Title: Choose Your Friends Author: noodle- Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/uENG2Vmj First Edit: Tuesday 26th of February 2013 05:47:49 PM CDT Last Edit: Tuesday 26th of February 2013 05:47:49 PM CDT >You awake. >A new day as Anonymous, number-crunching tax man extraordinaire. >Tax season is far gone though; you’ve substituted making apple alcohol with AJ in your down time. >You’ve started to grow a few plants on your own to pass the time. >All of them opium poppies. >You’ve collected, in secret, around 30 specimens. All purely for research though. >This is a unique opportunity to study opium alkaloids without having to worry about legalities. >That’s what you keep telling yourself. You know you’re doing something wrong. >About as wrong as a pony trying to rape a human. >You haven’t seen Fluttershy since you helped plant her flowers a month or so ago. >You tried knocking on the door the next day, but no one answered. >Nevertheless, you acquired the poppies from Zecora at the small price of 50 bits. >Sure, you had to lie and say you were going to synthesize medicine from them to help ponys all over Equestria…but… >Wait…was that a lie? >Not exactly. You have found that the morphine content in these poppies is almost 65%; nearly triple of what they are on Earth. >Without ammonium hydroxide however, extracting the small amount of morphine will be difficult. >You look over your charts again. Is this even worth it? >The hours of experimenting, the countless tests…for nothing. >You have run out of money. You put everything you had left into this medical venture. >You decide to get away from the science and go for a walk to clear your head. >Your skin is tight and greasy…it’s been a while since you’ve slept, let alone showered. >Who cares. You make your way to Fluttershy’s. She may be quiet and want to rape you, but she’s really the only friend you have. >You knock on her door. >No answer…again. Fluttershy! Open up! >Time to pull out the big guns. I…I want to see you… >You gulp hard. >There’s only silence. >You start to walk away as you hear the door creak open behind you. >”An-nonymous..? Is…that you?” >You look over your shoulder into the darkened doorway to see an emaciated, dingy yellow mare with the same voice as Fluttershy. >She falls to the ground, hitting it with a thud. >You rush over to her. Fluttershy? Can you hear me? What happened to you? >Her mane is filthy with dried vomit and her coat is stained with grime. >You stare at her closed, sunken-in eyes. Fluttershy! Wake up! >You pry open her eyelids. Her pupils are behind her head. >You carry her to the couch. Her house is a terrible mess…trash and animal feces everywhere. >You place her down on the cushions. She’s as limp as a corpse. >She looks like one too. Fluttershy! Wake up! >You slap her cheeks, but no response. >You’re starting to panic. You come to see your friend and it looks like a vampire has sucked the life out of her. >You start shaking her, the tears in your eyes forming. >Fl-flutters…wake up! Answer…me… >Full on crying. >You hang your head in your hands. >Moments later, Fluttershy responds. >Her body does, rather. >Like several jolts of electricity coursing through her veins, Fluttershy begins to convulse and jerk. >It’s not voluntary, her eyes are still closed. >She lays next to you. She’s started to make a gagging sound. >You are scared; you don’t know what’s going on but it frightens you to no end. >In a few moments, Fluttershy gags more. Her convulsions are so violent she flops onto the floor. >You rush to her side and hold her, just as her mouth opens and a mass of clumpy vomit exits it. >Surely if you weren’t there, she’d be dead right now. >An hour later and Fluttershy still hasn’t regained consciousness. She’s at least alive though. >You look around her house. She has poppy everywhere. >Stems and pods have been used to make poppy tea, and dried opium in a makeshift pipe. >You realize she’s been abusing the plant severely. This is all my fault… >Fluttershy is laying on her side on the floor. >You decide to clean her up a bit. >It’s the least you can do. >You drag her to her bathroom and run her a hot bath. >You gather up some soap and a loofah. >With all of your strength, you set Fluttershy into the bubbly water. >You get your long sleeves wet and remove your outer shirt. Fluttershy…I don’t even know what to say to you. >You take handfuls of water and run it down her mane. I’m…so sorry. You wouldn’t be like this if I had told you about the flowers. >You want to be in her position. You deserve it more than she does. >So much for starting out your new life the right way. >You shampoo her mane and scrub her coat. >She’s breathing better now, still unresponsive though. >Fluttershy must have been binging on opiates ever since you last saw her. She could have gotten more flowers from Zecora, or more likely, the Everfree Forest. >The guilt is almost too much for you. You have ruined this mares life. >And for what? Certainly not the good of science. >You look at the lifeless pony in the water. >You’d do anything to have her back. Fluttershy… >You’re talking to yourself, but it helps the pain. You’d like to think she can hear you. I’m sorry. >You move in and kiss her warm lips and rest your forehead on hers. I never wanted this… >You decide to let her soak a little more and you walk out of the room. >You hear some stirring in the water. >”…Anonymous…?”