“Applejack, I need a rope.” Fluttershy looked up at the apple tree which shook from the weight of the farm pony who'd climbed up in the branches to do some pruning.

“Oh, hey, Fluttershy. Did you get yer cutie mark back?”

Fluttershy frowned. She hung her head and clenched her teeth. Her eyes started to water. “No...”

“Sorry, Ah guess you'd say if ya had.” The tree started cracking and the upper branches rustled. “Crabapples! It's rotten inside!” Applejack yelled something else, but her warning was lost amidst horrendous crunching as a huge section of the tree broke free. Fluttershy should probably move.

A sickly crunch shook the ground and she frowned at the limb which had landed next to her. It missed me. The branch was splayed and twisted and the rotten core was exposed for all to see. Oh well.

“Fluttershy, are you okay!?” Her friend jumped down and ran over. Applejack let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Fluttershy safe and unharmed. She wouldn't look so relieved, tough, if she could see inside Fluttershy's rotten and hollow soul.

“I'm fine, Applejack,” Fluttershy lied. She didn't even feel bad about lying. She really was dead inside.

Applejack didn't question her; she turned her attention back to the damaged tree. At least a third of the tree's canopy was missing. She frowned. “Now this whole tree will have to come down. It's such a shame. It looked so healthy too.”

Fluttershy halfheartedly thumped the fallen log. Flecks of bark broke off where she kicked it. Should she explain how she was feeling? Applejack did deserve the truth, right? “Um, Applejack...”

“Just a sec, Ah got some rope under my hat.” She always had rope under her hat. Applejack tossed a coil that landed at Fluttershy's feet. “What do you need the rope for? If ya don't mind my asking?”

Fluttershy picked up the bundle and draped the coils around her neck. That's where they were going to go anyway. What could she say? How could she possibly tell Applejack what she really wanted to use it for?

When Fluttershy didn't offer an explanation, Applejack made one up for her. “Is one of yer big animals misbehaving?”

“Something like that.” Fluttershy pawed at the ground. She avoided making eye contact.

Applejack raised a hoof to walk away but paused. “Do you need any help with that?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I think I can handle this one myself.”

“Well, okay. If you'll excuse me, Ah've got to get Big Mac to help me pull down this tree or it will be a danger to everypony. Don't do anything stupid, okay?”

Applejack walked off before Fluttershy could respond. She had nothing to say, anyway.

Fluttershy touched the coils. The weight of the rope hung from her neck. Soon, that would be reversed. Well, it's time to do something stupid.

On the way back to her cottage, she stopped to gather a bouquet of fresh poppies. They'd look lovely on her coffin.

Inside her home, she stared blankly at the coil of rope on her table. I don't know how to tie a noose...

Should she go to the library and get a book on knots? Fluttershy frowned. It was hard enough getting the rope from Applejack. Twilight would stop her for sure. That was a bad thing, right?

Well, even if she didn't know how to make a proper noose, she could still tie a knot. Did it matter if the rope meant to strangle the life from herself was uncomfortable? She'd also have to restrain her wings, but she had plenty of rope for that too.

A ray of sunlight danced along the floor. Fluttershy felt a knot in her stomach. It's too sunny. This isn't something that should be seen by the light of day.

Fluttershy got up to gather her tools. Working with a paranoia borne from the fear that Celestia could see all that the sun touched, Fluttershy shuttered and boarded her windows. Any cracks left she covered with tape. By the time she was finished, it was as dark inside her house as the blackest of nights, lit only by a single candle. That didn't make her feel any better but at least the atmosphere was appropriate.

She drummed her hoof on the table and stared at the rope. It remained stationary and she remained, as of yet, unstrangled. I should leave a note.

Fluttershy frowned. If she kept procrastinating, she'd never get around to killing herself. No no, she didn't want to think of it that way. She was already dead. This would only make it official. She reached for the rope, but hesitated again. The suicide note's the most important part. I can't skip that.

She did have a stack of paper and ink nearby. Instead of looking for a quill, she simply plucked a pinion from her wings. The pain was nothing compared to what she was going to subject herself to later.

Dear friends,

Her friends... She was sure going to miss them when she was dead. Her eyes watered.

I'm sorry.

Tears rolled off her cheeks and stained the paper. She folded up her forelegs and buried her head in them to cry. Her friends meant so much to her. They'd be so sad and disappointed with her—especially Twilight. Twilight trusted her the most. Twilight was the one who always put faith in her even when the others would not. Twilight was the one who'd insisted on dragging her up the mountain to face her biggest, scaliest, fear—and she pulled through from them when they needed it the most.

Now, though? Fluttershy watched the rope as the candlelight flickered. Would it hurt? Of course it would, but then it'd be gone for good. Wait, no... The hurt wouldn't really end with her. She'd just be passing it on to her friends...

“No.” Fluttershy crumpled up her suicide note and pushed the coils of rope away. “This is wrong. I'm not going to do this.” If she'd expected sympathy, the universe had none to offer. She still felt empty and rotten inside. Words alone could not quell her pain, but they were all she had to keep going.

I'm useless. I've no talent... Fluttershy clenched her teeth. That wasn't true. She may have lost her primary purpose, but there were plenty of things she'd accomplished even without her talent. Just by showing kindness instead of fear, she'd stopped the pony mantids from attacking. At the time, she'd wanted a lot more from that encounter, but it was still a victory, albeit a small one. Mayor Mare had been about ready to kick Twilight out of her office by force, until Fluttershy stepped in with some common sense. Again, it wasn't much, but it was still a victory for her. And whether she was shooing off centipedes or bemoaning tea time with bears, it was still perfectly clear that even without her talent, she was still the best animal caretaker in Ponyville.

“So I'm not useless... but I don't have my heart in it anymore.” She had no answer for that.

Her cutie mark was gone. She'd seen the damage to her soul first-hoof. She now longer had a destiny. She had almost no reason to live. The only thing holding her back was her friends.

“If I could make a wish, I'd wish for a new cutie mark.” Be careful what you wish for...

Fluttershy blinked. The candle sputtered and almost left her in darkness. That was an odd piece of advice to remember—odd, and irrelevant. Fluttershy took a deep breath. The coil of rope was still there. It wouldn't take long to kill herself if she changed her mind.

“I—” Fluttershy's mouth hung open. Hadn't she just told herself that she didn't want to die?

She could always go outside and fly up. All she'd have to do is fold her wings. It'd only hurt once.

“I—” Why am I still thinking of ways to kill myself? What is wrong with me?

She remembered the anatomical drawings she'd studied in her medical career. To be a practicing veterinarian, she'd needed to take a qualifying exam. There was a knife in her kitchen long enough to reach her heart on the first try.

“I need help!” Fluttershy sat there quavering. The rope on her table looked more and more appealing.

“These are just thoughts. I don't have to act on them.” But I want to. That thought, perhaps, scared her the most. She needed something anything to take her mind off killing herself until her friends arrived. They would come for her, right? But could she last that long?

A small thumping noise caught her attention. Of course! Why didn't she think of it before? She could spend the time with Angel Bunny. He might not be a pony, but she loved him more than anything else in the whole world.

Angel Bunny...

After spending so long in depression, it was a breath of fresh air to feel the simple unconditional love she held for him.

Angel Bunny...

His name triggered a response for stronger than anything she'd felt before. Her emotions spilled over. Something was wrong. A rush of something poured into her. Her love twisted into a primal desire. It wasn't the good kind of desire, either. It was the longing, torment, and anticipation of an addiction that yearned to be filled.

Angel Bunny...

The emptiness in her soul ached for him. She wanted nothing more than to grab him, pull him close, and—

“What is happening to me!?” Fluttershy panicked and looked for a mirror. The candle in the room had gone out, and she hadn't didn't even noticed. Even in blackness, she could see. She found no mirror, but the glass pane over a picture of her friends provided a reflective surface. Her breath caught in her throat.

The whites of her eyes glowed green; purple haze rose from their corners. A bright red ring had formed around her iris, and it was expanding, constricting away her normal sea-blue. “Dark magic!” No, no, no! This can't be happening!

With heavy trepidation, she raised her wings and looked at her flank. Her hide was smooth, like glass, and she could see her own reflection on its surface. It rippled like water when she touched it. Her ears drooped and flattened against her skull even as her breath caught in her throat. “Zecora's vision!”

Now she remembered. She'd seen her hide look like that once before, briefly, after her first round of night-terrors.

Giddiness overtook her.

Angel Bunny...

Even as she struggled against herself, she couldn't help but feel excited. The darkness urged her forward; it was winning.

No, no, no! She couldn't control herself and lurched forward. How could this have happened? She knew...

All along, from the very beginning, from the moment that Linky had touched her with her dirty hooves, Fluttershy had been infected with dark magic. There'd been some signs: strange dreams, unexpectedly strong magic, odd eye coloration, but they'd all been ignored. It was too late to do anything now; she was too weak to fight against it. Why was she fighting it? It felt great.

The thumping ceased. Angel Bunny stood in the doorway. His ears drooped low and his mouth opened wide.

Fluttershy felt a surge of pure hunger. She haltingly took another step forward, but her hesitation was evaporating. With the last ounce of her sanity, it was all she could do to utter a warning, “A-Angel, Bunny... run.”

He darted out of the room as fast as his little legs could take him. Adrenaline shot through her. The chase was on.

It sounded like a beast crashed through her kitchen. Dirty pots and pans clattered to the floor. A prized tea set tipped and shattered. Cabinet doors banged against their frames as a yellow monster dug through them. The beast was her.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Flutterbeast giggled as she pretended to be flummoxed by Angel's actions. The pet door swung on its hinges. She knew.

With a primal growl, Flutterbeast pushed open her back door. “Ah!” She winced and recoiled at the bright sun. She preferred the darkness, but she'd follow wherever Angel led her. He belonged to her, and she was going to make him hers forever.

“You can run, but you can't hide!”

Outside, by definition, was expansive. Her chicken coops were on stilts. The lattice work around their bases was in need of repair and a few broken holes would permit a rabbit to hide there. Angel did not like the smell of chickens. A maple tree had a hollow by its base. That hollow belonged to skunks. There was, of course, the Everfree, but Angel would not venture there.

Flutterbeast walked past the chicken coops and trampled through the field of poppies. The red flowers matched her eyes. Beyond the poppies, lay a patch of thorns. She cared not for how they scratched her. Her hooves parted the brush revealing the terrified rabbit trying to hide there. “Boo.”

Angel jumped away from her and raced into the open field. He might not be able to outrun her in a straight race, but his small mass was easy to turn and he could zig-zag to stymie ground pursuit. Too bad for him, she could fly.

“Whoops. Looks like you can't run, either.”

Flutterbeast dove down like a hawk and neatly plucked him from the ground. The wind from her passage whipped the seeds from a dandelion.

“Gotcha!”

In truth, he never stood a chance. They'd lived together so long that she knew everything about him. His hiding spots, his tendency to jump left, his love of thorns were all known to her. She held him before her red, glowing eyes and smiled with a huge wicked grin. His struggles only further fueled her burning passion. Flutterbeast was giddy with anticipation. He was the perfect size to fill the emptiness in her soul, but for a single moment, she hesitated.

Fluttershy knew everything about Angel Bunny. The way his whiskers twitched when he was happy, the sound his feet made as they thumped the floor when she rubbed his tummy, the softness of his fur coat pressed against her cheek when she was upset and he wanted to comfort her were all things that were known to her. If she continued, they were going to become mere memories.

Fluttershy could no more stop herself any more than Angel Bunny could escape from her grip. Her eyes might be glowing with the power of dark magic, but amidst her bright red irises small rings of sea blue still surrounded her pupils. Even as she drew him ever closer, even as her maniacal grin spread, and her body felt ready to climax from the intense euphoria of her actions, she cried.

“A-Angel Bunny?” Her voice was weak and held no malice. There was no gloating. She was frightened and scared. This was the Fluttershy that Angel had known all of his life. Some small part of her held on, and in that last moment before everything went dark, she connected with him for one final request: “C-can you smile for me? One last time?”

Twilight ran wild through Sweet Apple Acres. “Fluttershy, Applejack! Where are you!?”

“Ah'm here, Twilight.” Applejack looked up and passed off the rope she was holding to Big Mac, who tried to dig his hooves in the ground but he was slowly dragged away by the tension in the lines.

“Where's Fluttershy!?” Twilight teleported right in front of Applejack's face.

“She's back at her place, feeding the animals.”

“What!? But I was just there. The whole place was boarded up!”

“Huh?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“And why aren't you with her, feeding the animals!? That was your job.”

“Because... she asked me to leave?”

Twilight grabbed Applejack by her shoulders and shook her. “Applejack! You can't just leave ponies alone when they ask for it!”

Applejack retaliated by grabbing Twilight and holding her at hoofs-length. “Twilight. Snap out of it! Did ya even hear what you just said?”

Twilight crumpled in her hooves. She looked about ready to cry. Applejack set her down. “What is this about?”

“I got a response from Cadance this morning. Listen to this... Uh, let me skip to the relevant part.” Twilight unrolled a scroll with her magic. “ ‘...while it's good to hear that Fluttershy's in good health, that's not what I meant when I said that her time was running out. I'm sorry, that was written in haste and I could have worded it better. What I meant was that it was only a matter of time before she realized that without a destiny, she no longer had any reason to live.’ ”

Applejack bolted.

Twilight left her letter in the dust and galloped hard to catch up to the strong farm pony. “Applejack?”

“Twilight, it's already too late. She said the exact same thing to me this morning.”

“And you left her alone!?”

The sound of their hooves thundered through the streets.

“It's worse than that. She came back later, asking for rope.”

“And you gave it to her!?”

Applejack had no answer for that. She could only run.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie stood scratching their manes outside Fluttershy's boarded-up cottage. They were all wearing party hats and carrying gifts. The thunderous sound of galloping and the associated dust cloud drew their attention.

Twilight was the first to arrive. She appeared in a flash of magenta light and threw her whole body weight into kicking Fluttershy's door. It held. The resounding 'thud' was loud enough to make everypony flinch and Twilight bounced off, screaming in pain.

“Ow! Ow, ow, ow!” Twilight rolled over and sucked on her throbbing hooves.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in the air. “That was a wicked kick there, Twilight, but, uh, we already knocked.”

“Ow. Rainbow, I was trying to kick down the door. Ow, ow. Even Spike broke down that door. Ow. Why couldn't I break down that door?”

“Uh, Twilight, darling?” Rarity looked at the door and back at Twilight. “That's just it. Fluttershy was having such a hard time keeping her door intact that Bolt Down really fixed it up well this time. Nopony's going to knock it off its hinges again anytime soon.”

Pinkie Pie stuck her face if front of Twilight's. “Hey, since you're here, do you want to sign my get well card?” Pinkie held up a large greeting card. The inscription read, ‘Hang in there.’

“No!”

Pinkie's ears drooped.

Galloping came to an end as Applejack stood before Fluttershy's door. Sweat glistened on her hide. “My turn.” Breathing heavily, Applejack turned around to line up her attack. She threw her weight on her forelegs and pushed back at the same time she kicked. There was a horrendous 'crunch' and the entire door frame broke free from the wall and landed in Fluttershy's living room. Everypony was shocked at its darkness.

Rarity cast some light from her horn into the room but there was no sign of Fluttershy, or anypony else. “Fluttershy, darling, are you okay?”

“There's the rope!” Applejack ran in and pointed at the coil still sitting on the table.

“What's this?” Rainbow Dash flew in and picked up a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded it. “It says, ‘Sorry.’ ” The others piled inside next to her. “I don't get it. Why is it wet, and what does she have to be sorry about?”

“D-don't look at that!” All eyes turned to the yellow pegasus standing just outside the gaping hole in the wall.

“Fluttershy! You're okay! Thank goodness, I was so worried about you.” Twilight ran out to hug Fluttershy, but the pegasus kept her distance, strangely avoiding Twilight's touch.

Fluttershy's sea blue eyes stared ahead, unfocused. Wet streaks trailed down her cheeks. Her mouth hung open slightly, but she closed it into a wan smile. “I'm better than okay, I have a new cutie mark!” She turned to her side and lifted a wing for them to see.

Rainbow Dash flew over and stuck her face close to it. “Oh wow, it looks just like Angel Bunny.”

“Oh, but it is Angel Bunny.” She held that pose for a while longer, while the others oohed and aahed.

Suddenly, Fruttershy wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash and buried her face in her friend's multicolored mane. Rainbow was shocked, but returned Fluttershy's embrace.

“I-I—” Fluttershy wept softly, tears streaming down her cheeks again “—I think I killed him.”

He would always be with her forever. He was part of her now, but at the same time, he was gone. She'd never to be able to hold him or love him ever again. She'd also never be able to forget that look on his face in his final moments. It was plastered on her hide, for the whole world to see.