Anon's Ladder

>Wake up

>Morning routine

>Knock at the door

>open it

>there’s a letter laying on the doormat

>“Dear Anon, if you could meet me tomorrow morning for a hike into the ever free forest I would greatly appreciate it. Sincerely, Fluttershy”

>Against better judgment, meet her the next morning

What’s this all about

>“You’ll see, come along”

>a bad feeling stirs in your stomach

>climb up a mountain trail

>Reach the entrance to a cave

>“Here we are”

Umm, Fluttershy, who does this cave belong too?

>“Well you may not be aware of it, I’m almost certain your fetish is fear”

Oh fuck…

>loud footsteps

My fetish is definitely not fear!

>“uh-oh. We may have a problem”

>An ursoc major emerges from the cave and lets out a pants-shittingly loud roar

MOVE IT!!!

 

>make a break for it

>run faster than her

>she falls behind

>hear a terrible scream

>slowly look back

>Fluttershy has been impaled on the Ursoc’s claw

>the Ursoc sinks its other set of claws into her

>time seems to slow down for the moment to capture every horrific detail of the carnage

>she gets ripped in two

>petrified at the sight of it

>after the ursoc discards the two halves of fluttershy’s body, he/she/it goes for you

>start running again

>it smashes the ground inches from where your feet are

>fly off the edge of the cliff

>scream while falling to the earth bellow

>land with your back on a jagged rock

>writhe in pain

>stare up the cliff

>vision starts to black out

 

>wake up in a hospital bed gasping for air

>Twilight is at the side of the bed

>“Anon, your finally awake!”

>look around the room, trying to relocate yourself

>“Are you alright?”

How did I get here?!

>“Dash heard your scream. She found you in the Forest and managed to fly you all the way here”

>feel at your back

>surprisingly painless

Where is she now?

>“she left. she does have other things to do. I did my studies here while waiting for you to wake up

>pause for a moment, trying to make sense of everything

Wake up? What happened?

>“the doctors said you were in a coma”

A coma? How long was I out for?

>“9 weeks”

>drag your palms down your cheeks

Jesus! Can I go home?

>“The nurse said you can leave whenever you wake up, I’ll walk you out”

>head out

 

So why wasn’t Fluttershy of all ponies the one to keep an eye on me while I was asleep?

>Twilight stops in her tracks

>she turns to you

>“Take a seat anon”

>Sit down on one of the benches outside of the hospital

>“Anon…Fluttershy is dead”

Pff, sure she is

>“Anon! Dash found the mangled halves of her body lying on top of the cliff when she went to rescue you! We had to bury her in two pieces!

>voice goes sarcastic

well then if that’s the story she’s  going with, than I saw her “die” in front of me, she was killed by an Ursoc major

>Twilight gets agitated

>“I’m Serious! She’s dead!”

Oh please there’s nothing serious about this, its just another one of her ploys to try and find my fetish

>Twilight grabs your ear with her magic

>drags you all the way to the cemetery

Owww!! owww!! Owwww!!

 

>stop at a tombstone

>chiseled into it is “Here lies Fluttershy” along with some pony writing that’s not quite comprehensible

Yeah right. Any moment now she’s going to come popping out of the ground and ask if zombies are my fetish or if mourning is my fetish or something stupid like that.

>twilight glares at you silently

>wait a few seconds

>anticipate fluttershy to show up

>seconds turn into minutes

>twilight leaves

>continue staring at the stone

>minutes turn into hours

>anticipation turns into denial

>hours turn into a whole damn day

>twilight returns

>“Anon, that’s enough.”

Watch, any minute now she’ll show up!

>she raises her voice like never before

>“Anon! you need to accept that she’s gone”

>facial expression goes blank

>turn to twilight

Fluttershy is…gone?

>“I miss her too and I know you guys had a complicated relationship, but spending the rest of your life here wont bring her back”

She’s…dead?

>“Yes anon, She’s dead. Just accept it.”

>drop to your knees

No, it cant be. It cant be…

 

>Twilight hoists you up

>helps walk you home

>Enter the house alone

>dwell on everything that happened

>hard to believe it actually happened

>toss and turn in bed for hours with the burden on your mind

>finally fall asleep

>wake up

>morning routine

>for the first time in ages, Theres no knock at the door.

>there isn’t one all day long

>it feels strange; had been so used to Fluttershy’s antics it was practically routine

>finding it difficult to adjust

>spend all day deep contemplation of the events

>don’t leave the house

>keep reliving Falling off the cliff and Fluttershy dying in every dream

>wake up in a shiver every morning

>this pattern persists for a week and a half

 

>wake up one day

>mourning routine

>eating breakfast

>hear a knock on your door for the first time since you left the hospital

Fluttershy?!

>open it to find nothing but disappointment and Twilight Sparkle

>“Anon, why don’t you take a walk with me around ponyville. I think it would be good for you to leave the house”

>step out with Twilight

>shes talking the whole way but your mind is wandering elsewhere

>hear the flapping of wings overhead

Fluttershy!?

>Look up

>More disappointment

>its just some Pegasus pony clearing clouds

>the walk comes to an end at twilights house

>catch the first words from her since it started

>“I’ll be here, if you need anything. Goodbye”

>she shuts the door

>walk away

 

>body drifts in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage

>approach it

>stare at it for a moment

>hear singing coming from the backyard

Fluttershy!?

>Run to the back

>See an orange pony

>Its Scootaloo

>“Oh, hello there anon”

Oh, Hello. Why are you here?

>“When I heard about Fluttershy, I was so worried about all the animals that would go unattended to, I felt I couldn’t sit around and do Nothing. I started taking care of them and then I got my cutie mark. It looks a little like Fluttershy‘s”

Right, So it does.

>“…and I always thought it would be something with a scooter. Anywho, I’ll see you later. those birds aren’t going to feed themselves”

>Walk away with your disappointment

 

>Go home

>stare out the window

>Look at the mountain you climbed with Fluttershy before the coma

>think on it for a moment

She has to be in the Ursoc’s cave! It all makes sense now! Where else could she be?

>run through ponyville heading toward the mountain

>Twilight catches sight of you running

>teleports in front of you

>“Anon, where are you going in such a hurry?”

I’m going back to the Ursoc’s cave

>“What? Why?

Because Fluttershy is in there! I cant explain how I know she is in there or why she is but I know she is! Shes got to be in there!

>“Anon! I’m not going to let you get yourself killed”

Move out of the way!

>“No! You need to accept she’s gone! Its for your own good!”

>violently push Twilight out of the way In a fury

 

>Don’t even look back

>head into the forest

>Run intrepidly up the mountain path

>exhausted and your feet hurt but don’t care

>must persevere

>approach the entrance to the cave

>looks like the Ursoc departed  

>step into the cave

Fluttershy!?

>hear nothing

>call louder

Fluttershy!?

>Still nothing

>step deeper into the cave

Fluttershy!?

>its empty

>not only, empty but incredibly empty

>there doesn’t even seem to be rocks, or dust, or water, or even an echo in the cave

>there is absolutely nothing in there at all

>Reflect on the emptiness off the cave

>realize this is how the hopeful calls for Fluttershy will always be answered

>with nothing

>nothing but that feeling of emptiness

>that feeling of disappointment

>that feeling of your hope playing tricks on you

>that feeling of nevermore

>collapse to the ground from the weight of this revelation

>cry

 

>finish

>rise

>leave the cave

>exit the forest

>its nearly dark

>go to twilights’ house

>knock on the door

>she opens it, looking surprisingly calm

>look down

>sigh wearily

>she catches the implication

>responds in a understanding voice

>“I know what your going through, Anon. we all went through this when she died. Every last one of us. Pinkie, Rarity, Jack, Rainbow Dash. I’m sorry you’re a few months late to the punch

>leave

 

>head home

>pause at the front door

>rest a hand on it

>sigh heavily

>open the door

>there is an immaculately preserved Fluttershy inside

>and yet, you have been made too detached and apathetic from your revelation to be phased by her presence

>she speaks

>“did you miss me?”

…Yes

>“I missed you too”

>she smiles

>Actually feel a slight relief brought by her smile

I’m so happy to see you right now

>step in to hug her

>as your less than an inch away, feel a terrible pain in your back

>collapse to the ground screaming in agony

>the environment fades before your senses and rematerializes at the bottom of the cliff you fell to

>body is still lying on that jagged rock, writhing in pain

>you never left that spot the entire time

>eyes roll into your skull as your life fades

 

The end

Alternative ending coming up

 

 

Alternative ending

>“I know what your going through, Anon. we all went through this when she died. Every last one of us. Pinkie, Rarity, Jack, Rainbow dash. I’m sorry you’re a few months late to the punch. I‘ll walk you home”

>Walk with Twilight

>actually listen to her talk this time around

>“What do you think of the afterlife anon?”

not much

>“What do you think of the place called hell?”

I didn’t know that was relevant to pony lore

>“its not”

>look at her intrigued

What…do you know about hell?

>“Well, one philosopher said that the only part of you that burns in hell is the part of your life that your soul won’t let go of. If your scared and your holding on, You’ll see demons burning your life away. But if you’ve made peace and you’ve come to terms with all your regrets in life, then the demons are truly angels freeing your soul from the earth.

>Reach home just as she finishes her sentence

>open the door

>look at Twilight somewhat frightened

>step inside

Twilight, Why are you telling me this?

>“Are you at peace with your regret? Your only regret?”

…Yes, I am.

>“Good, may I come in?”

Yes, you may.  

 

>as she steps in through the threshold, the being of Twilight Sparkle fades away into Fluttershy

>so happy to see her

>don’t even bother asking if this was supposed to be some outlandish fetish

>“Did you miss me, anon?”

>smile

>Hug her

More than I ever could have imagined

>she hugs back

>“I came here to help you pass over, I’m sorry it was such a rough journey”

>don’t quite understand what she means, But still happy to see her

>“Come on, lets go”

>she takes your hand

>walk with her

>move to the door

>step through the door and into an blinding light

>The environment fades from your eyes once again

>body is still lying at the bottom of the cliff gazing skyward

>only this time, you’ve gone in peace

 

The end