The day was over by the time Fluttershy reached her cottage. All ponies had retired to their homes, and only the creatures of the night were still up and about.

In the way of things Fluttershy might have expected a few animals and ponies to still be active at this time of day – Rainbow Dash for instance had an abundance of energy from her frequent napping and enjoyed flying around Ponyville in the cool evenings.

But today even Rainbow Dash’s situationally limitless energy had run dry. Ponyville had just survived a major event. Earlier that day an individual known as Tirek had destroyed part of Ponyville, threatened the fate of all Equestria, and had only been thwarted by the power of the Elements of Harmony.

On top of that, the newest Princess Twilight Sparkle had lost her library tree home in the center of Ponyville but received in its place a gigantic palace.

Made of crystal.

Aside from the various ponies who had nearly suffered a stroke upon seeing such architectural tragedy (a crystal palace surrounded by wooden and brick structures? The horror!), the rest of Ponyville considered the day to be on the whole a good one.

After all, Tirek had been defeated and his evil would not threaten Equestria again. This certainty came from the knowledge in the mind of Ponyville’s citizens that Tirek had been stripped of his powers, that he had been banished to Tartarus where no one (almost ever) escaped, and not least, because of the Elements of Harmony. They were certain Tirek was no threat because of these facts.

Fluttershy was sure Tirek was no threat because she had left his mutilated remains at the bottom of Tartarus not an hour ago. That was, if Cerberus hadn’t licked up the bloodstains by now.

Tirek is dead. Tirek is no more. Tirek it turned out, suffered a terrible accident with Cerberus and was no threat to anyone, even potentially.

Just as Fluttershy had intended it.

In the waning light Fluttershy flew back to her cottage. Her wingbeats were strong and sure in the still air. She had made good time back from Tartarus – her top speed in the air wasn’t nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash’s, but Fluttershy was capable of moving faster than anypony truly knew.

She was tired and her throat hurt. Fluttershy had talked a lot today – more so than she had ever, really. Unusually, Tirek’s death had been preceded by a lengthy storytelling session. Fluttershy had recounted to him a certain tale.

Honestly, given the length of it Fluttershy was surprised she had managed to tell it in only a few hours’ time. She also wondered why she had told it, and to Tirek of all beings.

He hadn’t been what she had expected. Fluttershy had been taken aback at the depth of the centaur’s mind, his limitless hate and quick intellect. Perhaps she had been hoping he could have been spared like Discord.

Impossible, but Fluttershy had needed to tell the story. Maybe she was guilty about what she had done, the path she had travelled. Maybe she felt Tirek deserved the truth before he died.

Maybe she just wanted to confess to someone.

In truth, Fluttershy’s emotions were in a whirl. She was at once satisfied with Tirek’s death and yet at the same time worried and angry. The cause of her anger was plain and simple and had everything to do with Tirek again, but also the Elements of Harmony.

Earlier that day, Tirek had been defeated by the Elements of Harmony. All well and good. The six ponies exemplifying a certain trait of friendship had awakened the power of the Tree of Harmony deep within the Everfree Forest. Using a magical box and six keys, they had transformed into beings that had easily defeated Tirek and restored a broken Equestria.

Their sheer power and magical presence had not only managed to revitalize the entire magical potential of every pony in Equestria, but it had also created from nothing a castle made of crystal and restored all broken buildings and the damaged landscape from Tirek’s rampage.

Even by the standards of impressive magic, that had been impressive. And Fluttershy had no problem with magic that seemed only capable of doing good. She wouldn’t even have had quarrel with the fact that she had become the embodiment of Kindness itself.

If of course, that had actually happened to her.

Fluttershy had heard of the way the Elements of Harmony had defeated Tirek, which was very odd considering that she was the Element of Kindness. But no, she hadn’t been there to defeat Tirek – just kill him later.

She, Fluttershy, had missed being there to support Twilight and defeat Tirek, but Fluttershy had been there at that time.

A Fluttershy, that is.

Fluttershy, the real Fluttershy, landed in front of her cottage. At this time of early night the lights were on inside, emitting a warm yellow glow and revealing two shapes standing and waiting for her.

Longfoot, a white rabbit stood at the open door to Fluttershy’s cottage. He was Fluttershy’s right-hoof, and her second-in-command whom she trusted nearly as much as she had trusted Angel. But behind him…

A shape moved in the cottage behind Longfoot. A pink mane and yellow wings of a pegasus ducked out of sight.

Fluttershy’s expression went cold. Longfoot hesitated and glanced back at the cottage.

“It’s alright,” Fluttershy said calmly to Longfoot. She took a deep breath. “There is much to do. Have…it stay in the cottage until I have time to figure out what happened. I will be along in an hour or two and until then it will not leave, is that clear?”

Longfoot nodded and Fluttershy took a deep breath. Relax. This wasn’t the time for anger. There were more important things to do.

“Thank you Long Foot,” Fluttershy said as she trotted inside her home. “Have any of my friends come to call?”

Long Foot shook his head, and gestured to the other animals crowding Fluttershy’s house. Birds and rodents and other mammals and one bear greeted Fluttershy, and just for an instant, she remembered a similar scene, in a happier time.

“Well, thank you.” Fluttershy said again. “I appreciate your help. I don’t anticipate any more outings for the next few weeks, so we’ll take it easy. Get some sleep now, okay?”

Long Foot bowed and hopped back into the cottage to his cot on the floor. His fur was a beautiful white. That was one of the factors that had made Fluttershy choose him over other rabbits. He still had problems hitting Fluttershy when other ponies were around, but he had Angel’s expression and foot tapping down. Long Foot wasn’t nearly as aggressive as Angel, but he was a good actor and more importantly, he was reliable and serious. He just lacked the fire.

Fluttershy stepped around her cottage, greeting animals and tucking them in or seeing them off. They had gathered here, waiting for her return as she honored their concern with courtesy and respect. She waved goodbye as Matilda the bear walked back into the Everfree. It had taken some effort finding a bear that looked like Harry and was willing to stay in close proximity to Ponyville, but Matilda was one of his distant cousins and had understood the need.

The entire time Fluttershy deliberately ignored the furtive movements coming from the kitchen. Some of the other animals glanced over at the pink mane peeking over the counter, but Fluttershy ignored it.

When all of her animals were asleep of had gone back to their homes in the Everfree, Fluttershy opened her door again and stepped outside. The season had changed from summer to autumn in the last few weeks, and it was a cool breeze that ruffled her mane as Fluttershy carefully shut her door. Soon, the landscape would be full of falling leaves, and the vivid red and orange of the world preparing itself for winter, but not yet.

The garden behind Fluttershy’s house was not large, but still bigger than what most ponies cared to manage. Neat rows of carrots and heads of lettuce and cabbage poked out of the earth, but Fluttershy passed those by. They were growing quite well now, and Fluttershy wondered whether it was due to Chrysalis’s presence.

She reached the back of her garden, where it nestled right up against her cottage. No vegetables had been planted there. Flowers instead grew in a rough circle, not just the typical dandelions, tulips and other flowers native Ponyville but far more. Beautiful yellow marigolds and chrysanthemums of lovely shades of purple and vivid oranges grew here. Bluebells sat next to orchids and magnolias still in full bloom.

Fluttershy touched the flowers gently, and watched as the night’s breeze made them sway. They would be fading soon, as fall and winter took all the life from the earth. Soon, there would be nothing but barren ground here. She would deal with that time when it came. For now, it was enough.

Fluttershy lay down in the soft earth, and breathed out. She had no blanket, but the air wasn’t cold. She felt the rich soil beneath her, heard the sigh of the wind, and closed her eyes. She buried her face in the ground and felt as though something, someone was right next to her, pressing his furry face against hers.

She whispered into the earth.

“Angel? I’m home.”

The ground was silent and cold. And then it shifted.

Fluttershy’s heart stopped still. The loose soil moved as if alive, and something was alive beneath it. Two furry white ears popped out of the ground like deformed carrots, and then a wiggling nose appeared. A paw. A head.

Angel rose from the earth, shaking loose dirt from his white fur that shone in the moonlight. His eyes blinked once, twice. He shook some dirt out of his ears and looked at Fluttershy.

Angel smiled.

Fluttershy didn't move. For one, two, and then five seconds her entire being shut down, her mind refused to react.

And then Fluttershy lunged. Angel barely had time to squeak before she was on top of him, sweeping up the rabbit and hugging him with all of her might. Her tears were falling freely, and she ignored Angel’s squeaks of protest as she just held him for a moment and cried for the joy of it.

Her Angel was back.

----

Chaos.

Fluttershy sat in her cottage, surrounded by chaos. All around her birds and animals were running about, embracing, chattering to each other in their different voices. So many!

Every creature that had ever died in what was known as the Battle for the Everfree had come back to life. They had arisen from the ground, dark shapes covered in dirt which shook themselves off as they returned to the living. Hundreds of rodents, flocks of birds, a score of beavers, a toucan, and a bear had congregated in and about Fluttershy’s cottage, stunned and at the same time rejoicing at what had occurred.

And in the center of the confusion was a pony. She had a pink mane, soft yellow fur – marked by odd growths of hair from burns long healed – and a rabbit. The pony held the rabbit softly in her hooves and stroked his hair.

Angel was back. Her dearest friend was back. Fluttershy’s heart was full of joy, but there were many layers of emotion riding along with that joy. Confusion. Guilt. More confusion.

Wonder.

“And you’re sure everyone’s back?” Fluttershy addressed Longfoot as he fought his way through the milling animals to report. “Every animal?”

Longfoot nodded.

“That’s over two thousand animals, isn’t it?” Fluttershy said softly.

Longfoot nodded again. His normally silky fur was mussed and matted, and the rabbit kept scrubbing his paws over his head. He was frazzled, but that was okay. Fluttershy felt as though Celestia had dropped the sun on her.

Angel stirred in Fluttershy’s hooves. She looked down quickly to make sure he was still there, and gave Angel a big smile.

“It’s been an interesting night, hasn’t it Angel?”

The rabbit snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Okay, it’s been a very interesting night.” Fluttershy smiled. “But it seems like everyone’s come back. The power of the Elements of Harmony must have…resurrected you.”

Angel blinked up at Fluttershy and cocked his head.

“You see, we were fighting a villain named Tirek and then we managed to unleash the full power of the Elements of Harmony,” Fluttershy explained. “Not only did the magic defeat Tirek, but it restored Equestria’s magic, the landscape, and…you all.”

Angel blinked up at Fluttershy and the other animals were silent as they tried to process this fact.

“I know it sounds unbelievable, but so much has happened.” Fluttershy slowly turned to face the cottage, packed with familiar faces old and new. So many memories.

Fluttershy blinked.

The room was full of blood. The cluster of beavers sitting around her dining room table were suddenly wrent, tails severed, organs exposed. A mouse looked up at Fluttershy with a missing eye and broken body. The birds were suddenly burning, skin blackened and scorched.

Fluttershy blinked again, and the scene was gone. Her fur felt clammy with sweat. Angel looked up at her with concern.

“What? Oh,” Fluttershy fumbled for something to say. She glanced over at Longfoot. “Make sure nopony comes near the cottage,” she said. “I don’t want to pull anyone away, but we still have to keep watch for any threats.”

Longfoot nodded, saluted, and hopped out of the cottage. Angel kicked Fluttershy until she looked down and gestured wildly in confusion.

“Since you were…gone, I tried to make everypony believe nothing had ever happened,” Fluttershy said. “But I also had to protect everypony. Even through Chrysalis was gone, there were still other monsters. There was an evil unicorn king named Sombra, Discord was released from his stone prison, and a centaur named Tirek nearly stole all the magic in Equestria. Oh, and Twilight became an Alicorn princess as well—”

Fluttershy broke off as Angel goggled at her. “I’m sorry Angel. I know it’s a lot to take in.” She laughed. “It must be so strange, but you’re back! Oh, there’s so much I want to tell you.”

Fluttershy held Angel up and kissed him softly on his forehead. He wriggled and grimaced, but let her do it.

“I’m just so happy you’re okay,” she told him.

And then something crashed in the kitchen. Every head in the cottage turned as the creature that had been hiding moved and knocked a pan off the stovetop.

Angel’s head turned as well and Fluttershy saw him grope for a knife he didn’t carry. But his paw, his body, and even his breath froze as he saw the pink-maned pegasus duck back out of sight in the kitchen.

Fluttershy’s teeth ground together, but she didn’t say anything. In her lap Angel stared for a moment, and then put the pieces together. His fur bristled, and suddenly he and the other animals who had been recently returned from the dead all went for weapons they didn’t have.

In an instant the cottage was full of bloodlust, and the pegasus, or rather, thing pretending to be a pegasus hiding in the kitchen trembled so hard the stove rattled.

“Enough,” Fluttershy ordered before any animals could leap up. “Leave it be.”

Angel looked up at Fluttershy in shock.

“A lot of things have happened,” she told him. “That’s—that thing is, well, it’s exactly what you think it is, but not a threat. ”

Angel’s eyes narrowed and his foot began to tap dangerously on the floor. Fluttershy tried to explain faster.

“You see, after the battle—wait, no, I should explain before that—I needed them in order to fool everypony after Chrysalis and…”

Fluttershy stopped as her thoughts began to catch up with her tongue. Something had escaped her normally sharp mind. In the rush and joy of meeting Angel, hadn’t she forgotten something?

A…sensation at the back of her mind. A dark thought. An ominous feeling.

For the second time that night, Fluttershy’s heart stopped as a thought broke through her elation and made her entire mind halt.

Fluttershy turned to Longfoot, who had returned and was standing by the cottage door. “Longfoot? When you checked the graves, did you happen to check the other grave as well?”

Longfoot shook his head.

Fluttershy was on her hooves at once. The noise in the cottage cut off instantly as every animal turned to her, suddenly wary. The animals partying outside were slower to quiet down, but they too caught the feeling in the air. Silence reigned.

“I’m sorry to trouble you all,” Fluttershy said at the suddenly-worried faces of her friends. “But there’s something I absolutely must check. Harry, would you and Matilda mind coming with me?”

The two bears sitting in the corner of the cottage nodded and lumbered to their feet.

“Longfoot, get me a squad formed up now, and call all of our special units back. I want them right outside the cottage under guard, but if you can’t find them, don’t search. Under no circumstances are any animals to venture out into the forest, is that clear?”

Longfoot nodded, but Fluttershy was already on her hooves. She raced for the door, followed by first Angel, then the two bears, and then Longfoot and a squad of animals who grabbed knives and other weapons and rushed after Fluttershy into the night.

----

The way was dark and cold. Fluttershy ran without caring, ignoring Angel’s shouted protests as she ran into the Everfree forest. She knew the route almost by heart, and despite the forest path being overgrown and unused, she never missed a step. She leapt into the clearing and stopped in horror.

“Oh no.” Fluttershy’s heart began beating out of her chest. She felt her breath come faster and faster. “Ohnonononononono.”

Chrysalis’s body had been moved from its first grave under Fluttershy’s garden to this spot in the Everfree forest. Here other changelings had been buried as well, those that hadn’t agreed to Fluttershy’s peace – a mass grave where nothing grew.

The dirt was upturned. The ground was full of holes.

In the silence of the night Fluttershy uttered only two words.

“She’s back.”

----

Chaos.

The Everfree Forest was full of noise. The normal calming silence was broken as animals screamed and roared. Longfoot was standing on a tree stump, screaming orders that no one listened to.

Harry and Matilda were back to back, scanning the forest and as they growled deeply. The rodents, squirrels, mice, rats, etc. took up positions behind the larger beavers, foxes, badgers, and other animals as they formed a protective circle around Fluttershy. Overhead the birds circled, screaming alarm calls into the night.

Fluttershy said nothing. She studied what had been the grave of changelings, holding every single body of the enemy that had perished in the Battle for the Everfree. Her breathing was surprisingly calm, but her heart was pounding out of her chest. Beside her, Angel stood and stared at the broken ground, dark eyes full of anger, worry, and fear.

The pony called Fluttershy wanted to run. She wanted to grab Angel and hide, but Chrysalis was there. And she would kill Fluttershy. It left her rooted. Helpless. Despairing at yet – and yet—

Her Angel was back.

Fluttershy took a calming breath and then several more when that didn’t work. She turned at last, and said one word in the clamoring mayhem.

“Quiet.”

And all was still. Harry, not up to speed kept growling and roaring with anger until he realized what had happened. But the other animals were silent, their bodies tense but ready. Angel raised his eyebrows, impressed.

“Everyone, we’re heading back to the cottage. Eyes open, ears peeled. Be ready for an attack at any time. I want full patrols out in the nearby area, but no less than fifty animals for each patrol and be ready to retreat at any sign of trouble. We’ve got thousands of us here, and we can throw back any attack if it comes. But I want to know where Chrysalis and her army have gone yesterday, and full coverage of Ponyville and the surrounding area for a hundred miles in an hour—”

Fluttershy stopped talking in an instant. The other animals had heard it too, and if they had been silent listening to her orders, they were statues now.

The heavy tromp of hooves. Fluttershy’s body was a sudden ball of tension. She bent low to the ground, bracing herself as Harry and Matilda did likewise. The other beavers and rabbits went for their weapons at once; the small party of animals was suddenly armed with kitchen knives, meat cleavers, and other pointy weapons. They could use them, too. Any changelings that came at this elite team would be diced, smashed flat, and eviscerated in a matter of moments.

Fluttershy was ready to lash out the instant she saw a chitinous head appear through the trees, but Angel wasn’t. He put one ear to the ground, listened hard, and then kicked Fluttershy on the hoof and squeaked urgently at her.

He was hard to understand, for some reason. Had Fluttershy really forgotten how to ‘hear’ his voice so quickly?

“What’s that?” Fluttershy concentrated. “…Not changelings? Too heavy?”

Angel nodded vigorously. He pointed at the armed animals and waved his paws furiously. The party lowered their weapons halfway and glanced at Fluttershy.

She hesitated, and then nodded. She could trust Angel. She could always trust him. With one hoof, Fluttershy waved towards the tree line in the opposite direction and then circled her hoof once.

With barely a whisper of movement the two bears and other animals fell back in the direction Fluttershy had pointed. They would circle around and flank whatever was coming. With all the noise they were making, Fluttershy was sure the unknown trespassers in the forest wouldn’t spot her animals until it was too late.

If it came to violence, of course. But Fluttershy still had no idea what pony would be idiotic enough to venture into the Everfree at this time of night. Besides Zecora, no pony ever went into the forest, and Zecora made even less noise than Fluttershy.

The party of ponies that emerged into the clearing then, saw nothing but Fluttershy, the white rabbit named Angel, and the ground full of strangely churned-up earth. They paid attention to the pony and completely ignored the rabbit and the earth, though.

Fluttershy flinched back as the ponies entered the clearing. Sixteen ponies all armored in golden metal, muscled, and all male marched towards her in parade formation. Even if she hadn’t known who they were, their comically serious expressions would have told her this was the Royal Canterlot Guard.

But why were they here? Of all the ponies in all of Equestria that would be appearing at this moment, Fluttershy would never have expected them.

They were silent, perhaps trying to up the silent intensity of the moment. Fluttershy waited, but after a minute it was clear they were waiting for her to speak. No help for it then. Fluttershy added a tremble to her tone and quavered,

“H-hello? It’s awfully late to be out at night, isn’t it? How can I help—”

One of the royal guardsponies cut her off as he stopped forward. He was big and muscled, nearly three times Fluttershy’s size. His armor gleamed in the moonlight, and his imposing physique was only matched by the impassively serious expression on his face.

Fluttershy had to resist the urge to rip his face off and instead shrank back as the other guardsponies spread out around her. And then their leader spoke.

“Fluttershy, by order of Princess Celestia you are under arrest for the murder of Tirek.”

And Fluttershy had only one moment to look at Angel’s panicked expression before she was pulled away. But only one thought was in her mind.

Her Angel was back. Chrysalis was back. They were all back.

History was repeating itself, and this time Fluttershy would make sure everything happened right.