> Snake
>  by ComradeDash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Why?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thanks for all your help Twilight, it means a lot to me,” I say, my voice raspier than normal. “Seriously. You and the girls have done a lot for me these past few months, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” I’m nearly cut off by a horrible cough, and I manage to cover my muzzle with a hoof in time. Don’t want to pass this on. When I take my hoof away, though, I find flecks of blood on it. I quickly wipe it off on my chest and look back up. 

“It’s no trouble at all. It’s the least I could do after everything we’ve been through.” Twilight responds, trying to hide the shake in her voice. I wander over to the mirror in the room she’s let me use after I got too weak to fly up to my cloud house. I give myself a look over, and I don’t like what I see. I can barely recognize the mare in the mirror. Her colors are faded, her eyes are bloodshot and dark circles have formed around her eyes. I can count her ribs poking through her coat and her wings look like they haven’t been preened in ages. 

I’m a lot different than I was a year ago, that’s for sure. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be brought this low by a disease, I’d have laughed in your face. Probably spouted something about how nothing could beat me. These days I can barely manage the strength to walk through town. Most days I don’t bother trying.  

But today I’m going to make the ever-increasing trek to Fluttershy’s cottage on the edge of town. I know I haven’t got long, so I want to go see her one last time before Twilight straps me to the bed or something. If I told her my plan, she’d just tell me that I shouldn’t be out. ‘It’s snowing Dash. It won’t be good for your condition.’ Right, my “condition.” Like I’d forgotten or something. 

Twilight clears her throat before speaking, “I’ll be in the library if you need me Dash. It’s only a few doors down the hall.” Her eyes linger on me for a bit before she finally turns and leaves. I wait a little bit to hear the library door close before trying to make my escape. Thankfully I don’t run into her or Spike. I try to walk as quietly as I can down the halls, making my way through the castle to the front door. 

Easing it open, I slip outside and quietly close it back before heading down the road. My thoughts start to wander as I make my way through town. I think back to my friends and everything we’ve been through. They’ve been really helpful the past few months as things got worse. They try to stay positive, but I think they all know it’s hopeless. There’s no cure for what I’ve got, and I’m not gonna be around much longer. 

Twilight’s been working herself ragged trying to find a cure for whatever I’ve got. Fluttershy rarely leaves her cottage anymore. Rarity’s gone to visit her parents. I haven’t been to see Pinkie in a while, but Twilight says she’s doing better. She didn’t take it so well when we told her I’d gotten sick. I think she thought it was a prank or something. And I haven’t seen Applejack in quite a while, except for the few times she came to visit me at Twi’s. 

I stop somewhere along the snowy path and look back to Ponyville. Back to my home, to Twilight’s Castle. I’m gonna miss this place, and these ponies. I feel a scratching in my throat, and I start coughing again. I try to cover my muzzle, and accidentally fall over in the process. The cold of the snow does little to soothe the pain in my chest from the coughing. In fact, I think it made my situation worse. I try to calm myself down, try to stop coughing, but I can’t. It just keeps going until my vision starts getting all spotty and dark. Finally it stops, after what seems like ages. 

I struggle to my hooves, and wipe my muzzle off. A shiver runs through me, and I am reminded of how cold it is out here. Maybe I should’ve taken a scarf or something. I shake my head and start back down the path, but only make it a short way before a familiar voice calls out to me.

“Y’all sure you should be out in this weather? It’s mighty cold.” questions Applejack. She’s got an odd look on her face, like she’s been waiting for me. 

“ I’ll be fine AJ, it’s only a little ways to Fluttershy’s. Besides, it’s not even that cold.” I’m lying through my teeth, and AJ doesn’t need the Element of Honesty to tell, my shivering says plenty. 

“Oh, but Ah don’t think you will be alright at the rate you’re goin’ sugarcube. I saw your coughing fit,” She says. Her grin widens a little as she makes her way toward me. I take a step back on instinct. Something’s not right. 

“AJ? You’re acting k-k-kinda weird. Is something wr-wrong?” I stutter out, the cold seeping into me. She lets out a creepy laugh and shakes her head. 

“Naw, hun. Nothing's wrong. Not yet, anyhow,” She replies. As she closes in, she laughs before speaking, her words laced with venom. “Oh Dash. All them years. All them years, all that bluster and bravado, and now Ah finally got a chance to shut you up for good.” 

I shake my head and step back a little further. What’s going on? This can’t be happening, I mean come on, AJ’s one of my best friends. 

“What are you s-saying, AJ, ‘shut me up for good’? You aren’t gonna…” My voice trails off as she gets even closer.

“What Ah mean, Dash, is that Ah’m gonna wring your scrawny neck. Ain’t no honor in killing a dying mare, but Ah was gonna kill ya anyhow. This just makes it a whole lot easier,” She answers. She’s pulling my tail, right? This is just some weird prank. One last joke to get me back for all the times I’d messed with her. I let out a nervous laugh and go to answer when she lunges at me.

I grunt as we hit the path. I barely have time to register what just happened before she hits me across the face, hard. She’s definitely serious. She hits me a few more times, knocking out a tooth before I manage to get my back hooves under her barrel and push her off me. I get up as quickly as I can and barely manage to duck under another swing, and hit her in the side. I go to hit her again, but before I can swing, she kicks me to the ground, and I feel something break. I can’t help but cry out in pain. 

I’m dying, my head’s pounding, I’m freezing my tail off, I can barely breathe, and to top it all off, one of my best friends is trying to kill me. I must be dreaming. That’s it, right? This is just a nightmare and any moment now she’ll come rescue me. 

I don’t have much time to think before AJ’s on me again, this time hauling me up and pinning me against a dead tree. She puts her hooves to my neck and starts choking me. I try to pry her hooves away but she’s too strong. I resort to punching her in the gut until she recoils and I can get her off me and throw her to the side. 

I try to walk away but only make it a few steps before my legs give out. Why? Why is this happening? What did I do? Tears start to run down my cheeks as I start crawling towards Fluttershy’s cottage, confusion and pain wracking my body. I try again to stand, to flap my wings, anything that might get me out of this, but it fails and I collapse to the ground. Even if I hadn’t had the crap beaten out of me I doubt I’d have been able to fly very far, if at all. AJ seems to notice this and laughs at me, enjoying my misery. 

“Why are you doing this? I… I thought we were friends?” I manage to say as I turn to face her. She’s still laughing as she closes in.

“Still tryin’ to talk your way outta this Dash? You don’t get it do you? It’s over, you lost, my sick friend,” She says, almost spitting the word ‘friend’ at me. As she stands over me, she plants a hoof on my chest and forces me down, sending another wave of pain through me. 

“Please AJ, stop, you won,” I say through coughs, trying to somehow get her to stop, to no avail. She doesn’t answer me this time as she puts her hooves to my throat once more. She looks me dead in the eye and, with a wicked grin, forces her hooves down. I feel something break, and I go to grab my throat but AJ swats my hooves away and pins them down. I try to breathe but I can’t get air in. Panic sets in and the tears return as I try in vain to breathe. My vision darkens like before as what little strength I have left is wasted trying to get Applejack off of me. The last thing I see is a purple smudge approaching before darkness takes me.