goodnight Trixie. I love you." Priscilla said, letting a small yawn leave her mouth, turning it into a smile as she closed her eyes.
"Love you too." The blue filly slowly closed the gap between them with an embrace and gave her little sister a small peck on her cheek. It wasn’t often that ever since Priscilla had asked to be tucked in, Trixie had done so every night, no matter her mood. It just felt like the right thing to do seeing as how their mother would not tuck them into bed herself, either she wasn't here or just plainly refused to do, saying it would be spoiling them. Trixie slowly closed her eyes, feeling the effects of exhaustion finally taking its toll on her. It was only a few more seconds before the sandmare would whisk her off to dreamland when she heard a faint noise. It's nothing.
I shouldn't have left that alone. She would have still been with me.
"It's okay Trixie. I don't blame you." A voice spoke from the darkness, a voice familiar to the blue mare.
No it can't be. In the darkness a sudden light appeared, slowing expanding replacing the darkness. In the center of the light, where it had initially expanded from, there was a slightly darker silhouette of a pony with wings. She wanted to call out to the outline but her words failed her, unable to say anything as the pony started to walk away. Don’t- She was interrupted as the flash of light exploded into a bright but harmless ray.
“PRISCILLA!” Trixie yelled, reaching upwards into the air, grabbing nothing but empty area. Around her was a scene she could not have expected. Instead of the dark and gloomy forest that spelled out death to any who decided to wander in, it was a more mellow and inviting sight. Soft wool covered her body in the form of a blanket, giving her warmth. Her head rested on a cotton pillow. She was lying on a bed that was not her own but she couldn’t care less at the moment. All she could think about at the moment was her own failure. Against her will, tears formed in the corners of her eyes and fell to the sides of her face. A painful frown invaded her muzzle at the same time. Negative emotions flourished inside her mind: sorrow, anger, pain, hate, but one dominated over them all. The ever so common grief.
"Giving kindness to an enemy is foolish but strategic if done correctly."
"TRIXIE!?" Fluttershy screamed in horror, rushing forwards at the injured blue mare. At the moment the yellow mare did not care about who it was in front of her. Only that it was somepony in need of help immediately.
Her heart rate was beating fast as she looked over the injuries once more. She placed her right ear slightly above Trixie's midsection, hoping to hear the speed of her heart's beats. For half a minute she listened. 23, no, 22. This isn't good. Fluttershy thought to herself, removing her head from contact with Trixie so she could get to work quickly.
The yellow mare furiously pushed away the shrubbery surrounding the body in an attempt to try and get rid of the obstacles that could prove to be problematic. Without hesitation Fluttershy maneuvered her body, trying to get underneath the mare in hopes of getting Trixie onto her back. The yellow mare pushed her head snug under Trixie, closing her eyes to make sure nothing would get into her eyes, and lifted upwards at a steady pace, not wanting to cause unnecessary strain on either herself or Trixie. Luckily she was very light; adding to fact adrenalin was rushing through Fluttershy’s veins made the action quite simple and efficient. During the process, Trixie had let out a few weak groans which to Fluttershy meant she may have rushed it slightly.
“Everything’s okay, you’ll be fine in a bit just hang on.” Fluttershy whispered calmly to the blue mare, wanting to quell any fears she might have had. Within a couple of seconds Trixie was now positioned on the yellow mare’s back with her front legs dangling on one side, and her back legs on the other.
Fluttershy took off into a collected trot towards her cottage and away from her original destination, trying not to go too slow but at the same time not too fast. Though, even if she wanted to go any faster, she would more than likely trip on the vines and roots that sprawled on the path at awkward and unpredictable angles. What made it worse was that every time Fluttershy had walked through, there would be more of them or they would move a few centimeters in a direction so there was no way to rush through by memorising patterns.
Breathing quickly, Fluttershy decreased her speed, maneuvering her way out of the forest with finesse. The light shone brighter and brighter the closer she had gotten to the normal part of Equestria and out of the corrupted forest until finally Fluttershy could feel the sun’s warmth landing on her face. At the moment however it wasn’t something she noticed consciously, her mind completely focused on the task on hoof.
Once she was outside of the wretched place, she decided to go a tad bit faster now that her house was in sight and the ground was on a much more even plane. She wasted no time when she got to her door, rushing through, scaring a large portion of the animals inside unintentionally from the booming of the door as it collided with the wall. A few of them grumbled loudly, trying to voice their complaints but stopped almost instantly when they saw the look on their caretaker, more importantly that she was carrying a body on her back. Most of them knew that when she was carrying something living on her back it meant one thing, that the animal, or this case pony, was injured.
“Angel please get my medical kit.” She asked quickly, while laying Trixie on the couch flat. He nodded in reply, hopping away to the cabinet where she stored most of her supplies. When she properly had Trixie on the couch she flew to the kitchen. Fluttershy ran some water until it had reached an appropriate temperature, placing her hoof underneath to check, it was. She took out a small towel from a nearby drawer and drenched it. Turning off the water, Fluttershy wrung it out before making her way back to start the process.
When she had come back, Fluttershy placed the damp towel on the wound, trying to keep a decent amount of pressure that would be just enough to stop the hemorrhaging. The towel started to absorb a small amount of blood every few seconds at a constant rate. Fluttershy continued to place pressure on the wound for what felt like ten minutes before gradually removing the force she placed on the cut. When she had fully released her hoof and pulled away the towel, she could see exactly how deep the cut actually was now that the bleeding had stopped and most of the blood that surrounded the cut had been soaked up. It isn’t as bad as I thought it was. No tendons were severed but it’s still very deep. She thought to herself, analyzing the cut in depth, thinking about the possible options. Stitches would be fine but I can’t close it up until it’s disinfected.
Suddenly a furry paw poked her from behind, bringing her outside of her thoughts and into the real world. When she turned around, Angel was behind her with a medical box three times his size on his right. “Oh, thank you Angel.” She threw him a quick smile before getting back to main problem at hand.
Fluttershy grabbed the kit and unlocked it, revealing the contents inside. Within the kit was the basic tools she needed to nurse wounds such as rubbing alcohol, rolls of gauze, bandages, spool of thread used for suturing, scissors, ointments and other various materials used to help her nurse wounds and other problems.
Nimbly she took out the rubbing alcohol to disinfect the wound, a spool of thread to close up the wound, scissors, a threading needle, a roll of gauze to keep it protected after the procedure, a small towel and a couple of bandages for the small cuts. Once she had everything she needed, Fluttershy closed the container and put it to the side, not wanting any unnecessary obstacles to make the procedure any more difficult than it needed to be.
The yellow mare saturated the towel with the alcohol, now ready to start. “I’m sorry Trixie but this might hurt.” Fluttershy whispered, trying to give words of warning that indefinitely were meant for the unconscious mare but only gave solace to herself. She applied the towel carefully on the cut, letting the chemical work its magic. Luckily she received very little movement in response, which was rather rare. After she was sure she would not need to use anymore of the alcohol, she started to unravel some of the thread, estimating how long it needed to be to make it proper. Not ever having stitches, Fluttershy could only imagine what kind of annoyance they could cause, especially if it wasn’t a perfect suture. 5 inches would be good. She thought to herself.
For the next step she unfolded her wings, bringing them close to her eyes. Fluttershy picked up the sterilized needle and thread, carefully positioning them in front of her line of sight. With precision and patience, Fluttershy had successfully put the thread through the needle’s eye. Now armed with the prepared tools she got to the difficult part. Its fine Fluttershy, you’ve done this a hundred times. Just think of the positives. Ignore the negatives. She reassured herself, taking the needle with the tips of her wings. Using her hooves were out of the question, so only Unicorns and specially trained pegasi, like herself, could do such a delicate task.
Moving slowly she pierced one side of the cut, moving diagonally across to the other side. The mare repeated this process four to five times before successfully closing up the hole. “Thank Celestia.” Fluttershy whispered to herself, glad that she had finished with no difficulty or troubles. Fluttershy removed her right wing from the needle and quickly snatched up the scissors. With a single snip, she separated the thread from the spool, with only about a millimeter of extra hanging loose from the suture.
Putting down the needle and the scissors, Fluttershy then took the roll of gauze with her hooves, rolling it around the laceration to make sure it would be able to heal properly with a lower chance of anything disturbing it. Checking off the main problem off her list, she focused more on the smaller cuts that ruined Trixie’s blue coat. Most of them were very insignificant that they wouldn’t need bandages but just to be safe Fluttershy applied the rubbing alcohol to make sure nothing would get into the blue mare’s system and possibly make her sick.
Last one and done. Fluttershy took a good look to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Taking out the bandages from their respective covers, she saw only three cuts that would need extra protection. Gently, the yellow mare placed the bandages over the respective cuts.
I can’t just leave her here. She thought to herself, thinking of where she could put the injured mare. Then it clicked. It probably won’t be for long. Carefully she positioned herself underneath Trixie, getting the blue mare onto her back. Once safe, she made her way upstairs at a very slow pace. When she arrived at her bed, Fluttershy moved the blanket out of the way before placing Trixie on the bed. Taking the blanket with her teeth, she covered up the mare completely, save for her head.
Fluttershy was about to leave when she noticed how warm Trixie was to the touch. Quickly she put her hoof over the mare’s forehead, trying to see whether or not her presumptions were true. She’s burning up, she must have gotten sick. She thought to herself, scratching her chin. “Rest up Trixie, I’ll be back in a while.”
